The Reality of Arranged Marriages
Arranged marriages have been a topic of interest for centuries. Authors across the ages have explored this theme at length, and it still surfaces in literary works today. What’s the appeal? Is it the fascination with the lack of lust and desire we cultivate in North American society? We strive on the element of danger, of the forbidden, while an arranged marriage is usually a safe way to ensure a family’s approval of a union.
And yet, many of today’s romance novels deal with marriages of convenience. We’ve all read them: the heroine marries the hero because she needs him, whether for financial reasons, or because her children need a father — there are as many reasons to marry as there are novels dealing with this subject. Yet although the marriage isn’t initially based on love, there’s always that sensual tension simmering beneath the surface, and as readers, we know it’s inevitable that the two are going to fall deeply and irrevocably in love.
But what about real life, where things don’t always work out so well? Arranged marriages are commonplace in a number of countries, such as Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Japan and India. They’re more common than you’d think even in North America, where cultural diversity is cherished and encouraged.
Young people in countries where arranged marriages are commonplace are told from an early age that their spouse will be chosen for them. To deny an arranged marriage is seen as a sign of disrespect toward the family. But how are suitable spouses chosen? In Japan, for instance, “when a woman reaches the marriageable age of 25, she and her parents compile a packet of information about her, including a photograph of her in a kimono and descriptions of her family background, education, hobbies, accomplishments and interests. Her parents then inquire among their friends and acquaintances to see if anyone knows a man who would be a suitable husband for her” (the Asia Society’s Video Letter from Japan: My Family, 1988). Usually, the most important aspect of choosing a suitable spouse is the bond between the two families, rather than the relationship between the couple being married. Property or land with the aim of securing social status sometimes seals marriage agreements.
Do arranged marriages work? Opinions tend to differ. Statistics place the divorce rate for arranged marriages much lower than those in the United States, where marriages out of love are the rule. However, research also shows that the pressure a married couple encounters from both society as a whole, and from the respective families, suggests that divorce is often not an option.
Can love grow out of an arranged marriage? Absolutely, and in the same way that love can grow in romance novels from a marriage of convenience. But there’s more to love than finding a suitable match. Love can grow for many reasons, from lust at first sight to friendship that develops over a long period of time. It’s impossible to predict whether a union will be successful. The only two people who can make it work are the bride and groom, the hero and heroine of their own story.
Effective Interview Questions For Hiring Managers

A lot of attention is paid to skills for job candidates including how to act, dress, the right questions to ask – and not to ask. Less attention is given to the right kinds of questions for hiring managers to ask. While it is usually clear what the hiring manager SHOULD NOT AND CAN NOT ask, little notice is given to the right key questions. One of the most important things any executive or manager can do is to hire the best people. As resume is only part of the story. Asking and getting responses to tough and probing questions is essential to eliminating the wrong candidates and identifying the right ones.
TELL ME A BIT ABOUT YOUR PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND? Resume in hand, this is an opportunity to screen the candidate even if you or human resources has already done so over the phone. The key is two fold. First, to insure that what is of interest in the resume is addressed by the candidate. Second, to observe the candidate’s poise, presence, tone, self-confidence, manner and body language. How would this person come across to your boss, your boss’s boss and to your top customers?
TELL ME ABOUT YOUR EDUCATION? A chance to see if what jumped out (or did not) to you is highlighted by the candidate. Is the story consistent? A follow-on question if a younger candidate can be about favorite course and why or least favorite course and why. This is another chance to evaluate demeanor, tone and body language.
WHY ARE YOU INTERESTED IN XYZ COMPANY? This is an opportunity to see if the candidate did their homework about the company. If they are serious, they will tell clearly and concisely about the elements of the company that appeal to them enough to want to work there. If they are vague in response to this question, it is not a good sign about how serious they are about the position.
WHAT ARE YOUR GREATEST STRENGTHS? While this question has been asked for years, it speaks volumes about what is important to the candidate and what the candidate thinks is important to the Company AKA the hiring manager. This question can trigger some much exaggerated body language and eye contact.
