The Context Machine

Plimoth Plantation and the Mayflower II ship are major attractions in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Authentic yet entertaining the two are links to our past and the 102 passengers that survived the journey across stormy seas.

During the journey the bad storms of the North Atlantic forced the crew to take down the sails and just let the winds blow the ship wherever it wanted. During one brutal storm one of the Mayflower main beams cracked and the sailors where convinced they’d have to turn back.

But the journey continued and because of it the world was forever changed.

No, this is not going to be a history lesson, but the first of two articles about two unique experiences of US history you can have during your New England vacations.

This first article covers the area of Plymouth Plantation, and the second in the series covers Sturbridge Village.

The Mayflower voyage of 1620 took 66 days after leaving Plymouth, England on September 6, and anchoring in present day Provincetown harbor in Cape Cod on November 11, 1620. Miraculously only one passenger died on the voyage.

The Pilgrims decided Cape Cod was not a suitable place for a settlement, and forced north because of the weather and dangerous shoals south of Cape Cod, the pilgrims finally came ashore in late November in present day Plymouth center.

That first winter at Plimoth Plantation decimated the settlers due to cold and disease. Of the 102 that came ashore only 52 were left in the spring.

The native Wampanoag men showed the survivors how to plant corn and in October 1621 the Pilgrims celebrated their first harvest at Plymouth Plantation. Later generations would recognize the significance of the harvest by setting aside a special day that we now call Thanksgiving. And this day, more than any other in our calendar, binds every American to that fateful voyage in 1620.

And you can relive and feel this spirit and the early days of settlement at Plimoth Plantation and Mayflower II replica. Both located in the coastal town of Plymouth, a city about 40 miles south of Boston and an easy ride on Route 3 south.

Plymouth Plantation is a 1627 Pilgrim authentic village a few miles outside of the city but close to the highway and well sign-posted.

An orientation movie and collection of artifacts greet you at the Henry Hornblower Visitor Center. Plimoth plantation itself is a loop tour with two primary sites, the 1627 Pilgrim Village and the Hobbamock’s (Wampanoag) Homesite. The stroll from the museum down to the main village passes by a craft center and crop fields.

The village itself is full of buildings and gardens. Everything is plain and productive, and authentic.

The people of the village dress, talk, and act, as best we know they would’ve on the original Plymouth Plantation. But that doesn’t mean they are aloof or communicate in riddles or a strange tongue. Their aim is to educate and entertain but still remain true to the era. I’ve always found they are engaging and excellent in this balance.

The stroll out of the village along the Eel River walk takes you to the Native people homesite.

As I said earlier, the Pilgrims would not have survived the first year had it not been for help from the Native Peoples. They taught them about the region and it’s agriculture and the resources of the land, and how to thrive.

This special area is a home for an extended family not another village. It honors the importance and affinity the Native People have in this region.

Take time to appreciate the skills of weaving and tanning practiced at the site, and the use of fire for burning out boats. Go inside one of the houses and notice the materials and bindings used for construction.

The inhabitants here do not role-play so feel free to discuss modern day subjects with them.

And now… linger for a while longer at Plymouth Plantation, and rest back at the visitor center, or purchase that craft you saw at the store earlier. And then when you’re ready to continue, leave Plimoth Plantation and head for town and the Mayflower II replica.

Mayflower II is docked on State Pier on Water Street. Meter parking is available along the waterfront. .

You’ll think it a small ship.

Imagine the vast expanse of the North Atlantic at times wild and unforgiving. A 2,760-mile trip in a ship that leaked and creaked at an agonizing speed of 2 mph!

During your Mayflower tour you’ll meet passengers on the ship role-playing for you. You’ll get to see the passenger’s cramped quarters and the captain’s spacious cabin. But most of all you’ll be cast back in time.

And if you close your eyes and listen to the gulls overhead maybe you’ll hear the shouts of a sailor as he sights landfall and one journey’s end… and the start of another.

Enjoy your day at Plimoth Plantation and the Mayflower II. They are entertaining reminders of our history and a link back to a monumental voyage.

For more information, opening times, and ticket prices for Plymouth Plantation and the Mayflower visit their web site at www.plimoth.org

Cliff Calderwood is the owner and contributing writer of the New England vacations guide . You can read more about Plymouth Plantation, The Mayflower, and get a free travel report at his New England vacation site.

Thanks to specially acquired clone samples AgroMicron will now be able to completely regenerate an entire forest in some regions in seven to ten years. Which means the global deforestation problem might no longer be a problem.

