Nagi Roda hair animals

Tired of wearing hats,headbands,pins or whatever?Struggling to amaze?Then use your hair to mold scuptures.Joking aside what you see above are extreme hair scuptures made by Nagi Roda director of music video and tv commercials.

Stanche di indossare cappelli,cerchietti,mollette o altro?Vi distruggete perchè non sapete come stupire?Allora usate i vostri capelli per modellare delle sculture di animali! A parte gli scherzi quelle che vedete qui sopra sono le sculture di animali fatte di capelli di Nagi Roda direttore artistico di video musicali e pubblicità televisive.Esercizio estremo ed interessante.

Why Baltimore Would Be Better Off Without Paul Konerko

From Dan Connolly's post in the Baltimore Sun's Oriole Insider blog, regarding Paul Konerko and the aggressive offer the Baltimore Orioles are reported to have made:

That said, the Orioles really could use Konerko. He fills several needs: a legitimate power hitter who plays first base, bats right-handed and brings winning experience and a veteran presence. He is one of the more well-respected professionals in the game.


Yes, he’ll be 35 and people have been waiting for his body to break down or his skills to erode for a few years now. And there’s a concern that his huge 2010 – which included 39 homers, 111 RBIs, a .312 batting average and career highs in on-base percentage (.394) and slugging percentage (.584) – was the product of a walk year and that he’s setting up his next team for an expensive fall.


But the Orioles have little choice. Their perfect free agent first baseman – Victor Martinez – is off the board and the other candidates are left-handed hitters, flawed or both.


That first paragraph, I have no issue with. Konerko would be an excellent addition to the Oriole lineup...if this were fantasy baseball. But this is real baseball and you have to account for the contract it will take to get Konerko to Baltimore.

There have been no details about the offer the Orioles made but I think we can make a few assumptions. Konerko just came off a contract where he was making $12 million per season. Anyone think he will leave the White Sox for a pay cut? Doubtful. Does anyone think the Orioles can lure him to Baltimore on a 2-year deal? A 3-year deal? I think the club will have to offer him at least a 4-year deal. So the 4-year, $48 mil offer they made to Victor Martinez seems to be a good jumping off point for Konerko. If anyone thinks we can sign him for less, please let me know.

So, should the Orioles offer this kind of money to Paul Konerko? Well, Konerko is a 34-year old first baseman coming off his career year. Yes, the stats for 2010 were fantastic (a .977 OPS in addition to all the stats Connolly recounted) but those were the best numbers he has ever put up by a good margin. Who wants to wager that he will put up those numbers again during his age 35-38 seasons? Not I.

Much of Konerko's season was fueled by a career-high BABIP (one that is not supported by his Line Drive percentage) and I think it's safe to assume that the composite of the previous three seasons (2007-2009) are a better indicator of what he will look like going forward. Top performances in terms of OPS+ from 2007-2009 for 1B/DH types:

    2007-2009         OPS+
1.  Pujols            178
2.  Fielder           151
3.  Teixeira          147
4.  Pena              145
5.  Berkman           143
6.  Gonzalez          142
.
.
.
16. Matsui            119
17. LaRoche           117
18. Butler            111
19. Konerko           111
20. Loney             110

There's Konerko, way down there with the 111 OPS+, under Adam LaRoche.

Guess who else isn't on this list (because he was a LF during much of this span)? Luke Scott who had a 114 OPS+.

So there's Adam LaRoche again, a player who could match Konerko's production over the next four years but would be available for less years and less money. Anybody think the Orioles need to give him $48 mil? How about extending Scott with that deal? And wouldn't you have to think twice about giving that kind of cash to Carlos Pena as well?

Konerko's going to be 35. He's due for a big decline over the course of a 4-year deal. And his 31-33 seasons were no great shakes to begin with. He has just come off his best season by far.

In the immortal words of Admiral Ackbar, "It's a trap!"

Giving Konerko a contract as I described would be a disaster at worst and a huge overpay for a slightly above average player at best.

