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Best Films Set in Colorado

Several top movies have been made in Colorado or used the state as a backdrop. In terms of the most famous film set in Colorado, they do not come much bigger than Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Released in 1969, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid stars Paul Newman and Robert Redford, who superbly bring William Goldman’s Oscar-winning screenplay to life. The Colorado filming locations used include Durango, Silverton, and Telluride among others and although Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid may have some historical inaccuracies, it does not deter from the story. There is one scene in a tavern where Sundance goes head-to-head with a tough gambler and if you become tempted to have a gamble yourself, always use a licensed mobile operator. The final image of the duo before their death is poignant and there is no doubt Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is one of the best films set in Colorado.

Another of the best films set in Colorado has to be Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. This film was released in 1989 and was set in various Colorado locations, including Alamosa, Cortez, and Pagosa Springs. Regarded by many as being the second best of the Indiana Jones films, the Last Crusade sees Sean Connery as Indy’s dad and there are some great pieces of dialogue between the James Bond legend and Harrison Ford. The story and action may be a little far-fetched but the action is great and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is one of the top films to be set in Colorado.

Heading back to 1939 and we come to Stagecoach, a film shot in Cañon City. This film is full of everything, including drama, action, and comedy. The film moves effortlessly between scenes, combining the best of the scenery and a stagecoach full of interesting characters. Starring John Wayne, Stagecoach was the film that launched his career in the big time and it remains a classic to this day.

Moving on and we come to Badlands, a film shot in Rocky Ford, La Junta, Las Animas, and Trinidad, among other Colorado locations. The plot is a fictionalization of the Charlie Starkweather murders and stars Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek. The background to this film is of the relationship between and man (Kit) and girl (Holly), who end up on the run when Kit kills the girls father. He goes on to kill again and despite the gruesome backdrop to the film, there is a glow to this movie thanks to the places used in Colorado, some of which are relatively unknown to those outside the state.

Finally, we come to the most recent film in our list, About Schmidt. Starring Jack Nicholson, the film uses Boulder and Denver and sees Nicholson travel to his estranged daughter’s wedding. The trip teaches him more about himself than he could ever have imagined and the combination of humor and melancholia produced by writer/director Alexander Payne is perfect.

How to Generate Leads from Your Visual Content

Lead generation is a direct approach to form a solid long-term connection with real customers who are ready to contribute to your business. Increasing leads means enhancing your brand awareness. Attracting prospects and turning them into leads results in creating a base for eventually regular audiences. The content that represents your brand should be a magnet that is capable of capturing leads and if it isn’t you can learn about salesnav here

As much as we love reading, even more, we love graphic information to perceive: little text and a lot of visual eye-catchers, especially those that bring valuable and useful information. Visual content is always a magnet for prospects, therefore, you should move your focus on creating a stronger graphical representation of your brand. Let’s look at the most winning tips to do that.

More stuff to watch

Depositphotos states that 33% of the time people spend on the internet is devoted to watching videos. HighQ says that 28% of honorable smartphone owners watch videos on their phones daily. Wyzowl informs that 84% of users made positive purchasing decisions after seeing a video. This proves that videos are full of potential to generate leads who might eventually become your regulars. Just make sure that your videos align with the rules, created for capturing leads and making them stay till the final deal ( purchase, order, sign-up, etc.). Having a video that is not long, is informative – key moments in the beginning -, and seasoned with some humor, then there is a chance that people will want to know more and cooperate with your brand.

Leverage infographics presence

Infographics are indispensable when you intend on communicating some broad concepts in a detailed manner; demonstrating statistics, or sharing an enthralling story. Pictures in combination with the “up-to-the-point” text are liked by the visitors and usually learned through. You should not be a high-class graphic designer to create those. Turn to the bounty of graphic design apps that are present on the market and choose the one ( or several) that suits your selling needs the most. Honestly, without special design skills, you may create just about anything. Resume templates, newsletters templates, infographics templates, invoice templates,newsletter templates etc. are all available, do not be shy to customize them for your vision.

