Two super "vernissages" in Paris

I love to be at the opening night, to meet the artist, see the people and perhaps buy something. It is difficult to find out about these events in advance, but when I can I shall post them here. Have fun. Send me your reviews of any events you have attended recently.

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The Galerie de la Halle Saint-Pierre a has the pleasure of presenting the work of Douglas Padilla who lives and works in Minneapolis, Minnesota - from 30 June to 27 July

The vernissage (opening reception) is on wednesday 30 June from 6pm

Galerie de la Halle Saint-Pierre 2 rue Ronsard - 75018 Paris
Tel: 01 42 58 72 89
Metro: Anvers/Abbesses
Daily 10h00 - 18h00
------------------



You are invited to the "vernissage" cocktail reception for the exhibition of paintings by Anne Charlotte du Tillet "ABSTRACTION COLOREE" In the presence of the artist and other personalities.

Anne Charlotte du Tillet, was born into a family of famous artists - Leon Lhermitte (peintre sculpteur)Thierry Lhermitte (acteur producteur)

1 July from 6pm at:-
Agence Laforet Immobillier
38 rue des Martyrs Paris 9

The show runs from 1 July until 31 August

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Have fun helping the children

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ICT Industry Charity Ball 8 July - Armoury House, Honorable Artillery Company, London, EC1

In aid of the The Treehouse Trust, which is a UK charity, based in central London, established in 1997 to provide an educational Centre of Excellence for children with autism.

The theme is 'A Night on the Orient-Express' 1920s/30s style.

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The artworld supports the Red Cross

I was a flood victim in France years ago. The Croix Rouge helped me and also helped distract me from the actual trauma. Please support them, they are having a difficult time, but still have more courage than most.

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Inspired art

The British Red Cross is hosting one of this year’s most inspiring art events.

Actress Jane Seymour has joined with famous artists such as Norman Adams and William Bowyer of the Royal Academy, Britartist Mauricio Ortiz and Beryl Cook to donate artwork to raise funds for the British Red Cross. The result is Inspired - an exhibition to be held on 1 July.

Would-be buyers can critique the pieces while having a drink and nibbling canapes at the Gainsborough Studios in north London. The exhibition will feature paintings, prints, sculptures and photographs for art lovers of all tastes and budgets.

All funds raised will go towards helping people in the UK and overseas, so buyers can support a good cause and make a sound investment at the same time.

From 7 June, savvy collectors can start pre-bidding on a selection of approximately 70 artworks that will be exhibited at the Gainsborough Studios on 1st July, by logging on to www.eyestorm.com and clicking on the inspired icon. Works are being added on a daily basis.

If you would like to attend the reception, exhibition and auction on 1st July which will feature both the on-line and additional works, please be sure to book your tickets early.

There will also be a live auction of ten selected artworks conducted by Oliver Barker, Director of Contemporary Art Department at Sotheby's.

Call Farida Haqiqi, Events Organiser, on 020 7376 7300 or email londonevents@redcross.org.uk

Click here for auction lots >>

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This is outrageous....read the article...

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Poor make most generous donations
The study found a clear north-south divide.
People living in poorer areas give more to charity than those from affluent households, according to a new study.

Research by Experian commissioned by The Giving Campaign revealed giving is most widespread among people living in council houses. More>>

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BBC is a living treasure

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Historical BBC archives go online

Historical footage from the BBC and CBS news archives has gone online for the first time.

The BBC Motion Gallery will provide direct access via the internet to more than 10,000 moving image clips.

Our library of motion imagery is one of the world's great living treasures.

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Chapeau!

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The Week of Hats 2004 is the third annual Week of Hats organised by the British Hat Guild and Macmillan Cancer Relief. This year, the Week of Hats will be taking place from 26th June until 4th July.

You can take part in Macmillan's Week of Hats in many ways:
- take part in Wear a Hat to Work Day on Friday 2nd July
- purchase hats for all occasions from one of our Supporting Retailers (list of shops)
- hold a Hat Party at home, at work or in a local place of interest
- bid for hats made by well-known milliners through our On-line Auction
- or do your own unique hat-tastic event!

Information packs filled with ideas and posters can be obtained by contacting cfleuret@macmillan.org.uk or calling 020 7840 4649.

Read the Hat Story on the British Hat Guild site>>

Kritik [ ] 7:08 PM Send article

Bravo! the off roaders are offside, pas chic ...

