Gwen Stefani's stylish sons Kingston and Zuma celebrate Easter with a family day out

With a rock star father and pop star mother, Zuma and Kingston Rossdale were always going to be trendsetting children.And despite their tender ages it seems the brothers have already learnt how to stand out from the crowd.
As they walked to a friend's house in Malibu with their parents Gavin Rossdale and Gwen Stefani yesterday, the pair wore matching Easter bunny vests over their shorts and T-shirts.

Kingston, who turns four next month, toughened up his cutesy top with a Stella McCartney for Gap military jacket, fake tattoo on his shoulder,and a straw hat.
His 18-month-old brother was equally stylish in over-the-knee striped socks, clutching a cuddly monkey.

Proud mother Gwen showed where her sons get their fashion nous - in an all-black ensemble, livened up with her favourite red lipstick.

Trend setter: Kingston Rossdale, three, shows his fashionable side in a Stella McCartney for Gap jacket and straw hat

And as the half-brothers of model Daisy Lowe, the daughter of their Bush star father, it seems fashion may be in their blood.

In an interview last month, Gwen told how her sons had completely different personalities.

'Kingston didn’t like the fans on tour [with No Doubt],' she told Access Hollywood. 'He doesn’t like having his photo taken or the paparazzi.'

Dressed to impress Gwen's sons Zuma and older brother Kingston wore Easter bunny shirts

And monkey came too: Zuma shows off his favourite accessory - his cuddly toy

Zuma is more of a show-off. He wants everyone to watch him, and he’s a goofball, and he’s really silly. He’s a funny guy.'
Husband Gavin echoed her when describing the type of toys their son enjoyed. 'A lot of little trucks... and squeaky shoes.

'Zuma likes squeaky shoes. We just took him to get a pair the other day. He likes when they go "squeak, squeak, squeak".'

Cancer fashion show models reveal event’s positive impact

IT’S been just over a month since the first ever Breast Cancer Care Fashion Show came to Wales, but the models who took part are still feeling the effects.

The 17 women and one man strutted their stuff down a catwalk in City Hall, Cardiff, in what was described by all involved as “a night to remember”.
Having raised almost £50,000 for the cause, it was a wholly worthwhile night for both the charity and the models, who said the event has had a massive impact on their lives.
Maternity care assistant Rachel Cameron admitted she was shocked by how much the show affected her.
The 37-year-old from Pontprennau, Cardiff, said: “It had only been eight months since my double mastectomy and I was dealing with a lot of issues over how I looked, but having strangers come up to me and tell me how amazing I looked really boosted my confidence, so much so my bank manager will go mad as I can’t stop buying new clothes.
“It’s made me take care of myself more and has given me a real kick up the backside.
“Everyone I know says I look so much better. Having no breasts and trying to find the right things to wear was hard before the show, but with stylist Suzanne’s help, I now wear ruffles which takes away the emphasis of my flat chest.
“If it hadn’t been for the show, I don’t know where I would be right now. It’s taught me I can look attractive and walk with pride and confidence, it really has been life-changing.”
Mum-of-four Cathy Fisher, 44, from St Mellons, Cardiff, added: “If I’m feeling a bit down I just think of the show and how I felt walking down that catwalk and it changes everything. It’s one of the most positive things I’ve ever done.
“Getting to know the other models was fantastic, we’re like family now, and the whole thing has really changed my perception of what to wear.
“Through breast cancer your confidence really goes and it takes a long time to return, but something like the show really brings it back.
“I’d compare it to childbirth it was so amazing.”
Anne Shingler from Ynysddu, Newport, felt the show came at just the right time to help her after treatment.
The 39-year-old said: “My confidence was growing but that was the icing on the cake.”
Murray Lindo, director of fundraising at Breast Cancer Care, added: “We are delighted with the success of the first ever BCC Cymru Fashion Show.
“Thank you to everyone involved who showed such kind support for the event, including our wonderful models.”

Intel hits pause button on next-gen ultra-thin notebook CPUs

Intel has chosen to hold off until at least Q3 of this year before it will unveil its next family of ultra-thin notebook processors; this due to Acer's decision to halt production on its next line-up of ultra-thin notebooks due to poor sales figures on previous ulta-thin models.

Further backing Intel's decision is a gathering of sales results on ultra-thin models from all major players in the ultra-thin notebook market worldwide. While in Taiwan and China they're shifting at a respectable rate, worldwide shows a different picture and predicted sales for 2009 of 20-30% were far from met at only 10-15% of actual sales made.

'Korea Needs Only One Representative Fashion Show'

Fashion designer Rubina

If the government is serious about globalizing Korean fashion, it should be ready to give more financial support to designers, according to top fashion designer Rubina.

``I believe the government does not support us enough. For designers to have a collection shown overseas, you need at least 100 to 150 million won ($88,600 to $133,000). So in a year, you need at least 300 million won. To do that for 10 years, you can imagine how much money the designer would need. What the government gives us in support now is very minimal compared to what is needed,'' she said in an interview with The Korea Times last week.

Rubina recently presented her fall/winter collection at Seoul Fashion Week, considered the biggest fashion event in Korea. The designer is considering presenting an international collection to generate more awareness of her brand, but admitted it is very difficult.

``If you start doing a collection abroad, you need to do it for at least 10 years. In Korea, there is no system where a sponsor helps you with your overseas collection. You have to do it yourself and you have to know the system... But I do think doing a collection overseas is the only way to let the international market know about your brand,'' she said.

Although a handful of Korean designers have presented international collections, they have yet to make a breakthrough compared to Japanese designers. In the 1980s, Issey Miyake, Takada Kenzo, Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto made a splash in the international fashion scene.

Rubina noted it was not because of lack of talent and creativity on the part of Korean designers, but because of a general lack of support. ``The Japanese designers became famous throughout the world because of support from the government and corporations. I wish that could be the case here. I hope Korean designers will eventually have the same kind of support,'' she said.

Aside from financial support, Rubina hoped the government would schedule Seoul Fashion Week a few weeks earlier to attract more international buyers. ``Aside from the fashion collections, there should be an exhibition much bigger than the one right now. It should also include materials, fabrics, textiles and accessories where buyers can look around and do some actual buying, so we can have visible results,'' she said.

Rubina is also one of the founding members and the previous chairman of the Seoul Fashion Artists Association (SFAA). The SFAA, a select group of 12 designers established 20 years ago, started Seoul Collection which was the precursor to Seoul Fashion Week.

Unlike before when there were not many fashion events in Korea, there are now several ― Seoul Fashion Week, Pret-a-Porter Busan and the Daegu Fashion Fair.

Rubina noted there should only be one representative fashion event in Korea. ``If Seoul is concentrating on fashion, then Busan should concentrate on films and Daegu with textiles. There are so many fashion events and a lot of money being invested in those cities now, but no clear results. It just becomes festivities. I think there should be just one single fashion week where the best of the best gather,'' she said.

Looking at Rubina, it's not hard to see that she was once a fashion model, with her statuesque figure and fine bone structure.

``I was a fashion model in Korea for 13 years. After years of modeling, I discovered I had a talent for designing clothing. Fashion models have an age limit ― if you reach a certain age, you can't model anymore. But designing, if you can do it, you can do it as long as you want if you're healthy. So when I found out I had this talent, I decided to become a designer,'' she said.

A designer for 30 years, Rubina has carefully cultivated her brand of utterly feminine, luxury clothing for women. ``I design for very urban, cosmopolitan woman, someone very modern and feminine,'' she said.

This was very much evident in her recently unveiled fall/winter collection, which revolved around the theme ``transtriangle.'' The runway was filled with beautifully cut coats, dresses and pants in gray, black, brown with a splash of pinkish red.

Backed by her decades of experience in the fashion industry, Rubina offered some advice for young designers. ``Designing is a very difficult job. The more effort you put in, the better results you gain... There's always something new, so I always experiment and brainstorm every day of the year. Designing is not just drawing. You also need a sense of art, knowledge about the world economy, a broad perspective and a lot of experience. But most of all, always do the best you can do,'' she said.

HTC Desire vs HTC Legend vs Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 vs Google Nexus One vs HTC Tattoo – CAMERA

The camera on your Android phone is all-important factor. We’re not just looking at the megapixel count, but also the cameras zooming skills, as well as how easy it is to share your snaps and get them online in quick sharp fashion. Chances are you won’t be carrying a compact all the time as well as your phone, so the snapper needs to be up to the task…
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10
At 8.1 megapixels, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 has the biggest sensor of any of the Android phones on test. Being a Sony Ericsson phone it comes with compact-like features, including infinity focus, macro, face-detection and multiple autofocus. It has nine scene functions, auto scene adjustment and smile detection too.
Unsurprisingly, it takes beautiful, crisp, well-defined shots in good light. Sharing is easy too. Choose the pic from your camera roll at the bottom of the screen, pick the messaging icon and it’ll offer you the chance to upload immediately to Picasa and Facebook as well as emailing or Bluetoothing it to other devices.

