Sometimes a “blurb” can go a long way toward helping stir up interest in a newsletter or in a web site than an average length article. Generally, a blurb is defined as a pithy paragraph that gives out enough details to generate an, “I want to learn more” response from the reader. As a rule of thumb, most blurbs are one paragraph in length and contain no more than 100 words. Alternately, two or three smaller paragraphs can also be effective, depending on the room available.

A blurb can be particularly useful when you want to attract attention to a topic, without setting aside an entire web page for an article. A link at the end of the paragraph such as: More… can generate the needed click through to the rest of your article or directly to the product that you are selling.

Blurbs are particularly good devices when placed on the outside of a newsletter, especially on one that has been tri-folded and gets mailed out. One part of the two exposed folds of the newsletter contains the address, while the other exposed area is typically blank. Use that blank section to make your pitch in the form of a blurb that will compel the reader to open the newsletter up and continue reading it instead of pitching it in the trash.

Copyright 2006 - For additional information regarding Matt Keegan, The Article Writer, please visit his blog for wit, quips, and freelance writing tips.

Lately I have been receiving some questions as regards buying
printers. I have decided to make a mini section based on this
topic.

The question I have been asked on various occasions, is what
printer would best based on the amount of printing to be done. I
want to go over this based on my experience of using and
supporting printers.

Let’s set a few scenarios as examples. You want to print a few
photos a week, print a few e books in the range of 100 pages
each. You would also like to print a few projects at a few
hundred pages each. Personally, I would use an inkjet printer
for this. I would go for a middle of the range unit with a high
dpi. For information on dpi, check out my
http://www.computer-and-printer-reviews.com/printer-advice.html
section. Now, in my experience, LaserJet’s don’t print out
photos as well as high end inkjets because the ink jet uses a
unique printer mechanism, which allows the quality photo
printing. This is why you see many photo printers that are
inkjets. So for this kind of usage I would go with an inkjet
printer after doing some research on various sites. You can
check out some of my reviews and guides on my
http://www.computer-and-printer-reviews.com/printer-reviews.html
if your interested in a few comparisons.

What about if you want to print thousands of pages per month,
and you don’t have the time to keep buying printer ink as often
as the inkjets require? The LaserJet units can serve this
purpose well. I am going to invest in a colour LaserJet in the
coming weeks, due to printing a vast amount of documents. For
example, yesterday I purchased three e books, all of which were
around 200 pages each. My ink almost ran out on my inkjet after
this. This wouldn’t happen on a LaserJet. I would recommend a
LaserJet to anyone who runs a small business from home. I
believe they will come in handy for this type of usage. I treat
mine as an investment rather than an expense.

To summarize, access your needs, look on various sites until you
find something to suit your needs, and do come comparisons on
specifications if you want to be more specific.

Some good sites for printer reviews are

www.tomhshardware.com - focuses on all computer hardware,
including printers. www.itreviews.co.uk - check out the printer
section here. http://www.laser-printer-reviews.org/ - focuses on
LaserJet units. http://www.steves-digicams.com - good for
comparing photo printers.

This article is designed to help anyone to enjoy karaoke and improve their singing performance whether it be as a “virgin” karaoke singer or as someone starting out on a singing career. It contains tips designed to help old hands and newbies alike achieve a better karaoke singing style. The best piece of advice is to bear in mind that one of the whole idea behind karaoke is that it doesn’t matter how good(or bad) your singing is - you are singing for your own enjoyment. The people in the karaoke bar are there usually because they enjoy karaoke too, so it is not expected that you perform like the next American/Pop Idol. In fact some of the most boring karaoke nights I have been to have been spent watching a succession of pretty decent singers. If I wanted that I would go and see a show.

That said there will be many of you out there who desperately want to use karaoke as a step on the road to becoming the next pop idol or want to win a karaoke contest. So here goes….

Choose a song that you are very familiar with and that suits your style of singing. You have probably heard people murdering a very popular song (usually anything by Anastasia) when they would have sounded 10 times better singing a song that they knew well and suited their voice.

