Stat Counter

Friday, October 31, 2008

Chic & Swag Friday

Google
Google has been known for a long time as the best place in the world to work. They offer free massages, gourmet meals, and professional haircuts at their beautiful campus in California. That right there puts them above 99.99% of the other companies in the world. At any rate, you already knew all that so lets move on.

Have you ever wondered how much a Google employee makes? Well this data isn’t extremely easy to find, if you don’t believe me just search Google. However, here is some interesting statistics.
Google Programmer in Phoenix - $174,000/year
Google Programmer in California - $197,000/year
Google Programmer in Chicago - $222,000/year
Google Programmer in New York - $242,000/year
(according to Indeed.com)

…and thats just in salary. What other financial benefits does Google offer it’s employees?

  • 1) Google will pay $8,000 / year for you to continue your education. They just require you get at least ‘B’s in your classes.
  • 2) If you refer another employee to Google’s staff and they stay for 60 days, Google will pay you $2,000
  • 3) If you are thinking about adopting a kid, Google will contribute $5,000 towards all the legal and adoption fees.
  • 4) Depending how long you have worked at Google you can get up to 25 days (almost a month) paid vacation a year!

Now their is one more thing that is very interesting about Google employees financial lives. According to the New York Times there are estimated to be over 1,000 Google employees with Google stock worth over $5 million dollars. Woah wait! There are over 1,000 people working for Google who are worth OVER $5 MILLION DOLLARS! Even Google’s former masseuse (did I mention employees get free massages) is a millionaire. Also, according to the New York Times, every employee that has been at Google for over a year is worth well over $250,000. Competing firms have said that Google alone has raised the average programmers salary by 50% over the last few year and with salaries and benefits like this I really don’t doubt it.

Click :Google's Amazing Zurich Headquarters

Blue Man Group

Space Tourism

The rocket takes off from Dubai, and cruises across the UAE until it reaches the tip of Oman and as it starts ascending the vista expands to 500 miles across the Middle East.

The cradle of civilisation could form the backdrop to the future of tourism, space tourism, according to astronaut Brian Binnie, as he paints a picture of a potential flight route and the experience, based on his own as test pilot of SpaceShipOne, the prototype to commercial space travel, launched by Virgin Galactic.

“The atmosphere is bristling and electric. You are tense, excited and nervous,” Binnie said. “And those core feelings only grow in intensity as you climb higher and higher into the delirious blue. As the shrill shrieking of the ship’s engine ceases, quiet takes over the rocket and you look out to space — it’s a mystery, it’s majestic, it’s so peaceful, it’s so serene.

Binnie gave the keynote address at the fifth Annual Orion Congress, held at Atlantis, The Palm on Saturday, as industry leaders discussed the future of tourism.

While a spaceport is not currently planned for Dubai, more than 200 tickets, and $40 million worth of deposits, have been bought with Virgin Galactic’s space adventures, based in America.

Fly!

Moth by Ab Roger Design


Ab Rogers Design created this London store interior for Russian fashion brand Emperor Moth.
Emperor Moth is a new, fresh, dynamic, Russian fashion label designed by Katia Gomashvili. Katia has commissioned ARD to create a new store in Mayfair and in Moscow.

I LUV color!

Peter/ Harnessing Anger

When I think of a hero, I think of people like Peter. Peter= True Hero!

"The games needs him

Plus the people need someone to believe in

That's what I call a gangsta"


Via Nas Hero


Yes Fresh!

Emporim Aramani


My brother would totally wear these clothes...:)
HOT!

Ice Hotel

Interior designer Ben Rousseau has created a suite for the Ice Hotel, which is located in Sweden.

N-Ice!

Elie Saab

Cute!

Vera Wang

I'd totally wear this...ooooh... royal blue!