WHAT IS AN AREA OF DEVELOPMENT FOR YOU? This is a variation on the STRENGTHS question. This is often less comfortable. People like to talk about their strengths, not their weaknesses. That makes this question all the more important and telling to the hiring manager. The key here is candor, professionalism and composure on the part of the candidate.
READ THE JOB DESCRIPTION (do not paraphrase).
WHY DO YOU THINK YOU ARE THE IDEAL CANDIDATE FOR THIS POSITION? There is a happy medium between boasting and modesty. That is what the hiring manager is looking for here. It is also another opportunity for the candidate to recap their skills and experience and relate them specifically to the open position. Look for two or three key points in response to this question.
WHERE DO YOU WANT TO BE IN FIVE YEARS? This can be a killer question. I know, I was way too honest on this one in my youth. The proper answer should be honest, thoughtful, realistic and to the benefit of the company. If the candidate wants a free education and then go on their own or to be the CEO or to be lying on the beach, that’s the end of the interview.
IF YOU WERE IN THIS JOB TOMORROW, WHAT ARE THE FIRST THINGS YOU WOULD DO AND IN WHAT PRIORITY? This tells the hiring manager whether the candidate has some understanding of the Company’s mission, vision and values. It tells whether they understand the basic functions related to the job. It also gives the candidate an opportunity to show off their initiative while at the same time testing their sense of workplace reality.
WHAT QUESTIONS DO YOU HAVE FOR ME? This can be the most telling question of all. It again gives the candidate an opportunity to show what they know about the Company. It is open and allow for probing and creative questions. It also let you know what is important to the candidate – such as “when can I start taking vacation?” (WRONG question!).
WHEN CAN YOU START? Even if you do not make a job offer (which is RARELY done during the interview), it is always important to know the job candidate’s availability, whether they are currently working, whether they have another job in the wings or are just fishing.
While the questions a hiring manager can and should ask a job candidate are nearly endless, the right questions are essential. By asking these questions every time, the hiring manager will get better at interviewing and will ultimately hire the best candidates for each job.
How to Paint a Beach Scene
Painting a beach scene is not hard, but where do you begin? Follow these step by step directions and you will have a fantastic painting of your favorite beach in no time!
Sketch in drawing, Do not worry, the sketch does not have to be involved. You should determine where you want the water to meet the sky and sketch in this horizon line. Next, determine if there will be any boats, islands or land visible in the painting and sketch those in as well.
Paint in sky and clouds. With white, paint in the entire sky to the horizon. Now with blue, start at the top of the canvas and blend down. This will create a sky that is darker at the top and lighter or fade into white where it reaches the sea. This is a beautiful effect. You will paint right over the reference line you drew in. This is ok because the line was there just for reference.
Let the paint dry before painting clouds if you are using acrylic paint. If you are using oil or watercolor go ahead and start the clouds on the wet canvas. Now with white and maybe a touch of blue and or crimson add first layer of clouds using circular motions. Keep the tops of clouds distinct, but blend the bottoms of them. With circular motions paint in second layer of clouds using white. Keep tops distinct and blend bottoms. Don’t cover up all of your background clouds. Leave interesting pockets.
Paint in the Sand or Beach Using yellow ochre and or raw sienna and paint in the sand. Do not blend too much. The changes in color variations keep it interesting. You can use a stiff paint brush or toothbrush to flick color onto the sand for effects of small rocks and pebbles. Make the sand color go deeply into where the water will be. You will paint the water color right over the top of it – or at least some of it, but you need it done this way so it looks realistically like a seashore.
