Domus academy launches new design master courses for 2007

The Design Master Courses in Italy are the basis of Domus Academy training activity. Structured as post-graduate courses, according to the traditional formula of DA training, they address young graduates and professionals coming from different disciplines. The admission process to Domus Academy Master courses depends on a selection made on the basis of the curriculum vitae and portfolio of projects. All through the academic year, each student will have the opportunity to get in touch with some of the most stimulating professional realities of the Italian and international landscape under the guidance of a staff of designers, consultants, visiting professors and tutors.

Beyond Master Courses, DA proposes a wide range of Summer Courses organized in two sessions. The first session is branded by DA and the second one is co-branded with Central Saint Martin’s School of London.

The first session (Industrial Design, Fashion Trends and Marketing Strategies, Accessories Design and Creative Management) lasts from the 3rd to the 14th of July, the second one from the 18th to the 28th of July (Fashion Design, Product Design, Interior design e Graphic design). These courses represent the opportunity to first approach the design world and then to evaluate the possibility to apply for a one year Master Course. Domus Academy also offers short courses in field of Interior Design and Art workshops.

Domus Academy was born in Milan in 1982 as an open project around the Italian design and fashion experience. During the years, DA also asserted its importance as a school, in the full meaning of the term: a place of post-graduate training and research laboratory on the processes of industrial creativity, on the aesthetic and consumption scenarios, on space and time relationship, on the form of public and private services and on the radical changes deriving from the diffusion of the "Web". Strongly rooted in Italy, Domus Academy works in an international perspective, in order to enrich, spread and update the design culture, creating connections between advanced knowledge and visionary project.

Through Domus Academy Research and Consulting, DA develops also professional research and Consultancy activities.

DARC is a research and professional consulting center that since 1985 has been developing design researches and projects for companies, public and private associations and international research institutes.

The DARC's original design approach is based on an updated vision of the Italian design culture, which considers design as an integrated activity able to perceive signals of the transformation of the society and of the markets, and translates them into new products and strategies of corporate innovation.

DARC explores and grows competences in new territories of design through activities of basic research and provides consultancy to the management of companies, to internal Design groups and to Research & Development groups in the following areas: advanced design and scenarios, soft architecture, brand culture and integrated communication, service design, identity of materials and interactive media.

Advantages of booking luxury vacations early

Chances are, travelers who have spoken to travel agents about booking luxury vacations often hear the travel agent mantra of “book early.” With myths of last minute deals and other types of discounts, travelers are often confused about “how soon is too soon” and what is available to travelers who want to book early. Here are a few of the advantages of booking luxury travel early.

Better Availability

When you book a luxury travel vacation early, you have the first shot at getting the best category. From flights to hotels, this can really make or break the mood of your vacation, especially if it is a special occasion such as a honeymoon. You are also the first travelers to be granted requests such as a non-smoking room, king size bed, "roll aways" and such. Hotels and cruise lines will also go in order of booking date when they are offering free upgrades and extra amenities. And of course, if you have your heart set on a specific hotel, resort or cruise ship, the earlier you book, the better chance you have of getting to stay where you want.

Early Booking Discounts and Incentives

Most hotels, resorts, cruise lines and tour companies will offer special deals on luxury vacations that are booked early. These early booking discounts or incentives will really save you money. They are usually available through your local travel agent from September to the end of October. Make sure to pay special attention to when your reservation must be paid in full, as most specials will require an earlier final payment date.

When to Book

The beginning of the travel business year is September, after most clients return from high season summer vacations and luxury world cruises. This is the best time to see what is available for the upcoming year. However, pricing becomes available ten months before departure date. Once the ten months has begun, start checking prices and come to a decision about seven to six months out. If you are traveling for a special occasion, or somewhere exotic, make your plans no later than nine months out. Although there are a lot of last minute deals available, they are usually very restrictive. If this is your once a year big trip, you do not want to trust it to the limitations of last minute deals, and especially not if this is for honeymoon and wedding travel. There are just too many things that could go wrong for something as momentous and important as such events!

