Fire and Ice

It is no secret (perhaps it should be!) that I really like Barry Manilow's music. So I was listening to Copacabana for the millionth time today and I remembered something I've pondered for a long time: why can't anyone figure it out? If you know the story - and you know you do - we have Lola and her boyfriend Tony who both work at the Copacabana. Rico turns up, starts flirting with Lola and the boys fight. Then "there was blood and a single gunshot, but just who shot who?" This is the part I don't get. I mean, it works out as a lovely rhyme but it really shouldn't be that difficult to work out who shot who! There was a single gunshot and we know from the song that Lola "lost her Tony" so surely Rico shot Tony. Another possibility could be that both guys ended up dead, in which case the body that has the GSW was shot by the other one (and in that case, how did the non-shot person die? Punched to death?) For some reason EVERY time I listen to this...

Considering how much I like technology, it’s always been a little bit puzzling (at least to me) that I don’t have an electronic diary. Rather, I have a paper one and quite enjoy writing my appointments on it – with pencil in case I have to erase them! I used to have an electronic diary but somehow didn’t ever get on with it, even though it was quite a lovely gadget, but I ended up back on familiar ground with a paper diary and a pencil. I feel the same about letters. I mean, I love email, as anyone that knows me will attest, but when it comes to writing from the heart, it’s just gotta be on paper and using a nice pen. There is something so different about writing paper letters that just can not be equalled with email. Email is of course quick and very convenient. I am also a very quick typist so I can write reams and reams in no time at all. However, there are times when I just feel better sitting down with some paper and a pen and pouring my heart out to someone. Or just letting...

Millions of words have already been written and, no doubt, million more will be written about the sudden death of Michael Jackson . He touched so many lives (not always in a good way) and he was simply the most famous person on Earth. He was also a part of my life in many ways. When I was a teenager I idolized the man, like mostly everyone else did in the 80s. One of my first scrapbooks was all about Michael Jackson! My dream then was to see him in concert and I would have done except for my inability to get good grades in Math (long story...) When my family finally got satellite TV and I discovered MTV, the very first video I saw was Thriller and I was amazed. It set the bar very high for all other videos and I remember at the time being very disappointed that other videos weren't 15 minutes long and had movie-style credits at the end. And the dancing: WOW. I loved the whole thing and of course bought the Thriller album, like millions of people did. His connections to Disney are w...

It will soon be the end of the school year and time to get creative and put together something nice for my son's teachers... and this year I am trying to be organized so I've done them already! I always try to make something (rather than just buy it) and also try to get my son to participate or at least to have some sort of input into what we're doing. This year I had the idea to make photo note cards but I thought that using a photo of my son would not make these note cards incredibly useful to the recipient. I mean, my son is cute but why would any of his teachers want his smiling face on a note card? So instead I scanned a picture he made in school, which had his name written on the front, and used that as the artwork in the note cards. To make my life simple, I simply uploaded the image to the Kodak Gallery and ordered the note cards there , as I bought quite a few they were very reasonable. But I could have also simply ordered prints and then glued a photo to the front...

Last week I was in the shopping center and when I went to one of my favorite stores, I was amazed to find an incredible amount of neon clothes - just like I remembered from the 80s! They had the lot: the legwarmers, fingerless gloves, bangles, head bands... everything in bright pink or orange or yellow. It sure took me back to my younger days. I know that the 80s are big right now (and I'm not looking forward to shoulder pads again, but apparently they're on the way back) and like all fashions, it will eventually give way to another revival and that will go and another take its place... and so on. In fashion everything old is new again, eventually. In the scrapbooking world it is often the same thing: trends come and go but somehow the 80s never really come back. I know not many scrappers remember those heady days when we cut photos into shapes, used bright patterned paper for everything and put together paper piecings. Sure, the trend for brighter colors seems to be making hea...

It appears that the latest marketing trend is to look back nostalgically at the 'good old days'. For example, Sainsbury's latest TV ad is all about heritage and history. The theme is "Trying something new for 140 years" and takes the viewer on a visual journey across the company's main milestones in these years. Marks & Spencer, a competitor, have a very similar campaign out there also, celebrating 125 years. In this TV ad they have Twiggy going back in time on a visual journey across the company's milestones in these years... sound familiar? I wonder what the marketing teams in both companies think about these very, very similar campaigns!! I also note that both commercials include the mention of avocados and the claim of having 'introduced' them to the UK... The ads are so similar that I wonder what happened there - coincidence or something more sinister? Which one do you like best?

I’ve already taken you around World Showcase twice: Italy and France . In my long-awaited continuation of this series, we will go a little further away into the amazing country that is Japan. As a pavilion, Japan has quite a few things going for it. First of all, it looks absolutely stunning, especially at dusk. It has a wide open courtyard and is surrounded by a pagoda and a large building housing the shops and restaurants that make up most of the pavilion. The open courtyard gives the pavilion a very airy feel, but it also has some secrets. At the far end of the courtyard is a replica of a castle or fortress and inside there is a gallery. Currently I seem to remember there is an exhibit on tin toys (a must, and almost always quiet!) but it has housed other exhibits in the past. Another quiet spot is the garden in front of the Yakitori House (incidentally, probably my favorite fast food restaurant in all of WDW). This garden is a lovely Japanese garden, full of gorgeous plan...