Results from Form 1 of Page guestbook.htm

[This guest book has been archived and is now only viewable. It was active from Oct 2003 - Feb 2007.]

This guest book allows comments to be made by family members and service members, bypassing the need for an email account. Please keep in mind that the comments are viewed publicly. All comments made are subject to deletion if they contain derogatory statements. If names are used, please do not include rank. Use of first names only, or nicknames, is encouraged, as an added safety precaution.

Please also take a moment to view and sign the Memorial Forum pages, in remembrance of our fallen comrades..

Thank you for having such a great web page for the families to see. My son is in Afghanistan and is in some of the pictures that are available for viewing. It was a comfort for me to see his smiling face and I am sure his wife and children will also enjoy seeing him.

Hey Timmy T, Saw you in some of the pictures. Thanks to all who made these pictures available. Your boys loved them. Almost like having you here. Stay safe.

My husband is gone, but will always be in my heart. He died doing what he did best, The Army. Please remember he only wanted you to learn and be careful. I knew he could be hard on some, but that is because he knew you could do anything you wanted to do. I love him with all my heart and i can't help, but be angry. I try to remember that he loved the Army and you all. Please be careful and remember we need you back here. God Bless You.

Tim T. -- Stay safe, your boys miss you and so do I. Anxiously waiting for you to come home!! We LOVE YOU UP TO ANGELS!!!......

As an Army wife, and also the baby sister of a soldier that recently went to Iraq, my heart goes out to all of you. I understand as a friend, a family member, a spouse, that lives are torn by all going on. Please know that all of you, whether at war, or at home holding down the fort, are in my families prayers each day. God Bless You all, and God speed to our soldiers to come home.

We thank all of you for the job you are doing. Take care and come home safely. We keep all of you in our prayers.

Nic, wanted you to know what a wonderful job T is doing here.......she's an amazing woman. I can't say enough wonderful things about her. I am so proud of you for what you are doing there and I am proud of T for keeping spirits high back home. You're both my heroes and I am so honored to be a part of your lives. Please be careful and come home to M and N soon, they love and miss you so much....Love, Laura

hey its me and Billy from school sending you a comment Billy and i says it great so keep up the good work!

"Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. I ask this in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen"

I love you dad. I miss you always and I love you always. Call me if you need me or if you get lost. Call me with a cell phone or my calendar. I love you. (from jazz, as dictated to mommy)

Elliott, you are my hero in every sense of the word!! You stand for all we believe in. We pray for your safety daily. Your niece, Savannah, knows who you are because your pictures are on the door and fridge. :o) We miss you and pray that you will make it home safe. Sorry that I could not make it for you R&R, but I tried. I'll see you on vacation. Expect late nights and long talks at the lake.

Hi Natin!! We found you in several pictures starting with-FSG-Christmas Gifts, Distributing Gifts 1. I think it's you in the picture on the homepage too. Hi & hugs to Dustin & Josh. BE SAFE to the soldiers of the 805th and all of our military personnel stationed around the world!!

To the Men and Women of the 414th, and to all the others serving in all branches of the Armed Forces, God be with you. Be strong, and be very careful. Never let your guard down, and return to your families soon. Thank you for your services to our country and to all of us back home. Hoping for your safe and quick return to your loved ones.

To all of our soldiers of the 414th serving side by side with the 805th, thank you for serving your country and protecting all of us. We are keeping all of you in our daily prayers.

Hey son, Max misses his daddy and waits patiently for your return to take him on his nature walks...

All our Love full of pride - Love Mom, Dad, Max and Buster =) God bless and protect all of you and bring you home safely and soon.

I really enjoyed looking at your website, and so did my daughter Mckenzie. It's always touching for me to keep up with the military as I was raised as an Army brat. Thank you for sharing and as always, each and every one of you are in our prayers. Thank you and please come home safely. Take care Jeremiah. We love the photos of Grayson. Peg Finn

Thanks so much for the web page it is great to see. Not only do I have Spc. Mercer there I have another son in Baghdad I wish they had a site like this also ..

