Nature and Animal Conservation

 

     Preserving species and their habitats is important for ecosystems to self-sustain themselves. Yet, the pressures to destroy habitat for logging, illegal hunting, and other challenges are making conservation a struggle.

Visit : http://www.globalissues.org/article/1…

 What is Biodiversity ?

 

    The variety of life on Earth, its biological diversity is commonly referred to as biodiversity. The number of species of plants, animals, and microorganisms, the enormous diversity of genes in these species, the different ecosystems on the planet, such as deserts, rainforests and coral reefs are all part of a biologically diverse Earth.

   

    Appropriate conservation and sustainable development strategies attempt to recognize this as being integral to any approach. Almost all cultures have in some way or form recognized the importance that nature, and its biological diversity has had upon them and the need to maintain it. Yet, power, greed and politics have affected the precarious balance.

Does it really matter if there arent so many species?

Biodiversity boosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no matter how small, all have an important role to play.

For example, a larger number of plant species means a greater variety of crops; greater species diversity ensures natural sustainability for all life forms; and healthy ecosystems can better withstand and recover from a variety of disasters.

And so, while we dominate this planet, we still need to preserve the diversity in wildlife.

Who Cares?

  Biodiversity boosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no matter how small, all have an important role to play. For example, a larger number of plant species means a greater variety of crops; greater species diversity ensures natural sustainability for all life forms; and healthy ecosystems can better withstand and recover from a variety of disasters.

And so, while we dominate this planet, we still need to preserve the diversity in wildlife.

Loss of Biodiversity and Extinctions

It is feared that human activity is causing massive extinctions. From various animal species, forests and the ecosystems that forests support, marine life. The costs associated with deteriorating or vanishing ecosystems will be high. However, sustainable development and consumption would help avert ecological problems.

 

  

Back in September, I took a Saturday stroll through Portobello Market and came across a man wearing posters, campaigning for animal rights. I wrote a post about the little amusing thing that happened when I walked by. The gentleman who I wrote about found my blog at random two months later and commented on that same post, “I am the man who wears the posters. I came across your lovely remarks by accident…. etc.”

I asked him if he would like to write a guest post on my blog about his experiences campaigning around Portobello for the last two years, but he declined, saying it wouldn’t be particularly interesting. Instead, he sent me a photo of himself in action at Portobello Market.

I love how, in a city of 7 million, it is still possible to connect with strangers.

I tried….I swear I try to avoid posting on the Palin Saga….since she has NO experience past sign checks in Wasilla….she should NOT have the air time or camera time that she is receiving……but every time I try to move on past the manure pile….something always drags me back into the toilet…..

OMG!  The circus that was the last presidential election was not enough…..now we have Ms. Palin is on her whirlwind book tour….and then there is this:

Sarah Palin has suggested Fox News firebrand Glenn Beck could be someone she’d consider as a running mate if she makes a bid for the White House in two years.

“I can envision a couple of different combinations, if ever I were to be in a position to really even seriously consider running for anything in the future, and I’m not there yet,” Palin told the conservative news agency Newsmax.

This is just too rich to ignore…..do you recall the Rev. Wright circus?  If so, can you imagine the field day people will have with the crap that Beck spreads?  If you think that Palin has NO experience at being an effective politician, then Beck should scare the crap out of you.

She carves the spotlight and will do what she can to remain in the glow of media scrutiny…..media bites on whatever she says and reports and such and then she gets even more air time…..but is there a solution to the Palin saga?  You betcha! (he said with a wink)……IGNORE HER!……she will go away…when you give her the air of respectability you keep the teabaggers (HA…cannot say that without the sexual snicker) in the forefront of the political battle…they are a fringe……and the media does everything they can to marginalize any fringe movement….that is except the Palin Theater…..

For the sake of America’s political future……IGNORE HER!

Here is a video of two famous adoptees

At times I don’t understand myself. I’ve hardly gotten any sleep in the past week, and I suspect that is part of the reason I am having horrendous mood swings. I’m getting three to four hours a night, and whatever nap I have during the day (and those, I have noticed, are becoming shorter and shorter and harder to come by, and do little to provide real rest).

I came home in a bad mood. I worked with good people, but I was too tired and it seemed to drag by (again, almost no sleep) and I found myself standing around in a daze during the short periods without orders, where generally I would be cleaning or stocking more things. I had a stomach ache because all I had was a chocolate bar and a few cookies, and of course to make that better, I bought a sundae at work right after I got off my shift.

I walk into my room, and there’s my cat, meowing and meowing to be fed. So I do that, even though I’m screaming at him to shut up. He doesn’t like whatever canned food I gave him, and begins to stalk off after sniffing it, but stops short. I realize he’s about to have a hairball. Terrific. 

