A Brief History of Puzzles and Riddles

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A world like ours needs a smile from time to time, and there is nothing better that spending our leisure hours with fun and entertaining activities, such as puzzles, riddles and trivia solving.

Puzzles come from ancient times, and archaeologists have found evidence of puzzles with a history that can be traced back thousand of years. In Persia, puzzles were part of mystical practices and religions.

Temples in Tibet, China and Japan have been found with engraved puzzles that reveal mathematical formulas engraved on the walls by monks. However, puzzles were also used as trivia to pass time and the origin of board games such as chess.

On the other hand, riddles are considered a modern entertainment form, but because they are more likely associated with the bards of the Middle Ages. The format of riddles, forming a question to be solved by guessing, facilitated their job as traveling entertainers.

Riddles were also a sort of trivia, passing messages on between people needing to share information that others could not understand, often compared with "undercover information."

Puzzles, riddles and trivia were, in fact, the way to go when justice was behind dreamers wanting a better world, fighting against governments and rulers that otherwise would quiet their voice.

However, researchers consider that both puzzles and trivia have a common origin in religion, running parallel one to another. Many biblical verses and prophecies were written as a sort of guessing game, and you can easily find these riddles in the Torah, the Koran, the Rig-Veda, and even the Bible itself.

Ancient Greeks liked all the challenging games, celebrating banquets where trivia, puzzles, and riddles were both entertainment and competence, crowning the winners with laurel. Throughout time, riddles and puzzles have been spread widely all over the world by one means or another.

Nevertheless, trivia also contributed to fun in communal gatherings and family reunions often associated with tongue-in-cheek riddles to make the events more fun and entertaining. There is reference of riddle tournaments held in remote places such as the Fiji islands were the losers were placed laying on a feast for the champions.

Trivia and puzzles in Africa were used as ritual for young people that could not be considered an adult if they failed to solve them. In the Middle East, trivia and riddles were used as oracles consultation so women could find if they were meant to marry with the man of their dreams.

The history of puzzles, riddles and trivia also fascinate authors, painters and artist of all times that has contributed to the preservation this form of entertainment until today.

How Celebrity is Celebrity

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What really makes a celebrity a true celebrity? Is it the news coverage? The pursuit of tabloids? Perhaps sheer popularity is what drives us to call movie stars, musicians, and politicians celebrities. If that is the case, are the non-traditional stars celebrities as well?

In order to find a satisfactory answer to this dilemma, one must look for a celebrity index. CelebrityContest.net has developed an algorithm to assign a value to a celebrity, much as stocks are assigned a monetary value in order for site visitors or members to build celebrity portfolio. The algorithm takes into consideration the amount and timing of news items pertaining to celebrities as well as the popularity of the celebrity as a portion of online portfolios. But does this adequately measure the amount of celebrity status an individual has achieved?

Celebrity

To determine this, we need to consider what celebrity actually means. The American Heritage Dictionary defines celebrity as "a famous person," or "renown, fame." That definition is very broad indeed. To be renown is to simply be well-known. Osama Bin Laden is well-known, but does not necessarily have the same following as Jessica Alba. By this definition, however, they are both celebrities.

Thus, to be a celebrity, one must be either famous or infamous, and the distinction is not relevant. By this same token, individuals who have developed a following in unconventional ways such as the internet or reality programming are certainly celebrities as well - albeit some have more global coverage than others. So to measure the amount of celebrity an individual has obtained, one would simply need to measure his or her popularity.

Measuring Popularity

Before the information age, to measure popularity would involve countless newspaper and magazine searches. Print resources as well as television and radio contained any and all celebrity news and gossip. With the advent of the internet, this changed, of course. In present times, the internet has not only opened countless doors to those aspiring to stardom, but has developed a multitude of news and gossip outlets as well.

Most of the conventional media outlets - magazines, newspapers, radio, and television have developed an online presence. Often these websites contain more information pertaining to celebrities than the original medium. Those interested in entertainment news now have almost countless methods to find the information they seek.

The fastest way to find information online, however, is through the search engines. Major search engines index all web pages and online news items as they are developed, and offer users a chance to hone in on the desired material. Searching for celebrities will pull up thousands, if not millions, of relevant results. It follows that by simply counting the number of searches and articles for each celebrity, one could understand the popularity of that individual.

Celebrity Contest

It seems the algorithm developed by CelebrityContest.net holds true. The algorithm assigns value to a celebrity based on the number and age of news items and searches, which is the best indicator of popularity. Of course, the algorithm also includes results from CelebrityContest.net, which are a valid indicator as well.

If a celebrity is popular, he or she will be included in many portfolios. If he is becoming blasé, he will be dropped from portfolios in favor of more popular individuals. If a celebrity is looking for a gauge of her own value, she can perform a complicated web analysis, or simply track her price changes on CelebrityContest.net to understand how her fan base is feeling. Of course, fans can search for the value of their favorite celebrity, and even cash in on the details only devoted fans are privy to - insider trading if you will.

celebrity. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved October 29, 2006, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/celebrity

Calligraphy Fonts

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Calligraphy fonts have undergone a colorful evolution throughout the centuries. Their development has been shaped by history itself.

