Students Of Success

MOTHER’S MILK
Mother’s milk is an unmatched mixture that is created by God as both an excellent food-source for the newborn baby, and a substance that increases its resistance to diseases. Even artificial baby food produced by today’s technology cannot substitute for this miraculous source of nutrition.
Every day, a new benefit of mother’s milk to the baby is discovered. One of the facts that science has discovered about mother’s milk is that suckling up to two years after birth is very beneficial.19 God gives us this important information, which was discovered by science only very recently, with the verse “…his weaning was in two years..” 14 centuries ago.
And We have enjoined upon man goodness towards his parents: his mother bore him by bearing strain upon strain, and his weaning was in two years: (hence, O man,) be grateful to Me and to your parents; to Me is the eventual coming. (The Qur’an, 31:14)

THE IDENTITY IN THE FINGERPRINT
While it is stated in the Qur’an that it is easy for God to bring man back to life after death, peoples’ fingerprints are particularly emphasized:
Yes, We are able to put together in perfect order the very tips of his fingers. (The Qur’an, 75:3-4)
The emphasis on fingerprints has a very special meaning. This is because everyone’s fingerprint is unique to himself. Every person who is alive or who has ever lived in this world has a set of unique fingerprints.
That is why fingerprints are accepted as a very important proof of identity, exclusive to their owner, and are used for this purpose around the world.
But what is important is that this feature of fingerprints was only discovered in the late 19th century. Before then, people regarded fingerprints as ordinary curves without any specific importance or meaning. However in the Qur’an, God points to the fingertips, which did not attract anyone’s attention at that time, and calls our attention to their importance–an importance that was only finally understood in our day.

The author, who writes under the pen-name HARUN YAHYA, was born in Ankara in 1956. He studied arts at Istanbul’s Mimar Sinan University and philosophy at Istanbul University. Since the 1980s, the author has published many books on political, faith-related and scientific issues. http://www.harunyahya.com

For those of us that are fans of Old Time Radio (OTR), until recently there were very few options to listen to these classic programs. To listen to them, you would have to use a PC or laptop. This was not very portable or convenient. Personally, I like to listen to the shows at night before I go to sleep, but my computer is nowhere near my bedroom.

With the recent proliferation of CD and memory based MP3 players, a new option has emerged to listen to our favorite classical radio programs. These tiny devices can not only be used to listen to music, but can now be used to listen to Old Time Radio shows. As many of the OTR shows are recorded at low bit rates and frequencies, you can typically load several hundred hours of shows onto a single CD. If you are using a memory based MP3 player, even a 64 mb player will hold several half-hour shows.

Of course, not everything is perfect with OTR shows. As I mentioned earlier, because of the age of these programs (poor recording quality, mono audio, etc…) they are typically recorded at low bit rates and low frequencies. Many of the newer MP3 players have no problem handling these formats, but not all. If you find you’re player can’t handle a OTR program, you will need to re-encode the show at a higher frequency (e.g. 44 kHz) and bit rate. There are several freeware programs available that allow you do to this. If you have not yet purchased an MP3 player, ensure that it is capable of playing low bit rate (e.g. 32 kbps) and low frequency (e.g. 22 kHz) MP3 encoded files. My first CD MP3 player could only handle 44 kHz frequency encoded files, and I always found it cumbersome to have to re-encode files before being able to listen to them on my player.

As a fan of OTR, you’ll no doubt be aware that there are literally thousands of sites on the internet that offer free downloads of almost every show imaginable. Most of these shows have had there copyrights expire, and are now in the public domain, free for you to download and enjoy. For those of you that would like complete collections of MP3 shows, many sites offer CD’s and DVD’s packed full of OTR MP3 files. The fees that are charged are quite reasonable, considering that the material being packaged is in the public domain.

Another source of OTR shows are on the various P2P (Peer to Peer) file sharing networks. I won’t name any of them here, as there are many available. Using your P2P application, a simple search of “OTR” will typically bring you a listing of thousands of files. The greatest thing about using P2P applications for this is that you don’t have to worry about the RIIA coming after you for downloading copyrighted material. All these programs are free to copy and share as much as you want.

Dragnet never sounded so good!

About the Author

John Eady is the owner and webmaster for www.your-mp3-store.com. Please feel free to publish this article as long as you keep the link to my site active.

