Natale e’ alle porte e la caccia al regalo perfetto e’ iniziata! Nelle ultime due settimane, i giornali e magazine piu’ popolari di New York hanno tutti pubblicato uno o piu’ articoli sui regali piu’ trendy per il 2009. L’elefantiaca e variegata lista di tutti i possibili beni che si possono trovare a Manhattan mi ha lasciato sbalordito. Si va da capi di abbigliamento a gadget elettronici, da spettacoli di vario genere a sex toys, da cianfrusaglie inutili a mezzi motorizzati, il tutto rigorosamente declinato nelle varie culture mondiali… Intontito dalla possibilita’ di scelta ho iniziato a pensare a quali potrebbero essere i desideri piu’ agognati dai NewYorkesi e mi sono chiesto se quest’anno la crisi avesse in qualche modo reso piu’ umano e meno consumistico il desiderio di sperpero tipico di Manhattan. La risposta e’ arrivata circa 10 minuti fa, quando mi sono imbattutto in un breve sondaggio sui regali piu’ desiderati. Sebbene la frugalita’ non sembra essere ancora parte dell’isola, si iniziano a intravedere i segni della crisi economica. Il 29% degli intervistati vorrebbe ricevere come regalo una vacanza, e non nel New Jersey ma in mete da sogno quali le Fiji o Bahamas, mentre il 25% vorrebbe ricevere l’ultimo ritrovato in fatto di tecnologia. Ben il 10% vorrebbe ricevere degli stivali (si’, sono anche io molto perplesso), mentre l’8% vorrebbe ricevere diamanti — colazione da Tiffany fa ancora proseliti. Interessante e’ scorrere la lista e trovare che il 4% vorrebbe trovare lavoro (ricordo che secondo le statistiche un NewYorkese su 10 e’ disoccupato) e il 2% un’assicurazione sanitaria. Insomma la crisi piano piano inizia a lasciare il segno. Speriamo che con l’anno nuovo New York ritorni ad essere in gran forma, che la percentuale di disoccupati scenda, che i mille negozi al momento vuoti vengano finalmente occupati, che le banche ricomincino a prestare soldi e che la gente ricominci ad indebitarsi per potersi permettere uno stile di vita proibitivo che solo la New York di qualche semestre fa sapeva offrire. E che il benessere continui negli anni a seguire… Ovviamente fino alla prossima crisi!

How cool is this guys!

The dolls have been entered into a Miss Doll World contest which I think is so cute  

Its cool to see people taking dolls seriously because we put a lot of work into designing and getting everything right so its funny but nice to see that they have their own little contest. 

I’ll send the link for you to vote very very soon. The contest actually runs for a whole year so the winners wont actually be announced until July 2010 which I can see coming pretty shortly. Keep checking back for updates dolls xxx

It’s only 1 month left and i’ll be studying in fashion design.. wehuuuu! Ever wondered how come my mom allowed me to take this course. Mama wants me to pursue my current couse-Multimedia-actually, but then i know i can’t go further with it. I mean, how i was supposed to do something that i know it wont bring anything in the future? am i right? Yes i know, i wasted my 2 years without doing nothing.. But who cares? I hope this is my last choices and it wont distorted.

Well, i have absolutely no idea what to say at this point, but Thanks to everyone who’re always supports and encourage me. This is my new broad-way and i wish i can be comparable to the other designers. Wish me luck ha?

La bellezza nel mito,nell'inno omerico e nell'Astrologia,Venere come quando e perchè

Ho pubblicato delle foto per far emergere i miti e quindi le immagini ipotetiche  delle Dee del passato e per meglio raffigurare i protagonisti dell’Inno omerico a Demeter.andare al link Astrologia Scuola http://astrologiascuolameryluisemioblog.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/astrologia-bellezza-canoni-venere-in-vergine-e-venere-in-scorpione-demeter-e-persephone-nellinno-omerico-a-lei-dedicato/

Omero ci dice che il concetto di bellezza e i canoni a cui si rifacevano i greci erano ben delineati e conosciuti con esempi e proiezioni che si tramandavano e si declamavano attraverso le invocazioni agli Deii simbolo di manifestazione rappresentativa di connotazioni e o particolari estetici riproducenti anche caratteristiche comportamentali.

