How to Get on Extreme Makeover Home Edition

One of the most watched shows on television today is Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.  Almost everyone you talk to has heard of or has seen the show that is widely gaining popularity with all of the good they do for the less fortunate.  The show focuses on families that have had some sort of major life experience that has drastically changed their lives such as a tragic accident or the loss of a loved one.  Some of the people that have appeared on the show have been afflicted with a life threatening illness, have a child that is terminally ill or have been through some other life changing event such as surviving a shooting at their place of employment.

The show has been around for five seasons and they continue to change the lives of families in need.  This is an award winning show and just by watching it one time you will get an idea of why it has won awards.  Many people are familiar with the saying "move that bus" from the show.  That is when they reveal the new house that was built to the family it was built for.  Generally the hosts of the show work together with friends and family of the chosen family to get them out of the home for a week.  This may be done by sending the family on an all expenses paid vacation.  Once they are shipped off, the crew comes in and gets the help of local people and businesses to the home makeover happen.

Most of the time, all the materials and supplies are donated by local businesses and the town in which the family lives in.  It is truly amazing as the entire neighborhood generally pulls together to help tear down and rebuild a completely new home.  The home is tailored to meet the needs of the family.  If there is someone in the family that has a certain illness or problem that limits what they can do, the team creates a home that will work for that person as well as the rest of the family.  From blindness to being allergic to the sun, they can do it all.  The house of is made over in one week's time.

When applying to be on extreme home edition, it can help to know what they are looking for in a winning family.  They do not just go with any family that needs a home makeover, they go with families that really need some assistance and have struggled with overwhelming challenges.  They want to take a family that went through a horrific tragedy and give them hope again.

Getting on the show can be harder then you think.  First you need to make a video of your story or the story of your friend or family that you want on the show.  You then go to the official website -- abc.go.com/primetime/xtremehome/index?pn=apply to print out an application for the deserving family, no matter whether it's your family or someone else's.  You then send in your finished application along with pictures and a video of the home that you want to have redone.  Then you wait.

Keep in mind that there are thousands and thousands of videos and letters received so it takes time for the producers to read all of the applications and watch all of the videos.  Once they make their selection, it is up to Ty and the team to get together and hit the road.  If your video is chosen Ty and the team will arrange for you and your family to have a much needed family getaway.  This is where they come in and work their magic.  The results are then broadcast for the world to see and the lives of the whole family are changed forever.

You can nominate your own family or the family of someone you know.  This can be a co-worker, a brother or sister, even a neighbor.  Everyone has a chance.  You need to show the producers why the family you chose should be on the show and get their dream house.  It truly is a show that pulls on the heart stings of everyone who watches it or has come to be a volunteer on the show for their loved or neighbor.

DVD Movie Comedy

Continuar leyendo

Ocultar articulo

6 Extreme Weather Events in London

1. Tornado, 1091

On 30 October 1091 a tornado swept through the city which destroyed hundreds of houses and a number of churches including St Mary le Bow where four rafters from the roof were driven twenty feet into the ground by the force of the wind. Astonishingly, contemporary chronicles report that only two people were killed.

2. The Great Storm, 1703

The worst storm in London's history struck on the night of 26-27 November 1703. According to contemporary reports, 'practically all the roofs in London were stripped of their tiles' and the leaden roofs of many churches, including Westminster Abbey, were 'rolled up like skins of parchment'. Defoe, who wrote an account of the storm, revealed that 'nobody durst quit their tottering habitations for it was worst without' and claimed that many people were convinced that the end of the world had come.

3. Earthquake, 1750

On 8 March 1750 the city was awoken at about 5.30 in the morning by the shock of an earthquake. According to a contemporary report, 'a noise was heard resembling the roaring of a great piece of ordnance, fired at a considerable distance, and then instantly the houses reeled, first sinking, as it were, to the south, and then to the north, and with a quick return to the centre'. In the Thames the water was so agitated that fish were seen to leap half a yard above its surface. Many preachers were eager to seize upon the event as an indication of God's wrath with a sinful city. Charles Wesley proclaimed that 'of all the judgments which the righteous God inflicts on sinners here, the most dreadful and destructive is an earthquake' and that 'this He has lately brought on our part of the earth, and thereby alarmed our fears, and bid us "Prepare to meet our God!"'

4. Floods, 1928

The last time that central London flooded was in 1928. On 6 and 7 January heavy rainfall, a rapid snow melt and a spring tide combined to cause the Thames to break its banks at several points. A section of embankment near Lambeth Bridge collapsed and water rushed into nearby houses, drowning fourteen people.

5. Great Smog, 1952

Fog has long been a regular hazard in London. Accounts of its peculiar density date back centuries. Often it was made worse by the burning of coal. In the seventeenth century the diarist John Evelyn wrote of the 'hellish and dismall cloud of sea-coale' that lay over the city. However, in the late nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth, the combination of fog, household fires burning coal and the emissions from factory chimneys produced the dreadful 'peasoupers' which were a serious threat to the health of Londoners. The worst was in December 1952. Transport was brought almost to a standstill as visibility reduced to a matter of inches rather than feet. At Sadler's Wells a performance had to be abandoned because the fog in the auditorium made it impossible for the audience to see and the cast to continue. Approximately 4000 people died as a direct result of bronchial and cardiovascular illnesses exacerbated by the smog but many other deaths may have been related to its effects. The consequences of the Great Smog were so dire that legislation in the form of Clean Air Acts were passed to limit smoke emissions of all kinds and the London smog was largely consigned to history.

