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In 1809, Emmanuel Radnitzky, aka Man Ray, was born in Philadelphia. During his life, he would become one of the most influential photographers of the twentieth century. Although best known for his avant-garde black and white photography, he was active in many visual arts, including sculpture, performance art, and especially painting. Like many avant-garde artists, he received little recognition or appreciation for his work during his life.

Relocating to New York in 1912, Man Ray began to focus on trying to show movement in painting. As he continued to explore experimental art, he gradually moved away from painting. At first he merely experimented with different materials-for example, his 1919 painting “Aerograph” was done with airbrush on glass-he eventually left the canvas altogether and moved into experimental art in the sculpture and photography.

Man Ray started using “readymade” art, which consisted of found objects presented as works of sculpture. In 1920, he assisted fellow avant-garde artist Marcel Duchamp designing and building one of the first pieces of kinetic art in which glass plates were rotated by a motor. In the same year, Man Ray, Duchamp, and Katherine Dreier opened the Socit Anonyme, becoming the first museum of modern art in the United States.

Man Ray championed photography as a means of bypassing the static nature of painting. After moving to the artistic community of Montparnasse, Paris, he spent the next 20 years redefining the art of photography. He juxtaposed objects, subjects, backgrounds, and lighting techniques, altering the meaning and message of his images. He developed new techniques of using photograms, and began to drifting towards directed several short avant-garde experimental films.

In 1976, as per his wish, Man Ray was interred at the Montparnasse Cemetery. His tombstone bears the inscription “Unconcerned, but not indifferent.” ARTnews Magazine rated him among the 25 most influential artists of the 20th century, in large part because of his fearless explorations in painting, sculpture, black and white photography, and film.

Tags: Arts & Entertainment by Herbert Reich
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Travel is one pastime that some people can’t get enough of, but funding is usually a problem. There are so many places to see in this world, you’d have to be independently wealthy in order to satisfy your traveling urges. Then there are corporate executives and sales people who must travel frequently on business. While their travel expenses are paid, most would tell you they’d be happy to never get on a plane again. However, there are ways to travel for business, with some or all of your expenses paid and have a blast doing so. Here we have five great ideas for travel jobs that get you around the world, doing work you enjoy.

1.Become a travel agent. If you think this is not the time to enter this competitive field, think again. The latest trend in agency travel jobs is in niche travel. For example, there are travel agents who specialize in adventure travel tours to what is best described as way off the beaten track. Think the Sahara Desert, Australian outback or the Amazon rain forests. Other niche travel agents focus strictly on cruises, and yet others on coordinating corporate travel of the luxury type. While it may take a few years to develop a healthy list of clients, there are people who are making six figure incomes in this industry. Naturally, in order to properly develop your niche, you’ll need to take trips to these places to get the real skinny for your clients. The entire expense can be written off as an investment in your business!

2.If you’ve traveled extensively in certain countries, why not become a tour operator? Other people who are not such experienced travelers are able to learn so much in just an afternoon, which really adds value to their trip. Walking tours through districts in a large city enable your clients to really gain the flavor of the place they’d never get wandering on their own. Bus tours are another popular way to tour large cities, especially with older people, who may not be up to long walks, or whose vacation time is simply too short. Again, not only is your trip free, but you profit as well. Most tour operators work just half the year. If you’re the outgoing type, this can be a very enjoyable travel job.

3.Start an import-export business. This is not difficult and there are many books to guide you through the legal requirements of starting this type of business. For example, many antique dealers travel abroad to find their goods, then ship them back, all written off as a business expense. You can work this travel job idea in any venue you like, be it clothing, jewelry or rare books.

4.Become a travel writer. Although it takes a while to break into this type of travel job, virtually all of your expenses are paid, so even if jobs are few and far between in the beginning, it’s still a paid vacation and you are paid for the piece as well. As you build credentials, the jobs start coming to you.

5.This last travel job idea requires some up front work on your part, but can pay off handsomely. Write a book proposal and sell it. For example, let’s say you’d like to make a trip to Italy. Write a proposal for a book that covers Italy’s best finds in accommodations. You travel from one end of Italy to the other, stopping at all the major travel destinations, as well as the lesser known, medieval hilltop towns. As you find those quaint hotels and farmhouse accommodations, you approach the owner and let them know you’re writing a book on the great hotels of Italy and would like to include a review of theirs, in exchange for a night’s stay. Bring your publisher’s contract so they know you’re on the up and up. All of these travel job ideas are viable businesses that allow you to travel for a living!

