256 pages & articles in English
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Founded by Nadia Russ: April 11, 2007

NeoPopRealism Journal and Wonderpedia,

Today's Featured Article Amazon.com Founded by Jeff Bezos, the Amazon.com website started in 1995 as a place to buy books. Bezos believed that only the Internet could offer customers the convenience of browsing a selection of millions of book titles in a single sitting. During the first 30 days of business, Amazon.com fulfilled orders for customers in 50 states and 45 countries - all shipped from his Seattle-area garage. It is by design that technological innovation drives the growth of Amazon.com to offer customers more types of products, more conveniently, and at even lower prices. Among its many technological innovations for customers, Amazon.com offers a personalized shopping experience for each customer, book discovery through "Search Inside The Book", convenient checkout using "1-Click® Shopping", and several community features like Listmania (www.amazon.com/listmania) and Wish Lists (www.amazon.com/wishlists) that help customers discover new products and make informed buying decisions. Amazon.com operates retail websites and offers programs that enable third parties to sell products on its websites. Amazon retail websites include: www.amazon.com · www.amazon.ca · www.amazon.de · www.amazon.fr · www.amazon.co.jp · www.amazon.co.uk · www.shopbop.com · www.endless.com · and the Joyo Amazon websites at www.joyo.cn and www.amazon.cn. Amazon also provides services for third-party retailers, marketing and promotional services, and web services for developers. In addition, Amazon operates other websites, including www.a9.com and www.alexa.com that enable search and navigation and www.imdb.com, a comprehensive movie database. In 2000, Amazon.com began to offer its best-of-breed e-commerce platform to other retailers and to individual sellers. Today, hundreds of thousands of world-class retail brands and individual sellers increase their sales and reach new customers by leveraging the power of the Amazon.com e-commerce platform. Through programs such as Marketplace, Advantage, and by working with Amazon.com subsidiary Amazon Services, sellers of all shapes and sizes offer their selection to Amazon.com customers by using various components of the e-commerce platform. Partners such as Target Stores, Lacoste and Marks & Spencer work with Amazon Services to power their e-commerce offering from end-to-end, including technology services, merchandising, customer service, and order fulfillment. Other branded merchants such as Macy's and Lands' End leverage Amazon.com as an incremental sales channel for their new merchandise. Smaller sellers participate in Amazon Marketplace where they offer new, used and collectible selections at fixed prices to Amazon customers around the world. Amazon Web Services (www.amazon.com/aws) provides Amazon's developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon's own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Examples of the services offered by Amazon Web Services are Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3), Amazon SimpleDB, Amazon Simple Queue Service (Amazon SQS), Amazon Flexible Payments Service (Amazon FPS), and Amazon Mechanical Turk. Amazon's evolution from Web site to e-commerce partner to development platform is driven by the spirit of innovation that is part of the company's DNA. The world's brightest technology minds come to Amazon.com to research and develop technology that improves the lives of shoppers and sellers around the world. International Competition of Digital Images for the Festival "ARTE MUSICA": Winners Call For Art, International Association of artists, & the Municipality of Piandiscò (Arezzo) Italy have organized an International competition of digital Images on the theme of "Art and Music". The contest has been organized as part of the festival "ArteMusica" that took place on the days 12 & June 13th 2008 in Faella, Piandiscò, (Arezzo), Italy & on the days 14 & June 15 2008 in the Municipality of Piandiscò (Arezzo). The event included concerts, theatrical performances, markets & exhibitions of handicraft & a section devoted to the visual Arts that in 2008 was represented by the 20 images finalists of the 1 International competition of Digital Images related to "Art and Music." The contest had the following aims: 1. To create an high-level cultural event, with International/global breath & a local soul, in concomitance to the festival "Arte/Musica" as integral part of its activities and as its vehicle of international & local promotion. 2. To create a thematic set design for the Festival "Arte/Musica" able to animate & color the plazas interested by the festival . 3. To promote the art & support the artists worldwide with an event of international character that gives visibility to their job 4. To actively involve the local families & the public of the festival. 