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Movie & entertainment

Home Entertainment – bringing the cinema to you

Home Entertainment – bringing the cinema to you

As home entertainment equipment gets cheaper and the quality gets better each year, more and more people are starting to wonder about setting up their own home cinema system. So what are the advantages and disadvantages of a home cinema compared to just going to the real cinema?

Well, let’s start with price. Sure, going to the cinema can be expensive, especially if you buy popcorn and hotdogs every time, but it’s nothing compared to the cost of buying a home cinema system. For the price all the equipment you need, even though the price is going down, you could still go to the cinema every week for years – and that’s before you consider the cost of buying or renting the films!

However, the fact that you can buy and rent films is a big upside of having a good home entertainment system. When you go to the cinema, your choices are limited to what they’ve got – with a home cinema, combined with the unique power of the Internet to locate almost any DVD in existence; your choices are almost unlimited.

Yes, you have to make your own film food, but at least it’s cheap, and you can have as much as you want. You also don’t have to put up with other people eating and talking through the film – but if you want to pause it and answer your phone then at home you can.

Really, it’s a trade-off, even once you take price out of the equation: you’re never going to get a screen as big and a sound system as good as the one in the cinema, but what you lose in quality you make up for in control. Besides, many movie buffs say that although the picture may be smaller, they believe that the overall quality of the film is higher when they configure their own equipment, instead of leaving it to the underpaid teenagers who staff the projectors in modern cinemas.

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General

What Are Aggressive Behaviors?

What Are Aggressive Behaviors?

People with passive-aggressive behaviors show hostility and aggression in passive ways. Their aim is to resist job and social demands, using the common excuse that they “forgot” while demonstrating a negative attitude as to why they were late. Criticizing authority figures and failing to do their share of the work or not doing it at all are common behaviors of this disorder. This person isn’t aware of their own self-defeating behaviors because they are simply a part of their personality. He or she often feels others make unreasonable demands of them, but believes that they are doing a much better job than the credit they are given. Aggressive behavior or passive-aggressive behavior is displayed in varying degrees, and there are common signs of the personality disorder that help identify the behaviors.

The most common signs of passive-aggressive personality disorder occur repeatedly, such as ambiguity, blaming others, chronic dilatory nature, forgetfulness, complaining, making excuses, lying, procrastination, resentment, sarcasm, and stubbornness, and inability to express anger or hostility openly. These are only the most identifiable behaviors, and all of them may not be present, just as other traits may be, such as avoiding responsibility or fear of intimacy. How aggressive behaviors change over time is influenced by the stability of the home and the strength of or conversely the lack of cohesiveness throughout the interpersonal relationships within the family unit. According to the famous child psychologist, Dr. Spock, infants are born with instincts for self-preservation that show up as what we label as aggressive behaviors. The may cry angrily when they are hungry or uncomfortable, and as they grow and mature they learn to channel these feelings constructively; it’s when children don’t learn to manage their emotions well that passive-aggressive behaviors can emerge.

Treatment of this disorder can be difficult because of the patient’s reluctance to comply with recommendations, and the presence of passive resistance in general. People with passive-aggressive behaviors often are not aware of the impact their behavior has on others, and when confronted with it, they become dismayed and fail to see how they could have provoked such a negative response from their friends or family members. The goal of individual therapy is convince the patient that their unconscious feelings of negativity are being expressed passively onto everyone around us. The level of success reached through treatment varies for each individual because it’s greatly dependent on the effectiveness of the therapies used. For more information on personality disorders visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness at www.nami.org.

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Real Estate

Real Estate Advice You’ll Thank Us For Later

Real Estate Advice You’ll Thank Us For Later

One of the most important things to remember about commercial real estate is that this market ebbs and flows wholly separate of any other type of real estate. An office building and a house, for example, are valued and sold based on different criteria. Learn all about commercial real estate in this article.

Commercial real estate is a stressful field to enter, so use your spare time to relax. Consider taking yoga classes, or enjoying meditation sessions to calm your mind and bring yourself inner peace. The more focused you are on your real estate business, the less mistakes you’ll make when emotion overtakes you.

If you are used to working with single-family homes and are just now beginning to venture into commercial real estate, be patient. The timeline to close a commercial deal is typically quite a bit longer than the timeline to close a single-family house, so try to avoid getting impatient.

Be sure to request and examine financial statements and tax return information for at least the past two years of any commercial property you wish to purchase. Investigate expenses such as operating costs as well. Make sure you understand all of the information presented to you and if you do not understand it, have your real estate attorney go over the papers with you so you have a solid, working knowledge of the expense and return of the property.

