A Content Composer

During the short duration we were in Barcelona, people looked serene and appeared to be having fun, for there are lots of public parks and outside cafes where one can sit, eat, drink, or just enjoy life watching and petting the stray cats that beg for food around the cafés.

Talking of food, I put on several pounds enjoying the immense spread of food on the tables. My favorites are the tapas, like appetizers. In the evenings, one can go to a tapas bar and enjoy his drink and an unbelievable variety of food.

Some of the evening wanderers top the tapas by going to a restaurant afterwards. No wonder dinnertime never finishes in Spain, because people start around six or seven in the evening with tapas and bar hopping, and finish at a restaurant with main courses and deserts, eating late until after midnight.

A kind of sandwich they serve at tapas bars is called a montadito, which can be a slice of French bread with a gourmet topping of ham, tortilla, tunafish, anchovies, etc. The array of montaditos are served together with drinks and just the view of them are more than enough to fill any stomach.

The tapas bars are meeting places for poets, writers, painters, musicians and artists. This is where the real action is and where the heart of Barcelona really beats.

The most popular multicultural meeting place is Plaza de Catalunya with the well-known El Corte Ingles department store, which reminded me of Macy’s on 34th and Herald’s Square in New York city, except this department store was a more sociable place for its clients than being shopping oriented.

The most magnificent street equivalent to Park or Fifth Avenues is the Passeig de Gracia. On this street, several designers, such as Vincon and Cartier, as well as The Majestic Hotel are situated.

Since I refused to go to the bullring, deflating some of my Spanish friends’ egos, they refused the Picasso Museum to me. They politely said the Museum was very close to the Monumental Bullring and it wouldn’t be fair to go to one and leave the other.

Instead, they took me on a tour to Gothic Quarter, the one where the Barrio Chino is. They even managed to get a Spaniard in costume with a scary base voice to guide us through the medieval streets of gray cobblestones, talking of true ghosts and old legends that remained to haunt the imagination and the folklore surrounding Barcelona. The Spanish are a very demonstrative sort.

When we travel, we find out that the world is different. We can also travel without moving from where we are, by reading. Reading is not just for passing time but it is also for breaking the iron bars of thought and dogma the society has enforced upon us. So when I travel I look for bookstores and libraries to get the feel of the intellectual capacity of the town I’m in.

From that point of view, Barcelona really impressed me. Aside from being an artists’ city, I also found Barcelona to be a readers’ city.

A book store named Laie had to be the haven or rather a heaven for a book lover, because compared to its small size, it had everything that would make a person not want to leave it. In Laie, everyday, they had an event, a jazz or a musical performance, a cultural meeting, a lecture, a debate. The store even had a café upstairs, and of course, it had quite a few books.

So did the others. Once I came across a small bookstore that sold all English books. Later I found out that there were many large or small bookstores that catered to the English speaking readers.

There were larger bookstores, also. One was borne from a church built in the seventeenth century and it had books in several languages.

Each bookstore had a theme. Where one was well stocked with travel and adventure books, another had all the current titles, yet another had lots of historical books on its shelves.

Yet, all these stores had one thing in common. They carried art books or books about Barcelona and how this city fits into the art world.

Barcelona had been a delight.

Joy Cagil is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/
which is a site for Creative Writing. Her education is in foreign languages and linguistics. She has trained in psychology, humanities, mental health, women’s issues, and visual arts. She has also traveled to various places in and out of the country. Her portfolio can be found at http://www.Writing.Com/authors/joycag

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All of the rail systems of Kuala Lumpur are joined to Sentral Station, a state of the art railway center which is astounding for both its simple thinking, beautifully designed marble floors and walls, the road ways that lead up to the station and the fact that right next to it are the Hilton and Le Meridian hotels which are simply magnificent twin towers.

Simplicity is the order of the day when it comes to Sentral Station. The KLIA Express, the raised railway (LRT) and the KTM which is a long distance commuter train run from here in separate sections of the building. The mono rail is situated just outside of the building. In between all of this there are shops, cafes and restaurants.

If you are traveling from Sentral Station to KLIA and are flying with Malaysian airlines you can check your baggage here and get your ticket before getting on the train. The KLIA Express leaves from the basement and costs RM35 one way. The journey takes 28 minutes and leaves on schedule to the second. If you do happen to miss it, don’t worry as in 20 mutes another one will arrive. This is a non stop service to KLIA.

