Arts & Images

Paintings of The Sower

2008-07-15T19:19:00.001+08:00

Vincent Willem Van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853, in Groot-Zundert, a village in the south of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border. He was the eldest son of Theodorus Van Gogh, a handsome preacher, and his kind-hearted wife, Anna Cornelia Carbentus. He was named Vincent Willem after his two grandfathers. He was followed by a sister, Anna, born in 1855, and in 1857, his brother, Theodorus (Theo), was born.

The Sower, Vincent van Gogh 1853-1890

Sower with the Setting Sun

The image of a farmer with the arm extended and throwing seeds on the furrows of the field was one of the favourite farmers representations of Vincent Van Gogh.

In 1888, while the artist was staying at Arles, he painted vary scenes of the Sower. Most of them inspired by Jean-Francois Millet, who years earlier painted many scenes of farmers and sowers.

During these early years, Van Gogh painted in different compositions several sowers, with the clear influence of Millet .

But, soon Van Gogh would show a personal interpretation of these traditional scenes, introducing the impressionist style to the country side, with the very electric and short strokes, and the application of a lot of vibrant colors..

Around the 21 st of November that year, Vincent sent to his brother Theo the sketch of a new version of the Sower.In this new version the simple figure of the sower is the main object in the painting. Van Gogh located next to the sower a big and dark tree inclined that divides diagonally the painting. In the back a big round sun finishes the trilogy of big figures of this surprising painting. Opposite to these big figures we find the details of the city far away and the crust of tree, seems filigreed and anecdotic.

The audacious composition with streamlined forms, the superpositions and the triangular mysteries of the fields along with the expressive and doughy application of the colour, results as an amazing modernity for year 1888.

Van Gogh painted several scenes of the sower inspired by Millet, even copying some of his drawings, but the last one was the favorite of Vincent Van Gogh and also the one closer to his own personality and style and most different and further from Millet`s influence.

Crying Baby Cliparts

2008-01-24T17:01:00.000+08:00

Protecting your art pieces at home is only natural if you are a lover of arts. This is similar to the mother who love her children. If you love your children, you would want to protect them from any injuries and danger. However, if you have babies and arts, can you protect both? Of course you can.

If you have small babies at home, you need to have art storage solution. At home, you cannot place your painting equipments such as all your lacquer, bottles of paints and brushes within the reach of your babies or toddlers. They would put anything which they touch into their mouth. If not careful, they can get poisoned or choked. Other important things to keep away from your babies or little ones at home is your pottery, sculpture, and any other antiques collectibles, cottages collectibles and many other treasured arts pieces. Once broken, they would be gone forever.

Whenever there are children at home, it is best to have an art room where you can still enjoy your hobby when your kids are asleep. When your kids are active in the day, the room is never accessible to the small kids. If your home is a small one, you might even consider putting your treasured arts under the care of the professional, such as custom art storage vaults.

Choir Cliparts

2008-01-15T12:13:00.000+08:00

In the church, you can see the choir singing and we get to enjoy their sweet voices. It makes the church a livelier place. At the church, we get free to hear free songs from the choir. But some people have to pay money to see choir performances. Do you know that in the casino, there are choir and performances too? Casinos used to be quiet, with sound of Jackpot and noises from people talking and shouting. But now, casinos have music!! There are singers or choir and even some live performances at the stage of the casino. This definitely add more spice to the casino. Normally the singers or choir group are dressed in a sexy manner.

Some people, like my grandmother, can stay in the casino for a whole day and night. That is why the casino has all their services cater for people like my grandmother. There are free food and drinks in the casino. And now, there are free music and performances at the casino! What a great change and a good improvement. It was a success indeed. Many casino visitors gather round the stage to watch the performances in the casino!

Though the casino can provide such a good service and wonderful entertainment to attract visitors, there are still some people who do not like to enter the casino. My mother does not like the smoky environment of the casino. She hates cigarette smoke. She would rather spend some time playing Casinos Online than to spend hours in smoky casino. At the casino, you do not get to see gambling news and tricks. But many gaming sites like Gambling PhD, which is a directory of online casinos and online gambling sites, provides daily gaming news and online casino reviews. And as I mentioned in the previous post, playing online do not require any special attire. So this is how online casinos can be better than real casinos on land!

Greetings Graphics

2008-01-14T11:48:00.000+08:00

Whether you enter a restaurant, a Casino or your friends' home, it is always so nice to be greeted. A sincere greeting with a genuine smile on the face of the host when you enter the home shows how much the host welcome you to their home as a guest. You would feel comfortable and happy to stay in their home. Similarly for the restaurant. When you enter the restaurant for breakfast, you will see the restaurant staff or manager standing at the entrance to welcome you. They would bow and say "welcome" and "Good Morning" together with a sweet smile on their face. This is what courtesy is all about. It is a politeness and smile to customers which make the customers happy.

At the casino, there are always security guard at the entrance and exit of the casino. There are no one to welcome you, but security guard to check your possession. They would also make sure that you are appropriately dressed. Without proper attire, you cannot enter the casino. Though the security guard will not say 'Welcome' to you, there are signs and pictures at the entrance of the casino which tell you that you are so much welcome to the casino! However, if you do not like to be 'checked' by the security guard and would like to enter the casino wearing your pyjamas, then Online Casino Suite, which is a directory of the best online casinos on the internet, is a place you can go. Search for the various types of games which interest you and you could be playing games like blackjack, video poker and Texas holdem! At Onlinecasinosuite.com, you can play free slots and other online casino games even when you are undressed!

Church Cliparts

2008-01-12T16:45:00.000+08:00

We are all stars of our own life. Everyday we are acting our own drama, our own show. Sometimes while acting, we get caught and we get banned. This is because we do not follow the rule of the game of life.

What game are you playing in our life? If you know how to play Reversi, our life can be depicted by that. The Reversi is a board games consisting of two players, each have their own white or black counters/disks. At the start of the game, each player has both two whites and two black counters on the green board. Once the game start, the number of black and white counters would be changed. Sometimes there are more whites, sometimes there are more black. Who would win the game? The number of whites on the green board win the game. If there are more black than white, then the player with the black counter wins.

How is that going to relate to our life? The white counters belong to God and the black counters belong to Satan. The green board where God and Satan used to place their bets is the earth. We are all counters of God and Satan. Every step we made seem to be 'fixed' by them. Do you want to be the black counter or the white counter? Both Satan and God can see that. If you are not sure, then Satan can see that too.

Both God and Satan are gambling! However, they do not need any Online Casino Guide or any other aid because they are of the highest order and He is the creator. Only Casino Newbies and beginners at internet gaming need casino guide. We are His creation. He 'determined' the prophets and messengers so that the necessary 'counters' would be turned white when the time comes. The same happens for Satan. He tries to mislead people, trying to turn most counters black in the process. Rules of the games on earth are implemented by people. They are not rules of God. You can learn how to play casino games and enter the best and safest online casinos and you are still leading your normal life, not doing anything evil or destructive to your family. But after reading casino reviews, playing numerous attempts of casino games and you have no control on your life, you are going to be the counter Satan will pick up. Who will ultimately win the game? Are there more good than evil now or are there equal number of good and evil now? The game is not complete yet. However, soon the results will be out.

Freedom Images

2008-01-10T00:03:00.000+08:00

Freedom is what everybody wishes to have. The birds and butterflies flying in the air shows how 'free' the animals or insects can be. Watching the birds flying in the sky is another freedom of the mind. It eases the mind and 'free' the mind of troubles and woes. Watching the birds flying in the sky, listening to their songs, you would feel the peace of nature and you would want to be like one of the birds, flying freely in the sky and able to see the world.

The butterflies visit flowers to flowers, they might not fly high like the birds, but they are just as free as the birds. They serve important purpose to the flowers and they make the environment prettier and merrier.

Fly, seek and find. These are what the birds and the butterflies do. They fly around, seeking for shelter and food. They build their home and serve the communities. We human also have to fly, seek and find. Though we cannot fly, but we have the capabilities to soar like the birds. We have brains more developed than the animals. We can make use of our brains to 'soar' and excel in our area of expertise. For example, if your passion is playing Online Casino games, then you have to fly and seek. Find the best casino directories site that can offer you useful information and news about casinos. Flatlands online casinos guide is an excellent resource for casual casino gamblers. You will find online casino reviews of the best online casinos. There are many casinos sites in the internet world. Just like the butterflies, there are many flowers in the gardens and parks. The butterflies just have to fly to search the best flowers. Flatlands have supplies of free bonuses from Microgaming, Playtech and Vegas Technology casinos, feel free to conquer Flatlands.

Inspirational Images

2008-01-09T21:31:00.000+08:00

Never be afraid to Dream... Live...Love and Laugh... Yes, do not be afraid. Have faith in your heart. We are all God's child. God created us and we are all his precious children. Just like normal children who do not listen to their parents, there are many children of God who do not obey him. They choose not to follow God but to follow Satan.

Satan is the evil spirit that would mislead people and ultimately lead them to destruction. Satan is the opposite of God. When you have faith in God, your everyday life will be constructive and filled with love. The more faith you have, the lesser fear you will experience. Fear is the opposite of Faith. Faith is God and Fear is Satan. If you believe in God, you trust him, you have faith in him and you will naturally found your life to be peaceful. For having no fear, you are free of anxieties and can be happy.

If you dream of getting rich or to have more money, then you have to work towards it. Have faith that God will help you. Ask and you shall receive. Dare to live your life you want. If you have faith and you always follow God's law, you will never fall, not even when you are at Casinos Online too! If you have faith, you will feel peace. When you are peaceful, you can listen to your heart. Listen to your heart and you can conquer the casinos! There are news, rules and rankings of casinos at OnlineCasinosDir.com, an online casino directory. Seek God, find peace and listen to your heart. What are the games that you like to play? Do you like Bingo, Craps, Blackjack, Roulette, Online Slots, Texas Holdem and Video Poker? If you love these, don't be afraid to play, enjoy and win! All you need is peace, confidence and Faith to gain victory!

Malicious Images

2008-01-08T23:00:00.000+08:00

The power of the weak minds are the targets of the devils. The Power of Evil seeks to drag men down to hell. The devil is often depicted as the image of a serpent. According to the bible, Revelation chapter twelve, verses seven to nine, that is Rev 12:7-9, Michael and his angels fought. The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world -- he was thrown down to earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Today Satan and his angels continue to mislead the world. They caused families to be broken and lives to be destroyed. He wants to oppose God and whoever tries to follow God, he will try to drive them away from God.

The eyes of the evils are attractive and tempting. The eyes of the evils always have natural language that tell you to 'come to me, you will enjoy, you will have fun'. If your heart is not disciplined, you will ultimately lose all your money if you go to the Casinos of anywhere. However, if you are disciplined, you can always win money at the casinos. Disciplined yourself and your heart first and you can really have fun and enjoyment at the casinos. You might even win extra money to buy gifts to surprise your loved ones! Seek the help of Online Casino Reviews.biz to find the best online casinos which offer attractive free casino bonus cash and free gambling software downloads. Read online casino reviews and search for your favourite casino games including slots, video poker, blackjack and casino roulette! Remember, the casino games are tempting and fun, but if you are not disciplined, it is your road to hell!

Satanic Cliparts

2008-01-03T00:27:00.000+08:00

The Satan has a way to lure people. He disguised himself and can appear in many forms. Satan tries all his power and might so as to oppose what God is doing. God Loves his children and He wants his children on earth to be obedient to him. But Satan is the black sheep, misleading people and guiding people further and further away from God. His aim and purpose is to destroy God's creation, so that he may win God.

Who will win in the last day? Do you think God will win or Satan will win these fight? Everyday we are controlling our mind and body to do the will of God. If you are careful, you will fall into the trap of Satan and you would suffer for life. Your life is in your control and it is in your hand. Just like any games at Online Casino Scrutiny or any other betting games. You have to place your bet in life. Do you bet on God or do you bet on Satan? If you choose God, then you have to show that you are following him. To follow God, we have to follow His laws and be obedient to his commands. If you do not choose God, you may not know that you are in the hands of Satan. Satan is very cunning and Satan will do all he can to control your minds and thoughts. He will lead you into temptations and will slowly destroy you. Malaysia Minister Chua Soi Lek, Minister of Health's Christmas Sex Scandal Dec 2007, involving sex with his personal friend in a hotel room, which was later discovered by his wife and family, is one example of the Minister's wrong doing. This was a case of not able to resist temptations. For having a indisciplined heart and a 'weak' mind, he had to pay a price after eating the forbidden fruit.

The woman right in front of you may be pretty and seductive. The woman may seem better than your spouse, but that may be the first and your last chance. That may be the happiest moment you might have but that would also be the most memorable day for the future to come.

If you have God, God will always protect and guide you. If you follow God and study God's way, you will have a disciplined heart. Having a disciplined heart, you have no fear where you are. Even if you are at Casino Scrutiny, the online casino gambling guide for beginners, You will never be tempted. You would know what is discernment and you know what is right and what is wrong. Casino Scrutiny provides casino reviews of the best online casinos including Rushmore Casino, Golden Casino, Millionaire Casino and many more quality casinos. For the 'Free Thinker' and people who are 'mislead' by Satan, their hearts are not disciplined, neither are their mind thinking right. They fall easily into the addiction of gambling and they destroy their own life and their own family.

Betting Images

2008-01-02T16:13:00.000+08:00

Do you gamble because your parents are gamblers? Do you gamble also when your parents are non-gamblers? When you gamble, you are betting on something. The purpose of betting is to Win. You feel happy the moment you know that your bet is correct. Your pride and morale is boosted at the moment when you win. You feel thrill and you are motivated to keep Winning. The special moment that you feel in your heart is the natural ecstasy that you can ever get -- No side effect to your body at all.

Betting is not only restricted to Online Casinos or any land based casinos. There are balls betting such as soccer betting, and various other games. How many times do we always hear people saying "I bet he will win", "I bet she will be the winner", "I bet number six horse will win" and so on. We also have people betting to win women. How many times can we hear men talking about betting on women too!

It seems like we are Born To Bet. It seems like our innate ability. Without betting, life would be monotonous. Businesses have no competition. There will be no love rivals. There will not be racing competitors. Everybody would be dull and listless if there are no competition existing in this world! Human is thus logically thought to be 'Born to Bet' because that is the natural 'adrenaline' that drive men to work. With people of the same goals gather together, they had a mission to accomplish. Every mission is a bet which they do not know who is the winner.

Born to Bet is a free online casino guide with reviews of the best online casinos and poker rooms on the Internet. While life seems bore and uninteresting, Borntobet.com offers a variety of gaming choices for you. Feel your sense of worth. Feel your confidence boosted and all the natural ecstasy that was accompanied through placing your bet and playing the games of luck. We are born to bet. Life is a bet, a gamble when you married your spouse. Life is a gamble the day you are born. We are born to bet, but we might not know the rules to the many games in this world. Every games are played with its own rules. What is the game that you want to play? You want to play marriage, there is rules for marriage. You want to play racing, there are rules for racing. If you want to play casino games, go to a casino directory like Born To Bet, which also has many online gambling articles, poker bonus codes and free online casino bonuses. Everybody has the opportunity and potential to bet what they like to play. But, in order to win the games, you have to find out the rules of the games.