The public fascination with comic book superhero characters
have been exploited by movie production companies for
years. Hollywood has been creating feature length comic
book movies, movie serials and TV shows to continue to whet
our appitites. But as special effect technology and costume
designs became better and better, Hollywood kicked it up a
notch with feature-length high budget productions.
Superman, the Movie and the 3 sequels started in the 1970s
and the ’90s and beyond brought us Batman, The Hulk, the
X-Men and the now infamous Spider-Man, to name a few.

Why all this interest in producing comic book superhero
movies? Big bucks!! The two Spider-Man movies alone have
netted about 800 million dollars apiece in worldwide ticket
sales. That’s not chicken feed. This kind of income could
not be generated without an avid public interest in comic
book movies. So if you feel you are alone in your voracious
passion for your own comic book collection, think again.

And now a new twist has been added. Directors, screenplay
writers, and even actors are writing for, of all things,
comic books now. Big name Hollywood writers are helping to
sell more comics. For example, Joss Whedon, perhaps best
known for creating Buffy the Vampire Slayer, has written
stories for Marvel in the series Astonishing X-Men. Back in
the 90s, who would have known that all these fan boys had
been hiding in the Hollywood woodworks waiting for comics
to gain some cultural credibility?

If you haven’t followed some of the comic news of the last
several months, Stan “the man” Lee has been fighting his
personal battle with His life long employer, Marvel Comics.
Stan is probably one of the most well known character
creators in the comic book industry. He has characters like
Batman, Spider-Man and the Hulk credited to his creative
imagination.

Seems Stan had a contractual agreement with Marvel for 10%
of any revenue acquired by Marvel from comic book superhero
movies and TV projects centered on Stan characters. But
apparently the high dollar superstructure of the corporate
mind doesn’t want to part with all their income. Now this
is nothing new, but Stan Lee managed to win the first round
for the little guy. The judge presiding over Stan’s case
agreed that Stan should receive his share of the agreed on
profits.

Now maybe Stan will get his share and maybe he won’t.
Sounds like Marvel will be appealing the decision. At any
rate, if there weren’t big bucks involved in the production
of comic book superhero movies, this case would not have
been such an issue.

I believe the near future is going to bring many more of my
favorite comic book superheroes to the silver screen. I
have already started my own DVD collection and as more
comic book superheroes get transferred from the screen to
round disc, I will continue to increase the size of my
collection. Do you think a DVD comic book movie collection
will be worth as much as a comic book collection in the
future? Probably not, but that won’t stop me from building
my collection anyway.

What does the future hold for comic book superhero movies?
It almost seems that we can call the present and near
future the Golden Age of the comic book movie. I spend a
lot of time researching comic book superheros and creating
new content for my comic book site. Is there a movie in the
planning stages for your favorite comic book superhero? A
frequent visit to my site may inform you as to when you can
expect the next comic book movie. See you there.

About the author:

Dave Gieber owns and edits a website built
around one of his childhood passions. Learn the basic
essentials to comic book collecting success. To receive
your free 5-part mini course visit:
www.comic-book-collection-made-easy.com/5-day-course.html

Without a basic understanding of satellite TV and how it works
you won’t be able to truly enjoy and reap the benefits of your
new Dish Network or Direct TV system!

Satellite TV works the same as a conventional television does.
Radio signals transmit programming that is then received through
a satellite that orbits around the earth. This satellite
broadcasts a signal to the dish connected to the user’s home.

Satellite technology allows the viewer to receiver more than 250
channels on their home television, which is far more than your
conventional television offers.

There are two primary Satellite Companies in the United States
that provide satellite TV service to their customers. They are
Dish Network and Direct TV, with Dish Network being the most
well know service!

Each of these satellite companies broadcasts channels directly
to your home. The provider may vary in your area, depending on
where you are located. You can find out beforehand which company
if not both are available to you.

When considering the switch to Dish network or Direct TV, here
are some questions to ask yourself and then consider before
making your decision.

How many receivers will you need? The prices and fees may vary
between providers. One may offer more receivers per house while
one may offer an additional fee per room, definitely a
consideration.

Viewing preferences - If you are an avid sports fan and want to
watch live sporting events - do price comparisons on this
package and any other add-ons. Is there a cost difference? Is it
too great or comparable?

What is your satellite service primarily for; television
service, internet service or both? Which provider has better
pricing for both or one or the other?

Price differences - While both Dish network and Direct TV offer
free equipment and installation be sure to compare package deals
and costs, this is where there will be a cost difference more
than likely.

Consider these few facts before making the switch and you should
be happy and watching over 250 channels in no time at all. What
are you waiting for Get your free satellite system from Dish
network or Direct TV today!

