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Kasan Groupe asked:




***This is a follow up to Filing your Taxes, Preparations and Considerations Part One.

Yes, finally! That time of the year is finally here when you can save a little bit of your wages and tuck the rest in a piggy bank. You can raise your glass and jump on your kids’ cheap bunk beds in glee, It’s Tax Season! But have you ever considered filed your own? If not, there are many options to consider. It may or may not be the best route for you.

Where to Go for Help- If you simply can’t afford to hire a professional accountant and you need help preparing your own taxes, there are several resources available to you free of charge.

IRS: This is actually the single best place to turn when you have a tax-related question that needs answering. They have both a comprehensive website and a recorded informational service line which includes personal assistance as well. The service line is (1800.829.4477) and to speak to someone the number is (1800.829.1040). AARP Tax-Aide: This program offers a free tax counseling service that educates senior citizens on basic income tax return preparation. Other qualified individuals can also be assisted. Learn more through the AARP website. VITA: This is known as the Volunteer Income Tax-Assistance (VITA) program which matches certified volunteers with low-to moderate income individuals who need assistance with their tax returns. To locate the site nearest you, you can call (1800.829.1040).

Once you decide how and who will do it, you have to gather all your tax returns. And sometimes this is not an easy feat. This all depends on how you make your money, what investments are in your name, whether you itemize your deductions, and many other financial factors. To start, here is a list of all the basic information you will need to file your taxes.

Your social security number: Keep in mind that if you have a spouse or any dependants you will need their social security number as well. W-2 forms: From every employer you worked for, you will receive by mail a W-2 form along with a statement of wages you have earned. It is the law that you receive these forms by January 31st. If this doesn’t happen, contact that employer right away. 1099 forms: You will receive these forms for dividends, retirement accounts, scholarships, or any other forms of income you might have accrued. If you are self employed, you will be receiving a legitimate report stating how much money you earned as an independent contractor. Receipts: If your plan is to deduct some expenses or make charitable contributions you will need to keep these receipts handy. Bank account numbers: If you wish to receive your refund electronically and you file your taxes electronically than you need to supply your bank’s routing number as well as your bank account number to receive your money. Adjusted gross income from the previous tax year: To successfully and fully complete your tax returns this year, you will need to have your previous year’s tax return to refer to.

***Stay tuned for  Filing your Taxes, Preparations and Considerations Part Three to read Beyond the Basics and learn about all the additional financial records you may need for this year’s filing.

Darren Tan asked:




“Fleet Foxes” are a five-piece Seattle based indie band. Their genres include indie folk, folk rock, baroque pop, indie rock and indie pop. Fleet Foxes consist of Robin Pecknold (Vocal and Guitar), Skye Skjelset (Lead Guitar), Jay Tillman (Drums), Casey Wescott (Keyboard and Bass) and Christian Wargo (Bass and Keyboard). According to The Independent, Fleet Foxes described their music as “Baroque harmonic pop jams”. Before the release of their self-titled album, Fleet Foxes have released two EPs, “Fleet Foxes EP” in 2006 and “Sun Giant” in February 2008, and both EPs received positive reviews and praise.

Fleet Foxes somehow remind me of Okkervil River. I don’t know why. The whole journey of Fleet Foxes is like having fun and singing in a church. It has those that make you sing in church, with hands holding hands. And those which make you nod your head along too. Nice to have when in church, harmony will come when you have Fleet Foxes with you.

Fleet Foxes will keep your heart at peace with “Sun It Rises”. With some steady guitar and drum playing. It wouldn’t need long before you find yourself liking this song. From the lyrics where Robin went “Red squirrel in the morning, red squirrel in the evening, red squirrel in the morning, i’m comin’ to take you home, the sun rises over my head, in the morning, with the hold me, dear, into the night, sun, it will rise, soon enough…” I don’t really know what it meants, but one thing’s for sure. You’ll feel comfortable with this song. Simple lyrics, but with deep meaning.

