bestmediablog

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 03:07:25 GMT

Economists predict recession ends this year. As if!

So economists are predicting the recession will end this year. They reckon the housing market will bottom out and they don't see the recession lasting longer than the first quarter of 2010. Still, they're hedging their bets, saying the recovery will be slow and painful.

It's hard to believe them given how wrong they've been so far.

A prime example is housing prices. The New York Times reports that the Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller Home Price Index has seen house prices falling a massive 18.7% in 20 US cities. That does not sound like a market that's bottoming.

As the the Lex column in the Financial Times notes, people are just kidding themselves if they think this will blow over this year. "Investors are pinning their hopes on other people's hopes that things will get better. These are probably the very same people who were confident about property prices two year's ago. Sure it is important to identify turning points and markets are forward-looking. But the truth remains that the hard data - house prices, unemployment, trade and corporate profits and inflation - all remain dreadful. Consumers can dream all they want."

Economist Nouriel Roubini predicts that the US will have sub-optimal growth for two years and that there is too much optimism.

Personally, I have given up believing in economists. Indeed, I blame this financial crisis on economists. I explain why in my piece here. Posted by: Bose      Read more     Source

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 02:41:29 GMT

Chicago Fashion

Je vous present the Spring issue of Chicago Fashion.

Pages 28/29: Interview with designer Soo Choi about her closet.  If one must tell the story of a person through their stuff, having a subject as forthcoming and reflechi as Soo is what you long for.

Pages 14/15: Short items on jewelry designer Temple St. Claire, perilously high heels, and the similarities between today"s runway and the styles of the 1930s.

Pages 30/31: Interview with the fabulous Graham Thompson of Optimo Hats (who recently designed the hats for Public Enemies).  I had so much fun poking around his shop and seeing the weighty and timeworn hat-making machinery. 

Pages 34/35: I asked five local designers to imagine looks for Michelle Obama. Posted by: Elisabeth Fourmont      Read more     Source

Sat, 02 May 2009 14:35:56 GMT

Necessary Attitudes You Need Toward Saving Money

If you want to save money this year - even more than you did last year - then you need to develop an attitude toward it. Here are some attitudes you need to have in order to turn around your spending habits and put some money in the bank.

1. Do You Really Want to Save Money?

It is easy to say that you want to save money. Most people can say that - but they never save anything. Now ask yourself "Are you ready to commit yourself to regularly saving money?" You will need to do it. It will take some self-denial to live more frugal.

2. Do You Really Need Those Things You Buy?

So often, we buy things because we were caught off guard by some emotion or want. If we were honest, we did not really need it - we wanted it at that moment.

3. Do You Go Shopping When You Don't Need Anything?

Here is a good way to blow a lot of money. While it is understandable that you may be looking for something to do - you don't have to do it at the mall! Find some other place to waste time. Looking around stores and window shopping is a sure way to spend money on something you don't need.

4. Do You Have Long Range Spending and Savings Goals?

Do you have any real reasons why you need to save money? If you do not have long-range goals, then it is easy to spend what you have. On the other hand, if you can see that college degree, that car, or that house that you want, you can start to save for it. Also, don't forget that your retirement account needs to have something in it, too - unless you are planning to work the rest of your days!
Posted by: Mike Valles      Read more     Source

Sat, 02 May 2009 13:24:36 GMT

Swine Flu: Follow Online!

As swine flu sparks global concern, we can follow the cases and the news online quite easily. Maybe swine flu will be the first global disease that we can really follow minute by minute online. I’m not even surprised there is a swine flu kit you can already buy on Amazon.com:

swine flu kit you can already buy on Amazon.com.

swine flu kit you can already buy on Amazon.com:

A swine flu kit you can already buy on Amazon.com:

Twitterers such as swine flu kit you can already buy on Amazon.com and Healthmap informs us about new cases minute by minute:

swine flu kit you can already buy on Amazon.comis one of the best public health tools:

The websites of swine flu kit you can already buy on Amazon.comand WHO are updated often: Posted by: Bertalan      Read more     Source

Fri, 01 May 2009 02:38:19 GMT

In Treatmen

Well, it"s Thursday night, and entirely too many days have gone by since The Hills for there not to be a peep from me on this site. Truth is I only got around to watching it this evening, and because I"ve been busy of late (I know, I know - broken record), I don"t have time to write out a full recap - which apparently will please some of you with short attention spans (cough, Jash, cough, IndianJones). But that"s okay. We all win this way: I don"t have to exert as much energy, and neither do you. Not sure if this is gonna be the permanent format of Hills recaps going forward, but we"ll see how it goes. Feel free to voice your opinions.