Money Images

2008-01-02T14:15:00.000+08:00

Billionaires Opportunities
Do you wish to have free money? Nobody would say no to Free Money. Nobody would say they have enough money. Everybody wants to have lots of money and be rich.

Everyday, so many people go Rushmore Online Casino to try their luck. They want to win the most money within the shortest interval of time. Billionaires Club by Rushmore Casino offers free online casino games and also a massive casino bonus up to $888! To win money, you have to pay a price. Self-doubt drowns your dreams. Hesitation holds you hostage. Skepticism scares away your success. You don't have to have a degree or a diploma! Don't need any qualifications, experience or credentials! You just need to download the Realtime Gaming online casino software and start playing the best Las Vegas style casino games on the web. Have confidence in yourself. No risk no gain. If you want to win, you have to pay a price. Take a risk and you could be inside the Billionaire's Club!

Some examples of billionaires and multimillionaires who never graduated from college are Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Michael Dell, Larry Ellison, Jay Van Andel, Richard DeVos, Steve Jobs, Thomas Monaghan, Jim Jannard, and so on. These people did not let their lack of degrees or diplomas had them back! Another list of hugely successful authors who self-published their first major book are Tom Peters, Richard Paul Evans, John Grisham and James Redfield. Again, these people did not let their lack of a traditional publisher hold them back. Still, there are some other well-known self-publishers which include people like William Blake, Carl Sandburg, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, Benjamin Franklin and many more.

The only diploma that counts is a million-dollar idea. The only qualification needed is a burning desire. The only credential required is fearless action. Everything else can be borrowed or bought. You can hire people with multiple degrees and diplomas. you can buy experience from mentors and condsultants. You can assemble a team of people who possess all of the money, skills, and experience you lack. All of these people are waiting for someone to say,"Follow me, This is the Way!"

Ratatouille Images

2007-12-28T18:35:00.000+08:00

Ratatouille (pronounced /ˌrætəˈtuːiː/, /-ˈtwiː/; French: /ʁatatuj/) is a 2007 animated feature film produced by Pixar and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It tells the story of Rémy (voiced by Patton Oswalt), a rat living in Paris who wants to be a chef. The film was directed by Brad Bird, who took over from Jan Pinkava in 2005, and it was released on June 29, 2007 in the United States, to both critical acclaim and box office success.

Rémy lives in a rat colony in the attic of a French country home with his brother, Émile, and father, Django. Inspired by France's recently deceased top chef, Auguste Gusteau, Rémy does his best to live the life of a gourmet. Not appreciating his talents, his clan puts him to work sniffing for rat poison in their food.

The rats flee the house when the resident, an old woman, discovers the colony. Rémy is separated from the others and floats through the storm drains to Paris on a cookbook written by Gusteau, following the chef's image to his namesake restaurant, now run by former sous-chef Skinner. As Rémy looks into the kitchen from a skylight, a young man with no culinary talent, Alfredo Linguini, arrives with a letter of introduction from his recently deceased mother, and is hired to do janitorial duties. While cleaning, Linguini spills a pot of soup and attempts to cover up his mistake by adding nearby ingredients. Horrified, Rémy drops into the kitchen and attempts to fix the ruined soup rather than trying to escape. Linguini catches Rémy in the act, just as Skinner catches Linguini. In the confusion some of the soup has been served. To everyone's surprise, the soup is a success.

The kitchen's sole female cook, Colette, convinces Skinner not to fire Linguini, and Skinner agrees, provided Linguini can recreate the soup. Just as Skinner makes his decision, he sees Rémy trying to escape out the window and pandemonium breaks out in the kitchen. Linguini traps Rémy in a jar and Skinner orders Linguini to take Rémy away and dispose of him. Linguini cannot bring himself to kill Rémy, and begins to talk to him. As he tells Remy about his problems, he notices that Remy seems to understand him and responds with a series of nods and other gestures. The unlikely pair begin an alliance by which Rémy (now referred to by Linguini as "Little Chef") secretly controls Linguini's cooking in return for his protection. The two perfect a marionette-like arrangement by which Rémy tugs at Linguini's hair to direct his movements while hidden under Linguini's toque blanche.

Skinner, suspicious of Linguini's success in recreating the soup, plies Linguini with vintage Château Latour in an unsuccessful attempt to discover the secret of his unexpected talents and of his knowledge of rats. The next morning, hung over and disheveled, Linguini nearly confides his secret to Colette. Desperately trying to stop Linguini, Rémy pulls his hair, making him fall on Colette and leading the two to kiss. They begin dating, leaving Rémy to feel abandoned. Meanwhile, Skinner learns from the letter of introduction that, unknown to everyone but his mother, Linguini is in fact Gusteau's son and stands to inherit the restaurant and imperil Skinner's ambition to exploit Gusteau's image to market prepared frozen foods.

One night, Rémy and his colony are reunited. At the ensuing party, he surprises his father by saying that he is not going to stay with the colony, but instead continue to live near the humans. In response, Django shows Rémy the storefront of a rodent control business, which is filled with dead rats in traps. Rémy, horrified, does not believe that this is all the future can be, and leaves.

While scrounging food Rémy discovers Gusteau's will, which, after a chase by Skinner, he presents to Linguini. Linguini now owns the restaurant, fires Skinner, and becomes a rising star in the culinary world. Later, Rémy and Linguini have a falling out, with Linguini deciding he no longer needs Rémy's help. Rémy retaliates by leading a kitchen raid for his rat colony. Linguini attempts to apologize to Rémy, only to discover and expel his colony. Rémy feels guilty about hurting his friend, and refuses to join them in resuming the raid.

Things come to a head the night of a planned review by food critic Anton Ego, whose contemptuous earlier review of Gusteau's cooking reduced his five-star restaurant to four stars and eventually led to Gusteau's untimely death (which ended up dropping his restaurant's rating down to three stars). When asked what he would like for the evening, Ego challenges the staff to prepare whatever they dare serve him. Linguini, unable to cook without the rat's guidance, admits his ruse to the staff as Rémy has returned to help Linguini impress Ego, leading them all to walk out. Colette returns after thinking of Gusteau's motto, "Anyone can cook!" Django, inspired by his son's courage in continuing his dream to cook, returns with the entire rat colony to cook under Rémy's direction, while Linguini, discovering his true talent, waits tables at lightning speed on roller skates. Rémy decides to prepare ratatouille, a traditional dish that would not usually be considered haute cuisine, but does it so well that one bite of it leads Ego to relive childhood memories of his mother. Ego asks to meet the chef and after a frantic consultation with Colette, Linguini and Colette insist he must wait until the rest of the diners have left. At the end of the service, Rémy and the rats are revealed. A changed man, Ego writes a glowing review, declaring that the chef at Gusteau's is the greatest chef in all of France.

In the dénouement Gusteau's is closed by a health inspector, who finds the rats after being tipped off by Skinner. Ego loses his credibility and job when the public discovers he has praised a rat-infested restaurant. Everything is for the best, however; with Ego as investor and regular patron, Linguini, Colette, and Rémy open a successful new bistro called "La Ratatouille," which includes a kitchen and dining facilities for both rats and humans.

More Images

Children's Cliparts

2007-12-28T11:51:00.000+08:00

The World Through Three Senses

I am not a teacher or an educator, but I have always believed that infants should be taught as soon as possible before they speak, to notice objects pretty or delightful or unusual. I have noted the wholesome effect upon a baby of fixing his eyes upon a pleasing colour or a delicately carved shell, listening to music that soothes or enchants him, touching a face he loves or smelling a flower to which he smiles.

If the mother puts as much gentle art into this delicate fostering of all his physical powers as she does into the task of preserving his health, her reward will be past calculating. The child's five senses are the faithful fairies who, if cherished and heeded, will surrender to him their priceless tokens of royalty -- the splendor at the rainbow's end, the seven-league books of imagination, lovely dreams fulfilled. He will always be charged or comforted by sky, earth and sea. Not only will he reach a well-ordered stewardship of his senses, he will also have the best chance of spiritual maturity.

For there is, I am convinced, a correspondence between the powers of the body and those of the spirit, and when the five senses -- or whatever of them there are -- serve as entrances into an inner world, the individual attains his or her fullest capacity of pleasure as well as self-mastery. Every person, every group thus excellently equipped for living is the greatest possible contribution to humanity. That is why I like to celebrate the accomplishments of the handicapped whom necessity drives to us all the faculties that remains. They show that normal beings can and should do with a complete set of faculties.

Once parents and teachers realize the tremendous potencies of good folded up in sense-life and set about developing them in children, they will confer upon the coming generation a blessing that will carry through untold ages its multiplying harvests of alertness, strength and beauty of life.

By Helen Keller

Christian Cliparts

2007-12-27T12:52:00.000+08:00

Our Lady Teaches Her Son

God became Man, to remake his world; he became a little child, and I suppose he used to play games; I don't think the Sacred Humanity would have been quite human if our Lord had never played games. And the best playmate he had, if so, was his Blessed Mother, such a short distance away from girlhood herself, who was so good at sympathizing, at seeing other people's points of view. At any rate, she was the Wisdom which accompanied him through all those steps of early childhood. Our Lord had, if he cared to use it, all the knowledge which is enjoyed by the blessed Saints in heaven. But, in order to be perfectly Man, he preferred to acquire knowledge by experience and by hearsay, just as you and I do. He went to school in the carpenter's shop; but his education had begun long before that. He had been learning all the time, "increasing in wisdom," the gospel tells us. And the person who taught him that wisdom was his mother -- who else should it be? ...

You have to think of a mother and her little son, who is just learning to talk in words of one syllable. They are looking out, from some point a bit west of Nazareth, at the great mass of Mount Carmel dominating the plain. And the boy asks,"Ma zeh?" (What's that?) And his mother answers,"That's ha-har (the mountain); say 'Har,' Jesus." Or they are a bit east of Nazareth, and suddenly through a gap in the hills they are looking down, across precipitous miles, at the Lake of Galilee where it forms a blue floor at the bottom of the plain. And this time she says,"Ha-yam(the sea); say 'Yam', Jesus." Or she takes him with her in the cool of the evening when she carries a jug to draw water at the spring called the Fountain of the Virgin, after her. And this time she says,"Ha-'em(the spring); say 'Em' Jesus." So the mind-pictures of the Incarnate were formed; and when he preached, years later, about a city set on a hill, or fishermen casting their nets into the sea, or a spring of water welling up to eternal life, he was utilizing the wisdom he had learned from that wise playmate of his, long ago.

By Monsignor Ronald Knox

Bible Cliparts

2007-12-26T14:50:00.000+08:00

The Letters of Love

In India, children are not put to bed just because it is eight o'clock. When it is time for the child to go to bed, someone in the family goes to bed with the child. When the child falls asleep, the person leaves the bed. See the feedback given here. When that child grows up, how will he feel toward those parents who were so giving and supportive?

I am reminded of Kabir, who says,"There are many scholars in the world who are constantly studying scriptures, but none of them has become a really wise person. Only that person can become wise who learns two and one half letters...." In Hindi, when we write "prem", which means "love", we use two-and-a-half letters. Kabir is saying that a person only needs to learn the letters of Love to become wise. In English, we have four Letters, L-o-v-e. How much time do we give to that?

Many of you complain that you were not loved by your parents. There is no sense in complaining about parents. They might not have been given good feedback in their own childhood and were victims of whatever situations they were in. There is something wonderful in being a great parent. Wouldn't you like to be the type of parent about whom your children could feel proud? Then, when you are old and no longer needed, they would still feel that attraction in your presence, as though they were being charmed with Divine energy, love and joy.

If we could change the setting and be wonderful parents, it would be uplifting for us as well as for our younger generation. How much time do we spend with our children? We spend time with television, with girlfriends and boyfriends; we spend time making money. We already have enough abundance, my friends. Now it is time for us to work on our love and selflessness.

Many people love to meditate, to go to seminars and retreats. You are running to a cave and meditating not because you really care for God but because you are still not able to see God in day-to-day life in your puppy, in your spouse, in your child. God is everywhere. God is in me, God is in you. Can you experience God only when you close your eyes?

When you appreciate tenderly, lovingly and joyfully, you not only help others whom you are appreciating and flattering but you help yourself in the process. By making someone happy, you become happy. You may become lost in the beauty of that experience. Ultimately, there is no other mystical experience than being lost.

By Swami Shantanand Saraswati

Christmas Cartoons

2007-12-25T15:25:00.000+08:00

Little Women Plan Christmas

"Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.

"It's so dreadful to be poor," sighed Meg, looking down at her old dress.

"I don't think it's fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all," added little Amy, with an injured sniff.

"We've got Father and Mother and each other," said Beth contentedly, from her corner.

The four young faces on which the firelight shone brightened at the cheerful words, but darkened again as Jo said sadly,"We have not got Father, and shall not have for a long time." She didn't say "perhaps never," but each silently added it, thinking of Father far away, where the fighting was.

Nobody spoke for a minute; then Meg said in an altered tone,"You know the reason Mother proposed not having any presents this Christmas because it is going to be a hard winter for everyone; and she thinks we ought not to spend money for pleasure, when our men are suffering so in the army. We cannot do much, but we can make our little sacrifices, and ought to do it gladly. But I am afraid I don't." And Meg shook her head, as she thought regretfully of all the pretty things she wanted.

"But I don't think the little we should spend would do any good. We've each got a dollar, and the army wouldn't be much helped by our giving that. I agree not to expect anything from Mother or you, but I do want to buy Undine and Sintram for myself; I've wanted it so long," said Jo, who was a bookworm.

"I planned to spend mine on new music," said Beth, with a little sigh, which no one heard but the hearth brush and kettle holder.

"I shall get a nice box of drawing pencils; I really need them," said Amy decidedly.

"Mother didn't say anything about our money, and she won't wish us to give up everything. Let's each buy what we want, and have a little fun; I'm sure we work hard enough to earn it," cried Jo, examining the heels of her shoes in a gentlemanly manner.

The clock struck six, and having swept up the hearth, Beth put a pair of slippers down to warm. Somehow the sight of the old shoes had a good effect upon the girls, for Mother was coming, and everyone brightened to welcome her. Meg stopped lecturing, and lighted the lamp, Amy got out of the easy chair without being asked, and Jo forgot how tired she was as she sat up to hold the slippers nearer to the blaze.

"They are quite worn out; Marmee must have a new pair."

"I thought I'd get her some with my dollar," said Beth.

"No, I shall!" cried Amy.

"I'm the oldest," began Meg.

But Jo cut in with a decided,"I'm the man in the family now that Papa is away, and I shall provide the slippers, for he told me to take special care of Mother while he was gone."