Tags: Arts & Entertainment by Charlie Reese
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Even if you have no money to be taking a trip right now, if you like to travel, subscribing to travel newsletters make for enjoyable reading, at least keeping those dreams alive. Besides, who knows when you might win the lottery? Even a minor windfall could fund a spur of the moment trip.

Virtually every travel website has a free e-newsletter. It keeps them in your mind when you do plan to book a trip, so they go to great lengths to provide the very best and most up to date information on the travel business. Hot air fare deals, new hotel and restaurant finds, last-minute package deals and the like. They keep track of travel warnings issued by the State Department, new airline rules on the do’s and don’ts of baggage, freebies and various promotions. By providing the best information in every issue of their travel newsletter, they keep you eagerly awaiting the next issue. You get to keep your finger on the pulse of the travel scene.

The travel industry is in a state of flux at the moment, and you may be surprised to find that you just might be able to jump on one of those hot deals. Independent travelers who organize their own itineraries are especially well advised to subscribe to a number of travel newsletters. If you search around, you’ll soon find several terrific travel sites, each with their own special virtues. For example, one may seem to be best at finding those hot air fare prices and last minute deals. Another may have in depth feature pieces on different destinations, giving you a virtual walking tour of a place you never thought of visiting. Others focus on a single city you long to visit or revisit, so you can learn while you yearn!

Travel newsletters often include travel tips, links to resources their readers will find valuable, as well as travel gadgets, like currency converters, language interpreters and the latest and tiniest camera equipment with huge capacity and flick of a switch, almost automatic uploading to your PC. They scan the book shops for the best travel books. All in all, these travel newsletters are just packed with information you can use! They do all the footwork and you reap the benefits. Besides, these travel newsletters are free.

Many are issued weekly, especially when their focus is on hot deals that don’t last. Their readers are the first to hear. Over time, you’re compiling a virtual library of travel information that you couldn’t gather in a lifetime of looking.

Another advantage to the traveler is that you are able to see patterns in the travel industry. When times are tough for everyone, that’s when you’ll find the best travel deals. To offset these new extra baggage fees and other charges by the airlines that used to be included in your ticket price, hotels are offering rebates for those baggage charges. Some are also kicking in for transportation at your destination when you book with them.

These are all things you might never know, unless you’re a smart traveler who subscribes to several travel newsletters. It’s a win-win for everyone concerned. At the very least, you’ll have some happy reading material until your next trip!

Tags: Writing & Speaking by Charlie Reese
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With a shop near every neighborhood, video stores have been the most convenient way to get movies for years. These days you can stay at home and get movies form a movie download site. Here are some examples of movies you can acquire through a movie download site.

Dumb and Dumber: Harry and Lloyd are, to but it simply, just a couple of idiots. When Lloyd meets the woman of his dreams, and she leaves her suitcase behind, he is determined to return the suitcase, and meet this woman. So, Harry and Lloyd are off to Aspen. Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels star in this outrageous comedy.

The Net: Angela Bennett is a computer geek. She receives a program, and is asked to de-bug it. Shortly after receiving the program, the man who sent it to her is killed. What’s on the disc is of vital importance to someone. They know she has it, and she is now running for her life as she tries to figure out just who is after her, and why.

Rookie Of The Year: Little league pitcher Henry Rowengartner breaks his arm during a game. Miraculously, when his arm heals he can now throw the ball over 100 MPH. When the general manager of the lowly Chicago Cubs spots Henry throwing this fast, it’s off to the major leagues.

The Truman Show: Truman Burbank starts to get a strange feeling. He can’t quite explain it, but something just isn’t right. It turns out that Truman is right. In fact everyone else in town is an actor, and every day is The Truman Show.

The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King: The capital of Gondor is under attack, and the battle for Middle Earth is on. Sauron, the dark one, is gaining power, and his victory seems certain. Gandalf and the other fight on with the only hope lying in the efforts of two little Hobbits. Frodo, and his lifelong friend Sam are battling there way to Mount Doom in order to destroy the One Ring, the ring that give Sauron his great power. Their success or failure will determine the fate of Middle Earth.

