Taking a busman’s holiday may be viewed by others as taking no vacation at all, but for some people the thought of working voluntarily can indeed be a welcome change in their routines. A busman’s holiday often allows professionals to experience life from the perspective of their clients or customers. Instead of driving a bus [...]
There sometimes exists a schism between devoted readers of a book and the author/s who adapt it to film. Very popular novels have often fallen short of expectations when turned into an adapted screenplay, because often, books don’t make an easy conversion to movie form. Such was the case with the highly anticipated adapted screenplay [...]
Popularity of Peyo’s comic strips launched a 1965 Belgian animated film called The Adventures of the Smurfs ( Les Adventures des Schtrompfs). A 1976 film The Smurfs and the Magic Flute was translated and released in the US. It was also in 1976 that Smurf culture earned the attention of Americans, and became popular first [...]
By the late 1960s, the talk show format became more focused on the interviews themselves, leaving the sketches and improvisations to the variety shows. Talk show hosts such as Dick Cavett, David Frost, Mike Douglas and Tom Snyder all became household names through their personal interview styles. Guests on these talk show programs were encouraged [...]
A major innovation to the roller coaster was the lift hill, created by Phillip Hinkle in 1885 and first used on his ride, Gravity Pleasure Road. The lift hill was placed at the beginning of the ride, using a cable or chain to haul the ride cars up a steep slope. The lift hill remains [...]
The first Monchichi cartoons were run in Japan in 1980, and successful licensing and production of the dolls led to a one year run of the series from 1983-1984 in America, produced by Hanna-Barbera. The Monchichi creatures are somewhat comparable to other odd woodland creatures produced at the time, including the Smurfs, but they didn’t [...]
The stories popular in wayang frequently revolve around the main character’s struggle to fulfill his or her dharma. In Hindu philosophy, dharma is a central concept, suggesting that each person has a duty or obligation they are meant to fulfill in life. Shadow puppet theater plays often act as a reminder of the rewards and [...]
Producers are often heavily involved in the finances of the projects they work on. They are responsible for securing funding and managing the finances. As a result, producers are typically included in major hiring and firing decisions, and they may pick out some of the personnel who work on the production, ensuring that the production [...]
Environmental tourism can include travel to unique and endangered areas, such as the Galapagos Islands. In addition to visiting places for its uniqueness, many people engage in environmental tourism as a “voluntourism” mission – this is a form of tourism in which people travel to a destination for a short period of time to volunteer [...]
The first use of canned laughter was in the 1950s television series, The Hank McCune Show. The canned laughter came from a box invented by Charley Douglass. His sound machine was called the Laff Box and delivered a variety of laughs, from giggles, to chuckles to tear producing laughter. Types of laughter could be played [...]