Cave pearls
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Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
Happy Place
Happy Place
Our lab loves to hang out on our dock every night...it's too cold to swim, but he knows it's almost Summer.
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Chicken Burger with Beetroot & Goat's Cheese
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Monaco Grand Prix: Jenson Button hits out at safety following Sergio Perez's horrific crash
Monaco Grand Prix: Jenson Button hits out at safety following Sergio Perez's horrific crash
Jenson Button reacted to Sergio Perez’s heavy crash in qualifying for Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix by saying it was a “pity” it took such incidents to spur improvements in safety to the famous street circuit.
Critical: Jenson Button (right) with Red Bull drivers Mark Webber (left) and Sebastian Vettel (centre) Photo: GETTY IMAGES
By Tom Cary,, F1 Correspondent in Monaco 6:56PM BST 28 May 2011
Perez was taken to Princesse Grace hospital after his 130mph crash into the safety barriers at the Chicane during qualifying on Saturday.
Sauber’s Mexican rookie escaped with concussion and a sprained thigh but will definitely not race on Sunday as he is kept under observation.
On a day when Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg was lucky to walk away from a similar accident, safety was uppermost in drivers’ minds.
For Button, both incidents prompted memories of his crash at the same spot eight years ago which also left him with concussion and out of the race.
David Coulthard also had a memorable accident after losing control at one of the fastest, bumpiest points of the track - a downhill stretch following the exit to the tunnel - while many recalled Karl Wendlinger’s near fatal crash there in 1994, just days after Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger had been killed.
Wendlinger recovered after being placed in an induced coma although his career never did. Former team owner Eddie Jordan believes organisers should now look at that section of the track.
“It’s a tough place to crash,” agreed Button, who will start Sunday’s race from second on the grid.
“Safety has improved a little bit but there’s more work needed. If you have an issue there you are a passenger.
“It’s downhill, it’s bumpy, you lock the rear wheels and you’re in the sidewall.
"You then lose wheels, which loses the braking and you’re running on the car’s belly.
“You’re a sled and the car always aims straight for the barrier. You come off the wall and it pushes you in that direction.”
“Wendlinger had a horrific accident there. When I had my accident they moved the barrier back but we need to take action now and make a big push.
"We love racing and this is a special place but there’s no reason we can’t help safety in that area. “We’ll see what we can do. It’s not over yet.
"We need to look to see what has to be done for the future.”
Button added that his start on Sunday would be crucial to his chances of repeating his memorable win in 2009 after which he parked his car in the wrong place and ran down the start-finish straight to collect his trophy.
“We still have a very good chance of victory here,” Button said. “I need to get a good start and that side [of the grid] a bit tricky because it’s a bit off camber.”
“If I win I’m still parking it in the wrong place and running down the pit lane even if I get told off. That way you can enjoy it with everyone.”
sebastian vettel, roland ratzenberger, nico rosberg, monaco grand prix, jenson button, bull drivers, ayrton senna, david coulthard, mark webber, eddie jordan, fatal crash, rsquo, sergio perez, princesse grace, rear wheels, grace hospital, induced coma, safety barriers, button right, former team
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Champions League final 2011: I was told to keep Manchester United move secret, says Javier Hernandez
Champions League final 2011: I was told to keep Manchester United move secret, says Javier Hernandez
Javier Hernández has revealed for the first time how one of football’s most closely-guarded secrets has taken him from obscurity to the brink of Champions League glory with Manchester United.
Sharp shooter: Javier Hernez's unheralded capture by Sir Alex Ferguson was the culmination of a lengthy operation performed under a cloak of secrecy
By Mark Ogden 10:30PM BST 27 May 2011
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Hernández, aka Chicharito (Little Pea), is expected to complete a remarkable first season in English football by lining up against Barcelona at Wembley on Saturday as United aim to secure a fourth European Cup.
Thirteen months ago, the Mexican’s £6 million arrival from Chivas de Guadalajara, just hours after United's Champions League quarter-final exit against Bayern Munich, was greeted with bewilderment and apathy by a United fan base distracted by the green-and-gold movements against the club’s owners, the Glazers.
Yet Hernández’s unheralded capture by Sir Alex Ferguson merely proved the culmination of a lengthy operation performed under a cloak of secrecy, which was even kept from the 22 year-old’s closest family.
“My father and I knew about the move to United for two to three months,” Hernández said. “It was very hard to keep it secret. We are a big family. We are all very close and always want to talk about what is going on with each other, but we didn’t tell my grandparents or my mother, so it was difficult.
“When we came over to Manchester to sign for United, we didn’t tell the whole family, friends and other people. The week [of the deal] was a free week, a holiday, so we flew to Atlanta, then on to Manchester, but told my family that we were staying in Atlanta to get a hotel and get to know the city.
