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Ahhhh…The Three Stooges…Classic slapstick comedy and an American tradition. Who hasn’t seen a Stooge classic film short? But, who were these men who brought their caustic brand of physical comedy into our living rooms and theaters?

We all know them as Curly, Larry and Moe, but when they first started in1922 they were with a vaudeville act called Ted Healy and his Stooges (which was originally called Ted Healy and his Southern Gentlemen).

The ensemble consisted of Ted Healy, brothers Harry Moses Howard (Moe), Samuel Howard (Shemp) and Larry Fine (Larry). In 1931, Shemp left the group for a career in feature films, and needing a third stooge, Moe suggested his brother Jerome. Ted, not enamored with his long hair and facial hair, stated he (Jerome) was not a character like Moe and Larry. Jerome left the room and quickly returned with a shaved head and face and Curly, as we know him, was born.

In his autobiography, Moe Howard and The Three Stooges, The Stooges and Ted Healy parted company in 1934 because, as Moe recalled, of Healy’s abrasiveness and alcoholism. This is when they began their Columbia Pictures film career and the Three Stooges, as most of us know them, started their long journey into comedy history.

From 1934 until 1959, the Three Stooges starred in 190 film shorts; the longest such series in film history. They also appeared in a dozen movies and entertained millions throughout the world with their catch phrases, physical routines and masterful comedy.

In 1946, Curly suffered a stroke and Shemp was asked to rejoin the group. Knowing that Moe and Larry careers and the Stooges would be finished, he reluctantly agreed to rejoin the group, but only on a temporary basis. Unfortunately, Curly never recovered and died in January of 1952.

The Stooges, with Shemp as Curly’s replacement, went on to appear in 77 more short films and a feature film called Gold Raiders (1951). Additionally, in 1949, Moe, Larry and Shemp made a pilot for a Three Stooges television show called “Jerks of All Trades”. The show was never picked up, but the pilot is public domain and is available on home video.

The Three Stooges dynasty took another hit when Shemp Howard died of a sudden heart attack in November of 1955 at age 60. Joe Besser replaced Shemp in 1956-57, appearing in 16 short films. Interestingly, Joe had a clause in his contract specifically prohibiting him from being hit too hard, although it was lifted as time passed. Unfortunately, the market for short films and for the Stooges had passed. Columbia Pictures, the last studio still producing short films fired the Three Stooges in 1957. (Because of contractual obligations and backlogs, final Stooge shorts weren’t released until 1959). A new medium, television, had taken over.

The Stooges weren′t down for long as the “rebirth″ of the Stooges came rather quickly. In 1959, Columbia Pictures syndicated the entire Three Stooges film library to television and the Stooges were rediscovered by the baby boomers.

Stoogemania quickly swept across the country and Moe and Larry found themselves back in the spotlight again. But Joe Besser’s wife had a heart attack and he withdrew from the act, so Moe quickly signed Joe DeRita as his replacement. DeRita shaved his head and became Curly-Joe, because he looked like the original Curly.

This version of the Three Stooges went on to make 39 short films and a few full-length movies in the late 1950’s and through the 1960’s. In 1969 they filmed a pilot for a new TV series called “Kook’s Tour″, which would have been a show about the “retired” Stooges traveling the world, with episodes filmed on location. Alas, during production, Larry suffered a stroke that ended his acting career as well as the TV series. Larry suffered another stroke in December 1974 and another month later suffered a fatal stroke and died in January 1975.

It was thought that they could carry on, several movie ideas were considered, however Moe Howard passed away in May 1975. Although Curly-Joe (Joe DeRita) did some live work with a new group of “Stooges” in the early 1970’s, the Three Stooges, as we knew them, we gone.

This has been a synopsis of the lengthy careers and the phenomenon that was and still is the Three Stooges. With the advent of cable television, home video, dvds and with a loyal army of loyal fans, the Three Stooges are still entertaining the masses and will be for years to come.

