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Down and Out in the magic kingdom
by Cory Doctorow

Category: Fiction / Science Fiction
208 pages; ISBN: 0765304368

Who *wouldn't* want to live in walt Disney World's magic Kingdom, with no other responsibilities than to mind operations at the haunted mansion (Best. ride. Ever.)? As it happens, our hero Jules is afforded this opportunity in near (?) future as part of the Bitchun Society, where death has been rendered obsolete, replaced by a memory storage process which requires everybody to be "online." live forever, download into a new body when necessary or whenever the mood strikes - imagine the Fountain of Youth as an FTP site.

Money is no object in the Bitchun Society, literally, as one's wealth is determined by one's ability to endear themselves to everybody else. By collecting points (known here as "Whuffie"), one is raised higher in the Bitchun Society's caste system. As Down and Out in the magic Kingdom opens, Jules's Whuffie is modest enough to enjoy life tooling around Liberty Square. However, even in the land of the Mouse one has to watch out for rats.

Territorial wars are a-brewing, instigated when a faction of resident Mouseketeers decides to give the Hall of Presidents a cyber facelift. Jules, convinced that their leader was behind his most recent "death," recruits girlfriend Lil and buddy Dan into rejuvenating the mansion before control-freak Debra and her Hall "ad-hocracy" can get their hands on it. What begins as a proactive campaign to preserve the ride's original charm, however, soon becomes a matter of pride for Jules which quickly threatens to destroy his relationships and his life. Soon there just doesn't seem to be enough Whuffie to ease damage control.

With Down and Out in the magic kingdom, author Doctorow creates a unique premise enhanced by a playful setting and witty dialogue. This is science fiction for the non sci-fi reader as well as for hardcore fans of the genre - think Carl Hiassen crossed with Phillip K. Dick...with just a dash of disney magic.

Kathryn Lively is the publisher of Phaze, romance novels in eBook and paperback. She offers book promotion advice for authors.

posted by 55208  # 8:33 PM 0 comments

In 2004 Disney/Pixar released the latest in Superhero Cartoons, the incredibles. Including this wacky family at your next party will bring out the super hero in all kids!

Incredibly Fun Obstacle Course
As we all learned from watching Disneys incredibles its not good for superheroes to get out of shape. Keep your superheroes in top notch form with this incredibles Incredibly Fun Obstacle Course. This game is best played in a backyard so kids can run and play. Being a super hero takes strength and agility. Develop those skills with a fun obstacle course. Divide the guests into teams of two and the team who completes the course in the fastest time wins! For the first task place take four hula hoops and stager them on the ground. Have each kid jump into each hoop to the end of the line. This is similar to what football players and army soldiers use with tires. Another would be to use your tire swing hanging from a tree and have the kids toss three bean bags through the tire. The last obstacle on the course can be to find cape in the sandbox. Bury two red washcloths in the sandbox and the first team to find the washcloth wins the race!

Steal the Cape
This is a great twist on Steal the Bacon incredibles style. Divide the group into two even teams and put them on opposite sides of the playing field and set the cape in the middle. Name a person on each team Mr. Incredible, Plastic girl, Frozone and syndrome. If you have more than four players on each team pick additional incredibles names. Line each team up and shout out a team player like Frozone. The Frozone from each team has to run to the center of the field and try to be the first one to grab the cape. The winning team is the one who has, after every team member has been called, stolen the cape the most times!

With party games like these, your incredibles Party is sure to be a heroically good time!

posted by 55208  # 7:13 PM 0 comments

Nominated for 9 Golden Globes and 34 Emmys, including 2 for Outstanding Comedy Series, Home Improvement was the number one family-friendly comedy for most of the 1990's decade. Created by three writers who worked on wide range of sitcoms, such as The Cosby show (1984) and Roseanne (1988), Home Improvement is one of a number of 1990's smash hit sitcoms built around a lead character who stars as a stand-up comic in real life. Some of the other series include Seinfeld (1990), The Drew Carey show (1995), Everybody Loves Raymond (1996), and King Of Queens (1998) among others. One of the trailblazers in this area, Home Improvement ranked in the Top 10 among Nielsen-rated shows for seven of its eight seasons (it ranked #11 in Season 7). One notable tidbit of trivia is that Sears was approached to sponsor the show which would've put Craftsman tools in the hands of Tim "The Toolman" Taylor (as opposed to the fictional "Binford" brand), but Sears rejected the offer because they feared Tim Allen's prior conviction on a drug charge might be interpreted as unfriendly to families (funny, since Home Improvement later fell under the moniker of the walt Disney Company)

Home Improvement centers around the life of Tim Taylor (Tim Allen), a home improvement expert who hosts his own local TV show "Tool time" on cable access. Tim and his wife Jill (Patricia Richardson) live in a house in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan with their three boys Brad (Zachery Ty Bryan), Randy (Jonathan Taylor Thomas), and Mark (Taran Noah Smith). On "Tool time," Tim is flanked by the flannel-clad, easy-going Al Borland (Richard Karn) who is often the butt of Tim's jokes and harbors a neurotic tendency toward perfectionism. At home, Tim's numerous domestic missteps lead him to continuously seek the advice of his well-traveled, near-perfect neighbor Wilson (Earl Hindman), whose lower face is never seen (only his eyes) Marked by Tim's abundant clumsiness as a home improvement guru and his inept ability to display sensitivity toward his wife, Home Improvement is a classic sitcom that relies on formulaic episodes of slapstick humor and zinging one-liners. It's a formula that works, but grows tiresome as the show progresses

