And the wrecking ball wins with a first round knockout.

The Dodge minivan failed to live up to its name as it entered a construction zone in Manhattan and was accidentally hit and flipped over by the wrecking ball. The driver escaped with minor injuries. The wrecking ball operator later received high 5’s from the rest of the crew for his well placed shot.

It's like I can just reach out and touch the whole world!

I went to the cinema  today, to see Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs. There was one session beginning when we got there, and a 3D session beginning a few hours later. For a couple of bucks and a couple of hours wait, seeing it in 3D was totally worth it. Doubly so because I kept the glasses, I mean, who doesn’t want to see the world in 3D?

And the 3D technology these days is about a thousand and forty-eight times better than the red-and-blue cardboard-glasses days. And so much more stylish!

It's a new dimension!!!!

And in cinemas soon? Toy Story 1 and 2 in 3D!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *eeeee*
Photos taken with my Nikon D3000.

While I was out of town Something happend that made me think I have to blog about it.

I had to go up north to help my grandparents out and as the days rolled closer to thanksgiving one by one everyone piled in the house. The day before my cousin got there. We all were talking and hes like I got Ashley a car(his daughter) He got a great deal on a used focus that only had like 4500 miles on it and paid less then 2 grand for it. GREAT deal. Outside looked great, inside was good for being used and it ran great. So we all asked does she know? As you may have guessed no she didn’t.

The car she had was a escort . The tires were so bad the metal band was showing. The hood never wanted to stay down. She didn’t even have a horn. The radio…yeah like that worked. Had brakes going in it left and right. The car had tons of issues but it was her first car ever. Her dad handed it down to her and she loved it despite the issues. She moved 3 hours away from her parents like 2 years ago for college and they knew she needed a new car. Plus with winter around the corner she needed it.

She got there around 12 at night not even knowing that the car in the other driveway was going to be hers. We all waited till morning and took her outside and told her to look for something different. It took her 15 mins of telling her look for something different before they narrowed it down to a certain driveway by telling her to look there. So she says “what? the car? is that what you all want me to look at? who brought it up?” her dad says “its yours” and she freaked out and couldn’t believe it. she crouched down in shock for 5 mins before she looked at the up close.

She took me for a drive in it and she just kept saying “my horn works ,my hood is down and stays down my radio works, holy crap i have cruise control! this is great” It made me think how a car can make a person so happy. Just the feeling a person get when getting a new car and on top of it , its used but it feels like it just rolled off the line to you. I just think its funny how some people only use bikes and your own two feet to get around and we cant live without a car.

That’s my thought for now.

Oi bebês!

Vocês sabem quem são os JM’s da minha vida? São o John Mayer e o Jason Mraz. Não é possível que algum ser nesse mundo não tenha escutado um desses nomes! hehe’ Vou começar as apresentações.

John Mayer: músico norte-americano, de 32 anos. Seu estilo musical é como um rock acústico, blues, pop-rock.. mais ou menos por ai. Ele começou a fazer sucesso mesmo, foi em 2OO3. Quem ‘me apresentou’ o John foi o Thiago Mart da banda THIMY . Me encantei com as músicas *-* Entre as minhas preferidas estão: ‘Daughters’ e ’Your Body is a Wonderland’ .  Além de cantar bem, o cara é um excelente guitarrista. Alguém mais ai arrepiou com ele tocando no Tributo ao Michael Jackson ? O John Mayer lançou há pouco tempo, o cd “Battle Studies”, tpo, muuito bom. A música ‘Assassin’ é a mais perfeita na minha opinião. Vou postar foto para vocês verem o quanto esse cara é galã, babo!  Follow @johncmayer

Jason Mraz: músico norte-americano de 32 anos. [2]  Seu estilo musical é pop, surf pop, tem um ‘q’ de reggee, acústico.. Jason, começou a fazer sucesso em 2OO3/2OO4 mas foi em 2OO8 que ele estorou no Brasil. A música ‘I’m Yours’ entrou para a sountrack da novela ‘A Favorita’ e chegou a ser uma das músicas mais tocadas na rádio na época e virou hit. Ele adora um chapeuzinho e é mó ‘paz e amor’. Gosta de natureza e seu diferencial é que ele gosta de tocar com os pés descalços. Oowwn, acho muito fofo. O Jason Mraz, não é bonito aos meus olhos, mas tem charme. Ele está no Brasiiiil \o/ em tour. E hoje ele estará fazendo shoew em Belo Horizonte, que tristeza.. está a 3OO km de mim e eu aqui :/ A mais de uma semana no país, domingo passado o ‘Domingão do Faustão fez algo que presta e o convidou para cantar lá. Quase morri *-* hihihi Em seu twitter, ele já postou várias fotos da sua estadia no Brasil. Para quem não segue o twitter dele é @jason_mraz . Fotinha:

A Colbie Caillat tem sorte viu! (por que?) Porque ela já cantou com os dois! E até gravou a música ‘Lucky’ com o Jason Mraz. Vou postar videos para compartilhar com vocês.

