Flaunting any excessive or anti-social behavior is considered brazen. When it is no longer considered brazen it is proof that it has become embedded as part of our culture. Not to say this is a good thing, after all headhunting was considered a cultural norm in some societies. The question to ask here may be, was rap ever truly a part of our culture? Will it eventually run out of steam and go the way of things like doing the twist, afro haircuts or break dancing? I for one would argue that it is not truly a part of the American cultural scene, but is a forced, twisted and contrived money machine that appeals to only the basest passions of the youth in our country.

Long before the “gangsta” element slid over to “hip hop” the reasoning for the whole genre and style was generally purported to be, to show what life in the “hood” was like. That worked for a while and it even drew more sympathy from the otherwise estranged. But as lower passions would have it, the style and language of rap began more and more to take on a life and purpose of its own, namely…sex. If by some magic stroke sex were temporarily extricated from every rappers thoughts and vocabulary, the entire industry would collapse quicker than the stock market in 1929. Now that’s brazen!

Referring to rappers as artist and giving them full press doesn’t guarantee that it is really an art form, all it says is that its here. But was it here before? Does it really have anything to do with the African American background, culture or heritage? I propose that it does not. Very few whites have succeeded in rap but even that does not prove that it is necessarily a black cultural thing. Growing up as a boy there were only two black families in our town. One of the boys from those families was my best friend. But to say that gave me even a basic knowledge of the African American culture would be an exaggeration. Later I arrived in the city of New Orleans just after the civil rights laws were passed. My exposure to the black culture increased exponentially. Finally I attended two seminaries the last of which was part of the National Baptist Convention a purely African American denomination. What I discovered about the African American culture will always be one of the greatest excursions of my entire life.

Our entire class would sit before some of the most dignified black gentlemen, professors and wait for the streams of their thoughts, opinion and knowledge to flow down to us. Most exciting was when they shifted their emphasis away from the curriculum and began to divulge elements of their private lives and their past. Life in New Orleans as a black man or women was no easy thing. Stories of their upbringing and their struggles would leave anyone with their heart in their throat. These old gentlemen for me were living examples of courage dignity and the best human qualities. What I learned about black culture in short is this. African Americans have a deep and ancient past; they are people with a lasting heritage.

I am sure that the blatant indulgence of sexual descriptive and four letter words that is rap’s most prevalent aspect, is not part of their ancient culture and history. It does not accurately depict their culture, their history or any other part of their experience. I don’t think my protesting is such a big deal. But I’d guess that if my old seminary professors could see and hear today’s rap, you would hear the roar raising up from their graves and billowing down many an American avenue.

Rev Bresciani has written many articles over the past thirty years in such periodicals as Guideposts and Catholic Digest. He is the author of two books available on Amazon.com, Alibris, Barnes and Noble and many other places. Rev Bresciani wrote, Hook Line and Sinker or What has Your Church Been Teaching You, published by PublishAmerica of Baltimore MD. He also wrote a book recently released by Xulon Press entitled An American Prophet and His Message, Questions and Answers on the Second Coming of Christ. Rev Bresciani has his own website at http://americanprophet.org

Performance coaching is a type of therapy that has become very popular over the last five years. The term performance coaching first became fashionable in the United States where, together with Neuro Linguistic Programming, it became part of a regenerated sensational wave of greatly proactive therapy modalities.

In many ways both Lifestyle Coaching and NLP are a reaction against certain variants of the Humanistic movement, in particular Humanistic Counselling. A problem of the humanistic and person centred approach is that it is awfully reactive and not extremely proactive. Although all that works magnificent with some people, with other customers long periods of impasse or low return for time and effort occur. Lifestyle coaching and NLP are both human-centred therapy in stance, spending effort on improving a clients well-being rather than looking into the depths of childhood, as in traditional psychoanalysis. Their emphasis is, however, deliberately proactive and their to resolve your problems.

Coaching is not about preaching to the client what to do. This is a common misconception. Some therapists are legitimately successful in their business careers and then make the cross over to lifestyle coaching, thinking that they will merely be required to divulge their pearls of brilliant wisdom with the lifestyle coaching customer. This is more like mentoring an apprentice in a specific environment. Coaching is instead about life as a holistic view. Change your life today with Life Coaching.

Walkmans and CD players are a thing of the past, thanks to MP3 players. Now music and sound files can travel anywhere on a tiny hand held device. With the advent of MP3 players, the demand for traditional AA batteries has gone down too. Now there is a new contender on the market to keep MP3 players singing.

