|
Christmas
Ringtones
By: Philip Nicosia, Mon Apr 10th, 2006
Ring Christmas Bells! Cell Phone Ringtones for Chrismas.
'Tis the season to buy gifts for your family, smell the
holly and evergreen, and eat lots of seasonal goodies. If
you're in the mood for Christmas, shouldn't your cell phone
be in the mood too? You can get some great Christmas
ringtones for your cell phone, and get yourself and everyone
around you in the mood of the season. Best of all, more and
more of the new ringtones are moving toward the realistic
true tones, and the ones that aren't true tones are mostly
polyphonics. No more tinny "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear"
for you!
What's more, if there's a Scrooge on your Chrismas list, you
can help get him or her in the mood for the season by
sending a ringtone to their cell phone. It's one of the
latest and greatest way of letting someone know you care
about them.
You can get the following types of Christmas ringtones for
your cell phone:
Fun songs. You want "Mr. Hanky the Christmas Poo" from South
Park? You'll find it here. Or maybe you want something
unique: how about a techno remix of "The Little Drummer
Boy?" Whatever your preference, you can find a perfect
Chrismas ringtone to express your joy in the season.
Traditional favorites. If your favorite Christmas song is
"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," you're in luck.
This and dozens of other traditional Chrismas songs can be
downloaded to your cell phone as ringtones.
Religious favorites. Your favorite song is "What Child Is
This?" You prefer the songs you sang in church as a child to
the modern ones that seem to negate the true meaning of
Chirstmas? You can find the songs you remember and love
today as ringtones you can put on your cell phone.
Instrumental songs. Because of the limitations still
inherent in even the best ringtones, the ones that sound the
best are the ones that are primarily instrumental. You can
find a fantastic version of "Ave Maria" for your cell phone,
or you can find "Ring Chrismas Bells" and other old
favorites.
International Christmas Music. You want something really
different that translates well to a polyphonic ringtone
format? Try one of the "Christmas at Bali" ringtones, which
translates a Chrismas favorite into an Oriental sound, using
unusual sounds and blended background noises to make your
ringtone the coolest one around. Or you can try "Chirstmas
in Palestine," or "Russian Christmas," depending on what you
really like.
You may want something else to go with your ringtones. You
can find great wallpapers and screensavers with Chrismas
themes as well as your ringtone themes. Whether you want St.
Nick on your phone, Garfield in Chirstmas attire, or the
soft beauty of a Thomas-Kinkaid-style Chrismas landscape,
you can find it. Put together the perfect theme, with
wallpaper, screensaver, and ringtone, and send it to the
ones you love in lieu of a Christmas card.
However you want to use your
Christmas ringtones,
they're there for you. Celebrate Chrismas in style with the
best ringtones on your phone.
About the author: Philip Nicosia is the webmaster of
Ringtones.lt, a site specialising in the
different genres of
ringtones, including
polyphoni c ringtones,
true tones and
mp3 ringtones.
Back to Top
A Christmas
Carol - The Man and His Book
By: David Fitzgerald, Thu May 4th, 2006
Charles Dickens's book "A Christmas Carol" is probably the
most famous of all Chirstmas stories. In the preface he
wrote:
"I have endeavoured in this Ghostly little book, to raise
the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of
humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or
with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no one
wish to lay it
Their faithful Friend and Servant, C.D. December 1843."
Charles Dickens - The Man
Charles Dickens (1812-1870) is considered to be one of the
greatest English novelists of the Victorian period.
Dickens's works are characterized by attacks on social
evils, injustice, and hypocrisy.
Charles John Huffam Dickens, the second of seven children of
John and Elizabeth Dickens, was born in Landport on 7th
February 1812. His father worked as a clerk at the Navy pay
office in Portsmouth. In 1814 Dickens moved to London, and
then to Chatham in 1817, for Dickens, the happiest years of
his childhood (1817-22) were spent in Chatham, a bustling
port on England's southeast coast, where he received some
education.
