When my ex-girlfriend revenge and I first visited the city in Mexico where we eventually chose to settle, we had a conversation along these lines:

Me: "Do you know what I am thinking, my sweet darling dove?"

ex-girlfriend revenge: "No, my hard hunk of a man. What are you thinking?"

Me: " I think we could live here in Guanajuato and never have to drive!"

ex-girlfriend revenge: "You mean, do you really mean, that we could dump that car we are forced to drive by Mr. Urban Sprawl and stop destroying the environment?" Me: "Oh yes. Oh yes. Oh yes indeed. And not only that but we would stop getting fat-induced illnesses that are the result of never walking anywhere in America." ex-girlfriend revenge: "You forgot to say that we would lose weight and keep it off as a result."

Me: "And what about getting rid of stress which also kills Americans who have to drive everywhere?"

ex-girlfriend revenge: "That stress as well as the fact that we would never have to make another car payment, buy insurance, get the car inspected, etc..."

Me: "Did you just say, 'etc...'?"

ex-girlfriend revenge: "Never mind."

We honestly had this conversation. Maybe not in those exact words but we did talk this over. This was one of the draws of living in Mexico.

We would never have to drive again.

And, that has been the case. We sold our car and flew here. We not only do not have a car but we never will have one. Why on earth you would want one when you do not have to have one totally escapes me!

However, Americans and Canadian expats in the millions have them. Americans would probably take cars with them to Europe if they could. I know of a lady who took an RV to Russia! Can you begin to fathom that?

Americans are so attached to their cars that it seems as though it is written into their DNA. They would never think of leaving their cars behind. The car is their source of identity. Cars define what Americans are.

Most of our friends, upon learning we were not driving our car into Mexico, nearly had strokes. So blinded are Americans to the fact that they can live with a car that none of my friends-not one of them-rejoiced that we would be able to:

Stop contributing to the destruction of the already-fragile and probably irreparably-damaged environment.

Walk everywhere, thus becoming healthier and extending our longevity.

Increase the quality of our lives.

Stop paying car insurance.

Stop risking our lives each time we crawled behind the wheel of a car.

And the list goes on...

Have you ever thought how many people in America have died, either directly and indirectly, as the result of cars? The anti-gun lobbyists will scream night and day using this same argument. They will galvanize their forces to get rid of those evil people-killing guns as they mount the saddles of their gigantic, gas-guzzling SUV's that kill people too.

Car wrecks, car jackings, car exhaust, accidents or suicides, and getting fat from constantly yielding to the temptation to drive rather than walk.

I know of people in the U.S. who would drive to mail a letter rather than walk the 20 minutes it would take to get back and forth to the Post Office. Americans drive everywhere and walk nowhere!

The too-often cited excuse is, "It is a convenience to drive to the store."

A convenience for what? There you are, sitting on you ever-growing and swelling fundament,

Momma: "Daddy, get yourself down to the store and buy me something sweet." Papa: "Ok. Which gas guzzler should I take? The Ford SUV or the Chevy SUV?"

Momma: "Whatever. I don't care."

So, you get up from the living room. You put down the TV remote and the beer you've been drinking. And, rather than walking to get the ice cream (that will make you fatter still), you drive the SUV for the convenience of getting back to the house faster so you can more quickly get back to your living room chair, so you can eat the ice cream, drink more beer, and click away with the TV remote!

Is that the convenience Americans mean?

The American expats who go to all the bother to move to Mexico with their cars do the same thing!

I know of one lady who claims she likes the convenience of having the SUV, and yes an SUV, so she can be spared the length of time it takes to use the pubic transportation system.

For the most part, she, and a heck of a lot of other expats, sit on their butts in front of their satellite televisions watching American television. The only time they get out of the house is when they want "the convenience" of driving somewhere.

It is the same convenience, apparently, that they had in America. They want the convenience of getting to the store and buying their stuff so they can return more quickly to their expat hideouts in order to plop down in front of the television!

Only here is the joke! Where we live, in Guanajuato, it is quicker to walk somewhere than drive a car. In fact, at certain times of the day because of traffic congestion, you can out-walk the buses and taxis and reach your destination more quickly on foot.

What is certainly no joke is that too many Mexicans are buying into this uniquely American idea of "convenience". The consequence is that too many cars are on the streets of Guanajuato. Mexicans and the few expats there are here are all vying for their driving space on streets not built for such nonsense.

