Producing a “finished” hunting dog, one that will perform the tasks of pointing out game or retrieving game, is not a simple matter. In some cases, it can take several hunting seasons and specialized training equipment to achieve the desired results.
It would be ludicrous to begin training a dog to perform hunting skills without first teaching it basic obedience. Your dog must be able to sit, stay, remain quite and come on demand before moving into the more complex areas of the hunt. The success of the hunt, as well as the safety of the dog and its handler, is directly correlated to the dog’s performance and self control. For example, an unruly dog that barks at incoming geese will not only spoil the hunt, but will not be invited back again. Further, a dog that bolts out of a blind too quickly can jeopardize a shot and even cause a shooting accident. Control is most essential.
When the hunter is ready to begin training his dog for the hunt, there is a variety of equipment that will prove valuable. Probably the first and most essential item is a piece of 3/8-inch polypropylene rope of about 30 feet in length. The rope allows the handler to maintain control of his dog during exercises and eliminates the chance of having to chase the dog and correct him for straying.
Most dogs have a natural fear of loud noises, especially gunfire. Therefore, the trainer will have to involve a training pistol or firearm in his training program. A handgun is preferable; a shotgun is too large and difficult to handle while holding the lead line and juggling other training devices. When training the retriever, training “bumpers” or dummies are utilized to teach the dog to fetch. These aides come in various colors and sizes. White bumpers are generally used for “marking” drills where the dog is being taught to retrieve by sight and colored bumpers are used for “running blinds” where the dog is sent blindly into an area to retrieve a downed bird that fell out of sight.
The retriever should be trained to respond to the sound of a whistle. The voice of the dog’s handler will not always be loud enough or distinct enough to alert the dog to give up the search and return to the handler’s side. Some of the more elaborate whistles come with built-in megaphones that allow the sound to be heard more easily and direct the blaring sound away from the hunter(s). They are usually well worth the extra cost.
Some trainers will use a friend or “bird boys” who position themselves some distance from the trainer and toss the bumpers high into the air to simulate a falling bird. For those who train without assistance, bird launchers are a big help. These launchers come in single or multiple bird capacity; however, they are usually bulky and can be expensive.
Electric dog training collars are effective but controversial. These collars have a small electronic device attached that administers a remote controlled mild electric shock to the dog. The control is hand held by the trainer. These pieces of equipment allow an immediate correction when the dog fails to respond to the more conventional command. The level of shock involved has been compared to the static shock one receives from a carpet or from touching a car door handle in cold weather. Actually, the electric collar could be considered a humane alternative to the aggressive tactics or brute force used by some trainers.
One of the best ways to embark on training your hunting dog is learn from the experts. Training tips and guidelines are now available on tapes that show the student step by step training procedures. These instructional tapes should be on every novice trainer’s list of essential training equipment.
When you’re training your dog in the wilds you should be prepared to care for him if he is injured. Therefore, the final thing on our list of essentials is a First Aid Kit. Many of the items you’ll need for your dog are also appropriate for use on humans, so the kit can be mutually beneficial to both you and your dog. Fill the kit with such items as: sterile bandages, topical solutions, tape, scissors, tweezers, antibiotic ointments such as Neosporin, ibuprofen (safe for both humans and canines) and possibly a veterinarian prescribed anti-inflammatory such as Deramaxx or Rimadly. A well stocked First Aid Kit has prevented many a pleasant hunting trip from becoming a nightmare.

Producing a “finished” hunting dog, one that will perform the tasks of pointing out game or retrieving game, is not a simple matter. In some cases, it can take several hunting seasons and specialized training equipment to achieve the desired results.
It would be ludicrous to begin training a dog to perform hunting skills without first teaching it basic obedience. Your dog must be able to sit, stay, remain quite and come on demand before moving into the more complex areas of the hunt. The success of the hunt, as well as the safety of the dog and its handler, is directly correlated to the dog’s performance and self control. For example, an unruly dog that barks at incoming geese will not only spoil the hunt, but will not be invited back again. Further, a dog that bolts out of a blind too quickly can jeopardize a shot and even cause a shooting accident. Control is most essential.
When the hunter is ready to begin training his dog for the hunt, there is a variety of equipment that will prove valuable. Probably the first and most essential item is a piece of 3/8-inch polypropylene rope of about 30 feet in length. The rope allows the handler to maintain control of his dog during exercises and eliminates the chance of having to chase the dog and correct him for straying.
Most dogs have a natural fear of loud noises, especially gunfire. Therefore, the trainer will have to involve a training pistol or firearm in his training program. A handgun is preferable; a shotgun is too large and difficult to handle while holding the lead line and juggling other training devices. When training the retriever, training “bumpers” or dummies are utilized to teach the dog to fetch. These aides come in various colors and sizes. White bumpers are generally used for “marking” drills where the dog is being taught to retrieve by sight and colored bumpers are used for “running blinds” where the dog is sent blindly into an area to retrieve a downed bird that fell out of sight.
The retriever should be trained to respond to the sound of a whistle. The voice of the dog’s handler will not always be loud enough or distinct enough to alert the dog to give up the search and return to the handler’s side. Some of the more elaborate whistles come with built-in megaphones that allow the sound to be heard more easily and direct the blaring sound away from the hunter(s). They are usually well worth the extra cost.
Some trainers will use a friend or “bird boys” who position themselves some distance from the trainer and toss the bumpers high into the air to simulate a falling bird. For those who train without assistance, bird launchers are a big help. These launchers come in single or multiple bird capacity; however, they are usually bulky and can be expensive.
Electric dog training collars are effective but controversial. These collars have a small electronic device attached that administers a remote controlled mild electric shock to the dog. The control is hand held by the trainer. These pieces of equipment allow an immediate correction when the dog fails to respond to the more conventional command. The level of shock involved has been compared to the static shock one receives from a carpet or from touching a car door handle in cold weather. Actually, the electric collar could be considered a humane alternative to the aggressive tactics or brute force used by some trainers.
One of the best ways to embark on training your hunting dog is learn from the experts. Training tips and guidelines are now available on tapes that show the student step by step training procedures. These instructional tapes should be on every novice trainer’s list of essential training equipment.
When you’re training your dog in the wilds you should be prepared to care for him if he is injured. Therefore, the final thing on our list of essentials is a First Aid Kit. Many of the items you’ll need for your dog are also appropriate for use on humans, so the kit can be mutually beneficial to both you and your dog. Fill the kit with such items as: sterile bandages, topical solutions, tape, scissors, tweezers, antibiotic ointments such as Neosporin, ibuprofen (safe for both humans and canines) and possibly a veterinarian prescribed anti-inflammatory such as Deramaxx or Rimadly. A well stocked First Aid Kit has prevented many a pleasant hunting trip from becoming a nightmare.

