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The Hero’s Journey (Monomyth) is the template upon which the vast majority of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters are based upon. In fact, ALL of the hundreds of Hollywood movies we have deconstructed (see URL below) are based on this 188 stage template.

Understanding this template is a priority for story or screenwriters. This is the template you must master if you are to succeed in the craft.

[The terminology is most often metaphoric and applies to all successful stories and screenplays, from The Godfather (1972) to Brokeback Mountain (2006) to Annie Hall (1977) to Lord of the Rings (2003) to Drugstore Cowboy (1989) to Thelma and Louise (1991) to Apocaplyse Now (1979)].

THERE IS ONLY ONE STORY

THE HERO’S JOURNEY:

a) Attempts to tap into unconscious expectations the audience has regarding what a story is and how it should be told.

b) Gives the writer more structural elements than simply three or four acts, plot points, mid point and so on.

c) Gives you a tangible process for building and releasing dissonance (establishing and achieving catharses, of which there are usually four).

d) Gives you a universal structural template upon which you can superimpose your situational story. This is why stories such as Alien (1979), Gladiator (2000), Midnight Cowboy (1969), American Beauty (1999), The Graduate (1967) and many others (all deconstructed at the URL below) appear to be different but are all constructed, almost sequence by sequence, in the same way.

and more…

*****Inner Cave*****

The Inner Cave, whichever it is (First Threshold, Road of Trials or beyond) is where the Hero confronts Inner Challenges. In Straw Dogs (1971), Janice watches David and Amy in the bedroom.

Learn more…

WRITE THAT SCREENPLAY!

The Complete 188 stage Hero’s Journey and other story structure templates can be found at clickok.co.uk/ clickok.co.uk/

The Managing Creativity and Innovation MBA dissertation, DIY creativity Audit, Powerpoint presentation and Good Idea generator software can be found at managing-creativity.com/ managing-creativity.com/

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

Kal Bishop, MBA

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You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made, the author’s name is retained and the link to our site URL remains active.

“Saturday Night Fever” is the quintessential dance film. It is the film which boosted the popularity of disco in the late ’70s. The story is quite entertaining and the dancing and music are incredible. John Travolta plays one of his most memorable roles in this movie.

“Saturday Night Fever” takes place in New York City. Tony Mareno (Travolta) is a poor young man from Brooklyn who works at a paint store. Every Saturday night he goes out to the local disco and shows off his moves. There he meets Stephanie Mangano (Gorney), a more well-to-do young woman from Manhattan who aspires to be a dancer. Stephanie convinces Tony to enter a dance contest with him.

Tony has problems with his family at home. His parents don’t encourage him and he takes a back seat to his brother, who’s a priest. When his brother quits his job, his parents blame it on him.

Tony hangs out with a local gang who cruise the neighborhood on the weekends. They have lots of problems, however. Annette, Tony’s former girlfriend, is still in love with him. Double J gets mugged one night and blames it on a Spanish gang, whom Tony’s gang later attacks. Out of guilt, after Tony and Stephanie win the dance contest, Tony gives up his trophy to a Spanish couple whom he is convinced is superior. Joey is devastated because he accidentally gets his girlfriend pregnant and his family and priest insist on him marrying her. He ends up accidentally falling off the Brooklyn Bridge.

In the end, guided by Stephanie, Tony decides to move to Manhattan to build a better life for himself.

yourmoviepal.com/movies/daves-best-100-movies/Saturday-Night-Fever.html yourmoviepal.com/movies/daves-best-100-movies/Saturday-Night-Fever.html Saturday Night Fever - Dave’s Top Movies

With the number of U.S. music fans downloading music online increasing by double digits yearly it’s become obvious that downloading is the new way to do music.

For sure there have been, and in fact continues to be issues with legal-vs-illegal but follow this very simple guideline and you don’t have to be concerned about the feds showing up at your door.

The bottom line here is just like in the real world DO NOT copy your music and sell or give those copies away to anyone. That’s where the file sharers go wrong.

It’s that simple.

