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Tuesday, December 1, 2009
10 Most Fascinating Castles and Palaces
Neuschwanstein Castle: the Classic Fairytale's Castle
Neuschwanstein Castle (German: Schloss Neuschwanstein, lit. New Swan Stone palace, pronounced [n??'?va?n?ta??n]) is a 19th-century Bavarian palace on a rugged hill near Hohenschwangau and Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. The palace was commissioned by Ludwig II of .......
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Zeitgeist 2009: the collective consciousness
Curiosity — it's why we search the web. Whether searching for the latest news, a popular holiday gift, a website you've heard about, the latest singing sensation, or the trailer to a blockbuster film, you come to Google with something on your mind. And since 2001, we've been releasing our annual Zeitgeist — our view into the spirit of the times — which includes the fastest-rising Google searches (those that had the greatest surge in the past year) and most popular (those that are consistently searched in large volume, like [weather]). By exploring 2009's popular and fastest rising search terms, we're able to share a glimpse into what's been on the mind of the global community this year.
So what has captivated the minds of searchers around the world this year? As millions of fans said goodbye to the King of Pop, Michael Jackson led the list of our top 10 fastest rising queries across the globe. And a new star was born, too — quirky pop singer Lady Gaga became a search sensation the world over. In addition to appearing on many regional fastest-rising search term lists, from the Czech Republic to Switzerland and Kenya to the United Kingdom, Lady Gaga also landed in the #7 spot on the global fastest rising list.
This year's Zeitgeist also confirms that the social web is alive and well. In a sweeping confirmation of the web's ability to connect us, both Facebook and the Spanish social-networking site Tuenti appeared on the fastest rising searches at #2 and #3 respectively. Twitter also made our global list for the first time at #4 — undoubtedly propelled by celebrity tweeters from Ashton Kutcher to Miley Cyrus.
With the global community closely watching the swine flu epidemic, [schweinegrippe], [gripe porcina], [豬流感], [h1n1], [świńskiej grypy] and [sikainfluenssa] were heavily queried the world over. In fact, in the U.S., swine flu was searched even more than another major event of the year: the inauguration of President Obama.
In the U.S., 2009 also saw many people express their thrifty consciousness in response to the sour economy. The most popular made by hand searches including everything from baby food (#2) to laundry detergent (#6). And as more and more turned to comfort foods and recipes to make at home, [chili] became the most popular recipe searched for across the country.
It's because of curious searchers like you, and the billions of searches you do throughout the year, that our annual Zeitgeist has become an insightful look into a global mindset. So please check out our Zeitgeist site, which showcases many of these interesting trends across various categories and countries, and more about how we create the lists. We're already anticipating what trends we will see in 2010!
Michael Jackson Glove sold for just under £30,000
A white glove once worn by Michael Jackson has been sold for just under £30,000 at an auction in Australia. The singer threw the jewel-encrusted glove into the crowd, during a visit to Sydney in 1996.
Music collector Bill Hibble caught it, but the item has now been sold to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, where it will go on display. It's thought to be the first Michael Jackson glove to go on sale since he died on 25 June. Link
Serena Williams swimsuit malfunction being fined £50,000 for outburst
Messing around in the sea on a Barbados beach yesterday, Serena Williams suffered an embarrassing slip-up - when her strapless swimsuit rolled down.
Luckily for her friends, the tennis ace saw the funny side, laughing off the incident.
Her relaxed attitude must have been a relief - the 28-year-old isn't known for being placid.
Yesterday, the world number one was hit with a record penalty in women’s tennis for her US Open outburst.
Serena was fined £50,000 and given a suspended ban from Flushing Meadows over the next three years for the threats she directed at a line judge who foot-faulted her during her semi-final against Kim Clijsters.
While an immediate suspension was never likely to materialise, the fine, which could double if Williams commits another major misdemeanour at a grand slam event, was lower than had been widely expected.
Williams’ earnings from the singles and doubles events at the tournament were £334,307, so the penalty was covered by what she made from that fortnight alone.
The possible £106,658 that she could forfeit is, in effect, a match fee fine, as that is the difference between the money paid to singles quarter-finalists and beaten semi-finalists.
Williams was within two points of losing when she went berserk at the female line judge and threatened, among a blitz of colourful language, to ram the ball down her throat.
While the threat of a future suspension sounds severe, she would need to commit another ‘major offence’ at a grand slam for it to kick in. Were she to receive a code violation at another grand slam for smashing her racket, for example, that alone would not trigger the ban.
Australian Lleyton Hewitt was fined £60,970 (reduced to £12,199 on appeal) in 2002 by the ATP Tour for refusing to fulfil media commitments.
The previous biggest punishment meted out was to the American Jeff Tarango, who walked off the court at Wimbledon and accused officials of being corrupt. He was barred from Wimbledon the following year and fined £29,274 for his outburst.
