Rhys: No, thank you. It's joyful to be here.

Local D.J: Can you explain to our listeners what foraging is, exactly.

It's nothing to do with George Michael, is it?

[Laughing all round.]

Rhys: No, Suzie. In simple terms, it's searching for food in the wild.

But at a much deeper level it's about feeding the soul and listening to what nature is trying to tell us.

Local D.J: Ooh, crikey! What's it saying then?

Rhys: If you pick a ripe mopi berry towards the beginning of Spring, for example, it has a gentle licorice flavour. But if you leave it a few weeks it will become really quite bitter.

It stops singing and feels dead in your mouth.

Local D.J: Passed its sell-by-date, haha?

Rhys: It's very tempting to filter our senses through the parlance of contemporary food economics but if you live of the earth, by the earth, you develop a very different relationship with it.

Local D.J: My fella mostly has a relationship with kebabs but there you go!

Have you foraged anything rank before?

Rhys: If you're asking if I've made mistakes, by all means, I've lost my way from time to time.

Memorably, I was hiking from Wibbley Hole to Lower Frankton's Belly on the East Coast of Scotland last Winter and I had dropped my copper wristband and lucky neckerchief.

The wind blew in from the South and I needed to bed down in a bog and nourish myself to harness energy for the new challenges facing me.

The light was low and I picked an Ameranthus pigcimilus, thinking it was an Ameranthus pigcimili, because they both smell like deep-fried Mars Bars and have frilly bits around the stem.

I had barely sucked the juice from the prickle of its lower branches when I knew Ancient Wisdom was not smiling on me.

Local D.J: Was it coming out both ends?

Rhys: Ferociously.

Local D.J: Eew! How did you even get into foraging?

Rhys: I inherited the knowledge from my parents. They were hunter-gatherers too.

Local D.J: Didn't you say earlier your Dad worked for the Leccy Board?

Rhys: During the week, yes.

But if anyone asked him what he did for a living he would say, 'I breathe.' He loved saying that.

He met my mother at a Druid festival. She made him a necklace from wormwort and two weeks later moved into his goat-hide tee-pee.

Local D.J: Sounds well hippy, mate.

Tell us what inspires you.

Rhys: Hin Yun Tan wrote an incredible book, 'Journey into tomorrow: Understanding how your navel relates to the Woodland outreaches of Alaska' and in it he talks about the connection between time's evanescence and the funghi on the yew trees of the Himalayas.

I found that profoundly influential.

Local DJ: And what is the connection?

Rhys: A very strong one. They're connected together in lots of connected ways.

We're connected with everything. Organically.

Local DJ: Right on, OK.

What's the coolest thing you've foraged then?

Rhys: That would have to be the rare Lillandipot leaf I stumbled across when I was washing my waistcoat in a Guernsey estuary at dawn, last Summer.

I could barely believe my luck when I saw it waving at me between the bedrock and alluvium.

It's the forager's golden ticket and to think I nearly wiped my bottom with it.

Local D.J: Maybe you should have!

Now, I hope you don't mind my pointing this out but it's difficult for our radio listeners.

Rhys: What's that?

Local D.J: Well, you're different to most foragers. Is that fair to say?

Rhys: I have to agree that I'm on a particular spiritual path.

Local D.J: Yeah and they're whippets mostly, aren't they? But you're...

Rhys: Sixteen stone, Suzie? Yes, I am.

You see, this is a common misconception- that foragers don't eat much.

And I'm happy to dispel it.

There are enormous reserves of leaves and berries in the Bristol area. Nuts are especially calorific.

And I'm very fortunate with roadkill in the area around the M5.

Local D.J: Are you saying you forage in supermarkets?

Rhys: Ocassionally.

Local D.J: You go for it, Wild Man!

Before you ramble off, leave us with a recipe, will you?

Rhys: Take a good handful of Rinculum Hiberniclaw and roll it in your hands to release the citrus scent.

Poach it in some spring water overnight, with some chestnuts and a pinch of shredded basil- not too much, to keep the flavours fresh.

Mix it with some edible weeds, bundle it into a bay leaf and dip the whole wrap into the milk of a shrub.

Then eat it just as it is, with a small handful of oven chips.

There,I loved this sculpture named like our popular tortoise/turtle "Manuelita" . Maria Elena Walsh wrote this kid´s song:  Manuelita leaved her house in Pehuajo because she felt in love but she said her wrinkle make her old... She went to Paris where she was painted, ironed and got a wig... but she spent to much time swimming in her journey than she was wrinkled again!! Such a moral story!!!