With that often misunderstood bit of information cleared up I’m now going to contrast and compare a couple of the better and yes, perfectly legal online music download services.

Two of the best music download services I’ve had the opportunity to try out are eMusic and Napster.

What are the best features of each service?

Napster: Despite it’s rocky past the new Napster is a perfectly legal music download site and their full library of digital music, [over 2 million songs] is completely free to listen to. You only pay if you decide to download a song or two to your computer, iPod or other MP3 Player. And Napster has a variety of subscription options to choose from which means you’re sure to find a plan that’s right for you. Most users will be impressed with the overall depth and breadth of the Napster catalog. Very few searches turn up no results.

eMusic: All the tunes available through eMusic are legitimately licensed from record labels and artists, so you don’t have to worry about a midnight visit from the authorities here either. eMusic is now advertising that they have over 1,000,000 high quality MP3 files from 1,200 independent music labels. The collection is mostly filled out in the rock genre, but they also have an outstanding assortment of jazz and blues, as well as a surprisingly large selection of world music. I found the MP3 music downloads available through eMusic were of the highest quality.

What are the performance highlights of each service?

Both Napster and eMusic seem to be built for use by those with broadband connections. Neither one of them says so explicitly but it’s pretty clear. Besides, downloading files as large as even small music files is best done with a high speed internet connection.

How easy are these services to use?

Again both, Napster and eMusic offers a freely downloadable application for use in conjunction with their service. Both are just a few mouse clicks to download and could not be simpler to install. Each user interface is of course completely different from the other but both can be easily learned upon spending a few minutes playing with it.

What about value for the money, which is better?

Napster: Offers three levels of membership and service. At the minimal, free level, members can stream almost any track in the Napster catalog up to 5 times each. If you’re interested in downloading and having unlimited listening capability you’ll pay $9.95 per month. With either of these levels you’ll also have the option of purchasing a song outright for .99 each. If you use your music in conjunction with an iPod or other portable device it’s $14.95 per month to fill your device with unlimited downloads.

Throughout the Napster site at all levels of membership you have the ability to freely listen to :30 second samples of songs.

eMusic: Has three levels of membership as well. For $9.99 per month you get up to 40 downloads, for $14.99 you get 65, and for $19.99 per month you get 90 downloads. These are high quality MP3 downloads and are on a per month basis, and do not rollover. To borrow a term from the cell phone industry.

So which is better?

The million dollar question. I have to say it really depends on how you use and listen to music. With Napster your music is tied to your computer unless you purchase the track or entire CD outright at .99 per song. This differs greatly form eMusic where with either service level you actually download MP3 files so you do have the option of burning CD’s more freely.

I really like several things about each service but mainly with Napster the sheer size of their catalog is very enticing, and with eMusic being able to download burnable MP3’s is certainly a desirable feature.

Like I said, I guess it just comes down to what’s important to you in determining which service is right and will work best for you.

I’ve given you a point from which to start your thinking process here. For complete information on the eMusic download service goto smoothlee.com/emusic.htm” target=”_New smoothlee.com/emusic.htm now.

Clyde Lee Dennis, a.k.a. “SmoothLee” is an AVID music fan, smooth jazz in particular, and in addition to writing CD Reviews for iLoveSmoothJazz.com can also be heard during his radio show which airs online daily at oklahomacitysmoothjazz.com/ Oklahoma City Smooth Jazz

If you want to learn how to speak Spanish, it doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, it can be quick simple and effortless if you do it the right way. Don’t stress over piles of books as the learning process should be on that is fun too. Why do you want to learn to speak Spanish? It could be that you live in a Spanish speaking area or you could use the skills to communicate with others at work on while travelling to countries where Spanish is the dominate language. No matter why you want to learn it, the best way to learn is to find a method that is both fun and interesting way.

If you are going to learn to speak Spanish, then you need to learn it well enough to engage in conversations with others in a manner that you are comfortable with. Don’t worry about writing it in the beginning, focus on pronouncing the words correctly and using the right grammar. Make sure you know what you are saying before you speak it so you don’t offend someone.

