Jo Sue Castellanos

Like a bat, the vampire can generate frequencies beyond the range of human hearing. These cries have sonar-like qualities and at certain levels can make the eyeballs resonate. This resonance can cause panic, awe, even wild hallucinations. You might see a ghost, a pale figure, a lover. You can’t trust your eyes or your feelings.

Published by Joe Capristo, Freelance Writer

Writer, certified massage therapist, licensed school teacher, ordained minister and reiki master, Joe Capristo, has studied martial arts since age of 10. Follow him on Twitter @TheShowJoe, and on Facebook….   View profile

As a responsible earthling, your obvious motive is implementing measures that reduce your carbon footprint. While there are several things that we can do which contribute to the betterment of our planet, we hardly ever get down to actually doing it. Wondering how to get started? Why don’t we begin by mowing our lawn using a contraption that is light, zippy, extremely safe and virtually pollution free? It’s time to get retro and mow your lawn with a reel mower, just like they used to, in the good ol’ days.

How Do Reel Mowers Work

Most of us today are so taken in by devices that are powered by batteries or fuel cells, that it is hard to imagine a machine without a motor which is simple and effective. Simplicity, in fact, was the basic principle used in manufacturing reel lawn mowers, way back in 1827, when Edwin Budding invented it in Gloucestershire, England. This humble invention later replaced the scythe, and was a huge relief to workers who used them extensively on playgrounds and large gardens. The present day gas mower was preceded by the steam-powered version, before which came the animal-driven mower.

The mechanism of a reel mower is pretty plain. There is a cylinder that has several curved blades, commonly known as helix blades. The sides of this cylinder are joined to the two wheels present on either sides. A vertical frame with handles at the opposite end is attached to these wheels. As the person pushes the handle, the wheels move, rotating the blades as well. There is a sharp bedknife which forms the base. Now, as the curved blades move, the grass gets caught between the blades and the bedknife, shearing the grass just like a scythe would. To put it in easier terms, the working of a reel lawn mower is akin to a pair of paper scissors. The reel mowers, these days, come along with an attached grass collector at the back, making it a mess-free job.

Reel Mowers Vs. Gas-powered Mowers

Our lives have been inundated with gadgets that provide convenience at our fingertips. It sure is hard to believe that in today’s world, there exists an appliance which is environmentally friendly and rates high on the utility scale. Here are some points of distinction between the reel mower and the motorized version that will help you decide the one that covers your needs.

Reel Mowers and the Environment

All technicalities apart, a reel mower is a gem of a device that will help you reduce your carbon footprint. As the world seems to have developed a collective penchant for all things green, these reel mower fundamentals focus on its environmental impact.

♦ No motor equals no noise, so while you get to boast about your contribution towards reducing noise pollution, your neighbors are sure to appreciate your mower’s silence.

♦ You can now forget inhaling all the stomach-churning fumes that are spewed by a fuel-powered mower. Yes, lawn mowing can indeed be a pleasure.

♦ Reel mowers do away with three of the most annoying things about motorized mowers: batteries that need frequent changing, dirty spark plugs, and starter cords that yank your arm off.

♦ Although it is true that modern motorized mowers do not consume as much fuel, what’s the harm in using a mower that relies entirely on human effort? Plus, it’s a sin to ignore the benefits of exercise it gives you.

Lawn mowing is a chore that can dull the spirits of most garden enthusiasts. The noise and the fumes associated with it make it an extremely appalling task, to say the least. These are the obvious reasons why the good old reel mower has made its ‘silent’ comeback. All you would need to do is follow a few lawn mower maintenance tips and get started. After all, isn’t it a pleasure when you don’t wake up to the dreadful din made by your neighbor’s mower on a weekend?

