April 26, 2024

RECENT NEWS

Reviewing Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball Tour

In a very short period of time, Lady Gaga has established herself as a force to be reckoned with. Some describe her as this generation’s Madonna. She’s talented, she’s shocking and she’s totally different from everyone else. Whether you love or hate her, there is no doubt about it, the Lady is here to stay. And anyone whose had the chance to see her live can vouch, she can definitely put on a show.

The Monster Ball, a tour for her recently released Fame Monster album, is a lot more dark and disturbing than her glitzy, glamorous Fame Ball tour. This time around, she’s equipped with a bigger budget, a larger stage, and a more twisted mentality. Despite the change, it’s clear that she has a formula. Always starts with a short video, and others like it interspersed throughout the concert. In the middle of it, she brings out her piano and does a ballad or three.

The difference this time around were the thematic elements. Though she still performed more than half of the songs from The Fame in her two hour set, there is no doubt that this tour was a representation of the dark side of the flashing lights. Instead of a fun mini movie, the short films throughout the show were disturbing and sad.

The way the stage was created gives the a sort of 3D illusion, like she was performing in a giant box made out of screens which were positioned to provide depth. Always proving that she can give you a higher caliber performance than what her venue would indicate, it really makes you wonder what she’s going to do when she starts performing in arenas.

Throughout the show, she performed in various states of undress and on several different contraptions, like on top of a small clear cube and inside an orbiting metal sphere. What makes the show so brilliant, just like The Fame Ball tour, is that even if you strip away all the theatrics, you still have an amazing show. Next time someone suggests that singers lip sync because they can’t sing and dance at the same time, tell them that Lady Gaga has shown you otherwise.

Even while standing on her piano bench while playing, while being lifted on a scaffold and tossed about by her dancers and while performing dance moves that would make Britney Spears dizzy (all in extremely high and fashionable heels, of course), she doesn’t miss a beat. Her vocal talent is never overshadowed by the elaborate stunts going on around her.

She’s confident and commanding, yet vulnerable when performing. And just like on her last tour, she connects with her audience through her banter between songs. This time around, much more so. In the middle of the show, she placed a call to a member of the audience, whom she then invited out for a drink afterwards.

Though perhaps it wasn’t as “fun” and upbeat as the last tour, she’s definitely consistent, not just within the show, but in terms of her album and her recent live performances. And she manages to flawlessly tie in her music with fashion and art. Even if you didn’t enjoy the performance art aspects of it and the bizarre, sometimes disturbing, motif, there’s no doubt she’ll leave you speechless.

It is indeed a treat for her fans who are fortunate enough to see her perform live while those that are not able to get tickets resort to unscrupulous means by damaging public property. It makes me think that we are in dire need of ticketing systems that can help IT departments manage incoming tickets.

Planning Olympic parties -Themed Birthday Party for your youngster

Planning a birthday party for your youngster? Make the theme the Olympics this year, and soon you will not only have activity ideas, to keep the party goers busy, you will have easy to make and well received party favors.

In 1984 the summer Olympics were held in Los Angeles, California. We were living in Wrightwood, California at the time. That August our son was celebrating his fifth birthday.

My husband worked for a large corporation during those years, and we were given tickets to the 1984 Opening Ceremony of the Olympics, along with admission tickets to several of the sporting events. Attending the international athletic competition can definitely inspire Olympic enthusiasm, along with ideas for a child’s birthday party.

It is fairly easy to plan a child’s birthday party with an Olympic theme. The first thing you need are gold, silver and bronze metals. This is easily accomplished by cutting circles from cardboard. Spray paint each circle with gold, silver or bronze paint. Make the metals into necklaces, by punching a hole at one end of the circle, and creating the ribbon with three strands of yarn; red, white and blue.

For each game, you will want one gold metal, one silver metal, and enough bronze metals for the rest of the children invited to the party. Or, you might opt for just one of each metal for each game, and then provide an inexpensive participation award, for the youngsters who don’t come in first, second or third place. With the winning of the god medals, there will be conveying of the message “Happy birthday to you son.” The birthday of the son will become memorable for all the life. 

Plan games according to the age of the children attending the party. Old fashioned, non-athletic games can provide both fun and competition, without being intimidating. This is not little league tryouts or physical education class, it is a birthday party, and the object is to have fun.