Obviously magnetic content

Here is the talk about ebooks, whitepapers, presentations, guides, meal plans, etc. If a prospect landed on your page then it assumes that there is a cure for his pains in your hands. Just play the cards right. Offer some enticing content that is attainable at the same time. This way your prospect will not only appreciate the aesthetics but also get a chance to try something real from your brand arsenal. The moment they liked the idea to download your presentation, you got your lead generated. This is why the quality of design of your magnets is crucial for your leads stepping forward. Choice of colors, fonts, material lay-up, and call-to-action buttons have to motivate somebody to do something and do it fast.

Memes and…more memes

Make some memes a part of your visual content strategy. They are popular, well-perceived, and always welcomed by the users. Humor provokes higher engagement rates and quite a friendly and fun tone for your future cooperation. The connection also gets a human touch which increases likability and enhanced reach.

Conclusion

Visual content, clearly, plays a dramatic role in your lead generation strategy. In order to seal the deal ( having a prospect transformed into a lead and further into a client), you should consider leveraging your usage of graphic elements that will communicate the message of your brand and entice people in becoming a part of your big mission.

Roads to Nowhere by Tanja Willekens

Tanja Willekens, an aerial landscape and travel photographer out of Belgium, has presented an eye-pleasing aerial series named Roads to Nowhere. This moody series explores the roads that lead to nowhere, roads that deflect to other long roads or end up with nothing at the end of them. With its raw look and curiosity-filled theme, this series does well to intrigue the eye.

Writing about the project Willekens stated: “I made this project about absurd roads, roads that are made but not in use anymore, roads that ends in the middle of nothing.  The aerial photos are taken out a plane. I wanted to give it a graphical look, out of the context and in black and white for a dramatic touch.”

Find more work by Tanja Willekens here.

Album Review: Olivia Rodrigo, ‘SOUR’

In February, Saturday Night Live debuted a sketch parodying ‘drivers license’, the first song by rising star Olivia Rodrigo; just three months later, she took to that very stage herself as the show’s guest musical performer. Such a supersonic ascension for an artist is a generational thing, and not many have done it quicker than Rodrigo. It’s a well-worn path she’s treading though, one walked by singers like Demi Lovato and Miley Cyrus before her: Rodrigo made her Disney debut at the age of 13 as the guitar-girl Paige Olvera in Bizaardvark, before finding a bigger role in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (a baffling title surely to the casual observer). One of Mickey Mouse’s most marketable stars of recent years was, one feels, always destined to find her way to music.

It’s just how stupendously quickly Rodrigo has risen to this position that is surprising. ‘drivers license’ immediately broke several records, including making Rodrigo the first non-American Idol female artist to have their first single debut at number one on the Billboard charts since Lauryn Hill in 1998. When ‘good 4 u’ also debuted atop the charts, Sour, her new album, became the first debut album in US history to have two songs debut at number one; these are, in other words, historical numbers. 

Going into the entirety of Sour, much of the critical chatter revolved around whether ‘drivers license’ would become a one-hit wonder. The answer is, resoundingly, no. It’s a remarkably assured and focused debut record: The atmosphere is understandably melodramatic and moody, a deliberate mixture of balladry and bombast. It’s when Rodrigo ramps up the tempo that she really comes into her own. The most tearing and loud punk is served right at the start, ‘brutal’ being full of riotous angst. The fast and frenetic anthem ‘good 4 u’ wields righteous anger at her former lover, filled with sardonic little laughs amidst her venomous and sharp singing. In these songs, Rodrigo really embodies the idea of her being Gen Z’s Avril Lavigne, all heartbreak and angst, insecurity and energy.

Elsewhere, swooning ballads abound. Following ‘brutal’ is ‘traitor’, which consists of a weeping acoustic guitar and warm harmonies; towards the end, however, after one too many slowed tracks, things do begin to lag. ‘enough for you’, the piano ballad ‘happier’. and ‘favorite crime’ are too minimalistic to command attention. They were all going to fade in comparison to ‘drivers license’ admittedly anyway: centering on a high school love gone wrong, the song evokes emotions that are timeless and universal; the reckless abandon of falling in and out of puppy love. The bridge is absolutely gigantic, a sweeping mass of unrestrained sadness and sincerity; it will undoubtedly become an omnipresent karaoke choice for years.  