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France launches radical green tax on bigger cars - Scheme rewards drivers who opt for small vehicles

Jon Henley in Paris The Guardian

French drivers who favour large, gas-guzzling cars will have to pay up to €3,500 (£2,300) more for a new model from next January under a radical green road tax scheme unveiled by the environment ministry.

Part of a new environment bill aimed at cutting air, water and soil pollution over the next five years, the scheme will also reward drivers who opt for smaller, cleaner vehicles with payouts of up to €700.

Last month the mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, described 4x4 vehicles as "bad for London - completely unnecessary" and their owners as "complete idiots".

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Are you just a Blogger, or can you really write?

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This guide is based on the style book which is given to all journalists at The Economist.

The write stuff
Have you got it? Take a quiz based on The Economist's Style Guide

Kritik [ ] 12:37 PM Send article

Everyone needs a Petfrog!

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Introducing the petfrog, the "Integrated Fusion Device" of the future.

The petfrog is the first wireless communication and computing concept with a totally integrated hardware, software, and content user-interface. It is a personal computer, PDA, Digital Media player, camera, karaoke machine, and more.

All functionality converges into one seamless, human-minded experience platform, which results in an "all-in-one gadget" that has both professional and personal uses. More about frogdesign>>

Kritik [ ] 7:15 PM Send article

Entente cordiale - Lartigue et Lartigue

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Jacques Henri Lartigue, Album 1944, Florette, Paris, January. Photograph JH Lartigue © Ministere de la Culture-France/A.A.J.H.L.

Jacques Henri Lartigue Photographs 1901-1986
24 June - 5 September 2004 Hayward Gallery

This is the first British exhibition of the photographs of this amazing French photographer. "Central to the exhibition are one hundred large albums on which he worked all his life - a unique and extraordinary document of his times, on loan for the first time outside France. These are displayed alongside his best-known images as vintage and modern prints and his early stereoscopes that highlight Lartigue's fascination with movement."

Exhibition is organised by the Centre Pompidou, Musee national d'art moderne, Paris and the Donation Jacques Henri Lartigue.

The Hayward Gallery is in between the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Festival Hall.



I know Lartigue - Gerard Lartigue, he is an excellent French painter. I have passed many an amusing spell with him in his home of Toulouse. He is related to the photographer, bien sure! He is a big man usually taking the air in the glorious park by the garonne, with his charmant petite chien. I love his work, do look at his site here>>

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This is a fascinating place, lots of things to see, exhibitions, events...plants

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BACKGROUND
The Museum of Garden History was founded in 1977 at the former church of St Mary-at-Lambeth, next to Lambeth Palace. A registered charity, the Museum seeks to illustrate and preserve the history of gardening.

THE GARDEN
The Museum's garden is planted with species known in Britain during the 17th century, including plants first introduced to the country by the Tradescants.

Garden webcam

Kritik [ ] 7:03 PM Send article

Poetry London Party

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THURSDAY 24 JUNE, 7pm at FOYLES
You are invited to the launch of the Summer Issue of Poetry London.

Two prominent American poets, Maurice Manning and Philip Fried, will give their first UK readings with Ruth Padel and Polly Clark.

7pm on Thursday, 24 June at Silver Moon, third floor of Foyles, 113-119 Charing Cross Road, London WC2 (Tottenham Court Road tube).

Admission is free, there will be free wine, and there is access for disabled people.

Poetry London is available from Foyles at £4.00

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Shh...sounds in spaces 20 May - 30 August 2004

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Shhh... takes visitors on a audio voyage around the V&A. From the magnificent Raphael Gallery to the grand Victorian stairwells, ten artists and musicians have commented on the exhibits in thier own way.




The artists

Cornelius David Byrne Elizabeth Fraser Faultline Gillian Wearing Jane and Louise Wilson Jeremy Deller Leila Roots Manuva and Simon Fisher Turner

It takes 2 hours to listen to all of the artists pieces.

The Competition
The V&A are running a competition with Dazed and Confused in partnership with Fopp Records and Urban Outfitters to find a response to the eleventh space of Shhh...

The winning piece will be played in the gallery space during the Shhh... Friday Late on the 27 August 2004

Kritik [ ] 2:24 PM Send article

Dan Gillmor's grass roots book cover - it will be published in August

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We the Media : Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People
By Dan Gillmor

Grassroots journalists are dismantling Big Media's monopoly on the news, transforming it from a lecture to a conversation. Not content to accept the news as reported, these readers-turned-reporters are publishing in real time to a worldwide audience via the Internet. The impact of their work is just beginning to be felt by professional journalists and the newsmakers they cover.

