Tied-To-Time Tickets

Names of buildings, towns and popular groups can rise from the depth of oblivion to the surface once more. Bring back some memories of pieces of music and images. And perhaps of many other things. A name like the Four Seasons was such a walk-way-back-in-time to me. Not that I personally recollect that far back: the Four Seasons, or Franki Valli in particular, are my mother’s (very) late teenage love. That must be the reason I still remember very vividly that ‘Big Girl’s Don’t Cry’ and that jersey had nothing to do with jeans, as I thought in my early bobby-sox’s days. 

The actual cause for this Memory Lane experience, was that my eyes got hold on Jersey Boys Tickets this weekend. It took me a while to find out it wasn’t the original Four, but a rather successful musical based on the lives of them. 

And the word ‘musical’ made me bring back to California Haymarket. Being there for 24 hours, I was so naive to think I could go to one of the theaters down there. All doors of the Theater Royal and Her Majesty’s kept closed like the Bank of England, unless I was prepared to pay an exuberant price?... I wasn’t. It seems that to get Electric Factory Tickets or Hammerstein Ballroom Tickets in the USA are as hard to lay hands on. I got myself entertained anyway, but next time I’ll have a peek on the internet first, book some, fly some. ‘Let’s Hang On!’ to that. Image by Photobucket/katiie_eiitak

A Twitter Twang

According a newspaper’s article it's estimated that only in the UK alone the use of social networks such as Twitter during working hours costs the companies down there 17 billion us dollars, because the employees get distracted and aren’t productive enough. If that’s true, and those people are having lots of criticism on their boss’s bonus, they’re howling with the wolves. They better change their tune! 17 billion is a lot of handshakes, golden or not. Image by Photobucket/ww75

The Fast, Furious And Familiar

November 28, 1895, America’s first automobile race was held between Chicago and Evanston, back and forth, approx 54 miles. Automobiles were so new at the time, only produced 2 years earlier, that the race was rescheduled because of a lack of entrants. Of the 83 only 6 arrived for the actual race. Some of them were stopped by the police while driving their cars into the city, and were forced to get horses to pull the cars, as the police informed them they had no right to drive their vehicles on the city streets. The first one to finish was American inventor and manufacturer of the first commercial car, Frank Duryea in 7 hours and 53 minutes, with an average of 7 mph. He won 5,000 dollars, the 10 year salary of an avarage worker of those days. Only 1 other car finished, all the others broke down or bumped a horse. Nevertheless, it boosted the use of cars. 15 years later, cabs like in the picture above were becoming a familiar part of urban life. Image by Photobucket/mariza_049

Mimics Of Mammals

Recently I had a job interview and I was reminded of how important words and gestures can be. That one needs to prepare to make use of these corner stones of communication. Or to have a Media Coach. Also have a solid check of the possible topics that might be involved. Even to know a bit more of the background of the person who’s expected to be the ‘other party’. Last but not least: to know one’s self.

Having done all that, it’s not a guarantee that everything will go smoothly. On the contrary: nine out of ten, something unexpected will turn up. Write that down as a sure thing. To reply to those eyebrow-lifting or toe-wrenching matters, needs talent, some time and a Media Trainer.

I’m pretty sure that no-one will always escape that moment of getting surprised one day. That doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a bad and a shamefull thing, if it happens. Maybe the very best thing is to be aware that all people involved in an interview, are just humans as well, doing their best. From desk officer to deputy manager, we all remain mammals, ‘dressed’ to the occasion. And we all can use a wheelbarrel once in a while, no matter the Media training we might have had! Image by Photobucket/ lrrywbstr

A Safe Source For Savings

It’s of all times: to get the right persons in the right place and at the right time. And it always has taken lots of effort and investment to get that done. Traditional marketplaces, for instance, were the logical and strategic results. Till this very day these places are still of major importance. Without them, many regional economy in this world would simply collapse.

The once gradual, but now more accelerating shift from marketplaces to malls has been significant for our time. And if that wasn’t of impact enough (the collision between small and big, old and new is still happening), the global markets of the last decade or so acquire a totally new approach and solutions, again, of this same old phenomenon.

All people, from buyers to suppliers and manufacturers, are looking for the best available connections in the ever growing (global) line that provide them with the best ample choice for the best price and conditions. And, as always, to manage the costs that are embedded with the current situation at hand, in order to compete and to be in business, they need a third party, a reliable network to accomplish a successful and longlasting trade.