Beeijos, até mais!

AyYaiYai – Clothing, Skins, Poses, & more!
AyYaiYai’s Flickr
http://aykai.wordpress.com/
Kailiana Anatra

AyYaiYai is having a 50% Off sale on all clothing. This offer does not last long so do not miss your chance to take advantage of it! This does not include discount items.

Yes! I clearly have a addiction with designing converse right now and I suppose it is not fading away anytime soon. Base on by the amount of releases you can tell that I have been fairly busy with creating more shoes because no one can get enough of them. Most of customers may recognize the Melaskulls converse however these are recolors so now there are more options to choose from. Of course why not make some Twilight converse while I am at it! I hope you twilight fans especially enjoy those. ^^ The other releases are the pastel set and party time set. That is all for now…

Also a special items at the counter:

AyYaiYai Chucks (Cherry) – 100L

Shirts – 1L

]]> http://loiter22.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/lucky-star-17-13/ Sun, 29 Nov 2009 10:25:05 +0000 marjie2 http://loiter22.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/lucky-star-17-13/ http://lizmendes.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/faca-com-que-sua-proxima-escolha-seja-a-escolha-certa/ Sun, 29 Nov 2009 04:03:55 +0000 Liz Mendes. http://lizmendes.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/faca-com-que-sua-proxima-escolha-seja-a-escolha-certa/

Estamos tão acostumados com atrasos que quando algo começa na hora (ou, no caso, antes da hora) acabamos ficando com a sensação de “foi só isso?”. Assim foi o show do cantor Jason Mraz em Brasília.

O cantor subiu ao palco do Marina Hall com vinte minutos… de antecedência. Particularmente, não sou fã de atrasos mas também não achei correta a atitude de começar o show antes da hora.

À parte disso, o show deixou a sensação de “foi só isso” e não foi só pelo tempo. O set list curtinho não colaborou muito. Foram 14 músicas (entre medleys e músicas completas) em, cerca de, uma hora e meia. E entre uma música e outra momentos instrumentais belíssimos. Um desses momentos instrumentais teve tempo até para uma homenagem à música tema de As Panteras (aquele “Pããããnãnã pãããnãnããnãnãnã”) e ritmos bem brasileiros.

No palco, Mraz não fez feio: cantou ópera, rebolou e fez coreografia no refrão de Dynamo of Volition (uma das músicas mais gostosas de se cantar, um verdadeiro desafio).

Para quem curte, de verdade, o set list foi bastante agradável, embora sempre fique faltando uma ou outra música. Mas o maior problema de shows como esse é o grande número de adolescentes riquinhos, levando em consideração o valor dos ingressos que variavam de R$100 (meia, pista) a R$400 (inteira, pista premium), que conhecem uma única música (“Aquela que toca na novela, I’m yours, ou qualquer coisa assim“) e ficam lá gritando histericamente para o nada.

Sem desapontar essas pessoinhas, Mraz tocou as famosíssimas I’m Yours e Lucky (nesse caso, sem Colbie Cailat). Já os verdadeiros fãs puderam se surpreender com músicas como Plane, Unfold e Butterfly (ok, Butterfly pode não ter sido surpresa, mas eu me arrepiei ao ouvir os primeiros acordes dela, assim como arrepiei ao ouvir a introdução de DOV identica a do EP We dance).

Por fim, Mraz tirou, com sua Polaroid (aimeuDeus,comoeuqueriauma!!), uma foto do público e outra dele mesmo com o público ao fundo. A última ele jogou para “a galera”. A minha curiosidade é se a pessoa que deu a sorte de pegar a foto sabia o que fazer com ela… ou simplesmente ficou olhando aquele quadradinho de papel, meio duro e escuro se perguntando “Por que diabos eu iria querer isso, além de ter sido jogado pelo Jason Mraz?” (lembre-se: as pessoas são estranhas e capazes de colecionar qualquer coisa de uma pessoa famosa).

O show terminou às 23:12 e, além do grande número de pessoas reclamando (“Já acabou?”), confesso que foi divertido ver o grande (comparativamente) número de pessoas chegando para o show… que havia acabado!

É, pessoas, não que Sr. Mraz estivesse certo em começar o show antes, mas um pouquinho de pontualidade nunca matou ninguém. Da próxima vez, já sabe: quando se trata de Mraz ou chegue na hora, ou não vá.

