Two prominent Twin Cities artists, playwright Carlyle Brown and sculptor Siah Armajani, have won national fellowships from United States Artists. The awards, announced Tuesday at a ceremony at new York’s Lincoln Center, each come with $50,000 in cash.

Armajani, an international artist known for bridges and gardens in Europe and America, designed the pale blue and yellow pedestrian bridge that connects the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and Loring Park. He also won the 2010 Distinguished Artist award from the McKnight Foundation.

"I couldn’t make it to the ceremony out there today, but I appreciate the recognition," Armajani said. "I don’t think of my work as metaphorical but existential. The bridges connect points for people to get from one place to another. The gardens are places of reading and of peace."

Brown, whose plays include "Pure Confidence" and "The African Company Presents Richard III," flew to new York for the festivities. "The money will pay some bills and buy time to write at a time when everybody is hurting in their pocketbooks," he said. "but more important than the money is the national recognition. I’m at a place in my life where I know my craft and crave time to make work."

Brown, 63, and Armajani, born in Iran in 1939, are the latest Twin Cities-based artists to be recognized with the awards, which are based in Southern California and were created to celebrate artists at a time when such support is on the decline nationally. Theater artists Michael Sommers and Dominique Serrand previously won fellowships.

On Tuesday, those sharing in the $2.5 million in awards were visual artist Glenn Ligon of new York, Ohio-based choreographer Bebe Miller and new York-based playwright and screenwriter Doug Wright, whose play, "I am My Own Wife," won a Pulitzer Prize. Fellowships are also given in music, crafts and media.

"this provides strong national validation for artists and puts money into their hands," said Katharine DeShaw, founding executive director of the 5-year-old program and a former development director at Walker Art Center. "The overwhelming majority of Americans say they like art, but only a small number say they like artists. We’ve invested $12.5 million in artists over these five years and hope to do more."

Rohan Preston • 612-673-4390

Posted on: Monday, 6 December 2010, 00:00 CST

GameSpark has launched a new online program which lets users make their own computer games at home, quickly and confidently. the self-paced courses cost $9.95 and feature easy-to-follow video tutorials and game-ready resources.

Redwood City, CA (PRWEB) December 4, 2010

GameSpark has launched a new online program which lets video game fans make their own games easily at home. the program features easy-to-follow video tutorials and game-ready resources so that anyone can quickly become the creator of professional-looking games.

GameSpark’s creators have been teaching game design to students, ages 9-18, at their San Francisco Bay Area summer camps for the past 10 years. They’ve seen how much students enjoy being able to quickly develop games, tweak them, customize the storyline and characters, and share them with friends. “It’s exciting to see a student’s confidence in their game-making skills grow over the course of a week-long class,” says Bob Mancini, President of GameSpark. “With GameSpark, we want students around the world to experience the thrill of creating their own games, in a way that is fun and affordable.”

Indeed, GameSpark courses are very affordable. Courses cost just $9.95, which includes access to the tutorials for a full year, plus a set of game graphics, sounds, and music. the software is free to use for the beginning courses. a software upgrade is necessary for the advanced courses to get the 3D features, but is a very reasonable $25, and is a one-time charge. GameSpark also has special packages for educators teaching game design as part of their school curriculum.

GameSpark currently offers six courses. Each course teaches students how to make a particular type of 2D or 3D game. Games range from platform games (think Mario) to first-person 3D games and 2-player racing games. the online video tutorials are an innovative combination of both audio and visual instructions, which are very easy to follow.

Students work at their own pace and can access a course anytime – 24 hours a day. once a game is completed, users can go to the game customization area or try out programming by writing code that adds features into the game. There is even an interactive quiz to review what one has learned. the software used in the program is the highly-regarded Game Maker from YoYo Games, which has been successfully used in beginning and intermediate game design classes for over 10 years.

The fun and easy-to-use tutorials, and the program’s affordability seem a perfect combination to transform young people from just game players into game creators. as a high school user of GameSpark put it, "It has inspired me to continue creating games."

A free, five-lesson trial of GameSpark is available here.

