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Joy Cagil is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/
which is a site for Writers
Her portfolio can be found at http://www.Writing.Com/authors/joycag
December 27, 2007
Old MacDonald had a farm, but was it an organic farm? Were his chickens ?free-range? or ?cage-raised?? Was the milk raw or pasteurized, and as children singing the familiar tune did we even know these options existed? In today?s world, we are inundated with food choices and terminology that can be bewildering. Some of the decisions we make on a daily basis are whether to eat meat or be vegetarians, consume dairy products or be ?lactose-free?, enjoy sweets or be anti-sugar. E-I-E-I-O! What?s a girl to eat?
One author is saying we should simply eat as our grandmothers cooked, and let that be our guideline for a healthy lifestyle. In her book, ?Real Food: What to Eat and Why?, Nina Planck recommends eating traditional foods such as cream, butter, beef, lard and eggs. She states that these long-established foods are not the reasons for food related diseases so prevalent in society today. Rather, she blames the modern American industrialized food diet for the ?epidemics of obesity, diabetes and heart disease?.
Planck, currently touring the country to promote her book, is the daughter of Virginia farmers, and is neither a medical expert nor a food scientist. At an August 17 lecture in Poulsbo Washington, Planck described herself as a person who reads and interprets every scientific study on food, dietary requirements and diet related disease. She cites this research and her personal experience as the basis for her ?real food? diet. Now in her mid-30?s, she experimented with vegetarianism and veganism in her early 20?s, eliminating meat, fish, cheese, milk, eggs and chocolate from her daily diet. Planck states that during this period, she was overweight, depressed and on medication and that it was only when she returned to the traditional diet on which she was raised that she regained her health.
Planck began her research by comparing the traditional diet of Russian sheep herders and North American Inuit to the modern American diet, and found that while Americans consumed fewer daily calories and ate a higher percentage of calories from plant sources, they had higher body mass indexes and cholesterol levels than reported by the Russians and the Inuit. In comparing the diets, Planck concludes that the traditional diet is rich in vitamins and fats that prevent heart disease, while trans-fats, corn oil, and sugar prevalent in the modern American diet cause diet-related illnesses.
Subsequent chapters delve into specific food categories, where Planck compares each ?traditional? food to the ?industrial? food. In her chapter entitled ?Real Milk, Butter and Cheese?, for example, we learn that traditional raw milk came from pasture cows fed with grass and hay, while industrial pasteurized milk comes from captive cows fed with soybeans, corn, and synthetic hormones to increase milk production. In each chapter she describes the superior taste and health benefits of the traditional food as compared to the industrialized food.
While ?Real Food: What to Eat and Why? presents another alternative to the already vast number of dietary choices we have to process, the reader who agrees with Nina Planck?s philosophy will give him or herself permission to eat the delicious, memorable foods of our parents and grandparents. If Old MacDonald had a farm, one thing is for certain. On this farm they ate Real Food.
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Joan Tobin is owner of Eat Local Food LLC, a marketing and promotional merchandise firm that specializes in local, organic, and natural food promotions for food retailers, farmers markets and restaurants. At Eat Local Food, ?It?s art, it?s advertising, it?s a values statement all in one colorful image?.
http://www.eatlocalfood.com
December 21, 2007
The Wrekening is the first book in the Ancient Mirrors Tales, followed by Dragon Queen (which will be released in March, 2007), Damselflies and Quondam. The first few pages are filled with interesting maps that were useful during my reading of the novel. The illustrations were really eye-catching, and I have to say, I was impressed with the quality of the cover ? which is thick and strong.
Interestingly, the main character of this fantasy adventure is a strong yet fragile female warrior ? Cwen of Aaradan, niece to the Queen. Abducted, raped and abused by enemies of the crown, she is perceived to have done evil by her family and because of this, Cwen experiences the ultimate perfidy. Her rebellion leads her to abandon her home and much of what she was taught to be, including the use of magic. Cwen?s journey through the haunting pain of her abuse, overcoming her unrelenting anger and becoming strong enough to find trust in her Self ? is the main theme of the story. It is refreshing to see a young female character of such complexity portray someone who is so thoroughly misunderstood ? and yet willingly becomes the heroic figure.
Cwen?s personal journey aside, the rest of the plot and characters used in this 428-page fantasy are certainly unique and just as powerful. Five friends (Cwen, Talin, Caen, Brengven and Klaed) are sent on an arduous quest to find crystal shards that are scattered throughout their world. Though created by the ancient and extinct Wyrms as a protection device, evil now threatens to use the shards against those who wish good for the world. The pressure is mounting as the war begins and many back home are losing their lives and their homes.