In order to keep MP3 players running they need a very powerful battery. For most brands, the Lithium-Ion battery is used. It lasts much longer than traditional batteries, and is perfectly designed for playing music or running programs for long periods of time. Lithium batteries are also very lightweight in comparison to their traditional counterparts. These lithium batteries can run up to 18 hours without recharging.

MP3 manufacturers have created several devices to keep any player up and running for users on the move. Many MP3 players have adaptors that allow the user to charge the device with the vehicles AC adapter. Some devices come with an additional battery pack that can be used when the battery life runs out. Other brands come with a wall charger so they can simply be plugged in, while other brands like Compaq offer a portable battery charger that can go anywhere.

There are so many types of MP3 players on the market since their popularity has increased. Battery types vary greatly depending on brand and model of the MP3 player. When shopping for a new replacement MP3 battery, it is important to know all the correct information so you don’t order the wrong battery. Using the wrong battery can completely damage an MP3 player. So whether you have a Dell, Sony, Audiovox, or the most popular iPod, know your product when searching for batteries.

Battery manufacturers are always trying to come up with new ways to make batteries more powerful and last longer. This is important for those who used MP3 players on a daily basis that often get stuck with dead batteries. It is encouraging too, that batteries that are already quite functional are only going to improve.

Guitars are very different. There are a number of different choices that you can make. All of them range in quality, sound, and abilities. And, when you need to reach for that guitar, you need to make sure that what you have is the best that is available. There are several key factors that you need to have when it comes to selecting the right guitar. Doing so will allow you to get the best performance and ability out there.

The biggest thing that you need to keep in mind is what type of music you’ll be using the guitar to play. There are many guitars that are versatile but some are better suited for certain styles. For example, for rock music, you’ll need to go with an electric guitar. If you are a beginner, choose a smaller, less expensive version and then work your way up. To keep prices low, choose plywood guitars over solid wood or go for a second hand guitar until you get the basics down. Then move up the ladder.

You will likely need to purchase an amplifier if you choose an electric guitar. In some cases, you’ll find a great deal to help you to get a good price. Make sure that you try it out by plugging the guitar into the amp before you make the purchase.

Other things that you need to keep in mind when making your guitar purchase include your level of experience and your budget. If you are really serious, it is great to go for the all frills package, but if you are just starting out and are not sure of it all just yet, save your money. You should also keep in mind that your education in guitar lessons should be more important than the guitar because that is what is going to be seen by your adoring fans.

A great way to save money on the guitars that you can purchase is to do it on the web. Shopping, comparing and buying online can save you a good deal of money. With that money, you can get that many more lessons under your belt. And, when it comes to availability of the guitar that you want, that is going to happen on the web too. Guitars should suit your music.

A very special Hotel, special for the atmosphire and for quality. The building is a Villa of 800’ completely renovated on the last 2001. It is a 4 stars deluxe Hotel; marble floor in the lobby. American bar is available on the ground floor. A meeting fully equipped room is also available with the last modern technology and facilities.

Rooms are very spacefull starting from the classic up to the Junior suites.
They are equipped with mini bar, direct telephone line and additional telephone plug, hairdryer, radio alarm clock, safety box, color TV (sat).

Fresh air is garanteed by sophisticated clima system all over the hotel; a special shower with a pure water cleaned under UVA lamps.

A big external terrace offers a panoramic view of the venetian hills and behind, a spectacular view of Dolomiti mountains.

A big parks surrounds the Hotel where private bus and cars parking is available.

A dedicated area for dogs is also available.

Indipendently, “Il Melograno” restaurant, just behind hotel main building, a colonial style House, offers the best of the Venetian cuisine and some international dishes.

This Hotel is perfect for your holiday and for any reasons: relax, business, trade fair.

Services
Minibar
Safe deposit box in bedrooms
International TV in bedrooms
Direct telephone line in bedrooms
Radio
Room service
Laundry service
No architectural barriers
Bar breakfast room
Conference room
TV room
Air-conditioning system
Elevator
Lodging for pets in quiet surroundings
UV ray system for bacteriological treatment of water sources.
Internet service

