All Entertainment OK

Price : $115.90

Amazon.com

Without the writers and performers behind the National Lampoon Radio Hour, comedy today would be an altogether different beast. In truth, it wouldn’t be nearly so beastly. For a time, overeducated, chemically altered white boys with attitudes were an extraordinary font of humor, and they didn’t come much more educated, altered, white, and boyish than the Nat Lamp crew. Led first by Michael O’Donoughue and later by John Belushi, the radio program lasted from 1973 to 1975, with many of its creators then moving on to the inaugural company of Saturday Night Live. But if TV proffered innately impertinent, un-P.C. types like O’Donoughue, Belushi, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, and Gilda Radner in slightly deluded form, and movies would further water down their personas, radio served them up in all their concentrated glory. The show, as this astonishing 3 CD box demonstrates, was the comic equivalent of a lethal speedball. –Steven Stolder

Customer Reviews

Review date : 2008-07-11
The National Lampoon Radio Hour was a radio comedy show that ran from late 1973 to late 1974. It originally was an hour long, but was soon cut to half an hour when they started to run low on material (while still being titled The National Lampoon Radio Hour). Here we have over three hours of highlights from the show. This is very funny stuff. In a way, the show was a precursor to Saturday Night Live, using many of the performers and writers that later worked on that show. Buy this box.

Review date : 2005-01-26
I recently went to nationallampoon.com and contacted them, asking if "Radio Dinner" and "Goodbye Pop" would ever be released on CD. The answer I got back was from somebody who apparently never even heard of the albums because he said that those titles may someday be re-released on CD… but they never have been! If you read the liner credits on some of the recent compilations, you’ll know that Radio Dinner and Goodbye Pop were probably the best NatLamp albums ever! One even says that Radio Dinner is still the best-selling NatLamp album to date!!!

This box set is the best you’re gonna get until those albums come out… if they ever do! You can get a track here and there on the recent compilation releases, but where oh where is my beloved "Art Rock Suite", arguably the most ambitiously produced musical satire ever produced!

Radio Dinner is scheduled for release in May 2005 at amazon.co.uk so hopefully in the USA as well.

Now come on NatLamp and release my personal favorite Good Bye Pop!

Review date : 2004-02-08
This collection of Radio Hour skits is great stuff, but it leaves out the most over-the-top material from this era. Who can forget the spot-on send-ups of Joan Baez, John Lennon or Helen Reddy? How about the travel commercial for Haiti or the C&W song "Clap Is Just The B Side Of Love"? Or "Kung Fu Christmas"?
Are we too repressed now to handle it?
Too dumb? Too many lawyers?

Review date : 2002-12-12
Yes, this is gorgeous humor. But honestly, WHEN will they re-release the old "Radio Dinner" album? Us baby boomers wanna re-live the exciting days of the Nixon/McGovern campaign:
"Some of you are asking, why, in announcing our complete withdrawal from Vietnam, and the legalization of marijuana, I am wearing these ludicrous headlamps on my ears. Well, let me explain."

::sigh::

But this one will do until that happy day.

wistfully,

Review date : 2002-09-30
This three volume set is so funny. I just with it was longer (that is my only complaint). The funny thing is, the more you listen to it, the funnier it gets.

Not only did I buy a copy for myself, but two months later I got a copy for my sister (we share the same type of humor).

Hearing John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Christopher Guest, and alumni doing spoofs of Marlon Brando, Charles Bronson, Joni Mitchell, Clint Eastwood, Gregory Peck, and James Taylor are simply hilarious.

Surprisingly, the jokes have held up very well, and not as out of date as I would have thought. A smart, refreshing, hilarious send up of just about everything, National Lampoon delivers the goods.
 

Thievery is alive and well in Hollywood. The glamorization of crime invariably tickles the curiosity of the public. Criminals have been portrayed as exciting, daring and cunning tantamount to hero status. They are the risk takers who should not be completely judged upon their criminal expression but rather looked at as individuals with some merit. They are cast sympathetically as their relationships are examined and ultimately lend credence to the justification, in their minds, of the criminal choices they have made. But worst of all, they are often shown as being ?cool?, even as they hurdle towards the death of their freedom.

Take, for example, the jewelry or art thief. Movies like the Italian Job, the Score and Ocean?s Eleven display criminals as generally model citizens, other than when they are committing crimes. There may be such criminals but are they so suave in their real lives? Are they seemingly morally upright in their relationships with others? Are they really just good guys who happen to commit crimes? In real life the majority of criminals are not suave, cool or sympathetic figures. They are cutthroat, ruthless and to a degree, sociopathic. Mob figures are the best example of the paradox between the glamorization of criminal life and reality of criminal behavior.