“White Winter Hymnal” is really good i have to say. From start to finish, it has got me going. It’s like when you have an ice-cream, you would end up asking for more. This was what happened to me when i listened to this song. I got to say, White Winter Hymnal is really awesome! Robin made this song sounds so easy, but so good! I can feel Fleet Foxes’ harmony in this song. The vocal and the music were just too great to handle. Especially the “woo hoo hoo woo hoo hoo”. Unbelievable!

“Ragged Wood” comes in as the third track off the album. It is the longest song on the album and one of the crunchiest on the album. Somewhat again, reminding of Okkervil River. While Robin sings, you can hear the rest of the Fleet Foxes joined in and had their fun as well. They provide beautiful and harmonized back-up vocals, which nowadays, is one of the secret ingredients of any successful indie bands and artists. With some amazing guitar pluckings at the end, you can’t miss this song.

Fleet Foxes continues with “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song”, which is a beautiful ballad and showcased Robin’s vocal. Robin sang, “Wanderers this morning came by, where did they go, graceful in the morning light, to banner fair, to follow you softly, in the cold mountain air”. I can’t tell what it means from the lyrics but i can feel the sadness in this song. Fleet Foxes sure do know how to take care of your emotions.

“Quiet Houses” had a very good music playing to it. I was amazed the moment the music started, steady drum beats and beautiful acoustic guitar accompanied by what sounded like a door-pounding sound. It’s just so simple, but this song is really good. Check out the music! Oh ya, i think Fleet Foxes are singing about ahem… The lyrics goes like this, “Lay me down, lay me down… Don’t give in, don’t give in… Oooh… Come to me…” Happy and cheerful track with some really catchy hooks!

“He Doesn’t Know Why” started with Fleet Foxes beautiful and harmonized moans. This song has a few pick up points. Whenever Robin finished singing a verse, he had to catch his breath and build up his lungs and sing a new verse again. It’s such a hard song to sing if you were to try. Robin tried to make it as effortless as possible. At the end where Robin went, “There’s nothing i can do, there’s nothing i can say…”, it was the climax of this song and it was followed by a 30 seconds beautiful piano playing.

In “Heard Them Stirring”, you can hear Robin’s moans at the beginning, and slowly the rest of Fleet Foxes joined in, creating a beautiful platform for harmonized hummings and moans. They went, “woo hooo hoo..” And more! As if a group of choir were singing with Fleet Foxes. A beautiful one by Fleet Foxes. They were the music in Heard Them Stirring.

Wow, “Your Protector” is like some heroic anthem for a warrior. Interesting track by Fleet Foxes. There were some flute playing in this track, bringing a new instrument to Fleet Foxes’s music. The chorus was somewhat good and strong, i can feel it when Robin yell, “As you lay to die beside me baby, I’m the one in the shootin’ game, would you wait for me, the other one, would you wait for me…” With Your Protector, i can see that Robin is trying to tell us a story, i might not understand it. But with the music and the endless harmonized moans and hums, i can’t ask for more.

“Meadowlarks” is another beautiful acoustic ballad about meadowlark. If i were right, i think Robin is singing about his pet, a meadowlark. I just love the way Fleet Foxes hum to this song. It was just way too beautiful!

“Blue Ridge Mountains” started off really slow, but still managed to finish on a high note. There was a very unique instrument in this track, it sounded like some Chinese or Japanese instrument, which made Blue Ridge Mountains so good to the ears. Piano can also be heard in the background as Robin sang on. “In the quivering forest, where the shivering dog rests, our good grandfather, built a wooden nest, and the river got frozen, and the home got snowed in, and the yellow moon glowed bright, till the morning light” Brilliant stuff here.

The last track on Fleet Foxes’ debut is a beautiful acoustic track called “Oliver James”. At times when i listened to this song, i just wanted to sing along. The fact that this song is very easy to sing along to, it such a mesmerizing track. Only Robin’s voice and some guitars can be heard. Even if the guitar is not present, i have no doubts that this will be a big track as well. Just lovely. A peaceful way to end the album.

