February 2016 - Expat In Bacolod

Cancer: A Survivor’s Remarkable Story

Published by Stephen Bentley on February 29, 2016

Cancer survivors’ stories are welcome good news in a world full of gloom and celebrity tittle tattle. This survivor’s story is remarkable in every sense of that word. His name is Mel Mann. This briefly is his story – Mel was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia in January 1995 and given three years to live. The only possible hope for survival was a bone marrow transplant. Despite numerous marrow drives and adding thousands of people to the marrow registry, he never found a donor. Three years after diagnosis, he entered the phase 1 clinical trial of Gleevec (imatinib) at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Over twenty years later, he is their longest living Gleevec patient. Mel’s full story can be read at…

Friends, I’ll Be There For You

Published by Stephen Bentley on February 26, 2016

Friends? There is an old saying along the lines of, “who needs family when you have good friends?” “I’ll Be There For You (Theme From Friends)” Lyrics courtesy of Azlyrics.com So no one told you life was gonna be this way Your job’s a joke, you’re broke, your love life’s D.O.A. It’s like you’re always stuck in second gear When it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month, or even your year, but I’ll be there for you (When the rain starts to pour) I’ll be there for you (Like I’ve been there before) I’ll be there for you (‘Cause you’re there for me too) That old saying is intended to be a rhetorical question and acknowledges that many experience moments when friends can be…

FavFotoFriday: Wonderful World

Published by Stephen Bentley on February 26, 2016

Wonderful World sounds like a cue for a song! Wrong! It’s the cue for this week’s theme in #FavFotoFriday inspired by my blogging friend Sandy of Scribbles and Musings. As Sandy has pointed out to me, I am fortunate enough to have traveled fairly extensively and visited some wonderful countries and places. It’s difficult for me to select a favorite place or even favorite places as I have marveled at so many in my travels. Each is unique. I am forcing myself to limit it to two choices although it could have been twenty, forty or more! Wonderful World Choice One … has to be Hong Kong especially the harbor. It’s a hive of activity with the ferry boats and all kinds of craft large and small…

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Blog or Author Website?

Published by Stephen Bentley on February 25, 2016

The question in the title (blog or author website?) may seem a little cryptic to some. Most people understand what a blog is. It can be many things – a personal diary or orientated toward fashion, music, photography or a million and one other things. Some pose as blogs but are trying to sell you something. That’s fine as long as it’s all transparent (but many aren’t). Yes, I have affiliate links on my blog but that’s not trying to sell you something. It’s a gentle nudge that if you are in the market for the products and services that I endorse, then use my links as I may as well receive the small commission rather than someone else. That is one of the reasons…

Word Wednesday Fun: Bizarre

Published by Stephen Bentley on February 24, 2016

Bizarre is a word that is often not associated with fun, and of course, fun is an integral part of the #WordWednesdayFun series. I was recently accused of behaving bizarrely and that wasn’t funny particularly as it was applied to me by someone I believed was a friend. I suppose if disagreeing with an accusation then trying to explain on three occasions; then walking off as a result of a complete failure to listen to my explanation, nay, a total failure to hear me out is bizarre, then so be it! My conscience is clear. Once more folks I follow the usual pattern with the Merriam-Webster definition first then the Urban Dictionary. I wonder if that will be bizarre? adjective bi·zarre \bə-ˈzär\ Simple Definition Popularity: Top 30%…

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Why You May Miss Me

Published by Stephen Bentley on February 21, 2016

Miss me? I hope you do, at least, a little. Don’t worry if you are the worrying kind, I’m fine. It’s just that the blog may not be as active as usual for a couple of reasons. One, I’m changing hosting provider and that may result in some downtime but hopefully, it won’t be for long. Secondly, I’m so damn busy! Like all of us, I have to prioritise and unfortunately something has got to give. The thing that comes lowest on my list of priorities is this blog. Shock! Horror! It’s not that I don’t like chatting to and engaging with all you folks out there – I do enjoy it – but somethings pay the bills and this blog doesn’t fall into that category.…

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FavFotoFriday: Nature

Published by Stephen Bentley on February 19, 2016

Nature is the theme of this week’s #FavFotoFriday series. Thanks once more to Sandy of Scribbles and Musings for inspiring me to run this series. For the purpose of today’s post the meaning of “nature” will be given a broad interpretation. The above picture was taken looking out to Navarre Beach on Florida’s Panhandle coast. It was the onset of a tropical storm. One moment the sky was blue and a typical fine Florida day, then everything suddenly went black as if there had been an eclipse of the sun. There was not a breath of wind and the birds stopped singing. It was eerie and a reminder of the power of nature. The pelican was probably hungry! It appeared to be waiting for the fisherman to reel in…

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Word Wednesday Fun: Amok

Word Wednesday Fun: Amok

Published by Stephen Bentley on February 17, 2016

Amok is one of those words that you usually associate with one verb. In the case of amok, it is usually “run” or the past tense “ran.” The football hooligans ran amok in the streets in the wake of the fixture. That type of association applies to many words, for example, fail. As in, he failed spectacularly. Sometimes it is impossible to simply fail. It must be a “spectacular failure”! 🙂 Amok is one of those “funny” words in the English language. It just sounds funny despite almost always used in a non-humorous context. What I didn’t know prior to this post is that it is also a noun as well as an adverb. Following the usual pattern, here is the Merriam-Webster definition followed by the…

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Red or Blue? Confession Time

Red or Blue? Confession Time

Published by Stephen Bentley on February 12, 2016

Red and Blue – Only Colors Right? Red or Blue? What does it mean to you? Those two colors mean a lot to me. I got to thinking about the color blue earlier today, and it set my train of thought rushing along the tracks, whistle-a-blowing, steam wildly escaping and pistons clanging. The confession is nothing to do with the “blues” or depression. I have suffered bouts of that affliction in my life and believe I have finally vanquished the black dog. The “fessing” up is to do with my football team, Liverpool Football Club. They play in red. Bill Shankly made them play in an all red strip in the belief it made the players look bigger and stronger. Our city neighbors, Everton, play in blue. Royal…

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Fav Foto Friday: Kids Huh?

Published by Stephen Bentley on February 12, 2016

Kids Kids can be difficult subjects to photograph. I’m not one to set up posed pictures of people or objects. I am a voyeur behind the camera recording what I see au naturel. That is what I strive for. Although some of today’s pictures may look posed, I can assure you they weren’t. The moments were captured through a mix of patience, observation and shooting many frames until the subject was no longer conscious of the camera. Thank you once more to Sandy of Scribbles and Musings for the #FavFotoFriday idea. This young lady was in tantrum mode. I love this shot because you can clearly see that look of juvenile defiance in her eyes. The above picture looks posed but isn’t. The subject was notorious for…

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Month: February 2016