Piano Movers - Be Ready For the Details

June 30th, 2009

Moving the piano; you know that you can’t do this job on your own. So, you find piano movers to take care of relocating the device that you treasure. Just because you are hiring out the work, it doesn’t mean that you don’t have to help.

There are some key facts that you must be able to provide them to make the move smooth, keep your cost down, and reduce the risk of damage. Here’s the information they are going to want before they can even pack up their truck and show up on your doorstep:

What kind of device is it?

The type of the device used for moving the keyboard as well as the amount of man-power is determined by its type. It also tells them which type of protective gear they need to use ensure the safety of the workers and the instrument. If it is an antique one, let them know this too. They may need to take extra precautions.

How Big Is It?

There are two basic types of the instrument, an upright and a grand. These two come in a variety of sizes which leads to this question. Because of the variety, you’ll need to measure the upright along the width and height and measure a grand across the longest portion. From this, they will get to know the approximate weight and the size of the moving equipment.

Where is the piece being moved to?

You should be able to supply clear and detailed directions to the new location. Some piano movers charge by mileage. So, make it the shortest route possible. Have someone at the new location, ready to receive the piece of equipment and instruct them exactly where to place it.

Are there any hazards along the way?

Stairs-not necessarily a hazard for professional piano movers, but be prepared to tell them how many stairs are there on the path. This will help them decide how many movers to have on hand and what tools they will need.

Also, pre-measure the entryways along the moving route to ensure that the piece of equipment will fit properly. Make them aware of any tight fits or alternate entryways or exits. They need to know beforehand whether they need to get a crane and hoist the instrument out of a window instead of taking it out the door.

Having this information ready when you choose your piano movers will make the entire process much smoother. It is really very little work for you to do to ensure that your valuable investment is moved safely.

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An Angel Leaves a Legacy, Farrah Fawcett Succumbs to Cancer

June 28th, 2009

Farrah Fawcett, the blond-maned actress of “Charlie’s Angels” fame has died of colon cancer at age 62. During her career, she graced the cover of numerous magazines and became one of the most famous faces in the world.

A photogenic icon, with a dazzling blue-eyed smile, Farrah Fawcett embodied many of the role shifts that women were going through during the 1970s and 1980s. She sported a wild mane of sculpted curls that flipped back and millions of women followed suit, getting rid of their more conservative bobs. As one of three “Charlie’s Angels,” she was able to karate chop a bad guy without messing her makeup or breaking a nail. This, in a time when ordinary women were pushing for empowerment in their own lives.

She was nominated numerous times for the Emmy and Golden Globe awards. Best known for playing bubbly Jill Monroe in the 1970s TV hit series “Charlie’s Angels,” her character (along with two other angels) led secret lives as super-sleuths. When her “Angels poster” sold twelve million copies she became the last of the classic pin-up girls, a sweetheart sex symbol.

She was a pioneer in how a pretty face could resuscitate a failing career. She took a role whereby she looked awful, really bad. “The Burning Bed” was based on a true story about a severely abused woman who killed her husband by burning him while he slept. This stark role showed she had real acting ability and garnered her a nomination for the Emmy. It made a real social statement and catapulted her toward her stage and screen role in “Extremities,” in which she played a rape victim who turns the tables on her attacker, terrorizing him.

Farrah Fawcett’s career marked a good many milestones. She pursued a career in acting after a photo when she was a student at The University of Texas at Austin won her a spot as “One Of The Ten Most Beautiful Coeds.” In 1974, she guest appeared four times in “The Six Million Dollar Man” and married the TV show’s star, Lee Majors, almost ten years her senior. In 1976, she debuted as Jill in “Charlie’s Angels, but left after one season. She had the lead in the 1989 ABC miniseries, “Small Sacrifices,” for which she received her second Emmy nomination. In 1991, she starred opposite her long time love, Ryan O’Neil in the short-lived CBS sitcom “Good Sports.” Their tumultuous and enduring relationship produced one son, Redmond O’Neil who struggles with a drug problem.

Farrah Fawcett was a free spirit, rather than a feminist. She appeared in Playboy twice. The second time was in 1997 when she turned 50. That could be seen as something of a post feminist statement. In 2002 she had a recurring role in the CBS series “The Guardian,” which earned her an Emmy nomination for her Guest starring role.

She will appear in “A Wing and a Prayer,” the story of Farrah Fawcett’s fight for life which will air in 2009.

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Never Lose Your Favorite Movies With a Movie Collection Organizer

May 18th, 2009

Even the most organized person can have troubles keeping up with the movies they own. Since the DVD packages are so thin and many of them end up getting lost or housing different DVDs, it seems that it’s nearly impossible to keep them organized. Instead of simply hoping to find that one movie you want to watch, maybe it’s time for a movie collection organizer to become a part of your life. No, this isn’t a person who comes to your home to clean up your movie collection, though that would be nice too. A movie collection organizer can actually come in two different formats - software and a physical organizer. But more is less, and many more people are looking to movie collection organizer software to help them organize their lives.