Members of the 414th we are proud of you and want you to know that we love and support all of you

This is for Ryan Lee Mercer and Michael Shane Mercer....love ya much, be safe. Thinking of you all the time, your pictures are on my frig.

I'm returning to your AO to attend a 2d funeral for a 414th hero. This has always been the most unfortunate consequence of war, but this war must be won. Those who have given the most have helped secure the very streets of this country. I too have a loved one far away, SGT Jason T. Reville, 2 BDE, 1AD, serving in Baghdad. My heart goes out to the families enduring the pain of their loss.

To all our guys out there - first - all my prayers to the families of the soldiers who aren't coming home... to the rest.... be safe, kick some ass, come home soon. Hey hun - CJ says hello and can't wait to go climbin. All our love....

Hi Honey and Sweetie I Love you and miss you. I'm not a baby no more I'm a big "3" girl now. I want you to come home soon and take a long nap. So we can go to the park and play. I want to take you to Silver Dollar City. It's a fun place. You can watch me ride my new bicycle that you and Mommy got for me for my birthday. It's purple, green, yellow and blue I like my new bike. I've been very good for Mommy just like you ask me too. Daddy are you still after the bad guy? Mommy and I pray for you and the soldier's every night at bed time. That God will keep you safe, strong and bring you safely back to us. Daddy I miss you so much and so does Mommy. I've been crying for you Daddy I just want you to come home soon. I Love You,

Hello Honey, I Love you and we miss you so much. We can't wait to see you again. Sydney has been keeping me very busy and the time has been going by so fast. But now that it's getting closer for you to coming home, it's like the time has slowed down so much. Through this deployment I have meet a lot of good Soldier's wives and we have become good friend's. I'm so ready for a vacation when you get home. I want to do so much with you. By the time you get home the weather should be just right to go play a round of golf. Mike I want you to know how much I Love you and miss you. I'm so proud of you. Please be careful and stay safe.

Abe - hope you're doing okay over there, thinking about you and hope you will get to come home soon.

Brandon - we're all anxious to hear that you will be home soon. hope you're able to make the best of your stay.

Yo Abe, After being in such nice desert communities for so long, you will really appreciate the green, green grass of home. We just kind of take it for granted, but it is only because we have troopers like you guys to help sustain it. Thanks, bro.! One of the sayings that we use to say to help us through the tough times was, "it ain't nuthin' but a thang". Funny how it did help to keep the sanity and the heart looking forward to home. The heart of America is still strong through adversity. You guys will be able to carry the title "tough ol' bird" for the rest of your life. Keep the faith, home boy. You are doing a good work. Rock on!

Adam and the Guys, We are so proud of all of you. We are praying for your safe return! God Bless,

Stoney, you are in our prayers daily, we are your mother's neighbors and your dog Max's grandparents.

Mike Abram - Hi Mike! I'm at school, so have access to a computer with the internet. Wanted to send a short note to let you know you're in our thoughts and prayers. Lorinda said you should be home soon. We'll all be so glad when you walk into church together again!! Boy, you should see the church!! I didn't get to go on Easter (we went to Doug's mom's church), but I heard it was packed. Everything looks so beautiful. I did get to go last week. There were some seats left, but it was pretty full then too. It looks so pretty from the road. I guess there were 120 kids there on Easter Sunday. Can you imagine?! (Time to build on again!! Hee Hee!!) Well, not much more news from here. The kids (I'm subbing in 5th grade today) are doing a Civil War unit right now. They're learning that war is no fun. Sometimes inevitable, sometimes needed even, but no fun. I hope you have a safe trip home. We're praying God's greatest blessings for you!

For JOHN your friends at home miss you more than you can imagine, our hearts are with you and we think of you every day. Come Home Safe and Soon. We love you and worry about you.