HTC Desire
The snapper on the HTC Desire is pared back to 5 megapixels, but doesn’t come with the same high-end functionality as the X10. The filters, including sepia, polarise and grayscale are fine for social networking snaps, but not much else. The brightness adjustment dials, along with contrast, saturation and sharpness, mean you can create more individual shots though. Images look incredibly clean and sharp on the 3.7-inch screen, but that single LED light makes for grainy nighttime efforts. Uploading shots is done via the gallery, accessible in the bottom right hand corner, with swift, one button delivery to Facebook and Flickr.
Google Nexus One
The Google Nexus One’s camera has the same colour effects as those available on the Desire, as well as the same 5 megapixel sensor and LED light. It all means there’s very little to choose from between the two. Shots appear clean and clear in daylight, but again struggle to live up to expectations in low light.
Sharing is somewhat easier though: just choose your shot from the gallery icon, hit the ‘Share’ button and you’ll be able to drop it straight into Picasa or Facebook.
HTC Legend
The 5 megapixel snapper on the HTC Legend is nigh-on identical to that on its older brother, the HTC Desire. That means identical brightness and saturation controls, as well as the same uploading options. The pics are the same as well, although obviously the slightly smaller 3.2inch screen means you don’t get quite as much detail as you would on the Desire’s 3.7-inch effort.
HTC Tattoo
The budget option, the HTC Tattoo only has a 3.2 megapixel camera, but it’s more than ample considering how cheap this phone is. You can tweak the quality of pics via the menu button, letting you geotag and add Grayscale or Sepia effects. The pictures it takes are pretty average and can’t compare to the other phones on test, but as a budget phone, you’ll struggle to find one with as good a camera as this.
Verdict
The HTC Desire and Legend and Google Nexus One all have comparable, classy phone. And the Tattoo’s effort, while basic, is still good for the price. But the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is head and shoulders above the rest. It can be manipulated better and acts like a proper compact, taking stunning and very sharp pictures every time, no matter the conditions.
Winner: Sony Erisson Xperia X10

Exclusive New Games for iPad

The iPad's larger screen real estate contains some of the greatest promise for admirers of tower defense games, and iPhone and iPod Touch top-seller Plants vs. Zombies from PopCap can be one of the finest examples.
The iPad version of the title, called Plants vs. Zombies HD, was revealed last week together with a line of other iPad games through Apple's iTunes Web interface for apps. At $9.99, it costs over three times its younger sibling.
The iPad-optimized edition, however, brings the game roughly at par with the versions found on PC and Mac computers that charge twice as much.
iPad users also get a new and unique mini-game mode called "buttered popcorn" that makes use of the iPad's multitouch display.
Players hit the zombies by first "buttering" them up before firing corn-cob guns at them. To overcome the increasing masses of zombies, players can touch them to put butter on their heads. With the help of multitouch user interface, players can pick up around 11 zombies at a time, aimed for 'buttering' by the powerful cob cannons.
According to PopCap, it has sold 650,000 copies of the title for the iPhone and iPod. Customers who have already paid for that version will, still be able to play it on the iPad, but will be required to purchase a copy of the HD version if they want to avail all the new features and added screenreal estate.

IPad Likely Beat Estimates, Signaling Tablet Revival

Apple Inc. probably sold more than twice as many iPads in its debut weekend as some analysts estimated, an early sign that Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs may succeed at reviving demand for tablet-style computers.

The iPad’s initial sales may have reached 700,000 units, Piper Jaffray & Co.’s Gene Munster said in an interview yesterday. The Minneapolis-based analyst had predicted sales of 200,000 to 300,000, while Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.’s Toni Sacconaghi had projected 300,000 to 400,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Mark Moskowitz estimated 825,000 in the quarter to June.

The device went on sale April 3, drawing crowds to stores across the U.S. and rivaling the frenzy seen when the iPhone was introduced in 2007. Lines at five stores surveyed by Piper Jaffray were longer than expected, yet Apple had iPads available late in the opening day, signaling the company was able to produce enough devices to fulfill initial demand, Munster said.

“Sales held relatively steady during the day,” said Munster, who bought a $499, 16-gigabyte model for himself. “I have high expectations.”

The iPad is Apple’s bid to turn tablet computers into popular consumer devices, something rivals such as Microsoft Corp. have failed to do. The product builds on the success of Apple’s iPhone and iPod, staking out the middle ground between smartphones and laptop computers. Apple is betting the design is enticing enough that consumers are willing to pay a premium over low-cost notebooks. It starts at $499.

‘Unique, Sexier’

“It’s ridiculously expensive, way overpriced,” said Josh Klenert, a 36-year-old graphic designer, who still went ahead and bought one. “You may call it a dumb computer or a smart telephone --it’s in between. It’s a unique, sexier device.”

Klenert, whose one-bedroom apartment in Tribeca has “more Macs than people,” pre-ordered the iPad as soon as it was available and came down to Apple’s SoHo store in New York to be one of the first to buy it. He plans to use it for reading newspapers and magazines.

Hundreds of shoppers lined up to wait for stores to open, though crowds didn’t camp out for days this time, as they did when the iPhone debuted. Many of the buyers identified themselves as early adopters and Apple enthusiasts, making it harder to tell if the iPad will win over mainstream customers.

“I love it,” said Jacob Arentoft, a 37-year-old digital business developer from Copenhagen. After exiting Apple’s Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan, he unpacked the brand-new silver gadget and waved it at the crowd. “The size fits, the design fits, everything fits.”

Positive Reviews

Jobs made an opening-day appearance at his hometown store in Palo Alto, California, chatting with shoppers. Apple retail chief Ron Johnson was at the Fifth Avenue store and addressed employees before it opened.

Users can surf the Internet, peruse digital books, watch video and play games on the iPad. What it lacks is a built-in camera or support for Adobe Systems Inc.’s Flash software, which runs much of the video on the Web. The device also doesn’t let users carry out multiple tasks at once.

The iPad’s first wave of reviews praised its ability to deliver digital books and video quickly, saying it measures up well against other devices, including Amazon.com Inc.’s Kindle e-book reader. Bloomberg columnist Rich Jaroslovsky said it may change the way people relate to computers, requiring users to learn a “new language” that Apple has made “both elegant and very easy to master.” USA Today’s Edward Baig called the iPad “fun, simple, stunning to look at and blazingly fast.”

TV Shows

Tablets have been available in one form or another since the 1990s, without ever catching on. They account for less than 1 percent of the personal-computer market, according to research firm Gartner Inc.

The iPad’s success will depend partly on the attractiveness of applications that run on it. CBS Corp., the most-watched U.S. TV network, announced plans last week to offer episodes of shows such as “Survivor” and “CSI” on the iPad. Walt Disney Co. will release iPad applications for ABC shows and ESPN games. And Netflix Inc., the movie-rental company, will let subscribers watch programming streamed to the iPad.

Apple, which has more than doubled in the past year, rose 97 cents to close at a record $235.97 April 1 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. U.S. markets were closed April 2 for the Good Friday holiday.

Like the iPhone, the iPad will test Apple’s ability to conquer new markets. Since returning to the company in 1997, Jobs revived the Macintosh computer business, reshaped digital music with the iPod and pushed Apple into the mobile-phone field. Adding those products propelled revenue and profit to record levels.

Sales Estimates

When the iPhone debuted, Apple struggled to keep it in stock. Most of its stores quickly sold out, and resellers on EBay and Craigslist hawked the device to desperate shoppers for as much as $12,000. Apple sold about 270,000 iPhones in its 2007 debut weekend.

Apple may sell about 5 million iPads in the first 12 months, compared with 6.1 million iPhones in its first year on the market, according to Sacconaghi. JPMorgan’s Moskowitz forecast annual sales will reach 4.8 million, the San Francisco-based analyst wrote in a report today. Researcher ISuppli Corp. says full-year sales may reach 7.1 million globally.

Apple declined to comment, said Natalie Kerris, a spokeswoman for the Cupertino, California-based company.

At the outset, iPads will connect to the Web through localized hot spots that use Wi-Fi technology. Some shoppers may wait for a version with 3G, which lets the iPad connect to mobile-phone networks. It’s due later this month.

Luis Martinez, a 30-year-old from Brooklyn who repairs computers, bought a Wi-Fi iPad on April 3 and already put in an order for the 3G version.

“People who criticize iPad are basically saying it doesn’t fit their lifestyle. It fits mine,” Martinez said. “Overall, I’m sold.”

--With assistance from Amy Thomson in Southern Pines, North Carolina; Mina Kawai, Arik Hesseldahl and Joe Sabo in New York; Katie Hoffmann in St. Louis; Dan Hart in Washington, Harriet Mankoff in Palo Alto, California; Marc Perrier in San Francisco; and Pavel Alpeyev in Tokyo. Editors: Nick Turner, Ville Heiskanen

How to hang your art

Where to hang art: The standard rule is midway on a wall, usually 58-62 inches from the floor.

Let a large piece stand alone and be the focal point in a room.

Reframing can change the way a piece looks.

