Remember when your favorite TV show promised a “special episode” of the series? Usually this meant the show would tackle a sensitive topic, such as teen pregnancy, drugs or sexually transmitted disease.

Some shows today are also using their series as a platform for current social issues. Kids today are a bit more cynical, so weaving messages into their favorite shows may be a better way of communicating than just telling them outright.

How It Works

Producers of hit shows such as “Raising Hope,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Family Guy” work with advisors of campaigns that help educate teens about pregnancy, drugs, drinking and diseases. The producers create storylines around a particular campaign to help raise awareness about a topic they feel kids (or even adults) may need to learn a little more about. This is “subliminal” advertising in a way; you’re learning about something important when you think you’re just watching television.

The reason why campaign advisors like employing this method of communication is because it’s largely not expected. Kids and adults don’t usually sit down to watch their favorite TV show and expect to learn valuable information. Kids may tune out the information in a school setting, but when they are watching television (particularly comedies) they are all ears.

Opening a Dialogue

Your teenager may be glued to her computer, looking up what SEO service is for a school project. How do you step inside her world and talk about teen pregnancy with her without it being awkward or unwanted? Shows like MTV’s “Teen Mom” are a great way to open a dialogue with your teenager about a serious issue. “Teen Mom” shows the reality of teen pregnancy, and watching shows like this with your child may be a good way to broach an awkward subject in a less tense environment.

Using media to get kids to thinking about social issues isn’t a new concept, but they are improving this method every day. Instead of sitting down to an “After School Special” that you (and your teen) know is about a difficult topic, it may be easier to sit down to an episode of “Family Guy” that humorously brings up that same topic.

The Success Of Shows with Social Messages

When you have a break from researching SEO for ecommerce or the best flea treatment for your dog, check out a very successful social messaging show: “Glee.” “Glee,” which airs on the Fox network, discusses serious social issues including homosexuality, bullying and racism, and it makes them funny, entertaining, and musical! The show resonates with teenagers because it talks about the things they want to talk about, but are too uncomfortable to bring up in daily life. Sometimes using TV as a social messaging platform does a lot of good, and it’s a great way to reach kids that aren’t as open about social issues.

In today’s world, social messaging is a great and perhaps gentler way of reaching out to our teenagers to talk to them about the issues they deal with every day.

Guest post contributed by Michael who blogs about everything from social messaging through television shows to how the right SEO service can improve your website.

Astrology has been around forever, or at least, that is how it seems and can almost be considered true. It is not certain when it was first developed but there are records about the practice as early as the 3rd millennium BC.

That places its existence squarely in the Bronze Age which lasted between about 2000 and 3000 BC. The belief in Astrology goes as far back as the early Egyptian dynasties and there is documentation in the major civilizations at that time of its use on different continents and in different geographical areas that would have had no knowledge of each other’s science.

Documentation versus Existence

In the way we develop our understanding of history, there is a difference between what is accepted as the “beginning” of something and what is seen as the beginning of its existence. The beginning of something, like Astrology, is traced to its earliest known physical documentation. That could mean anything from a written record of its existence to cave paintings to finding objects that were used with it.

In the case of Astrology, while there are early cave paintings that suggest it, the most direct evidence is coming out of the early Egyptian, Babylonian and Nubian dynasties as written form and in bronze artifacts concerning tracking and interpreting the skies. The criteria for how something is seen as “beginning” are different. This can be determined based on anecdotal land interpretive evidence. Cave paintings are considered to be both.

It is difficult to relate a drawing to historical evidence of a real practice or event because the visual arts can be used to document dreams and lacking a vocabulary to establish the event, there is no way of telling if what we would interpret as signs of the presence of Astrology on a cave wall are that or, visual imaginings.

How did Astrology Begin?

It is thought that Astrology began organically as mankind developed the need to predict weather patterns and to better understand their world. As civilizations began to take shape, ruler’s needed a way to be able to predict and then manage the growth of food and to provide for the safety and security of their people. Studying the events of the heavens and the corresponding events on Earth became a way to do this.

After several hundred years of noticing that when the stars seemed closer and brighter that the seasons were beginning to change to the growing time made it easier to predict and order planting on a schedule. It was seeing this correlation between what happens above and what happens below that read to the adoption of astrology as a means to predict potential events among individuals and civilizations.

Making the Connection

Making the connection between what happens above and what happens below is not as hard as you think nor is it as farfetched as it sounds. The Ancients didn’t concoct myths about the stars and the sky influencing Earth and Man because they were frightened – but because it made sense and they had evidence to support it.

