beibei1

Now that's a kitchen

glassware She can sous vide (vacuum-seal) salmon in her RationalSelfCooking Center.

She can whip up a pizza Margherita (with basil from hergarden) in her wood-burning oven.

Or she can just make a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich and call it a meal.

But this 800-square-foot cooking showplace isn't for Leineke'spopular catering company (Joan Leineke Catering). This is her home kitchen. It's the kitchen she and husband Jake, an industrialcontractor, have dreamed about for the 30 years they've lived inFair Oaks.

"The new kitchen replaces the family room, dining room and the oldkitchen," Leineke says. "It took 1 1/2 years to complete, and I'mamazed at how it turned out."

Richard Graber of Graber- Rasmussen Architects in Sacramento wasthe primary architect on the Leineke project.

"I had fun doing it," Graber says. "It's a commercial-type kitchenwith a residential feel."

The redesign was handled by Applegate Tran Interiors of SanFrancisco. (The company opened an office in Sacramento.) It alsoincluded additional square footage to the country/modern home: amaster bedroom/bathroom.

But it's the kitchen that Leineke's personal and professionaltouches heat up.

"The appliances, plenty of counter space and pull-out cabinetsinstead of overhead cabinets were my must-haves," she says.

And ample space to either use or store her 15-inch platters.

For example, the Sub-Zero refrigerator is 26 inches wide (with aneighboring 18-inch freezer).

The 36-inch-wide, six-burner Jade gas range is a beauty, with amighty 18,000 BTUs. (Restaurant stoves are usually 32,000 BTUs.) Itreplaces Leineke's 48-inch monster Garland stove. She even had afaucet built in overhead for easy water access – no trips backand forth to the sink.

The counters (and one island), honed out of antiqued granite, are30 inches deep instead of the traditional 24.

More than 60 cabinets hold dishware, glassware, utensils, pots andpans, even lids.

"I love pull-out cabinets for storing pantry items like vinegarsand oils," Leineke says.

The kitchen incorporates several cooking areas: the main "line,"which is similar to what you might see in a restaurant kitchen, anda pastry- and pizza-making area that's mere steps away from thewood-burning oven, which is surrounded by Venetian plaster. Longpizza paddles and fire-stoking equipment hang on the side. Oak, cutfrom the trees in the backyard, is stored underneath.

Each work area has its own sink (with disposal and trashcompartments). Both are within reach of two smaller refrigerators– for cheeses and pizza ingredients, and bottled and canneddrinks.

There's a dishwasher just for glassware and a Miele washer thatcleans a load in 10 minutes.

With all this storage space, what you don't see in Leineke'skitchen are countertop appliances lined up side by side.

"My Cuisinart, choppers and my dream machine Thermomix (it makeseverything from sorbet to home-baked bread) reside in the'appliance garage,' " she says. The cover rolls up and down justlike a garage door.

Her Kitchen-Aid standing mixer is hidden in the pizza/pastry area,on a lift-out board, "so you don't move it."

Leineke admits that when she saw the final plans on paper, shedidn't realize how much space she would have.

That's why there's also room for a wine-storage unit, a built-incoffee maker and the Rational SelfCooking Center, which Leinekesays her designer wasn't happy about including.

"But I insisted," she says. "You can grill, steam veggies and rice,roast, even fry an egg in it."

Vernon Applegate, the lead designer, e-mailed that the Leinekeproject took a modern approach yet remains informal.

"There is a distinct connection between the landscaping and theinterior and exterior spaces," Applegate says. "It's casual livingreflected in the materials we used, which were earthy and natural."

Heavy weather injures several passengers on Pacific cruise

glassware The shipping company, P & O says it's offering counselling topassengers affected by the impact of heavy weather on the cruiseship, Pacific Sun.

Jonathon Hall reports more than 1700 passengers were aboard for aneight-night cruise through the South Pacific.

On Wednesday night their holiday turned dangerous when the PacificSun encountered seven metre seas and 50 knot winds between Vanuatuand New Zealand.

The ship rolled suddenly, developing a 20 degree list. Passengers,furniture and glassware were thrown around.

The company says it was 'freak incident' and the ship was notstructurally damaged.

The ship docked in Auckland. Three passengers with broken boneswere taken to hospital, another 39 were treated for minor injuries.The company says it planned the cruise route to try to avoid theworst of the extreme weather in the area.

Tags:

pacific

The Herald-Dispatch

glassware HUNTINGTON -- With just a handful of change, Kathy Miller was theproud new owner of a large, brown purse.

Miller was one of many area residents taking home bargains Saturdayas part of the Citywide Yard Sale in Huntington.

The Neighborhood Institute of Huntington voted to sponsor acitywide yard sale event during its April meeting. Locations werespread throughout the city, including Walnut Hills, Rotary Road andFairfield West.

Christine Hainer was hosting a yard sale for the first time at herhome on Washington Boulevard. Her sister and mother, alsofirst-timers, were in on it, too. Hainer said much of her salescame from items she had in storage.

"I've had this stuff here for two years and I'm not using it. It'stime to get rid of it," she said.

Hainer said she started setting up for the sale around 6:30 a.m.,and already customers began showing up. Despite some early morningrain, business seemed steady, she said.

In Hainer's yard, shoppers kept busy as they looked through clothesand picked up glassware. "How much for this coat?" asked one woman."$5," came the reply.

Many seemed encouraged by a peek of sunshine around 9 a.m. as theyasked one another where other yard sales were located.

