I spent the night with Elvis

Okay, so it wasn't the whole night, only about ninety minutes. It wasn't the real Elvis, but this guy, Elvis impersonator Steve Sogura (who was incredibly and surprisingly good):<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ3ntw8LnRQW2sHWHv5M9QvAaYU1n8KAgJA9c4X9MhHCO3hFnAmpTTKPPANRMOrgxyk0I8CJ2N_MQDg_MzEe3VqefjHmPKknjMBJCIFQ7TuIQXAA1c4QrfXyAMLGbtICHuckYASDmUgZ-Y/s1600/elvis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ3ntw8LnRQW2sHWHv5M9QvAaYU1n8KAgJA9c4X9MhHCO3hFnAmpTTKPPANRMOrgxyk0I8CJ2N_MQDg_MzEe3VqefjHmPKknjMBJCIFQ7TuIQXAA1c4QrfXyAMLGbtICHuckYASDmUgZ-Y/s400/elvis.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br />It was our 23rd wedding anniversary yesterday. We usually try to do something different or special on our anniversary because it is a special day (Lord only knows how we made it this far).<br /><br />Since I can't travel (my flight benefits are suspended - which is fine), my husband wanted to go to the Muckleshoot Casino for their all-you-can-eat seafood buffet. Personally, I'd almost rather have my eyes poked out with a sharp stick.<br /><br />a.) I hate casinos. The noise, the smoking, and watching people that you know can't afford it throwing away good money is all almost more than I can stand. I'm not a gambler and personally, I just do not understand the entertainment value. I've tried it a few times and thought it was boring and a waste of money (obviously Ive never won anything substantial).<br /><br />b.) All-you-can-eat seafood buffet. Need I say more?<br /><br />In an effort to be more fun, I agreed to go. A few weeks ago my husband told me that my constant diet and exercise really has had a negative impact on our lives all these years, and he was tired of it (not of me, I guess--just my relationship with food and how I often don't want to do food related activities). He doesn't get it.<br /><br />I could write a very long post on the previous paragraph but since I only have one good hand, I'll spare you for now.<br /><br />My review of the Muckleshoot Casino food -  yuk! Bad food. I didn't know it was peel your own shrimp and crack your own crab. With only one hand that is almost impossible. My husband offered to do it for me but I didn't like the shrimp (mushy and tasted funny) and the crab was super salty so after one bite I was done with the crab.<br /><br />My dinner was Northwest salmon (wild Alaskan Chinook is better), smoked salmon (too salty), a few shrimp, a big pile of perfectly steamed broccoli, and cantaloupe and honeydew melon for dessert.<br /><br />In spite of the food not quite being what we expected, we had a really good time. We decided to go to the free show, the Elvis impersonator, Steve Sogura (from Ravensdale, WA). It sounded a little cheesy and I didn't expect much. I was shocked at how much he sounded, looked and moved like a young Elvis. Especially the voice. He had it down perfectly. My husband, a rather harsh critic, loved the show. I'd highly recommend it (skip the buffet).<br /><br />Weight this morning, a new low (well, at least this time around): 183.4.<br /><br />By the way, you'll notice no pictures of me for a while. I had a hair catastrophe earlier this week. A bang trim that butchered my bangs. Almost an inch and a half above my eyebrows, and ash blond on my golden blond hair. I have an appointment to get the color fixed (with my regular color person). The bangs, well, I guess they'll grow. Long story on what happened. Anyway, I'm camera shy right now.<br /><br />Funny thing, two days after my bad hair experince, Jen, Prior Fat Girl, wrote this <a href="http://www.priorfatgirl.com/2011/08/i-am-not.html">post </a>with the video, " I Am Not My Hair" by India Arie. Made me smile.<br /><br /><br />

I spent the night with Elvis

Okay, so it wasn't the whole night, only about ninety minutes. It wasn't the real Elvis, but this guy, Elvis impersonator Steve Sogu...

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IF NOT THE ECONOMIC CRISES, THEN BE IT LA NIÑA….. SI NO LA CRISIS ECONÓMICA, ENTONCES SERA LA NIÑA ... ..

