I was packing for my business trip and my 3-year-old
daughter was having a wonderful time playing on the bed.
At one point she said, "Daddy, look at this," and stuck out
two of her fingers. Trying to keep her entertained, I
reached out and stuck her tiny fingers in my mouth and
said, "Daddy's gonna eat your fingers!" pretending to
eat them before I rushed out of the room again.
When I returned, my daughter was standing on the
bed staring at her fingers with a devastated look on her
face. I said, "What's wrong, honey?" She replied, "What
happened to my booger?"
Laugh Like There's No Tomorrow: Over 2,000 jokes from the Internet
From our upcoming book compiled by Richard L. Weaver II
Laugh is setup with just over 4 jokes a day, all 365 days, and can be read in any order!
Expected Release Date: Spring 2010
Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Random observations for those planning a Caribbean cruise
There is no order to these observations; I wrote them down as they occurred. Also, they were written as reminders for me since I know that I will be cruising the Caribbean again one day. I keep a journal when I cruise (or travel anywhere), and throughout my journals I make random observations as well that are specifically designed to alert me the next time I read the notes.
1) Take plenty of sunscreen. Every place you go is hot, the sun is intense, and most places are humid as well. If you are wearing sandals make sure you protect your feet from the sun as well as the back of your neck. I remember being on the deck of a car/passenger ship between the northern and southern islands in New Zealand. Although we were warned of the dangers of the sun, the cool breeze and clouds seemed to ameliorate its effects — temporarily. Not true! We (meaning my family members and myself) received severe, very uncomfortable burns.
2) Most ports — meaning countries — are desperate for tourist dollars and, thus, watch out for tourist safety and happiness. You find little trouble in most ports, but travelers must always be careful. This means you carry your wallet in your front pocket where you can keep your hand on it, carry your driver’s license with its picture and leave your passport in the safe in your room, and refrain from going into places that look unsafe. Use your head. (Everywhere pickpockets have been active, we have been warned to be extra careful.)
3) If you carry drinking water and snacks in a fanny pack or back pack, you don’t have to be dependent on local places for drinks or food. We carry our own empty plastic 10-12 ounce plastic bottles that we fill with ship water before going ashore. When rooms have their own refrigerators, you can even carry cold water by wrapping it in a towel. Also, there are places like McDonald’s, Burger King, and KFC in most ports that can be trusted for their food, water, and “clean” restrooms. (“Clean” is a relative term.)
4) If you purchase items from local vendors, bargaining is expected and, inevitably, you can reduce the cost of various items. Another theory is that the local people in these countries are much poorer than we are and need the tourist dollar far more than we would. For that reason (and to avoid having to bargain), you can pay the asking price (knowing that it is a bit high). The important thing is that you are happy with your purchase. (It seems, after our fourth Caribbean cruise, that all shops will bargain.)
5) Pack light. On sea days, for men, bermudas, sandals, and a tee shirt is all that is needed. The “smart” casual style requested by cruise lines for evening dining, means slacks and a knit shirt with a collar. You’ll need comfortable shoes for walking, plus “dress” shoes for the restaurant and for the evening.
6) You really don’t need a great deal of background study and preparation for understanding most islands/countries. The cruise line offers brochures on each port that includes general information (e.g., capitol, location, size, population, language, currency, time zone, and tourist information). The brochure offers a map of the location of the island as well as a history, information on how to get to town, store hours, bank and post office hours, and emergency numbers. The brochures we receive include a close-up map of the main town/city of each island as well as recommended stores and restaurants — more information than most people need, want, or even will read.
Now, it must be said here that by not taking any excursion away from the port area, you get a very skewed impression of an island/country. A port city doth not a country make! On most cruises we schedule an excursion of each of the new places we visit (e.g., on our Mediterranean cruise we took an excursion at every port of call except for the small Greek island of Mykonos. That meant nine excursions (two on our two-day stay in Rome) for ten ports — with none in Barcelona nor in Venice, our beginning and ending points.
7) Some useful items to take with you that we have discovered during our travels include books, writing materials, magazines, a hat, back pack, fanny pack, plenty of single dollar bills (you can get more onboard ship), some U.S. change, walking shoes, band aids (for blisters or for protecting blisters), flip flops (especially if you plan to swim), and plastic bags for protecting lotions from spilling, for taking food from the cafeteria for room snacks or excursions (e.g., we took muffins, cookies, and fresh fruit for our walks into town), and for keeping food from the souvenirs we put in the back pack as we travel.
8) Do not bring a knife, letter opener, or any sharp metal object (e.g., a nail file). Sitting near a woman in the Princess Theater, we overheard her say she bought a rather fancy letter opener for a friend, and they confiscated it at the runway and told her she could retrieve it in Fort Lauderdale (at the end of our cruise). I showed her the pocket knife I had been taking through security (you and everything you carry with you are scanned every time you board the ship). I have a steel-cased glasses case which goes through the scanner on top of my backpack. The small knife conveniently fits into the case along with my dark glasses.
As a short aside, you may wonder why I even need a small pocket knife? I must cut apples or corn-on-the-cob before eating them because I cannot bite into them with my expensive, front-teeth implants. I have found having the small pocket knife has been an invaluable tool.
9) Plan to use the room safe for any valuables. While on board, we keep our wallets and money there. It is where we store our passports at all times. It is easy to use; you need a four-number sequence to open or close it; we use our house number because it is easy to remember.
10) If your goal is not to gain weight on a cruise, one way to avoid some of the calories is to avoid all bread and potatoes (and most desserts!). Your ship cook will make it very tempting! By avoiding bread and potatoes, you can concentrate on the main foods. It is also easy to avoid all deep-fried foods and pasta. If you are thinking as you read this that it is precisely these items that make up the cruise-food you expect for the cost of your cruise, then you will check onto your ship as a cruiser, but you will surely leave it as cargo!
There are, of course, many potential “random observations,” and just as each set of my own might be different if written at different times, each person will have a different set as well. For example, take naps, avoid ship charge-card expenses (they add up fast — especially drinks), and book your own excursions off the ship, might be some additional “observations.” These are just some thoughts to help make your Caribbean cruise more enjoyable and more successful. You just have to be prepared for pleasure!
-----
At Cruise Travel Vacations, just before you get to the direct sales-pitch information, the site includes some useful suggestions especially designed for first-time cruisers.
At Cruise Critic, there are links to many useful websites. For example, there are quick links to: Cruise Deals, Cruise Ship Reviews, Community, Cruising Regions, Cruise Styles, and US Homeports.
-----
Copyright April 2010 by And Then Some Publishing L.L.C.
1) Take plenty of sunscreen. Every place you go is hot, the sun is intense, and most places are humid as well. If you are wearing sandals make sure you protect your feet from the sun as well as the back of your neck. I remember being on the deck of a car/passenger ship between the northern and southern islands in New Zealand. Although we were warned of the dangers of the sun, the cool breeze and clouds seemed to ameliorate its effects — temporarily. Not true! We (meaning my family members and myself) received severe, very uncomfortable burns.
2) Most ports — meaning countries — are desperate for tourist dollars and, thus, watch out for tourist safety and happiness. You find little trouble in most ports, but travelers must always be careful. This means you carry your wallet in your front pocket where you can keep your hand on it, carry your driver’s license with its picture and leave your passport in the safe in your room, and refrain from going into places that look unsafe. Use your head. (Everywhere pickpockets have been active, we have been warned to be extra careful.)
3) If you carry drinking water and snacks in a fanny pack or back pack, you don’t have to be dependent on local places for drinks or food. We carry our own empty plastic 10-12 ounce plastic bottles that we fill with ship water before going ashore. When rooms have their own refrigerators, you can even carry cold water by wrapping it in a towel. Also, there are places like McDonald’s, Burger King, and KFC in most ports that can be trusted for their food, water, and “clean” restrooms. (“Clean” is a relative term.)
4) If you purchase items from local vendors, bargaining is expected and, inevitably, you can reduce the cost of various items. Another theory is that the local people in these countries are much poorer than we are and need the tourist dollar far more than we would. For that reason (and to avoid having to bargain), you can pay the asking price (knowing that it is a bit high). The important thing is that you are happy with your purchase. (It seems, after our fourth Caribbean cruise, that all shops will bargain.)
5) Pack light. On sea days, for men, bermudas, sandals, and a tee shirt is all that is needed. The “smart” casual style requested by cruise lines for evening dining, means slacks and a knit shirt with a collar. You’ll need comfortable shoes for walking, plus “dress” shoes for the restaurant and for the evening.
6) You really don’t need a great deal of background study and preparation for understanding most islands/countries. The cruise line offers brochures on each port that includes general information (e.g., capitol, location, size, population, language, currency, time zone, and tourist information). The brochure offers a map of the location of the island as well as a history, information on how to get to town, store hours, bank and post office hours, and emergency numbers. The brochures we receive include a close-up map of the main town/city of each island as well as recommended stores and restaurants — more information than most people need, want, or even will read.
Now, it must be said here that by not taking any excursion away from the port area, you get a very skewed impression of an island/country. A port city doth not a country make! On most cruises we schedule an excursion of each of the new places we visit (e.g., on our Mediterranean cruise we took an excursion at every port of call except for the small Greek island of Mykonos. That meant nine excursions (two on our two-day stay in Rome) for ten ports — with none in Barcelona nor in Venice, our beginning and ending points.
7) Some useful items to take with you that we have discovered during our travels include books, writing materials, magazines, a hat, back pack, fanny pack, plenty of single dollar bills (you can get more onboard ship), some U.S. change, walking shoes, band aids (for blisters or for protecting blisters), flip flops (especially if you plan to swim), and plastic bags for protecting lotions from spilling, for taking food from the cafeteria for room snacks or excursions (e.g., we took muffins, cookies, and fresh fruit for our walks into town), and for keeping food from the souvenirs we put in the back pack as we travel.
8) Do not bring a knife, letter opener, or any sharp metal object (e.g., a nail file). Sitting near a woman in the Princess Theater, we overheard her say she bought a rather fancy letter opener for a friend, and they confiscated it at the runway and told her she could retrieve it in Fort Lauderdale (at the end of our cruise). I showed her the pocket knife I had been taking through security (you and everything you carry with you are scanned every time you board the ship). I have a steel-cased glasses case which goes through the scanner on top of my backpack. The small knife conveniently fits into the case along with my dark glasses.
As a short aside, you may wonder why I even need a small pocket knife? I must cut apples or corn-on-the-cob before eating them because I cannot bite into them with my expensive, front-teeth implants. I have found having the small pocket knife has been an invaluable tool.
9) Plan to use the room safe for any valuables. While on board, we keep our wallets and money there. It is where we store our passports at all times. It is easy to use; you need a four-number sequence to open or close it; we use our house number because it is easy to remember.
10) If your goal is not to gain weight on a cruise, one way to avoid some of the calories is to avoid all bread and potatoes (and most desserts!). Your ship cook will make it very tempting! By avoiding bread and potatoes, you can concentrate on the main foods. It is also easy to avoid all deep-fried foods and pasta. If you are thinking as you read this that it is precisely these items that make up the cruise-food you expect for the cost of your cruise, then you will check onto your ship as a cruiser, but you will surely leave it as cargo!
There are, of course, many potential “random observations,” and just as each set of my own might be different if written at different times, each person will have a different set as well. For example, take naps, avoid ship charge-card expenses (they add up fast — especially drinks), and book your own excursions off the ship, might be some additional “observations.” These are just some thoughts to help make your Caribbean cruise more enjoyable and more successful. You just have to be prepared for pleasure!
-----
At Cruise Travel Vacations, just before you get to the direct sales-pitch information, the site includes some useful suggestions especially designed for first-time cruisers.
At Cruise Critic, there are links to many useful websites. For example, there are quick links to: Cruise Deals, Cruise Ship Reviews, Community, Cruising Regions, Cruise Styles, and US Homeports.
