Krazy Kylie Headlines!

For some crazy reason this week the online press have been full of ri'dunk'ulous Kylie related headlines. Here's my list, in no particular, click the headlines to read the full story.

1. "Kylie's 'unlistenable': Sinead O'Connor"
2. "PETA Hates Pedigree Dogs, The American Kennel Club and Kylie Minogue"
3. "SHOCK! Kylie Minogue pelted with ice cubes at Brits after-party"
4. "Kylie Minogue drinks £35k cocktail"

A river with a bunch of castles, I am so there!

We totally have to do a Rhein River tour in Germany! I mean if this picture is just the tip of the iceberg, the river tour as a whole has to be amazing and if they serve beer on the boat all I have to say is done!

What are your thoughts? River Tour, Yea or Nay?

Scan your Passport!!!!

Yesterday while I was wasting the hours away on the sofa, I watched Top 20 Travel Tips. I thought it would be a real big bore of a show, that I could keep on as background noise while I surfed the web. I was surprised that the show was not only entertaining but very informative. Most of the Travel Tips I had already known, but the show helped to expand as well as broaden my knowledge of the tip(s).

One of the tips that I thought was just ingenious was to have your passport scanned and then sent via an email to yourself. In the past I just made two photocopies of my passport. One I placed at home and let a friend know where it is and the second copy I would leave in my luggage in another place other then where my real passport is kept. With scanning you have a real copy of your passport rather then a poor photocopied version available to you anywhere you have access to an internet cafe.

You may ask yourself why should I go through all the trouble of coping my passport anyway? Well imagine this scenario.

While shopping through the lovely town of Bath, England, you decide to take a break and have a spot of tea, how very British of you. While you sip your steaming Earl Grey, you don't seem to notice when a thief steals your bag. It's not until you have to pay for your tea, that you realize what has happened.

What to do now?

Not only were your credit cards and money in the bag, but your passport was also in there and now with your Chase and Citibank, your passport is gone also. Luckily you call your credit card companies and have them all canceled, plus Citibank has a branch in London so you can get another card the next day when your visiting. Your travel companions agree to cover your expenses while your in this bind. But how do you plan to get back into the good ole' USA? And won't the Citibank branch in London need some proof of identification?

So, instead of spending the next couple of days touring the Tower of London and appreciating the art work of the Tate Modern, you have to spend it at the US Embassy dealing with a whole roll of bureaucratic red tape.

The event described above actually did happen to a friend of mine. They did not make a copy of their passport, nor did they have any other type of identification. The replacement of the passport took so long they had to extend the trip an extra 2 days; the robbery took place 2 days before the end of the trip.

How could this event been avoided? If you had just listened to the wise words in this blog and had your passport scanned into an email, you could have just stopped into an internet cafe, had it printed, and then stopped by the nearest US Embassy. Travel guru Rick Steve's gives this advice. "Losing your passport while traveling is a major headache. If you do, contact the police and the nearest US consulate or embassy right away. You can get a short term replacement, but you'll earn it. A photocopy or computer scan can speed the replacement process."
To view Top 20 Travel Tips show click here for future listings or click here to see the entire list via Fine Living Network's website.

Don't forget your dream...

I found this article about "Saving for your dream" which really rang true. Click the source at the end, for the article in it's entirety.

"Every time you buy anything, you sacrifice a bit of your dreams.

I have an old college friend who constantly moans about how he hates his job and how he dreams of not having to work any more. Yet every single weekend, he spends about $100 on two new video games and about $60 on beer and pizza - he then spends the whole weekend “zoning out on reality” by playing games and watching football.

He constantly tells me how he should be making more money and how it’s difficult to save money, but it’s pretty easy to see that he’s spending away his future here. Every time he buys a video game or goes on a beer and pizza binge, every single time, he extends his attachment to the misery of his job. If he took that $160 a week and invested it, then spent his weekend free time looking for other avenues to raise money (like building a side business), he’d be moving directly towards the kind of freedom that he wants.

While his case is an extreme example, it’s true to a degree for all of us: every frivolous purchase is an active choice to postpone our dreams. Consider what your dreams are the next time you pull out the plastic - and ask yourself if this item you’re buying is worth giving up a piece of that dream."

source

"Carried Away" b-side to "WOW"

John Paul Gaultier and Kylie Minogue

Kylie is planning on toning down her sexy image and opting for more of a demure look. The singer, who will celebrate her 40th birthday this May, is known for her flamboyant tour costumes. But her stylist reveals she is planning on dressing more modestly for her upcoming European tour later this year. William Baker, who is credited with Minogue's fashion-conscious style, says the star will be working with top designer Jean Paul Gaultier to create a more mature look.

