What Two Famous People Were Alive At The Same Time That Would Surprise People

Charlie Chaplin and 50 Cent.

Neil Armstrong was 17 when Orville Wright died.

Martin Luther King and Anne Frank were the same age.

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Five Funniest Moments During Our Trip To The Dominican Republic

Before the trip, Pace and I kept playing The List Game (“Name five things you’re going to do on the beach”, “Name five things you’re going to eat at the buffet”, “Name five things you’ll do on the plane”) and that’s continued after our return home.

Tonight, we (okay, mostly *I* since the things Pace remembered as funny are mostly disturbing) came up with this list…

FIVE FUNNIEST MOMENTS DURING OUR TRIP TO PUNTA CANA

1. Pace had taken the path through a central “jungle” in our resort instead of walking around the outside paths like he often did.  But one time, instead of waiting for us on the other side as usual, we see him walking down the path towards us from the opposite direction, pretending to be a stranger and like, many of the workers and other guests do, casually said “Hola!” as he continued walking past! 😉

2. My mother-in-law presented me with a pair of crocheted swimming trunks.  Worse, she and her co-workers who made them had made sure they were anatomically correct! 🙁

Crocheted Swim Trunks

3. The first time Pace got up on a stool at the swim-up bar and started dancing to the bachata music.

4. Sasha trying a taste of the sand the first time we took her to the beach.  Then again.  And again.  It actually took her a few tries before she realised the beach wasn’t a giant sheet of brown sugar!

5. It was more funny in a “ha ha!  We could’ve been mugged or killed” sense-of-relief way. But after hopping into an unmarked “cab” after the Ringo Starr concert then having the drive get lost and proceed to take us down a dark street, there was much nervous laughter when we finally got safely back to our resort!   (The dark street he took led to a different resort – he’d mis-heard the name of our resort and had to get directions from their gate keeper.)

Music Monday – “Why are there so many/Songs about rainbows/And what’s on the other side?”

Sad news at yesterday’s Telemiracle as Sesame Street’s Bob McGrath, a fixture on the show for 38 years having missed only one year due to a scheduling conflict, announced he wouldn’t be back.

The 82-year old McGrath said he wanted to spend more time with his wife since he’s already on the road so much.

Lots of tears for this one…

The cast of the telethon did a long, well-deserved tribute to Bob after he and country singer, Beverly Mahood sang their duet version of “Rainbow Connection”, an annual highlight for the last few years…

“Rainbow Connection” – Bob McGrath and Beverly Mahood

 

Secular Sunday – 40 Best Atheist Arguments

Worth reading.

Saturday Snap – On the Plane on the Way to Punta Cana

 

We forgot to get before & after pics like we did on the way to Cuba but here’s a photo of us on the way to Punta Cana…

On The Plane to Punta CanaOn The Plane to Punta Cana

Friday Fun Link – How Are Pistachio Nuts Harvested and Roasted?

I love any behind-the-scenes video of this type but this one is particularly relevant as Shea and I are on a total pistachio kick right now…

Throwback Thursday – #tbt – Good-Bye To #cuba and #dominicanrepublic Four Years Apart (2011 & 2015)

Pace saying good-bye to Cuba and the Dominican Republic at the end of our holidays, four years apart…

 

Behind The Scenes at a 5-Star All-Inclusive Resort on the Mayan Riviera

After our recent holiday, I was interested in learning more about these mega-resorts (practically mini-cities) operate.

This article provides a great overview on this subject, giving a behind-the-scenes tour of the same chain we stayed at in the Dominican Republic but from their Mayan Riviera complex.

Q&A With the Selfie Stick’s Unsung Canadian Inventor

These things (presumably some originals and some knock-offs) were fairly common sights in Punta Cana though not ubiquitous by any measure either.

Music Monday – “What’s the reason why/Da Vinci had to paint/Lennon had to write/About peace”

Remember how, in the old days, you’d try to maximize your $14.99 (or $19.99 or more!) when buying a cassette or CD?

To do this, instead of blowing your cash on an album by a single artist that might only have 1-2 songs you like, you’d pick an album with a title like “Biggest Chart Toppers Ever!” or “MuchMusic Countdown 1991” with a bunch of hits by various artists.

We were fortunate that Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band happened to be playing in Punta Cana while we were there last week and after seeing a once-in-a-lifetime concert with Paul McCartney a couple summers ago, this was a “twice-in-a-lifetime” chance for me to see the only other living Beatle.

For the past 25 years, Ringo has formed an ever-changing band out of the secondary players from popular bands of the past or front men from one- (or two) hit wonders.

I knew this wasn’t going to be a full-on Ringo concert going in but what I didn’t think about too much was that a Ringo Starr concert gets you the equivalent of that old Various Artists cassette tape…which is actually kind of cool.

To put it another way, I probably wouldn’t pay to see Toto or Mr. Mister but getting to see a crack band play those band’s biggest hits (plus songs by Todd Rundgren, Santana and of course, Mr. Starkey as well!) was an amazing experience, made all the better by the fabulous setting on an outdoor terrace at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

I think there was only one song I didn’t recognize and when I got back to Canada and looked it up on YouTube (where a full Ringo concert with pretty much the setlist we saw is available), I realised that’s because it was an original one of the players wrote and Ringo allowed to play on the tour…

(Here’s the setlist for the entire concert we saw in Punta Cana.)