·       Thanks to some of the hottest handsets coming to no-contract plans, smartphones are truly giftable for the first time. Get the ultimate in flexibility with no long-term commitment from providers like RadioShack No-Contract Wireless, Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile. Time to upgrade or on an existing contract? Consider a gift card, or look for the best deals at a retailer that offers top contract carriers.

• ·       For the video or book lover on your list, tablets and e-readers come in many brands, sizes and price points to meet their needs and manage your holiday budget. They are very portable and are a great way to make waiting in line or at the doctor fly by much faster. Consider buying a device on the same operating system as the recipientâ€s smartphone so app purchases will go twice as far. Plus, some people are loyal to one camp or another and will value your gift more if you show you know that.
• ·       Accessorize your gadget purchases. The right phone, tablet or e-reader case shows recipients you know their style and protects their present. Speaking of extending the life of these devices, consider a warranty plan – especially for kids or adults whose work or leisure activities might put that gifted gadget at risk.
• ·       For the music lover, headphones are a great choice. Wireless headphones use Bluetooth technology and operate on batteries for a hands-free experience. If choosing wired headphones, look for a pair with a strong cord or one that can be replaced if damaged. For a combination of high-fashion and high-function, look for hot headphones like Beats by Dr. Dre.
• ·       For entertaining a crowd, check out compact options such as the AUVIO Bluetooth Portable Speaker. The speaker has great sound, and a compact size make it easy to enjoy music with friends no matter where you are.
• ·       Donâ€t forget the power. For battery-operated gifts, make sure to pick up the right batteries. For rechargeable tech gifts, power them up with Enercell Portable Power Banks, car chargers, or even a phone-charging case.

 

If youâ€re a little unsure about choosing the right tech for everyone on your list, nothing beats turning to experts like the folks at RadioShack for help. Relying on gadget gurus and even getting a hands-on demo help ensure your present is just the right fit – unlike that sweater Aunt Margaret gave you last year.

 For more ideas, check out www.radioshack.com, or visit the location in your neighborhood.

 

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

 

The post Great Gadget Gifts for Life on the Go first appeared on River View Observer.

By Evelyn Bonilla

“Natural and memorable”, is the best way to describe the photography of Hudson County photographer Rebecca Ferrier. Well-known for preserving the history of things that are slowly disappearing from the past; through her images she is able to awaken what once was.

In her newest exhibit “Motels”, she travels from the north to the south of New Jersey to capture the true essence of what motels once were. Once a prime place to stay, motels are slowly vanishing in the wake of large hotels. Ferrier explains, “With my photography, I like to document objects that are slowly disappearing. Some motels are changing and being renovated, while others are just fading away. Through my images, I hope to document its true meaning.”

 

 

 

 

 

A wedding photographer for several years, Ferrier has always specialized in “documentation photography”. Drawn to all things, “Americana”, through her lens she is able to preserve these images for all to see. When asked what inspires her she explained, “My grandfather was a photographer, so I saw many images, but true inspiration came when I was traveling in South Asia, there is where I realized that I liked to photograph. I became interested in the culture, the people and what was happening around me and I realized that through my camera I would be able to document what I was seeing”

Ferrierâ€s motivation is drawn from seeing the final product of her work and sharing it with others. Her future goal is to continue to document images of New Jersey, a state which she loves. She hopes to continue to travel the world documenting people, places and objects and to one day consolidate all of her images into a book.

Documenting and capturing the moment is something this talented photographer is truly good at, but the true essence of Ferrier is the ability to bring these images to life and thatâ€s what makes this Hudson County photographer truly unique.

Interested in viewing the images of Rebecca Ferrier” her exhibit “Motels” will open on Saturday, October 2nd at “The Merchant” www.themerchantnj.com  located at 279 Grove Street in downtown, Jersey City. The exhibit will open at 12:00 pm.

Interested in learning more about Rebecca Ferrier you can email her at rebeccaferrier@mac.com

 

 

The post Photography- Hudson County Photographer Rebecca Ferrier Opens Exhibit “Motels in Jersey City” on October 2nd first appeared on River View Observer.

 Today Spain became the eighth nation ever to win the World Cup, The win came over the Netherlands in a 1-0 extra time final score.

Spain’s game plan, and their relentless passing wore down the Dutch defense giving Spain the win in  Spain’s only World Cup Final.