The raised railway runs from upstairs and in places the train actually runs through the building on its way. This system is charged on a per stop basis and one of its most important stops is the Twin Towers otherwise known as KLCC or Kuala Lumpur City Center.

The mono rail runs from Brickfields - a mainly Indian area of Kuala Lumpur. Within minutes you can be in Times Square, Sultan Ismal or Butit Bingtang, some of the major shopping areas in Kuala Lumpur.

The railway systems in Kuala Lumpur are clean, cheap, fast and safe, although you should never let your guard down.

Ronan Menton is the webmaster for a number of travel related websites and has been for some time in Ireland, associated with search engine optimisation in the Irish travel industry. He spends two months a year in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and now sees it as his second home. Among the many sites he is currently working on are the following: hotels in Singapore and hotels in Kuala Lumpur.

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Tucked away in the picturesque Ozark Mountains, which offers solace and rejuvenation to travelers, Eureka Springs was recently selected as one of America’s Distinctive Destinations, by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It has also been designated a National Historic Landmark and is an America in Bloom winner.

A mecca for artists since the 1800’s, Eureka Springs is currently home to over 200 working artists and 20+ art galleries. An artist co-op that will offer subsidized housing and studio space is currently being developed. Eureka Springs offers a peaceful and creative haven for artists of all mediums: photography, painting, sculpture, metal smithing, ceramics, and textiles. In the early 1930s, Louis and Elsie Fruend established an arts school in the historic downtown area. Today, the Eureka Springs School of the Arts has revitalized that tradition and offers a wide variety of classes to all.

Eureka Springs is also home to Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow, which houses writers from all over the world working on their creative projects. For the younger set, Lane House/Main Stage, an arts and enrichment center for youth, provides a safe environment for young people to experience creative education, self expression, and recreation. This after-school arts program for high schoolers produces several performances each year, including an annual dinner theatre fund raiser.

For thespians, the Eureka Theatre Company, founded several years ago, offers a full repertoire of theatrical performances in the newly-restored City Auditorium. The City Auditorium located in the heart of Eureka Springs’ Historic Downtown, originally opened almost 75 years ago with a concert conducted by John Phillips Sousa. In 2004, the Auditorium underwent a major renovation courtesy of a grant from the National Parks Department’s “Save America’s Treasures” program. The Auditorium which boasts excellent acoustics in an intimate setting has featured such well-known performers as Willie Nelson, Bill Cosby, Ray Charles, Chick Corea, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Charles Brown, Buddy Guy, Allison Kraus and Union Station, Ricky Skaggs, and The Del McCoury Band.

The Inspiration Point Fine Arts Colony is in its 50th year of training, and developing young aspiring opera singers and orchestral players from the four corners of the world. This performance venue offers “Opera In The Ozarks” each summer in Eureka Springs and has taken a place of prestigious acclaim amongst the international opera community.

For devotees of film, Eureka Springs has recently played host to several independent film productions, including “Chrystal” starring Billy Bob Thornton and Lisa Blount which won second place at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. There is also an annual Digital Film Festival complete with “hands-on” workshops for learning the craft.

Eureka Springs is a unique and beautiful hamlet where the arts flourish. Come visit us soon!

Steve Schmidt is the Executive Director of the Eureka Springs Artists Registry. Mr. Schmidt also produces and promotes art events in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. For more information visit http://www.steveschmidt.info For more information on the arts and artists of Eureka Springs visit eurekaspringsartists.com

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The year ended with the passing of an institution in the world of diving. Anyone familiar with diving in the Caribbean, surely knows about Bob Soto’s Diving on Grand Cayman. Well it seems it is no more. Along with the other dive operators and pretty much everyone on the island, they suffered significant damage from Hurricane Ivan in late 2004. There are many businesses still trying to recover, and some are up and running, but Bob Soto’s closed their doors early in 2005.

I for one am nostalgic thinking of its demise. After getting my first dive certification at 16 years old, I read everything I could about the sport, and of course that included Skin Diver magazine - which ironically ceased publication a couple years ago as well. I can remember reading innumerable articles about Bob Soto’s and diving in Grand Cayman - sort of grew up with it. In fact it was in large part due to their history and reputation that I ended up doing my divemaster training, followed up with taking an IDC there to get my instructor certification sometime back.

For those not familiar with history, here’s a brief illumination. Bob Soto started his dive business in 1957 in Georgetown, Grand Cayman. He was a pioneer in the industry, and his backdoor was what many have called the “Jewel of the Caribbean”. Though there are nearly 50 operators there now, he was the first. He ran the business for 20 years before selling it to Ron Kipp who called it Ron Kipp’s Bob Soto’s Diving and spent the next 22 years building it into quite an operation.

