While Male may be the capital of the Maldives – a place where visitors almost exclusively arrive into and leave from the country, it’s interesting that many visitors do not spend a single night in Male. This is because most visitors go directly to their resort island and spend most of their time there.
Many visitors still get to see Male via day trips organised by several of the resort islands.
Male isn’t particularly large – in fact it’s possible to walk around the island in slightly over an hour (it’s dimensions being approximately 2km long and 1km wide).
For its land mass, Male is pretty densely populated with around a 70,000 strong population. There are ongoing land reclamation projects in progress to increase the amount of space on the island.
Despite being a small city, Male offers the kind of services you would come to expect from any capital including books, post office, internet access, bookshops, travel agents, a myriad of eateries and so on.
There are a few points of interest for those who venture into Male to get a glimpse of life in the capital.
The Islamic centre & mosque is one of the grander structures in the city. Hukuru Miskiiy is the most ancient mosque in Male and dates back to the 1650’s.
There is a National Museum displaying various artefacts once owned by the Sultans (from clothing to weapons).
You may also enjoy visiting the Muleeaage (a structure initially built as a palace and also used as presidential residence in the past).
Shoppers will find quite a few places of interest in Male – for instance Chandanee Magu and Orchid Magu have a cluster of souvenir shops & cafes.
Male isn’t a place to go to for bars or clubs but other forms of entertainment do exist – there are a couple of cinemas (the Star & Olympus on Majeedi Magu). There are also opportunities to catch an outdoor concert at New Harbour.
For sports enthusiasts there is the National Stadium where football & cricket games are regularly contested.
Male has several hotels, guest-houses & inns to suit a wide range of budgets should you have the opportunity to spend a couple of nights.
Those who do get to visit Male for any length of time can enjoy a wide range of eateries serving many different types of international cuisine. Male has several small tea shops offering (non-alcoholic) drinks and small snacks or “short eats” (hedhikaa). Tea shops also offer “long eats”, which tend to be larger more filling dishes.
Tea shops in Male are on the whole cheap and chirpy affairs, serving simple foods at low prices. There are also several higher priced restaurants to choose from. These include cuisines such as Italian, Thai, Indian, American & Chinese. Most restaurants also have their own in-house restaurant.
Tuks Engineer
http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/things-to-do-during-your-maldives-holiday-take-a-day-trip-to-male-88563.html
E3 has just ended and some pretty amazing games were announced. Unfortunately, we're going to have to wait until 2010 for a lot of these games. But for the ones that will be released around Fall, which ones do you think will be the ones bought when shopping for holiday gifts?
modern warfare 2 and new touch screen psp
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Well i am going to get Assassins Creed off of Goozex to prepare for Assassins Creed 2. I am going to save up for Modern Warfare 2 and Assassins Creed 2 so that is what i am getting. I will get Uncharted 2 and inFamous/ Fight Night Round 4 for christmas
What are you gonna get
Uncharted 2
Modern Warfare 2
possibly Batman
That's all I really have my eye on right now, there is still a lot of time till then… still many games i need to finish…
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Summer is a magnificent time of year: the weather is beautiful, the kids are out of school and you probably have some sort of fantastic family holiday planned. However, one of these factors can prove to be a bit stressful – and it’s not the great weather or your forthcoming holiday.
Parents don’t always have it so easy during the summer; that’s because when the kids aren’t in summer school, activity camp or at their friend’s house, they’ll probably be under your full supervision. Moreover, if your kids aren’t enrolled in summer school or camp, you’ll have the challenging task of keeping them occupied for a significant period of time. Either way, they’re likely to spend a large proportion of time at home.
But what is a poor parent to do when the family holiday is weeks away, the kids are getting bored and you’ve already taken them to the park, pool and cinema for the hundredth time? You need a back-up plan.
A wise route to take would be to ensure your kids have enough interesting activities to engage in at home. Whether this involves providing them with books or devising a set of entertaining games, you’ll find that they’ll have a lot more fun than simply sitting around the house or continuously asking you to take them somewhere. In addition, they’ll veer away from watching television all summer and you might even get a bit of peace and quiet.
There are a number of ways to get your home and garden ready for summer. For starters, why not set up an outdoor play area for your kids? Build a swing set, a dollhouse or a mini basketball court – your kids will be occupied for hours at a time each day. You can even help your child start a new hobby, like painting, block building or biking. Regardless of your child’s age, you’ll find loads for them to do, either at home or in your garden.