In the days of Marco Polo it could take months, if not years, to find such a network. By trial and error. The present days have one huge advantage compared with those days: the same speed and accessibility that can cause problems to adapt instantly, give also a much faster idea where to look and what to expect. Image by Photobucket/dharma-putra

It’s Dust To Dust, Mr. Darwin

This Darwin Year has almost come to its close. This day, in the year 1859, Darwin got his ‘On the Origin of Species’ published. And the first edition of it must have had a particular strong gen to survival: according London Christie’s announcement of last weekend, that published the sale (today!) of one of the 1250 samples of that same 1859 first edition. Found on a guestroom’s toilet’s shelf in Oxford, UK! It must have ‘fitted’ very well down there! This ‘piece of toiletpaper’ is estimated a value of about 100,000 us dollars. I’m sure it will find a ‘niche’ more appropriate vey soon, somewhere on this earth. Two other (related) occasions happened on this day. One in the year 1974, when 3.5 feet tall ‘Lucy’ till recently the oldest hominid ever known, was found. Not in an Oxford toilet, but in the Ethiopian region of Hadar. And the second, the year 2004, when it was feared that the ‘Black Faced Honeycreeper’, a bird with the exotic name of Po’ouli, had ‘surfed’ badly on an Hawaian island and got extincted by the death of the single one imprisoned (in an attempt to get offspring) and the only two remaining birds (gender unknown) vanished. Image by Photobucket/neesky

Punch For Progress: Plug Your Phone

Having had a few problems in my latest job as a desk officer, I’ve started to write down what seems to me the source of these problems. Next to the human related mistakes, there are some technical areas that could need an improvement. Not that I master some technical skill, far from it. 

What I do know is, that every kind of business needs a smooth running communication system. And as simple as possible. With communication system I mean, vocally and written. Those two come together where I used to sit and got paid for: the front desk. Sitting there, and have to switch from being online (to book a ticket, for example) to a very traditional way of calling the particular guest, has made me wonder why there’s not even a ‘rumour’ of getting in a VOIP technology here, already available, and claimed to be working within a jiffy. 

As far as I know, this hosted pbx is a kind of Plug and Play. Because the whole line of installation, maintenance and upgrading happens online and automatically, there’s no fysical disturbance at any desk anytime, and that’s a great asset, believe me. Mistakes will happen less, I’m sure. If that doesn’t appeal to the management, big plusses like cheaper bills to be paid and the fact there are no new telephone extensions needed (no need for investments what so ever), will! I hope they won’t think that I’m loud. Image by Photobucket/bmahfood

Lose Some Win More

To gain a few extra pounds of weight goes as natural as to feel the burden of some extra pounds of debt. In the beginning you hardly notice the difference, and if you do, it’s easily corrected. The problem really gets annoying, when those extra pounds and debt won’t budge that easily anymore. One more comparison of seduction: whether it’s a credit card or a crunchy cake, both are offered zillions of times to us. And let’s be frank: many of us have not declined the offer.

Let’s forget the pounds for a while, and focus on the dollars. To get the situation improved, you need to consolidate first. A helping hand, a personal coach is a good first step for a credit repair. And online you’ll find credit repair companies, who’ll provide you this coach. Among their credit repair services you’ll find some instant tips to improve credit.

Even with these rather surprisingly easy and logical tips, it might take some blood, sweat and tears, and for sure sheer determination, but the results will be noticable. The day you walk without weight that held you down for so long, is the day you will refuse the next offer! Image by Photobucket/jodilynn1973

This Isn’t A Mobile

November 21, birthday of Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte (1898–1967). His work frequently displays ordinary objects in an unusual context, giving new meanings to familiar things. With the witty and thought-provoking images he intended to challenge the observers' preconditioned ideas of reality. One of the Magritte’s most known paintings ‘This is not a pipe’, which seems a contradiction, is actually true: the painting isn’t a pipe, it’s an image of a pipe. The picture above isn’t a Magritte, it reminds of him, but it’s a homage, a ‘hello’ to this man, who could have used a mobile this way, if around today. Today is also the World Hello Day, started in 1973, with the aim to ease the tensions and make this world a bit less explosive by saying hello to 10 people a day. I hope to say hello many times today: I’m moving, therefor very mobile... and tensions are all around. So are the removal boxes...’hello’ boxes... what on earth are you all doing down there? (deep sigh). Image by Photobucket/germandemat

