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  • Mailboxes for apartments and cottages

    Mailboxes for apartments and cottages

    Commercial Mailboxes

    Mail boxNow mailboxes represent not simply storehouses for newspapers and the correspondence, and the aesthetic and capacious designs, capable to meet all requirements of tenants private or an apartment house. At building of new buildings the contract organization suggests to get to owners of apartments a mailbox.

    The box post in specialized supermarkets is realized or ordered on joiner's manufactures and mechanical factories. Has received a wide circulation a mail box metal, executed of a steel in the thickness of 1 mm, both horizontal, and a vertical design. The similar box becomes covered by a spherical paint which long time protects a surface from corrosion owing to damp conditions of environment.

    Commercial Mailboxes for houses

    MailboxesThe mailbox in an entrance, according to the executed documentation, on a wall convenient for withdrawal of the correspondence is mounted. All access mailboxes realized in a retail network or made at the enterprises, should correspond to state standards. Not a secret that cases when section mail boxes from barbarous promptings break have become frequent, doors and lateral panels tear off.

    If clients want to get slot-hole mail boxes or products of other configurations, they can contact dispatchers by contact phone or send the demand for e-mail.

    Residential Mailboxes for cottages

    Mail boxesIn a private sector the street mail box reliably locked, rain waters inaccessible to penetration and an other atmospheric precipitation is necessary. Except all the rest, the paint by which the box metal is covered, gets out proceeding from durability conditions.

    Owners of own houses on general meeting of tenants often state a wish that the mail box has been executed in the general stylistics of the house. Trusting manufacturing of Commercial Mailboxes to any firm, it is necessary to state to masters all requirements, precisely having specified the sizes and product dimensions.

    Residential MailboxAs a rule, the organized groups of tenants choose either a mail box vertical, or a box post horizontal on a steady platform. If it is required to place a considerable quantity of products on the limited area, it is more preferable to choose a case post vertical, intended for street application.

    Now the mailbox is considered a synonym of good taste and durability. The material for a product steals up at leading steel-rolling factories. Each horizontal post case or a design of a vertical configuration should have the certificate of conformity from the manufacturer.

    VIA «Mailboxes for apartments and cottages»

  • New Emerald Paint

    New Emerald Paint
    The world

    Emerald Interior and Exterior

    The world's largest paint retailer, Sherwin-Williams, is the only paint company with a VOC-free, environmentally responsible colorant that can tint all 1,500 of its colors. The washability of Emerald Interior and Exterior doesn't make its colors any less vibrant. Print ads for Emerald showcase the rich, sumptuous palettes of Sherwin-Williams through the imagery of London-based artist Mark Mawson. Those who wish to pamper their walls paint with Emerald.

    Agency: McKinney;
    Country: United States of America;
    Chief Creative Officer: Jonathan Cude;
    Group Creative Director: Ellen Steinberg;
    Art Director: Jordan Eakin;
    Copywriter: Ian Fairbrother;
    Retoucher: Stacy Evans;
    Photographer: Mark Mawson;
    Print Producer: Lauren March;
    Print Producer: Kellie Bingman.

    Sherwin-Williams: TV Commercial

    VIA «New Emerald Paint»

  • Keeping it brief: The Saturdays play live in tiny shorts as Nicola Roberts gets over nerves to make solo onstage debut

    Keeping it brief: The Saturdays play live in tiny shorts as Nicola Roberts gets over nerves to make solo onstage debut
    By JODY THOMPSON
    ©Fierce: The Saturdays took to the stage in Newcastle last night all wearing tiny shorts - apart from a more bashful Rochelle Wiseman (far right)
    They've never been afraid of wearing skimpy outfits onstage - but The Saturdays outdid themselves on stage in Newcastle last night.
    The girl group were sporting the tiniest of shorts as they played a short set at a gig thrown by the city's radio station, Metro Radio Live.
    But it seemed that Rochelle Wiseman was not having one of her more confident days and wore pale denim skintight jeans instead.
    ©Work it: (L-R) Mollie King, Una Healy, Vanessa White, Frankie Sandford and Rochelle were playing a short set at Metro Radio Live at Newcastle Arena - a kind of urban indoor one-day pop festival
    However, one person who had most definitely overcome her nerves was Nicola Roberts, who made her live solo debut last night, just days after saying she was dreading going on without her Girls Aloud bandmates.
    Talking to MTV earlier this week, she'd revealed: 'I'm nervous and I'm dreading the night before. I know I'm going to be like losing half a stone in weight overnight, so I'm going to have to get myself into the zone.'
    She added: 'There does feel like there is a little bit of extra pressure, because it is just me and it feels a little bit like, is that enough, is it enough to just look at that?'
    ©Solo debut: Nicola Roberts got over her nerves to play her first ever live gig without Girls Aloud at the show
    ©Dainty doll: The star threw some shapes as she performed and totally won the screaming crowd over
    However, she seemed to quash her butterflies and impressed the crowd, singing debut solo single Beat Of My Drum in a tiny red and pink dress accessorised with a kooky headscarf and multicoloured strappy heels.
    Other acts playing the bash included dubstep queen Katy B, Chipmunk, Sophie Ellis Bextor, The Feeling, The Wanted, rapper Example, hot new band The Overtones and Amy Winehouse's goddaughter Dionne Bromfield.
    Meanwhile, Nicola has been explaining why she chose to take such a different direction musically with her new single.
    ©Strutting her stuff: Mollie was wearing titchy high-waisted orange shorts and a low cut see-through blue vest top that showed off her black bra
    Working with hot underground music producer Diplo, she explained: 'I tried to drum in to him that I wanted these quirky dollops of sound like M.I.A. (who he's worked with before) or Major Lazer (his Jamaican dancehall project).
    'Don’t try and make this record come back like a commercial, just-for-radio song with 500 dance synths all over it ‘cause it’s not where I’m trying to go.'
    Scouse beauty Nicola also says she feels like she's unleashed her singing voice properly for the first time too.
    ©On song: Frankie belts out one of The Saturday's singles wearing tight striped shorts and a blue top with a distressed denim top half, as Una sports ripped denim and a low cut purple top showing off her red bra
    She said: 'I was sick to death of singing the quiet, whispery parts. I was like, no, f*** this, I’m going to sing!'
    Talking to MTV, Nicola said it was good that it was so different to Girls Aloud: 'It was important my first single was different to anything else around.
    'I love that it’s a song everyone can sing and dance along to.
    ©Earning her stripes: Rochelle has teamed her jeans with a leather jacket and a midriff-exposing tiger print top
    ©Thighs the limit: Una strikes a pose at the Newcastle Arena
    Nicola Roberts will be releasing her debut album ‘Cinderella’s Eyes’ in October.
    Meanwhile, the Daily Mirror is reporting that Girls Aloud are heading back into the studio in January.
    But apparently, the girls are ditching their former producers, hitmakers Xenomania.
    A source said: 'At the moment the Girls are really excited about their new beginning, although they are scratching their heads over who will create signature hits for them.
    'They’re excited they’re going to be making a fresh start together on this next adventure of their lives.
    'In six months time it’ll be back to work as normal – they are itching to get back in the studio.'
    ©An audience with...Sophie Ellis Bextor was also on the bill at the bash
    The band are reportedly set to reform to celebrate their 10th anniversary next year at a special festival for the London 2012 Olympics at the O2 Arena.
    Nicola though is onstage again for a hometown gig at Liverpool's Radio City Live tonight, before playing T4 On The Beach on 10 July.
    Beat Of My Drum is then released on 18 July.
    Meanwhile, MTV Music show On Set With Nicola Roberts is on at 2pm tomorrow.
    And the next Metro Radio Live is on 7 July and features JLS and Olly Murs.


    source: dailymail

    VIA Keeping it brief: The Saturdays play live in tiny shorts as Nicola Roberts gets over nerves to make solo onstage debut

  • Tom Andersen talks about horror, 3D & pissing Hollywood off

    Tom Andersen talks about horror, 3D & pissing Hollywood off

    Trick ‘R Treat

    Trick ‘R Treat (movie poster)

    Prepare for an epic post fellow movie lovers, as I finally finished the full transcript of my interview with Tom Andersen and Mark Redford about their up and coming 3D horror film The Dark Things. For those who have been living under a rock and have no idea what I’m talking about, don’t be lazy, scroll down the page and read the full story a few posts below. Anywho, as I eluded to last week, the interview is extremely interesting and Farmer in particular shared some awesome insights on Hollywood, modern horror films and 3D technology. Enjoy and stay tuned for more The Dark Things updates.

