Dress In A Sexy Halloween Costume For A Fun Night Out

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Sexy Halloween costumes for a fun night out can mean a variety of things from having a fun night out for just you girls, couples acting out and simply having a good time to being something different for one night a year. Now, when we think of Halloween Costumes, we think of only wearing them for one night - October 31st. Yet this is simply not true. Many not only put on their costumes for more than trick or treating, but for masquerade balls, holiday festivals and to simply role-play for the day.

Getting dressed up is not only about wearing a scary mask or haunted houses full of Witches, Mummies, Bats, and Skeletons but about having fun. Halloween is a celebration of All Hallow’s day, All Saints Day and the Celtic Samhain all rolled into one night of revelry and fun. You can dress in your favorite Theatrical costumes, like vampires, a pirate, fairy, angel, and even a werewolf. Both men and women can have fun on this Holiday wearing fashions they never thought to wear. It doesn’t matter if you choose a Sexy Halloween Costume or a silly one, you will have fun dressing up.

Sexy Costumes can allow a couple that has an attraction to each other to simply dress up in something they would normally not wear. It is not about being scandalous but about having fun. You can pretend you are a historical hero or heroine right out of the history books, or choose something more modern, like your favorite mascot. Many Halloween costumes are a way to mimic a supernatural creature, or someone seen on TV.

While at your costume or Halloween party, you could bob for apples, have contest on which Costume is the best, Carve jack-o’-lanterns, go to a Bonfire and in some places like Ireland see Fireworks. It is not only about the sweets though that is a major part, it can also be another way to give gifts and have fun. Imagine you and your friends dressing as the same characters and not only be the bells of the ball but have a great laugh as well.

Halloween was originally called Samhain and was a Pagan Festival among the Celts of Ireland and Great Britain. This tradition spread to North America and Scottish immigrants brought their customs with them. Halloween is celebrated in many parts of the Western World and though the most common is the United States, places like Canada, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand celebrate it as well.

This time honored tradition of dressing up and having fun can be a trying time for some. The boom of online costume stores has changed this, however, and many can be bought worldwide. If you are worried that something does not fit, then you might like to know that there are charts and even customer service specialists to help you find just the right size and look.

These stores carry everything from 20s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and the 80s clothing to Egyptian, Medieval & Renaissance, which are also great for the Renaissance Fairs popping up all around. They also have fairytale legends, military and uniforms, maids, and of course, the belly dancer as well. Belly dancing has become a popular exercise and what better way to show off all your hard work than with a sexy belly dancing costume.

Susan G West
http://www.articlesbase.com/women’s-issues-articles/dress-in-a-sexy-halloween-costume-for-a-fun-night-out-523798.html

Posted in: theatrical Comments(4) February 2009


Dinner Begins at Forty

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Dinner Begins at Forty

Time flies when you’re eating I guess. Suddenly when I’d lost count, New York magazine turned 40 years old and this is my 40th year as a restaurant critic. I seem to be the only survivor still on the staff from that year of launch, still reviewing restaurants after four decades. Am I stubborn or just hungry? Well, one does have to eat and even when I am off duty — a quick burger at Fairway Café or a pizza at Celeste — am I ever truly off-duty? All those critical antennae unfold when I walk into a restaurant. Click. Smells like butter. Click. No smile at the maitre d’ stand. Click. Who turned out the lights? Where is my headlamp? Is that music or static from a radio upstairs?

I remember when I was 40. It was definitely more fun being 40 than it is being a critic for 40 years Of course I lied about my age for so long, I don’t remember what was going on when I actually hit 40, only that New Yorkers were starting to fall in love with eating out – the magazine had a major role in suggesting that restaurants were power fields, theater and alcoves of seduction. Very young men were thrilled to join me for dinner and then boogie on Regine’s pulsating heart shaped floor till 2 or 3 in the morning. If you weren’t there it might be difficult to imagine the ecstatic years between the pill and the plague. Especially if sex and dancing happened to be your drugs and you could remember it all the next morning, As an early bloomer, I wouldn’t say life began at 40, but it certainly peaked…I wish the same for my colleagues at New York, great adventure and continued triumphs.

It’s true I decided I didn’t want to be the weekly critic at New York magazine several years ago. I didn’t want to spend every Monday morning of my life writing and rewriting and trying to defend my positions to editors who weren’t there at the dawn of our town’s cuisinary revelations.

