Daily news sites| Find Breaking World News
Latest Updates

NYFW -Day4- my outfit for Delpozo Fashion Show + video





Today I want to show you my outfit that I wore at DELPOZO Fashion Show( see the collection here).
This look coincidentally was matching the ambient of the room, pink, white and nude... It was one of my favorite outfits from NYFW and I will like to hear your opinion as well.


P.S.Watch this video from DELPOZO Fashion Show and you will also see me in the front row.



                                                                                 Coat: vintage/ similar Here
                                                                                 Sweater: J.Crew/ option Here 
                                                                                 Pants: Gap /now on sale Here 
                                                                                 Shoes: Mango/ on sale Here
                                                                                 Bag: vintage Celine/ option Here
                                                                                 Sunglasses: c /o zeroUV/ Here


          

one room challenge - week 3

Here we are at week 3 of the One Room Challenge (see previous weeks here) and I'm still on this blasted chair.

There are many times in the past week when I was moments away from taking a hatchet to this chair. This wench was vicious. I think she was punishing me for painting her.

For a reupholstery tutorial you can go see my other projects here and here but I will not be sharing any reupholster tips here because this was not pretty.


I broke 1...2...3 stapel guns on this chair. (half of those holes were already there, and half of those are mine)

I had to cut, and recut and then cut again to match up the lines.


Tucking fabric in, pulling it out and moving it an inch to the left and then an inch to the right.


And there is the ripped fabric. One lesson learned, fabric does not like to curve the way I would like it to.



Oh, the horror. I'm calling this one done.


I originally had plans to add some nice grosgrain trim and then nail heads on top. But after all the trouble with this...lady, I didn't have the strength. Instead I went with nice bendy trim. Master of the curves.




I've got paint touch ups from a few run ins with that staple gun that left a mark...or eight. But I'm moving on. No time left to wallow. 

I'm playing with my sewing machine (finally) and using my exacto knife. But not at the same time


And finally, in the stellar mom category I'm making my poor children suffer in this half broken down room.


Floor planning is slow but progress is being made, finally. Ceiling fan is down, rug is gone and holes are patched and ready for painting this weekend. A big change is on the way.

So here is where we stand on the list.
  1. Come up with functional floor plan Progress
  2. Paint walls/ceiling/trim
  3. Paint dresser (new hardware?)
  4. Update vanity (maybe some fun color or hardware) Progress
  5. Find curtains and add trim
  6. Add a rug and new bedding Progress
  7. Hang art and create some personalized pieces
  8. Find/Install new light fixture (buh bye ceiling fan) Progress
  9. Reupholster chair and possibly add comfy floor cushions 
  10. Find/Make lampshade(s) 
Now let's see how the others are progressing!

Exponential Trend Failure of the Day

Let's start with a chart of corporate dividends divided by corporate profits.


Click to enlarge.

We almost made it to 100% during the great recession. Hurray!

Contrary to the general opinion of the financial media and so-called financial experts, is it any wonder why some companies might hoard some extra corporate cash in case it happens again?

Now let's look at the 10-year moving average to eliminate much of the short-term cyclical noise.


Click to enlarge.

Companies are no longer willing to exponentially grow their dividends relative to their corporate profits? I know. It's all very shocking! Congress must make companies pay more! Pass a law or something!

Perhaps I should summarize without the sarcasm. Stick a fork in it. The unsustainable exponential growth party's over. We may still grow some but in my opinion we will never grow like we once did. Not even close. There are just too many headwinds and at least some of the ponzi-style tailwinds aren't holding up all that well either (as seen in the charts above).

