Most Popular Sports Around The World

All types of sports are popular globally, but what sports can we call THE most popular in the world? Some of the answers may surprise you.

It's no surprise that football, or what Americans call "soccer" is the world's most popular sport to play and to watch. An estimated 3.5 billion people either watch or play football. The World Cup is the global championship of the sport and this tournament is played every four years. The World Cup itself is one of the highest rated sports on television, with many countries tuning in en masse to watch their country's team play. Football is popular in all of the UK, Europe, Asia as well as South America. However, with so many other sports being popular, the Unites States still lags behind in their interest in "soccer".

Next, we have cricket. This sport which consists of a bat and a ball, has been around for hundreds of years and originated in England. The sport is popular in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, some African countries, some Caribbean countries and it is the most popular sport in the countries of India and Pakistan. An estimated 3 billion people watch or play cricket each year.

The next most popular sport is a sure surprise, and that is field hockey, with an estimated 2 billion players or watchers, mostly in Asian countries, European countries, Australia and around Africa. This sport tends to be played in high schools in the United States, usually by girls only.

Coming up next is tennis. Not so surprising, but there are an estimated 1 billion players and watchers of tennis around the world. Tennis tends to be popular in richer countries, including the United States, Asian countries, Australia and Europe. There are four main tournaments in tennis, called "Grand Slams" at which players from many countries play. The first is the Australian Open, then the French Open, Wimbledon and then the US Open in late August. The Grand Slam tournaments tend to get the most attention during the tennis season.

Next we have volleyball. Yet another surprise, with an estimated 900 million viewers or players around the world. Volleyball is popular in the United States, where the sport originated, as well as in Brazil, all over Europe, Russia, China and Japan. Volleyball is a popular high school sport in many countries due to it's team centered play and lack of specialized equipment requirements.

Also popular is table tennis, otherwise known as Ping Pong. This is another surprisingly popular sport around the world, with an estimated 900 million watchers or players. Table tennis originated in England as an after dinner activity for Victorians in the late 19th century. Table tennis as a competitive sport is popular in many countries but is especially popular in China, Korea and Singapore.

After these sports, we have a triumvirate of more mainstream American sports including baseball, golf, American football and basketball, with each sport attracting between 400 and 500 million players or watchers worldwide.




Lydia Quinn writes for VolleyBallSeek.com, a portal for volleyball scores, players, teams, games and much more.

Visit us at: http://www.volleyballseek.com

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Wiccan Invocations, Chants and Prayers

An Invocation is the calling of a God or Goddess. Wiccan witches work with the Gods and Goddesses for their universal energies to provide balance in the magical rituals. The balance is important with male and female, yin and yang, two energy sources to provide harmony and the correct direction of the channeled energy. Invocations can be as simple or as complex as you desire. Gods and Goddesses can be invoked with herbs, numbers, colours even images, and at certain times of year corresponding to the lunar or solar cycle.

Invocation of the Elements

Air, Fire, Water, Earth, Elements of Astral birth, I call you now, attend to me.

In the circle rightly cast, Safe from psychic curse or blast, I call you now, attend to me.

From cave and desert, sea and hill, By wand, blade, cup and pentacle, I call you now, attend to me.

This is my will, so mote it be!

These prayers below can be utilized to invoke the Goddess and God during ritual following the casting of the circle. You can change the words as you see fit. These are related to one specific deity but "All the Gods are one God; and all the Goddesses are one Goddess, and there is one initiator." You could also use the chants to raise energy levels.

Invocation to the Goddess

Crescent One of the starry skies, Flowered One of the fertile plain,

Flowing One of the ocean's sighs, Blessed One of the gentle rain.

Hear my chant 'midst the standing stones, Open me to your mystic light.

Waken me to your silver tones, Be with me in my sacred rite!

Invocation to Pan

O Great God Pan, Beast and man, Shepherd of goats and Lord of the Land,

I call you to attend my rites, On this most magical of nights.

God of the wine, God of the vine, God of the fields and god of the kine,

Attend my circle with your love, And send Your blessings from above.

Help me to heal, Help me to feel, Help me to bring forth love and weal.

Pan of the forests, Pan of the glade, Be with me as my magic is made!

Isis Invocation

Isis of the Moon, You who are all that ever was,

All that is, And all that shall be.

Come veiled Queen of Night, Come as the scent of the sacred lotus,

Charging my circle, With love and magic.

Do descend upon my circle, I pray, O Blessed Isis!

Prayer to the Horned God

Horned One of the wilderness, Winged One of the shining skies,

Rayed One of the splen'drous Sun, Fallen One of the Samhain cries.

I call amidst the standing stones, Praying that you, O ancient One,

Will design to bless my mystic rites, O fiery Lord of the Blazing Sun!

New Moon Chant to Diana

Waxing, waxing, growing, growing, Diana's power is flowing, flowing. (Repeat)

Call to the God

Ancient God of the forest deeps, Master of beast and Sun,

Here where the world is hushed and sleeps, Now that the day is done.

I call You in the ancient way, Here in my circle round,

Asking that You will hear me pray, And send Your Sun force down.

Invocation to the Goddess

Gracious Goddess, You who are the Queen of the Gods,

the lamp of night, the creator of all that is wild and free,

Mother of woman and man, Lover of the Horned God and protectress of all the Wicca,

Descend I pray, With Your Lunar ray of power, upon my circle here!

Invocation to the God

Blazing God, You Who are the King of the Gods,

Lord of the Sun, Master of all that is wild and free,

Father of woman and man, Lover of the Moon Goddess and protector of all the Wicca,

Descend I pray, With Your Solar ray of power, upon my circle here!

Goddess Chant

Luna, Luna, Luna, Diana, Luna, Luna, Luna, Diana

Bless me, bless me, bless me, Diana, Luna, Luna, Luna, Diana. (Repeat)

Evening Chant to the God

Hail fair Sun, Ruler of day, Rise on the morn, To light my way.

(Said while watching the sunset)

Evening Chant to the Goddess

Hail fair Moon, Ruler of night, Guard me and mine, Until the light.

(Said while Moon gazing)

Goddess Chant

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, Ooooooooooooooooooh, Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu,

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

The vowels of the English Language. Pronounce A=Ah, O=O, U=Oo, E=E, I=eye. This rouses the psychic mind and produces Goddess awareness.

Thanks to Scott Cunningham for his Invocations, Prayers and Chants.




Amethysthawke

Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill - an' it harm none, do what ye will.

Blessed Be

Amethyst Hawke

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10 Easy Ways to Make a Positive Environmental Impact

How Can I Make Simple Changes That Positively Impact the Environment?

Easy Ways to Go Green

It's the New Year. Again. Many of us decide to make changes in our lives around this time - that's no surprise. Often, the resolutions we create for ourselves are dramatic, powerful, even overwhelming. Losing lots of weight, going vegetarian, quitting smoking - we all have our Ace in the hole. Too many years pass, however, when we lose sight of these lofty goals and before the end of the first quarter, we're already off our game and back to smoking, back to sleeping in, off the daily scheme of going to the gym.

This isn't a post about how to stay on track with your goals. This isn't about making smaller steps in between milestones or pinning up a huge calendar to your wall and filling it up with black X's every time you complete another day on the plus side.

Achieving the Goal of Going Green

I like to think about the goals I want to achieve in as realistic a manner possible. That means - what will actualizing and accomplishing my goals look like on a Tuesday at 1:30 in the afternoon, or a typical Saturday morning at 9:43. That's more real to me, and consequently more manageable. My goal for this year? To go more green, in as many ways possible. Like many, I am willing to work for it, but I wonder if there aren't others who would make positive changes if they were easy to accomplish, and didn't involve too much work.

Big differences are often made with tiny, incremental shifts - one can't tell just how much of a positive impact is being made by looking at a few of those small steps, but taken in an aggregate form, the impact can be tremendous.

That said, here is a list of ten tiny, realistic steps that I am going to take this year to go more green. If we all do what we can to even uphold a few of these things, the positive impact on our environment would be huge.

Ten Easy Ways to Positively Impact the Environment

1.) Support Farmer's Markets

Buying local has a dramatic impact on both your health and the environment. While you achieve the goal of supporting local, organic, independent farmers, you also have the opportunity to eat seasonally and raise the bar for yourself in terms of healthy eating habits. By the way - have you ever tasted a plum, or a tomato, or even locally grown, organic salad greens? You'll never shop at the super market again if you have taste buds.

You'll be filling your body with produce that is at its freshest, and increasing your consumption of organic produce is incredibly beneficial. The National Resources Defense Council notes that much of the U.S. produce will travel an average of around 1,500 miles before it makes its way into your super market. The negative impact on the planet is huge - think of the pollution alone that is created in that transport.

2.) Toilet Paper

Seriously. Find it online or at your super market, local Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. If your super market doesn't have it - take a second and speak to customer service about ordering it, and do it every time you shop there. They'll stock it eventually. We're talking about toilet paper made with recycled paper. The impact on the environment in terms of the total number of trees saved each year is huge. Your bumm won't know the difference.

3.) Cold Water Wash

Don't personalize your laundry - sure, you like to take a warm bath, but do your old sweat socks, boxer shorts and yoga pants know the difference? A really simple thing to change in your daily or weekly routine, and the environmental impact is great. Procter & Gamble notes that if we all started to use cold water in the washing machines, we could save enough energy to light two and a half million homes for a year.

