VampireS SUMO

Night clubs were really big during the 1920s and 1930s. Plenty of movies have been made depicting the night club scene. Some have, no doubt, be glamorous portrayals and some not so. The roaring 20s certainly had its share of excitement at the local night club with its torch singers and comics. This tradition lasted for many years, all the way to the era of night club performers like Dean Martin and Buddy Hacket. But over the years the nightclub scene has changed a lot, mostly because people have changed. The world will live in is a lot different from the world of the 20s and 30s. There’s more to do and more to see. Suddenly, sitting in a club and listening to somebody belt out a few songs isn’t the thrill it used to be. Hearing a 3rd rate comic tell a few bad jokes doesn’t do it for people as much as it used to. So what exactly has happened to the night club?

Well, the night club is still around. It’s just changed a lot since the early days. Today, the night club scene is more about getting the audience involved than ever before. In addition to the entertainers, who still make the scene, there are other forms of entertainment that take place at various night clubs, depending on where you go.

For example. Some night clubs have amateur night, which is really a scream. This is where people in the audience get up on stage and perform. They might sing, or tell jokes, or even do magic tricks. You have to look hard to find night clubs that offer this activity, but they exist. And for those who are daring, it is an awful lot of fun and a great way to get over your stage fright.

And of course there are your night clubs located in the gambling districts of certain cities that offer their patrons the chance to maybe win a little money on the side. Oh sure, this went on in the 20s and 30s too, but in back rooms with a guy by the name of Vito rolling the dice. Today, this is done out in the open in specially designated rooms for these activities.

Then there are some night clubs today that have nights that don’t feature any live entertainment at all. On these nights you will usually have a DJ spinning the latest hit records of yesterday and today to dance to. They may even run a dance contest that evening and award a prize to the best couple, as voted by a select panel.

Obviously, the night club wouldn’t be complete with the drinks. Most night clubs have just about every kind of alcoholic beverage that you can think of. The bartenders who work at your finer night clubs are highly skilled. These aren’t the kind of guys you’re going to find at the corner bar. These are the cream of the crop.

A night club can still be and is a very enjoyable experience. If you′ve never been to one, grab a hold of your best girl and take her Club 7 in Las Vegas. You won’t be sorry.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to

Just like any other media driven sport in the world, poker has its own fashion and its own distinct look. And just like all other sport related looks, the ‘poker look’ stems from the stars of the sport. You have your jerseys from sports like football and hockey, polo shirts from golf, the suburban look of x-treme athletes and many other looks. But what exactly is the ‘poker look’?

A month ago I made my first trip to Vegas and of course went straight to the poker rooms. Staying at the Mirage I naturally went to their poker room first to dip my feet in the pool of Vegas poker. Seeing as this was my first time in Vegas and not too sure what sort of players I was up against I decided to hit a $1/$2 limit table first.
As I sat down I gave a general greet to everyone and managed to only get a reply from one person, some old guy with a comb over who winked at me. Except for the scary old guy it was a pretty cold reception but I was here to play not make friends anyway.

After about half an hour I could already see a pattern. I was being excluded from all conversations and more importantly they where all being a lot more aggressive in their play towards me. After 30 minutes of this I got a little annoyed, so I took the little bit I had won and headed to the nearby pizza place to get something to eat.

While waiting for my order I noticed one of the players from the table I was playing at placing an order. Curious as to the way I was treated on the table I walked up the guy and talked to him. After quickly introducing myself and mentioning how I noticed him at the table I got straight to the point and asked, “not to be rude or anything but I noticed that the players at the table where a little hostile towards me. Is there any reason for that?”

Taking off his leather cowboy hat he looked at me and in a thick Texan accent replied, “don’t take it too hard son, we do that to all the casual players that waltz on in.”

Seeing as the cold reception was pretty much instantaneous and the fact I played a reasonable game for the hour I was there I had to ask, “but how did you know I was a casual player?”

Laughing the guy replied, “Look at the way you are dressed!”
So I went back to the room to exam my attire seeing as I didn′t want this treatment the whole time. In the room I checked myself in the mirror to find myself wearing my boots, jeans and t-shirt. A little casual but I thought I had seen other people wearing the same in the room, though they could have been ‘casual players’ too.

