Hip-hop music or rap music is an admired and famous style or genre of music in the USA. This well-known music genre is made up of two components, rapping and record scratching. Rapping is also known as MCing and DJing, which comprises of audio mixing. These two main components combined with graffiti and break dancing form the four core elements of hip-hop.

Hip-hop was initiated as a cultural movement by inner-city youth, mostly Latinos, Hispanics, and African Americans in New York City, in the early seventies. The word "rap" was derived in the sixties, from a slang word that meant conversation.

Hip-hop has two main historical eras, the old school hip-hop era from 1970-1985 and the golden age hip-hop era from 1985-1993. The golden age of hip-hop began only when it entered the mainstream of music and it consolidated the sounds of the West Coast and the East Coast.

The origin of hip-hop music is from African American and West African music. Contributions of griots like The Last Poets, Jalal Mansur Nurriddin, and Gil Scott-Heron were significant in a big way for the advent of hip-hop in the 1960s. Hip-hop had originally begun in the Bronx. Funk and soul music were played a lot in block parties. In the beginning, the DJs at these parties began separating the percussion breaks from hit songs. They started realizing that these breaks were more entertaining and groovy. This technique had become widespread in Jamaica and had spread considerably in the New York community via the Jamaican immigrants.

Kool DJ Herc and Grandmaster Flash were the pioneers in the hip-hop industry and other DJs had extended the short percussion interludes of funk records and created a more danceable sound. As a result, remixes had become popular with the advent of mixing and scratching techniques. Many styles of hip-hop had developed in the golden age of hip-hop.

At present, hip-hop is enjoyed all around the world. In spite, of all the controversies created by hip-hop artists they are still growing in number. Hip-hop music is sold all over the world in stores and even online.

There are many ways to write good lyrics to a song (or a poem). This article will present some different ideas, hopefully to help you consider some new avenues for your songwriting that you may not have thought of before.

When you look at successful song lyrics, in order to sound original, they tend to avoid trite phrases and often embrace tension, dissonance, or unexpected directions. The following are some strategies to consider for writing your own song lyrics:

Wordplay. Some songs are distinct because they contain plays on words. For example:

• "You are my greatest mistake." (Sheryl Crow)
• "The only thing that looks good on me is you." (Bryan Adams)

Watch any of the major movie, television, and music award shows on television today and one of the first things you’ll notice about the celebrities on the red carpet, aside from their extravagant (and sometimes outlandish) attire, are the amount and size of the jewelry they are wearing. Hip-hop jewelry, more commonly known as bling-bling, is definitely not understated fashion. The bigger and the flashier it is, the better. Preferred by many of today’s celebrities, hip-hop jewelry adorns the fingers, necks, arms, even the teeth of many stars.

Oversized studs and chains are the trademarks of hip-hop jewelry and are preferred by celebrities such as Sean Combs, or P. Diddy. At the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards, he sported a diamond ring, bracelet, and watch from Jacob and Company. Rapper TI is another celebrity who is hardly ever seen without his hip-hop jewelry. On his web site, 50 Cent offers more affordable, though just as flashy, bling-bling for those of us who do not earn the megabucks that he and his fellow celebrities rake in. There are also many other web sites that offer low-priced hip-hop jewelry inspired by popular rap artists.

Hip-hop honeys jewelry comes in many shapes and sizes, all of them meant to catch the eye and attract attention. Heavy chains of silver or gold (or both) can oftentimes be seen on celebrities such as LL Cool J and Ja Rule in their music videos. Hip-hop jewelry web sites offer fully ‘iced-out’ bling-bling, or watches, rings, bracelets and earrings that are heavily decorated with real or faux diamonds. So-called ‘spinner’ watches and rings are big best sellers in the hip-hop jewelry category. Also available are customized, removable gold, silver and platinum teeth which may be studded with jewels and gemstones, so even the pearly whites can have their share of hip-hop jewelry.

Women celebrities are keeping pace with their male counterparts when it comes to wearing hip-hop jewelry. Stars such as Beyonce, Lil’ Kim, Ashanti and Missy Elliott are regularly seen in pictures wearing large diamond jewelry items of various colors. Even young female celebrities are getting on the bling-bling bandwagon. Teen stars like Jo Jo and Hilary Duff are said to be avid hip-hop jewelry enthusiasts and count themselves among the large number of bejeweled stars today.

Large, ostentatious pieces of jewelry did not start becoming popular only because of the hip-hop cultural phenomenon (think Elvis Presley and Tom Jones), but hip-hop has altered the jewelry market in a big way. Fans see what their favorite celebrities are wearing, and there are numerous options for them to emulate their idols – at least in terms of fashion. Jewelry has always been a part of popular culture, and today’s hip-hop jewelry and the celebrities who wear them are even more so in this age of instant information.

These buffie the body pictures are crazy bananas. If you have not seen these pics of buffy and here booty them you are tripping!

In an industrial context, welding refers to a fabrication process that joins materials such as metals and thermoplastics, by causing coalescence. This is typically done by melting the work pieces and adding a filler material such as a welding rod, to form a pool of molten material that cools to become a strong joint. Various processes and energy sources are used for welding such as a gas flame, electric arc, laser, electric beam, friction, and ultra sound. All these methods involve the use of various unique equipments, specific to each process.

