A unique and different kind of TV action series, MacGyver made its television premiere in the Fall of 1985 to widespread fanfare. Audiences immediately responded to the title character and his unusual penchant for turning everyday items like chewing gum and paperclips into elaborate life-saving contraptions. In this way, it maintained a slight resemblance to The A-Team, and this recurring plot device helped MacGyver build a strong cult following…

Richard Dean Anderson plays the title role of MacGyver, an energetic employee of the fictional Phoenix Foundation for Research. An unorthodox hero by action series standards, MacGyver has a deadly fear of heights. A pacifist who refuses to use weapons, he relies heavily on his ability to use his brain and tinker with the various materials at his disposal. MacGyver s best friend, and the director of the Phoenix Foundation, is Pete Thornton (Dana Elcar). Pete often sends MacGyver on Foundation missions and sometimes comes to his aid (usually after MacGyver has saved the day). In addition, MacGyver is joined on a regular basis by his airplane pilot friend Jack Dalton (Bruce McGill), a man who constantly entangles himself in illegal activities and other troublesome situations. Between the usual slew of bad guys, the vendetta of archenemy Murdoc (Michael Des Barres), and his multitude of troublesome friends, MacGyver is always in the midst of interesting and dangerous events, and the show s true entertainment value derives from watching MacGyver s distinctive method of dealing with each one…

The MacGyver (Season 2) DVD features a number of action-packed episodes including the season premiere “The Human Factor” in which MacGyver and the Phoenix Foundation are called upon to test the security of a top-secret military installation. When MacGyver makes a bet with the security designer, Dr. Jill Ludlum, he successfully gains entry, but the automated system traps them both inside (with a dwindling supply of oxygen) where they re forced to race for their lives against a ticking clock… Other notable episodes from Season 2 include “The Road Not Taken” in which MacGyver encounters his former fiance while helping a nun, and “Birth Day” in which MacGyver must guard a pregnant woman from her husband, who s out to kill her…

Below is a list of episodes included on the MacGyver (Season 2) DVD:

Episode 23 (The Human Factor) Air Date: 09-22-1986
Episode 24 (The Eraser) Air Date: 09-29-1986
Episode 25 (Twice Stung) Air Date: 10-06-1986
Episode 26 (The Wish Child) Air Date: 10-20-1986
Episode 27 (Final Approach) Air Date: 10-27-1986
Episode 28 (Jack of Lies) Air Date: 11-03-1986
Episode 29 (The Road Not Taken) Air Date: 11-10-1986
Episode 30 (Eagles) Air Date: 11-17-1986
Episode 31 (Silent World) Air Date: 11-24-1986
Episode 32 (Three for the Road) Air Date: 12-15-1986
Episode 33 (Phoenix Under Siege) Air Date: 01-05-1987
Episode 34 (Family Matter) Air Date: 01-12-1987
Episode 35 (Soft Touch) Air Date: 01-19-1987
Episode 36 (Birth Day) Air Date: 02-02-1987
Episode 37 (Pirates) Air Date: 02-09-1987
Episode 38 (Out in the Cold) Air Date: 02-16-1987
Episode 39 (Dalton, Jack of Spies) Air Date: 02-23-1987
Episode 40 (Partners) Air Date: 03-02-1987
Episode 41 (Bushmaster) Air Date: 03-23-1987
Episode 42 (Friends) Air Date: 04-06-1987
Episode 43 (D.O.A.: MacGyver) Air Date: 04-27-1987
Episode 44 (For Love or Money) Air Date: 05-04-1987

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a movie review site where you can find more reviews like this one of the MacGyver (Season 2) DVD Review.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Britt_Gillette
http://EzineArticles.com/?MacGyver-(Season-2)-DVD-Review&id=157085 Our online pharmacy is the perfect resource for people to get their drugs without any hassles or awkwardness. buy cialis We work hard to make sure you save money every time you shop with us. buy levitrabuy soma At our online store, you pay less and get more. buy viagra

Share This

Downloading Movies, Games & Music Online has really taken off from the early days of Napster and is now a mainstream feature of a lot of people s Web experience but if you are new to it it can be bewildering and, let s be honest, there is always that nagging doubt about the legal side. This series of articles looks at what is involved, how to stay legal and how to protect your PC / Network from potential virus threats.