-----
Copyright April 2010 by And Then Some Publishing L.L.C.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Day #180 - Be careful of any advice you give.
SMOERs: Words of Wisdom
"Old men are fond of giving good advice, to console themselves for being no longer in a position to give bad examples." ---La Rochefoucauld
Day #180 - Be careful of any advice you give.
SMOERs: Self-Motivation, Optimism, Encouragement Rules! - Daily Reminders for Outstanding Living
An everyday guide full of quotations to uplift your spirits.
Free 30-Day sample: smoers.com
"Old men are fond of giving good advice, to console themselves for being no longer in a position to give bad examples." ---La Rochefoucauld
Day #180 - Be careful of any advice you give.
SMOERs: Self-Motivation, Optimism, Encouragement Rules! - Daily Reminders for Outstanding Living
An everyday guide full of quotations to uplift your spirits.
Free 30-Day sample: smoers.com
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
How to be Funny Part 3 and FeedBurner doesn't know what time it is. Does Google?
And Then Some Publishing News
Thank you to all our new subscribers! We've been working hard to bring you the best of what And Then Some Publishing is all about. Below are updates on the technical side of our blogs, books you need to check out, the release of Part 3 of Edgar E. Willis video series How to be Funny on Purpose, and a preview of Thursday's essay about random observations for those planning a cruise. This is fun... And Then Some!
Do you know what time it is? FeedBurner doesn't and neither does Google!
And Then Some Publishing, LLC has been working on shoring up the technical side of our blogs. Specifically, we've been working on the email delivery options. We have blogs running 5 days-a-week and it's come to our attention that our blog emails are arriving almost exactly 24 hours later than they should be.
We've adjusted our delivery options to no avail. Author Katherine Tyrrell of Making A Mark blog notes in her December 12, 2008 post, Feedburner doesn't know what time it is. Artist Robert Houston Sneed commented on her post and came up with this time standard: Google GMT = Google Manages Time.
That was 2008 and now it's 2010. Nothing has changed. And Then Some Publishing is going to run some tests to see if we can get our posts to land in our posts in your email close to when when we publish. Don't worry... you will get your And Then Some. We're just trying to figure out how to get your And Then Some faster! We would love to know how to fix the issue of getting FeedBurner to burn our feeds at the right time. If anyone has suggestions please leave a comment.
Video: How to be Funny on Purpose: An Anatomy of Humor, Part 3 of 5
Release date: March 1, 2010
Edgar E. Willis has been presenting the five part series, How to be Funny on Purpose on YouTube . Part 3 presents another stage in the evolution of jokes. Teach yourself how to trigger an audience, perceive an incongruity using a mismatch of language. Learn to plan a joke and prepare yourself for a spontaneous moment that can can take your joke to the next level.
Watch the first two videos on YouTube:
How to be Funny on Purpose: Part 1
How to be Funny on Purpose: Part 2
Don't forget to check out Edgar's book he penned at 96 years old! Civilian In an Ill-Fitting Uniform: A Memoir of World War II takes a different approach. Instead of proceeding chronologically, it focuses on how a civilian with no military experience, converted overnight into a naval officer, reacted to the strange new world of the navy. Get more information at EdgarEWillis.com.
Books and Book Reviews:
On Monday May 3, 2010 Book Club... And Then Some presents TWO book reviews:
Showing Up for Life: Thoughts on the Gifts of a Lifetime, by Bill Gates Sr. and
Feeling Good Together: The Secret of Making Troubled, Relationships Work, by David D. Burns.
Get the books now at Amazon or wait for the review on May 3, 2010:
Thoughts on the Gifts of a Lifetime
Feeling Good Together: The Secret of Making Troubled, Relationships Work
And Then Some Publishing's book, Relationship Rules: For Long-Term Happiness, Security, and Commitment. includes special chapters on self-disclosure, gender differences, conflict management, and the appendix on forgiveness focuses on issues that often create problems in relationships. The practical and specific ideas and suggestions in this book will assist relationship partners in facing these issues and resolving the problems they can cause. It is available now at Amazon.com. Don't forget... $1 of every Relationship Rules book goes to Find a Cure for breast cancer through Susan G. Komen for the cure!
Thursday's And Then Some Essay preview:
Random Observations for those Planning a Caribbean Cruise
by Richard L. Weaver II
Thursday’s essay, “Random Observations for those Planning a Caribbean Cruise,” is an essay that offers me reminders for the next time I cruise. It may offer you some reminders as well. These reminders are random notes that I write in the journal I always keep when I travel.
Excerpt:
If your goal is not to gain weight on a cruise, one way to avoid some of the calories is to avoid all bread and potatoes (and most desserts!). Your ship cook will make it very tempting! By avoiding bread and potatoes, you can concentrate on the main foods. It is also easy to avoid all deep-fried foods and pasta. If you are thinking as you read this that it is precisely these items that make up the cruise-food you expect for the cost of your cruise, then you will check onto your ship as a cruiser, but you will surely leave it as cargo!
And Then Some Works!
Thank you to all our new subscribers! We've been working hard to bring you the best of what And Then Some Publishing is all about. Below are updates on the technical side of our blogs, books you need to check out, the release of Part 3 of Edgar E. Willis video series How to be Funny on Purpose, and a preview of Thursday's essay about random observations for those planning a cruise. This is fun... And Then Some!
Do you know what time it is? FeedBurner doesn't and neither does Google!
And Then Some Publishing, LLC has been working on shoring up the technical side of our blogs. Specifically, we've been working on the email delivery options. We have blogs running 5 days-a-week and it's come to our attention that our blog emails are arriving almost exactly 24 hours later than they should be.
We've adjusted our delivery options to no avail. Author Katherine Tyrrell of Making A Mark blog notes in her December 12, 2008 post, Feedburner doesn't know what time it is. Artist Robert Houston Sneed commented on her post and came up with this time standard: Google GMT = Google Manages Time.
That was 2008 and now it's 2010. Nothing has changed. And Then Some Publishing is going to run some tests to see if we can get our posts to land in our posts in your email close to when when we publish. Don't worry... you will get your And Then Some. We're just trying to figure out how to get your And Then Some faster! We would love to know how to fix the issue of getting FeedBurner to burn our feeds at the right time. If anyone has suggestions please leave a comment.
Video: How to be Funny on Purpose: An Anatomy of Humor, Part 3 of 5
Release date: March 1, 2010
Edgar E. Willis has been presenting the five part series, How to be Funny on Purpose on YouTube . Part 3 presents another stage in the evolution of jokes. Teach yourself how to trigger an audience, perceive an incongruity using a mismatch of language. Learn to plan a joke and prepare yourself for a spontaneous moment that can can take your joke to the next level.
Watch the first two videos on YouTube:
How to be Funny on Purpose: Part 1
How to be Funny on Purpose: Part 2
Don't forget to check out Edgar's book he penned at 96 years old! Civilian In an Ill-Fitting Uniform: A Memoir of World War II takes a different approach. Instead of proceeding chronologically, it focuses on how a civilian with no military experience, converted overnight into a naval officer, reacted to the strange new world of the navy. Get more information at EdgarEWillis.com.
Books and Book Reviews:
On Monday May 3, 2010 Book Club... And Then Some presents TWO book reviews:
Showing Up for Life: Thoughts on the Gifts of a Lifetime, by Bill Gates Sr. and
Feeling Good Together: The Secret of Making Troubled, Relationships Work, by David D. Burns.
Get the books now at Amazon or wait for the review on May 3, 2010:
Thoughts on the Gifts of a Lifetime
Feeling Good Together: The Secret of Making Troubled, Relationships Work
And Then Some Publishing's book, Relationship Rules: For Long-Term Happiness, Security, and Commitment. includes special chapters on self-disclosure, gender differences, conflict management, and the appendix on forgiveness focuses on issues that often create problems in relationships. The practical and specific ideas and suggestions in this book will assist relationship partners in facing these issues and resolving the problems they can cause. It is available now at Amazon.com. Don't forget... $1 of every Relationship Rules book goes to Find a Cure for breast cancer through Susan G. Komen for the cure!
Thursday's And Then Some Essay preview:
Random Observations for those Planning a Caribbean Cruise
by Richard L. Weaver II
Thursday’s essay, “Random Observations for those Planning a Caribbean Cruise,” is an essay that offers me reminders for the next time I cruise. It may offer you some reminders as well. These reminders are random notes that I write in the journal I always keep when I travel.
Excerpt:
If your goal is not to gain weight on a cruise, one way to avoid some of the calories is to avoid all bread and potatoes (and most desserts!). Your ship cook will make it very tempting! By avoiding bread and potatoes, you can concentrate on the main foods. It is also easy to avoid all deep-fried foods and pasta. If you are thinking as you read this that it is precisely these items that make up the cruise-food you expect for the cost of your cruise, then you will check onto your ship as a cruiser, but you will surely leave it as cargo!
And Then Some Works!
Monday, April 26, 2010
Twitterville: How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods
Book Club... And Then Some!
Twitterville: How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods
by Shel Israel
Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
In the introduction, Israel writes, “There are several books that will tell you how to use Twitter and why you should. This book does a little of both, but neither is my central focus. I share with you stories of people using Twitter in the home office and in the global enterprise. People tweet to raise money for causes; to make government more responsive; to find and distribute news; to build personal or business networks; or just kill a little time with people you enjoy” (p. 6).
His theory is, rather than providing a simple “how to” book, people learn best from other people’s stories, so Israel crams his book full of stories, and he “argues the case for using social media instead of ads” to market a business. Israel spends more time with the current and potential business uses of Twitter than he does with personal uses.
It is through Twitter that Israel obtained three-fourths of the stories he shares. He “posted on Twitter what [he] was covering, and requested people tell [him] good stories on the various topics...” (P. 8). What his stories reveal and what impressed Israel, is that “Twitter lets us behave online more closely to how we do in the tangible world than anything that has ever preceded it” (p. 10).
The first chapters discuss the birth and evolution of Twitter or, as Israel calls it, “Migration of the Full Whale” (p. 27). These chapters offer an appropriate foundation for understanding the stories within these chapters and those that follow.
The writing is excellent and very readable, the descriptions clear, concise, and detailed, and the examples vivid, engaging, and valuable. From each story you gain a strong identification with the subject of the vignette; thus, there is a delightful immediacy you develop as a reader on a continuing basis.
As “the most rapidly adopted communication tool in history, going from zero to ten million users in just over two years" (front flyleaf), this is a book that deserves attention. First, it marks an important moment in the history of communication. Second, it demonstrates the role that technology plays in our society. Third, it reveals and underscores the importance and need for effective, instant communication. Fourth, it indicates (even confirms) how quickly people take to new forms of communication—or new forms of technology. Not just technofiles—everyone! What an insight! What an amazing revolution! What a great book this is.
Get the book now at Amazon.com Twitterville: How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods
Twitterville: How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods
by Shel Israel
Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
In the introduction, Israel writes, “There are several books that will tell you how to use Twitter and why you should. This book does a little of both, but neither is my central focus. I share with you stories of people using Twitter in the home office and in the global enterprise. People tweet to raise money for causes; to make government more responsive; to find and distribute news; to build personal or business networks; or just kill a little time with people you enjoy” (p. 6).
His theory is, rather than providing a simple “how to” book, people learn best from other people’s stories, so Israel crams his book full of stories, and he “argues the case for using social media instead of ads” to market a business. Israel spends more time with the current and potential business uses of Twitter than he does with personal uses.
It is through Twitter that Israel obtained three-fourths of the stories he shares. He “posted on Twitter what [he] was covering, and requested people tell [him] good stories on the various topics...” (P. 8). What his stories reveal and what impressed Israel, is that “Twitter lets us behave online more closely to how we do in the tangible world than anything that has ever preceded it” (p. 10).
