The Creative Design Blog

When it comes to versatile male actors in Hollywood these days, there are only a few. Daniel Day Lewis is the king; Leonardo Di Caprio is great, as is Johnny Depp. But another fantastic actor that was overlooked until recently is Christian Bale.

Here are some of my favorite Christian Bale movies.

While Batman Begins was great, The Dark Knight was even better. With an all star cast and a legendary performance by Heath Ledger, Christian Bale’s performance was overshadowed. Ledger created one of the best villains in Hollywood history, but Bale did a pretty great job with Bruce Wayne as well.

In another film involving deception and playing two sides, Christian Bale was incredible in The Prestige. You never know until the end of this movie whether or not he is a good guy, which I cannot even imagine how hard that is to do. He stole the show from Hugh Jackman.

In The Machinist, Bale plays Trevor Reznik, an emaciated insomniac who is not sure what is real and what is not. His controversial weight loss (reportedly 70 pounds) for this role redefined commitment to a role. Think Memento meets Thinner.

Based on the book of the same name, Bale plays Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, a psychopathic New York investment banker in the 80s. This movie has as many memorable lines as any for me.

Inspired by a true story, in Werner Herzog’s Rescue Dawn, Christian Bale plays an imprisoned US pilot during the Vietnam War who plans an escape into the jungles of Laos. Sufficed to say, he lost a ton of weight for this movie as well.

Finally, 3:10 to Yuma was another fantastic performance by Christian Bale. A good western is hard to come by these days, but Bale and Russell Crowe managed to pull it off.

Access various other writing pieces written by this author about items including microwave accessories and commercial microwaves.

While a lot of episodes of television shows can only be watched once, there are number of shows that retain their brilliance and humor throughout repeat viewing. The following list contains some television shows that I cannot get enough of, even if I have seen the episodes before.

The Simpsons is on most people’s lists of top 10 favorite shows. There is a reason it has been on for 20 seasons and shows no signs of throwing in the towel. I used to videotape every episode I could, however I did not know that DVD box sets were going to exist!

Seinfeld – There’s a reason its on television like 50 times a day. Everyone loves Seinfeld, and even more than 10 years after it has been off the air it remains one of the most popular shows.

Entourage – Quick and easy. This show is just a good time and usually only lasts about 24 minutes. The jokes come quick and the episodes are lighthearted. It is an incredibly easy show to watch with a fast lunch.

Another great show to watch old episodes of is Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. As long as you don’t know the answers to the questions being asked, it is very entertaining.

The Office is a great show that retains its value after multiple viewings. I think this is due to the fact that while it technically is chronological, that doesn’t really matter. Every episode is funny, but the earlier seasons are the best.

Fresh Prince – Will Smith in his glory days. This is still hilarious show to watch and it’s amazing to see where he came from and where he ended up. The Carlton dance never gets old.

If you are part of the female audience, another show that you can watch over and over is Friends. All girls seem to like this show, and if you are a guy, you should know it isn’t half bad.

Besides television, this author also regularly contributes articles about designer sofas and recliner sofas.

For the NBA Western Conference Playoffs, this has been a tumultuous year. While some series has been decided in four games and some in seven, most of these series have been exhilarating. If you haven’t been paying attention, here’s a brief analysis of what’s happened so far.

In the first round, the Los Angeles Lakers faced the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Laker’s coach Phil Jackson got this series off to a heated start by making cheap shots about the way that Thunder star Kevin Durant plays the game, insisting he lives at the foul line.

The series ended up going seven games, with Kobe Bryant and the Lakers emerging victorious.

The Utah Jazz faced the Denver Nuggets in the first round as well. This was an emotional series for the Nuggets, who were missing their coach George Karl as he battles throat cancer. The Jazz took care of business and eliminated the Nuggets 4 games to 2.

Also in round 1, the Portland Trailblazers squared off against the Phoenix Suns. This Suns team looked rejuvenated and like the Jazz, won this series 4-2.

The final round 1 matchup was a Texas showdown, as the Dallas Mavericks played the San Antonio Spurs. People thought this Spurs team was too old and the Mavericks were too hot, but the Spurs continued to silence the haters and took this series in 4-1.

