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The Chinese love of gambling is well known; yet what is less well-known is that there are few casinos operating anywhere in China, including Hong Kong. The government of China has a somewhat negative attitude towards casinos, and gambling more generally, and discourages it wherever possible. Therefore, Hong Kong casinos get around this official prohibition in a number of ingenious ways.

Although there are no officially sanctioned Hong Kong casinos, gambling in Hong Kong is actually remarkably easy. The most obvious method of gambling is to go to nearby Macao; the former Portuguese enclave is only a short hydrofoil ride away, less than an hour from Hong Kong. In Macao, gambling is not only permitted, but it is the prime attraction for tourists visiting from Hong Kong and elsewhere. There is an official age limit of 21, and passports are required for the journey, but otherwise, Hong Kong gamblers will find the trip to Macao more than worthwhile - always provided they win, of course!

There are a large number of casinos in Macao that cater to every type of gambler, whether they are playing for high stakes or low, and however dressed. China is well aware that many people come to Macao for the gambling, including thousands of tourists from Hong Kong, and so China is happy to permit the sport to continue. Indeed, Chinese people are well known for their addiction to gambling of all sorts, and consequently, the casinos are almost always full.

Another aspect of the Hong Kong casino scene is offshore gambling, which allows Hong Kong tourists to gamble on board specially appointed cruise ships and boats in international waters off the coast of Hong Kong, thus getting around the rules that prevent the existence of Hong Kong casinos. Publicity for these cruises rarely features gambling very prominently, but nonetheless, there are many operators offering voyages that include the opportunity to gamble at leisure in an onboard casino. Of course, these journeys also offer the chance to enjoy spectacular views of Hong Kong harbor when entering and leaving the former colony. As a result, these voyages are extremely well subscribed to and growing in popularity every year. They are an enjoyable addition to the usual itinerary of the visitor to Hong Kong, and accordingly, there are plenty of opportunities for tourists visiting Hong Kong to enjoy the excitement and glamor of visiting a casino and indulging in this most Chinese of pastimes.

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One of the more inexplicable details in the movie version of The Phantom of the Opera consists of Christine confessing to her friend Meg that when she and Raoul were children, he nicknamed her Little Lotte. Lotte was a common diminutive nickname for Charlotte, not Christine. It seems that the dialogue was added simply to explain to the audience why they then sing a duet about Little Lotte.

So why does Andrew Lloyd Webber have a duet about Little Lotte in his musical, then? Simple. It’s in the original story by Gaston Leroux.

Now we get to the crux of the issue. In the 1980’s, when Phantom first debuted, no one knew who Little Lotte was. The offhand reference in the lyrics made no sense to most theatre-goers. But at the time when Leroux was writing his book, readers would have known exactly what he was referring to.

Little Lotte is a parlor game, similar to Twenty Questions, where one person knows the answer, and other people try to guess it. But in this case, the person lists three items, and the others must guess which of the three Little Lotte prefers. The secret is hinted at by the name of the game — Little Lotte prefers items with double consonents in their names.

So now, we have the lyrics: Little Lotte thought am I fonder of dolls or of goblins or shoes?

The correct answer should be dolls because it has the double-L. Since they both know the answer, they don’t bother answering, merely posing the next set.

Or of riddles or frocks? Or of chocolates?

Again, Lotte would prefer riddles, because of the double-D.

You can see why the game quickly fell out of favor. Once you know the secret, there’s no challenge. And that’s why modern theatre-goers needed an explanation for who Little Lotte was.

Jennifer Dunne is a Phantom phan who was thrilled to discover a mention of Little Lotte in an old book of Victorian Parlor Games that she picked up at a used book sale. She also writes hot and heartwarming fiction books of her own, some inspired by the Phantom’s classic love story. Read excerpts and reviews at jenniferdunne.com jenniferdunne.com

If you are considering salsa dancing as a hobby sport there are tons of local dance schools in your area that offers salsa dance classes. But if you have decided that this is going to be your leisurely past-time hobby, you need to make sure you invest in the right pair of salsa shoes.
Sure you could try wearing a pair of running shoes but most likely the rubber on the bottoms will not allow your feet to smoothly move across the dance floor but also most dance studios only allow certain types of materials to touch their floors in order to avoid damage or scuffing of their floor area.

