Always10 - Top 10 List Collection

10 of the Best Zombie Movies of All Time

2012-06-01T11:15:00.002-06:00

There’s always a huge fuss when getting goose bumps from our all time favourite monsters – zombies. I know what you guys are thinking, yep – all hail to AMC's best zombie survival drama "The Walking Dead" which brought the living dead in front of our TV screens.

As our conquest to compile the best top 10 list, we ranked the best zombies chronicles of the big screen to complete our list of horrific and mind-boggling monsters ever created by human mind – wishing they aren’t real.

But if you've ever sought after where a zombie's love for brains came from (I mean the plants vs. zombies game, which are now obsolete – thanks to angry birds), who wins a fight between a zombie and a plants, and a better use for your lawnmower, then check out the following list of zombie apocalypse films.

1 - Dawn of the Dead (1978)

“Following an ever-growing epidemic of zombies that have risen from the dead, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter, and his television-executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.”

Dawn of the Dead (also known as Zombi internationally) is a 1978 horror film written and directed by George A. Romero. It was the second film made in Romero's Living Dead series, but contains no characters or settings from Night of the Living Dead, and shows in larger scale a zombie epidemic's apocalyptic effects on society. In the film, a pandemic of unknown origin has caused the reanimation of the dead, who prey on human flesh, which subsequently causes mass hysteria. The cast features David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger and Gaylen Ross as survivors of the outbreak who barricade themselves inside a suburban shopping mall.

2 - Dead Alive / Braindead (1992)

“A young man's mother is bitten by a Sumatran rat-monkey. She gets sick and dies, at which time she comes back to life, killing and eating dogs, nurses, friends, and neighbors.”

Braindead (New Zealand 1992), released as Dead Alive in North America, is a cult zombie comedy splatstick horror film directed by Peter Jackson. The film is widely regarded as being one of the goriest films of all time.

3 - Night of the Living Dead (1968)

“A group of people hide from bloodthirsty zombies in a farmhouse.”

Night of the Living Dead is a 1968 American independent horror film and cult film directed by George A. Romero, starring Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea and Karl Hardman. It premiered on October 1, 1968, and was completed on a USD$114,000 budget. After decades of cinematic re-releases, the film was a financial success, grossing $12 million domestically and $18 million internationally. Night of the Living Dead was heavily criticized during its release because of its explicit content, but received critical acclaim and was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry as a film deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant." The film entered the public domain due to an error by the distributor.

4 - The Return of the Living Dead (1985)

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“When a bumbling pair of employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to re-animate as they go on a rampage through Louisville, Kentucky seeking their favorite food, brains.”

The Return of the Living Dead is a 1985 American comedy/horror film written and directed by Dan O'Bannon and starring Clu Gulager, James Karen and Don Calfa. The film tells the story of how three men accompanied by a group of teenage punks deal with the accidental release of a horde of brain hungry zombies onto an unsuspecting town. The film is known for introducing the popular concept of zombies eating brains, as opposed to just eating human flesh, like previous zombie iterations, as well as its soundtrack, which features several noted deathrock and punk rock bands of the era. The film was a critical success and performed moderately well at the box office. It later spawned four sequels.

5 - Shaun of the Dead (2004)

“A man decides to turn his moribund life around by winning back his ex-girlfriend, reconciling his relationship with his mother, and dealing with an entire community that has returned from the dead to eat the living.”

Shaun of the Dead is a 2004 British horror zombie comedy directed and co-written by Edgar Wright, and co-written and starring Simon Pegg alongside Nick Frost. Pegg plays Shaun, a man attempting to get some kind of focus in his life as he deals with his girlfriend, his mother and stepfather. At the same time, he has to cope with an apocalyptic uprising of zombies.
The film is the first of what Pegg and Wright call The Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy with Hot Fuzz (2007) as the second and The World's End (TBA) as the third.

The film was a critical and commercial success in the UK, and the US. It received a 91% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 76 out of 100 at Metacritic. Shaun of the Dead was a BAFTA nominee. Pegg and Wright considered a sequel that would replace zombies with another monster, but decided against it as they were pleased with the first film as a stand-alone product, and thought too many characters died to continue the story.

6 - Deadgirl (2008)

“Two high school boys discover an imprisoned woman in an abandoned mental asylum who cannot die.”

Deadgirl is a horror film directed by Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi Harel and written by Trent Haaga.

7 - Zombie (1979)

“Strangers looking for a woman's father arrive at a tropical island where a doctor desperately searches for the cause and cure of a recent epidemic of the undead.”

Zombi 2 (also known as Zombie, Island of the Living Dead, Zombie Island, Zombie Flesh Eaters and Woodoo) is a 1979 zombie horror film directed by Lucio Fulci. It is the best-known of Fulci's films[1] and made him a horror icon. Though the title suggests this is a sequel to Zombi (the Italian title of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead), the films are unrelated. When the film was released in 1979 it was scorned for its extremely bloody content, notably by the UK's Conservative government.

8 - Dawn of the Dead (Remake, 2004)

“A nurse, a policeman, a young married couple, a salesman, and other survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies, take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall.”

Dawn of the Dead is a 2004 horror film directed by Zack Snyder in his directorial debut. It is a remake of George A. Romero's 1978 film of the same name and stars Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, and Jake Weber. The film depicts a handful of human survivors living in a Milwaukee, Wisconsin shopping mall surrounded by swarms of zombies. The film was produced by Strike Entertainment in association with New Amsterdam Entertainment, released by Universal Pictures and with cameos from original cast members Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger and Tom Savini.

9 - Day of the Dead (1985)

“A small group of military officers and scientists dwell in an underground bunker as the world above is overrun by zombies.”

Day of the Dead is a 1985 horror film directed by George A. Romero and is the third film in Romero's Dead Series, being preceded by Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Dawn of the Dead (1978).

Director George A. Romero describes the film as a "tragedy about how a lack of human communication causes chaos and collapse even in this small little pie slice of society". This film features Sherman Howard in an early appearance as Bub and make-up artist Gregory Nicotero playing Pvt. Johnson and doing the make-up effects.

10 - Fido (2006)

“Timmy Robinson's best friend in the whole wide world is a six-foot tall rotting zombie named Fido. But when FIDO eats the next-door neighbor, Mom and Dad hit the roof, and Timmy has to go to the ends of the earth to keep Fido a part of the family. A boy-and-his-dog movie for grown ups, "FIDO" will rip your heart out.”

Fido is a 2006 Canadian zombie comedy film directed by Andrew Currie and written by Robert Chomiak, Currie, and Dennis Heaton from an original story by Heaton. It was produced by Lions Gate Entertainment, Anagram Pictures, British Columbia Film Commission, and Telefilm Canada.

10 of the Best Comic Books of All Time

2012-05-31T23:35:00.000-06:00

Comic books are once a head turner stuff when strolling down the sidewalk, simple glance in the newsstand but it seems I’m stock just on that. I never been indulge in getting one and read them through, but there are people whose hobby is to collect comic books and they can’t get over it. I can’t fathom the degree of these people in which reading such stuff all over again and at point blank when they reach the last page “to be continue” and feel hell when they have to wait for the next issue.

I really wanted to create a top 10 list of these comic books (sort of, just for personal reference if I get my interest hype up) and for that reason, I’m really thankful to have my friend Jay of Comicbookandmoviereviews.com in assisting and compiling the best comic books of all time. Please do bear in mind that this is a personal choice and the comic book list is not in any particular order.

The big question here: are your favourite comic books in the list? Well, let’s find out.

1 - Batman / Detective Comics

Jay: “Because he is Batman, right?”

Batman is a fictional character, a comic book superhero created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939), and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics. Originally referred to as "The Bat-Man" and still referred to at times as "The Batman", he is additionally known as "The Caped Crusader", "The Dark Knight”, and "The World's Greatest Detective," among other titles.

2 - Suicide Squad

Jay: ”The John Ostrander version from back in the day was a class act, and one that has been difficult to follow ever since.”

The Suicide Squad, also known as Task Force X (actually the name of a closely related but independent supervisory organization), is a name for two fictional organizations in the DC Comics Universe. The first version debuted in The Brave and the Bold (vol. 1) #25 (1959), and the second in Legends #3 (1987). An "original" Suicide Squad was retconned into existence in Secret Origins (vol. 2) #14, in order to form a connection between the two Squads. The current Suicide Squad (created by John Ostrander in the aforementioned Legends #3) is an anti-hero team of incarcerated super villains who act as deniable assets for the United States government, undertaking high-risk black ops missions in exchange for commuted prison sentences. The group operates out of Belle Reve Penitentiary, under the command of swashbuckler Ryan Scott.

3 - Justice League International

Jay: “The Keith Giffen League is one of the funniest comic’s ever published. Willy-willy, bum-bum, fanny.”

Justice League International (or JLI for short) is a DC Comics superhero team written by Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis, with art by Kevin Maguire, created in 1987. It was created after the 1987 company-wide crossover limited series, Legends, when a new Justice League was formed and given a less America-centric mandate than before. The term JLI covers several different names for the series, including the first six issues, which were titled simply as Justice League, and the later issues when the book was renamed Justice League America (without the "of"). Another spin-off, Justice League Europe, was renamed Justice League International (vol. 2) toward the end of its run.

4 - Daredevil

Jay: ”Mark Waid current run on this title, plus the Brian Bendis run as well, has made this blind hero into one with the most vision.”

Daredevil is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 (April 1964). Living in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City, Matt Murdock is blinded by a radioactive substance that falls from an oncoming vehicle. While he no longer can see, the radioactive exposure heightens his remaining senses beyond normal human ability. His father, a boxer named Jack Murdock, supports him as he grows up, though Jack is later killed by gangsters after refusing to throw a fight. After donning a yellow and black, and later a dark red, costume, Matt seeks out revenge against his father's killers as the superhero Daredevil, fighting against his many enemies including Bullseye and the Kingpin. Daredevil's nickname is "the Man without Fear".

5 - Justice League

Jay: ”Grant Morrisons time on this book made a silver age classic into modern day gold.”

The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. First appearing in The Brave and the Bold #28 (February/March 1960), the Justice League originally appeared with the line-up of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash (Barry Allen), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Aquaman, and the Martian Manhunter. The team roster has been rotated throughout the years with characters such as Green Arrow, Captain Marvel, Black Canary, the Atom, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Plastic Man, Red Tornado, Firestorm, Zatanna, other Green Lanterns, and dozens of others. The team received its own comic book title in October 1960, when the first issue was published, and would continue to #261 in April 1987, which was the final issue. Throughout the years, various incarnations or subsections of the team have operated as Justice League America, Justice League Europe, Justice League International, Justice League Task Force, Justice League Elite, and Extreme Justice.

6 - The Titans

Jay: ”Marv Wolfman was the man who made this team into something more than just wannabe sidekicks, he made them into icons.”

The Teen Titans, also known as the New Teen Titans, New Titans, or simply the Titans, is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, often in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name suggests, its membership is usually composed of teenaged superheroes. The first incarnation of the team unofficially debuted in The Brave and the Bold #54 (1964) as a "junior Justice League" featuring Robin (Dick Grayson), Kid Flash (Wally West), and Aqualad, the sidekicks of Leaguers Batman, the Flash, and Aquaman, respectively. The group then made its first appearance under the name "Teen Titans" in The Brave and the Bold #60, joined by Wonder Girl (Donna Troy), the younger sister of Wonder Woman. Green Arrow's sidekick, Speedy (Roy Harper), later took Aqualad's place in the lineup.

7 - Doom Patrol

Jay: ”Keith Giffen wrote it and made it his own. Say no more.”

On February 7, 2009, it was announced at the New York Comic Con that Keith Giffen would be spearheading a revival of Doom Patrol, a title which he has long said he wanted to write. He was joined by artist Matt Clark, who has also long expressed a desire to work on the team. The new series focused on the core members Elasti-Girl, Negative Man, Robotman, and the Chief, while other members such as Mento, Bumblebee, and Vox were to be seen later. The title launched with a 10-page ongoing Metal Men co-feature written by J. M. DeMatteis.

8 - Impulse

Jay: ”When Mark Waid was at the helm, this youthful side-kick had some kick to him.”

Kent Shakespeare was the first DC Comics superhero known as Impulse, he debuted in Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 4 #12 (October 1990). Bart Allen is the second DC Comics superhero known as Impulse, he debuted in Flash vol. 2 #92 (June 1994). Iris West is the third superhero known as Impulse, she debuted in Flash vol.4 #225 (October 2005)

9 - Major Bummer

Jay: "Apart from the strange title, this comic was a really fresh tale of the reluctant hero, and one that has been plagiarised from then on in."

This is a humorous comic book produced by DC Comics in the late 1990s. It was created by writer John Arcudi and artist Doug Mahnke.

10 - Vext

Jay: ”There was a God of farts in this comic, so what is not to like?”

Vext is a fictional character created by Keith Giffen and the star of a short-lived 1999 comic book series published by DC Comics. The series was written by Keith Giffen, pencilled by Mike McKone, inked by Mark McKenna, lettered by Bob Lappan, and colored by Lovern Kindzierski with separations by Digital Chameleon for all six issues (with guest inker Andy Lanning filling in on issue 4). The series was the last one edited by Kevin Dooley before he left comic books and was assisted by Harvey Richards.

[Photos Courtesy of Wikipedia.org]

10 of the Most Popular Celebrity Fights

2012-05-29T01:12:00.000-06:00

Celebrities are humans and they are normal people, too! And just like normal people, they have tendencies in some situations to lose their temper, they might also get hot-headed so fast and some even had been rampaging on someone else’s house.

How a simple fight does become a very big issue in the entertainment world? There is a saying from those who are in the entertainment industry that when one becomes a celebrity; his or her life is now an open book to the public. People’s interests are so bound to celebrities that they want to know every detail on their privacy and personal life.

About getting involved in a fight, we all know that one of the factors that worsen a situation is when someone is under the influence of alcohol. When one is under its influence, the chance that one can be so fearless to provoke someone into a fistfight is very high. Misunderstanding or misinterpretation; is just one of the few things that can trigger an exchange of disrespectful remarks or even a brawl. (Top 10 list of the most controversial celebrity fights)

As you read the article, these factors will prove how a fight or a brawl starts.

1 - Matthew Fox Messing with a Private Party Bus Driver

One of the stars in the “Lost” series allegedly punched a female bus driver in Cleveland. According to Heather Bormann, the 45-year old actor Matthew Fox punched her on her legs, chest and crotch when she denied the drunken Fox to go on board. Heather filed assault charges against Matthew Fox.

2 - Teen Mom Recorded by MTV

The 21-year old star of MTV’s hit show titled “Teen Mom” was recorded when she hit Gary Shirley in front of their two-year old daughter. Amber Portwood was sent to court facing domestic charges because of the fight that happened between her and Gary Shirley.