All agree that the Soprano?s, a show about mob life in New Jersey, is a great show. The production value is high, the actors are skilled and the plot lines are well conceived. People get whacked, money gets laundered and criminals get promoted for good work. Yet, in order for the audience to tune in every week they must connect with the characters. Hence, the boss of the family, Tony Soprano is shown as a father, a husband and as attempting to improve his relationships with the outside world by visiting a therapist. This is a ploy to create sympathy for a ruthless murdering crime boss. And it works, as the Sopranos is a hit. What then are the real criminals doing?

True mob figures don?t give a damn about the outside world. Their loyalty lies with their crime families. They lie, cheat and murder for riches and would stomp on the average person, literally, to further their gains. A true jewelry thief is usually a two bit criminal who robs the local family owned jewelry store, as can be verified by FBI criminal statistics. Real criminal life is fraught with betrayal, pain and stints in prison. Most criminals are caught at some point with over 13 million arrests made in the US in 2005 alone, according to the FBI.

The business side of Hollywood is reactionary in nature. The glamorization of criminal life is partly in response to a demand by the public. Interest in stylized underworld figures comes from a public perhaps bored with their average daily existence. The idea that there are people who survive in a world where they ignore the law, fascinates us. But when the glamour is shaken off, and the dust clears, there is only an empty fancy suit left, where a thief once stood.

Derek Belay holds a BA in English Literature from Cal State Pomona. He writes part time primarily as a hobby. He currently works for Jewelry Payless.com as a marketing manager.

Masks made from pale pastel plumage with shiny sequins are standard fare at Mardi gras, Carnival and masquerade parties. There’s an allure and style to them possessed by no other costume element.

Much is made of our desire to pretend and the imagination’s ability to do so. Few activities give us the opportunity as readily as does the costume party. Frills and flourishes that have no other place are found in abundance at parades of show costume-clad dancers wearing yards of sequined fishnet and feathered elegance.

None of it would have the same mystery without the elegance of the mask. These beautiful adornments have a history of their own that heralds back to court functions in pre-Revolutionary France. There’s the hint of a palace in every feathery sequined one of them.

Party masks in plentiful supply are just a few keystrokes away. Feathers and frills that enhance the night’s need for mystery and intrigue are available; so are sequined masks that hide Halloween ballerinas from crowds of ghouls and goblins from school.

Any costumed occasion can call for the appropriately feathered and sequined mask. Delicate colors can be matched to most costumes. Chiffon and silks of formal costume balls are the perfect place for feather masks.

The court jester may need to tell his best jokes to the feather masks in his court and juggle with his best skill. Refreshments will need to be more amazing than usual and the dances will need to be courtlier than ever before. Everything will take on a fancier appearance when masks with feathers and sequins appear at a party.

Laughter is an automatic response to the sight of masks made with the look of antique feathers and sequins in a costume’s design. It is nearly impossible not to smile at this soft finery.

Mrs. Party… Gail Leino is the internet’s leading authority on selecting the best possible partysupplieshut.com party supplies ( partysupplieshut.com partysupplieshut.com), using proper etiquette and manners while also teaching organizational skills and fun facts. The Party Supplies Hut has a huge selection of free party games, coloring pages, word find, word scramble, printable baby and bridal shower activities. mardi-gras-fun.com Mardi Gras party (Mardi-Gras-Fun.com) ideas, parade schedule, party planning tips, menus, beads, masks, recipes, free games, printable activities to help complete your celebration.

There are 2 stages to running a great pub quiz:

1) Venue, questions and promotion - The strategy as it were - You’ve built and it and “they” will come. Then…

2) Lets call it logistics or tactics - How it works on the night itself at the human level. Having the tools in place is good and essential but it’s critical you get the “power” to them (analogy hell here!) Basically – Can you deliver a fun filled night or will it be an argumentative, confused disaster one off no repeat ever affair? This article is about getting (2) bang on right.

You need a formula to follow to ensure the quiz runs smoothly and that you (hopefully) and the players (absolutely essentially!) have a good time and want more. First things first then - You need a quiz question master and he or she needs tools

Who for Quizmaster?

• Someone who won’t be fazed by public speaking.

• Who can confidently and clearly read out the questions.

• Who won’t get led of track by banter or phased (hopefully not) by a heckler or argumentative know it all quiz geek.

Where will the quizmaster sit to “work”?

• Make sure space is kept for them.

• One that can’t be overlooked by team spies!

• This is critical - The quizmaster must been seen as objective and above reproach. Accusations of spying on him or her can ruin the whole evening and even lead to the quiz being called off. Not good!

