TUTORIAL IT

An Ode to a Spoon

I never thought a spoon would deserve a column. Until I fell in love with one. From the very first glance I knew this was the one: brilliantly designed, tastefully elegant, modestly shiny, and not mine...



Possessing it could brighten anyones existence. No more awkward spoon maneuvering inside a narrow sugar or yogurt container. No more grains sifting along the sides of stylish yet slim, cheek-less spoons. Imagine, finishing all the milk with your cereal without needing a tablespoon or straw. Remember the unpleasant screeching sound when scratching the bottom or sides of a plastic or glass container with a regular spoon? This beautys rounded contour would make it silent.

With a simple twist of your wrist, a soft little mountain of cottage or whipped cream majestically rests upon this spoon. Lift your hand a bit, and the spoon is right there, whispering to your lips. Think about the awkward elbow rotation, the longer travel paths to your mouth and the ridiculous diagonal fit of a regular spoon in it.

Left column: regular spoon. Right column: the perfect spoon. Note how both testers arms are extended in the left column as compared with the right and how regular spoon goes diagonally into mouth, while the perfect spoon fits naturally straight.

I’ll grant you that the lack of symmetry is unsettling, though thought-provoking and memorable. But isn’t that one of the reasons we like Picassos paintings?

Afraid that asymmetry will lead to a lack of balance, I borrowed the spoon from the lucky owner (thanks, Rachel). In a Consumer Report-like testing environment we built at home, two testers used it for a week and raved of the spoons superior usability. These two testers, who are notorious spillers, showed absolutely no issues with balance.

What are you saying? You are a lefty? Yes, you deserve a reversed copy.
Feeding your child? Sit to his right and just extend your hand, the spoon is already in his mouth. No need to play airplane, risking a spill of all contents before landing.
A fan of sporks? They are just undecided peasants compared with her majesty.

Do I deserve it? Me, who rarely notices how and what I am eating, distracted by the kids’ requests. Me, who could eat with a plastic spoon, crazy glued spoon or a spoon vandalized by a garbage disposal? Probably, not. Still, I will be searching for you, the perfect one. To own, to hold in my hands, to sip from it. My modest puzzling queen, I promise to adore you forever.

Available link for download

All Signs Point Toward Needing to Read the Signs

How should the text of signs be formatted in a fiction manuscript? Ive seen it in all caps but I am not sure if this is correct. For example -They drove past the rickety WELCOME TO TULSA sign.

You are over-thinking this. If you desperately want to be correct, you could look it up in the Chicago Manual of Style, which is what most people use. But most editors will look benignly on however you format such a thing-- as long as its clear whats the text of the sign and what isnt, its fine. The copyeditor will adjust it to the house style later in the process.

In the days of yore, when email was exciting, there were some whod always advise us to send partials with SASEs. Part of the thinking behind this was to control who got to see your MS. Has that culture of mailing queries and partials completely gone away now?

Of course, I realize that - in theory - once the MS is out of your door, it can always be copied and leak out (say, if youre Dan Brown or J. K. Rowling). But how does the author know her MS was read and rejected? That it didnt drown under the giant swells of other partials?

It seems like you have more than one question.

If one of your questions is "How do I know my manuscript wont be copied or stolen or something?", please refer to the pythons.

If one of your questions is, "Do people still want a partial MS and an SASE?", please refer to individual publishers submission guidelines.

But to "But how does the author know her MS was read and rejected? That it didnt drown under the giant swells of other partials?", the answer is a question: Did you submit your manuscript to a publishing house that accepts slush? If yes, then assume it was read and rejected. If no, then assume it drowned.

Available link for download

Android app Netduino plus to monitor and open garage door

I have started a new blog on the Netduino plus board. This is my first foray into embedded programming. I just received an Arduino Uno board and a Netduino plus board. I am going to chronicle a home automation project that includes the following elements (I will be documenting everything you need if you want to join me!) 

• Netduino plus with garage door sensor
• Open and close the garage door with the Netduino plus
• Send commands to the Netduino over HTTP
• A RESTful webservice that talks to the Netduino plus over HTTP
• Write an Android app that talks to the RESTful webservice that talks to the Netduino
• An Android app to monitor my garage door and open/close it.