*O título do post é uma paráfrase da primeira frase da música “I’ll do anything” (Go make your next choice be your best choice). Levando em consideração os problemas de horários e pessoas, faz sentido pensar que elas deveriam refazer suas escolhas.

Hello, this is **KURUMI**. How are you up to?
We’ve just released a cute dress for girls longing for a Chrismas.

This skirt includes resize scripts to easily modify by a dialog menu. I had difficulty forming scripted prim with this skirt and it took longer than usual to release a new item. Well, I am very happy to release this stuff, because this is my most favorite one in my store

Furthermore, we offer one color of these items as a Lucky board gift.
Please come by to grab all of this item ! We are OPEN !!

**KURUMI** Main Shop @ Astarte SIM
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Astarte/118/139/31

**KURUMI** @ WordPress
http://kurumishop.wordpress.com/

Hello, this is **KURUMI**. How are you up to?
We’ve just released a cute dress for girls longing for a Chrismas.

This skirt includes resize scripts to easily modify by a dialog menu. I had difficulty forming scripted prim with this skirt and it took longer than usual to release a new item. Well, I am very happy to release this stuff, because this is my most favorite one in my store

Furthermore, we offer one color of these items as a Lucky board gift.
Please come by to grab all of this item ! We are OPEN !!

**KURUMI** Main Shop @ Astarte SIM
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Astarte/118/139/31

**KURUMI** @ WordPress
http://kurumishop.wordpress.com/

Save 酒井法子 (Noriko Sakai) via http//norip.asia/ !!

Your earnings also will be able to donate to Noriko Sakai.

Don’t hesitate. Do it now!! (by Napoleon Hill. and Clement Stone)

Tetsuya Kitahata <kitahata@99.alumni.u-tokyo.ac.jp>

– http://wp.me/pIVsu-7

Mohammed A . Sekhani is probably one of the luckier waiters around.  As a waiter at Gibsons, a ritzy steakhouse, he’s used to waiting on the rich and famous.  And I’m sure he’s no stranger to big tips either.

Even so, after a simple meal out (“simple”, in this case, included several $500 bottles of wine), Johnny Depp gave Sekhani a $4000 tip.  Not entirely unheard of, but still probably enough to make a huge difference in this guy’s life.

[Source]

Pe astăzi m-am hotărât, cam cu greu ce-i drept, să scriu un post despre o parte din cele mai ”delicioase” colaborări, din punctul meu de vedere, între diverse trupe şi diverşi artişti. Poate în viitorul apropiat voi mai face posturi de acest gen, în caz că prind bine.

Încep cu capitolul Apocalyptica. Cei care au ascultat vreodata Apocalyptica ştiu foarte bine că aceasta e o trupă total diferită de orice altceva aţi asculta. Diferenţa asta o face faptul că membrii trupei interpretează piese rock pe 4 respectiv 3 violoncele. Ei au început ca trupă de cover pentru Metallica, dovadă fiind şi sufixul numelui. În orice caz, după primul album (”Plays Metallica by Four Cellos”) care e constituit integral din cover-uri Metallica, băieţi au început încet încet să îşi facă propriile piese, dar totushi neîndepărtându-se total de la vechiile obiceiuri, ajungând să facă cover-uri pe Faith No More, Pantera, David Bowie, Rammstein etc.

Revenind la subiectul principal al articolului, de-a lungul celor 7 albume ale trupei, aceştia au făcut diverse colaborări care mai de care mai reuşite. Nu le voi lua în ordine cronologică pentru că nu le ştiu, şi pentru că sunt prea ardelean in momentele de faţa să caut pe net.

În schimb am să încep cu prima, şi anume ”Hope vol.2”. Încep cu această piesă deoarece de obicei când o ascult îmi dă o oarecare stare de euforie. O voce de care nu mulţi oameni ştiu, dar valorificată de Apocalyptica pe bună dreptate, Matthias Sayer, vocalistul trupei Farmer Boys, face din originala ”Hope” o piesă mult mai… interesantă.

A doua piesă, ”S.O.S.”, sau  ”Anything but Love”, colaborare extrem de reuşită a trupei cu Cristina Scabbia, solista trupei Lacuna Coil. Piesa e extrem de reuşită, mesajul e foarte clar trimis, intrumentalul de asemenea este extrem de bun, nu că am putea avea alte aşteptări din partea Apocalypticei.

A treia şi ultima piesă pe care o menţionez de la Apocalyptica în acest post, este binecunoscuta ”Bittersweet”. Posibil cea mai cunoscută colaborare a trupei cu alţi muzicieni, ”Bittersweet” combină cu un succes incontestabil vocea lui Ville Valo (HIM) cu vocea lui Lauri Ylonen (The Rasmus) cu instrumentalul tipic Apocalyptica. Nu sunt sigur că experienţa ”Bittersweet” poate fi descrisă la modul general, cred că diferă de la individ la individ, şi singurul mod să afli cum ţi se pare este să o ascultţi.