Early writing was done on wood or stone, thus the fonts were angular. As man became more sophisticated and developed cities, the fonts also changed to have softer edges to adjust to the papyrus being used. When Rome fell, academic centers were concentrated in Western Europe. Afterwards, the Dark Ages settled in; art and creativity seemed to have died, so did developments of calligraphy fonts. After the Dark Ages, with the rise of the Roman Catholic Church to power, the formal and elaborate font styles emerged. This font features the architectural designs of the Middle Ages. These fonts are known as "Gothic." Until printing mechanism disrupted handcrafting of prints, Gothic was the popular choice for fonts. When literacy was brought down to the level of common townsfolk, the demand for less complex fonts increased. This plea for practicality gave birth to informal Gothic variants used in manually printed publications and documents.

As printing became more readily available, hand-lettering was designated to artists. The rest of the population wrote in cursives for their regular correspondences. Elaborate calligraphy, however, was still used for its decorative purpose in several formal documents--maps and invitations, for example. The complex calligraphy carried with it a sense of elegance and formality suited for high-level affairs and audiences.

Samples of the different calligraphy fonts are now housed in museums. But software programmers have found a way to copy those font styles. So if you are feeling a little fancy, or when you are looking for an element that would bring a touch of elegance into your formal invitation or correspondence, you may want to check out the suppliers of these software programs. You are bound to find just the right one for your needs.

Did You Know Some Facts on Ivory?

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The definition of "Real Ivory" has always been the tusks of elephants and the extinct Woolly Mammoth tusks. It is the dentin that is found within these types of very large animals that has long defined ivory, and places as Africa, Asia, Alaska, Siberia, and Canada are the original ivory resources for procuring real ivory.

The tusks of African elephants commonly weigh 55 lb. or 25 kg., but there have been elephant tusks that have weighed more than 200 lb. or 91 kg. The mammoth tusks tend to weight more around 300 to 360 lbs. or more depending upon the mammoth's size, age and gender.

Ivory can be of a hardened or softer variety, and the softer type of ivory will be less liable to crack due to the moisture held within it. It will be less brittle, and much easier to actually create and design due to the moisture inside the tusk. With the killing of elephants long being banned internationally for the last several decades now, it is the mammoth ivory that beautifully intricate items of ivory are designed and although it is a more brittle and dry ivory, mammoth ivory items are more historically significant due to the age of the ivory itself.

Some of the other accepted types of ivory substitutes have long been Tagua or also known as vegetable ivory, along with the tusk and or teeth of hippopotamus, the walrus, the narwhal, the sperm whale, and even the tusk and teeth of the wild boar. No matter the animal of origins with real ivory, items made out of ivory are truly admired for the closely grained texture, the adhesive hardness, the mellowing yellowish colors and the smoothness that is pleasing to the touch. Real ivory will be cold to the touch, unlike plastic pretending to be ivory that is warm to the touch.

Ivory may be bleached or painted and is so perfect for large or small detailed carvings that always pleases the eye. The larger ivory surfaces are perfect for veneer and may be obtained with the process of cutting sheets that are spiraled around the tusks. Some of today's most common ivory uses are the makings of organ or piano keys, knife and gun handles, along with many other types of handles such as cabinets or inside expensive cars, and billiard balls.

Miss Mexico

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1952: Long Beach, California. Miss Mexico, Olga Llorens Pérez Castillo, qualified for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe pageant.

1953: Long Beach, California.Miss Mexico, Ana Bertha Lepe Jimenez, was the 3rd runner-up at the Miss Universe. After she became an actress in the Mexican cinematography.

1954:Long Beach, California.Miss Mexico, Elvira Castillo Olvera, did not qualify for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe contest.

1955:Long Beach, California.Miss Mexico, Yolanda Mayen, did not qualify for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe contest.

1956:Long Beach, California. Miss Mexico, Erna Marta Bauman, qualified for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe pageant.

1957:Long Beach,California.Miss Mexico, Irna Arevalo, did not qualify for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe contest.However, she was the 2nd runner-up at the Miss Friendship 1957.

1958: Long Beach,California.Miss Mexico,Elvira Leticia Risser Corredor, did not qualify for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe contest.

1959: Long Beach,California.Miss Mexico,Mirna Garcia Davila, did not qualify for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe contest.

1960:Miami Beach, Florida. Miss Mexico, Lorena Velasquez, did not compete at the Miss Universe pageant.

1961:Miami Beach, Florida. Surprisingly, Mexico did not participate at the Miss Universe contest.

1962:Miami Beach, Florida. For the second time, Mexico did not participate at the Miss Universe pageant.