The first chapters discuss the birth and evolution of Twitter or, as Israel calls it, “Migration of the Full Whale” (p. 27). These chapters offer an appropriate foundation for understanding the stories within these chapters and those that follow.
The writing is excellent and very readable, the descriptions clear, concise, and detailed, and the examples vivid, engaging, and valuable. From each story you gain a strong identification with the subject of the vignette; thus, there is a delightful immediacy you develop as a reader on a continuing basis.
As “the most rapidly adopted communication tool in history, going from zero to ten million users in just over two years" (front flyleaf), this is a book that deserves attention. First, it marks an important moment in the history of communication. Second, it demonstrates the role that technology plays in our society. Third, it reveals and underscores the importance and need for effective, instant communication. Fourth, it indicates (even confirms) how quickly people take to new forms of communication—or new forms of technology. Not just technofiles—everyone! What an insight! What an amazing revolution! What a great book this is.
Get the book now at Amazon.com Twitterville: How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods
Friday, April 23, 2010
Friday's Laugh... And Then Some!
A shoplifter was caught red-handed trying to steal a watch
from an exclusive jewelry store.
"Listen," said the shoplifter, "I know you don't want any
trouble either. What do you say I just buy the watch and
we forget about this?"
The manager agreed and wrote up the sales slip.
The crook looked at the slip and said, "This is a little more
than I intended to spend. Can you show me something less
expensive?"
Laugh Like There's No Tomorrow: Over 2,000 jokes from the Internet
From our upcoming book compiled by Richard L. Weaver II
Laugh is setup with just over 4 jokes a day, all 365 days, and can be read in any order!
Expected Release Date: Fall 2010
from an exclusive jewelry store.
"Listen," said the shoplifter, "I know you don't want any
trouble either. What do you say I just buy the watch and
we forget about this?"
The manager agreed and wrote up the sales slip.
The crook looked at the slip and said, "This is a little more
than I intended to spend. Can you show me something less
expensive?"
Laugh Like There's No Tomorrow: Over 2,000 jokes from the Internet
From our upcoming book compiled by Richard L. Weaver II
Laugh is setup with just over 4 jokes a day, all 365 days, and can be read in any order!
Expected Release Date: Fall 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
“If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all”
A number of people who have cruised the Caribbean have said it: “If you’ve seen one Caribbean island, you’ve seen them all.” First, this statement is untrue. Each island has its own distinct culture, geography, and sights to see. But, if you are not interested in such distinctions, or, if your desire is simply to enjoy the cruise experience without leaving the ship, then such a comment is easy to throw off, for it is obvious you are not concerned about the veracity of the statement.
Having visited more than ten islands, there is no doubt this comment could apply to some of them — if you don’t explore beyond the port cities. For example, I might group the port cities of St. Vincent, Granada, St. Kitts, and LaRomana in that category for these port cities, unlike Aruba, Curacao, San Juan, Barbados, St. Martin, St. Thomas, and the Bahamas, are really under-developed when it comes to handling tourists in their port cities — and that is the criteria I am using to render this judgment. (I think most people who live in the Caribbean would find such a comment (“If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.”) offensive — like grouping all people of the same race or all people from the same country.
Now I have to admit there is a difference when you visit a port where you have previously been. In Grenada, for example, we walked from the ship through the Sendal tunnel — a tight squeeze, one way (for cars), pedestrian walkway — and followed Carenage Street around Carenage Harbour. This is a very scenic, but very local area of St. George’s.
Back through Sendal Tunnel (the local van drivers seem to enjoy scaring the hell out of tourists using the tunnel), we walked along Bruce Street/Melville Street (it changes names), to Branby Street, and then down just a block to Market Square where there is a large local market that sells food, spices, and a variety of local merchandise. We visited it last time we were in Granada. This time we stopped at Maggie’s Spice Shop and picked up 5 nutmeg seeds (for $1.00) and took a picture of Maggie.
There wasn’t a single person from the ship in this large market. Also, Maggie said she must get her nutmeg from other places because the nutmeg trees on Granada were destroyed by hurricane Ivan in 2004 (over 90% of the nutmeg crop was destroyed), and it takes from 7 to 15 years for nutmeg trees to mature. (Just an aside: one of the seeds had worms in it, and the sealed plastic bag in which we kept it was full of worms when we wanted string it to put on our Christmas tree the following winter.)
In walking from the market back to the terminal, my wife and I stopped in a shop looking for a Granada tee-shirt. Two local teenage boys saw me go into the shop, recognized me as a potential target, followed me into the shop with the intention of getting my wallet out of my back pocket. Although I didn’t notice it, my wife did, and she stepped between them and me, and seeing that their intention was foiled, they immediately left the shop.
I’ve said it before, but if your only impression of the island of Granada (and this goes for all other Caribbean islands/countries) is gained just from walking around the port city, you have a very partial, incomplete picture of the island/country. Our excursion the last time we visited Granada took us through a destroyed nutmeg plantation, a lush, beautiful arboretum, and the hilly, attractive interior of this volcanic island.
I watched as our ship left the port of Granada from the 18th deck of the Grand Princess, and as I watched it grow smaller, you could see the clear demarcation of a volcano. Clouds hung over the center part of the island as we left, and not only was it raining in the interior of the island, but there were several beautiful rainbows as well, adding to the luster and grandeur of the topography.
Granada is a beautiful island — the smallest independent country (just 21 miles long by 12 miles wide or only 133 square miles) in the world. It is part of a three-island nation that also includes Carriacou and Petite Martinique. Grenada lies 75 miles southwest of St. Vincent and 90 miles north of Trinidad. We visited Granada on this trip because of civil unrest in Trinidad.
Barbados, the island we visited immediately following Granada, is another island we visited on a previous trip. It is the eastern-most island of the West Indies lying 270 miles from the Venezuelan coast and about 100 miles east of St. Vincent. It is a 14 by 21 mile haven covering 166 square miles. While Grenada has only 93,000 people of African (75%), East Indian, and European descent., Barbados has 279,000, is one of the world’s most densely populated nations, has one of the highest standards of living and literacy rates in the world, and has a distribution of ethnic groups typical of the Eastern Caribbean; 90 percent of the population is black, 5 percent mulatto, and 5 percent white.
Looking at Barbados and Granada from 18 decks above the sea, Granada looked quaint, natural, and lovely. Barbados, on the other hand, looked flat, or, it might be more accurate to say, it is composed of low, undulating hills (four or five) that are fairly heavily treed. It doesn’t look nearly as flat or arid as Aruba or Curacao, however.
But, once again, this is an island where the impression you get from walking the city of Bridgetown (an austere, European, rather pricey, high-class (very British), expensive stores), is not an accurate picture of the island as a whole. Our excursion, the last time we were here, gave us an overview of the island, and the tour painted a much different (and more varied) portrait.
Our excursion on February 20, 2005, began at 8:25 a.m. There were 21 of us on an air conditioned bus, and we headed to the east coast through rolling hills and farmland. We saw a Giant Baobab Tree and stopped at Park’s Farm to see the Barbados Black Belly Shop. Next, we went to the Andromeda Garden. This 6-acre garden had orchids, palms, ferns, heliconia, hibiscus, bougainvillea, begonias, and the Toci Pot palm tree. We spent one hour in the garden with our guide, then went to the Bathsheba Rock formations, a place popular for surfing. We saw the last working windmill in the Western Hemisphere at Morgan Lewis, then the bus took us back to Bridgetown, the island’s capital, and to the docks where the ship was located. My point in detailing this excursion is to prove my point: you must venture out beyond the port cities if you want a complete feeling about what these islands are like.
Even though it is unfair to say, “if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all,” it might apply to the less-developed islands/countries and, too, if you do not venture beyond the port city. It is more accurate to say that each port is totally unique in its own way, but the more tourist-friendly they become, the more homogenous they appear. If your goal is to gain a sense of the local culture, ethnic diversity, and local merchandise and food, then it is clear where you need to go.
-----
This is a cool web site. It results from an essay contest in cooperation with the Caribbean Tourism Organization. Want to read what these essayists find unique on a variety of Caribbean islands? If you think “if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all,” then read this information.
At Cruise Critic: Cruise Reviews and News, there is at this site, specific information about Aruba, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Barth’s, St. Kitt’s, Granada, Antigua, and Dominica. By just reading the descriptions here, you will quickly come to the conclusion that the cliche, “if you’ve seen one Caribbean island, you’ve seen them all,” is way off base, unfair, and ignorant.
-----
Copyright April 2010 by And Then Some Publishing L.L.C.
Having visited more than ten islands, there is no doubt this comment could apply to some of them — if you don’t explore beyond the port cities. For example, I might group the port cities of St. Vincent, Granada, St. Kitts, and LaRomana in that category for these port cities, unlike Aruba, Curacao, San Juan, Barbados, St. Martin, St. Thomas, and the Bahamas, are really under-developed when it comes to handling tourists in their port cities — and that is the criteria I am using to render this judgment. (I think most people who live in the Caribbean would find such a comment (“If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.”) offensive — like grouping all people of the same race or all people from the same country.
Now I have to admit there is a difference when you visit a port where you have previously been. In Grenada, for example, we walked from the ship through the Sendal tunnel — a tight squeeze, one way (for cars), pedestrian walkway — and followed Carenage Street around Carenage Harbour. This is a very scenic, but very local area of St. George’s.
Back through Sendal Tunnel (the local van drivers seem to enjoy scaring the hell out of tourists using the tunnel), we walked along Bruce Street/Melville Street (it changes names), to Branby Street, and then down just a block to Market Square where there is a large local market that sells food, spices, and a variety of local merchandise. We visited it last time we were in Granada. This time we stopped at Maggie’s Spice Shop and picked up 5 nutmeg seeds (for $1.00) and took a picture of Maggie.
There wasn’t a single person from the ship in this large market. Also, Maggie said she must get her nutmeg from other places because the nutmeg trees on Granada were destroyed by hurricane Ivan in 2004 (over 90% of the nutmeg crop was destroyed), and it takes from 7 to 15 years for nutmeg trees to mature. (Just an aside: one of the seeds had worms in it, and the sealed plastic bag in which we kept it was full of worms when we wanted string it to put on our Christmas tree the following winter.)
In walking from the market back to the terminal, my wife and I stopped in a shop looking for a Granada tee-shirt. Two local teenage boys saw me go into the shop, recognized me as a potential target, followed me into the shop with the intention of getting my wallet out of my back pocket. Although I didn’t notice it, my wife did, and she stepped between them and me, and seeing that their intention was foiled, they immediately left the shop.
I’ve said it before, but if your only impression of the island of Granada (and this goes for all other Caribbean islands/countries) is gained just from walking around the port city, you have a very partial, incomplete picture of the island/country. Our excursion the last time we visited Granada took us through a destroyed nutmeg plantation, a lush, beautiful arboretum, and the hilly, attractive interior of this volcanic island.
I watched as our ship left the port of Granada from the 18th deck of the Grand Princess, and as I watched it grow smaller, you could see the clear demarcation of a volcano. Clouds hung over the center part of the island as we left, and not only was it raining in the interior of the island, but there were several beautiful rainbows as well, adding to the luster and grandeur of the topography.
Granada is a beautiful island — the smallest independent country (just 21 miles long by 12 miles wide or only 133 square miles) in the world. It is part of a three-island nation that also includes Carriacou and Petite Martinique. Grenada lies 75 miles southwest of St. Vincent and 90 miles north of Trinidad. We visited Granada on this trip because of civil unrest in Trinidad.
Barbados, the island we visited immediately following Granada, is another island we visited on a previous trip. It is the eastern-most island of the West Indies lying 270 miles from the Venezuelan coast and about 100 miles east of St. Vincent. It is a 14 by 21 mile haven covering 166 square miles. While Grenada has only 93,000 people of African (75%), East Indian, and European descent., Barbados has 279,000, is one of the world’s most densely populated nations, has one of the highest standards of living and literacy rates in the world, and has a distribution of ethnic groups typical of the Eastern Caribbean; 90 percent of the population is black, 5 percent mulatto, and 5 percent white.