The name given to this project is the AgroMicron Paulownia Project, which originated due to the fact that Paulownia tree is one of the most resourced tree’s in Asia. The Paulownia tree is one of China’s most important traditional trees and is widely planted to supply village needs for wood it is also know as Pouton on in China, Kiri in Japan and Golden Cedar in Australia.

Thanks to the quick growth rate and size of the Paulownia it made the perfect donor for AgroMicron’s needs of 15 pristine clones. The process of getting to these 15 was a long and difficult one, which started with 840 clones and with the help of the Chinese Academy of Forestry this was brought down to 32 and that was when the final cut was made.

Currently 14 of the clones are maintained in tissue for multiplication and commercial supply while the last clone AgroMicron wouldn’t say what they where testing with it, maybe some super tree or maybe they are looking at how to get the 7 year growth cycle down to 4 or maybe even just 3 years which would mean an very quick end to all the fears of deforestation and the negative effectives this has on the environment.

So what is a company like AgroMicron spearheading such a project with virtually no possibility of a commercial gain, well that was the question I proposed to Mr. Gary Lloyd, Senior Corporate Advisor to AgroMicron, his reply shocked me. He stated “while AgroMicron is about making profits, its more focused on making good, we know we can make money from anything we do or sell but the hard part in business is actually benefiting others” he went on to explain why the Global Reforestation Initiative was important to AgroMicron “with all the projects and people we come into contact with we saw that we could easily collaborate these minds together and work collectively on one project that would benefit everyone and the Global Reforestation Initiative does just that.”

Now I’ve never seen a Paulownia tree, but by the sounds of things we’ll be seeing a lot more of them and hopefully in the not to distant future. For the time being AgroMicon will continue to research and work with their clones and you can bet on a follow up story in the coming months. In the mean time to learn more on the Global Reforestation Initiative underway at AgroMicron you can visit http://www.agromicron.com/Global-Reforestation-Initiative/ and for more corporate information on AgroMicron you can visit their homepage at http://www.agromicron.com

When it comes to internet marketing, traditional web site optimization (SEO) still stands as the holy grail, but an increasing number of small and medium sized business owners, facing the prospect of high SEO fees, are just now beginning to turn to an alternative promotional method that is generating consistent and quantifiable results at a fraction of the cost.
The cost of SEO, at least when it comes to highly competitive keyword phrases, is prohibitive for all but those with deep pockets.

“Matt Hocken, of Interactive Marketing, Inc., estimates that one can expect to pay upwards of $50,000 - $100,000 a year to secure top ten Google placement for a highly competitive keyword phrase like ‘life insurance’ or ‘debt consolidation’ and that’s obviously out of the question for the small to medium sized business,” Ron Scott, Fast Track SEOP’s senior publicist reports.

Even the cost for placement using less popular keyword phrases can be high.

“A Houston publicist recently paid $5,000 to get her website optimized for a small number of obscure keyword phrases that Overture reports are cumulatively generating fewer than 200 inquiries a month. Not told that 50-75% of those searches are being routinely conducted by webmasters, SEOs, and website owners checking the current status of their websites, she’s now wondering if she’ll ever recoup the expense,” Scott says.

So what’s the alternative? Pop-ups? Pop unders? Banner ads? Email? Not hardly.

Unlike an organic search engine optimization program that can take months and even years to start showing results, internet press releases start generating interest the day they are published.

“A properly optimized and distributed press release will typically generate 50,000 - 100,000 actual reads the first week it goes on line,” says Scott.

According to Scott, unlike traditional press releases, 98% of all internet press releases are read by consumers and B2B prospects.

“Originally, press releases were the exclusive domain of the Fortune 500 and were directed to the mass media, but not any more. Small and medium sized businesses have discovered that they can deliver their messages directly to a broad (national or international) or highly targeted (local or regional) audience on the internet and, thereby, eliminate the tedious process of media placement,” he says.

Scott points out that the value of an internet press release promotional strategy doesn’t stop there.

“Press releases can also be optimized for organic search which enables those who find their newly published websites residing in Google purgatory, the opportunity to secure top ten rankings in a week or less,” Scott says.

To illustrate the value of the internet marketing strategy, Scott points to a release he prepared and distributed on behalf of a little known manufacturer in New Zealand.

“The first 30 calendar days, it generated 133,686 reads, drove over 25,000 visitors to their website, and generated 100s of inquiries from B2B prospects all over the world,” he says. “Since that sampling taken at the beginning of June, the release has generated an additional 42,443 reads and a commensurate level of traffic and inquiries.
“It’s the gift that keeps giving,” he says.