La forma o meglio l’immagine degli Deii veniva a ed essere identificata anche con le prerogative caratteristiche della loro capacità di poter aiutare o malveare l’ essere umano.

Nel suo inno Omero ci tramanda una visione della bellezza femminile ben chiara.

Demetra ,nell’inno ,viene configurata come la Dea dalle belle chiome bionde, una Dea Augusta, quindi autorevole e con una corona portata sul capo, inoltre capace di dolore e rassegnazione davanti alla perdita della sua giovinezza, rappresentata dalla figlia Persefone, riacquistata poi attraverso l’accudimento del bambino da lei temporaneamente allevato.

Quindi la bellezza per i greci, o meglio per interpolazione  omerica, si manifesta in una donna seguendo  canoni estetici ben definiti.

Demeter una bella chioma bionda fluente, la figlia belle caviglie, la madre del piccolo, un ventre piatto e una vita sottile, anche dopo il parto, Ecate belle orecchie e  Persefone una voce altisonante, tenendo presente che le sue urla erano state udite proprio da Ecate, quindi capacità da parte della donna Persefone di saper gridare e manifestare  il disappunto innanzi ai sopprusi.

Inoltre il candore e la bellezza adolescenziale acerba e accattivante viene enfatizzato dai profumi e dai colori che devono essere colti e portati con se al fine di esserne orgogliosamente spavaldi davanti alla narcisistica adorazione di se.

Altre Dee sono chiamate a dare vita alla figura femminile  che veniva a rispecchiarsi nell’antica Grecia.

Queste erano Pallade ossia Athena e Artemidis, entrambe cacciatrici e donne battagliere ma pur sempre in evoluzione verso la maturità,

Quindi donne Dee che impersonano ognuna la totalità a cui deve tendere la bellezza femminile, la quale può sfiorire con l’età e con il suo avanzamento ma che  deve pur sempre seguire i cicli e la natura stessa della sua evoluzione.

Ci viene spiegato come l’abbandono della bellezza adolescenziale non avvenga mai scevro da una coercizione ma che pur essendo una cosa naturale non deve però subire la mortificazione di essere nascosta anzi tempo.

Le giovani  dovrebero mettere in mostra le proprie grazie e non nasconderle, ma farle uscire proprio come Persefone esce dall’oltretomba, accompagnata da Hermes, il corridore, la bellezza sfiorisce in modo veloce, ma la donna nella sua maternità e nel suo attaccamento al nutrimento universale cerca di divenire il polo,o meglio il  nucleo di unificazioni tra istanze estetiche diverse.

L a bellezza adolescenziale trova anche importanza meglio ancora apporta un tocco in più al suo uscirne cambiata dal passaggio nell’oltretomba.

L’adolescenza di Persefone si evolve quando ritorna dalla madre ormai è donna, ha conosciuto l’amplesso,  e per questo quando Mercurio la scorta fino da Demeter Persefone viene ad acquistare autorevolezza  pari alla madre nell’accezione della parola Augusta.

Una bellezza più seduttiva conturbante e anche meno manifesta, anche se l’unico che vede tutto e che sa che cosa sia successo a Perefone è proprio il Sole,Elios.

Il Sole come principio di chiarezza di veduta di spiegazione dei fatti .

Elios l’unico che mette in condizione Persefone di poter ritornare.

Quindi altro canone di bellezza ,secondo i greci ,che deve attribuirsi alla donna è la chiarezza, la conoscenza, la realtà

Elios ed Hernes chiarezza e che bisogna godere delle cose se no passano velocemente

Quindi capelli biondi e folti,una voce alta, agilità di movimento,vita sottile,caviglie fini , ventre piatto e vita piccola.

Nessun accenno al seno come parte anatomica.

