Smaller Homes are Good for the Earth

The concept is called The Jewel Box Home. Small homes that incorporate smart stylish features are a trend that I hope will build some momentum. People have been getting into a lot of financial trouble in recent years by borrowing huge sums in order to build or buy a house that exceeds their needs as much as it exceeds their budget.

TheJewelBoxHome.com isn't selling houses. It is celebrating the joy of living large in a small home. When I looked through the site, I got the impression that it was very heavy on style and light on substance. As I read for context though, I began to see that I was not the target audience. The people who need to check out this website are women that recognize the insanity of keeping up with the Joneses but still feel the pull. It is primarily about finding satisfaction in a small home through creative means of all sorts. Decorating and entertaining in ways that compliment the proportions of your home take a certain knack when your home is smaller than your neighbor's homes. Genevieve M. Ferraro has spent 15 years in an 1800 square foot house and she has become an expert in the art of small home living. She offers the benefit of her experience on this website.

I wish Al Gore had made a point of moving into a small home to avoid the criticism about how much energy his large home consumes. He has a 10,000-square-foot, 20-room, eight-bathroom home in Nashville. He is running a business out of his home. I do that myself and I recognize that there are space requirements.

Shakira in Bangladesh

Shakira is one of the famous faces representing the UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND. This video talks about her trip to Bangladesh and the efforts going on there to help the victims of the worst natural disaster to hit that country in a decade. Unicef resources are put to work helping the most unfortunate children on the planet in places like the Sudan and the Gaza strip. Some of the most tragic situations in the World do not have entirely natural causes. War has a way of stepping in to make hardships just that much worse.

Please consider making a donation to UNICEF.

Song Tagged With Last Christmas

Today I have heard Wham!, Ashley Tisdale and some brass band all playing a version of this song. I don't know whether it is growing on me or infecting me. I don't have any sound on this PC so I don't know what this video below is all about. It looks interesting. I will accept the risk that the audio might feature something annoying.

Babel: A Good Movie That I Didn't Like

I am way late in weighing in on the movie Babel with Brad Pitt. I just saw it yesterday and I found it disconcerting and unsatisfying. I had been meaning to see it ever since I first heard about it. The premise and the synopsis lead me to suspect that I would love this movie. I didn't, and I am not entirely sure why. I discussed it with a coworker today and he says he loved it. I think the director exercised too much restraint. Certain characters were fascinating and certain events were gripping, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was wasting my time while I watched the movie.

News About DVD

I am working at a PC with no sound again. That gives me an idea about what I want for Christmas. This news item about the Shakira DVD might give you an idea about what you want for Christmas.

I gave a thumbs down to a commenter on YouTube. That's not something that I normally bother with, but aside from the swearing and the hating, he was also wrong about Shakira selling out by dying her hair blonde. If he got out into the World a bit he would see that all kinds of women dye their hair blonde and that it is just a fashion. She sings in English to appeal to a wider audience.

Shakira Collaborates Well

Shakira works well with others. She has repaid Wyclef Jean for his help with Hips with a duet on his new album. Her work with Beyonce is all over the clubs and TV. Her contributions to a movie soundtrack will probably get lots of play as well. She is a smart woman. These side projects are the best way to remain in the public eye when you do not have a new album and you are not touring. I wonder if she might actually be getting married soon? That is the ultimate collaboration.

Hotel Reservations

You can save money on Hotel Reservations as well as motels, resorts, vacations rentals and more with HotelReservations.com.

They have competitive rates are with great discounts on world wide destinations. I am flying to Pisa tomorrow, so I did a search for hotels in that city, just in case there is a rail strike or something. I was surprised to find a place called the Hotel California in this historic Italian city. It seems like a pretty good value.

I like the search options on HotelReservations.com. you can have your results listed in order of value, price or quality.

Shakira Concert Footage Upsets Afghan Clerics

"Her clothes were very tight. "Religious people say it is the West trying to impose their values but I had no problem with it."

Sharif, 41

When the Taliban were in power, there was an outright ban on television. After the western military forces brought about regime change, the national media began to flourish. More recently though, there has been a conservative backlash that is starting to be reflected in government policies. As is to be expected, the government begins its censorship under the auspices of appeasing religious zealots, but then extends the effort to quashing criticism of themselves. The silliest part of it is that the conservative media referred to them showing a naked US pop star. Shakira was not naked and is not American.

Source: the Telegraph

Paintball is Awesome

If you have ever participated in a game involving paintball guns I don't have to tell you how exciting it can be. I know a guy who operates a Christmas tree farm and he had the great idea to create an area for outdoor paintball games as another way to generate income. Actually, I think he just wanted to have the paintball lot for fun, but it is very popular with enthusiasts and also for people organizing company events.

I was looking at his website and I see that he supplies Tippmann guns to his guests. These guns are available through Ultimate Paintball. They have great package deals for people that are ready to get their own gear. Newer improved models have some advantages over older guns like the ones you will typically rent. The biggest advance is a feeding system that will feed faster when you are shooting faster. The other major brand are spyder paintball guns. You will find lots of 'discussions' online as to which is the better gun. These debates are best settled outside. From what I can see, Tippmann has an edge as far as being low maintenance. Spyders can apparently fire more rapidly, but are a bit more finicky when it comes to maintenance. I suspect that paintball is a bit like golf in that some guys look for equipment that will give them an edge while others concentrate more on technique.

We Live in a Time of Cholera

The period movie with the Shakira music might have people thinking that cholera is a thing of the past. People in Iraq, Vietnam and the Congo are all dealing with the risk of cholera right now. It is a water borne disease that is almost unheard of in countries with a functional infrastructure.

