Victor Epand asked:


Historical period films are those that are set in the background of a historical period with some exceptions. There are certain standards that have to be maintained to classify a film as a historical period film. All things including the sets, props, costumes, styling, and characters will have to symbolize the time and background of the event.

Producing Hollywood period films is always considered a very expensive task. The reason for this is that you need to prepare huge grand sets and design costumes that reflect the style of the era in which the film is based.

Many film critics say that whenever Hollywood scriptwriters lack scripts, they go for a period film. But, since most of the period films are a big success, who minds?

Filmmakers believe that making period films is a critical job, since most of the contemporary actors know very little of the time Hollywood period films are based. They have to go through extensive research to get a feel of the characters from epics. Imagining their mannerism and state of mind and to portray it on screen is a tough task for both the actors and directors.

Some of the recent favorite Hollywood Period Films are as follows:

“Braveheart” 1995: Starred, Directed and Produced by Mel Gibson, the film was a huge success critically as well as commercially. It won the 1995 Academy Award for best picture, best director, best cinematographer, best makeup and best sound editing. Braveheart is one of the largest grossing films worldwide.

“Titanic” 1997: Directed by James Cameron, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet was the biggest hit of the year 1997 and holds a record of highest grossing film of all time, worldwide. The film was nominated in 14 Oscar categories and won for best picture and best director. It also won 11 other Academy Awards. Apart from these, the film won many other awards.

“Elizabeth” 1998: Directed By Shekher Kapur, the film received huge critical acclamation. It starred Cate Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth I of England. The film won an academy award. It received 7 Oscar nominations, but won only for best make up. Apart from these, the film won many other awards.

“The Patriot” 2000: Starring Mel Gibson and directed by Roland Emmerich, the film was a hit. Though the film obtained some controversies, it still managed to get critical acclamation.

“Gladiator” 2000: Starring Russell Crowe and directed by Ridley Scott, the film was the biggest blockbuster of the year. It made a worldwide box office gross of 457,640,427 US Dollars,. The film won 5 Academy awards including the Academy Award for Best Picture.

“Chicago” 2002: Starring Richard Gere, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zellweger, is an Academy award winning musical film. It won 6 Academy Awards and 3 Golden Globe awards.

“Troy” 2004: Starring Brad Pitt, Eric Bana and Orlando Bloom, is an Oscar nominated film. The film was a big worldwide hit commercially and was critically acclaimed.

“The Passion of the Christ” 2004: Directed by Mel Gibson, the film earned worldwide gross of 610,000,000 US Dollars. Though pre-release the film was surrounded by controversies but later the film was a big success.

“Kingdom of heaven” 2005: Directed by Ridley Scott and starring Orlando Bloom, Eva Green was a success. It won many International Film Awards and particularly a hit with the youth.

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James Kara Murat asked:


Remember Frank Abagnale, Jr. (or Hollywood hottie, Leonardo DiCaprio, to you!) in the movie “Catch Me, If You Can?” A lot of scenes there showed him cashing Pan Am Airline checks that he wrote using a typewriter. Well, that is not possible now with the emergence of MICR or Magnetic Ink Character Recognition.

Banks have started to find ways to streamline their handling of checks as more people grew mobile and (perhaps have grown rich) found more use for bank checks. To automate the processing of these, a standard electronic processing, handling and reading system was established. This is now known as Magnetic Ink Character Recognition.

Magnetic Ink Character Recognition

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) defines MICR or Magnetic Character Recognition as the accepted machine language specification used in payment transactions on paper – that’s bank checks for you. These are characters printed (MICR Printing) in a special magnetic ink (MICR Toner) that is then read by high speed magnetic equipment that is especially made to recognize these. MICR printing follows an agreed pattern or syntax that, besides authenticating the check, provides the bank with the necessary information like the account number, bank routing number, check number and even the amount requested.

Printed with an E-13B font or CMC-7 font, these MICR characters have to follow a standard arrangement of numbers and symbols for these to be read by a high speed check sorting and reading machine. Just like some barcode fonts, these symbols have a pre-determined prefix and suffix that serve as codes for these machines—there’s no way Leonardo DiCaprio’s character could decipher this as MICR printing follows a lot of strict conditions such as the positioning of the printed lines in relation to the Clear Band Area of the check.

MICR printing involves a special formulation ink called the MICR toner, and these can be printed using a laser printer or printed on a printing press or w/ impact machines. The MICR toner is magnetically charged so that the reader-sorter machines can recognize them through each character’s unique shape. And since it is a machine that optically recognizes these characters, it become important then to have an even or consistent print quality, correct placement of characters on the designated printing area to ensure readability.