When hanging several pieces across a wall, like what is seen at an art gallery, keep the top of the frames at the same height to let the eye easily follow the line.

Track lighting is one of the best ways to highlight a work of art.

Oils will stand up better to strong light than watercolors.

Put artwork in unexpected places, such as the powder room, where it can have immediate impact.

Simple changes can spice up a room: Move a piece of art from over the fireplace, for example, and into the master bedroom.

Buy what you love.

-- Interior designer Sara Osthoff and Libby Reuter, curator of the Schmidt Art Center at Southwestern Illinois College

More tips for framed art

Linden Laurent, a senior designer at Betty Johnson Interiors in Milwaukee, recommends a simple test when you're deciding where to hang your art once it's framed:

Take a large sheet of kraft paper, or even an old bedsheet, and lay it flat on the floor. Map out the wall's design, using the actual pieces of art as your guide. Then hang the sheet on the wall. If you're not happy with the look, continue shifting pieces on your "mock-up" wall until you are.

Use different sizes and shapes in a grouping, so that the finished design doesn't look "cookie cutter."

To make a smaller space seem larger, hang an oversize piece rather than small decorative arts. "You can actually only see so much at one time," she says.

A common mistake is to hang the art so high that you need to step on a stool to see it best. "If it's a walk-through area, hang it at eye level," Laurent says. For art that will hang near a sofa or side chair, lower it so that it's at eye level when you're sitting down.

Cover Match Album Art Memory Game Available for Apple iPad

Williamsburg, VA, April 05, 2010 --(PR.com)-- Hunter Research and Technology announces the availability of Cover Match 1.1 in the iTunes App Store. Cover Match is a mesmerizing match game that uses album art from a user’s music library. The game was featured in the “New and Noteworthy” section on iTunes after its introduction in November 2009, and became a top selling game in the music category.

Previously available for the iPhone and iPod Touch, Cover Match 1.1 has been redesigned into a universal application that also runs on the new Apple iPad. A custom iPad layout takes advantage of the device’s larger, high resolution screen, and can be used in any orientation, landscape or portrait. “Using album cover art as the basis for a match game results in a rich visual experience and makes for very compelling game play” says Todd Hunter, Cover Match co-developer. “On the iPad’s beautiful new display, the level of detail and fidelity is totally stunning, and the rendering performance is outstanding.”
Pricing and Availability:
Cover Match works on any iPhone or iPod touch running iPhone OS 3.1.3 or later, and iPads running OS 3.2 or later. The game is available for $1.99 (USD) on the iTunes App Store. Customers who purchase Cover Match can run the single universal app on all of their iPhone OS devices. Existing Cover Match 1.0 owners can upgrade to version 1.1 at no cost.

More information, including screenshots, is available on the Hunter Research and Technology website.

Media professionals interested in reviewing Cover Match can request a promotional code to download the app from iTunes at no cost.

Hunter Research and Technology is run by Dr. Craig Hunter, a practicing engineer with over 18 years experience in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, and software development. Craig received the 2004 NASA Software of the Year Award and a 2004 Apple Design Award (Best Scientific Computing Solution on Mac OS X) for his work in software development. Craig founded Hunter Research and Technology in 2008 to create innovative, relevant, and compelling apps that take advantage of the advanced hardware and software capabilities of iPhone OS devices. The company currently has eleven apps available on the iTunes App Store, with more in development.

Furniture as art

UNIQUE: Artistic furniture maker Yamidé stands with a lamp she created and which was featured at a recent exhibition at the Horizons Art Gallery, Mucurapo Road, St James. An artist and furniture maker working out of Les Coteaux, Tobago, Yamidé creates unique and very artistic furniture-end tables, lamp chairs and more using-wood, steel, glass and other items. Some of her new creations were featured in a recent exhibition at the Horizons Art Gallery, Mucurapo Road, St James, where visitors were awed by the pieces on show. Born Lisa Marsh in Kingston, Jamaica, Yamidé (yah-mi-dey) migrated to Los Angeles when she was 16 years old and studied journalism at Santa Monica College. She also developed an interest in fashion and established a clothing line for girls known as the Elizabeth March Line. Yamidé then moved to New York, where she met her first husband, a Trinidadian, with whom she came to live in Trinidad in 1988. The mother of four, three girls and a boy, Yamidé in 1994 moved to Tobago with her second husband where her interest in art and nature began to develop even further. Initially she created her artistic furniture as a hobby and to be given to friends as gifts. As more people saw her creations and requested that she make pieces for them, Yamidé began to do commissioned pieces. Yamidé has been featured at two exhibitions at Horizons thus far and she told the Express, since then, people from Trinidad have been approaching her to make pieces for them. At this time, she explained, she has no plans of expanding and working towards exporting to other countries because, as it is, the commissioned works and her own pieces created under inspiration keep her very busy. ’Since the two exhibitions things have moved from just commissioned work to a broader market in Trinidad. I don’t know if I am looking to go into exporting because the studio is small and I am very busy as it is. I do not want what I do to take over my life. I may consider exporting to Jamaica, though, because, as you would expect, Jamaica is close to my heart and I believe there will be a market for me there,’ Yamidé said. She is inspired by nature and she loves to work with wood, which she finds at sawmills, lumber yards and along the way. She explained that she does not like reshaping the wood too much and tries to work it into what she is creating. The natural shape of the wood will dictate whether the piece will be a chair or a table. ’I have always been intrigued by nature and how it creates itself. I love wood and I let it lead me as I decide what I will set out to create with it. My pieces must be durable and useful as well as stylish. When I am doing pieces for exhibition, I keep them affordable and at a size that is easily transported because, remember, I am coming over from Tobago. With the commissioned pieces, I work according to what the client wants.’

Splash-Ink Painting Master: Shen Yun Is the Art of Arts

Cai Xuezhen, a renowned painter, watched the second show of the New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts in Tainan, together with her husband Principal Lin Caiyuan. (Su Yufen/The Epoch Times)


TAINAN, Taiwan—Cai Xuezhen, a renowned painter who fuses Western and Eastern painting skills to create “Cai Splash-ink Painting,” watched the second show of the New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts in Tainan, together with her husband Principal Lin Caiyuan. She was so moved that she felt like shedding tears. Unable to describe her feelings in words, she could only say, “Shen Yun is art! The art of arts! It symbolizes art!”

With passion for art, Cai Xuezhen had attended numerous international performances. She reiterated, “Shen Yun is art! The art of arts! It symbolizes art! True! You will be so moved that you feel like shedding tears. It’s beyond description. Look at the plentiful young and innocent dancers. So innocent and so peaceful! Their dancing movements are extensive, but you will not consider them exaggerating. Instead, you feel inner peace, feeling that the world is beautiful.”

“It’s so strange! When I watched a show before, I had neither deep feelings nor reflections. But today when I look at the dancers and their beautiful movements, I really feel touched. My husband and I had our hands tightly joined, unable to express how much we were moved.” Cai Xuezhen thought that the Shen Yun dancers must have possessed profundity; they were never ordinary ones.

Cai Xuezhen, who had made frequent visits to China, particularly mentioned the programs Nothing Can Block the Divine Path, and Astounding Conviction. “It really happens this way. Much of what happens around me is exactly like the plot. You can be arrested or even imprisoned for no particular reason. Therefore, this world needs someone to come out and do something to pacify worried crowds, just as what Shen Yun on tour is doing.”

Cai Xuezhen felt thankful to her friends for highly recommending Shen Yun to her. Without their recommendation, she would have missed such a beautiful experience.

At an early age, Cai Xuezhen learned oil painting and splash-ink painting from her mother. Absorbing the essence of painting masters, she applied splash-ink to traditional Chinese painting as well as to oil painting. Meanwhile, she infused colors of Western painting into traditional Chinese painting to make her painting vivid, brilliant and full of life. Her exhibitions always win praise from celebrity guests.

