Month: April 2011

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The Disney Channel

The Disney channel is an American based cable and satellite television company that is owned by the Walt Disney company, The channels headquarters are in Burbank, California and they have a list of around 90 kids and family entertainment shows on their books. The channel aims most of their TV shows at kids but some are aimed at the young teenager. The Disney channel was launched nationally on April 18th at 7 Am, it was at first a subscribe only channel and was broadcasting programmes for 16 hours a day, the following year the channel was showing programmes for 18 hours a day.The channel was well received and the kids loved it, in fact by early 1989 the Disney channel had over 5 million subscribers. In 1991 The channel was shown on basic cable packages for free and by the end of that same year had 15 million subscribers.The Disney channel has also been involved in and instigated several young performers careers such as Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears not to mention Hannah Montana or Miley Cyrus as she is known now.In fact the Disney channel have lent their name to a whole host of things including Disney channel Hannah Montana Games and subsequent action figures of their more popular shows such as the Power rangers online games.The Disney channel is also famous for some of its movies and its most popular movie to date so far is the High School Musical series which is known and loved globally.The Disney channel is now split up into various networks and is continuing to grow throughout the world as it creates more and more popular kids programming.They have only just recently started their Disney Channel HD which broadcasts all their great TV shows in glorious high definition.If you have kids you would be silly not to have the Disney channel as part of your cable or satellite package.

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4 Top Movie Chases

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There have been some fantastic chases in the movies over the years from cars to planes and even on foot chases. Chases add depth, a sense of fear and a lot of thrill to any film that they are used successfully in. So with this in mind, what are the best movie chases of all time and why?

Terminator 2

The whole reason this is on the list is simply because the entire movie is one big chase scene involving trucks, cars, bikes and great on foot chases too. If you are not shocked and worried for the main protagonists of the movie the first time you watched it then I would be very surprised indeed.

Not only is this movie one big chase scene but it will go down as one of the best movies ever made with effects that still look good 20 years on and fantastic acting from everyone involved. If you haven’t seen this movie then why not?!

Catch Me If You Can

Another fantastic movie and another movie that is based on a single big chase between an FBI agent (Tom Hanks) and a fraudster (Leonardo DiCaprio) which is all based on a true story.  The chase this time round is taken all over the world from the USA to France. The fraudster poses as an airline pilot, a doctor and even a lawyer before being caught out.

Bullitt

Perhaps the most famous and arguably the best car chase scene in movie history. Starring the legendary Steve McQueen as Detective Frank Bullitt the ten minute long car scene will go down on most lists as the top chase scene involving cars in movie history. Two 1968 Ford Mustangs were used during the chase scene with both the brakes and suspensions receiving some pretty heavy modifications.

Contrary to belief McQueen only drove around for around 10% of the scene with his usual stunt driver taking most of the driving up.

The Matrix Reloaded

Although the second and third Matrix movies were a major disappointment compared with the first movie it is safe to say that the freeway chase scene is awesome! With exploding vehicles, gunfights, fist fights on top of trucks, agents jumping on cars, struggles with a knife in the back of a car and motorcycle chases. Can you think of anything this scene didn’t have?

These are just four of the best chase scenes in movie history, are there any others that deserve a mention?

Ryan is a film fanatic that loves his chases (especially the car ones) and works with lease vans company NVC who also specialise in contract hire and leasing

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The end of an era – The American Soap Opera

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In what could the beginning of the end for all afternoon soap operas, ABC announced this week that All My Children and One Life to Live would not be renewed for next season.

This will surely come as shock to millions of viewers who faithfully tune in every day to see how the characters are doing. Who is leaving whom; who is getting married; who is getting divorced; who is getting hired; who is getting fired; have all been part of the daily happenings on these shows. Both shows were created by Agnes Nixon. Nixon created One Life to Live first. It debuted on ABC, July 15, 1968 as a half hour daytime drama. Viewers loved the dramatic plot lines and too-close-to-reality scripts which regularly turned the fictional town of Llanview upside down. Nixon modeled her ground breaking show on an actual Philadelphia suburb and everyone thought they knew someone who a particular character was based on. Viewers simply could not get enough of the weddings, babies, divorces, affairs and comings and goings of every citizen of Llanview.

