When the Chips are Down

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We relate to the world around us using five senses. I haven't played a lot of poker, but I have observed both cheap, plastic poker chips and good quality Clay Poker Chips with several of my senses. Clay chips sound better. I'm saying that first because it is the first thing I remember, that sound of chips being stacked, tossed raked in, everything that you can do with chips. They look better, that's a no-brainer. They feel better. I think they smell better too. I haven't tasted any clay poker chips. I haven't tasted any plastic ones in decades either.

Shakira Concert set to be Biggest Ever, in Dubai

Phil Collins managed to sell all the tickets for his Dubai show. They now have crews working at an expansion project for the huge sports stadium in anticipation of an upcoming Shakira concert. We are talking about over 25,000 people. But to put that in perspective Wembley Stadium in the UK seats 75,000 for concerts.

Are You Looking For osCommerce Solutions?

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osCommerceCafe.com is the place where you can go choose a suitable osCommerce template for your needs. It's worth pointing out that you can't find these templates anywhere else. Well actually, you sort of see them hard at work on websites all over the Internet.

osCommerce is being used on more and more websites every day because of it's functionality and it's flexibility. osCommerce is not an ultimate solution for eCommerce. What is great about it is that you aren't burdened with unnecessary complexities like people were with some previous eCommerce programs.

At osCommerceCafe.com, an affordable membership gives you unlimited downloads of all of their templates. Whether you are an entrepreneur or a workhorse of a developer, you will get value for your money from this. They are only charging $89 for a 90 day membership. Some companies are charging $150 for one design job.

I think there is a fast approaching era when web personalities of all sorts with all kinds of different types of value and credibility are all going to start looking for ways to monetize their worth. You might be one of these people, or you might be a web savvy person who knows one of these people. Either way, you should look at osCommerce when you are making those plans for world domination or cornering the market for online sock puppet sales, whatever.

I'm going to just ramble on about my favorite three templates for the rest of this post. The Art Jewelry Store looks like a great option if you are selling some kind of visually appealing craft item. I like how the front page highlights three items in an organic kind of layout that doesn't give an implied order to the products.

In stark contrast to that is the Game Destiny template. It puts a featured game right in the eye catching sweet spot of the page, with much of the rest of the template being comprised of muted grays.

Finally Electronic Store is just a store, simple design for people who know what they want before they arrive.

Who is Antonio de la Rúa ?

Antonio de la Rúa is engaged to Shakira. He proposed to her in 2001. His father was once President of Argentina, but left office as the country's economy and political landscape was in chaos in 2001. The elder statesman ran for high office using the ad campaign "Dicen que soy aburrido..." ("They say I'm boring...")

His son is noted for being less boring.

Cheap Flights Rock

This is a sponsored post.

Besides being sad that I can't enter the León Pies Descalzos contest, I am also sad that the current Shakira tour is passing me by. The sponsor of this post has some Cheap Flights, I am going to see if they might take me where Shakira is going...

So, FlyMonarch is a discount carrier that specializes in flights between the UK and a variety of Southern European destinations. Most of the destinations are coastal or island resort areas. They do fly to Lisbon and Barcelona. All of Shakira's Spanish dates are over. Anyway, she will be in the UK at the end of her tour.

I think I dealt with the same service desk people who handle passengers for this airline when I was in Gatwick last year. Actually, I have done enough air travel to make a generalization that discount airlines are a very good option. I think with larger carriers, you pay three times as much for service that is at best 50% better. Please note that these are vague approximations.

See the Car that Shakira and SEAT are Giving Away

I knew it wouldn't be long before someone posted a decent gallery of images of the actual car. I am a bit sad that I can't enter the contest. I had a discussion with some car enthusiasts today about SEAT cars. I guess they used to be essentially Spanish versions of Fiat models until fairly recently.

The León Pies Descalzos fund raising campaign started in connection with Shakira's first concert date in Hamburg and will end on May 15 when the León Pies Descalzos is handed over to its lucky recipient during the Barcelona Motor Show at the beginning of June.

Does Shakira Use Botox?

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Which celebrities do you think use botox?

Shakira is going to turn 30 next month and she has admitted to being a bit preoccupied with the significance of that number. I don't think she is using extreme measures like botox.

Older celebrities like Madonna, Kylie Minogue and Liz Hurley are rumored to be using botox. Botox is a toxin that is used to paralyze muscles in the face to smooth out lines. The effect is temporary, but repeated use can have more lasting effects.

botox
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Shakira's Concert Demands

Shakira performs barefoot for many of her performances. It seems to me that having the stage carefully cleaned before she steps on it is a very reasonable demand. But it is interesting enough to make a blog entry about. With all the preparation of equipment and stage design going on before a show, it would be quite possible for there to be some kind of hazard on the floor.

A concert stage is a workplace, Shakira is just meeting her responsibility as far as enduring her work area is safe. Read more about workplace hazards in the arts.

How have Soap Operas Changed?

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It has been around a decade since Shakira was a young soap opera actress. It has also been around a decade since I have been a soap opera viewer. I was actually more of a soap opera listener. When I worked on a farm in the summer we usually had a siesta of sorts through the hottest part of the day. After eating a big meal, I would flop onto the couch and the television was always tuned into my mom's shows. I liked The Price is Right more than the soaps, but I did sometimes get caught up in the drama.
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There are General Hospital Spoilers coming up. Soaps.com has plot summaries of all the big shows including General Hospital. The list of details in the spoilers page is huge. There are bombs and bongs as well as all the affairs and romances and arguments and office politics. Some of it occurs in a hospital. It looks like several plot lines are meant to imitate various current prime time hits like 24 and Weeds. I think copying the pace and production values of prime time is probably a good idea. I would have to watch in order to say whether it was working.

Where are all the Photos of Shakira?

A huge part of Shakira's appeal is visual. I am very carefully avoiding copyright infringement with this blog and it is becoming a bit scant on images as a result. I just discovered a photoblog with lots really great Shakira pics. If you are a fan, you have probably already seen many of them, but probably not in the larger sizes and high resolutions that are on this site.

There is even a few old pics from when Shakira hadn't yet decided on the great look that she maintains today, one is kind of a late 90's Britney look. Oops.

shakira

Free Podcast Hosting

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Podcasting is something I have considered as a creative outlet. I became acquainted with a really cool guy from England who does a combination of live streaming radio and podcasts. He really broadcast himself as a personality to anyone in the world who was listening.

