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BLAINESWORLD
#663
6.15.2009 In this issue: 1. Reflections 2. FYI 3. Did you know? 4. Reviews . . . HANGOVER, etc. 5. TV alert 6. Tick warning! 7. Websites 8. Computer tip 9. Surprise 10. A quote I like 11. Thought for the day 12. Advance planning department _________________________________________________________ 1. Reflections A. Cynthia, my beautiful bride, and I are on our way to officially becoming Southerners . . . we both passed the exam for our North Carolina driving license, which involved taking a 25 question multiple-choice exam, a vision test and a test on road signs . . . one good thing is that we won't have to go through this again for five more years . . . . at that point in time, only our vision and knowledge of signs will get tested--probably a good idea when you come to think of it . . . in contrast, I remember the last license my mother received in Florida when she was in her 80s . . . nothing got tested; in fact, I don't think my mother's vision was ever tested once she got her first license from that state. B. The week also marked the celebration of that famous holiday, Flag Day . . . in addition, that same day (June 14) was and is my birthday . . . I'm now 60; can you believe it? The past decade has gone so fast . . . I've moved three times; met and fell in love with and then married Cynthia; saw my daughter Risa get married; retired from my 33-year teaching career at Bucks County Community College; and began my wonderful life as a Rewirement Expert-in-Training in Asheville. C. One of the things I'll be doing in the future is providing services as a certified hypnotist . . . toward that end, I completed Part One of training in that field (see also the BLAINESWORLD BEST AWARD after Section 1D) . . . I look forward to being able to help others quit smoking, lose weight, etc. SPECIAL OFFER: In order to attain certification, I need to practice my skills . . . if you'd be interested in having me hypnotize you, let me know as soon as possible . . . an email is probably your best bet; send it to bginbc@aol.com and put HYPNOSIS REQUEST in the subject line . . . my present plans are to conduct such sessions in Western North Carolina this summer, then possibly come up for a week in late August to the New Jersey/Pennsylvania area . . . in addition, there's the possibility that I might try to conduct sessions via Skype (over the Internet). D. During the week, I also continued to explore more of what Asheville has to offer: * One day, I went with a friend to lunch at the Sunny Point Cafe; 828.252.0055 . . . the place has a very eclectic menu and is always mobbed . . . we enjoyed our chicken sandwiches, though next time I return, my plan is to have one of their many delicious-looking breakfast specials. * On that same day, I found a place where I'll probably be going for massages: Cosmic Groove Massage . . . the hours are great, and there are usually at least two massage therapists available . . . in addition, the prices are very reasonable: $29 for the first one, $37 for the next four and then back to $29 for the sixth massage . . . this is the cycle for all 1-hour massages, and there are even better package deals available . . . for more information, please click: http://www.thecosmicgroove.com/
* Lastly, Cynthia and I "discovered" another ice cream place close to our home: Tastee Freez; 828.232.4234 . . . though Kilwin's will always remain our favorite, we liked this one because of its proximity to where we live . . . and, also because they are open later than any other such establishment in the area . . . there's always a wide range of soft and hard ice cream flavors available, along with sundaes, milk shakes, ice cream sodas and even hot dogs. ***** BLAINESWORLD BEST AWARD ***** This week, it goes to Sarah Gewanter--the woman who provided the training for my aforementioned hypnosis course. She's a magnificent teacher, very giving of both her time and expertise . . . all those in attendance especially appreciated her feedback, as well as her encouragement. We also appreciated her graciousness in hosting the training at her home in the mountains . . . that's Sarah in the foreground with (l-r) future hypnotists Susan, Tina and yours truly:  For more information about Sarah, who's also a counselor and licensed social worker, please click: http://www.hypnowisdom.com
