Pergamano Parchment Craft is a popular, new craft rooted in an art form that stems back almost two thousand years. Today’s parchment craft projects are delicately beautiful, lacy designs created by a combination of techniques including embossing, stippling, perforating, cutting and coloring.According to historians, Turks from Bergama, Turkey invented parchment in approximately 500 AD. (Bergama is Pergamum in Latin). The Turks developed parchment as a substitute for papyrus. Because of wars underway, they were unable to import the ingredients needed to make papyrus – a type of paper made from stems of a plant named sedge. Instead, they created early versions of parchment from the skin of a goat or sheep.Although in the beginning, people used parchment primarily as a surface on which to write, parchment craft appeared in Europe in the 15th or 16th centuries. At that time, parchment craft entailed creating lace-like designs on sheets of paper. In those early days of parchment craft, most of the designs were religious in nature and had significant Catholic overtones. Over time, these traditional techniques developed into newer approaches and new techniques.Parchment craft did not spread rapidly during the 15th century, as many forms of card making were mechanized following [...] Continue Reading…

You step through the darkened entranceway, leaving the tropical night behind. Suddenly, waves of sound crash over you Iike ocean surf. Breaking out in a sweat, your heart pounds to the rhythm of bass, bongos, bells and brass. The walls seem to pulsate. The pungent smell of perspiration mixed with perfume assaults you. As your eyes adjust to the dark, broken by hypnotic flashes of the multi-colored strobes, you realize it’s not walls that enclose you, but dancers— scores of dancers gyrating, weaving and swirling, limbs flashing, hips thrusting in quarter—time beat. You fill your lungs with the spicy aroma, tighten your belt a notch and plunge in. Welcome to Chango’s in Cali, Colombia – one of Latin America’s hottest Salsa night clubs.Cali, a modern, festive city, lies in the heart of “the Valley.” when Colombians say “the Valley” they mean the Cauca valley, a not so little Garden of Eden a hundred-fifty miles long and some fifteen miles wide between the coastal mountain ranges and the Central Cordillera. Until the turn of the century, this valIey was little more than a rural outpost.Then, with a population of some 15,000, the Cauca Valley was largely cattle country, parceled out [...] Continue Reading…

An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.- Martin Luther King, Jr.For schools, MLK Day is a time to celebrate the accomplishments of the African-American community. Understanding the history, culture, and triumph of Black America is one way to recognize Martin Luther King, Jr.’s contributions to society. To broaden students’ appreciation of MLK Day, educators can help students examine broader social justice issues. After all, King was not only concerned with Black America. In the latter part of his career, his work extended beyond the Civil Right’s movement into involvement with the poor, with Jewish leaders, and with worker’s unions of the late 1960′s.This article highlights contemporary social justice issues, issues with which King might be concerned if he were alive today. The paragraphs to follow define concepts, point out resources, and suggest activities for your students.AGING AND AGEISM: As a person gets older, they face a myriad of challenges, including health concerns and financial strain. One major obstacle faced by older people is ageism. Ageism is defined as discrimination based on age, especially prejudice against the elderly. To explore health concerns [...] Continue Reading…

DID YOU KNOWN THAT… Brazil has many famous actresses, some of them are: Gloria Pires, Fernanda Montenegro, Florionda Bolkan, Sonia Braga, Regina Duarte, Vera Fischer, Xuxa, and Bruna Lombardi.DID YOU KNOWN THAT… Miss Universe pageant 1982 was held in Lima, Peru, where Karen Diane Baldwin of Canada won. The judges were: Cecely Tyson ( actress), Mario Vargas Llosa (writer), Ron Duguay (sportsman), Franco Nero (actor), Carole Bouquet (actress), Dong Kingman (painter), Ira von Furstenberg (princess), David Coperfield (illusionist), David Merrick (theatrical producer), and Gladys Zender (Miss Peru and Miss Universe 1957).DID YOU KNOWN THAT… Quito, Ecuador´s capital, is a city which reflects beautiful colonial architecture. It is surrounded by big mountains.DID YOU KNOWN THAT… “Evita” a film by British director Alan William Parker was inspired in the life of Maria Eva Duarte de Peron, who was first lady of Argentina in the past century.DID YOU KNOWN THAT… Oswaldo Guayasamin was one of the best painters in South America.He was born on July 6, 1919, in Quito, Ecuador.DID YOU KNOWN THAT… Colombia hosted the Pan American Games (1971).DID YOU KNOWN THAT… Gabriel Jose Garcia Marquez is one of the best writers in South America. He was born on March 6, [...] Continue Reading…

