Stewart McIntosh answers:

Just came back from few days vacation in France. Please bear in mind French speaks little English.

When you approach French, please remember not to say, “do you speak english?” As if you ask in that way, for sure you will be disappointed as they will tell you they can’t speak English altho they might speak English. French reluctance to use English/use little English as France had been clolonised by English long long time ago… Therefore they are in the stage of reluctance to adopt English culture.

Actually alot can be grabs in France especially their fashion (which is the top in the world)… If you are interested in perfume sort of thing then you can try to shop for that… Not to forget about the Wines in France…

I believe you know well about tourist spot in France and if you are not sure about that then please do not forget to get a copy of its city map when you arrive any city in France.

Do enjoy your holiday in France. Good luck…

Stewart McIntosh answers:

On the whole France has a great tolerance to other races and nations.
However some people resent the number of Arabs that have settled in France simply because their culture is different and they expect the French to change things for them and adapt to their ways, rather than the other way round. Many are intransigent and treat their women badly, restricting their freedom. Some are quick with knives and revengeful. When there were just a few there were relatively few difficulties but now that there are large numbers, it has created real problems as they have become vociferous and demanding. This has given rise to insurrections in Paris and other large towns, with cars being set on fire and Molotov cocktails being thrown at the police, shops being ransacked, etc….They often decide to put themselves “on the fringes of society”, as you say, because they will not conform to French culture and laws, and have no wish to mix with the locals socially, consorting with people from the same ethnic origin and of the same creed as themselves. The younger immigrants are also often responsible for petty crimes, muggings etc…and this makes other people afraid, so there is a degree of avoidance for this reason too.
On the whole Black Africans living in France are good natured. There are fewer of them and they have integrated better.

As for the number of people in churches being white, African Muslims would see no need to go there as they are not interested in other cults than their own. However go to a street market in most towns and you will see a good number of women in Muslim dress or tribal traditional African dress, and some men too mixing with the local population.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Well.. France is a really big country so you can’t go everywhere in just 7 days.. I sugest you to choose one region and to tour over there because if you wanna see everything, you’ll spend your holidays in the car (or train!) and you’ll miss the best stuff!
Better do a lot of things in a specific area and get to know the region.

Now about the places to go.. Well, as i live in Paris, i sugest you to go there because if you enjoy museums and historical buildings you’ll love it!

There’s also the French Riviera (Nice, Cannes, ..) where the countryside is gorgeous and you can visit museums and houses of great french artists like Renoir,Chagall or Matisse(but there is really lots of tourists and it’s hard to find a place to seat on the beach!)

Another nice place is the Atlantic Coast near the spanish’s border that we call “Pays Basque”. You can visit, on the north, the city called Bordeaux, and surf on the beaches near Biarritz and St Jean de Luz….

But there are also beautiful places in the Alps where you can do a lot of sport; in the center with the “Massif Central” (beautiful old mountains) ; or in the Northern Atlantic Coast like “Vendée”, “Normandie” and “Bretagne”..

There are historical places, museums and castles all over France so you just have to make your choice!

Stewart McIntosh answers:

The spring vacations are finished now, but 8th may is a closing day, like 12 may too, all french people make a “bridge” between dates, so it’s vacation time now in france, the summer vacation starts end of june to beginning september.
Most of french take vacation month 50% in july 50% in august (especially in paris), so july and august is really quiet in cities, except in south of france of course! Everybody goes in provence or french riviera…

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Go onto the French tourism of Paris tourism websites. They list many different tours that can be guided in any language you want! I would recommend not taking a tour of Paris and exploring it yourself as that is much more fun and cheap.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

1. That Britain and France did not get involved. If they had supported the South, it might have changed the war.
2. 1864 Lincoln won reelection by only a small margin. If he had not won, the North might have ended the war.
3. Sherman’s capture of Atlanta saved Lincoln’s campaign.
4. Lincoln’s second Inaugural Address – pushed for end of war.

From Shmoop History/The Civil War

Stewart McIntosh answers:

For your A-Levels I’d take Economics, History and a language. The grades don’t matter all that much as long as you get into a decent university.