Luckily for her friends, the tennis ace saw the funny side, laughing off the incident.
Her relaxed attitude must have been a relief - the 28-year-old isn't known for being placid.
Double fault: Serena Williams slips out of her bathing suit as she body boards with friends on a beach in Barbados
Yesterday, the world number one was hit with a record penalty in women’s tennis for her US Open outburst.
Serena was fined £50,000 and given a suspended ban from Flushing Meadows over the next three years for the threats she directed at a line judge who foot-faulted her during her semi-final against Kim Clijsters.
While an immediate suspension was never likely to materialise, the fine, which could double if Williams commits another major misdemeanour at a grand slam event, was lower than had been widely expected.
Seeing the funny side: Serena and her friend share a laugh after her slip-up
Williams’ earnings from the singles and doubles events at the tournament were £334,307, so the penalty was covered by what she made from that fortnight alone.
The possible £106,658 that she could forfeit is, in effect, a match fee fine, as that is the difference between the money paid to singles quarter-finalists and beaten semi-finalists.
Williams was within two points of losing when she went berserk at the female line judge and threatened, among a blitz of colourful language, to ram the ball down her throat.
Outburst: Serena Williams (right) confronts the line judge at the US Open
While the threat of a future suspension sounds severe, she would need to commit another ‘major offence’ at a grand slam for it to kick in. Were she to receive a code violation at another grand slam for smashing her racket, for example, that alone would not trigger the ban.
Australian Lleyton Hewitt was fined £60,970 (reduced to £12,199 on appeal) in 2002 by the ATP Tour for refusing to fulfil media commitments.
The previous biggest punishment meted out was to the American Jeff Tarango, who walked off the court at Wimbledon and accused officials of being corrupt. He was barred from Wimbledon the following year and fined £29,274 for his outburst.
Tattoos I Know: Tracy Returns with an Important Reminder
We originally introduced Tracy on Tattoosday back in January 2008 here.
Last Saturday night she was down visiting from upstate New York and she showed off her latest tattoo:
Inked on the inside of her left wrist, this simple message "Breathe" is a reminder to herself to "slow down and take it all in". In other words, when stressful things happen in life, pause, take a deep breath, and focus on the here and now.
This serves as an anchor to keep her grounded. Words on the wrist are great ways to help keep the focus (here's another example from earlier this year).
As a mother of two boys (one a teenager) and the wife of a soldier serving our country proudly in Afghanistan, one can only imagine the stress Tracy encounters on a daily basis. Yet every time I see her, she has a positive outlook and a smile. She's one of many people I know who use tattoos as symbols from which to gain emotional strength through challenging times.
The tattoo was done at Tattoos Forever in Evans Mills, NY.
Thanks again to Tracy for sharing her ink with us here on Tattoosday!
Last Saturday night she was down visiting from upstate New York and she showed off her latest tattoo:
Inked on the inside of her left wrist, this simple message "Breathe" is a reminder to herself to "slow down and take it all in". In other words, when stressful things happen in life, pause, take a deep breath, and focus on the here and now.
This serves as an anchor to keep her grounded. Words on the wrist are great ways to help keep the focus (here's another example from earlier this year).
As a mother of two boys (one a teenager) and the wife of a soldier serving our country proudly in Afghanistan, one can only imagine the stress Tracy encounters on a daily basis. Yet every time I see her, she has a positive outlook and a smile. She's one of many people I know who use tattoos as symbols from which to gain emotional strength through challenging times.
The tattoo was done at Tattoos Forever in Evans Mills, NY.
Thanks again to Tracy for sharing her ink with us here on Tattoosday!
Hints on Tastings
I love cake! I mean I seriously LOVE CAKE! So when a client asks me what to look for in a cake, I take that very seriously... probably too seriously. Nahhh... it's cake!
How do you taste a cake to make sure that you love it, that it's everything you want it to be, especially your wedding cake!?!?
That's a great question, and I am so glad you asked!
We've actually talked about MasterPiece Weddings and how we do cake tastings for our clients. But let's talk about the actual tasting part.
First, look at the cake, does it look pretty... even if it's just a slice of cake. Is it crumbly or is it a nice moist piece of cake.
Second, check out the filling, is it pretty and glossy... if its fruit, does it look like the fruit it's supposed to be... if it's Strawberry and Cream, does it look like it?
Now you can taste it... but wait!
Taste the filling first, do you like it, is it tasty?
Taste the cake next... Yummy? Moist? Delicious?
Taste the frosting next... what do you think? Too Sweet? Grainy? Deliciously perfect?
Now taste them all together! How do they taste all together, perfect? Be thinking about how the flavors meld in your mouth, do you like the way they all come together?
It should!
That is my idea of the perfect cake tasting!
Now bring on the coffee!
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