"I'll tell you what we'll do," said Beth. "Let's each get her something for Christmas, and not get anything for ourselves."

"That's like you, dear! What will we get?" exclaimed Jo.

Everyone thought soberly for a minute. Then Meg announced, as if the idea was suggested by the sight of her own pretty hands, "I shall give her a nice pair of gloves."

"Army shoes, best to be had," cried Jo.

"Some handkerchiefs, all hemmed," said Beth.

"I'll get a bottle of cologne," said Amy.

"How will we give the things?" asked Meg.

"Put them on the table and bring her in and see her open the bundles," answered Jo. "Don't you remember how we used to do it on our birthdays?"

By Louisa May Alcott

More Christmas Images Links

Candles Graphics

2007-12-23T16:09:00.000+08:00

A Good Friend

To have a child who is a good friend is of the highest delights of life; to be a good friend to a child is one of the noblest and most difficult undertakings.

Friendship depends not upon fancy, imagination or sentiment, but upon character. There is no one so poor that he is not rich if he had a friend; there is no one so rich that he is not poor without a friend. But the friendship of one's child is more than can be encompassed in words or covered in a relationship. Real friendship is abiding. Like charity, it suffereth long and is kind. Like love, it vaunteth not itself, but pursues the even tenor of its way, unaffrighted by ill-report, loyal in adversity, the solvent of infelicity, the shining jewel of happy days.

Being friends with one's child has not the iridescent joy of love, though it is closer than is often known to the highest, truest love. Its heights are ever serene, its valleys know few clouds.

To aspire to friendship with one's child, one must cultivate a capacity for faithful affection, a beautiful disinterestedness, a clear discernment. Friendship is a gift, but it is also an acquirement. It is like the rope with which climbers in the high mountains bind themselves for safety, and only a coward cuts the rope when a comrade is in danger.

From Cicero to Emerson, and long before Cicero, and forever after Emerson, the praises of friendship have been set forth. Even fragments of friendship with one's child are precious and to be treasured. But to have a whole, real friend in one's child is the greatest of earth's gifts save one. To be a whole, real friend with one's child is a worthy high endeavor, for faith, truth, courage and loyalty bring one close to the kingdom of heaven.
From The National Magazine Contest (1906)

Claude Monet Paintings

2007-12-16T15:36:00.000+08:00

Palazzo da Mula, Venice

"Palazzo da Mula, Venice" was painted by Claude Monet in Oil on canvas during the Impressionism epoch in 1908. Original painting size was 31.9" x 24.4" (81.0cm x 62.0cm). The style of the painting is Impressionist and the theme represented is Landscape, Architecture. The painting is currently displayed at The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

Claude Monet was Born on November 14th in Paris, France. French painter who was the initiator, leader, and unswerving advocate of the Impressionist style.

Monet's first success as an artist came when he was 15, with the sale of caricatures that were carefully observed and well drawn. In these early years he also executed pencil sketches of sailing ships, which were almost technical in their clear descriptiveness.

The concept of embracing spatiality, new to the history of painting and only implicit in the first water-lily paintings, unfolded during the years until the artist's death into a cycle of huge murals to be installed in Paris in two 80-foot oval rooms in the Orangerie of the Tuileries.

Water Lilies Pond

In 1893, in the garden at his home in Giverny, Monet created the water-lily pond that inspired his most famous works, the lyrical Nymphéas (water-lilies) paintings. Wildly popular retrospective exhibitions of his work toured the world during the last decades of the 20th century and established his unparalleled public appeal, sustaining his reputation as one of the most significant and popular figures in the modern Western painting tradition

Other Links

More Claude Monet Paintings
Claude Monet Biography
Claude Monet Calendar - sweet memories

Blackjack Images

2007-11-18T22:14:00.000+08:00

The blackjack is a popular casino games. The objective of this game is to draw cards which adds up to 21 or as close to 21 as possible. The player wins if his points are higher than the dealer.

Picture cards such as King, Queen and Jack are counted as 10. Aces are counted as 1 or 11, whichever is to your advantage. The rest of the cards are counted as face value.

For example in the picture on the left, Ace is eleven and that is blackjack! Anyone having a card of king, a card of 2 and a card of 5 would have a total of 17 points. If the dealer has a card of 9 and a card of Ace, then the dealer would win as the dealer has 20 points.

There are no limit to the number of cards drawn as long as the total point count is not lesser than 12 and definitely not exceeding 21.

The game of blackjack begins with the player betting using the casino chips. The betting limits are displayed at the gaming table. Player will be dealt 2 cards, while the House takes 1 card and the cards will be dealt face up. The player's total points for the first 2 cards shall determine whether additional cards are required to be draw a not.

Remember that in blackjack, you must have either a minimum total point of 12 or a maximum of 21 (Blackjack for the initial 2 cards). If not, you are required to 'Hit' an additional card or cards until you have a count of not less than 12 and not exceeding 21. You go 'Bust' when your total points of your cards are more than 21.

In the casino, there are many types of casino games. This applies for many Online Casinos too. For example, not only can you find blackjack, you can also find other interesting casino games such as Kenos, bingo and various poker games. To find more games available on the internet, Gamblecraft online casino guide is a place where you can visit to read news and reviews of various online casinos on the internet. Gamblecraft online casino guide is dedicated to helping gamblers find the best casinos for online gambling. They offer free software downloads from online casinos and original tutorial software developed by Gamblecraft.com. The top three online casinos they had shown at their site includes Golden Casino, Rushmore and English Harbour. One rare information which you can find at their site is Gambling tutorial, which tell you about probability theory and more. Gamblecraft is a site where you should visit if you want to stay up to date with the latest internet gambling news and find out whats new in the world of online casinos.

Sculptures And Fountains

2007-10-19T11:06:00.000+08:00

Regent's Park Sculptures and Fountains (website: www.royalparks.org.uk)
In 1650 more than 16000 trees were felled in the area now known as Regent's Park to raise money to pay the cavalry troops. The Prince Regent commissioned the design of Regent's Park in 1811 to celebrate the victory at Waterloo. His favoured architect, John Nash, was in charge of the project. Nash had already designed Marble Arch, Carlton House Terrace and Regent's Street and not only landscaped the park but designed many of the surrounding Regency terraces. His original plan was a housing development for the rich: grand Regency villas set among parkland. Fortunately Parliament intervened and saved the park for public use. It finally opened in 1835.

The park covers 472 acres and includes beekeeping and boating, a secret garden and shady tree-lined avenues, playgrounds, tennis courts and sports fields, a rose scented cafe, an open-air theatre, large expanses of grass, Regency villas and nearby Regent's canal, London zoo and Primrose Hill. The tranquility of this park is only 20 minutes' walk from Oxford Circus.

The design of the park is circular. The Outer Circle defines the park's boundaries. The much smaller Inner Circle contains the Queen Mary's Gardens, the cafe and the Open-Air Theatre. John Nash had planned to build the Prince Reagent's new residence within the Inner Circle. The newly built Regent's Street would have conveniently linked this to his other residence at Carlton House. The Inner Circle was built according to plan but the residence never materialised. Instead the Royal Botanical Society leased the area and when the lease ran out it was developed into Queen Mary's Rose Garden.

Regent's Park is so rich in bird life it has become an officially designated inland bird observatory. The Royal Waterfowl Collection is the largest public collection in the country. There are more than 90 species of swan and a heronry.

Related Links
Cherubim Figures

Casino Cliparts

2007-10-17T17:53:00.000+08:00

Land based casino requires you to dress appropriately before you can enter it. Land based casino requires you to travel, taking trains, aeroplanes or car to reach them. You might need to book for hotels during your stay at the casino. To attract more people to the casino, casino offer memberships. The more you play, the more points you get. Your reward is you might exchange your points for casino souvenirs such as casino towels, casino cups, casino jackpot coin banks, and even free casino hotel one day and one night stay! The list goes on. The casino has any possible rewards for you, their aim, to encourage you to play, bet in their casino.

Though there are many land based casinos, not many are within easy access. People are very busy in their life, with work and family commitments. How many people can afford to go land based casino everyday? But nowadays, this problem is not a problem at all! There are many online casinos on the internet. They are as good as any land based casino. No need dress code, no restrictions but just games rules. You can play any games, anywhere, even be patrons of two different casinos at one time! These online casinos are always open to you, 24hours and 7 days a week. Most games require you to download, while others do not.

One thing you need to be careful though about playing online casino games security. You are using credit cards to pay for your bets. There are many hackers on the internet and you do not want your money to land in their hands. Where can you find trustworthy online casino games? Which is the best online casino to go and offer the best bonuses? Online Casino Reviews will tell you all these information that you want to know. At iCasinoReviews you will be guided to the best online casino. You will read about various casinos on the internet with their respective reviews and bonuses shown. These reviews are all given by actual online casino gamblers. So if you love to play casino games, you do not have to travel far for it. If you do not know how many casinos are there on the internet, visit iCasinoReviews, the online casino directory of trusted casinos on the Internet! Go iCasinoReviews and find out which is the best casinos and who has the largest casino bonuses for you to cash in on. Furthermore, they also offers internet betting tips and information for newbies on how to select a quality online casino. Find your favourite casinos and have fun!

Princess Cliparts

2007-08-23T14:03:00.000+08:00

The Definition of Love

My love is of a birth as rare
As 'tis for object strange and high:
It was begotten by Despair
Upon Impossibility.

Magnanimous Despair alone
Could show me so divine a thing,
Where feeble Hope could ne'er have flown
But vainly flapped its tinsel wing.

And yet I quickly might arrive
Where my extended soul is fixed,
But Fate does iron wedges drive,
And always crowds itself betwixt.

For Fate with jealous eye does see
Two perfect loves; nor lets them close:
Their union would her ruin be,
And her tyrannic pow'r depose.

And therefore her decrees of steel
Us and the distant poles have placed
(Though Love's whole world on us doth wheel)
Not by themselves to be embraced.

Unless the giddy heaven fall,
And earth some new convulsion tear;
And, us to join, the world should all
Be cramped into a planishpere.

As lines so loves oblique may well
Themselves in every angle greet:
But ours so truly parallel,
Though infinite can never meet.

Therefore the love which us doth bind,
But Fate so enviously debars,
Is the conjunction of the mind,
And opposition of the stars.

by Andrew Marvell

Dolls Cliparts

2007-08-18T23:25:00.001+08:00

An Instrument of Peace

Lord, make me a channel of your peace:

where there is hatred,
may I bring love;
where ther is wrong,
may I bring the spirit of forgiveness,
where there is discord,
may I bring harmony;
where there is error,
may I bring truth;

where there is doubt,
may I bring hope;
where there are shadows,
may I bring light;
where there is sadness,
may I bring joy.

Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted;
rather to understand than to be understood;
rather to love than to be loved,
for it is in forgetting myself that I find:
It is by forgiving that I am forgiven.

~ Francis of Assisi

Gambling Stars

2007-08-18T01:31:00.000+08:00

Reasons For Gambling Online

Years ago, gamblers only had two choices, which is either to go to the nearest gambling town like Las Vegas or Atlantic City or stay right where they were and wager locally through some illicit sources. Today, gambling has become an almost international obsession appearing commonly in in every state and nations, with the opening of casinos, betting parlors, card rooms, sports book, high-stakes bingo rooms and even online games like online Poker or Paradise Poker.

As many people are trying out online games such as Pacific Poker that they may not otherwise have played in a traditional setting, many sites offer extensive how-to-sections designed to teach players the optimal strategies for a wide variety of games. In some cases, players can simultaneously gamble and review charts/strategies found in special tutorial sections of the site. While these tips may not quite replace practice and years of experience, they can serve as excellent references to help players increase their chance for success.

With poker gaming taking center stage of late, it is no mystery that the big dogs in the industry offer players a never-ending stream of exciting tournament action. But poker is not the only game that boasts big tournaments online. Just about every popular game has a tournament presence somewhere on the internet!

Other good reasons for gambling online is freedom and convenient of access. No longer are gamblers at the mercy of location. Gamblers can play anytime, anywhere, as long as they have internet access. Not only do online players save a lot of hassles of travel and check-in to airports and so on, they also minimise expenses. Funds which were once spent on airline tickets, cars rentals and hotel rooms can now be used to play online! In addition, you can play any online games at your own pace. You can play Poker Stars with less pressure. You can slowly or relaxedly, all according to your own pace.

Glitter Dolls Cliparts

2007-08-17T00:06:00.000+08:00

Early Influences

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn.

If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight.

If a child lives with fear, he learns to be apprehensive.

If a child lives with pity, he learns to feel sorry for himself.

If a child lives with jealousy, he learns to feel guilty.

If a child lives with encouragement, he learns to be self-confident.

If a child lives lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.

If a child lives with praise, he learns to be appreciative.

If a child lives with acceptance, he learns to love.

If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself.

If a child lives with recognition, he learns to have a goal.

If a child lives with fairness, he learns what justice is.

If a child lives with honesty, he learns what truth is.

If a child lives with sincerity, he learns to have faith in himself and those around him.

If f a child lives with love, he learns that the world is a wonderful place to live in.

Cards Images

2007-07-18T13:54:00.000+08:00

It's hard to play online poker for Mac but now you can do so at Mac Poker which have a collection of best online poker sites. This is a totally Poker site that consists of all the Poker fun you seeking for. Not only can you find links to various Poker communities, you can have more real-time fun with online Poker players through tournaments in various Poker room.

Mac Poker is everything you need to know and want to know about Poker. There are Poker Supply store, Poker Bonus codes, poker rules and tips and even other resources such as Poker affiliate, Deposit Option and Linux Poker etc. For poker lover who are crazy about poker and loves to read anything new about poker, there are even newsletter awaiting for you to sign up at Mac Poker. Mac Poker Online is a site that is worth your bookmark if you are really a poker fan. Enjoy fun chat at Poker Forum. If you are not proficient in English, you can always click for any other language that is available too. I am not a Poker fan nor player. However, based on the website alone, I would give this Poker site a Four stars rating, considering its presentation, links, navigation, user-friendliness, styles of writing, narration etc. The one star is left for the game in the poker rooms, the forum chat and the games download. So you got to use to know it. Click here for Poker für Mac and you can determine whether it is a four stars site or a five stars site!

Divine Cliparts

2007-05-26T20:33:00.000+08:00

Where do I go to see God's face?

Is it in the reflection from the stained glass windows of the ornate cathedral
Or in the rainbow after a summer evening's shower?

Is it in the wooden cross that hangs prominently in the front of a chapel
Or in the hand blistered from creating a home for one who had not?

Is it in the podium from which magnificent sermons are preached
Or in the fulfilled faces of children
Who won't go to bed hungry today for the first time in their lives?

Is it in the flickering candles in the front of the church
or in a friend's eyes as he wipes tears from your heart?

For God is not confined by adorned walls or symbols of His glory.
He cannot be described by an ancient relic or historical artifact.
His face is in all he created.