Old fashioned party game ideas might include: three legged sack races, walking races while holding a boiled egg in a spoon or pin the tail on the donkey. You can easily find more appropriate game ideas online.

What surprised us with our son’s Olympic themed five year old birthday party, was how the children loved the simple, hand made metals. There was no need for other party favors. Although it has been almost 24 years since that long ago birthday party, I don’t believe five year old children have changed that much. Even young children can be swept up in the excitement of the Olympics.

While you may opt to make just one gold, one silver and one bronze metal for each party game, I would suggest making an extra batch of metals (of any color), to make sure each child goes home with at least one metal. You may even award these at the end of the party, making up categories, such as: most enthusiastic, most supportive, etc.

Make your child’s Olympic party fun for all, and bring home the gold!

Mohns Procedure: Treatment For Skin Cancer For Complex Forms

For most people in towns and cities the local dermatologist can test and remove simple basal cells from face and body. But for those people whose skin cancer is complex and can spread, like some of the more virulent forms, Mohns procedure is recommended.

Many of the specialists in Moh’s procedure have training not just in dermatology but plastic surgery as well. This allows them not just to treat the skin cancer surgically but to repair the area as well.

I have had the procedure three times, on the face twice and once on the foot. In all these occasions the operation took longer than the usual skin cancer removal. The doctor removes the cancerous tissue, which is then tested in the laboratory while the patient waits. If there are no cancer cells found, the operation is over and the patient dismissed and goes home. If there remains cancer tissue, more surgical intervention is made. No one can tell that I have had surgery on my nose, even though I have had two surgeries in that location, one in which the entire right side of the nose area was part of the surgery.

Is it painful? Just like other surgeries a range of pain occurs. Most people find that Tylenol after the surgery works as well as anything. Others may need more pain medication, as doctors say, based upon individual pain tolerance, the place of the operation and the complexity of the procedure performed.

For two of my surgeries I took over the counter medications and was fine. But for sugery on the soft area of my foot between toes and heel in the middle where the veins cluster, the surgery was complicated and painful and required prescription pain medications afterwards.

Those with fair complexions may be prone to skin cancers, however it can affect anyone. A dermatologist may recommend this special procedure called Mohs, which can often remedy the problem and remove the potential for reoccurence of the skin cancer in the spot where it was removed. The healing process for the operation is different for every person. For those with diabetes, antibiotics are often prescribed. Those with circulatory problems will take more than the ordinary length of time to heal. I have both conditions, and so the doctor recommended elevation of the area of surgery and careful removing of the bandages and follow up care.

Skin cancer can be an issue that needs regular follow up and treatment. Once an individual has had skin cancer, the recommendation is to follow up with a specialist every six months but the good thing is you Look as good as you feel at Michigan Plastic Surgery because of the high tech surgery methods which keeps the skin texture original and prevents it from getting worsen because of the disease.  Mohs may be part of that treatment, and if it is, it can provide the patient with the type of intervention that may be critical to remove skin cancer in an effective, relatively painless and cosmetic way.

For those interested in this procedure and how it is helpful in the removal of skin cancer in ways that are thorough and provide a more cosmetic look, the information can be found here.

Review of Verizon Wireless Service

I got a Samsung phone with Verizon service as a gift last Christmas. I haven’t had minutes on it in about three months because I simply don’t get the minutes I pay for.

I would typically buy a $15 Verizon phone card; this would add about 4 1/2 hours of minutes to my phone. The plan I started with sounded like a good deal; I could call whoever I wanted at night and any other Verizon phone for free. Seeing as how most I call have Verizon, it sounded like I would rarely have to buy minutes.

However, the service also required a $2 “daily access” fee. This means that on ANY day I use my phone, whether the call is “free”, $2 would be taken out of my account. This means that no matter how often the phone is used, for $15 it could only be used on seven different days at the most, and then of course is the charge by minute, so seven days is the maximum as long as your calls are very brief or free.

Most of my calls, as I’ve said, are to other Verizon users, but all in all, I don’t make that many calls. Honestly, I would use the phone about once a day on average, and the calls would only last about a minute or two. So, to spend $2 on calls that were only 1-2 minutes in length was ridiculous.