But time passed and the short weekly column I still write wasn’t enough. I missed having the last word…I missed having the first word. And since I am eating out every night anyway, I thought I’d dip my forchette into a blog which grew into this on-line journal of confessions, gossip, recipes, travel memoir and hot addresses.

Growing up in a Velveeta cocoon in Detroit, Michigan, I never meant to be a restaurant critic. I didn’t hang out in a cozy kitchen like many of my peers, collecting sense memories etched with aromas of apple pie just out of the oven or peach jam simmering on the stove. Not much simmered. My mom, the loving auburn-haired Saralee mostly opened cans and jars or defrosted. So there was no childhood food dream or even a whisper of any sort of cooking fantasy when I arrived in New York as a lowly general assignment reporter ($105 a week) at the old New York Post.

If you came of age on Mr. Murdoch’s leering headlines, you may not even know there once was a bold, politically correct, fiercely liberal New York Post. I exposed bigotry on West End Avenue when Harry Belafonte tried to move in and conspiracies in Selma, Alabama. The Post covered the race beat before anyone. Al Aronowitz wrote a ten part series on the Beats and many chapters on the early days of Bob Dylan. Dylan looked a lot like Cate Blanchett when I joined him and Al for a coffee in the Village after work one afternoon.

Those were

Soon the hat will be more famous than the face. Photo: Dan Wynn

the glory days of publisher Dorothy Schiff, editor Jimmy Wechsler and the great columnists: Murray Kempton, Max Lerner. I would love to read a Murray Kempton column on the Post of today. His prose was uniquely lush and voluptuous, like a ripe Elberta peach or a hot fudge sundae. Occasionally I would try to sneak a Byzantine phrase into my own writing.

There in the city room, early one morning I met a slight, dark-haired new arrival on the desk. I was drawn to his sad brown eyes and appealing aquiline face. Don worked the night desk. I sat on the rim of rewrite by day. I was just one in a parade of first dates he wooed on a banquette at the Little Old Mansion, one of the era’s intimate small restaurants run by cranky old Southern belles. I’d never tasted anything as complex and transporting as her lobster with saffron rice and black walnuts. Soon Don and I were a folie á deux of rollicking foodies. And like any other early foodie (obsessed before foodie became an actual recognized Oxford Dictionary word), I lived by the Friday reviews in the New York Times of the great god Craig Claiborne.

Then came the fateful call in autumn of 1968. It was Clay Felker asking me to be the restaurant critic of his brand new New York magazine. It’s launch, designed by Milton Glaser, with print stars like Jimmy Breslin, Tom Wolfe, Gloria Steinem, Peter Maas and Barbara Goldsmith had the media world – which felt like all of New York — buzzing.

Me a restaurant critic? I was freelancing at the time for Ladies Home Journal, McCall’s and Cosmopolitan. I wrote whatever they asked: The Secrets of the World’s Great Beauties. How America Lives. How Not to Get Dumped by Your Husband on his Way Up. Nothing foodie. I needed to sell restaurant stories so I could charge all our eating to some company’s expense account. And I had written a countdown to the re-opening of La Côte Basque for Felker when New York was the Sunday magazine of the late, lamented Herald Tribune, “Papa Soulé Loves You.”

I cooked. I took cooking classes. I’d tried to reproduce the gossamer pike quenelles I’d tasted at the Pavillon and the Café Chauveron’s ethereal mussels in Chablis and cream. DHF and I had made a pilgrimage to the mythic Chez Point on our belated honeymoon: We had emerged from an epiphany at the Restaurant de la Pyramide in Vienne, south of Lyon, smashed out on bliss and butter and vintage Hermitage, passionate converts to the truffled life. This struck me as a feeble credential against Claiborne’s stint on the G.I. Bill at the hotel school in Lausanne or his reign at the Times. What could Clay be thinking?

“What will you tell people are my credentials?” I asked.

“Aren’t you a food person,” he said.

“Well, I’ve eaten around.” I explained to Felker I could not possibly afford to write for the miserly $300 fee he was offering all writers – yes, even the stars – until the magazine broke even.

“But people are begging to be the restaurant critic of New York,” he said with an exasperated air, “So they can charge all their meals to us.”

There were flashing lights and a shock went through my body. What a concept. Quickly, before anything I had said could change his mind, I said “yes.” I got him to agree we would follow all of Craig’s rules: I would be anonymous, do a minimum of three meals and we would always pay.

“Yes,” he said. “And yes.”

I got a credit card using a borrowed name from American Express and then set about stewing over what I would write…what institution or brave new venture I would embrace or skewer first.