God's face is in the fading sunset over a wintry landscape.
God's face is the quiet meadow
As the three week old fawn nurses at her mother's breast.
God's face is the laughter of a little boy as he wobbles on his bicycle
Down the sidewalk for the first time without support.
God's face can be found when we open our hearts to His love.

Where do I go to hear God's voice?
Is it in the pipe organ that plays a solemn hymn
Or in the screams of a newborn baby as she sucks her first breath?

Is it in the words of a preacher as he pounds his fist on the pulpit
Or in the whisper of flapping butterfly wings
As a gentle breeze carries it over the rustling grass?

Is it in the chorus of a melody that is sung on the radio
Or in the quiet prayers of children kneeling beside their bed before sleep?

Is it in the typed text of a worn devotional book
or in the quietness of falling snow under a full moon at midnight?

For God's voice isn't limited to man's simple understanding,
But the awesome power of His genius.
God's voice is in all he gave voice to.
God's voice is heard in the whistle of wind
Through the willows on a country lake sheltered from civilization.
God's voice is heard in the clap of thunder during August storm.
God's voice is heard in the last serenade of the crickets
In the cool autumn air.
God's voice can be heard when we still our hearts to His love.

Where do I go to feel God's touch?

Is it in the embrace of a familiar stranger sitting next to you at church
Or in the soft stroke of a grandmother's weathered finger's
On her grandchild's cheek?

Is it the hand that distributes pamphlets
Proclaiming God's wrath on a street corner
Or in the grasp of a toddler
As he wraps his tiny hand around his father's finger to guide his first steps?

Is it in the statues and decorations that adorn a sanctuary
Or in the silent reward of an unseen kind act?

Is it in the lukewarm words spoken in a time of need
Or in the strength of another's shoulder
When yours are too weary from life's struggles?

For God's touch isn't felt in the objects or things that we fill our lives with,
But in the indescribable moments when His presence is near.
God's touch is in the painted face on a purple pansy
Waltzing with a gentle spring breeze.
God's touch is in the warmth of the sun shining through a frosted window
In the dead of winter.
God's touch is felt as He guides us through the deep valley
That lies in front of us.
God's touch is felt when He wraps His unconditional loving arms
Around the child in all of us that longs to call Him Daddy.

Angels Statues

2007-05-25T20:46:00.000+08:00

A man's daughter had asked the local minister to come and pray with her father. When the minister arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows. An empty chair sat beside his bed.

The minister assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit. "I guess you were expecting me," he said. "No, who are you?" said the father. "I'm the new minister at your church," he replied. "When I saw the empty chair, I figured you knew I was going to show up." "Oh yeah, the chair," said the bedridden man. "Would you mind closing the door?"

Puzzled, the minister shut the door. "I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the man. "But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it went right over my head." "I abandoned any attempt at prayer," the old man continued, "until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me, "Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here is what I suggest. Sit down in a chair; place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because he promised, "I'll be with you always." Then just speak to him in the same way you're doing with me right now."
So, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I'm careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm."

The minister was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old man to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and returned to the church. Two nights later the daughter called to tell the minister that her daddy had died that afternoon.

"Did he die in peace?" he asked. "Yes, when I left the house about two o' clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me he loved me and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. But there was something strange about his death. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on the chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?" The minister wiped a tear from his eye and said, "I wish we could all go like that."

We live by faith, not by sight.

Online Games

2007-05-21T22:06:00.000+08:00

There are many online gamblers. These can be poker, blackjack or roulette players and so on. However, the most popular game played by most people in the world is poker. Everyday there are thousands of players who signed up and join the exciting world of online poker. In U.S, poker is a popular game. Many people like poker as they claim it is a fun game. Poker is a game that is skill-based, strategy-oriented and frequently verbal too.

With the online version of poker, it is easily accessible to players from virtually every walk of life. Online poker players project their own persona onto the game within a virtual community, hence the common use of avatars and chat. Online poker tournaments enhance this convergence of persona and community. Nowadays many website integrate mini-game like blackjack or backgammon with poker, the aim is to create a more thrilling strategy card games for players. Why do so many people love to gamble? Why so many people are addicted to poker? Some fortunate people transform their life, from rags to riches just by playing poker.

Want to know more about Poker? Poker.com is home of online poker. Find out what really is Poker, the rules of the games and history of poker at Poker.com. There are various Poker rooms and articles/advice awaiting for you to discover. There are various ways for you to stay connected with Poker.com. There are poker blog and poker forum for you all within a click away from the website. There are poker wallpapers at Poker.com too. Visit Poker.com to learn more strategies about poker game now!

Handphone Graphics

2007-04-13T09:16:00.000+08:00

When buying handphone or cell phone, besides considering the plans or service provider, we should also decide the size, weight, brand, number and colour of the phones to buy. Other features to look out for are number storage, locking key pads, messaging, customized settings, games options, internet surfing, email options, camera, calendar, PDA functions etc.

Always do your research first before buying your phone. Read about consumer reports in magazines, newspaper, internet or other news media for opinions on different phones and service providers. In addition to your budget, when choosing a hand phone, one should consider about accessories too. For drivers, they might need car adapter, carrying case, ear pieces and so on.

How To Care For Your Hand phone
Mobile phone should be handled with care. They should be prevented from dropping as far as possible. Hand phone accessories can be useful. Hand phone covers can make a old hand phone to look new again. A new hand phone can be protected from scratches by putting it in a good hand phone cases. Your Wireless Source has sponsored a fun site where users can "makeover" a really old cell phone. They can even post their creation to the photo gallery for voting or email it to a friend with a customized voice message. Best of all, there's a coupon code to be found in the site. Tattoos and bluetooths can be found at the website too. Anyone who are interested in cell phones, cell phone accessories & games should visit Your Wireless Source.

The battery is the lifeblood of your mobile phone. With a flat battery, it is of little use, and one of the biggest frustrations of mobile phone use is the life of the battery. Designers of mobile phones try hard to minimise the power they use, which gives longer service from smaller, lighter batteries, but although the power used on standby drops through clever design, the power needed for the transmitter does not. This means that a phone with a week or more of standby time may still only manage an hour or two of calls before its battery is flat. You can find batteries at Your Wireless Source.

One should expect to have to replace the battery of a hand phone every year, after it becomes inefficient. However, with good and proper care, the lifetime of the hand phone battery can be prolonged. Never drop your hand phone in water. Never leave your hand phone close to heat source since heat will greatly affect battery performance.

Do not leave your mobile phone unattended such as in the car. Do not lend strangers your mobile phone. There have been cases where strangers have run away with the mobile phone after "borrowing" it. Always keep your mobile phone secured with you, such as in your front pocket or in a locker. If your mobile phone is stolen, inform your service provider to cancel the SIM card as soon as possible. Lodge a Police report immediately.

Telephone Cliparts

2007-04-12T11:27:00.000+08:00

Telephone Timesavers

Install telephone jacks all around the house or get a cordless phone so that you can talk wherever you are in and around your home.

Get long extension cords for your telephones so that you can move around freely while talking. Often, you can do a chore while talking on the telephone -- cooking, tending plants etc.

To save time and frustration whenever possible, use the telephone instead of making a trip. Phone to confirm appointments, to check if a store has the item you want, to learn business hours and so on.

Learn how to cut off time-consuming calls without hurting people's feelings. For example, it's quite all right to say,"This is a terrible time for me, may I call you back?"

Sometimes a phone call is more timesaving and effective than a letter. Even a long-distance call may be cheaper, especially when you consider how long it takes to write a letter and how much your time is worth.

Resist the temptation to remove the receiver from its cradle during times when you don't want interruptions. Instead, turn down the bell. Leaving the receiver off the cradle may interrupt phone service even after you've replaced the receiver.

WebPage Cliparts

2007-04-10T23:11:00.000+08:00

Throughout history, man has demanded entertainment. Greek tragedy and comedy were an important feature of ancient society, staged in impressive open-air amphitheaters. 'Entertainment' implies non-participation by the audience. A football match may be entertainment to the spectators, but it is sport to the players, and when we think of entertainment, we must exclude 'activities' such as indoor games, card playing, dice, ten-pin bowling, even amateur theatricals, because the point of all these is that we are providing our own amusement. To be 'entertained', we must be content to look, and to listen.

Modern entertainment has become a highly organized business, and in most countries, is available in bewildering variety. In a big city, every conceivable taste can be met, from cabaret to ballet, from radio and television to the opera and the circus, from the 'straight' theatre to the 'Pop Ground', from the cinema to the variety show, and from the comedian to the symphony concert.

Thinking of the average professional in the world of entertainment, one marvels that he is prepared to go on at all; his conditions are such that nobody without a vocation for entertainment would ever consider his life at all. At times, he will be working, and quite well-paid, but there will be other times when he is 'resting', that is out of work, and then he may hardly be able to buy food and shelter. Moreover, when he is in funds, he will be helping his less fortunate colleagues; the theatricals are a generous race. Eventually, age will catch up with him, but he cannot expect a pension. Those who make a lot of money tend to spend it, and few are able to live in affluence after retirement.

Furthermore the professional entertainer is exposed to many moral temptations from which most of us are spared, and he has to be of strong fibre, if he or she is to be free from the corrupting influence of some of their colleagues.

Beneath the glitter and the glamour lies hardship and heartbreak for the majority. The promoters, the managers and the impresarios are never poor men, and the entertainer becomes pathetically dependent on them -- especially when his public image is fading. But despite all this, we still have the professionals and always shall -- because the world of entertainment has an eternal, irresistible glamour. The show must go on!

Mickey And Friends Cliparts

2007-04-09T21:42:00.000+08:00

Advantages And Disadvantages of Television
Most people agree that television is one of the most important inventions of this century. Opinions vary as to its value but no one can deny its great effect upon society.

Firstly, television is one of the greatest educators of all time. Documentary programmes about foreign countries and their inhabitants, instructional programmes on medicine, science, engineering, natural history and many others are all brought to the homes of ordinary people who without television would have known little about these things.

At its best, television is a good form of entertainment which stimulates or creates an interest in the arts. We can see top-line artists cheaply and easily at home. A piano recital by Rubinstein and an orchestra conducted by Stokowski: all these would be beyond the pockets of most of us. Hitherto theatre-going was limited to the very few.

As a companion to old people, television has unquestionable use. People who have no one to talk to in the evenings or at leisure are now no longer alone. The old who cannot get out to cinemas and theatres do not have to forget these entertainment's as television provides them.

Scientifically television has its uses Photographs can now be replayed to earth from space by means of it. Like other great inventions, television can be and is, unfortunately, abused. It is said that television makes 'watchers' and not 'doers' and that people will watch a game on it rather than play one themselves. It is also said that hobbies tend to suffer because of too much 'viewing'. Reading, sewing, carpentry, gardening -- all these can be neglected if television had too strong a hold.

As well as the public, the producers themselves often abuse this medium. The programmes are often poor with mediocre talent or illiterate and ill-informed views. Vice and crime can be given too much emphasis and therefore have a disastrous effect upon millions of viewers, especially the young.

Certainly there is abuse, but if this medium is used with intelligence and discrimination by both producers and viewers, then it can become a blessing and not a curse to mankind.

Butterflies Cliparts

2007-04-08T16:53:00.000+08:00

Butterflies And Moths
Butterflies(order Lepidoptera) go through complete metamorphosis, from egg through larval and pupal stages. As adults, they feed on the nectar of flowers, sucking this food in through their long grooved mouthparts or proboscises.

When fully opened, the wings of some butterflies and moths are very broad. The wingspans of the largest species, such as the beautiful Atlas moth (Attacus atlas) and birdwing butterflies(family Papilionidae) of Southeast Asia, can be 10 inches(25cm).

There is enormous variety in the wing patterns of butterflies and moths. Some are drab and dull, but this makes the insect blend in with its background and prevents the birds that prey on it from spotting an easy meal.

Other wing patterns are very vivid and showy, often with spots that look like eyes on the wings. Flashing these eyespots startles birds and other predators and often gives the insect time to escape. Some brightly colored species, such as the Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) of North America, are poisonous to other animals. The colours act as a warning, and predators soon learn to steer clear.

The colour on moths' and butterflies' wings comes from the thousands of tiny scales which cover their surfaces. The wings of some species have a metallic sheen and colours that change with the angle of the light reflecting off them. This shininess is not caused by the colour of the scales themselves, but by the fine structure of their surfaces. A similar effect is created when light is reflected by oil floating on water.

The beautiful colours of butterflies' and moths' wings come from tiny scales covering their surface. When fully opened, the wings of many species are very broad.

Horse And Unicorn Cliparts

2007-04-07T15:37:00.000+08:00

Proverbs About Horses

1. All Lay loads on a willing horse
In the days when horses were much used for carrying burdens on their backs, the animals that gave the least trouble were given more work to do than those which were stubborn or intractable. Today, a 'willing horse' is a person who is so good-natured and helpful that everyone takes advantage of him.

2. Don't Change horses in mid-stream
Crossing a stream on horseback is not always easy, and to transfer oneself from one horse to another during the process is inviting a ducking, if nothing worse. In the same way, if we think it necessary to make changes, we must choose the right moment to make them.

3. Don't put the cart before the horse
The horse pulls the cart, not the cart the horse. The proverb means that we should not get things back to front, but should deal with them in their right order. To invite all your relatives and friends to your wedding before you have arranged things with the vicar is to put the cart before the horse.

4. Don't ride the high horse
Don't give yourself airs. Don't be arrogant. Literally, a high horse is a war-horse or charger.

5. Every horse thinks its own pack heaviest
We all imagine that we have a greater load to carry than anybody else; that nobody works harder than we do, or has to put up with more difficulties.

6. If two men ride on a horse, one must ride behind
There cannot be two leaders in any enterprise. The man riding behind must leave it to the man in front to guide the horse. Similarly, on a tandem the man in front steers the machine and applies the brakes.

7. If wishes were horses, beggars would ride
This means the same as if "ifs" and "ans" were pots and pans...: meaning if we could achieve our aims by merely wishing, life would be very easy.

8. It is too late to lock the stable when the horse has been stolen
It is useless to take precautions after something has happened that could have been foreseen and guarded against.

9. Never look a gift horse in the mouth
Never be too critical of anything you have received as a gift. The condition of a horse's teeth is a good guide to its age. If a man needs a horse and is offered one for nothing, he should not examine its teeth too closely before accepting it.

10. Never spur a willing horse
A 'willing horse' is a person who works well and without complaint. Don't urge him on to work harder and faster, for he may tend do less, or not be quite so willing.

11. A nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse
It is no use giving a hint to a person who is determined not to take it.

12. Put the saddle on the right horse
Blame those who deserve it, not those who don't.

13. You may lead a horse to the water, but you cannot make him drink
You may be acting in the best interests of the horse by taking him to the trough, but if he doesn't want to drink he's not going to -- and that's that. Similarly, you can do your utmost to make a person share your views, yet there is a point beyond which he will not go.

