Buddy Can You Spare a Dime?

By Virgil Carter
Does your nonprofit organization, or your foundation, actively engage in fundraising?  Are donors an important audience for you?  If so, you know that the resource development world is a challenging one, particularly since 2008 when the economy slowed and unemployment increased.

“Five Steps for Winning Conversations With Donors”, by Cody Switzer, published in a recent issue of The Chronicle of Philanthropy, offers some insights on positive and productive interactions with potential donors, based on an interview with Laura Fredericks, a fundraising consultant.  Fredericks says she has noticed a disturbing trend, “Too often fundraisers use the same formula to seek a gift, whether they are asking for $10,000 or $50,000, instead of tailoring each interaction with a potential donor to the person’s interests and values.

Conversations with donors are too important to use a standard template, Ms. Fredricks said. A guarantee that fundraisers are doing the right thing:  They should be a little nervous every time. Otherwise, it’s a sign they are coasting.  Fredricks offers five steps for improving conversations with donors: 

·         Know exactly what you want:  Before you contact a donor, you should have an idea “how much, how many, how often, and why” you want their gift, Ms. Fredricks said.

·         Prepare the conversation:  Before meeting with a donor, script out what you’d like to say, with an emphasis on open-ended questions. “These questions can help put a donor at ease and stir conversation”, Ms. Fredricks said. One of Ms. Fredricks’s favorite questions is, “When was the first time you remembered it was important to give back?”

·         Deliver with confidence:  It’s important to smile when you’re communicating with a donor, even if it’s over the phone or through e-mail. Listen to their responses to questions: Do they mention family or a hobby frequently? This can tip you off to the values that are important to them and allow you to adjust your approach. Mirror their language, and keep your requests for donations short and to the point.
·         Clarify your results:  At the end of each conversation, repeat what you see as the results back to the donor to make sure you completely understand each other”, Ms. Fredricks said. Use a sentence starting with, “I heard you say today that …” and allow the donor to respond and correct you. If a donor gives you an adamant “no” about making a donation, ask why. ”Can I ask why it is you don’t want to give?” is the language that Ms. Fredricks recommended.
·         Plan the next move:  If the donor is still unsure about giving, set a timetable with him or her to check in again, but phrase it as a question. ”Can I get back to you next week?” or “When would be a good time to get back to you about that?” are both effective, Ms. Fredricks said. If the donor does agree to give, you should still set a next goal, with a date, and record it along with all the other information your group has about the donor.

Fundraising is always challenging, but these steps will help increase your conversations with donors and help build those important long-term relationships your organization is seeking.

South Korea to Surpass Japan's GDP per Person


Although Japan was once the foremost nation in terms of economic growth, the Economist's daily chart suggests that this trend is changing. Countries like South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan, who used to trail behind Japan in regards to GDP per person, are now quickly outpacing Japan. Even more remarkable, South Korea is expected to achieve a higher GDP per person measured at purchasing-power than Japan within five years. Singapore outpaced Japan in this category in 1993 and Taiwan passed Japan in 2010. However, the case of South Korea will be extraordinary, give that 32 years ago South Korea’s GDP per person was roughly a fourth of Japan’s.

Book Review: Love Times Three

Recently, I had an opportunity to hear Joe Darger and his three wives speak about their plural marriage.  I was impressed and moved by the goodness I felt by the faith, love, and family devotion evident by their remarks.

As an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon), our church has taught us for the last century or so that the polygamy we formerly embraced has now been forbidden; indeed it is now considered adultery by the church and the church intolerates membership of one who practices polygamy.*  When polygamy was renounced, a small percentage of Mormon leaders (apostles, et al) and believers who clung to the teachings of plural marriage--some still found in cannonized LDS scripture not to mention the Old Testament--broke off from the church.  In modern day through the media I was aware of Warren Jeffs, and his group the Fundamental Mormons or FLDS.  I suppose my critical feelings towards the compulsory marriages of Mr. Jeffs were applied to all polygamist groups, not realizing the distinctions among polygamist groups which turns out to be significant.

Although there do exist differences of doctrine between the Independent Fundamentalist groups of Mormons and the mainstream Mormons which is the church of Mitt Romney, myself, and the vast majority who call themselves Mormons, I found surprisingly these Independent Fundamentalists have a doctrine nearly identical to that of Mormons with the exception of polygamy (which may be better termed polygyny as only men have multiple wives, not the other way around).

