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Over the years, Tahiti and Polynesia have provided novelists and moviemakers with colorful subject matter. Early travelers told of wanton women on tropical shores, and Fletcher Christian added drama to the plot by leading a mutiny against the tyrannical Captain Bligh.
In 1934 American writers Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall brought out the Bounty Trilogy. This three-part novel deals with Christians mutiny on the Bounty, the escape of Bligh and his loyal crew members to Dutch Timor, and the colonization of Pitcairn Island by Christian and his fellow mutineers.
The novel was an instant bestseller, and director Frank Lloyd soon made it into a movie, Mutiny on the Bounty, starring Charles Laughton and Clark Gable. In keeping with the mood of his time, the mutiny was presented as a simplistic struggle between good and evil, and the film won an Oscar for Best Picture in 1935.
A generation later Marlon Brando flew down to Tahiti to star in a blockbuster remake of Mutiny on the Bounty. MGMs 1962 production is still considered the most spectacular film ever made in the South Pacific, in part due to the glorious scenery of Tahiti and Bora Bora. Thousands of Tahitian extras appeared in the film, and Brando married his first lady, Tarita Teriipaia.

In 1984, yet another version of The Bounty was released, with Sir Anthony Hopkins as a resolute Bligh and Mel Gibson as an ambiguous Christian. Of the three Bounty films, this is probably the most historically accurate, and its certainly the one with the greatest psychological depth. It was largely filmed in Mooreas Opunohu Bay.

Another Nordhoff and Hall novel, The Hurricane, has been brought to the silver screen twice. John Halls 1937 film portrays a young couple fleeing a despotic governor. In 1978 Dino de Laurentiis reshot The Hurricane on Bora Bora, with Mia Farrow and Trevor Howard. The resort built to house de Laurentiis crew still exists as the Sofitel Marara.

British novelist W. Somerset Maugham also had close ties to the South Pacific. In 1943 Albert Lewin filmed The Moon and Sixpence, Maughams fictionalized account of Paul Gauguins life in Polynesia. The nonconformist painters incompatibility with French colonial life provided Maugham with a pretext to explore the role of the artist in society. Another famous Maugham story, Rain, set in Samoa, has been made into a movie several times.

Other well-known authors who have popularized the legend of Tahiti include Herman Melville, Pierre Loti, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jack London, Rupert Brooke, and James A. Michener. Their stories, plays, and films have helped create the myth of a South Seas paradise. And even today, Tahiti and Polynesia beckon to romantics wishing to live their share of the dream.

The first time I picked up a guitar my whole life changed. I think I slept with it the night I brought my first new guitar home. Its a bit embarrassing to admit, but it is true. I remember the feel of the guitar in my hands and the shape, which reminded me of a girl I once dated. But seriously it was love, pure love.

Then I plugged it in and hit those first magic notes?.. Wow did it sound awful, maybe the worst noise I ever heard in my life. So started my journey in the world of music some 23 years ago, I found my one and only mistress, the guitar.

Today I am happily married with 3 kids, a real job, and my guitars. The only thing my wife has ever been jealous over is my guitars. I told her once I could have girlfriends or guitars, she said shed settle for the guitars. Thus is the secret to a happy marriage.

Oh more importantly, the guitars. No two are the same, even the same model, made in the same year, with sequential serial numbers, are going to play and sound different. They have their own personalities, their own feel and their own mood swings. I have Fenders, Gibsons, Washburns, Parkers, solid bodies, hollow bodies and semi-hollow body guitars.

Every week I go to a friends house, or a local store and just pickup every guitar I can and play it for a few minutes. It really is an obsession. I think, dream and dwell on playing guitar 24 Hours a day.

Is this story the same as yours. As humorous as this may sound, many of my playing friends say the same thing. You can never have enough guitars, or spend enough time playing your guitar.

Do you have a passion for playing as well?

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Melanie Slade is the girlfriend of Arsenal footballer Theo Walcott and the latest addition to the real Footballers Wives stable. She first met the England squad member outside the shop where she worked at West Quay shopping mall in Southampton. Melanie was outside with a basket in her hand when Walcotts friend announced the basket is for phone numbers.

Cheeky Theo scribbled his mobile number on a scrap of paper and tossed it into Mels basket and his friend did the same. The romance had begun and Melanie Slade and Theo Walcott have been an item ever since.

Walcott said they are not a typical footballer couple and would not let the media attention affect them. He said: We havent been to any footballer parties at all. Were not people who like to party.

Walcott has told the media he and Melanie made a bet as to who could pass their driving test first and Melanie won, as Theo failed his first test and Melanie passed hers at the first time of asking.

There were no hard feelings on losing the bet and Theo spent ?20,000 on a white VW Beetle for Melanie, affectionately known by as the Love Bug. Theo even registered the private number plate T4M symbolising Theo for Melanie for his girlfriend.

