Alice Cooper - True Rock And Roll Is Live Once Again

The originator of “shock rock” is brining his live act back to the stage in 2006, and Alice Cooper is sure to create the same frenzy he always has. Cooper’s past acts on stage are famous, or infamous, depending on your point of view, but one thing that’s indisputable is that his show is one that every member of the audience remembers. Cooper’s sound is as memorable as his live act, and a look at his life may help explain how his persona came to be.

Early Life

Vincent Damon Furnier was born in Detroit on February 4, 1948. His heritage was quite interesting, in that his grandfather was an ordained Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ and his father was an elder in the same church. After spending the first few years of his life in Detroit, the family decided to move to Phoenix, which was where Vincent spent his formative years.

Furnier enrolled at Cortez high school in Phoenix, and became known by his peers as a columnist in the school newspaper. His tone in these columns was quite sarcastic, and two of his loyal readers became his closest friends of the time - Glen Buxton and Dennis Dunaway. Buxton and Dunaway would play a large role in Furnier’s musical career down the road.

Furnier, Buxton and Dunaway were motivated by one thing in high school - gaining the attention and adulation of the female students at Cortez. Their first foray into the musical world occurred during a school talent show where they donned wigs and gave a mock performance of songs by The Beatles. Even though their show was definitely amateur in nature, the group discovered that music was definitely the way to go if they wanted to be popular.

The trio was joined by another friend, Michael Bruce, and the quartet formed a band named The Earwigs. The group’s musical influences included The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks and especially Eric Clapton and The Yardbirds. The name “Earwigs” didn’t last long, as the band soon became known as the Spiders.

The Spiders released a single, "Don't Blow Your Mind," that was a hit on Phoenix radio, and as a result, the band once again changed their name to The Nazz and traveled to Hollywood to pursue larger goals. Despite years of struggle in Los Angeles, The Nazz did manage to play opening acts for such bands as The Doors and The Yardbirds. The final change came in 1968, when Todd Rundgren named his band The Nazz, forcing Furnier and his crew to rename their band “Alice Cooper.”

Alice Cooper Days

In 1969, the band Alice Cooper released their first album, Pretties For You, which sold reasonably well but was seen as an outlandish work at the time. One of the reasons was the legendary story that the band showed up still reeling from a night of heavy drinking to record the album. This legend helped play into the overall theme of craziness that the band embodied going forward.

The band Alice Cooper released a total of five albums, but they split up in 1974. Furnier then became known as Alice Cooper, and released his first album, Welcome to My Nightmare, in 1975. The album became a top ten hit, and Cooper was on his way to stardom.

Since then, Cooper has released more than 30 studio, live and compilation albums, and has sold millions of records worldwide. His onstage legend has never waned. Even though he denies biting the head off a chicken and drinking its blood, the story made waves all over the world and is still a subject of discussion in many interviews.

Cooper’s outrageousness is definitely part of why he is known, but he is also one of the top-selling artists of his time. He has always flown a bit under the radar, but his shock rock innovations have been admired and to an extent imitated by the likes of Judas Priest, Kiss, Megadeath and Marilyn Manson.

One thing is sure - to see Alice Cooper is to see a show you’ll never forget.

Written by Jay Nault sponsored by www.stubhub.com/ . StubHub sells sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and more to just about any event in the world. Please link to this site when using this article.

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Being A Responsible Fisherman
Being a responsible fisherman today includes important responsibilities. It is more that obeying all fishing and boating laws and regulations. It must include be respectful to other people, landowners, and other fishermen. We all must respect the natural and safeguard it as a future resource. Our actions today affect our fishing world for our kids and grand-kids. I know that I would like future generations to enjoy the sport of fishing as much as I have in my life.

We must all be ethical and respectful angler. Some basic things to think about:
· Respects other anglers
· Respects others that use the same resources (lakes, rivers, etc.)
· Respect the land owners
· Practices catch and release when not consuming fish (no senseless killing)
· Does not litter or pollute
· Knows and follows all fishing laws and regulations
· Continually improves his/her skills
· Shares experience and knowledge with others
· Positively promotes fishing
· Sets the example
· Enjoys Fishing!!!

While I am not the best fisherman or even in the class of professional fishermen, I do enjoy fishing. It is something that I am passing on to kids, even to kids not belonging to me.

By being ethical and responsible in our fishing, this sport can be around for generations for everyone to enjoy. Be involved and proactive in promoting this sport. Join local and regional fishing websites to gain information and knowledge. It is also another way to be involved.

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biteson.net

The Shawshank Redemption, a Stephen King movie
The Shawshank Redemption is consistently voted as one of the best movies of all time. Originally a story in a Stephen King book, the Different Seasons, known as Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, the story was adapted and the movie created.ï¿½The movie was directed and the screenplay written by Frank Darabont. The movie was his first major production.ï¿½Interestingly Stephen King has written two stories about prisons, The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, which happen to be the first two movies that Frank Darabont directed.ï¿½

The story is a cruel one, in which Andy Dufresne, an educated and kind man is wrongly convicted of his wifeï¿½s murder.ï¿½During his time in prison he befriends several people, who are criminals, whereas Andy is not.ï¿½His life is changed forever, as he deals with the troubles of incarceration.