Perhaps “blogging” isn’t such a graceful word. For me, personally, it sounds like a worded drudgery the way cereals can be soggy, skies can be foggy, and the way minds can be groggy. But for now, it’s too late to rename this shortened word for web-logging. Widespread blogging is nevertheless one of the most engaging Internet developments of the past few years. As a medium it gives rise to many new and worthy voices and plays a new and vital force in shaping opinions, political realities, trends, and even our language.

I believe that a blog is simply a tool to use for someone who’s got something to say. Let me be clear in saying that a blog is a poor choice for someone who needs a megaphone to scream out to cyberspace in order to elicit a meaningful response from Internet users. If you want attention and want it now and expect blogging to bring it to you, then this will surely be a disappointment. However, if you like to write and engage others on subjects of which you have some command or experience, then it’s a wonderful application with which you can interact with people who share similar interests as you. The hype is well founded.

Anyway, here’s a list of blogging tips. . .

1. ) Be topical.
Cohesiveness in message is not optional. Readers may or may not be interested in your topic, but if your message is haphazard that few will bother remembering to return to your blog because it essentially would offer nothing to remember. This doesn’t mean blogs can’t jump from subject to subject. For instance, a blog with a humorous focus has all the leeway in the world for subject matter, but it would be foolish for such a blog to turn the humor on and off. In such an example, the aspect of humor would be content’s glue, the strength of the blog. The beauty of staying on point and on topic is that eventually, due to the nature of the Internet, you will find those interested solely in your topic. (as opposed to online diaries. There are millions of them on the internet, few have any readers. Email me with examples if I’m wrong and I’ll be able to show you why you’re showing me a blog and not a diary. )

2. ) Refresh your content
Create a schedule and stick to it. Realizing that blogging requires time and effort, don’t create unrealistic expectations and be unable to deliver. An occasional lapse or holiday is generally understood but readers returning to find stale, out-dated content are going to find another blog with similar content. New blogs and RSS feeds are popping up on a daily basis. If you have worked hard to develop an audience and a community you don’t want to lose them due to lack of communication.

And remember, what’s old is not new and, for blogs, thusly not interesting. 2006 isn’t the time to rail against Enron or Vanilla Ice. Insight doesn’t matter much to yesterday’s news.

3. ) Clear Language Counts.
Blessed is the blog with a clear line of logic. Write without inside jokes, clique-y catchphrases or ambiguous logic. First time readers need to be close to your message. They are more likely to return to blogs that strike them positively. If the first read is confusing there will not be a second read.

4. ) Feed the Spiders.
Search engines take notice of active blogs and blog search engines are especially sensitive to activity. If nothing else, search engines are smarter today than they were yesterday and are only getting smarter. In constantly improving they are seeking to aggregate quality; quality blogs are updated several times a week, if not daily, as opposed to once or twice a month. I don’t mean to scare you but a big spider is watching, so dance for them.

5. ) RSS.
Think of RSS like a magic to blogging world, because that’s the effect it’s had. RSS feeds are a way to exponentially sound your voice to the interested. These feeds are a great means to increase the distribution and readership of your original content.

6. ) Spell check.
Hey man, use the spell-check. I do – if I didn’t you probably wouldn’t have made it to #6. It only takes a minute and can save you from looking like a hack.

Your weblog audiences will be small at first. And, frankly, that’s the way it should be. Who are you to think that half the internet will flock to you after three or four posts of your blog, anyway?

If you tough it out while maintaining quality, readership will materialize. You will link to good, relevant blogs and, in turn, they will to you. While your voice may be unique, your niche likely isn’t and if your content is emitted smartly to the Internet those relevant readers will respond through readership and interaction. That I guarantee.

