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We have just entered the “holiday” season.

The period of time between November 25th – January 3rd is a time when Americans truly shine at their very best!

You know the season I am talking about??

This is the CONSUMPTION season.

This year on “Black Friday” Americans spent over 10 BILLION dollars at our retailers.
QVC sales were up 60% from last year – over 32 Million bucks in one day
Ebay was up 205 from last year

How many of you heard the old standard..”Anyone want more turkey, ham, pie” on thanksgiving?

I was sure wishing that the Aggies had 11 more points!

Yes , this is a time when America really shows its true self! And the Battle cry is MORE!

Sandy Duncan said, “We’ve been raised to compete, to want more! More! More! It’s a way of life. It’s about greed.”

More rebates! More sales! More food! More time off! More football! More – MORE – MORE!!!

Donald Trump teaches us that “The point is that you can’t be too greedy.”

Yes, this is the time of year when we show our greed and our gluttony while we spend our gold…or our Gold Cards!

People were camped out for THREE Days in the Valley to get a few MORE dollars off a TV or Video game..or some other ESSENTIAL need.

People fought and argued over microwaves and toys in the aisle of American stores.

Gimme MORE!

All of this greed and gluttony is openly displayed for all the world to see….many are openly proud of their desire to spend more on their decorations, meals and gifts.

Consumerism – Commercialism gone BESERK!

And all of this greed and gluttony is so warmly embraced and encouraged in a time when we are SUPPOSED to be celebrating Thankfulness and the greatest gift ever given – The Gift of God to His fallen creation of His Son and the salvation He was born to die for!

I think the great philosopher Little Richard had it exactly right when he said “Greed has taken the whole universe, and nobody is worried about their soul.”

Cyclist Lance Armstrong said, “The riskiest thing you can do is get greedy. “

I encourage you to make this holiday season different.

Show the world that we can be better than the stereotypical greedy American.

Lets show them our good side!

Do you want MORE of something this year? Here is a suggestion:
2 Peter 3:18 “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” ESV

1. Get more Jesus
a. Worship more
b. Learn more
2. Get more like Jesus
a. Give more
b. Care more
c. Love more
3. Give more glory to Jesus
a. Live for Him and not you
b. Live for others and not yourselves

These three will be our themes for our Christmas Season Message Series. But I hope you will take this season seriously and begin making them the theme of your life.

Chevrolet has released more details about the Spark, its funky new baby car which is set to start a styling revolution at the traditional American manufacturer.

And before you ask: No, it can’t transform like the Autobot Skids in Revenge of the Fallen.

But the styling is almost unchanged from the Beat concept that inspired the character and debuted at the 2007 New York Auto Show alongside the Trax and Groove designs.

After positive feedback, an online poll between the trio and 1.9 million votes, the Beat was the clear winner, sparking the development of the car that will go on sale in Europe from February 2010.

Chevrolet targeted Europe as a crucial market for the Spark, with A-segment vehicles accounting for almost 10 per cent of the passenger car market, up from 6.5 per cent in 2008 and less than 5 per cent in 2005.

However Chevrolet insists the car has been designed for the world and will be sold throughout America, Asia and Australia, taking advantage of what is globally the fastest growing new car segment.

“We developed the Spark with the aim of giving buyers more mini for their money,” chief engineer, Jack Keaton said.

“We are proud of the high standards of fit and finish we have achieved. Spark is well-equipped with safety technology and, most importantly, it is highly maneuverable and a lot of fun to drive.”

That “fun” supposedly comes from two different multi-port fuel injection engines teamed with a five-speed manual transmission.

The first is a 50kW 1.0-litre four-cylinder unit producing 93Nm and which sneaks up on 100km/h in 15.5 seconds.

The larger 1.2-litre scores 10 extra kilowatts and 18 more Newton-metres, taking it from 0-100km/h in 12.1 seconds.

But that’s largely irrelevant.

What matters is efficiency and emissions, and with both engines consuming 5.1 litres/100km and emitting 119g/km CO2, the Spark will be clean enough, though already behind the benchmarks.

LPG variants of both engines will be rolled out in select markets starting with Italy in February, followed by France, Germany, Belgium and others, ensuring better fuel costs and emissions figures.

Making the Spark stand out without saying ‘look at me’ was the ambition of GM DAT vice president of design, Taewan Kim, who is responsible for the Spark’s ‘wheels-out, body-in’ stance.

“From the beginning, we wanted to have a revolution in size and design.