ELLIOTT your friends and family miss you very much. We talk about you every day. Your daughter is an amazing little girl who misses her daddy very much and your wife is the best a man could ask for. They cant wait until you get home and neither can your friends We love you

"Welcome Home 414th your Families & Friends are waiting for you" We Love you, Support you and very proud of you all. Thanks for serving this great country. " May God Bless you and God Bless American" Lorinda & Sydney Abram

TO MY BROTHERS IN HARMS WAY YOUR ALL WAYS IN ARE HEARTS AND IN ARE PRAYERS AND GOD BLESS YOUR FAMILYS FOR THEIR STRENGHT THE GIVE YOU IN THERE SACRAFICES THE MAKE TO SUPPORT THE GREATEST COUNTRY AND ITS FIGHTING FORCE .AIRBORN!!! FIRST FROM ABOVE AND ALL THE WAY (HOME) HA HA FROM 21MP DUE-N-EZ

I just want to say THANK GOD our soldiers aren't under the command of Captain Clarkson any longer! May the Army get rid of the weasels! HOOAH!

Hey everyone its JEFFRIES from IRAQ i know alot of people probably dont remember me because i was new with the unit when i cross leveled to 917 CSG I have seen the moter seargent and the Cook that got his teeth caped. ill write more when i get time.

I admire you all. So many people want to whine about what's going on overseas right now but so few actually stand up to do something about it. I know you all would rather have stayed home, but thank you for going.

TO ALL THE SOLDIERS OVERSEAS THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR GREAT SACRFICES TAKE CARE AND RETURN HOME TO YOUR LOVED ONES DONNA LINN MOTHER OF SPC DAVID "BUTCH"HALL 1982-2004 FALLEN BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

If someone from your unit would sign up as a contact with www.anysoldier.com it would provide us lowly civilians the privilege of sending our letters of support, not to mention any goodies you might need or crave. We'd like to be able to show our support to our hometown heroes.

Note from Webmaster: When the unit deployed with the 805th to Afghanistan, we were signed up through www.anysoldier.com. It is an absolutely wonderful program. We are in contact with them again this time around. But until our soldiers are on the ground in country, no information can be given. As soon as this changes, the information will be posted on this website. Thank you for your support of our soldiers. It is greatly appreciated.

Some of you may remember my husband, Daniel Smith, who was a member of the 414th from 1999-2003. He transferred to a Drill Sergeant unit in Springfield shortly after your return from Cuba and Georgia. He has been on active duty in Ft. Sill, OK, since October, 2004. The MP unit has always been in my heart ("414th" was my license plate for ages!) and driving by and seeing all the cars there just brings prayers to my lips; I remember all the preparations. Do your job; stay safe; and know that there are many others like myself who pray for the day when the unit as a whole can come home. We love, support and greatly appreciate ALL that you are and ALL that you do. Drill Sergeant Smith sends his best!!!

Even though you have all been trained to take care of yourselves and your fellow officers, please know that our prayers will be with you each and every day you are gone.

Tony, Hey babe, im gonna miss you so much! Now we can only get into half as much trouble. Im so proud of you and cant wait for you to get home! i love you just like a brother!

Be careful and safe. God Bless You all and my thoughts are with you 4249th PSC!..

Hey Woody,miss you lots. You are on our mind and in our prayers every minute of every day. We are counting down the days. Take care of you and the rest of 414th, and we will take care of each other back here. Love you lots and we will see you soon,

AJZ -- nice pic. Aren't you supposed to be working? Getting colder here...gonna miss you at Christmas.

Hi AJ and all you guys!!!! Just letting you know that I'm thinkin' about you. Be safe, do your job, and get home as soon as possible. Come and visit me when you get back!!!

Be careful babe......you'll be back before you know it, and i'll be waiting. Have fun Alex!! Love you,

I know you've been well trained and have all the faith there is that our daughter, Candi, will make it back safe and soon! We miss and love you very much, just wish we could hear from you more.

