Orkeed

Imagine the guy who worked for the Mexican government, who was responsible for pulling up to this deserted island in 1970 and starting a new habitable paradise. I mean really. This island was forgotten sitting in a forgotten part of the Caribbean just breathing its own clean air up to 1969. No one even knew it was there really. Even the name of it was not really clear. The name finally developed as a phonetic take on the original Kan Kun. The guy did bring his developers to begin the first plans in 1970. They started with the road that went from Puerto Juarez to Cancun. Then they were going to build an air port. Yes this was going to be a tourist island. That was the definite plan from the beginning.

So the three phases of the building of the paradise went a little like this: Build the tourism zone with hotels, shopping centers, golf courses and marina, build the permanent residential community, and get the airport up and running. So the hotel zone was built with the first phase going from Bahla de Mujeres over to Punta Cancun and then it went up to Bojorquez Lagoon. Then came the stretch that went from Bojorquez Lagoon on to Punta Nizuc. The third development went from Punta Nizuc heading south to the territorial reserve. They went on to build the infrastructure for the basics of running water and then onto the buildings themselves. Like building blocks in the jungle the hotels and malls rose. In 1974, the first three hotels opened. They were the Playa Blanca, Cancun Caribe and the Bojorquez. The airport was rolling and could accommodate larger planes.

Now people were starting to come from all over to stay in a new hotel. Cancun was now becoming a major contributor to the economy of Mexico. By 1989 it was the nations most incredible city and now in present day is the countries largest tourism resort city with more than 500,000 people living there. It has also taken the Caribbean by storm, like a hurricane, this city has become a top destination vacation spot sitting next to the Bahamas and Puerto Rico.

Following musicians’ careers can be a somewhat short endeavor in today’s popular scene. There is more of a trend for one or two hit wonders post the MTV revolution than ever before. However, once in a while a performer such as Taylor Swift emerges onto the scene and everyone knows that she is going to be around for a while. In fact the higher Swiftrank approval ratings suggest that her career might span the lives of some of her fans. And with musicians, the best way to rate approval is through record sales and Swift’s first album achieved Platinum status multiple times.

Swift is also one of those stars that seems to have been destined for her success. Many people, in fact most, are stunned by the actuality of celebrity life and Swift seems to have been born for it. She has an amazing ability to present calmly and sophisticatedly even in the most stressful situations and retains a sense of sincerity and genuineness while doing so. Her tremendous poise both on the stage and off also alludes to a sense of mystery in her presentation that is unique among performers so young.

Norah Jones is another example of a singer and musician reaching a maturity of artistry and craft at a very young age. Jones’ vocal qualities and depth are difficult to match even by the most mature performers. In addition to her musical skills, Taylor Swift is also an actor. She began performing onstage in a local sketch comedy troupe when she was a child though ultimately her interests and talent led her to music. When she was a teenager she began performing in local coffee shops and at various festivals. Swift has already been listed as one of the most powerful celebrities and with all of the success she has achieved at such a young age, it will be interesting to see which avenues she pursues in the coming years. There are various acting projects that have been mentioned but it can almost be guaranteed that more music albums will be recorded and available to the public in the future.

Many people today, have an image in their minds, of what the faces of prehistoric humans must have expressed when they ‘discovered’ fire for the first time.  Although if history repeats itself, as is so often does, evidence suggests that through natural means, such as wild fires, or forest fires, early humans always have made use of fire when it happened, and then of course when they did discover how to start their own.  Artistic evidence suggest this as well, as there is no depictions of paintings that do not contain the element of fire.

And being one of the natural elements, myth and legend surrounds fire as much as it surrounds the stars at night, or the creatures in the oceans.  These are all very dramatic, vivid in the details, across cultures the myths are relatively similar.  Think of the myth of Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods and gave this gift to mankind, much more dramatic than rubbing two sticks together.  These early cultures would place a fire at the entrance to their caves or their huts, to keep predators away throughout the night.  They would build fires right in the middle of the floor, for cooking and for keeping warm.

As time passed and technology advanced, wood stoves now replaced the early camp fires in the middle of the rooms.  Cast iron stoves created more constant heat, and cooking over wood fires was quite common.  Even now, many people use this as an alternative to electricity generated heaters, as they are less expensive, and to be honest, the fire is just more even.  And there is something about the ambiance and the atmosphere that is enhanced when you choose to have a stove or a fireplace in your home.  Perhaps it is the connection of history, of the history and the use of fire throughout the ages.  Connecting everyone, as it were, around the fire for warmth, and for conversation.