Miller of Pritchard and her sister were among the many out lookingfor deals. Visiting yard sales is something she and her sisterenjoy doing when they have the time.

"It's fun," she said.

Miller said she wasn't looking for anything specific. She was justlooking. She had her arms full with throws, purses and homedecorations on Saturday morning.

"You never know what you're going to find," she said.

Waterford brilliant idea for collectors

Very little fine glassware was marketed in Ireland until the 1780sbecause the English government prohibited Irish glass exports. Thisprohibition was designed to protect the English glassmakingindustry. In 1783, just after the export ban was lifted, brothersGeorge and William Penrose opened the Waterford Flint GlassManufactory (later called the Waterford Glass House) in Waterford,which was then one of Ireland's busiest ports. The brothers, bothof whom were Quakers, were determined to take the lead glasstechnology of the time to a higher level. They developed formulasfor mingling molten glass with various minerals to create glasswarethat, while still strong and durable, also showed a uniquebrilliance and felt soft to the touch. This Waterford glass evenhad the feature of giving a certain unusual ring when tapped.

The Penrose brothers decorated their Waterford glass with deeplycut ornamentation that enhanced the natural sparkle of the wares.Typical products included decanters, jugs, fruit bowls, fingerbowls, honey jars and other glassware serving accessories.

In the earliest years, Waterford glass (like all Irish glassgenerally) copied English glass, but soon developed some distinctstyles of its own. Bowls, for example, began to be made withturnover rims and heavy square feet.

At it's height, the Penrose firm had around 70 employees -- managedby another Quaker, John Hill, who was a famous glassmaker in hisown right -- and was one of the most important businesses inWaterford. The market for Waterford glass made by Penrose existedthroughout Europe and America. King George III even ordered someWaterford crystal and it became fashionable in high society todisplay Waterford wares.

The Penrose brothers wisely decided in the early 19th century tosell their interests in the business to several local citizensnamed Ramsey, Gatchell and Barcroft. These new owners keptmanufacturing high quality cut glass, but also expanded theirmarket to the middle class. In 1851, the firm was even awardedseveral gold medals at the Great Exhibition in London.

Even as the firm was gathering these achievements, however, itsdemise was imminent. Earlier, in the 1820s, the British parliamentbegan to levy excise taxes on many Irish exports including glassproducts. By the early 1850s, these excessive taxes were causingmany Irish glassmaking companies to fold. In 1851, the same year inwhich it received the Great Exhibition awards, the Waterford firmfounded by the Penrose brothers was forced to close because of thetax burden imposed by Parliament.

For almost a century, no company manufactured glass under aWaterford name. This changed in 1947, when a small group of mainlyimmigrant workers from war-ravaged Europe set up a small glassfactory less than two miles from the original Penrose site. Thebusiness was a huge success and the operation, which eventuallysettled upon the name of Waterford Crystal, soon moved to itspresent 40-acre site.

The quality of modern Waterford Crystal is (like its predecessor)known throughout the world. The firm has had, for example, samplesof its glassware presented to every American President fromEisenhower to Reagan by the Irish government. Although techniqueshave been refined since the 1950s, the basic glassmaking process isstill the same. The melted crystal, containing alloys of silicasand, lead oxide and potassium carbonate, is poured into a mold. Anexact amount of air is introduced (by artisans who blow by mouthinto tubes reaching inside the mold) at specific points in the moldto shape the piece as perfectly as possible. Once the mold stage isdone, the piece is allowed to cool very slowly in a specialannealing oven that controls the temperature. This cooling takesapproximately three hours.

Once the glass item is cooled, it is then hand-cut withdiamond-tipped wheels. The basic technique requires that thecutting be done at precisely defined and sharp angles so that lightfalling on these angles will be portrayed with a diamond-likebrilliance. The people doing the cutting serve a five-yearapprenticeship before being allowed to cut the glass on their own.

The result is glassware that is unrivaled for its clarity,durability and appearance. Although Waterford crystal appears inplaces like Buckingham Palace and the White House, the single mostpublic Waterford item is arguably the Waterford Crystal Ball usedin each New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square. With theWaterford name having such famous associations, it is likely thistradition of Irish glassmaking will carry far into the future.

Joe Devanney, an attorney who lives in Paoli, is a longtimeantiques enthusiast. He may be reached at dlnantiques@cs.com.

Breaking The Metal Mold

At first, the company used the alloy to manufacture products forthe restaurant industry.

It wasn't until the early to mid-'70s that we started selling it atthe retail level, Lefever said.

Wilton Armetale now makes about 700 different cookware andserveware products, Lefever said, turning out about 700,000 items ayear with a work force of 80 to 85 employees and sales runningbetween $15 million and $20 million.

We are the largest manufacturer and supplier of alternative metalin the country, Lefever said. We call ourselves the last manstanding' ... in an industry where made in the USA still meanssomething.

But to grow, he said, the company had to break with that tradition,a decision that Lefever said has not always set well with all itscustomers.

The new lines of glassware and ceramics are not Wilton Armetale'sfirst forays into outsourcing. They're part of a process ofmodernization that began several years ago.

One of the first steps the company took to ensure its future was toinvest about $4 million in new equipment in 1999 and 2000 to makeits Mount Joy foundry operations more efficient and environmentallyfriendly.

Expanding its brand beyond metal was another step in the process.

For us to continue to grow our business, we realized we had tobranch off into other media, Lefever said. The reason we import theglassware and ceramics is we don't have the expertise to do thatourselves.