Company information:GameSpark is a division of TechKnowHow, inc.GameSpark provides self-paced online courses which teach game design.Website: GameSparkOnline.comContact: Bob Mancini, (650) 474-0491

For the original version on PRWeb visit: prweb.com/releases/prweb2010-12/GameSpark/prweb4860194.htm

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WASHINGTON, DC – although Julian Assange has now been arrested in the U.K. and WikiLeaks fights to remain online, the founder and editor-in-chief of the operation has taken to the pages of his home country’s newspaper, The Australian, to write an impassioned defense of the “uncomfortable truths” he’s revealed. in his article, he clarifies several myths about himself (he does not, for example, consider himself to be “anti-war”). Here are the more salient components of his defense:WikiLeaks Specializes in a New Type of JournalismWikiLeaks coined a new type of journalism: scientific journalism. we work with other media outlets to bring people the news, but also to prove it is true. Scientific journalism allows you to read a news story, then to click online to see the original document it is based on. That way you can judge for yourself: Is the story true? Did the journalist report it accurately?

Why the Revelations About Iraq and Afghanistan Are ImportantPeople have said I am anti-war: for the record, I am not. sometimes nations need to go to war, and there are just wars. but there is nothing more wrong than a government lying to its people about those wars, then asking these same citizens to put their lives and their taxes on the line for those lies. if a war is justified, then tell the truth and the people will decide whether to support it.if you have read any of the Afghan or Iraq war logs, any of the US embassy cables or any of the stories about the things WikiLeaks has reported, consider how important it is for all media to be able to report these things freely.

Why WikiLeaks Is Being Singled OutWikiLeaks is not the only publisher of the US embassy cables. Other media outlets, including Britain’s the Guardian, the New York Times, El Pais in Spain and Der Spiegel in Germany have published the same redacted cables. Yet it is WikiLeaks, as the co-ordinator of these other groups, that has copped the most vicious attacks and accusations from the US government and its acolytes….Prime Minister Gillard and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have not had a word of criticism for the other media organisations. That is because the Guardian, the New York Times and Der Spiegel are old and large, while WikiLeaks is as yet young and small.

If WikiLeaks Revelations Are ‘Unimportant,’ How can They Also Be Dangerous?

Every time WikiLeaks publishes the truth about abuses committed by US agencies, Australian politicians chant a provably false chorus with the State Department: “You’ll risk lives! National security! You’ll endanger troops!” then they say there is nothing of importance in what WikiLeaks publishes. it can’t be both. which is it?it is neither. WikiLeaks has a four-year publishing history. During that time we have changed whole governments, but not a single person, as far as anyone is aware, has been harmed. but the US, with Australian government connivance, has killed thousands in the past few months alone. US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates admitted in a letter to the US congress that no sensitive intelligence sources or methods had been compromised by the Afghan war logs disclosure. the Pentagon stated there was no evidence the WikiLeaks reports had led to anyone being harmed in Afghanistan. 

by Cassandra Szklarski, the Canadian Press

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TORONTO – There was a time when Neal Gillis would have considered himself a DVD collector. but those days are long gone.

The self-described “life-long movie fan” hasn’t bought a disc in months and a swath of lavish holiday releases are not tempting him to return to the store.

These days, Gillis gets his movie fix through online streaming and downloading services, and he’s among a growing number of film fans whose shifting habits are spelling doom for DVDs.

“It’s partially expense, it’s partially clutter,” Gillis says of his decision to start a digital film library.

“A lot of the movies that I would have bought in the past … are available online and it’s kind of like, ‘Well, do I really need to spend $20 on that when I can already get it … on Netflix?”

Gillis’s online movie subscription, iTunes downloads and a newly purchased Apple TV — which lets him stream digital content to his 37-inch high-definition TV — means DVD rentals are also a thing of the past for the 26-year-old Charlottetown resident.

“There’s no need to go to the video store and find out that it’s not in stock,” says Gillis, a video producer with the University of Prince Edward Island. “There’s just so much more content that you can get in your hands so much quicker.”

The explosion of online options has been a boon for movie fans who can now get nearly anything they want, when they want it, in the comfort of their own home.

But it’s also contributing to a rapid decline in DVD and Blu-ray sales, and along with rampant piracy, is only accelerating predictions that the physical format is on the brink of extinction.

Yair Landau, former vice chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment and president of Sony Pictures Digital, says piracy has virtually killed the DVD in parts of Asia. he predicts a similar fate in North America as cloud-based services — in which content is streamed or downloaded from online databases — take hold.

“The studios are worried,” Landau, now the founder of the Los Angeles-based animation company Mass Animation, says recently at the Whistler Film Festival.

“It’s certainly dropped off substantially, and there are parts of the world where people don’t use them at all anymore. It’s certainly not what it used to be.”

Canadian director Paul Haggis says much is uncertain about the fate of home entertainment, and changing viewer habits could have radical repercussions for the way big movie studios operate and finance films to begin with.

“There’s a threat there,” Haggis says of the decline in DVD revenue, a massive cash generator studios have relied on to recoup funds from theatrical duds.

