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The Dog of the Highlands: West Highland White Terrier

At around 1700s, the Isle of Skye and other highlands in Scotland were already producing lots of small terriers. Scottish breeds were separated into two: the Skye terriers and the Dandie Dinmont terriers.

The Dandie Dinmonts were categorized as a separate breed. The Skyes included the Scotties, the Cairns and the West highland white terriers or the Westies.

It was also noted that these terriers were the hybrids among the crossed Cairns, Scottish, and Dandies terriers. One could assume that the hybrid would really be loyal and its hunting instincts could not be belittled. In fact, many royalties in Scotland owned terriers that were very similar to the Westies of today.

Another remarkable story is about a Westie that stopped a mother from constantly yelling at her daughter. Every time the mother would yell at her teenage daughter, the Westie would attack the mother. The aggression of the dog got worse over the years that resulted in the mother’s complete inability to scold her teenager.

It turned out that the girl was actually rewarding the dog for his protection by calming and soothing him down after every “threat” from her mother. Many would perceive that the daughter was able to help her mother to change her ways when in fact she was helping herself by rewarding the dog for its behavior.

The following are some of the basic facts breeders would really love to know about Westies:

Category: Terrier
Living Environment: indoors (highly recommended); outdoors (fenced yard)

Coat: about two-inch coarse and wiry outer coat and soft, dense, and furry undercoat
Color: white

Height: between 10 and 12 inches

Weight: between 13 and 22 pounds

Temperament:

Naturally,

• they like to bark and dig
• they are not as willful like most terriers
• they love companionship

When properly trained

• they can become fairly friendly towards strangers
• they develop close affinity with behaved children
• they love to chase cats but they do not hurt them
• they can become a very good watch dog
• they can become very lively

Breeders should note of the following health issues:

• Chronic skin problems
• Perthe’s disease (hip problems)
• Jawbone calcification
• Cranio mandibular osteopathy (lion jaw)
• Patella luxation, a disorder in the kneecap
• Liver ailments
• Deafness
• Congenital heart disease

Care and Exercise:

• Their coat should be brushed regularly using a brush with stiff bristles.
• They should bathe only when necessary.
• Their whole coat should be stripped at least twice a year and trimmed every four months.
• The fur on the eyes and ears should be trimmed using blunt-nose mirrors.
• They will surely be more agile and healthy after regular sessions of play and/or walk.

Origin/History:

As noted, they share the same lineage with Cairns and Scotties (from Skye terriers), and even with the Dandies. This trio was developed in the Isle of Skye, which was one of the highlands in Scotland. It was noted that white whelps were chosen from the wiry-coated Cairns, Scotties, and Dandies to produce the variety that were known as Poltalloch terriers.

Following are some items in the history that show the Westies’ reputation of being owners’ favorite companion dogs.

Records in the history mentioned that around 1620, King James 1 of England requested some small white dogs from Argyleshire in Scotland. Colonel Malcolm, who was considered as the originator of Poltalloch terriers, that are very similar to the Westies of today, accidentally shot his terrier (a dark one). From then on he vowed to have only white terriers.

In the 19th century, terriers that were very similar to the Westies were known as Roseneath terriers in honor of Duke of Argyll’s interest and patronage of this breed. Roseneath was the name of his estate at Dumbartonshire.

In the first-ever dog show that were organized in the late 1800s, the Westies were called as White Scottish terriers. In 1904, they were classified under the name West Highland White terriers.

During the mid-1900s, breeders of the Cairns in Argyll, Scotland selected white puppies from the stock and interbreed some to obtain white Cairns. However, in 1917, the American Kennel Club ruled that Cairns could be listed if they have the Westies’ lineage.

We can say the history repeats itself for this delightful terrier is now mostly a favorite companion dog of many households.

Buying Paintings: Futurism

A 20th century art movement with its’ roots in Italian and Russian beginnings, Futurism is said to have largely began with the writing of a 1907 essay on music by the Italian composer Ferruccio Busoni, and explored every medium of art to convey its’ meanings. The Italian poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti was the first to produce an article in which was summed up the major principles that became the Manifesto of Futurism in 1909. It included the passionate loathing of ideas from the past, and with that enmity of political and artistic traditions, espoused a love for speed and technology.