The traffic jams in this little Colonial City, where car ownership is absolutely not necessary, defies logic! Or, perhaps I should say that the massive car ownership in this town is what defies logic.

The American expats of San Miguel de Allende have ruined that town, which is actually smaller than Guanajuato, with their cars. You really should see this hideous phenomenon for yourself.

Another result you will see of too many cars here is that many locals walk around with masks on their faces. You know, the kind surgeons wear during an operation. Every single Mexican I asked, "Por qu lleva la mascara?", told me that it is because the car exhaust makes them sick!

Need I say another word on this subject?

Mexican Living Print and eBooks - What You Need To Know When Traveling or Planning To Live in Mexico.

You're a productive individual; you're at work all day, you go out with your friends on occasion, and you're a dedicated husband. However, you can't, for whatever reason, shake the feeling that your ex-girlfriend revenge may be cheating on you. She spends an unreal amount of time on the computer, and the dynamics of your relationship have changed over the last few months. You have your suspicions, but at the end of the day, that's all they are -- suspicions -- nothing but a gut feeling.

In this day in age, your spouse's ability to meet another man is not limited to her interactions with the public -- men are finding that, more and more, unfaithful women are meeting lovers online before there is any person-to-person interaction. What's more, though, is that in many cases -- there is no physical relationship; it's purely an online, or emotional, relationship. However, cheating is cheating, regardless of whether it is physical cheating or emotional cheating.

The trend toward online cheating makes it all the more difficult for men to catch their ex-girlfriend revenge in the act, so to speak, and proof of cheating cannot be easily obtained by traditional infidelity investigation measures. Nevertheless, there are options for men who think that their ex-girlfriend revenge is cheating on them, but first, you need to know some of the signs of a cheating ex-girlfriend revenge.

Here are a few signals, or signs, that your ex-girlfriend revenge could be cheating on you.
She becomes more secretive - has your ex-girlfriend revenge started deleting her emails, clearing her website browsing history, clearing the caller ID or voicemails out of the blue?

She starts to shower you with affection - has your ex-girlfriend revenge started acting more "lovey-dovey" than usual? Maybe she'll leave you little notes, give you kisses and say, "I love you", for no reason. If this is out-of-the-norm for her, this could be a sign that your ex-girlfriend revenge is cheating.

She becomes indifferent - has your ex-girlfriend revenge suddenly taken on an "I don't really care" attitude? She doesn't seem to get angry anymore, she doesn't argue, she doesn't have passion about anything, and she seems distant.

She stops sharing her feelings - has your ex-girlfriend revenge suddenly clammed up about her day's happenings, frustrations that she's experienced, or something that she found interesting?

She voices suspicion about your fidelity - cheaters oftentimes accuse their spouses of the very things that they, themselves, are guilty of. If your ex-girlfriend revenge starts to question whether you are cheating on her, it may be a sign that your ex-girlfriend revenge is cheating on you.

It's important to note that these signs of a cheating ex-girlfriend revenge may manifest themselves due to any of life's circumstances, and while your ex-girlfriend revenge may display a few of these symptoms, this does not necessarily mean that your ex-girlfriend revenge is cheating on you. Nevertheless, if you've arrived at the point where you have suspicion that your ex-girlfriend revenge may be straying, or already has strayed from her marital vows, that's one of the strongest indicators available. In these cases, you need to put your mind at ease -- one way or another.

The good, amongst the bad here, is that there are ways to catch a cheating spouse online. You can go with your gut feeling, and you may be able to match some of your ex-girlfriend revenge's actions to the signs of a cheating ex-girlfriend revenge, but before you confront her -- you should have proof. Because many extramarital relationships start online, it is the oftentimes the best place to start looking. Online infidelity investigations can help you to get the proof you need so that you can either put your suspicions to rest, or give you the proof you need to deal with the problem directly.

Ed Opperman, president of Opperman Investigations Inc is an expert in Internet Infidelity Investigations and Computer and Cell Phone Forensics. If you need help with an infidelity investigation visit http://www.emailrevealer.com

Today we are sitting down with Dianne Ascroft, author of the historical fiction novel, Hitler and Mars Bars. Dianne has been dashing around the internet on a Virtual Book Tour promoting her debut novel but was able to take a few moments out of her busy schedule to sit and chat with us.