Yesterday he shit in the corner of my room for no reason. He’s just irritating me beyond all belief, and I have to make sure my bed is made, because if it is even a little bit lumpy with blankets he’ll go to the bathroom right in the middle of it. I’ve already made the mistake of getting into bed and finding that cat shit was smeared all over the blankets. That’s a real great feeling when you’re exhausted and only going to get four hours of sleep anyway. I end up having to get all of my blankets together and throw them in the wash at 11 at night and take a shower and dispose of my clothes.

So he’s having his hairball. Well, something goes wrong. He starts convulsing, and actually falls onto his back. His legs go straight out and he twitches. I called myself Lady Apathy once for a reason. I watch, sighing in annoyance. I don’t even move forward to see what’s going on or help him out. For some reason it doesn’t matter and I wonder briefly if he’s going to choke to death while I stand there, contemplating the vomit I’m going to have to clean up.

Events like this are scary to me because of the lack of feelings in me. It’s one of those rare times where the apathy and I are face to face, in a strange sort of agreement. I have no fear of death, yet I know that in a true crisis I would likely do nothing. I’d be disinterested in helping rather than being too frightened to do so. The numbness is so strong there is no inclination to help. I’m tired and don’t feel like it; that is the sum of my feelings. 

I’ve had moments like this with my mother. I won’t go into detail; I have enough left in me to know to be ashamed of my inaction. I was always fascinated by psychology when they try to justify inaction in an emergency. Generally it is thought to have to do with social conditioning, fear, and most often confusion. Many people have trouble identifying an emergency, oddly enough, and in large groups the herd mentality runs rampant. If no one reacts, the chances of one person being different from the crowd and helping are very low (keep in mind this percentage is dependent upon how many people are present; smaller groups tend to be the worst, interestingly). If there is only one person, however, the chances of them getting involved are much higher.

My reasons, again, have nothing to do with fear or confusion. I’ve seen plenty of things die, and did my best to save them—back when I could feel. A family dog once almost choked to death, and I reacted accordingly. My dad nearly had a diabetic seizure when he came home from work once. I immediately figured out that something was wrong when he stumbled and couldn’t speak without stuttering. He came up the walk pale and shaking, bracing himself against the wall when I opened the door. I grabbed handfuls of the sugariest cereal in the cupboard and shoved it into his mouth. 

Things happen, we react. But what happens when you lose the inclination, and it has nothing to do with any of those other things that might prevent others from doing something? Does it make you inhuman? Does it make you evil? I don’t know anymore what to think of this. I don’t believe in good and evil, regardless of what I say. I do what my gut tells me and as far as general ideals go, my choices could go either direction or even somewhere inbetween. At the end of the day, I have very few morals that I strictly abide.

My cat  keeps choking for a short while, but finally stops on his own. I haven’t moved, because he’s got some of his mess on the floor through the doorway I have to go through. He gets up and nearly falls, but begins walking away. He ended up trailing puke all over my bed. I picked him up immediately and put him in the cage and went to do the laundry. In fact, I didn’t think about it until I sat down to type this. I also threw a packet of ranch dressing at the wall. It splattered everywhere. This was after I discovered there was nothing I wanted to eat. Apparently, at the time, the best reaction I could think of was making things worse.

I really don’t know what my problem is. I want to get rid of my pets. I want to quit my job. I want to die. Everything seems to culminate into this existence I don’t want to face or deal with. Everything is too much of a bother, nothing is interesting, and all I can seem to draw out of myself is more pessimism. 

I can see it clearly; don’t think that I can’t. This is full of negativity. I skip over any bits of my day that might have been alright and target the bad, going into much more detail. I consider it to be a character flaw of mine—not to say that I can’t stop—I am perfectly capable of being optimistic just like anyone, but for whatever reason it feels too difficult and I don’t even want to try. I’m lazy and weak and don’t want to make an attempt. I want to just flip the switch and forget it all ever happened. I want my life to be a bad dream and my death to be the waking. That’s what it is, really, I want my suicide to be a quick fix for my problems, a fix for having to be here at all.       

I’m a selfish bitch, and for some reason that doesn’t seem to bother me half the time. Maybe because deep down I see everything as a means of pleasing oneself. I don’t know if that is even slightly objective or another view brought on by my pessimism, but it is slightly comforting. It’s selfish to leave, maybe, but it is also selfish of others if they were to be angry about me not sticking around. It goes both ways, really.

I had considered spending the $20+ for Sarah Palin book just to see where she was going with her “philosophy”.  I was saved the decision by my son-in-law who bought the book yesterday as it went on sale for the first time.  He said that he wanted my opinion of it before he decided whether to read it or give it as a Christmas gift…you know kinda like that fruit cake that makes the rounds….