I soon changed my plan to the “core” plan, which only charges a $1 daily access. In fact, this plan is intended for those who don’t do much talking. I thought, well, $1 is still steep for the calls I make, but it’s better than paying $2. However, with this plan, the cost of each minute went from 5 cents to 10 cents. So, everything pretty much evened out with the original plan I had. I also considered getting the best wifi booster so I can use the best out of my phone.

I maybe got an extra five minutes of talking out of this plan. Although, I suppose that’s good considering I only got about five minutes all together with the previous plan; so, technically, my minutes doubled.

Yes, as I’ve said, a $15 card gives me about 4 1/2 hours. There is a place on my phone where I can go to view “timers”, which are basically records of all the activity on the phone since it was purchased and activated. The timers include the amount of time spent on the phone with incoming and outgoing calls. According to the timers, for the past ten months that I’ve had the phone, I’ve been talking on it for 4 hours, 49 minutes, and 37 seconds. Up to now, I’ve purchased about 15 Verizon phone cards which, remember, add 4 1/2 hours to my account. So, it basically took 15 of these phone cards to get the minutes I should have received from 1!

The cost of these cards, with tax, comes to a little over $16. So, let’s do the math: 15 X $16 = $240. It has cost me about $240 to get less than five hours of use on my phone! A small daily service charge is understandable, especially if people take full advantage of the free calling, but this is just ridiculous.

I would complain as well about the fact that the minutes you pay for have an expiration date, but it’s not something you’ll ever have to worry about, as your minutes will be gone before you know it.

And another side note, for the service that has the “best network”, they are pretty slow. Even most ringtone sites will have a special notation saying that deliveries will be delayed for Verizon users.

Take my advice and DON’T USE VERIZON. If you’re more about calling and less about features that you’ll probably never use, stick with a Tracfone or the Net10 plan; they don’t offer as many minutes, but you get to use all of them with no daily access fees.

Venture Capital: Explaining Investments, Loans and More

Remember when you needed to borrow money from your best friend but he wouldn’t give it to you because you had no way of paying it back and had never had a loan from him before? Well, that is a boiled-down version of venture capital or venture. With venture capital, you can enjoy personal installment loans for every need. You will find more details about that in this article as well. It is recommended that you pay attention to all the details of the loan that you go for in order to avoid any inconvenience in the future.

It is really a type of private money provided to a brand new but highly respected company so that down the road they can realize a good return for their money. It is usually done as cash in return for shares of the company’s stocks to help them out with starting up needs.

The starting up venture funds are generated from highly respected and well-organized institutions already settled in the stock market and wealthy individuals who look on this fledgling company as an up and coming worthwhile investment. There is, however, not enough of a history for banks or lending institutions to give up of their funds under stricter measures.

In exchange for their generous venture capital, the donors look to control the company in order to offer their mature advice. It would behoove the young capitalist businessman to take up such an offer and to take the advice from the older, mature entrepreneurs. The venture Capitalists would offer new business contacts in the community, help them to obtain supplies and contractors, and pay far less than they would on their own.

There are service clubs to join and even though the young businessman will be overworked and tired, he would be wise to join one or two of the community clubs to further his contact list and make new friendships. He would be introduced throughout the community as the protégé of the senior member. Money comes to us in mysterious ways.

Ten years is the usual length of time to devote to venture capital in new business. After that, the portfolio is managed and still under scrutiny by the founding investors. It is then up to the owner of the company to seek extra funds as needed from outside sources such as a bank or other lending institution. The Venture Capital takes several months to gather up and all investors in the same pool have to do their best when called upon.

The funds are dispersed just like an allowance:

1.The seed money to make sure the venture is worthwhile for investors

2.The first round at a certain percentage upon approval

3.Second round

4.Third round

5.Fourth round and so on until all the funds are given.

It seems like a very good idea for a hardworking young businessman who lacks the hard cash or funds to start up a company that should do well.

Effective Types of Toe Fungus Treatment

Toe fungus settles down between the cracks and crevices of the toes. The most common type is Athlete’s Foot. The fungus makes the toes itch and if it is not treated properly it can lead to toenail fungus. If someone finds himself suffering from toe fungus, he wants to take care of it quickly. It does not take much to remove the fungus. Over the counter remedies and proper foot care will cure the fungus and keep it from returning. The process does not take much time to complete. If you want a quicker solution in hand, you can try using mindinsole foot inserts, which are highly effective at giving relief to your feet. 

