There was a lot of talk in some circles about the Warhol exhibition in Singapore.  It happened in 2007, which is proof that the world did not freeze in its tracks, or implode, and it certainly didn’t stop anyone from making ironic art.  It’s difficult to know whether the audience had embraced the work, or if it was something that was an already always.  There wasn’t the lively buzz in restaurants all over Singapore when it opened, but then again, it wasn’t received with with indifference either.

Then again, perhaps it’s hard to know what would get a response in the restaurants.  The food here is so exquisite, with some of the best flavors all over the world in one place.  I’ve always loved Chinese food, and found Indian food to be absolute heaven, so whenever I’m in Singapore I really don’t remember the dinner conversation.  Chances are, I’m always in such a swoony state that I could just as easily discuss boy bands and hair bands as easily as the stuff of international art.  It really doesn’t matter.  That place does something very wonderful to my senses, and opens up my taste buds in new and, for me, rather significant ways.

I am not sure if this is what Andy would have wanted, either, and am even less convinced he would have cared.  He did seem genuinely fascinated by things, by phenomena, and by cultural movements.  He was much more interested in trends than in actual people, although celebrities were always high on his list.  Personally, I had hoped for a much more profound reaction from the gallery-hoppers in Singapore when they saw the hundred or so works by the master of pop art, but in retrospect, when you can talk over such magnificent food, boy bands will also suffice.  And more appropriate, really, in Warhol’s world.

The Centennial State, Colorado, has seven other states along it’s borders. It has Utah on the west border, Wyoming to the north along with parts of Nebraska, Kansas to the East, and then along the south you can enter in from Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona. This state has so many types of terrain from sand dunes on the east side to high mountain tops of the west side. Deep forest lands and prairies on the north side and high desert mountains on the south side of the state. It is truly a wonderful state to spend time in no matter when you go.

Visitors can pick one of the many hotels Colorado has waiting for them to start their journey. They can find their way to the top of Mount Elbert which is the highest peak standing at 14,440 feet. Or they can find themselves at the lowest point of 3,281 feet. The climate ranges in temperatures from four below in the winter depending on where you are to ninety six degrees in the summer, which also depends on where you are. Be careful if a thunderstorm arrives. Colorado is a leading state in deaths by lightning. I suppose that is the price to pay for being so close to the clouds.

There are some Ancient Pueblo Native ruins left in the hills of the mountains. The Ute Nation was the Native Americans that stayed around the area. The Arapaho Nation and the Cheyenne Nations moved further west. But there are still some points of interest to see from the Native American communities. You will find plenty of art festivals featuring their work in baskets, blankets and jewelry. It is rather interesting if you take the time to learn about the state, how many times it was turned over. The U.S. gave it up for the purchase of Florida from Spain in 1819 with the Adams-Onis Treaty. Mexico got it when they won independence from Spain but then gave it back to the U.S. after the Mexican-American War which was laid out in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo in 1848. Then of course the Mormons of Deseret staked their claim to the area. But that area is now called Utah. It is a fascinating state with many things to do and discover.

The virtual freeway is one of the most exciting places in the world today.  It operates according to rules and systems that are largely determined by the users, and there are many things that are still remarkably unknowable about how it might behave.  That’s largely due to the fact that it is determined by users, and the numbers and their behaviors are rather unpredictable.  However, experts have been trying to predict human behavior for generations, and at times it does seem like we’re no better at these predictions than we ever were.  This may be because human beings have always been rather proficient at determining the behavior of other human beings.

There are, of course, certain factors today that never entered into the equations before.  Your site’s download speed, for example, where the amount of time spent waiting for a page to load, can and does affect the site’s popularity.  Furthermore, over even a short period of time, page loading can affect its position in search engines, and that can sometimes make or break a website.  Through looking at human behavior and trying to predict outcomes, it’s possible to determine which terms are the most popular in web searches, and this is but one way to make these variables react in your favor.  A low position in search hits can see a swift rank increase with just a few careful and savvy moves.  In many ways, the things that are unknown in any kind of guesswork will remain largely unknown, because there are always more variables.