In the next round of the playoffs, the Phoenix Suns faced their longtime playoff foe, the San Antonio Spurs. In the past, this series always went the Spurs’ way, but this time, the Suns came out with a vengeance. They put the Spurs away in four games and let the world know they mean business.

The Lakers took on the Jazz in the second round and swept them in 4 games. It was never close. Now the Lakers and the Suns are battling it out in another exciting matchup.

See more of this writer’s writing regarding topics like audiophile stereo speakers and wireless surround sound speakers.

As with everything else, purchasing a computer is straightforward if you know what you are doing. For those who do not know though, it can be a complete nightmare. People who have had a computer before have a good idea about what they require and what they would like, but for those who have never had a computer before, all the components that make up a computer can seem bewildering.

The clear answer is to purchase the best that you can manage, but this still might puzzle some people, because the best is not always the most costly. In the computer world, ‘the best’ normally means the biggest and the fastest.

Just to make it more confusing, ‘the biggest’ here does not always mean in size, but in capacity. The only large size that is important is the monitor. This is a quick rundown of how to purchase a computer and its components:

Before you buy a computer, think about why you want one. If it is for educational reasons: that is surfing the web and looking up content, you do not have to have more than a basic desktop computer. If you are constantly on the move, then you might require a laptop, or maybe cyber cafes will meet your requirements.

This kind of machine is also ample for writing letters and emails and almost any type office work. Top flight computers are only required by games players and exhibitionists.

Purchase a complete computer. That means acquiring a kit of: CPU (the ‘computer’), monitor (screen), keyboard, mouse, speakers and printer. This way you will just have to plug everything in and off you go – you can be sure that they are all compatible.

When you buy your next computer, you can buy all the components individually to get even better value for money or a system more precisely customized to your preferences.

Go for the biggest screen, the fastest memory and fastest hard drive and the biggest memory (RAM) and biggest hard drive (gigabytes) that you can afford. You do not have to have a lot of ’space’ for normal office work or normal surfing, but if you get into downloading music or films, then memory soon gets eaten up, although you could always add a new external (plug-in) hard drive later, in necessary.

Make sure that you buy a computer that is not too old, if you go second-hand. This is because you can up-grade computers for two or three years, but after that manufacturers change the casings and new components will no longer fit – planned obsolescence, it is known as.

Get your computer from a well-known, trustworthy local store and ensure that it has a good guarantee. Computers do not often go amiss, but you do not want to have to send it half-way across the country and wait three weeks for it to be returned. If you are in business, get two. Maybe a laptop and a desktop and synchronize the contents of both so that you always have your information.

Following these guidelines will ensure that the computer novice gets ‘enough’ of a deal and an adequate machine that is fit for purpose without paying through the nose.

If you are looking for new full tower computer cases, or any other type of computer cae, just go over to our website now at Clear Computer Case for more information.

Home theaters are very popular in the West now for many reasons, but partly due to the recession. However, I forecast that after the recession is over, home theaters will take off like a rocket. In my estimation, this is because, the recession has forced people to scrutinize their spending, which usually means cutting back. Going out, eating out and movies are all in the front line of these cuts. However, the slump is upsetting and people have to get some pleasure from somewhere.

In the medium to long term, it is cheaper to build a home theater for a family than take them to a proper movie theater every week. Taking a family of four to the movies costs $50-$100, whereas a decent home theater might cost $1,000. It does not take long to recoup those costs. And it saves you the hassle of travelling there and back, the din and mobile phones during the film and high prices for candy and snacks.

OK, maybe people at the moment are buying cheap packages of home theaters, but one of the first things they will replace when they get a bit of money again will be the speakers, I bet. Evidently, you need a good quality, large screen, but after that, it is the sound and the bulwark to good sound is usually poor speakers.

The most important consideration in the design of your home theater is the dimensions of your room. If the room is small, you will not require so many speakers. Perhaps three speakers will be enough, if the room is small. However, if you only need three speakers and a sub-woofer, get good ones.

If you have a bigger room however, the basic three home theater speakers may not be enough. You may need to put up to six speakers and a sub-woofer around the room. The position of these speakers is up to you and can depend on the shape or and size of the room anyway, but typical layouts are:

3.1 system: one speaker to the left of the screen, one to the right and one below it. You can put the sub-woofer on top of the central speaker or at the back of the room. Try it and see.