At university I’d take a language combined with either politics, economics, philosophy or history. You’d need to get a 2:1 as your final grade.

I would recommend doing a master’s degree after that.

I would make sure you try and do as many internships as you can during uni. Try getting them abroad with international organisations, NGOs or think tanks.

Following this, thee are two routes you can take if you want to become a diplomat: 1) Career Diplomat and 2) Freelance

1)
to become a career diplomat, you need to take the Civil Service Faststream entry tests (http://faststream.civilservice.gov.uk/) which all professional grade government employees need to pass. This will require in the first stages taking tests on numeric and verbal reasoning, alongside in-tray exercises. Should you be successful here you’ll then be invited for further testing. These will require group tests and they’ll be watching your character. They look particularly for people with the ability to reconcile different opinions, not the loudest talker or the fastest to solve a problem. Then you’ll need to start on the Foreign Office track of testing. This is a difficult path to go down and competition is fierce. Should you be successful, you’ll be invited for intensive interviews with several different panels. You will also have to undergo medical examinations.

Get through all that (an extremely difficult task) and you will have a career for life as a diplomat. You won’t neccessarily get to chose which country you go to either (particularly when younger). As a junior, you are most likely going to be sent to some far-out embassy in Sub-Saharan Africa or Central Asia. As you get older you’ll be working in places of greater interest to the UK. The key places to work here are Washington, Brussels, Paris and Beijing.

2)
To go freelance, you’ll need at least a Master’s degree in a relevant subject (internatinal relations is usually the best). You’ll need to do internships to generate professional experience first. Once you’ve got your master’s you will probably have to do at least two six-month internships. Try getting them abroad with organisations such as the European Commission, European Council, the Council of Europe, Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE – an excellent organisation to do internships with due to the variety of places in which they operate), the United Nations, or one of its agencies (a good one here is the United Nations Development Programme). These are all excellent diplomatic organisations to work for after your internships.

You will need to keep your eyes peeled for jobs at entry level constantly. Keep track on sites such as unjobs.org, reliefweb.org, devnet, and eurobrussels. Most entry level jobs require at lest two to three years professional experience (which you can begin to gain through internships), but occasionally one pops up that doesn’t require as much experience.

Once you secure your first job, it will usually be for 5-7 year contracts, so you keep having to look for new jobs but the benefit here is that you can decide where you want to work. There are generally two types of contract here: seconded, or contracted. A seconded job is where you are employed by the Foreign Office on a temporary basis to represent the UK in an international organisation. These are hard to get, and you will need to get hold of the desk officer for secondments within the FCO to back you for the position. The other way is to go for a contracted job. These are easier to get but the seconded jobs are usually filled before the contracted ones, so there are less of them.

Don’t believe too much in the ‘it’s not what you know it’s who you know’ adage. On your journey, make sure you are reliable, professional, friendly and try to go out for drinks with colleagues when you can. Don’t be too pushy when trying to build your network. Believe in yourself remain optimistic. Amke sure you read the FT and the Economist as much as you can and keep plugged in to world affairs in your spare time.

Good luck.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

The US and France didn’t really have a good relationship at this time, especially around the time John Adams took office. The US and France fought an undeclaired war called the Quasi war at the time. The US also imposed its first sanctions on Constitutional rights at this time called the Sedition act.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Bouncing Betty

The German S-mine (Schrapnellmine in German), also known as the Bouncing Betty, is the best-known version of a class of mines known as bounding mines. These mines launch into the air at about waist height and explode, propelling shrapnel horizontally at lethal speeds. The S-mine was an anti-personnel landmine developed by Germany in the 1930s and used extensively by German forces during World War II. It was designed to be used in open areas to attack unshielded infantry. Two versions were produced, designated by the year of their first production: the SMi-35 and SMi-44. There are only minor differences between the two models. The number indicates the year of introduction into service.

The S-mine entered production in 1935 and served as a key part of the defensive strategy of the Third Reich. Until production ceased with the defeat of Germany in 1945.
It was during the Allied actions in Europe that the S-mine gained its cynical nickname Bouncing Betty from American infantrymen.