Available link for download

An Open Letter to Manchester Cathedral and the CoE about secular digital guidelines

Following this article. Ive decided to send this open letter to the Very Reverend Rogers Govender of Manchester Cathedral about his "sacred digital guidelines."

Dear Very Reverend Rogers Govender,

This open letter is in response to the article located here in the Times, which details four "sacred digital guidelines" youve created for games developers to sign up to. For completeness these rules are:

1. Respect our sacred spaces as places of prayer, worship, peace, learning and heritage.

2. Do not assume that sacred space interiors are copyright free.

3. Get permission from the faith leaders who are responsible for the building interiors you want to clone.

4. Support the work of those engaged in resisting the culture of gun crime and those involved in promoting the work of conflict resolution.

Whilst I agree entirely with number 4, I, and many others, have concerns with the first 3 guidelines. As is often the case with freedom of speech and censorship you have to defend works of little value to protect the rights of those which are of worth. As in defending the puerile and offensive Danish Mohammad cartoons in order that intellectually stimulating works like "Jerry Springer the Opera" and "The Satanic Verses" are also defended. I feel this is the case with the mediocre "Resistance: Fall of Man." Whilst R:FoM did not itseld critique the Church of England, your response would curtail that ability.

As such, I feel it is necessary to reply with this open letter (which will be located on http://skeptobot.blogspot.com) with the following "secular digital guidelines" that I wish the CoE to sign up to when interacting with "new digital media" which includes, but is not limited too, games, blogs, social networks, MMOGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Games), online video and podcasts.

These "Secular digital guidelines" are:

1. Respect our right to criticise and ridicule elements of a faith we find offensive or untrue.

To do so is an attempt to close down dialogue that can improve both the secular and religious world views. No one likes being offended by something, but thankfully "not being offended" is not a human right.

2. Do not assume that you own the copyright of your sacred spaces and other historical religious imagery.

Manchester Cathedral (which began being built in 1215) is like most religious buildings in the UK, in that it was constructed during a Feudal system of government and church that exploited and tithed the populace to build such buildings. As such the general public has as much right to the image of the church as any member of the faith. Let alone the idea of copyright lasting 800 years. And this is before any consideration of fair use.

3. Do not assume that people must get permission to recreate and image these religious spaces and works.

Whilst clearly, any considerate artist, composer, writer, blogger, podcaster or designer, should inform you of their intentions, do not presume they require your permission. For example politically critical television shows would fall apart if they had to get permissions for all their satirical works. To require permission from such people effectively acts as a form of censorship.

4. Support the attempts to reduce the conflict, violence, wars and terrorism caused by differing religious beliefs.

Whilst adults playing violent video games may indeed concern you, many secular and religous people, who can distinguish between reality and fantasy, would rather you focus your efforts on the real world violence caused by religion.

This is not meant to be critical of your faith, and in no way ignores the countless good works of the CoE but is just encourage proper interaction in this new electronic landscape of communication, debate and dialogue - where everyone owns a printing press.

I you support this proposal I include a form for you to print, sign and return, as well as a hard copy that will be posted today. If you do not support it, then I politely request an explanation why, that can be included on the site.

Best Regards,

Skeptobot

Ill detail any response I receive. If you wish to encourage a response to this letter please digg.

Available link for download

Android generate PDF using iText and print to Bluetooth printer example

This is the ninth (and final) part of a much longer article published in the journal Science Progress, and which may be found here: http://stl.publisher.ingentaconnect.com/content/stl/sciprg/2014/00000097/00000002/art00001

