Blog about Toby

Guest Blog by Laura
One of our resident designers shares her adventures in home decorating — accompanied by Spice the Mighty Pomeranian.

Day 1: The Downstairs Guestroom
This summer, I had a lot of company coming through town for a class reunion, so I spent about a month getting my early 1900s shaker-style farmhouse ready for guests. First, I took care of all the basics. I washed the windows, shampooed the carpets and installed a new faucet in the upstairs bathtub. Then came the fun part: choosing finishing touches for each room!

My downstairs guestroom is sweet and simple, with creamy white walls and plenty of windows. Contrasting the light elements, I have a fair amount of dark walnut woodwork and a dark, antique bed frame. To pull it all together, I decided to find a luminous artwork for the one windowless wall.
Before:

After a lot of thought, I selected Spring Rhapsody by Welby.

Spring Rhapsody
By Welby
This piece has a relaxed elegance to it which suits my decor style (a cross between French Country, English Cottage and Victorian Romance, with a dash of Jane Austen for good measure). I chose a champagne colored frame to lighten the room further and play off the colors in the cascading flower arrangement.
After:

And voila! A room reborn! Now I, and any guests who happen to drop by, can enjoy this beautiful, blooming bouquet of flowers all year round.
Stay tuned: I’ll take you on a tour of some of my other finished rooms next week…

So I work a block away from the WJLA/Channel 7 News/Channel 8 cable news building now. You’d think being in such close proximity to so many local celebrities, I’d bump into one by now. But no, you’d be wrong. The only time I’d probably see Doug McKelway or news heart-throb Alison Starling is if I got to work at 6:50am just in time to see them do the “wrap-up” segment for Good Morning America when they’re standing outside in front of the building. But I’m not that nuts about local news personalities to wake myself up at 5am to get myself to work just to get a glimpse of people standing in front of a camera outside.

In fact, everytime I go into the building to either get lunch from the China Garden or Baja Fresh, or to buy something at CVS, you’d think I might happen to bump into Gordon Peterson or Elliot Frances running an errand, but nope. Nothing. In fact, when you walk into the lobby and see the Channel 7/8 News entrance, its like the Wizard of Oz. Lots of video/server decks and blinking lights and monitors and not a soul in sight. You think with such a public area and them wanting to be in touch with the public, there’d be more of a Today show like setting, but nope. Its just a locked down fortress. Kinda disappointing. Maybe its best, to keep crazy bumbling fools like me from fawning over the “Talent.”

We admit it! The best part of a musical life (other
than the music itself) is the simple fact that it
introduces you to awesome people and places.

Last April we shared with those we love:
great foodrelaxing beachesa night of meringuemind-blowing sunsetsevenings of songlast-minute ironing &dangerously lengthy guffawsThe concerts had their moments too, such as when:
the dressing room was lockedGreg left the music backstageLiz called for spontaneous improvisational gameswe tangled our arms mid-performance (3x!)the audience stood during the piece to see what on earth we were doingwe premiered our new Bach transcription in Sarasotathe Saint-Saens went really, really wellAll in all, we shared great music in great places with great people!

I had spoken a few days ago about tooltips in Web-UIs. They have one small shortcoming – you cannot control the visual appearance of the tooltip. The system default settings apply to your tooltip. There is (there usually always is!) a workaround. IE 5 had introduced a new technology called “behaviors”. In their simplest avatar, a behavior could be just a jscript file with the .htc extension. But there is more to behaviors, and I’d rather have you read about them here.

So why this digression from tooltips to behaviors? Well because there is a sample behavior that you can download from MSDN which gives you total control over appearance of your tooltips - they can contain HTML markup. This can come in especially handy when you are trying to show Indian scripts in a tooltip, which typically require slightly larger font for them to be legible. Here is an example (Thanks Vinod for supplying me with Tamizh translation!). More details about the tooltip behavior can be had from here.

