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Old USSR Posters about Stalin and Soviet people
Via Metafilter
When Studio 2 first went on the air on September 26, 1994, the promotional ads promised 'Death to soundbites!' From the beginning, the program was dedicated to in-depth analysis and debate - giving the topics we cover the time they deserve. Fortunately, we've had hosts of the calibre of Mary Hynes, Steve Paikin, Paula Todd, and Allan Gregg, who bring years of journalistic experience and insight to every interview. The most common comment from our guests: 'That's the best (or toughest) interview I've ever done!'
But Studio 2 is much more than its daily interviews. Our field producers have travelled the province to make documentaries that reflect Ontario society, telling Ontario stories in the words of the people themselves. Over the years our crews have become familiar to residents from the Manitoba to the Quebec borders. Studio 2 has
always had a special interest in Ontario's North, featuring this year full editions on the ice roads north of Pickle Lake, the bears of Kenora, and 'The Spirit of the North,' a program about the real but sometimes intangible appeal of life in the North.
Studio 2 has sunk its roots deep into the regions and communities of Ontario over the years with special programs from the Royal Winter Fair, Ottawa's Winterlude, the Nordic Games in Thunder Bay and the
International Ploughing Match in Ayr.
Studio 2 has also shown a special interest in the arts, focusing on homegrown Ontario talent. We've brought viewers specials on the Stratford and Shaw Festivals, and our documentary profiles have portrayed not just the accomplished and well-known, but the
up-and-coming young stars of tomorrow in every field of the visual and performing arts.
Our ever-popular Ontario-wide 'Town Contests' have continued with Bancroft winning as the "Most Talented Town" in 2004. Previous
titles have gone to Perth, "Prettiest Town in Ontario" in 2000, Cobalt as "Most Historic Town" in 2001, and in 2002 the Beaches district of Toronto won our "Best Main-street" contest. In 2003, we looked for "The Greenest Town" where Orillia and Caledon tied for first place. Based on viewer feedback and the economies of our production model, Studio 2 has been able to "spin off" other programs from our most popular weekly features. Person 2 Person with Paula Todd,
Diplomatic Immunity with Steve Paikin, On Stage, and Allan Gregg in Conversation with... have joined Fourth Reading (which actually predates Studio 2) as stand-alone programs on the weekends. In 1994, our goal was to create a program that would serve as an electronic archive of Ontario, its people, and the times.
It is a lofty goal that we pursue every day, and we are never satisfied. We have a deep feeling of pride in the people who daily make Studio 2 possible, gratitude to TVOntario for the opportunity to create such a unique program, and an enduring respect for the people who watch and encourage it.
Transform any doorway in your home or office into concealed storage.It's not so much that I want one of these cheap looking contraptions; I need it. We're running out of wall space for our books. There seem to be more of them each week although I've been trying to institute a rigid "one in, one out" rule. I swear that Updike must be breeding with Atwood while we sleep.
Via Oh Gizmo
A 50-year-old Florrie made a name for herself in the early '70s by traveling to high schools and pretty much assaulting assembled students with her tales of 25 years of hard living on the street as a drug addict and whore. Basically, she ranted and raved (and chain smoked) at them, telling her serpentine and labrynthine hard-luck story using any old thing that popped into her head, with the goal of disuading them from ever trying 'stuff' (or maybe her whole point was to rope teens into the cultish Synanon program she spoke so highly of -- the jury's still out on her true aim). Regardless, all of this was captured in the 1970 PSA/scare film The Trip Back, which nearly shared a title with her memoir The Lonely Trip Back. It was all so manic, nonsensical and hilarious that it formed the basis of Strangers With Candy -- central character Jerri Blank was also a (semi-) reformed drug addict and hooker who found herself back in high
school (though not addressing the students, but as one).
The man who said "I'd rather be lucky than good" saw deeply into life. People are often afraid to realize how much of an impact luck plays.There are moments in a tennis match where the ball hits the top of the net, and for a split second, remains in mid-air. With a litte luck, the ball goes over, and you win. Or maybe it doesn't, and you lose.
Naomi Campbell is being accused of less-than-model behavior again, this time by another of her maids who claims the supermodel hit her.
In a terse single-sheet filing in Manhattan's state Supreme Court, Gaby Gibson accused Campbell of 'personal injuries,' 'employment discrimination,' 'civil assault,' 'civil battery' and other complaints.
