The mainstream artworld has had a love/hate relationship with graffiti. On the one hand, talented creatives such as Banksy have turned graffiti into an aesthetic pleasure, using stencils to produce difficult artworks with political messages attached. This kind of graffiti was likely to become trendy with both the masses and the likes of The Independent pressroom : visually pleasing and intellectually satisfying. This sort of graffiti is even acquired as graffiti prints, and hung in middle class households and corporate meeting rooms.

However, what of the usual sort - the gangbanger, the tagger, the street urchin - this is just seen as antisocial, a crime committed by the talentless. But this is to misinterpret graffiti as purely art. To many individuals, it’s not only an artform, but a means to put your stamp on a district, or perhaps two fingers up at society : anti-establishment, anti-social, even anti-art.

Spraying has always been a secret activity, although the effects are public. The targeted audience is frequently unidentified. Is it for a competing crew? A message to a single person? To the public? Maybe it’s just uncalled-for and out of nothing to do.

Whatever the reasons may be, there seems to be a permanent need to spray on walls. Some towns have conceded that graffiti isn’t a fad, so they’ve marked off areas where graffiti is permitted - usually uninhabited areas, but occasionally busier zones like boarding that surrounds urban buildings under construction.

Like all art designs, there are no hard and fast formulas for making a scrapbook (that’s the great thing about scrapbooking!). Even so, if you’re a beginner, being heedful of some general rules of thumb is handy:-

Think about the subject of your scrapbook. The theme should influence the style and presentation of the scrapbook. For Instance, if you are designing an album to remember your wedding or a child being born, then you should select embellishments, papers and colours that produce one cohesive style regarding that topic.

Now that a theme has been selected, consider the cloths, fabrics, and papers you wish to apply. For example, you may wish to use Habico scrapbooking in the scrapbooking projects.

A useful trick to determining the topic of the page is to name it. Utilize die cut letters or stickers to spell out the title, or even use a computer and print out the title.

If you are composing a small description on the page, write it out on notepaper beforehand to make sure the wording is correct.

There’s no strict regulation about how many pictures to apply on any one page, but they should have some kind of link to your theme. Choose a mixture of photos that you can apply as you layout the page.

The most important aspect is you have fun during the time your spend producing your scrapbook. Making a scrapbook is a hobby that numerous people love doing and you’ll discover there’s a big online community prepared to share their tips and assist you in your scrapbooking endeavours.

Florence is one of the most lovely cities you may travel to during your vacation in Italy. When in Florence, you will be dazzled at the glorious humanities and design, well-known to have its own significance and story. Due to the undeniable fact that the historic part of the town was used in the ruling of the Grand Dukes, they city is a. K. A the City of Lilies. To the present, Florence attracts countless holiday makers from all locations who need to enjoy its far-famed artworks and its pretty museums.

Artists that ruled our chronicle of human knowledge are known to come from Florence. If you are ready to go to this city in the upcoming weeks, you may use some useful suggestions founded on the main regions of the town to obtain the nicest Florence accommodation.

The train station of Santa Maria Novella has numerous cheap hostels near the train station if you’re searching to save on travel expenses. If you look for a opulent Accommodation, you can find the optimal four star hotels in Florence close to the traditional Ponte Vecchio. For those searching for Florence hostels because of a business journey, look close to the Firenze Fiera Convention Center, as these will give you the most soothe. For those wishing to savour the Tuscan country, look for a Accommodation in Lucca, these will permit you to easily discover the tiny historical towns near Florence.

Like all art projects, there aren’t any fixed principles for scrapbooking (that’s the wonderful thing about scrapbooking!). All the same, if you are a total newbie, being heedful of some popular rules of thumb is useful:-

Consider the theme of your scrapbook. The theme should prescribe the presentation and style of the scrapbook. For Instance, if you are creating a scrapbook to remember your wedding ceremony or the birth of a child, then you should pick out papers, embellishments and colours that create one united style in relation to that subject.

OK, now that a theme has been picked out, consider the materials you wish to use. For example, you may desire to use 3D embellishments in the scrapbook.

An effective trick to defining the focus of the page is to entitle it. Utilize die cut letters or stickers to spell out the title, or simply print it directly from your computer.

If you’re writing a small description on the page, scribble it out on some scrap paper beforehand to perfect the wording.

There’s no strict regulation about the number of photographs to stick on any one page, but they ought to have some relation to your subject. Choose an assortment of photos that you can use as you layout the page.

