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I was raised with 4 brothers and my Mom. Our Dad died when I was five so I don't remember him. Raising 5 kids alone in the 50's was a huge burden on a single Mom. There were hard times but the one thing my Mom instilled in us was that as long as we had each other, we would survive.
I am going to start a story about my grandparents first. Afterall, they are the ones who spoil us but at the same time instill morals and values into our hearts.
My maternal grandmother was a very family oriented person. She suffered with a bad heart as long as I can remember and couldn't do a lot but she was always there when we needed someone to talk to. She tried to instill the love of God in each of us and was forever teaching us the importance of a close family.
Living in the depression taught her to be very conscious of everything. This is where I learned to love crafting. She didn't throw anything out. She used scraps to hand quilt and I used to sit and help her tat quilts all summer while listening to her explain that they would come in handy when winter set in. And they did! She helped me make my first apron for 4 H Club. We sewed it by hand and it is a memory that I have never forgotten. Learning to use a needle and thread at 10 was so thrilling to me.
Her house was always open to anyone who wanted to enter. On Sundays, the entire family gathered at Grandmas to eat lunch. She had a small house and you just sat wherever you could find a place and put your plate in your lap and dug in. She was an excellent cook. Her kitchen was always messy but her explanation was that all good cooks have messy kitchens because that is where they stay.
But as sweet as she was, she had a temper. My Mom told about her and my aunt making Grandma mad once and she chased them around the house trying to smear dough in their face. When she couldn't catch them, she walked through the house and as she passed Papaw, she just smeared it in his face.LOL He never said a word. Just got up and washed it off. (I guess he knew better) This is my Grandma whom I loved dearly.
My maternal Papaw was a gentle man. He never said anything bad about anyone. The one thing that he taught me was that a child is a child no matter who it belongs to and they all need love. He loved children and had the patience of Job with them.
In his younger days, he played the fiddle for their church barn dances. He called the squaredances as he played. Growing up, listening to him play the fiddle gave me a sense of peace when nothing else could. I was his favorite and everone knew it.LOL
But I adored my Papaw. We sat in the porch swing and talked about everything. He taught everything from the difference between regular lightning and streak lightning to loving without judging. Even though he was a small man in stature, he was a giant to me. This is my Papaw.


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SAM VERSUS KWASI MANU: WHO WAS THE BETTER MUSICIAN?" By CAMERON DUODU
The Ghanaian Times 17.07.2012
One question that was often debated by my father and his friends was this: Was 'Sam' (1) – alias Kwame Asare — a greater guitarist than his contemporary, Kwasi Manu? (2)
Both guitarists could use their strings to play almost the entire melody of their song before using their voices to sing it. But whereas Sam merely used his string as an accompaniment to his vocals, Kwasi Manu kept weaving chords in and around his vocals as he sang. So, in terms of the intricacy of his artistry, I would put him slightly above Sam.
But Sam's melodies and guitar renditions were more catchy and thus more memorable. His guitar chords were simplicity itself and whole versions of them can play in my head, while Kwasi Manu's comes only in fits and starts.
My father favoured Sam, because he was called Kwame (!), just as Sam was, and also (I think) Sam tapped into a certain melancholic streak deep down him.
Did these musicians know about the effect they had on their fellow men? They probably did. I know because I was lucky enough to get a unique insight into one of them one day, when something happened in my village that was completely out of a storybook.
My father's beer parlour at Asiakwa was right at the side of the main road between Accra and Kumase, and since Asiakwa is about 70 miles from Accra and 101 miles from Kumase, it served as a good point at which vehicles could stop and allow their passengers to stretch their legs.
My father travelled a lot to go and procure supplies for the shop, and so he knew almost every driver who plied the route between Suhum- and-Koforidua and also, Nsawam-and-Kumase. It wasn't surprising that ine of his best friends was a driver who lived at Kyebi and whom we kids called "Papa 'Sei" (for Osei). No matter how overloaded his truck was, he would stop and take my father on board if he needed a ride.
Well, one evening, at about seven in the evening, Papa 'Sei came and parked his truck near my father's shop. This was unusual because he normally passed Asiakwa between 4 and 5pm, on his way home to Kyebi.
Papa 'Sei stepped out of the truck. And a smallish man stepped out with him. They were the only two people on board of the truck.
They came into the shop and my father greeted them cheerfully and offered them seats. He opened a bottle of beer and I washed and wiped two glasses very clean and served both Papa 'Sei and his guest.
After taking a sip of his beer, Papa 'Sei said with a mysterious grin, "Agya Kwaam, do you know this man who is with me?"
"Of course not" said my father, intrigued.
Papa 'Sei then announced: "This is the famous musician, Kwasi Manu!"
WHAAAAAT? We all shouted out in disbelief. For Kwasi Manu was, in our terms, the equivalent of a member of the Beatles in England circa 1968!
Now, my father could be quite a tease, and although Papa 'Sei wasn't someone he would not normally challenge, he said with mockery in his voice, "Kwasi Manu….?"
I must repeat his words exactly, for they were quite close to being rude: "Ne ho he n'ese Kwasi Manu?" (Which part of him looks like Kwasi Manu?) I remember the words as if they were uttered only yesterday.
Papa 'Sei was not vexed by my father's irreverent remark. He probably expected precisely such a reaction. The man purporting to be Kwasi Manu too didn't say anything. He just exchanged glances with Papa 'Sei and shrugged — as if they were used to this type of reaction from people who saw Kwasi Manu for the first time.
Next, Papa 'Sei whispered something to the man.
The man got up wearily and and went to the truck. When he came back, he was carrying something wrapped in a piece of cloth.
With a bored look, he unwrapped it.
It was a guitar!
Now, we were all greatly intrigued.
We held our breaths and waited. You could hear a pin drop.
I don't know exactly how news spreads in a small town, but in the mean time, the name "Kwasi Manu" had travelled round the people's homes and before the man had strummed a single note on his guitar, the area surrounding our shop had been invaded by a host of fellow townspeople.
The man looked at my father and asked him, "What song would you like me to play?"
The crowd that had gathered answered for my father: "Yaw Ampoma!" they all shouted. It was a beautiful song but also very difficult to imitate. If the guy was an impostor, he would be exposed in no time at all, as he struggled with the complex guitar notes with which the song opened.
But as soon as Kwasi Manu struck the opening chords, we knew it was him all right. For no-one else could play a guitar quite like that. And even if another person could imitate the guitar play, he couldn't have mastered that opening sequence so perfectly — without mixing up a chord or two. It was incredibly beautiful and also smoothly executed, and as soon as Kwasi Manu accomplished its performance, everyone fell absolutely quiet. We all knew we were being offered the treat of our lives. We realised that we were privileged to hear something absolutely fantastic. And free of charge!
As I have intimated, this "Yaw Ampoma" number was extremely distinctive among the songs we usually heard on our "78" RPM records of the time. It began as if it was a dirge – the singer started off by roll-calling the names of valiant people he knew who were no longer alive and praised each of them with a pithy phrase. It was done with a nasal twang that was associated with traditional dirges.
Then he changed the tempo of the song and tone of voice and turned it into a danceable rhythm. So it was both music to be listened to and also danced to. That heightened its magnificent nature.
The only problem with it, as far as we were concerned, was that the lyrics were sung in two dialects – in both Asante Twi and (I think) Bono (Brong).
We didn't understand the Bono bits, which formed a majority of the words. But we could tell from the way he intoned the words that he was expressing heartily-felt melancholy sentiments. After singing in Bono for a bit, he interjected a sentence in Twi that was perfectly intelligible to us: " Yaw Ampoma na wawu asei kwa yi? Ewiase asei." (Is this Yaw Ampoma who has just died and become wasted? The world has been laid to ruin!)
Then he went back to sing and mentioned Yaw Ampoma's name a few more times, and said something, which would have been repeated by a chorus– had there been one. We automatically sang along at this point, but the guy didn't mind.
The nasal tone Kwasi Mani used was usually associated with palace dirges. So, in this one song, Yaw Ampoma, he had married the palace dirge with ordinary street music. And the guitar was the go-between that introduced the two unwilling lovers — the palace and the street — to each other and bound them together in an embrace of love. It turned the music into something else. It was so good that even the parts of the song we couldn't comprehend communicated deep emotion to us.
Indeed, if we had a problem with the lyrics, our inability to comprehend them made us drink more deeply into the guitar bits: both the long introduction with which the song opened and the melodious tune that took the song along until the voice intervened again.Kwasi Manu's fingers strummed the guitar and made it sound as if there two or even three guitars playing, each instrument melding into the others harmoniously without any apparent effort.
The man with Papa 'Sei rendered all these things we knew from memory by way of the gramophone record, quite faithfully. The only difference from the record was the absence of the chorus and rhythm section. But Kwasi Manu's melodious voice made up for all that. Indeed, the lack of distractive elements in the song made us appreciate his artistry the more.
When the song ended, we all yelled our delight. My father opened some more bottles of beer and entreated them to stay and play a few more songs for us for us. But Papa 'Sei insisted that they had an appointment somewhere and must go; otherwise, the people they were going to see would go to bed. He promised my father "Now that you've got to know him, I shall bring him back soon and you will be able to hear some more of his music."
As could be expected, Papa 'Sei was never able to fulfil his promise. He probably lost touch with his friend Kwasi Manu, who must have been in great demand all over the country. Whatever the reason, Kwasi Manu never came back to Asiakwa. But to me, it was as if a boy in Britain had experienced a live performance by Paul MaCartney or Eric Clapton, or if he were in America, by Elvis Presley or Bob Dylan. Kwasi Manu was that big in our estimation at the time.
I never lost hope, being filled with youthful optimism, that my father would be able to bring Kwasi Manu back to sing for us again. I wanted to hear from his lips, such songs as the one in which he used such memorable phrases as "The eyes don't recognise what is sorrow, otherwise I would nod off as I sit down by myself!" Or the one in which he reproached a young man for being "too much of a man-about-town to go to the farm to bring food to eat!" In another song, he chided "Akosua Kuma" (probably a deceased wife) for making "me busy myself and getting so tired — for nothing." In another song, he dolefully lamented that "Akwasi Manu, I am about to die and leave the world."
Well, sadly, I didn't hear of Kwasi Manu again. Then rumours spread that he'd died. Up to now, I don't know which town he came from; where he lived most of the time, and how he died. In thoise days, rthe record producers didn't provide any information whatsoever about their artistes. The artistes just sold themselves with the quality of their work. No advertisements; no public relations releases.
But Kwasi Manu has been part of me all my life. How many of our modern musicians are working to make such an impression on the young ones who are listening to their music?
I have said this before, but I shall say it once again, I appeal to the Arts Council to find the music of Sam and Kwasi Manu, Kwaa Mensah and EK Nyame, Otoo Lartey and the other greats of our early years, digitise them and make them freely available nationally. You can go to the archives of Decca and other record producers and get the master discs. Pay money for them if necessary. But get the stuff! I do know that private collectors, like Prof John Collins, hold some of them, but they are a national treasure, and should not be subjected to the vagaries of private enterprise. They belong in a national music museum, no less.
(1) On July, 21, 1928, West Africa magazine published a photograph with a caption that read, "The Kumasi Trio came to London to record 36 double-sided records, mostly in Fanti, for Tarquah." The Tarquah Trading Company's position as a general retail in key Gold Coast cities was not matched by competitors. By 1928, it had become the main agents for Gramophone Company.
Kumasi Trio was made up of three main performers: Kwame Asare (Guitar); H. E. Biney (Guitar); and Kwah Kanta (Drums). The legendary guitarist Kwame Asare, was compelled to record under the name Jacob Sam.
Kwame Asare and his friends hailed from Saltpond, in the Central Region of present day Ghana, where the Fanti people live. It is no coincidence that the songs were sung in the Fanti language. The town of Kumasi is about 100 miles north of Saltpond, and is the central hub for the Asante people who speak Twi. The name "Kumasi Trio" could have been for a commercial purpose, and not a representation of their hometown.
(In a paper titled, "Ghanaian Highlife," John Collins wrote that after World War I, "dozens of guitarists came to prominence in Ghana; they included Kweku Bibi, Kwesi (sic)Manu, Kwese Peprah, and most of all, Kwame Asare, the first to record highlifes.")
The recordings heard here http://www.myspace.com/kumasitrio
are the earliest-known by Kwame Asare and his group. They were recorded in June 1928 for Zonophone. The landmark and standard highlife song, "Yaa Amponsah" is featured here.

