VampireS SUMO

There seems to be a misconception floating around that starting your first lessons with an electric guitar is somehow more difficult than starting with an acoustic guitar. The opposite is actually more true.

The neck of an electric guitar is longer and thinner than an acoustic guitar. The action (space between string and top of fretboard) is generally lower on an electric guitar also. As a result, less strength is required to push the strings down onto the fretboard, thus making it easier to play.

The classical guitar would be next in line as far as ease of playing is concerned. This is because it has nylon strings which are more flexible than the wound steel strings of a dreadnaught acoustic guitar. The challenge with classical guitar, especially for those who have small hands, is playing a wider neck.

So, when rating guitars from 1. being the easiest to play, and 3. being the most difficult, my opinion is:

1. electric
2. classical
3. acoustic steel string (dreadnaught)

Now, when it comes to style, that’s another matter…

Each of the instruments I mentioned above are generally associated with a particular style of music. Electric guitars have a long history of association with rock and roll music. Likewise, classical guitars were developed to play classical music and acoustic steel string guitars are most often associated with country-western music. However, that does not mean they are restricted to these areas only.

Each style of guitar music has it’s own merit and unique level of difficulty. I doubt if it’s even possible to really compare such a thing as which style is the most difficult to play. We can all think of great musicians in each field… Eddie Van Halen, Segovia, Chet Atkins- all of whom were supurb guitarists in their particular style of choice.

The important thing to understand is that all the notes and all the chords are the same, regardless of the type of guitar you use. So when choosing a guitar for yourself, or your child, consider the style of music you (or they) want to learn and take it from there.

For more help read:

abclearnguitar.com/guitar-buying-tips.html”target=”_blank 10 Best Guitar Buying Tips

Until next time…

Keep practicing!

Kathy Unruh is a singer/songwriter and webmaster of ABC Learn Guitar. She has been writing songs and providing guitar lessons to students of all ages for over 20 years.

My story: I am 32 and addicted to audio books. I have been trying to cut back but I can’t.
I was first introduced to audio books 12 years ago. My parents bought me a Stephen King audio book as a birthday present. It included 10 books on cassettes each 25 minutes. I finished listening to it the first night. Then, I started buying audio books for me and for each of my friend’s birthdays (whether they liked audio books or not).
As times passed I moved to audio books on CDs and later on to downloadable audio books. I have known all the online audio book rental services and buying services. In fact, I had an account in most of them.

My average output was two audio books per week but I remember some weeks where I skipped sleeping and listened to up to five audio books. I purchased almost any new fiction audio book in the market.

I managed to find some free audio books but still paid a lot of money for my audio book collection.

I got addicted to the comfort of having a “miniature” book. I got addicted to the narration, the music and the sound effects.

I got addicted to the ability to listen to audio books anytime and anywhere (I remember listening to it in the bathroom and in work and in other weird places).

And then I decided to make the move. If I can’t beat it, I would join it. I resigned from work and made a profession out of my hobby – I started making money out of my comprehensive knowledge of audio books.
Nowadays, I write reviews about new audio books and serve as a consultant for audio books’ publishers. I am happy listening to free audio books and being paid for it (just finished listening to the last Harry Potter audio book).
Have you tried listening to audio books? Try it.

Carol told her story to Paton Jackson, the head of 911 corp. We have made a comprehensive research about audio books. Let us share with you our findings – the best audio books sources, titles and much more audio book information only on 911makemoretime.com/audio books bible.htm Online audio book rental services and more. The audio book bible.

So you’ve booked your once in a lifetime safari trip to Africa and now your thoughts turn towards photographing all the wildlife you are going to encounter on your adventure.

It would be a great shame to come across your first African pride of lions and not have some decent pictures of the memorable event to show your friends and family back home.

Unfortunately many people who go on safari don’t realize that the camera lens you take with you will be the deciding factor between getting wildlife photos where the subject is an unrecognizable blob in a sea of vegetation compared to a crisp, tightly framed image of that black maned leader of the lion pride.

I′ve been practicing wildlife photography on safari for over twenty years now and I′ve learnt which are the best lenses to arm yourself with when you go into the African bush to capture lasting, quality images you will be proud to display to anyone.

