It hardly seems possible that a year has passed since  I unashamedly  had a lump in my throat, and a tear in my eye, as I watched the stunningly beautiful bride, Kate Middleton, dressed in that superbly simple wedding dress – showing off her lovely figure so well – was standing, waiting to make her entrance at the door of Westminster Abbey., on the day she married her prince, the culmination of a true love story between royalty and commoner that had gripped the nation.

Their love for each other,  deep and genuine, showed in the emotion neither of them could disguise when looking at each other, and everyone who witnessed this event   could see the love shining in their eyes – which only reinforced the most  wonderful aspect of the newly appointed Duke and Duchess of Cambridge – their being such very normal people, in the eyes of the British public, because they lived together before the wedding, having been a couple for a decade.

In the 12 months since that memorable wedding day, every public appearance by them, be it together or separately, only goes further in demonstrating just how like everyday people – with whom anyone could be seated at a restaurant table, enjoying coffee and chatting easily – they appear to be, giving this warm and welcome  impression whenever they appear in public, and naturally getting enormous displays of affection from an adoring public in return.

The couple met at University – St Andrews – learning to love each other through their ten-year courtship, and even though they had the odd rough patch, as most couples do,  the obvious mutual love that the couple so obviously share makes everything about their very public face appealing, so it was no wonder that the of wedding day was so very special . That genuine pleasure and excitement, which made both their faces glow during those exchanging of vows, as well as that the double kiss,  on the Buckingham Palace balcony, all served to delight the rapturous crowd of spectators, cheering the couple with genuine affection.

William and Kate are undoubtedly now the new face of the UK monarchy – All who have met this approachable, amenable and emotional couple able to identify with them easily. There seems to be a genuine impression that, at long last, Britain has royals whose very approachability makes  the dated notions of monarchy and privilege less of a barrier to the average man and woman, simply because William and Kate are anything but distant and remote, as members of the royal family were once perceived to be.  Whilst the fortunes of the monarchy had been at a low ebb after the Princess Diana before this wedding took place, the situation now has been transformed, not only by the royal couple embodying everything magical about fairytale romance, but also by the fact that the queen celebrates her Diamond Jubilee this year.

As this most popular young couple have proved in spades over the past twelve months, connection with the people is not just possible but highly desirable, and as assume ever more royal duties, our  future king and queen will  undoubtedly cement their places in history, not just as the most accessible and popular royal couple of all time, but also as well respected states-persons in their own right. That wedding was beyond memorable, to be sure, and the feeling is that with the gorgeous Kate at his side, William will make an excellent king. All the adoring British public long for now is the patter of tiny royal feet, keeping  royal tradition in our great nation very much alive.  This new era of royalty to whom  the public can honestly relate is a breath of wondrous fresh air, changing society in the UK forever, and thank heavens for it.  

Las Vegas – Singer Fergie got a special gift from her husband on birthday 37. In celebration of his birthday in a club in Las Vegas, Fergie off the VIP table and immediately announced that he got the black diamond of Josh Duhamel, her husband.

This is a special celebration with Josh Duhamel and Ne-Yo, although the singer of the groupThe Black Eyed Peas were entering the age of 37 on March27 last. In addition to her party, Duhamel know what to do.

“I have some black diamond frommy man. Earring,” her told PEOPLE in Las Vegas on Friday (30/3).

Fergie added: “He’s really good, he knows me.”

As for the glamor scene, Fergie said she really “Love of my life normally.”

Last fall, the Black Eyed Peas take a leave of absence, so Fergie is more focused on the activities of his non-musical. Including shoes and perfume business.

2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s maiden voyage. This year’s anniversary of the Titanic is the most significant in ocean history. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Titanic and pay tribute to those lost and survived. Many events will be taking place in Belfast, Cork, England and New York.

Here are some of the events which are taking place during the year. A memorable series of events will take place in Cobh, County Cork, Ireland. On Feb 18 2012, a Titanic commemoration ball will take place in Cobh.  The ball which reflects the food served on the ship, and a band which will also reflect the music played during her voyage. On 17th March a St. Patricks Day parade will be going back to 1912. You can experience what it may have been like when the Titanic came to Cobh. The Cobh Museum which is opening in March will hold a magnificent exhibition which will run throughout the year. The Titanic Centenary Week will take place from 9th- 15th April, which includes stalls and markets and a visit from the cruise liner Balmoral. A National Tribute will take place on 11th April exactly 100 years when the Titanic arrived in Cork harbour. It will include ceremony commemorations, Air Corps fly-over and a Navy fleet review.