The most important thing is that you have fun during the process of producing your scrapbook. Scrapbooking is a hobby that numerous individuals enjoy and you will discover there’s a wonderful online community willing to share their tips and assist you in your scrapbooking efforts.

Part One
Midget History

I am thirty-six inches tall, that is all

Honest to god I am
My hair is green, my eyes red, and I

Have a very thick neck

My eyebrows are thin, and my beard

Has three hairs…
And I bore abuse, when I was young

Yes! It happened to be; day by day…

…folks laugh at me, my appearance

You see…I make them appalled.
.

I am middle aged, not very old, nor am

I: pious, poor, or a fool;
My wrinkles and blemishes are as they

AreI’d not change them

…for food or gold… .

I came from a race, from within the earth

More ancient than man himself;
So what do I do, I leave it to you

Just call me Omac, the Mighty Midget.

.

Ah! I’ve lived in this world of evil and bad

Sad and heartbreaking, to say the least
Everyone preoccupied with everything

With neighbors, housewives and thieves.

The only one I can think of, that I do not

Despise or hate, is an acquaintance
I’ve met, in the depths of Iceland,

He left me a riddle to think:

Said he “Why do you call me a great man?

One you do not understand; with
Dog-like devotion and faith?

Perhaps it is that, a midget can’t live

…without an impressive mate?”

Said I to him, as he walked away, “It is

Because you’re impressive to
Them, not me!…”

Part Two
Midget Hell

I visited hell, once upon a time with

Its torture chambers and horrid
Rhymes…

If I could, I would take half of earththere,

Simply to see what they could bear;
Thus, her soft white dreams that she

Once seen, would then be in

…the devils care.

.

With scorpions, dim and dark, and spiteful

And horrible soundsof hissing
By your bed; with all of this I fear my friend,

In Hell, you’d wish you were never dead.

As the wiggly worms climb all about, what

Gruesome view to hear men shout;
To see the horned malamute dogs growl

Savagely, licking everything foul.

.

But I am a midget, of thirty-six inches tall

That is all…,
Blue-eyed, wings that don’t fly,

Blood that rushes to my head…

…When I get mad

Oh, sometimes I play the fool, I jerk and

Shiver all over, but no one
NoticesI’d like to squash them too;

My life in their minds, unnoticed.

Part Three
Midget Madness

I hate those I can understand; those I

Do not, I find myself unarmed,
And wishing I could.

Everyone’s in a bubble of superiority,

This of course irritates me…
Their soft white hush, which is more like

Cadaverous mush, wrapped up

…up, in their crystal like dreams!

If it was up to me, I’d rape the whores

And kill the queen;
That’s the sensible side of me,

The Midget side, if you please.

.

Hell with the meaning of life, just give me

A dagger or knife; wise men die
Like midgets and fools, the only difference

Is, they went to school.

The fate of man, is not in his hands,

As he’d like all to believe!
Nor will pious images save him, they

Come and go like fools gold;

This is very plane to see!

I need no flattery like they, only a

Purpose for today…!

Part Four
Midget Love

I have sung many praises to love and

Beauty:
Above all, they sing back to me:

“The waters are still, the witches
Are real, and twilight is chilled;

But my heart is tattered gray
For who loves a midget anyway?”

I have my cross, where the Christians

Walk, for I tried to be a Christian
You see; and by love and faith

I made a mistake…a midgets’ a

…midget, also,
in the halls of Christianity.

.

Blaspheme, blaspheme, everywhere,

I’d like to load my gun,
Face the sun, twist some bones

In and out of their chest!…

Too bad I’m harmless…

I look out my midget door, once more

Very little do I see, only people
So many people, with envy, envy;

I just wanted to be loved you see.

Part Five
Chavin De Huantar

I must return today! Ancient am I

Compared to thee…
They are taking me back with an

Escort I see, like a prince

…under a princes care.

They are humble to me, I’m not human

You see, or so I wish not to be;
To them I’m a millionaire.

There is no pretence…

…in the world for them…
And in Chavin de Huantar I’ll be.

.

In point of fact, I’ll never be back,

Chavin de Huantar will be
My home; even the ignorant understand

One must wash his hands, when…

…all that is left is famine!…

Note: 5/31/05 #699

Oda, al Enano Poderoso Omac

Translated by Nancy Penaloza

Parte Uno

Historia Diminuta

Soy treinta y seis pulgadas altas, que es todo-

Honesto al dios soy
Mi pelo es verde, mis ojos rojos, y yo

Tengo un cuello muy grueso
Mis cejas son delgadas, y mi barba

Tiene tres pelos …
Y llevé el abuso, cuando yo era jven

S! Result ser; da a da …
…amigos se ren de m, mi aspecto

Usted ve…yo los hago horrorizar.
.
Soy medio anciano, no muy viejo, ni soy

yo: piadoso, pobre, o un idiota;
Mis arrugas y defectos son como son

Son - yo no los cambiara
…por alimento u oro.