There are countless online toy shops which can provide you with everything you need, from fully constructed games and play sets to materials for hobbies and self-assembling. So start preparing your home and garden today, because summer will be here before you know it – and when the kids are out of school, you’ll need a sure fire way to keep them entertained.
Martin Mcallister
http://www.articlesbase.com/free-articles/keep-your-kids-occupied-during-the-summer-break-stock-up-with-a-range-of-entertaining-toys-and-games-88839.html
"Rattle and Hum" Hit the Nail on the Head!
Eddie Everywhere has an Extremely Good Relationship with the AFL Chiefs, therefore, Whatever Collingwood Wants, Collingwood Gets!
But in all Fairness to Eddie, it has been happening for Ages Now, Big Money Speaks Volumes!!!
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The holidays are a great time to throw a party. Parties can also contribute to your holiday stress-but they don’t have to. With a little planning and creativity, you can throw a party that’s fun and relaxing both for you and for your guests. If you’re planning a big holiday bash this year, here are a few tips to make your party more memorable.
Pick a theme. It’s often tough to negotiate the political-correctness minefield when planning a holiday event. If you’re planning an office party, you should veer toward inclusiveness. But if you’re holding a party in your own home, a little more leeway is permissible. No matter what holiday tradition you celebrate, don’t be afraid to use it as a theme-even if your friends don’t share the same traditions. Most people love to experience new and different traditions, and your friends will welcome the opportunity to learn more about you. With whatever theme you choose, however, make sure you keep religious references subtle to avoid making guests of different religions uncomfortable.
Plan games for the kids. If your guests have children, it’s likely they’ll want to bring them. Holiday parties are much more fun and relaxing for adults if the kids are having fun and occupied-so make sure to make your party fun for them, too. Set up a scavenger hunt, delegate an older child to lead a game of hide-and-seek, or set up a Christmas Crafts activity table-the possibilities are endless. At the very least, rent some holiday-related videos and set the kids up in the rec room with some popcorn and hot chocolate.
The right lighting. Bright lights kill a party. Soft, sophisticated mood lighting is definitely better for a party atmosphere. For holiday lighting, have a soft, homey general light, augmented by sparkle from a chandelier, Christmas tree lights, table crystal, or candles.
Creative decorations. Decorations don’t have to be complicated to make an impression-and fun, creative decorating can really set a lively mood for your party. Miniature Christmas trees (use a rosemary tree and small, dollar-store decorations); colorful dreidel-shaped paper lanterns; or creative favors relevant to your theme all make a fun and stylish impression.
Always have enough food. Your party may be formal or casual-but you’ll need the same amount of food for each. Make sure there are plenty of snacks at hand, so people can munch before the dinner course is served. For a formal party, creative appetizers are always popular-for a less formal one, there’s nothing wrong with chips and dip. If there are kids at the party, be sure to have food kids like on hand-plenty of popcorn, pasta, or hot dogs for picky eaters, plus sodas or hot chocolate.
Consider catering. Food is often one of the most stressful parts of planning a party. Hiring a caterer is often worth the price-you’ll be free to enjoy the party without worrying about cooking, and with a professional cook, you’ll know people will love the food.
The holidays are a great time to throw a big bash-and there’s no better holiday gift than a warm house full of family and friends. But even a big party doesn’t have to be a stressful affair. Follow these simple tips this year, and you can be sure your party will be fun, relaxing, and memorable.
EventMarketer
http://www.articlesbase.com/advice-articles/how-to-plan-a-killer-holiday-event-81591.html
Holiday stress is as much a part of the Christmas season today as shopping, and we search for the secret to stress-free holidays as frantically as we hunt for shopping bargains. So why not look to the character most often credited with changing his own experience of Christmas–Ebenezer Scrooge?
Scrooge had so many Christmas issues to overcome, it took nighttime visits from three spirits before he got the message about how to celebrate the holiday. But he learned his lesson well. After that night, Scrooge was a changed man when it came to Christmas. In Dickens’ words, “… it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us!”
“I wonder if that can be said of me. Can it be said of you?” I asked my friend.
“Who knows what that even means, keeping Christmas well. Scrooge lived in a much simpler time. All he did was send a big turkey to Bob Cratchit’s family, play games at his nephew’s house, and raise Cratchit’s wages and help him with some medical bills.” My friend sounded exasperated. “Today we have excessive commercialism, too many parties, fattening food everywhere while we’re continually warned about being overweight, long lines to get the special toy our kids can’t live without, and hundreds of articles about holiday stress. Scrooge might find Christmas more of a challenge in 2006 than he did in the 1840s.”