But Connolly (and a lot of fans) think it's a disaster the Orioles have no choice but to walk right into. Why? Why should the Orioles do something that will be to the ultimate detriment of the team. They don't have to do this. There are other options that are good bets to produce like Konerko but come at far less financial risk. LaRoche is one. Derrek Lee is another. Adam Dunn is still another, given the talent gap between the two. (Yes, Dunn is a better player than Konerko...)

This is not the Konerko of 2005. Not even the Konerko of 2000. This is a soon-to-be 35-year old first baseman coming of a season we will never reproduce and heading for an age induced decline. Don't believe the hype and hope we dodge another bullet.

Calling all brides! New York City Fall Wedding Photo Giveaway contest by Paris Mountain Photography

Pam Jones of Paris Mountain Photography, is giving one lucky couple the Photo Dream Package of a lifetime!  Pam is the winner of the 2010 GA Hot Spot for (most innovative wedding photography) and has been capturing memorable wedding moments since 2007. Her work has appeared in Atlanta Weddings Magazine and TheKnot.com, has rubbed elbows with David Tutera from “My Fair Wedding,” and Jeff from "Who's wedding is it anyway," and the producers of "Say Yes to the Dress" considers her a must have at their events.

This Package will include: All travel expenses to and from the event, 10 hours of wedding day coverage, unlimited digital photography, editing and retouching, full online proofing gallery with password protection. (This is a $3500 value) Contest runs through December 31, 2010.
To read more details and the rules of the giveaway please visit: Paris Mountain Photography.

Good Luck!

Looking for Work?

Our story on local people facing the cut-off of unemployment benefits included a photo of this guy, who is not local.

Here's the AP cutline:

A person looking for work stands on a street corner in Portland, Maine. Unless Congress acts before the end of the month to extend unemployment benefits, thousands will lose their unemployment benefits during the next few months.

Excuse me, but THAT guy is not looking for work. That guy is panhandling! And nothing Congress does or doesn't do will prevent him from panhandling in 2011.

As for our local citizens collecting unemployed, 99 weeks is a pretty long time to be out of work. And excuse me again, but this also jumped out at me from our story:

"Barbara said she can’t get a more physically demanding job due to a disability. That does offer her the ability to apply for Social Security disability insurance, but for someone who has spent much of her life working toward independence, the thought of moving back in with her parents is devastating."

"Devastating?" Really? I don't know Barbara's parents but how bad can they be? Isn't that what families are for, to be there to help each other when hard times hit?

UPDATE: Then there's this story about the fake war veteran in New York. Get a load of Bob McMahon (not to be confused with our very own Media Mayor and real Vietnam War vet Bob McMahon.)
That missing arm, suddenly reappeared after a hard day's work guilting commuters into giving him money.

You've got to hand it to him, at least the only taxpayers he's a burden to are the ones who voluntarily subsidize his lifestyle, such as it is.

(Hat to: our Bob McMahon and The New York Post)

Sandra Backlund scuptures wool

Today i would like to share with you these incredible pieces of knitwear created by the Swedish designer Sandra Backlund.We're far beyond the usual sweater,her work is better defined as scupture.When asked Backlund says that she’s "really fascinated by all the ways you can highlight, distort and transform the natural silhouette of the body with clothes and accessories.“
Her work is simply incredible if you think at time and precision needed to design these pieces of knitwear.Wool is like mud molded by the creative genious of Backlund and the knitting tecnique evolves in something we have never seen before.I find some of her creations have an organic appereance.Since 2007 Backlund have worked for Louis Vuitton and other big brands.
Even if her work is something that can't be reproduced we can anyway take some ispirations,little details we can bring in our everyday fashion.I'm talking about the satin ribbon weaved in between the wool that gives a more elegant look to a normal sweater.We can add it to a sweater we already own using a wool needle(those with rounded end and big eye) like maison Dior did with one of his knitwear. What do you think of the result?


