5 Great War Movies to Watch Before You Die

War has been a theme of movies right from the earliest days when D.W. Griffith made his controversial movie, "Birth of a Nation". War has given movie makers several narratives and conflicts that make for great cinema. Some of the most memorable movies of the past few decades were about war, so here's my list of my personal favorites amongst them:

1. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Words cannot do justice to this movie, whose opening 15 minutes are arguably the most visceral in movie history. Directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks, Saving Private Ryan features some of the most realistic and violent battle scenes ever filmed. It remains one of the most loved and influential war movies of all time.

2. Apocalypse Now (1979)
This 1979 movie starring Martin Sheen and Marlon Brando and directed by Francis Ford Coppola remains one of the most haunting narratives on war ever filmed. Coppola claimed that his movie was not about Vietnam, "it is Vietnam". A story of a soldier who has to wade through deep jungles to find a renegade Colonel, the movie has strong echoes of the novel, "Heart of Darkness" and features a memorable, haunting soundtrack (anchored by The Doors' "The End").

3. The Deer Hunter (1978)
This 1978 film starring Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and John Cazale is a deep meditation on the Vietnam war. The first hour of the movie may be dull, but after that, it thrusts you completely into the war. But more than the war, this movie is remarkable for its depiction of the impact war can have on people back home.

4. Schindler's List (1993)
Steven Spielberg scores another entry on this list with a haunting, personal look at the horrors of the holocaust. Liam Neeson plays a reluctant hero who saves the lives to hundreds of Jews in Nazi Germany.

5. Black Hawk Down (2001)
This 2001 Ridley Scott film had it all: visceral action, compelling story telling, and a great cast. One of the best narratives on modern day war.

So there you have it: five great war movies, just in time for the Oscar sweep of "The Hurt Locker".

John is a blogger. At present, he is writing about grooms cake ideas. Check it out here:

Grooms Cake

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Stargate Collectibles - 3 Must-Have Things For All Stargate Fans

It has been over ten years that I have been hooked to Stargate (SG) series. Even if I ever missed an episode, I ensured that I knew each and every detail before the next one was on air. Over the years, I have collected some really attractive SG-1 and SG Atlantis merchandise to make my friends go green with envy. All SG fans must have three things from the Stargate collectibles to exhibit their craze.

Stargate shirts

If one happens to browse the internet about Stargate shirts, one would be amazed at the available long list of options. Whether the requirement is of a long-sleeved shirt or a T-shirt, SG logo is present in varied colors and sizes. One can flaunt cotton SG Atlantis shirt with elan or wear the Stargate wormhole logo around and make a style statement.

Stargate Posters

How about pinning up Stargate posters on your wall and living in a fantasy world of Stargate? Treat yourself by reliving the SG-1 moments with life-size posters of either the star cast of SG-1 or those portraying as SG-1, Uniting the Planets. One can create a SG feel in ones room through posters and shelved collectibles. A get together of friends in such a decorated room can be really enjoyable.

Stargate Toys

There are Stargate figurines too which are not only loved by the kids but also serve as decorative items for keep sake on the shelves. The best-selling Stargate SG-1 action figures featuring greatest characters including Colonel Mitchell, Vala, Ori Prior, and the limited Black Ops Daniel make for a perfect toy collection. Kids can explore their own world of Stargate SG-1 through such toys.

Before the new series of Stargate Universe begins on the 2nd of April this year, spend your time with these Stargate merchandise. Waiting for Stargate to begin can be all the more fun when one has the best collectibles to rewind the Stargate filled moments from the past. So, enjoy with the available Stargate collectibles before the stock gets over as the SGU excitement is catching pace.

Visit Stargate SG1 Collectibles if you are a Stargate Fanatic like Bikram Singh, and see exciting collection of Stargate Toys.

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Funny Text to Speech Tricks and Pranks

With the press of a button, you can set up a computer machine to simulate funny sounds and funny text to speech programs are the perfect device for creating those funny internet sounds.

The pranks generated can be simply funny, or shocking, it's up to you and what reaction or emotion you want your mark to experience. The best text to speech tricks and pranks get the intended person off guard giving you the opportunity to watch with glee as the mark goes mental trying to figure it out.

Like many jokes, funny text to speech tricks and pranks are started out of frustration. It's during those moments of frustration when trying to sort out a computer error when you see the opportunity to make humor of the malfunction. A good case in point of this is Spell Catcher. Spell Catcher observes what you're typing in every program and then either corrects or says your spelling errors as you make them. Spell Catcher runs on Mac and Windows and plays a sound when you make spelling and grammatical errors. It's remarkable for annoying co-workers-especially with the odd sounds the program makes. One can alter the sound it makes in to be either very loud or very unique/awkward.

Prank calls are also another common type of funny text-to-speech prank. There are a lot of opportunities for pranksters to use text to speech programs to make prank calls to their unsuspecting victims. The voices generated can be altered to bring out the effect one would like to send.

