You Men have no idea -- Samantha Brown ...item 1b.. Humble Pie - Eat It (1973) Full Album ...item 2.. Is America ready for a Mexican Twinkie? (18 November 2012) ...
Image by marsmet531
This album showcases the dynamic diversity and talent of Steve Marriott's gritty bluesy vocals with some funky soul mixed in throughout along with straight ahead blistering rockers.
The band is right on and they deliver an extremely energetic powerhouse combination on this double album that overall ranks with their best along with Smokin' and Performance Rockin' The Fillmore.
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........*****All images are copyrighted by their respective authors ........
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.....item 1a).... Eat It (Humble Pie album) ... From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ...
For the "Weird Al" Yankovic compilation album, see Eat It ("Weird Al" Yankovic album).
Eat It
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eat_It_(Humble_Pie_album)
Studio album by Humble Pie ... ReleasedApril 1973
Recorded Steve Marriott's clear sounds home studio, (Essex)
Green’s Playhouse, Glasgow (side 4)
Genre R&B, blues rock, hard rock, soul
Label A&M
Producer Steve Marriott
Humble Pie chronology
Smokin' (1972) ...
Eat It (1973) ...
Thunderbox (1974)
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.....item 1b)... youtube video ... Humble Pie - Eat It (1973) Full Album ... 62:29 minutes
www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4AB3nTpYfI
Published on Oct 24, 2012 by kritikospa11
www.facebook.com/KritikospaMusicChannel
Humble Pie - Eat It (1973)
Re Uploading October 24, 2012
Track Listing
01 00:00 "Get Down to It"
02 03:18 "Good Booze and Bad Women"
03 06:25 "Is It for Love?"
04 11:04 "Drugstore Cowboy"
05 16:46 "Black Coffee"
06 18:45 "I Believe to My Soul"
07 21:59 "Shut up and Don't Interrupt Me"
08 24:58 "That's How Strong My Love Is"
09 28:43 "Say No More"
10 30:41 "Oh, Bella"
11 34:05 "Summer Song"
12 36:49 "Beckton Dumps"
13 40:02 "Up Our Sleeve"
14 45:04 "Honky Tonk Women"
15 49:02 "(I'm A) Road Runner"
All Music Review (Rating: 3/5)
www.allmusic.com/album/eat-it-mw0000531819
Wiki
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eat_It_(Humble_Pie_album)
RateYourMusic (Rating: 3.30/5)
rateyourmusic.com/release/album/humble_pie/eat_it/
Category:
Music
License:
Standard YouTube License
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.....item 2).... Mail Online ... Daily Mail ... www.dailymail.co.uk ...
Is America ready for a Mexican Twinkie?
Bankrupt Hostess 'to sell beloved snack to cake company south of the border'
... Hostess is closing its 33 plants, laying off its 18,500 workers and putting its snack brands up for sale
... Thousands of company workers went on strike last week after rejecting a contract offer that cut wages and benefits
... Fans of firm's products queue for last serving of Twinkies, Ding Dongs etc.
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
PUBLISHED: 11:53 EST, 18 November 2012 | UPDATED: 15:04 EST, 18 November 2012
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2234822/Mexican-company-...
A Mexican company may come to the rescue of Twinkies-loving Americans across the country as it looks to acquire the bankrupt Hostess Brands to keep its lip-smacking-sweet confections on store shelves for years to come.
Mexican company Grupo Bimbo is reportedly eyeing Hostess Brands, the company that makes Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Ho Ho's, after Hostess announced last week that it would shutter and liquidate its 33 bakeries.
News of Hostess Brands' liquidation struck fear in the hearts of Twinkies loyalists across the country, who scrambled to snatch up the sticky-sweet treats from stores and online for fear of never tasting them again.
Scroll down for video
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img code photo ... Andy Wagar -- Bellingham, Washington
i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/17/article-2234292-1611C7...
Stocking up: Andy Wagar piles Twinkies and other Hostess products into his car in Bellingham, Washington
AP
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img code photo ... Michelle Craft -- Denver, Colorado
i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/17/article-2234292-16121A...
Taking no chances: Michelle Craft bought 0 worth of Hostess treats at a store in Denver on Friday
AP
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As a result, the all-American Twinkies brand is now becoming more attractive to potential buyers. Food producers ConAgra and Flowers Food. the American company behind Nature Valley granola, have considered purchasing the company.
But Mexico's Grupo Bimbo, the world's largest bread baking firm, may have the upper hand.
Bimbo owns parts of Sarah Lee, Entenmann's and Thomas English Muffins. The company had previously made an offer of 0 million a few years ago, according to Forbes. Hostess is now estimated to be worth only 5 million.
Part of the reason for Hostess's bankruptcy is high sugar prices tied to U.S. trade tariffs -- which wouldn't be an issue in Mexico, where Bimbo can take advantage of lower-priced sugar.
More...
... The makers of Twinkies would have gone out of business years ago if it wasn't for us says union
... 'This is a set-up!': Chris Christie responds to question about Twinkies by joking 'I'm on Saturday Night Live enough!'
The day the Twinkie died: Hostess to shut down and lay off 18,500 workers after crippling strike
The family that owns and operates Grupo Bimbo is reportedly worth billion.
As the future Twinkies hangs in the balance, a war of words has broken out between the unions and the snacks maker over who is to blame for them going out of business.
The Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union claims that the company would have gone out of business years ago if it hadn't been for the efforts of their employees.
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img code photo ... Curtis Smout
i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/17/article-2234292-16125E...