Has traditional web site optimization outlived its usefulness?

“For most of our clients it has,” Scott says.

To introduce business owners to the comparative value of an internet, press release promotional strategy, Fast Track SEOP offers free, online introductory webinars four days a week. The company, a full-service internet public relations firm, has developed an online training program that enables business owners to manage their press release promotional campaigns in-house. To learn more visit http://www.fasttrackrankingandplacement.com

Performance coaching is a term that has become incredibly popular over the last 7 years. The term first became popular in the United States where, together with NLP, it became part of a revived brilliant wave of extremely proactive therapy models.

In many ways both Success Coaching and Neuro Linguistic Programming are an answer against certain variants of the human-centred therapy movement, in particular Humanistic Counselling. A problem of the human-centred approach is that it is hugely reactive and not awfully proactive. Although this works awesome with some clients, with other folk long periods of impasse or low return for time and effort occur. Coaching and NLP are both human-centred therapy in stance, focusing on improving a person?s well-being rather than looking into the depths of childhood, as in traditional psychoanalysis. Their emphasis is, however, deliberately proactive and used to make you happy.

Personal coaching is not about preaching to the customer what to do. This is a common misconception. Some lifestyle coaches are comparatively successful in their business careers and then make the change to success coaching, assuming that they will merely be required to divulge their pearls of wonderful wisdom with the customer. This is more like mentoring an apprentice in a specific environment. Performance coaching is instead about life as a whole. Use www.easilyachieve.com to book yourself a life coach.

To be believable an actor needs to truly study their character. There is a very simple method that an actor can use to do this. It is called the GOTE method. GOTE is a very easy to remember acronym. It stands for Goal, Obstacle, Tactics and Expectation. This is a very basic approach to breaking down a character. Now lets go over each of these objectives.

Goal is what the character is going after. It is the whole purpose for the play. The goal kicks off all of the action. The goal is to be persuaded by the character. Now the goal can’t be general, it needs to be something very specific. For example a general goal would be “I want to feel fulfilled by marrying someone.” A more specific goal would be “I want John to marry me.” The goal needs to be very targeted. A good exercise is to imagine you are starving and there is a sandwich just out of your reach. Now try to reach for it. That is how you need to be when going after your goals.

The obstacle is what stands in the way of the goal. The obstacle needs to be in direct opposition to the goal. For example if the goal is “I want John to marry me” the obstacle may be “My parents hate John.” The character needs to struggle with the obstacle to reach their goal. This is what makes a play interesting and not just 2 people having a conversation about the weather on stage.

Tactics are what a character uses to overcome the obstacles and reach the goal. This is were a play gets fun. The tactics make the character real. The tactics a character chooses shows the audience what type of person they are. The tactics can be funny, honorable, deceitful, etc. There can be multiple tactics used by an actor. A good actor will be able to move from tactic to tactic with ease in order to achieve the goal.

Expectation gives tone and excitement to the tactics. This is what stops the goals from being too academic and boring. It shows what is the characters excitement and enthusiasm behind their goal.

You can find what the character’s GOTE is by just studying the play. An actor should take notes when reading a play. You can set up a GOTE sheet to have with you as you read. Just take a paper and write Goal, Obstacle, Tactics and Expectation. It is also helpful to write name, sex, age, marital status, education and make up a typical day in the life of the character (a day that does not take place during the play).

It really doesn’t take that much extra work to setup a GOTE sheet. A character needs to come alive to the viewer. They need to draw the viewer into their world. An actor needs to do everything to create a character and world that is 100% believable. Studying a character’s GOTE sheet can add the 3rd dimension to a character that is often missing in theater.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Acting

One and only. A true original. An acting genius hiding behind that disarming wide “shark grin.” Jack!

My first memory of Jack Nicholson goes back to the Easy Rider (1969), that unforgettable counter-culture classic of a road-buddy movie.

And other classics followed quickly from this unexceptionally talented actor born in Neptune, New Jersey on April 22, 1937.

His fantastic record includes films such as One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), Chinatown (1974), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), Prizzi’s Honor (1985), Terms of Endearment (1983), Batman (1989), A Few Good Men (1992), As Good As It Gets (1997), About Schmidt (2002), and Something’s Gotta Give (2003).

He has been nominated 12 times for the Academy Award and won it in 1976 for Best Actor in a Leading Role in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), in 1984 for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in Terms of Endearment (1983) , and for a THIRD time in 1998 for Best Actor in a Leading Role in As Good as It Gets (1997).