Rating: Wow, every song on Fleet Foxes’ debut has its own uniqueness and specialty. I enjoyed this album thoroughly. The instrumentals on Fleet Foxes were pure genius, i can’t help but listening to them all the time with my ipod. Fleet Foxes also tried to add some varieties to their music through using different types of instruments, which to me, they really did a fine great job. Nothing to argue about, there might be some flaws in between the album or some short boring moments on Fleet Foxes, but it’s still worth to spend your time with Fleet Foxes. 7.5 out of 10, i have to say. Cheers!

Stand-Out Tracks (My Picks): White Winter Hymnal, Ragged Wood, Quiet Houses, Meadowlarks, Blue Ridge Mountains.

Cheers!

Darren Tan

Indiesurf.com

memori asked:




In the 100+ years or so that home movies have been around, we have seen them evolve from use by only the extremely wealthy to anyone with a digital camera or mobile device. If we look at the major milestones in film and video development over the years, it’s easy to see how we got to where we are today. The next 100 years should be equally fascinating!

Overview

Since the first introduction of moving images in the late 19th century, we have been fascinated with its powerful entertainment and storytelling capabilities. Capturing the essence of people moving around, talking, and gesturing is the highest power of documentation. It surpasses the letters, diaries and still photography that previously had been the primary method of recording and communicating.

In a sense, the consumer-accessible film that became available in the early 1900s represents the 20th century version of what we now call user-generated content. From the moment that manufacturers like Eastman Kodak Company provided consumers the ability to take home movies on their own, the industry began a wonderful and complex evolution that has brought us to the YouTube video generation of today.

Now, anyone can be his or her own historian and upload moving images to the World Wide Web. But how did we get here?

Evolution from 16mm Film to Digital Video

The introduction of motion picture cameras and projectors in the 1880s created enthusiastic audiences for this new medium, and prompted wealthy individuals with the financial resources to go out and purchase a home movie camera of their own.

Early efforts at producing cameras and projectors for consumers were quite expensive, however, and to make matters more challenging, the early film was manufactured out of a nitrate, a highly flammable and dangerous material. Many of the early silent films have been lost due to their nitrate composition.

One of the more successful formats to subsequently emerge in the 1920s was 16mm film by Eastman Kodak. (The mm increment refers to the actual width of the film strip). Recognizing its significance, several manufacturers started producing cameras based on this format. Unlike the nitrate film of earlier years, the newer film was manufactured on a celluloid base, for greater safety. The cost for a typical family, however, was still somewhat prohibitive. Only the rich and privileged had the means to buy the equipment necessary. This fact galvanized the market into experimenting with less costly film formats for mass manufacturing.

This led to the introduction of 8mm film in the early 1930s. At half the width of 16mm, 8mm film was less expensive and easier to use. The 1930s saw other key developments as well, including the ability of sound and new color film for consumer use, including the famous Kodachrome film.

For the next few decades, both 8mm and 16mm film formats were used to make home movies, with average consumers preferring the smaller gauge of the 8mm film, and more professional videographers opting for 16mm. Home movie making continued its gradual increase in popularity until 1965, when a new format called Super 8 was launched. Unlike the previous formats, which required manual loading, it was housed in a cartridge system. Super 8 film was easier to use and less expensive, and helped expand home movie technology to the many individuals and families who could not afford the 8mm and 16mm formats. As a result, more and more people started to take home movies to record their family milestones.

One of the elements that facilitated the next major evolution in home movies was television. In the 1970s and 1980s, TV stations switched from film to videotape, which was easier to work with, more affordable, and could be viewed immediately – no more hassles of shipping off the film to a lab for processing. This made the evening news more “real time” than ever before.