6. The Great Storm of 1987

Famously unpredicted by the Met Office, the great storm that swept the south of England on the night of 15/16 October 1987 had devastating effects in London. Gusts exceeding 80 knots were recorded at the London Weather Centre and at Heathrow and Gatwick Airports. Nearly a third of the trees in Kew Gardens, many of them rare and valuable specimens were uprooted or destroyed. The storm was the worst to hit the capital since 1703.

Thanks to serviced apartment London.

Lyrics Singles Movie Comedy DVD Movie Action

Continuar leyendo

Ocultar articulo

John Looser Builds Extreme Birdhouses

John Looser doesn't make houses for big birds, he makes really big bird houses. The largest "condominium birdhouse" so far has been 9 feet across and had 70 bird apartments. Yup, that's 70 pairs, mind you, of birds and their babies. And because of the way he mounts the houses, they look like they've actually been carved out of or built on top of trees. That's quite a monstrous nest. John sets a post 4 feet into the ground, then mounts the birdhouse 8-9 feet in the air with the help of a neighbor kid and a farm tractor. Once on the post, the houses are braced with real branches so that they actually look like a tree. He doesn't use any live trees though, all his wood is reclaimed. He will even custom mount one on an old tree, cut down in your yard.

So you are probably wondering - do the birds move into a house so big? "As soon as I walk away from the house, they start to fly into the birdholes." says John. "It's my popularity with the birds that gets me up in the morning." John Looser was in a car accident 2 years ago and the resulting injury has led to fibromyalgia. "The pain of fibromyalgia has no boundaries. People describe the pain as deep muscular aching, throbbing, shooting, and stabbing. Intense burning may also be present. Quite often, the pain and stiffness are worse in the morning and you may hurt more in muscle groups that are used repetitively."

John's self medication is building birdhouses. He began woodworking around the age of 14. His dad was a carpenter and John learned about building from him. He built houses, decks and additions before his accident. After his accident left him debilitated, John retired from residential construction. He found that another way to express his passion was to build bird houses. Their small size compared to a house makes it manageable for John to continue his love of building. "Building birdhouses helps keep my mind busy so that I don't notice my pain so much," says John. "As long as I can stay busy, I don't feel like my muscles are going to seize up and stop moving." Fibromyalgia has also led to sleeplessness. John gets up early, 6am and works 8 to 10 hours days, every day. Working is his therapy.

Three years ago was when he made his first birdhouse - a small one. He has expanded upon the size since then because "I live in the middle of nowhere, Ontario. I make them big so people will notice them." explains John. I am trying to set the World-Record and I think that I already have. John lives, with 14 birdhouses on his property, at RR3 Brussels in Ontario, Canada. If you are ever in the neighborhood, look for the property with the large birdhouses. It's about 45 minutes from Waterloo, close to Lake Huron.

All his birdhouses are made from reclaimed wood. John traded a large birdhouse for a neighbor's barnwood. He now has enough wood for the next 10 years of building birdhouses - unless he gets ridiculously busy, which he wouldn't complain about! His birdhouse prices start at $50 for a small, 10-inch single-family home and go up to $2800 for a 70-unit complex. The nice feature is that the insides are made with plywood and they are removable for easy cleaning. You can even purchase the building plans at his website, ExtremeBirdhouse.com

John's choice has always been to build things differently. His birdhouses include balconies and towers, Victorian styling and bay windows. He loves to watch the birds literally 'flock' to his houses after they are finished. His houses fill mostly with sparrows, swallows and purple martins. He's been working to perfect houses specifically built for Purple Martins by cutting a certain sized half-moon hole for them. This shape and sized-hole discourages other birds and is especially attractive to the Purple Martins, who happen to be quite a popular bird for homeowners to have around. Purple Martins eat many types of flying insects (except for mosquitoes).

John Looser's work has been recognized by the Art Council of Ontario and in April 2008 he will be include in the Art on the Road show.

Here is a list of his Top Ten Tools:

1. DeWalt Miter Saw: His favorite, most useful tool used. He makes thousands of cuts with this.

2. Skil Table Saw: He uses a small one to be able to reach logs for ripping.

3. Porter Cable finish nailer: Used for putting the houses together with a Pro-Air Devilbiss air compressor.

4. Paslode framing nailer: Used more for base with 2x10'.

5. Delta Thickness Planer: He uses this to run old 70-year wood through the planer to give it a newer look.

6. DeWalt cordless tools: sawzall, skillsaw

7. Black and Decker router: Used for making columns and posts, and for rounding off trim.

8. King joiner: Straightens the curves out of boards.

9. Mastercraft drill press: He uses this to make all the dormers, and to drill out holes.

10. DeWalt Skillsaw: Used for cutting barn boards into sections before using, cutting out nail pieces, and to cut steel for roofs.

You can reach John via his website at: www.extremebirdhouse.com

avatarmajor amazinganimalsdvd

Continuar leyendo

Ocultar articulo