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Get What You Want in 7 Powerful Steps

In my most recent columns weve covered issues about improving your business and marketing, but today lets start right at the beginning.
Youre really getting tired of the 9 to 5 rat race and are thinking about chucking it for your own business. All your friends keep telling you that you could do for yourself just what youre doing now for your boss. Why shouldnt you profit from your ideas instead of him?
You keep thinking about it because you know that youll never be financially where you want to be with a weekly paycheck, but what business would you start?
Before you pack in that weekly paycheck, this is the time to evaluate yourself and your future and it takes some real, down to heart honesty. You want to change your life for the better, so lets start.
Did you know that you have the potential to do and be anything you want? People have different perceptions of the ideal life, and it ranges from obtaining financial freedom to as simple as owning a new pair of sneakers. Unfortunately, many fail to reach their aspirations because they cant get a solid, clear picture in their mind of what they want.
Take the next few days and embark on a fact-finding journey that will be a life-changing experience. Get a pad and pencil and start with this first step:
STEP 1 – KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT Be specific in your passions, then focus all your efforts on that particular desire.
Those who always change their minds and those who give up easily when the going gets tough will never get anywhere. If youre a bit confused and arent sure what you really want in life answer these questions:
1. What makes your heart beat with excitement?
2. What makes you happy?
3. What are you constantly thinking of day and night?
4. What do you want to do with the rest of your life?
5. What do you enjoy doing?
6. What are your obsessions?
7. What things make you jump for joy?
Write down all your possible answers to the above questions. Write down everything, no matter how silly or unimportant it seems. Put all your desires on paper that answers any of the above questions.
When thats done, go back and circle five to seven items that interest you the most. Then evaluate and choose with your heart, not your mind, the one and only thing worthy to spend all your time and resources on and that brings out the best in you.
Now you may wind up with something like, I want to play quarterback for the RAMS. If youre over 20 Id say that isnt too viable a choice, but you could do something related to football or sports. How about starting a sports publication? Or perhaps a sporting goods retail business, sports memorabilia business, or even a gym could be the answer. You can always read books and surf the net to help you in your search.
The most important thing to remember, no matter how pie in the sky it seems, is to USE YOUR HEART. Others may disagree with you, but you should be firm with what you really want. Others may offer comments or advice, but the final decision is always yours to make. You should concentrate on what you want, not what others want.
Remember you only get one shot at living your life. There are no replays and you dont get to do it over. You may not do it right, but at least youre doing it. Too many lives have been lived in quiet desperation waiting until until they had saved a nest egg, until the children are out of school, until I retire, and they depart this life before until ever arrives.
Dont go to sleep tonight without making a decision on WHAT YOU REALLY WANT IN LIFE MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE.
Then spend a few days evaluating how to make it possible and make a living at it. Begin living every day as if it were the last day you had never leaving anything to be done next week, next month, or next year.
There will always be bills, things will always break down eventually and need replacing, there may be storms and earthquakes and repairs but there will only be one life for you to live. It cant be put on hold!
The final outcome of your efforts may be in the future, but youre living each day by taking steps toward that outcome.

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Watch Football or Soccer With Pc Satellite Tv

The advance in technology has made it possible for one to be able to watch football on pc. It’s now possible for a football fan to get uninterrupted access to watch Champion League, Premiership, FA cup, Carling Cup, World Cup, Nations cup, Friendly match, football news, live matches, replay matches and highlights. This is possible through a software which is called Pc Satellite Tv. It has over 20 sport channels, some of them are ESPN, Eurosports, Fox Sports, ABC Sports, Arsenal Tv, Chelsea Tv, ART Sports channel and others. These sports channels are located in UK, USA, France and Spain, to name but a few out of its 100 countries. You can check a review at Pc Satellite Tv

In addition, you do not only get access to watch soccer which is popularly known as football in Europe, but you also get access to watch other sports shows such as NFL, NBA, baseball, boxing, golf, US Open etc on pc. This is made possible through 2 hardwares and 1 software. These hardwares are a pc and an internet connection while the software you already know the name, meanwhile, its called pc satellite tv. Once these 3 conditions are met, you will be able to watch the football show of your choice.

Furthermore, you also get access to watch other tv shows such as movies, music, shopping, fashion, cartoon and documentary. They are over 20 movies channels, 20 music channels you can select from to watch on pc. To gain access to this pc satellite tv requires only a onetime fee of $49.95 after which you will download the software. Before you subscribe I recommend you visit my reviews at http://modospot.com/satv.html

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Kidding With Kids

A kid will love to hunt elephants in an asphalt jungle or even to fly the sky in the Jumping Castle, or splash into sparkling waters from the Dragon Slide. Let the wind carry one’s hair while one rides a pony: Vienna, the romantic imperial city of the Habsburgs, metropolis of art and culture, is also a city for kids. Small Magic Mice and big French Fries Tigers will find much enjoyment here.