3 - Kid Rock versus Tommy Lee plus a Fight in the Waffle House

Year 2007 has been rough to musician Kid Rock as he become involved in two different fights. First is with Tommy Lee, a Motley Crue drummer and it happened during the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. Tommy Lee was teasing Kid Rock about Pamela Anderson and that ignited the argument, both of them married Pamela and then became divorced. On the same year Kid Rock became involved again on a fight with a man in Waffle house in Georgia.

4 - Edward Fisher’s Hulk Smash?

According to Loni Rae, OneRepublic drummer Edward Fisher smashed through their house’s front door and even pushed her through the cabinets. Denver cops arrested Fisher due to the rampage he did one Tuesday morning. But according to Fisher, he was the true victim in the incident (he told the cops). He said that he was trapped by Loni in a bathroom and struck him several times in the head, that’s why he had a wound on his forehead.

5 - Indiana Pacers Players versus Clubgoers

Several members of the Indiana Pacers were in Club 23 in Orlando. Their 7’1” player, Kyrylo Fesenko has been accused by some clubgoers, telling that the player “bump into him” and after that he was commented with some disrespectful verbal attacks. The player tried to walk away, but the taunts become louder when the mob grew in number. Fesenko’s teammate, Danny Granger charged to the mob and luckily some biked policemen have controller the situation. The two players safely walked away with any further incident.

6 - Foxy Brown versus Jacki-O

The year is 2005 when Foxy Brown and Jacki-O got into a fight in Miami. Allegedly, Jacki-O and rapper Gravy were recording in a studio Foxy Brown showed up along with her nasty attitude. Jacki-O, who aims that she could have a career like Foxy once had, was not feeling how shady Foxy was being and put feet on her. Due to the incident, Jacki-O released a record titled “TKO” which aimed at Foxy.

7 - Sean Bean Stabbed in the Arm

Sean Bean is one of the starts in “Game of Thrones.” According to reports, Sean and Playboy Model April Summers were outside a bar in Camden, London, they were smoking when a passerby made disrespectful comments about Summers. Bean confronted the man and after that the man walked away. Unfortunately, when Sean went out for another smoke, the man he confronted suddenly attacked the 52-year old actor. People who witnessed the incident said that the man punched Bean in the face and stabbed his arm using a broken glass. Bean refused to go to the hospital but he was given a first aid treatment.

8 - Brawl with my Bestfriend

Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda had a bitter argument regarding Sen. Joseph McCarthy's investigations of Communism involvement in the film industry. Both were under the spirit of alcohol one spring night in 1947, as the argument became intense, the two had exchange of punches. Even the shocking incident happened to them the two became bestfriends for the rest of their lives and they never again talk about politics.

9 - Bill Cosby’s “Cheap Shot” on Tom Smothers

It happened in October 1976, when Bill Cosby and Tom Smothers attended a party at Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion. Smothers congratulated Cosby on his new television show but Smothers had no idea that the said show was canceled the day before. Cosby made a look of disgust to Smothers and Tom replied with "Well, f*** you." Tom stated that Cosby sneaked on him and Hefner was used as a screen and then suddenly he was punched at the back of his head. Smothers was knocked down… stunned.

10 - The Thrilla in NAIA

This was the most recent celebrity brawl that happened in an airport in the Philippines. Raymart Santiago and Claudine Baretto together with their friends have just arrived from their trip but their baggage was transferred to another plane. Claudine was arguing with an airport staff when suddenly Mon Tulfo was taking pictures of Claudine. Raymart wanted Mon to delete the images he captured, but the tv host-reporter refused. Temper started to rise and it resulted to an intense fistfight. As of now it is still unclear on who’s telling the truth and both parties filed a lawsuit against each other.

10 of the Most Iconic Masks

2012-05-23T07:33:00.000-06:00

One does not simply wear a mask, so why wear one? Some wears a mask to hide their real identity, to be a badass or just part of their fashion statement? These are just some of the questions we frequently ask whenever we see someone wearing a mask. As you read this interesting article which will showcase some of the most iconic masks we ever see, you will be amazed that a mask is not just a piece of headdress.

These iconic masks that I will feature are mostly from the entertainment industry such as movies, I also have included masks worn by fictional characters or superheroes. This featured article will take us back to the past. How? Some of the origins of these masks will be unveiled, from where it was based, how was it conceptualized and who made it. Let’s take a glimpse on its history, the way they create the masks, the concept behind it and the people who portrayed the characters and wore the masks. ( Top 10 list of the most iconic mask)

1 - Loki Mask in “The Mask” Movie

“The Mask” is a fantasy-comedy movie distributed by New Line Cinema on July 29, 1994. Jim Carrey portrayed Stanley Ipkiss, the man who found the Mask of Loki (Loki is the Norse god of darkness and mischief) which turned him into a green-masked trickster. When Stanley puts on the mask, he obtained powers beyond human. He can manipulate shape and immeasurable ability that includes any physical reality.

2 - Batman’s Mask

Who doesn’t know Batman? I bet almost everyone knew him even his secret identity. This masked superhero’s first appearance was on May 1939 on Detective Comics Issue number 27. The Batman was first known as “The Bat-Man” but then referred as “The Caped Crusader” or the “The Dark Knight”. It was then portrayed in the big screen and the first actor who wore Bruce Wayne’s mask is Lewis Wilson. After Wilson, Batman’s second movie serial was portrayed by Robert Lowery. Who else? Here they are: Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney and Christian Bale.

3 - The Iron Mask

With all the known masks used for punishment, the most popular among them is the mask used in “The Man in the Iron Mask” movie where Leonardo DiCaprio is the lead actor. The story plot goes like this, Philippe is the one who wears the iron mask, and this was done to him by his identical brother Louis. Their father King Louis XIII sent away Philippe to save France from a dynastic warfare but it was then found out by Louis. He can’t kill his brother so he decided to keep him hidden, he imprisoned his twin brother and made him wore the iron mask. Philippe was rescued by the Three Musketeers lead by Aramis. At the end of the story, Philippe reigned as king and Louis was the one imprisoned, of course wearing the iron mask his identical brother used to wear.

4 - Mask of Zorro

The original character was created by John McCulley and it hit the big screen in July 1998. “The Mask of Zorro” was produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Martin Campbell. Wondering if who already wore the Mask of Zorro? Antonio Banderas is the most known actor who portrayed Alejandro Murrieta (Zorro’s real name), Spanish actors such as Jose Suarez and Carlos Quiney also played the role. Zorro, in the movie is the servant of the people, not a thief or an adventurer, that’s the principle taught by Don Diego dela Vega, the first Zorro before Alejandro.

5 - Hannibal’s Mask

If you can still remember the movie “Silence of the Lambs” where Hannibal was interviewed by a psychiatrist, he have this mask covering the lower part of his face. The mask was made by Ed Cubberly, he is the sole copyright owner of Hannibal’s muzzle. Believe it or not, the concept of the mask was born in just a few minutes, Cubberly is an experienced maker of full fiberglass masks that’s why he made it that fast. “Lechter mask is nothing more than the lower half of an old time goalie mask. Then I added bars over the mouth to make it look mean” - Ed Cubberly.

6 - Ghostface (Scream Mask)

This mask appeared in the “Scream” movie series. This is the mask worn by a serial killer who uses a hunting knife to stab all his victims. The original ghostface’s mold was based on Fun World’s design but the features are more emphasized so that they copyright issues can be avoided. This rubber mask with black eyes, nose and mouth is the chosen mask by the antagonist in the Scream series because it is easily purchased. The suspicion on who the real killer is very hard to confirm because of its availability, making it appears that anyone can be the killer.

7 - Guy Fawkes Mask in “V for Vendetta”

The mask used in “V for Vendetta” was originally based on Guy Fawkes, the well-known member of the Gunpowder Plot. It was then stylized by David Lloyd, an illustrator making it as a white face with a mustache, a thin vertical pointed beard, and shows a faint smile. Since the mask’s appearance in the movie “V for Vendetta” in 2006, it was internationally spread and protesters use the mask when they are protesting against politicians, institutions and even on banks. The mask also becomes a popular internet meme. Even David Lloyd was happy when he knew that the mask he once illustrated was used by people who are against tyranny.

8 - Jason’s Hockey Mask in ”Friday the 13th”

Jason Voorhees is the fictional mass murderer who uses a machete to stab his victims and he appeared in the “Friday the 13th” movie which was launched in 1980. Warrington Gillette played the role of Jason in Friday the 13th Part 2 but there are some stunts that can’t be played by Gillette so Steve Daskawisz was brought to do the stunts except the opening and the unmasking sequence. Richard Brooker, Ted White, Dick Wieand, Roy Burns, stuntman Tom Morga, C.J. Graham, Kane Hodder are just few of the people who played the role of Jason. The mask’s mold was based from a Detroit Red Wings goalie mask.

9 - Darth Vader’s Mask

He is a former Jedi Knight turned Dark Lord of the Sith. Of course, almost everyone knows that he is from the Star Wars movie. Who played Darth Vader’s role (or voice)? His role was portrayed by David Prowse, Bob Anderson, James Earl Jones, Sebastian Shaw, Jake Lloyd, Hayden Christensen, Mat Lucas and Matt Lanter. This character was created by George Lucas and with the help of Ralph McQuarrie on the character’s design and Brian Muir for sculpting the costume, this cyborg became one of the most known movie antagonist. Darth Vader’s mask becomes an icon, the mask portrays evil in popular culture.

10 - Jabbawockeez’s Mask

The Jabbawockeez is the first America’s Best Dance Crew (ABDC) Grand Champion. Originally, the group was consist of Gary Kendell, Phil Tayag, Kevin Brewer, Joe Larot, Rynan Paguio, Chris Gatdula, and Phi Nguyen, but Gary died, and the other member Joe suffered a knee injury during the audition rounds. They came from San Diego, California and was known because of their hip-hop dance, b-boy and popping moves. This dance crew always performs wearing their masks and white gloves and it soon became the visual signature of the group. The Jabbawockeez is the most competitive group in ABDC’s first season, and they only became part of the “Bottom Two” once.

10 of the Best Niche Websites for Penny-Pinchers

2012-05-20T19:57:00.000-06:00

Given the European debt crisis, hunger in very poor countries, rising unemployment rates even in developed nations, no doubt, the world is in economic turmoil. There’s no telling when this is going to bottom out, therefore, the constant need to save.

If you’re a penny-pincher just like the rest of us, here are 10 of the best niche websites that give you value for your money while not compromising quality of service: (this list is not in any particular order)

1 - Bitrix24.com

If you’re a business owner, you know that CRM can do wonders. Couple that with an intranet system that keeps your employees engaged and constantly in the loop, and you’re poised for success. The bad news is that corporate intranets cost thousands of dollars, and most small businesses can’t afford them. Bitrix24 comes with a free package for startups with just about 12 people in its roster. It’s built with a fully functional CRM system, real-time streaming, photo sharing, e-mail, activity planning, sales funnel, etc. If your business has more than 12 people, subscription is at $99 per month.

2 - JetRadar.com

If you want to save on air travel, low-cost carriers are the way to go. Websites like Expedia and CheapFlights are household names for online ticketing sites that offer cheap air fare. But the problem with these sites, they may not always have the cheapest possible air fare deals. Individual airline carriers still want to keep their best to themselves through their own corporate websites. Pitching their best deals to third-party comparison websites increases their risk of losing customers to peers. But startup JetRadar is out to put a stop to this practice. JetRadar is a meta search engine that searches through flight sites, ticketing sites and all 728 individual airline sites for the cheapest possible air fare and make them publicly available.

3 - PickyDomains.com

In business, it all starts with a name. And the name you choose for your company has a lot of branding and advertising implications, hence, the need for cautious consideration. Giant corporations employ people to come up with the best name for a brand or service they wish to launch, without any consideration to the professional fee and length of time these creative people are to get the job done. But what if you’re not a giant? With PickyDomains, a team of over $55,000 contributors, for just a fee of $50 (slogans cost $75), you get thousands of suggestions for a name matching your specific considerations. And if you don’t like any of the suggestions, you can ask for a refund.

4 - HootSuite.com

Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Foursquare, Pinterest – you name it, a business most probably got it. Well, who can blame them? Social media is the way to go nowadays. But sometimes, managing through each of these social platforms can be burdensome and time-consuming. HootSuite is a social media platform that allows businesses and organizations to manage their different social media campaigns in a single web-based dashboard. HootSuite subscription can either be free or paid. HootSuite’s Pro package starts at $9.99 per month.

5 - eWorky.com

If you’re a freelancer needing temporary workspace, where will you go? If you’re an average-sized business needing high-tech infrastructure with an averaged-sized budget, what will you do? And if you’re a business owner with extra space, will you stuff your space with broken equipment and empty boxes? eWorky is a collaborative search platform for people in need of temporary workspaces. It has a broad pool of businesses providing all types of workspaces for different types of people and professions. Booking can be done daily, weekly, monthly, or longer, if necessary.

6 - RetailMeNot.com

Coupons are a blessing, especially for bargain hunters. RetailMeNot is an online platform where users track, rate and share coupons. The site has the best and most recent collection of coupons, and with an active community of coupon hunters, you’ll know which coupons are still active and greatly recommended. So before you go ahead and do some online shopping, it won’t hurt to check out the site first.

7 - iSpionage.com

If a business is to survive a cut-throat marketplace, business owners should at all times be aware of what the competition is up to. Unfortunately, marketing tools and services that do exactly this may cost a pile of money, which is unfortunate for small businesses. iSpionage is a web tool that “spies” on the competition. It monitors competitor ads and campaigns, affiliate movements and bridges search engine gaps. The moment competitor activity is detected, a message finds its way into your inbox immediately. Monthly subscription is at $59.

8 - Logaster.com

A business without a logo is a business without a face. Professional logo designers, however, may come with a high price. And even crowdsourcing sites may charge way beyond what you are willing to shell out. Regardless of your designing aptitude, with Logaster, you can create your own logo for free. And with a monthly subscription fee of $5, you get other features like professional-looking letterheads, envelopes, business cards, etc.

9 - HomeAway.com

If you’re out on vacation and looking for a place to stay, HomeAway.com can be an option. With over 300,000 vacation rentals to choose from, all you need to do is book a place, pay the down payment and you’re ready to take off. If you’re a property owner, with HomeAway, you can put up your unused property for lease.

10 - Groupon.com

When people think of group-buying sites, Groupon is what instantly comes to mind. Coined from the phrase “group coupon,” Groupon features gift certificates on discounts. Groupon’s deal-of-the-day competitors include LivingSocial, Saveology and Gilt City. Counterparts in the Philippines include Deal Grocer, Metro Deal, BUYanihan and a whole lot more.

[Photo Courtesy by eHow.com]

About the Author, Maricel is a blogger and freelance writer covering a broad array of topics. She regularly writes for Career Mom Online.

10 of the Best College Degree’s You Must Take

2012-05-18T22:29:00.002-06:00

It’s another school year, high school 2012 graduates have you decided which degree your going to take?