How will they be heard?

• Unless it’s a really small venue, you will need a P.A system capable of being heard above general pub conversation – not everyone will be taking part in the quiz.

• Many pubs will have this sort of thing - but check and if so can you use it?

• If not see if they can hire one or check out your local Yellow Pages on or offline and look for disco or PA hire suppliers.

• A simple system will be pretty cheap but be sure to practice with it first so you don’t get embarrassing sound losses or ear bashing feedback.

Who will mark the questions?

• Most question masters can mark up to 10 teams’ answers between rounds, but they may need a helper.

• Alternatively in a more “friendly” quiz you may let teams swap papers and mark each others’ quizzes between rounds then hand in marked answers for you to keep score.

On The Night:

• The quizmaster announces that the quiz will start in x minutes.

• Collect team names and entry fees.

• Record the name of the team on your scoresheet.

• Give each team some answer sheets for each round - One per team and a couple of spares

• Have a stock of pens for them if needed.

Start the quiz!

Start by reading out team names (giving everyone a name check) and begin the quiz.

1. Each question should be read out once.

2. A short break then repeated.

3. At the end of the round, quickly recap all questions.

At the end of the round:

1. Collect sheets from teams for marking (perhaps announcing that if they’re not handed in within a minute, the team gets 0 points)

2. Or get teams to swap papers then read out each question then its answer.

3. At the end of each round read out the cumulative scores.

Remember the golden rule – the quizmaster is always right and the idea of the quiz is to get the answer on his or her answer sheet.

At the end of the quiz:

1. Give the final scores with the top 3 in reverse order.

2. Have a tiebreak question or 2 ready (usually a number answer with the first correct answer or closest answer as the winner).

3. Run your cash jackpot if applicable, give out the prizes.

Then finally, announce the date and time of the next quiz and start preparing!

A Note on Team answersheets and Quizmaster score-sheets:

• Team answer sheets – Basically a grid lined A4 type sheet with answer write in numbered boxes and a line on top for the team name.

• Make sure you have lots of them, one per team per round – so if you have 10 teams and 6 rounds you’ll need 60 (and take some spares!)

• Quizmaster score sheets – Where you have a line per team name and boxes per round so you can record the scores per round and easily total up at the end.

• You can do them easily on a PC in Excel or find free ones to download online

Above all - GOOD LUCK and have fun too!

Nick is originally from London but now lives in Sweden with fiance Lena, 2 step daughters & Border Terrier Gunnar. He runs his own business that includes ebay & consulting for UK quiz site Offerx.co.uk. He runs quiz-winner.com quiz-winner.com which is all about quizzes & features online quiz reviews, a quiz shop, free pub quiz posters and score sheets & quiz-winner.com quiz-winner.com 10,000 free trivia quiz questions and answers for download.

#1 Indianapolis: If the Colts are able to play 60 minutes like they did in their second half against Washington on Sunday, this is clearly the best team in football. The offense is a given. When the defense steps up, this is a tough team to beat.

#2 Chicago: The Bear bye came at a good time as Chi town has some injuries to deal with and so that the staff can address some of the offensive deficiencies exposed by Arizona. The November 12th Sunday nighter versus Giants now looking very big.

#3 New England: The Pats already have a stranglehold on AFC East and have only to avoid injury and fine-tune passing game before heading into the playoffs. New England ball control offense eats lots of clock and wins battle of field position keeping average/aging stop unit fresh.

#4 Denver: How long can you continue to win scoring 17 ppg? The Bronco offense, particularly the running game, is just not the same without crushing blocking back and Plummer has just not made plays. Shanahan will likely go to Cutler before to much longer.

#5 Atlanta: Breakthrough game the Falcons on Sunday as they showed uncharacteristic guts and resilience in beating Steelers. What took Vick so long to refind Alge Crumpler?
Falcon defense, running game, and intangibles will always keep them in the hunt.

#6 Baltimore: Jim Fassel has left the building and we should see a slightly less conservative Raven offense the rest of the way. McNair can still throw mid-range balls so look for Todd Heap to become more involved. Opportunistic defense creates chances and hides Ravens offensive deficiencies.

#7 NY Giants: Moving up the ladder with a bullet as this team has been one of the three best teams in football the last three weeks coming out of their bye. The offensive line is moving people for Tiki and giving Eli enough time to make plays. The loss of Arrington (ruptured Achilles) will hurt but pressure from the ends make Giants a handful.

#8 Seattle: We’ll really see what the defending NFC champs are made of now with Hasselbeck out 3-4 weeks with a knee strain and Alexander still 2-3 weeks away with broken foot. This week at Kansas City will be tough but next four are very winnable. Hawks may regret going cheap at backup with Seneca Wallace.

