tomthedj's Xanga

Cell phone numbers go public

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:47:18 GMT

Cell phone numbers go public next month. All cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to recieve calls. You will be charged for these calls even if the message is saved on your phone, you will be charged for the minutes to listen to it. To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone 888-382-1222 It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time. It blocks your number for five years. You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number. Help others by passing this on to all your friends!

What are the qualitys of a good DJ?

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 04:16:55 GMT

1 A Natural entertainer outgoing and compelling

2 Competent intelligent and have a professional apperance

3 Know music of all eras and genres

4 Understand dynamics of a dance beat

5 Know how to read a crowd effectively

6 Be able to speak naturally and with confidence in public

7 Know sound equipment and understand the sound spectrum

8 Have the courage to take charge

9 Be skilled at improvising while still adhering to the schedule

10 Be capable of perpetuating enthusiasm and excitement

11 Be deliberate and direct yet respectful and professional

12 To be able to take ownership of the responsibillity to keep everyone dancing

What is Glitter Fest 2009?

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 03:09:02 GMT

A community party of volunteers, mentors & friends with a purpose because no one should be without the glimmer of hope! Everyone knows someone who is hurting in this economy. Please support Michigan nonprofit groups and bring any new or gently used clothing item,and or a nonperishable food item (not a requirement to join the party) This is a Free Event August 8, 2009 12noon-3pm rain or shine at Veterans Memorial Park 355- 48th Street SE Kentwood, Michigan The first 300 people will enjoy Free hot dogs, cake, popsicles, music, balloon characters and more...Kids bring your swim suits! A big thank you to the sponsors of this event that include Costco, University of Phoenix, TDS, Spring Hill Suites Marriott, Hippy Hop Magic, Open Arms Daycare, DK Security, The Urban Ballroom, and the ITIS Group. For more info email itisgrp@yahoo.com

upcoming switchover to digital TV (currently scheduled for June 12, 2009) affect wireless microphone

Thu, 28 May 2009 03:06:24 GMT

Your safest bet is to opt for either a VHF wireless microphone or a UHF wireless microphone that operates outside the soon to be proscribed 698-806 mHz bandwidth.

The problem is not the TV broadcast stations.

But, as part of the reorganization of the electromagnetic spectrum, the FCC auctioned the 700 band to the highest bidders (including Qualcomm and AT&T) to facilitate the development of wireless broadband Internet service throughout the United States (and to make some money for the US government - more than $19 billion). While some UHF frequencies are fine, if your UHF wireless microphone operates in the 698-806 mHz bandwidth you may be subject to severe interference and possibly be in violation of the law.

Ironically the TV stations which currently broadcast in the VHF range will be vacating that bandwidth when they go digital (using cable connections). That means that the much maligned VHF microphones will get improved performance.

If you go for a VHF wireless mic, you should have no problems with cross-channel interference even if you have a large number of digital TV stations broadcasting in your area.

Again, let me clarify that the digital TV switchover will affect some, but by no means all, UHF wireless mics currently in use. The UHF mics being made and sold now are not in the bandwidth that will be affected come June. And in fact many makers of UHF mics are offering trade-ins on older wireless microphones for new wireless microphones that comply with the new FCC regulations.

Wireless mics that operate on the UHF bandwidth generally provide somewhat better sound and clearer transmission – at a higher price – than VHF mics. If you’re using your microphone for spoken word applications or even for karaoke, the sonic difference won’t really matter. If you’re a musician using your mics in a studio or onstage, however, the new UHF mics may be advisable.

What is Foxtrot?

Sat, 09 May 2009 03:53:09 GMT

The Foxtrot is a ballroom dance which is often said to take its name from its inventor, the vaudeville actor Harry Fox however the exact origins are unclear.

According to legend, he was unable to find single female dancers capable of performing the more difficult two-step. As a result, he added stagger steps (two trots), creating the basic Foxtrot rhythm of slow-slow-quick-quick. The dance was premiered in 1914, quickly catching the eye of the talented husband and wife duo Vernon and Irene Castle, who lent the dance its signature grace and style.