Melanie shot into the media limelight when 17-year-old boyfriend Theo became a shock selection for Englands 2006 FIFA World Cup squad even though he had not featured in club Arsenals Premiership campaign and manager Sven Goran-Eriksson hadnt seen him play.

Melanie has since become a firm tabloid favourite and there was little surprise when in May, a leading UK tabloid newspaper reportedly offered her ?160,000 for a topless photo shoot. She accepted the offer and appeared topless in the newspaper although she did preserve her modesty by covering up with her hands.

She is using her new found status to support the 2006 Race for Life event organised by Cancer Research UK but has also asked for privacy whilst she revises for her exams.

Melanie is also the daughter of a now locally famous man. Her father, John Slade, recently became the 784th mayor of Southampton at a ceremony at the citys Guild Hall.However, she missed the ceremony as she had jetted off to Portugal to join Theos World Cup preparations.

Melanie has stated she will not make any further decisions about the various media offers she has received until after the World Cup, although she could be a permanent fixture in print and on screen over the next 12 months.

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Saskia Howard-Clarke is a promotions girl from London. She was the fifth evictee from the Big Brother house on July 1 2005 when she participated in the sixth series of the popular television programme.

In the first couple of weeks, Saskia proved to be popular with housemates and viewers alike. This was evident in week two when all of the housemates were put up for eviction via a public vote due to rule breaking because when Saskias name was announced, the live studio audience cheered her.

However, events took a turn for the worse things took a wrong turn when a divide in the house occurred and two members of her group, Anthony and Maxwell were banned from nominations leaving Saskia in the vulnerable position of being nominated by the other group who sided with Makosi Musambasi after a heated confrontation between the pair.

Some of the comments Saskia made in her argument with Makosi sparked a debate about racism being a factor in the house and both Maxwell and Saskia were put up for the public vote. Saskia was evicted by a majority 71% of the vote and greeted the crowd to a mixed reception on Day 36. She received the highest percentage of any eviction vote during the whole series.

In her post-eviction interview, she later denied the matter by stating she was a quarter-Sri Lankan, a statement that did not justify or alter the opinions of many viewers.

This was Saskias nomination history during her stay in the Big Brother house:

1st (Day 5) Saskia was nominated by Derek and Mary.

2nd (Day 11) Saskia was nominated by Craig, Derek, Lesley and Vanessa.

3rd (Day 18) Saskia was nominated by Science only.

4th (Day 25) Saskia received no nominations.

5th (Day 32) Saskia was nominated by Derek, Kemal, Makosi and Vanessa and was evicted via the public vote.

During her time in the Big Brother house Saskia coined phrases such as end of and its dog eat dog although she didnt last too long and was evicted fifth when she and the oafish Maxwell were both nominated.

Even before her stint on Big Brother, Saskia enjoyed dating famous people and past boyfriends have included an Olympic swimmer, a Premiership footballer and she also dropped down a few divisions to hook up with Nottingham Forest striker Adam Nowland.

Saskia claims to go to the gym five times a week, she gets her nails done every month and is obsessed by fake tans.

Since leaving the house Saskia has been busy touring grotty nightclubs in a double act with Maxwell while also posing for glamour shots in lads mags to ensure she remains in the public eye.

Guitar Lessons can be fun and easy. The most important thing is the approach and additude that you have and use when you begin. If you are just starting, you can master the the art of playing the guitar.

So you have finally decided to learn guitar. You have come to the right place. I will be offering advice and give reviews on good places were you can get guitar lessons. Learning guitar can be fun and easy. You can even learn how to play guitar right in the comfort of your own home. There are so many different programs that help you learn guitar. One site you can check out for now.

Some people learn how to play guitar on their own, however the majority of people are not able to learn guitar on their own without any help. At the top of this site I have posted a link that will take you step by step in learning the guitar. I have found many of my students say the guitar lessons really excelled them in their ability to learn guitar.

In the beginning it is good to have patience. Start out learning a few cords and then practice them. Weather you want to play country or rock knowing simple cords is the key to getting started.

Once you have mastered a few cords keep learning more and more. Then you can begin to use variations of these cords to play songs you know or write new ones. This is some of the steps in learning how to play guitar.

I have had my students try different course programs that help them to learn guitar. One good thing about the courses you can take from home is that you decide when you want to take you guitar lessons. You can also decide how many times you want to repeat a guitar lessons.

This gives you flexibility and now time is on your side and learning guitar fits into any schedule. Most of my new students learn guitar basics and are already playing songs by the end of a weekend. Learning guitar is always easer than the person thinks. People of all ages can achieve many different levels when they decide to learn how to play guitar.

You can learn electric and acoustic guitar with this course. I am will reviewing another course for those people who really want to get the most out of their guitar lessons. For now I have found at least one very good course.

So remember you can learn guitar and knowing how to play guitar is easy. Just work on those guitar lessons a few times a week to improve on your skills.

Please feel free to come back and check for new reviews and tips. I will be adding new posts as I discover new ways to learn guitar.

Please visit some of my sites Learn Guitar and Guitar Lessons