Seeing the funny side: But Curtis Smout was taking precautions against the snacks' disappearance
AP
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Meanwhile, Hostess CEO Rayburn has publicly stated without doubt that the closure of the bakery giant on Nov. 16 was due to failed negotiations with the unions and they will be at fault if the Twinkies brand disappears for good.
Issuing a statement clarifying their position, BCTGM International President Frank Hurt said, 'the truth is that had it not been for the valiant efforts of our members over the last eight years, including accepting significant wage and benefit concessions after the first bankruptcy, this company would have gone out of business long ago.'
'Hostess failed because its six management teams over the last eight years were unable to make it a profitable, successful business enterprise.'
Hurt explains in his statement that a prior bankruptcy plan submitted by Hostess earlier this year was unreasonable and would have done little to reduce debt, but provided Hostess executives ample compensation.
A representative for the union speaking to Businessinsider.com said that, 'Hostess is a corrupt company and is attempting to shut their plant down because we are not willing to conform and take slave wages. We won't do that.'
'They're a big business who's mismanaged the company and made all of us suffer.'
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img code photo ... Heather Griffiths and her mother Dori
i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/17/article-2234292-161241...
Multi-generational: Heather Griffiths and her mother Dori team up to buy the Hostess treats they need
AP
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'We've been in situations like this, where Wall Street, big business investors will attempt to chop up wages and have workers work for little or nothing, where they're unable to support their families.
'When they have to take action to close the plant, that happens. We have families that cannot work for these types of wages and have little to no healthcare.'
In response to the decision to close Hostess at the cost of 18,500 jobs and the closure of 33 plants, Greg Rayburn laid the blame at the door of the unions.
'The leadership of that union made the decision that they’re willing to sacrifice these jobs because they don’t really want to have these kinds of concessions from other companies,' said Rayburn.
While most of the firm's most iconic brands are likely to be snapped up by other manufacturers, Twinkie die-hards were taking no chances after the announcement.
The snacks were flying off shelves throughout the nation, and grocery store workers reported that they were fast running out of Twinkies and other Hostess brands.
'We may have a few things left, but pretty much we're out of our Hostess stuff,' a store manager in Chicago told Businessweek.
And a spokesman for grocery chain Supervalu warned, 'We will only have the products while supplies last.'
Customers flocked to the Wonder Hostess Bakery Coutlet in Indianapolis to get their hands on the fast-vanishing treats.
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img code photo ... HANDICAPPED PARKING ONLY
i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/17/article-2234292-161241...
Demand: there were long lines outside the Hostess store in Denver when the company announced its demise
AP
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img code photo ... Boxcakes 3/.00 - 2.69 each
i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/17/article-2234292-16122F...
Shortage: Shoppers in Waterloo, Iowa were out of luck when the tried to stockpile the goodies
AP
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Charles Selke showed journalists his plastic bag stuffed with snacks, including Zingers dessert cakes.
'How do these just disappear from your life?', he asked. 'That's just not right, man. I'm loyal. I love these things, and I'm diabetic.'
For others, the rush to snap up Hostess foodstuffs was motivated by historic considerations, as in the case of Samantha Caldwell, from Chicago.
She bought a pack of Twinkies to give to her four-year-old son, saying: 'This way he can say, "I had one of those."'
In New York City, many grocery stores had run out of Twinkies by mid-afternoon, with only Hostess' less popular products left over.
The shortage led to the snacks selling for wildly inflated prices on eBay and other online marketplaces.
One opportunistic seller managed to offload a box of 10 Twinkies - which would normally cost no more than - for .
It is unclear how long the sweet treats will stay fresh - while it is widely rumoured that Twinkies remain edible for decades, it is unclear to what extent that is true.
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img code photo ... Leftovers
i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/17/article-2234292-161247...
Leftovers: The most popular snacks such as Twinkies were completely sold out in some Manhattan stores
Kenneth Hughes for the Daily Mail
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img code photo ... Wonder Bread - Classic White
i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/17/article-2234292-161247...
Gaps: New York City bodegas were fast running out of Hostess products such as Wonder Bread
Kenneth Hughes for the Daily Mail
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'I don't think it's a stretch to say there's a lot of sadness today,' Hostess spokesman Tom Becker said, adding: '18,500 people had jobs yesterday and knew they weren't going to have jobs anymore when they woke up today.'
The 82-year-old company, based in Irving, Texas, said a nationwide worker strike crippled its ability to make and deliver products, which include Ding Dongs, Ho Ho’s, Dolly Madison and Drake's cakes.
'There's no way to soften the fact that this will hurt every Hostess Brands employee,' the company's chief executive, Gregory Rayburn, said in a letter to employees.
'All Hostess Brands employees will eventually lose their jobs - some sooner than others.'
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img code photo ... St. Louis, Missouri
i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/16/article-2233968-16117C...
Shut: A sign taped onto the door of Hostess plant is seen in St. Louis as the company goes out of business
Reuters
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img code photo ... Farewell - Twinkies and CupCakes
i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/16/article-2233968-161003...
Farewell: The maker of Twinkies and CupCakes is going out of business and laying off thousands of workers
AFP / Getty images
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Hostess had warned its workers that it would file a motion in U.S. Bankruptcy Court to unwind its business and sell assets if plant operations didn't return to normal levels by Thursday evening.
It went ahead and filed the motion on Friday, but said deliveries will continue and Hostess Brands retail stores will stay open for several days to sell already-baked products.
Yet the eventual closure will shutter 33 bakeries, 565 distribution centers, 570 bakery outlet stores and approximately 5,500 delivery routes, the Chicago Sun-Times reported, leaving thousands out of work.