The philosophy of Futurism regarded the car, the plane, and the industrial town as legendary of the technological triumph of mankind over nature. With Marinetti at the helm, a few artists of the time introduced the tenets of the philosophy to the visual arts, and represented the movement in its’ first phase in 1910. The Russian Futurists were fascinated with dynamism and the restlessness of modern urban life, purposefully seeking to provoke controversy and attract attention to their works through insulting reviews of the static art of the past, and the circle of Russian Futurists were predominantly literary as opposed to being overtly artistic.

Cubo-Futurism was a school of Russian Futurism formulated in 1913, and many of the works incorporated Cubism’s usage of angular forms combined with the Futurist predisposition for dynamism. The Futurist painter Kazimir Malevich was the artist to develop the style, but dismissed it for the inception of the artistic style known as Suprematism, that focused upon the fundamental geometric shapes as a form of non-objective art. Suprematism grew around Malevich, with most prominent works being produced between 1915 and 1918, but the movement had halted for the most part by 1934 in Stalinist Russia.

Though at one point, those Russian poets and artists that considered themselves Futurists had collaborated on works such a Futurist opera, but the Russian movement broke down from persecution for their belief in free thought with the start of the Stalinist age. Italian Futurists were strongly linked with the early fascists in the hope for modernizing the society and economy in the 1920s through to the 1930s, and Marinetti founded the Futurist Political Party in early 1918, which was later absorbed into Benito Mussolini’s National Fascist Party.

As tensions grew within the various artistic faces that considered themselves Futurists, many Futurists became associated with fascism which later translated into Futurist architecture being born, and interesting examples of this style can be found today even though many Futurist architects were at odds in the fascist taste for Roman imperial patterns. Futurism has even influenced many other 20th century art movements such as Dadaism, Surrealism, and Art Deco styles. Futurism as a movement is considered extinct for the most part with the death of Marinetti in 1944.

As Futurism gave way to the actual future of things, the ideals of the artistic movement have remained significant in Western culture through the expressions of the commercial cinema and culture, and can even be as an influence in modern Japanese anime and cinema. The Cyberpunk genre of films and books owe much to the Futurist tenets, and the movement has even spawned Neo-Futurism, a style of theatre at utilizes on Futurism’s focuses to create a new form of theatre. Much of Futurism’s inspiration came from the previous movement of Cubism, that involved such famed artists as Pablo Picasso and Paul Cezanne, and created much of the basis for Futurism through its’ philosophy.

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Discovering Values that Improve your Personal Life

Values make us as a person and define how we invest our time, energy and money. When our values are high, we can reach the limits of improving our personal life. Throughout our life, we decide what we want to do with our time. Time is essential, since time runs out quick. For this reasons you, want to invest time, spending your time wisely. Spending time wisely includes activities, entertainment, work, quality time and so on.

The average person spends most of their day working. At the end of the day they return home to spend time watching television, or engaging in activities with the family. Unfortunately, family is a thing of the past. If you want to improve your personal life, you are going to have to put family first. If you have wife and kids, or husband and kids, you will need to learn how to invest time with the family. Unfortunately, you have five or six hours after a day of work to do this. You also want time for self.

To achieve a time frame that works for everyone try considering discovering new interests. When you discover new ideas, it will help you open the doors to success. Your directions in life are based on new ideas. For instance, if you come home after work most times without spending time with the family, try practicing eating at the dinner table each night with your family. Do not allow room for excuses. As you feast together, take time to ask how each person’s day went. This has proven to enhance relationships. When you enhance relationship, you are also building a new bridge to personal improvement.

One of the biggest mistakes some people make is hanging out with poor influences. If you hang out with poor influences, you are wasting time. Your values are low. You will need to build your values to improve your personal life by changing company. You want to hang around with positive influences. Let me draw you a picture.

If you hang around at bars with your friends, you are wasting time. In time, you will face court costs, fines, and perhaps jail, especially if you visit the bars and drive home after drinking. In time, you will learn new bad habits. Each bad habit you learn takes over your life, which only keeps you down.

Finding new positive influences is a key to success. Anyone who thinks positive will rub off on you, helping you to develop good habits. When you find friends that care about you, you will have friends that do not allow your to drink and drive. You will have friends that care about your future.

To make new friends you have to learn communication skills. Don’t be afraid to smile and say hi. There is nothing wrong with being friendly. One has to use good judgment however, since this world is filled with bad characters that have harmful intents. In addition, many people today fear friendliness.