Another text to speech platform joke is setting up an appointment with a coworker to teach them a speech-recognition program. Then, prior to the meeting, set your wireless keyboard to the coworker's computer. Explain to him that the software needs a sample sound so as to recognize his voice. As he makes his demo sound have a coworker type up some gibberish on a text to sound program so that the computer says complete different stuff than expected. Watch with glee as your target begins to get frustrated, talking louder and altering his pronunciation as he to tries to make it work. A great prank if pulled off correctly.

Finally, a basic, yet funny text to speech prank is to just have your computer "punk" a co-worker or friend. Just wait until he and others are around you and then have a bunch of trash ready to go. Fire up your text-to-speech software, and let your computer tear into the target. I personally have done this & it was hilarious...

For all the info, review, and video about text-to-speech and voice recognition technology that you'd ever want, go to Text-toSpeech.Com

Andrew Clayton is a writer with a passion for text to speech who enjoys sharing insights about his passion with others.

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Gary Larson - The Far Side Comic Author - A Bio

Gary Larson, notable for Far Side comic fame, has a unique biography that plays a substantial role in influencing what many people consider to be his creative genius.

Born in August of 1950 in Tacoma, Washington Gary Larson would go on to achieve an interesting level of fame for the single panel comic strips he published in newspapers around the world from 1980 until his early retirement January first of 1995. Essentially Mr. Larson stepped away from his pen and pad at the age of 45 which is still very youthful by writing career standards.

Growing up in the western portion of Washington state Larson was the son of a car salesman father and a secretary mother and had a typical middle class upbringing by all accounts. A defining period in the life of Gary Larson occurred after he left Curtis Senior High school and went to nearby Washington State University (WSU) for college. After four years at the Pullman, Washington campus Larson received a degree in communications in 1972.

While many people have wondering what primarily inspired the quirky humor Gary Larson was consistently able to summarize in simplistic but hilarious images the answer very well may be Gary's brother Dan. Gary himself gives his older brother much of the credit for shaping his much appreciated humor and fascination with science, a topic that often found a way into his drawings. Sadly Dan died of cancer at the height of his brother's popularity in 1991.

As far as Gary Larson's big break into cartooning it came about as a function of his general dissatisfaction with the direction his life was going after college and specifically his lack of a fulfilling career path. While working in a Washington music store in the late 1970s Larson realized how much he hated his job and decided to try his hand at comic strips. Initially he drew and submitted six cartoons to a regional magazine based out of Seattle. The success of that initial attempt laid the groundwork for Larson to submit pieces to the prominent Seattle Times where he was eventually given a weekly spot to share his creative humor.

Early career success did not take off as a direct result of the Seattle Times picking up his strip but it did lay the groundwork for Larson to pitch the product to the San Francisco Chronicle. Larson himself was pleasantly surprised at the degree of interest the Chronicle expressed. The San Francisco Chronicle can be created with actually coming up with the name The Far Side and playing a significantly role in making Larson a wealthy man as that paper syndicated the piece so that a much wider audience could enjoy the creative musings of Gary Larson.

While new material along the lines of the surreal nature of Gary Larson's ideas are missed by a large portion of the American landscape his genius has fortunately been preserved in the literally thousands of clever ideas he penned that are captured forever as evidence of his imaginative way of thinking about the world.

With an early retirement at the age of 45 Larson afforded himself plenty of time to take up numerous hobbies to fill his days. Larson is an avid jazz guitarist and has even tried his hand at the game of golf a few times. It's unclear if Gary Larson owns a WSU golf bag (his alma mater) but there is no question that if he does he has plenty of time to use it.

As arguably the most famous WSU alumni (at least in certain circles) Larson likely has influenced more than one fellow alum that already carries a Washington State University golf bag to brag to golfing buddies about having attended the same college at the same time as the very highly regarded Gary Larson.

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Learn How to Impress Your Audience Through Short Jokes For Fun and Humor

You must have noticed that some people have quality of making others laugh. They have got the capability of impressing other people. Whatever they say, we feel good and interesting. We feel like we hear it again and again. It is because they have master in the art of expressing the things. They know how to attract the audience. They know what audience like and how to say it. They know what is the reaction of their expressions. It is an art and can be learn easily.

You must be thinking that why they do not hesitate or feel shy. I tell you why, it is because they have been taught that "Always think and believe that you are the best and smart one and every one else, who is listening you, is a big fool so deliver your best."

I would like to share some of the things which you should do before cracking short jokes for fun and humor.

- Practice a lot and make yourself master of things.
- You should be very creative.
- Always try to do something different.
- A good speaker is one who able to maintain lots of suspense.

There are some qualities you must learn before making any short jokes:-

- You have to learn fluency before making any humor.
- You must do lots of practice for perfection.
- Your timing must be good enough.
- You voice and body language should be supportive.

If you are not very much confident on what you are going to present. You should practice with your family and friends. You must be master of making drama. You need to create a good story and should present it in such a way so you could able to gain everyone's attention.

You should also take care that what your audience is expecting. It is always better to keep it short and simple. And pause for a while for getting more attention. Keep the twist with lots of examples.

And after that put up your punch line so that they can laugh. Wish you all happy laughing.

You are welcome to visit lots of funny pranks at Short Jokes and inspire yourself with Short quotes.

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