How to Prepare to Organize

Chances are good that you probably rinse your dishes before you put them into the dishwasher and organizing your DVDs should be no different. You will need to sit down in the pile of DVDs you own and sort them into different genres after you put the proper DVDs back into their proper cases. Though these DVDs may not stay there forever, you need to at least see what movies are missing - and which friends need to return the movies you have loaned to them. Or if genres of movies don’t work for you, you might want to organize your movies by the actors and actresses in the films - or you can sort by directors, writers, etc. How you organize the DVDs is up to you as once you have them all arranged in a neater patter, you will then be turning to your computer to help you with the next level of organization.

Input the DVD Titles You Own

The next step to your movie collection organizer is to type in the titles of the movies so that the software can store the movies in your hard drive. Depending on the number of movies you own, this might take a little time to completely. However, it’s well worth the effort. Once you have the titles entered into the computer, you will then be able to change the organization, sort them by alphabetical order, etc. You can even print up a list of the movies you own or you might want to send a list to friends over the Internet. For those who treat their movies as investments, this list can also be used for insurance claims and to create unique insurance policies to cover an extensive collection.

Update Your Collection

Of course, once you enter in all of your DVDs, you’re probably going to purchase more files as you see movies in the theater. As you buy new movies, just enter in the titles and your movie collection organizer will keep everything in its place - even if you can’t find the movie at your house. Keeping track of your movies is easy with this kind of software - but it can’t keep track of your remote.

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Great Cartoons Make Great Toys

April 28th, 2009

There’s a sense in which some imagination may be lost with television, sure. I’m willing to buy that argument - or at least part of it. However, there’s another side to that argument that supporters of this theory may not be seeing, and that is the concept of toys deriving from said television shows.

A great cartoon will not only entertain us and make us laugh, but it can actually enhance our creativity when developed the right way. For instance, if we’re talking about a cartoon in which the main character gets himself into all kinds of crazy situations, the child playing with the toy can still certainly use his or her imagination to pretend their toy in similar binds. Not only does that make use of their imagination, but it takes problem-solving skills to get the character OUT of the messes. Add into that an antagonist or two, and we’re good.

If there is good writing on the show - especially when humor is used - there is a sense in which the adventure is never finished, and that can spill over into toy play. If there are lessons taught in the show, then just maybe our children are absorbing these lessons, are associating the characters with the themes, and will play with their cartoon toys in a similar fashion. It’s just up to us as parents and guardians to get involved with our children’s activities and teach them good play habits.

Cartoons can certainly be abused and made to act as pacifiers, but we have to remember that entertainment is entertainment and has been a great source of imagination and creativity for as long as man has been on earth. It’s what we do with it, how we limit the intake, and how we expand on it that is the key.

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FOOD, INC For Thought!

March 6th, 2009

FOOD, INC is a fascinating new op-doc that comes out in theaters on Friday June 12th. Unlike most films of this genre, it doesn’t try to gross you out and substitute fear mongering for facts. Stylized and thought provoking filmmaking FOOD, INC also offers solutions and is not strictly an expose.

Where does your food come from? Why is the tomato always in season? Who is really to blame for E-Coli outbreaks? Director Robert Kenner teams with Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) to take a journey from the grocery store to the heartland in order to answer these questions.

Schloisser says “The way we eat has changed more in the last 50 years than in the previous 10,000, but the image that’s used to sell the food … you go into the supermarket and you see pictures of farmers. [They have] a picket fence and the silo and the 1930s farmhouse and the green grass. The reality is … it’s not a farm, it’s a factory. That meat is being processed by huge multi-national corporations that have very little to do with ranches and farmers.”

That’s right, like the media, 90% of food is produced by four companies. Farmers are no longer these folkies “Farm Aid” types. The industrial model for producing fast food has been applied to ALL food. One chicken raiser claims the corporation has it down to a science. Why should he tamper with the experts? This science includes cows and chickens packed into small confines and in some cases, leg deep in manure. The film smartly does not get all PETA on you. That would be speaking to the converted. It shows that eating animals raised in these conditions is not healthy. Should one animal become contaminated with E-Coli or Hoof and Mouth, a serious outbreak can occur.

They also explore the science of advanced growth in these animals. In recent years, chickens and cows have been genetically enhanced with steroids, growth hormone and corn. CORN? What’s wrong with corn? Cows are herbivores and are only supposed to eat grass. Thanks to government subsidies carboload corn is cheaper than grass. The result is animals who grow three times as large in a fraction of the time. By slaughter time, here legs cannot even support them.

This begs a question, “Why are there congressional investigations of baseball players who use steroids and not investigations of chickens and cows who do?” In the big picture, a Barry Bonds or Manny Ramirez has little effect on my life outside of the occasional heartbreak. Chickens and cows using performance enhancing drugs do. The answer is simple Bush and Clinton both appointed Food Corporation lobbyists and insiders to the head of the FDA. In essence the wolves are guarding the hen house. Those who should be investigated lead the investigations.

Unfortunately, most of the solutions are more expensive than ordering a 99-cent burger. You’ll have to see the film to understand them completely. One thing you can remember, you vote every time you scan out at the supermarket. Your health is up to you.

