Martin Cid's Blog: Martin Cid Magazine, page 1081

Birthdays Today, April 2: Michael Fassbender, Quavo Marshall,

He is a great actor and we loved his work on the film Jobs. He’s Michael Fassbender and he’s our Top#1 Famous Birthdays Today, April 2. From Yareah, we wish him and his family all the best in this special day. Congrats and happy birthday, Michael Fassbender!

Famous Birthdays Today, April 2: Michael Fassbender at the 2015 San Diego Comic Con International in San Diego, California.. Source: flickr. Author: Gage Skidmore

If there’s friends around, I’ll cook. Or if I have a girlfriend. But on my own I kind of fell out of the habit of it, and it’s a shame really because I know it’s good for me. It’s something quite therapeutic.

Michael Fassbender

You use words like ‘introvert’ and ‘extrovert,’ various traits of a personality. A lot of that stuff, we used in drama school, and that was kind of interesting, to realize my teachers sort of ripped off a lot of Jung. And how much of it is part of our society now, these phrases, introvert and extrovert, where it actually came from.

Michael Fassbender

Member of the hip hop band Migos, rapper… he’s Quavo Marshall and he was born in Georgia in 1991 Happy birthday too!

Have a very nice day, dear friends.

Famous Birthdays Today, April 2 Video: Julie Walters, Kate Winslet and Michael Fassbender discuss awards – The Graham Norton Show – BBC

New York exhibitions. Hauser & Wirth announces worldwide representation of artist Lygia Pape

New York exhibitions. Hauser & Wirth is pleased to announce worldwide exclusive representation of Lygia Pape (1927 – 2004), the celebrated Brazilian artist central to the Neo-Concrete movement, who pioneered a unique approach to abstraction.

Hauser & Wirth announces worldwide representation of artist Lygia Pape

Pape’s experimental practice spanned drawing, sculpture, engraving, installation, choreography, and filmmaking as she moved between mediums to explore geometric form, positive and negative space, the intellectual and physical participation of the spectator, and above all art’s potential to ignite social change. Many of Pape’s works were created in response to rampant political repression in Brazil in the late 1960s, and reflected the artist’s strongly critical views of the government’s social and political hierarchies.

Initially inspired by the formal geometric abstraction of Concrete art, which emerged in Brazil in the early 1950s, Pape started out by making geometric constructions. She later tired of the severity of this prescriptive art form and moved beyond its constraints, becoming a founding member of the Neo- concrete movement dedicated to the inclusion of art into everyday life. Pape broke away from preconceived artistic categories

and from the 1960s onward sought to inject new expressive formulae into abstract art. ‘Art is my way of understanding the world’, she declared.

Recent solo exhibitions include the major travelling retrospective ‘Magnetized Space’ at Serpentine Gallery, London, England (2011); Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain (2011), and Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil (2012), as well as a presentation at Museu de Arte Contemporânea Serralves, Porto, Portugal (2000). Her work also was included in the 53rd Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy (2009).

Blacksmith exhibition heats up the Spruce Pine TRAC Gallery

Toe River Arts Council opened its 10th anniversary exhibition of metal work from blacksmiths participating in downtown Spruce Pine’s Fire on the Mountain Festival on Saturday, April 2. Held in conjunction with Fire, the exhibition gives visitors an opportunity to view iron arts and crafts in a gallery setting and to learn more about the nationally acclaimed smiths. And in grand finale style, TRAC will host the always-fun free pizza and beer reception at the gallery on Festival eve, Friday, April 29th, from 5 to 7pm. The public is invited to share in the evening and meet these talented artists.

“Fiddleheads” by Norman Rabek of Burnsville

TRAC has been displaying blacksmith work for a decade and recognizing one master blacksmith each year. This year’s Master Blacksmith is Jay Burnham Kidwell. His work will join the talents of exhibit participants Kurt Schultz, Rachel Kedinger, Aaron Deshields, Jeff McDowell, Zack Nobel, Theron Ross, Gail Beavers Wall, Eric Ryser, Dave McDonald, Eddie Rainey, Corey Thomas Cook, Paul and Pat Spainhour, Paige Davis, Rebecca Snavely, Jason Lonon, Norman Rabek, William Locke, Zen Douglas, Matthew D. Clark, Liam Hoffman, Seth Gould, and more to come.

This year, Klingspor Abrasives, with U.S. headquarters in Hickory, NC, is sponsoring several awards. In addition to an award for the most outstanding tool, two awards will recognize innovation and craftsmanship, a third for the best crafted tool. A fourth will be a special People’s Choice Award. Throughout the exhibition, visitors will vote for their favorite work; one artist will win a handcrafted blacksmith tool by Seth Gould. Voting ends Friday, April 29, at 5pm and awards made during the reception.