“One hour before the deal was made public, we called my family and our closest friends from Manchester to tell them of the surprise, because any moment there was going to be an announcement about my transfer to Manchester United.”
As Hernández’s performances for Mexico in last summer’s World Cup highlighted, where he scored twice and was recorded as the tournament’s quickest player, United had clearly unearthed an uncut diamond from Central America.
Yet United’s chief scout, Jim Lawlor, had somehow been able to strike a deal for Mexico’s brightest talent without so much as a hint of their interest being revealed.
United’s arrival on the scene was initially shrugged off by Hernández, however, until the emotional reaction of his father, Javier snr, gave the game away.
“The first time I spoke to Jim Lawlor, I didn’t believe it that he was from United,” Hernández said. “The first I heard about it was when my father said to me there’s a person interested in you, he wants to talk with you, and he gave me Jim Lawlor’s card with the United badge on it.
“I didn’t know if it was genuine or not, because some agents in Mexico have cards on which they put the badges of all the big teams of the world, so I thought ‘OK, it’s one more of them, OK’.
“But my father told me ‘No, it’s really Manchester United’. I said to him ‘Don’t joke with me about that,’ but when I saw my father crying, I knew it was really true, that it was Manchester United.”
Hernández’s success at United, where he has scored 20 goals in 44 appearances this season, is all the more remarkable considering his readiness to walk away from football three years ago due to his disillusionment with a lack of progress with Chivas.
A summit meeting with his parents, and grandfather Tomas Balacazar, restored his faith in his ability and propelled Chicharito towards stardom.
“At the time, the coach wasn’t playing me,” Hernández recalls. “I was a little bit frustrated, my confidence started to go down and I asked my father and my family whether I was still right to play football.
“I just wanted to play. I was training with the squad all week and wouldn’t play in the games, so I thought that maybe, if this is what God wanted for me, I needed to work hard.
“So I decided I had to enjoy this [football] and not only enjoy the weekends. I was obsessed with thinking that I had to play at the weekend to enjoy my football.
“But always, my family helped me a lot. They say that I spend a lot of my time doing this and trying to make my dream come true, so not to give it up.
“Would I have given up? I don’t know, but probably yes. Without my family, I wouldn’t be in football.”
Hernández admits his pre-match praying ritual, when he kneels in the centre circle, is a gesture of thanks stemming back to his decision to continue as a footballer, but United manager Ferguson credits the player’s current status to his dedication and determination to improve.
“In the first training session last summer, I looked at myself and realised I needed more strength.” Hernández said. “I am not the tallest and biggest, so I knew I needed to improve on that.
“That’s why I get here early every day for training, because I want to work hard. It is the same after training, when I will work a little bit.
“It’s still hard to believe how this season has gone, especially when I was with my family when I got my medal and the Premier League trophy on Sunday.
“When I came here, my first thought was that I needed to work very hard to get a lot of minutes or to try my best to play a little bit, like 10 minutes, in every game.
“But right now, I’m playing a little bit more, a lot in fact, and when I got the medal it was just an unbelievable feeling.”
Adding to the medal haul by defeating Barcelona is United’s challenge tonight, yet Hernández insists the calibre of their opponents at Wembley will not alter the team’s focus.
“We prepare every game in every competition looking at every team and knowing how we are going to play them. Barcelona have some clever players, but the most important thing is that we think about us. We want to play like we have done for the whole of the season and we want to win like that.”
So what about the nickname? Ferguson calls him Chico, the shirt says Chicharito, yet English football still refers to him by the name he was born with.
“It’s Chicharito, sometimes Chico,” he said. “All my team-mates are trying to do their best to call me by my nickname because it’s strange, but they call me Chich, Chico or Chicha sometimes.
“Most people at the club call me Chica or Chico. My family call me ‘Javi’ and when they are angry it’s Javier!”
Telegraph.feedsportal.com
Friday, May 27, 2011
Blue Jay bath _DSC4904
Blue Jay bath _DSC4904
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Thursday, May 26, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Danielle
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French Open 2011: Andy Murray should not be troubled by Parisian qualifier Eric Prodon
French Open 2011: Andy Murray should not be troubled by Parisian qualifier Eric Prodon
Andy Murray starts his French Open on Monday by playing a Parisian qualifier who has been nicknamed 'The Roger Federer of the Futures'.
Hot streak: Andy Murray has proved he can cope with the best on clay Photo: EPA
By Mark Hodgkinson, Paris 10:16PM BST 22 May 2011
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It sounds very much like an insult dressed up as a compliment, the tennis equivalent of an actor being described as 'The Laurence Olivier of the panto circuit'.
Only in the grinding obscurity of third-tier Futures tournaments, a place for dead-eyed toilers and the hopefuls of the men's game, does Eric Prodon have any kind of profile. By the age of 29, most have found their natural level in this sport, and for Prodon that does not appear to be becoming a regular at the grand slams.
