Inspiration Today

Fergie backs Rangers fans to come in peace

2010-08-27T11:17:00.000-07:00

AFP/File/Sir Alex Ferguson

MANCHESTER (AFP) – Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson insists Rangers fans will be on their best behaviour when the Scottish champions visit Old Trafford for a potentially explosive Champions League clash.

Rangers supporters and riot police fought running battles in the streets of Manchester before and after the 2008 UEFA Cup final, which was played at Manchester City's Eastlands Stadium.

Over 100,000 Scots travelled from Glasgow without tickets for the match against Zenit St Petersburg, with 42 fans arrested and many more injured during the ugly scenes.

It is thought the riots were in part fuelled by the failure of a big screen that was due to show the final, which they eventually lost, leaving drunk supporters staring at a blank screen in one of the busiest parts of the city.

Rangers fans will return to Manchester for the first time since that night when they face United in the opening game of their Champions League group on September 14.

But for Ferguson, a former Rangers player, the match is an occasion to relish, and not one he expects to be spoiled by rowdy fans.

"There were circumstances that day," he said, referring to Rangers' previous visit to Manchester.

"I don't think it was well organised because fans were invited down without tickets.

"It is like every club. Rangers have fantastic supporters but they have some bad elements.

"The unfortunate incidents that day maybe could have been avoided.

"Too many travelled without tickets. It won't happen again because we will be giving Rangers their proper allocation and they will control where the tickets are going.

"I don't expect Rangers fans to travel without a ticket."

Under competition regulations, Rangers will be given an allocation of around 4,000.

Assistant chief constable Ian Hopkins has already expressed his belief the game will pass off without incident, saying: "Greater Manchester Police is extremely experienced at policing high profile European football matches.

"We will be working in partnership with the clubs and football authorities to ensure this is a safe and enjoyable game for all."

Manchester City Council intend to arrange the evening in a slightly different way, and confirmed there will be no big screens erected for fans to watch the game.
© AFP

Intel warns 3Q results will miss expectations

2010-08-27T11:07:00.000-07:00

Intel Corp

NEW YORK – Chip-maker Intel Corp. is cutting its sales forecast for the quarter, adding fresh evidence that a rickety economy is putting a damper on the back-to-school shopping season.
Intel is the world's biggest provider of microprocessors for PCs and a bellwether for the broader technology industry.

In a statement Friday, the company said it is seeing "weaker than expected demand for consumer PCs in mature markets," including the U.S. and Europe.
The warning comes a little more than a month after Intel reported its biggest quarterly profit in a decade. But those results were fueled by a rebound in technology spending at corporations, many of which held off replacing older computers during the recession.
Home computer purchases are another matter. Uncertainty about jobs is still keeping people's spending in check.
Intel said it now expects revenue of $10.8 billion to $11.2 billion for the fiscal third quarter, which ends in September. That compares with a previous forecast of $11.2 billion to $12 billion.
On average, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected $11.5 billion.
Intel is scheduled to report results on Oct. 12 and plans to update its fourth-quarter and full-year outlook then.
Intel's downgrade to its guidance wasn't entirely a surprise. Many investors simply didn't believe that Intel would be able to hit the higher numbers because of signals from other PC-industry suppliers that PC sales were collapsing.
Those fears were the main reason why Intel's stock has fallen about 13 percent since Intel issued its original guidance on July 13. The fall erased about $16 billion in shareholder wealth through Thursday's close.
After the company released its revised outlook, the company's shares rose 31 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $18.49 in midday trading Friday, amid a general lift on Wall Street.
Last week, PC makers Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. also raised red flags about what is normally a robust season for sales. Dell Chief Financial Officer Brian Gladden said in a conference call that the back-to-school shopping season has been "a little weaker than we would have expected."
Todd Bradley, head of HP's PC division, told investors that the company saw some "softness" in the consumer laptop market and that back-to-school shopping started "somewhat late for us."
Intel sees trends in the PC market early because its orders are based on the number of computers that PC makers are anticipating building.
The company has benefited from a recovering PC market for about a year and half. In April 2009, Intel CEO Paul Otellini proclaimed that PC sales "bottomed out" and had started recovering — a forecast that even the major PC makers wouldn't immediately get behind, but proved to be true.
Now, it appears the market is starting to dip again.
© yahoo.com AP Technology Writer Jordan Robertson contributed to this story from San Francisco

Medicare Funds to Exhaust in 2029, Higher Mortgage Insurance Fees Approved and Auto Insurance Customer Satisfaction Declines

2010-08-25T09:19:00.000-07:00

A new government estimate shows that Medicare will run out of funds by 2029, 12 years later than originally expected. In other insurance news, higher mortgage insurance fees have been approved by Senate and a report from JD Power and Associates shows that auto insurance customer satisfaction has declined.

Medicare Funds to Exhaust in 2029

The Obama administration has released a new report showing that Medicare will exhaust its funds by 2029. While this sounds bad, it is actually 12 years later than a previous report. The administration credits the 12-year extension to the health care reform law and cuts in payments to medical providers that could raise money for the program.
However, Medicare’s chief actuary, Rich Foster, says the numbers are a bit rosier than they should be since cuts aren’t likely to stand—doctors will probably drop out of the program to save their practices instead of accepting the cuts

Higher Mortgage Insurance Fees Approved

Recently, we reported that mortgage insurance fees were likely to increase in the near future. Now it seems that Congress is taking steps to make this official.
In early August, Senate unanimously approved legislation that would give the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) the power to hike the monthly premiums it charges to consumers. Currently, borrowers who take out loans through FHA to cover the 20 percent down payment on a home loan (also known as mortgage insurance) pay an annual fee of 0.55 percent of the total loan.
Now, FHA has been given the power to increase the rate to 1.55 percent with President Barack Obama left to give final approval

Auto Insurance Customer Satisfaction Declines

A study released by JD Power and Associates found that there has been a decline in auto insurance customer satisfaction so far in 2010. According to the study, satisfaction declined 10 points from 2009?s numbers to 777 on a 1,000-point scale.
The decline in satisfaction was largely attributed to the cost of coverage, which by itself declined 30 index points from 2009. However, other factors that attributed to overall dissatisfaction included interaction, billing and payment, policy offerings and claims
© http://top-car-insurance-articles.com

Auto Insurance Tips

2010-08-25T09:16:00.000-07:00

There are many precautions you can take to reduce your risk of injury or worse when you operate a motor vehicle.
Though airbags are proven to greatly reduce deaths caused by motor vehicle accidents, they can be dangerous, we urge you to read our Airbag Safety tips.
After an Accident you're probably confused, upset, and possibly scared. While these are natural feelings to have after a collision, it's important to keep your wits about you and make sure you address 10 very important topics before making a claim.
Animal Collisions can cause a great deal of damage not just to the animal but the vehicle. The average cost of collision damage from large animals averages nearly $3000 and when bodily injury claims are factored in, that rises to $10,000. You should also read our tips on Car Breakdown Safety so you know what to do if your car ever breaks down and you are stranded on the side of the ride.
Using a Cell phone while Driving may not be in and of itself the most dangerous thing you can do but since it is so prevalent, it has become a far too common cause of collisions and near-collisions. When Driving in Bad Weather, it is important to take precautions to ensure your safety especially if you are taking a longer journey.
Road Rage is frustration manifested in actions including tailing slower drivers, obscene gestures and other actions that may lead to an accident. Read our Carjacking & Theft prevention tips to learn how to avoid being carjacked, how to avoid having your car stolen, and what to do if it is.
Senior Drivers are notoriously safe drivers and those older than 55 are far less likely to drive aggressively or too fast, which is why most insurance companies offer discounts to those drivers. It is important to make sure your child is strapped in and secured properly in a Child Safety Seat whenever they ride in the car with you.
Buying Safe Car typically ranks high on most people's lists. While every car must meet minimum federal safety standards, all cars are not equally safe. There are several safety features you should always consider when shopping for a new car. One of the best things you can do for your new teenage driver is to buy them a Safe Car. There are some criteria you should follow when deciding on what kind of vehicle to get them.
© http://www.autoinsurance.net

The tale of a difficult past

2010-08-23T16:37:00.000-07:00

Kuakata, Patuakhali, Bangladesh

Kuakata, Patuakhali, Bangladesh.

The past was difficult.
There were storms, destroying and uprooting all the hopes.
There were unbearable days and nights, never ending solitude.
But like the old stories, after the gloomy period, the sun must shine.
Kuakata, Patuakhali, Bangladesh. The sea beach still contains the motifs of destruction by cyclone Sidr.© flickr.com

Persistence. Mona Vale (technique revealed)

2010-08-23T16:23:00.000-07:00

Let me start by stating that this is a single shot,

The moon was not added later?!?!?!
However the light trail leading to the moon was added.
Apart from that minor addition the rest of the PP is fairly standard
The idea for this shot was conceived about a month ago, it is by far the most technical /difficult photo I have ever attempted/taken.
Didn’t start all that well, got to the location without a CF card, round trip back home.
1 hour later, take 2
Then when pushing my tripod into the sand I snapped one of the legs off.
Took around 6-7 attempts to get it just right, very happy with the result.
That’s all im going to give away for now, I will fill you in on the technique in the next few days.
Any ideas??????
About time I revealed my technique.
100-400 at a fraction of a sec using the lens cap and a piece of sticky tape (hinge) to drop the cap as I clicked and locked the shutter release.
Throw a dark towel over the camera and lens, under the towel switch the 100-400 for the 17-40 with lens caps on
Remove the towel, check focal length, check focus dial. When all good remove the lens cap for the pre-determined exposure, in this case it was 360sec @ F7.1. © Flickr.com

Mayhem in Manila: 9 killed on hijacked tourist bus

2010-08-23T16:15:00.000-07:00

AP – Raw Video: Hostages freed
by Philippine police

MANILA, Philippines – It looked like a hostage rescue in slow motion: Police creeping up on the bus with sledgehammers and smashing first one window, then another, then trying and failing to rip open the door.
When they finally got inside, authorities said, they found nine bodies: eight Hong Kong tourists and the ex-policeman who had seized the bus to demand his job back.
The bloody denouement to the 12-hour drama in the heart of the Philippine capital, witnessed live on TV, rattled a country already accustomed to kidnappings and violence blamed on Muslim rebels. It provoked demands from the Hong Kong government for an explanation, and an acknowledgment from Philippine President Benigno Aquino III that his police need more training and equipment.
It was 10:15 a.m. Monday in Manila when Rolando Mendoza 55 and married with three children, hitched a ride with the tourists as they visited historic sites in the city. He wore a camouflage uniform and carried an M16 rifle but didn't seem unusual in the heavily policed capital.
Then he announced that he was taking the travelers hostage to win back his job.
According to newspaper reports, the former senior inspector was among five officers who had been charged with robbery, extortion and grave threats after a Manila hotel chef filed a complaint alleging they falsely accused him of using drugs to extort money. Mendoza was fired last year but claimed he was innocent.
With the bus parked on a Manila park parade ground, Mendoza stuck leaflets on windows, handwritten in English, saying "big mistake to correct a big wrong decision," demanding media attention and threatening "big deal will start after 3 p.m. today."
At first, matters proceeded peacefully. The hijacker freed nine hostages — three women, three children and two men — leaving 15 tourists on board. Police sealed the area and brought food for the hostages, along with fuel to keep the bus' air conditioning running in the 32-degree-Celsius (90 F) heat.
Then negotiations began to go awry. Mendoza demanded a signed promise that his case would be reviewed, but its delivery was delayed for hours, in part by Manila's notorious traffic, and when it finally arrived he rejected it as insufficient.
The hijacker's brother Gregorio, a policeman, was flown in to talk to him through the driver's window but grew so agitated in claiming Mendoza had been unfairly sacked that police hustled him away, fearing he would inflame the situation.
That apparently angered Mendoza into firing a warning shot. Police made an initial attempt to board the bus, and the hijacker shot and wounded a police sharpshooter, said Nelson Yabut, head of the assault team. Single shots, then a burst of automatic fire, echoed through the night.
The Filipino bus driver managed to escape and, according to police officer Roderick Mariano, reported that Mendoza had fired at the tourists.
A freed hostage who gave only her surname, Ng, told Hong Kong reporters that she saw her husband killed by Mendoza after he tried to take him on.
"He was very brave. He rushed forward from the back of the bus. He wanted to prevent the gunman from killing people. He sacrificed himself," she said.
Yabut, the assault commander, said that "when he started shooting the hostages, that's the time I gave the signal to my sniper to shoot when there is a clear view." He said Mendoza died of a single shot to the head.
Shortly before 9 p.m., police lobbed tear gas into the bus and commandos approached the vehicle, crouching beside it and ready to storm it. They smashed windows and the back door with sledgehammers. Once aside, they found only the dead, one of them slumped on the bus steps.
The Hong Kong government did not hide its displeasure at the handling of the incident. It issued a warning against travel to the Philippines, canceled planned tour groups to the islands and asked Hong Kong tourists still in the country to leave.
The bloodbath happened in front of a grandstand where Aquino had been sworn in as president on June 30. After midnight he was back there, staring at the bloodstained, bullet-riddled bus.