The book the Dargers wrote Love Time Three takes the reader through the minds and major life events of each of the spouses.  They practice polygamy of their own free choice not because Joe has this huge libido but rather because they feel it necessary to do so to honor God and their religion.  They understand the difficulties of jealousy that arise and their struggles to work through the issues that come up with boundaries and raising a couple dozen children.  It is clear they are practicing the "Principle" (meaning plural marriage) out of goodness and love each other and have much love to give to their children.  They are a successful modern family by any measurement.

As each theme is developed in the book, each spouse writes their own feelings on the event.  For example, when Joe had a healthy, established plural marriage with Vicki and Alina (who are cousins) he took on another marriage in the form of Val (Vicki's twin sister).  In the book you will get to read the perspective on the new marriage partner not only from Joe and Val but Vicki and Alina as well.  The patience and love in this marriage for one another is most admirable.

The purpose of the book is not only to promote understanding of what it is like to be a polygamist, but to rally support to decriminalize the act of plural marriage:  an act where there are no victims.  I have changed my views dramatically on this over the past few years.  I used to selfishly believe that because I personally viewed polygamy as adultery it should be banned.  Having understood Constitutional rights as I do now, I realize that not only is that view grossly incorrect, but that government has no constitutional right to prohibit contracts between consenting adults.  Government should not be issuing marriage licenses; this is the purview of the church or of the individuals themselves.  This means of course, same sex marriages too are allowed under the law and government should not interfere.  That is, government is not to prohibit the free exercise of religion as stated in the first amendment and government at ANY LEVEL telling you who you as an adult can and can't marry is just plain evil and a gross abuse of power.

A substory within the book shows sadly how government additionally abused their authority by coming in and investigating the Dargers when a baby girl died of an unknown birth defect.  I felt angry the state would--propelled by the family's polygamist choice--disrupt this beautiful family and the hard work in raising their children, and the unnecessary fear raised amid an innocent family practicing their religion, not to mention an utter waste of precious tax dollars. 

I highly recommend the book; I've even taken some notes on how to better interact with my own wife and improve my own marriage.  I never watched the HBO series "Big Love" but the book counters with a claim betimes of a more accurate depiction of fundamentalist Mormonism so it serves as an excellent starting place for understanding the motivation behind Mormon polygamy.  Love Times Three:  Our True Story of a Polygamous Marriage, released last fall is an easy read, just under 300 pages, and available through the Darger's blog/website LoveTimeThree.com

* There is good historical reason for the intolerance.  Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Act in 1862 which began a generation of legislation of unconstitutional federal persecution against the Church including imprisonment, removal of voter rights, withholding of statehood, and absconsion of property.

Fettuccine in Special Salmon Tomato Sauce

 Come and join our delicious, finger licking breakfast this morning. Fettuccine served with special tomato sauce which contains smoked salmon, imported fresh spinach, mushroom and fresh basil leaves; sprinkled with parmesan cheese and accompanied with pretzel rods.... a big wow from everyone... no hotel cooking can match home made cooking which is far more tastier and richer with our favourite ingredients!
I've posted pasta recipes many times in this blog which you can refer to. I'm too busy today and cannot afford to spend much time behind the computer. The different this time just playing with the ingredients. Thanks again to my reader from Canada who gave me the smoked salmon - really delicious with any cooking!
The sauce enriched with all fresh ingredients!

The Flamingo & Planet Hollywood Host Inaugural Dinah Shore Weekend in Las Vegas


LAS VEGAS (April 27, 2012) – As a long-time advocate of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) community, Caesars Entertainment is proud to host the inaugural Girl Bar Dinah Shore Weekend in Las Vegas at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino and Flamingo Las Vegas.



“Girl Bar Dinah Shore Weekend has become a ‘must attend’ event for the lesbian community and has a committed group of followers,” said Richard Brower, director of LGBT marketing for Caesars Entertainment. “As the only casino company with a 100% on the 2012 Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, our commitment to the LGBT community is strong. We are delighted to serve as hosts for the event’s Las Vegas debut and look forward to a long-lasting relationship with the Girl Bar and the Truck Stop Girlz Dinah Shore event founders.”

In addition to presenting Girl Bar Dinah Shore Weekend 2012, Total Vegas recently served as a sponsor of White Party Palms Springs April 6-9, 2012, with a lavish Total Rewards Lounge offering guests the opportunity to win a Vegas weekend getaway. 
To stay on top of gay events at Caesar's make sure to 'Like' Total Reward Pride's page on Facebook.



