Get Away To It All

Deciding to go to the city for some excitement isn't the kind thing that requires a lot of careful thought. However,finding a hotel room for a city break can be an involved process,especially if you are headed to some popular concert or sports match.

The very last show on Shakira's european tour will take place at Wembley Stadium on 18th March. Wouldn't it be great to include that event in a city break in London with your mates? I'm going to use the search tools at HotelShopUK.com to see what rooms would work well for this event.

I did a search, the best price near the Stadium now is £ 120. It is short notice.

I don't really have tickets for the show anyway. How about a break in Leeds instead, that would be a hoot. Only £49.98 for a night. Maybe you could combine a break with the Film Festival.

A Song that Affected Shakira as a Child

I just finished reading an old Rolling Stone article about Shakira. In it she described being obsessed with this Depeche Mode song when she was twelve. In particular, she was physically affected by the guitar solo. I am once again at a computer with no sound. I might edit this post later with my impressions of the song.

The video was filmed on top of the WTC. I am physically affected by seeing old footage of those two towers.



Shakira

Belisi Rocks!!!

Seriously, Belisi Rocks. He also has been known to Lounge on occasion. He is a man of contrasts. The latest thing that fashion guy Peter Belisi is putting his name to is an eclectic online radio station. Belisi Radio will feature classics and cutting edge tunes from a variety of genres. Here are a few of Peter's own words:

"Belisi Music is my attempt to take the same qualities I look for in fashion – sophisticated, classic, beautiful – and take it to music"

Belisi is a luxury online retailer of great silk ties, women’s handbags and scarves. The Belisi brand combines Italian beauty and sophistication with the bombastic cache of Palm Beach.

I have known about Belisi for some time and I have to say that I have not seen a single item on his website that does not meet my definition of stylish. I think there is some risk of my wife buying a handbag from Belisi. I am so lucky that I am not married to a collector of such things. She had a friend tell her that women should have something in the range of ten handbags. My wife stands by her opinion that that is excessive. I love her, and I think she should get one more handbag. Something that will look at home in Europe.

A Great Tool For Singer/Songwriters

I have been using a free version of AUDACITY for quite a while now. When I was a kid, back in the days before the internet, I always fantasized about having a four track recorder so I could put two different guitar parts and some vocals together. I did the best I could with a bunch of old portable stereos and all kinds of connecting lines.

Audacity is a downloadable virtual recording studio of sorts. It has a lot of great features and the learning curve is not very steep at all. Even if you are not a singer or songwriter, you could have a lot of fun making remixes from your MP3s.

Here is a silly recording I made of a couple tracks of me playing guitar and also my kid laughing and being silly.

Audio:Boring
by innocuous1

PayPerPost Shows You The Money

I have been blogging every single day since I found out how I could make money blogging with PayPerPost. They have offered some really big money to bloggers recently. There is an opportunity for high profile bloggers to make $1,000 for one blog post. All they would have to do is post on an approved blog that meets all the requirements for the opportunity and talk about the reality show that is being produced about the PayPerPost people. The cool thing is they don't even say you have to be positive. Your honest opinion can get you some big money.

A disclosure statement is required from all bloggers. See the link for mine up in the left corner, it's big, you can't miss it.

The folks at PPP only take a 35% commission from advertisers. They are a good value for anyone looking to create some buzz. I like reviewing unique ideas or unique people. I really want to increase traffic to this blog so I can get more of the music related opportunities, but I am fine with talking about fashion, travel, politics. I can put in my two cents about just about anything and get a few dollars in return. I have enjoyed researching emerging artists, writers and singers for my posts. I would be happy to review a laundry service, too. Just show me that money.

Will Shakira Perform in Israel?

The Jerusalem Post is talking about a possible Shakira concert in Israel. They report that Shakira's representatives are talking about a stop there in August. I have to wonder if this is something that will happen.

International artists may choose to avoid performing in Israel for fear of losing fans and revenue that they may have in Arab nations. For most acts this isn't a political statement, it's just choosing to cater to a large market as opposed to a smaller one.