When you learn to communicate however, you are building blocks that lead you to a happier future. Failure to communicate is one of the leading reasons why businesses fail, relationships falter, children kill and so on. Communication comes in many forms. Sometimes when you sit and listen as well as pay attention to gestures or body languages you learn best. Observation is the ultimate key that helps you to gain successfully and learn to develop skills that lead you to improve your personal life.

You have many options in the world. Take those options, use them to your advantage and you are on the road to improving your personal life.

Buying Paintings for Relatives

I have found that people buying paintings for relatives usually have a very specific thing in mind when they set out shopping. It is very rewarding to find just the right painting for a space that really needs it. Sometimes color is the only consideration.

Content is also very appropriate to consider. If you are buying a painting for someone that has very distinct tastes, it is important to keep that in the forefront of your mind. The painting of a rooster might be great for one relative but not for another.

Size constraints need to be taken into account when buying paintings for relatives. If your Aunt Eloise lives in a small apartment, buying a painting for her that takes up an entire wall is not a good idea. It is a good idea to take a look at the place the painting will go before purchasing one.

Color can be a big factor in the buying of a painting. If the color clashes with your relative’s décor, they will probably not be very excited about hanging it. If the color is just right, it will hang on their wall for a very long time.

Religious themed paintings are difficult to buy for friends, but easy to buy for relatives. More than likely, you know what religion your relatives adhere to and what symbols are most relevant to it. Jewish symbolism is lost on a Christian family and vice versa.

Choosing to buy paintings for relatives based on the artist’s previous work is also a good method of finding great art. If your relative already has purchased art from an artist that they like and that they hang prominently in their home, then it is a safe bet to buy another piece from the same artist.

Sometimes buying a nice painting for a relative has a point of inspiration, like a vacation. If your mom and dad just visited Paris, a nice painting of Paris might be a great choice. It is good to know what landmarks they enjoyed most and find an artistic representation of it.

I have some relatives that I’ve bought paintings for that were interested in the Middle Ages. I found some very nice reproductions of the work that was popular in that time period. Buying reproductions is acceptable if the painting is prohibitive in cost.

There is an aunt that I adore that is always buying painting for relatives. Her heart is in the right place, but she has a hard time picking paintings that are appropriate for the recipient. She bought her daughter a lovely painting that was Baroque and completely did not fit the feel of her home.

Landscape paintings done in the Romantic style look so nice in my uncle’s home. I bought him a reproduction of a Monet that he hung in his study. I enjoy watching him study that painting.

My little sister has requested that anyone buying her a painting should stay away from Van Gogh. She has equal dislike for Cezanne and Gauguin. I’m not sure why she feels so strongly about Modern and Contemporary art.

I happen to like cubist paintings by Kandinsky. My husband bought me a reproduction of a Kandinsky that I keep in my den. I can look into it and see so many different things. The painting comes to life and I feel so many emotions when I look into it.

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Discovering Paris

How to discover Paris:
Visiting Paris gives you many options to consider. Most tours will guide you through the history of Paris. Tours are known to take tourist around Paris during day and night hours respectively. Some tour guides offer you pick up and drop off at your hotel and others will just pick you up. The length of time it takes varies depending on the tour and how much time you have. There are many choices to choose from.
How about a city tour taking up 3 ½ hours of your time with a guide and a minibus to take you to see the most major sites of Paris. As you come upon these sites your guide with tell you the history of each area you visit, making it an enjoyable and a learning experience for everyone.
Don’t have 3 ½ hours then take a shorter tour of the city. See the must see spots in the capital city of France in 2 hours instead. The trip will be shorter but just as enjoyable.
Have a little more time than 2 or 3 hours to tour the city. How about seeing the entire major spots of the city and ends your tour with lunch at the Eiffel tower. The bus will pick you up at your hotel but your return will be on your own. You’ll be able to see monuments, landmarks with the learning of history behind each one from you guide. End your tour at the Eiffel Tower for lunch. Because you have come here on a guided tour, there is no waiting at the elevator to take you to the restaurant and a table will be waiting for you. In Paris, you will enjoy sending a postcard back home with a stamp of the Eiffel Tower printed on the stamp.
Tours can be chosen in many different packages. Take a tour of the city and a short cruise down the Seine River. This package will only take 2 hours of your time.
Want to make a day of it. Try the city tour, lunch and cruise all in one package. A minibus will pick you up at your hotel and than there is a 2 hour orientation of the hot spots in the city of Paris. Go right from you tour of the city to the Seine River for more excitement on your cruise. You’ll be riding down the river in a glassed in boat making the perfect view for everyone aboard. Classic French music will be played from time to time for the relaxed mood while your having your lunch. Upon your return to the Eiffel Tower, you’ll go around the Statue of Liberty.
If you feel adventurous why not have lunch at the Eiffel Tower followed by a Cruise down the Seine River. Sounds fun doesn’t it. The bus will pick you up at the hotel with this package as well and give you a 2 hours ride around the city. The Eiffel Tower is the next stop for lunch with no waiting in line for the elevator or your table everything will be waiting for you upon your arrival. Enjoy your view and relax the cruise is about to start. Just walk across the street and aboard the boat for more fun and relaxation. You’ll have music to listen to as you ride down the river and the education is the greatest. Enjoy this tour and make you dreams come true.
Want to visit the largest museum in the world? Take the Louvre guided tour package. Here you’ll see many painting beginning from the 16th century. Louvre is known as the Palace of the kings of France. The Louvre has 800 years of history established in 1793.
Have fun with you tour.