Cabaret’s And Castle’s Curtains

November 20, 1966, the musical ‘Cabaret’ got staged for the first time on Broadway. The unusual start, with an empty stage and the curtains already up while the audience was still taking seats, with no overture but a drum roll and cymbal crash, led the musical to the spotlights many times and spawned the 1972 film with Liza Minnelli. Another kind of ‘drum roll and cymbal crash’ with curtains and spotlights involved happened on this day, the year 1992: the Windsor Castle, England’s largest inhabited castle and the official ‘weekend home’ of Queen Elizabeth, got on fire when a spotlight ignited a curtain. 15 hours and 1.5 million gallons of water later, that ‘act’ on the Windsor scene ended. Luckily, that stage was as empty as the Broadway’s: due to maintenance work on the castle, many of its valuables had been removed. Image by Photobucket/DeeSobek

A Shade Of Safety

Almost as many as there are environments that require a certain level of protection, a range of safety glasses are there to provide it. They can vary in the level of protection. And to achieve this, people make use of different material for the glasses and often adjustments in the actual design of the armature. The variations of (day- and artificial) light, moist and temperature, next to conditions where there are chemicals or sharp chunks of material involved, all determine the nature, thickness and shape of the chosen material. It’s obvious that a construction worker needs a very different pair of safety glasses than a skier or a surgeon. Maybe not a real surprise. Perhaps this one is: our sunglasses, might be a fashion item, but are strictly speaking safety glasses as well. From blue to black eyes, this is the only set of eyes that we got, they all need protection, we better keep an eye on them! Image by Photobucket/nuttacres

Figures That Need Flushed With

November 19, the International Toilet Day, got founded in 2001. Go ahead, have a laugh, I had one too, reading that such a thing existed. Then we realize the importance of a good sanitary system. And got it as well. May it be marbled bathrooms, or simple tiled ones. It works, and that’s what really matters. The World Toilet Organization (WTO) is a global non-profit organization committed to improve toilet and sanitation conditions. According some figures I saw, more than 1 billion people lack access to clean drinking water and over 2.4 billion lack access to proper sanitary facilities. Those are figures that need to be flushed! That doesn’t mean that we’re not allowed to have some fun or pull someone’s leg (best not to, if...) Image by Photobucket/aslynnroberts

Barrels And Bank Accounts

To collect and store rain water has been of all times, with all available local material: in the early days, from shells to coconuts. And even before Homo Sapiens was jumping out of the trees, plants were cathing and storing the moist coming down. Rain barrels have never really become obsolete, only the choice of material has changed. The advantages of rain barrels are still the same: to conserve, keep water for the dry summer months, for personal use, for live-stock and for maintaining crops. And for relatively small costs. With the growing awareness of environmental issues, the decision to acquire one’s own water tank once again, to collect and store rainwater runoff, is nothing more than logical and sensible.

It doesn’t have to be that awesome and sophisticated like the Roman and Islamic cisterns, or the Mogul and Persian basins. Much can be obtained with a simple but smooth running system of collecting and storing rainwater. If not for human consumption, it’s for sure a reliable supply of (recycled) water to get the house heated, the garden green, the toilets flushing and make the car look brand new. Not to mention a healthier and positive bank account. Image by Photobucket/markangelo01

Tiffany’s Not Taboo

Right, here we go again: the time for the List of Longings has arrived! Or should I say: the Crusade for Crushes? The idea of those long walks in malls and mainstreets, in order to find the right gift for the right person for Xmas, makes my toes turn instantly in a rather odd and uncomfortable angle. 

Like every year, I’m optimistic in the beginning. But as sure as there will be Xmas balls hanging in Xmas trees, and turkey in the oven, I’ll be seized with cramp before you can say Yoho! Let’s call that a part of the tradition? Then again, this year, I might break with a certain part of this tradition: the part that ruins my shoes!

With a bit of luck I’ll be able to catch at least one tricky bird (a magpie with a soft spot for shiny things) with one click (or two) this season. I found out I don’t need to be a VanderBilt, Audrey Hepburn or Marilyn Monroe to find a gem that won’t cost a fortune. It’s the UK Tiffany Day with the slogan Best Gift for Christmas – Tiffany Jewelry that makes Tiffany no longer a Taboo for me. The amazing discounts down there, for bangles to bracelets, and from charms to cuffs, might even make it possible for me to get a second bird singing any Xmas carol I like. That’s what I call a real bonus! Image by Photobucket/patricia_horner

A Tale With A Tail

and he’s a jolly good bar-rel
and he’s a jolly good bar-rel
and he’s a jolly good bar-eh-rel

and he stays with all of us!!