Quindi la Venere in Scorpio deve tendere a quei canoni

continua prossimamente

La longilineità posta in luce come forma adolescenzial

Back in and on the rise, the Little White Salmon is running a few weeks earlier than previous years. The season has started.

Hey guys, lately there’s been so much talk about what makes a person sexy. Should you believe all the hype? Let’s face it; we live in a visual world that is highly controlled by major media outlets like, reality television, music videos, magazines, newspapers, and fashion designers. They all have a huge influence on nearly every aspect of our lives, everything from what we eat, wear, where we live, who we should or shouldn’t date, and what our bodies should or shouldn’t look like.

Yet today the million dollar question still remains, “What is Sexy; is it truly in eye of the bolder, or is it in the hands of the money makers? Can we honestly make unfiltered individual choices about what sexy is and what it really means?

Many media outlet say it’s all about image and having the perfect package. Their emphasis and primary focus usually caters to what’s current, young, and hot! So I ask do we no longer need to be able to think for ourselves. Or have our media outlets taken complete control over what we think sexy should be.

Well, maybe this is a question you might have to decide for yourself. However, here’s a list that I’ve composed of what some adults are saying, “What they think is Sexy.” The results just might surprise you.

Yet the big question here is how many of their answers are similar to your own, and if not, will they rub off? Will it make you think about your own life, or will you just go with the flow and let society/media dictate what it means to you. How can you Develop Your Own Sexiness?

What is Sexy?

Sexy is natural, being yourself.
Sexy is having a nice swagger/walk.
Stronger enough for man but made for a woman.

Sexy is working with what you have.
Sex is an independent woman or man.
Sexy is confidence; having a good attitude.
Sexy is dressing well.
Sexy is a stimulation conversation.

Sexy is flirtatious & fun
Sexy is fore play.
Sexy is sweet and submissive.

Now, What’s Your Definition? Please share!

For the full list & story go to.

www.myspace.com/joeys_world_dance_groove 

So I have finally gotten tired of my old layout that I had for my blog. it was getting old and like always I wanted something new. I tried a few different designs but I just didn’t look right, it looked as if it were missing something. I looked around a little more and found the one that you are looking at right now. I did some editing and got the city skyline that you saw in the last layout and I also added a twitter application so you can here more from me. I got a lot of stuff to say on here and want the whole world to know what I got to say. LOL. But I didn’t really want to talk you to death, come and check out my blog later this week for my new yearly Thanksgiving day special. There will be only one way to see what I got to say so check it out!

As we know, our experiences are created by our thoughts, words and actions. And our beliefs are the thoughts we have over and over again. For example, you have to work hard to make money, only people who know people or have an education deserve money, people with money and in business rip other people off.

Unfortunately we can often be misguided in our beliefs due to adopting those of our caregivers when young and impressionable. Indeed our caregivers were doing the best they could. However I challenge you now to seek out the good examples of people with money. Start thinking and saying “the more money I have the more good I can do with it.” Let’s see how big an impact the collective consciousness can have.

Dog dental hygiene is just as important as human dental hygiene.   Unfortunately, dog’s dental health is sometimes overlooked.  Many people seem to just expect dogs to have bad breath, and few people brush their dogs’ teeth frequently enough.

Common symptoms of dog dental hygiene problems are often similar to humans: bad breath, blood in the saliva, broken teeth, drooling, loss of appetite, swollen, bleeding gums and yellow-brown tartar at the gum line.  You should contact your vet if your dog is experiencing the more severe symptoms.

These symptoms could mean your dog has one of the following dog dental hygiene problems:

• Gingivitis is a gum disease that causes inflammation of the gum tissue.  It can lead to periodontitis , bone loss and eventually loss of teeth.
• Periodontitis disease is the most common dental problem for dogs.  It is caused by plaque (a mixture of food remnants, cell mucus, saliva and bacteria) and can be identified by a milky-white film on the gums and teeth.  When mixed with saliva, plaque turns into tartar which cements itself to your dog’s teeth.  (Note that plaque turns into tartar within 24-48 hours so frequent brushing is recommend.) It also eats away at the bone that holds your dog’s teeth by working its way underneath the gums.  In advanced cases, infection can enter the blood stream, even causing kidney and heart disease.
• Tooth fractures are the second most common problem in dog dental hygiene.  They are caused by simply biting down on something hard such as bones, sticks, rocks and some nylabone toys and can lead to infection inside the tooth (called endodontic disease).  Avoid tooth fractures by buying appropriate dog chew toys.