VIDEO: The loss of an iconic treat, and thousands of jobs:
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img code photo ... Lee Byers
i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/16/article-2233968-16112C...
Out of work: Lee Byers mans the picket line outside the closed Wonder Bread bakery in Lenexa, Kansas
Reuters
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img code photo ... On strike - Kravis Pfeiffer - representing Hostess workers in Peoria, Illinois
i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/16/article-2233968-1603A7...
On strike: Striking worker and Chief Steward Kravis Pfeiffer from the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, representing Hostess workers in Peoria, Illinois
AP
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img code photo ... Angry employees - BCTGM Local 149 - ON STRIKE against Hostess Brands
i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/16/article-2233968-15FEE2...
Angry employees: Workers gather to strike outside the Hostess bakery in Memphis earlier this week
AP
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'It’s a very sad day because there's lots of history there,' Donald Woods, president of the Local 1 union that represents 500 workers at Hostess plants in Schiller Park, Hodgkins and Peoria, Illinois told the Sun-Times.
'We have members who've had 40 years there. ... Their dream was working there and retire there.'
Valorie Smith, who has worked at the Hostess packing plant in Schiller Park for 27 years, stood outside her workplace on Friday with a group of fellow employees waiting to hear the news.
Smith, 50, said the 10- to 12-hour shifts were tough. 'I gave it my all here,' she lamented to the Sun-Times. 'It’s hard on your body. It breaks you down.'
The privately held company filed for Chapter 11 protection in January, its second trip through bankruptcy court in less than a decade.
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img code photo ... R.I.P. IBC ... Hostess owned Dolly Madison bakery in Emporia, Kansas
Fighting back: Union members with Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International picket across the street from the Hostess owned Dolly Madison bakery in Emporia, Kansas on Wednesday
AP
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img code photo ... St. Louis, Missouri
i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/16/article-2233968-161175...
Waiting game: Picketers play cards outside of the Hostess plant in St. Louis on Friday
Reuters
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img code photo ... Cake Bakery - Seattle, Washington State
i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/16/article-2233968-160DCB...
Outrage: Diana McKinley, a 33-year employee of Hostess, pickets on Thursday in Sacramento, California
Reuters
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img code photo ... The Closure
i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/16/article-2233968-160D19...
Over: The closure affects 33 bakeries, 565 distribution centers, 570 bakery stores and 5,500 delivery routes
Getty images
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‘Many people have worked incredibly long and hard to keep this from happening, but now Hostess Brands has no other alternative than to begin the process of winding down and preparing for the sale of our iconic brands,’ Rayburn said.
'We deeply regret the necessity of today’s decision, but we do not have the financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike.'
But union members said the company only has itself to blame.
Thousands of members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union went on strike last week after rejecting a contract offer in September that cut wages and benefits.
Most of the company's employees had approved an eight per cent pay cut for the coming year, but the members of the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union had voted against the cut and a change in the pension plan.
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img code photo ... Ogden, Utah
i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/16/article-2233968-160FB3...
Iconic brand: A Hostess Twinkies sign is shown at the Utah Hostess plant in Ogden, Utah
AP
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img code photo ... A Hostess Wonder Bread truck
i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/16/article-2233968-160CC8...
Pulling out: A Hostess Wonder Bread truck is shown in front of the Utah Hostess plant in Ogden
AP
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'The crisis facing Hostess Brands is the result of nearly a decade of financial and operational mismanagement that resulted in two bankruptcies, mountains of debt, declining sales and lost market share,' the union said in a statement.
'The Wall Street investors who took over the company after the last bankruptcy attempted to resolve the mess by attacking the company’s most valuable asset – its workers.'
Hostess has said that production at about a dozen of its 33 plants has been seriously affected by the strike. Three plants were closed earlier this week.
The company, founded in 1930, was fighting battles beyond labor costs. Competition is increasing in the snack space and Americans are becoming more conscious about healthy eating.
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--- A HISTORY OF TWINKIES: AMERICA'S FAVORITE SNACK FOOD & PUNCHLINE
The quintessential junk food treat - a cream-filled, 150-calorie sponge cake - has been called the "cream puff of the proletariat" and the "snack with a snack in the middle." It faces extinction now that its maker, Hostess Brands, announced plans to liquidate amid a dispute with striking bakers.
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SXSW Bingo
Image by lhall
This is my completed SXSW Bingo card, brought to you by the very kind and generous folks at Harvest, the time-tracker of kings!
Completing the card won me a Kindle 2, something I have always coveted but would never have bought for myself, even though I read a lot, so it was more than worth the effort it took to get these photos!
Follow @harvest on Twitter, and its makers @bjhess, @dannyw and @EvilPRGuy.
Follow me on Twitter: @lauraehall
Know-it-all
The Fail Whale (not on a computer): a man from Keen footwear (http://www.keenfootwear.com/) standing outside of the Convention Center twitpic.com/28wyl
Hash Tag Hand Signs: My fellas @jeyb and @guyp oblige twitpic.com/22lqh
Someone wearing this t-shirt: The Harvest guys promised they'd hook me up with a shirt photo if I got all the other squares, so this was the last photo I took. Thanks @EvilPRGuy, @bjhess and @dannyw! twitpic.com/25us8
BJ Novak making people laugh: Mr. Novak had a panel with some other hilarious comedy writers. He's the blurry one in the middle, wearing a hat! twitpic.com/23x79
Someone wearing a Snuggie: Surprisingly, especially considering how cold it was at the start of the conference, no geeks at SXSW seemed to have a Snuggie with them...not even for the purpose of ironic humor (though supposedly someone spotted one out on Sixth Street). So, we bought one. I was happy to have the excuse. twitpic.com/250rh
Food!