© Associated Press writers Teresa Cerojano, Hrvoje Hranjski and Min Lee in Hong Kong contributed to this report.

Mouse virus link to chronic fatigue is studied

2010-08-23T16:03:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON – A U.S. government study has uncovered a family of mouse viruses in some people with chronic fatigue syndrome, raising still more questions about whether an infection may play a role in the complicated illness.
Monday's study does not prove that having any of these viruses causes harm, stressed co-author Dr. Harvey Alter of the National Institutes of Health.
But it strengthens suspicions, and the government has additional research under way to determine if the link is real or not.
Meanwhile, a group of French and Canadian scientists said it's time to test whether antiviral medications like those used against HIV might treat at least some people with chronic fatigue.
The virus connection first made headlines last fall when Nevada researchers reported finding a specific type, named XMRV, in the blood of two-thirds of the 101 chronic fatigue patients they tested. But several other studies, including one from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, failed to find XMRV virus in patients, making researchers wonder if this was a false alarm.
Monday's study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, thickens the plot. This time, NIH and Food and Drug Administration scientists examined the blood of 37 chronic fatigue patients and again didn't find XMRV — but instead they found a group of closely related bugs named MLV-related viruses in 86 percent of the cases.
Testing of 44 healthy blood donors, in contrast, found evidence of those viruses in nearly 7 percent.
Various viruses have been linked to chronic fatigue over the years only to fall by the wayside as potential culprits in the mysterious illness thought to afflict about 1 million Americans. It's characterized by at least six months of severe fatigue, impaired memory and other symptoms, but there's no test for it and no specific treatment.
These MLV, or "murine leukemia-related viruses," are known to cause some cancers in mice, and the XMRV relative has been found in some human prostate tumors, too.
But there's no easy way to test for it, meaning studies of a link at this point must be in research labs, not doctors' offices, FDA and NIH researchers said Monday.
No one knows how people become infected, but Alter said a major study is under way to see if there's any evidence of transmission through blood.
In the meantime, federal regulations require that blood donors be in good health, said FDA's Dr. Hira Nakhasi. "yahoo.com"

Ac Milan Insect

2010-08-22T09:18:00.000-07:00

acmilan fans

Red and black insect
Ac milan have new fans

>> This photos dedicated to milanisti <<

Main Picture : http://www.flickr.com

Meet The YouTube Stars Making $100,000 Plus Per Year

2010-08-22T08:44:00.000-07:00

yahoo.com/youtube

Provided by the Business Insider, August 19, 2010:
There are 10 independent YouTube stars who made over $100,000 in the past year, according to a study done by analytics and advertising company TubeMogul.
From July 2009 to July 2010, TubeMogul used their viewership data to estimate the annual income for independent YouTube partners, which they define as anyone who is not part of a media company or brand.
Here's how they got their estimates:

    * Revenue only comes from banner ads served near content (we ignored pre-roll or overlay since we can't easily isolate by publisher).
    * Since YouTube banner ads have a two-second load delay, we estimate 2.59% of viewers click away before an ad loads based on separate research.
    * Ads were served near all videos that loaded (since there are partners, this is generally true).
    * CPM for the banner ads was $1.50 (Google auctions a lot of this inventory off; we rounded this 2009 estimate down to be conservative).
    * YouTube is splitting ad revenue with partners 50-50.
Basically, take their views from the past year, assume a few don't stick around long enough for an ad to load, divide that number by 1,000, multiply by $1.50 and divide that number in half.
Conservative estimates? Sure. But with that math, you get a pretty decent estimate of how much these YouTube celebrities are making from just the banner ads on their channel. So, without further ado, here are the highest earning YouTube stars!
1. Shane Dawson – $315,000
Shane Dawson is so popular that he is three different YouTube channels. His most popular channel consists of his comedy skits and music video parodies. Dawson created a second channel as a vlog and for a separate series called "Ask Shane," and his third channel only has videos taken from his iPhone.
July 2009 - 2010 Views: 431,787,450
2. The Annoying Orange – $288,000
The Annoying Orange is a comedy web series that takes place in a kitchen and is about talking fruit. Dane Boedigheimer is the mastermind behind the series and is also the voice of Orange.
July 2009 - 2010 Views: 349,753,047
3. Philip DeFranco – $181,000
Philip DeFranco uploads a new video onto YouTube every Monday to Thursday for his show – The Philip DeFranco Show. His video blogging topics range from politics to pop culture.

July 2009 - 2010 Views: 248,735,032
4. Ryan Higa – $151,000
Ryan Higa makes comedy skits and is a video blogger who turned into a viral star with his "How to be Gangster" and "How to be Ninja" videos. Even though he doesn't upload as many videos as his fellow YouTube celebrities, Higa is still the top dog at YouTube with over 2.6 million subscribers.
July 2009 - 2010 Views: 206,979,909
5. Fred – $146,000
Lucas Cruikshank plays "a lonely six year old named Fred" who uses his mom's video camera and posts videos on a YouTube channel. As the second most subscribed to YouTube channel, Lucas Cruikshank's immensely popular Fred character even has a movie coming out backed by Nickelodeon.
July 2009 - 2010 Views: 200,656,150
6. Shay Carl – $140,000
As a radio DJ, Shay Carl started making comedy skits and put them on YouTube for the world to see. He claims to have held 20 different jobs before settling down with his DJ and YouTube gigs.
July 2009 - 2010 Views: 192,309,247
7. Mediocre Films – $116,000
Greg Benson created Mediocre Films initially for a sketchy comedy TV series called "Skip TV." The show lasted for one season, and now Benson makes low budget comedy videos for the web.

July 2009 - 2010 Views: 159,030,703
8. Smosh – $113,000
Smosh is the comedy duo of Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla, and with over 1.7 million subscribers, they make up the 5th most popular channel on YouTube. They first shot to viral fame with their "Pokemon Theme Music Video" which became YouTube's most viewed video in Spring 2006. However, due to copyright reasons, the original video was removed from YouTube.

July 2009 - 2010 Views: 154,936,876
9. The Young Turks – $112,000
The Young Turks is a political talk show that also airs on Sirius Satellite Radio. Founded and hosted by Cenk Uygur, The Young Turks talk show and their vast viewership has proven that the Internet can be a viable broadcast platform.
July 2009 - 2010 Views: 153,807,362
10. Natalie Tran– $101,000
Under the user name of communitychannel, Natalie Tran is the most subscribed to YouTube user in Australia. Like most others on this list, she is a video blogger and occasionally uploads comedy skits.

Copyright : http://finance.yahoo.com

Memories of Blue

2010-08-22T07:39:00.000-07:00

Memories of Blue - Mount Batur

Songan A village, Lake Batur, Kintamani, Bali
Country : Indonesia
Latitude : -8° 15' 0" (-8.2500)
Longitude : 115° 24' 0" (115.4000)

Physical Characteristics
Description : Batur Lake is a caldera lake, lying within collapsed volcanic walls.
Volume : 0.82 km3
Depth : Maximum depth: 88.0 m
Origin : Volcanic
Type : Permanent Natural

Danau Batur is a crater lake that fills the south-eastern side of the calderas of an active volcano named Gunung Batur (Mount Batur). It is Bali's largest lake and has an area of approximately 18 square kilometers.The surrounding of the lake is a favorite place for picks you self up. At lake Batur you can see the scenic view and feel cool atmosphere.
The sheer size of the crater conjures up images of the massive eruption of the original Mount Batur that occurred tens of thousands years ago. The volcano is still active today as Balinese still remember the great eruption of 1917. It claimed thousands of lives and destroyed hundreds of temples.

Source:
World Lakes
www.indo.com/geo/lakebatur.html

Canon EOS 50D

EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
90sec • f/14 • 10 mm • ISO 100
HITECH Filters
HOYA NDx400
B+W CPL
RAW proccessed with Digital Photo Pro
TIFF proccessed with Adobe Photoshop CS3

25 Graphic Design Career Preparation Tips

2010-08-22T07:17:00.000-07:00

Images
londonartportfolio.com

The Graphic Design Career is a fast growing career that is becoming more and more competitive with every passing day. People are realizing how much money is available and how flexible the graphic and web design career really is. You can work full-time in house in a small studio or large agency. You can earn extra money on the side, you can freelance full-time from the comfort of your own home or you can even use your skills in design to you accomplish business projects.

The bottom line is its a great choice for creative people looking to express themselves and earn a decent and comfortable living at the same time.
In order to survive in such a fast growing and competitive field though it is essential you do everything you can as early on as you can. I started in college, but I know people who are freelancing and running businesses and websites at age 14 and even younger! The age aspect should not discourage you, but should rather inspire you to get your butt into gear before other graphic designers leave you in the dust!
So no matter what age you are or what stage you are in, we have created a list of things you can do to get your dream graphic design career going in the right direction.