On the way back I bumped into someone from school of art - she was just heading into the forestry land with her young sister on their bikes. They said they were off for a play in the creek. I said I'd been doing much the same - but since I'm not a kid anymore I photograph what I do and call it art !

- a retro swimsuit, preferably in red with white spots

- strappy wedges

- a heap of chunky bangles to stack up my arms

- a parasol

- nice feather earrings: all the ones I've seen in the shops look like crap

- an owl necklace

- pretty vintage slips

- Tarte cheek-stain

- spiral ear-stretchers, just small ones

- pretty chunky rings

What are you lusting after this season?

Why you doing here
Endeared
By the beach
Front the stores
And the twilights
Clinged to midnight
For some whores

Why are you so peaky
While the parade
Is sparkling
in a shivering bade
and rambling cinemas

Because
She says
Castles of paper
And plugged deltas
Cardboard mermaids
And booby hookas
Front silly mania
Promised me the moon
To desiderata

Because
She says
From autumn rings
to permanent springs
Any buddy's hiss
Got the better of bliss

Mae Linat © 2008

Här är en preview på Elenas vackra kläder för nästa vår och sommar. Temat är "garden party", tolkad med sidentyger med mönster i Kamelia, Förgätmigej och Peoner. Retroinspirationen håller i sig, längden är precis under knäna, midjan framhävs och bysten likaså.

Everyone in the street is out in the garden and we're chatting over the fence, strolling across the road and reacquainting ourselves as we dust off our winter cobwebs.  The kids are dreaming of the day when the sparkling pool water will be warm enough to swim and it really won't be very long.

So I'm off with my trusty 'water holding crystals' to plant up a storm. What do you enjoy about spring?

Comecei a ficar mais atenta às estações do ano após morar no velho continente por alguns meses. Atenta, obcecada, confusa. Ou agradavelmente supresa com algumas descobertas simples que podemos fazer a respeito do tempo, do clima, das estações. Durante uma aula de inglês, na Inglaterra, o professor pediu para os alunos formarem grupos de acordo com o dia de seus aniversários. Muita gente havia nascido no início de junho, como eu.  O professor exclamou “A maioria aqui é da primavera então!”. Da primavera? Nunca tinha pensado sob essa perspectiva. Meu aniversário sempre fora no outono. Na maioria das fotos que tenho das comemorações, as pessoas estão levemente agasalhadas. Só me recordo de ter chovido uma única vez, no meu aniversário de 16 anos, último comemorado no interior de Minas.

Morando na Inglaterra, também pude perceber a passagem do tempo mais claramente. Saí do Brasil no último dia de inverno. Cheguei a Londres no primeiro dia de outono. Os passeios pelos parques renderam fotos como essa aí que ilustra o topo do blog, tirada no Hyde Park, em meados de outubro. O frio que fazia era suportado com uma jaqueta grossa e um café quente. Quando o inverno chegou, a jaqueta ficou no armário e o casaco pesado teve que ser usado todos os dias. O peso das roupas cresceu proporcionalmente ao peso da saudade no meu coração. Abre parêntese para dica se tiver apenas um casaco, que não seja branco, fecha parêntese. Em alguns dias não havia café, jaqueta ou meias que me fizessem aguentar. Só mesmo abraçando o aquecedor portátil. Vi neve em Dublin, mas achei que fosse morrer mesmo de frio às seis da manhã, em Edimburgo, ao pegar o ônibus para o aeroporto. Com a primavera, veio a felicidade de encontrar meu irmão e colocar a mochila nas costas pra ver as flores dos parques de Amsterdã, Viena e Paris. Entenda bem como foi a transição das estações para mim: inverno, outono, primavera e... outono novamente, ao retornar para o Brasil. Eu perdi um verão, isso já rendeu um post relacionado também aos sentimentos que se passam aqui (aponta pro coração), já que de certa forma está tudo relacionado (bom, ao menos digo na minha vida). Antes que eu soe elegíaca demais, deixa eu tentar tirar uma vantagem: perdi um verão, mas assisti a um show incrível do Euros Childs. Pronto, tirei onda pra ninguém, né? Euros Childs who?

