VampireS SUMO

“Autumn’s the mellow time.” –William Allingham

“Autumn.. the year’s last, loveliest smile.” –William C. Bryant

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf’s a flower.” –Albert Camus

“No Spring nor Summer Beauty hath such grace As I have seen in one Autumnal face.” –John Donne

“I’ve never known anyone yet who doesn’t suffer a certain restlessness when autumn rolls around… We’re all eight years old again and anything is possible.” –Sue Grafton

“Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.” –Stanley Horowitz

“Every season hath its pleasures; Spring may boast her flowery prime, Yet the vineyard’s ruby treasures Brighten Autumn’s sob’rer time.” –Thomas Moore

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.” –John Muir

“There is a harmony In autumn, and a lustre in its sky, Which through the summer is not heard or seen, As if it could not be, as if it had not been!” –Percy Bysshe Shelley

“Change is a measure of time and, in the autumn, time seems speeded up. What was is not and never again will be; what is is change.” –Edwin Way Teale

Resource Box - © Danielle Hollister (2005) is the Publisher of bellaonline.com/articles/art8364.asp BellaOnline Quotations Zine - A free newsletter for quote lovers featuring more than 10,000 quotations in dozens of categories like - love, friendship, children, inspiration, success, wisdom, family, life, and many more; plus freebies and links to related resources. All new subscribers get one free ad. Read it - bellaonline.com/articles/art8364.asp bellaonline.com/articles/art8364.asp

We call it Reality TV. But how real is it? And is it unique? Well, this is an argument that many people will have their opinion on. And while we’re not going to try to take a position one way or the other, we are going to ask a few questions that should at least spark some kind of debate.

For starters. let’s cover the question of how unique reality TV really is. In order to do that, we have to try to define what reality TV is. While nobody has ever given it a formal definition (go on look up reality TV in the dictionary) we have come to regard reality TV as television that is non scripted and with real people instead of professional actors. Well, if that’s the case, then wouldn’t “The Price Is Right″ also be considered reality TV? What’s that you say? It’s got a professional host by the name of Bob Barker? Well, for that matter, American Idol has not just one but four celebrities on the show. So how is that any more real than Bob Barker’s show?

The truth is, reality TV is not so unique. It’s been around for a long time. Back in the day before we called it reality TV we had shows like Star Search. Even before that we had Amateur Hour. The list of reality TV shows reads like a who’s who of television. Yet, for some reason, this “reality” craze seems to have taken off because for whatever reason, people think of it as being new. I guess we have short memories.

What about the issue of how real it is? This is something you can rip apart from today until the cows come home. Just pick a show. Take American Idol. Some of the contestants on this show are one step away from being professional singers. Okay, you want to argue that real people can be talented? No problem. But what about fear factor? How many people do you know in their everyday lives go around eating bugs? I seriously doubt that there are many people who would view this as anywhere near reality.

Take a show like survivor. If you think this show isn’t scripted then you don’t know what goes on behind the scenes. Not only is it scripted but there are times where scenes are either shot over and over until they are gotten just right or plain edited to look the way the producers want. What’s real about that? And Richard Hatch? Boy, if he wasn’t a star in the making. There was nothing real about that guy unless you live in Hollywood and your best friend is Tom Hanks. We could go on and on with examples of reality TV being nowhere near real. And yet, there are those who will argue that reality TV is quite real. Again, we’re not going to try to convince anyone either way but if you look at the evidence you at least have to admit that there is some room for debate.

Now THAT’S real.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to reality-tv-guide.com/ Reality TV

Caricatures have probably influenced your opinions and viewpoints in ways you never even realized. If you have ever looked at an editorial caricature in a Sunday paper, and agreed with it, objected to it, or simply found it funny, then you have been influenced by this art form. Caricatures have certainly evolved from the early days when they first became popular, but they still serve the same worthy cause of eliciting a response and drawing attention.

The origin of the word “caricature” is debatable. Some linguists say that it is a variant of the Italian term “caricare” that when translated literally means “to load.” The word “caricature” from this standpoint alludes to artists’ goal to “load” their work with as much meaning as possible. Some linguists, on the other hand, argue that the word really stemmed from the Italian root “caricatura,” which means “human forms drawn to resemble to animals.” This inherent satirical innuendo can make caricatures either flattering or insulting, but no matter what the effect, it is always humorous.

Caricatures are said to have been started by Annibale Carracci of Bologna, who introduced the idea of “una bella, perfetta deformità,” which theorizes that art can be used to represent the ultimate antitheses of beauty, and that the end-product is far more arresting than a regular portrait. Some experts argue that the earliest indications of caricatures appeared in the work of Leonardo da Vinci, who is very popular for making people with deformities the inspiration and model for his masterpieces. No matter what its origins, caricatures certainly reached its peak within the aristocratic clans of Europe who created them for their amusement.

