Just ten days ago I wrote This Just In… Television Advertising Is Not Dead. As if we needed more proof that it is in fact not dead but alive and quite well comes news that a TV ad led directly to the apprehension of the FBI’s Most Wanted Wanted criminal

After that bin Laden guy was taken down, someone had to take his place atop the FBI’s Most Wanted List and that person was James Joseph “Whitey” Bulger, Jr., former Boston mob boss who had been on the run for the past sixteen years. He was caught in Santa Monica along with his longtime girlfriend Catherine Greig.

And how did the FBI finally get their man… how did they finally get the elusive Whitey Bulger?

One word: Television.

Just days after launching a TV campaign aimed at catching him, the FBI received a tip from someone who had seen this PSA, which urged people to be on the lookout for Catherine Greig:

The PSA was running in 14 cities across the US, appearing on such shows as The View, Live with Regis & Kelly and Ellen.

So, you see boys and girls, television advertising is not going anywhere because television is not going anywhere because people still watch television!

Click here for more on the capture of Whitey Bulger.

Holland is a special world. From a small country, it fanned out in all continents through the sailors, famous merchants, explorers, European famed artists, craftsmen.

Even today, the Netherlands has a special charm, with unique customs, unexpected landscapes and all you want to visit.

Much of the country is below the sea level. The lowest point is located at minus 6.7 meters. The highest point has 323 meters and is called “mountain”.

The most common means of locomotion in the Netherlands is the bicycle. Throughout the country there are 16 million bicycles and in Amsterdam their number exceeds the number of inhabitants.

The Dutch are the healthiest citizens in Europe. However, many of them don’t eat cooked dishes daily, limiting themselves to sandwiches with cheese or prepackaged products.

Any Dutch knows at least two languages. Most of them speak, aside from their native language, English. Depending on the region, they also use French or German.

The Dutch law allows any citizen to grow five cannabis bushes, but only for personal use.

It is known that the Netherlands is the country of flowers. A bouquet of 50 tulips costs 5 Euros. In the Netherlands the prostitution is legal and subjected to taxation as any other profession.

The Dutch are among the tallest people in the world, the average height being of 182 cm. There are cases when people have more than two meters.

In the Netherlands there are no less than 1,000 museums, a large number compared to the population of 16 million inhabitants. Naturally, the main visitors are the foreigners who are always visiting them.

The Netherlands is one of the largest brewer producers in the world. Here are the famous brands Heineken, Grolsch and Amstel. However, the Dutch prefer the beer in Germany, Czech Republic and Belgium.

Netherlands is the only country in Europe where there is still a large number of traditional windmills: over 1,180.

Summer is fast approaching and many of us are thinking about family summer vacation.

The economy is not getting any better and most of us “regular” folks are not thinking where will we go on vacation, but can we afford family vacation?

Luckily, due to the bad economy there is lots of vacation deals available. This might be the perfect time to have a fun family vacation on a budget.

Most of the travel agencies and online companies are offering last minute family budget vacations for a reasonable price.

If you are flexible and ready to go within few days you can score fantastic travel deals.

If you are not flexible and you need to plan your family vacation few weeks or months in advance there are ways that you can have a vacation on a budget as well. It will take some research and comparing, but it can be done. You too can plan and enjoy cheap vacations with kids.

Here are some family vacation tips that can help:

• Decide on your destination first – you might want to consider places that are off-season like Mexico, Puerto Rico, Arizona, Florida, Las Vegas (July-August). Check out sites like TravelZoo, Selloff-vacations, Red Tag Vacation (Canada) or Priceline for the best deals on family budget vacations.
• Decide if you will be driving or flying – if you are flying sign up for Airfarewatchdog.com, Hotwire.com or Cheapflights.com – they will send you emails with the best deals almost daily.
• After you chose your destination purchase an Entertainment Book for the area you will be visiting. At this time of the year the books are half price and it can save you hundreds of dollars in dining and attractions.
• Purchase your amusement parks or excursion tickets online before you go. This can save you money (average up to 20%) and time waiting in lines.
• Take your time and collect all the coupons available to you online. Just type into Google search your destination + coupons and see what is available.
• Make an itinerary for your vacation and incorporate all the coupons and savings you have available. This way you will see how much you are saving. You won’t have to waste family vacation time looking at coupons and deciding where to eat and what to do. I involve my children in the making of the itinerary to make sure that everybody gets equal say on what to do. This also gets them excited about our family vacation on a budget.

If you do your homework right and spend some time searching you can find lots of cheap vacations with kids this summer.

Sometimes you don’t have to travel far for fun summer vacation. Sometimes the best and the cheapest vacation destinations are right around the corner…..Camping or renting a cabin in a woods is a perfect option for Fun Family Vacation On a Budget.

A beach house is a calming respite from everyday hassles and concerns, so you should decorate it to reflect the natural surroundings by using comfortable furniture, breezy fabrics and a soft color palette. You can also enhance your beach house by mixing crisp white with bold splashes of color, such as turquoise and coral. Bring elements of the beach indoors by setting out seashells and using natural materials such as stones, pebbles and rough-hewn wood.