John Dickens had difficulty making ends meet as his family
grew. At ten Charles's family moved to Camden Town in
London. John Dickens' debts had become so severe that all
the household goods were sold. Still unable to satisfy his
creditors, John Dickens was arrested and sent to Marshalsea
Prison. Charles, now twelve, was sent to work at Warren's
Blacking Factory, where he was paid six shillings (shilling
is equal to 1/20th of a pound) a week wrapping shoeblack
bottles to help support his family. Six months after being
sent to Marshalsea, one of John Dickens's relatives died. He
was left enough money in the will to pay off his debts and
to leave prison. Charles was allowed to quite the job,
against his mother's better judgment. This became a sore
spot for Charles, that he remembers the rest of his life.
Some of the inheritance was used to educate Charles at a
nearby private school, Wellington House Academy. His
schooling was again interrupted and ultimately ended when
Dickens was forced to return to work at age 15. He found
work as a clerk at the firm of Ellis & Blackmore, Charles
disliked the work but he did enjoy walking the streets in
the evening observing the people of London. He then became a
shorthand reporter in the courts, and finally a
parliamentary and newspaper reporter.
Looking back on his own childhood, Dickens saw himself as "a
very small and not over-particularly-taken-care-of boy." For
as I had spoken before, Dickens's childhood was a mixture of
both fond and unhappy memories. His childhood poverty and
feelings of abandonment, although unknown to his readers
until after his death, would be a heavy influence on
Dickens' later views on social reform and the world he would
create through his fiction.
But even though Dickens family was both large and almost
always hard-pressed, Charles Dickens grew into a young man
who, through the sheer fertility of his creative genius and
an astonishing amount of hard work, transformed himself into
the most famous writer of his age.
In the midst of his labors over Martin Chuzzlewit, Dickens
found time to write the little tale that is unquestionably
his most beloved work, "A Chrismas Carol". Published on
December 17, 1843, this tender fable of spiritual renewal
received a rapturous welcome from the public. Readers were
moved to tears by the story of the delightfully despicable
Scrooge, a heartless old miser who undergoes a miraculous
rebirth precisely at Cristmas, the only time "in the long
calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent
to open up their hearts freely."
A Christmas Carol - The Book
Millions of readers for over the past hundred and sixty
years have enjoyed "A Chirstmas Carol". The penny pinching,
miser Ebenezer Scrooge has become synonymous with a tight
wad. Even today a person who hoards his or her money is
nicknamed a "Scrooge". Dickens' character was a man whose
cold personality equal only to the winters of London, and
the comforts or fortunes of other was unimportant to him.
Locking up his office on Cristmas Eve, Scrooge heads for his
rooms, which once belonged to Jacob Marley, his partner, who
died seven years ago. Arriving at his door, the doorknocker
is suddenly, transformed into his dead partner's face,
staring at him. The vision passes, and Scrooge bolts the
door from the inside. Sitting down in front of the dying
embers on the hearth, Ebenezer Scrooge is subjected to the
second phenomena, the ringing of all the bells in the house.
Someone or something is trying to get in touch with his
frozen soul. It turns out it is Jacob Marley who has been
tying to contact him. Marley's ghost dragging his chains
explain his present condition to the Scrooge; since he
himself lived on the same basic principle as does Scrooge,
explains what the afterlife is like for one who has never
done a good deed to his fellow man. There is one way out of
this misery for Scrooge says Marley, and that is to mend
one's ways and cleanse one's conscience. To amplify the
message, his old partner explains to Scrooge that three
spirits will visit shortly after midnight. Having delivered
his message and his warning, Marley goes away, dragging his
chains behind him. Strangely, Scrooge manages to fall
asleep, but is awakened when the clock strikes midnight.
Soon after the Ghost of Christmas Past, an apparition with a
child's face visits him long, white hair, and a full-grown
body. It makes Scrooge an offer he can't refuse: to go on a
sentimental journey to his own past.