“Instead of the relatively common ‘cute and cuddly’ approach, we wanted Spark to be a little more aggressive, edgy, ready to pounce.

“It needed to look great from 360 degrees and it needed to generate excitement,” he said.

Kim said those cues flowed through to the interior which was developed simultaneously with the exterior to “create a singular, harmonious feeling”.

“The Spark’s interior repeats the body color in the instrument panel and the door trim, creating a fully integrated feeling of roominess.

“The motorcycle-style instrument pod mounted on the steering column makes for a sporty, high-tech look, which together with the unique ice-blue illumination and crystal jewelry effects on the control knobs, creates a very modern atmosphere.”

Standard tech inside includes a CD/MP3 player with AUX/USB ports and a built-in 4GB memory, while a 4.3-inch touch screen with satellite navigation is optional.

by Tim Beissmann

The LA Times has updated their social media guidelines for their journalists and there is the usual ruckus about everyone being too restrictive. Originally written in March of this year the update makes sense since the 8 months or so that have passed since the first take is like a lifetime in the social media world. In fact, the real story here may be that the LA Times hasn’t taken a ‘set it and forget it’ approach to their social media guidelines so please take note everybody.

Editor & Publisher and the Huffington Post are both talking about the updates. Interestingly enough, I heard about it from @michacha101 who is one of those people that I have no idea why I follow on Twitter but have gained value from doing so. Having said that (and given them a plug) I am learning more about the openness of the social media environment and the value that can be taken from it. Journalists drool over this kind of exposure and availability of information. Trouble is that for the sake of ‘objectivity’ or ‘political correctness or whatever there will always be rules and regs that restrict just how effective the medium can be.

The Huffington Post tells us that some of the LA Times policies include

Integrity is our most important commodity: Avoid writing or posting anything that would embarrass The Times or compromise your ability to do your job.
Assume that your professional life and your personal life will merge online regardless of your care in separating them.Even if you use privacy tools (determining who can view your page or profile, for instance), assume that everything you write, exchange or receive on a social media site is public.Just as political bumper stickers and lawn signs are to be avoided in the offline world, so too are partisan expressions online.

There’s a lot of detail that I am leaving out here and here’s why. I have to give the LA Times credit for being on the ball. You see the Huffington Post had only one comment but it was from Andrew Nystrom / L.A. Times social media guy / @AdNys who was completely transparent by saying:

Thank you for writing about our new Guidelines. For the record, here are links to:

– The full text of our revised Social Media Guidelines: http://latimes.com/socialmedia — our original Guidelines were issued in March 2009, before the WaPo or WSJ (and most other major media outlets) issued theirs.

– Our directory of 200+ L.A. Times(@lat¬imes)-rela¬ted Twitter accounts: http://latimes.com/twitter

– The full text of our 2007 Ethics Guidelines (currently under revision): http://latimes.com/ethics

Hope this is helpful. I welcome all feedback.

Nice move.

So let’s recap. As a result of the social media ‘world’ I got data from someone that was of interest, that was about information that can be seen both positively and negatively depending on your point of view but was ultimately made completely transparent by the source which ultimately reflects positively on them. Pretty cool.

So if you really think that people care about where you are walking and what you see it’s likely that you are just really enamored with yourself. What people really want is information that helps. Thanks to everyone who helped here.

Social Media Monitoring in Just 60-Seconds. Guaranteed!

Here’s another post, showing how WordPress.com is a quality product.Pages and posts are different. Learn the particulars.

WordPress.com has a great support area. Check it out. They even have videos!

Paper dolls are such fun to make and collect
There’s joy in every one.

more:

28/11Hats off to Hats!

28/11Paper Couture

28/11F-Art

28/11Những cô nàng ’sporty’ cá tính!

26/11Adam Lambert – ‘For Your Entertainment’ Music Video Premiere

24/11STAR Style: Vanessa Hudgens

23/11Red Carpet Style: Rihanna! Shakira! Carrie! Music’s hottest turn out to celebrate with glitz and glamour

23/11Những chàng trai sắc màu của mùa Xuân

23/1120 Awesome Footwear Fantasy Art

23/11Awesome and Beautiful Flower Art

from Flickr’s Calloohcallay

Since their invention, hats have come and gone as status symbols, uniforms and fashion statements as well as being functional sports and protective headgear.

Two generations ago, leaving the house without a hat was akin to walking down the street without shoes—and the style of a man’s hat told you a lot about the man who wore it. Well, times have changed, and aside from donning the occasional ball cap to shade the eyes, few men and women wear hats today.

