Every Symbol Tells a StoryAborigine Art symbols are used in different art forms to relate the stories of their history and culture. Aborigine artists use symbols like curved and straight lines, dots and circles which have different meanings depending on their context. In fact dot paintings came about when the Aboriginal people worried that the White man would be able to interpret their sacred and very private knowledge. Circles are believed to represent campsites, straight lines between circles are a depiction of routes traveled between camps, a small ‘u’ represents people sitting, while wavy lines represented water or rain.Aboriginal Culture Recorded in Rock ArtFrom ancient times, Aboriginal culture also produced a genre of aerial landscape art, a bird’s eye view of the desert landscape. Their culture has also been recorded as rock art; and in fact ancient paintings in caves show people dressed for some or other ceremony in body decoration, very similar to what is still used today. Ceremonial aspects of the Aborigine’s life are the inspiration for much of their art.Art by Aborigines includes charcoal drawings, sand art, feathers, stencils, thread-cross strings on poles and carvings. A naturalistic- or figurative style means that the art is recognizable; you can see what is being depicted. Beautiful naturalistic art style is found in rock art across northern Australia, and some of the best areas to see this is the Kakadu and Kimberley areas.A type of this art form is where the internal anatomy of an animal is shown in the painting, known as x-ray art. The x-ray style of Australian Aborigine art was developed thousands of years ago and cave paintings have been found in Arnhem Rock, depicting the outline of the animal with diagrams of the internal organs. This type of art is produced today on bark and paper and made available to tourists.Ancient Art Forms have been Adapted Somewhat to Modern WorldToday, indigenous artists work with modern materials such as canvas and acrylics to create beautiful visual effects of their survival over thousands of years and in challenging conditions. Aboriginal artists, known as The Western Desert painters, have adapted their tribal art forms to the western world, making use of western materials and techniques, but still keeping the subject matter in keeping with stories passed down by tribal ancestors.It was in 1934 that Australian Rex Batterbee, taught Aborigine artist Albert Namatjira Western style water color landscape painting. It became a hugely popular style, and actually sold out at an exhibition in a few Australian cities. With his new found fame with these paintings, Namatjira became the first Aboriginal Australian citizen.There Has been a Resurrection in Aborigine ArtThe highest priced art by an Aborigine was painted by Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, and in 2007 ‘Warlugulong’ was sold to the National Gallery of Australia for some $2.4 million dollars. Aboriginal contemporary art has grown in leaps and bounds and today you will find museums dedicated to Aboriginal works of art like the Museum of Contemporary Aboriginal Art found in Utrecht in The Netherlands.The Muse du Quai Branly, Paris also has works by Australian Aborigine artists like Lena Nyadbi, Judy Watson and John Mawurndjul among others. Today, Aboriginal prints on high quality archival paper, are an affordable form of artistic expression and there are etchings as well as other limited edition works by artists in different regions of Australia.
Symbols Were a Part of Aboriginal Art to Communicate the Story of the Lives
Compare Health Savings Account Plans To Standard Health Insurance Plans
Health Savings Account plans offer three ways to save money that traditional health insurance policies lack. First, since the plans include health insurance policies that have a deductible, the premiums are lower than standard co-pay policy premiums. For plans that are qualified to work with a Health Savings Account (HSA), deductibles range from $1,200 to $5,950 for individuals and from $2,400 to $11,900 for families this year.Second, money contributed to an HSA doubles as a tax deduction to lower taxable income and typically federal and state taxes. Only a handful of states don’t follow the lead of the federal government in making HSA contributions tax deductible. There are limits on the deduction you can take, though. Individual contributions may be up to $3,050 and contributions to family Health Savings Account plans may be up to $6,150. If you’re 55 or older, you can add an extra $1,000 to your contribution annually.Third, HSA contributions are not taxed when the funds are used to pay for qualified health care expenses regardless of your age. After you reach retirement age, you can continue to pay for health care with tax-free funds, but if you spend HSA money on other things, it will be taxed as you withdraw it. As long as the funds remain in the HSA, earnings are not taxed. These accounts enjoy the same kind of rapid growth that IRA funds share.HSA Health Plans Cover Preventive Care Just Like Other Forms Of Health InsuranceBefore health care reform, no preventive care services were covered until the plan’s deductible was met. When you purchase a policy after health care reform became law, standard and HSA health plans provide 100-percent coverage with two caveats. You’ll need to get the services from an in-network provider who must report it using a correct preventive care code.The difference between HSA Plans and other kinds of health insurance stands out when you need a form of health care that’s not covered. It’s rare for