The Home Improvement (Season 2) DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere "Read My Hips" in which Jill plans a romantic evening at home for herself and Tim, but Tim throws a wrench in her plans when he spends the evening hanging out at a bar with Al and the guys from A&B construction. When he finally returns home, Jill is upset, fearing that the romance has left their relationship. Meanwhile, Brad ponders the true meaning of Jennifer's physical assaults. Does she really want to kiss him? Other notable episodes from Season 2 include "Where There's a Will, There's a Way" in which Jill finds out that Tim never put the finishing touches on his legal will, and "Shooting Three to Make Tutu" in which Jill insists that Tim take Mark to the ballet despite the fact that he has front-row tickets to the Pistons game

Below is a list of episodes included on the Home Improvement (Season 2) DVD:

Episode 25 (Read My Hips) air Date: 09-16-1992
Episode 26 (Rites and Wrongs of Passage) air Date: 09-23-1992
Episode 27 (Overactive Glance) air Date: 09-30-1992
Episode 28 (Groin Pulls) air Date: 10-07-1992
Episode 29 (Heavy Meddle) air Date: 10-14-1992
Episode 30 (The Haunting of Taylor House) air Date: 10-28-1992
Episode 31 (Roomie for Improvement) air Date: 11-04-1992
Episode 32 (May the best Man Win) air Date: 11-11-1992
Episode 33 (Where There's a Will, There's a Way) air Date: 11-18-1992
Episode 34 (Let's Did Lunch) air Date: 11-25-1992
Episode 35 (Abandoned Family) air Date: 12-02-1992
Episode 36 (I'm Scheming of a White Christmas) air Date: 12-16-1992
Episode 37 (Bell Bottom Blues) air Date: 01-06-1993
Episode 38 (Howard's End) air Date: 01-13-1993
Episode 39 (Love is a Many Splintered Thing) air Date: 01-20-1993
Episode 40 (Dances with Tools) air Date: 02-03-1993
Episode 41 (You're driving Me Crazy, You're driving Me Nuts) air Date: 02-10-1993
Episode 42 (Bye Bye Birdie) air Date: 02-17-1993
Episode 43 (Karate or Not, Here I Come) air Date: 02-24-1993
Episode 44 (Shooting Three to Make Tutu) air Date: 03-03-1993
Episode 45 (Much Ado about Nana) air Date: 03-17-1993
Episode 46 (Ex Marks the Spot) air Date: 04-14-1993
Episode 47 (To Build or Not to Build) air Date: 05-05-1993
Episode 48 (Birth of a Hot Rod) Air Date: 05-12-1993
Episode 49 (The Great Race) Air Date: 05-19-1993

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find where you can find more reviews of movies and TV series. Source: http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com/2006/02/home-improvement-season-2-dvd.html

posted by 55208  # 4:25 PM 0 comments

Plantronics with its GN Netcom wireless headset creates the next generation of wireless headset and other products such as wireless amplifiers, and wireless headset telephone.

You can get a wireless headset that is completely without wires or one that requires a belt pack. The ones that are completely wire free are made up of a headset worn on your head that talks to a base unit that is attached to your telephone with no wire connections between your headset and your phone. These wireless headset products represent the latest in sophisticated technology for communication or listening. Examples of wireless headset models are the Plantronics CS50, Plantronics CS55, the Plantronics 510S and the GN Netcom 9120.

Now everything you need to make your truly wireless headset a terrific piece of equipment is all combined in one package. This package is called the GN 9120. Completely wireless, this headset package gives you a range of up to 300 feet. It has a frequency of 2.4 GHz to deliver that much range. You can also purchase a lower priced GN9120 LR for a more limited but still quality wireless headset.

The Plantronics CT12 2.4GHz wireless headset is an example of a Plantronics products that offers a great combination of size, convenience and mobility with its hands-free concept.

Completely cordless, the The Plantronics CT12 is a one-line 2.4 GHz telephone system. Its ultra compact remote dialer unit makes it possible for you to make or receive calls more than one hundred feet from the wireless headset base unit with great digital sound and security.

This wireless headset telephone has a display for your caller ID, a speed dial feature as well as redial capability, a mute button and volume control.

Standard with your order of the Plantronics CT12 wireless headset phone is a two in one headset that is convertible so you can use it over the head for stability or over the ear for convenience. It has a microphone that is especially designed to cancel out background noises as well as top notch clarity of sound.

Firefly is part of this wireless headset phone package as well, so those who try to reach you will be able to tell you are on the phone.

Other wireless headset features of the Plantronics CT12 are a headset stand that is built into the base, a charger on the base, a remote pad for dialing with a battery pack that is rechargeable.

One thing that is important to note with this model of wireless headset phone is that it could interfere with a WiFi computer network, and if so you might prefer the CT10 model or the GN Netcom 7170 instead.

posted by 55208  # 4:25 AM 0 comments