And lastly, my posting frequency has been greatly diminished lately. Sorry about that! I do not believe it is permanent. My latest obsession is learning to play the guitar. I played from 5:30am to 8:00am last night. I was just running scales. I'm definitely not a morning person and man, oh man, are my left hand's fingers sore. :)

See Also:
Sarcasm Disclaimer

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Bizarre ideas on the left do nothing to straighten out the country

Bizarre ideas on the left do nothing to straighten out the country


By James H. Shott

Harry Belafonte is an African-American entertainer best known for the 1956 Calypso hit "The Banana Boat Song"; who in more recent years has been known for his civil rights activism, left-wing activism and his admiration of Third World dictators; and who has now voiced his opinion on gun control, claiming that “white Americans” who support the 2nd Amendment's protection of gun rights are ignoring the black “river of blood that washes the streets of our nation.”

"America has the largest prison population in the world," he noted. "And of the over 2 million men, women and children who make up the incarcerated, the overwhelming majority is black. We are the most unemployed, the most caught in the unjust systems of justice, and in the gun game, we are the most hunted.”

He continued: “The river of blood that washes the streets of our nation flows mostly from the bodies of our black children. Yet, as the great debate emerges on the question of the gun, white America discusses the constitutional issue of ownership, while no one speaks of the consequences of our racial carnage.”

Columnist Walter Williams notes that, "though blacks are 13 percent of the nation’s population, they account for more than 50 percent of homicide victims. Nationally, the black homicide victimization rate is six times that of whites, and in some cities, it’s 22 times that of whites. Each year, roughly 7,000 blacks are murdered. Ninety-four percent of the time, the murderer is another black person."

Mr. Belafonte tries to hang the responsibility for black-on-black murder around the necks of white America because they want to honor the U.S. Constitution, an argument that wildly misses the mark. Black youths dying in the streets is indeed a tragedy, but it is not because white people defend the Constitution.

Mr. Belafonte is also confused about the results of the 2012 election, believing that President Obama's thin victory in the popular vote constitutes a mandate from the people to do whatever he wants. But the margin of victory was only 3.84 percent. That constitutes a win, but it’s far from a mandate. This win was just over half the margin in 2008, which means that American voters are less in love with Mr. Obama and his agenda after seeing it in action for four years.

He also does not understand the American system of government, which in his mind enables President Obama to jail those that disagree with him. “The only thing left for Barack Obama to do is to work like a Third World dictator and just put all of these [white] guys in jail. You’re violating the American desire,” he said on the Al Sharpton TV program.

Perhaps Mr. Belafonte should review the founding principles of the country that was so good to him before he fell into the irrelevance that mediocrity brings. Maybe a better idea is for him to move on from what he believes is a horrible country to one of the paradises he so admires, like Cuba or Venezuela.

Harry Belafonte's racist and communist ideas are grossly un-American and are blessedly shared by only a small minority.  Others on the left, however, are also confused about what is going on.

Nancy Pelosi, the House Minority Leader from California, also harbors some nutty ideas. Despite consistent budget deficits exceeding a trillion dollars a year throughout Barack Obama's tenure and a $16 trillion national debt that has increased by about 50 percent over that same period, Ms. Pelosi not only says with a straight face that we don't have a spending problem, but she is miffed that the pay raise proposed for all federal employees seems destined for the trash heap.

"I think we should respect the work we do,” Ms. Pelosi told reporters. “I think it’s necessary for us to have the dignity of the job....” Just because the nation is drowning in red ink is no reason to fail to show due deference to our employees in the Congress, right?

Congressional Democrats twist themselves into knots trying to convince us that it's okay to spend 40 percent more than the revenue we collect every year. Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin commented that “We are now the richest nation in the world. We have the highest per capita income of any major nation. That kind of begs the question, doesn’t it? If we’re so rich, why are we so broke? Is it a spending problem? No.”

Sen. Harkin and Congresswoman Pelosi, and a whole gaggle of others see salvation in taking even more hard-earned money from the citizens, or at least some of them. However, a new poll shows 83 percent of Americans disagree. They have had it with fiscal irresponsibility and piling debt on future generations.

Here's a lesson in good government for public servants from someone who actually understood the concept: “A wise and frugal government … shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government.” — Thomas Jefferson

Cross-posted from Observations

NYFW -DELPOZO f/w 2013 Fashion Show-


...and wonderful Olivia Palermo sitting right in front of me...