Importing is also a step that most of Wilton Armetale's competitors- Arthur Court, Mariposa, Namb and Lenox - took some time ago.

We have to constantly reinvent ourselves when we're in an industryas competitive as this, Lefever said.

The company began exploring the idea of outsourcing around 2005,Lefever said, approaching several of its major customers, such asMacy's, to see if there would be a market for cheaper, mass-produced versions of some of the company's original metal breadtrays.

Finding the right supplier in China took about 18 months.

The challenge, Lefever said, was to find an environmentallyfriendly manufacturer that treated its workers right. And it alsohad to be someone who could be entrusted with the formula for theArmetale alloy.

He credits Ivan Jeffery, president of Crescent Brass in Reading anda longtime friend of Fred Wilton, with helping the company find theright supplier.

It's not that difficult to do business in China, Jeffery said,although the idea scares people at first.

Crescent is similar to Wilton Armetale in being a century-oldfoundry that still pours its own metal castings, Jeffery said.

But unlike Wilton, Crescent Brass has been outsourcing some of itsproducts for a long time.

We started in Taiwan and Italy 25 years ago, Jeffery said. We'vebeen in China about 10 years and have developed relationships justlike you would doing business in this country.

Lefever said he and Fred Wilton flew to China and spent more than aweek there visiting with the company's owner.

\It's been a very good relationship, Lefever said. He's an honestbusinessman who has never breached the issue of confidentiality.We've never seen any of our products show up anywhere else.

\It also turned out to be a profitable relationship.

\That first year, we sold 250,000 units, Lefever said.

\But the outsourcing was a big change for our customers, Lefeversaid.

\The company wholesales its products to nearly every departmentstore in the country, along with about 1,800 independent andspecialty shops across the U.S. and Canada.

\Some of them were upset, Lefever explained, and were saying Wiltonis selling out by importing some of its products from China.

That has begun to change, he said, as they've recognized that thequality is not any different from the products made here. And thathas helped pave the way for the company to leverage its well-knownbrand with imported glassware and ceramics.

Jeffery also helped Wilton Armetale find its ceramics supplier. Inaddition to Crescent Brass, he runs a company with a partner inmainland China - Total Source Trading - that imports a variety offinished products and has contacts with a broad range ofindustries.

The ceramics supplier, like the metal supplier, is in GuangdongProvince, in southern China.

Wilton Armetale's connection with its glassware supplier in Mexicois a different story.

Lefever said that relationship grew out of a tour of factories heand Fred Wilton made independent of Jeffery.

During their travels, one of the metal suppliers they were visitingin Guadalajara happened to mention that he also had a factory thatmakes hand-blown glass, Lefever said.

That company, Hacienda Real, is now producing Wilton Armetale's newline of Bello Vaso glassware.

Wilton already has a stock of the glassware at its 80,000-square-foot distribution warehouse on Stony Battery Road, and it hopes tostart shipping its new line of ceramics around Oct. 1, at thebeginning of the busy holiday gift season.

Our goal, over the next three years, is to try to do $1 million ineach product line, Lefever said.

The company had the same goal when it came out with its locallymade Gourmet Grillware a couple of years ago, a line sold throughsuch outlets as Home Depot that is now bringing in $600,000 to$700,000 a year.

That will always be made here, Lefever said. We believe there'salways going to be an advantage to make some of our productsdomestically.

 (c) 2008 Intelligencer Journal. Provided by ProQuest Informationand Learning. All rights Reserved.

Badminton venue chief denies report on flag-related complaint

Special report:

2008 Olympic Games

BEIJING, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Olympic badminton venue chief onTuesday blasted at a report about a flag complaint lodged by aBritish Olympic official, labelling it "totally ungrounded."

Ren Chunhui, executive deputy director of Beijing Olympic badmintoncompetition venue located at the Beijing University of Technology(BJUT), said that the media department of the venue has beeninformed of "the irresponsible report".

An Australian newspaper reported Monday that British Olympicofficial Clive Woodward complained in an official chefs de missionmeeting that the English flag had been hung at the badminton venue,not the Union Jack, an oversight that will upset Scottish, Welshand Northern Irish competitors.

"We didn't hang the English flag in our gym, not Union Jack flageither," said Ren, emphasizing that some Britons working at thevenue can prove it.

"We are considering seeking apology from the reporter," said thevenue chief.

the Olympic badminton competition, scheduled to be held in the BJUTgymnasium from August 9 to August 17, will attract a record50teams.

Western Mass. Flag Football League season set to open

What do former local high school standouts do when their playingdays are over?

Many of them take to the field in the Western Mass. Flag FootballLeague, which begins its 11th season Friday with two night games atHolyoke High School.

"It's a range from 18 to guys who are 36, 37 years of age," saidChad Gibson of Chicopee, the league's commissioner andsingle-season sack leader. "The majority of high school standoutsfrom the past 15 years have all played in the league."

The 11-team WMFFL plays a 13-game regular season over 15 weeks. Thefirst four weeks and the playoffs are held at Holyoke High School,with the remaining games at Van Horn Park in Springfield. When playshifts to Van Horn, two games are held simultaneously on Saturdaysat 8 and 10:30 a.m.

Gibson, who is in his sixth season as commissioner, hopes to take agroup of all-stars to a World Cup qualifying event, sponsored byflagmag.com, a leading resource on flag football.

The league plays 8-on-8, using NCAA rules. The sidelines areconsidered live, which leads to some pretty spirited tackling thatborders on full contact. High school and college officials call thegames.

