The first part of my life had felt like the last scene in La Dolce Vita, where Mastroianni is on a beach, and a little boy is talking to him, and he can’t hear a single word.  I had been living in my art, that was certain, but never could enter into the things of the world.  My sentiments, deeper thoughts, and dreams, were all the stuff of work, to be tempted to move from their state as raw material into something that I could play with and draw patterns on.  I was lost in a maze that the past few decades had created, and no longer cared who was responsible for all the knots.  This would be a perfect opportunity to get to Singapore, and see what a new perspective might offer.

Sitting in a restaurant where Italian food sparks up the place, feeding ethereal as well as physical hungers, is something close to paradise.  It doesn’t take long to get there, and it’s always a luxurious wait when you are finally smelling garlic roasting and eating small bits of bread to save your appetite.  I knew how to eat, however, and didn’t need more opportunities, and actually could have been able to skip a meal like a camel skipping water.  No one would notice, and it might be better for the long travel ahead.  But I am unable to say no to some things.

It would be similar enough to paradise to count as such, then, to celebrate a landmark birthday, this kind of passage, that means a simple transition is to be made, or perhaps that one had already been crossed.  In this case, however, I am resigned philosophically to days of contemplation and the memory of the girls in the summer dresses, but instead I am dancing in the fountain with Ekberg.  This shift is not simply related to the garlic, but is, rather, the direct result, and opens the place where we can hear the words of children.

Midlife in Singapore is a post from: Elixirs, Food, Drinks, and More....

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This was a morning that Singapore would remember.  Cities have memories, they have to.  There is no way that all that pavement, metal, wood and dirt can all work as one constantly shifting organism without their being some kind of sense of identity that develops.  Singapore’s identity is very large, and vast, to be sure, but it’s also a place where there are energies in motion that move toward simplicity every moment.

It’s hard to keep this in mind on some mornings, when there’s still a memory of the taste of the Japanese food from the night before, and a general feeling that this place is filled with possibilities and it’s not a bad idea to try them all.  This was the kind of notion running through my head when I was out and about, enjoying a morning tea and seeing sights, when there was talk about a big event in town, and one of the Buddhist centers was sending people around to look into it.  I was not there, wherever it happened, they say it was close to where I was staying.  But  I don’t know exactly what happened, and when it came to details, no one was willing to tell me much, because these things are kept secret.  Only practitioners can know some of the best gossip, it seems.  Besides, I wasn’t of a mind to investigate, because I had felt a little groggy still from the night before, and wanted to just clear my head and go to the river.  However, I did think it was polite to listen to explanations while they were being offered.

Apparently there is something in Vajrayna doctrine, if it can be called doctrine, about enlightenment and a relationship with lighting.  It is considered to be a perfectly normal occurrence, but anyone who experiences it would think it mystical.  In fact, the feeling is so profound, they say, that there is usually a long period of denial.  I didn’t press the issue beyond this, and went off on my way.  Interestingly, in Singapore, there are more thunderstones in some other places, because they were all up and down the path to the river, and I thought that this was a charming way to begin another day here.

Statues in Singapore is a post from: Elixirs, Food, Drinks, and More....

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In that enviable rank of five-star, Madrid hotels have a natural advantage over the rest of the world.  It is one of the most splendid cities on the planet, in one of the most fascinating countries in the world.  The hotels here are, not surprisingly, a generous combination of grace and luxury, with some of the most cutting edge design and outstanding customer service that give Spain a reputation for hospitality.  The hospitality here is as remarkable as the culture, with a vast array of museums and galleries, and performance spaces that offer the best in world theatre, music, and dance.  Then there are the sumptuous restaurants, offering the best in world cuisine, where all of these things of high culture can be discussed.

One of the icon’s of culture in Madrid is the actress Carmen Maura.  She was born in Madrid and began her film work in 1969, with the short, El Espiritu.  Carmen Maura has been in a hundred films since then, and has worked with most of Spain’s most prominent directors, making her one of the most visible faces in contemporary Spanish cinema.  She has won multiple awards, including the European Film Festival Best Actress Award twice.  The second time was for her work in Ay, Carmela!, where she played an entertainer during the Spanish Civil War.  This was directed by one of the most important names in world cinema, Carlos Saura.