Pat Johnson is the owner of Dish Network and Direct TV Pat has
many years experience in the Satellite TV Industry and has
written numerous articles about Dish Network and Direct TV.
Copyright © 2005 megazowie

Cabinet has upheld a CRTC decision to issue two satellite radio licences after the applicants agreed to increase Canadian content and French-language service.
The applicants are Sirius Canada and Canadian Satellite Radio, each of which has a U.S. partner. Details of the new Canadian content commitments were not immediately available but the number of French-language channels will be increased to four from three. As part of the agreement, CSR and Sirius have been forces to increase the French-language influence and broadcasting. Both promise to include 8 Canadian channels, which are half English and half French.
Several cultural organizations such as the Canadian Recording Industry opposed the original terms of the licenses. Reasons include that they have weakened domestic content rules.

These rules require Canadian music and talk programming to be prominent on the airwaves. “This is a black day,” said Ian Morrison, a spokesman for Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. “In effect, the Americans have won.”
The new licenses call for eight new Canadian channels and 72 American channels.

While some people are complaining, independent and emerging artists favored the satellite licenses. They believe that the new services will provide them with exposure in the United States and abroad. Satellite radio, while initially intended mainly for car radios, has made several new improvements for portable and home satellite radio. Automakers, whom have factory ready satellite receivers in new 2006 models supported the applications. Just as in America, subscrition to the new radio services can be purchased and heard anywhere in North America.
About the Author

Scott Fish is the owner of Satellite Radio Sirius and XM satellite Radio Reviews |
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ABC wants no more to do with the Miss America Pageant. So, they’ve
dropped the broadcast.

The reason? Declining ratings.

What a changed world it is that this announcement is not startling news.
This is the first time in half-a-century that the pageant does not have a
television commitment! Once upon a time, the idea of becoming Miss America
was every school girl’s dream. And a sneaked glimpse of Miss America in
her bathing suit was every teen-aged boy’s fantasy. Er…not to mention a
lot of older fella’s as well. So the decline of the pageant into television
mediocrity is a recent phenomenon. In the decade of the 90’s the pageant’s
ratings were decent. Certainly not the equal of what they were in the glory
years of the 50s and 60s when the pageant was a broadcast that viewers
of all ages did not want to miss. But more than acceptable in a divided
television world of endless cable channels.

Perhaps the pageant has survived as long as it has on reputation, and the
viewing habits of an audience that has been aging each year. The shocking
Vanessa Williams scandal of 1984 did not destroy the pageant. Neither did
Bert Park’s replacement as master of ceremonies a couple of years earlier.
Could any man ever equal his rendition of “There She Is Miss America?”

Park’s signature song in the event.

Vanessa Williams, notwithstanding, what has apparently done in Miss
America is SEX. The easy accessibility of tawdry entertainment not only
on broadcast television, but via cable, vcr tapes, cds, and downloadable
product from the internet. The once risque Miss America pageant has been
rendered into irrelevancy. Adult beauty pageants are no longer particulary
cool or hip, and as they remain on the broadcast channels are now an easy
target for ever zealous right-wingers who dislike women parading around
half-naked on television. Zealots who knew they were overmatched during
the pageant’s popular heyday.

The Miss America Pageant is out-of-touch with the America of the 2000’s.
Just as the variety show format is long-dead, these type of pageants have
been on struggling for years. They are like something that belonged to
an old aunt. Too precious to throw away. But not really worth the trouble
to bring down from the attic for a new appraisal.

Network television today is reality show mad. Actresses willingly appear
on the repugnant “Fear Factor” to perform repugnant feats. Would Miss
American do that!

Probably not.

Reality television is full of racy reparte between nubile singles. The focus
of the shows are frequently about what couple will pair off. Certainly not
on camera. — But that is about as far from Miss America as you can get.

The emphasis in reality television is for spontaneity. Even if some events
are staged, the contestants reactions to them are not. People cry. People
fight. People plot against one another. People reveal their innermost emotions.
In comparison, the Miss America beauty “contest” seems from another
century.

And speaking of Vanessa Williams. Her “artful” photographs did not
prevent her from becoming a successful recording artist. But her reputation
remained tarnished for years. Unlike Vanessa, scandal has actually helped
reality star Paris Hilton of internet sex-tape fame. { was that whole deal
a publicity stunt? } Paris and her equally bubble-brained co-star, Nichole
Richie, give the viewer everything that the haughty Miss America pageant
cannot.