    Jane Storm: So now that you’re here, what have you guys been doing so far? Have you been busy scouting locations?
    Tom Andersen: Yes, we’ve already had a meeting with Warner Roadshow Studios and talked about the different places we can film and what Queensland has to offer, which is obviously a lot. We’ve been very happy with that.

    Jane Storm: So you’re definitely coming to shoot here?
    Tom Andersen: Yes, definitely.

    Jane Storm: Cool!
    Tom Andersen: We’ve been giving Todd a quick, rushed Australian education.

    Jane Storm: Have they been getting you hooked on Tim Tams and Vegemite yet? Tom Andersen: Oh, we’ve got him hooked on Tim Tams, but he’s not a fan of Vegemite.
    Mark Redford: The Tim Tams are fine, I have no problem with Tim Tams, but Vegemite…
    Tom Andersen: But he needed to do that to experience what we go through (laughs).

    Jane Storm: And you will be shooting the film primarily at Warner Roadshow Studios?
    Tom Andersen: Yes and on locations throughout the coast.

    Jane Storm: When are you planning to start filming?
    Tom Andersen: The start of the year, definitely next year.

    Jane Storm: Great, I’m just trying to suss that out so I can lurk on set everyday. So, the storyline, it’s about Aboriginal legends that come to life? Have you started writing the script already?
    Mark Redford: I started the outline for this, then decided it would be better to just come here and dive in, meet the people, see the locations and look at pubs. I can write pretending to be an Aussie, but I need to come here to experience it. We have consultants that we’re going to meet with. It’s been quite fun.

    Jane Storm: What kind of research have you had to do so far?
    Mark Redford: Just researching…even film is different. Watching your films compared to our films, they’re different. So, watching films and what I like to do the most is just people watch. While that sounds boring, it’s actually fascinating because everything is different, everyone is different; the way you drive, the way you think. It's really quite fun because I've never done anything like this. At the end of the day it will all come down to the story, it will all come down to the characters. I grew up reading Stephen King and he was great at taking ordinary people and dropping them into extraordinary situations and that's exactly what I'm going to do.

    Jane Storm: Right. As far as Aboriginal legends and Aboriginal culture goes, have you got some experts and consultants who are helping with the projects?
    Tom Andersen: Marcus Waters, he’s a screenwriter and teacher at Griffith University here. We’re actually meeting him today and tomorrow and going over a bunch of stuff.

    Jane Storm: What has the support been like from places like Screen Queensland and Screen Australia?
    Tom Andersen: Everyone has been great and very supportive. You know, film’s not so hot here right now, so they’re excited to be getting a film over here. Everyone has been great, which is a lot different from the states.

    Jane Storm: Why do you think that is?
    Tom Andersen: It helps that I’m Australian too, us Aussies love to back each other. Another thing is I’m bringing home a good story with top Hollywood people. And it’s different, with all the remakes and sequels, it’s different. Everyone is excited to have a breath of fresh air.

    Jane Storm: What made you decide to shoot the film specifically here?
    Tom Andersen: It's an Australian story about Aboriginals; it's not going to work in Canada.

    Jane Storm: No, I meant why on the Gold Coast, out of the whole of Australia?
    Tom Andersen: Because I'm from here, I love it here. And the town that the story is set, it’s on the beach and I love Queensland. I want it here.

    Jane Storm: Did the facilities help drawing you here? I know the studios have quite amazing capabilities. James Cameron’s Sanctum just wrapped filming here and the Narnia entry.
    Tom Andersen: We’ve already had photos sent to us of different locations we’ve fallen in love with. There are some cool areas along the beach and we had some photos sent to us this morning and we saw that and were like `holy hell, that’s perfect’.

    Jane Storm: With the cast, have you got that picked out and underway?
    Mark Redford: No, we just have a wish list.
    Tom Andersen: We’re just going to wait on that right now. We would like to cast Australians, established Australians.
    Mark Redford: I would like to do another nude scene but other than that…

    Jane Storm: (Laughs) What’s the budget?
    Tom Andersen: Around $25 million. This is mainly a research trip, give Todd an education, get our feelers down and meet our producer. We have Mike Lake on board so we’ll be having a chat with him. We’re just flying our soldiers in and getting them ready to go.

    Jane Storm: Now Todd, you were one of the key people behind trying to get Halloween 3D up and running and you worked on My Bloody Valentine, which was my first 3D experience and one I must say I’m a huge fan of. What is it about 3D that lends itself so well to the horror genre?
    Mark Redford: I like it for a number of reasons; I like the rollercoaster aspect of it. There's a couple of ways to do 3D; there's the gimmicky, in-your-face way, which we were not afraid of in My Bloody Valentine. There’s also the Avatar version, which is the more voyeuristic, immersion-type where you are sucked in. But the truth is, you’re going to get that anyway with today’s 3D and you saw it yourself with Valentine and other 3D movies that you see, you’re literally inside. But with a horror movie, you’re even closer to the scares and the action. So I like that, the risk is that because we had a lot of success with Valentine and there’s been a lot of success with other movies, because of that everyone jumped on the 3D bandwagon and the problem is a lot of 3D has been rushed with the conversion process and a lot of the stories. I think at the end of the day it still has to be about the story, it still has to be about telling that story and you have to shoot good 3D. We will be shooting everything in 3D, we won’t be converting. We will be doing everything we did with Valentine and Drive Angry. I think as a result of that, especially here with all the sweeping vistas and the land, it’s going to look quite remarkable.
    Tom Andersen: It’s a tool to telling a good story. There are a lot of crappy stories that are hoping to get by on their 3D and it’s a marketing gimmick. And it is, it’s a good marketing ploy for sure, but we’re using it as another tool to tell a really cool story.

    Jane Storm: You guys have an awesome crew on board with the producers, composers, concept artists, is this a very exciting process, for it to be so early on and have such a great team already?
    Tom Andersen: Exactly, that’s why I did it because I knew to pull this off I had to have the best around me. And I’m in Hollywood with the best so it was just a matter of pull. Everyone realises it’s something unique and who doesn’t want to come to Australia and make a movie, right? `Come to paradise with really cool people, really beautiful beaches!’ That was my lure and then it was just about building a good team. I think it’s like building a house and my foundation is strong, so you’ve just got to keep moving up.

    Jane Storm: Have you made any decisions about the director yet?
    Tom Andersen: We want Patrick Lussier.

    Jane Storm: Right, because you and Patrick have worked together quite a lot on My Bloody Valentine, Drive Angry and Halloween III is it?
    Mark Redford: Yeah. Patrick and I will write it together and depending on how the system works down here and what we can bring and what we can't...
    Tom Andersen: -because we’re going after the 40% (producer) offset.

    Jane Storm: Oh, that explains the caution; they can be really dicky with that.
    Mark Redford: It will also depend on his schedule in the states because he is working on Drive Angry to the end of the year and then there’s another project we may end up working on which won’t affect me for this, but it might affect him.
    Tom Andersen: A couple of things, he’s my first choice for a lot of reasons; he's an amazing editor, an amazing director and in 3D he’s very experienced. You want the best.

    Jane Storm: With the general story idea, what was the appeal with…well, you haven’t gone for a standard slasher flick. Instead you’ve gone with the whole mythical and supernatural take?
    Tom Andersen: Because it hasn’t been done before.

