Cross-Reference

The Luge Challenge transforms a mountain resort into an exciting weekend of luge training and racing and exposes thousands of winter enthusiasts to the Fastest Sport on Ice® free of charge. USA Luge and Blue Mountain Ski Area are proud to present the 2010 Luge Challenge.

This thrilling event will take place January 30th and 31st from 9:00 am until the end of competition at roughly 3:00 pm both days. The competition takes place at 1 p.m. each day, with prizes going to the fastest three girls and boys (age 10-17), as well as men and women (age 18+). There will a DJ spinning music, announcing times and explaining the event. Come hang out, listen to great music, and cheer on your friends!

The Luge Challenge, first introduced in 1996, brings the luge experience to the masses free of charge during the winter season. The program uses a recreational version of the luge sled used in the Olympic Winter Games.

Anyone age 10 and up can experience the thrill of luge in a safe slope-side setting, with instruction from USA Luge World Cup and international team athletes. It gives youngsters, 10 and older, and adults a chance to feel, first hand, the excitement of luge.

The USA Luge Challenge has visited ski areas across the country since 1995.

After learning the basics of steering and stopping, along with a few practice runs, racers will slide down the snow-covered track, complete with curves and timing equipment, and compete for prizes in four age groups: men and women 18 and over; and boys and girls 10 to 17.

At the base of the luge track, you can hang out and listen to great music and cheer on your fellow racers.

Blue Winter Festival - Valley Ski Area and Lower Paradise Come and celebrate the winter months with Blue Mountain Ski Areas first annual Blue Winter Festival.
Dog sledding, ice carving, snow sports vendors, food and beverage vendors, musical entertainment, and snow sports demonstrations are only a few the activities available to celebrate with your friends and family.

After a day of winter fun and excitement, come down from the mountain for a hot meal cooked to order with your friends, old and new, from our Meetup groups!
Yours,
Chris

* www.meetup.com/PhotoQuest101
* www.meetup.com/WineTours
* www.meetup.com/LVWriters
* Read my photography articles at http://www.examiner.com/x-30723-Allentown-Photography-Examiner
Sent from Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States

Posted via email from Christopher's posterous

Speakers, Presenters Wanted

2010-01-07T10:55:00.001-08:00

From:	Chris
Sent on:	Thursday, January 7, 2010 1:48 PM

Speakers:

To avoid a flurry of calls to this busy service coordinator, please contact me if you are interested in delivering a presentation to seniors on a topic of your own choosing. This is a great way to hone your public speaking skills, develop new contacts and generate goodwill.

Side note: I know a retired gentleman who visits every senior home in Lehigh and Northampton counties, presenting a Nostalgic Olde Time Radio program with music and stories. He carries his audio equipment in a single briefcase, and takes the Lanta/ Metro Plus bus to every engagement. He has a great baritone voice; he keeps very busy--and they DO pay him--$75 for a 90 minute show. Not bad.

Side note to the side note: He tells me that his best audiences are the Alzheimer patients. They DO remember the songs, they sing along and he brings tears to their eyes as they relive some poignant memories.

I am always looking for speakers on various topics for our senior residents. Can you tell me if there is a charge for your speakers? Generally, I use people who volunteer their time to talk about their area of expertise.

We are a non-profit HUD subsidized senior apartment building. As such, I cannot pay for individuals to come in and rely on the willingness of individuals to donate their time.

Please let me know if this is something you are able to do, or if you charge for your presentations. Thank you.

Service Coordinator

Magic Formula Photos

2009-01-04T08:36:00.000-08:00

A Christmas Carol Auditions at Civic Theater Allentown

2008-10-15T16:28:00.001-07:00

More images coming soon, sorry for the delay. I hope you enjoy this little preview!

Just another limo driver at Newark

2008-07-28T07:05:00.001-07:00

So I was just snapping some limos in the parking lot at Newark Liberty International and this guy walks over with his passengers looking a little worried, like "Why is this guy taking photographs of my limo?"

So I explained that I like to take photos of limos and I offered to take his photo with the limo. That brought a big smile to his face, as you can see. I retouched the original image and did it old-fashioned style. I like it! What do YOU think?