22kt Gold

If you haven't visited an Arabian jewelry store, you should go.The jewelry designs are stunningly beautiful. There's simply no turning back. Your girl will feel like a princess...;)

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Blue Man Group


Part rock group, part performance art group, the Blue Man Group launched one of the most successful off-Broadway shows in New York in the early 1990s. The group's show, Tubes, has since expanded to simultaneous runs in Boston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Chicago, as well as its ongoing run at the Astor Place Theater in New York. Although music had always been an integral part of the Blue Man Group's act (in which three people painted blue make art with food and blue paint), the group did not release its first album until 1999. A second album followed in 2003, with more planned under a contract with the Atlantic imprint Lava Records.

The Blue Man Group was conceived and developed by Matt Goldman, Phil Stanton, and Chris Wink. Goldman and Wink, who had been friends since junior high school, met Stanton after graduating from college. Before forming the Blue Man Group, Goldman earned an MBA degree and worked as a software producer. Stanton was an actor and drummer, and Wink made a living summarizing articles for a Japanese magazine and serving food for a catering company.

The three friends all felt they needed a change, and were excited to find kindred spirits in each other. They decided to start a project that would allow them to earn a living while focusing on the things that interested them most. "We were interested in performance art and science," Wink later explained to Los Angeles Times reporter Mimi Avins in an article reprinted in the New Orleans Times-Picayune. For inspiration, the trio turned to everything from Kodo drumming to the Bauhaus absurdist art movement, and from the rock band Pink Floyd to the comedies of Buster Keaton and the Marx Brothers.

The original trio formed in the late 1980s when the three friends, then in their twenties, came together as a guerrilla theater group on the streets of Manhattan. (Guerilla theater is a performance dramatizing a social issue that is enacted outside a traditional theater, often in a park or on the street.) Their first public performance was in New York's Central Park in 1988, when nine members of an informal group that met regularly to discuss social issues staged a street theater event they called a funeral for the 1980s. In the show, the members of the group, all wearing blue paint, threw items representing the 1980s into a coffin, expressing the wish that they would never see them again. The items represented such 1980s icons as Yuppies (young upwardly-mobile professionals), crack cocaine, and postmodern architecture.

Every aspect of the Blue Man Group's performances was carefully orchestrated. The original concept was that the performances would be living paintings. The personalities of the performers disappeared when they put on the blue paint, replaced by something more "profound," as Wink explained to Avins. The group's goal was to challenge their audiences' notions of what constituted art, music, and theater.

The performers soon began to think of themselves as three people playing one character. From the beginning, music was an important part of their act, along with artwork being created on stage in blue paint. The Blue Man character does not speak or express emotion; all is conveyed through art and sound.

Soon the group began to perform in ten- to 20-minute chunks at open mikes around New York City for no money. Gradually they developed a following, and were soon invited to perform an hour of material at the theater space of avant-garde theater company Wooster Theater Group. Finally, they were featured at a performance art festival hosted at Lincoln Center, where they received a three-minute standing ovation. There they were noticed by a producing team who wanted to finance an off-Broadway show featuring the group.

musicianguide

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Vera Wang

Vera Wang has spent more than twenty-five years in the fashion industry. After her sixteen-year tenure at Vogue, where she was Senior Fashion Editor, Vera Wang served as a design director for Ralph Lauren. In 1990, she ventured out on her own, opening a luxury salon at the esteemed Carlyle Hotel in New York City to showcase her bridal collection. The Vera Wang label quickly took off, earning praise from the fashion elite for its luxurious fabrics, exquisite detailing and modern interpretation of classic lines.

The discipline Vera Wang brings to her work and to her life was developed early by her parents, who encouraged academic excellence and athletic prowess. She studied at Chapin, Sarah Lawrence and at the Sorbonne and competed in international skating competitions.

Years later, her intimate knowledge of the sport, coupled with her taste and design ability, would capture the world's attention when silver medalist Nancy Kerrigan wore Vera's unique design for the 1994 Olympics. Vera Wang remains active in designing at the Olympic level for skaters such as Michelle Kwan.