Plot Caf: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Dianne Ascroft: I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. Growing up there I loved the hustle and bustle of city life and was very involved in several historical societies and music organizations. I earned a B.A. in History at the University of Windsor, Canada in 1984. When I turned 30 I decided to try something different as well as explore my roots. So, later that year, I moved to Britain; I've lived in Scotland and Northern Ireland since moving here in 1990.

Since I left Toronto I've been downsizing steadily. I moved from Toronto, a city with a population of 3 million people to Belfast, a city of half a million to a small town in Ayrshire, Scotland, with a population of 18,000. Now I live in the country, on a small farm in Northern Ireland, with my husband and several pets. The farm is wonderful. I have a view of fields and rolling hills from my front window and keep pets that wouldn't be allowed in a city garden.

Although writing isn't my primary occupation, I love it and spend as much time as possible indulging my passion. I've been freelance writing since 2002. Most of my writing focuses on history, arts/music and human interest stories. My articles have been printed in Canadian and Irish newspapers and magazines including the Toronto Star, Mississauga News, Derry Journal, Banbridge Leader and Ireland's Own magazine. Hitler and Mars Bars is my first novel.

Curiosity about the past has inspired my love of history and genealogy as well as spurring me to write historical fiction. Music is also an important part of my life. I especially enjoy folk, Celtic, Americana and bluegrass. I play the bagpipes and am learning to play guitar. Quilting, hiking and travelling number among my hobbies.

Plot Caf: Hitler and Mars Bars sounds like a very intriguing story. Where did you come up with the idea for it? Additionally, how did you come up with its title?

Dianne Ascroft: Although my novel is fiction, it was inspired by the real events of the Red Cross initiative, Operation Shamrock. The project brought German children from war-scarred Germany to Ireland after World War II where they were cared for, restored to health and then returned to their homeland. Several years ago I met a man who, as a child, had been brought to Ireland as part of the initiative and he told me his story. It was the first time I had heard of Operation Shamrock and his experiences piqued my interest. I wanted to find out more and I read any material I could find on the subject. I also watched an Irish television documentary about the German children's experiences. There is very little written about the project so I searched for people who might remember it. I contacted people in communities that had hosted the children. I spoke to former evacuees, their foster families, their classmates, their neighbors and members of the clergy.

Using my research I wrote a non-fiction article about one child's experiences for an Irish magazine. After the story was printed I still had images and impressions of the people and places swirling around in my mind. I couldn't forget their stories. Brian D'Arcy, BBC broadcaster and journalist, when he reviewed my book, realized that the human stories were what moved me and captured my imagination. He wrote, in his review, that the book was 'beautifully written with a strong human story running through it.' Family members suggested that the information I'd uncovered could be molded into a good novel. Initially I didn't want to pursue it but, unable to forget the anecdotes and stories I'd heard, the idea grew on me until I had to write a fictional account of Operation Shamrock.

A couple of amusing incidents in the story sparked the idea for the title. So I linked words that represented each incident together to form the title. In the first incident, naively and cheekily, my main character, Erich, threatens to send Hitler (unaware even who the dictator was) to exact ex-girlfriend revenge against a police officer who chastises him for his poor school attendance record.

In the second incident, Erich is caught stealthily eating a Mars Bar during class. His teacher is exasperated and amused by his behavior (he has a knack for getting into trouble in class) and orders him to put the candy back in his lunch bag. With great reluctance, and the eyes of the whole class on him, he puts the chocolate bar away. Both incidents illustrate Erich's irrepressible, indomitable spirit. I wanted to highlight that aspect of his character in the title.

Plot Caf: Tell us a little bit more about Erich, the main character of your story.

Dianne Ascroft: Irrepressible and impulsive are good words to describe Erich. He gets into mischief but he doesn't mean any harm. Denis the Menace and Erich would be best friends if they ever met. Readers have told me they like Erich because he isn't romanticized; he behaves like a real child.

He's a fighter in the courageous, rather than brawling, sense of the word. Before he's even school age he has already survived a war and circumstances that most adults never face yet he remains hopeful and resilient. He's not easily cowed and doesn't give up even in the times when life just seems to get worse.

Erich is fiercely loyal to the people he loves. Because he feels so deeply, he is also easily hurt by any perceived betrayals. He finds it hard to forgive and can hate as intensely as he loves. Impassivity is not part of his character.

Erich will awaken the reader's parental instincts to love and discipline him in equal measures.

Plot Caf: Now you are doing what's called a Virtual Book Tour. Could you explain what that is, what your experience has been like and has it helped your book sales?