    Jane Storm: It hasn’t?
    Tom Andersen: It’s original. I’m very picky about movies and I’m very in tune with audiences and that’s why Paranormal Activity did well because everyone wants something different. It’s just the same stuff repetitive, sequels and presequels, and this is different. It hasn’t been done before. Then I looked at the 3D aspect of seeing Aboriginal culture in 3D and how amazing would that be? There’s a lot of people that say `oh wow, you’re from Australia, I would so love to go there’ and they’re never going to get here so now I’m brining Australia to them. In 3D. So, it will do well just for that appeal alone and then everyone loves to be scared.

    Jane Storm: And it has so much potential too, the horror twist on Aboriginal legends hasn’t really been done. Well, I guess Prey but that was terrible. So, it hasn’t been done well yet.
    Tom Andersen: Yeah, and we were saying Australian films have a very sort of independent feel and as far as Australian stories go, this is going to be very different. It’s going to be structured very different.

    Jane Storm: Now this is more of a general question, but what is the key to writing a decent horror film?
    Mark Redford: I think at the end of the day it’s about…I’m still scared of everything, which helps, and for me it’s always been about taking everyday life and throwing a twist into it. Certainly we did it with My Bloody Valentine. You take these ordinary people and you put them in a situation where the audience can relate to them and I think if you can do that…that’s another reason Paranormal Activity worked so well because you watch the movie and think `what if that was me?’ So, as long as the characters are first, as long as they’re relatable, they can be as unique on screen as they can in a person. I started in the horror genre because when I started, that’s what you did, that was how you broke into the business. So, back then it was just Miramax and New Line, those guys making horror movies and then Scream came out and that kind of blew the lid off everything and we were all a part of it. Now everybody has a genre department and what ended up happening is the same thing that I think will end up happening with 3D; a lot of people were making horror and some of them were horrible. I think as long as you put the characters first, as long as you put the story first, as long as you keep the momentum of the story, then the rest is about creating situations that scare you as a writer.

    Jane Storm: Both of you seem like really big fans of the horror genre. What is it about it that you love so much?
    Tom Andersen: I love the rollercoaster ride. You go to the movies and you want a thrill, you want to leave going `wow’ and that’s what I like about it. You know, I don’t like torture, gore, blood and guts, I don’t want to look at that. I want a rollercoaster ride where I’m scared and where you’re trying to solve it…like The Sixth Sense. I think that was perfect. I loved that twist and you think you have it figured out, but you can watch that movie three or four times and always see something different. There’s suspense, I love that about it. That’s what I want for this, rather than `oh look, someone’s dead and their guts is everywhere’. Obviously that will be in there, but there will be a reason, not just insanity. Mark Redford: I just like scaring people.

    Jane Storm: (Laughs) Out of all your projects Todd, what would you say is a favourite of yours? Which is your baby?
    Mark Redford: At this point, Drive Angry, which will come out 19th of February, we just wrapped it. The reason I like it so much is because what we wrote is what we were able to shoot. You know, Jason X changed a little, The Messengers changed a little, the others have changed, but Drive Angry didn’t. So we’re hoping for the same thing here, we write this and then we can go shoot.

    Jane Storm: I saw the bloody car from Drive Angry that you posted on your blog, it looks awesome.
    Mark Redford: Yeah, that was Gary (J. Tunnicliffe), the dude is just remarkable. He’s killed me more than anyone else and he’s really the only one I would want to.

    Jane Storm: So what’s the rest of the schedule like for you guys? What’s the next step when you go back?
    Mark Redford: I dive in and start making the magic.
    *my phone starts ringing* Mark Redford: Nice ring tone.
    Jane Storm: Thanks, nothing like a bit of Wu Tang Clan (Kill Bill Theme). Sorry about that. Okay, so the next question I have to ask you is, please don’t be offended, but a friend of mine wanted me to ask you what shrooms were you on when you put Jason in space? Mark Redford: The big ones, the big yellow ones with the hairs. (Laughs) Okay, it’s funny because Michael De Luca was running New Line at the time, the guy who green lit Jason X, and he read the script and loved the script. So, that’s what we went in and pitched; Alien and Aliens, a combination of the two movies so that you take those actors and the aliens and you pull those out and then you have Jason with a real crew, ghetto, raw, no slapstick in-your-face jokes. It was just a very dirty movie, dark and dirty. Then Scream came out and suddenly everyone wanted everything to be tongue-in-cheek, so things changed as a result. But it’s funny now because De Luca is producing Drive Angry and what we like about him is he was like `Jason X was a great script, what happened?’ Now a lot of people still love Jason X, a lot of people hate it, my excuse is, well, I wrote what I wanted and maybe that didn’t get made, but it bought me an Audi. But I loved Alien and I love Aliens, and I still think that someone will take another scary movie into space.

    Jane Storm: When you say take another scary movie into space, do you mean the slasher genre?
    Mark Redford: Yes, I don’t understand why a slasher can’t…I mean, I know slashers have gone into space and I know one can, why couldn’t it? It’s all about production value and it’s all about story, and so far those two have not made it into space from some sort of slashers point of view. It’s just a matter of time. If Kevin (Williamson) had written Scream in space it would have worked, that was fantastic. They better do a good job on Scream 4, I see him tweet about it all the time. You following him?
    Jane Storm: Yeah, I was so pissed off last fortnight when he was doing a give away of signed posters and our work computers are so slow that even though I had the right answers, I would miss out because it wouldn’t update before all the crazy Americans who answered a second after. Mark Redford: I saw it way too late, otherwise I would have tried to.

    Jane Storm: (Laughs) Oh come on, you would be able to get a poster from him, surely?
    Mark Redford: No, he wouldn’t give me a free poster. He’s honestly a really nice guy though.

    Jane Storm: Finally, this is a more general question, but what are some of your favourite films? Whether that’s horror or whatever?
    Tom Andersen: The classic ones like Jaws, Alien, The Sixth Sense and all of the different elements in those. I like the hunt, the twists, you think you know what’s going on but you don’t. What I like is that people could know what’s going on, and they’re given the signs, but they see what they want to see.
    Mark Redford: Oddly enough some of the same movies; Alien and Aliens, Jaws was the first movie that scared the crap out of me, The Exorcist I saw next and both of those movies influenced me, and Star Wars on a how to tell a story level, especially The Empire Strikes Back, those were, granted, big fantasy movies but as far as the mythology and linear story structure, those were pretty incredible. It was Quentin Tarantino that taught me to actually break the rules a little bit and go outside the Hollywood system, write outside the Hollywood system, and create characters that were interesting and didn’t fall into the norm. I don’t have a favourite movie, I get asked all the time, but it’s literally a lot of great movies.

    Jane Storm: What else do you have to do before you can get back here and film?
    Tom Andersen: We’ve learnt a lot on this trip. Now we’ve got to get the script down and tight, we want to make sure it’s good and not rush that because you only get one shot. Then just hit it.

    Jane Storm: Fantastic, well that’s pretty much everything I have to ask you guys. If you don’t mind we’ll head out and get the pic taken soon?
    Tom Andersen: Yeah sure.
    Mark Redford: I sent you a really creepy tweet when you arrived.

    Jane Storm: (Laughs) Oh really? Awesome.
    Mark Redford: I wrote `I’m looking at you right now’.

    Jane Storm: (Laughs) I love it!
    Mark Redford: That’s creepy, it was when you were walking in right then.

    Jane Storm: I love how you are so interactive with your fans online and getting content out there.
    Mark Redford: Well, it has got me into trouble. Hollywood doesn’t want you to tell the things that I sometimes tell. They certainly didn’t want me telling the Halloween 3D story. It didn’t get me into trouble, they just didn’t like it. But there’s nothing they can do about it.

    Jane Storm: It probably got you a lot of respect from people as well.
    Mark Redford: I think from the fan base perhaps.