External Services
Fitness centre
Massages beauty centre
Mountain bike
Tennis
Horse riding (km 2)
Hiking on the Cansiglio (km 45)
Miniature golf (km 2)
Golf Club in Asolo (km 45)
Golf Club of the Cansiglio (km 35)
Santa Lucia Exhibition (Km 2)
Lakes
Treviso (Km 25)
Cortina d’Ampezzo (km 90)
Venice (Km 50)
The beaches of Jesolo (Km 50),
Lignano (Km 90) and Bibione (Km 75)
Airports: Treviso (km 25 away), Venice (km 50 away)
Motorway: Conegliano (km 6)
Railway station: Conegliano (km 3

The Astoria Hotel’s meeting room is situated on the first floor of the hotel and offers a splendid view of the surrounding hills and vineyards.
With its radiant and warm atmosphere it features a conference table, leather upholstered chairs and chairs with built-in table-arm. A minibar is available to guests who don’t intend to go down to the bar situated on the ground floor.
DVD Player
Slide Projector
VHS Video Player
Video Projector (for video and PC)
Overhead projector
Audio/Video Amplifier with Dolby
Microphones
Voice Mixer

If you are interested in a cheap hotel in Conegliano Veneto, pls visit our catalogue of Hotels all over Italy, where you can find also a wide range of Bed and Breakfast in Rome and Hotels in Florence, from cheap to luxury, togheter with Sorrento Tours

Expectably, a recently conducted survey has revealed that swank pieces of underclothing are positively the top-drawer yearning warranted to empower both young and mature females to convince themselves they are really good-looking. As the major player in the luxury sleepwear niche, Myla is a long established British firm resident in London dedicated to trimming both young and mature females to feel tempting and dynamic in swank lingerie and nightwear.

For the very best in sexy delight the Myla crowd displays spicy pieces of underclothing manufactured from luxurious textile fibers which extends to high gloss satin, sheer silk chiffon, knitted lace plus, too, mesh lingerie. Servicing coquettish members of the fair sex, young and old one can purchase balconette bras coupled with ruffle back knickers, underwire bras coupled with correlative silk & lace thongs and suspender or, simply, glamorous frolicsome negligees manufactured from sheer silk chiffon and knitted lace. As is to be expected, their top-drawer line of products displays shell lace basques, silk & lace open knicker, camisoles plus, too, long satin silk halterneck nightcaps.

Wonderful for the lovers’ den, one can purchase high gloss structured silk and corsets, ruffle back knickers, camis, g-strings and silk and lace strops. If you’d like to add some fun sleeping room pleasure toys devotees will pick bra extenders, silk high heels, hold-up stockings, braces and sexy scented vanilla flirt candles. Lure with feather ticklers with finished wood handles, feather fluff tie ups, silk & satin blindfolds, aphrodisiac mild massage oil, fabulous milk chocolate body paints or a frolicsome feather paddle.

For the very best fun playthings, the Myla crowd displays a large inventory of toys exclusively designed by a flock of marvelous artists. Clients can choose among a comprehensive products lineup which extends to Rachel Wingfield’s vibrating Sphere, the flirty gold bow engraved vibrator by Jimmyjane or Marc Newson’s famous Mojo toy.

There have been a lot of bad things happening in the mainstream music industry leaving major recording artists and fans bitter. On the flip side of things, mixtapes are booming better than ever. It’s the rave and everybody and their Mama wants mixtapes now. Websites are dedicated to finding out who the big bang is on the streets, chat rooms filled with chatters throwing out some amateur gangsta rhymes and even new talent out there mixing up some cool new sounds, right now.

So the big question is, why are mixtapes becoming more popular?

The answer is pure music and a generation who is sick of big recording companies pushing artists and fans around. The music that comes from mixtapes is real and some of the stuff out there is from big artists like 50 Cent, Biggie and a more! Stuff that nobody hears, great stuff that should be heard but it’s not, you’ll hear it on mixtapes.

An article featured on the MTV website quoted successful artist and producer P. Diddy, “Labels don’t even have the heart to put out a new artist right now”.

Other artists who are choosing to make their names big using mixtapes instead of the corporate music world usually agree that one of the advantages to the mixtape industry is that they are not limited in what they can produce. “The mixtapes are like me speaking directly to my neighborhood”, says famed rapper 50 Cent who also released many mixtapes before being backed up by a major recording contract.

Even mixtape producers claim that record companies use their services, often swapping unreleased goods for favors rather than paying with cold hard cash. If you wanna get your hands on some ‘real jams’, get a mixtape! There are thousands of ways to get or listen to one and one of them is the Internet. Sites do sell mixtapes but the only way to get the real answers to who’s hot and who’s not is mixtape chat rooms and forums where users converse about their mixtapes.