It is nice to be able to look at the site and kind of picture what everyone has been doing. I could have guest that Enlow was in the Handcuff pictures. lol. I wish I could have met more of the soldiers and family members while in Missouri. I know you all will take care of each other and come home safe and sound. Stay Safe! Love always,

Candi-Hey, everyone at the PD sends their thoughts that are with you always. Dispatch is not the same without you. Cant wait for you to get back. Stay safe and keep your head low. 890

Hello Candi, Just wanted you to know we miss you here. Your in our thoughts and prayers, see you home soon. Be safe and keep in touch. 906

To all of you with the 414th, thanks for all you are doing you are in our thoughts and prayers everyday. Come home soon!!!!!! Woodhams Mom

Candi, I sent you some movies and brownies, per your request. Under Armour?! Awful proud of that stuff, where in the world do I find black? Hope all is well and we hear from you soon. Love Mom & Dad P.S. We get Bruiser Friday!

This past week was absolutely wonderful. It was great to see all of you, especially those who stopped and talked with me. Keep your spirits up and do your job right and I'm certain I will see you all again when you return. My prayers are with each of you. -Terri

Hey Blake, I saw you in some of the pics, they were great! Thanks again to whoever took them!! We all miss you very much, don't get to hear from you as much as we would like. But that would be 10 times a day!!! You know us.HaHa. Please make sure & keep your head down & stay safe. Call me when you can. Tell Mercer & Butters to make sure and contact their parents too!!!!! Love ya Mom To All Our Soldiers: Stay Safe & God Bless You For Serving Our Grand Nation!!!!!!

LETS GET SOME PICS OF IRAQ IN HERE. LIKE TO SEE WHAT YOU GUYS ARE INTO OVER THERE. BROTHER OF SSG JEFF CAQUELIN. COOL WEB SITE.

To Earindil from Aunt Barbara in Alaska. Be safe and smart. Collect the details so you can tell me later. I'm wearing a ankle bracelet until you return. Kyndra sings tomorrow night and I will go see her. Zak brings his new sweetie home at Solstice. It should be interesting. I'll eat your share of cookies that your Mom will make. Skinny Morgan will be visiting too. You and Zak and Nik and Jaimie all have a candle on the table, which I light every meal. Symbolism matters. We'll keep the connection cosmically. We all send you hope for a safe and soon return. With love, Aunt Barbara

Nitasha Batemon , Happy Holidays from Grandma Dean and Dick we LOVE YOU and Miss you

Batemon, Natisha, and the rest of you brave service personal we are proud of you thank you for your service to our Great country and have a joyful holiday and great New Year! Love you all and you r in our prayers! Aunt Linda

Christ, Merry Christmas from your loving family. You are in our prayers and our thoughts. God Bless you and our soldiers. Your loving wife, Yasmin, Son, Austin, and family pet (Tank)

Hello there I am the proud Sister of 2LT Bunting, I want you all to know that you all are constantly in my thoughts and prayers. Stay strong, God Bless You each and every one.

Stay safe Caquelin!!!!!! Take care of yourself . We need to get in touch when u get back. Pigg

To 2LT Bunting, This is you sister, Kim havent heard from you in a few days via e-mail. Please have someone let me know you are ok. I love you , and God Bless all of you each and every one. I pray everyday that you all are safe.

1LT Daddy Birch, We love and miss you very much. Please stay safe and come back soon. We are very proud you and think about you every day and pray for you every night. Mommy tells us every day that what you are doing over there keeps us safe and that we should be thankful and proud that you are a such a good leader and soldier. We miss you very much. Love, Maja and Nicolai

poohbear- i love you with all of my heart, and i am praying for your safe return home everyday. i miss you more than you will ever know. love always- your wife missy

Greetings, I stopped by to view, and make a post to the memorial in honor of one of my Soldiers, SGT Nathan Field. You have a really great site and it's very welcoming, thanks for doing such a great job! This truly is an innovative connection for the soldiers and their loved ones. Best Wishes,

Caquelin, my thought and prayers are with all of u there and I can't believe the losses you have suffered. He will not be forgotten. Stay safe. We have lots to catch up on. Pigg

Rocky Ferdig: We love you and miss you sooo much! Come home safe! Love, Rick & Carrie

Luke, Here it is Mario, Lais' dad. I hope that you are doing great. We are all here praying for you. Ask God to protect you. We are anxious to have you back home! A hug, Mario

Hey Luke, my love, I hope you are doing great. I want you to know that I love you so much, and that I miss you so much. Saudades, remember? A lot of it. I love you, please keep safe. I'm here praying for you baby. Laís