Back a year ago, he was constantly transitioning from one service to another, looking for workable Free Podcast Hosting. I'm going to send off an e-mail telling him about mypodcast.com, it has free membership, unlimited storage and unlimited bandwidth. They also have some kind of thing going on where podcasters can potentially make some money. I might actually tell more than one person about this, oh wait I just made a post about it DOZENS of people will read about it now, cool.

Shakira Car Commercial

I didn't have any problem finding this SEAT commercial on YouTube. Since it is an advertisement, I'm sure nobody is going to have any copyright issue with it. Any Americans reading this are probably unfamiliar with the SEAT brand. They are a Spanish company that is at present part of the Audi Group.

Accounting Service For Small Business

This is a sponsored post.

This post is a review of a small business accounting service that operates online bookkeeping services for as little as $50 per month. They are called AccountingParadise.com. QuickBooks, the program that the company uses, and also sells, is a highly recommended accounting software by some reviewers and harshly criticized by others. The software aims to be sort of a middle ground between Quicken, the affordable basic accounting sofware more suitable for personal finances than small business and the more expensive business accounting software like PeachTree. Basically QuickBooks is a good fit for a small business and AccountingParadise does people's books using the software for an affordable rate. They also mention that they do not make customers commit to any contract so you can take over your bookkeeping from them at any time.

There is a New Shakira Track Online

It is on the page promoting the fundraising contest that she and SEAT Motors are holding. People living in most of the EU can enter for a chance to win a car customized with the personal participation of Shakira. You can details about the Catch the Fever contest here.

The car that Shakira helped outfit is unique and I plan to post a picture soon. It is a really beautiful metallic purple color.

Bodies In Action

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What business does a post about fantasy MMA have on a Shakira blog? Passion and how we express it with our bodies. Shakira wants to be at the top of the pops and she isn't using just her words and her voice, she is using the precise movement of her body. People like Tito Ortiz want to make it to the top of their field using precise body movement as well. I guess the biggest difference between Tito and Shakira is that Tito's body parts tend to make momentous contact with the body parts of other people. Who do you think would win in a fight between Shakira and Britney?

MMA Playground is a free to use site where you have a chance to win $500 in a fantasy competition.

Hips Don't Lie/Bollywood Mashup

After over 2,233,000 views of the officially released video for Hips Don't Lie, maybe people are ready for something different. Something involving actual women who can dance, I saw the spoof (has your mother seen it yet?). I am not sure who the original creator of this video is, but he/she put in some effort. If you watch it carefully, you can see that every effort was made to put the dancers in synch with the music. I love Bollywood.

A Post About Credit Cards

This is a sponsored post.

So, this post is about a site that is your basic one stop place for credit card news and comparing the offers currently being put out by several of the major lending companies.

Besides being a portal thru which the credit card companies can compete for your business, the site also discusses different financing options like
0% balance transfers. Many people are frightened at the prospect of high interest charges. I remember a small percentage of the stuff I learned in economics class. For some reason depreciation frightens me more than interest. Taxes just make me mad.

The number of different credit cards UK residents have to choose from is interesting. I had never heard of the one called EGG until I went to this site. If you are behind in your payments, do you suppose they send over a beatle impersonator who introduces himself repeatedly as 'The EGG Man'?

Lost in Translation

I want to express my gratitude to the Italian blogger who I borrowed an open letter from. I resort to using google translator sometimes. It is a useful tool but not perfect. Feel free to compare this with the original letter if you know Italian.

I know Shakira that you will not never read this post. In any case I would want to use mine blog in order ringraziar you. In slid August I have seen one series of your video. That day I whispered same me: “This woman when they dances is one true outbreak of life beyond that of erotismo. It has made me to come wants to learn to dance “. I would have never thought that you can have made to be born in me a similar desire. Today I can say to have old the darker and unfortunate period definitively. You have given a fundamental contribution to my existence: I feel of new in me the joy of living.

Thanks.

PS: 27 February to Milan is the concert of Shakira. Who thinks to go to us can contact to me with a mail in how much will not lack of being present!

Fundraising Ideas For Schools

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When Shakira's foundation accomplished the goal of building a school they immediately set out to build a second school.

Anyone with an active role in running a school knows that there are many many ongoing costs beyond just the physical structure and the payroll for teachers. Very often the money for special initiative or even basic needs for a school must come from grassroots fundraising. Fundraising.com has free fundraising ideas on thier website. Some of them are pretty cool. I think alot of people in the community are happy to give to schools, but expect to be engaged and entertained in the process, a useful product is nice to have too.

Shakira's Vengeance Is Dramatic

I think I may have already discussed the car destruction that actress Shakira brings to singer Shakira's video for Don't Bother.

When I was in my early 20's my girlfriend filled my room up with leaves and spilled laundry detergent, and she de-tuned my musical intruments and emptied all my drawers onto the floor. I think there was more, I tried to forget it. I hadn't been unfaithful, just inattentive. I didn't own a car at the time.

I think that Shakira's fictional actions were the most hurtful thing she could do to the guy, well maybe it comes in 2nd, but they can't show number one on television.

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Will Shakira Age Gracefully?

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I hope so.

I am not a big fan of botox injections, I mean they are a toxin. Why put a toxin into your body for the sake of vanity? I mean, maybe if you wanted to look a bit more virile because you thought that it might help you put George W. Bush out of office, that's not vanity, it's sanity. I have a debate about whether laugh lines are good or bad with the woman I love. I like to make her laugh, there's going to be lines.

Actors and singers using botox? I guess in a sense that is a business decision as well. But is it a smart one? I think actors like Rob Lowe look creepy when they try and avoid looking old. I think I preferred the golden age of film where they just kept adding more lense filters as an actress got older.

Shakira is probably never going to use botox. I don't know what she is going to do about her belly if she has kids before her belly dancing gigs are finished. Nelly Furtado sparked a bit of controversy when people found out that CGI effects were used on her post-partum belly for the Like a Bird video. Maybe Shakira can just do that too.

Watch Out For Shakira Contests

I was just looking around Shakira.com, listening to the streaming music etc., when I noticed a link to Epic's contest page. There are mostly only contests for free merchandise from new bands and stuff like that at the moment. If you are a compulsive contest entrant, you might want to bookmark it or something. Later peeps.

Buy Perfume For Someone Special

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When you buy perfume for someone, you should ideally know what they like in the way of scents. SendMeScent.com has a huge selection of perfumes and colognes for men and women.

If you are taking a risk and buying him or her something based on reputation, the site has a most popular box for each gender on the front page. The site guarantees that the products are genuine. I am not a big purchaser of scents, but the prices seem to be a good value.

There are loads of great product descriptions and pictures. If you know nothing about scents just get something with a really nice bottle.