I knew I needed to do some research so I switched on the television in the room and turned to ESPN where I managed to get lucky with the World Series Of Poker running. Grabbing the notepad near the phone and a pen I nabbed from the front desk I glued myself to the television screen and took notes for the next couple of hours determined to find the poker look.

After the WSOP finished up on ESPN I checked over my notes and discovered that there was indeed a poker look. In fact I had observed that there were a few distinct poker looks. They fell into four categories.
Firstly there is the old school poker look, which is mainly worn by the old school players, although there are a few newer players that had adopted the look. This look involves a cowboy hat of some design, usually a sports jacket that doesn’t necessarily have to match the rest of the outfit and in many cases big glasses.

Secondly there is the mid generation geek look which consists of no real style at all except the most plain shirt possible, maybe a comb over and in many cases a sweater.

Thirdly there is the ‘big player’ look worn by the players who try to impress while they play. All that is needed for this look is a nice shirt, not quite buttoned up all the way, a gold chain or two and a haircut that Tom Cruise would envy.

The most popular look though is the more modern new generation poker look. What’s needed for this look is any combination of sunglasses, an mѣ player, a baseball cap and some piece of clothing that has some poker phrase/logo.

So with this information in hand all I needed to do now was pick a look. First one was out of the question as I wasn′t going to buy a cowboy hat just for playing poker and I try to wear jackets as little as possible. Scribbled out the second one without even blinking. Third one wasn′t really any good either as I have to dress up for work and I play poker to have fun and relax.

So that left me with option four, which wouldn’t be too hard to throw together. I couldn’t play at the Mirage, as they would know me for the fraud I was. So the next day I left the Mirage with my mѣ player, my Oakley’s and picked myself up a hat that said ‘I am king’ with a big king of hearts in the middle.

A friend of mine who had come on the trip wanted to check out the MGM grand so we headed over there where of course I headed straight to the poker room. Quite impressed with the look of the place I had arrived just in time for a tournament.

In my full poker get up I headed to my table where I once again made a general hello and was greeted by hellos and even a few names. I was in! Sitting down I put my chips on the table and got ready to experience the inner poker world. Unfortunately things spiraled downwards from there.
First mishap came shortly after the tournament started where I picked up pocket queens. I raised pre-flop and two players came in to see Q 10 3 off suite drop which would have been great except I was tapping away to the music that I hadn’t noticed that it had come to my turn to act. The dealer seeing me tapping away at the table took me as checking. A king dropped next giving one of the players his busted straight and eventually the pot. Not happy I immediately took out the headphones and shoved my mp3 player into my backpack.

I managed to take the knock and get back into the game and was doing fine until an hour later when I found I was continuously scratching my scalp. I suddenly remembered that I didn’t wear hats because they had a tendency to irritate my head. So the hat joined my mp3 player in the bottom of my bag, though I still was looking the part with my Oakley’s.
Not long after that the final straw fell. I was dealt A K of spades so I raised and was seen by one player. Down flopped 2 8 J of spades, so I had drawn the highest flush with very little chance of being beaten. First to act I of course check and then proceed to call his bet. Down drops an ace of hearts again I check and he bets which I call. Last card drops and it’s a rag card and playing this out long enough I bet big. He then raises and this results in me going all in to see his cards, which turn out to be A J.

Now at this point I am ecstatic and turn over my cards revealing the flush only to see the dealer push the stack towards the other player. I take of my sunglasses to see the cards better to discover that one of the spades is in fact a club. Of course the glasses go into the backpack and with the last of my costume disappearing and the hoax being revealed I am sneered as I leave the table.

Going back to the Mirage and my room with my tail between my legs I turn on the television and switch to ESPN and decided to leave the poker fashion to others, next time I am just going to play cards.

Michael Hayter
completeonlinepoker.com completeonlinepoker.com

Poker is a great sport and hobby and it has been able to attract a great deal of notoriety, especially in recent years. The ages of people becoming interested in poker are getting younger and younger, and it is not just the male gender which is interested in the sport. The demographic is also growing to incorporate a greater number of females who like to play the different games of poker that are available. As a result of this increase in popularity, both the internet as well as brick and mortar casinos are implementing more poker tables into their areas in order to accommodate the rising number of patrons.

