Sample Entertainment Article: Best Jazz Clubs in Portland, Oregon

 

Best Jazz Clubs in Portland, Oregon 

Keywords: jazz clubs, jazz music, portland jazz

If you're in Portland, Oregon and are in the mood for some jazz music, where do you go? Some say all you gotta do is ask the locals. In reality, not even many of them know where the best jazz clubs in Portland, Oregon are. This is because the establishments are so laid back and unassuming, despite the crowd that flock them every night. 

Take, for example, Jimmy Mak's. Positively this town's most popular jazz club, locals come here to listen. The atmosphere is so relaxing, just like a true jazz haven should be. Food? Middle Eastern and Greek dishes are crowd pleasers. The real deal about Jimmy Mak's is that they have an extremely talented resident jazz band -- the Mel Brown Jazz Orchestra -- and they also welcome upcoming jazz artists in the performance roster. If you don't feel like paying for cover charge, you should drop by on Mondays. But if you're in for some real topnotch jazz, scurry in to listen to Mel Brown Jazz Orchestra on Tuesdays, the Mel Brown Quartet headed by Tony Pacini on Wednesdays, and The Mel Brown B-3 Organ Group on Thursdays. For a $5 t0 $10 cover charge, you can't beat the price of listening to these unbelievably gifted jazz performers.

According to the Down Beat Magazine, Jimmy Mak's is "One of the world's top 100 places to hear jazz." If you're curious about their upcoming events, visit their website at http://www.jimmymaks.com/index.html. This Portland, Oregon jazz club is open daily from 5 p.m. until 1 p.m., except Sundays. 

Located at Southwest Portland in the downtown area, the West Cafe is another jazz hotspot in Oregon. Live jazz music in Portland, Oregon on Saturdays overwhelm the amazing food they serve. Overall though, people come here more to eat and relax after a hard day's work. Their drinks list is pretty creative, despite the mostly American cuisine. Unfortunately, many locals and visitors in Portland, Oregon, tend to miss this little gem of a jazz club because it is located off the beaten path. Yet, it is situated blocks away from Arlene Schnitzer Hall and The Portland Center for Performing Arts so you could not miss it. If you would like to check out their events calendar or find out what's happening, check out their blog at http://www.westcafepdx.com/blog/.

If you're caught in the middle of southeast Portland, the Industrial District, or the Central Eastside, I recommend you stop by at Produce Row Cafe. Even though the name itself doesn't ring a jazz tune, it's a hotspot for self-proclaimed jazz club enthusiasts. This place will make you love Portland, Oregon even deeper than you already do (or convert a non-believer) because the food is so affordable and the beer and whisky list are outstanding. Did I say the beer list is outstanding? Sit by the patio and drink the happy hour until 7 pm. In Portland, Oregon, there's not a lot of places that will let you enjoy this luxury, not even the most popular jazz clubs. Save your Monday nights here for real live jazz music. Their website, http://producerowcafe.com/, publish upcoming events so keep checking for a great artist or an exciting jazz club band you've never heard before.

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Sample Fitness Article: Six Common Sense Tips to Aerobics Fitness

 

Six Common Sense Tips to Aerobics Fitness

KEYWORDS: aerobics fitness, flexibility, muscle strength, strength training

What does fitness mean to you? Better yet, what is your fitness style? Some people like minimal stress workouts where they move all the parts of their body -- better known as aerobics. Others prefer strength training and weight lifting for better endurance. We have also heard of those who do yoga, because it keeps them flexible. 

All of these fitness workouts are great if you follow a routine and stick to it with discipline. It is also important that you create a goal or a deadline for your achievement. A good example is when you're planning to go on a skiing trip. Two or three months ahead, you need to keep in shape in order to have fun skiing. There are various ways you can train your muscles to be more flexible and stronger. Doing aerobics before skiing also strengthens your heart and enables your body to breathe in more oxygen where there is less in the higher elevation. 

1. Warm up. If you're working out in the morning, you're likely to get cramps if you do not at least warm up by stretching, breathing, and flexing your muscles. You may also cause injury to your muscles if you push too hard too soon. Those who exercise in the afternoon or evening find that doing errands during the day is a great way to warm up. 

2. Drink plenty of water. Drink before you do aerobics, weight lifting, or yoga. Drink in between and after you exercise. This keeps you hydrated and replenishes your body. Note that water is always the best way to get hydrated, even though many sports enthusiasts prefer energy drinks. 

3. Inhale and exhale efficiently. The purpose of cardiovascular exercises is, above all, to strengthen your heart and respiratory system. Working out enables your blood to circulate better and thus burn more calories. To help this process, you have to breathe in oxygen efficiently. 

4. Longer, more intense. Regularly increasing the number of routine repetitions in aerobics or the load of weights you're lifting helps you attain your goal of strength training and flexibility. If you regularly work out, your body adapts to the intensity and frequency of your routine. In time, you are putting less effort in the same task. It becomes boring and unchallenging. When you feel you are ready for longer and more intense exercises, you should listen to your body and up the ante. 

5. Comfortable intensity, comfortable frequency. As I have mentioned above, it is recommended that you increase your workout if you feel you are ready for it. Otherwise, you should exercise at comfortable intensity and frequency. Do not force your body to exert more than it could. The obvious consequence is injury, even a permanent one. If you're building muscle strength and flexibility with aerobics and other types of routines, you should let your body rest one day before you run to the gym on the next. 