14. Zeal without knowledge is a runaway horse
Zeal is defined as 'earnestness or fervour in advancing a cause or rendering service; hearty and persistent endeavour'. But zeal must go hand in hand with experience. The enthusiasm of an inexperienced person may do more harm than good.

Dogs Cliparts

2007-04-06T15:16:00.000+08:00

A dog is by nature a pack animal. If you adopt a dog, it will think of your family as its pack. You will be able to share the responsibility for your dog with your family, but if you are the one who feeds and trains it, you will be the leader of the pack.

You could not choose a more intelligent and affectionate pet than a dog. Dogs were first domesticated over five thousand years ago, and they have lived as close companions to human beings ever since.

A dog can be faithful and quick to learn obedience, which makes it easier to train than most animals.

Having a dog of your own is fun but the dog does need quite a lot of looking after in return. Every year hundreds of dogs are abandoned by people who buy them as puppies and then find they cannot cope with looking after them. So before adopting a puppy, it is important to think about what keeping a dog involves, and to be quite sure you would be able to care for it properly and give it the kind of life it needs.

These are some things you will want to think about before you adopt a puppy.

1. Would your dog get enough exercise?
If you do not live in the country, is there a park or common where it is safe to let a dog off the lead to run about?

2. Could you afford to keep a dog?
Dog food is not cheap. Also your dog would need vaccinating once a year, and there could be other vet's fees if it got ill.

3. Would you have the time?
You will need to feed your dog once a day(four times a day while a puppy), train it, and take it for walks.

4. Would your dog be left alone too much?
If everybody in your family is out at work or school all day, it would not be kind to keep a dog, unless you have two for company. A dog can be left for a few hours, but if it is alone all day, it will get lonely and very unhappy.

5. What would you do when you went on holiday?
Would somebody look after the dog for you? Dogs can be boarded at kennels, but it is expensive. Remember, if you take a dog abroad, it will be quarantined for six months on your return.

Animals Cliparts

2007-04-06T14:56:00.000+08:00

Is Hunting Animals Justified?
In ancient times, men hunted animals for basic needs of food and survival. However with the advent of farms and the domestication of farm animals and poultry, humans now have a stable source of food without having to rely on hunting. However, hunting is still present today both on land and in the sea. The alarming rise in the number of endangered species in the world today is a testament of how hunting is still dominant today.

Hunting is cruel if it is done merely to satisfy vain pleasures like a fur coat or as a trophy hanging in the hunter's house. The decimation of elephants for their tusks to serve as ornaments, the slaughter of tigers for their hides, the killing of rhinoceroses for some fabled aphrodisiac value of their horn or the capture of orang utans to be sold as pets are all quite unnecessary and cruel. These poachers hunt the animals mercilessly with little regard over the fact that they are wiping out an entire species form the face of the world to satisfy their own material greed.

It would however be wrong to assume that all forms of hunting is unnecessary. Sometimes, there are legitimate reasons to condone hunting. For example, if a predator like a man-eating shark or tiger is terrorizing humans, than it may be necessary to allow for a hunt to track the animal down as human lives may be threatened by the animal. In addition, in some cases, some animals like field rats reproduce and multiply so quickly that they become a menace to crops and hence their population would have to be forcibly reduced by hunting.

Although the act of killing an animal is always cruel regardless of the mitigating circumstances, hunting should not always be perceived as something that is unnecessary in today's world. We need to distinguish whether there is a justified cause to sanction a hunt; in this case, hunting is necessary if human lives are threatened by the animals. It would be too idealistic a view to imagine that humans and animals can live harmoniously without the need for hunting but this does not mean that mindless slaughter is good. Instead as rational human beings, we should be able to distinguish between what is acceptable or not.

Exotic Woman Images

2007-04-04T23:38:00.000+08:00

Sweet Are The Uses of Adversity
There are some people who appear to have been born unlucky. Everything goes against them: if there is measles about, they are sure to get it. The bus in which they are travelling to an important appointment breaks down: they just miss a good post because the day it was advertised they happened to wake up too late to read the paper before they were out.

Some people have even greater misfortunes to bear, but there are others who seem to sail through life as though they were borne along by the breath of Fortune. Nothing serious ever goes wrong with them; life drops its sweets into their laps, and their less fortunate brethren look enviously upon them as they go serenely along their way.

But what, when they come to the end of their life, have they to show for the time they have spent in it? It is almost as if they had played a game of football in which all the opposing side were asleep and they had nothing to do but run up the field unhampered, and kick the ball through the goal. There would be no fun in a game like that, and if life had no hazards, in the long run it would become just as tedious.

In his great book 'Fortitude', Hugh Walpole frequently repeats these words: "It isn't life that matters, but the courage you bring to it". The hero of this novel has a vision in which he sees the state of a man and a beast struggling. He sees the same figure several times as he goes through life full of hardship and disaster. At one point, he almost gives up the struggle, and decides to live as easily as possible even though he has to give up all his aims and ideals. But he resists this temptation, and turns back to struggle again with whatever life may bring him of adversity. And then he sees the vision again and this time the man has triumphed over the beast -- and the man is himself!

Great thinkers and poets through the ages have recognised the nobility of a life that retains its integrity in the face of adversity. Their thoughts are summed up in the words of William Ernest Henley:
"It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul."

Babies Cliparts

2007-03-24T16:15:00.001+08:00

A Baby is...
A baby is cuddles and tickles on toes,
the sweet scent of powder, a kiss on the nose!
A baby is Teddy bears, rattles, and pins,
meals at midnight, giggles and grins.

It's the little blessings that help us see just how lovely life can be.

You rose into my life like a promised sunrise, brightening my days with the light in your eyes. ~ Maya Angelou

A baby is a blank cheque made payable to the human race. ~Barbara Christine Seifert

One of the most obvious results of having a baby around the house is to turn two good people into complete idiots who probably wouldn't have been much worse than mere imbeciles without it. ~Georges Courteline

It sometimes happens, even in the best of families, that a baby is born. This is not necessarily cause for alarm. The important thing is to keep your wits about you and borrow some money. ~Elinor Goulding Smith

Babies are always more trouble than you thought - and more wonderful. ~Charles Osgood Families with babies and families without babies are sorry for each other. ~Ed Howe People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one. ~Leo J. Burke Babies are such a nice way to start people. ~Don Herrold Every baby needs a lap. ~Henry Robin

When babies look beyond you and giggle, maybe they're seeing angels.

Getting down on all fours and imitating a rhinoceros stops babies from crying. (Put an empty cigarette pack on your nose for a horn and make loud "snort" noises.) I don't know why parents don't do this more often. Usually it makes the kid laugh. Sometimes it sends him into shock. Either way it quiets him down. If you're a parent, acting like a rhino has another advantage. Keep it up until the kid is a teenager and he definitely won't have his friends hanging around your house all the time. ~P.J. O'Rourke

God's interest in the human race is nowhere better evinced than in obstetrics. ~Martin H. Fischer

A baby is an angel whose wings decrease as his legs increase.

A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on. ~Carl Sandburg If you were to open up a baby's head - and I am not for a moment suggesting that you should - you would find nothing but an enormous drool gland. ~Dave Barry

Reach for the stars and don't worry about falling - Mom and Dad will catch you!

Money Cliparts

2007-03-06T21:25:00.001+08:00

Money Facts & Tips

Saving money is boring to most people. Commercial advertisements and our "give it to me now" society makes spending fun. To many people, shopping is an escape. Some people even use this experience to make them feel and look wealthy. Ironically, it takes more energy to shop and spend than it does to save money.

When you buy shares of stock directly or through a mutual fund, you become part owner of a company. These shares can build your wealth by paying you dividends and by rising in price.

One of the most common characteristics of happy wealthy people concerns their attitudes every Sunday night before work. Most of them enjoy their work so much that they don't know the difference between a weekday or weekend night.

Wealth is never worth sacrificing your happiness, family or integrity.

Along faith in yourself, faith in others is almost as important. One of the most common characteristics among wealthy people is their belief in the inherent good in others.

A basic understanding of economics will help you make so many decisions in life, including when to buy a house, when to borrow money to start a business, and when to buy a stock or bond. It will also help to clarify the three most important aspects of economics: inflation, interest rates, and corporate rate earnings growth.

The primary key to success in your own business is to be passionate about what you are doing. Passion creates tenacity, and if you're tenacious enough to give it everything you've got, the money will follow.

Most business owners think that if you work hard all the time, you'll eventually be successful. This is not true! You have to work smart. This implies a lot of thinking and planning. Thinking and planning require time and a peaceful, relaxed mind. Without either of these two, your business cannot prosper. Therefore, don't forget to take some time out.

If you really want to build wealth, you must write down exactly what you define as wealth. Describe what you define as being wealthy. Refine this further and make it your goal. This alone more than doubles your chances of achieving wealth.

A personal mission statement will help you increase your chances of achieving whatever it is that you want in life. All you have to do is be honest when you write it, be disciplined when you follow it, and be consistent when you read it.

Remember that no matter what you do in life, you will always reap what you sow. In your journey toward wealth, make sure your work helps others or improves the world in some way. If not, your efforts will eventually backfire and reverse the wealth-building process.

Credit Cards Cliparts

2007-03-06T21:25:00.000+08:00

Credit cards are so easy to use that many people actually forget that they have to pay for the goods and services they charged to their cards. This is a real danger indeed. The tendency to overspend coupled with high interests charged on unpaid balances are a deadly combination!

The card gives users a false perception of buying power, which may not be supported by actual earning ability. They may end up making only the minimum payments and incurring very expensive financing charges. If this situation persists, the strain might ruin your financial plans or even worse, get you in hot soup with the law.

Below are some sources of open account credit:

Bank Credit Cards
These are issued by commercial banks. Visa and MasterCard are the dominant types of this form of "plastic money". They allow their holders to make purchases at millions of sales outlets world wide, which include restaurants, department stores and even petrol stations.

Charge Cards
Charge cards are similar to credit cards as they allow holders to charge their purchases to the cards at a number of locations. The main differences is that such cards do not extend a line of credit as all bills must be paid in full by the end of the accounting month. The biggest player in this area is American Express; Diners Club is also another major player.

Prestige Cards
Credit cards are associated with some form of prestige. But not all cards are created equal as some are considered more prestigious than others. This 'snob appeal' is being exploited to the fullest by card companies, which set a minimum income requirement for their cards. To attract clients, they offer cards with more advantages and features as well as higher credit limits. Such products are targeted at the cream of credit-card holders as the standards for qualification are more stringent and higher annual fees are charged.

Retail Charge Cards
Department stores and oil companies are some of the institutions that have joined the fray of card issuers. They allow cardholders to chalk up credit to a pre-established limit. This is for the convenience of consumers in purchasing their products. Discounts are normally offered to encourage consumers to apply for, and use, their cards.

Revolving Credit Lines/Overdraft

Apart from credit cards, revolving lines of credit are another form of open account credit offered by banks. Users can simply write cheques to access this type of credit as it is issued to their checking accounts. This service often charges a higher rate of interest compared with personal loans. Some banks even charge an annual fee.

Credit can be an aid to managing your personal finances, but like everything else, can bring dire consequences if misused.

Bells Cliparts

2007-01-16T21:57:00.000+08:00

A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually an open-ended hollow drum which resonates upon being struck. The striking implement can be a tongue suspended within the bell, known as a clapper, a small, free sphere enclosed within the body of the bell, or a separate mallet.

Bells are usually made of cast metal, but small bells can also be made from ceramic or glass. Bells can be of all sizes: from tiny dress accessories to church bells weighing tons.

In the Western world, its most classical form is a church bell or town bell, which is hung within a tower and sounded by having the entire bell swung by ropes, whereupon an internal hinged clapper strikes the body of the bell (called a free-swinging bell). A set of bells, hung in a circle for change ringing, is known as a ring of bells.

In the Eastern world, the traditional forms of bells are temple and palace bells, small ones being rung by a sharp rap with a stick, and very large ones rung by a blow from the outside by a large swinging beam. This last technique is employed world-wide for some of the largest tower-borne bells, because swinging the bell itself could damage the tower.

In the Roman Catholic Church and among some High Anglicans, small hand-held bells, called Sanctus or sacring bells, are often rung by a server at Mass when the priest holds high up first the host, and then the chalice immediately after he has said the words of consecration over them (the moment known as the Elevation). This serves to indicate to the congregation that the bread and wine have just been transformed into the body and blood of Christ, or, in the less rigorous Anglican teaching, that Christ is now really present in the elements, and that what the priest is holding up for them to look at is Christ himself.

Japanese religious bells
Japanese Shintoist and Buddhist bells are used in religious ceremonies. Suzu, a homophone meaning both "cool and refreshing," are spherical bells which contain metal pellets that produce sound from the inside. The hemispherical bell is the Kane bell, which is struck on the outside. See also Kane (musical instrument), ja:鈴, ja:梵鐘.

Buddhist bells
Buddhist bells are used in religious ceremonies.

Bells as musical instruments
Some bells are used as musical instruments, such as carillons, (clock) chimes, or ensembles of bell-players, called bell choirs, using hand-held bells of varying tones. A "ring of bells" is a set of 4 to twelve bells or more used in change ringing, a particular method of ringing bells in patterns. A peal in changing ringing may have bells playing for several hours, playing 5,000 or more patterns without a break or repetition.

Ancient Chinese bells
The ancient Chinese had bronze bells called zhong (鐘) which were used as musical instruments. Some of these bells were dated from 2000 to 3600 years old. These bells can each produce two tones. These bells usually have inscriptions on them from which scholars used as references for studying ancient Chinese writings (also known as Bronzeware script). Another related ancient Chinese musical instrument is called qing (磬 pinyin qing4) but it was made of stone instead of metal.

Bellmaking
The ringing of bells is known as bellringing, and such a bell produces a very loud, clear tone. If the bell is mounted as cast, it is called a "maiden bell" while "tuned bells" are worked after casting to produce a precise note. The traditional metal for these bells is a bronze of about 20% tin. Known as bell metal, this alloy is also the traditional alloy for the finest Turkish and Chinese cymbals. Other materials sometimes used for large bells include brass and iron. The process of casting bells is called bellmaking or bellfounding.

Bell towers
Bells are also associated with clocks, indicating the hour by ringing. Indeed, the word clock comes from the Latin word cloca, meaning bell. Clock towers or bell towers can be heard over long distances which was especially important in the time when clocks were too expensive for widespread use.

In the case of clock towers and grandfather clocks, a particular sequence of tones may be played to represent the hour. One common pattern is called the "Westminster Quarters," a sixteen-note pattern named after the Palace of Westminster which popularized it as the measure used by Big Ben.

Chimes
A variant on the bell is the tubular bell. Several of these metal tubes which are struck manually with hammers, form an instrument named tubular bells or chimes. In the case of wind or aeolian chimes, the tubes are blown against one another by the wind.