Sunday, February 10, was a very special day for me in the New York Fashion Week category.
I had the privilege to attend DELPOZO Fashion Show and let me tell you that I still have goosebumps when I'm thinking about that collection, the words are not enough...
Fabrics as wool, mohair, tulle, organza and neoprene in wonderful tangerine, purple, green and yellow colours, were a dream come true... This collection was a pure perfection!
Tomorrow a new outfit post!




All US Babies Branded At Birth? ... J. D. Longstreet

All US Babies Branded At Birth?   ...   J. D. Longstreet
All US Babies Branded At Birth?
RFID Chips Implanted In Newborns?
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

*******************

America has already become a police state.    And now we are prepared, it would seem, to dig ourselves deeper into the status of a police state with the proposed new (Super) National ID card.

Soon the government may be collecting biometric information on you -- and on me -- such as pictures, fingerprints, retina scans, DNA, and whatever else is needed to make their new super National ID card  system workable.

We are talking about an ID card that you will need to use at checkpoints, airports, and toll booths,  or to access the Internet, and to buy firearms, to purchase prescription drugs, at your job sites, or to gain access to apartment buildings, etc. 

As proposed, this will be a "super" National ID card, an electronic card beyond anything we have seen before.  It will place every American citizen on an electronic leash with the federal government holding the other end of the leash.

The National I. D. Card will guarantee the federal government’s complete control over every man, woman and child in the US, period!

If you want the government to have total control over your life, then do nothing and very soon we will all be carrying that blasted new "Super" National I. D. Card.

A National I. D. Card will grant the federal government the power to reach into the everyday lives of people living in this country on an unprecedented level.

If you are one of the few, (rare) Americans, these days, who actually believes in freedom -- actually believes you have a God-given right to privacy, actually believes the you are entitled to the freedoms and liberties outlined in the original Constitution of the United States -- then you had better rise up and fight for them because we are on the extreme edge of losing them and becoming slaves to the all powerful Central Government the “Progressives” such has Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democratic Senator Charles Shumer of New York apparently want for their fellow Americans.

In an article written by David Bier at Rightsidenews.com entitled: "The New National Identification System Is Coming" Mr Bier says the following:  "Even worse than a physical card, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) has created an electronic national ID called electronic employment verification (EEV). The current rendition is known as E-Verify, which has combined DHS’s immigration database with the SSA’s database, containing your name, address, legal status, work authorization, and social security number.

The Senate immigration bill will mandate all employers use E-Verify to check the immigration status of their employees. Right now, employers can voluntarily submit the employee’s name and number to check if they match the name and number in the system. If the names or numbers don’t match, you must take further steps to prove your identity at SSA offices.

The system creates a guilty-until-proven-innocent approach to employment that also allows DHS to monitor every worker throughout the country. Some proposed mandates would require employees who work multiple jobs to automatically visit SSA offices — the new DMVs of employment — to prove that they really do work both jobs.

“People say ‘National ID,’ ” Sen. Schumer told Politico. “[But] that’s a card that you’d have to show whenever anyone, a police officer or anyone came up to you.” Actually, that’s not true. National ID is any mandatory system that could identify you at any given time. E-Verify combined with biometrics from state DMVs or elsewhere would meet that definition."
We recommend you read the entire article at:  http://www.rightsidenews.com/2013020431908/us/homeland-security/the-new-national-identification-system-is-coming.html

An electronic National I. D. Card could hold huge troves of information. It could include information such as: where you live, where you have lived in the past, information on your family, information on your religion and information on your Obamacare Insurance policy, plus more information on your education, and even the registration of your guns!

Think about it. A National I. D. Card will, most likely, contain your fingerprints, a scan of your iris, or even your DNA profile on it.

Of a necessity there would have to be a national database containing continually updated personal information. We already know that once that database is created by the government, it will grow larger and larger and more encompassing.

Understand:  Those entrusted with all that information on you have unlimited power over your life.