Modern caricatures are not always human form – they can feature inanimate objects. But the most popular caricatures are portraits of famous politicians and celebrities. Caricatures have been a part of culture in many countries throughout the decades and have helped build consciousness on issues, express social opinions and spawned revolutions. It is an art form that is still very much alive and flourishing, especially because of new digital technologies.

i-Caricatures.com Caricatures provides detailed information on Caricatures, Celebrity Caricatures, How To Draw Caricatures, Caricature Artists and more. Caricatures is affiliated with i-ComicBooks.com Vintage Comic Books.

John Belushi was born in Illinois to father Adam Belushi and mother Agnes Butchner. His hometown is Wheaton, Illinois where he played football at Wheaton Central High School. After his high school years, he attended the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and the College of DuPage in the outskirts of Chicago. He had one brother named James who would go on to be a comedian. While in high school, John met a girl named Judy who he would go on to marry and stay married until he died.

In 1971, Belushi joined the cast of the The Second City which gave him the chance to show his comedic talent. After this he was asked to join in a stage performance called National Lampoon’s Lemmings. Many other future Saturday Night Live cast members would find be there including Gilda Radner, Bill Murray and Chevy Chase.

After this in 1973, Belushi took over the director spot for a radio program called The Radio Hour which was eventually canceled. He would also marry his high school sweet heart, Judy Jacklin. In 1975 he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live and during that time he starred as “Bluto” in Animal House (1978). During this remarkable time for a short while he dad the number one movie in the United Stated (Animal House, the number one music album (The Blues Brothers “Briefcase Full Of Blues”) and Saturday Night Live was the late night show with the highest-ratings.

In 1979 he departed from Saturday Night Live to focus on his film career. He made to two movies with SNL friend Dan Akroyd including Neighbors (1981) and The Blues Brothers (1980). After Belushi died, several future projects he was working on were stopped.

On March 5th, 1982, Belushi was found from usage of cocaine and heroin. The night he died he was accompanied by Cathy Smith who was later arrested on murder charges from giving Belushi a speedball shot.

Chad Stroh represents the FMT website. You can find several helpful movie resources including findmovietrailers.googlepages.com/moviereviews2″ target=”_new movie reviews, findmovietrailers.googlepages.com/moviepreviews” target=”_new movie trailers, findmovietrailers.googlepages.com/dvdreleases” target=”_new DVD releases and more!

What does American music sound like? You know what the music of Germany, Spain, Ireland, Japan, and many of the other countries of the world sounds like. Each country with it’s own distinctive culture has an identifiable musical sound that comes from that culture. But what about the United States?

America was settled by people mainly from Europe. The early music of America was basically European music. There was quite a variety of musical forms to be heard and some people might say that is still true in America today. But, there are common elements in today’s music that did not exist in the early settler’s music.

It was the influence of the African slaves that brought changes to American musical forms. African culture was suppressed through slavery. Their religion, language, and general overall culture was taken away from them. But, since the African culture was one of oral traditions it was impossible to eliminate their entire cultural way of life. Many aspects of their musical heritage were retained.

Before the days of radio, movies, or TV, folks had to entertain themselves. Dances and music in general were the main focus of entertainment in the early settler’s lives. Slaves were quick to learn that by becoming musicians themselves, they could somewhat improve their lives because good musicians were valued in those early days. They learned European music and musical instruments of the time. But, to this European music they brought the influence of their own musical culture as well.

There were aspects of the African musical background that were quite different from the Europeans. It would take a book to fully explain those difference, but they can be simplified into two different aspects. One has to do with a more complex rhythm pattern and the other has to do with the variations in notes of the Western musical scale that the Africans added to the music. They brought these variations to both their playing of instruments and their singing. And, in the end white folks grew to like it.

While these influences can be heard in early American music at the beginning of the 19th century especially in church music, it did not develop into a different musical form until after the Civil War. With freedom the African Americans were able to travel and experience a mixture of musical know-how from other white and black musicians. Slowly a new musical style was born. It was called the blues.

There is a lot of misinformation and confusion about how and when the blues began. Even Blues scholars do not agree. But, basically the music of the 19th century, which was mostly played by African Americans on the banjo which was an adaptation of an African instrument, changed at the end of that century when cheap guitars became available. The importance of the guitar was that unlike the banjo it could sustain notes. The blues player’s goal was to have his instrument mimic the human voice. The guitar, through bending strings and sliding between the notes, could be made to sound like there vocal techniques where notes were sung between the standard Western music notation. This is what the blues was all about.