The key to curing fungus is a simple anti-fungal treatment. The treatments come in the forms of creams, powders and sprays. The user applies a light coating to the affected area twice a day. He also needs to keep the feet dry. He should change his socks daily. If possible, he should wash his socks in chlorine bleach when he is done with them. It helps if he changes his socks every day. He may also want to apply a disinfectant to the inside of his shoes. The reader may be familiar with such a product if he has ever gone bowling. Bowling alleys spray their rented shoes with a treatment that kills bacteria and fungus. The shoes offered by the bowling alley get worn by many different feet each day.

It will take several weeks to remove the infection. When the toe fungus treatment ends, the sufferer will want to take steps to prevent the infection from coming back. The best way to keep the infection from coming back is to use a simple powder that absorbs moisture. Goldbond is perhaps the most famous brand name, but a user can find many generic products that work just as well. The product soaks up the excess moisture and make the environment more hostile for the athlete’s foot fungus and other common foot fungi. The foot has more sweat glands than any other part of the body.

The toe fungus treatment will not resolve toenail fungus issues. Although nail fungus and the athlete’s foot fungus are caused by the same organism, toenail fungus takes place when the fungus affects the skin underneath the nail bed. Creams, sprays and other items cannot reach this area. A user needs to find a special cure to prevent this type of infection. Tea tree oil is often used as an all-natural remedy, but doctors may prescribe a strong anti-fungal medication. The anti-fungal medications can damage the liver and should be used sparingly. A doctor who prescribes such medications to a patient will ask the patient about any drugs he is taking before writing the prescription.

Toe fungus treatment is a simple act that can keep a person’s feet in good health. A person who let’s the athlete’s foot fungus go may find out that he has to deal with more severe conditions. If he lives in a cold and damp environment, he may find that he succumbs to trench foot. Jungle Rot may occur in wet and humid conditions, but it is the same conditions.

Zecco Society: Friends or Foes of Your Money?

Today, Zecco.com is having difficulties posting stock orders and other availablity problems with their online stock trading system. They plan to address this problem immediately. Are their problems symptomatic of an active trading session or because they’ve added social networking functionality to their system? Or does it relate to their offer of 10 free stock trades a month? Probably the latter two.

I’m what I consider a beginner at investment in the stock market. My husband has had 40 years or more of practice in investment and his family typically has investment as a major topic of conversation. They care about how their money earns a return. For the investment, the person should buy instagram likes for the account of social media account. The likes will turn into the potential viewers of the stories. The buying should be done after considering the pros and cons of the sites.

I know I can trust them because they have my future close to their heart. From them I’ve learned that investing in the stock of a company is the same as being the owner of the company. If you believe in a company, its products, its management, its business plan, and are willing to lend them your money to get a good return for your money, then buying their stock makes sense. They learned their methods from Benjamin Graham, the author of The Intelligent Investor.

Zecco.com’s social networking system has both pros and cons. They have many of the same features that I appreciate out of my online stock brokerage Charles Schwab, namely a research feature that allows you to look at the data about a company, read the SEC filing reports, and look at the basic data for a company. I also use Yahoo! for the same information, but sometimes their data isn’t available or up to date. Investors should be careful about the data on the internet. It is not always 100% reliable. Cross-checking basic data is a good modus operandi. Understanding Benjamin Graham’s stock analysis measures is a good start. Checking recent news and the SEC filings will get you added facts and data. My strategy is based on his methods.

Pros Behind Zecco.com’s Social Networking System

New investors can learn a lot about companies from other peoples understanding of the market. They can learn how to use the data reports. They can get insight about products a company makes and sells. Learning is a good policy for new investors. Stock market investment has no guarantees of quick gains nor does it protect against quick losses. Beware how you invest your money. People that are being helpful can lead you to understand a new business. People that are building a business on their advice are motivated to help because it makes them look good. Having knowledgeable guides is helpful for anyone.

