Beer glass design...we make about 100 glasses for the first 100 people who show up as their glass to drink out of for the party and to take home with. People loved the idea last year, so we are doing it again, but with a different design.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Oktoberfest designs
Invitation design
Beer glass design...we make about 100 glasses for the first 100 people who show up as their glass to drink out of for the party and to take home with. People loved the idea last year, so we are doing it again, but with a different design.
Beer glass design...we make about 100 glasses for the first 100 people who show up as their glass to drink out of for the party and to take home with. People loved the idea last year, so we are doing it again, but with a different design.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
David visit
My cousin David came for a few days to visit from Germany. He was staying with us while attending a Urology conference in Chicago.
David is my aunt Angela's son. We grew up together because they lived really close and he is only one year younger then I. David was pretty mad at me for a few years , because I left Germany 17 years ago without ever saying good bye and I think, he was saddened by that.
We were able to reconnect a couple of years ago, when we met up at a small family reunion in Germany. I think he forgave me and we were able to get to know each other again, this time as adults. It is weird but I think we are still the same people we were when we were kids.
He became a wonderful person and I am really proud of him. He is married with 4 kids. 4 KIDS! My little cousin David is a doctor and has 4 kids! Unbelievable! lol
David at an American McDonald's...lol
David is my aunt Angela's son. We grew up together because they lived really close and he is only one year younger then I. David was pretty mad at me for a few years , because I left Germany 17 years ago without ever saying good bye and I think, he was saddened by that.
We were able to reconnect a couple of years ago, when we met up at a small family reunion in Germany. I think he forgave me and we were able to get to know each other again, this time as adults. It is weird but I think we are still the same people we were when we were kids.
He became a wonderful person and I am really proud of him. He is married with 4 kids. 4 KIDS! My little cousin David is a doctor and has 4 kids! Unbelievable! lol
David at an American McDonald's...lol
BBQ with friends and David
Indian Restaurant with David and Bill...
Indian Restaurant with David and Bill...
Tanja and David at the Bean
Saturday, April 25, 2009
2 Hitler watercolors auctioned in Germany
Who would buy them? Really? Are they hanging in somebodies living room over the fireplace? ...or over the dinig room table, while the family has a nice dinner , every once in a while they look up remarking the beautiful HITLER art work on the wall? Can they really enjoy them...REALLY?
What is wrong with people...
A pair of watercolors signed "Adolf Hitler" and depicting farm scenes fetched a combined total of euro32,000 ($42,000) at an auction in Germany on Saturday, an auction house official said.
Kathrin Weidler, a manager at the Weidler Auction House in Nuremberg, declined to identify the new owner of the two paintings — "Farmstead," which went for euro18,000, and "Farm Buildings on the River," which sold for euro14,000.
The minimum bidding price for each painting was euro3,500.
The two watercolors, listed in the catalog as "signed and dated 1914," did not show evidence of a "good painting style," Weidler said.
Still, they attracted a few bidders at the auction house and seven telephone bidders, some from abroad, in an auction that lasted only a few minutes.
The paintings found their way to Russia after World War II and were sold at Saturday's auction on behalf of a Polish owner who lives in Nuremberg, Weidler said. She would not say whether the new owner, who bid by telephone, was from Germany or abroad.
As a young man, Hitler sought to earn his living as an artist. He is believed to have painted hundreds of works, several of which have come up for sale over the years.
Weidler Auction House owner Herbert Weidler has said he sold one four years ago for euro11,000.
In England on Thursday, what a British auction house says was a set of 15 paintings and sketches by the young Hitler sold for 97,672 pounds ($143,358).
Kathrin Weidler, a manager at the Weidler Auction House in Nuremberg, declined to identify the new owner of the two paintings — "Farmstead," which went for euro18,000, and "Farm Buildings on the River," which sold for euro14,000.
The minimum bidding price for each painting was euro3,500.
The two watercolors, listed in the catalog as "signed and dated 1914," did not show evidence of a "good painting style," Weidler said.
Still, they attracted a few bidders at the auction house and seven telephone bidders, some from abroad, in an auction that lasted only a few minutes.
The paintings found their way to Russia after World War II and were sold at Saturday's auction on behalf of a Polish owner who lives in Nuremberg, Weidler said. She would not say whether the new owner, who bid by telephone, was from Germany or abroad.
As a young man, Hitler sought to earn his living as an artist. He is believed to have painted hundreds of works, several of which have come up for sale over the years.
Weidler Auction House owner Herbert Weidler has said he sold one four years ago for euro11,000.
In England on Thursday, what a British auction house says was a set of 15 paintings and sketches by the young Hitler sold for 97,672 pounds ($143,358).