It was a convulsive moment in American. Fall, 1968. I stood in front of my closet trying to decide whether I would wear my fake polyester Yves St. Laurent pant suit from Ohrbach’s or the navy and white faux Givenchy. And two miles north of where I brooded Columbia University was paralyzed by student protests. Martin Luther King was dead. Bobby Kennedy was dead. The Democratic convention in Chicago had filled the television screen with scenes of uninmaginable violence. And yet here I was totally focused on the sociology and anthropology of New York dining, on Babe Paley’s neck and whether Sirio would give Onassis or Sinatra that prime table at the faded Colony.

I decided it would not be circumspect to rip into one of Craig’s favorites as my first act. So I didn’t move on La Caravelle or John Fairchild’s daily canteen, La Grenouille. I knew from reading Fairchild’s juicy Eye column in Women’s Wear Daily that CBS chairman William Paley had been obsessing about every detail of the design of the new restaurant in the lobby of the company’s sober new tower, the charcoal brown monolith known as Black Rock, “Paley’s Preserve,” my review of The Ground Floor, appeared November 11, 1968.

“The CBS Building is brown is beautiful is a sober monument to taste in the Manhattan grid of chrome, compromise and architecture by committee. Eero Saarinen drew it but the details became a family affair. CBS president Frank Stanton and board chairman William Paley fussed over glass tints and elevator buttons. When it came to the family kitchen, it was clear form the start, one could not install a Chock Full O’Nuts in the nave of the cathedral.

“Thus The Ground Floor is, above all, appropriately grand. It is slick, rich, calculated, spare, intimidating. It is Contemporary Wasp. You would hate to break open a roll for fear it would scatter unprogrammed crumbs. It is understatedly snob,,.The Ground Floor is a perfect room to end an affair in….”

I had found my voice. Click here to read more…

***

If you’re feeling nostalgic, click on Vintage Articles in the navigator above to see early New York reviews: The Ground Floor, La Côte Basque: Quintessential Soulé Food, The Mafia Guide to Dining Out, La Caravelle: Insult á la Carte, Brooklyn, Come Hungry and more.

***

Gael Greene
http://www.articlesbase.com/restaurant-reviews-articles/dinner-begins-at-forty-338950.html

Posted in: theater critic Comments(3) February 2009


Art and Entertainment (orlando)

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Arts and Entertainment is abundant in Orlando with its many amusement parts, museums, movie theatres, clubs, and art centers etc. whatever be your field of interest or in whatever way you want to entertain yourself there is never an end to the possibilities available before you. Total entertainment for the couples, family or singles guaranteed at the places like comedy clubs and entertainers.

Amusement parks:

There are seven amusement parks in Orlando waiting to offer abundant fun and enjoyment for the whole family through its rides and water sports. Just hang out or celebrate special occasions or a company outing, whatever be the cause don’t ever hesitate or pause, to reach for the amusements parks, which will no doubt bring a smile and a spark, with a free parking lot.

Art studios and galleries:

Art studios and galleries in Orlando are any art lover’s frequent haunt. From watching wonderful art display to betting you way too high to get your hands on the art piece you love everything is exquisite and artist about almost 44 art studios and galleries location in almost all parts of the city.

Art supplies:

The cities grandest art supplies offer a total solution to all the art queries and art supplies. Whatever be your art needs from brushes to art frames you name it and they will definitely have it.

Comedy club:

There is nothing more healing and therapeutic as the laughter therapy. Get yourself into the comedy club and never stop laughing. Total fun and comedy guaranteed at the most prestigious comedy clubs in the city.

Entertainers:

Entertaining your guests, friends or colleagues has never been easier as the services offered by the 11 odd Orlando entertainers take care of every minute detail for all occasions. Most of all disc jockey services are also available. Wine and dine while rocking and shaking to the foot tapping music.

Movie theatres:

Watching a movie with a bucket filled with popcorn forgetting the world outside and immersed with the stars inside is all you need if you happen to be over stressed or wanting a change. The three movie theatres located in the main city is the movie buffers favorite hot spot. With digital sound and high end graphics the movies sure will leave you spellbound.

Museums:

The cities history, art and culture are best showcased in the cities wonderful museums, which speak and reveal the traditions, art and culture personifying the ancestral heritage of the city.

Performing arts:

Performing arts has always been a vital part of the art and entertainment scenario in Orlando. Performing arts groups can give the viewers total entertainment be it on social issues or on romance or life issues.

