DVD has become a popular format for not just movies but for several platforms of media today, used in formats like DVD players for movies and TV series, consoles like the PlayStation and XBOX, and for Personal Computers (which are also used for storage, the DVD-R +R, DVD-RW & DVD-RAM formats).

Since 2005, Sony and Toshiba have again gone head to head with Bluray (Sony) and HDDVD (toshiba) and with those of you old enough to remember the Betamax (Sony) and VHS (Toshiba) it is reminisce of the format wars of 25 odd years back.

For most, these two new formats are generation II of DVD, Bluray has a slightly larger capacity than HDDVD (around 30 Gb compared to DVD of around 4.7Gb) and uses a thinner blue laser on players (large red lasers are used on players that play cd and dvds) and HDDVD although slightly less capacity than Bluray (around 25Gb) uses a thinner red laser and is easier to manufacture in plants that make standard dvd discs. This presents new issues for the consumer. Which do I buy? What are the advantages and disadvantages? What is the cost?

Holographic DVD is also another emerging format that looks like getting commercial release in about 2009 and has storage looking to 200Gb and upwards. Thats about half a million MP3′s, or about 400 hours of Standard Definition video or 80 hours of High Definition video. Whew !

Standard definition video ? High definition video? What the heck is this you ask. It is how a picture or video playback is displayed on a screen and that screen needs to be capable of High Definition playback (TV, rear projection. LCD or Plasma), TV and Video/ DVD has played back in Standard Definition for about the last 50 years. It is approximate to 800 x 600 DPI on a computer screen, where High Definition is approximate to 1280 x 1024 DPI on a computer screen.

Digital download (the internet and wireless internet), another emerging technology not just for viewing video on computers, but for cell phones as well. Cable TV, TIVO, Digital or broadband TV (IPTV), yes yet more technologies on the TV front vying for your hard earned dollar. Most consumers in the USA already have these 3 technologies.

Confused ? Thats understandable. Its 2007 and we haven’t had more to choose from to get TV or movie entertainment than any other time before it. We don’t know what technology will be available in 5, 7 or 10 years, but one thing is sure. No matter how good the tech is, the best will be the one that consumers desire to use the most…

Americathon was a film from late the 1970′s set into the farcical future of the late 1990′s. The idea is that America is in broke and in debt to Native Americans who could possibly repossess America. So, the President, played by John Ritter, decides to hold a telethon to raise money to pay the debt. The Native business holding the debt was Nike, which is now a massive corporation owned by American Indians. Again this was highly fanciful, comedic film.

Joe Dirt was another comedic film where the lead character comes across a Native fireworks stand helmed by a character named Kicking Wing, played by Adam Beach. Upon meeting Joe Dirt Kicking Wing only sells snakes and sparklers but is convinced by Dirt that he needs to sell what people want. Dirt runs down a list of his favorite fireworks.

In the television show The Soprano’s episodes Christopher and Eloise a tribal casino plays a significant setting. The Christopher episode concerns itself with Christopher Columbus Day and the tension between Native Americans and Italian-Americans concerning the holiday. Eloise has the casino and the tribal chief’s helicopter in a signature moment as the character Furio nearly kills the show’s principal character Tony Soprano with the helicopter blades.

Walking Tall was remade with wrestling star The Rock as the lead character. The antagonist uses a tribal casino to run the community that is wrought with corruption including the sheriff’s department. It is mentioned that the antagonist came to run the casino with probably fraudulent Native American ties.

Using a Native American business as a story device in television and movies will only grow as Native success in business grows. Undoubtedly, tribal casinos will be a major platform as they lend themselves to dramatic possibilities more than other business endeavors. However, that is not to say that other forms of Native American business can appear on screens in the future.

When thinking of famous Miami-based movies one tends to spring to mind – the Brian De Palma classic, Scarface. The movie was shot almost entirely in Miami and features a number of hotels and buildings that remain instantly recognisable to fans of the film. The De Palma and Pacino love affair with Miami continued in 1993, when they reunited to shoot Carlito’s Way, a movie which has gone on to achieve cult status.

Some other world-renowned movies that have been shot in Miami include The Bodyguard, Donnie Brasco, Blow, True Lies, Any Given Sunday, Casino Royale, Ali and Bad Boys & Bad Boys II, to name but a few.

Many popular television shows have also been shot in Miami over the years; including Dexter, Charlie’s Angels and Burn Notice. Arguably the TV series most synonymous with the Magic City is Miami Vice. This popular crime drama ran from 1986-1990 and set the tone for many shows that followed.

As a filming location, Miami also has big international appeal. Due to the high Hispanic population, numerous Spanish-speaking shows are created in Miami every year. In fact, 55% of Miami citizens list Spanish as their first language.

One of the first Bollywood movies to be produced entirely outside of India, Dostana (translated as ‘friendship’) was filmed in Miami in 2008. Incidentally the movie went on to become one of the highest grossing Bollywood movies of that year.