Covering for Power
When the Bush administration launched its PR blitz to sell the Iraq War in September 2002, the American public never stood a chance of learning the truth behind the massive fraud emanating from the White House. Bush and his propaganda czars knew something the American public had not quite grasped: The American media was little more than a megaphone for those in power. This was especially true for celebrity journalists like Judith Miller, the now-disgraced national security correspondent for the New York Times; and Bob Woodward, once a crusading muckraker at the Washington Post, now father confessor to the political elite.
For three years, the Bush administration called the tune, and the New York Times danced. In the run-up to the Iraq War, the newspaper, led by Miller’s dispatches, acted as a conveyor belt for the lies of Iraqi exiles, channeling their self-serving distortions right onto the front pages. Miller’s sources were the key players in the Iraqi National Congress, an outfit first created by the CIA and later funded by the Pentagon. Its leaders, such as Ahmad Chalabi, conjured fantastic tales about the menace posed by Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction. They hinted darkly about bioweapons labs buried beneath hospitals, aluminum tubes that the Iraqi dictator was intent on using to develop nuclear weapons, and secret meetings held between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden.
This was propaganda in the purest sense: disinformation that was bought and paid for by the U. S. government. The only thing needed was for respected news outlets to legitimize these fairy tales by running them as fact. The American media rose to the task, and carried out the Bush administration’s dirty work with gusto. The consequences of the media’s abdication of its role as watchdog of democracy are now written in new front page dispatches?about the bloody quagmire in Iraq.
Yet the media can’t seem to shake its instinct to defer to power. In December 2005, the New York Times published a shocking expos� by reporters James Risen and Eric Lichtblau. Their story revealed that following the 9/11 attacks, the Bush administration ordered the National Security Agency (NSA) to begin wiretapping people inside the United States, including U. S. citizens, in direct violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, which expressly forbids warrantless wiretaps inside the country. To read the article, you might have felt alarmed by the picture of creeping fascism that it describes. But you would have felt vaguely reassured that the press was on the job as a watchdog . . . until you came to the ninth paragraph:
“The White House asked the New York Times not to publish this article, arguing that it could jeopardize continuing investigations and alert would-be terrorists that they might be under scrutiny. After meeting with senior administration officials to hear their concerns, the newspaper delayed publication for a year to conduct additional reporting. Some information that administration officials argued could be useful to terrorists has been omitted. ”
Let’s do the math: Thirteen months before this story was published there was . . . a national election. Won by George W. Bush. The guy who ordered laws to be broken, because he felt he didn’t have to answer to anyone. The last president to behave in this way was Richard Nixon. He faced a public outcry and was forced to resign in disgrace in the face of almost certain impeachment. Indeed, when the wiretapping story was finally published in the Times, it sparked congressional investigations and even calls for impeachment of the president for violating the law.
It turns out the Times did, in fact, have this story ready to go before the 2004 election but decided to wait?at the request of the people running for reelection, who rightly feared how the public might respond to the revelations.
Imagine, just for a moment, how different things might have been if this explosive expos� had been published when it was written.
The Times delayed publication because it might “jeopardize continuing investigations”?ignoring, as the media watch group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) has pointed out, that “placing illegal and unconstitutional programs in jeopardy is the whole point of the First Amendment. ”
More astonishing was Times executive editor Bill Keller’s explanation of why the story was delayed for so long. He said that the Bush administration had “assured senior editors of the Times that a variety of legal checks had been imposed that satisfied everyone involved that the program raised no legal questions. ” Mind you, this is the regime of George W. Bush we’re talking about?the folks who assured us that torture was legal, that preemptive war was legal, and that holding prisoners incommunicado in an offshore gulag was legal. But for the editor of the Times, it is enough just to take the government’s word when it says something is legal. The Times finally published the story?which won reporters Risen and Lichtblau a 2006 Pulitzer Prize?only when it became apparent that Risen was planning to publish the revelation in a book a month later.
In spite of all that we now know about how the media failed to challenge government liars and instead became cheerleaders for a fraudulent war, the corporate media still covers for power. That may explain why an explosive report in the London Times on May 1, 2005, which caused a sensation around the world, was ignored or played down in the American media. The British paper revealed the contents of the so-called Downing Street memo, minutes of a July 2002 meeting between British prime minister Tony Blair and his top advisors, at which British intelligence chief Richard Dearlove reported to Blair on his meetings with CIA Director George Tenet. Dearlove explained that Bush “wanted to remove Saddam Hussein through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy. ”
This bombshell from a top British official?that Bush had decided to attack Iraq and would simply cook the intelligence to suit his aims?was greeted with a yawn by the American media. It was only after bloggers promoted the story that the corporate media acknowledged it?and only then, to dismiss it. The Los Angeles Times insisted the memo was not a “smoking gun. ” The Washington Post dismissed it as old news. The New York Times barely mentioned it at all. And the network nightly news shows virtually ignored the story.
It’s a sad day when the government no longer has to cover up its dishonesty because the American media does it for them.
The Access of Evil
This is the state of the corporate media today. It’s a symptom of what we call the access of evil: journalists trading truth for access. The public unwittingly mistakes the illusion of news for reality. This also applies to the one-sided debates that are the rage on the networks and cable news. Viewers don’t even know what they don’t know. The media watch group Media Matters did a study of the Sunday morning talk shows. During Bush’s first term as president, 69 percent of the journalists appearing on the Sunday shows were conservatives, and 58 percent of all guests were Republicans/conservatives. This echoes a study done by FAIR in the run-up to the Iraq War. In the two weeks surrounding Colin Powell’s infamous 2003 speech to the UN in which he made the case for the invasion that was to occur six weeks later, 393 “experts” appeared on the major nightly network news shows. Of these, three?less than 1 percent?were leaders of antiwar organizations.
We can’t even call this a “mainstream” media. It’s an extreme media ?a media that cheerleads for war.
Instead of learning from the media what is actually going on in the world, we get static?a veil of distortion, lies, omissions, and half-truths that obscure reality. As bodies pile up in Iraq and New Orleans, many people are mystified, wondering where it went so wrong.
We need a media that creates static of another kind: what the dictionary defines as “criticism, opposition, or unwanted interference. ” Instead of a media that covers for power, we need a media that covers the movements that create static?and make history.
We are not waiting for this alternative media; people are building it right now. Blogs, Indymedia centers, independent filmmakers, and other grassroots media have opened a new way to understand what is happening in the world today.
From the book Static: Government Liars, Media Cheerleaders, and the People Who Fight Back By Amy Goodman and David Goodman Published by Hyperion September 2006;$23. 95US/$29. 95CAN; 1-4013-0293-9 Copyright � 2006 Amy Goodman and David Goodman

