Hairstyles of Soap Opera Actresses
Posted by MedleyBlogger in Culture on March 5th, 2009
Television was reborn when soaps made their way to the hearts of millions via the entertainment medium. Instead of the focus being on the number of soap operas being aired on the different T.V. Channels or the stories behind their success, the spotlight has always been on the hair styles and apparel worn by the actors.
Hairstyles of Soap Opera Actresses:
Many women, around the world, desire the hairstyles of their favorite soap stars. In fact, it is not uncommon to identify a fan following because of a particular hair style. The result is a bee-line for the stylist who can deliver the look. The commonly flaunted hair styles include the back-comb, the tousled look, fresh from the bed look, braid hairstyles and the neatly pinned and sprayed office girl look. The difficulty is not in identifying a hair style or haircut that you like and would die to have, but in maintaining it. The common point overlooked is that the actors have makeup and hair stylists at their beck and call, to primp the look at regular intervals. This may not be possible, in the case of working women with hectic home and office routines.
The common and most loved hair styles of soap opera actresses include:
The Tousled Tresses: This very unkempt and yet suggestive hair style is not only easy to maintain, but also very chic. The look can be adopted for long or short hair. The hair length is treated to accommodate a natural, rolled out of bed look. This is accomplished with layers, starting at the nape of the neck. There are a number of variations a good hair stylist could compliment long, wavy, and curly hair with.
The Rebellious Mane: This hair style involves cutting the hair to shoulder length or shorter, and uneven around the edges. The look is not only elegant, but also communicates a character that cannot be taken for granted. This hair style can be sported by housewives, as well as women from the corporate world. The shorter the length of hair the more accentuation is possible to the jaw line, with resultant wisps and tendrils. They could be left to fall free around the face, or could be tied back.
Neatly Pinned and Sprayed Style: This is for the woman with long working hours and a hectic lifestyle. The hair style compliments just about any type of apparel and gives you a very down-to-earth appeal. A slight brushing down enables you to maintain the look. The tresses could either be back-combed and pinned or simply pulled back and secured. The remaining length can be left loose or tied in a notch, with or without hair extensions. Depending on personal preference, you could also consider length and layers.
Volume and Layers ‘Free’ Look: Most of the divas on soap operas sport this look. It is best applied to accentuate a long, well chiseled jaw line and sharp features. This hair style requires the least maintenance, provided you have thick hair and enough length. The hair is cut in layers from around the face and below the jaw line. The cut tapers till the final strand and this adds volume and bounce to the hair. If the original texture of hair is straight and slightly curly, you could go in for the killer look without hesitance. A needle-brush is all you need to feel confident and empowered with the new look.
The haircut styles and ideas are many, but it is very important to remember and keep in mind that original texture of the hair, its strength and volume and desire for length need to be considered. You also have to consider the fact that the soap opera actresses have the means to enhance and revamp a hair style from time to time; unlike you amidst the hectic routine. Nevertheless, there are many hair care products and hair accessories now available, like gels and styling creams, that allow you to experiment and follow in the footsteps of your favorite soap opera artist.
Facts about Hoover Dam
Posted by MedleyBlogger in Facts on March 5th, 2009
Hoover Dam is a concrete structure, built in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, situated on the border of Nevada and Arizona, in the United States. The dam measures 726.4 feet in height (it is taller than the Washington Monument), 1,224 feet in length and is 660 feet thick at the base. At the time of its completion, in 1935, it was the largest concrete structure and the largest electric-power generating station in the world. However, in 1945, the record was taken over by the Grand Coulee Dam, built on Columbia River. Here are some of the interesting facts about the Hoover Dam.
Facts about Hoover Dam
Can you imagine what must be the weight of Hoover Dam? Well! It is 6.6 million tons. It was built with approximately 4,360,000 cubic yards of concrete. The concrete used to build Hoover dam, was cured with cooling tubes. If traditional methods had been used then, it would have taken at least 100 years for completion.
The main objective behind the Hoover Dam project was to regulate the Colorado River, which at times overflowed, posing a threat to the nearby community. The reservoir created behind the Hoover dam is called Lake Mead, named after Elwood Mead, the head of the Bureau of Reclamation during the time. Today, it is the largest reservoir of the world, with a surface area of 146,000 acres.
It was estimated that about 16,000 people were employed for the construction of Hoover Dam, with about 3,500 employed at a time. The overall construction cost of the Hoover Dam was $49,000,000.
