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MY romance with the Irish people, and the English language, culture and education began when I was six years old. I remember very well when my illiterate father handed me over to one of the Irish nuns. Though he could not speak a word of English, somehow the nun understood him.
She took my small hand and led me off to class. My heart was thumping so loudly I imagined it was going to jump out of my throat. I was terrified that I wouldn’t see my mother ever again.
But I did not cry. It was much later when I could not see my mother’s face among the crowd waiting outside the classroom that I let loose the hot tears that I had been bravely holding back.
So began my very English and western education in the hands of the devoted and selfless Catholic nuns, who came all the way to then Malaya to set up mission schools. Many of them died here. For 11 years I was schooled in all things western, though we were taught our national language, Bahasa Kebangsaan, and the Negara Ku, which the Irish nuns could sing better than most Malaysians today.
From a very early age, I was introduced to the folk music and dance culture of the Irish, but the literature that was introduced was mostly English. The nuns would have us read original poetry and literary texts of great writers like Dickens. It was only at university that I discovered Celtic mythology, and the great Irish writers and poets who have fascinated me.
I was exposed to the Catholic faith right from the time I stepped into the mission. Although I was never influenced, somehow the universal Christian values stayed in my psyche. The church’s tradition of telling bible stories helped me develop my love for writing and telling stories.
Biologists call the hanky-panky in the Aquarium at Moody Gardens “penguins gone wild".
“It’s penguin love, and it’s happening here,” assistant curator Diane Olsen says. “It looks like we might get a few more eggs soon.”
The loving started the afternoon before Hurricane Rita touched land. A few days later, the amorous pair of gentoo penguins became expectant parents. Their two eggs are expected to hatch around Halloween.
The mood seems to be contagious. Other gentoos, kings and rockhoppers have gotten into the act.
“You see his head? It’s elevated. That’s courtship behavior,” observes Olsen, pointing to a king penguin.
Penguin keepers call this “The Strut.”
“I’m so sexy for my feathers, so sexy for my feathers,” Olsen sings as three male king penguins parade in front of a female. Guys often compete for affection.
Neck stretched, beak raised, downy chest puffed out, they do their best to look taller, more handsome.
“It’s breeding central in there,” Olsen says. “Everybody is going crazy.”
A virtual lovefest — one that Olsen is witnessing for the first time. While she has studied their mating habits since the Aquarium opened in 1999, the 42-year-old penguin expert has never seen a couple do “the deed.”
Penguin research is costly and nesting sites are difficult to reach in the wild, so in the annals of animal husbandry, penguin sex remains a bit of a mystery.
Alderbrook Publishing’s recent book promotion for Romance Maven, Cassandra Lynne’s hot, humorous new book,“LoveSpeak: The Married Woman’s Guide to Love and Romance,” which became a “Top Seller” in the category of“Relationships”this week on amazon.com, produced some results the company hadn’t expected. Nearly a third of the book’s sales were made to men.
Cassandra Lynne is certain that men aren’t buying her book to give to their wife or significant other. No way. She is convinced that men are snatching up her hardcover treasure dressed in a sexy red dust jacket in order to check out all her tips, strategies and titillating tactics which, she says, when put into practice, will enable them to transform a relationship “as bland as oatmeal into one that sizzles like a fizz candy under the tongue!”
If you’re not familiar with Cassandra Lynne, you should be. Her legendary romantic escapades she has staged to keep her own marriage vibrant and alive have thrust her into the public eye of national TV, newspaper headlines, Woman’s World magazine, TV Guide and Adventures in Dining magazine.
Who hasn’t experienced teenage love? You can never forget those ticklish lightning bolts that shoot up your spine or cramp your stomach after merely holding your crush’s hand. Nothing could have ever stopped you from kissing in the hallways – you were in love!
Looking back now, you realize that your definition of love was somewhat misconstrued. It was the mere first stirrings of adolescent horniness. You kick yourself for making out in front of all the buses and never living it down even after you graduate from high school.
In a certain sense, William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is very similar to your junior-high love tales. It is currently being performed at St. Mary’s Outreach Center in Hampden by the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival. Founded in 1993, the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival strives to bring classical theatre to our deprived city. In 2003, it became Baltimore’s third professional theater company after signing a Small Professional Theatre contract with Actors’ Equity. Originally performing one show a year, they now produce four every season, including one summer outdoors performance at the Meadow by the Evergreen House. For aspiring thespians, the Festival offers classes in theatrical combat training, voice lessons and general acting lessons. Also, the BSF strives to invest in the community by reaching over 18,000 students across the state of Maryland through educational programs and performances.
