The Conejo Valley Guide "Welcome" blog covers a wide range of topics, local information, highlights of local things to do, compilations and other items. Focus is on information relevant to Ventura County and surrounding areas, including Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Newbury Park, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Malibu, Simi Valley, Camarillo, Moorpark, Somis, Fillmore, Santa Paula, Ojai, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Santa Barbara and Moorpark.
The Conejo Valley Guide® "Welcome" blog covers a wide range of topics, local information, local things to do, holiday event compilations, announcements and more.
My talented photographer friend in China has supplied us with a fresh set of pictures from Huangshan (literally Yellow Mountain) and Hongcun, a village near the southwest slope of Huangshan. Hongcun was made popular in 2000, with the release of Academy Award for Best Foreign Language winner (and Best Picture nominee) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon that was filmed there.
The location of these pictures is Mount Huang (also known as Huangshan, which literally means "yellow mountain" in Chinese), located in eastern China. This is one of the most popular tourist destinations in China, known for scenery, sunsets, granite peaks, pine trees and views of the clouds. My friend who took the pictures tells me Huangshan is the Chinese equivalent of Yosemite.
We're all stressed out with this economic mess and worried about making ends meet as we watch our retirement funds evaporate. So we're all working hard. Here's something to help us keep some perspective during these trying times. This one hits home with me.
A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.
SON: 'Daddy, may I ask you a question?'
DAD: 'Yeah sure, what it is?' replied the man.
SON: 'Daddy, how much do you make an hour?'
DAD: 'That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?' the man said angrily.
SON: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?'
DAD: 'If you must know, I make $50 an hour.'
SON: 'Oh,' the little boy replied, with his head down.
SON: 'Daddy, may I please borrow $25?'
The father was furious, 'If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such childish frivolities.'
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.
A friend of mine who grew up in the Southland has lived in Asia for the last 15 years with his family. His day job involves finance and accounting but his true passion and calling in my opinion is photography. His family recently visited Langkawi, a cluster of 99 islands off the coast of Malaysia. Langkawi means "Eagle Island," as eagles are in abundance there as you will see below. Enjoy the following or click here for a slideshow view.
Recently I came across these really interesting World War I era photos of thousand of soldiers in the formation of large patriotic symbols. The sampling of photos below are courtesy of the Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago (www.HammerGallery.com). Click here for a link to "The Art of the Conceptual Photograph 1915-1920" for other pictures and a more complete description. The pictures below are the work of Arthur S. Mole and John D. Thomas.
The Living Uncle Sam: 19,000 Officers and Men, Camp Lee, VA 1919
The Human Liberty Bell: 25,000 Officers and Men, Camp Dix, NJ 1918
Woodrow Wilson: 21,000 Officers and Men, Camp Sherman, OH 1918
Human Statue of Liberty: 18,000 Officers and Men, Camp Dodge, IA 1918
Living Emblem of U.S. Marines: 9,100 Officers and Men, Paris Island, SC 1919
Have a few bottles of liquor in the cabinet but don't know what to do with them? Visit www.CocktailBuilder.com and you'll be imbibing in no time!
Type in your favorite alcohol and you'll immediately be presented with a list of cocktails that can be made, along with other required ingredients. You can quickly scan the list and discover something new. Very quick. Very simple. Very fun.
I've had this large bottle of Frangelico in the cabinet for awhile, not knowing what to do with it. I typed it into Cocktail Builder and received a list of 14 Frangelico drinks with names like Harvest Howler, Decadence, and, um, Russian Qualude (Frangelico, Kahlua, Stolichnaya Vodka and half and half). Hmmm.
I typed in "tequila" and got a list of 30 drinks, including the oddly named "Chicken in a Blender" (consisting of tequila, vodka, bourbon, grenadine, lemon juice and topped off with Mountain Dew). Sounds interesting. I think.
So check it out and don't drive when you're done!
It seemed like we were getting way too many telemarketing calls...usually right around 8 p.m. while struggling to get the kids bathed and into bed. And I thought we had signed up for the National Do Not Call Registry years ago. So here's a brief "refresher" on how the Do Not Call Registry works and what it can and cannot do.
Conejo Valley Guide covers events, activities and things to do throughout Ventura County and surrounding areas.
Conejo Valley Guide® covers thousands of events, activities and things to do throughout Ventura County, California and surrounding areas.
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