subset: commoncrawl


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DescriptionProgram StructureEligibilityContact
In this course you will learn how to integrate Apache Spark & Scala. Along with how to use Spark in data preparation, and machine learning pipelines in a Spark cluster.
- Module 1 – Basic statistics and data types
- Module 2 – Preparing data
- Module 3 – Feature engineering
- Module 4 – Fitting a model
- Module 5 – Pipelines and grid search
Duration: 6-8 Hours
Mode: Self-Paced
Course Level: Intermediate
Fees: Free
- Basic understanding of the Scala, Python, R, or Java programming languages
- Basic of Machine Learning


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Jeremy Corbyn has been slammed in the right-wing press for choosing to appear at Glastonbury rather than Armed Forces Day events. Nothing sums up more neatly than this the longstanding preoccupation of our country's majority right-wing press with Corbyn's refusal to sanction war and violence. And nothing sums up better how out-of-kilter that thinking is. By Lee Williams.
More great content like this @ Places, Culture & Travel Front Page or you can Request Invite


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Why You Should Be Strength Training
Strength training, also known as resistance training, is simply repeated muscle movements against resistance that require greater force than you typically use in daily activities. The objective is to increase muscle strength, but in doing so, strength training also fights disease, improves overall functional ability and offers psychological benefits. The significant health improvements from this type of exercise, combined with the fact that they require a mere 30 minutes of exercise per week to take hold, make strength training an endeavor well worth your time.
Fight Disease
The Centers for Disease Control and American Heart Association endorse strength training because it is such an effective weapon against disease. In addition to toning your body, strength training can improve your resting metabolic rate, glucose metabolism, blood pressure, insulin resistance and gastrointestinal transit time. Resistance training can improve stamina, help you get more energy, and even help to prevent cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.
Maintain Functional Abilities
Functional abilities are those that allow you to conduct your day-to-day activities without getting hurt. Examples include maintaining balance to avoid injuries from falls or lifting and bending without straining muscles. Resistance training provides the full-body workout necessary to maintain and improve your functional fitness.
Additionally, strength training helps you stay active. Improving your core strength reduces lower back pain by properly supporting your spine. It prevents osteoporosis (loss of bone density and strength), as well as sarcopenia (age related muscle loss), and alleviates chronic pain, such as from fibromyalgia. As you get stronger, your body functions improve, protecting you from injury and disability. The less often you get injured, the more active you can remain to maintain a better quality of life.
Reap Psychological Benefits
The benefits of resistance training extend beyond merely the physical. Clinical studies have linked resistance training to improved sleep, reduced depression and even better cognitive abilities. This type of exercise also ameliorates anxiety. In addition, regularly engaging in resistance training boosts self-esteem and overall energy level. Simply put, regular strength training is likely to make you both happier and more productive.
How To and How Much
Perhaps the best news about resistance training is that it doesn't require a large time commitment to result in significant health benefits. Short workouts and simple exercises, done for about 15-20 minutes, two times per week, produces presentable benefits. Rest days between workouts are a must as they allow your muscles to recover.
Exercise intensity should be relatively high, with fewer reps, rather than moderate with more reps. The speed of each movement should be slow enough so that momentum doesn't do the work for you: Depending on the move being performed, anything faster than eight seconds per rep may not derive as much benefit.
The Activ5 portable fitness device and mobile app makes working out fun and conveniently portable. You can engage in strength training with easy workouts using isometric exercises anywhere. For example, you can exercise on an airplane, or do a hotel workout on your next business trip or vacation. The Activ5 has over 100 isometric strength training workouts. Further, it automatically customizes them to your fitness level, bringing you closer to achieving your fitness goals.
Strength training doesn't need a gym full of large equipment: You can increase your strength at home, on the road or even at the office. Workouts don't have to fill your calendar with long sessions that you end up skipping. Instead, you can use the Activ5 anywhere, anytime and gain the full health benefits of strength training.


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Euro Area GDP Still Escapes Contraction in Q3
Among all the problems in Europe and the post-Brexit woes, the European Statistics agency (Eurostat) has released its first view of third-quarter seasonally adjusted gross domestic product (GDP). The preliminary flash estimate showed that GDP rose by 0.3% in the euro area (EA19), and it rose by 0.4% in the broader European Union (EU28) nations.
In the second quarter of 2016, the seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 0.3% in the EA19 and by 0.4% in the EU28. The third quarter of 2015 had shown that seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 1.6% in the EA19 and by 1.8% in the EU28 in the third quarter of 2016, after +1.6% and +1.8% also in the previous quarter.
Reuters was calling for 1.6% in the EA19 area for the annual reading and 0.3% for the quarterly reading. In short, this number was more or less in line with the consensus.
The numbers might sound fine when you consider how the European Central Bank has been buying assets, but that action should highlight how weak things really are in Europe. The combined economic output of the 19 currency members rose by 1.4% on an annualized basis — less than half of the growth seen in the United States GDP reading released last Friday.
Another issue to consider is that the post-Brexit move had less of an impact than some of the more extreme views were touting. Some believed that the post-Brexit move would set Europe up for an instant recession. Still, this rate of growth is low enough that it just does not support the hoped-for inflation targets.
Note that the euro area (EA19) includes Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.
The European Union (EU28) includes all of the euro area countries and also Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Sweden and the United Kingdom.