4.) Bad Bottled Water Habits

How's this for facts: According to National Geographic magazine, Americans buy approximately 7 billion gallons of bottled water a year. This amounts to roughly 22 billion plastic bottles that eventually get thrown away, and often not in the recycling bin. Consider the (yearly) 1.5 million barrels of oil that it takes to produce those plastic bottles - this amount is enough to fuel nearly 100,000 cars for an entire year. Ways to improve? Buy a water filter and drink tap water that has been properly filtered. Order large bottle service from an organization like Arrowhead or Sparkletts, and drink from a glass at home or at work. At the very least, recycle the plastic bottles that you do use - always.

5.) Re-use Gift Wrapping Paper

Unwrap gifts with a little concern, or teach your little ones a new environmental lesson before they make a mess with the ripping into birthday or holiday packaging. The amount of paper that could be saved is astronomical, if each of us were to recycle wrapping paper from just a few gifts each year.

Get a bag or a box, and start saving bows, ribbons and neatly folded, carefully removed gift wrapping paper. No one will know the difference. Trust me. And if they do, you have the perfect opportunity to bring up a conversation about conservation, without sounding overbearing. They'll feel great to have helped out without having done anything.

6.) Grocery Bags

When they ask you if you want paper or plastic, just say neither. Spend a dollar at the store and buy a re-usable cotton or hemp bag, and keep them in the trunk of your car for shopping. For a look at the environmental impact of both paper bags and plastic bags [http://www.greeneggsandplanet.com/blog], read these former blog posts. Get creative with your kids and find blank canvas bags online - this will give your kids a chance to be creative, and paint or decorate the grocery bags to personalize them.

7.) Houseplants Can Be Your Friends

It has been noted that many green house plants can assist in the process of removing indoor air pollutants if you cultivate and care for them indoors. Plants like English ivy and others such as golden pothos practically grow themselves. Don't worry - they're harder to kill than keep alive. And they'll be helping keep you alive as they fight environmental toxins in the home.

8.) Eliminate Junk Mail

Hate the junk mail that comes in your mail box just about every day? For most of us, that pile of materials goes directly into the trash. For others, it goes directly into the recycling bin. Neither party ever reads any of it, and yet it still shows up every day. Take a second and visit the Direct Marketing Association's Mail Preference Service to register not to receive junk mail any longer. The process may take a few months, but eventually, you won't get so much trash in the mail.

9.) Buy Bulk

Tea drinker? Couple of trips to the local coffee house every morning? Eat cereal or oatmeal? Next time you buy tea, for instance, think about choosing loose leaf over packaged tea. Reducing the amount of packaging materials that you use can make a big difference to the environment.

Think about packaged tea - there's the card stock paper box wrapped in plastic, the paper inside, the plastic that is often wrapped around the tea bag, the tea bag, the string, the tiny staple and the tea tag. All of those materials get disposed of, typically not recycled, and much of it can be eliminated by buying bulk loose leaf tea and using your own tea infuser.

10.) Green Your Driving

No - I'm not going to make a blanket statement that we should all run out and buy a brand new Prius - it's not going to be possible for everyone and it isn't the only way to green up your vehicle. Further, there's no reason to make people feel bad about failing so miserably right out of the gate when it comes to efficient vehicles.

If you can afford it, buy a hybrid. But there are plenty of other ways to do something about fuel consumption and vehicle pollution. Carpool if and when you can - you have to get over identifying with your vehicle and your alone time first, but it's worth the small sacrifice. Bike to work if you can; you'll be getting exercise and helping the planet at the same time.

Or just plain drive smarter when you get behind the wheel - get timely tuneups and keep your tires inflated to the proper pressure to ensure maximum gas-saving efficiency. If you take long trips on the highway (out of the way of traffic), then switch to cruise control to improve your mileage. Curb your urge to drive like your car is a weapon - take off from stops less aggressively, brake more gently and slow down when you can. The speed limit isn't so bad. And get out of the drive-through: either quit the fast food or park the car and walk it.

Final Thoughts on Easy Steps to Going Green

Taking meaningful yet small steps towards going greener this year can lead to real, measurable and positive change for the planet. A few easy questions here and there, changing a habit or two, educating yourself and making smarter choices - a little bit at a time is really all that it takes. Think about the many millions of people living in America, making one collective change all at once - that alone could pay huge dividends for our future.




Matty Byloos writes and manages the Green Blog known as: Easy Ways to Go Green, as well as the Organic Food Blog: Organic Eating Daily

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2012 Will Be The Year Civilization Changes Forever

THE CULMINATION

[This article was first published Dec. 14, 2007. It was last updated Oct. 15, 2011. Updates are often, but not always, in brackets.]

The year 2012 marks the time that the world's old civilization will culminate. This is not to say that the world will be annihilated because the world will go on. In 2012, we will see a dramatic increase in the direct intervention of Jesus Christ as He begins to take control of governments of the world, beginning with the Government of the United States, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Government of the European Community. After Jesus unites His Western forces, He will rally them to destroy end-time Babylon and the Beast who rules over Babylon. Simultaneously, Jesus will use His Two Witnesses to unmask the Beast in front of the world audience. This act will provoke the Beast to murder the Two Witnesses of Jesus in front of a world audience.

In 2012, many Old Testament personages, including Jesus Christ, will continue their ministries in the bodies of the Two Witnesses of Jesus. The resurrected ministries of prophets will proceed to their culminations. I am speaking metaphorically.

We will see a continuation of the end-time ministries of John the Revelator, Daniel, and Elijah. Those men were to stand up again at the end of time. They will stand up in the bodies of the Two Witnesses of Jesus. Those prophets of old will be embodied in the Two Witnesses of God.

666- DEFEAT OF THE BEAST

The year 2012 marks the time that Jesus directly intervenes to control affairs in the United States and Britain in order to thwart an upcoming Marxist/corporate dictatorship that would have succeeded by 2016.

[Update: A judgment period of 9 years after 2012 will lead up to the destruction of the Beast and Babylon. (The number 9 has Gematriatic meaning of "judgment.") The last 7 years (2015-2021) in this judgment period are the years of the "Great Tribulation." The number 7 has Gematriatic meaning of "complete." Judgment Day would follow in the year 2021 AD. In 2022 AD, Western forces will execute complete judgment on end-time Babylon.]

When the Beast and those who believe in the bestial way of life, murder God's Two Witnesses, the bestial world will culminate. The Old World of bestial conduct will soon after be annihilated.

The great turnaround of 2012 is associated with the 2012 Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth. This could be understood in the way that prisms and camera lenses work. When the world is focused into a camera lens, it is reduced to nothing. But, out of the other side of the lens the world is projected upside down.

Actually, our present world is upside down. The world that comes after 2012 will be right side up because the Beast and the bestial way of life will be identified. As a result, the world would be determined to destroy of the Beast and Babylon. The world would finally get the picture in a metaphoric sense.

DIAMOND OF QUEEN ELIZABETH

Queen Elizabeth's diamond in 2012 is such a prism. That was why Freemasons honored her Diamond Jubilee. The Washington Monument was built, in part, as a prophecy of her 2012 Diamond Jubilee. The aluminum cap on the monument represents Queen Elizabeth's diamond.

Freemasons expressed their prophecies in a calendar. On their calendar, Masons drew a diamond that identified the year of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee. Bear in mind that this calendar is 200 years old and probably thousands of years old.

THE GAP

There is a gap between our present world and the New World. This gap represents the 3 days that the Two Witnesses of Jesus would lie dead in the streets. The Two Witnesses of God will stand in the gap between the wrath of God and the world.

RESURRECTION OF TWO WITNESSES

After three days, God's Two Witnesses will be sparked back to life. They will stand up and shock the world. These two individuals will be the first people to enter into the new world that God is creating. They are the new Adam and Eve, and those who follow them are their spiritual children.

NEW ADAM & EVE

6,000 years prior to these end-time events, the first Adam and Eve had been created. The difference between the first Adam and Eve and the Adam and Eve of our time is that our Adam and Eve will reject the Beast. In the Garden of Eden, the first Adam and Eve submitted to the Beast, whose imposing reptilian body was genetically re-engineered by God to have the form of a lowly dirt-eating snake. The world suffered 6,000 years as a result of the choice of the first Adam and Eve to follow the Beast. Our Two Witnesses will be murdered because they will NOT submit to the Beast in the tree of Babylonian civilization.

You are probably thinking that God's Two Witnesses are men. This is correct in the sense that they complete the prophetic works of the two prophets, Daniel and John. Remember that God told both those men that they would return to do their work in the end-time? Metaphorically speaking, those two prophets have returned as God's Two Witnesses.

THE FEMALE LAMB OF PENTECOST

The Two Witnesses of God had been prophesied by animal sacrifices. On the Day of Pentecost, two unblemished lambs were sacrificed. Unlike those male animals that represented Jesus Christ, the lambs of Pentecost were either gender, male or female.

People have had a hard time with the sacrifice of a female animal because they assume that every sacrifice represented the male Jesus Christ. They had no way of knowing that Old Testament Israelites had been acting out the end-time sacrifice, by the Church, of one of God's Two Witnesses who would be the mother of God's new world. That lamb would be female. It will be the Church that sacrifices/murders the Two Lambs of God. That is why the female lamb was sacrificed on the Day of Pentecost. Pentecost was the day that the Christian Church was created on.

However, a male lamb could be sacrificed for this lady because she represents a male prophet. This understanding could have been why Leonardo da Vinci portrayed John the Revelator as a woman in his mysterious painting of the Last Supper. Leonardo understood that John's end-time counterpart would be an end-time Eve, one of God's Two Witnesses and a female lamb of God.