Paint in the Water Starting at the horizon line, add blue to create water. Use very even and horizontal strokes at the horizon. As you come forward, the strokes could be a little uneven for a motion effect. Use blues and greens and maybe even some burnt sienna where you want the water to appear darker. The water gets darker as you come forward. Leave some streaks of white to look like ripples and waves. Add some dark shadows under and to one side of things like boats if there are any in your painting. This will create an effect of cast shadows. If you haven’t already – “pull” the water into the sand using white. Make sure that you keep the strokes horizontal.
Land and Cottages. Fill in distant hills with a pale blue green mixture. Darken the mixture and add a few bushes or trees in front of that. There should not be much detail if the land is far away. Add any houses or cottages. They should not be too large. As far as shading, if the light is coming in from the left, the right side of buildings and roofs would be darker because they are in shadow. Detail houses, add some little yellow/orange lights in the windows.
Final Details Add birds flying, seagulls, sea or oat grass, people or figures on the beach, and do not forget to sign your painting!
Cheap Homes For Sale In Great Towns
Good Homes Under $50,000?
My wife Ana and I found cheap homes for sale all over the country during a seven-week drive, and we even bought one along the way. It was in a pretty little town in the mountains of western Montana, and it cost us $17,500. We spent almost $2000 to fix it up the way we liked it, and lived there for several months before selling it for $28,000. You can see a photo of our little pink house on the homepage of our site www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com. This was not a fluke. There are still great towns where you can find cheap homes for sale.
Cheap Homes, Nice Towns: An Example
In Anaconda, Montana you can fly fish, go to a movie for three dollars in a beautiful old art-deco theatre (the 5th most beautiful theater in the country, according to the Smithsonian), drop some nickles in a slot machine (a dozen casinos), eat at a fine restaurant, stop by the bar for a dollar beer, and buy a house for sale under $30,000 – all within a four block area! There are good schools and churches, a library with fast internet service, and wildlife (including bears) a few hundred yards from downtown.
Why Are There Cheap Homes For Sale?
The reason there are so many cheap homes for sale in Butte and Anaconda, is that there aren’t many good jobs left. I personally found jobs in Anaconda easily-but not good ones. People left the area in the 80′s especially, after the mines and smelters closed. This exodus has left one-in-seven “housing units” in Anaconda vacant, according to the U.S. census. This has driven down the prices of homes dramatically. Since both towns still have all the basic ammenities, are cleaner now, and are slowly recovering, they are great places to retire to or to move to if you have an internet or other non-location-based business.
The economic situation is the primary reason that you can buy a cheap house in many parts of the country. These are towns that have seen troubled times, but are often recovering, and with good reasons. Anaconda, an example we know well, now has a ski resort,a Jack Nicholas golf course, and beautiful mountain scenery. The houses cost four times as much if you go an hour in any direction, and those higher prices are bound to reach Anaconda eventually.
Cheap Houses You Don’t Want To Buy
On the other hand, there are towns like the one in South Dakota where we stopped for lunch. The bulletin board had ads for cheap homes for sale, placed there by desperate home-sellers trying not to be the last to leave town. There was a photo of a beautiful old five-bedroom farmhouse for $11,000. We looked up the deserted street as we ate, and noticed that most of the buildings were boarded-up. This was a town that was clearly dying, and didn’t have anything to help revive it. Inexpensive homes are easy to find here, but I wouldn’t take one for free.
Cheap Homes For Sale In Paradise
Maybe paradise is too much to expect, but there are many wonderful towns, from Florida to Oregon, where there are cheap homes for sale. So what does a town need in addition to inexpensive houses in order to make our list? Well, the criteria are certainly subjective, but include at least the following:
1. Population between 4,000 and 80,000.
2. A good library.
3. A good grocery store.
4. A movie theatre.
5. Cheap houses: at least six for sale under $50,000.
6. The town “feels” good.
When we researched and built our website, we broke the towns up into two pages. One is for the towns with houses for sale for less than $50,000. The other is for the towns with really cheap homes for sale – under $30,000! Yes, they are still out there. Using a phone and the internet, searching for your affordable dream home is easier than ever. Good Luck!