1963:Miami Beach, Florida. For the third time, Mexico did not send a delegate to Miami Beach.

1964:Miami Beach, Florida. For the fourth time, Mexico did not send a delegate to Miami Beach.

1965:Miami Beach, Florida.Miss Mexico, Juana Acosta Cohen, did not enter the semi-finals at the Miss Universe contest.

1966:Miami Beach, Florida. Mexico did not send a delegate to Miami Beach.

1967:Miami,Florida. Miss Mexico, Valentina Vales Duarte, did not enter the semi-finals at the Miss Universe pageant.

1968:Miami Beach. Miss Mexico,Perla Olivia Aguirre Muñoz, did not enter the semi-finals at the Miss Universe pageant.

1969:Miami Beach, Florida. Miss Mexico, Gloria Leticia Hernandez Martin del Campo, did not enter the semi-finals at the Miss Universe contest.

1970:Miami Beach, Florida.Miss Mexico, Libia Zulma Lopez Montemayor, did not qualify for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe.

1970-2007 Mexico has had several judges in the Miss Universe history:1970 and 1971 (actor Julio Aleman), 1978 (actor Mario Moreno),1991(actor Jorge Rivero), 1984 (actress Lucia Mendez), 1988 (actor Fernando Allende), 1989 (singer Emmanuel), 1993 (painter Jose Luis Cuevas and former Miss Universe Lupita Jones), 1995 (actress and singer Lucero), 2004 (supermodel Elsa Benitez), 2005 (actor Mario Cimarro), and 2007 (actor Mauricio Islas).

1971:Miami Beach, Florida. Miss Mexico, Maria Luisa Lopez Corzo, did not enter the semi-finals at the Miss Universe contest. However,she was crowned Miss Best National Costume.

1972: Dorado, Puerto Rico. Miss Mexico, Maria del Carmen Orozco Quibriera, did not qualify for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe.

1973: Athens, Greece. Miss Mexico, Roxana Villares Moreno, did not enter the semi-finals at the Miss Universe pageant.

1974: Manila, Philippines. Miss Mexico, Guadalupe del Carmen Elorriaga Valdez, did not qualify for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe.

1975: San Salvador, El Salvador. Miss Mexico, Delia Servin Nieto, did not qualify for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe contest. However, she was the 2nd runner-up at the Miss Best National Costume 1975.

1976: Victory City,Hong Kong. Miss Mexico, Carla Jean Evert Reguera, did not qualify for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe contest.

1977: Elizabeth Gonzalez, first favorite by journalists, finished second place at the Señorita Mexico. In Santo Domingo, hosted the Miss Universe 1977, Bob Barker, American host, announced the next Miss Universe in Acapulco (Mexico). Like Ambassador of Miss Universe 1978, Mario Arturo Moreno Ivanova, best known as "Cantinflas", went to Santo Domingo, the capital city of the Dominican Republic.

1978: Acapulco (Mexico) hosted the Miss Universe pageant. Martha Eugenia Ortiz, first favorite by journalists, finished second place at the Señorita Mexico. Miss Merida and Miss Mexico, Alba Margarita Cervera Lavat, qualified for the semifinals at the Miss Universe.

1979: Perth, Australia. Miss Mexico, Blanca Maria Luisa Diaz Tejada, did not qualify for the semi-finals.However, she looked like the best music disco dancer.She loved songs by Donna Summer, John Travolta, Jesse Green and Diana Ross.

1980:Seoul,South Korea. Miss Mexico, Ana Patricia Nuñez Romero, did not enter the semi-finals at the Miss Universe.

1981: New York City,USA. Miss Mexico, Judith Grace Gonzalez Hinks, did not enter the semi-finals at the Miss Universe.

1982: Lima, Peru. Miss Mexico, Maria del Carmen Lopez Flores, did not enter the semi-finals at the Miss Universe.

1983:St.Louis, Missouri,USA. Miss Mexico, Monica Maria Rosas Torres, did not qualify for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe contest.

1984: Miami Beach, Florida. Miss Mexico, Elizabeth Broden Ibañez, did not qualify for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe contest.

1985: Miami Beach, Florida. Miss Mexico,Yolanda de la Cruz Cardenas Aviles, did not qualify for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe contest.

1986:Panama City, Panama. Miss Mexico,Alejandrina Carranza Ancheta, did not enter the semi-finals at the Miss Universe.

1987:Singapoore City, Singapoore.Miss Mexico, Cynthia Fallon Garcia Cepeda, did not enter the semi-finals at the Miss Universe.

1988: Taipei (Taiwan). Miss Mexico, Amanda Olivares, was the 2nd runner-up at the Miss Universe.

1989: Cancun (Mexico) hosted the Miss Universe Pageant. Miss Mexico, Adriana Abascal, was the 4th runner-up.

1990: Los Angeles, California. Miss Mexico, Marile del Rosario Santiago, qualified for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe.