Need to find the right salsa dance shoe? Than follow these salsa dance shoe tips:

Thin suede or leather shoes are highly recommended as these allow the feet to breathe but also allow the feet to move around freely within the shoe for comfortable transitions in movement. Although when you do begin dancing, you can start with any type of shoe with these characteristics (soft, comfortable leather). Once you begin salsa dancing on a regular basis, you’ll have to invest in a good pair of salsa shoes.

The Salsa Shoe:

Salsa shoes come in various styles and colors for both men and women. Most salsa shoe styles worn by famous salsa dancers are chosen to match a particular outfit. But if you are just taking up salsa dancing as a hobby you will only need to choose a shoe that’s comfortable so that you can wear them for your dance lessons.

But regardless of what salsa shoe style you choose, the fit and function of your shoe is essential.

Salsa shoes fit a bit more snuggly than other shoes. Made of leather, salsa shoes hug the feet but should not pinch or cause discomfort for the wearer. The shoe should fit as firmly as possible – hugging the natural contours of the foot. A good salsa shoe should fit as close as possible to the foot. If the feet are moving around in your shoes, this could lead to lack of control during dance but also may lead to injury. If your shoe is a bit loose, consider a smaller size. Your heel should completely hug the back of the shoe cup in order to maintain balance and poise.

So, get on those dancing shoes and begin your salsa dance lessons. Oh, but I forgot to mention, if you don’t have a salsa dance school near you or you’d rather learn and practice your salsa moves in the comfort of your own home, than check out www.salsadancedvd.com where you’ll get expert instruction and spend a fraction of what you’d pay taking local lessons.
Learn from master salsa dance instructors who have years of experience salsa dancing. This DVD is packed with lessons from beginner to advanced.
You’ll only find it here www.salsadancedvd.com.

Evan Margolin shares his passion for salsa through DanceSF, the premier salsa studio in the Bay Area, his Learn to Salsa DVDs ( salsadancedvd.com salsadancedvd.com) and SalsaCrazy.com/ SalsaCrazy.com, a comprehensive guide to salsa news and events in the Bay Area.

Learning how to express “pain” in
Thai can be quite useful when you
need to tell someone which part
of your body is in pain (i.e. to a
doctor when you’re in the clinic
or hospital).

It can be quite handy too when you need
to create an excuse or reason to
explain that you have certain “pain”
(e.g. headache).

Well, there are basically two Thai words that
describe pain in Thai. The first one
is the Thai verb, poo-what (ปวด) which means
pain, ache, sore or hurt. and the second one
is the Thai verb Jep (เจ็บ)
which also means pain, sore or hurt.

Using poo-what (ปวด) to express pain

Let’s learn how to use the poo-what (ปวด)
to express which part of your
body hurt or ache. By the way,
please remember to practice the writing
Thai script below on a piece of paper.

Using poo-what is really
simple. Just put it right after a pronoun
and place the body part (noun) right
after the Thai verb poo-what.

Here are some simple examples on how
to use the Thai verb poo-what (ปวด) to
express pain:

ผม ปวด หัว
Chan poo-what huaa.
I (feminine) have headache.

ผม ปวด แขน
Pom poo-what khaaen.
My arm hurts.

ผม ปวด ตา
Pom poo-what dtaa
My eye hurts.

Notice the sentence structure in the 1st example.
Huaa actually means head. Literally translated
the sentence would mean “Me pain head” which
also means “My head hurts”.

The 2nd and 3rd examples are quite simple.
I merely just changed the last word (body part) so that
you can understand how easy it is to express
pain using poo-what.

Simple, right? Okay, now it’s your turn
to create a simple Thai sentence to express
that your nose hurt. You can use the
Thai word ja muuk (จมูก) which means nose.

ผม ปวด ตา
Pom poo-what ja_muuk
My nose hurts.

Using Jep (เจ็บ) to express pain

Okay, now it’s time to create longer
and more interesting Thai sentence to express
pain in Thai. Let’s use the Thai verb jeb (เจ็บ):

ผม เจ็บ
Pom jeb.
I’m hurt

ไม่เป็นไร นิ้ว ของ ผม เจ็บ นิดหน่อย เท่านั้น ค่ะ
Mai_pen_rai… niu kong pom jep nit nawwy thao_nan khrap.
Never mind… My fingers only hurt a little.