Hoover Dam was built by the Bureau of Reclamation, United States. Hoover Dam was previously known as Boulder Dam, as it was to be built in Boulder Canyon. However, for better impoundment, the project was relocated to Canyon Dam.
In February 14, 1931, the name was officially changed to Hoover Dam under the Congressional Act. It was named in honor of Herbert Clark Hoover, the 31st President of the United States and a mining engineer by profession, who made significant contributions to the construction of the dam.
In 1981, Hoover Dam was enlisted in the United States National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). However, it was only in 1985 that Hoover Dam was registered as a National Historic Landmark.
Hoover Dam has a storage capacity of 9.2 trillion gallons of water in its reservoir, the Lake Mead. Its 17 power generators have the capacity to produce 2,000 megawatts of electricity. To be more precise, it supplies electricity to more than 750,000 people and is a water source to over 25 million people in southwest United States.
One of the amazing facts about Hoover Dam is that it is made up of more masonry than the Pyramid of Giza.
It’s no wonder that the Hoover Dam is considered as one of the seven modern engineering wonders by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). About 4,000 tourists visit Hoover Dam everyday.
Sweet 16 Birthday Presents
Posted by MedleyBlogger in Culture on March 5th, 2009
Every birthday is special but the sixteenth birthday comes with a new excitement and a whole new array of feelings of growing up and growing young. There are so dreams that the imagination weaves and heart yearns to fulfill them. It is just the beginning of life and every desire and wish seems achievable. Yes it is true that all dreams and desires are achievable but then it is not fair to shatter these lovely dreams with a hard blow. No parent would like to do that on his or her kids’ birthday, I guess. Here I have some very innovative gift ideas, which you can use to give a beautiful present to your child or friend or sibling.
Sweet 16 Birthday Presents
- You can gift your child a sweet 16 gift basket which would be an amazing way to wish the little girlie who just stepped on the threshold of youth. This gift basket might have a mug, some cookies, a sweet 16 book, a personalized chocolate bar and a sweet 16 Photo Frame. You can also add a sweet 16 towel or an after-bath gown and a sweet 16-birthday cake candle. You can also add a raspberry gourmet tea.
- There is another gift that I am sure the girl would love. The make over trend is on a high so you can gift her a total make over. Gift her a complete beauty experience, which would include facials, hair treatment, manicure, pedicure and makeup.
- There is another gift associated with the previous make over gift, which is a photo shoot wherein a professional photographer can click her pictures and you can gift her a personalized magazine with her picture on the cover page.
- You can also gift her Birthday Care package that would have a bear, gummi bears, happy birthday theme bags and starlite mints. You can also add goodies of your kids’ liking.
- You can gift her a birthday bracelet as well which can be designed with her birthstone or with the colors of her birthstone and give to her along with a special birthday poem.
- You can also take for an exclusive experience of getting a personalized perfume. Yes she would feel like a superstar who has his or her own fragrance. She would be able to create her fragrance by mixing some eighteen perfumes to create an exquisite and unique one that would be her own. Once she does that she would be gifted in a beautiful gift box with a scented feather. She would also a certificate of authenticity and registration.
- You can also gift her a personalized birthday chronicle, which would have all the events that took place on the day she was born. It would be a mini newspaper that would have graphics and can be treasured for years. It would also include a greeting from the President and the details of the celebrities who share the same birthday.
The last gift idea is my favorite though it is peculiar yet you can gift an acre of land on moon’s surface. She would receive a lunar deed, which would be legal and have details of the lunar laws and the purchaser rights.
Refreshing your Summer Eye Makeup
Posted by MedleyBlogger in Culture on March 5th, 2009
Summer is just around the corner
This is good news and bad news. Its good news for people trying to lose weight and bad news for those for whom make-up is their second skin! Well our advice to all our readers would be to modify your regimen. Prevention is your best defense in keeping your eye makeup fresh during the hot and humid summer months. When your new regimen still can’t beat the heat, well, here are a few simple touch-ups will keep your eyes free of streaks.
A few steps to glow in the sun
* First switch to products that can handle the heat. Needless to say this includes long wearing or waterproof mascara, the choice of eye pencils over liquid liners, and switch to shadows that harden to a cream once applied. If you can do away with the shadow, it would be even better, as shadows look a wee bit cheap especially in an office setting.
* If you really have to go out for a party, I’d suggest that you use false lashes to hide out the portion of the shadow. After all you need a pair of good-looking eyes right!
