tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132008832009-07-10T18:59:23.283-06:00Official blog of Olgy Gary, a Cuban-American educator, author, wife & mother. Add your comments to my musings on writing, Cuba, weight loss & more!Olgy Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393573481180066486noreply@blogger.comBlogger70125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13200883.post-55819049847334754512009-07-04T00:26:00.001-06:002009-07-04T00:26:55.413-06:00

Happy Birthday America!http://ping.fm/AbGpf

Olgy Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393573481180066486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13200883.post-17943186051147823692009-06-27T17:46:00.003-06:002009-06-27T17:56:43.321-06:00

It's not just a few people but thousands upon thousands who are protesting the results of the Iranian elections. And now with Michael Jackson's death, Iran has dropped off of the news cycle...and here in the USA it seems as if all the news is talking about is Michael Jackson. So it's fitting to put one of his songs to showcase the plight of the Iranian people.

Olgy Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393573481180066486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13200883.post-2249656394841120052009-06-27T15:11:00.001-06:002009-06-27T15:11:02.610-06:00

Four days left to participate in this month's CCF Online Writing Contest: http://ping.fm/F8wNu

Olgy Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393573481180066486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13200883.post-36893745636431660402009-04-19T12:40:00.047-06:002009-04-19T15:53:22.994-06:00

If you're a writer, and do not already subscribe to Writer's Digest magazine, then articles such as the Stephen King & Jerry Jenkins interview in the May/June 2009 issue might just convince you to do so.I received the magazine and was surprised to see the photos on the cover. It never would have occurred to me to put Jenkins anywhere near King. Not only are their writing styles different, the

Olgy Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393573481180066486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13200883.post-69449850934048246992009-03-25T22:35:00.000-06:002009-04-27T18:40:47.614-06:00

Immediately after I sent a note to the books4children listserve asking for advice on whether buying a Kindle from amazon.com was a good idea, a post from author Peggy Tibbetts came back singing the praises of this little gadget.In her blog, Kindle Spirits, Tibbetts addresses many of the questions I had about the Kindle. She also provides links to further information and suggests the two "must

Olgy Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393573481180066486noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13200883.post-70309565310767150802009-01-05T11:50:00.029-07:002009-01-05T20:02:12.398-07:00

If you haven't seen SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE already, you must, you just MUST go see it while it's still playing in your area. It's one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. I can't get it off my mind. It is awesome! It touches your heart on so many levels. Tender and chaotic, realistic and romantic, fast paced, yet with an exquisite sense of timing.It's only playing in selected theaters, so

Olgy Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393573481180066486noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13200883.post-54034739394687464752008-12-30T11:24:00.025-07:002008-12-30T20:32:27.928-07:00

Re: News of Fabricated Holocaust Memoir Sparks Anger, SadnessHow does the saying go? Oh yeah! "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." And good intentions is what Herman Rosenblat and his wife had when they told a tall tale to those in the publishing world. The AP article quotes Rosenblat as saying, "I wanted to bring happiness to people...I brought hope to a lot of people. My

Olgy Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393573481180066486noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13200883.post-73447804996103243482008-12-25T20:43:00.011-07:002008-12-25T21:33:02.744-07:00

On myspace page tonight I received a comment in the form of a youtube video. The video is of the recording of El Inmortal (The Immortal) by Manny Montes. It's a rap in honor of the one whose birthday we celebrate today. Regardless of whether December 25th is Jesus' actual birthday or not, it's the date that's been set aside to celebrate it. Here are the lyrics to the song, in Spanish, and the

Olgy Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393573481180066486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13200883.post-12554539698832757092008-12-21T23:12:00.006-07:002008-12-22T18:51:41.327-07:00

Is anyone as tired as I am of seeing commercials making fun of men in order to sell a product? The latest culprit in this trend is the priceless.com one where a guy gifts his girl with a box of tissues, a paper bag, and a trampoline. Then he opens the drapes and she sees the two matching cars. She faints and lands on the small trampoline he'd placed behind her, bounces right back up, hugs her guy

Olgy Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393573481180066486noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13200883.post-22621873498612827092008-12-15T15:57:00.001-07:002008-12-22T11:59:54.500-07:00

I went to see The Women with four of my girlfriends thinking it'd be a total chic-flick. It was. It's also a great guy-flick, one that will give guys great insights on what women are all about. This movie is AWESOME!!! We laughed throughout the entire movie. It was soooooooo funny!!! They nailed it when it comes to portraying how women often feel about different topics. Eva Mendez says it best in

Olgy Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393573481180066486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13200883.post-22686083559914275612008-11-15T00:03:00.004-07:002008-11-15T00:08:16.409-07:00

Here's another good website full of Cuban recipes!!! My Cuban Trauma is the blog of Marilyn, a Cuban now living in California. Enjoy browsing through the recipes she’s posted here and even making some of them. Believe me... they're absolutely delicious! :-)Cuban Cooking - Comida Cubana: Marilyn even does the Cuban meatloaf the way my mama used to make it. With hard boiled eggs inside. :-)

Olgy Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393573481180066486noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13200883.post-1618454761122841882008-11-05T22:20:00.041-07:002008-11-15T15:46:33.876-07:00

While watching the news on 5 November 2008, I saw folks in long lines in front of the newspaper office of The New York Times, all wanting to buy a copy of today's issue. It dawned on me that, yes, today's copy, showing Obama as the country's President-elect, would be a keepsake. The first African-American president to be elected in the United States was a historic event, regardless of whether one

Olgy Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393573481180066486noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13200883.post-30080460687731218552008-11-01T14:44:00.025-06:002008-11-15T20:34:18.264-07:00

