Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Blues Brothers DVD
The film was released in 1980 and directed by John Landis. The two main characters were played by Dan Aykroyd as Elwood Blues and the late John Belushi as his brother Jake. The plot begins with the release of Jake from prison and his attempts to reform his old band to raise money to save the Catholic home for orphans, where he and Elwood were raised. The brother's characters were expanded from Saturday Night Live sketches. A Blues Brothers DVD gives an opportunity to re-live the comic moments and music from the supporting cast, including James Brown, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin.
The band, fronted by Aykroyd on mouth organ and vocals and Belushi as lead vocalist, brought out an album titled Briefcase Full of Blues after their appearance on Saturday Night Live and before the movie release. The original band line up featured some well known musicians, such as Steve Cropper on guitar, a former member of Booker T and the MGs. The drummer was Willie Hall, who had played drums for Isaac Hayes band, the Bar-Kays.
In 2005, the 25th Anniversary Edition DVD was released. The two discs show the original release and the extended one that included previously cut scenes. The director had been ordered to cut his film and he was pleased to have it restored. Dan Aykroyd introduces the film and there is a documentary about the making of the movie. There is also concert footage of the band from the House of Blues in San Diego. Other extras include footage from impersonators singing songs from the movie. Another earlier Blues Brothers DVD was released in 1998, called the Collector's Edition. This too showed the director's cut.
The Best of the Blues Brothers DVD has footage of the band performing live and appearances on Saturday Night Live by Belushi and Aykroyd. There is also a documentary made in 1992 and an interview with Aykroyd as himself and in character as Elwood. The Blues Brothers DVD 2000 shows the film in widescreen format and has bonus material on the making of the movie. It also contains a theatrical trailer, promotional posters, photographs from the set and cast and filmmakers notes.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Wedding Makeup That Lasts
On your big day, you want your wedding makeup to last. Not only that, but you want to look stunning in your photographs. In order to insure that your makeup will last as long as possible, it may be best to hire a professional to take care of it. However, here is some advice to keep in mind even if you do hire a makeup artist.
Use a makeup base. Several cosmetic companies offer products that go on under your eye makeup or lipstick that help your makeup last. Eye makeup base provides a layer that your eyeshadow and eyeliner can adhere to. This prevents creasing and helps the colour stay on longer. They offer similar products for lipstick. However, try to find a lipstick base that is also moisturizing. Some products contain ingredients that dry the lips out. You'll need your lips to stay nice and moist so you can smile all day.
Get rid of extra shine. A shiny face looks even worse in photographs, especially if the photographer uses a flash. After washing your face, apply an oil controlling product. After that absorbs, apply a thin layer of loose powder. Apply foundation and the rest of your makeup as usual. Follow up with another thin layer of loose powder. Carry some pressed powder with you so you can control any shine as the day progresses.
Lasting lipstick. One of the first things to fade is your lipstick. Follow these tips that will help your lipstick last. First, apply a moisturizing lip base. Then, apply lip liner in a shade that is a little darker than your lipstick. Use a soft pencil. Fill the lips in with the pencil. Apply one coat of lipstick and blot gently. Apply another coat of lipstick but this time do not blot. Press a thin layer of facial tissue gently to your lips. Using a large brush, apply a thin layer of pressed powder to the tissue. The tissue acts as a screen, letting in only a small amount of powder. The powder helps the lipstick set and keeps it on longer.
Pack a makeup bag. No matter how hard you try to create a lasting look, you still may need to do some minor touch ups throughout the day. Pack pressed powder, lipstick, mascara, and eyeshadow just in case your colour needs a boost.
Sally Lopez is a freelance writer and marketing manager of Marcell "Professional Make-up Artists".To learn more about wedding makeup and the latest makeup tips visit www.marcell.com.au.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Information Systems Failures - The Failures of Leadership
Therere many causes of information system failures - the complexity of the technology, the evolution of business processes and practice. The number one cause of information system failure is, however, the failure of leadership or management. We can hardly find a CFO who isnt a CPA (Certified Public Account), but its common see a senior vice president of IT who used to be a printer salesman, a vice president of IT who happened selling cars for GM for years, or an IT director or manager who knows more about restaurant than computers. For computer technicians, A+ certification is an industry standard for qualification of the jobs, but for system analysis and design, theres no such industry standard certification. If IT management is not required to understand the technical details of information technology, they should at least know how information systems should be implemented.