“It all affects what we do…. the business model will have to change.”

DVD and Blu-ray sales and rentals fell by eight per cent in the first nine months of the year compared with last year, according to the industry body the Digital Entertainment Group. and although digital sales helped offset that decline, it did not erase it — factoring in electronic sales including video-on-demand only added two more percentage points to overall sales.

A plethora of new digital devices are helping to cement the downward trend, with home entertainment now defined by a tangle of gadgets including web-enabled set-top boxes, gaming consoles, mobile devices and tablets.

All this has left the once-dominant Blockbuster in an apparent tailspin, with the U.S. movie rental company hemorrhaging money, closing hundreds of stores, and eyeing a rebound from bankruptcy early next year.

Its Canadian subsidiary, Blockbuster Canada, hasn’t filed for bankruptcy protection and insists the market is much different here. but the company has closed outlets and slashed hours even during the busy holiday season.

Meanwhile, Netflix has enjoyed explosive growth — its share price is up four-fold in 2010 and its stock-market value is close to $10 billion. a report by Canadian web company Sandvine suggests the video streaming site now accounts for about 20 per cent of all North American data traffic during prime time, around 9:30 p.m.

And the field is only getting more competitive. Earlier this month, Cineplex Entertainment launched a downloading service and the Ottawa-based Zip.ca, which offers DVDs-by-mail, is planning its own online streaming service for a la carte viewing.

Landau says the increasing options only seal the doomed fate of traditional brick-and-mortar retailers.

“Unless it’s really a huge film, people are kind of making the decision that they’ll buy it on VOD or pay-per-view or download it on iTunes,” he says.

“And then it kind of feeds on itself, because if your local Blockbuster goes out of business and there is no place to rent DVDs nearby that kind of leaves the marketplace for Netflix.”

Despite the signs, Brit director Edgar Wright insists DVDs will never completely disappear.

“The more aesthetically pleasing formats will kind of stick around,” says Wright, whose comedies “Hot Fuzz” and “Shaun of the Dead” found a cult following on DVD.

“It’s kind of fascinating that vinyl’s still with us even as the CD is going to be completely sort of gone at some point. and I think a similar thing might happen with film. even though video-on-demand and being able to stream things straight to your TV is incredibly convenient, I’ll personally miss packaging in some respects. It would be a sad thing if packaging goes completely.”

If anything will save the DVD, it’ll be the independent filmmaker, says Dawn Chomitsch, owner of the independent DVD rental shop West side Stories in Toronto.

She notes her three-year-old shop has weathered changing tastes better than big chains like Blockbuster because it offers harder-to-find independent films that are not readily available online.

Still, business is not what it used to be. Chomitsch admits she has three other jobs to make ends meet and she and her partner are now selling the store. Things would have been different if she had opened the business 10 years ago.

“I used to work at a video store out west; it was an independent retailer and the money was insane. It was insane,” says Chomitsch.

“You’d have a lineup all day on a good day, it just never stopped. It’s a bit different, now. Definitely, it’s changed.”

Despite the downturn, Chomitsch says a couple of people have their eye on taking over the business.

“More than we thought,” she says. “I thought, ‘DVD rental, who’s going to want to buy that? not in this day and age.’ (But) we’ve had interest.”

Landau says a healthy clientele still exists for family fare on DVD and Blu-ray.

“With family films, kids will watch them dozens of times, literally, and so having a physical format just makes a ton of sense,” he says.

The changing landscape could include a return to the financing model employed back when VHS tapes first hit the market and most home entertainment was priced beyond the average consumer.

“I have one Hollywood friend who says we’re basically going back to the days of early VHS,” says Landau.

“Basically the only thing that was consumer-priced was family product and so the only thing that really sold on VHS was family product. Everything else was premium-priced and not really owned.”

Despite his enthusiasm for immediate home delivery, Gillis says he has not completely sworn off renting or buying DVDs and Blu-rays.

“(Netflix and iTunes) don’t have everything that I might be looking for. There’s a lot of rare titles and classic stuff that might not be as available on those, so every now and then, yeah, I’m going to have to go back to DVDs,” allows Gillis, who estimates he has nearly 200 discs in his private collection.

“But for the most part, getting it online and watching it instantly is where it’s at.”

Loving your job need not necessarily be the stuff of fantasy.

Slaving nine to five is just so, like, yesterday. Rachel Hills meets five folk who seek work that’s pleasurable, not painful.