1991:Las Vegas, Nevada,USA. Miss Mexico, Lupita Jones, was elected Miss Universe. After, Miss Universe 1991 was acclaimed in Mexico City as a national heroine.

1992: Bangkok,Thailand. Miss Mexico, Monica Zuñiga Arriaga, did not qualify for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe pageant.

1993: Mexico City, Mexico. Miss Mexico, Angelina Gonzalez,did not qualify for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe pageant.

1994: Manila, Philippines. Miss Mexico, Fabiola Perez Rovirosa, did not qualify for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe pageant.

1995: Windhoek, Namibia. Miss Mexico, Luz Maria Zetina Lugo, did not qualify for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe pageant.

1996:Las Vegas, Nevada. Miss Mexico, Vanessa Guzman, qualified for the semifinals. Her idol was Indira Gandhi, who was Prime Minister of India.

1997:Miami Beach, Florida.Miss Mexico, Rebeca Lynn Tamez Jones, did not qualify for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe pageant.

1998:Honolulu, Hawaii. Miss Mexico, Kathy Fuentes Garcia, did not qualify for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe pageant. She won the Clairol Essence Best Style Award.

1999:Chaguaramas, Trinidad & Tobago. Miss Mexico, Silvia Salgado, qualified for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe pageant.

2000: Nicosia, Cyprus. Miss Mexico, Leticia Judith Muray Acevedo, did not qualify for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe pageant. However,she was crowned Miss Best National Costume.

2001:Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Miss Mexico, Jacqueline Bracamontes Van-Hoorde, did not qualify for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe pageant.

2002: San Juan de Puerto Rico. Miss Mexico, Erika Yadira Cruz Escalante, did not qualify for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe pageant.

2003: Panama City, Panama. Miss Mexico, Marisol Gonzalez Casas, did not qualify for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe pageant.

2004: Quito, Ecuador. Miss Mexico, Rosalva Luna, qualified for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe.

2005: Bangkok, Thailand. Miss Mexico, Laura Elizondo Erhrad, was the 3rd runner-up at the Miss Universe. She was one of the favorites to win in the final.

2006:Los Angeles, California : Miss Mexico, Priscila Perales Elizondo, qualified for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe.Miss Mexico 2006 was one of the favorites to win in the final.

2007: Miss Universe in Mexico City. Miss Mexico, Rosa Maria Ojeda Cuen, qualified for the semi-finals at the Miss Universe contest.

Piano Lessons - How to Read Notes Quickly

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Recognizing the names of the bass and treble staff notes can be fun and rather simple. Before we begin, remember that the treble staff is where you will find all your right hand notes, and the bass staff is where you will find all your left hand notes. All you have to do is memorize a word for each note, like this:

Bass staff space notes: *A C E G (All Cows Eat Grass)

Bass staff line notes: *G B D F A (Good Boys Do Fine Always)

Treble staff space notes: *F A C E (This spells "face")

Treble staff line notes: *E G B D F (Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge)

*The first word/letter is always the bottom of the staff.

Now the fun begins. Here are some simple and fun ways to memorize these notes.

1) Speed Run: See how fast you can say the names of the notes. Try doing it first with the words, and then with the letter names only.

2) Reverse Speed Run: Now see how fast you can practice saying the letter names in reverse. This is a great way to see just how well you know the letter names.

3) Say-n-Play: While sitting at your piano, say the letter name out loud and then play it on the keyboard. If you are using flashcards, mix them up so that you can select a card at random and do the same activity. This is a very good memorization activity.

4) Play Them All: Now comes a fun way to test your knowledge. Say out loud the note then play all of those notes on the entire keyboard. For example, you have selected the note "A." Play all the "A" keys on the entire keyboard.

5) Flash Cards: Make a set of flash cards with one note on a staff on one side, and the answer on the other side. (Don't forget to specify which staff: bass or treble with the bass or treble clef sign.)

The sooner one can memorize the names of the notes and recognize where they are found on the keyboard, the more enjoyment that can be found playing the keyboard. Just like you learned the ABC's for reading you'll be a great success at learning your ABCDEFG's for the keyboard. This is a quick and fun way to learn how to read and recognize notes written on the staff and on the piano. However, there is no replacement for learning how to sound smooth and pretty on the piano than with step by step instruction and with songs that allows gradual progress.

Enjoy!

Steve Irwin: Crocodile Hunter - An Australian Icon

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Occasionally - just occasionally - there comes along a TV personality whose enthusiasm and charisma engenders almost universal affection with audiences. Environmentalist, naturalist and documentarist Steve Irwin - known the world over as the Crocodile Hunter - was one of those rare personalities.

Born Steven Robert Irwin on 22 September, 1962 in Melbourne, Australia, Steve Irwin was the owner and manager of the Australia Zoo in Beerwah, Queensland. The zoo, originally called the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park, belonged to his parents, Bob and Lyn.