November 17, 1970, American inventor and computer pioneer Douglas Engelbart (1925) got patented a device described as an ‘X-Y position indicator for a display system’, nicknamed the ‘mouse’. And it’s this invention that we’re still using everyday. However, the mouse remained pretty unknown until the appearance of the Mac in 1984. Even on the release of this new computer with a mouse, ‘there is no evidence that people want to use these things’, according to some critic of those days. If we all would click our mouse at the same time right now, it would deafening that critic’s ears, no doubt! I raise my glass to a 39 year old mouse: well done! Image by Photobucket/bipolarbettie

Thought Of Tolerance

November 16, 1995, the Unesco declared that this day would be the International Day for Tolerance, to ‘generate public awareness of the dangers of intolerance’. Tolerance comes from the awareness that we share much more in common than we are different from each other. And to see the positive and good side of the rather small differences, and not, like in many cases; are afraid that those same differences endanger all the familiar things we know and value so much. Brushed aside by a rather small group of people, fed by greed, stupidity, lack of respect and an insatiable hunger for power, this awareness will always need a day like this. On this day, the year 1532, such a small group as mentioned earlier, under the command of Pizarro, violated all rules of civilization and destroyed, not just an entire South American Inca culture, but also all its knowledge, that might have been beneficial to us today. Image by Photobucket/jopedope

Bohemians, Bankers And Bullions

With the exception of a few moments in the history of mankind, it’s gold that’s the only measurement all other things are depending on. One might say that it’s one of the few sure things in life, next to death.

The durability,versitality and the esthetic beauty of gold makes it the universal and timeless currency that’s been recognized from the first day humans laid eyes on it. Not many of them could resist or simply couldn’t see the value of gold. From bohemian to banker, they all could make use of a certain quality that gold contains.

Where oilfields might run dry or burned and destroyed, it’s gold that survives. Even melted, it will arise and start another life. In fact, that happens more than people realize, the amount of available gold in this world isn’t that huge. A piece of gold very likely has traveled around the world several times before it ends up around your finger, neck or wrist. Maybe the idea that the gold you’re having right now, once has seen many a historic event, place or person, makes it even more valuable? Image by Photobucket/feanor747

The Merit Of Myrtle

With the change of season, how tempting can Myrtle Beach Accommodations be? With the running off-peak season: surprisingly versatile! Blown away are the high temperatures that might scare off certain people. The more moderate winds that prevail right now down there, attract other people. No-one will blame them, because...

...what they’ll find is an even more spacious (less crowded) long stretched sandy beach, that always will remain the major attraction to rent a Myrtle Beach Accommodation. No matter what time of the year. But this season offers something else. Loads of events that cover all the days coming, to Xmas and beyond. Visiting them, will give plenty to do, and many good idea for the holiday gifts.

The choice to stay in the Myrtle Beach Hotel, that next to the smell of the ocean breeze, will welcome them with the scent of its just one year old comfortable and complete furnished commoddities, is an asset of a perfect stay. Some have returned already, the start of a family tradition perhaps? Image by Photobucket/definatelyjordy

A Gem Of A Giddy Goat

November 14, 1889, Nellie Bly (1864-1922) American journalist, author, industrialist and charity worker, leaves New York for her 24,899 miles journey Around the World, that would end up in a (short-lived) new record of 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 14 seconds. Her travels brought her to England, France (where she met Jules Verne), Italy, the Suez Canal, Ceylon, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.

More longlasting fame she got for something totally different, the opposite of all that travel and openess: her undercover report in which she faked insanity to study and investigate reports of brutality and neglect at the New York Women's Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island in 1887. After ten days of this rather modern approach of journalism, she was released. Her report, later published in the book ‘Ten Days in a Mad House’, caused a nationwide sensation and embarrassement among the physicians and staff. It also got her recommendations established, and a 850,000 dollars increase in the Department of Public Charities and Corrections’ budget. That must be today’s equivalent of 8.5 million? You can’t call that ‘nuts’ for 10 days of being a looney! Image by Photobucket/xXBloodRoses28Xx

Walk The Whitehall Way

If your home is your castle, and its hall is the calling card of your home, what is there to tell about the choice of the mailbox? Plenty. The country or state you live in, might give that box a certain prescribed shape, size or even colour and, lord and behold, if you don’t stick to that? If you’re lucky, free of choice and looking for a mailbox that suits your house, Whitehall Mailboxes is the place to drop by.