Nevertheless, this isn"t about me. It"s about Lauren and Heidi and Stephanie and Spencer and Dr. Jordana Mansbacher and crackers. Yes, we had all those things and more on another hilarious episode of a resurgent fifth season. Suddenly I"m finding myself excited about The Hills again, and I couldn"t be happier. Posted by: B-Side      Read more     Source

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 03:55:25 GMT

Umbrella Art Installations

Umbrella Art Installations.Abri N°177 by OzCollective:

This installation is created by Ozcollective using 32 large golf umbrellas with curved handles, wood, cables and nets.

Cumulus Light Canopy:

Beautiful lighting concept by Steven Haulenbeek, made from simple white photographers" translucent umbrellas.

Umbrella Installation by Ingo Maurer:

Umbrella installation at the entrance by Ingo Maurer (design week in Milan 2007).

Bloom by S Spenser:

Umbrella Art Installation in Greece:

Umbrella Art Installation:

Umbrella art installation at Island Six Studios:

Umbrella Art Installation in Melbourne:

"Rain" Umbrella Art Installation:

Paper Umbrellas:

Flowers adorn large paper umbrellas put from the ceiling. Part of the spring celebration in the Bellagio"s conservatory.

Andy Wharhol-ish art exhibit:

Collection of umbrellas between two buildings:

Installations of umbrellas in a shopping center:

Umbrellas and Fans:

Story House Umbrella Art:

Umbrella House:

Art House at Night:

Umbrella Art:

Umbrella Art Project of Swiss Group:

A house in Zurich, the outside of which has become an art project of Swiss group.

Installation at Socrates Sculpture Park, New York:
Colorful Umbrella Landscape Art:

Photo: Wolfgang Volz ©1991 Christo Posted by: Venus      Read more     Source

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 04:00:52 GMT

Hotelicopter

Experience the adrenaline rush of taking off and flying high in the largest helicopter ever produced. The Hotelicopter features 18 luxuriously-appointed rooms for adrenaline junkies seeking a truly unique and memorable travel experience.

Each soundproofed room is equipped with a queen-sized bed, fine linens, a mini-bar, coffee machine, wireless internet access, and all the luxurious appointments you"d expect from a flying five star hotel. Room service is available one hour after liftoff and prior to landing. Posted by: Gerard      Read more     Source

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 03:50:03 GMT

PROJECTproject's Weekly BYOB Improv Night

On Wednesday nights, some of the hottest improv comedy performers get liquored up with you and put on a show. It"s only five bucks and you get entertained for a few hours, making this possibly the best entertainment deal going in the city.

It all goes down at Unit 102 at 46 Noble Street in Parkdale. It"s spitting distance from the LCBO, so they encourage you to BYOB beforehand (must be 19+). There"s even a fridge in the studio/rehearsal space to keep the rest of your suds chilled while you enjoy your first drink as you watch the often laugh-out-loud antics on stage. Posted by: Roger Cullman      Read more     Source

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 01:05:57 GMT

Chanel F09

(Don't forget you can trouver moi on twitter and Chicagomag.com)

I'm from Florida and my first job was selling Lilly Pulitzer dresses at a little beachside shop in my hometown. When Karl Lagerfeld does pink and green, c'est une autre histoire!



Posted by: Elisabeth Fourmont      Read more     Source

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:37:53 GMT

Artwork By Nina Levy

Artwork By Nina Levy.Here we have some really impressive and interesting artwork by Nina Levy, who has been living and working in Williamsburg, Brooklyn since 1996.

(Image credit: dar-jan.livejournal). Posted by: Venus      Read more     Source

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:07:26 GMT

iCiNG Transformation Challenge

“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” — Paulo Coelho Posted by: Gala      Read more     Source

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:40:45 GMT

The Book Cover Archive

An archive of book cover designs and designers. You can browse by designers, titles, authors, art directors, photographers, illustrators, genres, publication dates, and publishers. Posted by: Gerard      Read more     Source

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:24:45 GMT

Kidtropolis' Indoor Tree House Bedroom

Kidtropolis" Indoor Tree House Bedroom.The craftsman at Kidtropolis created this beautiful children"s bedroom that looks like a tree house. We are sure that any kid would love this custom made bedroom, as we ourselves would love to be in it if we were kids. The creation shows the craftsmanship of the professionals who created this, and well in such custom made things money isn"t something which is to be considered. Well if you have loads of cash, why don"t you make one for your kid, least that"s what we would have done for our bundle of joy ;-) Posted by: Venus      Read more     Source

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 08:17:31 GMT

The Porsche Museum

A confessed automobile sentimentalist, I believe that every auto manufacturer with a recordable family tree should maintain a museum featuring the most significant cars of its legacy. Considering that Professor Ferdinand Porsche began influencing the fledgling industry at the start of the 20th century, one wonders what took the company so long.