21-YEAR MINISTRIES

You might ask why you have never heard about God's Two Witnesses. The answer is that they have been ignored since 1991, when they began their 21-year ministry.

You remember that Elijah was taken to Heaven after he completed his ministry. The ministry of Jesus ended in the midst of a week. However, Jesus would return through His Two Witnesses in order to complete that week. Likewise, Elijah would return. Jesus would complete His week as a prophetic week, which became a span of 7 years rather than 7 days. Jesus would complete the remaining 1260 days of that week of years through His Two Witnesses.

God's Two Witnesses would also do a 21-year ministry, which would normally end in 2012 AD when they would be age 66 (Jesus was age 33). However, Jesus would use them to CONTINUE His work, and the work of Elijah, through His Two Witnesses.

Elijah had worked to overthrown evil Ahab and an evil son of Ahab. We could identify Ahab and his treacherous wife, Jezebel, with our present-day national leaders. The similarity is obvious.

AGES 33 & 66

God's Two Witnesses have a ministry that is similar to the ministries of Elijah and Jesus, because they are part of the work of end-time Elijah (God works through more than one person in order to do the end-time work of Elijah). Normally, God's Two Witnesses would be murdered at age 66, after 21 years of doing their Father's business. That would be because Jesus was murdered at age 33, after His 21-year ministry. Similarly, Elijah went to Heaven after his ministry. However, Jesus will have CONTINUED His ministry, and the ministry of Elijah, through His Two Witnesses. In a sense, Jesus and Elijah would continue where they left off.

Here is the concept: Jesus who went to Heaven at age 33. His end-time work would return through His Two Witnesses when they reached age 33. Jesus then raised them during the following 33 years, until His Two Witnesses would be age 66 in 2012 AD.

In 2012 AD, Jesus would repeat His ministry through them. In time, Jesus would be executed a second time when the Church executes His Two Witnesses.

The ministry of the prophet Elisha followed the ministry of the prophet Elijah. Jesus would do an end-time work of Elisha after He did an end-time work of Elijah.

The end-time ministry of Elisha would coincide with the 70th week of years that Daniel referred to. That week of years would be the Great Tribulation, 2015 to 2021 AD. Jesus would complete the Great Tribulation as an end-time Elisha.

The last 1260 days of the lives of God's Two Witnesses would be increasingly intense and their work would culminate with their executions by the Beast who ascends out of the Bottomless Pit of political obscurity.

THE SECOND EXECUTION OF JESUS

It is IMPOSSIBLE for Christians who reject the Two Witnesses of Jesus to receive eternal life, because they will have crucified Jesus a second time. Notice that this warning is in Hebrew 6:6, which has verse numbers of 66. These numbers refer to people who follow the Beast. Those Church members who follow the Beast, rather than the Two Witnesses of Jesus, have fallen away, and have crucified Jesus a second time. They may not crucify Jesus a second time and expect to receive eternal life.

(Hebrew 6:6)... them who have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.

Everyone in the world hated Jesus. He had no allies. His friends deserted Him. The religious establishment hated Him more others because He threatened their income and glory.

The ministry of God's Two Witnesses is described in Revelation 11 as a repetition of the ministry of Jesus Christ in some ways. We would rightly assume that the world establishment would also hate the Two Witnesses of Jesus- and for the same reasons that it hated Jesus.

You might ask why the religious establishment is not carefully listening for God's Two Witnesses. The truth is that it has no desire to meet God's Two Witnesses. YOUR religious leader absolutely does not want anything to do with Jesus and His Two Witnesses. Lukewarm religious leaders of the end time are using religion for their financial and egotistical benefits- just as Jesus said that they would be.

Jesus prophesied this very situation in parable. For example, Jesus said that religious leaders would be abusing the children of God. Abuse and exploitation is commonplace today. The homeless live in cardboard boxes outside the mansion gates of millionaire ministers. Poor believers struggle to support the comfortable lifestyles of Church leaders with tithes and offerings that would otherwise pay their bills and feed their children.

In His Book of Revelation, Jesus describes the Whore of Babylon who drinks the lifeblood of the saints out of a Communion cup. This is an apt description of modern-day Televangelists and other millionaire Church leaders. Instead of serving the children of God, ministers have the children of God serving them. This is the opposite of the example that was set by Jesus and His Apostles.

Jesus said in parable that ministers would be so busy with their religious businesses (bringing in money); they would reject Christ's invitation to His Wedding Feast. Many ministers are millionaires and/or wealthy nowadays. The last thing they want is to be Christ-like because they would need to give up their empires.

Too many ministers live lifestyles that are completely against the teachings of Jesus. It is all too obvious why most religious leaders of today do not want Jesus to actually return. It is all too obvious why lukewarm Laodicean ministers intentionally divert the attention of their lukewarm followers away from God's Two Witnesses, who, in stark contrast, are dressed in the sackcloth of poverty and humility.

TEMPLE AGAIN DESTROYED

At the time that Jesus came to earth as a human 2,000 years ago; the religious establishment believed that it was to be made into a great kingdom. People of God wanted to be greater than people of the Roman Empire were (talk about class envy). Jesus said that they would not be made into the rich and egotistical kingdom that they desired. So, the Church denounced Jesus as an imposter and murdered Him.

Today, the Church wants to be made into the Kingdom of God. Christians want to be raptured to positions of wealth and power so that they can lord over others. Like Jesus, God's Two Witnesses will tell them they will not be in God's Kingdom. Predictably, the Church will denounce them as imposters and murder them. We read in Scripture that God will retaliate against the lukewarm Church, just as He retaliated against the Temple in 70 AD by sending red Roman armies to destroy it. (In the time of Jesus, Babylon was the Roman Empire.)

Jesus wept because He foresaw that red Roman armies would destroy the Temple because it rejected Him. Likewise, God's Two Witnesses are distressed to foresee that Red armies will destroy the Church because it will have reject them and their life-saving warning about the worship of the Beast. Their profound message is that no Christian who follows the Beast, or is predatorial like beasts are, will receive eternal life. God would destroy those incorrigible members of the Church, just as He had destroyed those incorrigible members of the Temple. Predictably, death awaits predatorial religious leaders and their followers if they no not heed this end-time warning from God through His Two Witnesses.

YOUR ETERNAL LIFE OR ETERNAL DEATH?

The main importance of 2012 as far as you are concerned is that you could begin your 9-year journey to the Rapture.

God's Two Witnesses have information that could lead to your eternal life. It is the identity and basic character of the Beast. They know his identity because they identified his Mark. The Mark is not 666. God has used 666 as a diversion and a way to seal unwanted people out of understanding. God does not want incorrigible sinners to cheat during their 9-year judgment, 2012 to 2021.

If you humble yourself to learn the identity of the Beast, you could examine his personality, character and behavior. You could compare yourself to him. If you found a match, then you would realize that you would need to change in order to be ready for Judgment Day.

Do not despair because everybody has a match. Your Bible says that, the whole world follows the Beast. However, you may not continue to follow the Beast.

DO YOU WORSHIP THE BEAST?

Yes, you presently follow the Beast, just as Jesus said. However, you could make changes by repenting and altering your mindset and behavior. The first word out of the mouths of men who preached the gospel was REPENT. You must measure yourself against the Beast and make the necessary changes.

In order to assure your success, you need to receive the Spirit of God through baptism. On your own, you cannot change from your bestial state. It is impossible. Only the Holy Spirit can convert you into the Godly state.

After you make the necessary changes, you would no longer follow the Beast. You would be headed toward eternal life as either a resurrected person or a raptured person at the return of Jesus in 2022 AD.

In summation, the year 2012 is the most important year in your life if you desire to have eternal life. If you do not, then it is just another year. Oblivion awaits you at death.

UNSEALED BIBLE PROPHECY IS THE GOLDEN OIL

If you want to stop following the Beast, learn his identity so that you can begin the process of change that leads to eternal life.

In our featured book, there is research that will identify the Beast. It will take you back through 2,000 years of Bible translation history in order to re-discover the original Mark of the Beast. This is the oil of the Two Olive Trees, which true Church leaders are destined to use to enlighten the way to eternal life.

You will reconstruct the Mark of the Beast as you go back through English, Greek and Aramaic. Then you will see the original Mark and the original words that John used to describe the Mark. Those words are not the current words in the King James Bible. And, the Mark was not 666.

Why is it that none have done this before? Simply stated, most people are lazy. There have been very few people who intensely study the Bible as independent researchers. Rather than study, they made up theories about he Beast that are diversionary.

After you learn what the Mark of the Beast is, you will advance through Daniel and Revelation and understand verses of prophecy for the first time. If you do not first learn the identity of the original and real Mark of the Beast, this would be impossible.

COME OUT OF BABYLON NOW!

Daniel and John wrote complementary versions of world history. Their accounts show how the world is like a tree. That tree is Babylon. The whole world has been part of Babylonian culture. Dictatorship is the primary characteristic of Babylon.

God intervened twice in world civilization to set up an alternative to Babylonian culture. The first intervention was at the time of Moses. Through Moses, God set up the Israelite nation with a libertarian form of government. The second and most important intervention by God was the founding of the representative government of the United States. It was originally libertarian.

God is now taking total control of the world through the export of representative governance from the United States and other representative nations. Europe and the USA make up His base of operation.

DEFEAT OF BABYLON

The Battle of Armageddon is the final crushing defeat of Babylonian culture. God will use the military might of Western nations to annihilate the last vestiges of Babylon, including communist and terrorist nations. Some Muslim nations will be severely reduced in population because they have remained dictatorial in government and religion. They hold on to their Babylonian past.