For years men have been seeking foreign brides to marry and bring to the U.S. Canada etc. Foreign brides are also known as mail order brides, the term “mail order bride” is a joke to someone that has gone through the process, in reality there is no such thing as a mail order bride. You will not see a postal truck backing up to someone’s home and delivering a mail order bride and all of her luggage, it’s not that simple.By law you must meet your future bride in person, and that will usually mean making a trip to her country, the filing of many documents, and then waiting for approval for her to enter your country, and this is just the hurdle after you find the foreign bride you want to marry.The first step in finding a foreign bride should be deciding what country your search should begin in, chose a country where you like the culture, the people, the beauty of the women, a place you would like to visit etc., if you prefer Russian women, then by all means go to Russia, if you prefer Latin women go to South America.Colombian women have a world wide [...] Continue Reading…

For a lot of teenage boys, the immediate problem at the moment is not about finding love, but to find the right girl to date with. It so common to find a lot of confused boys go hell bent over what works when it comes to the issue of attracting girls. Therefore, it is important to know the basic dating tips for boys in order not to repeat the mistakes committed in the past.The first thing to do is start researching for the ideal place wherein you would expect to find your type of girl. Survey malls, parks, fast food chains or the arcade. Deciding for yourself the type of girl you would want to date will help sort out the preferred location. After this, an important thing to look after is how you would look. It is very important to take care of your hygiene as this will mark her first impressions of you. You would not want to known as the stinking boy in the bunch.Upon spotting out the hot girl, determine if she is with her friends or not. If she is, dropping subtle hints of interest like a smile or coy grin while passing by [...] Continue Reading…

If you are thinking of having a date with a married man, it is one of the worst ideas you can have. If that guy is having a date with you, he has already proved that he cannot keep the commitment and he is not faithful. So you should search for a guy who is not married and who is more responsible. The other thing is that you are going to have a painful span of life even at the end you get that guy. The only way that you are not going to have that pain is that you are just doing it for fun and nothing else, but still there are chances that you might get involved in him, so better to avoid, and remember my this advice on dating married people.He is married and he has already made a promise to someone to spend his life with, so you can understand that he cannot be trusted. The married man who can cheat his wife can do anything and he has proved this that he cannot keep the promises. He only looks for himself and not to someone else, so you are planning to get that person [...] Continue Reading…

Dancing to a romantic slow song with a girl you like is the perfect time for a kiss. Here are some tips on getting that kiss.

1. Before the dance even starts check your breath and your lips. You don’t want bad breath or dry lips when you go in for the kiss.

2. Ask for a dance when a nice romantic song comes on.

3. Hold her close to you while you dance.

4. Put your face right next to hers during the dance.

5. Make sure your hands are on her waist and put your nose gently on her cheek to see how she responds. This will let you know if she wants to kiss you or not.

6. If she responds, turn your heard until your mouths are touching.

7. You will know right away if she is into the kiss or not.

8. If you want to make the kiss more passionate, hold her head from the back and put your hand in her hair. Make sure not to get your hand tangled in her hair too much or she will be uncomfortable.

9. As you end the kiss, look directly into her eyes and gently kiss her one more time. If he snuggles [...] Continue Reading…