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In my family, Christmas gift baskets are a tradition. You see, when I was growing up we didn’t have a lot of money. We did, however, have a lot of relatives. That meant a lot of Christmas gifts to send out each year. Finding the right Christmas gifts on a limited budget can be expensive. Forget about buying all the cousins toy soldiers like they wanted. Forget about buying aunt Berta the new sweater that you were meaning to get her. The only thing we could really put together on a limited budget was Christmas gift baskets.

If there is one thing you can say for my family, it is that we always did the best with what we had. Every Christmas gift basket was a work of art. We would, of course, include small bits of gourmet food. My grandmother loved to make preserves, and this was always one of the central ingredients of every Christmas gift basket. We would include pieces of cheese from my father’s pasture, and a little but of sausage if we could afford it. Besides that, of course, there were candies for the children. They were all wrapped in brightly colored paper and tinsel, perfect for the holidays.

Christmas gift baskets are half about what is inside and half about what is outside. We would do an amazing job wrapping those things up. What we did not have in money, we made up for with time and care. We would use bows, ribbons, streamers, and anything else we could find around. We would also make great Christmas cards and send them out to all the relatives. No one was ever disappointed with our Christmas gift baskets.

As a matter of fact, more often than not, we received compliments on them. People really love getting a personal, handmade gift. I can’t emphasize this enough. It is nice to get something useful and practical, and it is even better to get something indulgent and whimsical, but getting something that someone you care about spent a lot of time making is unbelievable. It really makes a nice gesture and they will know how much effort you put into it. It might take a while, and the first attempt does not always come out well, but keep at it. Christmas gift baskets - or any other handmade gifts - are definitely worth it. You will save a few bucks, and give a gift that will be cherished.

Originally posted 2008-01-03 13:13:24. Republished by Old Post Promoter

Blockbuster Movie

The blockbuster movie is what keeps the major studios going. Big budget entertainment for the masses is their lifeblood. The multi screen cinema complexes also need them. It’s what keeps the popcorn popping.

Big budget means high risk and a blockbuster movie box office failure could even bring a studio to it’s knees. Failures are pretty rare though, as studios and directors have a good grasp of what the audiences want. The consensus is that if $200 million worth of tickets are sold in the US, then you can define a film as a blockbuster movie.

A blockbuster movie has other connotations apart from box office receipts. You know instinctively what makes a blockbuster. Jaws is a blockbuster, a black and white, subtitled Polish movie is not. The 1970’s were the decade, which ushered in the age of the blockbuster movie. Big ideas and big special effects in Jaws and Star Wars set the standard.

Some people are snobbish about the blockbuster movie, looking down their nose at anything so popular, and only frequenting independent art houses that show independent films. A blockbuster movie doesn’t mean it’s a bad movie. It doesn’t mean it’s Shakespeare either. A blockbuster movie does appeal to the lowest common denominator and does tend to be formulaic. It would be nice for the money to be spread around a bit more, so it’s not such a struggle for independent directors to get funding. The major studios aim for the fifteen to twenty five year old young men. If they flock to see the film, they’ve got a hit. Throw in a tragic love story, as in Titanic, and the young ladies are happy as well.

It’s the blockbuster movie that audiences want to see in the cinemas. King Kong isn’t the same on a TV screen. They also want to be the first in their circle to see the latest offering. They’ll queue for miles for the privilege.

Sometimes the blockbuster movie tries to combine special effects with art. The Matrix trilogy was one such attempt, combining action scenes with a thoughtful sub text. The audience was divided into those who bought into the philosophical aspect and others who thought it was pretentious rubbish.

The blockbuster movie is here to stay. The Hollywood machine is a success story around the world, especially in the UK and Japan. The spin off merchandise is a huge market in itself. There’s a whole industry in selling action figures, lunch boxes and posters. Every blockbuster has its computer game version and its CD soundtrack. So some of us may boast, (ok, me that is), how much we enjoyed that Ingmar Bergman film festival, and then secretly slid into the local multiplex to see The Da Vinci Code.
Did I cry at the end of Titanic? Of course I did. Go on. Admit it. So did you.