In We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People, nationally known business and technology columnist Dan Gillmor tells the story of this emerging phenomenon, and sheds light on this deep shift in how we make and consume the news. [Full Description]

Buy it from O'Reilly >>

Good luck Dan : From we the readers

Kritik [ ] 8:18 PM Send article

Animal cruelty, testing on animals by Iams...there are probably others...

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Iams and P&G and How They Cause Animals to Suffer Needlessly

For nearly 10 months in 2002 and early 2003, a PETA investigator went undercover at an Iams contract testing laboratory and discovered a dark and sordid secret beneath the wholesome image of the dog- and cat-food manufacturer: dogs gone crazy from intense confinement to barren steel cages and cement cells, dogs left piled on a filthy paint-chipped floor after having chunks of muscle hacked from their thighs; dogs surgically debarked; horribly sick dogs and cats languishing in their cages, neglected and left to suffer with no veterinary care. Read More>>

The Humane Society of the United States and Iams: It Doesn't Get Much Worse Than This
On January 7, in a very disturbing move, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) announced that the Iams Company will be the "Grand National Sponsor" of HSUS' "Pet Fest America." According to the HSUS Web site, "Pet Fest America is designed to showcase The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) in a very positive festive atmosphere." This unholy alliance with Iams is the work of Paul Irwin, president and CEO of HSUS.



Cindy Margolis is just one of the celebrities trying to make people aware of the suffering caused by Iams.

What You Can Do Call, write, e-mail, or fax Iams and P&G. Tell them you won’t be buying Iams for your animal companions until they stop conducting experiments on cats and dogs and, instead, rely on laboratory analysis of formulas for nutritional composition and in-home palatability studies using dogs and cats whose human companions have volunteered them for such tests...more>>

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Foire Saint-Germain

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27th Foire Saint-Germain 7 Juin - 11 July 2004 Place Saint Suplice

The Foire Saint-Germain proposes a rich and varied schedule of artistic events that turns the district into a performance festival, concerts, readings, theatre, different activities.

Event calendar>>

Kritik [ ] 3:51 PM Send article

La Dolce Vita ....is still in Roma

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A Flash of Art - Action Photography in Rome 1953-1973

11 June 3 October 2004
Palazzo Venezia, Via del Plebiscito 118, Roma
10 am to 7 pm. Closed Mondays.

A collection of 400 photographs of years of the Dolce Vita, by photographers Tazio Secchiaroli, Marcello Geppetti, Lino Nanni, Elio Sorci and Guglielmo Coluzzi, snapped the jet set. Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni and Brigitte Bardot just a few of the snapped.

The catalogue will be a collectors item>>



A FLASH OF ART. ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY IN ROME, 1953-1973

CURATED BY ACHILLE BONITO OLIVA
The complete archives of the most famous paparazzi, such as Tazio Secchiaroli, Marcello Geppetti, Elio Sorci, Pier Luigi Praturlon, Lino Nanni and many others.

Kritik [ ] 11:09 AM Send article

Cultural London Transport - Why not take a boat trip round London...on the Tate Boat

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The Tate Boat runs every forty minutes during gallery opening hours between Tate Britain and Tate Modern and also stops at the British Airways London Eye.

Tickets are available from Tate Modern and Tate Britain.

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The London Olympics 2012

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Chairman urges: "Fly the flags"

London 2012 Chairman Seb Coe has launched the bid's high profile street dressing campaign with an appeal to the whole of the UK to show its support.

Unveiling the flags, street banners and other items designed to ignite backing for the bid, he said: "Over the next 14 months I want the whole of the UK to show its support for the Olympic bid.

London 2012
Support the London 2012 bid

International Olympic Committee

Athens 2004

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Can Shell help save the planet? Thank you Lord Oxburgh

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Shell boss's 'confession' shocks industry - David Adam, science correspondent Thursday June 17, 2004 The Guardian

The head of one of the world's biggest oil companies has admitted that the threat of climate change makes him "really very worried for the planet".

In an interview in today's Guardian Life section, Ron Oxburgh, chairman of Shell, says we urgently need to capture emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, which scientists think contribute to global warming, and store them underground - a technique called carbon sequestration.

