In a world torn by political, ethnic and religious conflict, only art has the power to unify, inspire, elevate, and heal. Our institutions make claims on our attitudes and loyalty; it is intrinsic in their nature to direct our energies towards fulfilling their collective goals. They are self-perpetuating. By limiting our perspective, they often divide us from each other. At the extreme, they may even split us from our deepest and most authentic selves. Though serving in many cases, a positive purpose, institutions are agenda-driven. Thus they may steer us away from self-knowledge and personal responsibility when emphasis on image, hierarchy, dogma or power, overrides more constructive human concerns.

Art, on the other hand, both the making and the viewing of it, encourages us to view the world in new ways, as well as to look into ourselves. A world without art would be intellectually and spiritually barren. Imagination makes all things possible, and art is the most profound outgrowth of the human imagination that is not subservient to external purposes (though of course, there are exceptions). Therefore, even in its all its confusing flux and diversity, art is perhaps the “purest” phenomenon among human endeavors.

On a personal level, the richness and mystery of life have intrigued me since I was a child living in rural Pennsylvania. I reveled in the sensuous beauty of forests and rolling hills. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re creative then crafting your party decorations on your own should be fun for you, not to mention the fact that it is also cheaper. However if you happen to be short on time, then it’s better to check decoration supply stores or online discount decoration supplying sites.

Now technology has made things real easy. You even have celebration rental services that bring their own actors, party embellishments and theme backgrounds at a price. You can set your budget and choose. There is something for everyone.

The first step is choosing a party theme. Now theme party decorations would depend on whether it is an adult party or a kid’s party. So a cocktail party decoration will be very different from a children’s party decoration. Some popular adult party decoration themes include, luau party decoration, circus, western, Hollywood 1950s, Roaring 20s, costume party decorations, safari, disco, sports, space, pirate, Las Vegas, Mardi Gras, Arabian Nights, Spanish fiesta, medieval times, rock and roll, futuristic and many more. You name it and they are sure to create it.

Whereas kids generally enjoy comic character and popular culture themes like, Pokemon, Spiderman, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, American Idol, Bob the Builder, Finding Nemo, Dora the Explorer etc. So if you are planning a birthday party decoration or baby party decorations or 1st party decorations then these are great ideas to start with. Read the rest of this entry »

Being a stand-up comedian is probably one of the toughest jobs in the world. Spending days, weeks, months, and even sometimes years perfecting a single comedy routine is a demanding job in itself. Going on stage and moving the audience to laughs can often be even harder.

While every stand-up comedian has his or her own ways of ensuring a successful show, there are a few tips that you may want to try to help your show go even better.

Use Your Experiences As Inspiration for Comedy

You may be the “fiction” comedy lover who likes to make jokes out of completely made-up situations, people, and settings. But many comedians use their personal experiences as the basis for the storylines in their jokes. Of course, not every situation we go through in life is comedic (let alone worthy of producing laughs). But a little exaggeration and a few imaginative additions to our real-life stories can make almost any experience “funny.”

Are you a parent? Then maybe you could build a funny story out of all the foam-padded, childproof-your-house gates, furniture protectors, and floor mats. Do you work with animals? Maybe you have a real-life incident where you were nipped that would make the crowds double over in laughter if you turned it into a story about a maniacal cat that nearly bit your head off because it did not get its hair combed to its liking. Clearly, you get the idea: real life can feed your comedy. Read the rest of this entry »

The study of media in education implicitly assumes that each medium entails some particular attributes that matter in learning depending on the symbol system it involves. Media are our cultural device for selecting, gathering, storing, and passing knowledge on in representational forms. Representation, as differentiated from direct experience, is always coded within a symbol system. If one attempted to remove picture from film, cartography from maps, or language from texts, what would be left? Media without symbol systems are as inconceivable as mathematics without numbers. If symbol systems are central to media of communication and to thinking, then the interactions and interdependence between the two systems cannot be disregarded. For an example, it is possible that symbolically different presentations of information differ as to the mental skills of processing that they require. It is also likely that the major symbol systems of the media cultivate mental skills differentially and that one learns to use media’s symbolic forms for purposes of internal representation.

It is difficult to ignore the possible role media’s symbol systems play in the cultivation of mental skill not just as a carriers of information about skills or as carriers of skill-models, but rather as the mental skills to be. Our era, the twenty first century, can be characterized as the age of media and technology. As a channel for information and entertainment mass media surrounds us day and night. Read the rest of this entry »