The variety they got is huge and of high standards. If you’re looking for something slightly different, their Custom Mailboxes give you plenty of choice. But, how far can one go in personalising one’s mailbox? Pretty far. Perhaps too far (I’m just fishing here). A strong personality is a sure thing to get something totally different then. But not to every one’s taste. My favourit is the shiny usm mailbox, if I were the postman, I would like to flip that flag!

For those who still don’t see their box-to-be, the Personalized Mailboxes offer a good chance. Don’t get discouraged by the sheer amount that you’ll see. Take a walk-around-that-block, have an eye for the details. Even the modern and daring kind can bump into a surprise down there, like the Knobloch range, with the Hollywood Red American as the icing on the cake for me. Image by Photobucket/cueskinee

Welcome Whisky Web

November 13, 1990, British engineer and computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee (1955) writes the first webpage ever. It got online on August 6, 1991. Visitors could learn more about hypertext, technical details for creating their own webpage, and even an explanation on how to search the Web for information. He invented and still helps to guide the World Wide Web, its future use and design to benefit us all. He must have seen the possible dangers, having said he favoured ‘Net Neutrality’ and that ‘connectivity should be with no strings attached’ and ‘there should neither be control over customers' browsing activities without their express consent’. Good for you Tim, let’s hope Bill will agree! Image by Photobucket/mellop3141

Bangladesh’s New Bang

November 12, 1970, what would become one of the worst natural disaster ever registered, the Bhola Cyclone hits the lowlands of East Pakistan with a 185 km/h, killing approximately 300,000-500,000 people overnight. Already politically and economically neglected by West Pakistan, this disaster also washed away the connection between both Pakistans, and soon gave birth to the state of Bangladesh. The blessing and curse of Bangladesh is its fertile soil provided by no less than 58 trans-boundary rivers. This makes it technically and politically complicated to take the necessary precautions to prevent another disaster of the same scale. It’s believed that about half of the land would be flooded if the sea level were to rise by 1 m. And with ‘rise’ is meant: going up ‘slowly’. It suggests there would be time to get away. With the word ‘global warming’ on our lips, I fear it’s more likely it will be a cyclone again that will test the few precautions taken so far. Or that we have to organise another benefit concert... Image by Photobucket/I_Am_The_Walrus12

A Single Suitor Sticks

November 11, Singles’ Day in China, called 'Guang Gun Jie', literally ‘Bare Sticks Holiday’. Coming out of the head of students in the 1990s, it got its name because of the four ‘1s’ in 11-11. For breakfast on Singles' Day, singles often eat four so-called ‘Youtiao’, deep-fried dough sticks, representing the four ‘1s’ in 11-11 and 1 so-called ‘Baozi’, a steamed stuffed bun, representing the middle dot. On this day it’s the custom to have dinner with single friends, but having a blind date is on the menu as well. Some choose particularly this day to marry, or show affection to their only ‘1’. Image by Photobucket/chinneeq

Full And Fooled

‘An apple a day, keeps cravings at bay!’, that remark, and the logical story that followed, made me realize which way to look for natural appetite suppressants. It’s not the weight I’m really worried about, it’s the tummy that keeps me occupied. That story gave me a tool to kill one bird with one stone. Or should I say: to kill a stone (14 pounds), and feel a pretty bird again? Ingredients of that story and being beneficial ingredients to flatten the tummy, next to the well known intake of water: cucumber, spinach, cabbage and bok choy. All keep the craving away, because you’re stomach is full and fooled: they make your stomach believe it's full of calorie-rich foods. But in reality, you’re filling your stomach with foods that contain almost no calories or carbohydrates. You’re not adding calories to your intake! The body needs to work hard to digest, much more than there are calories in the food! And if that’s not enough: you take in lots of fibres that work as a bowel-regulator. Maybe soon when I slap my tummy it will sound solid and hard again, and not like some tired soft pillow? Image by Photobucket/applesbabe4ever