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">LATIN AMERICAS ECONOMY IS BOOMING, A FACT NOT MANY WANT TO ACCEPT……</span><br /><span lang="ES" style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: blue;">LA ECONOMÍA DE AMÉRICA LATINA ESTÁ EN AUGE, HECHO QUE NO MUCHOS QUIEREN ACEPTAR ... ...</span></span><br /> <br /> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="266" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UBaXM8elJb0?feature=player_embedded" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>http://www.latameconomy.org/en/outlook/ </b></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">It is interesting to see how certain mainstream media, under the influence of lobbyists, try to anything to manipulate opinion of the reader by portraying certain topics in biased ways.</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">One such example is “The Economist” a reputable weekly magazine based in the UK. Reputable only when <u>not</u> covering Latin America, for when it comes to eco – political topics regarding Latin America and especially Argentina it becomes evident that “The Economist” follows a certain agenda which clearly is bias and manipulated by other entities.</span></div><div style="color: blue;"><span lang="ES" style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Es interesante ver cómo algunos medios de comunicación, bajo la influencia de los grupos de presión, intentan cualquier cosa para manipular a la opinión del lector al presentar algunos temas de manera sesgada.<br /> </span></div></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="ES" style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: orange;">Un ejemplo es "The Economist", una revista semanal de buena reputación en el Reino Unido. Reputación intachable sólo cuando no cubre América Latina, por lo que se refiere a los temas eco políticos de América Latina y de Argentina en particular se hace evidente que "The Economist" sigue un programa determinado que claramente es sesgado y manipulado por otras entidades.</span><br style="color: orange;" /><span style="color: orange;"> </span><br /> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgLCZQFn8-JWV4hsfnlVe06ChaMS_HbY7ftef5OU5BQMsLX4X2GXb4LzWu0GV59EzW2o5lWrWqGMGJWZ4fAfxI_y-aVNKdyz4E5uYdpYQUa8w7UxO4NUoOMzQ8fFWtx2-234R3iLnCQ_YF/s1600/1313039624204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgLCZQFn8-JWV4hsfnlVe06ChaMS_HbY7ftef5OU5BQMsLX4X2GXb4LzWu0GV59EzW2o5lWrWqGMGJWZ4fAfxI_y-aVNKdyz4E5uYdpYQUa8w7UxO4NUoOMzQ8fFWtx2-234R3iLnCQ_YF/s320/1313039624204.jpg" width="297" /></a>On August 13^th the magazine published an article on Latin Americas economy in which one realizes, even if one is not an economist, how the article is manipulative and bias, simply because certain entities clearly envy the economic progress the continent is experiencing.       </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the article the usual rhetoric’s about the threat of overheating economy and high inflation is dominating the story. According to The Economist, Brazil’s inflation is 6.9% above the target. What the article does not mention is that in comparison Europe faces similar high inflation numbers with the UK, “The Economists” home base, reaching 4.4%!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue; text-align: justify;"><span lang="ES" style="font-size: large;">El 13 de agosto, la revista publicó un artículo sobre la economía de América Latina en la que uno se da cuenta, incluso si uno no es economista, que el artículo es manipulativo, simplemente porque algunas entidades claramente envidian, el progreso económico  que el continente está experimentando.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="color: blue; text-align: justify;"><span lang="ES" style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Este artículo está dominado por la retórica habitual sobre la amenaza del recalentamiento de la economía y la alta inflación. Según The Economist, la inflación de Brasil es de 6,9% por encima del objetivo. Lo que el artículo no menciona es que en comparación Europa enfrenta números similares de inflación alta en el Reino Unido,base de operación de  "los economistas", alcanzando el 4,4%!</span></div></div><span lang="ES" style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"> <br /> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">When it comes to Argentina and its economic growth, political and financial lobbyists of various political and corporate entities are clearly annoyed by the way the country is advancing, although being expelled from the INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MARKETS.  Argentina has refused to adhere to IMF doctrine and subsequently was able to grow economically and developed independent policies. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span lang="ES" style="color: orange; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Cuando se trata de la Argentina y su crecimiento económico, los grupos de presión política y financiera de las distintas entidades políticas y corporativas están claramente molestos por la forma en que el país está avanzando, a pesar de ser expulsados </span><span lang="ES" style="color: orange; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">​​</span><span lang="ES" style="color: orange; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">de los mercados financieros</span><span lang="ES" style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: orange;"> internacionales. Argentina se ha negado a adherirse a la doctrina del FMI y, posteriormente, fue capaz de crecer económicamente y desarrollar políticas independientes.</span><br style="color: orange;" /><span style="color: orange;"> </span><br /> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Reading the article it becomes imminent that “The Economist” promotes the views and stances of the IMF and mainstream economic models which cater for the “casino finance” markets and its speculators. This becomes evident when praising Chile, the only country in Latin America which adheres strictly to USA and IMF doctrines and subsequently is suffering its worst political and economic crisis in LATAM.