The Refresh Orlando Heirs

It’s the one piece of equipment that can really make or break
your home theater system; the remote control. It’s no good to
have the latest and greatest gear and world’s biggest DVD
collection if you can’t figure out how to use anything. True
home theater nirvana is a fantastic performing system anyone can
use with a single button press.

Many of today’s home theater receivers and surround processors
come with a “smart” remote control. Some of these are actually
pretty good too. B&K and Denon come to mind. If you know what
you are doing, you can get one of these babies programmed to
orchestrate your entire system pretty well. If you haven’t the
time or inclination for such a project yourself, hire a
professional installer to bring everything together for you. A
great place to start is CEDIA (Custom Electronics Design and
Installation Association). They have member firms in every
state, and many foreign countries, that are experts in making
complex home theaters easy to use.

Remote controls come in several flavors. The one most people are
familiar with comes with almost any electronic component you buy
these days. For the most part it does a pretty good job at
making the particular component do what you want. Some of these
even let you control other components, especially if they are
from the same manufacturer. This way, for example, you can use
your TV remote to also control your VCR or DVD player.

The next rung up the remote control ladder is the so called
“smart remote”. This type of remote is able to control multiple
pieces of equipment from different manufacturers. Some can
control up to 8 or 10 different components. They are usually set
to control each piece of equipment by entering a 3 or 4 digit
code. Some of these units will learn control functions from
other remote controls. This is helpful if the unit you need to
control is not in your remote control’s internal database. You
usually accomplish the learning by entering a “learn” mode on
the smart remote, pointing the “teaching” remote at the smart
remote and pressing the desired button. Viola! Your smart remote
has learned the command from the original remote control.

If you want things even easier than using just one remote to
control everything, you need a remote that does macros. These
are command sequences initiated by pressing one button. For
example, you want to watch a DVD. Typically you would have to
turn on your TV, DVD player and surround receiver. Then you
would have to switch your TV to the component input and your
receiver to the DVD input. With a macro capable remote, this
sequence is programmed into the remote. The remote then plays
back all the commands in the appropriate order so you don’t have
to.

If you want a remote that controls everything, you need a remote
with a lot of different buttons. This can make the remote a
little intimidating. Sure it can do almost anything but make
toast, but where to start? If you have the budget, now is the
time to get a touch screen remote. With a touch screen, you
typically have only a few actual buttons. These are typically
the most used functions such as volume up / down, channel up /
down, mute and possibly cursor functions.

All other buttons are just icons on a screen that you touch to
initiate the desired command. The beauty of this approach is
that you only need to have just a few icons on the screen at any
one time. This really cuts down on button clutter and confusion.
The icons can be graphical representations of the command, which
makes everything very intuitive. For example, you can have an
“NBC” logo you touch to go to the local NBC station.

Touchscreen remotes come in four basic variations. First there
is the choice of color or grayscale. Color looks better and more
information can be conveyed more quickly. Grayscale units are
much less expensive. Next, the communication with the remote can
be one way or two way. Two way communication allows status to be
updated on the remote itself. For example you can display album
and artist information from a music server or check the status
of your security system or thermostats. Two way communication
has been provided via a two way radio link, similar to a digital
spread spectrum telephone.

The latest two way remote controls being introduced from
companies such as AMX and Crestron use WiFi. This allows a whole
host of other possibilities. The range is spectacular for one
thing. You can roam around your entire home. On some units you
can browse the internet too. Imagine, you are watching a game
but you want updates from around the league. Just go to ESPN.com
on your remote and take a look.

The remote can really make or break your system. You can have an
unusable system with 7 different remotes or a slick system that
even visitors can use with no instruction. It’s all up to you,
your budget and your programmer.

Studio executives in High Concept Hollywood have very short attention spans. When pitching a film idea, many believe if you can’t do it in one sentence it is an unmarketable product. For example Planet Of the Apes (1968) starring Charlton Heston was pitched by producer Arthur Jacobs as “Moses Talks To Monkeys”. Passenger 57( 1992) with Wesley Snipes was known as “Diehard On a Plane.” Director James Cameron, despite a strong track record with films like Aliens (1986) and True Lies (1994) knew he would have a tough selling job after he went deep sea diving with Dr. Robert Ballard to glimpse the remains of the RMS Titanic. He became so emotionally involved by the experience that the sinking of the famous luxury liner in 1912 had to be the subject of his next picture. His pitch to the nervous executives at Twentieth Century Fox was,” Romeo and Juliet on a doomed ship.” There was a tense pause and Cameron said,” Also fellas it’s a period piece, it’s going to cost $150,000,000 and there’s not going to be a sequel.” Fox, a studio which had known great success with both The Love Boat (1977-1986) TV show and The Poseidon Adventure (1972) was dubious about the idea’s commercial prospects. But wanting a long term relationship with Cameron they gave him a green light.