However, incidents involving accidental explosions of landmines in North Africa, the former Warsaw Pact countries, France, and Germany still occur sporadically. North Africa and Eastern Europe have a particularly large amount of uncleared World War II era minefields, lost in the desert sands or forgotten by authorities. In Libya, for example, the Red Cross estimates over 27% of farmland is unusable due to World War II minefields. While German documentation says the S-mine had an effective lifespan of two to seven years once planted, the explosive charge could still operate in mines to this day.

Characteristics
The German S-mine was a steel cylinder less than 13 cm (5 inches) tall without its sensor, and only 10 cm (4 inches) in diameter. A steel rod protruding from the mine’s top held the main fuse, where its trigger or sensor was attached. The SMi-35 had a central fuze, while the SMi-44 had an offset fuze. It weighed roughly 4 kg (9 pounds), with the weight depending on whether it was loaded with the lighter powdered or the heavier poured TNT.[1]

The main charge of the mine used TNT as its explosive; the propelling charge was black powder. All triggers for the mine were designed to create a spark to set off a flammable fuse inside the device. The standard pressure sensor used a percussion cap for this purpose.[6]

The main fuze was designed to delay the firing of the propelling charge for roughly four seconds after the mine was triggered. The explosion of the propelling charge sent the mine upwards into the air, and activated three short-delay pellets between the propelling charge and the three detonators. These short-delay pellets slowed the mine’s detonation long enough for it to reach an appropriate height before exploding.

The standard pressure sensor was built to be activated if depressed by a weight of roughly 7 kilograms (15 pounds) or greater. This was to ensure it was not detonated by wildlife or natural impacts. The tripwire adapter for the mine was a shallow Y-shaped device, and would trigger the mine if the tripwire was pulled away from the mine.[

After the war, the American army developed their M16 mine directly from captured S-mine designs.[4]

The Soviet Union also based the design of its OZM series of landmines on the German S-mine.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

After the end of WW1 Germany was greatly effected by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Then of course came the Great Depression, which effected economies worldwide, but Germany suffered far worse.

These two factors gave rise to radical politics and allowed the Nazi’s in Germany to rise to power.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Are you using Vista or XP?
Go to Control Panel of Windows, and see your setting. Make sure Firefox is your default internet browser.
On Vista go to “Default Program” from the Control Panel.
On XP click on the ” Start” button and click on “set program access and defaults”

Stewart McIntosh answers:

I’m not sure if this would help (but it did on another one I supported):

Go to Start > Run (In Vista press [WINDOWS]+R). Enter %APPDATA% now and press Enter.

Access the folder Mozilla / Firefox / Profiles / ??????.default. There should be a file in it named prefs.js. Rename this file into prefs_old.js or something else. Now, after you restarted Firefox, the issue should be resolved.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Firstly, in IE Internet option>programs UN check “Internet explorer should check as default”
and in Firefox
tools>option>main check “Always check to see firefox is the default browser on start up”

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Press Ctrl + shift + delete

Check everything and clear it.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/13990

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Http://www.fashion.net/howto/fashioneditor/

Well its a tough one, see most of the editors get their by the old girls network the rest have to start through internships. Pink Panther is a little right only in that tea making will be involved, as will long hours little or no pay, and an atmosphere akin to the politeness in a gordon ramsay kitchen. It’s going to be pretty unglamorous,” a former assistant at Vogue said. “Mostly you end up steam-cleaning clothes for shoots, answering phones, opening mail.” well there you go.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Look up all of these different categories using http://www.bls.gov/oco/. It is put out by the US Bureau of Labor and provides info on what the pay is, how in demand the job is, what education is needed and much more. You should be able to easily find which one will make the most money.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

A E is still a pass and some (very bad) Universities will let you in with E’s & D’s. Usually they only look at your top 3 A level grades so you have 3 A levels of C+ so you will be fine and if you get B,C,D (1 under target) that will still be 240 points. Dont worry too much just focus on your A levels thats what makes the biggest difference