Tony Tranmer: I am here everyday praying for your safe return..haven't heard from you for about 5 days so just want to know your okay...i love you and miss you so much........ hugs and kisses......MOM

IF I KNEW If I knew it would be the last time that I'd see you fall asleep I would tuck you in more tightly and pray the Lord, your sould to keep. If I knew it would be the last time that I see you walk out the door, I wuld give you a hug and kiss and call you back for more. If I knew it would be the last time I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise, I would video tape each action and word, so I could play them back day after day. For surely there's always tomorrow to make up for an oversight, and we always get a second chance to make everything right. There will always be another day to say our "I love you's" And certainly there's another chance to say our "Anything I can do's?" But just in case I might be wrong, and today is all I get, I'd like to say how much I love you AND I HOPE WE NEVER FORGET, Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old alike, And today may be the last chance you get to hold your loved one tight. So if you're waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today? For if tomorrow never comes, you'll surely regret the day, That you didn't take that extra time for a smile, a hug, or a kiss and you were too busy to grant someone, what turned out to be their one last wish. So hold your loved ones close today, and whisper in their ear, that you love them very much and you'll always hold them dear. Take time to say "I'm sorry," "Please forgive me," "thank you," or "it's okay". And if tomorrow never comes, you'll have no regrets about today. 414TH WE LOVE YOU

Hey Dustin...hope ur doing ok out there. Please be safe.....and thank you for what u guys are doing for all of us back home!! take care Manisha

If you have employment problems related to your USAR membership, seek advice from the Missouri Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. Contact Missouri's ESGR Program Support Specialist at (573) 638-9500, ext 7730.

CPL Nichols, hope you are taking care of yourself, Friemuth & Mathis over there. I miss you and hope that we can all be together again soon. It's not the same without you here. -Candi

JOE I would let you ride my motorcycle..........If I hadn't seen what you did to my Dad's. Just kidding. You get back and I will let you ride it. Try to practice on a bike while you are there !! I miss you !!! Kaylee talks about you all of the time. You are her HERO. You take care. I will fix your back breaks before they get too bad. Later, Richard

Candi J.- I am so proud of you. I miss you and can't wait until you come home. Anthony

Josh Nipper-- We are thinking about you all the time. You are in our prayers. We are all proud of you and we know the sacrifice you are making. Come home safe and sound. Love you big sister Neasha, Brad, Brenton & Dereck.

To all of you, I hope you all enjoy the letters and pictures that come from the Pocahontas Area school kids. It means the world to them to know that they put smiles on your faces. It means the world to me to know you all :). I thank and pray for you all daily for what you are doing and what you have done. keep up your great work. my motto to Caquelin: Be Smart, Be Safe and God Bless you Jan

I am so proud of my brother, Jeremiah Johnston, for being apart of such an excellent group of individuals proudly serving their country. I want to thank everyone who has fought for my freedom to sit here and type this. Especially those of you who were deployed oversees so far away from your family's and your country. I salute you for you commitment, dedication, and sacrifice to keep the United States of America the best damn country EVER. I love you Bub and wish you all the very best. Proud citizen and brother, Seth Johnston.

NIPPR~ I CANT BELIEVE YOU HAVE BEEN GONE ALMOST A YEAR- HANG IN THERE- ALMOST DONE! I WOULD WAIT FOREVER FOR YOU. PLEASE COME HOME SOON/SAFE. I LOVE YOU MORE THAN YOU KNOW, YOUR WIFE MISSY

Bryan Bunting--- I miss you sooo much. Please be safe and come home to me soon. I love you (the most) Jamie

Jamie-- I love you and the support that you give me and you are so unbelieveably special to me. You are the answer to my every prayer. I can't wait to get home to you and be a family again. I love you..... Bryan

Bryan- Happy 4th of July, I wish you were here with me... Not much longer. I love you forever and ever and ever... jamie