Riding through time and space effortlessly, they arrive in
time to see the small boy Ebenezer, a lonesome child with
books for his only friends. Lost love, lost comradeship, and
lost chances for happiness are shown in rapid succession,
and then the exhausted Scrooge is dropped off at home, where
he dozes off. Next follows the Ghost of Cristmas Present
shows Ebenezer the merrymaking of ordinary people. They spy
on Bob Cratchit, who makes the most of his meager resources
in the bosom of his little family, carrying his son Tim, who
is weak of health, and lighting the meager meal with his
inner warmth and generosity, demonstrated when he proposes a
toast to his mean employer, though not appreciated by his
wife. The last ghost, Christmas of the Future, arrives, to
show him the emptiness of a non-spiritual life. A peek into
the future shows thieves plundering his belongings. He even
gets a glimpse of himself, lying dead, and retreats in
horror. The final blow is dealt to his now weakened soul
when he learns that Tim Cratchit has died. The vision of
himself dead, his own neglected grave, all this prompts
Ebenezer to beg for mercy. Waking as from a nightmare, he
finds that only one night has pasted and it is now Cristmas
morning, Scrooge thanks Jacob Marley's ghost for this second
chance, and he really changes. He gets a huge turkey for the
Cratchit family, makes large contributions to the poor, and
turns up at his nephew's a changed man, filled with the
merry spirit of Cristmas.
The spirits of Christmas had served their purpose, and Jacob
Marley had done his good deed. For the rest of his life,
Ebenezer Scrooge was a good generous man, living the spirit
of Christmas.
Chick here for more books by Charles Dickens
_________________________________________________ Copyright
2004 by David Fitzgerald Publishing Guidelines: You may
publish my article in your newsletter, on your website or in
your print publication provided you include the resource box
at the end. Notification would be appreciated but is not
required.
About the author: David Fitzgerald is contributing writer to
several sites and newsletters. Visit
http://www.delvebookstore.com/for
other great books and books on subjects in the areas of your
interest.
dfitzgerald@delvebookstore.com
Back to Top
10 Ways to Use
Music with EQ During the Holiday Season
By: Susan Dunn, The EQ Coach, Fri May 12th, 2006
This might be a time of year where you re looking for, oh,
some different ways to soothe, level, motivate, energize
yourself and otherwise get on top of your cascading
emotions. The EQ Foundation Course (
http://www.webstrategies.cc/EQcourse.htm )
emphasizes the great arts as an adjunct to Emotional
Intelligence, though the not-so-great are helpful too. May
we suggest?
1. Need to get solidly centered
Like, as the metaphysicians say, when you vision yourself
growing a tail and having it grow like an anchor down to the
center of the earth kind of centered?
Try anything with a big solid bass, up loud, but make sure
the lyrics don t interfere. The right-brain will dominate
and you ll hear the music first, but your left-brain will
still be getting the lyrics. Thus, avoid "Oh Elizabeth"
which has the beat, but the lyrics are sad.
OUR SUGGESTION: I Loved Em Everyone, by T. G. Sheppard
2. Need to deal with something heavy, such as last year your
father died on Cristmas Eve and here comes the first
anniversary
OUR SUGGESTION: Only classical music will work for this and
that s why we call it classical. For such a deep need, to
maintain your grip when something s rocked the foundation of
your world, we recommend, Beethoven s Eroica .
"Eroica" means "heroic" and that you will need to be.
Beethoven lived through the worst thing that can happen to a
person. It s there, in his music. For you.
3. To get lightly level
OUR SUGGESTION: Nothing will probably ever compare to
Pachelbel s "Canon". After that we give 5 stars to George
Winston, particularly December. Good masseuses play these
tapes. There are no ups and downs and that may be just what
you're aiming at. :)
Also "What Child is This"
4. To rip the heart out of Christmas, like when you want to
just sit down in front of the tree and cry at the beauty and
the splendor of it all and get it over with and then eat a
pint of Haagen Daz and go to sleep
OUR SUGGESTION: Pavarotti's Cristmas video, Panis Angelicus
duet with the little boy, especially if you had a little boy
who now has whiskers on his cheeks. Or Placido Domingo with
the Vienna Boys Choir. Then you can pull out your heart and
put it on the table beside you, right there beside the dish
of peppermints, and the cinnamon-scented candle, and you'll
know you had Christmas.