House Cliparts

2007-01-15T22:03:00.000+08:00

Famous bells

The Great Bell of Dhammazedi may have been the largest bell ever made. It was lost in a river in Myanmar after being removed from a temple by the Portuguese in 1608. It is reported to have been about 300 tonnes in weight.

The Tsar Kolokol bell by the Motorin Bellfounders is the largest bell still in existence. It weighs 160 tonnes, but it was never rung and broke in 1737. It is on display in Moscow, Russia inside the Kremlin.

The Great Mingun Bell is the largest functioning bell. It is located in Mingun, Myanmar and weighs 90 tonnes (200,000 lb).

The World Peace Bell is the largest swinging bell. It is located in Newport, Kentucky, United States, cast by Paccard of France. The bell itself weighs 66,000 lb while with clapper and supports the total weight which swings when the bell is tolled is 89,390 lb.

The Bell of King Seongdeok is the largest extant bell in Korea. The full Korean name means "Sacred Bell of King Seongdeok the Great." It was also known as the Bell of Bongdeoksa Temple, where it was first housed. The bell weighs about 25 tons and was originally cast in 771 CE. It is now stored in the National Museum of Gyeongju.

Pummerin in Vienna's Stephansdom is the most famous bell in Austria and the fifth largest in the world.

The St. Petersglocke, in the local dialect of Cologne also called "Decke Pitter" (fat Peter), is a Bell in Germany's Cologne Cathedral. It weighs 24 tons and was cast in 1922. It is the largest free-swinging bell in the world that swings around the top. (The World Peace Bell swings around the Center of Gravity, which is more like turning than like swinging. So, depending on the point of view, the St. Petersglocke may be up to now the largest free-swinging bell in the world.)

Maria Dolens, the bell for the Fallen in Rovereto (TN - Italy) weighs 22.6 tons.

Big Ben is the hour bell of the Great Clock in St. Stephen's Tower at the Palace of Westminster, the home of the Houses of Parliament in the United Kingdom.

Great Tom is the bell that hangs in Tom Tower (designed by Christopher Wren) of Christ Church, Oxford. It was cast in 1680, and weighs over six tons. Great Tom is still rung 101 times at 21:05 every night to signify the 101 original scholars of the college.

The Liberty Bell is an American bell of great historic significance, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It previously hung in Independence Hall and was rung on July 4, 1776 to mark American independence.

Little John, named after the character from the legends of Robin Hood is the bell within the Clock Tower of Nottingham Council House. It is the deepest bell in the United Kingdom and its chimes are said to be heard over the greatest distance of any in the UK. [citation needed]

Sigismund is a bell in the Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, Poland, cast in 1520. It is rung only on very significant national occasions, the most recent of which was the death of Pope John Paul II.

The Maria Gloriosa in Erfurt, cast by Gerhard van Wou, is considered to be one of Germany's, and als Europea's, most beautiful Medieval bells, serving as a model for many other bells.

Lovers Images & Cliparts

2007-01-14T22:18:00.000+08:00

What is Romance?
by Pidro C.

Romance is like love, it has no color nor an age,
It cannnot be explained in a single word or phrase.
Romantic or not, anyone can relate,
especially those with any affection to anyone or anything.
Romance is overrated, or overrated is exaggerated,
meaning, evryone has their own opinion, on its definition.
To have some affection towards another,
or a interest in your own contributions, is like the feelings
of romantic persuader, dwelling to their own mechasisms.
Romance is passion, the involvement of strong feelings.
It may also be a burden if obsession has penetrated.
But, who can define what Romance really mean?
is it the young couple's who use it as pass time,
or the old folks, who say it is their secret.
I honestly cannot say, for romance to me is like trying to
explain, what makes a rose an attribution to my opposite sex.
I do not try to infer on own life, but this word has brought
an attraction to my mind.
Romance is a facination, like a magicians dedication.

Romantic Love
by Keith Philippsen

Romance is a must for most young hearts
Gestures of love broken in tiny parts
A dozen roses, a chocolate heart,
Writing a poem with all your heart,
A cute little card with x’s and o’s
Sittin’ by the fire warming your toes
A candle lit dinner down by the beach
You both come in a pair not in a peach
Long conversations late into the night
Love is there and romance is in sight
Just a bear hug for you just like this
Romance is even just the right kiss…

Cultivating Romance
by ArmourQuill Hunter

In marriage so often romance is just misunderstood
It’s not about a man or a woman trying to be good
Perhaps it’s where the nourishing should begin
A rhythm of romance, of each nourishing, from selfish sin

Silly, though, how we all push things just to be right
Instead of developing communitive bonds against the night
Even God is into romance, of relationships and Love
As with Biblical patterns from His Good-Book, up above

Selfishness hinders us from love’s great liberty
But when we nurture our loved-one we begin to see
That, it’s more about timing and loving consistency
Like a rainbow rang of antics against loving resistancey

Ribbons Cliparts

2007-01-13T22:55:00.000+08:00

Farewell to Love
by Michael Drayton

Since there's not help, come let us kiss and part;
Nay, I am done, you get no more of me;
And I am glad, yea, glad with all my heart,
That thus so cleanly I myself can free;
Shake hands for ever, cancel all our vows,
And when we meet at any time again,
Be it not seen in either of our brows
That we, one jot of former love retain.
Now, at the last gasp of love's latest breath,
When his pulse failing, passion speechless lies,
When faith is kneeling by his bed of death,
And innocence is closing up his eyes,
Now, if thou wouldn't, when all have given him over,
From death to life Thou might'st him yet recover.

A wounded deer leaps highest
by Emily Dickinson

A wounded deer leaps highest,
I've heard the hunter tell;
'Tis but the ecstasy of death,
And then the brake is still.

The smitten rock that gushes,
The trampled steel that springs:
A cheek is always redder
Just where the hectic stings!

Mirth is mail of anguish,
In which its cautious arm
Lest anybody spy the blood
And, "you're hurt" exclaim

Hyacinth
by Edna St. Vincent Millay

I am in love with him
To whom a hyacinth is dearer
Than I shall ever be dear.

On nights when the field-mice
Are abroad, he cannot sleep.
He hears their narrow teeth
At the bulbs of his hyacinths.

But the gnawing at my heart...
He does not hear.

Heart, We Will Forget Him
by Emily Dickinson

Heart, we will forget him,
You and I, tonight!
You must forget the warmth he gave,
I will forget the light.

When you have done pray tell me,
Then I, my thoughts, will dim.
Haste! 'lest while you're lagging
I may remember him!

Puppy Love Cliparts

2007-01-13T22:34:00.000+08:00

Love
by Andrea J. Weir

Every time I see you,
I get so scared inside.
I feel like you won't like me,
And it makes me wanna die.

I like you a lot.
All my friends know it's true.
You're all I ever think about,
Of how I wish there could be a "Me and You."

I wish I could spend my life
With you by my side,
But something always stopped me,
Every time I tried.

I wish I wasn't so shy,
Because if I weren't you'd see
How much I really care for you,
And how much you mean to me.

I feel so stupid
When I try to be sweet,
Because everyone knows me
As some big freak.

I do really like you.
In my heart it's so true.
I like you so much,
I think I'm in love with you.

Forever Loving You
by Shylah Danielle Smith

I love you more than you will ever know,
My love for you will never go,
I know you don't believe these words I say,
But I think of you all night and day.

Although we cannot be together,
My love for you will be forever,
It's so hard for me to say good-bye,
Although I know I have to I begin to cry.

I wish you felt the way I do,
Because I'd do anything to be with you,
Also I just want you to see,
That I'll always be here if you ever need me.

There is a Lady Sweet and Kind
by Thomas Ford

There is a lady sweet and kind,
Was never a face so pleased my mind;
I did but see her passing by,
And yet, I'll love her till I die.

Her gesture, motion, and her smiles,
Her wit, her voice my heart beguiles,
Beguiles my heart, I know not why,
And yet, I'll love her till I die.

Cupid is winged and he doth range,
Her country, so, my love doth change:
But change she earth, or change she sky,
Yet, I will love her till I die.

Varieties Of Dividers Cliparts

2007-01-12T22:42:00.000+08:00

For some we loved
by Omar Khayyam

For some we loved, the loveliest and the best
That from His vintage rolling Time hath pressed,
Have drunk the Cup a round or two before,
And one by one crept silently to rest.

Shall I Compare Thee, (Sonnet XVIII)
by William Shakespeare

Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?
Thou are more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And Summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd:
But thy eternal Summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Sonnet CXVI
by William Shakespeare

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love,
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
Oh, no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests.. and is never shaken.
It is the star to every wandering bark
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love is not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come.
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out.. even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

Still to be Neat
by Ben Jonson

Still to be neat, still to be drest,
As you were going to a feast;
Still to be powder'd, still perfum'd:
Lady, it is to be presum'd,
Though art's hid causes are not found,
All is not sweet, all is not sound.

Give me a look, give me a face,
That make simplicity a grace;
Robes loosely flowing, hair as free:
Such sweet neglect more taketh me
Than all th'adulteries of art.
They strike mine eyes, but not my heart

Song To Celia
by Ben Jonson

Drink to me, only with thine eyes
And I will pledge with mine;
Or leave a kiss but in the cup,
And I'll not look for wine.
The thirst that from the soul doth rise
Doth ask a drink divine:
But might I of Jove's nectar sup
I would not change for thine.

I sent thee late a rosy wreath,
Not so much honouring thee
As giving it a hope that there
It could not withered be
But thou thereon didst only breath
And sent'st it back to me:
Since, when it grows and smells, I swear,
Not of itself but thee.

Ivy Cliparts

2007-01-11T23:05:00.000+08:00

Poison Ivy Fact
Poison ivy is a member of the Rhus or Toxicodendron genus of plants, which also includes poison oak and poison sumac. Poison ivy is usually found growing as a vine or shrub east of the Rocky Mountains along trails, ponds, and lakes. Viewing pictures of poison ivy can help you to identify it better.

Poison sumac grows in boggy areas in the southern United States, while poison oak grows as a bush or climbing vine in the western United States, west of the Rocky Mountains.

Each plant can also grow in other forms in other parts of the country.

Poison Ivy Myth/Fact
Are some people so sensitive to poison ivy that they can get a rash even if they are standing near a poison ivy plant? This is mostly a myth. You do have to touch a plant or come into contact with the urushiol oil in another way, such as if the oil is someone's clothing, fingernails, or a pet, and you touch the contaminated area.

You could also have a reaction to poison ivy if someone is burning a poison ivy plant or leaves and you inhale or have contact with the smoke. In fact, this can cause a serious reaction and is a good reason why you should never burn poison ivy.

Poison Ivy Myth
Is poison ivy contagious? Many people think it is, and it is easy to see why, since the rash you get from poison ivy looks as if it should be contagious. But this is one of the biggest myths that is spread about poison ivy. Poison ivy rashes are not contagious. The fluid from blisters and the rash can not spread the rash.

The reason that the classic poison ivy rash seems to spread is that different areas of a person's body typically have different levels of exposure to the urushiol of poison ivy that causes the rash. The rash can also seem to spread if you are re-exposed or if you are exposed to clothing or other inanimate objects that were contaminated and had contact with the poison ivy plants.

Poison Ivy Fact
Urushiol is the chemical in poison ivy plants that causes the typical allergic reaction and symptoms of poison ivy rashes. Although it can sometimes be washed off within 10 minutes, after that, it is very likely to cause a reaction within 8 to 48 hours. Urushiol is found in the leaves, stems, and roots of poison ivy plants, which means that you can get a rash even in the winter, when a plant has lost all of its leaves.

Poison Ivy Myth/Fact
Are some people are immune to poison ivy? It is true that some people don't have an allergic reaction when they are exposed to poison ivy, but others don't have their first reaction until they are exposed multiple times. So it is very hard to truly know if you are really immune. It may just be that you just haven't had your first reaction yet, so even if you think that you are immune, you should still try to take steps to avoid poison ivy.

Keep in mind that most experts believe that 50 to 80% of people will develop a rash after exposure to poison ivy.

Poison Ivy Myth/Fact
Are infants and babies immune to poison ivy? It is true that Pediatricians rarely see poison ivy reactions in younger children, but part of the reason for that is that they are less likely to be exposed than older children who are more likely to play and explore in areas where poison ivy grows. Many experts do also believe that younger children are less susceptible to poison ivy. In fact, the peak age for becoming sensitive to poison ivy is not thought to occur until a child is between the ages of 8 and 14 years old.

Poison Ivy Fact
Being sensitive to poison ivy is genetic. Since having a reaction to poison ivy is thought to run in the family, if a child's parents are sensitive to poison ivy, it might be a good idea to be extra careful to avoid poison ivy in their children starting at a very early age.

Poison Ivy Myth
It is a myth that poison ivy only grows along trails or in the woods. In fact, in some parts of the country, it seems like it grows just about everywhere, even in well maintained gardens and flower beds. If you get an itchy rash after working out in your garden, think poison ivy and be on the look out for it.

Poison Ivy Fact
You can grow out of your sensitivity to poison ivy. Many people do seem to have less severe reactions as they get older, especially if they have less frequent exposures as adults.

Nature Cliparts

2007-01-08T23:35:00.000+08:00

Teach your children
what we have taught our children --
that the earth is our mother
Whatever befalls the earth
befalls the sons and daughters of the earth.
If men spit upon the ground,
they spit upon themselves.
This we know
The earth does not belong to us,
we belong to the earth
This we know
All things are connected
like the blood which unites one family.
All things are connected.
Whatever befalls the earth
befalls the sons and daughters of the earth.
We do not weave the web of life,
We are merely a strand in it.
Whatever we do to the web,
we do to ourselves.
~ Chief Seattle

The beauty of the trees, the softness of the air,
the fragrance of the grass speaks to me.
The summit of the mountain, the thunder of the sky,
The rhythm of the sea, speaks to me.
The faintness of the stars, the freshness of the morning,
the dewdrop on the flower, speaks to me.
The strength of the fire, the taste of salmon, the trail of the sun,
and the life that never goes away, they speak to me
And my heart soars.

There is religion in everything around us,
A calm and holy religion
In the unbreathing things in Nature.
It is a meek and blessed influence,
Stealing in as it were unaware upon the heart,
It comes quickly, and without excitement,
It has no terror, no gloom
It does not rouse up the passions;
It is untrammelled by creeds
It is written on the arched sky,
It looks out from every star,
It is on the sailing cloud and in the invisible wind,
It is among the hills and valleys of the earth
Where the shrubless mountain-top pierces the thin atmosphere of eternal winter,
Or where the mighty forest fluctuates before the strong wind,
With its dark waves of green foliage;
It is spread out like a legible language upon the broad face of an unsleeping ocean;
It is the poetry of Nature;
It is that which uplifts the spirit within us
And which opens to our imagination of world of spiritual beauty and holiness.
~ John Ruskin

O our Mother the Earth,blessed is your name.
Blessed are your fields and forests, your rocks and mountains,
your grasses and trees and flowers, and every green and growing thing.
Blessed are your streams and lakes and rivers,
the oceans where our life began, and all your waters that sustain our bodies and refresh our souls.