How does it Work?

Well, there is now a very large collection of file sharing networks on the Web, which allows millions of users to share files. They are often called peer-to-peer or P2P Networks for short. These files can be anything - text files, music files, movie files, games, demos, covers, pictures, art, software but most people use these networks for sharing music, movies TV shows and games.

Most of you will have heard of Napster, the most infamous P2P network. Napster started up to allow college users to share the MP3 files but soon became a network of several million users swapping files across the Web. However, Napster used a centralized server to catalogue the files and users and was eventually sued (twice) by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and was forced to shut down. (It has since been re-launched as a pay-per-month music-subscription service).

A new breed of P2P networks emerged that didn t make use of a centralized server. With no centralized server, there is no single point that can be forced to shut down so the new P2P file sharing networks are now much more resistant.

Is it Legal?

Well,it s a murky and controversial issue, so here s my attempt to explain it: It is perfectly legal, in the same way as e-mailing is perfectly legal and surfing the internet is perfectly legal. However, distributing copyrighted material by any means is illegal. However, despite being illegal, the simple fact of the matter is that it happens all the time, especially over P2P networks. It is estimated that billions of files are being transmitted over the networks every day. There are also a lot of non-copyright files being transmitted. Is there any way of knowing what s copyright and what isn t before downloading it?

You just have to use your best judgment. You must download and share your files responsibly.

Conclusion

Make no mistake, P2P networks are now here to stay. And it s up to the music and movie industries to embrace this new technology and find innovative ways of preventing music/movie piracy. My next article provides tips on how you can best use the great software out there to join in!

PS. If you are interested in downloading movies, games or music I review the best software available at reviewblaster.com
online pharmacycialislevitrasomaviagra
David Brown is a big time movie, games and music fan and welcomes your opinions on the best that s out there. Please check out my blog Review Reality and post your opinions.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_R_Brown
http://EzineArticles.com/?Beginning-to-Download-Movies,-Games-and-Music-Online&id=312019

Share This

Although it is quite possible to teach yourself how to play an instrument, the advances that you can make with a good music teacher and following a course of structured lessons can not be overvalued. Don t be afraid to make that call to a teacher and discuss your needs. As adults it can be hard to take that first step, but playing music is undeniably good for the soul, and you shouldn t allow yourself to miss out on the opportunity to feel happier and learn something new.

Before you make that call it helps to know what style of music you would like to learn so you can discuss this with a prospective music teacher. Learning a style you enjoy helps you to stay motivated and make you want to keep practicing. It will also help your teacher to tailor the lessons to suit you.

Music teachers can be found in the local papers, Yellow Pages and Thompson Local as well as on the internet. Go to Google and type in “music teachers in ……” and add your town and county. Another good source is your local music shop. They usually know the local teachers personally, or know of the good ones from word of mouth from their customers.

There are a number of things to consider when choosing a music teacher, and price should really NOT be one of them. Four lessons a month with an adequate teacher who is cheap may not be as beneficial to you as twice a month with a superior but more expensive teacher. It s true that more expensive is not always better, but an excellent teacher will have no problem finding students prepared to pay a higher rate.

You can expect to pay anywhere from 12 to 30 an hour, though many teachers offer half hour lessons which may well be better for people early into their instrument playing. Ask if there is the possibility of group lessons, if this suits you. This can seriously help reduce the costs for those on tight budget. Those who have family constraints or transport problems might want to consider having a teacher come to their home.

Any good teacher will be happy to talk to you about the possibility of teaching you and should be happy to answer your questions.

* Ask if you can sit in on a lesson. This is especially good if you re thinking of taking group lessons.

