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The first Olympic mascot was introduced in 1972 at the Munich games. These mascots have become a very important element of the Olympics. It is an image that is unique and very popular because it materializes the spirit of the Olympics, promotes the history, and communicates the overall concept. This makes the Olympic mascot a must when it comes to the games. It is a must for children, for the general public, to display the uniqueness of each geographical area, and to relay the culture of the host city.

Waldi, the dachshund was the very first mascot in 1972. This is because the dachshund is a great representation of tenacity, resilience, and agility, which are the key elements an athlete possesses. This explains why he was a great choice as the first Olympic mascot. He was dressed in multiple pastel colors to express the joy and the gaiety of the Olympics. The introduction of the Olympic mascot was perhaps the most memorable mascot moment.

Other memorable mascots

Hidy and Howdy were the mascots for the 1988 Calgary Winter Games, but some never quite understood the concept of brother and sister bears that were inseparable. In some cases, individuals claimed that this was a bit creepy with a bit of cuteness thrown in there. The two were dressed in cowboy and cowgirl clothes, which has a lot to do with the fact that Calgary’s nickname is ‘Cowtown.’ However, Hidy and Howdy were, in fact, polar bears.

Another interesting fact about mascots is the death of Rocky, who was to be the mascot for the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Games. There was a mystery surrounding this mascot because Rocky mysteriously “passed away” before the Olympics ever began. Rocky was then replaced by Roni, a cartoon raccoon.

However, one of the most elegantly crafted mascots was that created by Walt Disney. Sam the Eagle is probably one of the most famous mascots that the Olympics have ever seen. He was created for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He wore the legendary clothes of Uncle Sam. He also held his version of the torch held by the statue of liberty. It was at this point that commercial use of the mascots was permitted. Beforehand, it had not, but Walt Disney’s design of Sam the Eagle marked a new precedent when it came to Olympic mascots.

2008 Beijing Summer Olympics

The Beijing Summer Olympics consists of five dolls. Their names are Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhaun, Yingying, and Nini. Each symbolizes something different. An example is that Nini is a symbol of infinite sky. It is a representation of the green Olympic ring. The rest are as follows:

- Beibei - A reflection of the strength in water sports. It is a representation of the blue Olympic ring. - Jingjing - Shows the strength in athletics. It is a representation of the black Olympic ring. - Huanhuan - Reflects the excellence in ball games. It is a representation of the red Olympic ring. - Yingying - Relfects the strength in track and field events. It is a representation of the yellow Olympic ring.

These custom mascots were designed by Han Meilin. He said it was impossible for a single figure to reflect the magnitude of these Olympic games. That is because China has a very intense and diverse culture that cannot be summed up in just one mascot. This makes the 2008 Summer Olympics the first in which 5 mascots were used. The most before that point was 3 used in the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics. Those mascots were Olly, Syd, and Millie and were said to have been upstaged by a series of unofficial mascots that were created that year. However you look at it, mascots have certainly created many memories for the Olympics.

Tags: Arts & Entertainment by Amy Nutt
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How the times have changed. Tattoos used to be the realm of bikers and gangs on the fringe of society. Well, no more. They are trendy as all get out. If you are thinking about getting a tattoo, here is a guide to things you need to consider.

You have probably already heard this, but you need to really consider it. Tattoos are going to be with you forever. Yes, you can get them lasered off, but it is painful and expensive. Make sure you are making the right choice.

Think through the location of your tat as well. A shoulder tattoo is really not a big deal. Getting ink on your neck is a very big deal. It will always be visible. While that may be okay now, how about in five years?

Once you take the leap and decide to get inked, you need to consider what you want to put on your body. Tat designs are a dime a dozen, which can lead people to make hap hazardous selections. Do not do this.

Every tattoo shop has a bunch of books with free tat designs. Many people pick theirs from these books. Is that a good move? I do not think so. Why? Well, there are a number of reasons, such as how does it reflect you personally?

Anyone can become dissatisfied with a tattoo after a few months or years. One of the best ways to avoid this is to not rush into your design decision. Instead, come up with something unique to you. If you pick something unique, you will be happier down the line.

While the tattoo design is important, the actual person who does the tattoo is equally so. If you just charge in a plop down with any artist in the local ink shop, you run the risk of getting a bad result.

A good tattoo is all about the detail work. With this in mind, you need to talk to a number of artists until you find one that you have a good vibe with and who does work you like. If you can find this person, you will get a good result.