Anna Achia didn’t set out to be a successful public servant. She spent her youth performing – first in bands, then in comedy, then as a dancer – but, like many creative types, started taking on less-than-creative work in order to pay the bills. but as she rose up the ranks and took on more responsibility, Achia’s day job began to squeeze out the work she cared about. then, one morning in 2003, following a Prince concert, she snapped.

What’s your dream job? Comment below

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Anna Achia was working as a public servant when she started teaching go-go dancing part-time.

“I’d been at a party with Prince!” she says. “I woke up excited but then I knew that I was going to have to sit through another boring meeting. not for the first time, I wondered what the hell I was doing there. I was depressed and feeling frustrated but I didn’t know what I wanted to do or how to get out.”

Achia didn’t leave her job there and then but she knew that something had to change. She decided to start teaching 1960s-style go-go dancing in her spare time. “I had taken up go-go dancing at home as a way to get fit. It hit me that if I found it fun, maybe other people would enjoy it and benefit from it, too.”

She was right. the classes started off small but they quickly grew. It wasn’t long before she had to cut down her hours at her day job to accommodate the classes and now, seven years later, she runs Anna’s Go-Go Academy full-time, teaching classes in Melbourne and playing gigs six days a week.

Achia’s business might be a bit quirky but her decision to leave behind office life to pursue her passion is increasingly common – and no longer just among the disillusioned middle-aged or the young and trust-funded.

Achia, now 34, is one of a growing number of people who are taking their professional lives into their own hands, and redefining how we think about work in the process.

“People by default think of ‘work’ as a job – with a boss, an office and an easily defined set of responsibilities,” says John Williams, author of Screw Work, Let’s Play: how to Do what you love and Get Paid for It. this way of working, he says, was a product of the Industrial Revolution. but technologies such as the internet and mobile phones have redefined that completely.

On the one hand, technology has made it possible for more people to choose when and where they work instead of being tied to a set of hours and a single location. on the other hand, it has also made white-collar workers vulnerable in the same way that blue-collar workers once were. “If what you do is easily defined or replicable then it’s likely to be either (a) automated or (b) outsourced to somebody cheaper,” says Williams.

These changes have coincided with a shift in the way we think about work: quite simply, we’re beginning to believe that it can be a pleasure and not just a chore. “I think there has been a shift from the old work paradigms – where you would get a job, be grateful for it and stay in it until you retire – to a quest for fulfilment in our working lives,” says Achia. “And I think that’s a good thing.”

“People are now questioning what they have always believed to be true,” says Chris Guillebeau, author of the Art of Non-Conformity. “That the stockmarket is always going to be up, that the best thing you can do is buy a home, that the best security you can have is to work for the same company for a long time. Now there’s more freedom to question that and to look for your security elsewhere.”

Like Anna Achia, Jeremy Neumann, 27, had a “light bulb” moment when his former workplace started supplying drinks to staff on Saturday nights so that they could “socialise” at the office.

“[The organisation] pressured employees to ‘volunteer’ their overtime, creating a living-to-work mentality,” he says. “I could not believe that they then started encouraging employees to come in to work socially on the weekends, as if we didn’t spend enough time there.”

Now managing his own gourmet soup company, Soupaman, Neumann still works long hours, but he feels happier and more relaxed knowing he has control. He also finds work more fulfilling – which is no surprise, says Brigid Delaney, author of the Restless Life.

“[One of the things that] can be frustrating with traditional corporate jobs is that you might have this really interesting skill set but the job will only allow you to use about 30 per cent of your abilities,” says Delaney. “A lot of people feel like their skills are going to waste, and that’s bad for everyone – for the employer and for the worker.

“The beauty of creating your own job is that you can use that extra 70 per cent of yourself that you might not be able to use in a more mainstream traditional office.”

The incredible success of internet young guns such as Facebook’s mark Zuckerberg has given entrepreneurship a glossy new allure. “The interesting thing now is that people are starting [their own businesses] from the word go,” says Delaney. “They’re not escaping anything – that’s just how they do things. for anyone who is under 30, it is just assumed that you have got to create your own life and own career. There is an absolute self-reliance and resilience.”

Some will dismiss this self-actualising approach to work as unrealistic, the whim of a flighty financial and cultural elite. Indeed, Delaney acknowledges that “reality kicks in really quickly” – particularly where money is concerned. but this new attitude is also providing opportunities for people who might have found it difficult to thrive in traditional workplaces.

Take Tiara Shafiq, 25, who makes her living on a range of creative projects: burlesque, stage management and hosting for the ABC’s Australia Network. She loves the variety, but explains that one reason she juggles so many jobs is the difficulty she has experienced finding full-time employment while she waits for her permanent residency application to be processed. “On a bridging visa, I can work anywhere for any amount of time, but so many companies are reluctant to hire me because they don’t know what a bridging visa even is,” she says.

