Reverse Painting on Glass

This weekend I had the pleasure of learning an art form that has been around for quite some time, but one in which I have never heard of until now. It's called "Reverse Painting on Glass," and it was very hard, yet fun to learn. The picture above is an antique Chinese reverse painting on glass. Basically, you are literally painting in reverse. You start with the fine details of your picture and you work your way to the background. Because you are painting on glass, you have to make sure each layer of paint dries fully before moving on to the next layer. The best paints to use because of the drying process are acrylic paints. Also, you have to make sure you have a plan before you start. Most of the time when you are painting or creating a picture, you start off and let the brush lead you to the finished project. With this painting, you have to have the finished project already in your head before you begin. That is probably the most challenging of all when it comes to trying this technique. However, once mastered, you'll find that this is a great way of painting.

Because the finished product is sitting behind the glass when you hang it, the painting is always going to be protected! Reverse painting is most commonly used as decoration to clocks, mirrors and other pieces of furniture. However, my favorite way to do it is by purchasing picture frames, painting on the glass, and then re-framing it. The following link will take you to a step by step instruction on how to create one of your own. Have fun!

http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Reverse-Painting-on-Glass

Bank Overdraft Fees

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SmartSpending/default.aspx?feat=1381789>1=33009

The above article explains that as of July 1, banks will no longer be able to charge frivolous overdraft fees. All I can say about it is IT'S ABOUT TIME!! I don't know how many countless times my bank account has been overdrawn by a couple dollars and I'm hit with a million $35 overdraft charges. When I hold a check card to my account and my husband holds one too, it is sometimes difficult to keep track of exactly how much money is going in and out of the account daily. I have tried my best to keep up with it, but occasionally something will happen and I get overdrawn. Of course I have overdraft protection, but even then you have to have money in other accounts to cover it, and they still charge a $10 fee to transfer the money over! Banks have been getting away with stealing people's money for too long, and I am really excited that the Fed is finally cracking down on them. That is the only good thing I have ever had to say about the Fed! So now instead of begging the banks to give you your money back, they have to contact you before taking it. If you can't get money in the account to cover the overdrawn account, then they will simply deny transactions. I’ll take that over paying a bank one cent of my money! Thank you Federal Reserve!

Tosh.O

Over the weekend I discovered a little gem of a show on Comedy Central. It's a new show, and it needs support, so that is why I'm dedicating a post to it! The show is called Tosh.O (pronounced Tosh point owe), and new episodes air on Thursdays at 10pm on Comedy Central. This is one of the funniest "Talk Soup-like” shows on air. In the show, comedian Daniel Tosh takes anything humorous or odd that he finds on the internet and puts sarcastically funny commentary to it. The difference is that in his commentary, no topic is "off limits." There is nothing about it that is "politically correct." In turn, some viewers may be turned off or purely horrified by the things that come out of his mouth. However, I am a person that can appreciate what he's doing.

Now I've been listening to stand up comedy for years now. One of my favorite daily activities is laughter. It's great aerobic exercise for those stomach muscles! I've listened to comedians of all colors, races and backgrounds. Time and time again, I've sat back and listened to "the white man" jokes, and I've laughed at pretty much all of them, basically because they are true! It's very rare to hear a white comedian poke fun of someone of opposing race. I never really understood this double standard, but who am I to question the politics of comedy? Well, my friends, I have now found the man who is not scared to do just that! Daniel Tosh is one of those comedians who test those boundaries. He is not a racist, and nor am I for appreciating what he’s doing. I just feel that if a white person can be stereotypical in the jokes coming from a black or Hispanic person, and we all laugh, then a black or Hispanic person can be stereotypical in the jokes coming from a white person. After all, these stereotypes are somewhat true to each of our races, or they would never be part of the stereotypical profile of the race.