24. How many people can the Earth support?

It is claimed78 that “a population density of 6?10 people per acre might be supported through permaculture, and in excess of the number that our current cereal-based food economy can sustain”. Since our ability to grow cereals, in the quantity we do, depends on industrialised agriculture, with its considerable inputs of oil- and gas-based fuels, fertilizers and pesticides, the practice is not sustainable and so the comparison is not strictly valid. We are then left with the question of how many people might be supported by the earth, if permaculture methods were widely introduced. If we assume the lower limit, this means that 15 people can be fed per hectare. Thus, to feed the human population of 7 billion, we would need 467 million hectares of land, or 4.7 million km2. Since we have 150 million km2 of dry land, and around 14 million km2 of arable land, it would appear there is no problem in sustaining the present global population, and that supporting even 9 billion by 2050, or 12 billion by 2100, is feasible. Toby Hemenway, regarded as one of the gurus of permaculture, is less optimistic, and believes that the maximum carrying capacity of the Earth is nearer 2 billion.79 [This is also the number arrived at by Pimentel et al.80, on the basis of the limited resources of energy, water and food available to us, and it seems most likely that it is failing supplies of these key inputs, particularly freshwater, that will reduce and finally limit our population. One is reminded of the “four horsemen of the apocalypse”: pestilence, war, famine and death, each rider being perceivable in a guise of resource shortages. Since the consequence of consumption is pollution, this too must prove a determinant to the numbers of humans that can live sustainably on “Spaceship Earth”, as the visionary Buckminster Fuller termed81 our existence].

Other permaculturists are far more sanguine than Hemenway about what might be achieved, in terms of sustaining the global population, and point out that predictions of food shortages are based on limits of the resources that are necessary for modern agriculture, whereas permaculture is based on the interacting and holistic mechanisms of nature, where nothing is wasted and everything is recycled, all elements being returned to the ecosystem, by death, and from which new life can flourish. David Blume claims to have fed up to 450 people on two acres (0.8 ha) of land for 9 years, by the end of which the soil contained 22% SOM, with a CEC of >25 (a measure of its humus content). This amounts to ca 18 m2/person, which might be understood to imply that the current world population of 7 billion could be fed on just 120,000 km2 of land. The key to this success is polyculture, which benefits from the growth of mycorrhizal fungi and less solar saturation82. Blume has described this technique as “restorative agriculture”, and he believes that there is, correspondingly, no immediate limit to the number that can be fed on Planet Earth, and that ethanol fuel, produced on the local scale could meet all our energy needs – including electricity production – and obviate the need for crude oil. Hemenway has spoken83 on the subject of: “How Permaculture Can Save Humanity and the Earth, but Not Civilization,” which may initially sound like an oxymoron. It is in fact a rather more subtle proposition, to the effect that while permaculture cannot sustain the present global economy and global civilization with a population of 7 billion people, it might support a lesser number of up to 2 billion, but, of necessity, its practices mean living in small communities. Thus, the civilization that permaculture could sustain is a globe of villages, not the global village. The principles of permaculture are central to the growing community-based Transition Towns movement59.

Conclusions.

As we have seen, the subject of land degradation is complex. A significant part of this complexity lies in establishing a clear link between the degree of degradation – principally from soil erosion – and declining crop yields, since the latter can be masked by the application of fertilizers to improve soil productivity, even in cases where the soil has been significantly degraded. Irrigation is a key factor too. Most determinations of the extent of land degradation (e.g. GLASOD) have been made on the basis of “expert judgement” and perceptions, as opposed to direct measurements of this multifactorial phenomenon. More recently, satellite-based remote sensing measurements have been used to provide some overview of the global situation. Globally, the amount of biomass was measured to increase by 3.8% during the years 1981?2003, which is thought due to the fertilization effect of rising atmospheric CO2 concentration. However, 24% of the global land area suffered some degree of degradation over the same period. Hence, there are regions of “greening” while elsewhere, “browning” has occurred. It appears that while long-term trends in NDVI derivatives are only broad indicators of land degradation, taken as a proxy, the NDVI/NPP trend is able to yield a benchmark that is globally consistent and to illuminate regions in which biologically significant changes are occurring. Thus attention may be directed to where investigation and action at the ground level is required, i.e. to potential “hot spots” of land degradation and/or erosion.