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Injuries reported following Swiss rail crash
At least five people have been injured following a train crash in Switzerland.
A suburban train in the Zurich area of the country collided with a rush-out intercity train headed into the city early this morning.
The incident happened at Rafz Station, 30 kilometres north of Zurich and close to the German border.
One of those injured was thought to be in a serious condition.
Both drivers were unharmed and evacuated both trains quickly.
Services into Zurich had been disrupted, with Swiss rail operator SBB announcing intercity services between Zurich and Stuttgart, in Germany, has been rerouted.


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Return to Bracing Systems Inc. Home Page
We are the authorized repair center for most of the top selling name brands of construction equipment. Honda, Essick, Lull, Stihl, Hydro Mobile, Clipper and Multiquip, just to name a few. Bracing Systems stocks a large inventory of parts in both of our conveniently located service departments. Bring your construction equipment that needs service into our shop, or schedule jobsite service and repair with one of our State-of-the-Art service vehicles. Give us a call. We are waiting.
Our ability to react to a customer's needs and the ability to provide knowledgeable service are our specialty. We strive to give the customer the best value for their particular job in the most economical and effective manner.
Call us or Contact us today, because the best price and service is only a phone call away !!
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been a busy week after the 360 sounds party last fri.
one good reason living in seoul city: most of 12″s cost just 1$. nothing sorted.
another good reason : nobody cares about brazilian records.
jason gave me this cute slipmat in his last visit to my studio. till today i never realized how cool it is.
360sounds x kitty (check out unfact blog)
she's the most famous cat in town.
those 2 albums were slept in a random store in yongsan. costed a bit but still worth having it. you don't know how much i love the novi singers!
another legendary second hand book store in yongsan.
yeah. this book was waiting for me like 22 years.(this is from '86) in the pic, that's what i'm tryin' to do after posting this.(not that headspin one…)


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Welcome to the Henderson State University baseball camps. We hold instructional camps for youth and exposure/instructional camps for high school baseball players. Our mission is to provide campers with a great experience and give them the most bang for their buck. Our staff are all former college baseball players that deal well with youngsters and give state of the art instruction for the most advanced athletes.
Online registration is safe and secure using Ryzer.


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(You know this is one of the first things you hear when you think about this game, so I had to include it!)
Who could forget this nostalgic game? I'm guessing no one, but here are six things I bet you never knew about Sonic the Hedgehog.
6. Sonic wasn't one person's brilliant idea.
The artist Naoto Ōshima, programmer Yuji Naka, and designer Hirokazu Yasuhara are the most notably credited.
With his pointed ears, red jumpsuit, and atrociously long sideburns, I'd say SEGA made the right move in looking for a replacement mascot.
5. Sonic wasn't always a hedgehog.
Several character designs were submitted before a hedgehog was settled on. Some of the other suggestions were an armadillo, a dog, a Theodore Roosevelt look-alike in pajamas – no joke – and a rabbit.
Sonic was nearly a rabbit, as SEGA envisioned that a rabbit could grasp things and fight with prehensile ears. However, it was decided that a character that had to pick up and throw things would slow down the face-paced game. Instead, SEGA focused on a rolling character, and chose a hedgehog over an armadillo, despite concerns that Americans would have no idea what a hedgehog even was.
The "Theodore Roosevelt in pajama's" character was used later as well, taking the form of Dr. Eggman, otherwise known as Dr. Ivo Robotnik, the main antagonist of the Sonic franchise.
4. Sonic's trademark speed is based on Super Mario Bros. World 1-1, sort of.
Sonic creator Yuji Naka stated in issue 260 of Nintendo Power that "I always tried to get through the level [Super Mario Bros. World 1-1] as fast as I could," which inspired the initial concept for Sonic the Hedgehog.
Yuji Naka was one of the original Mario speed-runners, I suppose. Who would have guessed!
3. Sonic couldn't swim because of a mistake.
The reason you and I died so many times in those ridiculously hard underwater levels was because Sonic couldn't swim. The reason he couldn't swim was simply because of a mistaken assumption by Yuji Naka, who believed hedgehogs could not do so.
I wasted so many lives drowning, all because someone forgot to fact check. (Nostalgically shaking my head.)
2. A big-name Japanese band composed The Sonic soundtrack.
The game's soundtrack was composed by Masato Nakamura of the band Dreams Come True. Sega sponsored the band's "Wonder 3" tour, and painted Sonic on the side of their tour bus. Sega also distributed pamphlets advertising the game, and had footage of the game broadcast above stage before its release.
Above is a Dreams Come True 1990 tour poster. The text on the flyer reads: "Kawaii yatsu ni wa, toge ga aru,". The literal translation is sort of a pun: "for a cute guy, he has spines," but the Japanese word for spine, toge, can also mean "harsh words." Source
1. The original concepts put Sonic in a band.
Yup, that's right. Sonic the Hedgehog was conceptualized as the lead singer for the Sonic the Hedgehog Band, which consisted of Max the Monkey on bass guitar, Mach the Rabbit on drums, Sharps the Chicken on lead guitar, and Vector the Crocodile on keyboard. All members of the band wore Sonic's iconic power sneakers, and – according to Yuji Naka – the early idea of the "Sound Test" would involve Sonic break-dancing while his band played the music.
Like many other early ideas, all the characters were scrapped before the final release, but several sketches featured in SEGA Megadrive/Genesis Collected Works art book reveal all the band members had roles in the game.
Mach the Rabbit is shown to be imprisoned along with other animals in a capsule, as each of the band members were to be saved in each of the game's zones. (This would have been a great touch.)
An early idea for the game's ending involved Sharps the Chicken saving Sonic from falling back to Green Hill Zone after destroying Dr. Eggman's escape plane.


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Food Containers
Published Mar 1, 1996 | 135 Pages | Pub ID: SB281
Now 50% off the original sale price of $2,250.
This market profile investigates 44 food processing and farm food markets in the $22 billion U.S. food container market. Investigates plastic bottles and containers, metal containers, plastic and paper bags and sacks, glass containers, and textile bags. Reviews cost structure of U.S. food container product plants and the competitive environment. A special feature of this study is competitive intelligence on and marketing strategies for 48 worldwide manufacturers of food containers.
- Introduction and Methodology
- US Food Container Purchases by End-Use Market
- Factors Affecting US Food Container Demand
- US Food Container Shipments
- Company Profiles and Recent Developments


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When my husband brought home Garden Fresh Gourmet Screamin' Hot salsa for me the other day I actually said, "Yeah. I'll bet," as I was putting it in the refrigerator. I've tried a zillion salsas, bloody mary mixes, sauces, and other foods that promise to send steam shooting from my ears, and nine times out of ten they're merely a little peppery or oniony. Fortunately, I like mild salsas, drinks, and sauces too, so it's not that huge of a deal to me. It's just that when it comes to food, I think the term Hot gets overused.
With expectations pretty low, I opened my new salsa to give it a try. My first impression?
This is hot.
Quite hot.
My next impression?
Oh My God. This is really hot.
Hot Hot Hot.
Too hot.
This went on for about six chips worth of salsa, at which point I had to give up and put it away.
I'm not even sure I'm recommending this as something you'd want to eat. I'm more just recommending it as something that is honestly very, very hot.
So… Enjoy. I guess?


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Along for The Ride Giveaway!!!!
Photos property of Along For the Ride
These super cute Rosette Necklaces are great for any occasion, but are you looking for something unique to give your bridesmaids to wear with their dresses? Along For The Ride is going to give away four of these necklaces, in the color/s of your choice to one lucky bride!
They come in all of these colors listed below!
yellow, red, orange, lilac, peach, carnation, light pink, maroon, bright pink, kelly green, lime, light green, light blue, turquoise, royal blue, robin's egg, linen, white, black and gray.
Here's how to enter:
Just leave a comment with your wedding date
Follow Events By Ashley Blog
Follow Events By Ashley Blog
Like Events By Ashley facebook page
If you are not a bride and want to enter for the bride, leave a comment and share the wedding date and relationship shared between you and the bride. Follow Events By Ashley blog and then like Events By Ashley facebook page
Giveaway ends Friday, September 2, 2011. Winner to be announced Friday evening!
Make sure you visit Along for the Ride blog!!


