Asha of Darfur [A poem with a commentary by the author]

Asha of Darfur

Cry, cryoh little Darfur woman
For your sister Janjaweed
[in Sudan’s merciless region

who was raped to death);
Where rape and death run ramped;

And Asha prays the Arabs don’t’ hear
Here sobbing little black tears…
…in fear she will be chained to a bed

In Darfur, by the insidious justice
Of the Arabs, who run ramped?

Ah, yes! In Darfur you’ve guessed,
It is not a crime to raped and arrested;
By the very one who raped, and terrorized

You; it is the conquest…Satan’s ribs!…
Where rape and death run ramped.

#733/6/19/05

Commentary by the author: again we see a political poem, or one taken out of current events. As I read the paper a few days ago, I saw the tears of Asha, and the double standards in this African location, as it plays on the black citizens. It is a shame. There is not much symbolism in this poem, it is not needed. A few lines tell the whole story; as it does throughout the whole poem. In this poem there is nothing for the reader to discover I fear no metaphors, just death, and its current events taking place in this Genocide of rape in Darfur. My symbol if anything, is not private, it is public. Where in many cases a skull stands for death, here rape stands for death. Perhaps I’ve created in this poem my own private symbol of that nature, for many have survived the rapes and the genocide [or killings]; I connect them together to mean the same thing though. For once we have been violated so badly, we die slowly anyhow, or so I feel.

Poet Dennis Siluk see his books at http://www.bn.ocm or http://www.amazon.com

Using Recycled Wood To Build Rustic Picture Frame and Rustic Barnwood Furniture - Save Our Forests

Working with Recycled Wood

What woods can be reused?

Almost any piece of wood can be reused. Greater Yellowstone Furniture and Designs use wood from old barns, homes, bridges, fences, antique commercial structures like gold mills, graineries, broken furniture, pallets, etc.

Is recycled wood inferior to new wood?

Absolutely not. Well-aged wood is superior to new wood in most applications. Because it is aged, the wood is not likely to twist or warp like new wood. The appearance of recycled wood has a warm glow as it records its history resulting in rich colors and character not present in new wood.

Is recylced wood a cheap source of wood?

No. You can often get recycled wood free, but you will pay for it in many hours of work preparing the wood for reuse. Expect to pay more for a recylced product.

What is involved in prepared recycled wood for reuse?

You must remove all foreign material that will damage your tools that you use to work the wood. This must be done in a systematic, careful manner to prevent damage to the wood. Basically, you remove nails, bolts, screws, glue joints, anything holding the wooden structure together.

Often nails refuse to pull out and break off inside. A hidden nail can ruin expensive saw blades, planer blades, router bits, etc. To be sure the wood is metal free, a metal detector is used to scan every square inch of wood. (Tip on how to remove steel from wood will be a topic soon.)

Are there dangers involved in recycling wood?

Yes, old buildings often contain hazardous materials and may be in hazardous condition due to rotted support beams, floor boards, etc. Once you start removing wood you make the remaining wood unstable.

Be sure to identify all possible hazards before you start work: Consult an expert in this field.

Watch out for:
1) Asbestos insulation
2) Rodent droppings (may carry diseases)
3) Chemicals
4) Lead-based paints
5) Structural faults
“Don’t try this at home” is the best policy.

Why would anyone risk all these hazards?

When you are aware of the dangers you can take steps to neutralize the danger.

Here is why it is worth the trouble to use Recycled Wood.

1) You reduce the need to cut a living tree to produce your product.

2) You can enjoy a product from wood that is no longer available for harvest in our modern forest. It takes hundreds of years to grow trees like the ones used by our ancestors.

3) You will set a sense of accomplishment above and beyond the feeling you get from working with new wood.

There are many other reasons, please tell us about some of yours.

Enjoy your work.

Gene Nellis
Greater Yellowstone Furniture And Designs
www.yellowstonefurniture.com

Rustic barnwood furniture and rustic log furniture designed and built by Gene Nellis of Greater Yellowstone Furniture and Designs. This rustic barnwood furniture and log furniture will look great in your home, cabin or lodge!