* Avoid teachers who are not fun . Playing an instrument should be fun not a chore. If you don t find learning with a particular teacher fun, move on. It should not be work, otherwise you d work an instrument not play it

* Ask if you can tape record any lessons you have. A teacher who is confident in their teaching methods will have no problem with this, and you will have a source of reference to help you in your practice.

* Never be afraid to ask what their professional and educational experience is. While qualifications may not be everything you should expect a music teacher to have taken their music exams in the instrument or instruments they teach. Also find out how long they ve been teaching and the kind of people they teach. For example - do they teach adults and children? References can be asked for, but none come higher than personal recommendation from a happy student.

* Ask how much practice is expected of you, and find out if there will be opportunities to perform in the future, especially if you are learning an instrument that plays as part of large band or orchestra.

Which ever path you go down, the bottom line is practice practice practice. Little and often is always better than spending 4 hours the day before your next lesson trying to practice what you were shown last lesson! It never fools the teacher and all you do is waste your own money and time. Things sink in better if practiced a little everyday anyway. To spend 10 minutes several times a day working on something you find particularly difficult can often achieve better results than 2 hours in one sitting.

Sam Salmon runs http://www.iwantedtobeapopstar.co.uk helping amateur musicians find others to play with.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sam_Salmon
http://EzineArticles.com/?Choosing-a-Music-Teacher&id=248833

Share This

To be completely fair, the early 60 s weren t really the first screen action days in Las Vegas. Frank Sinatra s first movie, Las Vegas Nights was set back in 1941. However, the Rat Pack Days are always a good point to start.

The Rat Packs

Five gentlemen in Las Vegas: Sammy Davis Jr, Peter Lawford, Dean Martin, Joey Bishop and Frank Sinatra. Good friends. Loved to party. And of course, they had their own favourite place to hang out, that was Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas (which was demolished in 1996, nowadays the site of the Venitian).

The Rat Pack Days begun in late 50 s, somewhat as a reaction to the Cold War early days the guys came up with the idea of having their own “summit of cool” in Las Vegas it lasted seven years. As the Sands performing scene wasn t enough for them, the mighty five moved further to movies and recordings.

The seven years brought out seven films: Some Came Running, Ocean s 11, Sergents 3, 4 For Texas, Robin and the 7 Hoods, Marriage on the Rocks, and Cannonball Run II. Ocean s 11 (1960) is the most famous one, and also benefited from a modern remake (2001), starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts. The action in new Ocean s 11 involves robbery scenes at Bellagio. The Rat Pack, released in 1998 for cable TV, includes scenes from The Sands.

The King

The good old days gave us the classic Viva Las Vegas (1964), featuring Elvis Presley, who sings his heart out for the beloved “sin city”.

Later, in 1970, the King starred a documentary filmed at the International Hotel, nowadays Las Vegas Hilton (Elvis: That s the Way It Is).

The 1979 Elvis, a memorabilia to The King, stars Kurt Russell. The story goes on in 1988 with Elvis and Me, inspired by Priscilla Presley s autobiography. The 1995 BBC documentary The Burger and the King: The Life and Cuisine of Elvis Presley seems to have closed the Elvis & Las Vegas series, up to this moment.

Casino

This one, released in 1995, is the classic. It approaches “sin city” the way nobody dared before. The story is based on the almost fabulous life of Frank Rosendhale (impersonated by Robert de Niro), the best handicapper of all times, and his beautiful wife Gery (impersonated by Sharon Stone). Las Vegas made them rich and television made them famous.

“Casino” hit the box-offices, but Frank said director Martin Scorsese brought the spotlights on his own chopped vision of Las Vegas blamed him that he was not really interested to either understand casinos or be faithful to the real story thus, Frank Rosenthale would have told it differently.