Physical casinos can redesign the structures of their casinos, allowing them to put more of an emphasis on the game of poker and the new poker tables that they have available. This is a great marketing strategy for them and it works quite well for the physical casinos that have attempted this. Online, poker tables are available on a great number of casino and gambling sites, and the more poker tables a site has, the more people they are able to accommodate. One of the great things that online casinos can offer is that some of them supply private poker tables for groups of friends, which makes it just as easy and convenient to meet up with buddies for a night of poker no matter where everyone is geographically located.

The doylesroom.com/ Poker table is a great attraction no matter what type of casino people are visiting, be it virtual or physically located, and they generate a great deal of income for the casino and for individuals as well.

Professional SEO. He helps a number of online gambling sites like:

doylesroomaffiliates.com/” title=”Poker Affiliate Program Poker Affiliate
doylespokerroom.com/ Poker Room

BACKGROUND HISTORY: The first musical bands originated in New Orleans among black musicians who have traditionally been the innovators. The first jazz record ever recorded was by The Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1917, and of course they were white because racism always rears its ugly head to hold black people back. But during the Roaring 20’s, young white people couldn’t resist the dance beat laid down by the black jazz bands. Fletcher Henderson, a black man, became the first band leader to achieve national fame possibly because he featured Louis Armstrong on trumpet. Duke Ellington, a classicly trained musician, brought a level of style and sophistication to jazz that hadn’t been seen before. But it wasn’t until 1935 that jazz bands with a “swing beat” achieved national attention due to Benny Goodman who I think was the best clarinet player ever to blow air into that instrument. Benny also had the good sense and taste to bring the first great drummer, Gene Krupa, into his band.

When rock and roll exploded into human consciousness during the early 1950’s, black musicians like Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and Smokey Robinson pioneered the way, but a white DJ named Alan Freed is believed to have coined the term “rock and roll”. The first real rock and roll record was “Shake, Rattle and Roll”, written by Jesse Stone who was black and recorded by Big Joe Turner who was also black but it wasn’t a hit. The first big hit rock and roll record was “Rock Around the Clock” written by James Meyers and Max Freeman of obvious ancestry, and that one catapulted Bill Haley and his Caucasian Comets to stardom. During the 1950’s and early 60’s, there were countless “do wop” groups, rock groups, singers and songwriters but until The Beatles hit the charts, there had been very few bands which contained talented songwriters. The vast majority of jazz and rock bands recorded songs written by songwriters who were not performers, with occasional exceptions like Duke Ellington and Buddy Holly. As time goes on, it’s increasingly clear that Lennon/McCartney songs are brilliant classics which will never be forgotten. Now here’s why The Beatles are the most creative band of all time:

1. BEST EXAMPLE OF FORM = CONTENT

As I sit here writing this at the keyboard of my computer facing the unique and colorful Beatles poster in my bedroom, I’m aware that I have been directly and indirectly inspired by John Lennon’s music as well as by the way he lived his life offstage. Squarely in front of me is a full color poster of all four Beatles standing in a heavenly-like flower garden at about the time of the Abbey Road album. Paul is angelic in his pink suit with a white laced shirt. John is enigmatic peering out from the background. George is charismatic staring directly into the camera from the lower right. Ringo is on the left with a stylish blue suit and his pink ruffled shirt. I always wished I could dress like those guys but obviously there’s a bit of a problem with a money differential there. Surrounding this gorgeous poster which I have never seen elsewhere are my 45 speed original Beatles hit records, including I Want to Hold Your Hand, She Loves You, Please Please Me, Twist and Shout, Can′t Buy Me Love, She’s A Woman, Yesterday, and of course, Hey Jude. And surrounding all that is a chain of 1-1/2″ long orange flicker flame lights which are the most beautiful and unique Christmas lights I’ve ever seen. I chose to decorate the wall directly in front of my work station this way because, as I’ve written elsewhere on this site several times, the Beatles were my major musical influence and having them on the wall in front of me inspires me to write web pages like this one. I was also among the millions of people who were inspired by how The Beatles were actually living their off stage lives. The Beatles’ music creatively stimulated millions of people to change the way they were living, and The Beatles behavior encouraged people to have fun by trying new life style experiences. That’s what I call a perfect example of FORM = CONTENT. In this case it means that the creatively and masterfully varied music The Beatles were producing (form) embodied the real life styles which each of the four Beatles were living (content), together as a band as well as separately as unique individuals.

