Archive for May, 2008

Terrie Bryan asked:


Ah, Hawaii. A vacation paradise! Have you always dreamed of taking a family trip to Hawaii but need to stay on a budget? Imagine clear tranquil blue water, lying on a hammock, lounge chair, or a beach towel and enjoying the warm tropical sun and gentle ocean breeze (sounds so cliche but it is so true). And umbrella drinks of course, something nice and fruity. What could be nicer and more relaxing?

Sound expensive? Well, it doesn’t have to be anywhere near as costly as you thought.

Even though Hawaii is a notoriously expensive travel destination, with some research you can find some deals for the budget minded and hold onto more of your cash. Let’s check out some tips on getting really cheap airfare and how to spend some time in Hawaii with as little pain to your pocketbook as possible.

First, you have to get there, so let’s explore some different ways you can find inexpensive airline tickets.

You’ve probably heard of the discount air carriers such as JetBlue and Southwest, and often you can find great deals with these airlines. However, what you may not know is the major airlines, due to problems of late such as bankruptcy, are actually making an effort to undercut the prices of some of the cheaper smaller carriers. So don’t automatically cross the larger companies off your list right off the bat. Check their websites and see what kind of deals they are offering.

I recommend checking with the larger online travel sites such as Expedia and Travelocity, but don’t assume that just because you have checked there, all other travel sites will offer the same airline fares. The lowest fares may be at another site so check as many as possible. And of course, as I mentioned, check the individual airline websites as well. Fares are always changing, remember to try different times of the day and different days too.

You can use a travel agent at a physical location (as opposed to online) to help you look for deals on hotels, rental cars, etc. Often they have package deals available that can save you a bundle.

Scheduling your trip for the off season will help you save money. Don’t worry, the weather will still be gorgeous!

You might consider finding a travel message board or forum and ask local residents to give you some advice on the area you plan to visit. They will know what hotels are the cheapest, where you can go to eat for less money, and lots of fun and often free activities. Forums like this are gold, do use them!

Now, once you have secured your airline travel tickets for a cheap price, how can you enjoy this vacation oasis without taking out a second mortgage?

Choosing to plan your trip to Oahu has a great advantage in that public transportation can be found to pretty much anywhere on the island. This can save you a bundle because you might decide to forego a rental car.

Once you arrive, you can take in free nightly hula shows at Kuhio Beach in Waikiki. They often also show free films in the evenings on the beach.

The Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center is another great tip for how to travel cheap. Here you can find some more freebies as they offer free lessons in hula dancing, ukulele, and lessons on how to make a lei. They will also provide lesson in Hawaiian quilting. Now where else can you learn things like this without spending a dime? Great fun.

If you choose to save money by not renting a car, you can save by taking the bus everywhere, or you can rent a bike for about 20 bucks a day. If you do rent a bike and need to take the bus somewhere, you can take your bike along with you on the racks of the city buses. Cool huh?

Remember that if there are decent waves, the surfers will be out, and most any day you can find a surf contest going on. For the cost of some sun screen you can enjoy some absolutely amazing tricks and performances put on by the surfers. This is an extremely fun and inexpensive way to spend a day in Hawaii.

On Saturday there is a farmer’s market at the Kapiolani Community College. This is a super way to soak up local culture and find some local produce and crafts, and you can find some spectacular deals here too. It’s a great place to save money on all those souvenirs you need to bring back home to friends and family. You know they’re expecting something! You can find cheap eats here too, or you can even just wander around and people watch.

So if you have always wanted to travel to Hawaii but had no idea how to find really cheap airfare, take advantage of these tips and you can have an awesome dream vacation to this beautiful state without spending too much cash.



Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • YahooMyWeb
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • TwitThis
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • Pownce
  • MySpace

Leave your Comment

Curt Webber asked:

In Eastern Europe you’ll find the small country of Belarus, with roughly 10 million people, among them a bevy of beautiful Belarusian brides hoping to find a marriage minded man from the West. Even though the majority of the population lives in the large cities (a full fifth of the population lives in Minsk, the capital city), Belarus is mostly an agricultural country and is often known best for the radioactive fallout the Chernobyl disaster sent raining down on the small country.

Most of the people of Belarus speak Russian, although you will also hear Belarusian, which sounds very similar to Polish. Belarus has been greatly influenced by the countries it shares a border with, including Latvia, Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia. It was, in former days, a part of the USSR.

Many of the festivities and folk songs that Belarusians celebrate with have their history in the pagan Belarusians of centuries ago. Even today, the God of Sun, Yaryla is still celebrated in Belarus, although the main religions now are Orthodox and Catholic.

How does this affect you if all you want to do is marry a Belarusian bride? It affects you because it’s important to know as much as possible about a foreign bride’s country, her culture and beliefs, and anything else that may influence your relationship with her.

Each part of the world has a different belief system, with its own customs, traditions, and morals. You don’t have to agree with them, but you do need to respect the other person’s right to hold onto them, even if she moves to your country to become your wife.

In Belarus, for instance, there are distinct roles for men and women, such as preparing the table with food, which is considered the woman’s responsibility. A Belarusian man would not be expected to ever take part in that chore.

Like many countries, much of the Belarusian traditions revolve around food, and much of their food is served with vodka. They have an interesting tradition with food as it relates to matchmaking.

A matchmaker visits a hopeful Belarusian bride and brings gifts of food and drink. She suggests a potential husband for the woman, and if her recommendation is accepted, she returns to the house later with the potential groom, who brings a gift of vodka to the family. The young woman’s parents supply food for all.

When this ritual has been completed several times, the couple is considered to be engaged. If it doesn’t work out and one side decides to break the engagement, they’re expected to repay the other party for the food and drink expenses.