MICR Toner

You can use your regular desktop laser printer in MICR printing as long as you use MICR toner. MICR toners are specially formulated magnetic inks that are not the type that you usually use with your printers. These may be readable to the human eye but what the reader-sorter machines are looking for are the magnetic signal or the electronic “fingerprints.” Trying to pass a check in a bank with invalid MICR codes will have them rejected at the clearing center, may cause you a lot of delays, or worse, the bank teller may suspect a modern Frank Abagnale, Jr. who is totally clueless about Magnetic Ink Character Recognition.

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Burl Collins asked:


Using the tropical zodiac system people born between December 22nd and January 19th are known by their Sun Sign Capricorn the Goat and are associated with the constellation Capricornus. The Element of the Capricorn sign is Earth and the color of Capricorn is Brown. The starstone of Capricorn is Black Onyx and the astrological symbol for Capricorn represents the horns and tail of the sea goat. The Sun Sign opposite of Capricorn the Goat is Cancer the Crab and the metals of the Capricorn sign are gold and silver. Capricorn is ruled by the Planet Saturn and is defined as a feminine-negative introverted sign. Capricorn is the tenth sign of the zodiac and the quality of Capricorn is Cardinal.

The characteristics most commonly attributed to Capricorn are responsible and dependable and they are also well known for their disciplined and methodical ways. Generally speaking the people of the Capricorn sun sign are often prudent and realistic with a traditional outlook. They are also patient and serious with a cautious attitude. The Capricorn people work well in a businesslike environment and can be formal and dedicated. Capricorns can also be ambitious and demanding with an possessive and controlling nature. They can also be rigid and overly critical with an aloof air about them as they consider themselves to be members of the ruling authority. Capricorns appreciate loyalty but can be calculating and vindictive.

The following is a list of some famous celebrities of the Capricorn sun sign.

Charles Addams - January 7, 1912 - September 29, 1988 - Cartoonist, creator of the Addams Family

Muhammad Ali - January 17, 1942 - World Heavyweight Champion boxer

Kirstie Alley - January 12, 1951 - Emmy Award winning actress

Pat Benatar - January 10, 1953 - Grammy Award winning rock singer

Orlando Bloom - January 13, 1977 - Actor, best known as Legolas in The Lord of the Rings

Humphrey Bogart - December 25, 1899 - January 14, 1957 - Academy Award winning Hollywood film star

Louis Braille - January 4, 1809 - January 6, 1852 - Inventor of the Braille system used by the blind

Al Capone - January 17, 1899 - January 25, 1947 - Gangster, also known as Big Al

Marlene Dietrich - December 27, 1901 - May 6, 1992 - Actress, singer and entertainer

Jean Dixon - January 5, 1918 - January 25, 1997 - Astrologer and Psychic

Faye Dunaway - January 14, 1941 - Academy, Emmy and Golden Globe Award winning actress

Chris Evert - December 21, 1954 - Professional tennis player

George Foreman - January 10, 1949 - Heavyweight boxing champion known for his grilling machine

Benjamin Franklin - January 17, 1706 - April 17, 1790 - One of the Founding Fathers of the United States

Joe Frazier - January 12, 1944 - World heavyweight boxing champion

Mel Gibson - January 3, 1956 - Actor and Academy Award winning director

Cary Grant - January 18, 1904 - November 29, 1986 - Actor, one of Hollywoods leading men

Anthony Hopkins - December 31, 1937 - Academy, Golden Globe and Emmy Award winning actor

Janis Joplin - January 19, 1943 - October 4, 1970 - Iconic singer of the 1960s

Johannes Kepler - December 27, 1571 - November 15, 1630 - Astronomer, Astrologer and Mathematician

General Robert E. Lee - January 19, 1807 - October 12, 1870 - Commander of the Confederate Army

Isaac Newton - January 4, 1643 - March 31, 1727 - Scientist, mathematician, astronomer and alchemist

Aristotle Socrates Onassis - January 15, 1906 - March 15, 1975 - Shipping magnate

Elvis Aron Presley - January 8, 1935 - August 16, 1977 - The King of Rock and Roll

Robert Ripley - December 25, 1890 - May 27, 1949 - Cartoonist, creator of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!

Rod Serling - December 25, 1924 - June 28, 1975 - Screenwriter, creator of the The Twilight Zone

J.R.R. Tolkien - 3 January 1892 - 2 September 1973 - Author of The Lord of the Rings

Noel Tyl - December 31, 1936 - Astrologer and writer

Tiger Woods - December 30, 1975 - Super star professional golfer

As you can see from this list if you were born under the Capricorn sun sign you are in good company.