Vienna boasts huge green areas where children can play to their hearts content. But that is by no means all. Maybe a little princess would like to dance a minuet in a hooped skirt and old-fashioned bodice? Or a super-detective would like to find some unicellular organism with a special microscope, travel across the starry sky or re-invent electricity? Become a child artist? Discover seeing, hearing, smelling or tasting in a completely new way? Kids will have all this and much more.

The Danube Island promises “cool” action for hot days. At this Viennese open-air paradise with its 42-kilometer-long beach, one can perform almost every outdoor sports activity like swimming, inline-skating, skate-boarding, street soccer, beach volleyball, basketball, football, trampolines, boating and biking or water-ski lift adventures at a weir.

The Schönbrunn Zoo who celebrated 2002 the 250th birthday is going to be a sure winner. Its director, Helmut Pechlaner, has turned the oldest zoo in the world into a first-rate attraction. Bears and tigers, monkeys and seals live in spacious, nature-like enclosures, like having an audience and provide marvelous performances for little visitors. In the new Elephant Park, one can experience these good-natured giants up really close: one is separated from them only by swinging ropes. Everybody’s darling of course is the young Abu, the first in-born elephant since a hundred years and his younger sister Mongu. A highlight of the zoo is the Aquarium and Terrarium House, with the largest coral reef in Austria and a separate area where special iguanas are bred; a glass tunnel takes visitors through the “waters of the Amazon”, one can even find a Crocodile Pavilion and African flora; and there is also an area where one can experience a “Night in the Tropical Forest.” A new attraction is the Rainforest-House where one feels like Tarzan in the jungle: An adventure for eyes, nose and ears. And the most recent guests are two new Coala- and two Panda bears, not only very rare specimens but also very cute ones.

Dinosaur skeletons, fascinating minerals, interesting animals and rare plants all of this and more can be found at the Museum of Natural History, especially during the special guided tours for children.

More than 200 attractions, each offering adventures, await the children in the amusement park Wurstelprater in Vienna’s Prater. It has the Jungle Train with the chirping of tropical birds; the House of Mirrors, where Mom looks like a toothpick and Dad like a barrel; pony rides and mini roller coasters, where the little ones scream with delight. There is also the dark and forbidding world of the dinosaurs; the World of Fairy-tales and the Jumping Castle, where one seems to fly straight towards heaven with one’s hair blowing in the wind and a new attraction for conquering the sky, a balloon with a fabulous view all over the city. Not only the kids but you will also love it.

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Teen’s Bedroom Wall Decor – Chill and Hang Out