I can still remember the time when I was on my senior year, I was so stressed with the final exams, graduation rites, college admission exam and the most stressful of all is choosing the career I would take after high school graduation.

During my time, nursing is the most booming in terms of college degree. Wherever you go, anywhere you are you’ll definitely see someone wearing a nursing uniform from their respective universities.

But I can’t be a nurse, anything related to medicine, that’s one thing I’m definitely sure. I’m scared of blood, scared of injections and all medical related things that most people in this field experience.

It was so hard at that time, almost all my batch mates knows what they want and I feel like I’m the only one being left out. My dad’s on the engineering field, but I hate math. Nevertheless, I need to choose because most universities I want to attend to needs to know which course one would take so that they can prepare the corresponding exam.

In the end I choose Engineering, passed the exam and enroll. It took me two and a half years before I finally realize that I don’t have any interest in creating microchips, that each day is getting more boring, that attending school is just an obligation I should take, that I’m wasting my time, that I’ve wasted more than two years.

I dropped Engineering, changed school, shifted to Information Technology because I still don’t know what I want and IT seems to be promising. I graduated with a Bachelors Degree and am now a part of an established IT company, but still there is a hole in my heart, there are regrets, I should have finished engineering instead and I’m still chasing for something I don’t know what.

Given that story most of you are probably thinking I’m someone old, but I’m not, I’m actually on my early twenties. But I want you to avoid this feeling. I don’t want any of you to experience or think something is wrong, or missing. That’s the main reason why I’m sharing you this list. Consequently, this list will cover degrees that we need at present and a must have for the future as they are getting low enrollees when the fact is, they are the ones we need the most.

1 - Education

Either you major in Elementary, Secondary or in a major subject. Teachers are the most needed and most fulfilling job, especially if you love teaching, shaping the future presidents, well known personalities etc of the world.

2 - Information Technology / Computer Science

IT and CS are two different degrees in the same field. IT is more of concentrating on the business and communication aspects and applications of computing, while CS is the study of the scientific aspects of computing.

“Computer science refers to the processes used to create usable computer programs and applications together with all theory behind those processes. Information technology on the other hand refers to the application of computer programs to solve business processes. It is the application of technology in business. Information technology is very vast in terms of scale because it is applied virtually to any type of process that may require automation, from business, scientific research to the music industry, telecoms and banking.”

Generally, these courses would take four to five degrees. Moreover, although we can say that there are so many students taking this degree, only few are becoming a part of this industry. The field of information technology/computer science still needs lots more of Programmers, Software Developers and Engineers, Database Manager, System Analysts, Internet Marketing Experts, Web Designers and many other jobs that surface throughout the years and I bet many more new specialization in the coming years.

3 - Agriculture

Covers the study that focus on managing agricultural business such as farming, animal raising, in fact all soil, plant and animal management. This is a four year undergraduate degree for a major one such as animal science, agricultural engineering, plant protection and soil science. Possible majoring courses include Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, Agricultural Systems Management, Agribusiness or Soil and Crop Management.

4 - Fisheries and Aquatic Science

This field is different from marine biology since this is the study on how you can understand and manage freshwater fish populations. This field also covers the scientific study of the husbandry and production of non-domesticated fish and shellfish populations for recreational and commercial purposes. Moreover, this degree also performs the management of fishing and marine/aquatic product processing ensuring an adequate conservation and efficient utilization.

5 - Marine Biology

The study of the life in the oceans, salt water, actually it’s not just life on the sea or the oceans but the life where the sea can still reach such as shorelines, the living things down the rocks etc.
Since Earth is consisted of 70% of waters, and we have a very diverse marine life with too little enrollees and a very huge field to study, we lack marine biologists thus we can’t take what the sea or oceans can offer or rather we can’t make use of the sea more properly to not hurt the mother nature.

If you are interested, first you need to finish a four year course preferably BS Biology in a university where a graduate level in Marine Biology is offered.

6 - Radiologic Science

They are the one’s who’s responsible for creating images of the body's internal structure. These images are also a vital instrument that helps medical doctors to study injuries or administer therapeutic treatments. Through these images, you’ll see your broken bones, internal organs, even the tissues.

Healthcare is the largest and fastest-growing industry world wide that the demand for skilled radiologic professionals is among the highest in the field. What’s more nice about this field is that it only takes a year or two to be able to enter this field.

Consequently this job doesn’t require the same stress and dedication that other people in the medical field experience. Not to mention a high paying job.

7 - Aerospace Engineering

Another field in engineering that deals with the design and construction of aircrafts and space crafts. Aerospace Engineer’s also study the science behind the forces and physical properties of this aircraft as well as their aerodynamic characteristics and behaviors.

Aerospace Engineering is divided into two fields aeronautical which usually deal with aircrafts such as airplanes and helicopters while the field of astronautical engineering deals with spacecrafts that are sent outside earth premises to gather data in different planets and galaxies.

8 - Medical Doctors

They are the one’s looking after our health, treating, making diagnosis for common illnesses up to complex, chronic conditions. Doctors are the one’s who saves lives. And all countries need doctors in fact in a 2008 survey we need 661,400 doctors. Pediatricians, surgeons, psychiatrists’, general practitioners, doctors dealing with internal medicine and all 60 other types of medical doctors.

It will take eight more or less years to become a full pledge Doctor. First you need to take a pre-med course which is generally a four year medical related college degree, biology in general. Next is to take and passed the Medical Admission Test, after that another four years in the medical school, then residency period of one or two years.

9 - Petroleum Engineering

Deals with the production of hydrocarbons (natural gas or crude oil) from oil shale, tar sands, and offshore oil and gas fields in an environment friendly approach. Performs an evaluation to potential oil and gas reservoirs, develop and implement the latest technologies in recovering hydrocarbons, design surface collection and oversee different drilling activities to recover oil left in the ground after application of conventional producing techniques.

To be a petroleum engineer one needs to gain knowledge from basic to modern mathematics, physics, and geology, chemistry and engineering disciplines, in short a Bachelors Degree in this field plus computer knowledge since they uses super computers.

10 - Taxation

One year degree in the study of in depth knowledge of the taxation system that your country administers. Generally a degree in law already covers this part but a degree in Taxation is a much more definite approach focusing only on the said field. This field is focused to the study of government policies, regulatory compliance, research and presentation for their clients as well as auditing.

Multinational companies, different organizations or even a single individual needs someone who can give advice and handle their tax issues, and there are many of the said companies and organization in different part of the world who needs a taxation professional.

To be able to enter this field one should have finished a preparation course such as accounting, microeconomics, management, finance and other related degrees.

This list may be a little bit too uncommon except for Education, perhaps some of you haven’t heard about it, and that’s the point. Introducing you to certain degrees in which enrollees are too little but available jobs in well established corporations, multinational companies and the likes are so many you can be a part of one or two firm catering the same field at the same time. Moreover these collegiate degrees can help all of us for a much better future.

[Photo courtesy of Gcaspers.fts.educ.msu.edu]

About the Author, Aleisteir Roberts of Best in Internet Marketing Company, an Ecommerce Web Designer, a part time blogger, social media savvy, Bachelor of Science in Information Technology graduate and is currently a part of internet marketing experts in a well established Search Engine Optimization Company.

10 of the World's Most Well-Known Cancer Diseases

2012-05-18T09:36:00.001-06:00

Many of us are aware of the damage and the negative effects associated with some of the various types of cancer. However, the majority of us have no idea anything else about the disease. With regards to the disease, there are lots of questions that can come into mind.

Examples of these are: What are the different types of cancer and how many different types of it exist? The reality is most people are unsure of the answers, even if they’ve been afflicted with the disease themselves. But the good thing is that information concerning cancer is readily available and easily accessible nowadays.

All it requires is for someone to research, ask around and pay attention about the disease. A listing of the various types of cancer can come in very handy, just like a long list of most cancer signs and symptoms. An ongoing and prolonged cough can be an indication of lung cancer, a simple mole on your back can be a form of skin cancer, or a blood found in your urine may indicate bladder cancer. Knowing and understanding the types of cancer could possibly be complicated, but can be considered as a life saver. Find out what are the different types of cancer including the parts of the body they have an impact on.

1 - Lung Cancer

Cancer of the lung is one of the most popular forms of cancer these days. It is the primary cause of cancer death both in men and women in various parts of the world. Smoking cigarettes leads to most cases of lung cancers. The earlier you started smoking and the greater number of cigarettes you smoke each day, results in a very high probability of developing lung cancer. Other common factors that may also increase the risk includes excessive levels of pollution, exposure to asbestos as well as radiation.

2 - Breast Cancer

The cancer detected in the skin cells of the human breast is called Breast Cancer. A mass of breast tissue which is increasing in an irregular and unusual way is a dangerous tumor. Breast cancer is among the most well-known malignancy affecting women in Europe as well as North America and it is believed to be the 2nd leading cause of death. Women tend to be much prone to acquire breast cancer, though this doesn’t imply that men are safe from it.

3 - Thyroid Cancer

Thyroid cancer can happen in almost any age bracket, even though it is most encountered after the age of 30 and its aggressiveness improves in older patients. Nearly all affected individuals present with a nodule on their thyroid which usually does not trigger signs and symptoms. 99% of thyroid nodules are not cancerous cells. However, if a thyroid cancer start to develop and increase within the thyroid gland, that’s when the problem occurs.

4 - Leukemia

Leukemia is a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow. It is a very life-threatening disease. This condition is described with the overproducing of immature blood cells which does not completely develop and mature and cannot perform the regular activities of the blood cells.

5 - Prostate Cancer

The prostate gland can only be found in men. Age is believed to be one of the major risk factor for getting prostate cancer. As men become older, they’ve got a higher possibility of developing all kinds of cancer such as cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is very unusual below the age of 50, but 4 out of 10 men who are 70 years or older will have the disease. Most of these men will certainly live normally not knowing they already have prostate cancer which may of course shorten their life span.

6 - Kidney (Renal) Cancer

Humans are born having two kidneys except in some other rare situations. The kidneys are organs which are important since it is used to eliminate extra water and waste from the blood as well as helps to control human blood pressure. Cigarette smokers, obese people and those who have hypertension are at a higher risk of acquiring most types of cancer, which include kidney cancer. The symptoms in many cases are unnoticed because tumors are often slow growing and not diagnosed until the patient starts to see indications such as blood in the urine, fatigue and some back pains.

7 - Colon and Rectal Cancer

This type of cancer is the 2nd most common after lung cancer among men, and considered as the 3rd most prevalent after lung and breast cancers in women. Everyone is possibly vulnerable to getting colon cancer sooner or later in their lifetime. Despite the fact that colon cancer happens in older people, it can happen to younger people as well. Colon cancer can either be acquired or genetically inherited.

8 - Bladder Cancer

Bladder is another significant part of the body that helps in the removal wastes. It is mainly responsible for gathering and storing urine until it is eventually disposed off from the body. The existence of cancer in the bladder is called Bladder Cancer. Exposure to harmful chemicals (those used in factories) and tobacco smoke can cause an even greater risk of bladder cancer.

9 - Pancreatic Cancer

The pancreas is in charge of generating insulin which regulates the sugar level in our body. It also releases pancreatic juice which supports in food digestion. When abnormal growth and development of cancerous cells takes place in the pancreas, it is commonly known as pancreatic cancer. Just like any other types of cancers, this too is life-threatening. Chronic pancreatitis, which can be due to the intake of large amounts of alcohol may serve as a predecessor of pancreatic cancer. A lot of people usually relate pancreatic cancer to genes and family history yet there doesn’t appear any kind of definite evidence to imply one or the other.

10 - Endometrial Cancer

Endometrial cancer is a disease in which cancer cells form layers in the endometrial linings of the female uterus, and that is why it is also termed as “Uterine Cancer”. However, this is not the only cancer relating to the uterus. There are different kinds of cancers originating in the uterine area, but endometrial cancer is the most popular.

Reference/Source: Common Cancer Types

Photo Source: Guardian.co.uk

10 of the Most Inspiring Travel Books

2012-05-16T07:48:00.002-06:00

Has a book ever inspired you to hop on a bus to the next town, book a plane ticket or plan the expedition of a lifetime?

Sometimes it’s an epic recounting of a classic trip. In other cases, it’s simply a book with such a strong sense of place that you can’t wait to see that land, taste that food and hear that language for yourself.

I’ve lost count of the number of books that have spurred me to travel, but here are some of my favourites. Many are books I read as an impressionable kid that have resonated for decades—literary merit (or lack thereof) notwithstanding.

The Top 10 list is utterly unscientific and personal—among other things, it reflects interests as diverse as Buddhism, chick lit and the Second World War—so please chime in with suggestions of your own in the comments section. In particular, thrillers and horror novels scare the heck out of me, so I’m woefully uninformed about the charms of Stieg Larsson’s Stockholm or Stephen King’s Maine. And I’m eager to expand my knowledge of foreign authors in translation. I’d love it if you’d fill me in.

1 - The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger

What teenager growing up in the Toronto suburbs in the early 1980s wouldn’t be captivated by Holden Caulfield’s sophisticated travels in late-1940s Manhattan?

2 - The Last House of Ulster, A Family in Belfast, by Charles Foran

An utterly engrossing non-fiction account of one family and their struggles to maintain some sort of normal life amid “The Troubles” in Ireland.

3 - The Watch That Ends the Night, by Hugh MacLennan

A quiet schoolmaster, a fiery radical and the ill woman they both adore. Against the odds, it makes Montreal seem even more romantic than normal.

4 - Heidi, by Johanna Spyri

This sentimental tale about a Swiss orphan and her crusty grandfather has been lodged in my brain since I was very, very young. It would be over three decades before I finally saw the Swiss Alps for myself.

5 - Gone to Soldiers, by Marge Piercy

Okay, it’s Paris during the Nazi occupation, so the joie de vivre is seriously dimmed. But it’s still Paris, and Piercy brings it to vivid life.

6 - The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga

An ambitious New Delhi servant becomes a successful Bangalore entrepreneur through violent means in this Man Booker Prize-winning novel.

7 - The Thorn Birds, by Colleen McCullough

Say what you like about the literary merits of this 1977 potboiler, it made a sheep station in the Australian outback sound like paradise when I devoured it in high school.

8 - Radio Shangri-La, by Lisa Napoli

An utterly absorbing story of an American journalist’s journey to Bhutan to help start the country’s first private radio station. In the process, she witnesses the country’s eagerness to enter the 21st century.

9 - Tales of a Female Nomad, by Rita Golden Gelman

Forget Eat, Pray, Love. This memoir of a fearless solo world traveller—she thinks nothing of breezing into an isolated Mexican village and asking a stranger to rent her a room—is candid and charming.

10 - Among the Cities, by Jan Morris

I could have picked any Jan Morris book. Honestly, I’d read her grocery list and probably enjoy it—her writing is that crisp, evocative and delightful. I chose this collection because it covers dozens of the world’s most intriguing cities.