Stewart McIntosh answers:

That depends on what you mean by ‘beneficial’, and to whom. The top paying majors of those would be economics and computer science. The ones leading to the most jobs would be probably math, computer science, accounting, bio, chem, and business. The ones most useful to society might be social work and law/justice. The lowest paying ones are social work, women’s studies, and Spanish.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

If your school is in England, the reason for your school’s recommendation is probs cos of the new English baccalaureate. If you don’t care about getting that though, do another language if that is what you would prefer. I did French, German and Italian GCSEs and not Geography (though I did do History and RE). Like you, I am better at languages and enjoy them much more than Geography, especially physical Geography. As someone who doesn’t understand maps, I can totally empathise! I don’t regret my GCSE choices at all but then the English bac didn’t exist when I made them. I suppose it basically comes down to how much you care about getting the bac.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Well, since you said name in the title, Ben and ten year old, could it be Ben 10?

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Fried Shrimp

Sloppy Joes!

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Silly people eating nothing – wanna keep that metabolism nice and high!
I have salad or sandwiches usually my fave is PB jelly on thick wholewheat yum

Stewart McIntosh answers:

French women wear very little makeup. Very natural. They’re very into fashion in france (it’s not just a stereotype. The USA just sucks when it coms to fashion).

Here is a link to what women wear in paris

http://www.thefashionspot.com/forums/f89/paris-street-style-34395.html

the first page is from 2004- you have to go all the way to the end of the thread to see recent pics.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Email me for a more detailed answer but…
-when your b/f looks you in the eyes and leans forward ever so slightly while closing his eyes…
When this happens you should do the same until your lips meet
-when they do reach out for him and put your arms loosely-ish around him while pushing your head forward into his lips

other than that just do what seems both natural and comfortable for you
as i said email me with any questions

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Http://www.au-chateau.com/duBreuil.htm

This was all I could find. Not sure if this is what you are looking for.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Okay, unlike the other answerers who clearly did not take the time to read your whole question, or the context of it, I’m going to give you a sensible answer. I don’t know the exact statistics found by this study off the top of my head, to say whether or not they are cherry-picking and leaving out important details. In fact, no one who reads this article does. An obscure study is brought to our attention as if we OUGHT to have known about it, and as if we OUGHT to have known the names of these very important people who conducted it. The author is certainly depending on this. It makes us feel like naughty schoolchildren who haven’t done their homework. The article sounds, at first, as though it is about which country is preventing the most deaths. If you read on, though, it is not. The statistic has to do with how many deaths were prevented the year prior, and how many more were prevented this year- what the increase was. You are exactly right to have noticed this. So, countries that had egregiously high numbers of preventable deaths and finally got their sh*t together would show a large increase, while countries that were already doing a great job at preventing deaths could not conceivably have increased much. It’s like a person who begins smoking, only to give it up a week later, being congratulated on what a great person he is- so much better than you (who have never smoked)- because he’s had more of a dramatic increase in health. In the movie SICKO with Michael Moore, we’re led to believe Cuba has a dramatically lower infant mortality rate than the U.S. What Moore conveniently left out was the fact that Cuba is leading the world in abortions (which are not counted as “infant mortality”- how convenient) and they have a much higher rate of impotence, sterility, and difficulty in conception. Cherry-picking. I’m sure you know the old quote: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”

Stewart McIntosh answers:

The other interesting thing about the back-acting, horizontal steam engine was that during the time that Benjamin Franklin Isherwood was the chief of the dept of Constrution and Repair, none of the engines failed during their use in Union Ships during the blockade. The eccentrics, bearings, journals, and connecting rods, cranks and counterweights were made far heavier and massive than they had to be. For a loss in efficience in an engine that developed 450 hp, you had an engine that performed wonderfully by over design.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

I live in France and as my partner is French I have supported the French team after poor old England where knocked out.

We have been out in central Bordeaux for all the matches and we have not seen any rioting. Just a lot of happy French people cheering and singing in the street. We haven’t seen that many drunk people for that matter. It was far worse when we used to live in London. I think the English fans celebrate in a far more rowdy fashion. I wouldn’t even call that rioting.

