A Beautiful Eurasian-American actress, Nancy Kwan Nancy Kwan is an Eurasian-American actress, who played a pivotal role in the acceptance of actors of Asian ancestry in major Hollywood film roles. Widely praised for her beauty, Kwan was considered a sex symbol in the 1960s. Nancy Kwan is the daughter of Kwan Wing Hong, a Cantonese architect, and Marquita Scott, a model of English and Scottish ancestry.
A wonderful 50-year marriage Paul Newman was a hero of mine. I loved his rebellious, sometimes cranky nature, his smouldering good looks with the piercing blue eyes. I loved it that he drove fast cars well and that he was so satisfied with what he had that he could donate some of his wealth to worthy causes. He exuded contentment in life and within his marriage. He was a wonderful cook – so much so that his friends inspired him to market his own sauces and dressings. What else could we expect of someone with the Moon in the 2nd house? In time, “Newman’s Own” brand, donating all its profits after tax to charitable causes, threatened to overshadow his acting career. Not that Paul himself seemed to mind very much! When he died, I couldn’t help but think, what if there were a few more celebrities like Paul Newman in the world? The 2nd of February 1958 was the date of Paul’s marriage to Joanne. On the day, transit Pluto was opposite his natal Moon, showing a powerful emotional shift, and Venus was passing over his natal Sun. It was an auspicious start to a marriage that would be hailed as one of Hollywood’s strongest. Some time later, when asked about temptation among so many beautiful Hollywood starlets, Paul quipped, “Why have hamburger when you can have steak at home?” Joanne was with him to the very end. Paul Newman was perhaps Hollywood’s greatest entrepreneur and philanthropist. Certainly he was one its greatest actors. Paul’s “Newman’s Own” line of food products of pasta sauce, lemonade, popcorn, salsa, and wine, among other things, continue to flourish, and as of early 2006, the franchise has resulted in excess of $200 million in donations. The franchise had begun in 1982, just as he began another new progressed lunar cycle, and this plus the love of his family and his wonderful roles during his acting career are his legacy. As David Letterman said: “Paul was not just a great actor, a race-car driver but a man who knew how to live his life because he took care of other people – not just here and there but as a full time commitment… It takes a humanitarian genius to not just think about it but to actually follow through with it.” Paul died in 2008, hand in hand with his wife Joanne for 50 years.
Nail polish was invented by the Chinese in about 3000 B.C. Nail polish was invented by the Chinese in about 3000 B.C. It was made from a mixture of Arabic gum, egg whites, gelatin and beeswax. It was used by the ancient Chinese. Chinese royalty often used gold and silver nail polish. Interesting Facts About Nail Polish
How to Charm a Man I read this online today, quite interesting. I’d like to share with you. Do you wish you were more confident, more sexy or more charming? It's not as hard as you think! Just relax and follow these simple steps and you will be on your way to being that entrancing woman that men can't get enough of! Instructions: 1. Love Yourself - Nothing is more attractive than self confidence! Think you're nothing special? Remember this... Someone once said, no matter what you look like or what you think is wrong with you, there is someone out there who thinks that you are the most beautiful woman in the world, to whom you are the perfect ideal of beauty. Realize your beauty and carry yourself with confidence! 2. Have Passion - Men love a woman who is about something. Every man wants a woman who is devoted to him, but when a woman has her own life, her own hobbies, her own passion, she gets that irresistible sparkle (and that self confidence that we were talking about!) When you start really pursuing your passion, you radiate happiness and your positive energy will draw in everyone around you! 3. Smile - So let's talk about happiness. Sometimes life sucks. Sometimes you have cramps and somebody cut you off in traffic and you can't pay your cell phone bill. Now, smile. No, REALLY smile. Smile like you are greeting your favorite person in the world. We think we have to feel good to smile, but the truth is smiling when you feel like hell will actually begin to make you feel good. CHALLENGE! Next time you are in a bad mood, make a vow to yourself that you will smile like a beauty queen for five minutes, whether you feel like it or not. I bet that you can't act happy and smiley for five minutes without starting to feel better. 4. Stop interrupting! Yes, you. Let him talk. Until he's done. Even if you think you know the rest of what he's going to say. Zip it! ALL men want to feel like they are the most interesting man in the world. By being the girl that honors him enough to just shut the hell up and listen to what he says like it is really important, you will win a golden place in his heart.
CLIENT RIP OFF ALERT! BLACKLIST GARY FARZANEH I received this email yesterday, and I'd like to share it with all female companions: RIP OFF ALERT! BEWARE! NAME: GARY FARZANEH
INCIDENT REPORT Gary showed up to an incall appointment, wasted 45 minutes of the providers time, saying he would pay. Never gave her the money, and ran out of the location w/o paying. Also smells really bad, like he has not showered in a week. DO NOT SEE this client, put him on your blacklist! Regards,
What is a "nuru" massage? Nuru is an erotic massage technique in which both parties are usually completely nude. The word originates from the Japanese language and means "slippery/smooth". An essential and integral part of the nuru massage is the use of a mostly odorless and tasteless massage oil, the nuru gel, which is derived from seaweed leaves. The gel is applied to a large area of the body. During the massage participants will try to get the widest possible physical contact, the masseuses often using their entire body on the person to be treated. Strong tactile sensations are triggered that are designed to relieve stress. The massage is often performed in specially heated rooms such as a steam room, and the gel warmed to an appropriate temperature. Nuru gel is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. The main component is the sulfated polysaccharide fucoidan, which is obtained from the leaves of the brown seaweed plant (Sphaerotrichia divaricata). Chamomile (Azulene) and other minerals are often added. The gel is similar in composition and application to medical gels such as that used for ultrasound examinations. Starting in 2010, Nuru massage has become popular around the world. Many massage parlors and independent massage providers in Canada and Europe provide a nuru massage service. Or you can read here for more info: http://www.nurunurugel.com/nuru-massage-wiki-how-to.html?SID=78074je5pbjekrrr6mg61a21e7
Florida Teen Dies After Complications During Breast Surgery Florida high school senior Stephanie Kuleba had everything going for her -- she was the well-liked captain of her varsity cheerleading team at West Boca High School, and she had been accepted to the University of Florida, where she hoped to study medicine. The 18-year-old's promising life was cut short Saturday after she suffered what doctors believe was a fatal reaction to anesthesia during breast augmentation surgery. Nearly two hours into the surgery, Kuleba was rushed to Delray Medical Center, where she died 24 hours later, said the family's attorney Roberto Stanziale. Kuleba was undergoing surgery to correct asymmetrical breasts and an inverted areola, Stanziale said. Doctors believe the cause of death was malignant hyperthermia, a relatively rare metabolic condition that can be triggered by certain anesthesia. A patient's heart rate and metabolism rises, causing the body temperature to rise as high as 112 degrees. Board-certified plastic surgeon Stephen Schuster performed the surgery at an outpatient facility in Boca Raton. "I am devastated by the loss and I feel for the family," he said in a statement. The Gift of Plastic Surgery According to just released data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, nearly 348,000 breast augmentation procedures were performed in 2007, a 64 percent increase from 2000. The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery reported that between 2002 and 2003, the number of women and girls younger than 18 who got breast implants nearly tripled, from 3,872 to 11,326. Doctors also say they are seeing more parents giving their teens the gift of new breasts or other cosmetic surgery for milestones like birthdays or graduations. "I've seen an increase in teens having plastic surgery, and certainly for graduation," said Dr. Stephen T. Greenberg, a New York plastic surgeon and the author of "A Little Nip, A Little Tuck." The American Society of Plastic Surgeons strongly believes that no one younger than 18 should undergo plastic surgery. Cosmetic breast implants for patients younger than 18 are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, except in cases of reconstructive or corrective surgery, such as asymmetry. Friends at West Boca Raton High School expressed shock and sadness during a candlelight vigil for Kuleba on Sunday evening. "She was a role model for a lot of people," classmate Vicky Goldring, 16, told the Palm Beach Post. "She was incredibly smart. She wanted to help people. She was just a happy 18-year-old girl." As her grief-stricken family members wait for a definitive answer about Kuleba's death, they cannot ignore the cruel irony that their daughter aspired to become a plastic surgeon.
I Miss Paris My relationship with Paris is a whole lot simpler. I love it, everything about it, and always have. It’s the perfect size, it’s a beautiful city, which offers every possible kind of entertainment and cultural event, and a wonderful quality of life. One thing I love about both cities is that the sky is so beautiful in both places and you can see it. (I never see the sky in New York, and don’t even think to look for it. What sky? All you see are buildings). Not so in Paris or San Francisco, the sky is right there and gorgeous at all times of day, particularly at dusk or sunset or that perfect luminous pearl gray at first light, which still takes my breath away in Paris. The light in Paris is exquisite. And for some reason, I don't care about the weather in Paris, even if it’s cold and rainy.
21 Ways Rich People Think Differently 1. Average people think MONEY is the root of all evil. Rich people believe POVERTY is the root of all evil. 2. Average people think selfishness is a vice. Rich people think selfishness is a virtue. 3. Average people have a lottery mentality. Rich people have an action mentality. 4. Average people think the road to riches is paved with formal education. Rich people believe in acquiring specific knowledge. 5. Average people long for the good old days. Rich people dream of the future. 6. Average people see money through the eyes of emotion. Rich people think about money logically. 7. Average people earn money doing things they don't love. Rich people follow their passion. 8. Average people set low expectations so they're never disappointed. Rich people are up for the challenge. 9. Average people believe you have to DO something to get rich. Rich people believe you have to BE something to get rich. 10. Average people believe you need money to make money. Rich people use other people's money. 11. Average people believe the markets are driven by logic and strategy. Rich people know they're driven by emotion and greed. 12. Average people live beyond their mans. Rich people live below theirs. 13. Average people teach their children how to survive. Rich people teach their kids to get rich. 14. Average people let money stress them out. Rich people find peace of mind in wealth. 15. Average people would rather be entertained than educated. Rich people would rather be educated than entertained. 16. Average people think rich people are snobs. Rich people just want to surround themselves with like-minded people. 17. Average people focus on saving. Rich people focus on earning. 18. Average people play it safe with money. Rich people know when to take risks. 19. Average people love to be comfortable. Rich people find comfort in uncertainty. 20. Average people don't make the connection between money and health. rich people know money can save your life. 21. Average people believe they must choose between a great family and being rich. Rich people know you can have it all.
Celebrities Who've Used Surrogates
Thoughts of the Day What comes with ease goes with ease.
"Just think, the shoes I wouldn’t be caught dead in might actually turn out to be the shoes I am caught dead in.”
The true New Yorker secretly believes that people living anywhere else have to be, in some sense, kidding.
“You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.”
"I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed."
Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.
'Nobody likes having salt rubbed into their wounds, even if it is the salt of the earth.'
Poor is the pupil who does not surpass his master.
“If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate.”
"To turn $100 into $110 is work. To turn 100 million into $110 million is inevitable."
A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.
Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.