Scrapbooking Organization is as Easy as 1, 2, 3

Gather up all your photos if they are not already catalogued then lets start by organizing them, it may seem like a big job but its better that you do it now when you only have 10 years of photos rather than in 10 years from now when you have 20 years worth of photos probably spread across the whole house.

Catalogue your photos by theme, year, location or event. This is something you will need to decide on your own as to which way you would like to organize them.

Either use a photo box, folders, envelopes or plastic sleeves and name each one by the category you are planning to use.

Here are a few category examples.

people

time periods

places

events

holidays

pets

family

graduation

weddings

birthdays

awards

picnics

children

school functions

concerts

seasons

vacations

tourist spots

friends

babies

Begin sorting your images into each folder and selecting only those photos that are suitable such as the Best shots, the shots that capture the most detail about that day

Don’t be afraid to choose photos that may need cropping, if you are not ready to cut your photos and take a little creative license with your memories then its not time to start Scrapbooking with photos instead use color copies or re-prints.

Once you have all your Scrapbooking quality photos sorted set them aside and choose one folder and one event to begin with.

Whilst you have all your photos out why not take the time to organize those ones you are not going to use for Scrapbooking either into boxes or albums.

If while sorting through your images you come across photos you know you will want to use together in a layout at a later date, then go ahead and create a sub-category such as //Birthdays / Toms Birthdays. Then Place them into an envelope inside that categories plastic sleeve in this case //Birthdays// or into an envelope Cleary marked //Toms// slipped into that sleeve, section or bag which ever you have used to sort your photos.

A little organization goes a long way all you need is to create a system and stick to it.

This Article was written by Shellie Wilson co/founder of Craftbits.com

Visit http://www.CraftBits.com for 1000’s of Free Step by Step Craft Lessons

Enter to win free craft prizes or browse around our 1000’s of Free Craft Projects.

Participate in a worldwide craft swap or just get some free craft advice or read an article.

For more free craft resources visit http://www.CraftBits.com

Green Thumb Not Required

Ah, the sweet smell of fresh flowers, herbs and fruit. But what if you don’t have room for a flower garden or a fruit tree? What about if you always over or under water your herb garden? What happens when your house just doesn’t get a lot of sun? And what about when you try and try but you just don’t have that coveted green thumb? Sigh. And even if you could grow that prize winning dahlia, what happens in the winter when you crave that subtle floral scent wafting through the house, room to room? You’re probably not going to import 20 plumeria leis from Hawaii to fulfill your dream.

True, nothing can really replace an honest-to-goodness bouquet of fresh picked flowers or just-cut ripened melon. But, consider the versatility of burning scented soy candles. Soy candles are environmentally friendly and can be placed almost anywhere in any room. They create a beautiful ambiance and the scent can be changed as often as needed or whenever you feel the urge for something different. Soy candles hold their fragrance longer than their paraffin counterparts and burn slower, so they burn longer.

Not all climates are suited to grow mountain heather, jasmine, or honeysuckle. But, soy candles come in those fragrances. Oh, and those 20 plumeria leis from Hawaii? Yes, soy candles come in plumeria, too. Not to mention lavender, clove, apple, peach, cantaloupe and lots of other scents that will make your home smell like the finest English garden or California orchard.

So, whether you have the gift of mastering the garden or you’re not so talented with potting soil and mulch, you still can have the sweet smell of flowers, herbs and fruit all year long with soy candles.

Deborah DeLuna is a professional Massage Therapist and has been in the luxury hotel and hospitality business for over 25 years. Her love of candles came out of using them everyday in business and in her personal life. Visit her website at: http://www.createamood.com

The Beauty Of Stained Glass

Creating or purchasing a unique piece of stained glass can be the perfect addition to any part of your home. A great stained glass piece will add texture, color, and give all of your guests something to admire.

Stained glass is just what you would expect. Basically, stained glass is made of pieces of glass infused with shades of almost any color you can imagine. The pieces of glass are fused together to create stained glass pieces of many sizes and varieties. Sometimes small pieces of glass will come together and represent a scene of something recognizable like a tree, flower, or animal. Other finished works of stained glass will be a collage of colors that do not create anything we recognize.