Author: Peter A Donovan of Applause Software. The Funnel Theory: First: The Funnel: The Funnel is a way of describing your prospect base that is used by ACT and GOLDMINE as their basic premise. The problem with both of these 2 most popular packages in my opinion is that they include so many extra functions in order to sell their product that the basic intent of their system gets lost by users with little or no training and even by veteran users. Imagine a funnel, like a megaphone with a large open side on one end and a small open side on the other. Many businesses find themselves in business for 30 years and the sales department has information on about only 20% of the potential market due to turnover, record keeping on paper (unusable in many cases because of being outdated), and general policy of not understanding the funnel theory. The premise: The large side represents how many potential accounts you know about in order to be able to contact them and sell your services to. The small side represents prospects who are ready to make a yes/no decision on a quote or proposal or bid you make and a percentage of these will fall through the small end and become sales. 4 Goals: 1. Increase the funnel by marketing, cold calling, meetings, conventions, inbound phone calls, etc. Premise: The more in the funnel, the more fall thru as sales. 2. Increase the number of prospects at the small rim of the funnel, thereby (making the assumption that your closing ratio stays the same) you get more sales. 3. Skew the funnel with leads that are more likely to be sold. This is done by accessing your funnel lead base and marketing (cold call/direct mail, etc) to a proven segment of the market with a higher closing ratio, or customers where you have an add-on product for what they use. 4. By whatever means including skewing the funnel and teaching modern sales tactics to the field reps, you increase your closing ratio. 6 Assumptions: 1. The more leads in the funnel brings more opportunity to sell your product. If you don’t have a way of regularly contacting the entire funnel this assumption is meaningless. Therefore you must generate advertising directed individually at each funnel listing via phone and mail and email. 2. The more information you gather about each funnel lead brings you closer to a sale. You can’t sell an account unless you know the name of the decision maker or beginning contact person. You can’t determine the value of the account to you without knowing what size the account is, what potential they have to be a client, or information that would make them non-desirable as a customer. If you don’t have this information, and a way of using it to select segments of your prospects for contact it’s useless. 3. The more frequency of calls to your best market segment leads to higher sales volume. You must have information to fuel this market segment and identify it. 4. Price is meaningless in many cases. You must present yourself to situations where you are the only bidder or have identified the needs of the customer properly and prove both in speaking to the prospect and backup in print that their needs will be best addressed by your company. If you don’t save this information for future use [assuming no sale] you put yourself back in time having to do this all over again and lose the ability to skew the funnel based on the information you gather. 5. You must have a way of reporting the funnel. You must have a list of prospects considering a quote ready to make a decision. You must have a list of each field rep’s active accounts that they are pursuing. You must have a way (mail merge, email blast) of regularly putting your name in front of the target market based on the info collected. 6. From #5 you must have a way of determining if the inner funnel leads are sold or lost or postponed. This gives you a closing ratio which is the heart of the funnel. To explain, you must log a history that a quote was given, and have a history of which of these resulted in sales (otherwise you can’t compute a closing ratio) after the fact. Monitoring activity of leads (the number active), the prospects on the inner edge with quotes, and keeping track of field rep closing ratios over time gives you a pulse. 2 Rules. 1. If a field rep produces many sales you can’t touch them and they can do anything they want until the sales stop flowing. To keep this salesrep on top of the heap you must provide them with incoming leads of a high quality which they will only pursue a percentage of due to their status. 2. Longevity and Burnout. The longer you keep the top salesreps as employees, the closing ratio will increase and sales will increase, and it will become easier to project budget and rely on your projections. The supply of quality leads to these reps is the key to keeping them longer. Your goals as business director is to make everyone understand the funnel theory as explained above and make the: FUNNEL, the HEART, and the KEY in your sights and produce the needed reports, mailings, etc. to make it happen. You must skew the funnel to do this and keep your eyes on the pulse. Regards, Peter A Donovan Applause Software Wakefield, MA USA Applause Software Website

The history of cheerleading originates from the United States in the late 1880?s with your average crowd yelling and chanting to encourage their team. No one is quite sure how they documented that it was the first cheer ever but credit is given to Princeton University in 1884 for coming up with a Princeton cheer and marking there place in cheerleading history.