When purchasing a house that you plan to rent out, be sure you know all of the local laws relating to rental properties. For example, you may need a minimum size for a room to count as a bedroom, or you may be required to provide a certain amount of parking.

Make sure you understand the zoning of a particular property when buying commercial real estate. If you buy a property with the intention of building a commercial business on it, check with the city to see what they require as far as zoning with new construction. They might have specific building guidelines which may add significant cost to the construction.

Expect to lose some money to due diligence. When you’re making deals, you should always be aware of how much money due diligence can cost you. For instance, if you’re making a small purchase and realize too late that you actually don’t want to buy it, then you don’t want to lose money that way.

Be prepared to be patient and invest a good bit of out of pocket money when working on purchasing a commercial property. Buying commercial property is a long process and you are going to have to pay to get surveys, inspections and some other fees that many do not expect to get hit with when they invest.

Once you understand that commercial real estate and residential real estate are completely separate, you can begin to understand how the commercial market actually operates. This will allow you to always make the best possible move. Tips like the ones you’ve just read in this article can help you along the way.

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Movie & entertainment

Planning a Themed New Years Eve Party

Planning a Themed New Years Eve Party

If you are planning a New Years Eve party, you might also be considering having a specific theme for your party. While a theme is not a necessary part of a New Years Eve party or any party but it can make any party significantly more fun and interesting. Planning a themed New Years Eve party is a great deal of fun but it is also significantly more complicated than planning a party without a theme just because there is more coordination involved in the planning process and in trying to ensure all of the elements of the party fit within the theme. This article will discuss the process of planning a New Years Eve party with a theme and will offer samples of appropriate themes and how they can be applied.

When planning a themed New Years Eve party the host has the option to incorporate the theme as much or as little as they wish. Examples of items which can be incorporated into the theme are invitations, decorations, food, beverages, music, entertainment and even the guests’ attire. Guests who attend the party have the option of fully taking advantage of the theme and dressing or acting in a particular character during the event or simply attending the party and enjoy the atmosphere, food, beverages and entertainment provided by the host.

Themes for New Years Eve parties can be any theme the host selects and does not have to relate to the holiday at all. One example of an unrelated theme is a Western theme. The host can set the team by sending out cowboy hate shaped invitations encouraging guests to dress appropriately for a country hoe down. Once the guests receive the invitation, they will have an understanding of the theme of the party. If themed parties are not popular with your circle of friends you might want to follow up the invitations with a personal call encouraging your guests to dress according to the theme and assuring them you will be dressing similarly. I planning the entertainment for your party you can consider hiring a country western band to host the party. You might even hire a line dance instructor for an hour or two to offer group line dancing classes to the guests. In incorporating the theme of the party in the decorations, you can purchase hay bales to place around the room and use colored handkerchiefs for napkins. The food at your party should also incorporate your theme. If you are offering a sit down dinner, chili is a good choice. Stew would also be a good option. If you plan to have appetizers, you can create theme related appetizers by giving traditional appetizers unique names. You might refer to mini bagel pizzas as wagon wheels or mini egg rolls as hay bales. For beverages you can serve ice cold beer in glass mugs.

An example of a more elegant theme for a New Years Eve party might include a red carpet extravaganza where guests are encouraged to dress like their favorite movie star from any era. Alternately the theme could be limited to a specific era with guests expected to dress like stars from the appropriate era. This is a good idea for a New Years Eve party theme because many guests like to dress in their most elegant clothing and this would give them the opportunity to dress to impress. The theme for a New Years Eve party with this theme might be an invitation in the shape of an elegant silver star inviting guests to join you on the red carpet for the premier of the New Year. In decorating for this event, the host should include a red carpet in their entryway and may want to use a series of motion detected strobe lights to mimic the flashbulbs of paparazzi lining the red carpet of movie premiers. This will serve to immediately get the guests in the spirit of the party. Entertainment for the party might include giving out New Years Eve awards to the guests in a series of different categories and allowing guests to give a short speech as they receive their award.

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General

Can You Fight The Common Cold With A Natural Remedy?

Can You Fight The Common Cold With A Natural Remedy?