Reference/Source: Top 10 Inspiring Travel Books

Recommended: Travel Series on INSPIRED TRAVEL

About the Author, Laura Byrne Paquet's first encounter with the written word was not auspicious: her birth announcement appeared in the newspaper classifieds under the heading "Livestock for Sale." Despite that, she became a writer. She’s written about destinations around the world for more than 80 publications. Laura has also written or co-authored 12 books, including Wanderlust: A Social History of Travel and Secret Ottawa. (www.facingthestreet.com)

10 of the Best Dressed in Met Costume Institute Gala 2012

2012-05-08T21:31:00.002-06:00

Hollywood stars, fashion models, well known designers, producer’s and many other A-lister’s are all present in the previous Met Costume Institute Gala entitled “Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations”.

The theme for this year is “Surrealism”. Italian, Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada, two well know names in terms of fashion who contributed an immeasurable account in the industry shared their artistically designed pieces which Thomas P. Cambell Director and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art profess “Schiaparelli’s collaborations with Dalí and Cocteau as well as Prada’s Fondazione Prada push art and fashion ever closer, in a direct, synergistic, and culturally redefining relationship”

Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada’s designs way back from the time when they were just starting to create a name was exhibited. The main reason why different celebrities and other well known names attend the event not just to impress but more on commemorating Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada contribution.

Here’s the list of the best dressed stars that walk the red carpet that night. This list is not made in any particular order.

1 - Jessica Alba

Mother of two stepped out or the red carpet wearing a metallic gown designed by Michael Kors. Can anyone tell she already had two kids? The 31 year old mother and actress elegantly arrive at the gala with her nice dress and a perfect smile.

2 - Beyonce Knowles

former Single Lady now Blue Ivy’s hot momma walked the red carpet in an intricately beaded black lace with purple feather at the ends created and designed by Givenchy. I can say that the few added inches gave her a much more voluptuous effect. Can you see a trace of a woman who just gave birth?

3 - Leighton Meester

One of the Gossip Girls arrived at the gala wearing a lace bodice in a puffy tulle skirt by Marchesa. The dress looks good on her and she looked great on that dress, confidence and class, that’s what she looks, and it’s not just the dress I also loved her purse and her makeup is just perfect.

4 - Amy Adams

Clad in a white or is it cream colored couture one-shouldered gown with gold bow belt by Giambattista Valli. I don’t think I have the right words to describe her, she just looks good, I love her dress and I love the way she carry that dress. Maybe anyone who wears white will look sophisticated and maybe not, be the critic yourself.

5 - Scarlett Johansson

She never failed to amuse me especially in this event. Wearing a Dolce and Gabbana creation, Johansson arrive in the gala in a bejeweled and tulle strapless nude dress.

6 - Lea Michelle

Another Glee star attend the gala wearing a sapphire plunging neckline dress by Diane von Furstenberg, clad with her fashion jewelry and a blue purse.

7 - Dianna Agron

One of the stars of Glee walked the red carpet wearing a Carolina Herrera gown. The emerald colored low cut neckline dress accentuated with a thin mint belt made her look perfect. Actually, it’s not just the dressed, it’s the way how she carry that dress that made her on the list of the best dressed for the night.

8 - Janelle Monae

A black pant suit with fashion jewelry as accents looks great on her. A combination of sexy and funky as most critics stated, although there are some who might claim that she shouldn’t be here, I guess there are still more who would want her on the list for being over the edge.

9 - Hillary Swank

Arrived at the gala wearing a simple yet elegant red dress by Michael Kors. While others are embellish with intricately designed clothes and accessories, Swank opted for this simple dress and I can say she had made the right choice.

10 - Chace Crawford, Darren Chris and Joe Jonas

This gorgeous men hits our list as one of the best dressed in The Met Gala. All sported a nice black tux except Kevin. Criss and Jonas wear’s a bow tie while Crawford opted for a tie.

[Photo Courtesy by Yahoo OMG]

10 of the Most Influential Social Networking Sites

2012-05-07T23:38:00.002-06:00

Social media networks are one of the greatest avenue in promoting your brand globally and the best avenue to increase social acceptance. Social signal acceptance is one of the many factors that the search giant, Google is looking for in ranking your site as trustworthy and listing it on the top page of their organic search. Your social media agency knows all of these and knows the importance of social visibility and acceptance.

The birth of internet and social media networks changed the game of marketing. Now, conventional marketing is part and parcel of effective advertising while internet marketing plays a major role in effective advertising since people are spending more time online. This phenomenal shift in technology and human behavior gave social media networks the power to be very influential.
Optimizing your social media information with proper, relevant keywords are still a factor to making all your effort work. Just be sure that the information you send to these social media sites leads back to quality content that has high relevance and right keyword. Remember, that you do not have to please the robots; you give information to people who seek knowledge.

To have better business growth means embracing change and facing the challenges of the unknown future headstrong. As for now, here are the lists of the most influential social media networks that can help your business grow.

1 - Facebook

Facebook is a social media networking site intended to connect friends, family, and business associates. Facebook is a highly interactive social media site which made it a popular choice for people who wants reconnection with people and connection to the world. This social media giant already grew its member to 900 million active users as of April 2012.

2 - Twitter

Twitter is an online social networking service and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, known as "tweets". Millions of people use their service to disseminate news or trends around the globe. Twitter is said to be the fastest information disseminator across the globe.

3 - LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 120 million members and it is still growing rapidly. LinkedIn lets you connect to trusted professionals who let you exchange information, ideas, business trends and opportunities and even job opportunities amongst your professional network. So polishing your profile especially filling your professional experience with details could change your career and life.

4 - Google Plus

Google Plus is a social networking and identity service, operated by Google Incorporated. Google Plus is vastly becoming one of the most popular and best social networking websites on the Internet with so much promises of better social networking experience. With the incorporation of Facebook, Twitter and Skype like feel, it is no surprise that people are slowly shifting to this social networking site and just enjoying the leveled up social media experience.

5 - YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing website now owned by Google. Unregistered users can watch unlimited videos and share it to other social media sites but cannot view videos considered to have offensive content while registered users can watch (is not limited to watching videos considered to have offensive content), upload, rate, share and leave a comment on videos watched.

6 - Digg

Digg is a website that permits a user to share content by submitting their writing masterpieces. The popularity or virality of a submitted content is measured through votes and comments by influential users terming it to be “highly Diggable” content.

7 - StumbleUpon

StumbleUpon is a discovery engine (a form of web search engine) that finds and recommends web content to its users according to Wikipedia. One of the features it boasts is its ability to allow users to discover and rate web pages, videos, or photos according to their tastes and interests.

8 - Reddit

Reddit is a social news website wherein a registered user can submit contents in the form of link or post “self” text. Other registered users can either vote up or down a submitted content which can help promote stories in its top page.

9 - Pinterest

Pinterest is a pinboard-style social photo sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests, hobbies and more. Users can browse through pinboards and can re-pin or like other pins. Not everyone can create an account in an instant because you need an invite in order to create your account.

10 - Foursquare

Foursquare is a location-based social networking website for mobile devices, such as smartphones. Users "check in" at venues using a mobile website, text messaging or a device-specific application by selecting from a list of venues the application locates nearby. Location is based on GPS hardware in the mobile device or network location provided by the application. Each check-in awards the user points and sometimes "badges".

Now you know where to be most social over the web, don’t waste any more time and effort. Start building your social allies and create great bonds with the most influential people in these influential social media sites. Leave a good impression and make your brand known through these sites.

[This list of the most influential social networking site is highly recommended by Cybertegic.com, a social media agency who offers top of the line internet marketing service and effective internet marketing strategy such as ppc management, local search engine optimization, email marketing and many more. Help your site land the top spot of organic results of search engines by taking advantage of the free web business analysis and consultation offered by Cybertegic, Inc.]

10 of the Must-Read Articles to Find Design Resources

2012-04-26T17:09:00.004-06:00

Staying up-to-date on the current web design news is very important for every different kind of designers as it will play a vital role in developing their own skills. If you are not up-to-date on the latest and most probably the important news and resources, then you are not going to be able to provide professional people with what they are looking for. Of course they will go somewhere where they will find what they are looking for in case you can’t provide what people are looking for.

Finding inspiration is not always as simple as it sounds, whether you’ve been designing for years or only weeks but because of different motivated people who are not stopping to compile different websites that will serves as a guide for every one of us, looking for resources become handy. Being a motivated one, I always find a way to collect all the best resources to help every individual to easily get started on their journey. In today's post, we have composed the most comprehensive list of places where you can find design resources with different categories such as PSD, Business Cards, Logo, Brushes, Patterns, Textures, Infographics and more. These lists are part of the session "Web Resources Compilations" made by me on my blog. It is an excellent list of categorized places or websites where you can find different great sources of Design Inspirations and Resources.

The primary focus of this list is resources to help different designers whether they are PRO or Beginner in their workflow. This will cover most of the aspects in designing that will allow you to manipulate your own design journey. Good Luck!

1 - 25 Sources to Download High Quality Free PSD Files

Working with the Photoshop PSD files as source for design elements like Photoshop text effects can help you get a quicker and more effective start. It also reveals the techniques used on a specific design and most of the time there is something new we can learn from it. This entry will show you the 25 Sources to download high quality and professionally designed Photoshop .PSD files.

2 - 20 Sources to Download Free Photoshop Brushes

Brushes enhance your art for making it possible for you to add awesome graphic elements to your image and of course, save you a lot of time. But finding great brush sources is not as easy as it seems. You have many websites, but only a few are well organized and have easy to find brushes. That is what we will try to bring you with this post that will show you the list of websites where you can find free download of Photoshop Brushes.

3 - 20 Sources to Download Free Photoshop Patterns

Photoshop Patterns can help to create attractive and beautiful website backgrounds with very little effort. That's why we listed a bunch of sites where you can download Free Photoshop patterns. This list of sites can be very good sources of Free Photoshop Patterns that you can incorporate to your designing process and hopefully will speed up your workflow.

4 - 20 Sources to Download Free High Quality Textures

Texture plays a vital role in giving a little bit of depth that every designer is looking for to make the image pop. With just a little tweak of imagination and creativity, they can already create good design artworks with it. That is why we compiled the top places or websites to download free high quality textures.

5 - 15 Massive Collection of Logo Design Resources Site

Logo is one of the very important elements of one’s company as it symbolizes the image of the team as a whole. Every company wants their logo to look unique so that it makes the company stand out from their competitors. This entry won't show you any compilations of logo designs that are visually extraordinary to make you inspire but we are compiling the list some of the top websites where you can find the best sources to get Logo Design Inspirations and Resources.

6 - 10 Ultimate Lists of Top Infographics Resources Site

Instead of poring over figures and long reports to decipher data, an infographic can immediately explain what the data actually means. This could help to quickly and clearly provide us with information that might be complex or hard to understand. In this entry, we compiled the list some of the top websites where you can find almost all of the top infographics around the web.

7 - 20 Collection of Business Card Resources Site

Here we provide a list of useful websites where you can find inspirations and resources related to business cards. This will help you to find the best website suited for you to have your own business card. It is important because this will leave a good impression about your company and yourself in the minds of those whom you hand over the card.

8 - 20 Excellent List of Free Fonts Resources Site

Good typography is not just about the size and style of a font, but also it's about helping to establish a high level of visual hierarchy. It is very important element of a designing whereas it adds finishing touch to a design to give it the best look. In this entry, we compiled different websites where you can download free Fonts to get you started in your designing career.

9 - 20 Helpful Websites to Submit Your Design News

Traffic is one of the main goal and may be one of the reason why people blog. Every individual have their own reason why they are blogging but the common denominator is "Traffic". That is why we compiled the 20 websites where you can submit your post for free to generate traffic. But sad to say, they only allow design related news. But for designers, this is a good start to have some exposure in design world.

10 - 30 Marketplaces To Buy and Sell Stock Images

Photographers, this is your turn. This entry is a roundup of different marketplaces for stock photos that offers buy and sell of different arts. These virtual places are created to help buyers and sellers to save time and money.

About Designers Hub (formerly Photoshop PH) is a huge directory of the best free Photoshop Resources from all over the web. The ultimate list with different kinds of Photoshop Resources such as PSD, Brushes, Styles, Patterns, Gradients, PNG, Tutorials, Inspirations and many more. We also provide design compilations, web development and art-oriented articles and we promote the works of talented artists from all over the world. Founded in July 2011 by Manuel Garcia from Philippines.

About Manuel Garcia, the author

He is currently a 3rd year student taking up Education Course and the founder of Designers Hub. He launched Designers Hub to help the Design Community in providing high quality design resources and inspirations.

10 of the Best Viral Content Guide Articles

2012-04-25T06:55:00.004-06:00

Every blogger wants to produce the best, quality and a viral content. Now that quite a lot of things have changed since then – Google algorithm changes, evolution of social media, changes in the content access devices, and with other ranking and viral factors. You have to believe that making content viral is the only upholding thing in the blogging realm where competition is inflated and that unanticipated events could happen anytime.

So I’d like to share with you my ultimate guides in my blog content creation, blog content management, and blog content promotion.

Here are my 10 Best Viral Content Guide Articles.

1 - Best Possible Experience for Users

“Search is a complicated and evolving art and science, so rather than focusing on specific algorithmic tweaks, we encourage you to focus on delivering the best possible experience for users. “ - Amit Singhal (Google Fellow).

This is the complete text to abide to if you really wish to make sense in the web. Thus, I always recommend this article of Google Webmaster Central blog to anyone who needs some guidance on how to create high quality content.

2 - Most Valuable Content Types Checklist

“The best ways to have your content spread is to have your readers share it because people trust their peers more than brands.” - Ahava Leibtag .

You aim to get a debut through a very fantastic blog post, I am certain you have to put up with this checklist. As this article says, the silver bullet that will make our content sparkle has been found. This is the guide you are looking for.

3 - What Great Content is or Actually Could Be

“It seems that many content creators rely on size to measure greatness, while on the Web it’s often the other way around. The faster someone can convey a message, the greater the content.” – Tad Chef.

I remember one of my clients who argued with me about content size and of how it matters to search engine rankings. That time I only send him the link of this article and he all got it. So, if you have a problem with this matter, better be informed.

4 - You Need Idea Generators

“Use experiences from your lifetime to make analogies about what you’re discussing. Or give the article a theme – sports, movies, comparisons, top 10 lists and fun facts – whatever you can think of.” - Webmaster Format.

Do you have some rules regarding the source of your blog posts? Say enough to that rules. When I’ve read this article I begun to explore outside the box and say anything that I want about my niche. As it says, you don’t need any more rules. You need idea generators.

5 - Quality is the Only Sustainable SEO Strategy

“If quality, credibility, and authority can all be algorithmically identified, then certainly they are based on distinct sets of factors that in sum create signals.” - Adam Audette.