เขา ตก จาก บันได และ ขา ถูก เจ็บ
Khao dtohk jaak ban_dai lae khaa thuuk jep.
He fell from the roof and hurt his leg.

In the 2nd example, you will notice the famous
Thai phrase mai pen rai. In Thailand, you would often hear
Thai people saying “mai pen rai” which means
“It’s okay, no problem. Don’t worry, be happy.

Niu means fingers and nit nawwy means a little.
Nit is actually a Thai adjective meaning tiny
or very small while naawy is just a word
that is used to soften the meaning
of a sentence. Thao nan means only.

In the 3rd example, dtohk means to fall and
jaak means from. Ban dai means roof in Thai.
Lae is a Thai conjunction which means “and”.
Khaa means leg in Thai.

Thuu (ถูก) is actually a Thai verb or particle
that reflects passive voice. What does
that mean? Well, let’s take a look
at the following example to get a better idea:

เหมียว ของ ผม ถูก ขโมย ไป แล้ว
Mieow kong pom thuuk kha_mooy pai laeow.
My cat has been stolen.

Kha mooy means thief or burglar as a Thai noun
and “to steal, to pilfer or to buglarize” if it’s a Thai verb.

Notice how thuuk (ถูก) reflects the passive
voice in the sentence above.
Without thuuk the sentence would mean,
My cat went stealing already.

You can view the original article here at
( mythaisensei.com/thai_phrases/learn_thai_pain.html mythaisensei.com/thai_phrases/learn_thai_pain.html)

Copyright 2006 - RippaSama. You are free to reproduce this
article as long as no changes are made, the author’s name
is retained and the link to our site URL remains active.

———————————————————————————-
RippaSama is a passionate Thai language lover who just can’t
stop learning Thai when he is on fire. If you want to read
and learn more about his Thai language lessons and tips,
you can visit ( MyThaiSensei.com MyThaiSensei.com)
————————————————————————————

On a pleasant part of the Great Wall of China, outside of Beijing, stands a large complex, a chilly breeze crossing the top of the wall, its massive stone façade, stretches on both sides of me, a long dazzling length. Most recently it has become winter, and the people from all over the world, in particular young females from Japan, are notable and fashionable people on this wall; a half century ago, they were at war with each other, but everyone seems to speak a bit of English, more than I had expected.

My hotel and its modern tan skyscraper appearance are new looking compared to some of the buildings around it. In the early morning, the distant image of China, the city, hotel, and its old fortifications, called the Great Wall, that separated China from its enemies, filled my head with many thoughts on this chilly loud breathing morning. I stood on the wall, a minute to catch my breath, we had two hours here, and I wanted to climb the left section of it.

There was a fading prettiness, and isolatingness to the wall, but nothing was quite for the two hours being here. People crawled along on the solid stone up and down the wall like ants, while our buses waited in the lot area. A dew, mist like dew was in the air; trees in the far off distance swayed; horns I could her, people trying to park, several busses were now lined up in the parking lots, it was 1996, and the snaking, twisting wall was to me China itself.

The lady’s face that passed me, vanishing quickly, pretty, ran past me, she said, quick like: “Slowpoke,” her expression was both serene and alert in the pleasant way. However, my eyes moved so quickly to get a glance of her, who had a delightful pink and rosy face, in particular, her cheeks, lit to a lovely glow, whom gave me a stimulating flush, yet a cold slap in the face (I had heart surgery a few months ago, and couldn’t climb any faster, and it annoyed me to be called ‘slowpoke,’ when I had been in the Army eleven years and done every exercise under the sun in keeping fit, and here comes a slim trim woman, running past me like the Roadrunner, and slams me). I didn’t appreciate it in the least.

Her fine and smooth looking forehead sloped smoothly upward where her brownish hair bordered; her hair waved backwards—not real long, more blondish golden brown I should say. Her eyes were dull blue, not too big, not clear either, wet, and her color to her skin lilywhite, with a little used up tan in a few places; strong and young looking, but not too young, I was 38-years old, she was 30. Her body hovered delicately on the edge of perfect, no excessive fat, likened to eighteen year olds, complete, but with small breasts. She was perhaps three inches smaller than I; about five foot five inches tall I’d say. Thin with a hot look.