Red China would ultimately be defeated. Marxists in the old Soviet Union will lead their people and their allies to a disastrous confrontation with Europe and the USA. Needless to say, God is on the side of representative government.

On a personal level, God is against individuals who are dictatorial in character. So a weeding process will occur whereby angels will seek out such individuals for death. Remember the parable of the tares. There will be no place for weeds to hide.

Our featured book could allow you to see things in the Bible that you would not see through any other book.

YOUR OPENED EYES

In your Bible, you will be able to identify Bush I, Clinton, Bush II, Saddam Hussein, Milosevic, Tony Blair, Margaret Thatcher, Gorbachev, Schwarzkopf and other world leaders. You will be able to see events that include the Persian wars and Armageddon. With prophecy calendars, you will be able to see the years that these events were scheduled to occur in.

You could also learn personal information about God's Two Witnesses, which includes the day that Gabriel first visited them in 1991. Gabriel describes the merciless beatings that Satan has given them in his attempt to prevent their upcoming ministry.

Forefather prophecy calendars are natural complements to our books about God's Two Witnesses. Our calendars give dates, while our books tell you what will happen and why it will happen.

GOD & YOU- INTIMATE FRIENDS

The why part is an examination of the very heart and mind of God Himself. You could have a very personal understanding of God, whom you are a replicate of. You could know how the brain of God works. You could know how the emotions of God work. If you need a father figure, why not take on the attributes of God the Father?

WHEN WILL ARMAGEDDON HAPPEN?

After you learn what and why of 6,000 years of world civilization, you will need to know when end-time events will occur. This is the value of our prophecy calendars. They give dates. You do not want to be in a city that has ICBM's aimed at it.

I hope this article has given you a panoramic view of end-time years that includes the year 2012. I hope that you see the spiritual significance of upcoming events that have been prophesied for thousands of years.




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Books by Edward McKinney: http://stores.lulu.com/edwardmckinney.

He can be emailed through manager@twoprophets.org.

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Effective Communication Skills For Today's Managers - Life Lessons

Effectively communicating to your employees will result in a more efficient operation and will help achieve the bottom-line objectives of any company, business, or basic interaction. As a manager, your communication skill is critical in directing the actions of your employees. This basic managerial skill course in communication will enable you to become a better manager for yourself, and for your organization. You will learn how to communicate effectively, which will help you to maximize "work through others" to get the job done.

There are many components to communication. Consider verbal communication skills, listening skills, written memorandums/email, telephone skills and non-verbal communication. Also, reflect upon all the people we communicate to: subordinates, peers, supervisors, customers, and groups of people. In addition, ponder some of the reasons, why we communicate: to get and give information, to discipline subordinates, to make assignments, and so on. 

We will not be able to explore every facet and component of communication. Rather, we will focus on the general principles of effective communication that apply to most situations and we will point out important things to remember for some specific situations.  We will use only as much "theory" as needed to gain basic understanding of communication problems. Primarily, we will discuss what you can do to become an effective communicator.

Our Objectives

Upon completion, you will be capable of:

1) Recognizing communication problems and barriers.
2) Implementing techniques to resolve communication problems and barriers.
3) Demonstrating the basic general rules of effective communication.
4) Using special techniques in specific communication situations.

This is designed to do more than just give you information on communicating. Rather, it is set up to teach you skills which you can apply in your day to day routine.

What is Communication?

Communication is simply the sending of a message to another person. The person sending the message first needs to formulate the message in his head. This involves determining the meaning that the sender intends to convey to the other person. To formulate the meaning of the message, the sender usually draws upon his background attitudes, perceptions, emotions, opinions, education, and experience. 

The message is then sent to the listener through both verbal talking and non-verbal gestures. The person receiving this message then interprets its meaning. To do this, the listener uses his background, attitudes, perceptions, emotions, opinions, education, and experience. 

Effective communication exists between two persons when the person receiving the message interprets it in the same way as the sender intended it. Sounds really simple doesn't it?  Well, it can be.

Who is Responsible for Communicating Effectively?

Managers share the responsibility in communicating effectively with the individual employees themselves. The manager is 100% responsible for communicating effectively with their employees.

This includes establishing an open and trusting climate for communication, as well as demonstrating good communication techniques to their employees. The employee is 100% responsible for taking advantage of the "climate for communication" to express what is important and relevant. For example,it is expected that a manager will ask "are there any questions?" after giving an employee an assignment, but it is also expected that an employee will say, "I have a question", if one should occur to the employee, without waiting for the manager to ask. 

Why Managers Need to be Effective Communicators?

o Communication is used so frequently that "we cannot afford to do it poorly".
o Communication has a special power: to create interest, stimulate action, achieve agreement, foster enthusiasm.
o Communication is the primary method that managers use to direct their employee's behavior.
o Communication is the basis for almost all other managerial skills. It is involved in delegating duties to subordinates, motivating employees, demonstrating leadership  abilities, training new policies and programs, and counseling performance problems, etc.

Barriers to Effective Communication

o Supervisor inaccessible.
o Supervisor buried in work.
o Supervisor always in a hurry.
o Supervisor maintains a pre-occupied expression; little eye-contact with employees.
o Supervisor only informal with his peers or boss (never with subordinates).
o Supervisor tells employees to "write it up" instead of promoting discussion.
o Supervisor never asks, "How's it going?".

Where do Difficulties in Communication Arise?

The basic source of misunderstanding between two persons are communication failures that occur when the receiver understands the meaning of a message differently than it was intended. We do not always communicate what we intend.

Communication failures arise when there is a gap between what the sender meant and what the receiver thought the sender meant.

Communication failure can be caused by:

o Being so preoccupied that you do not listen to what other are saying.
o Being so interested in what you have to say that you listen only to find an opening to work your way into the conversation.
o Being so sure that you know what the other person is going to say that you distort what you hear to match your expectation.
o Evaluating and judging the speakers, which makes the speaker guarded and defensive.
o Not being able to "see past the words" and get the emotional message of the sender.
o Not trusting the speaker and becoming suspicious of what is being said.

Setting the Stage for Effective Communication

Even before the first word is uttered, various factors are already at work that can affect the success or failure of our communications.  Let's examine these factors to see what role they play. 

Communicator's Appearance

Before we ever say a word, others have been receiving messages from us. We communicate to others just by the way we dress and groom. In the book Dressing for Success, the author notes that other people conclude about 17 different things about us just on the basis of how we appear.

Many businesses utilize a dress code to guide people to the appropriate type of attire. It use to be traditional within the business world for men to wear a coat and tie. This conveys to others that we are professionals. In addition, conservative colors are preferred to more outspoken colors. This communicates seriousness, stability, and a "down-to-business" attitude. Recent changes have occurred in this area, just always remember that people do make conclusions about you based on your appearance.  Understand the expectation as it relates to dress code and insure you are in tune with the company position. 

Communicator's Past Conversations

Communication experts tell us that the credibility of the communicator, as determined by past conversations, is a critical factor in effective communication. Credibility refers to the attitude the listener has toward the truthfulness and trustworthiness of the sender's statements. When a listener views the sender as dependable, knowledgeable, reliable, warm and friendly, emphatic, and non-selfish, the message that is sent will be more likely to be received. Unless we seem credible to the receiver. our message will be discounted and we will not be able to communicate effectively with him.

Communicator's Personality

The personality of the communicator plays a part in both the formulation of the message and in how the message is communicated. Each individuals beliefs, opinions, prejudices, feelings, biases, and personal experiences enter into the development of a message. Most of the time this happens quickly, automatically, and out of habit. In addition to influencing what we think and say, our personalities also play a role in how we say the message. You may know of an instance where two managers sound completely different in conveying the same exact message to a listener. For example a result oriented manager may talk in short, concise, action-oriented sentences, while another manager may end up in a long discourse including many details and side points.

The Communication Situation

The situation and circumstances surrounding our communication plays a part in determining its success or failure. Although many types of situations affect the messages we send, one particular type that can easily distort our messages is communication under stress. Stress, by its very nature, makes it difficult for us to "think clearly". In a stress situation, the meaning of the message can be distorted; subtle shades of meaning can be confused; pieces of information can be forgotten; minor points may seem more important than major points. In addition, the wording of the communication may suffer. Uncertainty, nervousness, and confusion can creep into the speaker's voice, resulting in a less assertive statement. 

Communicating Effectively - Verbal Communication

Verbal communication means talking. The goal in communicating verbally is to convey a message to another person so that the other person understands it exactly as the person talking intended it. A well communicated message is one which the other person can accurately repeat back in his own words. Verbal communication can be made more effective by:

o Talking about specific rather than general situations.
o Using concrete language, e.g., "merchandise" rather than "stuff".
o Using words familiar to employees; explaining unfamiliar words.
o Including an example to illustrate the point.
o Giving sufficient detail to convey the point.
o Giving details slowly and in order.
o Making it a practice to address the five "W" questions in the  topic (if applicable).

Who is involved?
What is the situation; how did it begin?
When will it occur?
Where is it taking place? What you think, believe, feel?
Why will it happen? Why is this important?

 Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal communication refers to the gestures and body positions that accompany ones speaking. All people display certain gestures or lack of them when talking. It is important to be aware of your nonverbal communication, for it plays a big role in making your total communication effective. 

Effective communication occurs when a person's verbal message and nonverbal message both "say the same thing". Problems in communication occur when the speaker's words say one thing, but his gestures and body language says something else.