I always ensure that I’m taking up the excellent level with my SEO Strategy when working to my client sites. Honestly, I’m not doing much on this with my blog until I’ve found out this article that tackles on the factors of a sustainable SEO strategy. Just don’t build your SEO strategy around the algorithms. Build your SEO strategy around your users.

6 - Take Your Link Building Assessment

“The more quality backlinks you have the higher your PR will be. The mechanism is as that simple yet complicated.” – Kira Permunian.

I have this blog post right after the Google Panda pagerank update last June 2011 where I took assessment with my link building methods. By having such, I found out that all just boils down to following usability standards and submission to Google’s mission in providing quality, useful and relevant content in the web when aiming a better Google Page Rank.

7 - Guaranteed Backlinks on Your Next Blog Post

“Since I have your attention, let me tell you one more thing: You have to keep people hooked on your content if you want to get links. People don’t share things they don’t read.” – ViperChill

I’ve learned a lot on this post. The ideas presented are realistic and highly applicable. If you wanted to get viral I believe you should read as what I have done with my shares and with my blog posts. Be innovative and attractive.

8 - Linkbait Headlines Every Blogger Can Use

“No matter how great your content is, if the headline sucks, it stands little chance of getting the attention it deserves.” – Eric Brantner.

This is the idea of Always10 Blog of JrPlaza. When I first saw this blog, I was so sure that this will be the hit to search engines as many people love to know the “top”, the “most” and the “10s” about anything under the sun. Congratulations JrPlaza! This is really a great source of linkbait headlines. See more headlines at this blog.

9 - Know the Elements of Social Content Success

“While linkbait does bring tremendous SEO benefits from links and traffic, visitors also benefit from the quality content.” - Jordan Kasteler.

Knowing this is crucial and very important in SEO and in Social Media success. If you do not know, contextual link bait is what Google looking for to get a good rank in SERPs. I find this very hard to achieve at first right after reading this post, but later on I’ve managed to get triumph on linkbaiting.

10 - How Quality over Quantity Wins

“The best way to ensure that your website ranks highly for your desired keywords is to specifically target your inbound linking strategy by entering into linking collaborations with a smaller number of websites that are specifically optimized for your keyword through content and quality.” – David from twago.

This is the guest post that really makes sense a lot to me about hats in SEO. The equation to follow is Quality content + Quality site +Quality link building = Winning Site.

Now that you know my guide articles in creating a blog post, for better SEO projection and for Social Media presence, I think it’s good to hear from you. With your feedback, share the link of the most popular post of your blog. Let’s make it more popular and viral.
[Photo courtesy of techipedia.com]
[Republish from 11/5/11]

[This blog post is rated as "a Must-Read" and recommended by Cybertegic, Inc., an internet marketing service company and expert in search engine optimization or SEO, PPC marketing, Social Media Marketing, Email Marketing and more. Avail free marketing consultation from the best internet marketing company in California.]

Kira Permunian is the author of SEO Geekster Online Blog. He aims to provide best SEO blogging tips, Social Media Optimization guides and technology updates to his readers. Visit his blog and don’t miss to follow him on various social media channels.

10 of the Best Benefits from Breastfeeding

2012-04-21T06:33:00.002-06:00

“Breast milk is best for babies…” True! No doubt about it. Breastfeeding is considered as one of the most beneficial and significant act that a mother does to her new born child. Every mother wants the best for her child, if that’s the case, breastfeeding is highly recommended. An infant’s development is so important, and making it as the primary concern, take note that breast milk should not be set aside even if formula is available.

In this article we will enumerate some of the benefits that a new born baby can get from breastfeeding, also we have included some of the benefits that breastfeeding moms can get. Actually, the list is not enough to tell you all the benefits we can get from breastfeeding. The benefits are so many and the results are incalculable whether we talk about the effects physically, physiologically, mentally and even emotionally. If you are a mom-to-be or you just gave birth, this article is right for you. Welcome to the wonders of breastfeeding.

1 - Natural is Always Best

Breast milk has the most complete nutrients and antibodies that are needed by the baby. Aside from being natural, its components ensure the baby’s life. It contains colostrum, the thick yellow breast milk that a woman produces during her pregnancy and after she gave birth. The colostrum that the baby gets is only a small amount but it is enough for the infant’s stomach to hold.

2 - Breast milk as Disease Fighter

Aside from colostrum, it also contains different antibodies and hormones that protect the baby from different illnesses or diseases. Also, the risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) is lowered because of the components of breast milk.

3 - Breast milk changes to the infants needs

Colostrum becomes a thinner type of milk and becomes ”mature milk” on the third to fifth day after giving birth. This contains the right amount of fat, sugar, water, other nutrients and antibodies the baby needs to continue to grow. This is also easier for the infants to digest and as compared to the formula, babies’ take time to adjust with the proteins it has.

4 - Serves as the infant’s risk reducer

What else can breast milk do? It lowers the risk and serves as protection from: gastroenteritis, necrotizing enter colitis, chronic constipation, colic, and other stomach upsets, ear infections, respiratory illnesses, pneumonia, bronchitis, kidney infections, septicemia, allergies, asthma, eczema, and severity of allergic disease, meningitis, botulism, childhood lymphoma, crohn's disease and ulcerative enter-colitis. It can also reduce the risk of Type 1 diabetes, skin rash such as a topic dermatitis, childhood leukemia, acute appendicitis, rheumatoid arthritis, inguinal hernia, pyloric stenosis, decreased risk for vitamin E and Iron deficiency anemia.

5 - Breastfeeding as mother and child bonding

During the development stage of the babies, breastfeeding serves as the “bonding time” which leads to the emotional and spiritual development aspect of babies. Babies like this so much as they feel the warmth due to physical contact between them and their mothers.

6 - Good for Babies, Good for Mothers, too!

Different health problem risks are also lowered because of breastfeeding. This includes Type 2 diabetes, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, postpartum depression and bone fractures from osteoporosis.

7 - Breastfeeding can save you bucks

The costs on formula and other feeding supplies can become greater as the child’s needs increases. Also, due to the nutrients and antibodies breast milk gives, it reduces the chance of the babies to get sick so health costs are also lowered. When the infants chances of getting sick is low, breastfeeding mothers can have fewer missed working days.

8 - Satisfy baby’s hunger in no time

Imagine how easy it is once you established a good breastfeeding routine. If the infant needs milk, you don’t have to buy, measure and mix the formula and also you can feed the infant even in the middle of the night. Also, there is no sterilization of nipples and bottles required, that saves you time and will make way for you to do more stuffs.

9 - Mothers can rest and relax more

While breastfeeding, the body produces hormones that have an endorphin-effect that makes you feel relaxed. Aside from sitting while doing the routine, breastfeeding moms can also nurse their babies even while sleeping. If it happens that your baby cries in the middle of the night, mom don’t have to stand up and mix the formula, she just have to put herself in a relaxing position where she can nurse her baby.

10 - From preggy to sexy

Breastfeeding moms has a greater chance of losing weight, it helps the mother's body return to its pre-pregnancy state faster. When the mother’s body is producing breastmilk, it uses 1/2 of calories needed, which is pulled from fat stores, it also equivalent in burning 500 - 1,500 calories per day.

[This article is supported by Shop4diets.com, A True Success HCG Diet Drops which is guaranteed permanent success on the world-famous HCG diet plan. Non-homeopathic and trusted by thousands of patients and practitioners.]

10 of the World's Longest and Fascinating Cable Cars

2012-04-19T18:08:00.002-06:00

“Scenic views as you ascend”, this is one of the most fascinating moments in our travelling life and also this might be also one of the most frightening. The cable cars are the used transportation nowadays which is mostly used to travel from mountain to mountain, from plain ground to a mountain’s peak and even below sea level up to the mountain top. The first cable car was built in 1644 which functions as a transport of soil from a higher distance.

In the 19th century, the system was used to transport ore mining and the first time it was used as means of public transport is in the 1920s. Who would have thought that a steel box which was suspended by a cable will become a public transport and will give way for lots of tourism opportunities? As you read this article you will be fascinated with the distances, heights and even the awesome features of different cable cars this world has.

1 - The Ba Na System of Vietnam

This is hailed by Guinness World Record as the longest nonstop cable car ride which has a length of 16,500 feet and this also has the greatest height differential between two cable terminals which is 4,230 feet. This system links Vong Nguyet Hill and Ba Na Mountain. The whole cable car trip lasts for fifteen (15) minutes.

2 - Tianmen Chan Cable Car of China

Tianmen Chan also known as Heaven’s Gate Mountain is located in the northern province of Hunan, eight (8) kilometers south of Zhangjiajie City. It covers the distance of 7455 meters and a height of 1279 meters. If you did not want to take the cable car, you still have one option. It is to walk 999 steps to the top of the mountains without platforms for stopping.

3 - Masada Cableway in Israel

Found in Masada, Israel (obviously), this is the world’s lowest cable car ride. Why? The Masada Cableway’s bottom station is located 257 meters below sea level. The top on the other hand is 33 meters above sea level. One great feature of riding this cable car is you can see the ruins of ancient fortress.

4 - The téléphérique de l'Aiguille du Midi

This construction was built in 1955 and until now, it holds the record for the world’s highest vertical ascent cable car. It has 2,800 meters of height gap, from 1,035 meters to 3,842 meters. This 20-minute heart-pumping cable car ride is located at the Mont Blanc Massif of the French Alps. Thrill seekers should prepare EUR 41 to experience riding one of the cable cars.

5 - The Gulmarg Gondola

Named as the ‘meadow of flowers’, the valley of Gulmarg has the height of 8,958 feet. The cable car rises vertically, travelling 13,058 feet and as you travel, you can see lots of Himalayan peaks.

6 - Table Mountain Cableway

This cableway is located at Cape Town, South Africa. The cableway measures 3,560 feet, equivalent to 1,085 meters. One of the great features this cableway has is its unique cable cars. The cable car’s floor rotates 360 degrees, making passengers to view every direction they want to see as they journey to the summit. Upon arrival at the summit, they can explore the mountain or take a picnic.

7 - Grindelwald-Männlichen Cableway

This cableway is located in Switzerland. It links the Grindelwald-Grund (3,094 feet) and Männlichen (3560 feet) in the Swiss Alps. The thirty-minute travel will also make passengers as they witness two known mountains as they ascend, the Jungfrau and Eiger.

8 - Genting Skyway

This cableway is Malaysia’s pride. Why? Because it is Southeast Asia’s longest cableway. It is also has the fastest cable cars that travels to Genting Highlands Resort which is 6,650 feet above sea level. The Genting Highlands Resort has theme parks, hotels, shops and even a casino.

9 - Sugarloaf Mountain’s Cableway

This is located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Before you reach the top you have to ride two cable cars. The first one is to Moro de Açúca at 20 m and the other one to Pão de Açúcar which is 396 m (1,299 ft) above the harbour. As you travel the cableway, you can see in a distance Rio de Janeiro’s famous statue, the “Christ the Redeemer” on Corcovado Mountain.

10 - Andes’ Teleférico

This is the highest and longest teleférico in the world which takes a travel time of an hour to ascend from a plateau in the Andes 10,250 feet (3,125 meters) to the top of Pico Espejo. There are four stations as you ascend the top, you can even have a stopover if you want to. The surprise does not end there, once you reach the top, it is time to admire the top of Pico Bolivar.

10 of the Best Alternatives to Google AdSense (Monetize Online)

2012-04-16T17:33:00.001-06:00

Making money online is one of the many reasons why fellow bloggers keeps on blogging. As bloggers, we aim to share information that we think is something to be shared as well as to get traffic in respected blogs. Of course, bunch of visitors means a great conversion to our online revenues as a take back from giving or spreading valuable info’s throughout the web.

Recently, I meet someone online talking about his site or blog being dismissed or banned by Google Adsense. For those who don’t know what this Adsense is. Google Adsense is a service of Great Google to help blogs/website owners and counterpart to monetize or earn something from their blogs/website by putting some ads on them. (See 10 of Google Adsense Do's and Don'ts for Web Publishers)

Going back to the story, Google Adsense dismissed the Adsense account of this inconsequential friend of mine. He was earning good amount in Adsense for almost 2 years and now he feels so low though still striving. He asked me if there are other alternatives aside from Google Adsense and so *Click!

So here’s my new post for this week – 10 of the best alternatives aside from Google Adsense.

1 - AdBrite

AdBrite is the largest independent ad exchange, reaching 300 million global unique visitors every month, including more than 150 million in the U.S. With site-level transparency and an open platform for data providers and real-time bidders to plug into, we maximize selection and control for advertisers and publishers. Leveraging first- and third-party audience data for advanced targeting is dead simple, and results can be closely monitored through our superior real-time reporting and analysis.

2 - Bidvertiser

In 2003, Bpath spotted the need of website owners to sell their ad space directly to advertisers, overcoming the disadvantages of automated systems, like Google's AdSense and Overture' Content Match, where neither the advertiser nor the publisher has any control of the advertisements' quality, pricing and timing. Bidvertiser On-Site Bid Per Click offers website owners with the ability to sell their ad space, automatically, to the highest bidder, on a price-per-click basis, where the price is mostly effected by the quality and popularity of their website. Advertisers can place ads directly on sites of their choice and pay only when a visitor clicks-through their site. Bidvertiser serves text ads in all types of standard ad units, including banners, buttons, skyscrapers and inline ads.

3 - Chitika

Chitika is a data analytics company in the business of on-line advertising. Through the application of data and innovative technology in the fields of mobile, local and search Chitika has developed a vast global network that maximizes yield for both publishers and advertisers.

When Chitika co-founders, Venkat Kolluri and Alden DoRosario left Lycos in 2003 to start their own company, they sought a name that would suggest the speed with which its customers would be able to put up ads on their Web sites. Chitika, which means "snap of the fingers" in Telugu (a South Indian language), captured this sentiment and Chitika Inc. was born. Chitika introduced its online-ads service in January, 2004.

4 - Infolinks

Established in 2007 and backed by Primera Capital, we combine advanced internet technologies with advertising strategy and extensive buyer-behavior analysis to bring premium advertising to pre-screened websites and blogs worldwide. Advertisers reach global markets with local precision, via 300 million unique views across 50,000+ premium sites that work exclusively with Infolinks.

5 - Pocket Cents

The PocketCents pay per click banner advertising network is built from the ground up so we can focus on the most important aspects of internet marketing. Target markets of your industry at fixed PPC rates! Choose a local audience to place your advertisement in front of and invest in solid results. We are the next generation of online advertising.

6 - Kontera

An advertising network, providing in-text advertising and information services.
Kontera's technology is based on several proprietary semantic, statistical, linguistic, and yield-maximization algorithms that analyze online content, extract and rank topics and keywords, and then match them to relevant advertisements, content, and information. The company's flagship product is called ContentLink.

Kontera was founded in 2003 by co-founders Yoav Shaham, Assaf Henkin, and Henit Vitos. The company is privately held and backed by Sequoia Capital and Carmel Ventures. Kontera is based in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and Herzliya, Israel.