    Jane Storm: The Bloody Disgusting guys were on to it.
    Mark Redford: Yeah, but they always shoot it straight anyway and that’s why I like them. That’s why I like Brad and those guys. I don’t like rude behaviour, even from a studio.

    Jane Storm: Yeah, I’m a big fan of Bloody Disgusting because they cover everything. They don’t just look at the big, commercial horror films, but they give time to the independent, small-budget and foreign language stuff that you wouldn’t know about otherwise.
    Mark Redford: I trust those guys because if I know they like something I know that it’s worth my time. Everybody’s opinion is different, but I trust their judgment.

    Tom Andersen talks about horror, 3D & pissing Hollywood off, 9 out of 10 (based on 452 votes)

    VIA Tom Andersen talks about horror, 3D & pissing Hollywood off

  • angelina jolie tattoos 2011 how many 2010 best new

    angelina jolie tattoos 2011 how many 2010 best new
    Angelina Jolie (pronounced /dʒoʊˈliː/ joh-lee, born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards. Jolie promotes humanitarian causes, and is noted for her work with refugees as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees She has been cited as one of the world's most attractive people, as well as the world's "sexiest" and "most beautiful" woman, titles for which she has received substantial media attention
    Although she made her screen debut as a child with her father Jon Voight in the 1982 film Lookin' to Get Out, Jolie's acting career began in earnest a decade later with the low-budget production Cyborg 2 (1993). Her first leading role in a major film was in the cyber-thriller Hackers (1995). She starred in the critically acclaimed biographical television films George Wallace (1997) and Gia (1998), and won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the drama Girl, Interrupted (1999). Jolie achieved wider fame after her portrayal of video game heroine Lara Croft in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), and since then has established herself as one of the best-known and highest-paid actresses in She received further critical acclaim for her performances in the dramas A Mighty Heart (2007) and Changeling (2008), which earned her a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actress, and reinforced her reputation as a leading action star with the comic book adaptation Wanted (2008) and the action-thriller Salt (2010Jolie has had her biggest commercial successes with the action-comedy Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) and the animated film Kung Fu Panda (2008
    Divorced from actors Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Bob Thornton, Jolie currently lives with actor Brad Pitt, in a relationship that has attracted worldwide media attention. Jolie and Pitt have three adopted children, Maddox, Pax, and Zahara, and three biological children, Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne.
    1 Early life and family
    2 Career
    2.1 Early work: 1993–1997
    2.2 Breakthrough: 1998–2000
    2.3 International success: 2001–present
    3 Humanitarian work
    4 Personal life
    4.1 Relationships
    4.2 Children
    5 In the media
    6 Filmography
    7 Selected awards
    8 Bibliography
    9 References
    10 Further reading
    11 External links
    Born in Los Angeles, California, Jolie is the daughter of actors Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand. She is the sister of actor James Haven, niece of singer-songwriter Chip Taylor, and goddaughter of actors Jacqueline Bisset and Maximilian Schell. On her father's side, Jolie is of German and Slovak descent and on her mother's side, she is of French Canadian and Dutch ancestry She is also said to be part Iroquois through her mother although Voight has claimed that Bertrand was "not seriously Iroquois", and that they merely said it to enhance her exotic background
    After her parents' separation in 1976, Jolie and her brother were raised by their mother, who abandoned her acting ambitions and moved with them to Palisades, New York As a child, Jolie regularly saw movies with her mother and later explained that this had inspired her interest in acting; she had not been influenced by her father When she was eleven years old, the family moved back to Los Angeles. Jolie then decided she wanted to act and enrolled at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, where she trained for two years and appeared in several stage productions.
    At the age of 14, she dropped out of her acting classes and aspired to become a funeral director During this period, she wore black clothing, experimented with knife play, and went out moshing with her live-in boyfriendTwo years later, after the relationship had ended, she rented an apartment above a garage a few blocks from her mother's home She returned to theatre studies and graduated from high school a year early, though in recent times she has referred to this period with the observation, "I am still at heart—and always will bejust a punk kid with tattoos
    She later recalled her time as a student at Beverly Hills High School as one of feeling isolated among the children of some of the area's affluent families; Jolie's mother survived on a more modest income, and Jolie often wore second-hand clothes. She was teased by other students, who targeted her for her distinctive features, for being extremely thin, and for wearing glasses and braces Her self-esteem was further diminished when her initial attempts at modeling proved unsuccessful. She started to cut herself; later commenting, "I collected knives and always had certain things around. For some reason, the ritual of having cut myself and feeling the pain, maybe feeling alive, feeling some kind of release, it was somehow therapeutic to me
    Jolie was estranged from her father for many years. The two tried to reconcile and he appeared with her in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) In July 2002, Jolie filed a request to legally change her name to "Angelina Jolie", dropping Voight as her surname; the name change was made official on September 12, 2002 In August of the same year, Voight claimed that his daughter had "serious mental problems" on Access Hollywood. Jolie later indicated that she no longer wished to pursue a relationship with her father, saying, "My father and I don't speak. I don't hold any anger toward him. I don't believe that somebody's family becomes their blood. Because my son's adopted, and families are earned." She stated that she did not want to publicize her reasons for her estrangement from her father, but because she had adopted her son Maddox, she did not think it was healthy for her to associate with Voight In February 2010, Jolie publicly reunited with her father when he visited her on the set of The Tourist in Venice
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    VIA angelina jolie tattoos 2011 how many 2010 best new

  • India: Buddhist sites in Thotlakonda and Bavikonda cry out for attention

    India: Buddhist sites in Thotlakonda and Bavikonda cry out for attention
    Notwithstanding the grandiose plans being made by the successive governments for over a decade now, the monuments at the Buddhist heritage sites at Thotlakonda and Bavikonda are lying in a state of neglect.

    Buddhist sites in Thotlakonda and Bavikonda cry out for attention
    The damaged base of the main stupa at the Buddhist monument 
    at Thotlakonda [Credit: C.V. Subrahmanyam]

    A visit to Thotlakonda on Wednesday revealed that not much has changed during the last decade. The base of the main stupa has been damaged and heaps of damaged ancient bricks and material were seen lying at some places.

    The centuries-old rock ‘thotlu’ (cisterns) with steps leading into them, for drawing of rain water, are still serving their purpose of collection of rain water. Tourists arriving by the AP Tourism buses are greeted by the monumental ruins and the sign boards and other amenities damaged by cyclone Hudhud in October last year.

    Buddhist sites in Thotlakonda and Bavikonda cry out for attention
    Buddhist Monastery ruins at Thotlakonda [Credit: Dennis Kopp]

    One cannot, however, ignore the laying of roads, landscaping and provision of some basic amenities at Thotlakonda and Bavikonda by the Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority (VUDA) over a decade ago and works taken up in subsequent years.

    The monuments can be protected only when scientific restoration is done to protect the stupas, chaityagrihas and relics discovered at the heritage sites. A proper coordination between the Archaeology and Tourism Departments and VUDA is needed for this purpose.

    Buddhist sites in Thotlakonda and Bavikonda cry out for attention
    Buddhist Monastery ruins at Bavikonda [Credit: Dennis Kopp]

    “The rich cultural heritage of Bhavikonda, Thotlakonda and Pavuralakonda, dating back to the 3rd century BC and the ashes of the Buddha, found in a Mahasthupa at Bavikonda, need to be protected. We cannot afford to lose them. Protecting them will also help tourism development in a big way,” says CII Vizag Chapter former chairman G. Sambasiva Rao.

    “Thai tourists are willing to come here but there is no information on the Buddhist heritage sites available on the east coast, the Deputy Consul General (Commercial), Royal Thai (Chennai), Tharadol Thongruang”, said at a recent meeting organised by the CII in the city.