A food blogger eating food: @GoGameMei is great - she blogs about food at eatfamilystyles.com AND her job involves running around in costumes giving people random gifts and inventing secret handshakes! twitpic.com/23x4s
Tacos: D at Iron Cactus, eating soft tacos twitpic.com/22y79
Free cupcakes: Ice cream and cupcakes on their way into the burlesque show Pasties and Pastries at Emo's. It turns out the girl on the left is @Silona, whose panel I attended the last day of the conference! twitpic.com/22y8s
A pie chart in a presentation: Scott Belsky from Behance talks about "Making Ideas Happen" - great panel, lots of very useful tips and interesting research. twitpic.com/23x1u
Double fisting: D with two alcoholic beverages twitpic.com/22y6o
Just for fun
People playing Rock Band: Lots of gaming going on at Screenburn twitpic.com/22klw
Techy mom: A mum in the Lego pit in the Conference Center with her son, she was very nice and let me snap this pic! twitpic.com/23x32
FREE SPACE
Geek girl: Oh...that's me. twitpic.com/22l2e
Pair programming: @jeyb and @guyp with some handy PHP script on a netbook. twitpic.com/22lv4
Celebrities
Someone who is internet almost famous: @guyp won a game show in the UK called "In It To Win It" and got 20k pounds! He was also a star employee during the ARG Perplex City with a very clever video series and he does lots of stuff online to this day. It's only a matter of time. twitpic.com/22ko5
Gary Vaynerchuk with a glass of wine: I hovered at the front of the ballroom before @garyvee's panel just so I could ask him to pose with an imaginary glass of wine. Thank you, @garyvee! twitpic.com/2514y
Guy Kawasaki Twittering: I tracked down the secret AllTop party for the net elite (held at Allen's Boots) and luckily they had extra invites, so I was able to snap a pic with @guykawasaki! Thank you!! twitpic.com/2510x
A famous actress: We spotted @feliciaday a few times during the conference, but never got a chance to speak to her (once she was walking intently down the street, and once I was going up an escalator while she was going down, though I squeaked out a quick 'hi'). She was really happy to help with the bingo squares, and offered to be the 'geek girl' as she hadn't brought her Kindle 2. I'm glad she was so nice and friendly, because I like her work as much as I admire her true understanding of the workings of the internet and its culture. twitpic.com/23x89
Scobleizer: I was running up to the Trade Show because someone had spotted a Kindle up there, and I saw Robert Scoble (@scobleizer) crossing the street outside, so I hauled butt to catch up with him. He was very nice and posed with me and very politely didn't mention anything about 'the crazy girl charging down the street toward me with a camera.' twitpic.com/250w7
Gadgets
Something built with an Arduino: Spotted at DorkBot, this is a series of lights used to control one of the bleepy things twitpic.com/23x9l
Old school arcade cabinet: In Champion's across from the convention center twitpic.com/23wx7
Someone using Kindle 2: Found at the Blurb booth (thanks @AndruEdwards!) twitpic.com/250y6
Cowboy hat: @micahsaul wore this cowboy hat all through Interactive! I was lucky to see him on Sixth Street early on in the week. twitpic.com/22y82
Someone using a Zune: This space is particularly evil as NO ONE at Interactive has a Zune. We had to go to a Best Buy to find one. twitpic.com/250q3
A Sharing: One Sky
Image by cobalt123
This project is seen in entirety in the group pool for One Sky. Please take a look at some of the magnificent images shared by over 1,500 members of flickr.com. This image is the title card for a set I am creating, working with the tag search feature of flickr.com and using flickr applications that are shared online by other flickr members, such as Mosaic Maker, Flickr Postcard, Flickr Random, etc. The founder of the project is Michel Thomas, and his blog gives more information of his attempt to create a huge conceptual artwork of this project.
The set of images joined in blocks and montages within my stream is here, with links to the individual photographers.
The Internet Archives
Image by Profound Whatever
A record of sites and such I've found, posted here so I can finally delete the document in my folders.
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STORIES/ARTICLES:
Vanish
How Evan Ratliff disappeared in the digital age.
Roger Ebert on Hugh Hefner
The Mystery on Fifth Avenue
New York Times piece on a Central Park-view apartment designed as one big puzzle.
The Monkeysphere
Cracked.com on "The Monkeysphere"
An Open Letter to the Makers of Blue Valentine
John August on the genius fallacy
The History of the World via Facebook News Feed
The Untold Story of the World's Biggest Diamond Heist
ART:
The Hollywood Portfolio
Vanity Fair's Hitchcockian recreations.
Tape Sculpture
How to make sculptures from tape and Saran Wrap.
Day Jobs
Fictional business cards.
TIME KILLERS:
Abstract City
Christoph Niemann's eclectic illustrations.
Improv Everywhere
The Trailer Mash
McSweeney's Internet Tendency
Weirdly funny.
Openbook
Fun with Facebook's privacy settings.
Unhear It
Get that song out of your head.
This Is Why You're Fat
TV Tropes
Vast, vast encyclopedia of tropes, cliches, and motifs in TV, movies, literature, video games, etc.
Film School Thesis Statement Generator
Awesome People Hanging Out Together
Literally Unbelievable
Stories from The Onion, as misinterpreted on Facebook.
Whose Line Online
Every episode of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, online.
Hacker Typer
Just like in the movies.
SINGLE SERVINGS:
SWAT Hand Signals
I don't know why, but it always makes me laugh.
