Media Blog

Harmonicas are wonderful musical instruments. Theyre versatile, theyre relatively inexpensive, they fit in your pocket, and their music can evoke a wide range of feelings. Harmonicas or harps, as they are commonly called are used in a wide variety of musical genres, such as bluegrass, the blues, folk, rock, country, Gospel, jazz, and even Classical music.

If you want to learn to play the harp and are planning to take instruction, you should understand the different types of harmonicas that are available. The leading makers of harmonicas include Suzuki, Hering, Hohner, and Bushman. Beyond brands, though, there are other differences you should know about.

The harmonica that most people are familiar with is the ten-hole Blues harp. Each of the holes has two reeds, which are tuned to play different notes. Blues harps come in virtually every key, and each harmonica can play 19 musical notes.

Blues harps are a subcategory of diatonic harmonicas, so named because of the two reeds in each hole. Diatonic harmonics generally play only one key. Another type of diatonic harmonica is the octave harmonica, which is tuned so that each hole plays the same note, only an octave apart from one another. The tremolo harmonica also has two reeds, but one plays a slightly flat note and the other plays a slightly sharp note.

A different category of harmonica is the chromatic harmonica. These harmonicas typically have twelve, fourteen, or sixteen holes, and four reeds per hole. They also have a sliding bar that moves the air from the mouthpiece to a specific reed plate. Chromatic harmonicas are most often used in jazz and Classical music.

Harmonica Instruction

When you learn to play the harmonica, youll first be taught how to breathe correctly. Because successfully playing the harmonica involves both breathing out and breathing in, its important to breathe from your diaphragm. Youll also learn how to correctly hold the harmonica, how to move it, and how to position your lips so youll achieve the right notes. Youll also learn harmonica tablature, or tabs, which in instruction that replaces the need for learning to read music. Harmonica tabs tell you what actions you need to take, such as blowing in the fifth and sixth holes, rather than simply showing you music notation. For example, tablature might indicate an upward arrow with a number above it, indicating that you need to blow on that numbered hole, followed by a downward area with a number on top, indicating that you need to inhale on that hole. Tabs make learning to play the harmonica much easier than learning to play other instruments.

Choosing a Harp

Most harmonica instruction is given in the key of C, so its probably best to buy a diatonic or Blues harp in the key of C. Most experts recommend that beginners purchase harmonicas with plastic or aluminum combs (the body of the harmonica) rather than wood. Plastic and metal are both more comfortable and more durable. However, you should be aware that, over time, youll probably buy and try several different brands of harmonicas. Each person is unique, and each has to find the harmonica that is the best fit for his or her playing style.

Online DVD rental is very popular right now for many reasons. Convenience, choice, and cost are only a few of those reasons. Some people still havent gotten in on it yet for one reason or another, but it is probably due to plain old common misconceptions.

One misconception that people have about online DVD rental is that it is way too complicated. Online DVD rental isnt complicated. All you have to know how to do is use your mailbox and navigate a mouse. All you really need to do is pick your company. Compare costs and how many you are allowed to rent at once. Also compare available insurance and costs on the rentals.

After you pick a company, you join. Usually you pay per month or per year. This is usually much cheaper than renting if you rent on a regular basis. It doesnt matter how many you rent because the cost doesnt go up. Of course, if you only rent one or two a year, it might not be cost efficient unless you are ever late returning those movies. Late fees are usually as much or more as renting the movie was. This is probably the best thing about online DVD rental there are absolutely no late fees with most of your companies.

When you join a rental club, you make your movie selections ahead of time. The first selections on your list are sent to you first. If you want to keep that movie for a while and watch it over and over again, that is okay. It is never deemed to be late with most of online DVD rental providers. You send your first selections back whenever you decide to. After the company gets those selections back, they send the next selections on your list to you.

For those people who dont like getting online very often, this selection procedure can be a real plus. You can make your selections way in advance and only get back online after you have gotten through your entire selection list. But you can still get online and change your list before they are sent to you if you change your mind. Just make sure that you give them a day or two of notice so they are sure to have your selections on hand.

Online DVD rental is a better choice as far as selection goes. Online companies usually have a much greater selection of movies than your local movie rental stores do. Also, they are less likely to have all of their new releases checked out when you want them. All in all, online is a pretty good way to go.

There is a long history of movies that hit the silver screen diving into television sets in the forms of TV shows. Some were met with huge success and longevity, but the majority of them were virtual train wrecks.

On the surface it seems like a logically brilliant idea: take a film that audiences adored and extend it into a more digestible, bite-sized version that they could watch every week from the comfort of their homes. But carrying over the success of a movie into the television realm seems to involve a tricky and delicate science that no one seems to know the formulas to.

A television series adaptation of the Blade trilogy and the recent news of a live-action Star Wars television series coming to life near the end of this decade beg us to ask whether or not either will succeed. Of course, success in this sense can be interpreted in a variety of ways. Does it depend only on the quality of the show? Most likely not, since there have been movie-to-television cross-overs that were critically acclaimed but were only given a few months to run. Does it depend solely on the popularity of the show? Not as much as one would think. So what does success in this genre depend on?

Lets take a look at some TV shows that were originally movies that ran for long periods of time, and then some that burnt out quickly to see if there is a visible pattern.

Distance Runners

- M*A*S*H*: Many people forget that M*A*S*H* was originally a movie (1970) that was met with approval in the theaters. It made its way onto television screens in 1972 and ran all the way to 1983.
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The movie was released in 1992 and was met with very mixed results. Somehow the show managed to run for seven solid years (1997-2003) as a television series with a huge fan base.
- Stargate SG-1: Stargate was a film released in 1994. It was met with mixed responses, but the show fared much better, running from 1997 all the way till now.
- Highlander: The film version hit theaters in 1986. Audience response was decent, but the TV series that was launched in 1992 found a faithful following. It ran until 1998.
- La Femme Nikita: Nikita was a film directed by Luc Besson that was released in 1990 and received good responses from audiences. The television series had a strong following and ran on TV from 1997 to 2001.