Tips and Ideas for Making Bead Christmas Ornaments

Have you always wanted to create your own beaded ornaments but have little experience with bead work? Provided in this article are some simple tips that will help you create stunning and beautiful hand made beaded Christmas ornaments that will make your home more festive this holiday season.
If you have never made bead Christmas ornaments, you will first need to select either a pattern or a kit. There are many kits available that typically include the beads, needle, thread, glue and any other materials required to begin making bead Christmas ornaments. The next step is to assemble the proper tools.
Tools Needed for Your Hand Made Christmas Ornaments
Pliers are the most important tool for getting started in making your hand made bead Christmas ornaments. Important pliers that are used with bead making include Flat Nose Pliers, Round Nose Pliers, Chain Nose Pliers, Crimp Nose Pliers, and Split Ring Pliers.
Another tool you will need is a good pair of wire cutters. If you are making wire bead Christmas ornaments, then wire cutters are absolutely essential. When selecting wire cutters it is important to select the appropriate strength wire cutter for the wire that you will be using. Wire cutters come in both lightweight and heavy-duty strengths. Light weigh cutters will suit your basic needs for the beading wire you will be using.
Lastly, when making hand made Christmas Bead ornaments purchase bead needles. These needles come in a variety of sizes. Choose needles applicable to the project you are making.
Different Types of Hand Made Christmas Bead Ornaments
A simple bead ornament recommended for a young child to make may consist of little more than stringing “pony beads” or other suitable bead onto pipe cleaners. Children can simply place the beads on the pipe cleaners then twist them into various shapes such as bells, stars, candy canes, and Christmas trees.
Here is another way that you can create sparkling and beautiful hand made Christmas bead ornaments no experience required. First gather your supplies. These will include fabric paints (or other dimensional paint), small glass beads (or seed beads) satin finished ornaments, a small tray, and a small cup. First, sketch a simple shape on the ornament with the fabric paint. Ideas for shapes typically include simple snowflakes, trees, and stars, but ultimately the choice is up to you. Create your pattern as simple or as elaborate as you like. After you have drawn your design on the satin ornament with the fabric paint, hold the ornament over a small tray, and sprinkle the tiny beads over the ornament using a small cup. This is similar to projects where you apply glue and then sprinkle glitter over the glue. After your ornament finishes drying, you can hang it with a beautiful cord or complimentary satin ribbon.
It’s as easy at that! So go ahead and gather your supplies and get started making your own personalized hand made Christmas ornaments for the holidays!
Wooden Bench Making in 6 Easy Steps
Although you may think it is really more difficult than it really is, bench making can be done in 6 simple steps. After we have gathered the needed materials and tools we can do bench making in no time. We can make ourselves a nice, simple and safe wooden bench; one that will be both functional and beautiful and something you will be sure to get compliments on and a great conversation piece. After all, what’s better than saying, Yeah, I made that!”
Bench making is easier with these six steps.
1. First, we start off by measuring the frame of the bench seat to our desired dimensions, cut them, and then tack-nail them together. Bench making includes drawing a curve line on the side pieces lengthways and cutting them using a jigsaw before attaching them together. This forms the seat shape. We may also form it as we see fit.
Then cut and sand the seat slats and mark their face boards. Screw the seat frame tightly together. Glue and nail the slats to the frame, beginning from the back. A ¾ inch vertical spacer will help. A good bench making design is providing a slight slat overhang on the front.
2. Second, we come to the screwing portion of bench making. Glue and screw front legs to our seat frame by first pre-drilling and applying countersink holes for screws to fit in. Do the same with the hind legs.
3. Third is sanding. Bench making is also about safety so we round sharp corners and sand the seat face and legs to smoothen all surfaces. This avoids board grains or fibers from sticking out and hurting the user. Sanding also creates better-looking seat surfaces.
4. Fourth, we deal with the back rest in bench making. Get the top rail measurement and add a space 5/8 inch from the rail top to the back part of the hind leg. This should give a 1/8 inch space at the bottom of the rail between the back part of the leg and the rail.