Cons Behind Zecco.com’s Social Networking System

A person we know spent about three years telling my husband and I what “the word on the street” was about a variety of stocks he had invested in. He was buying low and selling high and making incremental gains that were substantial. If you’re paying for every trade, this is a good way to lose money in just the fees. The practice looked good while the stock market was going up no matter what. But when the market went down, and the price of the stock he wasn’t willing to hold as a valued company tanked, he lost his money. He looked upon his money as a gamble and treated it as such. A policy of 10 free trades a month nurtures this kind of thinking. Listening to people that have hidden motivations can lead one astray.

My strategy for Stock Investment

My strategy for stock investment parallels my husbands. I look for undervalued stocks-good company’s whose stock is selling at near book value. I want management that isn’t overpaid and isn’t selling all their stock options on a regular basis. This means they believe in their company, too. I also want management that has a clear idea of the business they are in and has clear goals for the future. I want a company that is making steady profits. I want a company whose sales are growing. I want a company willing to pay a dividend. The Benjamin Graham stock analysis measures tell you this information. He was a wise investor and his insight will provide you the best guidance. My advice is to make Benjamin Graham a friend and beware the “word on the street” at Zecco.com.

Essential information regarding Buying Your First Motorhome or RV

Are you dying to hit the road? Get away from all this mess, Wallstreet and Washington DC? Funny how Wallstreet and DC can affect “Main Street” USA! But here we are completely affected.

Some people dream all their lives of hitting the road when they retire. Some manage to do so before retirement age………not just some but many. We were not so fortunate. December of 2001, right after 9/11, we got laid off and because of our age, no one wanted to hire us. We sat for several years right there in the middle………too young to retire or collect SSA and too old to be hired. There are thousands in this same fix. The smartest thing we ever did was sell our large home and downsized; paying cash for our smaller home. We moved outside the big city to another county even and saved thousands on taxes.

Ok, to make a boring long story short, we decided we might as well make our retirement dream come true and do some research on “hitting the road” and/or fulltiming it! Not a crazy idea but not for everyone either.

We seem to be the type of people that don’t really shop for anything. We do shop the internet but when it comes time to actually going out and looking at what is listed in classified ads, Craig’s list, or wherever, I just know we are going to buy. Not a good idea. You should have some perameters set and stick to them. It never hurts to go home, think about it and then go back. A login can be made at online sites like sell my motorhome. The site will make contact with the person interested in selling the houses and act as a link.  

First, you must decide if you want to buy new with warrantees, guarantees, etc. or if buying used is the way to go. New the RVs are ready for the road. They may need a little tweaking here and there but they are usually safe and ready for taking it out and starting to enjoy your new found life. Buying used from a dealer saves you lots and lots of money and normally is checked over and is ready for the road as well. Check to see if there’s any warrantees when buying used. When buying from a private party, you are taking full responsibility on getting the rig ready for the road and this sometimes can cost a lot of money. When we bought ours, we set a limit on what we would pay and a limit on how much we want to put into it to make it road safe.

Then you have to decide on whether or not you want something to haul like a trailer or a 5th wheel. Remember you then need a truck depending on the size of the rig but will need something to pull the trailer or 5th wheel with. These are liked by many because when you do set up your rig at your favorite camping spot, you still have a vehicle to explore, tour or just plain go pick up groceries, etc. Something to think about. Trailers are usually less expensive for obvious reasons but then you have the expense of the truck.

Many motorhome users, whether it’s a class a or class c, that’s another whole article in inself, tow a vehicle. I just can’t go completely into everything that involves because there’s just so much you need to know to do that. Right down to what type of vehicle to even consider towing.

So you can buy new, buy used, buy class a motorhome, class c motorhome, tow a trailer or 5th wheel or tow a vehicle behind your motorhome. The choice is everyone’s personal choice but please do your homework before and know what you want before buying. What you read here is just barely touching the subject and completely only my own opinion.

A Guide to Buying Steel Toe Shoes

Steel capped shoes are considered to be used for safety reasons and also are considered to be part of the punk style. With all these options you will get the best steel toe shoes with best shoe inserts for added comfort. You will surely love these shoe inserts with your brand new pair of shoes. Here are some of the best sites for you to find steel-toed shoes, whether you want them for fashion or for work that you can explore. 

