By MEGAN REYNOLDS (AP) – 10 hours ago NASSAU, Bahamas — Hollywood heartthrob Johnny Depp suspects he'll never get used to receiving awards for his acting work. Depp, best known for his Oscar-nominated role as Captain Jack Sparrow in Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" blockbusters, made the comments Sunday night before receiving a career achievement award at the Bahamas International Film Festival. "Whenever anybody say they are going to give me some kind of award, I'm always a little stupefied by the notion. The first thing I say is 'why?'," Depp told a small scrum of reporters. "I just go to work like anyone else, except my job happens to be a little stranger." Lit by cameras during a red carpet event, Depp said he planned on spending Christmas on his private island ringed with white ... 12/13/2009

12/12/2009

A Must See! Amazing! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftagU3fT_PY 12/12/2009

Royal Caribbean International has launched its cruise ship Oasis of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world. The ship spans 16 decks, encompasses 2,20,000 gross registered tonnes, can carry 5,400 guests and features 2,700 staterooms. At 361 metres (1,187 feet) in length, it is almost 23 metres (75 feet) longer than the current largest passenger ship, the Independence of the Seas. It will also be nine metres (29 feet) wider, with a 43 per cent greater gross tonnage of 2,20,000.It arrived in Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, USA on November 13th, and this is now the new homeport of the Oasis of the Seas. It will begin her inaugural season with 19 consecutive seven-night sailings to the Eastern Caribbean, with ports of call at Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas; Philipsburg, St. Maarten... 12/12/2009

THIS IS GOING TO BE A BLAST!!!Pool Party, sand castle competition and silent auctionSunday - December 27th At Sky Beach Club Have fun while helping H.A.C.E. raise money for a new ambulanceThere have been a few exciting additions:-Ticket price is now only $30 for adults and $10 for kids!-Sky Beach is generously donating all the food and drinks so all the-proceeds from the tickets and the auction goes to H.A.C.E.-We added a sandcastle competition: 1st prize $200** AND 2nd prize $100**the $200 first prize money is being donated by The Pinder Brothers-To buy tickets or donate online ambulancefund.com-If you have anything you would like to donate to the auctionPLEASE CONTACT ME:Ann Cutbill Lenane- alenane@elliman.comHere are just some of auction donations we have so far!-Three night stay in ... 12/10/2009

Watch the trailer here: http://www.childrenofgodthemovie.com/www.childrenofgodthemovie.com/Trailer.html THE Bahamian film Children of God directed by Kareem Mortimer and premiering December 11 at the Bahamas International Festival spotlights several emerging actors of Bahamian heritage and descent, many of whom are pursuing an acting career abroad. These individuals include Van Brown, Margaret Kemp and Craig Pinder. "The opportunity to create opportunities for creative persons to express themselves on this level are few and far between. As a filmmaker it has been tremendously gratifying to work with some of the brightest and emerging film actors whose spirits are rooted in the Bahamas and to have them bare their souls for this film is truly a gift," Mr Mortimer said. "Children of God" r... 12/10/2009

December 08, 2009 5:32 PM Allison Bybee It isn't new, flights to the Bahamas, but it's where and how much that is getting everyone's attention. You no longer have to catch a flight out of West Palm Beach or Fort Lauderdale to catch a ride to the Bahamas. Now, you have a Stuart connection. Starting December 15th, Treasure Coast Airlines in Stuart will offer flights to rare locations in the Bahamas. The price: $285 dollars. The plan is to fly to Marsh Harbour and Walker's Cay several times a week. Operations Manager, Danny Krachun, says, "For the most part everyone is excited about using this service." Joe Edge uses the charter service and says, "It's $285 dollars round trip, which if you were gonna charter a plane it's $1000 dollars one way." We checked and other... 12/08/2009

Music by Green Turtle Cay's own, The Gully Roosters! http://www.motuiti.com/Lets%20Go%20Abaco.html 12/08/2009

On Saturday the 28th of November 100's were "out and about" as Buds N' Blooms in the memorial plaza hosted their yearly open house. Other Neighboring business' in the same plaza also hosted open houses ranging from story telling to photos with Santa. Across town The Sand Dollar Shoppe and Wood You were also hosting open houses on the same evening. Sand Dollar plans to continue theirs on Friday and Saturday evenings throughout the holiday season and other business will be joining them as well. Lydia Bodamer Lydia Bodamer | 242.367.3529 | Lydia.Bodamer@SothebysRealty.com     12/07/2009

Nassau, Bahamas – December   2, 2009 – The Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) announced today that three-time Academy Award® nominee Johnny Depp will be honored with the prestigious Career Achievement Award at this year’s Film Festival, taking place December 10-17 in Nassau. The announcement was made by BIFF Founder and Executive Director Leslie Vanderpool. Depp will be on hand for the special tribute and presentation at the Balmoral Club in Nassau. Legendary leading man Sir Sean Connery will again be lending his full support at BIFF, serving as Festival Patron and presenting Depp with the Career Achievement Award. “There is no actor better suited to receive BIFF’s highest honor, the Career Achievement Award,” said Leslie Vanderpool. “Johnny Depp is one of the finest actors of ... 12/03/2009

Damianos Sotheby’s International Realty won “The Best Real Estate Agency – Caribbean” at the International Residential Property Awards 2009 held in association with CNBC in San Diego Nov 12th. These awards are the property industry’s most prestigious awards programme dedicated to finding the best real estate professionals across the globe. Having gained this high recommendation Damianos Sotheby’s International Realty is now entitled to display the Americas Property Awards’ logo with pride. This symbol of excellence will be recognized and appreciated by the public who are becoming increasingly well informed and discerning about the properties they seek to buy. Entries were judged by a panel of 52 independent professionals whose collective knowledge of the property industry is second to ... 12/02/2009