The Hard Decision For Stars Touring the Middle East

Shakira is playing a huge concert in Dubai. From what I can find out, she is not perfoming anywhere in Israel. Last year Kelly Clarkson cancelled a scheduled stop in Israel.

Travellers are warned not to enter many Muslim countries with a passport in your possesion that has an Israeli stamp on it. If you only have one passport, Israeli officers may be willing to attach a removeable slip of paper with you permission stamped on it. People have actually had problems in the past because they were detained in a muslim country and someone saw the ink that had transfered from the loose paper that the Islraelis had given them. This means nothing to celebrities. If they give a concert in Israel they will offend people in countries surrounding Israel, but also they will offend some individuals and groups outside the region as well.

I wish that something as positive as music could be held above and beyond politics. It can't. Jethro Tull will play in Israel this year.

Review of a Jewish Dating Site

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I am not actually doing a review, because from what I can tell from the link for this Jewish Dating Site there is no particular site. As of January 24, 2007 the link redirects to Yahoo personals.

I approve of targeted personals ads in general. Personals that are for a particular heritage or religion tend to include a lot of people who are seriously looking towards marriage. Personals that focus on a common interest may also have people who are looking for lifelong partners. For me, the important criteria that I always judge them on are whether or not they have attractive people on the site. If you are not attracted to a person it is dishonest and inconsiderate to enter into a dating situation. I am very often attracted to Jewish women. They rock.

Shakira Has a New Major Sponsor

SEAT is an auto manufacturer that is less familiar to North Americans than it is to Europeans. Shakira has entered into a realtionship with the company that will have her featured advertisement across multiple media and even feature an unrealeased Shakira track on television ads. Here is one of the companies current commercials.

I think IBIZA is just about the best car model name in history. Better than GOLF,better than HUMMER.

Seriously, who wants to marry a millionaire?

This is a sponsored post.

I think that focused personals sites serve a great purpose. With more general personals sites, you are never sure, even in the broadest way, what is on another's mind.

Well,Millionaire Singles now have another place on the net to flaunt their wealth and pick through the gold diggers that flock to their profiles to find someone that meets whatever criteria they have set up. I am not sure how the site verifies that people are as wealthy as they claim. If I was running the site, I would do it by charging them like $1,000 a month for membership. I'm sure they don't do that.

I feel most at ease with people who are in approximately the same tax bracket that I am in. I do like eating lunch for free occasionally. If any millionaires want a dinner date with an open minded blogger, just leave a comment. Um, so yeah money makes people feel good about themselves. Paper money has a really nice texture. I have wondered what it would feel like to have a big loose pile of money to just jump in and roll around. Money that is old enough to not have any crisp edges, but still new enough that it hasn't been in the same g-string twice.

Shakira set to Perform in Dubai

Dubai is a city that goes big in a lot of ways. There is a mall with an indorr ski hill.

Shakira will be playing in a 25,000 plus seat sports arena that is expected to sell out.

Shakira is actually more excited about about the city than she is about the crowd of fans:

“I hope I get time to see some of Dubai. I have heard the desert is magnificent and would love to shop in the Old Souk. I am very excited about performing for my Middle Eastern fans for the first time – I have heard a lot about Dubai and performing here for the first time will be something special. It will be one of the biggest shows on my 2007 tour.”

Dubai is a place that I would like to visit someday as well.

Source...

Cash In Hand

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I remember when the bricks and mortar Payday Advance shops started showing up in the city near where I grew up. There was one right across from the Adult Video Store. There was another Payday Loan Store in the same plaza as the Strip Club.

Now people can get Payday Cash Advance Loans online (I have heard that you can find adult movies there too).

PayDayCashAdvanceLoans.Biz offers people who can't wait for payday unbiased information about the Payday Loan process.

Computer Says NO...

I ran the over-used face recognition thing on Perla Meneses, the girl touted as a Shakira look-alike by American Idol commentators. See for yourself...

She is pretty, and she had the Shakira hair for her audition. She and Shakira do not have very similar facial features. I have not been able to find any Hip Recognition Programs. I will still have to rely on my human brain for that

Hawaii is Looking Pretty Good Right Now

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I am personally acquainted with only one Hawaiian person. I met him at a training conference that I was attending and he was on my team. I think that to a great extent the people of Hawaii tend to be warm ,just like the climate. Kauai is one of the Hawaiian Islands, it is known for its lush tropical flora and its beautiful sandy beaches. It is a popular honeymoon destination.

Take my advice, skip the big church wedding and just get married on the beach. That was something I did and I do not regret it. This is interesting...Hawaii has no waiting period for getting married...that is part of the reason why we chose our wedding location. Check out this kauai vacation rentals information, and if you are considering a wedding, do a search on tips for getting married in Hawaii.

Shakira Impersonation By Request on IDOL

Perla Meneses is an immigrant from Central America, who performed "Call Me" by Blondie as her American Idol audition. Part of the way through that song, Simon Cowell requested that she try Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" (possibly because of her similar appearance to Shakira).

I have no doubt that this was not a spur of the moment thing. People wait for hours for Idol auditions and during that time they are sometimes filmed and observed by the shows producers. I would not be surprised if a lot of decisions are made before a singer enters that room. I think that baring a complete meltdown, Perla was in before she entered the room.

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An Asian Entertainment Site

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I am not that good at geography, but I think Colombia and Asia are on the opposite sides of the Earth. Wow, I am not actually bad at geography. I found this cool page that lets you immediately find out what is exactly opposite of any point on the globe. Colombia is exactly opposite Indonesia. That is so cool. I used to roast fair trade coffee for a living and one of our most popular blends was made from Colombian and Indonesian coffee beans.

But I am talking about a site that is concerned withAsia entertainment news in this post. In much the same way that Shakira set up a foundation to help with problems in her native country, action movie superstar Jet Li has also started a foundation. It is called One Foundation. It is a charity project that collects funds to help the victims of natural disasters.

The idea of the foundation is for every person in China to donate RMB1 (or more) to the charity. With over 1 billion of population in China, the amount will be huge.

StarEastAsia.com covers big stories like the one above, but it also comments on more typical star sightings and happenings as well.

They also cover stories about East Asian performers achieving success elsewhere in the World. Like this story about Li Yuchun in Las Vegas.

The Place Of Love

Shakira's earlier Spanish-language albums often featured angry songs. The tone of Shakira’s songwriting has become more positive over time and she credits her happy loving relationship with the change.