For all the success that Prodon has had on the Futures circuit, and also on the level above on the Challenger tour – he has won 21 titles during his career – he has never gone on to become a top-100 player or to establish himself on the tour proper.
It is only extremely infrequently that Prodon pops up at the sport's most important tournaments, and he is yet to win a match in the main draw of a grand slam. On the three previous occasions he has featured on the Parisian brick dust during the tournament proper, after receiving wild cards from the French Tennis Federation, he has lost in the opening round, and he is of the age now that if he wants to play in the main draw he has to win three rounds of qualifying.
He did so last week and so the world No 118, so accustomed to playing matches on the fringes and in the shadows, finds himself in the white heat of a grand slam competition, playing against someone who ought to make the semi-finals for the first time. It will be Prodon's first career meeting with Scotland's world No 4, and his most significant match anywhere since the time in the first round nine years ago when he was obliterated by Andre Agassi.
Every ambitious tennis player has to come through the Futures and Challengers circuits. Murray passed through quickly, though he does recall seeing Prodon at a Futures tournament in Scotland in 2004. While Murray has always aspired to win a grand slam title and to reach the top of the rankings, Prodon's grand ambition is to one day break into the top 100. Same sport, two different worlds.
For Prodon's last and only win on the main tour, you have to spool all the way back to 2003 when he beat Spain's Ruben Ramirez-Hidalgo at a tournament in Casablanca. 'Prodon le Rouge' they were calling him in L'Equipe, as a foot injury means that the French No 13 plays almost all his tennis on clay as it is a softer and more forgiving surface for his body than hard courts. Rouge or not, if Murray, who in Rome just over a week ago came within two points of resetting Novak Djokovic's undefeated run, were to lose to Prodon it would be the most disconcerting defeat of his grand slam career. In Murray's little section of the draw, he is the only player who was not in the qualifying competition, as a victory over Prodon would give him the prize of a match against Italy's Simone Bolelli or Canada's Frank Dancevic.
Murray can be unpredictable, and he has not been entirely pleased with the balls that are being used at this tournament, but he is surely not so unpredictable as to lose to Prodon.
Meanwhile, one of Heather Watson, from Guernsey, or Anne Keothavong, a Londoner, could become the first British woman to win a match in the main draw of the French Open since Clare Wood defeated Gigi Fernandez in 1994. If Keothavong were to beat Russia's Vesna Dolonts, she would have a likely second-round match with Francesca Schiavone, the defending champion from Italy, who opens against Melanie Oudin of the United States. Watson, who qualified, has been paired with Stephanie Foretz Gacon, a French wild card. A third Briton, Elena Baltacha, will tomorrow play Sloane Stephens, a qualifier from the United States.
french tennis federation, brick dust, tennis equivalent, eric prodon, roger federer, grand slams, laurence olivier, andy murray, grand slam, paris 10, wild cards, hodgkinson, hot streak, white heat, parisian online, hopefuls, french open, semi finals, obscurity, fringes
Moisйs Kaufman Finds His Way to Tennessee
Early last Friday afternoon, the playwright-director Moisés Kaufman was at the Acorn Theater on 42nd Street, eager to tweak the penultimate scene of his new show, "One Arm." The night before, at the play's first preview performance, he had seen something that irked him. "I was in the last row, and it was the only scene when people were fidgeting," he told actors Clayborne Elder on Todd Lawson as they stood on the spare, dark set. "The audience is getting ahead of you guys."
Mr. Kaufman wanted his actors to render the audience immobile with a startling moment of connection at the end of a tragic, dissociated journey in the gay underworld. It comes about through the characters' reading and writing of letters, and through a timid unburdening of their true sexuality.
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Mustafah Abdulaziz for the Wall Street Journal
Moisés Kaufman at a rehearsal for his new play 'One Arm.'
It's a lot to unpack, but the source material demands it. "One Arm" is adapted from a 1948 short story by Tennessee Williams about a Navy boxing champion named Ollie Olsen (played by Mr. Elder) who loses a limb, as well as other more intangible parts of himself, in a car accident and turns to prostitution and violence. Williams based the character on a hustler he knew in New Orleans, and he was pre-occupied enough with the story 20 years later to begin what he called "an experimental film-play" adaptation, which was never produced.
Mr. Kaufman is the first to bring the "One Arm" screenplay to the stage. "I think that there's something fantastically paradoxical about choosing a screenplay to explore how theater speaks," the director said, smiling.
And yet the trouble with paradoxical enterprises is that they're, well, tricky. Mr. Kaufman's initial attempt to stage "One Arm," in a 2004 production in Chicago, suffered from "a meandering quality," he said. "I needed to cut to the essence of it."
