Fat Vox

This DIY thanksgiving place card idea will help add a personal touch to your holiday table by using your own Instagram photos. This simple DIY project requires only your home computer and Instagram photos of your choice, and will surely aid in giving thanks to awesome memories captured on your phone. Items NeededScissors Pen Printer…

All of us enjoy taking a ride, at least I assume so by the nightmare number of cars on the Nation’s roads on any given day, and those almost non-stop during the fantastic getaway month of August when huge numbers are seen with suitcases, and bags on the running boards. It’s a safe assumption that…

If you’ve seen the Live-Action movie Rurouni Kenshin released last year or if you are a fan of Yves Saint Laurent, you’ve probably heard the name Lisa Ulliel… She has been announced in the cast of the two Rurouni Kenshin’s sequels scheluled for summer 2014. She was also announced in the Yves Saint Laurent’s biopic…

I am 23 years old, and while that may sound young, I have struggled with a pain condition, that I now know to be Fibromyalgia for almost a decade. This condition began to come on when I reached puberty. Throughout the following years I began to struggle more and more with pain and fatigue, eventually…

Okay, I admit it. I am a procrastinator. I am awesome at ignoring big problems. I will delay doing something until the absolute last minute. I actually enjoy the mad rush of having to get something done the day before a deadline, which probably puts me in the masochistic sub-category of procrastinators! So from one…

My area is still, tragically, one of the many where the sick “sport” of dog fighting is fairly common. My own neighbor had his pit bull stolen from his yard several years ago, only to be returned months later after police had busted a dog-fighting ring and identified her by microchip. It’s not an uncommon…

It is a flat-out pain in the neck (and elsewhere) to be lying flat and immobile on the jungle floor in the middle of a summer night in Tampa, FL, being slowly eaten by mosquitoes and other vermin and utterly unable to do anything about it. I know this because in 2006 I spent a…

My daughter is rarely around people or children with physical disabilities. She has had one friend who was blind, but really that was the only one. So I like to get her books that have characters with physical disabilities, so she will not stare nor be afraid of a child in a wheelchair or with…

The viral disease known as Japanese encephalitis infects humans and animals. This viral disease is transmitted by mosquito bites and, when humans are infected, the membranes around their brains become inflamed. Japanese Encephalitis: How it Affects Humans Japanese Encephalitis (JE) is a viral disease that affects the membranes surrounding the brain and is caused by…

Lebanon Valley College has been playing football on grass for over a hundred years. The next hundred will be spent playing on artificial turf. Its flexibility and durability make artificial turf the playing surface of choice, for just about any athletic pursuit. In early spring of 2012, Lebanon Valley installed turf on the surface of…

My bladder and kidneys were weak due to my autoimmune disease and all the medications I had to take to help keep the disease under control. One of the remedies I used daily and still use today to help keep my bladder and kidneys healthy and functioning properly is a ribwort and thyme infusion. An…

Electronic document delivery may soon become a standard not only in the mortgage lending industry, but perhaps in every industry. Particularly with the attention on being green, reducing stacks of paper in an office can be a real benefit as well as space saver. Those who once worked in the office era of the file…

Taking drastic measures in life is a continuous fight not everyone is accustomed to, or ready for, as they strive to accomplish their goals and obtain what they want. Luke Massey, who made his feature film writing, directing, cinematography, editing and producing feature film debuts with the new independent horror thriller, ‘Armistice,’ proved that working…

“CSI” might seem like it was the TV crime drama that brought investigation out of the era of hunches, suspect interviews and brainy connections over evidence chains overlooked by viewers, but that is not the case. A steady stream of TV shows sought to bring crime detection out of the complicated machinery of the mind…

On April 1, if you listen really hard, you just might here the clicking of keyboards, the sounds of coffee pots and the frustrated screams of writers everywhere. It won’t be as noticeable as November, but it’ll be there. Writing 50,000 words in a month can be very taxing on anyone. That equals to 1,667…

The Joy Formidable is a Welsh band and their second album titled Wolf’s Law was released in January of 2013. This was a new band to me when I gave them a listen. Here are my picks for the top five songs off of their album Wolf’s Law. 5. This Ladder Is Ours: An epic…

Weather temperatures have been officially kept in Santa Barbara, California since 1893. These are the all-time record hottest and coldest temperatures ever recorded in Santa Barbara since 1893. Located along the Pacific Ocean about 90 miles north of Los Angeles in Southern California, the city of Santa Barbara has a much milder climate than the…