What’s True in Art Studios and Onstage

Left, APIC/Getty Images; Sara Krulwich

Mark Rothko, left, the painter who is the subject of John Logan’s play “Red,” right, starring Alfred Molina
Painful experience has taught me to approach movies or plays about artists and their art with low expectations. For someone like me — an art critic for longer than she cares to recall who before that held various small-time jobs around the art world — these dramatic forays into the studio tend to fall gratingly wide of the mark.
“Red,” John Logan’s two-actor, one-act play about Mark Rothko that has just arrived on Broadway from London, promised to be the exception. Then it didn’t. Then it was.
The first glimmer of promise was the sight of the carefully detailed set, depicting Rothko’s studio in 1958. There’s no curtain; the studio is on view when the audience enters. Just seeing that gloomy, gritty space — the slop sink, the grimy windows, the phonograph and records, the coffee cans full of paintbrushes, the overloaded rolling work table — brought back the essential thrill of visiting an artist’s studio, something I did frequently when I was younger.
And there in the middle of it all, as the audience filed in, was Alfred Molina, who plays Rothko, sitting in a big wooden lawn chair in his studio with his back to the audience, studying one of his paintings. This little theatrical appetizer makes touchingly real the notion that artistic originality requires a great deal of thought, scrutiny, silence and isolation. An artist makes a painting and then scrutinizes it closely for flaws and weaknesses, tearing it apart mentally, thinking about whether it is finished and how to make it, or the next canvas, better.
Then the play actually started, and I spent a while wishing my seat had an ejection lever.
The artist rises from the chair, lights a cigarette and looks at the painting up close, running a hand across the surface. Suddenly a young man named Ken walks purposefully into the studio; he’s come for a job interview. Without turning, Rothko raises his hand traffic-cop style, then waves his visitor in with the words “What do you see?” Cringe.
“Let it pulsate. Let it work on you,” Rothko continues. “Now what do you see? Be sensitive.” Double cringe. I wanted out. There was too much talking — it seemed loud even for theater — and it was too obvious and moving much too fast for an artist’s studio.
Within a few minutes the central plot of the play had been set: Rothko has just accepted a commission to paint murals for the swank Four Seasons restaurant that will open soon in Mies van der Rohe’s Seagram Building on Park Avenue. He needs an assistant’s help, and Ken, a painter himself, is hoping to pass muster. But this doesn’t stop him from quickly voicing his doubt about Rothko’s conviction that a restaurant lined with his canvases will feel like a chapel. It’s the first of many instances of often adversarial dialogue that also struck me as off, out of keeping with the subdued energy of a studio and the deference you’d expect in this relationship, especially as it begins.
I didn’t quite realize it at the time, but I think I was disturbed by the noise, speed and off notes in “Red” because they clashed so violently with my memories of the studio visits I experienced in the two decades after the action of the play. Those ritualistic experiences of looking, talking, looking again and talking some more were in some way essential to who I became and how I see art. They may even have been the most important part of my art education, as close as I ever got to graduate school. And for the most part they were quiet, slow, often awkward experiences, during which I started to learn the relationship between seeing and articulating what I saw, and the basic fact that art takes time.
Also, corny as it may sound, as a young Kansan new to New York, I was always struck by the possibilities of self-invention and the autonomy and individual will that a studio represented, almost regardless of the quality of the art I encountered there. The basic message — especially powerful to a daughter and granddaughter of academics — was that you can do anything you want to; you certainly don’t need a degree or tenure. An artist made this place called a studio and then used it to make this thing called art that no one knew was missing or needed until it existed. (“We are making it out of ourselves,” to quote Rothko’s contemporary Barnett Newman.)
“Red” necessarily speeds up time, compressing several months, if not years, of artist-assistant exchanges into 90 minutes of almost nonstop debate, and sometimes heated argument, about aesthetics, literature and the Oedipal kill-the-king dynamic of artistic progression. Much of what gets said is true to Rothko’s ever-shifting worldview, judging from James E. B. Breslin’s exhaustively researched 1993 biography. But it was Rothko himself who said, as he says in the play, “Silence is so accurate.”
And while some of the repartee in “Red” was fun to listen to — and fun to hear a large non-art-world audience listen to — the studio, not the play, was the thing for me. “Red” righted itself for me whenever the actors stopped talking and turned to the business of moving the big (surprisingly convincing) “Rothkos” around, preparing stretchers and canvases, mixing colors. That’s when Mark Rothko seemed closest at hand and the magic of theater most amazing. The wordless choreography of the wheeling, turning canvases brought back the ephemeral intimacy of one artist’s inner sanctum 50 years on, verifying the often profound accuracy of silence.

Defining art: Poor Erykah Badu

Re: "Naked truth: Badu's latest video is more PR than art," by James Ragland, Wednesday Metro column.
Poor Erykah Badu. Rapidly approaching 40 in a youth-oriented, ever-changing industry, she tries to remain relevant by doing what countless women before her have done: she takes off her clothes and calls it art. Spare me the drama.
Then she has the audacity to link the assassination of President John F. Kennedy to the alleged assassination of her personal character -- another exploit that's as tasteless as it is disgusting. Not too many people in the public arena care about her character or that of any other egomaniacal pop diva.
Unfortunately, she's acquired exactly what she wanted -- notoriety. Too bad she doesn't have the talent to match.

                                                                                                            Alejandro De La Garza, Plano
Bare Badu The creepy flasher who hangs around your kid's elementary school? The drunk urinating in your front yard? Artists! Who knew?

    Ernest R. Thomas, Grapevine

Try it at MLK site
I would be curious to ask Erykah Badu to take her message a step further and liberate herself at the site of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. -- and balance the need to appear nude at the memorial of another great man who encouraged black people to be free and live for themselves. This would be a true testament to her growth and freedoms.

Roberto Armendarez, Dallas

A guessing game ...
Re: "Bombs? Blooms? Artwork invites guesses -- An architect and a ceramist join forces for an installation that's a natural for the Nasher," Monday news story.
If I have to guess what art is, it becomes a puzzle -- not art.

Catie Morgan, Irving

... with unclear vision
Fifty years ago, a humanities professor told our class that "most of today's art is pure crap!" That comment still applies.
If art is in the eye of the beholder, it needs glasses.

As part of an effort to increase the impact of its giving, the Ford Foundation is to announce a plan on Monday to dedicate $100 million to the development of arts spaces nationwide over the next decade. The plan is by far the largest commitment the foundation has ever made to the construction, maintenance and enhancement of arts facilities.
 

Luis A. Ubiñas took over as president of the Ford Foundation in 2008

The plan, called the Supporting Diverse Art Spaces Initiative, is one of several large financing projects that have resulted from a strategic overhaul of the foundation’s operations since its president, Luis A. Ubiñas, took over in 2008. He has moved the foundation in the direction of bundling its hundreds of millions of dollars in grants — which have traditionally varied widely in their focus — into large programs oriented toward specific issues. Other recent commitments include $80 million to bolster public programs for the unemployed and underpaid, $100 million for secondary education in seven cities and $50 million to help cities buy foreclosed properties.

In addition to helping arts groups build new spaces and renovate and expand old ones, the latest initiative aims to encourage the construction of affordable housing for artists in or around some of these spaces and to spur economic development in their surrounding areas. Mr. Ubiñas said that during his travels around the country he had been astonished when he would visit an arts organization and find that “all around it have developed whole neighborhoods — of artists and their families, of businesses that cater to them, of diverse people who want to live in a thriving community.”

He offered the example of the Boston Center for the Arts, organized in 1970 to provide artists with affordable studios while injecting life into the run-down South End neighborhood. “Then the Boston Ballet was added,” Mr. Ubiñas, “and performance space for other kinds of arts organizations, and what was a struggling neighborhood characterized by housing projects is a bustling community.”

This notion of the economic benefits of the arts has become increasingly popular lately among arts financers and administrators, who are keenly aware that in times of economic paucity spending on the arts is sometimes seen as frivolous. Rocco Landesman, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, has been on the road frequently in recent months for a project that involves collecting information and anecdotes to help make the case to Congress and the public that the arts pay. (“Art Works” is the official slogan of the endowment’s project.)

“From the foot traffic of people coming to studios and rehearsals to the influx of people looking for a place to eat or drink after an art opening or before a show,” Mr. Landesman said in an e-mail message, “these buildings attract new people and often expendable income to neighborhoods.”

Even before its announcement the Ford Foundation had awarded a first grant under the initiative to a Minneapolis nonprofit group that builds mixed-use developments centered on moderately priced housing for artists. That group, Artspace Projects, has received more than $1 million toward, among other things, transforming an abandoned public school in East Harlem into such a development, in partnership with El Barrio’s Operation Fightback, a New York community organization.

The project is to include 72 units of housing for artists and their families and a large space that can be used for art exhibitions, cultural events, conferences and gatherings of community groups.

The initiative is also intended to help arts organizations improve or develop the management skills needed to maintain their spaces and, ideally, to turn them into revenue generators. Some of the money has been allocated for a series of seminars on marketing, planning, fund-raising and other topics related to sustaining arts centers. The seminars will be presented over two years by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.

“Physical structure is not sufficient to keep an arts organization alive,” said Michael M. Kaiser, president of the Kennedy Center and an expert on turning around troubled arts institutions. Mr. Kaiser has been on a 50-state tour of the United States, offering free seminars on financial management to arts groups coping with the economic crisis.

“Many organizations put up buildings without thinking about how they will pay for all those not-very-glamorous costs like lighting and air-conditioning,” he said.

Grant applications seeking money to explore and plan for construction and development will be solicited in a request-for-proposal process to be managed by Leveraging Investments in Creativity, known as LINC, an organization that works to find living and work spaces for artists, among other things, and that keeps a database of arts centers. Members of the Ford Foundation’s staff will vet proposals along with a panel of experts in economic development and urban design and planning, and award grants of up to $100,000.

Judilee Reed, executive director of LINC, said the foundation’s initiative is particularly well timed.

“I think people are beginning to understand that spaces for artists and art are more than just buildings, structures,” she said. “The way these spaces animate their communities and the relationships they have to their communities is ripe for development.”