Israel
Shakira

E-cards Make People Laugh

Did you forget about Valentines Day? Were there dire consequences for your absent mindedness? Here is a plan that can help you out. Today is the day after Valentines Day. If you were to get a yearly subscription for $13.99 at this e-card site, you can use their convenient scheduling system.

It is great for birthdays, too. You could make a point of sitting down for a evening and planning out a whole years worth of cards. If you want to try it out. they have a 30 day free trial version as well. Just take a look at these
free funny eCards. If they don't at least make you smile um, well they should.

I am going to Learn to Play some Shakira Songs

I haven't mentioned on this blog before that I am a musician. I have decided after seeing the slow acoustic start to Hips that Wyclef and Shakira did on the Grammy show that I am going to try to learn some of her songs on guitar. Even though I am not very good at speaking Spanish, I find it easier to sing. One song with some Spanish lines that I have been singing for years is Lawless Avenues.

Otra guerra sin razon
Otra guerra sin fin, sin honor
(another war without reason,
Another war without end, without honor)

I use Audacity to record songs. If I make a recording that I am happy with, I will post it on here.

Verizon RAZRs for Free

The mobile phone market is competitive and changes rapidly. The battle for your business is fought on two fronts. The first one is the battle to provide the best service coverage and Verizon has been a Super Power on that front. The second front involves providing customers with phones that have the style and features that they want. This battle has gone back and forth quite a bit. Besides the features and technology, trendiness plays a role. RAZR's have recently become the must have phone. Now Verizon cell phones include a selection of great RAZR's like this one:



And right now you can get one free with a Verizon plan.

I just read that these phones have a tough shell made of aircraft grade aluminum. That reminds me of a cool mobile phone story. I was living on the East Coast back in the late 90's when there was a big event with huge wooden sailing ships from around the world. There was a galleon from some Latin country at the dock and one night there was a party going on with a live band and dancing. I wasn't invited, I think the criterion for coming aboard was some algorithm involving gender age and hemline. Anyway the deck was higher than the dock so the jealous tourist were facing the feet of the revelers.
I got to see some girl drop her phone and she and her dance partner were obliviously dancing on it for about 1/2 a minute before he noticed and picked it up. I don't know if the phone survived or not. I found the whole thing quite entertaining.

'Who' did Shakira Wear to the Grammy's?

Carolina Herrera, that's who Shakira wore for the red carpet at the big awards night on Sunday. CarolinaHerrera.com is a pretty stylish site. I don't know who designed that gold top that Shakira wore during her performance. Whoever you are, know that I love you. I really mean that.

shakira

Drug Addicts Lie

Drug addicts lie. I don't mean to single them out, lying is human nature. But an addiction can elevate this behavior to that of an art form.

An effective drug rehabilitation program has to account for and correct for the lying that goes on in an effort to feign recovery. I think most comfy voluntary programs have such a low success rate because people can fake success long enough to get away from the recovery process and they haven't changed who they are in any significant way.

Stone Hawk is a place with an amazing success rate. If you want a simple explanation of the regimen, you basically have intensive, effective detoxification coupled with learning some of the life skills that addicts have typically not yet learned.

I knew a young woman who had grown up under the tough love and derision of an ex-alcoholic ex-boxer born again blow hard. When she left home for a co-ed campus, she was at a loss. I was a Residence Assistant and I also tried to be her friend but she was on a downward spiral of drugs, alcohol and sex. When she couldn't get anyone to use with her or supply her in our building anymore, she moved to another house. A week later I had to accompany an RA from that residence to the hospital where the girl was on suicide watch. Many people tried to reason with her during the few months that it took her to reach bottom, but there was just no stopping her. Getting kicked out of school was, thankfully, the start of a change for her. Her family, who had kept their distance for whatever reasons they had, stepped in and got her to go to Stone Hawk. As is often the case with addicts, she tends to avoid the places and the people she knew then. But I heard through the grapevine that she was working in the family business and in a positive relationship. I was going to get into some of the lies she told while she was using, but I kind of changed my mind. It's like I want to respect her being able to move on. I hope that if an addict ever reads this post that they see themselves in the story and can look past the end towards a whole life beyond addiction.