Tucked away behind pine trees and bushes and shrubs on a cul-de-sac in suburbia of Chicago is my home. The lawns are scalloped and there is a prestige walkway to my front door of my two stories colonial. From the outside you would never suspect the turmoil inside. You see I work full time and also take work home with me so there never seems to be enough time in the day to accomplish a thing. I also have two teenagers so enough said. With my nerves on end recently I had made up my mind not to enter either of their rooms. I had thought to myself they are old enough to be responsible and take care of their own surroundings. Until this time the cleaning and tidying up had fallen on my shoulders. This big idea of mine that they would want to help out had accrued to me about a month before. Saturday morning arrived and there were activities I needed to get my kids to. They both were still asleep so I first entered my son’s room. I should say just barley entered. His bedroom door would only open an inch. I tried to push my way through as I toppled to the floor. There were clothes, books, dirty dishes amongst other things all over the room that I could not even tell what they were. I woke him up and could feel my blood boiling. Next I went to wake up my daughter and deep inside me I new I would find her room in shambles as well. Needless to say they both did not go to their scheduled activities that day.They both worked for hours on their rooms but when they were finished they came to me and proclaimed that their rooms left much to be desired. Both rooms had been designed by me when they were younger and they did not feel it expressed who they were. They went on to tell me that their needs and stuff they had acquired over the years had far out grown their rooms. It lacked organization and a place that represented who they were. I listened to them and together we all came up with creative ideas. This article hopefully will help other families go in the right direction. It should give you the tools and ideas to help make your lives a little more organized and serene. I will begin by laying out the road map that my own family took to reach the goals we set for ourselves. The most important thing when decorating a teens bedroom walls is to allow the teens input so that the room is a reflection of who they are. Teens live stressful lives just like the rest of us so they need a place to retreat and feel comfortable in. They are still searching for who they are and designing their own bedroom walls provides them an outlet to express themselves creatively. Teen wall decor decisions will vary depending on the teen in question. There are a number of different ideas for you to explore which will hopefully produce for your teen a room they can enjoy and a look that the parent approves of. Be sure to take in the size of the room, your budget and the practicality of the style. You also need to consider what end of the teenage scale your child is on. Teens taste and sense of self will change considerably between thirteen and eighteen. So be sure to tread lightly with fads and trends that are likely to go out of style. After all you do not want to take on this task again next year. What we did is we all sat down together with pens and paper. I then asked this question. What are you crazy about and what really gets you excited? I then proceeded to ask them about their hobbies, sports, and a location they love to visit or a topic they want to learn more about. I had them write all these things down. This is the list of ideas they came up with: Dolphins, Birds, Abstract, Flowers, Sports, Space, Fashion, Animals, Music, Numbers, Moon and Sky. I recommended that they choose one idea from the list and making this interest the centerpiece of their room. We first looked at lots of pictures from books and magazines and spent hours on line at different decorating web sites. We also watched a couple of home decorating shows on television and went to a design center and talked with others to get some ideas. The first thing to realize is not to rush. Take your time since this will be the room that you chill and hang out in. My daughter decided on fashion as her bedroom theme while my son choice was sports in particular football with the main theme being the Bears. We then gathered in our car and took a drive to the paint store. We browsed through many selections of different colored paint chips until the ones caught their eyes and attention. My daughter picked candy apple green while my son stuck with the Bears colors of navy and orange. All of these being popular colors according to the many hours of research we had tackled. For one of their walls for each of their rooms we bought a paint that had a faux texture designed that seemed to shimmer and shine. They decided they would keep this wall bare so they could keep adding additional items such as posters from a movie or concert that had seen. In this way they always had space so they had room to grow and develop. My son had found on line a beautiful hand woven wall tapestry of Soldier Field where the Bears make their home and play their games when in Chicago. He made this the focal point of the room and placed framed artwork of Bears Players all around it. He also hung pennants and his prime passion of an autograph jersey that his favorite player had signed. He is also handy with wood and built shelves along one entire wall. Then with wall paper borders of pictures of footballs went along the edges of the shelves. He was able to use these selves to display his trophies and had space left over for his entertainment system. Meanwhile fashion was the main theme for my daughter’s room. She had also spent hours on line in search of her perfect design. Like most girls she loves to go shopping and purchase as many shoes and purses imaginable. So I was not at all surprised when I saw her selection for the focal point for her room. It was wall art made up of whimsical purses. It was defiantly cool, hip and certainly prissy. The purses came designed with stripes and swirls of polka dots and matched her candy apple green walls. They had white ribbon and are embellished by a metal snap closure and silver balled feet. This design is definitely unique and personal. There are three inch letters attached and painted with matching silver. She named her space by hanging each letter of her name over her bed. On the wall opposite the windows she purchased a silver frameless mirror that made the room look double in size. It also came with a pegboard message center and held colorful bins for plenty of storage. We then commissioned a local art teacher from a public school located near our house to hand paint a mural on the wall opposite the display of purses. My daughter is artistically inclined and drew a sketch of abstract designs that the artist successfully copied on to her wall. It truly accomplished the customized look she was going for. All I can tell you is it has been about a year since we finished making their rooms a place they can call their own. The best part is they have kept their belongings in place and they spend many hours studying, laughing, entertaining their friends and most importantly keeping their rooms neat and tidy. Be patient, creative, listen and if you follow these steps you will also have tranquility in you life.

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Buzzy Trent

Buzzy Trent

Written by Anna Trent Moore

Everyone must have something to love.

Without that, one is like a ship adrift at                

sea, yearning for wind.

                                         Buzzy Trent, 1995

    They say a fisherman found it lost at sea. My father’s last surfboard. I emailed Randy Rarrick, the shaper, to inquire. If it was the one, it was the board he gave up surfing on. He left surfing behind without looking back, and he left it on that board.

I recall it well. It was blue…completely blue; the only color board my father, Buzzy Trent, ever owned. All his others, shaped by Dick Brewer, were clear. But what I remember most about it was what took place one winter day on the grass in front of Val Valentine’s house at Sunset Beach. There was a good swell and my father invited Ricky Grigg to try out his new board. He did, and when Ricky came in his words were, to say the least… critical. My father’s temper responded with, to say the least…furious words. He packed it up immediately and drove us home leaving Ricky in the wake of our Volkswagen’s dust. My father later forgave him (he always did), but he stopped surfing soon after. I’ve often wondered what happened to the blue board. When I heard where it was found, I wasn’t surprised; because when he released surfing from his life, from that point on, there was always a part of him adrift…lost at sea.

 It has been said to me by a few people who knew him well and knew him long, that no one has accurately portrayed the real Buzzy Trent. The persona that follows him describes a physical power house, a risk taker who was quick to express judgment, and possessed a bit of an ego. In reality he was quite the opposite. Rather, he was gentle (he loved animals and children), could be quite conservative (was shy with women), took calculated risks (shrewdly assessed every situation), and was emotionally vulnerable. What I believe most people found intriguing about him was that he lived a life set around surfing big waves during a unique time. He set the blue print for big wave surfing; in some opinions, one of the very players to create the sport. Known as an individual who lived life on his own terms, without apologizing for his actions and viewpoints, he presented the fearless big wave rider image that was mirrored not only in the water but in his personal life as well. He possessed a steely eyed temperament with a chiseled physique that epitomized the powerhouse image of the big wave rider of his time. But perhaps what was most loved about my father (by the people that really knew him), was that he possessed an ideology within himself in which he modeled to live a life by. He talked like he lived and he lived like he talked.

