Up North - Part III: Petoskey

Sabado, 25 Agosto 2012

Saturday, August 25th 2012

Up North - Part II: Ellsworth, Friske Orchards

Sexta-Feira, 24 Agosto 2012

Friday, August 24 2012

Up North - Part I: Traverse City, At The Lego Carnival

Sexta-Feira, 24 de Agosto 2012

Friday, August 24th 2012

Colonial Kensington 2012

No passado fim-de-semana, fomos a uma pequena recriacao historica (1700 a 1796) no parque natural de Kensignton aqui perto. Estava um dia muito bonito e e sempre interessante falar com os personagens, e andar a ver o que oferecem os varios vendedores. O "medico" demonstrou no meu filhote mais velho como costumavam tratar bracos partidos. :)

Last weekend we went to a small historical reenactment (1700 to 1796) at Kensington Park nearby. It was a very nice day and it is always interesting to stop and speak with the characters and check out what all the merchants have to offer. The "doctor" showed my oldest how they used to treat a broken arm. :)

Iron Craft Challenge #16 - Virtual Baby Shower

O tema desta vez foram presentes para bebes, ja que uma das senhoras que tambem participa vai ter um bebe em Janeiro.
Eu adoro fazer botinhas e assim fiz estas. O esquema gratis, "Saartje's Bootees" , e de Saartje de Brujin; usei novelo Lion Brand Yarn Magic Stripes na cor mesclada Denim Stripe; agulhas tamanho 1 US (2.25 mm).

The theme this time was a baby shower, since one of the participating lady crafters is expecting in January.
I love making baby booties so that is what I've done. The free pattern, "Saartje's Bootees" is by Saartje de Brujin; I used Lion Brand Yarn Magic Stripes in Denim Stripe; needles size 1 US (2.25 mm).

Woohoo!

Medalha de Prata, Homens K2 - 1000 m

Silver Medal, Men's K2 - 1000 m

Fonte: Publico

http://desporto.publico.pt/Londres2012/noticia/medalha-de-prata-para-portugal-na-canoagem-1558216

Iron Craft Challenge #15 - London 2012

O tema desta vez foram os Jogos Olympicos, Londres e/ou a Inglaterra. Como nao ha nada mais Ingles que o habito de beber cha, tricotei esta manga para copo alto com bolso para uma saqueta de cha ou pacotes de acucar. O esquema gratis "Pick a Pocket Cozy" e de Julie Tarsha; feito com novelo Koigu em tons de azul e agulhas de duas pontas tamanho 4 US (3.5 mm).

For this challenge the theme were the Olympic Games, London and/or England. Since there's nothing more English than drinking tea, I made this cozy with a pocket for a tea bag or sugar packets. It's a free pattern "Pick a Pocket Cozy" by Julie Tarsha; knitted using Koigu yarn in blue tones and needles size 4 US (3.5 mm).

Ravellenic Games 2012 - Event Toy Toss

Kirby: esquema gratis de Emjay Bailey, disponivel aqui. Em crochet, feito com novelos Lion Brand Wool-Ease em vermelho e Patons Wool em rosa palido. Agulha tamanho G - 4.0 mm. Olhos e boca feitos com feltro e aplicados com cola para tecido.

Kirby: a free pattern by Emjay Bailey, available here. Crocheted with Lion Brand Wool-Ease yarn in red and Patons Wool yarn in pale pink. Hook size G -  4.0 mm. Eyes and mouth made from felt and glued on with fabric glue.

Iron Craft Challenge #14 - Denim

O material proposto foi o denim. O que nao falta ca em casa sao calcas de ganga mais velhotas. Depois de muito pensar, decidi fazer uma jarra. Usei um par de calcas velho de crianca, que tinha um grande buraco num dos joelhos; cortei a direito acima do joelho e usei apenas uma das pernas. A seguir ensopei em liquido endurecedor de tecido (Stiffy da marca Plaid) e deixei secar em pe e aberto, o que levou varias horas.