Pentru că nu vreau să mă axez în totalitate pe Apocalyptica în acest articol, las celelalte piese pentru nişte posturi viitoare.

O altă colaborare foarte reuşită, pe care eu personal am ascultat-o zile la rând cu mici pauze, este ”Broken”, colaborare între Seether şi Amy Lee. Original, piesa nu conţine vocea solistei de la Evanescence, dar ulterior Seether au făcut un cover pe propria piesă, featuring Amy Lee. Rezultatul a fost foarte reuşit, vocea artistei potrivindu-se aproape perfect cu vocea solistului de la Seether. Oricine a ascultat vreodata Evanescence, ştie foarte bine de capabilităţile vocale deosebite ale solistei. Păstrându-şi tenta Seether, piesa îşi schimbă sunetul datorită vocalistei şi, după părerea mea, mesajul este mult mai clar.

Ultima piesă pe care am s-o menţionez în acest articol este ”Lily was Here”, colaborare între Dave Stewart şi Candy Dulfer. Ştiu că nu sunteţi obişnuiţi cu astfel de exemple din partea mea, dar piesa era prea ”sexy” să nu o menţionez măcar. Ascultaţi cu încredere dar aveţi grijă că piesa provoacă diferite stări ”spirituale”. La ce să te aştepţi altcumva de la o combinaţie între chitară şi saxofon?

De-a lungul articolelor trecute, am mai enumerat diverse piese de genul, diverse ”featuringuri” cum ar fi ” I Don’t Care” (Apocalyptica & Adam Gontier) sau în special ”Lucky” (Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat).

Acestea fiind spuse, vă las să ascultaţi în pace piesele precizate. Sper că v-am sporit curiozitatea cu acest articol, şi vă las cu mioriticul Numa’ Bine!

What a Thanksgiving day! Dim sum, Ninja Assassin, throwing up (the not so fun part…), raspberry cheesecake and being with the person I’m in absolute love with.

This is the first time I’ve spend Thanksgiving away from my family, but I’m glad it turned out the way it did. I was supposed to spend Thanksgiving with Chris and his extended family. But since his parents suffered from H1N1 and Chris had H1N1 last week, they decided not to go. I was supposed to go with Veronica, but it turns out, Chris was feeling well enough to come here instead. (His parents told him not to go to the family party, because if someone got sick, they’d be the one to blame…). So what did we do? We stuffed our faces with yummy food, watched an awesome movie, and lounged around in bed. (I think for the first time I ate myself to sick or I got mild food poisoning…Whatever I ate was not sitting well in my stomach…)

So my first time away from my family? I feel a little guilty about it, especially because my dad is away on business in Taiwan and China. But since I worked the day before and I have to work tomorrow and Saturday, my mom and I decided that I should just stay here.

Oh, and I have the best boyfriend in the world. He got my Christmas gift early – a digital camera! And we also went to eat some Dim Sum, watch Ninja Assassin (which was an awesome action movie, by the way), and we drank Icees. But that’s not the part that makes him so amazing. He thinks that I’m beautiful and sexy, and that he’s not afraid to tell me that he loves me. He kisses me and doesn’t think it’s weird that I need to throw up when I’m feeling sick (that…is another story. My ex-boyfriend thought it was unnatural and disgusting when I threw up when I was sick. He said it must be because I have an eating-disorder…but that’s not the point.), and he loves to spend all day lounging in bed and kissing me. He makes me feel alive and beautiful and vibrant. The best part is, I love how I can be myself around him, and he loves every bit of me. He loves me. He is my world. I thought I knew what love was, but I was wrong. I am so fortunate to have found him. He has taught me what love is, and if this is what it is, boy I could get used to it.

It’s only been a little over two months, but I felt like I’ve known him for a very long time. Normally, my gut instinct would tell me to run, but there’s something about him that makes me stay, and to let go of all of my inhibitions. This time, my gut instinct telling me stay was the right thing to do. I’ve tumbled into love and everything feels so right. I’m finally to a point in my life where everything is falling into place nicely. And all of this, being in love, being with the person I’m meant to be, has made all the heartbreaks and tears worth it.

There are so many things I am so thankful for in my life. My family, my friends, an incredibly sexy boyfriend, my kitty, my job, my boss.