Think of it this way, have you ever looked up at the moon and seen a little halo around it and thought. “Oh, it is going to rain tomorrow,” or seen a full moon and known that people would be a little crazier than usual. This is a part of the evidence; it is called anecdotal and witnessed. Early civilizations looked at things in a much wider way then we do now so it was easier to notice such things. Now, our visions have narrowed to the microscopic.

If you’d like to learn more about the origins of Astrology and it’s cultural influences on today’s society, head over to the Love Horoscope website and visit their Astrology section at http://love-horoscopes.me/astrology/.

If you’re into computers, you’re not alone. It’s hard to imagine our lives without them. Computers, the Web and the ability to hack have infiltrated our lives and even the movies we like to watch. Whether you’re looking for a thriller, crime drama or a goofy comedy, there’s a movie for you.
The Top 10 Hacker Movies:

1. WarGames – Matthew Broderick stars as a teenage computer hacker who inadvertently hacks into the Department of Defense and comes close to starting World War III. Nearly thirty years old, this sci-fi classic is riddled with inaccuracies and implausible scenarios but is still very entertaining to watch. Some film buffs even consider this film to be the quintessential hacker film.
2. Swordfish – This 2001 action thriller starring Hugh Jackman, John Travolta, Sam Shepard and Halle Berry is about a counter-terrorist who enlists a gifted hacker and tries to get him to help steal billions of dirty money from the US Government. Bonus: Halle Berry, wanting to conquer her fear of doing nude scenes appears topless.
3. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Based on Stieg Larsson’s best selling trilogy, this film tells the story of a journalist and computer hacker who team up to solve a mysterious disappearance and while doing so, uncover dark and twisted secrets about a wealthy family.
4. The Net – If you’re a Sandra Bullock fan, you’ll like this film even if it’s a little cheesy. Okay, very cheesy. This film tells the story of a freelance software engineer who uncovers a conspiracy in the CD-Rom game she’s debugging. This movie is chock-full of cliches!
5. Sneakers – This thriller from 1992, led by an allstar cast (Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier, River Phoenix and more), this film is about computer hackers that get blackmailed by the government. The action-packed scenes will have you on the edge of your seat. Even though this film was made twenty years ago, the “It’s all about the information” message still rings true.
6. The Matrix – Now considered a science fiction classic with a cult following, The Matrix is the story of a programmer who learns that the world he grew up in is a computer generated virtual reality. His mission?  Hack the illusion and liberate mankind.
7. Track Down – This action packed thriller is based on real events. A gifted computer hacker becomes entangled in a game of cat and mouse through the world wide web. This film may not be completely accurate but it is highly entertaining!
8. Hackers – A 1995 film about a young boy who is arrested by the US Secret Service for writing a computer virus. Years later he discovers a virus about to be unleashed and must gather evidence to convince officials that the plot is real. This film launched Angelina Jolie’s career as a leading lady.
9. Office Space – This comedy is about three IT workers who work out a plan to use the company’s main frame to embezzle money. This Mike Judge comedy pokes fun at corporate culture and all things associated with it. It’s easy to see why this is a cult classic. The iconic printer smashing scene is a must see.
10. Weird Science – The two computer nerds in this 1985 classic use a computer to create Lisa, a supermodel with a genius IQ. The old computer gear in this movie make it especially fun to watch!

Guest post contributed by Lisa Hirst Carnes, for ArcStone.com. Lisa is a tech writer and marketing expert in Minneapolis. She keeps tabs on all the latest internet marketing news, computer security, security products, malware protection and more.

Grammar School 101: Four Mistakes Not to Make

We all know how important it is to use proper English online. Well-written copy is key to having a site that looks professional and attracts customers, whether you’re a sales company or an alcohol treatment facility.

By the same token, simple errors in grammar, punctuation and spelling can look careless and make viewers think you didn’t put enough thought into your website. Despite your intentions, chances are you haven’t had a refreshing course in English grammar recently.

Here are four common mistakes we all make at some point no matter how much attention we put into our writing.

Hyphens

Hyphens are one of the most underused types of punctuation. Many people aren’t sure when to include them, which is understandable. After all, hyphens have more uses than most types of punctuation (commas excluded).

You use hyphens to 1) connect compound words, 2) link parts of a phrase, or 3) indicate a split in a word between lines of print. Most people understand the third use easily enough, but forget to use hyphens in compound words and phrases.