Khaas Art Gallery and Café ... food for body and soul

ISLAMABAD: Khaas Art Gallery and Café has a vital presence in federal capital’s socio-cultural arena. Lying at the feet of Margalla Hills in Sector F-6, the gallery offers something a little different than just expensive art pieces, discourse and intellectual development. It creates a whole experience that appeals to one’s mind, body and soul.

Since its inception in 2001, the Khaas Art Gallery and Café has been the venue for local and foreigner foodies, who enjoy its inviting ambience, eclectic menu, and enticing brewed coffees, fresh juices and crispy cookies with a cup of tea in lunch.

The gallery-cum-café houses works of local artists and provides a peaceful environment where one can admire local art, relax, enjoy light jazz in the background and rejuvenate with a cozy cup of tea. The decor has been done very tastefully and the subdued warm tones just add to the overall aesthetic experience. As if that wasn’t enough, they have a small bookshelf in a corner where they have stored various books and magazines on Pakistani art, history and culture. Plus, the service is really friendly and they go the extra mile to make sure it’s worth your while. Besides this one could see handicrafts, erotic paintings, antique tableware and symbols of the world religions.

It is indeed a forum for visual artists, poets, writers, designers, architects, and heritage conservation professionals, Zishan Afzal Khan, the curator and director of Khaas Gallery said while talking to Daily Times. “The Café offers light lunch and tea and runs during the gallery timings from morning till evening. It has a gallery displaying contemporary artworks and vernacular crafts. The café offers a conservation workshop space, where a group of dedicated heritage professionals, interns, students and art lovers work in the areas of preservation, conservation and documentation of the rich cultural Heritage of Pakistan,” said Khan adding Khaas gallery is perhaps the only art gallery in the capital that promotes contemporary art and artists and a non-commercial gallery.

Khan, herself an art collector, said 70 percent of amount charged for selling off works displayed in the gallery during a routine exhibition goes to the artist, while 30 percent is reserved for the gallery.

The recently inaugurated ‘Kuch Khaas - The Centre for Arts and Culture’ is an extension of Khaas Art Gallery that is a brainchild of Zishan Afzal Khan’s sister Shayan Afzal Khan.

‘Kuch Khaas’, the Centre for Arts and Culture is a community space for dialogue, public discourse, cultural and intellectual pursuits and civic engagement and is set up inside Khaas gallery as a non -profit social enterprise that seeks to combine the urge for contributing to societal development with the ability to sustain itself through the adoption of efficient and effective business practices,” Sahyan Afzal Khan told Daily Times.

Talking about the mission of Kuch Khaas, Shayan said our mission is to spearhead social change and empowerment through the encouragement of artistic, cultural and intellectual pursuits in Pakistan’s emergent civil society. “Our key goals in the pursuit of this mission are of providing a platform for dialogue, discourse, creative expression, intellectual development and social intervention, developing social awareness and civic involvement in Islamabad’s urban civil society and actively pursuing the development of a vibrant community of conscientious concerned and involved citizens of capital,” khan said.

She said Kuch Khaas’s vision and aim is of a community of citizens who will lead Pakistan towards the fulfillment of our aspirations for our country, our society and our people. “Our aspiration is of a society that is enlightened, progressive, just, and healthy with the aim of a Pakistan free from hunger, poverty, exploitation, discrimination, and environmental degradation and to target citizens who are proud to belong to their country, motivated to work for its advancement, and happy to be of help to each other,” she explained.

Khan said as enthusiasts of art, music, books, poetry, philosophy, thinking, ethical precepts, human rights and democracy, the Kuch Khaas team felt that we needed to do more than just talk about the Pakistan we want. “Kuch Khaas is currently totally privately funded, through personal donations. Over time, once we have proven our value and established our credentials, we will be asking for donations from our community of users. But, for the time being, Kuch Khaas is a self-funded philanthropic venture,” she said.

Bennett’s new play to be broadcast live from the stage

ALAN BENNETT’S highly-acclaimed new play, The Habit Of Art, will be broadcast live from the National Theatre to cinemas in Wales this month.
Directed by Nicholas Hytner, The Habit Of Art is the final play in the pilot season of NT Live, which sees the company’s productions screened at cinemas across the UK. It follows successful broadcasts of Phèdre, All’s Well That Ends Well and Nation.
The Habit Of Art is as much about the theatre as it is about poetry or music. It looks at the unsettling desires of two difficult men – Benjamin Britten and WH Auden – and at the ethics of biography. It reflects on growing old, on creativity and inspiration, and on persisting when all passion’s spent.
Britten, sailing uncomfortably close to the wind with his new opera, Death in Venice, seeks advice from his former collaborator and friend, WH Auden.
During this imagined meeting, their first for 25 years, they are observed and interrupted by, among others, their future biographer and a young man from the local bus station.
The cast is led by Richard Griffiths as WH Auden, Alex Jennings as Benjamin Britten, Adrian Scarborough as Humphrey Carpenter and Frances de la Tour as Kay, the stage manager.
The Habit Of Art is Bennett’s fifth play for the National Theatre.
His last play, The History Boys, opened at the Lyttelton in 2004, toured nationally and internationally, played in the West End and on Broadway, and was adapted for the screen. Among its many awards were the Laurence Olivier, Tony and Critics Circle Awards for Best Play, and the South Bank Show Award for Theatre.
NT Live performances are filmed live at the National Theatre in high definition and broadcast via satellite to more than 80 UK cinemas, reaching a widespread audience from Guernsey to Aberdeen.
More than 250 cinemas abroad, including venues in the USA, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Scandinavia and Europe, will also screen the performance, live in Europe and time-delayed in countries further afield.
The Habit of Art will be screened on April 22 at Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Cineworld in Cardiff, Theatr Mwldan in Cardigan, Cineworld in Llandudno, Torch Theatre in Milford Haven, Blake Theatre in Monmouth, Cineworld in Newport and The Scala in Prestatyn.

Artist Mike 'Chizzy' Chisholm donates a painting to Thurston Elementary School

Artist Mike "Chizzy" Chisholm gifted a painting to Thurston Elementary to inspire children to follow their dreams.

The media room was quiet and I was alone with the paintings displayed in a neat array around the book shelves. I'm a philistine when it comes to contemporary art, so I cannot give you the astute artistic account of the work and its meaning. But, what I can tell you, is that the pictures were really cool!

Artist Mike "Chizzy" Chisholm came to Thurston Elementary School on Thursday, April 1 to speak with the children about his art and to donate one of his paintings to the school. 

"The impression left on him in the Thurston school and art room was so significant, he was inspired to give back," said Sarah Altman, Thurston's Art teacher and an inspired organizer of this event.

Chisholm walked into the room surrounded by the halo of unruly curly hair and wearing a collage jacket in hues of pink and sky blue. It had rhinestones on the pocket seams and the word "love" - one of his life's mottos - was patched on the back. He made the jacket himself, and glued each sparkly bit on by hand. 

He was an instant hit with the children. They were full of questions! It seems children have a natural understanding of expressionism. They saw the flowers and palm trees in the bright and busy collages, they loved the colors. Maybe it's because the paintings look like child's imagination captured on paper, a true self expression of child-like wonder?

Chisholm talked about self expression at length. His fascinating life journey and his unique view of the world was unconventional and fascinating. He is a founder of Chizzy's Charities Artist Network (CCAN) - a non profit organization that brought more 150 artists together to work closely with groups such as Ronald McDonald House Charities, Henry Ford Hospice (Sandcastles family Grief Support), and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Michigan. Both Chisholm and the Artist Network donate no less than 20 percent of their proceeds to these and other charities.
I don't particularly expect the elementary school students to be pragmatic. Therefore, my favorite question asked by students was, "If you give so many of your paintings away, how do you make any money?"
Chisholm told a story about a friend of his who was battling cancer. To cheer her up, he made a painting which he gave to her, while she was recovering in the hospital. The painting's sparkly swirls would cheer her up during the day, and at night would glow, to remind her of the big sky outside. "Sometimes," Chisholm said, "there is no value you can place on a painting. I just wanted to make my friend happy!"
I couldn't think of a better way to explain the concept of "priceless."
It made me wonder if we are really teaching our children the right values, if when faced with the prospect of following their dreams, they ask the question of, "will it be enough money to bother with?" That was my favorite part of the conversation. After all, I am following my dreams of being a writer at the age of 34.
When I came to Michigan from Ukraine, I was 17. An aspiring poet and writer, I was just starting to get noticed and recognized, when the political climate of my home country had forced my family to move overseas. When I came to the United States, I barely spoke English. Now I feel like I am 17 again, just 17 in a new country with a new life and new aspirations. Somehow, at this 17-again stage, happiness and fulfillment are the things I value the most.
I loved meeting with Chisholm. He is a fascinating person, full of energy and desire to give to his community and, I think, he made a big impact on our children. His gift painting - Mrs. Dalgreen's Time Machine - is dedicated to his elementary school teacher, who was the first artistic influence in his life. This painting was a reflection of how he felt when he was a young child in her classroom. It will be available for viewing in the Thurston Elementary School (location TBD) after the spring break.