    Born to Buster and Dorothea Trent, he was named Goodwin Murray Trent, after his father. His mother was the only daughter of the renowned and wealthy Los Angeles architect, John Parkinson, who designed many of the cities most important landmarks which include L.A. City Hall, USC Campus, and L.A. Coliseum. In fact, sixty-four of his buildings still stand today.

    As a wedding gift, Buzzy’s grandfather gave Dorothea and Buster a completely furnished five hundred acre ranch in San Marcos (the site now of Palomar Junior College) where he was born on Mother’s Day May 13, 1929. The youngest of five children, he was the baby of the family born to Mama Trent who was then in her forties. Nicknamed Buster (like his father), it was soon shortened to Bussie, and later evolved into Buzzy, although he was always Bussie to his mother.

    Buzzy grew up on the Trent Ranch until the age of ten. His recollections were reminiscent of a happy childhood, though marred by some sad events; One being when his sister drowned in the well and another, witnessing the railroad tracks carrying hundreds of homeless men seeking work and food during the depression years. He described how my grandfather would have to chase them off the ranch with a shot gun, there would be so many. For the most part, it was a good childhood with fond memories of picking giant tomatoes off the vines and eating them like apples, and hunting for deer with his twenty-two rifle.

    But troubles arose in his parent’s marriage forcing them to seek a divorce. Shared to me by my Uncle Marty (my father’s brother), during these times, while custody issues were being decided by the courts, rather than make the decision to place the children with one of either parents, the children would instead be placed in foster care until a decision could be made on who would receive custody. Buzzy and his brother Marty were placed together in foster care for two years. His parents would later decide to reconcile, sold the ranch and moved into a three story Victorian home on San Vicente Boulevard in Santa Monica. The attempted reconciliation of his parents was soon to prove unsuccessful and eventually his father left the family for good and his parents divorced. Papa Trent’s abandonment of his family was to have lasting effects on the then twelve year old Buzzy. Effects that were to influence how he later chose to deal with family bonds much later in life. When his father returned to reconnect with his children, Buzzy was the only one in the family who refused to ever speak to him again.

    The transition from ranch life to Santa Monica was an abrupt change but Buzzy acclimated. Always an individual, he maintained being his own person and the Trent boys were permitted to continue running around shirtless and barefoot in their overalls. Indulged by their parents, they were given a quarter for lunch, which at the time was an unheard of amount for kid lunch money. He was a mama’s boy with an independent spirit and free reign to do as he pleased. He thrived in Santa Monica and it was where his love for the ocean was born.  

    As a young gremmie, he would peddle his bicycle to State Beach to rent a paddle board from Ninhausners Boat House and use it to fish for mackerel and halibut. It was there that he said he saw a guy catch a wave and ride it all the way in. He began surfing the paddleboards until one day, when returning it to Old Ninhausner, it fell through the window. He ran away with Old Ninhausner yelling and chasing him, never to return again.

    Convincing his mother to buy him a redwood surfboard, he hooked up a rickshaw wagon to a balloon tire bicycle, and peddled his hundred pound board the ten miles to Malibu:

    When I started going to Malibu World War II was going on. There was gas rationing and no cars to speak of on the highway. The first time I saw Malibu I just couldn’t believe it. I fell in love with Malibu the first time I saw her.

    He became friends with Matt Kivlin. They became buddies in tow, riding their bikes to Malibu together until Matt got a car:

    It was a thrill peddling our boards from Santa Monica to Malibu on those balloon tire bikes…that was a big trip for us, dragging those hundred pound redwoods. When we’d come around the corner and see those tiny two foot waves, we’d peddle faster and faster just to get there. We’d bury the boards in the sand and leave them there for the week, come back and pick them up the next week. Life was different then. You didn’t worry about it. When we got a little older, Matt got a car and started driving us to the beach… we didn’t have to bury our boards anymore.

    At an impressionable age, abandoned by his own father, Buzzy found a role model in Bob Simmons. I don’t recall him ever speaking about another surfer the way he spoke about Simmons. I knew he was an important figure in his young life:

    At Malibu during the forties there was absolutely nothing. The beach was white sand and covered with driftwood. There was only one house- Mrs. Rindge’s house. There was also a Coast Guard station. They were supposed to be watching the beach but there was no one there. Nobody. It was very rare for a car to drive by when you were surfing. It was beautiful!

    The bottom of the point was covered, literally covered with abalone. Steel Headed trout… there was Steel Headed trout that swam up Malibu Creek. We’d chase them and hit them on the head with rocks.

