Chris Economaki, a journalist regarded as the authoritative voice in motorsports for decades, died Friday. He was 91.
National Speed Sport News, where Economaki worked as an editor for more than 60 years, announced his death Friday. It did not release a cause of death. Economaki was known as the "Dean of American Motorsports Journalism," and worked in TV for more than 40 years with stints at ABC, CBS and ESPN. He was part of ABC's first telecast from Daytona International Speedway in 1961.
His love of motorsports blossomed as a child and he sold copies of National Speed Sport News as a teenager.
"Many people consider Chris the greatest motorsports journalist of all time," NASCAR chairman Brian France said. "He was, indeed, `The Dean.' Chris was a fixture for years at NASCAR events, and played a huge role in growing NASCAR's popularity."
Economaki, who switched from ABC to CBS in 1984, watched stock car racing branch out from its Southern roots to become a national attraction. The watershed year, he said, was 1984.
"That was the year ABC did the closing ceremonies at the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo at the same time CBS was showing the Daytona 500 - and Daytona got the higher rating," Economaki said in the 1980s.
"It was also the year that President Reagan came to the Firecracker 400 and said, `Gentlemen, start your engines.' And the next day, there was a picture of him next to Richard Petty on the front page of The New York Times. After that, it seemed a lot of people discovered stock car racing."
Economaki told The Associated Press in 1991 that even if fans didn't recognize his face out in public, they sure knew him by the sound of his voice.
"I do have a distinctive voice. And it's nice to know that it registered somewhere along the line," he said.
"I remember I was getting a pair of shoes in Des Moines, Iowa, one time. The salesman was lacing up my shoes, and I'm looking at the bald spot on the back of his head, and he asks: `Aren't you on TV?' This guy's got his nose six inches from the floor and asks my shoes if I'm on TV. He doesn't recognize me, but he recognizes my voice."
In 2006, the Trackside Conference Room at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Media Center was renamed the Economaki Press Conference Room in his honor.
Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt remembered when Economaki pegged him early in his career as one of racing's next big stars.
"He saw the sport grow to where it is today and how it grew, including NASCAR," Foyt said. "And he contributed to that growth. I'd say when he was in his heyday of writing that more people would read his column than any column that's been written today by far. I know I did."
At Dover International Speedways, drivers remembered Economaki as a man who shaped the way they loved the sport.
"Speed Sport News is something that I read religiously," four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon said. "Chris did a lot for that newspaper and for motorsports and he was passionate about all of it. The last time I saw him was earlier this year and, still, that is all he thought about was racing. And he cared so much about what was happening in this sport and wanted to make a difference and wanted to get those stories out there."
2012年9月28日星期五
2012年9月27日星期四
I acted rather hastily on impulse
Spiders are like scarves: I like the idea behind them, but I don’t want one around my neck.
I appreciate that they can be used for natural pest control. However, what I object to is the fact that they look as if they come from Mars and have blood made of liquid evil. I’m also not pleased to find them crashing in my apartment.
Most of the little moochers have the decency to either keep out of sight or stand still for weeks on end until we believe that they are dead.
Early one morning, one spider forgot his place and the order of things inside the apartment.
It was about five in the morning when I saw something crawling across the back of the couch while I was reading for class. There is a certain primitive impulse in many people to move away from black things moving across the back of the couch in a room they are supposed to be alone in. I acted rather hastily on impulse.
I looked to see what it was, but couldn’t find it on the back of the couch until my face was within jumping distance. I decided to give it space for a while, and after 15 minutes I came back to look for it again. It was gone.
I picked up my jacket from the arm of the couch only to find that the spider had crawled inside. It fell out, landed in between my shoes, and crawled inside the left sneaker. It was like watching from the shore as a ship burned in the middle of a storm at sea. It was as if I were the only person in the audience of a circus with rabid tigers and plague infected clowns blocking the exits of the tent.
It was the most helpless feeling.
Six hours later I was in Rhetorical Theory in my rain boots, plotting to freeze the plastic bag that held my spider-infected shoe when I got home. Before I could carry out my plan, my roommate intervened on behalf of the spider and promised she would remove it for me.
Several days later, she vacuumed out the inside of my shoe. The spider was never seen again and is believed to be currently at large in my apartment. My roommate has affectionately given him the code name “Freud.”
The spiders must learn their place. It’s either out the door or under my shoe, not inside.
Have something (or someone) that is bugging you?! Is sarcasm your second language? Do you just need a moment to vent? Well The Saint wants to hear about it! Drop us a line for the weekly whine!!
I appreciate that they can be used for natural pest control. However, what I object to is the fact that they look as if they come from Mars and have blood made of liquid evil. I’m also not pleased to find them crashing in my apartment.
Most of the little moochers have the decency to either keep out of sight or stand still for weeks on end until we believe that they are dead.
Early one morning, one spider forgot his place and the order of things inside the apartment.
It was about five in the morning when I saw something crawling across the back of the couch while I was reading for class. There is a certain primitive impulse in many people to move away from black things moving across the back of the couch in a room they are supposed to be alone in. I acted rather hastily on impulse.
I looked to see what it was, but couldn’t find it on the back of the couch until my face was within jumping distance. I decided to give it space for a while, and after 15 minutes I came back to look for it again. It was gone.
I picked up my jacket from the arm of the couch only to find that the spider had crawled inside. It fell out, landed in between my shoes, and crawled inside the left sneaker. It was like watching from the shore as a ship burned in the middle of a storm at sea. It was as if I were the only person in the audience of a circus with rabid tigers and plague infected clowns blocking the exits of the tent.
It was the most helpless feeling.
Six hours later I was in Rhetorical Theory in my rain boots, plotting to freeze the plastic bag that held my spider-infected shoe when I got home. Before I could carry out my plan, my roommate intervened on behalf of the spider and promised she would remove it for me.
Several days later, she vacuumed out the inside of my shoe. The spider was never seen again and is believed to be currently at large in my apartment. My roommate has affectionately given him the code name “Freud.”
The spiders must learn their place. It’s either out the door or under my shoe, not inside.
Have something (or someone) that is bugging you?! Is sarcasm your second language? Do you just need a moment to vent? Well The Saint wants to hear about it! Drop us a line for the weekly whine!!
2012年9月26日星期三
Hotter Shoes sets sights on 19 new stores for 2012
Hotter Comfort Concept Shoes have been on a mission to bring their stylish shoes with built in comfort features to the nation welcoming over 100,000 customers through their doors each week. This year the retail team at Hotter have already successfully opened 13 new stores across the UK, reaching out to their customers in towns and cities such as Cheltenham, Harrogate, Oxford, Tunbridge Wells and Winchester.
The comfy shoe brand now has 38 stores, which will soon be 40 when they open stores in Shrewsbury and Inverness in October and they plan to open a further 4 before the end of the year.
"What's more, it looks like 2013 will be another busy year for our retail team as we've already identified a further 15 locations for stores," commented John Nicholas, Retail Director.
"We have developed a winning formula of wonderfully stylish comfort products combined with a high level of service which we find brings customers back to us time after time. Our team members are hand-picked to ensure they are friendly, helpful, passionate and knowledgeable about our products.
"Each store offers a personalised fitting service to ensure customers find their perfect fit every time. We even create a comfortable and relaxed environment for our customers to shop, with comfy seating and a 'home like' feel."
To find Hotter Shoes stockists, customers can visit Hotter's store locator page, and can join Hotter on Facebook to keep to date with the latest store news.
Hotter Shoes can also be purchased via mail order by calling 0800 525 893, or online.
About Hotter Shoes:
Hotter Comfort Concept is the UK's biggest shoe maker, with one of the most advanced production facilities in Europe.
Hotter Shoes makes a range of ladies shoes and men's shoes - including extra wide shoes - all of which incorporate 'Comfort Concept' features including smooth internal seams, removable insoles, soft leather uppers and soft padding. The nearly 1.6 million pairs of comfortable shoes designed and made in Hotter's UK factory during 2012 will have shock absorbing soles which contain millions of air bubbles, making Hotter shoes incredibly light and giving the feeling of walking on air.
The comfy shoe brand now has 38 stores, which will soon be 40 when they open stores in Shrewsbury and Inverness in October and they plan to open a further 4 before the end of the year.
"What's more, it looks like 2013 will be another busy year for our retail team as we've already identified a further 15 locations for stores," commented John Nicholas, Retail Director.
"We have developed a winning formula of wonderfully stylish comfort products combined with a high level of service which we find brings customers back to us time after time. Our team members are hand-picked to ensure they are friendly, helpful, passionate and knowledgeable about our products.
"Each store offers a personalised fitting service to ensure customers find their perfect fit every time. We even create a comfortable and relaxed environment for our customers to shop, with comfy seating and a 'home like' feel."
To find Hotter Shoes stockists, customers can visit Hotter's store locator page, and can join Hotter on Facebook to keep to date with the latest store news.
Hotter Shoes can also be purchased via mail order by calling 0800 525 893, or online.
About Hotter Shoes:
Hotter Comfort Concept is the UK's biggest shoe maker, with one of the most advanced production facilities in Europe.
Hotter Shoes makes a range of ladies shoes and men's shoes - including extra wide shoes - all of which incorporate 'Comfort Concept' features including smooth internal seams, removable insoles, soft leather uppers and soft padding. The nearly 1.6 million pairs of comfortable shoes designed and made in Hotter's UK factory during 2012 will have shock absorbing soles which contain millions of air bubbles, making Hotter shoes incredibly light and giving the feeling of walking on air.
2012年9月25日星期二
The meandering case for the humble shoes
Leave alone the acquisition of submarines, fighters and howitzers, the Indian defence establishment ties itself in knots even on something as basic as PT shoes for jawans. Despite attempts to upgrade them to proper "sports shoes'' over the last several years, soldiers of the world's second-largest Army continue to be saddled with the thin brown canvas PT shoes.
The meandering case for the humble shoes is now likely to figure during the annual Army commanders' conference, to be chaired by General Bikram Singh from October 12 to 17, which will also dwell upon myriad operational and security issues ranging from the twin China-Pakistan threat to counter-insurgency operations in J&K and the north-east.
"The project for the acquisition of eight lakh superior quality PT shoes, which will cost around Rs 80 crore, will be raised during the interaction with defence ministry (MoD) officials during the conference. It has been delayed for almost a decade,'' said a source.
The vintage-pattern canvas PT shoes, incidentally, have performed service in the Army for over 50 years without any improvement in quality. "Jawans are issued one pair of such shoes every six months free of cost, as part of the 'life-cycle clothing' norms based on wear and tear of items,'' said an officer.
While not exactly demanding Reebok, Adidas or Nike shoes, the Army had initiated a fresh case with MoD for "better quality'' PT shoes in June 2010. While there was "in-principle approval'', the project got enmeshed in "price and specification'' issues despite some trials even being held for the large tender of eight lakh shoes.
MoD's finance wing stressed the Army adopt the specifications adopted by IAF for shoes made of "rexene and mesh''. "But there was no response from the vendors... it was referred back to MoD for consideration,'' said the source.
In between, some animal rights activists also jumped into the fray because one set of specifications laid down said cow leather could also be considered to make the shoes, apart from leather, canvas or cloth. This was after a feasibility study held the shoes made of cow leather would be a better fit for jawans since they would last longer.
Amid all this, the project for new PT footwear for jawans remains stuck. The Army also wants to introduce specially-designed combat boots for soldiers that would be more durable, flexible and light-weight than the existing heavy boots, but it also is yet to materialise.
The meandering case for the humble shoes is now likely to figure during the annual Army commanders' conference, to be chaired by General Bikram Singh from October 12 to 17, which will also dwell upon myriad operational and security issues ranging from the twin China-Pakistan threat to counter-insurgency operations in J&K and the north-east.
"The project for the acquisition of eight lakh superior quality PT shoes, which will cost around Rs 80 crore, will be raised during the interaction with defence ministry (MoD) officials during the conference. It has been delayed for almost a decade,'' said a source.
The vintage-pattern canvas PT shoes, incidentally, have performed service in the Army for over 50 years without any improvement in quality. "Jawans are issued one pair of such shoes every six months free of cost, as part of the 'life-cycle clothing' norms based on wear and tear of items,'' said an officer.
While not exactly demanding Reebok, Adidas or Nike shoes, the Army had initiated a fresh case with MoD for "better quality'' PT shoes in June 2010. While there was "in-principle approval'', the project got enmeshed in "price and specification'' issues despite some trials even being held for the large tender of eight lakh shoes.
MoD's finance wing stressed the Army adopt the specifications adopted by IAF for shoes made of "rexene and mesh''. "But there was no response from the vendors... it was referred back to MoD for consideration,'' said the source.
In between, some animal rights activists also jumped into the fray because one set of specifications laid down said cow leather could also be considered to make the shoes, apart from leather, canvas or cloth. This was after a feasibility study held the shoes made of cow leather would be a better fit for jawans since they would last longer.
Amid all this, the project for new PT footwear for jawans remains stuck. The Army also wants to introduce specially-designed combat boots for soldiers that would be more durable, flexible and light-weight than the existing heavy boots, but it also is yet to materialise.
2012年9月24日星期一
The Associated Press on Sunday that termites
A Philippine official said Monday that a legendary collection of shoes and other possessions left behind by former first lady Imelda Marcos and her dictator husband when they were ousted by a 1986 "people power" revolt have no historical significance, except for some Philippine-made gowns.
Communications Undersecretary Manolo Quezon issued the statement after National Museum officials acknowledged that the collection of Marcos' clothes and shoes had been neglected for more than two decades and some had been damaged by a monsoon storm last month.
Museum officials told The Associated Press on Sunday that termites, storms and neglect damaged part of Mrs. Marcos' collection of at least 1,220 pairs of shoes and other items while they were stored from 1986 to 2010 at the Malacanang presidential palace and later at the National Museum in Manila.
More than 150 cartons of clothes, dress accessories and shoes were transferred to the National Museum for safekeeping two years ago from the riverside palace. They deteriorated further at the museum after the boxes were stored in a padlocked room that was inundated by heavy rains last month because of a leak in the ceiling, museum officials said.