A Teen Entrepreneur Jon Koon Started business when he was 16
From a very young age, Chinese-American Jon Koon was already a mogul-in-the-making. He saw huge discrepancies between American and Japanese automobiles in terms of innovation and design, and used the $5,000 he’d saved up from red “lai see” packets to make aggressive moves into the auto market. He started purchasing car parts from international supply chains, teamed up with a local mechanic and worked his magic to give tons of cars spiffy, high-end finishes and fancy engines with top-notch speakers — all of which gave rise to the blinged-out car craze that was MTV’s “Pimp My Ride” show. Not long after, Jon opened a manufacturing business that distributed auto parts to a variety of niche markets. In 2008, he switched gears when American rapper Young Jeezy took Jon on as the exclusive partner in his line of clothing, 8732. Soon enough, Jon stuck with fashion as his true calling and his company, Tykoon Brand Holdings, now owns and operates several brands across the globe. As of 2011, Tykoon Brand Holdings was worth $80 million — and Jon looks forward to several new projects Tykoon has lined up for the near future.
Steve Wynn As of March 2012, Wynn (Jewish) is the 491st richest man in the world with a net worth of $2.5 billion.
I am ready to confess when you walk past
Selling Ice Cubes to Eskimos The saying “he could sell ice cubes to Eskimos” is usually said with one part envy and one part disdain. The ability to sell, whether it be your services, your company’s products or an idea is an important skill and people that do it well are often very successful. It’s one of the most essential skills of an entrepreneur but I believe it’s a skill that everyone could benefit from improving. That’s because on the most basic level, “selling” is just enrolling someone in a course of action that you would like them to take. This applies as much to convincing your family or friends to go to Cancun for a vacation as it does to convincing a prospect that they should buy from you. The problem is, many people have a bad impression of sales and sales people. This comes from the fundamental idea behind “selling ice to Eskimos,” which is that selling has to do with convincing someone to do something that they don’t want to do or that would not be beneficial to them. For most of us, this idea goes against our basic conscience which is why it is so distasteful. Also, most of us have been on the receiving end of a sales pitch by someone who could care less about our satisfaction and just wants to make a sale. Good selling is exactly the opposite of this. Good selling is closer to the idea of “selling parkas to cold Eskimos”. It is a beneficial service to the customer. If done well, the customer thanks you, refers other people to you and becomes a repeat customer themselves. Good selling is called “consultative” selling because you consult with your prospects about their current situation, the issues they are experiencing and discuss different ways to solve their problem. Key to this type of selling is listening. The best sales people are the best listeners. They hear what their customers want – both the spoken and unspoken wants – and they act to try to satisfy those desires. Listening is not a passive activity. The most effective type of listening is active listening which requires interacting with prospect to make sure that communications is occurring. Phrases you will hear regularly from active listeners include:
By repeating or rephrasing what your prospect said, you not only ensure that communication has occurred between you but you also give them a chance to reflect on what they’ve said and clarify if there was something missing from their communication. Active listening creates trust and trust is the single most important factor in a sale. The prospect needs to trust that their desire will be satisfied through the purchase they are making. Good selling is also educational. A sales person should be an expert in what they sell and should be a wealth of information about their own product or service as well as their industry as a whole. By educating people on the pros and cons of a particular product or service, the prospect can make a more informed decision and therefore be more likely to be satisfied with their purchase over time. Practice these fundamental aspects of good selling, whether in your personal or professional list, and you will enjoy the many rewards, financial as well as personal, of consistently satisfying people’s wants and needs.
Abuse Abuse is the improper usage or treatment for a bad purpose, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, sexual assault, violation, rape, unjust practices; wrongful practice or custom; offense; crime, or otherwise verbal aggression. A man (who I met in my secret life) abused me recently. I am feeling sad. Hurt... With sadness and tears,
Couple tie the knot at 95 and 98 years old Lillian Hartley and Allan Marks are officially the oldest newlyweds ever. With more than 193 combined years under their belts, 95-year-old Hartley and 98-year-old Marks broke a Guinness World Record for the oldest aggregate age of a couple on when the two tied the knot Wednesday (Feb 29, 2012). The couple said, "I do," in a civil ceremony in Indio, Calif., on Wednesday after 18 years together, according to the Desert Sun. They unknowingly surpassed the previous record of 191 aggregate years, which a French couple set in 2002. “We talked about it for years, but our lives were so busy that I just never got around to it,” the bride told ABC News, citing their busy lifestyle filled with travel, trips to temple on Saturdays and watching their favorite basketball team, the Los Angeles Lakers. “We just decided to go to Indio and have the marriage ceremony in one day. “We don’t know for sure what’s going to happen, so I’m not taking any chances. I want to be with Allan for the rest of my life,” she said. “I want to be with Lillian for the rest of my life,” Marks echoed. Riverside County Clerk's Office Deputy Commissioner of Marriages Yvonne Cruz, who performed the ceremony, said Hartley and Marks' love was evident from the moment they walked in. "When they came to my window, I spoke to her first and she says, 'I want to marry this man,'" Cruz recalled. "He puts his arm around her waist and says, 'I want to be with her for the rest of my life.' And she says, 'I want to be together forever.'" Cruz, who has officiated thousands of marriages over the past seven years, including one two years ago for an 82- and 83-year-old, said Marks was "one of the most romantic grooms" she'd ever seen, at any age. "She told us that he tells her he loves her at least three or four times a day," Cruz said. During the time the couple was at the clerk's office, Cruz recounted how the groom gestured lovingly at his bride, put his arm around her, kept giving her pecks on the cheek and told her how much he loved her. "Little things that added up to one big picture that these two were incredibly, incredibly in love," she said. Cruz helped Hartley and Marks fill out the paperwork and helped them from the main lobby to another room, where they exchanged vows. (Marks tried to kiss his bride a little too early, but who can blame him.) "You see couples who come in and they're in love, but in their case it was just … the degree of their love, surpassed even their ages. It was just so beautiful. It had to be one of the most beautiful ceremonies I've ever officiated," Cruz said. The bride and groom were both widowers when they met 18 years ago at temple in Palm Springs on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year. He, a retired veterinarian, talked up the retired paralegal, complimenting her dress, and one thing led to another. “I believe in fate and destiny a little bit and I think that was meant to be,” Hartley said. “I had been a widow for six years and I really loved my freedom. …I said, ‘Oh, I don’t want a relationship,’…and then he came along, and somehow hooked me.” The duo is certainly one to learn from. "The wisdom, the knowledge and the love that they have for one another," Cruz said, "that's something that you don't see every day."
Until Another Life... I read a touching story on a blog tonight.
Here is the story that wrote by a broken-hearted girl. I don't know her, but I can feel her pain. I will pray for her and all the broken-hearted girls... Until Another Life You and I were never meant to be lovers. I was from a small northern Californian town, running away from my past of too many broken romances. You were from Los Angeles, the city of endless possibilities. When I met you, we breezed past each other, completely unaware of each others existence, you and your girlfriend were in some fight over your job promoting, and I was in wanderlust with the new LA night scene. However, as time passed we became more and more entangled. Late nights partying together, early morning brunches with the gang, and that one night. That one single night when I was talking to you and in one second you became all I thought about. I am not sure how someone that meant nothing to you can all the sudden be all you ever think about, but that's what happened. You became my personal brand of heroin. I was intrigued by you and your mysterious ways, your bad boy persona, I wanted to be let into your inner circle. And for some reason you let me in, and I was hooked. But I didn't trust you nor did you trust me, not that it could stop us. We spent our times hiding our romance from the world, with secret meeting spots, long nights entangled in lust with each other, and secret glances and embraces when no one was looking. It kept going on for month until we where inseparable, and somewhere down the line we fell in love. You saw my broken ways and literally became the wall that stopped me in my tracks. My stubborn personality and twisted sense of trust with guys made me hide everything from you along with everyone else. But for some reason you keep pushing and prodding untill you knew ever last detail, even things that I hadn't even know about myself. You stuck with me, making me snap out of my broken way, cleaning up the broken mess of a heart I had from all the horrible romances before you. But like I said, you and I were never meant to be lovers, and we both knew that. While you helped me, I helped you. We grew together, but we where toxic lovers. From all the lies we had told each other neither of us trusted the other, and though we loved each other we weren't able to get past the heartache we had caused each other. The fighting was never ending, and your constant desire to hide me from your friends, family, and coworkers ate away at me. Then when the violence came in I had to leave. It has been two weeks now. I still cry when I think of you going to your apartment and seeing that all my stuff was gone. I still can heard the distress in your voice when you called me asking where I was. I still think about you everyday, every second. I just want to say I am sorry. I am sorry for leaving, I am sorry for not saying goodbye, I am sorry for not explaining. But you and I both know we couldn't keep going on the way we were. You where my angel, and you saved me. No matter how rough the bad times were, I never for a second regret our time together. You are always with me, it is just that sometimes, no matter how much two people love each other, it just will not work, and as much as it hurts me, and as much as I wanted to have your for myself, you where never mine to have. I wish you nothing but the best in life, and though I know I will never see you again, I hope that you know that I will always love you, and there is not enough words in the world to express how thankful I am for having have met you and gotten to have you in my life. Until another life,
Some of the Pitfalls of Marrying Rich Men A man with cash to splash can shower you with love and diamonds, providing you with financial security and happiness. Sounds dreamy, doesn’t it? No wonder it’s often claimed that women love a man with a fat wallet. There’s even some evidence to back this up. A study undertaken by the London School of Economics found that 64 percent of women hope to hook up with a guy who earns more than they do. In theory, it seems, women prefer rich husbands. But before you jump to conclusions, note that the study only looked at what women hoped to get — the reality may be quite different. And when it comes to falling in love, poor guys do seem to come out on top every time. Jane falls for Tarzan, Johnny gets Baby in Dirty Dancing, and Noah steals Allie from her rich fiancé in The Notebook. In all the most romantic love stories, the wealthy man gets dropped and the guy with the hole in his pocket gets the girl. And by taking a look at how money affects relationships, it’s pretty clear why. Below, check out our list of potential problems to watch out for. Pitfall #1: He works long hours
Pitfall #2: He is frequently tempted to misbehave
Pitfall #3: He’s no happier than his poorer counterparts
Relationships that work are based on give and take on all levels, so unless you’re prepared to give up your life in exchange for financial security, you’ll find more happiness if you marry for love. And Spurr agrees, saying: “Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but no matter how big or pretty they are, they won’t keep you warm in bed at night!”
Keys To Success From Avon's Top Boss - Andrea Jung In every successful career there is a moment: You could quit. But you resist, wisely. For Andrea Jung, the chairman and CEO of Avon Products (AVP), this moment happened right after college, when she was in the management training program at Bloomingdale’s. All day everyday, there she was in the stockroom, switching vendor hangers for store hangers on thousands of pieces of clothes. “I remember calling my parents around Thanksgiving and saying, ‘You paid for me to have a great education and this is really not that meaningful…Maybe I will quit.’” Jung, who grew up in a traditional Chinese-American family with a tremendous amount of discipline, had made her way to Princeton and wanted to go into the Peace Corps. But her parents didn’t have a lot of money, so they insisted she take a more conventional path. When Jung called them about quitting that first job at Bloomingdale’s, “the reaction was fast and furious,” she recalls. Her parents told her: “You are not quitting. You start at the bottom and you work your way to the top.” "So, I didn’t quit,” Jung says. “I persevered, and it ended up being a really terrific run in retail.” She traded retail— Bloomingdale’s (M) and then Neiman Marcus—for the beauty industry, moving to Avon in 1994. Jung was assigned to create a global Avon brand and did that so impressively that she was considered for the top job three years later. But she got passed over. And though she felt tempted to quit, she stayed. Two years later, she got the CEO job and became the youngest female chief executive in the Fortune 500. “Bloom where you’re planted,” says Jung. “And follow your compass, not your clock,” she adds, preaching patience in any career. She has certainly demonstrated that. Now at the helm for 12 years, Jung is No. 5 on the 2010 Fortune Most Powerful Women list and the longest-serving among the female Fortune 500 CEOs. “I feel like the wise old woman CEO, trying to pave the path for a lot more after me,” she says. Jung is on the boards of Apple Computer (APLL) and General Electric (GE), as well as Avon. And as a single mother of a daughter, 21, and a 12-year-old son, she has learned plenty about juggling work and family. “You can’t, in my experience, necessarily have it all in one day,” she says. “But you’ve got to make those choices.” Now 52, she could well go and run another big global company after Avon, which had revenue of $10.9 billion last year. But she says, “I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about that yet.” Right now, she is focused on Avon’s longevity. As part of the company’s 125th anniversary celebration this year, she has traveled to 15 cities around the globe and met with some 5,000 Avon representatives at each stop. The greatest satisfaction of leading Avon, she says, is helping 6.5 million representatives—entrepreneurs in 105 countries—build businesses from the ground up. By providing the money and products for reps to get started, “we’re one of the largest micro-lenders in the world today,” Jung notes. “Yes, we are a beauty company, but we do more than just sell beauty.”
