An Examination of the House's Edge
If you are a recreational gambler, or if you are a novice gambler, then you may have heard the term "House Edge," and wondered what it means. Most people think that the House Edge is the ratio of total money lost to total money wagered, however, this is not the case. In reality, the House Edge is a ratio made from the average loss compared to the initial bet. This ratio is important to know when making bets at the various casino games as it tells you what bets give you a better chance of winning, and which bets give the House an overwhelming advantage.

The House's Edge in Table Games
Knowing the House's Edge ratio for the casino table games that you play is very important because if you don't know which bets give you the best odds of winning you can waste your money. One example of this occurs in the game of craps. In this game the inside propositional bets can have a House Edge ratio of up to 16 percent, while the line bets and 6 and 8 bets have a much lower 1.5 percent House Edge. This example clearly shows the impact that knowing the House Edge ratios can have on your success at a table game. Other House Edge ratios include: 1.06 percent for Baccarat when betting on the banker, 1.24 percent in Baccarat when betting on the player, 14.36 percent when betting on a tie,

The House's Edge in Casino Poker
Poker games played at casinos also have a House's Edge to take into consideration. If you plan on playing Double Down Stud the House's Edge will be 2.67 percent. If you play Pai Gow Poker the House's Edge will be between 1.5 percent and 1.46 percent. If you like to play Three Card Poker the House's Edge will be between 2.32 percent and 3.37 percent depending on the version of the game. And if you play Video Poker the House's Edge is only .46 percent if you play a Jacks or Better video poker machine.

Other Casino Game's House Edge Ratios
Every casino game has a House Edge percentage associated with it. If they didn't the game wouldn't be in the casino. If you like to play the less popular casinos games then you will be interested in the following percentages: Big Six between 11.11 percent and 24.07 percent, Bonus Six between 10.42 percent and 23.83 percent, Blackjack between .18 percent and .43 percent, Casino War between 2.88 percent and 18.65 percent, Catch a Wave .5 percent, Keno between 25 percent and 29 percent, Let it Ride 3.51 percent, Red Dog 2.8 percent, Sic-Bo between 2.78 percent and 33.33 percent, Slots Machines between 2 percent and 15 percent, Spanish 21 between .4 percent and .76 percent, and Super Fun 21 .94 percent.

Summer is over. That only means one thing: the Champions League is back. This year’s joint favourites, Barcelona and Chelsea, have fast become bitter rivals in this competition. That rivalry is certain to intensify since they were drawn into the same group at this early stage of the tournament. The format is as follows: 32 teams contest the group stage, divided into eight groups of four. The group winners and runners-up advance to the knockout stages, the eight third-placed teams move into the UEFA Cup third round, and the eight fourth-placed teams are eliminated. Here is an overview of all the groups with predictions on who we expect to win each group.

Group A: Barcelona (-118), Chelsea (+125), Werder Bremen (15/1), Levski Sofia (250/1)

Maybe the Chelsea-Barcelona rivalry won’t be quite as intense at this early stage. Both teams will advance from this group and there is a good chance they will meet again at a later stage of this competition. Chelsea look noticeably shakier this year. Their previously impenetrable defence looks slightly more lax. That will bode ill for the Blues. But unlike the past few years, with two Premiership titles under their belt, this season Jose Mourinho’s explicit goal is to win the Champions League. Still, we have to side with Barcelona here. They are goal scoring machines and should demolish Bremen and Levski, and they are more than capable of scoring against Chelsea. At close to even money, they are worth backing to win this group.

Group B: Bayern Munich (+125), Inter Milan (+163), Sporting Lisbon (6/1), Spartak Moscow (40/1)

Inter is a big price here and are worth backing. They have added strength, quality and depth to their squad and after the Calciopoli scandal were belated awarded last year’s Scudetto in Serie A. Sporting Lisbon are no pushovers, but Inter can and should get past them. There is one slight worry though. Bayern Munich is the sort of team that can run up the score against weak opponents like Spartak Moscow. If Bayern and Inter are level on points, Bayern could well win this group on goal difference.