Behaviors are close to 5 years old but can be used creatively with ASP.NET for creating some interesting UIs. (Hint: The IE Webcontrols use them internally). I’ll talk about an interesting use in one of my future posts shortly.

Heard the news about the earth-like planet discovered a mere 20.5 light years away? Alpha can reveal exclusively the STRANGE RULES of a variety of SPORTS played on this newly-discovered celestial body.
1. AFL is the global game. Only it’s called Koozfnergleball.
2. Rugby union has entirely evolved into spectator-friendly rugby league, something that is known to have happened on every planet in the universe with the exception of Earth.
3. In football (soccer), the goalie can not use his hands. Which makes the populous much more comfortable about calling it football.
4. The local Murali was thrown out of cricket and now earns a terrific living as a baseball pitcher.
5. Synchronised swimmers and inept match officials are summarily executed after each event.
6. The local Michelle Wie still goes to school and no one cares how hard she can hit a golf ball.

Yes indeed, wonderful planet, that. A lot they could teach Earth about sport. Any of you stargazers noticed anything else going on up there?

Many people are using the last days of Florida summer in order to get in some vacation or travel time before the children return to school in the fall. While Florida travelers have a wealth of possible locations to visit and experience, is important to that all travelers be aware of the potential for illness and personal injury while abroad. If you are hoping to travel to other countries, make sure that you take some precautions.

If you wish to travel outside the country, it is important to see your doctor a minimum of six weeks before you leave for your destination. This allows you to have a dental and medical check op before you go. You may need to take extra prescriptions, medication, or vaccinations before you go. You will also certainly want to take a medical information bracelet, eyewear, first-aid kits, and other necessities before you go.

If you are leaving the country, you may need vaccinations in order to stay safe. If you are not fully protected, your doctor may recommend vaccinations against Hepatitis A or hepatitis A immune globulin, Hepatitis B, the flu, Yellow Fever, Polio, Japanese encephalitis, Measles, Mumps, Rrubella, Meningococcal meningitis, Pneumococcal, Rabies, Tetanus, Diphtheria toxoids, Typhoid fever, and Chickenpox. Based on your condition and the location you’re traveling to, your physician can make specific recommendations for the type of vaccination you will need to stay safe.

As you travel, you want to take cautions to prevent personal injury. Keep in mind that other countries have different rules and regulations about liability and injury, so you cannot always rely on assistance and insurance claims if you are hurt. Your best defense is not to suffer an injury. Eat carefully when you are traveling abroad. Avoid raw or uncooked seafood, cold foods, foods from street vendors, unpasteurized dairy products, ice, and water served in glasses. Use bottled water to brush your teeth, and eat well cooked foods and restaurants.

Avoid swimming in streams, lakes, and other public water sources unless you can be sure that they are safe from bacteria and other hazards. Also, keep in mind that automobile accidents or boating accidents in other countries may be more common. Wear a helmet if you are riding a motorcycle, avoid taking transportation that is overcrowded, and always use safety belts.

Evan Osnos, the Chicago Tribune’s Beijing bureau chief was awarded the Osborn Elliot Journalism Prize from the Asia Society. Jonathan Watts, the Guardian’s Beijing correspondent, was awarded an honorable mention. The press release for the award says:

In announcing the award, Mr. Pearlstine praised Mr. Osnos for his tenacity in traveling to the far corners of Asia—the rainforests of Papua New Guinea, the grasslands of Inner Mongolia and the oil-rich steppe of Kazakhstan—to piece together untold stories and unimaginable consequences of U.S. demand for low-cost goods. For example, Osnos meticulously documented how hunger for inexpensive cashmere sweaters has triggered overgrazing, fueling dust storms from China’s Alashan Plateau heavy enough to carry air pollution back to U.S. consumers. [Full text]

Osnos’ series, which contains video and photos, can be seen here.

I’m still filling for Barrett on Any Given Tuesday. Here is what I came up with today.