History: A Shred Of Socks

When does history start? According to a recent British survey a third of the answers was: ’a second ago’ which is philosophically interesting, even to a certain degree accurate, but not very realistic, when you’re in the midst of such a historical event? If I skip the majority of people saying it was ‘all over’ somewhere in the range of 10-50 years, I stumble upon the tiny group of people of 4 percent, thinking that history is all that happened before they themselves were born. But doesn’t that mean that history is with us all the time, that it never becomes real ‘history’? That it’s a thick coat that’s handed over from one generation to the other, eventually got holes in it, repaired, adjusted, transformed into something else useful, eventually, into let’s say ‘socks’? From there disappears, shred by shred, into oblivion? Maybe history is not that densely written page that we might think, but the opposite, the blank page? Image by Photobucket/Lunikchan

Shores And Sounds

So the winds have brought me back to the shores and sounds of North Carolina. The 200 miles long string of barrier islands layed out in front of them, has seen many famous name that set foot on it. Amerigo Vespucci anchored at Bight of Hatteras in 1497. Succeeded where Columbus failed. Sir Walter Raleigh founded the first colony on Roanoke Island in 1584. The disappearing of that same colony is still a mystery till this very day. Blackbeard’s ship ran aground near Beaufort, the Inner Banks, in 1718. Tales tell his treasure is still there. Finally, the Wright brothers used the far stretched beaches of Kitty Hawk in 1903. To get a first glimpse of what was a fisher area in those days, and would become, and still is, one of the most attractive destinations in the USA. Outer Banks vacation homes provide a guaranteed grand time to explore this region with so many faces and vistas, that one visit won’t be enough. And why would you shorten yourself and your family a second? I don’t give you much hope to find Blackbeard’s treasure, but the Outer Banks will give you a rich feeling none the less. Image by Photobucket/alsongbyrd

Maze Of Math

One of the most daunting tasks for a parent must be the guiding of a child in the maze of math. Even most adults won’t be thrilled to have a walk in that particular area. Let alone adolescents.

Where some (revived and updated) adequate Algebra help might not a bad idea for the first, it becomes advisable for the latter. If not for the first steps, for the second move, Algebra 2 help is of vital importance. Because for many parents this is the moment that the real struggle begins. How to understand the soon appearing Math problems coming their way, and give the right Math answers? 

What if the time available is not sufficient enough to achieve that basic understanding? Algebra tutoring online is an affordable answer to Algebra word problems and Math word problems. Always available for parent and child it provides a much better way on this tricky trip than ever before. Image by Photobucket/neih_87

Direct Drive To Digits

Within one single generation, millions of people across that immense North American continent, depending on expensive and labour consuming cable, got access to the same amount and quality of tv-channels, as in the suburban areas, thanks to Direct TV Deals with a dashing deal for the taking.

With fifteen years of experience and nationwide high quality coverage and customer services Direct TV Offers provide, next to crispy images, sharp cut rates as well.

And if that’s not enough, the overwhelming amount of channels, many of them in HD and span any field of entertainment you can think of, are there at Direct TV Packages with solutions like the satellite dish. Image by Photobucket/mtorrent

I See, I See...

November 8, the birthday of Hermann Rorschach (1884-1922) a Swiss psychiatrist and talented draftsman. Wondering why different people often saw entirely different things in the same inkblots he began to show them to schoolchildren and analyzed their responses. His Rorschach test is still occasionally defended and used by some psychologists, but its scientifically as sound as let’s say: pendulum reading, palmistry, feng shui and fortunetelling with reading tea leaves, coffee grounds or wine sediments. But I can see the potential of a mighty fine tool for some hours of laughter, I’ve nothing against that. Image by Photobucket/neomarvelbunny

High Definition Is Divine

I can snap up a few fingers, without much effort, each standing for a solid good reason for not buying hugely attractive but expensive ‘must-haves’. Funny thing is, that those exclamation marks of my own flesh are pulled down with the same ease by my meandering mind! Fortunately, with the help of some puff-excercises learned from a friend, who recently has become a proud mother, I leave most shops red-headed but unharmed!

Nevertheless, a dangerzone to me is the department store’s section of audio/video. I feel like a birdie hypnotized by the big-eyed snake when I pass those lined-up sharp images of exploding colours. There’s one particular place I fear, because I like it that much. Walking in that corridor of images and sounds is the cheapest ticket to the theatre I know of.