Short-Distance Losers

- My Big Fat Greek Life: Though movie studios underestimated My Big Fat Greek Weddings chances for success on the big screen, CBS overestimated its chances for similar triumph as a television series. This big fat disaster ran for seven episodes in 2003.
- Clueless: In 1995, Clueless did well in movie theaters as a comedy-romance. However, when the movie became a TV show in 1996 it was nothing more than a vain, painful, and lame television experience. The show somehow managed to remain on air until 1999.
- Ferris Bueller: Ferris Buellers Day Off was a huge hit in 1986, but the TV series only lasted one miserable season in 1990. Ferris has had plenty of days off since then.
- Planet of the Apes: The Charlton Heston-infused movie did well in the theaters in 1968, but for some reason the TV version only lasted one season in 1974.
- Uncle Buck: Was the movie really that great in 1989? It was just a standard comedy that tried to teach youngsters the idea of appreciating your family. So was the TV series in 1990 really necessary? One season tells us no.

There are countless other movie-to-TV shows that only lasted a few months, if that. Dangerous Minds, Fast Times, and Parenthood are just three of many, many failures in this genre.

The odds are against the soon-to-be Blade television series and George Lucas live-action Star Wars TV show. Though Blade does not really seem to be anything special, it will be interesting to see whether the vampires and monsters that carried the film trilogy will be able to do the same on television screens.

Star Wars does have an insanely huge and loyal fan base, the likes of which no movie-to-TV series has had the luxury of having, and could be the tipping point for the shows potential longevity and success. But in no way will this guarantee the triumph of the adaptation. Neither will high caliber storylines or acting.

It seems that television audiences and studios are infinitely more fickle than their movie counterparts, so good luck to both the creators of Blade and Star Wars Lucas, both of whom will be at the complete mercy of factors that are virtually unknown.

For More on the NEW Star Wars TV Series, visit http://www.starwarstvforum.com

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Set for release on March 30, 2007, Blades of Glory from Dreamworks is a sports comedy directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck and Produced by Ben Stiller.

Will Ferrell and Jon Heder are the lead pair, who exploit a loophole to do their act in this movie which is to Kick some Ice.

So, welcome to the world of competitive figure skating and all its passion and power generated by an unlikely pair who aim to steal the trophy, beating the odds. Two men skating together — Chazz Michael Michaels (Will Ferrell) and Jimmy MacElroy (Jon Heder) become the first male pair in the history of figure skating!

As aintitcool.com states, figure skating for the first time ever is finally watchable. Also, hilarious.

Blades of Glory is about two rival figure skaters (Ferrell and Heder) who after a fight with each other in front of 30,000 fans, have their gold medals stripped from them and are banned from competitive skating for a lifetime.

Three years down the line, one is many pounds heavier while the other is still girlish, but still not hot. Both agree to put aside their differences as well as their similarities theyre both men! –and exploit a loophole (created exclusively for the movie) that would allow them to compete in the pairs figure skating category.

This category is, of course, usually reserved for opposite-sex couples and this duo must go face-to-face with fierce competition from rivals far more experienced at the art, such as Stranz (Will Arnett) and Fairchild (Amy Poehler), the unrelentingly competitive reigning champion pair.

Amy Poehler and Will Arnett (as evil brother and sister figure skaters) manage to steal almost every scene theyre in. There are some really great moments including a hilarious ice skate chase and some very funny ice routines (that i wont spoil). The ice skating was never boring. And the costumes are as funny as the people wearing them, especially the outfits given to Poehler and Arnett. Also, Jenna Fischer has never ever looked as hot as this. Purr-Rawrr.

This very funny movie was shot in both Los Angeles, California and Montreal, Quebec (Canada).

Two powerful movies recently released on DVD illustrate the importance of faith and virtue in leading a good life.

One, Mother Teresa, tells the life story of one of the worlds best-known and most admired women, and End of the Spear is the story of five American missionaries to the Waodani Indians of the Ecuadorian jungles.

Mother Teresa was an Albanian-born nun who founded the Missionaries of Charity. Called The Angel of Mercy, many people considered her the embodiment of a living saint. Her work among the poverty-stricken of Calcutta made her one of the worlds most famous people. She founded her order in 1950 to care for those she called the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone.

Golden Globe-winner Olivia Hussey illuminates the holy womans life story in Mother Teresa, a DVD feature from Fox Home Entertainment. A shrewd diplomat and an indomitable force, Mother Teresa was unwilling to accept what others deemed impossible, fearlessly fighting for the unloved and the forgotten.

In 1956, a small band of missionaries sought to enlighten the cannibal tribes of darkest Ecuador, but for their compassion, they were mercilessly slain. Years later, the wives of the fallen men returned to the village to continue their husbands missionary work, bringing their children to live amongst the tribesmen in the hope that through their forgiveness the natives might find faith.

Now director Jim Hanon tells this remarkable true story of fear, faith and forgiveness in End of the Spear, based on the book Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot, the widow of one of the missionaries.

The movie tells the story of the Waodani warrior Mincayani, who kills Steve Saints father and four other missionaries. Steve returns to the Waodani as an adult and encounters Mincayani; together they confront the meaning of the life and death of Steves father and the other men who were killed. Through Mincayani, Steve comes to forgive; through Steve, Mincayani comes to understand the lessons of the Bible and a path to a virtuous life.