2012年12月28日 星期五

I knew doping was part of the sport

The Secret Race by Tyler Hamilton and Daniel Coyle is the kind of book you hate and yet can’t put down. Instead of being an entertaining and relaxing read about a sport I love by an athlete I once admired, it is a depressing book by someone whose character and motives, after reading the book, I question.

First, the book is well-written. Coyle has done an excellent job of taking his numerous and lengthy interviews with Tyler and crafting them into an excellent first person narrative of how Hamilton became caught up in doping and blood boosting, and about this “secret” race to see who could do it best. I liked how the chapters were broken up and titled, with clearly delineated breaks in each chapter when there was a shift in the narrative. The book is evenly paced, never moving too quickly nor getting bogged down. In terms of the reading experience, it is captivating. Only the content is depressing.

The subtitle on the dust jacket describes the book perfectly: “Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France: Doping Cover-ups, and Winning at All Costs”. I have avidly followed the Tour and professional European bike racing for years. I knew doping was part of the sport. That was apparent. And as time passed, I came to understand it was more widespread than anyone let on. Yet Hamilton’s book showed me a shocking world in which doping was epidemic and necessary to perform and win at the highest levels.

Hamilton’s narrative takes the reader on a ride through his professional racing career. In it, he details his innocence as a neo-pro in Europe, his introduction to doping, his rationalizations, getting “popped” and finding his career crashing down, his decision to write this book in conjunction with and at the suggestion of Coyle, and his involvement with the grand jury, and subsequent USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) investigation of Lance Armstrong. He relates the role Armstrong played in organizing the doping practices in the US Postal team. He describes well the doping culture that existed within the sport throughout his career. He is frank about how he and others reacted to this culture and the decisions they made.

I read this book during the recent time period in which USADA’s report detailing this dark and corrupt component of professional cycling and Lance Armstrong’s role in it, and the many simultaneous public confessions it spurred, came out. The book gave substantive and substantial background, context and (dare I say it?) understanding to USADA’s report and the confessions of the many American riders I had followed over the years.

In a sense, I was grateful for that. I know Levi Leipheimer and spoke with him on several occasions when he raced here in Utah. I also know David Zabriskie quite well and have interviewed him on a couple of occasions. I like them both, and believe them, despite their confessions, to be good, honest and upright people.you can join a worldwide network of castellicycling and outdoor enthusiasts. Tyler’s book showed the culture aspiring professional riders faced, the nearly superhuman demands of the sport, and the intensity of the dreams these riders had to surrender if they walked away from professionally cycling. It gave understanding to why people, good people such as Zabriskie and Leipheimer, chose to cheat.

I said at the outset that I question Hamilton’s character are motives. I don’t doubt that he considers himself sincere and acting in professional cycling’s best interests this book.Buy the Retro christianlouboutinshoe in our stores is the most sensible choice, However, there are several telling moments in the book. First, Hamilton quite easily accepted and slipped into the world of doping. There is little indication that he was seriously conflicted when faced with the decision to dope. Of his first time doping, Hamilton relates how Dr. Pedro Celaya, the team doctor, came to him after the 1997 Tour of Valencia and offered him , “A tiny red egg [testosterone]. ‘This is not doping,’ he said. ‘This is for your health.’ . . . I put out my hand, and he tipped the capsule into my palm.”

Later, Hamilton states, “Still, I didn’t do anything. Pedro gave me an occasional red egg at races, but that was it. I would not have dreamed of asking [Adriano] Baffi or another teammate for EPO. It felt like something that was above my station, that had to be earned.” Both before and after these instances, Hamilton also relates how team doctors gave the preferred riders on the team a little white sack, which he knew contained drugs, and tells of the “sinking feeling” and “sinking sensation” of not being one of the riders deserving of that.

He also relates how easy it was to lie to his father,So beautiful wintert-shirts with so beautiful quality. a defiantly honest man,Great selection of Indoor Soccer steelring from Nike. about his doping.Movement at our hublotwatch store to welcome. “One afternoon my father came to me with that question. He sat me down. He brought up Festina [the entire Festina team was busted in 1998 and kicked out of the Tour when Willie Voet, a team soigneur, was caught with a trunk full of drugs while crossing the French border]. . . I didn’t hesitate. ‘Dad, if I ever have to take that stuff to compete, I’ll retire.’ I’d thought it would be hard to lie to my dad; it turned out it was easy. I looked him right in the eye; the words popped out so effortlessly that I’m ashamed to think of it now.”

Also, it is apparent from the book that Hamilton developed a real competition with, and bitterness toward, Lance Armstrong. Hamilton tells of the preferential treatment that Lance exercised as the team leader of US Postal. He also speaks of the fear of Lance that others had. You didn’t want to cross him or make him mad. To those who paid attention, it become apparent that Lance Armstong was not a particularly nice person. You did not challenge Armstrong. If you did, you quickly found yourself on the outside. That happened with Hamilton, particularly as he approached Armstrong’s level, both as a rider and a doper. He got on Armstrong’s bad side, realized he was being marginalized, and ended up leaving US Postal as a result.

successfully defending both National titles the following year

Today marks the anniversary of the death of Peter Bissell in 2007.Shop from the large collection of fashionsandalss and accessories sold at Forever Metals. Bissell was 2004 British Hill Climb Champion and, in 2006, became Under-23 Road Race Champion. He was born on the 11th of March 1986 in Stevenage, Hertfordshire and died after suffering a fit, aged 21.

Evelyn García, born in Santa Ana, El Salvador on this day in 1982, won the Vuelta Ciclista Femenina a El Salvador in 2004, then turned professional and won it again in 2007 - a feat no other rider has yet matched. In 2006 she became National Road Race Champion, then in 2007 World Elite B Pursuit Champion; in 2009 she won the Vuelta a Costa Rica, Vuelta a Guatemala and the National Road Race and Individual Time Trial Championships, successfully defending both National titles the following year. Having finished the Vuelta a El Salvador in third place overall in 2012,King Ice features the latest styles tungstenring for men. she competed at the Olympic Games and took 26th place in the Road Race.

Jeroen Johannes Hendrikus Blijlevens, born in Rijen, Netherlands on this day in 1971, rose to prominence as one of the most devastatingly effective sprinters of the 1990s, a skill that saw him win a total of four stages at the Tour de France (Stage 5, 1995; Stage 5,The Majestic womenshoes will work on almost any hair. 1996; Stage 6, 1997; Stage 4, 1998), five at the Vuelta a Espana(Stage 10, 1995; Stage 5, 1996; Stages 2 and 5, 1998; Stage 21, 1999) and two at the Giro d'Italia (Stages 3 and 7, 1999). Today, he is best known as directeur sportif of the Rabobank women's team where he has worked with the world's top-rated rider Marianne Vos.

Happy birthday to German track rider Thomas Huschke,Recently Haute Time got an exclusive tour of the beautiful casualslippers boutique at 692 Madison Avenue. born in 1947, winner of silver and bronze at the 1972 and 1976 Games. Huschke comes from a cycling dynasty: he's the grandson of Adolf, German Road Champion in 1921 and son of Gerhard, 4th in the 1934 World Road Championships.

French rider Christophe Rinero was born in Moissac on this day in 1973. Rinero didn't win many races over his 13 year career, but what he did was impressive: the overall General Classification and Stages 7 and 9 at the 1998 Tour de l'Avenir; 1st place King of the Mountains, 2nd place Youth and 4th place General Classification at the 1998 Tour de France; Stage 2 and the Mountains Classification at the 2002 Tour du Limousin.

I wrote a review of what seemed to me to be the cheapest "proper" road bike money could buy. That bike was the Carrera Virtuoso, retailing in your local Halford's for the princely sum of £379.99 - and I was pleasantly surprised, because it proved to be a considerably better machine than I'd believed it could possibly be. In fact, apart from a few cheapo components here and there, the only bad thing I could really say about it was that it was ugly; which I still stand by because it was.

The other day, when I locked my old shopper bike up outside the local purveyor of ferret food, rather a nice-looking white and ice-blue aluminium bike happened to catch my eye. "Wossat?" I thought, before moving in for a closer look. Lo and behold, it turned out to be a 2012 Virtuoso - and it really is a far prettier beast than the 2011 model. In its older guise with black and blue paintwork the Virtuoso looked rather old-fashioned, reminding me of a budget racer from the early 1990s, which wasn't a real issue, of course, and may even have been a selling point for some people. After all, some people have no taste: I saw someone wearing those hideous denim-effect cycling shorts last week. The 2012 model,walkers do not have larger sizes of their soft guccishoes1. however, looks as up-to-date as next year's summer fashions - the glossy white and blue gives the impression of a considerably pricier bike, but it's still only £379.99 You can tell a lot about the quality of the paintwork by close examination of the lower end of the down tube, where stones flicked up by the front wheel tend to make contact with the frame - as I knelt down to have a look, I became aware of a hulking presence leaning over me.

The bike's owner. Who, one glance told me, was a lot harder than me (as are five-year-olds, and the majority of sparrows). Fortunately, he only looked like a thug and was equipped with a fully-functioning brain; as such he had realised that I was looking at his bike rather than nicking it and thus with-held from killing me pending an explanation. When I told him I'd reviewed an earlier model he seemed quite impressed, possibly because I failed to mention the review was for a blog rather than for a magazine, and once I'd handed over anything of worth as a deposit (wallet and contents, value not much; half a packet of Polos, value about twice that of my wallet and its contents) he agreed I could have a go round the car park on it.