    Buddhist sites in Thotlakonda and Bavikonda cry out for attention
    View of Stupas at Bavikonda [Credit: India Tourism Travel]

    “Estimates have been sent for development of tourist information centres and public amenities at the Buddhist heritage sites at Thotlakonda and Bhavikonda in the city at an estimated cost of Rs.80 lakh and Rs.76 lakh respectively. Tenders will be called once the approval of the government was received,” Tourism General Manager G. Bheemasankara Rao told The Hindu recently.

    Author: B. Madhu Gopal | Source: The Hindu [July 18, 2015]

  • Le Royal Meridien [Abu Dhabi]

    Le Royal Meridien [Abu Dhabi]
    Luxury Hotel In Abu Dhabi

    Luxury Hotel In Abu Dhabi

    Le Royal Meridien is a landmark in the capital. Strategically located in the heart of Abu Dhabi’s commercial and business districts, the hotel is the perfect place for the business traveler looking for a classy city hotel in Abu Dhabi. Its sleek and avant-garde architecture with its unique revolving restaurant perched on the rooftop, makes it stand out on the Abu Dhabi’s modern skyline.

    Le Royal Meridien, Abu Dhabi
    Le Royal Meridien
    Apartments, Abu Dhabi
    Restaurant, Abu Dhabi

    Le Royal Meridien [Abu Dhabi], 7 out of 10 [based on 449 votes]

    VIA «Le Royal Meridien [Abu Dhabi]»

  • Multicultural shopping centre in Toronto

    Multicultural shopping centre in Toronto

    Shopping in Canada

    Remington Centre will put to a city of 74,000 sq. m. commercial and floor spaces and becomes the largest multicultural shopping centre in the North America. New complex will construct in northern area Toronto, here will take places more than 360 shops.

    Grandiose shopping in Toronto

    In new shopping centre traditions of east markets and the European boutiques will be mixed. Building of an additional tower with hotel which will adjoin the centre becomes the second stage of the project. The tower in height of 20 floors will give to interested persons of 475 hotel rooms of a class lux.

    Shopping centre in Toronto

    Shopping in Toronto

    Shopping project

    Shopping room

    Shopping in Canada

    In the centre there will be an underground parking with 6 levels where 3,500 cars can take places. On the external area (2,5 hectares) the fine pond which will turn to a skating rink in the winter in the summer will sparkle; here the constant scene with cascade falls will be constructed, planned to carry out weekly cultural actions (2,000 visual places).

    VIA «Multicultural shopping centre in Toronto»

  • Pressure Washers by Karcher

    Pressure Washers by Karcher

    Karcher logo

    Professional jet washers, especially jet washers Karcher, are the irreplaceable harvest equipment which is required at cleaning any premise. The especially actually given statement at cleaning of the huge areas: at the airports, at stations, the exhibition centres — without qualitative jet washers not to manage.

    Besides, washing cars of different marks, including jet washers Kerher, use huge popularity in all existing supermarkets. Electric pressure washers by Karcher — the irreplaceable assistant in daily activity of any shop.

    Cleanliness — health pledge!

    Power washersCleanliness indoors is pledge of the first positive impression of visitors and partners in business. Therefore jet washers have ceased to be simple luxury. Water brooms for any organisation, especially large company with a constant stream of visitors, are industrial necessity. Application of the professional washing helps to facilitate manual skills, and, hence is a creation of attractive appearance and the contribution to development of own business.

    Important point in stable functioning of any large enterprise or commercial structure is qualitative cleaning. Be not surprised, cleanliness — pledge of effective activity, and also external appeal of the company to constant and new clients. One of new and convenient ways of modern cleaning — jet washers Karcher. Pressure washers which are made by this German concern, are issued in wide assortment. Jet washers Karcher can satisfy inquiries of large firms and owners of the big houses.

    Pressure washers

    Jet washers Karcher cope with processing of premises by the area to several thousand metres. Industrial jet washers, despite multifunctionality, are very convenient and simple in circulation.

    Also there are also multipurpose jet washers of a wide spectrum of action. Getting the jet washer, it is necessary to be defined with that, brushes of what width will be necessary for you, what volume of a tank is necessary for effective work, and also to pay attention to power and jet washer weight.

    Jet washers Karcher with ease will consult even with strongly polluted surfaces. These jet washers are attractive not only on quality, but also under the price.

    T-Racer Kärcher T-300

    VIA «Pressure Washers by Karcher»

  • New vision of office space for clerks

    New vision of office space for clerks

    BBVA

    Architects Herzog & de Meuron have developed design of the central office for Spanish bank group BBVA.

    Bank on suburbs of Madrid

    The building, which building is planned to finish in 2013 year, will be on suburbs of Madrid.

    The building is in new area, is surrounded by office centres, the commercial real estate and residential buildings. In this cold, reserved place architects have suggested to erect an artificial garden, an oasis which would involve outside inside. The linear structure of a three-storyed structure is laid out by a carpet, following district topography. The cool and damp microclimate is inside created.

    Spanish bank

    Spanish bank BBVA

    The design plan promotes dialogue: instead of spending time in lifts, employees can walk in parallel corridors and meet with each other. The big degree of a transparency creates sensation of a generality whereas rather small working compartments allow employees to keep feeling of own identity.

    VIA «New vision of office space for clerks»

  • Teen dreams: Shirtless Justin Bieber and sweetheart Selena Gomez head to the beach in Maui

    Teen dreams: Shirtless Justin Bieber and sweetheart Selena Gomez head to the beach in Maui
    By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
    ©Shirtless: The teen singer wore a pair of bath shorts teamed with flip flops while Selena donned a pink bikini top and Daisy Dukes
    After winning six gongs at the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday night, it looks like Justin Bieber has decided he deserves a holiday.
    The 17-year-old pop star was pictured heading to the beach in Hawaii yesterday after jetting to Hawaii with girlfriend Selena Gomez.
    Stripped to the waist, the Canadian star showed off his rock hard stomach in a pair of bathing shorts teamed with flip flops and white sunglasses.
    Selena, meanwhile, was wearing a pink bikini top and Daisy Dukes, and was carrying a leopard print bag as she took a walk with her other half.
    Als on show was a new tattoo on Bieber's toros under his arm, in addition to one he got when was 16 of a bird on his waistline.
    Earlier the young couple were spotted arriving to Maui hand in hand after taking a flight from Los Angeles LAX.
    ©Body art: Bieber showed off a new tattoo - a row of mysterious symbols under his left arm - in addition to the bird etching on his waistline
    Justin and Selena, 18, went fully public with their romance at the awards show in Las Vegas - sharing kisses and hugs in the audience.
    The young lovebirds smooched as Bieber picked up his six awards and dominated the star-studded ceremony.
    Gomez appeared to be making a good impression on her boyfriend's family, as she sat with her arm around Bieber's mother, Pattie Mallette.
    She was, however, notably absent from her beau's two acceptance speeches.
    Bieber, who was wearing a gold tuxedo jacket, grinned as he took home six awards during Sunday's ceremony.
    ©Holiday time: Justin and Selena arrived at the airport hand in hand for their romantic holiday together
    The pint-size pop star shared a slightly awkward hug with Gomez as his name was read out as the winner of digital artist of the year.
    He thanked his family, his fans, manager Scooter Braun and Usher - who signed the youngster to his record label and turned him into a superstar.
    'Basically everyone who helped me get out of my hometown and live my dream,' he said.
    ©Jet-set: The couple earlier took a flight out of Los Angeles, having returned from Las Vegas where they attended the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday
    ©Young love: The pair were dressed casually as they arrived in Maui
    Bieber and Gomez made up for their awkward moment as the former YouTube sensation was named the top new artist of the year.
    Bieber leaned in for a passionate kiss with his girlfriend and she beamed with delight as she watch her man on stage.
    The Canadian pop sensation thanked 'god' as he picked up his second award and paid tribute to his proud mother.
    ©Fully public: Justin and Selena shared kisses in the audience as he picked up six gongs at the awards ceremony
    'Mom - you've been amazing. You've been travelling with me, putting up with all my crap,' he said.
    Bieber also won awards for top pop album, top streaming artist, top song and top social media artist.
    Meanwhile, the first trailer for Bieber's women's fragrance Someday has been revealed.
    ©Up close and personal: Bieber kisses a young girl's neck after she uses his perfume in a new trailer for the scent called Someday
    ©Flying high: In the trailer, the pair are seen floating around in the sky
    The advert, which has been labelled 'ridiculous' by some, sees a young girl spray the fragrance on her neck, at which point Bieber appears next to her before whisking her up into the sky and flying through the air.
    Talking about the fragrance recently, Bieber told WWD: 'Let’s be real, the way a girl smells is very important to a guy!
    'I have such a deep connection with my fans, so creating a fragrance that I personally love is another way I can bring them closer to my world.'
    THE OFFICIAL SOMEDAY BY JUSTIN BIEBER COMMERCIAL

    source: dailymail

    VIA Teen dreams: Shirtless Justin Bieber and sweetheart Selena Gomez head to the beach in Maui

