Monthly Archives: June 2010

How to Save Money on Your Cell phone Bill

Chances are if you have a karaoke machine, you have a cell phone. Here are some handy tips to cut down on your costs.

No one likes to pay bills and the one for the cell phone can be among the most dreaded. Most people know what it’s like to be shocked by a cell phone bill. Sometimes the charge is so astronomical that we chastise ourselves for letting the bill get so big. It’s also common for people to pay a lot more for things that aren’t their fault. Here are some simple tips to make sure your next cell phone bill doesn’t blow a hole in your bank account.

Keep track of minutes

The most obvious thing you can do save money is to talk less on your cell phone. But that doesn’t mean you have to limit your usage a lot. It’s more important to be smart about when and how you use your cell phone. The first step is to keep track of your minutes to get familiar with your calling patterns. It may seem like a hassle, but once you have a visual record sitting in front of you it is a lot easier to manage your minutes effectively. Make a note of your business calls and see how they differ from your personal ones. Chances are you make a lot more personal calls than you think. See how many of these can be shifted to times when you get free minutes. Or if it can wait, then make the call from your home phone instead. This will leave you free to consider business calls a necessary expense that you won’t feel bad about.

Read your bill

In addition to checking your bill every month for usage, make sure to look for where all the charges are coming from. Sometimes there are charges we incur every month that we don’t even know about. A lot of people glance at their cell phone bills without taking a closer look. But take the time to read every line of your bill. If there’s anything that stands out, make sure to ask your cell phone company to clarify why you’re being charged. Most importantly, pay your cell phone bill on time. The charges and penalties add up so quickly that getting your service cut off would actually be the least of your worries.

Pick the right plan

If you aren’t a huge cell phone user, you might want to consider a pay-as-you-go plan. These are a lot less wasteful and you tend to get more value for your dollar. If you choose to go with a contract keep in mind that they have their good and bad points. Most people go with a contract because they come with the latest fancy phones. But keep in mind that new phone may quickly decrease in value as they become more common. If a new phone is the sole reason you decide to go with a particular company then you should look deeper to see what other features you can get.

Fancy phones equal costs

Keep an eye on how many extra things you download for your phone. Remember that fancier phones may have more gadgets, but they also present more ways for you to spend money. For example, you might be tempted to buy the latest applications or games for your phone. Charges for these items are cheap individually but they quickly add up.

Texts

Sending and receiving texts has become increasingly popular. In fact, some people send a lot more texts that they spend time making calls. If you send a lot of texts then make sure your cell phone plan is geared towards that. Texts can be quite affordable as some plans can offer something like a thousand texts per month. But if you have text usage as part of your plan then each text will cost money and that can add up quickly.

Combine lines

Ask if your company has plans that combine two or more cell phones. Some companies have family plans that are very easy to set up. And if your company offers free calls to “favourites” then make sure to take advantage of that. If you only make calls to a few selected people then this feature will save you a lot of money.

Don’t roam

Roaming charges can be very expensive. In fact they can be so costly that it’s best to turn off your cell phone completely if you’re venturing outside of your calling zone. If you need to make a long distance call then a calling card is a good investment. You should only use your cell phone to call long distance if it’s an emergency.

Shop Around

The best way to control your cell phone bill is to use your power as a consumer. There are a lot of cell phone companies out there and they are all vying for your dollar. Shop around before you lock yourself into a plan. And if you don’t find something you like then don’t be afraid to get a prepaid or pay-as-you-go plan. Ask your friends about how happy they are with their companies. There will always be people who are trapped in miserable plans. Then there are those who love their cell phone providers. Talk to a mix of each to form an educated opinion about the best ways to save money.

Look here for tips on buying a karaoke machine.

The Rise of Game Show Contestants as Characters on Television

From J.R. Ewing to Cindy Nobody: The Rise of Game Show Contestants as Characters on Television

Who Wants to be a Millionaire is one of the greatest game shows in the history of television. After its debut in North American, millions of viewers sat glued to their television sets for the first few weeks of its initial run. It had an incredible impact on the culture of the day and continues to influence present game shows. Almost every game show since has taken something from Millionaire whether it be set design or color scheme. Even the way audiences are lit and how dramatic music plays in the background can be traced back to Millionaire. Overall, the show single-handedly rejuvenated interest in prime time game shows. However, there is one aspect of Millionaire that must be considered negative. It allowed contestants to speak. That was the moment game show contestants started to evolve from regular people to characters on television – and game shows have never been the same.