Previous movie versions of the Titanic had focused on the historical aspects of the ship hitting the iceberg, so Cameron decided to play up the fictional love story. After Gywneth Paltrow turned down the female lead, Kate Winslet campaigned for it heavily by sending Cameron daily notes from England stating, “I’m your Rose.” Her persistence led Cameron to invite her to Hollywood for auditions. One of her screen test partners Leonardo DiCaprio, impressed her so much she whispered to Cameron,” He’s great. Even if you don’t pick me, pick him.” Cameron picked them both, but Leonardo was harder to convince. Playing a romantic lead in a blockbuster just didn’t seem cool. Cameron told him,” I know what you want. You want to play him with a deformity or a limp. Well, it’s lot harder playing a nice guy like Jimmy Stewart then one of those freaky, weirdo characters.” Freaks and weird character portrayals often take home Oscars, but DiCaprio agreed to play the part.

For a major Hollywood production the star salaries were relatively low, DiCaprio made the most at $2,500,000. The biggest expense of the film was building the ship, it required the construction of a entirely new studio in Rosarito Beach. Cameron’s attention to historical detail was evident down to the carpets, the grand staircase, the Picasso paintings and the 1911 touring car that Jack and Rose made love in. But other aspects of the film were less accurate. There was no evidence that on the real life Titanic people in third class were blocked from reaching the upper decks and the lifeboats, the emphasis was on rescuing the women and children, the richest man on board the ship actually died. In the film, First Officer William Murdoch was portrayed as a coward who shot passengers, in real life he was a hero which caused James Cameron to apologize to his surviving relatives. And Leonardo’s character Jack was based on an unattractive coal miner, who never left the bottom decks, let alone met someone like Rose.

Cameron, temperamental in the best of times, was surviving on three hours sleep and saved most of his screaming for the film crew. His philosphy was you couldn’t get great perfomances out of the actors by yelling. In one scene, Winslet and DiCaprio were running away from a huge wave on one of the decks and the actress was submerged and nearly drowned. Moments after she was rescued Cameron calmly said,” OK. Let’s do it again.”

As the costs began to mount along with the stories of the director’s slow pace and temper tantrums, the Fox executives began to freak out. They suggested an hour of specific cuts from the three hour film. They argued the extended length would mean less showings thus less money. But long epics are more likely to help directors bring home Oscars, and Cameron was more defiant than DiCaprio. “You want to cut my movie? You’re going to have to fire me!” You want to fire me? You’re going to have to kill me!” The executives, knowing that starting from scratch meant their entire investment would be gone, did neither. They also rejected Cameron’s offer of forfeiting his share of the profits as an empty gesture; they were sure there wouldn’t be any.

With more special effects being added Titanics’s release date was moved back from summer to Christmas 1997. At one point Cameron visited the Twentieth Century Fox studio headquarters to request permission to shoot additional footage and ran smack dab into company chairman Rupert Murdoch (no relation to William) in the hallway. After months of fiercely ordering people about, the self proclaimed “King of the World” could not look his real boss in the eye. “Uh hi. Uh I know I’m not your favorite person spending all your money. But I guarantee you the movie will be good.” Murdoch, with a glint of steel in voice, replied. “Young man, it had be better be better than good!”

Thanks largely to repeated viewings from young girls, the film made more money than any other picture in history. It tied Ben Hur (1959) for the most Oscars (11) although it was not even nominated for Best Original Screenplay. The Fox Executives were more relieved than euphoric and promised no more $200,000,000 movies, they felt like they had dodged a bullet. DiCaprio who infuriated the studio by refusing to promote the film and show up at the Academy Awards, became a $10,000,000 per picture star, was chased down streets by adoring young females, and later called the whole Titanic craze,” kind of an empty experience”. Winslet, who at one point during the shoot woke up and said, “God I wish I was dead”, moved back happily into smaller independent films. Cameron got his original profit share and continued to lose his temper, suggesting a film critic who panned Titanic be impeached. He reflected later that movie prices had to be raised to fifteen dollars to pay for overblown budgets. “People would be mad for six months and then they would come back. Of course I wouldn’t want one of my movies coming out during those six months.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stephen Schochet is the author and narrator of the audiobooks “Fascinating Walt Disney” and “Tales Of Hollywood”. The Saint Louis Post Dispatch says,” these two elaborate productions are exceptionally entertaining.” Hear realaudio samples of these great, unique gifts at www.hollywoodstories.com.