Quezon said the contents of the boxes have "no historical significance except some of the clothes" made by prominent Philippine couturiers. Museum officials said the Philippine-made gowns might be displayed in public, but they were wary because of the "politically sensitive nature of their provenance."
A Philippine historian, Michael Xiao Chua, said the Marcos items are important and should have been displayed to remind current and future generations of Marcos' dictatorial rule and encourage them to safeguard the country's democracy.
The damaged items include native see-through barong shirts, which Marcos often wore in public ceremonies during his 20-year rule. AP journalists saw a barong shirt with a presidential seal on top of a box of 100 shirts which had reddish stains and a sleeve that was nearly torn off.
The Marcoses fled the Philippines at the climax of an army-backed "people power" revolt which became a harbinger of change in authoritarian regimes worldwide. Mr. Marcos died in exile in Hawaii in 1989 and his widow and children returned home years later.
They left staggering amounts of personal belongings, clothes and art objects at the palace, including Imelda Marcos' shoes which have come to symbolize her extravagance amid crushing poverty in the Southeast Asian country.
Ferdinand Marcos' successor, democracy icon Corazon Aquino, accused him of stealing billions of dollars during his rule and ordered many of his assets seized.
Communications Undersecretary Manolo Quezon issued the statement after National Museum officials acknowledged that the collection of Marcos' clothes and shoes had been neglected for more than two decades and some had been damaged by a monsoon storm last month.
Museum officials told The Associated Press on Sunday that termites, storms and neglect damaged part of Mrs. Marcos' collection of at least 1,220 pairs of shoes and other items while they were stored from 1986 to 2010 at the Malacanang presidential palace and later at the National Museum in Manila.
More than 150 cartons of clothes, dress accessories and shoes were transferred to the National Museum for safekeeping two years ago from the riverside palace. They deteriorated further at the museum after the boxes were stored in a padlocked room that was inundated by heavy rains last month because of a leak in the ceiling, museum officials said.
Quezon said the contents of the boxes have "no historical significance except some of the clothes" made by prominent Philippine couturiers. Museum officials said the Philippine-made gowns might be displayed in public, but they were wary because of the "politically sensitive nature of their provenance."
A Philippine historian, Michael Xiao Chua, said the Marcos items are important and should have been displayed to remind current and future generations of Marcos' dictatorial rule and encourage them to safeguard the country's democracy.
The damaged items include native see-through barong shirts, which Marcos often wore in public ceremonies during his 20-year rule. AP journalists saw a barong shirt with a presidential seal on top of a box of 100 shirts which had reddish stains and a sleeve that was nearly torn off.
The Marcoses fled the Philippines at the climax of an army-backed "people power" revolt which became a harbinger of change in authoritarian regimes worldwide. Mr. Marcos died in exile in Hawaii in 1989 and his widow and children returned home years later.
They left staggering amounts of personal belongings, clothes and art objects at the palace, including Imelda Marcos' shoes which have come to symbolize her extravagance amid crushing poverty in the Southeast Asian country.
Ferdinand Marcos' successor, democracy icon Corazon Aquino, accused him of stealing billions of dollars during his rule and ordered many of his assets seized.
2012年9月23日星期日
My first trip into the rural areas south of Palomas
It's mid-morning on Thursday,as I head south from Palomas, Mexico, with Esperanza Lozoya, the founder of the humanitarian program, La Luz de la Esperanza, her granddaughter and her assistant, Maria Dolores Campos.
Our goal is to take beans, medicine and shoes to two rural towns, Colonia Modelo and Guadalupe Victoria. The beans were purchased by Esperanza from Diaz Farms in Deming, N.M. The shoes were donated by Nina Houle, the very supportive owner of a shoe store named On Your Feet in Santa Fe.
This is my first trip into the rural areas south of Palomas and my first meeting with Esperanza. On June 21, however, I observed her summer lunch program in Palomas.
In the space of about an hour, her daughter Sofia and an assistant distributed 600 lunch boxes to needy children there, an extraordinary feat that they continued every weekday all summer.
They also run a midday meal program for the elderly in a building that used to be a rehab center.
Esperanza is originally from Chicago, but she and her family have a long history of community leadership in both Palomas and Columbus, N.M., a few miles to the north. The recreation center in Columbus is named after her father, Andrew Sanchez, for all his contributions.
Her sister, Lupita Otero, manages several food banks in Columbus and was given a “Community Health Leader” award by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 2003.
They typify the many heroic people who hold these impoverished communities together in the absence of government services.
We drive about a half hour straight south, then turn off at Modelo, which is just a collection of houses by the road. For safety reasons and as a woman who travels extensively in rural Chihuahua, Esperanza doesn’t announce where she is going in advance so there is no one waiting for us.
We then continue on a few miles to El Entronque, a community built where the Palomas road intersects the highway from Juárez to Chihuahua. There at the Tortería 3 Caminos, we find El Commandante, the officer in charge of that area.
A cheerful man in dark glasses, a white shirt and suspenders, he poses for photos with Esperanza, his unsmiling assistant and his wife. Then he calls on his cell phone and tells another officer to meet us by the town plaza in Modelo.
He also mentions two recent murders. I had assumed that this area was much safer. Esperanza smiles and says that I’m seeing, “The calm before the storm.”
She knows about violence; one of her strongest supporters, the former mayor of Palomas, Tanys Garcia, was murdered in 2009.
A crowd, mostly women, gathers. We open white sacks of beans and Esperanza ladles out five big cups into each woman’s plastic bag. The men are working in the fields, although with the extremely dry weather, there is much less work than usual.
Esperanza has been doing this for nine years. Over the past two and a half, she has distributed some 160,000 pounds of food in the Palomas area. This is in addition to shoes, medicine, basic first aid kits and school supplies. Her job is, if anything, more difficult now, because the Mexican government is limiting the quantity of beans that can be brought across the border. Why, no one knows.
Our second stop is in a farm town named Guadalupe Victoria located some 12 kilometers to the west of the Palomas-El Entronque road. Esperanza and Maria Dolores are both trained as promotoras and can handle basic medical problems.
Their goal here is to provide medicine for the children of migrant farm worker families who have parasites. A longer-term goal is to train local women as promotoras, so that they can deal with basic medical issues like checking blood pressure. The two biggest health problems are high blood pressure and diabetes.
We find the migrant camp, which consists of a long, low, three-sided cinder block building partitioned into a series of living quarters. Outside each doorway is a large metal pan for cooking, a row of chilis, some farm tools, old shoes or clothing and maybe a broom.
Clothing is hung up to dry in a crisscross of wire clotheslines. In the center is a pile of firewood, and the ground is muddy with foul-looking pools of water. It’s a scene from hell, especially when compared to the semi-mansions of the farm owners only a few blocks away.
The women and children we meet are Mixteca Indians from the state of Guerrero way to the south. Many don’t appear to speak Spanish. They line up for the medicine and for what beans remain and are fitted for the shoes I brought from Santa Fe.
I ask several to pose with photos with their new shoes and they agree, but it’s a cheerless place. It’s hard to imagine why government officials haven’t made the farm owners provide cleaner water or better housing, or why these ragged kids aren’t in school. The families have been coming here to work for years; this isn’t a new problem.
We then stop at the local health clinic, are given more medicine by a curt young woman who is the local “doctor,” administers it and return to Palomas.
“I love what I do,” she says as we say goodbye. When I ask about her safety, she adds, “ I have my angel with me.”
Our goal is to take beans, medicine and shoes to two rural towns, Colonia Modelo and Guadalupe Victoria. The beans were purchased by Esperanza from Diaz Farms in Deming, N.M. The shoes were donated by Nina Houle, the very supportive owner of a shoe store named On Your Feet in Santa Fe.
This is my first trip into the rural areas south of Palomas and my first meeting with Esperanza. On June 21, however, I observed her summer lunch program in Palomas.
In the space of about an hour, her daughter Sofia and an assistant distributed 600 lunch boxes to needy children there, an extraordinary feat that they continued every weekday all summer.
They also run a midday meal program for the elderly in a building that used to be a rehab center.
Esperanza is originally from Chicago, but she and her family have a long history of community leadership in both Palomas and Columbus, N.M., a few miles to the north. The recreation center in Columbus is named after her father, Andrew Sanchez, for all his contributions.
Her sister, Lupita Otero, manages several food banks in Columbus and was given a “Community Health Leader” award by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 2003.
They typify the many heroic people who hold these impoverished communities together in the absence of government services.
We drive about a half hour straight south, then turn off at Modelo, which is just a collection of houses by the road. For safety reasons and as a woman who travels extensively in rural Chihuahua, Esperanza doesn’t announce where she is going in advance so there is no one waiting for us.
We then continue on a few miles to El Entronque, a community built where the Palomas road intersects the highway from Juárez to Chihuahua. There at the Tortería 3 Caminos, we find El Commandante, the officer in charge of that area.
A cheerful man in dark glasses, a white shirt and suspenders, he poses for photos with Esperanza, his unsmiling assistant and his wife. Then he calls on his cell phone and tells another officer to meet us by the town plaza in Modelo.
He also mentions two recent murders. I had assumed that this area was much safer. Esperanza smiles and says that I’m seeing, “The calm before the storm.”
She knows about violence; one of her strongest supporters, the former mayor of Palomas, Tanys Garcia, was murdered in 2009.
A crowd, mostly women, gathers. We open white sacks of beans and Esperanza ladles out five big cups into each woman’s plastic bag. The men are working in the fields, although with the extremely dry weather, there is much less work than usual.
Esperanza has been doing this for nine years. Over the past two and a half, she has distributed some 160,000 pounds of food in the Palomas area. This is in addition to shoes, medicine, basic first aid kits and school supplies. Her job is, if anything, more difficult now, because the Mexican government is limiting the quantity of beans that can be brought across the border. Why, no one knows.
Our second stop is in a farm town named Guadalupe Victoria located some 12 kilometers to the west of the Palomas-El Entronque road. Esperanza and Maria Dolores are both trained as promotoras and can handle basic medical problems.
Their goal here is to provide medicine for the children of migrant farm worker families who have parasites. A longer-term goal is to train local women as promotoras, so that they can deal with basic medical issues like checking blood pressure. The two biggest health problems are high blood pressure and diabetes.
We find the migrant camp, which consists of a long, low, three-sided cinder block building partitioned into a series of living quarters. Outside each doorway is a large metal pan for cooking, a row of chilis, some farm tools, old shoes or clothing and maybe a broom.
Clothing is hung up to dry in a crisscross of wire clotheslines. In the center is a pile of firewood, and the ground is muddy with foul-looking pools of water. It’s a scene from hell, especially when compared to the semi-mansions of the farm owners only a few blocks away.
The women and children we meet are Mixteca Indians from the state of Guerrero way to the south. Many don’t appear to speak Spanish. They line up for the medicine and for what beans remain and are fitted for the shoes I brought from Santa Fe.
I ask several to pose with photos with their new shoes and they agree, but it’s a cheerless place. It’s hard to imagine why government officials haven’t made the farm owners provide cleaner water or better housing, or why these ragged kids aren’t in school. The families have been coming here to work for years; this isn’t a new problem.
We then stop at the local health clinic, are given more medicine by a curt young woman who is the local “doctor,” administers it and return to Palomas.
“I love what I do,” she says as we say goodbye. When I ask about her safety, she adds, “ I have my angel with me.”
2012年9月20日星期四
what it was like to receive this support
Bdaily visited London Fashion Week to find out how emerging designers juggle creativity with a business agenda. We spoke to designers receiving the British Fashion Council’s NEWGEN sponsorship, which allows new talent to show at fashion week. Bdaily were invited to shoe and accessory designer Sophia Webster’s presentation in Belgrave Square.
Sophia Webster’s designs have been called “sophisticated and modern, commercially viable yet creatively fresh.”
It is this combination of unconventional design and business initiative that have made the bubblegum-pop meets aztec-print designs a winning formula for the Royal College of Art masters graduate.
Sophia spoke to Bdaily about how she made decisions about where to place her collection commercially.
“My collection is the only debut collection from a designer to go into the price bracket I’ve gone for, which is between ￡200 to ￡550.
“I chose to do this with my agent because having the shoes made in Italy would push the prices right up, so we produce them in Brazil. Nobody else has gone in at this price point.”
The designer has enjoyed the heights of success since winning the Drapers Student Footwear Designer of the Year 2009 and the Browns Shoe Designer Award, also in 2009.
Sophia’s presentation included models posing inside life-sized doll boxes, decorated with her vibrantly kitsch yet chic designs, much of which was made possible by sponsorship from the British Fashion Council’s NEWGEN fund.
Sophia explained what it was like to receive this support, and how it helped her collection and business.
“It’s amazing to win the NEWGEN sponsorship. It’s really prestigious and I’ve been given the money to help show my work. It gives you the exhibition space to show, which is incredible. It’s very exciting and I’m happy with the way it’s turned out.”
Sophia has succeeded in her aim to produce shoes that are wearable, can be manufactured, and have a unique design selling point in a marketplace where it is highly challenging to distinguish a product.
Sophia Webster’s designs have been called “sophisticated and modern, commercially viable yet creatively fresh.”
It is this combination of unconventional design and business initiative that have made the bubblegum-pop meets aztec-print designs a winning formula for the Royal College of Art masters graduate.
Sophia spoke to Bdaily about how she made decisions about where to place her collection commercially.
“My collection is the only debut collection from a designer to go into the price bracket I’ve gone for, which is between ￡200 to ￡550.
“I chose to do this with my agent because having the shoes made in Italy would push the prices right up, so we produce them in Brazil. Nobody else has gone in at this price point.”
The designer has enjoyed the heights of success since winning the Drapers Student Footwear Designer of the Year 2009 and the Browns Shoe Designer Award, also in 2009.
Sophia’s presentation included models posing inside life-sized doll boxes, decorated with her vibrantly kitsch yet chic designs, much of which was made possible by sponsorship from the British Fashion Council’s NEWGEN fund.
Sophia explained what it was like to receive this support, and how it helped her collection and business.
“It’s amazing to win the NEWGEN sponsorship. It’s really prestigious and I’ve been given the money to help show my work. It gives you the exhibition space to show, which is incredible. It’s very exciting and I’m happy with the way it’s turned out.”
