Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Monday, December 26, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Friday, December 2, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Monday, October 31, 2011
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Friday, October 14, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Friday, October 7, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Friday, September 30, 2011
The News UNIT: The Master Pattern Report
The News UNIT: The Master Pattern Report: This was Bob's Monday report. A little late here in posting but good information... ...developing...
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Friday, September 16, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
West Coast Quandry
Living on the beautiful West Coast of Canada in the Rain Forest, munching on fresh greens and prancing around in the rain has been a carefree delight. Now there is Fukushima. There is no data. No measurements of radioactive Iodine, not a whisper about hot particles. Hmmm...
My cousin started talking about the ability of Baking Soda to neutralize hot particles. Instead of dusting him off (my first reaction) I Google d "Baking Soda". Here is what I found.
Now isn't that the greatest excuse for sinking into a bath with a book?
Posted by Sylvia Kinzie
.
My cousin started talking about the ability of Baking Soda to neutralize hot particles. Instead of dusting him off (my first reaction) I Google d "Baking Soda". Here is what I found.
- "Natural News" has a protocol for cleaning radiation using Baking Soda as one of the ingrediants.
- "International Medical Veritas Association" has great news about Baking Soda binding with Uranium and protecting the kidneys.
- Then there is the Baking Soda bath
Now isn't that the greatest excuse for sinking into a bath with a book?
Posted by Sylvia Kinzie
.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Viral Traffic Frenzy Review � Free Website Traffic System
Viral Traffic Frenzy is a new website that promises to deliver website traffic effortlessly. It\'s a pretty bold claim, especially with so many places making similar claims.
Visit Viral Traffic Frenzy:
It\'s created by Solomon Huey, who is well known and trusted by many in the Internet Marketing world. He\'s created several incredibly popular programs designed to help marketers with many topics, ranging from traffic generation to list building and more.
The way Viral Traffic Frenzy works they have a custom toolbar that attaches to your web browser (Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Safari, just like some of the other toolbars you may have seen or used. Naturally, the toolbar is free of any viruses or malware.
The installation is very easy and fast. If you\'ve ever installed any plugins into your web browser, it\'s as easy as when you install other plugins. It should only take a couple of minutes to have the Viral Traffic Frenzy Toolbar set up.
And that\'s when the magic starts happening...
Text ads appear on the Viral Traffic Frenzy toolbar every time you visit a new webpage. For every ad that displays on the toolbar, you earn advertising credits!
For example, you can go visit Google, check your email, visit Facebook, read the news, etc and every time a new page loads, you\'re earning advertising credits thanks to the Viral Traffic Frenzy toolbar. Then you can use those credits to show your own advertisements.
With Viral Traffic Frenzy, you really ARE getting effortless and practically autopilot traffic.
Sounds good already? You can join Viral Traffic Frenzy here:
What I also really liked is their affiliate program.
Viral Traffic Frenzy pays some very nice commissions, but what blew me away was the insanely viral nature of Viral Traffic Frenzy.
You actually earn credits based your downlines\' activity 10 levels deep. That means you could be earning traffic from potentially thousands of people in your downline!
Surprisingly, Viral Traffic Frenzy TRULY is an autopilot traffic generator and delivers on its promises in a big, big way.
Here is a quick overview...
Pros:
* Getting great advertising was never so easy and fast. The Viral Traffic Frenzy Toolbar really delivers and has the power to increase your traffic and most importantly make you more money
* You can literally visit any website online and earn traffic with no effort at all, which means more traffic and sales coming your way
* Your advertising power can grow big very quickly, thanks to the viral components of Viral Traffic Frenzy. Basically, your downlines earn you traffic all the way down to 10 levels.
* A very generous affiliate program that pays excellent commissions. With an extremely easy to use program and a proven owner, expect a lot of your referrals to upgrade.
* Completely free to join, though an upgraded membership will multiply your results and increase your potential sales
Cons:
* Need to install the Viral Traffic Frenzy Toolbar though this only takes a couple of minutes and you\'ll only need to do it once
In the end, Viral Traffic Frenzy does everything it promises and more. Although you need to install their toolbar, it\'s not a hassle at all since you only do it once. Plus, after that you\'ll be enjoying free, high quality advertising for life.
Sounds worth it to me!
This truly is an amazing system, and I\'m very thankful Solomon is giving it away for free.
Whether you\'re struggling to get traffic to your websites or just looking for more traffic sources, Viral Traffic Frenzy is sure to help you.
Since it\'s free, I highly recommend you join. There\'s nothing to lose, and the upside is you might be seeing more traffic, leads, and cash coming your way.
Join Viral Traffic Frenzy now:
Monday, April 18, 2011
'And the days dwindle down...' Thoughts for dear friend and colleague Wallace Johnson upon the occasion of his 86th birthday April 18, 2011.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Today is a special day, a festive day, a day of celebration and hijinx... today Wallace Johnson, friend, turns 86 years young; legions of his friends and well wishers will gather via the Internet to toast, to laugh with and to note the day and the man.
Wallace, for all that he was a test pilot with the Apollo Project, (and so truly flew high) is a man of sentiment, art, culture. So I looked for a suitable song to mark this event, and had no trouble selecting "The September Song" by Kurt Weil (music) and Maxwell Anderson (lyrics). It first appeared in the Broadway musical "Knickerbocher Holiday" (1938).
It is a grand tune with haunting music and a message that grows more apt and poignant day by day.
A host of top artists have recorded this song, and no wonder; Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Durante (in 1955 in a particularly touching manner). I select Lotte Lenya. She did, after all, know Weill best; she married him twice. Her rendition is mesmerizing. Go to any search engine and find it; let the music and its lyrics envelop you as you read an article straight from the heart on this his special day.
".And the days dwindle down To a precious few September, November And these few precious days I'll spend with you. These precious days I'll spend with you."
Thoughts from a whippersnapper of only 64.
Readers, if you're lucky in life you have a friend and colleague like Wallace. He is dedicated, conscientious to a fault, and he knows the fine art of handling a CEO, which (being the CEO in question) I appreciate more than he knows Today, greatly daring, with grave temerity, this self-same CEO offers a few limpid reflections and observations in the hope that they are welcome...and, more to the point, correct.
1) You've lived.
In 1955 best-selling author Patrick Dennis wrote a pip of an novel entitled "Auntie Mame". It offered this pithy admonition well loved by my mother, "Live! Live! Live! Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death."
Wallace, you are a lucky man; you have lived... you have loved... and most importantly you have been loved, and still are. You have known and lived by the truth of Sigmund Freud's famous observation that the best life is composed of love and work. It is not given to all to know, much less to benefit from, this.
"Happiness is composed of love and work." (Glück ist Liebe und Arbeit zusammen.")
You have, of course, made errors; not one of us is immune from that. But I suspect, as well as one human can know another, that yours were the faults of generosity. You, I know, are quite capable of giving too much to those who may not have been worth the gift, being neither capable of understanding nor reciprocating. If this is a "fault", it is a good one to have. It is, after all, always better to have given, even if from time to time, to the unworthy. Let a man be evaluated by such errors...and he shall be found, assuredly, a good man, a kind man, a man of heart. That man is you.
2) You served America proudly, regarding her as needing the support of all who love her, a bastion, not a milch cow for exploitation.
Wallace, you have been since your earliest days, a man who knew the secret of life was always to look up, to the place beyond the rainbows, for it is only by the exertions of untrammeled people that progress can come. You looked up and saw the cosmos as a subject of study, as a great adventure, as a never-ending source of wonder; a place to embrace and excite, never to shrink from. As a test pilot for the Apollo Project during the heady days of its inception and development, you saw first-hand what this great nation can do... no technical impediment too difficult... no vision too unlikely... no destination too remote.
You are one of the very elect who can say, and proudly, "I was there... and it mattered." And so it did. The salary was meager; the hours long; the effect profound and inspiring. And you were there, dedicated.
3) You have been a great teacher.
Ask a new member of our Worldprofit community to name a single member, a single monitor, and the odds are overwhelming they will name you. I know why. First because you saw in us the best of you and in joining did no lip service but made the most serious of commitments. You resolved not merely to take, but to enhance, improve, and through every season and year, to give.
You learned our innovative business... you excelled. You understood, as so many have not, that the Internet is not a destination; it is a process, a process of connecting the members of our species, wherever they are located, so that they may communicate the very best of which we are capable.
You embraced this mission as you embraced all your missions: with seriousness of intent, with full commitment, and with an unexampled talent for training other good people worldwide who understood the vital importance of our monitor program and wanted to add their talents to the corps epitomized by you. As such you have, first, touched the lives of these monitors, directly, personally, diplomatically, thoroughly. In turn these monitors, with their important tasks, have touched the lives of untold thousands, who may perhaps never know they have benefited from you and your gift of giving. But they most assuredly have.
4) You have helped your CEO, a "lad" still on the sunny side of Social Security, just.
Wallace, many people today, and on many days to come, will extol your virtues, and rightly so. But I am the only man in the universe who can extol you for this: that you have helped your CEO, not least by your empathy, diplomacy, and the art of knowing just when to offer home truths, the better to attend to them... and to listen. I appreciate your deftness... and your unflagging assistance.
Many people, 2 decades and more senior in age, would have found ways to roil the waters. You chose with consummate loyalty, to smooth the road... without the slightest hint of servility or arriere pensee. You have been amidst so many loyal, the most loyal of all.
You have given me the benefit of wisdom, without condescension. You have listened... you have spoken candidly... you have reminded when necessary and "forgotten" when prudent. I am appreciative, in your debt, impressed and grateful.
"And these few precious days, I'll spend with you."
If we are known and greatly defined by the company we keep, then surely we are here at Worldprofit, all of us the beneficiaries of this: that from a multitude of other companies and opportunities, Wallace Johnson selected us.
Now my 86th birthday gift to you, Wallace, is this:
May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face...
(ancient Irish prayer).
Wherever you go, whenever you go there, you take a particle from us with you, just as we carry a bit of you on our own unique journey through time and space.
Readers: for more information on Wallace Johnson and the Apollo Project, visit any search engine.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Sylvia Kinzie
http://WeBroadcastToYou.com
Check out Mass Traffic Leak
Click Here
Today is a special day, a festive day, a day of celebration and hijinx... today Wallace Johnson, friend, turns 86 years young; legions of his friends and well wishers will gather via the Internet to toast, to laugh with and to note the day and the man.
Wallace, for all that he was a test pilot with the Apollo Project, (and so truly flew high) is a man of sentiment, art, culture. So I looked for a suitable song to mark this event, and had no trouble selecting "The September Song" by Kurt Weil (music) and Maxwell Anderson (lyrics). It first appeared in the Broadway musical "Knickerbocher Holiday" (1938).
It is a grand tune with haunting music and a message that grows more apt and poignant day by day.
A host of top artists have recorded this song, and no wonder; Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Durante (in 1955 in a particularly touching manner). I select Lotte Lenya. She did, after all, know Weill best; she married him twice. Her rendition is mesmerizing. Go to any search engine and find it; let the music and its lyrics envelop you as you read an article straight from the heart on this his special day.
".And the days dwindle down To a precious few September, November And these few precious days I'll spend with you. These precious days I'll spend with you."
Thoughts from a whippersnapper of only 64.
Readers, if you're lucky in life you have a friend and colleague like Wallace. He is dedicated, conscientious to a fault, and he knows the fine art of handling a CEO, which (being the CEO in question) I appreciate more than he knows Today, greatly daring, with grave temerity, this self-same CEO offers a few limpid reflections and observations in the hope that they are welcome...and, more to the point, correct.
1) You've lived.
In 1955 best-selling author Patrick Dennis wrote a pip of an novel entitled "Auntie Mame". It offered this pithy admonition well loved by my mother, "Live! Live! Live! Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death."
Wallace, you are a lucky man; you have lived... you have loved... and most importantly you have been loved, and still are. You have known and lived by the truth of Sigmund Freud's famous observation that the best life is composed of love and work. It is not given to all to know, much less to benefit from, this.
"Happiness is composed of love and work." (Glück ist Liebe und Arbeit zusammen.")
You have, of course, made errors; not one of us is immune from that. But I suspect, as well as one human can know another, that yours were the faults of generosity. You, I know, are quite capable of giving too much to those who may not have been worth the gift, being neither capable of understanding nor reciprocating. If this is a "fault", it is a good one to have. It is, after all, always better to have given, even if from time to time, to the unworthy. Let a man be evaluated by such errors...and he shall be found, assuredly, a good man, a kind man, a man of heart. That man is you.
2) You served America proudly, regarding her as needing the support of all who love her, a bastion, not a milch cow for exploitation.