There is a very important term that must be understood. It is called the “Folk Process” by music historians. It means simply that music changes. Either one musician or a group will, because their own abilities or creativity, change and interpret songs their own way. That is why there were different musical sounds developed in different parts of the country. Different folks will just play and sing a song if different ways. That is where styles come from. The singing and guitar playing styles popularized by the blues musicians were adapted to other music. This “Folk Process” is how blues singing and guitar methods became part of the American musical culture.

If you pay attention to modern music you will see that these guitar techniques and vocal phrasings are used is most styles of American music. That can be explained by the fact that most American music of the 20th century evolved from black blues and is mostly just a case of white boys playing the blues. That statement really bugs some folks, but the fact is that no mater what style of music you can name, country, jazz, pop, bluegrass, rock, or whatever, those musical elements that were introduced by slaves and refined by blues players are present. It is what gives the various styles of American music a similar coherent feel. It is all different but somehow the same. It is all rooted in the blues, the granddaddy of American music.

Gene Morgan has been writing about music for nearly 30 years. His articles have appeared in a number of music and heritage puplications. He and his wife Nancy have a Cafepress apparel shop where they feature many music related designs for clothing and specialty items. The shop is called Captured Image Design and can be found at: cafepress.com/cidgraphics cafepress.com/cidgraphics. They also have an unusual music site that gives information about some of their music related activities. The site is called River Bottom Boogie and can be found at: members.aol.com/genenancy2/boogie.htm members.aol.com/genenancy2/boogie.htm

The UK Music Festival season is now in full swing. Already this summer we have had the Isle of Wight Festival, headlined by the granddads of rock the Rolling Stones, We have also had Download rocking Donnington Park and this past weekend we saw the Wireless Festival camp out in Hyde Park London.

Next weekend the Grand daddy of all festivals is with us, with the Glastonbury Festival returning after a year away. The past week has been wet so looks like the mud fest could return, if you did not get a ticket the only way and the driest way is to watch it on BBC television.

If you still want some festival action this summer there are still some great festivals to come this summer.

The Big Chill is a festival taking it back to its roots, and is much less commercialised than the bigger corporate festivals. The smaller scale festival is home to chill out music, 100s of craft stalls, cinemas, lots of circus and street entertainers, and a more family orientated event. The venue is fantastic, overlooking the Malvern Hills.

The V Festival, started life in 1996 as a single day concert called Pulp in the Park, it then grew a second day headlined by Paul Weller, and was sponsored by Richard Branson and his Virgin group. It was the original 2-site music festival. Over the years it has grown to become one of the biggest festivals in the UK. It operates on two sites in Chelmsford and Weston Park Staffs, and takes place on the weekend before the August Bank Holiday Weekend. It has managed to attract the best acts of the moment with the best breakthrough groups also. This year the Foo Fighters, Snow Patrol and The Killers take centre stage.

The Carling Festival takes in the Leeds and Reading Festivals. The two-site form has been around for 9 years, the Reading Festival though dates back to the 1970s, and used to be called Reading Rock. The Reading Festival attracts the top indie groups but also often has a rockier sound too, with past headliners including Nirvana, Greenday, and raps have taken centre stage with the likes of 50 Cent and Eminem going down a storm. This year headliners include The Smashing Pumpkins, Razorlight, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. This years event is over the August Bank Holiday.

Creamfields is also on the August Bank Holiday and takes place in Liverpool. The Creamfields festival is hosted by global superclub brand Cream. They have organised parties all of the world, but Liverpool is where it all started so this festival is close to their heart. The Creamfields festival attracts the worlds top DJs to perform in huge tents, premier league DJs such as Paul Van Dyk, amd Tiesto have all lifted the roofs off with huge sets.

The UK Summer Music Festival is just beginning so have a great time and enjoy the music.

Martin Warn is owner and editor of warnfestivals.co.uk Warnfestivals and is a festival scene expert visit warnfestivals.co.uk warnfestivals.co.uk for a full guide to the summer music festival season.

The computer revolution of the last ten years has radically changed the tools available for individual content creators. I recently spent an hour talking to Vicki Silbert of Bittybox, who recorded much of her indie album “Smalltime” in her home studio. I wanted to know what can really be accomplished these days with home recording, and can an indie project come anywhere close to the quality big budget recordings?

“Indie Joe” Santos: Just to set the groundwork for this discussion, maybe you should tell us briefly about the Bittybox project?