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Waterboarding
Waterboarding is a form of torture[1][2] that consists of immobilizing the victim on his or her back with the head inclined downwards, and then pouring water over the face and into the breathing passages. By forced suffocation and inhalation of water, the subject experiences drowning and is caused to believe they are about to die.[3] It is considered a form of torture by legal experts,[4][5] politicians, war veterans,[6][7] intelligence officials,[8] military judges,[9] and human rights organizations.[10][11] As early as the Spanish Inquisition it was used for interrogation purposes, to punish and intimidate, and to force confessions.[12]
In contrast to submerging the head face-forward in water, waterboarding precipitates a gag reflex almost immediately.[13] The technique does not inevitably cause lasting physical damage. It can cause extreme pain, dry drowning, damage to lungs, brain damage from oxygen deprivation, other physical injuries including broken bones due to struggling against restraints, lasting psychological damage or, ultimately, death.[4] Adverse physical consequences can start manifesting months after the event; psychological effects can last for years.[14]
In contrast to submerging the head face-forward in water, waterboarding precipitates a gag reflex almost immediately.[13] The technique does not inevitably cause lasting physical damage. It can cause extreme pain, dry drowning, damage to lungs, brain damage from oxygen deprivation, other physical injuries including broken bones due to struggling against restraints, lasting psychological damage or, ultimately, death.[4] Adverse physical consequences can start manifesting months after the event; psychological effects can last for years.[14]
Rice delivered OK to waterboard as Bush's adviser
WASHINGTON — Then-national security adviser Condoleezza Rice verbally OK'd the CIA's request to subject alleged al-Qaida terrorist Abu Zubaydah to waterboarding in July 2002, a decision memorialized a few days later in a secret memo that the Obama administration declassified last week.
Rice's role was detailed in a narrative released Wednesday by the Senate Intelligence Committee. It provides the most detailed timeline yet for how the CIA's harsh interrogation program was conceived and approved at the highest levels in the Bush White House.
The new timeline shows that Rice played a greater role than she admitted last fall in written testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The narrative also shows that dissenting legal views about the severe interrogation methods were brushed aside repeatedly.
But even the new timeline has yet to resolve the central question of who inside the Bush administration first broached the idea of using waterboarding and other brutal tactics against terror detainees in the months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
Rice's role was detailed in a narrative released Wednesday by the Senate Intelligence Committee. It provides the most detailed timeline yet for how the CIA's harsh interrogation program was conceived and approved at the highest levels in the Bush White House.
The new timeline shows that Rice played a greater role than she admitted last fall in written testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The narrative also shows that dissenting legal views about the severe interrogation methods were brushed aside repeatedly.
But even the new timeline has yet to resolve the central question of who inside the Bush administration first broached the idea of using waterboarding and other brutal tactics against terror detainees in the months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
.....
Days after Rice gave Tenet the nod, the Justice Department approved the use of waterboarding in a top secret Aug. 1 memo.
Zubaydah underwent waterboarding at least 83 times in August 2002.
In the years that followed, according to the narrative issued Wednesday, there were numerous internal legal reviews of the program, suggesting government attorneys raised concerns that the harsh methods, particularly waterboarding, might violate federal laws against torture and the U.S. Constitution.
But Bush administration lawyers continued to validate the program. The CIA voluntarily dropped the use of waterboarding, which has a long history as a torture tactic, from its arsenal of techniques after 2005.
...
In the years that followed, according to the narrative issued Wednesday, there were numerous internal legal reviews of the program, suggesting government attorneys raised concerns that the harsh methods, particularly waterboarding, might violate federal laws against torture and the U.S. Constitution.
But Bush administration lawyers continued to validate the program. The CIA voluntarily dropped the use of waterboarding, which has a long history as a torture tactic, from its arsenal of techniques after 2005.
...
But the training unit warned that harsh physical techniques could backfire by making prisoners more resistant. They also cautioned about the reliability of information gleaned from the severe methods and warned that the public and political backlash could be "intolerable."
"A subject in extreme pain may provide an answer, any answer or many answers in order to get the pain to stop," the training officials said in their memo.
"A subject in extreme pain may provide an answer, any answer or many answers in order to get the pain to stop," the training officials said in their memo.
...
No more of this shit! I am so disgusted, embarrassed and mad...
we owe so many people an apology and I don't know what...how can we ever fix this? We should be ashamed of ourselves to let this have happened. And nobody can say we didn't know, because we did and we did nothing...
Monday, April 20, 2009
Happy National Pot Smoking Day!
April 20 is "National Pot Smoking Day." It's a day where people across the world celebrate in the conspicuous consumption of the magical herb, marijuana.
One explanation of the origin of the term stems from a story about a group of teenagers at San Rafael High School in San Rafael, California, United States in 1971. The teens would meet after school at 4:20 p.m. to smoke marijuana at the Louis Pasteur statue. The exact time was chosen because that was the time that afternoon detention was dismissed.