Sophia has succeeded in her aim to produce shoes that are wearable, can be manufactured, and have a unique design selling point in a marketplace where it is highly challenging to distinguish a product.
2012年9月19日星期三
The Competition Bureau’s big shoes to fill
Ms. Aitken addresses the Canadian Bar Association’s annual competition law conference in Gatineau, Que., on Thursday for the last time as head of the Competition Bureau, the second last day of her tenure. She announced her surprise decision to step aside in June, two years before her term ends.
Her whirlwind leadership saw the bureau become a fixation for Bay Street, as the regulator scrutinized corporate mergers that could hurt competition and tackled high-profile false advertising and price-fixing cases. Consumer advocates have praised her, but competition lawyers who advise corporate clients grumbled that the bureau had become too adversarial.
Few in the small world of competition law appear to have any idea who Ms. Aitken‘s successor might be. But several lawyers who spoke to the The Globe on Wednesday expect the federal government to eventually select a candidate from outside the bureau, perhaps a senior lawyer or a civil servant from another department. The announcement could be months away, although some expect the bureau to name an interim commissioner.
Even Ms. Aitken’s critics praise her for bringing a much higher profile to the bureau – which was granted sweeping new powers in 2009 – and for taking on more and tougher cases.
But several members of the competition bar, who spoke on condition of anonymity, say they expect that Ms. Aitken’s successor will be less combative toward the businesses the bureau regulates.
Even in her final week in office, Ms. Aitken refuses to go quietly. She said the bureau could block Bell’s massive takeover of Astral Media and launched a court case against the country’s mobile phone giants for “hidden fees.”
One competition lawyer, speaking anonymously, said even if the government wanted to continue Ms. Aitken’s approach, it may be hard to find a candidate with the same ability to grab headlines. “Frankly, not everybody is comfortable giving an interview to The National.”
Whoever replaces her may be unable to completely take the foot off the accelerator, however. Internationally, competition and antitrust enforcement has been on the uptick, and Canada has been co-ordinating more closely with regulators in other countries, particularly in the U.S.
One challenge for finding a senior competition lawyer to take on the role is that most of the competition bar is in Toronto, and many are reluctant to relocate to Ottawa and take a salary cut. Some suggest that candidates from Alberta or Quebec might have an edge as Ottawa looks for Ms. Aitken’s replacement.
Subrata Bhattacharjee, a competition lawyer with Heenan Blaikie LLP in Toronto, praised Ms. Aitken for making the agency more relevant and for bringing more cases forward. He said even if her successor takes a different approach or focuses on different kinds of cases, he or she will still have to lead an agency with a much higher profile.
“The current commissioner has done a great job in increasing the bureau’s profile and visibility,” he said. “And whoever follows her is going to have to run an agency that many now look at as being more active in protecting markets than ever before.”
Her whirlwind leadership saw the bureau become a fixation for Bay Street, as the regulator scrutinized corporate mergers that could hurt competition and tackled high-profile false advertising and price-fixing cases. Consumer advocates have praised her, but competition lawyers who advise corporate clients grumbled that the bureau had become too adversarial.
Few in the small world of competition law appear to have any idea who Ms. Aitken‘s successor might be. But several lawyers who spoke to the The Globe on Wednesday expect the federal government to eventually select a candidate from outside the bureau, perhaps a senior lawyer or a civil servant from another department. The announcement could be months away, although some expect the bureau to name an interim commissioner.
Even Ms. Aitken’s critics praise her for bringing a much higher profile to the bureau – which was granted sweeping new powers in 2009 – and for taking on more and tougher cases.
But several members of the competition bar, who spoke on condition of anonymity, say they expect that Ms. Aitken’s successor will be less combative toward the businesses the bureau regulates.
Even in her final week in office, Ms. Aitken refuses to go quietly. She said the bureau could block Bell’s massive takeover of Astral Media and launched a court case against the country’s mobile phone giants for “hidden fees.”
One competition lawyer, speaking anonymously, said even if the government wanted to continue Ms. Aitken’s approach, it may be hard to find a candidate with the same ability to grab headlines. “Frankly, not everybody is comfortable giving an interview to The National.”
Whoever replaces her may be unable to completely take the foot off the accelerator, however. Internationally, competition and antitrust enforcement has been on the uptick, and Canada has been co-ordinating more closely with regulators in other countries, particularly in the U.S.
One challenge for finding a senior competition lawyer to take on the role is that most of the competition bar is in Toronto, and many are reluctant to relocate to Ottawa and take a salary cut. Some suggest that candidates from Alberta or Quebec might have an edge as Ottawa looks for Ms. Aitken’s replacement.
Subrata Bhattacharjee, a competition lawyer with Heenan Blaikie LLP in Toronto, praised Ms. Aitken for making the agency more relevant and for bringing more cases forward. He said even if her successor takes a different approach or focuses on different kinds of cases, he or she will still have to lead an agency with a much higher profile.
“The current commissioner has done a great job in increasing the bureau’s profile and visibility,” he said. “And whoever follows her is going to have to run an agency that many now look at as being more active in protecting markets than ever before.”
2012年9月18日星期二
Woman on trial in child abuse case
Ebonee Bowers said in court Tuesday that she was in an abusive relationship and the only person who could have stomped on her child's face was her boyfriend, Dametrius Freeman.
Bowers, 25, is on trial on charges of child abuse and neglect, accused of slamming her then-17-month-old daughter's head into the floor and then stepping on Imani while wearing white Crocs shoes.
Bowers made the claims about Freeman, 24, while jurors were out of the courtroom, as Judge Lawton McIntosh and attorneys ran through Bowers' expected testimony in an effort to see if her accusations will be allowed to be made in front of the jurors when the trial continues today.
McIntosh dismissed the jury Tuesday afternoon to examine the legal implications of allowing or forbidding Bowers to accuse someone else of the crimes. Freeman faces the same charge of neglect but not the more severe abuse charge. He is on a list of potential witnesses but has not been called to the witness stand, even as prosecutors rested their case Tuesday.
Defense attorney Bruce Byrholdt said investigators neglected to look at Freeman after they had coerced Bowers into signing a confession.
Bowers signed two statements in early August 2010, shortly after Imani was injured and nearly died.
The first was in AnMed Health while her child was being prepared for a medical helicopter flight to Greenville and the second was at the Anderson County Sheriff's Office.
In the first statement, Bowers told investigators Imani had fallen from a counter and a bathtub in the house on separate days. She said it was what Freeman had told her had happened while she was at work.
In the second statement, a confession, Bowers admitted stomping on her daughter's face and slamming Imani's head into the floor.
When jurors were gone, Bowers said on the witness stand that she did not injure Imani in any way.
She said that Freeman had physically harmed her and after Imani was injured she found out he was on probation and could get in trouble for having lived with her instead of his listed address.
Tuesday was the second day of Bowers' trial and began with lead investigator Todd Owens of the Anderson County Sheriff's Office, who detailed how Bowers signed the confession.
Owens testified that he told Bowers she needed to tell the truth or risk 20 years going by without being with her children.
Byrholdt said it was a clear threat, made before she signed the confession.
"Twenty years she wasn't going to see her kids," Byrholdt said. "You don't think that's putting pressure on her?"
Judge McIntosh said jurors would be able to make up their minds but he interpreted Owens' comments as relaying to Bowers the factual penalties of such a crime.
Department of Social Services worker Megan Overton said she witnessed the confession process but her notes had been inadvertently destroyed. She could not recall Owens saying anything about 20 years to Bowers, but Overton told Byrholdt that if Owens had said something to that effect, it could be considered a threat.
Anderson County sheriff's detective Michele Hendrix also witnessed the confession process and she testified that, as sheriff's deputies, she and Owens had no control over the Department of Social Services, which had already taken Bowers' other two children, including Imani's twin, into protective custody.
Another social worker testified that Imani is recovering with grandparents in another state and she still walks with a leg brace while continuing work with physical, speech and occupational therapists.
Owens said he kept a calm demeanor as he begged Bowers to tell the truth in an interview room.
"Did Mr. Freeman do this? Did someone else do this? Did you do this?" Owens recalled asking Bowers.
He said she paused at the last question, as if she had something to get off her chest.
"She puts her head down a bit and turns, she stops sucking her thumb and she starts telling me what happened," Owens said.
Owens then took Bowers to his office to draft a typed confession.
Owens said he typically types out confessions for suspects, to keep the statements focused and factual, but he works with the suspects next to him and reads it as he goes to allow for corrections and changes.
Byrholdt said it was all too convenient.
"It sure would be easier for the jury if we had a video tape," he said.
Owens and Hendrix each said Anderson County Sheriff's Office policy calls for not recording any confessions.
"It makes it hard to challenge (a confession), doesn't it?" Byrholdt said.
Byrholdt said that no physical evidence ties Bowers to the abuse. Shoes taken from her apartment, including a pair of white Crocs, did not have any DNA or blood found after forensic tests, investigators said.
Owens said there may not have been blood because the injuries were internal, to Imani's brain.
Byrholdt said Owens should have asked Bowers if she was afraid of Freeman. The detective said he gave Bowers opportunities to say it was Freeman but he didn't push Bowers to see if she felt intimidated by her boyfriend.The trial continues Wednesday, with Bowers expected to return to the witness stand.
Bowers, 25, is on trial on charges of child abuse and neglect, accused of slamming her then-17-month-old daughter's head into the floor and then stepping on Imani while wearing white Crocs shoes.
Bowers made the claims about Freeman, 24, while jurors were out of the courtroom, as Judge Lawton McIntosh and attorneys ran through Bowers' expected testimony in an effort to see if her accusations will be allowed to be made in front of the jurors when the trial continues today.
McIntosh dismissed the jury Tuesday afternoon to examine the legal implications of allowing or forbidding Bowers to accuse someone else of the crimes. Freeman faces the same charge of neglect but not the more severe abuse charge. He is on a list of potential witnesses but has not been called to the witness stand, even as prosecutors rested their case Tuesday.
Defense attorney Bruce Byrholdt said investigators neglected to look at Freeman after they had coerced Bowers into signing a confession.
Bowers signed two statements in early August 2010, shortly after Imani was injured and nearly died.
The first was in AnMed Health while her child was being prepared for a medical helicopter flight to Greenville and the second was at the Anderson County Sheriff's Office.
In the first statement, Bowers told investigators Imani had fallen from a counter and a bathtub in the house on separate days. She said it was what Freeman had told her had happened while she was at work.
In the second statement, a confession, Bowers admitted stomping on her daughter's face and slamming Imani's head into the floor.
When jurors were gone, Bowers said on the witness stand that she did not injure Imani in any way.
She said that Freeman had physically harmed her and after Imani was injured she found out he was on probation and could get in trouble for having lived with her instead of his listed address.
Tuesday was the second day of Bowers' trial and began with lead investigator Todd Owens of the Anderson County Sheriff's Office, who detailed how Bowers signed the confession.
Owens testified that he told Bowers she needed to tell the truth or risk 20 years going by without being with her children.
Byrholdt said it was a clear threat, made before she signed the confession.
"Twenty years she wasn't going to see her kids," Byrholdt said. "You don't think that's putting pressure on her?"
Judge McIntosh said jurors would be able to make up their minds but he interpreted Owens' comments as relaying to Bowers the factual penalties of such a crime.
Department of Social Services worker Megan Overton said she witnessed the confession process but her notes had been inadvertently destroyed. She could not recall Owens saying anything about 20 years to Bowers, but Overton told Byrholdt that if Owens had said something to that effect, it could be considered a threat.
Anderson County sheriff's detective Michele Hendrix also witnessed the confession process and she testified that, as sheriff's deputies, she and Owens had no control over the Department of Social Services, which had already taken Bowers' other two children, including Imani's twin, into protective custody.
Another social worker testified that Imani is recovering with grandparents in another state and she still walks with a leg brace while continuing work with physical, speech and occupational therapists.
Owens said he kept a calm demeanor as he begged Bowers to tell the truth in an interview room.
"Did Mr. Freeman do this? Did someone else do this? Did you do this?" Owens recalled asking Bowers.
He said she paused at the last question, as if she had something to get off her chest.
"She puts her head down a bit and turns, she stops sucking her thumb and she starts telling me what happened," Owens said.
Owens then took Bowers to his office to draft a typed confession.
Owens said he typically types out confessions for suspects, to keep the statements focused and factual, but he works with the suspects next to him and reads it as he goes to allow for corrections and changes.
Byrholdt said it was all too convenient.
"It sure would be easier for the jury if we had a video tape," he said.
Owens and Hendrix each said Anderson County Sheriff's Office policy calls for not recording any confessions.
"It makes it hard to challenge (a confession), doesn't it?" Byrholdt said.
Byrholdt said that no physical evidence ties Bowers to the abuse. Shoes taken from her apartment, including a pair of white Crocs, did not have any DNA or blood found after forensic tests, investigators said.
Owens said there may not have been blood because the injuries were internal, to Imani's brain.
Byrholdt said Owens should have asked Bowers if she was afraid of Freeman. The detective said he gave Bowers opportunities to say it was Freeman but he didn't push Bowers to see if she felt intimidated by her boyfriend.The trial continues Wednesday, with Bowers expected to return to the witness stand.
2012年9月17日星期一
Sneakers sneak in a money lesson
The basketball superstar and the giant of the sneaker world are combining starting Sept. 22 on the rollout of Nike's priciest shoe yet. The LeBron X Nike Plus will sell for $270. There was initial speculation that it would break the $300 barrier, but this remains the LeBron sneaker series' most expensive version yet.
Those pricey sneakers reportedly will come embedded with motion sensors that tell how high you jump so you can refine your rebounding and shot-blocking skills.
I can hear the collective gasp of disbelief from parents. Who in their right mind would shell out that much for basketball shoes, unless the powers behind the Nike swoosh also guarantee your teen will swish every shot and become an NBA millionaire?
So why do I give praise?
Because James and Nike have provided you with a perfect opportunity to discuss smart money habits with your youngster on saving, planning, goal setting and even how to spend NBA money.
The easiest money conversations between parents and kids occur when the topic is relatable.