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SHIVER - Foreign Film Review

February 15th, 2009

Shiver (Eskalofrío)
Made in: Spain
Language: Spanish

Synopsis: Santi (Junio Valverde) is a lonely teenager living in Barcelona with his mom, Julia (Mar Sodupe). He suffers from a condition called Photophobia, where he’s hypersensitive to sunlight. As a result, he can’t really do much during the day.

Other kids his age think he’s a freak, his father, Oscar (Paul Berrondo), is a compulsive gambler, and his best friend Leo (Jimmy Barantán) is a pop culture geek who’s as much of an outcast as he is.

At the advice of his doctor, Santi and his mother relocate to a remote village in the north, where the days are known for being short. The house they find is a little rustic, but it has all the necessary amenities for modern life.

But as in most horror movies, it comes complete with spooky shadows, window shutters that rattle really easily, and an attic full of stuff that belonged to the previous tenants. Yup, that’s right. Nothing out of the ordinary around here…

The landlord, Dimas (Francesc Orella), seems okay, and although school isn’t great, it’s not as bad as it was in the big city. Santi befriends Tito (Pau Poch), a kid who’s small for his age, and Ángela (Blanca Suárez), the attractive daughter of the local police inspector, Antonio (Roberto Enríquez). But before Santi can settle in, he learns that there’s something strange about this quiet little town.

Something scary lives in the woods, and it’s known for viciously attacking livestock. When it starts killing people, Santi just always happens to be around. Naturally, he’s blamed for the deaths, or at least he’s suspected of being a part of them. But as the frights escalate, Santi tries solving the mystery himself with the help of his friends. And before long, he uncovers a dark secret about the small town…

The Good: Cinematically, Shiver looks great and much credit should be given to production designer Pilar Revuelta (who worked on Pan’s Labyrinth).

The story moves at a good pace, and unlike horror movies done in the US, the acting here is very good. Although the storyline isn’t too different from a scary movie that you’d see Stateside, the higher caliber of acting gives the film more depth and intelligence.

The bloodshed isn’t over-the-top. In fact, since many of the gory scenes take place in shadows or under shaky flashlight beams, director Isidro Ortiz leaves much of the horror to your imagination. Shiver contains plenty of solid suspense, and instead of going for cheap, jump-out-at-you scares, most of the creepiness is carefully constructed and plays more upon simple fears (being home alone, thunderstorms, lost in the woods, etc).

The Bad: Shiver doesn’t make full use of all its major elements. Santi’s photophobia is interesting, but it never plays out in a major way. It would have been better if, for instance, his “handicap” became a strength at certain times. If he can’t come out during the day, then it’s only logical to assume that he’s at his best during the night. But no. Here, he’s as scared of the dark (and ineffective in it) as anybody.

Tito has the potential to be an interesting character, but he sort of just disappears halfway through the story. And the love interest, Ángela, is underdeveloped as well. Without spoiling the ending, there are also some minor questions of logic that’ll bother you if you think about them too much.

Who would like this movie: You should watch Shiver if you’re fan of foreign films, and horror movies (particularly Spanish ones) that are focused more on scares than gore. Parts of the movie will make you think of movies such as Sleepy Hollow, Lost Boys, and maybe even the Blair Witch Project.

The overall premise is pretty familiar, but it’s told very well. I suppose this counts as a teen movie in some ways, but it doesn’t look cheesy nor does it insult anyone’s intelligence.

There are no boob shots (which may be a disappointment to some), and since it’s made in a country with no drinking age, I was mildly surprised to see that none of the main characters (or victims) got trashed. Perhaps that a cultural thing, which proves that foreign films are indeed educational.

For the most part, Shiver is an engaging thriller. It’s not perfect, but it easily surpasses a lot of Hollywood stuff aimed at a similar demographic.

(3 out of 4 stars)
Director: Isidro Ortiz
Starring: Junio Valverde, Mar Sodupe, Blanca Suárez, Francesc Orella, Jimmy Barnatán, Roberto Enríquez, Paul Berrondo, Pau Poch

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Sci Fi is Here to Stay

January 28th, 2009

Not all sci fi films are the same, in the same way as not all war films are the same and not all romantic films are the same. This is one of the reasons why there are so many people who call themselves sci fi fans. Science fiction covers such a wide range of emotions and ideas that there is something for everyone in many of the films that are billed as being sci fi.

When someone says that they are a science fiction fan there will often be sniggers and comments of them being a geek. While this may have been true in the 70’s and even the early 80’s it certainly isn’t true today. While the largest market for sci fi films and the collectible items that go with them is still men it is by no means rare to see a women in a comic shop or at a science fiction weekend.

The people who were geek boys in the 80’s are now grown men with good jobs and families, many of them will have their own teenage sons so going to a movie can become a bonding experience as father and son share their love of any one of a number of films from the 70’s and 80’s that are being remade.

Sci fi is no longer something that sits on the fringe of society, it is a multi million dollar business that encompasses every facet of life. Before a film has even started shooting the company will have t-shirt designs ready and companies will be paying for their products to be put in the film. Don’t ever just think of science fiction as something that kids watch on a Saturday night.

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