pine for pine: March 2010

The Man Who Planted Trees

Somethings

Better Hand Drawn Don't You Think?

Here's Joooohny!

This is a cuckoo clock designed by Chris Dimino. It strikes the hour with Jack's Heeeere's Johnny followed by Shelley Duvall's scream. Will guarantee to wake you

Party Cat

MJ? Yes, but Vin Diesel?

Here are the top 30 Facebook Fan Pages by number of fans (including URL):


Rank	Facebook Fan Page Name	Number of Facebook Fans	Facebook Fan Page URL
1	Michael Jackson	10,551,163	http://www.facebook.com/michaeljackson
2	Vin Diesel	7,232,745	http://www.facebook.com/VinDiesel
3	Barack Obama	7,095,229	http://www.facebook.com/barackobama
4	Facebook	6,662,703	http://www.facebook.com/facebook
5	Mafia Wars	6,426,482	http://www.facebook.com/MafiaWarsFans
6	Texas Hold'em Poker	5,848,694	http://www.facebook.com/TexasHoldEm
7	Megan Fox	5,357,269	http://www.facebook.com/MeganFox
8	Starbucks	5,331,423	http://www.facebook.com/Starbucks
9	Lady Gaga	4,711,581	http://www.facebook.com/ladygaga
10	RIP Michael Jackson (We Miss You)	4,695,522	http://www.facebook.com/pages/RIP-Michael-Jackson-We-Miss-You/132749984408
11	I love Sleep	4,682,956	http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-SLEEP/73330003836
12	Pizza	4,643,720	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pizza/44258313195
13	Twilight	4,631,460	http://www.facebook.com/twilight
14	Will Smith	4,611,952	http://www.facebook.com/WillSmith
15	Dr. House	4,531,231	http://www.facebook.com/DrHouse
16	I need a vacation!!!	4,385,918	http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-need-a-vacation/72161599412
17	Coca-Cola	4,103,026	http://www.facebook.com/coca-cola
18	I really hate slow computers	4,016,919	http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-really-hate-slow-computers/88390832382
19	YouTube	3,885,861	http://www.facebook.com/youtube
20	I hate waking up during a good dream and it won't come back!	3,835,373	http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-hate-waking-up-during-a-good-dream-and-it-wont-come-back/106867375015
21	Adam Sandler	3,746,593	http://www.facebook.com/Sandler
22	I don't get enough sleep because I stay up late for no reason	3,170,874	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sleepville/I-dont-sleep-enough-because-I-stay-up-late-for-no-reason/88901432776
23	Skittles	3,555,983	http://www.facebook.com/skittles
24	Linkin Park	3,537,072	http://www.facebook.com/linkinPark
25	Nutella	3,421,754	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nutella/24932281961
26	Freeze Pops	3,379,178	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Freeze-Pops/77257732630
27	Randomely laughing because you remembered something funny	3,331,980	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Randomely-laughing-because-you-remembered-something-funny/92516322212
28	Random laughter when remembering something	3,326,008	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Laugh-City/Random-laughter-when-remembering-something/109759232094
29	Selena Gomez	3,315,239	http://www.facebook.com/Selena
30	Pizza	3,306,364	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pizza/27041826093

RP is 7th in Number of Facebook Users


Rank	Country	Number of Facebook users	12 month growth %	6 month growth %
1	USA	101,303,240	140.8%	46.0%
2	UK	22,625,300	51.5%	20.9%
3	Turkey	16,943,780	113.6%	36.8%
4	Indonesia	14,681,580	1536.7%	126%
5	France	14,290,700	117%	32.6%
6	Canada	14,228,460	31%	19%
7	Italy	13,272,760	137.6%	30%
8	Philippines	8,387,560	2046.8%	208.4%
9	Spain	7,701,200	196.7%	33.4%
10	Australia	7,611,920	75.8%	25.7%
11	Argentina	7,387,120	227.5%	50.6%
12	Colombia	7,243,520	99.4%	25.8%
13	Mexico	6,505,040	351.5%	78.5%
14	Chile	5,808,020	39.9%	20.2%
15	Germany	5,799,520	361.9%	84.9%
16	Taiwan	5,490,300	4763%	701%
17	India	5,397,480	403.8%	66.8%
18	Venezuela	4,952,340	164.2%	38.4%
19	Malaysia	3,975,640	367.5%	99.3%
20	Sweden	3,066,180	80.7%	34.1%
21	Belgium	2,872,160	73.5%	21.1%
22	Hong Kong	2,727,980	87.0%	30.7%
23	South Africa	2,434,500	164.6%	41.5%
24	Brazil	2,413,900	1052.4%	137.7%
25	Egypt	2,341,880	184.7%	44.7%
26	Denmark	2,262,260	27.4%	15.3%
27	Norway	2,256,080	54.9%	21.7%
28	Greece	2,222,860	122.4%	35.6%
29	Israel	2,149,500	149.5%	49.9%
30	Thailand	1,963,560	1063.8%	181.6%

[*figures are taken from Facebook and then compared to Facebook usage statistics lists that I have previously compiled (allowing the 6 month and 12 month comparisons.)]