“What do you think he’d make of all the tips on how to avoid holiday stress?” I mused. “You know-don’t try to do it all, skip the parties you don’t want to go to, make lists before you shop and cut back on spending, don’t eat too much, don’t drink too much, don’t expect too much, exercise, take relaxation breaks-stuff like that.”
“He’d call it humbug,” my friend replied. “But, like I said, he lived in a simpler time. Plus he was rich, so once he decided to be generous he could give as much as he wanted without worrying about paying off credit card bills for months like most of us today. And he was starting from nowhere, so people were thrilled with whatever he did. It’s not like they were comparing his gifts to the ones he gave last year or the ones his brother gave. I don’t get where you’re going with this.”
“I’m wondering whether we’re off on the wrong path with all the tips to banish holiday stress,” I said. “Every year more articles come out. I did a Google search on reducing holiday stress the other day and got over 78,000 hits. All the experts say we’re overwhelmed and they offer advice, but it doesn’t look like it’s working. Maybe we need to find a new approach.”
“I can’t believe you’re saying this,” my friend said. “You’ve been teaching stress-management for over 20 years, and now you’re saying it doesn’t work?”
“Oh it works for your life overall if you regularly use techniques like meditation, yoga, physical exercise, deep muscle relaxation, and time-management,” I said. “But those are long-term. We’re talking about the Christmas season here. It’s only a few weeks long. Realistically most people aren’t going to start some new technique like meditation in the middle of the Christmas season when they’re already complaining that they don’t have enough time. And little hints like setting priorities and taking time for yourself are way too general to have much impact.”
“So we’re all doomed to live with Christmas stress unless we can time travel back to Scrooge’s day when life was simple? Not a very helpful conclusion,” my friend said.
“No, not doomed,” I said. “Just misguided. Instead of reading through endless lists of ways to reduce Christmas stress, maybe we should take a lesson from Scrooge’s experience and focus on keeping Christmas well. Just step back, look around and enjoy what is out there. Look–here’s how Dickens describes what Scrooge did on that Christmas day after the spirits had visited him.”
He went to church, and walked about the streets, and watched the people hurrying to and fro, and patted children on the head, and questioned beggars, and looked down into the kitchens of houses, and up to the windows, and found that everything could yield him pleasure. He had never dreamed that any walk — that anything — could give him so much happiness.
“You’re way oversimplifying the issue,” my friend argued. “I’m reminding you again that we live in a more complex time. We can’t just go wandering around patting unknown children on the head and peering into other people’s kitchen windows. And even if we did, I don’t think we’d find it nearly as satisfying as he did.”
“Duh! It’s a metaphor,” I responded. “Expand your awareness. Live in the moment. Enjoy the small daily pleasures. Be a good person. Help someone out. Maybe that’s enough. Christmas is a holiday. It’s supposed to be a happy time, not an endurance test. So let yourself enjoy Christmas with whatever you have, whoever you’re with, wherever you are. Maybe it’s that simple.”
Copyright
Lynn Osterkamp, Ph.D.
http://www.articlesbase.com/self-help-articles/holiday-stress-relief-ebenezer-scrooge-found-the-secret-82030.html
I was just wondering which good games were coming out then?
Haha no contest. Here's the three best selling, sure to be golden, new releases coming out this year. Halo 3: ODST, Ghostbusters, and Bioshock 2. If I was to have to pull a Brendan Fraser and bunker down in a bomb shelter for 35 years, these three games would be all that I would need. For ODST, I know a lot of people out there were a little disappointed with Halo 3 (me not one of them, but that's just a sidenote) and Bungie KNOWS this. They know how important this game is going to be not only to the series, but the whole company. I mean Halo Wars sold pretty well but lets face it. Half of those were only because Bungie duped us into it for getting the Mythic Map Pack anyway. But once I played it I was like alright, the graphics are pretty good, and I like the integration of the Halo characters into one of my favorite genres of gaming, but what it comes down to is that I just don't feel at home playing an RTS with an Xbox controller. Same with one of my FAVORITE series, the Command and Conquer series. I just don't get it. I never really felt that that kind of game belonged anywhere but the PC but that's just my opinion. REGARDLESS. Bungie knows that ODST is going to be make or break for them and I guarantee that it is going to show when this game comes out this Fall.