Though St. Mary’s may simply look like a quaint old stone church outside, you will be astounded upon walking through the large wooden doors. Masterfully crafted vaulted ceilings with dark wooden beams rise two stories up. The hall’s intricately carved wooden pews are an improvement on the usual plastic folding chairs. Enormous stained glass windows of Jesus and Moses project their colors onto the stage.
With a little over a month left on its last touring leg in support of the 2004 album “Survival of the Sickest,” Saliva singer Josey Scott tells Billboard.com the band is already looking forward to recording its fifth studio release. “The Rise and Fall of a Glorified Kingdom” is due out in the first quarter of 2006 via Island.
“I think with all of our albums, we’ve thrown our fans a curveball but we’ve continued to be Saliva,” Scott says. “I think it’s going to probably be a very alternative record. It’s going to be a romantic record. It’s what’s been happening in our lives over the last year and a half. It’s going to be a documentation of what we’ve been going through.”
Halfway through the pre-production process, Saliva has roughly 30 tracks in the mix, with plans to enter the studio in December. Although the band is known more for its rap/metal beginnings and post-grunge aesthetic, it sounds as though Saliva may have a few ballads on “Rise and Fall.”
“There definitely might be a few of those on the record,” Scott says. “I think we’ve continued to evolve. Like Elvis [Presley] said, ‘Music changes every six months and you have to change with it.’ I think that we aspire to be around like an Aerosmith or U2 in the aspect that we’re willing to go anywhere.”
Does Vinnifer have the same ring to it as Brangelina? Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn were photographed kissing, possibly confirming that their relationship has grown romantic.
People magazine published the photos, taken last week in Chicago, in its October 31 issue.
Reports have swirled for months that the two actors were an item. Previously, though, it was impossible to separate fiction from reality since they were at work filming The Break Up. This time, the co-stars were without a film crew while they spent several days together in Chicago. A call to Aniston’s publicist was not immediately returned.
Her divorce from Brad Pitt became final on October 2, concluding four and a half years of marriage.Vaughn co-starred earlier this year with Pitt and Angelina Jolie in Mr. & Mrs. Smith. It was then that reports of a romance between Pitt and Jolie began, which were later corroborated by photographs and public spottings.
In interviews, Aniston, 36, has denied a relationship with Vaughn, 35. In this month’s Elle magazine, she said: “He’s delicious and funny … but I don’t want to be a rebound girl.”
Source: telegraphindia.com
Kevin Federline has been struggling to spend quality time with Britney Spears following the birth of their son, Sean Preston.
The star is now trying to rekindle their romance by encouraging Britney to join him on roadtrips and candlelit dinners.
“Kev has asked Brit’s mum Lynne to babysit while he and Britney can spend more quality time together,” a friend told The Mirror. “Last Friday he took Brit to their favourite local restaurant, Moonshadows, on the beach outside Malibu.”
Federline has also transformed their bedroom in a bid to impress Britney.
The source added, “It’s filled with flowers and incense and he’s been buying massage oils and sexy lingerie for his wife.”
Source: digitalspy.co.uk
Does Vinnifer have the same ring to it as Brangelina? People magazine has published photos of Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn kissing, possibly confirming that their relationship has grown romantic.
Reports have swirled for months that the two actors were an item. Previously, though, it was impossible to separate fiction from reality since they were at work filming “The Break Up.” This time, the co-stars were without a film crew while they spent several days together in Chicago.
In interviews, Aniston, 36, has denied a relationship with Vaughn, 35. In this month’s Elle, she said, “He’s delicious and funny … but I don’t want to be a rebound girl.” Last month, she said on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” that she was ready to date again. In response to Winfrey’s query about Vaughn, Aniston responded, “Oh, Oprah!”
Source: stltoday.com
Apparently Ken still isn’t over Barbie.
Almost two years after the closely watched celebrity couple split after a 43-year romance, Ken is considering a makeover in an effort to win his doll baby back.
Mattel made the announcement Thursday. Russell Arons, vice president of marketing at Mattel, would say only that fans might see big changes this spring.
“A makeover may be just what Ken needs to step back into the spotlight,” she said.
A makeover makes sense as a business strategy, said Chris Byrne, a New York-based independent toy consultant.
“Barbie and Ken are such an integral part of our culture and so aligned with each other, people want to see them together,” he said.
It was a fine affair for Darcie Denkert’s A Fine Romance. The book, which is about the musical love affair between Broadway and Hollywood, had its release party on October 20 at the Times Square Studios. Subtitled “The Magic. The Mayhem. The Musicals,” the tome is an amalgam of everyone–and everything–you’d want to know about material that went from Broadway to Hollywood and vice versa. Several Broadway stars were on hand to toast the author–and to help the terrific causes that the book serves: all proceeds benefit the Actors’ Fund as well as the Motion Picture Television Fund.
Source: broadway.com
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