“They were written from another place. In Spanish, we have a word which means the opposite of love but is not exactly hate. Let’s make up a new word, dislove. I used to write from that place, and now I write from the place of love. I have a better understanding of how important love is. When something good happens to you, you have this impulse of going out and sharing it with the world. You wish everyone could experience the same. It is impossible not to write about love. It’s the great mystery of life.”

It's a good think that she is a Latin Pop Star, if she was goth or punk or something like that, her career would be over because of all the love. Maybe I am liking Shakira these days because I am 'in a place of love' too :)

Source...

A Singer/Songwriter Contest

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We Are Listening is bringing together an exceptional panel of judges for an amazing international song contest.

The Singer/Songwriter Awards will involve bringing six gifted artists from around the World to London where they will stay at myHotel Bloomsbury and participate in exclusive recording session with producer Steve Williams. Steve has produced tracks for artists such as Sting, Eric Clapton, and Seal.

What do the entrants stand to gain? Well for starters, selected songs will be non-exclusively represented by We Are Listening and supported through global digital distribution, sync licensing administration and radio promotion.
Other prizes awarded in the We Are Listening Song Contest include mixing & mastering an entire album, CD duplication, a 6-8 week dedicated US radio campaign and more.

It's interesting to note that this Singer/Songwriter competition is having it's 3rd run in the same year that American Idol producers chose to run a songwriting competition in tandem with their singing competition/popularity contest.

A winner of the 2006 competition, the band Jag Star, recently announced that they will be included in the soundtrack to MTV's "The Hills". They are the only independent act on the recording.

There is a wealth of things to see and hear from past events on the website.

I am a songwriter myself. But I am not very prolific and a lot of the time I get so embarrassed of my earlier stuff that I throw is away. Shakira remembers the first song that she ever wrote. It was dedicated to her mother.

The winner of the 2005 Singer/Songwriter Awards was Michael Logen. He later signed with Combustion Music Nashville/Windswept Music LA and began working on his new album with producer Joe West. Joe West has worked with Justin Timberlake, Jewel, and Shakira.

It seems like winners of this competition have more freedom than American Idol winners, but also less exposure. Songwriting is a very lucrative talent. A lot of star performers these days make sure they get as many co-written songs credited to themselves as possible because of the residual income that it entails.

Why Beyonce Likes Shakira

Beyonce had this to say about her collaberative efforts with Shakira:

"I’ve always loved her and I’ve always wanted to work with her and the song fits perfectly. It basically talks about two women; the same guy is trying to get at both of them but instead of them fighting, they’re saying, ‘He’s a beautiful liar, let’s not fight, let’s stick together – forget him!’ I think it’s a great concept."

All you players out there, read the quote again, this time for context. Now go to the blackboard and write the following line out 100 times. I will not two-time on any Beyonces or Lucy Lius or Baby Dolls OR Shakiras. I'll be back to check on you later.

Online Shopping Dollars For Worthy Causes

This is a sponsored post.

Before I started this review, I first went to the list of over 150 nonprofits to see if the Pies Descalzos Foundation was on the list. It was not there but there are pages of great initiatives with the same sorts of goals. Take this organization for instance: Aid To Children Without Parents is non-profit organization that is committed to improving the lives of orphans and underprivileged children in Southeast Asia. It helps children to achieve self-sufficiency by building schools in rural areas and providing vocational training. Saving children that have been forced into sex slavery is another goal as is sponsoring corrective surgery programs, launching the "Vaccination for Kids Program", and funding a mobile clinic.

FreePledge isn't asking visitors for donations. The way the site works is that you indicate what non-profit you want to benefit and then choosing from one of 160 online retailers for your shopping. When you shop through the site a portion of your purchase price is automatically donated to the charity of your choice.


So try out FreePledge - Shop, Donate, Feel Good. It is that simple.

Are These Watches Illegal ???

Here are some watches that I found while trying unsuccessfully to find a version of "Pure Intuition" to listen to. I don't know if they are an officially licensed Shakira product. Some of them look pretty nice.

Finding a Trusted Mortgage Broker

This is a sponsored post.

I don't know whether Shakira required the services of any Mortgage Brokers when she and some partners recently bought an island. Us mere mortals tend to have a somewhat more limited cashflow and any real estate dealings we undertake tend to involve a mortgage or loan of some sort. A Mortgage Broker is someone who acts as an intermediary and sources mortgages on behalf of either individuals or businesses. Wikipedia offers lots of details about how brokers operate and what the key differences are between a broker and a loan officer.

Basically the majority of mortgages go through brokerage now because of an increasingly competitive marketplace. If you walk in the door of a bank, they will probably not offer you the best terms on the market.

Shakira Releases a Song as a Ringtone

The song "Pure Intuition" has never been released in any other format. A leading provider of mobile music entertainment services to operators and media companies worldwide, today announced an exclusive arrangement with SonyBMG for the new ringtone of "Pure Intuition."

This exclusive distribution coincides with the launch of her 2007 Shakira "Oral Fixation" European tour on January 25. The ringtone, ringback tone and full track will be sold through Musiwave operator partners worldwide and through Musiwave-branded online portals.

The above paragraphs are press release information. It's pretty boring sounding, but you may be interested in getting a ringtone of a Shakira song. Here is a scroller of the lyrics:

lyrics - pure intuition

Enjoy Cheap Holidays

I live in a place where people from the UK and other parts of the World often go on Cheap Holidays. This time of year nearly all of them seem to be quite happy. I think some of the summer crowd realize too late that they can't handle the heat. I hope the people I met today don't go home to find that their homes suffered storm damage this week.

The site that I am reviewing in this post is DirectLine-Holidays.co.uk
They have a homepage that is packed with information and functional searches to help you plan a holiday that has real value. I'm running a search right now as I type this. Their search is quite exhaustive, going through a number of carriers and service providers to find the best deals. It came back in about 1 minute with 5 pages of package deals for me to compare. I liked that the default is to put them in order from the cheapest to the most expensive. Here is the search I tried for a Holiday in Malta. I chose this because I am familiar with the place. The packages range from 225 euros up to 330 euros per person for 7 days. I highly recommend the Island of Gozo for adventure travellers who are into history and culture. The Carnival is coming up next month and the events in Nadur are recognized by UNESCO as being of cultural significance.

Shakira's Fake Wedding Photo

As a person who frequently makes very fake looking photo manipulations, I have to say that the above picture looks...pretty fake. The engagement between Shakira and Antonio de la Rue is turning into a very long one. I think Shakira is conscious of the fleeting nature of pop music stardom and she wants to exploit her present success to its full potential. After that is finished she may wish to focus on being a wife and mother.

shakira

Valentine's Day is Coming Soon

It is about time you started thinking about Valentine's Day Gifts for your special someone.

