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Do. It. For. You: The Happiness Equation Reworked

Lifestyle

Two of the great American authors, Joseph Heller (author of Catch 22) and Kurt Vonnegut (author of Slaughterhouse Five) were at a party hosted by a Billionaire. Vonnegut, admiring all of the worldly possessions of the host, quipped at Heller and asked, “How does it feel knowing this man makes more in a day than you will ever make in a lifetime with one of your novels?”

To which Heller replied, “I have one thing this man will never be able to have….enough.”.

You see, the funniest thing happened in the past hundred or so years; we were finally, for once and for all, allowed to be happy, or to search for happiness.

You don’t believe me do you?

Think back say as far 10,000 years ago. What did we have to think about?

Survival. That’s it. We needed food and shelter, and finding both was a constant struggle so it was all we could focus on or worry about. There was no time to be happy.

Okay, so a thousand years ago. Food and shelter. That’s it.

Even as little as 300 years ago when our country was being founded. Food and shelter and the beginnings of …

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Wine Touring in Northwest Oregon, Northwest USA: Visit the Willamette Valley’s Unique Wineries, Hotels & Restaurants

America, Lifestyle

Oregon is world renowned for its wines, especially pinot noir. In the northwest corner of the state just 25 miles southwest of Portland, the Willamette Valley is home to 250 wineries. At the northern end of the valley, the town of Newberg is surrounded by a greenbelt of forests and farmland, retaining its provincial character.

Newberg is a perfect base for touring northwest Oregon’s wine country. Lodging includes an upscale resort, comfortable B&Bs and regional hotels. Dining varies from elegant to eclectic. Take in unique attractions while wine touring in the Willamette Valley.

Wine Country Tours in North Willamette Valley

The broad Willamette Valley is punctuated by hills covered in vineyards. Many wineries are within 15 minutes drive of Newberg, featuring tasting rooms where visitors can walk in and try a variety of wine styles. Following are some of the best wineries in the north Willamette Valley:

  • Rex Hill Vineyards, just east of Newberg, is family owned and operated. Crafting premium pinots since 1982, this winery also boasts a beautiful garden setting.
  • Domaine Drouhin, owned by renowned Burgundy producer Maison Joseph Drouhin, produces Burgundian-style wines. Fourth-generation winemaker Veronique Drouhin-Boss crafts world-class pinot noir and chardonnay.
  • Penner-Ash Wine Cellars is set
…

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Life Issues! Wake Up Call for You! Are You Aware?

Issues

Wake up Call for you! Are You Aware?

Are you aware of your life status? How free are you? How blessed are you? Do you find yourself stressed on a monthly basis? Why? Are you struggling in life or are you Happy? (For example, bills past due, sickness, etc). Final question, are you in the most horrific life situation you could ever be in or could someone be in an even worse situation than you? (For example, think about the corruption in the Middle East right now, Japan’s Tsunami, people who suffered from hurricane Katrina, etc.)

Now answer all those questions and compare them to the final question. Be truthful with yourself as it will only affect you. The things I talk about are information I learned from paying attention to our country, economy, researching on my own and even hearing others talk about this same information in detail.

You can stop reading right now or you can become educated on how to help you, your family and friends in the future. Things could get worse and only those who were in denial or blinded will suffer the most.

Now the first problem I realized is people in America …

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Crime and American Culture

America

Much has been said in recent news reports about the problems of crime in American cities; classic examples are people shooting two New York City policemen and in Philadelphia an 18 year old shooting a 14 year old who was on his bicycle but did not get out of the way of his car fast enough. The truth is the we live in a society that advertises freedom but in the cities the question is does the government care and are we to free by allowing our society to be ill responsible and censor free. Also, why is American culture so bent on advertising violence in it music, movies, and television.

The government of the United States and the individual states that make up this great country don’t seem to care about its citizens. When we look at the news nationwide we are losing more people here in the United States as a result of crime which is individual terrorism than the amount of troop we are losing in Iraq. Also let us remember the Iraq is a warzone while America is at peace so this makes the comparison even more striking when we compare the casualties of inner city crimes against …

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It’s Time to Pull Together as Americans

America

When I listen to the news, there is enough vitriol to make me ill. Where our need is to bring people together, we lock ourselves inside tiny rooms that do not allow others near. We define ourselves in smaller and more specific ways. We look for others who define themselves in that same way. We avoid encountering anyone who does not think as we do. We narrow what we watch to ensure we hear the news only from those who agree with us. When we never hear dissent, we never realize anyone else thinks any differently. If they do think differently, they must be misguided, misinformed, stupid, greedy, a bunch of sheep, evil, selfish, or ridiculous.

We forget the greatest truth of all. The truth is that it’s not us and them; it’s just us. Sometimes we will disagree on how we see the world, but we all should have the same goal. Our universal goal should be to make the world a better place for all its inhabitants. We lose track of the big picture. We lose ourselves in the minutiae.

No person can address all the problems of the world. For most of us, we can answer the …

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Summer Time

Lifestyle

Long sunny days, beautiful smelling flowers
Usually pretty dry, with the occasional showers
Birds chirping, and the sun is always shining
Enjoying the weather, just by reclining
Seeing the kids laugh and play
As the time wisps away
Not a care in the world to call my own
Enjoying the weather, with an ice cream cone
There’s not better time than this
And when it’s gone, it’s something I’m gonna miss
But I know that it will come back again
and when it happens I will be in perfect zen

…

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Fed Up with Politics: Time for Change

Politics

I’ve grown tired of career politicians who have taken office and consider their career over doing the right thing. Time after time, politicians take office promising they’ll lower taxes and improve our way of life. The truth is we are always stuck with lifers. Senators that take office, make deals to get bills passed and then have to pay up. Isn’t it time that we created term limits and stop the buddy system?

Also, life-time benefits. You and I have to work year after year and we have to pay for our benefits. If we’re lucky we may have some insurance that we can purchase at a lower rate during our golden years.

The electoral college is an outdated practice. In today’s modern era of Television and Internet, it’s so easy for people to be informed, that we no longer need someone to vote on our behalf.

Finally, I’m tired of politician spending millions on commercials, billboards and now Internet advertisements. We live in a time, where the media is everywhere, so why do they need that big budget? Can’t they do it on a level playing field? Shouldn’t their be a cap? Is it fair that the son of a billionaire …

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