Happy Vampires

Poker, and its most popular variant — Texas Holdem — is a wonderful game and affords the player the chance to make a lot of money. It has been often said that poker is the casino game where skill plays the greatest part when compared to other games. To play skillfully though, you need to use one or more good texas holdem poker strategies.

Strategy is fundamental to poker. Initially, the game can be picked up with little thought for strategy, especially when playing the free tables. As soon as you switch to real money, however, a lack of strategy is very dangerous and you will likely lose very quickly and be labelled as a “fish” by your fellow players who will see easy pickings.

To suceed, you must employ several texas holdem poker strategies. There is no one single best strategy — it is best to follow the basics that you need just to compete, and over time develop your own unique, strong and competitive texas holden poker strategies.

To make consistent profits in the long run, you should consider that you cannot win every hand. Therefore, you want to limit your spend or outlay on the hands that you lose. This means folding when you get dealt very bad hole cards at the beginning. This also means folding when your cards are still bad at the flop and you think that your opponents could do well from the community cards. Folding at an earlier stage and living to fight another day is better than bluffing on a long shot and losing in a final showdown. Poker is as much about limiting your losses as it is maximizing your winnings — don’t forget these simple texas holdem poker strategies. It is surprisingly easy to lose your money very quickly in poker! Don’t become a victim to this.

On the other hand, you also need to maximise your winning hands. This means getting others to throw plenty of chips into the pot. If someone raises by 2 chips and you suddenly call him and raise by 20 chips, many people will fold immediately and deny you your chance to build up the pot. The key to winning big and creating a huge pot is to hide the fact that you are holding a killer hand. This means raising small amounts or simply calling or checking. Be patient and you will get your just rewards.

The above two points describe a simple equation where your profits equal your winnings minus your losses. It’s as simple as that but a point that many beginners do not care to understand and carry on playing in an undisciplined manner. Employ these simple texas holdem poker strategies and avoid the pitfalls!

Are your poker strategies as refined as a rabid dog on heat? Discover the breakthrough strategies an underground poker pro uses to earn over $1200.00 per night effortlessly at online poker. To learn more, click here: sngpokerpro.info texas holdem poker strategies.

Toronto ON- One can not help but wonder why the trade publishing company lead by Tilly Rivers is behind closed doors with a production company that has been recently put up for sale.

It seems that the authors in whom have signed the dotted line with may have hit a gold mind, as it was leaked that RPI plans to buy a production company and turn there key titles into films and tv series from animation of the children’s books to the edge of the seat fiction tales.

Ms. Rivers said she had no comment. Will the dreams of authors be more than a printed book? Will the possibly richest woman in Ontario and now self made CEO be running yet another business under the RPI umbrella of successes?

After calling several times to get a comment from Ms. Rivers she has refused calls. The sexy erotica writer turned publisher has proved that she is more than a short skirt. Just recently released Louis Jannetta’s novel “King of the Maitre’d’s” at the Fairmont Royal York and the place was wall to wall media and who’s-who in Toronto.

A captured quote at the event from Tilly states that she is happy for Louis and all the authors, she encourages and supports great prose. I have to wonder-I have to ask, does anyone REALLY know who this woman is and how much she is worth? They seem to treat her as a tiny blonde that has fallen into a pool of good luck.

We can only wait and see what happens next. Where will this CEO take the banner? If her drive and energy have any say she will be the next mayor—look out Toronto- Tilly Rivers has come your way!

This tutorial is made to teach Photoshop tutorial owners about successful optimization, submission of your tutorials and receiving the most views possible.

Introduction

Photoshop tutorials are made to teach your knowledge to other users who might want to learn new techniques and improve their knowledge of Photoshop. Millions of users use Adobe Photoshop daily to make better professional graphics. Photoshop users include photographers, Web Designers, Sketch Designers, 3D Designers, and Architecture Designers who are always searching for tutorials to better use the Photoshop software. Submitting your Tutorials are also a good way to get more visitors for your website, usually the first one or two days can get you at least 5,000 views if your tutorials are optimized professionally. Most of the Designing websites start by submitting their tutorials to let users know that their website has resources that can help them. If you have a small web designer’s community or just started one, then you should use this technique to get more users for your website and promote it for free as well as help others.