Leaving  four minutes of extra time left, the goal that secured the World Cup win for Spain came in the 116th minute of play.  Fernando Torres shot rebounded off the head of a Dutch player and fell to the feet of Spain’s Cesc Fabregas, who passed it to Andres Iniesta. In the only goal of the match, Iniesta calmly took the ball and shot it past the Dutch goalie.

Now World Champions, Spain’s “Red Fury” has lived passed their reputation as underachievers in big tournaments to bring Spain and its people the World Cup Championship.

The post WORLD CUP FINAL -Spain defeats Holland 1-0 in overtime first appeared on River View Observer.

Record producers will tell you that in order to make it in the music business you have to be equipped with; a good strong voice, loads of confidence and the ability to perform on the spot, and to have passion! The passion to give it all you’ve got and the drive not to stop until you get there!

Just ask Johnny Martin (aka John Marino) a singer whose drive and passion have propelled him to record his first CD, “Johnny Martin, I Will Always Love You.”

Growing up in Jersey City, N.J. Martin loved to sing; he was drawn to it and did it well. As a grammar school student at Holy Rosary in downtown Jersey City, Martin first realized that he had the ability to sing. Speaking to his parents he explained his desire to sing, soon after he began taking voice lessons to master his vocal technique, but after grammar school it soon came to a pause.

As a high school student at Ferris High School, he sung on street corners with small groups, always testing his vocals and enjoying his love for music, but never going beyond that.

In the year of 1974, Marino opened up his own business in hair restoration, and with true dedication to his business and raising his family, he took another pause from his music.

Although the passion to sing lived within him, he worked hard and dedicated all of his time into making his business a success.

The years would soon pass by, and Martin still continued to embrace his true feelings of singing deep within; so in the early 1990’s, he decided to finally take the next step into making his singing career a reality. With the support of his wife and family he picked up where he left off and committed himself to taking voice lessons. He worked hard at it for several years and perfected his voice, he refined his styled and decided that it was time to get serious.

Martin explains, “I started recording myself at home and playing it back and listening to myself. I started thinking if I want to get serious again, I better go back and take some lessons and that’s what I did.” As he continued with his lessons, Martin began to focus on his goal to make an album of songs that he loved.

In 2008, through friends of Martin’s he met a couple from N.J who had a studio, their names Sharman and Alfred Nittoli (the Nittoli’s are well-known for writing the song “Here’s to the Band” for Frank Sinatra.) Upon meeting the Nittoli’s, Martin realized that this was the direction he wanted to take in order to bring his album to fruition. Soon after their meeting Martin concentrated on his goal, he gathered together a talented ensemble of musicians, which consisted of Tommy Cavalucci (Drums), Frankie Cupo (Bass, Keyboards), Gill Chimes (Vibes, Harmonica) Sharman Nittoli (Piano, Keyboards, Background Vocals, Musical Director and Arranger) and Alfred Nittoli (Saxophone, Violin, Musical Director and Arranger). Together the entire team began recording and what transpired was not only Johnny Martin’s album, but a life-long dream of Martin’s that had finally become a reality. 

 His new CD is made up with a compilation of songs from the “great American songbook.” He explains, “I’ve always been a lover of the American songbook. As a matter of fact if you look at my high school yearbook, you’ll see that I was a big Sinatra fan.” Although at the time it was all about rock, I was always quoted as being a fan of his”.

The title of Martin’s new CD, “I Will Always Love You,” which is also the first cut on the CD and a wonderful song made famous by another crooner Dean Martin, is the perfect title and song to begin Johnny Martin’s tribute to the “great American song book”.

Johnny Martin shows real vocal mastery on each track of his CD, he demonstrates impeccable phrasing in each song and his love of this genre of music can be felt on each track. I especially loved “My Baby Just Cares for Me, “an up-tempo number with female background vocals that will have your foot tapping throughout the song.

Based on his first CD I believe Martin has a long singing career ahead of him. He does a wonderful rendition of “More”, and the “Way You Look Tonight.” Martin’s CD will always have a place as part of my own permanent record collection. I enjoyed the CD that much and you will  too!

Martin credits Sharman and Alfred Nittoli and his wonderful and talented musicians for their help and dedication to making this album. He also expresses heartfelt thanks and dedicates his CD to his wife Pat and his family, which he expresses, “Without their love and support, it wouldn’t have been possible.” His advice for up and coming singers is this, ” If you feel that you have a talent, pursue your talent and get professional help; pursue your dream and never give up. Never stop meeting people; by meeting people  that’s how you’ll network yourself and make connections. No one is ever going to promote you, you have to promote yourself.” Pursuing your dreams and never giving up is something this talented singer has truly accomplished; with a successful business, a completed CD and the realization of a dream, Martin is a true inspiration to us all.