Group C: Liverpool (-161), PSV Eindhoven (+450), Bordeaux (5/1), Galatasaray (10/1)

Although they are odds-on, it’s hard to look past Liverpool in this group. They are a well-organized side and lifted the CL trophy two years ago. Manger Rafa Benitez is experienced at European competition and should navigate his team through this group with ease. PSV are a shadow of the team they were last season. There is a good chance they won’t finish in the top two of the Dutch league, let alone replicate their above average Champions League form of recent years. Bordeaux and Galatasaray are second-rate clubs in this competition.

Group D: Valencia (-125), Roma (+150), Shakhtar Donetsk (20/1), Olympiakos (29/1)

It’s hard to understand why Roma are underdogs in this group. They are favoured to win this year’s diluted Italian league. Their squad is a lot stronger this season both on paper and judging by their Serie A results so far. But the Romans face tough Spanish competition in this group. Valencia have a disciplined and experienced Champions League side. They are deadly on the counterattack and stifle the offence of their opponents. This looks like a coin flip between Roma and Valencia, so we’ll take the Italians at odds-against. Keep and eye on Olympiakos. They won’t win this group, but, like many Greek teams, they can be dangerous in their home games.

Group E: Lyon (-125), Real Madrid (+163), Steaua Bucharest (10/1), Dynamo Kiev (50/1)

The collapse of Juventus has benefited no team more than Real Madrid. The Spanish giants picked up a handful more Galacticos and one of the world’s top managers, Fabio Capello. They are serious contenders for both the La Liga and Champions League titles this year. But they will have to get past their nemesis in this tournament: Lyon. The French side are perennially underestimated by the bookmakers despite excelling in European competition. We’ll happily back them again to win this group and possibly the whole thing.

Group F: Manchester United (-275), Benfica (+650), Celtic (13/1), FC Copenhagen (50/1)

Man Utd couldn’t have asked for a more favourable draw. But luck is what they’ll need to get any further than this stage. At this short price, it’s not worth betting on the Red Devils to win the group. Copenhagen are a dangerous team, having knocked Ajax out of this competition. They are a huge price to win the group and are worth a small punt. Benfica are solid as ever in Portugal and experienced in the Champions League. They should claim second spot.

Group G: Arsenal (-161), Hamburg (9/1), Porto (9/1), CSKA Moscow (10/1)

Arsenal were the surprise team of the Champions League last year, going all the way to the final and defying expectations with each match. This year, they seem to be overestimated. The Gunners have not yet settled into their new Emirates Stadium. The squad look noticeably uncomfortable and will take more time to jell. In light of the above, it’s worth looking at the others. CSKA are a huge price at 10/1 and the 2005 UEFA Cup champions must be backed to win this group. Russia is an intimidating place for visiting teams and the Muscovites are more than capable of claiming results from their travels.

Group H: AC Milan (-333), Lille (6/1), AEK Athens (25/1), Anderlecht (33/1)

Milan should cruise through this group with relative ease. They are capable of dismantling virtually any team in the world and opponents like Lille, AEK and Anderlecht are hardly dangerous challengers. Lille are solid in France and might hold Milan to a draw in their home leg. As usual, Greek side AEK will be tough at home too, but they are hopeless on their travels. Anderlecht don’t deserve to be in this competition. Even at this short price, take Milan.

You don’t need to come to Vegas in order to get some money from casino plays. There are a lot of online casinos that offer you great possibility to play online and even get some cash. I really hope that you do not get addicted to the action. No matter of what you're into, you can find a great list of online casinos available for players on the net.

If you really, really want to gamble, there are a lot of cyberspace opportunities to do that. Most of us already have access to a variety of the best online casinos. Just try several clicks with your mouse and get to the virtual reality of gambling online. . This is the ideal way to gamble for a lot of people. The Internet gives them confidence and convenience as well, which makes them better player in comparison to what they would become if they played in real casinos. Internet can provide everyone with online casinos opportunity.