The Winner

Las Vegas footage has proven a good luck charm for Francis Ford Coppola s famous nephew, Nicholas Cage. He started with Honeymoon in Vegas in 1992, grabbed an Oscar on the road with Leaving Las Vegas and made a come-back with Con Air in 1997 literally, Nick Cage forced his landing on the Hard Rock Hotel guitar…

Just another subjective list

• 1971 - Diamonds Are Forever, from the James Bond (Sean Connery) series
• 1974 - The Godfather Part II
• The Rocky series (parts III and IV) included brief glimpses from Las Vegas
• 1987 - Heat, 100% Las Vegas made, starring Burt Reynolds
• 1988 - Rain Man, with Dustin Hoffman, action set mostly inside Caesars Palace
• 1991 - Bugsy, the story of Bugsy Siegel and the making of the Flamingo. Casts Warren Beatty and Annette Bening
• 1993 - Indecent Proposal. Some reviews advice to “save the money for slots”
• 1995 - Heat, this time starring Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino, the only movie the two “monsters” have met
• 1995 - Showgirls, mostly a movie about… girls, including many scenes at Stardust

Iulia Pascanu writes for http://www.bestlasvegashotels.info where you can find more information about the best hotels in Las Vegas.
Please feel free to use this article in your Newsletter or on your website. If you use this article, please include the resource box and send a brief message to let me know where it appeared: mailto:iuliap@gmail.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Iulia_Pascanu
http://EzineArticles.com/?Las-Vegas-and-The-Movies&id=16460

Share This

Most people think you need to learn sophisticated chords and lots of them to play “good” piano music. Wrong! You don t need to learn 100 s and even thousands of chords you ll never use. What s perfect for the beginner and experienced player too is to limit choice!

Just a few chords, a scale to improvise in, and we re off creating a world of sound! For example, take the lesson “Winter Scene.” Here we have 2 chords played by the left hand. We use a certain pattern to play these chords with and we ve created a harmonic background. All that s left to do now is to add in the melody (foreground) and that s it - an improvisation that can last as long as the improviser is in the present moment and the music remains fresh.

The beautiful thing about limiting choice is that it gives you focus. You don t have to think about how many chords to play what chords to play, etc. Instead, you can focus your creative energies on improvising melody. What a difference this approach can have for newbies at improvisation!

No longer trying to master technical aspects, they can actually enjoy the process of being in the moment and creating spontaneous music. So many people think they can t do this because they re scared they don t know what they re doing or that it will sound bad. All excuses! By jumping in the water and starting out EASY, a complete beginner can start enjoying the great art of improvisation.

Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music s online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Visit www.quiescencemusic.com/piano_lessons.html now and get a FREE piano lesson!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Edward_Weiss
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Improvise-a-Complete-Piano-Piece-Using-Just-2-Chords!&id=242062

Share This

Starring John Cusack and Ray Liotta, Identity is a film which opened to little of the commercial fanfare associated with a typical blockbuster movie. But this is a film that packs all of the suspense and entertainment value of The Sixth Sense into an original screenplay about a serial killer on the loose. Haunting in its presentation, yet far from a traditional horror film, Identity follows the exploits of ten strangers who become stranded at a Nevada hotel in the midst of a massive rainstorm. One-by-one, they are being killed off, but no one knows the true identity of the killer…

A number of seemingly unrelated people gather at a small roadside motel in a Nevada desert location. Strangers to each other, the people descend from all different types of professions and lifestyles - a limousine driver and his movie star client, a policeman (Ray Liotta) transporting a convict, two parents with their young son, a prostitute (Amanda Peet), a young couple, and the motel s manager (John Hawkes). All of them are trapped on the grounds of the motel due to a record rainstorm that s made the roads impassable. Beset by darkness, each of the motel guests resigns to his fate and settles down to ride out the storm. The guests even make an attempt to socialize with one another.

