Recently I started listening to the soundtrack for the broadway version of the The Little Mermaid. The music is upbeat and entertaining, as most musicals tend to be. And of course, the storyline is inspiring. But many questions have come to mind as I’ve listened to Ariel singing about her desire to be “part of that world”. It has made me wonder several things. First, why did she want to leave her undersea world? And second, why do we, as humans, always have such a yearning for the unknown, just like Ariel?

It all goes back to the old, “the other side is always greener” idea. (This is literal in the case of Ariel and her desire to see trees and land and not just sandy ocean floor.) As far as reality goes, human behavior matches that of Ariel. Have we not spent billions of dollars on space exploration just to find out what is hidden in the great beyond? And another several billion to build tiny submersibles to explore the ocean floor? And surely if we could invent a way to do it, we would have drilled ourselves a hole straight to the center of the earth to see if it really is one big ball of molten rock and not some hidden civilization such as Jules Verne imagined. Human history is filled with attempts and finding out if there is more than what we have before our eyes.

Each of us have personal desires to “part of [some] world” that is outside of the one we were raised in. For example, I have always wanted to know what it would be like to be a professional dancer, a train conductor, and a race car driver. I’ve also always wanted to see how people live in the Greek Isles. Every one of us has these desires to explore “worlds” outside of our own. This is without question a good thing. Human nature gives us a curiosity about things we can’t understand. That curiosity drives us to search for more answers and work hard to get them.

In conclusion, I would have to say that Ariel had it right when she fought to reach her goal of having legs. If she hadn’t, she would have always wondered “what if?” and never achieved the greatness that she did. (By greatness, I refer to her reaching the goal of marrying the man of her dreams, and a prince to boot!) I, too, hope that one day I can sit down behind the wheel of a race car and take it for a few spins around the track, or maybe even have a vacation to the Greek Isles. Some of our dreams may not be feasible right now (such as if you have dreams to travel to Mars), but we can do everything possible to accomplish the ones that are. It’s what humans (and apparently mermaids!) were born to do!

About the Author

Tiffani Anazi is a freelance writer for MyCollegesandCareers.com. My Colleges and Careers provides tools and services on their website to help potential students find the best online colleges for them and their specific situation.

Image Credit

Andrei Nekrassov / Shutterstock.com

Look at how we began our television experience!  It was with a small seven to nine-inch television set complete with two huge rabbit ears (antenna) that had to be twisted and turned up and down, round and round, until there was somewhat of a picture showing on the screen, usually accompanied with snow.  This was transferred through air waves that the antenna picked up to transmit sound and pictures to your television set.  We thought this was rocket science!

And then there was cable.  We were proud to display that little black box that was on top of our set.  Because with that box and the wires that were connected to it as well as to the nearest cable station, we were able to pick and choose different options, and wow….even rocket science wasn’t this good!

But once again technology stuck its awesome head through the door and transformed the way we received news and entertainment. Where once upon a time, radio challenged the newspapers and television challenged radio; it now seemed that our old friend, traditional television, had competition all on its own.  It’s called Internet TV.

Because Internet TV is somewhat novel, quality, content and cost can contrast significantly. Some shows may seem totally high-quality and other may seem as if they were broadcast from a basement theatre.  However, networks are beginning to ease into the technology of trying out different formats.

This whole method of Internet television starts with the transformation of videos into a design for online transmission.

It’s surely to be the new wave of the future because it is so versatile.  Internet television can be used on a varied array of devices in addition to your traditional television.  You have the control of what you watch, and when and how you watch.

Internet TV is possible as it involves a process of converting videos into a suitable format for online transmission. This process is completed via a procedure identified as encoding, which utlizes software constituents called codecs. The resulting digital files can easily be fragmented into packets of data that can be transmitted over the Internet.

Next, the user’s computer can display whatever program they want to watch.  During the program and depending on the kind of Internet TV being looked at, optional controls may be accessible, such as fast forward and rewind.

Internet TV is a widely held sensation among the many enthusiasts of television shows. It definitely modernizes the way people watch shows because rather than get ‘boxed’ in to one chair in one room to see the shows they are anxious to see, they can watch them online anywhere, anytime.  It is a special treat to watch shows that have been missed, because instead of having to sit in front of a TV on a specified date and time, shows can be watched online, anytime.

So what was once rocket science; isn’t rocket science anymore.  One must only wonder…what will they come up with next?

About the Author

The article is contributed by Calvin Scott. Calvin is fascinated with new technology and loves to write on electronic gadgets. Visit his site to know more about interactieve tv kpn and interactieve tv  pakket

 

Hotels have been established as a part of British culture for numerous decades. As the focus of a number of fictional works, hotels can be depicted in various forms – but what are the top ten fictional hotels?

1. Fawlty Towers

A universally popular British sitcom starring (and written by) John Cleese and Connie Booth, Fawlty Towers depicted the short-comings of the highly strung Basil Fawlty as he attempts to run a hotel. The fictional hotel is set in Torquay, where Cleese and Booth had previously stayed with Cleese’s Monty Python companions. During their stay they experienced rude and obnoxious behaviour from their hotelier, leading to the formation of this sitcom.

2. The Bates Motel

The iconic setting of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film (based on Robert Bloch’s book), the Bates Motel is home to the ‘psycho’ killer, Norman Bates. Not somewhere people would want to stay, the Californian setting of Psycho is a terrifying example of a hotel establishment gone wrong.

3. Overlook Hotel

Another horrific hotel, the Overlook Hotel is the setting of the Steven King book and Stanley Kubrick film, The Shining. The hotel is set in Colorado and is isolated over the winter period, something which leads Jack Torrance to make the disastrous decision of taking the job as winter caretaker.

4. Lassiters

Set in the fictional suburb of Erinsborough (Melbourne), Lassiters is the hotel complex found in Australian soap opera Neighbours. The hotel is a seemingly profitable business but has not been without its fair share of problems over the years. A string of wealthy owners, notably Paul Robinson, have found that it can bring more trouble than it is worth.

5. Hotel Splendide

While also acting as the fictional setting for the James Bond film Casino Royale, there is in fact a real establishment with the same name. Both the fictional and ‘real’ Hotel Splendide can be found in Montenegro.

6. Guest House Paradiso

Starring Rick Mayall and Ade Edmondson, Guest House Paradiso is the setting and title of a 1999 British comedy film. Labelled as the worst guest house in the UK, the film was shot in the Isle of Wight, giving the guesthouse a prime coastal location.

7. The Grange Bed & Breakfast

Emmerdale’s finest form of temporary residence, the Grange Bed & Breakfast is managed by the oddly matched couple Valerie and Eric Pollard. Set in a fictional village within the Yorkshire Dales, this is a small and quaint establishment.

8. Pensione Bertolini

E. M. Forster’s infamous novel, A Room with a View, is set partly within this fictional Florentine guesthouse. The hotel provides the scene for the first part of the novel and introduces readers to the central character, Lucy Honeychurch.

9. Hotel Babylon

This television series, based on the novel by Imogen Edwards-Jones, depicts the lives of workers at a five star establishment. Set in London, the fictional establishment was always a hive of activity.

10. Crossroads

Another great British soap opera, Crossroads centres on the activities of staff and guests in a hotel/motel of the same name. Set close to the city of Birmingham, the establishment was home to a number of dramatic scenes through the years.

Rachel is a business blogger currently on the lookout for hotels for sale.