It is no secret that most children have an insatiable urge to grab the dirtiest looking things and put them into their mouth. Even a child who is less than a year old, hardly able to do much except drink milk and sleep all day, experiences a personality change the moment it is put down on the ground, out in the open. The exploration begins and everything including dirt, mud and even poop finds its way into the tiny mouths. This continues for a while and most mothers are clueless about why their babies find the taste of dirt so irresistible, when mashed veggies, formula food in various flavors and other food prepared with the labor of love just do not seem to appeal to them! Well, relax everyone! You’re not bad cooks, bad parents or bad caregivers. Your darling kids are just being very natural and their actions are driven by instinct.

Positive Effect On Our Immune System
Recent research suggests that children splattered in mud are acting on instinct that gives them an evolutionary advantage. The immune system that is still in the developmental stages in children, is exposed to a variety of bacteria, viruses and worms through all the dirt and filth. This exposure prepares suitable immune responses to counter the possible ill effects caused by the entry of these pathogens into the body. This early exposure to pathogens is so effective that scientific research claims it is instrumental in preventing allergies and other autoimmune disorders later in the life of these children.

Exposure to dirt and filth is akin to a “warm-up” exercise for the immune system to enable it to get ready for nastier bugs. Isn’t that a good reason why dirt is good for kids? Among all the research published, the book by Dr. Mary Ruebush, Why Dirt Is Good: 5 Ways to Make Germs Your Friends is worth mentioning here. Through her book, the immunologist strongly advocates that the western civilization’s obsession with antibacterial soaps and the quest to be ‘always clean’ is actually making our children more sick.

A Case Against Hyper-cleanliness Diseases involving immune dysregulation, autoimmunity or chronic inflammation have been increasingly reported as becoming common in developed countries. Experts believe that this is mainly due to the destruction of our ‘personal ecosystems’ caused by our attempts to over sanitize our living spaces and our bodies to make them “germ-free”. A whole range of modern diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, Graves’ disease, ulcerative colitis, type I diabetes, asthma, allergy, coeliac disease, and Sjögren’s syndrome are more common than ever before, and experts believe that our excessive sanitization of our environment is one of the primary causes. In modern medicine, this theory is called the hygiene hypothesis. The hypothesis states that humans have always coexisted with several varieties of microbes (lactobacilli, various mycobacteria, and certain helminths) including parasites forming our personal ecosystem. The exposure has resulted in human beings becoming less susceptible to allergies. But in today’s extremely clean environment, the lack of exposure to these microbes has resulted in children growing up with an underdeveloped immune system. The lazy immune systems are now developing allergic reactions instead of focusing on fighting infection (which never occurs due lack of exposure to microbes, thanks to vaccination, hand washes, airtight windows, etc.). In addition, antibiotics are making things easier for the already relaxed state of our immune system. On the contrary, the microbes are now fighting back to resist these artificial responses, resulting in “super bugs” that seem to be resistant to even antibiotic treatment.

Is it Time to Shed our Clean Image?
So should we go to the prehistoric lifestyle of humans and stop all vaccinations and cover our children in filth and dirt? Should we just stop bothering if the child catches a mild cold or fever, hoping his/her immune system will rise up to the challenge? Certainly not! We definitely should not ignore life-threatening food allergies or encourage our children to be less hygienic in the hope of developing resistance to germs. What we need to do is stop obsessing over cleanliness and understand why playing in the dirt is good for kids.

Let your kid play freely when he/she is out in the open. Let environmental interactions be normal and playful. Stop fretting every time your child touches mud on the ground. Do not count the several times he/she touches his/her sweaty playmate! It is useless to lose sleep over that little scratch on his/her elbow. Stop carrying the hand sanitizer looking for an opportunity to use it on your child.

Go and get that vaccination done now, if your child has been bruised by a rusted metal thing. Ask your child to wash his/her hands before a meal and to always keep the nails clean. Ordinary soap is fine for maintaining hygiene. Avoid using antibacterial soaps on a regular basis. A balanced diet and normal exposure to the environment are essential for children. You’re not being a protective parent by obsessing over your child’s hygiene when outdoors. Just let the child be. Find that essential balance between caution and obsession. Let your children go barefoot into the mud and befriend some of those germs! Mother Earth will surely protect them.