W.C. Handy ("Father of the Blues") notes in his autobiography that Noble Sissle told a story that Handy's Memphis Blues was the inspiration for the Fox Trot. Jim Europe, the Castle's music director, would play slowly the Memphis Blues during breaks from the fast paced Castle Walk and One-step. The Castles were intrigued by the rhythm and Jim asked why they didn't create a slow dance to go with it. The Castles introduced the "Bunny Hug" in a magazine article. They went abroad and in mid-ocean sent a wireless to the magazine to change the "Bunny Hug" to the "Foxtrot."

It was later standardized by Arthur Murray, in whose version it began to imitate the positions of Tango.

At its inception, the Foxtrot was originally danced to ragtime. Today, the dance is customarily accompanied by the same big band music to which swing is also danced.

From the late teens through the 1940s, the foxtrot was certainly the most popular fast dance and the vast majority of records issued during these years were foxtrots. The waltz and tango, while popular, never overtook the foxtrot. (Even the popularity of the lindy hop in the 1940s didn't dent the foxtrot because the foxtrot could be danced to those lindy hop records, as well.)

When rock and roll first emerged in the early 1950s, record companies were uncertain as to what style of dance would be most applicable to the music. Famously, Decca Records initially labelled its rock and roll releases as "Fox trots", most notably "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and His Comets. Since that recording, by some estimates, went on to sell more than 25 million copies, "Rock Around the Clock" is technically the biggest-selling "Foxtrot" of all time.

Over time, Foxtrot split into slow (Foxtrot) and quick (Quickstep) versions. In the slow category, further distinctions exist between the International or English style of foxtrot and the continuity American style, both built around a slow-quick-quick rhythm at the slowest tempo, and the social American style using a slow-slow-quick-quick rhythm at a somewhat faster pace.

In the context of International Standard category of ballroom dances, for some time Foxtrot was called Slow Foxtrot, or Slowfox. These names are still in use, to distinguish from other types of Foxtrot.

Happy Easter

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 17:05:14 GMT

A .......You are the Alpha and Omega

B........You are the beginning and end

C........Thank you for dying on the cross

D.......... You helped Gideon defeat the Medianites and you will help me defeat my enemies

E........You are everlasting

F........God help me fear you

G ........You are the only God

H.........You are Holy

I..........You are the great I am

J .........Jesus you are the only way to get to heaven

K........I cant wait to see your kingdom

L........You loved me till the end

M........You are the Messiah Jesus

N........No one can compare to you

O........Oh God you are amazing

P .........You have a plan and purpose for me

Q.........At your voice the mountains quake

R.........You are the redeemer

S.........You died to save us

T.........Your word is true

U.........You made the universe

V.........You are very big

W........Help me walk with you

X.........You help me find friends on Xanga.com

Y.........Your love is everywhere

Z.........God help me to be zealous for you

What is West Coast Swing?

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 15:30:41 GMT

WCS is a slotted dance the follower travels back and forth along a shoulder-width rectangle, called the slot, with respect to the leader. The leader is more stationary but will move in and out of the slot depending on the pattern led. A general rule is that the leader leaves the slot only to give way for the follower to pass him.

Socially, it is considered good etiquette (particularly on a crowded floor) to use a fixed slot, in order to allow dancing without incident.

There are urban myths regarding the origin of the slotted style. According to one version, it was an invention of Hollywood film makers who wanted “dancers to stay in the same plane, to avoid going in and out of focus”. Wide angle lenses with adequate depth of field for cinematography had in fact been available since the 1920s. A variation on the "Hollywood film maker" theme is that film makers wanted "to avoid filming the backs" of dancers. A viewing of films featuring the work of Dean Collins in the 1940s, and rock 'n' roll films made in the mid 1950s reveals the fact that dancers turn frequently and inevitably turn their backs to the camera. Although another unslotted swing dance, Balboa, became popular in the same area and under the same conditions, much has been made of "jitterbugging in the aisles" as a source of the slotted style.

Slotted moves were a common part of the step vocabulary of Lindy and/or Jitterbug dancers during the 1940s and 1950s. Rather than the walk, walk of West Coast Swing, however, two sets of triple steps were used when the woman moved down the slot, followed by a rock step rather than the current triple and anchor step.

What is a trillion?