Types of Nonverbal Communication

All of the following "says something". In the specific context, they should correspond and reinforce the spoken message.

o Eye contact.
o Position of our arms and legs.
o The distance we stand from others when talking to them.
o Where we sit at a table or in relation to others.
o Smiling.
o Nodding or other head movements.

The manager can use nonverbal behaviors in two ways. First, when speaking, he can monitor his own nonverbal behavior and try to make sure it corresponds and emphasizes what he is verbally saying.

For example:

o When taking charge of a situation, the manager should have good eye contact with his subordinates, stand in a straight posture, use a firm but not overbearing voice,and point to what he wants done. 

o Upon noticing customers, the employee should smile to indicate friendliness, make eye contact to acknowledge the customer's presence, tun his body in the direction of the customer to indicate his willingness to help if needed.

The other way a manager can use nonverbal behavior is in "listening to what others are really saying". If the manager notices the employee saying one thing verbally but another thing non verbally, then the manager should suspect that the verbal message being said may be somewhat "incomplete".

Active listening skills is what separates the good from the great. Learn to listen with your ears, eyes and perception paying attention to both the verbal and nonverbal communication.

For example:

An employee who says that he would feel comfortable doing a task but who exhibits folded arms, crossed legs, and tensed neck muscles might not be feeling as comfortable as he thinks. The manager who suspects this might need to keep his eye on this situation.

Written Communication

In written communication, the simpler, shorter, and more direct the better. This can be remembered by the equation:

Effectiveness = Conciseness = Completeness

Try the following tips for achieving concise and complete communication.

o Use simple words; your goal is not to impress your reader with your vocabulary, it is to get the point across.
o Make sure the words exactly express the thought; different words can slant the entire message of your point.
o Make the sentence structure clear; poor grammar, run on sentences, etc., can distort the point you want to make.
o Use a different paragraph for each complete unit of thought.
o Make sure all of the necessary information is included.
o Anticipate questions and include the answers in your message.
o Use only essential words and phrases.
o Make sure your facts, dates, times, etc., are correct.
o Consider the tone of the memorandum. Make sure it doesn't contain antagonism or    preaching. I highly suggest that if you are upset about something, it is OK to    write out your thoughts and ideas for making the situation better.  Then make sure you do not send it, until you read it the next day. You will find in most cases that what you want to say does not change, but how you say it will change dramatically once you are over the emotions you attached to it.
o Make sure it is neat in appearance.

Remember all written memorandums have a dual purpose: you want the reader to receive your message and you want to do it the shortest, quickest way possible without leaving out necessary information.

All memorandums written in this way will be a good reflection upon you.

Phone Conversations

Talking on the phone lies between face-to-face communication and written communication in regard to information we can receive from the other person. Phone conversations do not give us access to the body language of the other person, hence, we miss the nonverbal cues accompanying the words. On the other hand, phone communication does allow us to take into account the tone of voice the other person is using, unlike written communication/email. 

Voice tone can be used in two ways. First, we can vary our voice tone to reinforce what we are saying verbally. Managers can convey competence, sincerity, and trust through the tone of their voice when talking to customers or employees.

Secondly, we can pay attention to other people's tone of voice, much like nonverbal behavior, to check on unspoken feelings and thoughts. To do this accurately, practice listening to both the words and the tone of the voice that carries the words.

When talking to someone you have spoken to before, pay attention to changes in their usual voice qualities. Some people speak slow, loud, or clear. When these people change their normal voice qualities, they are communicating something extra to us. It is up to us to look for cues to detect what these changes in customary

voice tones mean.  Remember, you can't talk to someone on the phone and someone in front of you both at the same time and do justice to either party.  

Communicating to a Group

Communicating to a group can be as simple as making an announcement r as complex as running a training program requiring much group participation. Much of what has been presented in this training applies to communicating to a group. Pre-communication factors, such as your appearance, credibility, and the specifics of the situation plays large part in establishing a successful presentation. Talking effectively and using nonverbal body language to correspond to the spoken words can all be used in group settings. A particularly skillful speaker can even "read" the nonverbal cues of the group as a whole and use this information to adjust his talk.

Listening

Why you Should Listen to Your Employees

o Employees might have helpful ideas.
o Employees might know causes of problems in the workplace.
o Employees might be able to warn me about potential problems I haven't yet recognized.
o How employees feel about things can be a tip-of future problems.

Ways of Not Listening

o Signing routine papers.
o Sorting papers.
o Allowing long telephone interruptions.
o Sneaking looks at the time.
o Gazing out of the window, or at distractions passing by.
o Maintaining pre-occupied facial expressions.
o Calling orders to other employees in between sentences.
o Fidgeting nervously, shaking foot, playing with gadgets, coffee cup, etc.

Inhibiting Communication from Your Employees

Avoid the following to prevent cutting off future communication from your employees:

o Blaming the employee who gave you bad news.
o Getting angry.
o "Falling apart".
o Demanding the employee to justify work that is reported to be not going well.

How should you react to news:
React to bad news by remaining objective; keep your emotions under control; switch to a "problem-solving", "let's get this situation corrected" approach. Respond to good news with praise, acknowledgment and appreciation.

Active Listening
Active listening is comprised of three separate and important skills: attention skills, following skills, and responding skills. Attention skills are those actions you take to put the talker at ease, to non verbally show you are listening, and to best "pay attention to" what the other person is trying to say. Maintaining eye contact, eliminating distractions, and concentrating on both the verbal and nonverbal are examples of attention skills. 

Following Skills
These are the skills we use to encourage the conversation along; to get the point the person is making. Nodding our heads, saying "uh-huh", "I see", and "go on" are following skills. Asking appropriate questions to bring out the point is a following skill as is allowing silences without jumping in. All following skills serve two purposes: to indicate to the speaker that you are "with him" and to help him get the point across.

Responding Skills
This is where we determine if we received and interpreted the message as the speaker intended it. Say something like, "If I understand correctly, you are saying ... " and go on to paraphrase that we understand, using our own words. Check out the facts and ideas, the main point of what the speaker said. It is only after we are sure that we understood the message as intended, can we then evaluate, judge, take action, or supply an answer or comment.

Communicating on the Job - Who We Communicate To
Before the message is formulated and communicated, we become aware of who we will be sending it to. How and what we communicate can change depending upon who is the intended audience.

Upward Communication
If we will be communicating to our immediate supervisor, our message might be prepared, formulated, and presented in a specific manner. For example, if we need to seek assistance from our supervisor, asking an open-ended question will result in more information than a question that can be answered yes or no.

Peer Communication
If the communication is intended for a peer, the message might be less "formally" prepared and presented. For example, less background information might need to be given since the peer can "easily relate" to the situation to be described.

Downward Communication
The manager who is communicating to his subordinate may need to do so in a different way than to others. Clear, concise, directions might be the format for much of the messages the manager gives to his employees. In addition, the manager may follow-up many of his messages with, "Do you have any questions?".

Checking For Understanding
When communicating with employees, it is always a good idea to check for understanding. Simply take a second and ask " recap for me what I have asked you to do." By doing this, you can clear up any missed communication that may have taken place.  This step is helpful for both parties as it allows them to communicate back to you that they heard and understood your direction. This is a critical step in delegation of tasks.

Communicating With Customers
Communicating to a customer also affects how the message is formulated and delivered. Messages conveyed to customers need to be totally accurate and delivered in a professional and friendly manner.

Purpose of the Communication
When we talk to someone, we usually have a purpose. The purpose of the communication differs depending on the situation and who we are addressing. A manager may communicate for any of the following reasons:

o To motivate employees.
o To teach, instruct, or explain a task.
o To counsel an employee.
o To seek information or assistance.
o To correct an employee's behavior.
o To be persuasive.
o To socialize.

With each of these purposes, the communication changes in order to accomplish our goal.

One of my favorite leaders use to say, that you will have  become a master of communication when you are able to tell someone where to go and to have them looking forward to the trip! 




Chuck Ainsworth, aka The Origami Warrior is a visionary writer who enjoys learning new topics and putting them into easy to understand terms. He brings 30 plus years of Senior Management experience and provides the insights needed to help others reach peak performance by improving their basic Management and Leadership Skills. He is CEO of Ainsworth Associates, Inc. He currently writes about topics he loves that include: Origami, Origami Warrior Wisdom, Motivation, Training, Management Skills Development, Leadership, Life Lessons, Core Values, Internet Marketing, Social Media, Life After Death - How To Overcome Life Changing Events and more. A published author who loves family, pets, community. While he has spent much of his life traveling, he now enjoys a much simpler life, living in his home town on a small quiet private lake with his family. Follow his Origami Warrior Wisdom daily quotes follow me at http://twitter.com/ChuckAinsworth to get my tweets and be sure to check out other Life Lessons at: http://origamiwarrior.com

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Race Words

A piece in the New York Times Week in Review section ("The Racial Politics of Speaking Well," by Lynette Clemetson) got me thinking about Joe Biden's gaff this past week.

Words. There was an exercise one of my professors in graduate school had us do involving words as sign and signifier -- heady linguistics bullshit -- which became very poignant for how I would view communication for the rest of my life. It's an exercise I used when I taught a basic writing class at a regional law school, and something I bring up at cocktail parties. It's something that relates to everything you say and see and read and hear every day, and relates terribly to this article -- mine and the New York Times one.