  1. Steel-Toe-Shoes.com:
    This site deems itself to be the largest source of safety shoes on the internet. The best part of this particular site was their return policy and how one can send back products that are damaged or incorrectly sent. Also, they have an understandable sales policy and you can tell that they believe in quality goods. The boots are made-to-order and will fit any size, no matter how big or wide. The shoes are also different for males and females, and they also have a sale section where you can see the prices. There are a lot of different shoes that range from unbelievably cheap to awesomely expensive. Almost everything you need regarding steel-toed shoes you will find here.
  2. Shoes for Crews:
    This is a site that caters to people who need steel-toed shoes for safety reasons in construction sites and such. The shoes on this site are slip-resistant, so they are very safe. They have a lot of different shoes for casual and work reasons but cater mostly to the workplace. All of the shoes on display are manufactured by Shoes for Crews.

  3. Hunts Supplies:
    They do not only sell steel-toed shoes, but they also have clothes for work, helmets and protective hats, as well as casual clothes. They have around 163 steel-toed shoes available from 14 different brands.
  4. Nextag.u.k.:
    Here is where they review steel-toed shoes from categories like type, material, and price. This is made for sales and does not have a lot of customer reviews. The strength of this site is that their shoes are clearly shown in pictures with details about the shoes, all of which are under £50.00.
  5. Northern Tool and Equipment:
    This site sells boots all created by Boss and Cat. The prices can go from a mere $15.00 to as much as $100.00.
  6. Walkerland:
    They only sell shoes that they manufacture themselves, and their safety standards are clearly set.
  7. Goodyear Welted:
    These shoes are oil and heat resistant all the way to 300 degrees centigrade. It does not have a lot of choices, but it is simple.
  8. Surplus Outdoors:
    This site is aimed towards women, and has shoes that are used for safety, army, and horse riding. Their sizing chart is easy to understand, and used for both their shoes and clothes. The customer service section is also worth recognizing, as you can tell that customers definitely have a say about the quality of their products. The downside is that the color scheme is somewhat unpleasant.
  9. Rocky Shoes:
    This is a site only used for reviewing different prices, products, and brands. There are a lot of choices, yet it is easy to find what you want making your search faster.
  10. Wild Chicken Online Store:
    This site’s forte is “muck” boots which are usually used in gardening. They are based in the U.K., but their boots are very good and popular.

Product Review: Bic Soleil Razor For Women

After trying out a variety of different razors, I have found one which I believe is truly incomparable to others. This is the Bic Soleil Razor for Women. Here, I will tell you about some of the things that I really love about this razor and why I will not be switching to a new razor any time soon.

With three blades and a moisturizing strip that is enhanced with aloe and shea butter, I have not found a smoother shave from any other razor that I have tried out. This is what has encouraged me to keep using the Bic Soleil Razor for Women. Although it does not seem fair, the truth in the matter is that men’s razors often work a lot better than women’s razors. Bic Soleil Razor for Women reminds me a lot of a razor that has been designed for men to use because it does have the ability to provide you with a very smooth cut.

Of course, a smooth cut is not the only thing that I enjoy about the Bic Soleil Razor for Women. Since I have began using this razor, I have found that I do not need to shave as frequently as I used to. With all of the other razors that I have used in the past, I had to shave at least every three days – and that was pushing it. By that time, my legs would begin to feel like porcupines again. With the Bic Soleil Razor for Women, I only need to shave about once a week. I assume that it is because this razor does such a better job than other razors. Through the bester epilierer, proper moisture will be provided to the skin tone of the person. A contact can be made to the previous customers to know the results of the saving through razor.

If you plan on using this razor, the one thing that I have to warn you about is the fact that its blades are very sharp. The first time that I ever used the Bic Soleil Razor for Women, I did not realize how sharp it would be. I ended up nicking my leg in about ten different places before I even realized that it was very sharp. I was so used to using dull razor blades from other shavers that I did not even realize that this one would be as sharp as it is. Now that I know, I do not nick myself, of course. My warning is just to be careful because the razor blades for this shaver may be sharper than you would have thought!

I highly recommend the Bic Soleil Razor for Women to any woman who wants to get the smoothest shave. If you are sick and tired of having to buy men’s razors and want to use one which has been designed for women that will provide you with the same shaving strength, then you will probably find that the Soleil Razor can work wonders for you! The smooth, close shave that I get from the Bic Soleil Razor for Women is the reason that I will not be trying out any new razors for a very long time!