Sleep is something we all need, but a vast number of us don’t get it properly. Technological advancements are now being made available to consumers to help get better and fuller sleep. This technology was implemented by NASA to help astronauts sleep. I talked to expert Robert Soler, the director of research at Lighting Science…

There is a vintage tint in Ira Wiggins’ tracks on his new recording When Freedom Swings from his independent label. The ragtime calibrations of Mavis Poole’s vocals on the title track, the buoyant cantor of the rhythm section in “As The Eagle Soars,” and the flaccid motion of Wiggins’ flute musing leisurely along “Me and…

Whether or not soul music and rhythm-and- blues (R&B) are the same thing is open to debate. Some music fans use them interchangeably, while others swear there are clear distinctions between the two. Regardless, two of the greatest soul/R&B singers of all-time released critically-acclaimed albums that consisted of songs from a genre that will never…

COMMENTARY |Imagine a country where RINOs won a third straight election, after dominating the 1980s and 1990s, the Tea Party fell flat and Democrats were 15 percentage points behind. Sound like an outcome the Republicans might like? That’s what’s been going on in Germany. German Chancellor Angela Merkel of the Christian Democrat Union (CDU) won…

I’ve been playing ‘Injustice: Gods Among Us’ for several months now on my iPhone 5 and think it’s hands down the best free mobile game out there. NetherRealm Studios and Warner Brothers combined to develop and publish this DC Universe fighting game and the results have been spectacular. New characters are periodically released in the…

Jund Midrange is one of the most dominant combinations to play in the current standard format. In addition to being a powerful build, Jund Midrange can also be incredibly fun. Jund currently focuses on card advantage, big creatures, and optimal control. If you’re looking for a deck that can stand up against any other build…

There’s no doubt about it. Chemotherapy can cause many visible changes to your body and appearance. While I had been forewarned, I was not prepared for my fingernails turning black on me. When my toes started to ache excessively I didn’t realize that my toenails would soon be a thing of the past temporarily. After…

Frank Thomas was more than a hulking slugger, he was one of the best pure hitters of his era. Sure ‘The Big Hurt’ put up some gaudy home run and RBI totals during the course of his career, but he also had a 1990’s best on base percentage of .440 and a lifetime .303 batting…

Got any chalk hanging around the house? Maybe from when your kids were little? Maybe you bought a load of chalk to take advantage of that chalkboard paint idea? Whatever the reason you may have chalk lying around the house going mostly unused, you should see if you can scrounge it up and put it…

More often than I care to admit, I find myself spending hours at a time browsing various sites, reading articles and blogs, flipping from StumbleUpon to Pinterest, and letting the links take me where they may. On a recent read-athon, I came across an article on Mashable.com entitled “How to Successfully Start Your game with…

Ph.D. programs in Clinical Psychology are extremely competitive with hundreds of students applying for maybe a dozen spots in any given program. As such, it is important to apply to the right program, and for your application to be top notch. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to increase your chances. The…

The off-season is in full swing, and there have been trades galore… With big names like Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Andrea Bargnani, and Jrue Holliday switching uniforms. Let’s take a look at how some of the bigger deals will affect each team, as well as the 2013/14 playoff picture Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics Nets…

We all have things we want or need to save for. I just replaced all of the 60-year-old plumbing in my house. Now I’m saving to go to Japan. The money for these larger expenses doesn’t come easy for most people, but with patience and perseverance you can save for almost anything. These tips won’t…

In a quiet town in a faraway land, there was a huge stone statue of a griffin above the church door. It differed from most representations of the griffin. Its large mouth had savage teeth. Its wings had sharp hooks and prongs. It had stout front legs, but the posterior region of its body was…

Over the past twenty five years spent fishing for trout, I have learned that there is no better time of the year for catching trout than the fall. Fall trout fishing has always been my most productive time of year for catching these beautiful fish. This is true not only in numbers of trout caught,…

According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), there are 18.2 million people in the United States, or 6.3% of the population, who have diabetes. While an estimated 13 million have been diagnosed with diabetes, unfortunately, 5.2 million people are unaware that they have the disease. This undiagnosed population accounts for about $18 billion in health…

Americans love their vigilantes. Absolutely no getting around that disturbing facts. An incredible number of heroes on the big screen and, especially, within the pages of comic books are vigilantes that have captured something deep inside Americans to reveal their urge for some law and order without all the messiness of their beloved Constitution. Of…

Whether you’re working from home, going to school from home, or just trying to stay on top of your regular household duties, staying organized and productive at home can be tough. There can be all sorts of activities vying for your attention, but this doesn’t mean that there aren’t constructive ways to stay on top…