The review is for “Going Rogue” by Sarah Palin……..

Sarah Palin…the former beauty queen, former news person, former major of a small town, former governor of Alaska and former vice presidential candidate….damn!  That is a lot of former and now she is a writer and according to right wing news person, Rush Limbaugh, she has written the best policy book ever……the best policy book written was one of the reason I wanted to read it……I am a policy analyst and junkie so with that recommendation I just had to read it…..

The 400+ pages was easily read….it was in the style of a 5th grader which means that anyone with half a brain can grasp what she is trying to say….which should make it a best seller and popular book……

But what does she write?  I now know that Todd without a shirt makes her randy……I know that she hates the media….which was something that was pretty well documented but she hates them to the point of taking them fishing with the hope that they would get muddy and s”slimy”….I now know, at least according to Palin, that the losing efforts on the GOP’s part was nothing to do with her…that she was the only winner they had…..I now know that the McCain campaign tried to control her eating habits……that Schmidt and Wallace were working against her and made her do things she knew was not in the best interests of the campaign…..her grasp of policy was nowhere in the book….she talked about the stim plan as if it was the bailout…..so the one policy she tackled was wrong…..

All in all her book is an attack on ther McCain organization and a call to arms for the mindless….there is nothing of substance in the book….which means that it will be a hit for this country loves mindlessness….that could explain the popularity of FOX and reality shows.

Okay back to Limbaugh…..he said the it was the best policy book written…..I thought I missed something and read it again….yes again…it is a very easy book to read when youi have nothing of substance to worry about checking…..the second time I was less impressed than the first time…..Limbaugh?  He is either getting paid to promote her book or he is a moron……I would like to believe that he is the first option and not the second……If anyone was looking for a policy book like other politicians, then you will be sadly disappointed.

The best thing I can say about the book is that no one will get a headache trying to keep up with her thinking….or if you suffer from insomnia….I prescribe “Going Rogue” and sleep like a baby.

I’m not sure why, but we have hit a record for daily views today!  Many of the views were of our old, and very old posts. 

If it was due to our WE Blog viewers, we thank you.  Some day you may even contribute to the coffers of our socialist causes.  Thank you very much. And, I might also add, f*ck you very much…

IggyDonnelly

“É claro que a vida é boa
E a alegria, a única indizível emoção
É claro que te acho linda
Em ti bendigo o amor das coisas simples
É claro que te amo
E tenho tudo para ser feliz
Mas acontece que eu sou triste…”

Lee.

From this video you will see that Dolly is quite the IE afficionado.
Who would have believed it?!

I’m beginning to think I ought to disqualify myself from having an opinion on software and hardware – were it not for the fact that I have a significant number of friends/colleagues/associates who share my views.

Where to start? The essence of my problem with software is that the only thing I can usually find with which to respond to most of the applications and upgrades that I’ve been looking at lately is, “Why?”

Maybe I’m moving in the wrong circles or something. I haven’t found anyone who is willing to identify themselves as a member of the particular subset of the population that is purported to be demanding the feature bloat, and in particular “user experience” enhancements, that are the justification for so many new products and upgrades.

Microsoft Word is a good example. Word 2000 was a good, clean wordprocessing application. It mostly did what was expected, and most controls were well identified and easily found. I resisted upgrading to Word 2003 until 2005. There is nothing about it that I like better than the 2K version. I’m baffled by the idea that swarms of little icons everywhere can make life easier. Thankfully 2003 left the menu structure reasonably intact. I’m now under pressure to upgrade to 2007, as more of my clients acquire new systems with it pre-installed. I truly dislike Word 2007 (and all its little Office friends). Everything I used to do without a moment’s thought in 2K requires avoiding or disabling wizards and other incredibly clever but pointless “user friendliness” features.

There’s a rant about operating systems living in here too, but I really can’t bring myself to get started on it. After a resurgence of Mac as a possible best solution to a requirement I have, it has again, and hopefully finally, been dismissed – Mac is fluff, expensive fluff. Windows 7 makes me feel nauseous – there’s nothing about it that I want, but I’m going to be forced to embrace it as support lives of prior incarnations end and updated applications cease to be supported. My response when I found it necessary to let Vista into my world was, “Well, it’s not as painful as I expected.” Even so, it has a lot more opinions on what I should be doing and how I should be doing it than I find pleasing. Yeah, I know – making computers accessible to the masses. Hmmmph. Never before have I encountered ordinary people speaking about “their computer tech” in the same way as one might speak of a doctor or dentist – an unpleasant necessity.