I Love This Website (www.icorrect.com)
I found a great website recently and love it.
What is ICorrect? How is ICorrect unique? How does ICorrect work? What exactly does ICorrect do? The Distinct advantages of ICorrect ICorrect does not set out to solve the problem of future lies, misinformation and misrepresentation, which has become part of modern life.
ICorrect, however does set out to protect forever in cyber space the reputation of those who believe in setting the record straight on accusations they regard as unfair or untrue.
Please visit: www.icorrect.com Donald Trump: Love him….or Hate him?
Really? Come on, ya gotta love this guy. Seriously, Who would have thought, reflecting back on his troubles in the early ninetys, that he would have risen to iconic status, not just in the business world, not just as a true American success story, but essentially as one of the most recognized names and faces in the mainstream media today.
Certainly his wildly successful reality series “The Apprentice” of which he is the star and Executive Producer, has reached into the homes of millions of viewers and has done no harm to his fame and fortune. But if you “peel back the layers of the onion”, so to speak, the guy is really very interesting and dare I say, inspiring.
First, take his early developing years as a bit of a mis-fit in school, sent off by his parents to New York Military Academy in the hopes of setting the teen-ager on the right course. Interested in following in his father’s footsteps in real estate development, he applied to University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business where he ultimately received his BS in Economics and Finance. This was no small feat as Wharton continues to be one of the most prominent and rigorous business schools in the US, whose attendance includes undergrads on their way into the business world as well as corporate executives established in their careers seeking continual development and refinement of their business skills. Fast forward to present and consider “The Apprentice”. With the proliferation of “Reality TV” in recent years, “The Apprentice” stands out as a cut above. Unlike many shows of this genera which garner a large and loyal audience but which often times leave most viewers of reasonable intellect wishing they had that last hour of their lives back, “Apprentice” offers much more. Like many shows, the series starts out with a group of good looking, young, ambitious types looking for a chance to grab the brass ring to success. And of course in these groups are those who we love to hate, and those we begin to empathize with and even root for. Everyone likes an underdog and many of the show’s episodes deliver on that front. But consider the setting: a challenging project, Donald as the charismatic, hard driving, no bullshit CEO, and his loyal side kicks, each with their own style and values they bring to the table in assessing the actions, successes, and failures of the would be “apprentices”. On the show, he demands respect, he holds the team members accountable, he’s generally fair, he sets the bar high, and he makes very clear and remains true to a “sink or swim”, “take no prisoners” style. Sure, good program writers can make all this stuff up in the form of great scripts. But after all, this IS Reality TV and that wouldn’t be fair, would it? Anyone who has spent any time in the business world working with C-level executives knows; Trump’s “role” on the show is not made up; he is believable because in large part, that’s how successful leaders operate in the real world. But then go back a little bit further…..the guy is really an amazing success story. Pushed himself to excel at one of the finest business schools in the country, joined his father’s organization where he contributed to it’s success while learning the ropes, then proceeded to build his empire. As his appetite for success grew, he encountered and managed to navigate through near financial ruin, only to cheat death in effect, leading his enterprise through a resurgence to present day. The best business leaders through history have risen to greatness through their ability to navigate the storm and emerge largely intact, only to then take the new organization to new levels. Trump’s one-liners are often quoted and one of my favorites is “what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger”. So true in business, in life even, and so true throughout his career. Certainly he has an eye for value and the business skills to achieve it. From his early days in property development….spotting bargains, projecting future value, then successfully achieving or exceeding goals. And likewise in his more recent ventures of Trump Entertainment Resort Holdings where he does not shy away from challenge….as both Ivanka and Donald Junior who both work for their father would say, Trump development projects are the best place to be from a career standpoint. Whether it’s a given initiative’s challenge, size, cost, sex appeal, or all of the above, the Trump name on the project always draws considerable attention and considerable talent which has ultimately driven the organization’s success in large part. Then, take his personal life, widely publicized in the late ninetys when his affair with Marla Maples broke in the media. You could not pass a grocery store checkout counter for months without seeing the tabloid’s cover story, there in full color for the world to see….images in one form or another of Ivana, “The Donald”, Marla, or all three. I can actually remember one of the headlines which said, in true tabloid form and super-size font, something like “DONALD ON MARLA: IT’S THE BEST SEX I’VE EVER HAD”. Like I said, ya gotta love the guy! Not surprisingly after a less than smooth split from Ivana and the strain of Trump’s always primary focus on his businesses, his marriage to Marla also came to an end. Enter Melania, his current wife and mother of his 5th child. Melania….a pretty woman. More media attention, huge publicity around their marriage, etc, etc. Taking stock in all his successes and failures, all the media attention of scandal, divorce, and a new family, another famous Trump-ism comes to mind which is “There’s no such thing as bad publicity”. Trump has literally made a business out of the use of his name…..the business unit which licenses the Trump name is one of the most valuable units in the entire Trump Empire. Publicity, both negative and positive, put the name so much in vogue that other large developers write big checks to attach the Trump name to their projects. Truly, there can be no such thing as bad publicity!. A lesser-known place where the Trump name shows up is in his endorsements of ACN Incorporated. So who is ACN, and why is Trump associated with them? Ever heard of AMWAY? Big years ago, still around I believe, but the basic concept of AMWAY starts out this way: an AMWAY “direct distributor” starts his or her business by selling every-day products like laundry soap, to that person's friends, neighbors, family members, etc. AMWAY has a broad range of home products like this, which they produce themselves. In fairness, the products are good in quality and reasonable in price so the pitch to a would-be “new distributor” is something like….”it’s so easy to sell these products…instead of paying top dollar and the grocery store, why wouldn’t your friends buy from you, unless they’re just bad friends?” But of course the real business opportunity is NOT in selling soap to your neighbor…the real opportunity is in convincing your neighbor how successful he or she can be in selling to their neighbors, etc, etc. The basic idea is, the sky is the limit (in theory) and one’s success is based on one’s willingness to work hard, believe in the vision, and develop a network, a pyramid really, of other distributors of AMWAY products. Enter ACN, founded in 1993 and now operating in 21 countries worldwide. ACN’s model is nearly identical to AMWAY, different in that it focuses not on consumable products, but more on recurring revenue stream services….”residuals” as they are called. For example, among ACN’s portfolio of products are services like cable TV, home internet and phone services, wireless phone services, etc. Here’s a simple example: an ACN representative approaches a potential customer, offering to replace that person’s wireless service with a service delivered via ACN. Its the same service, the same service provider, etc however through ACN’s agreements and purchasing power with that and other providers, the “customer” receives exactly what he or she already had at the same price, while the ACN representative earns revenue from both the initial sale and, more importantly, earns a percentage of the recurring revenue generated by that customer. A pretty good model really, but roughly the same concept…..real money can be made as the rep’s organization grows and the recurring revenue streams compound. As a “hook”, ACN markets a video phone under it’s brand which is where “The Don” comes in. First a little on ACN’s video phone…..ACN as a telecom services provider operates a Voice Over IP (VOIP) network which enables them to offer an IP – based voice service, roughly equivalent to a customer’s current service, albeit with video and other “advanced features”. The ACN video phone is basically a VOIP phone with a screen and built in camera. This device, coupled with ACN’s VOIP service, delivered over your internet service provider’s connection (which you can also buy through ACN), enables basic phone service over the public internet, coupled with video capability to other ACN devices. Think of the service as essentially what you can do with a desktop PC or smartphone using a free service like Skype to set up a video call to another Skype user. Don’t get me wrong, not suggesting any gimmicks or trickery involved here, all good stuff. Anyway, where does Trump come in? ACN’s leadership team along with the video phone have been featured on “The Apprentice”. ACN’s business model works, and to many people, a very exiting, opportunity just as AMWAY was years ago. ACN’s revenue and growth numbers are strong, so it’s not totally clear whether ACN’s feature segment on “Apprentice” and Trump’s spokesperson role is funded by ACN, or of Donald is simply standing up out of the goodness of his heart to help the masses find that “golden opportunity”? Who knows. What’s interesting is the degree to which he is featured in ACN’s recruitment literature, videos, and on a few occasions, large scale “training” sessions where Trump has been the featured guest speaker. Whether he is a paid sponsor or not, why all the hype and why Trump? To me it boils down to this: the guy can literally sell ice cubes to Eskimos. How does he do this? Trump, in addition to the skills he has developed over years of hard work, successes, and failures, seems to have the gift of making others believe they want what he wants. Just consider how he managed his way out of not one but numerous bankruptcies while his “brand recognition” continued to grow and as he continues to grow his empire. Love him or hate him; call it luck or genius, the guy can close deals like no one else. And so when the ACN boys planned their move to take their company to the next level, they obviously needed a sexy product, a story about how literally anyone can achieve their dreams, and a way to reach their target market. What better way to do so then through product placement on one of the most successful and widely viewed Reality shows on record, and what better spokesperson endorsing the “opportunity” than The Don himself? Brilliant! One final thought worthy of mention here and a testament to why “ya gotta love this guy”…..consider Trump’s rise to prominence through turmoil and near-financial collapse, the personal and professional successes and setbacks, the respect he has earned in the business world, numerous books written or contributed to, and the seemingly complete transparency to his personal and professional life in the media. If nothing else, one has to conclude, Trump is the real deal. What you see is what you get and he’s not ashamed to say so. He seeks no praise and offers no apologies. And, in a place in our history where the words “Chief Executive” and “Integrity” are seldom heard in the same sentence, Trump, ironically, is not a bad model for what a good business leader “should be” all about.