Well now look have far we have come from the old medieval days of smoky fireplaces to the new smokeless vent free gas fireplace. It is truly a pleasure to have a fire you your home now a days. There is not as much mess and pollution. It is funny when I go camping and am reminded of how smelly, smoky and dirty a good old fashioned fire pit really is. Have you ever experience a building on fire near you? You seem to smell of smoke for days. That smell would out do any perfume or cologne I bet. Always smelling of a fire. But now there are new horizons when it comes to having a fire burning in your home.

You don’t even need wood. There are electric and gas fireplaces in so many different styles. It used to be that were you lived would dictate the style you had in your home. Unless you were royalty, maybe then you would import artifacts from far away places to add to your collection in the castle. But for the common man, you only had a few choices more than likely based on the materials on hand and the person who was building or making the furniture in the area. With the world traveling that is going on by the common man today and the massive immigration that takes place to countries all over the world, the influences have spread.

Mediterranean and Italian styles would more than likely include some roman pillar looks to the style. Then you have the southwest or Mexican style with the fun colors. The tribal style of the African artifacts and patterns are also a great style to choose from. Of course, the English or French Country are also popular. If you live in an old Victorian home then you will have a lot of options to fit your decor. Then there is a simplicity of the new modern style of furnishings. What ever you choose, just be glad you can have a trouble free, smoke free fire, experience if you want.

For nine days in June, Kiel, Germany hosts the Kiel Week Regatta, not only the world’s biggest sailing event, but also Northern Europe’s biggest public festival.  You’ll find here sailors at the top of their class coming from all parts of the world to compete in different classes of small crafts, but also you’ll find the tall ships sailing past.

To keep things going on land, there’s a musical festival.  Each year, over five thousand sailors are expected to compete both in Olympic and international dinghies, as well as two hundred and fifty off-shore yachts.  Once you’ve settled into one of the Kiel hotels, take a walk over to the Rathausplatz (or Town Hall Square), where you’ll witness the tradition of the ringing of the bell.  This will be followed by a long, loud blast from a ship’s horn, all signaling the beginning of the festival.  The party will fill the city center with crowds as several popular bands will perform on a number of stages.

A tall ship is a modern name for sailing vessels extending back several hundred years.  If you hear people talking about square rigs and gaff rigs and topmasts and topsails, you’re in the neighborhood of a tall ship, one of which may be seen in the movie, Master and Commander.  The term came into popular use in the middle of the 20th Century, and may have originated with a poem titled Sea Fever by John Masefield, published in around 1900.  Today, The Sail Training International uses the definition of a tall ship to mean any vessel with more than thirty feet lenghth of waterline and on which at least half the people aboard are between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five, a definition that was a surprise to me.  It’s hard to imagine how the name for a sailing vessel can change just because of the age of the people aboard it!

If you haven’t had enough of maritime activities, you can also check out the nearby U-955, perhaps the last V11-C submarine on the planet, which the German Navy built in 1942.  She’s a floating museum now, and if you’ve ever wanted to crawl around inside a World War II sub, this is your chance.  But, for the most part, I imagine, you’ll want to stay with the main festivities of the regatta and all the tall ships.

One of the major aspects of the country of Canada, the one that drew me there is the fact that it is a diverse country.  It possesses such a rich mix of culture, people from around the world and artists from every discipline.  Through music, design, literature, theatre and the visual arts, people express themselves in very open and honest ways.  The feel is modern and contemporary, but backed with the experience and knowledge of all those who came before.  It is for this reason, through talking with those at TransGlobe Property Management,  and through reading up on the different cities, that I choose to move to Québec.  This city is surrounded with history, most of the buildings are at least one hundred years old…that is history by the standards of North America.  And the Fleuve Saint-Laurent runs through the city.

There are many sites of historical interest including the Place d’Armes, the Québec Seminary and Museum, and of course, the Basilica of Notre-Dame. They first time I visited I went into one of the offices for TransGlobe Property Management.  I told them what I was looking for in an apartment, what I had thought was my dream living space.  I wanted wide open space for my easels and my canvases.  I wanted to be close to the St. Lawrence River.  And I wanted a lot of windows.  Oh, and I also did not have a lot of money to spend.  I did not think that there would be a place for me, but I put that out there none the less.  What happened after that was nothing short of amazing.  TransGlobe found me my space, with wide open space, by the river and with loads of windows!  It was more than I could have hoped for, it was a dream come true.