The history of ERP has been full of IT project failures that ran by managers who dont have either IT degrees or hands-on experience. The progress of CRM has come at the loss of billions of dollars. The implementation of supply chain is even more challenging and painful as it requires the collaborations across organization boundary. This is another topic to figure out the reason for lack of industry standard certification for IT management or analysts. Before that happens, IT management needs to understand >ERP definition, or what is ERP before they threw out millions of dollars, then just say weve learned a lesson. That lesson was too expensive.
Shopping Online in Holiday Reason
A holiday season is always a shopping season. What a holiday would be like without shopping? In the major retailing stores in US - Macys, Best Buy, and even discount stores like Walmart, consumers are lined up for hours to grab gifts for family and friends for the Christmas celebration. What many people may not noticed is that theres another wave of shopping happens in front of computer screens - online shopping.
Online shopping has become more and more popular and the sales of consumer portion of e-commerce has reached tens of billions of dollars. Its still small compared with the amount of money that people spend in malls. The history of commerce dated to at least 40 years ago when businesses conducted EDI (or Electronic Data Interchange) in 1960 long before the Internet was conceived. Some schools trace the commerce history back to the invention of telephone more than a hundred years ago. This depends on how we look at commerce definition. The e-commerce in consumer market wouldnt enjoy its success today without the popularity of the Internet and the Web in middle 1990s. In just a few years, consumers flocks to the net for convenience of shopping among the things of other benefits of commerce. Its fascinating to see what the e-commerce landscape would be like 10 years from now.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Save Your Phone Bill with Internet phone
Theres a cost of using VoIP service of course. After all, VoIP providers need to make money just as what ISPs do. Vonage phone service is one of mostly used VoIP services. VoIP providers charge a flat monthly service fee between $20-$50 dependent on the service provider and the plan. If you make a lot of calls especially expensive international calls, the saving from many minutes of free international calls using VoIP will easily justify the flat fee you paid for VoIP service. If you dont talk often but have a high speed Internet connection already, the choice to sign up with a VoIP service is still justified since you could completely drop the standard local and long distance phone services you use. If you dont talk often on the phone and dont have a high speed or broadband Internet connection, VoIP service is likely more expensive that standard phone service. Youll have to pay for broadband Internet connection.
The quality of VoIP service rivals traditional telephone service now even though many users still have the memory of poor sound quality and connectivity that markek the early VoIP. N fact, VoP has become a mainstream alternative to standard telephone service. Therere many VoIP providers and a few major players. For instance, Vonage boasts over one million subscribers and offer service in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, United Kingdom and other European countries. Vonage VoIP continues to offer new services and plans to meet the needs of both business and residential markets. Small businesses could use VoIP as an alternative to 1-800 numbers to cut down the cost of phone bills.
Evolution of VoIP and Internet Phone
VoIP landscape changed drastically when Cisco and Nortel entered the VoIP market with hardware equipment that allowed easy switch between standard phones and the voice data packets on the Internet in 1998. The new hardware made the VoIP hardware less computer dependent.
VoIP finally took off in 2000. It has become a mainstream alternative to standard telephone service since then. The growing acceptance of VoIP in both business and residential phone use is evidential in the phenomenal success of Vonage, a major player in VoIP market today. Vonage offered VoIP service to business communities in 2001 and signed its first residential customer in 2002. Year 2003 was marked by the first platform for 911 calls on VoIP software. Between 2004 to 2005, Vonage launched VoIP service in Canada, Puerto Rico, United Kingdom and other European countries. Vonage phone service charges a monthly service fee, and calls (local, long distance or international) are technical free or unlimited. With more than one million subscribers this year, Vonage VoIP continues to offer new services and plans to meet the needs of both business and residential markets. Some small businesses have started to take the advantage of the flat fee of VoIP plans. They now have an alternative to 1-800 numbers to interact with their customers.
How to Pick Sweet and Unique Birthday Gifts
Among the easiest birthday gift ideas, rock candy is easy to prepare, just dissolve sugar in water and boil stirring continuously with a wooden spoon until the solution grows clear reaching a rolling boil. Put the mixture in a jar and cover with waxed paper with a string or skewer suspended in it, and after one week you will have rock candy as the water evaporates.
Major discount marts, supermarkets, and convenience stores offer a large array of birthday gifts made up of chocolate candy such as World's Finest Chocolates, so just a visit can inspire your own home-made birthday gifts. Adult birthday celebrations must not be left out, and there are also many birthday gift ideas based on candy.
Some specialty stores sell true artwork carved on chocolate candy or molded in sugar free candy reproducing famous sculptures or everyday symbols like a heart or the type of cherubs representing Valentine's Day. In fact, many birthday gifts are associated to other common celebrations such as Mother's Day, Halloween or Christmas because birthdays occur any day throughout the year.