It’s clear that Rodrigo fancies herself as a lyricist first and foremost, in the vein of her hero Taylor Swift (‘1 step forward, 3 steps back’ even sneakily gets a Swift songwriting credit in, as it interpolates her song ‘New Year’s Day’). The simple melodies and understated rhythm section in most of the songs allow her fetching vocals to unfurl her relatable and vulnerable words. And this is, above all, a breakup album. The lyrics expound on her former relationship, the songs betraying her anger at the person for their actions and their lack of care. She’s often overwhelmed by thoughts of another girl (‘traitor’ and ‘deja vu’), who Rodrigo’s former lover seemingly chose over her. It’s only in the later tracks that she relents on the bitterness, finding her own form of acceptance: “So find someone great, but don’t find no one better,” she curses on ‘happier’. 

“I want it to be, like, messy,” is the very first thing Rodrigo says on the album. She’s setting her stall out early: ‘I’m no normal Disney-produced package,’ she seems eager to ensure the listener. Yet as she drops swear words on ‘brutal’, one can only worry that we are being conned. Perhaps this is an over-correction on Disney’s part, realizing that they couldn’t keep presenting their factory stars in the usual squeaky-clean manner. 

Which brings with it other issues. Rodrigo just turned 18 years old in February. Where she goes from here will be fraught with temptation and difficulties. To return to her predecessors again: Cyrus struggled to find her individuality after graduating from a much bigger Disney show in Hannah Montana, going through several warped and weird identities before finding a groove with her current mullet-and-rock style. Lovato fared much worse, going through many off-stage struggles with substance abuse and mental health issues. 

Recently we’ve also seen a public reckoning with the mistreatment of arguably the greatest teen star of them all, Britney Spears. New documentaries seem to sprout up each week remembering how badly the media handled Spears at the height of her fame. And while every publication both major and minor that has lasered in on Rodrigo’s rise hasn’t been aggressively toxic in their discourse, it’s important to stress once again: Rodrigo just turned 18 years old in February. 

Yet she seems all too aware of the familiar trappings and tropes of Disney stars past. Most of the songs were co-written by Daniel Nigro (formerly of indie rock band As Tall As Lions), but Rodrigo appears to have played the main part in proceedings. There are no guest features to be seen, peculiar for an expensive release from a big label. The raw emotions at play never feel like they were pre-ordained by a motley group of older male executives. “Quit my job, start a new life/ And they’d all be so disappointed/ ‘Cause who am I if not exploited?” she ponders on ‘brutal’, a saddening indictment on the industry that first gave her fame. 

When she took to the Saturday Night Live stage that night in May, her presence was undeniable. She combined the haughty but graceful gaze of Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval with the ferocious and precocious power of Alanis Morissette (the latter was just 21 when her own seminal album Jagged Little Pill, a clear antecedent, came out). It felt, whether you cared or not, like a zeitgeist moment. Is Olivia Rodrigo unapologetically being true to herself? Is this a carefully-crafted persona by the Disney hierarchy? Such is the forceful quality of the album that it probably doesn’t matter either way. It’s messy and moody, excitable and unrefined, but as she makes her way into pop’s pantheon, there’s undeniably lots of promise for the future. 

Using CBD to Improve Sleep Patterns

While most people are well aware that getting proper sleep is vital in many ways, there are still huge numbers of people who struggle to get the sleep they need. Sleep is something that can impact your appearance, your mental wellbeing, your physical health, and your life quality. If you fail to get enough sleep on a regular basis, it can have a huge negative impact on all aspects of your life. This is why you need to take steps if you find you are not getting the sleep you need.

The good news is that there are various solutions that can help those who struggle to get sleep on a regular basis, and this includes the use of CBD products. Over recent years, these products have gained hugged popularity with many turning to products such as CBD gummies for sleep. By taking steps to improve your sleep patterns, you can benefit in many ways and this includes preventing health issues and aiding your appearance, among other things. In this article, we will look at why CBD products are a great choice for those who struggle with sleep.

Why Turn to CBD?