Ticket brokers:

Want to get a ticket to the movie tonight? Connect to the ticket services and get yourself placed in the theatre with an advanced booking made in your name. Tickets to the museum, or the amusement parks, or a game in progress can well be booked and reserved in advance by the ticket brokers.

Leveto Orville
http://www.articlesbase.com/art-and-entertainment-articles/art-and-entertainment-orlando-181469.html

Posted in: comedy Comments(3) February 2009


Lace Materials for Hair Pieces

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Lace materials for hair replacements and particularly fronts have become a hot ticket in the industry.  It isn’t a surprise considering the appearance one gets from a lace is as close to reality as you can get.

 

There are several types of lace materials in the market and each has it’s own properties that make it special but there are some created names out there so it is wise to know what you really want.

 

Fine Welded Mono Lace:  Probably one of the most popular due to it’s durability yet it still has a very nice finished look for the client who just wants a natural front in case the wind blows.  Fine Welded Mono is an open weave nylon monofilament material that is literally welded using an ultrasonic welder at each point where two strands of the monofilament meet.  This method makes the material very strong which helps with fraying along the edge. Fine Welded Mono Lace can be easily heat set and requires no tailoring or darting to maintain its shape and holds up very well.  The down side to the material is that it is stiff and for some it can be uncomfortable or scratchy and it doesn’t have as fine an appearance for those wanting to wear their hair back exposing the hair line.   However for anyone with NON sensitive skin or if you just want the immediate look to be natural but don’t have the front hair line completely exposed 100% of the time, this is a great way to go.

 

French Lace:  Used for many years in the theatrical world, French Lace gives a very natural look for the front hair line as well as for the body of a hair piece.  French Lace is soft to the touch and very flexible.  The down side to French Lace is that it is a bit delicate and requires care when wearing a system with this material.  It is usually advised that the front edge of a French Lace system be scalloped or Pinked with a pinking shear to help minimize and delay fraying.  During the course of wear the front edge can be cut back as it frays up to the hair line with no problem.  Bases made of this material are also more delicate so care should be given when brushing and combing the hair to avoid catching the material in the brush or comb causing the base to tear.

 

Swiss Lace or Swiss Net:  This is really the ultimate lace material.  It is very fine in appearance and when applied to the skin literally disappears.  Swiss Net is more expensive than French Lace so it is often promoted but just as often substituted with French Lace.  Unfortunately consumers who don’t really know the difference cannot tell if they have Real Swiss Lace or its less expensive counter part, but seeing the two materials together you will see the differences quite clearly.  The main difference is its more transparent look and it is a bit finer, therefore more delicate than French Lace but the finished look is truly the ultimate for Lace Materials.

 

 

Hassan_Ahmed
http://www.articlesbase.com/hair-loss-articles/lace-materials-for-hair-pieces-621359.html

Posted in: theatrical Comments(0) February 2009


Hello From Chicago - Part 4 - Chinatown And Second City

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Chicago, Arlington House, Sunday October 23,2005, 6:30 am

After thoroughly exploring the Pullman Historic District, we decided to check out Chinatown, one of the many ethnic neighbourhoods that Chicago has to offer. The weather had turned from cool and grey with the occasional peek of sunshine to dark, rainy and cold, so rather than walking around we decided to have an early dinner at a Chinatown restaurant called the Lobster King.

Both my friend Linda and I had ordered vegetarian dishes, but after taking our order the waiter returned and informed us that he was going to charge us $2 extra for each dish since vegetables are much more expensive during the winter months. I decided to have a look at their takeout menu and saw that the same low price was listed on the takeout menu as on the main menu. As a result I put forward an argument that if both the dine-in and the take-out menu are stating the same low price for both dishes, I would not agree with being charged an extra $2 for each dish based on a verbal announcement. Either change the menu to include the higher price or charge the prices that are shown on both menus. I am not usually a difficult, picky guest in any hospitality establishment, but to try to charge $2 more for a dish that is listed at a lower price on both menus did not seem a proper business practice to me.

The waiter / manager finally agreed to charge us the prices listed on the menu, and the food was indeed delicious. After exploring the Chicago Cultural Center and the Historic Pullman District we had gotten quite hungry and we really enjoyed our early dinner.

After reviving ourselves we hopped on the subway because we wanted to check out Little Italy. So we got on the Blue Line and were told to exit at the UIC (University of Illinois) Campus and walk southwards. By that time it was raining and it was a rather inhospitable clammy day. We actually never ended up finding Little Italy, but walked around for about 40 minutes in the rain and after this exercise of futility we decided to pursue our evening plans: to attend a live performance at Second City, Chicago’s famous comedy venue.