Achievements during this time are many including opening the first PADI 5 Star Training Development Center in the Cayman Islands. In fact, there is an interesting account about Ron in Mark Henricks book, ‘Not Just a Living: The Complete Guide to Creating a Business That Gives You a Life’, which includes the story about the building of this world-class diving phenomenon.

Ron retired in 2003 and sold the business to Dan Tibbetts of Reef Divers who called the new company Bob Soto’s Reef Divers. Dan also had operations on Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. These latter two are still up and running, but the original Bob Soto’s is gone.

Even though it’s hard to accept that Soto’s Diving will no longer operate after nearly 50 years, Grand Cayman remains one of my all-time favorite dive destinations. In fact, its been awhile now - maybe time to plan another trip back.

John Allen writes on a wide range of topics. Visit his blog to read more or obtain feeds. He can also be reached through his website which sells the best dive watches and provides current news to the diving community.

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A barrister bookcase is a traditional shelf that is believed to have originated in Wales. Its differentiating feature is a transparent glass front. This glass face is hinged at the top allowing a person easy access to volumes and other collectibles simply by opening the glass door. The barrister bookcase is ideal for a thousand things. A Barrister’s bookcase was oftentimes used by a lawyers since it was often necessary for them to move. Today, they are very favorable, especially if one is forever moving. This is because the bookcase is closed by use of doors.. This forbids them from having to be voided on moving

These glass shelves

Barrister bookcases have the benefit of protecting the collectibles from junk and other foreign impurities. They offer excellant protective cover. Except debris, it is also possible to provide protection from sunlight by adding tempered glass. . sun impacting the spines of the books. This will maintain the books color and its bindings from languishing.

Barrister bookcases however, despite their many merits, can be quite pricey. Fortunately, their many advantages have moved some producers to start producing replica editions and some in modern versions at very small prices. Many versions have simple appearances and can be made to fit a particular style. They can also be made into customized.The fact that they can be stacked together allows them to be easily used to create very interesting unit placements. Some can be used to create sofa tables, breakfronts or even dinning tables.

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Christmas is a fantastic time when you’re a child, but for us adults it’s actually the most stressful period of the year.
Then, as if that wasn’t enough, just as we welcome in the New Year, we start to count the real financial cost of everything as the credit card statements begin to roll in.
It’s estimated that the average UK adult spends £310 on gifts alone at Christmas and people in the 35- 44 age range spend £419. If you then add up the cost of food, taxi’s, Christmas parties …. Most of us will end up paying for Christmas for the rest of the year!
So how can you lighten the load? Start by giving yourself a quick, pre-season Financial Detox. Your finances can take a real pounding over the season, so if you can minimize the stress in this area of your life, it will make all the other areas easier to manage.
So where do you start? You start by dividing your finances into manageable chunks.

• Know what you are spending i.e make lists - don’t just go out and buy!

• Get control of your “Cappuccino Factor”

• Know your monthly Cashflow

• Organise your debts

• Do a full Financial Detox in January

………. 5 Last Minute Xmas Saving Tips……….

1. Choosing gifts

Use the internet for on-line shopping before you set off. You’ve still got time to get deliveries in before Christmas (unless you want a new Xbox 360 that is). You’ll often find better prices on-line and it saves a lot of walking. It might also give you some extra ideas.
Why not find something that’s different and unusual from somewhere outside of the mainstream shops. Often you’ll find that those presents are more special and they don’t have an automatic assumed price tag so it can look as if you’ve spent more.

2. Make a list

Before you launch into the massing throngs of Christmas shoppers, take some time to think about what you’re planning to buy.
Write down everyone you need to buy for and decide what you’re going to buy each person in advance of your shopping trip. Put as much detail as you can, including where you’ll buy it from and how much it’s likely to cost. Then add this all up and check it against the total amount you can afford to spend.

By doing this in advance, it allows you to set budgets for your spending and control your impulsive urges. As you shop, tick things off on your list and don’t be tempted to buy extra, just because you’ve got a credit card.

3. Christmas (Credit) Cards

Check whether you have any points or vouchers you can redeem with your current credit cards / nectar cards or boots advantage cards. Also check whether your cards give you extra benefits like cashback or points when you’re shopping. Some cards work better in certain shops than others - if you’re spending money, make sure you’re getting the most out of it.