Graphic Design Career Preparation Tips

1. Major in Graphic Design
Going to college and getting a graphic design degree is an outstanding accomplishment. Many employers weigh this heavily and you will have a much better chance of getting a full-time job with a degree in design, but there are always exceptions. If you have an extremely strong portfolio, good references and freelancing experience you can still get a great job, but if you can get the degree go for it!
2. Figure Out Your Specialization
Many jobs in graphic design tend to be specialized, such as identity design, packaging design, magazine design and so on. Its good to find the specialization you like best and work on it, but also make sure you are well rounded and multi-talented designer.
3. Plan Your Credits Carefully
Lets face it, college can be a pain in the butt, especially when it comes to planning out your classes. You need a certain amount of credits to be full-time, core classes, required classes, electives and you are trying to get a decent schedule so you can hold a job at the same time! Planning your credits out carefully and registering as soon as possible will help ensure you get the best schedule possible so you can complete your degree quickly and have free time to work and relax.
4. Take Advantage of Your Counselor and Teachers
Your counselor and teachers are incredibly valuable assets while going to school. Get your counselor to help you plan out your schedule and keep you on the right track. Ask your teachers for extra help when needed. Most teachers are available outside of class and will critique work for you. Your teachers have years of experience and knowledge of the field so tap into it.
5. Take Advantage of Career Services
Career services is an often overlooked resource at most schools. If you are looking for a job, projects, help with your resume or anything else, take a trip to your career services department if your school has one.
6. Become Involved in School Events
My school had many great events, and when I look back, I wish i had taken more advantage of them. There were trips, get-togethers and incredible guest speakers. We even had our own museum on campus! So if your school has similar opportunities make sure you don’t pass them up.
7. Develop Friendships With Your Classmates
You are all working towards the same goal, so developing friendships is an excellent idea. Not only is social interaction healthy, but as friends you can help each other out to achieve these common goals. Plus most of you will be working in the same field in the future and you never know when a friend could come in handy in a bad situation.
8. Get an Internship
Internships are just as important as freelancing experience and many schools can help you find an internship. Even if you don’t get to do much design work, its a great way to network, get your foot in the door and become comfortable working in an office environment with other people.
9. Get a Certificate in Graphic Design
If you don’t have the time or money to attend a 4 year school, there are many schools which can give you a great crash course in design in one year or even online. I still recommend the 4 year school over this, but getting a certificate in design or individual programs can help a lot if you have no other schooling.
10. Practice Your Photography
This is a talent I plan on mastering in the near future. I love photography and its also great if you are a graphic designer. Having the ability to shoot your own projects in real life can give you a real edge when it comes to displaying your portfolio. Great photographs of projects can go a long way and its another super skill to throw on your resume.
11. Learn HTML, XHTML and CSS
Web design is mixing more and more with the graphic design career. I have seen many graphic design job listings ask the designer to have at least some web design experience and many jobs require you to know how to code a site very well. So this is a great skill to pick up and will help you with your own portfolio site and landing a job in the future.
12. Take Some Business Courses
Taking one or two business classes can prepare you much better for freelancing and running your own studio if that’s one of your dreams. All knowledge is good knowledge and the more you know about business the better off you will be financially.
13. Master the Adobe Suite
As a graphic designer you will be using programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign on a daily basis. Mastering the programs will make you a more productive and creative designer. Most jobs also start you at running speed and don’t have time to teach you how to use the Pen Tool! Be sure to master keyboard shortcuts as well.
14. Stay in Touch With Your Roots
Its easy to become totally wrapped up in the computer and lose touch with your roots. By this I mean its important to sketch things out on paper once in a while and think outside the computer box. Don’t be afraid to pick up a pencil and use the environment around you.
15. Express Your Creativity
Design can be very “corporate” and restricting at times, and designers are naturally creative people. This is why its good to express your stretch your creativity muscles once in a while. Create personal work, non profit work or other projects that will allow you more creative freedom so you don’t feel constantly trapped and restricted.
16. Create a Portfolio Website
Time is precious and the web is becoming more of an industry standard. This is why you need a web portfolio. Many employers don’t even have time to look at print portfolios and will ask for a website URL or email with a PDF of your work. If you plan on freelancing, your website will be even more important and the sooner you get it up the better off you will be.
17. Create a Print Portfolio
Even though a web portfolio is becoming arguably more important, don’t under estimate the power or importance of a print portfolio. In additionl to your main portfolio you should have some disposable print portfolios you can hand out to potential employers.
18. Create Your Own Personal Identity System
Having your own business card, resume, letterhead and so on will give you a professional edge and show you really care about your career. Spend a lot of time on your identity system because its a direct representation of yourself and your skills.
19. Create a Resume and Cover Letter
You will need this sooner or later so you might as well start working on it now. A well-written and nicely designed resume is going to be a great ally in your job finding battles.
20. Research Job Requirements
Job requirements are changing constantly and every job has unique requirements. Some require more than others so its important you have a good idea of whats expected of you. How can you prepare yourself properly if you don’t know exactly what employers demand skill wise?
21. Start Freelancing
Freelancing builds up incredible experience, especially when it comes to dealing with actual paying clients. You will quickly learn how to deal with clients who have different personalities, how to protect yourself, how to muti task and so on. This is where the business classes come in, but with a little planning and research before hand there is no reason you cant jump right in and start freelancing early on. I landed my first paying freelance gig while I was taking my first Photoshop class!
22. Take Advantage of Design Contests
There are tons of design contests on the Internet; many of which offer incredible prizes! This is a great way to gain exposure, build up your portfolio and win some sweet swag and money in your free time! Following design blogs is a great way to learn about up and coming design contests.
23. Build Up Your Vault of Free Design Resources
The web is filled with an insane amount of free resources including, free fonts, vector artwork, textures, patterns, design elements and so much more. Start downloading, check the usage rights and keep all your graphic design resources organized, because you never know when you might need them.
24. Get the Graphic Artist Guild Handbook
This is a fabulous book for any designer that is packed full of great tips and resources; especially for designers interested in starting their own business or freelancing career. They releases a new version every so often, so be sure to get your hands on the latest one.
25. Start Networking
Networking may be 25 on the list, but in terms of priority its probably number 1. The more people in the business you know the better off you will be. Keep in touch with your network of contacts. Don’t consider some one in your network if you never communicate. A phone call, business lunch, or email once in a while is required.
Help people in your network and they will help your in return. So keep expanding your network of contacts and be sure to keep in touch on a regular basis.

Main Source : http://www.youthedesigner.com

Homeshooling

2010-08-21T21:47:00.000-07:00

When you learn reading, math, and other stuff taught in school from your parents or tutors who come to your house, it's called homeschooling. A kid may be the only one, or he or she may be taught with brothers, sisters, or kids from the neighborhood. Parents choose to homeschool their children for many different reasons. Sometimes a kid is sick and can't go to regular school. But more often, kids are homeschooled because their parents feel they can give their child a better education than the local school can. Parents also may choose homeschooling because they want their child's education to include religious instruction (learning about God), which isn't offered at public schools.
If you don't like school, homeschooling might seem like the perfect solution. But it's better for everyone if homeschooling isn't chosen just as an escape from school or problems there, such as bullying. Finding solutions to the problem should be the first step. Your school counselor and other school officials, such as the principal, often can help.

Don't Kids Have to Go to School?

homeschooling.org/images

You might wonder if kids have to go to school. It's true that kids must be educated, but it's legal to be schooled at home. In fact, more than 1 million students do it. These kids can learn just as they do in regular school, but their parents are in charge of their education.
Homeschool parents must make sure that their kids get the instruction and the experiences they need. The parents also may have to file paperwork with the state to explain who's teaching the kid and which subjects are being covered.

For more information visit : http://kidshealth.org

Eiji Toyoda

2010-08-21T21:33:00.000-07:00

Born: September 12, 1913
Kinjo, Nishi Kasugai, Japan
Japanese businessman and engineer
Eiji Toyoda is a former chairman of the Toyota Motor Company. His family-run business made revolutionary changes in the way automobiles were made.

eiji toyoda

Family business

Eiji Toyoda was born September 12, 1913, in Kinjo, Nishi Kasugai, Aichi, Japan, the son of Heikichi and Nao Toyoda. Toyoda's uncle, Sakichi, founded the original family business, Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, in 1926 in Nagoya, about 200 miles west of Tokyo, Japan. The family was so involved in the business that Eiji's father Heikichi (younger brother of Sakichi) even made his home inside the spinning factory. Such an early exposure to machines and business would have a significant effect on Toyoda's life.

Sakichi ultimately sold the patents (documents that give a person the legal right to control the production of an invention for a specific period of time) for his design to an English firm for two hundred fifty thousand dollars, at a time when textiles was Japan's top industry and used the money to pay for his eldest son Kiichiro's venture into auto making in the early 1930s.

After graduating in 1936 with a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Tokyo—training ground for most of Japan's future top executives—the twenty-three-year-old Toyoda joined the family spinning business as an engineering trainee and transferred a year later to the newly formed Toyota Motor Company. The company was a relative newcomer to the auto business in Japan. Eiji worked on the A1 prototype, the forerunner of the company's first production model, a six-cylinder sedan that borrowed heavily from Detroit automotive technology and resembled the radically styled Chrysler Airflow model of that period. During those early years, Toyoda gained lots of hands-on experience.

Expansion
In this spare time, Eiji Toyoda studied rockets and jet engines and, on the advice of his cousin, even researched helicopters. World War II (1939–45)—when Japan fought alongside Germany and Italy against France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States—left Japan's industry in a shambles, and the automaker began rebuilding its production facilities from scratch. But while Kiichiro Toyoda was rebuilding the manufacturing operations, Japan's shattered economy left the company with a growing bank of unsold cars. By 1949, the firm was unable to meet its payroll, and employees began a devastating fifteen-month strike (where workers walk out in protest)—the first and only walkout in the company's history—which pushed Toyota to the brink of bankruptcy. In 1950 the Japanese government forced Toyota to reorganize and split its sales and manufacturing operations into separate companies, each headed by a nonfamily member. Kiichiro Toyoda and his executive staff all resigned. Kiichiro died less than two years later.

Eiji Toyoda, meanwhile, had been named managing director of the manufacturing arm,

Toyota Motor Company. He was sent to the United States in 1950 to study the auto industry and return to Toyota with a report on American manufacturing methods. After touring Ford Motor's U.S. facilities, Toyoda turned to the task of redesigning Toyota's plants to incorporate advanced techniques and machinery.

President of ToyotaIn 1967 Toyoda was named president of Toyota Motor Company—the first family member to assume that post since Kiichiro resigned in 1950. A year later, the two branches of the company were unified in the new Toyota Motor Corporation, with Eiji Toyoda as chairman and Shoichiro Toyoda as president and chief executive officer.

The Toyodas led their company to a record year in 1984. Toyota sold an all-time high 1.7 million vehicles in Japan and the same number overseas and profits peaked at $2.1 billion in 1985. While that performance would certainly earn Toyota a mention in automotive history books, Eiji Toyoda and his company may be better remembered for a unique management style that has been copied by hundreds of Japanese companies and is gaining growing acceptance in the United States. The Toyota approach, adopted at its ten Japanese factories and twenty-four plants in seventeen countries, has three main objectives: keeping inventory to an absolute minimum through a system called kanban, or "just in time;" insuring that each step of the assembly process is performed correctly the first time; and cutting the amount of human labor that goes into each car.

What Toyoda accomplished for Toyota Motor was dazzling success at a time when Detroit automakers were struggling to stay profitable. Toyota, Japan's number one automaker, spearheaded the tidal wave of small, low-priced cars that swept the United States after successive energy crises in the midand late-1970s. In addition to running the largest corporation in Japan—and the world's third largest automaker, behind General Motors (GM) and Ford—Toyoda has overseen the development of a highly efficient manufacturing system that is being copied worldwide. Although Eiji Toyoda gave up his post as chairman in 1994, he continues to hold the title of honorary chair of the company.
For More Information

Toyoda, Eiji. Toyota : Fifty Years in Motion. New York: Kodansha International, 1987.

Read more : Eiji Toyoda Biography - life, family, history, son, old, information, born, time, year http://www.notablebiographies.com

Jimi Hendrix ( 1942 – 1970 )

2010-08-21T16:02:00.000-07:00

Guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Born Johnny Allen Hendrix (later changed to James Marshall) on November 27, 1942, in Seattle, Washington. Learning to play guitar as a teenager, Hendrix grew up to become a rock guitar legend. He had a difficult childhood, sometimes living in the care of relatives and even acquaintances at times.
His mother, Lucille, was only 17 years old when Hendrix was born. She had a stormy relationship with his father, Al, and eventually left the family after the couple had two more children together, sons Leon and Joseph. Hendrix would only see his mother sporadically before her death in 1958.
In many ways, music became a sanctuary for Hendrix. He was a fan of blues music and taught himself to play guitar. At the age of 14, Hendrix saw Elvis Presley perform. He got his first electric guitar the following year and eventually played with two bands—the Rocking Kings and the Tomcats. In 1959, Hendrix dropped out of high school. He worked odd jobs while continuing to follow his musical aspirations.
Hendrix enlisted in the United States Army in 1961 and trained at Fort Ord in California to become a paratrooper. Even as a soldier, he found time for music, creating a band named The King Casuals. Hendrix served in the army until 1962 when he was discharged due to an injury.
After leaving the military, Hendrix pursued his music, working as a session musician and playing backup for such performers as Little Richard, Sam Cooke, and the Isley Brothers. He also formed a group of his own called Jimmy James and the Blue Flames, which played gigs around New York City's Greenwich Village neighborhood.
In mid-1966, Hendrix met Chas Chandler, a former member of the Animals, a successful rock group, who became his manager. Chandler convinced Hendrix to go to London where he joined forces with musicians Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell to create The Jimi Hendrix Experience. While there, Hendrix built up quite a following among England's rock royalty. Members of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, and Eric Clapton were all great admirers of Hendrix's work. One critic for the British music magazine Melody Maker said that he "had great stage presence" and looked at times as if he was playing "with no hands at all."
Released in 1967, the band's first single, "Hey Joe" was an instant smash in Britain, and was soon followed by other hits such as "Purple Haze" and "The Wind Cried Mary." On tour to support his first album, Are You Experienced? (1967), Hendrix delighted audiences with his outrageous guitar-playing skills and his innovative, experimental sound. He won over American music fans with his stunning performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967, which ended with Hendrix lighting his guitar on fire.
Quickly becoming a rock music superstar, Hendrix scored again with his second album, Axis: Bold as Love (1968). His final album as part of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Electric Ladyland (1968), was released and featured the hit "All Along the Watchtower," which was written by Bob Dylan. The band continued to tour until it split up in 1969.
That same year, Hendrix performed at another legendary musical event: the Woodstock Festival. His rock rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" amazed the crowds and demonstrated his considerable talents as a musician. He was also an accomplished songwriter and musical experimenter. Hendrix even had his own recording studio in which he could work with different performers and try out new songs and sounds.
Hendrix tried his luck with another group, forming Band of Gypsys in late 1969 with his army buddy Billy Cox and drummer Buddy Miles. The band never really took off, and Hendrix began working on a new album tentatively named First Rays of the New Rising Sun, with Cox and Mitch Mitchell from the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Unfortunately Hendrix did not live to complete the project.
Hendrix died on September 18th, 1970, from drug-related complications. While this talented recording artist was only 27 years old at the time of his passing, Hendrix left his mark on the world of rock music and remains popular to this day. As one journalist wrote in the Berkeley Tribe, "Jimi Hendrix could get more out of an electric guitar than anyone else. He was the ultimate guitar player."