There will be an excess of Titanic collectables to buy. You’ll be able to buy calendars, commemorative coins, books, film and lots more. In Belfast where the Titanic was built a massive new Titanic Museum is to open in March. It is complete with a building designed to replicate the ship. There is also a part of the docks where the Titanic was built called the Titanic Quarters. Taking place on the 14th April is The Belfast Barge Screening, which is a very special movie screening of the 1997 epic ‘Titanic’ on the Belfast Barge.

 Another event taking place is a memorial cruise which is departing from Southampton, England on the 8th April 2012. An anniversary cruise is departing from New York on the 10th April 2012. On both these cruises world renowned historians and lectures will take place. You can even experience a selection of food and drinks served on the Titanic. You even have the opportunity to wear period costumes and there will be themed entertainment from around that era. Visit Halifax with the opportunity to visit the three cemeteries: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery and Baron De Hirsch Jewish Cemetery. The 2012 cruise will be a great tribute to the Titanic. Be part of the special 100th anniversary memorial service.

On February 7th 1964  the Beatles British arrived in New York at the start of their first US tour, stepping onto the tarmac at Kennedy Airport just after 1300 local time, where over 3,000 screaming teenagers, lots of whom had skipped school or work greeted them with tears and placards.

Their first scheduled appearance on American television was on the following on Sunday on the Ed Sullivan show, where only 750 lucky fans – out of over 5,000 applicants – got tickets to see them, Ed having booked them to appear after seeing huge crowds greeting them at Heathrow last October as they came back from Sweden.

73 million Americans tuned in to watch them on February 9th, and the result was a dip in the crime-rate to a 50-year low while they were performing the songs She Loves You, Till there was You, I Saw Her Standing There, I wanna Hold your Hand and All my Loving. their two appearances on his show – nearly 50 m years later – still rate as 2nd and 3rd most popular TV shows of all time in the USA.

The Beatles had touched down in the USA only 11 weeks after John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and appeared to fill a void being felt throughout the states at that time. With the driving rhythm of their iconic brand of music, the boys were re-introducing good old rock ‘n’ roll to the American public and they loved it. .##

Ringo Starr, John Lennon, George Harrison and Paul McCartney got the police protection usually reserved for royalty kings and presidents, needed because the crush of screaming women was close to overwhelming, excitement over the Beatles’ arrival reaching fever-pitch in no time at all.

Beatles songs were constantly featuring on radio stations, in shops and generally anywhere there was music being listened to. Millions of Beatle records had already been sold before the band arrived, and the rush to get Beatle paraphenalia out to the adoring fans was quite staggering.

One company of the time, dubbed called Puritan Fashions Incorporated, described itself as the only exclusive official licensed maker of Beatle apparel was selling T and sweat-shirts, sweat shirts, turtle-necks, tight trousers, scarves, jewellery and all sorts of stuff inspired by the group.

It may well be the 200th anniversary of Dickens today as well, but this 48th anniversary of Beatlemania storming America is in some ways just as important.

by Aaron Klass

Excerpted from “The Late Great Uunpleasantness”.

The American Civil War was fought from April 1861 to April 1865. It affected millions of people and cost more than 620,000 men their lives. Because of this Late Great Unpleasantness, the United States became not just a collection of sovereign states, but a unified country with a strong Federal government.

I have been a student of this war for almost fifteen years now. My research and expertise revolve mostly around the life of the common soldier as he marched, fought and, in many cases, died for his cause.

2011 was the 150th anniversary of the first year of the war, beginning, many argue, with the Confederate attack of Ft. Sumter in Charleston Harbor on the early morning of April 12, 1861. This attack was the result of a long tradition of political division between Northern and Southern politics. While the politics of the era are not my forte nor the focus of the blog, it is important to at least highlight the source of contention. The economy of the southern states was built on an agricultural engine that was driven by African slavery. The northern states were more industrialized in many ways, the population was more concentrated and more factories existed. Slavery, in many northern states, had already been outlawed. The steam engine had only recently become the most efficient way of transporting people and goods across the country, and 85% of the railroads in the whole of the United States were built and operating in the North. The rural lifestyles of many southerners meant that they felt it was their own prerogative to decide what laws governed them. They also saw the northern abolitionist movements as a threat to their livelihoods. If they slaves were freed, they feared, then their economy would collapse. The geographically tight knit population of the north tended to view the Federal Government as the sovereign power in the country. This disagreement over the sovereignty of the state governments or the federal government was as old as the country itself, but it took 84 years for that disagreement to erupt into war.