Shakira Did Not Win a Grammy

Shakira caused a stir with her Grammy performance, but the votes had been cast long before then and she was to go home empty handed. Actually, I don't know if she has time to go home. Her current world tour is still ongoing.

Were there any big Grammy surprises? Well, the Dixie Chicks won way too many statues. I like them, but it seems like they got a lot of votes that weren't about the music.

A Reminder to a Boxer

A Baltimore City Police detective and his wife were struck by an oncoming car while on a motorcycle. Brother of former heavyweight boxing champion Hassim Rahman, Karim Rahman, had recently stolen the car after robbing a convenience store. Police were in pursuit at the time of the occurrence. Karim is currently serving a twenty year sentence in a Maryland prison. Karim Rahman did not contest the lawsuit that was filed against him by Ingerman & Horwitz, LLPon behalf of the Honaker Family. Rahman had no insurance at the time of the car accident and the Honaker's attorneys say that it is unlikely that any of the judgment will be collectable.

Boxer Hasim Rahman stated at his brother's sentencing that he intends to "donate a percentage of the rest of my career for family to offset some of the financial burden to the family." To date, Hassim Rahman has not contacted the Honakers or their attorneys regarding this promise.

The source of this information is a press release authored by Alan Horwitz. I think using the internet to widely disseminate this information is a forward thinking move by this lawyer. The press release is presently the fifth item on the google search page for the boxers name. Unfortunately, his first name has several common spellings. I would like to see this story at the top of the page.

Will Shakira Music Videos Disappear From YouTube ?

There are several different uploads of this video on YouTube. The copyright may belong to Sony. I am a bit of a fence sitter with the issue of protecting copyright. I don't actively participate in piracy, I haven't bought any DVD's on the street. But I don't have television at my house and if there is good programming up on YouTube, I will watch it. This includes every Shakira video I can find.

My Personal Vacation Rental Experience

My experience with vacation rentals was a very positive one. I have to say that I enjoy renting a well supplied vacation rental much more that either a hotel stay or even a B&B.

We had some amazing features and extras in the place where we stayed. There were pleasant surprises like a cache of beach toys waiting for us at the end of the boardwalk, and a remote control for the gas fireplace. The place also had a sort of take-a-book/leave-a-book library, I read Dorian Grey while we were there.

I did some browsing on the VLBO site and one place that interested me was Heather's House in Victoria, Canada. It's a new house in an old town. If you have no idea what Victoria is like I can just say briefly that it has one of the mildest climates in Canada and the town has a very British history and feel to it. It is known for it's gardens. The wider area of coastal British Colombia is impressively beautiful.

Shakira does not Disappoint at Grammy's

I didn't even have to search for video footage of Shakira at the Grammy's, the woman who works beside me has become a fan through osmosis and she was watching the performance earlier today. It is really great how Shakira and Wyclef keep it subdued long enough that you almost start to believe they are going to keep the number low key...AS IF.

The dancing that Shakira pulls off is incredible. And she manages a to get the lyrics sung quite nicely as well, although it really is a bit of a compromise to do that much moving and sing. She was a bit breathless at times. I prefer that to lip synching anyday.

About All My Children

This post is not about all MY children. For the most part they are very boring and if I published the interesting stories they might kill me in my sleep (not really, they are little angels).

This post is about ALL MY CHILDREN the long running soap opera. I think it has had some of the most memorable characters in soap opera history. Soap.com has all kinds of information and discussion realted to the show including the ever popular, but sometimes avoided All My Children Spoilers.

I love putting these things on the Internet whenever I get the chance, I like to imagine that aliens pick them up on satellite and think they are really important. I'm talking about the ominous:

Spoiler Alert

Kendall and Zach head to Las Vegas to check on his father's grave. They are stunned to discover that the coffin is filled with rocks and a letter...

Oh my goodness, I sort of wish I hadn't looked at that, it sort of spoils the surprise. Luckily, Thorsten Kaye and Alicia Minshew are professional actors, they will be able to act surprised.