Armless Pianist That Is Really Inspiring Heartening tales of overcoming adversity are typical fodder on "Got Talent" and other reality shows, but the shocking saga of "China's Got Talent" contestant Liu Wei makes this season's batch of "America's Got Talent" sob stories look like the pampered brats on VH1's "You're Cut Off." And this is a true sob story--seriously, if you watch the video below and don't get at least a little bit misty-eyed, you clearly have no soul. Liu, now 23 years old, lost both of his arms in a freak accident when he was 10, after he touched an electrified wire while playing hide-and-seek. However, these tragic circumstances did not stop Liu from pursuing his dream of becoming a pianist--teaching himself how to play with his feet at age 18, after one piano teacher told him he would never succeed. And it turns out, Liu has more talent in one of his pinky toes than most four-limbed piano players have in both of their hands. "For people like me, there were only two options. One was to abandon all dreams, which would lead to a quick, hopeless death. The other was to struggle without arms to live an outstanding life," Liu explained to the judges on "China's Got Talent." Thankfully, Liu chose the latter option. After watching his video, I found it hard to fight the tears from welling in my eyes... Beautiful job. He deserves success, for the sheer willpower it took for him to overcome his struggles. When we watch him, when we listen to his music, we ought to live complaint-free. I sincerely hope you please watch Liu's perfect performance with your heart:
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East Meets West - The Piano Teacher by Janice Lee Sometimes the end of a love affair is only the beginning... The Piano Teacher by Janice Lee is a first-class ticket to the magnificent Hong Kong. Once upon a time, Janice Lee was an editorial assistant at ELLE, schlepping coffee for the senior editors. Now, 11 years later, she’s literary royalty. Yes, Stylista viewers, fairy tales don’t begin just in the fashion closet; sometimes the Word People’s world (those dowdy laborers who produce articles) sows the seeds of future glamour, at least the sort for which young book lovers yearn. Lee’s first novel, The Piano Teacher, a romance set in Hong Kong during and after World War II, hits bookstores January 13. The manuscript sparked a massive bidding war, with 19 countries buying foreign rights. “As soon as I started reading it, I knew I had something special,” says Kathryn Court, the Penguin editor who bought The Piano Teacher for a high six figures. “I don’t go after a huge number of books, only ones I really love,” says Court, a publishing industry doyenne with such authors as J. M. Coetzee and William Trevor on her roster. “Lee’s a natural storyteller.” Lee is happily married to a successful financier (these still exist...). She met her husband, Joe Bae, on their first day at Harvard; they sensibly recognized they were soul mates and got married soon after college. But while Lee might not have had to wait for her prince to come, she did have to wait for something arguably more precious for an aspiring fiction writer: her plot. After working her way up to book editor, she quit, afraid she’d never write her own novel while steeped in other people’s, and got an MFA under the tutelage of Chang-Rae Lee at Hunter College. “There were many years where you’re just working, working, working and nothing happens,” Lee says. She had a short story published in The Atlantic online and another in the small journal Image, but mostly she toiled haunted by the fear that, while she had the characters, a novel-sustaining plot eluded her. But during her first pregnancy, Lee had one of those mythic-maternity miracles, in which what she couldn’t do with all the time in the world suddenly became doable. By the time she moved to Hong Kong from New York City three years ago for her husband’s job, she had two sons and half her book done. After her third pregnancy, with—gasp!—twins, she kicked into even higher gear. “I wrote seven hours a day,” she says. The riveting narrative follows Claire, a conventional, middle-class British girl, as she moves to Hong Kong in the 1950s with her civil servant husband and is transformed, E. M. Forster style, by the freedom of an exotic place. Claire’s life becomes intertwined with a passionate love affair between Will Truesdale, a handsome Brit, and Trudy Liang, a Eurasian society beauty, that unravels tragically during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong. The book has an incredibly escapist pull, not least because Lee renders Hong Kong’s midcentury, languorous expat scene in CinemaScope. She grew up in the city with her Korean family before attending boarding school in New Hampshire and thus has both an insider’s and outsider’s vantage point. If you can’t actually get to Hong Kong, reading The Piano Teacher is the perfect vicarious voyage. If you can, it serves as a wonderful travel guide. Sadly, because so much of the old city is gone, Lee had to do most of her research using journals, archival photos, and period films, like Ang Lee’s under-sung Lust & Caution (a wonderful movie). “Every time someone visits me,” she laments, “we’re meeting in a mall.” But if you know where to look, you can still get lost in the places that make this book so dizzyingly atmospheric. The Helena May ladies’ club, an institute set up in 1916 by the governor’s wife to keep new female arrivals from going astray, is still serving scones, though it’s now sandwiched between skyscrapers rather than bucolic gardens. And the Jockey Club, where Trudy takes Will on their first date, continues drawing in horse betters and hobnobbers. Meanwhile, the latest hot spots are trading on the city’s tradition, as seen at the moodily lit, meticulously designed The Pawn public house, in an old Chinese pawn shop. And in certain ways, Lee’s own life has an out-of-time quality—she has baby nurses and a driver and belongs, like many in the international scene, to a club where children run on manicured lawns and grown-ups gossip as the hot days pass. Although Lee is more often in her air conditioned office, writing. Janice Y.K. Lee was born and raised in Hong Kong and graduated from Harvard College. A former editor at ELLE magazine, she currently lives in Hong Kong with her husband and children. The Piano Teacher is her first book. Pictures: Taking tea and ambience: Lee’s story led her deep into the glamour, then devastation, of Hong Kong’s high society during World War II. She finds a taste of the past still pouring at the China Tee Club. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUD2-UMMZIk Please read this wonderfully written, utterly captivating novel. Once you are done, you will realize why Will Truesdale does not ever lock his front door. Just as I will never not have my phone with me.
The Snowball - Warren Buffett and the Business of Life A few weeks ago, while I was driving, I heard people talking about the book "The Snowball" on the radio. Immediately, I told myself, "I want to read that book!" Then I bought the book from Borders (although I didn't get as good a price as offered on Amazon). Last night, I started to read this incredibly wonderful book about Warren Buffett. Here are some parts of the book that I really like and I'd like to share them with you: * It is the winter of Warren's ninth year. Outside in the yard, he and his little sister, Bertie, are playing in the snow. Warren is catching snowflakes. One at a time at first. Then he is scooping them up by handfuls. He starts to pack them into a ball. As the snowball grows bigger, he places it on the ground. Slowly it begins to roll. He gives it a push, and it picks up more snow. He pushes the snowball across the lawn, piling snow on snow. Soon he reaches the edge of the yard. After a moment of hesitation, he heads off, rolling the snowball through the neighborhood. And from there, Warren continues onward, casting his eye on a whole world full of snow. * "It could make me independent. Then I could do what I wanted to do with my life. And the biggest thing I wanted to do was work for myself. I didn't want other people directing me. The idea of doing what I wanted to do every day was important to me." * "The weighing machine was easy to understand. I'd buy a weighing machine and use the profits to buy more weighing machines. Pretty soon I'd have twenty weighing machines, and everybody would weigh themselves fifty times a day. I thought - that's where the money is. The compounding of it - what could be better than that?" This concept - compounding - struck him as critically important. The book said he could make a thousand dollars. If he started with a thousand dollars and grew it ten percent a year: In five years, $1,000 became more than $1,600.
* "There were some awfully nice people like that back in Omaha. I always liked to hang around with adults when I was a kid. Always. I would walk over to church or something, and then I would just drop in on people." * "I read the comics, the sports section, and looked at the stock pages every morning before I delivered the newspapers. " * Everybody wants attention and admiration. Nobody wants to be criticized.
* "The snowball just happens if you're in the right kind of snow, and that's what happened with me. I don't just mean compounding money either. It's in terms of understanding the world and what kind of friends you accumulate. You get to select over time, and you've got to be the kind of person that the snow wants to attach itself to. You've got to be your own wet snow, in effect. You'd better be picking up snow as you go along, because you're not going to be getting back up to the top of the hill again. That's the way life works." * "Life is like a snowball. The important thing is finding wet snow and a really long hill."
Terminated: Why the Women of Wall Street Are Disappearing After the scandals of the 1990s, didn't investment banks put sexist employment practices behind them? Evidently not. Nadine Mentor, 29, had just landed in New York - and found out, she says, that she'd bagged one of the biggest gets of her career at Citigroup: a role for the bank leading a bond offering, valued at as much as $400 million, for the U.S. Virgin Islands. The deal was worth potentially more than $500,000 in fees. A day later, on Nov. 21, 2008, as she headed to a business meeting, she got an anxious call from her boss. Sensing something was up, Mentor said, "Just tell me, just tell me." Her boss gave her the bad news. Mentor, who had been lured to Citi from UBS in 2005, was included in a round of downsizing. When her boss was laid off last summer, Amy Bartoletti, 38, says she was asked to run a Citi group that securitizes home loans through state authorities. But one of her peers in New York complained, she says, and the bank wound up making him a cohead of the group, asking both to take the Series 53 licensing test, required of managers in the municipal securities business. Bartoletti took the exam and passed in October. On Nov. 21 she was axed, told later by the bank that she was too expensive. Bartoletti contends that she and her male counterpart made the same base salary, $175,000, and that she is more qualified than he. As of late February her cohead, who now runs the group, still doesn't have his Series 53 certification. "It's the old boys' network," says Bartoletti. "It's very hard to imagine that that is what is happening in this day and age." Mentor and Bartoletti are among five former managers and rising young stars who were cast out that day. They say that in all, 24 professionals in the public finance department lost their jobs, in roughly equal numbers of men and women. Yet the women claim they were victimized by more than economic necessity. Since the cuts, some Citi groups, like the one handling state mortgage programs, no longer have women professionals. Their lawyer, Douglas H. Wigdor, points out that just before the firings, men dominated the senior ranks in the department. He says that men had 76% of overall professional employment and two-thirds of the vice presidencies but 90% of the scarcer slots for directors and managing directors. An internal Citigroup document, dated July 20, 2006, confirms a stark disparity (see chart). "We cannot confirm the authenticity of this document," says a Citi spokeswoman. The high proportion of men in public finance, coupled with the large numbers of women laid off, are a "clear indication that gender was a reason for selecting the people who were let go," says Wigdor. He recently filed charges with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission--a first step before seeking a class action--alleging they were terminated because they were women. He calls it a case of "recessionary discrimination." For its part, Citi says its November layoffs were "done fairly and lawfully and [were] based on legitimate business reasons unrelated to gender." Without specifying, the bank says that "many of the factual allegations from these former employees are either inaccurate or incomplete." Citi further notes that it and its municipal securities division are "disciplined, focused, consistent and vigilant in regard to our diversity-related efforts." Still, similar claims by women who insist they were unfairly fired have been piling up recently at Merrill Lynch, Bank of America and Bank of Tokyo, as well as at Citigroup. If the claims have any merit, the mostly male club that gave rise to explosive sex discrimination lawsuits a dozen years ago against Citigroup's Smith Barney brokerage unit is back at work. This time the offenses are not the boorish behavior and outright harassment that gave rise to a total $400 million in industry settlements but something more subtle: making women bear a disproportionate share of the layoffs. In the worst financial crash since the Depression, financial services and insurance firms have cut 260,000 jobs. Seventy-two percent of the missing workers laid off have been women, even though they constituted 64% of employment before the crash began. As one plaintiff, Wan Li, bluntly puts it in a separate suit against Citigroup, which has been settled: Women "are unfairly selected for layoff over male employees with lesser merit or qualifications because of their gender." Says the bank: "Citi has a long-standing commitment to equal employment practices and to provide a professional and respectful workplace free of unlawful discrimination." The lawsuits offer only a fractional picture. "There are plenty of women who don't sue for fear of being a pariah in the industry," says Dina Bakst, a lawyer who once worked defending employers in discrimination suits and has since switched sides and now is co-president of A Better Balance, a New York City legal advocacy group that nationally promotes women's rights in the workplace. Nonsense, say plenty of employment specialists. How do we know, they ask, whether the women who were fired were as talented as the men who survived or replaced them? Another argument against the plaintiff's claims: Perhaps some new moms and older women have simply lost their mojo. Yet another response is that the subject of gender is irrelevant. "It is really a misguided notion to focus on whether women are victims in recessions," says Alison Fraser, director of economic policy studies at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. "What is important here is all Americans are suffering, and they are suffering at every level." Pictures: 'The old boys' network': Chia Siu, Brittany Sharpton, Lisa Conley, Amy Bartoletti and Nadine Mentor have filed actions against Citigroup, alleging discrimination.