Then, too, how are we going to know when others seek access to our information, and why, and how can we be certain that permission won’t be granted?

Of course, We are told the National I. D. Card will help in the fight against illegal immigration. How exactly? Illegal aliens will continue to slip across an unsecured border and they will continue to work for cash under the table -- as has been noted by others.  No.  The electronic National I. D. Card is just another means for the federal government to gain even MORE control over US citizens.

I don’t know. Maybe it’s just me. I am proud of my ancestors who were bootleggers and smugglers. They left me more than fond memories. They left me with a strong distrust of government. I think that distrust is healthy. They left me something else as well. They made me understand that the government is not responsible for me. They taught me that a man is always responsible for himself. They taught me the more I depend on government the more dependence government would require until I had nothing left to give -- and then I would find that I was a slave to that government.

In this Constitutional Republic we call America; it is up to us, the citizens, to keep our government on a short leash. Indeed, it is our duty, as citizens, to keep the tentacles of government out of our every day existence. They have no business there.

We must be wary of "knee-jerk" responses to danger, real or imagined, such as I believe the proposed electronic National I.D. Card to be. If the government wants to "Card" somebody, why not make every one NOT a citizen of this country carry one (an I.D. card) while inside our borders?

As I look about me today, at modern day America, I have to conclude we have failed at the single most important task we have as adult Americans. That task is to preserve freedom in this country… to guarantee a future for our children in a free nation.

A National ID card is much the same as a tattooed number on your forearm. It is proof of ownership… by someone other than you.

If natural progression holds true, next will come the National RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) chip implanted at birth. It will broadcast a radio signal all the days of your life telling the government who you are, and where you are, at all times. Beats branding babies, right?

National ID, of any kind, takes away one of your basic rights, the right to privacy.

It is time to get a grip, America! Our National Anthem says: “…The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.” Well, don’t you think it is about time we began to act like it? A National ID card would say to the world just the opposite.

© J. D. Longstreet

Words Of Wisdom

Words Of Wisdom
A young lady confidently walked around the room while leading and explaining stress management to an audience, with a raised glass of water. Everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question, 'half empty or half full?'... She fooled them all .... "How heavy is this glass of water?" she inquired with a smile.
 
Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. To 20 oz.
 
She replied , "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm.
 
If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case  it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes." She continued, "and that's the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on."
 
"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden - holding stress longer and better each time practiced.
 
So, as early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down.  Don't carry them through the evening and into the night... Pick them up tomorrow.
 
1 * Accept the fact that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue!
 
2 * Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat  them.
 
3 * Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
 
4 * Drive carefully... It's not only cars that can be recalled by their  Maker.
 
5 * If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
 
6 * If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
 
7 * It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.
 
8 * Never buy a car you can't push.
 
9 * Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.
 
10 * Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
 
11 * Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.
 
12 * The second mouse gets the cheese.
 
13 * When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
 
14 * Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
 
15 * Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once.
 
16 * We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.
 
17 * A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

Something To Consider...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty
-VS- Tyranny




President Obama is taking a lot of heat from the presumably "conservative" element in America. While I wish I understood completely why this is so, primarily because I find myself in disagreement with at least 50% of his positions if not more, I find myself in realization that America in majority voted for exactly what the President espouses. So, in my rather individualized mind, as uncomfortable as it is, I must acknowledge that America has spoken. In their affirmation of the President's views and policies it is reasonable to expect he would continue to pursue the policies and agenda that the citizens of the United States voted in majority to embrace.

As I see it the lion's share of the problem can be found in the "conservatives" unwillingness to recognize that the realities confronting our nation today are vastly different than those confronting the Patriots of 1776. Now I realize that the hard core socon, neocon, and just plain cons of the rEpublican party will likely skewer me for the saying. But as they say it is what it is and somebody on the right (preferably many) need to pull their heads from out of their arses, stand up and make it clear they understand we live in a pluralist society. There is no changing that and to a great degree the very people on the right who are bemoaning this reality are in fact responsible for it.