5.1 system: as 3.1, but with two speakers at the back of the room too.

6.1 system: as 5.1, but with another speaker between the rear speakers, as in the front.

7.1 system: as 6.1, but with two speakers central rear, slightly away from each other. You can move the existing rear speakers a little to the sides too.

This set-up requires a lot of wiring as you can envisage. Now, you could tack the wires to the skirting board, but you should only do that after you are dead sure that you have the speakers in the right places. Or you could hang the speakers on the walls. However, although that sounds good for music, it does not always sound good for a movie.

The best choice is wireless speakers. Wireless speakers can be moved around to suit the number of people watching the movie or moved out for cleaning or redecorating reasons. You do not want to bash your nice, new, expensive speakers with the vacuum cleaner, do you?

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with wireless home theater systems. If you are interested in a Home Movie Theatre, please click through to our site now.

A home theater requires a sizable investment of money, thought and installation, particularly if you have a high quality home theater. Therefore, it is a shame that so may people just connect all the pieces in a room without giving any thought to what other things they should be doing to enhance it. Unless you hire a professional consultant, you might not achieve the full potential of your home cinema system. However, it is not necessary to hire an adviser, if you just pay attention to a few common blunders made by a lot of home theater owners

The lighting in any cinema is very important, as I am sure you already know. Why is it then that many people do not treat it as important in their own home cinema? You never see external light – sun light – in a specialized movie theater and you should not want any in yours either. Hang heavy curtains over every window in the room and let them overlap the window by a good border.

Heavy curtains will not only keep external light out, but they will also dampen street sounds, something else you never hear in a real movie theater. If you have neighbours close by, it will also help to preclude them from being bothered by your loud films or music.

Do not try to save money by purchasing poor quality speakers. Do not mix and try to match speakers either, unless you are sure you know what you are doing. If you need five speakers and a sub-woofer, but can only afford three and the sub-woofer, buy speakers from a well-known brand that you know you can get hold of again.

Do not buy end of line speakers, as you will find upgrading hard. The best approach for the novice is to get a 5.1 surround sound set of speakers. Then, if at some point in the future you want to upgrade, you can quite easily, either by buying more or exchanging the lot in one go. One thing is for certain, a lot of the magic of going to the theater these days lies in the surround sound and you need to reproduce it at home.

It is not rocket science to put a home theater together whether it comes in kit form or not. However, if you do not feel happy setting it up, you would be better off having it done for you. Clearly, it is up to you how you go about this, but you could ask a relative or friend or neighbour or hire someone from the shop where you bought it. My speculation is though that any reasonably competent eighteen year old has already seen one set up before and can do it for you.

Your movie theater, if it came in a kit, will or should have thorough instructions for you to follow. Please read the handbook before you start plugging things into each other. Read the manual and inspect the parts until you are well acquainted with the installation procedure and the recommended positioning of the equipment.

Make sure that the voltage is adjusted correctly before you plug it into the mains. Most equipment is made abroad for sale to many countries, so they often have some sort of selector for the voltage. Get it wrong and you could blow a part of the equipment, probably the amplifier, the DVD player or the screen. that could mean replacement of the module or poor reproduction of sound or picture.

It is not hard to get the installation of your home theater right, but you do have to pay some attention to detail, if you want to get the best out of it.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with home theater speaker placement. If you are interested in a Home Movie Theatre, please click through to our site now.

Shoppers in this new millennium are much more knowledgeable about electronic goods than people were at any time earlier. The older generation of today grew up in the 1960’s and 1970’s when everyone in the West had a television set and a stereo. Earlier generations were not so lucky for financial and technological reasons. Therefore, most shoppers nowadays have no compunctions about going shopping for complex electronic equipment like a home theater.