The term “sustainable agriculture” has been described as an oxymoron, on the basis that by its very nature, agriculture is ultimately unsustainable84. It is not simply the degradation of the soil, or the loss of biodiversity that are at issue, but that the external energy inputs amount to perhaps ten times that actually consumed in the food itself. In the absence of a cheap and plentiful supply of crude oil (and the fuels, pesticides and herbicides that are derived from it), cheap natural gas (from which nitrogen fertilizers are made), and mined phosphate rock (used to make phosphorus fertilizers and mined using machinery powered by fuels refined from crude oil), the present industrialized global agricultural mechanism would be impossible, and it is only through the latter that the global human population has risen to its present number. Projections about future population numbers tacitly assume that these inputs will prevail into the future, when all evidence is that the age of cheap oil and gas is drawing to a close. It is very likely that the present system of large-scale industrialized agriculture will not survive, and humans will return to growing food on smaller areas, including the adoption of urban permaculture, as happened in Cuba when its bestowals of cheap fuels, and other agricultural inputs (pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers) from the Former Soviet Union were curtailed by the collapse of Communism2.While in principle, a permaculture approach can be applied on all scales (from the small plot to the full field), it cannot be adopted as a substitute for industrialized modern monoculture crop production since it is implicitly holistic. Accordingly it is not possible to separate our growing of food from other aspects of community, and so to adopt the design principles of permaculture for our food production, we must adapt all other lifestyle elements as an underpinning and simultaneous part of the process.

As fuel prices rise, and actual shortages of fuel ensue, long-distance mass transportation of food will no longer be economic or feasible, further driving food production at the local level, as a means to achieve food security and community resilience. The loss of soil organic matter (SOM) is a critical factor both in soil erosion and in the loss of soil productivity, the latter from the loss of soil (depth) per se, and a decline in the structure, level of nutrients and hence the innate fertility of the soil. Thus, by increasing the SOC, the structure of the soil is improved, which increases its holding capacity for water, and allows better drainage, hence there is more groundwater and less flooding, while droughts are mitigated. The agricultural productivity of the soil is heightened, enlarging crop yields, and soil erosion is attenuated, especially if the ground is also covered by mulching or with cover crops. Degraded lands may be restored in their production through increasing their SOC content, giving better soil, and water quality. The improved soil structure leads to a better retention of water and nutrients, and smaller inputs onto the farm of oil-based fuels, fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, while biodiversity is enhanced. The term “biodiversity” does not only refer to what is visible above the ground, but also to the roots systems of plants, and their accompanying fungal rhizosphere which is an essential part of the soil food web. The importance of rebuilding the soil food web2 – the ecosystem of microbes, and visible creatures that dwell in soil – is central to maintaining food production in perpetuity, i.e. achieving a system that is truly sustainable.

The Chikukwa project shows that by using low tech methods, even highly degraded land, with severely eroded soil can be brought back to life - and with very little money, but a good design. This is not a quick-fix strategy, and has taken over two decades to come to achieve; however, it is a sustainable landscape, which is the more important element. In part it may appear that the case for catastrophic land degradation through soil erosion, and an according threat to the survival of humanity has been overstated, although the rising human population will increase demand inexorably for what the soil can provide. It must be stressed, that the productivity of much agricultural land is maintained only through those inputs, of oil and natural gas (from which fuels, pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers are sourced), and irrigation water, which are vital organs of current industrial food production. Therefore, on grounds of stabilising the climate, preserving the environment, and ensuring the robustness of the global food supply, maintaining and building good soil, in particular improving its SOM content and hence its structure, is highly desirable. In particular, those regions of the world that are significantly degraded are unlikely to support an appreciable population increase (e.g. Africa, whose population is predicted70 to grow from its present1.1 billion to 4.2 billion by 2100) in which case a die-off or mass migration might be expected, if population limitations are not included in future plans to achieve sustainability and food security.

The latter figure should be placed in the context of a total70 world population of almost 11 billion by 2100, nearly 40% of which would therefore be African. It is more likely, however, that a constraint on the size of future populations will be imposed by an insufficiency of oil, gas and therefore food, to sustain the growing multitude. Indeed, rather than the number of humans on Earth increasing throughout the present century and probably beyond, there are various analyses which indicate instead that the population will peak at some stage before 2100. It is probable that industrial populations will soon peak85, with the developing nations following suit around 40 years later as they try to emulate their current industrial counterparts. The population of Europe has been estimated85 to peak in 2025, with the world population peaking at around 8.5 billion around the year 2050. However, a critical loss in the global oil (and hence, food) supply could precipitate a more immediate and rapid decline in human numbers.