If possible take your own karaoke disc, I have never known a kj refuse to play a singer’s own disc. You will have practised this to perfection at home and your performance will be 100% better as a result.

Alternatively sign up for a streaming karaoke subscription and you can practise any one of thousands of songs. For advice on streaming karaoke click here. Similarly don’t be afraid to ask the kj to change the key to suit your voice. A song that you may struggle with in one key may be just right for you if its taken down a semitone or two. Most digital key changers will allow at least eight steps down and eight steps up.

Unless you have an exceptional singing voice, sing an up-tempo number. Slow romantic love songs (what my Dad would have called a ballad) need a big voice to be done properly. Unless you like straining to hit and hold long high notes give it a miss and choose something quicker which will get the place jumping. Up tempo songs require much less technical ability and in karaoke terms are generally more entertaining. You can usually tell a slow song isn’t going too well when the kj starts to wave a lighter in the air. You may find this flattering and make you think

Don’t drink too much! Alcohol will make you shout and slur and is definitely not good for the vocal chords or getting your words right!

Don’t hassle the karaoke host, he has a set way of prioritising the singers. Generally first time singers are put on first (they jump the queue), so don’t expect the singing order to run in exactly the same sequence as the slips were handed in.

Fill in your request slip fully ensuring the track number etc is perfectly correct. There is nothing worse than getting up there only for the wrong song to start.

Treat the mic with respect! Don’t shout into it, knock it, twirl it around by its lead or throw it. The kj will not be happy to the say the least and although you probably think you resemble a cool mic throwing rock legend, chances are you just look like a jerk!

Hold the mic about an inch away from your mouth - you should never touch the mic with any part of your mouth or face, both from a singing and a hygenic point of view! For long high notes start with the mic further away from you and as you hold the note slowly bring it nearer. This has the effect of making the note sound stronger and more consistent. As you run out of breath the mic is nearer and the note remains constant. Practise this technique if you can.

If you are really serious there is always the option of singing lessons. There are now some very affordable internet courses which have achieved fantastic results. Give one a try.

Above all ENJOY yourself - that is the whole idea.

About the Author

Copyright The-Karaoke-Advisor.com
Daniel Morris is a writer and designer of The-Karaoke-Advisor.com an online karaoke resource and advice center

The discomfort of driving to a casino can be ample reason to avoid going there unless you have to. For traffic accidents, the discomfort, and list of tasks it involves aren’t worth the difficulty for that possibility to place a wager at casino, this said provided you are the kind of person who is frenetic about gaming houses then choosing online gambling casinos will likely be the more obvious solution.

You’re not required to leave your house to try online texas holdem or other preferred games for the simple reason that everything is done from your domestic environment provided you own a fully functional laptop or pc and access to the internet. Nonetheless, make no mistake– there’s quite a few important guidelines which you’ll need to be familiar with in regards to online texas holdem or other preferred games, specifically if you’re a greenhorn in this area. Good, so restrain all that testosterone of yours and pore over what comes next. Here is a pithy summary that was written to explain what to remember if you’re picking out a trust-worthy online texas holdem or other preferred games web site.

The top priority which yours truly as a cool web wagerer will suss out is an online texas holdem or other preferred games web site of the sort capable of offering high winning odds. See to it the online texas holdem or other preferred games web site has a tie-up with a trust-worthy certified public accountant so as to check their specific games pay-outs percentage in a monthly manner. This can be very constructive to make certain the ducats you plan to be hazarding in your prospective lark will actually excuse it all.

You must take care to establish the online poker web site is actually legal, such as by hunting for the licensing information on the casino site. If you can’t detect any licensing information on a selected online poker web site, don’t even attempt to try your hand at that place.

