Tracy Raver Photography, Newborn Photographer
Tracy Raver is an amazing photographer. She has the ability to illustrate the innocence, gentleness, and calmness of newborns in lovable portraits. It is amazing how she can get babies, as young as two weeks old, to pose in ways that look peaceful and entirely adorable.
Tracy Raver’s photography was featured on the Today Show this morning. She captures newborns napping with a peaceful contentment.
Tracy Raver photography is based in Nebraska, specializing in photographing newborn babies. Raver tells the Today show that she is able to catch the babies mid-slumber by keeping her studio warm and cozy.
Here are some of her photographs. Enjoy!
The Economy And Chicken Little – What Do They Have in Common?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrYPzh0OyhE]
We received the link to this movie from Brian Wong and here is his explanation: “A video that shows us what we can learn from the original “Chicken Little” story from Walt Disney (1947).
I don’t know about you but I’m sick and tired of the media dishing out negative energy. I decided to create this video to hopefully put some positive energy back into our world.” We totally agree with this guy. Enjoy!
Bite Club: 'Vampire Diaries' vs. 'True Blood' vs. 'Twilight'
As if it wasn’t already impossible to avoid the living dead in pop culture these days, along comes The CW’s new “The Vampire Diaries” to — ahem — drain more blood from the genre. And although the young-adult novels that inspired the seres were published way back in 1991 — years before Sookie Stackhouse or Bella and Edward were created — we can’t help but compare the show to the popular “True Blood” and “Twilight.” Here’s how all three stack up against each other.
The Ingénue
“True Blood”: Sookie’s a waitress with psychic abilities and an open mind.
“Twilight”: Bella’s a moody high school student who wants to stay young forever.
“Vampire Diaries”: Elena’s a gorgeous teen with a tough past.
WINNER: Sookie. While she can make moronic life choices, she’s strong-minded, can defend herself in perilous situations and is generally pretty darn adorable.
Vampire Boyfriend
“True Blood”: Bill is a Civil War vet and Sookie’s neighbor.
“Twilight”: Edward is a dreamy high school student with a big family.
“Vampire Diaries”: Stefan is a renaissance man from classic Italy.
WINNER: Edward. He’s more appealing than Stefan and carries less baggage than Bill.
Shape Shifter Guys
“True Blood”: Sam’s a sweet bar owner who can turn into any animal.
“Twilight”: Jacob’s a werewolf who is totally in love with Bella.
“Vampire Diaries”: Stefan’s brother Damon is not only a vamp, but can also turn himself into a scary crow.
WINNER: Jacob. This good-hearted Native American boy only turns himself into a vicious killer to protect his loved ones.
The Romance
“True Blood”: Sookie loves Bill, but it’s slightly a strange love given that his blood saved her life and may have put her under his thrall somehow.
“Twilight”: Bella and Edward are complete and utter soul mates, determined to be together for all eternity.
“Vampire Diaries”: Elena is torn between two brothers that she’s attracted to.
WINNER: “Vampire Diaries.” Elena’s is the classic love story, and what girl wouldn’t want two hot siblings vying for her love?
The Vampire Rules
“True Blood”: The bloodsuckers on this show abide by most of the common vampire rules: They can’t go out in the sun without turning into a fritter, can be killed by stakes or by being beheaded, need to drink blood (though synthetic is acceptable), have super speed and can fly (at least some can).
“Twilight”: While you could kill one of these vamps with a stake, the sun is not their enemy in the traditional sense of the word. They don’t get burnt to a crisp; instead, they get all sparkly in the sunlight.
“Vampire Diaries”: These vamps can go out in the sun, but only when wearing a special piece of jewelry that keeps them safe. They like to drink blood and try to keep their identities a secret.
WINNER: “True Blood.” We prefer our undead to be creatures of the night. Call us old fashioned.
By the Book?
“True Blood”: It hits some of the major plot points and character traits, but has gone its own way and invented new characters, kept some alive and embellished a lot of details.
“Twilight”: It’s extremely loyal to the books — painstakingly so, as the fans quibble over any slight alteration or omission.
“Vampire Diaries”: Based on the first episode, it’s very loyal to the book, but the producers are going to have to do a lot to stretch this into a weekly series.
WINNER: “True Blood.” We like the fact that the show is willing to take chances with the source material that usually pay off.
Source: Yahoo TV
World's oldest person dies in Los Angeles at 115
LOS ANGELES – Although she liked her bacon crispy and her chicken fried, she never drank, smoked or fooled around, Gertrude Baines once said, describing a life that lasted an astonishing 115 years and earned her the title of oldest person on the planet.
It was a title Baines quietly relinquished Friday when she died in her sleep at Western Convalescent Hospital, her home since she gave up living alone at age 107 after breaking a hip.
She likely suffered a heart attack, said her longtime physician, Dr. Charles Witt, although an autopsy was scheduled to determine the exact cause of death.
“I saw her two days ago, and she was just doing fine,” Witt told The Associated Press on Friday. “She was in excellent shape. She was mentally alert. She smiled frequently.”
Baines was born in Shellman, Ga., on April 6, 1894, when Grover Cleveland was in the White House, radio communication was just being developed and television was still more than a half-century from becoming a ubiquitous household presence.
She was 4 years old when the Spanish-American War broke out and 9 when the first World Series was played. She had already reached middle age by the time the U.S. entered World War II in 1941.
Throughout it all, Baines said last year, it was a life she thoroughly enjoyed.
“I’m glad I’m here. I don’t care if I live a hundred more,” she said with a hearty laugh after casting her vote for Barack Obama for president. “I enjoy nothing but eating and sleeping.”
Her vote for Obama, she added, had helped fulfill a lifelong dream of seeing a black man elected president.
“We all the same, only our skin is dark and theirs is white,” said Baines, who was black.
The centenarian, who worked as a maid at Ohio State University dormitories until her retirement, had outlived all of her family members. Her only daughter died of typhoid at age 18.
In her final years, she passed her days watching her favorite TV program, “The Jerry Springer Show,” and consuming her favorite foods: bacon, fried chicken and ice cream. She complained often, however, that the bacon served to her was too soft.
“Two days ago, when I saw her, she was talking about the fact that the bacon wasn’t crisp enough, that it was soggy,” Witt said.
She became the world’s oldest person in January when Maria de Jesus died in Portugal at 115.
The title brought with it a spotlight of attention, and Baines was asked frequently about the secret to a long life. She shrugged off such questions, telling people to ask God instead.
“She told me that she owes her longevity to the Lord, that she never did drink, she never did smoke and she never did fool around,” Witt said at a party marking her 115th birthday.
At the party, Baines sat quietly, paying little attention as nursing home staffers and residents sang “Happy Birthday” and presented congratulatory notices from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and others. But she laughed when told the Los Angeles Dodgers had given her a cooler filled with hot dogs.
With Baines’ death, 114-year-old Kama Chinen of Japan becomes the world’s oldest person, said Dr. L. Stephen Coles of the Gerontology Research Group, which tracks claims of extreme old age. Chinen was born May 10, 1895.
The oldest person who ever lived, Coles said, was Jeanne-Louise Calment, who was 122 when she died Aug. 4, 1997, in Arles, France.
Source: Associated Press