5. To collect a file of digital images related to the theme of Art & Music, created by artists of many nationalities that can be used for the future promotion of the festival & as material of graphic support. The participation to this International competition ended on April 15 2008 with a total of 107 participating artists from 17 different countries. Among all the reached proposals, a jury formed by the Municipality of Piandiscò selected 20 shortlisted images that have been printed in big format, & delivered to the families of the Municipality whose residences had windows or balconies leaning out on the principal plazas interested by the festival. The involved families guaranteed the exhibition of the pictures outside of their balconis during the event. The 20 shortlisted artists were: Alejandro Gonzalez Dominguez – Spain Alessandro Rietti – Italy Azzurra Piccardi – Italy Bodo Gsedl – Germany Bozena Happach – Canada Elisa Bianchi - Italy Elisa Jachia – Italy Ellen Stern – USA Florence Hoffmann – Luxembourg Kevin Nolan – Ireland Leonardo Panichi – Italy Marco Saccon – Italy Margherita Matticari – Italy Maria Soutullo Casanueva – Spain Raffaella Mantegazza – Italy Richard Arnold – Australia Roberto Sportellini – Italy Simonetta Farnedi - Italy Tom Meyers – Belgium Vincenzo Greco – Italy The jury was composed by: - Nazareno Betti - Mayor of the Municipality of Piandiscò; - Tommaso Torniai - Alderman to the Culture of the Municipality of Piandiscò; - Jules Maidoff - Artist and founder of the SACI, International art academy in Florence, Italy; - Luisa Del Campana - Artist; - Diana Manni - Artist, President of the international association of artists Call For Art, Manager for the Public Relations of the international association of sculptors AIESM; - Bettino Francini – Artist, Deputy President of the international association of artists Call For Art, President of the international association of sculptors AIESM. On the 12 & 13 of June, therefore, these beautiful images created a suggestive atmosphere in Plaza Giacomo Matteotti , Faella (Arezzo) Italy while on the 14 & 15 of they moved to Plaza Europa in Piandiscò (Arezzo) Italy, together with the whole festival. The public through a system of vote active until hours 18,00 of the last day will had the opportunity to vote for the preferred works, determining the assignment of the three final prizes to the artists, respectively of Euro 1.000,00. 500,00 & 300,00. Here following the names of the three winners: 1° Prize: Azzurra Piccardi – Italy; 2° Prize: Bodo Gsedl – Germany; 3° Prize: Margherita Matticari – Italy. Continue...

In The News I Will Always Love America During 2008, the year of monumental change, the Denver Film Society & Denver Office of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee, invite you to share your definition of democracy. By giving you an outlet for your voice - www.cinemocracy.org, they hope to come closer to a definition of democracy. Submit your film up to five minutes in length answering the question "How do you define democracy?" The top 10 videos will be screened publicly during the week of the 2008 Democratic National Convention. The winning film will be screened as part of the official program of the 31st Starz Denver Film Festival. Samsung Experience: July 2008 Samsung Experience invites you Monday, July 28th, 7pm - 9pm. It is MobileMonday. Originally founded in Finland in 2000, MobileMonday is a global mobile community that has spread around the world through a largely grassroots effort. For more information, visit www.mobilemonday-ny.com Join Samsung Experience for an evening of great music featuring Dave Kellan & Brent Grunow & The Bandits Tuesday, July 29th, 7pm - 9pm. It is New Music Tuesdays series. For more information you can visit www.myspace.com/davekellanmusic www.myspace.com/brentgrunow The Samsung Experience is an interactive space showcasing Samsung's vision of digital convergence, & located at Time Warner Center, The Shops at Columbus Circle, 10 Columbus Circle, 3rd floor, 8th Ave between 58th & 60th Street, New York, USA. Milan Fashion Week: 2009 - D&G After last season's Highland fling, Domenico Dolce & Stefano Gabbana returned to sea level with a spring D&G collection inspired by the French Riviera. They didn't have any old beach bum in mind, rather a 21-century version of Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief. The Grant élan could be felt in the tailoring & in the polka dot neckerchiefs that were tied loosely under the jackets. The 21-century part came in via the sheen of the fabrics: silk cotton, silk jersey, silk twill, silk everything... The D&G version of an espadrille, meanwhile, had a rope sole but jettisoned canvas for patent crocodile. The best looks here had the ease & freshness that distinguished the Dolce & Gabbana show a few days earlier. The designers' pursuit of the white-&-navy motif turned as relentless as the Timbaland remix of Madonna's "4 Minutes" that played on the soundtrack. It was with the too-literal nautical flag prints that introduced a splash of red. These read as much Nantucket as Nice, though the model in the navy Speedo & deep-V polo soon reminded the audience that the D&G man has no intention of joining Daddy's yacht club. If this collection wasn't as jam-packed with hits as Fall's, it still bobbed along with likeable energy... TASCHEN: Richard Meier Richard Meier & Partners: Complete Works 1963-2008 by Philip Jodidio first published by TASCHEN in 2008. This title presents the great American architect Richard Meier' career to date. Meier has crossed the straits of fame, lashed to the mainmast of Architecture by the "popes of reason, honesty and beauty." He is a builder of his time, he is an American architect who has triumphed in Europe. When asked if his use of white geometric forms might not be considered a symbolic victory over nature Richard Meier says "No." He thinks that it is a statement of what they do as architects, that that they make is not natural. He thinks that the fallacy that Frank Lloyd Wright perpetrated for many years had to do with the nature of materials. The materials they are using in construction are not natural, they do not change with the seasons. It is a counterpoint to nature. Meier thinks it should help intensify one's perception of the changing colors of nature, of the day, rather than attempt to have the architecture change. Richard Meier has imposed a style that is almost invariably driven by precisely calculated proportions & grid. Meier's buildings are symphonic arrangement of geometric volumes: Getty Center, Jubilee Church in Rome, Museum for the Decorative Arts in Frankfurt (Germany), Madison Square Garden in NYC (USA), Royal Dutch Paper Mils Headquarters in Hilversum (The Netherlands), Museum of television & Radio in Beverly Hills (USA), Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona (Spain), etc. ... Fully illustrated, this fascinating upscale book contains deep & detailed information about Meier's career in English, German & French. This exceptional deluxe volume created in collaboration between R. Meier, author, & the graphic designer Massimo Vignelli. It is the spectacular monograph & brilliant display of Meier's work in unprecedented size. Also this book featured a preface by the noted Spanish architect A.C. Baera. Location One: And We Move Exhibition Jean Shin: And We Move takes place 9 June - 26 July, 2008 at 26 Greene Street in the gallery Location One, in New York City. Location One is offering solo show from Jean Shin who, during her residency this year, conceived a new metaphor using music to speak about the presence of the body as well as a means of mapping out imaginary communities. Jean Shin residency at Location One is supported by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Location One, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization thanks to Solo Impressions Inc for producing the digital prints for this exhibition, to Richard Lanier, Joseph W. Polisi, George Stelluto and the Julliard school of Music for their invaluable help. Fall 2008, Location One will be offering new work from Laurie Anderson, artist, musician, storyteller, & this year's Location One senior artist in residence. Self-Publishing Randall Klitz & Young Ku Ahn are musicians from two different countries, the United States & Korea, with two different life stories. But they have one thing in common - they wrote & published their books... The Winner's Guide to Dating (What I Learned about Love and Sex from Playing Texas Hold 'em) by Randall Klitz published in 2007 & still amazes with its simplicity & wit... In this book, written in a humorous manner, author asks you a question "A You a Winner?" He has several tips for you... Klitz wrote this book with an idea to help you ""tilt the odds" in your favour every time you date." The Winner's Guide to Dating is a perfect gift for every occasion. This book illustrated with color drawings by Randall's girlfriend Muriel Alvarez. Randall Klitz, also known as the "Dean of Poker," has gained his reputation through years... An accomplished musician, he has toured with top Broadway musicians & performed at Carnegie Hall. He lives in New York City. My Sorrows, My Joys (A Memoir) by Yong Ku Ahn first published by Xlibris in 2008. Young Ku Ahn is considered to be a leader among the third generation of classical musicians in Korea. He grew up under the Japanese rule. Liberation from Japan, the Korea War, postwar recovery years were the tumultuous waves of history he had to overcome. Young Ku Ahn had occasion to meet with political leaders... Also his memoir makes clear why he felt compelled to participate in the anti-government movement later while living in the U.S. This title illustrated with black-&-white photographs & has prefaces by Sang Man Lee, music critic & Executive Director of the Goyang Cultural Foundation.. Continue...