Her most popular work, however, has been with the extremely influential Pedro Almódovar.  Almódovar met Carmen Maura when they were working on a theatrical production of Sartre’s Dirty Hands, and they worked together on his first film, Pepi, Luci, Bom, in 1980.  There have been multiple projects since then, and her most famous work, perhaps, was in his Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, which brought them both international attention and acclaim.  Her own position in the history of Spain, having turned 30 when Franco died, makes her a particularly apt actress for Almódovar’s films, because she lived through a time when the traditions of hospitality and chivalry were starting to show their seams.  Identity and liberation were pushed to their limits under the old-world notions, and generations of young people around the world would look for possible escape routes where the individual could find possibilities rather than repression.  It is this link that makes her work in his films so remarkable on a meta-cinematic level, and her expertise as an actress that makes them work in the purely artistic sphere.  Her work is still going strong, and it will be fascinating to see what the next decades will bring for this magnificent artist.

Madrid’s Carmen Maura is a post from: Elixirs, Food, Drinks, and More....

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The Dubai Municipality is usually referred to as Dubai City in order to distinguish it from Dubai the emirate. Dubai has become the jewel of the United Arab Emirates and a center of business, tourism, and entertainment for the entire Middle East.

In recent years the city has become a desert paradise for business and leisure travelers.  The government has worked with developers to attract business and tourists. The city is full of modern high rise offices, entertainment venues, and climate-controlled shopping malls and designer boutiques. The Dubai UAE luxury hotels offer every modern convenience and technology and many of the top chefs in the world have opened restaurants in the city, bringing global cuisines to this former trading post.

While Dubai is full of architectural and historic landmarks, it is the beaches and coastal resorts that attract the most visitors.  In order to increase the available shoreline, Dubai has built several artificial islands that are home to even more resorts, shops, theaters, golf courses, and even a water park and an indoor ski slope.

Sports have become big business in Dubai. Golf, cricket, tennis, rugby, and horse racing are all popular in Dubai. International tournaments and competitions are held in venues around the city. The Dubai Sports City is expected to open in 2010 and house 50 million square feet of competition space as well as sports academies.

Where else can you go windsurfing or scuba diving one day and dune bashing the next? Haggle with a merchant at a souk in the morning and leisurely stroll through a huge shopping mall in the afternoon? Take a camel ride and then have dinner in a world class restaurant? Dubai city offers a wide range of experiences to visitors from all over the world.

Dubai City is a post from: Elixirs, Food, Drinks, and More....

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Beginning during the Spanish Civil War, and since hundreds of years prior, into antiquity, Majorca has had to fight in defense.  Being and island, attacks happened from all sides.  Majorca had to defend itself throughout much of history.  Now known as a popular tourist site just off the coast of Mainland Spain, with beach resorts, and 5 star hotel Majorca, and spas, this islands history is hard to imagine.  As early as 124 BC the island has been occupied.  Under the rule of Italy the economy did flourish.  Majorca is still known for its production and cultivation of olive trees, wineries and salt mines.  Then, in 534 the island was overtaken by the Byzantine Empire.  Churches were built during this time, and it was a period of religious transformation, as most of the churches were of the Christian faith.  Beginning in the early 7th century the island was being attacked by armies from various Muslim countries, Africa being the main invaders.

The list of wars and invasions goes on and on.  From the development of industry, agriculture, tourism, and irrigation this island has overcome the history of turmoil.  In 1983, the city of Palma, located on the island of Majorca, became the capital city of all the Balearic Islands.  Since the early fifties, tourism has increasingly flourished.  What was once an island of chaos and war, is now a destination sought out and ventured to by all of Europe, and the rest of the world as well, as a place of tranquil beauty and peaceful summer days.  Tourism has changed the local colour of the island in that more people are visiting, and more people are moving to Majorca in search of jobs in the booming industry.  Traditions are still held, local festivals dating back to paleolithic times are still celebrated, but it is all just a bit more economically driven.  And now, instead of invaders traveling from such countries as Italy, South America and Africa, there are workers from such countries, seeking jobs and a peaceful way of life that had for so many years, alluded those living on the island. Now days, there are the resorts and the restaurants and shops, offering up to summer and winter vacationers, strolls through the towns, the beaches and the vast landscape.

Changing Times for Majorca is a post from: Elixirs, Food, Drinks, and More....

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Police are to be given new powers to confiscate alcohol from under-18s who drink in public, the UK Home Office has confirmed.

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Boozy Teens To Have Drink Taken Away is a post from: Elixirs, Food, Drinks, and More....

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Budget airlines began flying the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route Friday, ending 30 years of dominance by the national carriers and, observers say, opening the way for wider liberalisation of the region’s air corridors.

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First budget flights take off on KL-Singapore route is a post from: Elixirs, Food, Drinks, and More....

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