My Favorite Victoria's Secret Model - The Super Sexy Jarah Mariano So far, my favorite Victoria's Secret model is Jarah Mariano. She is beautiful, HOT and super SEXY. Jarah Mariano is an American fashion model of Hawaii, Korean, and Chinese descent. She was born in the city of Lihue on the island of Kauai in Hawaii, but at the age of 4 relocated with her family to California, where she was raised in the city of Mission Viejo with her two older brothers. At the age of 15, she was discovered in Santa Monica, California by a model scout. After graduating from high school, she moved to New York City, where she continued to model and attended Pace University as a full-time student, receiving her degree in Speech Communications with a Media Studies Concentration. Mariano has appeared in ads for Victoria's Secret, MAC, Armani Exchange, Sephora, Roxy Quiksilver, Redken, H&M, Avon, and Rock and Republic. She also graced the April/May 2007 cover for Complex Magazine's 5th Anniversary Issue. She has appeared several times in numerous fashion magazines such as; Self, Taiwan Vogue, Luomo Vogue, Italian Vanity Fair and so on. Mariano has been featured in 2 Abercrombie & Fitch campaigns, as well as 2 AE campaigns, and made her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition debut in 2008. You can find her in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition 2009 for her second year. Mariano's television credits include Jay-Z's come back music video "Show Me What You Got", several Old Navy commercials, a re-occurring role on "Rescue Me", and a quick feature in Spielberg's "Minority Report". She has walked the runway in both New York City and Miami. She is represented by model agency IMG in London, New York, and Paris.
Bernard Lawrence Madoff The securities fraud of Bernard Madoff (born April 29, 1938, age 70) has rocked the Jewish world - and the worst may be yet to come. Madoff, the founder of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, was arrested Dec. 11 after admitting to his board that a hedge fund he ran was essentially a $50 billion Ponzi scheme. Madoff lived in a ranch house in Roslyn, NY through the 1970s and has owned an ocean-front residence in Montauk since 1981. His primary residence, valued at more than $5 million, is on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Madoff is listed as chairman of his Upper East Side building's co-op board. He also owns a home in France and a $9.3 million mansion in Palm Beach, Florida on the Intracoastal Waterway just north of Flagler Memorial Bridge. He is a member of the Palm Beach Country Club and owns a 55-foot (17 m) fishing boat named Bull. Three entities are involved. They are all mutually exclusive. One doesn't know about the other. I think the third one is at fault with their inherently God-given so very important characteristics they cannot live without. * Bernie Madoff managed to lure billions of dollars away from huge charities, as well as wealthy individuals in both the United States and Europe by getting them to invest in his hedge fund.That seems to be the American way these days. The judge threw the book at him which is also another American way of doing things. He "confined" Madoff in his $5 million apartment in Manhattan. He embezzled, to the tune of $50 billion, by claiming extraordinary returns. This all came crashing down around him after market conditions led to a considerable amount of redemption. Investors did American way as well. Can you believe they actually asked for their money back? I thought investors were always asleep. * SEC, according to some in the financial press, knew about the whole schmeer nine years ago in 1999 when they first looked at Madoff's books. Then, now and in between, SEC never bothered to investigate. Many in the financial press are beginning to ask "Where was the SEC?" Asleep, of course. Let's face it. Everybody needs their sleep, right? SEC may not be human, but they need their sleep, nevertheless, once in a great while. And Madoff just happened to be one of those great whiles. Most people in the world sleep during the night. There are some who sleep during the day. SEC just happens to have a habit of sleeping during the day. I don't see anything wrong with that. Do you? * Investors. No comment. They are always asleep - day and night. No see, no hear, no speak, no nothing and no think either - the inherently God-given so very important characteristics they cannot live without. Wikipedia just forgot to mention them.
Christmas Magic in New York City I just returned from a trip to New York City, where I spent some time with a dear friend. While I must say that, for a Cali Girl, New York is a bone-chillingly cold place at this time of year, it is amazingly beautiful too. The whole city is infused with Christmas spirit from Thanksgiving to New Year's and there are so many things to see and do! All of the Avenues, especially 5th and Madison, are decked out in Holiday lights, and storefronts compete with one another for the brightest, most cheerful decorations. (I've added a sample of several so you can get the idea…) Even the Empire State Building's highest floors are lit up in Christmas red and green. It's enchanting… There are also amazing Christmas trees everywhere you look. While the most famous (and tallest) is at Rockefeller Center, there are also wonderfully creative displays at: the South Street Seaport; Lincoln Center; the Metropolitan Museum of Art; and, in one long "installation", the "Park Avenue Trees" – a 2.5 mile long stretch of New York's toniest Avenue, from 48th St. up to 97th St., are all lit up with holiday cheer. Stunning! And, if that's not enough there are the famous Holiday shows – "The Nutcracker" at Lincoln Center and the legendary Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. I had a wonderful trip. All in all, it was well worth braving the cold for! Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...
A New Way of Looking at "Success" I was terribly impressed by a book that I picked up on my way back from my recent vacation in Asia. (Goodness knows a girl needs some diversion on those seemingly interminable 11 hour flights.) Malcolm Gladwell, author of "The Tipping Point" and "Blink," has written a new book, "Outliers (Why Some People Succeed and Some Don't)", which is about how culture and community are greater determinants of individual success than talent or even will. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different? His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band. As David Brooks of the New York Times (a columnist who always makes me think, even when I don't agree with him) says, "Gladwell's important new book, "Outliers," seems at first glance to be a description of exceptionally talented individuals. But in fact, it's another book about deep patterns. Exceptionally successful people are not lone pioneers who created their own success, he argues. They are the lucky beneficiaries of social arrangements. "In Gladwell's account, individual traits play a smaller role in explaining success while social circumstances play a larger one. "[For example] Asians work hard because they grew up in a culture built around rice farming. Tending a rice paddy required working up to 3,000 hours a year, and it left a cultural legacy that prizes industriousness. Many upper-middle-class American kids are raised in an atmosphere of "concerted cultivation," which inculcates a fanatical devotion to meritocratic striving." I think this book gives us an important new way to look at the very concept of "success" and how people achieve it. I highly recommend it.
Casanova VS. Don Juan Today is a Halloween. I had a few close friends who called and asked me to go out to a party. I felt lonely but didn't feel like going out so I stayed home and read a new book that I bought today called "The Lost Diary of Don Juan" written by Douglas Abrams. An incredible book, that brings me to the Spanish Golden Century of literature. Don Juan reveals his secrets of love and passion. While the book is not a self-help book and can be read simply as an adventure love story and historical thriller, I hope that reading the book will transform some people's understanding of love and passion. Some of the topics were: listening to a woman's unspoken needs, what all women look for in men, love is not a feeling, etc. In the American culture of divorce and cynicism about marriage, I think it is hard to remember that True Passionate Love is possible and that people can stay happily and passionately married throughout their lives. Casanova VS. Don Juan Who was the greatest lover? Casanova or Don Juan? Many people may wonder what was the difference between these two, whose names have become synonymous with seduction and passion. The difference is simply between life and myth. Casanova was an actual man whose life sprawled across the eighteenth century as he enjoyed life and women throughout Europe. He was not just a lover, but also a diplomat, a courtier, a writer, a prisoner, and much more. His life is as interesting for his meetings with Catherine the Great and Rousseau, as much as for his seductions. His massive multi-volume "History of My Life," which I cannot claim to have done more than sample, recounts all of his adventures, but in the end it is still the chronicle of one man's life. A real life is always limited by the confines and mortality of any human life. In the case of Don Juan, we do not know if he even existed. Or whether he was born from the head of Tirso de Molina, the playwright monk, who gave us our first extent story about Don Juan Tenorio. Even at the time the play was written, there were rumors that it was based on an actual man, and indeed it was an age of Don Juans, so Tirso had many real life galanteadores (seducers) to model his character on. But Don Juan is not just a man or even just a fictional character. Don Juan is a myth, or as Jung would have described him, an archetype. The seducer is an aspect of our psyche. I would argue not just the male psyche, but of the human psyche. We can silence these archetypes or ignore them, but we do so at our peril. If we understand them, explore them, strike up a conversation with them, we are much less likely to be dragooned by them and find ourselves waking up in a strange bed with a strange person. So Casanova is a fascinating man, whose life intrigues and informs us in the way that all lives fully lived can. But Don Juan is a myth through which we can explore our own lives and understand the very heart of passion.
Join Renowned Investment & Political Learn How to Profit in a Volatile Market and Confidently Manage Your Investment Portfolio The Money Show Washington DC, November 6-8, 2008, at The Wardman Park Marriott Hotel Oil and other commodity prices are soaring, inflationary fears are setting in, and investors are anxiously anticipating the results of this year's presidential election! Attend The MoneyShow Washington DC and hear various experts' viewpoints on the economy and the markets. Just two days after the landmark election, you'll be among the first to learn what to expect under the new Administration and the economic implications of anticipated legislative policies that are going to affect your portfolio. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned investor, you'll receive specific stock picks and profitable strategies that you can implement today!
Because Superyacht Is Hard To Park Lawrence Ellison - $27 Billion. Oracle. Redwood City, California. 64. Thrice divorced, remarried. Database titan continues to buy up would-be competition; more than 40 acquisitions in the past 4 years. Bought BEA Systems for $8.5 billion in January. Revenues up 25% to $22.4 billion. Stock down 12% in past 12 months. Invested $125 million in Web software outfit Netsuite; took public in December, stock promptly dropped 30%. His shares still worth $500 million. Chicago native studied physics at U. of Chicago, didn't graduate. Started Oracle in 1977. Public 1986, a day before Microsoft. Owns 453-foot Rising Sun; built a smaller leisure boat because superyacht is hard to park. Squabbling in court with Swiss boating billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli over terms of next America's Cup. Recently unveiled hulking 90-foot trimaran he intends to use to win it.