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 04:25:35 GMT

If you had gone into business on the day Jesus was born, and your business lost a million dollars a day, day in and day out, 365 days a year, it would have taken you until October 2737 to lose a trillion dollars.

----STATISTICS----

It now takes more than all of the income taxes collected just to pay the 'debt service' (interest) on the national debt, and it is estimated that, at the present rate of national debt increase, it will have grown to 18.28 trillion dollars by the year 2009.

With a 242% increase in the debt and no more income taxes left to pay the debt service, how do you suppose our children and grandchildren are going repay this enormous debt that every American today is leaving them?

If you ventured a guess that they'd be taxed at about 73%, you would be pretty close.

Jessica Simpson

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 12:59:08 GMT

Jessica Simpson had a near meltdown Thursday night in Van Andel Arena. As you probably heard, the singer forgot her lyrics during a couple of her songs, stopped and re-started another song and walked off stage in what appeared to be tears.

All the recent national spotlight of her supposed weight gain, coupled with some vocal issues, led to a most bizarre concert experience. Jessica's camp issued a statement, saying:

"Jessica had an off night," said Cindi Berger. "She's a perfectionist and wanted to start some of the songs over. She always wants to give her best performance to her fans."

it's pretty obvious the 28-year-old singer was having some ear monitor problems, and later in the show she admitted to not being in her best vocal shape.

There is also speculation she strained her voice or maybe was battling a cold. One person who was backstage posted a comment on a blog, saying she saw her band praying before the show and saw Jessica taking cough medication.

It's obvious that a lot of things came together to create this perfect storm. In fact, I would not have been surprised if Jessica would have walked off the stage.

Bizarre, yes. Surprising, no.

Top 10 Thing you should Never say to a DJ!

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 06:02:46 GMT

Before requesting songs, making comments, or asking questions to the DJ please…CHECK BELOW FOR YOUR REQUEST:

1. PLAY SOMETHING GOOD…SOMETHING WE CAN DANCE TO!
The D.J. has to play for more than one person…so, what you may hate may be another's favorite song and EVERYTHING played here can be danced to one way or another.

2. WOULD YOU PLAY SOMETHING WITH A BEAT?
BE SERIOUS! We know of NO songs played in a club that don't have some sort of a beat!

3. I DON'T KNOW WHO SINGS IT AND I DON'T KNOW THE NAME OF THE SONG, BUT IT GOES LIKE THIS…
Please don't sing for the D.J.! They have to put up with smoke-filled rooms and dangerous decibel levels all night. Do them a favor and DON'T give them a rendition of your favorite song!

4. EVERYBODY WANTS TO HEAR IT!
Oh sure, you polled EVERYONE in the club and, as their spokesperson, you are requesting the song.

5. THAT GIRL WILL DANCE WITH ME IF YOU PLAY IT!
If she has not danced with you by now she is not going to dance with you.

6. I WANT TO HEAR IT NEXT!
The only people who can get away with that statement write the DJ's paycheck! Plus more often than not, the DJ has the next song already cued up and ready to go, and does not have time to find your song, get it on the decks, and get it cued up in time to be next.

7. I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WANNA HEAR…WHAT DO YOU HAVE?
It's a lot easier for you to go have another beer and figure out what you want to hear than it is for the D.J. to recite the name of EVERY record in the booth! Also don't ask for a songlist! I don't know of any club DJ's that actually keep a printed list with them! We keep it in our heads or sometimes in a database!

8. HEY YO, NOBODY CAN DANCE TO THIS!
It is not advisable to say this when the dance floor is packed (but, some people do anyway)! However, even if there is only ONE person on the floor, it STILL contradicts the statement. You're just being rude. Have an open mind about music

9. EVERYBODY WILL DANCE TO IT IF YOU PLAY IT!
Half the time I hear this, no-one goes to the dancefloor except for the person that asked for it, and when they realize they're the only one that wanted to dance to it, they bail. If you ask the DJ for a dance song and don't dance to it, expect the DJ to ignore your requests the rest of the night. However, if we play your song and you dance and have a good time, even if no-one else does, we'll still take your next request seriously. We like to please, even if it's one person at a time.