#9 San Diego: The Chargers have given away two games they should have won handily. Tons of questions still remain about Phillip Rivers and the status of Schottenheimer who seems to be questioned at every move by management. Merrimen get two game reprieve from substance suspension. All’s not right with the Bolts.

#10 Philadelphia: Probably shouldn’t be dropping the Eagles this far after getting beat by two INT runbacks and 62 yard final play field goal but Philly is showing no killer instinct and a forming a habit of not closing people out. The Eagles at their best are as good as anyone on the NFC.

Jeff Allen is a documented member of the Professional Handicappers League.
Read all of his articles at procappers.com/Jeff_Allen.htm procappers.com/Jeff_Allen.htm

Price : $5.95

Product Description

This digital document is an article from Proceso, published by CISA Comunicacion e Informacion, S.A. de C.V. on December 22, 2002. The length of the article is 1270 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Autor de best-sellers: Noah Gordon: soy un escritor comercial y soy rico. (Libros).
Author: Sanjuana Martnez
Publication: Proceso (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 22, 2002
Publisher: CISA Comunicacion e Informacion, S.A. de C.V.
Page: 70(2)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

If you followed the advice in Part I of So You Want to be a Film Critic you have an amazing, witty, informative review ready for the world to see. So, now what? What do you do with your great review? Well now you market that review and others that you will write so you can continue your dream of becoming a film critic.

1.Create your own website ? Create a website or a blog and post reviews to your site regularly. If they?re good and interesting and you post often enough you will develop a following and at the same time create clips that you can send to a perspective employer.

2.Start writing for other websites ? You may want to try writing for other film websites. MovieTome.com, Movie-Gurus.com or Movie-Vault.com are excellent choices. You can apply to them and see if they will accept you as a reviewer and then, when seeking out a paying job, you can show that you?ve been writing for various other online publications.

3.Try alternative magazines, weeklies and newspapers ? Most cities have small or even large alternative magazines, weeklies and newspapers. They?re always looking for new talent and may allow you to write some movie reviews for them. Send them a query and see what happens. The jobs may or may not be paying but it is a good place to start.

4.Try smaller markets ? You have to understand that everyone wants to be a critic. And once someone gets a film critic job they rarely relinquish it. It?s a lot like the Supreme Court, film critics die out of their position. If you think you?re going to land a job with a major newspaper or entertainment show right out of the box, think again. You can forget about the major markets, like L.A or New York at the beginning of your career. If you are serious about being a film critic then you will look at Idaho or Ohio, small town newspapers as a start. Remember it?s all about gaining experience and exposure and one needs to take opportunities where they arise.

So that?s it. Follow the suggestions listed here and in Pt. 1 of, So You want to be a Film Critic and you?ll be on your way to fulfilling your dream of being a well respected, nationally known film critic..

T.S. Johnson is a freelance writer and owner of PrologueReviews.com. Visit http://www.prologuezine.com for all of your writing needs or http://www.prologuereviews.com to have your music, movie or book reviewed.

As human nature goes we often wonder what we are, who we are and what our place is in the Universe. It would be totally egocentric to think that we are alone in the universe and we are the center of it all. We would be no better than when they thought the world was flat and the Sun orbited the Earth. So where do we fit in? Better yet where do we exist?

Ponder this. (Caution this may cause your brain to hurt.) Imagine you are a scientist and you are studying molecular physics. You look at an element. You see a nucleus and x number of electrons flying around it. You smash it to see what comes out. You do this repeatedly. Each time you get your flash of light and traces of sub particles. Your friend is an astronomer. He sits watching the Universe through a telescope. He sees flashes of light from supernovas and galaxies collide.

Now imagine another life form studying molecular physics. He looks at an element. He sees a nucleus and x number of electrons flying around. He smashes it and gets his flash of light and traces of sub particles. His friend is an astronomer and he sees supernovas and galaxies collide.

Do you get the picture? What if we exist on one of those particles? What if our Universe is actually a sea of elements and particles just flying around and particles are being selected and smashed (supernova) to see what comes out by some other being? What if the same is happening in their Universe? Moreover, what if the life forms studying their particles are doing the same thing and so on and so on?

Here is the correlation. We live on the planet Earth. We traverse the surface in a haphazard manor much like electrons orbiting a nucleus. The Earth has a moon that orbits it, one nucleus (Earth) one electron (moon). Hydrogen? Now they orbit the Sun. The sun has numerous things in orbit around it. The solar system orbits in a cluster that orbits the center of the galaxy. The Galaxy, not proven yet but I’m sure it will be, orbits a mass, which has other galaxies orbiting it as well. The Universe? Well, with the vastness of what ever the Universe is expanding into there are certainly more Universes orbiting something.