The iPod Touch is quite possibly the biggest timewaster since the internet. I’ve now looked at a lot of apps. “Cool” is the operative word. Most apps have a look and feel that makes you go, “Wow, that’s cool!” Free, $1.29, or even $6.49, it’s hard to apply normal buying sense. I now have gigabytes of applications on my iPod that I will probably never run again. Actually, most of my iPod use (apart from playing MP3s) is out of guilt at having such an expensive piece of gear lying around doing very little. Congrats to the countless “developers” who are enjoying their 7.5 minutes of fame.

My primary work applications are InDesign, Photoshop and Corel Draw. I used to diligently upgrade each time a new version was released. InDesign 1 to InDesign 2 was a superb forward step – basically from completely useless to a justification to change from PageMaker. I’m currently using CS2 (InDesign 4/Photoshop 9). So far nothing has happened to put me under pressure to upgrade. There’s nothing in CS4 that I want. I’m curious about all the workgroup/workflow enhancements that have kept appearing with each new version. Does this really reflect a real-world usage of these product?

AVS/Entrainment products are going the same way. The “ambient sounds with binaurals” genre seems to be flourishing. Again, cool, cute and nice are adjectives that come to mind. But who cares? I have no interest whatsoever in spending my time listening to syrupy slush. NPx/MWS remain the premium products, and they are the only AVS/entrainment apps I can be bothered with any more. It will be interesting to see how NP3 is received. As anticipated, it is the user interface that has undergone the most conspicuous changes. I have made it clear that I have found aspects of the MWS interface hard to get my head around. I now know that my head and that of the Transparent product creators are substantially dissimilar. I can find everything in NP3, I can make NP3 do everything it’s supposed to – but I do not find the experience intuitive or enjoyable. I had thought, when I launched this blog, that I would have a whale of a time using and reviewing all the latest and greatest – it really hasn’t worked out that way at all – I’m finding embarrassed silence to be the fairest response to most things I look at.

Whocaresware extends to hardware too. I get no pleasure out of trashing products. My quick looks have been my best effort at finding the good in products whilst acknowledging flaws/limitations. In some cases that’s been easy. In other cases, I have found myself wishing I had never met the product. None of the machines I’ve used has been a complete dog (iLightz comes incredibly close!) but most bring nothing whatsoever worthwhile to the party. Again, I wonder if I’m relevant in all this. As far as I’m concerned, 90% of the AVS products out there could be erased from the face of the planet with nothing lost.

Whocaresware goes way beyond computers. I am finding myself overwhelmed and saddened by the proportion of the economy that exists to serve completely fabricated and/or illusory markets. Humankind does not need even a small fraction of the crap that is being produced. I know people need to make a living, but has existence really become so pointless? Innovation? Mrmmph. Aaargh - this is heading into another rant – confusing spending with GDP and employment with productivity.

I’m going to crawl back under my rock again now. I can see I’m going to have to have a major rethink about what I’m doing and why I’m doing it. I enjoy AVS and I’d like to contribute something meaningful, but I fear that the market has already been overwhelmed by opportunists – how is anyone to identify value?

Cheers,
Craig

Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, after joining estranged songwriting partner and band’s guitarist Joe Perry onstage, announced to a breathless world that he’s not leaving Aerosmith and the band is staying together. Says Tyler:

“New York, I want you to know I’m not leaving Aerosmith”

Before the  nostalgia-loving rock and roll fans of the venerable rock outfit could breath a collective sigh of release, guitarist Joe Perry dashed everyone’s hopes leaving fans with little to do but dream on.

According to Perry’s claim, Tyler still wants to take some time off while the rest of the band wants to keep working.

My thoughts? Who cares. Aerosmith hasn’t done anything worth listening to since 1975 and a break-up would be inconsequential to the music world. The band’s music is better left to oldies and nostalgia stations that can overplay 35-year-old gems like ’Walk This Way’, ‘Sweet Emotion’ and ‘Dream On’ and keep them alive and (ir)relevant until the obligatory, over-priced reunion tour in about five years.

Now, where’s my ‘Get Your Ya-Ya’s Out’ album?

Julian Lechner is from Berlin. It would be difficult to say what he does, since he can do almost anything! But we’ll say he is a designer with many interests and abilities.He is currently living and studying design in Bolzano but this picture was taken at Domaine de Boisbuchet, where he is part of the staff in summer.
Iss Mein Junge is one of his latest works. A food-related blog. The best thing about it is that it is really food-related and not a food or a cooking blog. Don’t expect a boring aproach. it is intresting, adictive and very recomendable.