One Life To Live became known as a true envelope pusher. They were the first daytime television series to offer story lines which revolved around interracial romance, illiteracy, medical misdiagnosis, racial prejudice, gang violence and teen issues, such as drug abuse and pregnancy.

In 1992 One Life To Live achieved critical acclaim when it introduced the first gay teenage character, portrayed by the then unknown actor Ryan Phillippe.  That story line culminated with the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. One Life To Live received the Outstanding Daytime Drama Award from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation in 1993, 2005 and 2010. It was the first daytime show to offer a full week of live-televised programming in 2002, the same year it received its first daytime Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series. It was nominated again for the award in 2007 and 2008.

One Life To Live celebrated its 10,000th episode on August 17, 2007. The story was much the same for Nixon’s other hit daytime soap opera, All My Children. Like One Life To Live before it, All My Children debuted on ABC, January 5, 1970, as a half hour show. It immediately struck a chord with viewers who loved the twists and turns of the daily soap. They tuned in faithfully, day after day, pushing up the ratings and leading ABC to move the show to a full hour in 1970. All My Children was based around the fictional town of Pine Valley, loosely based on the Philadelphia Main Line.

In 1992 All My Children received its first Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series. It won the award again in 1994 and 1998. In all, the daytime drama won more than 30 Emmy Awards for outstanding programming. Plot lines for All My Children have tackled everything from cochlear implants, homosexuality, pet therapy, organ donation, abortion, adoption, racial bias and Vietnam MIAs. Nothing was off limits to the writers of All My Children and they tackled every subject with the fervor reserved for afternoon soaps. Nothing could possibly be over-melodramatic enough.

On the heels of their announcement that these two iconic shows would be canceled ABC announced their replacements: The Chew a talk/reality show about healthy eating and The Revolution a talk/reality show about healthy living. Sure, the theme of the new ABC afternoon lineup might sound healthy, but whether or not it will resonate with viewers, thousands of whom have already started sounding off their dissatisfaction on forums and comment sections at the ABC web site, well, that’s another matter altogether.

 

Sara is an avid follower of the daytime soap opera’s and have reviewed many tv shows in the past year. She also runs a successful Virtual Assistant company and helps many clients with their Virtual Assistance needs. To find out more visit her website.

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Hannah Montana World Domination

It does seem to me that every time I go back to see my mother and my little sister that Hannah Montana is going to take over the world and become world leader, my sister almost always has one of her shows running non stop on the television and if its not that then she has her music blasting out over the airwaves, and entering her bedroom is a scary prospect due to the amount of Hannah Montana memorabilia she has plastered everywhere. To be fair though Miley Cyrus has done very well for herself considering she is only 18 and has spent the last 3-4 years filming and starring in her own TV show based on the fictional character of Hannah Montana. Miley wasn’t even meant for the lead role but ended up getting it anyway. Nobody could of predicted the rise to super stardom it would bring as millions of little girls across the county dreamed of being her and this would only lead to bigger and brighter things. After playing Hannah Montana for just two years movie producers made a movie starring Miley as the lead role and this brought in even more revenue for the young star, not only that but several Hannah Montana games were made and gave her access to a whole different kind of fan base. More recently she has left Hannah Montana behind a little bit and forged her own singing career as Miley Cyrus and although not a global star for that yet I’m sure its just a matter of time. Her songs as Miley Cyrus are a little raunchy but I suspect this is her rebelling slightly and will probably just lead her to a new male fan base and open up lots of other avenues for her and her management to explore. I just try and ignore all Hannah Montana related items when at my mothers house and just end up playing on the PC playing shooting games online.