"I anticipate in probably five years, my main goal is to have thisleague with approximately 20 to 24 teams," Gibson said.

The 2008 WMFFL campaign begins with a rematch of last November'sSuper Bowl, as Gibson's Maximum Capacity Bears open defense oftheir championship against the No Fear Falcons. The Bears arearguably the league's elite team, having won the last two SuperBowls and four of the eight individual postseason awards in 2007.

Gibson and top defensive back Nate Mercier anchor the defense,while the combination of reigning MVP K.J. Walsh at quarterback andreceiver Juni Delgado give the Bears offensive firepower. Otherelite quarterbacks in the league include the Falcons' RichieSantiago, the Eagles' John Frasco and the Redskins' Tim Klett.

City Votes To 'Grandfather In' Giant American Flag In Leesburg

LEESBURG, Fla. --

 Leesburg residents were protesting a move Monday that could bringdown a giant American flag, but the city council decided to instead'grandfather in' the flag.

SLIDESHOW:

Images Of 30-Foot By 60-Foot American Flag

VOTE:Agree With Decision To Let Giant Flag Keep Flying?

VIDEO REPORT:

Giant American Flag Gets To Keep Flying

The city said the flag is too big, but others call it a citylandmark. The city commission decided to make an exception Mondayto their own rules to keep the flag flying. They were facing alarge crowd of people who are at Monday night's meeting to stand upfor the stars and stripes and found a way to avoid any controversy.

If you drive Highway 441 through Leesburg, you can't miss it. It'sone of the largest, if not the largest, American flags in all ofCentral Florida and it flies over a car dealership.

Greg Clark says it's a tradition, not a trademark. Clark and mosteveryone else who crowded Monday's Leesburg city commission meetingbelieve an ordinance to limit the size of U.S. flags and polesshould be repealed.

The ordinance was originally passed in 2004, along with a new setof rules for signs in Leesburg's business districts. Some considerlarge signs an ugly sight and the city set deadlines for theirremoval, the first wave to hit next January. But because of theenormous cost involved and with some businesses struggling in tougheconomic times, city leaders might consider extending the deadlineanother two years.

As for the 30-foot-by-60-foot star spangled banner, the cityavoided a likely fight if they tried to bring it down. Members ofthe city council that Eyewitness News talked to Monday had saidthey thought patriotism would win out.

The car dealership was annexed into the city of Leesburg in 2006,but the flag has flown since 1987. For that reason, some believethe flag should be grandfathered in and allowed to remain flying.

Cosmopolitan taste treat

 Between shows in Melbourne there is a feast of great eating. Andwith food from every culture – from the Italian postwarimmigrants to the most recent surge of Vietnamese, Thai and Chinese– there's a dish for every palate.

Beyond the food itself is a level of service New Zealanders arejust not used to: in The Press Club on Flinders St, our group ofsix was welcomed by a hugely competent maitre d, a professionalsommelier who knew our orders and recommended great wines to match,three waitresses and two waiters. And each knew who was havingwhat, and when.

It's a dining experience hard to find in Wellington, and if the newgovernment wants to do our tourism industry a favour come November,it could do worse than send the whole sector to Melbourne to findout what good service really is.

The competence, knowledge and casually professional service isepitomised at MoVida, a Spanish tapas 100-seat restaurant on HosierLane that is so popular it has had to open next door.

Spanish-born, Australian-raised Frank Camorra's combinations ofsalty flavours – anchovies with roast tomato sorbet, forinstance – are exciting and challenging.

With "tapa" – individual pieces at about NZ$5 and"racion", entree-sized portions at $7-$10, it's possibleto cover the taste spectrum in a succession of small bites,complemented by white linen napkins, fine glassware, and thevelvety flavour- packed wines of Spain.

The Press Club is the flagship of chef George Colombaris –the Good Food Guide's chef of the year – and offerstraditional Greek food with very modern twists: cumin-roastedbeetroot, pistachio biscuit, yoghurt cheese and honey; black musselspanakopita, warm vinaigrette of white anchovies and chickpeas.

The roast cuts and exquisite desserts are just as interesting.

Straight-up modern Melburnian food is served at Gills Diner, offLittle Collins St, one shop up from the bakery that supplies allits bread and pastry.

The warehouse-schoolroom tiled-wall space has shared refectorytables, an efficient clatter, and French-Italian blackboard mealsserved with local beer and wine in serious glassware.

The vibe, and the music, are managed by Lazlo Evenhuis and histurntable, amp and timber speakers, and the warmth of theatmosphere shows off the tastes of the earthy, slow-cooked,market-fresh food.

Kitchen glassware bowl mixes up some dough

Q:The primary colored mixing bowl set in this photo was a weddinggift in 1963. Even though I have used the set over the past 45years, it is in excellent condition. Each bowl is marked with an"R" in a circle and the words "Trademark -- Pyrex -- Made in U.S.A.-- Ovenware." And each bowl contains a number and the amount ofliquid it holds. The yellow bowl is numbered "404 -- 4 qt.," "403-- 2 1/2 qt." is on the green one, "402 -- 1 1/4 qt." is on thered, and "401 -- 1 1/2 pt." is on the blue bowl.My daughter told me she has seen sets like mine in antiques shops,and I now am curious what my set is worth.A:

 Pyrex kitchen glassware was introduced in 1915 by the CorningGlass Co. in Corning, N.Y. Corning employee, Dr. Jesse T.Littleton, discovered that Nonex, a low expansive glass, could makea heat resistant casserole. After successfully testing theovenware, Corning introduced their first pie plate.Some believe the name evolved from "pie" and "ex" the ending ofNonex, thus the name "Pyrex." Over the years they have produced amyriad of ovenware pieces. Your mixing bowl set would probablyfetch $50 to $60 in an antiques shop.Q:

 This mark is on the bottom of my pottery jardiniere. Thejardiniere has a matching pedestal, but it is not marked. Theoverall height is approximately 25 inches. It has a glossy greenglaze and is in good condition. The set was in a home we purchasedin Florida. We know it survived two Florida hurricanes, but otherthan that, we don’t know much about its history and value.

