Who is behind the curtain of "Reeljewels.com?"
Me, Ginny Sayre. I have created this site as a classic musicals fan to bring fans together and hopefully inspire future fans to watch one classic movie from one of the stars I give tribute to in my site and allow people to see more obscure stars that may follow their interests. I wrote up all the biographies and written material myself with exception of the magazine articles. I make no money off this site, the stores are there purely to help with the costs of maintaining it. So please, visit the stores if you like this site, being a webmaster can sometimes be a thankless job (but a fun one), you never know who's really enjoying your work.

For more information about me, you can go to the introduction page of the site.

How long has this site been running?
I started this site on October 7, 2000 and got fed up with all the ads on the free host I was using at first, so just a week later I got "reeljewels.com" as my domain name and Infinethosting.com as my host.

I really like your web layouts. Any chance you'll take on any other projects?
I am looking for other jobs. Work on ReelJewels.com will never cease. For more information, you can visit my portfolio for my design and other projects.

You talk about the importance of meeting other fans. How can I do this via your website?
That's an easy one! Go to the message boards for the star your interested in and join in the conversation. You can go through and contact others or someone may contact you. Through this site and other mediums, I have met a few people that share extremely similar interests to me even outside classic films. It's actually quite spooky.

To log on to the message boards go to the following link:

http://www.reeljewels.com/bbfaq.htm

I'm doing a report for a class and I need a little guidance. Who can I go to?
I do not feel I am the perfect source for information for all the stars on this site, but I generally can answer questions pretty well that concern Judy Garland. If you need any help with Judy or any other "reeljewel," I will gladly try to help you as best I can, but please do not be disappointed if I cannot answer all of your questions.

When did you start ReelCast?
October 22, 2005. I am a fan of the Harry Potter series, so credit goes to Melissa Anelli at LeakyNews.com for starting PotterCast and getting so many people interested in podcasting. Their podcast really inspired me to do my own and to make it really belong to those who love classic movies. That's the sort of feeling that flows throughout the Harry Potter podcasts.

So wait, what's a podcast?
Here's a better definition of what a podcast is:
Basically, I'm going to be uploading an MP3 music file that's linked to my site every week on this page (http://www.reeljewels.com/reelcast) and it's like a radio show, but it's cooler than a radio show, because we're people talking about classic movies. As we all know... classic movies make for spiffiness.

You can also download them through an RSS feeder like iPodder or iTunes. Being a fan of Apple, I recommend iTunes. You can download iTunes here if you don't have it. It's free and it even burns CD's for free as well. It's grand.

Part of what I'm trying to do is come up with segments and volunteers who to talk with me on the broadcast (even without me, actually), and that sort of thing. It's called a podcast, because it was started by people who wanted to carry around radio programs on their iPods to listen to whenever they wanted to. You don't have to have an iPod to do this though, I use my trusty laptop.

And I can get involved in ReelCast?
Absolutely! :) It's your show, too. I see myself as the editor, just as I am for the rest of the site. It's a vestle to connect our community together. Just email me with what you'd like to do, whether it's research, a segment, idea giver, criticism--anything. I will get back to you as soon as I can (I admit this is really high on my priorities list right now) and let you know what you can do and how to go about it.

What do I need to listen to sound clips?
There is now a variation in what is available as soundclips on the site. Most of the files are real audio files and you'll need real audio player for that. Others are windows media audio (wma) files and wav files. Windows Media Audio files can pretty much only be played in Windows Media Player (there are acceptions to this) and wav files can be played in just about anything.

I've got the software I need, but the video clip is only playing the sound and not the picture. Why is that?
Well, so far I have the clips set for mid-speed access to the Internet, so your rate of streaming video is lower than what it needs to be to play correctly.

How do I send a greeting card?
Select the picture you would like and walk through the steps. Not much to it... :) Enjoy! :)

How can I save an image I like?
Similar to giving yourself a background on your desktop. Click on the image and then a bigger picture will come up. Right click on the image and a menu will come up. Choose "Save Picture As" and download to the place of your choosing. On a Mac, just hold your mouse button down and a menu will come up giving you choices on how to save the image.