Getting Started

Start of by picking your favorite tricks which are useful for beginners and professionals, easy to accomplish, and are something unique that you never seen in other tutorial websites, it’s always great to share your knowledge with other folks. They will appreciate your hard work and effort you have put on your tutorials.

Start off by searching the tutorial websites for your tutorial name or trick you are going to use, to see if your idea has already been published. If there wasn’t any tutorial listed for your trick then it’s your turn to teach your technique to the world. Try your trick first before going to next step. Look at the different approaches to your result, note all the easy steps and write them down somewhere. Find the shortcuts for your steps, because most professionals prefer shortcuts rather then going menu to menu. If you provide shortcuts, then also provide both PC & MAC shortcuts. If you are not sure about some shortcuts, then look at Adobe Help.

Your next important step is to create a thumbnail for your tutorial as you try your tutorial. Tutorial Thumbnails appear with your tutorial, They show what your tutorial is about “One picture is worth 1000 words“. and also most of the users are drawn into tutorials psychically with nice looking professional thumbnails, so you should work hard on creating your thumbnail and selecting the best result of your tutorial for your thumbnail, do not use plain text or pictures for your thumbnails, without effects, it makes your tutorial kinds useless. Make sure you resize your thumbnails to 40-45 Pixels Height & Width, JPEG, GIF Format or they would not be accepted. It’s always a good idea to export your thumbnails to both Gif and Jpeg formats, because of different submission policies in different Tutorial websites.

Your next step is naming your tutorial, pick descriptive words for your title, which explains your tutorial or technique in 2 or 3 words. Remember, your title should be competitive, which would get users to view your tutorial. It acts just like your website’s Title. You cannot change your tutorial′s titles after submission, so it’s your only chance to choose your best title. Do not go more then 4 words.

Your next step is to write a short description for your tutorial. Your description should tell the users a little about your tutorial, include information about what technique you are going to use, how it is going to be useful to your visitors and if there are specific requirements for your tutorial, like: version, plug-in, etc. Keep your description short but explain your steps in one or two sentences.

Choose the best matched category for your tutorial, you wont be accepted if your tutorial is submitted to a category not related to your tutorial. If you are not sure about the category, look inside each category to find similar tutorials as yours and find an appropriate category. If you are still not sure, email the webmaster of the website to ask for a new tutorial category or suggestions about which category to submit your tutorial.

Always include your website name with a URL to index of your website when you submit your tutorials. Don′t forget to Put a link to your tutorials index in your tutorial pages, this will send viewers to your older tutorials and it might be useful for them. Most of the viewers read more tutorials from websites they are referred to.

Another trick to receive more hits is by providing html code for your visitors that they can use to link to your website or your tutorials. Keep making and submitting tutorials, every website that links to your tutorial sends around 2,000 viewers on the first day and about 200-300 viewers month at least after that. So, each tutorial is guaranteed 200 users from every website that links to it. You can also hire tutorial writers for your website or ask friends to write tutorials for your website if you don’t have the time or resources. Good Luck!

Some Key points to remember for Successfull Submission:

* Try to make the steps as easy as possible, so new users can understand what you are talking about.

* use easy English, so your visitors don’t have to use a dictionary to find out what you are talking about. Not all of your visitors can speak fluent English.

*Spell check your tutorial and use proper grammar to make your tutorial look more professional

* Make sure your website can hold enough bandwidth for as many users as possible, at least 2GB for each tutorial.

*Do not use too much advertising or popups in your website; this might decrease your viewers. Most users get fed up by annoying popup and stop viewing your tutorials.

*Do not rip, copy, or use other tutorial writer’s content. Most tutorial viewers are aware of other tutorial websites which will cause you to lose viewers.

*Read Submission Guidelines of the website you are submitting your website to before your submission.

*Provide direct Links to your tutorials or your tutorial will be seen as spam.

*Optimize your tutorials for Search Engines, Use ALT’s for images and proper paragraph Tags to make sure it’s indexed in Search Engines. Your main target keywords would be your tutorial’s name, which might be easy if your tutorial was unique.

Some Websites to submit your tutorials:

Good-Tutorials.com

World’s Largest Photoshop Tutorials Website.