My take on the exercise played out like this when I used it on my students. Always on the first day of class I would say, "ok, take out a piece of paper and a pencil." Diligently the students follow the instructions. "This does not need to be handed in. Now. Draw me a cup."

A few students always balk at the instruction with comments like, "but I'm no good at drawing." The quality of the illustration did not matter. What I was aiming at was their individual interpretation of a word as innocuous as "cup." In a class of 12 students I always found illustrations of at least seven different types of cups.

So imagine the variability in the interpretation of the a word such as "articulate."

Within the first few paragraphs of the Times article I was thinking to myself, "great, another liberal turn at bashing people who find articulate use of language important." Then I read further, and I started to think of the perception of that word, "articulate," that African Americans have to endure in our culture.

The argument in the article is that whites bat around the word "articulate" in such a callous manner when relating to blacks...conspicuously using the word specifically for black individuals when a similar use for a white individual would seem out of place.

I thought about this as I read along and thought, "god, this is so unfortunate that this type of definition of the use of a word needs such detail regarding its use and context." But think back to the cup exercise.

The reason I think about the exercise in context of the Time article is that I routinely use the word articulate to off-handedly compliment anybody. Absolutely anybody. Black. White. Rich. Poor. I'm constantly amazed to find articulate individuals. But when I use the word "articulate," I'm considering a person who has a truly magical grasp of language and communication.

I work hard at being articulate and am confident I fall short of my own aspirations on a daily basis. I am constantly amazed by people who have furthered their educations at reputable academic institutions and they are confused by multisyllabic words. I am equally amazed by those folks who have grown up with nothing, with no personal and socially available opportunities, yet they are voracious readers who are extremely articulate.

In reading the article I came to understand how the general use of the word articulate by liberal whites in describing blacks reaks of latent bigotry. I have to add, however, that this does not discount or disallow the use of the word by some, such as myself, in complimenting a person as arbitrarily as I would compliment a person on a great golf swing.

Few people are born with an inherent grasp of language; it's a learned behavior, and one that we can all improve. Language, however, to make a nod back to the linguistics background, is a reflection of culture. We can't expect everyone to use flawless grammar in their spoken words. In fact those who do appear stiff, and myopic.

We live through out perceptions of the world, and all of our perceptions are interpretations molded by our upbringing. I'm thankful, however, to have read this Times article, and to make sure that every word I use -- from articulate to cup and beyond -- is understood in the context of the people I believe to be my audience.

My cup, by the way, is a three-inch diameter, cylindrical, eight ounce, white ceramic cup with a simple, curved handle large enough to comfortably insert your index finger with room to spare.

Originally published at:
[http://bentspoon.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=42&Itemid=26]




RJ Lavallee is a freelance writer, and a recent transplant to Northern California. His resume of life experiences fills seven pages of 10 point font arial text, ranging from Assistant Restaurant Manager to Windsurfing Instructor. The last ten years have had RJ doing communications consulting for small businesses and Fortune 100 corporations.

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Bible Prophecy: Part 3b; Falling Stars and Abortion, "Falling Stars"

Bible Prophecy is not intended to harm but to in-lighten. To In-lighten the dark recesses of misunderstanding and doubt. To bring forth the truth and dispel the lies. Part 3b will be on falling stars the spiritual and the physical.

A Star is, 1.A self-luminous celestial body consisting of a mass of gas held together by its own gravity. 2. A symbol of rank or merit. 3. The future; destiny. Falling stars are represented by three things in Scripture. 1. Metours. 2. Angelic beings. and 3. A representation of great destruction and peril, a plague that will cause the earth great distress. 1Co 15:41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.

This is the glory of the physical and the spiritual. Differences of Angels. As with the sun and the moon. The sun has its glory, for its brightness and warmth, hard to look upon because of its power, as with God. The Moon has its glory, a soft white light which is looked upon freely, a comforting glow that lights our way through the night as with the Son of God, Jesus.

2Peter 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; where-unto ye do well that ye take heed,( It must be understood that prophecy is commanded to be understood and taught by those with the understanding.) as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: ("a more sure word of prophecy", Not that the prophecy's of the past were not sure, but that we have a better understanding of the prophecy's today because of our working knowledge of the entire world and its unrighteousness.)

Rev 8:10-11. And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; And the name of the star is called Worm-wood ( a representation of what this star will cause, bitterness and death.

The name by which the Greeks designated it, absinthion, means "undrinkable."): and the third part of the waters became worm-wood (That word, worm-wood, becomes the proper emblem of bitterness); and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter(an emblem of the calamity). The death of man will be exceedingly great because of the spiritual and physical meaning of these stars.

In this Reference, Exo.15:23-24, we see Biblical proof, that these thing are probable. And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.

And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? Barnes states of Rev. 8:11(Great destruction and devastation are undoubtedly intended to be denoted by this - destruction that would be well represented in a land by the natural effects if a considerable part of the waters were, by their bitterness, made unfit to drink.) Rev 9:1-3; And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a "star"( The word star here refers to an angelic being with whom power was given to accomplish the will of God on the Earth) fall from heaven ( His point of origin.) unto the earth ( His destination.): and to him ( The word Him denotes that the word star and him are joined together, meaning the same thing.

This angel is called a star.) was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

(We could assimilate the star with death and destruction, even with the death angel.)(The sun is the religion of the Church; the moon is the government of the state; and the stars are the judges and doctors of both. Isa.13:10; Eze.32:7, Eze.32:8, etc."Lightfoot.)

Mat 24:28-29; For wheresoever the carcase is ( The Dead.), there will the eagles be gathered together ( Scavengers, meat eaters.). Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: ( A great calamity of the Heavens.

Gravity will no longer have hold on the celestial bodys.) (The Stars, the Sun and the Moon were not created for God but for man. The stars will fall, for their light will no longer be needed.) Gen 1:14-16; And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

We must ask ourselves why, Mat 24:28-29, is so hard to take as literal and not spiritual? We see stars falling from the heavens on a daily bases. We see proof of their destruction all around the world and many times they leave no trace of their existence when they fall. Asterites, Asteroids, Comets, etc. Past and Future.

Man prides himself on his knowledge of science but he still misses the subtle points of truth, when he ignores the prophetic meaning of the scripture. God intends to use the stars of the heavens to shake men into repenting of their sins. But as we see in scripture, this calamity will have no effect on the hardness of mans heart. Rev 9:18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths

(These words designate, a command to happen, as with the two witnesses in Rev 11:3-15.) And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

Rev 9:20-21; And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts. Luke 17:29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.

Rev 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: It is so easy to believe that stars(Brimstone) Fell from heaven and consumed Sodom and Gomorrah, but we have a hard time believing that God will do it again, as He promised in prophecy.

[Job.1:16; Job.18:15]. Hell was rained from heaven upon them. Fire, and brimstone, and a horrible tempest, were the portion of their cup (Psa.11:6); Brimstone: The word rendered "brimstone," (q.d. brennestone, or brinnestone, id est burning-stone), is always rendered by the LXX "sulphur," and seems to denote a meteorous inflammable matter.

Weather these falling stars are from volxanic action, hail stones from heaven or the actual stars from the cosmose, you pick one, the matter is that it will happen. end pt. 3b.

Deu.29:23; Job.18:15; Psa.11:6; Isa.1:9, Isa.13:19; Jer.20:16, Jer.49:18, Jer.50:40; Lam.4:6; Eze.16:49, Eze.16:50; Hos.11:8; Amo.4:11; Zep.2:9; Mat.11:23, Mat.11:24; Luk.17:28, Luk.17:29; 2Pe.2:6; Jud.1:7




Temple of Spirit & Truth Ministries
http://www.ourchurch.com/member/a/arsmithsermons/

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Are Keurig Coffee Makers Or Tassimo Coffee Makers Better?

Which of the popular coffee maker pods should you choose? The two most popular options are Keurig coffee makers and Tassimo coffee makers. They provide similar functionality but there are several differences between the two brands that can help you make your decision.

It's important to note to begin with that you can't go wrong with either of these two choices. Both companies are very highly rated and the people who buy them are almost always thrilled with their decisions. So the choice between a Keurig and a Tassimo isn't life or death, it really comes down to personal preferences.

Keurig Coffee Makers
Keurig has at least six different main models that run the gamut in terms of price range and features. The good news is that even the cheapest models, coming in at around $60 or $70 produce the same great coffee in the same quick time as the more expensive models.

The differences lie in style, design and the size of the water reservoir, as well as intended use. For example, they have a model designed specifically as an office coffee maker that is built to be rugged and withstand a constant bombardment of uses.

The coffee maker pods for Keurig are called K Cups. Keurig produces their own wide range of flavors and tastes. In addition, they have partnerships with many popular coffee manufacturers. You can get your Keurig K Cups with Caribou Coffee, Green Mountain, Newman's Organics, Emeril's and many others.

Tassimo Coffee Makers
 
Tassimo has their machines made by both Bosch and Braun. There are less total models available and while there are cheap options, on the whole they are a bit more expensive than what Keurig offers.

However, they are extraordinarily fast. With a Tassimo you can make your coffee in under a minute from start to finish, offering extreme convenience and ease of use. Another benefit to the Tassimo brand is that their coffee maker pods come in Starbucks coffee flavors. No other pods offer Starbucks, so if you're a fiend for them and want to indulge at your home or office, than it makes sense to go and get a Tassimo.

The bottom line is that both Keurig coffee makers and Tassimo coffee makers are extremely easy to use and produce great coffee. With Keurig you will have more choices in terms of the coffee that is available and the models. With Tassimo you will be able to enjoy Starbucks coffee in less than a minute. Both brands are popular and loved by those who use them.