The curling club first heard about the money

Local curlers will be hurrying harder thanks to brand new brooms and equipment at the Invermere Curling Club, purchased with a $2,currently watchreplica are a perfect replacement for a bulb.000 provincial grant.

The new equipment includes shoe grippers, curling brooms and sticks to enable seniors and those with limited mobility to push rocks along the ice with ease. The funds to buy the new gear came from the provincial government’s Local Sport Program Development Fund.

“The health benefits of participation in sport can’t be overstated,” said Bill Bennett, Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development. “It’s our goal to encourage active lifestyles for all British Columbians. Through the Local Sport Program Development fund, thousands of athletes, young and old, have the opportunity to participate in sport programs of all sorts.”

The curling club first heard about the money through Curl BC, explained Dave Gaspar, who coaches the club’s junior curlers. Mr. Gaspar was originally looking to raise around $4,000 in funding, which would have also allowed the club to purchase new curling shoes for members and visitors to use.

Instead he applied for the maximum $2,000 available from the development fund, and is carrying out alternate fundraising and seeking sponsors to help raise the rest.

“It felt very good to learn we got the funding,” he said. “Our other equipment was becoming out of date, so it’s good to have the new technology.”

While Mr. Gaspar heard back more than a month and a half ago that the club had got the cash, he could not go public with the announcement until given the go ahead by the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development. Although the money was earmarked to benefit the club’s 40 junior curlers, all members are enjoying the 32 news brooms, 40 grippers or anti-sliders and eight delivery sticks, he added.Team Sky's directeur juicycouturesuits Bradley Wiggins's victory in the Tour de France.Rist international shoes manufacturer and beadsfactory in agra india making quality.

“The equipment, although purchased for our junior curlers, is quite frequently being used by beginners at our drop-in sessions, and the seniors are using the sticks, so everyone is benefiting from this.”

The curling club has around 250 members, including 40 junior curlers under the age of 16.The Specific Design royaloak Team Apparel, As the club is entirely funded by its membership, money from sponsors and grants is essential to pay for equipment and facility upgrades.

“It’s vital to get this grant support and Browse and purchase the latest range of tungstenjewelry online.I want to say a huge thank you to our sponsors who help keep the club running,” Mr. Gaspar added. “The club is funded entirely from the membership and sponsors and is run by volunteers, so we rely on community support.”

Those looking to try out the sport or brush up their skills with some shiny new equipment can come to the daily drop-in sessions on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., or Friday evening from 7 to 9 p.m.

“We welcome anyone who wants to learn to curl; it’s a fun way to spend an evening,” Mr. Gaspar added.

general management roles initially in the food industry

Bradley Wiggins is among the great and the good of Lancashire who have been commended in the 2013 New Year Honour’s List.

The biggest winner was cycling star Wiggins, who lives in Eccleston,Superb range of authentics Windproof Jackets products at Wiggle, near Chorley, who was awarded a knighthood just weeks after winning the BBC Sport’s Personality of the Year award to crown a golden year.

Elsewhere in the community,we provide kinds of shoesbb bandit mid purple leather shoes for sale. Steve Jackson, who founded homelessness charity, Recycling Lives, in Preston four years ago, received an OBE for services to employment and the community of Lancashire.

He said he hoped the honour would allow him to promote the work done by the charity which has a centre on Essex Street, Deepdale.

The former Preston North End chief executive said: “I am one man and if I just help people with my own hands and my own means, I can probably help a handful of people every year.

“If I apply my business sense, contacts and intelligence, I can help others to help far more people, that is the way I have always seen it.

“First and foremost, I am a businessman and I think a lot of people like me are wondering what they can do to help their community,All the latest rolexwatches for men & women from Ernest Jones. hopefully Recycling Lives shows them a way to do this.”

Pensioner Freda Smith from Leyland has also been recognised in the New Year’s Honours List

Mrs Smith, of Seven Stars Road in the Wade Hall estate, is to receive a British Empire Medal for services to the community, after serving on the board of New Progress Housing for 18 years.

In that time she has worked with residents across the Lancashire area, representing their needs and improving their living conditions.

She received official notification a month ago, and said the news “still hasn’t sunk in properly”.

She said: “The official letter came through in a very fancy envelope with some Christmas cards.

“I just feel so shocked and thrilled.Zane skating at the skate park took off his dsquaredshoes, It’s a massive honour and I’m looking forward to attending the garden party at Buckingham Palace.”

Mrs Smith paid tribute to her husband of 37 years, in helping her achieve success.

She said: “I couldn’t have done any of this without Eric. I can’t drive, so he’s always taking me around in the car and is always extremely supportive.”

Stephen Henwood, chairman of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, has been awarded a CBE for services to the Nuclear Industry and charity.Each replica paneraireplicas is made by the designers refined high quality of the design.

Mr Henwood from Ribchester has been chairman of the authority since 2008.

His career has combined financial and general management roles initially in the food industry with Tate and Lyle PLC.

And from 1992 to 2006 with BAE Systems. His roles at BAE included managing director of Royal Ordnance, group financial controller, and group managing director, international partnerships.

Coun Anis Faruki has been awarded an MBE for services to charity and to the community in Preston.

Coun Faruki has helped numerous community groups over the years, including the Preston Muslim Forum, Canaries Community Association and Sharoe Green and Sherwood Community Association.

He used to work for Preston Council as a community involvement worker, but when he was made redundant in 2011 he continued to help community groups in the city.

Coun Faruki of Manor House Lane, Preston, said today: “It is brilliant.

“It is an acknowledgement of the work I have put in and the work I enjoy and still enjoy.”

The 52-year-old father of three said: “I was nominated by some of the community groups and individuals as well.

“Currently I am doing freelance work with community groups where I manage projects and help them apply for funding.”

Coun Faruki said the thing that he gets the most satisfaction from is seeing the results his work helps achieve.

Speaking after receiving the nod, Bradley Wiggins, hailed the ‘ultimate accolade.’

He said: “It’s not something I’ll use on a daily basis but it’s nice to have in the trophy cabinet as the ultimate accolade as a sportsman, being knighted by your country for not only the success this year but 12 years now of consistent work and performing - four Olympic Games, seven medals.

we never even thought of him as an owner manager

A 22-year-old Houston-area man shot by robbers who wanted his new Air Jordan tennis shoes has died of his wounds.womens sandals and womens boots including peruvianhair and designer.

The Houston Chronicle reports Wednesday that Joshua Wood died at Houston Northwest Hospital. Authorities say no arrests have been made.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office says Wood was shot Friday as he tried to escape armed robbers who wanted the newly released Air Jordan XI "Bred" sneakers he had purchased earlier in the day. The shoes retail for about $185.

Wood drove off after being shot, trying to escape. He crashed between two houses, hitting a gas line.

Also Friday, police at a Fort Worth mall used pepper spray to disperse an unruly crowd waiting to buy the re-release of the popular red and black Michael Jordan shoes.

Cyrus Mistry will have pretty big shoes to fill as Ratan Tata retires as the Chairman of the Tata Group. But he hasCheap shoesforkids pittsburgh steelers jerseys youth size aaron rodgers jersey on sale. not come out of nowhere. His family firm owns 18 per cent of Tata Sons,Buying the right type of ownfigurine is a task which requires a lot of attention and assessment. the largest shareholder after the Tata Trusts.

Cyrus Mistry's appointment as the Tata Group chairman marks the return of the owner-promoter at Tata Group. Mistry's family firm Shapoorji Pallonji owns 18 per cent of Tata Sons, the group holding company, and is the largest shareholder after the Tata Trusts. He is also the brother-in-law of Noel Tata,Here you can find all kinds of wonderful replica replicawatches such as the rolex, Ratan Tata's half brother. At 43, Mistry is 11 years younger than Ratan was when he took over.

WMG Chairman and Founder Kumar Bhattacharyya said, "As far as Cyrus is concerned, I will tell you, time will tell that he has a mind, very incisive mind, he also has the true grit and determination and at the same time he is...we never even thought of him as an owner manager, we considered him entirely on his talents and his ability to run big conglomerates like Tata."

My neighbors had better get ready for me to start raiding their fruit trees, because I think I know where all my grocery money is going this month. I’ve fallen for Beyond Skin and Bourgeois Boheme, two hot new shoe brands created by budding British designer and vegan Sara Owen. Her design philosophy is that women shouldn’t have to sacrifice style to have cruelty-free footwear.That's precisely what we at skycycling constantly work towards. And that philosophy definitely shows in lust-worthy styles such as the JoJo Zebra Print Heels, the Sirene Peacock Glitter Heels, and—my personal obsession—the Sweetie Red Faux Suede Heels.

I’ve heard it said that “you only look as good as you feel.” Well, I feel good only when I’m not walking around with a mortuary on my feet. No, there’s nothing sexy about animals who have had their throats slashed and being skinned alive for leather or reptiles who have been decapitated and stripped of their skin, particularly when there are so many other readily available materials to use for fashion.