Sam Renick, the founder of It's A Habit, a Los Angeles company that promotes financial literacy, suggests that parents focus on the work angle. Encourage the mindset that you can have anything you want that you are willing to work for.
Renick said you might ask your son or daughter, "Is this something you really want? If so, let's figure out a plan on how you can work to get it."
From there, you could talk about getting a part-time job or taking on more chores around the house.
Renick likes this strategy because it emphasizes sacrifice and discipline, hope and independence. And it puts your kids' money on the line rather than yours.
I also think you need to set a realistic timetable on how long it will take to earn enough money to pay for the shoes. Do the math.
Some other sneaker lessons worth sharing:
Marketing and branding. Why are the shoes so pricey? How much of the cost covers marketing, packaging, etc.? And do you think $270 shoes will improve your game more than a $70 pair?
Technology. How cool it must be to get paid to design a basketball shoe with computer chips. What skills are involved?
Stock ownership. Skip the shoes, but buy Nike stock. The NBA season is just around the corner, and LeBron will surely be a promotional machine for Nike. Start watching the stock.
Of course, you could look at the price of LeBron's new sneakers and just say no to your son or daughter on the latest hot material thing.
But wouldn't it be better to engage them in a topic that doesn't involve homework, dating or any other teenage conversation stoppers?
Those pricey sneakers reportedly will come embedded with motion sensors that tell how high you jump so you can refine your rebounding and shot-blocking skills.
I can hear the collective gasp of disbelief from parents. Who in their right mind would shell out that much for basketball shoes, unless the powers behind the Nike swoosh also guarantee your teen will swish every shot and become an NBA millionaire?
So why do I give praise?
Because James and Nike have provided you with a perfect opportunity to discuss smart money habits with your youngster on saving, planning, goal setting and even how to spend NBA money.
The easiest money conversations between parents and kids occur when the topic is relatable.
Sam Renick, the founder of It's A Habit, a Los Angeles company that promotes financial literacy, suggests that parents focus on the work angle. Encourage the mindset that you can have anything you want that you are willing to work for.
Renick said you might ask your son or daughter, "Is this something you really want? If so, let's figure out a plan on how you can work to get it."
From there, you could talk about getting a part-time job or taking on more chores around the house.
Renick likes this strategy because it emphasizes sacrifice and discipline, hope and independence. And it puts your kids' money on the line rather than yours.
I also think you need to set a realistic timetable on how long it will take to earn enough money to pay for the shoes. Do the math.
Some other sneaker lessons worth sharing:
Marketing and branding. Why are the shoes so pricey? How much of the cost covers marketing, packaging, etc.? And do you think $270 shoes will improve your game more than a $70 pair?
Technology. How cool it must be to get paid to design a basketball shoe with computer chips. What skills are involved?
Stock ownership. Skip the shoes, but buy Nike stock. The NBA season is just around the corner, and LeBron will surely be a promotional machine for Nike. Start watching the stock.
Of course, you could look at the price of LeBron's new sneakers and just say no to your son or daughter on the latest hot material thing.
But wouldn't it be better to engage them in a topic that doesn't involve homework, dating or any other teenage conversation stoppers?
2012年9月16日星期日
GPS shoes shape-shifting bicycle and a wheelchair helicopter
Apple dominated the news cycle this week with the debut of the iPhone 5, as the internet was buzzing with details about the lighter, thinner and faster new iPhone. But not everyone was thrilled with the news. A journalist in China spent 10 days undercover working at a Foxconn factory, detailing the grueling conditions workers undergo to produce the new gadget. Apple wasn't the only tech company in the news this week, though; Google got some time in the spotlight this week too, as the company's new augmented-reality glasses were trotted down the runway at New York Fashion Week. Continuing the trend of high-tech fashion, British designer Dominic Wilcox unveiled a GPS shoe that guides you home from anywhere in the world.
This week, a team of Finnish researchers did what we would have thought was impossible, building an electricity-free computer that's powered by water droplets. Israeli designer Nitsan Debbi cooked up a batch of working electronic products made of bread. A Boise-based tech company used 3D printing technology to produce a new working beak for an injured bald eagle. Artist Luzinterruptus fitted 10,000 books that had been discarded by public libraries with LED lights and covered the streets of Melbourne with them, and in an exciting development the much-anticipated Low Line underground park in NYC debuted a full-scale model of their incredible fiber-optic solar-concentrating technology in New York City's lower east side. And in a surprising development, a researcher in Switzerland discovered a special strain of fungus that can make an ordinary violin sing like a Stradivarius.
In Inhabitat news this week, we announced the 40 finalists in our design-a-laptop-bag contest that we partnered on with HP. There are some pretty awesome and innovative laptop bag designs in this competition, and the top 40 are duking it out to win $10,000 and a possible production run, so please be a judge and go vote for your favorite laptop bag here. Speaking of design contests, we also kicked off the European Solar Decathlon this week with a look at six incredible solar-powered homes that are competing at the European Solar Decathlon right now to win top prize.
We love finding simple solutions to seemingly complex problems, and aircraft manufacturer Airbus' vision for the future of aviation is just that. Part of the vision calls for flying jets in the same formation as a flock of birds, which would reduce energy use and carbon emissions. In other green transportation news, Cannondale unveiled a chainless concept bike that can changes shape as you ride it. In Utah, a grad student from the University of Denver shattered a world speed record by hitting 216 MPH on a home-built electric motorcycle. And in one of the most remarkable stories we came across this week, a Honduran man who is confined to a wheelchair has devoted most of his life to building a helicopter out of scrap metal.
A new study from the Carnegie Institution for Science found that there's enough wind power to meet the whole world's energy demands. And with the help of airborne wind turbines, we'd be able to generate even more power than with ground- and ocean-based units alone. In solar news, Morocco is on its way to becoming a world-class solar energy producer, as the country recently announced plans to harvest 14 percent of its energy from the sun by 2020. For renewable energy on a smaller scale, a graduate student in Israel developed a prototype for an elegant rocking chair called Otarky that produces energy from its rocking motion and can be used to charge devices and power a lamp.
This week, a team of Finnish researchers did what we would have thought was impossible, building an electricity-free computer that's powered by water droplets. Israeli designer Nitsan Debbi cooked up a batch of working electronic products made of bread. A Boise-based tech company used 3D printing technology to produce a new working beak for an injured bald eagle. Artist Luzinterruptus fitted 10,000 books that had been discarded by public libraries with LED lights and covered the streets of Melbourne with them, and in an exciting development the much-anticipated Low Line underground park in NYC debuted a full-scale model of their incredible fiber-optic solar-concentrating technology in New York City's lower east side. And in a surprising development, a researcher in Switzerland discovered a special strain of fungus that can make an ordinary violin sing like a Stradivarius.
In Inhabitat news this week, we announced the 40 finalists in our design-a-laptop-bag contest that we partnered on with HP. There are some pretty awesome and innovative laptop bag designs in this competition, and the top 40 are duking it out to win $10,000 and a possible production run, so please be a judge and go vote for your favorite laptop bag here. Speaking of design contests, we also kicked off the European Solar Decathlon this week with a look at six incredible solar-powered homes that are competing at the European Solar Decathlon right now to win top prize.
We love finding simple solutions to seemingly complex problems, and aircraft manufacturer Airbus' vision for the future of aviation is just that. Part of the vision calls for flying jets in the same formation as a flock of birds, which would reduce energy use and carbon emissions. In other green transportation news, Cannondale unveiled a chainless concept bike that can changes shape as you ride it. In Utah, a grad student from the University of Denver shattered a world speed record by hitting 216 MPH on a home-built electric motorcycle. And in one of the most remarkable stories we came across this week, a Honduran man who is confined to a wheelchair has devoted most of his life to building a helicopter out of scrap metal.
A new study from the Carnegie Institution for Science found that there's enough wind power to meet the whole world's energy demands. And with the help of airborne wind turbines, we'd be able to generate even more power than with ground- and ocean-based units alone. In solar news, Morocco is on its way to becoming a world-class solar energy producer, as the country recently announced plans to harvest 14 percent of its energy from the sun by 2020. For renewable energy on a smaller scale, a graduate student in Israel developed a prototype for an elegant rocking chair called Otarky that produces energy from its rocking motion and can be used to charge devices and power a lamp.
2012年9月13日星期四
Shoes tip off officers
A pair of upscale tennis shoes being worn by a man on Bradshaw Avenue proved to be his downfall Tuesday after city police officers arrested him for receiving stolen property, with additional charges pending.
Chief John Lane said Detective Rob Smith and Capt. Darin Morgan have been working non-stop on a rash of burglaries over the past two months in the city and on Tuesday were headed to a report of another one when they noticed David J. Sisco Jr., 22, 709 Marcus St., walking with a woman identified as Rebecca Sisco, 24, address not listed.
David Sisco was reportedly wearing an expensive pair of Nike tennis shoes, and officers recalled one of the burglary victims may have had such an item stolen.
With Morgan detaining David Sisco, Smith went to the place of employment of Amy Barr, where she identified the $130 pair of shoes as having been stolen from her St. Clair Avenue home, Lane reported.
Meanwhile, Rebecca Sisco gave officers permission to search her purse, and a detective saw some credit cards inside, but before he could ask about them, she reportedly said they "belonged to David."
Officers found the cards to be those of another burglary victim, Robert Bloor, a retired city police officer, who had reported numerous items taken from his home, including the service revolver he had used as an officer.
David Sisco was arrested at that point for receiving stolen property and officers asked to search his home, but he declined, and Lane said Smith worked all day Tuesday to obtain a search warrant for the home, which was executed Tuesday evening.
Inside the home, they reportedly found "quite a bit" of stolen property from numerous burglaries. Some items had been sold and recovered by officers prior to search of the house, which also led to Sisco, according to Lane.
He said it is believed Sisco walked through neighborhoods with a baby stroller, knocking on doors, and chose to enter those homes where no one was home.
"He hadn't encountered anyone (at home), but he would have eventually," Lane predicted.
He said more information is being unearthed as Morgan and Smith keep investigating, saying, "There are definitely others involved. Other charges are pending. The hammer's coming down."
Lane continued, "Rob and Darin did an excellent job on this case. I imagine it's very gratifying to them to be able to call these people and return their (stolen) items. How often do you (as a police officer) get to do that?"
David Sisco appeared Wednesday in East Liverpool Municipal Court on the receiving stolen property charge and had a pretrial scheduled Sept. 13, with cash/surety bond set at $15,000. He also was fined $75 for a driving under suspension charge from an earlier case.
Chief John Lane said Detective Rob Smith and Capt. Darin Morgan have been working non-stop on a rash of burglaries over the past two months in the city and on Tuesday were headed to a report of another one when they noticed David J. Sisco Jr., 22, 709 Marcus St., walking with a woman identified as Rebecca Sisco, 24, address not listed.
David Sisco was reportedly wearing an expensive pair of Nike tennis shoes, and officers recalled one of the burglary victims may have had such an item stolen.
With Morgan detaining David Sisco, Smith went to the place of employment of Amy Barr, where she identified the $130 pair of shoes as having been stolen from her St. Clair Avenue home, Lane reported.
Meanwhile, Rebecca Sisco gave officers permission to search her purse, and a detective saw some credit cards inside, but before he could ask about them, she reportedly said they "belonged to David."
Officers found the cards to be those of another burglary victim, Robert Bloor, a retired city police officer, who had reported numerous items taken from his home, including the service revolver he had used as an officer.
David Sisco was arrested at that point for receiving stolen property and officers asked to search his home, but he declined, and Lane said Smith worked all day Tuesday to obtain a search warrant for the home, which was executed Tuesday evening.
Inside the home, they reportedly found "quite a bit" of stolen property from numerous burglaries. Some items had been sold and recovered by officers prior to search of the house, which also led to Sisco, according to Lane.
He said it is believed Sisco walked through neighborhoods with a baby stroller, knocking on doors, and chose to enter those homes where no one was home.
"He hadn't encountered anyone (at home), but he would have eventually," Lane predicted.
He said more information is being unearthed as Morgan and Smith keep investigating, saying, "There are definitely others involved. Other charges are pending. The hammer's coming down."
Lane continued, "Rob and Darin did an excellent job on this case. I imagine it's very gratifying to them to be able to call these people and return their (stolen) items. How often do you (as a police officer) get to do that?"
David Sisco appeared Wednesday in East Liverpool Municipal Court on the receiving stolen property charge and had a pretrial scheduled Sept. 13, with cash/surety bond set at $15,000. He also was fined $75 for a driving under suspension charge from an earlier case.
2012年9月12日星期三
Now that I had decided where would I go?
It's not that I wanted another pair of cute shoes. A good pair of shoes is a necessity. Really. (Is there a woman alive who hasn't said that?)
I have feet issues, big time. I wear a size 12 in ladies' shoes, and in athletic shoes, a men's size 10 1/2. Did I mention I have fallen arches and huge bunions? Needless to say, my feet always need help.
After more than 40 years of pushing around rolling racks as a fashion coordinator, I decided that it was time to invest in a good shoe. My giant feet were sending me a message: Get some fashionable shoes with comfort. With this in mind and credit card in hand, I decided to listen and invest in some custom-made shoes.
Great idea. But how do I find these "investment shoes"? Lucky for me, I was about to go on a trip to Italy where the finest shoemakers in the world would surround me. Surely it would be a breeze to find relief for my poor old feet. I travel to Italy every two years and have noticed the small, quaint shops of handmade leather shoes, but I never thought about having a pair made.
Now that I had decided, where would I go? I could just wander the streets and by chance happen upon a shoe shop, but I had a better idea. I turned to the Internet and found some likely candidates. Then, I decided that I would e-mail my friends in Florence and ask for their help in finding the perfect maestro calzola io (master shoemaker in Italian).
After all, my friends are top craftsmen in their own fields. Jean Saade, a third-generation jewelry shop owner, and Smilie Mimmo, a third-generation leather factory owner, both design fine handcrafted goods. I hoped they would help me find a shoemaker and would explain my wants and needs, rather than let me wave my hands around trying to explain my predicament with my limited Italian vocabulary. Within 24 hours, I had my answer. Yes, Jean and Smilie would help me. I decided the best and most versatile shoe for me was a ballet-type flat, with an orthotic built into the shoe and designed to avoid my bigger-than-Texas-size bunions.
