We're expecting Ben and Marie to arrive this evening. We're hoping to be on the road by 9 a.m. Our destination will be Saco, Montana, to visit Will & Betty. We're told that dinner will be waiting for us. There may not be an opportunity to get Internet access there; it's a very small town and we already know the motel does not have wireless service. If you need to contact us, our cell number is 403-891-7783.

Happy Birthday, Dawn! Glad we could be together on Sunday evening for dinner, even if the meal helped us to clear out our fridge!

Drop in to follow our progress ...

It does not take much for one to be humble, even by saying "thank you" when one is complimented makes one humble. One must also never be brag about himself or his accomplishments. One can be humble yet confident at the same time. Self-confidence refers to the self-assuredness in one's personal judgement or capabilities. There is a fine line drawn between having sufficient self-confidence and having too much self-confidence. Confidence is attractive. Arrogance is obnoxious.

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The rain ceased as abruptly as it had started in the morning. That saved me the trouble of bring an umbrella to school. We've got a few free periods now that three of our national papers are over but the class is just too blatant that carrying out revision is kind of impossible...

I understand that school work and the upcoming JC1 Promotional Examination are stressing you out but do remember to take some time off to relax and unwind. Engage yourself in some physical activity - running, stairs climbing etc. If you are lazy to get out of your house, it's okay. A few sets of simple conditioning will do. Trust me, it helps. Take a break from all that studying, grab a skipping rope and start skipping! If you do not have a skipping rope, fret not. Get your mother's bamboo poles (make sure you ask for her permission before you take them). Two of those. Grab two other people; your parents, siblings, maids, friends, anyone! And start Pagawa Tinikling-ing! Sweat it out!

Do you know that when you engage yourself in physical activities, your pituitary gland and hypothalamus release a hormone called endorphin? Endorphin relieves stress and tension and makes you feel high! (Correct me if I am wrong) So do remember to take regular breaks in between studying and relax yourself.

I know that JC life can be very demanding at times. (I was once a young lively student like you! Wasn't such Aunty until I starting working here) Teachers may expect more from you as you are the cream of the crop. (Hmm, yummy!) Parents may expect more from you as they have sacrificed so much of their time, effort and of course, money to put you through education. But it all boils down to how much you expect from yourelf. Expectations. What do you hope to achieve by the end of this year? Next year? Your life? Set realistic short-term targets and start working to achieve them one at a time, bearing in mind your long term goal(s). Do not set very high expectations that you know you can never achieve given the limited amount of time. For example, if you got an S for Chemistry in your Mid-year Examination, do not be unrealistic and hope to get an A in your Promotional Examination. You are no superhero; no superman, no superwoman. At the same time, do not such such a low expectation that you know you will be able to achieve. Put yourself and raise the bar. Remember, always aim for the stars. If you fall, you will land on the clouds.

Have you been sleeping late because of your late-night studying? Well, Aunty cannot tell you that studying at night is bad because different people are better at studying at different times of the day. You may be better studying at night while someone else may be better at studying in the day. Whatever it is, do bear in mind that your body needs sufficient rest. Yes, you may push yourself a little (Reach for your limits!) but do not compromise your health over your studies. Have sufficient sleep, drink plenty of water (The weather is hot nowadays yeah? Global warming!), eat plenty of fruits and vegetables and exercise. Sleep is important. Lack of sleep will turn you into a zombie. Too much sleep and you know something is wrong with you when you ought to be studying for your Promotional Examination instead of sleeping.

Well Don't-Want-To-Get-U-and-S-for-Promos-Anymore, I hope that my advice will be of help to you to survive through this tough period of time. Do share my advice with your friends who may be suffering from the Singapore Student Syndrome, or SSS for short. Don't want to get anymore S, do we? 