You can find the Dinah Shore Weekend Facebook page here, where you can learn more about the festivities going from April 27 – 29, 2012 which include:

  • “Impromptu” at KOI Lounge at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino
    8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. , April 26
  • “Bling” at VooDoo Rooftop Nightclub at Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino
    10:00 p.m. – Close, April 27
  • GO Pool Party at Flamingo Las Vegas
    10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., April 28
  • “Gurlesque” at Chateau Nightclub & Gardens at Paris Las Vegas
    10:00 p.m. – Close, April 28
  • “Last Chance Dance” at Cleopatra’s Barge at Caesars Palace
    8:00 p.m., April 29 – 3:00 a.m., April 30

For a full list of Girl Dinah Shore Weekend events and Total Vegas package offers please visit www.dinahshoreweekend.com

Week 91 Sunset Color Smorgasbord

Sunday evening provided a stunning show of light as the sun peeked beneath the clouds just before it set!


:Use Photoshop CS6 to Create a Micro Machines Inspired Scene:

Use Photoshop CS6 to Create a Micro Machines Inspired Scene

 

 

Final Product What You'll Be Creating

Photoshop CS6 is packed with new features and effects that you can use in your work. In this tutorial we will utilize Photoshop’s new 3D capabilities as well as its new content aware features to create a Micro Machines inspired composition. Let’s get started!


Tutorial Assets

The following assets were used during the production of this tutorial.
  • Desktop Scene
  • Toy Car
  • Asphalt texture

Step 1

Open the image of the desktop. Since we are going to add a racetrack across the desktop, go ahead and sketch out the path of the road on a temporary layer. This will identify problematic areas up front.

Step 2

Use the Content-Aware Move Tool (J) to fix the problematic areas so that our road will have enough space. With the Tool activated, draw a selection around the eraser, then click and drag the selection to a new area on our screen. Allow Photoshop to calculate the change
Your results should appear similar to the following image:

Step 3

Use the Content-Aware Tool on the pencil as well.

Step 4

We are now going to create the road. Select the Pen Tool (P) and set the Mode to Shape. This will allow us to use the Fill and Stroke options. For now, set the fill to No Color and the Stroke to Black. Using the sketch as reference only, loosely draw a new path from a top-down view on a new layer named “Road.” Note: Do not draw this path in perspective of our scene, we will use the 3D mode later to match the perspective.

Step 5

Set the Stroke Width to 130 pt. Also, open up the Stroke Options and set the Align to Center. Hide the “Background” Layer for now.

Step 6

Our next step is to texture the “Road” layer. To start, we’ll need to open the picture of the Asphalt.

Step 7

Use any of the Marquee Tools to select the Bike symbol and go to Edit > Fill. Make sure to set the Use to Content-Aware. If necessary, use the Patch Tool to clean up the image.

Step 8

We need to correct the image’s perspective in order to properly sample the texture. Select the Perspective Crop Tool (C), which can be found by clicking and holding on the Crop Tool.

Step 9

With the Perspective Crop Tool selected, click four points of a rectangle that matches the perspective of our asphalt. Use can manipulate the handles to get a better match.
Press Enter or Return to commit to the crop.

Step 10

Now that we have a nice, clean texture, we need to make it seamless. Go to Filter > Other > Offset and adjust the sliders so that both seams are visible.

Step 11

Using the Patch Tool, remove the seams. It may be necessary to use the Patch Tool multiple times
The results should resemble the image below:

Step 12

Press Command/Ctrl + A to select the entire image and go to Edit > Define Pattern. Name this pattern “Asphalt.” Lastly, with the selection still active, press Command/Ctrl + C to load this image to the clipboard. We will be pasting it in our scene in a later step.

Step 13

Go back to our original scene and double click the “Road” layer to access the Layer Styles. Apply the asphalt texture as a Pattern Overlay. Set the scale to 25%
Right-click the layer and select Rasterize Layer Style.

Step 14

Create a new layer and press Command/Ctrl + V to Paste our image that we copied in Step 12. Resize the texture so that it covers the road.

Step 15

Rename the new layer to “Texture” and make into a Clipping Mask to the “Road” layer.
Using a larger, soft Eraser (E), erase the inside of the road so that the larger texture appears only on the edges of the road.
Set the Blending Mode to Overlay

Step 16

Select both layers that make up our road and right-click and select Convert to Smart Object. Rename the Smart Object to “Road.”