Fast-forward a few months, our trip had finally begun. After a few days of traveling in Italy, my husband and I arrived in Florence and took a walk along the cobblestone streets, wandering off on a side street away from the hordes of tourists. Suddenly, I stopped in front of a tiny shop window. Like a scene out of a movie, an older Italian gentleman was sitting at his cobbler's bench slowly hammering tiny nails into a leather shoe. Apprentices, soaking up his every move, surrounded him. I remarked that I would just love it if "my shoemaker" could be just like this one.
Little did I know that the next day when my friend Smilie took me to meet his choice artisan, it would be the same man -- Calogero Mannina, a master shoemaker for more than 54 years and a second-generation shoe designer. I saw the framed articles in magazines and newspaper clippings from around the world claiming his talent. He was even featured in an exclusive book on elite Florentine artisans. I was sure that I was meant to have the best size 12 shoes that Italy could produce.
As we walked into his tiny workshop without an appointment, Smilie explained what I wanted. Surrounded by stacks of leather samples, nails and hammers, Mannina was ready to solve my foot problems with a shoe made of soft, beautiful Italian leather.
What color do you want? Round or pointed toe? What heel height?
As I conveyed my answers to Smilie, the Italian shoemaker's expertise put my fears to rest. He took a million notes, measured my orthotics and then sat me down on the worn bench, one end stacked high with shoeboxes and soon-to-be shoes. He began to trace my feet with a pencil onto paper, just how I remember my foot being measured as a child in the 1950s. Mannina meant business. He jotted down numbers and notes about my foot, in Italian, of course. The measuring and shoe talk was over in less than 20 minutes. Then we left the workshop and walked around to his storefront. It was a beautiful store full of shoes. Of course, those shoes were for people with normal-size feet, not my big size 12s.
Suddenly I remembered that I had forgotten to inquire how much my custom shoes would cost. As the kind, friendly craftsman handed me a form to complete with my mailing address back in the States, I started to panic. What if these shoes had "movie star" prices? After all, Mannina was pictured with lots of movie stars on the store's wall. I decided that I just would not shop for shoes for a year (or maybe more!) and surely that would offset the price of my custom shoes. When Smilie asked him the price, I already had my credit card out, ready to bite the bullet.
After Smilie told me the price, I realized that my math had been correct: No shoes for a year or so. That worked for me because now I would have wonderful custom-made shoes that would last forever. And if I did wear them out or want another style, Mannina would have my shoe pattern and my wooden form filed right there with all the movie stars'. All I would have to do is e-mail and give him my credit card number and another pair would soon be on the way!
Mannina explained that I should expect the handcrafted shoes in about a month. This talented artisan makes only one pair of shoes each day with the great care and pride. Why would I rush this dying art? I would be happy to wait.
Mannina and I walked out of the shop practically hand-in-hand. He wished me well, gave me a kiss on each cheek and a big hug and off I went. I received my custom-made Italian leather shoes nine weeks and one day after purchasing them. They fit like a glove. The leather wraps around my bunions with no pain and is even softer than I remembered back in Mannina's shop. I wear the shoes practically night and day. My big feet and I are very happy and stylish, too!
I have feet issues, big time. I wear a size 12 in ladies' shoes, and in athletic shoes, a men's size 10 1/2. Did I mention I have fallen arches and huge bunions? Needless to say, my feet always need help.
After more than 40 years of pushing around rolling racks as a fashion coordinator, I decided that it was time to invest in a good shoe. My giant feet were sending me a message: Get some fashionable shoes with comfort. With this in mind and credit card in hand, I decided to listen and invest in some custom-made shoes.
Great idea. But how do I find these "investment shoes"? Lucky for me, I was about to go on a trip to Italy where the finest shoemakers in the world would surround me. Surely it would be a breeze to find relief for my poor old feet. I travel to Italy every two years and have noticed the small, quaint shops of handmade leather shoes, but I never thought about having a pair made.
Now that I had decided, where would I go? I could just wander the streets and by chance happen upon a shoe shop, but I had a better idea. I turned to the Internet and found some likely candidates. Then, I decided that I would e-mail my friends in Florence and ask for their help in finding the perfect maestro calzola io (master shoemaker in Italian).
After all, my friends are top craftsmen in their own fields. Jean Saade, a third-generation jewelry shop owner, and Smilie Mimmo, a third-generation leather factory owner, both design fine handcrafted goods. I hoped they would help me find a shoemaker and would explain my wants and needs, rather than let me wave my hands around trying to explain my predicament with my limited Italian vocabulary. Within 24 hours, I had my answer. Yes, Jean and Smilie would help me. I decided the best and most versatile shoe for me was a ballet-type flat, with an orthotic built into the shoe and designed to avoid my bigger-than-Texas-size bunions.
Fast-forward a few months, our trip had finally begun. After a few days of traveling in Italy, my husband and I arrived in Florence and took a walk along the cobblestone streets, wandering off on a side street away from the hordes of tourists. Suddenly, I stopped in front of a tiny shop window. Like a scene out of a movie, an older Italian gentleman was sitting at his cobbler's bench slowly hammering tiny nails into a leather shoe. Apprentices, soaking up his every move, surrounded him. I remarked that I would just love it if "my shoemaker" could be just like this one.
Little did I know that the next day when my friend Smilie took me to meet his choice artisan, it would be the same man -- Calogero Mannina, a master shoemaker for more than 54 years and a second-generation shoe designer. I saw the framed articles in magazines and newspaper clippings from around the world claiming his talent. He was even featured in an exclusive book on elite Florentine artisans. I was sure that I was meant to have the best size 12 shoes that Italy could produce.
As we walked into his tiny workshop without an appointment, Smilie explained what I wanted. Surrounded by stacks of leather samples, nails and hammers, Mannina was ready to solve my foot problems with a shoe made of soft, beautiful Italian leather.
What color do you want? Round or pointed toe? What heel height?
As I conveyed my answers to Smilie, the Italian shoemaker's expertise put my fears to rest. He took a million notes, measured my orthotics and then sat me down on the worn bench, one end stacked high with shoeboxes and soon-to-be shoes. He began to trace my feet with a pencil onto paper, just how I remember my foot being measured as a child in the 1950s. Mannina meant business. He jotted down numbers and notes about my foot, in Italian, of course. The measuring and shoe talk was over in less than 20 minutes. Then we left the workshop and walked around to his storefront. It was a beautiful store full of shoes. Of course, those shoes were for people with normal-size feet, not my big size 12s.
Suddenly I remembered that I had forgotten to inquire how much my custom shoes would cost. As the kind, friendly craftsman handed me a form to complete with my mailing address back in the States, I started to panic. What if these shoes had "movie star" prices? After all, Mannina was pictured with lots of movie stars on the store's wall. I decided that I just would not shop for shoes for a year (or maybe more!) and surely that would offset the price of my custom shoes. When Smilie asked him the price, I already had my credit card out, ready to bite the bullet.
After Smilie told me the price, I realized that my math had been correct: No shoes for a year or so. That worked for me because now I would have wonderful custom-made shoes that would last forever. And if I did wear them out or want another style, Mannina would have my shoe pattern and my wooden form filed right there with all the movie stars'. All I would have to do is e-mail and give him my credit card number and another pair would soon be on the way!
Mannina explained that I should expect the handcrafted shoes in about a month. This talented artisan makes only one pair of shoes each day with the great care and pride. Why would I rush this dying art? I would be happy to wait.
Mannina and I walked out of the shop practically hand-in-hand. He wished me well, gave me a kiss on each cheek and a big hug and off I went. I received my custom-made Italian leather shoes nine weeks and one day after purchasing them. They fit like a glove. The leather wraps around my bunions with no pain and is even softer than I remembered back in Mannina's shop. I wear the shoes practically night and day. My big feet and I are very happy and stylish, too!
2012年9月11日星期二
Shoe designs by day fire juggling by night for Jennifer Romas
Bombshell brunette Jennifer Romas is a star dancer at “iCandy Burlesque: the Show” with her sizzling striptease, unbelievable gravity-defying pole routines and her phenomenal fire-juggling skills. By night, she KOs audiences six times a week in the hot, new Planet Hollywood Miracle Mile show.
But by day, she’s knocking out extraordinary and exotic embellishments for her shoe line Sekshual Design.
“Dancing is my passion,” Jennifer told me. “But I like keeping busy and creative. So I worked on my own costumes, and the shoe accessorizing followed automatically.” Now the former gymnast and stilt-walker has a shoe-in fan following with fashion aficionados and her fellow dancers at shows up and down the Strip.
It’s not yet to the level of where Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik are opening boutiques at every hotel in town, but Jennifer is busy finishing her first full boutique collection ready to showcase.
Born in Michigan, she became a competitive athlete in track, diving and gymnastics and went on to become the U.S. Gymnastics Federation state floor and vault champion in Minnesota. Her coaches encouraged her to take dance classes to help her routines, and Jennifer wound up in the international touring jazz company Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago.
En route to Los Angeles for her career, she stopped in Las Vegas, won an unexpected downtown gig at “X-Treme Scene” in Union Plaza and still has yet to continue her 270-mile journey to the California movie capital. She’s danced in shows in Las Vegas, Chicago, Washington, D.C., New York, Korea and China. She’s been seen on NBC and Fox, for NASCAR on Speed TV and placed in the Top 15 of “America’s Got Talent” with her Sexy and Dangerous act.
Jennifer danced in the Charo and Rick Thomas shows on the Strip and was the headliner in “Striptease,” which played at the Sahara until the casino hotel closed in May 2011. Michael Jackson show director and choreographer Kenny Ortega hired her to perform at Steve Wynn’s birthday dance show at XS.
To keep fit, she does 40 minutes of cardio training with sit-ups and lunges at the gym five days a week and adds in a 6 a.m. boot camp. Needless to say, no pizzas or cheeseburgers in her diet. “I even use green cabbage leaves around my knees to reduce the swelling from all the dance workouts,” Jennifer said.
Her dancing, modeling and choreography assignments keep her busy, but she managed to debut her Sekshual Design shoes a year ago at the Vegas Rocks Magazine Awards at the then-Las Vegas Hilton (now LVH). “I love creating the unusual, the unique, the exotic,” Jennifer said. “I rework the shoes over in feathers, crystals, straps; in fact, the embellishments also work on hats, lingerie and costumes.”
She's thrilled dancing in"iCandy Burlesque" and that her erotic shoe designs have caught on:"I love Las Vegas because you can do what you need to do or want to do any time of the day or night. I feel like I never really have any free time, but with all the work I pack into a day, I am the happiest I've ever been in my life. Everything is beautiful, and I know it's going to continue getting even bigger and better."
But by day, she’s knocking out extraordinary and exotic embellishments for her shoe line Sekshual Design.
“Dancing is my passion,” Jennifer told me. “But I like keeping busy and creative. So I worked on my own costumes, and the shoe accessorizing followed automatically.” Now the former gymnast and stilt-walker has a shoe-in fan following with fashion aficionados and her fellow dancers at shows up and down the Strip.
It’s not yet to the level of where Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik are opening boutiques at every hotel in town, but Jennifer is busy finishing her first full boutique collection ready to showcase.
Born in Michigan, she became a competitive athlete in track, diving and gymnastics and went on to become the U.S. Gymnastics Federation state floor and vault champion in Minnesota. Her coaches encouraged her to take dance classes to help her routines, and Jennifer wound up in the international touring jazz company Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago.
En route to Los Angeles for her career, she stopped in Las Vegas, won an unexpected downtown gig at “X-Treme Scene” in Union Plaza and still has yet to continue her 270-mile journey to the California movie capital. She’s danced in shows in Las Vegas, Chicago, Washington, D.C., New York, Korea and China. She’s been seen on NBC and Fox, for NASCAR on Speed TV and placed in the Top 15 of “America’s Got Talent” with her Sexy and Dangerous act.
Jennifer danced in the Charo and Rick Thomas shows on the Strip and was the headliner in “Striptease,” which played at the Sahara until the casino hotel closed in May 2011. Michael Jackson show director and choreographer Kenny Ortega hired her to perform at Steve Wynn’s birthday dance show at XS.
To keep fit, she does 40 minutes of cardio training with sit-ups and lunges at the gym five days a week and adds in a 6 a.m. boot camp. Needless to say, no pizzas or cheeseburgers in her diet. “I even use green cabbage leaves around my knees to reduce the swelling from all the dance workouts,” Jennifer said.
Her dancing, modeling and choreography assignments keep her busy, but she managed to debut her Sekshual Design shoes a year ago at the Vegas Rocks Magazine Awards at the then-Las Vegas Hilton (now LVH). “I love creating the unusual, the unique, the exotic,” Jennifer said. “I rework the shoes over in feathers, crystals, straps; in fact, the embellishments also work on hats, lingerie and costumes.”
She's thrilled dancing in"iCandy Burlesque" and that her erotic shoe designs have caught on:"I love Las Vegas because you can do what you need to do or want to do any time of the day or night. I feel like I never really have any free time, but with all the work I pack into a day, I am the happiest I've ever been in my life. Everything is beautiful, and I know it's going to continue getting even bigger and better."
2012年9月10日星期一
High fashion pieces at college student prices
With summer coming to a close, it is time to break all your summer clothes out of your closet one last time before fall settles in. Some of the best trends of the summer of 2012 included high-to-low skirts and dresses, cutouts, peplum tops and dresses, neon, platforms and the return of the 90’s with crop tops. As a Drew student, these trends are all extremely wearable, even on a budget.
The “high to low” look is a skirt or dress cut higher in the front and longer in the back. It combines the best of mini and maxi, allowing you to show off your legs while still enjoying the effortless, flowy feel of a long skirt. When wearing this type of garment, make sure that its length is proportional to your body type— something cut too high in the front can look vulgar, while too long in the back runs the risk of dragging on the ground behind you. Dress it up with some wedges on the weekend, or dress it down with a simple tee to class. Check out some options at Forever 21 (Pleated High-Low Skirt, $19.80),and Urban Outfitters.