The best way to avoid this mistake is to learn from the modern forms of Spanish in an audio form rather than a written form. Other options include hiring a tutor or to attend a class. These options can come with a high price tag though and it can be hard to find a Spanish class that you can work into your busy schedule.

A convenient option is an online course with audio files because you can use it to learn when it fits into your schedule. You can even listen to it as you commute to and from work or while you eat lunch. There are many great ones out there based on the modern Spanish that is spoken today.

Don’t waste you time on those learn to speak Spanish for free courses because you will just be wasting your time. Sure, you can get a free lesson online for free but you aren’t going to learn all you need in that short lesson. It is a skill that is going to take lots of time and practice.

Learning to speak Spanish is a good investment for your personal life and your career. Try to make the process fun and you will be more motivated to complete the challenge. Learning to speak Spanish can open up many opportunities for you as well as allow you to enjoy the Spanish culture.

My name is Bill Müller. Did you know it doesn’t have to be difficult to learn Spanish? There’s a way to learn
how to speak Spanish fluently in less than 3 months. You want to find out how?

Visit rocket-spanish-review.com rocket-spanish-review.com to learn more.

Medieval siege weaponry was required in any self-respecting war leader’s arsenal in a time when castles with thick defense walls were common and cities surrounded by large, fortified walls were not out of place.

With warfare commonplace, it’s little wonder the variety of medieval siege weaponry is great. After all, what was an attacking band of raiders to do when presented with an “impenetrable” castle wall? Break it down, of course, using one of the many designs of medieval siege weaponry available.

One of the earliest examples of medieval siege weaponry appeared around the 300s AD when the ballista was created. The ballista wasn’t the most accurate in the line of medieval siege weaponry, but it could launch a wave of spears further than human arms could muster. Created using two wooden arms, tightly wound ropes and a cord to assist in the hurling of deadly projectiles, this example of medieval siege weaponry used torsion force to launch objects.

The Romans added their own model to the list of medieval siege weaponry when they created the mangonel. This model called for only one wooden arm. The mangonel, however, had somewhat of a design flaw in that in called for a wooden barrier to be constructed.

A ferocious example of medieval siege weaponry came online in the 12th century with the deploying of the trebuchet.

The trebuchet used a long wooden arm rested on a pivot point, which acted as a large lever. A projectile was placed on one end and warriors in this earlier version of the trebuchet pulled on ropes attached to the other end to essentially swing the arm around and hurl the stone.

As far as examples of commonly used medieval siege weaponry are concerned, however, catapults and their sister designs do not hold the only billing. Other tools were readily available to would-be conquerors.

The battering ram, for example, has been used through the ages and still is employed by modern law enforcement.

This version of medieval siege weaponry involved the creation of a very heavy weight placed on wheels used to help batter fortifications. It was usually made of a large tree trunk, and sometimes rather than wheels, a group of warriors or a sling frame helped provide the force necessary to crack fortifications using this simple, yet effective, example of medieval siege weaponry.

Other items in the medieval siege weaponry arsenal included ladders and not-so-simple siege towers. Ladders were employed simply to scale castle walls. If the defenses stopped this measure, siege towers might be built to allow archers clear lines of attack to enemies standing on castle walls.

As far as medieval siege weaponry is concerned, siege towers were somewhat difficult due to their cumbersome nature. Towers were rectangular and often constructed on four wheels. They were as tall as the castle walls or taller and were designed to protect archers, warriors and ladders as an army advanced. The downfall of siege towers in the long line of medieval siege weaponry, however, was their size and the propensity of the defending army to hurl projectiles at them.

The examples of medieval siege weaponry vary greatly, but whatever their design they all had one purpose – to deliver an army to victory.

For more medieval siege weapons information, including how to build a catapult, visit medieval-castle-siege-weapons.com/medieval-siege-weapons-index.html medieval-castle-siege-weapons.com/medieval-siege-weapons-index.html

Garben Catapult updates the information for medieval-castle-siege-weapons.com medieval-castle-siege-weapons.com, a site filled with over 100 pages of interesting information covering many aspects of medieval castles and medieval weapons.