My recommendations here are for the occasional wildlife photographer such as someone going on an African safari and not for professional wildlife photographers as they have different needs when it comes to camera lenses because they take photographs for a living.

To help you choose a lens to take with you on safari, here is a list of the factors you need to take into account before putting your money down…

1. Size Of The Lens

Anything less than a 300mm lens for the big game you will encounter on safari like lion, rhino, elephant etc will be too small. A 400mm lens will allow you to get good pictures of the smaller animals like bushbuck, vervet monkey and the like. If you are aiming for bird photographs then a 600 mm lens will do the trick.

2. Your Budget

It’s very easy to find lenses that cost thousands of dollars but if you are primarily going to be using it for your safari trip and maybe a smattering of wildlife photography after that, you shouldn’t be spending more than a few hundred dollars. It is possible to get a lens of high enough quality for your purpose in that price range.

3. Image Stabilization

It’s not imperative but if you can get a lens with an image stabilizer it’s a huge advantage on a safari because you can handhold the lens without too much fear of blurring in good light which is especially useful if you are not next to a window in the safari vehicle or don’t have enough space to position your beanbag or tripod.

4. Zoom Ability

On safari one lens is better than two because of the nature of your subject. When you come across a leopard you won’t have time to switch lenses on your camera body because they tend not to stick around for too long so one lens with a good zoom is a big advantage to capture the very shy wildlife you will encounter. Another reason not to change lenses is that dust that is prevalent on an African safari can cause the camera mechanisms to clog up.

So keep these four factors in mind before you make your purchase and if you can find a lens that conforms to all the above requirements than you have a winner.

Here is how to choose the best african-safari-pictures.com/wildlife-camera.html wildlife camera for your safari and which specific cameras come out tops in the compact and SLR categories.

These are the four best african-safari-pictures.com/african-photo-safari.html African photo safari National Parks and Game reserves.

Learning guitar should be fun. Here are some ideas which will be helpful in practicing and mastering guitar.

1. Regular Practice – There is simply no substitute for practice. Even more important is practicing regularly. Half an hour practice every day is more effective than practicing for 2 hours every 4 days. The serious guitar players should keep aside some time every day for practice.

2. Make and Follow a Schedule – It is good idea to prepare a practice schedule and follow it religiously. The attempt should be to make definite progress in small steps. Every day achievable goals should be set and those goals should be achieved before moving on to the next goal. This approach forms a strong foundation and builds confidence.

It is tempting to try difficult pieces before mastering the initial steps. But what happens? The player is not able to play the piece properly, he will feel that guitar playing is difficult and will be discouraged by his failure. Therefore such temptations should be avoided.

3. Assume Correct Posture – Before starting the practice the guitar player should ensure that he is in right posture to play the instrument and both hands are properly positioned.

4. Visualize Finger Position on Fret Board – It is often helpful to the player if he can visualize the position of his fingers on the fret board. Initially he will look at his fingers while he places them on the strings. Gradually he will start playing by the “feel” of his fingers without looking at them. Particularly during a performance it does not appear proper if the player keeps looking at his fingers. The earlier he starts visualizing and playing without looking at his fingers, the more natural will his action appear.

5. Verify the Tone of Each String - The player should get familiar with the sound of each string when playing a chord. He should play the strings separately to ensure that each string is giving out correct note and tone. There are two mistakes which occur frequently and can be detected by playing each string individually. One mistake is that the finger does not really press the string fully against the fret. This will produce neither correct note nor the tone. In such situations the player should adjust his finger until the correct sound comes out. The second common mistake is that the finger, while pressing on the string, also touches the neighboring string. Again the player will have to adjust his finger position to press on the string “cleanly”.

6. Avoid Wounds – Fingers will hurt initially but gradually toughen up. An open wound should not be allowed to develop where the fingers press the strings. The fingers will naturally toughen up by regular practice.

7. Practice Accompaniment - Guitar is mostly played for accompaniment. Therefore the player should start this practice as early as possible. If he is not able to find a group to play with he can himself sing and play along.