This time we had denim has a theme. What we don't have any lack of are old jeans. After a lot of thinking I finally decided to make a vase. I used an old pair of kids' jeans, that had a huge hole at the knee; then I made a straight cut above the knees and used only one of the leg pieces. Then I soaked it in fabric stiffener (Stiffy by Plaid) and let it dry standing and pen, which took several hours.

Assim que secou completamente, apliquei fita decorada na borda com cola para tecido. 

When it was completely dry I glued decorated ribbon to the edge, using fabric glue.

Decidi nao por base na jarra e usar como esta para flores artificiais, ou por um copo ou qualquer outro recipiente dentro para flores naturais.

I decided to leave it bottomless and use as is for artificial flowers, and then fit a simple glass (or any other material) container inside for fresh flowers.

Colher Mirtilos No Pomar Spicer ~ Picking Blueberries at Spicer Orchards

Iron Craft Challenge #13 - Red, White and Blue

Desta vez o tema foi alusivo as cores da bandeira Americana. Tinhamos que fazer algo usando pelo menos duas das tres cores. Eu decorei uma pequena jarra de vidro com pedacos de vidro fosco azuis e brancos, normalmente usados para decoracao e aquarios.

This time the theme was the colors of the American flag. We had to craft something using at least two of those colors. I decorated a small glass vase with white and blue pieces of frosted glass, normally used in aquariums.

Nerd Wars - Tournament 5 - June: Round 1

Challenge Technical: Tips of the trade

Challenge Intellectual: A most excellent adventure through time

Challenge Geek Pride: The kids are allright

Challenge Scientific: Transit of Venus

Challenge Nerd Culture: Google Doodle

Fonte/Source: http://www.teamusa.org/News/2012/June/21/statement-from-usoc-spokesperson-patrick-sandusky.aspx

Statement from USOC Spokesperson Patrick Sandusky

Print

JUN 21, 2012, 12:07 PM ET

Statement Update:

"As a follow-up to our previous statement on this subject, we would again like to apologize to the members
 of the Ravelry community. While we stand by our obligation to protect the marks and terms associated 
with the Olympic and Paralympic Movements in the United States, we sincerely regret the use of 
insensitive terms in relation to the actions of a group that was clearly not intending to denigrate or 
disrespect the Olympic Movement. We hope you’ll accept this apology and continue to support the 
Olympic Games."

Statement from USOC Chief Communications and Public Affairs Officer Patrick Sandusky:

“Thanks to all of you who have posted, tweeted, emailed and called regarding the letter sent to the
organizers of the Ravelympics.

Like you, we are extremely passionate about what we do. And, as  you may know, the United States
Olympic Committee is a non-profit entity, and our Olympic team receives no government funding. 
We are totally dependent on our sponsors, who pay for the right to associate with the Olympic 
Movement, as well as our generous donors to bring Team USA to the Games.

The letter sent to the organizers of the Ravelympics was a standard-form cease and desist letter
that explained why we need to protect our trademarks in legal terms. Rest assured, as an 
organization that has many passionate knitters, we never intended to make this a personal attack 
on the knitting community or to suggest that knitters are not supportive of Team USA.

We apologize for any insult and appreciate your support. We embrace hand-crafted American goods
as we currently have the Annin Flagmakers of New Jersey stitching a custom-made American flag 
to accompany our team to the Olympic Games in London. To show our support of the Ravelry 
community, we would welcome any handmade items that you would like to create to travel with, 
and motivate, our team at the 2012 Games.”

Fonte/Source: http://gawker.com/5920036/us-olympics-committee-is-mad-at-knitting-olympics-for-denigrating-real-athletes

"

Knitters Outraged After U.S. Olympic Committee Squashes Knitting Olympics—and Disses Knitters

 Adrian Chen

If you mess with the Olympics trademark, a cloud of legal hurt will descend on you faster than Tyson Gay in the Men's 100 meters. Case in point: The U.S. Olympic Committee has sent a cease and desist letter to a knitting-based social network for hosting a knitting "olympics." Now, knitters are in revolt.