As a young man Irwin worked as a crocodile trapper in Queensland, catching and removing crocs from populated areas. While he didn't draw a salary, he worked on the condition that he could keep the crocodiles he captured for his parents' zoo.

After taking over management of the zoo in 1991 Irwin met his future wife, American-born veterinarian Terri Raines. Following a whirlwind romance the couple married, and the video footage of their crocodile-trapping honeymoon was aired as the first episode of The Crocodile Hunter, the series that made Irwin an international celebrity.

The success of The Crocodile Hunter led the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet to commission several wildlife series from Irwin, including The Croc Files, The Crocodile Hunter Diaries and New Breed Vets. Known for his expansive personality and boundless enthusiasm, Irwin's documentaries made him an Australian icon - often ridiculed, but just as often praised for his idiosyncrasies.

What made Irwin such a popular figure with audiences the world over was his fearless attitude to wild animals. Often seen chasing snakes, crocs and all sorts of dangerous creatures, audiences tuned in not so much to see the animals as to see Irwin's unbelievable feats of courage and fearlessness. His documentaries gained such a huge audience that they were adapted to the
2002 movie The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course.

Irwin's enthusiasm for his subject matter, however, occasionally got the better of him, and his career was fraught with controversy. In an incident in 2004 he took his infant son Bob into the crocodile enclosure during a public show at the Australia Zoo, holding him in one arm while feeding a croc with the other. Irwin, however, refused to apologise for the stunt, insisting that the child was never in any real danger.

Again in 2004 Irwin caused controversy during a trip to Antarctica, facing allegations that he disturbed whales, seals and penguins while filming a documentary.

Irwin's life came to a tragic end on the morning of September 4th, 2006 while filming an documentary on the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland, Australia. While filming a stingray he approached too close and was hit in the chest by a barb, causing a fatal injury, and was pronounced dead at the scene. He was 44.

Steve Irwin is survived by his wife Terri and his two young children, Bindi Sue and Robert Clarence.

While Irwin always lived life on the edge, we never really expected him to be killed. There was just something about the confidence with which he handled dangerous creatures that made us think that he was invulnerable. His antics weren't quite real - if they had been, we may not have been so quick to laugh.

It came as a surprise, then, for us to wake up to the news that he had been killed. Even more so, considering the manner of his death. After all, Irwin was only the third person to be killed by a stingray in Australia. Rays are usually considered to be relatively docile, and it's even possible to feed them by hand under the right conditions.

Irwin's death, though tragic, can perhaps be viewed as one final act of showmanship. He won our hearts with his death-defying stunts and it seems fitting that he should go out with a bang. While it would be crass to make light of his death, it could perhaps be argued that this is the way he would have wanted to go, while living right on the edge. Maybe that could come as some small consolation for the family of a man who died before his time.

In life, as well as in death, Steve Irwin was an Australian icon: a modern day, real life Crocodile Dundee. He was everything we think of as typically Australian: rugged, adventurous and dangerous, though not without a sense of humor. While Australians were often embarrassed by his antics, thinking of him as a caricature of Australian stereotypes, that's exactly why the rest of the world adored him.

Steve Irwin was a passionate advocate for the environment, a tireless promoter of his country, a great entertainer and a loving husband and father. Often controversial, always entertaining, there will always be a place in our hearts for the Crocodile Hunter. The world is poorer for his absence.

The Various Types Of Magazines

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Ideas, writing, design and photography are some factors that can make a magazine attractive and great. The worth of a magazine depends a lot on how it catches not only the eyes, but also the hearts of the reader. You can find different types of magazines like:

General interest magazines:

This type of magazine is published for a wide audience and the focus is either on one or many different subjects. Every general interest magazine is tailored for a specific enthusiast reader. These are not only fun to read but also provide information on topics where a common man would like to read. Freelancers or staffs write stories and articles and a lot of photographs and pictures are included in it. Entertainment, viewpoint promotion and product sale are the main ideas behind every general interest magazines.

Scholarly magazines:

Such magazines focus on academics. You can get in-depth information on many subjects. The format of providing information in a scholarly magazine is serious and so the text book alike. You will find more of graphs and charts rather than pictures. Teaching and providing help in researches is the main purpose of scholarly magazines.

Sensational magazines:

You will find sensational magazines in a newspaper like format. They are thin, but large in size as compared to other magazines. Sensational magazines are said to thrive on creating a stir. Flashy headlines are used for attracting attention of the readers and the main focus is on stories related to celebrities or any other amazing stories. Freelancers or staffers write these articles, which are usually more picturesque than stories that are included in sensational magazines. These are also known as tabloids.

These are few basic magazine types that cover almost every type of story. No matter what type of magazine you read, it will certainly fit in any of the above-mentioned categories. Knowing something about the different magazine types can help you locate easily the reading stuff you like. Magazines are available on every possible topic, you could think of. Whether you have a passion for cars or bikes, you can find a long list of magazines especially tailored for the information needs of bikes or for car lovers.