They forget the hyphen in things like “three-bed hotel suite” or “state-of-the-art product.” A good rule of thumb is to always use hyphens in words and phrases that wouldn’t make sense if you removed one of the words. For example, “three hotel room” or “state the art product” just wouldn’t sound right.

Apostrophes

Most people either tend to leave apostrophes out altogether or go crazy overusing them. In reality, apostrophes have two relatively straightforward uses: 1) to indicate possession, or 2) to show omission.

For example, you’d use an apostrophe to show that “Richard’s cars” belong to Richard, or the “ladybug’s wings” belong to the ladybug. You wouldn’t say “Richard’s car’s” unless the car itself owns something.

The exception to this rule are words like “its,” because “it’s” is a contraction for it is. Also, use the apostrophe in contractions like “don’t” and abbreviations like “gov’t” (for government).

Semi-colons

Many users mix up commas and semi-colons, which kind of makes sense, since a comma looks like a part of a semi-colon. The most common mistake people make with semi-colons is to put a comma where there should be a semi-colon, or vice versa.

Semi-colons are used to indicate major divisions in sentences and to separate two compound clauses of a sentence where no conjunction is used.

For example, a semi-colon is used in the middle of the sentence “They went to the store; they bought milk.” You could similarly say “They went to the store, and they bought milk,” but you cannot use only the comma in this sentence without the conjunction “and.”

Subject/object agreement

This is a really easy mistake to make because few people consistently use correct subject/object agreement. To use correct subject/object agreement, you need to make sure the subject and predicate of the sentence agree in number.

For example, you would say “The boys drove their car,” instead of “The boys drove its car.” The common mistakes people make with subject/object agreement are with words like “everyone” and “everything.” These words are technically singular, but most of us have gotten into the habit of making them plural in the predicate.

We often say “Everyone has their preference,” but this isn’t technically correct. The proper subject/object use for this sentence would actually be “Everyone has his or her preference.”

Guest Author Byline:  Now that you’ve learned about some common grammar mistakes, double-check your website! This post is brought to you by guest blogger CJ, who is knowledgeable on a wide range of subjects including grammar, marketing and even alcohol treatment facilities.

The government and the military has been influential when it comes to creating stuff that we use in every day life. The specialist military boot? Now part of many people’s every day wear. The microwave oven? The result of research and development into radar technology during World War II.

Despite the positives of technology from government funded projects, there are many that believe in a more sinister side of such tech. I’m not talking about actual warfare, this is about the wacky conspiracy theories that have been bandied about over the years. Here are three of the most classic government conspiracy theories ever!

Beam Of The Crop

There’s a theory that advanced alien civilisations have journeyed light years to come to our planet and communicate with us. There seems to be an odd disparity between the kinds of aliens that visit, however. For example, if they visit the American Midwest, there’s every likelihood of some rather scary ‘probes’. However, if they come to the South of England, they seem a little more keen on making crop circles.

This is, however, ridiculous. It’s actually the military! No, not the probing, the crop circle part. There are theorists who believe that the military is testing microwave cannons, based on the Star Wars anti-nuclear defence platform from Ronald Reagan’s time as President of the USA. Quite why the military is spending millions upon millions to perfect giant doodles is proving hard to explain.

If The Cap Fits…

You do know the government is trying to control you, right? That decision to drive a different way to work? The government. Watching The Voice instead of that fascinating documentary on Einstein? The government. Scary, huh? You know what would stop you from being part of the susceptible herd?

A tin foil hat.

The government has been controlling your every waking thought, some say, through the microwaves emanating from your TV. Oh those pesky microwaves! The only way to shut out these mind control signals is to make yourself a skull cap out of baking foil. Not only will it help you fight against The Man, it makes for some sexy futuristic headgear!*

(*No, it doesn’t.)

Chipped For Action

Not only do the government want to dictate your every waking moment, they want to track you doing it too. That’s why they implant you with microchips while you sleep or undergo surgery. For some reason, it’s worthwhile to spend all that money on research and technology to watch you go to work, and quickly scoot off to do a bit of shopping on your way home again.

Well there you have it. The government is trying to zap you with microwaves, control your mind and watch you wherever you go.

Isn’t it nice to feel important?

Citations:

• Image courtesy of Durova

Trekitt offer a large range of special forces boots – not exactly what you need if you’re trying to protect against alien probing or Government mind control experiments but they are great boots for hiking, walking and army personnel!