Back To Top _________________________________________________________ 2. FYI THANKS to Vince in Pennsylvania for sending me the link to the following report on tires that you must see; e.g., to alert you to the necessity of finding out how old they are before you buy them: http://tinyurl.com/57j6of It is a big longish, but well worth your time . . . in fact, I checked the information out with Peter in Pennsylvania (a longtime friend who had been a successful auto dealer) for his take . . . he commented: Ford has been telling us for probably three years that tires over six years old must be replaced! This story is not new news, but nonetheless very well done and very comprehensive. FYI, part 2 * Warren in North Carolina: I have 3 adorable kittens for adoption . . . 2 spotted tigers who are male; 1 female calico . . . all are with me in the Asheville area . . . I'll spay or neuter before they become yours . . . please do give me a call at 828.273.1101 to help find them a home. See below for a picture of two of them with Cynthia:  * Sue in Pennsylvania: Did you know that the average adult uses 9 personal care products daily, exposing them to 126 chemicals a day? Have you ever read the ingredients of your shampoo, face cleanser or cosmetics? Chances are you cannot even pronounce most of them. The skin absorbs a significant amount of anything you put on it. Some of the ingredients are so toxic and have been linked to serious illnesses. I kindly urge you to find personal care products and cosmetics that are non-toxic and safe to use. The following website offers products that do NOT use any synthetic chemicals. It provides the world's first certified organic personal care products (skin, hair and body) and cosmetics. And you will be able to recognize and pronounce all of the plant-based healthy ingredients. For more information, please click: http://savannahsorganics.mionegroup.com/
And here's a hair tip for you: Add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda to any shampoo you use about once a week. Just rub them together in your palms, then apply. You will be pleasantly surprised how healthy and manageable it makes your hair look and feel! * Suzanne in North Carolina, providing a recipe for the delicious carrot cake (that she made for my recent birthday party): Carrot Cake INGREDIENTS: 4 eggs (6) 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil (1 3/4+ cups) 1 cup white sugar (1 1/2 cups) 1 cup brown sugar (1 1/2 cups) 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (1 Tablespoon) 2 cups all-purpose flour (3 cups) 2 teaspoons baking soda (1 tablespoon) 2 teaspoons baking powder (1 tablespoon) 1/2 teaspoon salt (3/4 teaspoon) 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (1 tablespoon) 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (3/4 teaspoon) 1/4 teaspoon ginger (1/3 teaspoon) 3 cups grated carrots (4.5 cups) 1 cup chopped pecans (can leave out) (1.5) 1/2 cup butter, softened 8 ounces cream cheese, softened 4 cups confectioners' sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup chopped pecans (can leave out) DIRECTIONS: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 2- 9 inch round pan. 2.In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices. Stir in carrots. Fold in pecans. Pour into prepared pans. 3.Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. I put in refrigerator for several hours or overnight. 4. To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in chopped pecans. Frost the cooled cake. NOTE: I wanted three layers, so I made adjustments in parenthesis. I used the same amount of icing, just didn't do the sides, just tops and filling. George in Pennsylvania: Success story this week . . . my recent blog about cigars was seen by the number one cigar company in the world: http://tinyurl.com/p4899p
Their executive emailed me personally . . . said he loved it and offered me a role in writing for his website: http://www.puff.com
also, the catalog and CIGAR NEWS. Lesson? Start or keep blogging. You never know who is reading it. If you write, speak or do anything well . . . send those links out. If you don't tell them, who will? Part of the compensation will be high-end cigars that I will also review. Gee . . . what a disappointment! Four generations of emails with the guy lead to a discussion about doing a Cigar Show that they may be interested in sponsoring. Both of my dream skills get met. Speaking/Hosting AND Writing. * Pat in Pennsylvania with another comic specifically written for this missive:  Pat is Pat Achilles, a very talented artist who also does greeting cards, artwork for children's books and so much more . . . for more information, call her at 215.348.4837 or email her at: patachilles@aol.com . . . you can also get a FREE cartoon every Monday by clicking: http://www.achillesportfolio.com/freecartoonsignup.htm