If you’re interested in learning more about Johnny Martin or if you would like to listen to some of his songs, sign on to www.johnnymartinsings.com 

Also, if you’re interested in booking Martin for your next event you can email him at johnmartinsings@aol.com

Read more music stories @www.riverviewobserver.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post Introducing the One and Only “Johnny Martin” first appeared on River View Observer.

Fans have waited a long time to buy a boxed set of Clint Eastwood’s early spaghetti westerns by Sergio Leone. featuring Clint as the iconic loner with no name. The wait is over. The boxed set, officially titled Clint, available June 1, 2010, Eastwood in The Man With No Name Trilogy hits a bullseye.

This collection belongs in every home film library. Leone’s trilogy of lowbudget, high-impact films, set in the American West (but filmed in Spain and directed by an Italian), made Eastwood a major movie star with a following that forced Hollywood to sit up and take notice. Up until that time he was known only for his roles on TV, most notably as Rowdy Yates in the series, Rawhide.

I interviewed Eastwood before the Academy Awards in 2005 when he had been nominated for Best Director and Best Picture for Million Dollar.  I asked how important to his films was the music in each. “Very Baby important,” he told me, holding me with that famous Eastwood gaze that says, “Nothing matters right now except our conversation.” He went on to explain that he wrote the music himself. “I was very careful not to allow the music to overwhelm the visuals but to support them,” he said, adding, “I learned that from Ennio Morricone.”

When I recalled that Eastwood had made a name for himself with the Sergio Leone films, Eastwood brightened. “It was Morricone who wrote the music for the three spaghetti westerns,” Eastwood said. “If you’ve seen them you know the music.”

The first in the series, A Fistful of Dollars, hit U.S. movie houses in 1964. The stage was set for the former television actor to become an international sensation as the rough-hewn, silent Man with No Name.

The footloose renegade with a wacky sense of humor, a cheroot clenched in his teeth, and a squint that made villains squirm, caught the fancy of moviegoers and they became his fans for life. Those fans are now graybeards, and they’re still loyal. They, and anybody else who likes movies with Clint Eastwood, are in for a treat.

writer/director Akiro Kurosawa’s film, Yojimbo.” That cynical samurai tale, in the hands of Sergio Leone, gets a different setting, the American West. The tale, which maintains the inner stuff of legend and iconic characters, works on a visceral level.

The follow-up film, For a Few Dollars More, teams Eastwood with Lee, who played the villain opposite Gary Cooper in High Noon.

In Dollars, Leone’s classic tale of revenge, Van Cleef again plays the villain to perfection.

The third film, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, is set in the American Civil War where violence is a given. Added to that conflict is buried gold, and classic criminals in a conspiracy that involves double-crosses and trayals that play out in a tension-filled finale with enough gun fights to satisfy any action fan.

(Catalog # M121526)

● The Christopher Frayling Archives: A Fistful of Dollars

● Commentary by Film Historian Christopher Frayling

● A New Kind of Hero

● A Few Weeks in Spain: Clint Eastwood on the Experience of Making the Film ● Tre Voci: A Fistful of Dollars

● Not Ready for Primetime: Renowned Filmmaker Monte Hellman discusses the Television Broadcast ● The Network Prologue with Actor Harry Dean Stanton

● Location Comparisons: Then to Now ● 10 Radio Spots ● Double Bill Trailer ● Theatrical Trailer

(Catalog # M121528)

● The Christopher Frayling Archives: For A Few Dollars More

● Commentary by Film Historian Christopher Frayling

● A New Standard: Frayling on For A Few Dollars More

● Back for More: Clint Eastwood Remembers For A Few Dollars More

● Tre Voci: For A Few Dollars More

● For A Few Dollars More: The Original American Release Version

● Location Comparisons

● 12 Radio Spots

● Theatrical Trailer 1

● Theatrical Trailer 2

(Catalog # M121527)

● Commentary by Film Historian Richard Schickel

● Commentary by Film Historian Christopher Frayling

● Leone’s West

● The Leone Style

● The Man Who Lost the Civil War

● Reconstructing The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

● IL Maestro: Ennio Morricone and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly – Part One