2. BEST SONGWRITERS

This should be self-evident, but just because Paul McCartney has the title of the most popular songwriter in history doesn’t necessarily make him the best songwriter in history. The qualities which do make both Paul and John the best songwriters in history go beyond writing the greatest number of catchy classic songs. “Catchy″ means that their melodies and lyrics are instantly memorable. “Classic” means that they stand the test of time. But both Paul and John wrote very sophisticated melodies that moved beyond the simple groups of 2, 4 and 8 patterned phrases used by almost all other songwriters. John and Paul’s melodies soared, floated, cascaded, dived and peaked with true dynamics, naturally following the syllabic lyric patterns - but not always. Sometimes the melodic and lyric patterns were independent of each other, almost counterpoint in nature, and as a songwriter, they never ceased to astonish me with their brilliance and originality. In the beginning, their lyrics were simple and their songs were simple love songs. But they soon began exploring new territory by writing about subjects that hadn’t been covered before. Inspired by Bob Dylan, they wrote true poetry with feeling and depth, using evocative and unusual words. Rubber Soul marked the beginning of their evolution as mature songwriters, Revolver was a break-out album, and Sergeant Pepper was an historic landmark album in terms of new and innovative songwriting as well as production. Every song they wrote was significantly different from the last one even though each song had their unmistakable sound.

Most songwriters are only average players on their instruments, but John and Paul are both sophisticated guitarists who were able to integrate their playing into their songs and even into their song structure so that the “licks” they played became as catchy a part of their songs as the choruses and verses. Blackbird and Dear Prudence are only two examples of songs which couldn’t possibly be written by any other songwriter because of the guitar playing which forms an integral part of the song structure. In similar fashion, Lady Madonna is the best example of a great song which derives from the unique and beautiful bass part which only Paul could possibly have created.

Average songwriters achieve the catchy quality by repeating a phrase endlessly or by beating a chorus to death. John and Paul found countless ways to be memorable without ever overly repeating something. The only time they repeated something over and over again for a long time was in Hey Jude, and what they chose to repeat is so gorgeous that one can only wish they had never ended the song. The Beatles were my biggest musical influence and I used to think, “If I could write just one song that’s as good as John and Paul’s worst song, I′d be happy.” People tell me I accomplished that goal and they say one good example is John is Alive, which is my sincere tribute to Sir Lennon.

3. BEST SINGERS

Even Ringo could sing when he got a little help from his friends who lived in the yellow submarine. But to say that Paul and John are two of the best singers in rock and roll is to state the obvious. Combining John, Paul and George created the best harmony vocals the world has ever experienced. Even their two part harmonies were unusual, catching us all by surprise on their first hit record with the fast harmony melisma in the chorus of I Want to Hold Your Hand. John had a knack of placing a unique low harmony line underneath Paul’s high melody line so as to form a second melody which created unusual harmony effects. He did that right from the beginning in the verses of She Loves You. Both Paul and John could blast out screaming rock and roll (i.e. Long Tall Sally and Twist and Shout), and both could break our hearts with touching, deep feeling ballads (i.e. Yesterday and Julia). There seems to be no end to their emotional vocal range, and John even explored the heights of vocal psychedelia in songs like She Said (Revolver) and Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.

4. MOST CREATIVE PLAYERS

Paul brought a new style of melodic playing to the bass guitar, reaching a new high of creativity on Sergeant Pepper with a level of sophistication never heard before. Many other musicians besides me recognize Paul as being one of the best bass guitar players ever. George is underrated as a lead guitarist by people with average or below average musical knowledge or ability, but most guitarists (including Eric Clapton) know better. George’s strength is in melody, pure and simple. It would be difficult to find a George Harrison lead which is not melodic, and each of his leads has a strong beginning, a stronger middle and a well defined ending. In fact, that’s Eric’s definition of what makes a good guitar lead. George continually developed new guitar sounds for each Beatles song. John and Paul are also excellent guitarists and both recorded great leads as well as innovative rhythm tracks. All three of the Beatles guitarists may lack showy technical fireworks but they make that definition of guitar mastery irrelevant by overwhelming the senses with creativity, style, and pure melody. The exact same thing can be said about John and Paul’s keyboard playing. Ringo may be underrated as a drummer by the public but he is not underrated by other professional drummers. Ringo mastered the art of drum sounds. No drummer has ever recorded so many different sounds on so many different sounding records. Ringo invented a new style of slow drum playing, epitomized on A Day in the Life and Strawberry Fields Forever. John said many times, “Ringo has the best back beat in the business” and the successful studio drummers understand why John was correct.