Local Writer Opens Home to Help Britney

2008-02-18T16:12:00.001-08:00

Lehigh Valley writer and blogger C. Cross, wants to help Britney Spears. Inspired by the generous offer made by Heidi Klum, Cross says he'd also be willing to open his home to Spears while the troubled pop singer puts her life back together.

"She can call me and come live in our house with us for a couple of months--hopefully longer," said Cross, a down-to-earth businessman, father and grandfather who is divorced and lives in the beautiful Lehigh Valley. "I'm sure she'd enjoy our company and we would help set her straight."

"I am sorry when a young person gets thrown so off track," Cross said. "Klum says Britney has lived an extremely wild life, but it's not that wild compared to some of the things I've experienced in my very richly textured life. The thing is, Britney hasn't has a chance to get to know ordinary people, she hasn't had a chance to eat my good home cooking and everyone around her simply enables her or leeches off of her.

"We'll show her the joys of feeding the hungry and taking blankets out to the homeless," says Cross, who often opens his kitchen to those less fortunate. "When you're having a tough time coping with your life, it's extremely important to reframe the picture and take the focus off yourself. When you can see firsthand, how so many other people are suffering, and when you take the time to help them, it instantly repositions your center of the universe and has near-miraculous results."

To hear Cross, the Executive Director of The Lehigh Valley Writer's Symposium, describe it, his own life seems like a fairy tale.

"I have never been as happy as I am today," Cross said. "I am active in the community; working on several writing projects; involved with various charitable projects; love to cook and have found a great deal of independence in my life. Heidi Klum says her life can't get any better, but I'm a bit more optimistic about mine. It really can get better--and if Britney takes me up on my offer, I'm sure things will get better for the both of us!"

"While she is here", Cross notes, "Britney would want for nothing. We have running hot and cold water, steam heat and flush toilets. I would also act on-call as her personal cook, chauffeur and masseur."

May be changing our practice to Nipple Care...

2008-02-05T13:18:00.000-08:00

...or maybe Breast Care.
We might have to change the sign, but we really like the logo.

Gate Crashing at the multiplex! A black movie and a white movie

2007-12-10T21:31:00.001-08:00

I laughed, I cried at both of them. What a sap!

Enchanted--one of the whitest movies you can imagine and This Christmas a black movie.

And here's the thing: We paid for Enchanted but crashed in to see This Christmas. It was at the multiplex.

We decided--impulsively, spontaneously, impetuously, nervously, impishly, unpremeditatedly to slip into another theater in the cine-plex after Enchanted was over. We scanned the marquees over the screening room doors, but we weren't looking at titles. We were looking for showtimes.

And the timing was perfect. We just got out of one show and the next one started in 20 minutes. Well at least the previews did.

We had no idea what--well I had no idea what we were getting into--my guests had been wanting to see both films, I didn't want to see either, and hadn't even heard of This Christmas, but Enchanted was a Christmas gift from me to my guests--they paid for the snacks - yuccch!

Weekday matinee tickets were $6.50 each for three of us. We were literally the only three people in the theater for the first show and less than a dozen people were in the second show.

(Awful) popcorn and soda was $12-something for the combo. We bought the combo but should have saved our money--it would have been cheaper to eat at Red Lobster.

I figure it's as American as sneaking into the ballgame; we used to do it when we were kids. Didn't everyone? It's fun and exciting, but nowadays the slightest mischief is often viewed as a criminal act.

So I want to ask your opinion:

The show was going to run anyway. The seats were all empty. We paid for tickets, popcorn and soda.

I've already offered and arranged to buy (at least) four more tickets for other dear friends to see This Christmas with me--a movie I never heard of before I crashed it! I enjoyed it so much I want to see it again--and share it with others--and I never watch movies alone! I'll buy even the popcorn and soda. We'll have a good time; sharing the movie magic experience and they'll tell their friends...

So...did we do something illegal? Immoral? Unethical? Did we steal something from someone?

Or did we just break the rules?

Did I hurt the movie companies, the artists and writers and the theater? Or am I helping them?
And incidentally did this really happen? Is this a true confession? Or simply a fanciful hypothesis from a serious writer and philosopher? Damn--we may need a congressional investigation! I'll have another bag of popcorn--extra butter, please!