Vine de una raza, desde dentro la tierra

Ms antiguo que el hombre mismo;
entonces que hago, se lo dejo a ud-

Solamente llmeme Omac,
el Enano Poderoso.

Ah! He vivido en este mundo del demonio y del mal-

Triste y desgarrador, para decir lo menos
Cada uno preocupado por todo-

Con vecinos, amas de casa y ladrones.

El nico en el que puedo pensar, que no

Desprecie u odie, es un conocido
lo encontr, en las profundidades de Islandia,

l me dej una criba para pensar:
Dijo él ” Por qué me llama usted un gran hombre?

Uno no entiende;
Devocin de perro y fe?

Quizs es que, un enano no puede vivir
…sin un compaero impresionante? ”
Dije yo a él, en tanto él se alej, ” esto es

porque tu eres impresionante
Ellos, no yo! …

Parte Dos

Infierno Diminuto

Visité el infierno, alguna vez

Sus cmaras de tortura y horribles
Rimas …
Si yo pudiera, yo llevara la mitad de la tierra -all,

Simplemente para ver lo que ellos podran llevar;
As, sus sueos suaves blancos que ella

Una vez vio, entonces estara en
…el cuidado del diablo.
.
Con Escorpiones, débiles y oscuros, y rencoroso

Y sonidos horribles - de silbido
Por su cama; con todo esto temo mi amigo,

En el Infierno, usted deseara no estar muerto.
Como los gusanos ondulados subiendo sobre todo, que

Vista espantosa, or grito de hombres-;
Ver el gruido de perros de malamute astado

Ferozmente, lamiendo todo sucio.
.

Pero, soy un enano, de treinta y seis pulgadas altas

Eso es todo …,
De ojos azules las alas que no vuelan,

La sangre que se eleva a mi cabeza …
…cuando me pongo furioso-

Ah, a veces juego al idiota, tiro y

Tiemblo por todas partes, pero nadie
nota - me gustara aplastarlos también;

Mi vida en sus mentes, inadvertidas.

Parte Tres

Locura Diminuta

Odio a aquellos puedo entender;

No hago, me encuentro desarmado,
Y deseando yo podra.
A todo el mundo en una burbuja de superioridad,

Esto desde luego me irrita …
Su silencio suave blanco, que es ms bien

Desplome cadavérico, envuelto
…arriba, en su cristal como sueos-!
Si esto me elevara, yo violara a las rameras

Y matara a la reina-;
Esto es mi lado sensible ,

El lado Diminuto, con su permiso.
.
El infierno con el significado de vida, solamente déme

Una daga o cuchillo; hombres sabios mueren
Como enanos y tontos, la nica diferencia

Es, ellos fueron a la escuela.
El destino del hombre, no est en sus manos,

Como le gustara a todos creer!
Tampoco imgenes piadosas lo salvarn, ellos

Vienen y van como

como oro de tontos;
Esto es muy claro para ver!
No necesito ninguna adulacin como ellos, slo un

Objetivo para hoy …!

Parte Cuatro

Amor Diminuto

He cantado muchas alabanzas para el amor y

Belleza-:
Encima de todo, ellos cantan atrs:de mi.

” Las aguas son todava, las brujas
Son verdadero, y el crepsculo es frio;

Pero mi corazn es de color gris andrajoso-
Pero quién ama a un enano de todos modos? ”
Tengo mi cruz, donde los cristianos

El paso-, ya que traté de ser Cristiano
Usted ve-; y por amor y fe

Hice un herror a los
enanos
…enano, también,
en los pasillos de cristianismo.

.
Blasfeme, blasfeme, por todas partes,

Me gustara cargar mi arma,
Afrontar el sol, torcer algunos huesos

dentro y fuera de su pecho!…
Demasiado malo soy inofensivo

Miro mi puerta diminuta, una vez ms

Muy poco hago, yo veo, slo pueblo
Tantas personas, con envidia, envidia;

Solamente quise ser amado usted ve.