What about the price of your tattoo? Well, this is the last thing you should worry about. Pick the artist who you match up with, not the cheapest one. This is art on your body, so do not skimp.

Tags: Arts & Entertainment by Aazdak Alisimo
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You have decided to make the jump of just singing in the shower or harmonising with your hairbrush and want to venture into the brave new world of karaoke. But what do you need to do first? What is the best way to have the confidence to get on stage, and above all enjoy your first time behind the karaoke microphone?

The best tip to take on board is practice, practice, practice. Consider all the times that you do sing in the shower as the rehearsal before the big show, But there is more than you could do to develop your karaoke style, and the best way is to invest in a number karaoke discs to practice before taking your singing to the masses.

Purchasing a number of karaoke discs is a great way to develop your singing style. While knowing the song by heart is a great tip, there are subtle differences between the original song and the karaoke track, so hearing how it will play in the bar is a big advantage.

Secondly, purchasing a number of karaoke discs is quick, easy and above all cost-effective. There is a huge range of CD’s and DVD’s available for sale online, and with a number of home systems now including microphone options you can easily turn your stereo system into your personal karaoke machine. But why is the purchase such an advantage? Because simply, it will give you the best possible opportunity to take that karaoke stage with a sense of confidence of having so many hours of practice underneath your belt.

By purchasing the karaoke discs, you will be able to discover the best selection of tracks that will truly fit your vocal range, and practising these songs means you will learn the lyrics and nuances of the song, making you less dependent of the TV screen. In addition to purchasing these karaoke discs for you to move from the bathroom to the bar, you might discover that a few of your friends will discover their passion for karaoke.

Consider organising a gathering at your place with your new karaoke discs and see your friends get into the mood of the night. By performing in front of your friends is the best way to get prepared into the next step of singing in public, and you never know, there could be a few of your friends who discover their own love of karaoke.

But above all, remember it is all to be in fun. Choosing the right song, and enjoy getting on stage and giving it your all is the only way to truly enjoy it, and that is the best tip of all.

Tags: Arts & Entertainment by Rachel Patterson
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Modern technology has made the world a small place. Now you can access any television show from anywhere in the world. And, if the time when it is aired does not suit you, you can download the television show and watch it when it is convenient for you. It is not difficult to download television shows provided you know the procedure. The fact that people all over the world are downloading television shows is evident enough that the procedure to download television shows is quite easy.

Now, it is possible to watch the missed episodes of your favorite TV shows. In addition, you come across an opportunity to download Television Shows either the desired parts only or the full episodes of a show. Moreover, this can be money saving too. The reason is simple; you do not have to buy or rent the videos of the shows from parlor to watch them; as you download Television Shows, it opens possibility to watch the shows repeatedly so often you want. Anyways, to achieve this fun, you need to undertake certain procedures. Apart from the procedures involved when you want to download, clarify certain factors that often hamper the results of download.

Learning the procedure to download television shows is simple but you have to be very careful in selecting the website from where to download the television shows. Some of these sites are not authentic and reliable. If you download from these sites, you may put your computer at the risk of getting infected by viruses, or the illegal sites can get you into legal hassles as well. Thus, if you must make sure that the sources are authentic and legal before you begin to download television shows.

You also need to watch your pocket as some of the sites are expensive while others are quite reasonable if not totally free. So, the most important step in the process of downloading Television Shows is to find the best website, and then follow certain basic guidelines.

Thus, the real trick is in finding the right website to download Television Shows. Generally, every website will offer a list of free downloadable shows; if you select from those, you can download television shows absolutely free. Some sites charge a one-time membership fee and give you the benefit to download television shows for life. Here are some useful tips to download Television Shows free.

It is best to avoid the torrent sites for downloading television shows. They appear to be tempting because they claim to be cheap, but they offer poor quality of shows for downloading. Moreover, they can damage your computer with viruses. The better option is to pay a one-time membership fee and go for a website that allows you to download not only Television Shows but also movies, games and music videos. Look for a site that provides a money-back guarantee. Also, check their customer support service and ask for assistance if you need their help. However, if you follow the tips the procedure of downloading television shows is pretty easy.

Tags: Arts & Entertainment by Ethan Hunter
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In the time-honored tale of Chicken Little, the protagonist was a small barnyard hen who was hit on the head by a falling acorn. Rather than stopping and thinking about what happened logically, she became convinced that the sky was falling and that the king of the land needed to be warned.