Then a few years later, the Princeton grad Tom Peebles brought cheering to the University of Minnesota. But it wasn?t until 1898 that fellow University of Minnesota student Johnny Campbell directed what was the very first cheer ever in November of 1898. The story is that Minnesota was having such a terrible football season that people felt the need to come up with positive chants and cheering was born. Minnesota went on to organize a male cheer squad in 1903 and organized the first cheerleading fraternity in the history of cheerleading, Gamma Sigma. Ironically enough cheerleading started out as an all male sport, it was felt there deep loud voices were more projecting than a woman?s voice. It wasn?t until the 1920?s that women became much more involved in cheerleading and began to incorporate gymnastics, pyramids and throws. Today, youth cheerleading is predominantly made up of female cheerleaders however college cheerleading is still about fifty percent male.

Well, the students cheered all they could for Minnesota yet they still got beat. It was a student?s scientific thesis that positive fan support would actually help send positive energy toward there team and assist them in winning. Well, the cheer wasn?t enough to garner a win but it did create a new sport. University of Minnesota stuck with the idea and eventually began to have an organized group of cheers at every game

The evolution of cheerleading to a sport was again developed by The University of Minnesota as the women became known for there athletic ability by including gymnastics in their routines. Then in the 1930’s the sport developed into much more of a display of showmanship as the athletes become much more entertaining and fun to watch. The megaphone would become the next big addition to cheerleading history in the early 1900?s and the pom pom which was introduced by Lawrence Herkimer really gave cheerleading a symbol to hang its hat on.

Herkimer has to be seen as the grandfather of cheerleading. He has done so much for the history of cheerleading by founding the National Cheerleading Association at S M U and holding cheerleading schools way back in 1946 and ?47. Herkimer?s camps have now grown to over twenty thousand attendees.

Today the sport has evolved into a highly athletic and competitive field displaying males and females of incredible talent. Herkimer and University of Minnesota have carved out a unique history of cheerleading.

Autumn is perhaps China?s most precious season, a respite between sweltering summers and fatal winters. But it is only in the northern Sichuan highlands of Jiuzhaigou, China?s natural wonderland, where fall can be witnessed in blazing splendor.

Approaching Nine Villages Gully near the Gansu border, one may at first be daunted by the chaos of tour groups and ceaseless convoys of busses not unlike diesel prisons bullying their way through the crowds with deafening blasts of the horn. Be reassured, however, that anyone in a red hat following a flag and megaphone most certainly does not have the same itinerary as a more independent-minded visitor.

While Jiuzhaigou is a massive 720 square meters, you can feel the full force of the nature reserve on a two-day pass. Keep a keen eye out for the seldom-used paths veiled in vegetation located on the opposing side of the main thoroughfare in Zaru gully near the park?s entrance.

With the growl of the tour busses segueing into a score of birdsong and black exhaust becoming crisp breathable air, the nature reserve quietly proceeds into a Y-shaped canyon of virgin woodland that would make a ChongQing girl blush. Not unlike vertical forests, the verdant broadleaf palisades dripping with lichen and turning a muted crimson and gold for the coming fall ultimately dissolve into the heavens as one is led deeper into the forest.

Drinking in the damp sweetness, the dense woods of the Nuorilang gully are suddenly pierced by the region?s star attraction: prismatic lakes ranging in size from small to dragon-sized pools and covering a color spectrum of ice blue to fall apple green. Formed by glacial erosion and fed by underground springs, the phosphorescent phenomena is attributed to algae and mineral concentration, though a poet laureate might otherwise be inspired to write of the mint-blue waters as the mouthwash of the gods.

As dusk approaches, the park is promptly evacuated of all visitors. While most will return to the neon-lit tourist circus outside the entrance, the assiduous traveler can skirt the rules (and security guards) by staying the night with friendly locals living on the grounds. Home to the Qiang and Aba Tibetan minorities, the autonomous villages of Zechawa and Schuzheng in the park center, and the smaller Rexi and Heijia villages to the north, are themselves a cultural draw.

Dawn before the crowds is rather like an epiphany, gentle winds whispering through the lakeside reeds as revelations from nature herself. Readers with an affinity for tranquility may especially appreciate the walkways behind the seldom-traversed Swan and Grass lakes in Zangmalonghe gully, though the tranquil beauty of the area is in fact no secret at all; Jet Li?s ?Hero? was filmed at Arrow Bamboo Lake.

The teal twilight of the water then disappears into placid marshland before dramatically debuting into pearly shoals cascading in a series of multi-level falls so dazzling that any passerby might exclaim wosei! without even realizing.

The resonance of the cascade becomes a murmur as the voyeur descends from the rushing waters into vivid pastures of lavender, purple and yellow wildflower. Moving from Rize gully for the park?s exit gate, take a last breathe of JiuZhaiGou?s pristine autumn air.

TRAVEL TIPS

How to get there:

Connecting flights from Beijing/Shanghai-Chengdu-JiuZhaiGou airports for RMB 2420-3220

Where to stay:

The Sheraton is located 1. 5km from the park entrance (from RMB 600-1,700 per night).

Where to eat:

Eat with the friendly locals living in Jiuzhaigou ? Tibetan yak meat is a must try.

Where to play:

The nature reserve, of course! Two-day park passes cost RMB 220.