As with all health and wellness related issues, good dog teeth care begins with solid preventive care:

• Brushing at least twice a week as recommended by veterinarians
• Healthy diet
• Exercise
• Regular visits to the veterinarian, which should include an oral check-up and teeth cleaning
• Discuss your planned teeth-brushing with your vet prior to beginning.  If your dog has unhealthy gums or broken teeth, brushing may be painful and you should use gentler options.

Wondering what parts of your dog’s mouth to focus on?  Plaque build-up is most common on the upper teeth, so that is always the place to start.  Dogs only produce plaque on the outside of their teeth and gum line, so do not worry about brushing the inside.

Brushing a dog’s teeth is easier than brushing your own.  Their narrow teeth are spaced more widely than human teeth, eliminating the need for flossing.  Their teeth only touch in one or two places.  A toothbrush can reach 90% of the areas that need to be brushed.  Recommended steps for brushing are as follows, or consult your veterinarian to have him/her demonstrate:

1. At first, only briefly hold and look into your dog’s mouth – but do it often.
2. Once comfortable with allowing you to look, start to massage the gums a little.  Move in gentle circles around the outside of the gums and teeth.  Do this quickly at first, and spend a little more time with each attempt.
3. Now it’s time to introduce a brush.
4. Let the dog taste the toothpaste before attempting to brush his teeth.  Allow him to lick the toothpaste off your brush.  When he has tasted the toothpaste, reapply paste to the brush and start brushing in a circular motion.
5. Keep your dog calm and relaxed by praising him and stroking his neck area.  When your dog is relaxed, pull back his lips and cheeks to gain access to the premolars and molars.
6. Be patient – it takes some dogs over a month to get used to it.  How long would it take YOU to get used to someone grabbing your face and putting something into your mouth?

Depending on the individual dog, professional tooth cleaning is recommended every one to three years.  This cleaning, which takes place under general anesthesia, consists of scaling to remove tartar above and below the gum line; polishing to smooth the surface of the teeth; and flushing to dislodge tartar and bacteria.

The act of brushing a dog’s teeth twice weekly, while initially daunting, becomes easier with practice and routine.  Caring for your dog’s dental hygiene will assure good dental health and prevent many more serious dental and medical problems as he ages.

Ultimately you want your dog to get excited when the toothbrush comes out.  Believe it or not, this can eventually be fun for them.  So remember, be gentle, go at your dog’s own pace, and reward with a treat, trip outside, a game or whatever they like most.

For your dog dental hygiene shopping list:

1. Dog toothpaste: Always use a specially formulated dog toothpaste.  Because dogs can’t rinse and spit after a brushing, the paste must be safe for pets to swallow.  Some human toothpastes contain detergents which can irritate pet’s stomachs, and, in addition, large quantities of ingested fluoride can harm pets.

For small and medium sized dogs, we recommend Cain & Able – KissAble Toothpaste and Toothbrush combo to get your dog started.  The vanilla flavored toothpaste is all natural and great for dogs.  $11.

Cain & Able KissAble Toothbrush & Toothpaste Combo

For large dogs, we recommend using soft human brush (see below) and again the Cain & Able toothpaste is great for its all natural ingredients and flavor.

2. Dog toothbrush: Most dog dental kits contain a toothbrush and toothpaste sold together.  If using a human toothbrush, pick a soft, nylon bristle, and, for a smaller dog, child-sized brush.  Finger brushes can be purchased as well.  These fit on a fingertip and allow owners easier access to their dogs’ mouths.