Now that you know all about each brand, when you're ready to purchase one of the many cheap Tassimo coffee makers or cheap Keurig coffee makers you can visit Coffee Makers Today. You'll also be able to browse a vast selection of reviews, guides and comparisons, along with the cheapest deals available.

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Tweaks to Speed Up Internet Streaming Video

The birth of "Guerilla Video" sites, such as Peekvid.com, Alluc.org and Youtube.com have given users instant access to a plethora of free media files. Although streaming video technology offers instant access to video files, zero loading time is not always possible. There are many factors that attribute to your computer's ability to start videos immediately. Other factors such as choppy PC video playback and slow video streaming also hinder your viewing experience. There are easy fixes to these problems. Sometimes choosing another site for the source of the video streaming or a lower quality version of the video can award you with instant play. These alternatives are not always available. However, there are a number of tweaks that help speed up your streaming video startup times, eliminate choppy PC video play and stop slow streaming video.

Before we start with the tweaks to speed up slow streaming video, lets get a basic understanding of streaming video technology in order to stop choppy video. Streaming video is a prerecorded video files that can be distributed as part of a live broadcast "feed." The video signal is converted into a compressed digital signal and transmitted from a Web server. This server is able to be multicast the same file to multiple users at the same time. When you click on the on the video it is partially loaded before you can access it. This is known as "buffering". This helps you to load and play the video instantaneously. Now lets take a look on how to cut down on buffering time, stop slow streaming video and eliminate choppy PC video playback .

Common Streaming Video Problems

Problem #1: Choppy PC Video Playback--Choppy video is usually a PC performance related issue. Here are a few things you can try to stop choppy playback and improve computer performance.

Solution A. Turn Off Hardware Acceleration-All media applications require different aspects of your computer's hardware. Depending on the task, the requirements may change. Turning off hardware acceleration allows the application to set the requirements itself and not be forced to use one universal setting. Hardware acceleration has been to known to cause choppy PC playback, application crashes and slow streaming video problems.

You can eliminate the problem below:
1.Click on "Start"
2.Click "Control Panel"
3.Select the "Settings" tab and click on the "Advanced".
4.Click on the "Troubleshoot" tab.
5.Disable the hardware acceleration completely by dragging the slider to the extreme left.

Solution B. Turn off Video Acceleration-The reason for this tweak is the similar to hardware acceleration. This act frees up resources in your media player and not your hardware. However you will need to decrease video acceleration in your chosen player. Some sites like Youtube.com don't offer this option. However, Windows Media Player gives the ability to easily alter this problem, follow the steps below. Other players' instructions will vary.

1. In Windows Media Player
2. Click the "Tools" menu tab
3. Click on "Options"
4. Select the "Performance" tab.
5. Move the Video Acceleration Slider to "None"

Solution C. Adjust your Windows Desktop Visual Effects-You computer will get a significance boost in
speed. This tweak will also free up more resources for your media player and PC performance.

1.Click "Start", and then click "Control Panel".
2.Click "System" and Choose "Display".
3.Find the "Advanced" tab and Click
4.Under "Performance", Click "Settings"
5.Under "Visuals Effects", you may choose from a list of options such as "Adjust for best performance" or custom. If you choose Adjust for best performance all the features will be unchecked.

For more performance tips check the "Speed Up PC" to free up more resources to stop PC choppy playback.

Problem #2: Slow and Constant Buffering-This problem can be attributed to two factors internet speed and your media player. You can tweak your PC setting in both areas to cut down on slow streaming video. Remember that each player has its own buffer settings. Below is an how to change buffer setting in Media Player.

Solution A. Adjust Buffer Settings-- To change the default buffer settings in Windows Media Player, use the following steps:
1.Start Windows Media Player
2.Click the "View" men
3.Click "Options"
4.On the "Advanced" tab, click "Streaming Media"(Windows Media)
5.Click "Change" to alter the buffer settings.

Remember that the higher you set the buffer the more of the clip will be loaded. The waiting time before you can see or hear the file will be longer, but there should be fewer interruptions once the clip begins to play.

Solution B. Use a Video Specific Proxy-A proxy allows for popular files to be loaded onto its servers. This eliminates the need for your computer to load the files. For example if you use the proxy, YouTubeProxy.org, you will not have to wait for your computer to download popular YouTube.com content because it may be already loaded in the server. This is a great way to stop slow streaming video.

These are just a few tips to eliminate choppy PC video playback and slow streaming video. However, there are more advanced ways to stop this problem. Depending on the site, there may be independent software developed specifically to speed up slow streaming video. Also, remember the general maintenance is a good way to avoid choppy PC video playback.




For more speed tips visit:
http://www.delete-computer-history.com/how-to-speed-up-my-computer.html

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Cebu City, Philippines - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

A tourist visiting Cebu City for the first time may well be turned off by some of the city sites. The city has several world class resorts, hotels, beaches and dive sites. It also has some areas of the world's most devastating poverty. Cebu City is the capital city of the Cebu Province and it is the second largest city in the Philippines following Manila. I always feel at home in the city and lived in the city before building my home in the rural Cebu Province of Camotes Islands. Cebu City is a mix of the old and new, rich and poor, good and bad and pretty and ugly. There is also the mix of clean and really dirty or filthy. The rule for anyone going to Cebu for the first time is to not make a snap judgment.

My first trip to Cebu City was in February 2004. I went to the Philippines to meet a girl (Judith) now my wife. I flew into the Cebu-Mactan Airport and was met by Judith and one of here sisters. My flight started in Florida and the last leg of the flight was from Hong Kong. The Cebu International airport is just a little outdated, but very functional. Once outside of the airport doors I saw waves of people waiting to meet people coming off of the flight from Hong Kong. The airport was not all that busy when I arrived and I think my plane was the only arriving flight at the time. As people from my flight walk outside of the airport door they were bombarded with shuttle, taxi and V-hire greeters, all trying to get a fare. I met Judith just outside the airport doors. She, her sister and I all jumped into an old Kia Taxi and we were off to my hotel.

The taxi was old and not very well maintained. The Air conditioner didn't work and the window wouldn't go down. Of course that didn't matter as I couldn't close the door because the door latch was broken. So, I got lots of air. The hotel was about a 30 minute drive from the airport. As we traveled the city streets I saw crowded sidewalks made even more crowded by the many sidewalk vendors and street vendors. Some of the roads we traveled were moderately maintained while others were in very poor condition. The roads were crowded with many types of cars, but mostly Kia's and Hyundais. There were also a lot of Jeepneys, a Philippine traditional method of travel. A jeepney looks like a stretched army jeep with a hardtop and a large cargo area used for two benches for passenger seating. Jeepneys are normally painted with several different colors and lots of chrome. Many of the jeepneys are poorly maintained and most have bald tires and the braking systems may be questionable. Also, there were lots of small motorcycles.

After traveling just a few minutes I decided that the most dangerous vehicle in Cebu was the Jeepney, the Taxi and finally the motorcycle. The jeepney drivers tend to rule the road and stop on either side of the road to pick up or drop off passengers. I saw many jeepneys cut both lanes of traffic off just to drop off people and then saw others swerve quickly to the side of the road cutting off traffic so the driver could jump out of the jeepney to urinate along the side of the road. Taxis are no better, but pose a slightly smaller threat because the vehicles are smaller than a jeepney Motorcycles seem to be a danger only to the motorcycle driver and passengers and anyone walking along side the road or on the sidewalk. Motorcycles make their own traffic lanes on whatever little shoulder the road may have to offer or sometimes drive on the painted divider line as a narrow roadway to make an extra traffic lane for themselves. At other times I saw motorcycles throttle down sidewalks weaving around pedestrians. Yet, the pedestrians seemed little concerned of the carelessness and just continued on their way.

As we continued on our way to the hotel we drove through many different areas of the city. Some areas were very old and the buildings looked as though they were ready for demolition years ago. Many buildings and store fronts are concrete with plywood or corrugated steel sheets added to broken windows and steel bars cover the window or plywood. I can't imagine what would be worth the cost of the steel bars as the buildings were so poor. I was sure the contents within were no better. I noticed several small store fronts with one big open widow covered with chicken wire. These little stores are about the size of a small closet and there are dozen of these little stores on every street. They are called sari-sari stores and sell just a very few items such as canned fish, rice, snacks, cigarettes and so on. Most of these little stores are attached to the front of private houses and are crudely constructed of unpainted plywood and tin roofs. Most of the Sari-sari stores block the sidewalk, forcing people to walk on the road to get around the protruding plywood box. Other Sari-sari stores have a small table or tables along the narrow sidewalks for their rum buying customers and a karaoke machine assist in blocking the sidewalks.

In many of the old areas the sidewalks are filled with vendor's shacks, tents or some other type of hurried shelter to sell goods. The sidewalks belong to the vendors and the pedestrian is left to find his own way around the ugly obstructions. These small vendor shacks on the sidewalks block the store buildings behind and I still wonder why the store owners allow the vendors to block their stores. The old neighborhood streets and sidewalks in most areas are filthy. Trash is all over the streets, chickens are tied to utility poles or street signs as well as dogs. Many of the old homes along the city's commercial streets may or may not have running water and a sewer system. Many people use the streets and sidewalks as their bathroom and even bath on the sidewalks. The infrastructure of the old neighborhoods is almost non-existent. There is poor drainage, poor sewer systems, and electric lines hang low to the ground with hundreds of wires attached carelessly to a single wimpy pole. I often wonder how trucks make it under these wires without hitting the wire. In many cases the bigger trucks do indeed hit the wires and knock out power to large section of the city.