Will Shakira Win a Grammy ?

I am reading a long piece about how Grammy Voting Works. Even though the voters of the Academy are not quite as obtuse and conservative as they used to be, you can still expect a few instances of very popular, very good musicians walking away empty handed on Sunday.

The article says that there is still a built in bias towards Major Label Artists. This will work in Shakira's favor. Her nationality will probably be a slight disadvantage.
If you are intensely interested in any genre of music tha is not in the American Mainstream, you can't expect to see your favorite artist on the live TV broadcast. However XM Satellite Radio is broadcasting all the awards that are not being televised.

Shakira only has one nomination: Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals Pop for Hips Don't Lie Featuring Wyclef Jean

I want to apologize for any of the times that I may have mixed up Wyclef's first and last names, I am always thinking about Shakira's hips when I type his name.

Say it Safely with Flowers

I will probably have a few more posts this week with suggestions for what to buy for Valentine's Day. I will say right now that the safest thing you can possibly do is have flowers delivered. So before you get it in your head to do something more original, like preparing sushi for her for the first time or getting her a ferret...stop thinking, it is dangerous. Go to this online flower delivery site and get something traditional and romantic. If you want to put a personal touch, do some research on the meaning of different flowers and get her an arrangement that you can explain to her at length later.

Shakira Must Love Airports These Days

Shakira is in the midst of a tour of Europe. Where is she right now? California, of course. She is preparing for her performance at the Grammy's with Jean Wyclef that will take place on Sunday. After that it is back to Europe again for upcoming concert dates in France, Germany and Italy. I hate long flights. I am always too cheap to buy the headphones and then I can't sleep so I watch the movies. I still am very confused about what was actually happening on Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants but I'd rather continue to go through life confused than rent the DVD. Here is a Paparazzi video of Shakira leaving a restaurant.

Bling For Men

The site featuring this Men's Jewelry has some very nice stuff. I think a man should choose one metal and stick to that one metal for all his jewelry needs. I have settled on white gold. Stainless steel is another great choice. Actually a man might do well to consider coordinating his jewelry collection with his automobile. Some of the bracelets are a combination of steel and rubber.

Here is a short annecdote about men's jewelry, I was taking a course with people about 10-15 years younger than me this past summer. This one guy commented on my ring...he thought it was a LOTR replica. I had to disappoint him by telling him that it was my wedding ring. To me it IS the ONE, but just to me.

Shakira Concerts During Carnival Week

A few European cities will host Shakira during Carnival season. I have not been able to find out if Shakira will participate in a carnival in any way. Regardless, the exhuberance of Carnival will probably everflow into the stadiums where Shakira will be performing.

Test Driving A Hotel Reservation Site

As an exercise in wishful thinking, I am going to use this real Hotel Reservations site to find hotel rooms for to stay in while I follow Shakira around for the rest of her current tour.

Night #1:
Date: 16/02/07
Venue: Bercy - Paris, France

Using HotelReservations.com I found a choice of 26 Hotels. I can sort them by Value, quality, price or just alphabetically. I'm going to go for the cheapest this time, LE BLANC-MESNIL for $47.90. By the way, you can choose which currency you want to use when you are searching.

Night #2:
Date: 18/02/07
Venue: Olympiahalle Munich - Munich, Germany

This time I am going to go for the best value. Shakira wasn't impressed with my cheap hotel room in Paris. K & K HOTEL AM HARRAS for $68.61. Many of these deals are only available online, you could expect to pay more as a walk in.

Night #3:
Date: 21/02/07
Venue: Hallenstadion Zurich - Zurich, Switzerland

Time to stay in the best hotel. I made a withdrawal from my imaginary Swiss bank account while I was on my imaginary road trip. The Zurich Marriott Hotel is pretty posh, maybe Shakira is going to be in the same hotel as me. Even with quality like this you can still stay for only $185.86. I'm going to have to economize by not going to the second show here.

