January 26th, 2012 admin
Showtime has been coming out with incredibly original content in the form of ongoing series in the last few years; Weeds, being one of my faves. On the darker side of things, there’s Dexter, which is no less great but is much more serious, yet entertaining nonetheless. Sam Graham describes it best:
“An interesting and original idea that’s very skillfully executed, Showtime’s Dexter is never less than watchable, often quite compelling, and sometimes thoroughly riveting. As the 12 episodes from the show’s first season (packaged here in a four disc set) reveal, it’s also the epitome of “high concept,” a kind of Silence of the Lambs for the C.S.I. generation. Creator-executive producer James Manos Jr.’s title character, one Dexter Morgan (played by Michael C. Hall of Six Feet Under renown), works for the Miami Police Department as an blood spatter analyst, visiting crime scenes and helping figure out what happened. He has an avocation, too: during his off hours, he tracks down some very, very bad people who for various reasons have eluded the proper authorities. Seems his adoptive father, a cop himself, taught the kid how to channel his dark side in a “positive” direction; and so, having captured these evildoers (including a child molester-murderer and a recidivist drunk driver with a trail of bodies in his wake), Dex dispatches them with clinical precision, thus making him a serial killer who snuffs serial killers. But there’s more–much more, as it turns out. By his own description, Dexter is “a monster,” an empty shell who fakes all human interactions and admits to no real feelings for anything or anyone, including his foster sister (Jennifer Carter) and his nominal girlfriend (Julie Benz), a former crack addict and battered spouse who’s as uninterested in sex as he is. There’s an explanation for Dexter’s weirdness, of course, one so deep and traumatic that even he isn’t aware of it. It’s gradually revealed over the course of the season as he and the cops (who include Erik King, Lauren Velez, and David Zayas, all first-rate) track down the so-called “Ice Truck Killer,” a fellow monster whose grisly m.o. both fascinates and taunts our hero, leading to a genuinely shocking and squirm-inducing finale. Dexter can be a bit arch, with an ironic, too-hip-for-the-room tone that get a little old. Still, it’s a safe bet that anyone who views this first season will be salivating for the second. Extras include audio commentary on two episodes, a featurette about real-life blood spatter analysis, and a variety of DVD-ROM items.”
Find out what Dexter – The First Season is all about
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January 25th, 2012 admin
Slaving away at work day after day with nothing fun in between simply isn’t good for your well-being, so try a new hobby and schedule some fun time in your life. Make it a family activity if you want. You’ve always wanted to tinker in music and sound effects and jingles, and this Yamaha synth could be your ticket to eliminating the big B (boredom) that became routine for you. Life’s short, so embrace a new hobby, get rid of the hum drum life and instead, jazz it up a little.
About the Synthesizer
The Yamaha S90 ES combines a stunningly natural acoustic piano sound with all the sonic flexibility of the award winning Motif ES. A new multi-velocity, stereogrand piano sample, the new sound board simulation and the half-damper capability (when used with the Yamaha FC3) all ensure a rich and realistic acoustic piano sound. The 128 note polyphony tone generator, Studio Connections compatibility, mLAN expansion slot, and PLG expandability give it all the synthesis power and control capabilities of our Motif ES line.
Get Your Yamaha 88-Key Synthesizer Now
Posted in electronics, equipment, family, fun, gifts, hobbies, home entertainment, kids, music, pianos / synthesizers, practical, relaxation, relaxing, spare time | No Comments »
January 23rd, 2012 admin
This beautiful set of 6 watercolor paints is a perfect way for your child to express his creative spirit. The colors are brilliant and are based on the natural graduation of the twelve-part color-circle, in accordance with Goethe’s theory of colors. The paints also contain no heavy metals and are completely non-toxic. Colors included: carmine red, vermilion, golden yellow, lemon yellow, ultramarin blue, prussian blue. Made in Germany Ages: 3 years +
Order Your Non Toxic Water Color Paint Set Now
Posted in family, fun, gifts, good value, hobbies, kids, parents, safe products, spare time | 1 Comment »
January 7th, 2012 admin
Circumnavigate the world – exploring its many wonders as you go – with this talking, touch-sensitive globe. Here are some of the cool things the Talking Globe does, besides encouraging young explorers to learn about the customs and cultures of people around the world as they spin this interactive globe:
* Full-color 3-D spinning globe
* 7 touch-sensitive areas allow you to select information about all 7 the continents
* 10 activity buttons
* Hundreds of facts about people, music, clothing, customs, geography, food, animals, inventions and languages
* Built-in LCD screen visually reinforces the learning
* More than 20 minutes of audio entertainment
* Narrated by a cheerful character
Get a Talking Globe now
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December 31st, 2011 admin
What is Scrapbooking
and Where Did it Come From?
Here’s a little history from wikipedia – In ancient Greece, hypomnemata were a form of notebook for recording one’s own copies of what one had heard, read, or thought that might be worth remembering. There is little evidence in the archaeological and historical record that this sort of method was undertaken anywhere else before. That one had to make one’s own hand-written copies of what someone else had written reflected the expense of hiring a scribe to do so.
With the advent of affordable paper, precursors to modern scrapbooks became available to a wider array of people. Beginning in the 15th century, commonplace books, popular in England, emerged as a way to compile information that included recipes, quotes, letters, poems and more. Each commonplace book was unique to its creator’s particular interests. Friendship albums became popular in the 16th century. These albums were used much like modern day yearbooks, where friends or patrons would enter their names, titles and short texts or illustrations at the request of the album’s owner. These albums were often created as souvenirs of European tours and would contain local memorabilia including coats of arms or works of art commissioned by local artisans. Starting in 1570, it became fashionable to incorporate colored plates depicting popular scenes such as Venetian costumes or Carnival scenes. These provided affordable options as compared to original works and, as such, these plates were not sold to commemorate or document a specific event but specifically as embellishments for albums. In 1775, James Granger published a history of England with several blank pages at the end of the book. The pages were designed to allow the book’s owner to personalize the book with his own memorabilia. The practice of leaving pages to personalize at the end of books became known as Grangerizing. Additionally, friendship albums and school yearbooks afforded girls in the 18th and 19th centuries an outlet through which to share their literary skills, and allowed girls an opportunity to document their own personalized historical record previously not readily available to them.