If you are still in search for online casinos, check Google and see how many they are, just waiting for you to go and spend your money there! Use the keywords "best online casinos." And you will find a number of results. The only thing you need to have to get the game going, is your credit card on hand.

Online casinos give you confidence , and you don’t need to face the dealer or croupier, who will only make you feel timid. When you gamble online, you really get what you want and don’t need to feel any discomfort about it. You just can’t get enough, once you’ve tried the best online casinos! Well, the limits of your credit card will tell when you’ve got enough, be sure about it!

If you read about automatic sweepstakes entry services online, you will hear many rumors. Most of these are honest misunderstandings written by people who don’t know how automatic entry systems work. Here are some of the most common myths about automatic sweepstakes entry services, and our response to them.

1. Most Contests Prohibit Automatic Entry Services from Participating

There is a common misconception that most sweepstakes prohibit entries from automatic services and that people who use a sweepstakes service will be disqualified from every sweep they enter.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Legitimate entry services are dedicated to selecting only sweepstakes where their members have a legitimate chance of winning. To ensure this, they scour the rules of each individual contest and giveaway to ensure that automatic sweepstakes entry services are not prohibited.

Despite being very selective and rejecting any sweep where automatic entry is prohibited, there are still hundreds upon hundreds of contests available.

Legitimate sweepstake entry services do not have any problems finding sweepstakes with fantastic prizes for its members to enter, despite respecting the contest rules and the wishes of any sweepstakes sponsor who prefers that their members not enter.

2. People Don’t Really Win through Automated Sweepstakes Entry Services

The people on the Winner’s Lists would strongly disagree!

Legitimate sweepstakes entry programs only list people who have won through their service on their Winner’s List.

Furthermore, a Winner’s List is only a small sampling of the members who have won through an automatic sweepstakes entry service. Such services rely on their members to tell them when they have won a prize. Anyone who has won through a service but wants their prizes to remain private is not included on the Winner’s List.

3. You Can’t Tell What You’re Being Entered Into with Automatic Contest Services

A good sweepstakes entry service will provide each of its members with a personalized listing of sweepstakes that have been entered for them. A new sweepstake is only added to that list when they receive a confirmation or “thank you” page for that specific entry, so members can be sure that their individual entry was really accepted.

The sweepstakes listing should be available for members at all times, and is updated at least twice a day.

This gives you a solid overview of the entries that you receive, and allows you to enter additional sweepstakes on your own without fear of duplicating entries.

4. Contest Sponsors Don’t Like Automatic Sweepstakes Entry Services

The number of sweepstakes sponsors that contact entry services directly to ask them to include their contests in their sweepstakes selections shows that this just isn’t true!

Sweepstakes sponsors receive a number of benefits from inclusion in an automated entry service. Most companies run promotions to increase their brand awareness and draw new people to their website, and entry services allow them to reach a broader audience at no additional cost.

They have the chance to contact every one of the service's customers through confirmation emails, which often include marketing information, and they will also benefit from links to their contest pages, which members can follow for more information about the product.

People are more likely to buy from a sponsor that hosts a sweepstake because they have a positive feeling toward the company, and this remains true for people who are entered through automatic services as well.

Savvy marketers realize that automatic entry helps the sweepstakes sponsors as much as it helps the entrants – a true win-win situation for everyone!

And if a contest sponsor decides that automatic sweepstakes entries will not help their marketing plan, they can simply put a line in their rules prohibiting them, and legitimate entry services will not enter the contest.

5. You’ll Get Buried in Spam if you Join an Automatic Sweepstakes Entry Service

A good automatic entry service takes great pains to select only sweepstakes from reliable companies that will not send an unreasonable amount of marketing information to the entrant. While members will receive some promotional information, companies that will sell your name and address or pass on your personal information to marketing partners will not be selected.

It's always a good idea to set up a separate email address for its automatic entries, which makes it easy to find win notifications. If you are receiving emails or newsletters that you do not wish to read at that email address, simply opt out of the marketing list.