You may know already that sit and go action is where a good, solid poker bankroll can be built. You get to choose your maximum risk, and play against a variety of talent giving you plenty of value for your buy-in, unfortunately, most poker calculators are not designed for sit and go poker. They calculate odds based on pot size, position, draws, and betting - but only for cash games. If you’re like me and play mostly sit and go poker, you have to make moves counter to your poker calculator recommendations to be in the money consistently. These situations will occur when you are short stacked, when you are playing against a maniac, when you are chip leader, when you are heads up, and when you are 3rd place of 3 left.

Hopefully you don’t end up short stacked too often (were you really playing correctly) and someone outdrew you on a bad call or two, but when you find yourself short, you MUST be strategizing to double up. The best way to double up is to get heads up with just one other player with a decent hand. Even if you are behind with KQos and get called with A9, you are in the right spot to double up, but not against more than one player. Your poker calculator will always say to fold KQos against a raise, but that’s when you go your own way and isolate the raiser. You are mostly trying to avoid being dominated here so I look at QJ, or pocket 8’s etc. and feel I am not a huge underdog and may even be slightly favored.

Sometimes you will be up against a maniac, or at least a very loose player and know you are probably ahead. Your strategy here is to re-raise, isolate and not let him draw out. That means over-betting the pot against maniacs. Again, your poker calculator is just not going to agree with this strategy here. Surviving against such players means you have to create certain aggressive opportunities or they will just simply take you down hand by hand.

Another important time to exercise your own judgment over your poker calculator is when you have a huge lead or big chip stack in comparison to your opponents. In such a scenario when you have someone out chipped like 5 or 6 to 1, it is imperative you make underdog calls that normally are a fold situation. With rising blinds, short stacks will be going in with a wide variety of hands so except for dominated Ace-X hole cards, you should be looking to get them all in. You won’t win them all, but if you win one of three situations you are still the table captain.

When I get down to heads up and 1st and 2nd place is on the line, I am quite aggressive with pre-flop raises with a wide variety of hands. I want to train my opponent into frustration. I will lay down to a re-raise but I want to set him up for an all-in where I am favored. In this, you must consistently raise, in particular from the button, holding MOST hole card combinations. If your odds calculator could scream at you, it would be doing so at this stage. Really, this is a time to turn it off, and play an aggressive mental game here. You have to go for the win here, and aim to be the favorite. Blinds are huge so take them when you can.

Ok, you’ve made it to the money but find yourself in 3rd place. Yes, it’s a profit, but turning this spot into win money is a crucial skill for making your overall profit rate of sit and gos really take off. In saying that, aggression is the key. I look for any cards with chemistry, Ace –X suited, two face cards, 97s, etc., any pp for example, and I am all-in forcing the others to make a tough decision. Your poker odds calculator simply won’t understand this strategy so just turn the thing off, otherwise you will be blinded out 19 of 20 times while following its recommendations. You see the difference between 2nd and 3rd is minimal, so don’t be concerned about that. What you want to be able to accomplish with this aggression is to get into 1st place at least one out of every three times you are in this scenario. That will ensure a profitable overall sit and go strategy for you while using your online poker odds calculator to get you into that position.

Martin Smith is webmaster of PokerCalculatorReport.com PokerCalculatorReport.com where all the online poker calculators are tested and reviewed, including Sit and Go Shark, Calculatem Pro, and Poker Spy. He is also editor of PokerBookReport.com PokerBookReport.com You can contact Martin Smith at mailto:support@PokerCalculatorReport.com support@PokerCalculatorReport.com.

Never overlook the beauty of churches when looking for images to create. There are such a wide variety of styles, designs and forms. From the old and ancient to the modern, there is always something to admire.

And it doesn’t matter where in the world you are and what religion you follow. There is always a place of worship nearby. Some are large and some very small. Most will give you a warm welcome and photographic joy.