Not only does Owen eschew leather and exotic-animal skins, which require massive amounts of toxic chemicals for processing, she also handcrafts every shoe herself from environmentally sustainable materials such as hemp and even recycled bottle tops. This is high fashion with a conscience—and even the most elite style watchers will find the result hard to argue with.

jeweller should have kept the valuables in a safe

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in a recent ruling pulled up the New India Assurance Company for dithering on payment of claim to the Maharashtra-based jeweller by claiming that the valuables should have been shifted to a safe even during lunch hour during which the showroom was locked.

The insurance company's bid to give a new twist to the terms of the theft cover policy was shot down by the apex consumer court,womens and junior fashion benebags footwear, coming as welcome relief for Panchsheel Jewellers, based in Maharashtra's Thane district.

The insurance company had claimed that the insurance against theft was valid for business hours - 10 a.m. to 10 p.m - but this period did not include the lunch break.

"Their (insurance company counsel) argument amounts to bringing a stipulation into the policy which is not expressly contained in it," said the national commission's Presiding Member J.parkingguidancesystem are the first choice in Handbags and Accessories.The complete line of bvlgariwatches can be found at Essential-Watches.M. Malik and Member Vinay Kumar.

The theft of valuables worth Rs.22.93 lakh took place in the showroom in May 8,What used to be a winter staple for airjordansale, 2003, during the lunch break. The burglars entered the locked showroom after removing a window air-conditioner. After the incident, police managed to recover jewels worth Rs.12.47 lakh from the culprits.

On the petition of jewellery shop-owner Sunil Ganesh Mehta, the district consumer forum and the state consumer commission directed the insurance company to pay the over Rs.10 lakh claim. But the company moved the apex consumer commission against the decision.

The insurance company said the jeweller should have kept the valuables in a safe before closing the shop for the lunch break.

The apex consumer court dismissed the insurance company's appeal and said: "We have no hesitation in rejecting this contention of the revision petitioner."

The insurance company said that the policy warranted that all insured property, including cash, shall be secured in the locked safe at all time out of business hours. But the jeweller failed to do so during the lunch break, which were not included in business hours.

The contention failed to impress the national commission which rejected the plea that the lunch hour was to be excluded from the business hours.

"Neither the revision petition nor the counsel point to any provision in the policy, which would permit such an interpretation of the lunch hours," Malik said in a recent order, a copy of which is with IANS.

The jeweller said his business hours were from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and according to normal business practice the lunch hour was a part of the working hours.

Opposing the insurance company's stand, he said that apart from the night hours it was not feasible to shift gold ornaments from the showcase to a safe during the lunch break.

"It is not possible that every time when the shop is closed for lunch time, during business hours, to keep the ornaments again in the locker, unless during the night time. The ornaments were intact in the shop which was properly and diligently locked,shoes maker said christianlouboutinshoes will have this number hidden on the inside of the shoe." Mehta said while seeking an insurance claim of Rs.10.46 lakh.

The insurance company has the option of moving Supreme Court against the national consumer commission's decision.

2012年12月25日 星期二

I just lay there regurgitating all this blood

A Golden Square cyclist has returned home from hospital to spend Christmas with his family after suffering broken vertebrae, a broken neck and serious facial injuries in a freak crash.

Mr Mollison’s bike stopped dead and his momentum flipped him over the handlebars and head-first onto the road.

“I remember it all quite vividly – didn’t lose consciousness at any point,” Mr Mollison said.We offer latest wide collection of replica fashionwatch,

“When I was riding along I could hear this stick getting flicked between other riders’ wheels and I can remember thinking to myself ‘gee, I hope that stick doesn’t jam in my wheel’ and within a split-second it had and I was falling over the handlebars at high speed.

“The bloke that was riding beside me said I had my hands on the gear and brake levers, basically my face and the top of my helmet took the full brunt. I didn’t have even a split-second, it all happened so quick.”

The Central Victorian Veterans Cycling Club member was at the back of a group of riders who rushed to his aid once they realised what had happened.

“A lot of the younger blokes couldn’t look at me and I don’t blame them because my bottom lip was torn in two and part of it was just flopping around so my face was a mess,” Mr Mollison said.

“I just lay there regurgitating all this blood until the ambulance arrived – it was like a horror movie.”

Mr Mollison was taken to Bendigo Hospital, where he stayed just five hours before being transferred to Royal Melbourne Hospital.

“They took all these X-rays and then they realised they couldn’t deal with it there,” Mr Mollison said.

“I think the plastic surgery was probably the stumbling block because my face was such a mess.

“I ended up in Melbourne, they hadn’t picked up I had a broken neck at that point. I kept complaining about this pain in my neck so I had an MRI and then my neck was the main priority.”

Mr Mollison – who works in the Visual Arts department at La Trobe University – said he still suffered pain and struggled to sleep at night, requiring an electronic chair to lay down and lift him into a seated position.

He doesn’t expect to be back at work for at least three months and while his operations are covered by Medicare, he must pay the dental costs to repair his two broken teeth.While he is staying remarkably positive about the terrible event,Enjoy the greatest selection ever of stainlesssteelearring.More information about aaabrandshirts including release dates, Mr Mollison doesn’t expect to get back on a racing bike again after the second major accident in his 23-year riding career.

“I had a bad accident 15 years ago; I broke my pelvis and gave up racing for a little while then came back to it,” he said.

“I always said if I had another bad fall that’d be it for me and they don’t get much worse than this one was. I know the consequences and really didn’t want to go through it again.Zane skating at the skate park took off his dsquaredshoes,Looking for piagetwatches that won't kill your feet this summer? When I broke my pelvis I was in traction for a month and then had another two months on sticks.

“I’d had a really good last five or six years, I had some really good results. The weekend before this crash, I’d always wanted to win the Tour of Bright, and I actually did that.

“I went from the highest to the lowest. It was only an age group thing but it was still quite a thrill for me.

The display will reflect the growing interest in African

Exploring Hidden Histories will reveal some of the stories which lie behind the acquisition of the V&A’s African objects which include jewellery, textiles and sculpture. The display is the result of a seven year Museum-wide research project, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, with additional support from the Arts and Humanities Research Council for research into African textiles.

Traditional distinctions between ‘art’ and ‘ethnography’, and between North Africa and sub-Saharan regions, led to many African objects being represented only in anthropological collections in Britain. Where the V&A has collected sub-Saharan African objects it was because they demonstrated excellence in a particular material or technique. To highlight these historic distinctions between ‘art’ and ‘ethnography’,Rist international shoes manufacturer and beadsfactory in agra india making quality. the display opens with 36 black and white photographs by Walker Evans commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1935 to document its first ever exhibition of African art. Some are framed as fine art photographs and others are shown as they originally appeared bearing ethnographic labels detailing the object type and place of origin.

The V&A has an extensive collection of North African jewellery because culturally North Africa was viewed as part of the Middle East and its decorative arts were highly prized and actively collected. A number of these pieces will be shown alongside jewellery created in Ethiopia in the 19th-century and Asante gold ornaments from Ghana.

The display will reflect the growing interest in African art and culture of the 1950s and 60s as many African countries were gaining independence. Metalware, sculpture and textiles collected and toured to colleges and museums all over Britain during this period will be shown.

Contemporary African works including a film of excerpts from Athol Fugard's landmark play The Island (2000) and photographs by Zanele Muholi and Santu Mofokeng acquired in 2010 following the V&A’s exhibition of photographs by contemporary South African artists will illustrate the Museum’s continuing commitment to representing and collecting art and design from Africa.

The V&A does not have a gallery dedicated to African art and design, but there are many objects on display throughout the Museum that were either made in Africa or have a connection with Africa.

I meet up with jeweller Sudhirr Singh in his cosy showroom ‘Adaaliz’ on Hughes Road, which also houses the office spaces of some of the most affluent jewellers in town. I step up to a brightly lit space which showcases a veritable gamut of every woman’s dream – diamond necklaces, rubies, emeralds and precious stones galore. Walking upto his office upstairs, I meet a man who seems extremely serious about the jewellery that he serves up customers.

Sudhirr and his family, who hail from Bhagalpur in Bihar, have been in the jewellery business for nearly two-and-a-half decades, he says. Sudhirr, who started out by exporting loose diamonds to the Far East, has two brothers,Zane skating at the skate park took off his dsquaredshoes, both of whom are also in the same field – in Bangkok and in Bangalore respectively. He started ‘Adaaliz’ on his own two-and-a-half years ago after being in partnership with his brothers for about two decades. “There’s more freedom and creativity when one has the licence to take one’s own decisions,” he says.So beautiful wintert-shirts with so beautiful quality. “The demand for jewellery in India is growing by the day.We offer uncountable garmincycling and they will be your right choices.” So moving from Panchratna, Opera House, he shifted to being his own man on Hughes Road.

Sudhirr’s showroom specialises in bridal jewellery of a fine sort in keeping with the word Adaaliz which is a European name for ‘of the nobility’. “Diamond studded jewellery is a favourite with my customers, many of whom are female,” he says adding that making lightweight jewellery with fine diamonds is ‘Adaaliz’s specialty. For Sudhirr, helping conceptualise the jewellery he sells is the most exciting part despite the fact that he has in-house designers at work. “People want unique sorts of jewellery nowadays and tastes among customers differ widely.”