AUNTY Agony

I was just thinking to myself the other day about this particular narration:

The Messenger of Allah SAW was seated in a gathering with the Sahabah when he looked towards the entrance and said, “A man of Paradise is coming.” At that instance someone who seemed to be very ordinary entered the mosque where they were seated. A Sahabi was curious as to why the Prophet said this, so he followed the man to his house. This Sahabi told the man that he was a traveler and stayed as a guest. For three days the Sahabi saw nothing unusual. He did the same things that the man did and the other Sahabah did. So he finally told the man what the Prophet SAW had said and asked him what was so special about him. The man thought for a long time and said, “There might be one thing – before going to sleep every night I forgive everyone and sleep with a clean heart.”

Allah says that He will forgive people quickly if they forgive each other quickly in this life. This got me thinking and I came up with something. Since its Ramadhan (and therefore the best time to implement or do something good), plus if you ever want to change something, you should start with your own homes right? So I told my family during iftar last night that I want to start a goodnight routine where we'll just say sorry and to forgive everyone before we go to sleep. It seems really harmless and no big deal now but I wonder how we'll carry that out when someone is angry with the other. Hehe. Especially when its my parents! That'd be fun to watch. Heehee. ;)

So yes, things have been good & rosy at home so I don't think it'll be a problem. But yeah, perhaps you all should start that too, if you haven't already and I'm the only one left behind woops.

Till again, have a blessed Ramadhan!

Oh yes, do forgive me for the times I've ever offended anyone.

Lincolns doing great. Hes been growing almost everyday and its awesome to see. Andrea and I were able to have a great weekend with him. Not much to report about what medications hes on because for the first time since his birth Lincoln is IV free! Hes no longer a human pin cushion.

On Saturday we got Lincolns bassinet its super cute. Andrea and I just cant wait to swaddle him up and put him to sleep in it. Lincolns super loving nurse Amber gave us one of his diapers so we could take a photo of it and compare it to a new born's diaper. Its funny to see how much smaller it is because hes looking so much bigger already then when he was born.

Andrea and I are doing good. We had a very relaxing weekend spending time watching movies with our friends Kaylee and Chris and catching up with my brother Brett and sister in-law Sam. They moved here recently but we haven't been able to see them much as Lincolns a real attention magnet.

Anyways here is the good stuff (the pictures) hope you all enjoy them.

Andrea at Lincoln's bedside.

Mommy holding in his soother

Look at that cute little foot!

He will be that big before we know it

His Lovely new Bassinet

The Good:

• The wireless works everywhere so far
• It worked well at the beach in direct sun light
• I read more of both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal
• Ordering new books is quick and easy. For example as we sat on the ground at the airport in DC
• I take it everywhere because it is small and light
• Good battery life with the wireless off

The Bad:

• Images from the NYT and WSJ look horrible
• The navigation through the papers is so so. I would like to customize how I read through the paper not the way they have it programed.
• The back cover comes off from time to time when it is in the leather case

If I had to chose between my backberry and the kindle. The kindle would win.

A propósito de la gran estafa que se perpetrará en Chile el 10 y 11 de diciembre, pensaba el otro día en qué conciertos yo consideraría justo pagar 230 mil pesos. Me ilusioné con lo imposible: Jacques Brel de vuelta en el Olympia; Elvis Presley, fresco después del servicio militar, en su Comeback Tour; James Brown en el Apollo... Pero de todos los sueños, el mayor y más invaluable puede ser haber tenido al frente uno de los shows de la Motortown Revue, esos paquetes en vivo que armaba Motown durante los años 60 y que ofrecían una noche completa con sets sucesivos de, por ejemplo, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Stevie Wonder, The Marvelettes, Martha & The Vandellas, The Supremes y The Temptations. Eran shows de promoción y precalentamiento para debutantes que nunca encontraron más entusiasmo que en 1965, cuando se montaron por primera vez en pequeños teatros de Inglaterra. Los británicos aplaudían ferozmente lo que los propios estadounidenses aún sometían al filtro del racismo.

