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On Thursday I went by train to Carcassonne. Carcassonne is a major town with more than 40,000 inhabitants and the Departmental capital (of Aude), but the only bit of it that gets any tourist attention is the Cite. This is the old part of the city, which is enclosed by a completely intact (after 19th century repair) circuit of fortifications and which sits on a hill-top on the other side of the river (the Aude) from the "new" town (Ville Basse), which wasn't founded till 1247!
The Cite is definitely worth seeing. It includes a Romano-Gallic tower and stretches of wall from the same period, lots of 10th to 12th century walls and towers, and a huge mass of 13th century fortifications (built by the King of France, most of the walls weren't there in 1209 when the crusaders besieged it), with repairs (and some totally ahistorical pointy turrets) added by Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th century. There is also a basilica (St Nazaire) which is a bit of an awkward mix of Romanesque and Gothic, but has some lovely stained glass roses. Most of the other buildings are ok, if more modern, but the place is one giant tourist trap, full of restaurants, souvenir shops, and such-like. A bit off-putting after a while.
The Ville Basse is also worth a visit. It has some nice churches — the cathedral and several others date to the 13th century! — which don't get any mention whatsoever in the Lonely Planet guide or the books about Carcassonne.
The youth hostel is right in the middle of the Cite, which is rather convenient. My one night there didn't leave me with a great impression, though — there was a group of about fifty screaming 12 year olds staying there, and the guy in the bunk across the room from me had an awesomely loud snore which kept me awake. I have decided not to go for the youth hostels for my six days in Paris. Since they seem to cost about 120 FF ($30) a night anyway, cheap hotels aren't much more expensive (going by the guidebook, they can even be cheaper).
After returning to Toulouse on Friday, I visited Saint Sernin, the one major church in Toulouse I hadn't been into yet. (It's 'only' a basilica, but I think it's more impressive than the cathedral, Saint Etienne.) Here, instead of using red-brick on the outside and stone on the inside, they used them together (and more effectively than Saint-Etienne), so the inside has a pleasant warmth to it due to the bricks. It also has a pleasing simplicity and lack of ornamentation, and an unusual double-aisle construction. (Can someone tell me why the couple are always said to walk down the aisle at a wedding, when in fact they are walking down the nave?) It is apparently the biggest Romanesque structure in France, and though it's not as big as the larger gothic cathedrals, it has a perfection all of its own.
Next: the Pyrenees
Previous: trying to read French


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"To the Artist in Search of a Gallery," by RL Foster
$ 17.95
Straight from the mouth of one who knows the in & outs of wrestling an art career. Rob Foster has been around the Denver art scene for like, forever. Owner of a successful gallery on Santa Fe for ten years, he has spent years working with well-known Colorado galleries and art consultants. Realizing there wasn't an artist alive who is not contemplating how to quit the day job, he put his thoughts and expertise in to a book. After all, representation by an art gallery (to be or not to be) is the first major hurdle all artists must decide.
Foster's workshop was the foundation of his book, "To the Artist in Search of a Gallery." He works with hundreds of artists during the year as a consultant, is an acclaimed art appraiser and writer. He's preparing for the production of his first play, "A Short Evening with Toulouse-Lautrec."
Paperback ISBN 9780692254738