Looking at Barbados and Granada from 18 decks above the sea, Granada looked quaint, natural, and lovely. Barbados, on the other hand, looked flat, or, it might be more accurate to say, it is composed of low, undulating hills (four or five) that are fairly heavily treed. It doesn’t look nearly as flat or arid as Aruba or Curacao, however.
But, once again, this is an island where the impression you get from walking the city of Bridgetown (an austere, European, rather pricey, high-class (very British), expensive stores), is not an accurate picture of the island as a whole. Our excursion, the last time we were here, gave us an overview of the island, and the tour painted a much different (and more varied) portrait.
Our excursion on February 20, 2005, began at 8:25 a.m. There were 21 of us on an air conditioned bus, and we headed to the east coast through rolling hills and farmland. We saw a Giant Baobab Tree and stopped at Park’s Farm to see the Barbados Black Belly Shop. Next, we went to the Andromeda Garden. This 6-acre garden had orchids, palms, ferns, heliconia, hibiscus, bougainvillea, begonias, and the Toci Pot palm tree. We spent one hour in the garden with our guide, then went to the Bathsheba Rock formations, a place popular for surfing. We saw the last working windmill in the Western Hemisphere at Morgan Lewis, then the bus took us back to Bridgetown, the island’s capital, and to the docks where the ship was located. My point in detailing this excursion is to prove my point: you must venture out beyond the port cities if you want a complete feeling about what these islands are like.
Even though it is unfair to say, “if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all,” it might apply to the less-developed islands/countries and, too, if you do not venture beyond the port city. It is more accurate to say that each port is totally unique in its own way, but the more tourist-friendly they become, the more homogenous they appear. If your goal is to gain a sense of the local culture, ethnic diversity, and local merchandise and food, then it is clear where you need to go.
-----
This is a cool web site. It results from an essay contest in cooperation with the Caribbean Tourism Organization. Want to read what these essayists find unique on a variety of Caribbean islands? If you think “if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all,” then read this information.
At Cruise Critic: Cruise Reviews and News, there is at this site, specific information about Aruba, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Barth’s, St. Kitt’s, Granada, Antigua, and Dominica. By just reading the descriptions here, you will quickly come to the conclusion that the cliche, “if you’ve seen one Caribbean island, you’ve seen them all,” is way off base, unfair, and ignorant.
-----
Copyright April 2010 by And Then Some Publishing L.L.C.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Day #179 - Tolerate ignorance.
SMOERs: Words of Wisdom
"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him." ---Galileo Galilei
Day #179 - Tolerate ignorance.
"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him." ---Galileo Galilei
Day #179 - Tolerate ignorance.
SMOERs: Self-Motivation, Optimism, Encouragement Rules! - Daily Reminders for Outstanding Living
An everyday guide full of quotations to uplift your spirits.
Free 30-Day sample: smoers.com
An everyday guide full of quotations to uplift your spirits.
Free 30-Day sample: smoers.com
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Thank you to who? It's Inspiration, Motivation, And Then Some Style!
And Then Some Publishing News
And Then Some Publishing has been spreading the word about And Then Some! How often do you hear someone describe their effort as, "We all worked hard, we worked as a team, everyone played their role... And Then Some!"
That my friends is the definition of inspiration and motivation. That get's the juices flowing. It's life... And Then Some!
Let's start with someone who found the And Then Some spirit through our blogs and websites creating the inspiration for his new blog. It's a standing ovation for Amit Grewel, who opened a new blog How to get the most in life And Then Some.. He read about the And Then Some philosophy, started a blog, and started writing.
Amit's blog has a great start and is definitely worth a read:
How to get the most in life And Then Some by Amit Grewel
----
And Then Some Publishing has 8 books from the And Then Some philosophy, public speaking, relationships, and baby books...
$1 of any And Then Some Publishing book sold through Amazon.com goes to Find a Cure for breast cancer.
Find books, blogs, and videos using the black and yellow header links at the top of every page.
-----
What's SMOERs?
Self-Motivation, Optimism, Encouragement, Rules
Quotes to uplift your spirits, with inspiration, and motivation!
The first 30-days of the book are free at SMOERs.com and now you can share on Facebook the first 30-days of the book. Pick your favorite daily quotes and share. It's that easy.
And don't forget... $1 of any SMOERs book sold through Amazon.com goes to Find a Cure for breast cancer.
-----
Thursday’s essay, “If You’ve Seen One, You’ve Seen Them All,” is an essay that focuses on some of the differences between Caribbean islands—especially Granada and Barbados. If all you do is stay on your cruise ship, or just visit the port area where your ship is docked, it is easy to make this statement..
Thursday's And Then Some Essay preview:
"If You've Seen One, You've Seen Them All"
by Richard L. Weaver II
Excerpt:
I’ve said it before, but if your only impression of the island of Granada (and this goes for all other Caribbean islands/countries) is gained just from walking around the port city, you have a very partial, incomplete picture of the island/country. Our excursion the last time we visited Granada took us through a destroyed nutmeg plantation, a lush, beautiful arboretum, and the hilly, attractive interior of this volcanic island.
Life... And Then Some!
And Then Some Publishing has been spreading the word about And Then Some! How often do you hear someone describe their effort as, "We all worked hard, we worked as a team, everyone played their role... And Then Some!"
That my friends is the definition of inspiration and motivation. That get's the juices flowing. It's life... And Then Some!
Let's start with someone who found the And Then Some spirit through our blogs and websites creating the inspiration for his new blog. It's a standing ovation for Amit Grewel, who opened a new blog How to get the most in life And Then Some.. He read about the And Then Some philosophy, started a blog, and started writing.
Amit's blog has a great start and is definitely worth a read:
How to get the most in life And Then Some by Amit Grewel
----
And Then Some Publishing has 8 books from the And Then Some philosophy, public speaking, relationships, and baby books...
AND Guess What?
$1 of any And Then Some Publishing book sold through Amazon.com goes to Find a Cure for breast cancer.
Find books, blogs, and videos using the black and yellow header links at the top of every page.
-----
SMOERs.com
Did you know? SMOERs.com has been updated and we have a new blog.What's SMOERs?
Self-Motivation, Optimism, Encouragement, Rules
Quotes to uplift your spirits, with inspiration, and motivation!
The first 30-days of the book are free at SMOERs.com and now you can share on Facebook the first 30-days of the book. Pick your favorite daily quotes and share. It's that easy.
And don't forget... $1 of any SMOERs book sold through Amazon.com goes to Find a Cure for breast cancer.
-----
Thursday’s essay, “If You’ve Seen One, You’ve Seen Them All,” is an essay that focuses on some of the differences between Caribbean islands—especially Granada and Barbados. If all you do is stay on your cruise ship, or just visit the port area where your ship is docked, it is easy to make this statement..
Thursday's And Then Some Essay preview:
"If You've Seen One, You've Seen Them All"
by Richard L. Weaver II
Excerpt:
I’ve said it before, but if your only impression of the island of Granada (and this goes for all other Caribbean islands/countries) is gained just from walking around the port city, you have a very partial, incomplete picture of the island/country. Our excursion the last time we visited Granada took us through a destroyed nutmeg plantation, a lush, beautiful arboretum, and the hilly, attractive interior of this volcanic island.
Life... And Then Some!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Renegade: The Making of a President
Renegade: The Making of a President
by Richard Wolffe
Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
Whether you followed the 2008 election campaign or not, whether you were a Barack Obama supporter or not, this an outstanding narrative worth reading. If you enjoy politics and, especially, if you find “behind the scenes” stories and revelations both interesting and entertaining, this book will hold your attention. Wolffe, a writer for Newsweek and a political analyst for MSNBC, is a lively, well-informed, clear, and concise writer. The insights into the political campaign, the twists and turns that Obama’s team negotiated, and the way his public and private obsession with Hillary Clinton wove in and out during all aspects of the campaign, make for fascinating—even compelling—reading. If you are a political junkie, or if you’ve enjoyed such writing as Theodore White’s The Making of a President, you will hold Wolffe’s book in high regard.
It is fortunate for readers that Wolffe adds his own asides and insights throughout the book, just as he does in his commentaries on MSNBC, and the additional bits of humor, along with the indented quotations, direct dialogue quoted from members of the Obama campaign staff (in addition to dialogue by Obama himself), and the expressions of feelings and emotions all add to the clear characterizations you acquire of the primary characters of his campaign: Michelle Obama, David Axelrod, Robert Gibbs, Valerie Jarrett, Marty Nesbitt, David Plouffe, Pete Rouse, and Eric Whitaker.
What is amazing about this book is first, how he was encouraged to write it by Barack Obama himself. Second, how much access he had to the future president. Wolffe was “one of a small handful of reporters to have a front-row seat from the very beginning: from his announcement in Springfield, to a summer and winter in Iowa, through the white-knuckle ride of the primates and the heavyweight contest of the general” (p. 329).
Wolffe “spent the best part of a year inside campaign planes, buses, and hotels” (p. 335). Insights, observations, and author’s conclusions were based on enormous amounts of time within the campaign itself. Wolffe writes in the acknowledgments, “...Barack Obama gave his time expansively, shared his thoughts freely, and planted the seeds of this book” (p. 335). There would be no way this book could come into existence without this.
If you do not know or haven’t known who Barack Obama is, why he thinks or acts like he does, or what his plans are for the future (clearly expressed and repeatedly highlighted throughout the campaign), there is no point in guessing. Read this book. Yes, it is about the 2008 presidential campaign, but it just as surely about the man himself. It is a terrific book!
Get the book now at Amazon.com Renegade: The Making of a President
by Richard Wolffe
Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
Whether you followed the 2008 election campaign or not, whether you were a Barack Obama supporter or not, this an outstanding narrative worth reading. If you enjoy politics and, especially, if you find “behind the scenes” stories and revelations both interesting and entertaining, this book will hold your attention. Wolffe, a writer for Newsweek and a political analyst for MSNBC, is a lively, well-informed, clear, and concise writer. The insights into the political campaign, the twists and turns that Obama’s team negotiated, and the way his public and private obsession with Hillary Clinton wove in and out during all aspects of the campaign, make for fascinating—even compelling—reading. If you are a political junkie, or if you’ve enjoyed such writing as Theodore White’s The Making of a President, you will hold Wolffe’s book in high regard.
It is fortunate for readers that Wolffe adds his own asides and insights throughout the book, just as he does in his commentaries on MSNBC, and the additional bits of humor, along with the indented quotations, direct dialogue quoted from members of the Obama campaign staff (in addition to dialogue by Obama himself), and the expressions of feelings and emotions all add to the clear characterizations you acquire of the primary characters of his campaign: Michelle Obama, David Axelrod, Robert Gibbs, Valerie Jarrett, Marty Nesbitt, David Plouffe, Pete Rouse, and Eric Whitaker.
What is amazing about this book is first, how he was encouraged to write it by Barack Obama himself. Second, how much access he had to the future president. Wolffe was “one of a small handful of reporters to have a front-row seat from the very beginning: from his announcement in Springfield, to a summer and winter in Iowa, through the white-knuckle ride of the primates and the heavyweight contest of the general” (p. 329).
Wolffe “spent the best part of a year inside campaign planes, buses, and hotels” (p. 335). Insights, observations, and author’s conclusions were based on enormous amounts of time within the campaign itself. Wolffe writes in the acknowledgments, “...Barack Obama gave his time expansively, shared his thoughts freely, and planted the seeds of this book” (p. 335). There would be no way this book could come into existence without this.
If you do not know or haven’t known who Barack Obama is, why he thinks or acts like he does, or what his plans are for the future (clearly expressed and repeatedly highlighted throughout the campaign), there is no point in guessing. Read this book. Yes, it is about the 2008 presidential campaign, but it just as surely about the man himself. It is a terrific book!