6. Vary routine. Integrate strength training and aerobics. Many bodybuilders believe strength training and aerobics don't mix. In fact, integrating these two workouts help you lose weight faster. The more and different muscles in your body you train, the better. 

Whatever your routine is, sometimes it only takes common sense to achieve your fitness goal. Write them down and take account of your progress. It is possible to achieve flexibility and muscle strength through aerobics and cardiovascular activities. Your passion to succeed is the only key. 

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Sample Travel Article: Tourist Fees in Dubai Hotels Increase

 

Is Dubai Travel Getting More Expensive?

Marie Soleil, Yahoo Contributor Network

Planning to visit Dubai? Effective March 31, 2014, tourists staying in a variety of hotels will be charged an extra tourist fee of about $5 per room for every night they stay. This may not seem like a big deal for us, but for Dubai, the revenue generated will be used to fund the tourism industry.

So which hotels in Dubai will participate in this Tourist Dirham tax? Apparently, all hotels, vacation houses, bed and breakfasts, inns, apartments, and condo rentals are included.

Dorms and apartments are cheaper in Dubai, but hotels charge usually the same rates as here in the United States. For example, a dorm room may cost $27 per night while a budget price hotel can go from $50 to $100.

Some of the best hotels in Dubai (many of which have franchises all over the world) are: 

• Fairmont Dubai 

• Raffles Dubai 

• Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort 

• Atlantis The Palm 

• Crowne Plaza at Festival City 

• Dusit Thani 

• Hilton Jumeirah Beach Resort 

• Intercontinental Dubai 

• Radisson Blu Hotel 

Most people travel to Dubai for the shopping. Dubai boasts of the largest shopping mall in the world, The Dubai Mall, consisting of over 1,200 stores with brand name products. The biggest shopping event is the Dubai Shopping Festival, which starts in January and ends in February. Despite prices being so low in many stores, haggling is common here.

Dubai is a destination not to be missed. It is by far the newest city with the biggest immigrant population. It is also home to the most magnificent infrastructures such as Burj Dubai, the Dubai Marina, and the Palm Islands, just to name a few. 

Marie Soleil authored hundreds of  articles for the Associated Content-Yahoo Voices (Yahoo Contributor Network) platform. 

Yahoo! Voices, formerly Associated Content (AC), was a division of Yahoo! that focused on online publishing. Yahoo! Voices distributed a large variety of writing through its website and content partners, including Yahoo! News. In early December 2011, its owners Yahoo! announced a major shakeup involving the introduction of a new service, Yahoo! Voices, which would replace the Associated Content site and take on the bulk of its content, while some 75,000 items would be retired under the new site's more stringent content submission rules. 

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Sample Health Article: OPTIFAST

 

Diet Overview: OPTIFAST

KEYWORDS: OPTIFAST, optifast diet program, optifast weight loss program

If you're trying to lose weight, it pays to be realistic. You have to decide whether you should try a radical diet program and an exercise routine that will match it, or simply work it out with natural methods of consuming less calories and being more active. But many women do not have this capability nor the genes in their bodies to burn off the fat. Others live a sedentary lifestyle that has caused their obesity in the first place. This is where the OPTIFAST weight loss program comes in. 

The OPTIFAST diet program promises to deliver weight loss results by following a four-step procedure: evaluation, counseling and management, liquid diet followed by self-prepared meals, and weight maintenance. 

The diet consists of OPTIFAST products, in addition to any meal that is less than 100 calories you can eat with it daily. OPTIFAST products come in all sorts and sizes. Other than the ready to drink shakes, they also offer powder drinks, soups, and nutrition bars. 

So how do people succeed in losing weight under an OPTIFAST diet? First, we must clarify that not everyone who commits to an OPTIFAST weight loss program truly loses weight. It's always a matter of discipline, remembering the counseling sessions, and having supportive people around to help you get through the program. If you wish to undergo the OPTIFAST weight loss program, you have to understand that it takes a lot of work. This means that while you are on the diet program, you have to avoid the temptation of calorie-rich foods which other friends and family try to offer you. It also means you need to take the recommended amount of OPTIFAST shakes (soups, etc) in one day, plus any healthy food that will not add pounds on the scale. OPTIFAST diet really works for a lot of obese people. But as mentioned, how you respond to the diet program will dictate the success of your weight loss. 

Before committing yourself to the OPTIFAST diet program, you have to consult with a good doctor and have yourself evaluated if you are a good candidate for the program. Remember that there are situations when you don't have to resort to meal-replacement shakes for 18 weeks if you can have a better option. It's true that it is going to be almost a totally liquid diet. In some cases, people don't succeed in this program because they do not like the idea of taking shakes instead of regular food. OPTIFAST, however, gradually provides a transition from shakes to solid food and finally to regular meals after halfway through the program. 

The decision to lose weight always depends on you. If you are comfortable with the idea of temporary switching to low calorie nutritional shakes and giving up on sugar, carbs, fats, and other high-calorie foods with the hope of finally shedding off the pounds, then give the OPTIFAST weight loss program a try. There are always pros and cons. It is wise to learn as much as you can about this program before trying it. Above all, enlist the support of your family and friends to help you shape the true healthy body that you always dreamed of having. 

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