My boss is an amazing woman. I am so lucky to be working a job that I love and, what’s even rarer, with a boss that I adore. Especially at this time when the economy is in the shits and especially, at my age – not very many people my age, who have just graduated college, have a job they love. She is an incredibly strong, artistic, talented woman and she treats everyone with the same respect she would want for herself.

I feel a lot better than when I did earlier this evening. And I looked around and my room is a mess. I think a little cleaning is in order here. If not tonight, then at least tomorrow.

So tomorrow’s agenda?

Doctor’s (just to be safe, I’m going to see if I have H1N1. I’m saying I’m NOT sick, but my body could be telling me otherwise…), working out, work, and a girls’ night in with just me, my kitty and Taylor Swift.

Oh, and did I tell you that one of my voice students wants to sing Miley Cyrus’ Party in the U.S.A.? I think I’ll pass but I have to listen to it.

Picture of the day:

♥ Thanksgiving Dim Sum – 11.26.09 ♥

P.S. It’s the season for Pumpkin Scones, Peppermint Mochas, fireplaces and cuddling! ♥ I’m excited!!!!

royal flush diamonds and joker

royal flush diamonds and joker

ace,card,flush,gamble,game,hand,poker,table,cards,poker  table,hand of cards,best,bet,betting,casino,chance,cheat,fluke,gambler,gambling,hold,luck,lucky,money,play,raise,sneaky,stakes,straight,texas,win,winner,background,cheating,destruction,bizarre,suspicion,success,criminal,thief,dishonesty,agreement,evil,adult,board,las vegas,chip,beverage

For all my talk about being lucky I’m starting to realize that I kind of need myself to by lucky because I don’t handle disappointments very well. I’m getting better at not letting myself sink and sulk, but damn it’s a struggle! I would really like to just let myself be a little down, just for a little bit and nt be so freaking cheery about everything but it’s not really a choice. Sulking just a little bit is my highway to hell, and I’m not in the mood to be a depressive.

But it’s hard to constantly try to be strong when all one wants to do is lean on something.

Bittersweet kisses

as much as everyone else in america
but i dont.

Its just another day to me.
The only difference is i dont have to go to school.

Everyone else gorges them selves with food.
they spend the day with family they see a few times a year.
they talk about old times and times to come.

I… eat dinner with my family.
my mother, father, and sister. [like i dont do that every day anyways]
because 1/2 my family is Canadian and they celebrate it in October and the other 1/2 is scattered all over america.
though this year bryant is coming over..
and the whole time
we sit at the table making awkward conversation.
i act like a want to watch the parade but in true reality i could care less.
my mother is freaking out all morning like this holiday really matters.

i guess. the difference is im thankful for what i have everyday. i dont need one hackin day to think about it . it should be something we do all year long. most people don’t even put any thought into the THANKS in thanksgiving. its more like Nonthankfulgetting. haha if that makes sense. its all about the food. Isnt it just gluttony? lol isnt that a sin? wtf. idk. thanksgiving is pointless and i hate it.

PBIO’s new office decoration include putting here and there this tough and resilient species of Dracena Sanderiana.

The Chinese say Lucky Bamboo improves Feng Shui and creates a space where you feel safe and more energized. It brings luck, fortune, and prosperity to your loved ones – not  to mention the beauty and color it brings into your home!

I missed a class in accounting two weeks ago because of work and for some reason I forgot about studying the that chapter. Right around 8:00 on Sunday night, I realized that I had forgotten to study that entire chapter for the exam. That was right after I remembered that I had an exam in the first place! Of course, out of the three chapters on the test, the one I didn’t study at all was the most complex. Making things even more complicated was the fact that I had another assignment due by 12:00 on Sunday night. By the time I finished my assignment, it was nearly 10:00. I attempted to brush over the other two chapters so that I could focus on the one that I hadn’t even looked at, but when I finished studying at 1:30am the next morning, I didn’t feel remotely comfortable with the two chapters that I studied. As for the chapter that I concentrated on; I really didn’t feel like I knew any of the accounting procedures that would be on the exam.

Because I couldn’t call in to work to study, I knew I was screwed. I ended up leaving work about a half hour early with the hope that I would be able to learn something in 30 minutes of cramming. Five minutes after I sat down, two minutes after I realized I was even more screwed; the instructor walked in with the exams in hand. He announces “I’m sick, this exam is going to be a take-home”. Talk about L-U-C-K. Even with an open book at home, it took me 3.5 hours. I would have failed this thing miserably.

QVC CEO Mike George

Then back in October, we couldn’t believe it when a sharp-eyed poster on QVC’s jewelry forum said that upscale jewelry designer Stephen Dweck, whose chunky gemstone masterpieces are featured in Neiman Marcus, was on the No. 1 home shopping network’s schedule. THE Stephen Dweck?