E desde então veio pensando nisso das estações. Não saberia dizer se tenho uma preferida, já que na minha concepção isso depende muito do lugar em que estou. Gosto de verão, gosto de ir à praia, ficar da cor de pecado, tomar suco gelado (rimô). Mas gostar de verão com o tempo seco de Belo Horizonte é quase impossível. Ninguém está preparado para o calor, não é comum ter ar condicionado nas casas e não dá pra se refrescar na Lagoa da Pampulha. Na Inglaterra, prefiro qualquer dia em que não há chuva. Foi lá que aprendi que o clima pode ter um efeito considerável no meu humor. Foi difícil tentar explicar para os meus roomates que eu estava chateada um dia only because of the bloody rain! Serinho, estava triste porque não parava de chover há duas semanas, no mês de janeiro.

E aí me vem a vontade de citar Hoagy Carmichael, que escreveu “I get along without you very well/ Of course I do/ Except perhaps in spring/ But I should never think of spring/ For that would surely break my heart in two”. Entendeu? Frank Sinatra entendeu. Assim como Billie Holiday. E Nina Simone. E Chet Baker. E mais um tanto de gente bonita que gravou a canção.

Quando passei o “Dispensável” para o wordpress, pediram um subtítulo e o primeiro que me veio à cabeça foi nascido no outono. Não sei se isso diz muito dos textos. Ou de mim. Acho que nem tanto, afinal, lá no hesmifério norte, tanto eu quanto o blog nascemos na primavera, certo? Por falar em primavera, essa minha pequena obsessão me levou a escrever um release para um amigo que deveria começar e terminar com o nome da estações das flores. A obrigação – imposta por mim, deixo claro – rendeu até hipérbato e zeugma no texto. Já nem importo se o release ficar na gaveta  no computador, ao menos a primavera marcou presença exatamente como eu queria. 

E antes que eu comece a parodiar Sandijúnior ou divagar mais sobre o assunto sem chegar a conclusão alguma (foi mal Vonnegut, você bem disse que não se deve vaguear assim),  deixo isso aqui praticamente sem término. Vamos todos assistir a “Primavera, Verão, Outono, Inverno e... Primavera”, do Kim Ki-Duk. Ele explicou melhor que eu. 

E fica um trecho bonito do filme “Um lugar chamado Notting Hill”. Um ano se vai enquanto Hugh Grant anda pelas ruas do bairro, passando pelas quatros estações. Ou quando as estações passam por ele? 

  Welcome to Spring technology forum....this website is to learn, use and develop applications in java using spring...best of luck...anybody can post their lessons...I will start posting my experience here day by day...feel free to share your views.

Clear and basic introduction of JNDI and Spring' JNDI support

2. An example of JMS connectionFactory JNDI setup in Spring
First, let's see some Spring source code:

[sourcecode language='java']
/**
* {@link org.springframework.beans.factory.FactoryBean} that looks up a
* JNDI object. Exposes the object found in JNDI for bean references,
* e.g. for data access object's "dataSource" property in case of a
* {@link javax.sql.DataSource}.
*
*
The typical usage will be to register this as singleton factory
* (e.g. for a certain JNDI-bound DataSource) in an application context,
* and give bean references to application services that need it.
* ...
*/
public class JndiObjectFactoryBean extends JndiObjectLocator implements FactoryBean, BeanClassLoaderAware{
/**
* Look up the JNDI object and store it.
*/
public afterPropertiesSet(){
...
// Locate specified JNDI object.
this.jndiObject = lookupWithFallback();
...
}

protected Object lookupWithFallback(){
...
return lookup();
...
}
}

public abstract class JndiObjectLocator extends JndiLocatorSupport implements InitializingBean {
protected Object lookup(){
return lookup(getJndiName(), getExpectedType());
}
}

/**
* Convenient superclass for classes that can locate any number of JNDI objects.
* Derives from JndiAccessor to inherit the "jndiTemplate" and "jndiEnvironment"
* bean properties.
*
*
JNDI names may or may not include the "java:comp/env/" prefix expected
* by J2EE applications when accessing a locally mapped (ENC - Environmental
* Naming Context) resource. If it doesn't, the "java:comp/env/" prefix will
* be prepended if the "resourceRef" property is true (the default is
* false) and no other scheme (e.g. "java:") is given.
*/
public abstract class JndiLocatorSupport extends JndiAccessor {
/**
* Perform an actual JNDI lookup for the given name via the JndiTemplate.
* If the name doesn't begin with "java:comp/env/", this prefix is added
* if resourceRef is set to true.
*/
protected Object lookup(String jndiName, Class requiredType) throws NamingException {
...
String jndiNameToUse = convertJndiName(jndiName);
Object jndiObject = getJndiTemplate().lookup(jndiNameToUse, requiredType);
...
return jndiObject;
}
}