subset: commoncrawl


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In February 2009, the only regularly scheduled domestic flights in Guatemala were from Guatemala City's La Aurora airport (GUA) to Flores, for Tikal. The airport in Flores is commonly known as Aeropuerto Internacional Santa Elena (FRS), but is also sometimes called Aeropuerto del Mundo Maya. The airport is located on the outskirts of Flores. Two airlines operate the Guatemala City to Flores route: TAG (www.tag.com.gt) and TACA (www.taca.com). The flight takes around an hour. The cheapest round-trip flights with TACA cost around $210 including taxes, while those with TAG cost $212. One-way trips cost about half of that price. TAG do not have an online booking engine, but they can be contacted by email (firstname.lastname@example.com) or by telephone: (502) 23 60 30 38, (502) 23 61 11 80. Their flight from Guatemala City to Flores leaves at 6.30 a.m., with the return journey departing at 4.30 p.m. Chartered flights can also be organized with TAG to Copán. TACA have a number of flights leaving daily, either early in the mornings (6.50 a.m., 7.15 a.m., 9.15 a.m.) or late afternoons (5.25 p.m. and 5.45 p.m.). The return journeys depart slightly later in the morning (8.25 a.m., 8.50 a.m.) and generally return in the early evening (7 p.m. and 7.20 p.m.).
Here are some related tips to help plan your trip to Guatemala: Getting Around, Getting Around Chichicastenango, Getting Around, Getting Around Guatemala, Getting Around, Getting Around, Getting Around, Getting Around, Getting Around and Getting Around.
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Assistance servicesIn partnership with ACA1213 a.s., we provide our customer with a comprehensive assistance service. These services help our customers to benefit from the assistance card, which can be arranged immediately when buying a car. After its expiration, we simply activate the card for the next period.
Assistance card ACA
The card will guarantee you a wide range of assistance in the Czech Republic or around Europe all year for free or at a substantial discount!
Card benefits - what all you get for FREE
- Nonstop assistance for dispatching
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- Loaner - 3 days
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- Interpreter on the phone (English, German, Czech)
- Message to a closely-related person
- Mediation of legal assistance
- Fuel delivery - in case of emergency (fuel is paid by the client)
- Damaged tyre change (the repair is paid by the client)
- Mediation of insured loss events
- Accommodation in case of car immobility (it is paid by the client)
- Traffic information by phone


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A centre spigot is a locator for the driving bosses that are used on FCU & SCR couplings (SIME, Fluid Drive or Premium). They are used for alignment purposes to keep the moving parts centred when the machinery is operating.
We keep FCU & SCR centre spigots from size 9 up to size 36 in stock (larger sizes can be made to order), these are available in metric or imperial sizes.