Esa gira a Gran Bretaña sería la última que ocuparía en vivo a los Funk Brothers, el grupo de músicos de sesión que acompañó el grueso de las grabaciones de ese sello de Detroit, y cuya historia se tributa en el documental Standing in the shadows of Motown, mi reciente panorama para la tarde del domingo. Tan carismáticas fueron las estrellas vocales de esa disquera (piensen en el encanto inigualable de Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson o Diana Ross) que el mundo siempre quedó en deuda con un mayor reconocimiento a los instrumentistas que acompañaron sus grabaciones. Músicos que se pasaron gran parte de su vida en el subterráneo de la compañía (allí estaba el mítico "Studio A"), improvisando las líneas instrumentales que luego darían forma a "What's going on", "My girl", "You really got a hold on me", "I heard it to the grapevine", "You can't hurry love", "The track of my tears", y joyas igual de encandilantes. Pocas bandas participaron en la cantidad de hits que acumularon los Funk Brothers, y, sin embargo, pocos melómanos saben sus nombres o reconocen sus caras. Yo misma ignoraba por completo la fina labor de composición que va relatando el documental a través de las voces de estos famosos desconocidos. El pop ha intentado volver una y otra vez a la magia irrepetible que conjuró Motown durante los años 60 y 70, pero, como dice uno de los entrevistados: "Cuando se aplauden estas canciones se le da el crédito a todo, menos a los músicos. Se habla del estudio, del productor, del tipo de madera del piso, del clima, del contrato... El secreto de Motown eran los músicos".

Músicos como Robert White, el guitarrista que levantó líneas de guitarra tan famosas como las de Keith Richards (piensen en el inicio de "My girl" o el solo de "My cherie amour"). O el pianista Earl Van Dyke, apodado "el gorila del teclado" y a quien Stevie Wonder reconoce como maestro. Todos estos genios, algunos muertos y otros frente a la cámara, relatan con sencillez sus recuerdos de gloria y también de miseria, como cuando, "al final de alguna noche en un bar, conseguir su pago podía resultar tan desafiante como la música que recién habían interpretado", según cuenta un admirador.

En enero próximo se cumplirán cincuenta años de la fundación de Motown, un sello independiente que para mí concentra el espíritu de lo que entiendo como la seducción definitiva y misteriosa con la que puede atraparte una buena canción. Vendrán reportajes, conciertos y tributos de todo tipo. No sé si quiero ver demasiado. Hay embelesos que prefiero no disectar, y a los que aún me entrego con plena y asumida irreflexión.

Visto en X-Men Origins: Beast, disponible esta semana para los que tienen cómo:

El Conquistador secuestra a los padres de Henry McCoy, luego conocido como la Bestia de los X-Men, y los usa como garantía del mismo modo que los españoles usaron a Atahualpa en la escena del cuarto del rescate. Sólo que Mike Carey se cruzó y nos mandó a conquistar por Hernán Cortés. Después de haberle dado vueltas al tema de la última película de Indiana Jones hasta encontrarle el sentido sería hipócrita rasgarse las vestiduras por una imprecisión histórica que podemos atribuirle a la demencia del villano (que alega haber pertenecido a la tropa de Cortés) o a que Carey no quería complicarle la vida a los lectores metiendo a Pizarro (imagínense en Newsarama comentarios como "who is this Pizarro guy? a new villain?  rotfl"). Pero que Atahualpa era azteca, eso no se perdona. Tenemos Wikipedia en múltiples idiomas para eso.

O oitavo. Depois de sete tentações ou dos simples pecados. Para os que voam e deixam os outros 7 para trás. O oitavo que pode ser o primeiro. 

 - oito, dois, três, quatro, cinco, seis, sete, um, nove e dez. Na forma e contexto que quiser. Porque posso. Porque fomos nós que criámos. Porque podemos fazer diferente. Basta querer. 

Oito de sorte, de esperança e de crescimento. A cabeça? sempre apontada ao céu.

Design e foto, LP

Fui a uma galeria para admirar uns quadros de um pintor muito conhecido. Fiquei extremamente encantado com a presença de inúmeras personalidades, de uma disposição pouco regular dos quadros, do burburinho em torno das obras e do cinismo da maioria dos apreciadores.

A arte é algo precioso que nos pode, ou não, transportar para mundos e realidades paralelas. Pelas telas, percorremos caminhos e escrevemos estórias. 