By asking permission to photograph, you can get a greater range of images for you collection. And there’s plenty to take photographs of. Ornamental designs, gold decorations, stark stonework, religious paraphernalia – it all there. Take a tripod to get those slower shutter speeds and avoid camera shake.

With luck, of more importantly, judgement, you can seek out the churches that are adorned with magnificent stained glass windows. These often tell a story or depict a scene from religious text and are vibrant with colour and detail. Photograph these from inside the building to get fantastic backlighting.

Churches often have spectacular architecture and design. You will often need to stand well back to appreciate the scale of the designs and using a wideangle lens will help include the whole building in the frame.

Churchyards themselves can be a great source of material. Many churches will have a cemetery in the grounds and by looking around you can get pictures of ornamental gravestones and interesting inscriptions. Don’t overlook the vegetation in churchyards as many such areas are regularly and professionally tendered.

Eric Hartwell oversees theworldsbesthomepage.com the worlds best home page a user-led resource - you can read, digest and contribute your opinions on any subject.

Have you ever wondered how the sports betting “smart money” became the smart money? Do you wonder what the sports betting smart money does differently than the amateurs?

To understand the answer to those questions, you can analyze how I went 10-1 last week with my sports betting selections. To best understand how I do this, let’s just look at the analysis for one game: Idaho at Hawaii. Here was my analysis:

Idaho at Hawaii -26

Wow… Hawaii’s offense has been hard to stop this season. There only weakness that I spotted is that their punter averaged ZERO yards kicking last week…. Oh wait a minute… what’s that? That’s because he didn’t have to punt last week…. Nevermind.

Hawaii’s QB, Colton Brennan was 22-31 for 330 yards last week, and has thrown for 14 TD’s and 1158 yards in his last THREE games. I remember when season stats like that used to get a QB All-American honors. Did I mention that Hawaii is averaging 46 points a game in their last 6 games? Hawaii is also on a 15-6 run, and 9-1 as a favorite.

For some more esoteric stats, Hawaii is also 10-1 in their 2nd conference games, and 7-1 coming home after two road games. Idaho has played well, but it’s going to be too much to ask their defense to stop the Rainbows… er um, Warriors this week (personally I liked them better as the Rainbows).

And keep in mind that Idaho is a very poor 7-13 ATS in their last twenty games as a double-digit dog. This means that when their up against a better team, the public underestimates how much of a mismatch the game really is.

Look for Hawaii to win, 52-20 The actual final score was 68-10.

Not a bad forecast for a game, right? How was I able to do this?

Simple. The way to be successful at handicapping games and to make money with davidjamessports.com/signup.php” target=”_blank sports betting, one must look at both historical patterns and current match-ups. In this case, the history pointed to a big win for Hawaii. The fact that the current Idaho team couldn’t match-up well against Hawaii’s offense was the deciding factor.

David James is one of the world’s foremost sports handicappers. Not only does James have an uncanny knack for knowing who to bet on, but he also is one of the best at providing in depth explanations and statistics showing exactly why each pick meets his criteria. Click on this link if you would like to learn how to be successful at davidjamessports.com/index.php Sports Betting

Goethe once said, “Choose well, your choice is brief, and yet endless.” Our zodiac wheel now concludes as our Sun enters the mutable water sign Pisces upon February 18th at 8:09pm EST. Mystic planet Neptune rules these communicators and those endless choices they have to make like their symbol, the Fish. Pause a moment and think of a ocean…it is the stage these natives perform their lives upon.

Ever questing without boundaries, Pisces are known to probe the depths of the mind like no other sign can. Known as the “grandparents of the zodiac,” the typical Fish flows through life assisting others through the voice of wisdom while they learn from experience. Their characters are sensitive, intuitive, sympathetic and mysterious.

Psychology, music, acting, the law, research or anything requiring acute mental analysis is where a Pisces thrives. Ideally the aim is to understand the grand view of life, while relating to all mankind in order to reap success. Keen in the abilities to believe, permeate, renounce, sacrifice of themselves, and receive impressions, they are often guided by psychic energy. The Piscean nature is known to be easy going, plastic, poetic, suggestible, emotional and self-pitying.