Disclaimer: Please be aware that this article is for informative purposes only. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice.

I have a Acer 5920, and it does NOT charge, turn on or anything, I have check the charger with another laptop and a multimeter and it’s fine. Tried another charger on the acer 5920 and still nothing.

I have now taken it apart, and checked the power cable to the motherboard, everything checks out.

I have disconnected the internal jack from the motherboard and tested with a multimeter and it IS receiving power! So now the problem is within the motherboard, or another place…?

Any ideas before I jump and get a new motherboard??

Laptop specs: 2GB RAM, 1.6ghz intel duo processor T5450, 250gb HDD, Vista,
Many thanks!

Abzter

On the same day that the Justice Department shut down Megaupload for massive copyright infringement, the government also executed search warrants on servers owned by Virginia-based Carpathia Hosting and D.C.-based Cogent Communications, both of which leased servers to Megaupload.

Officials copied select data from these servers but did not remove them from the premises, according to a Friday letter to Megaupload’s legal team. “Now that the United States has completed execution of its search warrants, the United States has no continuing right to access the Mega Servers,” U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride wrote in the document, which was filed in Virginia district court.

If Megaupload’s legal team wants access to the data on these servers, that “must be resolved directly with Cogent or Carpathia,” MacBride wrote. “It is our understanding that the hosting companies may begin deleting the contents of the servers beginning as early as February 2, 2012.”

Cogent and Carpathia did not respond to requests for comment.

Following the Megaupload takedown, users expressed concern about the legitimate files they had stored on the service. What would happen to them? The DOJ wasn’t too hopeful; it pointed to the fact that Megaupload’s own terms of service warned users to keep backup files.

In an effort to avoid the same fate, some cloud-based storage companies changed their policies after the Megaupload shutdown – deleting files, disabling file-sharing, or cutting off access to U.S.-based users.

Did you lose files in the Megaupload shutdown? Does this make you think twice about using cloud-based storage services? Let us know in the comments.

For more, see After Megaupload: 7 Sites the FBI Might Target Next? and What Is Megaupload?

For more from Chloe, follow her on Twitter @ChloeAlbanesius.

ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece and its private creditors head back to the negotiating table on Saturday to put together the final pieces of a long-awaited debt swap agreement needed to avert an unruly default.

After weeks of muddling through round after round of inconclusive talks, the negotiations appear to be in their final phase, with both sides hoping to secure a preliminary deal before Monday’s European Union summit.

Prime Minister Lucas Papademos was expected to meet bankers’ chief negotiator Charles Dallara at around 1330 GMT (8:30 a.m. EST) on Saturday, before meeting inspectors from the “troika” of foreign lenders pressing Athens to step up painful reforms.

“Today will be another tough day,” said George Karatzaferis, leader of the far-right LAOS party, one of three parties in Papademos’s emergency coalition government. “We will see whether we can bear the burden that lies ahead.”

The debt swap, in which private creditors are to take a 50 percent cut in the nominal value of their Greek bond holdings in exchange for cash and new bonds, is a prerequisite for the country to secure a 130-billion-euro rescue package.

Papademos told Reuters in an interview on Friday he expected the debt talks to be concluded within days.

“We made significant progress over the last few weeks and in the last few days in particular. We are trying to conclude the discussions as quickly as possible. I am quite optimistic an agreement will be reached in the coming days,” he said.

But concern has grown that the deal may not do enough to get the country’s debt reduction plan back on track, and that Greece’s European partners will be forced to stump up funds to cover the shortfall.

The German news magazine Der Spiegel reported on Saturday that Greece’s international lenders thought Athens would need 145 billion euros of public money from the euro zone for its second bailout rather than the planned 130 billion euros.

