makar sankranti sms, makar sankranti wishes, makar sankranti greetings, makar sankranti 2010, makar sankranti, makar sankranti greeting cards, makar sankranti sms, makar sankranti greetings, makar sankranti 2010, sankranti sms, makar sankranti sms, makar sankranti wishes - Have this 2010 1st feastival bring Happiness to your Life.wish u & ur family a very Happy Makar Sankranti
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Ugta Hua Suraj Dua De Aapko, Khilta Hua Phool Khushbu De Aapko, Hum To Kuch Dene Ke Kabil Nahi Hai, Dene Wala Hazaar Khushiyan De Aapko Have this 2010 1st feastival bring Happiness to your Life.wish u & ur family a very Happy uttarayan. Awdhut Pawale HBEPL..
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Bajare ki roti, nimbu ka achar, suraj ki kirne, chand ki chandani aur apno ka pyaar. Har jeevan ho khushal MUBARAK HO AAPKO “SANKRANTI KA TYOHAR.”
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Meethe gud main mil gaya til,
udi patang aur khil gaya dil,
Har pal sukh aur har din shanti
aap k liye Happy Makar Sankranti
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Wishing u a very happy Makar Sankranti
May the Makar Sankranti fire burns all the moments of sadness and brings you warmth of joy n happiness and love…
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Moongfali di khusboo te Gurh di mithaas, Makki di roti te Sarson da Saag, dil di khushi te apneya da pyar, mubarak hove tuhanu Makar Sankranti da tyohar.
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Tan mein masti
Mann mein umang.
Dekar sabko apnapan
Gud mein jaise meethapan.
Hokar saath hum Udayen PATANG
Aur bhar len aakash mein apne rang.
Happy Makar Sankranti!
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Ek til rusla fugla, radta radta gulachya paakat padla, khudkan hasla, hatavar yetach bolu lagla. TIL GUL GHYA N GOD GOD BOLA… HAPPY SANKRAT..
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What is that bright light? from where does this fragrance coming? This gentle breeze…cool air…hearty music… oh! its sankranthi…Hav a nice day….
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A beautiful,bright and delighted day,
sun entered makar to intense the ray.
crop harvested to cheer the smiles,
come together and enjoy the life.
kites flying high to touch the happiness,
til mangled with sweet to spread sweetness.
Time to enjoy the moment with full intensity
very happy prosporous Makar Sankranti
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Source - makar sankranti sms
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Monday, January 11, 2010
LePage predicts 7.2% increase in Metro house prices

Royal Lepage predicts Vancouver house prices will continue to increase in 2010
Vancouver's real estate market saw substantial year-over-year price increases for the final quarter of 2009, and prices are expected to increase 7.2 per cent in 2010, according to the latest Royal LePage Market Survey Forecast and House Price Survey.
So says the press release issued by LePage and reported in numerous media outlets and on many blogs. There were 44 links to the story on the first 5 pages on Google. Derrick Penner of the Vancouver Sun also reported on the LePage prognosis.
So what, you might ask.
When I read the story, the first thing that came to mind was what did LePage predict would happen last year. I re-read Penner's story but there was no mention of last year's prediction. All he wrote was that in 2009 Metro had experienced a double digit increase in house prices.
So I spent 30 seconds on-line and quickly found the answer. For 2009, LePage had predicted ....are you ready? a 9% DECLINE IN PRICES.
Now, I don't know about you, but I think that is something that Penner and other responsible journalists should have reported. Yes, LePage is a big company, with a recognizable logo, but they are not always right. I wrote to Penner and eventually got a response through Twitter...."yes LePage was wrong last year, but so were most people" Nonetheless, I have sent in the following letter to the editor of the Vancouver Sun.
I would caution Vancouver residents not to make any significant purchase or sale decisions based on the LePage prediction that Vancouver real estate prices will rise 7.2% in 2010. (Metro home prices heading up in 2010 firm predicts, January 8, 2010). What reporter Derrick Penner forgets to mention is that last year around the same time, LePage predicted that Vancouver area prices would drop 9% in 2009, when in fact there was a double digit increase by year end.