If you are interested in learning more about stained glass and perhaps even in creating a finished piece or two of your own, the chances are high that you can find a class or a seminar in a town near you. While creating glass does take hard work and patience, you will be happy to learn that almost anyone can learn the skills necessary for making a beautiful work of stained glass. Check in your local newspaper or at a local art shop to see where you might find a stained glass class offered to the public. In a class you will be taught by an expert and able to play around with stained glass until you find a color scheme and pattern that is attractive to your eye. Consider a spot in your home that could used a little decoration and create stained glass that will match that area of your home.

If making great pieces of stained glass seems like too much of a stretch for you, consider purchasing stained glass pieces that have already been made and are ready for sale. Look in local art shops, galleries or even on the internet to find stained glass that catches your eye. Take your time and look at a variety of locations if they are available to you. You may find a particular artist or style of stained glass that you enjoy more than others. You may find that you prefer stained glass that is more random is design rather than stained glass that has been made into something recognizable.

Whatever your taste, you will enoy having unique stained glass pieces in any part of your home. Whether you decide to create your own or to purchase from a more accomplished artist, first decide to make great stained glass pieces part of your home today.

After seeing what stained glass added to her home, Hallidae Thomason has been advising all of her friends and family to add stained glass to their homes as well. Learn more at www.mystainedglass.info

Having a good time in the captial - The Millennium Wheel and Theatrics

The city is jam packed with mind-blowing must visit locations to go and see. Here are merely a couple of locations. You’ll be able to find London shows by reading Time Out.

The London Eye is familiar as the Millennium Wheel, for folk that do not know, it’s really a Ferris wheel - an opportunity for the masses to spy out capital from all and different perspectives from in the sky.

With close to forty kilometres of spectacular views on a clear day, the Wheel accords its guests with pleasant sights of the capital and a myriad of its world famous monuments. The wheel is, ok to scout out the London Eye around night or day - the arduous thing can be choosing which one wants to do, arrive in day-light whilst all the landmarks are observable or possibly after dark & for a remarkably astonishing view of the capital’s night lights.

Theatreland within the capital has been around since times of Victoria, actually, most of London’s theatres are of later Victorian and Edwardian times. The buildings come with an amazing individuality to them and this can add to the enticement of going to them. West end productions have runs for a deviating number of weeks. This can be dependent on the theatre’s success of the ticket sales.

You’ll find tickets are not now as pricey as they were famous for being, on the other hand they’re still not uncostly. If someone reserves them punctually they should buy the tickets at a reasonable price. Keep a look out so one can get good deals that particular organisations may be able to offer. Perhaps it would be good to go out & for an appetizing meal before you go to the theatre, or perhaps at visit around one of our capital’s hotels in the evening. Time Out will be certain to make your time at a theatre more easy - and more agreeing with its traditional advice of which are the foremost nights out in out capital & perhaps which spectacles one should evade.

Four Must Have Musical Art Objects for the Music Box and Antique Collector

There are other lovely pieces of musical art objects in addition to ballerina music boxes, music figurines, wooden jewelry boxes, and other types of music boxes and antiques that the music box and antique collector can look for. These are the musical seal, musical watches, early carillon and automaton boxes, and musical watches with singing birds and barking dogs.

Musical Seals

The musical seal is a piece of musical jewelry. The musical movement typically is one with eight notes; therefore, only very simple tunes can be played on them. They also are always made of gold and decorated with enamel and hard stones.

Because musical seals are expensive, the music box and antique collector needs to be very careful they are not purchasing a fake imitation. David Tallis in “Music Boxes: A Guide for Collectors” has this to say: “If you have any doubts about buying a musical seal, look very carefully at the stop-start slide. If the seal is a fake, you can usually see that the hole for the slide cover is cut rather crudely in the gold.”

Musical Watches

Musical watches were made for those who loved “show off” accessories in the regency period. The maker of the first musical watch was Philippe Sameul Meylan, who made the watch with a radial disc type movement. The music played by most watches is Swiss traditional tunes such as “Ranz des Vaches”. There also are some which play the national anthems of France and England.