"Sequestration is difficult, but if we don't have sequestration then I see very little hope for the world," said Lord Oxburgh. "No one can be comfortable at the prospect of continuing to pump out the amounts of carbon dioxide that we are pumping out at present ... with consequences that we really can't predict but are probably not good." via...The Guardian

Shell.com - Environment and Society

We have an essential role in finding new ways to meet present and future energy needs that are more socially and environmentally sustainable.

We believe this is not only the right thing to do, but is important for the future success of our business.

Tell Shell is an area for global discussion on topics and issues relating to us. We are committed to open and transparent dialogue with our stakeholders, so come on in and join the debate.

First African American Wins the Prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize for Shell Corporation Environmental Justice Struggle

Margie Richard, 62, this year’s North American winner, grew up just 25 feet away from the fence line of a Shell Chemical plant the size of nine football fields that releases more than 2 million pounds of toxic chemicals into the air each year. More>>

shellfacts.com WHO WE ARE - We are journalists, reseachers and non profit agencies. We are dedicated to the protection of health and the environment.


CRIMES OF SHELL - by Peter Montague

pollution.com you must visit this site...!

Kritik [ ] 5:46 PM Send article

Amazon is not at everyones fingertips...it could be...

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Mission

Literacy is the dedicated purpose of Books for a Better World. It seeks to enfranchise, to empower and to motivate children in developing nations by establishing libraries and scholarship programs.

History

Books for a Better World is a non-profit, educational organization founded in January 2000 by Kae Robb who at the time was a Spanish teacher at Phoenix Country Day School. Since she was a small child she has had a passion for books and for travel. The concept of Books for a Better World is best told in her own words. More>>

How to Help>>

Kritik [ ] 5:36 PM Send article

Tahar Ben Jelloun wins the 2004 International Impac Dublin Literary Award

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Impac Literary Award Goes to a Moroccan

Moroccan author, Tahar Ben Jelloun, was named the winner yesterday of the $120,000 International Impac Dublin Literary Award, the world's richest prize for a single work of fiction published in English...via ">NYT



Winner of the 1994 Prix Maghreb, Tahar Ben Jelloun was born in Fez, Morocco, and emigrated to France. A novelist, essayist, critic, and poet, he is a regular contributor to Le Monde, La Répubblica, El País, and Panorama. His novels include The Sacred Night, which received the Prix Goncourt in 1987, and Corruption (The New Press).


This Blinding Absence of Light by Tahar Ben Jelloun translated from the French by Linda Coverdale details >>>>

The Short List

The Book of Illusions by Paul Auster

Any Human Heart by William Boyd

Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

The White Family by Maggie Gee

This Blinding Absence of Light by Tahar Ben Jelloun
Translated from the French by Linda Coverdale

Balthasar's Odyssey by Amin Maalouf
Translated from the French by Barbara Bray

Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry

Earth and Ashes by Atiq Rahimi
Translated from the Dari by Erdag M.Göknar

House of Day, House of Night by Olga Tokarczuk
Translated from the Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones

details >>>>

Kritik [ ] 3:32 PM Send article

Water..............as the weather get's hotter, the level of the pond goes down

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Water Efficiency Awards 2005The Environment Agency is delighted to announce the launch of the Water Efficiency Awards 2005 which recognise, reward and celebrate excellence in water efficiency.

They will be presented in London in March 2005.

Do you know of an outstanding example of water efficiency in your organisation? If so, promote it to a national audience by entering the Environment Agency Water Efficiency Awards 2005.

How to enter>>

Are you saving water?
Follow our top tips for saving water in the home, in the garden and at work.


Rainwater Harvesting is the collection of water that would otherwise have gone down the drainage system, into the ground or been lost to the atmosphere through evaporation.

Kritik [ ] 11:31 PM Send article

Monet has always inspired my painting, I adore this picture of Irises

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Living here, by a pond, surrounded by Irises rather like Giverny, both pictures are my daily view. Perhaps I shall plant, than paint waterilies - perhaps Goosetav and Esmerelda will eat them!

There are so many wonderful pictures that are bought and sold and never seen by ordinary mortals. It is worth visiting the auction houses as a cultural course. They are living Museums. If you cant't go, look online, there are treasures unseen.