Get the book now at Amazon.com Renegade: The Making of a President
Friday, April 16, 2010
Friday's Laugh... And Then Some!
Doctor, you were right when you said you'd have me
on my feet and walking in no time.
That's good, John; when did you start walking?
When I got your bill, Doctor. I had to sell my car to pay.
Laugh Like There's No Tomorrow: Over 2,000 jokes from the Internet
From our upcoming book compiled by Richard L. Weaver II
Laugh is setup with just over 4 jokes a day, all 365 days, and can be read in any order!
Expected Release Date: Fall 2010
on my feet and walking in no time.
That's good, John; when did you start walking?
When I got your bill, Doctor. I had to sell my car to pay.
Laugh Like There's No Tomorrow: Over 2,000 jokes from the Internet
From our upcoming book compiled by Richard L. Weaver II
Laugh is setup with just over 4 jokes a day, all 365 days, and can be read in any order!
Expected Release Date: Fall 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
The St. Vincent Incident
We did not engage an “official” Princess-supported excursion on the island of St. Vincent because my wife has a cousin, Ben, who lives outside Toronto, Canada, and winters on the island for four months every year. He and his wife, Sheila, agreed to be our hosts and guides during our seven-hour stay. We met them as they drove through the dock gates in their little, red Toyota Ben bought on the Internet. They loaded us into the back seat, and we were off.
After a brief tour of Kingstown, the capital of St. Vincent, we headed toward the leeward side and to their home. Their home will be located (in 2011) on the other side of a massive new airport runway being built to accommodate the biggest jet liners. The many small mountains in the area are being leveled, homes in the way are being destroyed, roads are being diverted, and the geography and ecology of the area is being radically altered. Their home will sit near the end of the runway where jets are decelerating for their forthcoming landing.
After lunch at their home and additional sightseeing on the northern end of St. Vincent, we drove beyond the airport project to a small road that leads up to the volcano. St. Vincent is a volcanic island, and the still active volcano dominates the northern third of the island. It last erupted in 1973, and the destruction it caused is still evident in the small villages you pass along the main road on the northern end.
Ben and Sheila turned left onto the small road, looked into the back seat, and asked us if we wanted to go up. Without hesitation, we took their obvious lead and said, “Sure.”
The single-lane road was heavily rutted, full of pot holes, and rough. It went up through an active banana plantation where large bunches of bananas were wrapped in tubular poly vinylchloride (PVC), blue plastic to enhance fruit development, resist bad weather and sunburn, and avoid blemishes. Workers were evident on both sides of the car as we progressed up to a small parking lot where the trail to the volcano began.
Ben was surprised there were no vans carrying excursioners from our ship. The government was building a small picnic pavillion and restrooms, but they were far from finished and there were no workers present. A single, old picnic table sat where the trail into the lush growth began, and a native St. Vincensian was sitting there, his pack on the table’s seat and a large, well-worn machete showing from within it. We all engaged in informal chit-chat with him, and he not only suggested a place where we could take a better picture of the volcano, but he introduced me to the small pear-like fruit from the tree under which the table was located.
While we were talking, an old white car came up to the parking lot, turned around quickly and headed back down the mountain. We thought nothing about it nor about the fellow at the table walking down the road from the parking lot.
Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, the fellow with whom we had been talking and a second native fellow (this time with no front teeth) came walking up the road to the parking lot. The new fellow carried a very heavy backpack on his head. Clearly the two native fellows knew one another, and we chatted with both of them as the fellow threw his backpack down onto the picnic table and unzipped it. Inside were large brick-like, rectangular blocks wrapped in heavy dark green plastic. My wife thought the fellows were especially concerned about keeping their clothes dry for in our talks with the two of them, they said they planned to hike the trail up and over the ridge to the other side.
Because we were in a hurry to get back to the ship by 4:30, we all got back into Ben’s car and headed down the mountain road only to find the white car that had come up and into the parking lot, had crashed off the left side of the road, blocking the road completely. Just beyond the car was a small police van, and five police officers were already out surveying the car. The female police officer had just found a cell phone and was waving it in the air.
Just as we could not proceed down the mountain, the police could not come up. Ben explained to the police that we needed to get by the car so we could get back to the cruise ship.
There was an additional dilemma as the officers tried to move the car. The steering column was locked, so when the police officers tried moving it, they could not get it out of the road. It was clear Ben and I needed to help. I ordered the police to get stones to put under the back tires, then it was decided we needed to lift the back of the car out farther onto the road. On the count of three by one of the police officers, all seven of us lifted the back of the car and moved it five inches. We did this about five times which improved the turning radius so the car could be pushed off the road. Expanding the turning radius worked, the car was pushed aside, the officers drove their van alongside the damaged car, and the road was clear for us to pass.
It turns out the police officers were part of the D.E.A. (Drug Enforcement Agency), and they told us they had been following this fellow. The fellow with the backpack was carrying bricks of marijuana worth, according to Ben, somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000 (street value), and knowing the police were blocked from coming up, they chatted leisurely with us.
We proceeded down the narrow access road to the highway to get back to the ship. People in St. Vincent drive poorly. The main road is a narrow highway with many hills and turns, and most of the road is marked by a solid white line, although cars pass randomly solid line or not. One black car passed us, and when we turned the corner ahead, he had just crashed into an oncoming car and, thus, blocked the main road. With no police there yet, and the accident still fresh, we crept around the crashed vehicle on the far left and soon after that encountered a car with an “L” on the back. Ben said the “L” meant “learner,” and, by law, could not go faster than 20 miles per hour. We were finally able to get around this car only to find ourselves behind a small bus full of older people. Determining that it was an excursion from the ship, we felt a bit relieved, even though the time for getting back to the ship was tight. We arrived at the dock at 4:25, just in time to wave goodbye to Ben and Sheila, show our identification, make it through the gates, and hurry up the gangway onto the ship.
In the end, we had to compliment our hosts for having “arranged” such an exciting incident. We were told, in retrospect, that the cultivation of marijuana in St. Vincent is a common phenomena, and its exportation helps support a very poor nation and needy farmers.
-----
At id 21 insights, an essay by Axel Klein entitled, “Growing cannabis in St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” explains the situation in St. Vincent far better than I could.
At the web site, Crime and Society, the essay there by Dr. Robert Winslow of San Diego State University, on St. Vincent and the Grenadines states, “St. Vincent and the Grenadines is the largest producer of marijuana in the Eastern Caribbean and the source for much of the marijuana used in the region. Extensive tracts are under intensive marijuana cultivation in the inaccessible northern half of St. Vincent. The illegal drug trade has infiltrated the economy of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and made some segments of the population dependent on marijuana production, trafficking and money laundering.”
-----
Copyright April 2010 by And Then Some Publishing L.L.C.
After a brief tour of Kingstown, the capital of St. Vincent, we headed toward the leeward side and to their home. Their home will be located (in 2011) on the other side of a massive new airport runway being built to accommodate the biggest jet liners. The many small mountains in the area are being leveled, homes in the way are being destroyed, roads are being diverted, and the geography and ecology of the area is being radically altered. Their home will sit near the end of the runway where jets are decelerating for their forthcoming landing.
After lunch at their home and additional sightseeing on the northern end of St. Vincent, we drove beyond the airport project to a small road that leads up to the volcano. St. Vincent is a volcanic island, and the still active volcano dominates the northern third of the island. It last erupted in 1973, and the destruction it caused is still evident in the small villages you pass along the main road on the northern end.
Ben and Sheila turned left onto the small road, looked into the back seat, and asked us if we wanted to go up. Without hesitation, we took their obvious lead and said, “Sure.”
The single-lane road was heavily rutted, full of pot holes, and rough. It went up through an active banana plantation where large bunches of bananas were wrapped in tubular poly vinylchloride (PVC), blue plastic to enhance fruit development, resist bad weather and sunburn, and avoid blemishes. Workers were evident on both sides of the car as we progressed up to a small parking lot where the trail to the volcano began.
Ben was surprised there were no vans carrying excursioners from our ship. The government was building a small picnic pavillion and restrooms, but they were far from finished and there were no workers present. A single, old picnic table sat where the trail into the lush growth began, and a native St. Vincensian was sitting there, his pack on the table’s seat and a large, well-worn machete showing from within it. We all engaged in informal chit-chat with him, and he not only suggested a place where we could take a better picture of the volcano, but he introduced me to the small pear-like fruit from the tree under which the table was located.
While we were talking, an old white car came up to the parking lot, turned around quickly and headed back down the mountain. We thought nothing about it nor about the fellow at the table walking down the road from the parking lot.
Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, the fellow with whom we had been talking and a second native fellow (this time with no front teeth) came walking up the road to the parking lot. The new fellow carried a very heavy backpack on his head. Clearly the two native fellows knew one another, and we chatted with both of them as the fellow threw his backpack down onto the picnic table and unzipped it. Inside were large brick-like, rectangular blocks wrapped in heavy dark green plastic. My wife thought the fellows were especially concerned about keeping their clothes dry for in our talks with the two of them, they said they planned to hike the trail up and over the ridge to the other side.
Because we were in a hurry to get back to the ship by 4:30, we all got back into Ben’s car and headed down the mountain road only to find the white car that had come up and into the parking lot, had crashed off the left side of the road, blocking the road completely. Just beyond the car was a small police van, and five police officers were already out surveying the car. The female police officer had just found a cell phone and was waving it in the air.
Just as we could not proceed down the mountain, the police could not come up. Ben explained to the police that we needed to get by the car so we could get back to the cruise ship.
There was an additional dilemma as the officers tried to move the car. The steering column was locked, so when the police officers tried moving it, they could not get it out of the road. It was clear Ben and I needed to help. I ordered the police to get stones to put under the back tires, then it was decided we needed to lift the back of the car out farther onto the road. On the count of three by one of the police officers, all seven of us lifted the back of the car and moved it five inches. We did this about five times which improved the turning radius so the car could be pushed off the road. Expanding the turning radius worked, the car was pushed aside, the officers drove their van alongside the damaged car, and the road was clear for us to pass.
It turns out the police officers were part of the D.E.A. (Drug Enforcement Agency), and they told us they had been following this fellow. The fellow with the backpack was carrying bricks of marijuana worth, according to Ben, somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000 (street value), and knowing the police were blocked from coming up, they chatted leisurely with us.
We proceeded down the narrow access road to the highway to get back to the ship. People in St. Vincent drive poorly. The main road is a narrow highway with many hills and turns, and most of the road is marked by a solid white line, although cars pass randomly solid line or not. One black car passed us, and when we turned the corner ahead, he had just crashed into an oncoming car and, thus, blocked the main road. With no police there yet, and the accident still fresh, we crept around the crashed vehicle on the far left and soon after that encountered a car with an “L” on the back. Ben said the “L” meant “learner,” and, by law, could not go faster than 20 miles per hour. We were finally able to get around this car only to find ourselves behind a small bus full of older people. Determining that it was an excursion from the ship, we felt a bit relieved, even though the time for getting back to the ship was tight. We arrived at the dock at 4:25, just in time to wave goodbye to Ben and Sheila, show our identification, make it through the gates, and hurry up the gangway onto the ship.
In the end, we had to compliment our hosts for having “arranged” such an exciting incident. We were told, in retrospect, that the cultivation of marijuana in St. Vincent is a common phenomena, and its exportation helps support a very poor nation and needy farmers.
-----
At id 21 insights, an essay by Axel Klein entitled, “Growing cannabis in St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” explains the situation in St. Vincent far better than I could.