Kontera ads are well represented on the internet and used in over 1% of the top 10,000 websites ranked by traffic.

7 - Clicksor

Clicksor is a contextual advertising network which functions by allowing advertisers to match pre-selected keywords or channels within particular internet content. The advertising formats include inline text links, banners, graphical and rich media banners and pop-under ads. Payment for these ads may be on a CPC, CPV or CPM basis. The minimum charge for advertisers is $20, and the minimum payout for web-content publishers is $50.[4] Clicksor claims to be able to target via time-targeting and geographical targeting, in addition to their keyword based system.
Website owners seeking to earn revenue based on their web traffic can sign up for an account and are given the ability to place Clicksor ad code to display on their sites. Based on the advertisers’ selections of keywords, ads are distributed to these websites based on their site content and relevancy, and ads are matched to the appropriate websites. Clicksor Publishers can place an assortment of text/image banners, rich media banners, full page pop-unders and interstitial ad codes that best suit the design of their website.

8 - Exit Junction

A service of DynamicOxygen Revenue Network which enables publishers of all sizes to realize their full revenue potential without compromising their site's user experience! Our innovative ad solution provides exceptionally targeted ads with high eCPM for your ENTIRE traffic! Yes, we accept international traffic too! As our publisher you get access to a variety of unique ad formats not found elsewhere, such as Interstitials, Layer Ads, Peeler Ads, Anchor Ads, and more... And best of all you also enjoy timely payments and superb support!

9 - Dynamic Oxygen

DynamicOxygen is an online technology company with a mission to disrupt the current search-advertising market! Our company is completely technology driven and we are obsessed with constantly improving our product offerings and build our products based on customer feedback and requests. Since our founding we never lost a sight of our goal: To Lead by Innovation!

We believe in cutting edge innovation and rapid product development. No task is too big and no goal is unachievable for us! We believe in making a difference by building new products that shift the balance of power in the online advertising market! We are passionate about our technology and strongly believe in the value proposition we provide for advertisers and publishers!

10 - AdBull

AdBull, a proprietary division of Lexos Media, provides a contextual-based cursor advertising vehicle that allows content publishers of all sizes the ability to increase monetization up to 500% over other forms of contextual advertising; without displacing space on a page or affect other existing revenue streams. Adbull has been tested to provide higher engagement rates for advertisers than any other contextual advertising vehicle available!

The patented AdBull contextual based cursor ad unit is a unique and revolutionary way for publishers to add a new and non-cannibalistic revenue stream. Similar to other contextual or pay-per-click solutions, publishers enable AdBull by signing up and pasting a simple script into the pages of their websites. AdBull then conducts a semantic page analysis to determine the real-time context of each page and delivers a relevant ad directly to the user's cursor. As a publisher's content changes, AdBull automatically matches the most appropriate ads from its inventory of advertisers and advertiser feeds.

AdBull's automated advertiser interface, advertisers, like publishers stated above, have the ability to sign up and choose relevant keywords that would describe their products/services. Once approved, their ads are then served directly to their most relevant audience.

AdBull ads are only displayed for a few seconds after a user arrives... at a time when 98% of Internet users have their eyes tied to their cursor.

Reference/Source: Wikipedia

10 of the Main Reasons Why You Need Car Insurance

2012-04-09T20:57:00.001-06:00

Car accidents do happen and most of them come unexpected and to think that this would not really happen to you because you are extra careful on the road is a dumb idea. Auto insurance companies provide insurance coverage not because they are praying that you would figure yourself on an accident and later have claims.

Insurers just want to help you avoid future financial hassles. If you are still not sold to this idea, here are the top 10 reasons why you should get yourself auto car insurance.

1 - It is required by law.

Whether you like it or not, to be able to drive legally in most states today, drivers are required to have bodily injury and property damage insurance.

2 - Protect your precious investments.

On most individuals, car comes next to a house as their biggest investment. And we all want to protect our money and each investment we have made.

3 - Protection from liability lawsuits.

These kinds of lawsuits can cost you a fortune and might collapse you financially if you don’t have sufficient financial security. Having liability coverage will cover your legal battle and protect your assets from being harmed.

4 - Boost your health insurance in event of an accident.

Car accidents may cost you great trauma that requires excessive treatment in which your health insurance might not be able to keep up with. Having car insurance will augment your health coverage.

5 - Get claims from unforeseen events.

Anything can happen to your vehicle if even you are not in it. It can be vandalized, or got stolen, or be wrecked by nature’s wrath.

6 - Protect valuable belongings within your car.

Aside from the car itself, we have other valuables in it such as your car stereo or other add-on equipment. When applying for car insurance, you can opt to include coverage for such valuables.

7 - Rental reimbursement coverage.

After having car accident, sometime we are left without a car for a couple days. Aside from the fact that this situation is very inconvenient, having car rental would be heavy on your pockets. Auto insurance which includes rental reimbursement will be quite a relief.

8 - Avoid bankruptcy.

Grave accidents sometimes will lead you to the edge of bankruptcy if you are not insured. You might not only lose your money and your assets. You might as well lose everything you have including your family.

9 - Hassle-free car rental.

Most car rental companies nowadays do not just let anyone rent a car from them without having enough auto insurance coverage.

10 - Total peace of mind.

Knowing that you are covered whenever a bad and an unexpected thing would occur will give you more peace of mind instead of the unnecessary worries that might take your focus off.

Not purchasing auto car insurance is one thing that you don’t want to regret when accidents find your way especially that you have already been told of the indispensable reasons why you shall get acquire one.

UNINSURED? In as few as 10 minutes, our friendly, knowledgeable staff will listen to your coverage needs, compare multiple insurance quotes, apply every discount available, and offer you cheap car insurance in PA and the neighboring States! Visit us today!

About the Author
Fervil Tripoli, the Editor-in-Chief of Insure Direct Blog, the official blog site of Insure Direct, an auto insurance company providing cheap car insurance in NJ, cheap car insurance PA and the rest of the United States. Fervil, who keeps an interest on insurance marketing, writes and maintains his personal blog at www.justinsured.blogspot.com.

10 of the World's Most Bizarre and Unique Festivals

2012-04-05T06:13:00.002-06:00

Here in Always10, we always want to make sure that what amazes us will amaze our readers, too! We love festivities, we love celebrations and we love being dazzled! Today’s topic will surely astonish us all, actually I was amazed while writing this article because there are lots of festivities, bizarre festivities to be exact that exists and practiced until now! As you read the article, you’ll see how bizarre these festivities are.

From the food fight in Spain, cheese-rolling in Coopers Hill, fish-tossing in Australia up to dung-dropping in Alaska, those are just some of the celebrations featured here. As you read the article, you will find out more bizarre festivities and also some facts about it. This article will be your time machine as we feature how these events happened and this is also will be your travel guide as we go to different parts of the world and unveil how these festivities are observed. Let’s start our adventure and our first stop is in Spain!

1 - El Colacho: Baby Jumping Like a Boss

This is a festival held in Spain and started in 1620. This event was held in celebration of the Catholic festival of Corpus Christi. Why do they do this? The jumping they do over the babies was believed to be as the act of cleansing them, they believed that this ritual could cast away evil. Usually the one who leap is a grown man who wears a costume and wields whips and truncheons. All babies that are leaped over have full consent from the parents.

2 - Boryeung Mud Festival: Mud pack, Anyone?

Boryeung Mud festival was held in South Korea. It started in 1998 and millions of visitors are attracted to witness and experience this festival. The mud from Boryeung, South Korea was believed to be rich in minerals, so they trucked it in Daecheon Beach so both tourists and locals can enjoy this muddy and fun celebration.

3 - Hadakamatsuri: The Naked Festival

This is a yearly festival which is held in different places in Japan and it can be held in a summer or a winter. Participants of this event usually wear a Japanese loincloth that they called fundoshi. It was a belief that the touching of the genitals will bring good luck and happiness.

4 - Cheese Rolling Festival

At first you may see that this is kind of easy but it’s not. Cheese rolling festival which is held in England was almost banned by the police but the participants of the event didn’t allow it. Participants roll a 7-pound wheel of cheese while running on the steep Coopers Hill in Gloucestershire. The first one who reaches the bottom of the hill will win the cheese. How fast does the cheese roll? It reaches 70 miles per hour and with that speed it is rare that someone can catch the rolling wheel of cheese.

5 - Tunarama: The Tuna-Tossing Festival

This festival is held in Australia, particularly in Port Lincoln. The festival began in 1962 and the main aim during that time is to promote the tuna fishing industry in Port Lincoln. They succeeded and as of now the town was known as one of the biggest spot in tuna fishing and Australia’s tuna cannery was even built there.

The festival is also known for the ‘Slippery Pole Competition and a procession which they called ‘Blessing of the Fleet.’ The highlight of the event is the tuna-tossing competition where competitors attempt to fling a fish as far as they can. The record-holder for the longest toss is Sean Carlin, an Ex-Olympic hammer thrower; he set the record in 1998 with a toss distance of 37.23 meters.

6 - La Tomatina: Tomato Wars

La Tomatina is held in Bunol, Valencia in Spain. This is a weeklong festival, but the most exciting part is on the last day where trucks unload 90,000 pounds of tomatoes. It’s war! It’s a food fight! For one hour, approximately 20,000 people toss tomatoes to everyone, bombarding with the use of the red fruit. This event was known as the messiest and biggest food fight in the world. After one hour of tomato bombardment, all tomatoes are gone and everyone has been messed, special showers and hoses were provided for the participants to wash down.

7 - Kanamara Matsuri

Guess what? It is the famous male reproductive organ festival which is held in Kawasaki, Japan. Participants of this event carried on their shoulders a giant wooden penis which measures about 2.5m long. This is different from Hadaka Matsuri festival which is also known as Naked-Man Festival so don’t get confused.

The event is focused in only one theme, all that resembles a man’s genital. During the event they sell penis-shaped sweets, dumplings and even carved vegetables which is similar to a man’s private part.

8 - Holi Festival: Welcome Spring with Colors

This is a Hindu festival which was observed in India, Guyana and Nepal. Holi is all about colour, during this celebration people throw coloured powder and water at each other. This is what they do on the second day of the celebration; they call this day as Dhulhendi.

The coloured powder they throw is made from Neem, Kumkum, Haldi, Bilva and other medicinal herbs, so they believed that these can protect them from getting fever and cold.

9 - Moose Dropping Festival: Poop in the Hole!

This is an event celebrated in Talkeetna, Alaska on the second week of July. This is a unique celebration because the main feature is moose’s dung. Participants drop moose dung from their hot-air balloons, and the one who will hit the target or landed poop near the target wins. What’s the price? This dung-dropping event will give $1000 to the winner!

10 - Monkey Buffet Festival

The Thais in Lop Buri adored the primate population that is the reason why they held this yearly festivity. They offer about 3000 kilograms of fruits and vegetables to more than 600 monkeys. This festival is their way of thanking these primates which they believed are one of the best reasons why tourists come over the place. As Thais thanked the monkeys for attracting tourists, tourists came to see how Thais thanked the monkeys. It seems like it is a never ending loop, a never ending cause and effect.

10 of the World's Most Dangerous Sports

2012-04-01T18:13:00.002-06:00

The 10 most dangerous sport activities in today’s world could actually be intimidating, quite scary and difficult to some people but to others, it is definitely very appealing and challenging. Literally, there are a great number of people who really love and take pleasure in these types of sport activities which happen to be “on-the-edge” and any kind of the listed life-threatening sports around the world would seem to appear encouraging to them and without any doubt, most of them are ready and willing to give it a shot.

Though these activities are known to be risky and unsafe to try out, ironically, a lot of people nowadays enjoy these sports because of the sense of thrill they can get out from it. Some of the typical injuries associated with these types of sport activities includes but not limited to fractures, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, lung and heart trauma, strains and sprains.

To those people who seem to find and feel that normal sport activities are a bit dull, boring, repetitive and ordinary, below is a list of some incredibly dangerous sport activities around the world that are guaranteed to make your heart pumping!

1 - BASE Jumping

This specific game is proven to be a “suicidal” sport activity. Individuals having fun while taking part in this adventure, voluntarily throw themselves with real great force from very high buildings, mountain tops or perhaps even antennas. A hand-deployed parachute is the only safety measure they can make use of. This deadly sport is starting to become even more well-known in which any mistake could very well be deadly. In this particular game, there’s no need to maintain a score. The person who doesn’t die will be declared as the winner.

2 - High Altitude Climbing

Also known as Mountain Climbing or Mountaineering specifically when performed on snow and glaciers can be an extremely hazardous activity. There are already many reported cases wherein mountaineers experience Hypoxia, Hypothermia together with excessive frostbite. They also end up having so much difficulty in dealing with stress and fatigue, insufficient oxygen and slippery mountain slopes which actually put their lives at risk.

3 - Cave Diving

In cave diving, players have a very least margin for error. The divers get themselves into underwater caves with minimal to absolutely no visibility surroundings in addition to very cold temperatures. Generally in most parts of the cave, they are being surrounded by extremely pointed and sharp rock formations plus there is no air which makes it more difficult and challenging for them to breathe, that’s why they must ensure that their oxygen tanks do not fail.

4 - Bull Riding

Mankind has always been very interested and intrigued with the strength of bulls. Bull riding is a rodeo sport activity wherein the participant makes an unusual effort to ride a bull and remain to be still and not to fall off as long as he can while the bull on the other hand attempts to get rid of him. This is indeed a very dangerous sport activity and has proven to produce so many accidents to the riders. Physical injuries may include broken jaw, ribs or collarbone.

5 - Surfing

Big Wave Surfing is indeed a superb sport activity which can be truly pleasurable and satisfying but can also be life-threatening. A lot of surfers dive directly into a 50ft wave which will in turn smash them away and push them all the way down into the depths of the ocean causing some people to be drowned. Additionally, there is a very high chance to hit their heads on big rocks and not to emerge in water on time. A number of surfers have also been attacked and bitten seriously by some of the most dangerous sharks.

6 - Football

In this kind of sport, the players attempt to score a goal by taking the ball from their opponents by any means possible. Almost everything gets into this very dangerous sport which includes punches, kicks, and other strong powerful movements. It is believed that a football player will most likely undergo some sort of serious head damage all throughout the duration of their playing profession. These players may also be affected by increased levels of ligament injury within their joints.

7 - Skateboarding

This is also known as “street luging” wherein the player lies on his or her back over their own skateboards. The actual skateboarder rolls straight down coming from the inclines of the road highways at a very fast speed while steering their skateboards at the same time balancing their bodies just to have a smooth drive. Street lugers normally experience risks such as falling off the cliffs, bumping into big rocks, and worst of all fast moving vehicles.

8 - Skiing

Sports athletes would actually hire or lease helicopters so they can reach mountain tops where they plan to jump off and start skiing down the very slippery icy mountain slopes. This type of activity already resulted in countless death rates all around the world.