4. Plan your food shopping

If you just walk into Sainsbury’s with a big trolley and a vague idea that you want some food and drink for Christmas, you can easily find yourself coming out with two full trolleys and a £400 bill.
If you do a little simple planning in advance and figure out what you will actually eat (realistically) on each day over Christmas and then make a shopping list. The trick is to then stick to it and not be lured by extra mince pies!

For Christmas day itself, if yours is anything like most, you won’t actually finish your Christmas dinner until for early evening, so a big evening meal won’t be needed.

5. Three for the price of Two

Lots of stores are offering 3 for the price of 2 on Christmas presents this year, so make the most of it. With such a variety of gifts you should be able to buy something for everyone - and for every 2 you buy, the 3rd one comes free!

These Tips are provided by Financial Detox.

http://www.financialdetox.com

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Diploma Holder

A diploma holder is a type of item that is utilized for the safe keeping of the diploma certificate. Diploma holders are typically books or frames of some sort that the certificates are placed in. These types of frames have a construction that is tighter than of normal picture frames. This is because the diploma needs to be sealed as soon as the document has been put in place. When this is done, it prevents the document from damage caused by exposure to various weather elements.

The diploma holder comes in handy to assist in the presentation of awards in a clean and orderly manner and also keeping it safe from little accidents like spills and stains. These holders may at other times be referred to as diploma frames, diploma covers or even certificate frames and can be made using different types of materials. The body of the diploma holder may consist of sealed hardwood or even a certain type of metal. This metal may be thin plating. The holder may be made from high quality paper, like the one used to make photo albums. These holders and their back-up create a seal that is airtight for protecting the document.

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Many people deal with monetary problems at some point in their life For that reason, outstanding debt will likely be encountered. An individual may somehow deal with these predicaments due to work loss, change in marital relationship, bereavement or just bad personal cash supervision. Small businesses usually run into need in the 1st few years of business. At fault for a venture failing can range from more competition, accidents, loss of sizable clients to distinguish a few. No matter the basis, bad-debt may lead to insolvency. Still, there are bankruptcy alternatives that can preserve your personal credit or your company credit status.

Insolvency can be defined as a lack of ability of an individual or a partnership to cover monies owed to creditors. When filing, the defaulter (your establishment or yourself) is required to release all non-exempt real property and inventory for liquidation. While private items are protected, you will likewise pledge a certain portion of your attained revenue to the creditors based on a decided repayment program. Your credit bureau grading will become low for a long time, meaning that you won’t be able to obtain financing for whatever personal or business for a long time.

The tenseness and head aches brought on by by these unpaid fiscal responsibilities can be burdensome, to say the least, particularly when the thought of registering bankruptcy sneaks into your mind. In these state of affairs, it remains essential to realize that you have got options. It is important to search out the alternatives, such as a financial advisory who can produce a debt resolution plan for you.

You may ask: “How come my bankers are are inclined to tolerate debt negotiation?” The fact is that almost any alternate is advantageous to the creditor when compared to insolvency. Alternatives to financial insolvency are worthwhile to not only you but to the lender as well. The financial institute is able to recoup a portion of the money that the lenders are owed and you are fit to handle. Allowing a debt resolution plan that is much less than the original sum of money you actually owe is better than nothing at all.

Debt resolution is a manageable option for individuals looking for advice with overdue payments. When just a single payment is lost in the mail, virtually all credit lines receive an extremely oversize interest charge that impacts heavily on the current amount due. This rate hike makes it more difficult to pay off the credit card in the months ahead which will likely put your debt whirling out of control. Debt settlement can permit you to pay off your debt with only a part of what you owe without pulverizing your credit score for ten years.

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What do you do when you need a lift? Go for a run, drink an energy drink, or go and visit friends perhaps? Well, it seems as though the perfect little pick me up for those down and dreary days is a Wish Lantern. Once you’ve launched one you will feel amazing for the whole day and night. It evokes feelings in you that you never knew you had. Simply light the already attached fuel cell and wait for the lantern to fill with hot air. Once it’s full with the hot air, watch in wonder as it lifts up into the skies above. Make a wish and send it off with your Wish Lantern up into the night sky. They are extremely popular at weddings and birthdays and are often used to celebrate special events. If there’s been a birth in the family you can send up a lantern with a wish for the newborn, similarly if there’s been a death - a Wish Lantern is a thoughtful and meaningful way of symbolising the passing of a loved one as you can make wishes and send them up into the skies. Wish Lanterns are made with flame retardant rice paper and are classified as 100% biodegradable so there’s no harming the environment.

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