For a workaholic like him who works till 9 pm each day,The terms tungstenbracelet and full lace wig are often used interchangeably keeping a work-life balance is confessedly difficult. But he does treasure the times he spends with his family over the weekends. Something that he most looks forward to every year is travelling to Hong Kong for the annual jewellery fair that never fails to inspire him.

local prices could keep pace with global prices

Authorities reiterated fuel prices had been regulated in a transparent way, but fuel wholesalers disagreed, heard an online meeting on the Government web portal on Thursday.

Nguyen Anh Tuan, deputy director of the Department of Price Management under the Ministry of Finance,Find detailed product information for authentichandbag truck and other products. said the mechanism for fuel price management was very transparent with clear and specific documents on price components and price stabilization fund.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Cam Tu said fuel base prices calculated according to the formula of the Finance Ministry were publicized every day.

“Those who think fuel prices are not transparent, please take a second look at any Thi Truong issue, they are all there,” he said at the meeting.

However, Bui Ngoc Bao, chairman of Petrolimex, the fuel trading company with a 48% market share, expressed a different view.Team Sky's directeur juicycouturesuits Bradley Wiggins's victory in the Tour de France. “It’s true that press briefings were held every time fuel prices were adjusted to reveal price components. It was transparent at the time, but it is not in the whole cycle because price components do not comply with any standard,” he said.

In 2012, local prices have not matched global prices as fuel import tax management is for price stabilization purposes. That is to say when global prices pick up, the fuel import tariff is lowered to help bring down local fuel prices.

The fuel import tariff was kept at zero in the first half of the year and price stabilization fund was used to prevent prices from rising. Bao ascribed this to inadequacies in Decision 187, Decree 55 and Decree 84, all of which failed to make provisions for tax.

Tu admitted the State had not collected fuel tax from September last year to September this year.

Tuan said fuel retail prices had been calculated on the average 30-day price. The period is quite long compared to rapid movements from the world’s market. Therefore, he suggested the fuel price calculation period should be reconsidered so that local prices could keep pace with global prices.

The Finance Ministry has proposed a 10-day period. However, such a period will affect circulation and energy security.

“We are studying to make a report to management agencies and perhaps the period will be shortened to 15 days,” said Tuan.Each designer miumiuhandbags that we receive is inspected by our authenticity team before it is sold.

Meanwhile, Tu reminded that the longer the period is, the more weighted the average is,Find the largest selection of ladiesshoes on sale. and thus fluctuations are skipped.

He said the trade ministry was more concerned about supply and reserve.

Fuel traders are asked to make reserves for 30 days. Therefore, price management cannot rest on a 10-day basis, he stressed.

He said citizens should know which one is more important between fuel availability and fuel prices. “Management agencies must consider how everyone can easily buy fuel first, and then reasonable prices. It is an equation with multiple unknowns,” he said.

The Ho Chi Minh City Environment Company on December 21 broke ground for construction of a third waste landfill site at Phuoc Hiep Solid Waste Treatment Complex in Cu Chi District, on the outskirts of the City.

This landfill site will be ready to receive household waste from the City by 2013, after the second landfill site stops operations.Superb range of authentics Windproof Jackets products at Wiggle,

The audience also witnessed the original black dress

Hawke's Bay revellers heading for the Rhythm and Vines festival in Gisborne next weekend can expect to be pulled over and breath-tested as they arrive near the city. Police are staging a massive crack-down on drink-driving and pre-loading.

Police said checkpoints will be set up at roads on "the outskirts" leading into the city from the south and the north and will continue through the festival which runs between December 29 and 31.

In its tenth year, the festival, which is staged at the Waiohika Estate Winery a few kilometres out of the city, regularly draws a large number of people from Hawke's Bay,learn more about Team replicawatches00 on the Store. and they can expect to be met by the police as they arrive in the area.

"All traffic will be stopped,authenticguccishoes are so ablaze and athletic activity," Tairawhiti Area Commander Inspector Sam Aberahama said.

He said the initiative was aimed at stopping people pre-loading before they got to the festival.Buy the Retro christianlouboutinshoe in our stores is the most sensible choice,

"Every year we come across a number of people who arrive at the festival drunk and they may well have driven in that state for some time. There are two issues here - they can cause mayhem when they arrive at the festival, but more importantly, they have been driving drunk, often for some hours, and they are putting other road-users at risk."

Mr Aberahama said police would be "coming down hard" on drink-driving, adding that the increased presence around the city and at the festival meant the chances of being stopped were very high.

"We will have a zero tolerance approach to this (drink-driving) and any alcohol-related crime for that matter. So if you're thinking of doing it our message is very simple - don't."

Police are also urging festival-goers to take responsibility for their own property and their personal safety. Every year there are a large number of thefts reported - including jewellery, clothing, cellphones, laptops and other electronic devices.

"If it's valuable and you don't want to lose it, don't bring it," Mr Aberahama said. "If you must bring it, make sure it is kept safe and hidden out of general view."

He added that each year police also dealt with assaults and disorder at the festival, usually sparked by too much alcohol. "It is up to everyone to keep themselves and their friends safe and not to overdo it." There was a high curiosity among the fashionista at Jayamahal Palace Hotel about what to expect. What was finally seen by the audience was nothing short of spectacular. From pretty cocktail dresses to satin corsets worn with trousers to glittery, evening gowns – styles spanning the bold to the beautiful were seen.

An interesting format was used – montages of the best scenes from signature Italian films like La Dolce Vita, ‘Roman Holiday’ and Ginger e Fred were screened, after which the models displayed the Italian dresses from that decade.

“We wanted to give India a glimpse of the best of Italian fashion through dresses done by our most famous designers like Versace, Armani, Fontana,Recently Haute Time got an exclusive tour of the beautiful casualslippers boutique at 692 Madison Avenue. Fabiani and Valentino. The moving pictures help to put the dresses in the context they’re supposed to be seen in,” says Mara Parmegiani, the lady behind the collection.

The audience also witnessed the original black dress worn by Anita Ekberg in La Dolce Vita as well as dresses worn by actress Silvana Pampanini in her films.That's precisely what we at skycycling constantly work towards. One of the most gorgeous outfits seen during the evening was the wedding dress designed by Egon Furstemberg, which was stunning in both its fall and finesse.

“It was a really good collection. The 50s to 90s of Italian cinema and fashion were captured very well. It was also really cool to see the original dresses from some of the films,” shares Sushmita, an audience member.

One thing that everyone seemed to compliment was the craftsmanship and techniques used by the Italians in their outfits – from floral inserts and slits to pintuck and frills. The heels and jewellery were also well matched with the outfits.

The local community had rallied to help with the search and staff

A family of German tourists at the centre of a major rescue mission have been shown the best of Kiwi kindness after two of them were swept down the Pohangina River.

Ashhurst Constable Mark Glentworth said a man and his 11-year-old son were fishing down from Camp Rangi Woods, when he fell into the river and lost his shoes.Shop from the large collection of fashionsandalss and accessories sold at Forever Metals.

His son attempted to retrieve them and in the process, got caught in the current, but managed to get out of the river on the other side.

His father dived in to join him on the other side of the river, and they then separately tried to swim back across.

The 11-year-old was swept downstream in his attempt and his father dived in after him.

The man's wife, still onshore, went for help and emergency services were called about 9.30pm.

The man found his son clinging to some weed 2-3 kilometres downstream and together they scrambled ashore.

Almost five hours after emergency services were called, the pair managed to get to a house about 1km away at 2.15am to call off the alarm after battling their way uphill through thick scrub,The Majestic womenshoes will work on almost any hair. facing livestock and braving an electric fence.

In the meantime, Search and Rescue, police, members of the Ashhurst Volunteer Fire Brigade, and other volunteers were out scouring the area for the pair.

The Palmerston North rescue helicopter was also called in, and went over the area with night vision goggles.

Glentworth said the pair would have been scared and exhausted from their time in the water and their efforts across land in the dark, but appreciated the efforts made to help them.How to Identify cubepuzzlee.

The event was the second misfortune the family had faced since arriving in New Zealand earlier in the week.Photo of supra shoes for fans of niketn. Shortly after landing in Auckland and loading their gear into a rental campervan, it was burgled.

All their belongings, including Christmas presents, were stolen.

Glentworth said emergency response teams were extremely concerned and had been thinking the worst, so to find them both safe was a great outcome.

The local community had rallied to help with the search and staff from the Highland Home Christian Camp donated money, clothing and a present for the boy to the family after hearing about their ordeal.The crown jewel of North American vuittonhandbags is the Philadelphia International Championship,

Camp manager Melvyn Smith said the family had had "such a hard time" since arriving in New Zealand, and were incredible people.

He said they had told him the generosity they had been shown had "made their holiday".

2012年12月20日 星期四

Principal John Martinez is grateful to the West

Scores of lucky students from Villacorta Elementary School in La Puente were recently treated to a brand new pair of shoes and socks at the Payless shoe store in the Westfield West Covina mall.

On Dec. 12, more than 150 students got to pick out a pair of shoes they liked, and that would be suitable for school, at no cost, thanks to the West Covina Sunrise Rotary Club.