* Go easy on the eyes. Line the upper lash line, or settle for a sweep of a light shadow, if you really must! Shadow from lash line to brow is more likely to cake or crease in the heat, and darker colors are prone to bleeding more, making them a bit more apparent.
* Skip the eyeliner and mascara on the lower lashes. In a sweaty under-eye area, liners and mascaras bleed and make you look like you’re having a black eye. Avoid Kohl pencils, as most of these smudge, irrespective of what brand you buy.
* Set eye makeup with a light dusting of loose powder. This not only helps in absorbing any moisture that may cause eye makeup to melt, but also gives a glimmer to your face. Besides you look a lot fresher all the time!
* Use a non-powdered blotting paper to remove any under-eye perspiration when you do notice streaking. Wipe away any eye makeup with a clean cotton swab. Always keep a small bottle of cleansing milk along with you, you never know when you might require it.
* Reapply faded makeup sparingly. Constant re-application can make your face look absolutely patched up and hardly the kind that looks neat.
A few tips to help you:
* Try and limit yourself to one coat of mascara. You could use hair accessories or great looking scarves to move away the attention from the eyes. This could even be a great pair of shades that you wear during this season.
* Consider permanent makeup. It’s now possible to have your brows and lash line permanently tinted, if you’re really into applying make-up frequently.
* Don’t apply additional mascara to the lashes during the day. This may lead to a caked or clumpy look. If you really want to feel good that your eyes have that starched lash look, go and splash your eyes with water, it not only helps you feel fresh but also gives you the mascara look!
* Keep an eye shadow brush in your purse or backpack to blend shadow in the crease during the day. If you don’t want to use your nice expensive brushes then the little, cheap, nylon-bristle brushes that come with compacts work brilliantly. Last, don’t use the sponge-tip applicators for this. They just pick all the shadow and make it look uneven.
By Prerna Salla
Where did All the Foreign Films Go?
Posted by MedleyBlogger in Foreign Films on March 5th, 2009
The decline of market share for foreign film dvds in the U.S. pre-dates the ongoing slump in overall dvd sales by at least eighteen months. What was once a thriving source of income for retailers that took the time to learn the foreign film business; Blockbuster, Borders, Tower, Musicland, etc. has been whittled down to almost nothing by the gradual reduction of dedicated shelf space and bankruptcies. While this was happening, the advertising and marketing costs necessary to raise audience awareness of non studio releases, especially foreign films, has soared, making it harder and harder to reach potential audience members in a cost effective manner.
The result of these trends has been an almost complete loss of visibility for foreign films in retail. Struggling retailers and renters had no interest in stocking relatively slow moving titles. Of course what they failed to perceive was that by ignoring the wishes of at least 20% of their customer base, they would probably lose those people all together, which is exactly what happened.
Into this void came the internet, and the relatively limitless “shelf space” available on a website. Companies like Netflix and Amazon eagerly lapped up disenchanted refugees from traditional retail. Choice became pretty much limitless. He main websites could offer at least one unit of just about everything. It was a brave new distribution model that I believe became a victim of its own success. Because while it is relatively easy to present a huge selection of dvd titles, it is no longer easy for consumers to discover them.
Neither Netflix, Amazon or any of the other established e-tailers have managed to recreate anything close to the ease of browsing that was available from traditional retail. Some of my fondest memories from college and shortly thereafter involve browsing in record stores for unknown musical gems. When video rental took off it was easy to again have the same browsing experience I enjoyed in college. I discovered great films I had barely, or never, heard of. Choice was broad but not endless and I was ok with it. Specialty retail replicated this experience to great affect during the boom times of dvd in the early years of this decade.
Now that those days are gone, perhaps for ever, it is almost impossible for a consumer to discover anything they aren’t at least already familiar with. Amazon, in spite of all its segmentation, is far too wieldy to support effective browsing. I think Netflix is even worse. Interesting, challenging films that used to literally be presented to consumers by the likes of Borders, Tower, etc. are left to fend for themselves in an incredibly cluttered environment. Needless to say, they aren’t doing well.
What consumers of foreign films and art house fare in general need are websites that facilitate some semblance of a browsing experience. Besides functioning technically, I think this means these sites can’t be too big. Choice should be broad, but limited. Otherwise films will get lost in the shuffle. Who hasn’t lost patience with Amazon while it cycles through its endless data base to provide information on a film we might be curious about? These new sites need to champion the type of film that is lost in the clutter of mainstream e-tail. I believe there is a legitimate niche here that needs to be filled. Who will seize this opportunity and run with it?
For a selection of unique foreign films visit - Foreign Films.