I met Bob Simmons at Malibu and for some reason he took a liking to me. He was very much an individual and you knew that there was something exceptional about him. Intellectually he was head and shoulders above the rest. He was a 4F, which meant that he didn’t have to enter the military. A bicycle accident had sent him through a car windshield, shattering his arm and permanently setting it at a ninety degree angle. When he started surfing he was so crippled in that arm that he couldn’t paddle his board fast enough.

    Simmons was my hero and I was a young gremmie aching to be his test pilot. I hung out everywhere with him and we got into a close relationship. He would come to my house to pick me up in his Model A. It was the funniest thing! Like I said, he was brilliant. With gas rationing going on he had devised a way to adapt his Model A to burn on cleaning solvent. He had a fifty gallon drum in the back seat of his car. We drove up and down the coast in that thing. We rode all over. We even made trips down to Mexico…

     Although early on he felt a strong pull toward the ocean, my father was also a natural athlete who excelled in every sport he attempted. He ran track and field, and played football; He was a boxer for awhile, boxing in the Golden Gloves. Abruptly leaving boxing, he focused on football, and went on to play for USC. Maintaining his connection with the ocean, he began life guarding at Santa Monica Beach where one day he saw a little nine year old boy in the shore break. Hey Kid! Want a ride? Propping him onto his surfboard, he paddled him into a wave-his first wave. My father’s lifeguard tower sat in front of this little boy’s house, and after that ride he appointed himself the mascot of Buzzy’s tower. The little boy’s name was Ricky Grigg and their friendship was to last the duration of my father’s lifetime. It was bonds and friendships such as these that no doubt influenced the trajectory of the California surfing migration to Hawaii in the fifties. The roster of big wave surfing pioneers was a short list. They all knew one another and were poised to follow each others lead to the islands.   

     When I asked my father what brought him to the islands he told me that it was Walter Hoffman, who was in the Navy and stationed in Hawaii. Walter was sending back pictures of the surf with the call of, you guys gotta get over here! A spot on a crew to enter a Trans-Pacific race gave him an opportunity to sail to Hawaii in 1953. It was to be the first Pacific Catamaran crossing from California. It was an adventure that brought him to the islands in search of surfing the biggest waves; to the place he was to spend the rest of his life.

He fell in love with Hawaii. But mostly, he fell in love with Makaha…

     It was so unique looking at a point wave the way it turned and rolled into Makaha. They’re so blue and pure. When the wave starts to break there’s the spray that goes right across the top as it breaks from top to bottom. It’s a powerful thing grinding across the point with a perfectly formed shoulder. It’s a fantastic experience to be out there and see these perfect sets coming in. You’re sitting in the perfect position, the line up is perfect, you’ve done everything right, and here it comes around from Kaena Point. A great feeling comes over you. You’re not thinking about anything else in life except that wave and that moment. It’s just you and that huge wave. You’re totally involved in what you’re about to do and nothing else matters.

    He returned to California but the lure of big Makaha Point surf was to draw him back. At that time his brother Marty was bedridden from a serious leg injury playing football. He recounted the story to me one day;

     I had just broken my leg from playing football at UCLA and was in the hospital. Buzzy walked in carrying a duffle bag over his shoulder. He said, “I’m going back Marty.” I yelled and swore at him and told him that if he left he was a coward for not finishing school and leaving like that… and that if he left I never wanted to see him again. He just said, “I’m going Marty.” He turned around and left. I never saw him again for over twenty years. I have always felt that your father might have had a very different life if he had not met your mother…

    And she did change his life. He loved Makaha, and she was a Makaha girl. If you want to know where you’re going, look at the path behind you. There were three things that my father truly loved; surfing Makaha Point, his two children, and my mother. It is no surprise to me that my father chose my mother Violet. His path in life led him there, and in turn, led him to her…

    The first time I saw your mother she was walking out of the Makaha Supermarket. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen!

    And she was beautiful. The dangerous kind- beautiful with a hot temper. But then, my father always loved a challenge. Dark flashing eyes, large full mouth, and the tiniest waist…she possessed a charm that left you with an indelible impression. And that voice… she took Buzzy Trent by storm.

    Bud Browne knew them both well and often told me they couldn’t live with, or without each other. In truth, their relationship encompassed all that we desire, yet all that we fear in one. I believe we measure our own relationships by what we’ve observed in our own parents. Although I was witness to their many heated moments, I also remember my father treating my mother in a romantic way; picking her gardenias or finding her shells.

    It’s ironic that my father chose to marry a woman who hated the beach. Raised in Makaha, the driest part on the island of Oahu, she longed for the cool rains and lush greenery of Manoa Valley. In fact, of all the times my father took us surfing with him, I recall my mother sitting on the beach only once; it was at Yokohama. Near the water’s edge on a cool evening, she sat on the sand near my brother Ivan and me, while we played army with pieces of driftwood. This was unusual for her as she always sat in the car watching my father surf from the passenger’s seat.

   When she died, it was the greatest tragedy our family has ever endured. In fact, I don’t think we really survived it. Devoted to her until the end, his final gesture to her was to scatter her ashes, mingled with gardenias, deep in the Niu Valley; far, far, away from the ocean and Makaha.