Originally posted 2006-01-28 02:02:05. Republished by Old Post Promoter

Did you know there are 172 John Wayne movies, besides the 27 movie appearances Wayne made as himself and the numerous films he produced? Did you know there are film buffs who go online to write about their favorite John Wayne movies? Did you ever watch John Wayne when he was young, in a movie called Angel and the Badman? I think it’s my favorite of the John Wayne movies, although True Grit, with Kim Darby playing Mattie Ross to his Marshall Reuben J. ‘Rooster’ Cogburn, and Rooster Cogburn, with Katherine Hepburn playing Eula Goodright to his same character, are up there on the “Howdy, Maam” top ten John Wayne moviesfor me.

I was never into John Wayne when I was a kid watching the few available movies on the few available channels. Maybe I couldn’t appreciate that strange, loping affect, or that exaggerated macho cowboy crap. The again, maybe I just didn’t appreciate cowboy westerns much. I was into the bad boys like James Garfield and Jimmy Cagney, and later

Originally posted 2005-11-23 14:13:27. Republished by Old Post Promoter

Online dating seems to be growing exponentially in popularity. It was only a matter of time before some savvy business people realized the inherent benefits and potential of online dating. Today there are a seemingly infitite number of different dating websites, with new ones spawning every day. As the largest online industry today, finding a dating website is not hard. Finding a good one, however, can be tricky. Most of the market is dominated by three sites that stand out above the rest; Match.com, eHarmony.com, and Yahoo Personals.com. Yahoo personals.com is one of my favorite dating sites.

I’ve tried a handful of different sites and I keep coming back to Yahoo Personals.com. They have the same profile based system used on Match.com and eHarmony, yet are considerably less expensive. The profiles on Yahoo Personals.com are every bit as detailed as you’d really need them to be, all the important basic areas are covered and there are plenty of ways to narrow down your search to something, or rather someone, pretty specific. The few extra details in the Match.com profiles are cute at first, but really not very useful in helping you meet anyone, and the eHarmony profiles are downright nitpicky. Is it really that important that your potential date has to like or dislike hamsters?

The difference between these top three sites seems to reflect the different markets they aim for. eHarmony.com is somewhat renown for being geared toward people looking to

Originally posted 2007-07-13 06:31:00. Republished by Old Post Promoter

Are you scanning the local hot spots for that perfect mate? Okay, for those of you who haven’t found your better-half, it can get a tad hairy spotting that special someone in this haystack we call the world. I mean, let’s face it; there are literally six billion of us running around. We need all the help we can get in order to find a compatible mate that makes us happy. This is why a little concept known as the dating service was invented. We can now be set up with other singles who share our interests and morals. You’ve got to love technology. Now, the question is; have you ever tried a new-age dating service? That special someone is out there waiting for you, so why not take advantage of any and all methods to finding them?

Do you find yourself lingering in clubs every Friday and Saturday night? Are you the guy sitting in a corner chair, holding a mixed drink, and bobbing your head to the beat of some random techno tune? Okay, if this is you, then it’s official; you’re a dork. Actually there’s no reason to fret; many of us go down this same lonely path. We become irrelevant voyeurs. Why are we observing from the sidelines when we could be in the game? Stop waiting for that special someone to stroll by and accidentally bump into you. It’s probably not going to happen. What you need is a quality dating service. It’s true, these were a tad cheesy in the past, but the concept of the “dating service” has risen to new levels. For example, so many of these new-age matchmaker services are done via the Internet. Yes, I said the World-Wide-Web. You have access to this, right? Basically all of us have a PC or Mac in our homes with Internet access. Therefore it’s time to get jacked in. Hop online and check out where the ever-popular dating service has gone. No more of that sending VHS tapes of each other back and forth. These days you can simply log onto a dating service website, and get started. It’s a synch to browse singles in your area. Maybe you’re in search of that certain someone who loves hiking or hockey. No problem, you can narrow your searches in order to pinpoint those select few who will better relate to you and your preferred activities. How cool is it to be able to search by age and location? Finding that special someone should not be difficult with this kind of technology. If you are interested in one of these innovative and effective dating services, then get online today.

Originally posted 2006-05-27 02:05:02. Republished by Old Post Promoter