Michael Smathers

Dust in the Wind seems like a hard song to play, but the intro is quite simple one you understand it. This is more than just tablature - it's a guide to a useful guitar technique and my own personal v...

Sometimes it can seem hard to maintain arousal and hold back sexual climax. Here's an exercise able to make sex last potentially hours and in the process make the pelvic muscles stronger. Also, there ...

Charlton Heston, the well-known activist for the NRA and a prolific actor, has passed away.

Oftentimes, beginning practitioners of martial arts will make very common mistakes in their technique. Here's a list of these mistakes, and how to correct them. It's best to break bad training habits ...

For whatever reason, some people like to take the DIY approach to martial arts training. Obviously, this isn't exactly ideal, but it's far from impossible. Here are a few basic principles and tips for...

I got to play an import of Brawl. How well is it comapared to Melee? Find out here.

This is a debate that's been circulating over the Internet for a good long time: what would happen if a plane were on a treadmill? Would it take off or not?

Satellites lose their orbit all the time. Most of them burn harmlessly in the atmosphere; this one is a little different.

Over the past couple of days, there's been a rumor going around the Internet about a supposed meteor that's to wreak havoc on Earth as it bypasses us. This is NOT, I repeat, NOT a cause for concern, i...

What's not there is just as important as what is. See what I mean?

It takes more than choosing the right words to write good fiction - those words have to be effectively put together into sentences. Words to sentences to paragraphs to pages is the way. Learn here abo...

Every writer has his or her unique voice. The most basic unit of writing is the word, and the choice of words you use in writing can drastically alter the emotion that the reader experiences. Several ...

Gender, culture and name meaning can all influence what to name your character. To name him or her, you have to know them inside and out.

No matter how good your novel may be, the words on the spine or front cover of the book can make or break it.

Most writers I've spoken with say that inspiration hits like a bolt of lightning. This may be so, but you have to make yourself a proverbial conductor. Here are a few exercises, from free-writing to s...

No one is an island - everyone is shaped by the experiences throughout life.

Founded in 1871, Springer Opera House is one of the most renowned venues in Georgia. Interestingly enough, it's said to be haunted by the brother of John Wilkes Booth - Abraham Lincoln's killer.

The Highlander series has inspired some beautiful weapons, and I recently acquired one of them cheaply for myself.

Recently, astronomers at the University of Minnesota discovered a billion-lightyear-wide void in the universe, completely empty of any form of matter, even dark matter. How is this possible, given wha...

China and the Western world (specifically the United States) have very different business cultures. Here are the key differences, and how to adapt to them.

The inaction of the Ashikaga shoguns led to over a century of warfare.

In the late 1200s, the Mongol hordes were conquering all Asia. Learn how close Japan came to being another nation on the list of conquests and why.

A few of the basic Shaolin kung fu hand techniques.

Explanation of a few of the basic blocks of Shaolin kung fu.

The most well-known system of Chinese martial arts has a variety of stances and postures to use in battle. Training in these stances increases strength and stability.

The physical symptoms of eating disorders are just as detrimental as the mental/emotional ones. In order to cope with them while recovering, it's best to know exactly what causes them.

As a loved one of someone who suffers from anorexia nervosa, I realize how difficult it is. But there are ways you can help to combat this disease.