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Expanding the African Science Cafe network

Muza Gondwe writes:

A science cafe, known around the world as café scientifique “is a place where, for the price of a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, anyone can come to explore the latest ideas in science and technology. Meetings take place in cafes, bars, restaurants and even theatres, but always outside a traditional academic context.”...Science cafes are slowly and steadily spreading across the African continent. Regular cafes are being held in South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Ghana, and Morocco. It began in 2007 at a workshop on African Science Cafes in South Africa supported by the British Council.
via Communicating Science,the African way
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My Impressionist Painting Lacks Expression

The artist striving to paint impressionist style may agonise over every brush mark, robbing the painting of expression and defeating the object of painting Impressionist. How can the artist create expressive paintings?

How to Paint Impressionism

Autumn Impressionism
Rachel Shirley
Before tackling the problems of the fastidious artist striving to produce an expressive oil painting, the following practices may be identified.
  • Sitting too close to the painting, causing each brush mark to appear to have more significance than it actually has.
  • Using fine sable brushes throughout the painting session.
  • Sitting in one position during the entire painting session or not viewing the painting in any other way.
  • Painting onto a white support, causing pale colours to appear dark by comparison and resulting in a pale painting.
  • Over-mixing the colours until they are completely even.
  • Not using vibrant colours or tempering bright colours with browns and greys.
  • Overworking the painting until it looses life.
How to Paint Impressionist Style

When striving to emulate the Impressionists, the following painting practices may be followed.
  • Use only hog brushes no smaller than no.6, to force the artist to use economy with brush marks and avoid linear detail.
  • Use every tonal value from pale to very dark within the painting. Working on a toned ground, such as grey or neutral colour, will give the true tonal value of each colour.
  • Half close the eyes to simplify the view and cut out irrelevant detail
  • Don’t use black to darken colours but the opposing colour. Red for instance, can be used to darken green.
  • Don’t over-mix colours. Allow colour streaks to remain on the brush on application.
  • Get up and view the painting from a distance. Turn it upside down or through a reflection to reboot the brain on what is vital about the painting and what is irrelevant.
  • I believe every painting is allocated a limited number of brush marks before it becomes overworked. Make every brushstroke count. Allow imperfections to remain within the brushstrokes, and as soon as the artist starts to “fuss” over the painting, stop.
Vibrant Colours in Painting

Don’t be afraid to use colours neat from the tube. Juxtaposing them against neutral colours will make them appear more vibrant rather than cheap. Monet’s sunsets, for instance, contained lots of neutrals which provided the stage for the bright colours.

How to Make a Painting Shimmer

Impressionism: 50 Paintings You Should Know
click to buy from Amazon
To create focal points in colour, place contrasting colours against one another. Sunlight and shadow, for instance contains warm and cool colours; shadows often contain blues and violets, and sunlight, creams, ochres and oranges. Furthermore, working onto a bright coloured ground will create contrast with the colours laid on top. To make the painting appear to shimmer, as was the case with some of the Post Impressionist paintings, allow some of the ground to show through in places.

External Links on Painting Impressionist Style

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International Thief Thief-British banks

Nothing surprising here,Western banks and the usual shady deposits:

British high street banks have accepted millions of pounds in deposits from corrupt Nigerian politicians, raising serious questions about their commitment to tackling financial crime, warned Global Witness. By taking money from corrupt Nigerian governors between 1999 and 2005, Barclays, NatWest, RBS, HSBC and UBS helped to fuel corruption and entrench poverty in Nigeria.
More here
via Sahara Reporters
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Every Tea Party Candidate Supports Privatizing Popular and Successful Social Security Program!

That's right- according to Democratic candidates and strategists and pundits and blogs, every tea party candidate supports privatizing popular and successful Social Security program, or at least this is the word-for-word line that Democratic candidates and strategists and pundits and blogs are parroting. By similar logic, every Democratic Candidate Supports Nationalizing Popular and Successful Car Companies! Oh wait...

So you're saying that just because one person or a couple people who is affiliated with something says something or characterizes something in a certain way we can't blanket stereotype everyone from that group? Yes, it is true that some Tea Party candidates believe in privatizing Social Security, although since there is no real official 'tea party' that would be hard to be clear on, plus there is no national 'tea party' platform, so it would be hard to prove that a candidate who isn't labeled 'tea party' supports a platform that isn't written down anywhere. So I guess saying 'every tea party candidate supports' is as accurate as saying 'every Democractic candidate supports.' But the rest of the statement is true, right?

So you're saying that exaggerating the position of a group isn't something that we should do? Some candidates support modernizing and changing and hoping and unicorning a program like Social Security by allowing people choices and control, but this isn't the same things as 'privatizing' the program, any more than Obama and the Democrats swooping in and seizing a large private company in violation to the bankruptcy laws of our nation is the same as nationalizing a company. Overstating positions and exaggerating a candidates position is the kind of sleight-of-hand and trickery that real candidates, blogs, and pundits shouldn't rely on. Although in retrospect, I guess I'm still confused how what Obama and the Democrats did to GM was not illegally nationalizing a company so that political elites could divide up its assets and distribute them to political supporters. Regardless, GM and Social Security were both successful and popular, right?