Stephen Kingï¿½s excellent character portrayal is not limited to his horror stories, and the characters in this story are some of his best.ï¿½One could even believe this was based on a true story, but it is not, King has confirmed.ï¿½The story is upsetting, puzzling and warming, and the movies popularity confirms people association with the story.ï¿½I think it will always be a classic.

When released at the theatre The Shawshank Redemption did not achieve great success, despite the great buzz already generated by the Hollywood industry due to the great story. This was in part due to great competition at the time, and also the fact that the story is about a prison, which put many movie goers off. However, after the release to DVD the Shawshank Redemption sold in huge quantities making it a firm favorite.

The other stories from the Different Seasons book are
The Body ï¿½ which became the movie, Stand by me
The Apt Pupil ï¿½ which also became a movie called The Apt Pupil
The Club ï¿½ which has yet to make it to the big screen

I would recommend the book to anyone who is a fan, as it is a great collection of stories. The Shawshank Redemption is a very popular story, whether read in a book or watched as a film.
www.shawshankredemption.net/

Darren Lambert is a big fan of the Shawshank Redemption movie, as well as other Stephen King stories.

Home Schooling the Preschool Children
Each child has unique interests and learning needs, not to mention attention spans. Therefore, for parents who are pondering whether homeschooling is for them, it is best to do an initial evaluation of what the preschool child's needs are.

Several online resources provide lesson suggestions for preschoolers. Parents and tutors will most definitely find these materials very helpful. However, consider them only as a guide to give the children's learning some direction. It is highly advised on most of the popular homeschooling websites to be aware of the learners' interests, be it an inclination to writing, sports, arts and crafts, or any other subject. You can then incorporate these interests into the learner's list of "things that a home schooled child should know."

For different age groups of children, parents and tutors may need to employ different methods and techniques for homeschooling. And in order to know which methods and activities best suits the child under a specific age group, this short list may be of help.

Children of age 2 are found to be the most difficult. The child often gets bored and at times frustrated when being taught. Stimuli are needed in order to catch their interests. Children of this age group are most eager to learn, often walking around, and climbing steps. Common behaviors of this age include self-centeredness and possessiveness. Their sense of humor also develops. Do activities relating to these capabilities of the child.

Homeschooling three-year olds is even more trying. At this point, the child is more physical in affection and in play. They don't mind change, love having friends to play with, and they take verbal instructions very well. Use these to stimulate them to participate in learning activities. At this age, they are already capable of communicating their needs.

Four-year olds are usually capable of working with scissors, hopping around on one foot or skipping. They start to learn to draw and possess a lot of physical energy. Let them try new things, as this will be their number one interest. They are very imaginative so give them an opportunity to develop and express this creativity.

Remember that all children grow at their own rate, and in their own ways. To achieve maximum benefits for the home schooled preschooler, parents and tutors should trust them and give them sufficient freedom to explore, inquire, and ultimately learn.

Gerri Stone publishes recent news, articles and updates about home schooling on her site www.discoverhomeschooling.com

My Rented Vacation - The RV Saga
My wife and I have a tradition of vacationing the month of January at a quaint little area in Florida. It is not on the beach where the high priced restaurants are located and where the crowds gather. We enjoy this quiet little RV park that is on the banks of a fishing lake located in central Florida. Several couples caravan south in our RVs to escape the harsh winter weather which seams to get worse the older we get. It is a time that we can relax after the busy holiday season and we can renew our close relationships with our friends.

This year we ran into some bad luck just before we were to depart for our relaxing getaway. The RV would not start and it needed engine repairs that would not be finished in time for our vacation. We did not want to cancel our plans, as this time is something that we look forward to each year. So we decided to rent an RV for our trip.

There are a couple of dealers close that have RV motorhome rentals available, so we decided to check them out. The first question that we were asked was if this was a one way RV rental. I answered no, and that we would be returning in it. They mentioned that they were a pet friendly RV rental agency and did we have pets. My answer again was no, and we would rather not rent a motorhome that pets have inhabited. My wife is allergic to pets. They were very friendly and helpful and seemed to the RV motor home rental business very well.

I was very much impressed when they suggested that we drive to Florida in our automobile and rent an RV unit when we get there. This would save us several dollars in fuel expenses, enough to where we could afford a motel if need be. My one concern was if there would be a unit available to rent when we got there. And being the professionals that they are, they went ahead and made all of the necessary arraignments for us. They secured a vehicle for us that would be waiting, ready to go, when we arrived in Florida, and helped us make the deposit online.

So we didn’t miss our January outing after all, and it ended up being a very memorable occasion. I will not forget our rented vacation. When we returned from our trip, I purchased a new vehicle from the dealer with the friendly and very helpful rental staff.

For more information, try Better RV Rentals