  • Design kilometre

    Design kilometre

    Design kilometre

    The given architectural decision for Hua Qiang Bei Road in the Chinese city of Shenzhen command WORKac has offered. The design project corresponds to growing commercial value and character of territory — this tendency has led to a problem of transport congestion and stoppers. Architects have suggested to make a series of strategic crossings of road.

    5 Exclusive Lanterns

    The project consists from “5 conceptual lanterns”, each of which has the function. Lanterns are visible from apart — by the way, during day heat they create a shade.

    Chinese street

    Architectural street

    Architectural project

    Kilometre street

    Night prospectus

    Night Chinese Street

    Each of lanterns carries out the own social program; in one the electronic museum, in other — information centre, in other — viewing pavilion is organised. Under the earth lanterns are connected with each other, in this zone has been created four additional metro stations.

    VIA «Design kilometre»

  • Now Lady Gaga 'gives birth' on stage: Outrageous singer releases gold liquid

    Now Lady Gaga 'gives birth' on stage: Outrageous singer releases gold liquid
    By MARCUS BARNES
    ©Another Gaga stunt: Lady Gaga donned a fake baby bump, rested her feet in stirrups and 'gave birth' to gold liquid as she sang hit Born This Way on Saturday Night Live
    She's covered herself with blood, emerged from an egg and danced around with a crucifix on her crotch.
    And now Lady Gaga can add giving birth to her growing list of outrageous stage show stunts.
    With a false belly attached to her midriff, the singer placed her legs in a pair of stirrups and proceeded to secrete gold liquid during a performance on U.S. show Saturday Night Live.
    ©Controversial: The singer is never one to shy away from outrageous stunts - this the latest in a long line of bizarre performances
    The 25-year-old singer began her performance by emerging from a pod, emblazoned with the name Beluga Gagaviar No1 - a reference to the famous, and very expensive, brand of caviar.
    Wearing a pair of PVC trousers and a cropped PVC blazer, which exposed her ultra-flat midriff, she launched into a typically energetic performance, singing all the vocals live as usual.
    Towards the end of the song her dancers surrounded her and, when she emerged from the scrum Gaga had acquired a huge bump.
    She immediately headed from a mock hospital bed to the side of the stage where her dancers helped into a pair of stirrups, and she subsequently 'gave birth' to a gold liquid.
    The performance was part of Saturday Night Live's closing show which was hosted by singer Justin Timberlake.
    ©Eccentric: Gaga's influence spread to the set of the show which was covered with gold and black stripes to match the outfits of her dancers and herself
    ©Plenty of bottle: Gaga joined in the fun throughout the show dressing up as a wine bottle in this Liquorville with host Justin Timberlake
    Gaga also performed her songs Edge Of Glory and Judas during the show, as well as joining in with the comedy sketches.
    she was the female element in a song about threesomes performed by Timberlake and comedian Adam Samberg.
    The hilarious song, which included the chorus 'It's okay when it's in a three-way, it's not gay when it's in a three-way. With some honey in the middle there's some leeway, the area's grey in a one, two, three-way.'
    ©Surprise: Timberlake and Samberg end up in bed together without Gaga in the amusing video
    The singer kept a straight face throughout the song, which sees Timberlake and Samberg end up in bed together without her.
    In another scene she put a huge cork on her head, with a dress covered in grapes and a huge wine glass on each of her arms in Timberlake's Liquorville sketch.
    ©Appeal: Gaga asked fans to send in videos for the advert and editors were inundated with material
    Fans responded within minutes and uploaded hundreds more videos.
    As the videos streamed in, editors worked on the video in real time dropping in new footage as it was received.
    The film was completed four days ago, just in time for Gaga's performance on yesterday's season finale of Saturday Night Live.
    [HD]Lady Gaga - Born This Way (Saturday Night Live S36E22)

    Google Chrome: Lady Gaga "The Edge of Glory" Commercial [HD]

    source: dailymail

    VIA Now Lady Gaga 'gives birth' on stage: Outrageous singer releases gold liquid

  • Near East: Ephesus added to UNESCO World Heritage list

    Near East: Ephesus added to UNESCO World Heritage list
    The ancient city of Ephesus in western Turkey has been added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List following a vote in Bonn on July 5.

    Ephesus added to UNESCO World Heritage list
    Ephesus [Credit: DHA]

    The move came just a day after Diyarbakir’s wall and its nearby Hevsel Gardens were added to the list as well.

    Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Permanent Representative of Turkey to UNESCO Hüseyin Avni Botsalı – who headed the Turkish delegation at the session – described the unanimous approval of Ephesus as a great success.

    “In fact, we have a great responsibility on our shoulders in terms of cooperation of the international community in this field. We will make significant efforts for the protection of civilizational values and cultural properties,” he added.

    Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Ömer Çelik celebrated the development in a series of Twitter posts.

    “We have just received the second good news from Germany. Ephesus is now officially on the world heritage [list],” he said.

    The minister said Ephesus had always been a key port city, as well as a cultural and commercial center, throughout history.

    “A principal city of science, culture and art of its era, Ephesus had been a residential area starting from the pre-historic era and through the Hellenistic, Roman, Eastern Roman periods and also under the Ottoman Empire for about nine millennia without interruption,” he said.

    Çelik also said Ephesus, which draws 2 million visitors a year, was a place that the whole world agreed was a site of global cultural heritage.

    In a later interview with Anadolu Agency, Çelik noted the threat that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) posed to world heritage in neighboring countries like Syria.

    “While a terrorist group called Daesh destroys cities, it is a significant message against this barbarism that Turkey as a Muslim country in the Muslim world managed to put its properties on the world heritage list,” he said, using the Arabic acronym for ISIL.

    In May, ISIL militants seized the Roman ruins at the Palmyra World Heritage site in Syria’s Homs Governorate. Last week, members of ISIL destroyed a peerless statue of a lion at the site on the grounds that it is idolatrous, while it has also allegedly conducted executions at the ancient city’s famous theater.

    Describing Ephesus, UNESCO said: “The Temple of Artemis, which was considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is situated on the edge of this small town. The city which was situated at the beginning of the Persian Royal Road has survived sufficiently enough to enable us to understand the ancient way of life in Ephesus. It is one of the cities which played an impressive role in the beginnings of Christianity and during the period of its proliferation (St. John Church and the shrine of the Virgin Mary). It contains one of the most spectacular examples of religious architecture of the Seljuk Period.”

    Turkey first entered the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1985 with Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia and the Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği – both in central Turkey – and the historic areas of Istanbul.

    The Hittite capital Hattuşa was added to the list in 1986, followed by Mount Nemrut in Adıyaman 1987, and Hierapolis-Pamukkale in Denizli and the ancient city of Xanthos-Letoon between Muğla and Fethiye in 1988.