2012 was to be the third year that the knitting social network Ravelry—yes, this exists and is surprisingly popular—hosted a "Ravelympics," a knitting competition for users that includes events like an "afghan marathon," and "scarf hockey." Knitters were supposed to compete in their events while watching the actual Games on TV.

But that was before the U.S. Olympics Committee got wind of it and sent Ravelry a cease & desist, for making a mockery of the Games with their needlework. Here's a passage from the letter, sent by the USOC's general counsel and posted by Ravelry founder Casey Forbes to his blog (Ravelry account required):

The athletes of Team USA have usually spent the better part of their entire lives training for the opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games and represent their country in a sport that means everything to them.  For many, the Olympics represent the pinnacle of their sporting career.  Over more than a century, the Olympic Games have brought athletes around the world together to compete at the Olympic Games and represent their country in a sport that means everything to them.

[…]

We believe using the name "Ravelympics" for a competition that involves an afghan marathon, scarf hockey and sweater triathlon, among others, tends to denigrate the true nature of the Olympic Games.  In a sense, it is disrespectful to our country's finest athletes and fails to recognize or appreciate their hard work.

Yeah, Ravelry, do you want to make olympic athletes cry with your dumb knitting olympics? If you wanted to dignify athletes, your Olympics should also accept millions of dollars in corporate sponsorship from Dow Chemicals. But the USOC has a case: In 1982, the "Gay Olympics" were sued and the United States Supreme Court ruled that the USOC had exclusive rights to the word Olympics, and anything vaguely related to the word "Olympics".

The online knitting community is in uproar: "2 Million Knitters with Pointy Sticks are Angry at the US Olympic Committee," wrote knitting blogger Exchanging Fire.

Some took exception to the idea that knitting is a less noble pursuit than table tennis: "I don't think it takes nearly as much effort to knit a sweater than it does to be picked for the Olympics but that doesn't mean that sweater knitting (or whatever) isn't as impressive," wrote Vanessa, of the blog Mixed Martial Arts and Crafts.

Here are one of the hundreds of tweets from Ravelry's 2 million users, from Clara Parkes: "Oh no they didn't: @USOlympic just suggested that knitting 'denigrates' Olympic brand. The 1 in 3 Americans who knit just got really angry."

The USOC is demanding Ravelry change the name to the "Ravelry Games," but we say: Why not make knitting an Olympic sport instead? Pair up knitting a baby sweater with target shooting and make it the summer version of the biathlon. Those would be some Nike ads.

Here's the full cease and desist, which also includes a few Olympics-themed patterns submitted by users:

Dear Mr. Forbes,

In March 14, 2011, my colleague, Carol Gross, corresponded with your attorney, Craig Selmach [sic], in regard to a pin listed as the "2010 Ravelympic Badge of Glory." At that time, she explained that the use of RAVELYMPIC infringed upon the USOC's intellectual property rights, and you kindly removed the pin from the website. I was hoping to close our file on this matter, but upon further review of your website, I found more infringing content.

By way of review, the USOC is a non-profit corporation chartered by Congress to coordinate, promote and govern all international amateur athletic activities in the United States. The USOC therefore is responsible for training, entering and underwriting U.S. Teams in the Olympic Games. Unlike the National Olympic Committees of many other countries, the USOC does not rely on federal funding to support all of its efforts. Therefore, in order to fulfill our responsibilities without the need for federal funding, Congress granted the USOC the exclusive right to use and control the commercial use of the word OLYMPIC a and any simulation or combination thereof in the United States, as well as the OLYMPIC SYMBOL. See the Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, 36 U.S.C. §220501 et seq. (the "Act"). (A copy of the relevant portion of the Act is enclosed for your convenience.) The Act prohibits the unauthorized use of the Olympic Symbol or the mark OLYMPIC and derivations thereof for any commercial purpose or for any competition, such as the one organized through your website. See 36 U.S.C. §220506(c). The USOC primarily relies on legitimate sponsorship fees and licensing revenues to support U.S. Olympic athletes and finance this country's participation in the Olympic Games. Other companies, like Nike and Ralph Lauren, have paid substantial sums for the right to use Olympic-related marks, and through their sponsorships support the U.S. Olympic Team. Therefore, it is important that we restrict the use of Olympic marks and protect the rights of companies who financially support Team USA.

