My Neighborhood

Yet another great group of pics of Houston. This time another set of buildings from the Galleria, the Greenway Plaza where Lakewood Church is located (looks like a giant basketball stadium), and a small sample of the mansion-like homes in River Oaks.

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The General

Some of Buster Keaton's movies are free on the internet so enjoy them while you can. This is one of his best and it's based on a true story.

The General received only mediocre reviews upon its release. It was not one of Keaton's biggest box office successes, which disappointed him as he considered it to be the best of all his movies. Audiences and critics would later agree with him after re-considering the film, and it is now considered a major classic of the silent era.

Basement Mac Collection

Another great link from Apartment Therapy. This guy has an unusual, but tasteful, obsession for Mac Computers.

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Technorati tags: more, pathetic, than, me, cool

Invisible Book Shelf

This is a good idea. Click on the link for full Do It Yourself instructions:

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A Trip Through the Alps

Prepare to be stunned as this pilot weaves his fighter jet around the Swiss Alps.

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Thanks

Technorati tags: pilots, have, boring, lives, cool

Practical Steps to Self-forgiveness

For the full, inspiring article click the link below:

1. Examine how you perceived a certain situation and how you can chose to change your perception. Remember that the thoughts we think create the feelings, and it is our perception that creates our interpretations of the situation.

2. Accept yourself and your humanness - you are not supposed to be perfect.

3. Admit when you make a mistake.

4. Remember that everybody is doing the best they can with what they know, and that includes you.

5. Let go of past-future thinking, stay in the ‘Now.’

6. Confront your emotional pain - own your own ‘stuff.’

7. Appreciate the lessons that have contributed to your growth and made you who you are now.

8. Say ‘I forgive myself for ____________ (whatever).’

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Technorati tags: self, improvement, is, easy, cool

Couch Potato

This is not Jack but maybe it's Jack's brother or father?

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Technorati tags: cat, needs, remote, control, cool

Making the Movie Borat

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More pics of Houston

This is a thread of all the major architectural construction projects going on in the city of Houston.

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For the Advance Web Geek

The new buzzword in the industry is Web 2.0. This YouTube video tries to explain it in five minutes or less. If you can watch this and understand it on the first try than you are smarter than me.

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The History of Marijuana

Technorati tags: smoke, high, get, weed, cool

Pyramid of Capitalism

This makes perfect sense:

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Technorati tags: rich, people, eat, shite, cool

English Guide for Asians

The book is called, "Off The Hook, A Dictionary of African American Slang," and it's actually available on the internet. The link to purchase the book on Amazon.com is located at the bottom of the page.

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Galleria Area

These are some great pics that were taken today by some guy with a really good camera. I did not take these. This is actually an area in Houston called the Galleria area. The Galleria Mall is locater here and one of the streets that run through it is called Post Oak Boulevard.

This is not downtown, this area is located about three miles west of downtown.

The buildings are new, and beautiful, but I will admit that they are spread out a bit too much. It would be nicer if they were located closer together and more easily accessed by the transit system. Again, I did not take these...

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Technorati tags: might, have, camera, envy, cool

Downtown Buildings

Rice Hotel (with Pennzoil Plaza in background)

Travis Tower

Citizen's Bank

Buildings look lonely on Sunday afternoons when everyone is in the suburbs. I took these pics of downtown Houston this afternoon with my new camera. These were taken in sequence and then stitched together in Photoshop because my camera doesn't have a panoramic feature. Click on the pics to see the bigness.

Technorati tags: need, to, get, life, cool

Taiwan Sunday

Three YouTubes from my friend Yawen in TW! Thanks! Hope you enjoy the rest of your Sunday:

Super Penis - The men of TW have very strong wangs (no pun intended).

Betel nut girls - Some dude visits two betel nut chicks. The second one is hot but not very friendly. Happy ending!

Pole dancers and betel nut girls - Sounds like some German chick narrating over a nicely edited slideshow.

These links are from me. Enjoy:

Sexy Taiwan Ponytail Girl - Link

Sexy Taiwan Game Show - Link

Sexy Taiwanese (N. Korean?) Girl - Link

Technorati tags: need, girlfriend, parents, worried, not cool

Unlucky Alligator

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Technorati tags: bass, equal, stupid, fish, cool

Revenue is Everywhere

I think this is a pretty good idea to make money from personal videos:

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Technorati tags: crappy, videos, make, money, cool

Wild Houses

This is a collection of not one, not two, not twenty, but 33 odd and unusually shaped houses from around the world.