    When my father gave up surfing he followed true to how he handled everything in his life. He said, when you go, you go…go and never look back. Never.

    He left surfing and Makaha behind, like the day he left his brother Marty in California, and never looked back. For a time, he replaced surfing with hang gliding- and diving…he always dove… until the body just couldn’t do it any more. I knew his life was never the same since Makaha. He wasn’t living his life anymore, he was passing through it. He even called it, the homestretch. I knew he missed it; missed that part of himself.   

     Not long ago I had a dream. It was so real that I woke up with a start and a huge hole in my heart.

    I was in a place surrounded by black lava that stretched for miles and miles. It was endless. Above was blue without a cloud in the sky. I was walking alone and looking ahead, I saw a figure outlined in the distance. Walking faster and faster, I began to see it clearly as I drew closer. It was my father. I began running and the whole time I was fixed on his face.  He had a great big smile. The same smile that lit across his face when I was a young child. I cried out to him, and heard myself yell out the word no! But he simply lifted his right arm high above his head-almost in a strange greeting, smiled, and turning his back toward me, fell forward into the bluest ocean.

   The dream felt so real it was as if I could touch it. Later, I retold it to a Hawaiian friend. Her response was, Anna, it was Kaena Point. I felt like I had been hit. Of course it was. I should have known it all along. Although he didn’t surf Kaena, it was his special place. The southern most tip of Oahu, barren land untouched by time, it was the place he loved to dive; the place where Hawaiians believe your soul enters the next life. He knew where to go.

    When my father died in September 2006, he was scattered in a place I would not have chosen. It was a town beach; a place he had no connection to.  No matter, because even in death, I knew he was in for the swim of his life. I’m certain he made it back to Kaena Point, eventually… by way of Makaha.  

   Lost at sea? I think at some point in each of our lives, we’re all temporarily lost. It’s probably the only way to really find ourselves, know who we are, and what we’re really made of. Is it the one? Is it my father’s blue board come home? I hope so.

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Start To Know The Best Soccer Team Ever

If you like watching sports, then you would potentially love watching a soccer game ; particularly if your fave soccer team is playing. And if you love soccer, maybe you would like FC Barcelona. But if you are not a football fan, it’s time to be one and start to know FC Barcelona.

First off, FC Barcelona, familiarly known as Barca, is a football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Though FC Barcelona is a sports club containing basketball, handball, hockey, ice-hockey, figure skating, indoor soccer, rugby, baseball, volleyball and women’s soccer, the jewel in the crown has traditionally been organisation football, or the Barcelona Soccer Team, which is what they are known for.

And with this, FC Barcelona is a positively brilliant football team who play one of the most fascinating balls in the world. The team was founded in 1899 by a bunch of Swiss, English and Spanish men led by Joan Gamper. The club has become a Catalan establishment, hence the motto’Ms que un club’ ( More than a club ).

Likewise, FC Barcelona became the first soccer team ever to win six out of six competitions in a single year thus completing the sextuple, comprising the -200809 La Liga, -200809 Copa del Rey, 2009 Supercopa de Espaa, -200809 UEFA champs League, 2009 UEFA Super Cup and 2009 FIFA Club World Cup. And as of July 1, 2009, FC Barcelona was ranked 1st in UEFA team ranking. In reality, according to the world Federation of soccer History and statistical data, Bara has been the most consistently successful club in the world since the organization commenced picking up statistical data, in the period 1991-2008. Because of this, FC Barcelona has established itself as one of the elite clubs in the Spanish Premier League. With this, who wouldn’t be a fan of this highly regarded team?

In reality, fans of FC Barcelona are known as culs, the Catalan word for ‘ass’. This nickname came from the twenties from Bara fans who sat in the highest row of the stadium with their culers visible to passerbys. And I won’t doubt it if there are a large number of culers out there. Well, aside from the fact they’ve got more victories than other football organisation out there, the team isn’t only consisting of superb players, but these players also have the unity and the right attitude every time they play their game. In brief they play the game well. Now, who doesn’t think well of a good and fair game?

However , there must be a rationalization for the team’s great success apart from having the right attitude and the right players. You might want to ask the way in which the team got its players with the likes of Messi and the rest of the gang. Well, when taking a glimpse at the players of the squad one can not help but notice that a few, and perhaps even most, of the team’s biggest stars are young players which were’brought up’ in the superb youth program of the club, making their way patiently through the club’s youth teams, all of the while continuing to develop their game, until their arrival to FC Barcelonas’s first squad. To paraphrase, FC Barcelona builds up and trains youth members of the club in preparation of the real deal. And with that sort of coaching, it is no doubt you’ll see players with the likes of Messi and the rest, reign in football victory.