We checked QVC’s program guide ourselves, and there it was: Dweck was doing a lower-priced jewelry line for QVC called Dweck’s Diamonds. His Neiman Marcus pieces didn’t even have diamonds. The high-end stuff is made with semi-precious stones.

Also in October, we were checking the press releases on HSN’s Web site when we saw the network had struck a deal with one of the most famous and elite fashion houses: Badgley Mischka, designers of bejeweled gowns for the red carpet and celebrities.

We’ve written bits and pieces of this during the past two months, but we thought we’d tie it all up in a tidy package for Thanksgiving: There has been a sea change in the home shopping world, prompted by the disastrous economy and the crash of the luxury market.

Yes, home shopping networks have seen their sales hurt by the economy, like everyone else. But they claim they are still managing to steal market share from brick-and-mortar retailers. In fact, QVC is making a full-frontal assault on them this Black Friday, with 28 hours of special products and programming stunts starting Thanksgiving night.

The consumer press will continue to mention “cubic zirconia” in every story it writes about QVC or HSN, oblivious to the fact that some of the most esteemed names in fashion, jewelry and cosmetics — brands you find in Saks, Bloomingdale’s and Neiman Marcus — are plying their wares on the aforementioned home shopping channels.

ShopNBC CEO Keith Stewart

Male journalists are blind to this. You still have the nerds at Gawker, a snide Web Site for the navel-gazing media, chiding HSN for selling “useless crap.”

If you have ever seen how male journalists dress or their fashion and style sensibilities, you will realize that you can’t expect them to know names like Badgley Mischka, Judith Ripka, Robert Lee Morris, our fellow Montclair, N.J., resident Bobbi Brown, Yves Saint Laurent, Smashbox, Lancome and Dweck. And these brands and artists don’t represent “useless crap.”

Luxury-good makers are hurting, and they need to make up their loss in sales. So they are turning to outlets like QVC, as CEO Mike George explained at a recent Liberty Media conference, as outlets to distribute new lower-priced lines to the masses. George cited fashion designer Vivienne Tam’s QVC alliance at the meeting held in Manhattan by his parent company, Liberty.

“This complete implosion of luxury retailing in America has caused all these folks to rethink their business model,” George said.

And that means partnering with QVC, HSN or ShopNBC.

As we said, it will take the consumer press years to figure out that home shopping channels are distribution powerhouses that have undergone a transformation, in part because of the infllux of talent like a Morris, who does couture jewelry for designers like Donna Karan and RLM Studio sterling silver jewelry for QVC.

The Big Three — QVC, HSN and ShopNBC — are aggressively trying to broaden their audience and potential customer base, those who don’t normally watch any of these three networks. That means the three are actually “programming” the channels, doing “shows” that have entertainment value, not just product shilling, so they will attract non-QVC or non-HSN watchers.

We remember once interviewing a QVC exec years ago and asking what the network’s ratings were. He said ratings were irrelevant: QVC was only concerned about how many products were sold in an hour.

HSN CEO Mindy Grossman

That’s a totally different tune from what we heard recently from QVC’s George, and from the strategies that HSN CEO Mindy Grossman and ShopNBC CEO Keith Stewart have initiated.

Like traditional TV networks, the home shopping players want viewers to “sample” a QVC or an HSN. These new audience members, hopefully, will then see products that they want to buy.

For example, singer Natalie Cole recently did a live concert on HSN to promote a new Holiday CD set she is selling on the channel. If you’re a fan, you might tune in to HSN to see her, and then actually decide to purchase her CD. Artists such
as Jose Feliciano have also performed live on QVC.

QVC alum Stewart on a recent third-quarter conference call pointed out that actress-entrepeneur Suzanne Somers, who came to ShopNBC from HSN, had succeeded in attracting new viewers to Minneapolis-based ShopNBC because she was “entertaining.” And these networks want new eyeballs.

And home shopping networks’ capacity to reach millions of consumers and do fulfillment of orders has not been lost on magazine publishers, celebrities or cable’s reality TV stars. With circulation falling, women’s magazines such as Lucky, Allure, Glamour and Self are partnering with HSN to sell subscriptions.

And stars have seen the light. In a recent interview in Oprah Winfey’s O magazine, Joan Rivers, who’s had a jewelry line on QVC for almost 20 years, told O she was on home shopping when “nobody except dead celebrities was doing merchandise on TV.”

Nowadays, it’s hard to find a celebrity or TV star who doesn’t have a home shopping line. Even Madonna was interviewed on HSN when she was selling her children’s book.