Miami has also been an influence for a number of high-profile video game developers. Perhaps the best example being Rockstar Games’ GTA Vice City, which is set in a city heavily based on 1980s Miami. The game is widely considered the best of the extremely successful GTA franchise and was the bestselling PlayStation 2 game of all time.

There are a number of open-top bus tours which circulate Miami, offering tourists a great opportunity to catch a glimpse of some iconic movie landmarks, from stunning beaches to classic Miami hotels. Some typical sights may include the Sun Life Stadium, the home of NFL team Miami Dolphins that was featured in the movie Ace Ventura; or even the cemetery where Michael’s Jackson revolutionary Thriller video was shot.

With so much to offer, it’s easy to see why Miami is such a popular destination for film makers and fans alike.

Scrapbooking Titles in Music

Music inspires us all. How often have you heard a song on the radio and it immediately brings back a memory from years ago. It might be a song that was playing when you first dated your husband, or maybe it’s a song from your high school days that reminds you of your senior year. Songs have the ability to spark memories in all of us.

For your next page layout, look to music for your inspiration. Song titles are great sources for scrapbooking page titles. Quoting a single song title may be all you need to say to start singing that song in your head. Some examples of song titles that could be used as scrapbooking page titles are “Simply Irresistible,” “Brown-eyed Girl,” and “You Are My sunshine.” Keep a list of possible song titles that would work well on your scrapbooking projects.

Sometimes it’s the lyrics themselves that inspire us. You might want to use more than just the title. A lyric like, “These are the moments, and I could not ask for more,” will add just the right mood to a treasured photograph.

Scrapbooking Titles in Television and Movies

Consider adapting television show titles like, “The Brady Bunch” and “Days of Our Lives” to a scrapbook page. Maybe something simple like “Survivor” or “Lost” says it all. Movie titles, such as, “Mission Impossible,” “Little Miss Sunshine” or “Back to the Future,” might be perfect for one of your layouts.

Many TV and movie characters are known for a certain phrase or saying. These quotes often work well as scrapbooking titles. Does your favorite TV or movie character have a particular line that just fits with one of your photographs or scrapbooking pages? Think of phrases like, “How Sweet It Is,” “May the Force Be With You” or “Here’s Looking At You, Kid.”

Scrapbooking Titles in Commercials and Advertising

Slogans, sayings and jingles can all be a source of inspiration for scrapbooking titles. Those catchy phrases we never seem to forget also make fun headlines for our scrapbook pages. Scrapbooking titles can be found in the lyrics of commercial jingles, as well as, in the slogans on print advertising. The next time you are considering fast forwarding through the commercials of a taping of your favorite television show, you might consider listening to the advertisements for scrapbooking title ideas. There are many slogans that could easily be adapted to a page layout title. Consider using “I’m Lovin’ It,” or “Zoom, Zoom, Zoom,” or perhaps, “It’s the Real Thing” or “A Diamond Is Forever.”

Movies, music and television can inspire a huge list of potential scrapbooking titles for just about any page layout. The next time you need ideas for a scrapbook page title just turn on your radio or television for inspiration.

Pros

Increased Emotional Range: Movies and television can introduce us to new emotional experiences that we would otherwise not experience. This can include even such things as experiencing the thrill of successfully running to president to such bad emotions as a revenge movie. While there is, of course, a great deal of emotional content to our daily lives, our lives are rarely as complex as what we can see on television or films. Moreover, we only live our own lives. Increasing our emotion range can make us more empathetic to other people.

Emotional Training: By this, I am referring to how films can help us learn to deal with emotions before we need to deal with them in real life. A show involving the death of a spouse, for example, can help us to think about and develop our own emotional reactions so that when something similarly tragic happens to us, we will be more ready.

Imaginative Education: All of our thoughts are mediated through imagination. Think about something. Notice how you had an image that went with that thought? We constantly have our thoughts mediated by images, and experiencing new images gives us new ways of thinking about and reacting to things.

Cons

False Objects: I think I realized this when the character of one of my favorite shows apparently died at the end of a season. We become incredibly attached to characters on television and movies. However, those people aren’t real. This causes a couple of problems. First, we have a disconnect between our own emotions and the real world. Second, it splits our psyche. When our emotions feel something about objects our reason knows isn’t real, we become divided.

Addiction: Television, especially, is addictive. No one has ever given an especially good explanation as to why, but, for practical purposes, does it matter? We’ll often find ourselves sitting in front of the television, trying to find something to watch. The pleasure from films and television can become addictive, just like any other pleasure.

Non-Social: Movies and television are non-social activities, even when they are done with someone else. They don’t involve any personal interaction with the people around us, and envelop us in our own world. However, they give the appearance of being a social activity, which is why people go to movies together. This can give us the false impression that we are interacting with people more than we actually are.

Conclusion

Notice how I didn’t say that movie and television are wastes of time? I didn’t do so because that would be question-begging. Movies and television would only be wastes of time if they were bad; they cannot also be bad because they are wastes of time. Instead, movies and television have positive and negative elements, just like most pastimes.