By extension April 20 ("4/20" in U.S. date notation) has evolved into a counterculture holiday, where people gather to celebrate and consume cannabis.[1] In some locations this celebration coincides with Earth Week.[2][3][4] A large celebration is held every year on the University of Colorado's Boulder campus, with attendance reaching more than 10,000 in 2008.[5] University police have tried various methods to prevent the gathering, including photographing students participating in the event,[6] but the crowd has grown every year.[5] In Dunedin, New Zealand, students at the University of Otago and other cannabis law reform activists meet under a walnut tree on the Otago University Union Lawn on Wednesdays and Fridays at 4:20pm to openly smoke cannabis in public in what they consider an act of protest. In 2008 a member of the Dunedin group was arrested and others were issued trespass notices after attempting to openly smoke cannabis at one of the regular 4:20pm protest meetings.[7][8]
By extension April 20 ("4/20" in U.S. date notation) has evolved into a counterculture holiday, where people gather to celebrate and consume cannabis.[1] In some locations this celebration coincides with Earth Week.[2][3][4] A large celebration is held every year on the University of Colorado's Boulder campus, with attendance reaching more than 10,000 in 2008.[5] University police have tried various methods to prevent the gathering, including photographing students participating in the event,[6] but the crowd has grown every year.[5] In Dunedin, New Zealand, students at the University of Otago and other cannabis law reform activists meet under a walnut tree on the Otago University Union Lawn on Wednesdays and Fridays at 4:20pm to openly smoke cannabis in public in what they consider an act of protest. In 2008 a member of the Dunedin group was arrested and others were issued trespass notices after attempting to openly smoke cannabis at one of the regular 4:20pm protest meetings.[7][8]
4/20 Is National PotSmoking Day
Last Edited: Monday, 20 Apr 2009, 9:52 AM CDTCreated On: Monday, 20 Apr 2009, 8:32 AM CDT
By FRANK CARNEVALE
(MYFOX NATIONAL) - April 20th, or 4/20, is "National Pot Smoking Day," an unofficial holiday for marijuana celebrations and legalization advocates.
Events scheduled around the country Monday celebrate marijuana and the legalization movement. In New York City, High Times magazine will hold a secret and sold out event and in San Francisco crowds are expected to celebrate at parks near the Golden Gate Bridge.
But at Boulder, Colo. students and activists are expected to celebrate what is being called the biggest 4/20 event in the world according to NORML . Speakers and a forum are being held at University of Colorado, with a 4:20 toking up in the center quad of the school . University officials are not condoning the event and sent out an email to students asking them not to participate in the events, saying it debases the reputation of the school.
Why April 20? The common history of 4/20 points to students in 1971 at San Rafael High School in San Rafael, Calif. meeting each afternoon after school at 4:20 to smoke pot. The date April 20 , 4/20, then grew out of that to become a unofficial day for marijuana. "420" also has became a term for a time to get high.
Marijuana advocates are encouraged that the discussion of legalization is becoming more widespread. They point to the fact that many state are already regulating medical marijuana and others are considering it. Also last year a bill to decrease federal penalties for possession was co-written by Representative Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat and Ron Paul, a Texas Republican. The bill failed, but may signal a new stance on the drug.
Advocates also point to the economic benefits of legalizing the drug. "Marijuana already plays a huge role in the California economy. It's a revenue opportunity we literally can't afford to ignore any longer," said Stephen Gutwillig, of the reform group Drug Policy Alliance in a Huffington Post report .
Bikram Yoga
picture taken into the Bikram room...
people can leave their matts there for a $5 a month charge.
people can leave their matts there for a $5 a month charge.
Bikram's Yoga, also known as Hot Yoga, or "Fire Yoga" is a style of yoga developed by Bikram Choudhury and a Los Angeles, California based company.[1] Bikram Yoga is ideally practiced in a room heated to 105°F (40.5°C) with a humidity of 40%. Classes are guided by specific dialogue including 26 postures and two breathing exercises. Classes last approximately 90 minutes. Beginners may take Bikram's yoga classes.
http://www.bikramcitychicago.com/
...so last week my friend Vikki (a yoga beginner) and I went to try Bikram yoga for the first time. The website and receptionist, who turned out to also be the teacher, assured us that the class could be taken by beginners and advanced students alike.
I was unable to truly enjoy this experience because the class was clearly not for beginners. Maybe to beginners of Bikram but not to yoga beginners.
The instructor did not give any help to Vikki, who has no yoga experience. This could be very dangerous because you can really injure yourself when you do poses wrong or are not experienced enough to know where you can take your body and how far you should and can push ESPECIALLY in a 105 degree room, where your muscles are suddenly able to do some crazy stretches and go farther then ever before.
On top of it you can get dizzy and even pass out.