But when one motel guest turns up dead, suspicions are raised. When it s revealed that an escaped convict, (Jake Busey), is on the loose, the guests become panicked. Ed (John Cusack) becomes de facto leader of the small group of strangers who begin suspect each other when the convict is captured and the killings continue. Is the true killer among them? Or is someone else (or something else) on the motel grounds with them? Far away, in an undisclosed location, a psychiatrist is feverishly attempting to prove the innocence of a man accused of murder, and the answer lies right before him…

Although it s a decent film, Identity falls into the teenage horror film device of having each character wander off alone - despite the fact that people who wander off alone continually turn up dead. However, I m usually willing to overlook such things if the rest of the film is decent because a movie s objective is to entertain, and Identity does that…

The darkness of the setting, coupled with intermittent thunder and the pattering of rain, create an all-encompassing sense of suspense bordering on fear. Rain muffles sound, so how can you hear if someone s sneaking up behind you? Identity is a unique and original film most movie lovers will enjoy. The plot device is employed with the utmost efficiency, keeping the audience guessing until the very end. Who is the real killer? You ll have to watch Identity to find out…

Presenting a knockout performance by John Cusack, Identity is one of the surprise films of 2003. The dialogue is fresh, not stiff, and the characters are well-rounded considering many of them do not live through most of the scenes. With a surprise ending reminiscent of 1990s smash hits, The Sixth Sense and The Usual Suspects, Identity (although nowhere near as good as those films) is a film you won t want to miss. Due to its well-written storyline and crescendo of suspense, Identity is a definite must-see movie…

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a movie review site where you can find more reviews like this one of the Identity (DVD) Review.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Britt_Gillette
http://EzineArticles.com/?Identity-(Movie-Review)&id=152247

Share This

Once upon a time there was Top 40 radio. And the kings of Top 40 were the Good Guys.

The term &quotGood Guys&quot was first used as a promotional gimmick by a radio station in New York City to refer to their disc jockeys. Soon, the term was appropriated by Top 40 stations around the United States.

Top 40 radio was born in the 1950s and reached its zenith of popularity and influence in the 1960s. After television killed the radio drama, the main thing radio had going for it was music. Top 40 turned out to be the ideal format for playing and listening to the new rock n roll records that swept the American pop music stage starting in the mid-50s.

The idea behind Top 40 was that a radio station would play a limited rotation of songs over and over through the day, based on its list of the 40 top-selling records that week. Songs near the top of the list would get more airplay than those near the bottom. Each week, a new Top 40 list would be released, and listeners would eagerly await to see which songs had moved up, which had moved down, and which had fallen off the list entirely, as well as what new songs had broken through to a place on the list.

In practice, some stations actually had a Top 50 list. Some had a Top 30. For a time, some experimented with playing records only from a Top 10 list — that is, the same 10 songs playing over and over and over!

The great thing about Top 40 in those days was that the lists were usually compiled based on local record sales, as reported by local record stores. In an era before focus groups and nationally programmed playlists, it was possible for one city s big hits to barely register on the charts elsewhere. These were the days of the regional hit phenomenon–a record or artist that would achieve a big breakout locally but never enjoy nationwide visibility.

This is where the power of the Good Guy was felt most strongly. Unbeholden to national corporations, local disc jockeys could and often did discover new talent, creating new rock n roll stars almost on personal whim by giving obscure records playing time they probably would not otherwise get.

Top 40 disc jockeys strove to be true personalities, each one developing a style or shtick all his own.

In my hometown of Mobile, Alabama, the WABB Good Guys were local celebrities, my friends and I made sure to show up every time they did a live broadcast from some shopping center parking lot. We even thought it a special honor, once, when they asked us to hand out copies of the latest WABB Top Hits list to the assembled crowd. (Somewhere I still have copies of many of those lists from the 1960s. Perhaps they re collector s items now.)

Is radio as fun now as it was during the Top 40 era, the reign of the Good Guys? I think not. Happily, much of the excitement of over-the-air radio of bygone days can now be found on the Internet, through the proliferation of streaming audio, independent music production and distribution, podcasting and similar technological and creative developments.

Thanks to the Internet and the Web, we can all be Good Guys now, if we want.