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Football fans, crazy pictures, beautiful fans, and face painting ideas. In the Football and Soccer world, the FIFA Soccer World Cup is a huge global event. This World Cup 2010, is taking place in South Africa. This page is devoted to the football fans that really goes all out to support their nations, with some passion and flair. Soccer and football fans are known for fanatical support bordering on mania and even violence at times.
Do you need Face Paint to support your team? Our Online SHOP has comfortable and professional grade face paint. Top quality fan face paint that won't be itchy, at reasonable prices.
This Image to the left courtesy of Duncan Stewart - A Bronze - (Streetwise) "If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I still have a dream". - Martin Luther King, jr. Or have a look at FOOTBALL: A Dialect for Hope VIDEO
The final line up of countries who have qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup is as follows: Nigeria, Cameroon, New Zealand, Japan, Netherlands, North Korea, South Korea, Australia, USA, Brazil, Ghana, England, Paraguay, Spain, Denmark, Cote d'Ivoire, Chile, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Serbia, Switzerland, Argentina, Honduras, Slovakia, Algeria, Portugal, France, Slovenia, Greece, Uruguay and host South Africa.
Three-time FIFA World Cup™ winners Germany are usually there or thereabouts when the honours are handed out, and the current national squad will head for South Africa with their sights and expectations set appropriately high. After triumphing in Switzerland in 1954, on home soil in 1974 and in Italy in 1990, the team now coached by Joachim Low are aiming to hoist the most prestigious trophy in the world's favourite sport for the fourth time. The Germans' consistent success is based on deep reserves of experience, finely-honed tactical know-how, and the ability to rise to the occasion when the chips are down.
After a 32-year absence from the world stage, Australia made a strong statement at the 2006 FIFA World Cup™, reaching the knockout stage where it took a last-minute goal from eventual champions Italy to eliminate Guus Hiddink's team. The squad, now under another Dutchman, Pim Verbeek, features many of the Germany 2006 personnel and is a battle-hardened and experienced group.Unlike four years ago when Australia qualified through via the Oceania zone, and finally a dramatic play-off against Uruguay, the preparation for the Socceroos this time is very different following a lengthy campaign across the length and breadth of Asia.
Serbia played their maiden international, independently, on 16 August 2006, winning 3-1 away to Czech Republic. They did, however, former part of two now disbanded teams: Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro. The former participated at nine FIFA World Cups™ between 1930 and 2002, and finished runners-up at the UEFA European Championship twice. Then, at Germany 2006, Serbia and Montenegro lost all three matches in a competitive group to fall at the first hurdle. While Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montengro wore blue shirts, Serbia adopted a red jersey and the nickname Beli Orlovi (White Eagles).
The only African side to get out of the group stage at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ and the first to qualify for South Africa 2010, Ghana are anxious to prove themselves as the cream of the continent. Though this will be only their second appearance at the finals, the Black Stars have enjoyed considerable success at all levels of international football. They have won four CAF African Cup of Nations titles, though none since 1982, as well as two FIFA U-17 World Cups, and they became the first African team to lift the FIFA U-20 World Cup when they beat Brazil on penalties in October 2009. With added experience since their 2006 adventure, where they lost to Italy and Brazil but beat the Czech Republic and USA, Ghana are set to be a major threat at Africa's first FIFA World Cup.
The final or bust. The Oranje have set lofty aims for their campaign in South Africa, 32 years after their 3-1 extra-time defeat by Argentina in the showpiece game, which itself came four years on from their 2-1 final loss to West Germany. Since the retirement of pioneering coach Rinus Michels, a multitude of players have followed in the footsteps of the Johan Cruyff generation without ever advancing as far as the final hurdle, though one particularly talented crop did claim the European title in 1988. Often seen as spectacular but mentally fragile, the Netherlands hope to banish that image under Bert van Marwijk, who took over in the wake of their disappointing UEFA EURO 2008 campaign.
After a six-year absence, Danish Dynamite is once again set to explode on the elite world footballing scene. The Scandinavians missed out on both the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ in Germany and UEFA EURO 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, but the FIFA founder members blazed an impressive trail en route to a berth in South Africa next summer. The Danes will now be looking to extend their creditable record at three previous finals appearances, where they reached the Round of 16 twice and the quarter-finals on the other occasion. Denmark's first tilt at the trophy was in 1986 in Mexico, where they progressed to the last sixteen. The core of that team then went on to register the nation's greatest footballing triumph with the 1992 UEFA European Championship crown in neighbouring Sweden.
Boasting one of the strongest squads in Asian football, Japan, winners of three of the last five editions of the AFC Asian Cup, have high hopes for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ - their fourth appearance at the global showpiece. First on the agenda is an improvement on the disappointing showing at Germany 2006, when the Samurai Blue exited at the first hurdle after a 3-1 reverse against Australia, a 0-0 draw with Croatia and a resounding 4-1 defeat by Brazil. Japan will also be facing their first finals without iconic midfielder Hidetoshi Nakata. The former Roma schemer featured in each of the national side's games at France 1998, Korea/Japan 2002 and Germany 2006 before hanging up his boots after the latter event aged just 29.
Though their light may have faded somewhat since they brightened up the world stage at the 1990 FIFA World Cup™, Cameroon are not a side to underestimate at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The top African nation in FIFA's rankings, they also bring Africa's richest pedigree to the finals. They have appeared a continental-best five times in the World Cup, and no other African side has yet eclipsed their historic run to the Italy 1990 quarter-finals – though Senegal equaled the achievement in 2002. Cameroon have played in 17 FIFA World Cup matches, the most of any national team from Africa. Their 1-0 defeat of holders Argentina to kick off the 1990 FIFA World Cup is one of the great upsets in the history of the event.
Defending champions Italy will naturally be one of the leading contenders to emerge triumphant at the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ South Africa. The only country along with Brazil to have won the tournament twice in succession, Marcello Lippi's men will be vying to match the performance of their pioneering predecessors in 1934 and 1938. Italy have qualified for 16 of the 18 FIFA World Cup finals, failing to book themselves a place in 1958 and having not opted to take part in the first edition in 1930. They have won the competition on four occasions, in 1934, 1938, 1982 and four years ago in 2006. They also finished runners-up in 1970 and 1994 and claimed third place on home soil in 1990.
Having just put together their best ever qualification campaign, Paraguay are entitled to think big ahead of their fourth consecutive appearance at the FIFA World Cup™ finals. Under the guidance of Argentinian coach Gerardo Martino, the current Albirroja crop look to have what it takes to build on the progress made by their predecessors at France 1998 and Korea/Japan 2002, where the Paraguayans reached the Round of 16 before being knocked out by France and Germany respectively. Paraguay will be making their eight FIFA World Cup finals appearance next year and their fourth in a row. La Albirroja have never won two games at the same finals and have yet to progress beyond the Round of 16.
After a disastrous campaign four years ago, New Zealand bounced back in emphatic fashion under coach Ricki Herbert to qualify for their first appearance on the world stage in 28 years following a debut showing at Spain 1982. Herbert, and assistant Brian Turner, were both key figures in the campaign nearly three decades ago. The duo have turned the All Whites into a solid unit whose rearguard, the fifth-placed Asian nation Bahrain was unable to breach over 180 minutes of the intercontinental play-off. Four years after elimination by the Solomon Islands, the Kiwis claimed the Oceania crown to earn a trip to the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, where they showed solid form after a poor opening against European champions Spain. The dramatic South Africa 2010 play-off victory against Bahrain united the Rugby-mad nation behind the All Whites like never before, resulting in a national record crowd in the capital Wellington for the decisive qualifier.
Appearing for the first time in a major international competition, Slovakia have been striving to relive the glory years enjoyed by the former Czechoslovakia since going it alone in 1993. While their team is hardly filled with household names, Slovakia can nonetheless rely on a well-organised collective with plenty of admirable qualities. Likewise, their continuing progress gives them good reason to be optimistic about their voyage to South Africa. Fourth in their section in qualifying for the 1998 FIFA World Cup™ France, third on the road to Korea/Japan 2002 and runners-up ahead of Germany 2006, Slovakia continued their rise by sealing top spot in Group 3. Vladimir Weiss's side booked their historic place on 14 October 2009, upsetting a number of predictions that they would struggle to cope with a difficult pool.
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Shamrock Rovers fans prior to the UEFA Europa League Qualifing match at Tallaght Stadium, Dublin, Ireland. Not rated yetNo fairy tale in Dublin on the 29th July 2010, sadly, as I always like to see Juve lose. Amauri put the Serie A side 1-0 up after just three minutes, which …
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Tom Engelhardt: 9/11's Living MonumentsRoundup: Talking About History
As for myself, I was on my bedroom floor that morning most undramatically exercising when my wife called to tell me that something was happening. By then, TV cameras were already focused on the first punctured tower and, remembering tales of the B-25 that had hit the Empire State Building in 1945, I assumed I was watching a horrifying accident. Another friend, a rare North American who remembered the first 9/11 -- that day in 1973 when Salvador Allende, the Chilean president, was overthrown and murdered in a U.S.-backed military coup -- thought it might be Chilean payback.
Any half-plausible idea was, for a while, possible. History hadn't set. The Bush administration, in disarray, hadn't yet hijacked the day or the country. September 11th, still being lived, hadn't been renamed"Patriot Day." There was, as yet, no Department of Homeland Security, no Patriot Act. No one had been rounded up. No wars had been launched.
As for New Yorkers, those of us not making our way out of -- or into -- the danger zone were on the phone checking on loved ones, listening to rumors, or outside in the streets, talking to each other, wondering while the sirens wailed. It was a memorably terrible moment, but not, in fact, a nightmare of fear; nor would New York ever, as far as I could tell, find itself in the grip of blind revenge as, it seemed, so much of the country would soon be. Not so long after 9/11, for instance, two New Yorkers I know -- one had been close indeed to the collapsing towers -- headed for Afghanistan, not armed to kill but to help.
I remember my own now-embarrassing first reaction to 9/11 (once I grasped what was actually happening). It was unexpectedly dense and unprophetic, given the American reaction to come. I thought, then, that perhaps the horror of those acts of destruction and mass murder in my own city would open Americans to the sort of pain so many others in the world had felt -- sometimes, in fact, at our own hands. It might, I thought, change our politics. It did, of course, do that, but in no way I imagined. And that was the strange, unexplained thing for me: it seemed as if living at"ground zero" during the assaults of 9/11 somehow made you the worst predictor of what our nation would feel and do.
For me, even today, an especially unnerving aspect of 9/11 was the way so many Americans donned"I [heart] New York" T-shirts and hats -- New York having, until then, been Sodom to Los Angeles's Gomorrah for much of the country -- and under the Bush administration's fear-filled ministrations, began beating the drums of war, while panicking over prospective terrorists launching improbable attacks on their local amusement parks and landmarks. It seemed craven to me then and still does today.
Eight disastrous years later, I suddenly understand that day so much better, thanks to Rebecca Solnit, whom 9/11 indirectly sent my way offering hope in dark times. Now, she's returned with her latest book, A Paradise Built in Hell, which capsizes our most basic sense of what disaster is all about, humanly speaking. As befits an author who has written a guidebook to getting lost, she is bold beyond belief and her originality matches that boldness. And here's the thing: if you take a journey into disaster with her (9/11 being but one of the many disasters she explores in the book), you won't get lost. You'll find yourself. You'll find ourselves, our better selves, even in catastrophe.
Think of Paradise as the perfect companion volume to Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine. Klein explained how governments try to take advantage of disasters to optimize their power and wealth (and that of their cronies); Solnit explains what ordinary people in disasters regularly do for themselves. They don't, as we have been taught, run screaming from danger. They head for the smoke, pedaling hard, and then, without the help of governments, they begin to organize. They become, briefly, their better selves. So here's a thought: Maybe it was the lack of the actual experience of 9/11 that left the rest of America so vulnerable when the Bush administration led them toward their lesser selves. ...
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"It makes me feel like a kid with a new toy!"
I bought a Trikke carving vehicle so could have something to ride when I took my two boys to the park or to practice. I got so much more!
My first few days of riding were fun but tough. I felt I wasn't getting "it," so I looked up "Trikke" on the internet and found SouthBay Trikke, which was in my area. I took down the number and eventually went over and met Andy Pliska, who checked out my Trikke, put air in the tires and fixed all the tweaks. He then gave me a short lesson, encouragement and I was on my way.
I went home and showed my skeptical 13-year-old son what I had learned. He picked it up right away! The very next weekend was the Last Saturday of the Month (LSM) Ride and it was at Torrance Beach, right in my neighborhood. Before the ride, I got to take another lesson (from Andy), then my boys and I were able to be a part of Trikke history. With 54 riders, it was the largest group Trikke ride in Southern California, to date, on June 30, 2012.
"My boys said it was one of the most fun days in their life …"
After the ride, there was an open house and BBQ at the new SouthBay Trikke shop, where I got to meet all the So Cal Carvers club members, who brought food and drinks, and even Trikke inventor Gildo "G" Beleski and his lovely family. There were Trikkes to ride and "G" let everyone ride a go-cart he made for his boys.
My boys said it was one of the most fun days in their life, and I have to agree!
Now, I'm not an athlete, but I'm able to ride around my hilly block. People stop me all the time and ask about my Trikke. One day, my friend saw a local Trikke athlete climbing a super steep hill in our neighborhood and later, she flagged me down to ask me about mine.
"I have it here in my van," I told her. "Want to see it?"
I was so happy she tried it out. I got to see myself in her — all-new again — and the progress I have made.
See, I have always been tall, heavy and sometimes, a bit awkward. But now, when I ride my Trikke, it makes me feel like a kid with a new toy! There have been frustrating times — I live in a hilly area and it took me a while to get the hang of it. But with the encouragement from the club, LSM rides, friends and family, I am riding more, getting in better shape and having fun while I am doing it.
Thank you, Trikke, and So Cal Carvers!
In my area, there's So Cal Carvers, SouthBay Trikke with Andy Pliska (Trikke Andy), who is a trainer, dealer and great Trikke mechanic. And the best for last… Trikke World Magazine!!! Thanks to an amazing Randy Boyd.
Who would have guessed, all this from buying a new toy!
Story first publish March 2013 by Trikke Wolrd Magazine