For more information visit : http://www.biography.com

Albert Einstein

2010-08-21T10:40:00.000-07:00

Albert Einstein was born at Ulm, in Württemberg, Germany, on March 14, 1879. Six weeks later the family moved to Munich, where he later on began his schooling at the Luitpold Gymnasium. Later, they moved to Italy and Albert continued his education at Aarau, Switzerland and in 1896 he entered the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich to be trained as a teacher in physics and mathematics. In 1901, the year he gained his diploma, he acquired Swiss citizenship and, as he was unable to find a teaching post, he accepted a position as technical assistant in the Swiss Patent Office. In 1905 he obtained his doctor's degree.

During his stay at the Patent Office, and in his spare time, he produced much of his remarkable work and in 1908 he was appointed Privatdozent in Berne. In 1909 he became Professor Extraordinary at Zurich, in 1911 Professor of Theoretical Physics at Prague, returning to Zurich in the following year to fill a similar post. In 1914 he was appointed Director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Physical Institute and Professor in the University of Berlin. He became a German citizen in 1914 and remained in Berlin until 1933 when he renounced his citizenship for political reasons and emigrated to America to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at Princeton*. He became a United States citizen in 1940 and retired from his post in 1945.

After World War II, Einstein was a leading figure in the World Government Movement, he was offered the Presidency of the State of Israel, which he declined, and he collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in establishing the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Einstein always appeared to have a clear view of the problems of physics and the determination to solve them. He had a strategy of his own and was able to visualize the main stages on the way to his goal. He regarded his major achievements as mere stepping-stones for the next advance.

At the start of his scientific work, Einstein realized the inadequacies of Newtonian mechanics and his special theory of relativity stemmed from an attempt to reconcile the laws of mechanics with the laws of the electromagnetic field. He dealt with classical problems of statistical mechanics and problems in which they were merged with quantum theory: this led to an explanation of the Brownian movement of molecules. He investigated the thermal properties of light with a low radiation density and his observations laid the foundation of the photon theory of light.

In his early days in Berlin, Einstein postulated that the correct interpretation of the special theory of relativity must also furnish a theory of gravitation and in 1916 he published his paper on the general theory of relativity. During this time he also contributed to the problems of the theory of radiation and statistical mechanics.

In the 1920's, Einstein embarked on the construction of unified field theories, although he continued to work on the probabilistic interpretation of quantum theory, and he persevered with this work in America. He contributed to statistical mechanics by his development of the quantum theory of a monatomic gas and he has also accomplished valuable work in connection with atomic transition probabilities and relativistic cosmology.

After his retirement he continued to work towards the unification of the basic concepts of physics, taking the opposite approach, geometrisation, to the majority of physicists.

Einstein's researches are, of course, well chronicled and his more important works include Special Theory of Relativity (1905), Relativity (English translations, 1920 and 1950), General Theory of Relativity (1916), Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926), and The Evolution of Physics (1938). Among his non-scientific works, About Zionism (1930), Why War? (1933), My Philosophy (1934), and Out of My Later Years (1950) are perhaps the most important.

Albert Einstein received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine and philosophy from many European and American universities. During the 1920's he lectured in Europe, America and the Far East and he was awarded Fellowships or Memberships of all the leading scientific academies throughout the world. He gained numerous awards in recognition of his work, including the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London in 1925, and the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1935.

Einstein's gifts inevitably resulted in his dwelling much in intellectual solitude and, for relaxation, music played an important part in his life. He married Mileva Maric in 1903 and they had a daughter and two sons; their marriage was dissolved in 1919 and in the same year he married his cousin, Elsa Löwenthal, who died in 1936. He died on April 18, 1955 at Princeton, New Jersey.

From Nobel Lectures, Physics 1901-1921, Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1967

This autobiography/biography was written at the time of the award and first published in the book series Les Prix Nobel. It was later edited and republished in Nobel Lectures. To cite this document, always state the source as shown above.

Albert Einstein was formally associated with the Institute for Advanced Study located in Princeton, New Jersey.

10 Tips On Wise Alcohol Consumption

2010-08-16T16:43:00.000-07:00

1. Alcohol has been used as a special and sacred celebratory beverage over many centuries. Most native cultures have had fermented drinks for their rituals and ceremonies. This continues with traditions and celebrations of all kinds - weddings, anniversaries, dates, ballgames, flying, and harvest faires. Alcohol does help to relax the body and mind and calm the inhibitions. However, many people feel the need to celebrate daily (now, that would be partying or escaping). Excesses over time lead to problems, yet occasional wildness may free the soul. "Reduce excesses, but not excessively." Argisle
If you are concerned about your drinking habits, consider keeping a "drink diary" for the next month. Write down when, how much, and in what circumstances you drink. How does it make you feel immediately and the morning after? Honestly look at how drinking affects your life. There are many healthy ways to celebrate life! Playing sports does this, as can drumming and dancing with your friends. While we used to have rituals, now people get drunk to deal with life, and then get in their "deadly" autos risking lives on their way. And many also use painkillers and other drugs to deal with their daily lives, which further affects their abilities. Or they overuse their credit cards and mismanage their lives and have their families suffer. Realize that drug problems of all kinds are diseases, and should be dealt with as such.
2. In evaluating how alcohol affects your life, look at the following issues : Do you drink more when you're sad or upset about something? Do you mainly drink in social situations with friends? Does alcohol help you express yourself? How can you address these emotional issues without relying on drinking? Can you say NO when the time is not right for your personal imbibing? Healthy use would be a social drink or two with preparation before and balance after in terms of hydration (alcohol is dehydrating) with water and the right nutrients.
"No is On Backwards." (Argisle)
3. Consider the negative effects alcohol might be having on your health. Is drinking aggravating an existing condition, such as obesity, digestive problems, joint pains, or depression? Do hangovers affect your performance at work, or keep you from things that you want to do? Alcohol irritates the liver and the intestinal lining. It also lowers immunity, dehydrates the body, and impairs judgement and performance, as in operating machinery and driving a car. It also alters healthful participation in relationships. Alcohol is the number cause of traffic fatalities, especially of innocent people. What is your awareness and responsibility for your own body as an example to self, loved ones and friends?
4. Alcohol may have some positive attributes as well. Doctors may recommend it to reduce heart disease risks, as it helps raise the good HDL cholesterol. However, it also raises total cholesterol and has more negative effects such that health conscious practitioners would not recommend regular consumption. Alcohol is also addictive. Thus, it takes some work, both physically and emotionally, to heal from this potentially destructive habit. For example, a liver transplant, if you could get it, is quite costly and painful.
5. In terms of reducing your alcohol consumption, if you notice that you tend to drink at certain times of the day, plan other activities, such as exercising, during that time period. Consider ordering water or other natural drinks in restaurants, and during social occasions. Take a break for a couple days; if this is very difficult, you likely have a problem and help may be necessary. Contact your doctor, counselor, or look up the AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) chapter in your area. Know that it is usually difficult to give up something; it?s better to add something healthful, like walking and breathing. It also helps to talk to others who have recovered from their addictions and see what they did with their extra energy; helping others often helps you as well.
6. To take a break or break your habit, there are many things you can do nutritionally. Give your body plenty of support. In regards to diet, first begin with drinking 6-8 glasses of water a day to help flush toxins. Avoid sugary and fried foods. Don?t substitute other addictive substances, such as caffeine or nicotine, for alcohol. Eat plenty of wholesome foods--fresh fruits and vegetables, grains and legumes, nuts and seeds, and fish--for the nutrients and fiber they provide. This helps with body support and elimination. A detoxifying diet very high in fruits, vegetables, and fresh juices can be very helpful in changing habits and cleansing the body.
7. Supplements are helpful during alcohol use and during detoxification. (See my book, The Detox Diet, for more specifics.) Definitely use the antioxidant nutrients such as Vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, plus zinc and selenium. The B-vitamins are also very important to alcohol metabolism as well as nervous system support. The amino acid L-glutamine (500-1,000 mg three times daily) may help reduce cravings for alcohol (and sugar). Calcium and magnesium help to calm the nervous system and reduce withdrawal. Flaxseed oil or olive oil also helps the body tissues. Taking in a tablespoon of oil before you drink may also slow the absorption of alcohol. Packets of Emergen-C with a full glass or two of water are very helpful to prevent hangovers and reduce dehydration. These supplements are also helpful during alcohol detoxification.
8. Herbs may also be useful at supporting the body and preventing some of the ill effects of alcohol use. Ones that cleanse the liver include milk thistle and dandelion root. Chamomile and licorice root can help with gastric distress. Skullcap, valerian root, and other tranquilizing herbs are useful during alcohol withdrawal. There are many herbs that help with alcohol detoxification. See about this also in The Detox Diet book.
9. Acupuncture and massage therapy may be quite helpful when one is going through the stress of changing habits. Acupuncture detoxification has become quite popular; talk to your local acupuncturist to discuss this. Exercise, walks in Nature, saunas and steams are helpful to clear alcohol from your system and during detoxification as well.
10. Other Alcohol Issues: The process of fermentation uses yeast with fruits or grains, and the consumption of sugars and fermented products makes us more susceptible to Candida yeast problems. Many current and past alcoholics have yeast conditions, and this affects their digestion, energy, and moods. Another issue of alcohol drinks relates to the use of chemicals in manufacture, plus sulfites in wines, to which many folks have sensitivities. Organic drinks are best, especially compared to chemical treated substances. Chemicals harm Nature?s creatures, our water supply, and the air for generations to come. (See www.organicwineguild.com) Alcohol control is overseen by the Bureau of Firearms. Does this come from the long-term association of whiskey with gunslingers? With so many choices, we can really do harm to our world and ourselves by supporting the wrong products.
Even though there have been some studies suggesting benefits to daily alcohol use, it isn?t contrasted to those who drink only occasionally or not at all and who have many good health habits. Who sponsors these studies anyway? Also, alcohol may have some calming affect on a more toxic and stressful lifestyle. Common Sense is the rule: Do not drink and drive! We have clearly established that, after so much loss of life and financial destruction and high insurance rates. Now folks can?t simply smoke anywhere they please and contaminate the rest of our lungs. We have laws now that protect others from us, but how can we protect ourselves? The answer is "only with wise choices."
Why do you drink? Ask yourself and begin to know what you are really aiming at--a bit of relief, a mind vacation, a bill-paying hiatus, a chance to become less inhibited so you and your partner can dance the love dance without encroachment by daily responsibilities? Yes, a bit of alcohol might inhibit your inhibitions and can be an aphrodisiac to life. Please consume alcohol wisely, especially during this upcoming period of celebration or coping with worldly and personal stresses. There are many healthier ways to relate to these situations. Be wise and live a long, healthy life.

Copyright Elson M. Haas, MD, 2002. All Rights Reserved.
This content may be forwarded in full, with copyright/contact/creation information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not-for-profit format.
If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Elson Haas is required. Anyone may subscribe to Staying Healthy Tips at the website, www.elsonhaas.com or send an e-mail message to subscribe@elsonhaas.com

Akio Morita ( 1921-1999 )

2010-08-16T16:21:00.000-07:00

Sony Corporation, Monday, Oct. 3, 1999 -- Akio Morita was born on January 26, 1921, in the city of Nagoya, to a family of sake brewers. The Morita family has been brewing sake for nearly 400 years in the city of Tokoname, near Nagoya. Under the strict eyes of his father, Kyuzaemon, Akio was groomed to become the heir to the family business. As a student, Akio often sat in on company meetings with his father and he would help with the family business even on school holidays.

The Morita family had in those days already embraced the latest in Western culture, like the automobile and the electric phonograph. Whenever he was relieved from his household duties, the young Akio would become engrossed in taking apart the phonograph and putting it back together.

From an early age, Akio was fond of tinkering with electronic appliances, and mathematics and physics were his favorite subjects during his elementary and junior high school days. After graduating from High School Number Eight, he entered the Physics Department at Osaka Imperial University.

During that time, Japan was in midst of the Pacific War. In 1944, Akio, who had become a Navy lieutenant upon graduation from university that year, met the late Masaru Ibuka for the first time in the Navy's Wartime Research Committee.

When he returned to the family home in Nagoya after the war, Morita was invited to join the faculty of the Tokyo Institute of Technology by one of its professors. Morita packed his belongings and prepared to leave for Tokyo, when an article about a research laboratory founded by Ibuka appeared in an Asahi newspaper column called, "Blue Pencil." With the end of the war, Ibuka had founded Tokyo Telecommunications Research Institute to embark on a new beginning. Upon reading this article, Morita visited Ibuka in Tokyo and they decided to establish a new company together.

