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Today's Featured Article. July-August, 2008
August, 2008
Two senior campaign officials disclosed McCain's decision a few hours before the Republican presidential nominee-to-be and his newly-minted running mate appeared at a rally in swing-state Ohio. Palin is a conservative with a maverick streak. She has shown a willingness to clash with others in her own party. A self-styled hockey mom and political reformer, Sarah Palin has been governor of her state less than two years.
Palin's selection shocked numerous Republican officials.
She is 44, is three years Obama's junior. McCain has made much in recent weeks of Obama's relative lack of experience in foreign policy and defense matters.
In making his pick, McCain passed over several more prominent prospects who had figured in speculation for months — Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge among them.
Palin is a former mayor of Wasilla who became governor of her state in December, 2006 after ousting a governor of her own party in a primary and then dispatching a former governor in the general election.
Recently, she has come under the scrutiny of an investigation by the Republican-controlled legislature into the possibility that she ordered the dismissal of Alaska's public safety commissioner because he would not fire her former brother-in-law as a state trooper.
The timing of McCain's selection appeared designed to limit any political gain Obama yields from his own convention, which ended Thursday night with his nominating acceptance speech before an estimated 84,000 in Invesco Field in Colorado.
Public opinion polls show a close race between Obama and McCain, and with scarcely two months remaining until the election, neither contender can allow the other to jump out to a big post-convention lead.
McCain has had months to consider his choice, and has made it clear to reporters that one of his overriding goals was to avoid a situation like the one in 1988, when Dan Quayle was thrown into a national campaign with little preparation.
Sarah Palin has a long history of run-ins with the Alaska GOP hierarchy, giving her genuine maverick status and reformer credentials that could complement McCain's image.
Two years ago, Sarah ousted the state's Republican incumbent governor, Frank Murkowski in the primary, despite having little money and little establishment backing.
She has also distanced herself from two senior Republican office-holders, sen. Ted Stevens and Rep. Don young. Both men are under federal corruption investigations.
Sarah had earned stripes and enmity after Murkowski made her head of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. From that post, she exposed ethical violations by the state GOP chairman, also a fellow commissioner.
She and her husband Todd Palin, have five children.
Books: Insight Editions: Fabulous People, Fascinating Stories
Insight Editions is a division of Palace Press International (PPI), a world leader in book manufacturing. For decades, the professionals at PPI have helped the world's leading publishers translate their visions into reality by capitalizing on overseas manufacturing and offering a full range of creative services.
Insight Editions creates unique art and photography books celebrating iconic personalities, artists and key cultural and historical events.
Introducing selected titles:John & Yoko: A New York Love Story by Allan Tannenbaum with foreword by Yoko Ono first published by Insight Editions in 2007. This book is a fabulous story about two extraordinary people, musician and artist. From the beginning their love affair elicited much critical commentary, many suggested that their coming together brought the end of the Beatles. Much later, much of the mainstream media continued to be racist and chauvinistic...
Yoko provided John a new lease on his life, and New York City was perfect place for them. When Allan Tannenbaum "entered John and Yoko's milieu" they had been living in NYC for several years. Allan's stories and photographs are rare documents of that unforgettable time when Yoko first visited Allan's studio in Tribeca, walks in Central Park... Allan had opportunity not just to photograph John and Yoko but to share in their casual, creative and intimate moments.
This unique historical volume contains a rare set of images that is both a tribute and celebration to one of the greatest artists and his everlasting love affair.
Knockout: The Art of Boxing by Ken Regan with foreword by Muhammad Ali first published by Insight Editions in 2007. For more that four decades, Ken Regan has been creating one of the best collections of professional boxing photographs in the world. He always knew how to give you "the whole story in a single frame." In 1964 Ken captured Muhammad Ali's historic victory over Sonny Liston in Miami Beach. After that, Ken embarked on a lifelong love story with the sport of boxing. His unique photographs include many of the most enduring images ever created, portraits of notable promoters, writers, managers and celebrities associated with the sports.
Other contributors to this book are author Norman Mailer, actor Liam Neeson and box historian Budd Schulberg. Knockout: The Art of Boxing is fully illustrated with color and black-and-white images, many of them seen for the first time.
This spectacular volume contains amazing boxing photographs that enriched history of boxing, and is designed to be one of the most celebrated books ever published on the subject of boxing.
Election: John McCain
John McCain is an experienced conservative leader in the tradition of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan. He is a common sense conservative who believes in a strong national defense, a smaller, more accountable government, economic growth and opportunity, the dignity of life and traditional values. United States face enemy that has attacked this country and remains committed to killing Americans and the destruction of U.S. values. The current election is about who is best prepared to lead and defend U.S. and its global allies as Commander-in-Chief from day one; it is about making sure the America has the experienced leadership to guide nation to victory, protect the nation against future terrorist attacks.