Thanks for any information you can provide.A:

 McCoy Pottery was made in Roseville, Ohio, from 1910 to 1990. Yourjardiniere and pedestal were made around 1955. The set wasavailable in green, matte white, and a brown and green blend.

Its value would probably be $300 to $400.

Q: I have a clear, pressed glass pedestal vase that I bought in anantiques shop. I was told it is a double vase with the "AmazonSawtooth" pattern. It stands 9 inches tall and is in mintcondition. I could not find a manufacturer’s mark.

Any information about its maker, when it was made, and its valuewill be appreciated.

A:You have a double bud vase in the "Amazon" pattern. It is anexample of Victorian non-flint glass -- the design is also known as"Sawtooth" and "Sawtooth Band." Bryce Bros. located in Pittsburgh,produced the pattern from around 1890 to 1891, and United StatesGlass Co. in Pittsburgh reissued the pattern from 1891 to 1904.

"Amazon" was available in clear, amber, canary-yellow, amethyst,blue and ruby-stained clear. Both glassmakers produced the patternin a myriad of pieces and it has not been reproduced.

The value of your double bud vase would probably be $75 to $125.

Q: I have a 1933 World’s Fair silver ring. On the black enameltop are the words "1933 -- A Century of Progress -- Chicago." It isin excellent condition.

Is it collectible and what is it worth?

A: Mementos and souvenirs from any of the World’s Fairs arecollectible. Your ring would probably be worth $100 to $125.

Address questions to Anne McCollam, P.O. Box 247, Notre Dame, IN46556. Items of a general interest will be answered in this column.Due to the volume of inquiries, she cannot answer individualletters. To find out more about Anne McCollam and read features byother Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit theCreators Syndicate website at

www.creators.com

.

Popular Bedroom, bathroom glassware

 All these assumptions are certainly reasonable and cover some ofthe most likely scenarios. Most vintage glassware, depression orotherwise, comprises items to be used in the dining room orkitchen.ut another avidly sought type of depression glass may have youheaded elsewhere in the house. Items termed bedroom and bathroomglassware are a popular collectible category encompassingdecorative pieces as well as those used for personal grooming. Hereare some of the objects collectors look for.LampsAlthough lamps are certainly not limited to the bedside table, thatis what many depression era glass lamps were made for. With bothglass bases and glass shades, many of these lamps haven't survivedthe years intact and unscathed, but those that have are much indemand by collectors. Bedside lamps often have figural bases -well-dressed ladies and Scotty dogs are two examples of popularthemes used. Lamps may be clear, coloured or frosted glass. Theymay also have fired-on colour or painted details.Perfume and Cologne Bottles

Old perfume bottles make up a popular collecting category all theirown, but there is a distinct elegance to those from the depressionera. Plain, patterned, or art deco in style, perfumes and colognesoffer a huge selection to collectors. Some seek single bottles,while others look for matched vanity sets consisting of two or morebottles, a powder jar and sometimes a glass tray. A range ofcoloured glass bottles from amber to cobalt blue can be found. Onecommon collector concern is the difficulty in finding intact glassstoppers for the bottles though, as they were so often damaged orbroken.

owder JarsMade to hold facial or body powder, depression era powder jarsoften capture the imagination of collectors who appreciate whimsy.Many jars are either embellished with a figure as a knob on top ofthe cover, or the whole container itself may be figural. Somecommon themes include well-dressed ladies and animals. Non-figuraljars may be patterned or plain. Examples can be found in manycolours in both clear and frosted glass. Some collectors acceptminor wear and roughness on interior cover edges, which is to beexpected from years of moving a lid on and off.

Other ItemsFor the bedroom, some other collectible items include glass clocks,and guest or night sets consisting of a water pitcher and glass orglasses. For the bathroom, various toiletry jars and containers,soap dishes and even glass towel bars can be found. As with alldepression glass, collectors want pieces in the best conditionpossible without chips or damage.

So whether enjoying someone else's collection of depression glassor perhaps thinking of starting your own, remember this lovelyglassware doesn't have to be restricted to the china cabinet.

Riel Nason catontheporch@yahoo.ca is a columnist, collector andantique dealer living in Quispamsis. Her column appears the lastSaturday of every month.

Featured Freeware: Web Photo Album

A clean interface layout makes it easy to find the pictures youwant and quickly create a simple album. A row of big, easy-to-readbuttons from which to navigate cap off the user interface, with aconvenient left-side tree for folder selection and gallerycreation. Web Photo Album offers basic editing functions likered-eye removal and picture rotation, and you can add captions toeach picture. The finished product comes out as a page ofthumbnails, and once you click on a picture, you're given aclose-up with the ability to navigate to other shots across the topof the page.

