The KeyWord Kove

London is generally considered to be one of the most cultured cities in the world, however, there’s plenty to see and so here are a few highlights to look out for on your next trip to the UK’s capital.

SOHO

SOHO is full of exciting theatres which put on all sorts of shows. Some of the musicals are incredibly popular and the shows constantly change so there’s always something new on. Of course, some of the shows are so popular that they run for years and years and it is these shows that tend to be the most expensive to attend. However, there’s more to SOHO than just theatres – there are many clubs, shops, bars and a vibrant gay culture as well.

Notting Hill

Notting Hill is actually a relatively quiet place for most of the year, however for a few days in August each year it becomes absolute bedlam, as the Notting Hill Carnival takes place. The streets are crushed as tourists and local spectators rush to see the many exotic floats that travel along, with plenty of loud music blaring out from their speaker. It’s not for the faint-hearted!

A Hot Air Balloon Trip

London is famous for its many landmarks, and seeing them all on foot can be a rush and does not really give you a chance to see them properly – never mind exhausting! However, by taking to the air you can pick them all out at your leisure, from the Houses of Parliament through to Canary Wharf and everything in between such as St Paul’s Cathedral or The Shard.

The City and Canary Wharf

London is arguably the largest financial district in the world, and with that comes many historic and lavish buildings. You can visit the Old Stock Exchange, which is now a shopping centre, or you can see the Bank Of England just opposite, both of which are older buildings. On the newer end of the spectrum the iconic Gherkin really stands out on London’s skyline and over in Carnary Wharf there are several impressive and glamorous looking towers. Although The City may be struggling at the moment, there is plenty of optimism that it will bounce back and build yet more stunning buildings.

As you can see there are plenty of exciting things to see in London and the big question is how you can take it all in while keeping your sanity! Perhaps the serenity of a hot air balloon ride makes sense…

The British School of Ballooning is a family owned business operating many balloons throughout Southern England. For more on balloon flights Essex visit http://www.hotair.co.uk/location/essex

If men knew how women talked about them, they would probably blush from embarrassment. This is especially true during a bachelorette party. The women who attend a bachelorette party try to outdo each other with funny comments about their husbands, boyfriends and men in general.

A great way to make men seem even more ridiculous is to “invite” an inflatable male doll to the bachelorette party. These blow-up vinyl dolls look so silly that the guests will be inspired to trade jokes about the men they know. One look at these dolls and the guests will be making comments about them being “full of hot air” and “a better listener than a real man.”

Inflatable dolls for bachelorette parties are not super expensive, usually in the $25 range, but you might as well get the best one for your money. An online store will give you the largest selection and the best prices, plus you won’t have to ask a store clerk for help. Just be sure to order far enough in advance to ensure delivery before the party.

Here are some of the factors to take into consideration when purchasing an inflatable doll for a bachelorette party.

First impression
The surprise factor is the best part of an inflatable male doll. When the bachelorette party guests spot him standing next to the snack table, or hanging out by the couch, you want them to be suitably impressed. Use your own reaction to the doll to gauge how you think others will respond. This is no time to be conservative about your choice. Photos will be taken so get a guy you can be proud of.

Anatomical correctness
These dolls are not built to take on all of a man’s responsibilities. That’s an entirely different category of products. But there are significant differences in the appendages featured on inflatable male dolls. All will be silly and cartoon-like, with a few standing out as completely outlandish. It’s completely up to you how far you want to go. Just know what you’re getting before you open the package.

Caucasian or African-American?
Don’t be afraid to experiment with your choices. If only one type will do, then so be it, but you might add a bit of extra bachelorette party fun by mixing things up a bit.

More than one?
If you can’t decide between a few great choices, or you want to avoid arguments about who gets to take him home, buy a couple of inflatable dolls for the bachelorette party. That way you can have a variety and maybe even use them as prizes for your bachelorette party games.