Then place the router tenons or tongues and vertical back slats on one end. There should be a fitting groove at the top rail. The tongues should easily fit into the groove. Glue the slats and nail them.
5. Fifth, bench making with armrests requires putting wood cleats 3 1/2 by 3/4 by 3’4 inches to support the front legs. Make a 3/16 inch hole with a drill at the midpoint of the cleat and have it attached through the bracing at the corner.
The armrest should measure from the back of the hind leg to some inches off the front leg. An armrest notch should receive the leg support of the back rest. Drill a hole and countersink atop the front cleat piercing the armrest then glue and screw.
6. Then, sixth is final sanding. Bench making should end with all surfaces, ends, and corners smoothen before painting. There we have our nice, simple, and sturdy bench.
What Do Agate Rocks Look Like?
BEAUTIFUL AGATES
WHAT DO AGATE ROCKS LOOK LIKE.
Alas, in the natural state they are quite unprepossessing, resembling dull looking potato-shaped rocks to the untrained eye. However, with some experience you will be able to spot one with maybe a translucent, coloured patch, showing the underlying agate through the eroded rock surface. Hunting on a sunny day helps accentuate this feature. Agate-bearing rocks often have a pitted exterior, or maybe a waxy appearance.
at a broken area of rock. Agates can often be found in stream beds or on lake shores where the waters tumbling action over the millennia have ground away the rough exterior and polished the agates into bright, easily recognisable gems. Best join a Rock-Hound club and learn how to search for agates from the old timers!
HOW ARE AGATES FORMED.
It all starts with volcanic rock containing a lot of carbon dioxide & water which bubbles out leaving a “Swiss cheese” texture. When water containing dissolved silica with alkalis percolate through these holes, the minerals are precipitated out slowly in the rock voids, producing those glorious patterns & colours of Agates (agate is a form of Chalcedony, which in turn is a form of Quartz, one of the most common minerals on
Earth). The alkali in the solution can attack any iron in the rock, producing bands of iron hydroxide in spectacular forms and combinations with other minerals present in the saturated solution. Agates have also been found in Dinosaur bones, so high temperatures or pressures are not required for their formation, just patience. These agates often maintain
the host original shape, after the host (tree, or root etc.) has eroded away, hence their name of Limb Cast Agates
SOME COMMON AGATE TYPES:-
ONYX is a form of agate where the bands are white, alternating with other bands of mainly black, but also of brown or red, depending on the mineral composition of the surrounding area.
MOSS AGATE is a Dendritic Agate, looking like it has vegetative inclusions (similar to Amber) but in reality, the Dendrites (from the Greek Dendron – Tree) are usually minerals like oxides of Manganese or Iron, which have percolated into cracks in the agate and then deposited out.
The transparency of the agate allows these dendrites to be seen within the agate.
TURRITELLA AGATE are formed from the Turritell shells, a fossilised marine gastropod with an elongated spiral shell or many whorls.
PETOSKEY AGATE is an agatized coral found in the Ottawa region of Canada, chiefly around the town of Petoskey, in river beds.
AGATES are truly one of the most beautiful minerals, to be found in a fantastic variety of colours, shades & patterns. When sliced and polished, they are the “Crown Jewels” in any mineral collectors display!
Kegel Exercises For Men – Sex and Penis Health Can Be Greatly Improved by Kegel Exercises For Men
Kegel exercises for men are relatively unknown, while these techniques were very popular with women during and after pregnancy. It is only recently that kegel exercises for men have become popular, with the Internet being the prime source of information. What these exercises do is that they target the pelvic floor muscles which control the muscles of the genitalia.
Kegel exercises for males concentrate on the pubococcygeus muscle or the PC muscle. This muscle can easily be identified by the man by trying to stop the flow of urine half way. It is not to be confused with the anal or abdominal muscles but one needs to clearly identify this muscle before beginning kegel exercises for men. The best part over here is that Kegel exercises can be performed anytime and anywhere. Nobody will really know.