Either way, the industry is getting better and better. The next big wave of the future could be mixtapes sold at a national retail level, could basement producers be pushing the big dogs out of cushy recording company offices? The future is bright for mixtapes and we’ll have to wait and see.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hollywood, CA–November 7, 2005–Susaye Greene’s resume is to die for in the world of music. She has collaborated with the likes of Stevie Wonder and had the honor of being the last Supreme. Her new album Brave New Shoes is the epitome of artistic expression and the celebration of that freedom is never more apparent than on the new recording Brave New Shoes. Every groove is full of emotion and the street smarts of a NYC native.

>From intelligible call and answer rap and covering the Led Zeppelin tune “Ocean,” Susaye does a fine job traversing the musical spectrum on her ambitious new release. It does not take long to realize why the title of the album is such a good fit. This is an album full of surprises, some weird sounds, and above all good music-It is not your average record that makes it into the Top 40 or something you would hear coming from the Motown label. This music is all about being an independent artist and a woman in control of her own destiny. Surely, this sense of ownership for her craft will make her a trailblazer for many aspiring woman artists trying to find their way through the abyss of competition that all indie artists must see through before getting to the light at the end of the tunnel.

When you look at her face, you see pride, strength, and above all a woman that knows where she is going and why. All of the visuals projected by her image translate right into her music. Brave New Shoes is a party in the streets of every city in the U.S. or in your own backyard, it really does not matter where you play it, it always sounds good. The music has no boundaries nor can you it put nicely into a box; it crosses over into multiple age groups with ease.

Susaye Greene has a new album to share with all music lovers and in addition to that has recently updated her website http://www.supremextreme.com< /a> to include her music and jewelry including a special page for her artwork gallery at http://supremextreme.d eviantart.com. Stop by to visit her cyberspace home and explore the many talents of a wonderful woman artist.

Susaye Greene c/o Dollface Music P.O. Box 370993

Reseda, California

91337-09 Email Website

Representation: Saundra A. Newman, Manager Cellphone: 310-902-9254

Santel Entertainment Group

E-mail

PR Created and Distributed by MuzikReviews.com

I’ve owned my Rivera Knucklehead since 1998. It’s a small part of my guitar amp collection which consists of more than 5 amps. I’ll tell you how the Rivera Knucklehead performs both on stage and in the studio.

Not surprising, Rivera is owned by some guy named Paul Rivera. I guess it’s a little surprising that his name is Paul, but that’s about it. While I hate to spread rumors about facts I don’t know, this is press, and that’s that the press is all about. The rumor on the street is that Paul Rivera worked for both Marshall and Fender for years modifying guitar amplifiers for the rock stars that could afford to have them modified. If this is true, it will explain a lot about the Rivera Knucklehead.

The Rivera Knucklehead is a 100 watt, all tube, 2 - channel guitar head. Each channel has a gain boost. Both channel switching and the gain boosts can be controlled by the footswitch. As with every 100 watt head, this thing is ferociously loud. It contains an effects loop with control of input and output for effects and whatnot. The Knucklehead uses 5 12ax7 tubes for the preamps and 4 EL 34 power tubes. Each channel contains tone controls and a Focus and a Presence knob are global, which means they effect both channels. It would have been nice to have a spring reverb on the Rivera. That’s the only feature that it’s lacking.

American Channel (Clean Channel) First off, I must say that the clean channel isn’t so much like a clean channel, necessarily. It’s more like a Fender channel. I mean that if you crank up the gain on the clean channel, you will have a very distorted sound in the way that a Fender distorts. This sound is not going to be what you want for metal in most cases, although it might pull off an Iron Maiden type of sound. Turning the “Ninja Boost” off and backing the gain down brings you back down into Fender territory. It’s not an exact clone of the Fender sound, necessarily. The tubes used are not typically found in Fenders and even if you had the same tubes, the Fender sound is quite different from amp to amp. You have tremendous options in your tone. I mean TREMENDOUS!!! You have the typical bass, mids, and treble. By pulling out the treble pot you engage the “bright boost” and when you pull out the mids you engage the “mid scoop”. The tone controls are the most sensitive that I’ve ever seen on a guitar amplifier. In fact, the tone knobs can be too sensitive.

Plugging a strat or tele gives you the real deal tone. It’s pretty much a Fender amplifier. Plugging a Les Paul or PRS is a different ball game. The tones are absurd on this channel. You should be able to get anything you want out of this Fender side that you would expect a Fender to do. This amp is very sensitive to different guitars and it’s tone will change more drastically than other amps.