Natural Elements and Colors

Celebrate the beach by decorating with sand- and sea-inspired tones. Hang cream or tan drapes and add a pop of color to a neutral couch by using pillows in shades of bright turquoise and coral. Lay stone tile in your bathroom and line the tub with starfish and elegant bowls of seashells. Buy wrought-iron water fixtures for your sink and bathtub to complete the natural look. For a beachy kitchen, enhance a wall with sea-colored glass tile and hang natural bamboo shades on the windows.

Sophisticated Nautical Style

Decorate your beach house with a classy nautical theme. Buy a navy blue and cream striped couch made of a relaxed cotton fabric, use an antique chest as a coffee table and display vintage sailboat replicas. Hang wrought-iron lanterns to cast a soft glow across the room. Set out blue Adirondack chairs and tables featuring blue-and-white-striped canvas umbrellas on the porch.

Nantucket-Inspired Décor

Update your beach house with a romantic Nantucket-style theme. Hang delicate white eyelet curtains in the windows to catch the ocean breezes and paint the walls a soft butter-yellow color or a light pink hue. Choose a vintage floral-print quilt for your bedroom and use a white wicker headboard, dresser and nightstand set. Enhance your bathroom with a white claw-foot tub and splurge on fluffy floral towels and a matching shower curtain. To bring a touch of nature into the room set out vintage glass vases filled with fresh-cut roses.

A plethora of names comes to mind when saying Japan. Manga and anime, kimonos, geishas, Buddhist temples, the stock market, technology, the old samurai, the ancient art of kabuki, pachinko, sushi, cherry blossoms, karaoke or J-pop only scratch the surface of Japanese culture. With a wide range of attractions, every street corner, landscape or building seem to wear a special meaning. Festivals are an explosion of colors and traditions and an unforgettable experience for tourists.

Kiyomizudera, Rokuon-ji (Golden Pavilion), the Great Buddha of Takamura and Todai-ji provide a great start if you want to learn more about Buddhism. Himeji-jo, Meiji Jingu or Tokyo’s Imperial Palace will help you find about more about its history. Temples and museums abound in Japan, so take your pick. The action in Memoirs of a Geisha takes place in Gion, a hanamachi (geisha district). The Tokyo Tower is an orange and white construction strikingly resembling to the Eiffel Tower. Mount Fuji offers breathtaking landscapes. However, it is more known due to Hokusai’s prints. The most known picture is one with great waves crashing at the shore and Mount Fuji, painted in blue, barely distinguishable in the background. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park reminds visitors of the atomic bombings.

Japanese people are indirect communicators, so they’ll express their discontentment subtly, through non-verbal communication. You should bow to your seniors and learn a few things about etiquette. Always ask for a gift to be wrapped. The way one presents itself is extremely important. There are many curious things about Japanese society. For once, sex is a taboo, but the sex industry is blooming, with ‘soap-land’ areas and a developed adult entertainment industry. Gyaru, Lolita and Visual Kei subcultures are famous worldwide. Many misconceptions about Japanese people circle around — such as the strict working environment, the tireless workers, submissive women, insects and whales as food, perfecting the art of imitation –, but these are just ignorant stereotypes.

Snow, a Christmas tree, fresh-baked cookies and glittering presents all make for the perfect holiday image. But this holiday image can be a lot of work too. So why not try something different this year? Christmas vacations are becoming more popular, and the choices are nearly limitless.

A North Carolina Mountain Christmas

The Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina offer plenty of holiday spirit without the traffic and crowds of more well-traveled destinations. The quaint city of Asheville offers a number of holiday events and is the home of the Biltmore Estate. This 250-room home is the former residence of the Vanderbilt family and is the largest private home in the U.S. The Biltmore is open to the public for holiday tours and events. It houses a world-class winery and there is an inn on the estate.

“The Sound of Music” Holiday

Movie buffs will love a Christmas vacation in the Austrian Alps that features a “Sound of Music” tour. A number of tours are offered, highlighting both movie and historical sites, including the breathtaking lake district. Follow the footsteps of the Von Trapp family’s heroic story through mountains and fields. With the city of Salzburg as a backdrop, this couldn’t be a more picture-perfect vacation spot.

Christmas in Paradise

If you’d like to break with tradition but can’t quite bear to part with Christmas altogether, how about a vacation on Christmas Island? This tropical paradise is located west of Australia and was named by Captain William Mynors of the East India Ship Company, who arrived on Christmas Day 1643. In addition to diving, exotic bird watching, golf and hiking through the magnificent national park, Christmas Island offers holiday events that will delight your whole family.

Disneyland in California and Disney World in Florida have something for everyone. How to make the most of your stay at either one takes some planning.

Where to Stay

Staying at any of the resorts and hotels on park property is always a great experience, though it can be more expensive. Getting rooms with kitchenette facilities will save money on meals.

Planning the Week

Get maps of the different parks and plan which one to hit first. During major holidays, some parks have one-day-only fireworks or parades, so schedule around those events. Plan to be in a park all day to enjoy the evening shows.

What to Do First in a Park

Go to the must-do rides as soon as possible. Also, it’s never too early to reserve a place for lunch. Character breakfasts also fill up quickly, so plan accordingly.