Robert Benson has written articles on many subjects and operates two web sites. Learn about the hobby of vinyl record collecting or shop for your unique home decor at his online shopping site:

While there are many games in the world that demand a great deal of time and effort in order to learn the basic, but the backgammon board game is not one of these kind of games. The fact that one of the earliest recorded board games continues to increase in popularity after thousands of years of playing history, should be sufficient testimony to how accessible the game is to new players. Games with complex rules or games that require items that are very hard to come by would not have survived the test of time. However, the endurance of backgammon can be seen as indicative of the fact that most people have no difficulty when they decide to learn how to play backgammon.

Players also find that it is easy to find the backgammon board, counters, dice and dice shakers that constitute the backgammon setup. If they are sufficiently inventive they can improvise their own board and pieces as the original backgammon players surely did all those thousands of years ago when the game was first devised. More likely than making their own backgammon set up, players have no trouble locating a games or toys shop selling backgammon sets to suit their pocket or they can also order a backgammon set online. Whether they are interested in spending just a few dollars, or hundreds of dollars for a more exclusive set, they will find a good range of options available to them. Another popular choice today is acquiring a virtual as opposed to a physical backgammon set. There are quite a few Internet sites offering free backgammon. All that is needed is to locate one of these sites and activate the backgammon download to transfer the backgammon software to your own personal computer. In this virtually effortless manner, a players with an Internet connection acquires an attractive 3-D virtual backgammon set that compares favorably with what they might buy in the shops.

After the backgammon set is acquired, there are a number of ways in which new players can acquaint themselves with the backgammon instructions and start to develop a backgammon strategy that will enable them to gain the maximum enjoyment from their game. A good way of learning how to play backgammon is by watching how experience players conduct their game. Most players would not object to spectators observing their play as long as they do not interject with remarks or advice. Many areas also support backgammon clubs where the game can be learned in a more formal setting. The Internet sites supporting backgammon downloads also provide detailed backgammon rules and offer the chance of competing against a sophisticated backgammon computer that can be adjusted according to the skill level the player desires. Thus a new player can start off playing at the most basic level and as their skills and strategy develop, they raise the level of play. For those who want more extensive written materials, many bookshops and libraries stock books explaining the rules of the game and containing strategy tips in great detail.

Gene Marshall concentrates on commentaries about backgammonmasters.com backgammon set up and proven gammonish.com backgammon tips. The writer is an online backgammon gamer and writes for a few different popular internet backgammon web sites. Extra commentaries by Gene Marshall on the theme of backgammon can be found online.

In a world that caters to every imaginable creature comfort, is it no small wonder that the electric adjustable bed was invented to transform our nightly ritual of plopping our curved bodies down on a flat surface. I am just amazed at the fact that it was not invented earlier. If we went about our daily lives with the same disregard for our comfort as we do when we go to bed (I am referring to a flat bed) just think how absurd and disconcerting life would be. Let me give you a few examples.

We get up in the morning and roll out of bed…notice the word roll…as in round. We take a shower using various toiletries like soap, shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste etc., all in shapes and sizes that conform and compliment the natural contours of our bodies. We have breakfast using utensils specifically designed to conform to our hands and mouths…no flat spoons here. Then we are off to work.

We get in our cars and shuffle off to work in our contoured seats because driving is hard enough without the necessity of decent back support. After arriving at work, we sit down in our office chair, which normally will have certain adjustment levels such as height and tilt, in front of our desks, which are flat and specifically designed to hold other flat items (most of you have undoubtedly noticed that round objects tend to fall off flat desks). After a long day at work, it is back home to dinner and a little unwinding time before going to bed.

Whether we read a little, watch television a little or just plain shoot the breeze a little before going to bed, one thing is universal… The contoured chair or sofa is the most sought after piece of furniture in your home. Why…because it is shaped to fit your body like a glove…and…if it has the ability to elevate your legs, you feel like there is no way you ever want to get up. Not too many of us prefer the discomfort of lying flat on the floor in any of these scenarios. We then have the pleasure of going off to bed and starting the cycle all over again.

All these silly little oversimplified examples of contoured shapes in our daily lives are merely included as a tiny reminder of how some things actually make our lives more bearable. Why most of us choose to continually plop down on that flat mattress and try to position our bodies in order to get comfortable enough to sleep is a bit perplexing. The rest we get from sleep is one of the most beneficial things we can do for our overall health and well-being.