Colds appear superficially similar to the ‘flu, but are generally less severe. Common in the colder seasons, respiratory passage inflammation, irritation of the nose and throat, runny eyes, and of course fevers, chills and muscle aches are typical symptoms of the common cold. In extreme cases, a bad cold may even cause sinusitis or congestion of the chest, which can be particularly distressing for the very young and very old. The differences between a cold and flu are fairly easy to spot – flu usually causes a headache, fever, heavy fatigue and general aches – these are rare in true colds. On the other hand, a cold usually involves a runny nose and a sore throat – both rare in flu. Whatever you do, the symptoms will last between 7 and 14 days (including an incubation period of between 1 and 3 days). Men tend to say they have the flu, rather than a ‘cold’, because it sounds so much more serious! Common colds, however, are far more ‘common’ if you will excuse the pun.
The common cold is caused by a fast mutating virus, which tends to strike when one’s immune system is depressed. Extreme coldness, tiredness, stress brought on by overwork, or overindulgence – all of these can ‘bring on’ a cold. The symptoms of the common cold are actually your body attempting to kill the virus and re-establish normal conditions – a raised body temperature kills the virus eventually. Unfortunately, the fast mutation characteristics of the common cold make it impossible to produce a vaccine, leaving only natural remedies in the arsenal of anti-cold techniques.
At the first signs of a cold (sore throat, runny nose) go to bed – don’t wait for the virus to ‘kick in’. Remember that the first line of attack against the cold virus will be plenty of fluids, and especially vitamin C drinks, such as hot lemon. In fact, you can take large amounts of vitamin C in many forms – tablets, drinks etc. Garlic will also help – both of these are good germ fighters. Other vitamins that will help include vitamin A, B6, vitamin E, and vitamin F. It is also reported that a little extra zinc can help shorten the duration of colds.
While the cold is in full swing, try drinking potato peeling broth. The peelings should be half an inch thick, boiled it for about half an hour then strained and cooled, taken twice a day. After the fever goes, a low calorie raw fruit and vegetable diet can be attempted, although you may not feel much like eating at this point. Raw juices and herb teas will also help. The best herb teas for fighting the common cold are:-
Rose hips
Camomile
Peppermint
Ginger
There are many products that help with runny noses and congestions – most are based on eucalyptus oil, and indeed, this is most helpful. Try putting a few drops in a cup of boiling water, then inhaling the vapors with a towel over your head. For a sore throat – gargling with crushed aspirin in warm water is also useful, although be careful you don’t swallow it, and don’t do it to frequently.
The most popular water treatments include hot mustard foot baths (to reduce sinus congestion), Epsom salt baths while drinking sweating teas, hot ginger chest compresses and salt water nasal douches to open the sinuses. Some people swear by steam inhalation (with eucalyptus, pine needles, cloves, or thyme).
And of course, you could always try prevention – stay warm, keep your immune system strong by eating sensibly and exercising regularly!

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Real Estate

How To Sell Your Own House

How To Sell Your Own House

With a robust real estate market, selling a house isn’t particularly difficult. Here’s a primer on how to sell your own house.

How To Sell Your Own House

First and foremost, you need to educate yourself on how real estate transactions happen. There are online guides and plenty of books on the subject at your local bookstore. When you decided to sell your own house, you are considered a FSBO seller [for sale by owner]. This FSBO market is growing like mad, which means you can find form contracts and agreements ready made for your particular state.

A second thing to realize is real estate laws are generally governed by states, not the federal government. This means the particulars of real estate transactions in your state may be different from those in another state. You should look for references related to your state, not nation wide advice. Nonetheless, here are a few universal pointers.

1. Determine the price of comparable homes in your neighborhood. This is going to give you a very good idea of what you can ask for your house when you put it on the market.

2. Objectively look at your home and make a list of things that need to be fixed. Selling a house often comes down to the details. Buyers are making a big investment, so they are going to be very picky about little things.

3. List your house online with photographs at a site like FsboAmerica.org.

4. Post flyers or ads in your local property listings magazines.

5. Put a sign on your lawn indicating you are selling.

6. On the sign post, put a box with flyers describing your home and the asking price.

7. Hold open houses for buyers to view your house.

8. Clean your house before all open houses. Add fragrant flowers to rooms, mow the lawn and so on.

9. Get rid of your junk through a garage sale and the trash. This includes cleaning out the garage and basement. Everything should be pristine.

10. Create a documented record of all the improvements you’ve made to the home to show potential buyers.

11. Become conversant in the offer, counteroffer process.

12. Develop a clear understanding of what happens during closing and make sure you’ll be able to take care of your part.

13. Figure out what you plan to do when you sell the house, to wit, are you going to buy another house and when will you move?

While these guidelines will take you a long way, it is important you understand the specific laws of your state. Once you have those down, the process typically goes fairly smoothly. Considering you’ll save thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in real estate commissions, any bumps in the road will be more than worth it.