Sotheby's Canada is auctioning off 127 lots of fine art by Canadian heavyweights like Lawren Harris and Emily Carr in Toronto this week in its first solo Canadian art auction in seven years. The event is the result of months of hard work that the Canadian branch of the international auction house had to undertake to assemble auction-worthy pieces following its split from troubled colleague Ritchies Auctioneers. Sotheby's Canada expects to raise between $3.5 million and $5 million at the auction, which will be held at the Royal Ontario Museum Thursday night. In July, Sotheby's Canada severed its ties with the Toronto-based Ritchies (with whom it had teamed up for auctions since 2002) over the latter's failure to pay consigners who offered their artwork for sale in May. In October, Ritch... 12/02/2009

Getting home to the Island... Lenny in the Bahamas. From Miami to Nassau and then home to his island. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZph1mJxp7s 12/01/2009

By JENNY BARCHFIELD (AP) PARIS — Audrey Hepburn fans got a sneak peek Tuesday of dozens of garments and personal effects once belonging to the movie star that will hit the auction blocks next week. A Givenchy black lace dress that Hepburn wore in "How to Steal a Million" and a demure ivory wedding gown that never made it down the aisle are among the items. The fans, fashionistas and those looking to score a slice of film history were given the preview of the collection in Paris before the Dec. 8 sale in London. "For her, what was important was not decoration and lots of embellishment. She liked very simple things — less was always more for Audrey," said auctioneer Kerry Taylor, whose eponymous auction house is handling the sale. Star lots include an Yves Saint Laurent empire waisted gow... 12/01/2009

"They chart her rise to fame from rags to riches," says Kerry Taylor - curator of the "Passion for Fashion" sale - of The Audrey Hepburn collection which goes under the hammer in London on Dec. 8, after a touring exhibition in association with Sotheby's. Seen here is a Richard Avedon portrait of Ms Hepburn - also up for auction - taken when she filmed 'Funny Face', in 1956. Photo: Richard Avedon http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/12/01/fashion/20091201-iht-slideshow_index.html 12/01/2009

By Peter Woodifield Nov. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Individuals with more than $800,000 to invest plan to increase their property holdings because they foresee better long-term returns than from stocks and bonds, according to a Barclays Plc global survey. Twice as many people plan to raise their investment in commercial and residential property as intend to reduce it, the Barclays Wealth unit said in an e-mailed statement today. The richer the individual, the greater the proportion of wealth is placed in real estate, the survey found. “I was surprised how big a share of their wealth property represents,” Mike Dicks, the London-based head of research at Barclays Wealth, said in an interview. “It’s not what I would tell grandma. None of our data suggests that would be a good allocation.” The globa... 12/01/2009

An Island Party held at Lyford Cay, The Bahamas. It was aptly named "Return of the Drumbeat" and sponsored by the Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation - founded in 1993 to promote a sustainable relationship between Bahamians, visitors and our marine environment. The people and sounds of the Old Bahamas were awesome. It was like the good old days listening to entertainers like Peanuts Taylor, Count Bernardino, Chippie Chipman, Ronnie Butler, Duke Errol and Bahama Mama Duvalier. A lot of hard work went into this spectacular event in an effort to recreate the spirit of that time. The unique, unrivaled local entertainment in our downtown and over the hill nightclubs is a thing of the past. It was a delightful era for those of us lucky enough to remember those days, and a fun exp... 11/30/2009

The Prince of Wales may have a reputation for being the Royal Family's most passionate environmentalist but it seems that Princess Michael of Kent has begun to rival him with an interest in conservation of her own. The Princess flew to Nassau in the Bahamas on Friday to support a charity set up by her friend the late Sir Nicholas Nuttall, who moved to the island in the 1970s as a tax exile, to protect the reef and fish stocks in the area. As patron of the Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation (BREEF), she was guest of honour at a ball on Saturday night whose riotous theme was A Nostalgic Evening in Old Nassau, celebrating the "fabulous era of native clubs, food, entertainment and dancing". Princess Michael's spokesman says: "She is in Nassau for a brief visit. She's patron of ... 11/30/2009

BY CHELLE KOSTER WALTON http://www.miamiherald.com/living/travel/caribbean/v-fullstory/story/1315284.html A vien, aka Coco, wasn't able to meet me at the Eleuthera airport with my rental car. He was busy at his restaurant in Rock Sound. So his wife turned over the battered nondescript vehicle with the steering wheel on the left, asked for some cash (she doesn't take credit cards), and told me I could pay the rest when I turned it into her mother, who works the gift and snack shop at the airport. If I got lost, folks at the airport told me, I could just stop and ask anybody. That's the kind of friendly, trusting, loosy-goosy place the Out Islands manages to remain. The drive between the airport and Cape Eleuthera took me through quiet church-anchored settlements and along the oh-I- forgo... 11/30/2009

By NEIL HARTNELL http://www.tribune242.com/11202009_Wealth_business_page1-5 THE Bahamas would have ranked 11 out of 12 major international financial centres had it been included in a survey designed to measure the attractiveness of these nations to 'mobile' high net worth individuals. Stephen Wall, director of the Scorpio Partnership, an international wealth management consultancy, presented to the Nassau Conference a survey that analysed the factors influencing high net worth individuals when it came to deciding which jurisdiction to base themselves in. The Mobile Wealth Residency Index (MWRI), Mr Wall said, focused on 11 jurisdictions, but had the Bahamas been included it would have placed 11th out of 12, ranking only ahead of Guernsey. The others rated were among this nation's chief ... 11/30/2009