But there is hope. Men’s hats, in particular, are beginning to make a comeback in certain ‘hip’ circles, and hat-wearing trendsetters are again being spotted on the streets.

Hats are ultimately cool, so let’s promote them here.

1

Blue pillbox hat, 1950s-1960s

This vintage blue pillbox hat, from the 1950s or so, is made of felt and has a long veil. It’s labeled Kline’s St. Louis

2

Vintage Linen Cloche Hat with Veil

3

Pink Sequin Vintage Cocktail Hat

Incredible vintage cocktail hat with an open top and veil

4

Red Merrimac Fur Felt Vintage Hat, by Yearrounder

Vintage fur felt hat made by Merrimac, with labels from Yearounder (Magically Smart the Year Round) and Vandervoort’s, a St. Louis, Missouri, Department Store. I believe this is from the 1960s, possibly the 1950s. It has grosgrain ribbon trim around the front half the brim, with a little flap of felt as an embellishment.

5

Sequined and Beaded Vintage Cocktail Hat

This vintage cocktail hat, covered with sequins and beads, was made by Lisette and sold through the Frank R. Jelleff department store, a Washington, DC, landmark for many years.

6

Fuschia Vintage Cocktail Hat, circa 1950s

This vintage cocktail hat from the 1950s is a bandeau style hat covered with fabric that is shaped like flower petals and comes in two colors and textures: hot pink with a shining, satiny finish, and fuschia (a more purplish pink), with a velvety finish.

7

1950s Pink Silk Platter Hat

From the 1950s, this vintage platter hat is made of pink, black, and white silk gathered into pleats around the broad, flat brim, with a smooth flat crown in the middle. The hat is held on the head with wire clips.

8

Navy straw vintage hat

This beautiful straw hat (1960s?) has a tall, flat crown and an asymmetrical brim, larger in the front than in the back. It has a wide navy blue ribbon with a bow in the front. The hat label is May-D&F, a Denver department store that opened in 1957 and closed in 1993 (another victim of Macy’s expansion).

9

Vintage straw hat by Winner

This straw hat, probably 1950s to 1960s, is a soft celery green with a green and pink grosgrain ribbon. It has labels of Winner Original and Vonnie’s, Little Rock.

10

Ab Fab Flower Hat

This lovely tall vintage hat has a small brim of champagne colored silk, a brown velvet ribbon, and then a riot of beige, green, cream, and pink tinged flowers. The flowers are only in fair condition, but I love the shabbiness! The hat has a label from Mr. Milton and the French Room, Stix, Baer & Fuller (a now defunct department store in St. Louis).

11

Vintage Cone Hat

This reminds me of something Myrna Loy would wear–different, absurd, divine. This hat, designed by Lecie, is cone-shaped with a flattened top. It’s made of ivory-colored chiffon, stitched in layers like stairsteps, and with two pert bows off to the side. I don’t know the age, but most of the Lecie hats I’ve seen have been 1950s or 1960s.

12

Vintage Psychedelic Turban

This vintage turban is made of black velvet and a brightly patterned lame fabric–red, pink, turquoise, yellow, green, and black, woven with gold metallic thread. I’m thinking this is from late 1950s to 1960s.

13

Vintage Saks Fifth Avenue Fur Felt Hat

This lovely, from the late 1950s to 1960s, is 100% rabbit fur felt and just gorgeous.

14

Pink Pillbox

This pretty little pillbox hat from the 1950s is made from a lovely bright pink, ribbed fabric. It has an open top decorated with fabric strips, ending in a bow in front. A pink veil with pink chenille dots completes the confection.

15

Vintage Champagne Pillbox Hat

From the stylin’ 50s, a gorgeous pillbox hat with velvet bow, a velvet brim that extends across just half of the hat, a veil, and a “sunroof”–a hole in the top of the hat covered with mesh. The tag reads, Styled by Coralie (a noted and highly collectible hat designer of that era).

16

Vintage Mr John bobbing rose hat

This hat is by Mr. John, one of the millinery glitterati of the last century. He designed hats for movies (including Gone with the Wind), for Dietrich and Monroe, even for Wallace Simpson and Jackie O. A fascinating character. The hat too is hilarious–though Mr. John did even more outrageous ones in his day. The rose is in the front of the hat and bobs as you move your head.