Vera Wang's fashion sense also came early in life, beginning with visits to the Paris shows with her mother and maturing during her tenure at Vogue. As Senior Fashion Editor, Vera Wang interacted with the world's leading designers and brought their visions and sense of style to the world. Many of these designers became personal friends and mentors and helped Vera Wang deepen her knowledge of the business of fashion. In 1985, Vera Wang left Vogue and joined Ralph Lauren as a design director.

The inspiration for her label stemmed from her own frustrating wedding dress experience. Vera Wang aspired to add fashion sophistication to the segment, which was steeped in tradition and symbolism and yet operated like a commodities business. There was no fashion in bridal until Vera Wang. Today, Vera Wang's position as the preeminent designer of bridal gowns is only one aspect of her fashion vision for the future. The outstanding editorial success of her ready-to-wear shows demonstrates her presence beyond bridal. She continues to challenge herself as a designer, pursuing fragrance, fine jewelry, eyewear, footwear and a home collection that capture her vision for the future. Vera Wang's philosophy remains simple and elegant and her voice clearly distinguished from other designers. She is a design expert that women turn to for advice. Vera Wang is creating a lifestyle that is the epitome of luxury - infinitely sophisticated and always modern.

Vera Wang lives in New York City with her husband, businessman Arthur Becker, and their two daughters.

Aside from evening gowns and bridesmaid dresses the company also designs sportswear, and licenses its name for eyewear, fragrances, china, crystal, silver, and jewelry. Products are sold through upscale department stores, specialty stores, and two company-owned boutiques in New York City. Vera remains Chairman, CEO, and owner.

infomat

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Queen Liliuokalani

Hawaii’s last sovereign queen was born on September 2, 1838 in Honolulu. According to Hawaiian tradition, she was adopted at birth by Abner Paki and his wife, Konia (a granddaughter of King Kamehameha I). Liliuokalani’s childhood years were spent studying and playing with Bernice Pauahi, the Pakis’ natural daughter.

Liliuokalani received her education at the Royal School and became fluent in English. She was also a member of Kawaiahao Church, which was built under the direction of Hiram Bingham, the leader of the first group of missionaries to Hawaii in 1820. In 1862, she married John Owen Dominis, the son of an American sea captain.

In 1874, Liliuokalani’s brother, David Kalakaua, was elected as Hawaii’s new king. One of his first acts was to name William Pitt Leleiohoku as his heir; just three years later, however, the crown prince died at the age of 23. Liliuokalani was now directly in line for the throne.

Kalakaua himself died in January 1891 in San Francisco. On January 29, the USS Charleston was sighted off Diamond Head, its hull draped in black and the Hawaiian flag at half-staff. Suddenly, the Hawaiians knew: Their king was dead. Government ministers insisted that Liliuokalani immediately sign an oath to uphold the constitution that had been forced upon her brother.

Under the constitution, Liliuokalani wielded little power. She formed a Cabinet three times, and each time it was rejected by the Legislature. She drafted a strongly royalist constitution, but no one supported it.

Finally, on January 17, 1893, pro-American forces overthrew the government and proclaimed a provisionist government with Sanford B. Dole as president. Liliuokalani had no choice but to surrender her throne. She made a plea to the U.S. government for reinstatement, and a representative of President Grover Cleveland found the overthrow to be illegal. Dole, however, refused to accept the decision.

The queen withdrew to her residence, Washington Place, and urged her supporters to be patient and avoid bloodshed. A fierce uprising was firmly squelched in January 1895, and although she denied playing a role in the attempted takeover, Liliuokalani was arrested and taken to a second-floor room at Iolani Palace. It would serve as her jail cell for nearly a year. During her confinement, the queen wrote one of Hawaii’s most beloved songs, "Aloha Oe" ("Farewell to Thee").