Step 17

Now that we’ve created a top-down view of our road, we can start to create a top-down view of the construction cones. Create a new layer named “Cones.” Select the Pen Tool and change the settings as follows:

Step 18

Set the Foreground Color to a nice construction orange and draw two paths that follow each side of the road. The resulting paths should resemble the following image:

Step 19

Right-click both shape layers and Rasterize Layer. Select both rasterized layers and Merge (Command/Ctrl + E). Rename to “Cones.”

Step 20

We can now start to make our 3D objects. To convert our “Road” Smart Object into 3D, select the layer and go to 3D > New 3D Extrusion from Selected Layer. This will automatically create an extruded 3D object, as well as open the 3D Panel.

Step 21

In the 3D Panel, select the “Road” object layer (denoted with an extruded star icon) to access its properties. In the Properties Panel, make sure the Mesh section is activated and set the Extrusion Depth to 0.

Step 22

Next, go to the Coordinates section and set the X-Angle to 90 degrees.

Step 23

Go back to the 3D Panel and click the fly-out menu for additional 3D options and select Snap Object to Ground Plane.

Step 24

Go back to the Layers Panel and hide the background image. This will make it easier for us to see the 3D objects. Next, right-click the “Cones” layer and select New 3D Extrusion from Selected Layer. Note that the “Cones” object is on a unique grid. We know this since there is only one object (the “Cones” object) in our scene. Photoshop has essentially created a separate 3D space for each object. We will combine both objects so that they are both in the same 3D space.
Go back to the Layers Panel and make sure the “Cones” layer is on top of the stack. Select both 3D layers and Merge (Command/Ctrl + E).
Since these are 3D layers, merging the layers just combines them into the same 3D space. We can check this by going back to the 3D Panel.

Step 25

Using the same methods as we did the road, set the extrusion depth to zero, change the X-Angle coordinate to 90 degrees and snap to the ground plane. The objects may not line up properly, we will move them into their final positions later.
Also, it is important to note that since we have combined multiple 3D objects in one scene, the objects are contained within new groups (typically using the suffix “_layer”). Simply drill down to find the object layer (denoted with the extruded star icon).

Step 26

At this point, we are going to add a bevel to our “Cones” layer so they resemble construction cones. First, select the “Current View” camera and, using the navigational tools in the top menu, position the camera so it is close to the cones.

Step 27

Select the “Cones” object layer and go to the Cap section in the Properties Panel.
Use the onscreen widget to shape the cone.

Step 28

Next, in the Properties Panel, select the Contour Map to edit and add a custom contour as shown.
The results should resemble the following:

Step 29

Now we can work to move the camera into position. We will use the grid on the ground plane to help us match the perspective of our scene. Go back into the Layers Panel and unhide the background image.

Step 30

Go back to the 3D Panel and hide the “Road” and “Cones” layers. We don’t need this now.

Step 31

Select the “Current View” layer and, using the 3D tools in the top menu, Rotate, Drag, Slide, and Scale the grid so that it matches the perspective of the scene. It may require a lot of trial and error to get this right, although it does not need to be perfect. It helps to find some right angles that already exist in the scene such as the buttons on the calculator.

Step 32

Unhide the “Road” and “Cones” object layers. Select the “Road” object and click on the Mesh section in the Properties Panel.
Use the widgets to manually move/rotate the road into a desired position.
Do the same with the “Cones” object.

Step 33

We are almost done with the 3D. The last part is to touch up the lighting. Currently, the shadows of our object do not match our scene. To fix this, click the Lights Filter in the 3D Panel and select the one light in our scene.

Step 34

Holding shift, click and drag on the shadow in the scene to position it so that it matches the direction of the shadows in the original image.

Step 35

Let’s move on to rendering. We want to render each piece separately so we will need hide objects we aren’t rendering. In the 3D Panel, click the Filter by Mesh icon and hide the “Road” object. Also, make sure to unclick Cast Shadows for the “Cones” object.
In order to render out our objects as transparent layers hide all our background layers as shown below:
Go to 3D > Render (Command/Ctrl + Alt + Shift + R). Let Photoshop render a few passes, then press Enter to stop the rendering. Please note that if you are in the Layers Panel, the scene must be selected in order to initiate a render.