Each of the group relies on one another for their various abilities and knowledge. As well they all find strength, either within themselves or through strong friendships, in times of vulnerability.
The adventure is filled with strange creatures, and the unexpected awaits readers in every chapter. Gazelle-like animals that can change their coat into a cloaking device, trolls that live in underground mines, wizards of many shapes and sizes - including a feie, and dragons of every kind. I truly loved the experience of reading this book and it has earned a place on my bookshelf indefinitely.
The author, Jayel Gibson, was influenced early in life by her doting grandmother who entertained her with Celtic Folklore and Fairy Tales. The author?s passion for mythology along with Anglo-Saxon and Gaelic languages is certainly evident in The Wrekening. With the four books in the Ancient Mirrors Tales completed, Jayel has already begun work on her new fantasy series ? The Scrolls of Ever?neath.
Author: Jayel Gibson
Publisher: Synergy Books
ISBN: 1-933538-30-3
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~ Book Reviewer: Lillian Brummet - Co-author of the book Trash Talk, a guide for anyone concerned about his or her impact on the environment ? Author of Towards Understanding, a collection of poetry. (http://www.sunshinecable.com/~drumit)
November 2, 2007
Let?s get something out of the way to start. The Rich Jerk isn?t really a jerk. He?s more of a benevolent philanthropist with a sometimes abrasive side.
Now to his product ?The Rich Jerk?. Everyone is skeptical about picking up an online product that says it will help them make money. I was too, until I started reading. That?s when I realized that the Rich Jerk knows what he is talking about. His ebook is broken down into 9 chapters. Each chapter focuses on different aspect of creating an online business. Here is a quick breakdown of the Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 ? Affiliate Websites (Creating and Building)
Chapter 2 ? Search Engine Pay-Per Click (PPC) Strategies
Chapter 3 ? Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Chapter 4 ? Creating and Selling Your Own Product
Chapter 5 ? Wholesale Buying and Selling on Ebay
Chapter 6 ? Instantly Profitable Websites
Chapter 7 ? Other Online Ventures
Chapter 8 ? Information for Beginners
Chapter 9 ? Recommended Products and Services
As you can see, there are no fewer than 5 chapters devoted to DIFFERENT ways of making money online. They range from dipping your toes into the water (PPC Strategies) to getting a running start and doing a cannonball off the high dive (Creating and Selling Your Own Product). These aren?t one or two paragraph long chapters either. These are pages of information each with links to other resources that can help earn more money. It?s hard to feel shortchanged with this amount of information being given out.
I know I?ll probably repeat this as I review other Clickbank products, particularly Internet Based Businesses, but this ebook WILL NOT do the work for you. The Rich Jerk has done a great deal of work in laying out various methods for making money online. It?s up to the reader to determine which strategy they wish to pursue along with how much money to invest. There are a lot of books and ebooks available that say you can make money instantly. This is one of the very few who not only says that, but shows you at least 5 different ways to make money online, AND provides links to resources to help you make the money. What else could you ask for?!?! The Rich Jerk shows how to get your foot in the door of Online Businesses. It?s up to the reader to kick the door in and start raking in the funds.
Final Analysis: Great ebook. Contains a wealth of information. An excellent start for anyone looking to start or improve an Internet Business. Completely legit.
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Mark South reviews Clickbank products at http://clickbank-reviews.blogspot.com,
When I first received Holly Mann?s ?Thank You Rich Jerk? (also called Honest Riches or Breakthrough Money Making Secrets Revealed), I was a little skeptical at what I was getting. Considering it costs 60% LESS than ?The Rich Jerk? eBook, I was wondering if the amount of information it contained would be proportional to the price. I did find this to be true, but not in the way I imagined.
Thank You Rich Jerk starts off with a short introduction to how Holly started her online venture. This introduction is a testament to showing that willpower and positive state of mind can overcome difficult circumstances. Right off the bat, I was intrigued to how she got from where she was to where she is today. Also, at the bottom of the page was a link to a Live Journal site. Checking out the link, I found that Holly actually participates in the discussions. She provides regular feedback as well as tips on where to get more information or resources for online businesses. I?m already impressed and I haven?t even gotten to the first chapter.