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Manchester, New Hampshire (CNN) - It didn't take long for fireworks to erupt at Saturday night's Republican presidential debate.
But while most of six candidates on the stage at Saint Anselm College traded barbs, Mitt Romney didn't field much incoming fire from his rivals, and didn't apparently do any damage to his front-runner status in the race for the GOP nomination.FULL STORY
Ron Paul ended Newt's political career tonight.
King Obama 2012
Because Ron Paul gives power to the states and their elected officials, and that doesn't make any sense.
Could it possibly be that the Moderators try to make it personal ???-LOL
Mitt Romney got a free pass on the debate tonight, he was not challenged by the other candidates and the questions asked of the candidates were weak,feeble and useless for the most part. We already know Republicans blame Obama for everything that has happened to the economy and in the middle east for the past twenty years but you would think there would have been an actual debate. ABC should be ashamed at how bad this was. Mitt won because everyone let him win and he was barely challenged. Santorum was off his rocker pretending there is no such thing as middle class, we are all the same according to him so maybe he is from Mars afterall.
Huntsman is the only canidate on the stage tonight that has class and appeal. I can't believe the Repubs would hold their nose and nominate Romney.
I liked Paul & Huntsman, they are orignal.
Bring back Bachmann. The guys are chickens scared to attack each other! The weakest GOP debate on record.