CLAUDE MONET - IRIS Painted circa 1914-17

IMPRESSIONIST AND MODERN ART,
EVENING SALE Session 1 Sale L04007 lot 17
Est.1,000,000—1,500,000 GBP
London, New Bond Street
21 Jun 04 7:00 PM

Excerpt from the Sotheby's catalogue>>

"The present work, showing yellow and purple irises against a background of blue and green hues, is executed in bold, free brushstrokes characteristic of Monet's mature style. He treats the canvas as a two-dimensional plane, on which patches of pigment acquire a near-abstract quality. Using this technique, the artist challenges the traditional spatial perspective of a painting, and disregards the notions of foreground and background.

All areas of the canvas thus become equally important, reflecting the artist's delight in the decorative value of colour, free of any illusion of space and perspective.

It was Monet's passion for colour that imbued both his art and his garden design, and the two come together in the present work in a glorious display of the artist's truly avant-garde vision."

Read more about Monet's passion for his gardens at Giverny and Vetheuil >>

There is also a painting of Waterlilies, less spectacular than the Irises though!



Excerpt from the Sotheby's catalogue>>
"Once discovered, the subject of waterlilies offered a wealth of inspiration that Monet went on to explore for several decades. His carefully designed garden presented the artist with a micro-cosmos in which he could observe and paint the changes in weather, season and time of day, as well as the ever-changing colours and patterns."

Order the catalogue>>

Kritik [ ] 10:19 PM Send article

Total immersion blogging - this is what we have been envisaging

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'Black box' cam for total recall By Jo Twist BBC News Online science and technology staff

SenseCam could give us all a photographic memory.

A wearable camera full of sensors could help people with memory problems, according to Microsoft researchers.

The prototype SenseCam takes an instant snap every time it spots changes in movement, temperature or light.

Currently capable of storing 2,000 images on a 128MB memory card, the cam could help people record their days.

Kritik [ ] 11:36 PM Send article

Blogging degrees next?

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The seven-year-old bloggers
Dot.life - where life meets technology, every Monday
By Giles Turnbull

Weblogs are sometimes criticised for being the self-obsessed ramblings of people who have little to say and too much time on their hands in which to do it. But there are gems out there - including many sites created by children.

Kritik [ ] 11:06 PM Send article

Wine blogging? Why not!

"Bordeaux Fete le Vin - wine festival", on the Place des Quinconces and the Garonne quayside from July 1st to 4th 2004, offers an uninterrupted programme of special events and tastings.

Thursday July 1st from 6 p.m. to 0.15 a.m.
Friday July 2nd, Saturday July 3rd,
Sunday July 4th from 11 a.m. to 0.15 a.m.

French and foreign visitors will spend 4 unfergettable days at "Bordeaux Fête le Vin", exploring over 12 hectares of exhibits.

It is an ideal opportunity to taste wines from Bordeaux and the surrounding region in a single location. Visitors will also be able to enjoy one of the loveliest 18th-century cities, strolling through Old Bordeaux and its street markets, admiring the architecture of the Grand Theatre, shopping in the antique-dealers neighbourhood, and finding superb old buildings around every corner.

Kritik [ ] 4:43 PM Send article

24 hour Dot.Com

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Berlin, Germany -- June 14, 2004 -- The dotcom days are with us again as Adam Wern and Eric Wahlforss, two students from the Stockholm School of Economics and the Royal Institute of Technology, descended upon the Wizards of OS Conference in Berlin with the aim of creating a dotcom business from scratch in 24 hours.

The two charismatic Swedes succeeded in putting together a multi-disciplinary international team within a few hours, and went on to implement dozomo.com, a revolutionary entrant into the search engine market.

The service, which acts as a meta-search engine, has ambitious plans to take on the incumbent google.com and believes its innovative technology will help it become the market leader within the coming year.

The business is now being auctioned off on eBay as a form of IPO and reached almost $1000 within a few hours and is expected to skyrocket by the time the auction finishes on Tuesday 1700 GMT.

For more information, take a look at http://24hdc.com

New Release!We couldn't stop ourselves from working on dozomo.com, The Internet Commandline. This dotcom is just too hot to leave after just 24 hours.

What is dozomo? Dozomo is a quick way to reach 192 search engines! Just type the name of a search engine followed by a search term, and dozomo will take you there immediately.

E.g. to search quotes by Woody Allen, just type "quote Woody Allen".

Kritik [ ] 4:21 PM Send article

Let's go on an Art Crawl tonight

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Want to see an exhibition without the crowds?

After-work culture
Check our list for which museums and galleries offer late-night opening. Venues are listed alphabetically.