3.  Chew toys: Dogs love to chew.  Why not give them something to chew on that will also be good for their teeth?  Nylabone toys reduce plaque build-up and massage your dog’s gums for good dental health.  These long-lasting, rubber chew toys are flavored with real meat juices and designed to wear down slowly.   Available at most large pet stores.

We recommend Doggles rope toys in a variety of animal shapes available at JasperandZoe.com.  These toys are made from cotton thread and are hand tied.  The rope helps to remove plaque while the pulling action keeps teeth strong.  Proven to improve dental health and guaranteed to provide hours of chewing and tugging fun!

Doggles Rope Toy

4.  Teeth-cleaning or fresh breath treats: There are many good, healthy choices available for teeth-cleaning and fresh breath treats.  Look for natural, organic ingredients as the healthiest option for your dogs.

We recommend Dogswell Biscuits with Benefits – Breathies Chicken 10 oz.  Made with protein-rich, all natural chicken breast, these scientifically formulated and lovingly prepared dog treats are made especially to quickly freshen breath.  Available in different flavors.  $5

We also recommend Zuke’s Performance Pet Nutrition Treats – Z-Ridge Fresh Breath (available for different sized dogs – please select based on your dog’s weight).   These treats naturally cleans teeth and freshens breath without wheat, corn, or artificial fresheners.  $14

You’ve come a long way, Babies, you’ll say to the pitchfolk of the world, in howling over two pages which will change forever the way you think about all grocers’ and druggists’ standbys from Lysol to fresh pork:

Old Creepy Ads
”Sometimes it’s really scary what human mind can conceive for advertising.”

Vintage ads
”Hilarious, shocking and creepy advertisements from the past century”

True addicts, though, will eventually find their full-immersion redemption over at James Lileks’ site, at which the Twin Cities’ master of ephemera has over the last decade unearthed a truly Stakhanovite archive prompting for all time the one inevitable question – What Were They Thinking?

I made it to the pool.  The swimming was not so good though because I forgot my goggles, it is amazing how having the right equipment makes the workout easier and more enjoyable.  I have to make sure that I don’t forget my goggles when we go to Baltimore.  We sat in classes all day, and we both made it the fitness room after classes before we went to dinner.  It was a very discouraging time though for a couple of different reasons. One the elliptical that I was on was older and very uncomfortable so my time was limited to 10 minutes. So I got on the bike for another 10 minutes, then I went to a stair climber for ten minutes.  It is not as easy to do what is needed when you get comfortable with your surroundings and equipment at home.  Secondly the food choices were very hard.  I took my juicer and juiced for breakfast, but by lunch I was starving and wanted something I could chew on.  Dinner was the same way.  We went to a steakhouse within the hotel for lunch and I had a lovely salad and tilapia. Dinner we went to Lonestar steakhouse and it was a lot harder to pick and I know now that I made poor choices because we only ate an hour ago and I already feel heavy and blotted.  I hope tomorrow is easier, there are not a lot of good choices in Mt. Pleasant.

Till tomorrow – here’s to better options.

Doc

Are group was together tonight for the last food preparation night. We made hummus, James and Shannon had that job.  It was awesome they did a fantastic job.  James thought it was good and so did everyone except Shannon.  I still need to find out what her aversion is to vegetables and see if there is a way to help her get past it.  We made an avocado, fennel, grapefruit salad with mint, I love this salad, J and her husband along with Mike made this.  We also had carrot ginger soup which A made the soup which was fantastic, Mel’s little guy loved the soup and consumed most of it before Mel got to eat it.  B and I  made Thai cucumber salad, which is also fantastic.  The thing I like about raw preparation is the way the vegetables and spices come together to create such lovely flavors.  It will be sad to not be getting together, but I am also looking forward to helping the next group learn and grow in regards to food.

I did not get any exercise in today or this evening.  Right after we finished with dinner Shannon and I had to drive to Mt. Pleasant for a seminar.  I was hoping to get down there in time to exercise but it did not happen.  I have to make sure I get up first thing and get down to the pool, the fitness room does not open until eight.

Till tomorrow – cheers to flavorful foods.