Last but not least, remember that not all automated sweepstakes entry services are the same. Some companies provide clearly higher levels of service, including hand-picked sweepstakes that are individually programmed for accurate entry, contests that are filtered so that only customers who are eligible to win based on factors like age, gender, and state of residence are entered, and the ability to track entries 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

With automatic sweepstakes entry services, you can be sure of receiving reliable entry into the best contests on the internet. See how easy it can be to win cool cash, win a dream vacation, or any of the hundreds of other online sweepstakes and contests.

Positivism is a philosophy doctrine. In its theory of learning it follows empiricism; in the theory of objective reality it declines the possibility of the answer to the question about primacy of matter and consciousness because the answer to this question cannot be received from the experience. That is why positivism allows both agnosticism and dualism. This theory suggests existence of the only one-self and the rest is simply the feelings or a dream.

In the following assignment I will firstly look at the sociologist who put forward the idea of Positivism, Auguste Comte. I will briefly look at his contributions to sociology, and the social changes and developments that surrounded him, leading him to develop such a theory as positivism. I will also take a look at Comte’s Laws of 3 Stages, which is the cornerstone in Comte’s development of positivism, and then discuss positivisms relevance as a sociological theory and its usefulness to today’s society.

As a result of the Industrial Revolution in the 1820’s, old feudal estates began to give way to a free labour moving into industry in urban areas and as new forms of government began to break the hold of monarchies, the foundations of society – employment and income, living arrangements, community, family, and religion – were being altered forever. In other words, inequality began to develop. As might be expected, people were worried about the new order that was starting to emerge, and they began to think more systematically about what all the changes meant for their future.

The resulting intellectual movement is sometimes referred to as ‘The Enlightenment’ because the hold of religion, tradition, and dogma on intellectual thinking was finally broken. Science could now emerge fully as a way of thinking about the world, and physics and, later, biology was able to overcome persecution by religious elites and establish them as a path of knowledge. Along with growing influences of science came a burst of thinking about the social universe. Much of this thought was speculative, assessing the nature of humans and the first societies unfiltered by the difficulties of the modern world. Some of this thought was moralistic, but not in a religious sense. Rather, the proper type of society and the fundamental relationship of individuals to one another and to the society were re-evaluated in ways consistent with the economic and political changes shaped by the spread of commerce and then industrialisation.

Another force behind the emergence of sociology and Comte’s development of positivism was the French Revolution of 1789 which accelerated systematic thinking. With this new distribution of knowledge came new thinkers who became known as ‘Social Philosophers’. Due to this change in society, these social philosophers tried to look at society in a critical way, and explain the lack of structure in society. The crucial point for sociology is that there was a great awareness of the level of social change, brought about by the political drama and disorder of the time. The long French legacy of the Enlightenment and the shock waves of the French Revolution led August Comte (1798-1857), also known as the ‘Godfather of Sociology’, in his five-volume Course of Positive Philosophy (1830-1842) to sound the call for an order devoted to the scientific study of society. Comte wanted to name this discipline “social physics” to emphasize that it would study the basic nature of the social universe. He was eventually forced to settle on the Latin-Greek hybrid term, Sociology. This word combined the Latin word Socius, meaning Society, and the Greek word Logus, meaning knowledge.

The central problem for sociology was the one that had been expressed by earlier thinkers in the Enlightenment: How is society to be held together as it becomes larger, more complex, more varied, more differentiated, more specialized, and more partitioned? Comte’s answer was that common ideas and beliefs – a consensus universalis, in his terms – needed to be developed to give society a “universal” morality. Influenced by counterrevolutionary Catholics, he developed a much more sophisticated theoretical system than his predecessors, adequate enough to shape a good portion of early sociology.

In his view, disorder and negative philosophies were spreading through French society and he developed sociology as means of combating this. He believed that by applying the same methods and assumptions of natural sciences would produce a ‘positive’ science of society and this would reveal that the evolution of society followed ‘invariable laws’. It would show that the behaviour of humans was governed by principals of cause and effect that were just as invariable as the behaviour of matter – the subject of natural sciences. In simpler terms, positivism is a way to understand the social world in a scientific way. Therefore, positivism would make us look at the world in a very structured way, and help us understand our social world in a scientific way.