100 Bullshi* Jobs...And How to Get Them As an "entrepreneur" myself (*wink*), I am a voracious reader on the subject of business. I love the strategy and tactics of business and read many business books with a new one almost every three or four months. When my studies allow it, I try to keep up with the latest trends by reading business magazines – Forbes, Fortune, The Economist, Business Week, etc. There is always something new to be learned and I am always amazed at the human talent for innovation. I was waiting for a plane at JFK airport in New York recently and, as I often do, I went to the newsstand to search for some interesting reading to occupy me during the long flight home. I looked through a lot of books and found this little gem of a great one called "100 Bullshit Jobs…And How to Get Them" by Stanley Bing. I just finished it and can recommend it highly. It is a clever book which pokes fun at some relatively common jobs (motivational speaker; aroma therapist) and some very uncommon ones (Vice-President of the United States) as having a "high BS quotient." Trés drole… (Note: "Trés drole" means "very amusing" in French. French is my fourth language.) A really smart book with sound advice and a great deal of practical philosophy. I really loved it and think you might as well. Pick up a copy when you have a chance. I think you will find it quite diverting and highly entertaining. If you get a chance to find it please do so and let me know what you think. Stanley Bing is the pen name of Gil Schwartz, a business humorist and novelist. He has written a column for Fortune magazine for more than ten years, after having spent a decade at Esquire, and has written many books (see below). Schwartz is public relations executive for CBS. Stanley Bing enters the field with a comprehensive look at the many attractive jobs now available to those who are serious about their bullshit and prepared to dedicate their working life to it. What, Bing inquires, do a feng shui consultant, new media executive, wine steward, department store greeter, and Vice President of the United States have in common? What, too, are the actual duties performed by a McKinsey consultant? Other than sitting around making people nervous? Could that possibly be his core function? Likewise, what does an aromatherapist actually do, per se? Sniff things and rub them on people, for big fragrant bucks? Is that all? The answer in all cases is "Yes." They all have bullshit jobs. These few, of course, are just the beginning. Across the length and breadth of this shrinking globe, skillful bullshit artists have secured pleasant, lucrative employment, and are enjoying themselves more than you are. In virtually every occupation, from Advertising to Yoga Franchising, lucky individuals who "work" in these coveted positions enjoy the best lives imaginable - they are paid well, they rarely break a sweat, and their professions are highly respected, because nobody really knows what they do. At once funny, useful, and tolerably philosophical, this groundbreaking work takes a close look at 100 bullshit jobs - the money they bring with them, the actual tasks and activities involved (if any), and famous and successful examples of each position, who will provide the neophyte with inspiration. Most crucially, Bing goes on to offer what others so far have not - a clear, concise strategy to help job-seekers at every level reach for that brass ring, knowing full well that it may be attached to the nose of a bull. About the Author Stanley Bing has been reporting on corporate life since his own first bullshit job back in 1982, which isn't that different than the bullshit job he has now, only back then it was smaller. He is now an ultra-senior executive in a gigantic corporation whose identity is one of the worst-kept secrets in business, which is a joke he's been using for the last 10 years because he has always believed that if a specific piece of bullshit is effective, it's often smart to stay with it. Beginning back at Esquire magazine in 1984, Bing moved to Fortune in 1995, and now occupies the back page of that no-bullshit publication. He is the author of three books for Collins, including the best-selling What Would Machiavelli Do? as well as Throwing the Elephant and most recently, Sun Tzu Was a Sissy. In addition, he has written two novels, Lloyd: What Happened and You Look Nice Today, which have been going through years of bullshit development in Hollywood.
Blonde (or fake blonde) is reputed to be the sexiest hair color, but according to a survey by Lycos, 62 percent of the world's top 100 billionaires' wives and girlfriends are brunettes.
The World's Most Powerful Women 1. Angela Merkel - Chancellor, Germany
Ho Ching is the Chief Executive Officer of Temasek Holdings (over US$100 billion in assets and owned by Singapore's Ministry of Finance) and the wife of the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong (son of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew). Ms Ho graduated from the University of Singapore in 1976 with a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical, First Class Honours) after completing her pre-university education at national Junior College where she emerged as a Student of the Year and was a Presidenc's Scholar. She graduated from Crescent Girl's School. She also holds a Master of Science (Electrical) from Stanford University, USA. In 1995, Ms Ho was conferred the Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award. She is also an Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Singapore. She is the eldest child of four children of retired businessman Ho Eng Hong and Chan Chiew Ping. In December 17 1985, she married Lee Hsien Loong, who later became Singapore's third Prime Minister in August 2004. Ms Ho is Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer of Temasek Holdings. She began her career as an engineer with the Ministry of Defence. In 1987, she joined the Singapore Technologies group as Deputy Director of Engineering, and became its President and Chief Executive Officer before retiring in 2001. She later joined Temasek Holdings in May 2002. 9. Anne Lauvergron - Chief Executive, Areva, France
Andrea Jung, (born 1958 in Toronto, Canada) is one of America's iconic business leaders. In 2001 she was named one of the 30 most powerful women in America by Ladies home Journal. Her mother is a Shanghai-born chemical engineer-turned concert pianist. Jung's father is a HongKong-born partner at an architectural firm. He also taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Andrea Jung was raised in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Andrea Jung is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Avon Products, Inc., promoted to the position in November of 1999. Before her election to the position, she served as President and Chief Operating Officer over all business units of Avon worldwide. She has also held a position as a member of the company's Board of Directors since 1998. During her tenure as Chairman of the Board and CEO, she has successfully helped define the Avon's company vision as "The Company for Women" and has been involved in a series of image-enhancing programs designed to help revitalize the corporation's reputation as the foremost direct seller of beauty products worldwide. Jung first came to Avon in 1994 as the company's president in its Product Marketing Group. She was given a promotion to President, Global Marketing in 1996 and to Executive Vice President/President of Global Marketing and New Business in 1997. Her responsibilities at that time centered primarily around market research, joint ventures and strategic planning. Previously, she served as Executive Vice President of Neiman Marcus, handling issues with accessories, intimate women's apparel, cosmetics and children's wear. Before that, she served as Senior Vice President, General Merchandising Manager for I Magnin. Jung has served on the board of directors of General Electric since 1998. She joined Apple Inc.'s board of directors on 7 January, 2008. Jung is a magna cum laude graduate from Princeton and is fluent in Mandarin. Jung was named one of Forbes 100 Most powerful women in 2004. Her ex-husband, Michael Gould, is the CEO of Bloomingdale's, Inc. (the company where she had her first job). 20. Marjorie Scardino - CE, Pearson/U.K.
Ascot Chang - A Gentleman's Shirtmaker, Hand-Stitched For The Discerning Few Ascot Chang shirts have been sought after by a select clientele for over 50 years. Now, they are proud to revive the art of haute couture with their new range of hand-stitched shirts. Their highly skilled tailors fashion together intricate hand-stitching techniques with the finest fabrics available. More than 2,000 hand-stitches are employed for each garment, demanding over 15 hours painstaking craftsmanship. The exquisite result is incomparable to machine manufactured shirts. Treat yourself to an Ascot Chang hand-stitched shirt; reserved only for the gentleman of discernment. Ascot Chang says, "Creating the perfect shirt is much like creating a building. You have to start with the person who lives inside. The rest is easy. Some men feel a shirt is just a shirt. This isn't a shirt catalog for them. This is a shirt catalog for men who appreciate that the body must design the shirt just as the purpose and inhabitant must design the building. I have always been interested in architecture, and I've come to appreciate the work of America's greatest architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. He said all great work is organic in character. The designs take their form from the purpose, the environment, the inhabitant. I've shared that philosophy all my life. Your body, your style and your taste must design your shirt. There's no other way. This Special Order Catalog will show you how you can create a virtually custom-made shirt from the convenience of your home. By allowing you to choose the fabrics shown from our seasonal ready-made shirt's catalog, as well as offering you a variety of collar and cuff styles, you can have more control over an Ascot Chang Shirt than any other shirt you can buy from any other catalog or any other non-custom shirt store. In fact, your Ascot Chang Special Order shirt will fit you better than anything except a fully custom-made shirt (and we invite you to stop by one of our stores to enjoy that experience as well). Our customers are some of the world's most demanding and distinguished men. They know that the feeling one gets wearing a custom-made shirt goes beyond mere comfort. It has the flavor of self-assurance. It has the tinge of power. They've been coming to us for a very long time: from our first shop on Kimberley Road in Hong Kong in 1955 to our townhouse shop on 57th Street in Manhattan and our store in Beverly Hills. They want only one thing: a shirt that fits. I know you want that too. I believe this Special Order Catalog will give it to you." G/F, 9551 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211. Tel: (310) 550-1339
10 Things Millionaires Won't Tell You 1. "You may think I'm rich, but I don't."
It may not be comforting to folks who aren't minting cash, but the rich really are different. "There's no group in America that's happier than the wealthy," says Taylor, of the Harrison Group. Roughly 70 percent of millionaires say that money"created" more happiness for them,he notes. Higher income also correlates with higher ratings in life satisfaction, according to a new study by economists at the Wharton School of Business. But it's not necessarily the Bentley or Manolo Blahniks that lead to bliss. "It's the freedom that money buys," says Betsey Stevenson, coauthor of the Wharton study. Concomitantly, rates of depression are lower among the wealthy, according to the Wharton study, and the rich tend to have better health than the rest of the population, says James Smith, senior labor economist at the Rand Corporation. (In fact, health and happiness are as closely correlated as wealth and happiness, Smith says.) The wealthy even seem to smile and laugh more often, according to the Wharton study, to say nothing of getting treated with more respect and eating better food. "People experience their day very differently when they have a lot of money," Stevenson says. 10. "You worry about the Joneses — I worry about keeping up with the Trumps."
Why I Love Frida Kahlo's Art I have various interests in life and one of my most passionate pursuits is the appreciation of fine art. I love art and have visited many of the important museums around the world – predominantly in Europe, Asia and America. So far my favorite museums are both in France – the legendary Louvre (French: Musée du Louvre) and the Palace of Versailles (In French it is known as the "Chateau" de Versailles). I have also enjoyed several museums in London. (You can read about my experiences there in an earlier diary entry, found below.) It is my goal to someday see the immense and renowned Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia. One of my favorite artists is Frida Kahlo. Simply put, she is a woman who speaks to my soul from her canvases. I find her work to be quite profound and meaningful to me. A brief biography: Frida Kahlo (1907 - 1954) was a Mexican painter, who has achieved great international popularity. Frida Kahlo began painting in 1926, while recovering from a near-fatal bus accident, and soon became captivated by the medium's expressive possibilities. She painted using vibrant colors in a style that was influenced by indigenous cultures of Mexico as well as by European influences that include Realism, Symbolism, and Surrealism. Many of her works are self-portraits that symbolically express her own pain and sexuality. In 1929 Kahlo married the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. They shared political views, and he encouraged her artistic endeavors. Although she has long been recognized as an important painter, public awareness of her work has become more widespread since the 1970s. Her "Blue" house in Coyoacan, Mexico City is a museum, donated by Diego Rivera upon his death in 1957. Frida Kahlo faced and overcame many challenges to achieve greatness and fame. She died at the very young age of 47, but left a very impressive and very influential body of work behind. On July 5th, I visited Frida Kahlo's masterpieces in San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and truly loved them. She poured her pain (both physical and emotional) into her art and the result is both powerful and profound. It seemed to me as I walked through the gallery that every one of her paintings is a story, and that's the reason why I love her art so much. I even bought a copy of my favorite piece for a loved one as a meaningful gift. I'd like to share some of her more prominent works with you, which I have attached below. The first one is my favorite. Enjoy!