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Movie & entertainment

Planning a New Years Eve Party in Your Home

Planning a New Years Eve Party in Your Home

There are both advantages and disadvantages to planning a New Years Eve party in your home. The advantages to planning a New Years Eve party in your home is that you have a greater amount of freedom in terms of food and beverage choices, decoration options and even the type of entertainment you are able to offer. The disadvantages to hosting a New Years Eve party in your home is that your property or possessions may be damaged by the guests, you are responsible for the cleanup of the party and it can be difficult to control when guests leave the party. The advantages to hosting a New Years Eve party in a restaurant and catering hall is that you will have assistance in preparing and serving the food, you don’t have to worry about cleanup and you have very few obligations during the party. The disadvantages to hosting your New Years Eve party at a restaurant or catering hall is you will be limited in the hours of the party, there may be some restrictions placed on the entertainment and their will also likely be limitation on the food and beverages you can offer your guests. Giving these advantages and disadvantages as well as the costs associated with hosting a New Years Eve party in a restaurant or catering hall, many people opt to host their New Years Eve party in your home.

When planning a New Years Eve party in your home it is very important to carefully consider your guest list. This is important because you should limit the number of guests you invite according to the size of your home and the rooms in your home you wish to use for the party. For example you may have an extremely large house but if you wish to limit the party to the kitchen and dining room you should consider limiting the number of guests you invite to a number which will fit comfortably in these rooms. Or if you plan to use your entire house for the party, you should still consider how many people will fit comfortably for activities such as eating, dancing and socializing.

Another factor to consider when planning a New Years Eve party in your home is how you plan to entertain your guests. Hiring a band or DJ or playing your own music is one of the most popular entertainment options for a New Years Eve party. If you plan to have a band or a DJ you should consider providing a dance floor for your guests. The dance floor does not have to be big but it should be large enough for at least some of your guests to dance and have a good time. Another entertainment option is showing a series of movies. The movies can follow a particular theme or they can just be fun movies you think the majority of your guests will enjoy. If you are planning to entertain your guests in this manner you should consider renting a movie projector if you do not already have one to make the movie viewing experience more pleasurable. You should also consider seating options and should ensure you have enough seating for each guest with an unrestricted view of the screen.

Another factor to consider when planning a New Years Eve party in your home is how you plan to deal with potential problems such as spilled food and drinks. If you have new and expensive carpeting or flooring, you might be very concerned about this issue. One option is to take preventative measures by covering flooring which would be permanently damaged by spilled drinks or food. This will likely not be very attractive and many guests prefer to only offer food and drinks in areas of the home where spills will not be extremely damaging. As the host of the party, you should be prepared to deal with spills. Your plan could include cleaning all spills thoroughly as they occur in attempt to minimize the risk or permanent stains or to do only a quick cleanup and deal with stains after the party.

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Real Estate

The Real Problem with Real Estate Agents

The Real Problem with Real Estate Agents

Real Estate Agents – the issue

For many years it’s been every home movers nightmare, not just the moving and the hassle of packing up home, not just the outrageous taxes, stamp duties and other moving costs. The thought of paying estate agents fees for what’s often known as “money for old rope”. Well the government has now told them to clean up their act. Though this was raised in June 2004 and still nothing has been enforced.

The tricks real estate agents use
England house purchasing process needs to be undergoing some dramatics changes. Estate agents are asking buyers for up to £1000 backhanders to enable them to have the properties they want ahead of the crowd. This is a total misuse of position and yet has gone on for years. The money lines the estate agents pocket and is never seen coming off the house price or future fees.

Outrageous Fees
While a % is used as an estate agents fee, the work involved in sales doesn’t reflect the payment. You could market most properties for a few hundred pounds, yet the average payment is between £3000 – £5000.

Undervaluing
To get a quick sale, estate agents will undervalue a property, that sale takes place with minimal work and the fees taken are easy money. This is why it’s recommended that a homeowner always takes three independent valuations before agreeing to go with an agent.

Estate agent lies
Never, surely not. In 1979 and act was passed to make it legal that all details are to be accurate and passed on to the property seller. In fact, this is rarely enforced.

Gazumping
A study showed that one in five buyers were gazumped. This was often due to estate agents marketing properties while under offer.

In Ireland they have moved away from the percentage system as prices have gone out of control. The average cost to sell a house is around £700, which is a lot lower than the average 1.75% that estate agents ask for in England.