Here is a quick breakdown of the chapters in her book
Chapter 1 ? Affiliate Marketing
Chapter 2 ? Product Reviews
Chapter 3 ? Website Design
Chapter 4 ? Improving Website Content
Chapter 5 ? Pay Per Click (PPC)
Chapter 6 ? Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Chapter 7 ? Improving Website Ranking
Chapter 8 ? Website Stats and Tracking
Chapter 9 ? Using Lists and Automation
Chapter 10 ? Advertising Your Website
Chapter 11 ? Press Releases
Chapter 12 ? Dropshipping and Wholesalers
Chapter 13 ? EBay Advertising
Compared to the Rich Jerk eBook, this book pays more attention to affiliate marketing, website design/content/stat tracking, and advertising. While it doesn?t offer the variety of different methods to make money online, it does delve deeper into Affiliate Marketing and creating a web site of your own. There are good and bad points to this. The good is that you get a tremendous amount of in-depth information as well as helpful links and tips. The bad is that if you are looking for varied forms of income to make money online, this book focuses on fewer avenues while providing basic information and some helpful tips for other forms of online income.
That being said, this is an excellent book for people looking to get started in making money online. My advice after purchasing this book would be to proceed slowly chapter by chapter. Make sure you absorb what is being laid out. This book is not for people looking to read something in 5 minutes, implement it in 10, and then begin making money. This book is for people would want to build the foundation of an online business brick by brick.
As I said in The Rich Jerk review, this book WILL NOT make money for you with no effort. It will take some time to read through each chapter and then utilize the concepts that Holly discusses. I would list that as a very small drawback of this book. There is so much depth of information, that it might take a few readings of each chapter to fully absorb what is being discussed. That is not to say the concepts are difficult, but that the manner in which it is written allows (and even encourages this). Holly gently takes your hand and guides you down the path to building an online presence. Along the way, she stops to point out different helpful resources as well as to offer encouragement for those just starting out. At the end of the journey, you?ll feel confident that you too can make money online.
I?d be remiss if I didn?t mention the numerous free items that Holly provides for download in addition to the eBook. I counted no less that 5 different tools and informational packets that she provided IN ADDITION to the information and links contained in the Thank You Rich Jerk eBook. As I stated in the opening, the amount of information is proportional to the cost, except in this case your $20 investment is rewarded with copious amount of useful information. This isn?t a 54 page sales letter for more products. It is a reference tool, a ?bible? of sorts for anyone wanting to start making money online. It?s not a book you will read once and move to the dark recesses of your hard drive. It?s one that will be used again and again as your business begins to mature.
Final Analysis: This is probably the best eBook for anyone starting out trying to make money online. Before you invest in compartmentalized books about AdSense or AdWords, or Pay-per-click advertising, I suggest going through Holly?s book with a fine toothed comb and gleaning as much information out as possible. Put her information into practice and watch your business grow. In terms of bang for the buck, this is an exceptional deal. For $20, I?m not sure there is a better investment one could make. As much as I liked The Rich Jerk eBook, Holly?s is step above and costs less.
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Mark South writes product reviews at http://clickbank-reviews.blogspot.com
October 28, 2007
Released in Spring of 2005, The Echoes of a Whisper ? by Rhona F. Pienaar, is a 68-page book of approximately 51 poems.
Rhona is clearly a caring woman who writes about her roles in the family, as mother, wife and daughter. She shares her goals in life and her hope to encourage her children to reach their potential by delving into their Selves and releasing their talents with courage.
There were a number of lines throughout the book that certainly appealed to me as a poet and as a reader. These two quotes below will give you some idea as to what I mean.
?Stuck in a corner
Not moving, not breathing
In a cage so slowly depleting,
I have created my own prison.?
?Just as a snake sheds its skin,
Can we learn and break our own conditions??
I truly loved the poem Growth on page 25 of this book. This piece questions what we are doing with our skills and the time that is given to us. This inspiring poem prompts readers with lines like:
?Dare to dream that you are so much more?
?Will you add to the woe?s of the world
Convincing others that you are incapable?
?Don?t you know we?ve been waiting for you?
If you don?t use your gifts, how will I discover mine??
Her poetry attempts to show us how interconnected we are and how each of us holds a valuable key to better the world for those around us. Her vulnerability and tendency to rehash the past is clarified in the poem entitled Creating, when she says:
?All that I am doing is weeding the ground,
Where no longer the past has a place
To grow and haunt and be thrown in my face?
Because so many of us are influenced by those around us, one of the poems that hit truth the hardest was the last one, My Love, where the poet states:
?When the opinions of others become your beliefs
And you surround yourself in other peoples? truths
You?ll get weaker inhaling the toxic that they exhale??