/**
* Helper class that simplifies JNDI operations. It provides methods to lookup and
* bind objects, and allows implementations of the {@link JndiCallback} interface
* to perform any operation they like with a JNDI naming context provided.
*/
public class JndiTemplate {
/**
* Look up the object with the given name in the current JNDI context.
*/
public Object lookup(String name, Class requiredType) throws NamingException {
Object jndiObject = lookup(name);
...
return jndiObject;
}

/**
* Look up the object with the given name in the current JNDI context.
*/
public Object lookup(final String name) {
...
return execute(new JndiCallback() {
public Object doInContext(Context ctx) throws NamingException {
Object located = ctx.lookup(name);
...
return located;
}
});
}

/**
* Execute the given JNDI context callback implementation.
*/
public Object execute(JndiCallback contextCallback) {
Context ctx = createInitialContext();
...
return contextCallback.doInContext(ctx);
...
}

/**
* Create a new JNDI initial context. Invoked by execute.
* The default implementation use this template's environment settings.
* Can be subclassed for custom contexts, e.g. for testing.
*/
protected Context createInitialContext() throws NamingException {
return new InitialContext(getEnvironment());
}
}
[/sourcecode]

Next, we also need to define some utility classes:

[sourcecode language='java']
public class SystemPropertyResolverFactoryBean implements FactoryBean {
protected String systemPropertyName;

public SystemPropertyResolverFactoryBean(String systemPropertyName) {
this.systemPropertyName = systemPropertyName;
}

public Object getObject() throws Exception {
String propertyValue = System.getProperty(systemPropertyName);
return propertyValue;
}

public Class getObjectType() {
return java.lang.String.class;
}

public boolean isSingleton() {
return false;
}
}

public class JndiPathResolverFactoryBean implements FactoryBean {
protected String jndiPath;

public JndiPathResolverFactoryBean(final String jndiPath) {
String fixedPath = jndiPath.replace('\\', File.separatorChar).replace('/', File.separatorChar);
this.jndiPath = fixedPath;
}

public Object getObject() throws Exception {
return jndiPath;
}

public Class getObjectType() {
return java.lang.String.class;
}

public boolean isSingleton() {
return false;
}
}
[/sourcecode]

Finally, let's configure JMS connectionFactory in Spring:

[sourcecode language='xml']

3. JNDI without an app server? part1, part2

Nalalanta ang mga halaman

Plants are wilting.

Nalalagas ang mga dahon

Leaves

At bulaklak.

and flowers descending

Natitigang ang lupa

The grounds are drying

Sabay ng pagtulog ng mga batis, ilog at lawa

As the springs, and rivers, and lakes fall asleep

Sa pagsapit ng taglamig.

With the coming of winter.

Sa kanilang pagkaidlip,

On their sleep,

Ang mga puno

The trees

Ay nadarapa

Take a bow

At babalik kung saan sila nagsimula ~

Returning where they came  ~

Sa lupa.

To the grounds.

At doon ay hihimplay

And 'tis there that they would sleep

Mag-aabang sa muling pag-agos

To await again for the ebb

Ng Buhay.

Of life.

.

Sa kanyang pangungulila,

On his longing,

Sya ay tahimik na maghihintay.

He will await in silence.

Tulad ko rin,

Like me,

Patuloy na umaasa

Continually hoping

Na muli kang babalik

For your return

Upang sa akin ay muling ialay

To give me back

Ang pag-ibig mo

Your love

Na nagbigay

That gave

Sa akin ng buhay.

Me life.

.

Sa unang pagpatak

On the first drop

Ng ulan

Of rain

Sa pagsapit ng tagsibol,

At springtime,

Muling babangon

The trees

Ang mga puno.

Will rise again.

.

Pipintig nang muli

My heart

Ang aking puso.

Would start to beat again.

Sa iyong pag-babalik,

In your return,

Ako ay mabubuhay ng muli ~

You will breath me life anew ~

.