At the web site, Crime and Society, the essay there by Dr. Robert Winslow of San Diego State University, on St. Vincent and the Grenadines states, “St. Vincent and the Grenadines is the largest producer of marijuana in the Eastern Caribbean and the source for much of the marijuana used in the region. Extensive tracts are under intensive marijuana cultivation in the inaccessible northern half of St. Vincent. The illegal drug trade has infiltrated the economy of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and made some segments of the population dependent on marijuana production, trafficking and money laundering.”
-----
Copyright April 2010 by And Then Some Publishing L.L.C.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Day #177 - Cultivate courage.
SMOERs: Words of Wisdom
"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do." ---Eleanor Roosevelt
Day #177 - Cultivate courage.
"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do." ---Eleanor Roosevelt
Day #177 - Cultivate courage.
SMOERs: Self-Motivation, Optimism, Encouragement Rules! - Daily Reminders for Outstanding Living
An everyday guide full of quotations to uplift your spirits.
Free 30-Day sample: smoers.com
An everyday guide full of quotations to uplift your spirits.
Free 30-Day sample: smoers.com
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
8 books and $1 of each book goes to charity
And Then Some News
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GOES TO BREAST CANCER RESEARCH
Get a synopsis of all our books at AndThenSomePublishing.com
----
Find out more about what And Then Some Publishing has to offer:
How to achieve and support relationship rules is what the book, Relationship Rules: For Long-Term Happiness, Security, and Commitment, is all about. There are numerous suggestions, steps, and additional ideas that will motivate, encourage, and challenge relationship partners. Relationship Rules is available at Amazon.com
.
The books Richard L. Weaver II enjoys reading offer a look at the truth. One of the reviewers of Willis's book said, “While some veterans would be content to simply remember through a haze of rose-colored reflections, Dr. Willis clearly reports the truth as he knows it.” Civilian In an Ill-Fitting Uniform: A Memoir of World War II, by Edgar E. Willis
, reports the truth—unvarnished as it may be. The book is available right now from Amazon.com.
See more book reviews every Monday: Book Club... And Then Some!
Thursday's And Then Some Essay preview:
Thursday’s essay is simply called, “The St. Vincent Incident,” and for some to whom we told this story, they remain aghast at its potential ramifications. In this essay I talk less about St. Vincent and more about the incident. What would you do in such a situation?
The St. Vincent Incident
by Richard L. Weaver II
Excerpt:
Because we were in a hurry to get back to the ship by 4:30, we all got back into Ben’s car and headed down the mountain road only to find the white car that had come up and into the parking lot, had crashed off the left side of the road, blocking the road completely. Just beyond the car was a small police van, and five police officers were already out surveying the car. The female police officer had just found a cell phone and was waving it in the air.
And Then Some Works!
-----
Announcing:
$1 of every book bought through Amazon.com and published by And Then Publishing, LLC...GOES TO BREAST CANCER RESEARCH
Get a synopsis of all our books at AndThenSomePublishing.com
April 2010 Goal: $500 - Help us raise money to find a cure!
----
Find out more about what And Then Some Publishing has to offer:
How to achieve and support relationship rules is what the book, Relationship Rules: For Long-Term Happiness, Security, and Commitment, is all about. There are numerous suggestions, steps, and additional ideas that will motivate, encourage, and challenge relationship partners. Relationship Rules is available at Amazon.com
.The books Richard L. Weaver II enjoys reading offer a look at the truth. One of the reviewers of Willis's book said, “While some veterans would be content to simply remember through a haze of rose-colored reflections, Dr. Willis clearly reports the truth as he knows it.” Civilian In an Ill-Fitting Uniform: A Memoir of World War II, by Edgar E. Willis
, reports the truth—unvarnished as it may be. The book is available right now from Amazon.com.See more book reviews every Monday: Book Club... And Then Some!
Thursday's And Then Some Essay preview:
Thursday’s essay is simply called, “The St. Vincent Incident,” and for some to whom we told this story, they remain aghast at its potential ramifications. In this essay I talk less about St. Vincent and more about the incident. What would you do in such a situation?
The St. Vincent Incident
by Richard L. Weaver II
Excerpt:
Because we were in a hurry to get back to the ship by 4:30, we all got back into Ben’s car and headed down the mountain road only to find the white car that had come up and into the parking lot, had crashed off the left side of the road, blocking the road completely. Just beyond the car was a small police van, and five police officers were already out surveying the car. The female police officer had just found a cell phone and was waving it in the air.
And Then Some Works!
Monday, April 12, 2010
The Years of Talking Dangerously - Geoffrey Nunberg
Book Club... And Then Some!
The Years of Talking Dangerously
by Geoffrey Nunberg
Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
In just over 50 vignettes on language and 265 pages, Nunberg offers witty and insightful reflections on the idiosyncrasies of the English language. More than anything else, he offers an “inside” (linguists’) look at the closing years of the Bush administration which, with respect to word usage, offered a plethora of examples to examine. It was—just as his presidency was—perhaps, the worst case of any president in history; thus, Nunberg had a great deal of information with which to work. Nunberg’s commentaries on language and politics appeared regularly on NPRs “Fresh Air,” in the Sunday New York Times, and in a variety of other newspapers across the country.
In each of the vignettes throughout the book, the original location of the short essay is mentioned, whether it be a “Fresh Air Commentary” or a newspaper. Nunberg’s insights offer an interesting—and sometimes provocative—insight into the culture of the Bush administration.
For me, his commentaries bring back a time that is easily and happily forgotten and along with it, the failed policies and ideas that not just reflect on a failed administration, but an administration, too, whose policies and corrupt practices (to the extent of deleting or altering scientific reports that opposed administration philosophies) that brought our society (and the world) to near total collapse. These are not pleasant memories. Just two examples were how Bush and Karl Rove used the phrase “people of faith,” or how the word “values” became the property of the right.
Get your copy of The Years of Talking Dangerously
now at Amazon!
The Years of Talking Dangerously
by Geoffrey Nunberg
Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
In just over 50 vignettes on language and 265 pages, Nunberg offers witty and insightful reflections on the idiosyncrasies of the English language. More than anything else, he offers an “inside” (linguists’) look at the closing years of the Bush administration which, with respect to word usage, offered a plethora of examples to examine. It was—just as his presidency was—perhaps, the worst case of any president in history; thus, Nunberg had a great deal of information with which to work. Nunberg’s commentaries on language and politics appeared regularly on NPRs “Fresh Air,” in the Sunday New York Times, and in a variety of other newspapers across the country.
In each of the vignettes throughout the book, the original location of the short essay is mentioned, whether it be a “Fresh Air Commentary” or a newspaper. Nunberg’s insights offer an interesting—and sometimes provocative—insight into the culture of the Bush administration.
For me, his commentaries bring back a time that is easily and happily forgotten and along with it, the failed policies and ideas that not just reflect on a failed administration, but an administration, too, whose policies and corrupt practices (to the extent of deleting or altering scientific reports that opposed administration philosophies) that brought our society (and the world) to near total collapse. These are not pleasant memories. Just two examples were how Bush and Karl Rove used the phrase “people of faith,” or how the word “values” became the property of the right.
Get your copy of The Years of Talking Dangerously
now at Amazon!
Friday, April 9, 2010
Friday's Joke: Laugh... And Then Some!
Goofy Fred took a friend driving on a narrow mountain
road. After awhile the friend said, "I feel very scared
whenever you go around one of those sharp bends."
"Then do what I do," said Fred, "close your eyes."
Laugh Like There's No Tomorrow: Over 2,000 jokes from the Internet
From our upcoming book compiled by Richard L. Weaver II
Laugh is setup with just over 4 jokes a day, all 365 days, and can be read in any order!
Expected Release Date: Spring 2010
road. After awhile the friend said, "I feel very scared
whenever you go around one of those sharp bends."
"Then do what I do," said Fred, "close your eyes."
Laugh Like There's No Tomorrow: Over 2,000 jokes from the Internet
From our upcoming book compiled by Richard L. Weaver II
Laugh is setup with just over 4 jokes a day, all 365 days, and can be read in any order!
Expected Release Date: Spring 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Curacao
I had never heard of it, I did not know where it was located, and I knew of no one who had ever been there before. For me, it was just another stop on the ship’s itinerary. That may reveal the very narrow world I live in, or it may reveal the fact that after oil was discovered off the Venezuelan coast in 1920, a new era opened for Curacao. Curacao’s Royal Dutch Shell Refinery, built to distill crude oil imported from Venezuela, became the island’s biggest business and employer. This is when immigrants from other Caribbean nations, South America, and Asia headed to Curacao, and the refinery was considered important enough during World War II, that the Allies established an American military base at Waterfort Arches, near Willemstad. Tourism was not on the island’s radar screen nor was it a significant part of the island’s economy.
One Internet site described Curacao’s history in this manner: “Long lasting colonial dominance, looting, pillaging, plundering, busy slave trade, slave riots, prosperous times, Dutch trade spirit, feuds and invasions all characterize Curacao’s lively history.” Notice that no mention is made of tourism; “prosperous times” relates to the long economic boom that resulted from the establishment of the Shell oil refinery. The 1970’s oil crisis, however, ended the long economic boom and a reduction in international investment in the following decade led to a further economic decline. Shell closed the refinery in 1985.
In the history lecture onboard the Grand Princess, Thomas Judson, a southern California “educator” (his label), told us that Curacao is a prosperous island that, because of the refinery, didn’t need tourism, and this created a mindset that is completely wrong — “wrong” in the minds of tourists today who visit the island.
The island may not have needed tourism, however, once you traverse the Queen Emma Bridge from the “mega Pier” in downtown Willemstad, and enter into Punda, you realize what a cosmopolitan, diverse, and exciting venue this is for tourists.
Punda, on the east side of the St. Anna Bay (Annabaaï) is full of bright, pastel-colored, former merchant houses along the channel front. They adorn many of the postcards available in the souvenir shops, and they are one of the photographs on many of the Internet venues designed to attract tourists to Curacao. Today, those houses are occupied, at least on the ground-floor level, by boutiques, shops, and art galleries.
Punda’s main commercial streets of Handelskade, Breedestat, and Heerenstaat, are lined with beautiful, freshly painted, stores with their typical curved baroque gables and arched galleries. It is picturesque, clean, attractive, and tourist-friendly.
We walked most of Punda, visiting the floating market, central market, Willhelmina Park, the Governor’s Palace, Fort Amsterdam, and a McDonald’s before heading to Otrobanda on the other side of the St. Anna Bay.
We went to the local McDonald’s (following a sign to its location) to use their restroom. We were planning to buy a coke as well, but the lines were too long. There were no tourists at all in the place, and it was clear, because it was slightly off the beaten track, that it was a popular local hangout. From McDonald’s we headed back to the bridge.
I found it fascinating to watch as the Queen Emma Bridge, which lies across St. Anna Bay, swing open to allow ships into Willemstad harbor. It was built in 1888, and rebuilt in 1939 and 2005-2006. The footbridge is a low, wide, paved walkway that floats on 15 pontoons. To open, the entire bridge is swung open by an engine on the very end of the bridge that simply floats it and each pontoon section to one side, much as a straight arm (no bending at the elbow) is moved ninety-degrees from an extended position at one’s side, to a position in front of your body. While the bridge is open (which can last from 15 minutes to a half hour), pedestrian ferries take people from one side to the other. The whole operation is delightful to watch.
We waited only a moment while the Queen Emma Bridge was re-positioned (it was open for ships to move through while we roamed through Punda), and we walked to Mathey Werf (where another large cruise ship was docked) then along Klipstratt to the Kura Hulanda village. Although we didn’t go through the museum, we strolled through the streets where some 65 historic buildings had been restored. Some of the tropical garden areas were lush with falls and pools, and secluded areas for people to sit. It is a delightful area, and according to the literature, “a shining example of some of Curacao’s best 18th- and 19th-century architecture.”
What thrilled us even more, however, than seeing early Curacao architecture, is that we walked along Breedstraat in Otrobanda on the west side of St. Ann’s Bay, which is not designed for tourists. It is where locals congregate and shop, and we saw only three couples (from the cruise ship) in walking almost a mile in the area.