Liliuokalani was pardoned in October 1896. In her remaining years, the deposed queen fought for the restoration of the Hawaiian kingdom. She died in 1917 at age 79.

aloha-hawaii
uic.edu

Monday, October 27, 2008

Peter Westbrook


In his life as the first African American athlete to win a medal in the Olympic games in the category of fencing. Peter Westbrook certainly has gone full circle in his life thus far. Born and raised in the rough streets of Newark, New Jersey. Peters childhood environment was one in which he was often found fighting fist to cuffs rather than with the fencing saber that he is now famous for. His Japanese mother paid him $5 to attend local fencing classes. She wanted to divert his attention to an ancient sport that she thought would be similar to the style of Samurai fighting that she was familiar with in Japan.

He has been described as having ,” the temperament of El Cordobes, the famous matador, the agility of Julius Irving, the basketball great, the cunning of Muhammad Ali, the legend of boxing, and the gracefulness of Rudolf Nureyev, ballet's living shrine...”

That’s quite some accolades for the boy who grew up in the mean streets of Newark.

She succeeded in fueling a passion within Peter that allowed him to receive a full scholarship to New York University and served in a stepping stone to his competing in his first Olympics in Los Angeles in1984. He actually won the bronze model in that games. His fencing career has been extensive.

He formed the Peter Westbrook Foundation with $4,000 of his own money.In the beginning it was a struggle but now with corporate sponsorship and donations he is able to do much more. He seeks to give inner city children the opportunity to compete in the sport in an attempt to guide them away from gang activity. Indeed it is full circle for Peter. From boy in the hood to helping the young rise above it.


charlierose

dasny


Peter's Interview




The Cee List: Three words to describe you?

Peter: Discipline, Taskmaster and loving.

The Cee List: What does family mean to you?

Peter: Family means everything. Not just my immediately family, the foundation is my family as well. What else is there in life that could be more important than family. To love your family is the most wonderful way one can live their life.

The Cee List
: Idea of a friend?

Peter: My idea of a friend is a person who is not egotistic and can put their personal needs aside to assist my needs. It’s really hard to find a person who would risk themselves for you.

The Cee List: Your Utopia?

Peter: To live to serve Allah(God). Everyday I ask Allah to make me better and transform me into a better person.

The Cee List
: Your greatest accomplishments thus so far?

Peter: To see the fruits of my labor. I use to think it was competing in the Olympics winning 6 medals. But now it’s being a good father, husband and giving people opportunity by helping them get into wonderful colleges. Help shape them into strong brothers and sisters so they can become caregivers as well. If you only could see what some of these kids come from you wouldn’t believe it. It's amazing to see a person come from nothing(streets) and teach them how to receive everything.

The Cee List: Favorite place you’ve ever lived or visited?

Peter: Italy and Cuba...Cuba because it’s a place you can go and see African people who are dirt poor but still appreciate the simple beauty in life. Italy because it’s a place where people know how to slow down and take it easy,and it has a great country side view.

The Cee List: How has the foundation enhanced, enriched or changed you?

Peter: In every way the foundation has done all of the above. Whenever you have an opportunity to transform, change and save people lives,it is the most enriching thing. This is the best thing the foundation has given me.

The Cee List: Who inspires you and why?

Peter: Allah inspires me and the blessings I’ve received from Allah. It’s amazing to see Allah’s love and mercy towards mankind. He is even merciful to the most evilest of people. Allah is so merciful in ways we don’t even know. I thank Allah for life. He is my biggest inspiration.

The Cee List: How does it make you feel having two students from the foundation bringing Olympic silver medals from Beijing?

Peter: It makes me feel unbelievable and miraculous. It is a wonderful wonderful thing. More than the medals, it’s amazing and stupendous to see the students turn their lives around, and train them to become wonderful citizens and make god the center of their lives. That’s the ultimate gold medal, but I’ll take the silver one too.

The Cee List: What advise would you give to future Olympians?