Blessed is the air we breathe, your atmosphere, that surrounds us and binds us to every living thing.

Blessed are all creatures who walk along your surface or swim in your waters or fly through your air, for they are our relatives.

Blessed are all the people who share this planet, for we are all one family, and the same spirit moves through us all.

Blessed is the sun, our day star, bringer of morning and the heat of summer, giver of light and life.

Blessed is the moon, our night lamp, ruler of the tides, protector of all women, and guardian of our dreams.

Blessed are the stars and planets, the time-keepers, who fill our nights with beauty and our hearts with awe.

O Great Spirit whose voice we hear in the wind and whose face we see in the morning sun, blessed is your name

Help us to remember that you are everywhere, and teach us the way of peace.

Snowmen Pictures

2006-12-24T23:16:00.000+08:00

Christmas Eve
The children lay in bed this special night
Holding their breath with eyes closed tight
They know the magic won't be right
If they are found awake after midnight
Shhh, at last they hear a sound
Tinkering bells in the background
Do they dare open their eyes
And peep out at the dark skies
Will they only see the snow
Or is Santa parked across the road
They hear a creak, is it the door
Or is it the cat creeping across the floor
No this time they know for sure
It definitely was the bedroom door
Not one child dares to breathe
Or make a sound in bed this eve
They knew it was he creeping across the floor
Even quieter than the year before
Will he leave me a doll's house
Some toy soldiers and a sugar mouse
There's a lot of rattling, a creak, a groan
Now he's finally leaving our home
We wait in bed for what seems like hours
Until we're sure the house is ours
Then we are all out of bed
Feeling around to see what's been left
Our sacks are full, O what joy
We have been good girls and boys
We feel around and shake each one
To us Christmas day has begun
But suddenly out of the dark
GET BACK TO BED! The grown-ups bark.

Santa Claus Pictures

2006-12-23T23:11:00.000+08:00

'Twas The Night Before Jesus Came
'Twas the night before Jesus came
And all through the house
Not a creature was praying, not one in the house.
Their Bibles were lain on the shelf without care,
In hopes that Jesus would not come there.

The children were dressing to crawl into bed,
not once ever kneeling or bowing a head.
And Mom in her rocker with baby on her lap,
Was watching The Late Show while I took a nap.

When out of the East there arose such a clatter,
I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash!

When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But angels proclaiming that Jesus was here.
With a light like the sun sending forth a bright ray,
I knew in a moment that this must be The Day.

The light of His face made me cover my head;
It was Jesus! Returning just like he said.
And though I possessed worldly wisdom and wealth,
I cried when I saw Him in spite of myself.

In the Book of Life which He held in His hand
Was written the name of every saved man.
He spoke not a word as He searched for my name,
When He said "It's not here" my head hung in shame.

The people whose names had been written with love
He gathered to take to His Father above.
With those who were ready He rose without a sound
While all the rest were left standing around.

I fell to my knees, but it was too late;
I had waited too long and thus sealed my fate.
I stood and cried as they rose out of sight;
Oh, if only I had been ready tonight.

In the words of this poem the meaning is clear;
The coming of Jesus is drawing near.
There's only one life and when comes the last call,
We'll find that the Bible was true after all!

Christmas Pictures

2006-12-22T23:10:00.000+08:00

The Christmas Tree By Albert Tayler

Birdhouse Christmas By Bambi Papais

The Real Meaning of Christmas
Two thousand years ago the King of Kings was born.
'The Lamb of God' later made to feel the thorn,
If his words are accepted and not scorned,
They will make us all reborn.

Though God's grace, Joseph and Mary presented
A gift to the world that day, which we can all repay,
by living the ten commandments each and every day.

Try to remember and keep in your heart and mind
Jesus's gospel while here on Earth,
Redemption not a life lived in constant mirth.
Peace on Earth, good will toward man
Everyone should try it, whenever they can.

The Lord gave us the option and choice of 'free will,'
Now it's up to us to fit the bill.

So when you’re Christmas shopping for family and friends,
and money is tight at both ends,
Remember that the greatest gift of all,
Is your love of Jesus in the manger stall.

Disney Pictures

2006-12-22T15:38:00.000+08:00

After having lost the rights to Oswald, Disney had to develop a new "star". Most Disney biographies state that Disney came up with a mouse character on his trip back from New York. It is debated whether it was he, or Iwerks who actually designed the mouse (which basically looked like Oswald, but with round instead of long ears). The first films were animated by Iwerks, his name was prominently featured on the title cards. The mouse was originally named "Mortimer", but later christened "Mickey Mouse" by Lillian Disney.

Mickey's first animated short produced was Plane Crazy, which was, like all of Disney's previous works, a silent film. After failing to find distributor interest in Plane Crazy or its follow-up, The Gallopin' Gaucho, Disney created a Mickey cartoon with sound called Steamboat Willie. A businessman named Pat Powers provided Disney with both distribution and Cinephone, a sound-synchronization process. Steamboat Willie became a success, and Plane Crazy, The Galloping Gaucho, and all future Mickey cartoons were released with soundtracks. Disney himself provided the vocal effects for the earliest cartoons and performed as the voice of Mickey Mouse until 1946. Disney believed Mickey would make it far into television.

Walter Elias Disney (December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966), was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, visionary, and philanthropist. He was the son of Flora and Elias Disney, and had three brothers and one sister. As the co-founder (with his brother Roy O. Disney) of Walt Disney Productions, Walt became one of the best-known motion picture producers in the world. The corporation he co-founded, now known as The Walt Disney Company, today has annual revenues of approximately U.S. $30 billion.

Walt Disney is particularly noted for being a film producer, and a popular showman, as well as an innovator in animation and theme park design. He was nominated for 48 Academy awards and 7 Emmys, holding the record for most Oscar nominations. He also had two daughters, Diane and Sharon; Sharon was adopted. He and his staff created a number of the world's most famous productions, including the one many consider Disney's alter ego, Mickey Mouse. He is also well-known as the namesake of the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resort theme parks in the United States.

Walt Disney died of lung cancer on December 15, 1966, a few years prior to the opening of his Walt Disney World dream project in Orlando, Florida.

Disneyland (since 1998 officially Disneyland Park, to distinguish it from the Disneyland Resort complex of which it is a part), is a theme park in Anaheim, California, USA (28 miles from Downtown Los Angeles). Owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company, The Magic Kingdom of Disneyland has become one of the most famous places on Earth.

More than 515 million guests, among them presidents, royalty, and other heads of state, have traveled to the park from around the world since the attraction first opened to guests on July 17, 1955. A worldwide celebration in commemoration of Disneyland's 50th anniversary began on May 5, 2005 and concluded on September 30, 2006.

Nice Pictures Of Pooh Bear

2006-12-21T15:16:00.000+08:00

Sing Ho! for the life of a Bear!
Sing Ho! for the life of a Bear!
I don't much mind if it rains or snows,
'Cos I've got a lot of honey on my nice new nose,
I don't much care if it snows or thaws,
'Cos I've got a lot of honey on my nice clean paws!
Sing Ho! for the life of a Bear!
Sing Ho! for the life of a Pooh!
And I'll have a little something in an hour or two!

Pooh Bear Funny Thoughts
It's a very funny thought
that, if Bears were Bees
They'd build their nests at the bottom of trees
And that being so (if Bees were Bears)
We shouldn't have to climb up all these stairs.

Little Pooh Thoughts
I lay on my chest
And I thought it best
To pretend I was having an evening rest;
I lay on my tum
And I tried to hum
But nothing particular seemed to come.
My face was flat
On the floor, and that
Is all very well for an acrobat;
But it doesn't seem fair
To a Friendly Bear
To stiffen him out with a basket-chair.
And a sort of snoze
Which grows and grows
Is not too nice for his poor old nose,
And a sort of such
Is much too much
For his neck and his mouth
and his ears and such

Winnie The Pooh Images

2006-12-20T13:59:00.000+08:00

History Of Winnie The Pooh
During the first World War, troops from Winnipeg (Manitoba, Canada) were being transported to eastern Canada, on their way to Europe, where they were to join the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade. When the train stopped at White River, Ontario, a lieutenant called Harry Colebourn bought a small female black bear cub for $20 from a hunter who had killed its mother. He named her 'Winnipeg', after his hometown of Winnipeg, or 'Winnie' for short.

Winnie became the mascot of the Brigade and went to Britain with the unit. When the Brigade was posted to the battlefields of France, Colebourn, now a Captain, took Winnie to the London Zoo for a long loan. He formally presented the London Zoo with Winnie in December 1919 where he became a popular attraction and lived until 1934.

The bear was also very popular with Christopher Robin, son of author A.A. Milne. It was his favourite animal at the Zoo, and he often spent time inside the cage with it. The bear was Christopher Robin's inspiration for calling his own teddy bear Winnie.....Winnie the Pooh (this teddy bear started out with the name of Edward Bear). The name Pooh originally belonged to a swan, as can be seen in the introduction of Milne's 'When We Were Very Young'.

A.A. Milne started to write a series of books about Winnie the Pooh, his son Christopher Robin, and their friends in the 100-Acre-Wood. These other characters, such as Eeyore, Piglet, Tigger, Kanga and Roo were also based on stuffed animals belonging to Christopher Robin. The characters, Rabbit and Owl, were based on animals that lived, like the swan Pooh, in the surrounding area of Milne's country home, Cotchford Farm in Ashdown Forest, Sussex. It is this area on which the 100-Acre-Wood was based.

'Winnie-the-Pooh' was published by Methuen on October 14th, 1926, the verses 'Now We are Six' in 1927, and 'The House at Pooh Corner' in1928. All these books were illustrated in a beautiful way by E.H. Shepard, which made the books even more magical. The Pooh-books became firm favourites with old and young alike and have been translated into almost every known language. A conservative figure for the total sales of the four Methuen editions (including When We Were Very Young) up to the end of 1996 would be over 20 million copies. These figures do not include sales of the four books published by Dutton in Canada and the States, nor the foreign-language editions printed in more than 25 languages the world over!

The Pooh-books had also been favourites of Walt Disney's daughters and it inspired Disney to bring Pooh to film in 1966. In 1977 'the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh', the first feature-length animated film of Pooh was released. In 1993, the Walt Disney Company acknowledged that Pooh Bear is second only to Mickey Mouse in their portfolio of the most-loved and trusted characters known to millions of people all over the world. By 1996, after the second release of 'the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh', the Bear of Very Little Brain had proven to be more popular than any other Disney character. In 1997, twenty years after the release of the first feature-length animated film, Disney released 'Pooh's Grand Adventure', picking up where Disney's 22nd Masterpiece left off. In February 2000 Disney released the third Winnie the Pooh movie called 'The Tigger Movie', this time with the leading part for Tigger.

People Cliparts

2006-12-18T22:55:00.000+08:00

Some Jokes

Confucius say: Only the good die young. Why? Because what's the point of living long if you have to be good?

The chairman of the club committee announced at their meeting,"We're looking for a treasurer."

"But we appointed a treasurer at the last meeting last year," pointed out one member.

"Yes," confirmed the chairman, adding,"that's the treasurer we're looking for."

Why did the elephant sit on an orange outside the synagogue?
Because it wanted to see the Jews come out.

The psychiatrist put the standard test to his patient. "Tell me, Mr Lee, what does a man do standing up, a woman sitting down and a dog on three legs?"

"Why, shake hands, of course."

"Excellent, Mr Lee, correct," the doctor said and then whispered, "but you won't believe some of the weird answers I get."

Mrs Tan took her husband to the psychiatrist and explained the problem in between tears, "Oh, doctor, my husband thinks he's a chicken. He clucks all night and crows when the sun comes up... it's all very embarrassing. Can you do something about it?"

"How long has this been going on?" the psychiatrist asked.

"Just over a year now."

"A year! But why did you wait so long to bring him here?" the psychiatrist asked.

"To tell you the truth, doctor, we needed the eggs."

Various Occupations Cliparts

2006-12-18T14:11:00.000+08:00

Jokes About People

Jeff was called in by his boss about his application to go on leave for his honeymoon. "How long do you intend to be away, Jeff?" asked the boss.

"How long do you suggest, sir?" enquired Jeff.

"How can I tell?" answered the boss, "I haven't even seen the bride."

Confucius said: You know you've reached middle age when people tell you to pull in your stomach -- and you already have.

Ah Pui was describing his first game of tennis at the office,"My brain told me 'Run, run for the ball. Get it and hit it over the net.' And then my body said 'Who? me?'"

The most tactful sacking on record goes as follows: The boss called in the potential 'sackee' and said,"Mark, I don't know how we are going to get along without you, but starting Monday we're going to try."

Muthu went to his favourite corner coffeeshop and ordered several bottles of beer. He poured them into several glasses in a row and then drank from the first, the third, the fifth, the seventh, ninth and eleventh glasses.

"Don't you want the rest of the glasses?" enquired Ah Seng, the coffeeshop owner who had been watching in astonishment.

"No thanks," said Muthu, wiping the froth from his mouth. "My doctor said I could only have the odd drink."

A boss was upset because his new stenographer was late. Fuming, he said as she finally came in all tarted up," You should have been here at nine!"

"Why?" She asked, "What happened?"

Two psychiatrists in the private hospital were going down the lift together. One was a very senior doctor who had spent years in practice. The other, a newcomer to the business, turned to him and said, "Dr Lee, how do you manage to keep so cool and unperturbed all day after seeing so many patients? I really feel terrible after the first hour."

"That's the secret, Dr Yeo," said Dr Lee, "Who listens?"

Occupational Cliparts

2006-12-16T18:50:00.000+08:00

Occupation may refer to:

the principal activity (job, work or calling) that earns money (regular wage or salary) for a person (see employment, profession, business, List of occupations)
the periods of time following a nation's territory invasion by controlling enemy troops (see Military occupation)
the act of settling onto an uninhabited tract of land, see Annexation and Terra nullius
the temporary forceful occupation of a (typically governmental) symbolic building or site, as a sign of protest (see occupation (protest))
the act of settling into of a building (see ownership)
any activity that occupies an important portion of a person's attention (see fan)
Occupation, an episode of Battlestar Galactica

A firefighter, or fireman, is a person who is trained and equipped to put out fires, rescue people and pets, aid and assist during natural disasters and, increasingly, provide emergency medical services. The fire service, also known in some countries as the fire brigade or fire department, is one of the emergency services.