Did you know these trivia facts about Nicholson?

1) He was abandoned by his father after he was born. For years he thought his grandmother was his mother and his mother was his sister.

2) He was asked to play Michael Corleone in the Godfather before the role ultimately went to Al Pacino.

3) He loves and collects fine art. Owns a few paintings by Picasso.

4) He once said “You only lie to two people in your life: your girlfriend and the police.”

5) His motto is “more good times.”

In a little “Borgo”, within an old country house built in 1889 on the little square of the wonderful millenary Abbey of San Firmano, surrounded by the natural environment of river Potenza, San Firmano Bed & Breakfast has just opened.

- Montelupone is 3 km afar: One of the most beautiful town in Italy, Orange Flag according to the Italian Touring Club, which certificates the tourist quality of inland regions.
- Recanati is 4 km afar: you can visit Leopardi’s places of origin and in particular Leopardi’s house and the “Colle dell’Infinito”.
- The sea is 10 km afar: the “Riviera del Conero” beaches and their resorts.
- Loreto is 15 km afar: renowned Marian destination of pilgrimages from all the world.
- Macerata is 15 km afar with its famous Spheristerion and its museums.
- The “Sibillini” mountains and Frasassi Caves are just 40 km afar.

You will be welcomed in a familiar place, extremely painstaking and provided with all comforts but completely independent.

If you are interested in a cheap hotel in Montelupone, pls visit our catalogue of Hotels all over Italy, where you can find also a wide range of Bed and Breakfast in Rome and Hotels in Florence, from cheap to luxury, togheter with Sorrento Tours

One of the most celebrated series in TV history, The Andy Griffith Show harkens to a simpler time in America’s history, a time dominated by sandlot baseball, Sunday church, and apple pie. It’s against this backdrop that The Andy Griffith Show is set in the small Carolina town of Mayberry. The main character is Sheriff Andy Griffith who lives his Aunt Bee and young son Opie. Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife adds great comic relief, while numerous others throughout the town, from storeowners to neighbors add additional life to the stories…

The Andy Griffith Show (Season 3) DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere “Mr. McBeevee” in which Opie makes friends with a telephone repairman named Mr. McBeevee who he describes to Andy and Barney as a man who lives in the trees, jingles when he walks, and has twelve extra hands! Since they’ve never meet Mr. McBeevee, Andy and Barney think that Opie’s new friend is make believe - at least until Opie comes home with a quarter he says Mr. McBeevee gave him! Now, Andy must investigate or else risk punishing his son for stealing the quarter… Other notable episodes from Season 3 include “Barney Mends a Broken Heart” in which Barney complicates Andy’s love life by fixing him up with a new girl when Andy’s date, Peggy, cancels on him, and “Barney and the Governor” in which Barney is given a personal commendation by the Governor for his excellent job performance, but turns up drunk when Otis spikes the water cooler…

Below is a list of episodes included on The Andy Griffith Show (Season 3) DVD:

Episode 64 (Mr. McBeevee) Air Date: 10-01-1962
Episode 65 (Andy’s Rich Girlfriend) Air Date: 10-08-1962
Episode 66 (Andy and the New Mayor) Air Date: 10-15-1962
Episode 67 (Andy and Opie, Bachelors) Air Date: 10-22-1962
Episode 68 (The Cow Thief) Air Date: 10-29-1962
Episode 69 (Barney Mends a Broken Heart) Air Date: 11-05-1962
Episode 70 (Lawman Barney) Air Date: 11-12-1962
Episode 71 (The Mayberry Band) Air Date: 11-19-1962
Episode 72 (Floyd the Gay Deceiver) Air Date: 11-26-1962
Episode 73 (Opie’s Rival) Air Date: 12-03-1962
Episode 74 (Convicts-at-Large) Air Date: 12-10-1962
Episode 75 (The Bed Jacket) Air Date: 12-17-1962
Episode 76 (The Bank Job) Air Date: 12-24-1962
Episode 77 (One-Punch Opie) Air Date: 12-31-1962
Episode 78 (Barney and the Governor) Air Date: 01-07-1963
Episode 79 (Man in a Hurry) Air Date: 01-14-1963
Episode 80 (High Noon in Mayberry) Air Date: 01-21-1963
Episode 81 (The Loaded Goat) Air Date: 01-28-1963
Episode 82 (Class Reunion) Air Date: 02-04-1963
Episode 83 (Rafe Hollister Sings) Air Date: 02-11-1963
Episode 84 (Opie and the Spoiled Kid) Air Date: 02-18-1963
Episode 85 (The Great Filling Station Robbery) Air Date: 02-25-1963
Episode 86 (Andy Discovers America) Air Date: 03-04-1963
Episode 87 (Aunt Bee’s Medicine Man) Air Date: 03-11-1963
Episode 88 (The Darlings Are Coming) Air Date: 03-18-1963
Episode 89 (Andy’s English Valet) Air Date: 03-25-1963
Episode 90 (Barney’s First Car) Air Date: 04-01-1963
Episode 91 (The Rivals) Air Date: 04-08-1963
Episode 92 (A Wife for Andy) Air Date: 04-15-1963
Episode 93 (Dogs, Dogs, Dogs) Air Date: 04-22-1963
Episode 94 (Mountain Wedding) Air Date: 04-29-1963
Episode 95 (The Big House) Air Date: 05-06-1963