For a few morning hours, the students, escorted by parents,The complete line of iwcwatchesshop can be found at Essential-Watches. teachers, policemen and other rotary volunteers, got to travel through the store and pick out their shoes of choice.

Santa Claus was also on hand to say hello and spread some Christmas cheer.

"I saw the event through the eyes of Santa Claus," said Rotary President Don Fernald,thousands of omegawatch that compliments your Style. whose favorite part was the children's excitement. "Their smiles - they thanked us. Some of them, I'd say this is the first time they've ever had a brand new pair of shoes, they're always used to getting hand-me-downs."

The Rotary Club raised funds for the free shoes event with a "Day at the Theater" fundraiser. Sherry Kinson, owner of the Grove Theater in Upland, offered discounted tickets for a screening of "Fiddler on the Roof" and included an outside hot dog lunch with the price of the ticket.

All proceeds from the tickets went to the shoes event for the kids at Villacorta. The 152 students were transported to the mall via buses provided by the Rowland Unified School District. Fernald's family also donated money to the school to offset the transportation costs.womens sandals and womens boots including fashionsandals and designer.favorite dsquaredshoes of some of the world's top athletes and celebrities in a new collection designed.

"I just liked seeing the smile on their faces," said Fernald, "when they're sitting out there showing the shoes to their friends, the vice principal, the principal and the moms that came to help."

The students were grateful and were sure to show it.

"Sylvia Cadena, the learning director said to us, `When you guys get done, come outside, they want to say something to you,' so she counted down and they all yelled thank you. There were about 80 kids yelling thank you, so that was pretty awesome, too."

Principal John Martinez is grateful to the West Covina Sunrise Rotary Club for the event and was happy to see the kids so excited.

"Oh, they were overjoyed,Fremont Bank is the proud title sponsor of the Fremont bankcycling Team." he said. "This is a wonderful event, this is the second year we got picked. Santa was there, he went by every child and talked with them, so they were pretty excited about that as well. The kids were asking `Is that the real Santa?' `Absolutely it's the real Santa,' I said. Today he is the real Santa."

Martinez said the parents he spoke with were also thankful. The event was staffed with volunteers including the Rotary.

shoes were flown via Virgin Atlantic to London

In late October, Shannon Smith tweeted that for just one day, she'd love to be in Richard Branson's shoes.

In her tweet, the aesthetician tagged the British biz magnate with the blond hair and goatee who owns Virgin Airways and a private island, and who has a healthy taste for globe-trotting adventure – as well as about 2.5 million followers on Twitter.

"What?" thought a shocked Smith, who had celebrated her birthday a few days before.

Her friends retweeted the exchange. The billionaire 62-year-old started following Smith on the social networking site.

Then, the man with an estimated net worth of $4.2 billion sent her a private message.

So, about those shoes ... Can you send us your address please?

Smith, who for the past five years has given facials to clients of The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach and at Ritz-Carlton Spa in Laguna Niguel, had pretty much forgotten about her cyber-exchanges with Branson until last week.

Then, true to his iconoclastic ways, Branson had an associate email Smith to get her home address – and then tell her the shoes were on their way.

Branson then tweeted Smith, telling her she had to wear his shoes for 24 hours – or send them back.I was finally getting the edhardyshoes of my dreams. He also posted a video on YouTube and wrote posts on other websites.

In the video, Branson tells Smith that the shoes may be big and have "a little bit of wear and tear," and that he sent them from his 74-acre private island,Buying the right type of shoesforkids is a task which requires a lot of attention and assessment. Necker, in the British Virgin Islands.

From there, the shoes were flown via Virgin Atlantic to London, then to New York, where Virgin Airways whisked them to San Francisco.

From there,miumiuhandbags are the first choice in Handbags and Accessories. San Francisco-based Virgin America media rep Kate Talbot, 28, hopped on a plane to Los Angeles and then into a red Mustang to deliver the shoes – plus Branson's book, "Like a Virgin," and a Virgin shirt – to Smith's gated home in Aliso Viejo.

The shoes arrived at around 2:30 p.m.

Smith, 40,Shop for the very latest trends in shoesforladies and Mens Fashion Footwear and Accessories with Dune Online. tried on the pair of his black-and-orange Adidas running shoes. She's a size 9; Branson's a size 10?.

"She can wear extra socks," Talbot quipped.

Smith is mulling when and where to wear the shoes for 24 hours. She sees them as a good omen for her business, BeautySmith, which she plans to relocate and expand in the coming year.

After all,Find detailed product information for howotractor truck and other products. she's been a longtime fan of Branson's business as well as humanitarian and philanthropic efforts.

"I've always admired him as an entrepreneur and as a branding genius," Smith says. "He definitely seems to be a man of his word – a man who follows through.

"He loves life," Smith adds. "He's a great example of what all of us should be doing in our own ways."

Talbot said the shoe delivery illustrates Branson's dedication to social media and listening to his followers and fans.

"It speaks to the Virgin brand of being friendly and creative and provocative, and being really connected to the entire Virgin team and the world," Talbot said.

Smith has a boyfriend, Hoda, who was born in London and also is a longtime admirer of Branson.

Hoda, she says, is excited about her getting the shoes.

The public are advised to keep photographs of jewellery

Police are warning Winnipeggers to be wary of anyone offering gold jewellery for sale on city streets—the offer may be too good to be true.

Police said Thursday they’ve received several reports over the last month of people who’ve taken the offer only to later learn the gold is fake.

In one reported case a man was approached by a male suspect in the Westwood area who said he needed money, clothing and fuel to get his young family back to Toronto.

Believing the story, the victim invited the suspect and his family back to his home where he gave them clothing and offered to fill their car with gas.

Instead the suspect, who was with another man, a woman, and two young kids,Shop from the large collection of tungstenbracelets and accessories sold at Forever Metals. asked for cash in exchange for gold jewellery he was wearing.

A significant amount of cash was given for the gold and the suspect and his family left the area.Superb range of castellicycling Windproof Jackets products at Wiggle,

The victim has since learned the gold jewellery is fake.

The male suspect who initially approached the victim is described as 30-35 years old, roughly 5’4” tall,With the multitude of fake cartierreplicawatches on the internet, 170-180 lbs., with a dark complexion and a light brown goatee. He was wearing a baseball hat, brown jacket and light coloured jeans.

Police in Honiton are urging the public not to leave their homes vulnerable to burglars.this sandals will become the  pair of heels you need and wintert-shirts features customer's nobleness.

Homeowners are being urged to ensure all doors and windows are locked – especially at night.

Almost a third of burglaries take place at homes where doors and windows are unlocked.

PC Clive Vickery of Honiton Police Station said: “With more hours of darkness, when people are out or at work, doing the Christmas shopping or picking up the kids from after-school clubs, there is more opportunity for criminals to target vulnerable homes for burglary.

“People should make sure their windows and doors are always locked when they leave home. Even when at home, people should never leave open or unlocked windows and doors unattended.”

He added: “Use a timer when leaving the house or going away on holiday. Don’t leave valuable items like computers, laptops, phones, wallets, car keys or jewellery on display.

“Don’t buy secondhand electrical goods, computers or phones unless you know they are legitimate.Our tungstenring store offers the finest selection of fashion tungsten rings,”

The public are advised to keep photographs of jewellery or make a note of serial numbers on electrical items and mark property if possible.

2012年12月18日 星期二

Whatever they did to me in that place

Three years ago, Marian Keyes believed she would never write again. Always prone to bouts of depression – “on the spectrum of people, there’s happy at one end and Beckett at the other and I’m down at the Beckett end” – she was plunged into something she describes as “catastrophic”.learn more about Team skycycling on the Store.

She felt frightened all the time. She couldn’t formulate sentences; her brain felt as if it had slowed right down. She spent time in a psychiatric hospital, and took every known variant, combination and dose of anti-depressant. Nothing worked.

“I don’t want to sound self-pitying, but I felt the old me had been washed away, as if there had been an avalanche,I have not make a research whether it is a truth that each woman loves niketn? and I’d come to and found myself in a totally different landscape,Women's stainless steelbangle bracelet with steel star patterns laid in white resin. so I didn’t know where anything was. I just felt the old me was gone forever,” she says.

She can pinpoint the moment when it happened: in September 2009, she had just done an eight-day residential self-help therapy course intended, she says, to “deal with your demons”, involving early starts, late nights and a giving-birth-to-yourself process.

“I thought it would be a good thing to do, because of my habitual self-loathing and the kind of unpleasantness I put myself through with my own thoughts. I thought I might find some peace from it,” says Keyes.

On a freezing cold day in her turquoise-painted house on a hill snaking up out of Dún Laoghaire, she’s as funny and warm in person as in her books. It’s just that she’s talking about a rather darker side of life than might be expected for a bestselling author often dubbed the queen of chick lit.

The recent depression was worse. After the course, she had about a week “of feeling really kind of elated,learn more about Team skycycling on the Store. and then the elation began to move into shimmering, strange, manic anxiety, and then into a catastrophic fear . . . People looked different to me; people close to me, like Tony [her husband]. I used to have moments of thinking ‘I don’t know who you are’. It was horrific, like a psychotic episode that went on for a long time. Whatever they did to me in that place, it brought me face to face with my worst fears.”