Sarkozy may have problems with the Parision estates but I haven’t seen anything on the news during the world cup. Sounds like the politicians are going over the top to scare people before the presidential election next year!

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Lets consider this question from diff parameters!

Amelie’s coming back in german open and then plays in Rome after a surgery! Considering the fact that she isnt very comfortable with clay+her record on clay,iam sure she’ll find it very difficult to reach the higher rounds in the French Open!
It will take her some time to get used to the surface and she has been inactive on tour for nearly 2 months!
Plus,it is really hard 2 move the Juju(Justine)wall on clay!hehe!Iam sure Juju will have tough competition on clay but @ da end of da day i guess she’s gonna emerge victorious!

But…U can never predict anything for sure when it comes 2 Amelie coz not many ppl favoured her to win the wimbledon but yo she rose to the occassion and won!Dont forget that she’s a Champion and a former world number one.She’s coming back after a shaky start on hard courts and wil hav the thirst for big success!
So keep ur fingers crossed anyway!:d

Stewart McIntosh answers:

I would say either French, Japanese, or Korean.

But it all depends on which country you choose to work in.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Copied blatantly from Wikipedia:
“Luxembourg’s education system is trilingual: the first years of primary school are in Luxembourgish, before changing to German, while in secondary school, the language of instruction changes to French. However, as proficiency in all three languages is required for graduation from secondary school, half the students leave school without a certified qualification, with the children of immigrants being particularly disadvantaged.”

I checked this because your question caught my curiosity. Now that I know, I kind of feel sorry for Luxembourgish students.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Look on line and find some french customs and celebrations and dishes that you can take to school to share with the kids to give them a little taste of french life and culture, I have found that including things from a specific lesson into the area you are teaching helps people to comprehend what you are trying to teach alot better. On Friday’s at maybe once a month or so have a frech celebration, let each kid put together a book with some of thier favorite french things and have them put the entire book together in french and put photos and things into it. Get them very hands on into the french culture. I am sure they will have a blast. It may be a little bit time consuming, but if you really want to get your students interested then it would be well worth the try! GOOD LUCK.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Literally

“Je voudrais apprendre un français formel.”

or rather

“Je voudrais apprendre un français propre.”

I think that the French speaking Canadians do speak a formal French, too, but especially their pronounciation differs starkly from the French spoken in France.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

British parents talk a language. That is their month-tongue. That language is English. What parents talk, the children talk. That is the language of the government. When the language of the government is the language of people. Hence, the mother tongue is compulsory. Therefore, English is the compulsory language. The other languages, if it is on syllabus and if language teachers available, they can opt for it. Mostly, the other nation’s students only give option for their 2nd language.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

I had to see what storage heating was: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storage_heater

“many new properties are built with storage heaters, and their inspection/maintenance costs are less than gas.”

site also gives pros and cons for these heaters

So do you currently already have ducts for forced air gas heating? If not that is going to cost on top of the heater and gas line

here in the USA natural gas prices have sky rocketed. I use small oil-tank heating in the bathroom and master bedroom – they are electric and look like old fashioned radiators for steam heating. So some space heater would help with cold at night for lowest cost.

So you need to find out the outlook for gas in the future – is it plentiful and has not escalated in price as much as electricity.

If you have the time-of use price plan for your electri cbilling the storage heating system may be cheaper.

Ask several realtors what they think about how these two systems compare if you were to sell your home

I hate the gas heater because here in Arixona it is already dry and the heater takes the rest of the moisture out of the air and makes us cough.

Big decision – Good luck!

Stewart McIntosh answers:

As someone who has quoted and used Rand’s work for 40 years, I can say that she would have thought the “distribution” of wealth ought to be in the hands of those who honestly earned it, be they a minimum wage fast food worker or a Wall Street executive. Heirs to money did not bother her, so long as they used the inherited wealth in just as productive a fashion as anyone who had to earn their living.