The Matrix: Neo feels that something isn’t right in his world. When he is brought before the infamous Morpheus he is shown things that are hard to believe. He is given a choice, take the red pill and wake up in his old life, remembering nothing, or take the blue pill and be exposed to what is really going on in this world. He takes the blue, and away we go.

Rules Of Engagement: Thirty year Marine veteran Col. Terry Childs (Samule L. Jackson) is being put on trial for a rescue mission that went bad. He chooses Col. Hays Hodges (Tommy Lee Jones) to defend him in the case. Hodges decides to take the case, but even he starts to doubt the innocence of the man who saved his life years ago in Vietnam.

Uncle Buck: Cindy Russell has to visit her sick father. Her only option for someone to watch her kids is good old Uncle Buck. Irresponsible Buck has to somehow pull himself together and take care of the kids for a few days.

I Know Pronounce You Chuck And Larry: Larry and Chuck top notch fire fighters, and best friends. When Larry fails to change the beneficiaries on his life insurance policy after the unfortunate death of his wife, the only way he can make sure his children benefit if he dies is to remarry. There is no woman he can trust with his kids, so he comes up with the idea of marrying his best friend Chuck.

With sites like napster, music has become a big internet business. There is every indication that movie downloads will become just as popular. It should not be difficult to find a movie download site that fits your needs.

Tags: Arts & Entertainment by Mary Kasner
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The best piano lessons aren’t that hard to find as long as you know what you are looking for. If you don’t know much about the piano, you may not know how to go about it. If you are just starting out, you need to find the best piano lessons that will teach you at your own pace, and that will always keep things fresh and interesting. Don’t worry, you can find lessons that suit you perfectly.

There are so many different options available these days for anyone trying to find a good piano program. This makes it very difficult. How can you know which ones are truly the best? Well, the best piano lessons are the ones that make it the most interesting so that you stay motivated and keep learning. For example, if you are looking to find something online, look for something with a variety of different learning strategies. One with interesting video segments, audio, and motivational readings. The variety here is what is going to make it fun, so that you are not just doing the same things over and over.

The best piano lessons are the ones that allow you to maximize your creativity. When you are taught how to read the notes only, you are only able to play other people’s music. This is very limiting! Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to hear a song on the radio and be able to sit down and figure out how to play it on your own? Well some programs teach you this way, so that eventually you will be able to do this. As long as you are able to play by ear, you can also start creating your own music as well.

Many people can’t afford private piano lessons, and can’t afford the time it takes as well. Well, did you know that you aren’t limited to private lessons? There are online programs that are just as good, and even better than private courses, that will teach you fast! The best part is that a lot of these programs cost a fraction of what a private teacher would charge, but will teach you just as quickly and efficiently. The best piano lessons are the ones that don’t break your wallet but at the same time give you an equally good program.

It may seem hard to find the best piano lessons, but it really isn’t! There are many online courses that are not nearly as overpriced as private lessons, but teach you just as well, and sometimes, even better. When searching for an online program, it is important to find something that doesn’t limit you to reading music. You need a program that really allows you to express yourself in your music by teaching you to play by ear in addition to reading notes. Find something that really interests you and is full of motivational lessons. This will make you a great piano player!

Tags: Music by Bryan Smith
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Much has come about in the world of television. For the longest time, if you wanted to save your favorite shows for a later date, you had to know how to work your VCR, and even that was hit or miss. You may for get to put in a tape, or perhaps you put one in that needed to be rewound. Even a power failure would be a problem as it would not reset right when the power came back on. Today, the chances of missing your favorite television shows are a lot lower thanks to new technology and the ease of the DVD.

New things like Tivo and digital video recorders make it so simple to record what you want. Even better, setting things up for this is so much easier than any VCR ever was. In many cases, you simply go through your onscreen channel guide until you find the television shows that you want to save for a later date, and then click on it.

Your options for recording and saving should pop right up for you in an easy format that everyone can understand and deal with rather quickly. Once you set it, only a total power failure could stand in your way.

Once you have recorded your television shows, you can save them for a very long time by sending them to your DVD. You need to have recordable DVDs, but other than that, it is very simple to do this as well. It may take some time, depending on the way you record, but these DVDs are long lasting and wont wear down like a VCR tape will do over time. You can stash them away until a later date when your TV shows have been discontinued and you really want to watch them all over again. Easy.