But, finally, there exists a Porsche Museum, due to open on January 31st, 2009. The building itself is an architectural statement along the lines of "love it or hate it." An artistic construct of M.C. Escher, the Porsche museum's exterior plays tricks with the eye. Geometrically haphazard from some angles and beautifully precise from others, the building's aesthetic changes depending on where you view it.

Or so say the Porsche press releases.

Of more importance to car fans is the building's content. In Porsche's words: "About 80 vehicles and many small exhibits will be on display at the new Porsche Museum in a unique ambience. In addition to world-famous iconic vehicles such as the 356, 550, 911, and 917, the exhibits include some of the outstanding technical achievements of Professor Ferdinand Porsche." For European travelers and those fortunate to visit Europe in these troubled times, the Porsche Museum is worth a visit. Highly unlikely, however, that you'll see a film comprised of race footage taken by the Porsche family, the editing of which was my first assignment on joining VW/Porsche Canada in 1959. Posted by: Philip Powell      Read more     Source

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 02:11:39 GMT

How to Avoid Procrastination

Nowadays, though, for those living in technically advanced societies, procrastination has become a "modern malady": everything must be done now or, even better, three weeks ago. For good or evil there are now endless to-do lists to work through, appointments that must be kept and commitments that have to be fulfilled. Such is modern life.

Whatever the cause many people certainly view their procrastination as a problem. Psychologists have found that college students consider themselves champion procrastinators with almost half considering it problematic. Adults are not far behind with some 15-20% self-identifying as "chronic procrastinators". Meanwhile the rest of us are guaranteed to procrastinate from time to time. So, perhaps psychology can offer some hope in the ongoing fight against procrastination.

It"s all in the construalIn a new study published recently in Psychological Science of using contrasting points of colour to build up an image.

After this both groups completed the same survey which they were asked to return within three weeks. The survey"s question, however, were essentially irrelevant, the only thing experimenters were interested in was how long participants took to complete and return the questionnaire. This was their measure of procrastination.

The results of this apparently simple manipulation were striking. Those who were thinking about the techniques of pointillism (concrete construal) returned their questionnaires in an average of 12.5 days while those thinking about emotion and harmony (abstract construal) took almost twice as long at an average of 20.5 days. This is an impressive result which seems to point to one very straightforward way of avoiding procrastination: to get tasks done, make sure you focus on the details.

Another reason this research is potentially very useful is its simplicity. Many of the other techniques for avoiding procrastination seem to involve a lot of mental effort - surely not good for procrastinators! Steel (2007) mentions things like increasing the expectation of success, increasing the value of the task and reducing distractions - all good suggestions but largely effortful. For example it"s difficult to increase your expectation of success without the evidence of having completed a similar task successfully. In other words you have to do the task to find out you can do it - exactly what procrastinators are avoiding!

There is, however, another simple technique for avoiding procrastination that has been examined experimentally: using deadlines. Ariely and Wertenbroch (2002) found that self-imposed deadlines were effective in improving task performance but, watch out, people aren"t as good at setting their own deadlines as they are at conforming to deadlines set externally. Strangely, when left to their own devices, people seem prone to handicapping themselves with irrational deadlines.

Self-control and procrastinationAlthough McCrea and colleagues" new research has a neat conclusion, it"s vital to consider it in the context of two other studies recently covered here - these show that concrete, low-level construals aren"t always the answer.

In the first on self-control experimenters found that higher level construals increased self-control (Fujita et al., 2006). At first glance this appears to be saying the exact opposite of the present study - that procrastination is decreased by higher-level construals - but they are actually looking at subtly different situations.

Here"s why: in the present study participants were being asked to carry out a task which they didn"t place much value on and was very easy, it was just something that had to be done at some point, a chore. In other words people weren"t debating with themselves whether the task had to be done, just when it had to be done. In Fujita"s study, however, looking at self-control, it was a question of whether or not participants would do a task. It"s the dimension of time, then, that most distinguishes between procrastination and self-control. Concrete, low-level construals help you start a task sooner but don"t help you decide to do it in the first place.