Tossing and turning at night on a flat mattress is one of the most common reasons why people do not sleep well at night. Flat surfaces cause pressure points and improper spinal alignment on our rounded bodies, which force us to toss and turn seeking an optimal resting position. Electric adjustable beds offer ability for the bed to be raised, lowered and set to any position that most suits the comfort of its user.

By using remote control technology, the adjustable features on these beds are quite easy to use… Additionally, larger beds like king or queen size can have two zones to ensure that both users get the sleep they crave. Round and flat shapes do not mix well but at least you have the option of better sleep on an adjustable bed. The evolution of a better bed has definitely arrived.

Emmanuel DeFreitas is the administrator for adjustable-bed-center.com Adjustable Bed Center providing detailed information on electric, medical, cheap, and used adjustable beds, as well as adjustable airbeds and adjustable bed reviews. adjustable-bed-center.com www.adjustable-bed-center.com

adjustable-bed-center.com www.adjustable-bed-center.com

I vividly remember the first time I saw season two episode titled “the Host” of the X-files, which originally aired on September 23, 1994. The moment the mutated human sized “flukeman” wiggled on screen I thought it was some of the best makeup work I had seen on television. The concept of a man and worm fusing into one being was absolutely revolting and intriguing at the same time.

The plot of the episode written by Chris Carter and directed by Daniel Sachheim unfolds as a body is found in the Newark, New York sewer system. Agent Mulder is unhappy about being assigned to a “grunt” job but things change as Agent Scully performs an autopsy on the body and finds an unusual parasite living inside. A sewer worker is attacked and bitten by something unknown…and from there it becomes a true X-files case…worms and all!

Darin Morgan played the Flukeman in the episode. He describes his experience in the following excerpts: Darin’s comments on his first X-Files experience? “It was terrible, just horrible. I can’t describe how painful it was to be in that suit for such long stretches at a time. I just kept saying to myself, “Don’t go insane. Don’t go insane.’”

Among some of the things that Darin had to go through in the Flukeman suit:

it took 6 hours to put the thing on before the technicians could speed up the process at one point, it had to be worn by Darin for 20 consecutive hours and it was so hard to move in it that he just had to pee in the suit if he needed to go to the bathroom each day, he always had to be in a sewer, so the water would ruin the suit each day, and they’d have to make a new one from scratch he had to wear TWO sets of contact lenses, “one on top of another. One of them was for the color, the other to create a kind of milky film over that. The contacts were the only things that didn’t hurt… and the good thing too was that they were prescription!” the mask and the rubber smelled like sulphur and he had no air through the nose, so he couldn’t eat (”because you have to eat and breathe at the same time.”) Darin thought he’d be able to do more things, after reading the script, but once in the suit, he couldn’t do anything. All he could do was try to survive!

SCULLY: Platyhelminthis are often hermaphroditic. Mulder, this is amazing. Its vestigial features appear to be parasitic, but it has primate physiology. Where the hell did it come from?

MULDER: I don’t know, but it looks like I′m going to have to tell Skinner that his suspect is a giant, blood-sucking worm after all.

Thankfully actor Darin Morgan endured that makeup ordeal to give us one of the most memorable and disgusting television characters imaginable.

Excerpts of Morgan’s makeup experience taken from morganandwongonline.com/host.htm

J.M. Jeffrey is the founder of goremaster.com goremaster.com an online community dedicated to special effects makeup artists and fans of all levels.

Most of us enjoy having beautiful photography displayed on our walls. It serves many purposes, but its main purpose is to of course decorate and improve the appearance of our homes. We try to always find that perfect frame which blends well into your interior decor, and at the same time emphasizes the detail, and the information, which the photograph conveys. There are many, many different styles of frames out there. Yet, most of us have very similar frames throughout our homes. While it may be a good idea to match the style of the frames in one area, we typically have several regions in our houses where we display photography, or other pieces of decor. As such, I want to offer you a more modern, and interesting alternative to your typical wooden, or metal frame. A shadow box is a type of a picture frame, with your photograph recessed into the box.