Luke, my love, I'm here writting you from Brazil, and I wish you were here so much. It is so nice to look behind an know that more than half of those longs 15 months have passed already...but now that it's getting closer for you to coming home, it's like the time has slowed down so much...but it is ok. we are a strong couple, and in no time we'll be together!! i love you so much, and forever. keep safe, and came back home soon!! your fiancee, Laís

SSG NIPPER~ JUST WANTED TO TELL YOU I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU SO MUCH- HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! WE WILL BE TOGETHER NEXT YEAR- I CANT WAIT FOR YOUR PASS TO COME HOME- WE WILL BE TOGETHER SOON! BE CAREFUL- ALL OF MY LOVE ... YOUR WIFE MISSY

To the guys who were with the 805th...This is former PFC now SPC Shawn Chapman (the female Chapman) from Florida wishing you guys well...if you need anything send me an email. Take care!

Hope all is well with you all. Miss the weekend drills, but enjoying retirement. Come home safe. Thanks for all the good times and keep the faith. Your brother in arms, Don Bechtel, SSG (RET)

JNIPR- JUST DAYS AWAY! I ABSOLUTELY CANT WAIT TO SEE YOU- I LOVE YOU SO MUCH~ TAKE CARE, I WILL SEE YOU SOON LUV YOU ALWAYS, YOUR WIFE MISSY

nippr~ i had such a great time with you on your pass! hang in there, and before long you will be home and we can be a family again very soon! dont ever forget how much i love you- your wife missy

Luke, I miss you so much. It is been long 6 winter months for be in here without you. Can't wait so you are back. I hope you know how much I love you! Your fiancee, Lais

Bryan, Surprise, I left you a comment... sorry I have been slacking lately-- :) I love you and miss you bunches. Jamie

poohbear~ i am counting the days- this house is so lonely without you here, i miss you. stay safe and come home soon! luv always... your sugarbutt

JOSH NIPPER~ I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, AND I CANT WAIT FOR YOU TO COME BACK HOME TO ME- IT HAS BEEN WAY LONG ENOUGH. HURRY!!!! I LOVE YOU MORE THAN EVER, YOUR WIFE MISSY

Happy birthday baby (1LT Bunting)!!!!!!!! Maybe next year you will be home to celebrate.... I love you, Jamie

ssg nipper~ i sent off the last care package for you today!!! not much longer and you will be back home with me, where you belong. be safe and take care. i love you/ miss you --- mrs. nipper

I am very proud of all of you and your willingness to defend our country! You have the weight of the world on your shoulders and yet you carry it willingly and hold your heads up with pride. God Bless All of You!!!

Hey Soldiers! Just want you to know our prayers are with you and your families while you are away. God Speed, and come home safeley. Wendy Hanshaw, FT Bragg North Carolina

HEY NIPPER~ ONE WEEK TO GO UNTIL YOU ARE SCHEDULED TO LEAVE! IM SO EXCITED- CANT WAIT TO SEE YOU! BE SAFE.. NOT MUCH LONGER. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH .. YOUR WIFE MISSY

SPC Ryan Blythe: Welcome Home!!!!! I hope by the time you read this you are back here, safe and sound in the good old USA!!! It has been an honor and privilage to write to you while you've been protecting our freedom. Welcome Home and THANK YOU to the entire 414th for all of your sacrifices, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! HOOAH!!! Brenda B.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WELCOME HOME ALL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hope to see you all very soon at the Center, but right now LOVE your families Your in Christ Don Bechtel (SSG RET)

LOVING MEMORIES Your gentle face and patient smile With sadness we recall You had a kindly word for each And died beloved by all The voice is mute and stills the heart That loved us well and true, Ah, bitter was the trial to part From one so good as you. You are not forgotten loved one, Nor will you ever be, As long as life and memory last We will remember thee. We miss you now our hearts are sore, As time goes by we miss you more, Your loving smile, your gentle face, No one can fill your vacant place. In Loving Memory of Nathan R. Field your whole family loves you soooo much!!!! Love, Angela H.