Distribution in Rand’s sense of the word has nothing to do with government decisions. It has only to do with employers distributing it fairly, equitably, ethically. Crony capitalism is deplorable, and antithetical to laissez faire.

At Hank Reardon’s trial, in Atlas Shrugged, for being rich, the judges asked:
“”Are we to understand that if the public deems it necessary to curtail your profits, you do not recognise its right to do so?”
“Why, yes, I do. The public may curtail my profits any time it wishes – by refusing to buy my product.”
“We are speaking of … Other methods.”
“Any other method of curtailing profits is the method of looters – and I recognise it as such.”

Later he states his case for ethics in capitalism, after this statement from a judge:
“The eldest judge leaned forward across the table and his voice became suavely derisive: “You speak as if you were fighting for some sort of principle, Mr. Rearden, but what you’re actually fighting for is only your property, isn’t it?”
“Yes, of course. I am fighting for my property. Do you know the kind of principle that represents?”
“You pose as a champion of freedom, but it’s only the freedom to make money that you’re after.”
“Yes, of course. All I want is the freedom to make money. Do you know what that freedom implies?”
“Surely, Mr. Rearden, you wouldn’t want your attitude to be misunderstood. You wouldn’t want to give support to the widespread impression that you are a man devoid of social conscience, who feels no concern for the welfare of his fellows and works for nothing but his own profit.”
“I work for nothing but my own profit. I earn it.”
There was a gasp, not of indignation, but of astonishment, in the crowd behind him and silence from the judges he faced. He went on calmly:
“No, I do not want my attitude to be misunderstood. I shall be glad to state it for the record. I am in full agreement with the facts of everything said about me in the newspapers – with the facts, but not with the evaluation. I work for nothing but my own profit – which I make by selling a product they need to men who are willing and able to buy it. I do not produce it for their benefit at the expense of mine, and they do not buy it for my benefit at the expense of theirs; I do not sacrifice my interests to them nor do they sacrifice theirs to me; we deal as equals by mutual consent to mutual advantage – and I am proud of every penny that I have earned in this manner. I am rich and I am proud of every penny I own. I made my money by my own effort, in free exchange and through the voluntary consent of every man I dealt with – voluntary consent of those who employed me when I started, the voluntary consent of those who work for me now, the voluntary consent of those who buy my product. I shall answer all the questions you are afraid to ask me openly. Do I wish to pay my workers more than their services are worth to me? I do not. Do I wish to sell my product for less than my customers are willing to pay me? I do not. Do I wish to sell it at a loss or give it away? I do not. If this is evil, do whatever you please about me, according to whatever standards you hold. These are mine. I am earning my own living, as every honest man must. I refuse to accept as guilt the fact of my own existence and the fact that I must work in order to support it.”

http://bheemboy.blogspot.com/2007/12/hank-rearden-his-trial.html

That, and only that, describes the proper “distribution” of wealth. You may of course give your wealth away, but that is an entirely different discussion.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Our fashion shows who we are. (ex. If you wear all black you are considered “goth”) And society will place all the “goth” people with each other in society. So, yes, the way we dress is the way we think of each other. Fashion has such an influence on society, that we don’t even notice it.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

They Flee from Me
Thomas Wyatt

They flee from me that sometime did me seek
With naked foot stalking in my chamber.
I have seen them gentle tame and meek
That now are wild and do not remember
That sometime they put themselves in danger
To take bread at my hand; and now they range
Busily seeking with a continual change.

Thanked be fortune, it hath been otherwise
Twenty times better; but once in special,
In thin array after a pleasant guise,
When her loose gown from her shoulders did fall,
And she me caught in her arms long and small;
And therewithal sweetly did me kiss,
And softly said, Dear heart, how like you this?

It was no dream, I lay broad waking.
But all is turned thorough my gentleness
Into a strange fashion of forsaking;
And I have leave to go of her goodness
And she also to use newfangleness.
But since that I so kindely am served,
I would fain know what she hath deserved.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Continue applying and staying in touch with them after the application. See if someone would be willing to give you honest feedback – and they may not – on why you aren’t getting hired.