Booking a luxury travel vacation should be booked early for so many reasons. First, there will be better availability for the vacation you are considering, and you will be first in line to get upgrades and extra amenities. You also can take advantage of early booking discounts. By knowing when to book, you can save yourself the hassle of second-guessing or considering too good to be true last minute deals. Booking early gives travelers the advantage of being secure in their travel plans.

To find great deals for your next luxury travel vacation check out amtvacations. com

Don t you love highly scented candles

The majority of highly scented candles use fragrance oils, which means the intention is to scent the air of a room. However, you can also have highly scented candles that use essential oils. This type of candle has many therapeutic uses as aromatherapy candles. If you research the various aromatherapy scents, you will find one that will have the healing properties you need, whether you just need to relax, cure an illness or help soothe your spirit. Highly scented candles are widely available, but if there is a specific scent that you want you can have your candles custom made.

Although beeswax candles are supposed to be the best candles, soy candles come in a close second. In addition, beeswax candles are rarely scented whereas highly scented soy candles will hold the scent until the candle is completely burned out. Like beeswax candles, these highly scented candles are cleaner when burning and do not give off black soot as do paraffin candles. Soy candles are made of all natural ingredients and do not contain any petroleum by-products, such as oil.

Highly scented candles give off the scent even when they are not lit. For this reason, many people have highly scented soy candles simply for the decorative effect they provide. Whether you choose pillar, taper or votive soy candles, you can choose from a wide variety of scents and combination of scents. If you are not sure whether the scented candles use fragrance oils or essential oils, a quick look at the name of the scent will give you the answer. Names such as hot fudge sundae or cinnamon pie are likely to be fragrance oils. Essential oils come from plants and bear the name of the plant, such as eucalyptus, marjoram, chamomile, or ginger, for example.

If you want highly scented aromatherapy candles, you need to choose candles with the plant names for the scents. Knowing a little about the healing properties of such highly scented candles will also help you choose the right ones. The color has little to do with aromatherapy, but it is likely that the color of the candle will be closely linked to the scent. Lavender is one oil that is known for its soothing and relaxing properties and most highly scented soy candles of this nature are some shade of purple or lilac. Similarly, soy candles highly scented in pine are likely to be a shade of green.

Highly scented candles can mask the odor of cooking or of pet odors. When you use soy candles to do this job for you, you also have a healthier home. By using highly scented soy candles, you have the sweet scents in the air without having to use any harsh spray chemicals. Highly scented candles have many more uses than just setting the scene for romance.

Portsmouth city guide including hotels

Introduction:

Portsmouth is located on the south coast of the scenic county of Hampshire. The city has a long established historic naval presence. The city of Portsmouth was established in the year 1623, being a community that swears by its influence to world history. As well as being an important naval town, Portsmouth has a nostalgic feel with it’s cobblestone streets, horse drawn carriages, museums and famous historic buildings. Boasting over one hundred restaurants, antique shops and a huge music hall called the Portsmouth Music Hall. You will fall in love with the ambience that this historic city offers as well as the coastal aspect of the place.

Places of Interest:

A place of historic significance, you can explore Lord Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory and visit Queen Victoria’s battleship, HMS Warrior 1860. You could also have a look at Henry Vlll’s Mary Rose and retrace the history of the Royal Navy at the Royal Naval Museum. Other attractions include Charles Dickens’ birthplace, the D-Day Museum featuring the Overlord Embroidery, Southsea Castle, the Royal Marines Museum, and Portsmouth Cathedral.

Royal Marines Museum: This is a grand museum situated in a former officers' mess with sweeping stairways, chandeliers and fine paintings. There are also beautiful grounds in which you can relax and enjoy a quiet picnic with your friends. The Exhibition gallery features a talking head of Hannah Snell, audiovisual shows, interactive games, and a collection of over 7,000 medals.

Eastney Beam Engine House Industrial Archaeology: This museum contains a pair of magnificent James Watt beam engines, stationed in their original high Victorian engine house of 1887. There are also a variety of other pumping engines on display here.

Natural History Museum: In this museum you can see the geology of the Portsmouth area and a full-size reconstruction of Dinosaur “Iguanodon” and other fossil remains. You can enter here through the Riverbank scene with a fresh water aquarium and have a look at the different kinds of fish on display. You can also see the “Ice Age” displays and early mammals and birds here.