Doc

Check out my second favorite (…to Tony Hawk) skater Jahmal Williams going hard in NYC. For those that don’t know, Jahmal was a big deal on the Miami skate scene before he bounced. Now, he skates in NYC and runs a skateboard company called Hopps. I’m getting the Hopps board below next month so I can “kick, push” my ass around MIA.

Crowded Japanese Wave Pool

This photo is from a Japanese WAVE pool (as opposed to a “swimming” pool). Apparently it is quite normal for wave pools in Japan to get this crowded because they aren’t meant for swimming. You are supposed to stand in one place and get moved up and down by the waves.

You can see a 30-second video of large waves moving through the pool, and the people moving up and down, HERE,  in Japan Trends Magazine.  From the discussion which follows the video I learned some interesting facts.

Some people who have been to this pool said that most likely it was one of the first days of summer to be this crowded, and that they have been on other days when it was less crowded.  On the day this video was filmed, the “wave” was apparently broken until 3 pm, when they finally got it working.  This may also account for why the pool was so crowded.

According to a  Japanese commenter, one reason so many people would get in to a pool is explained by the mentality in Japan.  He says that the Japanese prefer to have many people around them, doing the same thing, rather than being alone.  Japanese prefer to always act together, not alone, and to be part of the “mass.”  A second commenter pointed out that in Japan it is not at all uncommon for people to be in such close contact in a public place.  A third commenter seconded that sentiment by pointing out that if Americans were in such close contact, there would be fights, and that  being able to handle this kind of closeness is a testament to the manners in Japanese society.

My own thought while watching the wave moving through the pool was, “Why don’t these people go to the miles and miles of real beach surrounding Japan, and enjoy the REAL waves.”  This was addressed by another commenter who pointed out that there is actually very little coastline in Japan because it’s all built up with buildings.  Another person pointed out that “vacation halls” are common in Japan is that Japan is very crowded and there is such a lack of living space.

A lifeguard named Diana (probably American) commented,

“I am a lifeguard, and let me just say, that wave pool is a lifeguard’s worst nightmare! With that many people in the pool, it is very easy for someone to slip underwater and get crushed by the crowd. It’s like a solid wall of people between the water and air- a small child could never force his or her way back to the surface. Just as well, if someone suddenly had an asthma attack, or a heart attack, or some other sort of medical emergency, it would be nearly impossible for the lifeguard to get to the person in time, unless they just crawled all over the crowd, ha. They really should limit how many people they put into that thing …”

The final group of comments echoed my own worries.  My first thought upon seeing such a crowded pool is that people would be urinating in it.  I found several commenters, none of whom seemed to be Japanese, so I don’t know what the Japanese themselves think about it.  Comments ranged from explaining that after the waves, they clear everyone out of the pool, saying that people use the bathroom and not the pool, to pointing out that urine is not a problem because it is a sterile fluid, and that people’s sweat is much dirtier than urine.  There were a couple other comments about the possibility of “larger” problems occuring in the pool.  But as I said, I saw no Japanese comments about this problem, so I have no idea what they really think about it.

I don’t think I would get in this pool.  If I wanted to go there, I would try my best to go late in the season or on a weekday morning.

According to a recent post by American Expat in France, here are the latest estimated figures for non-military American expats living abroad.