First of all, why a shadow box instead of a more traditional frame? Well, the answer is simple, if you live in a neighborhood where every house has an identical architectural design, how do you identify your house from the rest of the identical buildings. You make it stand out in some fashion. Whether you plant trees, repaint the house, add a deck, a patio, whatever. The point is, you are trying to make it look different from the rest of the houses on your block. Same idea applies here. A shadow box is an excellent product to make your photographs really stand out from the rest of the environment. A nice thing about a shadow box is its versatility. Most shadow boxes are fairly small. In other words, you will not find one sized to fit a large 20×30” photograph. However, you can always have one custom made for you, if you are really like the idea of a shadow box, and have a fairly large area to fill. Shadow boxes seem to fit very well in smaller spaces, where a picture frame with a fair sized photograph may appear over-sized. Some shadow boxes are sold in pairs or threes, and are perfect if you like stacking, or creating a stair effect on your walls.

Besides using shadow boxes to display your photography, they can just as well be used to show off other pieces of decor, such as small sculptures, crafts, wood carvings, you name it. It is important to be creative with them, and the possibilities are endless. Here’s are some ideas which you may want to consider. If you have any photographs of the sea, the beach, something nautical, consider placing empty shells, some petrified sealife, or other small pieces such as sand and small pebbles inside the shadow box. Most shadow boxes are fairly deep, and will allow quite a bit of stuff to be placed inside. It is a great idea to complement real 3-D elements with your photography, as these pieces create depth, and demand your eyes’ attention. Likewise, you may have photos of autumn leaves, which would be coupled very well with perhaps some tree shells, miniature pine or elm cones, dried leaves, and other gifts of nature. Again, be creative, and consider the possibilities. Even if you are not using the interior of the shadow box for anything other than a photograph, you can always use it as a miniature shelf, and place small figurines, little carvings, small plants, and other pieces of decor.

As always, quality is important, and in today’s world of mostly low quality high volume products you will certainly encounter many shadow boxes which do not pass your quality standards. Do not be discouraged, and consider visiting specialty home stores. These stores are typically more selective about their products, and you will be more likely to find a good product there. Aim for a box with a glass, because you want your photographs protected. If you are going to have a custom box made, make sure to have glass installed either right away, or request that the craftsman building the box routes a grove inside, so you could have glass cut and installed later.

Written by Professional Photographer, who recently started an Online Photographer Community, to allow photographers freedom to share their most favorite shooting locations, regardless of the subject matter and place. Consider joining this community, if you would like to contribute your favorite locations, as well as discover new places from other members. To learn more, please visit worldonpaper.com/ worldonpaper.com/

Have you been dreaming of a huge email list? The kind of list that with one click of the “send” button hordes of fans mobilize to come to see your shows, or play your new track at garageband.com? If not, then shame on you.

A well maintained and growing email list is a mighty tool. Why? Because it provides a quick and easy way to keep in front of your adoring fans, and it is absolutely FREE.

The sad thing is most artists drop the ball on building this marketing powerhouse. So, in an effort to stop this atrocity, I decided to give you four simple and effective tactics to build that list.

1. Migidy Mic Check…

Your standing on stage, maybe the beach balls are floating atop the crowd, or the mosh pit has attracted the state police, or maybe the fans are singing so loud you can’t hear your stage monitors. Whatever your situation, the fact of the matter is that you have human beings sitting right in front of you, hanging off of your every word, wanting to become your fans.

Do you realize the power of this moment? Right now your audience is focused on one thing – you. And as hard as it may be to believe, at this very moment, more than anything else, they want more of you. How do you give them what they want? Speak up and offer to get connected.

Tell your audience in your own genuine words that your email list is the way you stay connected to your fans. It is how you pass on latest news and how you notify of your upcoming gigs.

Simple and effective. Do not let one gig pass without asking your fans to get connected.

2. Give it away now…

Ok, you know the value of seizing the moment while you’re at the microphone, now lets make signing up a little more enticing.

Do you like free stuff? Who doesn’t? We are suckers for trinkets and giveaways. Now just imagine if you were to offer your fans an opportunity to get something more valuable than a mere trinket. What if you offered them the opportunity to win one of your T-shirts or autographed CDs, or [wait for it…] Both! Oh my, the pandemonium, the crowd goes nuts.