This is Joe from IA again. It’s Tuesday and these are the music news items that enticed me today…

- Let’s start off with some news on one of my favorite bands… As many of you may have previously heard, The Cure is about to release their 13th studio album in October. It turns out that it is going to be a double disc. Robert Smith says that he he is making the record that he wants and that “it isn’t a commercial concern” for him. There will probably be 2 versions, but he is going to offer the double album that he mixed for the same price as the single disc that the label wants to release. To ease concerns about the record sounding like crap, he also mentioned that he dug 3 old demos from the 80’s out of his archives and recorded them for this record. Finally, he said that while they will be playing some new material on their fall tour, the set will still feature mostly the classic songs. I think that is the best news of all.

- Today it became official. Morrissey cancelled 4 of the previously postponed East Coast shows. It goes without saying that his sold out Baltimore show was among the casualties. The official statement said that the club was not available during the time that he needed it, but if you look at the rescheduled dates and Rams Head Live’s calendar, you’ll see that the club is free on 7/22. Sounds like a spurn to me.

- To provide further proof that Barrett and I run poor man’s music blogs, Stereogum had the resources to commission an exclusive tribute album for the 10 year Anniversary of Radiohead’s OK Computer. It features covers of all of the album’s tracks by bands such as Cold War Kids and Vampire Weekend. While I go searching for a sugar daddy, check out the exclusive release here.

- In our ever changing world of digital music, the following story was inevitable. Indie rock label Arts & Crafts, decided to make the new Stars album In Our Bedroom After War available for digital download today, mere days after it was completed. The final mix was just delivered on July 6. In a bold move, the label decided to jump the gun and make the album availble legally, before it leaked. The official release date was set for September 25 and you can still buy physical copies on that date.

- Smashing Pumpkins have their big show at 9:30 Club tonight. The $30 show has seen tickets being scalped for asking prices well over $800 a piece! Considering how many different versions are being offered of their new CD and that the tickets in question were posted just 40 minutes after they went on sale, I’m very likely to believe that the outrageous scalper in question is none other than Billy Corgan. I mean this whole “reunion” is about money, right?

- Kings Of Leon are having a very public argument that is starting to cause people to believe that their demise is not very far off. Now for the kicker, the fight is over drummer Nathan Followill getting engaged. His loving brother and band mate Caleb responded to the news with the following loving words: “If he doesn’t get a pre-nuptial agreement, he’s an idiot. Me and him have a lot invested in each other. We started this band. We bought land and houses together. We’ve been best friends since we were little biddy boys. I don’t want him to make mistakes. We have friends in bands who are married and their songs start being watered-down because they’re all about the same girl.” It sounds to me like Caleb killed too many brain cells to realize that his brother is just the drummer and that he is the lyricist!

Alright, that does it for today. I’ll leave you to ponder the following question. How much would you pay to see the 2007 version of Smashing Pumpkins?

I’m that jerk who goes to concerts without even knowing who the band is, I can’t sing along like everyone else can but then suddenly I become a fanatic and steal all their music off torrents. It’s happened way too many times, like with LCD Sound System, Built to Spill, Gogol Bordello, etc. One exception is Alvaro Henríquez, specifically Los Tres, who was kept at a safe distance a continent away from me so I had to listen to his music for two years before being able to see him live last year on a Thursday at 9PM at the Liguria Bar in Providencia, Santiago, Chile.

There’s definitely an extra thrill to knowing the songs, and then seeing them performed live. But even then I couldn’t sing along because the fucking lyrics were in Spanish and I had to realize then that despite “knowing” the music I didn’t actually even know what the songs were saying. Still though, great show.

And despite having my cherry popped last year at Liguria, I’d have to say that program-wise this year blows last year out of the guater because this year not only did Alvaro Henríquez reappear with his band, Los Tres (last year was just him and some hired lounge musicians,
as I recall) but in doing so he kicked off a whole series of shows at the same bat place, same bat day and time every few weeks. Since then Los Bunkers - which I showed incredible restraint and didn’t go to - and this Thursday night almost didn’t go see Javiera Parra but at the last minute buckled: Javiera y los Imposibles y I don’t regret it.