References.

(1) http://www.gutenberg.org/files/37957/37957-h/37957-h.htm

(2) Rhodes, C.J. (2012) Feeding and healing the world: through regenerative agriculture and permaculture. Sci. Prog., 95(4), 345-446.

(3) Bai, Z.G. et al. (2008) Proxy assessment of land degradation. Soil Use and Management. 24, 223-234.

(4) Bai, Z.G. et al. (2008) Global assessment of land degradation and

improvement 1. Identification by remote sensing. Report 2008/01, ISRIC, Wageningen.

(5) Adams, C.R. and Eswaran, H. (2000) Global land resources in the context of food and environmental security. In: Gawande SP, editor. Advances in Land Resources Management for the 20th Century. New Delhi: Soil Conservation Society of India, 35-50.

(6) UNEP (2008) Africa: atlas of our changing environment. Division of early warning and assessment (DEWA) United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Nairobi 00100, Kenya.

(7) Snel, M.and Bot, A. (2003) Draft paper: suggested indicators for land degradation assessment of drylands. FAO, Rome.

(8) Agro-ecological zoning and GIS application in Asia with special emphasis on land degradation assessment in drylands (LADA). Proceedings of a Regional Workshop, Bangkok, Thailand10–14 November 2003. FAO, internet website: ftp://ftp.fao.org/agl/agll/docs/misc38e.pdf, accessed July 1, 2008.

(9) Dobie, P. (2001) Poverty and the drylands. United Nations Development Programme, Dryland Development Centre. Nairobi, Kenya.

(10) Kapalanga, T.S. A review of land degradation assessment methods. http://www.unulrt.is/static/fellows/document/taimi-1-.pdf

(11) Eswaran, H., Lal, R. And Reich, P.F. Land degradation: an overview. http://soils.usda.gov/use/worldsoils/papers/land-degradation-overview.html

(12) http://www.fao.org/nr/land/degradation/en/

(13) Stocking, M. (2001) A handbook for the field assessment of land degradation. Earthscan Publications U.K.

(14) Rhodes, C.J. (2008) The oil question: nature and prognosis. Sci Prog. 91(4), 317-375.

(15) Rhodes, C.J. (2013) Peak phosphorus – peak food? The need to close the phosphorus cycle. Sci Prog. 96(4), 109-152.

(16) Blanco, H. and Lal. R. (2010) Tillage erosion. principles of soil conservation and management. New York: Springer. ISBN 978-90-481-8529-0.

(17) Committee on 21st Century Systems Agriculture. Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century. National Academies Press; 2010 ISBN 978-0-309-14896-2.

(18) Nîr D. M. (1983) A geomorphological agent: an introduction to anthropic geomorphology. New York: Springer. p. 121–122. ISBN 978-90-277-1401-5.

(19) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (1995). Second Assessment Synthesis of Scientific-Technical Information relevant to interpreting Article 2 of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, p. 5.

(20) Pruski, F. F. and Nearing, M..A. (2002) Runoff and soil loss responses

Available link for download

An Effortless Way To Wear A Silk Slip Dress For Winter

Photo via: British Vogue

This super chic street style star shows off the perfect way to wear a silk slip dress for winter. Simply pair the slinky dress with an oversized camel or tench coat belted at the waist along with sock-style black suede ankle boots. Complete with a sleek embossed bag and a red lip. For added warmth, layer a slim turtleneck top or sweater underneath the dress.

Get the look:
+ ASOS Trench With Full Retro Skirt
+ ASOS Satin Maxi Dress
+ J.O.A. Satin Slip Dress
+ Nine West Clareece Suede Boots

Available link for download

Android attach TextWatcher to multiple EditText Views

Ranbir Grewal Sofi Yaar Punjabi Single Audio Songs Mp3 Free Download Mr-jatt



Sofi Yaar Punjabi Single Mp3 Songs Information:

Song: Sofi Yaar.

Singer: Ranbir Grewal Ft. JSL Singh.

Music: Jsl Singh.

Lyrics: Jung Sandhu.

Music Label: Vs Records.

Music Length: 4.32.

Mp3 Bit Rate: 192 kbps & 320 kbps.