9 - Motocross

In motorcycle racing, the players need to finish a specific distant within the race track with lots of twists and turns. Most skilled professionals and even amateurs motorcycle drivers have lost their lives on the said race tracks. Some other people enjoy “dirt motorcycle racing” wherein players have to triumph over lots of obstacles like big rocks, sturdy trees and other natural barriers. These bikers ride their own motorcycles at a higher than normal rates of speed which oftentimes lead to danger.

10 - Cheerleading

One, two, three, four! I’m about to hit the floor! Present day cheerleading perform dancing, tumbling, flips and stunts, frequently throwing cheer dancers as much as 15ft high in the air. These tricks are very entertaining and breathtaking yet also considered as very risky and most of the time contribute to physical injuries or perhaps death. And even though precautionary measures has always been the top concern of all, the risks that come with it is very hard to prevent.

10 of the Weirdest Animal Instincts and Behaviors

2012-04-01T04:24:00.001-06:00

Do you think it is enjoyable to be an ethologist, exploring the animal kingdom, discovering and unveiling its wonders which most people do not know? By the way, what is an ethologist? An ethologist (don’t’ be confused with ethnologist ) is the one who studies animal behavior, the evolution of that behavior and the understanding of the behavior. Animal behaviors can be instinctive or natural, and both of the classifications can lead to a strange fact. According to studies, some of the instincts and behaviors are inheritable and these responses are due o environmental conditions that stimulate an animal to act without involving reasons.

Instincts and behaviors are triggered in several ways and you might be surprised of the peculiarity and strangeness of those. Just like humans, animals also have intuitions and behaviors when they sense danger, when they provide security for their offspring and even some awesome and disgusting ways to survive. Again, another fascinating diversity will be featured in Always10List, time to explore animal kingdom just like an ethologist.

1 - The Disgusting Fulmar

This bird which can be found in Europe, North America and can be named as the most disgusting animal in terms of defending itself. Fulmar means “foul gull” and this animal resembles a seagull. When it senses danger and sees a nearby attacker, the fulmar have this “projectile vomiting” skill which can reach an enemy up to five (5) feet away. The vomit is disgusting and acidic.

2 - The Backward Run of Naked Mole Rats

These are not moles neither rats, they are guinea pigs which are also called as desert mole rats and sand puppies). Why are they weird? Naked mole rats can run very fast… and faster when backwards. Yes, they run backwards faster than normal running. It is a rare feature in the animal world, and only naked mole rats possess that certain talent.

3 - The Artistic but Destructive Bowerbird

This type of bird is an interior designer, it enjoys designing its nest. One weird attitude of this bowerbird is it will do everything just to gain attention on the nest it decorated. Yes… EVERYTHING… even if it has to destroy other neighbor’s nest. This bird id meticulous, it uses flowers, feathers, stones and even plastic or glass pieces to decorate its nest. Bowerbirds do this to attract females, it will take him hours to build the nest. It will only stop building the nest if he has to sabotage another nest.

4 - The Hair-throwing Tarantula

all we know is we have to avoid touching this spider because of the danger it can bring. When tarantulas sense danger and sees a nearby attacker, it uses its feet to grab hairs from its back and throw it to the attacker. These hairs are stingy especially when someone gets hit directly to the eye. Tarantulas have to do this because they are vulnerable, they easily die when they fall.

5 - The Bonobo

This certain group of animals has a societal structure where almost everything can be resolve to “SEX”. Bonobos use sex in almost all aspects of their life, they do it when they greet each other, favors for exchange for food, solve fights over food and territory. Like humans, they do ALMOST anything a human couple would do in a sexual act. Bonobos are categorized as one of the peaceful and unaggressive species of mammals, and they only have evolved and resorted to sex to avoid violence within their society.

6 - The Long Distance Relationship of the Emperor Penguins

Penguin couples spend their marriage mostly apart, and they only meet on a breeding site once a year. This breeding period happened in late March, and they meet there after travelling almost 70 miles or 112km on their foot or sliding on their bellies. On the breeding site, male penguins stay on a certain place, lower their chest and head and call out for their mate. Penguins have this certain skill to identify their partner with the sound they produce. When they already see each other, they repeatedly bow and continue the sounding they do when they are finding their partners.

7 - Whiptail Lizards, Cloning Like A Boss

Whiptail Lizards are all females! How do they reproduce? Pseudocopulation, this is the process how whiptail lizards reproduce, they clone themselves. On this process one will mount and act the role of a male (they switch positions afterwards), They do this to stimulate egg reproduction and when the eggs hatch, they became clones of their mother.

8 - The Weird Parenting of Cuckoo Birds

The cuckoo birds do not build their own nest, what they do is to lay their eggs on someone else’s nest. When it sees a nest and noticed that there are no other birds nearby, it will lay its eggs on that nest. Cuckoo birds do this every breeding season, and one habit of these birds is the dropping of the other species on the same nest after its eggs already hatched. They do that to secure the security of the newly hatched babies from the foster parents who own the nest.

9 - Horned Lizards, Nosebleeding is to Mainstream

Nosebleeding? It’s too mainstream to horned lizards, have you ever heard of “Eye bloodshot”? When these lizards sense danger and saw a nearby attacker, he shoots a projectile of bloodshot out of their eyes. How do they do it? They have this ability to increase their blood pressure in their sinuses and let it explode. The bloodshot can reach up to five (5) feet. The blood does not contain poison but it has foul taste to canine and feline predators. This is one way to create chaos and confusion to an attacker.

10 - Dung Beetles: All it Needs is Dung

First, dung means manure or feces and dung beetles get its name from it. Why? They live their whole life in dung! These beetles are part of the scarab family… who loves dung. They live (eats dung), breed(laid eggs in dung and hatches on it) and eat in dung (they even feed dung to their newly born). It also have this habit of rolling dung balls, it stand on its head and moving backward using its hind legs to push it around. If the Scarab beetle is an important symbol of religion, what does the Dung beetle symbolize?

10 of the Best Traits about Successful Graphic Designers

2012-03-30T08:45:00.000-06:00

Being a logo and graphic designer myself for quite some time, I have come to a conclusion that this God-given talent is not truly in-born or innate on each and every one of us. But with the right attitude, education, persistence, creativity, and determination, we all can be the best graphic designers in our own right!

The intricacies of the graphic design work calls for certain habits and mindset to be present among designers in order for them to succeed and excel in this profession. Notwithstanding human diversity, there are specific commonalities that lie among each and every successful graphic design artist.

Here are the 10 of the best traits of successful graphic designers:

1 - Passion for what they do

Graphic designers are highly noted for being 100% devoted to their work, otherwise you will not see prolific logo designs around. They just love what they do, and the industry loves them back in return!

2 - Creative and imaginative

One of the top notch traits of most web designers I know is being creative.
They can create tons of designs from just a single concept. Their
imaginative juices are ever flowing that they can come up with beautifully
designed graphics and work of art. Undeniably, the very core of this
business is staying creative and imaginative at all times, absent which,
designers cannot deliver the kind of work demanded of them.

3 - Ability to think out of the box

I don’t know if being a non-conformist is a negative trait, but if you’re an artist by heart, it is your edge. Designers have this common trait of non-conforming, they all have the tendency to be unique, to rise from the crowd, and always think out of the box. They do not want to remain
stagnant, safe, or adhere to what is conventional. To sum it up, they are unorthodox, and non-conforming (but, in a great way!).

4 - Flexibility

For a designer to survive the pits of cut-throat competition online, they need to be flexible and dynamic. Each client have their own individuality, temperament, and needs. Being able to meet these demands, and be able to handle each and every situation proves how flexible designers can be. Always keeping in mind their client’s needs and wants on top of their personal preferences is a very good trait a designer ought to have.

5 - Open to criticism

You will be a successful and popular web graphic artist if you are open to
criticism. Admit it, you cannot please people all the time; beauty and
standard is always relative in this business. It all depends on the client.
Therefore, if the client is not happy with your mock-ups, accept it with all
your heart and move on. Create a new one, remember criticisms ought improve
you and your work, they are not meant to disappoint and frustrate you. Hey
bro, it’s nothing personal. Remember, what won’t hurt you, won’t kill
you either!

6 - Patiend and thinks that customer’s are always right

This may sound like a cliche but this is true. Customers are the lifeblood of this business, so one of the best traits a designer should have is patience in dealing with them. You may come across cynical and difficult customers along the way, but do not lose your temper, deal with them with total respect and courtesy. You have to ensure that their interest should at all times be rendered paramount and a priority above all else. Bear in mind that your brand and name is in line all the time. Successful graphic designers always greet their valued customer’s with a smile, so if you want to become one, be courteous and - smile.

7 - Empathetic

The best logo and graphics designer out there are compassionate. They understand the needs of their customers and goes out of their way to fulfill their requirements. They treat each and every work as theirs, to the end that they create stunning and awesome graphics to their client’s delight. They feel exactly what their customer’s feel, what they want, and the
exigencies of the trade. And so the result is a great masterpiece they too can be proud of!

8 - Eye for perfection

Yet another great trait of graphics designer is having a keen eye for perfection. This is evident in their works. They always endeavor to create eye-popping designs that will make their customers happy and satisfied. Were it not for this characteristic, we will not see and experience the best online graphic arts out there. Designers being perfectionists to some extent
have made this world a wonderful, colorful, and vibrant place to live in, wouldn't you agree with me?

9 - Good communicator

Designers are great at communicating, they make sure work is delivered on time and done according to the specifications given by the customer. If there is a problem, they are always in front of things long before they get worse. They make sure that clients are free to bring ideas across to the table, strike a middleground in case of troubles, negotiate when needed, and
settle any conflict in order to complete the job having customer satisfaction in mind at all times.

10 - Focused and results-oriented

Finally, one noteworthy chracteristic we see among the best graphic designers is being focused and results-oriented. They always meet their clients half-way, by doing all the best that they can to make things work and accomplish whatever is needed done. Procrastination has no room in the mind of the best web designer. He is always optimistic, motivated, and inspired to bring to life a world-class work of art!

It is our deepest hope that each and every graphics designer out there possess and hone in themselves these traits so that all of them end up being successful in their chosen career path. Best of luck to all of you!

About the Author
The author is editor in chief in www.impactlogos.com.au and loves to promote branding for small businesses through logo design.

10 of the Reasons Why Car Accidents Occur

2012-03-29T17:11:00.002-06:00

Automobile accidents bring scores of thousand fatalities and millions worth of damage properties each year in the United States alone. And sad to say, majority of these accidents can be avoided through knowing and avoiding accident-causing circumstances.

To be discussed below are the top main 10 reasons of car accidents that one may find useful in saving oneself from any unpleasant road misfortunes.

1 - Distraction

Distraction may come in the form of cellphone usage, changing discs or FM stations on the stereo, bending over for something, or anything that can steal a driver’s attention from the road. Even a second lost on your focus can be very devastating.

2 - Speeding

Speed limits are set to prevent accidents but some road users ignore these which often result in mishaps. Somebody can be ran-over or you can bump into another vehicle. When you are driving fast, you only have a small window to do something that can prevent accidents.

3 - Intoxicated Driving

Being intoxicated with alcohol or drugs will deprive anyone of his focus on the road and will be very dangerous for everyone.

4 - Recklessness

When you tend to ignore traffic rules and regulations like tailgating, quick lane changing, speeding, reckless overtaking and the likes, you are most probably to cause a road mishap.

5 - Bad Weather

Storms, heavy rains and thick fogs make the road more dangerous. Tree branches may fall down on you. The road may become unclear due to the heavy downpour or the fog, or it can be very slippery. When driving through a bad weather, every driver should employ extra caution.

6 - Beating Red Lights

Running through red lights often cause high speed side-impact collisions wherein fatality rate is high. Being patient to wait for the green light to turn even though there is no traffic at all will certainly save your life.

7 - Night Driving

Driving at nighttime is much hazardous than when the sun is still up. You have shorter road horizon due to darkness and that most of the time you can only see something when they are already too near to you often causing accidents.

8 - Vehicle design defects

Vehicle design malfunction also causes fatal accidents. No car is made perfectly. Some design defects create distinct accident setups.

9 - Drowsiness

Sleeping behind the wheels may cause you to drive out of the road or collide with another vehicle. Whenever you feel drowsy, better pull off the road and sleep it out even for 30 minutes.

10 - Road Defects

Road defects such as potholes pose potential danger to every motorist. Running through this might cause you of losing control to the vehicle or having a blown tire. Whenever driving through unmaintained roads, you must always lookout for those potholes.

Car accidents do not only hurt people physically, it also hurt us financially through huge medical bills, third party liability and costly lawsuits. And as accidents come unannounced, having injury liability and property liability auto insurance will always come in handy, saving you from much trouble later on. While we try our best to avoid these mishaps, having a car insurance will give us more peace of mind.

UNINSURED? In as few as 10 minutes, our friendly, knowledgeablestaff will listen to your coverage needs, compare multiple insurance quotes, apply every discount available, and offer you cheap car insurance quote! Visit us today!

10 of the Bad Effects About Getting Bullied

2012-03-28T19:46:00.001-06:00

Do you exactly know what "bullying" is all about? Well, based on some dictionaries, bullying means "the act of maliciously doing any harm to another person by means of some form of abuse- either physically or verbally". The bully takes pleasure in seeing others suffer because of his or her bad behavior. You could possibly think it does not appear too bad. But just imagine yourself being the victim or a person you really are concerned about, how would you truly react and feel then?

Will you simply ignore and walk away without even fighting for yourself and your loved one's rights? I am 100% sure that most of you wouldn’t do that. In fact, you will take the necessary actions to correct it. But come to think of it, how come you just neglect and leave as soon as you notice a person being picked on by a complete stranger and even worse a group of unfamiliar people? Could it be because of fear? Is it out of shame? Or is it due to the fact that you simply just don't care at all?

Most of us, do not consider bullying as a critical and serious case. Sadly, we often do not give much importance to it. A person who experienced being bullied, finally end up leading to long-term injury and destruction. We all ought to know our part in order to prevent bullying within our community. That way, we will be able to live harmoniously with one another.

Here are some of the bad effects of bullying. Read on and be informed so you could stop the wrong doings!

1 - Physical signs

In most cases of bullying, the intense, harsh and terrible actions towards the victim takes place on a consistent routine over a long time which can increase the risk for continuous growth and development of actual physical disorders. Persons who are being bullied are abused physically which includes hitting, kicking, poking, punching, slapping on the face, pinching, pushing and throwing of objects which may result them from acquiring bruises, wounds or even burns from cigarettes.

2 - Psychological trauma

Being a victim of bullying is very traumatic. It is an event in a specific person's life that is life-threatening which seriously puts at risk the emotional well-being of an individual. Psychological trauma is a kind of damage to the mind which develops as a consequence of a traumatic situation. And as soon as trauma triggers post traumatic stress disorder, the injury may possibly include irregularities within the brain which actually affects a person's reaction to future stress.