Meet Business Owners Who Used Big Ways to Break In The Wall Street Journal invites you to join them for breakfast at their first Insight Exchange Business Owners Breakfast Series - meet some of the best entrepreneurial minds in the country as they share their success stories. Panelists Include:
August 11, 2008 at 8:30am
Reserve your place online now at: InsightExchange.wsj.com
I have been to London many times. I love this most cosmopolitan of cities: the people; the sights; the tradition; and, most of all, the stores. In fact, my only grumble about London is its high cost of living - the last time I was there $100 USD converted to only ₤49 British pounds! Sigh. Alas, the U.S. dollar is so weak right now that it just doesn't buy what it used to while traveling abroad. In particular, I always make it a point to check out what Jimmy Choo - the legendary shoe designer who is based in London - is up to by window shopping (one of my favorite pastimes) his latest styles whenever I'm there. Jimmy Choo, born Choo Yeang Keat, is a London-based luxury fashion designer best known for his hand-made women's shoes, Jimmy Choo Ltd. Choo is a Malaysian of Chinese descent, who was born in Penang in 1961 into a family of shoemakers. He made his first shoe when he was 11 years old. He is perhaps the most famous of students of Cordwainers' Technical College in London, from which he graduated in 1983. The college is now part of the London College of Fashion. Choo has divulged that he worked part-time at restaurants and as a cleaner at a shoe factory to help fund his college education. Jimmy Choo's beginnings can be traced back to his workshop in Hackney, East London, which he opened in 1986 by renting an old hospital building. His craftsmanship and designs were soon noticed and he came to the verge of international fame when his creations were featured in a record eight pages in a 1988 issue of Vogue magazine. Patronage from Diana, Princess of Wales from 1990 onwards further boosted his image. In 1996, he co-founded Jimmy Choo Ltd with British Vogue accessories editor Tamara Mellon. Tamara partnered with Mr Jimmy Choo to start the ready to wear company and sourced factories in Italy to produce the shoes on a larger scale. Consequently, plans were made to open the first Jimmy Choo stand alone boutique and to develop the wholesale business throughout the fashion capitals of the world. In April 2001, the expansion of jimmy Choo took a significant step forward wit the announcement of a new partnership with Equinox Luxury Holdings Ltd. Equinox acquired Mr Choo's share of the ready to wear business with Robert Bensoussan, Equinox's chief executive becoming CEO of Jimmy Choo. Within 3 years, the company opened twenty six new stores, (in addition to the existing four) and introduced both handbag and small leather goods collections. In April 2001, Choo sold his 50% stake in the company for £10 million. He has since been concentrating his work on the exclusive Jimmy Choo Couture line produced under license from Jimmy Choo Ltd. The Jimmy Choo London line, also known as Jimmy Choo Ready-To-Wear or simply, Jimmy Choo, is under the purview of Tamara Mellon. The ready-to-wear line has expanded to include accessories such as handbags. Choo currently resides in London. He is involved in a project to set up a shoemaking institute in Malaysia, where his iconic status is often evoked to inspire budding shoemakers and fashion designers.
My Broken Heart My Broken Heart Love should not be unrequited and one-sided
I listened to my heart and not my brain
I kept falling for him, deeper and deeper
Sorrow, anguish, sadness, distress, and suffering paint my life
I feel my heart bleeding out, my life ebbing away
When it comes to salaries, women CEOs among the Top 500 have narrowed the pay gap. But total compensation still shows some vast differences. PINK's study of the latest executive compensation data reveals the the 12 women CEOs among the 500 largest U.S. companies hold their own where salaries are concerned. Nine of the 12 women have salaries that equal or exceed those of male CEOs at comparable industry peers. Not surprisingly, these select women fare much better than the average woman professional, who earns 80 cents to each dollar that men earn, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Among top executives, "differences in compensation have been narrowing over time," says Linda Bell, Ph.D., provost and John B. Hurford professor of economics at Haverford College in Pennsylvania. But when total compensation, including stock and option awards, is taken into account, the top women CEOs didn't do as well last year. Only 6 of the 12 matched or bested the men. "It's a little easier to hide," Bell notes. In other ways, too, the news among this elite group of women is disappointing. During the past 18 months, women CEOs among the Top 500 saw a net standstill in their number. First, Lucent Technologies CEO Patricia Russo dropped from the list when her company merged to form Alcatel-Lucent, a French company that Russo still leads. Irene Rosenfeld, CEO of Kraft, moved onto the list when Kraft spun off from Altria Group last year. The Angela Braly took over at WellPoint last summer - temporarily boosting the number of women CEOs to 13, until Meg Whitman retired from eBay in March. By contract, in the past year at least 30 men have filled CEO vacancies at Top 500 companies, compared to just one woman (Braly). While a direct comparison of CEO salaries and total compensation in any given year can be problematic-due to variations in CEO tenure, company size and performance, and the timing of incentive packages-the data is a useful snapshot of the respect these women receive from boards enlightened enough to appoint them in the first place.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nJGgVWbExM&feature=related
Official figures (as of May 21, 12:00 CST) state that 41,353 are confirmed dead, including 40,854 in Sichuan province, and 274,683 injured. The Chinese government warned that the death toll could reach 50,000. Tens of thousands are missing, approximately 14,000 of them buried, and eight provinces were affected. The earthquake left about 4.8 million people homeless and orphaned over 4,000 children.. It was the deadliest and strongest earthquake to hit China since the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, which killed over 240,000 people. Your donation to the American Red Cross or other humanitarian agency will support emergency relief efforts to help those affected by this earthquake. Assistance provided by the American Red Cross may include sending relief supplies, mobilizing relief workers and providing financial resources. The death toll from the earthquake in China continues to rise and thousands remain trapped in the rubble. Please help those victims. What your money can buy: $3 can buy a large wool blanket to protect children from the cold during an emergency.
Help is badly and urgently needed. Please make a donation today through any of these sites: http://tsinghuafoundation.org/earthquake08/index.php
Love making is the most magnificent celestial experience. While making love, we forget about our past and feel absolutely no worries of our future, everything freezes to time and we live in the very moment. Making love is a good way of getting to sleep, because the endorphins ("feel good" chemicals) which are released relax you and make you sleepy. Did you know that the hormone that regulates male sex drive-with elevated levels in the morning? Woman who knows no barriers as far as love making is concerned and loves to experiment with new ideas of love making. Men want to see a real horny woman with lots of ideas of enjoying the love game. Female sexual pleasure is very important. Become an erotic sex master, let pleasure ripple throughout your whole body and take your partner on an ecstasy trip again and again. Come to the fun side of life, be erotic, be sexual, master your sex life. Male orgasm has duration of 3 to 5 seconds, female orgasms last a little longer, 5 to 8 seconds. Life without female orgasms is unimaginable. Sexual positioning can affect your endurance, but unfortunately, there is no universal marathon position. Some men respond more to visual than physical stimulation, so in positions like woman on top. Women like sex just as much as men. Women need steady, rhythmic, repetitive stimulation. Laughing and playing together is a great way to stimulate and wake up your desirability for one another. Believe it or not there are literally dozens of erogenous zones in the feet. When you feel close and connected through laughter and play, you can feel a renewed interest in each other. If you take out your fingers, put your tongue someplace else, or start rubbing in a different direction - remember, you're basically starting all over with her as far as making her orgasm. Women can experience three different types of orgasms. The vulval orgasm triggered by the clitoris, the uterine orgasm triggered by intercourse, and a combination of the two. The reason women are different is because the area you stimulate is different. For woman, the G spot is very sensitive place and she can turn on madly if you penetrate on right place. The spot is called the G spot or Grafenberg spot after the first modern physician to describe it. There is a spot inside the vagina that is extremely sensitive to deep pressure. It is felt through the anterior or front wall of the vagina about five centimeters from the entrance. Pay attention to your sex life and be creative.
2. Warren Edward Buffett 3. Paul Gardner Allen 4. Alice L. Walton 5. Helen R. Walton 6. Jim C. Walton 7. John T. Walton 8. S. Robson Walton 9. Michael Dell 10. Lawrence Joseph Ellison
Recently, I had the opportunity to catch Bruce Springsteen live at the HP Pavilion in San Jose and enjoyed the concert. The power that Springsteen is able to create and sustain for the entire show is amazing! He is truly an icon who lives up to his reputation as the most intense performer in rock and roll. During the same week, I saw another hard-working rock icon, this time on film – Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones in Martin Scorcese’s “Shine a Light.” This is a documentary film which matches the legendary film maker with the legendary band to create a fascinating study of what makes the Rolling Stones “The Greatest Rock & Roll Band in the World.” Filmed in the intimate setting of the famous Beacon Theater on New York’s Upper West Side, the film explores what makes the Stones so enduring. I was really impressed that Mick Jagger has such great energy on the stage at his age!!! (By the way, he was born in 1943.) The Stones will be touring North America in the fall. I'd love to see them live in concert if I got the chance. So my dear gentleman friends, check their concert schedule here: http://www.rollingstones.com/news/tour.php because they may be coming to a city near you (including, hint, hint, Oakland on November 6th) Why don’t you pick up a couple of tickets and invite a lovely lady :) to attend the concert with you? We could have some fun together… Here’s a link to the trailer for “Shine a Light”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDHbnF0z4EE Here are several pictures I took at the Bruce Springsteen concert. Enjoy!
In the end, JP Morgan offered them $2.00 a share, the entire company was sold for a miserly $236M (when their beautiful headquarters building was worth over a billion) and even them JP Morgan would only buy Bear if the Fed guaranteed $30 billion in debt that Bear had. What an end for an old Wall Street institution. Look for more to come. In the end, this present banking crisis will make the collapse of Enron look like the fall of a kid's lemonade stand when it is all over and we count the money that will have to be paid out by the public to keep the economy from total collapse.
The piece was written by a writer who was relating an experience he had as he was making a new movie and noticed a special watch on the director's wrist. On the face of the watch was a baby's photo. The writer thought what a good father the director must be. Later, he asked the director, "Your child? Such a beautiful face". At first the director didn't reply but after a long pause he said, "Yes, he's my child". After we had finished the day's work, and as we were leaving the set, I asked, "How old is your child?" The director looked at me and didn't say anything while everyone around us suddenly became very quiet. After some moments, the director said, "Yes, he's my child and he's in heaven now, but he will always in my heart. I had this watch specially made with his photo inside so that I can see him every day." After I read the composition, which is a true story, I thought about my parents. My parents were married more than 27 years, they always loved each other, respected each other, and forgave each other. Once, I told my father, "Dad, I want to buy you a new coat, your coat is too old" and my Dad said, "No, my sweet princess, I don't need a new coat. I love this coat, your mother made this coat for me before you were born." My Father's words touched my heart and that day, although I don't often cry, I cried. My parents, like most Asians, were not the type to say "I love you" frequently but, as their daughter, I learned what real strong "true love" is from them. I always tell myself, "I hope in my future life, my marriage can as sweet as my parents". Nothing is more important than true love. I hope all the people in the world who are in love will have as good a life together as my parents did...
"If you'd ever like to see a movie about my city of Glasgow, watch 'Dear Frankie' some day. It is an absolutely beautiful story about a courageous mother who is trying to raise her deaf son alone after a bitter divorce - until a special man comes into their lives. It is a heartwarming and inspiring film. Here is a link to the preview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5ecRkf6Hn0&feature=related " Curious, I checked out the YouTube link right away. It seems like a very touching love story. I would love to see this movie. So, my Faithful Reader, maybe YOU could bring me this movie on DVD as a "little gift for a sweet girl" when you make an appointment with me? :) I also loved the song in that movie. I know a little of Eastmoutainsouth's music and I think Kat Maslich has a good voice, but I never thought about their song "Father" in relation to "Dear Frankie." They work beautifully together! Sweet... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC-xTigqyes&NR=1 Update: I already saw this movie and no longer need the DVD anymore.
While leafing through an in-flight magazine, Diane Lindamood stopped at an ad
for Irene Valenti, an international matchmaker in the "European Tradition."