Peter: You are not your accomplishments. You’ve been blessed. You will hear of people who get severely depressed or want to commit suicide when they lose someone or something. You may have lots of money, beauty, family, mate, or your job. It’s important to know one day you may have something or someone, and the next day it or they can be gone. You can never be number one forever or beautiful forever. Beauty fades and so does everything else. These are all gifts. It’s very important to understand this, so when they do you won’t feel like an empty shell.

The Cee List
: Free Style (anything you want to say to the world)

Peter: Serve Allah (God) first,serve your brother, be as righteous and honest as you can be. If you do this, all will be given to you!

Friday, October 24, 2008

Chic & Swag Friday

Dr. Frank Shearer

Not everyone can age as gracefully as Frank Shearer: He's strapping on water skis at 100 years old. Shearer, a retired physician in Washington state, might be the world's oldest water-skier."I just ski for fun," he said. "And it's fun out there in the water on a nice day."He also rides horses and can be seen atop a steed on the cover of this month's National Geographic magazine, which features him in an article about longevity. So what is his secret to keeping such a long and healthy life?

"I think it has to do with the fact that I have been so active," Shearer said. "I've been active all my life, from one sport to the other sport -- snow-skiing in the wintertime, water-skiing in the summertime, hunting, fishing. And, especially in recent years, I've been doing some weightlifting regularly."

Water-skiing was a different sport when Shearer first started in the early 1930s.

"These were homemade ply boards," he said. "A friend turned the ends up, and we put some straps on them, and he brought them out to the lake, where we were playing around."

WOW!

People's Building, Shanghai


Two arched bodies emerge - one on the ground, the other in water - in direction to the sky, united at the top and bounding in a unique monumental building of hurled forms, similar to a tube of perfumed action and bended by an immense force. Its profile suggests the Chinese alphabetic character which means "people". That's the way the People's Building will be at the Expo 2010, in Shanghai,China.

BMW Z60 Yacht

BMW Group DesignworksUSA and Belgian Yacht Builder Zeydon present the Performance Cruiser Z60 at the Mediterranean Scenes Munich.

Sahara Forest Project

Recently a trio of entrepreneurs announced an incredible solution for the world’s resource problems: turn the Sahara desert into a source for food, water, and energy. The Sahara Forest Project is a solution that combines seemingly disparate technologies - Concentrated solar power and Seawater Greenhouses - and turns them into a mean, green super-massive biomachine. The elegant system could potentially produce enough energy for all of Africa and Europe while turning one of the world’s most inhospitable regions into a flourishing oasis.

K =Mr.West


808 & Heartbreaks will be in stores Nov. 25th 2008

Can't wait! XOXO..;)

LOVE =Chemical Reaction

Oxytocin is a mammalian hormone that also acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain. In humans, oxytocin is thought to be released during hugging, touching.In the brain, oxytocin is involved in social recognition and bonding, and may be involved in the formation of trust,love and generosity between people.


I read this article in National Geographic magazine five month ago about love & I really enjoyed reading it. If you don't have a subscription of National Geographic,I highly recommend doing so. It's my favorite of all magazines!

Follow this link...

True Love Article, Romantic Love Information, Serotonin Level ...

Multi Purpose Stair


Levitate Architects

This would perfect for me,since I have lots of books. As long as no one leaves a book on the stairs. :)

Pacific Coast

Headlights weave a path along Highway 101 south of Gold Beach, Oregon, in this time exposure. The historic highway was commissioned in the 1920s and runs along the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California.

Casa de los Colores

Barely an inch of Richard Schultz and Anado McLauchlin's home near San Miguel de Allende, in Mexico, is without color and decoration. The master bedroom has a domed brick ceiling, or bóveda.

Liverpool Biennial 2008


Liverpool is an extraordinary city and one far better suited to hosting citywide events than its bigger sibling, London, in the south. For a start it’s easily navigable on foot. Secondly it has heaps of venues, old and new, which give a very rounded sense of the city – its character, its history and its contemporary culture. Liverpool is also one of Britain’s last cities notable for the pride it takes in all that it does.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

George Lopez

Actor, comedian. Born on April 23, 1961 in Mission Hills, California. Lopez has built a successful career by finding the humor in his difficult childhood and in the Mexican-American community in general. Abandoned by his mother, he was raised by his grandmother who paid him little attention. Lopez transformed his painful experiences into material for his stand up comedy act.