I will not pretend to know what will happen to Vancouver area prices in 2010, other than to predict that the change will not be a 7.2% increase. There are far too many variables for any of us to offer such a precise prediction. But I do encourage Sun reporters to take a few moments to check the accuracy of previous crystal ball gazing, when reporting on future predictions. It might give Sun readers a better perspective on their potential accuracy.
lohri sms, lohri festival, lohri songs, happy lohri, lohri wallpapers, lohri pictures
lohri sms, lohri festival, lohri songs, happy lohri, lohri wallpapers, lohri pictures, 2010 Lohri Messages, Happy Lohri, Happy Lohri Messages, Happy Lohri SMS, Happy Lohri Wishes, Lohri 2010 Messages, Lohri 2010 SMS, Lohri 2010 Wishes, Lohri English SMS, Lohri Hindi SMS, Lohri Messages, Lohri Messages 2010, Lohri SMS, Lohri SMS 2010, Lohri Wishes, Lohri Wishes 2010
Meethe gud main mil gaya til,
udi patang aur khil gaya dil,
Har pal sukh aur
har din shanti aap k liye
Happy Lohri|
________________________
Sardi ki thartharahat mein,
moongfali, rewari aur gur ki mithas ke saath,
Lohri mubaarak ho pyar,
dosti aur rishtey ki garmahat ke saath
________________________
Mungfli di khushbu te gurh di mithaas,
makki di roti te sarso da saag,
dil di khushi te aapneya da pyar,
mubarak hove tone LOHRI KA TYOHAR.
Tags: lohri sms, lohri festival, lohri songs, lohri wallpapers, happy lohri, lohri pictures, 2010 Lohri Messages, Happy Lohri, Happy Lohri Messages, Happy Lohri SMS, Happy Lohri Wishes, Lohri 2010 Messages, Lohri 2010 SMS, Lohri 2010 Wishes, Lohri English SMS, Lohri Hindi SMS, Lohri Messages, Lohri Messages 2010, Lohri SMS, Lohri SMS 2010, Lohri Wishes, Lohri Wishes 2010
Meethe gud main mil gaya til,
udi patang aur khil gaya dil,
Har pal sukh aur
har din shanti aap k liye
Happy Lohri|
________________________
Sardi ki thartharahat mein,
moongfali, rewari aur gur ki mithas ke saath,
Lohri mubaarak ho pyar,
dosti aur rishtey ki garmahat ke saath
________________________
Mungfli di khushbu te gurh di mithaas,
makki di roti te sarso da saag,
dil di khushi te aapneya da pyar,
mubarak hove tone LOHRI KA TYOHAR.
Tags: lohri sms, lohri festival, lohri songs, lohri wallpapers, happy lohri, lohri pictures, 2010 Lohri Messages, Happy Lohri, Happy Lohri Messages, Happy Lohri SMS, Happy Lohri Wishes, Lohri 2010 Messages, Lohri 2010 SMS, Lohri 2010 Wishes, Lohri English SMS, Lohri Hindi SMS, Lohri Messages, Lohri Messages 2010, Lohri SMS, Lohri SMS 2010, Lohri Wishes, Lohri Wishes 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
New Films from Olivier Ducastel, Jacques Martineau, Sébastien Lifshitz, Anahí Berneri, Jan Hřebejk, Michael Stock, Others at Berlinale '10
Twenty-five titles were announced for the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival yesterday in the Main Programme, Panorama Special and Panorama Dokumente. The previous announcement included new films from Roman Polanski, Martin Scorsese and Jasmila Žbanić. This round of titles includes films from Sébastien Lifshitz which I've mentioned several times previously, Anahí Berneri (Un año sin amor), Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau (Jeanne et le garçon formidable, Côte d'Azur), Mat Whitecross (The Road to Guantanamo, The Shock Doctrine), Peter Kern (Gossenkind), E.J. Yong (Untold Scandal), Miguel Albaladejo (Cachorro), Michael Stock (Prinz in Hölleland), Reha Erdam (Times and Winds), Lucy Walker (Devil's Playground), Jan Hřebejk (Divided We Fall) and Scud (City Without Baseball, Permanent Residence). The titles are listed below.