health insurance to help when you go to the dentist, the chiropractor, an herbal therapist, a Christian Scientist healer, etc. You can use HSA funds to pay for all of those and more. Here’s another surprise: Health Savings Plans cover some people not listed on the insurance policy.You can spend your HSA balance on qualified health care expenses for your spouse, same sex and domestic partner, or any dependent member of the family and they don’t have to be on the insurance policy that allowed you to set up the HSA.High Deductible Health Insurance As A Health Savings Plan Is An Investment In Your FutureTraditionally, when policyholders pay insurance premiums, the insurer plans to collect enough from all members to cover most of the treatment anyone of them will need. You may have noticed that insurance companies continue to make a big profit in spite of rising health care costs. What do you think happens to premiums collected for people who need little health care?Instead of paying an insurance company money you’ll never get back for something you might not need, you can invest in your own savings account. Use an HSA Health Plan to get the triple savings effect of tax-free earnings, tax deductions and lower health insurance premiums.As your savings grow, raise your insurance deductible to lower your premiums. If you need to withdraw money for health care before the deductible has been met, it’s covered by your HSA balance. (Remember that preventive care is exempt from a deductible if you update your plan with a policy purchased after health care reform.)If you don’t need to withdraw from your Health Savings Plan, the balance rolls over automatically each year like a retirement account to grow tax-free like an IRA. That’s how HSA Insurance shifts your investment from insurance company premiums to your own future.Just as an example, if your employer is spending $12,000 a year on your health insurance benefit, you may or may not actually get all of that. If your employer changes to a lower-premium, high-deductible policy for $7,000 a year and puts $5,000 in an HSA in your name, you legally have $5,000 per year. If you don’t need it for health care, it’s an annual bonus that’s invested to earn without being taxed until you retire. It’s yours to take with you if you change jobs, too.
Yelp for iPad
Yelp democratized restaurant reviews by allowing peer evaluations of restaurants and business on the Web. For those who are not familiar with Yelp, before its creation previous attempts at creating such a platform did not succeed. Most of Yelp’s competitors were lacking large quantities of quality reviews, of any but the most popular restaurants and businesses.There are countless social networking sites (i.e. Facebook and LinkedIn) as well as popular restaurant reviews (i.e. Zagat) but there is only that meshes both concepts into a fun and usable website, Yelp. If you are familiar with the site and use it regularly, you’ll find the iPad version of Yelp an upgrade.How Yelp for iPad brings an enhanced an in our opinion, superior user experience compared to its own website is the location awareness feature. This allows the Yelp app to give recommendations based on where you are located. The app shows what you need to know, stripped down for faster and easier browsing, display, and reading. While the app is simplified for an enhanced user experience, you do not lose any of the core features that make Yelp the most important website of its kind. You will still have the insightful comments and reviews of millions of Yelp loyal user base. The only negative about the Yelp App is while you can write drafts of your reviews; you can only submit them on the website at this time.Highlights & Key Features:Yelp for iPad has numerous features but most of the advanced features require you to have an account to use them. A Yelp account is totally free so there is no excuse not to have one! Below is a list of features we enjoyed using on this app:Talk – Yelp has a Talk feature that allows you to discuss topics of your choice with other Yelp users close by. The discussions are threaded and allow for orderly discussions.Bookmark – When logged into your Yelp account, you will be able to bookmark locations and also retrieve any links you have saved.Quick Tips – Instead of writing long reviews, you can quickly add a “quick tips” via the app. Quick Tips has a Twitter like feel (without the 150 character limitation) that allows you to give your opinions on a restaurant while its fresh on your mind. Quick Tips doesn’t have the limitations of a Full Yelp Review, so you can have them posted via the App without having to log into the website.Nearby – You can tap the Nearby tab to choose the type of business you are searching for with the option to sort by distance.Check-in – The App allows you to broadcast to your friends where you are. You can also win badges for being a regular at a restaurant, bar, or other place of business.Monocle – Monocle mode is located in the Nearby tab’s upper right hand corner. This weird, but fun feature, allows you to see opinions and other items such as video as you go from place to place. It tries to predict what you want to see but also serves as a walking guide. It’s not perfect, but it will expose you to new and different things.OpenTable – Yelp for iPad integrates with OpenTable. If a restaurant participates in the Opentables network, you’ll be able to see if you can stop by or make a reservation on your iPad. This is a great feature that saves you time without having to call around but at this time the number of participating restaurants is limited.