Book Critic for Dummies

examiner.com thinks these are the most annoying cliches in book critiqueing. She even made a bingo out of these:

1. Gripping
2. Poignant: if anything at all sad happens in the book, it will be described as poignant
3. Compelling
4. Nuanced: in reviewerspeak, this means, "The writing in the book is really great. I just can't come up with the specific words to explain why."
5. Lyrical: see definition of nuanced, above.
6. Tour de force
7. Readable
8. Haunting
9. Deceptively simple: as in, "deceptively simple prose"
10. Rollicking: a favorite for reviewers when writing about comedy/adventure books
11. Fully realized
12. At once: as in, "Michael Connelly's The Brass Verdict is at once a compelling mystery and a gripping thriller." See, I just used three of the most annoying clichés without any visible effort. Piece of cake.
13. Timely
14. " X meets X meets X": as in, "Stephen King meets Charles Dickens meets Agatha Christie in this haunting yet rollicking mystery."
15. Page-turner
16. Sweeping: almost exclusively reserved for books with more than 300 pages
17. That said: as in, "Stephenie Meyer couldn't identify quality writing with a compass and a trained guide; that said, Twilight is a harmless read."
18. Riveting
19. Unflinching: used to describe books that have any number of unpleasant occurences -- rape, war, infidelity, death of a child, etc.
20. Powerful

The Goi Peace Foundation_International Essay Contest

The United Nations has designated 2001-2010 as the "International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World" and 2005-2014 as the "United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development." Additionally, 2010 celebrates the International Year of Youth as well as the International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures. Young people are encouraged to participate in these global initiatives and play a leading role in promoting peace and understanding among all cultures.

Theme:"MY ROLE IN CREATING A PEACEFUL WORLD"What is your vision of a peaceful and harmonious world? What can you and the young people of the world do to realize that vision?

Guidelines:

Essays may be submitted by anyone up to 25 years old (as of June 30, 2010) in one of the following age categories:a) Children (ages up to 14) b) Youth (ages 15 - 25)
Essays must be 800 words or less in English, French, Spanish or German; or 1600 characters or less in Japanese, typed or printed.
Essays must have a cover page indicating (1) category (Children or Youth) (2) essay title(3) your name (4) mailing address (5) phone number (6) e-mail address (7) nationality (8) age as of June 30, 2010 (9) sex (10) school name (if applicable) (11) word count. Teachers and youth directors may submit a collection of essays from their class or group. Please enclose a list of participants' names and the name and contact information of the submitting teacher or director.(Entries missing any of the above information will not be considered.)
Entries may be submitted by postal mail or e-mail.(Email entries must be in text or MS Word format, with the cover page and essay sent together as one document.)
Essays must be original and unpublished.
Essays must be written by one person. Co-authored essays are not accepted.
Copyright of the essays entered will be assigned to the organizers.

Deadline:
Entries must be received by June 30.

Awards:
The following awards will be given in the Children’s category and Youth category respectively:
1st Prize: Certificate and prize of 100,000 Yen (approx. US$1,000) ... 1 entrant
2nd Prize: Certificate and prize of 50,000 Yen (approx. US$500) ... 2 entrants
3rd Prize: Certificate and gift ... 5 entrants

Honorable Mention:
Certificate and gift ... 25 entrants
* 1st prize winners will be invited to the award ceremony in Tokyo, Japan scheduled for November 2010. (Travel expenses will be covered by the organizers.)
** All prize winners will be announced in November 2010 on the Goi Peace Foundation web site (www.goipeace.or.jp) and UNESCO web site (www.unesco.org/youth).

Please send your entries to:International Essay Contest c/o The Goi Peace Foundation1-4-5 Hirakawacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0093 Japan
E-mail: essay@goipeace.or.jp

Moreinfo: http://www.goipeace.or.jp/english/activities/programs/1001.html

Religion stylebook available for journalists

Journalists can now access an online stylebook focused on the major world religions, denominations and religious organizations often covered by the media.
The publication, "Reporting on Religion 2: A Stylebook on Journalism’s Best Beat," includes terms that are not included in the widely-used Associated Press (AP) Stylebook. Terms include proper spellings and capitalizations as well as suggestions about usage.
Additionally, the guide includes appropriate titles for religious leaders as well as religious holidays and traditions.
To access the stylebook, click here.