Which is, put simply, sex and writing. "Tennessee Williams said the only time he felt truly alive was when he was dealing with the page, or dealing with a body," Mr. Kaufman said, employing more delicate language than Williams did in his original quote. It is precisely Williams's directness about homosexuality in "One Arm" that drew Mr. Kaufman, who has produced some of the finest gay and transgender-themed theater of the past decade. Sex is front and center in the story, which comprises, for the most part, a series of scenes between Ollie and his clients. "In my opinion of Williams's work," Mr. Kaufman said, "this is the frankest look at a certain kind of homosexual world."
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Mustafah Abdulaziz for the Wall Street Journal
He directs actors Clayborne Elder, center, and Todd Lawson.
He isn't the only New York-based theater artist to pursue Williams's oft-dismissed later works during this, the legendary playwright's centennial year; at least five other plays have run on Broadway and off recently, including the Wooster Group's "Vieux Carré" and the Roundabout Theatre's "The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore." As for the well-worn narrative that Williams peaked early in his career before collapsing psychologically and creatively, Mr. Kaufman countered that the playwright grew in sophistication and experimentation before his death in 1983. "It has taken us many, many years to see where he was headed," he said, "to have the theatrical vocabulary, in terms of what can happen on the stage, and how stories can be told, to keep up with his later work."
Keeping up with Mr. Kaufman's work isn't easy, either. Since arriving in the U.S. to study at NYU's Experimental Theatre Wing in 1987, the 47-year-old Venezuelan-born artist has created a string of unlikely, high-minded hits, like "The Laramie Project" and the Tony-winning "I Am My Own Wife," often through his Tectonic Theater Project. His most recent directorial production, "Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo," opened in March at the Richard Rodgers Theatre with Robin Williams in the starring role.
On Friday, a few blocks from the Rodgers, Mr. Kaufman and his actors were getting back to work. The director sometimes stood in for a performer to try out an idea. Or he'd sit on a nearby chair onstage with his eyebrows in furrowed attention. Still dissatisfied, and with issues still lingering, he decided to dive back into the text.
Of course, there isn't simply one text to go back to. Since 2002, when Mr. Kaufman first began working with this material, he has used every draft that he and his dramaturge, David G. Schultz, could find of Williams's short story and screenplay—and there were many. A lesser version of the scene would look like two men simply reading letters; the one that Williams designed was a kind of mutual and wrenching emotional breakthrough. In which draft would Mr. Kaufman find the detail or the scenic direction that would bring his actors and his audience to a transformative, universal moment?
"Moisés has been obsessed with the story, and Tennessee was obsessed with the story," said the New Group artistic director Scott Elliott, who is co-producing "One Arm" with the Tectonic Theater Project. But Mr. Elliot's confidence in Mr. Kaufman showed. "He digs deep, looking for clues that will make the play sharper and more vivid."
This kind of "detective work," as Mr. Kaufman called it, recalls his extensive research on Oscar Wilde and Ludwig van Beethoven for his plays "Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde" and "33 Variations," respectively. But will it be sufficient to open up a "lost" and fragmented work of Tennessee Williams? That will be up to New York's hyper-discerning theater community when "One Arm" opens June 9 at the Acorn.
As for Mr. Kaufman, he'll be taking some time to lose his mind. "I have scheduled myself a nervous breakdown," he said. "I have to put it in the calendar so that people respect it."
ollie olsen, todd lawson, boxing champion, startling moment, film play, preview performance, tennessee williams, experimental film, initial attempt, stage one, 42nd street, play one, kaufman, source material, friday afternoon, acorn, playwright, last friday, car accident, screenplay
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
James Collins out of Wales squad for Carling Nations Cup with groin injury
James Collins out of Wales squad for Carling Nations Cup with groin injury
Aston Villa defender James Collins has withdrawn from the Wales squad for their Carling Nations Cup matches this week with a groin injury.
Sidelined: James Collins is suffering from a groin injury Photo: EPA
By Telegraph staff and agencies 10:04AM BST 24 May 2011
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The 27 year-old will be replaced by youngster Adam Matthews, who is joining Celtic from Cardiff this summer.
Adams is the fifth additional player to be brought in since manager Gary Speed named his initial squad for the matches against Scotland and Northern Ireland in Dublin.
Owain Tudur Jones replaced David Edwards at the weekend while Craig Morgan, Andy Dorman and Jermaine Easter were summoned last week.
They came in after Lewin Nyatanga and Ched Evans were injured and the progress of Swansea and Reading to the Championship play-off final denied Speed the services of Ashley Williams, Joe Allen, Simon Church and Hal Robson-Kanu.
Collins pulled out after playing all 90 minutes of Villa's season-ending Premier League victory over Liverpool on Sunday.