What does exercising the kegels do for the man?
This is the muscle than controls a mans erection and ejaculation. Good strength in this muscle will give a man immense control over sex and solve problems like premature ejaculation. Stamina is also greatly increased as a result.
How to begin the exercising?
A good way for men to begin kegel exercises is to start contracting and releasing the PC muscle in quick successions. Beginners will probably find it difficult to do anything more than 25 contractions at one stretch. They should try three sets of 25 contractions to start strengthening the PC muscle.
Men will find that Kegel exercises get easier to do once they get the hang of it. The best part about these techniques is that they can be done anywhere. You could sit at your computer, you can be talking on the phone, or be in any still position anywhere and do these exercises.
As one gets familiar with the control of the PC muscle, they can start trying advanced kegel exercises which are essentially more intense variations of the PC muscle training. An example of a more intense exercise would be when one is required to do long holds of the PC muscle. This is where you contract and hold the PC muscle for about 10 seconds at one stretch and then give yourself a break of about 5 seconds and then do another long hold.
Another variation of kegel exercises requires the use of a small wash cloth or a light towel. Get an erection and hang the towel on your penis. Now contract the PC muscle and try to lift the towel several times. As you start to get used it to it, move up with heavier towels until you can lift a full size beach towel! When you are able to do that, you know that your penis is in pretty good shape.
How to achieve best results?
As one might expect, best results can be achieved by learning the perfect technique. Moreover, one needs to maintain focus to achieve best results. Also, one is advised against holding their breathe while performing the exercise. One’s best bet would be to breathe freely throughout the exercise. Like everything else in life, one would start feeling more and more comfortable and at ease by regular practice.
One will be able to enjoy better sex by being able to better control one’s ejaculations and orgasms, and last longer in bed, plus one will be able get the added kudos for being able to hold up a wet towel with one’s erection if one practices these exercises.
There are many other forms of penis exercises that can help one enjoy a great sex life without really throwing an arm and a leg. It’s all about knowing the right things and get started off.
Kids Games: As a Form of Exercise

Games for kids can be a good form of exercise. This is one thing that parents can do especially if they are having difficulties in persuading their kids to exercise. Many think that exercise is a boring task to do thus they end up not doing it. Yet, exercise is important for every one’s health. Playing games can be a way for everyone to have exercise. Not only for kids can this be effective, but for parents as well. Just think about this. You already have fun and at the same time, you have done something to keep your body healthy.
It is good to see how games can keep our children active and moving. More to it is that they can actually exercise through the games they play. Another thing is that when kids know that games can be a form of exercise, they may as well do it more. Yet, it is the job of parents to keep everything in moderation in order not to forget other things of more importance. At some point in time, it is also good that parents incorporate games to their child’s activity in order to keep them healthy.
Come up with ideas on what games can be played with some forms of exercise in it. With this, parents should give time in planning. Both indoor and outdoor games can be good for exercise. By having a plan, parents can also avoid their kids do activities which are quite sedentary. So, it is always a good thing to have a plan.
You should really spend some time into coming up with game ideas that can be fun as well as good for the health. Write down all of your ideas in order not to forget them, as much as possible. By doing this, you can always be ready to provide your kids with fun games anytime they get bored from the usual activities they do.
One thing that is also better for parents to do is to participate in games played by their kids. When you do so, it is likely that your kid will find the game more fun. You may not see it but kids will really appreciate it much when they see that their parents are participating in a game they play. This is also a way to bond with your kids and show your interest and support for the activity. You might as well leave what you are doing for a while to play with your kids. Not only will you have a fun time bonding with your kids, you will also end up having some form of exercise.
Exercise can be really fun when we know how to incorporate it in some activities such as games. Who would even think that this is really possible? Games can be more beneficial when exercise is included into it. This is also a way to keep your family healthy all the time.