Even better, you no longer have to worry about setting anything to record your favorite television shows if you dont want to. Almost all shows that have had any type of success will come out in a DVD package that you can buy after the current season has ended. Sometimes it takes a bit longer than that, but they always come. That means you can have your favorite television shows in a format that will last, and you wont have to deal with the pesky commercials that come from recording straight from your television set to DVD.

Tags: Arts & Entertainment by Charlie Reese
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A symbol of the untamed and exciting terrain of the Australian outback, the Aussie outback hat is a classic. Aside from that, it is truly an icon of the wild, thrilling, romantic, daring lifestyles you see in some modern movies. Think of character actors like Paul Hogan, as “diamond in the rough”, Crocodile Dundee. What about Harrison Ford as the educated, yet adventurous and tough, Indiana Jones. Where would they be without their Australian Outback hats?

It is almost impossible not to think of Crocodile Dundee when we see an oiled, waterproof leather outback hat with a band of crocodile teeth. Indiana Jones wore the crushable wool outback hat, the bao outback hat and the famous whip hatband outback hat among others during his series of Indiana Jones movies.

The Aussie outback hat features a teardrop shaped crown that is about 4 inches high. The brim is typically 3 to 4 inches wide. The outback hat can be made of rabbit fur felt or other animal fur felt, crushable wool felt, canvas, straw, oiled, waterproof leather or even snake skin. It can come with or without the chin strap and just about any type of hatband.

Although often confused with the Safari Hat, the outback hat is similar to the Safari hat only with regard to the crown and is far more similar to the American cowboy hat with regard to its brim than to the Safari Hat.

Often thought of as the Australian version of the American cowboy hat, the outback hat has a flat top and a wider brim than either the Safari hat or the fedora of which that latter is noted for its stingy brim. The Aussie outback hat was designed with a wider brim to shield the wearer?s head and face from the relentless sun and sharp rains of the outback as well as other more diverse weather conditions of rural Australia such as wind and snow.

In comparison to the American cowboy hat; its counterpart, the Australian outback hat has a wide brim that is only slightly curled up at the sides unlike the American cowboy hat which far more dramatically curled up at the sides. The outback hat style can be curled downward in both the front and back to offer more complete sun, wind and rain protection. In fact the Australian outback hat was designed first and foremost to protect the wearer from the relentless sun and heat typical in the Australian outback.

The most popular outback hat type today is said to be the Snowy River style which became famous with the release of the Disney movie, The Man from Snowy River. It is a pre-creased, stockman hat with a 3.5 inch brim. The sides are rolled up and both front and back are curved down to provide maximum protection from the elements.

It takes a certain sort of face to do an American cowboy hat justice, but an Aussie outback hat looks great on everyone! You can’t beat an Australian Outback hat if you are looking for good protection from rain, wind, and even snow. They give more protection from these elements and from the sun than you will find in any other hat. Actually, I’d say that when you wear an Aussie outback style hat you are very likely to find that you are inspired to grab yourself a bit of excitement, romance and adventure!

Tags: Music by Josh Arnett
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Live performances are the measuring stick of a dance school. It is good to go to some recitals from the school you are proposing to enroll your child in. You can judge from these performances just how good the standard of dancing is at the school. Live performances teach your child a lot about dance and especially the discipline need to be a good dancer.

Firstly these performances will give your child goals to work for. This will make them more focused on their dancing and will help them to learn more. When they have goals to work for practice will not just seem like an exercise that has to be done. Your child will see it as a means to an end and put more effort into it. This in turn will help them to learn better and faster.

With live performances dance routines will make more sense to your child. Instead of just seeing these routines as something to practice they will see how they fit into a larger sequence of dancing. This will help your child to understand dance better and learn more easily.

Young students will have a sense of achievement when they participate in a live performance. This will give them a new boost of confidence. Confidence is very important in dance as it is one of the performing arts and when you dance with confidence you can do your best. A sense of achievement is like a reward for doing a great job and your child will feel good about themselves.

A live performance is encouragement for all the children involved and will help them learn more as they put their training into action. For a young dancer, there is nothing more exciting than being able to represent your school and teacher in a dance performance in front of family, friends and peers.

Putting on a live performance is a valuable learning experience for any young student. It teaches them work discipline. They know that in order to put on a live show they must do their best and they will need to sacrifice their time to practice for the event. Dancing is a very disciplined art and putting on a live performance brings this out in your child.