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What Are APIs, And How Are Open APIs Changing The Internet
Have you ever wondered how programs on your computer and the websites you visit "talk" to each other? To understand that, we first have to delve into the weird and wonderful world of APIs, or Application Programing Interfaces.
What is An API?
The phrase API appears regularly in computer-science fields. But what does it mean? Well, definitively put, it refers to a tool, or library, that assists developers in writing code that interfaces with other software. These can range from the low-level tools that allow Windows and OS X applications to use aspects of the underlying operating system, to those powering the apps on your phone. In short, it defines a way in which a computer program communicates with another computer program.
But APIs aren't inherently interesting. The application of these tools is what really matters. Here's how APIs are making the web awesome, opening up governments, and increasing consumer choice.
APIs in Business
You might assume that the technology world is inherently cut-throat, with incumbents not wishing to provide a leg-up to the competition. But you'd be wrong. Indeed, many large technology firms, such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, even allow the use of their service by third parties and competitors.
Yes, there's a genuinely compelling commercial reason why a competitor would release an API, and then have allow anyone to use it. With respect to Facebook and Twitter, we see how third parties have enriched these services with their own code. A great example of this is seen in Klout, which allows developers to measure their social influence, find influential people in their spheres of interest, and schedule Tweets and Facebook postings.
Having an API also allows users to create alternative applications for existing mobile and desktop computing platforms – such as these alternative Facebook apps for Android Faster, Leaner, Better - Alternatives To The Android Facebook App Oh, the joys of having social media available to us at any time of day thanks to the advent of the smartphone. Facebook has always been (at least on the surface) about connecting with your... Read More we looked at in 2013, as well as for newer, more tentative platforms. It is for this reason why Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn all have presence on smaller, less commercially significant platforms, the likes of which include Windows Phone, Blackberry 10, Firefox OS and Tizen (what's Tizen What Operating Systems Do Wearable Devices Run On? Wearable tech, in its many shapes and forms, changes human-machine interaction. Read More ?).
Having an API also allows users and companies to manipulate an existing product to serve their own interests. We've covered some incredible examples of this in the past, including the API released by Norwegian startup Appear.in Appear.in Now Lets You Add Video Conferencing Facilities To Any Website Simply put, it is now possible to integrate Appear.in within your own website and blog. But why should you care? Read More , which allows users to integrate their own HTML5 driven videoconferencing applications within their blogs, websites and applications.
APIs In The Browser
The HTML5 specification has defined what the modern browsing experience should look like – fast, interactive, and with the least plugins possible. Although support for the standard is nowhere near completed, and remains wildly inconsistent across browsers, there's still an amazing amount of functionality on offer.
We've discussed HTML5 at length in the past What Is HTML5, And How Does It Change The Way I Browse? [MakeUseOf Explains] Over the past few years, you may have heard the term HTML5 every once in a while. Whether you know anything about web development or not, the concept can be somewhat nebulous and confusing. Obviously,... Read More , and even penned an e-book about it Get Started With HTML5 You've heard of HTML5. Everybody is using it. It's being heralded as the savior of the Internet, allowing people to create rich, engaging web pages without resorting to using Flash and Shockwave. Read More , but it can never hurt to recap. The latest functionality in the HTML5 specification makes it easy to create rich, detailed games and animations with Canvas; for websites to store data on the user's computer, without using cookies; and for websites to determine your location and even determine the battery status on your computer.
To get an idea of the power of HTML5, check out these 5 browser based HTML5 games 5+ HTML5 Games to Play in Your Browser Now HTML5 is driving Web development forward in an exciting way. It offers a range of advantages over its predecessors, and could (and really should) kill proprietary plugins such as Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight. HTML5... Read More . My favorite is the the beautiful (and addictive) HexGL.
What you might not know is that these individual components of the HTML5 are largely considered to be APIs in the truest sense. How so? Well, firstly, like all APIs, there's a published and carefully designed standard of how this functionality of the browser works, and how developers use it.
Much like the Appear.in API, or the Facebook or Instagram API, developers use this standard and functionality in order to make data transactions, like with the IndexedDB API, or to access browser functionality, like with the Canvas API.
APIs In Government
In recent years, we've seen an unprecedented opening of government, and a sustained surge towards transparency. In the UK, we've seen the launch of data.gov.uk, which is a 'one-stop shop' of government datasets and statistics, ripe for analysis by statisticians, journalists and data scientists. In the US, they've also been steadily marching towards openness, but with a slightly different edge. Rather than just distribute their open data as excel spreadsheets and CVS files, they've chosen to use APIs.
The background behind this lies in Executive Order 13571 issued by the Obama administration on April 27, 2011. Titled 'Streamlining Service Delivery and Improving Customer Service', it demanded that government agencies examine how they can improve the delivery of services, and emphasized that this should be achieved with digital technologies. Shortly after that, Obama announced "Digital Government: Building a 21st Century Platform to Better Serve the American People", which defined how this content would be delivered to the American public. Namely, with an open API which would simultaneously act as the lynchpin behind a number of government IT projects, but also provide access to privately-developed applications.
This project is perhaps one of the first of its kind, but has been a phenomenal success, with a majority of US government agencies releasing open data sets, including the National Institute of Health, the US Army, and the Department of Homeland Security.
For the most part, to take advantage of these APIs, you'll likely need to have a solid background in programming, as well as a degree of competency in data visualization, data science and statistics. But as an end-user, you can take advantage of the applications and websites that use these datasets. One impressive one I've noticed is AirNow, which allows you to monitor air quality in your neighborhood.
America is not alone in using APIs to open their government and increase transparency. Other governments who have since released open data APIs include those of Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
The Rise of the API
APIs sound dull, but they're anything but. They've changed the ways governments operate, and they've brought an unprecedented range of choice when it comes to how you use the Internet.
You can even integrate flight data into your projects Integrate Flight Data Into Your Projects With aviationstack The aviationstack API lets you add useful flight data to your website with little effort. Here's how to start using it right away. Read More , or use an API to scrape data from websites The Scrapestack API Makes It Easy to Scrape Websites for Data Looking for a powerful and affordable web scraper? The scrapestack API is free to start and offers many handy tools. Read More to help you find and dissect information more effectively.
Related topics: API, Programming.
Affiliate Disclosure: By buying the products we recommend, you help keep the site alive. Read more.


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Experts say parents should be setting earlier bedtimes for kids.
We all know plenty of sleep is important for our kids, but do we realise just how much difference it actually makes? Well a new study conducted by the Journal of Sleep Research explains exactly why we should be encouraging our kids to go to bed sooner rather than later.
I posted a post on the page a few months ago about a school who gave a chart to parents stating the 'right' and 'wrong' times pupils of certain ages should be going to bed.
This post completely divided the opinions of parents across the country, but will this research manage to change your minds?
The study reveals hard evidence to suggest that the earlier a child goes to bed, the better their academic performance.
The findings state that by encouraging children to go to bed earlier and encouraging similar bed and sleeping times during the week, you are ensuring a high academic performance.
The research analysed data from 8,000 teens and has concluded a strong link between sleep patterns and academic performance.
There will be further studies conducted in the future to investigate further how the association between sleep and school impacts upon future educational status and professional work.
Do you think there is a right or a wrong time to send your child to bed? Join my poll below and let me know your thoughts on this post. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this research and whether or not you will be taking the information on board yourself now you are aware of the academic links connected with sleep patterns.


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In a previous post, I went over some of the advantages of having dual citizenship and a second passport. Chief among those reasons is geographic arbitrage or geoarbitrage, which is especially relevant to the FI community. Now that you know what those advantages are (read the previous posts if you haven't)…how do you get dual citizenship?
The 4 Routes
Simply put, the four most common routes to second citizenship are Descent, Residency or Birth, Investment, and Other.
1. Descent (Jus Sanguinis, "Bloodline")
Descent is one of the most common ways to acquire another citizenship. I acquired two of my three citizenships this way (I'm back to two only now). Ancestry is typically the simplest and most frugal way to get another citizenship.
If you have a parent, or sometimes grandparent or great-grandparent, that was born in another country, you may have a shot at a second citizenship.
A large proportion of U.S. citizens, for example, have some Irish ancestry. As long as you can prove that one of your grandparents was born in Ireland, you are eligible for Irish citizenship.
Countries that grant citizenship through descent include:
- Ireland
- Italy
- Hungary
- Chile
- Many others
2. Residency or Birth (Jus Soli, "Right of the Soil")
A child born in the United States is automatically a citizen of the United States. Foreign residents in the United States can apply for citizenship after a set period of time.
Many other countries function with similar requirements. However, what differs among the countries is how long you have to reside there, whether you have to spend most of your time there, and how difficult the process is to obtain citizenship
Countries that grant citizenship through birth and/or residency:
- The U.S.A.
- Argentina
- Chile
- Many others
3. Investment
Approximately a dozen countries in the world offer citizenship in exchange for investment in the country. The "investment" is typically:
- Purchase of real estate
- Donation to the government
- Purchase or investment in a business
- Purchase government bonds
The governments offering such investment programs are generally in Europe and the Carribean. The thresholds for investment vary greatly, anywhere from $250,000 to over $10 million. It isn't cheap, so I don't recommend this route unless you have absolutely no other options and you get back some of your investment with geographic arbitrage.
Countries that grant citizenship through investment:
- Malta
- Cyprus
- Bulgaria
- Austria
- Dominica
- Antigua & Barbuda
- Saint Lucia
- Grenada
- Others
I named this category "other" not to be mysterious but because I honestly don't know what to call this. Israel and Brazil are the countries I'm talking about here.
If you're Jewish or wish to become Jewish, you can become a citizen of Israel. There are some stipulations such as compulsory military service, but the option is there.
In Brazil, you can give birth to a child in Brazil, adopt a child in Brazil, or get married to a Brazilian citizen and receive citizenship.
Don't Forget
There are typically several avenues to citizenship in countries, not just one. Below is a perfect example using Chile:
Is dual citizenship essential for financial independence and early retirement? No, absolutely not. You're fine with just one citizenship as long as you follow the principles of FIRE. It's math, after all.
However, if you carefully plan your retirement around the principle of geographic arbitrage, you can dramatically accelerate your progress. Dual citizenship can open up the possibility of geographic arbitrage for you or ease the process!
Are you eligible for dual citizenship? Would you ever buy dual citizenship? Why or why not? Is another passport something you'd make use of?
Comment below, I'd love to hear from you!


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Official Call for Participation in National Assata Shakur Liberation Day
Official Call for Participation in National Assata Shakur Liberation Day From: The Jericho Movement
To: Friends, Supports & Comrades
Subject: National Assata Shakur Liberation Day
National Assata Shakur Liberation Day is an initiative started by The Jericho Movement in 2013 to establish November 2nd of every year as national holiday. This call was in response to the FBI's designation of Assata as a terrorist, first woman on the top ten most wanted list, increase of her bounty from one million to two million dollars showing the governments total disrespect and disregard for Cuba's sovereign international right to have granted her political asylum. We are asking friends, around the world: Communities and organizations to hold events celebrating Assata's liberation from prison on November 2, 1979. We hope to educate and organize around the issue of Political Prisoner's, mass incarceration, torture, solitary confinement and racial profiling.
On Nov 2 2016 The Jericho Movement in collaboration with Queen Sister Empress Chi, founder of the Million Women March movement will include a day of fasting designed so the everyone, young and old, sick and well, can participate by fasting all or a portion of the day, wearing an armband, or attending a local program in support of all Political Prisoners.
National Jericho Movement: www.thejerichomovement.com. Campaigning for the freedom and amnesty of Black Panther/Black Liberation Army/Civil Rights Activist/Anti-Imperialists/American Indian/Chicano freedom fighters/political prisoners.
* Million Woman March: Founder: Empress Chi. History of 1997 March http://www.cnn.com/US/9710/25/million.woman.march2/ Now in preparation for the 20 anniversary March in 2017
Social Media Links & Handles Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/638766242960910/ Official Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Assata-Shakur-Liberation-Day-1176666129022743/ Hashtags: #Assataliberationday,