Some inflatable dolls are a little larger or smaller than about five feet tall, but that height seems to be an average. Some have “life-like” faces and heads that are very strange looking. Compare their pictures on an online website to see the differences. An inflatable doll will last for the entire party and maybe a few days after, but don’t expect it to survive until the next bachelorette party.

Inflatable dolls for bachelorette parties are known by many names. Examples include: Big Joe, Big John, Construction Man, The Black Guy, Mr. Stud, and Harry The Cheap Date, among others. With so many choices available, take Smokey Robinson’s advice: “You Better Shop Around.”

Finally, consider getting an air pump to blow up your bachelorette party doll. It’s not much of an extra expense and it could save you some exertion and embarrassment.

During dinner the other night, one of the people in our group looked at me and asked the question I didn’t want to hear -

“How did you become homeless?”

By now most people have heard my story of being on the streets of Dallas in the late 1970s and struggling in poverty in Houston for many years after that.Some of it is explained in my new audioprogram, The Awakening Course.

But I had never explained exactly how I ended up in such dire circumstances.

When I answered the question at dinner, everyone at the table stared at me.

The woman who asked the question sat there with her mouth open and eyes un-blinking. She asked, “Why have you never said this before?”

My friend Mark Ryan was sitting there, also staring, and said, “As long as I’ve known you, you’ve never told this story before. It’s riveting. This changes everything.”

Changes everything?

Riveting?

They all said I had to tell the story now.

“Given the current financial crisis and with people losing their homes and their jobs, this story needs to be told more than ever before,” Mark said.

I heard them and realized I agreed.

So here’s the story…

I knew I wanted to be an author when I was a teenager. I wanted to write books and plays that made people happy. Everywhere I looked I saw un-happy people. I believed I could help them with humor and stories.

During that time of the mid-1970s, I watched sports. I don’t today but back then the Dallas Cowboys were the rage. Roger Staubach and Tom Landry were heroes. I got caught up in the excitement and felt the place for me to make my name was in Dallas, Texas.

I lived in Ohio at the time. Born and raised there. I worked on the railroad as a trackman, doing heavy labor all day long, working weekends and summers since the age of five.

I saved my money, packed up my bag, and took a bus to Dallas. It took three days to get there. I was lost in the big city, of course. Being born in a small town in Ohio didn’t prep me for the hustle and bustle of a city the size of Dallas.

Before long, I wanted out.

But I still wanted to be an author.

At that time major companies were building oil and gas pipelines in Alaska and the Middle East, and offering to pay big bucks if you were willing to go to either place.

I wasn’t keen on going to a foreign country and doing more labor, but I saw a chance to make money, save it, and then go on a sabbatical where I could write for a few months or even a year.

It seemed like a brilliant strategy.

I answered one of the newspaper ads that promised to get me pipeline work at a extraordinary hourly wage. I went in their office, met an upbeat sales person, and ended up giving him all of my money – my entire savings, about a thousand dollars at the time – based on his promise that I’d have overseas pipeline work in a week or two.

You might guess part of what happened next – but you won’t guess all of it.

Within a week or so, the company that took all of my money went out of business.

Their doors were closed, no one answered the phone, and no forwarding addresses could be found.

Shortly after that, the company went bankrupt.

And not long after that, the owner of the company committed suicide.

There was no one left to try to get my money back.

I was alone.

I was broke.

I was in Dallas, far from home.

I confess that my ego got in the way here. My family back in Ohio would have taken me back in and welcomed me back home. But I was head strong and determined to somehow survive.

Well, I did survive – by sleeping in church pews, on the steps of a post office, in a bus station.

It wasn’t an easy time, as you can imagine, and I never used to talk about it. It was too embarrassing. When I told this story at dinner, everyone agreed I had to share it with you.

They said that people are finding themselves in the same situation – they trusted a government, or a corporation, or a person, or a bank, and now they are losing their homes and their jobs.

Hearing that I went through the same thing three decades ago and not only survived but prospered to a level that the me of thirty years ago could hardly imagine, ought to be inspiring to you, too.