Wallace, you have been since your earliest days, a man who knew the secret of life was always to look up, to the place beyond the rainbows, for it is only by the exertions of untrammeled people that progress can come. You looked up and saw the cosmos as a subject of study, as a great adventure, as a never-ending source of wonder; a place to embrace and excite, never to shrink from. As a test pilot for the Apollo Project during the heady days of its inception and development, you saw first-hand what this great nation can do... no technical impediment too difficult... no vision too unlikely... no destination too remote.
You are one of the very elect who can say, and proudly, "I was there... and it mattered." And so it did. The salary was meager; the hours long; the effect profound and inspiring. And you were there, dedicated.
3) You have been a great teacher.
Ask a new member of our Worldprofit community to name a single member, a single monitor, and the odds are overwhelming they will name you. I know why. First because you saw in us the best of you and in joining did no lip service but made the most serious of commitments. You resolved not merely to take, but to enhance, improve, and through every season and year, to give.
You learned our innovative business... you excelled. You understood, as so many have not, that the Internet is not a destination; it is a process, a process of connecting the members of our species, wherever they are located, so that they may communicate the very best of which we are capable.
You embraced this mission as you embraced all your missions: with seriousness of intent, with full commitment, and with an unexampled talent for training other good people worldwide who understood the vital importance of our monitor program and wanted to add their talents to the corps epitomized by you. As such you have, first, touched the lives of these monitors, directly, personally, diplomatically, thoroughly. In turn these monitors, with their important tasks, have touched the lives of untold thousands, who may perhaps never know they have benefited from you and your gift of giving. But they most assuredly have.
4) You have helped your CEO, a "lad" still on the sunny side of Social Security, just.
Wallace, many people today, and on many days to come, will extol your virtues, and rightly so. But I am the only man in the universe who can extol you for this: that you have helped your CEO, not least by your empathy, diplomacy, and the art of knowing just when to offer home truths, the better to attend to them... and to listen. I appreciate your deftness... and your unflagging assistance.
Many people, 2 decades and more senior in age, would have found ways to roil the waters. You chose with consummate loyalty, to smooth the road... without the slightest hint of servility or arriere pensee. You have been amidst so many loyal, the most loyal of all.
You have given me the benefit of wisdom, without condescension. You have listened... you have spoken candidly... you have reminded when necessary and "forgotten" when prudent. I am appreciative, in your debt, impressed and grateful.
"And these few precious days, I'll spend with you."
If we are known and greatly defined by the company we keep, then surely we are here at Worldprofit, all of us the beneficiaries of this: that from a multitude of other companies and opportunities, Wallace Johnson selected us.
Now my 86th birthday gift to you, Wallace, is this:
May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face...
(ancient Irish prayer).
Wherever you go, whenever you go there, you take a particle from us with you, just as we carry a bit of you on our own unique journey through time and space.
Readers: for more information on Wallace Johnson and the Apollo Project, visit any search engine.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Sylvia Kinzie
http://WeBroadcastToYou.com
Check out Mass Traffic Leak
Click Here
Friday, April 15, 2011
Thoughts upon the latest acquisition to my collection, a portrait of Joseph II, emperor of Austria, patron of Mozart.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
I am now at the stage of life and collecting where I am looking for quite specific things. These things must either fill a gap in my collection or expand the collection in a new way, but related to what it already contains.
Items must also have the undeniable "wow" factor, the je ne sais quoi which is so hard to explain in words but so easy to see in person.
Oh, yes, one more thing: the price must be, if not a bargain, then most attractive, so that one can justify, yet again, exceeding one's (always too meager) budget.
Imperial Hapsburg portrait.
My latest acquisition, a fine portrait of Austrian emperor Joseph II by Josef Hickel, fills all these criteria, but for the price, for I admit I did exceed my budget. I am chagrined, of course, but realistic. The auction market which has been so attractive for purchasing during the great recession now over is now most healthy again. Just as I got bargain after bargain during that recession, so I must logically expect to pay more now that that once-in-a- lifetime buying opportunity has waned.
I expect you'd like to see this picture.
Go to the website of the auction house, Vienna's celebrated Dorotheum in business since 1707. You'll find it at dorotheum.com
Once there find the entry for the Alte Meister (Old Master) pictures sale, Part I, 13 April, 2011, lot 473. Be sure to click on the link that increases the size of what you see.
Here are the facts about this picture:
Josef Hickel (born Bohmisch-Leipa/Bohemia, 1736; died Vienna, 1807).
Portrait of Emperor Joseph II in a Chevaux Legers uniform, with the Order of the Golden Fleece set with brilliants; the Order of Maria Theresa and the Order of Saint Stephen. Oil on copper, oval 32 x 26 cm, framed.
About the painter and his picture.
Josef Hickel was court painter to Empress Maria Theresa, for whom he portrayed numerous high-ranking personalities. In 1769 he was appointed a member of the Florentine Academy. In Vienna, where he was likewise affiliated with the Academy, he was repeatedly commissioned to paint Emperor Joseph II and portrayed him at least five times. He left altogether more than 3,000 portraits. The present painting depends on contemporary English portraiture, a typical feature of which is the hint of a clouded sky in the background, so that the sovereign, in contract to the meticulous rendering of his appearance, is placed against the limitless expanse of space in order to augment his significance.
These are the bare facts. Now, as every serious collector knows, the real work begins.
Every collector is an historian and needs to act like one.
Understand that every picture, and every other collectible artifact for that matter, is an aperture into the past, a way of seeing and understanding days gone by while building a collection of significance.
My involvement with this lot began when I was in high school in the mid 1960s. There for the first time I became aware of Josef Hickel, but as celebrated artist father of a celebrated artist son, Karl Anton Hickel. Hickel fils' portrait of the English early 19th century statesman Charles James Fox was pictured in a book for a project about Fox's oratory. (Charles James Fox: A Man for the People, author Loren Reid, 1969) That picture was most assuredly not in the grand tradition. It showed Fox very much as his contemporaries saw him: overweight, unkempt, hat askew, undeniably the most charming and popular man of his age. This was a Fox captured by a Hickel. Hickel pere and fils thus became must-have names on my list of desirable acquisitions.
Do you have such a list of the desirable painters, silver smiths, seat furniture craftsmen etc that you would like to have? You must. These lists are invaluable as you consider new acquisitions and, for that matter, as you de-acquisition because you have outgrown various items, styles, and craftspeople.
Because this list is very important, you must start it as early as possible and constantly work to keep it up to date.
Why Joseph II? (1741-1790).
For hundreds of years the Hapsburgs, in all their various manifestations and titles, more often than not Holy Roman Emperors, guarded Europe from menacing Turks, Russians, Slavs, and more. They were an essential cog in the wheel of European civilization. Indeed, so important were the Austrian and their sprawling possessions that had they not have existed, they would have had to be invented.
Their capital was Vienna, and there one emperor after another left his signature on a metropolis fit for a monarchy sanctioned by God, Holy and Apostolic. Joseph II thus became the Vicegerent of God on earth... and he acted accordingly... not least in turning Vienna into the cultural capital of Europe. A bumptious lad with egregious ego, dripping with disdain for the less gifted, aimed for Vienna, too. His name was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (born 1756). He was a handful even for the emperor himself.
However, when I look at my imperial portrait, I see the man who gave Mozart his first great break: commissioning from him the first opera in the German language, the masterwork which came to be known as "The Abduction from the Seraglio." Mozart, whose genius was greater than the empire itself, was ungrateful, of course. That is the cross even emperors must bear.
By the way, I feel honor bound to set the record straight on two standing charges against Joseph II,
1) that he told Mozart that "The Abduction..." had too many notes, Mozart immediately telling His Imperial Majesty it had just the number it needed. This story is most likely apocryphal, though it is clear Joseph II never did figure out how to treat the potty-mouthed boy who wrote with the voice of God Himself.
2) Mozart was not dumped in a common pauper's grave. Joseph II, enlightened monarch, wished to cut the giant expenditures his subjects spent on unproductive funerals. He ordered all bodies be thrown in common pits to be covered with flesh-dissolving lime. And so it was with Mozart.
Now I am part of the story.
This fine picture, still in Vienna, willl shortly to go to my conservator Simon Gillespie in London. For over 20 years now, he has taken the merely excellent and with unsurpassed talent turned my pictures, all my pictures, into glorious History. Once they are here, I become part of the story... Improving, maintaining, preserving, augmenting. But make no mistake, they most assuredly own me, never the reverse. And I am proud, honored, content to have it so.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is an avid art collector and the author of 18 best-selling business books.
Republished with author's permission by Sylvia Kinzie
http://WeBroadcastToYou.com.
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I am now at the stage of life and collecting where I am looking for quite specific things. These things must either fill a gap in my collection or expand the collection in a new way, but related to what it already contains.
Items must also have the undeniable "wow" factor, the je ne sais quoi which is so hard to explain in words but so easy to see in person.
Oh, yes, one more thing: the price must be, if not a bargain, then most attractive, so that one can justify, yet again, exceeding one's (always too meager) budget.
Imperial Hapsburg portrait.
My latest acquisition, a fine portrait of Austrian emperor Joseph II by Josef Hickel, fills all these criteria, but for the price, for I admit I did exceed my budget. I am chagrined, of course, but realistic. The auction market which has been so attractive for purchasing during the great recession now over is now most healthy again. Just as I got bargain after bargain during that recession, so I must logically expect to pay more now that that once-in-a- lifetime buying opportunity has waned.
I expect you'd like to see this picture.
Go to the website of the auction house, Vienna's celebrated Dorotheum in business since 1707. You'll find it at dorotheum.com
Once there find the entry for the Alte Meister (Old Master) pictures sale, Part I, 13 April, 2011, lot 473. Be sure to click on the link that increases the size of what you see.
Here are the facts about this picture:
Josef Hickel (born Bohmisch-Leipa/Bohemia, 1736; died Vienna, 1807).
Portrait of Emperor Joseph II in a Chevaux Legers uniform, with the Order of the Golden Fleece set with brilliants; the Order of Maria Theresa and the Order of Saint Stephen. Oil on copper, oval 32 x 26 cm, framed.
About the painter and his picture.
Josef Hickel was court painter to Empress Maria Theresa, for whom he portrayed numerous high-ranking personalities. In 1769 he was appointed a member of the Florentine Academy. In Vienna, where he was likewise affiliated with the Academy, he was repeatedly commissioned to paint Emperor Joseph II and portrayed him at least five times. He left altogether more than 3,000 portraits. The present painting depends on contemporary English portraiture, a typical feature of which is the hint of a clouded sky in the background, so that the sovereign, in contract to the meticulous rendering of his appearance, is placed against the limitless expanse of space in order to augment his significance.
These are the bare facts. Now, as every serious collector knows, the real work begins.
Every collector is an historian and needs to act like one.
Understand that every picture, and every other collectible artifact for that matter, is an aperture into the past, a way of seeing and understanding days gone by while building a collection of significance.
My involvement with this lot began when I was in high school in the mid 1960s. There for the first time I became aware of Josef Hickel, but as celebrated artist father of a celebrated artist son, Karl Anton Hickel. Hickel fils' portrait of the English early 19th century statesman Charles James Fox was pictured in a book for a project about Fox's oratory. (Charles James Fox: A Man for the People, author Loren Reid, 1969) That picture was most assuredly not in the grand tradition. It showed Fox very much as his contemporaries saw him: overweight, unkempt, hat askew, undeniably the most charming and popular man of his age. This was a Fox captured by a Hickel. Hickel pere and fils thus became must-have names on my list of desirable acquisitions.
Do you have such a list of the desirable painters, silver smiths, seat furniture craftsmen etc that you would like to have? You must. These lists are invaluable as you consider new acquisitions and, for that matter, as you de-acquisition because you have outgrown various items, styles, and craftspeople.
Because this list is very important, you must start it as early as possible and constantly work to keep it up to date.
Why Joseph II? (1741-1790).
For hundreds of years the Hapsburgs, in all their various manifestations and titles, more often than not Holy Roman Emperors, guarded Europe from menacing Turks, Russians, Slavs, and more. They were an essential cog in the wheel of European civilization. Indeed, so important were the Austrian and their sprawling possessions that had they not have existed, they would have had to be invented.
Their capital was Vienna, and there one emperor after another left his signature on a metropolis fit for a monarchy sanctioned by God, Holy and Apostolic. Joseph II thus became the Vicegerent of God on earth... and he acted accordingly... not least in turning Vienna into the cultural capital of Europe. A bumptious lad with egregious ego, dripping with disdain for the less gifted, aimed for Vienna, too. His name was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (born 1756). He was a handful even for the emperor himself.
However, when I look at my imperial portrait, I see the man who gave Mozart his first great break: commissioning from him the first opera in the German language, the masterwork which came to be known as "The Abduction from the Seraglio." Mozart, whose genius was greater than the empire itself, was ungrateful, of course. That is the cross even emperors must bear.