Vicki Silbert: Sure… I had been through the whole band experience in the 1980’s. We played the Los Angeles club scene for 6 years, but we never had much opportunity to record. Years later I was making my living on the Macintosh computer and it occurred to me that maybe there was software for recording music. So I looked into that and sure enough there was! This was the start of Bittybox, I made a decision to learn about digital audio recording software and finally record an album.

I.J.: So you had no previous experience recording?

V.S.: Well, my band had been in the studio a couple of times. We recorded a pretty good single, and another time we spent way too much money to record a bad demo, but that was in the days of 24 track tape. We also did some 4 track cassette recording with a Fostex X-15. Don′t know if you’re old enough to remember those? Strangely enough we were happier with the X-15 recordings than when we paid a bunch of money to record with a producer. I guess it was partly that experience that led me try home recording. But no, I had no previous experience with recording on the computer, and I was certainly not an engineer. I didn′t even know what midi was at the time!

I.J.: How did you get started?

V.S.: I got on the internet and researched the different programs for audio recording. When you’re totally new to something it can be pretty confusing, and you don’t really have much to base a decision on. Ultimately I chose Digital Performer Software, mainly because of the Motu-Mac Mailing List. It’s a mailing list of Digital Performer users who network and help each other with the program. It looked like a great resource, which is what it turned out to be!

I.J.: At that early stage did you think you would record a project for commercial release, or were you just experiementing?

V.S.: I always had the idea that I would record the album I had always wanted to release. I was actually way over-optimistic about how long it would take me to finish. I thought I would have a CD to release in 6 months, but it actually took me years!

I.J.: How many years?

V.S.: Don’t ask! I think I made pretty much every mistake in the book that home recordists make. I was working primarily with samplers and didn’t really know what was possible. So I spent endless hours programming drum tracks, all of which got thrown away in the end. Also the recording software is very deep and there are endless technical challenges and a huge learning curve. You have no idea when you start, what you’re getting into. Truthfully if I had any clue I probably wouldn’t have even tried!

I.J.: All the drum tracks got thrown out! How much of the stuff you recorded at home got used in the final album?

V.S.: I think maybe about half of my programmed tracks got used. We kept all the keyboard parts. Most of the programmed horn parts are still there under the one real horn part, there’s some programmed cello under what Novi Novog played on viola, one or two of the programmed bass parts got used, and some of the scratch vocals I recorded at home got used. Also a couple of my guitar parts made it onto the final CD but mostly it’s Ken Lasaine on guitar.

I.J.: Was this because the parts weren’t good enough or the recording quality wasn’t good enough?

V.S.: I really didn′t understand to what degree getting some live players would contribute to the final sound of the CD until after I started down that path. What really turned me away from trying to finish by myself was how long it was taking me. I started trying to record guitar parts, and realized that at the rate I was working the album would never get finished. I had played guitar back when I had my band, but hadn′t really kept up with it, so it was really a struggle for me. Once I got into the studio with some session players, it was like a huge weight lifted.

I.J.: So what do you think about the question of whether a home recording can stand up to the big budget projects?

V.S.: I’m sure there are people out there who have the skills that would allow them to do that successfully. It would be different for a band that just wants to make a record of the songs they play live, as opposed to a solo project like mine where all the parts had to be created from scratch. But unless someone involved has an audio engineering background it would be pretty hard to do a completely professional job in a home studio.

At least in my case, the decision to use some session players and an engineer in a real studio made a huge difference in the final outcome. And even so there are things that could have been better, but at some point you have to stick a fork in it…both because of the expense and because you totally burn out after a while. You just want to be done with it!

So in the end my “Smalltime” CD is about half home recording with samplers and half in the studio with real players. At least in this case that turned out to be a nice balance.

I.J.: Well thanks for taking the time to chat about the project!

V.S.: Yeah, you bet! Thanks for writing about it!

Hear music by Bittybox:
bittybox.com/ bittybox.com

myspace.com/bittyboxdotcom myspace.com/bittyboxdotcom

A saxophone is a musical instrument belonging to the woodwind category. It is one of the youngest musical instruments, invented by Adolphe Sax, a Belgian, in the 1840s. Later, many people made their own alterations to the instrument. Saxophones were generally used in the military and in big orchestras but are now found in smaller bands as well. They are generally used for big band music, pop music and jazz. There are many kinds of saxophones but the four most common ones are: Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Baritone saxophones.

Vintage saxophones may not be in great playing condition, but are generally bought for collection purposes. Some suppliers also sell vintage saxophones that are repaired and in good condition. They can also be custom-restored to suit individual requirements. Some manufacturers offer one-year guarantees on restored saxophones.