Author: Rhona F. Pienaar
Publisher: Publish America
ISBN: 1-4137-6623-4
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~ Book Reviewer: Lillian Brummet - Co-author of the book Trash Talk, a guide for anyone concerned about his or her impact on the environment ? Author of Towards Understanding, a collection of poetry. (http://www.sunshinecable.com/~drumit)
October 27, 2007
I?ve just come across a terrific book by David Nevogt , also known as ?The Golf Swing Guru? where he guarantees to lengthen your drive and cut your handicap by 7 to 12 strokes in just 2 weeks.
As a dedicated golfer, hitting off 27 on a good day! , I figure anything that can do that has got to be worth getting - even if it?s only half as good as everyone says.
Some of the questions posed in this book are:-
1. Is your golf swing is providing you with the results you need to compete?
2. Are you throwing strokes away by topping, slicing or hooking the ball?
3. How many penalty strokes do you typically have during a round?
And in my case the answers are:-
1. No
2. Yes
3. Too many
How about you?
Some interesting golf facts:-
Did you know there are 27 Million golfers in the world?
And did you know that the average gross score is 107 ??
And less than 20% ever get a handicap under 27.
Would you like to get your handicap down to a number you?d be able to brag about?
This book explains in simple terms how you can lower your score every time you play.
And it stresses that it?s your golf swing that drives your score, not your clubs or the ball you play.
As David says, that is the truth in simple terms.
It seems to work though. So far in 2006 people from 16 different countries have been helped by having their swing problems fixed. And as we all know, if you fix that problem and build an easy repeatable swing all the other good stuff can be built on more easily.
Some indication of David?s success can be seen from the fact that ‘The Simple Golf Swing’ has helped 7,987 golfers during the past 2 years. This system is rated the #1 golf instruction system on the Internet and the reason is quite simple ? it?s because it works.
I?m looking forward to seeing the results David?s going to get with my really ugly swing! I?ll let you know how it goes.
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Tony Smith has been a full time affiliate marketer for a number of years and an independent author. Any spare time is spent trying to do something about his golf game!
If you found this article useful you can learn a lot more about by visiting http://www.anyonecould.com/simpleswing.html
You could do a lot worse starting off with the book ‘The Butt Book : How to Build a Non Cellulite and Fat Free Butt in 9 Weeks’ if you’re looking for an introduction to exercises for your bottom and thighs.
In her book, Tosca Reno devotes much emphasis, to diet and eating habits. Reno holds a degree in science and another in education and believes wholeheartedly that clean foods build great glutes — She says, ‘80% is nutrition, 10% is exercise and 10% is genetics.’
She believes in eating high-quality foods such as:
lean chicken, fish, and egg whites in the protein department, fresh veggies and fruit, whole grain rice, steelcut oatmeal and loads of pure water….
I believe that coming from a bodybuilding background, Reno is biased to eating six small meals daily, instead of the norm of 3 larger meals.
As expected, Reno is no big fan of fast food. ‘Fast food begets fat butts,’ says Reno.
‘Super-sized meals make for super-sized butts,’ she adds. ‘If you eat huge amounts of doughnuts, pastries and fatty foods then your rear will look like those foods.’ Soft and spongy!
‘The Butt Book : How to Build a Non Cellulite and Fat Free Butt in 9 Weeks’ also stresses the importance of exercise as well, though not enough in my opinion.
Reno stresses to her readers that Cardio alone is not enough, and that weight training should be a paramount part of your workout in order to reshape your physique.
‘Lift weights and lift more weights in order to build curves and muscles in the right places,’she says.
‘Exercising with weights carves curves out of fat, shapes bottoms like no other training regimen ever could.’
‘Giving your buns a tight squeeze each time you take a step will add beautiful definition and tone to your other end.’ So be sure to squeeze that butt when you walk.
Though is do recommend the book, I would rather see the exercises displayed as photographs instead of drawings, and would prefer to see the whole sequence of a routine instead of just one exercise.
We know, or should know that junk food and inactivity causes cellulite and, although some people are genetically apt to develope dimpled skin, she says the condition can be greatly reduced by eating a clean diet, exercising and getting plenty of fresh air and rest.
‘In spite of your genetics, you can reshape your butt to create what is known in the fitness industry as the apple butt’ ? toned, round and fat-free,’ adds Reno.
Therefore to summarize, I believe that if you’re looking to start on the road to losing cellulite, you should definitly pick up a copy of Tosca Reno’s ‘The Butt Book : How to Build a Non Cellulite and Fat Free Butt in 9 Weeks’!