The magazine said the extra money was needed because of the deteriorating economic situation in Greece, echoing a Reuters report on Thursday.

Athens also faces problematic talks with the “troika” of foreign lenders – the European Commission, IMF and European Central Bank – who have warned it needs to do more to drive through painful reforms before they dole out any more money.

“It’s all very dense, difficult and crucial,” a Greek finance ministry official said. “There is optimism because the country needs to survive and we need to protect its citizens because they have suffered a lot.”

Athens and its creditors have broadly agreed that new bonds under the swap would probably have a 30-year maturity and a progressive interest rate. The deal is aimed at chopping 100 billion euros off Greece’s crushing 350-billion-euro debt load.

But they have wrangled for weeks over the interest rate Greece must pay on the new bonds and pressure has grown in recent days on the European Central Bank and other public creditors to accept a cut in the value of their Greek bond holdings like the private sector creditors.

A debt deal must be sealed in about three weeks as Greece has to repay 14.5 billion euros of debt on March 20. Otherwise Greece will sink into an uncontrolled default that might spread turmoil across the euro zone.

Papademos promised on Friday this would not happen. “Greece will not default,” he said.

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Saturday that euro zone members were making progress to overcome their crisis but must do more to strengthen their financial firewall, adding that the IMF was ready to help.

“There is progress as we see it,” Lagarde told a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“But it is critical that the euro zone members actually develop a clear, simple, firewall that can operate both to limit the contagion and to provide this sort of act of trust in the euro zone so that the financing needs of that zone can actually be met.”

Senior euro zone officials have expressed optimism on the Greek debt deal, though previous predictions of an imminent agreement have failed to become reality.

Greece is in its fifth year of recession, and hopes of an end to the crisis in the near term have virtually gone, because of the combination of squabbling politicians, rising social anger and its inability to get its debt load under control.

Germany is pushing for Greece to relinquish control over its budget policy to European institutions as part of discussions over a second rescue package, a European source told Reuters on Friday.

Greece said such a move was out of the question, adding that a similar proposal had been made in the past by a Dutch minister without getting anywhere.

“There is no way we would accept such a thing,” a Greek government official told Reuters.

(Additional reporting by Renee Maltezou, Writing by Deepa Babington; editing by Tim Pearce)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks trimmed losses to end little changed on Friday, as investors saw dips in the market as an opportunity to buy into what has been a strong first month of 2012.

The Dow posted its first weekly loss this year, hurt Friday as Chevron Corp (CVX.N) announced earnings that were below Wall Street’s estimates and Procter & Gamble Co (PG.N) cut its full-year profit forecast because of the strong dollar.

But the emergence of late-day buyers was viewed positively as major averages have methodically climbed through January. This week’s news that the Federal Reserve intends to keep interest rates low through late 2014 added a jolt of demand that could extend the rally.

“Investors are almost welcoming these little dips, jumping in when they can to join this rally. At this point, they are rationalizing anything they can to get in,” said James Dailey at TEAM Financial Management LLC in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

“Cautious bulls are no longer cautious after the Fed announcement this week.”

Chevron, the No. 2 U.S. oil company, fell 2.5 percent to $ 103.96 and was the biggest drag on the Dow.

The Commerce Department said U.S. gross domestic product expanded at its fastest pace in 1-1/2 years in the last quarter of 2011, but the 2.8 percent rise fell short of expectations.

Inventory building accounted for much of the growth, and weak spending by businesses in the GDP report pointed to a slower pace of recovery early this year, denting recent optimism about the economy.

In company news, Facebook plans to file documents as early as Wednesday for a highly anticipated initial public offering that will value the world’s largest social network at between $ 75 billion and $ 100 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited unidentified sources.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) was down 74.17 points, or 0.58 percent, at 12,660.46. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (.SPX) was down 2.11 points, or 0.16 percent, at 1,316.32. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) was up 11.27 points, or 0.40 percent, at 2,816.55.