Though there are a staggering number of themes to choose from tomatch your pictures, your overall layout is unchangeable. Web PhotoAlbum lets you sign up for the free photo-hosting service, or youcan save to a folder to burn to CD or post to your own site.There's also a help forum for users who need additional support.Definitely not the most amazing of apps, Web Photo Albumnevertheless does a good job of providing basic features. Why gofor the whole enchilada when all you're hungry for is some chipsand salsa?

Kodak, CVS partner on photo album printing kiosks

Forget printing photos: Kodak's latest drugstore kiosk can nowcreate entire bound photo albums in a matter of minutes.

According to a story reported on the business journal

StreetInsider.com, new Kodak photo kiosks being rolled out to CVS/pharmacydrugstores nationwide allow you to create customized hard-coverphoto books while you wait.

Details on how the new kiosks work, how long the process takes, orwhat customization options are available are sketchy, but accordingto a

related press release, users who hold one of CVS/pharmacy's ExtraCare shopper cards willbe reimbursed for the cost of one photo book created through July19.

Overall, the Kodak kiosks seem like an interesting approach towhat's traditionally been an online purchase (through sites likeSnapfish.com and MPIX.com), and the promotion is a greatopportunity to check out the results without laying downhard-earned cash to do it.

The latest kiosks, which should be up and running at 4,500CVS/pharmacy stores by the time of this writing, also allow usersto create photo slideshows (complete with music and video effects)and instantly burn them to DVD for home playback. For all thedetails on the new kiosks, head over to StreetInsider.com.

UPDATE: Kodak's PR folks were able to provide clarification on howthe album binding system works. The same photo printing kiosks thathave been in place before are actually used for the system, onlythey're now set up to assist users in laying out and printing albumpages from a selection of templates.

Users build and print their book page layouts using their photosand the kiosk's templates and then print them. The printed pagesare then bound into book form "behind the counter" by aCVS/pharmacy employee, rather than within the kiosk itself.

Epic taxi ride  winds through western Qld

A re-enactment of what is thought to be world's longest continuoustaxi fare is making its way through western Queensland.In 1930, a wealthy spinster asked taxi driver Charlie Heard to takeher from Geelong, south-west of Melbourne, to Darwin and back.

The taxi driver's grandson Steve Heard is now retracing the 12,000kilometre path and arrived in Mt Isa yesterday.

"My grandfather, he took a camera with him and he took photos ofhis trip everywhere he went and made a photo album of the trip," hesaid.

"This particular photo album got misplaced. Basically forgottenabout and then when my dad passed away my aunty handed this photoalbum back to me. At that time I thought 'yep, I'm going to dothat'."

Lycos Builds 'Do It Yourself' Web Publishing With OpenSocial

Lycos releases a new social Web publishing application to letconsumers build Web sites.

Lycos, the surviving search portal owned by Korea's DaumCommunications, is making a new entr onto the Web today withWebon, a Web publishing platform for consumers that leverages theOpenSocial API Google created to socialize the Internet.

Webon is powered by an OpenSocial wrapped social engine thatpowered the failed Lycos Circles community offering from 2005.

Lycos believes it is a more viable solution than Adobe'sDreamweaver, Microsoft's Office FrontPage and Web Expression or anyother Web site creation platform for the current Web 2.0environment we find ourselves in.

"Most of the current Web 2.0 or Web site building tools letyou build a nice looking static Web page with text and images, butthey are missing the truly dynamic interactive social aspects thatyou should be able to build with a Web site building tooltoday," Lycos CTO Don Kosak told me.

To give you perspective on Web creation tools, there was a timewhen only programmers could build Web sites. Eventually users witha yearning to put a site up online started learning HTML and toolsto build their sites. These tools cost a few hundred dollars anddon't typically provide for easy updates or social interaction.

For example, users who want to use Dreamweaver to add social assetsto the sites they create would have to "become systemsintegrators," Kosak said.

Forget the site-building tools and HTML coding. Webon lets userswith no technical training beyond using a word processing programcreate full-bodied Web sites with a WYSIWYG drag-and-drop interfaceand text and photo editing tools.

Users have their Web site on their screen and click and typedirectly on the page. Users can also integrate blogs, wikis, photoalbums and widgets from other sites, and save changes as they makethem.

This rich Internet application supports apps compatible withOpenSocial, which could be quite a few as Google's OpenSocial-based

Friend Connect tool catches on.

Webon also enables profiles with activity streams that let visitorstrack site updates; supports OpenID for blog and photo albumcomments, as well as participation in the blogosphere through RSS,pinging and trackback functionality.

Kosak told me that Webon is for "mass market consumers."Lycos is offering it as a "fremium" model, meaning it isfree for each consumer to construct up to first six Web sites andincludes the storage space to run 300 photos across those sixsites.

Lycos also offers for $8.95 a month a Webon plan that includes onedomain name to publish your site on, unlimited photo storage andeventually, video support.

I did a double take upon hearing this. Here is my issue and I stillcan't get my head around it. I asked Kosak if consumers reallywanted to launch six Web sites. He said that early Lycos tests ofWebon showed that consumers got hooked; once they created one siteand launched it with ease, they wanted to create more.

I understand the addictive nature of the Web but this isridiculous. Six Web sites per person?! That is madness.

It reminds me of that sobering scene in Jurassic Park where JeffGoldblum's character Ian Malcolm condemns the  manufacturing ofdinosaurs by mankind, noting "Your scientists were sopreoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop tothink if they should."

No, we shouldn't enable lay users to create more than two Websites. There's no need to clutter the Web, which is littered withenough garbage.

On the whole though, Webon, is a cool tool and should gaintraction. Time will tell if Lycos will make money from this latestattempt at community building after Circles failed four years ago.