Night #4:
Date: 27/02/07
Venue: Datch Forum - Milan, Italy

The Hotel Leonardo Da Vince is the cheapest nights stay that I could get in this town with HotelReservations.com it costs $90.88. Milan is the most expensive place to stay that I have seen so far. You know, it might be a good idea to use the site to compare how expensive cities are. If you are coming to Europe just to enjoy the old buildings and the culture and stuff, you might as well go to a place that is old and affordable. Shakira only seems to be going to places where people spend lots of money.

Shakira Memorabilia at Hard Rock

Shakira donated several custom-made stage costumes to the Hard Rock
Cafe Margarita, on Isla Margarita, Venezuela, including a pair of plaid pants that she wore on her last world tour.

The Hard Rock Cafe made a generous contribution to her charity, "Fundacion Pies Descalzos” to show their appreciation. I could not find a picture of Shakira in plaid pants. Maybe she didn't like them.

Toronto is a Great Place to Visit

When our kids were still young enough to actually be impressed by something, we decided to take a week long vacation that involved driving our car all the way to Toronto and staying in a short let apartment. We did e few really smart things during that vacation.

The first thing was that as soon as I got to the hotel parking lot I parked the family car and it stayed put until the day that we left Toronto. We wanted our kids to get a real taste of big city public transit. This might sound weird to people from New York or Chicago, but the TTC is actually not that scary or unpleasant. You could rent a car in Toronto, I wasn't keen on city driving.

The second stroke of genius was that we had pre-ordered groceries for the week online from a Toronto company that specializes in online scheduled grocery orders. All the food and water that we would need for a week of sightseeing arrived a few hours after we did, two elevators full of regular food. The children did not eat at a restaurant even once. The two of us had one special dinner at a fine restaurant in Toronto while a friend escorted the kids to a movie.

Toronto has a long list of must see stuff, we missed a couple of things. The CN Tower is impressive. The museums are amazing. The zoo is huge and a full day of fun for a family. The kids loved the big black squirrels that live in the many parks in Toronto.

I recommend taking a family vacation in Toronto. If you were to tie your vacation to a concert or event it would be even better. The Skydome is a very modern event location.

Do You See A Video ?

Unless you are looking at this post shortly after it was published, chances are that YouTube will have taken down the offending video in compliance with the wishes of media behemoth VIACOOM. The clip is taken from MTV, one of the many many cable stations owned by Viacom.

I think that some musicians and comedians see YouTube as a great promotional tool, but the big important guys in suits do not agree. If you like MTV clips or Jon Stewart or Cartman, you should load your desktop up with YouTube tonight, because the party is over. I think music videos will continue to find their way onto the website despite recent decisions.

Free Online Dating

In the much the same way that the December holiday season makes those of us who are away from our families feel it more acutely, Valentines Day makes a lonely heart feel just that much more lonely. If you are lonely, I have some good news for you...Free Dating has returned to the internet. I remember a few dating sites that were actually free back in the 90's but since then, they have been very rare.

I am a bit of a veteran of online dating. I am not single, so I have only done a sort of functionality check on Just Say Hi. It is a genuinely free online dating site. If you are interested, I would suggest you just go for it. Have fun and please for the sake of yourself and others, please be honest about who you are and what you want from a partner.

Shakira's Hair Not an Issue

The definitive poll on celebrity hair makes no mention of Shakira. Eva Longoria has the best hair and Courtney Love has the worst. I started researching what other people thought of her hair because I saw some insulting remarks about her hair on YouTube comments. It is sometimes hard to tell whether people are expressing their honest opinion or just trying to be hateful.

Some Skin Care Products

SkinAct.com is an online resource for skin care products. SERIOUS skin care products. I can imagine that Shakira and every other pop star that is over 30 years old are investing a lot of time and money into fighting against the ravages of time. A healthy diet, lots of fresh air, NOT SMOKING, adequate sleep, avoiding excess UV radiation...these are all things we can do to have healthy, young looking skin longer, but it isn't enough.

SkinAct.com has a full line of products from SkinCeuticals to help you prevent, protect, and correct. They have great treatment strategies for acne as well.

Eminence Organic Skin Care products are elegant and luxurious as well as effective. I like their logo.