For the week, the Dow fell 0.5 percent, the S&P was up 0.1 percent and the Nasdaq rose 1.1 percent.

Friday’s losses were limited as U.S. Federal Reserve statements this week and economic data kept investors alert for the possibility of another round of monetary stimulus known as quantitative easing, or QE3.

“Out of what the Fed said, you can expect some negative numbers because the Fed obviously saw what the GDP numbers are and they anticipate a slowdown,” said Sean Kraus, chief investment officer at CitizensTrust in Pasadena, California.

If the Fed does resort to QE3 to stimulate growth, investors “don’t want to be caught flat-footed and be out of risky assets,” Kraus said.

Consumer product company Procter & Gamble dipped 0.8 percent to $ 64.30.

Ford Motor Co (F.N) shares fell 4.2 percent to $ 12.21 after the carmaker reported a lower-than-expected fourth-quarter profit on higher commodity costs and losses in Europe and Asia.

Network equipment makers Juniper Networks Inc (JNPR.N) and Riverbed Technologies Inc (RVBD.O) gave first-quarter outlooks after the close Thursday that were below expectations. Juniper fell 3 percent to $ 21.69 while Riverbed slid 18.3 percent to $ 24.45.

According to Thomson Reuters data, 59 percent of 184 S&P 500 companies reporting earnings through Friday have topped analysts’ estimates, below the beat rate of about 70 percent seen at this stage of earnings season in recent quarters.

Utilities were the worst performing among S&P sectors after results from American Electric Power Co Inc (AEP.N) and Dominion Resources (D.N). American Electric was off 3.2 percent to $ 39.95, while Dominion fell 2.5 percent to $ 49.56. The S&P utilities index (.GSPU) fell 1.3 percent.

Eastman Chemical Co (EMN.N) offered to buy specialty chemical maker Solutia Inc (SOA.N) for about $ 3.38 billion in cash and stock to extend its reach in emerging markets, particularly the Asia-Pacific region. Solutia shares jumped about 41.1 percent to $ 27.52 and Eastman shares gained 7 percent to $ 50.41.

Negotiations between Greece and its private creditors on a debt swap deal made progress on Friday and will continue over the weekend, a senior Greek government official said. Renewed concern about the crisis has troubled markets this week.

About 6.6 billion shares exchanged hands on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex and Nasdaq on Tuesday.

(Reporting By Angela Moon; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

DETROIT – A Michigan factory that made luxury yachts before the recession and diversified to add wind energy products when times got tough was touted by President Barack Obama at his State of the Union Address as an example of an industry creating forward-thinking jobs — with a little help from the government.

In urging Congress to approve clean energy tax credits, Obama cited Energetx Composites LLC, a wind turbine blade manufacturer in Holland, Mich., that received millions in government assistance. Invited to sit in the first lady’s box during the speech Tuesday night was Bryan Ritterby, 58, who went to work for Energetx after being laid off from his furniture-making jobs three years ago.

“Some technologies don’t pan out; some companies fail,” Obama said. “But I will not walk away from the promise of clean energy. I will not walk away from workers like Bryan.”

Without mentioning it by name, Obama appeared to be defending his administration’s support of Solyndra LLC, the California solar panel maker that received a $ 528 million government loan but filed for bankruptcy court protection last year. Energetx is in a somewhat different situation than Solyndra but still must fend off skepticism from critics who contend government-assisted clean energy products often don’t produce enough high-wage jobs to make it worth the money.

“They must have had to look pretty hard to find someone working in alternative energy,” said Donald Grimes, a senior research specialist at University of Michigan. “I think the politics is what’s driving almost this delusion of where the jobs are. If you want to tout the future of where green energy jobs are going, it’s going to be garbage collection.”

