Music & Intelligence: Will Listening to Music Make You Smarter?
February 27, 2008
Will listening to music make you smarter? Will learning to play a musical instrument make your brain grow larger than normal?
Questions like these ones have been popping up all over the place in the past few years, and not just in scientific journals either.
In recent times the media has been fascinated by the research surrounding brain development and music, eagerly reporting on the latest studies to the delight of the music-loving parents of young children.
But all this information - and some misinformation too - has led to generalized confusion about the role of music and music training in the development of the human brain. The bottom line is this: if you’re confused by all you read about music study and brain development, you’re certainly not alone.
In part, this is due to the manner in which the phrase “the Mozart Effect” has been popularized by the media and bandied about to describe any situation in which music has a positive effect on cognition or behavior.
How To Make A Candy Bouquet
February 27, 2008
How To Make A Candy Bouquet
by: Peta D’Silva
A bouquet is usually made just from flowers, but that doesn’t have to be the case.
You can make your bouquet more interesting by adding other items, such as candy.
Yeah, you read correctly, I said, Candy!
Candy Bouquets are fun to make, look great, and they are a fantastic talking piece. I
promise that everyone that sees your candy bouquet will feel compelled to comment
on it. Young children in particular, will be absolutely delighted when they see your
candy bouquet!
To make a candy bouquet, you will need:
5 Silk Rose Buds
1 Bunch of pearlies
2 Thin Gauge wires
1 Thick Gauge wire
9 Lollipops.
Silk Leaves
Stem tape (green or white)
Ribbon
Step 1: Trimming the lollipops
Trim the lollipop sticks to about an inch or two in length, or just below the wrapper.
Later, we will wire and tape the sticks just like normal flowers. We do this so that the
lollipops can be moved around and positioned more easily.
Turbo Charge Your Career! Write And Produce Your Own Stage Play!
February 26, 2008
Have you ever wondered how you can adapt your screenplay or novel into a stage play? Do you have a story that you yearn to see on stage? Or, maybe you’re an actor frustrated by the barrage of fruitless auditions and dream of performing before a live audience. If so, writing and producing your own stage play just may be the ticket to turbo charging your career.
Despite urban mythology, Theatre is an art form for the masses, not some stuffy reprieve for the elite. It can be produced by anyone, anywhere and delivered directly to the audience without the meddling of middlemen. Anyone can produce theatre, I did it and so can you.
Taking The Plunge
Are you ready to step out of your rut? There are five easy steps to producing your own theatrical show.
1. Write the script. Keep it small and simple. No fancy sets or a cast of thousands. One or two characters are more than enough to create a compelling story.
2. Find a venue. You don’t need to premiere your show at the Kodak Theatre or Pantages. Scope out local community theatres and nearby universities. There are even venues that will allow you to use their space for a nominal fee (as little as $20), as long as you’re not selling tickets.
Amish Furniture on the Front Porch
February 26, 2008
While shopping on line the other day at www.stoveramishfurniture.com, I looked at the Amish Hickory Rocker. Now I have looked at this rocker many a time, but I have never thought about it. Think about how many times a rocker like this, over the generations, has rocked a baby to sleep, or a grandpa. Think about those spring, summer and autumn nights on the porch watching the kids play on the streets, or just drinking a glass of cool sweet tea listen to the crickets. How many times has one of these rockers sat in front of the fireplace, and comforted someone to sleep on a cold night.
Now I couldn’t begin to tell you how long the Amish and others have been making this type of rocker, but I have personally sat in one that was 185 years old. That rocker saw the Civil War, WWI, and WWII. That rocker comforted mothers that lost their sons. That rocker saw five generations born and passed on. Amazing, as it may be it has never been repaired or refinished. Yes it is worn with marks of love.
Okay Lets Do A Poodle Again
February 26, 2008
My wife and I have been married for 32 years. In that time our pets, more commonly known to us as dogs, have taken a large part of that shared life together. It is no secret that these sometimes small friends are able to take the sting out of loneliness, the hurt out of bad relationships, or in our case, add happiness to an already happy time.
The first dog we had was a mix of german shepherd and black lab. The dog was a female, with mostly black, and some brown. We called her "Berny", after her long name of Bernecia Bernard the first. My wife had picked her up when we first decided to tie the knot. She showed me this small puppy when we met the next day after she received her. I was glad, for I did like dogs.