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A History Lesson About The Record Player

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These days we’ve got digital video disks , compact disks, MP3s, and of course the internet for all of our music needs. But none of them would have been possible without the advent of the record player, one of the more significant components of technology of all time. It was so cutting edge that after its invention in 1877, it took almost 100 years for it to be replaced by new technologies. And even now, record players have a vintage musical feel that ensures they are still extremely popular with fans of music everywhere. Nowadays, anytime someone thinks of a record player, it’s often the Technics or the Crosley Record Player. But more than a hundred years ago, the name that mattered most was Thomas Edison.

In 1877, Edison developed what he referred to as the phonograph. Edison’s initial records had been made of tinfoil. These records had a spiral groove that went up and down the surface area. A hand-cranked appliance with a pin, or stylus, was utilized to read the grooves of the record, vibrating based on the feel. This became eventually referred to as the hill-and-dale method. The vibrations ran up the stylus, through a metal tube, all the way to a large speaker. These early speakers made the vibrations into more audible sound.

At the time Edison completed his creation, he was much more interested in its numerous scientific purposes as opposed to what it could do with music. This left further enhancements to other inventors.

10 years later, Emile Berliner made the first disk record, and patented it in 1896. Berliner’s design took its origin from Edison’s, but instead of using the traditional hill-and-dale method, which had the grooves go up and down, his method, named the varying lateral direction method, featured textures on the edges of the grooves. The VLD caught on very quickly, and soon Edison’s original hill-and-dale method was no longer in use.

It was not long before mass production of records became possible when Emile Berliner invented the matrix record. This master copy enabled duplicate records to be manufactured indefinitely. At this time, record players were still hand-cranked. But with the late 19th century came the nationwide use of electricity. Then soon after the electric-powered record player was unveiled. Contrary to the hand-turned players that would range in speed based on the strength of the person, electronic record players provided consistent speed. This resulted in no variation in the tempo of the music.

Eventually, record players got so well liked that whole households gathered around them in order to enjoy quality entertainment. Early versions of the previous-song and skip-song functions of today’s waterproof Mp3 players were introduced during this time period. To be able to choose which tune was to play, a person placed the stylus in one of the blank grooves in between the textured ones. And for many years, the record player won the hearts of music fans.

With the seventies came cassette-tape decks and 8-tracks, and soon thereafter, records and record players seemed to be phasing out. However, when DJs became all the rage in dance clubs and discos, the turntable remained strong.

No matter what technology throws at us, music fans will always appreciate the record player!

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How to find cheap electric guitars with good quality

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If you’re on a quest to learn how to play guitar, congratulations!  It’s an extremely rewarding instrument to play.  It’s also extremely frustrating in turns, and periods of great gains seem to be punctuated by long periods of mediocrity as you learn.  Rest assured that this is a natural part of the process of learning how to play guitar.

If you’re teaching yourself to play guitar, it’s important that you do a couple of things right.  First, while it’s easy to find cheap electric guitars, you need to make sure you find a reasonable quality instrument.  You’re going to be spending a lot of time with your new guitar hanging around your neck, so it should feel comfortable.  It’s also an equal participant in your musical experience, so it’s key that your new guitar not hamper your progress.  It’s a frustrating enough evolution without your guitar struggling with you at each step of the way.

With that in mind, here are some things to be on the lookout for as you start your guitar search.

  • The golden rule of guitar buying is this:  never buy an instrument you haven’t played.  Even if you buy a reputable brand and a particular guitar style that you’ve played before, you should play the exact instrument you’re going to buy.  Every guitar is unique, and you need to become familiar with any idiosyncrasies.
  • Be sure to play every string at every fret location in order to find out if your potential guitar has any spots that don’t sound good.  Sometimes guitars have “dead spots” that don’t produce a clean note.
  • While there are tons of cool guitar straps available, your most important consideration should be comfort.  You won’t enjoy your practice sessions much if your guitar strap keeps digging into your neck.

These tips should keep you out of trouble.

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