Jade Craven, 23, launched her career as a professional “connecter”, bringing together people, products and ideas, partly in response to her severe social anxiety. Working online meant she “could build a business around my limitations, rather than making myself sick by pushing through them.

“With my social anxiety, I didn’t think I had any chance of a successful career,” Craven says. “Online, I have more power and respect than I could ever have [in a traditional workplace].”

One thing we often forget in this age of celebrity worship is that different people are passionate about different things. not everyone wants to be a pop star, a footballer or a novelist. for some, getting “paid to play” means helping other people get fit. for others, it means setting up their own online boutique. for others still, it means starting their own administration business. And for many, it means reconfiguring the balance between work done to pay the bills and work done for more fulfilling purposes.

Serena Star Leonard, 31, has been self-employed since 2006, and has spent the past year working towards developing a “passive income” in the style of the Tim Ferriss best seller, the 4-Hour Workweek. She has blogged about her journey along the way, and will publish a book on the subject – how to Retire in 12 Months – early next year.

Star Leonard’s version of “retirement” doesn’t mean ceasing to work or to create value, however.

It just means redefining what “value” looks like. She explains that she started working for herself because she “wanted to do good in the world”, but that the projects doing the most good didn’t pay her bills. She hopes that by developing a low-maintenance income, she will be able to spend more time working on creative and social-justice projects.

Which is what being paid to play is all about, says Screw Work’s John Williams – not shirking responsibility in favour of a perpetual holiday.

“The cocktails-on-the-beach model is the worker’s view of play,” Williams says. “When you’re a player, it’s not about opting out. It’s about being fully engaged in the world.”

- Sunday Life

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4 Tips to Make Extra Money with An Online Business Program

New to the World Wide Web, Seeking an Online Business Program ?want to make extra income with a brand new online business program?

If so, you need all the help you can get. A perfect online business program consists of many aspects. You have to learn online how to drive targeted traffic, build an online website, build a list, write sales copy, and grab various conversion strategies. No wonder so many bright and talented Internet marketers give up before setting up the perfect online business! the primary reason is because they find the learning overwhelming.

There are so many aspects to learn for an online business program! It’s obvious that the key to success is to embark on an accelerated online learning program. with the perfect business program, you can pick up the right lessons quickly and be on your way to Internet online business. No more learning from hard knocks and wasting time and money. but first, is it true that you can make money with an online business program from the comfort of your own home? the answer is yes. Make sure that you pick up the right online business program though.

Here are some tips to help you along. how to select the right online business program.Tip 1: Learn from online experts who have been there.Tip 2: the best online business program provide materials in different formats.Tip 3: get sample materials first before purchasing.Tip 4: Look out for relevant bonuses.

Tip 1: Learn from online experts who have been thereDon’t just buy the promise that you are going to make lots of money from home once you invest in the online business program. the authors have to know their stuff – i.e. know what they are preaching. Look for proof of earnings and other major online information such as website statistics. Usually, just by reading the sales copy, you get a great idea of whether the author knows what he or she is talking about. If the copy makes good sense to you, it means that it’ll be a worthwhile investment to build an online business from home.

Tip 2: the best online business program provide materials in different formats.It used to be the case that materials are offered in online PDF format. but not everyone learns business well by reading static online texts. Some people learn better when they can see and hear. to cater to the different learning styles, good online business program should provide video and audio files on top of PDF files.

Tip 3: get sample materials first before purchasing.Subscribe to the mailing list to download sample materials. the goal here is to assess the credibility of the author as well as the quality of the online business program. If you don’t like the sample materials, you are unlikely to be happy with the entire online business program. It doesn’t hurt to do a little research upfront. Tip 4: Look out for relevant bonuses.  Every online business program is provided with online bonuses to entice people to make a purchase. here, you are looking for online bonuses that are unique, relevant, and provides the best value for your online business program. Relevance should be the top priority. If the bonuses aren’t relevant, there is very little value add. So it’s good to invest in an online business program that come with additional bonuses such as experts tutorials, video tutorials, etc.

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Friday, December 3, 2010Last updated 9:30 a.m. PT

It’s not the best or even a permanent solution, he said, but “a temporary stopgap measure.”

“It didn’t solve the problem, but just shifted the problem,” Mattens said. “It’s going to make some people happy, but it will upset other people.”