As she scurried to the castle, she was met by a number of other animals of the field and barnyard, including Goosey Loosey, Drakey Lakey, Turkey Lurkey and Ducky Lucky. Each of these characters is convinced by Chicken Little that the sky is falling and soon join her on her quest to tell the king.

When finally they run into Foxy Loxy, a fox who offers to take all of them to the king in his comfortable sack, the story takes a dark turn. Of course the fox has no intention of ever taking them to the king and has many plans to simply devour the credulous fowl.

In the Disney film of the same name, Chicken Little is rewritten as a young male rooster who at a young age alarmed his town by declaring that the sky was falling. He is met with ridicule from the town and shame from his father, forcing him to become something of an outcast. He finds companionship by hanging out with other children who were often bullied by Foxy Loxy and Goosey Loosey. Chicken Little’s friends include Abby Mallard, who is referred to as the Ugly Ducking, Runt of the Litter, and Fish out of Water, who wears a glass bowl full of water around his head.

Chicken Little manages to perform some heroics during a memorable baseball game, but during his celebration, manages to be hit by another piece of the sky. Before he loses his senses, he sees that this piece of the sky is actually a part of an invisible alien spacecraft. The aliens leave, but not before one of them has been left behind. Chicken Little, who has once again rung the bell to warn his town, is once again ridiculed.

The real action starts when the aliens return for their lost child and start vaporizing the townspeople, including among them, Foxy Loxy and the mayor. When the small alien is reclaimed by his parents, the people who were zapped are revealed to have been taken aboard the ship and are returned unharmed. Everything returns to normal and the movie ends with Hollywood arriving to make a summer blockbuster smash out of the recent events.

Tags: Arts & Entertainment by Steve Collins
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There’s a term used by product manufacturers and retailers called “planned obsolescence”. What this is in a nutshell is the understanding that creating products that last isn’t smart from a business standpoint, and this is the concept that drives modern commercialism.

Yet to convince people to buy their products there has to be some assurance and quality and longevity, so while consumers arguably make products that are as good as they’ve ever been quality wise, it’s the concept and marketing behind those products that leaves their shelf life limited.

Video games are just one example. The technology has developed so rapidly that playing on old games on old hardware makes you feel, well old. You feel like you’re missing the next great thing. But aside from the technology, the concept itself behind gaming has changed. Gaming used to be centered around high scores, games that often had no end, or at least no realistically achieved end, therefore allowing players almost limitless amounts of playtime as they endlessly sought to beat their record score.

Game developers quickly realized that this business model was not sound. If they already had a great game that they still had reason to play, it would limit their desire to buy new games. So games began being made with a definite beginning and end. Games also became easier so that end would be more easily and quickly achieved. Once you’ve beaten the game, there’s little else to do. Even if the game is great and would be enjoyable to play through again, there isn’t much incentive to do so without anything driving you on, like a high score to beat. Through this simple switch in business model, games went from having potentially limitless life spans to having less than 20 hours of playtime in them in most cases.

Cell phones are an obvious choice to consider as well, also from a design standpoint, but also from a marketing standpoint. The technology is also there like it is with videogames, constantly improving reception quality, image taking capability, size, etc. As insignificant as some of these things may seem, the advertising and to a lesser extent the pressure that is put on us from others and from ourselves drives us to buy these new products even when the old ones still work fine. If you don’t have the thinnest, slimmest and hippest phones with all the latest gadgets, you’re just not cool, and the advertising lets us know this, or at least, makes us think this.

Some manufacturers take the real easy route, and that is by building things of exceedingly poor quality so that they quickly become unusable. This saves costs on manufacturing and also ensures that that customer will be back on the market for a similar item in the future, though why they would buy it from that same manufacturer is unknown. This strategy doesn’t seem to make much sense from a company’s standpoint, but this is the way of some companies regardless.

Not only is this throw-away society hurting our wallets (with the average household in America now $8,000-$9,000 in debt, it’s also been hurting our environment. To reduce debt check into low interest cards and cut your costs. The manufacturing of these often unnecessary goods throw tons of pollution into the air, while the still fully functioning old products are tossed into the gargantuan landfills of valuable space.

Combating this “planned obsolescence” may be difficult depending on your personality. If you’re a person who values quality and durability over style, you’re probably already doing well to fight this consumerism. If you’re the opposite, it may take a concerted effort on your part to realize how you’re being sucked into buying things you don’t need. Don’t worry about what other people have, let them fall victim to the siren song of ego stroking that new brings them, just worry about your own affairs and what you need to get buy. You’ll be doing yourself and the environment a favor.

Tags: Games by Landon McGehee
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