Step 36

In the Layers Panel (the 3D layer should already be highlighted), Select All (Command/Ctrl + A), Copy (Ctl + C) and Paste (Command/Ctrl + V) the rendering onto a new layer. Name this layer “Cones Rendered.” Hide this layer for now.

Step 37

Repeat this process for the “Road” object.

Step 38

Now that the road and cones have been rendered out, we are going to make a few additional renders with the “Cones” object. Unhide the “Cones” object and hide the “Road” object. With the “Cones” object selected, go to the Mesh section of the Properties Panel and turn on Cast Shadows, turn on Invisible and turn off Catch Shadows.
Render this out and copy it to a new layer just like we did in the earlier steps.
For the last render, turn off Invisible and Cast Shadows. Go to the Cap section and click Reset Deformation. This will result in flat discs.
Again, Render (Command/Ctrl + Alt + Shift + R) out the scene and copy to a new layer.

Step 39

Name the three rendered files appropriately and hide the 3D layer. If necessary, reorder the layers so it appears correct in the image.

Step 40

Select the “Road Rendered” layer and add the following layer styles to make it appear as if the road is actually resting on the table.

Step 41

Select the “Shadows Rendered” layer and give it a Gaussian Blur (Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur) of 4 px. Set the Blending Mode to Multiply and the Opacity to 4%.

Step 42

Select the “Base Render” layer and move it down so that it is barely visible under the cones. Adjust the Levels until the discs are pure black.
Give this a Gaussian Blur (Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur) of 1.7 px and set the Blending Mode to Multiply

Step 43

Make a copy of the “Base Rendered” layer and apply the Gaussian Blur filter again, but this time with a setting of 5.5 px. Set the Blending Mode to Multiply and the Opacity to 55 %

Step 44

Group all of our cone layers together and add a Layer Mask to the group.
Use the mask to hide any cones that overlap the pencil and blue eraser.

Step 45

To organize our scene, go ahead and group all of our composite layers.

Step 46

Our next step is to add a car to our scene. Open the car image and notice that it already has a nice shadow under it. We will try to utilize this shadow. Use the Pen Tool (with the Mode set to Path) to draw a path around the car.

Step 47

With the Pen Tool (P) still active, right-click the path and select Make Selection. Copy and Paste the car on to a new layer. The top layer will be the full color car, while the bottom layer will be used for its shadows.
Group these two layers together. It may be necessary to double click the “Background” Layer to unlock it.

Step 48

Drag the “Car” group into our scene and resize to fit.

Step 49

Inside the “Car” group, set the bottom layer to Multiply. Rename the layers as well. Notice that the perspective of the car does not match our scene. We will attempt to correct this in the next step.

Step 50

Select the “Car” layer and Transform (Command/Ctrl + T) the the car subtly to better match the perspective. Use the Warp Mode (activated by clicking the Warp Icon in the top menu bar) to fine-tune the transformations.
Notice that this causes unwanted parts of the “Car Shadows” layer to show through. Use the Eraser Tool (E) to remove.

Step 51

Use Levels (Command/Ctrl + L) to adjust the “Car” layer.

Step 52

Additionally, you can paint in more shadows as you see necessary

Step 53

The next step is to have our components match the depth-of-field in our original image. Start by merging the “Composite Layers” group to a new layer.

Step 54

Before we add a blur, use the Burn Tool to darken the corners of our new layer

Step 55

Now, add the Iris Blur (Filter > Blur > Iris Blur). Set the amount of Blur to 4 px and adjust the onscreen widget so the blurring matches the original image as closely as possible.

Step 56

Our image is technically done, but we can go a little further with it. Make a merged copy of all layers by pressing Command/Ctrl + Alt + Shift + E.
Use this new, merged layer to add additional corrections. In this case, I’ve added an additional blur using the Tilt-Shift blur (Filter > Blur > Tilt-Shift). This adds some more depth while blending the components better.
I’ve also added a Photo Filter. This will help blend the colors better.
Lastly, I’ve added a softer appearance to the scene. This is done by copying the layer, increasing the Levels, and giving it a moderately high Gaussian Blur. Once this is done, set the Blending Mode to Soft Light, and adjust the Opacity to your preference.

Step 57

The last step is to use the Crop Tool (C) to crop the image down slightly. This will hide any Layer Styles that are visible around the edges of our image. Make sure to deselect Delete Cropped Pixels.

Final Image

You’re Done. The final image should resemble the following.
 Enjoy..=)
MamoOn..

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