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Ray Caran asked:


The only reason you are reading this is to find out how to lose 20 pounds. If you are like most people you are wondering just how healthful losing 20 pounds would be.

Is this is a good time to start your plan or program. Do you think you can stick with it? The people who have the most success at losing weight have a magical moment when something clicks and you decide you just don’t want to live with this excess weigh any longer. Maybe 20 pounds is only the starting point toward a loftier goal.

Motivations are very different from person to person. A lot of us are concerned about heart problems or liver disease. Others are going to a high profile reunion. Have you ever seen a person have difficulty fitting into airline or movie-theater seats and considering buying extra tickets? Some people look at the clothing in their closets and wonder if they will ever fit into the smaller sizes again.

The idea of losing weight is just that you use more energy than what you take in, if you lose 2 pounds a week, your body will work just perfect in losing those pounds, this means that if you want to loose 20 pounds it would be better for you to lose them in 10-12 weeks.

This slow steady process seems to be an ideal weight loss program. Fast weight loss is not sustainable because you will tire quickly of the plan.

“What do you really want? Do you want to lose 20 pounds of body fat in the next 10-12 weeks? You will want to do it slowly, safely so you can then keep it off permanently. Most of us want the fat around our hips and thighs completely gone. Never forget we also want a much flatter stomach along with some new muscles.

What Is Your Goal?

“You want to know how to lose 20 pounds” is not a good goal.

“Weight loss” is not the same as “fat loss.” Weight includes muscle, bone, internal organs as well as water.

What You Really Want Is Fat Loss, Not Weight Loss.

Picture this. Your body is solid muscle; do you honestly care how much you weigh?

The singer Beyonce lost a lot of weight prior to her role on a recent movie. In preparation for her star role in “Dream Girls” Beyonce Knowls lost a total of 20 pounds in a few short weeks. Beyonce lost her weight for her movie that was her goal. What is your goal? Whatever the reason, it can be done. Set a slightly difficult goal and stick to it.

It will take will power and you must stick with your program at all costs. It will be worth it and you will lose weight!

A majority of doctors state that a colon cleanse is an excellent way to start a diet.

Research colon cleanse alternatives. There are some that are endorsed by Doctors.

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diane hamments asked:


The Braveheart Sword received its name because of its strong association with the Scottish national hero Sir William Wallace. Wallace, who was sometimes called “Braveheart," was an actual historical figure who lived during the Middle Ages. 
Near the end of the 13th Century, he led the Scots in their attempt to wrest control of Scotland away from the English. The deeds Wallace performed with his sword during this struggle were so heroic, so compelling, so legendary, that his memory, and the memory of the Braveheart Sword that he wielded, live on today.
 The Braveheart Sword - Silent Star Of A Hit Film.
 The general public became aware of, and enamored with, the Braveheart Sword and its mystique as a result of the epic film "Braveheart," which starred Mel Gibson in the role of William Wallace.  Although the film took some artistic license with actual events, the legendary acts of William Wallace that were so wonderfully portrayed in the film have provided inspiration to millions of people.  And as a result of the film, Scots all over the world have experienced a resurgence of pride in their ancestry.
 Stylish But Wickedly Efficient Design.
  A formidable weapon with a stylish but wickedly efficient design, the typical replica Braveheart Sword is more than four feet of coldly brutal steel with a double-handed grip.  There are several varieties of the Braveheart Sword, but all are beautiful and elegantly simple weapons.  True to its early Scottish roots, a Braveheart Sword often has a leather-wrapped handle and sometimes comes with a rough leather scabbard or sheath.  Some Braveheart swords have chrome-plated steel hilts and blades, others have solid silver or brass hilts and polished stainless steel blades.  But no matter what metal is used for the sword, the design is always Medieval, the time period when Braveheart used his sword so valiantly.
 Reasons For The Braveheart Sword’s Popularity.
 "Movie swords" such as Braveheart Swords, Excalibur Swords and Lord of the Rings .Swords are extremely popular with film buffs and with people who are fascinated by Medieval history.  Seeing a beautiful, elegant Braveheart Sword hanging on the wall will easily evoke memories of the film and the epic times that the film so memorably portrayed.  They can be a powerful addition to a home’s decor, or they can be worn by an attendee of a Medieval tournament re-enactment as the perfect complement to a period costume from that era.  And because the Braveheart film sparked worldwide interest in Scottish culture and weaponry, a person of Scottish descent would be happy to own one.
 There is something special about a Braveheart Sword and its austere beauty, something special about its sense of strength and power, and something special about its strong association with the honorable Sir William Wallace and his heroic feats of patriotism.  Braveheart Swords silently call us back to the past.

