Durham Enviro Stars

Have you been searching for that one present that you can be proud to give? Are you looking for something that will strike the heart with emotion? Perhaps something that will last a lifetime? A gift from the heart that will be pulled out of the closet 10 years later to reminisce about rather than be thrown out?

Birthdays are a time for celebration; to remember that we are here to love and be loved. For this reason, it is people’s responsibilities to give something meaningful. This perfect present is called a birthday card.

I am not talking about going to the store and buying a $3 pretty piece of paper that you’re most likely going to throw in the garbage after reading it, I am talking about a handmade piece of artwork created especially by you, for the person you love.

It does not have to be perfect. One of the biggest things about making birthday cards is being gentle on yourself and just going with the flow. Try to envision certain characteristics that this person reminds you of. What kinds of things do they like, what is their favorite color, music, animal? Take these things and create it into a beautiful card.

Anime characters from TV and manga are now widely embraced by everybody, especially youth. They are cute and always resemble perfection. It has always been the subject to some people who enjoy making caricatures. The typical drawing of anime characters was by hand but because of the outburst of technology, the technique that is now used for this purpose is computers and animation software. But first of all, you should have the art of fine drawing, along with the appropriate tools and supplies. The basic essentials that you would need are a lead pencil, color pencils, and an eraser.

Here are how to draw five different anime characters.

The master of suspense is an excellent study for any future filmmaker, not because of his famed cinematography or his technical achievements but because of his ability to tell a story using images.

The art of visual storytelling is something we seem to lose more and more in today’s entertainment industry. From the first films, it was the visual element that brought the audience together. A picture, they say, is worth a thousand words, and yet today’s films have a tendency to cram as many words in as possible.

Hitchcock was a expert at communicating in pictures. In The Lady Vanishes, Miss Froy’s name on the window and the spinning train wheels are perfect examples. The popping flash bulb in Rear Window and the shot of Arbogast falling down the stairs after being attacked by mother in 1960s Psycho are all equally terrifying images.

Hitch (as he was affectionately known by most everyone) began his career in Europe first, and later moved to America with his wife Alma, who he met when she played the part of continuity supervisor on his early projects. Of the films he produced during his European phase, which include The 39 Steps and Jamaica Inn, the most toned example of the coming renaissance he would create was a picture based on Ethel Whites novel, The Wheel Spins.

There are steps you should take to make you stand above all the other musicians who are auditioning. If you are really serious about becoming a member of the band, don’t even think about going to an audition without doing your homework first. After all, you don’t think you’re the only one they’re asking to come in and jam, do you?

This is going to sound so obvious but you’d be surprised how many musicians do not do this – Google the band and each of its band members. Even if you ask them for (or they give you) their MySpace URL, don’t limit your research to that.

Learn all you can about the band. Do they have a Facebook Page? Check it out. How about a Twitter account? Check it out. Is their music played on Jango or Pandora? Go see what the fans write about them on the “comment” page. Google the band name. Do they come up? By doing this exercise you’ll know if the band puts any effort into marketing itself. If it doesn’t, you’ll want to make a note to ask in the audition how they promote themselves and how they build their fan base.