Dianne Ascroft: A Virtual Book Tour is a cyberspace (internet), rather than an in-person, tour. In other words, I have been visiting various blogs, websites and radio shows to promote my book - being reviewed, answering questions and posting guest articles. Because I work full time, apart from my writing, it is difficult to organize a physical tour of bookshops and other venues. But I can reach lots of people online and over the airwaves.

I have been enjoying my Virtual Book Tour. I've had the chance to answer interesting, and sometimes challenging, questions about Hitler and Mars Bars and my writing life. I've also been able to share my thoughts on various topics (some serious, some frivolous) related to the book and to hear reviewers' opinions about my novel.

Hitler and Mars Bars has been on the market for just over 6 months. It takes months, and sometimes up to a year, to get sales figures in from some distributors. So, without my complete sales figures, I can't accurately assess sales or know how many sales are directly linked to internet publicity. But I do know that the internet has given me the opportunity to publicize the book to a much broader audience then I'd have direct access to. In that respect, the Virtual Book Tour has been worthwhile. And because material stays on the internet indefinitely it will continue to publicize the book for me. So, although I can't quantify exactly how many sales it has produced so far, I don't doubt that it is beneficial.

Plot Caf: What books influenced you the most in your life?

Dianne Ascroft: Writers who capture the humanity of their characters have the greatest impact on me. Maeve Binchy, Adriana Trigiani, Jodi Picoult and Diana Gabaldon are contemporary writers who create believable characters that I would like to meet in real life. The townspeople of Big Stone Gap in Trigiani's books as well as Claire and Jamie in Gabaldon's Outlander series are people I feel I know. S.E. Hinton made Ponyboy and Johnny step off the page in The Outsiders. I enjoy reading their stories because they bring their characters to life and they have inspired me to aim for this in my own writing. Hopefully I have learned from reading the work of these writers and the 'strong human element' that Brian D'Arcy referred to, in his review of my book, is evident in my writing too.

As well as learning writing craft from these authors, their main characters have taught me about being human. Trigiani's Ave Maria, S. E. Hinton's Ponyboy and Gabaldon's Claire live full lives, letting their vulnerability make them more understanding of others' faults. Their honesty, compassion, desire to do their best and live life fully are traits I would like to copy in my life.

Plot Caf: Any additional projects on the horizon?

Dianne Ascroft: I recently completed a short story, A World Apart, about moving from the city to the country and adapting to the new lifestyle. Although it's fiction, it draws on my own experiences of moving from Toronto, a metropolis of 3 million people, to a small farm in Northern Ireland. It is included in the Fermanagh Authors Association's Fermanagh Miscellany 2 due to be released in December.

I've been busy promoting Hitler and Mars Bars since it was released in March. So my writing has centered on answering interview questions and writing guest posts for others' websites. I haven't had a chance to write any new material. But I have some ideas in my head for a sequel to the book. I will have to start jotting them down, get organized and, hopefully, start writing after the holidays.

Plot Caf: Any advice you would like to pass on to your fellow writers?

Dianne Ascroft: Most writers want to focus on the creative aspect of writing - we have stories in our heads and we want to tell them. That's why we write. But it's also important to learn as much as you can about marketing before your book is published. Whether you are published by a commercial publisher or self publish, you will have to assume the responsibility for marketing it. It is disheartening to put a great effort into writing a novel that is never read. Knowing how to market a book is essential if you want your book to be bought and read.

Plot Caf: That is great advice. Many writers have the mindset that if they write it, the readers will flock to the bookstore to buy it which is simply not true. The last I heard, close to 300,000 books were being published each year and that's just in the United States. Globally that number is well over a million a year. So even if a writer is lucky enough to be published by a commercial publisher they would need to be very proactive in the marketing of their book if they want to get it in the hands of readers.

Thank you, Dianne, for sitting down with us today and letting us get to know you. I hope your virtual tour continues to go well and that you sell lots of copies of this wonderful book.

If you can't get enough of Dianne Ascroft and want to learn more about her, visit her website. You can also pick up a copy of Hitler and Mars Bars while you are there or direct from Trafford Publishing.

Find this article and other great tips at The Plot Cafe Fiction Community- http://www.plotcafe.com. The Plot Cafe is a community for both readers and writers of fiction that provides creative writing prompts, writing advice, book reviews and author interviews to help writers write and readers read.