How would this work? Simply hold a contest where the entry form is a piece of paper that asks for your fan’s first name and email address. It’s that simple. You exchange the chance to win one CD (your cost under $2) and a T-shirt (your cost around $5) in exchange for the email address of the members of your audience. If the cost of giving away a few pieces of much merch bothers you, just think of the value of only one new fan dragging a friend to your next show, shelling out two covers charges, selling a t-shirt to the friend and both of them telling others at work about their experience… Lets move on.

3. Something Of Value

Ask yourself what the real objective of the contest mentioned above is? Let me tell you plainly, the objective is to mutually exchange something of value. You offer something of value to your fans in exchange for something of value to you. A surprisingly high value item to your fans is a simple old-fashioned newsletter. You know, the thing with silly facts and stories about you? Offer this gem in exchange for something of value to you - your fan’s email address. This is an easy sell because you need their email address to send the newsletter right? It is a natural win-win situation so use it.

4. Point of Sale

Now were at the end of the show and people are flocking to your merch table. Your latest self-titled CD is flying off the shelf. Your fans are even picking up that illegible sticker that was designed by your crazy cousin Fred. Are you going to just let them walk away without offering them the chance to stay connected to the band that they just layed down their hard earned cash to buy a recording of?

You have a perfect opportunity while you are counting out their change to “ask them” to sign your concert connection and stay connected to the band. What’s the worse they can do, say no?

There you go four tactics you can use tonight to pack fans into your mighty email list. That should get you going. Remember it is the simple and effective tactics performed flawlessly over and over that make you successful. Don’t miss a beat and watch that email list grow.

Copyright 2006 - For additional information regarding Sean Farrington, band coaching, money, music, business or just to learn how to turn your passion for music into profit, please visit bandprofit.com bandprofit.com.

You may freely reprint and reproduce the above article as long as the resource box (above) this disclaimer and the article are copied in their entirety. In addition if the article is used on the web or in e-mail, the link must be kept in hypertext.

With conference well under way, Matt Fargo takes a look at three big games on tap that you cannot miss this Saturday.

UCLA Bruins at Washington Huskies 4:00 PM ET

A 4-1 Pac Ten team takes on a 2-2 squad but those roles are reversed of what most people would have thought. The Bruins are off to a flying start in the conference despite injury problems since practice started. This team has as many as four key players on the injured list but isn’t letting that get in the way. After an 11-0 start, Washington has dropped two of its last four and it could be more as it finally takes to the road.

Washington played 12 of its first 14 games at home while those other two games were on a neutral floor. Home losses to Arizona in overtime and to rival Washington St. have dealt a small blow to the Huskies although the conference season is just getting underway. They are coming off a big road win at USC, their first true road game of the season so this will be the first experience of a back-to-back road set.

UCLA has won three straight after suffering a surprising home loss to California at the end of last month. The only other loss on the season was to Memphis in the semis of the preseason NIT. UCLA is in sole possession of the conference lead and a win here could give them a possible two-game lead. The Bruins have played the 55th ranked schedule in the nation so they have been tested against some of the best already.

Both offenses are shooting over 49 percent on the season even though Washington is averaging more than 20 additional points per game. That is due to an up-tempo offense, where the defense allows more points, and also a schedule that is ranked 305th in the country. The home team has won the last four meetings while the Bruins have won seven of the last nine meetings and are poised to continue that run.

Xavier Musketeers at Charlotte 49ers 7:00 PM ET

First place is on the line in the Atlantic Ten as two of the four remaining undefeated teams in conference action take the floor in Charlotte. Both teams come in red-hot, carrying five-game winning streaks and offenses that have been on fire. Xavier is averaging 78.8 ppg while Charlotte is averaging 80.4 ppg during those streaks so the defense that steps up likely gets the W.

The Musketeers have lost only twice all season long and those two defeats came by a combined five points to Creighton and Illinois. Four of their last five wins have been by 17 or more points while nine of the 10 wins on the year have been by double digits. Xavier is third in the country in shooting margin at 12.2 percent, trailing only Florida and Texas for the top spot.

Charlotte got off to a rocky start this year with a 1-3 record but things are turning around for the 49ers. In addition to their five straight wins, they have taken nine of their last 11 games including five straight on the road. The home floor has been the issue however as Charlotte is just 4-3 at Halton Arena. That includes losses to Mississippi St. and Valparaiso but things have turned around with two straight home wins.