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Military Aircraft Cemetery

Click here to see the coolest damn airplane graveyard you have ever seen!

Technorati tags: government, wastes, money, cool

Self Body Painting

This is probably the coolest video clip I've seen in a long time. This guy paints himself silly. Where does he come up with all these designs, and how long did this take to make?

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Snow Vision

I'm not into snowboarding but this website is really awesome. Select the videos from the thumbnails on the bottom, under the viewer, and then drag them into the playlist box on the lower right. When finished, click play and view the kick-ass video clips.

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Tribute To The Sioux Nation

The Sioux Nation was spread across North and South Dakota and some of the ancestors of the original tribe are still around today. This is a 9 minute video tribute to the Native Americans that once roamed free on this land.

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Save the Internet

Enjoy the internet now while you can. Big businesses want to do away with "Net Neutrality." This is serious issue for people with internet addictions like me. This video will help explain what the future of the internet will be like.

Together we won the first round in the battle for Net freedom. But the phone and cable giants are launching a counterattack. We need to raise the alarm and send a clear message to our new Congress: Make Net Neutrality the Law in 2007!

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Technorati tags: corporations, suck, goodbye, freedom, cool

Mayang's Free Textures

More Photoshop tools for hours of use and enjoyment.

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My 15 Seconds of Fame

I made it! I made it to the "Big Time!" Cynical-C posted the video clip of me and Jack in his "Friday Catblogging" post. We are the fifth "kitty" from the top, under Jerry's cat, Kittypants. So far, it has been viewed over 177 times! Now I wish I would have played something nicer...

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Christmas in Yellowstone

This is a relaxing little video clip of a fox pursuing his prey under about a foot of snow. The background music is by Tchaikovsky. For the whole PBS Nature series go here.

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Stencil Revolution

More fonts for your enjoyment. There's even a tutorial section with a friendly primer for screen printing your own t-shirts.

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Memories

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Cryptozoology: The Science of Myth

This sounds really interesting and yet frustrating at the same time. For more information click on the link below to go to Eso's Garden:

Cryptozoology is the search for animals that are rumored to exist, but for which conclusive proof is missing. This includes the search for living examples of animals that are known to have existed at one time, but are widely considered to be extinct today.

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Stringfever Bolero

This is a really cool video of four very talented guys playing one instrument:

Ravel's Bolero played by Stringfever, a quartet of electric strings players, on one cello.

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Photoshop - How To

Here is another tutorial for tilt-shift photography and a whole group of tilt-shift photos. I really liked this one:

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NZ fishermen land colossal squid

I wish the squid could be captured alive and kept in an aquarium:

"The colossal squid has just arrived in New Zealand and it is likely that it is the first intact adult male colossal squid to ever be successfully landed," Mr Anderton said.

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Toy Train

Here is my first (or second) attempt at creating a tilt-shift scene in Photoshop. This is the Metro train that runs through downtown Houston.

I followed this tutorial for sharpening the picture and then used this tutorial to make it look like a small model. It's not as easy as they make it sound but I figured it out. Click on the picture to bigify.

Click here to check out the original pic.

Aliens and Children

Do you believe?

This website features a series of drawings made by children who were abducted by aliens for the alien purpose of creating a new race of alien/human hybrids.

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Google's Master Plan

I never use Google as a search engine but soon it probably won't matter. Google is more powerful than I ever realized. This quick video clip has made me consider things I never thought of before.

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Photoshop - How To

Tutorialized is a forum with over 5,000 Photoshop tutorials among other things. If I find some good ones I will be sure and post them.

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1001 Free Fonts

I put this link permanently on the right sidebar under the section "Online Tools."

1001 free fonts first opened its doors in December 1998 and has since grown to become the most popular free fonts archive online. We receive more than 35,000 visitors daily and we have been visited by over 50,000,000 visitors since 1998. Over 750,000,000 cool fonts have been downloaded since 1998.

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More Nude Photography

Another collection of professional photographs nicely done.

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Monkey With Robot Arm

I don't believe this is true but I think it looks funny as hell:

A monkey has a microchip in its brain which allows it to move a robotic arm as if it were its real arm.

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Goodbye to the Normals

Hilarious video short. I especially enjoyed the ending.

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Naked in New York

This is an awesome website of nothing but professional photos of women topless in NYC.