His central defensive partner in that match, richard dunne, also suffered an injury and yesterday withdrew from the Republic of Ireland squad.
Wales, having lost to the Republic in their first Nations Cup match in February, face the Scots on Wednesday and Northern Ireland 48 hours later.
The squad were due to fly to Ireland this lunchtime but have made contingency plans to travel by ferry should the ash cloud situation worsen.
lewin nyatanga, richard dunne, groin injury, first nations cup, ash cloud, ashley williams, ireland squad, telegraph staff, craig morgan, david edwards, league victory, adam matthews, gary speed, tudur, joe allen, ched, owain, republic of ireland, dorman, northern ireland
Ponty Bone
Monday, May 23, 2011
Djokovic now 38-0 after cruising at French Open
PARIS -- Novak Djokovic extended his perfect season into the French Open, beating Thiemo de Bakker 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 Monday in the first round.
The second-seeded Serb improved his 2011 record to 38-0 - and stretched his winning streak to 40 - on the second day of the tournament at Roland Garros. And he barely broke a sweat doing it, breaking his Dutch opponent six times.
Roger Federer, meanwhile, joined Djokovic in the second round by beating Feliciano Lopez of Spain 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3), but sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych was knocked out by French journeyman Stephane Robert in five sets.
Djokovic walked out onto center court as the co-favorite after beating Rafael Nadal in two clay-court finals leading up to the French Open. He could only meet Nadal in the final at Roland Garros, and if he does he will be assured of taking over the No. 1 ranking from the Spaniard regardless of that result.
"Pressure is always there," said Djokovic, who turned 24 on Sunday. "I know there is a lot of expectations because of the streak I have, but, look, I'm really happy the way I'm handling things right now on and off the court."
Djokovic needs five more wins to break John McEnroe's Open era record of 42 for the best unbeaten start, and a sixth victory will make him the first man to win the Australian and French Opens back-to-back since Jim Courier in 1992.
"Coming into a Grand Slam with three titles on clay courts and winning against the best player ever on this surface gives me a lot of motivation, a lot of confidence that I'm trying to use on the court," Djokovic said.
Nadal, who is looking for his sixth French Open title, doesn't get on court until Tuesday, but Federer progressed without facing a single break point against his Spanish opponent.
"Important thing from my side was to be solid in my own serve," Federer said, "which I was all the way through from start to finish."
The third-seeded Federer, who completed a career Grand Slam at Roland Garros two years ago, lost in the quarterfinals last year to end a streak of 23 straight major semifinal appearances.
Berdych, who last year reached the semifinals at the French Open and the final at Wimbledon, was knocked out by the 140th-ranked Robert 3-6, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 9-7.
"Maybe it's too early to analyze how was that or what was happening on the court," Berdych said "That's what can happen in the long matches, and ... sadly it happened to me today."
Berdych held a match point while leading 5-4 in the fifth set, but Robert saved it and went on to earn only his second win at a Grand Slam tournament.
Top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki will also play on the second day of the tournament. The Dane was to face 40-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm of Japan.
In the opening match on center court, defending champion Francesca Schiavone beat Melanie Oudin of the United States 6-2, 6-0.
Schiavone, who last year became the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam singles title, won four straight games in the first set after being broken early by her 19-year-old American opponent. The fifth-seeded Schiavone, who had 25 winners to Oudin's six, then won seven straight games to reach the second round.
"I'm still shaking a little bit," Schiavone said of playing on Court Philippe Chatrier for the first time as defending champion. "The court is perfect. Everything is going around you and it's like - you know when you go home and your mom does everything for you and you feel comfortable?"
Last week, Schiavone had her best result of the season, reaching the semifinals at the Brussels Open.
No. 3 Vera Zvonareva of Russia, No. 12 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, No. 28 Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia and No. 30 Roberta Vinci of Italy also advanced, while No. 26 Nadia Petrova of Russia and No. 31 Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic lost.
In the men's draw, No. 9 Gael Monfils of France, No. 10 Mardy Fish of the United States, No. 12 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, No. 15 Viktor Troicki of Serbia, No. 23 Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil, No. 25 Juan Martin del Potro, No. 28 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia and No. 29 Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia all reached the second round. No. 22 Michael Llodra of France lost.
Del Potro, who won the U.S. Open in 2009, is one of only four Grand Slam champions in the men's tournament, along with Nadal, Djokovic and Federer. The Argentine beat Ivo Karlovic 6-7 (7), 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.