Comte did not push for revolutionary change, as he felt that the natural evolution of this positive sociology would make things better. Reforms were needed only to assist the process a bit. This leads to the earlier mentioned cornerstone of Comte’s approach of his evolutionary theory, or ‘The Law of 3 Stages.’ This theory proposes that there are three intellectual stages through which the world has gone throughout its history.

One of the most discussed and disturbing issues of all the times is poverty. The humanity has always been curious where it takes the beginning and what leads to the miserable condition that poverty implies. However there are different criteria by which the state of poverty is defined. It is believed that the more the richer the person is the more he wants to have, thus what is a real treasure for one person, can be nothing for another.

Poverty can be defined by the condition of being without adequate resources. This may mean being deprived of different resources varying from food and money to time. The term poverty can be further broken down into two different terms, absolute and relative. Absolute poverty is a standard of measurement that remains the same irrespective of social and geographical situation, and is therefore an absolute minimum standard of living for all people that must be met; if it is not, it can be said that they are in poverty. However there is also another definition of poverty that can be used, relative poverty. This is based on the idea that a person has less in comparison with other people.

In the early 1800s, the poor were seen as comprising of two different groups; deserving and undeserving poor. Deserving poor were the very old, sick or severely disabled, whilst the undeserving poor were those capable of working, but chose not to. At the time there appeared to be a main consensus that the undeserving poor were responsible for whether or not they were in poverty. They could easily escape poverty by not being lazy and working. A way to discourage this so-called ‘idleness’ was the result of the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act in 1834. Under which, only the elderly and the sick were allowed to claim ‘outdoor’ relief (i.e. be supported in their own homes). All other people whom claimed relief were subjected to ‘the workhouse test’. The concept behind the workhouse test was to discourage those who could really work from claiming relief. Up until this point, the state were seen to be ‘too generous’ and people had subsequently realised that ‘working for a living’ provided a less comfortable lifestyle than those of whom claimed relief. The Poor Law Amendment Act in 1834 attempted to rectify this problem by using the idea of ‘less eligibility’. The centre idea behind this was to make living conditions in the workhouses less than those experienced by the lowest paid employment. This would result in driving the able bodied poor back to work. However concept assumed that people were idle and did not want to work, which was not the case in many instances. In addition, the fact that work may not be available to people was ignored.

During the Victorian period, one response to poverty that was adopted by people was the concept of ‘self-help’. ‘The aim of all men ought to be to make themselves independent, whereas the tendency of the Poor Law was to make men dependent’. Friendly societies and various contributory schemes offered help to the working classes; money could be available if they ever fell ill or became unemployed. This idea of helping one self implied that poverty could be avoided by undergoing such pre-emptory measures, and thus it is the responsibility of an individual to avoid poverty.

Charles Booth was a businessman who felt that different groups grossly exaggerated the extent of poverty, including the Marxist Social Democratic Federation. A survey undertaken by this group in working class areas of London showed that 25% of the working population lived in poverty. Booth thought that this was an exaggeration and set about proving it by undertaking a study of ‘Life and Labour of the People in London’. However, in fact his results revealed that the poverty problem was much more serious than first thought and that approximately 30% of Londoners were living below a poverty line. Booth drew this poverty line at an income of 21s a week for a moderate family noting that it would vary with different circumstances. A main point of Booth’s work was how he managed to classify the population. He categorised people into eight categories; importantly, the majority of people that Booth located in the first four categories lived a precarious life through no fault of their own. He also identified that low wages the uncertain nature of seasonal work as being the major causes of poverty, and not individuals’ idleness.