Available link for download

An Appeal To Comrade Blackey Voice of Nasels

Every Students' Union administration, so far, on finishing their tenure had in one way or another provide the Nigerian students with one form of incentive or another. The 2011/2012 session which was led by com.Waliu (Mandela) having served the Nigerian students for a whole session bought a 'bus' incentive worth closely #1,000,000 (one million naira). The bus was handed over to com. Adeniyi Julius (Ceasar),2012/2013 regime.

At the beginning of the tenure all that was on the mouth of every Nigerian Student is based on the poor look of the incentive produced by the previous administration.

After constituting the Senate members of the Students' Representative Council of the Julius Ceasar's regime into different committee,a presidential candidate of the last SU election and a member of the SRC Com. Ayodele (Blackey) was made chairman transportation committee. Blackey saw to the flow and the condition of the said bus bought by Mandela regime.

As said by the immediate past SU president "Blackey was instructed to watch over the mini-van and we asked him not to take it out of Akungba environs but as fate would have it, the comrade-senator did his own care of the car,took it to lagos and never brought it back to school.

So long can be an activity,but as the SU levy paid by the entire Nigerian student will definitely ask for the right that belong to them.Therefore,this appeal goes to the Students' Union officials led by com. Ikumapayi (Reformer) as well as the Student Representative Council members led by Sen. Oloruntobi Tomide (Tommy) to find and produce lost materials for it will be dignifying to have our materials produced by the past leaders around us;whether in good condition or not; or else this administration shall be easily considered an absolute failure.

If man have to lie for 20years,the truth will surely catch-up on him someday,the status of Com. Waliu (Mandela) incentive to the Nigerian

Students' should be known. Is the bus sold for Blackey's campaign,is it dashed out to some people, or is it that the President hides it away from us. We wait the Comrade-Senator Blackey to give an answer to this.

Available link for download

Americans actually live in Russia although they think they live in Sweden And they would like to live on a kibbutz

In "The Lottery Mentality," a 2011 editorial in The New York Times, Chrystia Freeland explains that "Americans are mistaken about income inequality because of national self-confidence and the lottery effect."

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/03/21/rising-wealth-inequality-should-we-care/the-lottery-mentality

Americans actually live in Russia, although they think they live in Sweden. And they would like to live on a kibbutz. This isn’t the set-up for some sort of politically incorrect Catskills stand-up joke circa 1960. It is the takeaway from a remarkable study by Michael Norton and Dan Ariely on how Americans think about income inequality.

The right likes to argue that income inequality as an issue doesn’t win elections because Americans don’t begrudge the rich so much as they want to join them. The Norton and Ariely study suggests otherwise. Given a choice, the authors find, Americans would prefer to live in a society more equal than even highly egalitarian Sweden.

Another popular view is that income inequality isn’t experienced as acutely by most Americans as the numbers suggest because of how much can be “consumed” by the lower rungs of the nation’s socioeconomic ladder. No less a figure than Alan Greenspan, the maestro himself, once made this case at the Federal Reserve’s annual Jackson Hole conference, presenting data on the consumption of dishwashers, microwaves and clothes dryers showing that if measured by the possession of these goods – as opposed to the huge and growing income divide -- inequality was decreasing.

That interpretation is not without merit. But it turned out that allowing Americans to prosper by using their homes as A.T.M.s and maxing out on their credit cards was maybe not such a great idea.

Personally, I lean toward two other theories. Americans are mistaken about income inequality because of national self-confidence and the lottery effect.

By national self-confidence, I mean the widespread conviction that the American way is probably right because all those other ways don’t seem to work out so well. This is a wonderful national quality and one of the reasons America has such resilience. But confidence in the American way can make it hard for the country as a whole to recognize when things aren’t working.

Take, for instance, the health care debate, when a politically effective criticism of what has come to be known as Obamacare was to argue that it would destroy the “best” health care system in the world. Mary Meeker, a Silicon Valley guru of impeccably capitalist and American credentials debunked that idea in her recent USA, Inc. presentation, in which she pointed out that “U.S.A. per capita health care spending is 3x OECD average, yet the average life expectancy and a variety of health indicators in the U.S. fall below average. But if you spend way more than everyone else, shouldn’t your results (a.k.a. performance) be better than everyone else’s, or at least near the top?”