I got off the streets and out of poverty by constantly working on myself – reading self-help books, taking action, scrambling at times by taking whatever work I could find, but always always always focusing on my vision: to one day be an author of books that helped people be happy and stay inspired.

If you’re in a place right now that doesn’t feel so good or seem too safe, I urge you to remind yourself that this is only temporary.

This is the cure for despair.

As I say in my book, The Attractor Factor, this is simply current reality, and current reality can change. You can help it along by doing what you know and need to do.

But remember, the sun will shine again.

It always does.

Your job right now is to focus on what you want and keep it in sight.

Yes, keep taking action;

yes, stay positive and surround yourself with positive people;

yes, be of support to others.

But remember, if I or anyone else can survive homelessness, poverty, job loss, or any other hard time, then you can survive it, too.

Please hang in there.

One last thing:

I admit that there were times I wanted to throw in the towel and get myself out of this life.

Thank God I stuck around. Had I left early, I would have missed a life of magic and wonder, success and fame I never dreamed of before, priceless relationships and experiences, and more.

I have no idea what wonderful good is headed your way – and neither do you.

What you have to do is stay the course and follow your heart.

And remember -

Expect Miracles.

Dr. Joe Vitale shares how to attract money using the Law of Attraction and inspiration in business and life. You will learn the techniques that Dr. Vitale has used for over 25 years to become known as powerful leader in copywriting and marketing.

Deciding on the perfect party supplies and invitations along with party decorations will make planning a party very special. Therefore if your son is into American Idol, then those games and activities should play out. Most people will find that using a theme such as baseball, football or soccer will add a lot to the party. Just remember to keep to the party theme which interests your child throughout each aspect of the celebration.

Keep the guests entertained by having an assortment of Bar Mitzvah party games and activities for both the young and old. Sometimes when you have a larger group of guests, a party cooridnator is helpful. For these reasons, games such as American Idol, Musical Chairs, Wheel barrow Races and Bean Bag Tosses should be quite entertaining and fun for everyone involved. Additionally, most peopel will find that adapting the Bar Mitzvah games to meet the ages of the children will make the party very succesful.

Sports Bean Bag Toss: For this game go with the overall party theme whether it’s baseball, soccer or football. This small addition will add a great deal to the game and give the game board a baseball, soccer or football theme look. Additionally, the bean bags themselves can be covered with white socks to make them look like baseballs.

Wheelbarrow Racing: Most boys enjoy wheelbarrow racing therefore this is an ideal game for an exciting Bar Mitzvah. To play this game, divide the guests into two teams. Then have them compete against one another going from point A to point B and back to see which team is the fastest. The team that finishes the race the fastest is declared the winner of the game. Remind the guests that prizes will be awarded!

Furthermore, since most boys enjoy receiving prizes having a variety of party favors to use as prizes for the Bar Mitzvah games will make the competition much more intense. Additionally, most parents will enjoy planning a special Bar Mitzvah party with theme focused party supplies, Bar Mitzvah invitations, favors and decorations. Have theme party music playing in the background at all times throughout the event. Furthermore, Bar Mitzvah party supplies along with decorations and music will make the party very special.

There are those who think it’s wrong to ever laugh at the death of another. And there are the rest of us who sometimes need humor in order to cope. Of course there is that small group who truly have a sick and twisted sense of humor and really enjoy laughing at the misfortune of others. Most people tend to die in stereotypical ways, of cancer, heart disease, natural causes, complications after a fatal accident. But luckily for us with a dark sense of humor, there were people throughout the ages who had a hilarious death.

Let us start in 620 BC with Draco, an Athenian law-maker. You might be familiar with Draconian law, which offered some pretty harsh punishments. So it’s okay that he died in a crazy way. He as smothered to death by a gift of cloaks showered upon him by citizens. It’s amazing that the citizens actually had any appreciation for this jerk. But at least he died knowing people loved him. Another great way to go, which I did not know was even possible, is dying of laughter. The Greek philosopher Chrysippus is “believed” to have died of laughter after giving his donkey wine and watching it attempt to eat figs. I don’t see the humor in that but I do see the humor in his death.