The one thing that stood out for me as we past by all these areas in the taxi was the people all seemed happy. Despite, what I saw as great poverty and terrible living conditions, these people, or least many people were happy. Although, most of the people I saw were rushing down the sidewalks going about their daily routine. I thought these people are doing the same thing as other people do in any major city around the world. Yet, my first visit in Cebu City opened my eyes to the fact that at the very least, the city was poverty stricken or had a large population that lived in poverty.

After about 30 minutes riding in the taxi we came into a much nicer area of the city and there like an oasis in the middle of all the poverty was this beautiful Hotel and a large modern shopping mall next to it, as well as several large modern well maintain high rise buildings. The scene was a stark difference to the old areas of the city. This area could be found in any modern US city and looked very much like a commercial area of a US city. The area is called the Ayala Business Park and the Ayala Mall. This is modern Cebu City and it is everything you would find in any modern city.

Once at the Hotel, the Marriott, I checked into a very nice room and we all went to the dinning room for a pleasant lunch. Soon after that it was just Judith and I as her sister went home. Judith then took me across the park to the Ayala Mall, just a five minute walk and once inside the mall I was amazed. The stores were the same as in the US, Ace Hardware, Levi, MacDonald's and so on. Plus, several Philippine Department stores and many different types of restaurants and coffee shops. All the store clerks and sale people spoke English and most all the Filipinos walking through the stores were speaking English. Others used a mix of English and their native Cebuano. All the store signs are written in English and the restaurant menus are written in English. In many ways I felt as if I just traveled 20 plus hours from Florida to be in a US city.

Although there were many other foreigners in the mall many Filipinos walking by asked where I was from and in general everyone was very friendly to me. While at the mall I bought a few souvenir type things to take home and Judith and I just did a lot of window shopping. I was happy to see the prices of most things in the stores were very cheap compared to the US. At that time one US dollar bought 56.00 pesos. Today it's one dollar to about 44.00 Pesos. Still a good deal, but today I'm careful in my spending. By the middle of the afternoon I was ready for some sleep after my long flight to Cebu. Judith went home and I retired to my hotel room.

The next morning Judith was at the hotel bright and early and we had breakfast at the hotel and then off to see the city and some of the beach resorts. Cebu has wonderful and beautiful resorts and all very affordable. The resorts are all well maintained and modern. The biggest population of customers at the resorts are foreigners and the staff Filipino. I quickly change my opinion of the city from a poverty stricken third world to a modern commercial and tourist city with a few old areas that needed a lot of help.

During my trip to Cebu we went into the old area of Colon. Colon is the oldest street in the country and has several landmarks. However, Colon is a dirty area of very old and poorly maintained buildings. Prostitution is a major problem in the Colon area as is street crime. There are some wonderful markets and great bargains to be found in Colon, but not an area for the new tourist to wander alone. Hotels can be had for a really cheap price in Colon. Some just $20.00 a night, but these hotels cater to those picking up street girls and both the girls and the rooms are really dirty. Last year Judith and I stayed at two different Colon Hotels. We went into the city for our monthly shopping trip from Camotes Islands. We decided to try the hotels as they are cheap and close to many of the outside markets. I would never stay at either of these hotels again. The best words to describe them is old, filthy, rat infested and full of prostitutes. Both of these hotels seem to cater to single foreign men and any girls the men may find at the Colon bars or on the streets. The area has several little Bikini type bars with Bar Girls (Prostitutes) also called GRO's. Unless you are looking for a prostitute there is little reason to go to Colon after dark and even then one needs to be very careful. This is not intended to say that all of Colon is bad. There are some nice stores and restaurants in Colon. I enjoy shopping in the Colon area, but one needs to use caution in Colon.

During my first visit I saw most all the areas of Cebu City and felt safe at all times. Of course we didn't go into the old parts of the city after dark. Rather we were at the resorts or around Ayala Park and these are all very safe and enjoyable areas.I would recommend Cebu City to anyone that wants to go to a great resort and spend time on a beautiful beach, go diving, take a boat tour of the outer islands and not spend a lot of money. There is just so much to do in Cebu City and so many great things to see. Staying at any of the resorts is very affordable just about $60.00 per night and some as high as $250.00. Dinner at restaurants is also very cheap. Meals at nice restaurants can cost just $10.00 to $20.00 for two people, I had a wonderful time during my first visit. However, I had Judith as my tour guide and as my girlfriend. I'm not sure I would have liked Cebu City as much as I did if Judith wasn't with me during the first trip.

Soon after my first visit to Cebu City I moved from Florida to Cebu City in 2004. By this time Judith and I were engaged to marry and I wanted to live in Camotes Islands. However, we decided to live in the city while looking for land to build a house in Camotes. Camotes Islands are a rural province of Cebu and just two hours from the city by boat. We rented a brand new two bedroom house in the Lahug area of Cebu City. The monthly rent was just $125.00 plus our TV cable for about $15.00 a month. The house was located on a hillside overlooking the city and close to everything we needed. Lahug is a very nice area and now there are many new housing sub-divisions built in the area. Our monthly budget while living in Lahug was approximately $700.00 and that included the rent, utilities, food, taxi cabs and even lots of dinners at restaurants and entertainment. I assume if we still lived in Lahug the budget would be just a few more dollars a month.

Within just a couple of weeks after moving into the Lahug house I felt as if Cebu was my city and I really enjoyed the city life. The city has many things to offer the foreigner and the city is always trying to attract more foreign retirees. It truly is a foreign (expat) friendly city. The largest group of foreigners in Cebu is Korean then Americans, Australians, British and Japanese. There are no racial tensions or problems in the city that I am aware of and the city is very safe. However, like any major world city there is crime, but using common safeguards and precautions one can have a happy life in Cebu City. Driving in the city is something I have never attempted and I don't think I ever will drive in the city. The taxi cabs can get you almost anywhere in the city for $1.00 to $2.00 and that's fine for me.

Shopping in the city is great and there are products from all over the world in Filipino stores. Many food stores stock western brands so you will never get homesick for your favorite foods from home. The outside markets, located all over the city offer great bargains and it's always fun to negotiate prices with the vendors. Cable TV is available in the city and it offers many American shows and news programs. You can go to the movie cinemas and see a new release movie for about $1.00 and the popcorn is just a few pennies. The city has grown since I moved to the Philippines. There are many new gated housing Sub-Divisions that cater to foreign buyers, new high rise condo buildings and the resorts all continue to attract foreigners. The two major malls in the city, Ayala and SM are both expanding. Many of the roads have been upgraded as well as the infrastructure in many areas. The city is a major draw for tourism and is always attempting to bring in more tourist and more foreign retirees.

Any expat on a monthly pension of about $1,000.00 can live like a king in Cebu City. You can live on less than $1,000.00 but I think $1,000.00 is the right figure if you include saving a little each month for emergencies, trips back home and medical needs. The city has very good hospitals and medical cost are much less in the Philippines. Good dental care at very reasonable rates is also available in the Philippines. Many people go to Cebu for medical or dental vacations. Just remember, if you think you want to move to Cebu City do your homework. Do you want to live in a new country? do you want to be separated from your family and grandchildren?, if you are married how does your wife feel about living in Cebu? If you have young children do you want them to live in a new country and what about their education? Do you have the patience and understanding to learn and live in a new culture? Do you have the money to live a good life in Cebu without the need to find work? Do you have enough money to cover any type of emergency that may require five to ten thousand dollars? Finally, what is your reason for wanting to live in a new country? If you can be honest with yourself and have a positive answer for the above questions, then maybe Cebu City is for you?

Remember too, The Philippine economy is struggling. Filipinos with four and six year college degrees are driving taxi cabs or working as store clerks. Unemployment in the country is through the roof. Poverty is a major issue in the country. For all the beauty of the Philippines Poverty continues to destroy many Filipinos and their futures and creates an ugly face to an otherwise beautiful country. Just this week on November 8, 2007 an 11 year old girl in Manila living with her mother, father and little brother in a shanty town hung herself. The reason left in a note from the little girl was because of the poverty she and her family lived. The father not able to find work for months and the mother working for just $1.00 a day. The little girl had just the night before asked her father for P200.00 for a school project. The father did not have the money, just under $4.00. All the girl wanted was to finish school and buy a new bike. A simple dream complicated by severe poverty in a country struggling to overcome political corruption and theft. Please remember, what you may spend in just one day in the Philippines is what a Filipino may have to live on for a month. Poverty does indeed take lives.

I truly love my lifestyle in the Philippines, but it took some time, patience, understanding and a few sacrifices to live in the Philippines. I made several mistakes before coming here and a few since living here. I didn't have enough money when I came here in 2004. I've made a few trips back to Florida to do some contract work and then returned to my beloved Camotes Islands. I'm currently away from home on a teaching contract. However, for me, it's worth the price to have just a few months a year in my paradise called Camotes Islands, Cebu, Philippines. I think anyone looking for a great vacation will enjoy Cebu City. Those looking to retire on a modest pension can live well here, but just be sure living in a new country is right for you. Before making a decision to move here it's wise to come on a vacation first and see the city for yourself. Then you can decide if this is the life you want. Once again, for me this is paradise.




Patrick McGrain is the owner of [http://www.philippine-islands-living.com] Patrick has lived in in Camotes Islands, Cebu, Philippines for over three years with his Filipna wife.

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