By the way, I feel honor bound to set the record straight on two standing charges against Joseph II,
1) that he told Mozart that "The Abduction..." had too many notes, Mozart immediately telling His Imperial Majesty it had just the number it needed. This story is most likely apocryphal, though it is clear Joseph II never did figure out how to treat the potty-mouthed boy who wrote with the voice of God Himself.
2) Mozart was not dumped in a common pauper's grave. Joseph II, enlightened monarch, wished to cut the giant expenditures his subjects spent on unproductive funerals. He ordered all bodies be thrown in common pits to be covered with flesh-dissolving lime. And so it was with Mozart.
Now I am part of the story.
This fine picture, still in Vienna, willl shortly to go to my conservator Simon Gillespie in London. For over 20 years now, he has taken the merely excellent and with unsurpassed talent turned my pictures, all my pictures, into glorious History. Once they are here, I become part of the story... Improving, maintaining, preserving, augmenting. But make no mistake, they most assuredly own me, never the reverse. And I am proud, honored, content to have it so.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is an avid art collector and the author of 18 best-selling business books.
Republished with author's permission by Sylvia Kinzie
http://WeBroadcastToYou.com.
Check out Xtreme Profit Robot
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Thursday, April 14, 2011
The Truth On Steve Iser & His Commission Crusher Software
Lately there's been a lot of talk about this relatively unknown 24 year-old
online millionaire named Steve Iser who's exposing his software
program Commission Crusher, to the world for a very limited time...
So just who is Steve and what should you know about him?
Simply put, Steve is unlike any other marketer online. With nearly 5 years
of marketing online, Steve has gone from College dropout at 20 to millionaire
status in less than 3 years.
He's run the full gamut from promoting affiliate programs, creating info
products, software training, sold websites, spoken at marketing conferences,
created his own CPA offers and in the process of his career has already helped
thousands of people create successful businesses online.
You name it - he's probably done it. This young turk believes in "paying it
forward". In other wards, his goal with Commission Crusher is to help
his 500 new students utilize his new software to create a new group of rich.
His new software program, Commission Crusher, utilizes a simple method that
allows you to tap into any market or niche online and find out WHO exactly
has the traffic - so you can tap into it and get a piece of the pie for youself.
Needless to say, he's unlike most of these other "gurus" out there. He does
things differently. And he takes a personal interest in helping his customers
succeed.
If you want to know more about Commission Crusher and what Steve's got going
on right now, check it out below:
Commission Crusher
Republished with author's permission by Sylvia Kinzie
http://WeBroadcastToYou.com.
online millionaire named Steve Iser who's exposing his software
program Commission Crusher, to the world for a very limited time...
So just who is Steve and what should you know about him?
Simply put, Steve is unlike any other marketer online. With nearly 5 years
of marketing online, Steve has gone from College dropout at 20 to millionaire
status in less than 3 years.
He's run the full gamut from promoting affiliate programs, creating info
products, software training, sold websites, spoken at marketing conferences,
created his own CPA offers and in the process of his career has already helped
thousands of people create successful businesses online.
You name it - he's probably done it. This young turk believes in "paying it
forward". In other wards, his goal with Commission Crusher is to help
his 500 new students utilize his new software to create a new group of rich.
His new software program, Commission Crusher, utilizes a simple method that
allows you to tap into any market or niche online and find out WHO exactly
has the traffic - so you can tap into it and get a piece of the pie for youself.
Needless to say, he's unlike most of these other "gurus" out there. He does
things differently. And he takes a personal interest in helping his customers
succeed.
If you want to know more about Commission Crusher and what Steve's got going
on right now, check it out below:
Commission Crusher
Republished with author's permission by Sylvia Kinzie
http://WeBroadcastToYou.com.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
What your local school is NOT teaching your children that you must to ensure their lifetime success.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Have you considered lately just what your local school is -- or more importantly -- is not teaching your children? Probably not. Like most parents, you take the matter on faith; hoping they're teaching what your children most need to get ahead.
Unfortunately, in at least 4 key areas, your children are learning little or nothing of what they absolutely must know to get ahead and lead profitable, productive lives.
#1 Local schools don't teach necessary interview and job skills, leaving your children vulnerable particularly in tight job markets.
Here are just some of the items on which the school is letting you down:
* how to write a resume and cover letter
* how to look for and find available jobs
* how to follow up with prospective employers
* how to dress for the interview
* how to handle themselves during interviews.
Obviously obtaining employment is crucial. Sadly, your school is letting you down.
#2 Your school is not delivering detailed information on financial affairs.
Mastery of basic information about money, debt, investments, etc is crucial. However, here's what your school isn't teaching:
* how to open a bank account
* how to use checks, including how to balance a check book
* what a home mortgage is and how to get and keep one
* how to do a home budget
* understanding and benefiting from pensions
* understanding mutual funds and other financial investments
* how to complete a tax form.
We live in a "capitalist" culture, but the overwhelming majority of our citizens are clueless about how to benefit from it, because our schools teach nothing about it.
#3 How to be a good citizen. Your school isn't telling, leaving this to "catch as catch can" with disastrous results.
Election after election takes place with 40%, or more, of citizens failing to vote. No wonder. Here's just some of what our schools don't teach:
* what is a citizen? What are his/her rights and responsibilities
* what is the Constitution? What is the Bill of Rights?
* how to register to vote
* how to read a ballot
* how to understand referenda and other citizen initiatives
* how to vote.
We decry low voter turn-out and participation yet fail to teach what is necessary for a healthy democracy.
#4 Basic human relations skills
Have you looked at your children lately? Have you actually listened to them?
EVERY civilization prior to ours was painstaking in teaching young people successfully how to interact with other people. They realized that such skills were absolutely crucial for a successful marriage and life generally. Instead of this sensible system, we let matters take their course with predictable results. Here's just some of what our schools don't teach:
* how to greet strangers and make them feel comfortable
* how to look people in the eyes
* how to handle a basic conversation
* the meaning of courtesy and how to deliver it
* how to express appreciation
* how to reciprocate.
Get the picture? Without your school's interest or support, your children are left at sea with no assistance or insight whatsoever about necessary questions of human relations. Boorish and self-defeating behaviors are therefore inevitable.
Since The Schools Are Unable or Unwilling To Assist, These Things Are YOUR Responsibility
It is clear that leaving matters to your school is a bad mistake. Public educators are unable or unwilling to teach these matters. Thus, if you want the best for your children YOU must become their recognized, organized "life skills" teacher.
Don't treat this matter casually or lightly. It is far too important for that.
* Think what your children must know but are not getting in school.
* Schedule regular meeting with your children.
* Be clear on what you want them to know.
* Encourage active participation and discussion.
* Invite their friends to participate.
It is not the fault of the children that they are being short- changed in schools. Don't compound the problem by short-changing them at home. Start today. You'll be glad you did, and your children will reward you by maturing into better people, with suitable appreciation for all you did!
P.S. If your school district teaches at least some of these things, be glad.... then ask them to implement the rest!
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice.
Republished with author's permission by Sylvia Kinzie
http://WeBroadcastToYou.com
Check out Ultimate Cash Blueprint
These secrets are exclusive. You won't find
a million and one marketers using it.
Press Here
Have you considered lately just what your local school is -- or more importantly -- is not teaching your children? Probably not. Like most parents, you take the matter on faith; hoping they're teaching what your children most need to get ahead.
Unfortunately, in at least 4 key areas, your children are learning little or nothing of what they absolutely must know to get ahead and lead profitable, productive lives.
#1 Local schools don't teach necessary interview and job skills, leaving your children vulnerable particularly in tight job markets.
Here are just some of the items on which the school is letting you down:
* how to write a resume and cover letter
* how to look for and find available jobs
* how to follow up with prospective employers
* how to dress for the interview
* how to handle themselves during interviews.
Obviously obtaining employment is crucial. Sadly, your school is letting you down.
#2 Your school is not delivering detailed information on financial affairs.
Mastery of basic information about money, debt, investments, etc is crucial. However, here's what your school isn't teaching:
* how to open a bank account
* how to use checks, including how to balance a check book
* what a home mortgage is and how to get and keep one
* how to do a home budget
* understanding and benefiting from pensions
* understanding mutual funds and other financial investments
* how to complete a tax form.
We live in a "capitalist" culture, but the overwhelming majority of our citizens are clueless about how to benefit from it, because our schools teach nothing about it.
#3 How to be a good citizen. Your school isn't telling, leaving this to "catch as catch can" with disastrous results.
Election after election takes place with 40%, or more, of citizens failing to vote. No wonder. Here's just some of what our schools don't teach:
* what is a citizen? What are his/her rights and responsibilities
* what is the Constitution? What is the Bill of Rights?
* how to register to vote
* how to read a ballot
* how to understand referenda and other citizen initiatives
* how to vote.
We decry low voter turn-out and participation yet fail to teach what is necessary for a healthy democracy.
#4 Basic human relations skills
Have you looked at your children lately? Have you actually listened to them?
EVERY civilization prior to ours was painstaking in teaching young people successfully how to interact with other people. They realized that such skills were absolutely crucial for a successful marriage and life generally. Instead of this sensible system, we let matters take their course with predictable results. Here's just some of what our schools don't teach:
* how to greet strangers and make them feel comfortable
* how to look people in the eyes
* how to handle a basic conversation
* the meaning of courtesy and how to deliver it
* how to express appreciation
* how to reciprocate.
Get the picture? Without your school's interest or support, your children are left at sea with no assistance or insight whatsoever about necessary questions of human relations. Boorish and self-defeating behaviors are therefore inevitable.
Since The Schools Are Unable or Unwilling To Assist, These Things Are YOUR Responsibility
It is clear that leaving matters to your school is a bad mistake. Public educators are unable or unwilling to teach these matters. Thus, if you want the best for your children YOU must become their recognized, organized "life skills" teacher.
Don't treat this matter casually or lightly. It is far too important for that.
* Think what your children must know but are not getting in school.
* Schedule regular meeting with your children.
* Be clear on what you want them to know.
* Encourage active participation and discussion.
* Invite their friends to participate.
It is not the fault of the children that they are being short- changed in schools. Don't compound the problem by short-changing them at home. Start today. You'll be glad you did, and your children will reward you by maturing into better people, with suitable appreciation for all you did!
P.S. If your school district teaches at least some of these things, be glad.... then ask them to implement the rest!
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice.
Republished with author's permission by Sylvia Kinzie
http://WeBroadcastToYou.com
Check out Ultimate Cash Blueprint
These secrets are exclusive. You won't find
a million and one marketers using it.
Press Here
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
The eagle has landed! Raptor Resource Project Decorah, Iowa Eagle Cam.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
You've heard of "The Eagle Has Landed" before. It was a best-selling novel by Jack Higgins in 1975; then, in 1976, a big budget film starring Michael Caine et al, with a soaring score by Lalo Schifrin. The plot centered on the Nazi attempt to capture Winston Churchill and bring him to Germany. It had swash and buckle and derring-do to beat the band.
But you know what? This article on a family of Bald Eagles in America's heartland is far more exciting, indeed mesmerizing -- and I say it who is not known for nature lore or for climbing every mountain.
See for yourself.
Before you dig into this article, go to any search engine and search for the Raptor Resource Project Decorah (Iowa) Eagle Cam. Once you've found it (easy), you'll have trouble shutting it off (hard). I went to have a look; stayed for a couple of hours; went back later and was captivated watching an adult feed the chicks; then (in the middle of the night) back again to make sure all was well. The late afternoon winds had died down; the night was serene and the adult had the chicks under belly, snug and well fed.
My fascination is shared by hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children worldwide, many of whom get so involved in this fascinating story that they pack up the kids and head to Decorah to see the reality show live. So many people visited the Eagle Cam Saturday, April 2, 2011 (over 100,000 that day) that the Raptor Project's website crashed... it was the only thing that went down that day. Everything else about the eagles and their enthusiastic following was up, up, up.
First hatch 4/1/2011.
What the world and its brother has been paying attention to is this:
First egg laid 2/23/2011
First hatch 4/1/2011... Second hatch 4/3/2011... Third hatch 4/6/2011
This information is posted as it happens on the RRP blog, which under the guiding hand of Amy Ries, one of the dedicated band that runs this show, provides maximum access and information without jeopardizing what makes the project enthralling: ready, close-range access to the eagles... without spooking the raptors and making them anxious.