Ashley Olsen & Sheryl Crow - Birds of a Feather

2007-11-16T10:01:00.001-08:00

Whether or not you approve of Lances choice in women,
you have to admit the physical similarity between the two is striking.

A Thousand Monkeys

2007-09-18T21:55:00.000-07:00

© 2007 C. Cross Allentown PA, All Rights Reserved
This is a work of parody, fantasy and fiction. Any resemblance to persons, places or events is purely coincidence. And as Bette Midler famously said, "If you don't have a sense of humor..."

Early Saturday afternoon, the Golden Strip Writers Study Group assembles around a table in a busy coffee shop.

Angie Madras, a middle aged-stoner with brittle bleached hair, nicotine-stained teeth and too much lipstick proposes collaboration.

“We don’t have a prepared agenda today because my kid got the flu and my ex-boyfriend showed up last night with a couple of videos and pizza. You know what that means, right! So let’s just bounce some ideas off each other, try to work up a story and see where it goes, ok?"

"I love a good whodunit--who doesn’t?" offers Ciara, taking charge. "Who wants to start? We’ll just take turns passing a notebook around the table, everyone adds something—a line—a paragraph—some dialog—whatever. It’s fun. And it—umm—stirs the creative juices, if you know what I mean”, she smiles and pauses stirring a heaping spoonful of sugar into her steaming black coffee.

Baron gently smacks his long, slender gold writing instrument flat on the table, in a deliberate way he knows will make a sharp crack to command everyone’s attention.

Leaning forward with earnest eyes, he slowly speaks, “Hold on, Angie. No offense, but--are you out of your freaking mind? Have you ever worked with professional writers, editors, intellectual property lawyers? Have you ever written anything and got paid for it? No, I’m not counting that two-line joke you published in Hustler. What did you get for that? Thirty-five dollars? You didn’t even make it up! You just heard it at a bar and sent it in to Hustler the next day! It was funny, though…how did that joke go? Why is pubic hair curly?--something like that?"

Ciara Marone, sitting next to Angie glares across the table. “What’s your point, Baron? I want to work on the story. It sounds like fun. It should open with a body. Someone finds a body in an unusual place, somewhere you’d least expect to find a body, bleeding, blood, lots of blood, maybe in a church.”

Galbrett Mochsi, impeccably attired in tailored suit stands out in this casual grouyp. He chimes in impatiently, “Yes, Baron, most of us here are or have been paid writers, even editors, professors, businesspeople. Legit stuff, too.

Agna Palimbus here is on her third—that’s right—third—published book. Marco writes copy for Jingles & Jones ad agency. Milford has a pretty nice contract for original spoken word performance art in New York and Nicky Nicro covers the police beat full time full-time for the City News and has a true-story action packed cops and robbers hip-hop drug-lord crime syndicate thriller in the works.

And that’s not even scratching the surface here. We got a lot of good people here. So like Angie says, Baron, what’s your point?”

Before Barron answers, Nicky slowly rises in his seat and stretches his back until you can hear it pop. “No one says you have to play the game, Baron. What’s the problem? You got a better idea? Oh, and by the way, Ciara? What’s so unusual about finding a body in a church? Did you read the Da Vinci thing? Or Agnes of God? Or a million other novels?”

Bobby Bornwell, the disorganized organizer of the group shushes the rabble. “Quiet! Quiet! Let him finish. Go on, Baron. What’s on your mind?”

Baron drags his words in audio slo-mo for dramatic effect.

“Lissssten guys. This is for your own good. A little background here. I’ve been paid to write. That makes me a professional writer, for whatever that’s worth. But as a lawyer, I know that you have to think of every possible contingency.

"What if you put a thousand monkeys in a room with a thousand word processors for a thousand years?”

“Windows would crash a hundred million times!” shout Nicky. “You better have a good tech rep on site!”

“Not what I was getting at, Nicky. Not what I was getting at. Lissssten. There is a chance—a long shot to be sure—but what if—what if one of those monkeys just happened to hit a random sequence of keys and produced something as brilliant as Gone With the Wind or Death of a Salesman? What if Spielberg gets his grubby paws on it? Or Mel Gibson? Or Al Gore? What I’m saying here, dammit is WHO GETS THE MONEY? WHO GETS THE MONEY? Is it YOU? Or is it the monkeys? You got to spell out the contract before you start the job. It’s business 101!”