"It's difficult to play against Karlovic, because you don't have many chance to break his serve," Del Potro said of the tall Croat. "I was focused in the beginning to the final, and I got through it."
tomas berdych, stephane robert, french open title, novak djokovic, john mcenroe, feliciano lopez, de bakker, career grand slam, roger federer, sixth victory, roland garros, clay courts, jim courier, perfect season, break point, rafael nadal, clay court, best player, journeyman, french open
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Flour Face
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Saturday, May 21, 2011
Cozumel - Mariachi Band on Ship
Cozumel - Mariachi Band on Ship
A Mariachi band, brought on board celebrity equinox in Cozumel, Mexico. They are playing in the pool area on deck 12, which serves as an informal auditorium on the ship.
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Waiting.
Waiting.
For Our Daily Challenge: Waiting for the moon to come out from behind the clouds. Taken last night on a Newcastle Sundance Group shoot - sunset & moonrise. A couple of the fellow photograpers can be seen on the water edge.
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Friday, May 20, 2011
17th May, Asker; Norway - Day 137/365
17th May, Asker; Norway - Day 137/365
17. mai - May 17th - is Norway's constitutional day and national day. Its celebrated by children's parades and fun and games for children. This is from one of the (few) streets in the village Asker after the children's parade had ended up at the plaza (Torget). Lots of people wear traditional Norwegian costume called "bunad".
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Thursday, May 19, 2011
GAMETRACKER: Yankees at Orioles
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
World Festival on the Beach 2011
World Festival on the Beach 2011
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Panera 'pay-what-you-want' cafs prove many people aren't jerks
Today for lunch, I decided to get a Greek salad from my local Panera Bread Co. Usually, I'd rather make a salad at home than cough up $7 or $8 for one over there, but I haven't gone grocery shopping yet this week. From your waistline to your wallet, it's always better to brown bag it, right? But now, since reading some interesting news about the fast casual chain, I can't help but feel a bit proud that I patronized Panera today. Turns out that the company is truly invested in making a difference.
More from The Stir: Fast food lies: A Shiny, Gooshy Mess in a Box
In three locations (the St. Louis 'burb Clayton, Missouri, the Detroit 'burb, Dearborn, Michigan, and also Portland, Oregon, there are "pay-what-you-want" Panera cafs. Operated through Panera's charitable foundation, food items on the menu don't have set prices -- just "suggested funding levels."
In general (and I don't know if this is just the result of living in the NYC area), you'd think a lot of people would use a place like this as an excuse to waltz in, order $20 worth of food and leave a fiver. But it seems like that's actually pretty rare. As it turns out, at the Clayton location, the majority of patrons pay retail value or more. Statistics provided by Panera indicate that roughly 60 percent leave the suggested amount; 20 percent leave more; and 20 percent less. One person paid $500 for a meal, the largest single payment!
More from The Stir: Skinny Celebs Sell Out for Fatty, Fast Food
The company plans to open another pay-what-you-want branch every three months or so. I'm sure that has something to do with the fact that the Clayton location has been so successful. It's performing at about 80 percent of retail and brings in revenue of about $100,000 a month. (That's enough to make $3,000 to $4,000 a month above costs, with money being used for a job training program for at-risk youths.)
I gotta say, this is actually really awesome. And it kinda restores my faith in humanity (at least for the time being). With hope, the success of these pay-what-you-want Paneras will inspire other restaurants to have faith in patrons. Not sure if the concept will be as successful outside of the Midwest and Northwest (cause, yeah, people are just innately nicer there!), but it's worth a shot.
Do you think a "pay-what-you-want" restaurant would work in your town?
Image via JD Hancock/Flickr
Written by Maressa Brown for CafeMom's blog, The Stir.
More from The Stir:
A Sin Tax on Fast Food Drive Thrus? Best. Idea. Ever.
Meals That Don't Live Up to Their Ads
The Latest Grocery Store Scam: Legal But So Wrong
Moles, Tarantulas, Rattlers & Other Weird Meat That People Eat
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Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Day ? of 365 (series2) #iPhoneography #mostly365
Tandoori chicken salad
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Monday, May 16, 2011
IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn arrested in New York over alleged sex attack on Manhattan hotel maid
IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn arrested in New York over alleged sex attack on Manhattan hotel maid
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund, has been charged with the sexual assault of a hotel maid, after he was arrested and removed from a plane on the tarmac of John F. Kennedy airport.
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Dominique Strauss-Kahn is in police custody in New York after being removed from a plane at JFK airport Photo: AFP
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The Sofitel hotel in New York where the alleged incident took place Photo: AFP/GETTY
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Mr Strauss-Kahn and his wife Anne Sinclair, an American-French television journalist Photo: Reuters
By Jon Swaine, New York 9:00AM BST 15 May 2011
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Mr Strauss-Kahn, 62, is expected to be brought before a state court judge later today, where he will be formally charged with a criminal sex act, attempted rape and unlawful imprisonment. His lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said he "will plead not guilty".
The prominent French Socialist politician, who was expected to challenge Nicolas Sarkozy for the country's presidency next year, allegedly attacked the 32-year-old maid in his room at the Sofitel, near Times Square.