COMMENTARY | Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is on a press tour following the publication of his memoirs, which contain controversial criticism of president Barack Obama and his administration. Gates, notable for being Secretary of Defense under two presidents of opposing political parties, Democratic incumbent Barack Obama and Republican predecessor George W. Bush, oversaw…

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder. Symptoms include obsessive thoughts and compulsive actions. We have all heard of or known someone who is always worried about germs or has to do things a certain number of times or way. It may seem funny and the people doing it may joke, but it is…

Twitter has become a major Internet phenomenon: over the past seven years of its existence it has gained 200 million users but maintains an oversized influence over both the Internet and television. Twitter features “tweets”, messages of 140 or fewer characters, which a user posts to the Internet in general and particularly to those who…

A few years ago, my credit union was robbed, and the man held up cashiers at gunpoint. Eyewitnesses described a man dressed in black and driving a black sedan. The next day, I went to the credit union to do some personal business and to offer my sympathy for what had happened. I had been…

Unless you’ve been living on the moon you know that, on Monday, United won their 20 premiership title in a 3-0 shut out against Aston Villa. It was a beautiful match of football that produced a fate-sealing hat trick for first-time title winner Robin Van Persie. It is, to say the least, a week of…

Your voice has become mute. Your once colorful vision for blank canvas has faded to gray. Your hand poised only with empty pen, or you have scattered gibberish upon the page. The goal is clearly set before you, yet you are unable to complete the next novel or masterpiece. You have been here before –…

I’m a Writer. Often confused with authors, we write blogs, articles, ads, restaurant menus, how to’s, webpages, even product descriptions and the instructions on the box of your macaroni and cheese. Authors write books. Freelancers are hired to write everything else. Try explaining this to a non-writer. I’m always met with such surprise, and yet,…

The National Association of Realtors” continues to characterize the real estate market as slowly and steadily progressing upwardly mobile. A recent CNN Money article quoted The National Association of Realtors stating “previously-owned homes come in just slightly below November’s sales pace, but up 12.8 % from a year ago.” A 2013 real estate market characterized…

You are getting calls from debtors on a daily basis and the expenses far outweigh the income. You are examining the source of these expenses and much of this is unsecured credit card debt. The other category of debt, secured, would include your house, cars, maybe a boat. You don’t really want to lose any…

I recently acquired a Cold Steel Trench Hawk as a gift. I was well pleased upon opening the package, impressed by the 19″ overall length of the piece and the massive 8 3/4″ length of the blade itself. Weighing in at 24 ounces, this is no lightweight toy but a genuine tool capable of real…

One time, when I was a boy at summer camp, about age 11 or 12, the camp director built a big fire, which we all gathered around, and told us the story of the little girl and the starfish as he played some chords on his acoustic guitar. It goes like this: A young girl…

One of the best things about wordpress is its adaptability and sheer number of plugins it offers to get the job done. There is a plugins for every need out there all you need is to know where to look. I am listing out 15 Plugins which will help to increase traffic to your blog….

The backyard presents endless possibilities for transformation. Obviously, that is not true. The end may come smack up against you when you look at your bank account. Or the end may be based on how small the space your backyard provides. Or, and this is the key, the end may come in the form of…

Ditching an appliance is going to sound completely crazy in the days of adding technology to our lives. Well, that makes it all the more exciting, doesn’t it? Trust me, it’s not too bad: it involves just a bit more work. Clothes, in some shape or form, have been around since Adam and Eve’s time….

Wedding can be expensive, but that is only some of your expenses. After your wedding, you typically go on your honeymoon. Saving for your honeymoon does not have to be hard and boring. You can make it fun with a little bet. Start off with deciding where you are going to take your honeymoon. Once…

I am a 26-year-old female and work as an emergency service dispatcher which required a lot of sitting for 8-12 hours out of the day and a demanding overtime schedule. My eating habits were poor due to my rigorous work schedule, and when you work the night shift, it is easy to crave those fast…

Forney, Texas is my home. It has been home for over seven years now and I am thankful I made the decision to move here. The people here are friendly, they look out for each other, they genuinely care about their community. With election season upon Forney, dirty politics have already begun taking their toll…

Last week, the Detroit Tiger’s interim (See: Justin Verlander) ace Max Scherzer recorded his 17th win in 18 decisions, while the red hot Tigers doused the previously hot Cleveland Indians in a 10-3 romp that capped off a 4-game sweep of the second place Indians, who are now very suddenly clinging to life as far…

The snow was falling on the long, lonely stretch of road, covering the ground with a blanket of white. The moon had cast a light across the old farm road, giving me a good visual despite the weather conditions. I am not sure what possessed the coachman to take this back road, as it was…

