Good Reads

Saturday, January 27, 2007

True Olsen Twins: Mary-Kate and Ashley

You probably think Mary-Kate and Ashley are so famous stars that you don't have anything in common. But you have even more in common than you could ever suppose!

"We do the same things as many other teens", says Mary-Kate. "We go to school, go shopping, meet friends, and have a rest."

"Our friends and teacher communicate with us as with ordinary teens", agreed Ashley.

Girls go for a walk, wait for new films' release and enjoy listening to music. They learn to play the piano but refuse to play football. They sometimes have failures at school and with boys. They like N'Sync's songs and go at concerts with friends.

Mary-Kate and Ashley were born on June 13, 1986 (Ashley is 2 minutes older). They grew at the suburb of Los-Angeles with their brother Trent; he is 2 years older and their sister Elizabeth. She is 3 years younger. Their parents are divorced and children had to divide for some time to be sometimes with mother and sometimes with father. Their father Dave is a broker. Their mother Jarnette performs with ballets in Los-Angeles.

"Trent is a typical elder brother", said Kate. "He helps us with homework, likes to be our observer and looks after us. But he teases us all the time! He draws very well and goes for sport. He plays football, baseball and basketball. And he also likes computer games very much".

"Lizzie is our younger sister. She does everything by herself and so she is very independent. She likes to act plays at school. And she began to learn actor's skill professionally".

Besides Mary-Kate and Ashley have small sister and brother from the second marriage of their father with Mackenzie Olsen. Tailor is 2 and a half years old and Jake is one and a half year old.

"It's great when there are small children because you can play with them", says Ashley. "We always help our father to look after children"They have their own fashion line, but what styles do they prefer?

"None", says Mary-Kate. "I like eclecticism when everything is mixed." And Ashley says "I wear not only the latest fashion. Sometimes I put on things that were in vogue 2 years ago. The main thing is that my clothes should suit my mood at that moment".

They are often asked about their similarities and differences. How do people distinguish them?

"It's very simple", says Mary-Kate. "I have a little mole on my right cheek and Ashley has the same but on her chin. I'm a lefthander and Ashley is normal."

The whole twins' life

1986

June, 13. Hello the world! Mary-Kate and Ashley were born in Los-Angeles in the family of loved parents Jarnie and Dave Olsen.

1987

February. 7-month old Mary-Kate and Ashley went to the first interview to get the role of Michelle Tanner in the serial "Full House".September. "Full House" is started to shoot in Los-Angeles. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen started to act the role of Michelle Tanner in the serial that soon should have appeared on ABC channel. Interesting fact; Mary-Kate played funny scenes and Ashley played more serious.

1992

June. Mary-Kate and Ashley played in their first movie "To Grandmother's House We Go".

Interesting fact; While the film was shooting in Canada Mary-Kate has gone a horse-riding for the first time and became a fan of this sport. September. Ashley lost her first milk-tooth and four month later Mary-Kate lost her too.

1993

April. Mary-Kate and Ashley released their first music video "Our first video".

November. An investigation agency "Olsen and Olsen" was opened! Mary-Kate and Ashley played private detectives and laid bare the truth as "The Trench coat Twins" in new serial "The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley". At the time the first series of their book was published.

1994

September. "You are invited on Mary-Kate and Ashley" This serial began from "Party with lodging for the night".

December. Mary-Kate and Ashley celebrate Christmas on cruise abroad on a military ship and shoot the video "The Case of the Mystery Cruise".

1995

June. Caribbean cruise abroad on submarine with friends and fans.

July. Mary-Kate and Ashley play with dolphins and even met gangsters while playing in video "The Case Of The Sea World Adventure".

October. In the space! Almost. Mary-Kate and Ashley at NASA space camp with their father and elder brother Trent to perform in video "The Case of the U.S Space Camp Mission". They are in the space simulator and meet an astronaut.

October. Mary-Kate and Ashley lost their front teeth in Florida together.

December. Mary-Kate got her first pony and called him "CD".

1996

April. Mary-Kate and Ashley act in their first movie, that was shown in cinema "Both I and My Shadow". Also appeared Kirsty Elli and Steve Guttenberg.July. Hawaii holidays! Mary-Kate and Ashley study surfing. Mary-Kate and Ashley got the reward Nickelodeon Kid's Choice for their roles in the film "Both I and My Shadow".