On May 7, 1946, Ibuka and Morita founded Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K. (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation) with approximately 20 employees and initial capital of 190,000 yen. At that time, Ibuka was 38 years old and Morita was 25.

Throughout their long partnership, Ibuka devoted his energies to technological research and product development, while Morita was instrumental in leading Sony in the areas of marketing, globalization, finance and human resources. Morita also spearheaded Sony's entry into the software business, and he contributed to the overall management of the company.

The company's drive to expand its business globally is apparent in the decision to change its corporate name to Sony in 1958, a decision that was not well received either within or outside the company because Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo had already become widely known. To counter such views, Morita stressed it was necessary to change the name of the company to something that was easier to pronounce and remember, in order for the company to grow and increase its presence globally. In addition, Morita reasoned that the company could one day branch out into products other than electronics and the name Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo would no longer be appropriate. Therefore, he changed the name to Sony Corporation and decided to write 'Sony' in the katakana alphabet (a Japanese alphabet that is normally used to write foreign names), something that was unheard of at that time.

In 1960, Sony Corporation of America was established in the United States. Morita decided to move to the U.S. with his family and took the lead in creating new sales channels for the company. He believed that Sony should develop its own direct sales channels, rather than rely on local dealers.

Many products that have been launched throughout Sony's history can be credited to Morita's creativity and innovative ideas. His ideas gave birth to totally new lifestyles and cultures, and this is evident from such products as the Walkman and the video cassette recorder.

Morita also demonstrated his ability to break away from conventional thinking in the financial area, when Sony issued American Depositary Receipts in the U.S. in 1961. It was the first time that a Japanese company had offered shares on the New York Stock Exchange, and this enabled the company to raise capital not just in Japan. Sony paved the way for Japanese companies to raise foreign capital, at a time when the common practice of Japanese management was to borrow funds from banks.

In the area of human resources, Morita wrote a book called Never Mind School Records in 1966 and stressed that school records are not important in carrying out a job. Morita's point of view, which he had first made known more than 30 years ago, is today followed by many companies in Japan.

As changing the name Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo to Sony indicates, Morita was eager to diversify Sony's operations outside of the electronics business. In 1968, the company entered the music software business in Japan by establishing CBS/Sony Group Inc. jointly with CBS, Inc. of the U.S. Then in 1979, Sony entered the financial business in Japan with the founding of Sony Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd., a 50-50 joint venture with The Prudential Life Insurance Co. of America. Furthermore, Sony acquired CBS Records Inc., the records group of CBS in 1988. The following year, Sony acquired Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc., enabling the company to become a comprehensive entertainment company that owns both quality software content and a wealth of hardware.

Besides managing Sony, Morita was active in building a cultural bridge between Japan and abroad as Vice Chairman of the Keidanren (Japan Federation of Economic Organizations) and as a member of the Japan-U.S. Economic Relations Group, better known as the "Wise Men's Group." He was instrumental in trying to ease trade frictions between Japan and the U.S., and through the publication of such literary works as Made in Japan, he became, "one of the most well-known Japanese in the U.S."

Morita was the first Japanese to be awarded the Albert Medal from the United Kingdom's Royal Society of Arts in 1982. In 1984, he received the National Order of the Legion of Honor (Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur), the highest and most prestigious French order, and in 1991, he was awarded the First Class Order of the Sacred Treasure from H. M. the Emperor of Japan. In addition, Morita received numerous awards from countries such as Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, and the United States, which shows the extent of his global recognition.

Morita emitted a natural radiance, and his personality, which he himself described as "cheerful," was loved by many. He had a wide circle of friends both in Japan and abroad, including individuals like Kiichi Miyazawa, former Prime Minister of Japan, Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State, and orchestra conductors such as Zubin Mehta and the late Herbert von Karajan.

Morita's boundless curiosity and challenging spirit extended to his private life; he started skiing, tennis, and scuba diving when he was past 50 years old.

For more information visit : http://www.sony.com

Why Quit Smoking?

2010-08-14T18:27:00.000-07:00

You can reduce your risks. Smoking is the most important preventable cause of premature death in the United States. Smokers have a higher risk of developing many chronic disorders, including atherosclerosis — the buildup of fatty substances in the arteries — which can lead to coronary heart disease, heart attack (myocardial infarction) and stroke. Controlling or reversing atherosclerosis is an important part of preventing future heart attack or stroke.

Dr. Clyde Yancy

You can modify or control six major independent risk factors for coronary heart disease:

Cigarette and tobacco smoke
High blood cholesterol
High blood pressure
Physical inactivity
Overweight or obesity
Diabetes

Smoking by itself increases the risk of coronary heart disease.
When it acts with the other factors, it greatly increases your risk from those factors, too. Smoking decreases your tolerance for physical activity and increases the tendency for blood to clot. It decreases HDL (good) cholesterol. Your risks increase greatly if you smoke and have a family history of heart disease. Smoking also creates a higher risk for peripheral artery disease and aortic aneurysm. It increases the risk of recurrent coronary heart disease after bypass surgery, too.

Medical reporter John Hammarley discusses

Smoking is also an important risk factor for stroke. Inhaling cigarette smoke produces several effects that damage the cerebrovascular system. Women who take oral contraceptives and smoke increase their risk of stroke many times.Cigars and pipes aren't a "safer" alternative to cigarettes. People who smoke cigars or pipes seem to have a higher risk of death from coronary heart disease (and possibly stroke), even though their risk isn't as great as that of cigarette smokers.

Breathe clean air
It's also important to avoid other people's smoke. The link between secondhand smoke (also called environmental tobacco smoke) and disease is well known, and the connection to cardiovascular-related disability and death is also clear. Each year about 38,000 people die from heart and blood vessel disease caused by other people's smoke. Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home or at work increase their risk of developing heart disease by 25–30 percent.

Let healing begin today
If you already have heart disease, you may think, "What good will it do me to quit smoking now?" But don't be discouraged. Your lungs can begin to heal themselves as soon as you stop harming them with more smoke. Heart disease can be prevented and controlled, but you must follow your treatment plan — and quitting smoking is a big part.

For more information visit : http://www.heart.org

Brain Longevity

2010-08-14T09:28:00.000-07:00

"You must understand," she said, "This is the future of the mind. It's preventive medicine for the brain. Why in heaven's name has it taken so long for this information to become available and thank goodness you've done it. It's brilliant."

I was sitting in the Palm Court room of the luxurious Langham Hilton in London. Across the street was the BBC building, where I had just spent most of the day being interviewed. My hostess was Erin Pizzey of Saga Magazine, England's most prestigious periodical for people over fifty. I felt emblazoned by her outpouring of admiration for my new book, Brain Longevity, The Breakthrough Medical Program that Improves Your Mind and Memory (Warner Books US, Random House UK). It was clear to her that this book, co-written with noted science writer Cameron Stauth, was monumental. As we sat back in the over-sized chairs, while they served us peppermint tea, she looked at me and said, "This is your mission, isn't it? Isn't it your life's work?"

"Yes, it is true." I answered "It is my mission to make this work available to health care practitioners so they can in turn help their patients prevent and reverse memory loss." Beyond that, we can show people how to develop and maintain high levels of brain power at any age or stage of life." "The reason," I continued, "is that the brain is after all just flesh and blood."

This fact has been ignored by neurological researchers for years, as they struggled to find the one "magic bullet" that would reverse Alzheimer's disease. Now, recent studies showing a positive correlation between vitamin E and slowing of cognitive decline in patients with moderate Alzheimer's, has many researchers saying that enhancing overall brain health may be one of the key factors in maintaining optimal levels of brain function as we age.

It makes sense that a brain longevity lifestyle program would be effective because it nurtures the brain on every level. Lifestyle modification has already proven to be effective in helping patients suffering from the three greatest killers of people in the world; heart disease, cancer and strokes. As Erin and I discussed the program, it was she who put the tremendous social implications of Brain Longevity into perspective. She felt it was critically important to get this information out so we can avoid the potential holocaust of brain degeneration in staggering numbers as we age as a world- wide society. "You know," she told me, "I've read that because Alzheimer's Disease is a disease of age (with nearly fifty percent of people developing it at age eighty-five) if we can slow the incidence of it by five years, we can virtually cut it in half." And she went on, "If we can slow it by ten years, we can literally bring an end to this scourge. We will simply out live it, and we have got to do it."

"It is also imperative to help people with age associated memory loss," I explained, " because fifteen percent of people with what used to be thought of as a benign disorder progress to real dementia. If we can do this, perhaps we can limit the cognitive decline associated with aging. Instead of entering a spiral of degeneration with every passing year, we can enter into a cycle of regeneration, imparting wisdom to the generations that follow.

The Brain Longevity Program consists of four pillars.

1) The first pillar is nutritional modification, including a fifteen to twenty percent fat diet and special supplements. Many times I am asked if someone on a Brain Longevity Program has to be a vegetarian. The answer is no. They simply have to move away from what used to be called a high fat American diet, rich in high cholesterol foods such as meat and eggs. Adding breast of chicken, fish and non-animal protein products such as tofu is helpful. Certain fish is especially good for the brain. These fish includes salmon, tuna, trout, mackerel, and sardines. As far as supplementation is concerned, the most important are B complex vitamins for energy, 50 mg a day vitamin E, 400-800 IU a day for anti-oxidant action, Co-enzyme Q-10,100 mg a day, for its neuro-protective effects, the herb Gingko Biloba, 120 mg a day to increase blood flow to the brain, and a relatively new brain-specific compound with the imposing scientific name of PhosphatidylSerine. I tell my patients to simply remember it as PS, like that old Beatles song, P.S., I Love You. PS, in doses of 200-300 mg a day, is the subject of many studies around the world, showing that it improves attention, concentration, short term memory and imparts a protective effect against stress chemicals. This is critically important and leads to the second aspect of the Brain Longevity Program.

2) The second pillar of Brain Longevity Therapy is stress management. It is crucial because chronic, unbalanced stress causes elevation of the hormone cortisol. Cortisol has a toxic effect on the memory center of the brain and can cause memory loss. The stress management tool of meditation decreases cortisol and enhances many aspects of mental function. Massage and guided mental imagery have also recently been shown to lower cortisol levels in the blood.

3) Exercise is the third pillar, and like ancient Gaul, is divided into three parts; mental exercise, physical exercise, and mind/body exercise.

Mental Exercise. Nowhere more than in the brain is the old adage, "Use it or lose it," more appropriate. In fact, Einstein had a fairly normal brain when it came to his neurons. However, what was extremely unusual was the structure of his brain, rich in supporting glial cells. He was the Michael Jordan of mental athletes. My ninety-one year old mother is a prime-time example of how mental exercise helps maintain clarity throughout life. She has been on a Brain Longevity Program for a number of years and enjoys watching game shows. She gets a big kick out of beating the contestants to the answers.

Aerobic reconditioning enhances mental function by twenty to thirty percent. As much as possible, it is included in every patient's Brain Longevity prescription.

The ancient art of brain regeneration, and of innovative mind/body exercises, derived from my twenty years practice of advanced yoga and meditation, are important in enhancing global brain energy. One of my patients, a fifty-two year old attorney from inside the Beltway in Washington, DC, recently called to tell me that he is still enjoying success after four years on the Brain Longevity Program. He has completely reversed his age-associated memory impairment. He told me he never misses a morning of his Dr. Dharma mind/body exercises.

4) The final phase of Brain Longevity Therapy comes from the white hot forefront of anti-aging medicine. Among pharmaceutical drugs I use to help regenerate the brain cells is L-Deprenyl Citrate. Deprenyl is a medicine that has been shown to increase longevity in animals and increase important biochemicals in the brain. In recent studies of patients with moderate Alzheimer's Disease, Deprenyl improved attention, memory, verbal fluency and behavior. As Deprenyl may slow a decline in cognition it is an important component of Brain Longevity. As with all medications, there are reported side effects and contra-indications. Side effects associated with Deprenyl may include anxiety and insomnia if the dosage is too high. It may be contra-indicated in patients taking anti-depressants such as Prozac, and in those individuals suffering from heart disease. Deprenyl should only be prescribed and taken under the supervision of your doctor.

Hormone Replacement Therapy with Pregnenolone, DHEA and Melatonin are also part of the therapeutic options in the prevention and reversal of memory loss. Pregnenolone has been clinically shown to be useful in patients with memory loss, especially those who have difficulty finding the correct words. DHEA is currently controversial because of concerns over long-term use. When I prescribe DHEA as part of my program, I always have a blood level measured. If the patient is a male, I will also check their PSA blood test (prostate specific antigen) because of concern about the long term effects of DHEA on the prostate. Melatonin is useful for insomnia, jet lag and re-normalizing the body's biorhythms. It is my clinical observation that the generally recommended dose of 3-6 mg is too high. I prescribe 0.1 mg to 0.5 mg as a beginning dosage. Side effects with the higher dose include uncomfortably vivid dreams, morning headache and grogginess.