8. Don’t Get Discouraged – It often appears that progress is not as fast as expected. But practice never goes in vain. Keep practicing and do not get discouraged by apparent lack of success. The body has its own system of conditioning its mind and muscles to develop new skills and habits. This takes time and persistence can speed up the process.

These are some of the ideas for practicing guitar. This is based on common concerns of new students. This list is by no means exhaustive and the students should follow their instructors and the course schedule. The ideas given here can supplement their normal practice schedule.

Sanjay Johari regularly contributes articles to various ezines. Please see his sanjay-j.com/guitar-lesson blog for more information on guitar and sanjay-j.com/guitar-lesson guitar lesson.

Nowadays the poker has become one of the most popular games around the world. You can easily see the international poker tournaments and celebrity poker on the television. Poker books can be of great help if you want to learn how to play poker and gain proficiency in the game. You can get books on each and every topic about the poker in the market.

If you need few starting lessons then the best way to get that is to concentrate on the books that focus on starting lessons only. This would be a great experience if you are interested in learning the game. Such books will teach you the variations of different cards, basic rules of poker and the right etiquette for poker games. It depends on you how much you want to learn, whether you want to become a weekend warrior or play on the tables of Las Vegas, these books can teach you everything.

You can easily learn about the different card combinations and how to play them once you start playing the game. Although poker is known as the game of chance but you can increase your chances of winning once you learn some techniques. The books will guide you on how to play and deal with different cards while playing a game of poker. Some books concentrate on teaching the reader; the tips on how to play those certain combinations.

There are books for players who want to learn the advanced moves and techniques of poker to gain more expertise in the game. Most of these books are written by expert poker players who write their experience and some hidden techniques to teach you. You can learn the game to be played without looking like an amateur in whatever table you sit in on to play poker using the tips described in the poker books. Not only tricks, these professional players sometimes share their personal experiences with the reader that further enhances your knowledge about the game.

Playing poker is the best way to have fun and get that fascinating and exhilarating experience. With the gaining popularity there are so many interesting stories to be told from history to high stakes games in the world of poker. These books and the stories in them about some successful people encourage you to play the game and increase your confidence.

onlinegamesarena.com onlinegamesarena.com is a online games site dedicated to providing quality articles and information. Click through for more articles.

Wanting is the latest Jazz CD realeased by the highly talented vocalist Gabriela Anders who once again has delivered a brilliant collection of tracks. I’m confident Gabriela Anders fans, and Jazz fans alike will be pleased with this one.

I wish it weren’t the case but, it’s not everyday that I get a CD from an artist that I can just pop in and comfortably listen to from beginning to end. There is usually a song or two that I just can’t force myself to get through. Not at all the case with Wanting. Every track is enjoyable and was pretty easy for me to listen to from start to finish.

Jazz music fans will recognize some of the well known contributors on the project including Boney James, Kirk Whalum and George Duke plus a few other notables as well.

This is a first rate CD, delivering a little something for everyone. I give it two thumbs up. It’s quite simply great listening. A must buy for the Jazz fan.

My SmoothLee Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is track 5, You Know What It’s Like. Outstanding!

Wanting Release Notes:

Gabriela Anders originally released Wanting on Aug 25, 1998 on the Warner Bros. Records label.

CD Track List Follows:

1. Fire Of Love

2. The Girl From Ipanema

3. Wanting

4. Forever - (with Eric Benet)

5. You Know What It’s Like

6. Seven Days

7. Just An Hour

8. Fantasia

9. I’ll Be Loving You

10. Forgetting Is So Long

11. Feels So Good

12. Basileira

Personnel: Gabriela Anders, Eric Benet (vocals); Boney James (soprano saxophone); Kirk Whalum, Larry Williams (tenor saxophone); Jerry Hey, Oscar Brashear, Rick Braun (trumpet); Bill Reichenbach (trombone); Frank Marocco (accordion); Gregg Karukas, George Duke, Alain Mallet, Leon Bisquera, Tim Hientz, Allan Samms, Werner “Vana” Gierig (keyboards); Paul Jackson Jr., Nils, Jeff Lockhart, Duke Levine, Claudio Raggazzi, Amadeo Pace (guitar); Larry Kimpel, Baron Browne, Byron Miller, Alex Alvear (bass); Li’l John, Abe Laboriel Jr., Leon “Ndugu” Chancler, Carlos Vega, Simone Pace (drums); Kevin Richard, Luis Conte (percussion); Eugene Ruffolo, Bridgette Bryant (background vocals). Producers: George Duke, Paul Brown, Alain Mallet.