Hot Dogs Across America
Focus on Imaging
Image by Barry Zee
Focus on Imaging 2009, Professional Imaging Supplies, pfd, Gary Walsh
A couple of minutes before 10.00am on the morning of Sunday, January 14th, 1990, Mary Walker was getting ready to open her first exhibition, Focus on Photography.
It had taken her 18 months of hard work to get to that point but she had had tremendous support from right across the industry. As she waited for the clock to tick towards ten o’clock she knew she had succeeded in putting together an exhibition which had so exceeded her early expectations that she had had to have a marquee erected at the back of The Pavilion at the NEC to accommodate everyone who wanted to be there.
Now the only question was “Will the show attract enough visitors – and of the right quality – to make the whole thing a complete success.”
The answer, as everyone connected with the show will tell you, was “yes” and from then onwards Focus has grown in both size and, arguably more important, reputation. However, even now, as Mary puts together the final details for the 20th Focus, now Focus on Imaging of course, she takes nothing for granted and is more than happy to confess that she will still have butterflies when she picks up the microphone to declare Focus 2009, the biggest ever, open.
So much has changed in those 20 years, including the name which Mary presciently changed in 1992. So many well known names have vanished – or at least are now shadows of their former selves while companies which once had no connection with photography – or “imaging” as we now know it – are now market leaders in that industry. Film is now a sideline product. Mobile phones now routinely feature cameras whose “megapixellage” was once thought all but unachievable. The internet has become a real rival to the High Street.
Throughout this time, Focus has provided a unique platform for innovation and product launches that new and emerging technologies have helped create but one thing hasn’t changed, the unique ambience that is Focus on Imaging. Focus is large enough to have a major impact on the imaging world, it’s Europe’s biggest annual imaging industry showcase after all, yet it retains a very personal, almost intimate, persona.
Not easy in an industry where some of the biggest companies in the world hold sway but where Focus scores – and scores heavily – over other exhibitions, is that even after 20 years, it’s still Mary Walker herself who pulls the whole thing together every year. It is still very much “her” show, just as that first one was back in 1990 but Mary has no plans to sit back on her laurels. Indeed with Focus 2010 already demanding her attention she’s already looking at ways of making that “coming-of-age” show even more of a success than its predecessors.
It hasn’t been an easy 12 months for anyone since Focus 2008 and the imaging industry has not been immune to the problems affecting the rest of the economy but one thing is clear from this year’s Focus exhibitors’ list – there’s a determination among both the giants and the giants-to-be of the industry to project a positive, “business as usual” message to the 33,000 or so visitors expected to make their way to the NEC over the four days the show is open, Sunday, February 22nd to Wednesday, 25th.
So, what can those visitors expect to see? First of all, a great many of the products which were unveiled at Photokina will be getting their UK debut, some of them indeed getting their first full debut in production rather than pre-production form.
They will be able to say “we were there” to share the excitement as a flurry of new companies set out the kind of thinking which allowed George Eastman to take the Kodak concept from his mother’s kitchen table to international status.
They will able to listen and learn as some of the best known names in the industry show how they do it, how they turn a fiver into fifty quid, how they use their computer as much as their camera to turn a perfectly acceptable photo into a top class Photo with a capital “P”.
And they will leave with their bags full of show special offers and end of range bargains, brochures about products they will want to investigate further, samples of different types of paper they can use at home, quite possibly with that special new lens they have been saving for or with the complete paperwork for the purchase of a new dry minilab or studio lighting system or wide format printer for delivery immediately after the show.
Memories are precious, says photo album specialists, Bob Books, but the rapidly increasing use of digital cameras has meant that the age-old delights of family photo albums are declining. Photographs are now stored in the memory of our computers, yet the desire for the emotive, tactile experience of photographs remains – and this is where Bob Books comes in.
From your computer simply download the Bob Books software. Use the formatting options to choose your desired layout, add your text and images to personalise your book; then just wait for delivery – it's that simple.
The quality of our binding sets the benchmark, says Bob Books, which claims to offer the highest available production standards from its bookbindery in Switzerland where the company enjoys a reputation as one of the world leaders in bookbinding production.
The stand will also feature some brand new software but for now Bob Books will only say: “You’ll have to wait to the Focus doors open to see exactly what it does.”
Broncolor claims to have long set the benchmark by which all other lighting manufacturers are judged and says its new Scoro range sets a new level to which the competition must aspire, as it sets no less than four world bests.
With the new Swiss-built Scoro power packs, you can let your artistic imagination run free. With their uniquely convenient control systems, you can deal with even the most complex lighting setups easily every time. No other flash system gives you so much creative capability – and no other holds so many world records.
A recharging time of 0.6s at 1600 joule and 0.4s at 1200 joule, a 10 f-stop control range with stable colour temperature, adjustable colour temperature (at 200 K intervals), and three independent channels with exactly the same colour temperature – with Scoro, broncolor has set no fewer than four new world records, and remains the industry benchmark in modern flash technology. With its versatile and unparalleled capabilities for power distribution with consistent light quality, this new power pack is the ideal light source for digital photography.
Creativity Backgrounds will be offering 10 percent off all orders taken at the show. A great opportunity to stock up on your Arctic Whites and Blacks and to try one of the 50 colours. Why not go for a Carnation pink for children or wedding photography, or stimulate your imagination with a chromagreen backdrop. This show they will be highlighting the fact that they deliver direct to your studio or any location in the UK for only £5 (or £8 for next day). As a preview have a look at www.creativitybackgrounds.co.uk . This is a brand new website, which makes ordering dead easy. The company is also running a prize draw for a full-length 2.72mx11m roll per day. It’s free to enter, just put your card in the box or fill in a form on the stand for the chance to win.