17th Young Artists' Art Exhibition 2010 begins

Riveting images at Shilpakala Photo: Mumit M.Staff Correspondent

A fortnight-long art exhibition, featuring works of young artists from across the country began at the National Art Gallery, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on April 2. The exhibition features 177 artworks of 156 artists in different mediums -- painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, graphics, and installation.. Information Minister Abul Kalam Azad inaugurated the exhibition.
Organised by the Department of Fine Arts, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA), the exhibition will continue till April 19.
Eight artists received awards for their noteworthy works. Kamaluddin, a student of the Department of Paintings, Faculty of Fine Arts, DU won the 'Young Artists Award 10' for his work “In Front of Self-1”. Biswajit Goswami, Syed Tareq Rahman and Abu Naser Robii received best awards in Paintings, Sculpture and Printmaking respectively for their artworks “Quest for Soul-4”, “Matsyasana” and “Searching for Missed Mystery of Happyness-5”.
Yasmin Jahan Nupur, Sagor Chakroborty, Afsana Sharmin and Ruhul Karim Rumee received Honourable Mention awards.
The awards were handed over through a ceremony at the Plaza of National Art Gallery before the inaugural of the exhibition. Chief guest Abul Kalam Azad handed over the awards to the winners. The Young Artists Award carries an awad Taka 50,000 and the other three awards in three mediums carry Taka 30,000 each.
From the beginning the young artists have been encouraged with awards in three categories -- painting, sculpture and printmaking. The Department has been organising exhibitions featuring talented young artists' works biennially since 1975.
Noted artist Qayyum Chowdhury and Foreign Secretary Mijarul Quayes were the special guests at the programme. Mushfique Ahmed Shamim, director of the Department of Fine Arts, BSA gave the welcome speech.
In his speech Qayyum Chowdhury praised the organisers for arranging the exhibition. “This performs an important role in the field of fine arts. The exhibition plays an important role at the national level as the young artists get their first recognition here," said Chowdhury.
A four-member jury committee , featuring eminent artists, selected the award-winning artworks.
The exhibition will remain open from 11am to 7pm.

Knoxville art scene blooms with Dogwood Festival

Local art lovers crowded galleries and clubs throughout downtown Knoxville on Friday night as the 50th annual Dogwood Arts Festival went into full bloom.

The month-long festival attracts thousands of people to the city each year. While the festival itself bolsters the local arts scene, the converse is also true as the city expands its canvas for local art year-round.

"The way the arts community has cooperated and grown in Knoxville has definitely allowed us to attract more quantity and quality to this year's festival," said Lynda Evans, director of development for the Dogwood Arts Festival. "It is a symbol of what is going on in the city. This year's fine arts exhibit is as good as any show I have ever seen. I think Knoxville is going through a renaissance."

That renaissance is especially evident on the 100 Block of Gay Street. As construction workers continue rebuilding the street, the litany of expanded galleries in the surrounding buildings is evidence of a grassroots effort to build Knoxville's arts community.

"There have always been a very large number of very progressive, emergent artists in the community, but they really did not have any place to go," said artist Denise Sanabria. "Now there are more places to display art in the city than ever. The entire transformation, it has been fantastic."

Sanabria organized the fine arts exhibit at 128 Gay Street as part of the Dogwood Arts Festival. She said a crowd of more than 1,000 people would likely attend throughout Friday night.

Large crowds also made their way to the Emporium and UT's downtown gallery on the 100 Block on Friday night. Sanabria said the university has had a considerable impact on the expansion of the local arts community.

"The graduate students at the University of Tennessee are now displaying their work everywhere in the community. They used to mostly stay on-campus or have their exhibits at the Chocolate Factory. Now UT has two galleries on the 100 Block and there is some incredible talent that comes from them," said Sanabria. "It kind of sparked an entire downtown arts community. It is not just Knoxville, either. This is a regional thing where there is a domino effect. It is almost like the idea of regionalism is the 'new New York' for artists."

Evans said the expansion of Knoxville's cultural attractions helps everyone's bottom line.

"Cultural tourism attracts a high-dollar spender to the area. It also makes your area very attractive to corporations that are looking to settle because they want their creative-minded employees staying," said Evans. "There is a direct correlation between strong arts and a strong economy."

Macau opens state-of-the-art science center

DESIGNED BY FAMOUS ARCHI- tect IM Pei (of the Louvre pyramid fame), the Macao Science Center (MSC), inaugurated in December 2009, is a remarkable addition to Macau’s architectural landmarks.

Consisting of an exhibition center, planetarium, and convention center, the MSC has 20,000-sqm gross floor area and seeks to become an educational center for students, a tourist attraction and convention center for scientific conferences.

Its exhibition center has 14 galleries designed in a spiral with interactive exhibits on robotics, earth sciences, eco-conservation and aero-space development which are of interest to visitors of all ages. Its Planetarium, on the other hand, is the only facility of its kind in the world. Its high-definition and 3D visual effects can take viewers on a unique journey to outer space.

The Macao Science Center is adjacent to the Cultural Center and Museum of Art to which it is connected by a pedestrian bridge. It is part of a cultural hub which attracts tourists who go to Macau not for gaming but for culture, science, and education.

Crichton art on auction block

NEW YORK -- Best-selling author Michael Crichton's art collection is going on the auction block May 11-12.
Among the highlights is Jasper Johns' "Flag."
Christie's auction house says the pop art rendition of the American flag has never been on the public market.
Crichton, who was born in Chicago, died in November 2008. He owned a 20th century art collection featuring some of pop art's best known artists, including Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg and Johns.
Crichton was a leading authority on Johns and bought ''Flag'' directly from him in 1974.
Crichton's family is selling about 80 percent of the collection.
About 70 items will be displayed at Christie's Rockefeller Center galleries today through April 13, including works by David Hockney, Jeff Koons and Pablo Picasso.
Christie's says the Johns collection is the most comprehensive to come to market. ''Flag'' decorated Crichton's Beverly Hills bedroom and was last exhibited in 1992-93 at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.
Brett Gorvy, deputy chairman of Christie's Americas, said Crichton was generous in lending works from his collection for exhibitions, but was possessive about "Flag."
"With the 'Flag,' it was such a personal thing because of his relationship with Johns," said Gorvy.
The "Flag" has a pre-sale estimate of $10 million to $15 million, but Gorvy believes it will set a world record for the artist.
"It will go substantially higher," given that the work "is so superb and rare . . . and coming from a famous fella and also from someone who understood the artist," he said.

Art auction raises funds for medical foundation

THE RECENT ART AUCTION for the benefit of indigent patients at the Philippine General Hospital brought together art lovers at the Manila Polo Club.

The event was organized by The PGH Medical Foundation, Inc. (PGHMFI), in partnership with Lifestyle Asia magazine.

More than 60 artworks, the majority of which were donated by the artists themselves, were auctioned off to raise funds.

Dr. Gregorio Alvior Jr., president of the non-stock, non-profit PGHMFI, was pleased at the response of sponsors and benefactors.

“People who not only love PGH but also wanted to help came and were generous with their contributions. The proceeds will go to the Charity Patients Medical Fund, which provides medicines, medical and surgical supplies, and special laboratory tests for those who cannot afford them.”

This was the third biennial art auction in support of the charity fund. The auction was organized by Jennie Zamora, who sits on the PGHMFI Board.

Guest of honor was UP president Emerlinda Roman.

Tim Yap and Pinky Marquez were the auctioneers.

Main sponsor was DM Consunji. Other sponsors included GMA, Natrapharm, Meralco, Maynilad and National Book Store.

Google Chrome: Adobe Flash Integration Coming

When installing a web browser on your computer you sometimes have to install new plug-ins which are compatible with your new choice of browser, one of the most popular popular plug-ins to install is Adobe’s Flash.
Most of today’s websites use Adobe Flash, therefore it is no great surprise to hear that Google are apparently toying with the idea of integrating Adobe Flash into their Chrome web browser.
Statistics show that 99% of web surfers already have the Flash plug-in installed, that said I don’t think it will do any harm to Chrome by having Flash integrated. It makes you wonder whether Adobe’s Flash will be an integral part of Google’s Chrome OS when it is released later this year.
As we find out information which confirms/refutes these rumors we will keep you posted, for more details check out the link below.

Google Adds Mobile Support for AdWords

Everything happens in real time nowadays, even ad management. To wit, Google is adding mobile support for AdWords, giving advertisers and agencies the option of managing their accounts on the go.

Customers won't be able to access the full suite of AdWords functions—forget about starting a new campaign or adding keywords from your phone—but will be able to execute several core AdWords functions, such as changing bid prices, ending campaigns and deleting keywords. Users can customize AdWords alerts available for the parts of their account from which they want constant feedback.

At launch Google is supporting users with iPhone, Android and Palm devices. It won't work with BlackBerry, however. The mobile interface is available to all account holders in English. Google plans to begin rolling it out today.