    In 1994, the city of Safranbolu was approved as a world heritage while the archaeological site of Troy was added to the list in 1998. In recent year, Edirne’s Selimiye Mosque and its social complex was added in 2011, as was Konya’s Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük in 2012.

    The latest entries in 2014 were Bursa’s Cumalikızık village which witnessed the birth of the Ottoman Empire and İzmir’s ancient city of Pergamon and its multi-layered cultural landscape.

    Source: Hurriyet Daily News [July 06, 2015]

  • The Prince and the President: William greets Obama and Michelle at the Palace as tanned Kate takes to Royal duties like a natural

    The Prince and the President: William greets Obama and Michelle at the Palace as tanned Kate takes to Royal duties like a natural
    By JAMES WHITE
    ©Newlyweds: Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, back from their honeymoon, meet with the First couple inside Buckingham Palace
    President and First Lady flew to London a day early due to ash cloud fears
    Just third state visit by U.S. President to Britain in 100 years
    Obama and Cameron vow to support 'Arab Spring' uprising
    Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge today welcomed the President of the United States to Buckingham Palace in their first big test as a Royal couple.
    Fresh from their Seychelles honeymoon, a well-tanned Duchess of Cambridge performed her Royal duties with aplomb as she spoke to Mr and Mrs Obama in a 10-minute private meeting.
    There were smiles all round moments earlier when the Obamas arrived at Buckingham Palace and were met by the Queen and Prince Philip.
    ©Sorry we couldn't make the wedding: The couples chat and no doubt the recent Royal marriage ceremony was a topic of conversation
    ©
    Friendly: The couples met before President Obama was the subject of a 41-gun salute
    They arrived in the Presidential limousine known as The Beast, which pulled into the front of Buckingham Palace just before noon.
    After the meeting of the heads of state, the Obamas spent about 10 minutes speaking with Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, before meeting more Royal figures.
    Senior members of the Queen's household were introduced to the Obamas in the Bow room.
    Among them were the Queen's private secretary Christopher Geidt, her treasurer Sir Alan Reed, master of the household Air Vice Marshall David Walker, and the Lord Chamberlain Earl Peel.
    Others who met the president and his wife included Brigadier Archie Miller-Bakewell, Philip's private secretary, Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Ford, comptroller of the Lord Chamberlain's Office, and a number of ladies-in-waiting to the Queen including Virginia Ogilvy, Countess of Airlie.
    ©Having a giggle: The Duchess of Cambridge and Michelle Obama enjoy a brief moment of hilarity during their meeting
    ©Meet and greet: The Queen welcomes Barack Obama to Buckingham Palace, watched by his wife Michelle and Prince Philip
    ©Old friends reunited: Two years on from their last meeting, the Obamas and the Queen and Prince Philip look pleased to see one another
    The Obamas were then taken to Buckingham Palace Gardens where they faced with a guard of honour, 101 soldiers from the 1st Battalion, Scots Guards, and three officers lined up in two rows. Behind them were the Band, Pipes and Drums of the Scots Guard.
    The air was shattered by the noise of booming gunfire as a 41-gun salute was begun by the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery in nearby Green Park while simultaneously at the Tower of London another was fired by the Honourable Artillery Company.
    The guardsmen gave a royal salute and then the American national anthem was played in honour of the US president.
    ©Hold on to your hats! The windy weather plays havoc with the Royal party
    ©
    Ceremonial welcome: The Obamas are joined by members of the Royal Family to hear the U.S. national anthem
    The British National Anthem was not performed as the Queen is in residence at the palace and so it was needed to mark her arrival at the historic building.
    Major Rory Shannon, in command of the guard of honour, approached the heads of state and formally stated that the troops were ready for inspection. Mr Obama, with the Duke, then walked down the terrace steps to the waiting soldiers in their bearskins and scarlet tunics.
    The major escorted the president along the two lines of guardsmen as Philip followed a pace behind.
    The U.S. leader could be seen exchanging words with the senior officer as they passed the troops who, when not performing ceremonial duties, are fighting soldiers.
    ©Guard of honour: Prince Philip accompanies Mr Obama as they inspect soldiers of the Household Cavalry in Buckingham Palace Gardens
    ©Protection: The heavily-armoured Presidential limousine arrives at Buckingham Palace
    At the end of the inspection, Mr Obama took his place beside the Queen and watched as the guardsmen marched off before the party headed inside for lunch.
    Earlier the President declared the UK-U.S. partnership 'an essential relationship for us and for the world'.
    But he began his visit today by making a solemn statement about the loss of life in Joplin, Missouri, where a tornado claimed 116 lives on Sunday night.
    The U.S. president flew into Stansted airport ahead of schedule last night to avoid the possibility of disruption to air travel from the ash cloud from an erupting Icelandic volcano.
    He had been due to fly from Ireland on board Air Force One this morning to be greeted at the Essex airport by the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.
    But the decision was taken to bring forward the visit after the announcement of cancellations to some UK commercial flights due to the ash billowing from the Grimsvotn volcano - with more disruption expected in the days to come.
    ©Arrival: Crowds strain to take pictures of the Presidential limousine, accompanied by police outriders, as it arrives at Buckingham Palace
    ©Welcoming party: President Obama, left with Prince Charles, and First Lady Michelle, right with the Duchess of Cornwall, leave the U.S. Ambassador's residence Winfield House today
    ©
    Relaxed: The President enjoys a joke with Prince Charles, left, while Michelle Obama and the Duchess of Cornwall are deep in conversation
    The state visit - only the third by a U.S. president to the UK in 100 years - comes at a time of close co-operation between Britain and America on issues ranging from Libya to Afghanistan, counter-terrorism and the Middle East peace process.
    This strong partnership was reflected in a joint article written by Mr Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron for The Times, in which they declare: 'Ours is not just a special relationship, it is an essential relationship - for us and for the world.'
    After his early arrival, Mr Obama was spending the night in the US ambassador's residence in London, Winfield House in Regent's Park.
    ©Solemn: Barack Obama began his British visit today by making a statement about the appalling loss of life in Joplin, Missouri, where a tornado left at least 116 people dead
    Despite the hasty change to their planned schedule, Mr Obama and wife Michelle were still given the formal welcome expected of a state visit.
    They were greeted by the Lord in Waiting Viscount Brookeborough, who met them on behalf of the Queen.
    Instead of a traditional red carpet they left the plane on special red-carpeted stairs because of windy conditions at the airport.
    Later today the Obamas will view the royal picture gallery before a wreath-laying visit to Westminster Abbey and a state banquet in the evening.
    The couple will stay as guests of the Queen at Buckingham Palace tonight and tomorrow.
    Tomorrow will be devoted to politics, with talks between Mr Obama and Mr Cameron at 10 Downing Street, followed by an address to both Houses of Parliament, in which the president is expected to say that the US has no closer ally in the world than Britain.
    In their joint article, Mr Obama and Mr Cameron put the transatlantic partnership at the heart of the drive for global stability and prosperity.
    ©Hello Britain: President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle step off Air Force One as they arrive at London Stansted Airport last night
    ©Touchdown: Air Force One arrives at Stansted Airport, London ahead of schedule due to fears volcanic ash would spread over Britain today
    'When the United States and Britain stand together, our people and people around the world can become more secure and more prosperous,' they wrote.
    'And that is the key to our relationship. Yes, it is founded on a deep emotional connection, by sentiment and ties of people and culture.
    'But the reason it thrives, the reason why this is such a natural partnership, is because it advances our common interests and shared values.
    'It is a perfect alignment of what we both need and what we both believe. And the reason it remains strong is because it delivers time and again.
    'Ours is not just a special relationship, it is an essential relationship - for us and for the world.'
    They also promised not to abandon the protesters fighting for democracy in the 'Arab Spring'.
    ©Flying the flag: British and American colours stand along The Mall leading to Buckingham Palace in preparation for the visit
    'We will not stand by as their aspirations get crushed in a hail of bombs, bullets and mortar fire,' said the two leaders.
    'We are reluctant to use force, but when our interests and values come together, we know we have a responsibility to act...
    'We will stand with those who want to bring light into dark, support those who seek freedom in place of repression, aid those laying the building blocks of democracy.'
    It comes after Foreign Secretary William Hague and US secretary of state Hillary Clinton sent out a message to Syria's President Bashar Assad to halt his regime's repression of pro-democracy activists.
    Speaking to American reporters shortly before Mr Obama's arrival, Mr Cameron said there was 'an incredible alignment of views' between his administration and the White House on key global issues, including the military mission in Libya, the uprisings of the Arab Spring, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
    ©
    'Smile, honey. We'll be meeting the Queen and that hat cost a lot of money.'
    And he paid lavish tribute to Mr Obama's style, saying that as well as being 'courageous' over issues such as Osama bin Laden, he was also 'thoughtful, measured and serious'.
    The current closeness of the UK-U.S. relationship was remarked upon at a joint press conference following talks between Mr Hague and Mrs Clinton at the Foreign Office.
    Mrs Clinton joked: 'If there were any closer alignment, we would worry about each other.'
    The two leaders are expected to drop in on a barbecue being hosted by their wives Michelle and Samantha for families of military personnel involved in joint UK-U.S. missions overseas.
    Mr Obama is due to travel on to France on Thursday morning for the G8 summit of leading industrialised nations in Deauville, also being attended by Mr Cameron.
    Raw Video: Obamas Visit Buckingham Palace