So, why turn to CBD products to help you to enjoy better sleep? Well, there are lots of benefits that come with doing this, some of which are:

A Proven Solution

 Is it safe to use CBD? Can I use CBD or can I use THC gummies for sleep? Yes, one of the benefits of using CBD to help with sleep is that it provides a proven solution that is extremely effective. By increasing serotonin levels, CBD is able to help regulate sleep patterns, and this means that you can look forward to better sleep on a regular basis. This will then help with many other aspects of your life, making this an ideal solution.

Affordable Pricing

Another of the benefits you can look forward to is affordable pricing, as you can get some great deals on CBD products. Of course, you need to ensure you invest in quality products that are safe and effective rather than just going for the cheapest options. However, by going online and looking for deals, you will find this to be a very affordable solution.

Simple and Convenient

If you are looking for a simple and convenient means of improving sleep, CBD is the perfect solution. You will find that the products are easy and convenient to use, and this means you do not have to worry about jumping through hoops in order to enjoy better sleep on a regular basis.

Plenty of Choice

One additional thing to consider is that there is so much choice available when it comes to CBD products. This means that you can easily find the one that is best suited to your needs and your budget. From drops and tinctures to edibles and capsules, there is something available to cater to all needs and preferences.

As you can see, there are lots of benefits you can look forward to when you turn to CBD products in order to improve sleep. 

5 Impressive Wedding Traditions in Ukraine

A wedding day is an exciting time for every bride. All want to become happy wives. In Ukraine, there are lots of wedding traditions. And people pay honor to them even these days.

If you want to know more about Ukrainian wedding traditions, you should read the article. The history of Ukraine gave birth to hundreds of customs and traditions for a wedding. In the article, we will touch upon 5 of the most common traditions for Ukrainian weddings.

Some of them may sound quite weird. But they are a part of the Ukrainian culture. And it is a good idea to know more about them.

1.   Ransom

It may sound weird, but the groom needs to pay ransom to marry his beloved bride. It usually happens in the morning. This is a beloved tradition for Ukrainian women and girls for marriage in Ukraine. All guests gather in front of the bride’s house. And the groom has to pay a ransom. A man can visit the house of his bride on his own. Or he can ask his best men to follow him.

The tradition is quite old and interesting. There’s no general rule. It’s up to you what method to choose. You can give a gift to a bride and her family. It is also possible to offer money as a ransom. Some men are very inventive. They create the performance to get their bride.

Family members may ask different questions. And the groom can see the bride only by answering all of them. It is an enjoyable experience. Guests like staring at the performance and taking pictures. When the ransom is paid, the groom can finally meet with his beautiful bride.

2.   Blessings

This is a specific ritual. Couples may have a different attitude to this one. There’s no exact time when the couple should ask for blessings.

In some families, it is important to ask for a blessing from the family members before the whole ceremony. In other cases, parents show blessings to their children during the ceremony. This ritual is an important part of the wedding. By giving blessings, parents wish the couple a happy and wealthy life together.

3.   Ring Finger

In most countries in America, brides are supposed to wear their ring on the left hand. In Ukraine, women need to put their ring on the right hand. It is a tradition. And no woman would ever wear a wedding ring on the left hand.

4.   Embroidered Cloth

This is a very funny tradition. When the couple is already in the registry office, they have a cloth on the floor. The cloth has to be carefully embroidered by the bride or her mother. This is a tradition for many regions in Ukraine.

The rule is the following: the head of the family is to step on the cloth first. If a man is the first to step on the cloth, he will have the final word during the whole marriage. Usually, it happens before the couple says their vows to each other. It’s not usually taken for granted. These days, this tradition is more for fun.

5.   Traditional Bread

When the couple is finally registered as a family, they need to celebrate the wedding. Usually, they have to invite their guests to enjoy a good time in a restaurant. But before they visit the party, they need to have a bite from the Korovai.

This is a traditional bread made for weddings. It is made of flour. The cake is decorated with flour figures. The taste can be different. But it usually has a plain taste. It is neither sweet nor salty.