A live dance performance is also a great lesson in working as a team. Sometimes it is hard for children to work as a team. A dance performance will teach them to understand that the lead roles down to the smallest role are all part of the big performance and important to the show.

It’s important to choose a dance school that produces live performances on a regular basis. Not only because your child will benefit from the live performances, you and your other family members will all enjoy watching the performance.

Tags: Arts & Entertainment by Sarah Wilkiamson
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Piano lessons are not just for kids anymore! Anyone is able to learn the piano, and there are programs available that are structured specifically for adults. Piano lessons for adults can be fun and motivational as long as you find the right one. Some programs have you playing chords pretty much right away, which is more than can be said for children’s programs. Not all programs start you out with hours of theory homework!

When some people think of piano lessons, they picture a young kid in a small room with an old instructor pacing behind them as they play. Perhaps it is still like that for some people, but these days there are many more options, and there is much more out there for adults. Adults have many more responsibilities than children do, and as such getting in a lesson at the same time every week can prove to be very difficult. However, you also have the option to try online courses, which allow you to go at your own pace and to practice when it suits your schedule. These lessons are geared towards adults, which is exactly what you want.

As an adult, the approach to teaching how to play the piano changes. There is more flexibility since children often need to learn the exact basics and build from there in order to avoid confusion. Some programs get you playing chords as you are learning the notes. This method will make you able to play harmonious music within minutes of starting your program. It is this quick learning, and more hands-on approach that keeps you wanting to learn more.

Piano lessons for adults are structured specifically for that purpose. They are challenging, but of course with a lot of fun in there as well. It is important to find one that is both fun and challenging. Online programs are great because most of them are made for both children and adults. This way, you are able to learn at your own pace. If you are a really fast learner with a lot of time on your hands, then you can move quickly. You can’t do this when you have one lesson scheduled for one hour each week. You can move very slowly at that pace. On the other hand, if you find yourself to be having a very busy week with work, kids etc, then you can just put your lessons on hold for a little while without having to worry about calling your instructor about canceling the lesson.

Piano lessons for adults are a possibility! There are many adults who wish that they had learned as kids, thinking that their time for learning has passed. It hasn’t! Piano programs for adults are often as much fun as they are for kids, and you will find that you learn faster, and in the way that you want.

Tags: Music by Bryan Smith
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The best video players around is Zune. This is because of the awesome sound it produces as well as its large screen.

Subscriptions – One can also get free or monthly subscription videos from sites but what about all those amateur and funny videos that everybody has been watching on YouTube? There is no way to stream the videos directly on the Zune player but with the right tools and processes, you too can have the YouTube videos played on your Zune.

The Format

Keep in mind that Zune players play one of three formats: MOV, WMV (which is the Microsoft Windows standard codec), and MPEG4. YouTube videos are never on this format. In fact, YouTube videos are more likely to be in the 3GP format that is recorded by mobile devices from phones or in the FLV format that is actually Flash-based video.

This makes the video lighter and therefore easier to stream online. But the beauty of this is that the videos on YouTube can be ripped and therefore can be converted into Zune videos that can be used on the player.

What You Need

Internet Access – To get all these FLV videos, you will need access to YouTube and thus a computer and an Internet connection. You will then need software called YouTuber Video Downloader. Once installed, right click on the icon and then select the New Download option. You then add a new download by copying and pasting a link of your desired YouTube video into the box next to the word URL. Choose a folder where you would like to save the video and click OK.

Getting Freeware – Now, the next thing you need is a freeware and this can also be downloaded for free online. This software can convert FLV files to MPEG4 and it can also convert many other types of formats. All you have to do is configure all the settings so that the output of the video will be MPEG4. Select the flash video that you downloaded from YouTube and drag it into the empty space in the software. Click the Encode button and just wait for the file to be converted.

Sync It – Now, once you have the video converted, all you have to do is sync your Zune with your PC. Make sure that the new MPEG4 is in the folder where the Zune checks for videos. This is one of the best ways to get videos that you want from YouTube and if you can find videos from other sites in the FLV format and download them, you can go through the same conversion process to make them playable on your Zune. A simple sync of the converted files and you can enjoy your new Zune videos downloaded from YouTube!

Tags: Arts & Entertainment by Rashel Dan
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