Digital Photo Solutions, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of large format printers to the photographic and fine art markets and an authorised specialist dealer for over 30 digital imaging brands, will be demonstrating leading print to finish workflow solutions at Focus on Imaging 2009.
Visitors to the company’s stand will also be to test drive and compare the latest large format printers from Epson and HP, learn how to move seamlessly from image to print to finish to frame in less than 30 minutes, ensure your monitor's colours are displayed correctly and match the output you are looking for with Datacolor's industry-leading range of Spyder 3 monitor and printer profiling hardware calibrators.
They’ll also be able to see the latest version of the acclaimed Shiraz Focus software, explore the extensive range of DPS specialist media and see how you can increase your profits in the photographic, fine art and canvas printing markets, discover how to enhance your print service with the HotPress JetMounter and dind out how to protect your inkjet canvas prints and stretch them on to frames faster than ever before with the DPS QuickMate.
Dunns Imaging Group will be showing their new flex workflow, a complete production and web hosting solution specifically designed for shools and nursery photographers. There will also be demonstrations of their new innovative album creation software Creative Albums. Both products are set to play a major role in Dunns product offering during 2009
If you visit the Extensis stand N8, you’ll find a team of experts showcasing Portfolio Server 8.5, the latest version of their digital asset management solution. Portfolio Server 8.5 provides the core set of capabilities you need to keep your images on-the-move—for routing to other users/departments, for final delivery to clients, partners or vendors, or for secure archiving. Included with Portfolio Server 8.5, Project Sync for Adobe CS3 seamlessly integrates with Adobe CS3 to offer powerful database searching, flexible archiving and automated web delivery—all from within the Creative Suite environment.
Some photographers jump from lab to lab searching for the lowest prices, reckons Portuguese company, Floricolor, adding that others search for a lab to work with them in partnership, to ensure quality, fair pricing and short delivery times.
Floricolor claims to have been pioneers in the protection of digital albums through lamination, and has recently introduced varnish UV protection, pointing out that this is the best system of protecting photos against heat, humidity and scratches, while maintaining the unique touch of photographic paper. Floricolor combines the best in two worlds, the highest technology of digital print (Frontier, two Durst Theta 51s, Laserlab 76, Fuji and Kodak Professional0 and the hands of skilled craftsmen with many years of practice.
“The number of new costumers we have attracted indicates that we are on the right track,” said a company spokesman. “We are looking at the future with optimism because innovation is an inseparable element of our work philosophy.”
Fujifilm UK has expanded its range of professional inkjet media, with additions that include a popular new satin finish canvas type and an outstanding genuine fibre base gloss baryte. Satin Canvas 350gsm is one of two new canvases introduced by Fujifilm UK. Satin has become the canvas finish most favoured by US consumers, a trend the UK is expected to follow. The other new Fujifilm canvas is Fine Art Natural Canvas 290gsm, a single-weave natural matt.
But, says Fuji, the big news in Fine Art must be that two completely new baryte type papers have joined the Fujifilm range of large format print media. The extensively tested new papers are available in gloss and matt, the base paper is genuine fibre based baryte media.
The new Fujifilm baryte papers have a premium look and feel, wide dynamic range, luminous neutral whites, and hold deep, rich blacks, even have the scent of traditional baryte papers, and they give exceptional, museum standard, archival life.
Fujifilm UK have also introduced Boxiprint, an innovative instant canvas wrap box frame product, aimed at retail applications. Boxiprint box frames are supplied as single sheets of high quality satin canvas mounted on carton board. They come pressed and scored with a patented scheme of ingenious folds, enabling each board to be simply folded by hand into a finished box frame canvas, just minutes after printing on an inkjet printer.
Boxiprint instant canvas box frames can be printed on most professional inkjets that have a straight paper path and a 'board' setting, allowing them to accept boards up to 1.7mm thick. This includes all Fujifilm Epson Stylus Pro printers supplied as GreenBox bundles, as well as many other printers. The product is ideal for retail photo labs, and is also suitable for portrait studios, art and framing businesses, and the gift and card sector. Boxiprint is easy to use, but for added peace of mind the product is supported with ICC colour profiles for many Fujifilm Epson Stylus Pro printers, and print templates for Fujifilm
Graphistudio is to launch Graphiware, a new design of software created to give photographers an amazing tool in today’s competitive and highly creative market at Focus 2009.
It’s powerful, yet easy to use. You can gather your images and design your own layout with the option to use Graphistudio’s renowned multi-award winning templates, modify them to suit your needs or even design from scratch your own. The simple drag and drop logic of Graphiware will enable you to design stunning layouts in minutes, adding effects, re-touching elements with Photoshop and much, much more.
At the same time, Graphistudio has created a new on-line ordering system, dedicated to making production faster, efficient and more cost effective Gone are the days of hand written or typed orders. Now with a few taps of the keyboard the huge choice of sizes, orientations, covers and copies can be chosen and directly loaded into the system live at the same time as you upload your order or it will await delivery of your disk, negatives or prints.
Very few companies worldwide can look back with pride over such a long and rich tradition as Hahnemühle. Since its founding in 1584 Hahnemühle in Dassel has demonstrated its superb mastery of a traditional craft, creating uniquely beautiful papers from pure spring water and premium cellulose.
Using this rich experience enables the company to be at the forefront of the ever evolving digital inkjet market as well as the realm of traditional artists paper. Recent technological advances such as its true Baryta papers which enable photographers to recreate darkroom prints digitally, newly released papers available in a 64 inch format to match the latest Giclee printing technology and environmentally friendly papers made from highly renewable resources such as bamboo and cotton rag.