The Annual Blacksmith Exhibition runs through April 30, ending the evening of the Fire on the Mountain Festival. For more information about the Toe River Arts Council exhibition, please call 828.765.0520, or visit the www.toeriverarts.org. Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday, from 10:30am to 5pm. The Fire on the Mountain Festival takes place on Saturday, April 30, from 10am to 4pm in downtown Spruce Pine. Please visit www.downtownsprucepine.com for information.

The Toe River Arts Council is a not for profit organization promoting the arts in Mitchell and Yancey Counties, and supported by donations, memberships, local government, grants (including the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, a state agency), and supporters who understand the benefit of art in our community.

Exhibition at Stills Gallery: Freshness

‘Freshness’ has shifted from an organic state to an abstract, cultural sign. It’s become fluid and slippery: infusing feelings and atmosphere, products, architecture and design.

© Adham Faramawy Vichy Shower

Ever Fresh reflects on this global currency of ‘freshness’ through installations, videos, objects and images. It will temporarily transform the gallery into a futuristic, commercial utopia—resembling those that surround us with plastic plants, sparkling surfaces and lively screens.

Such pop-up promotions, retail spaces and spas, set the scene for a new economy of self- and home- improvements, renovations and makeovers. They host the illusion of luxury, the allure of innovation and the promise of natural perfection. They promote all-year-round spring-cleaning and the excessive drinking of bottled water.

Freshness, in this new sense, defies death and decay. It offers the intensity of nowness and optimism of newness through fresh breath, fresh ideas, fresh faces and fresh air.

As exciting, new contributors to the contemporary art world, the artists in Ever Fresh buy into this ideal. The reality they present us with is filtered through alluring colours and reflected in glossy finishes. At the same time, they tease our constant hydrating, detoxing, updating and upgrading. Plants are so alive they vibrate; water hydrates so hard it turns to slime.

Moreover, the endless optimism of freshness is tested where material tensions arise. The artifice of digital effects and perfect products is heightened when combined with the fallibility of human flesh, the blemishes of organic produce, the imperfections produced by hand.

Making material the powerful, emotional pull that is implicit in the invocation to renew, the artworks in Ever Fresh mirror a reality in which change is the only constant in our personal and social worlds.

Ever Fresh: 16 April – 14 May 2016.

Tully Arnot; Kristin Cammermeyer; Adham Faramawy; Emily Parsons-Lord; Marilyn Schneider; and Kawita Vatanajyankur.

Opening Saturday 16 April 3-5pm.

2.30pm Talks with artist Marilyn Schneider and curator Josephine Skinner.

3-5pm Experience Future Air with Emily Parsons-Lord.

Address: 36 Gosbell Street Paddington NSW 2021.

A portrait of Baroness Joan Bakewell has been unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery in London

A newly acquired portrait of Baroness Joan Bakewell, the broadcaster, journalist and writer, has been unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery it was announced today, Thursday 31 March.

Baroness Joan Bakewell, by Glenys Barton, 2014, Photograph ©National Portrait Gallery, London

The ceramic half-length sculpture is part of an ongoing series of portraits of influential women by the artist Glenys Barton and it is the final of a trio of works that she has made of Joan Bakewell since 2012.

All of the sittings for the sculpture took place at Baroness Bakewell’s home. It is the third portrait by the artist to join the Collection following the Gallery’s acquisitions of Barton’s sculptures of actress Glenda Jackson and the fashion designer, Jean Muir.

Joan Bakewell came to prominence as a television presenter of current affairs and the arts in the 1960s on Late Night Line-Up(1965-72). She later presented Heart of the Matter (1988-2000). Her books include autobiographical works The Centre of the Bed(2004), The View from Here: Life at Seventy (2009), Stop the Clocks: Thoughts on What I Leave Behind (2016) as well as novels All the Nice Girls (2009) and She’s Leaving Home (2011). In 2008, Bakewell was recognised as a voice for older people by the Government and in 2011, became Baroness Bakewell of Stockport.

Dr Nicholas Cullinan, Director, National Portrait Gallery says: “This striking portrait recognises the achievements of one of Britain’s most distinguished and respected broadcasters and campaigners. We are delighted to welcome back a new work from artist Glenys Barton, renowned for creating strong sculptures of remarkable women, which are some of the most popular in the Gallery’s Collection.”