Guinot has some intriguing products in its line as well. I should mention that I had sticker shock when I arrived at the front page. SkinAct.com chose to put the best of the best on the front page and the prices are pause for thought. Every line of treatments has dozens of products which are generally less that 1/3 the price of the stuff on the front page. For example MD Formulations has a great exfoliating cleanser for $30.00. Don't be frightened by the big ticket items on the front page, check out the special offers.

Shakira is 1/4 Italian ?

When I discovered this while researching my last post, I was surprised that I hadn't taken note of it before. The focus is always on her Spanish culture and heritage, with the anecdote about her learning belly dancing from her Lebanese grandmother coming in second. I will search and see if I can find any instances of Shakira talking about her Italian heritage.

Just to stir the melting pot a bit more, here is a singer who is popular in Italy, but is a native of Java.

Italy is Beautiful

Shakira is 1/4 Italian. Shakira will perform in Milan, Italy on February 27, 2007

I love so much about Italy. The food, the wine, the culture, the beautiful people, the architecture, the history...it is simply a fantastic country. It is a country of contrasts as well. You saw the mountainous skiing areas during the last Olympic games. You really should focus your Google Earth, if you have it, on the volcanoes of the island of Sicily. You can see the steam coming from the vent of Etna. And the Mediterranean coast is just something you have to experience to fully appreciate.

Having property in Italy would bring you close to all of these things. Is a villa in Tuscany asking to much out of life? Start with asking and then try and make it happen.

Shakira and Jean Wyclef will do that thing they do at The Grammy's

CBS and the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences made the announcement today. Shakira will perform at the big awards night. I think we know what song she will be singing. The only surprise will be the costuming and possibly the number of backup dancers. I think I have already seen this number performed as well as I could possibly hope for at previous awards shows.

The Art of Purvis Young

Up until today, I had never heard of Purvis Young. He is one of those real artists that the Art World likes to use the label Outsider Art to describe. I think they do that because the volume and quality and POWER of his work and the work of others like him shine a light on a lot of the pretense that exists in what I will call Insider Art.



Purvis Young has been witness to the tragic decline of a community. He still lives in Overtown, Florida despite his celebrated work. He wears dark glasses in public in part to hide the tears that he often sheds when he observes the human condition that surrounds his everyday life. He has always painted on whatever surfaces were made available to him, scrap wood, metal platters, anything. I love the color choices that he makes. And I like the faces that he draws. There seems to be a recurring character in many of his pieces, I don't know if it representative of his own self or a sort of everyman. He also has interesting pieces that feature groups of people. There is really no individuals in the groups, they are like a singular entity, sometimes dancing, sometimes marching in anger. In one painting it appears to be a group of young men turning their backs on the observer in a very overt gesture of dismissal. I don't want to make it sound bleak, there is a dreamlike grace and beauty to most of the work.


I would like to briefly mention the Hospitality Photography of Daniel Aubry. It is very professional, he has a widely recognized knack for revealing the essence of a space.

This is ...Interesting

The above picture is an advertisement for a Shakira concert that was held in Egypt. It is the work of designer Amr el sharkawy. Good work, sir. If you were to rummage through the archive of this blog you would see that I am the worst graphic designer in the history of civilization.

Take a Look at Egypt

Shakira has visited Egypt during previous World tours. I can only assume that the history and the beauty of that country had as much to do with her schedule as the ticket sales.

I'm linking to a great photo blog about Cairo Egypt, there are lots of great shots of the Pyramids and other ancient stuff. What really interests me the most when I travel are the people. This is a great photograph of a horseman and various family members and shelters. Click on the picture to see it in full size on the site.

If This Ever Loads...

I think SonyBMG has the Beyonce Shakira duet streaming online. I'm am writing this while I wait for the page to load (Darn kids are cloggin' up the tubes again). Sorry, false alarm. Beyonce has two tracks on this playlist at the moment. It might be a good place to check back.