Until now, I had never heard of these personalized roses. They have a message silk-screened right on the rose itself. And you can't go wrong with jewelry, like these heart-shaped pendants. Valentine's Day is February 14th, less than a month away. I can pass on some hard earned wisdom to you guys, DO NOT GET YOUR GIRL SOMETHING PRACTICAL.

This is a sponsored post.

Shakira May Act in an Upcoming Movie

Dare to Love Me is set to start shooting in Romania in March. Shakira is listed as having a role in the film on IMDB.

Unlike many Pop Stars that came before her, Shakira isn't out to prove that she can act. She was working in a Colombian soap opera back when she was still a child.

***SPOILER ALERT***

The movie is a biopic and the real life person that her character is based on DIED during the time period that will be depicted in the movie.

Great Looking Phones

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I am constantly jealous of other people's phones. I am stuck with mine for a few more years. The one I carry around is the extra mobile in the family. I loan it out to guests and kids and stuff, nobody has the number. We got the cheapest available phone it is black and chunky and had no extra features. If one of my kids loses it, I will not cry. That is the point.

I think I may have already looked at a
The Motorola KRZR K1 recently. The deep blue glass on the case is very trendy and cool. The 2 megapixel camera is so far beyond the previous generation of camera phones that it is not even funny.

This is the first time that I have seen a phone remotely like the Motorola Z3. The design with the slide is so cool. I was never a fan of flip phones anyway. It has features that you can access whether the phone is open or closed. You can listen to music or call a friend. You can play a game or you can even use the full screen viewfinder as a digital camera. It is just a really great phone. I think when my kid insists that she wants her own phone, she is getting my old black clunker and I am getting one of these.

Symbiosis

Shakira's appearance on last season's American Idol no doubt caused a boost in the ratings. I was actually surprised to see how much it did for her record sales. This is a quote from AP reporter Sandy Cohen:

"Shakira's new album, Oral Fixation Vol. 2, jumped 11 spots on the Top 40 charts after her hip-shaking Idol performance."

That's not as impressive as Barry Manilow's climb from 24 to 4, but his stats had more room for improvement than Shakira.

Most guest stars are nice and friendly to the contestants. Prince made headlines by being anything but nice. There were rumors that Shakira was distant herself. There seems to be more discussion about her Diva behavior in comment sections than anywhere else. I can't find a legitimate source quoting Simon Fuller as saying that Shakira was rude. I actually feel a bit disgusted after scouring through the negative comments in different corners of the internet. I suspect that some of the vitriol put forth stems from racism.

Source...

I Am Getting a KIKK out of this Story

This is a sponsored post

Women...football...women...football...Women football. This is a hard decision for a lot of men in the UK. I think I have a solution, why not become a fan of women's football?

I played football in college (we had to call it soccer because we were in Canada). I went to several of the women's matches, to repay the show of support they often offered us at our matches. I think that in terms of pace and skills, they were on a par with us. And they yelled much louder. Looking at the gallery on the teams website, they look like a fun bunch of people. Reading the story of how the team got started I know that they don't take themselves too seriously. Maybe just seriously enough.

They are looking for interested players check here for more info.

Who Looks Like Shakira?

This face recognition program is very entertaining, but as you can see, not very accurate. If you want to use it on yourself or a loved one, use a straight on picture without too many shadows. Avoid toothy smiles, unless you want to be compared to clebrities that have toothy smiles.

Here is a different picture and a completely different result. Makeup comes into play for this one.


shakira

Some Multi-lingual Software

This is a sponsored post.

Magnet Commerce is a subscription based ecommerce software solution that can help small business managers handle their entire eCommerce business through an easy to use control panel.

What is really great about Magnetcommerce ecommerce software is that it supports multiple languages and multiple currencies on the same store. You can launch your store in several different countries and manage it from a single application. If your business is in the EU, language is in some cases the only barrier left when you are expanding your market.

In traveling to different parts of the EU, it always entertains me to see the walls of bars decorated with ads for old, locally successful products and the store shelves full of the same things you can get anywhere. with this software, you can market your products to almost anybody in several different languages from one back end.

I'm specifically pointing to the usefulness of this software in the EU, but it could also be used in North America where some regions have predominantly French speaking people and others have predominantly Spanish speaking people.

Magnet Commerce is a complete Web-based packaged solution which means that there is no software to install on your PC. Even better you will have no worries about servers, Internet connections, security issues or backups. This is a subscription based service.

I work in a multi-lingual office of sorts, except my wife and I are only fluent in English, with high school French and night school Spanish. The guys who work with us probably know about five languages between the three of them. Occasionally this comes in very handy, but mostly it is just cool.

Will this be the Year of Shakira?

2006 was possibly the most successful ever for Shakira both creatively and financially. What can we expect from her during this coming year? Will a wedding bring more media attention to her personal life? I actual doubt that, it tends to be the ones with two celebrities that cause a stir. Christina Aguilera was lucky enough to have the press stay pretty much out of her business when she married a record executive. The tabloid business thrives on the negative, I think they would starve if they spent their time circling around Shakira.

Shakira is spending the first part of 2007 performing in Europe.

Tips For Divas

This is a Sponsored Post.

I think I have made it fairly obvious in past posts that I am a man. This particular post is done in service to the ladies. It's a short review of a blog called The Diva's Dreams by Belisi. Belisi is a designer of accessories. A friend of my wife informed her last year most women have 20 handbags. I dispute that notion, but a few extra ones for the sake of style are ok.

Scarves are cool. I like scarves. They can serve various functions beyond just looking good. I have observed women who were dressed in a way that did quite not meet the local Basilica's dress code stop at the door and pull beautiful scarves out of their handbags and drape them around their shoulders providing instant compliance. And they can be used to shield you from the sun as well.

I was looking through some posts on the Diva blog and I saw something very cool that I hope really works. There is an insert for stiletos that is scientifically designed to help with some of the typical discomfort that this style of shoe can cause. Back to my observances of local girls...my wife and I were heading home from a night out at about the same time that all the trendy young people head out to begin their night out. We were walking home (I never drink and drive) and had taken a shortcut that is a steep rough country road. We were walking up hill and we met a stylish young lady who was coming down the hill in bare feet carrying her spike heels. I guess that is the safest way to do it, but having a pair of flats that fit in your bag might be even better.

The Diva's Dreams blog is saying that white is the new black. Thank you very much, I do the laundry in this family and there are three young women in the house. Go Black. Black is beautiful.