Logic and rational thought does not rest solely with conservatives or libertarians, it also resides in many reasonable and rational individuals that are to the left of us. Maybe it is just me, but it seems irrational to not consider the rational and logically based thoughts of those who may disagree with us. If I've learned one thing of importance from business management it is to consider listen and honestly consider the view points of those you might disagree with. or if you fail to do so it is quite possible, and likely, you may just miss an opportunity that will benefit your company and it's employees.

Government cannot be run precisely as a private business because government in America, to govern effectively requires the public's trust. However, it is justifiable and proper to understand and believe the principles adhered to in a ethical and successful bushiness, when applied properly to governance will lead to a more prosperous and productive nation.

The following article, with all its patriotic verbiage is precisely what is ailing this nation. Please everyone don't get me wrong here, the left has as many publications (and blogs) that are just as full of fluff and BS as the right does. What needs to be acknowledged by both sides is that this is true, it is damaging to the national conscience, and allowed to proceed unchecked will result in splitting the nation apart along partisan political and ideologically driven likes. Forgive me if you will but we owe our founding fathers by far more more, even if wee seem unwilling to understand how they ultimately created this nation.

Enough of me, here is the article that prompted this post.
Townhall - The grotesque spectacle of the State of the Union address, with its lengthy receiving line of adoring sycophants, demonstrates why the President is operating under the delusion that he is more than just our President. Like him, many people seem to fundamentally misunderstand his role. He’s not our “leader,” or our “ruler,” or our national “daddy,” no matter what his adoring fan, comic Chris Rock, thinks.

Let’s clarify things for those folks with the unseemly desire to offer up their personal sovereignty to some government hack. Unlike Hollywood geniuses better known for exposing their breasts than exposing their brains, I'll never pledge to be a servant of any politician.

I'm an American citizen. As such, no mortal man may presume to lead or rule me.

And I already have a father, one who incidentally has a better track record of job creation than Barack Obama by the mere fact that he hasn’t destroyed several million of them. Nor has he left any ambassadors to die, or surrounded himself with kids in a sick circus of political exploitation designed to steal the fundamental rights of law-abiding citizens.

Hell, now I’m thinking “Dad 2016.” I mean, if that’s cool with Karl Rove.

As for Barack Obama, and I say this with no disrespect, but he’s just an employee. There’s this thing military people know as the “chain of command.” When it comes to American citizens, we’re at the top of the chain. Done. That’s the entire chain of command for an American citizen, and the President’s not in it. Should he presume to suggest a course of action, with a few rare and well-defined exceptions, it is just that – a suggestion.

Now, the President is the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces, but command in a military context is quite different. Command is a circumscribed function, strictly limited to military personnel engaged in their military duties and focusing not on the prerogatives of power but on the dual responsibilities of accomplishing the mission and taking care of those warriors he leads.

A commander is by no means some sort of rock star, at least if his self-regard is properly kept in check (There is a reason every commander at every level in the military has a grizzled noncommissioned officer assigned to him or her, and it isn’t for ego-boosting).

No, the President works for me, and for you. Too often, Americans seem to forget that. Sure, he has a big job. He’s an executive, with lots of people (civilian and military) working under him. He deserves the same respect as any decent superior should show a subordinate – and make no mistake, the President is a subordinate of even the most humble American citizen. {Read More}

I am not sure what I may be missing here but; in as much as the President works for you and me at some point he must make recommendations to the legislative branch, including sending bills for their consideration, as well as making executive decisions that are in the interests of the people who elected him. In this I know of no better way to govern than by erring in favor of the majority vote. President Obama was duly reelected President as well as the nation electing a dEmocrat Senate. At the same time the nation elected a rEpublican house. It seems to me our system of checks and balances is functioning as intended. Perhaps it would do the nation and all it's citizens a good turn if the ideologues on both sides of the aisle begin listening to that which they have heretofore choose to tune out.

Via: Memeorandum