Aside from faith in American national excellence, the other main reason Americans seem so unperturbed by the widening chasm between the rich and everyone else is what I like to call the lottery effect. Buying lottery tickets is clearly an irrational act -- the odds are hugely stacked against us. But many millions of us do, because we see the powerful evidence that an ordinary person, someone just like us whose only qualifying act was to buy a ticket, wins our favorite lottery every week.

For many Americans, the nation’s rowdy form of capitalism is a lottery that has similarly bestowed fabulous rewards on the Everyman. The current leading exemplar of self-made billions is Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, and he may soon be outstripped by the even more instant cyber-star Andrew Mason, the founder of Groupon.

But the problem with lotteries is that there are only a few winners. That is the story the numbers tell us about American capitalism today -- and unless that underlying reality changes, at some point all those folks who think they already live in Sweden will realize they live in a winner-take-all society, and that most of us aren’t winning.

Available link for download

An Easy Way To Transition A Silk Slip Dress Into Fall

Photo via: Pop Sugar

Nicole Warne was spotted in a fall-ready look that shows exactly how to transition your slip dress collection into the colder months. Its a no-brainer, but the key here is layers. Depending on how chilly it is out, you can wear a trench coat over the dress or go for a thicker coat to start. From there, you can add on a chic cashmere scarf or go super luxe with a faux fur stole wrapped around your neck just so.

Get the look:
+ Ray-Ban Square Aviator Sunglasses
+ ASOS Maxi Trench Coat
+ Ganni Sanders Satin Slip Dress
+ Silence + Noise Satin Slip Dress
+ Alexandre Birman Ankle Tie Sandal

Available link for download

All You Need to Know About Vivien Leigh on Her 99th Birthday

The 5th of November is usually a day where people go and buy some sticks of colourful delight and light them of fire so they can look up at the sky being ignited for about five seconds. Since Ive never really relished in seeing fireworks go off in the sky (it hurts my neck and ears...I prefer to watch from a distance), Guy Fawkes might as well mean something else for me. On this day in 1913, my favourite actress, and generally my favourite person who ever walked this Earth, Vivien Leigh was born in Darjeeling, India.

If youve seen either Gone with the Wind or A Streetcar Named Desire, youll know just how amazing she was. If you havent seen either of them, do Vivien a favour on what would have been your 99th birthday: get out from under your rock and see what youve been missing. While youre at it, check out Waterloo Bridge, one of my absolute favourite films, which you can find on YouTube. Honestly, youll love me forever.

I thought that I may as well dedicate an entire post to my love for Vivien Leigh, which started when I was a mere 12 years old. Because I had the tendency to get over obsessed with things back then, I read around five biographies on her, and then wrote my own (honestly, it was just one of the biographies condensed down...all of the quotes and everything were from one of those biographies that Id read). Since I cant share the entire thing with you - and nor do I want to, I was an awful writer at age 13 - I thought Id just throw together a random birthday appreciation post, filled with lots of facts that you likely didnt know. I dedicated a whole period of my life to this woman, so hopefully you will find some interest in it. Alas, here we go:

-Viviens real name was Vivian Mary Hartley. The last name in her stage name is the first name of her first husband Leigh Holman, who she married in 1932 at the age of 19. They had a child, Suzanne, in 1933. Vivien divorced Holman in 1940 so she could marry Laurence Olivier, whom she met in 1935 when they starred together in a season of Romeo and Juliet on stage. At that time, Olivier was married to Jill Esmond, who was also pregnant with their son, Tarquin. Both Holman and Esmond granted their respective spouses a divorce in 1940 and Vivien and Laurence married. They would divorce in 1960, due to both Viviens mental illness and the fact that Laurence was having an affair with Joan Plowright.

-When she was at school, future actress Maureen OSullivan (probably best known for her involvement in the Tarzan films) asked Vivien what she wanted to be when she grew up. Vivien replied "an actress...a great actress."