Extras:

At once subtropical and temperate, there are over 2000 endemic varieties of flora, including the stunningly obvious blue-green algae, vibrant rhododendron and orchid. Species of pine, maple, spruce and birch are especially spectacular in the autumn. JiuZhaiGou?s altitudinal range and rich vegetation directly contribute to the region?s unique animal life, with 140 species of birds and mammals such as deer, the elusive golden snub-nosed monkey and Ailuropoda Melanoleuca, known to most as the giant panda. An innately isolated creature requiring an undisturbed habitat, spotting a wild giant panda feeding in the park?s bamboo groves is difficult but not impossible for anyone choosing to walk instead of taking a tour bus.

###

The Internet has proven to be where music can be discovered, reviewed, discussed, shared, and purchased. Musicians know this and get online to upload their music and become a part of the world wide music machine process. They come on the Web at every age, at every experience level – musically and computer savvy. From youngsters starting out to seasoned musicians just learning where the computer on switch is, the workings of being on a computer can be overwhelming with everything else they have going on in their lives.

The Web also allows musicians access to music knowledge. Artists will come across difficult terminology and phrases that they do not understand. Compiled in the following mini glossary are music business, digital, organizations, record biz lingo, computer terms and basic need-to-know info. Hopefully, something listed here will help you navigate music online a bit easier, and so you know, this glossary is an excerpt of an extensive list found on Artistopia. A&R – Artist and Repertoire, aka talent scouts: a record company liaison whose duties may include to find, select and develop the music artist, band and/or songwriter. Affiliate Program – a way to earn income by linking your Web site to another site, depending on the action taken by the visitor. ASCAP – American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers which licenses and distributes royalties to it’s members’ copyrighted works. Bandwidth – has nothing to do with the size of a band but is a measure of the amount of information (data) that can be sent over a network connection in a given period of time. Bandwidth is usually measured in bits per second. Bitrate – The number of kilobits per second of data in your audio file. The bitrate you choose when creating an MP3 file determines the size and quality of the resulting MP3. The highest commonly available bitrate is 320 kbps and the higher the bitrate, the closer the encoding is to the original source of music. Blanket License – allows the user to perform any or all, in part or all, of the songs in the ASCAP repertory. What a warm and cozy license. Business Manager – an artist or band manager that specializes in the financial matters, including planning, investing, income, taxes, decisions and contracts. Buzz – to get people talking about a new artist, band, song or album, creating intense excitement and/or rumors. Clause – a chubby fellow in a red suit is Claus: in a record contract, there might be certain limitations, specifications, or modifications that stipulate the final outcome of that contract. Concert Promoter – with duties including ticketing, PR, marketing, and booking, this agency or agent responsibilities are for concert event promotion. Content – to make the Search Engines happy and have pages rank well in a search result, a good quantity of well written text aligning with the site’s keywords and theme updated regularly is a Webmaster’s steak and potatoes. Cookie – no, not chocolate chip, but a piece of software that records info about your visit to a Web site, then holds the info until the server requests it. Copyright – a set of exclusive rights regulating the use of a particular expression of an idea or information, in our case artistic properties, the songs and sound recordings. Derivative Work – a new work based on or resulting from one or more preceding works. Digital Licensing – the use of copyrighted music compositions including downloads, on demand streaming, limited use downloads and CD burning. Distributor – the agency or agent that handles the sales and shipment of the music (records, CDs) to the marketplace or basically, gets the product to the consumers. Domain Name – a sign post on the Internet, it is a unique name that identifies an Internet site. DRM – Digital Rights Management is a technology that protects a piece of intellectual digital property such as a music, video, or text file. Encoding – the process of converting audio to or from a compressed format like MP3 or WMA. Exclusive Rights – under copyright law, the privileges that only a copyright owner has with respect to the copyrighted work. Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) – a file format for audio data compression that does not remove information from the audio stream, as MP3, AAC, and Vorbis do. Grammy Awards – an award ceremony for all genres presented by the Recording Academy for outstanding achievements in the recording industry: a gold megaphone for your mantel. Groupie – what’s the point of being an act without groupies? Overly enthusiastic fans with much love to offer. HTML – HyperText Markup Language, programming language for the world wide web. A web browser interprets the code written and displays it for a web page and web sites. Some very basic knowledge of HTML may help on some sites. Hook – a pirate: a music phrase, a passage, an idea – something (catchy and/or repetitive) that makes the song stand out and be more appealing and remembered. Hype – sensational and extreme promotion of a person, idea or product. Indie – an independent artist or band that desires to do-it-all-themselves and/or not affiliated with a larger record label. Intern – usually a college student job at a record label in a no or low paying position, more of an apprenticeship learning the ropes and gaining business experience. Internet Service Provider (ISP) – how and who connects your computer or network to the Internet, whether dialup, DSL, Cable, T1 or T3. Master Recording License – pertains to the recording of a performance itself, which are usually controlled by the record label. Mastering – the final stage and preparation in a recording before weapons of mass duplication, includes the consistency of audio levels and quality perfecting. Mechanical License – the use of copyrighted musical compositions for use on CDs, cassettes, record albums. Music Contracts – all the various bits of paperwork used in the music business, always read the “fine print” to the many contracts – recording, management, finders fee, general release contracts. When the contracts come in – time to get an Entertainment Attorney. Music Industry – all things pertaining and related to the business of music, dominated by the Big Four major labels: Sony BMG, Warner, Universal and EMI. Music Publisher – provides services such as marketing, pitching and promoting works written by songwriters. Deals with the commercial exploitation of music catalogs and songs. Press Kit – aka media kit, a prepackaged set of promotional materials for a music artist or band for distribution including song samples, bio, historical info, photos and contact information. Producer – duties include: controlling the recording session, guidance of the artist(s), coaching, organizing, scheduling of production resources and budgets, as well as supervising the process of recording, mixing and mastering. Publishing Royalties – income paid to the writer of a song. RIAA – Recording Industry Association of America, the organization that represents the interests of record labels and producers in the USA. Ripping – means to take an audio CD and record it to a computer in an uncompressed file format (wav). Digital audio extraction from one media form to a hard disk. Roadie – the road crew that travels with a band on tour. These hard working individuals do everything but the performance, are technicians, do the set up and take down, security, bodyguards, pyrotechnics, and lighting. Sampling Rate – the number of samples taken per second when digitizing sound. The higher the number, the better the quality of the digital reproduction. SoundExchange – an independent, nonprofit performance rights organization that collects and distributes digital performance royalties for recording artists and record labels when their sound recordings are performed on digital cable, satellite TV music, internet and satellite radio. Sound Recording – the copyright of the recording itself (what you hear, the entire production) as distinguished from the copyright of the song (words and music owned by the songwriter or publisher). Synchronization License – aka “synch” license, allows the user to reproduce a musical composition “in connection with” or “in timed relation with” a visual image, motion picture, video, advertising commercial – from the copyright owner of the music. Talent Agent – or booking agent, the representative of the music artist(s) that sets up the live performances. Vanity Label – a celebrity recording artist is given a label within a label and runs under the umbrella of the parent label.