The Spinnaker Tower: This is one wonder which is absolutely breath-taking. You can experience the stunning views from this unique 170m tower, visible from miles around. This is the newest landmark which is change the skyline of Portsmouth!

Aspex Gallery: Here, tourists can experience the most creative and contemporary visual arts; locally, nationally and internationally. There are programs of solo, grouped and themed exhibitions mostly centred on the work of younger or emerging artists.

The 1642 Living History Village, Historic Site, Gosport: This is a representational Hampshire village set in the year 1642. You could go back in time and experience this replica of how it used to be with timber and thatched buildings. Occupants dress and speak in 17th century style.

Things to do:

Portsmouth is also called the Waterfront city. It has a fantastic range of restaurants, bars and cafйs to soothe your thirst and satisfy your taste buds. Of course, it will suit your budget too. As far as shops are concerned, the choice is huge.

Shopping: The Southsea, this major shopping complex has two department stores as well as a range of boutique shops. There are florists, diamond merchants and antique dealers; even interior decorators to cater to your every shopping need. Of course, the cafes, restaurants and bars are numerous too. There is Gunwharf Quays with 80 outlets that sell big brand names for a discount prices. It is open seven days a week. The City Centre is famous for it’s branded and trendy stores. The shopping precinct on Commercial Road, the indoor mall at Cascades, and the street markets on Thursday, Friday and Saturday are very popular and well worth a visit.

Eating and drinking: There are restaurants and small bistro’s that offer cuisine ranging from Indian to Italian, Turkish to Thai. If you want to meet with friends or enjoy your weekend, there is always a themed location to drink and socialize.

Special Events: Two of Portsmouth's most renowned personalities have events to commemorate their lives in 2006. “Brunel 200 Portsmouth” will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who was born in Portsmouth on 9th of April 1806.The famous author Richard Lancelyn Green will be releasing his wonderful collection of Conan Doyle-related books, papers and assorted memorabilia in the later half of 2006.

Transport: Portsmouth has regular bus routes connecting the main visitor areas. In fact, a new pilot bus service for all you night owls has been inaugurated and is operational on Friday and Saturday nights. The Nightrunner will start services from South Parade Pier at 1.25am and 2.25 am and at Winston Churchill Avenue at 1.30am and 2.30am. There are currently 234 licensed taxis working in the city providing 24-hour service.

Food and Drink:

Indian Palace: Indian Palace in Gunwharf Quays is famous for authentic and traditional spicy and tasty Indian and moghlai dishes.

Arbuckles: This small and friendly restaurant is famous for chicken and vegetarian burgers. Booking is required.

A fistful of Tacos: This place at South Sea serves authentic sea food and vegeterian dishes as well.

Cafй Citrus is a popular cafй bar in Albert Road, Southsea. It is perfect for a romantic rendevous or a friendly get-together.

Hotels and Accomodation:

Whether you are looking for a short stay or a longer holiday, Portsmouth offers a comprehensive range of accommodation from small, private bed and breakfasts to the plusher four-star hotels. It is always better if you reserve your accommodation in advance. The tarrif’s for hotels, accomodations and guest houses are generally quoted as per person, based on a couple sharing, and include VAT (17.5%). All prices for self-catering units are quoted as per unit per week inclusive of VAT (17.5%).

Inn Lodge Portsmouth

Royal Beach Hotel

Express by Holiday Inn Portsmouth

Tulip Inn Portsmouth

Beaufort Hotel

Best Western Queens Hotel

Seacrest Hotel

Entertainment:

The city of Portsmouth is abuzz with entertainment and activity around the clock. Catering for all diverse tastes such as comedy, film, football, live music, bowling, literature and arts. At Gunwharf Quays there is a bowling arena and a state of the art 12 screen cinema, with a further 9 screen cinema at Port Solent. The Kings Theatre Trust Limited at Albert Road, Portsmouth is famous for live music and theatrical events. No 6 Independent Cinema and Vue Cinemas are two of the 4 major cinema houses here.