In some families, only the couple has to try the bread. But some families share the Korovai with all the guests. You don’t need to eat the whole piece. But you can’t refuse to try it. It would be a dishonest mistake.

Last Words

Ukraine has rich wedding traditions. These are only some of them. People are used to celebrating the wedding ceremony in such a way. These days, more and more people forget about the traditions and choose more modern celebrations. But lots of couples still want to make their wedding a traditional one.

Why to Hire an Expert Insulation Contractor

Do you want to take control of your home temperature? Proper insulation is undoubtedly a great option. It might seem exciting to insulate your home on your own via a DIY approach, but this job is time-consuming and requires experience. Therefore, it’s essential to find and hire expert insulation contractors. Here is why. 

Extensive Prep Work

If you have already installed insulation in your attic and crawl space, you need to remove it first. The whole prep work takes effort, time, and energy. Unless you are a skillful person, this job will sweat you a lot, and sooner you will give up on this home improvement project. Besides, a beginner is prone to personal injuries, especially working in an attic where one wrong foot can damage the whole ceiling. You need to hire an expert insulation contractor who knows how to prepare a space by removing old insulation; click to find out more in Charleston.

Avoid Health Hazards

If you don’t use your crawl space and basement for quite some time and give little to no importance to its cleaning, then it might have become a space for mold and mildew. In extreme cases, pest formation deteriorates the structural walls. When you enter into this dangerous space, you welcome health problems. On the flip side, insulation experts have experience in dealing with this kind of space. They know how to clean it all up before spray foam insulation.  They can complete the whole task more safely than you. 

Improvement in Air Quality

You know that the home’s attic has a ventilation system. Air from this area circulates your home. If your home doesn’t have proper air circulation, your home air quality drops down, causing health issues for its residents. The purpose of insulating your home is to control the temperature and keep ventilation proper for the health of the home foundation and its inhabitants.

Prevent Overheating

If you live in a state where the weather is hot all the time, you need proper insulation. Only an expert can install it correctly. With DIY methods, you may install insulation but improperly. Incomplete insulation often leads to overheating. When an area is overheated, energy cost increases and you need to pay hefty electricity bills. Always hire experts who can do this task as it should be.

Industry Standards and  Regulations

When it comes to the insulation of a home, you need to follow building codes– which keep changing over the years. Besides, codes also depend on the state where you live. A colder state building codes are different from a warm one. You can memorize and get them quickly. Only an expert insulation contractor keeps himself updated with building code and completes home improvement tasks by following industry regulations. 

Prevent Moisture Build up

When an area isn’t insulated with spray foam, water starts seeping in from open wall cracks and faulty plumbing pipes. Excess moisture build-up in crawl and basement becomes an excellent breeding portal of mold and mildew- another health hazard issue.

Why Jackpot Games Are so Popular Among iGamers

What a year it was… 2020.

Stuck at home, our mundane lives went into overdrive. For most people, their flat became their office, living space, and place to socialize with their peers (online).

Luckily, there are online activities like online iGaming that broke that cycle and brought some excitement back on the table.

Time goes fast when you are having fun. And what better way to have fun than playing online jackpot games. Before we go any further, let’s explain the difference between a regular slot game and a jackpot game.

A jackpot game is a type of casino game that is identical to the regular slot game but differs in the bigger end-game reward – a progressive jackpot. A percentage of the bet is added to the pot from every game played online on the same slot. Every player has the chance to win the jackpot.

This article will show why jackpot slots are so popular in the online community.

You can play from anywhere in the world at your time of choosing

Now games like poker and blackjack require a quiet atmosphere where players concentrate on the game and need no distractions. Once they lose focus, they might make a mistake and lose their bet. This can never happen with a jackpot game.

These games are designed for the fun of it, not to get a headache of too much thinking. Just one tap on your phone or your computer, and you see the rows. If there are any winnings, the game will inform you. That’s why the flexibility is endless with jackpot games. Whether you are on the train in the morning on your way to work or sitting in the park late at night, no pressure, no headache – only fun.

Jackpots that can reach six digits or more

Regardless of your bets, all players have the chance to win big rewards. Jackpot games are designed to offer enormous payoffs for those who play the games more often. Some jackpot slots have limited jackpots, and they usually come once per week or, in some cases, once per month.