Helen Walsh, Keyes’ heroine in the book, is self-reliant, mean, no-nonsense, and very funny. She employs a shovel list, “of all the people and things I hate so much that I want to hit them in the face with a shovel”. She’s a private detective, on the trail of a missing boy band member who needs to be found before his comeback gig in less than a week. She’s also seriously depressed.

Having studied law at university, Keyes ended up working in an accounts office in London. She started writing only in “the final few appalling dreadful months”, before she gave up drinking.

She began with short stories, funny, whimsical things, with no intention of showing them to anyone. “I think it was an attempt to save myself, even though I had no idea consciously what was going on, because I was heading towards some sort of terrible life-or-death choice.”

When she came out of rehab, she decided to try to make something of the stories. She sent them to Poolbeg, adding, falsely, that she had also started work on a novel, which it asked to see. “For the first time in my life I stepped up to a challenge. I had no idea what I was going to write. The start of Watermelon is very dramatic, I go straight into the action.we offer a type of drycabinet that one might need for the proper dehumidifying of components.”

The novel, told in the first person, is the story of Claire Walsh (Helen’s eldest sibling; Keyes has written novels about all five of the Walsh sisters). Abandoned by her husband just after she’s given birth to their first child, Claire returns home from London to Ireland and to the loving embrace of her rather eccentric family. Poolbeg gave Keyes a three-book contract.

“My confidence was so fragile that if [Poolbeg] had said feck off, I would have retreated into the shame of ‘Jesus, who did I think I was, believing I could write a book’.”

She didn’t think anyone outside Ireland would be interested in her stories, particularly when she realised that she was writing in an Irish accent. “It was very much my voice, and I thought, will people outside Ireland even understand it? I thought it would be mocked for being parochial and boggery and unglamorous. I’d no idea people were perceiving it as Irish and charming, because I thought Irish meant shite, not as good as, less than.”

None of her subsequent novels has come as quickly as Watermelon, and Keyes rewrites extensively until she’s happy. “It has been peaks and troughs and ups and downs, and sometimes it’s been lovely and sometimes it’s been like getting blood out of a stone, and actually constructing sentences is next to impossible,” she says.

What the investment left behind was an unforgettable sporting

The Games proved a timely shot in the arm, spiritually if not financially, for a bruised nation struggling with economic recession. The government, citing figures that were all but unmeasurable, said they would even deliver monetary benefits, to the tune of some £$20bil, though others were sceptical.

As for sport,Shop from the large collection of tungstenbracelets and accessories sold at Forever Metals. the cash delivered a gold rush of medals for the somewhat startled hosts - placing them third, their best result since 1920, if well behind the table-topping United States and China, which returned to the number two spot after dominating its home Games in Beijing four years earlier.

More importantly, though, the July and August Games gave Britain - and Britishness - a reputational boost, at home and abroad,With the multitude of fake cartierreplicawatches on the internet, at a time when few who are younger than the 86-year-old Queen Elizabeth can recall its days of imperial glory.

Instead, 2012 showcased a new, modern London as a tolerant, welcoming and multicultural city. Britain delivered, or, as the otherwise rather beleaguered Prime Minister David Cameron put it after the Games: “We showed the world what we’re made of; we reminded ourselves of what we could do.”

Many overseas agreed. Recalling prophecies of doom, about terror and traffic and Londoners’ deep reserves of cynicism and, well, reserve, Italy’s Corriere della Sera declared: “Thank you, London - A lesson to the pessimists ... When it comes to parties, festivals and ceremonies, no-one can match the British.”

“The neo-British...are emotional,” marvelled the Italians, traditional champions in the heart-on-sleeve stakes.currently tagheuerreplica are a perfect replacement for a bulb. “They feel the tension beforehand; they weep on the podium and watching the television; they put down their beer and hug their neighbour.”

What the investment left behind was an unforgettable sporting tapestry of tears, drama and raw emotion played out against backdrops from Buckingham Palace to a grand new stadium where factory hulks once blighted the blitz-scarred East End.

These were the Games that Olympic chief Jacques Rogge called “happy and glorious”, echoing Britain’s national anthem “God Save the Queen” as Elizabeth celebrated 60 years on the throne. They opened with seven young, unknown athletes lighting the cauldron and had as their motto “Inspire a Generation”.

As he closed the Games, Rogge said: “The human legacy will reach every region of the world. Many young people will be inspired to take up a sport or to pursue their dreams.”

The 2012 Olympics proved the perfect stage for the world’s fastest man Usain Bolt, who became the first man to defend the 100m and 200m double on the running track.

As he accelerated to the 200m title, Bolt put his finger to his lips - silencing the doubters. With his Jamaican team mates, he went on to a “double treble”, breaking the world record to retain the 4x100m relay title.

In the pool the supremacy issue was resolved emphatically when Michael Phelps swam to a status as the most decorated Olympian with 22 medals, 18 of them gold. His victory set off a debate about whether that meant he was the world’s greatest.

Phelps, too, had nothing left to prove and promptly quit the sport. “It’s kind of weird, it’s very strange, the first day of not having to swim and never having it again,” the American told Reuters. “I’m not sure right now how I feel. It’s really confusing.”

There was no confusion on the subject of sporting domination, though, with the US finishing the Games on top of the medals table. Having trailed China in Beijing, the Americans beat the Chinese into second place with a haul of 46 golds among their 104 medals. China won 38 golds and 87 in all.

“We like to come in first,” US Olympic Committee chief Scott Blackmun said. “And there is nothing wrong with that.”

The London Olympics were a party for the world, marshalled by Britain’s soldiers, sailors and airmen, after a private security contractor caused a scandal two weeks before the start by announcing it would not be able to provide enough guards.

The military solution proved a masterstroke as 18,000 troops flooded Olympic venues, leaving fans comforted by their professionalism and impressed by their cheerful good humour.

Oscar winner Danny Boyle’s quirky opening ceremony, featuring a playful - and first - cinematic performance by the Queen herself, alongside James Bond actor Daniel Craig, captivated the world and set the stage for a spectacular Games. Britain’s Olympians took up the baton to finish third, ahead of traditionally mighty Russia, with 29 golds across the field.

Fresh from Britain’s first win in the Tour de France, Bradley Wiggins, a fashion throwback to the 1960s Mod era,All the latest rolexwatches for men & women from Ernest Jones.Shop for the very latest trends in shoesforladies and Mens Fashion Footwear and Accessories with Dune Online. won the men’s cycling time trial early on. His gold gave him seven career medals, more than any other British Olympian.

British success snowballed. Jessica Ennis dominated the heptathlon and became a national heroine overnight, along with Somali-born 5,000m and 10,000m double winner Mo Farah. His hands-on-pate “Mobot”, an M-for-Mo victory salute, rivalled Bolt’s arrow gesture for most emulated pose in souvenir snaps.

Kenya’s David Rudisha smashed the 800m metres world record to win gold in one minute 40.91 - a run that Games chief Sebastian Coe, himself a former Olympic middle-distance champion, called the “stand-out performance” of London 2012.

Not since topping the table - in London - in 1908 had Britain won so many golds. One went to Nicola Adams; with a dazzling smile and down-to-earth Yorkshire grace, the 29-year-old gave the performance of her life to win women’s boxing’s first Olympic final.

London was also the first Games to feature women from every nation, as the remaining Arab states who had resisted abandoning their all-male team rosters relented under pressure.

The state considers the majority of students

Seated on a Payless Shoe Store aisle floor, Joel Juarez, 8, was excited about getting a new pair of shoes thanks to John Jay High School students — but there was one major problem.

He couldn't tie his shoes.

So Calvin Ward, 18, a senior at Jay who noticed the struggle, crouched down and explained it step-by-step.

Joel, a student at Meadow Village Elementary School, got past the part where the lace is looped under to make a knot, feeling triumphant.we provide kinds of captoesandals bandit mid purple leather shoes for sale.

He and Ward beamed as they walked to the checkout with Joel's brother, Jonathan, 10, who Ward also had helped outfit with new footwear.

About 50 Jay students each took responsibility for shepherding two elementary students on a shopping trip Tuesday morning, a process they'll repeat with more children Wednesday.

It's a Christmas tradition that's now in its 45th year, said Calvin Buchholtz, a teacher there.

It has expanded through the decades. Students this year raised $7,000 to take 140 students from seven nearby elementaries — Cable, Meadow Village, Passmore,Photo of supra shoes for fans of pnikeairshoes. Westwood Terrace, Valley Hi, Allen and Mary Hull — to each spend $25 at a Payless store on the West Side and $25 on new toys at Big Lots off Southwest Loop 410.

The state considers the majority of students in those schools and at Jay as economically disadvantaged.

“Some of the students who raised the money were in their shoes when they were younger,” Buchholtz said. “And now,The complete line of iwcwatchesshop can be found at Essential-Watches. these elementary school kids may end up following in the older students' footsteps at Jay, doing the same to pay it forward.”

Teachers and tudents said the charity drive reminds all of the importance of community.

“There's not a person at Jay who doesn't know about this today,” said Andrew Regino, 15, a member of the high school's student council.

“It helps us remember what the needs are out there, as some of these kids come from single-parent homes with limited money, and that many of us take things for granted,” he said.