5. TOTAL CHARISMA

A good definition of charisma needs to include “an unusual ability to influence people and arouse devotion” and “a personal attractiveness which enables a person to influence others”. No musical group prior to or after The Beatles features true charisma emanating strongly from the entire group as well as separately from each member. The Beatles stunned the world with their photogenic quality, their charm, their bubbling and lovable personalities, their cuteness and their unique style. Even before The Beatles achieved fame, people in Liverpool were imitating their haircuts, the way they dressed, the way they behaved, and the way they lived. Such a simple subliminal message about smoking marijuana got communicated to all the hippies who were waiting to happen without actual words ever being spoken. The Beatles had a lot to lose by being explicit on that subject, but they successfully avoided trouble by keeping it very subtle while at the same time clear enough so that we all got it. The Fab Four kept changing their styles rapidly, almost with each album cover, and soon the message became one of explicit spiritualism. After visiting India, The Beatles introduced eastern mysticism and meditation to the Western world for the first time through the mass media. John’s long saga with internal angst, drugs, spiritualism, politics, personal battles, and ultimately his marriage to Yoko played out like a movie the whole world got to watch in fascination. Paul’s happy life with Linda, George’s great focus on meditation, and Ringo’s equanimity throughout were all perfect examples of the power, the truth, and the effectiveness of true charisma.

6. SEXUAL AURA

Need I say it? Ask the millions of girls who were screaming and fainting at the very sight of them. “The Boys″ didn’t move like Elvis or dance like Mick, they just stood there shaking their “mop top” heads around, smiling, laughing, and looking gorgeous as they performed great music and that was it. On their first visit to America, some enterprising weirdo from New York City managed to cut up the hotel bed sheets The Beatles had slept on into 1″ square pieces, and these things were actually sold to girls over the public airwaves by adult DJ’s on the AM radio stations who should have known better. The Beatles phenomenon went way beyond the rock and roll sex star status that had been seen before. Teenage girls in uncountable numbers fell in love, their hearts to be trapped, their heart strings to be continually plucked, and ultimately, their hearts to be broken by the unobtainable object of their love. Worshiping a star from afar? Infatuation? Obsession? Not real love? For many of them, it was their first experience feeling love for a man/boy. Whatever it was, it was very real to all of them, and we all soon understood that The Beatles were The Real Thing.

That’s why I call The Beatles the Most Creative Band of All Time. They were The Real Thing. The Creative Zenith. The high point on the bell curve of musical history.

Peter Cross is a singer/songwriter/producer/Web Master. You can find this article at:

The work of a new group of abstract painters was termed “Op Art.”

It was so called because of its illusionary characteristics. It captured and held the eye so that lines, rings, shapes put together, looked as if they were moving. It could, in fact, make one feel quite dizzy.

The correct name for Op art is Optical Art because of its effect on the eye, with the illusion of movement, colour, and the imaginary increase in size. Op art works are purely abstract with many of the well known works in black and white.

Op art was reviewed in Time Magazine in 1964. See the work ‘ Zebra’ of Victor Vasarely which was painted much earlier. It consists of diagonal black and white lines, curving. The effect is distinctly three dimensional showing a a seated zebra.

In 1965, The Responsive Eye exhibition in New York was exclusively Op art. The movement and its artists naturally became more important and popular. Op art also lent itself to commercial contexts.

Bridget Riley was one of the foremost Op artists. Her works were black and white lines, with no hint of any real objects, but showing much movement which, and illusionary colour.

Copyright.
Margaret Houghton

[Not for publication:
Victor Varsarely was a Hungarian born, French artist.
Bridget Riley was a British abstract painter.
Houghton is my surname.

Margaret Houghton graduated in Fine Art from the Western Australian Institute of Technology in 1982 , majoring in painting. She prefers acrylics to oil paints. Recently, she turned her attention to writing ezine articles.