This was kinda like a discovery with a twist, a re-discovery because I’d heard one of her albums and decided I didn’t like it, I’d written her off as, to borrow a Chilean term, light. I kinda suspected she was one of those blond Chileans. As the show began, I immediately realized that her music was full of, as a Chilean would say, feeling, and that she was actually delivering a very powerful performance, as one Chilean described it.

I’m not sure if you’ll become a fan just by listening to an album of hers, but I’m definitely converted after seeing her live. Javiera Parra is the granddaughter of Violeta Parra, who sang “Gracias a la Vida” which was picked up by Joan Baez and Roberta Flack, among others. Unhindered by space and time, the recordings of Violeta effect a slight paralysis or loss of breath, kinda similar to the way music that brings-back-memories does, but in Violeta’s case it’s not so much the evocation of memories but rather the directness of that powerful feeling. I think her North American counterpart would be Johnny Cash; both wrench their songs out of folklore and the wild American landscape and pierce directly into the listeners’ innate historical consciousness.

It runs in the Parra family. A few weeks ago when I saw her grandson, Ángel Parra, with Los Tres at Liguria I felt something similar as he played what’s objectively a standard lick but he pulled out this feeling that borders on religious. Javiera cranks up the echo effect and belts out her lyrics, seriously blew me away.

I have no fucking clue what she’s saying, but it doesn’t matter. (Sidenote: I apologize for the YouTube amateurism of the video I made, and also note that I’m fully aware that, per YouTube’s TOS, I’m going to Hell for helping promote a musician).

That’s actually, in some ways, a nice thing about Chile, how they’re generally not so anal about intellectual property rights. I will prosecute if I find anyone copying my content without my permission, but it’s nice to know that when I employ fair use to the benefit of everyone, I’ll only go to Hell, not jail.

In general, the live music scene in Santiago, Chile sucks dick. Which is why this series of totally Chilean, live music at Liguria is such good and extraordinary news. And if this was your special secret that you think I’m spoiling then get over it. Last night I heard a shitload of English being spoken, in both North American and European accents. The cat’s outta the bag. And if you want my honest opinion it really wasn’t crowded enough for my taste. I prefer a critical mass that ripples out to the other end of the room when you bump into it, not just you knocking somebody over by accident, although don’t expect to get that drunk, piscola is $7 for instance. Although I forgot to mention, these shows are FREE.

Javiera Parra, again, a really great show and a great fixture on the nearly non-existent live music scene in Santiago, Chile. There were a couple nice interludes, with Alvaro Henríquez showing up for a song (there’s some Chilean celebrity gossip trivia for you) as well as a cellist.

When she heaved her whole act up on stage and Javiera introduced her and someone in the balcony yelled “MINA RICA!!!” which was pretty funny although I can’t quite say I agree. That said, she probably would have grown on me if she’d been given enough time but Javiera - who herself took a while to grow on me - is no fool and so she booted the cellist off the stage after only one song. Even during that song she wasn’t having any of it, here she is blocking out my view of the cellist and blowing me a kiss:

Smart cookie. I’ll probably buy a CD now or something.Check out more Chile blogging at http://c.hileno.com

A new type of peach tree, created by crossing two existing varieties has been unveiled by Joseph Goffreda, a plant biologist at the University of Rutgers in New Jersey.

Goffreda says the new variety is distinguished from other peach trees by its unique combination of large, showy, light pink flowers and its bright golden-yellow fruit with a juicy non-melting texture, and a sweet spicy flavour that retain their firmness well.

The trees are also notable for their sustained, heavy production of fruit. If that doesn’t make your mouth water, nothing will.

Read the full new, improved peach tree patent application.