2% in Africa

11.15% in the Middle East

14.3% in Asia and the Pacific

28.3% in Europe

42.3% in the Western Hemisphere

Total non-military American exapts abroad:  5,256,600

Julian Casablancas non è un tipo qualunque. Non sappiamo se definirlo icona rock renda l’idea. Perché probabilmente è riduttivo. Atteniamoci quindi ai dati concreti: dalla sua mente è partita la nuova epopea dell’indie-rock. Quell”Is This It’ che sta quasi per compiere un decennio di vita, è stato un disco profetico, rivelatore, spartiacque. E’ un disco che non è nato dal nulla, ma dall’assorbimento di una cultura rock ben precisa (quella di fine anni ‘60) che è stata poi sputata fuori dopo un trattamento chimico a base di nonsense, sfacciataggine e onnipotenza giovanile. Sono bastati tre LP agli Strokes per mettere una seria ipoteca sul nome simbolo da attribuire al rock nato nel nuovo millennio. E se i detrattori vi potrebbero elencare una decina di band da cui i ragazzi di NY City hanno saccheggiato per diventare grandi, allora chi li supporta ve ne potrà elencare almeno 40 che suonano tali e quali agli Strokes.
Julian nel 2009 ha deciso di andare oltre dando alle stampe il suo primo disco solista (seguendo le orme di un paio di compagni di band) che – stando al manifesto d’intenti dell’autore – ha l’obiettivo di dare libero sfogo a tutte le sue idee senza che queste siano messe in discussione dal resto del gruppo. E sono idee che sorprendono. Un Casablancas, quindi, a 360°. Otto tracce per alzare di nuovo la voce, dopo tre anni di silenzio.1. Out of the Blue
2. River of Brake Lights
3. 4 Chords of the Apocalypse
4. 11th Dimension
5. Ludlow St.
6. Glass
7. Left & Right In The Dark
8. Tourist

All my life, I have been criticized, at some points very heavily, for being too confident.  I, of course, choose the term of “confident,” but others resort to the more negative cocky.  As I grew older, probably around my high school days, I began to relish this criticism, particularly by the juvenile parents and faculty members at my high school, and embrace this persona.  Yes, I am very confident person and I enjoy everything that comes with it.

My sophomore year at The Institution, the 6′4 260 lb starting defensive end was my roommate and close friend.  I describe him to emphasize that this monster was not threatened by anyone, especially me, and was entirely comfortable with himself.  As we grew to become very close, we began talking one day about people who hate on me, essentially calling me “cocky.”  My roommate basically caused me to have a Eureka-type moment when he stated, “your not cocky, you are arrogant.”

The dictionary definition of both terms are very similar.  But, as with all languages, some words are better used to describe particular people, places, or things.  Thus, this post – cocky vs arrogant.

When someone is cocky, I always imagine them as being someone who is basically unaware of his/her limitations, yet thinks otherwise.  They claim to be this or that, but really they are not even close to be anything resembling that.  The example  I use often is someone who has no technical skill, as in good with their hands, yet thinks they are masters of putting together furniture and fixing cars.  Of course, most of the time they dont know what the hell they are doing.  Maybe not the best example, especially in  a one way conversation like a blog, but hopefully you get the idea.  To me, that is cocky, a substantial amount of confidence without a sound identity.

Arrogance is simply the opposite on the same spectrum.  When someone is arrogant, they are entirely aware of themselves.  They know exactly what they can and can not do.  And most of the time, the things they know they can do, they do well – hence the confidence.  To revert to my example of working with your hands, I personally could not assemble a product from Toy-R-Us, let alone something actually hard, but I would never make a claim that I could.  (After 45 minutes of trying to assemble my futon, I had to call up StylebySteve whereby he completed what I was trying to do in literally 5 min.) Nor could I tell you about the ballistics of a bullet, and I definitely would not sit here and ever claim to excel at endurance sports.  But I would not have a problem discussing the things I can do well nor exuding confidence because of my skill.  Nor should anyone. 

In addition, and this is kind of  a side note, but cocky people tend to have no capability at laughing at themselves.  They are all about image and being serious.  This could be the tribal tatoo, graphic tee supporter that wants to look hard or the black, thick-rimmed glasses hipster who goes places just to act pretentious.  (Make no mistake, toughness is not synonymous with cockiness.)  Arrogance, on the other hand, allows one to have an ability to recognize the absurdity of one’s self, embrace it, and move on.  You might think you are savvy with the ladies, but have no problem accepting a rejection.   