-It is all because of Laurence Olivier that she got the role of Scarlett OHara in Gone with the Wind. As you probably know, producer David O. Selznick poured about $50,000 into his three year search for his perfect Scarlett. Vivien literally came in at the last minute. Originally, Vivien had wanted to star opposite Laurence in Wuthering Heights as Cathy, but the producers were set on Merle Oberon. They offered Vivien the role of Isabella, but she declined it. When it came time for Laurence to shoot it, Vivien missed Laurence terribly so she went to America to be with him.
In the lead up to finding his Scarlett, David O. Selznick asked the public to vote for their ideal Scarlett. The most votes went to people like Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn and Barbara Stanwyck, but one guy from New Zealand sent in a vote for Vivien. Yeah, us NZers have good taste.
That lone NZ vote didnt exactly do wonders, and Selznick said himself that he had "no interest in Vivien Leigh" when her name was put forward again in 1938. When Vivien came to America, Bette Davis had dropped out of contention as she played a similar character in 1938s Jezebel (which also won her an Oscar), and Paulette Godard was the main contender.
Vivien signed with Laurences boss, Myron Selznick, who was also David Selznicks brother. He took her onto the set of Gone with the Wind, where they were already filming the Burning of Atlanta scene (using stunt double for the unnamed Scarlett and Clark Gable as Rhett) on December 10th. Myron introduced Vivien to his brother by saying "Hey Genius. Meet your Scarlett OHara". She was instantly given a screen test.
The only actresses left in the race were Vivien, Joan Bennett, Jean Arthur and Paulette Godard. Bennett and Arthur were denied, leaving Godard and Leigh. They were given Technicolour screen tests, which sealed the deal for Vivien. Another factor in Godards failure to get the role was about her relationship with Charlie Chaplin, as no-one was really sure about how that was going down. Vivien was given the part on Christmas day, which was a great shock to her, as she thought that Katharine Hepburn had got the part.

-Waterloo Bridge was her favourite film that shed done.

-In 1944, Vivien started filming Caesar and Cleopatra. She was also pregnant at the time. While filming, she slipped and fell heavily, resulting in a miscarriage two days later. It was here when she contracted tuberculosis and her manic-depression started developing.

-One of the reasons I love Vivien so much is because she loved NZ. In her own words: "This must be the most subdued place in the world. The quiet is unearthly...Nevertheless much more couth and better mannered all round than the Australians and a much better audience."


-In 1949, she was introduced to the role of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire, as she took the role for a London stage production. The show ran for 326 performances, and clearly took its toll on Vivien as shed often be seen shaking and distraught at the end of it, but she received rave reviews for her performance. It wasnt too long before a film adaptation was in the works. Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter and Karl Malden were all a part of the stage production in New York, with Jessica Tandy playing Blanche. Kazan and writer Tennessee Williams favoured Vivien, so she was ultimately cast in the role. The role won her a second Oscar.

-She was going to star in Elephant Walk, which sent her to Ceylon, India. There, she started an affair with her co-star Peter Finch. She also suffered a mental breakdown, which resulted in her losing the role and being sent home. In one episode, she began reciting lines from A Streetcar Named Desire, and became so involved with that role again that when a nurse tried to calm her by saying "I know who you are, youre Scarlett OHara", she replied "Im not Scarlett OHara! Im Blanche DuBois!" She was deemed unfit to go back and finish Elephant Walk, so Elizabeth Taylor took the role.

-Vivien suffered another miscarriage in 1960. This had a clear effect on her relationship with Laurence, and they divorced that year.

-In 1963, Vivien won a Tony award for her performance in Tovarich. This was quite a remarkable feat as Vivien had never needed to sing before, and her voice was failing because of her tuberculosis.

-Vivien died on Friday July 7th, 1967, aged 53. She died of a severe tuberculosis attack. Many years later, Laurence Olivier was found watching one of Viviens old films on TV. He had tears in his eyes, and he said "This, this was love. This was the real thing."

Vivien Leigh had a pretty tough life, which is why her story is so fascinating. Seriously, if you ever want to know any more about her (this was a pretty brief overview), I know just about everything there is to know. But for now, a huge Happy Birthday to the most beautiful, interesting, talented woman who ever lived (in my opinion). May she go on in our hearts forever.

What do you think of Vivien Leigh? Got any favourite films/performances from her?

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