Interview with photographer Stacey Irvin

Welcome to my interview with local photographer Stacey Irvin. I met Stacey yesterday at her East Nashville studio and found her to be a very sweet and engaging lady. She is passionate about her travels and clearly enjoys getting to know the local culture and people of her various destinations.

Her work has been shown in various art galleries around Nashville and when you see her work you will understand why. She has an amazing eye for colors and her photos seem to pull you in to them so they can tell you the story. They whisper to you that they hold a secret of another culture, of days gone by and inspire your mind. I know when I've looked at her work I can almost hear the children laughing, the conversation as a meal is prepared, the sounds of animals nearby or the wind blowing through the trees.

C'mon, let me introduce you to Stacey Corey

Visit her website to learn more about her and to see some of her work.
http://www.photonomad.com/
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Introduction to Stacey Irvin and she tells us about her trips to China


Stacey talks about her visits to Montana and how she learned to work on a ranch


Stacey tells us about her trip to Kenya where she talks about documenting some of the things that "Burning Bush" does while also getting some great shots of the local people.


Stacey tells us about her travels to Ecuador


Stacey talks about what inspires her photography

Could a U.S. law drive local businesses out of business?

From the looks of it, yes it could. MSNBC talked to local toy maker Brian Pharoah of RealWoodToys.com and he explains how it would hurt him and others here in the U.S. as much or more than the Chinese companies. Read below for a portion of the story and click the link to read the entire story.

Support local business and get your kids some "Real Wooden Toys."
~Corey

Handmade Tennessee toys could be facing their last Christmas. A new law intended to stop China from making dangerous lead-based toys has also endangered the mom-and-pop toymakers.

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The law was aimed at China for the lead-tainted toys produced there in 2007 but instead hits mom-and-pop American and European toymakers.

Brian Pharaoh's grandfather made wooden toys. When Pharaoh, a former tank commander, was stationed in Germany, it was natural that he would look for the same kind of toys he grew up with. His hobby became a business: Nashville's RealWoodenToys.com.
"(It) could be devastating to the consumers and, of course, the people that are making these toys," Pharoah said.

Read the entire MSNBC story
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RealWoodenToys.com

A hotel in a quarry in China

This stunning concept designs inspired by the natural water and landscape features of the quarry captured the imagination of judges to quash competition from two other international firms. The quarry will provide protection from the weather, and reduce the energy needs of the hotel. The complex will contain restaurants, cafes, sport facilities, and will even include underwater public areas and guestrooms.



The innovative design of the 400-bed resort hotel stands two levels higher than the rock face of the 100 metre deep quarry and includes underwater public areas and guestrooms. It will incorporate conference facilities for up to 1,000 people, a banqueting centre, restaurants, cafés and sports facilities.

Visit Atkins Design to see this and more amazing creations.

Visit Freshome to see and read the more cool stuff.

A Car Made in Ethopia by a Chinese Car Company

China's automakers aren't fooling around when it comes to aggressive growth. While you don't hear much enthusiasm from European or North American automakers about the market on the African continent, There's already at least two Chinese carmakers who've set up shop there as a way to expand beyond the borders of their home country. Holland Car is the first car assembly plant in Ethiopia, and it's kicking out a renamed Lifan 520. The 520 goes by the handle Abay in Ethiopia. Abay is the name of Ethiopia's largest river, and the hope is that the name will spur buyers to check the vehicle out. Equipment levels are luxury-level for its market, $16,000 price buys you safety gear like ABS, airbags and brake distribution, and quality is good enough that Lifan thinks it will change Ethiopian's opinions about a domestically produced car. Power is provided by a 1.3 liter four cylinder twisting a 5-speed transmission. The cars are assembled from knock-downs (CKD), and appear to have been solidly engineered. Lifan produces the 520 in several different locations – Russia, and Vietnam, for example.

Visit AutoBlog for the full story.

In The Words of Bill Marriott: All I Can say about Macau . . . is WOW!!!

Give the Chinese a crack at capitalism and all heck breaks loose - that's my main take-away after seven days here in Asia. The consumer potential of this country is awesome. That's why Marriott is so bullish about our growth plans here.

China's economy is growing at the rate of 10 percent a year. If you think that's impressive, wait 'til you get a load of Macau. It's growing at more than 20 percent a year.

This tiny, little island is about one-sixth the size of Washington, D.C. and only an hour-long ferry ride from Hong Kong. About 100 million people are within a three hour car ride and 3 billion people are within a five hour flight.

No surprise that last year, Macau overtook Las Vegas in gambling revenue.

You should see the monstrous casinos at the brand new Venetian. It's the second largest building in the world after the Boeing plant in the state of Washington. They have an entertainment center under construction that will accommodate 15,000 people for major events like rock concerts and NBA exhibition games.

The lowest bet at the high roller tables is $3000. There are no slot machines - well there are just a few - some baccarat, a lot of roulette, blackjack and "sic bo," which means high-low in Chinese.

And talk about speed to market: the Venetian was a $2.4 billion project but only took 24 months to build.

Read the entire post in Mr. Marriott's blog, Marriott on the Move.