Amy's blog entry for Friday, April 1, 2011 was characteristic:" Eagles incubate for roughly 34-37 days, according to a number of online sources. Last year, the Decorah eagles laid three eggs: one on February 5, one on February 28, and one on March 5. The first eaglet hatched on April 3. This year, the eagles starting laying eggs a little earlier, but had the exact same spread: February 23, February 26, and March 2nd." Then follows a clear, well-written post on eagle incubation, including a detailed answer to the questions inquiring minds want to know: who takes care of the eggs better, male or female?
The answer: "The female eagle incubates more, but the male shares incubation duties as well."
Blog comments left by the faithful are numerous, enthusiastic, heartfelt, and revealing. Many queries are left about just what the eagles are eating for themselves and feeding the chicks... about how the chicks are faring... about whether the eagles and their eaglets are all doing well. The Raptor Project turns humans of any age into concerned friends, god parents and adopted relations. These parent eagles and their adorable (and they are) chicks touch us, each and every one. We want them to do well and our concern is palpable, sincere, highly credible to us and good to know, since we humans are the greatest menace to the eagles. After all, it was only the other day that eagles were almost gone.
Bob Anderson to the rescue, doing more than his bit for raptor preservation.
Though many have helped in the development of RRP, one person above all deserves the kudos. That person is Bob Anderson, the executive director, Founding Father, with a distinct resemblance to Bob Keeshan, Captain Kangaroo. He first provided his first public feed of bird cams in 1991. That was from a falcon's nest mounted halfway up an 800-foot-tall electric plant smokestack in Oak Park Heights, Minnesota.
He launched his first eagle camera in 2003 at another power plant in Colorado. He pointedly set up an osprey cam on Earth Day 1993, to remind folks that important as RRP and its work is, it is but a part of a global problem we ignore at our peril. He has never done so.
As for his beloved eagles, they have perched in a tree behind Anderson's "mission control" operation; (a garage lent by Willard and Mary Ellen Holthaus) for 5 years. He knows their fascinating habits well. The male eagle, for instance, is markedly smaller than the female; the gal he's with now is his second mate. They seem contented and are certainly prolific.
Too much of a good thing?
For years, many years, Bob Anderson and a few friends and supporters labored tirelessly, hardly known, the work hard, exhausting, and obscure. The Internet and streaming video changed all that forever. The raptors Anderson wanted to save and preserve now became, as they are now, the acknowledged stars of a production with mind-boggling visibility, popularity, and renown. At any given time, over 100,000 people are viewing the raptors at home. There have been, so far, more than 30 million views...
Founding Father Anderson is pleased of course. These majestic creatures, the very symbol of our great republic (since 1782) should be seen and appreciated by all. Above all birds the eagle must thrive and soar. But here there are dangers, too.
The website crashes too often; well-meaning visitors cut through the yards and lawns of the good, so-far uncomplaining citizens of Decorah and vicinity, turning Anderson into a diplomat. New equipment is needed... and new conservation projects need funds. And all this must be accomplished without disturbing, frightening, or threatening the eagles themselves. That above all.
A couple of bucks would help. Like so many of our essential non- profit organizations, crucial to our entire way of life, RRP has done wonders with very little. This can only work so long. Frankly, sending them a few bucks would cost you little and ensure the continuing success not only of Raptor Research Project but the eagles at its center.
As for me, today I shall check in at Raptor Cam. I was worried yesterday that the littlest chick, perhaps the newest born, was somewhat neglected during feeding time, and I want to see for myself that all is well.
Note: Send your tax-deductible contributions to
Raptor Research Project ATTN Bob Anderson, Executive Director 2325 Siewers Spring Road Decorah, Iowa 52101-7501
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Sylvia Kinzie
http://WeBroadcastToYou.com
Check out Ultimate Cash Blueprint
These secrets are exclusive. You won't find
a million and one marketers using it. Have a look=>Here!
You've heard of "The Eagle Has Landed" before. It was a best-selling novel by Jack Higgins in 1975; then, in 1976, a big budget film starring Michael Caine et al, with a soaring score by Lalo Schifrin. The plot centered on the Nazi attempt to capture Winston Churchill and bring him to Germany. It had swash and buckle and derring-do to beat the band.
But you know what? This article on a family of Bald Eagles in America's heartland is far more exciting, indeed mesmerizing -- and I say it who is not known for nature lore or for climbing every mountain.
See for yourself.
Before you dig into this article, go to any search engine and search for the Raptor Resource Project Decorah (Iowa) Eagle Cam. Once you've found it (easy), you'll have trouble shutting it off (hard). I went to have a look; stayed for a couple of hours; went back later and was captivated watching an adult feed the chicks; then (in the middle of the night) back again to make sure all was well. The late afternoon winds had died down; the night was serene and the adult had the chicks under belly, snug and well fed.
My fascination is shared by hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children worldwide, many of whom get so involved in this fascinating story that they pack up the kids and head to Decorah to see the reality show live. So many people visited the Eagle Cam Saturday, April 2, 2011 (over 100,000 that day) that the Raptor Project's website crashed... it was the only thing that went down that day. Everything else about the eagles and their enthusiastic following was up, up, up.
First hatch 4/1/2011.
What the world and its brother has been paying attention to is this:
First egg laid 2/23/2011
First hatch 4/1/2011... Second hatch 4/3/2011... Third hatch 4/6/2011
This information is posted as it happens on the RRP blog, which under the guiding hand of Amy Ries, one of the dedicated band that runs this show, provides maximum access and information without jeopardizing what makes the project enthralling: ready, close-range access to the eagles... without spooking the raptors and making them anxious.
Amy's blog entry for Friday, April 1, 2011 was characteristic:" Eagles incubate for roughly 34-37 days, according to a number of online sources. Last year, the Decorah eagles laid three eggs: one on February 5, one on February 28, and one on March 5. The first eaglet hatched on April 3. This year, the eagles starting laying eggs a little earlier, but had the exact same spread: February 23, February 26, and March 2nd." Then follows a clear, well-written post on eagle incubation, including a detailed answer to the questions inquiring minds want to know: who takes care of the eggs better, male or female?
The answer: "The female eagle incubates more, but the male shares incubation duties as well."
Blog comments left by the faithful are numerous, enthusiastic, heartfelt, and revealing. Many queries are left about just what the eagles are eating for themselves and feeding the chicks... about how the chicks are faring... about whether the eagles and their eaglets are all doing well. The Raptor Project turns humans of any age into concerned friends, god parents and adopted relations. These parent eagles and their adorable (and they are) chicks touch us, each and every one. We want them to do well and our concern is palpable, sincere, highly credible to us and good to know, since we humans are the greatest menace to the eagles. After all, it was only the other day that eagles were almost gone.
Bob Anderson to the rescue, doing more than his bit for raptor preservation.
Though many have helped in the development of RRP, one person above all deserves the kudos. That person is Bob Anderson, the executive director, Founding Father, with a distinct resemblance to Bob Keeshan, Captain Kangaroo. He first provided his first public feed of bird cams in 1991. That was from a falcon's nest mounted halfway up an 800-foot-tall electric plant smokestack in Oak Park Heights, Minnesota.
He launched his first eagle camera in 2003 at another power plant in Colorado. He pointedly set up an osprey cam on Earth Day 1993, to remind folks that important as RRP and its work is, it is but a part of a global problem we ignore at our peril. He has never done so.
As for his beloved eagles, they have perched in a tree behind Anderson's "mission control" operation; (a garage lent by Willard and Mary Ellen Holthaus) for 5 years. He knows their fascinating habits well. The male eagle, for instance, is markedly smaller than the female; the gal he's with now is his second mate. They seem contented and are certainly prolific.
Too much of a good thing?
For years, many years, Bob Anderson and a few friends and supporters labored tirelessly, hardly known, the work hard, exhausting, and obscure. The Internet and streaming video changed all that forever. The raptors Anderson wanted to save and preserve now became, as they are now, the acknowledged stars of a production with mind-boggling visibility, popularity, and renown. At any given time, over 100,000 people are viewing the raptors at home. There have been, so far, more than 30 million views...
Founding Father Anderson is pleased of course. These majestic creatures, the very symbol of our great republic (since 1782) should be seen and appreciated by all. Above all birds the eagle must thrive and soar. But here there are dangers, too.
The website crashes too often; well-meaning visitors cut through the yards and lawns of the good, so-far uncomplaining citizens of Decorah and vicinity, turning Anderson into a diplomat. New equipment is needed... and new conservation projects need funds. And all this must be accomplished without disturbing, frightening, or threatening the eagles themselves. That above all.
A couple of bucks would help. Like so many of our essential non- profit organizations, crucial to our entire way of life, RRP has done wonders with very little. This can only work so long. Frankly, sending them a few bucks would cost you little and ensure the continuing success not only of Raptor Research Project but the eagles at its center.
As for me, today I shall check in at Raptor Cam. I was worried yesterday that the littlest chick, perhaps the newest born, was somewhat neglected during feeding time, and I want to see for myself that all is well.
Note: Send your tax-deductible contributions to
Raptor Research Project ATTN Bob Anderson, Executive Director 2325 Siewers Spring Road Decorah, Iowa 52101-7501
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Sylvia Kinzie
http://WeBroadcastToYou.com
Check out Ultimate Cash Blueprint
These secrets are exclusive. You won't find
a million and one marketers using it. Have a look=>Here!
Monday, April 11, 2011
It's time for your bonfire of excuses. Reflections on gettingout of your own way, seizing success today
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
One way and another I have been in business for, what, over 40 years.
I have created and run businesses, right up to the present.
Taught thousands of business students of every age.
Written 18 business books and thousands of business articles.
Had a nationally syndicated radio program on business.
But you get the point. Having now established, I trust, my bone fides, I am going to have my say about why so many people who say they want to be entrepreneurs will never, ever succeed in business.
Hint: it's something millions of entrepreneurs do daily that keeps them firmly amongst the also-rans.
It's the matter of excuses. The better you are at making them, the less good you are at making money and the less success overall.
Thus, today I want to propose a new and absolutely essential project for yourself... retiring your characteristic excuses, one at a time, and then burning them in the most important fire of your life, the bonfire of excuses.
First, hear what you say and perceive how deeply ingrained excuses are in your conversation.
Language is made up of building blocks, starting from letters of the alphabet, through words, phrases, etc. By the time we're adults most of us have long since stopped paying attention to the building blocks of communication; we talk, we hope others listen to what we say because we're not listening to it ourselves. Why should we? We know what we mean, right?
Your first task today is to put yourself and your daily attempts to communicate under a microscope. To root out excuses you must first know you make them. Are you aware, for instance, how often you blame lack of time to invest in your business for your failure get ahead?
This is a classic excuse, with innumerable variations.
Here excuse means to cite as a cause for failure or inaction an event, person, or thing which in point of fact has absolutely nothing to do with the matter; to excuse yourself from responsibility and provide a spurious reason for lack of progress, growth, success. In the process you deceive all and sundry; most importantly you deceive yourself.
Let's look at one crucial area where your facility with making excuses is killing your profits and growth: ad copy. When was the last time you reviewed each and every ad you're paying good money to run? I bet it's been a long, long time (if at all). Instead of reviewing your ads, keeping track of all your responses and profits, knowing how much these ads cost, and then retiring the losers, you instead say "I would have done it, but I was too busy."
This is, of course, rubbish.
The long and short of the matter is that you
1) didn't budget time;
2) let lesser activities take precedence, in part because you were slothful and they were easier;
3) therefore let unresponsive, unremunerative ad copy continue without a plan for reviewing, removing, re-doing.
If you are to stop and permanently eradicate from your business life the crippling excuses which are so damaging to your success, you must be willing to see yourself as the clear problem... and do what it takes to radically change your ways.
As regards the above matter of reviewing ad copy, you need to scrutinize your current daily activities (how many hours did you say you took for "breaks"?) and ruthlessly drop the activities which aren't paying and rigorously substitute those that either save you money, make you money, or both.
"I don't have the money."
Think of the machines, the personnel, the training, the marketing and advertising, the research and development your business requires. It can be, and for many is, daunting.
Thus when asked why you have an outmoded computer or Internet services, etc. you offer without thinking that you "don't have the money". More rubbish.
The truth is you most likely have not reviewed each and every dollar you spend, to determine (with the most severe scrutiny) just where it all goes... and, taking the matter one step further, to where it ought to go.
Thus, your knee-jerk response, offered over and over again, is that you lack the funds.
"My computer is old, but I just don't have the money..."
"My delivery van needs to be traded in for a new one and the correct, updated advertising information painted on it, but I just don't have the money..."
"I know I look like a homeless person, but I just don't have the money for suitable clothes..."
Each and every one of these commonly-used excuses spurns the truth in favor of this very popular excuse. And so, daily, you hobble your business... by your own failure to review your situation, see things as they are, and make the necessary decisions accordingly. You don't need an excuse... you need a psychiatrist.