Cutouts allow you to show a little skin without showing too much, and they raise any outfit’s edginess. Cutouts can be anywhere on a garment, from the back, the shoulders, the midriff, the side or even the thigh, which will bring attention to your best features while the perhaps less-than-perfect areas stay covered. Some great cutout clothes include the Blaze Cutout Dress, the ASOS top with Extreme Dip Back and Strappy Back, Funktional Night Slash Leggings, Petites Floral SideBra Top, and the Petite Dip-Dye Cutout Sweat.
Typically on the dressier side, 50’s inspired peplum conjures mental images of Zooey Deschanel, red lips, and suicide roll hair-do’s. Peplum creates curves in all the right places—perfect for those with a straight up and down frame. Channel your inner pin-up girl this weekend with a Peplum Skirt ($35.00, Zara), Petite Sleeveless Peplum Top or Tiffany Embellished Neck Peplum Dress.
Perhaps due to the explosion of dance music into the mainstream, neon ‘is all the rage’. Even if you didn’t make it to any music festivals this summer, neon adds a pop of fun color to gym shoes, sweatshirts, tops, and leggings. Stop traffic in shoes from Charlotte Russe (Mixed Brights Cage Heel, $42.50),or leggings from Delias (Neon Seamless Legging, $20.00)
A favorite is the platform shoe. When the Spice Girls turn Earth into Spice World with seven inch platforms, many were inspired to do the same. Jeffrey Campbell in particular brought this style back with his unique and often gravity-defying shoes. Although these shoes can get pricey, it is worth it. Nothing beats the feeling of towering over your friends, or finally meeting eye level with them. Believe it or not, they are extremely easy to walk in, and are much easier to walk back to your dorm room from the suites on a Saturday night, regardless if you’ve had one drink or five.
On the topic of the Spice Girls, the 90’s have officially made their return. Whether you want to channel Kurt Cobain’s grunge or Alicia Silverstone’s crop tops from Clueless, you can’t go wrong. Just make sure that you don’t take it literally—scrunchies and the thighmaster should probably never see the light of day ever again. Pair a crop top with a high-waisted skirt and show a sliver of stomach in the Scribbles Cropped Top ($4.99, Forever 21) or the Electric Wave Crop. If plaid is more your style, look no further than the Riot Plaid Skirt which also follows the high-to-low trend, or the Black Red High Waist Hollow Pleated Dress.
Let’s get the most out of summer fashion while we still can! Before long it will be time to stock up on boots and scarves. Just remember, fashion is meant to be fun. If something is not your style, don’t feel like you have to buy it just because it is trendy. Fashion reflects personality, so make sure if you follow a trend, your own personal style is still being represented.
The “high to low” look is a skirt or dress cut higher in the front and longer in the back. It combines the best of mini and maxi, allowing you to show off your legs while still enjoying the effortless, flowy feel of a long skirt. When wearing this type of garment, make sure that its length is proportional to your body type— something cut too high in the front can look vulgar, while too long in the back runs the risk of dragging on the ground behind you. Dress it up with some wedges on the weekend, or dress it down with a simple tee to class. Check out some options at Forever 21 (Pleated High-Low Skirt, $19.80),and Urban Outfitters.
Cutouts allow you to show a little skin without showing too much, and they raise any outfit’s edginess. Cutouts can be anywhere on a garment, from the back, the shoulders, the midriff, the side or even the thigh, which will bring attention to your best features while the perhaps less-than-perfect areas stay covered. Some great cutout clothes include the Blaze Cutout Dress, the ASOS top with Extreme Dip Back and Strappy Back, Funktional Night Slash Leggings, Petites Floral SideBra Top, and the Petite Dip-Dye Cutout Sweat.
Typically on the dressier side, 50’s inspired peplum conjures mental images of Zooey Deschanel, red lips, and suicide roll hair-do’s. Peplum creates curves in all the right places—perfect for those with a straight up and down frame. Channel your inner pin-up girl this weekend with a Peplum Skirt ($35.00, Zara), Petite Sleeveless Peplum Top or Tiffany Embellished Neck Peplum Dress.
Perhaps due to the explosion of dance music into the mainstream, neon ‘is all the rage’. Even if you didn’t make it to any music festivals this summer, neon adds a pop of fun color to gym shoes, sweatshirts, tops, and leggings. Stop traffic in shoes from Charlotte Russe (Mixed Brights Cage Heel, $42.50),or leggings from Delias (Neon Seamless Legging, $20.00)
A favorite is the platform shoe. When the Spice Girls turn Earth into Spice World with seven inch platforms, many were inspired to do the same. Jeffrey Campbell in particular brought this style back with his unique and often gravity-defying shoes. Although these shoes can get pricey, it is worth it. Nothing beats the feeling of towering over your friends, or finally meeting eye level with them. Believe it or not, they are extremely easy to walk in, and are much easier to walk back to your dorm room from the suites on a Saturday night, regardless if you’ve had one drink or five.
On the topic of the Spice Girls, the 90’s have officially made their return. Whether you want to channel Kurt Cobain’s grunge or Alicia Silverstone’s crop tops from Clueless, you can’t go wrong. Just make sure that you don’t take it literally—scrunchies and the thighmaster should probably never see the light of day ever again. Pair a crop top with a high-waisted skirt and show a sliver of stomach in the Scribbles Cropped Top ($4.99, Forever 21) or the Electric Wave Crop. If plaid is more your style, look no further than the Riot Plaid Skirt which also follows the high-to-low trend, or the Black Red High Waist Hollow Pleated Dress.
Let’s get the most out of summer fashion while we still can! Before long it will be time to stock up on boots and scarves. Just remember, fashion is meant to be fun. If something is not your style, don’t feel like you have to buy it just because it is trendy. Fashion reflects personality, so make sure if you follow a trend, your own personal style is still being represented.
2012年9月9日星期日
Blahnik executives fashion a dairy farm
It's the Fifth Avenue of farms, the Barney's of barns, the Saks of cow stalls.
Welcome to Arethusa Farm in Litchfield, Conn., a flourishing dairy dynasty with designer pedigree and stiletto style.
The pristine dairy farm may seem an unlikely business initiative for fashion gurus George Malkemus and Tony Yurgaitis. The Manhattanites are best known as the top executives of the high-end shoe brand, Manolo Blahnik, the finely crafted, Italian women's stilettos and such made famous by Carrie Bradshaw in the HBO series "Sex and the City."
But don't let these city guys fool you. With the same commitment and attention to quality they put into their pricey shoes of desire, the longtime partners have crafted the creme de la creme of dairy products while gaining international attention for their cattle.
"This is not a hobby. It is a work of love," said Yurgaitis. "We wanted to save this farm."
The story did not start so altruistically in 1999, when the couple bought the place. It was more about being a little selfish when it came to the view from their house, which is across from the farm.
"We had this beautiful vista that we woke up to every day, and we didn't want it spoiled," explained Malkemus. "So we bought the farm."
The former horse farm could have become a golf course or tract housing - two earlier plans for the property - but Yurgaitis and Malkemus wanted to preserve the gently rolling pastures. When they started planning, the 300-plus-acre farm became home to 300 head of Holsteins, Brown Swiss and Jersey cows, heifers and calves, a chicken coop, nine barns, five farmhouses, and a nearby retail store, creamery and bottling plant.
In the beginning, they researched the place. They learned it was once a dairy farm called Arethusa (an extinct orchid). Anxious to preserve its history, they not only restored the farm's original name but purchased five cows because there was "something missing" when they looked out at empty barns, they said.
"Then the five just kept calving and calving, and we did more research and we knew we had to take the next step," Yurgaitis said. More cows were added, more land purchased and the business began to blossom.
The two were consumed with learning all they could about farming and it was clear there was not going to be a lot of profit, if any, in dairy farming. But the business was about more than just money. It was about the land.
"We were both concerned about farmland preservation as well as making this a working farm," said Malkemus, as he recited statistics reflecting the dramatic drop in the number of dairy farms over the decades.
"People can do a lot with a resource," he continued. "They can build a big house and throw resources around, or they can try to bring something back with that resource. We are people who wanted to bring something back. And we wanted to do something that would make a difference in the land, the community and the people."
The cows have won a wall full of trophies and ribbons that are proudly displayed in the sumptuous conference room inside the spacious, state-of-the-art milk barn. Arethusa made history in 2004 when two of its cows, Victoria and Melanie, were named Grand Champion Jersey and Grand Champion Holstein at the World Dairy Expo in Wisconsin. The efforts to develop the best herd of home-bred cattle in North American has established Arethusa as a premier diary breeding farm, both nationally and internationally.
And then there is the milk and all it creates.
Malkemus just wanted milk that tasted good, the kind he remembered from his childhood in Texas. As a seasoned fashion magnate in a company in which quality trumps quantity, he knew that meant taking time when it came to producing Arethusa milk, marketed as "milk like it used to taste."
"We use vat processing," he said explaining how using small batch, low-temperature, long-duration, slow heat and quick cool processes that preserve the flavor of milk rather than stripping it away. Such processing also means days rather than weeks when it comes to shelf life, the two explain. The more common pasteurizing methods are most cost-effective and quicker, but kill good bacteria and take away flavor, they maintain.
"You drink our milk, you don't put it in the refrigerator for a month," said Yurgaitis.
All the milk comes from about 80 cows from the Arethusa herd, a group of "ladies" Yurgaitis, Malkemus and their expert staff hold in high esteem.
Enter the milking parlor and the first thing you see is an oversized sign stating "Every cow in this barn is a lady, please treat her as such."
The herd enjoys spotless stalls, top-quality Canadian hay and personalized protein-rich grain mixtures from a computerized feeding system, with diets dovetailing with lactation cycles and special needs. They are treated to daily vacuuming and weekly baths in a spa-like shower room, including a conditioning treatment to keep their tails white.
Welcome to Arethusa Farm in Litchfield, Conn., a flourishing dairy dynasty with designer pedigree and stiletto style.
The pristine dairy farm may seem an unlikely business initiative for fashion gurus George Malkemus and Tony Yurgaitis. The Manhattanites are best known as the top executives of the high-end shoe brand, Manolo Blahnik, the finely crafted, Italian women's stilettos and such made famous by Carrie Bradshaw in the HBO series "Sex and the City."
But don't let these city guys fool you. With the same commitment and attention to quality they put into their pricey shoes of desire, the longtime partners have crafted the creme de la creme of dairy products while gaining international attention for their cattle.
"This is not a hobby. It is a work of love," said Yurgaitis. "We wanted to save this farm."
The story did not start so altruistically in 1999, when the couple bought the place. It was more about being a little selfish when it came to the view from their house, which is across from the farm.
"We had this beautiful vista that we woke up to every day, and we didn't want it spoiled," explained Malkemus. "So we bought the farm."
The former horse farm could have become a golf course or tract housing - two earlier plans for the property - but Yurgaitis and Malkemus wanted to preserve the gently rolling pastures. When they started planning, the 300-plus-acre farm became home to 300 head of Holsteins, Brown Swiss and Jersey cows, heifers and calves, a chicken coop, nine barns, five farmhouses, and a nearby retail store, creamery and bottling plant.
In the beginning, they researched the place. They learned it was once a dairy farm called Arethusa (an extinct orchid). Anxious to preserve its history, they not only restored the farm's original name but purchased five cows because there was "something missing" when they looked out at empty barns, they said.
"Then the five just kept calving and calving, and we did more research and we knew we had to take the next step," Yurgaitis said. More cows were added, more land purchased and the business began to blossom.
The two were consumed with learning all they could about farming and it was clear there was not going to be a lot of profit, if any, in dairy farming. But the business was about more than just money. It was about the land.
"We were both concerned about farmland preservation as well as making this a working farm," said Malkemus, as he recited statistics reflecting the dramatic drop in the number of dairy farms over the decades.
"People can do a lot with a resource," he continued. "They can build a big house and throw resources around, or they can try to bring something back with that resource. We are people who wanted to bring something back. And we wanted to do something that would make a difference in the land, the community and the people."
The cows have won a wall full of trophies and ribbons that are proudly displayed in the sumptuous conference room inside the spacious, state-of-the-art milk barn. Arethusa made history in 2004 when two of its cows, Victoria and Melanie, were named Grand Champion Jersey and Grand Champion Holstein at the World Dairy Expo in Wisconsin. The efforts to develop the best herd of home-bred cattle in North American has established Arethusa as a premier diary breeding farm, both nationally and internationally.
And then there is the milk and all it creates.
Malkemus just wanted milk that tasted good, the kind he remembered from his childhood in Texas. As a seasoned fashion magnate in a company in which quality trumps quantity, he knew that meant taking time when it came to producing Arethusa milk, marketed as "milk like it used to taste."
"We use vat processing," he said explaining how using small batch, low-temperature, long-duration, slow heat and quick cool processes that preserve the flavor of milk rather than stripping it away. Such processing also means days rather than weeks when it comes to shelf life, the two explain. The more common pasteurizing methods are most cost-effective and quicker, but kill good bacteria and take away flavor, they maintain.
"You drink our milk, you don't put it in the refrigerator for a month," said Yurgaitis.
All the milk comes from about 80 cows from the Arethusa herd, a group of "ladies" Yurgaitis, Malkemus and their expert staff hold in high esteem.
Enter the milking parlor and the first thing you see is an oversized sign stating "Every cow in this barn is a lady, please treat her as such."
The herd enjoys spotless stalls, top-quality Canadian hay and personalized protein-rich grain mixtures from a computerized feeding system, with diets dovetailing with lactation cycles and special needs. They are treated to daily vacuuming and weekly baths in a spa-like shower room, including a conditioning treatment to keep their tails white.
2012年9月6日星期四
Africa to give away shoes
As a volunteer with the nonprofit organization Soles 4 Souls, Steward was one of a group of 15 to 20 American volunteers who traveled to India in August 2011 and another group that went to Tanzania in Africa to distribute shoes this summer, mainly to children.
“I really don’t want the spotlight for what I’m doing. I just enjoy it. It ties in with my religious beliefs and helping to serve others,” Steward said.
The volunteers get a chance to play with kids, measure and wash their feet and fit them with a new pair of shoes, often their first pair of shoes. The shoes, which are similar to Crocs, are purchased in the country where they are to be distributed, to help the economy there, Steward said.