Please do this for personal use only, the Internet would be quite silly to use if everyone had the same pictures. I want this site to be unique. If you would like to use any image for anything other than personal use, please ask first and I will be happy to give you permission depending on the use of the image. You can e-mail me at ginnysayre@gmail.com.

How can I put a background on my desktop?
Well, if you have a PC, first you pick the picture you want. Click on the image and then a bigger picture will come up. Right click on the image and a menu will come up. Choose "Set As Wallpaper." Then look at your Desktop and the image should be copied over. To save the picture for later use you might want to look at the next question. On a Mac, just hold your mouse button down and a menu will come up giving you choices on how to save the image.

Again, I can't emphasize this enough. Use these creations for your own personal use. I created all of the backgrounds you see on the site. I've seen colored images (especially the way I used to use them) other places and NEVER got asked if said persons could use them. This is plagiarism. Simply don't do it.

What is an AIM Buddy icon?
AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) is an instant messenging/chat application. The newer version of "AIM" allows the use of buddy icons, to make your experience more personal--these buddy icons sit at the left hand corner of your AIM window and are shown to the person you are talking to.

How do I select the AIM buddy icon I want?
Click on any buddy icons on this website and then a message will pop up saying "Are you sure you wish to change your personal buddy icon?" If you do, then click "ok" and the AIM buddy icon screen will come up. If you want the icon you have clicked on, click on "ok."

How do I select an AIM buddy icon for my buddy?
Go to the buddylist window and then to the "people" menu. Go to "select buddy icon" and then under "change images to use for buddies" click on the buddy you want to change the buddy icon for. Then, click on the icon you want to select, the icon for that buddy should change and then click on "apply" at bottom right and then "Ok" at bottom left.

Can I make a contribution to your website?
I would love to have anyone who wants to add to this website do so. After all, how can I know what anyone is interested in if no one tells me what they would like to see? If you have any scans of collectibles, pictures of stars, magazine articles, lists of radio shows, fan art, quotations, stories, or even something you wrote up in review--I'd love to have you send it to me and I'll review it for being added to this site.

For more information about submitting your work, please read the following guidelines and this page.

Seems there are a few of you out there that really enjoy my website, so I created this list to keep you up to date about the changes made and a chance to respond.

I know you have some major musical stars on your site like Judy Garland and Ginger Rogers, but why not Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire?

Well, there are a few FABULOUS websites dedicated to these stars already. There are many for Judy Garland (less though than when I originally wrote this), but Judy is my favorite, so it was natural for me to have the need to include her, too. I tried for the most part, to include stars that are somewhat overshadowed or forgotten, so that is what you see here. I did, however, include a portion for "honorary reeljewels" and that is where you will find the likes of Fred and Gene (as well as non-musicals stars).

My goal as a webmaster, is to draw attention to talent that I feel needs to be recognized in the realm of classic movies. You see, there's a method to my madness. Say you are a Cary Grant fan and you wanted to find more information on Irene Dunne (co-star in "My Favorite Wife" and "Penny Serenade" and others). So, you would find out more about Irene Dunne at first and then maybe happen over to some of my other sites to see more talent from the same era and get hooked on one or more of my "ReelJewels." That's my goal, to give a forum that allows one to explore their interests and divert their attention to other fabulous talents at the same time.

Do you benefit from the stores?
I make no money off this site, the stores are there purely to help with the costs of maintaining it. So please, visit the stores if you like this site, being a webmaster can, as I said above, sometimes be a thankless job (but a fun one), you never know who's really enjoying your work. And if you want to donate money to the site personally, you can use Amazon.com (I am part of their affiliate program), just follow this link. And if you do, THANK YOU so much in advance. Again, I only use the money to keep up the costs of running the site and buying software to make it more interesting for you.

Do you have anything like a banner I could put on my own site to advertise your site?
Actually, I do! It's the animated gif below. Just link it to ReelJewels.com. I haven't really gotten into banners much since I think the distract (as they're supposed to), which is why I don't have any on my site except for the links page.



Anything else I left out?
Please fill out the following form any time you wish with questions you may have about technical problems and information about the "ReelJewels." I will try to answer as quickly as I can and with as much information as I have to give.