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Coming Up With Ideas - 10 Tips & Tricks
At some point we all find ourselves searching for an idea. Whether you're a writer trying to break through a bad case of writer's block, or you just want an idea for a new dessert tonight, here are 10 tips and tricks that can help.
There Are No Rules Here
First the rules: When asked by a new employee what the rules were for working in his laboratory, Thomas Edison said, "Hell, there are no rules here, we are trying to accomplish something".
That is the only hard-and-fast rule about creativity: There are NO rules. It doesn't matter how things have always been done, or how you think they should be done. You don't have to continue doing them that way.
In fact, there are few things that stimulate creativity more than INTENTIONALLY BREAKING THE RULES (the "rules" being however you believe things must be done). If you usually keep your ideas on index cards, write them in crayon on colored construction paper. If you usually change out of your pajamas and get dressed for the day before working at your computer, sit down at the computer naked instead. Keep your brain guessing!
Tips and Tricks For Getting Ideas
Now that you know the rules, here are some tips and tricks that can help you be more creative:
01. See the world differently. At any given moment, we only perceive a small amount of what is around us. What you need may be right beside you, if only you could see it. Go past first impressions, and make a conscious effort to really observe what is around you. Look for the unnoticed and unusual in the commonplace.
02. Don't be afraid to "borrow". Use an existing idea (even someone else's) as a starting point. It's not unethical. Writers, composers and other creative folk do it all the time - especially when called on to create "on demand". It's simply to get the process started. Take an idea and turn it upside-down and backwards. Make it bigger or smaller. Break it up and recombine the parts the wrong way, or combine them with elements of something else. Eventually this will trigger the spark of an original idea, and you're off and running.
03. Combine unrelated things or ideas. Force things together that have nothing to do with each other, and see what happens. Are there connections or similarities that you hadn't seen before? If you're lucky, something entirely new and wonderful will come from the fusion. In the 1950s, white Country and Western musicians took the revolutionary step of playing what was, at the time, considered "black" or "race" music (blues and R&B). The result? Rock and Roll!
04. Ask some simple questions. Why? is an especially good question. Why does something work the way it does? Maybe there was a good reason for it at one time, but things change. That reason may no longer be valid.
What if? questions are also great - the more outrageous, the better! What if an elephant could fly? Walt Disney made a pretty good movie from that one. Sometimes there's no way of even knowing what is and isn't outrageous until after the fact: What if the world isn't flat? What if it's really round?
05. Think on paper. Thinking is hard! Give your brain a little help - get a pad of paper and brainstorm, create mind maps, freewrite, or even just doodle aimlessly. These activities enhance the thinking process and stimulate your brain to go where it might not otherwise. Especially if you do most of your work on a computer, try using some real paper and a pencil instead (break the rules, remember?).
06. Ignore the inner voices. Don't be restricted by logic ("that doesn't make sense"), what other people might think ("they'll laugh at me if I do that"), or anything else the voices in your head say to dissuade you (and they will try). Your ideas will need a "reality check", but not while they are being formed. Your mind can create ideas, and it can evaluate ideas, but not at the same time. Create first, evaluate later.
07. Forget what you know. The more you know about something, the harder it can be to come up with new insights about it. Your thinking naturally tends to stay within the realm of what you "know" is possible. But history is full of people who, unaware that something "couldn't be done", actually tried to do it - and succeeded!
08. Solve the right problem. Early in the space program, NASA realized that ink in a pen would not flow properly without gravity, and invested a lot of time and money to create a "space pen". The Russians simply used a pencil.
NASA had asked the wrong question ("How can we get a pen to write in space?"), while Russia had asked the right one ("How can our cosmonauts write in space?"). Do you really understand what it is you're trying to accomplish?
09. Don't despair. Sometimes, despite your best efforts, ideas simply won't come. Rather than bear down and work even harder, ultimately driving yourself into a frenzy, just let it go for a while. Take a break. Go for a walk, or even take a nap. Your subconscious mind will continue working, and will deliver exactly what you need - usually during a "mindless" activity such as showering or shaving, or first thing upon awakening.
10. Don't stop looking after the first idea. The noted scientist Linus Pauling once said, "The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas". You're more likely to find that great idea you need from a list of 50 than you are from a list of only two or three. Even if you get an idea you're sure will work, keep looking for a while longer. There may be an even better one out there, just waiting for you to put it together.
These 10 tips and tricks can help you come up with the ideas you need, and improve the quality of the ideas you get, but only if you actually sit down (or stand on your head) and DO them. As one of history's greatest creative minds has said:
Light bulb clip art from http://www.artclips.com.
More Creative Thinking Secrets:
Doc Sonic, how interesting it is to find that guys wander in an endless search of a treasure and here you are standing with keys for everyone to unlock that ! I cannot but just love this very useful and wonderful article. Thank you very much. Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year, coming along !
SUPERB! This hub features so much depth and discovery. I am definitely bookmarking it! Thanks, Doc Sonic!
These are great tips on getting creative. I "borrow" ideas a lot! I call it spring boarding. The creative person will think of new ideas by looking at others. Great Hub! the little light bulbs add a touch of class.
inspiration, yes
This is an AWESOME list. Don't be afraid to "borrow." YES! That's called inspiration! I love number 9 about take a nap, etc. Some of my best ideas come as I am drifting off or just waking from my sleep. It is important to let your mind just rest. Great job. Sharing this one!
Love your tips and tricks for ideas. My favorite has to be #6. I must remember to ignore the inner voices! Great job with this hub - voted up and awesome!
Great hub Doc Sonic. I use a lot of them already when writing but you have added more techniques to my list.
What a great hub on generating ideas!! Very well written and informative. I'm going to bookmark it so that I can reference it when I need ideas for hubs. Voted up and (very) useful!
I love this Hub! I think it's my favorite of all the ones I've read since I started here. Thanks, Doc! Voted up and useful.