Get the information you want on your favorite smooth jazz songs and artists at

It’s true! Many people today are just a pay check away from being homeless. That is why you should be kind to others because you might be up today and down tomorrow. To express your concerns for the homeless, you may write a poem to yourself or send it to the newspaper.

One thing for sure, the poor will always be here, and it looks like the population of poor people is growing larger every day. Many people fall on hard times as they face unexpected job closings and layoffs. Many seem hopeless as the number of unemployed people increases. For these and other reasons, you may want to write yourself a poem similar to “I Cry for the Homeless.”

Sample Poem:

I Cry for the Homeless

One day up and the next down.
If you are down and without a home

it’s sad when you don’t know your source

from it comes your help, of course!

So, I cry for the homeless

One day rich and the next poor.
If you are poor and without a home

it’s sad when you don’t know your source

from it comes your help, of course!

So, I cry for the homeless

One day with friends the next alone.
If you are alone and without a home

it’s sad when you don’t know your source

from it comes your help, of course!

So, I cry for the homeless

One day famous and the next unknown.
If you are unknown and without a home

it’s sad when you don’t know your source

from it comes your help, of course!

So, I cry for the homeless

Copyright © 2007, Dr. M.E. Waters. All Rights Reserved.

Are you interested in taking my online courses?

To the new and experienced entrepreneurs, getting help with your small business is very crucial to your success. Getting the right help will cause you to avoid costly mistakes, and it can also help you to save a lot of time, money and energy. You will need to get the right help to form the legal structure of the business, financial, management, procurement/certification, marketing, pricing products, preparing a business plan, and more. If you are a business owner who is wondering if you can take your business to new heights, contact Dr. Waters at tina.waters@waienterprises.com

Are you looking to super charge your business? Did you know that you can start a legitimate business with little or no money? Sign up for Dr. Mary E. Waters’ free “Easy Business” bi-monthly ezine at drmewaters.com drmewaters.com

It has many tips and techniques to help make your dream of becoming a successful business owner to become a reality. Plus, each month one lucky subscriber receives a free 30 minute on demand business consulting session!
Dr. Mary E. Waters is an author, speaker, business consultant. She is the author of “Easy Business for Women with Little or No Money.” She strives on helping people to start their own business with little or no money. For many years, she has been helping people make their dreams of becoming a successful business owner come true!

Sign up for FREE online Self Publishing Guide. FREE courses and FREE tips at
Business URL: waienterprises.com waienterprises.com
Personal URL: drmewaters.com drmewaters.com

I stumbled upon Andy Kim’s web site a while ago and have
come to appreciate a forgotten gem in Canadian rock. About
a month ago, I even took in one of his concerts.

The one thing that struck me during Andy Kim’s Christmas
Special, which took place at the Mod Club Theatre in
Toronto on Friday, December 2nd, 2005, was the sheer
diversity of the guests who took part. And not just in style, but
in age as well. Is this a renaissance of sorts for Andy Kim?
You bet it is.

Let me begin with a refresher in the school of Andy Kim. At
the tender age of 16, with nothing but desire and raw talent
in his pockets, Kim left his native Montreal for New York City
in the late 60s in search of stardom. Many Canadians found
themselves in the same predicament as Kim, as there was
no Canadian music industry to speak of. In this light, Andy
Kim is a true Canadian rock trailblazer.

Along with Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, The Guess Who and
The Band, Andy Kim was part of a small but dynamic
Canadian contingent that found fame in the United States.
All have left an undeniable mark on the rock’ n roll
landscape. Not bad for Crazy Canucks, eh?

With 30 million records sold, countless tours in the United
States and a rock anthem under his belt - “Sugar, Sugar”
was recently inducted into the Rock′n Roll Hall of Fame -
Andy Kim has returned.