The Hidden Mickey’s

While waiting in line, take in some of the hidden features of the park such as Mickey Mouse silhouettes. The basic large circle and two smaller ear circles are everywhere, from cobblestones to architecture carvings, and are there for a fun scavenger hunt.

Souvenirs

Wait until leaving the park to get bulky souvenirs or have them sent to the main gate so you don’t have to carry them all day. Downtown Disney, a free-access shopping area, has many of the same items, so try there for that forgotten gift.

In Estonia, there are nearly one million speakers of the Estonian language, which is part of the Fino-Ugric language family. Estonian is very close as sound to the Finish and the Hungarian. Only 65% of the country’s population is ethnic Estonians, 28% being Russian, the rest – Ukrainians and Byelorussians. The predominant religion is represented by the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church.

The Estonians put in the center of their social preoccupations the family. In the rural areas it is common for the extended family to live together, while in the cities the concept of family is limited to a few individuals with primary degree of kinship. Often newlyweds live with their parents for a couple of years, until they manage to take their life into their own hands.

The Estonian society respects the rules of hierarchy, appreciating those who are older, those with more experience or with a higher social status. Elders are treated with respect because they think they are wise and have life experience. The rule says that they are first presented in a group when they are introduced.

In general, people are calm and reserved, and if you want to integrate easily among them, it is preferable to behave peacefully and rationally, as they do, speaking on a gentle tone and without attracting too much attention to yourself. Estonians are very proud of their culture and traditions, folk music and their stories.

Tallinn is the capital of Estonia, and although a long time ago it was eclipsed by other towns in the area (Riga, Helsinki), lately it has become a very pleasant and easily accessible for all tourists in Northern Europe. Estonia, although a former Soviet republic, is now “the newest country in Scandinavia” and a visit to Tallinn gives you the opportunity to see the remarkable progress of Estonian culture and history and the wonderful world heritage protected by UNESCO.

There are a number of Weaving Machines available in the market and if you are keen on stitching tapestry for your loved ones then there are specialized machines available in order for you to create the best tapestry. If you are keen on investing in a tapestry weaving machine then you need to go online and look for the best weaving machine for New year light grey tapestry. While you can always purchase your weaving machine from any store near you it is always a better option for you to go online and purchase them since this enables you to find the right tapestry weaving machine and your investment will last you for a long time. There is a lot of difference between a regular weaving machine and tapestry weaving machine and if you invest in the wrong weaving machine it will become very difficult for you to create the tapestry. Tapestry weaving machines have a large base and this enables you to turn the tapestry around with ease. It is important for a tapestry weaving machine to have a broad base since the tapestry is heavy and turning them around without support will become very difficult.

Creating good quality tapestry has been one of the best hobbies of women all over the world in order to keep their families and love ones warm during winter. While these tapestries were initially created by the hand women these days choose to make them with the use of a weaving machine. If you like creating tapestry and you are keen on creating them then you should consider investing in the best weaving machine for tapestry that is available in the market. One of the best ways to find this weaving machine is to go online and check the various available options. While there are certain shops that sells weaving machines ordering them online is always better since you get to read customer feedback about the weaving machines and this eliminates the risk of ever investing in bad quality weaving machines that will not work.

Although there are a number of different kinds of tapestry Weaving Machines available in the market you should always try to look for one that comes with a broad base. Tapestry are heavy and if the base of the weaving machine is not broad then it becomes extremely difficult for you to turn the tapestry around and stitch it efficiently. It is also important for you to look for a weaving machine that runs on electricity rather than one that is manual. Manual Weaving Machines require you to use your arms and this means having to put in a lot of pressure in order for the weaving machine to work. Since tapestry are heavy and thick this can put a lot of pressure on your hands and they will start to hurt. Always look for weaving machines that have different stitching modes. The modes should be anywhere between 7 mm to 5 mm.

The MGM Grand is a luxury Las Vegas strip-based Mega resort. It is the second largest hotel in the world. The resort features everything a person could want in a destination vacation: an abundance of shopping, fine dining and exciting nightlife.

History
The MGM Grand broke ground on October 7, 1991. The official opening was December 18, 1993. The original theme of the hotel was “The Wizard of Oz.”

Size
The 30 floor main building is 293 feet high. The outdoor area covers 6.6 acres. The convention center is 380,000 sq. ft. and the casino is the largest in Clark County at 171,500 sq. ft.

Features
The MGM Grand features 16 restaurants, shops, five outdoor pools with rivers and waterfalls, The Grand Spa, fitness center, salon, wedding chapel, convention center, casino, MGM Grand Garden Arena and CBS Television City.

Fun Fact
The MGM is one of three hotels on the Strip with a 13th floor.

The Lion statue at the main entrance in the largest bronze statue in the U.S.

Famous Ties
The MGM was featured in the movies “Bringing Down the House,” “Ocean’s 11,” “Vegas Vacation” and “The Great White Hype.”

Attractions
The MGM is home to Cirque du Soleil’s production of KA.

Studio 54 is a copy of the famous New York City nightclub.