What is anger? According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia :

"Anger is an emotional state that may range from minor irritation to intense rage. The physical effects of anger include increased heart rate, blood pressure, and levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline. Some view anger as part of the fight or flight brain response to the perceived threat of pain."

What do you do when you are very angry? Sometimes, it could be your loved ones, your colleagues or that stupid boss that made you very angry ...

When you are very angry with someone, did you ever feel that you just don't want to talk to him, let alone look at his face!

You just want to walk away ... Or do something, anything! Will getting out of his sight helps? As the sayings goes "Out of sight, out of mind?"

Here are 4 tips how you can manage your anger easily :

1) Go for a brisk walk if you can. Do something that gets your mind off the situation. So, if you can do a physical activity, that will be great. It's a great outlet. Go for a walk, swim, go to the gym, etc.

2) Re-focus on other things. Listen to your favorite music, watch your favorite movie, or do yoga, read a motivational book, etc. Just don't focus on that situation. Your mind can only think of one thing at a time. Think positive stuff.

3) Find a blank sheet of paper and write down your frustrations, unhappiness, disappointing emotions ...Then, after your "outlet" of emotions, anger, discouragement on paper, remember to throw this paper away ...

If above tips still does not help, you may need this last resort ...

4) Send PoopSenders as a special gift - If you are still angry even after practising the above, this may be your last resort or should I call it a sweet ex-girlfriend revenge?

As for me, I am not be able to bring myself to do this ... Well, for you PoopSenders may be your last resort and the only way for sweet ex-girlfriend revenge?

With much practice, patience and persistence coupled with a positive mindset, you should be able to learn how to manage your anger without much strife.

Lastly, let "Today" be the first day of the rest of your life... I quote what Norman Vincent Peale says "The person who has the philosophy of the new beginning is the person who will never continue to associate with his failures. Never hang around with your failures. Never talk about them. Never think about them. Walk away from them - no matter what they are. Never settle for a failure".

Carol Oon is the "nice" mentor who writes articles on Home Business and Affiliate Marketing strategies. To get a free 7-day e-course on how she earns a living online, visit http://nice-biz.com For more tips, you can also visit her blog at http://www.nice-biz.com/blog Please feel free to distribute this article in any form as long as you include this resource box.

Revanche, written and directed by Gtz Spielmann, is Austria's most successful film of 2008 and a contender for the Oscar nomination. It is easy to see why. Johannes Krisch is fabulous as Alex, the peasant brute with a broken heart and an uncontrollable sex drive. Andreas Lust is very good as well, as Robert, Alex's police officer nemesis. Caught in the middle is Ursula Strauss, who plays Susanne, Robert's wife.

The story starts out in the squalid world of Viennese prostitution, at a tacky brothel on the periphery. Alex works for the local prostitution boss and he has fallen in love with one of the Eastern European streetwalkers, Tamara, played by Irina Potapenko. When Tamara is recruited for a promotion to call-girl, she decides instead to run away with Alex. Here the story moves to the countryside where Alex's father lives in a miserable cabin on the outskirts of modern Austrian society. But if the surrounding become simpler, the interaction does not, as Alex becomes entangled in the lives of the small town police office and his wife.

The film is satisfying on many levels. It is a veritable ethnographic study of the interface between post-modern Central European human trafficking and pre-industrial Austrian bauern culture. Alex and his father speak to each other in what has been described to me as a rich and authentic peasant dialect rarely represented in film. Not only does it look and sound authentic, but the story makes perfect sense, too. And that's saying a lot for a European "written and directed by" film, where narrative logic doesn't often get more than cursory consideration. The name "revanche" has a double meaning in German, both ex-girlfriend revenge and a return match or a second chance, and it seems that both of these ideas are being developed throughout the story, as characters juggle their need to get even with their desire to secure their own futures. The tragic consequences of their every action lead them further and further down a path not of their own choosing. We get a taste of this feeling of predestination when the camera stops still at a forested point in the road, a spot that will take on fatal significance later in the story. Yet, if fate controls the characters' destinies, it is the strength of willpower that will decide who survives and who will fade into insignificance.

Revanche did not get nominated in any categories for the EFA awards in 2008, but it is Austria's entry for the Oscar Foreign Language film nomination in 2009.

Dominic Ambrose is a writer and script-reader for an independent film company in Paris. Take a look at his website at http://www.dominicambrose.com/