Introduction

Did your boss, took you for a ride? Did your girlfriend/ boyfriend ditch you? Did your friends take you for granted? And you feel that you are useless and you feel that they are hurting your self esteem.

Understanding Self-Esteem

To understand self-esteem, it helps to break the term into two words. Let’s take a look at the word esteem first. Esteem is a fancy word for thinking that someone or something is important or valuing that person or thing.

And self, means, you. So when you put the two words together, it’s easier to see what self-esteem is. It’s how much you value yourself and how important you think you are. It’s how you see yourself and how you feel about your achievements. Self-esteem isn’t bragging about how great you are. It’s more like quietly knowing that you’re worth a lot (priceless, in fact). It’s not about thinking you’re perfect - because nobody is - but knowing that you’re worthy of being loved and accepted.

In the words of Dr Nathaniel Branden, widely regarded as “the father of the self-esteem movement”, self-esteem is “the disposition to experience oneself as competent to cope with the basic challenges of life and as worthy of happiness.”

Importance of Self-Esteem

Self-esteem isn’t like a cool pair of sneakers that you’d love to have but don’t have to have. Good self-esteem is important because it helps you to hold your head high and feel proud of yourself and what you can do. It gives you the courage to try new things and the power to believe in yourself. It lets you respect yourself, even when you make mistakes. And when you respect yourself, others usually respect you, too. Having good self-esteem is also the ticket to making good choices about your mind and body.

If you think you’re important, you’ll be less likely to follow the crowd if your friends are doing something dumb or dangerous. If you have good self-esteem, you know that you’re smart enough to make your own decisions. You value your safety, your feelings, your health - your whole self. Good self-esteem helps you know that every part of you is worth caring for and protecting.

What Self-Esteem Is Not

Self-esteem is the experience of feeling and knowing that we are competent to live and worthy of living and being happy.

Genuine self-esteem is not primarily dependent upon the approval of other persons in one’s social environment. While it is indeed desirable to have the realistic good opinions of others, no one can give us self-esteem except ourselves. The person who ties his self-esteem to the approval of others is already handicapped in self-esteem and is constantly in jeopardy of further loss of self-esteem.

Contrary to what one sometimes hears or reads, self-esteem is not just a synonym for any positive feeling about oneself. Thus, self-esteem is not egotism, arrogance, conceitedness, narcissism, or a desire to feel superior to others. Indeed, these attitudes betray a lack of genuine self-esteem. Self-esteem is not the euphoria that might be temporarily induced by a job promotion or a new love affair. In fact, if one feels incompetent to handle the job or unworthy of love, these experiences can be a challenge to an already impaired sense of self-esteem. One can feel like an “imposter,” who might be “found out” at any moment.

Self-esteem - A Psychological need (Some facts from Research)

Self-esteem plays a crucial role in psychological well-being. Individuals who are high in self-esteem tend to be at less risk for depression (Crandall, 1973) and hopelessness (Abramson, Metalsky, and Alloy, 1989). Self-esteem is a better predictor of satisfaction with one’s life than any objective characteristic of individuals, such as income or age (Diener, 1984). High self-esteem has been implicated in good mental health (Baumeister, 1991; Bednar et al., 1989; Taylor & Brown, 1988).

Most people who seek psychotherapy do so because of general feelings of low self-esteem. Low self-esteem has been linked to problems such as depression, use of drugs (Brehm and Back, 1968), alcohol abuse (Wahl, 1956), suicide, and eating disorders. Relative to high self-esteem people, low self-esteem people tend to be more anxious, depressed, jealous, and lonely (Cutrona, 1982; Goswick & Jones, 1981; Kanfer & Zeiss, 1983; Leary, 1983; Lewinsohn, Mischel, Chaplin, & Barton, 1980; Taylor & Brown, 1988; White, 1981).

Self Esteem At a Work Place

Research has validated that self-esteem is a key factor in enhancing work performance and improving employee behavior.

Employees with high self-esteem (relative to those with low self-esteem) are:

More intrinsically motivated and optimistic (Bandura & Cervone, 1983; Burger, 1992; Deci & Ryan, 1985; Harackiewicz & Larson, 1986; Harter & Jackson, 1992; Vallerand, 1983), More creative (Domino, 1971; Mackinnon, 1962), More apt to work harder in response to significant negative feedback (Brockner & Elkind, 1985), More likely to be productive in quality circles (Brockner & Hess, 1986), and Less negatively affected by chronic stressors such as role ambiguity and conflict (Mossholder, Bedeian & Armenakis, 1981).