Julian Lechner es de Berlín. Sería difícil decidir a qué se dedica, porque hace de todo. Pero lo dejaremos en que es un diseñador con muchas inquietudes y habilidades.
Actualmente vive y estudia en Bolzano (Italia) pero esta foto se hizo en Domaine de Boisbuchet, donde es parte del staff en verano.
Iss Mein Junge es uno de sus últimos proyectos. Un blog sobre cualquier cosa relacionada con la comida. Y lo mejor es que de verdad es cualquier cosa y no un blog de comida o de cocina. Además le da un tratamiento muy casero y agradable que hace que lo que escribe parezcan saludables consejos de una abuelita. Es interesante, adictivo y muy recomendable.
.

He also answered a few questions:

And finally some performances he does explained by himself:

On the first picture I was trying to slow down people going for a run and telling them it’s forbiden from now on. It’s in London by the way and worked you quite well! And you know what, I had to do it because our task in university was it to act antisocial…On the second picture I am promoting a fictional metro system for Bolzano! Well, it’s very very unrealistic but you’ll never know… And the last picture shows a toy family staying in line and waiting… We were just trying to amuse some people on the local market in some small and boring italian town!
Y para terminar unas performances explicadas por él mismo:

En la primera foto intentaba reducir el ritmo de gente que había salido a correr, diciéndoles que desde ahora estaba prohibido. Es en Londres, por cierto, y funcionó bastante bien! Y sabes qué? Lo tuve que hacer por que era un ejercicio dela universidad: actuar de manera antisocial…
En la segunda foto estoy promocionando un sistema de metro ficticio para Bolzano! Buenom es muy irreal pero nunca se sabe… Y en la última foto se muestra una familia de juguete esperando en fila india. Sólo se trataba de entretener a la gente de un mercadillo local en un pequeño y aburrido pueblecito italiano…

+ info: www.hellojulian.com/ & Iss Mein Junge

Portei-me bem eu…

ou…

Queria tanto!!! ahaha.

Lee.

Hoje é daqueles dias em que o chefe não está na loja, ou seja não ha quase clientes e não se faz grande coisa…

Ou seja, vicio da net + som + limpezas gerais da loja (yap tem de ser) + Anatomia de Grey e séries + filmesinho secalhar + anhanço.

Outra coisa do relax para hoje:

Calmíssimo… Sim, eu gosto.

“This is my last chance to ever make it right
before they turn out every single light
and figure out that this is not my home
my mother warned me of people that would take advantage of my money and my grace
but she forgot to tell me i’m the same
and i’m the one to blame

and i was born to lay it on your back
cause i have chosen the sadness that you lack
but you won’t let me back into your heart

oh god my bed is empty
oh god my bed is empty”

William Fitzsimmons – goodnignht (2007) Download

William Fitzsimmons – The Sparrow & The Crow (2008) Download

Lee.

Lee.

Child should not suffer just because of frequently changing regulations in countries he stays or his parents’ actions caused by these changes. This is not his fault.

In legal sources like “Assistance in Child Custody Disputes and  International Parental Child Abduction” 

it is stated that: “After a passport has been issued, it cannot be revoked merely because the child has become involved in a custody dispute”.

The fact that child has been issued a passport two times already is proof of his identity, has social security number and card, and notices of entry/exit on boarders. In addition, mother possesses proof of his being with her all this time since he was a baby and they both are ready to take DNA tests to establish parentage. In addition, if investigated it would be easy to pull out mother’s fingerprints and signatures for comparison. During her stay in the USA she was fingerprinted twice (Grady Memorial Hospital and INS).

After all, the same source has it:

“In case of a minor, a “guardian ad litem” must be appointed by the court to be the actual party to the action because only adults can bring or defend family law cases. The guardian ad litem must be a person over the age of eighteen; usually minors ask the court to appoint one of their parents as guardian ad litem. When the DA starts a minor’s paternity proceeding, the minor does not need a guardian ad litem for the part of the case (e.g., child support issues) handled by the DA.”

“Once an individual reaches 14 years old, a minor may execute his or her own passport application, but must be accompanied by at least one parent to the embassy. At 14, he or she may solely sign the passport application.”

Finally, mother’s request is clear – to help arrange child’s future so that he does not suffer from disputes and is not left stranded helpless, without identity in a foreign country. She needs legal services to defend her child’s Human Rights and to clear his biography, once and forever make his life as happy as all the children on earth deserve.

Current developments

• The boy and his mother are stranded helpless in a foreign country from where the mother was planning to commence to her contract duties in a third country;  hence, the employment visa had been issued. However, due to the current situation she lost this opportunity.
• The Mother has no possibility to travel without the child. Currently they are temporarily supported through donations and charity from local companies and individuals.
• The Mother needs physical evidence for the US Consul to prove that names she had in the USA and one she has today are of the same physical person. However, the evidence can be traced in the USA (fingerprints, archive photos, copies of signatures, immigration case number, social security records, hospital test results), but the Consul stays adamant to give a helping hand.
• The Mother needs her immigration case information where the above proof is kept, but she has no access to these files and only US Consul does. However, she still keeps her I-94 visa extension form where her birth dates are identical.
• The Child’s education is discontinued for an indefinite time, no medical or other benefits or services are available for him, expired passport makes him subject for legal issues.
• The US Consul exercises zero attention and shows no inclination to help or give guidance in any way. Although he knows that it is just an issue of Human Rights to leave an unprotected child without any kind of identity, he does not want to be involved in the identity restoration process for the mother. Obviously there are some ways to solve the problem to save the child.