Also, if your lack of experience is really the critical issue (and it probably is):

* Check with your university’s career center to see if there are any alumni/ae of your school who work in “high-end retail” who have offered to help students and other alumni learn more about their industry and/or company.

* Lower your sights a bit – from high-end retail to the middle, although that may backfire on you later.

* Start with a different kind of store even to something unrelated to fashion if they will take a chance on you.

* See if any local temp staffing agencies in your area have openings in those kind of stores. You may hve a better chance getting experience as a temp.

* Look for recruiters who specialize in placing people in high-end retail, and see if they can get you in. Remember that recruiters work for the employer – **not** for you – but many of them are experienced and kind and may have a few minutes to give you some feedback and a few tips.

I just did a quick search of the Bloomingdale’s and Neiman Marcus Websites using ONLY the term “entry level” (without the quotes). Bloomingdale’s had nothing, but Neiman Marcus had 2 jobs, both in Texas – “merchandise coordinator” and “vendor services – level 1.” If you were in Irving or Dallas, TX, you could give it a shot.

I also just did a quick search of Indeed.com on “merchandise coordinator” (WITH the quotes), and it found 551 jobs across the U.S. – including Ralph Lauren Media (12 jobs), Tiffany’s (13 jobs), Williams-Sonoma (55), Liz Claiborne (12), TJ Maxx (183), and many more.

Good luck! You’ll get there eventually, just don’t give up.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

I most certainly would if you price the meals according to location. I’m not sure I’d even worry about having all the liquors as long as you have the basics and a decent wine list. Make sure you include some authentic desserts as well. Some people just don’t think it’s a complete meal out without a dessert.

Let me know when you open one in Cleveland! We have a lot of authentic European cuisine restaurants here already thanks to our population, but we can always use another really good one.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Pueden rellenarlas con crema de limón, crema pastelera o si están con poco tiempo, crema chantilly. Utilicen todo tipo de frutas. Recuerden que las bananas, manzanas, peras y kiwis se oxidan y se ponen feas a la vista, si o sí deben rociarlas con jugo de lima o limón<<::

Stewart McIntosh answers:

I’ve never heard anyone deny that white people have culture. All people have culture. It’s impossible not to. However, your question seems to suppose that “white culture” and “black culture” are two sides of the same coin. They are not. Black culture is considered such because black people in America were robbed of their ethnic ties and had no means of defining themselves outside of their skin color. Black culture is the only culture that can be legitimately attributed to a skin color and not an ethnicity, simply because black people in the new world mostly have no knowledge of their roots.

No music genre stands alone. They are all influenced by others. The reason that rock music’s “blackness” has been discussed recently is because it was denied for so long. Many rock chords are blues chords, which have direct ties to “old negro spirituals” and the music of Africa. Bluegrass itself is influenced by the blues. If you want to trace musical lineages, why even stop there? We can go all the way to the percussion based music of the Vodun people when discussing rock and rolls roots.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

How about cheese slices on dark rye bread or on Wasa-type flat breads?…or boiled egg slices on them?

Scrambled egg, salsa, and maybe cheese wrapped in a tortilla
yogurt + frozen fruit + sugar if necessary (smoothies)
muffins or quick bread with *good* things in them
fruit
granola (as a fingerfood)
slice of fritatta or wrapped in tortilla or as sandwich with whole grain bread

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Whenever someone says, “It’s a well known fact”, it’s usually not true. And that is the case here.

Spain was controlled by the Catholics and greatly influenced by the Moors (Arabs) in 1000 AD. Indians may have been there as well, but it’s not well-documented and their influence would have been minor compared to the influence of the church and the Moors.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

It does if you intend to treat French children.

Stewart McIntosh answers:

French Delicacies

Why the French hate Americans

How their values differ from Americans when it comes to love and relationships

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Fille bête

Stewart McIntosh answers:

Italian, for the fashion shows in Milan and Venice

Good luck!

Stewart McIntosh answers:

White Sky by Vampire Weekend

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhdqfX44zUM