“Are you calling us a bunch of monkeys, Baron? This isn’t a job. It’s a study group. What? We can’t sit here and kibbitz together without a contract?” Angie squints her eyes and twists her lips.

“Lissssten, all I’m saying is there could be some valuable property up for grabs here and you better lock up your piece of the action before you contribute one word. Otherwise you just might regret it. How would you feel if Bornwell here takes the manuscript and turns it into solid gold and leaves the rest of you with happy memories?”

“Long shot is the right term, Barron”, grumbles Ciara. “L-o-n-g shot! Come on... Can we get on with the story now? Someone finds a body—a bloody body. Where? A church? A library? The DMV? The ladies room at Wal-Mart? Yeah! A male body in the ladies room at Wal-Mart! Gunshots? Stab wounds? Or blunt instrument? Come on, somebody…”

“Good point, Barron”, Medi interrupts the creative process caustically. “Go-o-od point, Barron! Will someone please remind me never to have a casual conversation with Barron again! Why? Because I might say something brilliant! And God knows Barron might sell it to Random House or Doubleday and make a million dollars on it and screw me out of the royalties. Is that what you mean? Who’s ridiculous here?”

“Lissssten. I don’t want to be criticized, OK? I'm trying to help. But if you are going to enter into a collaborative position without appropriate preliminary legal review—well that’s just asinine!” blurts Barron. “It’s obvious you either don’t believe in yourselves or you never wrote anything for money.

"Well, I have! I’m a professional! You just go ahead and write your little stories or poems or whatever—your ridiculous, unprofessional, unprotected co-labor-ation. Just leave me out of it, OK?”

“Hey Barron”, purrs Angie with a big grin. “My boyfriend paid me for a blowjob once. Does that make me a professional?”

“Verrry funny, Angie. You want my professional opinion? Lissssten, I do have something of value that I’d like to share with you before I leave. Just to prove there’s no hard feelings, OK?”.

“What’s the big idea, big boy?” teases Angie.

Lissssten . Tonight is the drawing for the Mega Monster 300 Million Dollar Lottery Jackpot. I have a great idea. We each put in a hundred bucks. Between the ten of us here that gives us a thousand chances to win. If we win, we each get 30 million dollars. Thirty million each! Sound good?”

“Heck yeah, Barron!”, they all agree, as the tens and twenties start piling on the table.

“That’s the first good idea you came up with all afternoon!”

Barron scoops up the money and says, “Great! I knew you weren’t all stupid! I hate to see good business sacrificed on the altar of creativity by artists in business suits. What a clever group of writers, you are! I’ll go buy the tickets right now and keep them in my safe box at the law office. It’s fireproof and everything. And we don’t have to worry about anyone stealing them—I’m the only one who knows the combination!

“When we win, we’ll have a BIG party, charter a luxury coach to collect the prize, stay overnight in the Marriott, maybe head out for a Caribbean cruise all together, OK? Think of the creativity THAT will inspire! We can write a book about it! A sitcom! We can collaborate on it! See ya later, all! Gotta get the tickets!”

“Bye Barron! Pick us some good numbers!”

“You betcha! Goodbye, friends!”

© 2007 C. Cross Allentown PA, All Rights Reserved
This is a work of parody, fantasy and fiction. Any resemblance to persons, places or events is purely coincidence. And as Bette Midler famously said, "If you don't have a sense of humor..."

2,000+ Hits a Week for 6 Months! Fire Trucks Backing Up!

2007-08-18T22:16:00.000-07:00

Who'da thunk it?!

Fire Trucks backing into a garage! Two thousand hits a week?!

I must admit the action is smooth, like Tokyo Drift!

These guys really know how to drive those big rigs.

As a limo driver I found it fascinating--and so did over 93,000 other people!

Favorited over a dozen times and linked on a half dozen other web sites, this simple 91 second video somehow mesmerizes you.

One bystander, another limousine driver, is heard commenting on the video, "This is phenomenal--just phenomenal!"

The way this played out was interesting. The Lehigh Valley Writers Symposium, www.LVWriters.org had a meeting and tour of the fire house scheduled for 7:00 pm. When we arrived, the alarms went off, the trucks raced out and we were left sitting in the driveway with the station doors locked, all personnel on the job.