Otherwise, vintage saxophones are sold in “as is” condition to retain their original and antique value. Vintage saxophones can have frills like hand engravings on them. They are also generally gold- or silver-plated instead of being lacquered like the new saxophones.

Here is a sampling of the vintage saxophones available at one dealer: King - super 20 and zephyr; Selmer - mark VII, mark VI, super balanced action, balanced action, super, radio improved, and cigar cutter; Buescher - true tone, aristocrat, and 400 top hat and cane; Conn - Chu Berry, conqueror (26 and 30M), and lady face (4M, 6M, 10M, and 12M); Martin - handcraft, magna and committee.

Vintage saxophones can be found at local music stores or in antique shops. They can also be found by browsing some special sites on the Internet, which provides hundreds of choices in vintage saxophones. However, some Internet dealers sell fake vintage saxophones. Some suppliers of vintage saxophones offer certificates of guarantee, or even warranties.

e-Saxophones.com Saxophones provides detailed information about saxophones, jazz saxophones, soprano saxophones, alto saxophones and more. Saxophones is the sister site of i-violins.com Violins Web.

Acoustic Highway is the latest release from Smooth Jazz Artist Craig Chaquico, and I can only think of one word to describe this CD… AWESOME!

It’s a rare day indeed that I get a CD from an artist that I can truthfully say does not have a bad track in the bunch. I’m more than happy to announce that’s exactly what I must say about this one. There simply is NOT a bad one in the bunch. No fillers here at all, with each song standing tall on it’s own.

Craig Chaquico is one of those musicians that has the ability to just bowl you over with his talent. The kind of artist it’s really a treat to be able to listen to.

Overall Acoustic Highway is an outstanding release. What I call must have music. I give it two thumbs up and is most definetly a worthy addition to any Smooth Jazz collection. Truly an outstanding Smooth Jazz CD. One of those that is completely void of any wasted time, as each track is simply superb.

While this entire album is really very good some of my favorites are track 2, Return Of The Eagle, track 5, Acoustic Highway, and track 8, Land Of The Giants.

My SmoothLee Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is track 4, Angel Tears. Outstanding!

Acoustic Highway Release Notes:

Craig Chaquico originally released Acoustic Highway on Jun 10, 1993 on the Higher Octave label.

CD Track List Follows:

1. Mountain In The Mist
2. Return Of The Eagle
3. Gypsy Nights
4. Angel Tears
5. Acoustic Highway
6. Sacred Ground
7. Summers End
8. Land Of The Giants
9. Sunset Altar

Personnel: Craig Chaquico (guitar, stereo guitar); Ozzie Ahlers (keyboards, percussion). Recorded at Lunatunes, Mill Valley, California.

Get the information you want on your favorite smooth jazz songs and artists at ilovesmoothjazz.com iLoveSmoothJazz.com

Clyde Lee Dennis, a.k.a. smoothlee.com SmoothLee is a life long music fanatic, smooth jazz in particular, and does a daily online radio show featuring smooth jazz music that can be heard at bostonsmoothjazzradio.com BostonSmoothJazzRadio.com

If you are wishing to harmonize or balance your house or any other environment according to feng shui, the ideal way to do so is through a feng shui consultation. A feng shui consultation would provide you the right and proper guidance for you to successfully achieve your goal.

Before you go to a feng shui consultation, it is important that you pay attention to choosing a good consultant. You should try to find out one who has experience and demonstrated knowledge. As with everything else, there are real feng shui consultants, who care for what they do, as well as there are others who do not. But you can easily check on this by asking him some references on where he learned and about past work.

A feng shui consultation may vary according to each different person and the way they like to work, but most of them would follow some general aspects in common. And, ideally, they should allow you to understand what they are talking about and what they are based on to give you a specific orientation.

Most of the times, a proper feng shui consultation would take the consultant to go to the place which must be harmonized. Sometimes a video of the place can be very helpful as well, but a proper feng shui consultation takes the consultant to be able to see the place before he can give certain advice.

A feng shui consultation could go through different stages. First, you may approach the consultant at his work office and let him know your general ideas. Then, he might ask you to give him a video of the space for which you are consulting him. Once he has the video, he can provide you with specific guidelines on what to do. And then, or instead of the last step, there would be a feng shui consultation stage done in the space itself.

The best advice you can receive from a feng shui consultation is based on accurate information. And, by allowing the consultant to actually see the place you would be able to receive the most accurate information and guidance possible.

About The Author

Jakob Jelling is the founder of fengshuicrazy.com” target=”_new fengshuicrazy.com. Please visit his website and learn all the feng shui tips you’ll ever need!