Some dead celebrities deserve a good laugh at their deaths because they are just plain stupid and it was their own fault. For example Henry Hall died after lead fell into his throat while looking up at a burning lighthouse. That reminds me of turkeys who supposedly look up at the sky during a rain storm and drown. Another idiot of the century award goes to Gouverneur Morris who stuck a piece of whale bone through his urinary tract to relieve a blockage. Ouch! People really enjoy hurting themselves because Sherwood Anderson, a writer, died after swallowing a toothpick at a party. That was totally on an episode of House, except the boy lived on the television show. Thank goodness for keen foresight and excellent screenwriters.

Sometimes I feel terrible laughing at these dead celebs. Because if the laws of the universe and karma have taught me anything, all this laughter at the misfortune of others will come back to haunt me. I can only hope that I am not added to the Wikipedia page for unusual deaths, but at least I can live in infamy and give someone else a good chortle.

Xlebrity is a member of the AJ Blog Network, a Mecca of blog sites that provided fresh blog content on a daily basis. Check out more posts from Xlebrity and a series of other fantastic blog sites at http://www.AJBlogNetwork.com.

Family Christmas and holiday gifts get more difficult with time. After they already have everything they want and are tired of the basics they need, giving the right person wine gifts can be an effective and easy way to satisfy their appetite for culture and show your thoughtfulness at the same time. Admittedly, the wine enthusiast in the family is rarely difficult to find good gifts for, so long as you are willing to venture into weird novelty items or seek the advice of an expert. But if the person really knows wine, the odds that you can find something that you know he or she will enjoy are not that great. This is where wine gift baskets come in. They let you take several small risks, increasing the chances that at least one thing in the basket will be enjoyable enough.

People who love wine and care about the science of tasting it can be the most difficult people to give wine gifts because they understand details the average wine drinker doesn’t even know how to identify. One route is to just learn what they like, then go to a high-quality wine shop and ask for two bottles that are very similar with minor variations. The goal is to help the recipient find new regions, new wineries, or even new wines and grapes that he or she can enjoy. Everybody likes broadening their horizons so this approach is relatively low-risk. There is the chance he or she will not particularly like either bottle – and usually it makes the most sense to include two bottles of wine in a wine basket, especially when the recipient has particular tastes and so one might be a miss – but this just further emphasizes the beauty of a wine gift basket.

Because you should include glasses and a wine opener in the basket so the recipient can share it with at least one other person, even if both bottles are a flop for that person, the other items can make up for it. Of course, a real wine enthusiast may have the coolest wine opener and expensive stemware, so you might have to put in some extra thought to figure out what impressive accessories to include beyond these basics. Wine resealers, some snacks that are expertly matched with one of the bottles, a book about the history of the vineyard where the grapes were grown, or maybe a gift certificate to his or her favorite wine store are all great inclusions to round out the contents of the basket.

Remember, even if the person is somewhat of a wine snob, many wine gift baskets are meant to be enjoyed by multiple people. So giving mom a gift basket that includes the right pieces to share a romantic evening with dad means that even if the bottles aren’t exactly to her liking, the gesture will still not only be appreciated but also make her feel good. The point is to have some fun, satisfy the desire to give a thoughtful gift that the person will actually enjoy, and make family gift-giving over the holidays as successful as possible.

Well-designed Wine Gift Baskets Make Great Gifts That Can Satisfy Even the Most Discerning Wine Lover. Find the Components for Your Perfect Wine Gift Today

By Terry Galloway

Instead of sticking to the same, tired tourist traps and boring tours, many international travelers are grabbing paintbrushes and shovels instead. Cross cultural volunteering is giving people like you the ability to go to work in areas of the world where their help is desperately needed. What they find instead, is that these trips have a lot more impact in their lives than the impact they could ever have on the lives of the people they’ve come to help.

1. Opening Your Mind

Serving people of a different culture encourages acceptance of their values and beliefs, especially as you learn and understand more about them. Once you do, you suddenly start opening your mind to how important other cultures and ways of living are to your worldview. As you make decisions, you think not only of how they impact you and your community, but also the world as a whole.