While Toronto and New York have welcomed him back, his
native Montreal has ironically remained cool to his
comeback. Far from keeping Andy Kim down, he will force
people to notice him as he did when Jeff Barry discovered in
him over 35 years ago.

This brings us back to the concert. In a sleek black suit, Kim
kicked off the evening with a rousing rendition of “Rock me
Gently″ - a song that brought him a Juno Award in 1974.
From that point forward, the tone and mood of the night were
set. If there were any among the 550 plus people in
attendance who were skeptical, he quickly made them a
believer.

This set the stage for an impressive list of Canadian artists
to showcase their music. The group included Esthero,
Hayden Neale of Jacksoul, Shaye, The Hidden Cameras,
Andy Stochansky, Danny Michel, Blair Packham and Jully
Black.

Ron Sexsmith who performed and co-wrote “What Ever
Happened to Christmas” alongside Kim also treated fans to
a special guest appearance.

There was nothing formulaic to the evening. This much was
clear as musicians moved on and off the stage with a flair of
what I would call slight unprepared coolness. Whatever it
was, when the music started, each of them brought with
them a unique element to the concert. It was a magical night
that reminded us how Canadian music continues to thrive
and evolve.

Above all, for 2 1/2 hours, many of Canada’s musicians,
who were barely in existence when Andy Kim began writing
music, had a chance to perform with a rock legend. It had to
be gratifying for Andy Kim - who influenced so many
musicians - as he watched people of another generation
connect to his music. Not only that, all are self-professed
fans.

Of course, all good things must come to an end, and what
better way to end the night than with “Sugar, Sugar?” With
everyone on stage performing it in a jam session, it was
reminiscent of The Band′s Last Waltz or whenever great
musicians congregate to perform a colleague’s song. It was
an awesome spectacle that was free of any tackiness that
can dangerously make such things ghastly to watch.

As I listened, I observed a young punker pass by and look at the stage. She turned and walked away, though not before
giving her opinion to no one in particular, ‘This is so cool.’ I
thought two things to myself after hearing this. This is
exactly how Tony Bennett revived his career when he
connected to a crowd outside his genre. Indeed, Andy Kim
had the aura of a rock′n roll crooner.

The second thing that came to mind, and probably more
important in the larger scheme of things, is that Andy Kim
belonged. He did not seem displaced artistically or
technically with this group of outstanding musicians. This, in
my mind, is the greatest accomplishment of the night. Well,
that and the fact that proceeds went to charity.

“Sugar, Sugar” was the perfect climax for an excellent show.
Or was it? Not wanting to call it a night, the performers
debated with which song they should continue? They settled
on “Rock me Gently”, the song that began the whole affair.

This was, for those who pay attention to such things,
symbolic of Andy Kim’s career, which has come full circle as
he connected with a whole new generation of musicians. If
anything, he can watch with pride the vibrancy and brilliance
of Canadian music he helped spawn.

Anyhow, check out his site - which includes his personal
diary - and you may even be moved to purchase some of
his music. His impressive latest EP ‘I Forgot to Mention’
includes contribution from Ed Robertson of the Barenaked
Ladies, Timothy B. Schmidt of The Eagles and Kenny
Aronoff among others.

Thinking of getting a kanji tattoo or kanji jewelry? Then arm yourself with this information before you buy anything. It may be the difference between being cool and national humiliation.

What? National humiliation? Well OK, national humiliation is an unlikely outcome, but an article in the March 1st, 2005 Washington Post Express shows that the possibility is there. “Lost in Translation” looked at the real dangers facing the unwary consumers who get kanji tattoos.

I am not joking when I say “real dangers”. But neither am I referring to unhygenic tattooing practices. What I am talking about is toe-curlingly appalling linguistic blunders. Specifically, I mean kanji combinations like these:

- Extremely Military Affairs Stopping
- Crazy Diarrhea
- Weird (tattooed on one B. Spears)

Yes, these are phrases that real people (yes, Britney Spears is a real person) actually have had tattooed into their skin.

To be honest, I am not entirely surprised at these and other errors. After all, I have seen many reversed images of kanji being offered for tattoos, and kanji jewelry that simply did not mean anything like it was supposed to.