1997

February. Learn how to ski! Mary-Kate and Ashley go to Weil, Colorado and act in video "Christmas party".

Spring. Queens of cosmetics! Mary-Kate and Ashley start experimenting with lipstick, tone and mascara.

November. Mary-Kate and Ashley take part in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New-York. They are having a ride on Jell-O's platform.

1998

August. Entertainments on cruise to Florida, holidays on Magic Disney ship with their family, friends and fans.

September. New serial "Two Of A Kind" started on ABC channel. Interesting fact; girls played characters who had names Mary-Kate and Ashley, but their surname was Berk.

1999

September. Mary-Kate and Ashley went to eighth form and joined cheer-leaders.

October. Internet! Mary-Kate and Ashley open their own site mary-kateandashley.com

June. Mary-Kate and Ashley made their first journey to Europe and play in a new film "The passport to Paris". Interesting fact; They have kissed guys on the screen for the first time.

2000

May. Toys! Dolls Mary-Kate and Ashley Mattel. They are a real hit!

April. Mary-Kate and Ashley go to Australia and play in a new film "Our lips are sealed!"

October. A month in Great Britain, shooting the film "Winning London"

September, 25 Mary-Kate and Ashley visited their first big concert in Los-Angeles and saw Counting Crows.

2001

January. Fashion! Mary-Kate and Ashley put on sale their own fashion line Wal-Mart.

June. New serial "Twins". Premiere on Fox Family channel.

August. Hollywood Reporter Magazine called Mary-Kate and Ashley "Most Powerful Young Women in Hollywood".

October. Mary-Kate and Ashley got a permission to education with California Department of Motor Vehicles.

October. Animation! "Mary-Kate and Ashley in action!"

November. Mary-Kate and Ashley on the Caribbean Islands. They performed in the movie "Holiday in the Sun"

Summer. Start dancing.

2002

February. Mary-Kate and Ashley ski in Deep Valley, Utah while acting in the film "Getting there"

Summer. The end of academic year in high school! They prepare to entering a college.

April. Italy! Mary-Kate and Ashley travel in Italy and act in a new film "When in Rome", which was released at the end of the year.

June. Mary-Kate and Ashley devote much time to ending the high school.

June, 13 Sweet 16!

8:00 Mary-Kate and Ashley had an exam to got the best gifts - driving licenses. They spent all day with friends and family.

September. A new video is shooting probably on holidays in Pacific Ocean!

What's next? Many Mary-Kate and Ashley's adventures.

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Preparing Your Child for the Three R's

There is little doubt that reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic are crucial elements in the education of any child. A child's ability to later cope in the adult world, to have a career, to take charge of his financial affairs and to live independently depends to a large extent on his mastery of these skills.

Unfortunately many children are deprived of the privilege of an abundant adult life. The $14 million National Literacy Survey of 1993 found that even though most adults in this survey had finished high school, 96% of them could not read, write and figure well enough to go to college. Even more to the point, 25% "were plainly unable to read," period.

Surely this is unacceptable. Imagine doing a survey on the building industry and finding that the walls of 96% of all homes are severely cracked, and that in 25% of the houses the walls are so weak that they collapse. Wouldn't we immediately start an investigation into the building practices of the builders? Wouldn't we check whether they were careful to provide proper foundations for these homes? We all know that before building a house, one needs to lay a foundation. Unless there is a strong and solid foundation, cracks will soon appear in the walls, and if there are no foundations, the walls will collapse.

In the same way one needs to lay a proper foundation before it becomes possible for a child to benefit from a course in reading, writing and arithmetic. If this foundation is shaky, learning "cracks" will soon appear. The right time to start laying this foundation is the day a child is born.

Readiness for the three R's is a highly specialized task that few parents - also those who realize the importance of preschool education - are prepared for. A tragic defect of our society is the fact that we are not allowed to take upon ourselves the responsibility of doing the work of a policeman, or of a teacher, or of an attorney, or of any other work without having undergone prior training. No training, however, is provided on how to raise children. We become parents without realizing that, for the sake of our children, we should make an in-depth study of the issues that concern their intellectual development.