● IL Maestro: Part Two

● Deleted Scenes

â—‹ Extended Tuco Torture Scene

â—‹ The Socorro Sequence: A Reconstruction

● Easter Egg #1 Uno, Due, Tre

● Easter Egg #2 Italian Lunch

● Easter Egg #3 New York Actor

● Easter Egg #4 Gun in Holster

● Theatrical Trailer

● French Trailer

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., through its operating subsidiaries, is actively

engaged in the worldwide production and distribution of motion pictures,

television programming, home video, interactive media, music and

licensed merchandise. The company owns the world’s largest library of

modern films, comprising around 4,100 titles. Operating units include

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc.,

United Artists Films Inc., MGM Television Entertainment Inc., MGM

Networks Inc., MGM Domestic Networks LLC, MGM Distribution Co, MGM

International Television Distribution Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home

Entertainment LLC, MGM ON STAGE, MGM Music, MGM Worldwide Digital

Media, MGM Consumer Products and MGM Interactive. In addition, MGM

has ownership interests in international TV channels reaching nearly 120

countries. MGM ownership is as follows: Providence Equity Partners (29%),

TPG (21%), Sony Corporation of America (20%), Comcast (20%), DLJ

Merchant Banking Partners (7%) and Quadrangle Group (3%). For more

information, visit www.mgm.com.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC (TCFHE) is a recognized global industry leader and a subsidiary of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, a News Corporation company. Representing 75 years of innovative and award-winning filmmaking from Twentieth Century Fox, TCFHE is the worldwide marketing, sales and distribution company for all Fox film and television programming, acquisitions and original productions on DVD, Blu-ray Disc Digital Copy, Video On Demand and Digital Download. The company also releases all products globaly for MGM Home Entertainment. Each year TCFHE introduces hundreds of new and newly enhanced products, which it services to retail outlets from mass merchants and warehouse clubs to specialty stores and ecommerce throughout the world.

Van Cleef

The post CLINT EASTWOOD -Hollywood Behind-The-Scenes first appeared on River View Observer.

Imagine the songwriting inspiration of Joni Mitchell, steeped in the soulful sensibility of Donny Hathaway, played by the cream of the world’s musicians and sung with the voice of an angel…one whose very life experience pours out of every song. This is the magic that is contained in Songs From the Concrete…the powerful new debut ep by singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Chrissi Poland.

While her searing and soulful voice is her primary instrument, Chrissi is the consummate musician and is adept at piano, guitar and drums. She is currently performing music from the new ep at many of NYC’s hottest venues including Le Poisson Rouge, The Living Room, The Rockwood Music Hall, City Winery and The Metropolitan Room. On May 13, 2010 she will be performing live at the Canal Room to celebrate the official release of Songs From the Concrete.

The “concrete” in this case references New York City but is also a metaphor for the toughness of the music business and its trials and tribulations. Throughout her seven years navigating this concrete city she has performed live and in the studio with several acclaimed artists including Sting, Elvis Costello, Clint Black and Moby. She has also recorded numerous projects for stage, screen and television while further honing her songwriting and solo performance skills. The result is this impressive recording…one of singular grace and uncompromising honesty.

She was born and raised in a small town along the coast of Massachusetts, an influence that is just as strong a presence in her songwriting as her years as a working musician in New York. Hearing the call of music early on, Chrissi chose to attend Berklee School of Music to develop her craft and as a graduate has been asked to return to teach vocal and performance master classes.

In addition to her solo career, she currently tours the world singing with legendary Stax artist Sam Moore (formerly of Sam & Dave) and appears on the acclaimed 2008 album release Last Night. She is also embarking on a three month tour starting in June 2010 with Scissor Sisters (Polydor/Universal Records) throughout the United States, Europe and Asia.

The post MUSIC River View Observer Best Pick New Artist Chrissi Poland first appeared on River View Observer.

Facebook confirmed that it does not send such e-mails and that it is warning users to alert others of the pending danger in the virus-laden e-mails. Facebook users may represent a very vulnerable demographic for virus spreaders and hackers, as they are often unconcerned with the security of their online activity. People often engage in Facebook, Instant Messaging and e-mailing simultaneously, rapidly clicking on everything that’s flying in and out of their screens. It’s easy to imagine millions of Facebook users “accidentally” clicking on an e-mail attachment they believe is from Facebook without ever thinking about it.

By Buzzle Staff and Agencies
Published: 3/19/2010

The post New Virus Targets Facebook Users first appeared on River View Observer.

source NJ.COM  HUDSON RESPONDS TO HAITI QUAKE

The post Haiti Earthquake -Hudson County Responds first appeared on River View Observer.