It is in the shoppers’ best interest to research and understand about the components that go into making up a good home theater. It is not particularly exacting and many if not all of the elements involved have been around for at least a few years now. Think about what goes into a home theater:

a screen – can be a television screen, a canvas screen for a projector or a modern plasma or LCD screen. Forget about the modern varieties of screen, they are still fundamentally TV screens and they have been around for 80 years or so. Same with a projector.

a player – a DVD player is just an improved CD player and they have been out for 20-30 years. You have possibly had one for most of that time. (You can add another dimension to your home theater here by swapping an Xbox for the DVD player, but games machines are not new).

speakers – they are nothing new either. Speakers have been about as long as the television set.

So you see, there is nothing in that package which you should feel awkward about buying. Fair enough, you will be buying state of the art examples of what I listed above, but they are fundamentally the same. You attach them all together with their special plugs and wires and then plug them into the mains. Switch on and it will work.

So the next question is: do you purchase a package or do you buy the components and build your own home theater? The answer to that question really depends on your level of competency. A kit is easy and may work out cheaper too, but will it have the flexibility that you require? If you have a standard sized and standard shaped room, then I am convinced that you will be able to buy a kit that will suit you. If you think that the speakers are sub-requirement, you could always sell them on and upgrade after a period.

if you want to be sure of getting precisely what you want, I think that most people will have to buy the components separately: that is screen, player and speakers.

The size of the screen depends on the size of the room and how close you are sitting to it: a distance of between three times and five times the diagonal of the screen is about right. However, some people like to be dominated by the screen and others do not want to wear their glasses, so it is up to personal preference.

The DVD player is a matter of personal preference too. They are all much of a muchness, but some people prefer Sanyo while others prefer Philips. If you want gaming functionality too, use an Xbox instead of an regular DVD player.

Most rooms will require at least a 5.1 surround sound speaker set. These ought to be acquired as one package to ensure that they are all well-matched. That is five normal speakers and a sub-woofer.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with home theater speaker placement. If you are interested in a Home Movie Theatre, please click through to our site now.

Wireless speakers are not the height of technology that they were not so long ago, but they are still pretty new. The good news is though that the price of good quality wireless speakers has come down to an affordable level for most people. However, the constant march of technology continues and it is almost impossible to be on the forefront of it for more than six months before something new comes out.

So, I have come to a deliberate decision not to be on the forefront of technology any more. Twelve months behind is good enough for me these days. It can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars to make that decision. I am sure that you are already aware how much items like computers, in particular laptops, and plasma TV screens have come down in recent times.

So, now is the time to get into wireless speakers. They are a good idea in any circumstances, because you can move speakers around without needing extension leads, but they are particularly useful in a home theater because people will not be able to trip over the wires in the dark.

Wireless speakers have come down in price because there are more manufacturers making them, which is the normal reason why this happens. Many of the newer manufacturers are in the Far East, which is also nothing new, but the quality is just as good. They are just less expensive.

Wireless speakers are one of the first up-grades you should think about if your system is a couple of years old. Wireless speakers allow so much more freedom to move your speakers around to get the best sound out of your home theater system.

One suggestion if you want to try to save a bit on your purchase of wireless speakers is to buy online. But, do not rush into it. First of all do the round of the shopping malls and find out which wireless speaker systems you like. Take a note of three brands or models. Then go online and check the prices for these models.

You should note down the models, the online prices and the URL of the shop where you saw them online. Then, go back to the shops where you first saw those models and ask if they are willing to match, or better, the price. If they are willing to price match, all well and good. You have won because, if there is a problem you can return them locally. If they will not, you must judge the value of a local purchase to you.

You can easily end up with a top quality home theater system with wireless speakers by going about buying your up-grades in this way. You really ought to go the way of wireless speakers and if you do not believe me, just walk around the shopping mall one Saturday afternoon, you will soon be persuaded.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with wireless home theater systems. If you are interested in a Home Movie Theatre, please click through to our site now.

Do you love going to the movie theater and get lost in the realism that their superior sound systems create? If you do, then I bet you are also one of those people who dislikes going there, only to have a potentially wonderful evening ruined by irresponsible people talking through the movie or letting their cell phones ring.

I used to love the movie theater, but that was in the time when people respected the rights of others to listen to a movie in silence. There were no crying babies, ringing mobile phones or noisy youths in movie theaters and if they got in they were soon kicked out if there was any noise.

