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Month: January 2016

FavFotoFriday: Brown Snake Eagle

The brown snake eagle is the subject of this week’s #FavFotoFriday post. I spotted it atop a tree in the savannah in Kenya. The safari truck was on the move at the time so I had to shoot this picture in haste. I was pleased that the bird of prey was in focus, but only just, as the top of the tree bearing its fruits is also in sharp focus. This is what Wikipedia has to say about the brown snake eagle – The brown snake eagle (Circaetus cinereus) is a species of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family. found in Southern and Eastern Africa, in countries such as Sudan, South Africa, Mauritania and Senegal. The brown snake eagle feeds mainly on snakes, being able to kill…

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How to Earn Money Online in Retirement or at Any Time of Life

Oh Boy! The internet is chock full of ideas on how to earn money online. I say “Oh Boy” because it can become so  time-consuming keeping track of this or that idea to  earn ‘smart passive income’ (SPI) or make a million bucks through blogging! My article in an expat retirement magazine was on the subject of how to supplement your income in retirement. Like many expats living in a foreign country, there is a double need to supplement pension income in retirement. First, it helps to enjoy a few “extras” in life, but more importantly, it keeps the grey matter from clogging up. I am not in the category of either wishing to earn mega bucks or believing that it is easy. Especially, if you are seeking to…

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How To Drive Like an Idiot in Bacolod

How to Drive Like an Idiot in Bacolod How to Drive Like an Idiot in Bacolod is the title of my new eBook shortly to be published. I acknowledge that the use of the word ‘idiot’ was inspired by a  Bacolod Facebook Group called I Park Like An Idiot. It is based on the series of articles that I posted here on my blog last year. There are additional chapters including one dealing with issues like corruption at the LTO and how it adversely impacts upon our safety on the highways, byways and streets of the Philippines. Of course, the use of the word ‘idiot’ in the title is tongue-in-cheek! There are plenty of drivers in the idiot category without anyone telling them how to become an…

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Word Wednesday Fun: Quagmire

Quagmire! What a great word! It’s such a great word that I didn’t bother with the Urban Dictionary this week owing to the wealth of information in Merriam-Webster, although there was one hilarious submission in the UB (as usual). Used by President Obama in his State of the Union speech may have got tongues wagging? I bet he knew what it meant. I doubt whether Donald Trump knows even though he would be in a quagmire of his own making if he actually did shoot someone 🙂 Simple Definition Popularity: Top 1% of lookups : an area of soft, wet ground : a situation that is hard to deal with or get out of : a situation that is full of problems Full Definition 1: …

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Bein Sports, Bacolod and the Hat Trick Sports Grill

Thank goodness for the Hat Trick Sports Grill  Bar in Bacolod run by Miguel Luis Rivero. He’s my hero! Some of you may know that I have been waging what seemed like a solitary campaign to receive Bein Sports channels in Bacolod. Bein Sports hold the rights from the English Premier League to broadcast English footy in the Philippines. It not only shows English football but also games from all over Europe including Champions’ League games.  Europe is where the best players in the world ply their trade. Think Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Neymar, Christiano Ronaldo, Aguero, Yaya Toure, Eden Hazard and Philippe Coutinho. My campaign is a long and weary one met with frustration at every turn. Read here  for the full story. I…

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Busy as a Bee, Me

Busy is Good Right? Busy is better than nothing! I can assure you of that. When I first started as a freelance writer, I worried when the first client was going to appear. Click! It happened, and I have been busy for some time now. My writing is divided into categories – my own books, my blog here, and freelance article writing. It’s the latter that attracts immediate payment. The freelance article writing has now transformed into re-writing eBooks and ghostwriting an eBook from scratch. On top of that, I write my regular articles for an international website in addition to regular guest posts for Retiring to the Philippines. I don’t like to turn any work down. I have been described as a prolific writer, so that…

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Soul

The soul can mean many things. The word has connotations with music, for example. We have heard of soul food, soulmate, the life and soul of the party. In my writing, I strive to connect with my soul, an inner force. I feel that my best words derive from true feelings, a passion, my innermost convictions and beliefs. This connection cannot be switched on and off like a TV set. Nor is it easy to surf different channels with the remote until I find the “soul” channel. Rachel Toor recently wrote – “How do you help someone learn to write with “soul”? What does that even mean? What does it look like on the page? Pascal said, “When we see a natural style, we are astonished…

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FavFotoFriday: Sunsets

Sunsets fascinate most people. They fascinate me, that’s for sure. I guess it’s mostly about the colours. The sky and clouds take on a different hue, as does the ocean, the mountains and everything else the setting sun touches. There is something quite magical, mystical and soulful about a sunset. As you get older, does it remind you of your own mortality? Or, are you a believer in “another day, another dollar”? However you choose to view the glory of a sunset and no matter whether it prompts you into introspection, it surely cannot be denied that they are one of the wonders of nature. The picture above was taken with my iPhone, not the best smartphone camera, but it has captured the mood perfectly…

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Word Wednesday Fun – Erudition

Erudition is today’s fun word. Hey, word lovers! I have changed the title of the series to ‘Word Wednesday Fun’. Words are fun despite my English Language master (yes, we called the teacher ‘master’) doing his utmost to destroy my love of language. English Literature was fun. I loved Dickens ‘Tale of Two Cities’. I never read Tolstoy’s  ‘War and Peace’ from start to finish (too long). French was a subject I loved at school and studied one of the French literary greats. I read  La Plague by Albert Camus in its entirety – in French. Probably because I thought it would stand me in good stead to chat up a pretty French girl! Non! Albert Camus taught me much – “You will never be…

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“I Have a Dream”

“I Have a Dream” is possibly one of the most iconic speeches of all time. Maybe you feel the same way when you listen to the words – goosebumps! Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a man with a vision – a world united no matter what colour, creed, race, religion or any other differences that bigots zone in on. To hold hands and declare we are mankind. It was a speech set in a time of racial segregation, racial hatred and injustice. I am reminded of that speech by Danielle Des. I met Danielle through a bloggers’ group on Facebook’s “Cafe Blog.” She is a talented lady who not only writes great stuff but she can dance – and how! This is what Danielle…

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