Fire fighting is the process and profession of extinguishing fires. Firefighting and firefighters have become ubiquitous around the world, from urban areas to wildland areas, and on board ships. Not all firefighters are paid for their services. In some countries, including the United States, Canada, Finland, Australia, and New Zealand, there are often paid, or "career" ("professional" is falling out of popular usage due to the perception that non-paid volunteers would thus be termed "unprofessional"), firefighters working alongside volunteer and "call" or "retained" (firefighters who are paid for the specific time they are responding to emergencies) firefighters. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the use of retained firefighters (who are part-time, but are paid when on duty) rather than volunteers is standard. In Germany, volunteer fire departments are standard: even the biggest German city, Berlin, with more than 3 million inhabitants, has volunteer fire fighters. In fact, only 101 German cities have a career fire service, called "Berufsfeuerwehr" in German. . Most of the so called volunteer departments, except in rural areas, are in fact a mixed service of a core of career firemen who are supported by true volunteer firefighters should need arise. However, the official title of those departments is nevertheless "volunteer fire service".

A singer is a musician who uses his or her voice to produce music. Usually, singing refers to vocal melody only, though vocalist is a similar term which also encompasses non-melodic sounds and effectively includes anyone using their voice as part of a musical composition, including spoken word, Death grunt, Hardcore screaming, and rapping.

A lawyer, or legal practitioner, is a person certified to give legal advice who advises clients in legal matters. Some lawyers represent clients in courts of law and in other forms of dispute resolution.

Law is a theoretical and abstract discipline, and working as a lawyer represents the practical application of legal theory and knowledge to solve real problems or to advance the interests of those who retain (i.e., hire) lawyers for legal services.

The role of the lawyer varies significantly across legal jurisdictions, and therefore can be treated here in only the most general terms.

Healthcare Cliparts

2006-12-16T13:58:00.000+08:00

Health care or healthcare is the prevention, treatment, and management of illness and the preservation of mental and physical well-being through the services offered by the medical, nursing, and allied health professions. The organised provision of such services may constitute a health care system. This can include a specific governmental organisation such as, in the UK, the National Health Service or a cooperation across the National Health Service and Social Services as in Shared Care. Before the term "healthcare" became popular, English-speakers referred to medicine or to the health sector and spoke of the treatment and prevention of illness and disease.

The healthcare industry is one of the world's largest and fastest-growing industries. Consuming over 10 percent of gross domestic product of most developed nations, health care can form an enormous part of a country's economy. In 2003, health care costs paid to hospitals, physicians, nursing homes, diagnostic laboratories, pharmacies, medical device manufacturers and other components of the health care system, consumed 15.3 percent of the GDP of the United States, the largest of any country in the world. In 2001, for the OECD countries the average was 8.4 percent with the United States (13.9%), Switzerland (10.9%), and Germany (10.7%) being the top three.

The healthcare industry includes the delivery of health services by health care providers. Usually such services receive payment from the patient or from the patient's insurance company; although they may be government-financed (such as the National Health Service in the United Kingdom) or delivered by charities or volunteers, particularly in poorer countries.

There are many ways of providing healthcare in the modern world. The most common way is face-to-face delivery, where care provider and patient see each other 'in the flesh'. This is what occurs in general medicine in most countries. However, healthcare is not always face-to-face; with modern telecommunications technology, in absentia health care is becoming more common. This could be when practitioner and patient communicate over the phone, video conferencing, the internet, email, text messages, or any other form of non-face-to-face communication.

Health care settings generally involve a wide range of health care workers, who work in collaboration with nurses.

Examples include:

Nursing assistants, orderlies, auxiliary nurses, healthcare assistants. These types of healthcare workers work both in acute and primary settings, under the supervision of registered nurses or licensed practical nurses (in the US). They assist nurses by giving basic care, taking vital signs, administering hygienic care, assisting with feeding, giving basic psychosocial care, housekeeping, and similar duties. See also hospital volunteers.

Technicians: for example, certified medication aides in the US, are trained to administer medications in a long-term care setting. There are also phlebotomy technicians, who perform venepuncture; surgical technologists (US) and operating department practitioners (UK), who are more or less equivalent to a registered nurse in theatres; and technicians trained to operate most kinds of diagnostic and laboratory equipment, such as X-ray machines, electrocardiographs, and so forth.

Physicians historically operated without nursing advice, but nowadays rely on nurses' skills, observations, and experience to ensure a continuity of patient care.

Pharmacists are responsible for the safe dispensing of medicine and offering of expert advice on drug therapies.

Allied health professionals such as respiratory therapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists and physical therapists work closely with nursing staff and work collaboratively in multi-disciplinary teams.

Nurse Cliparts

2006-12-15T13:49:00.000+08:00

A nurse is a health care professional who is engaged in the practice of nursing. Nurses are responsible—along with other health care professionals—for the treatment, safety, and recovery of acutely or chronically ill or injured people, health maintenance of the healthy, and treatment of life-threatening emergencies in a wide range of health care settings. Nurses may also be involved in medical and nursing research and perform a wide range of non-clinical functions necessary to the delivery of health care.

Nursing education, regulation, roles, and titles vary in different countries, but in general reflect an increasing level of responsibility and status.

Nurses develop and implement a plan of care and work collaboratively with the patient, the patient's family, and other health care professionals and para-professionals. Nurses help coordinate the patient care performed by other members of a health care team such as physical therapists, medical practitioners, social workers, and dietitians. Nurses frequently act as patient advocates.

The nursing career structure varies considerably throughout the world. Typically there are several distinct levels of nursing practitioner distinguished by increasing education, responsibility, and skills. The major distinction is between task-based nursing and professional nursing. Nurses throughout the world are increasingly employed as advanced practice nurses, such as clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners, who diagnose health problems and prescribe medications and other therapies. At the top of the educational ladder is the doctoral-prepared nurse. Nurses may gain a PhD or another doctoral degree, specializing in research, clinical nursing, and so forth. These nurses practice nursing, teach nursing, and carry out nursing research. As the science and art of nursing has advanced, so has the demand for doctoral-prepared nurses.

In various parts of the world, the educational background for nurses varies widely. In some parts of eastern Europe, nurses are high school graduates with twelve to eighteen months of training. In contrast, Chile requires any registered nurse to have at least a bachelor's degree.

Nurses are the largest group of providers in the health care system--there are over two million registered nurses in the United States of America (U.S.) alone, comprising about 13% of the fifteen million workers in the health care and social assistance category tracked by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Nursing is one of the most female-dominated occupations but the number of males entering the profession is increasing. For example, in the U.S., only 5.4% of the registered nurse population was male in 2000, but that percent represented a 226% increase in two decades.

Government regulates the profession of nursing to protect the public.

Types of nurses
In all states other than Victoria, nurses fall into the following major categories:
* Nurse practitioner (NP)
* Registered nurse (RN)
* Enrolled nurse (EN)

Professional titles
The professional courtesy title "sister" has fallen into disuse and disapproval, even though it was formerly used by both male and female registered general nurses. The title "nurse" was used when addressing enrolled nurses. The term "matron" is inadvisable.

In keeping with the relaxed attitude to formalities in Australia, most nurses are happy to be addressed by their first name and describe themselves either as "an RN" or "an EN". In Victoria, an enrolled nurse will commonly describe themselves as a "Div. 2".

Doctor Cliparts

2006-12-14T13:29:00.000+08:00

Doctor or doctors may refer to:

Physician, a medical doctor
Surgeon, see surgery
Dentist, see dentistry
Optometrist, see optometry
Pharmacist, see Doctor of Pharmacy
Veterinarian, an animal doctor
A person who holds a doctorate
A person with a Doctor of Philosophy degree
Doctor of Chiropractic
Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine, physicians in some States
Doctor of Osteopathy, physicians and surgeons
Doctor of Physical Therapy
Doctor (title), a title of respect
Doctor of the Church, an esteemed Catholic theologian
Doctor (children's game)
Doctor of Podiatry, see Podiatrist
Doctor of Ministry, see Doctor of Ministry
Juris Doctor

A doctor is someone who attends to the sick.

What The Doctor Said

He said it doesn't look good
he said it looks bad in fact real bad
he said I counted thirty-two of them on one lung before
I quit counting them
I said I'm glad I wouldn't want to know
about any more being there than that
he said are you a religious man do you kneel down
in forest groves and let yourself ask for help
when you come to a waterfall
mist blowing against your face and arms
do you stop and ask for understanding at those moments
I said not yet but I intend to start today
he said I'm real sorry he said
I wish I had some other kind of news to give you
I said Amen and he said something else
I didn't catch and not knowing what else to do
and not wanting him to have to repeat it
and me to have to fully digest it
I just looked at him
for a minute and he looked back it was then
I jumped up and shook hands with this man who'd just given me
something no one else on earth had ever given me
I may have even thanked him habit being so strong

Saleswoman Cliparts II

2006-12-12T18:32:00.000+08:00

"One ingredient I've noticed in the personality of almost every successful person I know is the courage to risk failure. To try is definitely to risk failure, but what is your alternative? To do nothing, have nothing, and be nothing. When you do absolutely nothing you've avoided failure, but you also have avoided success." -Zig Ziglar

21 Traits and Characteristics of Great Salespeople

1. They set goals in writing.

2. They have good self-discipline.

3. They are self-motivated.

4. They want to be more knowledgeable.

5. They are self-confident.

6. They like themself.

7. They love people.

8. They want to build relationships.

9. They love challenges.

10. They can accept rejection with a positive attitude.

11. They can handle the details.

12. They are loyal.

13. They are enthusiastic.

14. They are observant.

15. They are good listener.

16. They are perceptive.

17. They are skillful communicator.

18. They want to be financially secure.

19. They are hardworking.

20. They are persistent.

21. They love to win.

Saleswoman Cliparts I

2006-12-11T18:39:00.000+08:00

Behind every sale is a PERSON.

Selling is the most exciting job in the world. With the right organization, it gives you unlimited income potential, freedom, and a clear means to take control of your career and your life.

The job of a salesperson is to help people make decisions, which are profitable to both customer/prospect and the supplier.

A salesperson must:

Set objectives, not only in terms of sales but also for every aspect of work
Plan to reach those objectives
Organise work to achieve results at an acceptable level of cost
Direct their own efforts, not relying solely on direction from their manager
Control their own performance in line with their plans
Appraise themselves and so make plans to develop and improve their performance

To do this, they must be skilled at taking decisions, thinking for themselves and communicating with others.

Put like this, personal selling has much in common with advertising, sales promotion and other elements in teh marketing mix. Salespeople, however, have unique advantages over other forms of selling:

Flexiblity: They can tailor their presentations to the individual customer
Impact: Their physical presence enables their personality as well as words to work for them
Communication: A two-way flow takes place

Personal selling is an interactive process. But however successful a salesperson may be when face to face with a buyer, selling is not the whole of the job. Though not a manager in the strict sense, they must manage themselves and their work.

Salespeople And Their Use Of Time
A salesperson spends only a small part of the working day actually talking business with customers. A good salesperson will do everything possible to increase teh proportion of time spent selling and trying to reduce the time spent in unproductive areas.

Nowhere is the need to organise time mroe important than managing a sales territory to ensure both efficiency and effectiveness the salesperson needs to consider:

The need to secure committed appointments
The order of which to call on existing and potential accounts
The proportion of time allocated to opening new accounts as opposed to time spent calling on existing customers
Duration of the call related to its sales potential
Frequency of calls
Travelling time
Waiting time

Christmas Graphics

2006-12-11T00:34:00.000+08:00

The Twelve Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
A partridge in a pear tree.

On the second day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Two turtle doves
And a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the third day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Three French Hens,
Two turtle doves
And a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Four calling birds,
Three French Hens,
Two turtle doves
And a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French Hens,
Two turtle doves
And a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Six geese a laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French Hens,
Two turtle doves
And a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Seven swans a swimming,
Six geese a laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French Hens,
Two turtle doves
And a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Eight maids a milking,
Seven swans a swimming,
Six geese a laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French Hens,
Two turtle doves
And a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a milking,
Seven swans a swimming,
Six geese a laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French Hens,
Two turtle doves
And a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Ten lords a leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a milking,
Seven swans a swimming,
Six geese a laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French Hens,
Two turtle doves
And a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a milking,
Seven swans a swimming,
Six geese a laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French Hens,
Two turtle doves
And a Partridge in a pear tree.

On the twelfth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a milking,
Seven swans a swimming,
Six geese a laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French Hens,
Two turtle doves
And a Partridge in a pear tree.

More Christmas Cliparts and Images

Animated Cartoons Cliparts

2006-12-10T00:25:00.000+08:00

Don't Despair

Do not despair
for our God is here
to carry you through
the storms you're facing.

Trust in Him for He is good
and His love for you
is everlasting.

Should you get lonely
draw closer to Jesus.
Fellowship with Him
and spend time in prayer.

When you are weary and heavy laden,
cast all those cares upon the Lord
for He alone can lift the weight
of all those troubles
that are bearing you down.

You will find He'll show you the way -
He'll carry through
and brighten your day.

Through Jesus you can find rest
and peace for your soul
and He will ensure
that you're on the right road.

Jesus alone knows your heart's cry
and He wants to comfort you,
and stand by your side.
Let Him into your heart today,
He'll take up your burdens
and show you the way.

Make Him the cornerstone of your life
then you'll receive
everlasting life.

He will gather your children together
and protect them like a hen
that has gathered her chicks
under her wings.

Under the shadow of His wings
you will find a shelter
from life's storms.

Bronze Sculpture

2006-12-09T00:18:00.000+08:00

Goodbye
In every life
there comes a time
for giving thanks
and to say goodbye.

Even though you may
be miles apart,
your memories will keep you
close at heart.

So don't be disheartened
at the thought of distance
that can't remove the memories;
your heart's closest treasures.

May you be blessed
in all that you do,
and may you experience
lots of happiness too!

Goodbye for the moment
'till we meet again.
May our friendship be a treasure
that will never end.

Bears Cliparts

2006-12-08T00:06:00.000+08:00

I've learned....
The best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.

I've learned....
That when you're in love, it shows.

I've learned....
That just one person saying to me, "You've made my day!" That makes my day.

I've learned....
That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world

I've learned....
That being kind is more important than being right.

I've learned....
That you should never say no to a gift from a child.

I've learned....
That I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him in some other way.

I've learned....
That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.

I've learned....
That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.

I've learned....
That simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.

I've learned....
Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.

I've learned....
That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.

I've learned....
That money doesn't buy class.

I've learned....
It's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular

I've learned...
That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved

I've learned....
That the Lord didn't do it all in one day. What makes me think I can?

I've learned....
That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.

I've learned....
That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.

I've learned....
That love, not time, heals all wounds.

I've learned....
That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.

I've learned....
That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.

I've learned....
That there's nothing sweeter than sleeping with your babies and feeling their breath on your cheeks.

I've learned....
That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.

I've learned....
That life is tough, but I'm tougher.

I've learned....
That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.

I've learned....
That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.

I've learned....
That I wish I could have told my Mom that I love her one more time before she passed away.

I've learned....
That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.

I've learned....
That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

I've learned....
That I can't choose how I feel but I can choose what I do about it.

I've learned....
That when your newly born grandchild holds your little finger in his little fist, that you're hooked for life.

I've learned....
That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.

I've learned ...
That it is best to give advice in only two circumstances; when it is requested and when it is a life threatening situation.

I've learned....
That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.