Pixel2life.com

Includes All kinds of Tutorials, including Photoshop Tutorials.

Pslover.com

Another good website to submit your tutorial.

Photoshop 911

Another website to submit your tutorial to.

Fusion Tutorials

Another Cool Tutorial website to submit your tutorial to.

Tutorialman.com

Cool Tutorial website to submit your tutorial and get more hits.

Jack Freeman, dolbydesigns.com DolbyDesigns

Online gambling has become very popular over the last few years. Since many people cannot afford to travel to states where betting is allowed, people have joined internet betting sites. It is an easy alternative to phone betting and gambling in person. Joining a gambling site is a good way to meet other people who have similar interests. There are many sites that cater to online gambling and the many forms of online gambling. Sports betting, which includes football, horse betting, and other sports are very popular. Betting on spreads and which horse will reach the finish line is exciting and can be profitable. Card gambling is also popular with people who are trying to learn different card games. For people who like cards, there are sites that range in skill level.

Playing online games for money or just for fun is enjoyable because of all the different types of people all over the world gamble online. There are many people to meet in different gaming rooms. Poker is a fun game that can teach a person how to play a better hand. People will practice on these sites to get better before taking a trip to Las Vegas. Since poker has become a popular pastime, people flock to gambling sites to improve their game. When they go to Vegas, they can play these games knowing that they have the skill level to win or at least have a better time with others.

This trend toward gambling at home will not go away any time soon. Most people own a computer and have some time on their hands. Meeting new people and maybe making a little money or just having fun, is a great way to spend an afternoon or evening. People join gambling sites looking for the excitement of Vegas in the safety of their own homes.

Check out our nflsystems.com/online_sports_betting_sites/ Recommended Online Gambling Sites and nflsystems.com/articles/ Online Gambling Articles.

The answer is “yes” and “no”. Yes, because, first of all, the Japanese language has a few sounds with five standard vowels and simple pronunciation scheme; syllables are formed by a single vowel or a consonant-vowel combination. For the grammar, there are few exceptions to its rules, and restrictions on sentence structure are not severe.

The Japanese language is considered difficult by many due to the mixture of different types of characters, namely, kanji characters, hiragana characters, katakana characters and Roman letters; the most difficult one is kanji. There are about 3,000 commonly used kanji characters including the 1,945 “daily use characters”, and 46 hiragana and katakana characters each.

One aspect of the language that makes it difficult for foreigners to grasp quickly is the presence of many words which are pronounced the same but have different meanings. For example; hana can be “flower” or “nose”, ame for “rain” or “candy”. Knowing kanji helps in this aspect of learning as each of these words can be easily recognized by kanji.

Cultural Considerations

Another feature which makes the learning of Japanese difficult yet interesting is the fact that the way Japanese is spoken differs depending on whether the speaker is a man or a woman, and adult or a child. Can you imagine, for instance, how strange a male foreign speaker, especially a big macho-looking man, sounds, if he speaks Japanese which he has picked up informally from Japanese lady’s speaking?

What is even more troublesome is that the speaker must choose his words considering the relationship between himself and the person he is speaking to or speaking about. The barriers between the speaker and the listener/person in the topic are mostly created by familiarity between two people, age and position in society. The more unfamiliar you are to the listener, and the younger you are, and the lower your social status is, the more your speech becomes formal. The reverse is the informal speech. One example is that there are numerous words meaning “I” and each speaker refers to himself using the one what is most appropriate for his situation. Besides, these situational differences can be accentuated by the body language; custom of bowing (45 degree in general), space between two speakers, eye contact, etc., which projects the cultural aspect of the Japanese society.

In general, the Japanese are notorious for being a poor speaker of foreign language. Therefore, they appreciate the foreigners’ learning Japanese. Their typical response to foreigners’ speaking even a little Japanese is “Joozu desu ne!”; “Your Japanese is good!” Thus, knowing a little Japanese can go a long way, not only in communication, but captivating the heart of Japanese.

Ganbatte! (Hang in there!)

japan-hiways.com/About_Us.html Yumiko Lee was born in Fukuoka, Japan, where she began her quest in language learning at age of 12. While in university she was exchange student to New York where she majored in Speech and Communication. Upon her return to Japan, Yumiko completed BA in English and furthered study in San Diego with MA in Asian Studies.