Uusbong ang mga dahon,

The leaves would sprout,

Mula sa mga lanta na sanga ng puno,

From the wilted twigs of the trees

Ang aking pagmamahal

My love

Tulad din ng mga bulaklak

Like the flowers

Ay mamumukadkad.

Will bloom

At Iibig nang muli

And my heart

Ang aking puso.

Will love again.

~

Check out my latest article for GoNOMAD titled Bonfires of Valborg: The Fiery Heart of Sweden.

One of my favorite pieces, it chronicles how Swedes welcome the arrival of spring with massive bonfires lighting up the landscape.

La gestion des traces est un problème fondamental dans le développement logiciel. Les traces garantissent un bon débogage et donc contribuent à la facilité de maintenance du logiciel.

Il existe de nombreuses implémentations de systèmes de logs. Laquelle choisir ?

Mais pourquoi en choisir une en particulier ?

Il existe une bibliothèque d'abstraction des logs qui fait référence en la matière. Il s'agit de Common Logging d'Apache. Cette librairie permet de définir des traces de différentsniveaux (debug, error...) sans se soucier de l'implémentation du système de gestion des logs. L'implémentation sera déterminée en fonction des librairies positionnées dans le classpath. On peut donc partir par exemple sur le couple Common Logging/Log4J.

Ou bien, nous pouvons tenter de résoudre notre problème en appliquant le concept de "separation of concerns". Ou plutôt de dans ce cas d'A.O.P. Aspect Oriented Programming.

Disons que la gestion des logs est une fonction transverse à toute notre application. Voire même à  toutes nos applications. Il s'agit d'un "aspect" bien particulier qui doit pouvoir intervenir selon des règles bien précises mais également selon les besoins du développeur. Il serait idéal que ce système ne soit pas invasif: qu'il ne pollue pas notre code. Et qu'il soit paramétrable à souhait.

Pour se faire, il existe un excelement article sur le sujet: Introduction à AOP (Aspect-Oriented Programming) avec le framework Spring. Je ne suis cependant pas d'accord avec l'auteur sur l'inconvénient:

Le tissage d'aspect qui n'est finalement que de la génération automatique de code inséré à certains points d'exécution du système développé, produit un code qui peut être difficile à analyser (parce que généré automatiquement) lors des phases de mise au point des logiciels (déboguage, test). Mais en fait cette difficulté est du même ordre que celle apportée par toute décomposition non linéaire (fonctionnelle ou objet par exemple).

Le conteneur Spring ne fonctionne pas du tout de cette manière. Ce sont les beans proxy de Spring qui analysent la configuration AOP lors de l'exécution et qui appellent les aspects le cas échéant. C'est en tous cas comme cela que fonctionne la gestion des transactions. De plus il est possible de définir des pointCuts sur des .class existant dont on n'a pas les sources.

Donc si l'on doit identifier une contrainte, elle serait plutôt de l'ordre des performances d'appel de méthodes lorsqu'elles sont soumises à AOP.

Dai Fujiwara took us on a journey into an ephemerical jungle of shades of green and pales. Like nixies the models almost floated on the runway showing of sophisticated cuts and delicate fabrics. Pleated dresses, the Miyake signature pieces did not dominate the runway as usual, but left room for elegant yet casual day- and early evening outfits with refined prints. To find the colors Dai had gone to a fact finding mission to Brazil and this elaborate research has obviously payed off.

Veronique Branquinho

An easy going soft silhouette was the biggest tendency. Short shifts with landscape prints in pales are dresses that will be very versatile, easy to wear and easy to accessorize. Long oversized jackets with three quarter sleeves are worn over shorts and a white shirt. Less edgier then previous collections it might open doors towards new clientele. Surprisingly enough neutral loving Branquinho was one of the designers who showed more colors than average this season. To sum it up, I saw a collection that makes me want to find out more about this young designer.

Bulgari Store Opening / Balenciaga After party

After dinner I went to the opening party of the new Bulgari store in Avenue George V. The exhibit of haute joaillierie was breathtaking, but none had more bling than the necklace worn by ever so good looking Mila Jovovich. 

[caption id="attachment_1511" align="aligncenter" width="613" caption="The party, The bling, Susan & Mila Jovovich; photos: René Horak"][/caption]

When the champagne reserves had dried out, people headed to Le Baron next door where Nicolas Ghesquière was having his bash celebrating his Spring Summer collection.

[caption id="attachment_1512" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Susan and Hamish Bowles at the Balenciaga bash; photo: René Horak"][/caption]