8 gennaio 1962:un borgo piccolissimo ancorato sulle montagne lecchesi viene acquistato con atto notarile regolare da un imprenditore italiano,il conte Mario Bagno.Il nome del borgo é Consonno.Il nome non cambia ma il paese si.E non sarà l’ultima volta.

Il conte “Amen”(soprannome ad hoc donatogli dai consonnesi)dopo le promesse fatte agli abitanti di rispetto per il paesino,inizia a demolire qualsiasi cosa capiti sotto il tiro delle ruspe da lui mandate e alloggiare gli increduli paesani in baracche prefabbricate.Il tutto per costruire un paese che tale non é,una sorta di villaggio fantoccio che verrà ribattezzato da tutti paese dei balocchi o la piccola Las Vegas della Brianza.

Si spianano boschi,si fanno saltare con la dinamite colline che oscurano la vista del lago e del Resegone.Le uniche cose che si conservano dell’antico borgo sono la Chiesa,il cimitero e la casa del cappellano.Al posto delle cascine sorgono un complesso sormontato da una cupola ed un minareto con rimandi architettonici all’Arabia,colonne sormontate da busti di faraone,tempietti greci simil rovina,un ponte pagoda ed altre bizzarrie.Viene costruito un albergo,chiamato Hotel Plaza.Appaiono cannoni e guerrieri giganti.Sulla strada per arrivare al paese un’entrata simil castello medievale accoglie i turisti.Si capisce che la via é quella giusta quando si incontrano cartelli con scritto “A Consonno il cielo è più azzurro” o “Consonno é il paese più piccolo ma più bello del mondo”.Di fronte al minareto,chiamato galleria del commercio,sorge un salone delle feste con un ristorante dove si fa musica dal vivo(e non per mazurke improvvisate,ci suoneranno Celentano ed altri importanti cantanti italici).

Nonostante la montagna mandasse i primi segnali di cedimento,con frane causate dal dissesto idrogeologico messo in atto dalla distruzione per costruire non supportato da un valido studio tecnico,e la stampa locale ponesse l’attenzione sulla tremenda storia di distruzione,baraccamento e bizzarria,il conte Bagno non si ferma.

Molta gente si reca a Consonno per fare festa e visitare la strana località che prende forma giorno dopo giorno senza un piano preciso.Ma nel 1976 la montagna che non ne può più dell’assalto compiuto ai suoi danni frana sulla strada costruita apposta per raggiungere comodamente il posto via macchina.E’ la fine.Tutte le polemiche e la situazione totalmente compromessa portano Bagno alla decisione di lasciare tutto com’é.E Consonno viene completamente lasciata al suo fato di diventare con gli anni una ghost town.Negli anni ‘80 l’eccentrico imprenditore apre nell’ex hotel Plaza un ospizio nel tentativo di non lasciare Consonno completamente vuota.Ma anche l’ospizio verrà presto trasferito in altra sede lasciando il paese con meno di dieci abitanti.L’abbandono del paese dei balocchi portò molti curiosi a scampagnate e giri turistici in quel luogo finché qualche intelligentone,seguito da altre miriadi di menti eccelse,non trovarono di meglio che iniziare mano a mano a distruggere tutto.Il colpo finale alle strutture,compreso l’ospizio ormai vuoto ma perfettamente funzionante e con gli arredi al suo interno integri,venne dato durante il rave party “Summer alliance” nel 2007.I partecipanti devastarono completamente internamente ed esternamente l’unica struttura ancora a posto di Consonno oltre a tutto il resto.

Ora le costruzioni della città dei balocchi,anche se fatiscenti,sono visibili recandosi in loco.Completamente recintate perché proprietà privata sempre della famiglia Bagno,verranno presto demolite per lasciare spazio ad un recupero della zona,come previsto dal piano regolatore che il comune di Olginate(Consonno ne é frazione)ha assunto.E così Consonno morirà  la seconda volta per rinascere una terza.Speriamo,questa volta,definitivamente.