You spelled my first name wrong. It's A-L-L-A-N. ALLAN L. PERKINS, SGM BTIF OPNS SGM, Bagram, Afghanistan allan.perkins@baf.afgn.army.mil for 10 more days then allan.perkins@us.army.mil

For those of you who haven't put it together yet... SGM Perkins wrote the poem "Supporting the Three" which is accessible from the homepage. Thank you for the correction on your name spelling. I've fixed it now. - Terri

Mythos Euro Greek Kuzina of Joplin MO would like to send all of our troops a big hello, and huge THANK YOU for all you have done, and continue to do for our country. We acknowledge and support you all. watching and praying for your safe return, much love to you from the owners of Mythos restaurant in Joplin MO.

When gold and silver are used as money, the money supply can grow only if the supply of these metals is increased by mining. This rate of increase will accelerate during periods of gold rushes and discoveries, such as when Columbus discovered the new world and brought back gold and silver to Spain, or when gold was discovered in California in 1848. This causes inflation, as the value of gold goes down. However, if the rate of gold mining cannot keep up with the growth of the economy, gold becomes relatively more valuable, and prices (denominated in gold) will drop, causing deflation. http://www.mahousebuilders.com/images/money/sitemap.xml Deflation was the more typical situation for over a century when gold and paper money backed by gold were used as money in the 18th and 19th centuries. Modern day monetary systems are based on fiat money and are no longer tied to the value of gold. The control of the amount of money in the economy is known as monetary policy. Monetary policy is the process by which a government, central bank, or monetary authority manages the money supply to achieve specific goals. Usually the goal of monetary policy is to accommodate economic growth in an environment of stable prices. For example, it is clearly stated in the Federal Reserve Act that the Board of Governors and the Federal Open Market Committee should seek Â“to promote effectively the goals of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates.