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The Grand Deception

What a great video. Do you believe in UFO's? Maybe you will after viewing this:

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The Influence of Taoism

Any religion that includes lovemaking is a good religion to me. Where do I sign up?

It is a faith that has melded the teachings of erudite philosophers with traditional fables, the rituals of secret societies, magic, alchemy, psychology, rural superstitions and even lovemaking techniques into an esoteric canon that is very much alive today.

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The World's Mysterious Places Part I

The World's Mysterious Places Part II

The World's Mysterious Places Part III

Blues Backing Tracks

When I first started playing the guitar I played the blues. I wish I still had an electric guitar so I could play along with these backing tracks. Of course, I would have to figure out which key the tracks are in since it's not listed on the website:

Plug your guitar into your amp and you tap directly into nearly a century of living musical legacy. From Robert Johnson to the White Stripes, Ray Charles to Kanye West, Led Zeppelin to The Strokes, BB King to John Mayer and the Rolling Stones to Wolfmother, the blues is the common thread that connects them all.

Kanye West? The Strokes? Blues? Here is a video of me playing guitar.

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Prisoners of YouTube

This is a great article from "C" about the curse of internet fame. I really enjoyed reading this article, especially the ending:

In April 2003, as if the life of a doughy teenager named Ghyslain weren't hard enough, one of his fellow students found it, digitized it, and placed the clip online. Since then, it has been viewed 900 million times.

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Magic Weed

Ursi has a great documentary posted about marijuana. I could only watch the first part before I had to leave. I will definitely go back and watch the rest of it soon.

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Remember the Alamo!

Have you ever read about the Battle of San Jacinto? It happened here in east Houston in 1836 and was the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution:

At 4:30 p.m. on April 21, after scout Deaf Smith announced the burning of Vince's Bridge (cutting off the primary avenue of retreat for both armies), the main Texan battle line moved forward.

The Texan army moved quickly and silently across the high-grass plain, and then, when they were only a few dozen yards away, charged Santa Anna's camp shouting "Remember the Alamo!" and "Remember Goliad!," only stopping a few yards from the Mexicans to open fire. Confusion ensued.

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Photoshop - How To

Here is my second attempt at coloring line art in Photoshop. I was following the tutorial on Melissa's website. I'm not totally displeased with it but I know I can do better.

The English Language

These words are funny but it's true, the English really do use these words:

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For All the "24" Fans out there...

I don't watch the TV program "24" so I have no idea if this is funny or not? If you enjoy it let me know.

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Global Disasters Database and AlertMap

I've seen this before on Ursi's website but only today did I take the time to stop and investigate. I put it on the right sidebar of my weblog under, "Online Tools."

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Cyril has a fishy card trick

This is a great trick especially because he incorporates an aquarium into the act.

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Thanks Yawen!

Photoshop - How To

Well I finally got my 30 day trial version of Photoshop working again and this is what I have been working on. It's line art from Melissa Clifton's tutorial and it took a few hours. This is my first attempt and I'm just testing to see how it will look on a blog. If you have any hints or comments let me know.

Technorati tags: photoshop, line, casey, serin, cool

Terrorist Tips and Public Leads

I feel safer knowing the FBI is on the job:

While the FBI continues to encourage the public to submit information regarding the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, this form may also be used to report any suspected criminal activity to the FBI.

Make sure you fill in your full name when reporting your friend or neighbor.

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Photoshop - How To

This is more of an "Add-On" than a "How-To". My free trial version of Photoshop expired so I won't be able to take advantage of these brushes right now because I am way too broke to purchase a full version.

A place for artists to download and vote for the best custom photoshop brushes and photoshop patterns on the internet!

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From Ursi

How to make a cool flower

Strange Sea Monster

This is very cool but also very sad:

Village residents from the Rostov region of Russia caught a weird creature two weeks ago after a strong storm in the Sea of Azov. The shark-looking creature was producing strange squeaky sounds.

However, ufologists and scientists were greatly disappointed when they found out that the fishermen had eaten the monster.

The link to the video is here. This is the link to the ariticle.

J-walk

Curtains by Nienke

Nicely done.

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Happy Valentine's Day!

A young woman was taking an afternoon nap. After she woke up, she told her husband, "I just dreamed that you gave me a pearl necklace for Valentine's day. What do you think it means?"

...."You'll know tonight." he said.....