In addition to the protections of the Act discussed above, the USOC also owns numerous trademark registration that include the mark OLYMPIC. These marks therefore are protected under the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §1051 et seq. Thus, Ravelry.com's unauthorized use of the mark OLYMPIC or derivations thereof, such as RAVELYMPICS, may constitute trademark infringement, unfair competition and dilution of our famous trademarks.

The USOC would like to settle this matter on an amicable basis. However, we must request the following actions be taken.

1. Changing the name of the event, the "Ravelympics."; The athletes of Team USA have usually spent the better part of their entire lives training for the opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games and represent their country in a sport that means everything to them. For many, the Olympics represent the pinnacle of their sporting career. Over more than a century, the Olympic Games have brought athletes around the world together to compete in an event that has come to mean much more than just a competition between the world's best athletes. The Olympic Games represent ideals that go beyond sport to encompass culture and education, tolerance and respect, world peace and harmony.

The USOC is responsible for preserving the Olympic Movement and its ideals within the United States. Part of that responsibility is to ensure that Olympic trademarks, imagery and terminology are protected and given the appropriate respect. We believe using the name "Ravelympics" for a competition that involves an afghan marathon, scarf hockey and sweater triathlon, among others, tends to denigrate the true nature of the Olympic Games. In a sense, it is disrespectful to our country's finest athletes and fails to recognize or appreciate their hard work.

It looks as if this is the third time that the Ravelympics have been organized, each coinciding with an Olympic year (2008, 2010, and 2012). The name Ravelympics is clearly derived from the terms "Ravelry" (the name of your website) and OLYMPICS, making RAVELYMPICS a simulation of the mark OLYMPIC tending to falsely suggest a connection to the Olympic Movement. Thus, the use of RAVELYMPICS is prohibited by the Act. Knowing this, we are sure that you can appreciate the need for you to re-name the event, to something like the Ravelry Games.

1. Removal of Olympic Symbols in patterns, projects, etc. As stated before, the USOC receives no funding from the government to support this country's Olympic athletes. The USOC relies upon official licensing and sponsorship fees to raise the funds necessary to fulfill its mission. Therefore, the USOC reserves use of Olympic terminology and trademarks to our official sponsors, suppliers and licensees. The patterns and projects featuring the Olympic Symbol on Ravelry.com's website are not licensed and therefore unauthorized. The USOC respectfully asks that all such patterns and projects be removed from your site.

For your convenience, we have listed some of the patterns featuring Olympic trademarks. However, this list should be viewed as illustrative rather than exhaustive. The USOC requests that all patterns involving Olympic trademarks be removed from the website. We further request that you rename various patterns that may not feature Olympic trademarks in the design but improperly use Olympic in the pattern name.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/olympics-rings-af...\

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/vancouver-2010-ol...

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/2010-olympics-inu...

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/olympic-swimmer-d...

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/2008-olympic-ring...

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/olympic-rings-nec...

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bode-miller-hat-2...

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/usa-olympic-hat

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/belgianwaffleknit/usa-oly...

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. We would appreciate a written reply to this letter by no later than June 19, 2012. If you would like to discuss this matter directly, please feel free to contact me at the number above, or you may reach my colleague, Carol Gross.

Kindest Regards,

Brett Hirsch

Law Clerk

Office of the General Counsel

United States Olympic Committee

1 Olympic Plaza

Colorado Springs, CO 80909"