So we took the subway back downtown to Jackson and we waited for the Purple Line until we realized that this line only runs during rush hour on weekdays. So we inquired which line we had to take and we found out that the Brown Line (to Kimball) would take us to Second City. At that point we realized that we had also been waiting on the wrong side of the platform. I guess in the Loop el-trains only run in one direction and we had already been wondering why we had seen 3 brown line trains go by on the other side of the platform, but none of them had arrived on our side.

I’d say we spent a good 45 minutes waiting on the wrong side of the platform until we finally had enough and went downstairs to ask a CTA employee who directed us onto the correct platform. In the rainy clammy weather this wasn’t the most exciting part of our trip, but we managed to entertain ourselves with lots of insider jokes in our original Austrian dialects.

Finally we caught a brown line train and made our way up to North Wells Street, into the Old Town Neighbourhood, home of the Second City Comedy Club. Since 1959 Second City has established itself as a Chicago landmark and a national treasure. This theatre has launched the careers of such comic geniuses as John Belushi, Mike Myers, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, and others more. It offers nightly comedy shows, as well as a variety of other programs and services.

The theatre has two main stages, both of which were sold out yesterday, so we headed up onto the 4th floor of the building which houses Donny’s Skybox Studio Theatre which is affiliated with Second City. This theatre features an eclectic mix of student productions as well as other alternative shows and at $10.00 per person, the tickets were a steal.

The Outreach & Diversity Program produces two to three original shows each year that are performed at Second City’s studio theatre, Donny’s Skybox, on the fourth floor of Piper’s Alley. At least one of these productions is an original revue written and performed by the Outreach & Diversity ensemble, a group of African American, Latino or Asian actors cast through annual auditions.

We bought tickets for the 9 pm show: “Six Degrees of Reparation”, a hip comedy revue featuring improv, original material and Second City classic scenes with an urban multicultural twist which was put on by 6 young comedians which included 5 black and 1 oriental performers.

The show offered a lot of physical comedy and a variety of different sketches. One of the funniest ones was a sketch entitled “Osama bin Laden could be anywhere”, where one of the female comedians donned a big black beard and kept popping up in different everyday situations. The “superior Asian girl” sketch played with A, B, C (Asian, Black, Caucasian) stereotypes and demonstrated how we all have pre-conceived notions of one another. In the “Black Black Awards” sketch the troupe made fun of famous celebrities such as Whitney Houston, Maya Angelou and even Martha Stewart.

One of the most poignant sketches was set in an imaginary Office Depot store, where the black and Asian store employees were giving very shoddy and unfriendly service to a variety of customers. At the end, the young black shopkeeper explained that with a wage of $6.50 an hour, after all her costs (food, rent, bus passes, doing her nails, etc.), she was $189 in the hole, and at that price a smile would not be included in the service.

We both enjoyed the live performance of these gifted comedians immensely as we both love live theatre and comedy performances. As far as culture is concerned, Chicago has something to offer to everyone.

Well, today is our last day here in Chicago, and the weather is forecast to be quite cold with a 60% chance of rain. Fortunately Chicago has many indoor venues to choose from so I am sure we won’t get bored.

Susanne Pacher
http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/hello-from-chicago-part-4-chinatown-and-second-city-98527.html

Posted in: comedy Comments(0) February 2009


Grab Wicked Tickets on Broadway Now!

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On December 31, 2006, something extraordinary happened on Broadway. “Wicked” broke all records and became the highest grosser! Its weekly box office take was a staggering $1, 800, 310!!

Hold your breath; there are more stunning figures ahead. “Wicked” broke its own record on November 26, 2006, by crossing the box office take of $1,715,155!! In the same year, it managed to creep on the top of the list, featuring the ten most requested events of the year by TicketMaster. Finally, there was a theatrical production that snatched the top ten privileges from rock and sports events!

The sales figure of this show is enough to shake you from top to bottom. Imagine how the show actually would be! Well, there has to something intriguing in the story, which has managed to captivate the audience’s interest for four long years!

The story revolves around the meeting of two girls, who actually are witches, in the Land of Oz. This is before Dorothy arrives on the scene. One of the girls has an emerald green skin. She is elegant and sizzling. The other girl is the opposite with normal skin and humble thoughts. She gets much attention due to her beauty and goodness. How are two simple girls with contrasting attitudes transformed into witches? The Wizard in “Wicked” will tell you!