To celebrate its 425 year anniversary Hahnemühle will release an exclusive Anniversary Collection Box. This Anniversary Edition consists of an elegant cotton rag paper with a particularly smooth texture for Fine Art images as well as other special anniversary products. It’s all packaged in a unique presentation box designed exclusively by Prat, Paris.
There is another exciting new addition to our environmentally friendly range of products. Hahnemühle Sugar Cane is made from 75 percent sugar cane fibre. The organic by-product of sugar cane processing is used to make a pulp. This pulp or “bagasse” is an eco-friendly renewable resource endorsed by environmental organizations. Cotton fibres extracted from recycling our own paper surplus make up the remaining 25 percent of raw material used to produce the paper. The result is a natural white Fine Art paper extremely resistant to ageing. The premium inkjet coating guarantees Fine Art images rich in contrast and detail, and the texture of this artist paper has a wonderful feel to it. Hahnemühle Sugar Cane is ideal for warm toned colour and monochrome prints of Fine Art photography and art reproductions. This Paper will have its UK debut as an exclusive preview at Focus.
Luminati says that once again it will be setting out to capture photographers’ imaginations, delivering a range of acrylic frames which are said to push the boundaries for the professional image maker.
Clear2C Professional with its diamond polished flush fronted finish and unique magnet back panel, has been a great success following its launch at Focus on Imaging 2008. Launched as a 15mm thick frame, the range was extended to include the sleeker 9mm thick Impression range. Following customer feedback Luminati also introduced a range of panoramic formats.
This year sees Luminati extend the Clear2C range further with their Capture, and Snap frames. A unique front image holder allows images to be mounted and changed with ease, whilst the frame hangs on the wall. The Clear2C Professional, Impression, Capture, and Snap frames are available in a range of colours, and in single aperture, multiple aperture, and panoramic aperture formats. Luminati experts will be on hand to demonstrate the range, but are just as keen to discuss visitors’ needs, and would welcome discussions regards the need for unique sizes and formats.
Middlewall remain one of the few British wedding album manufacturers who continue to produce quality hand made, non imported traditional albums, ranging from size 5x5 to 12x12.
They have extended their range of Digital Albums with various styles and sizes including silk and aluminium finishes and see the latest ‘Triangle’ Digital Album.
The Oxford (sticky!) album can be designed to any specific requests with a choice of adhesive or non adhesive pages, embossed photo relief frame, a vast choice of material finishes, personalisation and corners.
Middlewall have recently launched MacLab Limited a new sister company, which specialises in digital printing with full photographic prints on Fuji Crystal Archive paper, up to an astounding 24ins x100 ins.
This year for Focus onOne Software will be showing new products, including the brand new PhotoFrame 4 and the new plug-ins for Adobe Photoshop Light Room and Apple’s Aperture, along with many of its existing highly successful software products.
Every day of the show visitors will be given the chance of winning Lastolite equipment worth £250 if they buy an onOne software product. When the customer makes an onOne software purchase they will be given a raffle ticket and entered in to the draw, all they have to do is return at the end of the day with their raffle ticket and their receipt as a proof of purchase and wait for the winner to be called.
On show will also be the new Essentials for iPhoto. This is very similar to the Essentials for Elements, as they both have “Make it better” (the ColourTune half of PhotoTune), “Frame it” (reduced version of PhotoFrame) and “Enlarge it” (reduced version of Genuine Fractals). The difference between the two is that Essentials for Elements has “Cut it out” (reduced version of Mask Pro) and Essentials for iPhoto has “Blur it” (full version of FocalPoint). Not forgetting products such as Genuine fractals 5, Mask Pro 4 and PhotoTools 1.0, PhotoFrame 3.1 and PhotoTune 2.2 these plug-in favorites are still going strong and will be making an appearance at Focus
There’s also the all-new PhotoFrame 4 which comes in two editions - Professional and Standard – and new plug-ins for Lightroom and Aperture
The Open College of the Arts is a creative arts college specialising in distance learning, with courses, which can be entirely studied at home, spanning a wide range of disciplines, and including three new ones, People and Place, Creative Digital Film and Visual Studies. The OCA’s Photography courses have been written by Michael Freeman, one of the world’s most widely published photography authors. Course materials are practically based and set out clear programmes of work that develop practical expertise and stimulate critical and formal awareness.
All OCA courses are supported by one-to-one tuition. OCA tutors are experienced teachers and practising artists in their fields. This combination of professional expertise with a strong background in teaching means you can be confident in your tutor’s ability to help you develop your skills and to provide supportive and constructive feedback.
OCA courses are open to anyone and you can enrol at anytime. You can study with us for pleasure, to explore your creativity, to learn new skills or to gain a degree.
New Eco-Flo systems for the new Epson R1900 and R2880 will come under the spotlight on the Permajet stand along with a new addition to the Portrait family of papers. Portrait Velvet 310gsm has a 100 percent white cotton rag base with an ultra smooth surface that has all the characteristics of Permajet’s popular and successful Portrait 300 and Portrait White 285 product.
“The moment you pick up this beautiful velvet smooth surface,” says the company, “you immediately appreciate the paper for what it is, a wonderful fine art product that exhibits an extremely high Dmax making it ideal for monochrome as well as colour reproductions.”
The stand, which will feature a number of special show offers, will also showcase a range of photoBooks developed for the artist, photographer, graphic designer, educational market and others. They’re described as ideal for photographic/fine art work, personal portfolios, photo books, albums, school projects and much more and “best of all,” adds Permajet, “no heat binding is required.”