That is, strikingly beautiful young babes just being themselves, and not
afraid to be seen as less than perfect { or anywhere near… } in front of the
entire nation. Racy photographs and sex tapes on the internet are just part
of the new landscape. Such intimacies in the public domain might discourage
certain potential viewers from tuning in. But they won’t stop the show,
so to speak. This is a wholesale change in culture. Just as slap-stick comedy
passed into television history with Lucille Ball. Quaint beauty pageants
just don’t connect with the modern audience, as they once did.

Does anybody care any more about elegant, well-spoken young women
in bathing suits? Have we lost regard for their commendable aspirations
to become the next generation of doctors, lawyers, school teachers,
industrialists, and other contributing members of society?

The rating numbers do not lie.

Miss America may not be dead. But she’s certainly on life support.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Vance Cureton is the Managing Editor of ReadingPost.Com.
A topical website featuring politics, news, and social
commentary from a liberal point-of-view.

One dilemma that the super famous face is balancing the needs of privacy and recognition. One time in New York an unnoticed Marilyn Monroe was walking down Madison Avenue accompanied by Eli Wallach. ” My God, don’t these people know who you are?” Wallach asked her. Marilyn, whose application of make-up took nearly as long Boris Karloff’’s Frankenstein Monster, grinned at him. “I’m only recognized when I want to be. Watch this.” She began to swing her hips and walk in a way that was familiar to movie goers and was eventually mobbed by adoring fans.

For some stars privacy is an overrated commodity. In 1919, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford went on their European honeymoon. The two international icons had divorced their previous spouses and were concerned about how they would be greeted. They needn’t have worried. In London their limousine was surrounded by admiring women who pulled Mary out of the car to shake her hand, still grateful after two year for her efforts selling war bonds. In Paris they couldn’t get any sleep with crowds gathering below their hotel room to serenade them. In Amsterdam they attended a party and were mobbed by other guests who wanted to get close to them. The acrobatic Fairbanks placed his wife on her shoulder and escaped through the window. Finally, they found privacy in Hamburg, because of World War I their movies were not shown there. For an hour the famous newlyweds walked the streets unnoticed until the bored Mary turned to her husband and said,”Doug I’m sick of this. Let’s go back to one of those countries were they mob us.”

Joan Crawford had similar sentiments. Once in the 1930s she was staying in New York getting over her breakup with Clark Gable. Tired of moping around her hotel she told her entourage they should go out and get some fresh air. The sycophants who had trouble keeping up with the star’s brisk pace, were startled when she took a detour. “Oh my God. She’s going into Grand Central Station!” Someone shouted,” Look it’s Joan Crawford!” and she was mobbed, it took thirty minutes to escape the crowd and get back to their hotel suite. Her hair disheveled, her dress torn and her face scratched, Crawford leaned against the door out of breath. “Oh. . .oh my. That was wonderful. Lets do it again!”

Notoriety can get you out of a jam. Tired of being identified as James Bond, Sean Connery took an unusual step for Hollywood leading man by publicly revealing his baldness on screen, beginning with The Man Who Will Be King (1976). On location in Casablanca, the Scotsman rejected the use of a chauffer and limo, choosing instead to drive himself in Volkswagen Bug. One day he drove around town dressed in a sweat shirt and shorts and was stopped for questioning by the local police. The former Mr. Universe runner-up had unfortunately left his passport back at the hotel and was arrested as a suspicious character. Just as he was about to be locked up, Connery shouted,”007! I’m 007 damn you!” They recognized him and let him go.

If you lose your hair, you can keep your privacy. Rob Reiner’s big break was Harrison Ford turning down the role of Meathead on All In the Family (1971-1980) because Ford couldn’t stand Archie Bunker’s bigotry. When the show first went into production, Reiner and his fellow castmates would leave the CBS lot to eat lunch at the neighboring Farmers Market. Initial low ratings meant they were mostly ignored by the tourists. A few months later All In the Family was a monster hit and they received Beatle’s like attention. From then on the cast generally preferred to stay in their dressing rooms at lunchtime. All except the ever hungry Meathead who removed the toupee he wore on the show and continued to eat at the Market in peace.

Stephen Schochet is the author and narrator of the audiobooks Fascinating Walt Disney and Tales Of Hollywood. The Saint Louis Post Dispatch says,” these two elaborate productions are exceptionally entertaining.” Hear realaudio samples of these great, unique gifts at www.hollywoodstories.com.