If you are looking for mouth-watering recipes from world-renowned chefs or tips on decorating your house, the market is full of cookery and interior design magazines. Magazines have a longer shelf life as compared to newspapers. Usually the high quality of paper used in magazines is much better than newspapers and you can read it whenever you like. You may have to pay more for buying magazines, but these can be a great companion when traveling on trains or buses. You can look for a list of magazines published on your favorite topic, on the Internet.

The Impact Fame Has on the Personal Life of a Celebrity

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Celebrities have a huge impact on peoples' lives in the world today. A lot of people can't go through one day without checking the web, or their favorite celebrity magazine to read about the latest celebrity gossip, and the most up to the minute juicy tidbit of news about their favorite famous person. Celebrities can range from an actor or actress, singer, writer, movie producer or director, or reality show contestant. There are also people who are famous for "being famous", such as Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie.

Most people just gobble up any item of "news" that they can get about their favorite celebrities. It is too easy to focus on someone else's problems, so you don't have to give attention to your own difficulties! What these people don't think about is the fact that the more they read about and purchase information about these celebrities, the less privacy these people have in their lives. It's really no wonder that the majority of celebrities out there today mess up do often - they are under a serious amount of pressure!

When someone finally reaches "celebrity status" in today's world, it is great at first. They start to get recognized on the street every now and again, and every once in a while, they will get a meal for free just because the restaurant owner or manager is a big fan of the television show that they appear on. After a while, however, after they have climbed higher on the celebrity ladder, it gets to be not so much fun for these people. The paparazzi follow them everywhere they go, usually taking very awful and embarrassing pictures that cause fans to think that they are anorexic or pregnant or near death. The paparazzi don't just follow them on the street, but they also hide in trees near these celebrities' homes, taking pictures of their private, personal lives and printing them for the entire world to see the next day.

Being in the public eye so much definitely has a huge impact on the personal lives of our celebrities. When you think about it, if you could not leave your house to take a walk, or go to the local café for a latte without being swamped by cameras and reporters, your life wouldn't be much of a life either! Celebrities also receive phone calls every now and again from worried friends and relatives who see the tabloids in the grocery store and think that their friend or relative is dead or terminally ill, or about to split up with their spouse. The tabloids and magazines pretty much have a 100% record of being completely untrue, but people still worry!

Even when celebrities want to get married, they sometimes have to choose a spouse who is also in the public eye, because when someone is not used to the cameras and craziness, it can be too much for them to handle, along with a new marriage. Also, any person made famous from a movie, Reality TV show or game show who dates a non famous person, cannot help but wonder if their significant other would want to be with them if they were not a celebrity. When celebrities do get married and have children, life is harder for their families as well because of their parents' celebrity status.

Home Decor TV Show Online - Overview

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There are numerous TV shows seen online composed mostly of TV series, sports events, and reality shows like home decor TV show online. Yes, there are tons of shows broadcasted online that cater to the needs of the average homemaker, home decorator and the public in general. In fact, a home decor TV show can both become a plain educational show or purely a competition-type TV program. An example of a home decor show for educational purposes is the Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Yes, it is not only focused on the guy's grooming and looks but it also showcases pretty good tips on home decorations and interior design from the best of men, the queers. On the other hand, an example of a competitive decor show is House Rules wherein there are three teams remodeling a house and in the end only one team will get the deed to the house they remodeled.

If you list down all shows in American television, you will discover that a large chunk of media content is dedicated to reality shows, among which competitions are the most popular. However, more and more viewers are starting to watch TV shows that are into decorations or beautifications. The roster of decor shows ranging from landscaping to real estate had already filled the U.S. television genre. Moreover, these shows are now being sent to a wider audience through the internet. Online home decor programs are fast becoming a worldwide sensation. With the uncontrollable rising of gas prices and the unbearable expensiveness of goods and commodities, the home decor TV show online helps the people find better ways to beautify their homes at the least cost possible.

Watch For Acting Scams

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Is This What Acting Scams Are About?

The first of two stories about acting scams is about a commercial print agent I encountered and had met from a mailing I did. He called me one day and said he had seen my head shot and asked me to come in and meet with him. Of course I said yes, although I started to detect a bit of sarcasm and surliness in his voice. When I arrived in his office, he was very hurried and not very polite. He asked me for my headshots. I was ready but wondered why he didn’t have the one I sent him. He looked at them and told me point blank that “they look like shit” and that he wouldn’t be able to get me work with those pictures. He told me what kind of photos he wanted and then said something that made an alarm go off in my head. On a small piece of paper, he wrote the name and telephone number of a photographer he wanted me to use to get new head shots. Hmmm. He also told me to bring the contact sheets (the pages with all the pictures taken at the shoot, or at least the best ones) so that he could help me choose the best ones to market myself. Could this be the making of an acting scam? Let's see.