2. Broadening Your Awareness

Take a moment to read today’s headlines, and you will find story after story of wars and skirmishes around the globe, and even at home. Often these stem from one group stereotyping another. These stereotypes usually come from a misunderstanding of the culture of a group of people. After your culture exchange travel experience, you start breaking down those stereotypes in your own mind. The knowledge you gain in the field can then be used to educate others who are as ethnocentric as you once were.

3. Improving Your Character

One of the best ways to grow and stretch as an individual is to dive into a work project in a foreign country. You will need to learn to face fears, overcome language gaps, and think on your feet. When your travel experience is complete, you will find yourself more compassionate, courageous, and patient than you were before you left. These character traits stay with you long after you return home.

4. Increasing Job Opportunities

In addition to the way traveling abroad changes your attitude and focus, it also changes your job opportunities. In 2007, Global HR News conducted a study, and 80 percent of the executives surveyed pointed to foreign travel as a key factor for their choice in placements within their companies. These decision makers believed that applicants who traveled had a greater cultural awareness and international perspective, which is vital in today’s international business market.

We live in a global society, and the ability to adapt to different cultural settings is valuable in today’s job market. Having culture exchange travel on your resume shows that you can think outside of the box and are willing to work with people who view the world differently than you do. The benefits of cross cultural volunteering don’t go away in the weeks and months after you return home. They have the potential to change your life for the long term. After this experience, you will never view the world the same again.

Terry Galloway wanted to change her life so she researched Costa Rica volunteer programs to help those in need. You can travel with purpose this year with volunteer programs and Costa Rica community service from Global Works.

Some people will tell you that there are more battered women than there are abused men. However, I think there is just a larger platform for women to express the partner abuse they endure.

This may be a byproduct of the battered women’s movement giving voice to violence against woman. Or, it could be the social cultural influences of accepted female submission. Nonetheless, men who are abused by their female partners live in every corner of the planet.

I came to embrace the work of helping people break the cycle of abuse following my own personal encounter with domestic violence over a decade ago. And to this day, it is no secret that the family linage of domestic abuse stemmed from my ex-mother-in-law, not my ex-father-in-law. But what he endured was not called “abuse” until his dying days.

Today, men are more informed about the dynamics of controlling relationships and more readily identify domestic abuse in their lives. Rather then saying, “I’m hen-pecked,” they can say, “My partner is an abusive woman”…”I am being abused.” And here is where it stops.

Change for Battered Men

Once the so-called identification is made, then what can be done to help the abused man? What can he do to insure his safety…enhance his sense of well-being…and, of course, end the relationship abuse he experiences?

1) Break the Silence

“Breaking the silence” breaks the cycle of abuse whether you are a man or a woman. Silence is the byproduct of the isolation inherent in abusive relationships. And isolation is the social mechanism that maintains intimate partner abuse.

The moment one shares the obvious and the subtle nuances of being abused, they open a pathway for change to occur. You can’t change what you haven’t identified. And your sharing inspires more and more awareness…more and more potential for change.

2) Own Your Part

The other key factor in breaking the cycle of abuse is “owning one’s part.” That is each person becomes accountable for their respective part in the relationship dynamics. Now don’t for a minute read this as suggesting that the person on the receiving end of domestic abuse is “responsible” for the battering they experience from their partner.

Instead, what I’m suggesting here is that when you reach deep within and recognize what you are doing to enable—allow—the status quo of partner abuse AND you relinquish responsibility for what is not yours, a magical window opens up. A significant shift occurs in which the abused man’s victimization changes dramatically.

You see denial is the psychological mechanism that sustains domestic abuse, as isolation is the social mechanism that maintains it. Breaking the silence and owning one’s part truly breaks the cycle of domestic abuse.