By the late 1980s, Lopez was a successful comedian, playing clubs around the country and appearing on television shows and comedy specials. He made the jump to films in the 1990s with comedies such as Ski Patrol (1990) and Fatal Instinct (1993). In 2002, Lopez became one of the few Latinos to star in a television comedy series, following in the footsteps of Freddie Prinze and Desi Arnaz. The actress Sandra Bullock, an executive producer on the series, George Lopez, was instrumental in the show's creation. The show is based in part on Lopez's personal experiences.

In addition to his television career, Lopez continues to perform as a stand up comic and to record comedy albums. Team Leader was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. He also wrote an autobiography entitled Why You Crying, which was published that same year.

Lopez faced some health challenges in 2005. Suffering from a genetic disorder, which caused his kidneys to deteriorate, Lopez received a kidney transplant that year. His wife Ann was the donor. The couple recovered quickly from the operation and have become spokespeople for the National Kidney Foundation.

Regarded as one of the top comedians, Lopez has received several honors for his work and contributions to the Latino community, including the 2003 Latino Spirit Award for Excellence in Television. He was also named one of the"The Top 25 Hispanics in America" by Time magazine in 2005.

biography

This guy is VERY funny 2 me! Family friendly comedy.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Book Review\Description

Thomas L. Friedman’s phenomenal number-one bestseller The World Is Flat has helped millions of readers to see the world in a new way. In his brilliant, essential new book, Friedman takes a fresh and provocative look at two of the biggest challenges we face today: America’s surprising loss of focus and national purpose since 9/11; and the global environmental crisis, which is affecting everything from food to fuel to forests. In this groundbreaking account of where we stand now, he shows us how the solutions to these two big problems are linked--how we can restore the world and revive America at the same time.

Friedman explains how global warming, rapidly growing populations, and the astonishing expansion of the world’s middle class through globalization have produced a planet that is “hot, flat, and crowded.” Already the earth is being affected in ways that threaten to make it dangerously unstable. In just a few years, it will be too late to fix things--unless the United States steps up now and takes the lead in a worldwide effort to replace our wasteful, inefficient energy practices with a strategy for clean energy, energy efficiency, and conservation that Friedman calls Code Green.

This is a great challenge, Friedman explains, but also a great opportunity, and one that America cannot afford to miss. Not only is American leadership the key to the healing of the earth; it is also our best strategy for the renewal of America.

In vivid, entertaining chapters, Friedman makes it clear that the green revolution we need is like no revolution the world has seen. It will be the biggest innovation project in American history; it will be hard, not easy; and it will change everything from what you put into your car to what you see on your electric bill. But the payoff for America will be more than just cleaner air. It will inspire Americans to something we haven’t seen in a long time--nation-building in America--by summoning the intelligence, creativity, boldness, and concern for the common good that are our nation’s greatest natural resources.

Hot, Flat, and Crowded is classic Thomas L. Friedman: fearless, incisive, forward-looking, and rich in surprising common sense about the challenge--and the promise--of the future.

Behindtheapprovalmatrix
amazon

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

M.I.A


Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam, the daughter of a Tamil activist-turned-revolutionary-guerrilla, Arul Pragasam, was born in Hounslow, London. Her alias, "M.I.A." stands for "Missing in Acton". She says her alias references both her London neighborhood (Acton) and her politically tumultuous youth.