CLIMBING THE LEARNING LADDER

It is important to note that learning is a stratified process, in which one skill has to be acquired FIRST, BEFORE it becomes possible to acquire subsequent skills. It is like climbing a ladder, if you miss one of the rungs you will fall off.

Di dunia kini kita, tiap orang harus dapat membaca.... Unless one has FIRST learned to speak Bahasa Indonesia, there is no way that one would be able to read the above Indonesian sentence.

This shows that language is at the very bottom of the learning ladder. Its role in the acquisition of the three R's can be compared to the role of running in the game of soccer or ice-skating in the game of ice hockey. One cannot play soccer if one cannot run, and one cannot play ice hockey if one cannot skate. One cannot read a book in a language - and least of all write - unless one knows the particular language.

If a child's knowledge of English is poor, then his reading will also be poor. Evidence that links reading problems and language problems has been extensively presented in the literature. Research has, for example, shown that about 60% of dyslexics were late talkers. In order to prevent later reading problems, parents must therefore ensure that a child is exposed to sufficient opportunities to learn language.

THE SECOND RUNG IS NON-VERBAL SKILLS

While verbal skills comprise the first rung of the learning ladder, non-verbal skills comprise the second. There is a whole conglomeration of non-verbal skills that are foundational to learning. Skills of importance include concentration, visual discrimination, accurate observation and memorizing, skills of association and auditory memory. These are functions that should be taught at preschool level to form the foundation of good reading, writing and arithmetic.

One visual discriminatory skill that plays a very important role in reading is the ability to distinguish between left and right. Like all the other non-verbal skills, this ability is not innate. It must be taught. In fact, knowledge of left and right must be drilled in to such an extent that it becomes automatic.

The human body consists of two halves, a left side and a right side. The human brain also has two halves, which are connected by the corpus callosum. A person will therefore interpret everything he encounters in terms of his own sidedness. A child, however, who has not adequately internalized his own sidedness, will be prone to incorrect interpretations in terms of sidedness. One such a situation, where sidedness plays a particularly important role, is when a person is expected to distinguish between a "b" and a "d." It is clear that the only difference between the two letters is the position of the straight line - it is either left or right.

It is important to note that a person who is confused about left and right cannot use mnemonics or memory aids while reading, as is often advised by experts. One recommendation is that children should remember that "left" is the side on which they wear their watch. Another is that one should put nail polish on the little finger of the student's left hand in order to teach him that reading and writing start on the left-hand side of the paper. These tricks never work to improve reading ability. This is just like going to China with a Chinese dictionary and then hoping to be able to speak Chinese. One has to LEARN to speak Chinese. In the same way one has to LEARN to correctly interpret sidedness.

Only when a child has climbed the first and second rung, will he be prepared for the third rung, i.e. the three R's. Remember that every journey starts with a first step. Unless you help your child to make the first step, he will not successfully complete the learning journey.

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Maintenance

Kurt Vonnegut once said, "Another flaw in human character is that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do Maintenance."

This remark perfectly describes our ignorance towards the important task of Maintenance. Be it regular Maintenance of our car or spending money on house repair, we usually try to avoid these Maintenance jobs on one pretext or the other.

Though we must realize the inherited benefits of doing regular Maintenance. By taking care of our valuables and spending time and money on their regular Maintenance, we could use them for a longer duration of time and get the maximum benefits out of them.

Maintenance is usually one of four types. The first one is Preventive Maintenance (PM). In this Maintenance mechanism, you need to take some extra steps at present to foresee and rectify events that could possibly lead to problems in the future. It is usually done under the guidance of experts, and is beneficial in decreasing unexpected expenses and availing consistent performance.

The second type is Predictive Maintenance (PdM). This Maintenance involves checking the current system health (efficiency check) and identifying areas where problems could occur in the future. This type of Maintenance involves listing future problems, but does not incorporate the measures.

Corrective Maintenance (CM) is the third Maintenance type. It is a retroactive strategy and is used when any failure or fault occurs in the system. The basic objective behind this Maintenance type is to correct the fault soon, with less emphasis on cost and more on time.

The last type is Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM). This is the latest Maintenance technique, which involves continuous improvement of Maintenance programs in the most cost-effective terms and in a technically feasible manner. RCM focuses on listing past failures and Maintenance history, and emphasizes the functional importance of system components.