"It's simply the real-time nature of the channel," said Matt Strain, principal at search shop Trademark Interactive, who has tested the mobile version. "It allows us to see and adjust any fluctuations outside of the norm."

The new interface came after advertisers requested mobile access, according to a Google spokesperson. Google in 2008 created the Adwords Advisory Council, a group of agency and advertiser representatives that gave feedback to Google on changes to the user interface of AdWords. One bit of feedback included, per Google: cut down on horizontal scrolling.

Previously, iPhone 3GS users could access AdWords, although the experience was slow. Users of other phones were out of luck. Google said it would work toward support for BlackBerry devices.

Microsoft does not currently offer a mobile version of its search ad system.

Strain said Microsoft has to catch up in more than just market share, but also in the tools offered advertisers.

"Microsoft, as a software company, needs to embrace, or flat out create, the kinds of tools and technology to empower the search marketer," he said. "If they want to have any stake in this game, they need to focus as much on the process of search marketing as they do indexing results for the engine. If they build great tools, more advertisers will be attracted to what the combined Yahoo/Bing can provide."

Stephen Conroy Launches Attack on Google

Australia's Communications Director, Stephen Conroy, has launched an attack on Google after the powerful search engine company came out last week expressing discontent related to national censorship of the Internet.  Google said it will no longer censor its Chinese website and is now keeping a close eye on Australia.
Conroy is behind an attempt to filter websites in that country.  A leaked "blacklist" showed several thousand websites intended to be blocked, including online poker businesses that operate legally within Australia.  US President Barack Obama has also expressed concern over Conroy's intentions.
From the Sydney Morning Herald:

Senator Conroy has said the blacklist will largely include deplorable content such as child pornography, bestiality material and instructions on crime, but a large and growing group of academics, technology companies and lobby groups say the scope of the filters is too broad and will not make a meaningful impact on internet safety for children.
This opposition argument is supported by the leaked "blacklist".  Not only did it contain names of online gambling websites, a Queensland dentist site was also among those appearing on the list. 
"Any person or corporation that would be identifiable on the list would potentially be deemed by the general public ... either a child molester or at least in the same category as child molesters," said University of Sydney associate professor Bjorn Landfeldt.  "In effect, this could be interpreted by some as a government sanctioned hate list."
The dentist explained why his site may have been identified.
"A Russian company broke into our website a couple of years back and they were putting pornographic listings on there ... [but] we changed across to a different web provider and we haven't had that problem since," Dr. John Golbrani said in a phone interview with the Sydney Morning Herald late last year.
Other Australian sites on the list are canteens.com.au ("Tuckshop and Canteen Management Consultants") and animal carers MaroochyBoardingKennels.com.au.
Google also said implementing mandatory filtering across Australia's millions of internet users could "negatively impact user access speeds", while filtering material from high-volume sites such as Wikipedia, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter "appears not to be technologically possible as it would have such a serious impact on internet access".
"We have a number of other concerns, including that filtering may give a false sense of security to parents, it could damage Australia's international reputation and it can be easily circumvented," Google wrote.
Conroy went on television to take a shot at Google: "Recently the founders of Google have got themselves into a little bit of trouble because notwithstanding their alleged 'do no evil' policy, they recently created something called Buzz, and there was a reaction, and people said well look aren't you publishing private information?," Senator Conroy said.
"[Google CEO Eric] Schmidt said the following: 'If you have something that you don't want anyone to know maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place'. This is the founder of Google. He also said recently to Wall Street analysts, 'we love cash', so when people say, shouldn't we just leave it up to the Googles of this world to determine what the filtering policy should be...."
"This is a debate about freedom of access to information for all Australians, an issue of national importance. Let's focus on that," Google said.
"The Rudd Government's controversial internet filter legislation, with add on ‘blacklist' on the side, is still being drafted and is unlikely to be debated in parliament until at the middle of June and might be pushed back even further," states Gambling911.com Correspondent, Greg Tingle.  "Internet lovers, gamers, media - journalists, entrepreneurs and lovers or freedom of expression have been rejoicing and see the latest development as a victory of sorts in the internet control ‘war'."

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Apple iPad Scratch Resistant Skin is available at Unique Skins for $19.99.

It’s getting very close now. Soon we will all have our beloved iPad in our hands. The one thing you really need to keep in mind is how I can make it my own. Maybe with a cool sleeve or even a nice bag but what if you want something a little more personal. Unique skins have come up with just that.

With their Customizable Scratch Resistant Skins you can use your own photos or art work to customize your Apple iPad. The great part is that it only takes seconds to install. You will get a precision fit to your Apple iPad. You can make your iPad look like anything your imagination can come up with.

The skins come in vibrant colors with a high gloss finish. It is non-permanent and the backing will not leave any residue. The Scratch Resistant Skin for the iPad will never fade, wear, smudge, or smear. Also, it will not void the warranty on your Apple iPad which is very important. Pick the image you want on your iPad and get to ordering so when your iPad gets hear you are ready.

Apple iPad Scratch Resistant Skin is available at Unique Skins for $19.99.

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How HTML 5 Will Change the Web and Why It Matters

Much of the coverage of the Apple (AAPL) iPad has been on its lack of support for Adobe (ADBE) Flash. Steve Jobs thinks that Flash sucks. Adobe counters that many sites use Flash, particularly for video, and that Apple is giving their iPad customers an enfeebled web experience. Don’t get taken in by the technical chest-beating. This fight is about money and who will control delivery of video over the Internet — a business that’s likely to become a huge portion of the entertainment industry.
You’ve run across HTML whether you realize it or not, because it is the basic language of web design. HTML 5 is supposed to be the next version of the web language standard. It promises to do everything that Flash does, from delivering video and enabling slick user interfaces to providing a platform to develop small downloadable applications, without the need to download and install a browser plug-in. That should mean fewer complications on end users’ systems and and less need for web site owners to invest in proprietary tools.
However welcome these goals may sound to most of us, life on the web will continue to be complicated for years for a few reasons:

• HTML 5 is far from being a stable and established platform. Getting it to a predictable commercial state — which means having the leading browsers support it sufficiently — will take a long time. Until HTML 5 is ready, many web sites can’t and won’t dump Flash.
• Flash is so widely established that even if the sites using it wanted to transition to HTML 5, it would take them significant and long efforts.
• Leading browsers must support HTML 5 before sites can depend on the technology. Just look at YouTube, which currently delivers video through Flash. Even though parent company Google has set up an experimental HTML 5 interface for “most” YouTube videos, that’s only for people using Apple’s Safari browser, Google’s Chrome, or Microsoft Internet Explore with Chrome framework installed. The vast majority of users still need Flash for their browsers to work, and there is no HTML 5 backward compatibility for older browsers still in use.
• Many web sites use Flash to create super behavioral marketing cookies that users can’t easily remove. They make money off the information they gather and won’t want to give it up.

In other words, don’t plan on uninstalling Flash plug-ins or tools for some time to come. But big change is coming, and it will have a big impact on how we experience the web.

Sling prepping SlingPlayer for iPad

SlingPlayer Mobile for iPad would stream higher-resolution video and instantly turn the iPad into a sweet portable TV--particularly if you streamed over Wi-Fi.

Back in February, Sling Media, now owned by Echostar, finally got permission to allow users of its SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone app to stream video over AT&T's 3G network instead of just WiFi. We've been playing around with the updated app for a little while and are happy to report that it works as well as it does on other cell phones and cell networks. However, as we were watching some March Madness on the iPhone's smallish screen, we couldn't help but wonder what a great a platform the iPad would be for Sling, so we asked John Santoro, Sling's Senior Marketing Manager when the company would release an iPad app. "We're working on an great, new version of SlingPlayer Mobile for iPad that takes full advantage of the iPad's features," Santoro wrote back. "We're really excited about the possibilities. However, since it's in development I can't discuss specific features right now."
Coincidentally, Dave Zatz, the purveyor of zatznotfunny.com and a former Sling evangelist, was also curious about what Sling was planning, and contacted his "old peeps" and got a few more details out of them about expanding the output resolution beyond 320?240.
"When it makes a noticeable difference in quality, we will definitely provide higher resolution streaming," said Dave Eyler, Sling's Mobile Product marketing manager. "The iPad is a good example of a device where we are hard at work on this, but unfortunately it won't be there at the April launch."
In other words, if you own the SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone app already (it costs a whopping $29.99), you'll be able to use it with the iPad, but you'll have to wait for a true iPad app that expands the resolution. When that day will come, we can't say, but being able to turn your iPad into a high-resolution portable TV would be pretty killer. (In case you've never heard of Sling, it works a little like this: once you attach a Slingbox to your cable or satellite box and tie it into your home Internet connection, you can then tap into the box remotely using a desktop or laptop computer--or various mobile phones running the SlingPlayer app--and stream video in real time. Since being acquired by Echostar, Sling's been working on building Sling functionality into Dish Network's future set-top boxes, but those products have yet to hit the market).
A few suggestion for Sling moving forward:
1. Quickly release a SlingPlayer Mobile for iPad app that streams high-resolution video over WiFi, so people can use their iPads as TVs in their homes. Don't worry about 3G initially--we understand the challenge of streaming high-resolution video over AT&T's 3G network.
2. Stop calling your SlingPlayer mobile app SlingPlayer Mobile. Just call it SlingPlayer for iPhone. SlingPlayer for Android (due out this summer). Or SlingPlayer for iPad. Shorten things up.
3. Stop charging so much for the iPhone app. If 3G streaming is still a sticking point that requires that someone gets paid off (I have no idea what your agreement with carriers is, but I assume some money changes hands), make a free WiFi version of the app. Sonos gives away its iPhone app, and it's really helped that company spark its sales. You might find that a free iPhone/iPad tie-in to your product is good for sales. I'm sure you've thought of this, but, please, just do it.
Anybody else have any other suggestion for Sling?