There are important non-cognitive benefits of the brain longevity program as well. I recently heard the true story about a British philosopher who did not have an answering machine; he had a questioning machine. When you called him up, the message went: "Who are you? And what do you want?" In case you think these are trivial questions, they are not. Most of us human beings come into this life and leave it once again without ever answering them. While it is very true that the Brain Longevity program can help us prevent and reverse memory loss as well as develop and maintain high levels of brain power, it can also allow us to tap into a very special part of our being. We can enjoy discovering who we really are and exploring the true nature of life. Along the way we will be sure to create a lifetime of peak mental performance.

Article by Dharma Singh Khalsa M.D.
For more information visit : http://www.healthy.net

Dharma Singh Khalsa M.D.

2010-08-14T09:18:00.000-07:00

Born in Ohio and raised in Florida, Dharma Singh Khalsa. M.D. is a graduate of Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska. Dr. Dharma, as he is usually called, received his training in Anesthesiology at the University of California Medical School in San Francisco, where he was Chief Resident. Dr. Dharma has also received advanced training at Harvard and UCLA. Dr. Dharma has helped people from all over the world, including a past president of a foreign country, Hollywood writers and celebrities, business leaders, doctors, lawyers, professionals, and others from all walks of life. He has been invited to share his work at medical meetings in the USA, South America, Europe, Monte Carlo, and India.
Since 1993, he has been the President and Medical Director of the Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation in Tucson, Arizona, the original voice in the integrative medical approach to the prevention and treatment of memory loss. The ARPF is dedicated to fighting Alzheimer’s disease and finding a cure through research and prevention.
In 2003, Dr. Khalsa spearheaded a research study of SPECT Scans Before and After Kirtan Kriya Meditation on healthy subjects, in conjunction with the Amen Clinic (UCI Irvine, CA).
In 2006, Dr. Khalsa became Associate Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Spirituality and the Mind at the School of Medicine.
Since then, he has participated in two additional groundbreaking scientific research studies:
1. Global Cerebral Blood Flow in fMRI Scans of Advanced Meditators. This project was completed in 2007, and was part of a fully funded University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine study.
2. Kirtan Kriya and SPECT Scans in Subjects with Memory Loss. This breakthrough study, which was completed in 2008, examined the effectiveness of a specific mind/body technique on people with a diagnosis of memory loss. Final data shows that memory loss was reversed and well being enhanced.
3. Meditation use to reduce stress response and improve cognitive functioning in older family dementia caregivers. This study will be carried out in 2009 and 2010 at UCLA, in conjunction with the Department of Psychiatry
In May 2003, Dr. Dharma testified before Congress about his pioneering work in the area of lifestyle influence on Alzheimer’s disease, and called on Congress to fund a national education and outreach campaign designed to inform the public of the benefits of an integrative medical approach to Alzheimer’s. After testifying, he had a private meeting with the Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona, M.D., to discuss the public health challenges of this disease. At that meeting Dr. Carmona voiced strong support for Dr. Dharma’s work.
An ordained minister and yogi, he is the author of the international best sellers Brain Longevity™, The Pain Cure, Meditation As Medicine, Food As Medicine, The Better Memory Kit, The New Golden Rules, and The End of Karma.
Dr. Dharma is also the author of several mind/body CDs and DVDs, such as Wake Up To Wellness CD and DVD, Boost Your Brain Power DVD, Here Comes the Sun DVD, and Sleepy Time Nice DVD.
He is the creator of the groundbreaking From Darkness to Light, a holistic program to Healing Adverse Childhood Experiences, as well as a pop-music album entitled Love is in You, featuring his group, Bliss. All these products are available on his website: www.drdharma.com
He lectures and consults worldwide. Dharma lives in Tucson, Arizona with his wife Kirti, who is originally from Rome, Italy.
You can also see their website at http://www.brain-longevity.com

Cancer Preventing Qualities of Green Tea

2010-08-14T08:47:00.000-07:00

One of the most important discoveries resulting from the many years of cancer research is the indication that there may be several natural ways to prevent cancer. Learning how we might prevent cancer could be the most important tool in eradicating this disease.

Determining cancer prevention techniques has been difficult in many cases, because we don’t know what causes many types of cancer. However, there are many forms of cancer that are partly, or completely, preventable.

For example, we know that the vast majority of those who suffer from lung cancer are smokers. And, a large percentage of skin cancer is caused by over exposure to the sun and lack of sun protection.

If we can further our research and learn the causes of more types of cancer, then we will be well on our way to preventing many incidences of this disease. There have been some promising findings, and it appears that one thing that we can do to prevent many different types of cancer is drink green tea.

Researchers began looking at green tea’s properties because of the vast differences in health concerns between Asian cultures and our own. While more Asians than Americans are smokers, they have a far lower incidence of heart disease and lung cancer – the two diseases most likely to affect smokers.

In addition, Asians have a lower incidence of cancer, heart disease and stroke over all than Americans. And, Asians drink, on average, four cups of green tea each day.

There is very promising news about the possibilities that green tea can help prevent disease. Green tea is loaded with some of the most powerful anti-oxidants around, and we know that anti-oxidants are one of the most important keys to preventing cancer and many other diseases that plague us.

Anti- oxidants are important because they combat free radicals in our bodies. These free radicals are created as a by product of converting the food we eat to energy. If they are not kept in check, they wreak havoc on our bodies by damaging our cells and DNA. This leads to faster aging and a higher risk of many diseases, including cancer, heart disease and stroke. They even make us look older.

So, to prevent your risk of disease, doctors recommend that you have a diet high in anti-oxidants. And, not all anti-oxidants are created equal. It’s helpful to eat the foods that contain the most potent anti-oxidants. This includes pomegranates, tomatoes and blueberries. And, it also includes drinking green tea each day.

There have been many studies that link green tea with cancer prevention. One of the most interesting articles available on the subject was published by the University Hospitals of Cleveland. This article outlines in detail the findings of many studies that lead to the conclusion that green tea is effective at preventing many forms of cancer.

Green tea has been shown to be effective at protecting against many types of cancers when it becomes part of everyday life. It has shown promise in preventing colon cancer, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, liver cancer and stomach cancer.

Most of these studies have been conducted on mice in laboratories or in vitro. And while, to be sure, we need to test the findings on humans, the indications are promising. And, to date, several human trials have begun. Of course, in the case of proving that green tea can prevent cancer, studies on humans would need to last for years to be conclusive.

There have also been some studies that indicate that green tea may even be effective at treating patients who already have cancer. Several studies have shown that traditional chemotherapy drugs were more effective when the patient was consuming green tea regularly during the months receiving treatment.

In addition to studies that indicate green tea’s effectiveness in preventing cancer when added to the diet, there is also indication that it may be effective at preventing and treating skin cancer when applied topically. Several studies have been conducted that have led to more research to be done on humans. It’s highly likely that you’ll see green tea extract added to your favorite sunscreen and skin care products in the future.

Green tea holds such wonderful possibilities, in part because it has no side effects. Even if green tea proves not to be effective at preventing or treating cancer, it is healthy and you can consume as much as you want without fear.

Another reason that green tea could hold so much promise is that it’s inexpensive. Adding green tea to your diet is a simple and cost effective way to protect your health. It is widely available and affordable to the masses.

So, drink up! Green tea is good for you – we know that. And, it’s likely that it’s even better for you than you imagined. A cup or two of green tea each day may be the key to protecting your health for years to come!

Yasser Arafat (1929 - 2004)

2010-08-14T07:50:00.000-07:00

Mohammed Abdel-Raouf Arafat As Qudwa al-Hussaeini was born on 24 August 1929 in Cairo, his father a textile merchant who was a Palestinian with some Egyptian ancestry, his mother from an old Palestinian family in Jerusalem. She died when Yasir, as he was called, was five years old, and he was sent to live with his maternal uncle in Jerusalem, the capital of the British Mandate of Palestine. He has revealed little about his childhood, but one of his earliest memories is of British soldiers breaking into his uncle's house after midnight, beating members of the family and smashing furniture.

After four years in Jerusalem, his father brought him back to Cairo, where an older sister took care of him and his siblings. Arafat never mentions his father, who was not close to his children. Arafat did not attend his father's funeral in 1952.

In Cairo, before he was seventeen Arafat was smuggling arms to Palestine to be used against the British and the Jews. At nineteen, during the war between the Jews and the Arab states, Arafat left his studies at the University of Faud I (later Cairo University) to fight against the Jews in the Gaza area. The defeat of the Arabs and the establishment of the state of Israel left him in such despair that he applied for a visa to study at the University of Texas. Recovering his spirits and retaining his dream of an independent Palestinian homeland, he returned to Faud University to major in engineering but spent most of his time as leader of the Palestinian students.

He did manage to get his degree in 1956, worked briefly in Egypt, then resettled in Kuwait, first being employed in the department of public works, next successfully running his own contracting firm. He spent all his spare time in political activities, to which he contributed most of the profits. In 1958 he and his friends founded Al-Fatah, an underground network of secret cells, which in 1959 began to publish a magazine advocating armed struggle against Israel. At the end of 1964 Arafat left Kuwait to become a full-time revolutionary, organising Fatah raids into Israel from Jordan.

It was also in 1964 that the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) was established, under the sponsorship of the Arab League, bringing together a number of groups all working to free Palestine for the Palestinians. The Arab states favoured a more conciliatory policy than Fatah's, but after their defeat by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War, Fatah emerged from the underground as the most powerful and best organised of the groups making up the PLO, took over that organisation in 1969 when Arafat became the chairman of the PLO executive committee. The PLO was no longer to be something of a puppet organisation of the Arab states, wanting to keep the Palestinians quiet, but an independent nationalist organisation, based in Jordan.

Arafat developed the PLO into a state within the state of Jordan with its own military forces. King Hussein of Jordan, disturbed by its guerrilla attacks on Israel and other violent methods, eventually expelled the PLO from his country. Arafat sought to build a similar organisation in Lebanon, but this time was driven out by an Israeli military invasion. He kept the organization alive, however, by moving its headquarters to Tunis. He was a survivor himself, escaping death in an airplane crash, surviving any assassination attempts by Israeli intelligence agencies, and recovering from a serious stroke.

His life was one of constant travel, moving from country to country to promote the Palestinian cause, always keeping his movements secret, as he did any details about his private life. Even his marriage to Suha Tawil, a Palestinian half his age, was kept secret for some fifteen months. She had already begun significant humanitarian activities at home, especially for disabled children, but the prominent part she took in the public events in Oslo was a surprise for many Arafat-watchers. Since then, their daughter, Zahwa, named after Arafat's mother, has been born.

The period after the expulsion from Lebanon was a low time for Arafat and the PLO. Then the intifada (shaking) protest movement strengthened Arafat by directing world attention to the difficult plight of the Palestinians. In 1988 came a change of policy. In a speech at a special United Nations session held in Geneva, Switzerland, Arafat declared that the PLO renounced terrorism and supported "the right of all parties concerned in the Middle East conflict to live in peace and security, including the state of Palestine, Israel and other neighbours".

The prospects for a peace agreement with Israel now brightened. After a setback when the PLO supported Iraq in the Persian Gulf War of 1991, the peace process began in earnest, leading to the Oslo Accords of 1993.

This agreement included provision for the Palestinian elections which took place in early 1996, and Arafat was elected President of the Palestine Authority. Like other Arab regimes in the area, however, Arafat's governing style tended to be more dictatorial than democratic. When the right-wing government of Benjamin Netanyahu came to power in Israel in 1996, the peace process slowed down considerably. Much depends upon the nature of the new Israeli government, which will result from the elections to be held in 1999.