Watch the Wicked Witch of the West as well as Glinda, the Good Witch bring a series of exciting events, sudden twists, and gripping climaxes in the story. For 2 hours and 45 minutes, you are transported to the Land of Oz, where magic exudes from every nook and corner!

“Wicked” is based on a novel by Gregory Maguire. The novel was a best-seller. Stephen Schwartz has rendered terrific music as well as lyrics to the show. He is better known for his work in “The Prince of Egypt” as well as “Pocachontas”, for which he bagged the Academy Award. Winnie holzman has written the book. He is famous for his “Once and Again”, “Thirty Something”, and “My So Called Life”. The Tony Award-winner Wayne Cilento has carried out the musical staging. His shows “The Who’s Tommy”, How to Succeed…” and “Aida” still gather huge applause. Joe Mantello, who boasts of grabbing two Tony Awards in consecutive years, 2003 and 2004, has directed this legendary show. His other memorable works include “Take Me Out”, “Frankie & Johnny in the Claire de Lune”, and “Assassins.”

After reading this, you cannot help but pick up your phone and dial a number to book tickets. This is a wise option; as box offices can hardly help you. The houses are packed and there is a never-ending line on the windows. You can even log online and order tickets to be delivered at home.

Whatever you do, don’t miss “Wicked”! This is one example of perfect team work and fine display of talents. The Land of Oz has come to life! It’s waiting for you to come and join the witch craft!

Al Terry
http://www.articlesbase.com/art-articles/grab-wicked-tickets-on-broadway-now-246349.html

Posted in: theatrical Comments(0) February 2009


Think Out Of The Box For Your Next Corporate Event

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If you are in charge of planning your company’s corporate events, you know how hard it is to make an event something that your staff actually looks forward to. As the owner of a real estate company, I struggled every year to find something that our agents would actually enjoy. That is, until this year.

A few months ago, for “date night,” my wife and I attended an improv-comedy show at a small theater in Westminster (Madcap Improv Theater). For those of you that don’t know, improv-comedy is completely different than stand-up. Rather than rolling the dice at a comedy club, not knowing how good, bad, or crude the comedian will be, improv comedy is always unscripted, and the topics they cover are completely up to the audience. You could go the same comedy show 5 nights in a row, see the same actors, and have a completely different experience every night. It’s a riot!

I digress. About halfway into the night, the M.C. asked the audience to suggest a sales position for the next sketch. My wife, of course, suggested a Realtor. The cast immediately launched into a hilarious real estate sketch about a Realtor showing a home to a buyer, and created a hilarious string of events that had the audience in stitches! After the show, my wife suggested that we have our holiday party at the comedy club. I called about a week later, and asked if they did private shows, and it turns out that they do them all the time. In fact, coordinating an event at the comedy club was easier than most corporate events we have had in the past, and surprisingly, it was similar in price!

The most impressive part about our event was the level to which the actors were able to tailor the various comedy sketches around what we did. One of their sketches (called “the dating game”) was designed to poke fun at 3 of our managers (including me), and our agents died laughing. It was completely tasteful, funny, and most of our agents asked how the actors were able to imitate us so well.

If you’re thinking of a holiday party, company party, or any type of corporate event, think about improvisational comedy. Most cities have one or two venues in the area, and if not, I know “Madcap Improv” will travel to any of the 48 states. (If the price is right, I’m sure they could have their arms twisted into traveling to the other 2 states as well.) In fact, since I don’t know about the talent at other improv comedy clubs, I would say it’s worth a shot to give Russ or Brian at Madcap a call to see what it would cost to bring their cast to you. Call 303-460-3854 & tell them Joel sent you.

I can personally speak from experience to the fact that your employees/staff/contractors will remember your corporate event a lot longer than your typical stuffy holiday party. In fact, our agents have already asked us if we can do it again sometime.

Joel McDonald
http://www.articlesbase.com/management-articles/think-out-of-the-box-for-your-next-corporate-event-98555.html

Posted in: comedy Comments(2) February 2009


What You Need To Know About Discount Contact Lenses

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Among the many kinds of contact lenses you can buy are: novelty, colored, crazy, Halloween, special effects, theatrical, costume, scary, glow in the dark, wild eyes, mirrored, black, white, and red. Before you buy contact lenses from anyone other than your eye care professional, it pays to be a wise consumer. Contact lens sales are regulated by the FDA (Food And Drug Administration) and the FTC (Federal Trade Commission.)