10. MOST IMPORTANTLY!!!! If you're at a club or event that doesn't play any Hiphop, don't ask if "you got any hiphop"? Just go outside to your car and turn on the radio or go home and watch MTV!!

SOME EXTRA ASSORTED THINGS NOT TO SAY

If you ask for a song and the D.J. says "I just played it", DON'T SAY, "Well, I just got here." It makes absolutely no difference. None at all. If you want to be sure you hear your favorite song at the club, you better be there when the DJ starts his/her set. We don't have a flashing red light in the booth that tells us that you're there and we can play your song now.

DON'T SAY, "Is this the only kind of music you play?" If you go to a Chinese restaurant, you wouldn't ask for Italian food. Rock clubs play rock, alternative clubs play alternative, discos play disco, etc., etc., etc…

If you ask for a song, BE SPECIFIC. DON'T SAY, "I wanna hear something, anything but this!" Try going to the bar and saying, "I wanna drink something, anything but this…" You can't complain if you're not SPECIFIC. HOWEVER, if you ARE specific and the D.J. says they don't have the song, DON'T SAY, "What?!! What do you mean you don't have it? What kind of DJ are you?

Special Note

A nightclub D.J. gets very little respect. They are expected to play everything for everybody. It is impossible to satisfy all to the people all of the time, yet club jocks are expected to do just that. If a radio jock tells his listeners a song is a hit, the majority of the people think it must be "because they said so on the radio." However, 80% of the time that same song was being played in a club long before the radio "DISCOVERED" the "NEW" song. So give the D.J. a break! The next time you request a song, stop and think before you speak. Remember a request is just that… a request!! It's not a guarantee your song will get played!! Ask once for your song and the DJ will try and play it. Keep asking and you're being a pain! Don't send all your friends to request the same song hoping to get it played. DJ's aren't that stupid!! They get dozens of requests in a night and there isn't enough time to play them all.

If you have a CD that you want the DJ to play, and the DJ agrees to listen to it, they're ALREADY DOING YOU A FAVOR BY TAKING THE TIME TO DO SO. If they don't play it don't be mad, they made a judgment call that the music wasn't the right type to be played. If you wanna hear only songs that you wanna hear, STAY AT HOME AND LISTEN TO YOUR CD'S.

If you DJ or MC (or just say that you do) DONT ask me if you can "DJ/mc for a little bit" AT MY GIG especially if I don't know you! If you wanna spin/mc at a club, talk to the owners and give them a mix tape! No one will take you serious without one. Of course unless you already have paying gigs (in which case you wouldn't be tryin to do it at my gig). They're paying us to play music and make announcements, not to host open mic night.

My booth is not a "Coat Check!" So don't come up in it asking me if I could watch your coat/purse. If that shit is to much for you to handle you should have left it in your car!!!

Also don't come up in the DJ booth and just hover around!!!! A DJ needs space to work. You don't see me coming into your work and standing over your computer, or looking over your shoulder while your trying to work. That would just be plain rude!!

And if I do decide to let you hang around in the both, NEVER EVER set your BEER/Drink down around my VERY EXPENSIVE equipment!!!!! If that spills I'm out Thousands of Dollars!!!!! You don't see me and my folks hanging out on the hood of your car. So PLEASE show me the same respect for something important to me.

And above all and most Importantly, if the DJ has one hand on the mixer, one hand on a cd player and is wearing headphones, DON'T BUG US unless you know us!!!!!!!

Oh, I almost forgot one more thing. Don't flash us any money for your request unless your "DONALD TRUMP"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's a hard job being a DJ. Our work most of the time goes very much unappreciated. Think about it, we are the only people in the club who don't get a chance to actually just sit and hang out with our buddies. If we stop to take a break, the whole club and the music stops with us. We spend sometimes 6 to 8 hours in a booth, STANDING the whole time. We are lucky if we get a chance to find a second to take a bathroom break. Cause when we screw up and the music stops everyone starts yelling and complaining. "No one ever remembers when we are doing a good job, but screw up even once, and everyone notices"

If you read this and appreciate it… Show your DJ some love. Post a comment. Go see them perform. Tell a friend about them. Buy them a drink. Tip them. Treat them well.