The amount of variables always increases the unpredictability, and that’s something that really hasn’t changed at all over time.  It’s always been true that the greater the unpredictability, the more desire there is to predict.  It’s human nature that we like to know how things will turn out ahead of time.  The more uncertain, the greater the desire.  Human nature is what determines human behavior on the internet, because it’s driven by human beings.  But it’s also true that there are more automated programs, and programs that are automatically programmed to make automated changes, and in this, it is a whole new world.

I vote moving into one of the Saas Fee hotels for a whole season. If I run out of money than I will just have to wash some dishes. Anything to be able to walk outside and say to myself,”Wow, How did I get here?” It would be like living in a dream every single day. No matter what sorts of troubles there were in life there was always a breath taking view to make you feel better. I am sure you could meet the locals in like a day so there could be a kind word or two from them as well. Yup! With all the mountain activities to do how could you get bored. Think of the great shape you would finally be in if all there was to do was hike and ski and breath.

Make your rounds to some of the other neighborhoods to branch out your friendships. Near by you have Saas-Balen, Saas-Grund and Saas-Almagell. From any of these little towns you can find your self doing all sorts of activities. The local glaciers on Dom and Allalinhorn keep the winter sports going all year round. Which is fine with me. I am the odd ball who like winter most of the year. Visitors can take part in some skiing, snowshoe trekking, ice climbing and canyon climbing. There are plenty of lifts to get you to the start of any down hill experience.

What do you do in town itself? Well there is plenty of restaurants and nightclubs to go grab a hot tot-tie in. There are even some modern restaurants like the highest revolving restaurant in the world. There are lots of ways to get around but you wont get to do it in a Ferrari. There are no cars allowed accept the garbage trucks. But never fear you will be able to catch tram or small electric vehicle to get around the area. If you really do decide to move to Saas-Fee you can go back to school. There is a great European Grad School here too. Well, I’m in.

Thirty miles outside of Boston, you’ll find Pawtucket Falls and the site where Pennacook Indians lived, fishing and growing crops, but when settlers from Europe arrived, sometime in the late 1600s, there was a need for more food than what the local means of agriculture could provide, so eventually two canals were built, Pawtucket and Middlesex, opening the path for various glassworks and mills, both saw and spinning.

The city of Lowell was founded in 1820, but begun by Francis Cabot Lowell, when he turned created power from the waterways and turned the textile industry on its head.  Boott Mill was the first textile mill Lowell built, and it’s now a part of the Lowell National Historical Park, where a number of these early days have been preserved for future visitors.  Lowell is also considered the first American factory town; when the Great Depression hit over a century later, the area fell on hard times, but today, there’s a number of sports teams and revitalization to the old mill buildings.  Lowell has had a rebirth as a tourist town, a national park, and a city filled art galleries, boutiques and restaurants.

If you make this place a vacation destination, you’ll see that the hotels Lowell offers its traveling public are among the best available, and you’ll find great views of the Merrimack River.

The museums offer an excellent history of the lives of the people who used to work in the first factory town, but if you’re looking for Pawtucket Falls, you may not find exactly what you’re expecting.  The name of the falls means “Great Falls,” and the waterfall and rapids dropped 32 feet in under a mile; however, the falls impeded travel along the river and the new settlers to the area built the canals, which allowed Lowell’s residents to use hydropower, running the various textiles factories through a canal system.  In the 1820s, a dam was built at the head of the falls in 1820 and again twenty years later in the 1840s.  You can still see the work of that last expansion — a stone dam that channels much of the Merrimack River into the canal, which is why the Pawtucket Falls today are dry, although, when heavy water flow comes over the dam, the falls exist again, if only for a little while.

I didn’t know much about Tenerife, except I thought the weather would be warmer than London, not much of an achievement, but it is certainly welcome. Without doing much research before hand, I packed my bathing suit, tank tops, hiking clothes and plenty of sunscreen. I remember when I visited the beach in Mexico and got a not so desirable 2nd degree sunburn.