Following this, Seebohm Rowntree carried out a similar survey in York to see if the results of Booth’s study would be similar to that in other cities. He chose York because he claimed that it was a ‘representative provincial city’. He interviewed 46,754 people in their own homes between 1899-1901, excluding the 29,058 people that lived in households with at least one servant. He did this because he realised that if a person could afford to hire a servant, it was more than likely that they would not be suffering from. Rowntree checked local rent, costs of fuel and costs of clothing (Budget Standard approach) and unlike Booth, he also took into account the size of family and age of children in his placement of the poverty line. Taking this into account was important as if children were very young; they would be unable to earn a wage that would contribute towards a family’s living. His results showed that there were two degrees of poverty that people were suffering from in York; primary and secondary poverty. Primary poverty was defined by ‘income that was insufficient to provide the basic necessities for biological efficiency (e.g. food, fuel, shelter and clothing)’. Meanwhile, others suffered from secondary poverty even though usually they had enough income to cover these four basic necessities. This would be because emergencies would occur (e.g. household repairs), and subsequently money would have to be diverted from the necessities to fund the emergency. Following this he concluded that 21s 8d per week would be required to keep a man, wife and three children out of poverty. This meant that in 1901, approximately 28% of the population of York were in poverty: 10% in primary and 18% in secondary poverty.

In addition, Seebohm Rowntree identified external factors concerning poverty that the individual could have little control over. The first of these was a ‘poverty lifecycle’. He pointed out that the majority of working class families went through predictable stages of comparative poverty and prosperity. For example, a family was likely to suffer from poverty when a couple had children as more money would have to be spent in order to feed and cloth additional members of the family, even though no extra money was available. However as these children grow older, they bring in wages, which results in the family becoming relatively wealthier. Nevertheless, as time goes on, the children leave and the couple become older and main breadwinner (the husband) may be unable to work and thus poverty sets in again. This concept of a poverty cycle was important as it reinforced Booth’s findings, which showed that poverty was not the fault of the individual.

Furthermore Rowntree also identified economic and social causes of poverty. His work also showed how the ‘nature of casual labour made it impossible for families to budget as there earnings were so uncertain’. Moreover, social causes of poverty including poor health, poor housing and poor education also contributed to poverty amongst the working class. Poor housing and health seemed to be linked and would often mean workers could not work. Whilst a poor education meant that labourers could not find better, well paid jobs as they were not qualified.

In the latter part of the 20th century, the definition of poverty appeared to change slightly. A focus upon ‘social exclusion’ seemed to have occurred. Social exclusion refers to a process in which certain members of society do not participate in the normal activities of a citizen of that society. New Labour identified those who were not in work and those on low wages as the most likely groups to suffer from social exclusion. New Labour’s response to this was to introduce to new polices to target these groups; including the introduction of minimum wages and ‘New Deals’.

However, Charles Murray, from the New Right argued that an underclass had formed that had a separate and distinct culture from the mainstream society. This distinct culture was based upon purposely avoiding work and living off benefits e.g. teenage single parent mothers. The reasoning behind this appeared to be based on the argument used in the 1800s during the introduction of the workhouse tests; an over-generous government had allowed people to become over-reliant on it and purposely choose not to work and ‘live the easy life’. Charles Murray and other New Right thinkers have used this argument to place the blame squarely at the feet of ‘over-generous governments’ for allowing this to occur. He suggested that the only way to overcome modern day poverty is to cut benefits (and thus in order to discourage people from not working. Similarly according to the New Right, reducing taxes would encourage more people to work more; as they would earn more working than being on benefits; mirroring the idea of ‘less eligibility’ from the 19th century.

Correspondingly, New Labour’s policies have reflected similar views. Able-bodied people should work; and only those who they cannot work or prove that they are looking for work shall receive benefits. Introduction of new policies such as ‘the minimum wage’ and working families’ tax credit is aimed at encouraging people who can, to work. Also for those who do not have necessary training, ‘new deals’ are available in which people receive help by being trained. This appears to suggest that individuals can escape poverty by simply having a job.

Edgar Allan Poe

Through life circumstances

You did grow

Trials and tribulations

Came your way

Yet you rose from within

And by your writings and poems

You did win.