Even the local shopping area was clean. There were a number of places to purchase liquor, but the shops were much as you would expect in any large city: small sports shops and restaurants, numerous clothing stores, a pharmacy, but no tourist shops of any kind. School had just let out, and there were many kids in bright turquoise knit shirts with bermuda khaki shorts walking the sidewalk toward the local bus terminal. Many had already arrived at the terminal as we walked through the area to get back to the ship — docked in the distance just beyond the bus area.
As we leave Curacao in the distance as I am writing this, several things are clear. First, Curacao is only 40 miles long and 10 miles wide at its widest point — just 171 square miles — with a population of only about 150,000 people. It is located just 40 miles off the coast of Venezuela, 42 miles east of Aruba, and 30 miles west of Bonaire. (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao are the islands that make up the ABCs of the Netherlands Lesser Antilles). Second, it is not a lush, tropical island. (It gets only 20 inches of rain annually.) Rather, it is flat. Less than a dozen hills (no mountains at all) can be seen across the whole island. Third, the refinery smokestacks (I can count 15 that dot the interior; however, they are fairly tightly bunched together) make up part of the horizon as one looks out over the whole island.
Because we took no excursion on Curacao, we did not see the large desalinization plant on the south coast, the beaches on the northwestern part of the island, any of the 40 dive spots, the Hato Caves where the geologic history of Curacao can be learned, the ostrich farm, the cactus, divi-divi trees, or Christoffel Park (4,500 acres) that contains Mount Christoffel (1,239 feet), the highest elevation on the island. But we had a chance to look at the waterfront, observe the local people and their activities, and we found what we did to be a pleasant way to pick up the flavor of the Caribbean and Curaçao.
-----
For a quick summary of Curacao’s past history, check out Curacao Central, a site at which you can locate hotels, restaurants, snorkeling locations, and beaches.
This website, Curacao History, offers essays (other websites) that will take you through specific periods in Curacao’s history. Dates are provided with brief summaries, but in-depth information is a mere click away, and you get a complete examination of the particular dates and events.
-----
Copyright April 2010 by And Then Some Publishing, LLC
One Internet site described Curacao’s history in this manner: “Long lasting colonial dominance, looting, pillaging, plundering, busy slave trade, slave riots, prosperous times, Dutch trade spirit, feuds and invasions all characterize Curacao’s lively history.” Notice that no mention is made of tourism; “prosperous times” relates to the long economic boom that resulted from the establishment of the Shell oil refinery. The 1970’s oil crisis, however, ended the long economic boom and a reduction in international investment in the following decade led to a further economic decline. Shell closed the refinery in 1985.
In the history lecture onboard the Grand Princess, Thomas Judson, a southern California “educator” (his label), told us that Curacao is a prosperous island that, because of the refinery, didn’t need tourism, and this created a mindset that is completely wrong — “wrong” in the minds of tourists today who visit the island.
The island may not have needed tourism, however, once you traverse the Queen Emma Bridge from the “mega Pier” in downtown Willemstad, and enter into Punda, you realize what a cosmopolitan, diverse, and exciting venue this is for tourists.
Punda, on the east side of the St. Anna Bay (Annabaaï) is full of bright, pastel-colored, former merchant houses along the channel front. They adorn many of the postcards available in the souvenir shops, and they are one of the photographs on many of the Internet venues designed to attract tourists to Curacao. Today, those houses are occupied, at least on the ground-floor level, by boutiques, shops, and art galleries.
Punda’s main commercial streets of Handelskade, Breedestat, and Heerenstaat, are lined with beautiful, freshly painted, stores with their typical curved baroque gables and arched galleries. It is picturesque, clean, attractive, and tourist-friendly.
We walked most of Punda, visiting the floating market, central market, Willhelmina Park, the Governor’s Palace, Fort Amsterdam, and a McDonald’s before heading to Otrobanda on the other side of the St. Anna Bay.
We went to the local McDonald’s (following a sign to its location) to use their restroom. We were planning to buy a coke as well, but the lines were too long. There were no tourists at all in the place, and it was clear, because it was slightly off the beaten track, that it was a popular local hangout. From McDonald’s we headed back to the bridge.
I found it fascinating to watch as the Queen Emma Bridge, which lies across St. Anna Bay, swing open to allow ships into Willemstad harbor. It was built in 1888, and rebuilt in 1939 and 2005-2006. The footbridge is a low, wide, paved walkway that floats on 15 pontoons. To open, the entire bridge is swung open by an engine on the very end of the bridge that simply floats it and each pontoon section to one side, much as a straight arm (no bending at the elbow) is moved ninety-degrees from an extended position at one’s side, to a position in front of your body. While the bridge is open (which can last from 15 minutes to a half hour), pedestrian ferries take people from one side to the other. The whole operation is delightful to watch.
We waited only a moment while the Queen Emma Bridge was re-positioned (it was open for ships to move through while we roamed through Punda), and we walked to Mathey Werf (where another large cruise ship was docked) then along Klipstratt to the Kura Hulanda village. Although we didn’t go through the museum, we strolled through the streets where some 65 historic buildings had been restored. Some of the tropical garden areas were lush with falls and pools, and secluded areas for people to sit. It is a delightful area, and according to the literature, “a shining example of some of Curacao’s best 18th- and 19th-century architecture.”
What thrilled us even more, however, than seeing early Curacao architecture, is that we walked along Breedstraat in Otrobanda on the west side of St. Ann’s Bay, which is not designed for tourists. It is where locals congregate and shop, and we saw only three couples (from the cruise ship) in walking almost a mile in the area.
Even the local shopping area was clean. There were a number of places to purchase liquor, but the shops were much as you would expect in any large city: small sports shops and restaurants, numerous clothing stores, a pharmacy, but no tourist shops of any kind. School had just let out, and there were many kids in bright turquoise knit shirts with bermuda khaki shorts walking the sidewalk toward the local bus terminal. Many had already arrived at the terminal as we walked through the area to get back to the ship — docked in the distance just beyond the bus area.
As we leave Curacao in the distance as I am writing this, several things are clear. First, Curacao is only 40 miles long and 10 miles wide at its widest point — just 171 square miles — with a population of only about 150,000 people. It is located just 40 miles off the coast of Venezuela, 42 miles east of Aruba, and 30 miles west of Bonaire. (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao are the islands that make up the ABCs of the Netherlands Lesser Antilles). Second, it is not a lush, tropical island. (It gets only 20 inches of rain annually.) Rather, it is flat. Less than a dozen hills (no mountains at all) can be seen across the whole island. Third, the refinery smokestacks (I can count 15 that dot the interior; however, they are fairly tightly bunched together) make up part of the horizon as one looks out over the whole island.
Because we took no excursion on Curacao, we did not see the large desalinization plant on the south coast, the beaches on the northwestern part of the island, any of the 40 dive spots, the Hato Caves where the geologic history of Curacao can be learned, the ostrich farm, the cactus, divi-divi trees, or Christoffel Park (4,500 acres) that contains Mount Christoffel (1,239 feet), the highest elevation on the island. But we had a chance to look at the waterfront, observe the local people and their activities, and we found what we did to be a pleasant way to pick up the flavor of the Caribbean and Curaçao.
-----
For a quick summary of Curacao’s past history, check out Curacao Central, a site at which you can locate hotels, restaurants, snorkeling locations, and beaches.
This website, Curacao History, offers essays (other websites) that will take you through specific periods in Curacao’s history. Dates are provided with brief summaries, but in-depth information is a mere click away, and you get a complete examination of the particular dates and events.
-----
Copyright April 2010 by And Then Some Publishing, LLC
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
SMOERs: Words of Wisdom
"If you will call your troubles experiences, and remember that every experience develops some latent force within you, you will grow vigorous and happy, however adverse your circumstances may seem to be." ---John Heywood
Day #176 - Make something of everything that happens to you.
Day #176 - Make something of everything that happens to you.
SMOERs: Self-Motivation, Optimism, Encouragement Rules! - Daily Reminders for Outstanding Living
An everyday guide full of quotations to uplift your spirits.
Free 30-Day sample: smoers.com
An everyday guide full of quotations to uplift your spirits.
Free 30-Day sample: smoers.com
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Get Special Delivery and $1 goes to breast cancer research
And Then Some News
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Announcing a Special Delivery!
$1.00 of each Special Delivery baby boy
or baby girl
book sold through Amazon.com is donated to breast cancer research. Buy your special delivery book for boys or girls and help find the cure for breast cancer!Author Lynne Hall has survived breast cancer and Illustrator Anthony Weaver's Mom survived breast cancer. Help us find a cure for a charity close to our hearts!
See book page examples and more at ProductsThatPamper.com
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On April 1st, 2010 the second video in a five part series will be released. Edgar E Willis teaches us in greater detail how to be funny... on purpose! The video series is titled "How to be Funny on Purpose: An Anatomy of Humor" and the second part delves deeper into what makes a joke funny. See the video at EdgarEWillis.com. Available April Fools Day!
Civilian In an Ill-Fitting Uniform: A Memoir of World War II, by Edgar E. Willis is an excellent read. It doesn’t matter whether you are a veteran or a history buff, if you like great literature, this is a book that will inform and entertain. The book is available right now from Amazon.com.
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Relationship Rules, is the new book from And Then Some Publishing, LLC, that offers readers the twelve rules essential for long-term happiness, security, and commitment. Readers, if you are heading into a new relationship, read this book first. Ladies, give this to your new relationship partner and tell him to read it, digest it, and use it. It is available now at Amazon.com.
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Thursday’s essay is simply called, “Curacao.” In this essay I want to talk about the island, some of the places I visited, and describe what I saw from the height of the back of the ship. What makes this essay interesting is that, before this cruise, I had never heard of the island before. Never even knew it existed! So, for me, writing this essay opened my eyes. I hope it does the same for readers.
Thursday's And Then Some Essay preview:
Curacao
by Richard L. Weaver II
Excerpt:
As we leave Curacao in the distance as I am writing this, several things are clear. First, Curacao is only 40 miles long and 10 miles wide at its widest point — just 171 square miles — with a population of only about 150,000 people. It is located just 40 miles off the coast of Venezuela, 42 miles east of Aruba, and 30 miles west of Bonaire. (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao are the islands that make up the ABCs of the Netherlands Lesser Antilles). Second, it is not a lush, tropical island. (It gets only 20 inches of rain annually.) Rather, it is flat. Less than a dozen hills (no mountains at all) can be seen across the whole island. Third, the refinery smokestacks (I can count 15 that dot the interior; however, they are fairly tightly bunched together) make up part of the horizon as one looks out over the whole island.
And Then Some Works!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Book Club... And Then Some!
How Did That Happen? Holding People Accountable for Results the Positive, Principled Way
by Roger Connors and Tom Smith
Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
Based on more than 20 years teaching the concepts of accountability around the world and with 700 clients in 56 countries, Connors and Smith discuss the approaches to accountability that will contribute more to the success of individuals, teams, and organizational life than any other single attribute.
How did That Happen?
leaves no doubt in this reader’s mind, that following their specific and well-explained sequence of steps will enable anyone to establish the right expectations in a positive and principled way that will inspire people, make them feel good about their work, and get results.
Accountability is a personal “attribute” that exemplifies who a person is. It is “a way of being” that empowers and allows people to meet and surpass their expectations.
The authors do not provide generalities. For example, they discuss the four main causes of missed delivery: poor motivation, inadeequate training, too little personal accountability, and an ineffective culture. They offer specific solutions to these problems—among many other topics and issues.
This is truly a great book worth reading. It is written by two author who, clearly, know what they’re talking about and talk about it in a direct, readable, and memorable manner.