Here’s a partial list:

Paula Abdul, HSN, formerly “American Idol,” Fox

Rachel Zoe, QVC, “The Rachel Zoe Project,” Bravo

Isaac Mizrahi, QVC, “The Fashion Show,” Bravo

Padma Lakshmi, HSN, “Top Chef,” Bravo

Ramona Singer, HSN, “The Real Housewives of New York City,” Bravo

Susan Lucci, HSN, “All My Children,” ABC

Carson Kressley, QVC, “How to Look Good Naked,” Lifetime Television

Dr. Robert Rey, ShopNBC, “Dr. 90210,” E! Entertainment Television

Tori Spelling, HSN, “Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood,” Oxygen

Paula Deen, QVC, Food Network

Rachael Ray, QVC, “The Rachael Ray Show,” syndication

Ingrid Hoffmann, HSN, Food Network and Univision

Home shopping is a big business. ShopNBC is the also-ran in the group, but in the third quarter Stewart made some nice progress cutting its losses. Sales for the Big Three were all down, but down less than previous quarters.

And we are not talking chump change for these networks. The three home shopping channels generated $8.3 billion in net revenue in 2008. QVC domestic posted $4.9 billion, HSN netted $2.8 billion and ShopNBC had $568 million.

Even with revenue still slipping this year, for the first nine months QVC had revenue of $3.308 billion; HSN had net sales of $1.4 billion; and ShopNBC had $372.6 million in net sales.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am alive I swear! I’ve just been ill or busy, or you know, lazy! Need to work on that last one, but I have been ill and tired and sleeping and busy.

I have a job again! At a cinema yay! I randomly checked online if they had anything while checking out film times. If they do its only for a few days and I think I saw the online application form on the first day it went up. So I applied, and a few days later I got a phone call.

Now, remember, I’ve been ill! I had a bad throat for about two weeks and for about three days I didn’t have a voice at all! So odds are, that’s when a potential employer will phone me (he emailed some, phoned others, why couldn’t he email me?). I can’t even really remember what I said, I had to whisper and say, “sorry I have a sore throat!” but it was fine and then I had an interview a few days later. Luckily my voice came back by then, phew and in the interview he remembered I had no voice and laughed, but it meant he remembered me so that’s good? I don’t think he really remembered that many people since it would have been a few.

I was nervous for the interview, in my last job I didn’t really have an interview, and I’ve only had them for college and/or uni so there were a few people there too. I hung out with my ex flatmate before we went, and probably annoyed him by asking if I looked okay and presentable about a hundred million times I swear. I saw my friend and her boyfriend just before I went in when I was on my own so that was good.

Anywho he told me I’d find out by the weekend, but I got an email days before that so I emailed him back and oh induction the week after and hello I have a job! It was all pretty fast (to me anyway) considering I was just looking there on the off chance so I feel lucky. The places I applied to via handing in CV’s didn’t contact me at all. Except one place. I handed my CV in a mere hour or two after my friend at Paperchase. She got the job I didn’t. Then they phoned me weeks after since they needed someone for Thursdays and I could do them except for once a month (uni) and the manager said she’d get back to me and she didn’t and it went to someone else after they put a new “Jobs available” sign out, grrr *shakes fist*.

I’ve done Indcution, where three other guys were starting. I got on with one really well, the only one my age 19, there was a 21 year old who was nice but a bit quiet and a 24 year old who…well, he’s okay but… the way he was acting seemed like he’s a tricky person to get along with and work with, but I haven’t seen him since.

We were all scheduled to work on different days or same day different shifts and I was first, on the weekend. The weekend after New Moon (which I’ve seen and might write about soon) opened, and omg the people! Everyone kept saying to me “You picked a great time to start work here” to me. It was maaard.

I’ve done two shifts and half the time I spend cleaning the screens with others and you only have a little time to do that between film showings, and the other half standing at gate collecting peoples tickets and telling them where to go. Its all right. I am either boiling or freezing depending on what I’m doing and I should have till training on concessions next week, eeek. Oh I did screen checks the other day and I am so glad I’ve already seen New Moon, because it was showing at the same time in about five screens. So each time I’d walk into the next screen I’d see a section twenty or so minutes ahead of the last screen I went into.

I get on with the people I’ve seen, mostly different people but its only been two days and there’s one girl who was there for both and she’s really nice. Let’s see what else. I’ve only had a few annoying/angry people and I get others to help! Oh some young girls wanted to see a 15 and they didn’t have ID on them and got reaaally aggressive and luckily the security guard was there so I sort of shifted backwards haha. The radio scares me! I cut my hand in the middle of my palm on my right hand and I’m right handed >.<. I’ve only seen one person I know and he’s like a friend of a friend there. There’s a cute guy working there (who I’ve been served by before) but I still haven’t met him yet. A girl I know from college works there and I talked to her nan, and a girl from my school works there. She messaged me but she only works one day a week and I haven’t done that yet.