Indeed, waste management and treatment is among the categories with the most “clean economy” jobs in the United States, according to a 2011 report by the Metropolitan Policy Program of the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit think tank. The category represented about 385,000 jobs in 2010; the wind industry employed 24,294 the same year, the report said.

In 2009, a state board announced a $ 27.3 million tax credit over 15 years to encourage Energetx to expand. The money is tied to the creation of about 1,000 jobs at the company, and won’t be awarded in cases where jobs don’t materialize. It also got a $ 3.5 million state award for “energy excellence” in 2010, which was expected to be matched by the U.S. Department of Energy.

The company is far short of its ultimate job target now — with fewer than 50 employees currently making the turbine blades and other projects — but it expects to hire roughly 100 more this year, mostly in composite manufacturing. The company would not release specific wage ranges, but human resources director Steven Busch said pay will be competitive with similar manufacturing jobs in the Midwest.

U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, a Republican whose district includes Holland, said he doesn’t “see a Solyndra-type situation” with Energetx or other clean energy companies in southwest Michigan, such as those that produce batteries for alternative-fuel vehicles. Combined, the area around Holland has about 7.5 percent of its workforce employed in the broad category of “clean jobs,” compared with the national average of 2 percent.

“This isn’t our preferred route, but if this is the route that’s presented to us, we’re going to take it and make it as successful as we can make,” Huizenga said. “Ultimately, the business principles have to be sound. Whether it’s wind, solar, nuclear … these industries aren’t going to just be able to depend on government subsidies forever. At some point you’ve got to be able to stand on your own two feet.”

While Michigan remains stung by the decline in the auto industry, some officials see this new technology as an area where it can lead again.

“It’s communicating a message to people: This is a place on the cutting-edge of change and solving problems,” said John C. Austin, a Brookings senior fellow and visiting faculty member at University of Michigan. “That’s been our big problem in Michigan. We fought for years protecting the auto industry from change. Now we can be the leader in increasing the production of electric cars.”

Brookings officials acknowledge the alternative industry is hard to assess since such jobs pervade all parts of the economy, but its study last year aimed to provide a comprehensive, detailed snapshot of what the sector truly represents.

Erik Nordman, an assistant professor of renewable energy and lead investigator of the West Michigan Wind Assessment project, says the Energetx’s transition isn’t as far-fetched as it might seem because the keel of a yacht closely resembles the blade of a turbine.

With wind energy seemingly more marketable in the future, West Michigan economic developers envision a time Energetx will expand and have hundreds of workers.

“This is new product entry,” said Rick Chapla of The Right Place, a western Michigan economic development organization. “This is complex manufacturing. This is not something that has been done or will be done overnight. It won’t be done in one year. It will be done over a period of years.”

It’s fertile political ground for Obama too. Not only is Michigan considered a swing state in the November election, but he has made several trips to the area to tout clean energy projects, and his administration has provided $ 2.4 billion in federal grants to develop next-generation electric vehicles and batteries.

Grimes remains skeptical. He says it’s appropriate for the government to invest in research, but not in fledgling commercial enterprises. He cites Solyndra as an example but argues even “picking winners” can prove problematic, since “creative destruction” is a common byproduct of successful yet disruptive technologies.

“They don’t do well with innovation because it costs people jobs,” Grimes said.

___

Associated Press writer Tim Martin contributed to this report.

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Follow Jeff Karoub on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffkaroub

“Fresh Picks” features the latest luxury properties admitted into the Kiwi Collection. Last week was white hot. This week is all about the blues. The happiest kind of blues, of course. Check out four hotels with close proximity to the sea that let you soak up plenty of turquoise tranquility.

Anantara Rasananda Koh Phangan Villa Resort & Spa
It’s red, white and blue—as in red umbrella, white sand and blue ocean—at this resort on Koh Phangan in Thailand. But there’s more blue for you. Each of the 44 villas have private plunge pools.