Flyover People

E-mail story to a friend

Comments on this story

iPod friendly version

Bunny ears  most family albums have them, a picture with a boyraising two fingers behind a sister"s head.

If you open a photo album of a typical Kansas family, you"relikely to see birthday cakes ablaze, ornament-laden Christmastrees, views from the top of Pike"s Peak.

You"ll probably find snapshots of kids riding bicycles, teenagersdressed for the prom, folks at a picnic table eating hot dogs andbaked beans.

The other day while looking through Dave"s family albums, I sawpictures of a little-girl tea party, a game of lawn darts, and thenuclear family (two parents, four boys, one girl) lined up on theirfront porch.

The Leiker albums also hold photographs from the annual familycampouts.

For years, Dave"s family set up tents at one Kansas lake oranother. I joined the fun in the early ?0s and we"d cookhamburgers, and bait hooks, and swat mosquitoes.

At the campouts, there was an annual competition. The first year Iwas part of the family, the challenge was to build a solar-poweredcoffee maker. Dave"s brother, Larry, won that contest. Larrybuilt a large, silver-colored parabola which boiled water fasterthan Mr. Coffee.

Another year, at Council Grove Lake, the contest was to constructthe best water balloon launcher. Curt and Nancy won with a hugecontraption they had hauled behind their truck. It was probablysturdy enough to launch a calf (not that we"d do that.)

So the Leiker family albums are filled with photos of holidays,happy events, and weekends at the lake.

What you"re unlikely to find in theirs or anyone"s familyalbums are the painful experiences. These are the things we don"tphotograph.

The family has been visited by one of those difficult times. OnJune 22, Dave"s sister, Deborah, 55, received a severe headinjury in a workplace accident in Salina. She was flown toWichita"s St. Francis Hospital, where the family gathered aroundtheir unconscious daughter, sister, sister-in-law, aunt.

A tragic time like this is part of the family history. But it"snot something you"d want to put in an album and return to;heartrending events are not something we record.

Nevertheless, in the hospital, I saw poignancy in so many moments:I watched Clara place her hand on Deb"s arm. She leaned over,SHi, Debbie, it"s Mom.. We"re all here foryou.

A moving photo could have been made of Henry, as he stood behindhis wife of 68 years, his hands on Clara"s shoulders.

There would be such tenderness shown if I had captured Dave"shand brushing Deb"s hair to the side. And there was Larry withred-rimmed eyes, sitting near the bed.

These were sacred moments, the final days of a loved one"s life.

Leaving the Trauma-Surgical Intensive Care Unit one afternoon, astory-telling picture could have been taken from behind as Curt andNancy walked down the fluorescent-lit hallway, arms around eachother"s waist, shoulders slumped in sadness.

At 4 a.m. one morning, as Dave and I entered the hospital room torelieve Jim, we found him sitting beside Deb, his hand wrappedaround his sister"s.

The only thing I ask,Jim said, Sis that you hold her hand.I"ve been holding it for like 11 hours now.

During that nine-day vigil, there were many silent minutes, when nowords were spoken.

These are the photographs that we don"t take. Instead, we use ourphoto albums to recall the good times: Deb holding up a basket offish she caught, or launching a water balloon, Deb bent overlaughing.

It"s the happy moments that we document and cherish.

Someday soon, we will look at the albums again. Our fingers willpause on photos of the family campouts.

Because remembering the sound of each other"s laughter willalways return us to our joy.

SFlyover People is online at www.flyoverpeople.net.

New pub honours comic link

The name was chosen from a shortlist which included TE Lawrence -after Lawrence of Arabia, who also attended the school - and BishopTrellick, which had been the title of a former pub behind GeorgeStreet which was closed to make way for university buildings.

The venue, which has undergone a ￡400,000 refurbishment, waspurchased by Wetherspoon in the spring after the closure of theSlug & Lettuce.

Regional manager Heath Curley said: "All the responses we had tothe suggested names said The Four Candles was a good name.Wetherspoon has almost 700 pubs and they all have unique names thatreflect their history."

The Four Candles will serve food all day and be open from 9am untilmidnight from Sundays to Thursdays and between 9am and 1am onFridays and Saturdays.

Mr Curley, whose company also runs The William Morris in Cowley,said: "There will also be information boards and photos aboutRonnie Barker displayed inside."

He added: "We are delighted to have secured a venue in Oxford. Wewere very keen to open up a city centre pub and we will be lookingfor more in Oxford."

Pub manager Sam Newman said: "I am looking forward to welcomingcustomers."

2:49pm Tuesday 22nd July 2008 Print Email this Comment

Even When It's Ripping Off Juno and The Hills, American Teen Is ...

Notwithstanding all the pundit-driven hot air about the horrors ofbeing young in today’s America, I’m willing to buy theargument that it’s getting harder to survive those years, ifonly because there’s so much more for the poor dears to worryabout—more information, more technology, more stuff toconsume, more sex (or is it less sex, but more talk?), morepressure from parents, teachers, and other self-styled experts.Most of all, there’s more suffocating attention being paid towhat it means to be a teenager, most of it coming from overlappinginterest groups conspiring to sell things to the under-21s. Yet,for a constituency that has become the prime target of everylate-capitalist enterprise under the sun, culturally speaking,teenagers are a grossly under-served generation.