When I came to the USA, oh so many years ago, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Now, years later, I still feel the same. America! The United States of America. My parents and their six daughters, me being the oldest of the six girls, were finally in the USA and we were safe. It took three years for Castro's communist government to give us permission to leave Cuba. We then lived almost a year

Olgy Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393573481180066486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13200883.post-80174661289017932902008-10-26T22:23:00.052-06:002008-11-15T15:47:11.796-07:00

I'm not a political person. I've never attended a political rally. I've never volunteered for political candidates. I've never donated to any political campaign, not even when I fill out my taxes every year and am asked whether I want to donate a few dollars. Now a Senator from Illinois has changed all this.This morning I rolled out of bed at 5:30am, got dressed, and drove 73.5 miles to Civic

Olgy Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393573481180066486noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13200883.post-87526291613811249712008-10-19T14:59:00.003-06:002008-11-15T15:47:11.797-07:00

General Colin Powell is a man I would have voted for had he run for president of the USA. Today this man I respect, a Republican like myself, endorsed Senator Obama. Watch the 7 min video if you missed it when it aired today on "Meet the Press". This is huge, that a respected and high-power Republican, a man of honor, a retired General, is endorsing Senator Obama. He didn't just say he's

Olgy Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393573481180066486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13200883.post-74546877322746730892008-09-13T15:44:00.034-06:002008-09-14T20:54:05.759-06:00

There's an inherent power in music to lift our soul out of the mire of daily living and unto a place where we can begin to see things more clear. That power is intensified when the lyrics, the words carried along by the rhythm, are words of life, of hope, of encouragement. This is what I found in Willy Chirino's new single, "Pa'lante." The beat carries you along and then the words empower you

Olgy Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393573481180066486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13200883.post-29432920671733498922008-09-12T21:52:00.001-06:002008-11-15T15:49:44.840-07:00

Over 6,000 reactions to Sarah Palin's nomination from women of all ages and backgrounds. Interesting blog showing not all women are for Palin. The posts refute the assumption that just because there's a woman in the ticket women will automatically vote for that ticket. Assumptions like that demean women. We look, inquire, research, investigate, analyze, deduce, and act/vote for the best candidate

Olgy Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393573481180066486noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13200883.post-67281396172046493812008-06-11T15:36:00.014-06:002008-06-11T16:22:12.101-06:00

I'm on a dedicated path to getting in shape, motivated by the fact that a friend of mine has lost 30 pounds in five months. I asked him what he'd done to get in shape and he told me one of the things was he purchased a pedometer that connects via a USB cable to his computer to he can track how much he walks every day.I've lost count of how many different pedometers I've bought over the years and

Olgy Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393573481180066486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13200883.post-42127367580358759422008-06-10T11:55:00.016-06:002008-06-10T16:21:23.750-06:00

J.K. Rowling, author of the best-selling Harry Potter book series, delivered her Commencement Address, The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination, at the Annual Meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association.I've listened to it several times and downloaded it to my computer so I can listen to it often from now on. [Most of the transcript of the talk is included in the link]. I

Olgy Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393573481180066486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13200883.post-36179921146138498262008-06-05T16:16:00.011-06:002008-06-10T16:22:16.503-06:00

I very much enjoy listening to the music of ORISHAS. This song, MUJER, has a nice beat and great lyrics. The words talk about what many women have gone through and put up with over the ages, from domestic violence to being ignored and not respected. The idea that women are considered still today in parts of the world second class citizens is talked about. It touches me to hear men sing this

Olgy Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393573481180066486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13200883.post-71006767574148613802008-03-14T23:58:00.004-06:002008-06-08T22:34:42.385-06:00

My love affair with Jerry Scott & Jim Borgman's creation in their ZITS cartoons is never ending. I am in awe of how these gifted artists/writers have captured so much of what I think is the essence of teenage boys. I talked about this in another blog I entered a few years back, ZITS: Understanding Teenage Boys. Then tonight, while reviewing comments to my blog I found one from caminohueco that

Olgy Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393573481180066486noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13200883.post-5702436364029623922008-01-01T14:27:00.003-07:002008-11-06T20:56:11.498-07:00

In the Cuba: Island of my heart myspace group I moderate we've been talking, among other things, about internet access Cubans living in the island may or may not have.My sister sent me a link to a short YouTube video clip that talks about a blogger in Havana. The video clip also discusses the lack of internet access to Cubans.Yoani Sanchez is the blogger. The Wall Street Journal reporter

Olgy Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393573481180066486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13200883.post-6712446976870820192007-12-10T15:50:00.000-07:002007-12-15T17:45:50.820-07:00

Regardless of what part of the world we live in, we each can do our part to make it a little better. That's what a friend dear and near to my heart, who presently lives in Egypt, has done. Elena wrote telling me of the human needs she had discovered since moving there,"Having been in Egypt for only a short time has definitely had its share of adventure, adjustments and discoveries. One discovery

Olgy Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393573481180066486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13200883.post-79150034625510136682007-12-08T16:47:00.000-07:002007-12-10T15:48:31.196-07:00

I'm patriotic...obnoxiously so. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that I came from a land ruled by a totalitarian and oppressive government. Living in the United States is, for me, both a privilege and a gift from God, and one I do not take for granted. I realize the USA is not perfect. I'm not blind to its weak spots, though I choose to dwell on what's good and honorable about this great

Olgy Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393573481180066486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13200883.post-51159572254146038362007-12-07T13:49:00.000-07:002007-12-10T15:44:54.800-07:00

I've got work deadlines to meet and a house to pack for our move back east, so why am I spending time watching the Falalala Lifetime's holiday movies? Because they speak to my heart. They wake up all that is beautiful and empowering in me. They infuse me with the hope and vibrancy needed for me not just to survive whatever the day brings but to overcome it victoriously! I love everything about

Olgy Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393573481180066486noreply@blogger.com2