Why do you do it? Whatever your reasons, excuses are anathema... the bane of business success... the root of diminished expectations and realities.
Fortunately, you can start the necessary changes.... today!
You now have a choice: to continue making excuses, passing them off as facts when they are anything but... or ruthlessly eradicating them, from this moment. Some of you, through inaction, will keep your current situation; making excuses, not money.
But if you're determined to grasp maximum success, you'll thank me for this necessary wake-up call and follow these steps to the letter:
1) As stated, review what you say and how you say it.
2) Don't create excuses which attempt to pass off as facts your faulty suppositions, unproven deductions, and general inaccuracies.
3) Put the harshest light on what you do and say; determine whether it makes you money, or not, and reform accordingly.
4) Beginning today, now, keep a pad with you at all times, and as you hear yourself making an excuse, any excuse, write it on your pad as a configuration of words due to be expunged.
5) Try to remove at least one excuse from your speech every day. As you do so, write the inhibiting phrase on a page. Then take it out to your barbecue and burn it.... burn it completely, thoroughly, until absolutely nothing is left. This marks your transition from excuse maker to problem solver. You are already on the heady road to... MORE of what you want, rather than excuses for what you didn't have and could never get under your old regime. Happily, you are about to be a better and a richer person. Let me be the first to congratulate you.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses.
Republished with author's permission by Sylvia Kinzie
http://WeBroadcastToYou.com
Check out Ultimate Cash Blueprint
These secrets are exclusive. You won't find
a million and one marketers using it.
Watch this here today so you can cash in on this, too!
One way and another I have been in business for, what, over 40 years.
I have created and run businesses, right up to the present.
Taught thousands of business students of every age.
Written 18 business books and thousands of business articles.
Had a nationally syndicated radio program on business.
But you get the point. Having now established, I trust, my bone fides, I am going to have my say about why so many people who say they want to be entrepreneurs will never, ever succeed in business.
Hint: it's something millions of entrepreneurs do daily that keeps them firmly amongst the also-rans.
It's the matter of excuses. The better you are at making them, the less good you are at making money and the less success overall.
Thus, today I want to propose a new and absolutely essential project for yourself... retiring your characteristic excuses, one at a time, and then burning them in the most important fire of your life, the bonfire of excuses.
First, hear what you say and perceive how deeply ingrained excuses are in your conversation.
Language is made up of building blocks, starting from letters of the alphabet, through words, phrases, etc. By the time we're adults most of us have long since stopped paying attention to the building blocks of communication; we talk, we hope others listen to what we say because we're not listening to it ourselves. Why should we? We know what we mean, right?
Your first task today is to put yourself and your daily attempts to communicate under a microscope. To root out excuses you must first know you make them. Are you aware, for instance, how often you blame lack of time to invest in your business for your failure get ahead?
This is a classic excuse, with innumerable variations.
Here excuse means to cite as a cause for failure or inaction an event, person, or thing which in point of fact has absolutely nothing to do with the matter; to excuse yourself from responsibility and provide a spurious reason for lack of progress, growth, success. In the process you deceive all and sundry; most importantly you deceive yourself.
Let's look at one crucial area where your facility with making excuses is killing your profits and growth: ad copy. When was the last time you reviewed each and every ad you're paying good money to run? I bet it's been a long, long time (if at all). Instead of reviewing your ads, keeping track of all your responses and profits, knowing how much these ads cost, and then retiring the losers, you instead say "I would have done it, but I was too busy."
This is, of course, rubbish.
The long and short of the matter is that you
1) didn't budget time;
2) let lesser activities take precedence, in part because you were slothful and they were easier;
3) therefore let unresponsive, unremunerative ad copy continue without a plan for reviewing, removing, re-doing.
If you are to stop and permanently eradicate from your business life the crippling excuses which are so damaging to your success, you must be willing to see yourself as the clear problem... and do what it takes to radically change your ways.
As regards the above matter of reviewing ad copy, you need to scrutinize your current daily activities (how many hours did you say you took for "breaks"?) and ruthlessly drop the activities which aren't paying and rigorously substitute those that either save you money, make you money, or both.
"I don't have the money."
Think of the machines, the personnel, the training, the marketing and advertising, the research and development your business requires. It can be, and for many is, daunting.
Thus when asked why you have an outmoded computer or Internet services, etc. you offer without thinking that you "don't have the money". More rubbish.
The truth is you most likely have not reviewed each and every dollar you spend, to determine (with the most severe scrutiny) just where it all goes... and, taking the matter one step further, to where it ought to go.
Thus, your knee-jerk response, offered over and over again, is that you lack the funds.
"My computer is old, but I just don't have the money..."
"My delivery van needs to be traded in for a new one and the correct, updated advertising information painted on it, but I just don't have the money..."
"I know I look like a homeless person, but I just don't have the money for suitable clothes..."
Each and every one of these commonly-used excuses spurns the truth in favor of this very popular excuse. And so, daily, you hobble your business... by your own failure to review your situation, see things as they are, and make the necessary decisions accordingly. You don't need an excuse... you need a psychiatrist.
Why do you do it? Whatever your reasons, excuses are anathema... the bane of business success... the root of diminished expectations and realities.
Fortunately, you can start the necessary changes.... today!
You now have a choice: to continue making excuses, passing them off as facts when they are anything but... or ruthlessly eradicating them, from this moment. Some of you, through inaction, will keep your current situation; making excuses, not money.
But if you're determined to grasp maximum success, you'll thank me for this necessary wake-up call and follow these steps to the letter:
1) As stated, review what you say and how you say it.
2) Don't create excuses which attempt to pass off as facts your faulty suppositions, unproven deductions, and general inaccuracies.
3) Put the harshest light on what you do and say; determine whether it makes you money, or not, and reform accordingly.
4) Beginning today, now, keep a pad with you at all times, and as you hear yourself making an excuse, any excuse, write it on your pad as a configuration of words due to be expunged.
5) Try to remove at least one excuse from your speech every day. As you do so, write the inhibiting phrase on a page. Then take it out to your barbecue and burn it.... burn it completely, thoroughly, until absolutely nothing is left. This marks your transition from excuse maker to problem solver. You are already on the heady road to... MORE of what you want, rather than excuses for what you didn't have and could never get under your old regime. Happily, you are about to be a better and a richer person. Let me be the first to congratulate you.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses.
Republished with author's permission by Sylvia Kinzie
http://WeBroadcastToYou.com
Check out Ultimate Cash Blueprint
These secrets are exclusive. You won't find
a million and one marketers using it.
Watch this here today so you can cash in on this, too!
Friday, April 8, 2011
There is only one thing worse than not achieving a goal and that is achieving it.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Are you a goal-driven individual?
First, do you regularly set goals for yourself?
Do you then plan just how you'll achieve them... and once having planned your work you work your plan?
If this is you, congratulate yourself. You are literally one in a million and the world is your oyster.
In theory.
People who set goals... people who achieve goals are a precious minority of any community, for-profit, or not-for- profit organization.
They are the people who live the celebrated epigram, "Lead, follow, or get out of the way." When they lead, they perform the leader's task with efficiency, organization, and, yes, joy.
When they follow, they listen to the designated leaders, making sure they know their task, then doing it.
It is a thrill and a privilege to know such people, not least because they create an environment conducive to success.
Why then have I said that there is only one thing worse than not achieving a goal... and that is achieving it?
In this article I shall make clear the problems that afflict the special people, the performance oriented people, the movers and shakers. Keeping successes coming, greater successes, important successes, more magnificent successes is never inevitable. And here's the rub, just because you were successful today, by no means ensures you will be successful tomorrow.
Indeed, the world is awash in one-time successes who once were the center of attention, the golden boy or girl. They had what everyone else wanted... but having didn't mean keeping. That proved to be not only elusive... but, after a time, impossible.
There is nothing sadder than listening to an individual once undeniably successful... now talk and live exclusively in that past; the success they had was fleeting and its continuing absence noticeable and glaring.
I am here to ensure that you do not become that sad individual, the person for whom the calendar always says yesterday.
1) Successful people aim for a sequence of successes, not just successful episodes and incidents.
Review the history of the prevalent "once-upon-a-time" successes and you will see that their success was limited to a particular time, place, and thing. It was isolated, unique in their experience, non-recurring. The situations of successful people are radically different.
They do not succeed one or twice and live off their decaying laurels forever; instead, they aim to have success after success after success, until the very idea of failure is unthinkable.
2) Successful people see life as a gigantic planning opportunity; an unequalled opportunity to bring home the bacon time after time after time.
The successful lead lives where what they do and how they do it is always linked to the master plan that they have worked on for their entire lives. No incident can be viewed in isolation, because every incident is a step towards larger goals and greater successes. For such people any success is nothing more than a step to ever greater success.
3) Successful people analyze what went right and what went wrong in each success they attain. Every success is not a conclusion, but a necessary learning opportunity.
By definition successful people place each and every success under a microscope giving it a full and complete scrutiny. Successful people study success; it is in fact their constant endeavor to turn each success into a learning laboratory.
4) Successful people have a succession of goals. Moreover these sequential goals are written down, regularly reviewed and updated... and always represent more challenge and responsibility. For the successful, life is a step ladder, never a sofa and easy chair.
Do you have such goals? Are they written down? Do you constantly consider just what goals achieved today mean in terms of more substantial goals and achievements tomorrow? As successful people grow and mature they become masters of such questions and answers.
More things successful people do.
5) Successful people are all about the future. They focus is on now, of course, because it is in this now they must learn the essentials of success and achieve each individual success.
But successful people always keep an eye on the future. They focus on what they want in that future, vividly aware that what they do today and how well they do guarantees the future of their desire.
6) Successful people make mistakes.
There isn't a person alive who doesn't make errors of commission and omission. Successful people know that reviewing today's errors ensures tomorrow's victories. And as it is victory they want and insist upon above all, each error is analyzed, understood, turned into part of the primer on success.
7) Successful people are not defensive.
The characteristic response of the unsuccessful to areas where they have erred and need a different, improved response is defensive. Such responses will be of the "no one told me. I'm innocent. It's her fault, it's her fault" variety. These responses are a clear indication that the person in question has little or no idea what successful people say in such circumstances.
"Thank you for pointing this out to me. I have made written notation of what you want."
Bingo, with such a response you are no longer defending the indefensible, you are instead turning an error, a misunderstanding, a questionable act into a valuable learning experience. 8) Successful people keep journals, diaries, etc.
So long as you live you can become a success story all your own. One thing you need is the most detailed and thorough notes about yourself. Remember, every single thing you do either assists success... or retards, even destroys it. That is where detailed personal journals are mandatory.
In such documents, you put yourself under a keen scrutiny which never ends and which must be both complete and honest.
The extent to which you fail to have and keep such personal information is the extent to which you are prepared to jettison intensely valuable information... and all the successes which might have hinged on their existence and use.
9) Successful people thank the people who helped them.
Successful people are people who are beneficiaries of constant assistance from parents, other family members, teachers, clergy, coaches, etc., a process that only ends with death.
Successful people feel privileged to acknowledge and recognize the hard work and sincere assistance provided by many, many others. Unsuccessful people feel diminished by such help; not enhanced by it.
The avoidable tragedy of The Void where there are no new goals to take the place of old goals achieved.
The worst thing that can happen to a person who wants true, continual success is to finish a goal... and not know what he/she should be doing next. As indicated above you must always have goals that go beyond even the most major goals you are working on now. There must never, ever be a gap... for that is an opportunity for losing track of your objectives and becoming directionless.
Now that you have read this article with its admonitions and recommendations, you will never have this problem. With clockwork regularity you will always conclude a goal, knowing just what major goal follows.
Your job is to turn the achievement of success into an unrelenting, never ending system. And now you know how to do it.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books.
Republished with author's permission by Sylvia Kinzie
http://WeBroadcastToYou.com
Check out Affilorama -
Super affiliate Millionaire, Mark Ling has just released the most
incredible collection of high quality turnkey websites that I've
ever seen. His product is called AffiloJetpack and if you're in a
rush, go check it out below:
http://www.WeBroadcastToYou.com/?rd=wg6Ty3QK
Are you a goal-driven individual?
First, do you regularly set goals for yourself?
Do you then plan just how you'll achieve them... and once having planned your work you work your plan?
If this is you, congratulate yourself. You are literally one in a million and the world is your oyster.
In theory.
People who set goals... people who achieve goals are a precious minority of any community, for-profit, or not-for- profit organization.
They are the people who live the celebrated epigram, "Lead, follow, or get out of the way." When they lead, they perform the leader's task with efficiency, organization, and, yes, joy.
When they follow, they listen to the designated leaders, making sure they know their task, then doing it.
It is a thrill and a privilege to know such people, not least because they create an environment conducive to success.