House Republicans are pushing for a cut of two million people from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP or food stamps. Representatives of the Republican Party continually say that those on food stamps leech off the government and live off the system. The number of those utilizing SNAP, amounts to around 47…

Those who go searching for clues to figure out if their boyfriend really wants to get married already know the answer. They have nagging doubts, and for very good reason. Maybe he displayed insincerity in the past, or maybe he is not a man of his word. In any case, it is important to have…

Many people love to travel to Wales to see its beautiful countryside, ancient ruins and medieval castles. However, no trip to Wales should be complete without a visit to the Snowdonia National Park. Located in the northern part of the country, Snowdonia is a region of exceptional beauty created by mountains, lakes, waterfalls, quaint villages,…

Now that the stock market has recovered from the bearish declines seen in 2008, more and more investors have grown confident enough to start putting their money back into equities in the hope of achieving long term gains. In the last 12 years I have been covering and investing in the central stock benchmarks, these…

Hemorrhoids: An embarrassing or distasteful topic for many. Understandably! The end stage of digestion is a subject few wish to discuss. However, the National Institute of Health calculates that 75% of Americans have hemorrhoids at least once in their life1. My own clinical experience confirms this statistic — so hemorrhoids are indeed a topic worth…

Rating: RLength: 131 minutesRelease Date: July 22, 1988Directed by: John McTiernanGenre: Action, Thriller Stars: 4 out of 5 When the now epic “Die Hard” movie was first released in 1988, it seemed as if Christmas had come in July that year, and not because the story takes place during the Christmas season. Rather, the movie…

We all know that commercial air travel is safer than traveling by automobile. But why is it that every person, with significant flight time, has had a scary turbulence story? And since turbulence is somewhat common, is it something to worry about, or is it just a breeze? I don’t want to scare you, but…

From the North Shore of Oahu to Indonesia, Southern California, Australia and South Africa, our globe is littered with incredible surf spots. But with the sport of surfing turning mainstream, many of the world’s best spots are getting crowded. That is, unless you’re willing to travel to countries many surfers don’t even think about —…

In How Children Raise Their Parents, Dr. Allender writes about the divine aspect of child-rearing. The book is a good slow digest; with compelling chapter titles and content which is both tender and tough. With 217 pages along with notes, the book is meant to be enjoyed and the ideas adhered to. Conscientious parents should…

You may think “My Way or the Highway” is good leadership strategy but it is not. You may think that it is a sign of strength but it is not. Does the Bible direct us to stand strong, immovable, and uncompromising on every belief that we have? Does the Bible direct us to try to…

Every great weight-loss story starts off with one thing and one thing only: readiness. If you’re not willing to commit everything you’ve got to losing weight, you will fail. You’ll crash and burn. Sometimes readiness means having no other choice. For many, losing the weight can mean the difference between life sustainability versus an early…

Li-Young Lee’s poetry in the book, Rose, has a depth of sadness and reflection that makes it meaningful and thought provoking to the reader. Lee draws on his own life experience in such a way that readers will wonder if he is trying to exorcize those experiences from his inner self. While these poems are…

It takes more than spending money on the best players to win a World Series. Even if you build your team’s core with primarily homegrown players, like the 116-win 2001 Seattle Mariners did, you still may not see a parade down Main Street. There are five major things teams can do to help their chances…

Rhubarb seems destined to become one of those relics from another time that are sent by contemporary tastes to the dusty archives. It is not outside the realm of reason to assume that one day rhubarb will be heard in conversations engaged in only by people who also talk of phone booths, castor oil and…

The number of franchises that have been more and more popular and respectable after six films can be counted with one hand. And since Harry Potter was based on a book series that got more popular with every volume, the movie franchise cheated a bit. On the direct opposite of the spectrum is a little…

After spending several Christmas seasons wandering aimlessly around the mall trying to find the best places to shop, I have figured out that there is a much better way to make use of my time. There are stores outside of the mall that have a lot of really high quality items that kids and adults…

Having a child that is self-motivated may seem like a pipe dream to some moms but it doesn’t have to be. Teaching a child to become self-motivated can be done by training your child, and while you can’t expect to see results overnight they are within reach. If you would like your child to become…

According to the Constitution of the United States, federal law is supreme over state and local ordinances. States and municipalities can’t just ignore or override federal statutes they disagree with. The Founders expressly put this “supremacy clause” into the Constitution because the first experiment with American post-colonial government — the Confederation — was plagued with…