Country music super star Faith Hill has released her first CD in more than three years on the Warner Bros label entitled Fireflies.

This is her sixth release with each of the previous five being multi-platinum efforts, and nine country music #1’s under her belt. Oh and don′t forget about her being a multi Grammy Award Winner.

With a resume like the one just described Hill is clearly one of the biggest, and brightest stars in all of music. Not just country music.

Fireflies is somewhat of a return effort for Hill as she gets back to her country roots after experimenting outside the boundaries of country music on her last outing, Breathe.

I like Fireflies because of it’s high production value, and the focus of the collection is once again on Faith’s incredible singing voice.

The CD launches with a very vibrant tune in Sunshine & Summertime and from there proceeds to remind us that when Hill is in top form, as she is here, the quality of her voice is second to none.

Overall Fireflies is very easy to listen to and is what I call, must have music. I give it two thumbs up. Even the casual music fan will appreciate and enjoy Hills incredible vocal presentations provided here.

The standout tunes on Fireflies are Sunshine & Summertime [track 1], Like We Never Loved At All [track 7], and Paris [track 14]. My Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is track 5, Stealing Kisses. Very nice!

Release Notes:

Faith Hill originally released Fireflies on August 2, 2005 on the Warner Bros record label.

CD track list follows:

1. Sunshine &amp Summertime
2. Mississippi Girl
3. Dearly Beloved
4. Ain’t Gonna Take It
5. Stealing Kisses
6. Fireflies
7. Like We Never Loved At All
8. I Want You
9. Lucky One
10. Lucky One
11. We’ve Got Nothing But Love To Prove
12. You Stay With Me
13. Wish For You
14. Paris

Clyde Lee Dennis, a.k.a. SmoothLee is a life long music fanatic on a mission to “Soothe Souls Worldwide through positive messages and peaceful, soothing music”. A mission he accomplishes on a daily basis through his company smoothlee.com
SmoothLee Incorporated which operates the smoothjazz247.com Smooth Jazz Online Radio Network

Shutter speed is perhaps the most creative adjustment available to the digital photographer. It allows us to freeze action or use motion blur to create a variety of effects, and is expressed in seconds or fractions of seconds depending on the length of exposure.

A high shutter speed (1/1000 of a second or higher) can freeze even very fast moving objects dead in their tracks. However, you will need to keep a couple of things in mind:

1.) You are going to need a brightly lit subject as shutter speeds this high don’t allow your camera much time to gather light for exposure. You can get around this to a degree by using a higher ISO setting, but don’t go to high, or noise will creep into your shot.

2.) If possible, set up your shot by having your camera focused on the spot where your subject is going to pass by. This will allow you to concentrate on timing your subject’s approach, giving you a better chance to trip the shutter at just the right moment.

Medium shutter speeds (1/20 of a second to 1/80 of a second) can be used to create motion blur when photographing moving objects. This gives the photo a sense of life and motion. Here are several ways you can approach this type of motion blur:

1.) With your camera stationary, trip the shutter as a moving subject passes by. This will make the subject look blurred, while keeping the rest of the shot clear—giving your subject a look of speed and a sense that it is moving out of the shot.

2.) Follow your subject through the viewfinder in a smooth sweeping motion as it approaches, and trip the shutter as your subject goes by—this is called “panning.” This method will keep your subject relatively clear, but will blur the background, giving an overall sense of speed and movement. The timing for this type of shot takes a little practice, but the results make it well worthwhile.

3.) When shooting a stationary subject, purposely move your camera in a sweeping or circular motion to create a blur of colours and lines. This one is a lot of fun and can provide some interesting abstract results.

Low shutter speeds (1/8 of a second up to 30 seconds and beyond) can be used to create a variety of effects—here are just a few:

Note: For most of these long exposures a tripod or some other means of keeping the camera perfectly still is necessary to avoid creating unintended blur.

1.) Moving water will look smooth and silky when shot at shutter speeds of 1/8 of a second or more—the longer the exposure the more pronounced the effect.

2.) When photographed at shutter speeds of 2 seconds or greater, car lights will turn into long colourful trails—the longer the exposure, the longer the trails.

3.) When very long exposures are used (15 seconds plus) city lights will often take on a stretched, star-like appearance.