A second study covered here recently looked at how to get big projects done. This added another piece to the picture, suggesting that a low-level, task focus was a great way of coping with demotivating failures on hard tasks. This adds another piece to the jigsaw puzzle of how we can get things done. In fact taken together these studies start to uncover the complexities inherent in procrastination and self-control.

Summary: how to get things doneHere"s a summary of the main conclusions from all the studies discussed:

To avoid procrastinating on a task, focus on its details and use self-imposed deadlines.

To stick to a task, while actually carrying it out, now it is beneficial to keep the ultimate, abstract goal in mind.

When evaluating progress on a hard task, when the chance of failure is high, stay focused on the details of the task.

Once tasks are easier or the end is in sight, a more abstract, goal focus is once again the psychological approach to choose.

So, whether or not you feel procrastination is something in need of a "cure", McCrea and colleagues" study does show that a very simple manipulation of our thought processes can be incredibly powerful. Who would have thought pointillism could save us from procrastination?

[Image credit: monsieurlam] Posted by: Jerry      Read more     Source

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:16:35 GMT

Giant Online Mall in the Works for China Market

Asiajin had an interesting story a couple of weeks ago about the online mall that 100 Japanese companies are setting up for shoppers in China.According to the Nikkei, major electronics retailer Yodobashi Camera, drugstore operator Matsumotokiyoshi, children's clothing retailer Narumiya and mail order company Cecile are among the candidates.Chinese shoppers will be able to pay with a China UnionPay card (there are about 1.8 billion of those in circulation) and they'll get their goods in about two days via China Post.

The new mall highlights the potential of China online retail sector.


Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Image# 7671189 Posted by: Greg Cruey      Read more     Source

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 12:59:02 GMT

Sunday snow storm

Well, not really a snow storm, but we are forecasted to get some snow tonight and over the next few days. (We even got a little last night.) Last week had some gorgeous days: Thursday got into the 60s! Not bad for Kansas City in January. But this weekend — when I had both days free — it’s dropped back down into the 20s for the highs. If the good weather had held, it would have been an obligatory Roundrock trip weekend, but it didn’t happen.

The photo above is not from my forest but from my back yard in suburbia several weeks ago.

There are at least two places in Missouri called Monkey Mountain. One is near St. Joseph and is a Missouri Department of Conservation area. The place was so named by early settlers because the bluffs there were said to be too steep even for monkeys to climb. Maybe so, but apparently the area is favored by Bigfoot. The second is a park and preserve just east of Kansas City. When the kids were little we took them there one Saturday and got terribly lost (on a simple, three-mile loop trail). This area earned its name, supposedly, from a troop of circus monkeys that had escaped and lived a short while on the mountain. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that there’s at least one Monkey Mountain in your state too.

The deadline for the next Festival of the Trees is this coming Friday, January 30. Send your links to Ash at mail (at) treeblog (dot) co (dot) uk. Be sure to put Festival of the Trees or FOTT in the subject line. Or you can use the handy online submission form.

We’re always looking for hosts. It’s a great way to find new blogs and attract more traffic to your own blog. Just let me or Dave know when you think you might like to have a go. We’ll give you all the help you need.

Have you ever gone to a friend’s place for a party, expecting lively conversation and getting caught up on the details of everyone’s life and interests, only to find that the party is actually a sales pitch for some product? It’s like when you go to a website, but first you’re given an ad you have to watch before you can get to the content. Yeah, I hate that too.

Queequeg continues to turn our home life routines upside down, but he’s actually about as ideal as you could expect from a puppy. He’s catching on to paper training quickly, he now comes when he’s called (mostly), and he’s grown quite adept at untying my shoelaces. Little darling!

What’s Pablo reading now? I’ve picked up a slim volume of George Orwell’s essays called Why I Write. The title piece is, I believe, a discussion of Orwell’s own motivation to write. Later pieces discuss the ways political language is used to make lies sound truthful. I finally finished Modern Chivalry, and I have to say I didn’t enjoy it much, despite it being a lost classic of American literature.

Missouri calendar:

• Squirrels bear spring litters through March.

Posted by: Roundrockjournal      Read more     Source

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 08:54:13 GMT

Tasted a Good Wine Recently?

Hat tip to TechCrunch this week for point Snooth out to me.