Yumiko married Eric Lee in 1984 and has since been staying in Singapore japan-hiways.com/Japanese_Language_Class.html teaching Japanese with regular japan-hiways.com/Immersion_Program.html Japan Immersion Program for students and working adults.

An Actor Seeking Work

A typical day for me while seeking work as an actor usually starts around 8:15am with a good breakfast of cereal, toast, yogurt, a big bowl of mixed fruit and green or white tea. While I’m enjoying my favorite meal of the day, the computer is connected to the internet and I’m checking my email hoping that a casting director or someone has contacted me from one of my online submissions the day before and checking out the three casting websites I subscribed to, seeing if anything interesting in the way of roles for productions, films, tv shows or what have you, came through that I should submit myself for.

If it is a day designated for mailings, I usually use the time to write cover letters to new contacts, casting directors and agents, producers, etc. and make packets together with my headshot and résumé. Since my headshot is horizontal with space on one side, I downsized my cover letter and stapled it to the front of the headshot. This way, whoever receives my materials, will have everything at the grasp of one hand, because in addition to the headshot and cover letter, the résumé is always cut to the size of the headshot and stapled to the back of it. That’s industry standard. Another reason why you should always staple them altogether is because if they get separated among all the mail that comes into those offices, they might not find their way back together again and you might lose out. Worse yet, you might not ever know it!

The downsizing of the cover letter was just one of the little tricks of the trade that I learned from Leslie Becker in my one on one consultation with her.
Mailings

I also use this mailing time to write postcards to my existing contacts to keep in touch and report any jobs I’ve gotten recently or even close calls such as call-backs or on-holds since the last time I sent correspondence to them. On that note, in the many question and answer sessions I have participated in with casting directors and agents, one of the questions that frequently arises is, “How often should actors keep in touch with agents and casting directors?” Almost always, the answer is, whenever you have something to say. The best things to say, as far as I have learned are things about what you have done recently in the way of acting; shows you have been in, movies, tv programs, independent films, commercials, or whatever. I’ve been taught to make my communication count and not send cards or correspondence just to say hi! Keeping in touch this way is professional and has paid off in that even the close call reports have resulted in my being called personally by casting directors to come in and audition.

Keeping in touch with industry contacts

And how to keep in touch is something I learned from Brian O’Neil’s seminar and book. I completely transformed the way I approached my business of being an actor, after having taken several forums, during which I met with casting directors and agents. Brian O’Neil’s book Acting As A Business is full of tips and valuable info. It’s easy to see why it’s one of the most read books in the Drama Book Shop in New York. I read it twice!

After putting together my mail, it’s shower time and off to the first commercial audition of the day, which usually isn’t before 11 – 11:30am. The first could be an on-camera commercial audition at House Productions downtown. The next one is around 2pm, for an industrial at Don Case Casting and then another around 3:30pm for an on-camera commercial down at Liz Lewis Casting. There’s no rhyme or reason to what types of auditions. Could be three or four auditions usually either commercials, film, industrial or go-see (term used for commercial print auditions/castings) for print work.

In the next article, I’ll finish the story. Or the day rather.

Anthony Smith left a successful corporate career as a senior manager in Nike and Levi’s after 15 years to follow his dream of becoming an entrepreneur, writer, motivational speaker and actor. While enjoying success in his “new″ life, Anthony shares his business insight and acting experience with young actors. Aside from acting work, he has created actingcareerstartup.com actingcareerstartup.com and his first book, Acting Career Start-Up: Four Key Factors For Success will hit the U.S. market in March 2007.

Henry David Thoreau presented several radical ideas in his mid-nineteenth century writing “Civil Disobedience″. The work, published under the title “Resistance to Civil Government” puts forth several profound assertions and questions concerning the law, man and the government. One key subject that Thoreau focused on was whether just men should continue to support the government by complacency with no regard to moral reason? Should laws that are unjust be adhered to, or should they be viewed as moot? His ideas seem like common sense to me, yet his clear and practical ideas would be considered a capital offense in some oppressive nations. I believe that Henry David Thoreau’s ideas are sound in theory. Society has been conditioned to accept ever-increasing taxation without contest except for superficial discourse—how far can we, as a society, be pushed, pulled, punched and sucked while remaining complacent? At what point does one become a co-conspirator of oppression by passive acceptance?