Shakira Talks About Her Chilhood Ambition

"I always felt a calling. Like there was some invisible hand behind me pushing me to write, dance, do things. When I was a child, I had the illusion of becoming a scientist, a writer, and a dancer. All three things combined! I remember doing my first poems at the age of four on everything that would surround me. I wrote one to my mom. It was called “The Rose of Crystal.” It was full of fantasy and daydreams. But I didn’t feel clearly that I wanted to be a musician. I started writing my first songs when I was 8 years old. I think my career as a songwriter started my career as a singer."

From everything that I have seen and heard from Shakira, I think she could have been a great scientist. Maybe pursuing a career in music was an analytical, scientific decision based on empirical data.

Source...

shakira

Video Conferencing Is Serious Stuff

This is a sponsored post.

When I think of Video Conferencing I often think of Doctor EVIL talking to World Leaders about a certain amount of money that he wanted in exchange for his Not Blowing Up The World With A Giant Laser services.

He has a monopoly on that particular business, but there is plenty of room for advancement and growth elsewhere in the world of business. LifeSize offers an amazing HD video conferencing service. They have testimonials from people that I have heard of saying that the service is effective and economical.

'Next Shakira' On American Idol?

I saw someone mention that there was a girl at the Minneapolis tryouts who was clearly going for a Shakira-like persona. I tried to find out more, but there really isn't much attention paid to individuals early on in that show. It's kind of like how we didn't name chickens back on the farm. You don't want to get too attached to them...because...you know...CHOP

She has a name though, it is Perla Menses.

Like Plug and Play For Home Security

This is a sponsored post.

This post is for a product that looks pretty good to me. The site features security syatems that are basically ready to use straight out of the box. I could see this as being a quick solution to security needs if, for instance your business has just outgrown your home office and you have quickly moved into one of those all purpose rental spaces in some business park. Maybe you hadn't even thought about security until you were already in the middle of a move. Big problem? Well you could just run in and grab one of these Security System at Comp USA, Home Depot, Costco, or even Kmart and walk out with some peace of mind.

Don't Bother Infringing On Copyrights

There are lots of sources for legal streaming audio and video. I remember thinking that Kanye West was being very smart for streaming his whole album on his website a few years ago. We spent a half a day with that stuff playing. AOL has some videos and audio of Shakira here.

Shakira has two new songs streaming on her website, including Illegal. I was looking for the Don't Bother video because I wanted to see what make of car she destroys. I think I felt physical pain the first time I saw that. I was experiencing some other feelings during the rest of the video.

Shakira

Is The Lexus IS 300 Really Built Like Shakira?

This is a sponsored post.

When I decided to do this post for a Car Classifieds site, I thought I would tie it into the whole Shakira them somehow. I did a search and guess what car I found that was described as having the body and soul of Shakira...A Lexus IS300.

There aren't very many of those for sale on LemonFree, but you can find yourself a dependable Honda Civic or a hard working Dodge Ram.

Hold the phone, I did a search on the site and there are 4 Lexus IS300's for sale starting at $13,900 for a 2002 with a little over 91,000 miles. I really don't see the whole Shakira comparison, that automotive writer must have had MTV on in the room with him, he said the 2 litre model reminded him of Britney Spears.

Anyway, if you take any of these out for a test drive and they start to shake it like Shakira, that is an alignment problem, it can be fixed but it might be an indication that the vehicle has been in an accident.

The Things I Miss...

I have to tell you that I have spent two years completely ignoring the whole IDOL thing. I think I ended up finding the experience of following a season of the television show to be kind of frustrating and heartbreaking. I always seem to root for somebody that makes it til about the final six or seven.

Anyway, I guess one thing I missed last year was an appearance on the show by Shakira. I'm going to go see if I can find it on YouTube. I wonder if anything in her contract forbade her from offering the contestants advice on things like contracts and merchandising. Shakira is very smart. I sometimes get the impression that the Idol folks depend on the singers not being too smart.

Sell Your Photos

This is a sponsored post.

ShutterPoint Photography say that they offer the highest payout percentage on the internet. I haven't looked at the entire internet, but I know that 85% is pretty good for any similar kind of service. I know some fairly serious photographers and I am going to send them a link to the site. They have an attractive and uncluttered site. I made the mistake of randomly clicking on the thumb for some guys photo of sushi, the big picture made me so hungry. The picture was selling for $25, and it was on the page that I arrived at by pressing the What's Selling button. This was before dinner. It looked so good I almost bought it so I could print it out and eat it.

Besides being a marketing tool, the site is also a great place to get feedback about your photography and the forum is an ever growing resource for tips and networking with other professionals and enthusiasts. There is some nude photography featured, but the site functions such that a strong content filter is the default, until you change it. I plan to stick one of my own photos at the top of this post, but I might chicken out because they are mostly pretty poorly executed. Expect an update about the site later on because I am going to join. I live near some fantastic subject matter and with some practice I might be able to get some saleable pictures.

I am Thinking About Buying This Shakira CD/DVD

I'm generally not a big fan of live albums, but I think I might like this release from Shakira. You can hear a few samples here. I like the arrangements with horns and looser sounding lead guitar. I guess one difference with a concert album is that since you have all the musicians up on stage anyway, they might as well contribute to all the songs. With a studio album you bring horns or Carlos Santana in for one session and they contribute to a couple tracks and then go home.

shakira

I am Starting a Forum

This is a sponsored post.

These GoBoardz Forums are pretty easy to set up. I'm not sure if it will take off or not, all I can do is set it up and wait. I have seen fansites take off and I have seen fansites get virtually ignored. The formation of an online community is really a spontaneous kind of thing. If you look at my brand new forum and think it sucks, um, tell me how much it sucks on the forum. Or comment this post, whatever. Wherever you feel the need to express your apathy is OK with me. I read that you can embed videos on goboards posts, too.

Where will Shakira be for Carnival?

Earlier today, I was talking about the Carnival in Shakira's hometown. Unfortunately for Shakira, she won't be home at that time. According to her tour schedule, she will be in France and Germany during carnival week. I guess that might be fun, too.

Bulgaria is Awesome

This is a sponsored post.

I think that Bulgaria might be the most welcome new member state of the EU.

A site featuring bulgarian properties is sponsoring this post and giving me complete freedom to talk about Bulgaria however I want. Bulgaria is actually in the news as a hotspot for property investment because of the strong economy and because of the diverse culture and tourist attractions. Bulgaria has sun and sand destinations and ski areas as well. If you landed on my site and you are an investor type, the cold hard fact is that real estate is at about average price per square meter of 70euros and rising fast.

bulgaria

Shakira Picture on the Wall of a Bar

Did I mention lately that Shakira doesn't behave badly enough to get the media's attemtion?