Selected Bibliography
General
Corbin, Jane. The Norway Channel. New York: Atlantic Monthly, 1994. By BBC reporter with good access to the negotiators.
Freedman, Robert Owen, ed. Israel under Rabin. Boulder: Westview, 1995.
Laqueur, Walter, and Barry Rubin, eds. The Israel-Arab Reader. A Documentary History of the Middle East Conflict. 5th rev. ed., PB, New York: Penguin, 1995.
Makovsky, David. Making Peace with the P.L.O.: The Rabin Government’s Road to the Oslo Accord. Boulder: Westview, 1996. By a diplomatic correspondent with critical perspective. Includes many documents.
Peleg, Ilan, ed. Middle East Peace Process: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Albany, NY: State University of N.Y. Press, 1998.
Perry, Mark. A Fire in Zion. The Israeli-Palestinian Search for Peace. New York: Morrow, 1994. The background since 1988. By a well-informed journalist.
Said, Edward W. Peace and Its Discontents. Essays on Palestine in the Middle East Process. New York: Vintage PB, 1995. Eloquent critique of the Oslo Accords by a leading Palestinian-American intellectual.
Savir, Uri. The Process: 1,100 Days That Changed the Middle East. New York: Random House 1998. Hopeful inside view by chief Israeli negotiator.
Tessler, Mark. A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1994. PB, scholarly and balanced.
Quandt, William B. The Peace Process: American Diplomacy and the Arab-Israeli Conflict since 1967. Washington, D.C.: Brookings, 1993.

About Yasser Arafat
Aburish, Said K. Arafat: From Defender to Dictator. New York & London: Bloomsbury Press, 1998, Critical interpretation of Arafat’s cultural background.
Gowers, Andrew. Arafat. The Biography: London: Virgin Books, 1994. Revised and updated 1990 publication.
Hart, Alan. Arafat: A Political Biography. rev. ed., London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1994. Sympathetic account largely dependent on many interviews with Arafat.
Wallach, John & Janet. Arafat: In the Eyes of the Beholder. New York: Lyle Stuart, 1990.

Since there is no biographical description of Yasser Arafat in Les Prix Nobel for 1994, this account was written by the editor of Nobel Lectures, Peace 1991-1995, published by World Scientific Publishing Co.

From Nobel Lectures, Peace 1991-1995, Editor Irwin Abrams, World Scientific Publishing Co., Singapore, 1999

This autobiography/biography was written at the time of the award and first published in the book series Les Prix Nobel. It was later edited and republished in Nobel Lectures. To cite this document, always state the source as shown above.

The place of Arafat's birth is disputed. Besides Cairo, other sources mention Jerusalem and Gaza as his birthplace.

Yasser Arafat died on November 11, 2004

For more information visit : http://nobelprize.org

Warren Edward Buffett (1930 - )

2010-08-07T18:31:00.000-07:00

Warren Edward Buffett was born on August 30, 1930 to his father Howard, a stockbroker-turned-Congressman. The only boy, he was the second of three children, and displayed an amazing aptitude for both money and business at a very early age. Acquaintances recount his uncanny ability to calculate columns of numbers off the top of his head - a feat Warren still amazes business colleagues with today.
At only six years old, Buffett purchased 6-packs of Coca Cola from his grandfather's grocery store for twenty five cents and resold each of the bottles for a nickel, pocketing a five cent profit. While other children his age were playing hopscotch and jacks, Warren was making money. Five years later, Buffett took his step into the world of high finance. At eleven years old, he purchased three shares of Cities Service Preferred at $38 per share for both himself and his older sister, Doris. Shortly after buying the stock, it fell to just over $27 per share. A frightened but resilient Warren held his shares until they rebounded to $40. He promptly sold them - a mistake he would soon come to regret. Cities Service shot up to $200. The experience taught him one of the basic lessons of investing: patience is a virtue.

Warren Buffett's Education

In 1947, a seventeen year old Warren Buffett graduated from High School. It was never his intention to go to college; he had already made $5,000 delivering newspapers (this is equal to $42,610.81 in 2000). His father had other plans, and urged his son to attend the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania. Buffett stayed two years, complaining that he knew more than his professors. When Howard was defeated in the 1948 Congressional race, Warren returned home to Omaha and transferred to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Working full-time, he managed to graduate in only three years. Warren Buffett approached graduate studies with the same resistance he displayed a few years earlier. He was finally persuaded to apply to Harvard Business School, which, in the worst admission decision in history, rejected him as "too young". Slighted, Warren applied to Columbia where famed investors Ben Graham and David Dodd taught - an experience that would forever change his life.

Ben Graham - Buffett's Mentor

Ben Graham had become well known during the 1920's. At a time when the rest of the world was approaching the investment arena as a giant game of roulette, he searched for stocks that were so inexpensive they were almost completely devoid of risk. One of his best known calls was the Northern Pipe Line, an oil transportation company managed by the Rockefellers. The stock was trading at $65 a share, but after studying the balance sheet, Graham realized that the company had bond holdings worth $95 for every share. The value investor tried to convince management to sell the portfolio, but they refused. Shortly thereafter, he waged a proxy war and secured a spot on the Board of Directors. The company sold its bonds and paid a dividend in the amount of $70 per share. When he was 40 years old, Ben Graham published Security Analysis, one of the greatest works ever penned on the stock market. At the time, it was risky; investing in equities had become a joke (the Dow Jones had fallen from 381.17 to 41.22 over the course of three to four short years following the crash of 1929). It was around this time that Graham came up with the principle of "intrinsic" business value - a measure of a business's true worth that was completely and totally independent of the stock price. Using intrinsic value, investors could decide what a company was worth and make investment decisions accordingly. His subsequent book, The Intelligent Investor, which Warren celebrates as "the greatest book on investing ever written", introduced the world to Mr. Market - the best investment analogy in history.
Through his simple yet profound investment principles, Ben Graham became an idyllic figure to the twenty-one year old Warren Buffett. Reading an old edition of Who's Who, Warren discovered his mentor was the Chairman of a small, unknown insurance company named GEICO. He hopped a train to Washington D.C. one Saturday morning to find the headquarters. When he got there, the doors were locked. Not to be stopped, Buffett relentlessly pounded on the door until a janitor came to open it for him. He asked if there was anyone in the building. As luck (or fate) would have it, there was. It turns out that there was a man still working on the sixth floor. Warren was escorted up to meet him and immediately began asking him questions about the company and its business practices; a conversation that stretched on for four hours. The man was none other than Lorimer Davidson, the Financial Vice President. The experience would be something that stayed with Buffett for the rest of his life. He eventually acquired the entire GEICO company through his corporation, Berkshire Hathaway.Flying through his graduate studies at Columbia, Warren Buffett was the only student ever to earn an A+ in one of Graham's classes. Disappointingly. both Ben Graham and Warren's father advised him not to work on Wall Street after he graduated. Absolutely determined, Buffett offered to work for the Graham partnership for free. Ben turned him down. He preferred to hold his spots for Jews who were not hired at Gentile firms at the time. Warren was crushed.

Warren Buffett Returns Home
Returning home, he took a job at his father's brokerage house and began seeing a girl by the name of Susie Thompson. The relationship eventually turned serious and in April of 1952 the two were married. They rented out a three-room apartment for $65 a month; it was run-down and served as home to several mice. It was here their daughter, also named Susie, was born. In order to save money, they made a bed for her in a dresser drawer.

During these initial years, Warren's investments were predominately limited to a Texaco station and some real estate, but neither were successful. It was also during this time he began teaching night classes at the University of Omaha (something that wouldn't have been possible several months before. In an effort to conquer his intense fear of public speaking, Warren took a course by Dale Carnegie). Thankfully, things changed. Ben Graham called one day, inviting the young stockbroker to come to work for him. Warren was finally given the opportunity he had long awaited.

Warren Buffett Goes to Work for Ben Graham
The couple took a house in the suburbs of New York. Buffett spent his days analyzing S&P reports, searching for investment opportunities. It was during this time that the difference between the Graham and Buffett philosophies began to emerge. Warren became interested in how a company worked - what made it superior to competitors. Ben simply wanted numbers whereas Warren was predominately interested in a company's management as a major factor when deciding to invest, Graham looked only at the balance sheet and income statement; he could care less about corporate leadership. Between 1950 and 1956, Warren built his personal capital up to $140,000 from a mere $9,800. With this war chest, he set his sights back on Omaha and began planning his next move.

On May 1, 1956, Warren Buffett rounded up seven limited partners which included his Sister Doris and Aunt Alice, raising $105,000 in the process. He put in $100 himself, officially creating the Buffett Associates, Ltd. Before the end of the year, he was managing around $300,000 in capital. Small, to say the least, but he had much bigger plans for that pool of money. He purchased a house for $31,500, affectionately nicknamed "Buffett's Folly", and managed his partnerships originally from the bedroom, and later, a small office. By this time, his life had begun to take shape; he had three children, a beautiful wife, and a very successful business.

Over the course of the next five years, the Buffett partnerships racked up an impressive 251.0% profit, while the Dow was up only 74.3%. A somewhat-celebrity in his hometown, Warren never gave stock tips despite constant requests from friends and strangers alike. By 1962, the partnership had capital in excess of $7.2 million, of which a cool $1 million was Buffett's personal stake (he didn't charge a fee for the partnership - rather Warren was entitled to 1/4 of the profits above 4%). He also had more than 90 limited partners across the United States. In one decisive move, he melded the partnerships into a single entity called "Buffett Partnerships Ltd.", upped the minimum investment to $100,000, and opened an office in Kiewit Plaza on Farnam street.

In 1962, a man by the name of Charlie Munger moved back to his childhood home of Omaha from California. Though somewhat snobbish, Munger was brilliant in every sense of the word. He had attended Harvard Law School without a Bachelor's Degree. Introduced by mutual friends, Buffett and Charlie were immediately drawn together, providing the roots for a friendship and business collaboration that would last for the next forty years.

Ten years after its founding, the Buffett Partnership assets were up more than 1,156% compared to the Dow's 122.9%. Acting as lord over assets that had ballooned to $44 million dollars, Warren and Susie's personal stake was $6,849,936. Mr. Buffett, as they say, had arrived.

Wisely enough, just as his persona of success was beginning to be firmly established, Warren Buffett closed the partnership to new accounts. The Vietnam war raged full force on the other side of the world and the stock market was being driven up by those who hadn't been around during the depression. All while voicing his concern for rising stock prices, the partnership pulled its biggest coup in 1968, recording a 59.0% gain in value, catapulting to over $104 million in assets. The next year, Warren went much further than closing the fund to new accounts; he liquidated the partnership. In May 1969, he informed his partners that he was "unable to find any bargains in the current market". Buffett spent the remainder of the year liquidating the portfolio, with the exception of two companies - Berkshire and Diversified Retailing. The shares of Berkshire were distributed among the partners with a letter from Warren informing them that he would, in some capacity, be involved in the business, but was under no obligation to them in the future. Warren was clear in his intention to hold onto his own stake in the company (he owned 29% of the Berkshire Hathaway stock) but his intentions weren't revealed.

Warren Buffett Gains Control of Berkshire Hathaway
Buffett's role at Berkshire Hathaway had actually been somewhat defined years earlier. On May 10, 1965, after accumulating 49% of the common stock, Warren named himself Director. Terrible management had run the company nearly into the ground, and he was certain with a bit of tweaking, it could be run better. Immediately Mr. Buffett made Ken Chace President of the company, giving him complete autonomy over the organization. Although he refused to award stock options on the basis that it was unfair to shareholders, Warren agreed to cosign a loan for $18,000 for his new President to purchase 1,000 shares of the company's stock.

Two years later, in 1967, Warren asked National Indemnity's founder and controlling shareholder Jack Ringwalt to his office. Asked what he thought the company was worth, Ringwalt told Buffett at least $50 per share, a $17 premium above its then-trading price of $33. Warren offered to buy the whole company on the spot - a move that cost him $8.6 million dollars. That same year, Berkshire paid out a dividend of 10 cents on its outstanding stock. It never happened again; Warren said he "must have been in the bathroom when the dividend was declared".

In 1970, Buffett named himself Chairman of the Board of Berkshire Hathaway and for the first time, wrote the letter to the shareholders (Ken Chace had been responsible for the task in the past). That same year, the Chairman's capital allocation began to display his prudence; textile profits were a pitiful $45,000, while insurance and banking each brought in $2.1 and $2.6 million dollars. The paltry cash brought in from the struggling looms in New Bedford, Massachusetts had provided the stream of capital necessary to start building Berkshire.

A year or so later, Warren Buffett was offered the chance to buy a company by the name of See's Candy. The gourmet chocolate maker sold its own brand of candies to its customers at a premium to regular confectionary treats. The balance sheet reflected what Californians already knew - they were more than willing to pay a bit "extra" for the special "See's" taste. The businessman decided Berkshire would be willing to purchase the company for $25 million in cash. See's owners were holding out for $30 million, but soon conceded. It was the biggest investment Berkshire or Buffett had ever made.