Elements are made of neutrons, protons and electrons, put together indifferent combinations to make the various elements. These are smashed and found to have even smaller parts. Each part of an element (proton, electron, neutron) is made up of smaller parts orbiting central parts. These smaller parts have even smaller parts and as technology advances they are getting smaller and smaller parts of the parts.

What if every time we smash a particle we are actually snuffing out a star or galaxy in an unseen universe? What if we are snuffing out billions and trillions of lives? What if the same is going on in our Universe today? What if the supernovas we see are actually another life form smashing particles to see what they are made of?

We are making a super collider to create a miniature “big bang”. For us the universe that is created in that moment will exist for an infinitesimal amount of time. Remember time is relative. What if that is long enough for beings in that universe to develop and create wonderful music and art and books? Long enough for them to venture out to the reaches of their space and explore the stars in their universe and meet other life forms living there? Then it is all destroyed due to what we are doing? What if the same thing is happening to our universe as we speak? What if our universe was created in the same way? Being after being studying particles to see what they are made of. Each successive being creating and destroying a universe each time they smash a particle.

Our existence is infinitesimal compared to the age of Earth, the solar system and the Universe. Time of course trumping all. Does everything that has ever existed exist in our Universe or are there stacks and stacks of universes that exist within each other with each universe holding an infinite number of universes? Are we just a part of a small particle that exists at the end of an eraser on someone’s pencil?

Jack R. Mason - Author, Armchair philosopher, scientist.

Email: mailto:jackrmason@gmail.com jackrmason@gmail.com

Blog: ( zigtag3d.blogspot.com zigtag3d.blogspot.com)

Harmonicas are wonderful musical instruments. They’re versatile, they’re relatively inexpensive, they fit in your pocket, and their music can evoke a wide range of feelings. Harmonicas - or harps, as they are commonly called - are used in a wide variety of musical genres, such as bluegrass, the blues, folk, rock, country, Gospel, jazz, and even Classical music.

If you want to learn to play the harp and are planning to take instruction, you should understand the different types of harmonicas that are available. The leading makers of harmonicas include Suzuki, Hering, Hohner, and Bushman. Beyond brands, though, there are other differences you should know about.

The harmonica that most people are familiar with is the ten-hole “Blues harp.” Each of the holes has two reeds, which are tuned to play different notes. Blues harps come in virtually every key, and each harmonica can play 19 musical notes.

Blues harps are a subcategory of diatonic harmonicas, so named because of the two reeds in each hole. Diatonic harmonics generally play only one key. Another type of diatonic harmonica is the octave harmonica, which is tuned so that each hole plays the same note, only an octave apart from one another. The tremolo harmonica also has two reeds, but one plays a slightly flat note and the other plays a slightly sharp note.

A different category of harmonica is the chromatic harmonica. These harmonicas typically have twelve, fourteen, or sixteen holes, and four reeds per hole. They also have a sliding bar that moves the air from the mouthpiece to a specific reed plate. Chromatic harmonicas are most often used in jazz and Classical music.

Harmonica Instruction

When you learn to play the harmonica, you’ll first be taught how to breathe correctly. Because successfully playing the harmonica involves both breathing out and breathing in, it’s important to breathe from your diaphragm. You’ll also learn how to correctly hold the harmonica, how to move it, and how to position your lips so you’ll achieve the right notes. You’ll also learn harmonica tablature, or tabs, which in instruction that replaces the need for learning to read music. Harmonica tabs tell you what actions you need to take, such as blowing in the fifth and sixth holes, rather than simply showing you music notation. For example, tablature might indicate an upward arrow with a number above it, indicating that you need to blow on that numbered hole, followed by a downward area with a number on top, indicating that you need to inhale on that hole. Tabs make learning to play the harmonica much easier than learning to play other instruments.

Choosing a Harp

Most harmonica instruction is given in the key of C, so it’s probably best to buy a diatonic or Blues harp in the key of C. Most experts recommend that beginners purchase harmonicas with plastic or aluminum combs (the body of the harmonica) rather than wood. Plastic and metal are both more comfortable and more durable. However, you should be aware that, over time, you’ll probably buy and try several different brands of harmonicas. Each person is unique, and each has to find the harmonica that is the best fit for his or her playing style.

Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular majon.com internet marketing companies on the web.
Learn more about HarpDepot.com/ Finding the Right Harmonica or Majon’s majon.com/directory/Music Music directory