He says, "The next tour will see Kylie aging gracefully. She's celebrating her 40th birthday this year so what we have planned is to move in the right direction. We're working with Jean Paul Gaultier on the costumes - he designed Madonna's Blonde Ambition tour. The outfits he designs are incredibly sophisticated. It's difficult in pop to remain young so what's the point?"

My excitement is mounting.....

Source

Happy Valentine's Day - Kylie Style

Kylie Minogue has decided to spend Valentine’s Day with a girlfriend of hers. Kylie feels that one doesn’t need a man to celebrate Valentine’s Day with.

“I’m having an unusual Valentine’s this year. I will be going out for dinner but with my girlfriend as it's her birthday,” the Sun quoted her as saying.

Sophie Ellis Bexter to launch gay club!

Website Metro.co.uk is reporting that singer Sophie Ellis Bexter is to start up a gay themed 80s club in London, inspired by David Bowie.

Wow, now that is gay!

Off to New York City

Finally we're leaving today! Adam, Perry, Phil, Ian, Cat and I are off to NYC to see the Spice Girls. Can't wait, should be a blast!

"If you wanna be my lover...."

Google and Yahoo Search

Over the weekend I was able to add this blog's link into the Google and Yahoo search engines. Don't ask me how it works, because honestly I don't have a single clue. But somehow by the grace of the internet gods, if you type in the key words Kylie X Berlin or Kylie Minogue X Berlin into a Google search this blog comes up as the first choice!!! Isn't that exciting!

On yahoo.com I had less luck. I had to type in the entire name of the blog, Kylie x Berlin June 22 2008 plus the word blog, into the search in order for the blog to come up as the first choice.

You may ask, why does this matter? Well it matters to me because I want more people to read the blog and make comments about the posts, to hopefully improve the blog itself. Plus this might mean that we may be able to connect with other Kylie-atics out there on the web who are also seeing her in Berlin. I can blah blah blah about this for hours on end. Ultimately, I would like more people to read the blog, to offer positive and constructive feedback, it can only improve things.

Kylie Minogue - Wow (F*ck Me I'm Famous mix)

Blog Dummy!

I just bought the book "Blogging for Dummies" in hopes that this could be better, more interesting, prettier, cooler, all that and more blog.

I began my process of "improving" the blog, not sure why "improving" is in quotes, but it seemed appropriate, a couple nights ago. I visited a couple of blogging help sites, like http://bloggerfordummies.blogspot.com/ (not affiliated with the book) and http://blogger-tricks.blogspot.com/ of which both are helpful and I will visit frequently, but I felt that I needed a more step by step approach on how to "improve" the blog. The book so far has been helpful, as I read more, hopefully my new knowledge will be reflected in future posts.

BTW I just saw "Cloverfield" tonight, it was real good. Everyone should see it, for a monster movie, it gives you a really interesting perspective.

Not sure if I'm ready for NYC next week!

How do you say "Do you speak English?" in German?

I ran across this blog entry on travelblog.org and I thought is was rather insightful. Click the title of the blog to read the entire entry.

"Back in the states before I left for Europe, I asked a friend of mine who has traveled to Germany and speaks a bit of German, how do you say "Do you speak English?" in German? He looked at me coyly and said, "Do you speak English?" Apparently, most Germans speak English, and while they may say they don't speak very well, that's more modestly than honestly, as most speak excellent English. In the two places I have visited so far in Germany, Cologne and Dresden, I would say that's for the most part true. In Cologne, a much more modern and young city, most people spoke English. On the opposite side of Germany in the east, Dresden, a much more relaxed city, surprisingly quite a few didn't speak English. Either way, after traveling in Europe and meeting so many people who speak not only 2 but 3 or 4 languages, it's quite embarrassing how so many few Americans, myself included, hardly speak one other language."

Kylie Minogue's WOW video not so Wow in the UK

"Kylie's music video for Wow has been axed by TV watchdogs, after the promo failed to meet strict viewing guidelines. Wow was set to premiere on British network Channel 4 on Wednesday night as an exclusive preview for fans. However, strobe lighting effects used in the footage broke tight rules that could cause seizures. These rules are set by the U.K.'s communication regulator."

"The video, which features the Kylie pole dancing with aliens (what? where are the aliens), has now been forced to undergo re-editing before it is shown next week."

Kind of bizzare, eh! So I'll have to keep an eye out for the non-seizure inducing re-edited version of WOW.