However, there are jackpot slot games that have progressive jackpots that can make you an instant millionaire. This is especially the case of the most popular slot games on the iGaming sites. If thousands of players play the same slot, the progressive jackpot fills faster and gets bigger. With lady luck at your side, anything is possible!

Worthy Welcome Promotions

Those experienced iGamers, who have tried dozens of casinos, know what a welcoming casino means. Usually, casinos offer a 100% deposit casino bonus and a couple of free spins on their most popular games. However, in recent years, the best online casinos have shown others how it’s done.

Their bonuses can reach up to 200% deposits and offer dozens of free spins on every slot in their library. Not only that, but they reward their most loyal players with daily, weekly or monthly promotions that can add even more bonus spins.

Rich Library of Jackpot slots

We’ve all seen iGaming sites that offer only a dozen slot games that are 4-5 years old. -Boring! Now, a decent jackpot casino has a rich library with variations in themes and different jackpot rewards. Whether they are for high-rollers or designed for the casual player, everyone can find a game that suits them.

Speaking of themes, in the last few years, we’ve witnessed games designed around our favourite pop-culture characters and universes. Not only that, but they are investing heavily in better software that will surely bring more longevity in smart-device playing and increased security against cheaters and hackers.

Conclusion

Now it is clear why iGamers prefer jackpot slot games more than anything in an online casino. The flexibility, the huge library of games, free spins and welcome bonuses and huge jackpot payouts all play a role for players to be attracted to one particular online casino. We think that you are ready to embark on this journey that is filled with fun, excitement and, more importantly, huge rewards.

Album Review: CHAI, ‘WINK’

Towards the beginning of Olivia Wilde’s Booksmart, one of the most infectiously brilliant coming-of-age movies in recent memory, the film’s protagonists are struck by the realization that they should’ve spent more time enjoying themselves in high school. They’d assumed their bookishness was a strength, but when they find out everyone who went around partying also got into prestigious colleges, it suddenly hits them that their calculations were flat-out wrong. That CHAI would name one of their songs, ‘Nobody Knows We Are Fun’, after a quote from the movie, might at first seem like an odd choice: surely, no one who’s heard their first two albums or caught them live would accuse them of being overly pretentious. Made up of twin sisters and vocalists Mana and Kana, bassist/lyricist Yuuki, and drummer Yuna, the Japanese band’s music thrives off the kind of joyous, frenetic energy that’s built on the foundations of friendship and self-love.

But the phrase “nobody knows we are fun” is hardly self-pitying; in the film, the task of proving they’re not who their classmates think they are is only a way for the main characters to get to know each other, and themselves, better. CHAI embark on a similar path on their third album and Sub Pop debut, WINK, putting emphasis on the second part of that phase – especially the we (“After the ‘i’ of PINK and the ‘u’ of PUNK – which represented the band’s act of introducing themselves, and then of centring their audiences – they have come full circle with the ‘we’ of WINK,” a press release explains.) Though they’ve already done more than most acts to showcase their genre-defying approach, WINK sees them embracing styles that had only occasionally made it into the mix before – specifically hip-hop and R&B, which they found themselves listening to in quarantine. The result is a mellow, comforting album brimming with bright hooks, bouncy instrumentals, and a homespun warmth coming through the vocals – still irresistibly fun, but in a whole different way.

‘Nobody Knows We Are Fun’ might also the brightest example of the group switching gears, diving into those smoother, silkier tones effortlessly and with finesse. The strutting electro-funk of ‘IN PINK’, buoyed by production from guest artist Mndsgn, is similarly delightful. The charming playfulness that characterizes CHAI is all but gone: on tracks like the 8-bit dance cut ‘PING PONG’ featuring chiptune group YMCK, the colourful instrumental and CHAI’s animated vocals help pick up the pace on an otherwise chilled-out album. Even at its most serene, though, WINK radiates with expressions of joy that are as powerful as they are uncomplicated: their love of food can be a source of fulfillment (‘Donuts Mind If I Do’, ‘It’s Vitamin C’) as well as a means of empowerment and body positivity (‘Maybe Chocolate Chips’). ‘KARAGEE’ might be the most endearing song comparing romantic tenderness to the enjoyment of an animal-based meal that’s ever been written by someone who’s since stopped eating meat.

