Let’s make frog soup

So the French came up with the stupid idea that all flights to Mexico from the European Union should be banned to help curb the spread of swine flu.

Of course all European airlines reacted angrily to this and I join them happily in their revolt against the French request. No, really. Can someone explain to me how exactly imposing such a ban will help stop something that has already spread globally?

Have they not stopped to think for one minute that such a move would leave thousands of European tourists stranded in Mexico? Or are they stupid enough to think that any serious airline in the world would agree to having transatlantic flights with empty aircrafts just to bring back passengers?

I ignore how many Mexicans live in Europe [and how many Europeans live in Mexico], but I assume that we are well into the hundreds of thousands. And believe me; not one single one of us would like to learn that there is no way to reach Mexico and our loved ones in case of need, just because some Bachelot frog woman says so.

Fortunately, EU Health Commissioner, Cypriot Andrulla Vassiliou, said no to the French proposal for a Europe-wide ban and left each member country to impose its own restrictions.

About the only thing Mrs Vassiliou has done right so far, considering that Cyprus’ pharmacies are out of stock of Tamiflu, while we are being reassured by the EU Commission and the Cyprus government that the whole of the European Union is ready for a health emergency.

And last time I checked, Cyprus was part of the EU.

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?

I've written before about some of my favorite cartoons of yesteryear, and I have to say that while I still have a good laugh watching The Flintstones or Top Cat with my daughter, there is one 'newcomer' that has made it to the top of the list: SpongeBob SquarePants.

Who could have ever imagined that a bright yellow sponge with an annoying laugh, who lives in a place called "Bikini Bottom", and hangs out with a chubby starfish and a grumpy squid would become so popular?

Did you know that his creator is actually a marine biologist?

And that Johnny Depp voiced a surfer dude in a recent episode? Or that Victoria Beckham is the next celebrity to voice a guest character in the show?

SpongeBob SquarePants is turning 10 this year ... Happy Birthday yellow dude!

And that reminds me of another kid's favorite who is celebrating a milestone soon: Barbie is turning 50.

Madonna's age.

Somehow I'd rather be yellow, square, and ten.

Nothing to do?

If you have nothing to do these days, I have a suggestion for you: Why not spend the afternoon visiting my blog every 1.5 minutes?

Someone out there (a fan perhaps?!) seems to enjoy doing this quite a lot: (click on the image to get a better view)

The secret

A doctor on his morning walk, noticed this older lady sitting on her front step smoking a cigar, so he walked up to her and said, "I couldn't help but notice how happy you look! What is your secret?"

"I smoke ten cigars a day," she said. "Before I go to bed, I smoke a nice big joint. Apart from that, I drink a whole bottle of Jack Daniels every week and eat only junk food. On weekends, I pop pills, get laid, and don't exercise at all."

"That is absolutely amazing! How old are you?"

"Thirty-four," she replied.

Of working with a whiner

I never really liked her.

I remember clearly the day I met her. The first thing I noticed when I first saw her was how insignificant she is. She was the ugliest one in the room, by far. And cheap. She looked cheap.

But I did not really have much choice. I had to work with her, so I decided to make the best out of it. And it was not easy, believe me, mainly because she is a big time whiner. I tend to multi-task and I am used to working quickly. But she just couldn’t keep up with me. She fell behind continuously and had horrendous faults that I had to find a way to patch up.

Did I mention that she is a whiner? Oh yes. She threatened to quit so persistently that once I really thought that she had finally given up and thrown the towel. But no, it was a false alarm, she kept on going as usual: slow, overloaded, overworked and over moaning.

But one good day, not long ago, she had enough. At first I thought I had done something to make her react that way and I felt pretty bad about it. But of course it had nothing to do with me and everything to do with her lack of power and drive.

Looking back, I have to say that I am surprised she lasted that long. And I am grateful she did.

Yes, I am talking about my ugly and cheap Compaq notebook, who's finally called it quits.

She will be missed.

The Greek way

Kosta (father): "I want you to marry a girl of my choice."
Son: "I will choose my own bride!!!"
Kosta: "But the girl is Bill Gates's daughter.."
Son: "Well, in that case... ok"

Next Kosta approaches Bill Gates.
Kosta: "I have a husband for your daughter...."
Bill Gates: "But my daughter is too young to marry!!!!!"
Kosta: "But this young man is a vice-president of the World Bank."
Bill Gates: "Ah, in that case... ok"

Finally Kosta goes to see the president of the World Bank.
Kosta: "I have a young man to be recommended as a vice-president."
President: "But I already have more vice- presidents than I need!"
Kosta: "But this young man is Bill Gates's son-in-law."
President: "Ah, in that case... ok"

And that my friends is how Greeks do business.








ΕΛΛΑΣ ΤΟ ΜΕΓΑΛΕΙΟ ΣΟΥ!!!

The mom song

Because we all are moms, or live with a mom, or have a mom ... this one is a good reminder to all of us of how exciting motherhood can be! ...

Enjoy.




Gracias a Ivette por compartir!

Para las cuarentonas with love

Forty-something.com has been a real source of fun and excitement for me lately. As I've written before this is a very personal project that was born from my own struggle with turning 40 and the truth is that I never expected it to become so successful.

The site is now getting well over 15,000 unique visits a month, there are more than 600 subscribers to its mailing list, the website won an award only one month after its launch, it has reached a Google Page Rank of 5 in only four months and an Alexa Rank of 167,000. I know this must all sound like gibberish to my many lawyer-, economist-, hoteliers and artistic friends ... but trust me: it's good stuff!

So, moving forward, I've decided it's time to go back to my roots and launched Forty-something.com's sister blog in Spanish: www.40ymas.com.

This is an exciting project for me. On one hand I am blogging in Spanish, which is turning out to be a great exercise ... and on the other hand I am enjoying tremendously the interaction with the many Spanish-speaking women that visit the blog and leave comments on it. I am having a blast!

If you speak Spanish, I invite you to visit my new 40ymas baby. And if you have Spanish-speaking female friends over 40, please let them know about this new cyberspace especially created for them.