The wall wound up to a mountain peek, a summit of sorts, and there by one of its gates, was a camel of all things, I stopped, took a look, and climbed on top of it, got my picture taken, my hand in the air now, waving, waving as if I was the victor. And I suppose I was in a way, I made it to China. The camel also looked proud, perhaps to have a gringo between his two humps.

See Dennis’ web site: dennissiluk.tripod.com dennissiluk.tripod.com

Sports betting can be both fun and rewarding and many people particularly enjoy basketball gambling. However, just betting on your favorite team every time it plays may not be the best way to be successful. If you’re serious about winning at basketball gambling then you need to know what you’re doing. There are many factors that can affect the outcome of a basketball game and the overall record of the team is just one of those factors.

For example basketball gambling calls for you to know if there have been any injuries to key players that might affect their performance. If there have been, you’ll want to know how long the injury might last. When you want to engage in basketball gambling on a regular basis you’ll also want to know about such things as conflicts within the team and any factors that might affect the teams game against a specific opponent. For example, how does one team’s center or small forward match up against the opposing personnel?

In order to get the best insight on basketball gambling it’s often a good idea to consult with an expert in the field. Such an expert can provide you with the inside information you need to make the right bet. You’ll not only know what the line is for a game, but what factors figured into the setting of the line. All of this type of information helps increase your chances of winning and after all isn’t that what’s sports betting is all about?

Professional SEO. He helps a number of online gambling sites like:

hollywoodsportsbook.com/ Sportsbook
Since 1997, Hollywood Sportsbook has provided millions of internet sports betting enthusiasts with a secure internet sportsbook experience.

Memories are created just about anywhere. And when I say anywhere, I mean that memories are even created underwater – so the creation of underwater digital camera.

An underwater digital camera is not just used to capture underwater memories; some professional marine photographers also use underwater digital cameras in their business. Even marine biologists and scientists use underwater digital cameras to capture marine life and thus be able to study the life and properties of the marine life. But I think it is safe to assume that you, my reader, are neither a marine scientist nor a professional photographer. Like me, you are just some photo junkie who wants to capture underwater moments and just cant figure out how without ruining your cameras.

Please listen to me when I say that even waterproof cameras cannot withstand underwater photography. To be waterproof is to resist the water in certain levels, submerging in under the water to get the perfect shot is like throwing it out of the window expecting a pick-up truck to pass by and run over it.

Now if you’re really serious about using an underwater digital camera to capture those wacky and funny moments underwater, I suggest that you buy specialty cameras.

There are rarely underwater digital cameras, as cameras are electronic and cannot withstand water and water pressure. The closest electronics has ever got to producing underwater digital cameras are producing underwater casings for digital cameras. These casing will turn your conventional digital camera into an underwater digital camera.

If you are shooting with your underwater digital camera, you need to take note of a few things to help you come up with the best images underwater.

Remember that as you farther under water, light diffuses. This means that your underwater digital camera will produce images darker than those images you took while on land – this is because of the light diffusion the red spectrum seems darker. To avoid this, use white balance come up with natural colors. Also, pictures taken underwater will come up larger than pictures taken on land with the same zoom effect. Be sure to check your underwater digital camera’s viewfinder to check the right picture angle and size that you want.

An underwater digital camera with its built-in flash will produce marine show phenomenon. It is a phenomenon wherein your pictures come out as blurry and with white particles floating above it, to avoid this phenomenon it is advisable to use external flash for your underwater digital camera.

Before using your underwater digital camera, submerge the camera in the water first for several seconds then check if there are leaks through the case. Make sure that no grain of sand or piece of hair is stuck in between the seal to make sure that water will not permeate the case and thus wet your camera in the process. It is also advisable to put silica gel or two inside the case of your underwater digital camera as long as they don’t disturb the camera’s operation. (Silica gel will keep the moisture from forming inside your camera case.)

Most underwater digital cameras come with optional lenses. Don’t be afraid to add these lenses to your underwater digital camera kit. Macro lenses will help you capture small things without getting too close and startling your subject.

Also, remember to always wash of salt when you’ve used it under salt water. If the salts are not washed off, in time they will crystallize; act as sands and cause leaks for your camera case. In cases when sands seem to get into the case, they are better washed off with streams of water.