Stefan Smith is a radio junkie who writes on entertainment and related subjects for the Solid Gold Info Writers Consortium. Recently, he has written an extensive review of amazing new software anyone can use to capture music audio streams from Internet radio broadcasts and break them up into individual mp3 song files–a legal way to download virtually free music. Read the review at: http://www.solid-gold.info/radio2mp3.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stefan_Smith
http://EzineArticles.com/?Top-40-Radio:-When-the-Good-Guys-Ruled&id=301475

Share This

Can a musician revive their music career through film or television? For entertainment consultant, Roslyn Ridgeway, the answer is yes.

President and CEO of De Roz Productions, Inc., Roslyn s proof-in-the-pudding is recording artist, TV and film star, Irene Cara. Cara is among a select group of mega-talented performers who have successfully transitioned from theater to television then records and feature films. The award-winning performer is best noted for her film roles in Sparkle, Fame, City Heat and the TV mini series, Roots. Although Ms. Cara has spent much of her energy developing music, with Roslyn s help, Cara leveraged the reality television craze to gain visibility for herself and her female band, Hot Caramel. “With Irene s talent and accomplishments on the screen, it was a hard task to re-introduce her to the public as a musician…. We went back to her roots to do this. We did it through the power of television,” Roslyn said.

Since reality television captivates most American audiences, the transition for Cara was seamless. After a twenty-year hiatus from TV and film, in 2005, Cara debuted on NBC s hit reality television show Hit Me Baby One More Time. Winning out over music legends Wang Chung, Cameo, Howard Jones, and Sophie B. Hawkins, Roslyn saw the power of television at work. Millions tuned in to watch Cara beat her competition. Reality television put Cara back in the limelight reminding fans of her talent and peaking interest in Hot Caramel.

Roslyn s hard work continues to payoff. Currently, the Atlanta native is working with twin brothers and accomplished musicians, Darrell and Pharell Floyd. The twins career made a turn towards film after appearing in 20th Century Fox s Drumline.

The newly minted president of Business Women Professionals-USA, Roslyn s resume reflects success in a myriad of industries, including entertainment, non-profit, and small business. As music artists continue to expand their careers into film and television, Roslyn works diligently to make her mark by bridging the gap between music, television and film.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Isha_Edwards
http://EzineArticles.com/?Roslyn-Ridgeway–Bridging-the-Gap-Between-Music,-TV,-and-Film&id=278815

Share This

There are numerous websites that offer free movie scripts from all over the world and from all time periods. One can get access to scripts of classics such as Gone with the wind and Casablanca as well as of relatively recent films such as Stepmom and Legally Blonde. There are many websites that have a huge list of movie scripts, ranging from old movies to the latest blockbusters. There are even websites that have scripts of certain rare and even unreleased movies.

Many sites also include information from qualified professionals who will analyze your scripts and provide relevant advice. For those who are interested, there are many clubs that one can join and learn more about scriptwriting from others interested in the same. Interacting with others of the same interests will help one to broaden their horizons and increase one s knowledge about scriptwriting in general. You can get inputs from others on how to improve your script and what you can do, to make it more effective.

An important piece of advice when sharing your script online is that you need to ensure that you protect your script and copyright it, so as to prevent any sort of plagiarism. This can be done with a small payment, depending on the time period for which you want to protect your work.

A script is an essential aspect of a movie and it is important for scriptwriters to develop their skills by going through the scripts of movies and television shows. Only when one understands the technical aspects of writing a script can one write an effective script. Scriptwriting is fun, exciting, and a great big challenge to those who pursues it relentlessly. The greatest test lies at the early stage of weaving a tale that will hold the attention of the audience.

Movie Scripts provides detailed information on Movie Scripts, How To Write A Movie Script, Free Movie Scripts, Movie Scripts Online and more. Movie Scripts is affiliated with Free Movie Trailer Downloads.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Stith
http://EzineArticles.com/?Movie-Scripts-Online&id=278353

Share This