At worst the Fish’s nature can gravitate to laziness, instability, chaos, escapism, drug-abuse, (especially alcohol), and being in denial. They are highly warned to not fall prey to addictions. When they shut off the sagely wisdom they are meant to share with others, deep states of depression can be suffered. The cultivation of determination, concentration and the love of self will allow a Pisces to be the channel for the multitude of spiritual, healing and visionary gifts they are here to communicate to others.

Dreamy Pisces begins this month as Mercury is in Retrograde. What an opportune time to begin some early spring cleaning. As with any mutable sign, we know that a change of season is soon upon us. After the Full Moon in Virgo on the 3rd, the next two weeks that follow till the New Moon on March 18th grant us the perfect opportunity to look to the Piscean ruled House in the birth chart to see the area of life where our mental and physical clutter needs to be cleared the most.

Venus is one zodiac step ahead of our Sun this month as it transits through Aries. The collective can expect affections to be easily aroused, unrestrained, impetuous and chock full of romantic adventure. Depending upon the House Aries rules in any individual birth chart, one can expect benevolent Venus to bring harmony to that part of our lives.

Mars enters Aquarius this month and concludes its’ transit upon April 6th, bringing unusual desires that stimulate originality and humanitarian interests to the collective’s drives. The Aquarian ruled House in one’s astrological chart is influenced by an extra boost of leading energy that can allow completions to be fulfilled and realized. Looking ahead, Mars directly opposes Saturn in Leo upon March 22nd, where the collective can expect a regulation of energies that deal with executive abilities vs. self-reliance; the worst outcomes with these power struggles may sway to intolerant and vindictive reactions.

May the gifts of wisdom, sensitivity, and intuition be your guides for those endless choices to be made in the month ahead.

Since the young age of 7, Sharita has been a student of the planets above and all of the mysteries of our Universe. She is available for all levels of astrological, numerical and lexigram analysis through readings and party services, available at: sharitas-star-secrets.com sharitas-star-secrets.com She resides in New York City and currently is working on her first book.

The Cincinatti Bengals are one of the fortune teams in the NFL because of the fact they are able to draft for the future when other teams must draft players to help this season. This however I have learned can be a curse just as easy as a blessing. Let me explain this theroy.

A.J. Nicholson is a shining example of how sometimes it does not matter how much talent you may pocess, you still need some common sense to use when deciding which paths to take in life. It is hard for me to blame Marvin Lewis for this bad draft pick considering past picks such as Carson Palmer, Eric Steinbach and many others. Marvin knew his Bengals are in good enough shape depth wise to roll the dice and he did. Big ups to Marvin Lewis.

Truth be told, A.J. Nicholson has more talent than any other football player taken in the 5th round of the 2006 NFL Draft. Do you think Marvin Lewis would have ever dreamed that A.J. Nicholson would 1 month after being drafted to the NFL break into his ex-teammates apartment and still $1,700 worth of electronics? This baffles me and I can not imagine how the Bengals must feel disapointment wise with this young talent.

At the end of the day the Bengals wasted a bullet they had to waste in my eyes. They will continue to improve whether or not there 5th round draft pick contributes or not. However, I find it disheartening when a player such as A.J. Nicholson with his background of get tasered by a policeman, sexual assult charges and DUI would not take advantage of his big chance. A.J. Nicholson to put things simply, had what you can never take for granted, a second chance. I hoped for the Cincy Bengals and their fans as well as A.J. Nicholson that he would wake up and become a fixture for the Bengals in the future. Only time will tell how A.J. Nicholson’s career will unfold. All I know is A.J. Nicholson is for sure not off on the right foot and should hang his head low after disrespecting himself as well as the NFL over obviously stealing from a previous teammate.

Eric Schumann
Age: 26
bigorangemachine.com Cincinatti Bengals Fan Site