Check out Sony, Nikon and Canon’s website for available underwater cases for your digital cameras

Tim Tanis is an avid photographer and scuba diver.
For more on digital cameras and underwater digital
cameras.

Web site: digitalcamera.timtanis.info/underwater_digital_camera.php?maxi digitalcamera.timtanis.info/underwater_digital_camera.php?maxi

New Mexico has a stormy gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to negotiate a compact with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the task force came to an agreement with two prominent local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed a compact with the Indian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. Ten years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has grown since 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game operators brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since that time. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.

Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All kinds of operators look for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a hot button issue like they did in the 90’s. That’s probably wishful thinking on my part.

Stanley Cardigan has written articles for several online publications, and is a well-known player at several local casinos. If you want to read more about bingo halls in America, click on usa-bingo.net/new-mexico/ New Mexico Bingo or usa-bingo.net/ USA Bingo.

It is Larry who originally encouraged me to write. I never thought I would say, “I make my living as a writer or artist.” My desire to create has always been labeled “a pipe-dream” and so my daily ponderings, it seemed, nobody understood or I was too afraid or confused to admit. I have introduced Larry to several musicians that he would have never paid attention to otherwise. One band in particular, Collective Soul, is now one of his favorites. When I began writing life, several musicians inspired me, but I consider, Ed Roland, lyricist and lead singer of Collective Soul, one of my first teachers. I had incorporated more of Collective Soul and Ed Roland’s music within my first audio-blogs and when Larry first listened and read my beginning writings he looked at me with astonishment and said, “You think like him (Ed Roland).” Usually, it is common for loved one’s to tell an aspiring artist something that most others will never see or hear, however, coming from Larry, I accepted this as one of the most appreciated compliments of my life. Larry never offers simple words for lip service.

I don’t know if Ed Roland would agree, but I do know that it is his style, the band’s determination to break from control of a record label and his words that helped me hear rhythm and harmony, find my style, gave me confidence to break from tradition and create without control from any industry or support.

As I finished my digi-tome: life and it’s audio-blog volume, I decided to use collective soul as the title for JUNE’s representation. The music at the end of the JUNE: collective soul chrack is from the cd, FROM THE GROUND UP, track 2, YOUTH. Ed’s beautiful voice sings, “And you said we would be golden when we grow old.” I used this as a representation of the hope of love, the promise of God, the promise of anyone that allows you to indulge in the promiscuity of the rhythm of your soul.

In the end, whether it be collective consciousness or collective soul, we are all the same, but different. From APRIL and MAY’s pain, I realized there is everything and nothing that separates all of us or allows us to be golden when we grow old in life, love, knowledge or ourselves. What I give and send out, comes back to me and the same works for you. Within, there is a piece of us all that is collected and shines as one.

Copyright 2006 Patti Pacifico

The audio-blog “life” can be download free at:
pattipacifico.com pattipacifico.com

Visit Collective Soul’s official website at: collectivesoul.com collectivesoul.com

respectfully-pattipacifico.com respectfully-pattipacifico.com

ezinearticles.com/?expert=Patti_Pacifico ezinearticles.com/?expert=Patti_Pacifico RSS feed for my ezine articles.

A favorite and very popular style of music to play at weddings is swing. Although this music form was very popular on the 1930’s played by big bands and performed by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Glenn Miller and Duke Ellington, swing has lived on into the 21st century helped by musicians such as Michael Buble and Jamie Cullum. These modern day artists covered songs such as ‘I get a Kick out of you’ and ’Feeling good’ and ‘Fever’.

In order to be able to convincingly perform this style of music it is critical to employ a strong rhythm section in basic form comprising of bass (originally double bass) and drums. This gives the music its back bone on which it’s flowing melodies and rhythms can sit. One of the most important elements of swing music is that it allows the musicians a freedom to improvise (to make up music on the spur of the moment , the musician does not use written notes on a printed stave, but rather relies on his or her own imagination to create music). ‘The Rat Pack’, Sammy Davis Jr, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, further defined the era of swing in the 1960’s performing classics such as ‘Mr Bojangles’, ’One for my baby’ and ‘Mack the Knife‘.

The swing style is a grooveonline.co.uk/” target=”_blank great music option for all ages as each generation is able to connect in different ways with the era.