Does successful and popular mean a giant pyramid scheme that benefits a particular group in society? Oh sure, old people and those nearing retirement age really like social security, but young people and those far from retirement age don't (and if they do they are morons). It won't be there for them when they retire, at least not in its current form, so the deal that is being made now- pay a fair percentage of your income to the government to hold on to it for you so that when you retire you can retire with a comfortable source of income- is a raw deal. Young people will pay their entire lives into a system that will pay them greatly reduced benefits when they retire, but old people who are getting the sweet deal now certainly like it, that's for sure. Oh, and as far as being successful- I've got a business opportunity for you, you just sell this thing to seven people, and if they sell it to seven people, then you'll make lots of money... social security is successful just like Democrats are successful, in that it exists and is sucking the system dry before it collapses.

Huh, weird, when you actually listen to what liberals and Democrats say and throw it through some logic and analysis, their best arguments are pretty lame.

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Call Me "Senator": Zucker's Spoof

Via The Hill:

David Zucker, the director of the 1980 comedy classic "Airplane!" who has worked on myriad films including the "Naked Gun" and "Scary Movie" franchises, directed the "Call Me Senator" spot for Right Change, a 527 and 501(c)4 organization "committed to supporting policies and candidates dedicated to fiscal responsibility and a strong national security for the United States, while upholding the principles of freedom, competitiveness and entrepreneurial spirit of the American people."

The spot goofs on Boxer's testy exchange with Brig. Gen. Michael Walsh at a June 2009 hearing of the Committee on Environment and Public Works. "You know, do me a favor," Boxer told the officer, who was using military protocol to address those higher on the chain of command by "sir" or "ma'am." "Could say 'senator' instead of 'ma'am?'"

"Yes, ma'am," Walsh responded. "It's just a thing, I worked so hard to get that title, so I'd appreciate it, yes, thank you," Boxer continued. "Yes, senator," he responded.
Pretty funny stuff. Here it is:

Memeorandum is all over this story!

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Time for Africans to Explore Africa

Kate Nkansa writing in Feint & Margin:

I often listen to Africans speaking and boasting about how many European countries they have been to, they however fail to mention one African country they have visited. Have you ever heard of anyone mentioning that they have been saving for a trip to visit Timbuktu in Mali, which was a centre of Islamic learning from the 13th to the 17th century...We travel to France to get a taste of French bread and wine; Italy to experience their pasta and pizza; and Switzerland for their cheese and chocolate. What cuisine are African countries celebrated for having?
More here
via Kabissa
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Painting Oil Impasto Uses up Too Much Paint

The artist who ventures into oil painting impasto may paste the oil paint on thickly for impressionist skies or landscapes, using up lots of costly oil paint. The result is that there is little of the paint left in the tubes for another painting. How can oil painting be made cheap when using impasto?

Textured Painting Techniques

Producing an oil painting with impasto paint can work out expensive if the artist is wasteful with oil paint. This can be a problem if using a palette knife or wide bristle brushes for relief effects. The following practices could make impasto techniques costly.
  • Using exclusively artist quality oil paints and applying liberal amounts over the oil painting to produce relief effects.
  • Depositing liberal amounts of oil paint onto the artist’s palette and then simply disposing of the residue at the end of the painting session.
  • Putting too much oil paint on the palette in relation to the size of the oil painting. For instance, if the impasto work is small.
How to make Thick Paint Go Further with Impasto

Few artists wish to worry about how much paint to use when working in impasto, for impasto techniques are all about freedom of expression with paint. A great technique when working in alla prima, impasto can suggest energy and give vibrancy to large expanses of an oil painting, such as skies, water, seascapes, mountains and even backgrounds to still life and portraiture. But how can the artist make the oil paint go further with impasto? Here are some tips on making applying impasto paint effectively.
  • Avoid depositing large amounts of a pigment onto the palette in the first instance, for surplus paint cannot be placed back in the tube. It is better to squeeze out a little at a time rather than one big splodge.
  • Don’t dispose of the left over oil paint on the palette at the end of the painting session, for the medley of colours can be mixed to make lovely neutrals for a future painting. Place a Tupperware lid over the palette and seal with cling film. If placed in a cool place, the paints will remain workable for up to a week.
  • Again, don’t throw away old oil paints, regardless of how garish the colour; they can be used to create bulk to an existing mix or used to mix neutrals.
  • Allow some of the oil paints to thicken on the palette over a day or two. This will result in a thick, pasty consistency, ideal for impasto.
  • A large impasto painting may benefit from the purchase of impasto medium or Oleopasto. This is an alkyd based medium that can be mixed with the oil paint to thicken the paint and make it go further.
How to Use Impasto Gel

Winsor & Newton Liquin Impasto Gel 200
Impasto medium
click to buy from Amazon
Impasto medium is often sold in tubes, and when squeezed out, a brownish substance will emerge. Once mixed with the pigment, it will not affect the colour, but will thicken the consistency of the oil paint. Mix to about one parts to four. Adding too much may take the tinting strength from the oil paint. The impasto mixture can then be used for palette knife techniques or Sgraffito with textures.

Impasto Painting Made Cheap

Impasto techniques with oil can be made inexpensive with a few adjustments to how the artist applies the paint. Avoid throwing out old tubes of paint for these can always be used for future mixes. Surplus paint on the palette can be saved for a future painting by sealed under a cover and placed in a cool place. Impasto medium can be mixed with oil paint to thicken its consistency and make it go further, helping to cut the cost of oil paints.

External Links on Impasto Painting

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