Please note, if a gallery isn't included here it's probably because it doesn't open beyond 6pm. But if you're not on our list and should be, please send details to arts.editor@guardianunlimited.co.uk.

Kritik [ ] 4:11 PM Send article

Your London, England Weblogger Meetup is happening -- please

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Here are the details:

What: International Blog Meetup Day
When: Wednesday, Jun 16 @ 7PM
Who: Bloggers and friends
Where: Waterstones - Picadilly
203-206 Piccadilly
London, W1J 9HA
207-851-2433

When you get there, look for the Bloggers near: Bar - 5th Floor

Kritik [ ] 3:37 PM Send article

Bill Bryson wins Aventis Prizes for Science Books 2004

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American author, Bill Bryson has won the General Prize for the Aventis Prizes for Science Books 2004, with his first popular science based book, A Short History of Nearly Everything (Doubleday/Transworld). Travelling through time and space, Bill Bryson’s book introduces us to the universe, the world and the rise of civilisation.

A Short History of Nearly Everything is Bill Bryson’s quest to explain the world that we live in through an in-depth study of seven distinct topics: the origins of the universe; the historical discovery of the size and age of the earth; relativity and quantum theory; the present and future threats to life and the planet, the origins and history of life and the evolution of man. His sheer curiosity invites readers to question the origins of the universe and how we got from there being nothing at all, to here being the people that we are today.

The shortlisted books:

In the Beginning Was the Worm ByAndrew Brown (Simon & Schuster)
A Short History of Nearly Everything By Bill Bryson (Doubleday/Transworld)
Magic Universe By Nigel Calder (Oxford University Press)
Mutants By Armand Marie Leroi (HarperCollins)
Nature via Nurture By Matt Ridley (Fourth Estate)
Backroom Boys By Francis Spufford(Faber & Faber)

About The Royal Society The Royal Society is an independent academy promoting the natural and applied sciences. Founded in 1660, the Society has three roles, as the UK academy of science, as a learned Society and as a funding agency.
About The Aventis FoundationThe Aventis Foundation is generously supporting the Aventis Prizes for Science Books.

Ever since the Prizes were originally established they have had the same aim - to encourage, the writing, publishing and reading of good and accessible popular science books. They have grown to become one of the UK’s most prestigious non-fiction literary prizes.

How to enter>>

Kritik [ ] 3:11 PM Send article

Blogging & Social Networking: Who Cares? If you care don't miss it!

bloggzen - total immersion blogging technology innovation



Thursday, June 17, 2004

Speakers:
Antony Brydon, CEO, Visible Path Corporation
Jason Calacanis, Chairman, The Weblogs, Inc. Network
Marc Canter, CEO, Broadband Mechanics
Charlene Li, Principal Analyst, Forrester Research, Inc.
Ross Mayfield, CEO, Socialtext
Ajit Nazre, Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
David Pell, Electablog.com
Mark Pincus, CEO, Tribe Networks

Moderator:
Dan Gillmor, San Jose Mercury News
Tony Perkins, Creator & Editor-in-Chief, AlwaysOn

The Churchill Club presents an AlwaysOn Salon
Blogs are interlinked and meritocratic, seething with fierce debate and rivalries, but are they, as Vanity Fair recently described: "the best thing to hit journalism since the political pamphlet?" What cannot be denied is there are now millions of bloggers operating out in the blogsphere, the most powerful of whom are beginning to influencing markets and products, and therefore raising the eyebrows of marketing departments throughout Silicon Valley.

So-called "social networking" services such as the consumer-oriented Friendster, Google's Orkut, and enterprise applications like Spoke, are also showing the potential to rock the marketing and media world. Benchmark, Kleiner Perkins and Sequoia Capital are betting millions of dollars on this sector. Will they hit the jackpot or lose their shorts?

Produced by AlwaysOn (www.alwayson-network.com) and The Churchill Club, this event is a two-hour, free-wheeling live discussion on whether or not blogging and social networking are for real, and if so, where new entrepreneurial opportunities in these areas may exist.

Crowne Plaza Cabana Hotel 4290 El Camino Real
Palo Alto, CA

Kritik [ ] 11:36 PM Send article

Learn another language, stop taking the pillls

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Being Bilingual Protects Against Some Age-related Cognitive Changes

WASHINGTON — Newswise — Most will agree that two heads are better than one in solving problems. The same logic may be true for language and retaining cognitive processes as we age. Being fluent in two languages seems to prevent some of the cognitive decline seen in same-age monolingual speaking persons, according to the findings of a study appearing in this month's journal of Psychology and Aging.