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find more reviews like this one of The Andy Griffith Show (Season 3) DVD.

As a small business owner, I’m always thinking of ways to attract more customers. I’m a contractor who started working in this area not long ago. One of my customers is a computer whiz who offered to design a website for me in exchange for some home repair. That was my first involvement in the world of e-commerce. It proved to be a good idea; I had the computer guy post photos of some of my projects and a list of my services, as well as some comments by satisfied customers. Those things have been bringing in more and more new customers. Not only that, I got more interested in doing internet business for my own supply needs; I found out I could search for order a lot of my supplies anytime online instead of calling around for them. I also get in touch with some of my subcontractors by e-mail these days.

Cell phones and computers have really made it easier for us to do business. Just a landline isn’t enough because a contractor is out on job sites so much. I’ve been doing construction all my working life; it’s only been pretty recently that I’ve gotten involved with computers, since I never had that much interest in going to school or doing hi-tech stuff. But the internet has changed that for lots of people. We can all benefit from it.

Starring John Cusack and Ray Liotta, Identity is a film which opened to little of the commercial fanfare associated with a typical blockbuster movie. But this is a film that packs all of the suspense and entertainment value of The Sixth Sense into an original screenplay about a serial killer on the loose. Haunting in its presentation, yet far from a traditional horror film, Identity follows the exploits of ten strangers who become stranded at a Nevada hotel in the midst of a massive rainstorm. One-by-one, they are being killed off, but no one knows the true identity of the killer…

A number of seemingly unrelated people gather at a small roadside motel in a Nevada desert location. Strangers to each other, the people descend from all different types of professions and lifestyles - a limousine driver and his movie star client, a policeman (Ray Liotta) transporting a convict, two parents with their young son, a prostitute (Amanda Peet), a young couple, and the motel’s manager (John Hawkes). All of them are trapped on the grounds of the motel due to a record rainstorm that’s made the roads impassable. Beset by darkness, each of the motel guests resigns to his fate and settles down to ride out the storm. The guests even make an attempt to socialize with one another.

But when one motel guest turns up dead, suspicions are raised. When it’s revealed that an escaped convict, (Jake Busey), is on the loose, the guests become panicked. Ed (John Cusack) becomes de facto leader of the small group of strangers who begin suspect each other when the convict is captured and the killings continue. Is the true killer among them? Or is someone else (or something else) on the motel grounds with them? Far away, in an undisclosed location, a psychiatrist is feverishly attempting to prove the innocence of a man accused of murder, and the answer lies right before him…

Although it’s a decent film, Identity falls into the teenage horror film device of having each character wander off alone - despite the fact that people who wander off alone continually turn up dead. However, I’m usually willing to overlook such things if the rest of the film is decent because a movie’s objective is to entertain, and Identity does that…

The darkness of the setting, coupled with intermittent thunder and the pattering of rain, create an all-encompassing sense of suspense bordering on fear. Rain muffles sound, so how can you hear if someone’s sneaking up behind you? Identity is a unique and original film most movie lovers will enjoy. The plot device is employed with the utmost efficiency, keeping the audience guessing until the very end. Who is the real killer? You’ll have to watch Identity to find out…

Presenting a knockout performance by John Cusack, Identity is one of the surprise films of 2003. The dialogue is fresh, not stiff, and the characters are well-rounded considering many of them do not live through most of the scenes. With a surprise ending reminiscent of 1990s smash hits, The Sixth Sense and The Usual Suspects, Identity (although nowhere near as good as those films) is a film you won’t want to miss. Due to its well-written storyline and crescendo of suspense, Identity is a definite must-see movie…

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find more reviews like this one of the Identity (DVD).