As for Ghostbusters, come on. I've been hearing talk about this for YEARS and no one thought it was ever going to happen. Why? Because Ghostbusters was such an amazing, spectacular cult classic that anyone could love. They've been sitting on Ghostbusters for quite some time now, because like I said, I've heard rumors rumbling about Xbox and a potential Ghostbusters game for a while. They've decided now is the time to bring the idea to fruition, and I think the long wait is going to pay off. From what I've heard, alot of the original cast is returning. An obvious plus for anyone that's a fan of the franchise. Nothing kills a video game than crappy voice actors and a project that big stars like BIll Murray wouldnt want to work on. Expect to see a beautiful marriage between the proton pack and the right thumb stick, making for excellent game play. Hot damn just seeing screenshots of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man makes me start to drool. This is definitely going to be a sick nasty game.
Finally, Bioshock 2. After seeing how great Bioshock 1 was, how could we not expect greatness again? And in terms of Bioshock 2, there's no one I trust more to make a great game than Ken Levine, the creative director that oversaw the creation of Bioshock. Read the interview here: http://www.shacknews.com/featuredarticle… and you'll know what I'm talking about. He's someone that's really devoted to what he does, and is passionate about making a storyline that works. He loves the project, and I'm sure he'll do a good job. I'm hoping for a little diversity in terms of gameplay, but I know that he'll come through. Plus this time, with more bodily awareness like seeing yourself in the mirror, looking down at your feet, and other stuff like that, you won't be leaving the game again this time feeling like you were playing the whole game as a vampire. And hey, if you jumped during the last one as much as I did, I'd expect even more high adrenaline as the slow and lumbering Big Daddy are being replaced by the lightning quick and Spider Splicer-esque Big Sister. How entertainingly sinister of the guys down at 2K huh?
Lol anyway, I hope this helps, and just trust me. Pick these three up, you wont be disappointed.
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For many families jetting off to the sun, the time spent in the airport departure lounge is often one of the most arduous periods of any holiday experience. Keeping the kids amused while you wait for your flight can be particularly difficult – especially if your aeroplane is delayed for any reason. After all, kids really aren’t interested in browsing the duty free shops and they’ve already read the comics you bought them for the journey. So what else can you do to keep them amused?
Some airports have made attempts to help alleviate the problem of bored kids by introducing facilities especially for children, such as soft-play areas and arcades. While younger children might enjoy the soft-play areas, older children are still likely to experience boredom relatively quickly – especially when they realise that they could be spending all their holiday money in the arcade before they even get on the plane! Furthermore, some foreign airports don’t offer any sort of kids’ facilities, which can leave parents and children at loggerheads.
If you’re travelling with kids this summer, investing in a hand-held console could help banish those boredom blues and allow peace to reign in the departure lounge. What’s more, a hand-held console can also help keep kids occupied during the flight, and your holiday hotel stay as well. The two most popular consoles available are the Nintendo DS Lite and the Sony Playstation Portable (or PSP), with both offering a range of options to help keep your kids amused.
The Nintendo DS Lite has two screens, one of which is a touch-screen that allows greater interaction with in-game elements and is capable of Wi-Fi connections. This means that your kids can play games with other children from anywhere in the world, while the console’s ‘Pictochat’ feature allows short range instant messaging between users. The Nintendo DS Lite also boasts a large choice of games, including kids’ perennial favourites, Pokemon and Super Mario, as well as being backward compatible with games released for Nintendo’s older Gameboy Advance console. Music fans can also purchase a MP3 player, which can be added to the console to provide music playback capability.
Sony’s Playstation Portable (PSP) is a single-screen console and, like the Nintendo DS, also offers a Wi-Fi connection to other users as well as internet capabilities. In addition to having a wide range of games from which to choose, including favourites such as FIFA and Tomb Raider, the PSP console can also play movies, with many blockbuster films available for the gaming device. Furthermore, the PSP console can also play MP3 files so kids will be able to listen to their favourite music when they’re not playing games or watching a movie.
With each console offering so much, there’s never been a better solution to battling kids’ boredom. With games, films, music and chat capabilities aplenty, a hand-held console will ensure kids will be entertained for hours on end, enabling you to relax while you wait for your flight to finally be called.
Adam Singleton
http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-tips-articles/avoid-airport-boredom-with-a-handheld-games-console-180950.html
Could play 'cards' – a variation on celebrity heads in which everyone has a card attached to their head and has to guess what card they have AND last out the night…
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