This is the 49ers first season in the Atlantic Ten and things have gotten off to a great start but the Musketeers have a chip on their shoulder. Xavier leads the conference in seven major categories but playing a schedule ranked 197th in the nation has definitely helped those numbers. The 10-2 start is Xavier’s best since beginning the 2000-01 season with an 11-2 mark.

Syracuse Orangemen at Cincinnati Bearcats 8:00 PM ET

Two big time programs meet for the first time ever as Syracuse heads to Cincinnati for its second straight road game. The Orange can keep pace with West Virginia and Pittsburgh for the Big East lead while the Bearcats could use the win to avoid falling from 4th all the way down to possibly 12th in the conference. Six Big East teams are ranked in the latest AP poll, yet Syracuse, one of only three unbeaten conference teams, isn’t one of them.

Syracuse traveled outside of New York for just the second time this season and came away with a win over Notre Dame on Wednesday. It was the Orange’s 11th straight victory and a win over the Bearcats will no doubt vault them back into the rankings. The offense has been hit or miss during the streak as they have scored 80 or more points six times but have also scored fewer than 70 points three times.

The Bearcats had a 10-game win streak snapped against the Huskies as the offense failed to reach 70 points for the first time in 11 games. Cincinnati is 8-2 at home on the season but has won five straight games at Fifth Third Arena since losing to third-ranked Memphis. Guard Armein Kirkland is out for the season for the Bearcats as he suffered a torn ACL against Connecticut in their last game.

Both offenses are high potent attacks, averaging a combined 157.2 ppg on the season. For Syracuse, it isn’t overly impressive seeing that it has played a schedule ranked 242nd in the country. The Bearcats have faced a slate ranked 20th in the nation for their 80.6 ppg looks better between the two. Both defenses allow less than 40 percent shooting from the floor while Cincinnati has a 12.4 percent edge at the free throw line.

Matt Fargo is a documented member of the Professional Handicappers League.
Read all of his articles at

“Someday I would like to learn to play the piano.” I have heard this many times, but somehow time and money seem to get in the way. Now we have a solution to both of those problems. Technology has made it possible for people to realize their dreams. First, digital music has made the inexpensive keyboards of today sound as good as their expensive counterparts of only a few years ago. You can buy a nice keyboard for under $100. Second, the internet has made it possible for the lessons to be delivered to many people simultaneously rather than just one at a time by a teacher in a private studio. The piano lessons can be downloaded for you to use any time it is convenient for you. The delivery of lessons on the internet has made the cost miniscule compared to going to a studio for lessons.

Rocket Piano is undoubtedly the best choice for most people wanting to learn to play the piano without breaking the bank. Even if you did spend more money on lessons, you would be hard-pressed to find a better quality product. The lessons were developed by Ashleigh Southam, a professional musician and jazz artist. Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced students will benefit from these lessons. They are presented in multimedia. Numerous video and audio clips are contained throughout the lessons that demonstrate exactly what a song should sound and look like. Rocket piano lessons will teach you any style of music you want to learn to play: jazz, rock, pop, gospel, blues, or classical.

These are not your mother’s piano lessons. For most people, the point of learning to play is enjoyment, relaxation and to have fun! Ashleigh understands that. Yes, to become highly skilled a person would need to spend many hours practicing speed drills, arpeggios, and scales I know, because I did. However, to play for pleasure you don’t need hours of practice each day.

Being classically trained is something I will never regret, but I never was able to just sit down and play for fun. Unless I had memorized the piece, I needed the sheet music to play. There is nothing wrong with that, except that you don’t always have it handy. The most memorable and happy times when people gather around the piano to sing or just listen are often spontaneous. I longed to learn to play by ear; Rocket Piano made that possible. It is possible for you as well. Join Ashleigh and me in learning to play the piano!

Ali Rae is a freelance writer and former teacher/tutor (and loves playing the piano).