While residing in Sri Lanka, Maya lived with her family on her grandparents' remote farm, a collection of huts without electricity or running water. After a year, as her father's involvement in militant activities increased, Maya, her older sister Kali, and their mother moved to Jaffna in the far north of the country.Contact with her father was strictly limited, as he was in hiding from the Sri Lankan Army. Eventually, as the civil war escalated, it became unsafe for the family to stay in Sri Lanka, so they were forced to relocate to Madras, India. By now, the violence of the civil war was at its peak, and the family once again tried to flee the country.

By now, the violence of the civil war was at its peak, and the family once again tried to flee the country. The army regularly shot Tamils seeking to move across border areas and bombed roads and escape routes. After several failed attempts to leave, Maya’s mother successfully made it out with the three children, arriving first in India before finally returning to Maya's birthplace in London, where they were housed as refugees.

Maya was a talented and creative student, eventually winning a place at London's Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, where she studied fine art, film and video. Here, for the first time, she began to piece together some of the different strands of her life experience. In an early incarnation of what was later to become M.I.A., she learned how to play off her different cultural personae against each other; layering rap iconography with the warfare pictures from her youth, Asian Britain with American new-wave film making style and St. Martin's fashion sense with refugee outlooks.

The nature of M.I.A.'s art work and lyrics has led to increased curiosity into her career and levels of censorship of her work. M.I.A.'s official website has been visited by a curious US Government numerous times, MTV still refuses to play the video of her single "Sunshowers" until references to the PLO are removed from the song, and recently the artist was denied a visa to enter America, despite having previously lived and worked in the country.

M.I.A. ended 2005 embarking on her first North American concert tour, joining Gwen Stefani on her Harajuku Lovers Tour. The arrival of 2006 saw her performing her final arena dates of the tour in Japan, and returning to the studio to work on her upcoming album. At the end of May 2006, Arulpragasam hosted the long running Australian alternative music show Rage as a guest programmer. The show was very well received.

tamilnation.org

Amazing
!

Monday, October 20, 2008

John Lennon

John Lennon was a pop star, composer, songwriter, and recording artist. John Winston Lennon was born October 9, 1940, in Liverpool, Merseyside, NW England, UK, during a German air raid in World War II.

When he was four years old, Lennon's parents separated and he ended up living with his Aunt Mimi. John's father was a merchant seaman. He was not present at his son's birth and did not see a lot of his son when he was small.

Lennon's mother, Julia, remarried, but visited John and Mimi regularly. She taught John how to play the banjo and the piano and purchased his first guitar. John was devastated when Julia was fatally struck by a car driven by an off-duty police officer in July 1958. Her death was one of the most traumatic events in his life.

As a child, John was a prankster and he enjoyed getting in trouble. As a boy and young adult, John enjoyed drawing grotesque figures and cripples. John's school master thought that he could go to an art school for college, since he did not get good grades in school, but had artistic talent.

As half of The Beatles, John Lennon and Paul McCartney were one of the most successful songwriting teams of the century. Together they wrote dozens of hit tunes, ranging from "Help!" and "Ticket to Ride" to "Penny Lane" and "Let It Be." Lennon's romance with Yoko Ono was a major influence on his post-Beatles career, and he collaborated with her on everything from the modern pop hymn "Imagine" to avant-garde noise and poetry. The Beatles broke up in 1970, and Lennon followed with a solo career marked by uneven recordings and public pleas for world peace. After a reclusive five years as a family man, Lennon released an album with Yoko in 1980, Double Fantasy. As their new song "Just Like Starting Over" was reaching the top of the charts, Lennon was shot to death outside his New York home by Mark David Chapman, a schizophrenic fan.

Lennon published two illustrated books of poetry and wit in the mid-1960s, In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works... His son Julian Lennon is also a singer and musician... Lennon's political positions gained him the enmity of J. Edgar Hoover's F. B. I. and the U.S. State Department, and researchers are still trying to get files on Lennon made public.

biography

He's definitely one of the most loved musicians of all x!