The rise of European cinema was interrupted by the outbreak of World War I when the film industry in United States flourished with the rise of Hollywood, typified most prominently by the great innovative work of D. W. Griffith in The Birth of a Nation (1914) and Intolerance (1916). However in the 1920s, European filmmakers such http://www.kiwata.com/images/film/category1.html as Sergei Eisenstein, F. W. Murnau, and Fritz Lang, in many ways inspired by the meteoric war-time progress of film through Griffith, along with the contributions of Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton and others, quickly caught up with American film-making and continued to further advance the medium. In the 1920s, new technology allowed filmmakers to attach to each film a soundtrack of speech, music and sound effects synchronized with the action on the screen. These sound films were initially distinguished by calling them "talking pictures", or talkies. The next major step in the development of cinema was the introduction of so-called "natural color", which meant color that was http://www.kiwata.com/images/film/category2.html photographically recorded from nature rather than being added to black-and-white prints by hand-coloring, stencil-coloring or other arbitrary procedures, although the earliest processes typically yielded colors which were far from "natural" in appearance. While the addition of sound quickly eclipsed silent film and theater musicians, color replaced black-and-white much more gradually. The pivotal innovation was the introduction of the three-strip version of the Technicolor process, which was first used for short subjects and for isolated sequences in a few feature-length films released in 1934, then for an entire feature film, Becky Sharp, in 1935. The expense of the process was daunting, but continued favorable public response and enhanced http://www.kiwata.com/images/film/category3.html box-office receipts increasingly justified the added cost. The number of films made in color slowly increased year after year. In the early 1950s, as the proliferation of black-and-white television started seriously depressing theater attendance in the US, the use of color was seen as one way of winning back audiences. It soon became the rule rather than the exception. Some important mainstream Hollywood films were still being made in black-and-white as late as the mid-1960s, but they marked the end of an era. Color television receivers had been available in the US since the mid-1950s, but at first they were very expensive http://www.kiwata.com/images/film/category4.html and few broadcasts were in color. During the 1960s, prices gradually came down, color broadcasts became common, and the sale of color television sets boomed. The strong preference of the general public for color was obvious. After the final flurry of black-and-white film releases in mid-decade, all major Hollywood studio film production was exclusively in color, with rare exceptions reluctantly made only at the insistence of "star" directors such as Peter Bogdanovich and Martin Scorsese. Since the decline of the studio system in the 1960s, the succeeding decades saw changes in the production and style of film. Various New Wave movements (including the French New Wave, Indian New Wave, Japanese New Wave and New Hollywood) and the rise of film school educated independent filmmakers were all part of the changes the medium http://www.kiwata.com/images/film/category5.html experienced in the latter half of the 20th century. Digital technology has been the driving force in change throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s.Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films. In general, these works can be divided into two categories: academic criticism by film scholars and journalistic film criticism that appears regularly in newspapers and other media. Film critics working for newspapers, magazines, and broadcast media mainly review new releases. Normally they only see any given film once and have only a day or two to formulate http://www.kiwata.com/images/film/category6.html opinions. Despite this, critics have an important impact on films, especially those of certain genres. Mass marketed action, horror, and comedy films tend not to be greatly affected by a critic's overall judgment of a film. The plot summary and description of a film that makes up the majority of any film review can still have an important impact on whether people decide to see a film. For prestige films such as most dramas, the influence of reviews is extremely important. Poor reviews will often doom a film to obscurity and financial loss. The impact of a reviewer on a given film's box office performance is a matter of debate. Some claim that movie marketing is now so intense and well financed that reviewers cannot make an impact against it. However, the cataclysmic failure of some heavily promoted movies which were harshly reviewed, as well as the unexpected success of critically praised independent movies indicates that extreme critical reactions can have http://www.kiwata.com/images/film/category7.html considerable influence. Others note that positive film reviews have been shown to spark interest in little-known films. Conversely, there have been several films in which film companies have so little confidence that they refuse to give reviewers an advanced viewing to avoid widespread panning of the film. However, this usually backfires as reviewers are wise to the tactic and warn the public that the film may not be worth seeing and the films often do poorly as a result. It is argued that journalist film critics should only be known as film reviewers, and true film critics are those who take a more academic approach to films. This line of work is more often known as film theory or film studies. These film critics attempt to come to understand how film and filming techniques work, and what effect they have on people. Rather than having their works published http://www.kiwata.com/images/film/category8.html in newspapers or appear on television, their articles are published in scholarly journals, or sometimes in up-market magazines. They also tend to be affiliated with colleges or universities.The making and showing of motion pictures became a source of profit almost as soon as the process was invented. Upon seeing how successful their new invention, and its product, was in their native France, the Lumières quickly set about touring the Continent to exhibit the first films privately to royalty and publicly to the masses. In each country, they would normally add new, local scenes to their catalogue and, quickly enough, found local entrepreneurs in the various countries of Europe to buy their equipment and photograph, export, import and screen additional product commercially. The Oberammergau Passion Play of 1898[citation needed] was the first commercial motion picture ever produced. Other pictures soon followed, and motion pictures became a separate industry that overshadowed the vaudeville world. Dedicated http://www.kiwata.com/images/film/category9.html theaters and companies formed specifically to produce and distribute films, while motion picture actors became major celebrities and commanded huge fees for their performances. By 1917 Charlie Chaplin had a contract that called for an annual salary of one million dollars. From 1931 to 1956, film was also the only image storage and playback system for television programming until the introduction of videotape recorders. In the United States today, much of the film industry is centered around Hollywood. Other regional centers exist in many parts of the world, such as Mumbai-centered Bollywood, the Indian film industry's Hindi cinema which produces the largest number of films in the world.[2] Whether the ten thousand-plus feature length films a year produced by the Valley pornographic film industry should qualify for this title is the source of some debate.[citation needed] Though the expense involved in making movies has led cinema production to concentrate under http://www.kiwata.com/images/film/index.html the auspices of movie studios, recent advances in affordable film making equipment have allowed independent film productions to flourish. Profit is a key force in the industry, due to the costly and risky nature of filmmaking; many films have large cost overruns, a notorious example being Kevin Costner's Waterworld. Yet many filmmakers strive to create works of lasting social significance. The Academy Awards (also known as "the Oscars") are the most prominent film awards in the United States, providing recognition each year to films, ostensibly based on their artistic merits. There is also a large industry for educational and instructional films made in lieu of or in addition to lectures and texts.