Buying Paintings: Expressionsim

When speaking on buying paintings of the Expressionist movement, it is always a good idea to review what elements make Expressionism unique, and to gain an understanding of some of the artists representative of this particular artistic movement. The agreed upon intention of Expressionist artwork is not reproduce a subject accurately, but to instead portray the inner state of the artist, with a tendency to distort reality for an emotional effect. The movement is closely associated with its’ beginnings in Germany, and has a few different but overlapping schools of thought within.

The term Expressionism was first used to describe the movement in the magazine produced in 1911 called “Der Sturmâ€

Discovering Intentions to Improve your Personal Life

How to discover your intentions:

Good intentions are the ultimate choice of improving your life. If you have bad intentions, it is a sign you are filled with greed, envy, hate and so on. You want all these negative influences out of your life. Intentions are powerful. Intentions tell others where our goals are heading. It is our purpose. Intentions are our motive that helps us to achieve our objectives.

To learn your intentions you must put forth effort. Sometimes you will feel grouchy, and grit your teeth, yet as you continue to learn you will see a light at the end of the tunnel. So what if some of your intentions are bad. Welcome to reality, humanity and imperfection. Yet, you can change those bad intentions to good thoughts. The key to find your intentions is to consider discovering. Acquire the determination to reach for the stars, learn about you, decide what you want and move ahead. Take the action so that you can develop healthier thoughts, habits, behaviors etc that guide you to success.

The system of entry:
It always helps a person to write down their intentions. When you enter your intentions on paper, it helps you to discover you. Many people do not like to write, however if you keep a journal you can look back later to see your growth stage. It only takes a few minutes daily to jot down your feelings, thoughts, ideas and so on.

Accessing your interests and strengths within:
To access your interests, first you have to sit down and consider what you want. Once you decide what you want, you will need to write a plan, set goals and take action. Move to get what you want. To access your strengths, test your abilities and skills. What can you do best? How can you use your skills and abilities to improve your personal life?

Once you access your inner you, you can move to set your own standard of living. Do not live for others; rather learn to live for you. As you move ahead, explore your vocation paths. Do you see you in the future enjoying the job you love? Do you see you in the future working at the same company going nowhere? If you see yourself stuck, check your options to find a way to better your situation. You can start by identifying the jobs that peek your interest. Once you discover what you want to do, set up strategies to achieve your goals. Take action and move ahead.

How it is done:
Discover you and what options you have available. Pull up resources. In fact, build resources. Resources are the key that unlocks the doors to success. Check your intentions. What is the ideal vocation for you? Pull up your assets and use them to your advantage. Do a job search to help you find a new career that makes you happy. Always follow through with your plans. Never give up and demand results.

To achieve your goals discover your wants.

Take action by recording your specific needs and wants. Review the inner pictures you develop and listen to the voices that tell you how you can improve your personal life. We have cute little thingy ma-jigger that tells us when we do wrong. Learn to train your conscious to live healthier. We have another cutie inside us, which is called instincts. Learn to re-establish your instincts and listen. Listening is the key to help you improve your personal life. Learn how to recognize your bodies needs also.