The advent of modern photography began with the first permanent photograph created by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in 1826. Photography became available to an ever-widening population with the invention of George Eastman’s paper photographs in the late 1880s and the mass production of the Kodak Brownie, a camera designed to be simple (and inexpensive) enough for a child, in 1900. This allowed the average person to begin to incorporate photographs into their scrapbooks.
Old scrapbooks tended to have photos mounted with photomount corners and perhaps notations of who was in a photo or where and when it was taken. They often included bits of memorabilia like newspaper clippings, letters, etc. With the availability of printed material it is likely that the content of scrapbooks shifted away from one’s own hand-writing or drawings or those of one’s family members toward commercially available printed mat ephemera, memorabilia collections and journaling. Modern scrapbooking has evolved into creating attractive displays of photos, text, journaling and memorabilia.
Modern Day Scrapbooking
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Do it yourself - DIY - Home made, baby / babies, family, fun, gifts, hobbies, kids, parents, practical, relaxing, scrapbooking, spare time | No Comments »
December 30th, 2011 admin
From amazon:
“Out of the thousands of new releases that came into our cubicles this year, we’ve chosen our 100 favorites, from an elegant pop-up alphabet and a deliciously dishy guide to fragance to an enthralling biography of an iconic leader and an encyclopedic history of a sport and the world that plays it. Here they are, so click below.”
Best Books of 2008
Posted in books, essential reading, family, fun, funny, gifts, good value, health, hobbies, kids, parents, people, practical, safe products, spare time, stories | No Comments »
December 29th, 2011 admin
If you’re looking for a gift for a spouse or a friend that’s into building things and can use it for their business or is simply a fanatic that likes the best tools available, you can not go wrong with this new tool set for him or her.
And if you are of the mindset, “the sky is the limit,” then this is the gift you ‘d purchase. It’s the top of the line set, the Mercedes of tools, if you will.
What’s the big deal, you ask? It includes the following tools: Chisel and Punches, 27 Clamps, 2 Electrical Crimping Pliers, 5 Files, 12 Gear Pullers, 41 Hammers, 16 Hand Sockets, 417 Hex Keys, 85 Holesaw Set, 17 Impact Drive Tools, 24 Impact Sockets, 187 Knives, 2 Miscellaneous Tools, 23 Pliers, 63 Pry Bars, 6 Ratchets, Drive Tools, and Accessories, 58 Saws and Saw Blades, 36 Scrapers, 7 Screwdrivers, 36 Snips, 5 Tool Boxes, 6 Torque Wrenches, 3 Wrenches, 312 Features! It’s better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it – and with this tool set, you’re almost certain to have what you need. This set contains the tools to handle practically any if not all jobs your shop is likely to see, in both fractional and metric sizes. It includes a comprehensive assortment of sockets, ratchets, and accessories in 1/4″, 3/8″, 1/2″, and 3/4″ drive, for both hand and impact use. A full complement of wrenches in a number of styles helps you tackle increasingly complex maintenance tasks. A comprehensive assortment of screwdrivers, pliers, hammers, punches and chisels, is there when you need them, and specialty items such as gear pullers, saws, scrapers, and other tools for industrial maintenance mechanics and tradesmen round out this truly Mammoth tool set.
Youll want to keep your tools safe and secure, and our industry-leading Mammoth Tool Set includes the storage cabinets necessary to do that. Two top-chest / roll-cabinet combinations are included, as well as a side cabinet and rolling three-drawer tool cart. A total of 35 drawers and over 75,000 cubic inches of storage capacity will help you organize your tools effectively. And the mobile tool cart helps bring your tools to the job, where you need them. Whatever the industry, this set will help you keep your equipment and assets working, helping you compete more effectively. Get your work done faster and more efficiently, easier, and safer with the Mammoth Tool Set from the J.H. Williams Tool Group. All other tool sets are simply too ordinary.
If not for seeing the price alone, you absolutely must check out this item:
Williams Snap On Master Set 1,390 Piece Mammoth Tool Set WSC-1390TB
Posted in Do it yourself - DIY - Home made, efficient, electronics, equipment, funny, gifts, hobbies, men, spare time, tools | No Comments »
December 28th, 2011 admin
This LJ Hutchen flute is significantly different from other brands. This instrument allows young musicians to learn without the frustration that comes with playing a poorly designed product. The materials used throughout the LJ Hutchen flute are simply the best that money can buy. Every instrument is double-bench tested and meets the most stringent level of quality before leaving our facility. LJ Hutchen instruments are an outstanding option for student musicians. Pricing and warranty terms are the best value offered in todays instrument market. Because LJ Hutchen instruments are predominantly used by students, we believe that high quality is not only necessary, but is imperative for successful music education.
LJ Hutchen Silver C Flute with Case – 2 Year Warranty
Posted in flute, fun, gifts, good value, hobbies, home entertainment, kids, music, musical instruments, spare time | No Comments »
December 24th, 2011 admin
Play your favorite solitaire card games to fill in those moments when you need something to do!
Get it now
Posted in family, fun, good value, hobbies, home entertainment, mac games, spare time | No Comments »
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