Barton works mainly in ceramic and bronze and since the 1980s her work has been primarily figurative, with a particular focus on the head. In 1993, her portrait of Jean Muir was included in the National Portrait Gallery exhibition ‘Portrait Now’ and subsequently acquired for the Collection, along with a commissioned portrait of Glenda Jackson (1993). A retrospective of her work was held at the Gallery in 1997. Barton’s art has been shown in Britain, Europe and the United States, including an exhibition in 1977 of sculpture made over an 18 month period at the Wedgwood Factory in Stoke on Trent. She is represented by Flowers Gallery in London and New York.

Artist Glenys Barton says: ‘I always seem to come back to the theme of powerful women in my work and Joan is no exception. That’s why it was so important for me to capture Joan’s strength and charisma in the final form. While hands are very significant, as they’re very often the way we convey our emotions, my biggest challenge was Joan’s smile as she has a very expressive face. But I am very pleased with the finished result. The first form was softer but this shape is very strong. In fact, I hope it’s not just a strong portrait but a strong sculpture too.’

The portrait of Baroness Bakewell goes on display as part of a new hang of contemporary portraits in Room 32 and 33 of the National Portrait Gallery alongside other contemporary portraits of influential women including Shami Chakrabarti, Sam Taylor-Johnson and Dame Judi Dench.

Baroness Joan Bakewell is on display in Room 32 at the National Portrait Gallery. Admission free.

NPG 6997: BARONESS JOAN BAKEWELL (b.1933) by Glenys Barton (b.1944). Ceramic Sculpture, 2014. 530 mm x 440 mm. Acquired by the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery.

Poetry with Gypsy Woman, Jenean C. Gilstrap. Today: neon nights

Ken O’neill. Blondes Five in Car

neon nights

bleached blondes five

hidin’ behind black plastic eyes

top down an’ sun tannin’ on their skin

in their candy apple car with chrome born again

headin’ out for some of that las vegas fun

they’ll not sleep till the dealin’s done

ridin’ the dunes to the secrets of the night

in the city of them hot burnin’ lights

where secrets and sin

are the way to begin

an’ dark turns to darker still

when you lose behind the playin’ wheel

an’ if the wheels don’t do ‘em in

there’s always the cards to win

play some black jack or twenty one

but don’t let ‘em know you carry a gun

it’s win or lose all

in the life of a moll

an’ if the cards don’t treat ‘em right

then there’s always the trick of the night

you ain’t gotta leave till tomorrow noon

an’ if the john don’t pay for a job well done

then he’ll have to pay with a trip to hell

there ain’t no half way in them

grab a john an’ take a room

little desert desserts

where greed an’ lust are lovers too

an’ they’re gonna make a fool outta you

on them

neon nights

~

Ken O’neill. Casino Woman in Red Throwing Dice

AIIM research shows risk and compliance now the largest driver for Information Management

Bob Larrivee, Chief Analyst, AIIM

Yet only 18% of organisations align their IM/ECM system strategies with agreed Information Governance policies

Silver Spring, Md., March 31, 2016 – The number of large organisations citing risk and compliance as the largest driver for Information Management (IM) has risen hugely in the past year, from 38% to 59%, according to new AIIM research launched today.

Nearly half (44%) of mid-sized organisations also cite this as the biggest driver, although smaller organisations say cost savings and productivity improvements are more significant drivers for IM.

The new report, Information Management: State of the Industry 2016, revealed a lack of alignment between IM / Enterprise Content Management (ECM) systems and Information Governance. Less than one in five organisations align their IM/ECM system strategies with agreed IG policies, while 15% have IG policies but they do not drive decisions. 29% have no IG policies whatsoever.

“Organisations are rightly concerned about corporate risk but are not aligning their systems so that they can comply,” said Bob Larrivee, Chief Analyst, AIIM. “Many existing systems are not fit for purpose in the social, mobile and cloud age, but before embarking on upgrades and replacements, organisations need to address the lack of information governance policy as a priority – this has to be the first step in minimising risk.”

Despite the growing worry over risk, half of organisations surveyed by AIIM admitted they would struggle to defend deletions in court, particularly with cloud file-shares and business social, but also SharePoint and email too.

Even where organisations have IG policies, half are not auditing compliance and 15% admit they are mostly ignored.

Content overload threatens around one-quarter (24%) of respondents who have no mechanism to limit stored content volumes, and while 47% have an IG policy that defines retention periods, more than half (51%) rely on manual deletion versus 25% who have automated deletion. 7% are using analytics tools for data clean-up.