Post scriptum:chiunque volesse raggiungere Consonno per una visita prima dell’abbattimento,può trovare tutte le notizie fondamentali anche per la propria sicurezza cliccando qui

http://www.consonno.it/home.htm

People keep saying “don’t worry about stuff” and that is very hard to do when all you have time to do is sit at home and think about shit! Days like this are a prime example, it’s raining yet again, I am in pain, my check is 2 days late and I never feel like I can do anything right.

Someone somewhere asked me if I liked Bon Iver. By “someone somewhere” I mean pretty much everyone. Everywhere. For the last year and a half, no matter where I am or who I’m with, if the conversation turns to music, the question “Oh, do you listen to Bon Iver?/ Have you heard of Bon Iver? Because I love them!” undoubtedly comes up. And over time, I have found it increasingly difficult to be polite and reply with a simple, “Nah, Bon Iver isn’t really my cup of tea.” Before I know it, words like “I would rather be shot in the face with a poisonous bullet as I’m drowning in a lake of fire than listen to Bon Iver” escape me and I’m left standing next to someone who looks like I’ve just insulted their mother and skinned their cat. It’s pretty freaking awkward, let me tell ya.

And before the super fan(girl)s get their panties in a twist and start accusing me of being one of those assholes who passes judgment on bands without ever giving their music an actual listen, you can all rest easy knowing I’ve endured not one but TWO godforsakenly long and boring sets by them/him in the last year. Talk about a flippin’ buzzkill. That’s time I can never have back, thank you very much. But anyway, I like to think my feelings toward these guys/guy are totally justified. And yes, I’m still not quite sure if they’re actually a band or if it’s just the one guy who likes to go by Bon Iver. While I understand a quick search on Google or Wikipedia would answer this question, I’m not that bothered so whatever.

Catalina, if you’re not that bothered then why take the time to even write this? Doesn’t that seem a bit hypocritical and, gee I don’t know, stupid? Yeah, perhaps it is just a bit stupid but it’s my blog and taking the time to write about my dislike for Bon Iver is my prerogative. As much as I can come here and wax poetic about all the wonderful music I love and want others to love too, I think it’s also acceptable to write about the music I don’t like quite as much or, you know, at all.  So just for the record, I don’t like Bon Iver and I don’t understand the hype. While this ramble won’t help the Do-You-Like-Bon-Iver-question-asking in everyday life, maybe the fact they/he have/has gone on “hiatus” will yield better results.

Here’s a baby dancing to “Single Ladies”:

1-2-3 awwwwww!

So I really didn’t sleep too well… or actually, it wasn’t that bad, but… I was supposed to sleep in today.  I woke up around 6am and I absolutely could not get back to sleep.  It wasn’t like I wasn’t tired, either.  I was very, very sleepy… but my body/mind refused to shut down.  I got up, got on Facebook for a bit, DID THE DISHES (yeah, really weird), and I watched Ong Bak II, which I discovered was available via VOD through Amazon.

Anyway, so here I am.

I’ve been playing around with some websites that are supposed to help get more readers for my blog (or any blog)… one of them is BlogSurfer.us.  The site says that their search will automatically pick up my blog if I mention “blogsurfer.us” in my post… so here it is for the third time: “blogsurfer.us”.  Let’s see if it works.

The funny thing about all this is that it’s not like I’m getting regular readers for my blog… they just generate views or something.  I remember back in March there was like one day when my blog got almost 6,000 views.  What the heck?  Six THOUSAND?  It actually really threw off my stats graph because it was such a huge difference from the other days, which were under 100 normally.

Aaaanyway… who cares?  Haha…

But hey, whether you have something to say or not, do me a favor and leave a comment to let me know you’ve read this blog post.  I’d really appreciate it a lot!  Oh, and if I don’t know you please let me know how you found my blog, too.  I find that kind of stuff really interesting!  Thanks!

I originally found this post at Debbie Renee Jewelry.  I just thought I’d post it here too!  Have fun!

You’re probably wondering why an online, handmade jewelry shop like Debbie Renee Jewelry would be showing you how to make some of their earrings, right?  I mean, if you can just make them yourself, why do you need us?

For starters, we love making jewelry and would like to impart to the world some of our creative skills.  Also, we figure it would be nice for our customers to understand the work that goes in to making our handmade beaded jewelry!

Here is what we’re going to show you how to make:  The Royal Purple Dangles (Buy them here!)

These handmade dangle earrings combine real shell beads, cute iridescent glass beads and metal crown charms.  While you will find this product to be pretty simple in structure, you will find as your make your own jewelry that the most difficult part is choosing what to make, from the colors to the design scheme to the supplies.