There are 75 million contact lens wearers worldwide and 31 million in the U.S. alone. If you’ve always wanted to change your eye color, color contact lenses can provide baby blues, gorgeous greens, heavenly hazels — even various patterns and designs.

Bifocal correction is possible with both soft and rigid lenses. Keep in mind contact lenses are often more complex than appears to be. Disposable lenses don’t come with instructions for cleaning and disinfecting, while those labeled specifically for planned replacement do.

Extra-thin soft lenses are on the market for very sensitive people. Soft lenses are easier to adjust and are much more comfortable than rigid lenses, because they conform to the eye and absorb and hold water. Contacts provide for excellent peripheral vision for sports, driving, safety, and performing.

Although easier to handle and less likely to tear, rigid gas permeable lenses are not as comfortable initially as soft contacts and it may take a few weeks to get used to wearing the RGPs, compared to just a few days for soft contacts. There are two general categories of contact lenses - soft and rigid gas permeable. The expiration date for your prescription is currently set by your state requiring a one-year or two-year renewal; if your state hasn’t set a minimum expiration date, government regulation sets a one-year date unless your eye doctor determines there’s a medical reason for less than one year.

With planned-replacement lenses, the doctor works out a replacement schedule tailored to the needs of each patient. While the ability to hold water increases the oxygen permeability of soft lenses, it increases their fragility quotient as well.

Beware of attempts to substitute a brand different from the one you want when buying contacts. Buy your contact lenses from a supplier you’re familiar with and know is reliable or has name familiarity Check to see if you have a health insurance plan that includes vision coverage.

Always buy from a reputable company; you can buy contact lenses without a prescription, but the company is selling you a prescription device as if it were an over-the-counter device violating FTC regulations by selling you contact lenses without having your prescription. There are many good contact lens retailers now on the Internet making their lenses available at a good discount for prescription and non-prescription lenses. When you receive your order, if you think you’ve received an incorrect contact lens, check with your doctor or eye care professional right away; don’t accept any substitution unless your eye care professional approves it.

When you place your contact lens order, request the manufacturer’s written patient information for your contact lenses; it’ll give you important risk and benefit information as well as instructions for use. Get a feel for how the retailer handles customer service calls; in case you have a problem after your order arrives. Wherever you buy, shop for quality and value and don’t forget you want to do what’s best for your eye health.

One sight-threatening concern is the infection Acanthamoeba keratitis, which is caused by improper lens care; this difficult-to-treat parasitic infection’s symptoms are similar to those of corneal ulcers. Be aware that extended-wear (overnight) contact lenses - rigid or soft - increase the risk of corneal ulcers, which are infection-caused eruptions on the cornea that can lead to blindness; symptoms include vision changes, eye redness, eye discomfort or pain, and excessive tearing. Getting a proper fit is essential; contact lenses that are poorly fitted can lead to eyesores, eye inflammation, and eye abrasions.

Under the binding down of a rigid contact lens during sleep, the flow of tears and oxygen to the cornea is reduced; lack of oxygen leaves the eye vulnerable to infection. Soft extended-wear lenses bind down on the closed eye, but they are porous and allow some tears through during sleep; because they have so little form, their binding has very little effect on the shape of the eye. Microorganisms may be present in distilled water, so always use commercial sterile saline solutions, if you plan to use enzyme tablets in water for disinfection.

Ordering contact lenses online has never been simpler with, and sometimes without, a credit card. If you’re looking for cheap contact lenses, you may find that cheap materials or other ways of cutting costs will affect the quality you’ll want for your precious eyes. It’s becoming easier and easier all the time to shop online and often the shipping is free.

Helen Hecker
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/what-you-need-to-know-about-discount-contact-lenses-138875.html

Posted in: theatrical Comments(4) February 2009


Desperate Housewives Doctor is Set to Star in New Comedy

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ABC Network has a myriad of upcoming comedy series, which has many familiar faces on television hopping from one show to another. Actress Faith Ford, whose initial claim to fame was made possible with her portrayal of Corky Sherwood on the sitcom Murphy Brown, has been cast in the show, Carpoolers.

In addition to the list of show-hopping celebrities, one of Desperate Housewives supporting but equally charming stars has been given the chance to shine even further in the one of the latest ABC projects, simply named The News. Jay Harrington portrayed sweet and loveable Dr. Ron McCready on the popular television dramedy, but his character on The News will have him taking on a totally different persona, specifically the persona of a notorious television news anchor on a fictional Phoenix news show.