Abraham Lincoln was elected to presidency of the United States in November of 1860. A Republican from Illinois, a northern state, he was deeply mistrusted by southern Democrats and in December 1860 South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union. Southern statesmen hated Lincoln enough to withdraw from the country, fearing that his Republican politics would force the states to submit to Washington. The rest of the Confederacy followed South Carolina’s example. By February 1, 1861 Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas had all withdrawn from the Union and the Confederate States of America was established on February 4, 1861.

Hostilities between the United and Confederate States opened, as I mentioned above, at Ft. Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Rebel guns under the command of Pierre Beauregard fired on the fort on the morning of April 12th, 1861. Though there were no casualties in this fight, it inaugurated an era of war that would last for five long, bloody years.

Following the attack on Sumter, the state assemblies of Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina also voted to join the rebellion.

The standing army of the United States at the outbreak of the war was small, with no more than 20,000 men stretched from California and Oregon to Maine. Lincoln, at the opening of hostilities, called for 75,000 volunteer soldiers to put down the rebellion. 250,000 volunteers answered the call and the states set to work organizing regiments which could be sent south. General Winfield Scott, known affectionately as “Old Fuss and Feathers” was placed in command of the Union army of the Potomac even though he was too fat to sit a horse. A plan was made to blockade southern ports and march the army south to face the rebels on their own land. The assumption was that once the rebels saw how serious the Northern men were, that they would back down and rejoin the Union.

Southern men also swarmed to serve their country. They also thought that once the northerners saw how serious they were that they would back down. Neither side expected that the war would last longer than nine months.

All of the scrambling to organize and reorganize the country for war meant that much of the fighting of 1861 was small scale actions. July 21st, 1861 is one of the major exceptions. 35,000 troops under Union Commander Irving McDowell crossed the Potomac into Virginia with the intention of capturing Manassas Junction, a major rebel railroad hub. Confederate commanders Joseph Johnston and Pierre Beauregard met them there and the first major battle of the war began. It was fought throughout the day and earned Thomas J. Jackson the nickname “Stonewall”; a recognizable nickname even today. 5,000 men were killed, wounded, or went missing in that battle. It ended with the whole Union army running back north to Washington. While the decisive victory on the field lay in Rebel hands it became shockingly and painfully clear to both sides that the war would not end quickly.

More reorganizing and organizing followed the carnage at Manassas (called Bull Run by Union men). McDowell was replaced by the dashing George B. McClellan and Beauregard was promoted to General in the rebel army. The end of 1861 was characterized by everyone in the country buckling down for the storm to come.

December 31, 2011 marked last day of the 150th anniversary of this important year in American history. Starting January 1, I will be updating the blog with postings to mark the 150th anniversaries of events during the war. I apologize that I could not go into more detail as far as the first year of conflict was concerned, as I only came up with the idea to do this the other day. I hope that you will forgive me and that you enjoy what will henceforth be a day to day account of the Civil War.

http://lategreatunpleasantness.wordpress.com/

Kate Middleton @ hairstylesarea.com

Charisma and beauty of Prince William’s wife is indeed no doubt. Therefore, I wonder if Kate Middleton seemed to provide plenty of inspiration for many. Beautiful face combined with a courteous attitude made it deserve to be called the Princess.
Monday (9 / 1), women are often paired with its predecessor, Princess Diana, is celebrating this anniversary-30 years. Therefore, KapanLagi.com again presenting a unique ten facts about the woman who was born in Reading, Berkshire, England in 1982. What is unique? Consider the following:

Because of the attitude and appearance that is always polite and gentle, The National League of Junior Cotillions (NLJC) Kate Middleton crowned as the Best People in 2011 Courtesy ago.
Although always looked elegant in public, it turns out she had a lesbian! As a teenager he claimed to have kissed the lips with a girl named Jessica.
Not just merely commendable, Kate Middleton had also been criticized from wildlife experts because of the shooting of wild birds at Sandringham Queen Elizabeth II, located in Norfolk, England.
Behind the graceful style, it turns out she had a cousin a stripper!
If you see a much revered figure at this time, certainly no one expected that when the school at Downe House, Berkshire, Kate actually dibully school friends for being too perfect.
Kate always gracefully? Not really! artist named Rich Simmons Kate and William had to dress as a pair of punk rock abiz! Although it is only the artist’s imagination embodied in the figure.
Did you know, that woman is the title Duchess of Cambridge was allergic to horses!
Despite its status as a royal family, she was still like hunting and shopping bargains!
Ahead of her marriage with Prince William, Kate had an all-out diets which make losing weight drastically. In fact, he was forced to shrink to fit wedding ring with a small finger.
Kate’s appearance on the day of her marriage to William indeed proved to be very charming. Amazingly, she did all her makeup alone.
Uniqueness in Kate’s self is endless, so many compliments did not stop flowing to him. So, say congratulations on inspiring women who remained modest even in the midst of this luxury. Happy birthday, Kate, wish the best for you!