A group of enthusiastic cheerleaders perform their cheers just in front of the stands. The home crowd most often looks beyond the cheerleaders to the action on the field. Cheers from the crowd erupt as the favored team gets a touchdown. Even a first down is reason to celebrate. What is it that helps that cheerleader get their message of support across to the fans? A megaphone. This simple tool is used to take a message and amplify it so that it can be heard. Once the crowd can hear the cheers they often join in. A television news reporter would look rather peculiar if the camera was turned on, but the microphone wasn’t. The viewer could see the mouth move, but would have no idea what they were saying. The news anchor needs something to amplify their voice so they are heard. If you want someone to notice you have to make yourself heard. Right? When you combine the Internet and business online this strategy is accomplished through marketing and solid SEO strategies. These are methods that work to amplify your message. These are the ways to pass along a message others need to hear. Why settle for a whisper in a corner. If you really want people to come to your site you might just have to yell. I suppose it would be easy to think of this process in the same way you might think of a carnival midway, “Step right up and try your luck. ” Actually that’s the last picture I want you to think of in relation to online marketing. Your message should be bold, but it should also be informative. You site should amplify the idea that you really care about your site visitors. You care about their need to know, their need to consider, and their need to make an informed decision. The growth of your online business will likely be in direct proportion to your ability to respond to the concerns of your visitors and customers. How well do you amplify your dedication to a consumer-centric approach to business? Trust is a commodity that businesses receive when they deal well with the idea that the customer is worthy of respect. If you go to buy a car you might have a salesman from one car lot say, “What will it take to get you in this car today?” Another might say, “If you have any further questions feel free to give me a call. “ Whether it is real or imagined the first salesperson is thought of as one who practices strong-arm tactics to get what they want. The second is thought of more for their ability to allow the customer to come to a conclusion on their own. They even leave any potential contact up to the customer. If the customer can successfully avoid the strong arm they will likely never return to that car lot. If, on the other hand, they can view the sales staff as concerned about making sure a right choice is made they will likely return to the dealership without coercion. How are you amplifying your business?