This election will decide whether U.S. choose to fight or announce surrender, will U.S. have a president who dangerously weakens U.S. security or strengthens it; whether U.S. will flinch and retreat or fully engage the enemy on multiple fronts.
America needs decisive leadership with the vision and experience to guide this country and the world through challenges. Having a courageous President who is willing to lead Americans in war and in peace, rally U.S.'s democratic allies and defeat its enemy to secure a broader peace.
U.S. Senator John McCain has a long career of public service.
After graduating from the Naval Academy in 1958, John McCain began his career as a Naval aviator. In 1982, he was elected to Congress representing what was then the first congressional district of Arizona. In 1986, he was elected to the United States Senate to take the place of Arizona's great Senator Barry Goldwater.
John McCain is the senior senator from Arizona. He is currently the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, and also serves on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
John McCain has seven children and four grandchildren. He and his wife, Cindy, reside in Phoenix.
Americans have lost trust that their government and its elected officials will serve the Nation's interest and not their own. Special interests have too much influence in Washington. Americans want a courageous leader who will stand up to the trial lawyers and labor bosses and other special interests, govern by principle rather than political experience, keep their promises, and solve problems instead of leaving them for our children. U.S. need restoring nation's confidence in their government.
John McCain is the leader willing to make the hard calls necessary to restore faith in U.S. government and build a brighter future for American children and grandchildren...
John McCain is the leader willing to make the hard calls necessary to restore faith in U.S. government and build a brighter future for American children and grandchildren...
Moscow: Death of Solzhenitsyn
Solzhenitsyn's unflinching accounts of torment and survival in the Soviet Union's slave labor camps riveted his countrymen, whose history he exposed. They earned him 20 years of bitter exile, but worldwide renown.
They inspired millions with the knowledge that one person's integrity and courage could defeat the totalitarian machinery of an empire.
Beginning with the 1962 novel "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich," Alexander Solzhenitsyn devoted himself to describing the human "meat grinder." It had caught him along with millions of other Soviet citizens: capricious arrests, often for trifling and seemingly absurd reasons, sentences to slave labor camps where starvation, cold, and punishing work crushed inmates spiritually and physically.
His "Gulag Archipelago" trilogy of the 1970s shocked world by describing the savagery of the Soviet Union under the dictator Josef Stalin. It erased lingering sympathy for the Soviet Union among many intellectuals all over the world.
But his account of that secret system of prison camps was also inspiring in its description of how one person, himself, physically and spiritually, in a penal system of soul-crushing injustice.
The West offered him shelter and accolades. Solzhenitsyn's refusal to bend despite enormous pressure, gave him the courage to criticize Western culture for what he considered its weakness and decadence...
Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the Nobel Prize-winning author whose books chronicled the horrors of the Soviet gulag system, has died of heart failure. He was 89.
Artprice.com: London Sales of Old Master Paintings – Good Results
As 7-figure bids become commonplace in the speculative and volatile contemporary segment of the art market, bidding for less publicised older works is still buoyant. The Christie’s and Sotheby’s sales of Old Master Paintings on 8 and 9 July 2008 generated new records with rare masterpieces from private collections.
At Christie’s, the offer of works that were thought lost attracted ardent bidding from collectors: drawings byFrancisco GOYA Y LUCIENTESthat had disappeared off the map for 130 years and a major work byJean Antoine WATTEAUthat had not been seen for 160 years were the star lots of the sale!
The Goya works were part of an album of 105 drawings last sold at Drouot on 2 April 1877. Not all of them sold on 8 July, but Christie’s recorded three of the four auction records for drawings by the artist. At £2m, the lively ink drawing entitledBajan Riñendo or Vision de Bajar Riñendoset a new record for a work on paper by the Spanish master.
The Goya works were part of an album of 105 drawings last sold at Drouot on 2 April 1877. Not all of them sold on 8 July, but Christie’s recorded three of the four auction records for drawings by the artist. At £2m, the lively ink drawing entitledBajan Riñendo or Vision de Bajar Riñendoset a new record for a work on paper by the Spanish master.