Pass me the placebo please
I once felt minimally depressed
My wife wouldn’t let me rest
Pass me the placebo please
Whenever I cough or sneeze
In the presence of a smoker
I am bound to grossly wheeze
Suffocate and fall to my knees
Nevertheless if you can kindly
Pass me the placebo timely
I will consume it most blindly
Believe in it wholeheartedly
Ignore the effects physically
Pass it on to others happily
Heal the whole world entirely
Inwardly and outwardly
Ah yes, the placebo is best
Give it to me so I can rest
Positive psychological effects
For the worst societal reject
No medicine will we detect
Neither your ails neglect
Prescriptive solutions
A treatment evolution
A pharmacology revolution
A substance without preparation
Let us uplift national psyche
Better than drugs on TV
Sold during the dinner hour
That economically devour
Demoralized pitiful souls
Who just want to be whole
Medical lies have stole
The peace they did know
Pharm accounts do grow
By peddling fear and doubt
We feel there’s no way out
What if I’ve got this?
What if I′ve got that?
Tormented by a gnat
A gnawing sense of uncertainty
How can I live unhealthily
If I may have an infirmity
May, might, maybe
A medical hypocrisy
Enriching every laboratory
Selling drugs excitedly
“Ask you doctor about….”
Otherwise you’ll go without
Be ill, imbalanced, and pout
That’s what it’s all about
Agonize and wrestle with this
You alone thinks it does exist
Hence our adverts persist
Paranoid people can’t resist
Most adverse and insidious reactions
Get pushed, pissed, and passed
Before they reach culmination
Active ingredients carry fascination
Those you’ve never swallowed or tried
Never mind to you the people we lied
Pop a patronizing pill and feel all the better
Give us your money, we will nicely reassure
Every child, parent, and grandmother
You pay and we’ll placate you out the door
This placebo will perform that I assure.
If not, enjoy my sarcasm, satire, and humor.

Paul Davis is a FL real estate professional, life coach (relational & professional), worldwide minister, and change master.

Paul is the author of several books including Breakthrough for a Broken Heart; Adultery: 101 Reasons Not to Cheat; Are You Ready for True Love; Stop Lusting & Start Living; Waves of God Supernatural Fire; Poems that Propel the Planet; and God vs. Religion.

Paul’s compassion for people & passion to travel has taken him to over 50 countries of the world where he has had a tremendous impact. Paul has served in many war-torn, impoverished and tsunami stricken regions of the earth. His Dream-Maker Inc. is building dreams, breaking limitations & reviving nations.

Paul’s Breakthrough Seminars inspire, revive, awaken, impregnate with purpose, impart the fire of desire, catapult people into a new level of self-awareness, facilitate destiny discovery and dream fulfillment.

Contact Paul to minister, speak at your event or for life coaching: mailto:RevivingNations@yahoo.com RevivingNations@yahoo.com, 407-284-1705.

For additional info:
DreamMakerMinistries.com
CreativeCommunications.TV

Unlike the movie “The Hunchback of Notre Dame″ where the subject of the movie is handicapped and is only thought well of at the end of the movie by the woman he saves-this movie starts with a penguin who is born in a most “uncomfortable manner” after having been “dropped” accidentally by his dad during incubation. Whether his first contact with “life″ via his feet is on purpose or accidental, his life nevertheless is based on both his frustrations with penguin communal life and nonacceptance by both family and “lover.”

This movie informs the audience that from birth, the penguin commune has a pecking order and a rule that all penguins sing. OUR hero can dance a jig like no one else but he is a square peg in a round hole here. Where a savant in human culture is looked on with a combination of envy and pity [depending on whose is doing the looking], in this Emperor colony, this newborn’s skill is considered worse than a vulgar Tourette’s Syndrome victim in a Quaker colony.

While I do agree that fathers must be in charge of their respective family, he should never do so if his son becomes an involuntary victim of said culture’s rules [where being still and graceful dancing are the only kinds of leg movement permitted other than walking.]

Since schools in both animal kingdoms and in people’s centers have their rules of learning, even our distinguished teacher of song cannot seem to help this student and he is basically shunned within and from the group.

Inevitably, since, thank goodness, the penguin culture does not “stone″ the unacceptable, the young penguin does grow up, and he learns the ways of the penguins well though he cannot “cure″ his jigging and jagging as it is a part of him as blue eyes are part of a person’s makeup.