Why then have I said that there is only one thing worse than not achieving a goal... and that is achieving it?
In this article I shall make clear the problems that afflict the special people, the performance oriented people, the movers and shakers. Keeping successes coming, greater successes, important successes, more magnificent successes is never inevitable. And here's the rub, just because you were successful today, by no means ensures you will be successful tomorrow.
Indeed, the world is awash in one-time successes who once were the center of attention, the golden boy or girl. They had what everyone else wanted... but having didn't mean keeping. That proved to be not only elusive... but, after a time, impossible.
There is nothing sadder than listening to an individual once undeniably successful... now talk and live exclusively in that past; the success they had was fleeting and its continuing absence noticeable and glaring.
I am here to ensure that you do not become that sad individual, the person for whom the calendar always says yesterday.
1) Successful people aim for a sequence of successes, not just successful episodes and incidents.
Review the history of the prevalent "once-upon-a-time" successes and you will see that their success was limited to a particular time, place, and thing. It was isolated, unique in their experience, non-recurring. The situations of successful people are radically different.
They do not succeed one or twice and live off their decaying laurels forever; instead, they aim to have success after success after success, until the very idea of failure is unthinkable.
2) Successful people see life as a gigantic planning opportunity; an unequalled opportunity to bring home the bacon time after time after time.
The successful lead lives where what they do and how they do it is always linked to the master plan that they have worked on for their entire lives. No incident can be viewed in isolation, because every incident is a step towards larger goals and greater successes. For such people any success is nothing more than a step to ever greater success.
3) Successful people analyze what went right and what went wrong in each success they attain. Every success is not a conclusion, but a necessary learning opportunity.
By definition successful people place each and every success under a microscope giving it a full and complete scrutiny. Successful people study success; it is in fact their constant endeavor to turn each success into a learning laboratory.
4) Successful people have a succession of goals. Moreover these sequential goals are written down, regularly reviewed and updated... and always represent more challenge and responsibility. For the successful, life is a step ladder, never a sofa and easy chair.
Do you have such goals? Are they written down? Do you constantly consider just what goals achieved today mean in terms of more substantial goals and achievements tomorrow? As successful people grow and mature they become masters of such questions and answers.
More things successful people do.
5) Successful people are all about the future. They focus is on now, of course, because it is in this now they must learn the essentials of success and achieve each individual success.
But successful people always keep an eye on the future. They focus on what they want in that future, vividly aware that what they do today and how well they do guarantees the future of their desire.
6) Successful people make mistakes.
There isn't a person alive who doesn't make errors of commission and omission. Successful people know that reviewing today's errors ensures tomorrow's victories. And as it is victory they want and insist upon above all, each error is analyzed, understood, turned into part of the primer on success.
7) Successful people are not defensive.
The characteristic response of the unsuccessful to areas where they have erred and need a different, improved response is defensive. Such responses will be of the "no one told me. I'm innocent. It's her fault, it's her fault" variety. These responses are a clear indication that the person in question has little or no idea what successful people say in such circumstances.
"Thank you for pointing this out to me. I have made written notation of what you want."
Bingo, with such a response you are no longer defending the indefensible, you are instead turning an error, a misunderstanding, a questionable act into a valuable learning experience. 8) Successful people keep journals, diaries, etc.
So long as you live you can become a success story all your own. One thing you need is the most detailed and thorough notes about yourself. Remember, every single thing you do either assists success... or retards, even destroys it. That is where detailed personal journals are mandatory.
In such documents, you put yourself under a keen scrutiny which never ends and which must be both complete and honest.
The extent to which you fail to have and keep such personal information is the extent to which you are prepared to jettison intensely valuable information... and all the successes which might have hinged on their existence and use.
9) Successful people thank the people who helped them.
Successful people are people who are beneficiaries of constant assistance from parents, other family members, teachers, clergy, coaches, etc., a process that only ends with death.
Successful people feel privileged to acknowledge and recognize the hard work and sincere assistance provided by many, many others. Unsuccessful people feel diminished by such help; not enhanced by it.
The avoidable tragedy of The Void where there are no new goals to take the place of old goals achieved.
The worst thing that can happen to a person who wants true, continual success is to finish a goal... and not know what he/she should be doing next. As indicated above you must always have goals that go beyond even the most major goals you are working on now. There must never, ever be a gap... for that is an opportunity for losing track of your objectives and becoming directionless.
Now that you have read this article with its admonitions and recommendations, you will never have this problem. With clockwork regularity you will always conclude a goal, knowing just what major goal follows.
Your job is to turn the achievement of success into an unrelenting, never ending system. And now you know how to do it.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books.
Republished with author's permission by Sylvia Kinzie
http://WeBroadcastToYou.com
Check out Affilorama -
Super affiliate Millionaire, Mark Ling has just released the most
incredible collection of high quality turnkey websites that I've
ever seen. His product is called AffiloJetpack and if you're in a
rush, go check it out below:
http://www.WeBroadcastToYou.com/?rd=wg6Ty3QK
Thursday, April 7, 2011
So What Is Money? Here a Young Canadian Tells Us 'What's Up Eh?"
Young people have a lot to be concerned about as our economy takes strange and incomprehensible twists and turns. This video says it like it is in a very Canadian-like, calm and reasonable manner. Worth watching to the very end.
Treat yourself to a great heaping smelly pile of truth!
http://bit.ly/enjtF9
Enjoy!
Treat yourself to a great heaping smelly pile of truth!
http://bit.ly/enjtF9
Enjoy!
Thoughts on storage: needed, frustrating, a treasure trove... but not for the kids.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Over the course of the last several months, I have been engaged in one of life's unappealing necessities, sorting through dozens and dozens of boxes packed (often years and years ago) with an array of things dubbed too valuable to be thrown away, or at the very least items which deserved another look, later.
Well, "later" has now arrived, and I am engaged in the business of well and truly sorting through each and every one of these stored items, deciding which can now be thrown away, which will be donated to places like Goodwill Industries and The Salvation Army, which ones will be kept... and (here we go again)... which ones will remain in storage,
Today I intend to share with you all my thoughts on this inevitability of life... partly because no one I know will listen to what I have to say on the matter. My friends are tired of providing a willing ear. They are polite but firm: say no more on this matter, or we shall bore you, too, with the ups and downs of our own storage problems... and the garage sales we've had to organize. This threat is sufficient. I shut up.
But you, I hope, will indulge me; at least this once. There is that about sorting things in storage which craves a congenial ear. May I have yours for a bit?
What went into storage.
The plain fact of the matter is that we all, every last one of us, has far too many things. What's worse, since we all have elements of the pack rat about us, not only do we acquire things; we are loathe to sacrifice anything on the off chance that we will need it one day. That's the first problem; we're deluding ourselves. We should all be tougher with ourselves on the matter of what we save. But we cannot. You see, things are evidence that we have passed this way, and we want as many tell-tale markers as possible. Still, the sorting process should begin the day you first think that you require storage.
In my case, I had the usual "good" reasons for resorting to commercial storage facilities. There was, first of all, my mother's possessions. Some of these had a substantial value; others, the sentimental ones, were even more important. These things have been stored for years in California; three thousand miles away from me.
A good friend, probably a saint, helped me pack these items. I was depressed that day; my mother was failing and I just couldn't deal right then with the thought of losing her. Packing boxes was something necessary; it was also therapeutic. But it only postponed the inevitable problem of sorting the items and making irrevocable decisions.
My friend offered to keep these boxes, each one filled with memories, until I decided what to do with all the items. I told my brother and sister what I had and that we should early decide who gets what. But they have mountains of their own things. It wasn't that they didn't want maternal mementoes; they just didn't want them then and trusted me to share when they were ready. I mentioned the matter to my sister the other day and she said, "Not yet".
In the way of these things, the favor my dear friend gave me went from a few weeks.... to years. It was scandalous, I know, to take advantage of her that way; even the frequent presents I sent were inadequate. But she said she didn't mind; she had them in her attic.
Finally I ran out of excuses and said the many boxes could be shipped to me. And so they were. My assistant Aime Joseph and I opened the boxes; he with care, I with trepidation soon confirmed. There was so much... all "important"... every piece needing attention and clarity. The books were the most difficult of all. My mother was an avid reader as I am. Often we read the same book at the same time, a continent between us which meant nothing when we discussed our findings.
I found her volumes of Robert Browning the hardest to deal with. She loved him so... "That's my last duchess painted on the wall, looking as if she were alive." I put this book and many others amongst my working library. I can see the cherished Browning from here.
Unpacked, too, was all her jewelry. I had given much of it, one Christmas, one birthday after another. These items are being kept for my niece Chelsea and nephew Kyle and his wife, when he has one. Chelsea asked if she could take one of the pieces, a jewelled dragonfly, to college. My official reason for declining was the number of light fingered folk in the dormitory and her tendency to be over trusting. But in truth, I wasn't ready to let even that go -- yet.
In fact, as each box was opened, Mr. Joseph would cluck and ask me just where I would put what was in it. Miraculously, we found a home for everything... until the others want some for themselves.
The other, bigger storage project.
The second storage project was arguably even more difficult, for it involved 4 large rooms packed to the ceiling with stuff which I had obviously found significant enough to pay thousands of dollars each year to keep. But enough was enough...
Mr. Joseph and I have been working on this project for months now. There are, after all, thousands of objects to be sorted, including items from every epoch of my life. Each week Mr. Joseph goes to the storage facility and, with his cell phone, he lets me know what's left in the first room, now nearly emptied. Then he brings me the boxes... each one filled with one conundrum after another.
What does one do with one's first suit, worn at age 3, well over half a century again? I can't get rid of it... I just can't. It's hanging in my closet, safe for now.
And the teddy bear that soothed me 6 decades ago? No one, including me I am ashamed to admit, remembers his name; I call him now "The Old Gentleman" and he seems content. Some people no doubt think it odd to see him here, but he and I go back a lifetime, and such bonds must be respected and ensured.
I am more ruthless with my things than with my mother's. Mr. Joseph makes regular deliveries of my books; ten thousand books, perhaps more, given away without a pang.
In the middle of this unceasing project, it occurs to me that, even with great disposals, there is far too much remaining. And if the point of keeping them seems clear to me, it will surely perplex and baffle the folks getting all this. What can "The Old Gentleman" mean to them? I have advised them, in my will, to be ruthless, but I know my flesh and blood. They will be unable to do so, try though they might.
"I can't give away the chairs Uncle Jeffrey wrote his books in... or the typewriter... or the pewter mug his friends engraved for him on his 21 birthday, in Scotland. I just can't."
And so, in due course, I, with the best intentions, will become a puzzle for them... a puzzle which they will defer, postponing resolution, by storing. Thus one generation succeeds another, overwhelmed by things, too much stored, grand resolutions for dispersal, but guilty whatever we do. You know what I mean.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Sylvia Kinzie
http://WeBroadcastToYou.com
Check out Affilorama
Imagine if a super affiliate millionaire built a website for you.
And then imagine if he took you by the hand and taught you how to
drive traffic to that site. Find out now...click here!
Over the course of the last several months, I have been engaged in one of life's unappealing necessities, sorting through dozens and dozens of boxes packed (often years and years ago) with an array of things dubbed too valuable to be thrown away, or at the very least items which deserved another look, later.
Well, "later" has now arrived, and I am engaged in the business of well and truly sorting through each and every one of these stored items, deciding which can now be thrown away, which will be donated to places like Goodwill Industries and The Salvation Army, which ones will be kept... and (here we go again)... which ones will remain in storage,
Today I intend to share with you all my thoughts on this inevitability of life... partly because no one I know will listen to what I have to say on the matter. My friends are tired of providing a willing ear. They are polite but firm: say no more on this matter, or we shall bore you, too, with the ups and downs of our own storage problems... and the garage sales we've had to organize. This threat is sufficient. I shut up.
But you, I hope, will indulge me; at least this once. There is that about sorting things in storage which craves a congenial ear. May I have yours for a bit?
What went into storage.
The plain fact of the matter is that we all, every last one of us, has far too many things. What's worse, since we all have elements of the pack rat about us, not only do we acquire things; we are loathe to sacrifice anything on the off chance that we will need it one day. That's the first problem; we're deluding ourselves. We should all be tougher with ourselves on the matter of what we save. But we cannot. You see, things are evidence that we have passed this way, and we want as many tell-tale markers as possible. Still, the sorting process should begin the day you first think that you require storage.
In my case, I had the usual "good" reasons for resorting to commercial storage facilities. There was, first of all, my mother's possessions. Some of these had a substantial value; others, the sentimental ones, were even more important. These things have been stored for years in California; three thousand miles away from me.