4.) Photographing city lights at shutter speeds of 1/15 of a second, or so, either from a moving vehicle, or while walking, can produce interesting and colourful abstracts (no tripod needed.)

Most digital cameras have a shutter speed priority setting, which allows you to control the shutter speed—try it—it can open up a whole new world, and its loads of fun to boot.

For more digital photography tips, visit Jeff Galbraith’s web site: jeffgalbraithphotography.ca jeffgalbraithphotography.ca

They met at the very edge of Queen Anne Hill, in the parking lot of a defunct Safeway store. In the dead of night they gathered, this gang for sly and sneaky temps, to fight for the longest and best temporary employee assignment in Seattle. Make no mistake about it, they would fight to the death if need be, and the losers had already pledged to turn the job down.

It was Gretta who called this gang together, having recently survived the worst assignment of them all—the dreaded mail room job at the city jail. Her hands bandaged from paper cuts, her back just barely healed from heavy lifting, Gretta was determined to have that job if it was the last thing she ever did! But what kind of race would be fair? Temps came in all shapes and sizes. Some were old, some young, some fat, some ugly and some … well, Gretta would only say she couldn’t compete with some of them.

Eighteen Wheelers, decided Gretta. Shoot, everyone had one and knew how to drive it. Yes indeed, that would be fair. So there they were, this gang of the top six temps, their shiny rigs evenly lined up in the empty parking lot. With her Mariner baseball cap on backward, dressed in faded jeans and her favorite Seahawk sweatshirt, Gretta slowly raised the flag. In a loud voice and with a distinct Seattle accent, she counted down the last few seconds — 12:59.58, 12:59.59 . . . Suddenly, she whipped the flag through the air and jumped into the cab of her rig.

Diesel engines instantly roared to life, bright headlights came on and Hairless Harry’s eyes turned dark and mean. He was dressed in all black, the same midnight black as the paint on his rig, when he harshly shoved his stick into gear. A size 22 boot slammed on the gas and his big shiny machine shot through the darkness — through the parking lot and clean through the chain link fence.

His tires squealed, his engine roared and the strained metal of his rig cried out in anguish as he desperately tried to make the turn. Two Qwest phone booths were the first to go, flying across the intersection and landing on three empty, parked cars. Then the Bank of America building seemed to tremble… just before he ran over the curb, knocked over the “no parking” sign and bounced off its side. Finally, Hairless Harry straightened the wheels and sped off down the street.

Still glued to her seat, Quick Draw Lucy roared with laughter — Hairless Harry was going the wrong way!

To be continued…

About The Author

Marti Talbott is the author of: Colorado Cold Case - the Botham/Miracle murders. She is also the owner of Case Watchers, a criminal trial news site.

casewatcher.com www.casewatcher.com

Here is a brief presentation of the last six of the twelve Chinese Horoscope signs, their nature, characteristics and attributes. I will present them as ordered by the supreme Chinese gods that created Chinese Astrology and the Chinese calendar system. The last six Chinese horoscope animal signs are: Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig. Here we go.

Horse (Yang-male nature)

The Horse is a Chinese Horoscope sign that always expects to be free. Horse people are self confident and usually determined enough to succeed on their goals. They like to attract general attention and to be flattered, but they will know if someone really appreciates their skills or not. Another attribute of the Horse is honesty. Horse people are usually honest and genuine with others and can have a lot of friends if they choose so. You should expect to receive good advice from a Horse if you take the time to explain your situation carefully. A Horse can also be brave but at the same time too sensitive. This sensitivity may sometimes trigger their defense mechanisms for no reason.

Sheep (Yin-female nature)
The Sheep (Ram) is a very interesting Chinese Horoscope sign. It has a female nature and a lot of positive attributes like the tendency to be artistic and the interest in fashion. Sheep people are caring and they will try not to hurt others with their actions. That is why they like to think before they act. Sheep people are considered to be extremely shy. A Sheep is well mannered and can support its opinions. Sometimes, the fact that they are shy makes them insecure and they happen to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. A Sheep type of person is usually sensitive and need to feel loved and protected.