“The findings reveal that the Information Management industry is in a state of flux and many organisations are adapting a ‘bury your head in the sand’ strategy,” continued Bob Larrivee. “Organisations know that they need to manage their content and information much better than they are, and are also aware of their shortcomings should they ever be required to go to court. Yet they are still not doing enough to address this, and one feels that it may take one huge compliance case to shake organisations into action.”

Other key findings in the AIIM report include:

• 87% are concerned about cloud chaos and 75% agree that email management is still the ‘elephant in the room’ with Information Management.

• 63% of organisations use SharePoint as a main, secondary or legacy ECM/DM/RM system, including 27% using the online version.

• Only 22% have mobile access to ECM/RM content. 21% have mobile capture and 20% mobile content creation and commenting.

• 79% feel that they still have plenty of scope for extending and enhancing their ECM/BPM/RM systems.

The research for ‘Information Management: State of the Industry 2016’ was underwritten in part by Iron Mountain, Kofax, Nitro, OpenText, Onbase, Precision Content and Systemware. The full report can be downloaded here.

The survey was taken using a web-based tool by 266 individual members of the AIIM community between January 28, 2016, and February 21, 2016. Invitations to take the survey were sent via e-mail to a selection of the 180,000 AIIM community members.

About AIIM

AIIM has been an advocate and supporter of information professionals for 70 years. The association’s mission is to ensure that information professionals understand the current and future challenges of managing information assets in an era of social, mobile, cloud and big data. Founded in 1943, AIIM builds on a strong heritage of research and member service. Today, AIIM is a global, non-profit organisation that provides independent research, education and certification programs to information professionals. AIIM represents the entire information management community, with programs and content for practitioners, technology suppliers, integrators and consultants.

TV Shows Today, March 31: Scandal, Shades of Blue, The Big Bang Theory

Well, it’s Wednesday and it’s time for Olivia Pope, the President, the gladiators… of course, we are talking about Scandal. Today’s episode: The Miseducation of Susan Ross. Season 5. Episode 16. 9:00 pm. ABC. From Wikipedia: Scandal is an American political thriller television series starring Kerry Washington. Created by Shonda Rhimes, it debuted on ABC on April 5, 2012.

Our second choice is for the series Shades of Blue. Today: One Last Lie. Season 1. Episode 13. 10:00 pm. NBC.

And our last recommendation is for The Big Bang Theory. Today’s episode: The Solder Excursion Diversion. Season 9. Episode 19. 8:00 pm. CBS.

We hope you enjoy the shows. Have a very nice day, dear friends.

TV Shows Today, March 31 Video: Scandal 5×16 Sneak Peek “The Miseducation of Susan Ross” (HD)

Birthdays Today, March 31: Ewan McGregor, Angus Young, Sawyer Fredericks, Lexi Walker

He played the role as the young Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel, he starred on Traionspoiting… he’s a great actor and his name is…  Ewan McGregor! He was born in Perth, Scotland in 1971 and, from Yareah, we wish him and his family all the best in this special day. Congrats and happy birthday, Ewan McGregor!

Famous Birthdays Today, March 31: Ewan McGregor at the Cannes film festival. Source: Wikipedia. Author: Georges Biard

I’m just looking for that moment to drop my Jedi knickers and pull out my real light saber.

Ewan McGregor

Producing good stuff can be quite tough, and it involves a lot of frustration, but I always like things to be jolly and happy, and I forget that’s actually not the point at the end of the day.

Ewan McGregor

More famous birthdays today, March 31: Angus Young, guitarist and co-founder of AC/DC, boirn in Scotland in 1955; Sawyer Fredericks, singer; and Lexi Walker, young pop singer born in California.

Happy birthday to all of them. Have a very nice day, dear friends.

Famous Birthdays Today, march 31 Video: Ewan McGregor is in The New Star Wars Movie

Cosy Cashmere Launches it’s Spring Collection

Cosy Cashmere New Spring Arioso Poncho

Following a very successful first Autumn Winter season Cosy Cashmere has launched it’s first Spring Collection.

Classic Cashmeres will always remain a staple, but in luxuriant spring, colours reflecting the seasonal trends are complimented by new styles and techniques specifically designed with the season in mind.

Try the Arioso range of cashmere for ladies, with super-soft cashmere and lightweight knitting processing combined to give our most refined cosy feel. this provides true warmth without weight, ideal for leisurely spring evenings and a great feel good factor.

Cashmere with cotton is introduced for the first time, 85% cotton mixed with the finest 15% cashmere is bound to make a hit in modern styles for the discerning fashionable lady.

Visit www.cosy-cashmere.co.uk