Certainly gambling is not good

But using one's God-given talents

A young man should

Hence I have set forth

To be a poet like you

I understand what you went through

My mother struggled

With the bottle and drugs too

Yet Poe, I am here

To tell you

That your personal struggles

They made you

They also gave you

The ability to feel

So you could identify and heal

Your heart's agony

Concerning abandonment

A deep tragedy

Your adopted father Allan

Disowned thee

West Point dishonorably discharged thee

Your cousin and wife Virginia died prematurely

It was then you wrote

Your famous poem "Annabel Lee"

In losing love

You gave it

Your world collapsed

But for others you made it

Baltimore's best

Life's unexpected unalterable events

Continually put you to the test

Undoubtedly Edgar

By heaven you were blessed

I pray to God

Your soul to rest

No need for depression or restlessness

From a gutter to glory

Your written works

Your life story

"The Tell-Tale Heart"

"A Dream Within A Dream"

"The Happiest Day"

Edgar you'll never go away

You unveiled

Another dimension

Removing illiteracy and apprehension

An amazing legacy

Loved and admired by many

Edgar you are alive and well

Though you never made it

To see your new fiancée

Your spirit and heart made it

To me your protege.

Paul Davis is a masterful poet, worldwide professional speaker, minister and author of several books including Breakthrough for a Broken Heart; and Stop Lusting & Start Living.

Paul is a life coach (relational & professional), popular keynote speaker, creative consultant, humor being, adventurer, explorer, mediator, liberator and dream-maker.

Paul's compassion for people & passion to travel has taken him to over 50 countries of the world where he has had a tremendous impact. Paul has also brought revival to many in war-torn, impoverished and tsunami stricken regions of the earth. His organization Dream-Maker Ministries is building dreams, breaking limitations and reviving nations!

Robert Frost

You've done well

In asking

Before building

What are you walling in?

What are you walling out?

And whom are you offending

When doing so?

True

Good fences

Make good neighbors

Yet what about the current horrors?

Domestic violence and international wars

Nobody loves walls

Intended to keep us out

Or giants

That want to make us doubt.

The promised land

Is for whosoever will

Even if they be uneducated and without skill

For all human beings have God-given gifts

Talents and abilities of some sort

Therefore let not politicians

Of us make sport

Neither academians who think

They know it all

For pride precedes a great fall

Humility however

Enables us to learn, grow and stand tall

As for arrogance

It incites rivalry

Divides humanity

Verbally spews profanity

Causing societal insanity

Often leading to a brawl.

Now therefore listen to poet Paul

A life coach and prophet

For a new generation

Bringing down walls

As a minister of reconciliation

Taking a relevant message

To awake a perverse and adulterous nation

Bent on evil

Ready to self-destruct

This is why

I

An ambassador of heaven

Must now erupt

And not be silent

Islam is impotent, intolerant and violent

And unless a new generation

Of voices arise

We as a nation shall be despised.

Therefore here am I send me!

I will go in your stead

With my poetry.

For a new genre and spirit is needed

Take rest my beloved Frost

Your works have succeeded

For there can be no success

Without a successor

Although some would say

I am the lesser

Nevertheless as a fellow pastoral poet

I dare to be your successor.

Paul Davis is a masterful poet, worldwide professional speaker, minister and author of several books including Breakthrough for a Broken Heart; and Stop Lusting & Start Living.

Paul is a life coach (relational & professional), popular keynote speaker, creative consultant, humor being, adventurer, explorer, mediator, liberator and dream-maker.

Paul's compassion for people & passion to travel has taken him to over 50 countries of the world where he has had a tremendous impact. Paul has also brought revival to many in war-torn, impoverished and tsunami stricken regions of the earth. His organization Dream-Maker Ministries is building dreams, breaking limitations and reviving nations!

Paul's Breakthrough Seminars inspire, awaken, impregnate with purpose, impart the fire of desire, catapult people into a new level of self-awareness, facilitate destiny discovery and dream fulfillment.

Celebrities have gotten into the craze of reality tv. Watching celebrities and their families on television going through their daily life have become hit tv shows. There are many celebrities letting the cameras in on their daily routines.