Monkey (Yang-male nature)
The Monkey is the most flexible Chinese Horoscope sign of all. Monkey people usually end up as inventors, scientists, artists or people who entertain the masses one way or the other. They are very creative and can be considered geniuses at a later stage in their lives. Monkey people tend to take control of a situation by being aware of what is going on around them. This in fact is a great gift they possess that will guide them through their lives. Another interesting attribute is their reliability. If you have a friend who is a Monkey it is likely that they will keep any secret you share with them. Monkey people are also honest, funny and they make a good company or companion.

Rooster (Yin-female nature)
The Rooster is the tenth Chinese Horoscope sign. Number ten (10) is considered a lucky number in Chinese culture and it is not a coincidence that a Rooster is supposed to be very fortunate. Rooster people like to carefully observe everything and they are usually successfull with their observations. They are courageous, brave and independent spirits, but on the other hand they can become pretentious, obsessed and self absorbed. A Rooster is sociable at times and will love to meet new places and new people. Rooster people always like to be in the center of attention especially when it comes to their friends and family. They would do anything to achieve that.

Dog (Yang-male nature)

The Dog is the most loyal Chinese Horoscope sign of all. Dog people can be trusted to keep secrets or accomplish all kinds of difficult tasks as partners. If there’s one thing they like to do is to take care of their outer appearance. Dog people love good looks and can express interesting opinions about fashion and styling. Another great characteristic of Dog people is their patience, especially with other people. They use their minds to understand situations, provide smart solutions and they will usually do anything to help others. A Dog has a very positive attitude and can attract friends like a magnet.

Pig (Yin-female nature)
The Pig is the twelfth and the last sign of the Chinese Horoscope cycle. It symbolizes fertility and good fortune. Chinese believe that people who are born under this sign will be honest and they will achieve happiness that way. Pig people are indeed very honest and patient. They prefer to work behind the scene. It will take time to feel comfortable with a Pig person but once you do you will be presented with a warm heart ready to support you in any case. Pig people are peaceful creatures who like hanging around in the nature. They love mountains, lakes, meadows etc. The Pig prefers to live in the country side instead of a big city.

Ewyen Minh is an eccentric Chinese Astrologer with over 30 years of experience in divination and the Chinese Zodiac system. Learn more about the chineseastrologer.org/introducing_the_twelve_chinese_horoscope_signs.php Twelve Chinese Horoscope signs or Visit Ewyen’s website about chineseastrologer.org Chinese Astrology and chineseastrologer.org Chinese Horoscope to find free information about your Chinese sign and discover a way to communicate with your soul and fulfill your destiny.

Minor pentatonic scales are used extensively in modern and classic rock. A strong understanding of how pentatonic scales work, and can be used for soloing and creating riffs, is extremely important. They are also the easiest and generally the first scales most people learn.

Minor Pentatonic Basics:

I assume you know how to read basic TAB format for this lesson. If you have not been exposed to TAB then you should review our lesson on reading guitar TAB before moving on.

The Minor Pentatonic scale consists of the following intervals: 1 b3 4 5 b7 1. In the key of A the intervals would be the notes of A C D E G A. There are 5 scale shapes in “box” patterns for the pentatonic scales. For the A minor pentatonic the box shape follows:

E|-5-|—|—|-8-|—|
B|-5-|—|—|-8-|—|
G|-5-|—|-7-|—|—|
D|-5-|—|-7-|—|—|
A|-5-|—|-7-|—|—|
E|-5-|—|—|-8-|—|

The 5 is the fifth fret and is the root note, thus the name of the key and scale is A, the intervals determines the type Minor or Major. This scale shape above is the most scale and is used in rock, blues and most styles of music. If you move this entire shape up to positions on the guitar and play the same shape you will have a B minor pentatonic. Likewise if you slide the entire shape down two potions you have a G minor pentatonic. See Below:

E|-3-|—|—|-6-|—|
B|-3-|—|—|-6-|—|
G|-3-|—|-5-|—|—|
D|-3-|—|-5-|—|—|
A|-3-|—|-5-|—|—|
E|-3-|—|—|-6-|—|

Practice this scale shape several times a day, moving it into different positions or keys, for variety. Many of rocks most famous licks are derived form this shape. If you are going to play guitar learning this one basic shape is mandatory.

Next up – The Major Pentatonic Scale.

Bill McRea is the publisher of guitarwarehouse.com/ The
Guitar Warehouse and guitar-playing-techniques.com/ Guitar
Playing Techniques. Both sites offer free lesson and product sales.