</span><br /><div style="color: blue;"><span lang="ES" style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Leyendo el artículo se hace inminente que "The Economist" promueve las opiniones y posturas del FMI y principales modelos económicos que atienden al "casino financiero” de  los mercados y sus especuladores. Esto se hace evidente cuando alabando a Chile, el único país de América Latina, que se adhiere estrictamente a las doctrinas de EE.UU. y el FMI quien posteriormente, está sufriendo su peor crisis política y económica en LATAM. </span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The British magazine praises Chile for having gone furthest in <b>rising taxes</b> and cut its fiscal deficit to 1.8% of GDP this year. What they don’t mention is that part of the recent protest in Chile was not only about <b>budget cuts in education</b>, (</span><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">See my recent posting dated 13th August 2011)</span><span style="font-size: large;"> one of the main IMF demands from governments utilizing its grants, but also because the current government has done little to nothing in infrastructure improvements in the wake of last year’s earthquake. </span><br /><span lang="ES" style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: orange;">La revista británica elogia a Chile por haber llegado más lejos en el aumento de los impuestos y reducir su déficit fiscal a 1,8% del PIB este año. Lo que no mencionan es que parte de la reciente protesta en Chile no sólo fue generada por los recortes presupuestarios en educación, (ver la reciente publicación de fecha XXX) una de las principales demandas del FMI a los gobiernos que utilizan sus donaciones, sino también porque el actual gobierno ha hecho poco o nada en mejoras de infraestructura a raíz del terremoto del año pasado.</span><br /> <br /> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the wake of economic growth in the region and a stagnating economy in the USA and Europe, eco- political lobbyists and policy makers do their utmost to portray LATAM as unstable economic entity. Thus it becomes evident that the IMF utilizes media propaganda tactics to spread uncertainty regarding LATAM economy by forecasting a fall in LATAMS growth to 3.5% next year and just 3% in 2013, which in view of some LATAM economists seems somewhat exaggerated.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span lang="ES" style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: orange;">Debido al crecimiento económico en la región y el estancamiento de la economía en los EE.UU. y Europa, los grupos de presión eco-políticos y los políticos hacen todo lo posible para retratar LATAM como entidad económica inestable. Así se pone de manifiesto que el FMI utiliza tácticas de los medios de propaganda para difundir la incertidumbre sobre la economía de LATAM en previsión de una caída en el crecimiento LATAMS al 3,5% el próximo año y sólo el 3% en 2013, que en opinión de algunos economistas LATAM parece algo exagerado.</span><br /> <br /> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The reason for biased media coverage and distorted market predictions regarding LATAM are because most of the current governments in LATAM distance themselves from IMF and “Wall Street Casino Finance” doctrines thus denying the “big players of the establishment” a larger portion of the economic cake available in LATAM. </span><br /><div style="color: blue;"><span lang="ES" style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">La razón del sesgo de los medios de comunicación y las predicciones de distorsión del mercado con respecto a LATAM se deben a que la mayoría de los gobiernos de turno de LATAM se distancian de las doctrinas del FMI y del "Wall Street Casino Finanzas" negando así a los "grandes jugadores de la creación" una mayor porción de la tarta económica disponible en LATAM.<br /><br /> </span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">How desperate these entities are to portray a negative outlook for LATAM becomes evident when MercoPress, a Uruguayan based online newspaper published an article which claims that the “</span><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">La Niña</span><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">” weather pattern currently forming might threaten crops in Argentina and Brazil, reducing productivity and export, subsequently effecting economic growth in the region.</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue;"><span lang="ES" style="font-size: large;">¿Qué tan desesperadas están estas entidades para retratar un panorama negativo para LATAM se hace evidente cuando MercoPress, un diario uruguayo online publicó un artículo que afirma que "La Niña", fenómeno climático que actualmente se está  formando puede poner en peligro las cosechas de Argentina y Brasil, reduciendo la productividad y las exportaciones, subsecuentemente afectando el crecimiento económico en la región.</span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><u><b>Food for thought on IMF doctrines: </b></u> </span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="266" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rpkGhy7BxXw?feature=player_embedded" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Also see : </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.mercopress.com/2011/08/17/la-nina-threatens-brazil-and-argentina-crops-says-oil-world">http://en.mercopress.com/2011/08/17/la-nina-threatens-brazil-and-argentina-crops-says-oil-world</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.economist.com/world/americas">http://www.economist.com/world/americas</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div>

IF NOT THE ECONOMIC CRISES, THEN BE IT LA NIÑA….. SI NO LA CRISIS ECONÓMICA, ENTONCES SERA LA NIÑA ... ..

LATIN AMERICAS ECONOMY IS BOOMING, A FACT NOT MANY WANT TO ACCEPT…… LA ECONOMÍA DE AMÉRICA LATINA ESTÁ EN AUGE, HECHO QUE NO MUCHOS QUIEREN ...

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