Thoreau gave three general responses one may choose from when faced with the question of whether or not to follow unjust laws. He asks if we should blindly follow all that the government asks of us without question, should voice contempt for the law yet still remain within its bounds, or “Shall we transgress them at once” (Thoreau, 144). I believe it is always within the rights of the individual to subvert authority on the matter of adherence to unjust laws. While I do not share Thoreau’s contempt for those who passively oppose, I find that once the scope of injustices instilled by a government as law becomes brutal, all-encompassing, and deaf to reason and redress, by following the law, one becomes a criminal of the higher laws of morality, reason, and nature.

Thoreau holds contempt for those who voice concern for unjust laws yet comply with them. Thoreau reasons that these people view law violators as hurting their cause resulting in their motivation for adherence (Thoreau, 144). When the severity of the injustice merely extends to the fringes of our freedoms and prosperity, I find that it is the fear of repercussions for breaking the law that causes compliance with moderates.

Unjust laws with far-reaching encroachments should be actively challenged. I share a source of inspiration that Thoreau experienced—spending the night in jail. Few things can so rapidly and thoroughly change one’s pace and train of thought. Also sharing in this experience and views concerning laws against reason and parity is Dr. Martin Luther King. In his renowned writing “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Dr. King elaborates on the philosophy of compliance to unjust laws. King holds that freedoms are never voluntarily surrendered by the ruling and will only come by insistence. Relating to the horrors that oppressed African-Americans suffered, King proclaims, “There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair” (King). Dr. King lends support to Thoreau’s frustration with the resenting conformer; the practice seems to clearly strike a nerve in both men. On this matter King says,

“I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Councilor or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to ‘order’ than to justice who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice who constantly says: ‘I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action’; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a ‘more convenient season.’ Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will”. (King)

It has been incorporated into American law for the ability of the people to invalidate unjust laws through the process of jury nullification. This philosophy is deep-rooted in American policy and by its practice has done more to arrest the development of tyranny than any other American policy. The United States Supreme Court’s first Chief Justice said, “The Jury has a right to judge both the law as well as the fact in controversy” (Jay). The power of the people to void unjust laws is suppressed by the government in its struggle for control.

In the infamous case, U.S. v Dougherty, 473 F.2d 1113, 1139 (1972), the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the district court’s ruling forbidding the mentioning to the jury that “moral compulsion” or “choice of the lesser evil″ “constituted a legal defense” (US v. Dougherty). In Vin Suprynowicz’s “The Undisputed Power of the Jury to Acquit″ he quotes AP writer David Kravets who says that under a 1998 California “snitch” policy “judges routinely order jurors to inform the court if a juror is not applying the law during deliberations” (Suprynowicz). Jurors found by the court not to be basing their opinions on the literal interpretation of the law are often replaced by alternates. If this policy becomes suppressed to a level that completely prevents jury nullification then the final barrier to stop unjust laws with ordered legal procedure is lost. The less one has to lose, the less one has to fear. And when one is stepped on, to the point of breaking, along the way, most will come to point where compliance’s benefits yield less than resistance’s.

Once the law becomes brutal and barbaric in its policy or enforcement, enforcers, and those who live within its bounds, become criminals in the eyes of God, moral reason, natural law, and international treaty. “The Justice Trial”, United States of America v. Alstötter et al, one of “The Nuremberg Trials″, highlights this point in the prosecution of judges who issued orders of murderous oppressions in compliance with directives of law issued by Adolph Hitler. The majority of the Nazi judges were found guilty at this trial including Franz Schlegelberger who provided lengthy rationalizations at his trial for his continued service as a Nazi judge even after it became apparent to him the abhorrent reality of Nazi law. Despite Schlegelberger’s somewhat rational pleas, the Military Tribunal found that by deciding his rulings in accordance to Nazi law, despite his preference against Nazi atrocities against humanity, these favorable rulings for the Nazi party in prior court rulings lent credence and support to the resulting depravity that lead the torture and deaths of political dissidents. Consequently, Schlegelberger was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity (Nuremburg).