Our maturing young man captures the interest of a child hood girl penguin and they get along well until it is her turn to “lead the gang” with one of her songs and as all the other penguins of youth are “caught up″ in her rhythm, he again tries to belt out a penguin tune but try as he will, only screechy honks come from his throat and he is banished to a remote ice flow in order not to be heard of easily seen.

That relationship stuff is handled very well by the director as are the actions sequences of our growing penguin evading seals and killer whales each time he finds himself in the ocean.

Upon one escape from a seal’s attacks, our hero winds up on a “shorter sized” colony of penguins which introduces us to Robin William’s character [he actually plays the voice of two of these arctic Bedouins. Our hero finds himself among much shorter penguins and when he listens to them sing their songs, he automatically goes into a jig dance. However, this time, instead of being chastised, his new "amigos" warmly welcome him as they are playful and of course, are "different" from the Emperor Penguin society themselves.

In time, the short sized penguins introduce our hero to Lovelace, the leader who also happens to have declared that "aliens" who live "out there" have crowned him with his necklace- the top plastic to a six pack of soda.

As our hero easily and quickly acclimates to this shorter in size society, he nevertheless learns that this group might have more knowledge of the aliens who are responsible for the disappearance of the fish that all penguins must have to survive.

With an on and off again relationship with his girl friend, our hero has decided that his task in life must be to -whether accepted as a jiggy dancer or not-find out who is taking the fish that they must have to survive and see if he can negotiate something.

This courageous young man gets his buddies to go with him and he treks out to find the aliens. After a fairly arduous journey, the group sees the alien camp and off to its side, aliens taking huge nets of fish from the waters.

While barely evading killer whales [who accidentally free the "ringed" penguin leader from his ring], our hero decides that regardless of the further dangers, he must follow the aliens to their home and do anything possible to negotiate an ending of their fishing in his colonies′ fishing areas.

The movie continues by showing him “dead?” on a beach. He is retrieved by the aliens and placed in a “penguin heaven?” As he comes out of his stupor, he believes he sees his family. While he is being fed, he tries in vain to bring his family fish. No matter how hard he tries, the windows stops him every time.

The directors have piqued my interest even further by doing a rare thing; they bring non-animated humans into the picture [hello Mary Poppins!].

Our young penguin immediately yells out “please help me” [or words to that affect] and with no one responding to him, he wonders “why don′t they understand Penguin [language?]“

Downtrodden, he stands at the edge of the “contained” ice flow feeling very sad. A young girl spots him and taps on the barrier window - hopping to awake this dejected penguin. After her third tapping, our hero turns to watch her and, realizing that his very language will not make sense to her, he reverts to his preferred form of communicating-jiggy dancing.

The girl is ecstatic and races off to get her mother. Moments later, girl and mother are a receptive audience for this most unusual aquatic animal’s behavior!

In no time at all, the entire alien group is waving and taking pictures as our hero goes from one end of the floe to the other, jigging and jagging.

IF any movie has any points of “movie interruptus″it is the next 30 seconds to a minute when the director brings us out of the penguin world and we see or hear brief snippets of aliens inquiring about restricting fishing in the arctic where these penguins restrict their lives too.

Quickly, our hero finds his lost love and along with her, a dude. Inquiring about the many offspring, it appears that the girl friend has replaced our hero and found a new mate. Thankfully, it is not so, as this adult pair are just teachers of song and dance!

Next, we see the Emperor colony again bumbling along and shortly, our hero re-appears with a radar antenna on his back. The leader of the colony not only chastises him but prepares to banish him from the colony for risking the lives of the others as it is now realized that the aliens might well not only return to the ice in general but to this colony specifically.

A very challenge is engaging between the hero and the leader as either the leader has seen the aliens before or he has not; the leader can’t have it both ways.

Thereafter, with humongous motion and noise, a large red helicopter flies in overhead and lands on an ice mountain across the valley from where all the penguins are.

Four aliens emerge from the chopper and look over the valley of penguins. Not quite knowing what to do, our hero begins his jiggy and jaggy and this time, with suggestions from the hero, so do, slowly but surely, the entire colony including the colony “king.”

Thus ends one of the sweetest, swellest and nicest animated films every made!

[In all honesty, the previews did not have me sold and I was indifferent about seeing this movie!]