Back To Top ___________________________________________________ 3. Did you know? The first testicular guard "Cup" was used in hockey in 1874, and the first helmet was used in 1974. It took 100 years for men to realize that the brain is also important. Back To Top _________________________________________________________ 4. Reviews A. If you're in the mood for a funny, stupid movie that has absolutely no redeeming social value, then HANGOVER is just for you . . . it is about four guys who go to Las Vegas for a bachelor party that turns out to be unlike any you've ever seen and/or heard about . . . not all of the parts click, but there's enough here to make it worth seeing--especially the performance by Zach Galifiankis . . . he's one crazy guy . . . rated R. B. Now out on DVD is NEW IN TOWN, a film that most critics panned . . . in fact, I listened to the reviews and passed on seeing this in the theaters . . . what a mistake . . . it is a charming romantic comedy, starring Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick, Jr., about a woman who moves from Miami to a small town in Minnesota to run a factory there . . . I laughed through most of it, yet was also touched by various parts . . . only the ending bogged down a bit, but overall, you'll like it . . . and because of its PG rating, you can watch it with the entire family (though I think kids under 8 might not like it as much as anybody older). C. David Ogilvy's OGILVY ON ADVERTISING is one of my favorite books on the subject . . . in fact, for several years, I used it as the text for the advertising course that I taught. So when I saw there was a biography written about him, THE KING OF MADISON AVENUE by Kenneth Roman, I jumped at the opportunity to read more about the man many consider as one of the fathers of modern advertising. He was quite a character who not only built Ogilvy & Mather into a global enterprise, but who also worked undercover as a British agent in Washington and spent time as a farmer in the Amish country . . . this entertaining tale of his life gave me a real feel for the man who had some strong opinions about the profession--including this one: * If you spend your advertising budget entertaining the consumer, you are a bloody fool. Housewives don't buy a new detergent because the manufacturer told a joke on television last night. They buy it because it promised a benefit. If I could persuade the lunatics to give up their pursuit of awards, I would die happy. I also liked reading about Ogilvy's life outside of work . . . in his latter years, he moved to France where he invited hundreds of people to come see him: * Dozens took him up on it. People would invite themselves for tea and be coaxed to stay the night. One young couple asked if they could come for a night and stayed for six. He put some houseguests to work improving his dry moat--a dirty job--confiding that guests seldom outstayed their welcome if put to work. Ordinarily, I don't pay too much attention to a book's documentation. . . yet that said, Roman is to be commended on his thorough job of research . . . there are some 17 pages of Source Notes; however, what most caught my attention was the Afterword devoted to "(More) Unpublished David Ogilvy" . . . my favorite was this Memo he wrote his Board of Directors: * During the Kaiser's war, whenever one of Churchill's colleagues in the Cabinet got mad at him, he would write to them in this vein: "We are on the stage of history. Let us keep our anger for the common foe." With a little modification, we should sometimes say this to each other. Even if you're not a fan of biographies or advertising, give this one a chance . . . you'll find it fascinating. D. I've enjoyed all of Joseph Finder's corporate thrillers (POWER PLAY, KILLER INSTINCT, COMPANY MAN, etc.) . . . yet somehow, one of his earlier novels--THE ZERO HOUR--had escaped my radar screen; i.e., until I saw an audio copy at my local library. This one was quite exciting . . . my only regret is that you might have to dig to find it, in that I believe it may be out-of-print . . . that's too bad, given the nature of the cat-and-mouse story. It is about a terrorist who escapes from a South African prison . . . he plans an impending terrorist attack on Manhattan that an FBI agent is trying to foil . . . there are naturally lots of complications, but they are all germane to the book's plot--and help build up to an exciting conclusion. What's amazing is that the book was written in 1996, long before the events of 9/11 . . . do see if you can find a copy, particularly like me: a big Joseph Finder fan. Back To Top _________________________________________________________ 5. TV alert A. CHESS, the musical, is on GREAT PERFORMANCES on Wednesday at 8 p.m. on PBS . . . this production is a concert version of the show, featuring Josh Groban, WICKED's Idina