Friday, October 17, 2008

Chic & Swag Friday

Dave Chappelle & Family
I LUV this...How cute....Gotta LUV Chappell. This is keep-in it real...;)

Financial Development Index



The World Economic Form unleashed the first ever Financial Development Index. The report pulls together 120 variables on the economies in 52 nations. The United States slid into first place ahead of the United Kingdom -- by .02. Germany's third, with the Netherlands and Singapore clinging to the bottom of the top 10.

With one of the project's great minds, economist Nouriel Roubini. Roubini says the report is designed to help countries get a grip on their economic shortcomings -- but it can also help people like me figure out where to put our (buckets and buckets of) money.

The U.S. came out on top for now, but with all that rattling in our banking system -- Fannie/Freddie, Lehman Brothers and the rest

Grab the report for yourself. It's 362 pages, but much of that acreage is in charts for individual countries. Don't be scared of it.

NPR, USA
weforum
economist

Everyone should also grab The Economist Magazine. & Be sure to listen to the description of the Financial Development Index on NPR, USA for a brief audio summary. When I first look at the Economist magazine I thought...ok, I don't get some of this stuff. But it is actually quite easy to understand. As you keep reading, it becomes a breeze!...;)

The Second Solar spaceship

The small German city of Böblingen is now home to what might be the world’s biggest and most elaborate children’s toy. The Second Solar spaceship, designed by Different Futures and constructed for the Sensapolis fun park earlier this year, is a three-level, 850 sq m interactive replica of a real shuttle, albeit one better suited to exploration of the cognitive rather than the galactic variety.

Fondest Childhood Memory


I asked our regular visitor Cate what was her most fondest childhood memory and this is what she wrote...

"I grew up in Oklahoma where it's really hot in the summers. My brother and I spent much of the summer at our grandparents cabin at Fort Gibson. The best memory I have of childhood is jumping into the lake and swimming through the bands of cold and warm water; the sun was hot and the water was refreshing and nobody would tell us what to do... freedom..."

Thanks Cate!

If anyone would like to share their "Fondest Childhood Memory", feel free to email theceelist@gmail.com

Artist Kevin Mac



Kevin Mack is a Digital Artist and Academy Award winning Visual Effects Supervisor.

Very N-Ice!

Ian Hibell

Ian Hibell is one of the greats of cycling -- he left his job in 1963 and never went back, becoming the first man to ride pole to pole from Africa to Alaska. He rode, dragged, carried and pushed his bike to every corner of the planet and continued his cycling adventures until his death in Greece at age 74. He inspired many cycling tourists with his book, Into the Remote Places, which highlights his adventures touring the world by bike.

Donna Karan

Spring 2009
Classiness!

Reef Island In Bahrain



An Island of Bliss in the Heart of the City

Located on Manama's northern shore, and minutes away from the new Bahrain Financial Harbour, Reef Island is ideally situated in the heart of Manama, the Gulf's, and one of the worlds, fastest growing financial centres. Reef Island offers its residents, and guests, all the convenience of easy access to a bustling cosmopolitan city complimented with the tranquility of a tropical island getaway. Conceived to be Bahrain's benchmark of luxury living, serenity and relaxation, Reef Island presents its discerning clientele with an exclusive living experience, on a purpose-built atoll and the kind of state-of-the-art amenities that they've come to expect. Embrace the tranquil splendour that is Reef Island and embrace life the way it should be lived.
Inhabited since ancient times, Bahrain's strategic position between East and West and at the heart of the Arabian Gulf, with fresh water, fertile lands, and pearl diving have long made this tiny island Kingdom a centre of urban development. Historically referred to as "Life of Eternity", "Paradise", "Eden" and "Pearl of the Persian Gulf", Bahrain continues to live up to the potential these names imply.

As one of the freest and fastest growing economies in the Middle East, and an upwardly mobile financial powerhouse, Bahrain is ideally positioned economically, socially and geographically to attract the most discerning international investors.

reef-island

I think I've found a new place to call home. :)
Manama at Sunset
Batelco Building and Suq Mosque

The beauty of sunset...PRICELESS!