    source: dailymail

    VIA The Prince and the President: William greets Obama and Michelle at the Palace as tanned Kate takes to Royal duties like a natural

  • Italy: Neutron scattering helping conserve the world’s great historic monuments

    Italy: Neutron scattering helping conserve the world’s great historic monuments
    A recent international study led by ANSTO instrument scientist Vladimir Luzin is likely to be of interest to conservationists who are trying to preserve important marble sculptures and artefacts, such as Michelangelo's famous sculpture of David.

    Neutron scattering helping conserve the world’s great historic monuments
    David is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created between 
    1501 and 1504, by Michelangelo [Credit: ALAMY]

    "The fact of the matter is that physical weathering, deterioration and damage to marble and other architectural stones present a serious problem for the preservation of sculptures, monuments and buildings," said Luzin.

    David: A sculpture made from Carrara marble

    Before its relocation in Galleria dell'Accademia, David, the "Giant", was  symbolically displayed in the political heart of Renaissance Florence, the Piazza della Signoria. Over a period of almost three centuries, the statue was exposed to the action of weather, historical events and inappropriate restoration works. These coexisting factors prevented the appropriate preservation of a masterpiece that, already at the time of its creation, was regarded as challenging by many artists—due to the presence of taroli, imperfections of the marble.

    Today David is in a highly stable condition but still presents a contemporary scientific challenge from a conservation point of view. Researchers are monitoring marble cracking of the 4.3 metre David with a system of sensors that record vibrations, rotations and environmental conditions. [1] Conservationists monitor the sculpture because it is thought that even small mechanical impacts and small temperature variations are detrimental to marble.

    Geologically marble is formed by the alteration (metamorphism) of limestone under high temperature and high pressure. The metamorphic process causes a complete recrystallization of the original rock into an interlocking mosaic of calcite and/or dolomite crystals with very specific mechanical behaviour.

    Carrara marble, the stone used by Michaelangelo in sculpting David, was  one of the most popular types of marble in the world because of its beauty and high lustre. For centuries it was quarried from the Apuan Alps in Tuscan Italy.

    The popularity of Carrara marble was due in part to the wide range of varieties available (statuary, flowered, veined, brecciated, bardiglio, etc.), to the constancy of its quality, scarcity of defects, large size of single blocks that could be extracted, excellent physical and mechanical characteristics, and long-lasting strength and beauty." [2]        

    Neutron scattering helping conserve the world’s great historic monuments
    The Pantheon in Rome [Credit: ANSTO]

    However the suitability of marble from the Carrara area of Italy for buildings and artworks has been questioned because of 'spectacular bowing behaviour' of marble slabs on numerous modern buildings including the Amoco building in Chicago and the Grand Arche de la Defense in Paris.

    A study of Carrara marble by a group of investigators led by Luzin have confirmed that microstresses caused by temperature variation and the thermo-mechanical properties of the marble itself help explain the deterioration. Co-investigators are Dimitry Nikolayev of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Moscow and Siegfried Siegesmund of theUniversity of Göttingen in Germany.

    The investigators were interested in the different environmental conditions that influence marble deterioration and had to reproduce factors known to be important to the process of deterioration. Temperature effects were among those known to cause mechanical stress.

    Luzin and collaborators used non-destructive neutron diffraction to confirm that thermally-induced microstress from a single thermal exposure can cause microcracking in the marble and therefore be responsible for weathering and deterioration of the marble [3].

    "Neutron diffraction is a useful tool and a non-destructive method to investigate the texture, phase composition and spatial and orientation dependence of strain in a bulk marble sample," explained Luzin.

    Although the commercial use of statue-grade Carrara marble is no longer allowed, an exception is made for restoration works and scientific research. Freshly cut marble from a quarry in Carrara, Italy was used for the testing.

    "Although not easy, stress measurements in geological materials, such as marble are feasible and provide valuable characterisation," said Luzin.

    He explained that the challenges are related to the need to measure two phases with sufficient accuracy. It is necessary to use a large gauge volume because of the coarse grain microstructure and longer measurement time in order to capture very delicate effects of microstress in calcite and dolomite—which are also very weak neutron scatterers.

    The neutron high resolution powder diffractomter, Echidna, determined the amount of each phase in two cube samples of marble. In one sample, the dolomite comprised a volume fraction of 28 per cent  and in the other it was 18 per cent, which is not surprising given the highly visible non-uniform distribution of dolomite in the marble.

    The Kowari diffractometer was used to produce pole figures, graphical representations that   capture the preferred crystallographic orientation (texture) of the calcite and dolomite. "A weak crystallographic texture in both phases was confirmed in the neutron diffraction experiment," said Luzin.

    The stress experiments were carried out using the Kowari diffractometer in a specially designed sample environment unit in order to control temperature. "We took measurements of the calcite and dolomite phases at room temperature and at 80° C."

    Using a technique to measure the stiffness of an elastic material, the researchers were able to accurately measure the accumulated damage after a thermal exposure that could be unambiguously attributed to microcracking.

    "Evidently, a significant change in microstress caused micro-cracking in the marble sample due to temperature changes," said Luzin.

    Although exaggerated temperature might not be relevant to real daily and seasonal temperature variation, smaller, more numerous natural temperature variations during long periods of time might result in even greater accumulated damage. There are historical examples of sculpture which deteriorated into a pulverised state after a century of exposure to temperature variation.

    "We have a responsibility to try and preserve great works of art and architecture with non-destructive techniques and nuclear technologies give us the means to do this. Hopefully David and other important monuments can be preserved in the centuries to come," said Luzin.

    References

    [1] Giovanni Pascale, Filippo Bastianini, Roberto Carli, "Monitoring Marble cracking in the David by Michaelangelo Proc. Art'11, 10th Int. Conf. on Non-Destructive Investigations and microanalysis for the diagnostics and conservation of cultural and environmental heritage, Florence, April 13th-15th, 2011, NDT44

    [2] Stephano Merlino Paolo Orlandi "Carraraite and zaccagnaite, two new minerals from the Carrara marble quarries: their chemical compositions, physical properties, and structural features" American Mineralogist, Volume 86, pages 1293–1301

    [3] 310.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.777.148. Luzin, V; Nikolayev, D and Siegesmund, S, Temperature Induced Internal Stress in Carrara Marble, Mater. Sci. Forum 777, 148-154 (2014)

    Source: Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) [June 22, 2015]

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