5. Want something Christmassy but light
OUR SUGGESTION: Harp music is good for this, like for baking
cookies to. It doesn t pull the emotions. It s close to the
lyre, the instrument the Greek god Orpheus played to soothe
the savage beasts, and to win a favor from Hades, the god to
whom there is no altar (death), the god with whom there is
no bargaining.
Completely upbeat, light and fun is "A Reggae Cristmas," (
http:/ inyurl.com/y6sp ) by Various Artists, and yes, my
friend, "sensei" does rhyme with "pear tree." Listen to it
on the way in to work. That's girl's laughter will carry you
through your day - The Ras Family, "We Wish You a Merry
Cristmas," and June Lodge's "Joy to the World" will put joy
in YOUR world. 6. Need to get some physical work done, sick
of Christmas, got the kids around
GP RECOMMENDATION: (1) "Great Balls of Fire," Jerry Lee
Lewis. How could you possibly be mindful with that going on?
It s great fun. It will clear the air. (2) "Don't Worry Be
Happy," by Marley.
7. The out-laws are coming, I mean the IN-laws, and you,
exhausted, crabby and high on sugar as you are, must clean
the house and you aren t exactly in the MOOD for a Cristmas
Carol, if you know what I mean
OUR G SUGGESTION: If you haven t cleaned house with your two
preschoolers marching along behind you to a John Philip
Sousa march, you haven t lived. Give the little one a paper
hat and get out his toy drum. Ok, quit laughing and taking
pictures and get back to work, you!
OUR PG SUGGESTION: Got older kids you need to get working
with you? Call it "the main event," and put on the Jock
Jams, "Let's Get Ready to Rumble," http:/ inyurl.com/y6tw .
OUR X RATED SUGGESTION: You and your partner put "Cotton
Eyed Joe" on -- I mean the Texas version and invent your own
lyrics appropos to the, um, challenges of the moment. (This
is popular at office holiday parties with adjusted lyrics as
well!) And DO the Cotton Eye Joe as you push that vacuum
around. Here's how:
http://www.partydirectory.com/guide/cotton.htm .
OUR X-17 RATED SUGGESTION: The Pogues, "A New York
Fairytale." The boys in the NYPD were singing Galway Bay ...
(a little venting).
8. Need to be inspired and also to get in touch with the
spiritual side of Christmas
OUR SUGGESTION: Handel's Messiah, Hallelujah Chorus, of
course. Just the chorus, unless you're an aficianado and can
afford to tire yourself out.
Remember, if you will, that when you hear "The Hallelujah
Chorus," you are to stand up.
Do this. Right there at home in your living room. It will do
something for you.
Great Chirstmas Carols like "Hark the Herald Angels Sing,"
and "Go Tell It on the Mountain"
9. Now, or any time you re beginning to feel just slightly
resentful of all your blessings
OUR SUGGESTION: Lord, What Did I Ever Do, by the Oak Ridge
Boys is great for attitude adjustment.
10. For the peace that passeth all understanding
OUR SUGGESTION: Stille Naq, Noite de Paz, Noche de Paz,
Sainte Nuit, Cicha Noc, Glade Jul, Stille Nacht, Po La`i E,
or, as many of us know it, Silent Night, the lullaby that's
been translated into every language on earth, composed by
the greatest unsung duo in musical history, Mohr (lyrics)
and Gruber (melody).
We also recommend "Ave Maria."
Let them still your heart and bring you peace.
About the author: (c)Susan Dunn, The EQ Coach,
www.webstrategies.cc. May we help you write and launch your
eBook? Writing, editing, pdf formatting, print-on-demand,
ISBN, website, sales letter, press releases, book reviews,
everything you need to have it up and running in 6-8 weeks.
Mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc for FREE eZine. Put "checklist"
for subject line.
Back to Top
|
|
<