Now, if you have decided to become a fan of the planet’s best football team, and if you believe you haven’t got enough info about the team yet, feel free to be updated with the newest FC Barcelona stories and read a lot of fascinating Barca Blog for your info wants. Or better look back on the team’s best moments like Ronaldinho Wonder Goal. Besides that, get up close and personal with the team’s best players like Iniesta and Xavi, or know who is best ; Messi vs Maradona. And if you’re so curious of the famous Lionel Messi, view Lionel Messi pics to complete your fan duty. Above all, to become a certified culer, never ever miss FC Barcelona Match Highlights. Be a fan now!.

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Top Ten Defenses in the NFL

Here is my description of the top ten defenses in the NFL. This season looks to be a roller coaster and a lot of teams will have trouble staying on top of this list. This was written after week three so things may change from now to later in the season.
10. Arizona Cardinals: They have some of the sickest safeties in the league. We’re talking Adrian Wilson and Antrel Rolle. The corners are not bad either. I mean they got Rodgers Cromartie as well as other consistent players. They would be higher on this list but their run defense is suspect. I haven’t heard of any of their linebackers or defensive lineman. And I’m sure you haven’t either. They are allowing 100 yards per game rushing which is not bad but they have played San Fran, Miami, and Washington. So not the toughest foes just yet.
9. Green Bay Packers: They would also be much higher if they hadn’t just lost Al Harris for a couple games. They have a great secondary and just couldn’t keep it together against a great Cowboys offense last weekend. They gave up 48 points against the Lions, come on it’s the Lions. They fired their coach this past week cause he’s so horrible. They may be a playoff team but that is partly because of their offense.
8. N.Y. Giants: Here is a team with tons of big name lineman and linebackers. Plus that is without Michael Strahan. Can I just say Daaang! They are holding teams to 84 yards per game rushing and 167 through the air. Not bad week in and week out. They blitz hard and they seem to get like 6 to 8 sacks a game. Their secondary keeps opponents in check and doesn’t get beat deep.
7. Philadelphia Eagles: Solid defense all around. Yes they gave up 40 plus against the Cowboys. But that is a stellar offense on that Dallas team. It was literally the two best teams going at it, but I digress. They have been holding their other opponents scoring to a minimum and will dominate throughout the year. Held Pittsburgh to six points and St. Louis to three! As Borat once said “Very Nice!”
6. Tennesee Titans: As hard as it to not talk about the offense, I will attempt it. Well, their defense is going to be on the field a lot longer which will lead to more teams scoring on them once they get tired. They are in the top ten because they have done all right so far. However maintaining this will take a miracle. Good luck Titans!
5. Dallas Cowboys: This team I would like to put higher but everyone above of them is just outrageous on defense. They have a stellar backfield now with Pac Man Jones and Terrence Newman. Linebackers like Zach Thomas and Demarcus Ware make up a vicious pass and run stopping team.
4. Buffalo Bills: With Donte Whitner at Strong Safety and other all around players on D these Bills keep shutting down opponents. They also have Marcus Shroud at Defensive Tackle, that guy can play! They could stay at the top of their division if they keep playing like this. Out with the old(New England) in with the new(Bills). Who knows we could get a repeat of the Cowboys Bills Super Bowls.
3. Minnesota Vikings: Holding teams to 70.3 rushing yards per game, that is second best in the league. On top of that their pass defense is ridiculously good. They have Darren Sharper at Safety and Antoine Winfield and Cedric Griffin for Corners. Their defensive line is the one Coaches drool over. If they can get their offense clicking that would benefit their defense so they have some time to sip some Gatorade and cool off.
2. Pittsburgh Steelers: I can’t remember a time in my lifetime where they weren’t amazing on defense. They might have trouble keeping it together though this season as Casey Hampton and Brett Keisel of the defensive line are out for the season.
1. Baltimore Ravens: Wow. Maybe I should stop right there. They are holding their opponents to 70 yards per game on the ground and 90 yards through the dark sky their foe must be seeing. Yes I know what your all thinking, why didn’t I get them on my fantasy team, well I’m in the same boat but lets move on. Now yes you could say they only played 2 opponents thus far. But still, the Browns and Bengals are struggling, but they still have threats on offense like Chad Johnson that were contained by the Ravens.

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The Fa Cup

For over a hundred years the FA Cup was considered the most important club football tournament in the world. This was more than just English insularity. The Cup was the first national football tournament anywhere, and the first to impose a unifying set of rules on its participants.

The competition may have diminished in importance in recent years, ranking behind even qualification for the preliminary stages of the Champions League for many Premiership managers, but it remains the bedrock of the modern game. The origins of the Cup must be seen in context. Up until the mid 19th century football matches tended to be played according to an ad hoc set of rules. A murky permissiveness prevailed. Captains would agree beforehand on whether to allow ‘hacking’ (i.e. vicious limb-threatening fouls) and handling of the ball.