If you want to call me something, call me arrogant.  I embrace it because I know myself.  But a question needs to be posed.  Cocky, Arrogant, or Confident, all these terms annotate someone who likes themself.  I ask, “what is the problem with this?”  I proclaim that everyone loves themself to a certain degree, and if they don’t, they have serious social issues.  The true hating comes from a jealousy and inferiority complex.  People love to hate on T.O.  People claim that he is an idiot, drama queen, and baby.  Maybe he is, but he is also the best receiver in the NFL, making millions of dollars playing a game, and living a life of freedom, wealth, and luxury.  Why dont you want you want to be like T.O. when he says “I luv me some me.” ???

“Why am I different from others?”

“Why do you have to be the same as others?”

So the ultimate lady blogger of mystery has been unmasked. The writer of “The Diary of a London Call Girl” has revealed all.

I first discovered her just after I began blogging. In that pre-dawn semi-darkness between Usenet and true blogging. One of my usenet acquaintances, long since disappeared into the past, had her on her blog roll. In the course of checking all the entries on this, the first blogroll I had found, Belle de Jour stood out.

Not for the subject, which was titillating and fascinating it its own right, but for the quality of the writing which was that deceptively simple readable style which is so very difficult to achieve. For several months I was a regular reader of her work. For the writing, of course. Not that there were any pictures on Belle de Jour’s daintily scurrilous blog

Always there was the wondering about the identity of this obviously highly paid escort worker. She had been blogging for a number of years and had already had one book of her posts published out in the real world. Another book was in the pipeline and there was talk of a TV series. All about the life of this well hidden author.

My blogging confidence grew, I stopped visiting her, even removed her from my own blogroll and she faded into my past as so many cyber people do. The TV series eventuated and interest in her identity grew.  Until this past week.

Reading the BBC News I found that, about to be unmasked by a tabloid, she had stepped in ahead of time and spilled all to one of the weekend broadsheets, thus positioning herself invulnerably upmarket, where she will undoubtedly stay.

Just who is she?

She is Brooke Magnanti, 34, Florida State U graduate student of informatics, epidemiology and forensic science. Brooke moved to England to study as a postgraduate student and between 2003 and late 2004 she wrote anonymous blogs under the title Diary Of A London Call Girl. Brooke is now a research scientist in Bristol.

The report in the Daily Mail suggests that in the perfect literary world of Belle de Jour, Brooke insists she thoroughly enjoyed her naughty sideline as a high-class escort girl. Others, though, might now be considering that her ability to compartmentalise her parallel lives as research scientist, student girlfriend, college oarswoman and London escort girl was, at best, emotionally distant and at worst glacially cold.

Read more here and here

Dopo la release dello scorso Marzo, Damien Hirst torna a collaborare con Supreme per una mini collezione di tavole da skateboard e una maglietta. Mentre l’altra volta l’eccentrico artista inglese aveva scelto i suoi ‘Spin paintings’ come base per i visuals delle tavole, questa volta sono gli ‘Spot paintings’ a caratterizzare questa release.
La nuova mini-serie frutto della collaborazione tra Damien Hirst e Supreme sarà lanciata il prossimo Giovedì 19 Novembre tra i flagship stores del brand newyorkese e online il 23 Novembre.
Uno sguardo dettagliato ai pezzi della serie e una breve biografia dell’artista realizzata da Supreme cliccando su ‘more’.

Zoo York in associazione con RA Recordings, SMC Records, e Cornerstone Promotion presenta lo skate desk che celebra il 17 novembre il nuovo album di Rakim, The Seventh Seal. Il deck ha le grfiche con design di Rakim, Zoo York e NYC Dean Nicastro e comparirà nel packaged del CD Seventh Seal. Il CD sarà disponibile per i collezionisti e i fans da dicembre 2009!!

Se avete prestato attenzione quest’anno Hello Kitty quest’anno ha collaborato con tantissimi marchi per il suo 35esimo anniversario: lo skate pro di Mike Carroll ha il logo di Miss Kitty posizionato sul centro (dove sta spesso il logo da Girl), un nuovo pezzo da skater girl.

La serie limitata di skate per girl di “Where The Wild Things Are” è attesa a breve come nuova uscita: Lakai ha celebrato le mitiche figure tratte dal libro e ora film per bambini.