He is said to have emerged naked from his bathroom and forced himself on the woman, who had entered to clean his room at about 1pm on Saturday. He then allegedly "attempted to sexually assault her", Paul Browne, a New York Police Department spokesman, said on Saturday night.
After the alleged incident, the maid left the room and alerted colleagues, who called 911. Mr Strauss-Kahn then departed for JFK airport, leaving his mobile phone in the hotel room.
He was apprehended in the First Class cabin of Air France Flight 23, which was 10 minutes away from taking off for Paris, at about 4.40 on Saturday afternoon. He was escorted off the plane by two plainclothes detectives, who did not need to use handcuffs.
The officers, from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, turned him over to detectives from the New York Police Department's mid-town south precinct, which covers the hotel and the surrounding area of Manhattan.
The case is now said to be being investigated by the department's Special Victims Unit.
An NYPD spokesman said last night: “There is an ongoing investigation into this matter. Evidence is being gathered. No charges have been filed.” The maid was reportedly taken to hospital by ambulance and treated for "minor injuries".
John Sheehan, the director of safety and security at the Sofitel, told The Daily Telegraph: “The safety and security of our team and our clients is our utmost priority. We are working very closely with the NYPD on their investigation.”
Mr Strauss-Kahn, a former economics professor, lawyer and French finance minister, has since 2007 been the managing director of the Washington-based IMF, which loans large sums of money to countries in economic crisis.
He ran for the Socialist party's presidential candidacy in 2006, but was defeated by Segolene Royal, who went on to lose the general election to Mr Sarkozy the following year.
In 2008 Mr Strauss-Kahn, who is married to Anne Sinclair, an American-French television journalist, admitted that he had an affair with a senior IMF official. He said he had made an “error of judgment”.
He was expected to seek his party's nomination for the 2012 presidential election. Last week he complained that Mr Sarkozy had mounted a “smear campaign” against him and his lifestyle.
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Sunday, May 15, 2011
Ruddy Turnstone
Ruddy Turnstone
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Saturday, May 14, 2011
Venezia e colori..
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Friday, May 13, 2011
New restauraunt
photo" width="640" height="427">Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Top 10 facts about Arnold Schwarzenegger
Top 10 facts about Arnold Schwarzenegger
As Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver announce their separation, here are top ten bits of trivia about the Austrian bodybuilder-turned-politician.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Photo: REUTERS
By Our Foreign Staff 12:54PM BST 10 May 2011
1. His middle name is Alois.
2. He first picked up a barbell at the age of 13 and chose bodybuilding as a career at the age of 14. He was so dedicated that he would break into his local gym at the weekend, when it was closed, in order to train.
3. During a year of national service in the Austrian army he went AWOL during basic training in order to attend a bodybuilding competition. He spent a week in an army jail.
4. In 1966 he came second in the Mr Universe competition to Chester Yorton.
5. He learned English in London’s East End while staying with his coach, Charles Bennett, in Forest Gate.
6. He moved to the United States at the age of 21 but Siskind and Susser, a firm of immigration lawyers, have claimed that he may have violated his visa and been an illegal immigrant.
7. In his early years in the United States, he had a relationship with Barbara Outland, an English teacher.
8. His first film appearance was as Hercules in the 1970 movie Hercules in New York. He was credited as “Arnold Strong”.
9. He had a brief career as a director, taking the helm for a 1990 television episode of Tales from the Crypt and then for the 1992 television movie Christmas in Connecticut.
10. In March, he revealed he is being courted for 15 films, including another installment of the Terminator franchise.
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Andrea
When I went to France, Andrea took me to this little town outside of Perpignan. It was by the sea so we got to lay down and tan for a little bit, but the water was still freezing haha. This place was beautiful. Andrea let me take a few pics of her while we were here =]
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Tuesday, May 10, 2011
rediscovering youth in the rainy city
Tottenham's Gareth Bale almost certain to miss Man City clash after tackle by Blackpool's Charlie Adams
Tottenham’s Gareth Bale to miss Manchester City clash with ruptured ankle ligament
Gareth Bale will miss the remainder of the Premier League season after a scan confirmed he suffered a ruptured ankle ligament in the club’s 1-1 draw with Blackpool at the weekend.
Uncertain: Gareth Bale was stretchered off after Charlie Adam's challenge at the weekend Photo: GETTY IMAGES
By Telegraph staff and agencies 4:00PM BST 09 May 2011
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Tottenham confirmed the PFA Player of the Year will wear a protective boot for the next 12 days before starting a rehabilitation regime and despite the seriousness of the injury he is expected to be fit for the start of pre-season training.
Bale was forced off in the 1-1 draw following a robust challenge from Blackpool captain Charlie Adam and the Wales international’s most impressive season to date has now ended prematurely.