Home Office Desks

I have personally bought 6-7 home office desks in the past few years. I will probably buy a few more eventually. One thing I would recommend to anyone is to avoid styles that are designed very specifically for one style of PC because monitor technology changes and PCU designs change. You may also change your mind about what peripherals you do or do not need.

I love the style of the the above desk. It is simple and elegant and I think it would be quite versatile, too. GreatPricedFurniture.com has stuff that is either side of this in the fancy department. I picked this one to feature because, for me, it is just right.

Check out these big Hi-Res Photos...

I am linking to this huge Shakira image for a few reasons.

I think this fundraiser is pure marketing genius. I mean look, Shakira is getting in all the automotive blogs.

Shakira looks good when she goes casual. It's interesting that the lighting on this stage has been adjusted to make the car look its best rather than the people.

The sum of money on the giant check that Shakira and some auto exec. are holding is not huge. The contest runs til May, so expect to see enough to build a school or two in Colombia by then.

Notice that Shakira is wearing a Beatles shirt.

A Few Words about Car and Home Insurance

Many of us have the level of insurance coverage for our cars determined by our finance company. Most often they will require that you obtain comprehensive car insurance before you get to drive away with your car.

If you are entering to win the Shakira designed Leon Pies Descalzos, you might want to compare car insurance so you can be on the road with your prize that much sooner.

Lenders often dictate what level of home insurance you need to have as well. I think that even if you are renting there are some possible losses that you should be insured against. I have heard a lot of horror stories about people who get their basement apartment flooded as the result of someone else's negligence and are still stuck with the expense entalied by all the damage to their possessions. Theft insurance is something worth looking into as well. I spent some time living in a bad neighborhood a few years back and I lived in fear of being burgled. We had a home business operating there. I'm curious as to whether you can be insured against lost earnings if the computers containing a portion of your business information are stolen? Probably not.

A Blast From Shakira's Past

I was snooping through Archive.org and I though readers here might enjoy a look at the old graphics for the official Shakira website. This is from the Laundry Service days. I prefer the new look for her site. The looping animation from the Wherever, Whatever video gets a bit annoying after a while. Nearly all the tabs go to 404 pages, that is typical of the archiving.

My Latino Friends

I worked in the specialty coffee industry for a couple of years and I met some really cool people from the Latino communities of the USA, and also from some of the World's coffee producing nations.

I met a lot of young, smart people who were making their careers in either the technical side of making great coffee, or the marketing of coffee. I made a friend, and had an anecdote for life, when I was a volunteer for this big international coffee tasting event. I was one of many people who were exactingly making hundreds of cups of coffee for the tasters. It was a job that was mostly busy, but involved some standing around waiting for things to boil as well. My table partner was a stylishly dressed 20 something Puerto Rican. I was to soon find out that he was a comedian. When he found out that I was Canadian he told me that he had heard this news story about how the low-carb diet craze had caused a huge drop in Maple Syrup sales and that as a result there were Maple trees blowing up all over Canada. The funny part of the joke was that he had a captive audience and he was very persistent that is must be true. I asked him why they didn't have dairy cows blowing up in Wisconsin during the low-fat craze and he thought that maybe they had been and that there was some kind of cover up.

But this post isn't just to talk about my Latino friends, i want to talk about how Latino-Friends.com is an all-in-one Latino Community website. It's like a MySpace but it is specifically for the Latino Community. I like the layout of the site. It is very new. They are looking for bloggers to help fill up their blog section. Go check it out.

My Forum is Being Ignored

I started a forum on this site weeks ago, and it hasn't really taken off. If you want to talk about anything related to Shakira, you should post something on my FORUM.

¿Habla Español? I would be happy to have people post in Spanish, or any language.

shakiraforum

Enjoy Brazil Starting at $1

Don't get too excited, that's the reserve bid for an auction that is being held online for a vacation package at Othon Hotels in beautiful Brazil. Brazil is one of the places on my mind right now as Carnival season approaches.

SkyAuction.com is an established travel auction marketplace. You can choose between "Bid On" or "Buy Now" on discount packages to Othon Hotels in Brazil, and many other South America destinations. Save money on hotel resort nights, vacation rentals, cruises, and more. SkyAuction.com have provided over half a million travelers with a means to get more from their money than they ever dreamed.