O que assisti hoje foi um desfile pouco agradável de pintura abstracta. Vi o artista a desculpar-se com  pinceladas, considerando-as abstractas. Uma exposição de mau gosto. Telas brancas salpicadas.

"Ah é muito avant garde, muito minimalista e moderno" - diziam. Vi telas totalmente desequilibradas. Algumas sem tempo de secagem, umas três, pintadas na noite anterior, ou melhor, salpicadas.

A arte serve pra isso: para valorizar os que não têm talento e se escondem atrás de um pincel salpicado ou de um abstraccionismo tão vago, que chega a não mesmo existir.

Parem de considerar tudo como arte. Há parâmetros para isso. Não vou pegar no Mosteiro dos Jerónimos e pinta-lo de amarelo, só porque me faz lembrar o meu patinho de borracha. Não é arte é capricho. E desde quando o capricho é arte? (exemplo claramente exagerado)

Sentido, è isso que faz falta à maioria dos novos artistas que andam para aí a surgir.

Este texto devia estar ilustrado com uma fotografia minha, mas peço desculpa não o fazer. Não tinha uma abstracta, só tinha daquelas tiradas ao acaso.

As pessoas sempre se aproximam e criam grupos baseados nas afinidades e interesses, como cinema, videogames, esportes, etc. O problema da nossa seleta comunidade é o preconceito dado gratuitamente por outras parcelas sociais menos informadas e, inclusive por nós mesmos, quando nos definimos em jogadores casuais ou hardcore, em sonyfanboy ou nintentard. Como já dizia Oscar Wilde, “definir é limitar”.

O sistema já tenta reverter esse quadro. Além de fazer dos seus consoles centrais completas de mídia, como exemplo do leitor de Blu Ray do PS3, criam jogos com conteúdo cada vez mais adulto e elevam seu trabalho a um patamar artístico. Há até mesmo diversas carreiras no mundo gamer. Arthur Bobany, em seu livro Video Game Arte, destaca que “atualmente a indústria dos games se tornou tão grande e profissional como a do cinema”.

Nós, jogadores, também precisamos fazer nossa parte. Mostrar os videogames como meio de aprendizado e até mesmo como uma ótima forma de interação social é um belíssimo começo. Fazer papel de idiota obcecado não. Vestir-se como um personagem em plena rua ou viver para os jogos eletrônicos, esquecendo-se do mundo, retarda todo o progresso feito. E vocês, o que acham? Os games ainda são tão marginalizados em nosso país?

Fernando Portelada é acadêmico de Letras e Jornalismo. Mora no Maranhão e é o mais novo autor do Lápis e Papel.

Na een avondje robbentocht kwamen we terug in de haven en werden we overrompeld door dit prachtige uitzicht! :D Heerlijk om een zomerse dag zo te eindigen, bij een zonsondergang in de haven!

“Que bom despertar de manhã
Dar de cara com a vida
Sem pensar se o tempo atrasou
Ou se está de partida
Ser apenas parte de tudo
No compasso do mundo
Ter o coração sempre atento
Compreender...
Que a vida também
Quer brincar de viver !!
Lírios, rouxinóis e as maçãs
Nos abraços do dia
E a felicidade de ser
Uma eterna alegria...”

Paulinho Tapajós e Mu Carvalho

Ik zal haar eerst even voorstellen :-) Dit is Corine, ik ken haar van een oppasbaantje waar we samen op hebben gepast. Leuke meid en ze vindt het leuk om model te staan! We hebben er nu volgens mij 5 of 6 shoots opzitten samen :-D Altijd gezellig!
Het is dan alleen soms wel moeilijk om iets nieuws te bedenken omdat je al zo vaak samen hebt gewerkt..
Hier had ik me bedacht me dat ik nog een stuk doek had die we zouden kunnen gebruiken..
Het satijn viel erg mooi op de foto, vind ik, en ben wel tevreden met het resultaat.
Jammer vind ik de schaduw bij haar neus, waardoor de huid daar ook heel anders lijkt..
Het satijnendoek trek ik in iedergeval nog wel eens vaker uit de kast :-)