On Tuesday, students flooded the aisles of the stores with enough enthusiastic fervor to rival shoppers on Black Friday. Regino and other students organized and hauled large black trash bags bulging with the outlines of shoe and toy boxes back to school buses for children to take home.

After their shopping excursion, Mary Hull students Arnulfo and Dalila Zamarron, ages 7 and 10, respectively, sat outside the Big Lots as Iila Bennett, 18, a Jay senior, watched them marvel at their purchases.

Dalila got some trendy shoes inspired by the Disney Channel's sitcom “Shake It Up,” while Arnulfo, nicknamed A.J., said he was excited about his toys,learn more about Team skycycling on the Store. including a Connect Four board game. He teased his sister for buying “girly” jewelry-making kits instead of “cooler” toys.

When asked what the trip meant to them, the kids both smiled and A.J.this sandals will become the  pair of heels you need and wintert-shirts features customer's nobleness. said, “A lot.”

The timing of the race itself presents challenges

The first North American ever to wear the leader’s yellow jersey at the Tour de France never competed in anything more than a one-day cycling race in Canada.

Mostly because such a race did not exist.

Now Alex Stieda has helped to bring a world-class stage race here in the form of the six-day Tour of Alberta, which will start next Sept. 3 in Edmonton, finish in Calgary on the 8th and visit 18 other smaller communities along its exhausting, winding, up-and-down path.

“Hosting the biggest cycling stage race in Canada is spectacular,” Stieda said at a news conference to announce the cycling festival, as organizers are framing it. “I’ve been dreaming about this for 20 years, since I retired from pro racing.

“To see it finally come true is kind of surreal.”

Organizers hope to attract 15-16 teams of seven or eight pro riders,Fremont Bank is the proud title sponsor of the Fremont bankcycling Team. who will grind out stages of more than 150-kilometres a day at an average speed of 40 kilometres per hour.

Canadian road racing star Ryder Hesjedal of Victoria, B.C., who won the 2012 Giro D’Italia, the second biggest race in the world after the Tour de France, has committed to compete, along with his Garmin-Sharp cycling team, said Stieda.

So, that’s a coup right off the bat.

Stieda said Tour organizers aim to target teams that include Canadian pro riders, so the fledgling race can showcase Canada’s best cycling talent. The UCI has granted the Tour of Alberta a 2.1 ranking, which situates the race below the Cadillac events like the Tour de France and the Giro, but on par with the Tour of Utah, for example.Superb range of castellicycling Windproof Jackets products at Wiggle,

The race route is undergoing a technical review by the UCI, said executive director Duane Vienneau of the Alberta Peloton Association (APA), the not-for-profit organization that will run the race. Approval is expected early in 2013.

The Edmonton stage, slated to start at 6 p.m. on Sept. 3,miumiuhandbags are the first choice in Handbags and Accessories. will probably be a prologue, or time trial, while the other five days will feature stage races in which racers battle each other while rolling along in a large pack, or peloton.

Stieda was instrumental in securing $3.5 million in seed money from Alberta’s Rural Development Fund, crucial to attracting corporate partnerships and a TV deal, which the Tour has signed with Rogers Sportsnet.

Vienneau said the APA expects to announce its lineup of corporate partners in February.

The timing of the race itself presents challenges, landing as it does, just as school restarts after the summer break, not to mention the same week as the Edmonton Eskimos and Calgary Stampeders long-established home-and-home Labour Day Classic and Rematch Canadian Football League games.Shop from the large collection of tungstenbracelets and accessories sold at Forever Metals.

“Yes, but we’re going opposite, though,” Vienneau said, noting the CFL teams play first in Calgary, then in Edmonton four days later. “We’re going to cross them on the highway.”

It turns out those race dates slot the Tour of Alberta in one week after the Tour of Colorado (Aug. 19-25) and a week before UCI World Cup races in Montreal and Quebec City, Sept. 13-15.

“It’s the beginning of harvest season, it’s the beginning of school, it’s after Labour Day,” said Stieda, a volunteer vice-chair of the APA. “Yes, absolutely, there are challenges.”

Organizers actually wanted to hold the event during the school year, so kids can witness the race in their community as a school outing, as is done with major curling events.

But Stieda knows the APA will have to do a good job of educating spectators in Sherwood Park, Devon,tungstenjewelry can tarnish and also be covered with dirt and grime like any other ring. Camrose, Drumheller, Strathmore, Canmore and Kananaskis Country, who have hockey in their DNA, unlike citizens of France and other European countries, for whom cycling is a core sport.

In developing an event proposal to present to the ARDF, Stieda secured letters of support from Devon, Red Deer, Rocky Mountain House, Crowsnest, Calgary and Edmonton, selling the government agency on the exposure the race can provide to communities and the province as a whole.

We are proud to continue to build the brand in China

De Beers Diamond Jewellers,Browse and purchase the latest range of womenshoes online. the definitive destination for diamond jewellery, has recently opened its first store in Nanjing on the first floor of Deji Plaza, marking the brand’s fifth store in China.

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For this occasion, a set of eight unique Talisman Medals have been exclusively created to celebrate the store opening.

In Chinese tradition, the number 8 is synonymous with prosperity, wealth and good fortune. These 8 Talisman Medals have been designed to honour this ancient belief . Each is composed of magnificent rough diamonds that are exquisitely arranged within the distinctive handcrafted serti-poincon textured white, yellow or pink gold in a mesmerising formation heroing the central diamond. With the unveiling of The 8 Talisman Virtues, De Beers celebrates diamond mastery and expert craftsmanship by combining rough and polished diamonds creating beauty, balance and harmony.

Francois Delage, CEO of De Beers Diamonds Jewellers,You can make astonishing savings on Ladies stainlesssteelwatches. commented, “We are proud to continue to build the brand in China with the opening of our first store in Nanjing after the successful openings in Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin and Dalian. As the sole diamond jewellery specialists, we are delighted to share our exceptional passion and expertise in diamond selection,Buying the right type of shoesforkids is a task which requires a lot of attention and assessment. craftsmanship and diamond jewellery design with one of the most discerning markets.”

Andrew Coxon, President of De Beers Institute of Diamonds, continued, “Every De Beers diamond is meticulously hand-selected for beauty to ensure that it has exceptional Fire, Life and Brilliance. We know that the highly discerning clients in China will no doubt appreciate the superior sparkle and transparency that our specially selected diamonds exhibit.Fremont Bank is the proud title sponsor of the Fremont bankcycling Team.”

To help showcase this, each De Beers store is equipped with a De Beers Iris, a unique technology that helps customers clearly see the beauty of every diamond through the eyes of an expert.

Chinese actress, model and singer,womens and junior fashion ladiesshoes footwear, Qin Lan was in attendance to celebrate the opening in Nanjing, looking radiant in De Beers jewellery. She is one of the most successful actresses in Asia and has been a proud winner of the Golden Award in 1999. Qin Lan wore both the Swanlake necklace and earrings and then the Talisman Strength Medal. “I am delighted to be able to join De Beers for the opening of the Nanjing store and these timeless, elegant creations from De Beers are a joy to wear.”

The new Nanjing store represents De Beers’ focus in China. With recent store openings in Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin and Dalian, De Beers recognises the demand for exquisite designs and diamonds of superlative quality by Chinese consumers and this opening highlights De Beers’ success as a global destination for diamond jewellery lovers and connoisseurs.

De Beers has a worldwide presence with stores located in the most sought after locations including Old Bond Street in London, Fifth Avenue in New York, Printemps and Galeries Lafayette in Paris, Shin Kong Place in Beijing, The Landmark in Hong Kong, Shanghai IFC and Ginza in Tokyo.

De Beers Diamond Jewellers was established in 2001 as an independently managed and operated joint venture, bringing the luxury retail and branding expertise from LVMH Mo?t Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world’s leading luxury products group, and De Beers SA, the world’s premier diamond mining and marketing company.

The last thing jewellers needed was bad news from astrologers

Ships entering one of India’s finest deepwater ports at Andhra Pradesh in the south of the country are filled with everything from bauxite and aluminium to coal and capital equipment. Yet they depart almost empty, says D.V.S. Raju, founder of the company running the port.

Meanwhile, sales of gold jewellery have been falling in India, depressed by the high price of the precious metal, especially in local currency terms, by gloomy consumer sentiment and even by the pronouncements of the country’s numerous astrologers.What skateshoes are you meant for?

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Nowhere else does gold play as important a role in the macro economy as in India, where it also provides valuable insights into consumer sentiment.Each designer authentichandbag that we receive is inspected by our authenticity team before it is sold. Last year, India spent $56bn on gold imports, worsening its current account deficit and putting downward pressure on the rupee, which in turn fed further demand for gold. Now that demand has become weaker. That is not because consumers have regained their faith in their currency,More information about guccimenshoes including release dates, but rather because gold has become too expensive in rupee terms, jewellers say.Superb range of castellicycling Windproof Jackets products at Wiggle,

Symptoms of malaise are everywhere in India today, in every aspect of the economy, including investment, production and consumption. This nation of almost 1.3bn people should have a natural competitive advantage in making highly engineered goods as well as in information technology and other services. Yet manufacturing remains stunted, stymied by the high cost of capital, the high price of energy and still woeful infrastructure.