Without shoes, children and adults go barefoot or use pieces of old tires, plastic bags and cardboard to protect their feet, Steward said. About 500 to 1,000 pairs of shoes were distributed per trip.
“People told me, once you go to Africa you will fall in love with it. Within 24 hours, it felt like home, because the people are so warm and giving of the few possessions they have,” Steward said.
The donated shoes are used for distribution domestically.
Volunteers also take digital photos of the children and learn their names, which is important to the children, Steward said.
“It fuels the fire even more to see another part of the world, culture. It’s eye-opening how they live, their culture,” Steward said.
Steward was born in Hagerstown, where he lived until third-grade, when his family moved to Greencastle.
He graduated from Greencastle-Antrim High School in 2005 and worked for E.L.M. Shoes while in high school.
He left briefly for college, then moved to Nashville, where his sister and brother-in-law live, for several years. Steward continued in the shoe business, working for New Balance.
When Steward returned to Greencastle in 2008, he got his job back at E.L.M.
Steward said his family vacationed mainly in the New England area when he and his older sister were growing up. It was his first overseas trip to France, Spain and Italy with a school group right after high school graduation that sparked his desire for international travel.
After college, Steward traveled to Ireland. When he learned of the India trip, he started saving for it.
“I definitely prefer travel when I can help others, when there’s a purpose for the trip,” said Steward, who set aside time for touring, not just work.
While in India, Steward got to go “up into the mountains” and hiking. The Africa trip included a visit to River Gambia National Park for chimpanzee tracking and boat rides.
Immersion in different cultures has changed Steward, who said he returned from both trips wanting to purge his material possessions. He has seen how much happier people with so much less are.
“We live totally differently. We live with so much excess. Society-wise, we’re driven by money, possessions. They’re people just like us and deal with the same issues,” Steward said.
The 1 1/2- to two-week trips usually include an interpreter, in case no one in the community they’re visiting speaks English.
For his next trip, Steward, the son of Greg and Gay Steward, has applied to travel to the Ukraine with Eastern European Missions and is waiting to hear whether he’s been accepted to go. This will be a mission trip distributing Bibles and teaching, he said.
“I really don’t want the spotlight for what I’m doing. I just enjoy it. It ties in with my religious beliefs and helping to serve others,” Steward said.
The volunteers get a chance to play with kids, measure and wash their feet and fit them with a new pair of shoes, often their first pair of shoes. The shoes, which are similar to Crocs, are purchased in the country where they are to be distributed, to help the economy there, Steward said.
Without shoes, children and adults go barefoot or use pieces of old tires, plastic bags and cardboard to protect their feet, Steward said. About 500 to 1,000 pairs of shoes were distributed per trip.
“People told me, once you go to Africa you will fall in love with it. Within 24 hours, it felt like home, because the people are so warm and giving of the few possessions they have,” Steward said.
The donated shoes are used for distribution domestically.
Volunteers also take digital photos of the children and learn their names, which is important to the children, Steward said.
“It fuels the fire even more to see another part of the world, culture. It’s eye-opening how they live, their culture,” Steward said.
Steward was born in Hagerstown, where he lived until third-grade, when his family moved to Greencastle.
He graduated from Greencastle-Antrim High School in 2005 and worked for E.L.M. Shoes while in high school.
He left briefly for college, then moved to Nashville, where his sister and brother-in-law live, for several years. Steward continued in the shoe business, working for New Balance.
When Steward returned to Greencastle in 2008, he got his job back at E.L.M.
Steward said his family vacationed mainly in the New England area when he and his older sister were growing up. It was his first overseas trip to France, Spain and Italy with a school group right after high school graduation that sparked his desire for international travel.
After college, Steward traveled to Ireland. When he learned of the India trip, he started saving for it.
“I definitely prefer travel when I can help others, when there’s a purpose for the trip,” said Steward, who set aside time for touring, not just work.
While in India, Steward got to go “up into the mountains” and hiking. The Africa trip included a visit to River Gambia National Park for chimpanzee tracking and boat rides.
Immersion in different cultures has changed Steward, who said he returned from both trips wanting to purge his material possessions. He has seen how much happier people with so much less are.
“We live totally differently. We live with so much excess. Society-wise, we’re driven by money, possessions. They’re people just like us and deal with the same issues,” Steward said.
The 1 1/2- to two-week trips usually include an interpreter, in case no one in the community they’re visiting speaks English.
For his next trip, Steward, the son of Greg and Gay Steward, has applied to travel to the Ukraine with Eastern European Missions and is waiting to hear whether he’s been accepted to go. This will be a mission trip distributing Bibles and teaching, he said.
2012年9月5日星期三
Comfy shoes are the shoo-in for DNC streets
Something’s happening outside the EpiCenter. Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” just came outside to join the masses. And to my surprise, she’s not wearing high heels. But cute little flats.
I’m with ya, Mika. I’m footloose in a Croc flip-flop this week. On the sticky streets of Charlotte it comes down to comfort. And if it rains, I’ll be in a rubber sandal that floats all the way down to the Transit Center.
Which gets me studying the other sidewalk foot soldiers for the Democratic convention. Lots of flats and flops. Sneakers, Tevas, and Keens. I ask two gals in flats what they’re wearing:
“I wanted comfort AND style. Ferragamo.”
And her friend?
“Me too. Target.”
Touche. I’ve walked a mile in her shoes, I can tell you that.
Most went practical for a day of walking and gawking – an easy choice for most.
“I picked the ugliest shoes I could find in my closet because they’re the most comfortable,” asserts a visitor. “And if I get mugged in downtown Charlotte, no one will want to steal them.”
Can’t say the same of the girl in the J. Crew 3-inch heel.
“They’re last season,” she apologizes.
Honey, you don’t have to defend that shoe to me. These Crocs are so many seasons past, they’re vintage.
“I have flip-flops in my bag if my feet hurt. Then I change back into these if I see someone important.”
Speaking of changes, the crowd starts buzzing Wednesday morning. Obama’s speech is being moved from the stadium to the arena. I wait for the other shoe to drop. My community credential is suddenly void.
“Well, whatever shoes I was going to wear, they were going to get wet and ruined,” a woman sighs. “But I was willing to sacrifice my shoes for Obama.”
Bless her sweet sole.
But some care more about Joe. A girl at the MSNBC set wears a red wedge sandal to match her red Liverpool soccer jersey – Joe Scarborough’s favorite soccer team. She’s a shoo-in for a picture with him. Joe even gets a network photographer to take it.
And for her friend, it’s all about height. Donning a black wedge, she puts 3 extra inches on her 5-foot, 2-inch frame. But excusing herself as she pushes through the crowd, she hears the words, “No prob, short stuff.”
I’m with ya, Mika. I’m footloose in a Croc flip-flop this week. On the sticky streets of Charlotte it comes down to comfort. And if it rains, I’ll be in a rubber sandal that floats all the way down to the Transit Center.
Which gets me studying the other sidewalk foot soldiers for the Democratic convention. Lots of flats and flops. Sneakers, Tevas, and Keens. I ask two gals in flats what they’re wearing:
“I wanted comfort AND style. Ferragamo.”
And her friend?
“Me too. Target.”
Touche. I’ve walked a mile in her shoes, I can tell you that.
Most went practical for a day of walking and gawking – an easy choice for most.
“I picked the ugliest shoes I could find in my closet because they’re the most comfortable,” asserts a visitor. “And if I get mugged in downtown Charlotte, no one will want to steal them.”
Can’t say the same of the girl in the J. Crew 3-inch heel.
“They’re last season,” she apologizes.
Honey, you don’t have to defend that shoe to me. These Crocs are so many seasons past, they’re vintage.
“I have flip-flops in my bag if my feet hurt. Then I change back into these if I see someone important.”
Speaking of changes, the crowd starts buzzing Wednesday morning. Obama’s speech is being moved from the stadium to the arena. I wait for the other shoe to drop. My community credential is suddenly void.
“Well, whatever shoes I was going to wear, they were going to get wet and ruined,” a woman sighs. “But I was willing to sacrifice my shoes for Obama.”
Bless her sweet sole.
But some care more about Joe. A girl at the MSNBC set wears a red wedge sandal to match her red Liverpool soccer jersey – Joe Scarborough’s favorite soccer team. She’s a shoo-in for a picture with him. Joe even gets a network photographer to take it.
And for her friend, it’s all about height. Donning a black wedge, she puts 3 extra inches on her 5-foot, 2-inch frame. But excusing herself as she pushes through the crowd, she hears the words, “No prob, short stuff.”
2012年9月4日星期二
The Classiest Feet in Tennis
The other day at the U.S. Open, I ran into Stan Smith without my Stan Smiths. This sounds meaningless but you have to understand: This is like bumping into Ralph Lauren while wearing a fanny pack and flip-flops. It's as bad as prowling around a Brooks Brothers in your Spider-Man pajama bottoms. It's a high crime against tennis fashion. Let me backtrack and explain.
I wear Stan Smiths all of the time. You've seen these shoes before: They're made by Adidas, and they're utterly basic—all-leather, with three subtle rows of tiny holes substituting for the brand's famous three stripes. The main characteristic of Stan Smiths is that they're bright white—immaculately so, like the teeth of a morning-TV news anchor. I will fistfight or thumb wrestle or at least mildly scowl at anyone who doesn't agree that the Stan Smith is among the most timeless sneakers ever made, a list that I believe also includes the Rod Laver, the Jack Purcell, the Chuck Taylor and perhaps the Air Force One. The reason they endure is their simple dignity. Sneakers are a hard trick to pull off in fashion—if you're not careful, you will look like Paul Simon on his way to a cookout in 1987. But you can respectably wear Stans with shorts and jeans, with cheap suits and good ones, to meetings, parties, dinners, hospitals, pet hospitals and I believe a wedding, as long as it's during the day and your pants are cotton. I have purchased so many pairs that Stan Smith should cook me dinner. If you are lucky enough to play clay-court tennis in them—and you should, not all the time, but just once, just to say you did—you will notice that the bottoms of their soles leave pretty little ribbons of circles, a recognizable footprint to any advanced sneakerologist.
So the other day, I was walking in through the front gate of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center when through a doorway, there he was: Stan the man himself, who won this NYC tennis clambake in 1971, took Wimbledon in 1972 and played the first Open night match in 1975. He was lean and tan, and at 65, he looked as if he could knock out five sets without a tiebreaker. I couldn't let the opportunity slide. I had to ask him about his sneakers.
As soon as I introduced myself, Smith looked me square in the eye and glanced down to see what I had on my feet.
"A knockoff," he said, unimpressed.
It was mortifying. He was right. I had the Stans on the night before at the Open, but I'd switched to something else for this trip. There's no need to go into what brand it was, but on my feet were a lightweight canvas pair of sneakers made by a different manufacturer, a pair that owed more than a small stylistic debt to Stan Smiths. You may as well have called them Stan Myths.
But Stan was cool about it. His whole partnership with the shoe has been a serendipitous twist—back in the mid-1960s, it was introduced as a partnership with the French player Robert Haillet, but Adidas was eager to move into the U.S. market, and turned to the Southern California-raised Smith. "For three years, both of our names were on the shoe," Smith said. "His name was on the side, my name was on the tongue…the original salesmen selling that shoe in the U.S. referred to it as a 'Haillet shoe.'"
He lifted a foot, revealing an all-black version of the Stan. "It was the high tech shoe of its time," he said. Had it changed much? "Almost exactly the same."
Smith said he seldom saw people play tennis in Stans anymore. Today they are far better known as an off-court shoe, a staple of casual-wear, frequently cited in fashion magazines. "The…Platonic ideal of a leather low-top pair of sneakers," is how GQ senior editor Will Welch described them to me in an email.
Smith, who said he recently signed a new contract with Adidas, was well aware of the shoe's fashion durability.
"The shoe has developed its own aura," he said. "The shoe freaks, it's amazing. They come up to me and tell me what it means to them and all this stuff—it's pretty wild. Then you got guys like Usher and Jay-Z and Marc Jacobs who think it's the greatest shoe ever."
"Most of the kids who wear it now have no idea who I am," Smith said. "It's just become a shoe—people call it the Stan Smith shoe. They have no idea who Stan Smith is."
The former U.S. Open champ said this with no trace of frustration. His strange second life only seemed to amuse him. "It's just one of those fluky things," Smith said. "I happened to be in the right place at the right time, with the right ranking, and the right shoe."
I wear Stan Smiths all of the time. You've seen these shoes before: They're made by Adidas, and they're utterly basic—all-leather, with three subtle rows of tiny holes substituting for the brand's famous three stripes. The main characteristic of Stan Smiths is that they're bright white—immaculately so, like the teeth of a morning-TV news anchor. I will fistfight or thumb wrestle or at least mildly scowl at anyone who doesn't agree that the Stan Smith is among the most timeless sneakers ever made, a list that I believe also includes the Rod Laver, the Jack Purcell, the Chuck Taylor and perhaps the Air Force One. The reason they endure is their simple dignity. Sneakers are a hard trick to pull off in fashion—if you're not careful, you will look like Paul Simon on his way to a cookout in 1987. But you can respectably wear Stans with shorts and jeans, with cheap suits and good ones, to meetings, parties, dinners, hospitals, pet hospitals and I believe a wedding, as long as it's during the day and your pants are cotton. I have purchased so many pairs that Stan Smith should cook me dinner. If you are lucky enough to play clay-court tennis in them—and you should, not all the time, but just once, just to say you did—you will notice that the bottoms of their soles leave pretty little ribbons of circles, a recognizable footprint to any advanced sneakerologist.
So the other day, I was walking in through the front gate of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center when through a doorway, there he was: Stan the man himself, who won this NYC tennis clambake in 1971, took Wimbledon in 1972 and played the first Open night match in 1975. He was lean and tan, and at 65, he looked as if he could knock out five sets without a tiebreaker. I couldn't let the opportunity slide. I had to ask him about his sneakers.
As soon as I introduced myself, Smith looked me square in the eye and glanced down to see what I had on my feet.
"A knockoff," he said, unimpressed.
It was mortifying. He was right. I had the Stans on the night before at the Open, but I'd switched to something else for this trip. There's no need to go into what brand it was, but on my feet were a lightweight canvas pair of sneakers made by a different manufacturer, a pair that owed more than a small stylistic debt to Stan Smiths. You may as well have called them Stan Myths.