17

Black velvet plateau hat

This plateau hat from the 1950s is made of black velvet with a velvet bow and rhinestone pin at the front. It has two velvet-covered prongs on the underside to hold it on your head.

more:

28/11Paper Couture

23/11Red Carpet Style: Rihanna! Shakira! Carrie! Music’s hottest turn out to celebrate with glitz and glamour

23/11Collection: Tyler Riggs for H&M Spring 2010

22/11Adam Lambert & Kris Allen: Billboard Boys

22/11Red Carpet Style:Heidi Klum

22/11Rob Pattinson: Oh, Baby, What a Cutie!

19/11Style: YOSUKE Boots

19/11Style: Work and Play

19/11Winter’s Tomboy Style: Preppy Cardigan with Skinny Jeans!

19/11Collections: Victoria Beckham Spring 2010

from Flickr’s Calloohcallay

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From brown paper, toilet paper and tracing paper to old magazines and newspaper, this series is a nod to the sheer ubiquity of paper in urban life, and an indictment of its wanton waste.

But a little imagination and some assistance – in the form of gum tapes, raffia string, aluminum foil, cling wrap, egg trays, bubble wrap and last but not least, trash bags �” go a long way in transforming rubbish into wearable art, a truly modern artefact, or what we like to call, paper couture.

With paper, you can scrunch it up to create crinkle effects, as well as twist, braid, weave, pleat and fold to achieve astonishing and remarkable shapes, details and texture.

In everyday life, many people treat paper thoughtlessly, mindlessly. There is some poetic justice then that recycling and rescuing used paper demand hard work and incredible thought. Ashburn Eng and his design assistant spent 2 weeks conceptualizing and experimenting with the designs and materials, and another 364 hours to complete the outfits. Each of the outfits were painstakingly put together through multiple fittings, piece by piece of recycled paper, commanding the attention to detail worthy of fashion’s best.

Photography / Soon Tong

Fashion & Creative Direction / Ashburn Eng

Model / Weronika H (Ave. Management)

Hair & Make-up / Chris Ruth

Text / Joyceline Tully

Assistant Designer / Shanna Matthew

more:

28/11F-Art

23/1120 Awesome Footwear Fantasy Art

23/11Awesome and Beautiful Flower Art

“Học kiến thức phải giỏi suy nghĩ, suy nghĩ, lại suy nghĩ. Chính nhờ cách ấy tôi đã trở thành nhà khoa học”

Here’s a good foundation on which to start:  the 2009 Dieter Rams exhibit catalog, “Less and More,” will be back in print this month. It’s surprising there hasn’t been a good publication on his work readily available for years.

Clarity.

Gestalten, publisher of Less And More

Vitsoe bio page

I’m incredibly broken right now. but the cry of my heart is brokenness. [weird, huh?]  I want to be broken more. I want to be more Christ-like. I need Him like a hurricane. To tear my walls down.

I want to be broken. I want the thunder, wind, and rain of God to come crashing down on me. I want Him to break me and mend me. I want Him to demolish me and make beauty out of the pieces. I don’t want to have anything but Him to cling to.

And this isn’t because I’m addicted to pain or anything. In fact, I hate pain.  I hate pain. Emotional, physical, and spiritual. BUT I love God. And I’m willing for Him to break me. I want Him to break me. I want to be molded by Him. I want His perfect love.

I realize the weight of this prayer. It is intense. It shouldn’t be something I’m asking for lightly. And it isn’t. I don’t want to be an agent of Coop. I want to be an agent of God. I need God to be my focus, not others or myself. I don’t want anything but Him. But I really do want Him. And I really want Him to break me so He can break me in to who He wants me to be. I want Him to give me His eyes, His heart, His ears, His love. I feel like I’m clinging on to too much. To a very negative self-image. To pain.  To hope in things besides God. To ambitions. To grudges. To wounds. To bruises. To memories. To lost friends. To broken relationships.

I want to be broken and renewed. I want God to come in like a hurricane. I want to see Him more clearly. I want to be able to love Him more deeply. I want Him to fit in my heart where He belongs. In my God-shaped hole. I want to be broken and healed. I want to be freed through brokenness. I don’t want my will. I want His way.

And if You are the war
Let me be the casualty
Til Im Yours alone

He can see what’s going on soooooooooooooo much better. I want to be broken in accordance with the plans he has for me.

shatter me and mend me,

coop

Tuberculosis infects 12 more sixth-formers at a school in Northamptonshire taking the total number of cases to 15…. From BBC News. Full story

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