On my search today to see if the girl finally recognizing the PR value of getting falling down drunk and/or hanging out with a series of sleazy men, I found out that her picture hangs in Buffalo bar alongside the likes of Mick Jagger and Tina Turner. I don't know if that means that the decorator thinks Shakira is a legend already, or if he just really liked the picture. They are all taken by local photographer Bob Mussell. Here is a newspaper review of the bar. Can you tell that it is Sunday and I'm not really trying?

Shakira

A Few Words About Poker

This is a sponsored post.

Poker has recently had a huge surge in popularity that has been partly driven by successful poker based TV shows. I have an avid poker player in my family, and its not about gambling inwise sums of money or anything like that. It's all about the game. I might have to tell him about this opportunity to play Free Poker online. The site also has lots of poker strategy articles and reviews of casinos. They also have a points system whereby you get free gifts in exchange for playing at their site. You'll need to deposit $50 and play about 250 hands. It varies by poker room. I am not a gambler myself and I would caution anyone reading this post that gambling can result in the loss of money. I guess that's why it is called gambling.

poker

Carnival in Shakira's Hometown

Preparations for Carnival are underway in many corners of the World, and Shakira's hometown of Barranquilla is no exception. Anyone who has never experienced Carnival in a place where it is a major cultural phenomenon, go experience one as soon as you can. Check out UNESCO for different events that have "intangible heritage". I am so excited that Carnival time is approaching.

Shakira
carnival

A Review of a Photography Blog

This is a sponsored post.

I looked at the photography site that a friend of mine has just yesterday and I totally lost track of time. I love looking at pictures. The photo blog that I am reviewing in this post isn't the one my friend has. He is like a magician in that he doesn't give away any of the secrets of how he takes such great pictures. The blog called PhotoCritic.org is a very educational site. Just skimming it, I saw a tip about turning your digital camera upside down to avoid the crappy shadowing effect that results from the way the flash is placed on compact cameras. I am going to try that...as soon as I figure out how to remove the date stamp.

Here's something interesting, examples of square portrait photos. I know I upload square photos quite often and they are always just a thoughtless quick cropping of the standard dimension, 4x5 or whatever it is.

This article about paper negatives is cool. I like the comment about characteristic limitations that can be used for artistic effect. That's how I feel about MS paint.

Tips on Avoiding Injuries From Belly Dancing

I mentioned a few months ago that a woman was severely injured during a Shake It Like Shakira. I really should have done some lateral research then and provided this link to Belly Dance Safety Tips. I found that as an external link on Wikipedia. I was a bit disturbed to see that Jessica Simpson got listed in the pop culture belly dancing paragraph. Nelly Furtado, I'm ok with. I got side-tracked re-educating myself ( and almost crying ) about Aaliyah's life and tragic death. She was a belly dancer too. Her death and the investigation into the 2001 plane crash were completely over-shadowed weeks later by 9/11.

Shakira,Aaliyah

Be Gay and Chat

This is a sponsored post.

BGay.com Chat has a pretty self explanatory name. It is obviously a place where you can go and be gay and chat. I am an ex-chatter. I find that any general chat spaces are so filled with banality that it is not worth the trouble. Something as specific as a chat room that is tied to a gay website might be a different story altogether. Oh, and why is David Beckham's picture on the homepage of BGay?

I Don't Believe in Astrology, But...

I was looking for something completely different and I happened upon a page featuring Shakira's astrological chart based on her date of birth.

"Shakira Ripoll is a more versatile and complex person, less one-sided than many other people are, and thus able to draw on all of the elemental qualities as required. In addition, Ripoll is able to relate to most people, recognizing a bit of herself in their values."

Um...yeah right.

Shakira

Begging For Mechandise

This Post is sponsored by HP.

If this silly video catches the attention of PayPerPost founder Ted Murphy, he might give me a digital camera. HP hooked him up with ten 6 megapixel digital cameras and ten photo printers and he is giving them away.

I don't have a really compelling sob story or some over the top stunt to garner attention. I have one 4 year old digital camera. I would show it to you, but I can't take a picture of it, because I only have one.

My kids aren't extraordinarily cute and they wouldn't cooperate with any efforts I would make to exploit the basic level of cuteness that they do have.

I have taken university level physics, so I can't convincingly pretend to not know the conditions under which a camera will not fly.

All I have going for me is the fact that I have a desire to take pictures of cool stuff. I recently met a new neighbor of mine who has a collection of WWII era motorcycles. I aske him if I could come back and take some pictures. He is in the market for a Ford amphibious personell carrier if you know anybody with an extra one. He gave me some oranges from the trees in his backyard. The backyard that is full of really cool old vehicles. The HP cameras in the giveaway can capture video. I'm thinking that would be great to show my inland relatives what the waves look like in the winter. I just moved away from all of my extended family two years ago. They live in Canada. I have to avoid depressing showing them too much nice weather.

So yes, I would very much like to win an hp digital camera, and the printer that comes with it.

Urban Mythology

I can't remember if I ever blogged about this issue before. I want to book end the discussion by stating clearly that the myth is absolutely false and it has no basis in fact whatsoever.

So here is the story, there was an e-mail hoax a few years ago expressing outrage at anti-semitic remarks that Shakira made live on MTV.

The ADL felt it was necessary for them to issue their own statement about the fabricated e-mail and about the calls to boycott Shakira.

I weighed in on a rumor about Ciara being biologically male in another blog and the ignorance and hatred in the comments was amazing. To be fair, half of the haters were directing their hate towards the haters (now I'm confused). I guess the reason that the Shakira rumor was easily diffused was because it was easy to inarguably dissprove. Ciara isn't going to pull a Britney just to dispell a rumor, which incidentally probably sustained her career more than hurt it.

Some Advice About Saving Money

This is a sponsored post.

If you were generous towards your friends and family this past Christmas, you are probably getting teary eyed every time you look at your credit cards this month.

ThriftyScot.com can help you with advice and reviews of services like secured loans and mortgages.

They also have helpful hints about how to find the best company to handle your current accounts and home insurance needs. They update and add to their site daily. I don't know if you've heard any of the jokes about thrifty Scots, but as a person of Scottish heritage, I can tell you that the jokes arose from a profound truth. But the inclination to save money has to be paired with a smart strategy in order to be of any benefit. I avoid making unwise expenditures, but I have not been good at avoiding unnecessary payments to financial services companies. I want to change that and I am always on the lookout for smart tips about financial matters.