Harrington’s current popularity may be largely credited to his humorous and endearing performance on Desperate Housewives, but his fans need not worry about missing one of the favorite male figures in the show. On the bright side, the new show will give Harrington an opportunity to prove his versatility as an actor, and shall also lengthen his roster of acting credits, which already include series like Summerland, The Inside, The Division, The Shield, A.U.S.A, Coupling and Time of Your Life.

At this point in his career, everything seems to be going quite well for Harrington, what with a new show currently in the works. Still, the ever-looming threat of poor ratings and cancellation is a constant downer for many budding television shows and actors, and Harrington’s avid followers will still have to wait for more information regarding the development of the new show.

As for all those who only wish to preserve the memory of Harrington as Dr. Ron McReady, it is highly recommended that you purchase the DVD of the entire second season of Desperate Housewives.

For more resources about Desperate Housewives and especially about Desperate Housewives Doctor is Set to Star in New Comedy please reivew this website http://www.buddytv.com

Groshan Fabiola
http://www.articlesbase.com/art-and-entertainment-articles/desperate-housewives-doctor-is-set-to-star-in-new-comedy-131491.html

Posted in: comedy Comments(0) February 2009


How You Can Use Storytelling to Inspire Success

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Remember the times you have been a member of an audience. It could be on a course, at a team meeting or on a night out. Which ones do you remember? The really great ones and, maybe the really bad ones.

Why?

It may be because you remember the presenters / speakers being dynamic, engaging, and inspirational. Alternatively, if they were bad the complete opposite. Didn’t those engaging presenters who made everything simple and entertaining, with seemingly little effort, jump into your mind first? What was it that made them excellent presenters? How come they are making the presentations so engaging and fun? What are they doing that’s different?

Tap Into Our Imagination

In my experience, the use of stories makes the difference between a really great speaker and a bad one. Stories bring things to life. They tap into our imagination to see and do things differently. They touch our emotions and help us understand. The best stories make us think – what would I have done in that situation? How could I do that? What would it be like here if we could achieve that? If they can do it, then why can’t I?

All you need are some stories and the courage to tell them.

Bring your team meetings and workshops to life through telling stories. Coach people with stories to inspire them to find an answer.

Most of the best stories in life contain the same simple ingredients: good characters, a difficult problem or challenge, attempts to beat that problem and a powerful conclusion.

Identify the message you want to communicate and look for stories that you can tell which visualise your message and bring it to life.

4 Techniques to Improve Your Storytelling

1. Theatrical.

Get people’s attention and then hold their attention by varying your voice and you use silence effectively. Sometimes you will be talking very softly and then “PAY ATTENTION because I’m about to say something VERY IMPORTANT”. If you talk in a monotone, it will be hard for people to pay attention.

And until you have their rapt attention, you’re not about to change their views on anything significant. So you need not their background attention, but part of their mind where they’re sitting on the edge of their seats and hanging on your every word. Until you have that kind of attention, you’re really wasting your breath.

2. Negative stories.

The kind of story that will get the attention of the audience is a negative story, a story that is unexpected and relevant to the listener. Studies have shown that we pay much more attention to things that are negative. So you can use this for attention by dwelling on the negative.

You can, for instance, tell a story about the audience’s problems if you know what their problems are and the things that they are currently worried about. Say, “Let me tell you about your problems. Those problems are worse than you think they are! Let me tell you how bad they really are! And if fact, they’re going to get worse. Let me tell how really bad they’re going to become!”

Now they are listening because you’re telling them a story about something that’s relevant to them. It’s unexpected, it’s relevant, and it’s negative. And so that’s a story that’s negative and it gets attention.

3. Positive stories.

To stimulate the audience’s desire for change, another crucial step is you tell a story that’s positive in tone, particularly one that’s a true story that’s about something that’s happened, where the change has already happened. And it’s the positive tone of the story that can stimulate desire for positive change.

4. Reinforce the future.

Once you’ve got people wanting something to change, then reinforce that with stories about the future, about what the change will bring and how it will be implemented and why it will work. These are fairly neutral stories; they are neither negative nor positive.

Understand the difference.

And so it is understanding the different role of stories, negative stories to get attention, positive stories to stimulate desire, and these neutral future stories that reinforce the reasons for undertaking this change.

Andrew Rondeau
http://www.articlesbase.com/management-articles/how-you-can-use-storytelling-to-inspire-success-488405.html

Posted in: theatrical Comments(0) February 2009


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