One necklace, I remember, had the kanji for “road” on it - although the poor owner had been told it meant love. I guess her love hit the road and didn’t come back no more, no more, no more, no more….

As Tian Tang puts it in the Post:

“People ask, ‘I got the tattoo, can you tell me what this means? And I’m like, ‘Why didn’t you do this before you got that tattoo?’”

Yes, you would think that would be the obvious thing to do – especially if you are getting something permanent like a kanji tattoo. So how can you make sure you don’t end up a national laughingstock?

First of all, make sure you know something about the Japanese language. Check out the copious information at sites like japanese.about.com and in five minutes you will know more about kanji, hiragana and katakana than most of the people already walking around with it tattooed into their skin.

Next, remember that there is often no such thing as an exact translation. Basic nouns are one thing – a table is a table is a table, after all. But abstract concepts, like Semper Fidelis (the motto of the US Marine Corps), can be notoriously difficult to translate well.

Once you have grasped this background material, you are ready to meet with the tattoo artist. That’s right – meet. Don’t get anything done yet. At first you just want to talk. Specifically, you want to find out how familiar he or she is with the issues mentioned above. If after an hour or so on the internet you know more about Japanese than your tattoo artist, then you need to be very careful about kanji she suggests.

So what can you do if your tattoo artist doesn’t know his kanji from his katakana? How do you go about getting the kanji yourself?

Well if you are confident in your new-found kanji knowledge, then there are a number of online dictionaries that can help.

Otherwise I would recommend getting a translation from - japanese-name-translation.com/ Japanese-Name-Translation.com A good translator will be able to offer you a number of different options as well as explaining the exact meaning and pronunciation of the different kanji. They should also be able to offer you a number of different styles, from basic kanji calligraphy fonts to genuine Japanese shodo calligraphy.

At the end of the day, how you decide to go about getting your kanji tattoo is up to you. Just remember that preparation is the key to making sure your kanji tattoo doesn’t get “Lost in Translation”.

About the Author

Stephen Munday lives in Japan and is currently starting his own online business testing

When it comes to teaching any subject matter to beginners, it can be much easier than you might think. Simply because beginners don’t know anything about the subject or have any preconceived notions or past history of learning the subject, and whatever you teach them they learn it exactly as you teach it without polluting the teaching with their own preconceived ideas.

As you probably are quite aware, children are like little thirsty sponges that soak up information at an impressive rate. So, if you are going to be teaching magic tricks to a child or to many children you need to be prepared for all the questions that they can ask… and, believe me, kids can ask some doozies. Their honesty combined with their curiosity can be both difficult and endearing.

The first thing you will want to establish with kids is that you know what you are talking about. It is you that is the expert. You should do a few simple tricks yourself ending with the one you plan on teaching them how to do.

Depending upon the age of the child or the children, choose a magic trick to teach them that it is possible for them to do considering their height and the size of their hands.

On the other hand, if you are not a magician, don’t pretend to be and just have some fun with some very simple tricks that you can do.

If you happen to be the parent (aunt, uncle, Godmother or Godfather, Grandmother or Grandfather) of a budding magician and he or she is begging and pleading for a magic kit, you can find some very good ones online (Illusionist is a good site) or at your local magic shop.

Learning magic tricks together with you child is great fun and a great way to spend time together. And once you get started… there’s a good chance that both you and your child will get hooked!

When buying a magic kit for a child, do not choose one that says it is for kids from 4 to 104.

There are an abundance of magic tricks and kits that are geared for the age of the child. Also, if your child has been executing magic tricks and shows a real interest… their skill level may be above the recommended age anyway.

With a one size fits all magic kit, the kids wont be able to do but about half of the tricks in the kit. Their hands wont be big enough.

Also, it’s a good idea to be certain that the instructions come with pictures or video.

Information about how to do the tricks in nothing but print are almost useless to children.

Once you find one that you like, you’ll and your kids will be well on the way to hours of fun… and who knows… maybe a budding magician.

For more information on magic.web-sitings.com magic tricks be sure to visit magic.web-sitings.com magic.web-sitings.com where you will find advice and tips on magic.web-sitings.com card tricks, coin tricks, magic spells, and how you can start dazzling your audiences.