So far, for some reason I’ve managed to escape, to throw myself to the emergency exit. But if I’m not online for more than a week, please call 911. Image by Photobucket/AmandaMariie

When, What And Who

November 7, 1918, something that sounds ‘familiar’ to our 21st century strained ears, focused on and in anticipation with a global virus, got recognized. Known as the Spanish Flu, it spread to nearly every corner of the world. It lasted from March 1918 to June 1920. It’s estimated that anywhere from 50 to 100 million people got killed and an estimated 500 million infected. It was caused by an unusually virulent and deadly influenza A virus (subtype H1N1). Data so far have been inadequate to identify the geographic origin of the virus, and very likely always will be. 

The second wave of the pandemic was much deadlier than the first. Where the first wave showed typical classic flu signs, it were the sick and elderly who were most at risk. But in August, when the second wave began, the virus had mutated. This has been attributed to the circumstances of the First World War. While this war didn’t cause the flu, the massive troop gatherings and troop movements made it easier for soldiers, sailors, and civilian travelers to spread the disease quickly to communities worldwide. 

After the lethal second wave struck in autumn 1918, the disease died down abruptly. New cases almost dropped to nothing after the peak in the second wave. Most of its victims then had been healthy young adults, something that can be witnessed, more and more it seems, in these days. Is that a sign that we got the same devil at its tail again? Was it a wise thing, even for the right reason, to revive that particular influenza virus in a lab, for instance? We’ve been speculating and waiting for decades about the When, What and Who, let’s hope it will remain that way. That we’ll never find out. Image by Photobucket/bebazatarain

Fancy A Fan?

Do we know fans down here! Without them we wouldn’t sleep that well. Except of course with howling winds outdoors, we make use of fans. As long as ‘the power is with us’ that is. With that electric power gone, we should fall back to the very first fans from the 1860s and 70s that made use of running water, in conjunction with a turbine, to drive a system of belts which would turn the fan. But that’s really outdated and unpracticle. So, that’s a ‘no’. Much handier are (electrical) ceiling fans, invented by Philip Diehl in 1882. But fans only move air, unlike air conditioners that change temperature. Another reason to apt for aircon, if you can afford it, is that a fan’s breeze speeds the evaporation of perspiration on human skin. That sounds (and feels) good. But. Since the fan works directly on the body, rather than by changing the temperature of the air, it’s a waste of electricity to leave a ceiling fan on when no-one is around. But let’s be honest: most fans do look more impressive or fun than many aircon! Image by Photobucket/lalululopez

No Box For The Brave And Beautiful

Today, the year 1946, the birthday of American photographer Robert Mapplethorpe known for his large scaled black and whites and who died in 1989. One of his books was under prosecution under the terms of the Obscene Publications Act, defining obscenity as material to deprave and corrupt. Fortunately, like in ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’, the trial was unsuccessful, and came to an end. The slightly damaged book got returned and restored. Today also marks the first full year of presidency of Barack Obama. His sweeping away the dusty corners of the Bush administration, to restore the US of A, takes courage, determination and deserves support. I would say: ‘don’t let yourself get boxed in, Mr. President, hold on!’ Image by Photobucket/vidabo

New Customer, New Counter

Not much later than day one there was such a thing as a trade, people started to notice each others interests, habits and preferences. Targetting potential customers became a soon well established part of doing business. And more and more refined. From both sides; the merchant and his customer. You might say that interactivity isn’t a typical thing of our time. Not in the least. It has changed, moved on. Yes. Customers still walk by shops, get in and out, with or without the latest purchase. But there’s spotted a new buyer-on-the-block: one that doesn’t have a face. But has an outspoken profile of a buyer, with no doubt.

To interact with this one, live chat comes in. It still invites and greets the customer, but also provides the information once coming from a real direct eye-to-eye contact. How did he get here? Where is he coming from? What is he looking for? How can I help him? In the old days you could offer a cup of tea, a refreshment, to keep business within the four walls of your shop. But these invisible online consumers are the most impatient and demanding around, as quick as their computer's internet connection.