Moreover, another tip would obviously be to test the odds for starters in low amounts rather than forfeit top dollars immediately. Check out the operability of the online poker setup before provoking any grave injury– specifically in regards to money… Finally, do mind this particular piece of advice in regards to virtual gambling casino. It is bound to be never to lose sight of the fact that any and all gambling should be about amusing yourself and not so much about making a buck. Casino wagering isn’t a chore, but, rather a diversion which is supposed to help you feel chipper and life as a whole sweet. Play all the best guide casino games at our virtual tables.

There is great news for chocolate lovers…Chocolate is good for
your health! Now, we are not talking here about a candy bar but
about real chocolate, the kind that contains at least 71% of
real cocoa. Something to remember when selecting chocolate is
that the darker it is, the less sugar it contains and the better
it is for you.

We are all aware of the emotional benefits of chocolate. By
liberating endorphins in the body, chocolate provides us with
feelings of comfort and wellbeing, energy and pleasure. Some
surveyed women go as far a saying that they would prefer
chocolate to sex! No wonder with such a texture, rich color and
taste, chocolate is not only an aphrodisiac but also a pleasure
for the senses. In addition, chocolate also contains serotonin
and caffeine which both provide energy and promote good humor.

Pleasure aside, chocolate also holds beneficial health
properties. Chocolate’s complex chemical composition offers a
variety of substances that the body needs to function properly
and to prevent disease.

Chocolate enhances cardiovascular health. Like red wine, the
phenols contained in dark chocolate help prevent coronary
diseases. The British Medical Journal reports that a daily
portion of 100 grams of dark chocolate reduces blood pressure
and the occurrence of cardiovascular incidents by 21%. These
phenols are also rich in antioxidants and they help neutralize
free radicals produced by the body or absorbed thought cigarette
smoke and other sources of pollution. Cocoa butter is already
used in creams to heal scars and burns. No wonder pharmaceutical
companies are now exploring the possibility of researching with
chocolate to develop new medication to counter cancers and
osteoporosis.

Chocolate does contain fats but these are unsaturated and
contribute to reducing bad cholesterol and to increasing good
cholesterol. Chocolate is also an excellent source of magnesium.
Should it contain nuts, chocolate can become a great source
phosphor and vegetable iron.

One of the many benefits of living in our time is that there is
a plethora of organic and fair trade chocolates that are readily
available to us in natural health food and grocery stores. The
benefits of purchasing these types of chocolates abound but the
most obvious are that they do not contain organochlorine
pesticides that are usually used to treat traditional cocoa
crops and that are harmful not only to the consumer but also to
the field worker. Furthermore, purchasing fair trade chocolate
ensures that the (healthier) worker can benefit from improved
working and living conditions by receiving a fair salary for
their work.

Like with everything however, chocolate must be consumed in good
measure. Chocolate increases caloric intake and energy level.
This can be good, provided these calories are burned. We might
even change the saying to “Some chocolate everyday keeps the
doctor away!”

Food cravings are crafty — they appear from nowhere and hit you
just when you least expect them, don’t they?

And the critical thing is that the way you respond to your food
cravings might just make or break your success at weight loss
and maintenance.

That’s why you need simple ways to deal with cravings whenever
they pop up.

Now, veering off from your eating plan occasionally will not be
earth-shattering, but if you make a habit of giving in to your
eating impulses, your moments of weakness will certainly catch
up with you.

The good news is that if you can remember these tips that I am
going to share with you today, you will be able to conquer those
pesky cravings of yours!

1. Avoid being hungry

Eat 5 times a day — 3 meals a day with 2 planned snacks, but
remember to moderate your portions for each of your meals.

Once you start eating 5 times a day instead of the usual 3,
you’ll find that you’ll be hungry less often, and you’ll
automatically have fewer cravings throughout the day.

On top of that, eating 5 times a day also helps to boost your
metabolism level, so you’ll be burning more calories throughout
the day than before. And that’s why this is my number one tip!

2. Catch your cravings early

If you can catch your cravings early, you have more control over
them.