Let's finish with a quote for inspiring Sandra Backlund about fashion as a form of art:
"In my opinion, clothes are the most democratic form of art. Something everyone can relate to, consciously, or unconsciously"


Oggi vorrei condividere con voi questi incredibili lavori a maglia della designer svedese Sandra Backlund.Dimenticatevi i soliti maglioni,il lavoro della Backlund è meglio definibile come scultura.Quando glielo chiedono lei risponde che è molto affascinata dai modi in cui si può esaltare,distocere e trasformare la silouette del corpo con vestiti e accessori.
Le sue collezioni sono semplicemente incredibili se pensate al tempo e alla precisione necessaria per progettare un capo. La lana è come creta modellata dal genio creativo della Backlund e la tecnica della maglia evolve in qualcosa di mai visto fino ad ora. Dal 2007 la Backlund ha lavorato per Louis Vuitton e altre case di moda importanti.
Anche se il suo lavoro non può essere riprodotto con gli strumenti a nostra disposizione possiamo comunque trarre ispirazione,piccoli dettagli che possiamo portare nella vita di tutti i giorni.Sto parlando del nastro di raso intrecciato nella trama della maglia
che può regalare un aspetto più elegante al solito maglione.Possiamo intrecciarlo noi stesse utilizzando un ago da lana (quelli senza punta e la cruna grossa) come ha fatto Dior con alcuni dei suoi maglioni sfilati in passerella. Che ne pensate del risultato?

(Dior)

Concludiamo con le parole di Sandra Backlund sul rapporto tra arte e moda: I vestiti sono la forma più democratica di arte.Qualcosa con cui tutti entrano in relazione,consciamente o incosciamente.

It's Personal Now

Headline:

Winds lash the East, knock out power; flood roads...

... lead to the smashing of my glass patio table. Crap!

The Crystal Ball 2011: Matt Albers

Just ahead of the Thursday night deadline to tender contracts to arbitration eligible players, I thought I should take my first (and possibly last) look through the Crystal Ball at Oriole reliever Matt Albers. Before the 2010 season, I was still a supporter of Albers. I loved his stuff and thought he would eventually learn to control it. I was wrong. After a horrid April, I was the last one left to leap from the Albers bandwagon.

However, it would be wrong to think that Albers didn't do some good things over the last three seasons. Here's some of his stats from FanGraphs.com:

Season     W   L   G    IP    K/9    BB/9   HR/9   BABIP   GB%    HR/FB   ERA   FIP   xFIP
2008       3   3   28   49.0  4.78   4.04   0.73   .258   53.2 %  7.5 %   3.49  4.60  5.02
2009       3   6   56   67.0  6.58   4.84   0.40   .355   48.4 %  4.5 %   5.51  3.92  4.70
2010       5   3   62   75.2  5.83   4.04   0.71   .305   56.5 %  8.7 %   4.52  4.24  4.46

As you can see, his FIP was respectable and his xFIP was the best of his career. The ground ball rate is very good thanks to his sinking fastball. The peripherals are generally good.

However, his walk rate continues to be above 4.00 BB/9 which is not good. You need to strikeout 8 or 9 per 9 innings to make that work.

His Pitch F/X numbers show that he's added a pitch back to his repertoire. The slider.

Season  FB             SL            CB
2008    76.7% (91.1)                 22.6% (78.0) 
2009    75.1% (92.8)                 24.3% (79.2)  
2010    73.0% (92.5)   10.9% (85.6)  16.0% (79.0)

And the fact that he throws three pitches instead of two may make the difference for him going forward. Again, his fastball still pops and sinks, he gets good movement on his slider and his curve.

But he can't throw strikes. And there's no evidence that he ever will.

You can't offer Albers arbitration. You've got to cut him loose and see if you can bring him back at what he made last season, let him try to win a job in Spring Training. It's a risk and the Oriole bullpen depth isn't enough that you can just let him go without mulling it over but you can't pay him close to $1 mil to stay.