A TEXT POST

Now here’s a retirement plan worth considering. Travel the world!

English: Rua Augusta, Lisbon Portugal Portuguê...
English: Rua Augusta, Lisbon Portugal Português: Rua Augusta, Lisboa Portugal (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Do you have a personal retirement plan? Have you considered what you want to do with your later years as you grow old and (hopefully) retire?

Well, this California couple has taken a good approach to the Autumn of their years. They decided to sell their 1200 square feet house in California and spend their time traveling the world and renting smaller apartments from Paris to London, passing by Turkey and Portugal.

Theirs is a truly fascinating account of a great way for a couple to spend their later healthy years. Waking up in a new place every couple of months, staying connected with friends and family using the internet. And coming “home” to celebrate the holidays and every now and then.

They have their own personal blog where they talk about their adventures and all the ways they manage to find accommodation and travel. While it certainly is not for everyone, I have a feeling a lot of my friends would go for something like this. And I’m certainly considering making this a goal once I hit a certain age. I could see myself traveling into my golden years.

Here’s an example of something they can afford to do and that we (busy working bees) cannot. They spend over 2 weeks crossing the Atlantic on deeply discounted off season transatlantic cruises. That way they get accommodation, travel, food and pampering for two weeks, instead of flying for 10 hours, and having to deal with jetlag. 

It’s all about managing your time, planning ahead, and having enough cashflow to manage it all. Of course it also helps if you have a 2500 square foot house in California to start with.

Their 2013 plan is up on their site, and it includes a couple of months in Lisbon, Portugal.

Here’s their article in the Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443720204578004131575356160.html

And their personal blog http://homefreeadventures.com

Enhanced by Zemanta
A TEXT POST

Yoko did not break up the Beatles

So says Sir Paul McCartney in his latest interview with David Frost. Paul gave Frost the exclusive hour long interview on Aljazeera’s English TV channel.

Paul McCartney is usually very private and does not give away interviews longer than 15 minutes. This rare hour long interview is a chance for Frost to return to his longer interview format that he’s known for ever since his epic Frost/Nixon interview (there’s a great movie about it)

In the interview Paul mentions that Yoko was a source of inspiration for John Lennon and that she opened up a new side of Lennon that wouldn’t have come to fruition, a more avant garde scene that the British boys had not experienced. Paul goes so far as to say that songs like Imagine would not exist if it weren’t for Yoko’s influence on John Lennon. Paul makes it clear, for all of those fans who keep blaming Yoko for the breakup of the Beatles, that the real reason behind the breakup has more to do with band manager Allen Klein who replaced the beloved Brian Epstein after his death.

With time and age, Paul also mentions that the most important role in his life is being a father of five and a grandfather. “Being a father, grandfather, is my coolest thing.” says the former Beatle

English: John Lennon and Yoko Ono
English: John Lennon and Yoko Ono (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Enhanced by Zemanta
A TEXT POST

Riding the subway with Stanley Kubrick - 1946 photos

Self-portrait of Stanley Kubrick with a Leica ...
Self-portrait of Stanley Kubrick with a Leica III camera. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The website retronaut has an amazing collection of pictures taken by none other than the master, Stanley Kubrick on the New York City subway system. He said “I wanted to retain the mood of the subway, so I used natural light” He showcases people riding the subway, sleeping, reading the newspaper, standing up on a crowded car.

It’s a good glimpse to Kubrick’ early photography style, which later lead to him wanting to be behind the camera at most of his films.

There are two galleries on the site:

http://www.retronaut.com/2012/10/riding-the-new-york-city-subway-by-stanley-kubrick/

http://www.retronaut.com/2012/05/life-and-love-on-the-new-york-city-subway-by-stanley-kubrick-1946/

Enhanced by Zemanta
A TEXT POST

Watch out for the Random Penguin…

Random House
Random House (Photo credit: Alexander Smolianitski)

Two of the largest publishing houses in the world have merged. The UK’s Pearson and Germany’s Bertelsmann are the owners of Penguin and Random House. By merging their activities, they now control about 25% of the global English language book sales.

The deal comes at a time when traditional book sales are under threat by sales of e-books and self publishing is starting to take flight. In the end, these are traditional media houses who are trying to survive and adjust to a new world where they are not so confortable.

The joint venture will go by the slightly awkward (and totally lame) name “Penguin Random House”. I’m sure they could’ve come up with some other combination of their two names. I’d vote for Random Penguin…

Source: http://qz.com/20934/rivals-random-house-and-penguin-join-forces/

Enhanced by Zemanta
A PHOTO

Let it snow… #winter #snow #tallinn

A PHOTO

Autumn from my office window #estonia #autumn (at Zeeland Idea Baltics)

A PHOTO

Architecture in Riga. (Taken with Instagram)

A PHOTO

L'Oreal has #newcribs in Riga. Looking good. (Taken with Instagram at L'Oréal Baltic SIA)

A PHOTO

Beautiful Autumn colors in Riga (Taken with Instagram)