Henry David Thoreau chose to separate himself from the state. He reasoned that it was improper for him to wait for change and to patiently pay homage to unjust laws. He found breaking the most unjust laws were necessary endeavors, resulting in his refusing to comply with the law forbidding assisting fugitive slaves and in his refusal to pay a mandatory tax used to support what he viewed as an unjust war against Mexico. When an unjust law’s effects lead to tyranny and wanton treatment of human rights, it is the duty of just people to actively resist all efforts of such tyranny. The more atrocious a regime, the less compliance it takes for one to become criminal by adhering to the law of such a regime.

performanceimpressions.com/ © 2005 – David Oppenheimer –Performance Impressions

Works Cited

Jay, John. Jury Rights. 1789. Fully Informed Jury Association of South Carolina. 6 Nov. 2005
patriotnetwork.info/FullyIJ.htm Jury Rights - PatriotNetwork.info

King Jr., Dr. Martin Luther. Letter from a Birmingham Jail. 16 Apr. 1963. University of Pennslyvania. 6 Nov. 2005 africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html www.africa.upen.edu

The Nuremberg Trials: The Justice Trial. Ed. Doug
Linder. 1948. University of Missouri-Kansas City
School of Law. 6 Nov. 2005 law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/Nuremberg/Alstoetter.htm#U.S.A. v. ALSTOETTER ET AL
(The Justice Cases):” The Justice Trial

Suprynowicz, Vin. The Undisputed Power of the Jury to Acquit. 2002. Loompanics. 6 Nov. 2005
loompanics.com/Articles/SixthAmendment.html Suprynowicz,www.loompanics.com

Thoreau, Henry David. “Civil Disobedience” Resistance to Civil Government . 1849. A World of Ideas. Ed. Lee A. Jacobus. Boston:Bedford/St. Martins, 2006.

United States v. Dougherty. 1972. Maxwell School of
Syracuse University. 6 Nov. 2005.
faculty.maxwell.syr.edu/tmkeck/Cases/USvDoughert�.htm U.S. v. Dougherty

My website, Performance Impressions, has concert photography for sale and lots of online concert photo galleries. Also there is an online store with high quality Steinel products including motion activated lighting with lifetime warranties. Heat guns, including the digital display and control Steinel HG 3002 LCD.
performanceimpressions.com/ Click here.

ezinearticles.com/?expert=David_Oppenheimer More articles by David Oppenheimer

I was having an interesting conversation with a friend this week about how abstract art can be interpreted many different ways, depending on the viewer. And in a clumsy attempt to figure it all out, that got me thinking about mirrors…

Mirrors are fantastic things. Love ‘em! The one problem is they only reflect the mere surface of the objects you place before them. Buff and polish all you like, they won’t delve any deeper.

For that, we need something more incisive. Yes, X-rays will get you some of the way, but they’re really quite dangerous if used more than a couple of times a year. I can only hope Superman didn’t stare at Lois Lane too often.

No, I was thinking more of… hmm, let me see. You guessed it: Art!

Stare at an abstract thing for long enough and your mind will begin to see patterns and images flitting in and out of existence like unsaid sentences in a conversation. While, to you, that cloud up there may obviously look like a rabbit dressed as Mr T, others may disagree. And if we each are seeing something different, then that cloud, that constellation, that painting… is reflecting something of you.

You see not all reflective surfaces are photo-reflective.

In this sense, art is a mirror. People argue as to what this mirror actually reflects. An artist will tell you it is able to reflect the soul. Psychiatrists will use more prosaic terms, but secretly they agree. That’s why they hold ink-blots up to crazy people like they would a crucifix to a vampire.

But a painting differs from an ink blot because, generally, it has not been made randomly. There has been an intent and a will behind the forms you are looking at (even if it&rsquos subconscious), and for that reason, it does not act as a straight-forward one-way mirror.

A painting is more like a pane of glass, in which half the light is reflected and half passes through. Stare at a painting – I mean really stare – and partly what you&rsquore seeing is yourself, and partly you&rsquore seeing the artist staring right back at you.