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Kevin L. Powers asked:


An improvement over the previous mess but a good film this does not make. Let’s just say that this film, like much of what Hollywood is putting out lately, is geared towards the brain-dead crowd who wants their action loud and story nil (or gone altogether) and R-rated violence numbed to the PG-13 crowd so that everyone and their grandmother won’t feel offended to go see. I’m offended that groundbreaking Die Hard franchise has been dumbed down to a knock-off of itself with neither the creativity nor the heart of its predecessor.

Let’s just forget that in both the first two films the heart of the film was watching how far John McClane (again Bruce Willis) will go to save the woman he loves not to mention his marriage. Everything he did was geared towards McClane discovering what truly made him both an endearing and fallible hero. He was someone whom the audience felt went through hell in order to reach heaven. Although in the third film the relationship with his wife was numbed down to a couple phone calls and off remarks from secondary characters, you never felt like McClane had any personal stake in what was going on around him and therefore the film became nothing more than a cop film with no heart. Nothing we hadn’t seen before by the countless other Die Hard knock-offs of the ‘90s.

The new film Lie Free or Die Hard is nothing more than action set pieces stitched together in an action movie with little story to tie everything together. I’m not saying there isn’t one; I just saying that other knock-offs have come up with better. In Die Hard 4 McClane is having problems with his daughter Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who looks to be in college prompting me to think has twenty years really gone by since the last film?) and to top it off he’s been put in charge of bringing a local hacker (Justin Long) to Washington D.C. for questioning by the FBI. This routine pick up turns into a blood bath of bullets as McClane soon discovers that the hacker may be responsible for helping a terrorist take over the United States via computers. The rest of the film follows McClane and the hacker from one set piece to the next as they try to overthrow the terrorists trying to overthrow the U.S. government. I commend screenwriter Mark Bomback for trying his hand at a patriotic action film similar to what Stallone did with his Rambo films, but those films had a heart and spirit left void here.

Once you get past the first fifteen minutes of set up which is atrociously paced giving the impression of a bad script with even worse acting from everyone involved because everything feels forced, the action set pieces are quite good and excellently handled by director Len Wiseman and his crew. This is not surprising since Wiseman did an excellent job on the Underworld series of films if only he had borrowed those screenwriters for a rewrite. There are several nice moments between McClane and the hacker, whose constantly asks why McClane does what he does, that question the definition of what a hero “is” and what a hero sacrifices in order to become a hero. These scenes are at the heart of the film only by the end of the film there is no payoff for McClane’s character as he never truly realizes what he has sacrificed to become this “All-American Hero” that everyone in the film claims he is.

I’m sure they tried to show this through his relationship with his daughter Lucy, who at the beginning of the film claims her mother’s maiden name, but her scenes are few and far in between and she comes off as a last minute addition to the film as her character truly has nothing to do.

The film also has no problem going against character as the mastermind behind the terrorism Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant) has no problem forcing his men to kill innocents in order to kill McClane, as the scene in the tunnel plainly shows, but for no reason at all he has problems killing McClane’s daughter, McClane being the man that killed his girlfriend and constantly provokes him to no end. Gabriel should’ve had no problems killing McClane’s daughter and then taunting him to no end but because the film is hampered by so many other things these scenes in the third act are laughable at best.

The film is best played for laughs as that’s all that’s left in the franchise since McClane has now become as bad as Spider-Man with the one liners and retorts. Not once in the entire film do you ever feel McClane is any danger and not once do you find yourself taking anything seriously. We all know it is a film and meant to entertain but how far does the action film genre have to fall before we finally say enough is enough? Where are the original Die Hards or Lethal Weapons or First Blood? Has the well dried so much or does Hollywood just no longer have a backbone? Where has the heart gone?

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Liv_Liv asked:


Women are undecided about their own thoughts and dreams.

Are undecided about their underwear!!!! Let’s face it… women are women.

So, don’t be surprise to heard women crooning this song (Wainwright Loudon - I Wish I Was A Lesbian):

“I wish I was a lesbian, and not a hetero.

I wouldn’t have to deal with men and all their come and go,

And all their yucky yucky facial hair and all their machis’mo!

I wish I were a lesbian and not a hetero!

I wish I was a lesbian and that I wasn’t straight.

I’d sleep with women only. Man, it would be great.

I’d throw away my diaphragm, I wouldn’t want to mate.

I wish I was a lesbian, and that I wasn’t straight!

I wish I were a lesbian, I’d like to be a dyke.