Perks of it are good. Moula! For one, I get more than I did at the Supermarket so that’s good, also once a month I get free tickets which I can give to family and friends (only when its like not that busy). Free promotional shirts you can keep after a film comes out, 25% off food and drinks and staff previews! I can see a big film the night before it comes out and invite two people if I want. Other good things are they have staff nights out etc, and there’s a lot of people my age as opposed to the supermarket, so it’ll be easier to get on with people. Not that I didn’t there, but I felt really young sometimes and I was usually on my own working, when I’ll only be on my own sometimes at gate.

Well this is a massive post! I’ll wrap it up with another (probably giant) paragraph saying I’ll try to write more, like every day for the rest of this month. I’ve been meaning too but life got in the way. Also my last post was about Nanowrimo and well…. I’m waaay behind on that. Damn you life, I want a free copy of a finished novel that I wrote! That doesn’t suck like it will do waay more if I try to catch up now. I’m working tomorrow, Friday, Saturday and Monday so not much time to catch up in the next few days really. I might write more about work another time, and oh yeah! Christmas is a month away today!!! Can you believe it! Yay I love Christmas and not just for the presents =D

Krijgen schapen ook grijze haren als ze een gezegende leeftijd bereiken? We hadden het Lucky moeten vragen. Die zou het écht wel hebben geweten. Maar – snik – Lucky is niet meer. Haar levensgeluk is uitgeblust. Na ruim 23 jaar blaten en mekkeren! Een recordhittegolf werd het oudste schaap ter wereld fataal. De ooi uit Lake Bolac in de buurt van Melbourne in Australië werd bijna een kwart eeuw geleden verstoten door haar moeder. Boerin Delrea Westgarth voedde het toenmalige lammetje toen eigenhandig met de fles totdat het beestje de graasgerechtigde leeftijd bereikte.

Lucky (midden) met haar bazin. (c) AFP/Herald Sun.

Blaten naar de herdershonden
Lucky – wat een toepasselijke naam voor een schaap dat twee keer zo oud wordt als een normaal wollig boerderijdier – stond sinds 2007 als recordhouder in het Guinness Book of World Records. In de 23 jaar en zes maanden van ooi Lucky (een kruising tussen een Polwarthschaap en een Dorchesterschaap) bracht ze 35 nakomelingen ter wereld. Ze schepte er een vreemd genoegen in om aan het hek gaan staan blaten. Haar bazin verklaarde dat ze dat deed om de herdershonden te pesten. Het ging de laatste maanden nog steeds erg goed met oma-ooi. Totdat het dier last begon te krijgen van de hittegolf die de Australische staat Victoria al een tijd plaagt. Lucky kreeg last van opvliegers en zakte in elkaar. Ze is nog heel even verzorgd in een schuurtje waar ter verkoeling airco’s waren geplaatst. Maar het mocht niet baten. Lucky – artritispatiënt en dringend toe aan een kunstgebitje – blies haar laatste adem uit. Boerin Westgarth begroef de ooi onder haar lievelingsnectarineboom, bij het hek. De boerin en haar man Frank zijn bedroefd én opgelucht nu Lucky het tijdelijke voor het eeuwige heeft ingewisseld. Het verzorgen van het bejaarde schaap werd bijna een fulltime baan voor de twee agrariërs-op-leeftijd.

OMIGOSH!!  THESE TWO BOYS REALLY DO LOVE EACH OTHER AND NEED TO STAY TOGETHER, DON’T YOU THINK?  PLEASE CROSSPOST FOR THEM!  THEY NEED HELP BY DECEMBER 12!!   DO ANY OF YOU THINK GOOD MEWS COULD TAKE THESE TWO IN?  THEY JUST TOOK IN THE FOUR THAT WERE LEFT ALONE IN THE HOUSE FOR ME, SO I CAN’T ASK MORE RIGHT NOW!

IF YOU CAN HELP, CONTACT:

Angela

Angela_Parmer@HomeDepot.com

Message from Angela:

Lucky and Tigger are brothers and best friends, as you can see. Their owner is going through a bad divorce, and is being forced to move into a situation where she can’t take them along. Even if she could, her job requires her be gone 3-4 weeks at a time, and now that she and her soon-to-be-ex are no longer on good terms, she would have no one to take care of them. But since she can’t take them along, that point is moot…

Lucky and Tigger are approximately 5 years old, neutered, combo tested (negative), and vaccinated. They’re sweet, lovable, and obviously want to stay together.

If you can provide the right home for these boys, please contact Angela (below), who is trying to help their owner in her time of need.

**They must be re-homed no later than December 12**