Well, I went to get new headshots, but I didn’t go to the photographer he suggested. I had one already chosen. When I called him back, he didn’t seem to remember me at first. I explained that I had gotten new head shots like he suggested, and he immediately asked me who took them. I told him the photographer’s name and he blurted out, “Why didn’t you go to the photographer I told you to go to?” I told him, “Because I already had my photographer, and I preferred to go to him. The pictures are good.” He snapped back, “Let me be the judge of that!” I had no intention of going to his photographer out of principle. I’m not here to feed his business; I’m looking for an agent who is really interested in working with me. As long as the pictures are good, what does it matter where I get them?

I just imagined him telling me that the pictures were no good and that he wanted me to go get the others. But here’s the funny thing. I must have talked to seven different people about this particular agent, usually starting out with the question of whether or not they ever heard of him. I swear I got five identical answers: “Oh God, stay away from him.” I met two young women, both in their late twenties, who told me they first had to get the pictures from the recommended photographer, and then they had to pay to get into his “book” that he presumably uses to sell his clients to his casting contacts. One girl told me about an agent she works with for print and told me all the things I just told you. I thought to myself how familiar that sounded; then I asked her who the agent was. It was the same person! Wow!
I’m telling you this to let you know that things like that can happen. I don’t think that requiring a client to use a specific photographer or having clients pay to be inserted in a book are normal practices. I might be wrong, but I don’t think so. On the other hand, one could argue that paying to meet casting directors is along the same lines. I’d rather pay to meet a casting director face-to-face, especially when 95 percent of agents don’t ask for their clients to pay to be inserted in a book.

Just watch out for acting scams. They could be lurking just around the corner.

One Husky Dog Run

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In the 1960s the Antarctic huskies at our base always got excited when a sledge run was due. Despite the cold they would jump, yell and scream at the end of their chains as I pushed the long wooden Nansen sledge up to the span. With cold hands I put a lamp wick harness on each dog, and attached it to the main pulling trace, stretched out in front from the picketed sledge. The lead dog would be out in front, either Bev, the female or Count, the male. Bev was more obedient.

Count as Leader

I decided this day to use Count. I forgot that last year Count had bolted and led the husky team, the Huns, up an iceberg and then had peered down the thirty-foot drop on the other side. Count was a little reluctant to lead despite his abilities. Other tougher dogs behind him wanted to chomp on him. In a pair immediate behind were Podger, large and generally friendly, and Notus, savaged as a pup and only with some of my TLC starting to pull. Next came the pair of brothers, Dizzy and Satchmo. Neither had too much enthusiasm for pulling. And to keep the whole team moving forward were the chief pullers and fighters, the brothers, Nero and Caesar. They could move a half-ton loaded sledge on their own.

The Run and the Fight

With the pickets out the team leaped forward and ran. Everything went smoothly for about a mile. Then the usual "begin the run" fight started, each dog getting rid of any grievances or grudges. I turned the sledge onto its side, and waled away at the dogs with a thick braided rope. This stopped the fighting, and prevented serious injuries.

The Return

I walked to the back of the sledge to right it. Most of the huskies had got the need to fight out of their systems. But Count was still nervous. He suddenly whipped around, flipping the sledge upright, and headed the team back to the base. I grabbed the trailing rope hanging from the back of the sledge, and missed. From my prone position in the snow I saw the team heading straight down the glacier to the forty-foot ice cliffs that leaned into the cold sea.

The Rescue

I trudged back to the base with an image of the whole team plunging into the icy Antarctic waters. Once the other base member's derisive comments were over with we skied along the ice cliff edge. Count must have seen the base on his left as he raced down to the sea, and immediately swung left; the whole team and sledge followed. The sledge toppled over and the handlebars wedged themselves into a crevasse six feet from the edge of the cliff. Relieved, we untangled the dogs and their traces, and led the team home.

Back in the Saddle Again

I took the Huns out again the next day with Count still as leader. We had an uneventful run. I was relieved. As many dog drivers in the Antarctic used to say, one never had total control of a husky team at all times.

(c) Michael Warr June 27 2007

Card Tricks Revealed - The Secrets Are Here

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Want card tricks revealed to you? Want the secrets? Let's dig in . . .

There are two big secrets to card tricks. The first is that you must be natural in all your movements. The second is that you must do the actual "trick" part when the audience isn't expecting it.

Let me give those to you again.

1) Be natural in all your movements

2) The "trick" must never happen when they expect it.

Here's what I mean. People have been told that the hand is quicker than the eye. It's not true, but many believe it.

That being said, you arouse great suspicion when you're movements are too quick or jerky. People will think that you did something tricky. So don't. Be natural. Don't give reason for suspicion.

Second, let's say you were doing a trick where a card "jumps" from one deck and goes into the other. The actually movement of the card must never happen when you expect it to. It needs to have happened way before the supposed "jump" happens.

Here, let me reveal an actual card trick now . . .