Tenerife is a very developed island, and despite the mega-resorts working their way up the mountain sides, there were plenty of places that still retained their natural beauty. I spent my first day relaxing poolside at my airport hotel, (fom swiftrank) under an umbrella and had almost a half a bottle of SPF 40 on my skin. I spent the 2nd day exploring Tenerife’s volcanic interior. The trip up the mountain not only gave me a spectacular view of the ocean, but also the various climates of Tenerife. While I was at the lower elevation, the terrain resembled the Arizona desert, complete with cactus and rocky, dry land. As I went higher, I suddenly found myself in the alpine country. I was surrounded by pine trees and the air was thinner. When I descended into the volcano, It was like the Grand Canyon meets Haleakala hardened lave rock formations. I spent only a couple of hours hiking around and exploring through the trails of Teide National Park. The parks prehistoric beauty was awe inspiring and it’s natural beauty was a nice contrast to the resort-packed beach front. It was a most refreshing day trip.

My third and last day here, I drove up the coast to Los Gigantes, it’s a town at the base of a beautiful rock cliff. I walked around town and watched the wildlife, mostly crabs and fish in the harbor. The cliffs were stunning. I then headed back to my hotel. I really enjoyed my weekend and I was so happy to have explored the other parts of Tenerife besides the poolside lounge chair. Spain was the perfect weekend get away for me.

Getting married in Singapore is easy and simple once you understand the requirements, rules and information for weddings and marriages in Singapore. Once you have these down, then it will be a breeze to pick a wedding venue Singapore offers its newlyweds.

Everything you need to know about getting married in Singapore is available on-line at the Registry of Marriages (ROM). Any marriage taking place in Singapore, and a few that don’t, must be registered with the ROM. Here are a few tips on how to do that:

First, choose your location: If you plan to have the solemnisation outside of the ROM, then you must choose your own solemniser. If you don’t know of one, you will find a list of authorised officiates on the ROM website; they all work on a voluntary basis.

Second, you need to file a notice of your intended marriage. To do this, you need a valid passport and you must meet the same eligibility requirements that citizens do. You will also need to include the details of your two witnesses in you application. At least one of you must have been a resident in Singapore for at least 15 days before filing a notice of marriage. Regardless of citizenship, this rule applies to all. The earliest you may solemnise your marriage is 21 days from the date of application and the latest is 3 month.

Third, when your application is successful, both of you are required to go to the ROM on the date and time specified, there’s usually three days before solemnisation, for verification of documents and administration of statutory declaration.

Last, your Solemensation: this is your actual wedding ceremony, the place where you’ll be saying you ‘I do’s’ and receive your marriage certificate.

Marriages that take place in Singapore are recognised in most countries, but it is wise to check with your embassy and make sure if it is legal in your home country.

One of the aspects that drew my husband and I to the notion of a wedding in Singapore, is something that we had held deeply in our hearts, and that is that through the four thousand years of the history of the city of Singapore, artists from various cultures have contributed to the one sole collective, the one sole-and soul-feeling.  That is the great respect and love that the Chinese have for nature.  This is reflected in all mediums of visual art, be it in the works on fine silk scarves, to the teapots, to the calligraphy on very delicate rice paper.

We discovered that the Yong gallery in the Singapore neighborhood of Chinatown had a collection of the works of a calligraphy master, Yong Cheong Thye.  We had our wedding in the Singapore Botanic Gardens. And since Singapore was our destination for our honeymoon, and we were already there, the honeymoon began before the wedding did so we were relaxed and standing in a garden of flowers and in love.  We did not have a large reception, just a brief gathering with a bit of food and tea, and he and I decided that for that night, we would take a trishaw tour through Chinatown, which was known to make a stop at the Yong Gallery.

We had to meet the master who had inspired our beautiful day, and we wanted him to be a part of that, a part of the rest of our lives.  We reached the gallery, still in our wedding attire,  which created a bit of attention.  We spoke to the master of love of expressing the deeper meanings of life through his art, of his days of training at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, about botanical gardens, nature, and true love.  He then took the time to create two red fans, one with my name and one with my husband’s, and as he handed them to us he thanked us.  Tears welled up in my eyes, I’m just like that, and we thanked him.  We made plans to come back the following year to see the master, and we headed out, headed out to the streets of Chinatown, and to the streets that will make up the rest of lives.