- The Actresses, d. E.J. Yong, South Korea- Alle meine Stehaufmädchen: Von Frauen, die sich was trauen [All My Tumbler Girls or All About Women Who Dare To...], d. Lothar Lambert, Germany
- Amphetamine, d. Scud, Hong Kong/China
- L'arbre et le forêt [Family Tree], d. Olivier Ducastel, Jacques Martineau, France
- Beautiful Darling: The Life And Times Of Candy Darling, Andy Warhol Superstar, d. James Rasin, USA
- Besouro, d. João Daniel Tikhomiroff, Brazil
- Blutsfreundschaft [Initiation], d. Peter Kern, Austria/Germany
- Gay Days, d. Yair Qedar, Israel
- Golden Slumber, d. Yoshihiro Nakamura, Japan
- Just Another Love Story, d. Kaushik Ganguly, Rituparno Ghosh, India
- Kawasakiho růže [Kawasaki's Rose], d. Jan Hřebejk, Czech Repblic
- Kosmos, d. Reha Erdam, Turkey/Bulgaria
- Making the Boys, d. Crayton Robey, USA
- El mal ajeno, d. Óskar Santos Gómez, Spain
- The Man Who Sold the World, d. Swel Noury, Imad Noury, Morocco
- Nacidas para sufrir [Born to Suffer], d. Miguel Albaladejo, Spain
- Parade, d. Isao Yukisada, Japan
- Phobidilia, d. Doran Paz, Yoav Paz, Israel
- Plein sud [Going South], d. Sébastien Lifshitz, France
- Por tu culpa [It's Your Fault], d. Anahí Berneri, Argentina/France
- Postcard to Daddy, d. Michael Stock, Germany
- Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, d. Mat Whitecross, UK
- Son of Babylon, d. Mohamed Al-Daradji, Iraq/UK/France/United Arab Emirates/Netherlands/Egypt/Palestine
- Waste Land, d. Lucy Walker, UK/Brazil
- Wiegenlieder [Lullaby], d. Tamara Trampe, Johann Feindt, Germany
Helping the Homeless: Jobs and family reunification

In a pre-Christmas post, following a few hours at the First United Church shelter and kitchen, I raised some questions regarding other initiatives that might help the homeless. In particular, I wondered whether more could be done to help people get into the workforce. I also asked if efforts should be made to reunify homeless people with family and friends.
Today I received a response from Judy Graves, the City of Vancouver's tireless street housing worker, who probably has a better understanding of the challenges facing those on the street than anyone else in the city. I found many of her comments quite startling, and while I do not agree with everything she says, I think others will be interested in what she sees as some of the challenges, and solutions.
FROM JUDY GRAVES:
Hello Michael,
There are programs in the DTES helping people get work. The best of them is likely BOB.
We are in a recession and people are losing jobs. A number of construction workers landed in the HEAT shelters for instance. I found others in Stanley Park in soaking tents. In spite of this, many of the people staying in shelters right now are, in fact, working. I routinely find people living rough who are working, and have found working people sleeping outside for some years. The jobs do not pay enough to cover rent. Subsidized housing in fact subsidizes the low wages paid by employers, as does the money we spend on transit. They cannot get themselves inside, let alone ahead.
They could use a rent bank that would make possible a one time security deposit and first month's rent on a non-repayable basis, so people who are not willing to accept welfare could get started living indoors. People who are coming out of recovery programs, clean and sober and working full time are not able to find adequate housing because their wages are so low. They remain a long time in residential recovery programs, saving money with which to pay rent in the future.
The sweeping destruction of the unions over the past couple of decades is one reason why BC has the highest child poverty rate in the country. The families can no longer afford adequate housing, even with two parents working. Single men at the bottom of the construction trades, single women in retail cannot afford rent in the Lower Mainland anymore. We see in the DTES families no longer together because the stress of poverty is too hard. The children are better fed in foster care. The Government pays money to foster families, but is unwilling to subsidize families so they can care for their own children.
The Salvation Army has an excellent family reunification program, at Dunning St in Burnaby. They find lost relatives and interface sensitively. The problem is - about 50%+ of the street homeless grew up in foster care. If a birth mother can be traced, almost certainly the birth mother is about as poor as the searching adult child, and has no means with which to support. On many of our First Nations reserves, living conditions and the hope of finding housing is no better than living conditions and housing in the DTES - and more hopeless. While people return for funerals, or for a visit, they do not want to return permanently.
A dear friend of mine is an archivist who traces Métis ancestry for homeless shelter guests in Alberta. The result is more often the paperwork that can get them a Métis status card, than contact with a living relative capable of hospitality or support. Many of the problems of the inhabitants of the DTES go back generations. many are caused by grief, losses unthinkable, great trauma, serious head injury, depression, panic attacks, lack of access to capital. Important to listen long and carefully before trying to help. First - do no harm.
Judy
I am particularly interested in the suggestion about the need for a 'rent bank'. However, I still want to know why the Provincial government doesn't reconsider its policy of giving everyone welfare money on the same day each month, since I am told this often contributes to havoc in the community.
I also wonder whether a program that offers men free shaves and haircuts might also help some people to get more work. Perhaps Judy or others more knowledgeable than me can respond to these two specific suggestions.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
All My Friends: Millennium Mambo, Take 5: Nathan E. House
A mutual love of Lynne Ramsay and French chanson (combined with a fairly intense disdain for the shitty company we were working for) solidified my friendship with Nathan House. After we parted ways with said shitty employer, we would often find ourselves crossing paths in not-so-unexpected situations (lately: a screening of Made in USA, the St. Vincent concert and a bitter cold house party). You can check out a couple of Nathan's video projects on The Auteurs. Thanks, Nathan.