There are numerous interesting cultural attractions in the state of Florida that entice throngs of tourists every year. Interestingly, one of the most intriguing aspects of many tourists’ visit isn’t even located in the state itself. There is a continual interest and even fascination with certain legends associated with the Bermuda triangle and the lost city of Atlantis. And while few tourists actually explore the gulf waters off of Florida, they are more than likely interested in the tales of vanishing ships and planes and the mythology of Atlantis itself.

The triangle itself extends from the region around Miami down to Puerto Rico and back up and east to the island of Bermuda. The tourists in the southern coastal areas of the state who are staying in one of the luxury hotels Florida are more than likely aware of an interested in some of the legends, stories and also realities of the circumstances and events that have taken place in that triangular region.

One of the most famous stories surrounding the Bermuda triangle involves the lost city of Atlantis. It has an historical basis with in the dialogues Timaeus and Critias written by the Greek philosopher Plato who described it as existing as a major naval port around 9300 BCE. There have been various stories attached to this alleged ancient city and many of them contain some kind of mystery of a lost civilization that had an advanced technology. Some of the more progressive aspects of these stories claim that the city serves as a solid warning to today’s societies and the amount of global waste taking place due to our own advancements in technology. Whatever aspect of the story one reads, it generally captivates the imaginations of those who do.

Choosing a university to go to school at can be a major decision for many young students, as well as for parents. While it is and should be the final decision of the student, parents often weigh in on the pros and cons of a particular school. And sometimes they even use the leverage of financial assistance in helping to determine a potential alma matter. However, in the case of Miley, he parents were completely open to and supportive whatever academic institution she wanted to choose. And after a year long search, she ultimately decided on the same school her mother went to, the University of California Irvine.

The family lived in Sacramento, California, which is where Miley was born and raised. She loved her hometown and was likely going to return to it after she finished her degree but she felt strongly that she needed to venture out on her own and experience a new place with new faces. And while Irvine wasn’t far, in fact it wasn’t even out of the state, she still felt it was far enough that it counted as being out on her own. And she was attracted enough to the school itself as well as her specific program that she didn’t feel she needed to continue searching just to go further away.

Miley and her parents spent a weekend in one of the hotels Irvine to find a place for her to live. They checked with the university to get assistance on finding a quality and safe off campus residence for their daughter. One of the things they discovered was that Irvine was one of the safest cities in the nation and had also been determined to be one of the top choices of cities to life in. This pleased her parents very much, while Miley was more impressed with the beauty of the campus and dreams of her future collegiate career. They looked through information on roommates and house sharing and contacted one of the offers. She was able to find an apartment that she would share with another incoming freshman and felt like she may be about to meet her first friend.

My initial impressions of Singapore were very good. They have a ton of electronic shops, selling everything from giant capacitors all the way to DVD players. However, there is something very odd about Singapore, and I don’t mean the complete absence of litter, but it’s all the health and safety they have here. I really dislike anything telling me, in an impersonal way, what to do. Singapore is literally awash with it. The SMRT tube to start with, has escalators with signs all about saying to not stand near the edges, stand in the yellow box, don’t stand sideways, hold on to handrails, don’t sit on escalator and stand to the left.

They had chains across un-used platforms and not only are they red and in the way, the put signs on them saying don’t cross and don’t sit on chain. Before each station, there’s an announcement in 5 languages to ‘mind the gap’ between the station car and the edge of the platform. I’m familiar with this announcement coming from the United Kingdom and all, but here, I doubt I could even run a credit card through the gap. Plus 5 more signs concerning this so-called gap.

On the street, the signs read ‘Pedestrians! Use the crossing,’ the crossing has a 6 step cartoon about how to cross the street! I was so annoyed at what simpletons Singapore thinks travellers are. I think the focus of this entire island seems to be financial, here’s an example, there were some ads on the T.V. I was watching in my room at one of the best Singapore hotels ever, the ad looked like the usual plea for funding a charity. I was expecting something like the tsunami victims, or the disabled, but it was  for the victims of the recession! I haven’t seen a single homeless person in Singapore, which is surprising for a city this size, I couldn’t imagine that someone was that bad off, in Singapore!

Well, so much for my initial impressions. It’s only been day one, I wonder what day two will bring?