Gibson, who filed the lawsuit on Monday, the eve of a Manhattan Criminal Court appearance by Campbell on charges of assaulting another maid, asks for 'actual, compensatory and punitive' damages without specifying an amount.Campbell is due in court Tuesday on a similar charge that stemmed from a similar situation — the supermodel couldn't find a pair of jeans.
That American CEOs last year earned 262 times the average pay of their own workers is no big deal. It's always possible that some of them actually earned all that money, or at least some of it.
What is, surely, something of a big deal is that according to Corporate Library in Washington, the chief executives of the 11 largest companies in the United States earned a combined $865 million over the past two years at the same time as their shareholders lost $640 million.What, potentially, is an even bigger deal, is that one of the main
activities of American executives these days is figuring out ways to cut the pay of their workers while at the same time hanging on to all they have.
It's been interesting to walk around campus this afternoon, as when I went to Princeton things were completely different. This chapel, for instance-I remember when it was just a clearing, cordoned off with sharp sticks. Prayer was compulsory back then, and you couldn't just fake it by moving your lips; you had
to know the words, and really mean them. I'm dating myself, but this was before Jesus Christ. We worshipped a God named Sashatiba, who had five eyes, including one right here, on the Adam's apple. None of us ever met him, but word had it that he might appear at any moment, so we were always at the ready. Whatever you do, don't look at his neck, I used to tell myself.
One of the best things about bidding farewell to the teen years is being rid of pimples. But some adults are waking up in their 20s, 30s, 40s and even 50s to an unpleasant reminder of high-school embarrassment.
It comes with much heartache that we announce that the Festival Cinemas will cease operations of The Revue, Kingsway and Royal theatres at the end of June. It is because of your support we have been able to stay in business for almost 30 years, thank you.
This is sad news. When Mr. Nag and I were in the first throes of our romance, back in the days before VCRs and DVDs, we used to go out several times a week for vegetarian Indian food and then to the Revue to catch whatever was playing and to make out. We spent many happy evenings there. The loss of these neighbourhood theatres is symptomatic of a shift in Toronto - not for the better, I think. It's a shame.
The Suburban Amusement Company Ltd. built the Revue Cinema in 1911. Its original address was 320 Roncesvalles Avenue. At this time, much of the Parkdale/High Park was in its early stages of development. John Wright built (the very oldest house in this neighbourhood, on Wright Avenue, in the 1870s.)
The Revue has never closed in its eighty-some years, making it one of the oldest continuously running cinemas in the country.
I have spent nearly every Saturday morning for the past 20 years going to yard sales in intown neighborhoods in Atlanta. I seldom buy anything anymore. Am I wasting my time? I am addicted. But it's no longer the buying that attracts me.He's from Atlanta; yeah, that's the ticket. If this isn't Mr. Nag it's his friggin' doppleganger. My husband keeps dragging stuff home. He doesn't care if it makes me crazy; he can't seem to help himself. You think this is a harmless addiction? One day I'll post pictures of our garage, basement and attic. See the thirty years of detritus accumulated therein and you won't think this habit is so cute. You might even pity me.
It is observing what other people have done with thier lives and how this is reflected in what they are getting rid of. I am more of a anthropologist than a bargain hunter. But I am an addict.
He estimates that 900,000 working age Ontarians and their 350,000 children
are poor.
'They're everywhere. They're serving you food today,' he said of the Royal York hotel servers. 'They sold you movie tickets this weekend. They may have been helping with your garden. They took care of your children last week. They answered the phone when your washing machine broke.'
This picture via Miss Cellania takes me back to the days when Mr. Nag adopted the alter-ego, Rappin' Dad, solely to irk the younger generation of Nags. Nag Jr. took particular offence to his dad's wacky antics. He'd become apoplectic when my baby daddy, trucker hat askew, would gank the teen lingo. Nag Jr. thought he was hackin on him. I thought it was bangin' . Rappin' Dad jacked all the tunes too (That song's jammin' on the one! Baby!). Nag Jr. would accuse him of perpetratin' but Rappin Dad just wanted to represent and get down with his peeps.
What amazed me was Mr. Nag's tenacity and inventiveness - this went on for months. Eventually the act became wack and fizzled out but it was wylin' while it lasted - word up.
THE ITEM: Custom Belief T-shirt by Mondonation.