On Film: All i can say for my turn-of-the-century film list is i picked my favorites, not the best, just the ones i plan to revisit again & again.L'intrus (Claire Denis, 2004) ~ The phrase 'hauntingly poetic' gets used far too often. After Joe recommended Betty Blue, I did a library search for Béatrice Dalle, the only other film of hers they had was L'intrus. This was my first entry into the world of Claire Denis, & it caught me wildly off guard. I was lulled & hypnotized. I'm sure Beau travail may be her 'best', but L'intrus will always be closest to my heart.
Vicky Christina Barcelona (Woody Allen, 2008) ~ The best narrative dramatic-comedy-romance Woody has offered us since Husbands & Wives. A stunning screenplay. Vicky Christina Barcelona is a mine-field of diamonds. Beautiful, rare gems exploding everywhere, at the slightest touch of love.
Dancer in the Dark (Lars von Trier, 2000) ~ As a Björk fan, this was my first serving of Von Trier. I still tear up at the 'Next to Last Song', no matter what. The master of cinematic manipulation does it again.
Twentynine Palms (Bruno Dumont, 2003) ~ This film destroyed me. Utterly unaware of its contents, my jaw hung agape at its audacity. I was mortified; couldn’t get it out of my head for days; still thought about it on a regular basis weeks/months later. A serious challenge; a powerful film.
Tropical Malady (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2004) ~ The phrase 'hauntingly poetic' gets used far too often.Never has a tail been used with greater effect.
The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005) ~ The phrase 'hauntingly poetic' gets used far too often.POCAHONTAS, LEARNING ENGLISH, SPINNING AROUND: "Wind! Wind! Wind!"
Waking Life (Richard Linklater, 2001) ~ I used to watch this everynight before bed; i think it accounts for the wild dreams I've had in my twenties. That, & legal Native American drugs.
V for Vendetta (James McTeigue, 2005) ~ On a whim I wandered into a movie theatre at 9pm to find out the foreign film i wanted to see didn't start 'til 11. So i moseyed into this after seeing a cardboard advertisement donning Natalie Portman's sexy bald-head. Long-story short, I was enthralled, love its anti-establishment sentiment & ended up liking it better than the foreign film i had originally wanted to see. I love a film about 'the power of ideas'.
Transformers (Michael Bay, 2007) ~ Quality escapist entertainment & funtastic directorial orchestration.KID ON CELLPHONE RUNNING THROUGH DEMOLISHED STREET: "This is easily a thousand times cooler than Armageddon!!"
Up (Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, 2009) ~ Brilliant comedy. I’ve such a deep admiration for innocent comedy. Comedy that needs no shock-value, degradation/sadism, or subversive ‘adult’ jokes thrown-in. There are so many irreproachably clever jokes along this adventure. A beautifully funny film.
On Music: For this list of my turn-of-the-century favorites, I've decided to single out the artists that I hold closest, & go double-time as I refuse to hold any one of their albums above another.The Books ~ Thought for Food (2002)
The Books ~ Lemon of Pink (2003)
Erykah Badu ~ Mama's Gun (2000)
Erykah Badu ~ Worldwide Underground (2003)
Erykah Badu ~ New Amerykah: 4th World War (2008)
Parenthetical Girls ~ Safe as Houses (2006)
Parenthetical Girls ~ Entanglements (2008)
Camille ~ Le fil (2005)
Camille ~ Music Hole (2008)
Beirut ~ Gulag Orkestrar (2006)
Beirut ~ Flying Club Cup (2007)
Björk ~ Selmasongs (2000)
Björk ~ Vespertine (2001)
Funky 16 Corners ~ Funky 16 Corners (2001)
Lonely Island ~ Incredibad (2009)
Rifle Recoil ~ Rifle Recoil (2009)
Prince ~ Musicology (2004)
Prince ~ 3121 (2006)
The Books ~ Lemon of Pink (2003)
Erykah Badu ~ Mama's Gun (2000)
Erykah Badu ~ Worldwide Underground (2003)
Erykah Badu ~ New Amerykah: 4th World War (2008)
Parenthetical Girls ~ Safe as Houses (2006)
Parenthetical Girls ~ Entanglements (2008)
Camille ~ Le fil (2005)
Camille ~ Music Hole (2008)
Beirut ~ Gulag Orkestrar (2006)
Beirut ~ Flying Club Cup (2007)
Björk ~ Selmasongs (2000)
Björk ~ Vespertine (2001)
Funky 16 Corners ~ Funky 16 Corners (2001)
Lonely Island ~ Incredibad (2009)
Rifle Recoil ~ Rifle Recoil (2009)
Prince ~ Musicology (2004)
Prince ~ 3121 (2006)
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