Your brain needs exercise just like a muscle. If you use it
often and in the right ways, you will become a more skilled
thinker and increase your ability to focus. But if you never use
your brain, or abuse it with harmful chemicals, your ability to
think and learn will deteriorate.
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Here are 5 simple ways anyone can squeeze a bit more
productivity out of the old gray matter.
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1. Minimize Television Watching - This is a hard sell. People
love vegetating in front of the television, myself included more
often than I’d like. The problem is watching television doesn’t
use your mental capacity OR allow it to recharge. It’s like
having the energy sapped out of a muscle without the health
benefits of exercise.
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Don’t you feel drained after a couple hours of TV? Your eyes are
sore and tired from being focused on the light box for so long.
You don’t even have the energy to read a book.
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When you feel like relaxing, try reading a book instead. If
you’re too tired, listen to some music. When you’re with your
friends or family, leave the tube off and have a conversation.
All of these things use your mind more than television and allow
you to relax.
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2. Exercise - I used to think that I’d learn more by not
exercising and using the time to read a book instead. But I
realized that time spent exercising always leads to greater
learning because it improves productivity during the time
afterwards. Using your body clears your head and creates a wave
of energy. Afterwards, you feel invigorated and can concentrate
more easily.
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3. Read Challenging Books - Many people like to read popular
suspense fiction, but generally these books aren’t mentally
stimulating. If you want to improve your thinking and writing
ability you should read books that make you focus. Reading a
classic novel can change your view of the world and will make
you think in more precise, elegant English. Don’t be afraid to
look up a word if you don’t know it, and don’t be afraid of
dense passages. Take your time, re-read when necessary, and
you’ll soon grow accustomed to the author’s style.
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Once you get used to reading challenging books, I think you’ll
find that you aren’t tempted to go back to page-turners. The
challenge of learning new ideas is far more exciting than any
tacky suspense-thriller.
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4. Early to Bed, Early to Rise - Nothing makes it harder to
concentrate than sleep deprivation. You’ll be most rejuvenated
if you go to bed early and don’t sleep more than 8 hours. If you
Party Prince Harry danced his socks off in blue suede shoes during his royal visit to Jamaica.
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The prince was visiting Kingston when he was pulled to his feet by attractive
Chantol Dormer.
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The 27-year-old royal proved that his rhythm was on par with jammin’ style as he boogey-down to a rendition of reggae legend Bob Marley’s “One Love”.
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That night Harry attended a black tie state dinner with Prime Minister
Mrs Portia Simpson.
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In a well-received speech the prince had his audience eating out of his hand with a few jokes in the local patois.
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He said: ‘I count it a great privilege to be standing here tonight, representing The Queen in Jamaica on her Diamond Jubilee. Her Majesty has asked me to extend her great good wishes to you all, and is sorry that she can’t be here - so you’re stuck with me… but don’t worry, cos every liddle ting gonna be aright! ‘
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‘Your vibrancy and vigour, your wonderful welcome to visitors and your island’s natural beauties - all combine to make Jamaica unique. The Queen recognised this.
My son told me how wonderful the care packages we had sent them
from the ladies auxiliary were and wanted me to tell everyone
thank you.
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He said that one guy we’ll call Marine X, got a female care
package and everyone was giving him a hard time. My son said,
‘Marine X got some really nice smelling lotion and everyone
really likes it, so every time he goes to sleep they steal it
from him.’ I told my son I was really sorry about the mistake,
and if he wanted I would send Marine X another package. He told
me not to worry about Marine X because every time I send
something to him, he shares it with Marine X.
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He said when my husband and I sent the last care package, Marine
X came over to his cot picked up the box, started fishing
through it, and said, ‘What’d we get this time?’
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But my son said they had the most fun with Marine X’s package.
He said he wasn’t sure who it was supposed to go to, but the
panties were size 20, and he said one of the guys got on top of
the Humvee and jumped off with the panties over his head and
yelled, ‘Look at me, I’m an Airborne Ranger!!!!’
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One of the guys attached the panties to an antenna and it blew
in the wind like a windsock. He said it entertained them for
quite awhile. Then of course…….they had those tampons. When
he brought this up, my imagination just went running, but he
continued.
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My son said they had to go on a mission and Marine X wanted the
Chap-Stick and lotion for the trip. He grabbed a bunch of the
items from his care package and got in the Humvee. As luck would
have it he grabbed the tampons too, and my son said everyone was
teasing him about ‘not forgetting his feminine hygiene
products.’
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He said things went well for a while, then the convoy was
ambushed and a Marine was shot. He said the wound was pretty
clean, but it was deep. He said they were administering first
aid but couldn’t get the bleeding to slow down, and someone
said, ‘Hey! Use Marine X’s tampons!’ My son said they put the
tampon in the wound. At this point my son profoundly told Me,
Jamaican beauty, “Miss World 1976″, Cindy Breakspeare, as she appeared on the cover of the Miss World 1977 Souvenir Program
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Jazz musician and Miss World 1976 Cindy Breakspeare is the mother of Bob Marley’s son Damian Robert Nesta “Junior Gong” Marley (born July 21, 1978 in Kingston, Jamaica). He grew up to become a three time Grammy-winning reggae artist.
Stunning Cindy Breakspeare in official “Miss World” regalia in 1976
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Elegant Cindy Breakspeare attending “Miss World 50th Anniversary” in London, 2000
In the 31 years since his untimely death, Marley still remains the most-popular figure in Reggae music. Succumbing to cancer at age 36 in 1981, Marley had become a global ambassador for the music he helped make famous.
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Marley’s passing shook the reggae and music community to its core; yet, his legacy remains intact through his timeless music catalog and talented children.
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Marley was born in the village of Nine Mile in Saint Ann Parish in Jamaica (also the birthplace of Marcus Garvey). Marley’s father was a white Jamaican man of English descent and his mother was a native of Jamaica. Discovering music as a teenager, Marley befriended Neville “Bunny” Livingston (aka Bunny Wailer) who shared his dreams of becoming a musician. Through singer Joe Higgs, the pair met Peter McIntosh (aka Peter Tosh) who also had similar ambitions. Recording his first songs in 1962, Marley and his friends would eventually be renamed The Wailers, after being discovered by a local record producer.
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Marrying Rita Anderson (now Marley) in 1966, Marley and his bride made a sojourn to the United States to live near his mother in Wilmington, De. Marley soon teamed up with American singer Johnny Nash (“I Can See Clearly Now”) and nabbed a deal with CBS Records. Marley and the Wailers went on tour with Nash before their label deal went sour and the band ended up stranded in London in 1972. From there, Marley contacted Island Records’ founder Chris Blackwell and was advanced funds to record the hit album “Catch A Fire.”
Shortly after the release of their major-label debut, Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh went their