Storybook Vacations

This is my 50th post at the new URL for Storybook Vacations.  A moment of silence.

Season Five, Part II of Nip/Tuck is almost over!  So brace yourself, Sean and Christian are putting away their scalpels for an undetermined number of months.  But at the very least, this season finale should be drama-filled and gripping.

On last night’s episode of Nip/Tuck, Sean and Teddy seemed to be together again, which as far as I can tell is not necessarily good for Sean and his well being.  Does anyone else think she’s certifiable?  Liz and Christian are, gasp, in fact tying the knot probably because Christian has one foot in the grave.  And Christian interviewed, and thought he found, his replacement who turned out to be slightly too affectionate toward furniture.

As for the season finale of Nip/Tuck?  I’m not quite sure what to expect.  That scene with Christian in the cryogenic chamber of sorts, left me feeling confused.  Could Ryan Murphy really be freezing Christian?  What strange, unfathomable scenario will unfold.  Stay tuned.

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Brian Nip/Tuck, Season Finale of Nip/Tuck, Season Five part II

Legislation passed by the US House could ease travel restrictions, among other things, to Cuba and the Cuban embargo in general. The next hurdle, thanks to our bicameral system, is the Senate.

Don’t put on your guayabera just yet. Even if this bill does pass it would expire on September 30 unless President Obama extends it. But Obama may be on board per his previous statements. According to Reuters, “Obama has made clear he favors relaxing limits on family travel and cash remittances by Cuban Americans to Cuba… [but that the] U.S. trade embargo against [Cuba] should stay in place to press for democratic reforms.” That means travel to Cuba may become easier, but the Kennedy-era embargo may remain in effect.

What does the bill do? Per Reuters, while the embargo is still in place, it does prevent the Treasury Department from upholding “…rules requiring payment of cash in advance for agricultural sales to Cuba”.  Ok, so traveling to Cuba may be difficult but purchasing grain would be less complicated.

Perhaps in the future the embargo will end, Communism in Cuba will be abolished, and we will be free to travel to Cuba which once was a beautiful, thriving country.

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Brian Cuba, Embargo, House, Obama, Senate, Travel

I recently had the misfortune of dining at Jake’s Bar and Grill in South Miami.  Jake’s use to be a good restaurant that was worth a visit, but those days have sadly gone the way of the dodo bird.  That’s because the food is sub par as is the service.

My girlfriend and I were off to a decent start when the host of Jake’s gave us gratis vino to compensate for sitting outside in the cold.  Of course, when the check arrived we had been charged for said wine and had to explain the error to our waiter.  But the evening at Jake’s went downhill from that point.

The tapas appetizer was quite scant, not very tasty, and had only a few slices of cheese, bad tasting olives, and three small pieces of cantimpalo chorizo.  My burger was dry and under seasonsed and my girlfriend’s roast chicken was extremely dry.

To add insult to injury, the service moved at snail pace.

Don’t have dinner at Jake’s Bar and Grill.  It would literally be more effective to simply flush your money down the toilet.

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Brian Jake's bar and grill, Jake's South Miami, Miami Restaurants

President Obama has just completed his trip to Canada and was received not only warmly but with admiration and joy.

I must confess it is nice to have our president admired when he visits another country. When Bush went to Canada admiration was not what he got; rather protests and detestation!

I visited Toronto for a week about 5 years ago and admiring a United States president was not, at that time, something anyone I met could have conceived. We’ve clearly come a long way.

The purpose of President Obama’s visit was partially to reassure Canadians about NAFTA and to discuss Afghanistan with them. The Canadians are very likely withdrawing the small number of troops they have there.

Canada is a small example of a general trend. The world right now is optimistic about President Obama, very optimistic. The question is, can he hold that optimism and use it to restore the United States damaged and fallen image.

So far, it appears to me Obama can and will.

The author of this post is Matt Wion who blogs at Thoughts on Democracy, Freedom, and Justice.

Brian afghanistan, Barack Obama, Canada, NAFTA, Obama

When preparing for a international trip, one of the things that comes to mind is whether our insurance covers overseas health expenses and if we need to get travel health insurance. I remember years ago when I was leaving New York City for France the forms for travel health insurance could be found even in the JFK airport. One could quickly fill them, make the payment and fly with a travel health insurance.

Before you even consider a travel health insurance one needs to check with his or her health insurance provider. A good health insurance plan will cover your medical and health expenses overseas, but the provider will require that you first pay them there and bring them the receipts. It is always good to check first with your health insurance provider. Company policies will differ across the board.

Now, I said that the travel health insurance should not be your only worry, but some other things as well to ensure your sound health state in a foreign country.

Fist, schedule a visit with your doctor and tel him or her about the country you are about to visit. Various countries have different medical or disease risks, which in turn will require differnt type of vaccination.

Another good source is to check CDC’s Disease and Vacination centers, which will list all types of vaccinations necessary before traveling to a country.

You need to find out about these things because CDC divides vaccines for travel into three categories: routine, recommended, and required. While your doctor will tell you which ones you should have, it’s best to be aware of them ahead of time.

This is why I said that when traveling to a foreign country, travel health insurance will not be the only thing to ensure your health, but vaccinations and other similar things that you need to find out in consultation with your health provider and doctor.

By eMaxHealth  – Providing news about how to find Affordable Health Insurance and sharing medical research.