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Find more reviews on our BookClubAndThenSome.com website. We are making changes to the website to help you find great books... And Then Some!
by Roger Connors and Tom Smith
Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
Based on more than 20 years teaching the concepts of accountability around the world and with 700 clients in 56 countries, Connors and Smith discuss the approaches to accountability that will contribute more to the success of individuals, teams, and organizational life than any other single attribute.
How did That Happen?
leaves no doubt in this reader’s mind, that following their specific and well-explained sequence of steps will enable anyone to establish the right expectations in a positive and principled way that will inspire people, make them feel good about their work, and get results.Accountability is a personal “attribute” that exemplifies who a person is. It is “a way of being” that empowers and allows people to meet and surpass their expectations.
The authors do not provide generalities. For example, they discuss the four main causes of missed delivery: poor motivation, inadeequate training, too little personal accountability, and an ineffective culture. They offer specific solutions to these problems—among many other topics and issues.
This is truly a great book worth reading. It is written by two author who, clearly, know what they’re talking about and talk about it in a direct, readable, and memorable manner.
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Find more reviews on our BookClubAndThenSome.com website. We are making changes to the website to help you find great books... And Then Some!
Friday, April 2, 2010
Friday's Joke: Laugh... And Then Some!
Wife: Honey . . . What are you looking for?
Husband: Nothing.
Wife: Nothing . . .?? You've been reading our marriage certificate for an hour.
Husband: I was jus looking for the expiration date.
Laugh Like There's No Tomorrow: Over 2,000 jokes from the Internet
From our upcoming book compiled by Richard L. Weaver II
Laugh is setup with just over 4 jokes a day, all 365 days, and can be read in any order!
Expected Release Date: Spring 2010
Husband: Nothing.
Wife: Nothing . . .?? You've been reading our marriage certificate for an hour.
Husband: I was jus looking for the expiration date.
Laugh Like There's No Tomorrow: Over 2,000 jokes from the Internet
From our upcoming book compiled by Richard L. Weaver II
Laugh is setup with just over 4 jokes a day, all 365 days, and can be read in any order!
Expected Release Date: Spring 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
High-end, High-tech, And Then Some
And Then Some Publishing, LLC, has joined forces with Tahwyas International, LLC, to produce and distribute luxury high-end, high-tech gadgets for the world market. Because technology makes our lives better and most everyone today is involved with technology in some capacity, we have been in search of a compatible company for some time, and when we discovered Tahwyas, we immediately pursued a relationship. Although somewhat reluctant at first, once they discovered the breadth and depth of our publishing interests, it became a foregone conclusion and a perfect match. The agreement has Tahwyas marketing and distributing the wide range of And Then Some’s publication list, and And Then Some doing the same with Tahwyas’ high-end, high-tech gadgets.
Let’s just say for a moment, that you're enjoying your new high-definition television, have your work and personal appointments organized on your computer, your fully-loaded iPpod is bringing your selections of music using your iPod dock and satellite speakers, and your Torq mobile phone with its hand crank, re-chargeable AA battery concept, which comes equipped with a touch-sensitive LCD panel instead of a regular keypad, that allows you to answer the handset by simply holding it to your cheek, and lets you send messages by swiping them off the screen with your finger. Also, you pay your bills electronically and save time and money. Tahwyas has combined all of these elements into one palm-sized computer with the smallest HD-LCD screen available. This new instrument is so new, so high-end and high-tech, that it is impossible to bring you all its characteristics in this one short essay; however if you visit the Tahwyas’ AllOne.com website you will acquire all the information you need to understand and purchase this new piece of equipment.
I know that you might believe it couldn’t get any better than this (if you read and understood the equipment described above), but it does. If you watched "Star Trek," you will remember seeing the crew of the Starship Enterprise live out their fantasies in a room called the holodeck. The holodeck is a giant, holographic, projection room that allowed the crew to touch and interact with projections as if they were in a big video game. We have developed a new communication technology that allows you and your friends to interact inside a simulated environment even if you are thousands of miles apart. Our holographic technology depends on the use of holograms, holographic discs, and holographic memory. By combining cameras and Internet telephony, our videoconferencing technology allows the real-time exchange of information without physically bringing each person into one central room. Our teleimmersion process takes videoconferencing to the next level by creating a central, simulated environment that allows everyone to come together in a virtual room, and no one will have to leave their physical location to do so. This technology is available at once, and it can be yours to better understand and purchase by visiting our website, Holographyworks.com
We have developed a high-end, high-tech speech recognition program as well. With this software it will allow you to dictate to your computer and have your words converted to text in a word processing or e-mail document. You can access function commands, such as opening files and accessing menus, with voice instructions. People with disabilities that prevent them from typing use our speech-recognition system. If you have lost the use of your hands or eyes, or for or when it is not possible to use a Braille keyboard, our system allows personal expression through dictation as well as control of many computer tasks. Our software saves your speech data after every session and allows those with progressive speech deterioriation to continue to dictate to their computers. Our software, Speechtechworks.com has a vocabulary in the tens of thousands and allows you to speak at a normal, conversational speed.
We have an electronic display screen that is as thin as a sheet of paper that requires low power usage, allows complete flexibility, and is more readable than a book. It replaces all books, newspapers, and magazines, and can be used for cell phones, PDAs, pagers and digital watches. Not only can it hold a display of the same text for weeks without any additional charge applied to it, it can be changed in an instant. An advantage of our electronic display is that it can be printed on any surface, including walls, billboards, product labels, and T-shirts. Homeowners can change their digital wallpaper instantly, and its flexibility makes it possible to develop roll-up displays for electronic devices. For greater understanding and the purchase of our software, go to Tronicdisplayworks.com
You may think all this thus far in this essay is surprising, but you haven’t experienced surprise until you read about our next high-end, high-tech gadget. Have you ever wondered, why do human beings do the things they do? Until now, the connection between the body and the mind has remained a mystery. How we perceive the world and learn new things will no longer fascinate and confound you. The answers to questions like, “Are you born with certain qualities, or are you the product of your experiences and upbringing?,” or “How do you form an idea, gather information, and learn to adapt?” MindTech is a simple way to see what goes on in your mind and make sense of it. MindTech takes theoretical psychology to a new level. It allows you to hypothesize about something you can't visualize. MindTech gives you tangible data, or psychometrics, to grasp the more intangible aspects of your psyche. Its uses are broad for it will assist you in education, the workplace, counseling, and health. MindTech will help you understand, predict, and even control your human thought processes and emotions. To understand and then purchase this high-end, high-tech gadget go to MindTechWorks.com
You can understand now why we at And Then Some Publishing, LLC, are so excited. Not only have we developed a wonderful, tight relationship with Tahwyas International, LLC, but we have now on the market a group of products that are outstanding. Not even discussed above is our convergence device that combines a cell phone, digital camera, radio, camcorder, GPS receiver, MP3 player, portable video game device, television, and allows you to surf the Web. This one includes a printer as well. It is a multi-functional device and can help you save space when you pack for a trip. Go to Convertechworks
-----
See Crystal Campbell’s “High tech meets high-end cuisine” (April 1, 2009) at Content for Reprint
At Unique Homes luxury is being redefined. Camilla McLaughlin writes in “REDEFINING LUXURY: High-Tech at the High-End,” that new technology is changing the way we buy, sell, and live.
-----
Copyright April 2010 by And Then Some Publishing, LLC
Let’s just say for a moment, that you're enjoying your new high-definition television, have your work and personal appointments organized on your computer, your fully-loaded iPpod is bringing your selections of music using your iPod dock and satellite speakers, and your Torq mobile phone with its hand crank, re-chargeable AA battery concept, which comes equipped with a touch-sensitive LCD panel instead of a regular keypad, that allows you to answer the handset by simply holding it to your cheek, and lets you send messages by swiping them off the screen with your finger. Also, you pay your bills electronically and save time and money. Tahwyas has combined all of these elements into one palm-sized computer with the smallest HD-LCD screen available. This new instrument is so new, so high-end and high-tech, that it is impossible to bring you all its characteristics in this one short essay; however if you visit the Tahwyas’ AllOne.com website you will acquire all the information you need to understand and purchase this new piece of equipment.
I know that you might believe it couldn’t get any better than this (if you read and understood the equipment described above), but it does. If you watched "Star Trek," you will remember seeing the crew of the Starship Enterprise live out their fantasies in a room called the holodeck. The holodeck is a giant, holographic, projection room that allowed the crew to touch and interact with projections as if they were in a big video game. We have developed a new communication technology that allows you and your friends to interact inside a simulated environment even if you are thousands of miles apart. Our holographic technology depends on the use of holograms, holographic discs, and holographic memory. By combining cameras and Internet telephony, our videoconferencing technology allows the real-time exchange of information without physically bringing each person into one central room. Our teleimmersion process takes videoconferencing to the next level by creating a central, simulated environment that allows everyone to come together in a virtual room, and no one will have to leave their physical location to do so. This technology is available at once, and it can be yours to better understand and purchase by visiting our website, Holographyworks.com
We have developed a high-end, high-tech speech recognition program as well. With this software it will allow you to dictate to your computer and have your words converted to text in a word processing or e-mail document. You can access function commands, such as opening files and accessing menus, with voice instructions. People with disabilities that prevent them from typing use our speech-recognition system. If you have lost the use of your hands or eyes, or for or when it is not possible to use a Braille keyboard, our system allows personal expression through dictation as well as control of many computer tasks. Our software saves your speech data after every session and allows those with progressive speech deterioriation to continue to dictate to their computers. Our software, Speechtechworks.com has a vocabulary in the tens of thousands and allows you to speak at a normal, conversational speed.
We have an electronic display screen that is as thin as a sheet of paper that requires low power usage, allows complete flexibility, and is more readable than a book. It replaces all books, newspapers, and magazines, and can be used for cell phones, PDAs, pagers and digital watches. Not only can it hold a display of the same text for weeks without any additional charge applied to it, it can be changed in an instant. An advantage of our electronic display is that it can be printed on any surface, including walls, billboards, product labels, and T-shirts. Homeowners can change their digital wallpaper instantly, and its flexibility makes it possible to develop roll-up displays for electronic devices. For greater understanding and the purchase of our software, go to Tronicdisplayworks.com
You may think all this thus far in this essay is surprising, but you haven’t experienced surprise until you read about our next high-end, high-tech gadget. Have you ever wondered, why do human beings do the things they do? Until now, the connection between the body and the mind has remained a mystery. How we perceive the world and learn new things will no longer fascinate and confound you. The answers to questions like, “Are you born with certain qualities, or are you the product of your experiences and upbringing?,” or “How do you form an idea, gather information, and learn to adapt?” MindTech is a simple way to see what goes on in your mind and make sense of it. MindTech takes theoretical psychology to a new level. It allows you to hypothesize about something you can't visualize. MindTech gives you tangible data, or psychometrics, to grasp the more intangible aspects of your psyche. Its uses are broad for it will assist you in education, the workplace, counseling, and health. MindTech will help you understand, predict, and even control your human thought processes and emotions. To understand and then purchase this high-end, high-tech gadget go to MindTechWorks.com
You can understand now why we at And Then Some Publishing, LLC, are so excited. Not only have we developed a wonderful, tight relationship with Tahwyas International, LLC, but we have now on the market a group of products that are outstanding. Not even discussed above is our convergence device that combines a cell phone, digital camera, radio, camcorder, GPS receiver, MP3 player, portable video game device, television, and allows you to surf the Web. This one includes a printer as well. It is a multi-functional device and can help you save space when you pack for a trip. Go to Convertechworks
-----
See Crystal Campbell’s “High tech meets high-end cuisine” (April 1, 2009) at Content for Reprint
At Unique Homes luxury is being redefined. Camilla McLaughlin writes in “REDEFINING LUXURY: High-Tech at the High-End,” that new technology is changing the way we buy, sell, and live.
-----
Copyright April 2010 by And Then Some Publishing, LLC
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