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If you enjoyed this review Troy Boyd writes about Cellulite Treatment at: http://www.LoseYourCellulite.com
May 21, 2007
Sara Brown has written an e-book that tells
how she makes money off of an old piece of
worn paper. The book cost only $27. Which is
a steal compared to most other e-books on the
internet today. She doesn’t give you any ’secret
information’ or ‘newly revealed hype’. She gives
you real examples with screenshots so you can see
exactly how she makes a living on her websites. No
hype is needed to get my vote on this particular
opportunity.
I knew that sooner or later someone would come
up with a system that you can make money without
using Google Adwords. I like this new system. Sara
simply uses one to two page websites that generate
regular income everyday of every week.
The Worn Paper System was formulated from years
of Sara watching over her own results and weeding
out things that didn’t work to putting in the things
that did succeed for her and replicating the successful
ones.
In my opinion Sara Brown has got an unbeatable offer
going. The price is reasonable, the content is excellent
and the system pure and simple, just works. I give the
Worn Paper System a 10. It’s a good read and great tips
that will get the beginning internet marketer a good start
at getting their websites to build residual income every day
of every week.
Last but not least, Sara Brown has got a winner here, she
gives you step by step of how she made residual income with
her old piece of worn paper.
Tamare Harris is a full-time internet marketer, part-time student and mother of four.
You can learn more about The Worn Paper System, and how you can get started right
now. mythoughts365.blogspot.com
May 18, 2007
What if somebody told you one critical key to business success was to practice the principle of the Golden Rule in your business? The idea seems to somehow run counter to so much of what we?ve been taught about business, doesn?t it? Yet, what if that same source convinced you through case-study after case-study that application of the Golden Rule in business actually leads to success?
Let us introduce Frederick Reichheld and his book The Loyalty Effect. While not a small business marketer, but rather an expert business consultant, what Reichheld teaches us about loyalty is worthwhile reading for any small business owner or manager.
Did we say ?worthwhile?? Scratch that; pencil in the phrase ?urgently essential?, instead. This book is that vital to a small company.
The Loyalty Effect focuses on three groups of people critical to business success: Customers, Employees, and Investors. For most small business, the investor is the owner, so for our brief review in this article we will focus on Customers and Employees.
Reichheld is a definite advocate of customer retention. He convincingly demonstrates time and again that small percentage increases in customer retention have huge impacts on profits. This read will be a just-right fit for those of you having problems focusing on the right customers. If you will take the time to trudge through this book, and really understand most of its principles (we found Chapter 8 to be the toughest) then not only will the marketing of your business improve, but so will your profits.
Isn?t that the reason for all this focus on marketing, anyway?
And Reichheld really opened our eyes to how important employees are in retaining customers. If a company treats their employees right, those employees become more efficient and productive in their daily tasks. Profits go up, retention increases.
Reichheld stresses again and again that a company?s prime mission needs to be creating customer value. Most of you in small business realize this, but it?s reaffirming to see hard-and-fast facts to back up what many of us intuitively know. Customers don?t come to a small business looking to boost our profits; they arrive seeking value. If we consistently create value, profit will come.
Another key point for small business owners is the importance of leadership. If you need to go down to the bookstore and browse through The Loyalty Effect before you buy it, flip over to page 246. Reichheld has studied several large and successful businesses, and concludes here that most of them had leaders with an ?intuitive grasp? of how important loyalty is. This is critical for business success, regardless of business size. While not written to be a rah-rah inspirational book, Reichheld?s arguments and his examination of the role strong leaders play in forming great companies reinforces just how important to the bottom line it is for a small business owner to be a good leader.
So much of Reichheld?s book seemed familiar; akin to common sense?after we read it. Treat employees well and they?ll perform well for you; we?ll that?s pretty basic, now isn?t it? But we tend to forget, we tend to think we need to cut corners or just ?improve efficiency? and that?ll lead to greater profits. In the short term it very well may, but Reichheld argues effectively that in the long run it?s only by creating value for our customer that we build profitable businesses.
Remember, People is the third element–along with Brand and Package–of any small business marketing success story. Taking a week or so and reading Frederick Reichheld over lunch or before lights out at night is a great way to hone your ?people productivity?.
? 2006 Marketing Hawks
Craig Lutz-Priefert is President of Marketing Hawks, a firm providing essential marketing vision for small business. Marketing Hawks also provides expert sales presentation review at their VideoMyPitch website.
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