Mattens spearheaded the acquisition this year of new software for the assessor and treasurer’s office. when the mountains of data were transferred over to the new system, all of the photos that the appraisers had taken of houses ended up on the searchable online database.

A number of people in the community complained about the photos of their houses being online; they were especially concerned about images taken from backyards and places not visible from public areas.

The News-Times published a story about the issue Wednesday; Mattens said he then received calls from TV news stations. After that, he decided to take down all the photos.

Mattens explained that all of the photos are public information that’s valuable for real estate agents, mortgage company officials and appraisers. now those people will have to come to the Coupeville office to see the images.

Mattens said that the original goal was to limit the images available online to views of houses that can be seen from the street. but it may be a long time before those images are back up.

Mattens said his office is badly understaffed because of budget cuts. the staff simply doesn’t have the time to go through thousands of parcels and take out offending photos.

“It’s just going to sit there in limbo until we can get the resources to work on it,” he said.

Mattens will likely be gone before that happens. he lost in the general election to Mary Engle, an appraiser in the office. she has said that she’s opposed to photos, particularly the more invasive ones, being on the internet.

Related Stories
• County web photos not appreciated

This article was originally published in the Whidbey News Times on December 2, 2010.

The work at home jobs are the online jobs which are offered on the internet by numerous firms and websites. they provde the advantage of working from home and also versatile hours you could manage to take out from your every day work and do the online jobs. there are several types of work at home jobs which can be primarily the web jobs. these are the:? The content material writing job. This wants you to write down content material for bloggers and websites.? Taking online paid surveys. they pay you in your opinion.? Online knowledge entry jobs.? Co-operative mailing job.? Making online projects for companies and students.there are different work at home jobs that can be finished using the web and these on-line jobs have a number of benefits for you. They’re:? They have flexible working hours. This implies you possibly can stick with it with your daily work and likewise do these work at home jobs, simultaneously.? They will help you in earning extra cash simply by devoting a few hours to the net jobs, daily.? The work at home jobs is both full time and part time. so, in case you are already working full time even then you’ll be able to work part time for online jobs and earn extra money by putting in a number of hours every week.? Almost all the work at home jobs does not require any investment from your side. You’ll not have to invest a single penny to begin working for the net jobs.? Working from house saves your transport cost. You don’t have to go to any workplace to work. all you need is a computer system and a continuing web connection to your computer.? The web jobs could be carried out by anyone, together with the retired, college students, housewives and also the individuals already in jobs.

If you need extra data about work at home jobs or online jobs ,drop by the Writer’s web site this minute!

Re/Max of Boulder proudly announces that Denise Patryas, CRS, GRI, was awarded “Realtor of the Year for 2010″ at the Boulder Area Realtor Association installation of officers. Patryas has been a Realtor for 16 years in the Boulder area. Denise joined Re/Max of Boulder in may 2010. boulderco.com.

Special Transit, a Boulder-based nonprofit organization that provides transportation and mobility options in five counties, has received three awards for innovations in senior transportation from: Boulder County Aging Services Division, the Beverly Foundation and the Federal Transit Administration. specialtransit.org.

David Hansen, managing director of Meridian Wealth Management in Boulder, has been named for the second straight year as a “Five-star Highest Client Satisfaction” wealth manager in the November issue of 5280 Magazine. only 4 percent of the wealth managers in the Denver Metro area qualified for the coveted “5 Star” designation.

Key Equipment Finance, one of the nation’s largest bank-held equipment finance companies and an affiliate of KeyCorp recently announced it has closed a $50 million revolving credit facility for Marlin Leasing Corporation. Marlin is a leading independent equipment finance company that focuses on small ticket financing for equipment of all types. KEFonline.com

Key Equipment Finance recently announced that President Adam D. Warner has been elected vice chair of the board of directors of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA). Warner, who previously served three years as a board director, was elected during ELFA’s recent annual convention to the vice chair officer position for the next 12 months and will serve as chair in the near future.

Last month, both Double D’s Pizza (doubledspizza.com) locations started serving gluten-free pizza. Double D’s offers build your own pizza and signature specialties like; the Wrangler and WoWee Maui. Also, 15 new Nick-N-Willys (nicknwillys.com) locations, such as Evergreen, Silverthorne, Fort Collins, Loveland and Louisville are offering the Gluten Free Bistro’s pizza crust. theglutenfreebistro.com.

Pivot Communication recently planned and launched a unique social media marketing campaign to promote EPOCH Senior Living, a provider of high-quality senior care choices in New England. Visit pivotcomm.com or call 303-499-9291.