It is a fantastic idea to have parties throughout the year – any excuse will do to uplift the spirits of friends and family! Why not be original and hold an April Fools party? Below are some unique ideas for an April Fools party:
“It is to laugh” is a very lively game for an April Fool Party. The players form a circle, taking hold of hands, and circle around one of the players who is blindfolded and holds a staff or a cane. When he raps on the floor with the cane they all stand still. He then points the cane toward some one, saying: “It is to laugh”.
The person touched by the cane, or nearest to it, places the end of the cane close to his mouth and laughs. If his name is guessed by the player in the center they change places and circle again; if not, they circle until the player in the center succeeds in naming the owner of the laugh.
Each guest is provided with a sheet of white paper and scissors and is asked to cut out a goose. After all are cut pin them to a sheet of black calico, and select judges to choose the best. This produces a great deal of fun, as some of the figures are of times grotesque.
The best goose is given a large china or bisque goose in a nest of cotton; beside it a yellow china or candy egg, bearing this inscription: ” The goose that laid the golden egg”. The one making the most ridiculous goose receives a tall jester’s cap, bearing the words, “What a goose!” which he or he must wear throughout the evening.
One room may be devoted to the Great White Prophet. Here is a huge draped figure all in white, with a white mask and seated on a high white throne. The guests are brought to this room one by one and told that they must kneel down before the Prophet, and, bowing three times, must repeat : “Great White Prophet, what have I done?” The answer conues in a sepulchral voice: “You have made a fool of yourself”.
You might next announce that you have a picture that you would like to show, that it has given you a great deal of pleasure, and doubtless will give the others as much.
Withdraw a curtain, revealing a mirror with “April Fool ” written on it with soap, when you have one or two expectant persons in front of it.
In the same room might be arranged an Art Gallery, using the following Fake Exhibits:
“Fifty Views of Washington” Fifty two-cent stamps.
“Fifty Views of the Panama Canal” Fifty Panama stamps.
“Fifty Points in Colorado” A sketch of Colorado with fifty dots.
“Among the Rockies” Several rocking chairs (doll furniture and others).
Place a large letter “C” on each end of a strip of cardboard which must stand north and south. The letter at the north end is “The North Sea,” and “Below the North Sea” is the lower letter.
General Cobb and his Colonels A cob of corn.
The Bust of a Commentator A potato.
The American Elevator A yeast cake.
The Rose of Castile Castile soap in rows.
A Swimming Match A match in a glass of water.
The Peacemakers A pair of scissors.
Study in Black and White A piece of chalk and coal.
A Diamond Pin A dime and pin.
A Pair of Slippers Banana peels.
Extracts From Many Pens A penwiper.
The Unopened Letter The letter “O”.
Burlesque tableaux of well-known historical or legendary incidents will be found a capital form of amusement. Although they should be thought out, they need not necessarily be rehearsed in advance. This entertainment should come as a complete surprise to the larger portion of the guests that is, to all but those who take part.
Let the announcer give the title of the tableau in stentorian tones, with his megaphone, just before the folding doors are opened or the curtains drawn back.
For the tableaux you might try ” Bluebeard’s Wives. ” Bluebeard is seen standing, sword in hand, while around him on the curtain hang the heads of the ill-fated spouses. To produce the heads, cut holes in the sheet and let the actors thrust their heads through these, after which fasten the loosened hair to the curtain around the head with a safety pin. This tableau would be startling were it not for a sign reading, ” We Suffered in the Cause of Votes for Women,” or anything else which is innocent and gives the tableau a humorous twist.
Another one might be “Queen Elizabeth and Sir Walter Raleigh” in the cloak-spreading incident greatly marred by the enormous pasteboard noses worn by the knight and the queen, while Elizabeth carries a large umbrella for which history offers no excuses. Follow this with a ” Midsummer Night’s Dream,” where you can show a sleeper, in funny cotton nightcap with large tassel, awakened from his peaceful slumber by an elephantine mosquito made of raw cotton and crepe paper. The dreamer’s panic is vividly suggested by his attitude.
“Cinderella” and the little glass slipper must not be overlooked. In this tableau the prince kneels before the celebrated heroine of the chimney corner and extends upon his hand a tiny slipper, while Cinderella extends in competition a foot padded out to proportions truly gigantic in comparison.
April Fools Deocorations:
The decorations consist of spring flowers and ferns, yellow and white predominating, it being the nearest approach to sunlight and giving opportunity to use the bright little crocuses and daffodils, with white narcissuses to give delicate tones. For the table these colors should also prevail.
In the center place a large white or yellow cake surmounted by a toy jester’s figure, with white and yellow ribbons festooned from his pointed cap to the table below, held in place by small white cotton geese. Vases of daffodils and narcissuses, and yellow shades for lamps or candles, may be used should the day be cloudy.
China of white and gold would add a charm to this table. White and gold bonbon dishes, or ordinary dishes might be covered with crepe paper, some yellow, some white, tied with white and yellow ribbons. These should contain small candies hidden under a layer of white beans, coffee grains, rice or other grains.
Ordinary refreshments may be served on dishes not ordinarily used for that particular purpose. Use bowls or soup dishes instead of cups and saucers, vegetable dishes, cups, etc. , where plates or platters should be used. The clever hostess will, no doubt, think of many ways, wise and otherwise, to serve refreshments on such an occasion.
Another good idea for table decoration is a wonderful “floral” centerpiece composed of potato and radish roses nestled amid parsley and celery-top foliage. The place-cards may be adorned with miniature coin purses, empty save for a card, inscribed “April Fool”.
The napkins should be folded in the form of fool’s caps, and the favors might be miniature jester’s baubles consisting of small bisque doll heads dressed in cap and bells and fastened to the ends of short, ribbon-wound wands. Jester’s sticks may be sticks of red and white peppermint candy tied with strips of red baby ribbon, to which tiny bells are attached.
Red and White Menu:
If your color scheme is red and white for your table, carry out the same idea in your menu, which would be :
Lobster Canape
Cream of Celery Soup
Chicken en Casserole, with Vegetables
Lettuce Salad, Garnished with Beets and Mayonnaise
April Fool Dainty
Cream Cheese and Crackers
Coffee
The ” April Fool Dainty ” may be vanilla or lemon sherbet, ice, or ice cream frozen in cone shapes. These are each covered with a miniature fool’s hat. As this course is served, the hostess might warn her guests of the significance of the day, and she may rest assured each guest will lift the little hat ever so gingerly.
Blue Points on the Half Shell
Bouillon Crackers
Salted Nuts
Roast Pork Tenderloin Fish Apple Sauce
Dressing Potato Puffs
Duck Fruit Salad
Bavarian Cream Coffee Fancy Cakes
“Blue points on the half shell” are half eggshells with points on them made with blue pencil. “Bouillon” is plain water, the “crackers” are fire crackers, and the “salted nuts” the nuts belonging to iron bolts, heavily sprinkled with salt. The “duck” is a square of duck cloth, while the “fruit salad” is a bona-fide dish served in orange cups, the cut-off piece being replaced so as to conceal the contents. The “fancy cakes” are sample cakes of toilet soap. Guest-size or hotel-size cakes may be used. If one wishes to serve a complete menu, substitutes for the mock dishes may be served as soon as they are removed from the table.