Breaking the Cycle of Domestic Abuse

Ask yourself how you are collaborating in maintaining a shield of silence in your abusive relationship? What part (or parts) of the relationship conflict do you carry as yours that is truly not within your domain of control? What is yours that can be and is not controlled by you? Answering these three questions can get you moving toward breaking the cycle of abuse before it spirals out of control.

For more information on help for abused men, visit http://www.preventabusiverelationships.com/abused_men.php and claim your Free Instant Access to Survivor Success eInsights. Dr. Jeanne King, Ph.D. helps individuals and couples nationwide end and heal from domestic abuse. ©Jeanne King, Ph.D.

Copyright © 2012 savvycontent.com

In the past, seeing an older woman dating a younger man will instantly get people to raise their eyebrows. These days, that concept has become increasingly acceptable in society. Some polls say a third of women in their 40s to 60s are willing to date younger men. Celebrities like Madonna and Cher have done it for many years, which have added to the acceptance of this type of relationship among the general public.

The explanation for this phenomenon, which has taken off in the 1990s, vary from couple to couple. Others argue that both a man and a woman who are attracted to each other will eventually end up together regardless of their age. Although there are those that believe older women are enticed by the stamina of younger men, which make them enter into a relationship that was once thought as taboo.

Women in recent years have shown to be more forthright and demanding with their partners. This is a result of the changing landscape in society where more and more women have become career-centric. This independent thinking has made many older women take chances with less conventional types of relationships like dating younger men instead those in their age.

Most people actually think that it is the older woman who is the aggressive one between the two. However, this is disputed by actual experiences of most couples, where it is actually the younger man that makes the first move. The statistics are overwhelming, and this has been proven by a recent research where two hundred couples were interviewed saying it is the men that always come in strong.

Older women, in general, find it easy to search for a young partner for as long as he meets the criteria of what she is looking for. Those looking for a casual relationship would not be bothered by their male partner’s occasional immaturity. On the other hand, those searching for a long term relationship need their partners to demonstrate a certain degree of maturity in order to keep up with the woman’s lifestyle. Women do not like being the mother between the two, so she would rather break up the relationship early on if she thinks the male is not up to it.

Women must never make the common mistake of taking the financial burden and decision making within the relationship all to themselves. Communication is still very important and this must be established between the couple prior to taking their relationship into the next level.

View this site and know more about Dating Older Women and Older Women Dating Younger Men.

While waiting for the clock to strike twelve, give your guests a variety of clever games to play as the night comes to an end. Adding games and other activities to your list of New Years party supplies and invitations is sure to make your party a success!

New Years Resolutions. This is a fun game in which the party guests must guess who wrote down which New Years resolution. Give each party guest a small slip of paper and have them write down their resolution without writing their name. Then put all of the resolutions in a New Years party hat. The party host then picks the resolutions out one by one and reads them aloud to the party group. The party group must try and figure out who wrote the resolution. The party guest with the best, or most creative New Years Eve Party Supplies resolution wins a fun party favor.

Passing The Hat On New Years. Pass the Top Hat is a fun game for younger children at the New Years Eve party. Place a few dozen candies inside the hat and have the players pass it around. When the music stops, instead of players being eliminated, the player picks one candy for to collect. The game continues until all the candy from the hat is gone. Players for Pass the Top Hat are all winners because everyone receives a few pieces of candy each.

Confetti Race. This game is played by separating the party group into two teams. Place the players in a straight row with the first player in each row holding a handful of confetti. The object of the game is to pass the confetti down the line from teammate to teammate dropping as little confetti as possible. On go, the first player grabs the confetti from a bag or top hat, passes it to their teammate who does the same all the way to the last player. The last player then places the confetti in an empty hat or container. The first team to reach the line (drawn inside the hat or container) wins.

Who’s on Your Celebrity Guest List For New Years? This s a common game suitable for all types of parties. Write celebrities names on small cards and tape to the back of players. The object of the game is to guess the name of the of the celebrity before the clock strikes twelve.

Time flies when your friends are having fun at your New Years Eve party. Create a fun atmosphere in which all party guests can participate in on the party game excitement.