While film was still the best media format for color and vibrancy, the ease of use and affordability of videotape could not be denied. VHS (Vertical Helican Scan) and Betamax had emerged in the 1970s as two competing formats, with VHS format eventually winning out. Consumer-grade videotape was available as VHS, VHSc (a compact version), and 8mm tape. The advantage of VHS-C and 8mm tape was that they enabled an even smaller videocamera to be used, instead of the bulky systems that were so heavy and cumbersome. Further refinements in technology also allowed for longer and longer recording times on the tapes, increasing from 30 minutes to several hours.

Consumers had quickly caught on to the advantages that the TV stations were already enjoying, and during the 1970s to early 1990s video camcorders and their accompanying VCR (video cassette recorder) systems exploded exponentially in popularity. An entire generation of young families was able to capture their children on video for the first time, using affordable camcorders and cassettes that were much easier to switch out than their predecessors.

This proliferation and increase in familiarity with home movie making paved the way for the digital revolution. Now that a majority of individuals had used camcorders, or at least viewed home movies made by other amateur videographers, the transition to digital was fairly intuitive. The first mini digital video cassettes in the 1990s prompted the manufacture of even smaller camcorders, providing the ultimate in lightness and portability. These MiniDV cassettes also offered extended longevity and many other advantages including digital image clarity and lower cost.

In the last few years, the most significant milestone has been the development of videocameras that record right to a DVD disk or to the camera’s built-in hard drive, thus eliminating yet another step in the process of transferring the footage directly to digital formats.

The power of digital video and the increasing sophistication of the Internet fortuitously converged in the early 21st century to create the phenomenon known as social media. Once video is in digital form, anyone can upload the content to the World Wide Web and make it accessible to hundreds of thousands of viewers. Consequently, user-generated content in the home movie world has moved from one-to-a few to one-to-many to one-to-millions. No more clunky projectors, clumsy camcorder hookups with a myriad of cables linking to TVs, or dealing with fragile physical media such as videotape.

The Future of Home Movies

Today, hundreds of moments are captured daily on digital video – there probably has never before been a generation that has been so completely documented in its every activity and movement.

Yet, boxes and boxes of unconverted old home movie film reels and videotapes remain trapped in families’ basements and closets everywhere. These formats, ranging from 8mm to VHS tape, pre-date the digital revolution.

Fortunately, there are new organizations and services that have formed with the goal of preserving these old formats and publicizing the urgent need to get these physical media into the longevity of the digital world as soon as possible. Organizations such as Home Movie Day ( www.homemovieday.com ) hold worldwide celebrations to commemorate amateur filmmaking, and provide a venue where families can screen their old home movies to catch a glimpse of their heritage.

In the last 100+ years, moving images have become increasingly more affordable, convenient, and accessible through a variety of devices, whether it’s television, computers, cellphones, or other mobile devices. More than ever, we have the ability to record and view personal slices of life to add to the professional footage captured as part of broadcast news segments, documentaries, and Hollywood films. It will be interesting to see what the future brings as video user-generated content matures. If history is any example, the trend toward lighter, faster, easier, less expensive and more widely shared home movies will continue.

About iMemories

iMemories is a leader in the dynamic Web 2.0-generation of Internet services. The company transforms old-media memories into crystal-clear digital files that consumers can enjoy and share—whenever and wherever they like.

In iMemories’ 8,500-square foot fiber-optic studio, production professionals use state-of-the-art technology and techniques to convert old home-movie films, videotapes, photographs and slides into organized archives and full-length digital productions. Memories that were deteriorating in the dark are preserved forever on optical disc—and easy to edit, organize, store and share worldwide through iMemories’ private, secure online user experience.

Share online video with family and friends. Home Movies on DVD.America’s #1 trusted brand for transferring home movies to DVD.

©1998-2007 iMemories. iMemories name and iMemories mark are trademarks of iMemories, LLC. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Disclaimer:

This article is provided as an educational guide for iMemories customers. Use of or reliance upon the information set forth in this article shall be at the reader’s own risk, and shall not establish any contractual or other legal relationship between the author and the users of this information.

Sources:

Background information for this article was obtained from the following sources:

www.ce.org

www.homemovieday.com

www.kodak.com

www.wikipedia.org