These guys respond to about 3500 fire calls a year. This one turned out to be a false alarm and they returned quickly--no donut stops on the way back!

Since I missed the good stuff--I figured I'd get some video of the trucks returning to the station so I would have something to post for out members who couldn't make the meeting.

Darn! I thought to myself, "Why does it have to be trucks backing up! No one's going to want to see that!" Wrong as usual, Chris!

Miracles DO Happen! We Found Each Other on CraigsList! Thank You!

2007-08-07T07:44:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! It’s me, Jilli!

I’m so excited I just had to share the joy of our success with the rest of the Craigslist community (and all you rotten bastards who tied me up, squeezed my titties, shoved your grubby hands up my dress and kept pushing your gross wieners in my mouth. And no cuddling afterwards! Thank God that’s over! And to think I almost gave up hope! That’s when a friend told me about CraigsList!

After years of anger and frustration, cheesy pickup lines, drunken sex, one-night-stands and God-knows HOW many partners later, God showed us our reward for our persistence and determination. We found our soul mates!

The minute I saw Jimmy’s photo on CraigsList, I knew I had to meet him. It was love at first sight! We’re so much alike! And Jimmy LOVES to cuddle! The past few years have been a never-ending roller-coaster of one sexual adventure after another. You think at least ONE guy would have taken me out to eat in a nice restaurant somewhere! Every guy has the same idea of a good time, “Let’s just get a couple of six-packs, some pizza, and lay in bed and watch some videos”. I guess that made me the perfect date.

Sure it was exciting, it was fun and I learned to give great head. I’m sure I’ll look back on those days and laugh. But right now the smell of weed, latex condoms, KY, fresh cum, stale beer and dirty underwear still fills my nostrils. I need a break.

Jimmy and I never thought we'd find our soul mate, but—God works in mysterious ways—just LOOK at us! Anyway, we’re planning to get married in Las Vegas in the off-season, sometime around Halloween. Yes, Miracles DO happen!

Oh, one more thing, all you guys who did the videos, would you PLEASE reply to this ad so we can get together just one more time—not for THAT, dumbass! So I can pick up the videos! You and your dirty ideas! Now that me and Jimmy are getting married, we don’t need those floating around, do we? Well, if you REALLY like the videos and maybe wanna take some more, I guess I could use some extra $$$ for the honeymoon. Let me know! Some things never change.

Kisses,

Jilli

Christopher's Amazing Watermelon Detox Diet!

2007-07-29T11:39:00.001-07:00

Christopher's Amazing
Watermelon Detox Diet!
See the Amazing Before & After Photos Below!

DO YOU SUFFER FROM ANY OF THESE DEBILITATING CONDITIONS?

Gout/Goiter/Golf/Gonorrhea/Syphilis
Bird Flu/Ebola Virus
Painful or Swollen Joints
Headache/Backache/Heartache
Restless Leg Syndrome/Asthma/
Coughing/Sneezing/Burping/Hiccups
Tiredness/Fatigue/Lethargy
Overweight/Enlarged Body
Constipation/Diarrhea/Smelly Poop Disease
Acne/Psoriasis/Eczema/Puss-Filled Boils
Painful or Difficult Urination
Sexual Frustration/Gender Identity Dysfunction
Premature Ejaculation/Erections lasting more than four hours
Nymphomania *
Lil Penis Disease
Insatiable Appetite
Drug Addiction/Alcoholism/
Halitosis/Flatulence/Body Odor
Daydreams/Nightmares
Sarcoidosis/Lupus
Gastric Reflux Disease
Laziness/Boredom
Dreaded Human Aging Disease

PHOTOS (c) P. WALTERS 2007

* Urgent note for sufferers of Nymphomania!
EVERY MINUTE COUNTS!
Please CALL or EMAIL NOW for FAST CONFIDENTIAL PERSONAL SERVICE!

Whoooops! You left your photos on the computer at the Holiday Inn!

2007-07-19T15:01:00.000-07:00

Not to worry, Darlin', YOU look Mah-vel-ous! I hope those kisses are for me!
FOUND: July 19, 2007 Holiday Inn, Essington.
Let me know if they're yours and I'll email 'em back to you!

They picked the right name for that one...