Conforming to the FA’s rules of the game – including the owtlawing of hacking and the introduction of the hand-ball rule – was a prerequisite for participation in the Cup. Among those willing to take their place in the Cup under these constraints, a rabble of public school dissenters went out and created something very different: rugby, a sport where hacking, handball and carrying a picnic hamper in the boot of your estate car are to this day actively encouraged. Football, meanwhile, was being led along a civilizing path.

The FA Cup was first stages in 1871. It was organized by the secretary of the Football Association, C.W. Alcock, and featured just 15 clubs. The first winners were the Wanderers, who beat the Royal Engineers 1-0 in a final staged at the Kennington Oval in London, also the scene of the first ever cricket Test Match in England. In its early years the trophy was won by a succession of southern amateur sides. Blackburn Olympic, in 1883, were the first northern team to win the Cup, ushering in an 18-year period of northern dominance. Before long the Cup Final had evolved into a great season-ending showpiece occasion. Crowds mushroomed as professionalism transformed the game. The 1913 Final at the Crystal Palace Stadium attracted more than 120,000 people and ten years later the White horse Final, the first to be played at the new Empire Stadium at Wembley, drew a crowd of around 200,000.

The particular appeal of the Cup lies not just in its finals. A competition that ends in May is also an essential part of watching football in January and February, the third and fourth rounds breathing fresh life into the middle of the season. In modern times this has been the point at which clubs in the top two divisions join the competition, taking on the lower and non-League clubs who have made it through the first two rounds. Acts of giant killing are rare but tend to stay in the memory.

In recent years it has become increasingly rare for smaller teams to lift the Cup. The last genuine surprise was Wimbledon’s 2-1 Final victory over Liverpool in 1988, which also featured the first-ever missed penalty in an FA Cup Final, Dave Beasant saving John Aldridge’s kick. Before that Sunderland’s 1-0 victory over Leeds in 1973, Southampton’s victory over Man United in 1976 and West Ham’s Final victory in 1980 – the last time a club outside the top flight won the Cup – provided similar upsets. In terms of all-round competition the Cup enjoyed a golden era from the mid-1920’s to mid-1940. From 1927, when Cardiff City became the only Welsh club ever to win the FA Cup, to Wolves’ victory in 1949, there were 14 different winners in 15 years of competition. These included the sole FA Cup-winning campaigns of Portsmouth, Derby and Charlton, which came in successive tournaments. The Matthews Final of 1953 is perhaps the most famous of all FA Cup matches. Its legend resides not just in the game itself, in which Blackpool rallied from 3-1 down late on to beat Bolton 4-3. The occasion became a centrepiece to a year of national celebration as Britain emerged from the economic depression of the 1940’s. Stan Mortensen’s hat-trick remains the only such scoring feat in an FA Cup Final (although his first goal, a deflected shot, was initially thought to have been an own goal).

During the 1950’s and early 1960’s there was much talk of the Wembley hoodoo, as FA Cup Finals were marred by a series of high-profile injuries although these were more likely to be caused by nerves and end-of-season weariness. The Cup Final has traditionally been a tense, closely fought affair and often a disappointment as a game of football. Every so often, however, a classic final comes along. In 1966 Everton came from 2-0 down to beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-2, with two goals from young Cornish striker Mike Trebilcock, one of many minor footballing names stitched into the history of the domestic game by their association with the Cup. In 1971 Arsenal won another classic Final, completing the League and Cup Double by beating Liverpool 2-1 after extra time with a memorable winning goal from Charlie George, who then unveiled the first-ever high-profile personalized goal celebration (a slow-motion backwards dive).

The 1970’s was a golden era with many gifts for the notion of the Magic of the Cup. During a time of general economic depression, 12 years without a World Cup Finals appearance for the England team, and the beginnings of the grimmer aspects of hooliganism and the running down of stadiums around the country, the Cup provided much compensatory excitement. Sunderland’s 1-0 underdog victory over Leeds United in 1973 was memorable, as was Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat of Newcastle United the following year. The 1980’s saw underdog triumphs for Wimbledon in 1988 and Coventry a year earlier. The most notable final of the decade was probably the all-Merseyside affair in 1989 that followed the Hillsborough disaster semi-final. Liverpool won 3-2 but the game was memorable more for the sense of grief inside Wembley.

During the 1990’s the decline in the relative importance of the FA Cup began in earnest, helped on its way by the superlative marketing success of the Sky TV-sponsored Premiership. The Champions’ League sharpened appetites within the game for European football, and for a revenue-chasing decade-long beano that seemed to leave the FA Cup lost somewhere in its wake. In 2000 Manchester United declined to defend the trophy after winning it the previous year, choosing instead to take part in an underwhelming Club World Championship competition in Brazil when the third and fourth rounds were due to be played. Such a decision would have been unthinkable even a decade earlier. However, the fact remains that any diminishing in the lustre of the world’s oldest football tournament exists only at the very top of the scale. Sadly, with Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea winning 13 of the last 14 FA Cup finals, it seems that those clubs who value the FA Cup least will nevertheless continue to monopolize it.

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