When done correctly, it is a thin membrane that separates the viewer from the artist. So much so that it can be hard to tell one from the other.

For this to work, the artist must let go of all inhibitions, and the viewer must let down all barriers. Only then is any worthwhile connection or communication made. Like personal relationships, this is the risk each participant must chose to make.

That is the intimacy of art.

Matt Brown - Contemporary Artist and Writer

Visit his online portfolio and blog at: blog.mattbrownart.com blog.mattbrownart.com

Resources:

1: A new interpretation of a previous abstract picture - what I saw when I stared at it long enough. This is now concept art for an animation of mine. mattbrownart.com/blogpics/curiousvibrationslarge.jpg mattbrownart.com/blogpics/curiousvibrationslarge.jpg

2. The original abstract image - A Play on Light No.80: onekind.co.uk/art/largemain/ZA0080.jpg onekind.co.uk/art/largemain/ZA0080.jpg

The term, “oldies,” refers to both popular music from the 1950s-1970s and the radio format that specializes in this type of music. “Golden oldies” usually refers to oldies music exclusively from the 1950s-early 1960s. Oldies songs are typically from the R&ampB, pop and rock music genres but may also include country, movie soundtrack, novelty, and other types of popular music played on the radio from around 1950-on. Pop music genres that had their heyday before the 1950s (e.g., ragtime, big band) are generally considered “too old” to be included in the oldies radio format. Oldies music radio stations, which typically feature bands and artists such as (to name a few) Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, Little Richard, Pat Boone, Sam Cooke, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, the Rascals, the Association, the Temptations, the Who, Elton John, and Fleetwood Mac, cover a wide variety of styles including early rock and roll, rockabilly, doo-wop, surf rock, girl groups, the British Invasion, folk rock, psychedelic rock, baroque pop, soul music, Motown, and bubblegum pop. Oldies music also overlaps with classic rock which focuses on the rock music of the late 1960s and 1970s as well as newer music in a similar style.

The phrase, “oldies but goodies,” was first coined in 1957 by renowned deejay Art Laboe who, at around that time, used to get frequent requests from his listeners for songs from the early 1950s. A central figure in L.A. radio for over half a century, Laboe was the first deejay to play rock and roll on the West Coast and one of the first to play black and white artists on the same show. In 1959, he put together the first LP to feature (mostly older) songs by different artists. This immensely popular compilation album, entitled “Oldies But Goodies,” stayed on Billboard’s Top 100 LP’s chart for over three years and has, to date, spawned some 14 sequels. ( laweekly.com/ink/05/42/music-quinones.php″ target=”_blank Click here for a recent interview with Art Laboe.)

Soon after the release of Laboe’s first “Oldies But Goodies” album, the phrase, “oldies but goodies,” became commonplace and by around 1960, people were waxing nostalgic for 1950s doo-wop which was already starting to be classified as “oldies.” Little Caesar And The Romans’ 1961 hit, “Those Oldies But Goodies (Remind Me of You)” and its sequel, “Memories of Those Oldies But Goodies,” both pay homage to early doo-wop and doo-wop artists. This wave of nostalgia brought about a doo-wop revival in the early 1960s which was the first of many nostalgia movements in pop music since the term, “oldies,” was first applied to older pop music.

While “golden oldies” has remained a constant over the years, the larger body of pop music that we still call “oldies” today - which is made up of core golden oldies songs plus more modern material - is not fixed but has been gradually expanding forward in time to keep up with changing demographics. Nowadays, oldies music is generally considered to include all of the 1970s, even disco, and the same is expected to be true someday for the music of the 1980s, now often described as “retro.” Oldies music is also expanding in breadth as thousands of long-forgotten tunes from the 1950s and 1960s that never made the Top 40 in their day are being rediscovered and resurrected. Whether because of nostalgia, curiosity, or a genuine love for good music, the oldies format has maintained a huge following and will probably continue to do so for many years to come.

Amy Gold
(c) Copyright 2005, allbutforgottenoldies.net

Amy Gold is the webmaster of allbutforgottenoldies.net/ allbutforgottenoldies.net/
Visit her website where you can search and browse thousands of song titles from 1960-1975 with links to audio clips. Her website also has interviews, RSS feeds, and many tips and resources of interest to oldies music collectors and other music hobbyists.