Musical watches were made by a number of people such as Le Roy of Paris, Henri Capt of Geneva, and Jean Antoine Lepine of Paris to name a few.

Some musical watches are difficult and expensive to repair. Therefore, the music box and antique collector need to inspect a watch carefully before it is purchased to ensure it is in good working order and not of inferior quality.

Early Carillon and Automaton

A valuable prize for music box and antique collector would be to find a music box, which plays on bells instead of steel teeth. Finding such a box as this would be a rare find. David Tallis states: “Very few boxes appear on the open market and one of the most recent, an enameled gold box containing a carillon musical movement, fetched several thousands pounds in the salesrooms”.

Watches with Singing Birds and Barking Dogs

The rarest of most musical art is the musical watch with either a singing bird or barking dog. The singing bird has the mechanisms of the singing bird in addition to normal watch functions. When a special lever is pressed, a bird appears out of the watches side and on its back all the while singing a song.

The barking dog musical watch has an animated dog which barks and is displayed when the watch hours change. This musical watch is quite rare and would be a great addition for the collection of the music box and antique collector.

For the music box and antique collector, there are other interesting and unique pieces of musical art, which can be found in addition to ballerina music boxes, music figurines, and wooden jewelry boxes. Why not expand your collection today?

Copyright 2006 Monique Hawkins

Established in May of 2005, http://www.My-Music-Box.com is a music box gift store specializing in products such as inlaid ballerina music boxes for ballerina rooms décor, whimsical carousel music boxes, and musical jewelry boxes. The company provides interesting information for music lovers of all ages. Owner Monique Hawkins is also the author of the blog “What You Never Knew About Music” http://whatyouneverknewaboutmusic.blogspot.com, and owner of the eBay store “Monique’s Music Box” at: http://stores.ebay.com/Moniques-Music-Box Monique can be contacted at (540) 858-2885.

Tools Of The Trade

Knitting in its simplest form is often described as the looping of a string around two sticks. When faced with multi-color patterning, intricate stitches or detailed graphs, this seemingly easy craft becomes a more complex activity that can benefit from an innovative tool or two. Right from the start when the ideas for a new knitting project abound, there are aids to guide you in choices of yarn and color. Color wheels and color selectors, using proven principles of color theory, can steer you through establishing a pleasing color combination of two or many colors. Even though you may pick the perfect geranium pink to match that perfect leaf green, you still must find commercially available yarns of compatible weights in those very colors. Many yarn retailers offer, at a reasonable cost, sample cards of available yarns in their full color range. Much like selecting paint chips at the hardware store, you are able to see at a glance what colors are available in a particular yarn and how they interact with other colors of that yarn type.

The screwdrivers and wrenches of knitting, the needles, though basic in shape, appear in a variety of materials. Wood and plastic offer comfort to tired hands, while metal needles promise speed. A luxury class of needles fashioned from ebony or rosewood are advertised as hewn from the remains of prized woods used in the manufacture of musical instruments. These needles should make your stitches sing. There is also the “heritage“ needle collection of which mine is labelled, due to many being borrowed from my mother’s knitting basket and never returned. A “classic” collection will likely contain a hodgepodge of needles gathered over the years as in mine, which range from a chipped orange metal No. 4’s to green plastic No. 8’s. It’s an odd grouping of materials and colors but favorites are easily recognizable when a certain knitting job comes to mind.

Now any good craft project whether made from wood or wool is only worth its weight when measurements are accurate and consistent. To knitters, the correct gauge must be achieved or every measurement throughout the project will become skewed. With numerous devices available to help accurately measure those all-important numbers of stitches and rows, there is absolutely no excuse for having the wrong gauge. A square gauge frame will force you to line up your knitting with the stitches at right angles to the rows, leaving you to count the numbers between the borders of the frame. Transparent stitch templates will tell you nothing but the truth as you try to match the drawing of the desired stitch gauge to the stitches of your knitted sample. A good tape measure, plastic or cloth, retractable or not, is essential to measure those lengths and widths once you start knitting.