Menzel and RENT's Adam Pascal . . . check local listings because times and dates often vary on PBS stations. B. George Lopez, voted as one of TV GUIDE's "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time," shows why on MR. TROOP MOM . . . he plays a father who gets to bond with his daughter at a wilderness camp weekend . . . Friday at 8 p.m. on NICKELODEON. C. CHOPPING BLOCK has the amateur restaurateurs trying to woo single diners with their sexy dishes . . . Friday at 8 p.m. on NBC. D. THE SINGING BEE has switched both channels and themes . . . it is on Saturdays at 10 p.m. on CMT, and contestants will now sing country songs. Back To Top _________________________________________________________ 6. Tick warning! I hate it when people forward bogus warnings, and I have even done it myself a couple times unintentionally . . . but this one is real , and it's important. So please send this warning to everyone on your e-mail list. This is the time of year to think of ticks once again. If someone comes to your front door saying they are checking for ticks due to the warm weather and asks you to take your clothes off and dance around with your arms up, DO NOT DO IT! THIS IS A SCAM!! They only want to see you naked. I wish I'd gotten this yesterday. I feel so stupid!!! Back To Top _________________________________________________________ 7. Websites A. If you don't want to pay for software, then check out this website that makes much good stuff available for FREE: http://tinyurl.com/msj62t
You can find both antivirus and antispyware software, firewalls, business applications, desktop search software and many others. B. If you love Broadway musicals (and even if you don't), please click: http://tinyurl.com/dc7a5c
You'll see a great parody of WEST SIDE STORY, entitled WORST SLIDE STORY . . . make sure you have put on your sound . . . the concept, animation and voices are by Walt Handelsman--one very clever guy. C. BLAINESWORLD, the website, remains up and running . . . to view it, please click: http://www.blainesworld.net
http://www.schuylkillriveroutlaws.com
MY TWO CENTS: I'm sorry that I won't be in the area to catch this performance, if only because I would have liked to have seen Ethan and Ryan (the boys of Maureen and Rich) in concert. D. Cyndy in Pennsylvania: The June Consciousness Shifting Drum and Sacred Sound Healing Circle, which was previously scheduled in West Chester on June 12 HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED to June 26 IN LANDENBERG. In other words, there will
be no circle in West Chester this month, but all are welcome to join the Landenberg Circle on June 26. Grandmother Pathweaver will join us, and we circle, drum, play, heal, laugh, and always sit in the lap of Spirit, from 6:30-9:30 p.m. AN ADULT AND CHILD DRUM MAKING DAY Saturday, June 27, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Please join us for the first of what will become an annual day of fun. Spend a special day with your child (or one you borrow) and assist him or her in creating a Native American frame drum. A drum is a powerful healing tool, which can be used for joyful play, honoring Spirit, clearing or generating energy. During this workshop, we will sing, dance and using a special inward journey, we will discover the story of your new drum. An investment of $80-$175 (depending on the size drum you choose) includes the day of teaching and all materials to make a Native American style frame drum with a maple frame and elk skin. You will also make a beautiful beater. $75.00 registration fee is due by June 15, 2009. For more information, please click: http://www.RhythmOfTheEarth.com Or call 610.274.3109. Back To Top _________________________________________________________ PS. Just like Mother's Day wasn't that much on my radar screen this past May, Father's Day hasn't been either . . . I'm sad that my father is no longer alive, so I won't be able to spend the day with him . . . but if yours is still around, I do hope you get to either see him and/or at least think about him on Sunday when you play this song by Keith Urban: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmMfuYkPixQ
In addition, please join me in praying that we soon get our remaining soldiers back from Iraq and Afghanistan and, also, that peace comes to Israel and her neighbors. . . make it a great week, too! ---------------------------------------------------------- SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBCRIBE INFORMATION To subscribe to this publication, please send an email to: bginbc@aol.com and put SUBSCRIBE in subject line . . . if you wish to unsubscribe, just send an email to same address and put UNSUBSCRIBE in subject line. |