So, when do cravings start? A craving starts with a thought of
something good to eat. It can be triggered by encountering a
situation in which you see or smell tempting food, or by just
thinking of something good and dwelling on the idea.

After a while, you’ll be able to recognize the situations which
are likely to make you start craving for certain foods.

The moment you catch the cravings coming on, you can start to
put the tips below into use. The earlier you can catch your
cravings, the better chances you have of overcoming them.

3. Ride out a craving

Believe it or not, you can simply wait out a craving. Sometimes
we may even mistake a craving for actual hunger. Don’t dwell on
thoughts of food or eating — distract yourself!

By playing the waiting game for about 20 minutes, it can help
you to distinguish between the craving and actual hunger.

In the meantime, get busy by doing something else to distract
your mind: take a walk, play a game, or concentrate on your work
projects. You may be pleasantly surprised to find that the
craving has subsided after some time has passed. If you still
want something 20 minutes later, chances are that you are truly
hungry. By giving yourself a little time to take a pause before
giving in, you may find the craving will disappear altogether.

4. Drink your water

Sometimes all you need is just a glass of water, that’s all!
Many times, we can mistake dehydration for hunger or cravings.
Take a moment and drink a glass or two of water; it may be just
what you need.

And this has another side benefit too — even if you were truly
hungry, the water will help to make you fill fuller (without
adding any calories to your daily intake), so you’ll not need to
eat as much later.

5. Temporarily ruin your taste buds

After drinking your water, if you find that your craving still
does not go away and you cannot stop thinking about eating, what
you can try to do next is to disrupt your sense of taste or
smell.

Try a strong mouth mint. Or you can brush your teeth or dab some
cologne or strong smelling ointment under your nose.

This may only work for a while, so you must get busy doing
something else to take your mind off eating. After a while, you
will find yourself not thinking of the craving, and before you
know it, it is already time for your next meal.

6. Giving in to your craving BUT only just a little

You will face the biggest danger about cravings when you give in
to them.

What happens to a lot of people is that when they give in to the
craving, they also lose control of how much they eat too.

Thus, please be extra careful when you decide to eat something
to satisfy your cravings.

Don’t overdo it. Eat an amount that seems reasonable and
appropriate.

For example, you should never allow yourself to finish an entire
carton of ice cream or a whole bag of chips in one sitting. What
you can do is to take a small serving out and put the rest away.
Alternatively, you can buy small portions to begin with. In most
cases, you will find that the first few bites actually satisfy
the craving anyway!

7. Don’t fool yourself

If you are dying to have a chocolate chip cookie, you know that
the low fat energy bar is not going to do the trick. So, what
should you do?

Well, there’s no point trying to fool yourself.

That’s right, go for the “bad” choice. But remember:
“Moderation, moderation, MODERATION!”

It is fine to allow yourself to indulge in what you really want,
provided you watch your portion size. You will not feel
deprived, and you’ll be able to sustain these new healthy eating
habits for the long haul.

On the other hand, if you abstain completely from all your
favorite foods, you are more likely to eat that energy bar AND
the chocolate chip cookie.

Easy, right? I’m sure they’ll be able to help you manage your
cravings better. So go ahead and try out the 7 tips above…
_today_!

Copyright 2005 Tracy Lee

It never ceases to amaze me…children.

They are such little miracles, and at times I’m just overwhelmed
with the responsibility of them.

Tonight as I watched my daughter, Maegan, I was amazed at how
excited she was, how important that she felt - all because of a
can of green beans.

That’s right, a can of green beans.

Today was an extremely busy day, so when we got home at 4:45;
the kids were hungry and I was tired. So, I decided to warm a
frozen lasagne and have that and green beans.

Three-year-old Maegan wanted to help, and tonight was the
perfect night since dinner was going to be so simple.

So first, I put the lasagne in the microwave to cook, set the
timer, and let Maegan press the ’start’ button. That’s great
excitement to her, you know. I’m sure you’ve seen the same thing
with your toddlers.