2007-07-17T17:14:00.001-07:00

Congrats to the genius who decided to call this chef knife the Koch Messer! Great name, but keep your messer away from MY koch!

Comments on the Comments on The Secret

2007-05-02T19:54:00.000-07:00

Illegitimi Non Carborundum or...
Don't let the bastards grind you down...

Columnists, bloggers, journalists, pundits, hacks, commentators and spectators alike seem to be irresistibly drawn to displaying their cool and their cleverness by scribbling (what must seem to them) witty or insightful observations about the success of phenomenon of The Secret.

"Why would anyone want to cause themselves pain and suffering?" they blather.
"It's irresponsible to suggest that victims of violence bring it on themselves" they moralize.

"Curing cancer without high-powered toxic pharmaceuticals? Dangerous blasphemy!" they bleat.

"Lose weight by focused discipline and thought control? Delusions of madness!" they insist.

"Achieve wealth and prosperity through positive thinking? Unsubstantiated nonsense!" they charge.

"What about all the emphasis on materialism? Where's the spirituality?" goes the gape-eyed chorus.

"What about AIDS victims? What about Rwanda and Darfur? What about Katrina? What about Jesus?" they demand.

The detractors ARE correct when they say that The Secret is nothing new. The principles and science behind these teaching are truly ancient and irrefutable. Every Christian I know when faced with a burdensome challenge proclaims that 'God works in mysterious ways' or they're being 'tested by God to strengthen their character'. Many Taoists and Buddhists assert that each precarnate soul indeed chooses its birth parents as well as its life struggles and infirmities in order to learn from certain experiences or to repay karmic debts. The ancient mystical teachings of Hebrew Qabbalah inspire a self-directed balancing of polar opposites on the pathway to perfection.

It’s understandable and inevitable that small-minded people will denigrate the wisdom of the ages with words such as ‘slimy’ and ‘snake-oil’ rather than assume the integrity and discipline required to achieve a more masterful approach to life. While one may disparage the packaging, the marketing, indeed, even the phenomenal success of this franchise; the content is clear, coherent, inspiring and at once accessible to the masses. The Secret while brilliant, is after all, only a launching point to a lifetime of learning for receptive souls. The wisdom of the ages is NOT acquired for $26.95 plus tax at Barnes and Noble, but for that small price, one may open a doorway or a window into new realms of infinite possibility, learning and mastery.

Historical luminaries of every ilk, whether intellectual, spiritual, philosophical, humanitarian or industrial present in their own words and style the essence of the same message proffered by Rhonda Byrne in The Secret. Can you think of any truly great teacher who states anything else? (We're not talking about Machiavelli or Ghengis Khan here!) It’s al the same message: You are in control of your own destiny. Don’t let life happen to you. Make your own choices; make things happen to fulfill your own dreams. Every accomplishment, even the greatest, most complex achievements all began with an idea, a thought, a belief. The greatest teachers from every time and culture repeat this message in their own way.

I’d like to expand upon these comments, but I’ll close now because it’s getting late and I’m suffering from a toothache. And yes, it’s all my fault! I brought it upon myself!

Below a few pertinent quotes from Suze Orman and Jesus Christ.

From The Courage to Be Rich By Suze Orman

Over the many years I've worked with people and their money, I have tried to answer what to me is the most puzzling financial question of them all: Why is it that some people have money while others do not? It's almost mystical, really..

I've come to believe that the way each of us thinks and feels about our money is the key factor in determining how much we ultimately have.

The main underlying reason that some of us don't have money is that our thoughts and feelings about money have become internal obstacles that prevent us from having or keeping what we want.

What keeps you from being rich? In most cases, it's simply a lack of belief.

In order to become rich, you must believe you can do it. And you must take the actions necessary to achieve your goal.

The lesson I learned was that my attitude towards money had made me poor.

In other words, our thoughts and feelings about money are, to me, fundamental factors in determining how much money each of us in this lifetime will be able to create and keep.

From Jesus Christ

Take no thought for the morrow, what you shall eat or wear. Consider the birds of the air. Does not your Father in Heaven feed them? Surely He will feed you.

Knock and it shall be opened unto you. Ask and you shall receive.

Greater things than I shall do you shall do.

Believe and be healed.