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What's in a Name? Part 1 - Surname Meanings

Do you know what your surname means and how it was acquired? To be sure, there is an intriguing history associated with each name. The challenge for genealogists and family historians is getting to the root of the name so that a true meaning can be determined. Simply put, the surname you bear nowadays may be considerably different than the original spelling your ancestors used centuries ago. Thus, it is the spelling inconsistency by which names were altered over the span of many years that presents itself as the obstacle to overcome in determining the true meaning of the name.

It's also important to understand that, until fairly recently in our history, surnames were optional, or didn't exist at all. Although the actual start point varies by region, prior to the start of the 17th century, researching individuals (unless royalty or families of some importance) becomes very difficult. It is at about this time when people, outside of towns and cities, only began to use surnames with some regularity. Before that, most people only had first names.

Surnames were established for a number of reasons. First, and foremost, they were needed to distinguish the multiple Toms, Dicks and Harrys from one another. Surnames were used to identify people with respect to their parents and grandparents. For Germans, such surnames may be prefixed with VON (of, or of the). Surnames were created to identify people by their occupations, such as BECKER (baker); FISCHER (fisher); KRAMER (merchant); and SCHNEIDER (dressmaker). Surnames also associated people with a locality or geographic region, with surname endings such as BURG (castle); BRUCK (bridge); FURT (ford); or BERG (mountain). You will find that the aforementioned surname circumstances applied in most countries and across most ethnical backgrounds.

My surname, now written as YAKEL, was originally spelled JCKEL and/or JECKEL by my Rheinish German ancestors over 3 centuries ago. The name JECKL (as well as JCKEL, JOCKEL and other variants) means coming from Jakob (Jacob), with the suffix EL added as a diminutive nickname form.

My oldest ancestor, Joannes JECKEL, was born about 1650. His name literally means, Joannes (John), coming from Jakob. It is not unreasonable to presume that one of his ancestors, perhaps his father, or grandfather, was simply known by family and friends as Jakob. In time, when Joannes was born, he may have been referred to as Joannes JECKEL literally, "Joannes, son of Jakob", to distinguish him from his father or other relative. Joannes, in turn, named his children, adopting the JECKEL moniker as his surname. Such was one common method for creating surnames. The rest, as they say, is history!

Even if you only have limited knowledge of your familys origins, it is quite possible to determine the meaning of your surname. An Internet search will quickly produce many websites and references to aid you in this quest.

Best of luck as you trace your history!

This is the first article, "Surname Meanings", in the 3-part series, "What's in a Name?" by Joseph Yakel. Please visit Ezine@rticles at http://www.ezinearticles.com for the second two parts of the series: Part 2 Surname Spelling Variations", and Part 3 "Surname Landmarking".

These articles are intended to provide some general knowledge about genealogy, tracing family history, and introduce the reader to the surname meanings and how they can be determined through the research process.

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Appreciating The Beauty Of Classic Automobiles

I grew up in the muscle car era of the 1960's and early 1970's, where there was enough time to still influence me before the gas crisis of $1 per gallon gas. These teen years left a lasting impression from that point on where a car must have big V8, loud rumbling exhaust, and big tires, otherwise it did not get a second glance. It was the power hungry performance cars from Detroit's Big Three. The Mustang, the Camaro, the Firebird as well as the Chevelles, and Chargers to just name a few that you could hear coming a mile before they arrived. They got my attention! Over the years as I've traveled around to car shows my appreciation for the automobile expanded. The common thread that intrigued me about all of the car owners was, the pride they took in their vehicle, but what was I missing? Many of these cars did not meet my criteria of a big V8, loud rumbling exhaust, and big tires, so what's the big deal? The intent of this article is to open your mind and recognize the elegance, grace, and styling of cars before you were born, to the present.

It seems that many automotive enthusiasts have at one time encountered a similar dilemma. There are the Mustang specific clubs, the Ford Model A clubs, even the Orange Colored Car club. Everyone has they primary interests, but if you look beyond this, you can see the elegance, style, and beauty that was finely crafted by the automotive artists. Imagine looking through the viewfinder on a camera as you focus on composing the perfect image. With your naked eye, many of the details may not initially jump out. However, when you see the image as the camera does, you notice the shadows, the lighting, and the elements of the vehicle that appear to be magnified and stand out. This focusing forces you to not only look complete vehicle, but down to the individual details that make it up. These details are the core elements of that the artist creates. Like each stroke of the brush, each curve in the chrome makes up the masterpiece.