Harry Redknapp had already speculated Bale would miss the games against Manchester City, Liverpool and Birmingham and after consulting an ankle specialist his fears were confirmed.
“It’s badly swollen, his ankle. We will just have to wait and see how bad the damage is,” Redknapp said before the results of the scan were known.
“It’s a blow but we have been without Gareth quite a bit recently.
“He has had injuries and he hasn’t really come back from those injuries to the form (he was in before).
“It’s been difficult for him. The injuries have knocked him back.
“He has had a fantastic season. The first three-quarters of the season, he was unplayable. He was making goals and scoring goals and he won player of the year.
“Over the last couple of months the injury has taken its toll on him. During that time he hasn’t quite been the same boy and now he has another injury that rules him out again.”
Bale’s likely absence from the run in is a big blow to the Londoners whose otherwise fantastic season risks ending on a downbeat note with there participation in Europe next season in doubt due to a string of damaging draws and the resurgence of Liverpool.
Redknapp refused to be overly critical of Adam, with the Blackpool midfielder also insisting he never meant to hurt Bale.
“I just saw the ball, I just tried to get it,” said Adam. “It was never intentional, I never tried to hurt him because he’s a wonderful player and at the end of the day I’d rather see these players on the pitch.”
Adam came close to an 11th-hour move to White Hart Lane, and despite a dip in form, Spurs and Liverpool have been linked with a summer transfer for the midfielder.
Blackpool manager Ian Holloway denied the 25-year-old would definitely be leaving, saying: “I am not resigned to losing him.”
Redknapp also ruled out lodging another bid for the Scot despite seeing him score the opening goal in Saturday’s draw from the penalty spot before Jermain Defoe equalised in the 89th minute.
“Charlie Adam is a good player but the closest I came to signing him was at 10.10pm on deadline day,” Redknapp said.
“I didn’t lose any sleep over it. I would have liked him to come here because is a very good player but I have a lot of good footballers here. Sandro is improving, (Luka) Modric is fantastic, Tom Huddlestone will be back, (Wilson) Palacios is getting fit hopefully.”
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Piracy Spurs Maersk to Raise Fee
COPENHAGEN—Reflecting higher costs stemming from a jump in piracy off the Somali coast, A.P. Moller-Maersk AS raised its emergency-risk surcharge.
Maersk's container-freight division increased the fee on each 40-foot container shipped through risky waters to $200–$500 from $100–$400, to pass on some of the company's rising costs to customers, said Erik Rabjerg Nielsen, the division's head of daily operations.
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Commandos from the Royal Malaysian navy detained Somali pirates on a chemical tanker in the Gulf of Aden in January.
He estimated that Maersk's antipiracy costs will rise to $200 million this year from $100 million last year as ships are forced to sail faster and longer to prevent hijackings and crews receive doubled salaries as compensation for the added work.
"In 2010, one hijacking attempt was registered every six days, and in 2011 there's been a large increase in the activity. The problem has never been larger than right now," Mr. Rabjerg Nielsen said.
Copenhagen-based Maersk is the world's largest shipping company by volume.
There were 142 pirate attacks in the first quarter, a quarterly record, according the International Maritime Bureau, a maritime-crime watchdog.
The rise was driven by a surge in piracy off the coast of Somalia, where 97 attacks were recorded in the first quarter, up from 35 a year earlier.
World-wide, there were 18 vessels hijacked, 344 crew members taken hostage and six crew members kidnapped in the first quarter, the bureau reported. A further 45 vessels were boarded, and another 45 were fired on.
Maersk Line's approximately 2,000 annual trips through pirate-ridden waters off the Horn of Africa, which cover an area about the size of Europe, now are made with larger ships, which are harder to invade than smaller ones. "We have larger ships with more capacity, which isn't needed, and that costs money. As a consequence, our capacity utilization on these routes is very low," Mr. Rabjerg Nielsen said.
Maersk has hired a former army major as antipiracy chief in an effort to develop a stronger strategy and lobby competitors and politicians for a tougher international stance on piracy.
"Piracy is bad for the shipping industry, it's bad for global trade, and it's important that politicians and all involved take a larger responsibility now to try to put an end to it," Mr. Rabjerg Nielsen said.
Maersk hopes to encourage increased patrols by navy vessels near Somalia, political resolve to help stabilize the country and a stronger legal approach toward pirates who are caught, he said. "Our message is that not enough is being done, and now is the time to act," he said.
The global shipping industry's total annual piracy costs, including ransoms paid, are between $3.5 billion and $8 billion, Ron Widdows, group president of Neptune Orient Lines Ltd., estimated at an antipiracy conference in Dubai last month.
Write to Flemming Emil Hansen at Flemming.Hansen@dowjones.com
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