Shakira Is Too Normal For The Media

The entertainment industry prefers there celebrities to be dysfunctional. I googled the words Shakira and scandal. She had a deal with a clothing manufacturer that had some bad labour practises. Here is that old story. And the performer of the trumpet that was sampled for Hips Don't Lie made some noise about infringement, but it turned out the record company had the ok from the composer all along. As far as relationships, she has been in a long engagement and has wedding plans. Boring from an outsiders perspective, but maybe not as boring as Paris Hilton is from the inside looking out.

Be Safe And Secure

This is a sponsored post.

Even though the parallels between Shakira and Selina are not that numerous, the tragic and violent death of Selina at the hands of the president of her fan club must be foremost in the minds of many singers when they become famous enough to be the target of crazy people.

Home Security has probably been an issue for Shakira and her family long before her success. Shakira was born in a country with some of the worst violent crime in the World. Regardless of the level of real risk you face, having adequate home security can give you peace of mind. I spent most of one Saturday installing a long bolt heavy-duty lock on the front door of the duplex we lived in when we were in a rough neighborhood. I actually was thinking to myself that the demonstrable act of increasing security may have been seen by some of the bad people in the neighborhood. That would have been an added bonus. We operate a home business and if we had suffered a break-in and the loss of our computers and our data, it could have been catastrophic to say the least. I have never had an alarm system in my house, I prefered having a big dog.

You Can Help

I spend way too much time looking at Wikipedia. One place I hadn't been before, surprisingly, was the entry for Shakira. Today the header is indicating that the page is an unprofessional, possibly inaccurate mess of a page. If you are reading my blog, I can only assume that you are both a die-hard Shakira fan and also very smart ( I mean that sincerely ). Maybe you should go see what you can do to fix up the page. Below is a excerpt, I think it's true, and it is also pretty neat:

As of July 30, 2006 "Hips Don't Lie" was her most recent number one, and consequently, the last ever song played on the legendary British programme Top of the Pops, seeing the track jump back from number three to the number one spot again, after spending seven weeks on the chart.

There is, of course a wiki is Spanish as well. The Shakira entry there has not been flagged as needing cleanup. It has less material.

Shakira

A Few Words About Loans

If you are looking for information and advice about loans, you might want to check out the UKpersonalloanstore. Debt consolidation loans and secured loans are two things that they know inside and out.

While the information is useful, the main function of the site is that it allows you to fill in a short form and then wait for competitive finance companies to make loan offers to you. I don't see anything wrong with that. I'm not a shrewd negotiator, so anything that can take some of the leg work and stress out of shopping around is OK by me. I am still have debt on an open line of credit that my local banker sold me on about eight years ago. It would be some pretty complicated math to figure out if I made a wise decision, given the fluctuation in interest rates over that time. I just give myself solace with the fact that it is way less expensive than say credit card debt. If credit card debt has you hobbled, you might want to look into some kind of debt consolidation loan.

HIps Don't Lie Voted Best Pop Song of 2006

This news is no surprise to me, this song is absolutely infectious. I don't know if I have ever embeded any of original videos of this song. I assumed anybody with an interest in Shakira has any number of ways to get their Hips fix online, or they could turn on a radio. Unfortunately, Shakira is getting very little press for this award. Britney Spears, who won nothing, was mention and/or alluded to evertime someone who was wearing underwear climbed up to the podium.

Shakira

ZOOOF looks Cool !!!

This post is sponsored byZOOOF, The Family Network. From what I can see, ZOOOF is a kind of wiki for family histories. The potential for this is fascinating. My mother had a keen interest in geneology. We lived in a relatively small and isolated rural valley that only had a few hundred years of family histories. Even so, the local expert had a bunch of family histories compiled into a two volume publication. My mother had this ungainly reference and used it until it was tattered and falling apart (self published paperbacks will do that). Most of us are familiar with the wiki concept thanks to Wikipedia. With ZOOOF an unlimited number of individuals can join and contribute to a family network. What is really cool about it is that it function in several languages. Here is where things get really cool. YOU CAN BUILD AN INTERACTUVE FLASH FAMILY TREE !!!. No, I don't know how it works, but you can bet it is cooler than the one your teacher made you make with construction paper in kindergarten.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention... if you want to give it a try or to take a look inside before the Feb.14th, send an e-mail that includes your name, e-mail, country and gender to invite@zooof.com.

The Famous Sculpture Of Shakira

When a sculpture was produced by an attention seeking artist in America featuring a naked and prone Britney Spears, you could not escape the images of it.

I serious German artist created a giant statue of Shakira and donated it to here Colombian hometown and it hardly gets a mention. I actually want to see this and I can't find one definitive image of it. The above photo is of Shakira, obviously, and the German artist Dieter Patt.

Shakira

My Disclosure Statement

This policy is valid from 10 January 2007

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The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content.

The author of Skakira-news-items.blogspot.com is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though I receive compensation for my posts or advertisement, I always give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

I would like to disclose the following existing relationships. These are companies, organizations or individuals that may have a significant impact on the content of this blog. We are employed by or consult with: PayPerPost.

Shakira/Beyonce Track Due Out Soon

Beyonce is re-releasing an old album with a bunch of added tracks including the eagerly awaited duet with Shakira and some of her hits reworked with Spanish lyrics. Beyonce reaching out to the Spanish speaking world is kind of like the inverse of Shakira's career. Except I think Beyonce is more interested in the Spanish speaking market in the US than in appealing to Central and South America. Learning English was a pre-requisite to stardom for Shakira. Singing in Spanish is just expanding the brand for Beyonce. But if it sounds good, I'm ok with it.

A New Years Baby is Named Shakira

The first baby of 2007, at least in one area of California, has been named Shakira. The father of the newborn says that it is not a coincidence. The couple had noticed that the baby's older sister had hair that was strikingly similar to that of the latin songstress. The mother, Veronica Ventura, had second thoughts about the name, but went ahead with it because her 4 year old daughter had become quite obsessed with the name by then.

The baby's secon name is Hope. I wish the entire family all the best.

Shakira

Technorati Rocks

I am hoping to attract more people to this Shakira site using my Technorati Profile

Shakira's Pre-Nup

A newspaper in Argentina published a story about the pre-nuptual agreement that is being drawn up for Shakira's fiance Antonio de la Rúa to sign, The two have been engaged for over a year. Shakira is reportly also expressing an urgency about having a child. I wonder if Shakira will take an extended hiatus from performing to care for her first child. Motherhood is often a catalyst for a change in the tone and direction of singer/songwriters. Nelly Furtado created what I think is some of her best work while she was at home with her baby.

Tags, Shakira, Nelly Furtado