That evening, the man came home with a small package and gave it to his wife. Delighted, she opened it--only to find a book entitled "The Meaning of Dreams".

Thanks

Commonly Confused Words

Some helpful information from St. Louis Community College:

Words that sound alike or look alike (moral/morale) often confuse students, especially those using spell checkers. This lengthy list of commonly confused words with simple definitions will help you decide which spelling fits your sentence.

their - possessive form of "they"
there - in that place
they're - contraction for "they are"

through - finished; into and out of
threw - past tense of "to throw"
thorough - complete

to - toward
too - also; very (used to show emphasis)
two - number following one

If English is your native language and you are attending (or have attended) college, and you do not know these words, you should probably repeat High School.

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A New Era for Humankind

My mom was telling me about The Secret but I didn't pay attention until I read about it on J-Walk:

Some people post hints about the secret:

The first step is to write out a script of the current circumstances of any situation you wish to change. Read it and circle any sentence that is not to your liking. Rewrite a new script making changes to the sentences that you circled, changing them to your liking. Read this new script over and over.....

The Secret Store provides some clues. For example, you can get a secret lamp for only $49.95.

Place the beautiful Genie lamp in a position where you will look at it many times during the day. Let it be the most wonderful reminder to you to think thoughts only of what you want, and to know that the Grand Genie of the Universe is serving you in every moment of your life. The Secret Lamp is your real-life Aladdin's Lamp.

There's even a forum.

If you click on "forum" there is a video clip on the bottom of that page that will try and vaguely explain The Secret. If you ask me it sounds like a crafty way to seperate a fool and his money.

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Technorati tags: the, secret, cool

The Monkey

A guy walks into a bar with his pet monkey. He orders a drink, and while he's drinking, the monkey jumps all around the place.

The monkey grabs some olives off the bar and eats them, then grabs some sliced limes and eats them, then jumps onto the pool table, grabs one of the billiard balls, sticks it in his mouth, and to everyone's amazement, somehow swallows it whole.

The bartender screams at the guy, "Did you see what your monkey just did?"

The guy says "No, what?"

"He just ate the cue ball off my pool table-whole!"

"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me," replied the guy, "he eats everything in sight, the little devil. Sorry. I'll pay for the cue ball and stuff."

He finishes his drink, pays his bill, pays for the stuff the monkey ate, then leaves. Two weeks later he's in the bar again, and has his monkey with him.

He orders a drink and the monkey starts running around the bar again. While the man is finishing his drink, the monkey finds a maraschino cherry on the bar. He grabs it, sticks it up his butt, pulls it out, and eats it.

Then the monkey finds a peanut, and again sticks it up his butt, pulls it out, and eats it. The bartender is disgusted.

"Did you see what your monkey did now?" he asks.

"No, what?" replies the guy.

"Well, he stuck a maraschino cherry and a peanut up his butt, pulled it out, and ate it!" said the bartender.

"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me," replied the guy. "He still eats everything in sight, but ever since he had to shit out that cue ball, he measures everything first."

Cher Singing "Dark Lady."

What a great song. I remember watching the "Sonny and Cher Show" on television when I was a kid. Cher was beautiful back in 1974 before the chin implants, face lifts, nose jobs, and collagen injections.

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Photoshop - How To

I've seen this a while back on Kottke. Here is another good tutorial for Photoshoppers. A "how-to" for making landscape photos look like miniature models.

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Sports Bloopers

Sport Bloopers - video powered by Metacafe

Jack and Me

This is me and my cat Jack testing out my new camera. He's obviously had enough of me missing the keys and is ready to go outside. I finally found a great deal and purchased a Nikon Coolpix digital camera. It's not a video camera but it has a "video capture" mode. This is only a test so don't be too critical of my playing.

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Technorati tags: friday, cat, flamenco, guitar, cool

Duke Rightious' "C Minor Etude"

What a beautiful and simple song.

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Squatters

I don't know where this came from but it looks like a great documentary.

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"Horse Feathers"

Let's call today, "Marx Brothers Day." Classic Americana during the Great Depression, this 1932 movie has it all comedy, song, dance, and the corruption that is college football:

Here's part 1 of "Horse Feathers", the Marx Brothers' fourth movie and their second one written directly for the screen. At 68 minutes, it's their shortest movie, but easily one of their funniest.