In the words of Warren Bennis, “… knowledge workers, in particular, can be creative and productive and happy only in an environment that nurtures self-esteem.”

Research shows a positive relationship between self-esteem and leadership. Leaders typically have higher levels of self-esteem than non-leaders. Self-esteem plays a critical role in decision making, inspiring people and gaining others’ trust. Leaders with high self-esteem are generally decisive, assertive, willing to make tough decisions, and exhibit high but realistic expectations of their followers, which become self-fulfilling.

Simply put, how can one be a good leader if he distrusts his own mind and how can one bring out the best in others when he feels insecure in his interpersonal exchanges? Nathaniel Branden concludes as follows: “The higher the self-esteem of a leader, the more likely it is that he or she can inspire the best in others. A mind that does not trust itself cannot inspire greatness in the minds of colleagues and subordinates.” Research shows that, relative to high self-esteem people, low self- esteem people set lower expectations for their performance in a variety of situations (Coopersmith, 1967; Kiesler & Baral, 1970), and these lower expectations lead to reduced effort (Diggory, Klein, & Cohen, 1964; Wattenberg and Clifford, 1964).

People with low self-esteem generally underestimate their capabilities and subsequently establish less challenging or mediocre goals for themselves. (Heatherton & Ambady, 1993). Research also shows that underachievers are generally less confident and less ambitious (Goldberg, 1960), less self-accepting (Shaw and Alves, 1963), and lack a sense of personal worth (Durr and Schmatz, 1964).

If I Can Help You In Boosting Your Self Esteem

Think back to when you did something new for the first time. Learning something new is often accompanied by feelings of nervousness, lack of self-belief and high stress levels, all of which are necessary parts of the learning process. The next time you feel under-confident, remembering this will remind you that it’s perfectly normal - you’re just learning.

Do something you have been putting off. Like writing or calling a friend, cleaning the house, tidying the garden, fixing the car, organizing the bills, making a tasty and healthy meal - anything that involved you making a decision, then following through.

Do Something You Are Good At.

Examples? How about swimming, running, dancing, cooking, gardening, climbing, painting, writing… If possible, it should be something that holds your attention and requires enough focus to get you into that state of `flow’ where you forget about everything else. You will feel more competent, accomplished and capable afterwards, great antidotes to low self-esteem. And while you’re at it, seriously consider doing something like this at least once a week. People who experience `flow’ regularly seem to be happier and healthier.

Stop thinking about yourself I know this sounds strange, but low self-esteem is often accompanied by too much focus on the self. Doing something that absorbs you and holds your attention can quickly make you feel better.

Get Seriously Relaxed.

If you are feeling low, anxious or lacking in confidence, the first thing to do is to stop thinking and relax properly. Some people do this by exercising, others by involving themselves in something that occupies their mind. However, being able to relax yourself when you want is a fantastic life skill and so practicing self-hypnosis, meditation, or a physically based relaxation technique such as Tai Chi can be incredibly useful. When you are properly relaxed, your brain is less emotional and your memory for good events works better. A great ‘rescue remedy’.

Remember all the things you have achieved. This can be difficult at first, but after a while, you’ll develop a handy mental list of self-esteem boosting memories.

Remember That You Could Be Wrong.

If you are feeling bad about yourself, remember that you way you feel affects your thoughts, memory and behavior. So when you feel bad, you will only remember the bad times, and will tend to be pessimistic about yourself. This is where the tip `Get Seriously Relaxed’ comes in.

Once you have tried out a few of these, consider making them a permanent part of your life. For most people, good self-esteem is not just a happy accident, it’s a result of the way they think and the things they do from day to day. Good Luck.

Conclusion

Self-esteem is one of our most basic psychological needs. The degree of our self-esteem (or lack of it) impacts every major aspect of our lives. It has profound effects on our thinking processes, emotions, desires, values, choices, and goals. Deficits in self-esteem contribute to virtually all psychological problems. And psychological problems lead to lowered self-esteem. It is a reciprocal relationship.

Looking forward to your comments and feedback Have a great day and take care.

Regards

Sanjeev Sharma

Pune-India

Mobile: +91-9890788259

E-mail: ss_himachali@yahoo.com; s070976@yahoo.co.in

Blog: http://sanjeevhimachali.blogspot.com/