I’d sleep with k.d. lang. Mel Gibson, take a hike!

I think it would be nice to love someone who was alike.

I wish I was a lesbian, I’d like to be a dyke!

I wish I was a lesbian, that’s why this song is sung.

It shouldn’t really matter how somebody is hung.

Other things are more important- like how you use your tongue!

I wish I was a lesbian, that’s why this song is sung!

I DARE Casey Kasem to play this!

I wish I was a lesbian, and not a hetero.

I wouldn’t have to deal with men and all their come and go,

And all their yucky facial hair and all their machis’mo

(I hate that machis’mo!)

I wish I was a lesbian and not a hetero”

But guys please, don’t believe everything they say…

(c) Shaped Word 2008. All rights reserved.

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Clyde Lee Dennis asked:


The exceptionally talented Pop group Destinys Child have released their CD entitled Survivor. I am very confident and happy to announce that I believe Destinys Child fans, and Pop fans alike will be pleased with this one. With the release of Survivor their artistic excellence is on full display as they have once again delivered a brilliant collection of tracks that could very well be their best work to date.

It’s a rare day indeed that I get a CD from an artist that I can truthfully say does not have a bad track in the bunch. I’m more than happy to announce that’s exactly what I must say about this one. There simply is NOT a bad one in the bunch. No fillers here at all.

These days it’s a very rare CD on which every single song is good or better than the one before it. This CD is certainly one of those rare CDs.

Listen and I think you’ll agree that the song choices are excellent, the production is outstanding and Destinys Child is clearly a group that is in top form.

While the entire CD is outstanding some of my favorites are track 6 - Apple Pie A La Mode, track 11 - Dangerously In Love, and track 14 - Gospel Medley

My Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is track 1 - Independent Women Part 1. Great track!

Survivor Release Notes:

Destinys Child originally released Survivor on May 1, 2001 on the Columbia label.

CD Track List Follows:

1. Independent Women Part 1 2. Survivor 3. Bootylicious 4. Nasty Girl 5. Fancy 6. Apple Pie A La Mode 7. Sexy Daddy 8. Independent Women Part II 9. Happy Face 10. Emotion 11. Dangerously In Love 12. Brown Eyes 13. Story Of Beauty, The 14. Gospel Medley 15. Outro (DC-3) Thank You

Survivor Album Notes Destiny’s Child: Beyonce, Kelly, Michelle.

Producers: Beyonce Knowles, Walter Afanasieff.

Engineers include: Brian Springer, James Hoover, Dan Workman.

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The Amsterdam Red-light District asked:


When an oscar winner Mel Gibson was stopped by the police in
Malibu and was told that he’s being arrested for drunk driving, he
became infuriated and started uncontrollably swearing and
insulting the men in blue. The media quickly grabbed this news
insinuating that he has major drinking problem, but only until they
found out the most important detail. Mel has asked the deputy
sheriff if he was a Jew and with hate in his eyes said: « Jews are
guilty of all the wars happening in the world!« Now he is facing six
months in jail. Meanwhile Mel beggs public for forgivness and
apologizes to the Jew community, many predict that this is the
end of his acting career.
Regardless of how long we could moralize about his outburst of
deep-rooted hatred, the fact is, that our society didn’t improve
one bit from the end of the second World War. Evolution is
taking place on a biologial level, but in spirit remains dualism.
Either you are Jew or Catholic, East or West, black or white,
good or bad, with us or against us. In 1963 Martin Luther King
said his infamous words to the 250 000 headed crowd: »I have
a dream. That my four little children will one day live in a nation
where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by
the content of their character.« When he was burried five years
later, the governor of Georgia didn’t allow a public funeral. This
year, in January, almost 40 years later, his wife Coretta Scott
King passed away. George W. Bush and three other
ex-presidents attended her funeral.
Skin color, religion, sex orientation - just a few worrying
factors cyclically coming forward. Yes, our society did start
to accept diversion, but it is more and more politically
inclined. Politics causes a filling of threat and is pointing it’s
finger to the guilty party. We snub at the things that prevent
us from living cozily in »that« given moment. And only years
later we can say: »Ah, Bosnia, that must have been horrible…«
In the meantime we are buying guns to our children and telling
them that the one on the other side is guilty for all our trouble.
However, if you are a father of Mel Gibson you may even say
that »holocaust was almost entirely made-up«. Regardless of
how impure american politics is, today, more than ever, general
Peter Pace’s words, spoken in front of the American Congress
are true: Love your children more than you hate each other. Even
though he was aiming at Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq, these words
can not be exclusive to them. You can not change the society if
you didn’t make a man.
Article written by Ula27.

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