Meet The Osbournes is a show with Ozzie Osbourne and his family. Ozzie, Sharon, Jack and Kelly let the cameras into their homes so their fans can see how they live. It is entertaining watching Ozzie the dad preparing for his rock concerts and how Sharon supported him. Sharon touched us by the way she had courage during her cancer. Their show really gave you a look into their lives and how they were as a family unit. Their behavior and language can be erratic at times but they come across on this hit show as a very close and loving family.

Christopher Knight aka Peter Brady and Adrian Curry get married on live television this past May 2006. This was a fun show watching Christopher and Adrian making plans for their wedding with their emotions running high. In the end it appeared this experience actually brought them closer. They make a great couple. Chris and Adrian actually met on another reality show The Surreal Life.

Hulk Hogan and his family got behind the cameras in Hogan Knows Best! In this reality show you see how Hulk and Linda work together as parents to bring up their two teenage kids Brooke and Nick. Watch Brooke launch her music career with the support of her family. Nick like Dad gets the wrestling bug. Hogan shows him some tricks of the trade and talks to him about the importance of showmanship and signs him up for acting classes.

Here is some trivia which is found on Wikipedia. Hogan missed a call to endorse The George Foreman Grill from his agent and George Foreman stepped in as the official spokesperson for the grill. Now Hulk Hogan is busy endorsing The Hulk Hogan Ultimate Grill. The Hulk Hogan Ultimate Grill is a grill, a skillet, a waffle iron, a panini sandwich press, and you can even bake pizza and cookies! It appears Hogan's grill is more versatile than the Foreman grill.

Two reality shows with the main characters in the news lately is Dog “The Bounty Hunter” and Anna Nicole Smith. Anna Nicole Smith is going through an unthinkable tragedy with the sudden loss of her son Daniel Smith just days after giving birth to her baby daughter. The Dog is having problems with the Mexican Authorities.

Anna Nicole Smith's real name is Vickie Lynn Hogan born November 28, 1967 in Houston, Texas. The Anna Nicole Show debuted Sunday, August 4, 2002 on E!, and was inspired by the hit MTV reality series The Osbournes .

The Bounty Hunter Dwayne "Dog" Chapman, son Leland Chapman and brother Timothy Chapman have found themselves in trouble with the Mexican authorities for their capture of Max Factor cosmetics company heir Andrew Luster on June 18, 2003, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The Dog and his family of bounty hunters were trying to make this world a safer place by getting a fugitive rapist off the streets. Hopefully this will all get cleared up and Dog and his family can put this behind them and not have to spend anymore time in a Mexican Jail.

Life nowadays takes place behind a curtain of trivial entertainment. Leaving cause aside, our voracious appetite for celebrity tidbits is fed by mammoth media networks, the process spewing forth an endless stream of personalities splattered by a handful of talented entertainers. Celebrity status then falls well within the grasp of the outrageous or those hungry for attention thus satisfying our thirst for all things celeb.

Our desire to be associated with those in the limelight is so great that there aren't nearly enough big stars to go round. Celebrities are in such demand that anyone lucky enough to visually resemble a TV actor, member of the monarchy or, even better, a megastar is able to make a substantial living from the spin off of their success. Normally booked by businesses to attend media events, 'faux stars' such as those from Top Lookalikes can also be hired out for private parties to really impress your friends and neighbours.

Even the BBC are joining in the celeb game with their tongue-in-cheek stock market trading game. Join in this bit of lighthearted fun as you estimate the 'tradeability' value of celebs in the news whilst you build your own personality portfolio and watch your shares soar or plummet.

Whilst we all know that Americans are obsessed with fame and fortune, there's a little part in us all that follows what the big Hollywood stars are up to. In tinseltown LA the big stars' every move is fully documented, their home addresses readily available and their residential streets and favourite dining haunts fair game for the stargazing hordes.

But many of us are now seriously striking out in a bid for our own celebrity lifestyle according to the Office for National Statistics. According to their 2006 Social Trends Report over a million of us own a second home, a quarter of these abroad. To check out how big a slice of the sun you can afford, try a visit to one of the many overseas property exhibitions taking place around the country.