Sources: http://www.kapanlagi.com

A celebration marking 100 years since Mr. Amundsen reached this bottom of the world location in Antarctica was attended by the Prime Minister of Norway, scientists and other polar adventurers.  The temperature was 40 below zero but the sky was clear and no snow storm was looming.  For this milestone, a special ice sculpture was unveiled, depicting the explorer Amundsen.  Many say this exploration and trip to the depths of this continent was deemed as one of the greatest achievements in human history.

Norwegian, Boerge Ousland, a current day adventurer, led a group of 16 experienced skiers across the frozen tundra of Antarctica to attend this festive ceremony, which was broadcast on Norway’s NRK television. 

Times have truly changed in that today’s expeditions have sophisticated lines of communication along with navigation tools and a faster and safer mode of transportation to and from Antarctica. Also noteworthy was the fact that explorations to the South Pole do not take three years to make the completion of the trip!

Amundsen and his team spent almost two months skiing across the frozen Ross Sea, crossing the vast ice fields and climbing the steep hills to the Antarctic plateau which is estimated at approximately 9,800 feet. 

His team consisted of dog sleds, supplies and food.  Prior to his famous expedition, Amundsen had the foresight to take serious preparations in that he had placed several deposits of necessary tools and extra supplies along his planned route, which would lessen the load on his take off and enabled him to concentrate on the rough terrain, furious cold weather and nearly unbearable blizzards.  Some say that his cache’s contained over three tons of supplies – no wonder he made it safe and sound!

After his arrival, Amundsen and his team spend days taking measurements and doing other scientific test prior to the start of his return route home.

To marry my wife was really a blessing from the Almighty. All my dreams, my decisions and my life grew with her and I can tell you that from marrying my wife was the best decision I ever made. The love I felt for her was my strength. Now we have three children, all girls ages 22, 20 and 19 and we are now approaching our silver wedding anniversary after 24 days.

Our love story is an open book. The ten peso bill on my wallet on the day of our wedding was not the hindrance. I courted her for six days and on the 7th day, we were married. It happened in 1986. Mrs. Corazon C. Aquino was our new Philippine President. On December 3, 1986, I started courting my wife. I visited her in the morning, lunchtime and in the evening for about six days. On December 8, 1986, I got her approval to marry me. Quickly as lightning, we scheduled our wedding the next day December 9, 1986.

That same day, we brought our plan to her parents and it was approved. Also that same day, we contacted our chosen sponsors and we were advised to see them in the morning the next day at Trece, Martirez City Hall to get the marriage license and other documents needed for the civil wedding.

On December 9, 1986 at around 9AM, all the necessary documents for the wedding were completed with the help of our sponsors. At around 10:30 AM we proceeded to the office of the judge located at the second floor of the Municipal City Hall.

The ceremony was simple and very fast. It only took less than ten minutes after the judge declared, “I pronounce you Paul and you Imelda as husband and wife”. Following his declaration were the wishes of congratulations and the signing of our signatures on the documents with his signature and the signatures of our godparents.

On our way home, I was surprised when my wife directly asked me, “Love was the wedding authentic?” I was speechless… what I did; I just embraced her and sealed her lips with a kiss!

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     Most of what I found was just… garbage.  People using cheesy patriotic songs with the same 15 pictures Cnn showed all day.

     Here is one Youtube clip that portrays the events of September 11th is a less ridiculous manner.  Hopefully it helps you to remember the day as it was, not the way our media propoganda machine tells you it was.

     And a song that, as a dad…. made me cry.

Do you remember where you were when the Twin Towers were hit?  I do! I was coming out of a pre-school meeting for my daughter when my ex-husband’s cell phone rang.  As we neared the car I heard him say “Dude, that’s not funny” and then he was told to turn on the radio.  We sat there in quiet shocked to be hearing that the towers were hit and drove home in silence.  For the next several days I was glued to my television.

Still today, those images of all the damage are fresh in my head.  A good friend of mine who is a cop told me that his job was to go through the rubble to try and find bodies and the memories of that still haunt him today.  I have friends who lost family members that day and know people who were blocks away and watched the whole thing.  These memories will be with us for life.  

Tomorow is the ten year anniversary of that horrible day.  I know I will be lighting candles and saying prayers for all those who died and those who lost someone they loved that day.  What will you do?