THE COST: $50
Each shirt features a customized message about the wearer's belief, whether it's an everyday desire such as 'I believe I'll have another drink,' a lifelong mantra along the lines of 'I believe in love,' or a grand aspiration like 'I believe that my daughters will change the world,' to quote a few tees Mondonation has created since launching in April.
The idea is to see how positive beliefs become more powerful when they're shared with others, says Mondonation founder Ward Bingham, who's based in Vancouver. 'I came up with this concept that if people share what they believe on T-shirts ...
we will begin to spread our beliefs and then notice the positive effects. '
What's really cool about the T-shirts is that $10 of each purchase goes to the charity of your choice. When you visit the Mondonation website to create your message, you're also asked to select a charity from a list of non-profits, including, for example, Amnesty International, Habitat for Humanity and Greenpeace.
Dating sucks. It does! Unless you are totally hot, with endless amounts of cash and a decent personality, finding a fun person that you want to be with is hard and sometime laborious work. It's not just meeting people that's hard, it the culling process that's challenging. One of the most stressful aspects of dating when you have seen someone a few times and realized that it's going no where but your clueless date hangs on for dear life like you're Brad Pitt. You really don't want to have the 'It's me' conversation but the stupid thing just won't die. What do you do?
This list of spoken and sign languages beginning with the letter Z is based on data by Ethnologue, a publication of SIL International.
When I used to visit my mother in a nursing home in Arkansas we would look for restaurants where Mr. Nag, a vegetarian, could find something he could eat. He found himself having to choose between pizza at the mall or stretching his culinary boundaries to include catfish. Over the years more chains moved in but early on we had few choices. Mr. Nag checked in at the local fire station to see if the brothers could offer some advice. They told us " if y'all want good food, go where the big hogs go". They suggested a buffet close to our hotel. It was a dingy place with card tables and folding chairs. The denizens all looked like Hindenburgs and had grim, purposeful expressions on their faces. We were in a dry county, it was date night and it appeared that these folks were filling that dark hole deep within themselves with greasy goodness. In another, moister, locale this could have been accomplished to greater effect with alcohol. I bet you're waiting for me to tell you that it was some of the best grub I ever ate. Well, it wasn't. We bellied up to a half mile long counter of deep fried batter the shape and size of tennis balls. There were no signs to tell us what ingredients were contained within. We had to wait until we got back to our table and split them open to figure out what we had before us. It was not tasty. It was gross. The intensity with which the patrons approached their plates (again and again and again) was scarey. And worst of all it was expensive. Since then I distrust all-you-can-eat joints. For those of you who are not yet jaded:
Are you hungry? Are you really, really hungry? If so, read on, for we have chosen ten of America's best places to bring your best appetite: all-you-can-eat restaurants where you pay one price, then pile a plate high and come back for seconds and, if possible, thirds. The late, great Mendenhall Hotel in Mississippi used to serve food this way, and to inspire diners, it offered a lovely, framed handmade sampler on the wall that said, 'Eat 'Til It Ouches.'
Via Information Junk
Personalising what is dear to you is something that people in Japan like...
and the manga characters are loved too. One of the most famous characters is 'Hello Kitty', a small, pink and very cute cat, both like by kids and adults. Japan is unlike any other country, and whilst out-growing their youth, the Japanese do not leave behind their joys and childhood passions.
A group of Hello Kitty afficionados have attacked their car in pure Hello Kitty style, and the Japanese don't like to leave things half-finished. Everything was restyled, from the dashboard to the celing, passing by the door and even the hood, the Hello Kitty God is everywhere, and Japan is a country filled with little marvellous things.
Researchers in the U.S. have linked exposures to trace amounts of bisphenol A, a widely used chemical that leaks from many plastics products, to prostate cancer in animal experiments. The discovery is considered the first direct scientific evidence connecting prostate cancer to bisphenol A, or BPA, a
chemical used to make the polycarbonate for hard plastic water bottles and baby bottles, and the dental sealants used on children's teeth, among its many consumer uses. The dose causing the adverse effect, given to newborn rats, was set by the researchers to be similar to the amounts commonly found in the blood of people in Western countries exposed to polycarbonate plastic and other BPA-containing consumer items. This dose was 60 per cent below levels Health Canada considers safe, and suggests that current regulatory standards may be too lax.