So needless to say, I was pissed because I felt responsible for dragging my friend into this mess assuring her that yoga teachers always help you with easier poses and alternatives...when I wanted to help Vikki the mean teacher lady told me to be quite but then did not assist my beginner friend at all.
Bikram is great for advanced yogis who already know their bodies and know the poses. Bikram can add a very interested alternative practise to an already knowledgeable person.
Maybe we just had a bad teacher? I don't know...I might give it another try but I will definitely not take a beginner, even if they assure me that anybody can take the class.
Bikram’s Beginning Yoga Class, named after its founder Bikram Choudhury, is a sequence of 26 postures and two breathing exercises suitable for all ages and levels of ability. This sequence is practiced in a heated room to warm the muscles, prevent injury, allow for a deeper workout and flush the body of toxins.
Bikram scientifically designed this 90-minute class to deliver total health through the balancing and strengthening of every system in the body. By the end of class, one will have worked every muscle, tendon, joint, ligament, organ, gland and nerve while systematically moving oxygenated blood to 100% of the body. This unique process results in restoration of health to all systems.
In addition, the series of postures cultivate concentration, patience, determination and self-discipline. Bikram has been teaching his system of yoga in Los Angeles for over thirty years helping his students to improve their health and overall quality of life. As Bikram says, “Never too bad, never too old, never too sick, never too late, to start from scratch and begin again.”
http://www.bikramcitychicago.com/
...so last week my friend Vikki (a yoga beginner) and I went to try Bikram yoga for the first time. The website and receptionist, who turned out to also be the teacher, assured us that the class could be taken by beginners and advanced students alike.
I was unable to truly enjoy this experience because the class was clearly not for beginners. Maybe to beginners of Bikram but not to yoga beginners.
The instructor did not give any help to Vikki, who has no yoga experience. This could be very dangerous because you can really injure yourself when you do poses wrong or are not experienced enough to know where you can take your body and how far you should and can push ESPECIALLY in a 105 degree room, where your muscles are suddenly able to do some crazy stretches and go farther then ever before.
On top of it you can get dizzy and even pass out.
So needless to say, I was pissed because I felt responsible for dragging my friend into this mess assuring her that yoga teachers always help you with easier poses and alternatives...when I wanted to help Vikki the mean teacher lady told me to be quite but then did not assist my beginner friend at all.
Bikram is great for advanced yogis who already know their bodies and know the poses. Bikram can add a very interested alternative practise to an already knowledgeable person.
Maybe we just had a bad teacher? I don't know...I might give it another try but I will definitely not take a beginner, even if they assure me that anybody can take the class.
Bikram’s Beginning Yoga Class, named after its founder Bikram Choudhury, is a sequence of 26 postures and two breathing exercises suitable for all ages and levels of ability. This sequence is practiced in a heated room to warm the muscles, prevent injury, allow for a deeper workout and flush the body of toxins.
Bikram scientifically designed this 90-minute class to deliver total health through the balancing and strengthening of every system in the body. By the end of class, one will have worked every muscle, tendon, joint, ligament, organ, gland and nerve while systematically moving oxygenated blood to 100% of the body. This unique process results in restoration of health to all systems.
In addition, the series of postures cultivate concentration, patience, determination and self-discipline. Bikram has been teaching his system of yoga in Los Angeles for over thirty years helping his students to improve their health and overall quality of life. As Bikram says, “Never too bad, never too old, never too sick, never too late, to start from scratch and begin again.”
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
The Carver
Bill just ordered this!
http://www.carver-worldwide.com/Home/Index.asp?nc=1
Here is something that will make you go out of your way to find curvy roads: the Carver One! You steer it like a car, but when cornering it banks like a motorcycle while you feel like you are flying a jetfighter. The thrill of this tilting capability combined with the handling of a sports car makes for an exhilarating driving experience unlike any other!
watch the video...
http://www.carver-worldwide.com/Home/Index.asp?nc=1
Here is something that will make you go out of your way to find curvy roads: the Carver One! You steer it like a car, but when cornering it banks like a motorcycle while you feel like you are flying a jetfighter. The thrill of this tilting capability combined with the handling of a sports car makes for an exhilarating driving experience unlike any other!
watch the video...
more videos...
http://www.carver-worldwide.com/Movies/LoadMovie.asp?S_ID=64&nc=1
No Food in the House
Little silent movie I made for school a couple of years ago...starring Bill as the "Hungry Man".
Monday, April 13, 2009
Ravinia
A couple of years ago I had to make a movie for my film class, so I decided to make a documaentary about Ravinia and Bill helped!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
today we went to a park...
no dogs allowed! But horses are!
sexy dance...seemed appropriate on a bridge at the park on Easter!
luscious boody!
I walk weired.
adventure at the park, Bill the explorer.
a nest
a Bill
a fish, I think it is dead.
a nest
a Bill
a fish, I think it is dead.
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