Snooth describes itself as "the world's largest and fastest growing community of wine lovers." TechCrunch's description is probably a little more objective. They call Snooth "a social wine review site that is gaining some traction and recently closed another angel round of financing of about $1 million." This is Snooth's second round of funding. So, hopefully the site will be around for a while.

Gary Vaynerchuck needs to start looking over his shoulder. Snooth may catch him soon....


Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Image# 5933074 Posted by: Greg Cruey      Read more     Source

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 03:21:18 GMT

Paris Hilton caught gate-crashing at Golden Globes

Hollywood socialite Paris Hilton was caught gate-crashing at the Golden Globe after party, and the more embarrassing fact was that she hid herself in a bathroom. After she made her way into the party, CAA"s Kevin Huvane loudly demanded that she be shown the way out, as she was not invited.

"Kevin was outraged at her sense of entitlement, and he was adamant that she be removed," the New York Daily News quoted a source, as saying. "He was storming around, yelling Who let her in? She is not invited, and somebody had better get her out of here immediately," the source added.

After hearing Huvane"s ranting, security lined up outside the bathroom where Hilton hid herself and 15 minutes later, the hotel heiress came out red-faced.
Tags: Paris Hilton, Yelling, Yelling Posted by: Melissa      Read more     Source

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 20:36:22 GMT

Make-it-yourself Turbolauncher

Turbomilk has a longstanding connection with spacecraft engineering but it’s only now that we uncover the classified drawings.

Do you want to discover a space-tourism pioneer in yourself? Simply download the pattern, print it, fetch some glue, scissors and build your own Turbolauncher. See you in space! Posted by: Dmitry      Read more     Source

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 02:42:20 GMT

All of this over dead Flowers!

Anne Hathaway has revealed that she broke off with her ex boyfriend Raffaello Follieri over a bunch of dead flowers.

The "Rachel Getting Married" beauty said that she realized that he wasn"t the one for her when he insisted to throw out an arrangement of wilting cherry blossom branches.

They lasted a month and were beautiful even as they died, The Sun quoted her as saying of the flowers.

She added: Raffaello always liked things fancier and perfect and told our maid to throw them out. That was when I knew we saw things differently.

And what looks like, Anne would have anyhow dumped the businessman after he was convicted on charges of fraud.

In October, Follieri was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison after pleading guilty to 14 counts of fraud, money laundering and conspiracy at Manhattan federal court. Posted by: Melissa      Read more     Source

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 13:50:12 GMT

Drink Local Wine

Celebrate Wine is pleased to be a part of a new wine-writing project called "Drink Local Wine." The site brings together wine journalists, sommeliers, bloggers, and other wine enthusiasts from 16 "non-west coast" states and Canada. The goal is to enforce the reality that North American wine is not just about California, Oregon, and Washington anymore.

At "Drink Local Wine," you'll find information about wines from Illinois, Maryland, Georgia, and Wisconsin....and, of course, my home state, Ohio. Be sure to take a look.

(image courtesy of Drink Local Wine) Posted by: Sandy Mitchell      Read more     Source

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 21:57:22 GMT

Is Incremental Change an Oxymoron?

My friend Scott McLeod over at Dangerously Irrelevant published a post today that makes an obvious (but potentially startling) point about the nature of change.

Scott is an educator, an Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Educational Administration Program at Iowa State University. But change is an issue in the business world right now - perhaps more so than in education.

Scott's post is just a presentation slide from another sourcehe put together. It shows a man jumping between two buildings - suspended in midair at the halfway point. A caption reads: No one jumps a 20 foot chasm in two 10 foot jumps. Think about that the next time you consider substantial, qualitative change for your business.

You can see the slide here....


Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, David Marchal Posted by: Greg Cruey      Read more     Source

Sun, 07 Dec 2008 19:46:31 GMT

Human Natural Selection

R.A. Fisher, Julian Huxley, and E.B Ford were members of a small clique British and American scholars who were the driving forces behind the "New Synthesis", the refinement and spread of Darwin"s theory of evolution during the 1930"s and 40"s.

They can together also be counted as publishing the first ever test of the effects of natural selection on humans.

This week"s citation classic is.

Photo: (Left to right) R. A. Fisher, E. B. Ford, and Julian Huxley. Portraits are from YATES and MATHER (1963), CLARKE (1995), and BAKER (1976). Posted by: Dennehy      Read more     Source

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 19:24:46 GMT

Road food

What about you? Do you have special road trip foods? Do you pack a picnic lunch or deal with the horror that is roadside fast food? Posted by: danamccauley      Read more     Source