Part two
Part three
Part four (Groucho gets hit with a book)
Part five (Chico sings and plays piano)
Part six (Amazingly talented Harpo at his best)
Part seven (Groucho sings and plays guitar)
Part eight (Chico has a broken right leg)
Part nine

Petite Food Fighter

I saw this on Boing but I read it on Wired, a 90 lb. Japanese "gal" who can eat more than 20 lbs. of food in one sitting. And she's beautiful!

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"Monkey Business"

This is the movie I watched this morning on YouTube:

Here we have part one of "Monkey Business" (1931), the Marx Brothers' third movie, and the first one which was an original screenplay and not based on a stage play. This first Marx Brothers screenplay was written by none other than S. J. Perelman, in collaboration with Will B. Johnstone. In addition to the Brothers themselves, this is one of two Marx movies co-starring the lovely and legendary Thelma Todd.

Part two
Part three
Part four
Part five
Part six
Part seven
Part eight
Part nine
Part ten (Finally, the music scene!)
Part eleven

Yet Even More Marx Brothers

This is Chico playing the piano in, "Go West." All the brothers were talented and each could play an instrument very well yet none of them could read music.

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Technorati tags: funny, piano, marx, brothers, cool

More Marx Brothers

This is the hilarious first scene from, "Go West."

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"Go West, Young Man, go west."

If this shit is funny now just think how funny it must have been in 1940! The Marx Brothers movies have always been my favorites. This is a scene from, "Go West."

The name of Groucho Marx's character, "S. Quentin Quayle", caused a stir when the film was first released due to the subtle but clear joke: the use of the term "San Quentin quail", which means "jail bait".

I went west last year and spent six months in Las Vegas. It didn't work out so now I'm back in my hometown. Houston is a good town for a laid-back, old soul, like me. Enjoy your Thursday.

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La Cama

Un escena de la pelicula "La Cama" para mis amigos in Mexico.

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Kids Having Fun in a Wind Tunnel

Some people have way too much time on their hands. At least the music is good.

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Top Ten: Bedroom Feng Shui Tips

I got this from Apartment Therapy.com:

1. Sleeping with your head: North-strengthens physical health;South-deepens sleep; East-helps you wake up quickly; West-slows life down which is good for stressed adults or energetic kids.

2. Clean up! When your bedroom is cluttered and untidy, the energy in there will be low and slow. Clutter is a sure sign that chi is stuck, so roll up your sleeves and clean the place up if you want to jump-start your love life.

3. Lose the mirror. Mirrors brighten a space and make it more "awake". If you have mirrored closet doors, hang a curtain in front to cover them in the evening.

4. Chi tends to travel between the door and any windows, so avoid positioning your bed in line with this ‘draught’ of chi.

5. A television in the bedroom makes romance and restful sleep decline.

6. The bedroom should be as far away as possible from the front door.

7. Never ever wear outdoor shoes into your bedroom.

8. Don't have your home office or excercise equipment there, it brings the energy of hard work and exertion into your romance space.

9. A mattress should ideally be at least 18 inches above the floor.

10. Keep your belongings organized in the bedroom and get rid of what you no longer use. Congested or chaotic homes don't lend themselves to creative pursuits because there's no room to be creative; there is no space for new things to happen because that space is taken up by all the old stuff.

Very Young Comedian

This kid is ten years old and is in full control on the stage working his act like a pro.

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The Making of Sculpted Baby Cake

Nice high-speed video of a woman making a creepy cake. I hope she used red velvet.

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Waiters Who are Nauseated by food

This is funny because I am actually waiting tables for a living right now and believe me there are days like these:

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Yet Even More Photoshop

This is Michelle Clifton and she is a genius with Photoshop. I've been studying her tutorials on Vector Art and Pop Art all morning. I've also gone to the local Office Supply store and priced out a full version of Photoshop. The retail price is around $699.00 U.S. plus tax. I'll keep searching out a deal.

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Photoshop - How To

Here is another good group of Photoshop links along with some digital camera tips from my friend in England.

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Pop That Zit

This is arguably the most disgusting website on the internet.

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Photoshop - How To

This should be everything a person needs to master Adobe Photoshop.

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Adobe Illustrator Tutorials

Here is a link to a bunch of links to some Adobe Illustrator tutorials.

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Photoshop - How To

Another link from Bigfun.be. Vanishing point airbrushing in Photoshop.

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Dancing the Boogie

A really cool video clip of two people dancing their asses off.

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The Beatles

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