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Disinheritance, Family Feuds, and How Lincoln Was Nearly Not President
Abraham Lincoln
A little bit about Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States. He was born on 12th February 1809 near Hodgenville in Kentucky in a small wood cabin. Although he came from humble beginnings, he grew up to be one of the most powerful men in America. He died in Washington on 15th April 1865. He was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. He was in office from 1861 to 1865. His mother passed away when he was just 9 years old and this affected him greatly. He resented his Father. This was mainly due to his lack of education and tardiness. Lincoln was a clever man and self taught himself law. He issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 that meant that slaves would be free forever.
He married Mary Todd, and between them had 4 children. Although only 1 lived to adulthood. Lincoln is certainly regarded as one of greatest leaders in the Country's history.
Whatever you are, be a good one.— Abraham Lincoln
The bust of Abraham Lincoln
Hingham, in Norfolk, England
Hingham is a market town in South Norfolk, England. With a population of 2367 people (recorded in 2011). It is quite a small market town, but is rich is history. One such piece of history that Hingham is proud of is the connection with the former President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. I was born in Hingham and have been inside St Andrew's Church many times. Although I have looked at the bust of Abraham Lincoln on numerous visits to the Church, I never really did realise how important this is in a historical context.
St Andrew's Church is located in the heart of Hingham and is a 14th Century mediaeval Church. As you can see from the photograph, there is a bust of Abraham Lincoln in the Church. This is situated in the north aisle of the Church. The bust of President Lincoln was unveiled in 1919 by the American Ambassador, John Davis.
St Andrew's Church, Hingham, Norfolk
Lincoln's connections with Hingham, Norfolk
Samuel Lincoln was an apprentice weaver in Norwich when he moved to the USA. Ironically, he moved to Hingham in Massachusetts. Richard Lincoln was Abraham's great-great-great-great-great-great Grandfather. Richard's son from his first marriage, Edward, expected to get his inheritance when his Father passed away. But, on the death of Richard, he left it all to his son from his fourth marriage. As you can imagine, Edward was none too pleased about this. At the time, Edward had a cottage in Hingham, Norfolk. Samuel spent his early days here before moving to America.
Samuel is Edwards son. And some historians say that if Edward had inherited the money, they may never of have moved to America. Of course, this would have changed the path of history, and Abraham would never of become President of the USA.
Samuel was born in 1622 and left Norfolk for America when he was 15 years old. Samuel and his wife, Martha, had 11 children. Although 3 of them died when they were young. Abraham is a descendent of his fourth child, Mordecai. Samuel was baptised in St Andrew's Church, Hingham, Norfolk.
Inscription on the bust of Abraham Lincoln
In this parish for many generations
Lived the Lincolns
ancestors of the American Abraham Lincoln
To him greatest of lineage
many citizens of the United States
have erected this memorial
in the hope that for all ages
between that land and
this land and all lands
there shall be
malice towards none
with charity to all
With Malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds.— Abraham Lincoln
In Summary
Although, as I say, I come from Hingham, I paid little attention to the relevance of how Abraham Lincoln is connected to both Hingham in Norfolk, and Hingham in Massachusetts. It wasn't till I grew up I started paying more attention to this and started doing some research and looking into this. I now feel proud that I was born in such a small village (as it was when I was born in the 60's!) that has such a connection with one of the most powerful men in America. I knew little about the background as to why Abraham had a connection with Hingham, but am glad that I come from somewhere with such a strong connection.
The house Richard Lincoln lived in, in Swanton Morely, Norfolk
Hingham, Norfolk
Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.— Abraham Lincoln
Hingham, Massechusetts
© 2017 Louise Powles
This is a very interesting article about Lincoln's roots in the UK, and the irony that because his ancestor lost his inheritance, the situation led to his moving to the US and for his descendent to be one of the best presidents that the United States ever had.
That is so very fascinating. It reaffirms how small our world really is. And, as you say, without the cards falling just as they did, we may have never had a President Lincoln. Pretty thought-provoking. thank you for sharing your homeland and your connection with our country. Angels once again are headed your way ps
Hi, Louise, It's Tim, as in Tiny Tim. lol
Loved it, Louise. Informative and full of interesting details. Yes, Lincoln is one of our most cherished presidents, for his speeches as well as his moral fortitude. I've always read he was industrious from an early age, and he was always the most intelligent boy around the area he came from during his time. He did lead this country through the American Civil War with courage.
The connection with Great Britain is not surprising because we all came from somewhere. However, I wonder since his ancestors came from a nation that had already abolished slavery: Did that influence his moral development as a leader. Possibly.
Thanks for a great article.
I have ancestors who came from Hingham. It was the Tower family.
One decision by a father and the course of history was set in motion. It is always interesting to read of such facts. Thank you for sharing your research with us.
All this time I never gave it any thought. You brought me something years of history didn't. I wish I had you for a history teacher I think I would of learned and remembered so many more important things. Thank you for sharing and caring. I took a walk through your hub and even forgot I was reading.
Fascinating. Americans tend to forget we all came from somewhere else except for the Indians, true native Americans. I look forward to reading more of your work.
This is so very well-written, and concise. President Lincoln has always been my hero. I love him.
Wow, I did not realise there was such a strong link between Lincoln and the UK!
A great man, a noble man and a great servant of God. My Guruji talks about him in The Sacred Fire, a play about America's Greats and the Soul of America.
I have touched on him in my book: My Guru, Sri Chinmoy: Life And Teachings. You have done an excellent job, not only in helping us to remember him, but in sharing some of the ideals and spirit of America's pioneers. Glory be!!
I love the "stand firm" quote! Such a fascinating man.
Interesting to have such a connection to the village and church that you know so well Louise, and of course the information about Richard Lincoln's will is indicative of how the future can so easily be altered by seemingly trivial domestic events. (One wonders what decisions in ordinary households might be taken today which might have radical effects on the world in a hundred or several hundred years time!)
I know from time spent visiting Norfolk last spring, how small villages such as this have many such interesting stories to tell, if only one knows where to look :) Alun
Well who knew? How fascinating! Two Hinghams! I love reading about this sort of thing, the ancestors, just a small twist and they wouldn't have gone to America etc, loved it!
What a great history your town has--I love that you know so much about the history of the Lincoln family and how it intersects with your town--
Nice piece, of course many American place names are after the names of the villages and towns that the new settlers came from and it is always interesting to find them and visit the namesake place if you can.
Higham Church looks lovely :)
This was really interesting. It is a small world, we're more connected than we realized. I love Lincoln's quotes. He was a good man....
It's neat that the townspeople celebrate the link and I enjoyed reading about the connection. Just imagine if that inheritance had gone differently. I wish we had someone of his statesmanship today.


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Courtesy of Rick's Real/Reel Life, 5 old movies to help you ring in the new year with a smile on your face: (more…)Read more
Showbiz Great Rose Marie Dies @ 94
In the very year she joined Twitter, engaging hundreds of thousands of fans she humbly said she never knew she had, Rose Marie has died at 94. (more…)Read more
Happy Marlene Dietrich Day: 10 Must-See Movies
One of my all-time favorites, the legendary, lovely ... Marlene Dietrich is today's Google Doodle. She was born 116 years ago today, and died in 1992. (more…)Read more
Petula Clark Sings 'Downtown' at 85 in NYC
The indomitable Petula Clark has been touring the U.S. on a limited run, and if you thought her being 85 years old (how?!) would have slowed her down or muted her pop perfection, you were wrong. (more…)Read more
Celebrity Deaths of the Year: All the Stars We Lost in 2017
It's been another rough year when it comes to losing icons, although not quite as awe-inspiringly impactful as 2016. (more…)Read more
On Golden Years: Jane Fonda Is 80
Somehow, Jane Fonda is now three years older than her father Henry lived to be, and is five years older than he was when he starred in their film On Golden Pond (1981). That's right, the legendary actress, workout guru and activist is 80 today. (more…)Read more
GR8ERDAYS Millennial Challenge! Do Young People Know Icons of the Past?
I was inspired to do a video project when, speaking with a millennial friend a year ago, it became clear he had never heard of ... Will & Grace! [caption id="attachment_4003" align="aligncenter" width="400"] She's comin' out — but are kids still noticing?[/caption] Having long been curious as to whether stars like Bette Davis and Judy Garland…Read more
She Wants More: A Look Back at 'Imitation of Life'
Rick's Real/Reel Life just posted a long, loving look back at the classic 1959 melodrama Imitation of Life starring Lana Turner (1921-1995), Juanita Moore (1914-2014), Susan Kohner (b. 1936), Sandra Dee (1942-2005) and John Gavin (b. 1931). (more…)Read more
Keely Smith, 'That Old Black Magic' Singer, Dies @ 89
Keely Smith, the legendary singer who made a name for herself alongside first husband Louis Prima (1910-1978), has died. She was 89. (more…)Read more
Harold Lloyd's Amazing Christmas Tree
Courtesy of the Beverly Hills Historical Society, here is the cute story of what was considered to be the ultimate Christmas tree in all of Beverly Hills. (more…)Read more