Surprise your beloved ones with sweet birthday gift ideas designed with them in mind. There are a number of birthday gifts promoted as "the candy you ate as a kid". These gifts are an assortment of popular candies from the 1950s such asLindt Chocolates, Necco Wafers, BB Bats, Kits, Bun, Nestle chocolate, Ice Cubes, and other fresh old-fashioned Chocolate candy.
History of Chocolate: Now and Then
As chocolate candy became more popular and accepted worldwide, more companies were established, and many others disappeared shortly after. In the United States, the pioneer was Ghirardelli Chocolate Company, founded in 1852. Ghirardelli chocolate was the first American brand.
Milton S. Hershey founded the Hershey Chocolate Company after visiting the Columbian Exposition. Hershey sold his former Lancaster Caramel Company, but retained the rights to produce American chocolate products. Hershey chocolate was just the beginning of one of the most successful business in the United States.
Along with Lindt Chocolates, Nestle chocolate, Ghirardelli chocolate, and Hershey chocolate, Mars is the other brand of chocolate candy sharing the top five as producer of some of the World's Finest Chocolates.
Different brands from different origins, the top chocolate candy brands are manufactured in America, preferred by consumers for about one hundred years, and ahead of other chocolate products distributed or produced in the United States, a nation that exports today the World's Finest Chocolates all over the world.
Chocolate candy became a big hit in stores in the form of the candy bar. It took its place proudly on the general store shelf next to the gum drop, hard candy and candy cane bins of the day. From that meager beginning, the varieties available today are mind boggling. Chocolate candy is available in many different flavors, shapes and with limitless ingredients. Some ingredients such as nuts and fruits are complimentary to the flavor and texture of the chocolate and left whole or diced inside the candy bar. Spices and other flavorings are also added to enhance the chocolate or add interesting flavor notes. Some people can taste a story in their chocolate candy. The flavor medley tells them through their tongue what region of the world each ingredient came from. Travel by chocolate!
Chocolate can also be enjoyed either inside a candy coating or as a coating itself over other yummy treats such as ice cream.
Sports Gifts for Men and Boys
If your boyfriend is a football fan, a ticket to a football game or football shirt shows that you really know what he likes. If your husband actually plays soccer, soccer shoes, shin-guards, soccer jersey, or a soccer ball will really turn him on. Tickets to a soccer game, or a video type for playing soccer are unique Valentines gift ideas for husband too.
For your teenager sons who like swimming or skating, books about swimming and a personalized skater are personalized gifts that they will remember for years to come. For your little boys, a scooter, better with a superman sign on it, will get them excited for weeks and months.
The gift ideas for boyfriend, man, husband or boys are only limited by your imagination even though its more challenging to come up with gift ideas for men than gift ideas for women. Besides sports gifts, tech toys, car toys, or digital gadgets are loved by men of all age too. Theyre perfect Valentine's gifts for men and boys. An iPod is a precious gift choice for boys or teenagers, a Personal Digital Assistant (or PDA) would actually help a professional or businessmans work beside the symbolic meaning of gifts.
For gift giving, it's the thoughts that count more the gifts themselves. It's the presence that counts more than the presents themselves.
How to Pick Perfect Valentine's Day Flowers for Women
The symbolic meanings of a particular flower and color of flowers have been formed over many centuries. They are often associated with moving fairytales too. To lovers, red roses are always the first and the best choice for Valentine's Day flowers. Red color is associated with romance and the love from the heart. The relationship you have with your girlfriend affects the color of roses you send. Red roses are generally reserved for longer relationships where the couple is passionately in love. Pink roses are more appropriate for a newer and fresher relationship. They symbolize the relationship and happiness, but do not put any pressure on the girl regarding your feelings other than to let her know you really like her. However, many girls would rather receive the flowers and certain color of flowers they love, instead of the flowers that their significant others would like them to receive. Any color of rose is appropriate as long as your girlfriend is passionate about a certain color. Primrose, in essence, says that you cannot live without her. Red signifies passion, pink that she is on your mind and white sweetness.
If you are buying flowers for a daughter or a mom, then affectionate and cheerful flowers are more appropriate - wild flowers, tulips, Gerber daisies, or any flower that is a woman's particular favorite. Pink, yellow, orange, or white roses are popular choice and appropriate for a mom or daughter Every woman loves roses, and the alternate colors brighten up the rose as well as show love in a non-romantic way. Red roses are reserved only for romantic relationships.
Of course, Valentine Gifts are not limited to just flowers. If you lsten what she says and look at what she does, youll surely come up with gft deas to surprse her with love. Jewelries and perfumes are perfect Valentine's Gift Ideas for girlfriend or wife too.