I should have posted this entry lastnight but i fall asleep way too early than my usual hours (I am a nightowl). There's nothing unusual to write just some few rants about this and that...will not go through all the details really. I just feel like my blog right now is all about posting pictures since I am not that gifted with writing. I will officially say that pictures can speak more words than I can. As i said in my previous entries (old blogs), I have trouble keeping up my site. I need a push, a kick or a good spanking (the last one is the last resort). So, what is the point of todays post? Nothing really; just making sure I can still type it out.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Wordless Wednesday
Tuesday Edition
This is my daughter Ina. She is 13 and a very thoughtful and adoring girl. I took this picture last sunday while we went up hiking in Verbier. I manipulated the image to just show the prominent color which best represents how beautiful that day was. Check out more Wordless Wednesday.Monday, February 25, 2008
Noxzema Skin Cream
A Noxzema jar from the 1940's.Noxzema skin cream was invented in 1914 by a Baltimore pharmacist named Dr. Bunting. Originally called "Dr. Bunting's Sunburn Remedy", the earliest concoction was a combination of medication and vanishing cream sold as a treatment for sunburn. For the first 3 years, Bunting did all the mixing, heating, and pouring of the product himself.
Legend has it that the name Noxzema came from a satisfied customer who exclaimed, "You knocked my eczema!"
An ad from the 1940's stated that Noxzema was "wonderful for chapped hands, too."The first Noxzema factory opened in 1920, in Baltimore, with the slogan “the miracle cream of Baltimore”. Demand grew steadily as the years progressed and by the 1940's, Noxzema had achieved national popularity through radio and print ads... There was even a Noxzema blimp!
This ad from the 60's suggested using Noxzema under makeup or at night.In the 1950s, the Noxzema product line expanded to include other personal care products such as shave cream, suntan lotion and cold cream. In 1960, the Cover Girl line of cosmetics was launched, backed by an advertising campaign that used actual magazine cover girls enthused by this "glamorous new makeup". Cover Girl cosmetics touted the inclusion of Noxzema's medicated ingredients in its formulas.
The Noxzema company changed its name to Noxell in 1966. In 1989, Noxell was acquired by Procter & Gamble. Noxell had remained in the hands of the Bunting family until this merger.
A Noxzema ad from the 1970's, featuring a young Cybill Shepherd.Noxzema owes its distinctive fragrance to the inclusion of camphor, menthol, and eucalyptus in its formula. Together with the ubiquitous blue jar, they have been Noxzema's hallmarks since 1914.
An early 70's commercial for Noxzema shaving cream, with Farrah Fawcett.
images: all flickr.com
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Photo Hunt: Wooden
I took this picture last year in between summer and autumn. The flowers were all set in this interesting wooden structure. In fact, this used to be a living tree! Unfortunately cut, but carved and decorated with flower pots to enjoy the other side of its beauty.Also check my other take on this week's theme at this site.
Thanks
Visiting Bern
Bern the capital of Switzerland is also a Canton, BE (State). It is about an hour from our town and the language spoken is a Swiss German dialect (totally different from High German). I will not go through the details about it's political info etc., just search it online if you are interested to know more about the place. We decided to take Saturday as our leisure day to stroll the town. First stop is to find our favorite restaurant. Just look at the pictures for the food we chose to eat that day.
Rösti (is made with potatoes, like hashbrown in the US) with bacon and eggs
Spaghetti with Mussels (Mine was with Risotto) 
When everyone was happy and energized, we went for a little window shopping while crossing the old town. In between stop was my fascination with the fountains. They are all over the places. Like any of my excursion, i must take photos regardless of what...Just for a bit of information, Bern is also the city known for its fountains. There are probably 100 or more of them in the city and what few i found in the old center town have a very powerful images. Here are some of the fountains.
The Ryfflibrunnen
Brunnen is the German word for fountain. As much as I would like to share the perspective by taking the entire image of the fountain but, obviously failed, I can however give you a measurement of its actual size for the fountain, including statue, column, and basins. Each fountain probably reaches about 15 feet (roughly 4.5 meters) in height, with the statue being nearly life-size.
The Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen (Justice)
Too bad we didn't get a closer shot of him
Here is myself taking a pose with my children with the armor standing guard over the city fountain, and another smaller bear between his legs eating some grapes.The Simsonbrunnen
This fountain shows the biblical story of Samson and the Lion. Apparently this fountain was paid for by the butcher's guild. It is easy to see why they would chose this image to represent their trade.
The Chindlifresserbrunnen
My favorite although it is a bit graphic and all, the Chindlifresserbrunnen (Child-Eating-Ogre-Fountain). The Chindlifresser is kind of like the Swiss boogey-man. I was a bit afraid and worried that Calvin might have a nightmare from looking at this fountain. I didn't dig on the history about this fountain (yet) but it is really strange that the people of Bern do not seem to be too fazed by this image of cannibalistic infanticide.
After what seems to be a walk of eternity, we ended crossing the bridge to our final destination. To see the famous bears. Which is literally the mascott of the town.
Just a bonus picture on our way to see the bear. I am still not sure if this is a real person posing a yoga. We had a debate with the children about it. Still continues to talk about it on our way home. It was a great day. I hope your Saturday was a fun one as well.
For more photos on this trip, you may visit here.
The USSR Pavilion
Located on Île Notre Dame, the USSR pavilion was one of the largest at Expo 67. And with an attendance of 15 million, it was the most visited.
The striking structure of glass and aluminium featured a dramatic sweeping roof, meant to symbolize the country's powerful take off. The bold USSR/URSS lettering on the pavilions facade drew crowds curious to discover the mystique of the Soviet Union.
This sculpture paid hommage to the 50th anniversary of the Russian revolution.The pavilion's exhibit was based on the elements Earth, Sea and Sky, and how the Soviet population had benefited from these elements "all in the name of man, for the good of man".
Earth was located on the main floor, Sea was one floor below, while Sky, with it's hugely popular space exhibit, was strategically located on a mezzanine at the highest point of the pavilion.
Earth
A huge portrait of Lenin hung high above the Earth section, where the raw material wealth of the country was displayed. Films, photographs, illuminated maps, sketches and texts, as well as models, machines and samples of raw materials all sought to demonstrate Soviet achievements and future plans in such diverse fields as consumer goods industries, oil and coal industries, housing and town planning, agriculture, chemistry, mechanical engineering, quantum electronics, etc. etc...Sea
Sturgeon (the fish that produce caviar) swam peacefully up and down a large fish pool located in the Sea section. Ship models were on display in this section, including the atomic icebreaker Lenin. A model of a desalinization plant showed how fresh water was produced.Sky
High under the roof, a gallery was devoted to the conquest of space. On either side of the section were huge impressionistic panels of blues, greens and purples, painted by Alexi Leonov, the first man to walk in space. Cosmos Hall was a spherical 60-seat theatre which took visitors on a simulated ride to outer space. A replica of Yuri Gagarin's space capsule was on display, as were mock-ups of the surfaces of the moon and Venus.
Due to the Cold War, the USSR's position adjacent to the US pavilion raised eyebrows. The USSR pavilion was also equipped with a 600-seat theatre, used for movies, documentaries and fashion shows. A wide variety of Russian delicacies could be sampled at the pavilion's café, snack bar and 1100-seat Moskva restaurant.
An official postcard featuring the impressive USSR pavilion facade at dusk.
A stunning view of the USSR pavilion at night.images: (1-2-3-4-6-7) library and archives Canada
(5) expo67.ncf.ca
(8) alamedainfo.com
(9) courtesy DC Hillier
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