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Is Cliff Lee to Texas the Right Move?July 9, 2010
Only moments after pulling out of an "imminent" deal with New York for lefty ace Cliff Lee, Seattle has reportedly agreed to send Lee along with reliever Mark Lowe to Texas in exchange for first baseman Justin Smoak and three other prospects.
We'll have to wait and see who the three other prospects are, but this is still a strange move for the Rangers regardless.
With severe financial troubles, the Rangers will be hard pressed to resign Cliff Lee to an extension following the season, so he is most likely a three-month rental. With the Mariners sending cash that will cover some but not all of Lee's remaining salary, one might question the Rangers taking on salary when their current financial position does not lend themselves to do so.
With MLB subsidizing the Texas Rangers, is taking on more salary really the smartest idea?
He undoubtedly improves the team, but does his acquisition alone turn the Rangers into a serious World Series contender? Already the top team in their division, does Lee's arrival put them on par with New York and Tampa Bay?
Another questionable part of the trade is the fact that Texas will be moving four young pieces within their own division. Since they made the move, three months of Cliff Lee is obviously worth the twenty-some cost-controlled years they're giving up in young talent.
Adding one of the game's best pitchers can't really be considered a bad move for any team, but a good move isn't necessarily the right one.


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The Paradigm Shift
The great minds addressing the challenge have had wins, but have also met great resistance. The resistance is natural as technology and machine review cannibalize the hours spent in traditional review. That is the ever present elephant in the room, but as Brynjolfsson said on beating the machine, chess player(s), corporate, law firms and vendor partners need to collectively approach the case.
As an example, corporate strategies across matters or low economic matters may all demand concept categorization-type analytics to find the relevant data quickly, but may be too expensive to "enable" in the software. Whether it is expensive technology, attorney review hours or data collection and processing, all of the pieces are there to align with better strategies for nearly any case that should be pursued on merit rather than settlement strategies that make the corporation a target. If we start there with that assumption from the onset of the case, it can work and is working for the savvy corporate, law firm and vendor teams pulling together. This is the minor mindset shift that needs to take place across the industry to address the mounting data growth, litigation and fear.
Because of the reactivity in the current climate in our legal industry, a majority of all matters are handled at the case level. Once the data is produced, it is closed including all of the brilliance in strategy and data intimacy amongst the teams. This has to stop. Whether the corporation is a serial litigant or reactive to the occasional lawsuit, leveraging a single provider with an FFA or AFA is what should be sought. There are many that are now touting managed services, and though this is a start in the right direction, they are mostly only satisfying their personal economic model, and line itemizing analytics, processing, etc. A true managed services provider should include everything for an actual fixed fee that works for that client, creating a predictable expense, better cases strategies regardless of case size or economics, and all case data should allow for collective case intelligence across matters.
We can't allow our industry to perpetuate pricing models in direct conflict with managing the growing data volumes. Technologists, consultants and case/project managers have assembled solutions and workflows to address these challenges, and, though not all are created equal, there are many who act as a partner or even a department within the corporation to provide solutions to capture case intelligence across all matters.
Rick Clark
Rick started in the legal industry in 2002 working for a litigation support company where he began consulting with law firms on paper and electronic discovery. As eDiscovery began to grow, his path took him to deploying software in data processing and forensics. In 2006, he became a co-founder of Wave Software for high volume unstructured data culling for a more streamlined review. The company quickly grew in the emerging eDiscovery market and as a result, he co-founded The Masters Conference to bring thought leaders together for education on the evolving best legal practices. In 2012, he began working in the complex data/document review with iCONECT and began to consult with corporations, the federal government and law firms in complex review. Rick joined TCDI in 2014.
Rick has a Communications degree in Journalism from Liberty University.
Latest posts by Rick Clark (see all)
- Ready to Relax in Style at LTNY17 - January 23, 2017
- Podcast with Ari Kaplan – Reinventing Review for Small and Mid-Sized Firms - October 20, 2016
- What to look for in an eDiscovery SaaS provider - July 18, 2016


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Ancestry Commercial Star Swaps His Lederhosen for a Kilt
Time to hang up the lederhosen.
Kyle Merker, who tells his story in commercials for the online family history resource Ancestry, grew up thinking he was of German descent. Then, he started researching his roots. Here are some of the surprising things he found out and how he went about finding them.
You grew up thinking your family originally came to the U.S. from Germany?
Yes. Growing up, if you asked me my ancestry, it would be German. My father was German, we were told. My mother was German and Irish. But we really celebrated the German part of our family, so holidays were always German. My father belonged to a German men's club, and we belonged to a dance troupe, so we would travel around the tri-state (New York) area, dancing in parades and fairs. We did a dance called the Schuhplattler, which is a Bavarian dance, and we had a lot of fun. We loved it. My sisters were even on television when they were little kids. There was a Christmas show called the Bell Telephone Hour: Christmas Around the World with Victor Borge.
When we woke up on Christmas morning, we had a little Bavarian village under the Tannenbaum. We ate Stollen. We were German.
Where did the idea that you were German come from?
The last name Merker is definitely German. And my father was estranged from his family. I never really met anyone from his family except for his half-sister. She was my godmother, and I only met her at my christening. My mother's side of the family was the one we spent time with. Her maiden name is Zimmerman, which is a German name, and his name is Merker, which is a German name. So we were always German. And we really celebrated it. I had a pair of lederhosen.
Connie Schultz: Uncovering My Family History
So, why did you become curious about your roots?
I started researching my family tree because I was interested in my mother's family. I was on a trip and my aunt mentioned her Uncle Phillip, who I'd never heard of. So I wanted to learn about him. That's why I got onto ancestry.com in the first place.
I learned all about Uncle Philip who lived in Texas. He was a geologist. I found out that he lost his passport at one point, and his good friend wrote a letter and signed a document saying that he was an American. This was in the late 1800s, so apparently, back then, that's all it took.
Then I started researching the friend that signed the documents and it turns out he was indicted in the Teapot Dome scandal, and I was fascinated that one of my relatives – who I'd never heard of – was actually hanging out with the wrong people. So now I'm hooked on ancestry. I'm really interested in it at this point. I learned that my mother's grandfather—my great-grandfather—was a volunteer firefighter. I found a newspaper article that mentions him. And I've been a volunteer firefighter for 22 years. My mother never told me that. So I asked my mother, was my great-grandfather a volunteer firefighter? She said, oh yeah, of course! It never occurred to her to tell me.
So now I have his shield and pictures of him. I have parts of his uniform. My nephew's a firefighter so I'm going to give it all to him.
You found a way to connect more with your family.
Right. Doing the searching, you learn about all these stories about your relatives, and it also opens up a window into your story. It opened up a window for me to call my mother and have a discussion about her grandfather, who she hadn't really thought about for years.
How did you then start delving into your father's side of the family?
So, I'm researching my mother's family and I wasn't getting back very far. I found one person from Germany, some people from Ireland, which I expected. Then I started looking for my father's family too. We thought he was 100% German, right? Or maybe he had a little English. And he died, so I couldn't ask him at this point.
So I started looking on his side of the family, and because he was estranged from them, I didn't have a lot of facts to put in [on ancestry.com]. But I put in what I knew and slowly began building this tree. And I'm expecting to end up in Germany. But I didn't get back there. I couldn't get back anywhere on my father's side.
Then I hit pay dirt when I found a newspapers article about my father's great uncle who sadly, drowned in an accident in Illinois. The article listed everybody, all these Merkers, who came to the funeral. So now, my tree is lighting up like a Christmas tree.
And still, you found no German roots?
Right. I'm supposed to find it on my mother's side, and I'm supposed to find it on my father's side. I expected German, German, German. I expected to be goose-stepping down the hallway. So, I saw that Ancestry had a sale on their DNA kit, and I decided to do that.
DNA kits are $99 at dna.ancestry.com. Enter 360610 at checkout for a Parade discount.
How does that work?
You send a vial of your spit to them. [laughs] And it takes about a month. Mine came back: 52% British Isles, 28% Scandinavia, 10% Western European. So I thought the 10% must have been German. But it was Greek and Italian. No German whatsoever.
So where did the German part come from?
There was the one Merker who had filled out that his father came from Germany. We believe that he must have come from Germany. I don't know how he got to Germany. I don't know if we tested his DNA, if it would come back German. The Merker men really liked the Scottish and Irish gals.
Why are people so intrigued by tracing their roots?
I've learned is everybody has a story. And as you go through life and you meet people, everybody has an interesting story. As you research, relatives are no longer people in a picture frame in your grandmother's house. It makes them real and brings them closer to you. I found people that fought in the Revolution and died in the Revolution. They were my family. It wasn't just something that I heard about in a book.