Three Colorado Landmark broker associates have recently attained distressed property designations, giving them the knowledge and resources to facilitate short sales and foreclosures. Sue Pratt and Shauna Steingrebe are both now REO Certified. Shauna Steingrebe also holds the SFR (Short Sales and Foreclosures) designation along with David Scott.

Boulder’s Best Organics, the eco-gift provider offering exclusively organic products from Boulder and Colorado, has expanded its selection by adding two top-selling chocolates from Life Opening Chocolates. New flavors include Chocolate Climax and Chocolate Meteor Shower. BouldersBestOrganics.com.

Matt Given, of Boulder, has been successful in B2B marketing and sales for more than 20 years. He has recently hired ToolStudios to help manifest his latest venture, MattGivenStudios.com. this will be a clean, focused, and uncomplicated site that features the many content based services that Matt Given Studios has to offer.

Erin Seavey has joined Pedal to Properties in Boulder as a broker associate. Seavey was formerly with RE/MAX Alliance in Boulder. a California native, Seavey is a graduate of the University of Colorado with a degree in English. She called Pedal to Properties a fun and creative way to practice real estate and said she looks forward to introducing past and present clients to Pedal to Properties.

Boulder-based Think-a-lot Toys announces the national product launch of its StoryPlay Cards and Insight story Cards after two years of product development and play testing. Their StoryPlay Cards received a Best Pick Award for 2010 from Dr. Toy. think-a-lot.com.

The Gill Foundation announced Karla Rikansrud, former development director at Boulder-based Emergency Family assistance Association, has been named director of allies and institutions. Rikansrud will be responsible for grant making to national allies and institutions, including the Schools Transformation Project. as part of her work, she will provide management support for the foundation’s African American and Latino initiatives. gillfoundation.org.

Community Cycles is searching for local businesses to become involved in a unique and uplifting community experience — its fifth annual Holiday Kid’s Bike Giveaway. the event, to be held Dec. 19, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Boulder Indoor Cycling, provides refurbished bicycles to needy families and children free of charge. Community Cycles is seeking business sponsors to help make this event a success. Contact Sue Prant at 303-564-9681 for details.

Polar Bottle has launched an online store on its Web site to provide a direct sales outlet for its popular insulated sports water bottles and new half Twist bottles. the Web site offers every style and model of Polar Bottle, including a web-only holiday bottle, as well as customization options. polarbottle.com.

Niwot’s ToolStudios is happy to announce that the development of an updated Web site for the Cohen Law Firm, P.C., of Boulder. cohenadvisors.net has launched. the new site showcases a new logo and other brand work by ToolStudios. It also highlights the firm’s expertise in its practice areas.

OptTek Systems, Inc. Chief Technology Officer and CU Distinguished Professor, Fred Glover, was awarded the 2010 INFORMS Impact Prize for his seminal work on the development of Scatter Search and Tabu Search, effective solution methods for previously intractable problems. opttek.com

Blue Spruce Design and Construction, a woman-owned general contracting company, has been awarded the contract for the renovation of the Boulder Valley Women’s Health Center, a nonprofit women’s medical clinic. Railton McEvoy is the architect for the project and their phone number is 303-443-4353. bluespruceconst.com.

Pivot Communication recently created and launched a new Web site to help promote the Experience Factor, a Denver staffing and HR firm specializing in connecting employers with talented, seasoned candidates. Visit pivotcomm.com or call 303-499-9291.

Vermilion, a Boulder-based design and interactive firm, has launched a new company Web site that replaces the use of Flash with new technologies readable on iPads and iPhones. the site showcases the firm’s work by client, media type and industry. vermilion.com. 303-443-6262.

Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy now carries new gifts from Boulder’s Best Organics at all its Boulder locations. three new gift assortments of exclusively organic and eco-friendly items from Boulder based companies are sold in the stores through the upcoming holidays.

The Alumni Association of the University of Colorado at Boulder hired Matt Duncan (Business ’92) as its new Online Community Manager to oversee the external and internal online community channels available for the approximately 300,000 CU-Boulder alumni and students, otherwise known as forever Buffs.

Parenting Place was awarded grants by the 1040 Foundation and the Sam S. Bloom Foundation. Parenting place is a place for families to meet people, get help, learn, share and have fun. since 1984, Parenting place has been supporting families with children pre-natal to 5 years old in Boulder and Broomfield Counties regardless of economic circumstances. myparentingplace.org.

MQ Architecture & Design, LLC and Cottonwood Custom Builders, Inc. won First place Interior Remodel and Third place Whole House Remodel ($250,000-500,000) for their renovation on a 1980-era duplex at the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver’s Colorado Awards for Remodeling Excellence (CARE). cottonwoodcustombuilders.com. mqad.com.