Kritik [ ] 11:04 PM Send article

Scince fiction becomes reality in Seattle

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Become part of the Experience!

This world's first museum devoted to the genre of science fiction is almost here…

The Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame combines artifacts and information in evocative environments that immerse visitors in science fiction's "alternative worlds." Witness how this dynamic and diverse genre touches all forms of artistic expression and reframes the complexities of science, art, culture and the humanities, giving us new insights into ourselves and the world around us.

The museum will be the home of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, honoring the legends and luminaries that have shaped our visions of the future.

The museum is already attracting the participation of the highest echelon of science fiction practitioners: writers, illustrators, publishers, educators, filmmakers – and of course, fans! You, too, can become part of the experience.

Opening June 18th, 2004, the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame will be co-located with Experience Music Project in the landmark Frank Gehry building at the Base of the Space Needle, Seattle, Washington.

Location>>

Exhibits>>

Kritik [ ] 10:47 PM Send article

Art stashers - this is a most interesting story

artzen - art culture info expo

Revealed: the art moguls' secret stash of treasures The charred Brit Art lost in the London fire was only a small part of the stash squirrelled away by super-rich collectors, writes Vanessa Thorpe

The blaze that tore through a London art warehouse, destroying some of the best known works by our contemporary artists, has accidentally thrown sparks of light into a mysterious and little understood corner of British culture. The shadowy figures revealed by the destruction at Momart's Leyton depot are the discreet millionaires - and billionaires - who acquire art compulsively, only to stash much of it away in specialist warehouses and storerooms...This weekend the newly re-launched art magazine Apollo has published a list of more than two dozen of the leading collectors, including those who specialise in picking up Old Masters and rare antiquities...via The Guardian

Kritik [ ] 11:41 AM Send article

World Environment Day 5 June 2004

ecozen - animals ecology philanthropy



"Sparkling Greek Seas", an Olympic Coastal Clean-Up Event by ATHENS 2004 and Athens Environmental Foundation is undertaking with Jean-Michel Cousteau a special event in Piraeus, Greece on the occasion of World Environment Day.

Activities will include:

A beach clean up at several beaches around Athens, including Piraeus - the Port of Athens, as well as an underwater clean up with hundreds of divers in several spots in Greece, including Piraeus.

UNEP World Environment Day 2004

Every year World Environment Day is celebrated around the world. We invite you, your country, your city, your town or your village to celebrate this day with us.To advertise and share the activities you are planning, please contact Ms. Elisabeth.Guilbaud-Cox

List of World events

Kritik [ ] 11:08 AM Send article

The Olympic flame encircles the earth

artzen - art culture info expo



The Olympic Torch Relay will start its tour around the globe on 4 June 2004 in Sydney. Cathy Freeman will be the first torchbearer outside Greece. For the first time, people from around the whole world will have the opportunity to participate, experience and celebrate – to touch the light.

27 May 2004 - 15 February 2005 - Destination Olympia - New exhibition in the Olympic Museum in Lausanne.

Destination Olympia, 5th Century BC, an exhibition-display where, through a combination of illusion and reconstruction, the visitor will find himself in the 5th century BC, first in Elis, the city where the athletes gathered one month before the Olympic events....The genesis of the exhibition

28 to 30 May 2004 - the Olympic Collectors' World Fair, the Olympic Museum in Lausanne.

Official website of Athens 2004

Kritik [ ] 8:02 PM Send article

Forget moblog, camblog, phoblog...Xpress-on your message

bloggzen - total immersion blogging innovation technology

Light Messaging. By waving the Nokia 3220 from side to side, the LED lights of the Nokia Xpress-on(TM) Fun Shell light up to "write" a message that appears to float in mid-air. Exchanging messages across a crowded room or at open-air concerts will never be the same.

Kritik [ ] 7:33 PM Send article

New Man Booker prize

bookzen- literary reviews

The Man Booker International Prize will recognize one writer for their achievement in fiction. Worth £60,000 to the winner, the prize will be awarded once every two years to a living author who has published fiction either originally in English or whose work is generally available in translation in the English language.

The first winner will be announced in mid 2005. The prize is sponsored by the Man Group, which also sponsors the Man Booker Prize for Fiction.

Kritik [ ] 7:13 PM Send article