Legendary film critic Roger Ebert, half of the famed duo Siskel and Ebert, died April 4, just a day after revealing via a blog post that he’d be undergoing radiation treatment for recurrent cancer. The news about the 70-year old movie writer, who earned a Pulitzer Prize for his no-nonsense brand of commentary, drew plenty…

In the competitive world of law firms, custom web design is going to be an essential step in designing a website that stands out over others. There might be a temptation to want to go with a cookie-cutter style to save money, even if the website design might look overly familiar with dozens of other,…

Time to get sorted for the new College year. There are certainly some essentials that every college student should have so you look and feel great as well as being comfortable. Firstly take with you what you would normally wear, you don’t want to feel uncomfortable in new styles just because you are back at…

People are often fearful of the unknown, including such debatable topics as spirituality, the meaning of life and what happens to us after we die. Everyone also questions how they should react when our lives are threatened, and are faced with obstacles and forced to make changes that they don’t know how to make. Writer-…

If you are a homeschooling parent who has a house full of people with allergies than you probably already know how difficult it can be to get work done. The constant sneezing, coughing, and itchy eyes can really put the brakes on any homeschool day. So I thought it would be a good idea to…

North to Alaska. As an E-3 sailor attached to the USS Enterprise in dry dock in Bremerton, Wash. in 1979, life was pretty boring. Luckily, I worked with a crazy bunch of sailors (There is no other kind). One in particular was my drinking buddy Oscar. He was an Eskimo. He was going on leave…

The time frame, between Thanksgiving and Christmas is considered the holiday season. This is also the time of year when influenza and pneumonia are most prevalent. Knowing the facts about these diseases, will help you prevent them, and or get through this season a lot better. Influenza, is a severe, highly contagious viral infection, that…

You’ll be enchanted with Carrie Underwood’s rendition of “The Hills Are Alive” song in NBC’s production of “The Sound of Music,” based on the 1959 theatrical production starring Mary Martin. In fact, what was really startling was Underwood’s rendition of “Lonely Goat Herd.” I never knew she could sing this well, and it’s quite a…

Even though Linkedin is the ultimate example of a successful social network that has gone public it is the exception and not the rule. The upcoming Twitter IPO is being met with much anticipation but there are some lessons we learned from Facebook’s IPO that Twitter will have a hard time getting passed. Social networking…

The New York Post came up with a typically clever headline to lead off a story about an FBI agent who had his car and rifle stolen last night in Ozone Park, an upper middle-class neighborhood in the borough of Queens. Calling the weapon a “dolt-action rifle” was about right. No one should be surprised,…

(Photos by Recycled Percussion) I was invited to the grand opening of Recycled Percussion at The Quad Resort & Casino. The celebration included a Red Carpet and 1-1/2 hour pre-show reception at the Catalyst Bar. I have enjoyed Recycled Percussion ever since I first saw them compete on America’s Got Talent. It is always refreshing…

It’s really difficult to do a full time job beside study by a college student. But they need some extra cash for maintaining their casual expenditure. Internet made it possible for college students to do online job saving time and get some money. Lot of online jobs is now available for the college students. The…

This has been a complicated question for me to answer. After some serious thoughts on the issue, I have developed my own philosophy on what is or is not appropriate with my granddaughters. I have also shared this philosophy with my daughter and she feels that it is okay. What age is a small child?…

The Independent Spirit Awards held their annual ceremony on Feb. 23, the night before the Oscars, and the big winners were people who also head into the Oscars as hopefuls. While not a typical independent movie, “Silver Linings Playbook” walked away with the most awards, winning four of the biggies. While some may discount its…

You’ve probably never exercised in your entire life and you’ve reached a point when you realized that exercise is as necessary as eating three full meals in a day. Now that you want to exercise to keep your body in ship shape, you want to know what steps to take in order to fully prepare…

Just got a notice from Panera Bread, yes everyone is trying to get the after holiday dollars and making new year resolutions, but the best ones are the ones that are giving things away and helping you lose weight – one of the top resolutions for people after feasting for two months is to lose…

Aaron Paul is not only an Emmy Award-winning actor, he is also easy on the eyes. His portrayal of unique characters in television and movies such as “Veronica Mars,” “National Lampoon’s Van Wilder,” and “Mission Impossible III” has captivated audiences for years. His stint on the popular television show “Breaking Bad” though, has cemented him…

Every kid had a mom who convinced them to take their medicine. The scene typically had the mom saying “Take your medicine and you’ll feel better” and the kid saying “I don’t want to take it because it will taste bad”. How did the kid know it would taste bad? The kid had taken other…