Nowadays, cinema managers seem to take the easy route of letting these people spoil it for others. As a result, more and more quiet people are staying at home and the cinemas are becoming even noisier. If you are one of the stay-at-homes, but miss the cinema, why not recreate one in your home?

Build yourself a home movie theater with surround sound. You will never regret installing surround sound in your home, because you will be able to play your favourite films, the TV and your music through it. The difference between surround sound and stereo or even quadraphonics is breath-taking.

Different people have different requirements, aspirations, funds and even hearing ability, so it is tricky to suggest a system to a mass audience, but there are ways and means for going about the purchase of your own home theater system. A lot of people buy a kit home theater. This is OK, if funds are limited, but you will want to upgrade the screen and the speakers before very long. If you just want to put a home theater in a small spare bedroom and do it quickly and easily, then this method is for you.

If, however, you want a bit more, then you might prefer to get a bigger screen but make do with the speakers that came with the kit. These can easily be upgraded later. If you want to get everything part by part, you will need a screen, speakers and DVD player. If you would like to play games too, replace the DVD player with an Xbox.

But back to the speakers, whether you are upgrading or putting your own system together, the strategy I suggest hold true. Write down the dimensions of your room or better still do a little plan of it to scale. Take this around the shops and malls and try to listen to a few installations in a room similar to your own. This could be difficult, but you might be lucky.

Decide whether you need a 3.1; 4.1; 5.1; 6.1 or even 7.1 set of compatible surround sound speakers. Basically, it all depends on the size of your room, but the shop assistant will be able to demonstrate and advise you. As a guideline, a 5.1 surround sound set will be sufficient for most rooms. The figures stand for normal speakers and sub-woofers: ie 5.1 means five normal speakers and one sub-woofer.

The arrangement of the speakers depends on the size and shape of the room and on your personal preference, but the standard layout would be: one speaker the far left and far right of the screen and one underneath it with two more speakers slightly apart from each other at the back of the audience. The sub-woofer can go at the front or the rear.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with wireless home theater systems. If you are interested in a Home Movie Theatre, please click through to our site now.

If you want to get a home theater system, there are a few essential principles that you should keep in mind. However, no matter how much advice you are given, if your level of know-how is insufficient to understand it, it is useless. Therefore, you have to be honest with yourself and admit to yourself how much you know.

Fortunately for most of us, the Baby Boomers are the most electronically wise older generation ever, because many of today’s older generation grew up in the 70’s when everyone had a TV and a stereo.

Music and sound quality is important to Baby Boomers. However, if you were one of those who was not interested in electronics, a home theater kit is probably for you. On the other hand, if you feel competent to take on the task, you will be better served by a system that you compile yourself.

This is not to say that packages are not much good, it is just that there are certain variables that must be taken into account before purchasing a home theater system.

Sound or acoustics depends on the measurements of the room where the home theater system is installed, most of us realize that, but because we are unlikely to want to remodel the room to suit the theater, we have to select a speaker system to suit the room.

Likewise with the screen. Bigger is not always better. There is a ratio that can be used to help you work out the size of the screen you should be thinking about, but even this proportion depends on individual predilection.

The formula says that you should sit 9-15 feet away from a 36 inch screen, but you might have poor eyesight and prefer to have a 48 inch screen. This is where kit fall down.

In general, home theater packages suit regular shaped, smallish rooms. By that, I mean 12 – 20 feet in length and combinations thereof. Then, depending on the room again, you will have to consider the sound system. Stereo is not up to the job, if you want to replicate the sound of a full size movie theater. In order to do that, you will need surround sound with at least three speakers and probably five or more.

All in all, you will get the best system for your home movie theater if you buy the components separately, especially if you have an odd or oblong shaped room or certain personal preferences. However, a standard package delivers a quick and easy, passable solution for many modern, ’standard’ sized rooms.

One last piece of advice though, if you do buy a kit, make sure it is one that you can upgrade, particularly in the sound department. A TV screen is just a matter of a connection and they are all the same, but if your home theater package comes with three or five speakers, maybe you will want to add some more one day. You may also want to think about adding games functionality to your system too.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with Home Theater Screens. If you are interested in a Home Movie Theatre, please click through to our site.