All in all, Portsmouth is a city on the sea packed with a beautiful mix of history and heritage. Add to it the variety on offer with it’s bars and restaurants as well as a comprehensive program of events, you know that you have discovered the right city to spend your holiday or short stay. Being situated on the coast is a huge bonus too!.

The secret - when you can walk on water take the boat part 41

The morning arrived and I prepared for my meeting with Gideon. I felt calm and composed yet, there was an undercurrent of excitement that even I couldn’t deny. Due to my recent relocation, I wasn’t familiar with many of the local streets. Finally, out of frustration, I resorted to a local map and, having located the street, got in my car and drove off.

At the designated address, I walked up to the front door and anxiously rang the bell. A gray-haired lady opened the door, smiled at me and said, “Please come in. You must be John. Gideon is expecting you.” I thanked her and entered. I spotted Gideon in the living room and walked over to shake his hand. Simultaneously he stretched out his hand, smiled and motioned for me to sit. Impatiently I fidgeted. The silence was overwhelming. Sometimes, a few seconds can seem like an eternity.

“So, how are you Gideon?” I finally asked. Anything to start a conversation, I thought.

“As usual, John, I’m tending to business, doing the things that need to be done,” he replied matter-of-factly.

“Well, your business must have been very busy because I haven't heard from you in ages. Where were you during the past few years, Gideon? I really could have used some help. Somehow I felt abandoned, as good as betrayed, by you and even by God. Remember, we met Him in the Big City—or did we? Was it all nonsense... an illusion? My tired mind playing cruel jokes on me?”

“No, not nonsense at all. Far from it. We were with you all the time. You were so blinded by what appeared to be happening to you, so consumed in self-pity that you weren’t even aware of our presence.”

I wanted to scream in anger, but managed to restrain myself. “Gideon, I’ve been and still am going through a mine-field of confusion and suffering. Lost my homes, lands, father, company and most of my dignity and self-confidence. My wife was diagnosed with cancer. Her parents are also being treated for cancer. There’s no medical insurance—hardly any money. I mean, how much can one person take? You don’t know what it’s like... you probably don’t even care.”

He interrupted me, “Yes, I know about all of that. But you gained strength, humility, wisdom and much more. Jim Elliot, a martyr, once said,‘He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.’ The things that are important are still with you, even more so today. Your dignity and self-confidence are still with you, but most of all you’re regaining your sense of purpose.”

“Sense of purpose about what?”

“About what you came here to do.”

“What I came here to do? Beats me. I have no idea what I came here to do, except, perhaps, to live and work and struggle until I die.”

To read the rest of the story visit spiritual-simplicity. com

Sunless tanning lotions avoid cancer

For most Americans, having a pasty complexion isn’t really all that appealing. Unlike other people who want to be fair, a lot of Caucasians want to darken their complexion a bit through tanning. Unfortunately due to the harmful effects caused by the ultraviolet rays from the sun, it really isn't advisable anymore to stay under the heat for so long for that coveted golden tan. This is why a lot of people want to go through the healthier alternative which is with the aid of a tanning bed as well as tanning bed lotions. This type of self-tanning is often referred to as sunless tanning wherein you won’t be relying on the sun’s rays to darken your skin.

1. Tanning Procedure

- Lay on the tanning bed after applying tanning bed lotion

- Don't stay on the tanning bed for too long, 30 to 45 minutes will do

- No need to rotate

- Reapply lotion to preserve your new golden brown color for around a week

2. Lotions

There are actually a lot of tanning bed lotions available in the market today. You can choose from all sorts of variants and brands depending on your natural skin tone. The type of shade that you wish to have and your tanning bed lotion budget. The Fiji Blend tanning bed lotions actually offer all sorts of tanning bed lotions that you might want to try and they are all available on the internet. Various online tanning bed lotion stores you can find all sorts of products from various tanning bed lotion manufacturers that may not be available to your local surf shop or beauty supplies store. It is highly recommended that you take some time out to check out these tanning bed lotion websites.