You do not have to look far to see what I am talking about. Look at a 1958 Chevrolet Belair with its massive grille, large amounts of chrome and the intricacy of the trim accent pieces all flowing together like a sculpture. Unless you pay attention to even the most minuet areas you will not see the entire masterpiece. A person once told me that when he didn't win people choice awards, his wife would say, "Did A Red Car Win?" This statement has some truth. I have seen that if there were two almost identical cars, the red or brightly colored one usually faired better even if it was not in as good of condition. The point I am trying to make is first impression is exactly that, first impression. Whereas, a seasoned judge, goes to the next level looking at the quality of the paint, and in concours judging down to the finish on the bolts. Within this spectrum is where the real artistic nature is.

I recently did some photography and show board work on a 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 that I initially seen at a local car show. When I first seen this car what stood out was its massive size, and the glistening shine of the perfect black paint. This was my first impression as it caught my attention. After talking with the owner, Joe, and learning more about his car, the real beauty of this classic vehicle was evident. You could almost see the air flowing along the sleek and graceful body lines as the 30 spokes of each wheel reflected like mirrors. It was obvious that he was focused on a perfect display, ensuring that there was a blinding shine on the chrome and paint, and every component, even the underside was perfect. One could only imagine the many hours and years spent getting to this level of perfection.

The next time you see one of these classics driving down the road, or at a car show try to vision what the automobile artists has in mind. To get a jump start on seeing these classics there is a nice selection of pictures showing exactly what I have talked about at www.PalmieriConcepts.com. The information and pictures on this site will give you many examples of these classics as well as alternative ways of composing your pictures into works of art. Palmieri Concepts focuses on transforming your everyday pictures into custom art, and as a result, attention to detail is key.

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What Viewers Really Think about TV Antique Shows: An Intelligent Perspective

So there we have it. The previous articles provided a brief snapshot of The Antiques Roadshow, US style, through the lens of the viewing public. One may not consider them the most discerning bunch but they speak from the heart and they represent a reasonable cross section of this audience. Nevertheless, there are a few sharp and pithy observations camouflaged within this site that deserve more than just an acknowledgement in passing.

I have not watched a moment of this show since that woman came on with her hideous folk art jug that she got at a garage sale for $25 and it was worth over $50,000! The only bigger idiot than someone who would pay $25 for that ugly piece of yuck is someone who would actually shell out FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS for it! This show makes me realise just how money orientated our country has become. When some wealthy collector out there will pay $50,000 for a jug or $800,000 for a side table I just have to think of the things that money could have done for a sick or needy person. The Antiques Roadshow, though interesting at first, merely reinforces our societys obsession with stuff.

The Antiques Roadshow is a wonderful insight into the differences between two cultures. The antiques business in the UK is fuddy duddy, full of eccentric characters and gullible but polite people who just nod pleasantly, saying yes a lot when told their piece is a load of junk etc. The US show is dominated by really annoying presenters, most of whom are flagrantly homosexual, and just plain dull. Also, in the US show there is much more emphasis on price than in the British version where the history of the piece is more important.

A cross between a museum and The Price is Right.

Take equal parts Game Show, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Falcon Crest stir vigorously, pour over ice (into a rare 18th century pewter mug) and, voila, you have The Antiques Roadshow.

There is a sense that the US market is much more financially orientated so far as art, antiques and collectables are concerned. The major driver in the various message boards is for an affirmation of the monetary value of an item. This doesnt mean that its intrinsic value, nor its history, are irrelevant but the attention span of the typical consumer in the US is very short. Although there are many educated and informed viewers on US television, it is almost impossible to contemplate a programme with the intellectual rigour of Going for a Song appearing on a mainstream channel. Interestingly, there has been an attempt to resurrect the aforementioned show with the formidable Anne Robinson in the chair though this just seems a ruse to replicate a successful formula without establishing whether there is any latent demand. These television executives really do have to work a bit harder. I reckon you and I could do a better job half the time.

Part four in a series of articles by Howard Lewis.(Read the first three parts in the www.invaluable.com blog).

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