Apple Releases iPhone OS 3.2 SDK for iPad Developers

Apple has released the Golden Master Seed version of iPhone OS 3.2 SDK, allowing mobile applications to be built for the iPad using non-beta tools. Resources between the iPhone OS 3.2 GM Seed, which is accessible to anyone registered with Apple’s iPhone Developer Program, and the previous beta versions seem basically the same at first glance. Apple claims that some 150,000 apps will be available upon the iPad’s April 3 release. Meanwhile, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak suggested to Newsweek that the iPad would appeal particularly to educational segments and technological neophytes.

Apple issued the Golden Master Seed version of its iPhone OS 3.2 SDK March 29, ahead of the April 3 release of its iPad tablet PC. The release allows anyone registered with company’s iPhone Developer Program to build mobile applications for the iPad with more finalized tools.

Members of the iPhone Developer Program pay for presumably just this sort of access, to the tune of $99 per year.

Resources for the iPhone OS 3.2 GM Seed seem to have remained largely unchanged from beta versions of the platform, including an iPhone Reference Library, Sample Code, iPad Programming Guide and Human Interface Guidelines. Blogs such as Engadget are already parsing the build to see if any radical alterations exist from those previous versions.

Apple claims that some 150,000 apps will be available for the iPad’s launch, with outside analysts suggesting that Apple’s App Store could contain as many as 300,000 apps for the iPad, the iPhone, and the iPod Touch by the end of 2010.

Analytics firm Flurry has reported a 185 percent uptick in the number of new application starts for the iPhone OS over the past few weeks. "We continue to attribute this growth to excitement generated by the impending launch of the iPad," Peter Farago, vice president of marketing for Flurry, wrote in a March 15 posting on the company’s official blog. "A large portion of the applications we are seeing are custom versions of existing applications tailored for the iPad."
The iPad has the potential to become a huge hit, with Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty estimating between 8 million and 10 million units shipped in 2010. In a recent research note, Huberty also noted that the iPad could target the $800-and-under notebook market, a sentiment that if taken at face value could give competitors for that segment a bit of pause.
"Near-term, we believe the iPad will target the sizable sub-$800 consumer notebook market, which equates to 30 million units in the U.S. and 120 million units globally," Huberty wrote. The addition of TV shows, e-books, and other content especially tailored the device could further increase its consumer appeal.
The 16GB version of the iPad sells for $499 with WiFi and $629 with WiFi and 3G. The 32GB version costs $599 with WiFi and $729 with WiFi and 3G, and the 64GB version costs $699 with WiFi and $829 with WiFi and 3G.
Meanwhile, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak apparently sees the iPad as a device ideal for very specific market segments.
"The iPad could lower the cost of acquiring computers for students. I think it’s going to be huge in the education market," Wozniak told Newsweek’s Daniel Lyons—who also blogs as Fake Steve Jobs—on March 26. "Think about students going off to college. They want an Apple product, but their parents don’t want to spend that much. Now they have the ideal thing. They can go to college and someone may have a whacked-out $6,000 laptop, but the guy with the iPad will get all the attention."
Other target audiences for the device, according to Wozniak, include those who want simple computing—and he plans to buy three: "I’ve ordered one for a friend. Then I ordered two for myself. One with WiFi and one with the 3G."
Given Wozniak’s history with Apple, the much-publicized "two iPads per customer" rule will hopefully be waived.

KSTP-TV's Art Barron has been demoted

Morning and midday anchor Art Barron is being kicked off KSTP-TV but not out of the building.

"He will do midday up until the May book starts and then he will transition fully into a Web position," KSTP-TV news director Lindsay Radford told me today. "He will be a Web producer for us. We are launching a whole bunch of community sites and have hired a whole bunch of people for that. God bless Art. He's got the best attitude in the world."

As a producer, Barron's face won't be seen anymore, which means that he'll probably experience a cut in pay, broadcast insiders tell me.

"It depends on a lot of variables," Barron begged to differ. "Obviously, it's not going to be anchor pay. But the Hubbards take good care of me. I enjoy working for them. You go into this knowing these things happen -- for whatever reason, changes are made. State of the biz."

With Barron out of a news anchor chair, the KSTP morning show anchor desk again will have the more traditional two anchors, Vineeta Sawkar and Rebekah Wood. Wood became the third when she was removed from the afternoon variety show.

Broadcast insiders suspect that something happened that has not been revealed yet. Barron said not so. My original tip was that Barron had been fired, so this is better news. A divorced father who's been raising his three children alone for the past 10 years, Barron recently became engaged and is haggling with his wife-to-be over wedding dates.

"This [new assignment] gives me an opportunity to do some other things and prove myself in this capacity," said Barron. "We have all these neighborhoods, and what I am doing is finding stories that concern people and I post them on the Web and we create a page for each one of these neighborhoods."

C.J. is at 612.332.TIPS or cj@startribune.com. E-mailers, please state a subject -- "Hello" doesn't count. Attachments are not opened, so don't even try. More of her attitude can be seen on FOX 9 Thursday mornings.

Eric Gill: the stone bust that looked familiar

A sculpture that may be a lost work by British artist Eric Gill was withdrawn from sale in Cheshire last week.

Britain’s provincial auctioneers are frequently the source of intriguing stories about goods that surface unrecognised or with a provenance shrouded in mystery. Titian’s Laughing Man, bought at a Gloucestershire saleroom in 2007 for £2.6 million when estimated at just £3,000 (and now worth £20 million), is a good example of the former.

The latest story, only beginning to unfold, concerns a sculpture of a naked woman that was withdrawn from a sale in Cheshire last week. Estimated to fetch £300, it may turn out to be a valuable work by the British artist Eric Gill that has been missing from the collection of the Manchester Art Gallery for several decades.

The carved stone bust was due to be sold in a mixed art and antiques sale at Adam Partridge Auctioneers near Macclesfield last Thursday. According to Partridge, it had been consigned for sale by a local man in his late seventies who had been a stonemason at J & H Patterson in Manchester. He had been given the sculpture in the Fifties to restore, he told Partridge, but it was never collected.

Adam Partridge is known through his appearances on television valuation programmes such as Flog It!, Bargain Hunt and Cash in the Attic. Last year his company was voted runner-up to Christie’s as internet auctioneer of the year. But his saleroom does not often make headline news. The house record is a mere £27,000 achieved last September for a Chinese libation cup.

Had the withdrawn sculpture been sold last week, it would almost certainly have made more than that. After he advertised the work in the trade press, tentatively attributed on stylistic grounds to Eric Gill, Partridge was inundated with calls from interested art dealers. Sculptures by Gill are rare and have fetched as much as £145,000 at auction. But one dealer informed him that there may be a problem. He pointed out that an identical-looking sculpture is illustrated in a book on Gill by the art historian and former Tate curator Judith Collins, where it is described as belonging to the Manchester Art Gallery and “lost by 1992”. The date means only that the work was missing then, and does not preclude that it may have been lost earlier. Partridge, who had not seen Collins’s book, contacted the Manchester Art Gallery, and withdrew the work, pending further investigation. “I was uneasy about the legal title to the work,” he said.

As yet, Manchester has not confirmed that the withdrawn piece and its missing sculpture are the same. When contacted by The Daily Telegraph last week, a museum spokesman said: “We can confirm that an Eric Gill sculpture of a similar description was acquired by Manchester Art Gallery in 1925 and was recorded as missing in 1970.” But until they had seen the work that was to have been auctioned, they were reluctant to comment further.

Collins notes that the artist appears to have had an on-off relationship with the work because, he wrote in his diary, he “smashed her in half, but mended her”. She titles the missing work as Torso-Woman, and dates it to March 1913. She notes that it was bought by the collector Charles Rutherston in 1914 for 10 guineas, and then given to the Manchester Art Gallery in 1927.

The story so far leaves much to be explained. Assuming the withdrawn work to be the same as the lost sculpture, what were the circumstances in which it went missing? Are there any gallery records? And then, who does have legal title to it?

Partridge says his client has been advised that he has looked after it for so long that it is now his. “I’ve told him I would now estimate it at £30,000 to £50,000. He wants to sell it. He has no intention of passing it back.”