Valenti, a heavily made up, French-manicured, petite, 59-year-old (now
61-year-old) blonde, promised to help clients find a life partner from her
"select worldwide clientele," who range from "comfortable to the extremely
wealthy."
I read this story recently and learned a great
lesson from it. I would like to share it with you and my hope is
that you will learn something from it also.
When the author Lance Wubbels was writing this book If Only I Knew, the fourteen-year-old son of a friend of his left home on his yellow bicycle, heading for soccer practice as he had countless time before, and was hit broadside in a street crosswalk by a car. The driver, a sixteen-year-old young man, was distracted and somehow never even saw Spencer until he hit the windshield. In that tragic moment, a boy's life vanished like a mist, leaving behind a grieving mother who obviously loved him with all her heart. We live in an uncertain world. When we leave home in the morning, we assume we will return in the evening. When we say good-bye to loved ones, we take it for granted we will see them again. We presume they know we love them, so we seldom say the words. Unfortunately, we fail to consider the mortal reality that this may not be the case... until it's too late. Tomorrow does not always come. Someone once said that "life is short, so keep short accounts with God." That is wise advice, but I'd like to add that we should also keep short accounts with every person who is in the circle of our lives. We never know when life will be dramatically changed... sometimes permanently. Think about it. Don't allow the regrets of "if only I knew" to be the final marker of your life. Be swift to love. Hurry to be kind. Take the time to make someone feel special. Freely give hugs and kisses, and may "I love you" be often on your lips.
Since 2002, when dozens of employees left PayPal after it was bought by eBay for $1.5 billion, those workers have gone on to start or join a new generation of Internet companies and other ventures. They have remained a tight-knit group, attending each other s parties, helping to shape each other s business plans, backing each other s companies and recruiting each other for new projects. Steve Chen, Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim are all three members of this close circle of friends and associates. Steve Chen was born in August of 1978 in Taiwan and is the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of the popular video sharing website YouTube. Chen graduated from John Hersey High School and attended the Illinois Math and Science Academy and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He was an early employee at PayPal, where he met Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim. The three later founded the YouTube video sharing website on February 14, 2005. YouTube received funding from Sequoia Capital in November 2005 and the service was officially launched in December 2005. Steve Chen and Chad Hurley proceeded to become the first members of the YouTube management team and currently serve as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer respectively. Jawed Karim left the company to pursue an advanced degree at Stanford University. YouTube co-founder Steve Chen relishes watching other companies trying to catch up. He thinks YouTube has one key advantage. "Every person that we're hiring, every person we're bringing on the team, is focused on video," said Chen. Online video sharing was an unfamiliar concept for most Internet users a year ago. But YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim predicted, "this space will explode when the company was founded. No kidding. YouTube, the video-sharing service Steve Chen co-founded with the two others was sold in October to Google for $1.65 billion in stock making Steve a very rich young man. He took a videocam, and made a fortune. I had a wonderful time dining at Ruth's Chris steak house in Washington DC recently. This is the place that showed the world how great a steak can be. Carefully selected and aged for tenderness. Cut thick to ensure juiciness. Seared to perfection at 1800 degrees. Seasoned simply with salt, black pepper and a touch of parsley, because a steak like this needs nothing else. Topped with fresh butter that sizzles seductively on your plate, announcing the arrival of a great steak.
Born in 1927 in New Orleans, Ruth Fertel had a passion for science. At age 19, she enrolled at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, where she majored in chemistry with a minor in physics. After college, Ruth taught briefly at McNeese Junior College in Lake Charles, Louisiana, but left to marry and start a family.
Fourteen years later, Ruth divorced and reentered the workforce as a lab technician at Tulane Medical School in New Orleans. Four years later, convinced the position could not provide enough income to send her two sons to college, she decided to go into business for herself. In 1965, while scanning the classified section of the local newspaper, Ruth noticed an ad for a steak house for sale - Chris Steak House on Broad Street in New Orleans. Against the advice of her lawyer and her banker, she mortgaged her house for $22,000 and bought the restaurant, eventually renaming it Ruth's Chris Steak House.
Ruth knew little about the restaurant business but, with a background in science, she became a great cook. What she lacked in experience, she made up for with hard work and natural hospitality. She only bought the best ingredients, confident that her guests would appreciate it. Soon, word spread of the fine steaks and quality service at Ruth's Chris Steak House, and it became a popular gathering spot for the city's political leaders, sports figures, media personalities and business people.
In 1976, the original Ruth's Chris Steak House was destroyed in a fire. Faced with a disaster that would have overwhelmed many, Ruth responded with character and determination, purchasing a building just down Broad Street and reopening Ruth's Chris Steak House.
Well aware of the restaurant's popularity, and convinced that the quality of its food and service could be duplicated, Ruth opened a second restaurant location in Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans, in 1977. That same year, at the urging of a loyal guest, T.J. Moran, she granted the first franchise for a Ruth's Chris Steak House, which opened in Baton Rouge.
The staff at each Ruth's Chris Steak House knew Ruth; she was revered for her values of hard, honest work and a passion for quality and service. Ruth's Chris Steak House quickly became the largest fine-dining steak house company in the world and today has more than 80 locations worldwide. The enthusiasm and sheer determination of its founder made it a greater success than even Ruth had ever anticipated.
Committed to industry and community programs, Ruth was the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2001 Ella Brennan Savoir Faire Award, the Restaurant Business High Performance Leadership Award, the DiRoNA Hall of Fame Award, Executive of the Year from Restaurants & Institutions Magazine, and the Horatio Alger Award. Throughout the years, until her death in 2002, Ruth was a popular fixture at the Broad Street restaurant.
Today, Ruth's Chris Steak House continues to foster in its staff Ruth's legendary dedication to her guests. Ruth's Chris Steak House appears on "best restaurant" lists nationwide and has won countless awards and accolades from the industry and, more importantly, from its loyal guests.
The Eternal Myth of Love It's called the myth of love: Our soul mate is out there and once we find him / her we'll live happily ever after. Isn't that how it's portrayed in the movies and literature? Romantic love is as old as storytelling itself, and it's one of our most honored traditions. Woman meets man and they fall in love. Isn't that how it's supposed to work? Sort of, at least on paper. But you know better than that by now. In real life it is not that easy. So, here you are, pissed off, defeated - and ready to leave your Everlasting Gobstopper of Love on the table and walk away. Well, hold on there just a minute. I knew you were special. And just when you thought it was all over, it's just the beginning. Don't give up, give love a chance. In fact, all the experience you've had up to now will actually pave the way to higher standards and the type of relationship you deserve. It may not be a fairy tale but it'll be based in reality, and it'll be with someone you're really into. You think there are no good women left, all the good ones are already taken. No, that's not true. Good single women do exist, you just may not be seeing them. At least myself, I am a good single woman. (I have an all-or-nothing libido: Either I am totally, hopelessly in love with you or I'm not. Period.) Just don't mistake it - or so you think. And like you, they have visited the buffet table often enough to know the value of a home-cooked meal. While compromising may be the name of the game in the world of business, in this candy land we call love, it is not compromising your standards and remembering what you really want and deserve that will ultimately win the day. So, be honest, you're not that into her either, raise your standards and reach for the love that you deserve. They say, good things are worth the wait; I say, a good woman is worth waiting for. Your real love is there waiting for you, you just don't know.
From past to present, why so many wars in the world? Where is the peace? " The real heroes of world war II are the men and women who never came back. If there was anything heroic about my story, it is my recovery from the wounds I received. I could not have made it without help-lots of it-from fellow soldiers, doctors, loved ones, friends, and others. None of us who travels the valleys of life ever walks alone." This is from a book that I'm reading now One Soldier's Story by Bob Dole.
Those of us living in the San Francisco Bay area and who enjoy a good meal, great wines and outstanding restaurants are very fortunate. Notable and memorable dining room experiences are offered throughout the San Francisco Bay area. Recently I had the pleasure of dining at Silks, (located on the second floor of Mandarin Oriental hotel) where the cuisine is inspired by the combination of elements of Pacific Rim style with West Coast signature dishes. From the first bite I knew this would be one of my more extraordinary restaurant experiences and the great food, wine and service completely fuliflled my expectations and I left with every sense satisfied. Truly a marvelous time from the first martini to the dessert selection. If you live in the area or are visiting, you must make Silks your choice for an evening of relaxation and indulgence. This restaurant is very popular, don't forget to make a reservation first. I Am Blue... Life does not always go my way and I am not feeling well today. I feel lonely, helpless and sad... I feel like I'm alone in a small boat, adrift in the ocean, a ferocious storm with howling winds, heavy seas and blinding rain is raging; I feel as if I am the only person in that tiny boat, tossed to and fro by the great waves of the sea of life, battered by the winds of chance, the rain of misfortune falls without end and there is no one to help me right my boat and steer it to calm seas, sunny shores and safety. My Life in High Heels I really love this part of the book (My Life In High Heels - Loni Anderson) that I'm reading now, I'd like to share it with you and hope you like it too. ...And no matter how much Mom had scrubbed and vacuumed during the day, she looked like Donna Reed when Dad came home from work at night. Dinner was ready, waiting warm in oven, and she was all dressed up and gorgeous, in high heels, fresh make up, the works. I would watch as she chose a pair of earrings out of the little velvet jewelry box that played "Star Dust," patted some Chanel No. 5 on her wrists, and got ready for him to come through the door. He took her in his arms and gave her a backbend kiss just about every night. Then they'd have cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, and Andrea and I were dismissed until dinner. It was their time together. We would try to be patient, reading or playing in our room, but after a while we'd kind of wander into the living room, and there they'd be, her on his lap, cooing and kissing. "Are we going to have dinner soon?" we'd ask, and Mom would giggle. "Oh, Andy," she'd say, "we forgot about the girls!" She was so crazy about him; sometimes after he left for work, she would go into the closet and inhale the scent of his clothes - his shirts, his sportcoats. After we were put to bed at night, we could hear them singing to each other while they cleaned up the kitchen. They sang all the forties songs and danced around the living room. One night I woke up in the middle of the night and heard them singing in their bedroom, harmonizing to "It's Been a Long, Long Time." "Kiss me once, then kiss me twice, then kiss me once again..." ...Because whatever they were, my parents were passionate. About each other, about us... And they always, each of them, had a place, a role. Dad would sit in his chair, with his feet up, watching television, and he'd say, "Mackie, I'd like a beer." And she would immediately jump up and go get it. And I'd think, what, he can't walk? Why does she do that? then ten minutes later, Mom might say, "Oh, Andy, I'm out of cigarettes." And Dad would fly right out of that chair, go jump into the car, and head for the corner store to get her cigarettes!
Happy Valentine's Day! My favorite holiday - Valentine's Day is coming soon! Happy Valentine's Day to everybody! I think I should spend this special holiday with a special man who truly loves me, but I didn't find him yet...So I'm going to be lonely this Valentine's Day...Don't forget to buy roses and gift for your wife or girlfriend and she will have a beautiful smile on her face :)
I Love My Family I love my family. They are very much my motivation, they always have been and they always will be...
I had a wonderful day today at a California Ferrari Club event with my friend who is a member of the club. I saw many of the world's most beautiful and expensive cars. They were mostly Ferraris and some Lotus, Maserati, Lamborghini and Bentleys. Out of all those high-priced and lovely cars my dream car is a beautiful Ferrari.
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