In contrast to old traditions, men and women in Belarus often hold the same jobs and receive comparable pay, but even in these modern times, gender specific roles are still recognized. The raising of children is the woman’s domain and with those younger than 14, the father seldom interferes with the mother’s decisions.

Years ago, when a young couple got married, they moved to their own little hut on family property owned by the groom’s parents. Celebrations of the marriage took place in the homes on both sides and everyone shared all the expenses.

Another cultural difference you may be unaware of is that young Belarusian brides who could work on the farm and keep house well were considered a better choice than one who was beautiful or wealthy and didn’t possess those skills.

Morals were strong in Belarus and a young woman was usually expected to still have her virginity when she married. In fact, sometimes it was also expected that the groom be a virgin as well.

When you decide you’d like to marry a Belarusian bride, take the time to learn about her culture. It will endear you to her, and will allow you to have a little more insight as to her beliefs and what she considers important.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • YahooMyWeb
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • TwitThis
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • Pownce
  • MySpace

Leave your Comment

HalloweenMic asked:

McFly band members Danny, Dougie, Tom and Harry Join Yvette Fielding on a ghost hunt around 3 haunted locations around Northumberland (Part four of fourteen)

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • YahooMyWeb
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • TwitThis
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • Pownce
  • MySpace

Comments (25)

vmbjohn asked:

I’ve been cooking this dish for a long time now. I’ve varied it so many times. I initially made the dry chilli chicken and tried to make the wet one by using website recipes but every time I make them there is something wrong I do which I still dont know. Finally one day I was watching Food Network where there were making some other recipe and they made a little gravy and I used there technique which I will describe below to make the wet one. Again this is my approximation with the measurements

Heat a small heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot and toast chilies, 1 at a time, pressing down with tongs, a few seconds on each side to make more pliable. Wearing rubber gloves, seed and devein chilies. In a blender purée chilies with cashews and broth until smooth. Cut legs into drumsticks and thigh portions. Remove excess fat from chicken and pat chicken dry.

In a large heavy saucepan heat oil over moderate heat until hot but not smoking and cool onion and garlic, stirring, until softened. Add cumin, chili powder, and salt and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add chicken and stir to coat with onion mixture. Stir in chili purée, 2 tablespoons coriander, and tomatoes with juice and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally to avoid sticking, 45 minutes, or until chicken legs are cooked through.

Cook chili over moderate heat, stirring, until heated through and chocolate is melted. Chili may be made 2 days ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, before being chilled, covered.

Recently Mary and I have become very interested in what might seem an odd combination of cross-cultural holiday celebrations. A couple years ago one of the Toledo television stations, did a batch of Sunday morning live shots from an event my wife and her girlfriends were having, a fund-raiser for one of their own who has multiple myeloma. The young reporter they sent out, Zack Ottenstein, hit it off so well with Mary and I that before he left he handed me his card, wanting to get together with us outside broadcasting. Since that time he’s become a dear Jewish son to us Christians, and an older brother to our six kids. And my oldest son Aaron has built and runs the website for Zack’s mother, jewelry artist Judy Ottenstein. Ready you are Chili Chicken Dry Please visit in the site www.indomunch.com for extra details.

brazilian mail order bride

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • YahooMyWeb
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • TwitThis
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • Pownce
  • MySpace

Leave your Comment

Joesph Till asked:


Photoshopping is a process of manipulation of digital photographs. It has become more popular after a fall in price of digital imaging software and hardware. Photoshopping is now a widely popular pastime on the internet. Many of the editors considers this image fakery to be a form of new creative art, when photoshopping is applied as a means of funny spoof. It is although a good pastime of part-time pixel pushers; even working persons are getting involved into this act to shape up their talent and to take a break from the seriousness as well as from the monotony of the scheduled work.

Photoshop contests, or commonly called as Photochop contests, is a game played online, in which the person using an internet forum or website sends an initial image generally a photograph and then asks other candidates to manipulate the images. Such editing of images can be done by using some commonly used image editing software, like Corel Photopaint, Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, The GIMP etc. The players of such online Photoshop contests find it very interesting not only as their favorite pastime but also as a means of earning quick money.

In such Photoshop Contests, the users are generally asked to edit the image in a funny way, or if specifically mentioned then according to the given theme. Then, the users move away and manipulate the image as asked and send the resulting image back to the website. When versions of the image are submitted by all users at the website, they have to vote for the best image. The candidate whose resulting image gets the maximum number of votes wins that Photoshop contest.

In many such Photoshop contests, a major element of the humour involves the practice of clichés. Such incredible repetition of a joke from an image often results in the replacement of the initial joke by the clichés itself. Such pictures can also sometimes become major internet phenomena. Most commonly used clichés are as follows:

• Domo-kun

• A foreign tourist on the WTC with an airplane about to hit the building.

• Admiral Ackbar and his phrase “It’s a trap”.

• A picture of untidy James Brown.

• “All your base are belong to us”.

• An (often obscure) reference to goatse.cx.

• The famous O rly owl.

• A picture with the captions ‘X is watching you poop.”

• The usage of a photo which looks like a lolcat.

• The famous Preved Bear- from the customized John Lurie’s work of art, Bear Surprise, is to be found in videos, photographs and pictures

Nowadays, such Photoshop contests are able to find increasing candidates in a large no. of blogs. The Photoshop contests are gaining immense popularity, mainly due to the underlying humor or taunts which are generally associated with the edited images. They act as a stress buster for many and a source of income for some.



Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • YahooMyWeb
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • TwitThis
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • Pownce
  • MySpace

Leave your Comment