3 - Increased vulnerability to sickness

Among the most prevalent health issues connected to bullying normally include irritable bowel syndrome which is very evident because of an upset stomach on a regular basis as well as the immediate need to make use of the restroom, in addition to that, severe cases of headaches and other indications related to stress and anxiety are oftentimes noticeable. Lastly, there are some other effects which include hair loss, cutting of the skin, and other kinds of mutilation if the victim feels tempted to hurt himself.

4 - It can cause depression, anger or bitterness

Getting bullied by someone shows you that you are unwanted, unwelcome and unfavorable, that you turned out to be not so safe, that you are somewhat helpless to fight for yourself. When you find yourself being pressured and compelled over and over again to think about your lack of control over the person or group of persons intimidating you, you come to feel and believe that you are unable to do anything to change your nasty and terrible situation, even if that is not the case.

5 - Difficulty in sleeping

The negative impact of bullying reaches up to the different areas of a victim's life, even going to sleep. The combined feeling of fear, despair, stress, anxiety and all sorts of undesirable destructive side effects reduce their chance of having a normal, complete and a peaceful sleep. This of course is not healthy to any person.

6 - Low or very little confidence on one's self

A person being bullied has an injured or damaged self-concept. It makes it difficult for them to believe and rely on their own capabilities. When that happens, they tend to have a much tougher and very challenging time coping up through complicated circumstances and stressful situations. Oftentimes, a low or very little confidence also leads to a feeling of being demoralized.

7 - The victim missed out on possible opportunities for self-development, further study and eventually employment or career growth

There are several stories that prove many victims of bullying having left schools in an attempt to keep away from nonstop bullying. And because of that, it hinders their academic performance. Thus, it had placed a limit on their chance to get employed. It had caused many harmful effects to the victim and thus results to a person's delay in advancement.

8 - Difficulty to trust others

It could be tough and of course frightening to put your trust in other people if you have experienced abandonment, betrayal or cruelty. Eventually, you tend to be suspicious of other person's motives.

9 - The victim has developed difficulty in gaining friend

Among the long list of the most severe outcomes of bullying is the fact that "target individuals" find it difficult to make friends. This is most likely because they happen to be "different" and pressure from their peers puts a stop to some other people standing up for them. Because it is extremely important to feel they are being accepted and fit in within a group, they are not going to risk getting singled out or isolated simply because they stand up for the victim.

10 - Possible Violence done by the victim

Without any doubt, this could happen during the time a victim is being bullied or possibly later in life. This might be physical abuse which is targeted to the one who bullied them as a result of revenge or even worse to themselves which may lead to committing suicide.

10 of the Interesting Facts in the Pinterest World

2012-03-28T17:54:00.000-06:00

There is no way that you haven’t heard about this fast-blossoming social networking giant – Pinterest (let’s call it our Pinterest world). The fuss about this new pinning world came as viral as ever, mom loves pinterest, my sister keeps herself busy pinning on boards and finally my gardener takes a break and visit pinterest for her latest orchid photo collections to be shared.

According to Modea, most users are even spending more time pinning and visiting boards than they do in Facebook (Quite alarming I guess).

“With an average of 1.36 million users daily, the social photo pinboard has taken the web by storm, and top online retailers are following suit. Who are these feverish pinners? The majority are female mothers — 28 percent have a household income of $100k+.” – Mashable

1 - $100,000 plus annual household income which means 28.1 percent of the pinterest users are well-off

2 - Factually, the new pinning world accumulates a higher average-times spent on a site of approximately 15.8 minutes compared to most visited sites such as Youtube with average 16.4 minutes, Facebook (21.1 minutes) and twitter with an average of 3.3 minutes.

3 - In reference to the first item, a roughly 50 percent of pinterest users have kids.

4 - Let’s get into Gender breakdown. According to Modea, pinterest world only has 31.8 percent of male users and a totally high population of female in around 68.2 percent.

5 - One of the most amazing facts about pinterest is its gradual increase of visitors by 2,702.2 percent since March 2011 as shown in its fast growing of visits from 7,516,000 recorded in December 2011 to 11,716,000 of January 2012.

6 - Pinterest activity is quite interesting too. Pinterest users are more into higher chances in Repining boards than using a Pinmarkelet and other services. That means a much higher chances of checking out pins.

7 - There is a gradual increase of employees and a fast-moving company growth compared to its peers or similar companies.

8 - Apparently, we can see why this company is a fast bloomer especially when it comes to marketing such as apparel retail with an awesome traffic that rose 289 percent from July to December 2011.

9 – One of the reasons why Pinterest is as big as we say it – Big names and brands flocking on pinterest. We name it, they have it:

Nordstrom (9, 276 Followers)
Wholefoods (12, 808 Followers)
West Elm (10, 428 Followers)
Modcloth (10, 678 Followers)
Mashable (9, 596 Followers)

10 - Pinterest is still growing in firm lines as of now with average daily visits of 1.36 millions. With more Referral traffic percentages even if we combined Youtube, Google+ and Linkedin.

10 of the Mystical Facts about Exotic Jewelry or Precious Stones

2012-03-22T18:31:00.010-06:00

A known fact that gemstones are minerals/rocks found beneath the earths surface that are polished and made into jewelry or collected. They can be very valuable and rare. Diamonds, Amethysts and Rubies are some of the known gemstones. We all know them too well as girl’s perfect match. This sparkling stones shines and winks in the light that makes anything female smiles.

The traditional classification in the West, which goes back to the Ancient Greeks, begins with a distinction between precious and semi-precious stones - similar distinctions made in other cultures.

Let’s uncover what ancient’s times say about these precious stones reflects into each ancient culture.

1 - Chrysocolla

The Mystical Stone hides itself well within the depths of the earth and usually hard to find or identify. Chrysocolla has these unique blending colors of turquoise, jade and lapis lazuli. According to ancient civilization, the stones soothes the emotions of any individual that’s why that’s why it’s called the “Stone of Peace.”

2 - Diamonds

The diamonds are definitely the most beautiful stones which women preferred. Diamonds is a complex gems like the way it winks within the brinks of lights. Facts from ancient times tell that the stone itself promotes courage and healing as well as strength. When worn by warriors, they can actually increase physical strength which is why ancient cultures go to war wearing them set within armbands of platinum or silver.

3 - Amethyst

Amethyst is one of the most interesting stone as to the fact that most ancient cultures praised this stone as holy and divine. From ancient stories, amethyst is a spiritual stone with absolutely no negative side effects or associations with violence or anger. It calms fears and raises hopes. It can also soothe emotional storms even in situations of potential danger and it can come to anyone as aid which literally a good choice as a talisman.

4 - Ruby

One of the most overrated stone by many cultures like the way it sparks with reddish effect. Did you know that jewelry set with rubies can be worn to banish sadness and negative thoughts? Ruby set jewelry can also produce joy, strengthen willpower and confidence as well as dispel fear.

5 - White Chalcedony

The banisher stone as ancients says. The chalcedony particularly the white ones are said to be a good choice for banishing fears, hysteria, depression and even sadness.
This might be the best choice for shrink in helping their patient’s emotion to calm and avoid in any sign of distress.

6 - Dark Obsidian

The dark stone is preferred to be the best choice of jewelry display in the room for anything but male.
Obsidians powers are that of protection, grounding, divination and peace which soothes for male prowess.

7 - Lapis lazuli

Lapis lazuli is regarded by many people around the world as the stone of friendship and truth. The blue stone is said to encourage harmony in relationships and help its wearer to be authentic and give his or her opinion openly.

Lapis lazuli is an opaque rock that mainly consists of diopside and lazurite. It came into being millions of years ago during the metamorphosis of lime to marble. Uncut, lapis lazuli is matt and of a deep, dark blue color, often with golden inclusions and whitish marble veins. The small inclusions with their golden shimmer, which give the stone the magic of a starry sky, are not of gold as people used to think, but of pyrites. Their cause is iron.

8 - Jade

Jade is a gemstone of unique symbolic energy, and unique in the myths that surround it. With its beauty and wide-ranging expressiveness, jade has held a special attraction for mankind for thousands of years. Jades were known in China as "Yu", the “Royal Gem”. In the long history of the art and culture of the enormous Chinese empire, jade has always had a very special significance, roughly comparable with that of gold and diamonds in the West. Jade was used not only for the finest objects and cult figures, but also in grave furnishings for high-ranking members of the imperial family. Today, too, this gem is regarded as a symbol of the good, the beautiful and the precious. It embodies the Confucian virtues of wisdom, justice, compassion, modesty and courage, yet it also symbolizes the female-erotic.

9 - Turquoise

In earlier times, turquoises were even responsible for the material wellbeing of the wearer. The Persian scholar Al-Qazwini, for example, wrote: "The hand that wears a turquoise and seals with it will never see poverty." Turquoises were often worn on the turban, and often surrounded with pearls, in order to protect their wearer against the "evil eye". As talismans, they adorned daggers, sabres and the bridles of horses. It was not until the time of the crusades that they came to Europe. Indeed it is from that period that the name 'turquoise' originates, meaning 'Turkish'.

At all times and over the world, turquoises have been worn as natural protection against the powers of darkness. If in earlier times they preserved horse and rider from unexpected falls, they are regarded today as the protective stone of pilots, air crews and other occupational groups who are exposed to an especially high degree of risk. In modern gemstone therapy, those suffering from depression are recommended to wear a turquoise or a chain with turquoise beads. The turquoise' cheerful color is said to endow reticent personalities with more confidence. It is also often given as a gift, a stone of friendship, for the turquoise is said to be responsible for faithfulness and constancy in relationships.

10 - Peridot

The vivid green of the peridot, with just a slight hint of gold, is the ideal gemstone colour to go with that light summer wardrobe. No wonder – since the peridot is the gemstone of the summer month of August. The ancient Romans too were fond of this gemstone and esteemed its radiant green shine, which does not change even in artificial light. For that reason they nicknamed it the “emerald of the evening”.

[This article is a guest blog by Nilecorp.com, the best and number one jewelry display online store in California, USA with vast inventory of 10,500 jewelry supplies, jewelry boxes, jewelry trays, jewelry tools, watches displays, and acrylic jewelry displays. They have the fast shipping system and always the lowest in prices.]

Yolanda Burmington is a Jewelry Displays, Jewelry Arts and Crafts Enthusiasts from Nile Corp, author of Yolly's Jewelry Display Blog from Irving Texas.

Reference/Source: Gemstone.org

10 of the Facts Fans Should Know About Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart

2012-03-18T21:05:00.003-06:00

Twilight fanatics will surely love this!

Twilight is originally a romance-fantasy novel series written by Stephanie Meyer, which was published in 2005 up to 2008. It was then adapted to be in motion pictures by Summit Entertainment in 2008, and the lead cast was played by Kristen Stewart (as Isabella “Bella” Swan), Robert Pattinson (as Edward Cullen) and Taylor Lautner (as Jacob Black). The three were no doubt the best actors fit for the role, and they were so effective in making the impact on the love triangle, making it look realistic.

The love story between Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart has not ended in the movie series. Edward Cullen and Bella Swan’s love story became a reality. As a matter of fact Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart are real-life sweethearts and their relationship is still intact as of this point. Rpatz and KStew, as their fans call them, this celebrity couple can be labeled as match made in heaven.

Wondering why? Listed below are things which they are alike and also some amazing facts on each one of them.

1 - Intact Family Backgrounds

Kristen Jaymes Stewart is the daughter of John Stewart and Jules Mann-Stewart, on the other hand, Robert Pattinson is the son of Richard Pattinson and Clare Pattinson. Want to know something in common about their parents? Neither of their parents is divorced and it seemed that both couples are committed to their marriage as well as on their families. Rob and Kristen probably inherit something very important from their parents…and that is the virtues on how to make an effective dedication to someone you really love.

2 - Living a frugal life

According to sources, RPatz and KStew want a frugal way of living despite of earning $20 million each last year. They both prefer to wear vintage type of clothing as well as furnitures. Socially, they didn’t changed even they already have became friends with their co-stars. As a matter of fact they still go out or hang out with their own friends. They are not blinded by stardom.

3 - Both are millionaires

They are named Forbes 5th Highest Celebrity Couple in 2011. Believe it or not, Rpatz and KStew earned the same figures listed below. These are the salaries they earned from three Twilight movies:
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (2012) $12,500,000 + 2.5% of the gross
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (2011) $12,500,000 + 2.5% of the gross
Twilight - (2008/I) $2,000,000

4 - Englishman Wins Over Thousand of Actors

Robert Pattinson played the role of Edward Cullen in the Twilight Saga and he was chosen among thousands of actors… about 3000 of them. The leading vampire is also the only English member of the whole cast. It seemed that the end of his Harry Potter movie appearance just gave way for a better movie break!

5 - Trademarks Last Forever

One of the factors that viewers, fans and even critics can’t forget is the celebrity’s trademark/s. Robert Pattinson’s trademark is his messy hair and thick eyebrows while Kristen Stewart has a pale skin and known as an actress who often portray someone who is deeply troubled or suffering from an emotional trauma.

6 - Certified Music Lover

Robert Pattinson is a certified music lover. He knows how to play guitar and piano. He started playing the guitar at the age of five (5) and learned to play the piano at the age of (3). With his prowess in playing the piano, he actually plays the piano in the first Twilight movie.

7 - MTV Movie Awards Achiever

In 2009 they won the ‘Best Kiss’ category in Twilight and in 2010 they also won the ‘Best Kiss’ category in The Twilight Saga’s New Moon. RPatz won the Best Male Performance for The Twilight Saga's New Moon (2009) while KStew won the Best Female Performance also for the same movie. In 2011, it seems that history repeats itself when the two won the same categories mentioned.

8 - This Couple is Sizzling Hot

Both of them were recognized by Moviefon and included them on their "The 25 Hottest Actors Under 25" in 2008. Robert Pattinson ranked 23rd while Kristen Stewart ranked 9th.

9 - Sexy Woman, Indeed

Who says only those who have a blessed bosom can be categorized as sexy? KStew just proved them wrong! Kristen Stewart Ranked #3 in FHM Online "Sexiest Women in the World" (2010) she ranked #13 in the 2011 FHM list of "Sexiest Women in the World" and lastly she Ranked #6 in the 2010 FHM list of "Sexiest Women in the World".

10 - Loves Wolves, Loves Vampire, Loves Canine

In the Twilight movie, Bella (as played by KStew) fell in love and chose a vampire (RPatz) over a wolf man named Jacob (role by Taylor Lautner). But in real life Kristen Stewart also loves wolves. As a matter of fact, the Stewarts own wolves, Jack and Lily are the names of these two hybrid wolves. They also have a pet dog, they named it ‘Bear’ and it is a mutt. Rob is an animal lover, he even wanted to rescue all the dogs in the shelter where he picked Bear. People say that when a couple adopted a pet, it means that they are looking forward that they will have a long term relationship. Does this signify that the couple is ready to be committed with each other?