It’s no accident that most of the great teen movies— American Graffiti, Sixteen Candles, Fast Times at Ridgemont High spring to mind—were made decades ago, when adolescents werestill thought of as a generation rather than a demographic. Now,our 16-year-olds are mashed into caricature and spat out whole asmean girls, nice girls, freaks and geeks, hunks and jocks. (WhenJohn Hughes did it, he was commenting on the caricatures, notenforcing them.) Even the flannel-shirted Juno, raised above thepack by screenwriter Diablo Cody’s above-average argot andinsight into the fact that teens get into trouble mostly becausethey’re bored senseless, is the fairly standard odd girl out.

Now comes Nanette Burstein, maker of the entertaining Robert Evansdocumentary The Kid Stays in the Picture , with a mission to deepen the conversation by breaking down thewall between narrative and nonfiction filmmaking in American Teen . Armed with a small camera crew, a hand-held camera for intimatemoments, and a good deal of ambivalence about whether she wanted tobe “non-invasive” or form a “tight bond” withher young subjects, Burstein spent a year hanging out with ahandful of carefully chosen adolescents from the only high schoolin the small town of Warsaw, Indiana, orthopedic manufacturingcapital of the world. She gathered, the production notes tell us,1,000 hours of “raw, spontaneous footage” of the studentsgoing about their lives at home and school, which she worked upinto a “compelling narrative.” This sounds to me like afair working definition of a documentary, and by the relaxedstandards of nonfiction filmmaking today, it’s not all thatremarkable that the kids’ paths cross more than can beaccounted for by serendipity, or that Burstein has woven in analt-rock score and some lovely animation by the innovative companyBlacklist, to catch the flavor of each teen’s inner life.

Even when it’s ripping off Juno and The Hills , American Teen is fascinating in the way of every good documentary—the moretime you spend with anyone, the more they surprise you. Bursteincaught how teens use their techno toys to ratchet up the crueltyquotient, and the unnerving way they live in an eternal presentdevoid of consequence or the bigger picture; the intensity of theirpassions; the speed with which adversity deflates them, and theastonishing resilience with which most bounce back and endure. Andendure they must, since most of their moms and dads, at least asedited here, appear to have thoroughly internalized the fairlyrecent notion that parenting means applying pressure.

So it’s a pity that in selecting her young subjects andshaping their stories, Burstein—or someone aboveher—can’t quite shake off the hackneyed typecasting. Istarted worrying when the chosen five came onstage before thescreening I attended and introduced themselves as the nerd, thesports hero, the princess, the rebel, and the hunk. Without thereductive labeling, they’re Jake, an insecure,self-scrutinizing shy boy who’s actually pretty cute despitethe acne blooming all over his face; Colin, a gangly basketballstar trying to live up to his image; popular Megan, whose tolerancefor things not going her way hovers around zero; and Mitch, afresh-faced pretty-boy of the kind who ordinarily would appear inthe yearbook with his arms around Megan, but who shows a powerful,if momentary, indie-film sensibility by falling for Hannah, afragile elf who likely has inherited at least some of hermother’s manic depression and artistic nature. Their struggleswith each other, with their parents, and with themselves are plentyabsorbing, but I'm not the first to notice that the poster for American Teen is designed to remind us of The Breakfast Club . Which is exactly why it matters that the movie clarify whetherit’s drawing life—or fiction.

Frugal, homemade gift ideas

Sundays "Living Well" series in The Tribune featured the frugalgift ideas of South Bend resident Kandie Hicks.

A couple of people e-mailed me to ask for more specificinstructions for making some of her crafts.

So, I asked Kandie how she makes her yummy smellingoatmeal-cinnamon facial soap, as well as her votive candles.

These are her instructions in her own words.

Oatmeal-cinnamon facial soap

*(1) 2-lb. block of Life of the Party Olive Oil soap base fromHobby Lobby or Michael's (Hobby Lobby had a 40% off coupon inSundays paper, taking the cost from $8.99 to $5.40)

*1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

*1/4 cup regular oatmeal

*Bar soap mold to make a 3- or 4-oz bar of soap, available at craftstores for about $2.99

*Large glass measuring cup for microwaving soap

Directions: The soap block is marked into 1-ounce sections. Fourounces, or one row, make a 4-ounce bar of soap.

With a sharp knife, cut one row of soap base into pieces about 1/4inch wide, or small enough to melt quickly in a microwave. Put thepieces in a glass container. I use a large Pyrex measuring cup.Melt on high 40 seconds in microwave. If it's not completelymelted, continue for 10 seconds at a time until melted.

Add 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Stir to break up most of theclumps, until the melted base is a nice brown color.

Add 1/4 cup regular oatmeal. Stir until coated. Pour into a soapmold.

Let soap cool, then press on the mold to release the soap. To speedup cooling time, the mold can be placed in the refrigerator.

Candles maker is a jack of all trades

Candles maker is a jack of all trades

ACCESS DENIED

We are sorry to inform you that you have been temporarily blockedfrom this website.

Your IP Address or perhaps someone from the same geographical areaas you has been tracked visiting one or more websites andrequesting large amounts of content in a short amount of time. Thishas caused your IP Address to be flagged as a possible bot, spider,crawler, spyware, or some other malware. In general, we do notallow bots, spiders, or crawlers to access our websites.

This is not meant to accuse you of anything. If you are alegitimate user and feel that you have reached this page in error,please complete the form below. Our staff will review theinformation that you provide and determine what options areavailable.

You are browsing this site with:

Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.2; SV1; .NET CLR1.1.4322; InfoPath.2; .NET CLR 2.0.50727)

Your IP address is:

220.181.41.251 (220.181.41.251)