Alliance Tire originally set up a plant in Tamil Nadu, also in the south of India, in 2007 because the state had a surfeit of power. Today, faced with frequent electricity outages, its founder Yogesh Kumar Mahansaria has himself entered the energy business, building a generation facility to keep his tyre factory running.

Mr Mahansaria exports almost all the tyres he makes. But he is a puzzling exception to the general rule that most Indian manufacturers lack scale and significant competitive advantages. At the same time, infrastructure building has become so politicised that some private-sector contractors wonder if it is worth putting their hands up for concessions.

India has always counted on domestic demand to keep its economy buoyant. It took pride in the fact that it did not rely only on export-driven growth as the less balanced nations of Japan and its neighbours have done. But today, earlier bets on the continued growth of domestic demand in India look too optimistic.

In recent years, for example, several traditional, family-owned jewellery companies, such as Gitanjali Gems and TBZ have shaken up their business models. They expanded, moved upmarket, hired designers to come up with bold new styles using more expensive jewels, and listed their shares.

These moves were an expression of confidence that India’s middle class would continue to swell and this growing wealth and conspicuous consumption would support such ambitious plans. “But today the peak in gold sales has passed,” said Shrikant Zaveri, chairman of Mumbai-based TBZ.

Today, far from achieving double-digit growth as many analysts expected a few short years ago, GDP growth has slowed. Even the government has slashed its estimates from 7.6 per cent to 5.7-5.9 per cent for the fiscal year to March. With hindsight, this difficult period may be regarded as one of transition. India has outgrown its fragmented, small-scale agricultural and manufacturing model. It is also in the process of repudiating its period of crony capitalism, whereby politically connected businessmen received concessions and access to resources from the government in sweetheart deals. Beneath the so-called bad billionaires, a new generation of entrepreneurs is springing up in regional centres such as Ahmedabad, setting up companies that do everything from producing local language films to developing smartphone applications to digital education and healthcare start-ups.

It is true that third-quarter gold sales were slightly better than the first half of the year. But the last thing the depressed jewellers needed was bad news from the astrologers. India’s semi-annual wedding seasons account for the majority of jewellery sales. Yet this year, for the first of the two seasons, astrologers deemed only seven days auspicious for marriage ceremonies, compared with 28 for the year-ago period. Some jewellers, though, are hopeful that next year will be better since the astrologers say there will be many more auspicious days in 2013. Unfortunately the glittering optimism of the astrologers is not matched by the more sombre outlook of many analysts.

2012年12月11日 星期二

which goes beyond the limits of sponsor intrusion

Holiday outfits can be expensive to buy and time-consuming to find. This year rather than a new outfit,This tutorial will show you how to make a hairflower bow out of your own hair. focus on accessories for an easy and affordable way to dress up a look.

Maureen Fagan, owner of Simple Treasure in La Grange, finds the embellished collar is the “it” accessory of the season. Think of it as an alternative to the statement necklace. Fagan makes all the jewelry carried in her store and has an on-site studio,we provide kinds of suprashoes bandit mid purple leather shoes for sale. allowing her to make a one-of-a-kind collar or any other piece of jewelry.

Kristi Smith from Sweet William in Hinsdale said, “Update what you have with a new accessory.” The store carries beautiful vintage jewelry just for the holidays along with glitzy clutches and shoes. Her greatest gift idea, “Give a special piece to a special person.”

Beading is big this holiday season, according to Katie McMillian, owner of Clever Girl in Western Springs. Her store has everything from beaded clutches to jeweled headbands to jingle bell bracelets.

Her biggest selling item is the holiday brooch, but not worn in the traditional way. Try it clipped to a barrette, or cinch a tunic sweater on the side and pin the brooch to secure cinch. It will make you look slimmer and add sparkle in the most unexpected place.

How can you preserve the best elements of a story that’s as old as civilisation, while also making it relevant to the here and now? Or, to put it another way, will a fairy tale about a horribly mistreated young woman who finds her Prince Charming with the assistance of a Fairy Godmother and an impractical pair of shoes still leave room for Katie Taylor references and a high-energy K-Pop parody?

These are questions that the Gaiety Panto has been answering for well over a century, but the answer – which is to be reassuringly traditional without ever getting rusty – involves a lot of intelligence and more than a dab of magic. It also requires money,The dgshoessale is a line of shoes first released by Nike, which is where it makes one compromise too far. But first the villain Dandini appears (boo!), played by Daryn Crosbie – who directs, choreographs and has the monopoly on the world’s supply of fun – to explain the plot.

Stephanie McKeon’s ethereal and honey-voiced Cinderella is the daughter of the moithered Baron Stonybroke (Pat Nolan) and indentured servant to her ugly step sisters Janice (Garry Mountaine) and Edwina (Joe Conlon) – collectively known as Jedwina (boo!) – who have a fashion sense more garish than an early John Waters movie.

Cinderella’s other assistants are Buttons (a charming Johnny Ward) – who balances unrequited love with a demotic call-and-response catchphrase, “Ah, here!”/“Leave it out!” – and Sharon Sexton’s Fairy Godmother-in-training. There is another appearance by a promotional mascot, an anthropomorphic potato, which goes beyond the limits of sponsor intrusion. As Buttons would say, Ah, here! Otherwise, the show knows precisely what an audience wants: a spectacle that fills the stage with pop-up-book illustrations and leaping, comely dancers; a lightly witty script by Maeve Ingoldsby, with a judicious balance between acid and treacle; and a series of completely shameless lifts from re-worded top-40 songs to the wholesale larceny of/affectionate tribute to Bob Fosse dance routines.

This blend of old and new, original and borrowed,Replica hublotwatch of best quality sale! comes together with the iridescent sheen of consummate professionalism and oceans of goodwill. It’s still gratifying to see that a family audience doesn’t blink an eye at tricks that will leave people cold in alternative theatre: self-reference, audience participation, rewritten classics.

There’s a difference, of course,this sandals will become the  pair of heels you need and shoes features customer's nobleness. with Christmas expectations of fun and games, and while the Gaiety invests inspiration and perspiration in such hard-won, cheering entertainment, it knows the audience is willing it to succeed. In the ageless tradition of panto, they’re behind you.

who argued Gormley should receive three years in prison

The car thrust Baker 180 feet from the highway's intersection with Southwest Watson Avenue, where he was hit as he attempted to cross the roadway last year. The driver, Samantha Gormley, saw that the impact ripped clothing off his body and tried to warm him, her defense attorney, Sara Snyder, told the court during a hearing Tuesday morning. Gormley watched the 23-year-old die.Ribble has a wide range of cheappanerai products at great prices.

When Beaverton police officers arrived at the crash, Gormley told them she had a green light and wasn't speeding, Washington County Deputy District Attorney Jason Weiner said. Investigators conducting a reconstruction of the crash later determined Gormley, 24, was traveling between 64 and 70 miles per hour – in a 35-mile-per-hour zone – during the Nov. 30, 2011 incident.

In a lengthy and emotional hearing Tuesday morning before Washington County Circuit Judge Janelle Wipper, Gormley, of Aloha, pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide and was sentenced to two years in prison. A grand jury in March indicted Gormley, who has no criminal history, on one count each of second-degree manslaughter and reckless driving.

Baker, who lived in Beaverton, was on his way to catch a Tri-Met MAX train for work at a downtown Portland Subway when he started to cross Canyon Road as the signal for traffic heading west on the highway turned yellow. Weiner said Gormley, who was traveling west, was about 400 feet from the Watson Avenue intersection and accelerated as the light turned yellow. As she entered the intersection, the light turned red, and she struck Baker.

Gormley told authorities she couldn't see him until it was too late.

Baker and Gormley both contributed to his death, Weiner said. But if Gormley was going the speed limit,cheap suprashoesforsale for women online, Weiner said, Baker would have been reasonable to think her light would turn red before she reached the intersection.

"If he waited for the walk sign, he wouldn't have been hit," Weiner said. "But he already paid for that. He's dead."

Weiner, who argued Gormley should receive three years in prison, told the court Gormley's reckless behavior and aggressive driving started before the crash. As she was driving on Southwest Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway, she veered across the roadway to take a right at Lombard Avenue, nearly striking a car, Weiner said. She then passed the driver in an oncoming traffic lane, Weiner described, and flipped the driver off.

Gormley's attorney later disputed the gesture, and added that Weiner used "hyperbole" during his description of the incident.

Baker's mother,Steelx offer men and women pure salereplicashoes modern jewelry including inox rings, Cheryl, sobbed as Weiner described the moments before Gormley's car struck her son.Find shoxshoes in many styles and colors.

"He was literally knocked out of his shoes and clothes," Weiner said.

Cheryl Baker left the room when Weiner played surveillance video, gathered from a business along the road, that showed the car striking her son, his body flying up onto the windshield.

Reading a statement to the court, Cheryl Baker said she wasn't happy with the plea deal. She didn't want the case decided by attorneys, but by a jury of Baker's peers. She said she's waited one year and 11 days for Gormley to be held accountable.Buy visually stunning and durable tungstenjewelry from Larson Jewelers.

She referred to Gormley's vehicle as a "motorized missile" and said she thinks about how her son must have seen his death coming. Since the crash, Cheryl Baker has cried every day.