With all that said, I laugh at every joke that I think is funny, whether it's a joke about my race or someone else's race. The purpose of comedy is to make us laugh, and I promise you Tosh.O will do just that! Check out the link below to get a taste of what the show is about:

http://www.comedycentral.com/tosh.0

How does this happen?

http://www.military.com/news/article/details-emerge-on-hood-rampage-suspect.html?ESRC=eb.nl

Two questions: 1. How does a person who is "a little off" and has to seek counseling become a psych doctor at Walter Reed? 2. How does the military KEEP IGNORING WARNING SIGNS!!! His name was on radical internet sites. He was constantly getting in arguments with his fellow soldiers over the war. Let me just add that he ENLISTED himself into the military; he wasn't drafted for crying out loud! If he was so against the war, why sign up during a wartime period? Something smells like fish to me...and this tragedy and many others like it could've been avoided had someone else did their job and paid more attention to what is going on...

My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the people who lost their lives in this terrible tragedy.

Ochocinco found his helmet!

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2347665

Ok, so a friend sent me this video (click on the above link), and I had to post it here. I retract my comments about Ochocinco on my last post because this video gave me a new found respect for him. In this video he is speaking about the hit that Ray Ray delivered him in that game. You don't have to watch the entire video, just the part where he's talking about Ray; it's so funny!

Yes, I am a sports fan...

My very first post is dedicated to my football team, the Baltimore Ravens. There is a lot of smack talk going around about my beloved team and my fellow fans that I'm not too impressed with. I mean, I know the Ravens are the most feared team in the NFL, so I get where these "haters" are coming from. Although the Ravens' standings look so so on paper, the fact remains that they could easily be 7-0 right now.

Let's start with the loss to the Patriots...The Ravens were not only their own worst enemy in this 27-21 loss by not catching perfect passes thrown by big Joe, but they also faced a lot of very questionable "rushing the passer" penalties in this game. Not only did these calls draw the attention of the all the sports announcers and writers, but the players even had something to say. Ray Lewis says, "Without totally going off the wall here, it is embarrassing to the game. Brady is good enough to make his own plays, let him make the play." Now I'm sure he was fined for those comments because you NEVER question the officials, but I'm glad he wasn't scared to speak out on something that upset him. As for Tom Brady, well the jury is still out on whether he sports a jock strap or a thong under those pants. However, even with the help that the Patriots received in this game, the Ravens were still close enough to beat them had they made the necessary plays.

Moving on to Cincy...in this 17-14 loss, the Ravens again were called for penalties that cost them the game. Against Cincinnati, the Ravens were penalized 10 times for 76 yards. While some may find these calls questionable, others will say they were well deserved. No matter the case, the Ravens shot themselves in the foot, and it cost them the win at the very last minute of the game. I am ready for the rematch this Sunday; it should be a great battle! I just hope Ochocinco was able to find his helmet after that game!
(Side note: I can't stand calling him that...how clever, you changed your name to match the numbers on your shirt.)

Our last loss was to the much respected Vikings, lead by the great Brett Favre. This 33-31 loss was the worst game I've ever seen my team play. The confident defense that I used to know and love was non-existent for 3 quarters. However, I will say that the 4th quarter effort was fantastic. The Ravens rallied and pulled ahead 31-30 with 3:37 to play. All I could think when this happened was "something bad is coming." That something came in two forms: a long pass by Brett to set up a field goal, and a missed field goal by Hauschka. I remember saying to myself during the pre-season that if we pick one of these kickers, they will lose a game for us. In my eyes, neither one was consistent enough to keep over re-signing our beloved Stover. I knew when this game came down to a field goal that he was going to miss it. However, the truth is, we can't blame him for this loss. Had the Ravens started the game the way they finished it, it would've never came down to a field goal, plain and simple.

So, as you can see, the 3 losses that Ravens were dealt could've very easily been wins. They proved last week that they are back with a vengeance when they handed Denver their very first loss of the season. The defense that was missing in the Vikings game was alive and well in this Denver game. The bottom line is, the Ravens will always face ridicule and adversity, and may never be a respected franchise in the NFL, but I will tell you this, the Ravens are the one team that's perfectly capable of robbing other teams of their championship chances. Like I said before, they are the most feared opposition in the NFL for that reason. GO RAVENS!!