Christie's posted a second record breaking result withLa surprise, a major painting byJean Antoine Watteau dated 1718 and out of sight since 1848. It was thought to have been destroyed or at best lost. The piece had been discovered in July 2007 at a private home in the UK when a Christie's valuer spotted the work in the corner of a room. Before its sale, the small masterpiece - hardly larger than a sheet of A4 (36.3 x 28.2 cm) - was exhibited in New York in April before returning to London at the start of July. It depicts a typically gallant scene and reflects the artist's taste for comedia dell’arte: a young manengages a somewhat astonished lady in a passionate embrace watched with an air of complicity by a musician and a curious dog, symbol of fidelity. Apart from the work's exceptional quality, its chance discovery contributed to a mood of furious bidding that pushedLa Surpriseto the dizzy price of £11 million, triple its estimated value. This record dwarfs the previous record set in December 2000 when Watteau'sLe Conteur - depicting artists from the Commedia dell'Arte ina landscape- fetched £2.2 million at Christie’s.For Sotheby’s the Old Masters week generated £59.5m ($117.3m), an exceptional result, up 87% vs. July 2006. It was the second highest revenue figure the auction house has ever generated on the Old Master's segment. Remember that in July 2002 Sotheby’s set the all-time record in the segment when it sold the sublimeMassacre des innocents(c.1608-1609) byPeter Paul RUBENSfor£45 million, the highest price ever paid for an Old Master and one of the highest prices ever paid for an art work in general!
At its prestigious London sale on 9 July this year, Sotheby’s generated no less than 19 new records. Among the artists active in the 16th and 17th centuries, new records were set forJan I BRUEGHEL(1568-1625) withThe Edge of a Village with Figures dancing on the Bank of a Rive, a masterpiece dated 1616 that fetched £3.1m;Aert I NEER van derwith a winter landscape which sold for £2.4m;Guido RENIwith a superb Martyre de Saint Appoline which fetched £1.6m;Jacopo Robusti TINTORETTOwhose light / dark portrait of an elderly man fetched £1,4m, andFrans I MIERIS vanwhose pipe-smoking soldier sold for £1.15m.
However the highest bid of the entire session was generated byFrans I HALS' half-length portrait of Samuel Ampzing painted in 1635 which went under the hammer at £4.15m,four times initial estimates and the artist's second highest ever recorded auction price. The work is a brilliant realist portrait in which the subject seems caught "in the moment" and appears to invite us to participate in his interrupted reading.
At its prestigious London sale on 9 July this year, Sotheby’s generated no less than 19 new records. Among the artists active in the 16th and 17th centuries, new records were set forJan I BRUEGHEL(1568-1625) withThe Edge of a Village with Figures dancing on the Bank of a Rive, a masterpiece dated 1616 that fetched £3.1m;Aert I NEER van derwith a winter landscape which sold for £2.4m;Guido RENIwith a superb Martyre de Saint Appoline which fetched £1.6m;Jacopo Robusti TINTORETTOwhose light / dark portrait of an elderly man fetched £1,4m, andFrans I MIERIS vanwhose pipe-smoking soldier sold for £1.15m.
However the highest bid of the entire session was generated byFrans I HALS' half-length portrait of Samuel Ampzing painted in 1635 which went under the hammer at £4.15m,four times initial estimates and the artist's second highest ever recorded auction price. The work is a brilliant realist portrait in which the subject seems caught "in the moment" and appears to invite us to participate in his interrupted reading.
Hachette Book Group: Bulfinch: Deluxe
Hachette Book Group USA’s long history dates back to 1837 and it continues to evolve & grow today.
Hachette Book Group USA’s long history dates back to 1837 and it continues to evolve & grow today.
Hachette Book Group USA was created when Hachette Livre, a global publishing company based in France, acquired Time Warner Book Group from Time Warner in 2006. Hachette Livre is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lagardère, a company that is active worldwide in the areas of communications and media (books, press, audiovisual and distribution/retailing of cultural products).
First Bulfinch edition Alberto Vargas: Work from the Max Vargas Collection 
by Reid Stewart Austin (foreword by Hudh Hefner) published in September 2006, third printing - in 2008.
by Reid Stewart Austin (foreword by Hudh Hefner) published in September 2006, third printing - in 2008. This is the first book on the works of glamour artist Alberto Vargas in more than a decade, drawn from the collection of his nephew Max Vargas. This fascinating title includes a selection of his vivid original drawings & finest work for Playboy magazine - 100 full color illustrations.
19-year-old Albert Vargas, a man from Peru, fresh off the boat from 2 years of liberal arts & photography study in France, Switzerland, & Germany, wanders up Manhattan Streets in search of lodging. It was 20s...
This spectacular book is a new, authorized collection of work by legendary illustrator & Playboy magazine contributor Alberto Vargas that includes a large number of previously unpublished & little-known paintings & drawings...
Built in a wooden shed by 4 young men one hundred and five years ago, the 1st Harley-Davidson motorcycle spawned a culture all its own. This book is he remarkable story with over 30 fascinating images, including full-color spreads on 26 milestone bikes in Harley-Davidson history, vintage photographs from the early days of Harley, picture of the riders who have embraced the Harley-Davidson motorcycle as a symbol of freedom & individuality...