Brian eMax Health, health insurance, international travel, Travel insurance, traveling abroad

Remember when Chris Brown was accused of brutalizing Rihanna?  Well, not surprisingly TMZ has released a leaked photo of Rihanna on their site.

Now there’s a backlash from the LAPD replete with an internal investigation.  According to GossipGirls.com, the police are not taking this matter lightly, “A violation of this type is considered serious misconduct, with penalties up to and including termination.”  Heads will undoubtedly roll once the perpetrator of this leak is caught.

It is clear from the above photo that if Chris Brown did assault Rihanna, he did so with brute force.  I can’t say definitively that Brown beat up Rihanna, but the circumstantial evidence is overwhelming.

Needless to say, Chris Brown and Rihanna may require a reconciliation period if that’s still possible.

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Brian Chris Brown, controversy, Rihanna, Rihanna Photo Controversy, TMZ

I love Top Chef New York.  As an amateur chef and foodie, it’s enjoyable to watch these culinary kings battle it out each week.  The food, the drama, the Padma.  Each moment is exciting to watch.

This week on Top Chef New York, Fabio said arivadeci to the show effectively destroying “Team Europe” as Tom Colicchio put it, in part I of the season finae.  But that’s ok, because as much as I liked Fabio, he didn’t rise to the occasion and was often not in the top three.

Top Chef has been a refreshing break from other reality shows as it has a soul and keeps you glued to your seat.

As for next week?  I predict that Stefan or Hosea will win.  Carla is a great chef, but she’s unlikely to overpower her male counterparts.  She needs more time to develop as a chef.

Catch Top Chef New York every Wednesday at 10pm EST on Bravo. Watch what happens!

Brian Bravo, Cooking, Dining, Top Chef, Top Chef New York

On the end of SW Third Ave, in Miami, next door to a Farm Store, you might easily miss Confucio Express, a take-out Chinese restaurant with a Spanish-English menu.

Besides three small tables outside, Confucio has no dining area of any substance.  But that’s ok, because most people are buying food-to-go.  And the cuisine is definitely worth the wait.

When  I dined at Confucio about a week ago, I had the Mongolian chicken which is served with a light, fried rice with sprouts, egg, shrimp, and pork, and a flaky egg roll filled with pork and veggies.

What separates Confucio from the countless other Chinese restaurants in Miami is that it is relatively grease free as the food is prepared using vegetable oil.  Also, the portions are enormous!  I literally made about three meals out of the one dish!  Finally, the prices are rock-bottom and a great value at that.

If you have a chance, visit Confucio Express which is located at 1810 SW Third Ave in Miami.

Brian Chinese Food, Confucio, Confucio Express, Inexpensive

According to NY Daily News, Rihanna was unsure if she should cooperate with police regarding alleged abuse by boyfriend Chris Brown.  The 20-year-old hip-hop sensation doesn’t want to involve the police out of loyalty despite sustaining contusions and a black eye.

Chris Brown, 19, allegedly assaulted Rihanna in their rented Lamborghini after a quarrel on February 7 for which he was arrested for battery.

As stated by the NY Daily News, sources claim, “[Rihanna] got out of the car to walk home. [Chris Brown] got out to stop her,” … “Things got physical. He hit her, possibly more than once. She had multiple bruises.”  This comes as a shock to many as Chris Brown has a good, clean-cut reputation.

Fortunately Rihanna’s parents are steering her in the right direction, “Rihanna’s parents are reportedly pleading with her not to worry about how jail time might affect Brown’s career, according to Us. A Daily News source said the Barbados-bred beauty is cooperating with police.”  I applaud this sound advice.

What sort of man feels it necessary to beat his wife, girlfriend to feel important?  Chris Brown writes song about empowered women, yet he is being accused of abusing a woman.  This sort of behavior is repulsive.  Time to grow up, Chris.

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Brian alleged abuse, Chris Brown, fighting, police, Rhianna, Rihanna

Facebook has done it again!  Late last night, Facebook indicated that they could potentially own the rights to content submitted by its users even after their accounts are closed.

Today, Facebook backed down due to the overwhelming backlash from its members.

I can’t help but wonder: Would Facebook have changed its policies if no one complained?  Did Facebook have some ulterior motive?  It seems that Facebook is relatively whipped.  As soon as members get on the bandwagon and make threats, Facebook relents.  I suppose you can’t blame the social networking giant, but it’s ironic that it doesn’t have a finger on the pulse of its community.  Besides, isn’t it obvious users wouldn’t want Facebook to own their photos, videos, information, etc.?

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, claims that the new Terms of Service (TOS) will be adjusted based on Facebook users’ comments, and that the current TOS will remain in effect for now:

“We expect to complete [our new TOS] in the next few weeks. In the meantime, we’ve changed the terms back to what existed before the February 4th change, which was what most people asked us for and was the recommendation of the outside experts we consulted.

Zuckerberg is arguably a genius.  He created a social networking site that valued at over $1 billion per a Yahoo! offer, that has over 175 million users.  But yet he still hasn’t figured out that he needs to attempt to, how shall I put this, not piss off Facebook users!

Shame on you, Facebook!

Read more about the Facebook TOS debacle here.

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Brian Facebook, Facebook Photos, Facebook Users, Mark Zuckerberg, TOS