Happy 30th Birthday Shakira!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

My gift to visitors today is this art. Click on it to visit the site of the Colombian artist Fernado Botero. The still life depicts a typical birthday table in Colombia.

Call Cheaply With Pingo

I just love to live in an time period when long distance communications are so affordable. I was recently talking to a woman at a party who is in her early sixties. She was telling me this story about how when her future husband emigrated to America she had to stay behind in Europe. Way back then, there was only one phone in every village and it cost the equivalent of about $5.00 per minute to talk to someone overseas. Now, companies like Pingo can give you four hours of international calling time as an incentive to sign up. Check out these Poland calling card rates, awesome or what?

The calling card rates are literally pennies per minute. I have relatives scattered all around the World and I spent some time running the numbers with the this rate checking page. It appears that you could expect to save a lot of money with this prepaid card system.

In addition to the great rates, you will receive up to 4 hours of free International calls for signing up, linking to Pingo.com, or going to this International calling card service and emailing link@freeautobot.com to receive a free phone card.

Pingo’s affiliate program pays $15 for each new customer you refer.
This is a sponsored post.

Pingo
long distance

Shakira's Hair

I have given myself the thankless task of readin the comments sections of various webpages and it appears that criticizing Shakira's hair is a favorite pastime for haters. I am considering going to a stylist friend of mine for a professional opinion. I think what the teenage girls don't understand is that to another segment of the population, messed up hair is kinda hot. Please feel free to leave comments. Don't bother trying to say anything insulting about what you think Might be wrong with MY hair, becasue I don't have any. Man, I hate haters.

$50 Cash Back from T-Mobile

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I cut right to the chase with that title. I guess things have moved beyond just getting a free phone in the competitive world of mobile phone service. You can now get a free T-Mobile RAZR and receive cash back when you get a plan that is $34.99 per month or more.

I have been going the pay as you go route ever since I moved a little over a year ago. I'm starting to think about getting a plan now that I have settled in. And I am frankly a bit freaked out when I see all the features that are available on phones these days.

The RAZR has a slim profile. The RAZR V3 is a quad-band phone for use around the World that also includes Bluetooth, a 4x zoom VGA camera, and a giant 2.2” color screen. You can use this phone to record video clips and send them to your friends. You can also chat via the built-in AOL Instant Messenger.

Oh, if this is getting you interested you need to decide soon because this T-Mobile rebate deal is only valid until March 31, 2007.

Shakira is the Seventh Most Desired Woman

Shakira is ranked #7 on a list of 99 Top Women. I wonder if her being in a relationship cost her a few places. Ranking above her are, in order, Beyonce, Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Alba, Adriana Lima, Jessica Biel and Alessandra Ambrosio.

More than 8.5 million votes were cast in this poll over a six week period.

The most interesting change from last year's top 10 is a drop from #3 to #9 for Angelina Jolie.

MUY MUY CALIENTE

This is a sponsored post.

I don't want to turn this into one of those ridiculous, sex-obsessed sites. But let's face it, it is one of the joys of life, right up there with eating and breathing. If you are in a relationship, or just dating , this post might intrigue you.

Rob Breszny has just come out with a book entitled "How To Have Great Laughing Sex" that might be of interest to you. I was at a dinner party last year and there was a brief discussion in which I found out that one of the women there needs to be made to laugh in order to get her in the mood for sex...and that her husband only knows one joke. It was a noisy party, I might have missed some parts of that discussion.

Shakira Turns 30 Tomorrow

I am going to just throw up a few links to people talking about turning thirty for your consideration.

This one, A survivor's guide to turning 30 is a bit flippant and contains the word shagging more than once.

This one bores me, but maybe you will like it.

This one is for the guys, it's kinda funny.

This one focuses on career goals, comparing generations and stuff like that. It is insightful but not entertaining.

Financial stuff to do before you turn 30...ahhhhh I'm 37 and I haven't done any of these...AHHHHH!!!

shakira

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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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