One sure thing though: this customer might be different in many ways, he still likes to feel he’s noticed, appreciated, secured and recognized the next time he visits. Like always: it’s a matter of providing all these things. Have the right merchandise, for the right price, in the right location, and the right staff. And you’re in business-as-usual. Image by Photobucket/GarryC55

Bits Of Power And Pleasure

What two pieces of silk handkerchiefs together with some pink ribbon, some cord and the dissatisfaction of a 23-year old girl are able to? To give a final push to what we today see ‘normal’: a bra. Till then, on the waves of time, women’s breasts have been considered the source of food, power, pleasure, disease and money. They have been accentuated, exposed, hidden, worshipped, cursed. Although the patent of the bra, today, the year 1914 by American Mary Phelps Jacob (1891-1970) wasn’t technically a bra yet: it didn’t offer breasts a lot of support, it was lightweighted, soft, comfortable and naturally separated the breasts, didn’t force them together. It wasn’t the straightjacket of a corset anymore of the previous 300 years. 

Since the early twentieth century, the bra has fully developed, but the waves haven’t ceased, they never do. It’s designers who rule the waves, like Chanel (flattened boyish look), or Frederick Mellinger’s push-up bra (Hollywood’s Pin-Ups). Some decades later, super skinny Twiggy and the burning of bra’s made them disappear from the surface, to rise again with Gaultier’s extravaganza and Madonna his icon. Today, the ocean seems to be calmed down. There’s a flash of bra-straps, you might like it, or not, but it’s small stuff, a rimple. Now you see it, now you don’t. But like with all silences, there’s a storm growing somewhere. So, hold your brassiere till then. Image by Photobucket/lacyjay1828

Howling Winds, Hurricane Lamps

Mr. T. Edison must be turning in his grave, if he could read this. When he demonstrated his lightbulb for the first time in 1879, he’s supposed to have said ‘we will make electricity so cheap that only the rich will burn candles’. Burning candles is what I’ve done many times these past weeks, but I’m far from rich! With all the current power losses, many of us here in the Philippines are using candles again. It doesn’t generate more romantic dinners-for-two. That’s a set-back for starters. Unless you fancy a Dinner Dansant with Death? It boosts the danger of candle accidents. That’s more serious stuff. I’m thinking of getting some candle sconces, not because they make me think of the old-days-past, but I know some of them have a hurricane lamp. That protection for tipping over, cause a fire, and that’s easy in a crammed place like this, will make me feel a lot more at ease. Despite the howling wind outside. Image by Photobucket/Carlea_2007

Libido’s Liberation

November 2, 1960, the day that Penguin Books was not guilty of obscenity in the case of the publication of D.H. Lawrence’s ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’. Till that day banned from the UK. The decision to publish Lady Chatterley's Lover boosted Penguin’s name of fame. It has been published in three different (less censored) versions. The novel was at the time unpublished in the United Kingdom (except an underground edition issued by Mandrake Press in 1929). The 1959 act had made it possible for publishers to escape conviction if they could show that a work was of literary merit. One of the objections was to the frequent use of the f-word. Penguin's victory in the case heralded the end to the censorship of books, and the liberation of literature, in the UK.

Today’s also the birthday of Shere Hite (1942), author of many books about (female) sexuality. Her struggle and of scores of her questionnaired women (1976), and later men (1981), to find a way to utter the pains, frustrations and needs in sexlife, without being seen as abnormal, can be related to the struggle of Lady Chatterley’s Lover main character. And yes, in both cases, the struggle of both sexes. Image by Photobucket/elizabethhawkins

Saints, Scales And Shakespeare

November 1, All Saints Day and the Day of the Dead. And for sure it was a day of dead in the year 1755, counting between 60,000 and 90,000 dead bodies when an earthquake and tsunami hit the Portugese capitol of Lisbon. Estimated a ‘smashing’ 9 at the Richter Scale it also overwhelmed the coasts of Northern Africa and the whole of Europe with 20 metres high waves that even got across the Atlantic. In those days people must have felt small, vulnerable and humble. It’s like Shakespeare said in The Tempest, that got its first performance in London, today, the year 1611:... “we are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep”. Image by Photobucket/thorhammer24

ABS: A Big Secret

With the irregularity of practically everything you can think of: sleeping, eating and working (to mention the Big Three), I have doubts I need such a thing as a new weight loss pill. With a few exceptions, people who haven’t seen me in the past couple of weeks make me a compliment and suspect a radical change of mind of yours truly. Resulting in a change of (waist)line. To the handful of insiders that know my lazyness, or perhaps even my allergy to work out, it must be due to a new diet. Both conceptions are obviously wrong, but as long as you can keep a secret, you won’t hear me as well. Image by Photobucket/swobbles14