Distortion Channel (Marshall Channel) Alright, I called this side of the amp the Marshall channel. The tone is not exactly a Marshall. I own a 1971 Marshall Super Lead. It’s sound is quite a bit different than what you hear in the Rivera. I wouldn’t say the tone is necessarily better or worse, but different. When you get to this caliber of guitar amplifiers, they are all good, it’s just a matter or preference.

The distortion channel has a gain boost, bass, mids, and treble. Once again, these tone controls are as sensitive as you will ever find in a guitar amp. It’s stupid how much control you have over your tone. This amp has too much gain, if you want too much gain. With a Les Paul, I don’t think I’ve put the gain past 12 O Clock, ever. You would not believe how different this amp sounds when you take the mids to 0 and then up to 10. It’s a night and day difference. With the gain boost turned off, this thing feels like a good medium to low gain distorted amplifier. As I said, choosing the right guitar and tone settings can be time consuming, but getting whatever you want is a possibility. It’s worth trying all your guitars with this amp. There will be some that obviously shine more than others. In this setting, it’s no problem at all pulling off tones such as AC/DC and other 70s tones. I’d probably go with my 1971 Superlead first for this application though, just because of the tone differences, but I could make a guitar player looking for that tone very happy as well.

When you engage the gain boost, this thing is all out death. I’m talking deathmetal death, if that’s what you are looking for. In my opinion turning up the gain to a stupid amount, cranking the lows and highs, and scooping out all the mids is tremendous overkill. I’d say it’s unusable. The kid down the street may totally love it, though. I guess that’s the great thing about this amp. You can make the sound too thin or too thick….too bright or too dull. It’s up to your playing, your guitar, and your tone settings.

With the gain boost on and the all settings on 7, this amp is a full blown rock machine The tones inside this amp are impressive. You will find a sound that you like. It just takes some time to find that perfect combination. This takes more time than a Marshall does. Sometimes the mids on 5 are too much when the lows are on 6. But lowering the lows down to 5 might require a little more mids, for example. I’m saying that the tone controls are high dependent on each other.

This amp would always be my first choice playing out live. It’s a mammoth sound if I want and gives me 4 great sounds with the footswitch. Going from mega gain to dirty clean is just a step away. Going from pretty clean to low gain distortion is also just a click away. I’d say it’s one of the best live amps you can buy.

In the studio…. well, this thing gets used on just about every project I do. I haven’t found a project that it didn’t work well on. I’ve recorded country, rock, and death metal with this amp and every single one of them was very happy with it.

In conclusion, I wouldn’t change a thing about the Rivera. It is worth every penny.

Studio microphones need to accomplish one thing and one thing only: to record the best possible voice or musical instrument sounds. In order to do that, they use advanced technological methods to filter out unwanted ambient sound, which are present even in a controlled studio environment. Studio microphones have to capture the smallest voice subtleties and even the lowest musical notes. Most studio microphones use the electret model, in which a thin metal diaphragm receives sound waves and converts them into electrical current, which can then be interpreted by various recording devices. The filters used in the manufacturing of professional studio microphones are well calibrated, so that any disturbances are stopped before they reach the recording surface.

No room for compromise

Music recording studios, radio studios and TV station studios - they all use professional microphones. A UHF broadcast level microphone is expensive, often with price tags of several hundred dollars, so it is unlikely you will purchase such devices unless you intend to use them in one of the above-mentioned locations. Professional studio microphones need to have two major characteristics at a level far superior to regular microphones: flatness and linearity. Both these attributes mean that the recorded sound is clearer, more accurate, without noticeable distortion. Music studio microphones are often multidirectional, capturing sound from a well controlled ambient. The reason behind this is that the enclosed recording room allows no outside sounds to enter, so the only available ones are the ones produced by the singer or vocalist. A TV studio microphone, on the other hand, has to be focused on a single major source of sound: the speaker holding the microphone.

How to select your studio microphone

The variety of offers on the market is huge. And the truth is that it’s hard to pick a winner in any category. So how can you select your studio microphone? The first step is to determine exactly what the microphone is supposed to do: are you going to record voices, instruments, mixed music? Then you should look for a similar studio and check out their equipment. It’s almost like spying on the competition to see what they are using and if they believe it’s working for them. After you narrowed down the microphone list to a couple of different models, you can go by other decisive items, such as price, warranty or accessories. In the end, the aim is to get the most appropriate microphone for your studio without paying a fortune for it.