Get some cards and shuffle them all up. Take a card and hold it out to the group you are showing. Say that you will tell what the card is by reading it through the back of the card itself.

And then you name the card correctly.

And this is how it's done. When you draw the card, grasp it between your thumb and fingers (on the top and the bottom of the card). Now give the card a squeeze the card so that it bends (so that the middle is pointing towards you). If you tilt the card just a little, you will be able to see what it is.

You can get away with this motion by moving the card from side to side to show your entire group what the card is.

Then you get a peek at the card, and say what exactly it is!

In Touch Weekly Magazine - One of the Front Runners in Celebrity News Coverage

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In Touch Weekly was started back in 2002 as a source for consumers wanting an inexpensive way to catch up on celebrity news.  With so many people looking for a factual source of information that is not written in a tabloid style, this magazine is the perfect choice.  It has become a popular choice amongst many people in the younger crowd due to its inexpensive cover price that is much lower than People or US Weekly that offers the same type of information.

One of the most remarkable features throughout the In Touch Weekly publication is the use of some of the best photographs found in any magazine.  The photos are mostly candid, but are very high quality.  Along with these exceptional photographs of current celebrities, the most liked attribute to this magazine is the fact that there are very few advertisements.  It is found that with just about every issue, there are ten pages or less with ads and many of them are not full page size.

Every issue in the In Touch subscription include the main topics of Celebrities, News, Lifestyle, Style, and the cover stories.  The celebrities section is the largest part of the magazine as this is where the news about the stars are discussed on just about every page.  Within these sections the reader can catch up on their favorite television and movie stars in the news, the latest on their home life, the best clothes that the celebrities have worn, and some excellent in-depth cover stories that are factual and to the point.

Other features found within the pages of the magazine allow the reader to have a little more fun with "The Stars Above" for the weekly horoscopes, "Time to Relax" for a weekly crossword puzzle, "Best of The Week" for a summary of current television programs and new movies, and " Last Words" for some interesting quotes that were spoken by the celebrities. Many subscribers find that they continue to purchase an In Touch subscription so that they can keep up with the latest celebrity gossip and have a little extra fun at the end of the week.

The Little Palm Family Theatre on Florida's Boca Raton beach

Situated between West Palm Beach and Pompano Beach, Boca Raton is one of South Florida's most beautiful towns. Among its past and present residents are Iron Maiden drummer, Nicko McBrain, and prolific tennis player Andy Roddick. Despite being home to just 20,000 people, its recent historical and political importance is certainly notable: it was the site of the first anthrax attack in the USA in 2001, and is also a famous liberal stronghold, with over 60% of its votes polled for John Kerry in 2004. However, hidden underneath all of this is the Little Palm Family Theatre, a wonderful and widely applauded community theatre which is completely run by volunteers.

The idea underlying the community theatre is a popular one: all participants are amateurs, however the players are generally respected as highly as their professional thespian counterparts. The heart of the ideals enshrined in the tradition of community theatre is that it provides a forum for a wide array of amateur or aspiring artists to practise their art in a public space that everyone can access. Boca Raton's Little Palm Family Theatre has been heralded for doing exactly that in a small Florida town where theatrical opportunities may be harder to come by than its big cities.

That said, the theatrical scene surrounding Boca Raton is far from dead: nearby West Palm Beach is home to the Royal Palm Performing Arts Theatre, the first of its kind in the county. Established in 1922, this is also a not for profit organisation, made up entirely of volunteers who claim their sole wish is to inject culture into the community they serve. While Royal Palm Performing Arts Theatre is a member of the Southern Theatre Conference, the Florida State Theatre Conference and the Palm Beach County Council of the Arts, Little Palm Family Theatre is an altogether smaller affair. Its shows are performed at Jan McArt's Royal Palm Festival Dinner Theatre, on Boca Raton's Mizner Boulevard. Their past productions have included Winnie the Pooh musicals, and this is very much representative of the type of performance art on offer at Little Palm Family Theatre: wholesome, fun musical performances geared mainly towards children. This highlights the clear lack of self-consciousness that community theatre possesses: community theatre is unlikely to use this label for itself, as in their eyes there is no difference between their art and a standard theatre group. Yet the importance of community theatre cannot be underestimated, as its value to society is crucial to building up a rich and vibrant cultural scene.

Certainly, the Little Palm Family Theatre is an important focal point among many entertainment highlights in Boca Raton. The Bocanuts Comedy Club, decorated with pictures of the Three Stooges and the Marx Brothers, is popular evening hotspot, and the International Museum of Cartoon Art is sure to please visitors of all ages. Similarly, the Boca Raton Museum of Art attracts over 90,000 people each year, and the Sports Immortals Museum possesses over a million pieces of sports memorabilia. With all these cultural attractions, as well as the conveniently placed accommodation at the Hilton Suites, Boca Raton seems an essential stop off point in any tour of Florida.