To see those stitches clearly, use a magnifier lamp clamped to your favorite chair or stood behind the sofa. Try a pair of magnifying flip-up lenses to increase your staying power when working with intricate stitches and dark colors. Don’t forget to prop up that book or pattern on a bookstand to keep your charts and graphs front and center. A line magnifier placed over the chart on a magnetic board will eliminate a lot of twisting and turning in your seat as you lean to squint at those lines. Once you have found your place there are gadgets to keep it. Stitch markers and row counters mark the spot and giant safety pins put stitches on hold.

A collection of tools needs a toolbox. Needles should be organized in needle cases, one for the straights and another for circulars, small boxes or bags for the bits and pieces such as stitch markers and measuring devices, and a great big bag or basket to keep it all handy and neat.

© Maddy Cranley 2006

Maddy Cranley is a professional knitwear designer, who has created exclusive designs for knitting and craft magazines, authored and published three books on the subject of knitting and felting, and produces an ever-expanding line of maddy laine and maddy baby handknitting patterns. For additional information, see http://www.maddycraft.com

Art Collecting Tips for Profit and Pleasure (A Six-Part Series): Part 2 - Six Golden Rules

PART 2 - SIX GOLDEN RULES OF ART COLLECTING

Successful art collectors observe several golden rules of art collecting:

1) BUY WHAT YOU LIKE

This should be obvious, but this golden rule is actually often given a low priority by
novice art collectors, much to their regret later on. Remember, art is meant to be
displayed and enjoyed. Don’t buy anything which doesn’t appeal to you.

Explore!

You can never go wrong with buying any kind of art, as long as it gives you pleasure
and it is within your budget. Buy what appeals to you. Art is individualistic, so go
ahead and explore. You don’t have to follow well-trodden paths and buy familiar
art. Let art be an expression of your personality.

Do Your Research And Planning

For serious collectors who are interested in building a collection with some value,
it’s good advice to do some homework before you put your money down. Collecting
is really about focus, or building a meaningful grouping of pieces, rather than just
randomly acquiring and displaying pieces. Careful planning and research is what
sets smart collectors apart from others.

2) EDUCATE YOURSELF

The more you know about the subject, the better. This is especially important if
you’re considering parting with a hefty sum of money for a piece of ‘art’. You don’t
need to be professionally trained to make smart decisions about art. Anyone can
become a wise collector with patience and discipline.

Know Your Subject

Ask yourself why a particular piece of art is worth acquiring. Keep this mantra
going in your head:

• Who is the artist?
• How important is the artwork?
• What is the artwork’s history and documentation?
• Is the asking price fair?

We’ll examine these questions in detail in Part 3 of this series, titled
“THE ART OF ASSESSING TRUE VALUE”.

3) DEVELOP A MASTER PLAN FOR COLLECTING

If you’re planning to collect art seriously, you should think beyond picking up just
anything that catches your fancy. There are millions of collectors out there and
plenty of piecemeal collections. What makes a collection superior to others and,
therefore, more valuable?

Purpose And Planning

The smartest collectors plan every acquisition. They never collect in a haphazard
way. Once they’ve decided what they like, they start planning some sort of order or
characteristic for their collection. Smart collecting is organized. It is well thought-
out so that all the pieces in the collection relate well to each other. Everything in the
collection should work together to strengthen the collection, and not be out of
place.

This is purposeful and planned collecting. A good collection should illustrate a
point, or address a question, such as “How has the use of colors in stone
lithography progressed?” A good collection enhances understanding of a certain
area of art, or even a certain period of an artist’s life. It should have fine and, ideally,
rare specimens of the subject. Brought together in a meaningful collection, each
piece has more value.

Meaningful Organizing

You can organize your collection in various ways. Like an essay, it should have a
beginning, a middle and an end. Using, as an example, the topic of colors in stone
lithography, you can organize your collection under artists, regions, dates, styles,
subject matter, and so forth. For instance:

• Artists renowned for stone lithography, which would obviously include master
  stone lithographer Edna Hibel. This grand dame is profiled in my art, collectibles
  and gifts website on this page: http://www.cherishcollectibles.com/site/
  1256072/page/525250
• American stone lithography masters
• 20th century stone lithography
• Stone lithographs with people as the subject
• Renaissance-style stone lithography

Be Your Own Curator

Have a ’script’ in mind. Just like for museums, you should aim to present your
collection in a logical, meaningful way, so that it educates and enhances
appreciation. Because of your diligent ‘curatorial’ efforts, viewers should bring away
a better understanding of the subject.