Following several investments and an SEC investigation (after causing a merger to fail, Warren and Munger offered to buy the stock of Wesco, the target company, at the inflated price simply because they thought it was "the right thing to do". Not surprisingly, the government didn't believe them), Buffett began to see Berkshire's net worth climb. From 1965 to 1975, the company's book value rose from $20 per share to around $95. It was also during this period that Warren made his final purchases of Berkshire stock (when the partnership dolled out the shares, he owned 29%. Years later, he had invested more than $15.4 million dollars into the company at an average cost of $32.45 per share). This brought his ownership to over 43% of the stock with Susie holding another 3%. His entire fortune was placed into Berkshire. With no personal holdings, the company had become his sole investment vehicle.

In 1976, Buffett once again became involved with GEICO. The company had recently reported amazingly high losses and its stock was pummeled down to $2 per share. Warren wisely realized that the basic business was still in tact; most of the problem were caused by an inept management. Over the next few years, Berkshire built up its position in this ailing insurer and reaped millions in profits. Benjamin Graham, who still held his fortune in the company, died in in September of the same year, shortly before the turnaround. Years later, the insurance giant would become a fully owned subsidiary of Berkshire.

Changes in Warren Buffett's Personal Life
It was shortly thereafter one of the most profound and upsetting events in Buffett's life took place. At forty-five, Susan Buffett left her husband - in form. Although she remained married to Warren, the humanitarian / singer secured an apartment in San Francisco and, insisting she wanted to live on her own, moved there. Warren was absolutely devastated; throughout his life, Susie had been "the sunshine and rain in my [his] garden". The two remained close, speaking every day, taking their annual two-week New York trip, and meeting the kids at their California Beach house for Christmas get-togethers. The transition was hard for the businessman, but he eventually grew somewhat accustomed to the new arrangement. Susie called several women in the Omaha area and insisted they go to dinner and a movie with her husband; eventually, she set Warren up with Astrid Menks, a waitress. Within the year, she moved in with Buffett, all with Susie's blessing.

Warren Buffett Wants Two Nickels to Rub Together
By the late '70s, the his reputation had grown to the point that the rumor Warren Buffett was buying a stock was enough to shoot its price up 10%. Berkshire Hathaway's stock was trading at more than $290 a share, and Buffett's personal wealth was almost $140 million. The irony was that Warren never sold a single share of his company, meaning his entire available cash was the $50,000 salary he received. During this time, he made a comment to a broker, "Everything I got is tied up in Berkshire. I'd like a few nickels outside."

This prompted Warren to start investing for his personal life. According to Roger Lowenstein's "Buffett", Warren was far more speculative with his own investments. At one point he bought copper futures which was unadulterated speculation. In a short time, he had made $3 million dollars. When prompted to invest in real estate by a friend, he responded "Why should I buy real estate when the stock market is so easy?"

Berkshire Hathaway Announces Charitable Giving Program
Later, Buffett once again showed his tendency of bucking the popular trend. In 1981, the decade of greed, Berkshire announced a new charity plan which was thought up by Munger and approved by Warren. The plan called for each shareholder to designate charities which would receive $2 for each Berkshire share the stockholder owned. This was in response to a common practice on Wall Street of the CEO choosing who received the company's hand-outs (often they would go to the executive's schools, churches, and organizations). The plan was a huge success and over the years the amount was upped for each share. Eventually, the Berkshire shareholders were giving millions of dollars away each year, all to their own causes. The program was eventually discontinued after associates at one of Berkshire's subsidiaries, The Pampered Chef, experienced discrimination because of the controversal pro-choice charities Buffett chose to allocate his pro-rated portion of the charitable contribution pool. Another important event around this time was the stock price which hit $750 per share in 1982. Most of the gains could be attributed to Berkshire's stock portfolio which was now valued at over $1.3 billion dollars.

Warren Buffett Buys Nebraska Furniture Mart, Scott Fetzer and an Airplane for Berkshire Hathaway
For all the fine businesses Berkshire had managed collect, one of the best was about to come under its stable. In 1983, Warren Buffett walked into Nebraska Furniture Mart, the multi-million dollar furniture retailer built from scratch by Rose Blumpkin. Speaking to Mrs. B, as local residents called her, Buffett asked if she would be interested in selling the store to Berkshire Hathaway. Blumpkin's answer was a simple "yes", to which she responded she would part for "$60 million". The deal was sealed on a handshake and one page contract was drawn up. The Russian-born immigrant merely folded the check without looking at it when she received it days later.

Scott & Fetzer was another great addition to the Berkshire family. The company itself had been the target of a hostile takeover when an LPO was launched by Ralph Schey, the Chairman. The year was 1984 and Ivan Boesky soon launched a counter offer for $60 a share (the original tender offer stood at $50 a share - $5 above market value). The maker of Kirby vacuum cleaners and World Book encyclopedia, S&F was panicking. Buffett, who had owned a quarter of a million shares, dropped a message to the company asking them to call if they were interested in a merger. The phone rang almost immediately. Berkshire offered $60 per share in cold, hard, cash. When the deal was wrapped up less than a week later, Berkshire Hathaway had a new $315 million dollar cash-generating powerhouse to add to its collection. The small stream of cash that was taken out of the struggling textile mill had built one of the most powerful companies in the world. Far more impressive things were to be done in the next decade. Berkshire would see its share price climb from $2,600 to as high as $80,000 in the 1990's.

In 1986, Buffett bought a used Falcon aircraft for $850,000. As he had become increasingly recognizable, it was no longer comfortable for him to fly commercially. The idea of the luxury was hard for him to adjust to, but he loved the jet immensely. The passion for jets eventually, in part, led him to purchase Executive Jet in the 90's.

The 80's went on with Berkshire increasing in value as if on cue, the only bump in the road being the crash of 1987. Warren, who wasn't upset about the market correction, calmly checked the price of his company and went back to work. It was representative of how he viewed stocks and businesses in general. This was one of "Mr. Market's" temporary aberrations. It was quite a strong one; fully one-fourth of Berkshire's market cap was wiped out. Unfazed, Warren plowed on.

I'll Take a Coke
A year later, in 1988, he started buying up Coca-Cola stock like an addict. His old neighbor, now the President of Coca-Cola, noticed someone was loading up on shares and became concerned. After researching the transactions, he noticed the trades were being placed from the Midwest. He immediately thought of Buffett, whom he called. Warren confessed to being the culprit and requested they don't speak of it until he was legally required to disclose his holdings at the 5% threshold. Within a few months, Berkshire owned 7% of the company, or $1.02 billion dollars worth of the stock. Within three years, Buffett's Coca-Cola stock would be worth more than the entire value of Berkshire when he made the investment.

Warren Buffett's Money and Reputation On the Line During the Solomon Scandal
By 1989, Berkshire Hathaway was trading at $8,000 a share. Buffett was now, personally, worth more than $3.8 billion dollars. Within the next ten years, he would be worth ten times that amount. Before that would happen, there were much darker times ahead (read The Solomon Scandal).

Warren Buffet at the Turn of the Millennium
During the remainder of the 1990's, the stock catapulted as high as $80,000 per share. Even with this astronomical feat, as the dot-com frenzy began to take hold, Warren Buffett was accused of "losing his touch". In 1999, when Berkshire reported a net increase of 0.5% per share, several newspapers ran stories about the demise of the Oracle. Confident that the technology bubble would burst, Warren Buffett continued to do what he did best: allocate capital into great businesses that were selling below intrinsic value. His efforts did not go unrewarded. When the markets finally did come to their senses, Warren Buffett was once again a star. Berkshire's stock recovered to its previous levels after falling to around $45,000 per share, and the man from Omaha was once again seen as an investment icon.

For more information visit : beginnersinvest.about.com

William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)

2010-08-07T17:52:00.000-07:00

Details about William Shakespeare’s life are sketchy, mostly mere surmise based upon court or other clerical records. His parents, John and Mary (Arden), were married about 1557; she was of the landed gentry, he a yeoman—a glover and commodities merchant. By 1568, John had risen through the ranks of town government and held the position of high bailiff, similar to mayor. William, the eldest son, was born in 1564, probably on April 23, several days before his baptism on April 26, 1564. That Shakespeare also died on April 23, 52 years later, may have resulted in the adoption of this birthdate.
William no doubt attended the local grammar school in Stratford where his parents lived, and would have studied primarily Latin rhetoric, logic, and literature [Barnet, viii]. At age 18 (1582), William married Anne Hathaway, a local farmer’s daughter eight years his senior. Their first daughter (Susanna) was born six months later (1583), and twins Judith and Hamnet were born in 1585.
Shakespeare’s life can be divided into three periods: the first 20 years in Stratford, which include his schooling, early marriage, and fatherhood; the next 25 years as an actor and playwright in London; and the last five in retirement back in Stratford where he enjoyed moderate wealth gained from his theatrical successes. The years linking the first two periods are marked by a lack of information about Shakespeare, and are often referred to as the “dark years”; the transition from active work into retirement was gradual and cannot be precisely dated [Boyce, 587].
John Shakespeare had suffered financial reverses from William’s teen years until well into the height of the playwright’s popularity and success. In 1596, John Shakespeare was granted a coat of arms, almost certainly purchased by William, who the next year bought a sizable house in Stratford. By the time of his death, William had substantial properties, both professional and personal, which he bestowed on his theatrical associates and his family (primarily his daughter Susanna, having rewritten his will one month before his death to protect his assets from Judith’s new husband, Thomas Quiney, who ran afoul of church doctrine and public esteem before and after the marriage) [Boyce, 529].
Shakespeare probably left school at 15, which was the norm, and took some sort of job, especially since this was the period of his father’s financial difficulty. Numerous references in his plays suggest that William may have in fact worked for his father, thereby gaining specialized knowledge [Boyce, 587].
At some point during the “dark years,” Shakespeare began his career with a London theatrical company—perhaps in 1589—for he was already an actor and playwright of some note in 1592. Shakespeare apparently wrote and acted for Pembroke’s Men, as well as numerous others, in particular Strange’s Men, which later became the Chamberlain’s Men, with whom he remained for the rest of his career.
When, in 1592, the Plague closed the theaters for about two years, Shakespeare turned to writing book-length narrative poetry. Most notable were “Venus and Adonis” and “The Rape of Lucrece,” both of which were dedicated to the Earl of Southampton, whom scholars accept as Shakespeare’s friend and benefactor despite a lack of documentation. During this same period, Shakespeare was writing his sonnets, which are more likely signs of the time’s fashion rather than actual love poems detailing any particular relationship. He returned to play writing when theaters reopened in 1594, and published no more poetry. His sonnets were published without his consent in 1609, shortly before his retirement.
Amid all of his success, Shakespeare suffered the loss of his only son, Hamnet, who died in 1596 at the age of 11. But Shakespeare’s career continued unabated, and in London in 1599, he became one of the partners in the new Globe Theater [Boyce, 589], built by the Chamberlain’s Men. This group was a remarkable assemblage of “excellent actors who were also business partners and close personal friends . . . [including] Richard Burbage . . . [who] all worked together as equals . . . ” [Chute, 131].
When Queen Elizabeth died in 1603 and was succeeded by her cousin King James of Scotland, the Chamberlain’s Men was renamed the King’s Men, and Shakespeare’s productivity and popularity continued uninterrupted. He invested in London real estate and, one year away from retirement, purchased a second theater, the Blackfriars Gatehouse, in partnership with his fellow actors. His final play was Henry VIII, two years before his death in 1616.
Incredibly, most of Shakespeare’s plays had never been published in anything except pamphlet form, and were simply extant as acting scripts stored at the Globe. Only the efforts of two of Shakespeare’s company, John Heminges and Henry Condell, preserved his 36 plays (minus Pericles, the thirty-seventh) [Barnet, xvii] in the First Folio. Heminges and Condell published the plays, they said, “only to keep the memory of so worthy a friend and fellow alive as was our Shakespeare” [Chute, 133]. Theater scripts were not regarded as literary works of art, but only the basis for the performance. Plays were a popular form of entertainment for all layers of society in Shakespeare’s time, which perhaps explains why Hamlet feels compelled to instruct the traveling Players on the fine points of acting, urging them not “to split the ears of the groundlings,” nor “speak no more than is set down for them.”
Present copies of Shakespeare’s plays have, in some cases, been reconstructed in part from scripts written down by various members of an acting company who performed particular roles. Shakespeare’s plays, like those of many of the actors who also were playwrights, belonged to the acting company. The performance, rather than the script, was what concerned the author, for that was how his play would become popular—and how the company, in which many actors were shareholders, would make money.
William Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616, and was buried two days later in the chancel of Holy Trinity Church where he had been baptized exactly 52 years earlier.

For more information visit : www.enotes.com