A basic welding process requires certain common equipments. These include the power supply, electrodes, welding rods and arcs, and shielding gas. The process of automated welding employs the use of robots.

A welding power supply is equipment that supplies an electrical current to perform the welding operation and often uses a high current, usually over 80 amps. The current can be as high as 12000 amps, which is required for spot welding. Power supply equipment includes a transformer, generator, and alternator and inverter. Generator and alternator stylized machines convert mechanical energy into electrical energy. The latest technology in this category use internal combustion engines, where as the conventional machines often use an electric motor to drive the alternator or the generator. However, the inverter-based machines are entirely controlled by software and implement features such as pulsing the welding current, variable ratio and automatic spot welding. However, a transformer based welding structure is often expensive but can assist in a variety of applications.

Electrodes or filler materials are one of the most vital components in welding as they facilitate the intended joint. However, depending on the process, the electrode is either consumable, in case of gas metal artwork, or non-consumable as in case of tungsten arc welding. Filler materials are also available in different materials such as magnesium and tungsten.

The shielding gas is used mainly in gas metal arc work to protect the weld area from atmospheric gases. Robots have become crucial equipment in modern welding process as it facilitates automated welding, thus increasing the efficiency and enhancing various welding processes.

Do you love cartoons and animated films? Well, I do and they are my favorite means of entertainment. When I was young, I would always rush home from school to see my favorite animation character on TV. In this modern day and age, animation is much more sophisticated. The painstakingly hand drawings of the last decade has been replaced by computer aided images. Nevertheless, I still like everything whether is the lush colors of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves or the latest state of the art Pixar creation. The creative invention of the animation character is the important thing for me. I like characters that are presented well with good characterization and story.

Top Cat, Yogi Bear, Popeye and other shows gripped my imagination when I was young. The animation character of Top Cat, or TC, as he was known to his friends, is one of my favorites. He ruled over his alleyway, was the king of his gang and ran rings round the local cops. Top Cat introduced me to the concept of anarchy. However, my mother was disappointed when my devotion to Popeye did not lead to a love of spinach.

Tom and Jerry still plays today and is probably the most enduring of the old cartoons. The slapstick that characterizes this show translates into any language. Adults seem to like this sort of animation character as much as the kids do. I also loved the Pink Panther series because he was such a cool dude, and I liked the jazz score that played on his show.

The type of animation character that went against authority, the rebel or anti-hero was my favorite. They were a contrast to the goody two shoes that usually filled a Disney film. However, Disney had great villains too, such as the wonderful Cruella da Ville from 101 Dalmatians. She has got to be the greatest baddie cartoon character of all time. Small children today are still probably afraid of her character.

There are also some great TV animated series around in the present day and age. For example, the Simpsons is an amazing success story. It is remarkable that it has maintained its high standard over many years. Its cultural and political references are entertaining and I think adults get more out of it than kids.

There are animation character shows that are openly aimed at an adult audience. The Family Guy and King of the Hill are good examples. These adult oriented shows have a lot to say about American society. Animators can do a lot of satire with an animation character. They can also make them say things that real people wouldn't dare to say.

As energy prices increase, warming and cooling your home is becoming more and more expensive. Upgrading your insulation is one way to fight the increased costs.

A Guide to Insulation for Your Home

Insulation acts as a blanket for you home. During cold winters, it serves as a barrier to keep as much of the warm air produced by your heating system as possible in the home. In summers, it servers the opposite role of keeping warm air out and cool air in. All and all, this makes it a pretty flexible building material when you think about it.

The key to keeping your heating and cooling costs down is to understand insulation and use the best possible type for you home. To assist in this regard, every community maintains building codes calling out for minimum levels of insulation. Unfortunately, these minimum levels often are insufficient, a particular problem with new homes given that builders use them as the standard to minimize the cost of construction. Nearly every home could significantly cut heating and cooling costs if they upgraded their insulation.

Insulation comes in three basic forms – flexible insulation, loose-fill insulation and reflective insulation. Flexible insulation is the most familiar, to wit, the rolls of pink stuff you see at construction projects. Loose-fill insulation comes in bags and is actually sprayed into walls. Reflective insulation is used like flexible insulation to fill stud walls, but works by using a material that reflects the radiating heat in a structure. There is also rigid insulation, but it is rarely used.

When considering insulation in your home, there are two key issues to address. First, the insulation in your home should have an “R” value, which represents the insulations resistance to the transfer of heat. If you really want to cut utility costs, you should replace your current insulation with a brand that has double the R value you currently have installed.

A second issue to consider is coverage. You might be surprised to learn that insulation is missing in certain key areas of your home. Heat rises, so checking the insulation in your attic should be your first step. You should also consider placing a seal around the entrance to the attic from the interior of the home. This space is almost always unsealed and acts as a highway for heat to escape.

Insulation is hardly a sexy topic when it comes to home improvements. While it may be bland, improving it can save you thousands and thousands of dollars.