4) KNOW THE ART MARKET

Great collectors know the marketplace, and the marketplace knows them. Be
informed and get plugged into the grapevine! Cultivate a good standing with art
retailers and let them know that you wish to be informed when choice art pieces
become available. You have to be tuned in to get the best finds!

Do your homework and get out there! I’ll tell you how to have an edge in Part
4 of this series, titled “KNOW THE ART MARKET”.

5) CARE FOR YOUR ART COLLECTION

I’ve seen valuable creations ruined because of careless handling and storage. Don’t
let this happen to your art pieces. Develop a system to protect your collection from
hazards such as pollution, humidity, heat and light. More about this subject in
Part 5 of this series, titled “ART CONSERVATION 101″.

6) PLAN FOR POSTERITY

Your art collection is a valuable legacy. Don’t allow it to be decimated when you are
no longer around to take care of it. Make detailed plans for its future ownership.
Details in Part 6 of this series, titled “LEAVING A LEGACY OF ART”.

Have Fun Planning Your Collection!

Building a good collection takes time, but you will derive much satisfaction with
each acquisition, knowing that the effort will be worth it. In fact, the process of
developing a good collection is often as fun as it is rewarding, as you hunt down
choice pieces through gallery visits, research, social events, leads, auctions and
various avenues. A whole new world will open up to you!

Copyright © 2006 Carol Chua - Carol Chua is an ex-corporate warrior turned
entrepreneur, writer and co-owner of Cherish Collectibles, an online gallery
of art, collectibles and gifts by multiple award-winning American artist Edna Hibel.
Visit http://www.cherishcollectibles.com to see this renowned artist’s beautiful
artwork. Carol also co-owns an online jewelry store with a nature theme, featuring
creations by award-winning artist JonY, at http://www.silver-butterfly-jewelry.com

My Grannio

I never thought I would have to say GOODBYE to my best friend… But that’s what I had to do today I had to let go of her forever –

There was no other way For me to face reality Or pretend to be okay I had no concept –

Of how hard it would be To actually let go Of this huge part of me… Not tomorrow or ever –

Will my life be the same Without my Grannio here Life seems to be a game – Of chance and questions…

Questions that never end And have no answers That can begin to mend The gaping hole inside of me

Nor come close to healing My heart and soul that Seem to be feeling Lost, numb and empty-

Completely hollow… Like I have nobody left To really follow – Through life with respect

She was so much more Than my Grandmother I knew that before She left this earth

And I told her so More than once or twice Because she had to know Just how very special –

And truly blessed I felt to have her as my friend She was the best Without a doubt –

My Grannio gave me More than anybody Will ever really see… It was an unspoken –

Kind of love That came with no conditions And went far above The normal caring

And average support For a grandchild – Or family of any sort She gave more of herself

To me than anyone In my life ever will Nobody could have done What she did for me

With so much devotion, Absolute honesty And true emotion… Her loyalty was –

Sincerely undying I realize so much Now that I’m crying – And wishing that

I had just one more day To spend holding her hand And trying to take away Her fears and her pain –

That took over her Body and her mind Like never before… In our lives –

I would have sincerely Given 20 years of my life To have her merely Be here tomorrow –

I cannot explain The way I feel today Or how much I pain Is inside of me –

That will never go away No matter how much time passes I know this ache will stay With me forever…

Just as her special touch Will always be with me And mean so very much – To me and my son…

Jakob Thomas Her “BabyDoll” And I promise To never forget –

What she would have done If she was still here For him – her only one Great-grandchild…

Resource Box - © Danielle Hollister (2004) is the Publisher of BellaOnline Quotations Zine - A free newsletter for quote lovers featuring more than 10,000 quotations in dozens of categories like - love, friendship, children, inspiration, success, wisdom, family, life, and many more. Read it online at - http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art8364.asp