As well as offering live quotes Photoguard will be giving visitors the opportunity to photograph a professional model, something which was well received last year with many professional and budding photographers scrambling to get a good picture.
Photoguard will also be offering a free-prize draw, worth up to a value of £500. No need to answer any difficult questions, simply fill in your contact details and drop your entry into a box for a chance to win.
In addition, the stand will be offering 10 percent off the cost of policies to all those who take a leaflet, so when it’s renewal time test our quote and find out how we fare. “We’re so confident in our prices we offer a price guarantee of double the difference if you find a better deal elsewhere,” says Photoguard.
Photomart will once again be featuring “loads of exciting new products” on their Focus stand. Alongside the UK's leading "nanobook" press, the Imijit, exclusively by Photomart, in the limelight will be latest retail solutions from Sony including the new "Super" Snaplab and Sony kiosk, Mitsubishi Electric’s new EasyPhoto consumer station and their high volume drylab solution or "MPU", Fujifilm’s Frontier DL-410 and Silverlab’s ML-9000 drylab solution. Fomei, the people who helped develop bandw multicontrast paper emulsions, will have their range of wide format media on display as well as their latest retail offering, the MicroLab system. On the studio side, some of the biggest names in photographic studio lighting will be featured with live lighting demonstrations by top photographers and models. There will also be demonstrations of the “amazing” PhotoRobot. This heralds in a revolution in product photography for the web allowing the viewer to see a product from any angle by manipulating the image along any three-dimensional axis with the mouse pointer.
First time Focus exhibitors at Focus, Premier Ink and Photographic is a family-owned photography retailer, based in Leamington Spa, founded seven years ago, and still run by the original core staff. Its stand will be packed full of “Show Specials”, with something of interest for all photographers, professionals, amateurs and enthusiasts alike.
There will be a huge range of photographic consumables on display, and available to buy on the day, including: square filters, circular threaded filters, DSLR camera batteries and battery grips, memory cards, inkjet papers and inkjet cartridges. There will also be “Show Deals” across our entire range, with products from many manufacturers, including Epson, Canon, HP, Ilford, Kood, Cokin, Energizer, Hahnel, and Sandisk.
Praktica’s back at Focus again, this time with a more prominent stand which will help the company place special emphasis on developing links with independent high street retailers. National sales manager David Grandison will be on hand to show current and prospective trade and retail customers the company’s 2009 range of digital cameras, digital frames and binoculars.
With over 20 years experience in the UK recording, broadcast and film-making industries, Protape is a provider of quality blank recording products, offering a wide range of digital data storage, video and audio formats to customers throughout the UK. Established in 1989, the business is located in London’s West End.
Protape supplies a wide range of quality blank recording products that come directly from the UK branches of the world leading manufactures such as Sony, Fuji and Panasonic and are stored in the Protape's local depot to ensure a swift delivery. The products include digital data storage, hard drives, memory sticks and accessories, audio and video tapes, making them perfect for a wide range of customers, and they are available for purchase online and over the phone.
At Focus it will be offering a range of recording products at discounted rates, together with a range of consumer hard drives, CDs, DVDs, memory sticks, Blu-ray discs and other popular formats.
Bob Rigby's will be showing their range of imported lines, including Acratech Ball Heads, Wimberley Gimbal heads, Pinhole Cameras and the Shutterbeam system. A full range of tripods and heads from Gitzo, Manfrotto and solutions for computer work from Wacom tablets and OnOne software. There will also be a range of accessories for all photographic needs, be it digital or traditional
SRB-Griturn is a manufacturer of adaptors and supplier of camera and photographic accessories. It will be introducing its very own slide copier for use with DSLRs and compact digital cameras, as well as showing its better known, filters, adaptors, stepping rings and much more. The company also has its own specialist manufacturing service, which it will be happy to discuss with Focus visitors.
Towergate Camerasure is one of the UK’s leading providers of insurance to the photographic, video and multi media industries, and offers competitive quotations whilst providing one of the most comprehensive policies within the market.
It will be offering exclusive Focus 2009 rates across the whole range of products available and, once again, there will be the Towergate Camerasure Free Prize draw where a year’s free insurance up to the value of £1500.00 can be won.
“Be inspired this Focus” is the message from Annabel Williams’ Contemporary Photographic Training with Catherine Connor and Jane Breakell hosting informal sessions for photographers needing training advice and support. Sessions are completely free and will give advice on which is the best training route, in order to meet both photographic aspirations and educational needs. The CPT stand will host a team of experts, dedicated to ensuring those that visit the stand gain the best form of insight and direction.
Zund UK will be exhibiting for the first time at Focus 2009. It will be showing one of its digital cutting systems complete with the appropriate tooling to show all aspects of finishing. With its modular tooling concept the system can be configured to X/Y trim roll or sheet fed media such as photographs, posters, banners and so on. A simple tool change is all that’s needed for the system to produce photo mounts or even rout thicker substrates such as acrylic, Perspex and so on.
Sometimes companies invest heavily in equipment such as digital printers without any consideration as to how the printed product will be finished, thus causing a bottleneck and inefficiencies in the production process. The Zund range of products is said to fit perfectly into the workflow eliminating these scenarios.
Focus on Imaging 2009 takes place as usual in Halls 9 and 10 at the NEC. It opens on Sunday, February 22nd, and runs until Wednesday, February 25th.
Check out the Focus on Imaging website to find everything there you need to know and a whole lot more as well about Europe’s biggest annual imaging event.
Trade, business and professional visitors can pre-register for free admission via the website. Admission for non-trade or non-professional visitors, including amateurs, who are also very welcome, remains at £6.00 but they can save time on the day by registering in advance via the Focus website.
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