One of the popular tanning bed lotions that you can purchase either from the internet or at your local beauty supplies store is the Fiji Blend line of tanning bed lotions. The Fiji Blend line of tanning bed lotions boasts of being a staple in tanning salons and is highly recommended by tanning bed lotion users. Aside from being able to give you a smooth and even tan, the Fiji Blend tanning bed lotions will actually provide you with various other benefits for your skin such as anti-aging factors and moisturizing enhancers. This is a great plus for tanning bed lotion users as this will ensure you of a nice looking, healthy and even tan. Other tanning bed lotions, when not applied accordingly usually end up uneven and very unflattering.

3. Maintaining a Smooth, Even Tone

Even with the Fiji Blend tanning bed lotion variants, you need to be able to choose that one that is most appropriate to your skin tone, or else you might end up either looking to dark or half-baked. You need the right kind of tanning bed lotion that will give you that fresh from the beach look that most Caucasians are envious of. Also, the Fiji Blend line of tanning bed lotions are safe and easy to use and are comparatively affordable to the majority.

If you have a blog but not a lot of time here are 5 tips to help

1.Start a Community Blog. A community blog is just that, a community of like-minded people who contribute to a blog. One of the obvious advantages to this type of blog is that you don't need to spend a lot of time posting yourself to be part of an active blog. If you have a community of three or more people and you each post at least twice a week then you will have a pretty active blog. Be sure to use an RSS feed and have all contributors post the feed on their sites to get the benefit of each sites visitors.

2.Hire a team of bloggers. Newspapers have contributors, blogs can too. If you've ever used writers to do articles and content for you , they can do the same type of thing with a blog. Many of the most successful blogs are already doing this. The combination of group promotion effort, regular updates and pinging can help bring in traffic quickly. One thing to note here is blogs are a somewhat social tool. Some very popular niche blogs are not all that visible in the search engines, yet they get a lot of traffic because people recommend them and they become a sort of buzz hub. Search engines do not always pick up on this but they do eventually. This is why group blogging can be very powerful because you're leveraging the power of not one (your) influence group but several people's influence group. If you do pay your bloggers, you can always offset this cost by displaying Adsense ads. Many popular blogs earn a good amount in Adsense, that they make a nice profit even after paying their bloggers team. After a while it becomes a passive income stream.

3.Recycle Content. By taking previously published articles, interviews or even audio and breaking it up into blog sized pieces you can recycle old content and make it new again! You can break up long pieces into a bunch of segments and have a series going for, say, a week or so. Then you won't have to worry about coming up with new content for a week!

4.Include audio. For some of us, it's much easier to speak than to write. So, mix up your blog. Carry a small portable MP3 recorder or blog by phone. What a convenient way for moms who are running around all day , busing the kids where they need to go , doing errands , and whatever else needs to be done. Maybe you're stuck in traffic, or waiting for the kids to get out piano class or school. An idea or thought strikes and you think "Oh I need to share that on my blog" so, pick up your phone (assuming you have a cell phone - and many of us do), dial a number, say what's on your mind, save it and you're done. Your blog is published. If you're using Blogger, you can do this for free through AudioBlog. It involves calling a long distance number, but most cell phone plans don't charge extra for long distance anyway so you're not incurring any extra cost.

If you're using another blog publishing tool like WordPress, Movable Type or TypePad, then you'll need a service like AudioBlogger. com. This one is a paid service but it's only $4.95 a month and it gives you more options like a nice flash player, statistics and even video that make it worth while.

5.Automating Your Blog. One of the things I love about using Wordpress as a publishing tool is that it offers a forward blog entry option that saves me tons of time. By using this tool you can blog ahead of time and have your entries posted on the day and time you choose. So let's say you have a week's worth of posts ready to go. You don't have to come back each day and post, instead you write everything up in one day and schedule a new post out 24 hrs after the next. This will save you time!

Let's face it. There will be times we have a ton to say and times we have little or nothing to share. Instead of having multiple entries one day and nothing over the next few days, by using forward entry you can blog everyday of the week. Or rather you blog once and the blog publishing tool does the job automatically the rest of the week. You can even forward blog for weeks and months ahead of time.

Note: Blogger users unfortunately cannot do this because Blogger publishes all entries regardless what you date it immediately.