In the old days, game show contestants were given limited air time to share what was on their minds. Players on Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune had about twenty seconds to introduce themselves. There was little time spent getting to know contestants on The Price is Right aside from finding out how excited they were to be there. This allowed the focus to be on the game itself which in turn allowed audiences at home to play along. This meant the game had to be engaging and smart, or at the very least, intellectually stimulating. This all began to change when contestants on Millionaire started to share their thinking processes, and no one bothered to stop them.

Despite all the talking done on Millionaire, the structure of the show itself remained sound. The effects of the “talking contestant” wouldn’t be fully felt until new game shows appeared. For a while, a lot of the copy-cat shows still featured games that were decently playable. But then reality TV struck it big and network executives saw that there was money to be made by making stars out of nobodies. This is when the shift of games shows started to gear towards the contestants rather than the games. Contestants were given ample time to share their histories, perspectives on life, and anything else they had on their minds. By making contestants more compelling, it was hoped that it would increase the audience’s desire to follow along with the show. This was a good theory, but something horrible happened along the way.

By fleshing out contestants with back-story and personal interjections, they started to become characters. But there only ever seems to be one type of character. Every game show contestant today is loud and extroverted. They talk to the host as if they are long- time friends and reminisce about events that only they care about. Sometimes you might get a contestant who is a sweet old lady. But more often, you get folks who yell and scream, and they don’t talk like regular people do. You will also see that people are chosen for their attractiveness. Gone are the days when a contestant can have a big nose and be slightly awkward. Quite simply, you don’t get the average person anymore and that makes game shows of today a whole different entity.

This is worst thing that has happened to game shows in recent years. It’s a lot cheaper to run a game show with these “real people” than to produce a fully scripted drama programs with well-written characters. So not only do we get more game shows, we get more that feature the same types of people. Producers want audiences to feel engaged by the contestants as if they are watching a scripted show. However, they have forgotten about structuring shows based on quality games. They rely too much on a fascination with contestants to hook viewers and forgo any effort to make games that are challenging for audiences at home. If you try to play along with Deal or No Deal, you will soon realize that you can’t. The game is all based on luck, but people watch because they want to see what the contestant does. And why do they care? It’s because the contestant has already told you his or her life story. They’ve even trotted out their entire family for emotional support. The game itself becomes secondary and after a time, unwatchable.

In order for television to remain healthy, there needs to be a distinction between genres. It seems as if game shows have become a form of reality TV, which itself is a version of drama. Let’s bring back the days when game shows were challenging and fun. Leave the character development to writers who have the freedom to develop proper arcs and stories on scripted shows. This all started with Who Wants to be a Millionaire but that show also gave us a great game that was fundamentally smart. If network executives focussed on that part, we might be able to get back to the days of quality game shows.

Hope you enjoyed the article, back to more karaoke machine fun.

Getting Over Stage Fright

Getting up on stage is not an easy thing, nor is it for everyone. If you ultimately aren’t able to ever feel comfortable on stage, don’t knock yourself for it. It’s actually not a natural state to be the centre of attention and in fact people who are able to sing on a stage comfortably are in the minority. So you aren’t a freak if you can’t get up on stage; weirdly enough, the people who can do it without feeling fear are – at least that’s one way to look at it. But even if you are overwhelmed with anxiety at the thought of getting up and singing in front of strangers, it doesn’t mean that you can’t do it. Here are some handy tips to help you to get over stage fright so that you can get over that initial hump.

Read more »

Karaoke Singing Tips for Beginners

The first time you sing in front of other people is never easy, but it doesn’t have to be horrible either. In fact, some people have much more fun than they expected and find themselves hooked from the start. If you are looking to sing at a public karaoke room for the first time, then here are some helpful hints to get you through the experience.

When you go to sing karaoke, you should never go in “cold”. So that means try to do as much research about the room as possible. If you can, go with some friend to sit through a night without even singing. Have a few drinks, sit back and relax, and see how things operate. This will better prepare you for what to expect when you finally decide to get up there. You can even approach the karaoke DJ to ask him for helpful hints. Read more »