A good friend, probably a saint, helped me pack these items. I was depressed that day; my mother was failing and I just couldn't deal right then with the thought of losing her. Packing boxes was something necessary; it was also therapeutic. But it only postponed the inevitable problem of sorting the items and making irrevocable decisions.
My friend offered to keep these boxes, each one filled with memories, until I decided what to do with all the items. I told my brother and sister what I had and that we should early decide who gets what. But they have mountains of their own things. It wasn't that they didn't want maternal mementoes; they just didn't want them then and trusted me to share when they were ready. I mentioned the matter to my sister the other day and she said, "Not yet".
In the way of these things, the favor my dear friend gave me went from a few weeks.... to years. It was scandalous, I know, to take advantage of her that way; even the frequent presents I sent were inadequate. But she said she didn't mind; she had them in her attic.
Finally I ran out of excuses and said the many boxes could be shipped to me. And so they were. My assistant Aime Joseph and I opened the boxes; he with care, I with trepidation soon confirmed. There was so much... all "important"... every piece needing attention and clarity. The books were the most difficult of all. My mother was an avid reader as I am. Often we read the same book at the same time, a continent between us which meant nothing when we discussed our findings.
I found her volumes of Robert Browning the hardest to deal with. She loved him so... "That's my last duchess painted on the wall, looking as if she were alive." I put this book and many others amongst my working library. I can see the cherished Browning from here.
Unpacked, too, was all her jewelry. I had given much of it, one Christmas, one birthday after another. These items are being kept for my niece Chelsea and nephew Kyle and his wife, when he has one. Chelsea asked if she could take one of the pieces, a jewelled dragonfly, to college. My official reason for declining was the number of light fingered folk in the dormitory and her tendency to be over trusting. But in truth, I wasn't ready to let even that go -- yet.
In fact, as each box was opened, Mr. Joseph would cluck and ask me just where I would put what was in it. Miraculously, we found a home for everything... until the others want some for themselves.
The other, bigger storage project.
The second storage project was arguably even more difficult, for it involved 4 large rooms packed to the ceiling with stuff which I had obviously found significant enough to pay thousands of dollars each year to keep. But enough was enough...
Mr. Joseph and I have been working on this project for months now. There are, after all, thousands of objects to be sorted, including items from every epoch of my life. Each week Mr. Joseph goes to the storage facility and, with his cell phone, he lets me know what's left in the first room, now nearly emptied. Then he brings me the boxes... each one filled with one conundrum after another.
What does one do with one's first suit, worn at age 3, well over half a century again? I can't get rid of it... I just can't. It's hanging in my closet, safe for now.
And the teddy bear that soothed me 6 decades ago? No one, including me I am ashamed to admit, remembers his name; I call him now "The Old Gentleman" and he seems content. Some people no doubt think it odd to see him here, but he and I go back a lifetime, and such bonds must be respected and ensured.
I am more ruthless with my things than with my mother's. Mr. Joseph makes regular deliveries of my books; ten thousand books, perhaps more, given away without a pang.
In the middle of this unceasing project, it occurs to me that, even with great disposals, there is far too much remaining. And if the point of keeping them seems clear to me, it will surely perplex and baffle the folks getting all this. What can "The Old Gentleman" mean to them? I have advised them, in my will, to be ruthless, but I know my flesh and blood. They will be unable to do so, try though they might.
"I can't give away the chairs Uncle Jeffrey wrote his books in... or the typewriter... or the pewter mug his friends engraved for him on his 21 birthday, in Scotland. I just can't."
And so, in due course, I, with the best intentions, will become a puzzle for them... a puzzle which they will defer, postponing resolution, by storing. Thus one generation succeeds another, overwhelmed by things, too much stored, grand resolutions for dispersal, but guilty whatever we do. You know what I mean.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Sylvia Kinzie
http://WeBroadcastToYou.com
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Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Highly desirable (White) House for sale. Price tag: one billion, or more. Obama says, 'I'll take it!'
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
To absolutely no one's surprise President Obama officially kicked off his re-election bid April 4, 2011. The real story is not that he's running (since the day he was elected in the first place, he's been running for the second term whose function is to validate what he's done and his place in history).
No, the story is on that most American of subjects: money, specifically the money it's going to take him to ensure his re-election.
Yup, it's all about the money.
In 2008, Obama set the spending record, $760 million for the primary and general elections. Obama, to the astonishment of many, was unstoppable in the fund raising department. Democrats were conflicted on the matter.
For one thing, they wanted to win... and here was a man dedicated to raising the money to make them competitive and give them victory on a sterling silver platter.
But that unnerved many Democrats at the same time, for such people have a knee jerk tendency to regulate campaign funds and limit them; Obama was always about victory, not limits. And victory, sweet victory, historic victory they got. Such victory papers over a lot of cracks.
The president opens his campaign.
Because this is 2011 and the world is wired President Obama launched his re-election campaign by e-mail. He said his campaign will be about "coordinating millions of one-on-one conversations between supporters across every single state, reconnecting old friends, inspiring new ones to join the cause, and readying ourselves for next year's fight." The man of soaring rhetoric commenced his campaign with business sobriety, without a memorable word. What did that mean?
It meant, above all else, that Obama realizes he'll be the issue; that what people want is not rhetoric, not to run on hope. Been there, done that. What the people want now is demonstrated results and sensible, realistic talk about the next four years of the U.S.S. United States of America.
Where does this captain want to take us.... and how does he intend to get us there? High blown rhetoric which was the centerpiece of the 2008 campaign will be used, of course, but carefully, sparingly. The country, after all, is still seething with rages... and Obama needs to be seen as a man of deeds, not words, however thrilling.
His re-election message signifies his understanding that the "first black president" card is not going to cut it. The high flying speeches about opening doors, too, are old hat, beside the point.
What America wants is a strong chief executive (white, brown or black) whose sole function is to tackle our grab-bag of problems and use the power of the presidency, which includes marshalling the people, to deliver results, results, results. Nothing less will satisfy the nation... and the president surely knows that even results, great results, will fail to satisfy many. That is the nature of our times.
Obama knows better than anyone that keeping the White House as his house is going to take a breathtaking amount of money. And Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission came at just the right time for him to raise it, in the historic amounts needed to make his case.
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.
On January 21, 2010 the United States Supreme Court made a decision of historic proportions. By the thinnest of margins, 5-4, the Court struck down a provision of the McCain-Feingold Act that prohibited all corporations, both for- profit and not-for-profit, and unions from broadcasting "electioneering communications". These were defined in McCain-Feingold as a broadcast, cable, or satellite communication that mentioned a candidate within 60 days of a general election or thirty days of a primary. The decision overruled Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce (1990) and partially overruled McConnell v. Federal Election Commission (2003).
The Honorable the Justices of the Supreme Court had just made history, striking a hammer blow (albeit barely) on behalf of the First Amendment, which means, so the majority said, exactly what it says:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Liberal outrage.
Most every liberal in the land was enraged by this decision. Liberals, you see, specialize in telling folks like you and me, just what we can do, just when we can do it, just how we can do it. In this case, that means doing everything they can to limit your right to uninhibited election communications, including spending your money freely to influence these elections.
Freedom means being able to squander your money on elections if you want to.
Personally, I have never understood the thrill of throwing money away on presidential candidates. I'm of the firm opinion that spending the hundred or two I might donate to candidates, say, on dinner with winsome partner would be better spent. However, I am equally clear that people, by the Bill of Rights, should have the right to waste their money, be they private citizen, union, or corporation on the candidates they fancy.
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission reaffirmed that right, and strongly so.
President Obama, chief beneficiary, the strongest attacker.
The president is a past master in the art of having one's cake while eating it, too. This decision he said "gives the special interests and their lobbyists even more power in Washington -- while undermining the influence of average Americans who make small contributions to support their preferred candidates." Obama later elaborated in his weekly radio address saying, "this ruling strikes at our democracy itself," and "I can't think of anything more devastating to the public interest."
Having stated, for the record, the standard liberal line... Obama set out to make the Court's ruling work for -- him.
Every time he lamented the realities of politics and fund raising and predicted the end of democracy... he was busily raising money, unparalleled amounts of money from... private citizens, corporations, and unions. If a billion will do the trick, fine; if not, he'll up the ante. For you see, he is determined to prove, through his re-election that America made no mistake in electing him in the first place.
Millions of American who voted for Obama have come to the conclusion they bought a pig in a poke; they've having second thoughts. But the president knows what money can buy. He'll raise whatever he needs so they'll buy -- him, secretly thanking Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission for the favor, while criticizing it every step of the way. The White House is worth it.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Sylvia Kinzie
http://WeBroadcastToYou.com
Check out List Pay Day PRO
Click Here Now!
To absolutely no one's surprise President Obama officially kicked off his re-election bid April 4, 2011. The real story is not that he's running (since the day he was elected in the first place, he's been running for the second term whose function is to validate what he's done and his place in history).
No, the story is on that most American of subjects: money, specifically the money it's going to take him to ensure his re-election.
Yup, it's all about the money.
In 2008, Obama set the spending record, $760 million for the primary and general elections. Obama, to the astonishment of many, was unstoppable in the fund raising department. Democrats were conflicted on the matter.
For one thing, they wanted to win... and here was a man dedicated to raising the money to make them competitive and give them victory on a sterling silver platter.
But that unnerved many Democrats at the same time, for such people have a knee jerk tendency to regulate campaign funds and limit them; Obama was always about victory, not limits. And victory, sweet victory, historic victory they got. Such victory papers over a lot of cracks.
The president opens his campaign.
Because this is 2011 and the world is wired President Obama launched his re-election campaign by e-mail. He said his campaign will be about "coordinating millions of one-on-one conversations between supporters across every single state, reconnecting old friends, inspiring new ones to join the cause, and readying ourselves for next year's fight." The man of soaring rhetoric commenced his campaign with business sobriety, without a memorable word. What did that mean?
It meant, above all else, that Obama realizes he'll be the issue; that what people want is not rhetoric, not to run on hope. Been there, done that. What the people want now is demonstrated results and sensible, realistic talk about the next four years of the U.S.S. United States of America.
Where does this captain want to take us.... and how does he intend to get us there? High blown rhetoric which was the centerpiece of the 2008 campaign will be used, of course, but carefully, sparingly. The country, after all, is still seething with rages... and Obama needs to be seen as a man of deeds, not words, however thrilling.
His re-election message signifies his understanding that the "first black president" card is not going to cut it. The high flying speeches about opening doors, too, are old hat, beside the point.
What America wants is a strong chief executive (white, brown or black) whose sole function is to tackle our grab-bag of problems and use the power of the presidency, which includes marshalling the people, to deliver results, results, results. Nothing less will satisfy the nation... and the president surely knows that even results, great results, will fail to satisfy many. That is the nature of our times.
Obama knows better than anyone that keeping the White House as his house is going to take a breathtaking amount of money. And Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission came at just the right time for him to raise it, in the historic amounts needed to make his case.
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.
On January 21, 2010 the United States Supreme Court made a decision of historic proportions. By the thinnest of margins, 5-4, the Court struck down a provision of the McCain-Feingold Act that prohibited all corporations, both for- profit and not-for-profit, and unions from broadcasting "electioneering communications". These were defined in McCain-Feingold as a broadcast, cable, or satellite communication that mentioned a candidate within 60 days of a general election or thirty days of a primary. The decision overruled Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce (1990) and partially overruled McConnell v. Federal Election Commission (2003).
The Honorable the Justices of the Supreme Court had just made history, striking a hammer blow (albeit barely) on behalf of the First Amendment, which means, so the majority said, exactly what it says:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Liberal outrage.
Most every liberal in the land was enraged by this decision. Liberals, you see, specialize in telling folks like you and me, just what we can do, just when we can do it, just how we can do it. In this case, that means doing everything they can to limit your right to uninhibited election communications, including spending your money freely to influence these elections.
Freedom means being able to squander your money on elections if you want to.
Personally, I have never understood the thrill of throwing money away on presidential candidates. I'm of the firm opinion that spending the hundred or two I might donate to candidates, say, on dinner with winsome partner would be better spent. However, I am equally clear that people, by the Bill of Rights, should have the right to waste their money, be they private citizen, union, or corporation on the candidates they fancy.
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission reaffirmed that right, and strongly so.
President Obama, chief beneficiary, the strongest attacker.
The president is a past master in the art of having one's cake while eating it, too. This decision he said "gives the special interests and their lobbyists even more power in Washington -- while undermining the influence of average Americans who make small contributions to support their preferred candidates." Obama later elaborated in his weekly radio address saying, "this ruling strikes at our democracy itself," and "I can't think of anything more devastating to the public interest."
Having stated, for the record, the standard liberal line... Obama set out to make the Court's ruling work for -- him.