Then we put the lasagne in the oven together to brown. She knows
where the light button is on the oven, and she loves to be able
to check on her food cooking all by herself.

Just before the lasagne was done, I opened the cans of green
beans. I gave her a container and the opened cans. She was so
excited to pour the green beans into the dish (and that’s also
good motor development work). She concentrated so hard to make
sure all the beans went into the dish. But, the green beans were
in a pile, so she asked for a spoon to ’spread out ‘her’ green
beans.’ I let her do that, and then we put them in the microwave
- with her pressing the start button of course.

Then she went at sat at the table and beamed. I told her thank
you for being such a big help to Mom.

She said, ‘I love to be a helper, Mom.’

My heart melted. She was so happy and proud to have made dinner.
She was so pleased to play such an important role in making
dinner.

And, once again, I was reminded how vital it is to make our kids
feel important. It’s just as necessary for the development of
their self-worth as the activities we are so careful to include
to progress their motor development.

It’s more than just a can of green beans - it was playing the
important role.

Factory tours can be an insightful and educational addition
to any trip as they offer a behind the scenes look into how
products are produced from start to finish. Take a sneak peak
into some of the most interesting and fun tours to take.

Illinois

Chicago is home to one of the best cheesecake producers in the
country, Elis Cheesecake. The factory offers their normal
factory tour with a wide variety of additional options. Factory
tour packages range from $3-$38 per person depending on the
option selected. They also offer factory tours with lunch
options at Elis Cheesecake World Dessert Café or dinner options
at Elis the Place for Steak. The Be A Star tour includes a tour
of the factory and a sampling of Elis products to help Elis
Quality Star Team evaluate their products.

The Sail and Dine tour option includes a sightseeing tour down
one of Chicago waterways followed by a lunch at Elis the Place
for Steak. After lunch, the tour heads to Elis Cheesecake World
for dessert and a tour of Elis bakery. Sail and Dine on Mercury
Cruise Line is available May 11, September 30. Chicago
Architectural Foundation Tour on First Lady cruise line is
available May 12, October 28. For a complete listing of
available tours, visit www.elicheesecake.com, or call
773-205-3800.

Long Grove Confectionary Factory is a wonderful stop for
any chocolate lover. The company, previously based in Long
Grove, outgrew their facilities and moved their company to
Buffalo Grove. The tour starts with a history of the cacao bean,
which is used to make chocolate, and a brief history of the
company.

The production hallway showcases the history of candy making
machines and has five windows to view the production of candies.
After the production room, the tour continues with a sampling of
chocolate from the factory. The tour concludes in the gigantic
outlet store, which offers discounts up to 75% off retail prices.

Reservations are required and the cost is $2 per person. Group
packages for day trips are offered and include the chocolate
factory tour, lunch and shopping in nearby historic Long Grove
and a how-to or hands-on workshop. Call 847-459-3100 or
888-459-3100

California

On a tour of the Taylor Guitar factory on El Cajon,
visitors will see numerous examples of the sophisticated,
innovative technology, combined with traditional
hand-craftsmanship, that has made Taylor Guitars a leader in
guitar firsts. The tour will look at the process from creation
to finishing.

Taylor offers factory tours of their facilities Monday through
Friday at 1 p.m. There is a lot of walking involved and
comfortable shoes are suggested. The tour lasts about an hour
and 15 minutes. 619-258-1207

Jelly Belly, the creator of the original gourmet jelly bean,
offers a tour of the Fairfield facilities where visitors can
witness the creation of the gourmet Jelly Belly jellybeans first
hand from an elevated walkway. Video monitors enhance the
experience by giving a close-up view of the process. Each tour
lasts about 40 minutes and visitors receive a free sample of
Jelly Belly jelly beans at the end of the tour.