Anemi Hotel
Get thee to the Greek Isle of Folegandros for a few different peacock-y Pantones. Most of the room may be bright white, but that’s just a backdrop to make the blue hues really pop, whether that be one of the cerulean Eames chairs inside or the azure Aegean Sea, turquoise plunge pool and blue sky outside.

Imanta Resort
Like lots of green with your blue? This eco-friendly resort is 45 minutes outside bustling Puerto Vallarta, yet a world away. Behind you is 250 acres of lush jungle, and in front of you, the lapping waves of Banderas Bay.

Seychelles Kempinski Resort
Seychelles by the seashore, that’s our kind of nursery rhyme. Overlooking the beautiful Baie Lazare and beyond that miles of Indian Ocean, this brand spankin’ new Kempinski resort also has that winning combination of blue and green. There’s even a, ahem, real blue lagoon.

Tuesday 24 January 2012

The nominees for the 2012 Academy Awards are announced today, 24 January. Here’s where you can experience 5 of them yourself.

Paris – Midnight in Paris

Woody Allen’s fantasy about a writer who goes back in time to 1920s Paris to hang out with literary and artistic greats like Dali, Picasso and Hemingway, is one big love letter to Paris. Much like Allen’s films about London, New York and Barcelona, of course. The locations are Paris to the accent in cliché – Île de la Cité, Montmartre, Versailles etc –but it’s lovely nevertheless. Allen is not the first to set a film in Paris – there is a long list to pay homage to, from Funny Face to Subway, Masculin, féminin to Moulin Rouge, and Hugo, another of this year’s nominees. Find flights to Paris

Dartmoor, England – The War Horse

Stephen Spielberg’s tear-jerking tale of boy-horse friendship was filmed in the pastoral loveliness of Dartmoor, Devon and Castle Combe, Wiltshire. Dartmoor locations include the villages of Meavy and Sheepstor, while you can romp over the moors in homage at Haytor, Ringmoor Down, Combestone Tor and Hexworthy Bridge. Castle Combe was used as the village of Puddleby-on-the-Marsh in another classic about animals, the 1967 musical Doctor Dolittle. You can talk to the animals if you so wish, but you’ll probably get funny looks from the locals. Find flights to Exeter

Stockholm – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Some of Stieg Larsson’s beyond-massive novel-turned-film-turned-Hollywood remake starring Daniel Craig is set, and was shot, in Stockholm. The Stockholm City Museum runs special Larsson-themed walking tours, updated in January to include stories from the shooting of the film. Refresh your criminal mind with a coffee and cake, possibly while reading a Stieg Larsson novel, at Mellqvist Kaffebar, and hang out at Kvarnen -a traditional beer hall-tuned-trendy bar – both Girl locations on the island of Södermalm. Find flights to Stockholm

Mississippi – The Help

Set in Mississippi in the 1960s, the film version of Kathryn Stockett’s novel, The Help, was also filmed in the southern US state. Most of the film was shot in a town called Greenwood, situated deep in the Mississippi Delta north of New Orleans. With its evocative mix of grand Gone with the Wind-style Southern houses and 1960s architcecture, Greenwood lives up to its celluloid form in reality. It looks like an open-air museum. You can do The Help tour, head on to nearby Jackson, where the film is set, and explore the surrounding Delta countryside which, while well off any normal tourist track, will surely attract more and more tourists with the success of the film. Find flights to New Orleans

Los Angeles – The Artist

Michel Hazanavicius’s silent love letter to the golden era of American cinema was filmed in Los Angeles. Although recreating scenes from the film would be rather difficult, set as it is in the 1920s, you (and your romantic interest) could always hire fancy dress for the day, go to the pictures at the Million Dollar theatre at 307 South Broadway Avenue, and not talk to each other. Across the road is the Bradbury Building – which has served as a location for Bladerunner – while silent movie star Harold Lloyd hung from the hands of a clock at 908 on the same illustrious street. Find flights to Los Angeles