Where are the last vestiges of Afghanistan’s Taliban leaders hiding? Are they cowering in caves near the Pakistani border? Perhaps they own a condo complex in Karachi. More likely they are on a Dude Ranch in America’s Heartland.

Remember 1994? Religious fundamentalists overtook Afghanistan and trounced on that nation’s women with a vengeance. Being draped in a burga and beaten in the streets was standard fair. Most doctors were banned from treating women, and voting – no way!

Is history repeating itself? Last week in South Dakota religious fundamentalists passed a measure making it a felony for doctors to perform any abortion, except to save the life of a pregnant woman. No exceptions are made in cases of rape or incest. There was no state wide vote. Déjà vu!

Help for victims of religious extremism in Afghanistan was slow to come. Ultimately, refugee camps sprang up along the borders and women’s rights organizations broadcasted messages of support into the occupied country via short wave radio. Response to occupied South Dakota’s oppression is already being mounted. Refugee camps are springing up along borders with Dakota’s more open-minded neighbors, such as Mormonville, Nebraska and Laramie, Wyoming. Citizens of Redecktown, Missouri are collection CB radios to airdrop around Mount Rushmore.

South Dakota’s female population has had a mixed reaction to this Red States recent horrific legislation. When Republican Kellie Clueless was asked her opinion of legislative leaders forcing their will on the intimate lives of free American women she said, “Ah um da.”

Antiabortion activist, Betty Sue Backwoods was interviewed in the bikini wax isle at a Sioux Falls Wal Mart. Betty Sue was quoted as saying, “I think Rep. Roger W. Hunt is a stone-cold fox and I thank God he puts my religion over everyone else’s beliefs. That’s what makes America what it is to day.” Then she tossed her six children into the cart and sprinted off to check the balance on her EBT card.

Surprisingly, one well known Democrat supported the bill outright. Dr Wantmoremoney, owner of the Back Alley Abortion and Penicillin Clinic, in Pine Nut, SD made several lucrative donations across party lines to illustrate his new found love of Catholicism and loathing of the US Constitution.

As the controversy rages, America’s sons and daughters die and kill in Iraq. For what? To protect America from religious fanatics hell-bent on destroying individual freedoms this country was founded on. At least, that is what we are told. Yet, the US Army has not even begun reconnaissance operations around Deadwood.

Meanwhile, in Pierre, Governor Mike rounds added his input. “In the history of the world, the true test of a civilization is how well people treat the most vulnerable and most helpless in their society. The sponsors and supporters of this bill believe that abortion is wrong because unborn children are the most vulnerable and most helpless persons in our society. I agree with them,” Rounds said in a statement.

When asked if perhaps a pregnant 12-year-old girl raped by her uncle might be a touch more vulnerable than a pin-sized glob of splitting embryonic cells, Rounds responded by trying to sell this reporter a new auto insurance policy. The policy came complete with the new SD mandated Terrorist Assault Vehicle Insurance attachment for an additional $10.00 per month. My own government now has a 78 Yugo better protected than my uterus.

As for the money that will be wasted fighting this rights-slapping legislation to the Supreme Court, the legislature has laid out a plan sell off more of the Black Hills to special interest corporations in order to finance this loosing battle.

Yes, it would appear the missing Taliban have been found. Religious fanaticism is alive and well in South Dakota. Privacy, individuality and freedom are D.O.A. Perhaps National Guard troops should be searching Jewel Cave in the Black Hills for Osama Bin Laden. It is suspicious that Governor Mike Rounds and Mr. Bin Laden have never been seen together in public. Could they be one in the same?

With each mystery answered a new question arises. For example, when wearing our denim burgas would South Dakota’s legislators prefer we women place rodeo buckles on the inside or out?

Zoologist turned satirist Nola L. Kelsey is the author of Bitch Unleashed: The Harsh Realities of Goin’ Country and coauthor/“primary scribe” of the political, self-help, satire Keeping the Masses Down. Her books are available everywhere fun books are sold, including Amazon.com. More of Nola’s work can be read on her website at: NolaKelsey.com NolaKelsey.com