There is no cost for the tour and reservations are not required.
800-953- 5592, www.jellybelly.com

This article is sponsored by: www.grouptravelblog.com

Rape of the lock by Alexander Pope

The Rape of the lock is not only an exquisitely ingenious example of a perfect satire, it is an exceptionally beautiful candidate contesting man’s greatest achievements in intellectual capacity, for the kind of grace that is an immortal goal in every man. Rape of the lock is an uncommon satire based on a true incident in the life of Arabella Fermor and Lord Petre, where Lord Petre at a ball was so enraptured by Miss Fermor that he proceeded to snip away a lock of her hair. This very incident triggered rigorous rivalries between the two respectively distinguished families, which we are made to know, were on otherwise better and more convivial terms. Pope, imbued and kindled by both Muse and imagination, went ahead to concoct a tale that elaborated the vanity and the ludicrousness of undertaking such a needless enterprise of a breach for an unworthy and ineffably trifling reason. It is believed that Rape of the Lock by Alexander Pope, was instrumental in redeeming the lost cordiality and amity amongst them and pronouncing the hatchet buried. In the following snippets, I’ll alight upon what I consider the cardinal cantos of the poem. So, they follow -

CANTO 3

Before summarizing the third canto, it is essential to remember that Pope consistently burlesques Homer’s and Virgil’s prowess in the epical fashion, establishing the most fundamental and draconic of principles of allowing some semblance to the genre of producing a mock-epic. The third and fourth cantos, with the one exception of the Homeric battle in the fifth canto, stockpile almost all key instances of parodied or satirized scraps of the majestic epic approach. Even in a segregate essay by Pope himself, he pokes cool, unlabored fun at the epic motif and infers that the epical style of writing is choked with invariable conventional loopholes that can only very lamely qualify as stipulations of style or a freak of an ideology.

Now, the summarizing of Pope’s mock epic may concern a very abstract approach, as is commonplace to paraphrasing poetry. Written for the eighteenth century layman, on the whole the satire can be intriguingly assumed to mark the hypocrisy of the aristocratic class, and if such an advent is welcomed, then the third canto is the vastest episode of such a stabbing enterprise. By debunking the vanity involved behind the walls of the private chambers of Hampton Court, Pope concentrates on envisioning a supercilious and hypocritical stubbornness of a superfluous class that overtly toils to embellish their miens or general natures with unusual airs as those of snuff-boxes and card-games. Much space has been rendered to the neat portrayal of the card-game, Ombre, which has been confidently imitated from the ‘Scacchia of Vida’, and by such an example in a castigating satire, perhaps Pope aims to chastise the vain, grotesque and much refutable elitist temperaments and unworthy sophisticated dispositions of a haughty and lofty class of aristocracy. It is during the card game that Belinda encounters with the Baron and defeats him at the game.

Proceedings head so that the Baron, so stimulated by Belinda’s unerring, beguiling charms that he readies himself to snip away a lock of her hair. Though reasons have not been fashioned, but Clarissa is the one who lends the scissors to the baron to commence the nefarious deed. Throughout these junctures, it is perhaps the sylphs (Pop borrowed the idea of the invisible beings from a little French book entitled, Le Comte de Gabalis) that are not only great sources of amusement but provide some categorical intensity and swashbuckling nervy gung-ho zest to the scene - ‘Swift to the lock a thousand sprites repair’. A few sylphs tug at Belinda’s earring about thrice, making her turn just a tad, not enough to spot the Baron with the ‘engine’. Some sylphs humorously, drolly but still unsuccessfully attempt at blowing at the endangered lock to make it shift, budge.

Ariel, Belinda’s personal sylph, tries to conduct all other sylphs but then discovers that since Belinda holds some delicate but hidden feelings for the baron, he too retreats obediently. The deed is done. The Baron snips away a lock of Belinda’s hair with the spread ‘fatal Forfex’. The immediate denouement explains how a sylph ventures between the blades of the scissors to arrest the process but is divided in two, which line is an admirable parody on Milton’s idea of a wounded Satan - ‘The girding sword, with discontinuous wound, passed thro him; but the ethereal substance closed, Not long divisible’. At the end of the canto, Pope lends a comic panegyric to the invention that is steel and how more than once it has confirmed the doom of man. On the whole, it is just to point out that this canto might solely be the most pregnant of the five, for it holds all real and effectual action of the satire.