Willie G. Davidson became Harley-Davidson's Vice President of Styling in 1978. Willie's grandfather, William A. Davidson, along with his 2 brothers & William S. Harley, started the company over a century ago. Since the 1960s, Willie G. has been instrumental in the design of every motorcycle the Motor Company has produced.
This unique & remarkable deluxe title by Willie G. Davidson published by Bulfinch/AOL Time Warner Book Group in 2003 to celebrate 100 years of Harley-Davidson.
Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) is best known for her humerous self-portraits, which she made with surrealistic & symbolic elements. This fascinating book not only reproduces more than 200 of her paintings from every genre, including still life, landscape, self-portraits, but also shows how the tragedy of her life informed her art.
This remarkable title presents Frida Kahlo's biography & 220 color & black-&-white illustrations - a full range of Frida Kahlo's work, photographs of Frida's life, including childhood photos... This deluxe title published by Bulfinch Press/Little, Brown and Company in 2001.
July, 2008
May 29, 2009
NBC set the calendar for Jay Leno's mandatory retirement as part of a timetable for the network's rejiggered night-owl plans. Heir apparent Conan O'Brien will be installed as Tonight Show overlord. O'Brien will abdicate his Late Night desk in the spring, most likely March or April, and move from New York to L.A. to prepare for his new duties.
Jimmy Fallon will take over Late Night in the spring, after a practice run online.
NBC will air O'Brien-fronted Late Night reruns until Fallon is deemed up to speed.
"We really believe in the decisions we've made with our partners, including Jay," Silverman told.
In a subsequent statement, NBC tried to give props to the departing Leno, as well as the new hosts.
Rick Ludwin, NBC's chief late-night programmer said that the Tonight Show has a remarkable history... They're proud of each and every show Jay has shared with America as they look forward to Conan carrying on that outstanding tradition next year.
That they also can't wait for Jimmy to showcase his winning style following Conan. Jay has left his personal stamp on The Tonight Show for what will be 17 years. He is enormously creative, generous and professional.
Leno didn't immediately comment on the network-imposed timeframe...
Osprey Publishing
Osprey Publishing has been publishing books since 1968. Since then it has grown & taken on new fascinating challenges. It stands today as one of the most successful companies of niche publishing around the world. You are welcome to explore its new & fabulous titles...
Piracy: The Complete History by Angus Konstam first published by Osprey in 2008. This title aims to provide an overview of piracy through the ages to the present day. This book also concentrates on the periods we now "regard as the heyday of piracy in the Caribbean..." Also you will find here a more detailed story about some of the most famous pirates in history. Angus Konstam is the pirate expert. He discusses the 'Golden Age of Piracy' & such fascinating characters as Captain Kidd & Blackbeard. He separates the Hollywood-inspired fiction with the realities of piracy.
Sniper: A History of the U.S. Marksman by Martin Pegler (with foreword by Chuck Mawhinney, highest-scoring living Marine sniper) first published by Osprey in 2007. This book helps to understand the evolution of the modern sniper. Greately illustrated with black-and-white and colour photographs, this fascinating account concludes with a study of the U.S. sniping rifle and sniper, including the conflicts in Afghanistan & Iraq. This book is a complex and unique tale involving politics, science, greed, and human desire for tchnological progress...
Military Misdemeanors: Corruption, incompetence, lust, and downright stupidity by Terry Crowdy first published by Osprey in 2007. "Many might feel it is wrong or unpatriotic to criticize the military in any way in the post -9/11 climate; but surely the principal strength of countries with a democratic tradition is the right to question, disagree with, even satirize and lampoon public institutions.." The book's introduction says.
This unique title showcasing more than 70 scandals, that include the following subjects as the cat-eating, a 20th century witchcraft trial, stolen babies, the frolics of Charles d'Eon, the fearless dragon & noted transvestite... Terry Crowdy is a former bassist in a rock group, & history enthusiast since childhood. He is the author of a number of articles & books...
Fubar: F***ed Up Beyond All Recognition: Soldier Slang of World War ll by Gordon L. Rottman first published by Osprey in 2007. This title is dedicated to the brave members of the armed forces serving round the world today & their forebears who have given such entertaining addition to the English language. By the way author of Fubar: F***ed Up Beyond All Recognition "makes no apologies for the language used in this book - nothing is gained by sugar-coating the language of soldiers..." Military slang is old as warfare. The soldier of WW ll was on an adventure. Often a tragic one. This soldier was in a new world of strange places, meeting different people, working with weapons. This life demanded new language... Soldiers of 1939-1945 created a broad range of words & phrases to describe their world - equals, machines, weapons, notions, subordinates, specialists, environment, women, etc., etc. The WW ll military created more slang terms & phrases than any conflict before... 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.
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
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