Cholera is not very romantic. Here is a paragraph about the disease from the WHO:

Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It has a short incubation period, from less than one day to five days, and produces an enterotoxin that causes a copious, painless, watery diarrhoea that can quickly lead to severe dehydration and death if treatment is not promptly given. Vomiting also occurs in most patients.

Shakira Does not Appear in 'Love in the Time of Cholera'

I read somewhere that Shakira refused a role that was offered to her because the director wanted her to appear nude. This is disappointing. Judging from the reviews of the movie, it is also a disappointment. I think it is another case where many people have certain expectations after having read the book on which the movie is based.

As you can tell from the trailer, Shakira did contribute original music to the project.

Music from Elsewhere

I am going to have a weekend theme where I find music that I haven't heard before by choosing the music category on YouTube and then clicking most recent. That's about as close to random as you can get. I like this music. I think it is from Turkey. It is interesting to see somebody who looks like a CEO or something on stage performing some kick ass music.

Don't Cry For Me, Lebanon

Shakira is proud of her Lebanese heritage, but her Grandmother was one of the scores of Lebanese who got out while the getting was good. The country has been a center of conflict for decades and it now is at the brink of chaos yet again as opposing sides are failing to reach a consensus over who will be the President.

I know and admire a few people of Lebanese heritage. Lebanese people have been settling in Canada for over a hundred years, but the influx was very intense during the 15 years of intense civil war that began in 1972. It is a shame that there is not more stability and prosperity in Lebanon. It is a beautiful land filled with beautiful people.

Terapeak, a Tool to Help Ebay Sellers Make More Money

There are lots of strategies for purchasing effectively on eBay. Some of them have cool names, like sniping. Sellers have mostly been less strategic. If you sell stuff on eBay, you can now benefit from the eBay Research by Terapeak. Terapeak has free tools that you can use to maximize your revenue from eBay sales. One of the most important things they can help with is making keyword rich titles for your auctions. You can make the most of those 55 characters. I just went back and made the title of this post bigger and better after thinking about keyword placement.

Live Performance by Shakira

When Whenever, Wherever was a new release Shakira was enjoying her first taste on International Superstardom. Hse really does seem to be enjoying herself immensely in this clip from the Tonight Show. I might be mistaken, but it seems to me that she has gotten away from using so many instruments for her stage performances. I think I may have seen a synthesizer filling in for the pan flute during some live shows. I had never even noticed that there is a mandolin until today. I know how to play the mandolin. If you are a guitarist, I would recommend the mandolin as a second intrument for those times that you want to play with a fresh sound.

Avoiding Getting Black and Blue this Black Friday

I personally think that the people who will rush out to buy stuff on Black Friday are crazy and stupid. Is there really any item that is worth hurting or being hurt in order to get it on sale? Smart people will shop online for 2007 thanksgiving specials. Black-Friday.net has an opt in list that gives you the opportunity to have the special price lists emailed to you before most people get a chance to see them. You can then shop in the comfort of your own home and not have to deal with all the stupid jerks that go to the stores on Black Friday. If you think I am exaggerating about people's behavior, just go to YouTube and do a search for Black Friday. It is not pretty.

Do remember the story about Axl Rose and Tommy Hilfiger getting in a fight at some bar? Picture yourself waiting for a Tommy outlet to open the morning after Thanksgiving and getting collateral damage to your face when a Tommy look-alike and an Axl look-alike get into a scuffle about who was first in line. I mean I would love to get a crew neck sweater for under $20, but I love my perfect teeth even more.

Who is the Best Living Female Vocalist ?

I love Shakira. She has a very endearing vocal style, but I would not try to tell anyone that she is the most technically gifted vocalist in Pop Music. Who do you think has the best set of pipes? Christina Aguilera? Regine Velasquez? Sarah Brightman? Annie Wilson?

This is, to a large extent a matter of taste. Obviously people who lack range or power or sing off key don't qualify. Many women with exquisite voices do not become superstars because they don't have the right look or they don't want to play the sexuality card. One of my favorite voices belongs to Mary Jane Lamond.

Find the Right Cartridge at CartridgeFinder.com

I have a history of getting hand-me-down technology. I am cheap and I keep my eyes open for stuff that people might want want to give me. On more than one occasion I have been the recipient of a printer that came to me without a cartridge. I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but when the cartridge isn't there is makes it harder to find a replacement.

The Cartridge Finder is the place to go when you want to be able to punch in the information that you have and get an answer about which cartridge to buy. I tried it out and it is very easy to navigate.

My New Microphone

I just bought a new microphone. I tried it out and it has one huge advantage over the one that I had been using. There is no noise. I feel very self conscious about my singing voice, so I like to amplify it and add reverb and stuff afterwards. When your recording is noisy, you end up amplifying and reverberating all that noise too.

I am hoping that this omni-directional mic will work well for recording voice and guiar at the same time.

It is a bit weird that it makes me happy. It only cost about $3.

Blackpool For Fun

As far as Amusement Parks go, it's hard to beat Blackpool's Pleasure Beach. There are over 125 rides and attractions. I like that fact that entrance to the park is free. You have the option of getting a wristband or paying for individual ride tickets. There is a special on this months with an all day wristband going at the bargain price of twenty pounds.

I remember seeing a very special episode of Little Britain that took place live at Blackpool. The place looks like a lot of fun. The Pepsi Max Big One is a remarkable roller coaster. It has its own Wikipedia entry. When it was opened in 1994 it was the tallest and the fastest in the World. The height record has since been broken by a coaster in Japan. I suspect that riding a really big roller coaster is a thrill that may become extinct on the future, so you would do well to get out and experience it soon. I have been on some very small roller coasters. I recommend that you avoid breakfast buffets on the day that you partake of a roller coaster.