Alan Eban Brown Architects, of Eldorado Springs, received a 2010 design award at the six-state AIA Western Mountain Region conference in Deer Valley, Utah. aebarchitects.com.

Longmont’s Foothills Gardens of Memory has installed its long-waited columbarium unit. the 48-unit granite columbarium sits upon a ceremonial platform and will honor veterans and their families. 303-776-0202.

Seasoned real estate professional Kim Friel has joined forces with Prudential Real Estate of the Rockies. for more info, contact Kim at 303-408-4064 or via email kim@kimfriel.com.

Boulder’s Best Organics, the only gift provider offering organic items exclusively from local companies in artistic watercolor boxes, has been selected to provide gifts to CU’s Leeds School of Business. In alignment with the program’s commitment of sustainability, the gifts will be given to judges of the Net Impact Case Competition. BouldersBestOrganics.com.

The Blue Pearl Institute: Coaching for a New World is accepting applications for its first coaching class, beginning Jan. 24. the Blue Pearl Institute, of Boulder, trains world-class coaches and consultants to assist others in discovering their inner wisdom and meeting the life challenges that come from our ever-changing environment. Julie Colwell is the chief operating officer. for details, visit BluePearlInstitute.com.

Shelly D. Merritt is proud to announce that Kristin a. Dittus, JD, LLM has become an associate of the firm. her practice will emphasize estate planning, probate, trust, tax and small business law. the name of the firm has been changed to S.D. Merritt & Associates, P.C., 1942 Broadway, Suite 314, Boulder, 80302. 303-413-3477. sdmerrittlaw.com.

Pivot Communication recently redesigned the Web site and online marketing materials for Integrated Fire Solutions, a Boulder-based provider of training workshops for firefighters and fire officers. Based in Boulder, Pivot Communication has done PR, marketing, social media, web design and consulting work for clients in a broad range of industries.

Briefcase: Announce a promotion, new hire or client win, unveil a product launch, celebrate a business opening, commemorate an anniversary or highlight philanthropic work by a business or employee through Briefcase. to submit, visit dailycamera.com, click on Business, then look under the “Submit” section for a link to Briefcase. All items are free, but subject to editing for length and clarity. the deadline is 5 p.m. Mondays for the following Monday’s edition, although a publication date can’t be guaranteed.

It is possible to make money online from home, even if you do not have your own website. It is possible to make money using the knowledge you have. one of the creative ways you can use is to help your friends get jobs. various sites that offer opportunities for job seekers and you can make money by referring candidates to the particular companies. This allows you to start a recruitment business without any capital. This is a win-win situation where you are helping your area people or friends and family members to get a job while getting paid.

You can also connect various suppliers with buyers and make money from home. You will be paid for each customer you refer to the supplier. Some call it as affiliate marketing. Almost all top online business website are offering affiliate marketing opportunities for users. You can refer people to buy ebay or amazon products and getting paid from successful transactions. Some hosting company pays over $100 per referral to their affiliates. the possibility and amount of earning from affiliate is simply limitless.

Writing is another creative way to work from home. there are various sites and blogs, which will pay you to write content. the blogs cover a wide range of topics and you can choose a subject that you are a passionate about. the rates will vary from one blog to another but if you are just starting out, you will not get as much money. Once you have established yourself as a writer, you will be able to get better rates for the articles you write. there are various companies that search for blog writers and they pay for each post that you write. You can also start your own blog and write about your personal experiences while promoting article writing services.

Data entry jobs also give you an opportunity to make money from home. most companies outsource data entry jobs, because it is cheaper than using their permanent staff. there are several opportunities available on the internet and the best thing about it is that you do not require any capital. all you need to carry out the data entry job is a computer, which has internet connection. If you are a fast typist, then you have an added advantage to earn more money from data entry jobs. You can’t be a millionaire doing data entry jobs, but the income is sufficient to pay the bills.

Other than that, you can also sell your creative beads or artwork online. Use your creativity to create stuff and sell in on beadzone or ebay. If you are not good in creating unique products, then head over to any of local $1 shop and grab things that impressed you. You can sell those things on ebay for more than $1 and make some decent profit. If you like to shop clothes, then you can also affiliate with your favorite local fashion boutique to sell their products on ebay or other auction sites. Not only you get special discounted pricing than other customers, you could also help the store to boost their sales.

This creative work at home ideas will earn you some extra money and you can choose to work full time or part time.

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