Before we start… here is what you will need:

1. Needle Nose Pliers:  This will depend on personal preference, but you can either choose needle nose pliers or flat nose pliers for this jewelry project.  The flat nose pliers are handy for closing wire and more heavy-duty tasks, but I prefer the needle nose pliers for most projects.
2. Round Nose Pliers:  The round nose pliers are ideal for jewelry making.  They help create loops when making handmade beaded jewelry.  They are necessary for almost every jewelry project you will undertake.
3. Wire Cutters:  The wire cutters will help shorten the ends of eye and head pins before you need to connect your bead to a chain, charm, etc.  These are also essential in nearly every handmade jewelry project.

Those are the tools that you will need for this project, now I will discuss the supplies you will need!

1. Eye Pins: Eye pins are used to thread beads and attach them to beaded chains, or in this case, to our crown charm.  They come in a variety of metals and colors, but always have a loop on one end.
2. Head Pins:  Head pins cannot make beaded chains like eye pins can.  They are used to create dangles or drops, such as the purple drop beads in our handmade earrings project.
3. Earring Wires:  The earring wires we will use for this project are called fish-hook wires, and are the most common type of ear hooks.
4. Beads and Charms:  For this project, you will need two focal piece charms (like our crown charms… these can also be larger and fancier beads if you prefer) two accent beads for placing above the focal piece, and two dangle beads that will complete the look.
5. Jump Rings: You may also need jump rings in your project, depending on your design.  These rings are taken apart by using two sets of pliers, such as needle nose and round nose, to pull either side of the ring apart at its opening (see picture).

All of these items can be find at any craft store, such as Joann’s, Michaels or Hobby Lobby.  Feel free to use your creative genius to pick out a great design!

Now we will begin with our project:

Step #1:

• Set aside your accent beads (that will go above your focal piece), two eye pins and your two earring wires.
• Thread one of the beads through one of the eye pins.
• Then, select an area about 1/4”-1/2” above the bead to cut the eye pin with your wire cutters.  The key to this step is to leave enough room on the eye pin above the bead to be able to make a loop with your round nose pliers.
• Once you’ve decided how much extra pin to cut off, cut the extra off (IF NEEDED).  Then, using your round nose pliers, bend the remaining eye pin above the bead into a 90 degree angle, so it is perpendicular to the rest of the pin. (The picture on the right does not include this step, but this really helps your loop be straight and even with its mirror loop at the bottom.)
• Once you’ve done this, use your round nose pliers to turn the top of your pin into a loop, just as the bottom of your eye pin looks.  When you do this, make sure you choose a spot on your pliers that is wide enough to make a perfect loop.
• Once you made the loop, be sure to leave it open a slight amount.  Then, take one of your fish-hook earring wires and place the loop at the bottom of the hook on to your open loop.  Once you’re done with that, close the loop your bead is on with either your round nose or needle nose pliers.  Make sure it is secure!
• Repeat with second bead, eye pin and ear wire.

Step #2:

• If your focal piece is a metal charm (like our crown charm), continue with this step.  If your focal piece is a large bead (or any piece that can be beaded like any normal bead) repeat step one with two eye pins and your focal piece.  Once you’ve beaded your focal piece, thread it onto the end of your accent bead (like in step one when you threaded it onto an earring wire).
• Set aside your focal pieces and some jump rings.
• In some cases, as with our crown charm, you will not need jump rings at all! Simple open up the bottom look of your accent bead using your round nose pliers.  Then, slip on your charm.  Close up the loop to complete this step.  If your charm is larger than our crown or otherwise needs a jump ring to connect it, continue on with this step.
• Open up a jump ring (as seen in the picture above) and slip on your metal charm.  Then, slip on the bottom loop that your accent bead is threaded on.  Once both are attached to the ring, close the jump ring by reversing the opening movement.  Be sure the closed ends are even!
• Your focal piece should be successfully connected!  If your charm hangs crooked, try adding another jump ring to your connection to manipulate the way it hangs.  Then, repeat with your second set of supplies.

Step #3:

• Now we’re going to use the skill we learned in step one, but substituting a head pin for an eye pin.
• Set aside two head pins and your dangle beads.
• Take one head pin and thread your bead on.
• Next, proceed as in step one by trimming, bending, and making a loop with the head pin.
• Attach your dangle to your metal charm.  You may need to use a jump ring for this!
• Next, close the loop, secure it with some pressure from your needle nose pliers, and you’re done!

Now that you’ve learned this simple style of earrings, you can go on to create more custom designs.  Stay tuned for more tips on making jewelry from Debbie Renee.

ORIGINALLY POSTED HERE:  How To: Make Simple Dangle Earrings

…

anda maluquinho e eu adoro… E adoro muito os comentadores de rádio e vir no autocarro a tentar perceber o jogo e os seus “É GOLOOOOOOOOOOO (ya meu despacha-te, golo de quem?) BENFICA BENFICA BENFICA!!!

desculpem-me.

Lee.