It’s as easy to miss the frenzied unpredictability of CHAI’s earlier material as it is to revel in the pure sweetness of WINK. Though it loses some of its spark on the second half, the album still showcases a band being unapologetically themselves, and having a ton of fun doing it. Some of the simple pleasures they celebrate may be ephemeral, but like these songs, that’s partly what draws you to return to them again and again. And like the schoolgirl duo at the center of Booksmart, it’s the band’s chemistry that ultimately shines through the most: not only do they make it clear that there’s more than one side to them, but they make you feel part of that we, too. Thousands of listeners may already be aware of their coolness – the band’s or their own – but CHAI insist more people should join the party.

The Big Things Moves and TV Get Wrong About Homeownership

For many of us, the only thing better than watching TV and movies is tearing them apart. Nonsensical plotlines, characters with no interest in self-preservation, and zero in-depth understanding of a topic are all favourites here, as we throw our hands up in the air and declare frustrations.

The more you get involved in the world the more unrealistic aspects of visual media seem to become, and that’s the inspiration for this article today. Having recently gone through the home-owning process for the first time, we thought it would be interesting to have a look at some major media misrepresentations, to see how the real world stacks up.

Myth: Buying a House is a Nightmare

There’s no doubt that the house-buying process is complicated, but there’s a fairly wide gulf between challenging and nightmarish. In movies and TV, people buying a house is always a frustrating event, with buyers constantly left in the wind or struggling through some unexpected outcome.

Back in reality, modern technology has made buying a home a remarkably streamlined process. One such example is found in contemporary mortgage broker services, such as Trussle. With this system, 12,000 mortgage deals from 90 different lenders can be compared quickly and easily, making what used to be a difficult process now a very simple one. This isn’t just the case with mortgages either, as many other online tools have essentially mitigated huge parts of what might otherwise be a stressful buying experience.

Myth: Your Property, Your Rules

Many of us growing up were enthralled by movies like Home Alone, which pitted home-based ingenuity against potential invaders. Though the included physics were obviously non-sensical, the idea of being able to modify our homes in whatever form we saw fit was a fun one. It doesn’t just stop at weaponizing your stairs, however, as we also ponder concepts like waterslides and moats, two things we’d never actually implement but love the idea of.

In the real world, the somewhat less exciting landscape of building consent and insurance problems make these concepts a non-starter. These concerns extend even further when taking the safety of others into account. Even if you don’t have a child, you need to have a child-save pool setup, and the interior of your home also needs to be safe for emergency personnel. Of course, there’s also the threat that people could end up like the Collyer brothers, which nobody wants.

Myth: It’s a Constant Flood of Friends

Perhaps the most unrealistic idea that movies and TV give us about homeownership is that we’ll spend the majority of our time hosting friends. Even if just hanging out like in Friends or Seinfeld, the idea is that groups will gravitate towards somebody’s home, essentially using it as a hub in their daily lives. It’s a nice idea on its face, but this idea is not reality. In real life, people are usually too busy for this sort of daily dalliances, where careful planning and coordination is a far more accurate path. Hosting guests is something most people like to do but doing it constantly is often unfeasible when you take into account the amount of preparing, cooking and cleaning you have to do – especially if you have your own family to look after,” comments Ruban Selvanayagam of quick auction house Property Solvers.

Despite the picture we’ve painted, we don’t want to imply that being an adult and owning a home is a bad thing, far from it. It’s just that, in the real world, we aren’t gifted with exaggerated ideas of TV and movies. What’s more, the older we get, the less the ideas pushed by movies and TV mean to us.

Even if we could install a water slide in our homes, can you imagine how annoying it would be to maintain? Sure, hanging out with friends is fun, but constantly no matter how you’re feeling? The older we get, the more we appreciate these facts over the romanticised fiction, and for the sake of our good moods, we’re hoping that will always be the case.