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Movie & entertainment

DVD Online Rentals! Rent Movies In Your Pyjamas, And Watch Them In Your Jammy’s Too

DVD Online Rentals! Rent Movies In Your Pyjamas, And Watch Them In Your Jammy’s Too

When it comes to convenience, DVD online rentals have to be the most convenient way to rent your favorite movie releases without having to leave your comfy couch in your home!

Since the Internet opened the DVD rental service market, many individuals and families quickly took advantage of the valuable features they offered, such as free trial periods, and also the low introductory membership fees that lets you rent unlimited movies per month, and you never have to experience late fees ever again.

If you haven’t taken advantage of the rental services through many online movie companies including Blockbuster, Intelliflix, and DVD Avenue, and for the Canadians the Zip.ca rental site, than you don’t know what your missing.

With a monthly membership, you can choose and rent as many movies as you like, however, many online rental companies will allow 3 out at a time. That’s not bad, considering once you get the shipping system down, you can have a load of movies and games coming to your door just as fast as you ship them back!

Top Entertainment Titles From Classics, Comedy, To Adult Videos Are Delivered Directly To Your Door!

Having delivery to your door is the future, and many movie and game rental enthusiasts are taking advantage of this feature, and eliminating frustrating line-ups for good! The rental process is simple, and when you go to Blockbuster’s or the online video store of your choice, all you have to do is visit the your interested categories. Find your choice of film or game, and click the computer mouse and that’s all it takes.

Online movies are sent to you within days, and most online rental companies will let you know the average time it will take to arrive. Then all you have to do is wait until they arrive, and you’re ready to watch them as many times as you like.

Late Fees Are The Thing Of The Past! For The Renters Who Forget To Return Their Movies, No More Worries!

You may remember the times you were charged nasty late fees that ended-up being more than the actual DVD movie you only planned to rent for a day or two. I recall the local movie rental store being so rude and inflexible with the fees, and it made me very angry.

I considered myself responsible, and when the odd occasion I would forget to take a movie back, or I just got too busy and couldn’t make it to the store on time. I would sneak the movie into the drop box, but the next time I went in to rent a flick, it almost seemed that they waited for day to push the fee in my face.

When many of the top online rental companies expressed there were no online fee charges, I was extremely excited, and looked forward to going to my local store to tell them that they would not be getting anymore of my excess late fees, because I was not going to rent from them anymore! I was about to venture in renting my movies from this day forward via the Internet, and the rest was history.

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General

Paralegals And Standards

Paralegals And Standards

Although negativity and popular opinion may suggest otherwise, attorneys are expected to abide by some basic standards both in their professional and their personal lives. A paralegal is expected to adhere to the same standards as an attorney. The reason for this is based on general common sense: when a person in the legal field upholds high standards, both individuals and the public as a whole are much more able to place their trust in him. In the legal field, such trust is essential.

Whether one’s practice involves the sensitive subject of criminal law, the financial importance of tax or corporate or business law, or any other specialized or general law field, both the attorney and the assisting paralegal have the potential to effect significant change in a person’s life, either for the better or for the worse.

While professional competence is undeniably important, the standards which the legal professional adheres to is also a factor. In addition to upholding professional standards in the workplace and when doing field work, the person’s standards in his or her personal life are expected to be above reproach. The character points of integrity, ethics, and basic standards of morality, are not only required by the legal field but expected by the clients whom they serve.

As each and every client deserves not only competent representation but representation by those who take their role seriously, acceptable standards of behavior and lifestyle, absence of illegal drug use or abuse of alcohol, absence of prior criminal history, and the highest standards of both professional and personal ethics and integrity, are prerequisites and ongoing requirements for those who wish to be accepted into the paralegal field and continue to do well in it.

There is simply no legitimate place in the paralegal field for someone who is a recreational drug user, or someone who does not adhere to the laws in his or her jurisdiction, or other negative qualities which would not only diminish the person’s capacity to conduct her job duties effectively but would also diminish both the client’s and the public’s trust in her.

As a practicing attorney is expected to follow the professional code of standards, so is a paralegal equally bound to it. While the direct wording of this code is quite clear, it is actually common sense for a person who wishes to not only do the best but also be the best that she can be, both in her professional and personal life.

The paralegal field will give you many interesting, positive, exciting opportunities. A very important part of it is the professional status that you will have in this line of work. You must, however, be completely willing and completely able to maintain the highest possible standards not only on the job but in all of the other areas of your life.

The legal field is not for everyone; before making the final decision as to whether it is the right one for you, you should first assess your attitudes and priorities in order to establish that the high standards set forth for this field are not a sacrifice but your chosen way of life.