But Stan was cool about it. His whole partnership with the shoe has been a serendipitous twist—back in the mid-1960s, it was introduced as a partnership with the French player Robert Haillet, but Adidas was eager to move into the U.S. market, and turned to the Southern California-raised Smith. "For three years, both of our names were on the shoe," Smith said. "His name was on the side, my name was on the tongue…the original salesmen selling that shoe in the U.S. referred to it as a 'Haillet shoe.'"
He lifted a foot, revealing an all-black version of the Stan. "It was the high tech shoe of its time," he said. Had it changed much? "Almost exactly the same."
Smith said he seldom saw people play tennis in Stans anymore. Today they are far better known as an off-court shoe, a staple of casual-wear, frequently cited in fashion magazines. "The…Platonic ideal of a leather low-top pair of sneakers," is how GQ senior editor Will Welch described them to me in an email.
Smith, who said he recently signed a new contract with Adidas, was well aware of the shoe's fashion durability.
"The shoe has developed its own aura," he said. "The shoe freaks, it's amazing. They come up to me and tell me what it means to them and all this stuff—it's pretty wild. Then you got guys like Usher and Jay-Z and Marc Jacobs who think it's the greatest shoe ever."
"Most of the kids who wear it now have no idea who I am," Smith said. "It's just become a shoe—people call it the Stan Smith shoe. They have no idea who Stan Smith is."
The former U.S. Open champ said this with no trace of frustration. His strange second life only seemed to amuse him. "It's just one of those fluky things," Smith said. "I happened to be in the right place at the right time, with the right ranking, and the right shoe."
2012年9月3日星期一
Venus Williams switched to a raw vegan diet last year
An expanding list of celebrity vegans is transforming the popular image of the "no meat, no dairy" lifestyle that has often been seen as the choice of holier-than-thou tree-huggers in plastic shoes.
Bill Clinton and his daughter Chelsea, Michelle Pfeiffer, Alec Baldwin, Demi Moore, Ben Stiller, Ellen DeGeneres, Portia De Rossi, Tobey Maguire, Betty White, Joaquin Phoenix, Pamela Anderson, Mike Tyson, Ted Danson, Venus Williams, Woody Harrelson, Rosie O'Donnell, Robin Williams, KD Lang, Russell Brand, Alicia Silverstone, Carl Lewis, Casey Affleck, Erykah Badu, James Cromwell, Alanis Morissette, Russell Simmons, Fiona Apple, Sandra Oh, Bryan Adams, Jessica Chastain, Moby, Carrie Underwood, Ed Begley Jr, Daryl Hannah, Thom Yorke (Radiohead), Abbie Cornish, Erik Roberts, Andre 3000 (Outkast), Chrissie Hynde, Grace Slick, Daniel Johns (Silverchair) ... the list of TV and movie stars, musicians, politicians and athletes who have stopped eating meat and dairy products continues to grow.
The latest celebrity to make the switch to a vegan diet is US talk-show host Rosie O'Donnell, who suffered a potentially fatal heart attack on August 14.
O'Donnell also spoke to Dr Caldwell Esselstyn, author of Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, in which the former surgeon and Olympic rowing champion argues that a vegan diet can reverse cardiovascular disease.
Former US president Bill Clinton read Esselstyn's book before switching to a plant-based diet following his quadruple bypass surgery.
"I had been playing Russian roulette," says Clinton, who now consumes no meat, no dairy and no eggs.
"I like the vegetables, the fruits, the beans, the stuff I eat now," Clinton told CNN. "All my blood tests are good, my vital signs are good and I also have, believe it or not, more energy."
Actress Michelle Pfeiffer (Scarface, Dangerous Liaisons) recently stopped eating meat and dairy products after reading the same book.
Seven-time Grand Slam tennis champion Venus Williams switched to a raw vegan diet last year after being diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome – an autoimmune disease which left her with fatigue so overwhelming that "sitting in a chair was a huge effort." Williams told CBS, " I've made huge improvements since I was first diagnosed ... changing my diet has made a big difference."
Comedian Russell Brand, a longtime vegetarian, became a vegan last year after watching Forks over Knives - a documentary about the health effects of eating animal-based and processed foods.
One of the more unlikely converts to veganism is former world heavyweight boxing champion, "Iron" Mike Tyson - notorious for biting off part of the ear of rival Evander Holyfield during a 1997 title fight. Tyson turned vegan in 2009 and last year told Fox News that he feels "awesome, incredible."
"When you find out about all the garbage you've been eating ... no wonder I was crazy all those years," he says. "The drugs didn't help either," Tyson jokes.
Others including actor Robin Williams and musician Ozzy Osbourne also switched to a vegan diet because of health concerns, but many celebrities cite moral and ethical grounds for their veganism.
"Around 450 billion animals are factory farmed on our planet every year," says talk show host Ellen DeGeneres. "Dairy cows are kept constantly pregnant to produce milk, while their calves, considered by-products, are put to death almost instantly.
"Animal farming is the number one cause of climate change in the world and has a 40 per cent larger carbon footprint than all global transportation – every car, truck, bus, train and plane combined," says DeGeneres.
Bill Clinton and his daughter Chelsea, Michelle Pfeiffer, Alec Baldwin, Demi Moore, Ben Stiller, Ellen DeGeneres, Portia De Rossi, Tobey Maguire, Betty White, Joaquin Phoenix, Pamela Anderson, Mike Tyson, Ted Danson, Venus Williams, Woody Harrelson, Rosie O'Donnell, Robin Williams, KD Lang, Russell Brand, Alicia Silverstone, Carl Lewis, Casey Affleck, Erykah Badu, James Cromwell, Alanis Morissette, Russell Simmons, Fiona Apple, Sandra Oh, Bryan Adams, Jessica Chastain, Moby, Carrie Underwood, Ed Begley Jr, Daryl Hannah, Thom Yorke (Radiohead), Abbie Cornish, Erik Roberts, Andre 3000 (Outkast), Chrissie Hynde, Grace Slick, Daniel Johns (Silverchair) ... the list of TV and movie stars, musicians, politicians and athletes who have stopped eating meat and dairy products continues to grow.
The latest celebrity to make the switch to a vegan diet is US talk-show host Rosie O'Donnell, who suffered a potentially fatal heart attack on August 14.
O'Donnell also spoke to Dr Caldwell Esselstyn, author of Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, in which the former surgeon and Olympic rowing champion argues that a vegan diet can reverse cardiovascular disease.
Former US president Bill Clinton read Esselstyn's book before switching to a plant-based diet following his quadruple bypass surgery.
"I had been playing Russian roulette," says Clinton, who now consumes no meat, no dairy and no eggs.
"I like the vegetables, the fruits, the beans, the stuff I eat now," Clinton told CNN. "All my blood tests are good, my vital signs are good and I also have, believe it or not, more energy."
Actress Michelle Pfeiffer (Scarface, Dangerous Liaisons) recently stopped eating meat and dairy products after reading the same book.
Seven-time Grand Slam tennis champion Venus Williams switched to a raw vegan diet last year after being diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome – an autoimmune disease which left her with fatigue so overwhelming that "sitting in a chair was a huge effort." Williams told CBS, " I've made huge improvements since I was first diagnosed ... changing my diet has made a big difference."
Comedian Russell Brand, a longtime vegetarian, became a vegan last year after watching Forks over Knives - a documentary about the health effects of eating animal-based and processed foods.
One of the more unlikely converts to veganism is former world heavyweight boxing champion, "Iron" Mike Tyson - notorious for biting off part of the ear of rival Evander Holyfield during a 1997 title fight. Tyson turned vegan in 2009 and last year told Fox News that he feels "awesome, incredible."
"When you find out about all the garbage you've been eating ... no wonder I was crazy all those years," he says. "The drugs didn't help either," Tyson jokes.
Others including actor Robin Williams and musician Ozzy Osbourne also switched to a vegan diet because of health concerns, but many celebrities cite moral and ethical grounds for their veganism.
"Around 450 billion animals are factory farmed on our planet every year," says talk show host Ellen DeGeneres. "Dairy cows are kept constantly pregnant to produce milk, while their calves, considered by-products, are put to death almost instantly.
"Animal farming is the number one cause of climate change in the world and has a 40 per cent larger carbon footprint than all global transportation – every car, truck, bus, train and plane combined," says DeGeneres.
2012年9月2日星期日
Suspect facing second murder trial
Rick Reeves vividly remembers the day he learned that his colleague and close friend Jeffrey Labord had been shot to death.
“Devastating; that’s the best word I can use,” Reeves said.
It was equally troubling to learn that the man accused in Labord’s death, Seth Rouzan, 26, was released on probation because of a hung jury. Now Rouzan is facing another charge of murder after a homicide last week on First Street.
Labord “was a real good friend of mine, and this guy walked,” said Carl Collins, another of Labord’s former co-workers at the Richmond County Department of Traf-fic Engineering. “Now he’s charged with taking somebody else’s life.”
Rouzan was arrested on charges of armed robbery and murder in the Aug. 21 shooting death of 64-year-old Joseph Williams Jr. A 15-year-old boy is also charged with murder in the case.
Richmond County sheriff’s investigators found Williams shot in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 400 block of First Street. He died at Medical College of Georgia Hospital about 6:30 p.m.
Attempts to reach the families of Rouzan and Williams were unsuccessful.
Six years ago, Labord was found dead by a newspaper carrier at Doublegate Court, a cul-de-sac off Walden Drive.
“Originally I thought he was drunk and swerved around him in order not to hit him,” the carrier, Joshua Paulsakos, said at Rouzan’s trial in December 2007. “As I pulled back around, my headlights pretty much settled on him where I could see him … and
realized he wasn’t breathing.”
Paulsakos drove to the Daniel Village sheriff’s substation to report the death.
Residents of Doublegate Court said they heard two shots and a car peeling out but could not see anything in the darkness.
Collins said he heard about the homicide while driving to work. When he arrived at the public works shop off Mike Padgett High-way, everyone was wondering why Labord was not at work. Labord was identified as the victim about 10 a.m.
“It was like a ball of fire just came through me,” Collins said. “We had just talked to him 12 hours prior.”
THE RICHMOND County Sheriff’s Office collected strong circumstantial evidence pointing to Rouzan. Several of his friends testified that he told them he had killed a man the night before. They also said that the morning after the homicide, Rouzan was driving Labord’s car, which was loaded with a TV, liquor bottles and other items stolen from Labord’s house. During his drive around the East Boun-dary area, he stopped at a friend’s house and posed for cellphone pictures with a .380-caliber pistol – the same caliber bullet that killed Labord.
A drop of Labord’s blood was found on a pair of shoes hidden under Rouzan’s bed.
Under oath, Rouzan adamantly denied having any role in Labord’s death. He said he was in bed sleeping all night, though there was no evidence to substantiate this claim.
“Are you aware of any reason why your best friend would come in here and say that you admitted to him that you had committed murder?” Assistant District Attorney Rex Myers asked.
“No, sir,” Rouzan said.
The jury was not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt. According to the trial transcript, Superior Court Judge Michael Annis talked with the jury after about three hours of deliberations.
“They said that they’ve been hung up since early in the deliberations and that everybody seems to be pretty much dug in,” Annis told Myers and Rouzan’s attorney, Willie Saunders.
“Devastating; that’s the best word I can use,” Reeves said.
It was equally troubling to learn that the man accused in Labord’s death, Seth Rouzan, 26, was released on probation because of a hung jury. Now Rouzan is facing another charge of murder after a homicide last week on First Street.
Labord “was a real good friend of mine, and this guy walked,” said Carl Collins, another of Labord’s former co-workers at the Richmond County Department of Traf-fic Engineering. “Now he’s charged with taking somebody else’s life.”
Rouzan was arrested on charges of armed robbery and murder in the Aug. 21 shooting death of 64-year-old Joseph Williams Jr. A 15-year-old boy is also charged with murder in the case.
Richmond County sheriff’s investigators found Williams shot in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 400 block of First Street. He died at Medical College of Georgia Hospital about 6:30 p.m.
Attempts to reach the families of Rouzan and Williams were unsuccessful.
Six years ago, Labord was found dead by a newspaper carrier at Doublegate Court, a cul-de-sac off Walden Drive.
“Originally I thought he was drunk and swerved around him in order not to hit him,” the carrier, Joshua Paulsakos, said at Rouzan’s trial in December 2007. “As I pulled back around, my headlights pretty much settled on him where I could see him … and
realized he wasn’t breathing.”
Paulsakos drove to the Daniel Village sheriff’s substation to report the death.
Residents of Doublegate Court said they heard two shots and a car peeling out but could not see anything in the darkness.
Collins said he heard about the homicide while driving to work. When he arrived at the public works shop off Mike Padgett High-way, everyone was wondering why Labord was not at work. Labord was identified as the victim about 10 a.m.
“It was like a ball of fire just came through me,” Collins said. “We had just talked to him 12 hours prior.”
THE RICHMOND County Sheriff’s Office collected strong circumstantial evidence pointing to Rouzan. Several of his friends testified that he told them he had killed a man the night before. They also said that the morning after the homicide, Rouzan was driving Labord’s car, which was loaded with a TV, liquor bottles and other items stolen from Labord’s house. During his drive around the East Boun-dary area, he stopped at a friend’s house and posed for cellphone pictures with a .380-caliber pistol – the same caliber bullet that killed Labord.
A drop of Labord’s blood was found on a pair of shoes hidden under Rouzan’s bed.
Under oath, Rouzan adamantly denied having any role in Labord’s death. He said he was in bed sleeping all night, though there was no evidence to substantiate this claim.
“Are you aware of any reason why your best friend would come in here and say that you admitted to him that you had committed murder?” Assistant District Attorney Rex Myers asked.
“No, sir,” Rouzan said.
The jury was not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt. According to the trial transcript, Superior Court Judge Michael Annis talked with the jury after about three hours of deliberations.
“They said that they’ve been hung up since early in the deliberations and that everybody seems to be pretty much dug in,” Annis told Myers and Rouzan’s attorney, Willie Saunders.
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