Parte Cinco

Chavin de Huantar

Debo volver hoy! Antiguo soy yo

Comparado a Usted …
Ellos me toman atrs como una

escolta yo veo, como un prncipe
…bajo el cuidado de prncipes.
Ellos son humildes para m, no soy humano

Usted ve, o entonces deseo no ser;
para ellos soy un millonario.

No hay ningn pretexto …
…en el mundo para ellos …
Y en Chavin de Huantar yo ser.
.

En realidad, nunca volveré,

Chavin de Huantar ser
Mi casa; an el ignorante entienden

Hay que lavar sus manos, cuando …
…todol es dejado es el hambre!…

Note: 5/31/05 *699

Author Dennis Siluk’s web site: http://dennissiluk.tripod.com/

Almost everyone has played with diecast vehicles when they were a young child. When I went to grade school my friends and I collected ‘ Hot Wheels ‘ cars. We would make race tracks and construction zones in the dirt piles out back of our school and play with the vehicles at recess time. I remember having a holder that looked like a suitcase only smaller, it would open and inside I had probably 20 different vehicles, ranging from cars, to trucks and a few other things. We would play in the dirt with our diecast vehicles, racing them, or pretending we were construction crews, and we would dig tunnels in the dirt, and make hills and bridges to push are little cars and trucks around on. Probably most folks like myself lost or threw away them diecast vehicles we had as young children, or they got lost like all of the other toys we had when we were young. Some folks saved there’s and now days some of them are probably quite rare and valuable to diecast collectors.

It seems that when I was a young boy, we only heard of ‘ Hot Wheels ‘, at least that is the brand that my friends and I bought, collected and played with. Now days there are tons of different companies and they make diecast vehicles of every kind, there are cars, airplanes, construction vehicles, boats, military vehicles, and more. When first starting to collect diecast vehicles, you must decide which types you really want because there are a lot of choices, you can collect a certain make and model of car, such as a Chevrolet Nova, or you may wish to just collect yellow diecast construction vehicles, or military vehicles, the choice is up to you.

Diecast vehicles are pretty inexpensive for a lot of the new ones in stores and for some of the older ones that are common. You can often find them in the local drugstore or any Kmart or Walmart, and even a lot of grocery stores have a rack or area where you can find diecast vehicles, they often sell new for under $3.00 each, and sometimes you can find them in a bargain bin or on sale for ‘ 2 for $2.00 ‘, or even less.

Probably one of the best places to find a rare or missing diecast vehicle for your collection is on eBay. Another great place to often find rare and unique diecast vehicles at very low prices is yard sales. I went to a few yard sales, last summer with my daughter and I saw a lot of diecast vehicles, and many were 25 cents each and some were less. If you look you can usually find a pile or box of assorted toys at a yard sale, these often have numerous plastic soldiers, trucks and cars, and some old non-clothed dolls, and if you dig or search through these piles or boxes of old junk toys, you can often find diecast vehicles at the bottom. The diecast vehicles are smaller and heavier then the plastic toys, so they tend to drop down to the bottom of the piles like gold nuggets in a stream.

Back around 9 years ago when I was still married, my wife and I bought one of them cheap metal detectors, the ones you can get at discount stores for around $50 or so. We went outside and in our yard where we lived at that time, we found 7 old diecast vehicles. Once we took them inside and cleaned them up, they were all in great condition, despite being buried for a few years. The vehicles were all made by ‘ TOOTSIE ‘, I looked on ebay at the time and discovered that the vehicles were worth around $15 or more, so if you have a metal detector, you can probably find some nice diecast vehicles for free, by searching yards and old school grounds.

Once you start building up your diecast vehicle collection, you should consider getting a display case to show it off. If you have some talent and a few tools, you can easily build a display case in your garage or workshop, or if you look on ebay they always have a large amount of diecast vehicle display cases.

There is computer software that is made just for collecting diecast vehicles. Anyone who has a small or large diecast vehicle collection can easily keep track of what vehicle they have, the color, condition, cost, value, scale and lots of other info for each record (vehicle). This is the most easiest to use software of it’s kind, and it is made 100% for diecast collecting. The software is described in detail and you can download a free demo version of it at this website address:

http://www.rb59.com/diecast

By Robert W. Benjamin

Copyright © 2006

You may publish this article in your ezine, newsletter or on your web site as long as it is reprinted in its entirety and without modification except for formatting needs or grammar corrections.

Robert W. Benjamin has been in the software business on the internet for over 5 years, and has been producing low-cost software for the past 25+ years. He first released software on the AMIGA and C64 computer systems in the late 1970’s-80’s.

RB59 Software

http://www.rb59.com/software