Omens have been general and generally conventional to a poet’s technique to imply or suggest or presage some oncoming adversity. Virgil did it to develop upon the death of Dido. The rape of Belinda’s lock too is preceded with alarming, droll and comic prodigies, which can be discovered in the first canto.

CANTO 4

Canto 4 discusses the sphere of the domesticated supernatural, i.e., the sylphs, in detail and with more creative ingenuity as Pope deliberates on the ‘gloomy cave of Spleen’.

Summarizing:

The affairs as their turn have them are sublimated from, and the scene shifts to the cave of spleen as a gnome or ‘a dusky melancholy Spright’, Umbriel, careers down or repairs to the Central earth, to the cave of spleen. Spleen, though imagined in the text as a deity, is actually the personification of a melancholic disorder prevalent in ladies of the upper social strata due to intense torpor, languor and indolence. There are vicious images governing the cave dovetailed with the enthroned, detached, ‘wayward queen’, to whom the gnome entreats to ‘touch Belinda with Chagrin’. The gnome returns with a bag of the queen’s replete munificence and finds Belinda in Thalestris’s arms. Thalestris, another character virginal to the poem as of yet, was the implied queen of the Amazons. It is suggested that Umbriel issues all the vile contents of the bag over them both, and then commences a menagerie, a pell-mell of swift comic action that would broadcast itself majestically in the fifth canto. Thalestris brandishes a violent, pugnacious speech under the supernatural influence and reprimands Belinda for her flimsy, helpless attitude. Then, we’re introduced to Sir Plume, who speaks naught but uncivil claptrap, twaddle and nonsense. Sir George Brown, the man after whom the character was framed, took great offense and couldn’t bear that Sir Plume would spew nothing but nonsense and gibberish.

Then the baron comes forth and reinforces his claim to the lock, and destines it as his forever. Umbriel, depraved gnome, sets himself to action once again as he breaks the vial of Sorrows and then the miserable, doleful nymph, Belinda, steals the cynosure. She curses the day, curses Hampton-court, and curses her need for vanity that snatched her best, her favorite lock away. She’s reminded of portending omens, and evinces remorse at not paying them their due heed, and finally, she sums it with an innuendo that -
‘Oh hadst thou cruel! Been content to seize,
Hairs less in sight, or any hairs but these!’

Shoot queries at mosaics12@rediffmail.com

Publishing Guidelines: Feel free to publish the following
article in its entirety in your ezine, website, or print
newsletter. The resource box must be included with an active
link. Please send a courtesy copy of the publication in which
the article appears to: deborah@fiveminuteparent.com Word wrap
to 60, (204 words)
***********************************************************

Musical Activities for Guaranteed Fun By Deborah Shelton

Music has the power to calm, sooth, energize and make everyone
have fun! Try these ideas at your child’s next play date or
sleepover for a guaranteed good time.

1. Jamming Art: Turn on some music-upbeat or mellow-you decide.
Without looking directly at the paper, draw pictures and designs
to the beat of the music. Make several drawings from different
types of music.

2. Animal Walk Parade: Play your favorite tunes on the radio and
dance and walk the way your favorite animal would. Remember, the
more friends you invite to play, the more fun your parade will
be!

3. Music Maker Box: Fill a small trunk, box, or dresser drawer
with musical instruments for when inspiration strikes. Purchase
inexpensive instruments at garage sales, or make your own
including tambourines, strands of jingle bells and film canister
maracas.

4. Dance Party: Invite your friends over for a dance party! Ask
each guest to bring along a cassette tape or CD with his or her
favorite music. Play a song or two from each CD and dance the
night away. For super cool invitations, use a permanent marker
to write the details of the party on those free Internet CDs
that come in the mail.