Every time he lamented the realities of politics and fund raising and predicted the end of democracy... he was busily raising money, unparalleled amounts of money from... private citizens, corporations, and unions. If a billion will do the trick, fine; if not, he'll up the ante. For you see, he is determined to prove, through his re-election that America made no mistake in electing him in the first place.
Millions of American who voted for Obama have come to the conclusion they bought a pig in a poke; they've having second thoughts. But the president knows what money can buy. He'll raise whatever he needs so they'll buy -- him, secretly thanking Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission for the favor, while criticizing it every step of the way. The White House is worth it.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Sylvia Kinzie
http://WeBroadcastToYou.com
Check out List Pay Day PRO
Click Here Now!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
'And if I kiss you in the garden, in the moonlight....' The tulips are coming! April 5, 2011.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Author's note: You will get the most from this article by listening to "Tip Toe Thru' The Tulips" before you start, or as you read. Search for the subject at any search engine. There are many renditions, both old and new. After all, not only is the tune perky and upbeat but tulips are the embodiment of springtime... and no one can get enough of that!
Spring on the calendar perhaps...
Yes, I know what the calendar says; that we've had spring in New England for 2 weeks now. But what do these folks know? I checked my calendar and discovered it was printed in Tennessee. What do they know about the fickle weather hereabouts? So far ours has been a typical "spring", a mixture of snow, mud, and exasperation for the fact that winter just won't let go, ornery and tenacious as ever.
The crocuses came, of course, and lovely, too. I noticed a new shade of purple this year, or, more likely, I took the trouble to stop, look and finally see what those industrious croci had laid before me so often before. So determined are they that they would find a way to ascend, even if the snow were rooftop. I love them.... but they don't mean spring quite yet; what's more the birds have had their way with them, per usual. They know just where the saffron is to be found... and they leave hardly any.
The daffodils hold sway right now, but they, too, while arriving just after spring has been declared do not necessarily mean spring is actually here. Like the students of the Harvard Law School across the street, the ones wearing short pants and playing frisbee in the mud, daffodils put on a brave show, none braver.
However, like the students with their visible shivers and white, white legs with veins picked out in unnatural blue, to see daffodils against the dirty snow causes one to check the calender again and verify that yes, it is spring, though we still are dubious.
Tulips mean spring, almost.
Now the first shoots of this year's tulips are up; I have seen them for, what?, 3 days now. They are so small and tender; my heart goes out to them, as yours would, too, if you were here and took the time to see. Do they know how eagerly the world awaits them... and what a brief, brief life they'll have? Or, like youth everywhere, are they oblivious, focused solely on the all-consuming business of being young, beautiful, exuberant and truly glad to greet every passerby with a joy whose secret is youth's alone?
Tulips, you see, are not just harbingers of the real spring near at hand; they are a bridge to memory. When we see a tulip blowing proudly in the wind, we remember (and grateful too) springtimes long gone and smile as we recall how blissfully we spent those seasons in tulip time, glad to be alive! Tulips know their work, know how much we need their magic. They therefore stay a little longer with us than the flowers which precede. And as our memories are sweet, we thank them...
Some facts.
The tulip is a perennial, bulbous plant with showy flowers in the genus Tulipa, which comprises 109 species. The genus's native range extends from as far west as Southern Europe, North Africa, Anatolia, and Iran to the Northwest of China. The tulip's center of diversity is the Pamir, Hindu Kush, and Tien Shan mountains.
Depending on the species, tulip plants can grow as short as 4 inches (10 cm) or as high as 28 inches (71 cm). The tulip's large flowers usually bloom on scapes or subscapose stems. Most tulips produce only one flower per stem, but a few species bear multiple flowers on their scapes.
Origin of the name.
Although the Netherlands is the country most associated with tulips, commercial cultivation of the flower began in the Ottoman Empire. The tulip, or lale l(from the Persian) is indigenous to much of the area ruled by the Ottoman Sultans. The word tulip ultimately derives from the Persian "dulband", meaning turban. Look closely at the shape of the tulip and you can see, if your eye is felicitous, the turbanned faithful answering the call from the minaret to prayer. Squint your eye and behold...
No one actually knows how, even where, the first tulips entered Europe. Some say they were first brought to and planted in Vienna, by 1573. Others opt for Holland. Experts like to quibble, and tulips, who know the facts historians seek, do not disclose them; they, like us, enjoy being the center of unceasing attention. The plain fact is, wherever people saw tulips, they wanted tulips. This lead, not long after tulips became known in Europe, to the mad phenomenon called "Tulip Mania."
One bulb, valued at 10 times the annual wage of a skilled craftsman.
No event shows man at his most venal, greedy, and stupid than the Tulip Mania of 1637. It is generally regarded as the first recorded speculative bubble, where the rarest bulbs could fetch the price of a house in Amsterdam's finest district -- for an instant. Timing here, as with all economic events, was everything. Privately, tulips admit they enjoyed being the focus of such overwrought enthusiasm; they think it's just what they deserve... and have memorized long passages about themselves from British journalist Charles Mackay's book on the matter, "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds." (1841). Historians doubt some of his conclusions, but to the tulips his every word is sacrosanct.
A poem disapproved, a tune embraced.
Unsurprisingly, given their continuing popularity, tulips are frequently the focus of poets, authors, lyricists. They faithfully encode all this and are effusive in their thanks. Admittedly, they don't like everything said about them. Sylvia Plath's poem "Tulips" (posthumously published in 1965) at first gave general offense:
"The tulips are too red in the first place, they hurt me. Even through the gift paper I could hear them breathe Lightly, through their white swaddlings, like an awful baby."
Tulips take their cheering task with grave seriousness. Plath's reaction to a gift whilst in hospital affronted. Like the rest of the literate world, by the time they knew of the lady's many afflictions of heart and soul she was dead (1963). The general consensus is that if she'd had more tulips, she would have had less angst. I agree.
Tip toe...
The tulips tell me they adore a peppy little number called "Tip Toe Thru' The Tulips" and are always ready to sing it as the warm breezes of spring waft. Written in 1926 by Joe Burke, with lyrics by Al Dubin. It brightened the 1929 hit "Gold Diggers of Broadway". Years later, the calculated oddness of Tiny Tim (born 1932 as Herbert Khaury) brought it again to America's attention:
"And if I kiss you in the garden, In the moonlight, will you pardon me? Come tiptoe through the tulips with me!?
Tiny Tim died too soon, in 1996. Every tulip remembers him fondly... a man who knew a likely lyric when he heard it and brought smiles to the faces of millions. "Knee deep in flowers he'll stray..." The flowers will be tulips of course.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books.
Republished with author's permission by Sylvia Kinzie
http://WeBroadcastToYou.com
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Author's note: You will get the most from this article by listening to "Tip Toe Thru' The Tulips" before you start, or as you read. Search for the subject at any search engine. There are many renditions, both old and new. After all, not only is the tune perky and upbeat but tulips are the embodiment of springtime... and no one can get enough of that!
Spring on the calendar perhaps...
Yes, I know what the calendar says; that we've had spring in New England for 2 weeks now. But what do these folks know? I checked my calendar and discovered it was printed in Tennessee. What do they know about the fickle weather hereabouts? So far ours has been a typical "spring", a mixture of snow, mud, and exasperation for the fact that winter just won't let go, ornery and tenacious as ever.
The crocuses came, of course, and lovely, too. I noticed a new shade of purple this year, or, more likely, I took the trouble to stop, look and finally see what those industrious croci had laid before me so often before. So determined are they that they would find a way to ascend, even if the snow were rooftop. I love them.... but they don't mean spring quite yet; what's more the birds have had their way with them, per usual. They know just where the saffron is to be found... and they leave hardly any.
The daffodils hold sway right now, but they, too, while arriving just after spring has been declared do not necessarily mean spring is actually here. Like the students of the Harvard Law School across the street, the ones wearing short pants and playing frisbee in the mud, daffodils put on a brave show, none braver.
However, like the students with their visible shivers and white, white legs with veins picked out in unnatural blue, to see daffodils against the dirty snow causes one to check the calender again and verify that yes, it is spring, though we still are dubious.
Tulips mean spring, almost.
Now the first shoots of this year's tulips are up; I have seen them for, what?, 3 days now. They are so small and tender; my heart goes out to them, as yours would, too, if you were here and took the time to see. Do they know how eagerly the world awaits them... and what a brief, brief life they'll have? Or, like youth everywhere, are they oblivious, focused solely on the all-consuming business of being young, beautiful, exuberant and truly glad to greet every passerby with a joy whose secret is youth's alone?
Tulips, you see, are not just harbingers of the real spring near at hand; they are a bridge to memory. When we see a tulip blowing proudly in the wind, we remember (and grateful too) springtimes long gone and smile as we recall how blissfully we spent those seasons in tulip time, glad to be alive! Tulips know their work, know how much we need their magic. They therefore stay a little longer with us than the flowers which precede. And as our memories are sweet, we thank them...
Some facts.
The tulip is a perennial, bulbous plant with showy flowers in the genus Tulipa, which comprises 109 species. The genus's native range extends from as far west as Southern Europe, North Africa, Anatolia, and Iran to the Northwest of China. The tulip's center of diversity is the Pamir, Hindu Kush, and Tien Shan mountains.
Depending on the species, tulip plants can grow as short as 4 inches (10 cm) or as high as 28 inches (71 cm). The tulip's large flowers usually bloom on scapes or subscapose stems. Most tulips produce only one flower per stem, but a few species bear multiple flowers on their scapes.
Origin of the name.
Although the Netherlands is the country most associated with tulips, commercial cultivation of the flower began in the Ottoman Empire. The tulip, or lale l(from the Persian) is indigenous to much of the area ruled by the Ottoman Sultans. The word tulip ultimately derives from the Persian "dulband", meaning turban. Look closely at the shape of the tulip and you can see, if your eye is felicitous, the turbanned faithful answering the call from the minaret to prayer. Squint your eye and behold...
No one actually knows how, even where, the first tulips entered Europe. Some say they were first brought to and planted in Vienna, by 1573. Others opt for Holland. Experts like to quibble, and tulips, who know the facts historians seek, do not disclose them; they, like us, enjoy being the center of unceasing attention. The plain fact is, wherever people saw tulips, they wanted tulips. This lead, not long after tulips became known in Europe, to the mad phenomenon called "Tulip Mania."
One bulb, valued at 10 times the annual wage of a skilled craftsman.
No event shows man at his most venal, greedy, and stupid than the Tulip Mania of 1637. It is generally regarded as the first recorded speculative bubble, where the rarest bulbs could fetch the price of a house in Amsterdam's finest district -- for an instant. Timing here, as with all economic events, was everything. Privately, tulips admit they enjoyed being the focus of such overwrought enthusiasm; they think it's just what they deserve... and have memorized long passages about themselves from British journalist Charles Mackay's book on the matter, "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds." (1841). Historians doubt some of his conclusions, but to the tulips his every word is sacrosanct.
A poem disapproved, a tune embraced.
Unsurprisingly, given their continuing popularity, tulips are frequently the focus of poets, authors, lyricists. They faithfully encode all this and are effusive in their thanks. Admittedly, they don't like everything said about them. Sylvia Plath's poem "Tulips" (posthumously published in 1965) at first gave general offense:
"The tulips are too red in the first place, they hurt me. Even through the gift paper I could hear them breathe Lightly, through their white swaddlings, like an awful baby."
Tulips take their cheering task with grave seriousness. Plath's reaction to a gift whilst in hospital affronted. Like the rest of the literate world, by the time they knew of the lady's many afflictions of heart and soul she was dead (1963). The general consensus is that if she'd had more tulips, she would have had less angst. I agree.
Tip toe...
The tulips tell me they adore a peppy little number called "Tip Toe Thru' The Tulips" and are always ready to sing it as the warm breezes of spring waft. Written in 1926 by Joe Burke, with lyrics by Al Dubin. It brightened the 1929 hit "Gold Diggers of Broadway". Years later, the calculated oddness of Tiny Tim (born 1932 as Herbert Khaury) brought it again to America's attention:
"And if I kiss you in the garden, In the moonlight, will you pardon me? Come tiptoe through the tulips with me!?
Tiny Tim died too soon, in 1996. Every tulip remembers him fondly... a man who knew a likely lyric when he heard it and brought smiles to the faces of millions. "Knee deep in flowers he'll stray..." The flowers will be tulips of course.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books.
Republished with author's permission by Sylvia Kinzie
http://WeBroadcastToYou.com
Check out Six Figure RENEGADE
This 20 year old *classy* RENEGADE
has decided to do something pretty
"GAME-CHANGING"..
Nope it's not another $37 *magic* push button
software.. it's something MORE than just the usual
hyped up junk...
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He is causing an absolute UPROAR in the
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