How to Bake: Muffins (with recipes)
February 26, 2008
Muffins are a mainstay around our house. They are as nourishing as they are good to eat. They are quicker and easier to make than cookies and usually contain much less sugar and fat. We usually eat them for breakfast but like them with any meal. (For Easter, we served cranberry nut muffins with a ham dinner.) They work well for snacks and desserts as well. Extras can be frozen and heated in the microwave for hot muffins anytime.
Today we will make muffins using the "muffin method". (Just as there are two major makeup methods for quick breads, there are two methods for muffins-the muffin method and the creaming method.) In the muffin method, the liquids and the dry ingredients are mixed separately and then stirred together until just combined. We will include tips and instructions to make the perfect muffin and some streusel and topping recipes to crown your creations with.
To make muffins using the muffin method, choose a favorite muffin recipe that does not call for the creaming of sugar into the fat. (Look for a recipe that calls for oil or melted butter.)
Increase Your Web Traffic By Using Keyword Articles
February 25, 2008
If you have an online home based business you know that routing traffic to your web page is incredibly important. Not only in order to make sales and increase revenues but to continue your business. However, you probably have realized that getting your web page noticed and getting a high ranking result from the search engines is difficult. In light of that, here are a couple of tips you can use that will help you increase the traffic to your web page.
First, you will need to do some research to see where your page ranks in several different search engines. Do this by performing searches on the keywords you think are relevant to your web page. Once you have this information, you will be able to take action and become better than your competitors whose pages are being returned as higher relevant results. No matter where you rank in the results, if it is less than number one you have some work to do. So, take a look at all the web pages that are ranked higher than yours and see what these pages have that yours does not. Evaluating your competition will help your Web page become stronger and more competitive, something that is important to your bottom line.
How To Determine The Sex of Discus Fish
February 25, 2008
One of the biggest question asked of the discus breeder is “how do I determine the sex of my fish?” There are very few easy identifiable identifiers in this process. Here, we will discuss the methods used by some of the top breeders.
In juvenile fish, determining sex is almost impossible. It is only when they begin to pair off that an opportunity arises to help in the determination of sex. Juvenile fish, both male and female, have a rounded dorsal fin, and it is not until they begin to mature that a difference can be detected. As it is never wise to excessively handle the fish, close observation is in order to aid the breeder.
In Allnut Enterprises’ King Discus Hatchery, for example, it is an easy process to determine who is who, as we have observed these fish for a while, and can determine the sex of the pairs we own. This would be true in any hatchery. But to the uninitiated or casual observer, this would not be easy to do.
Three Poems: The Monkey Man of Lima, Plus Two More
February 25, 2008
What Hides behind the Minute?
What hides behind the minute?
It seems, no one really knows;
How many times will we wakeup,
To count the minutes gone?
The rose was dead when I arrived;
The sword, was rusty and dull;
The window curtain was open,
And there was music in the hall.
Oh lovely minute, where art thou?
One, is not like the other-:
Whirling in an earthly orbit,
As the boundless world discovers.
#675 5/18/05 [at the bookstore café; Roseville, MN USA]
12) Vietnam: Shrapnel
Here under the ball of blood
In Vietnam, the moon rises
The battlefield reeks with flies-
I swear I’ll come out in one piece,
Or die?
The air-is melting Hot!
The heavens vomit shrapnel out.
A towering inferno-
My helmet, ashes and stones
Shrapnel rips by my face
The ground shakes.
You know you’re all alone
With the blast and heap of metal.
One dies today, trapped?
In the middle of the blast;
Two wounded!…
#671
The Monkey Man of Lima
[Miraflores]
Buying A Wooden Restoration Project Boat
February 25, 2008
Buying A Wooden Restoration Project Boat
by: William Skalla II
How to find that perfect wooden boat restoration project. There are essential just
three simple steps to follow in order to obtain the a desirable brand and make of
wooden boat at a discount to market price. Things to consider, for instance within
the contentnental United States the value of money varies greatly. Where a job paying
$16 an hour in the midwest would be a respectable job, this same wage on the west
coast would barely support living conditions. Some key areas of the country to target
for boats in general is the midwest region surrounding the great lakes. Typically boats
are always going to be cheaper within this region then they would be in on the east
or west coast. Noteably though the size of the vessel your looking for might not be
available in these regions as ocean fairing vessels will be larger.
What are the three main considerations for finding a good wooden boat restoration
project, outside of boat condition, which might be a plus that is covered in another
