Celebrity Culture - A Land That Talent Forgot

In a time when we are constantly bombarded with celebrity gossip â€" who’s sharing a bed with who, who has had new boob job and who has managed to find the worlds smallest dog and dress it up like a little girls doll you would be forgiven if you lost a slight sense of reality. Can these people really be making a living by fluttering their eyelashes and flashing a bit of skin? Well seemingly the answer is yes and in a way we are all to blame. Celebrity culture has been around in one way or another since time began, people have always looked up to their hero’s, in the past you would have such celebrities as Edna Manley (the famous artist) and Bobby Moore (Famous Footballer) but it seems that people have started to worship a different kind of celebrity. These people have little or no talent but somehow manage to find it onto the front-page of every newspaper and magazine going. Just look at Paris Hilton, she is locked up in prison but still manages to make front-page news! I believe that UK celebrity worship started to take a turn when the Celebrity Big Brother of 2007 aired on channel 4. Three UK “Celebrities” caused a massive world wide up roar by appearing to bully the Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, this caused national outrage and the three “celebrities” were branded as racists. Two of those celebrities haven’t been seen in the papers since (Jo O’Mara and Jade Goody) but one celebrity has somehow managed to raise her profile after the whole affair. Danielle Lloyd a former Miss Great Briton and former playboy cover girl took a time out after the Big Brother show and now appears to be back stronger than ever. Will the public forgive these “celebrities” for anything or will we all eventually get tired of seeing non entities on out TV screens and on the front pages of our newspapers. Only time will tell but I for one look forward to the day when we can let our children look up to celebrities because of their amazing talents, be it acting, singing or dancing, rather than “celebs” that make a living by dating footballers and appearing on reality TV shows. Dan Thompson is a website designer with over 7 years of experience. He wrote this article about celebrity culture when he was asked to design a website about a UK celebrity called Danielle Lloyd Dan proceeded to design the website despite his anti-celebrity views, you can view the site at danielle-lloyd.co.uk

Fairy Tattoos

The whimsical and delicate vision of a fairy is one of the most feminine tattoo expressions that woman tend to select. Fairy tattoos are much similar to getting a tattoo of an angel in various ways. They both showcase a creature that is gentle and respected by others. However, fairy tattoos deliver a design that involves human characteristics that could ooze sensuality or give off the notion of mischief. This type of tattoo can become a fun, fascinating, or flirty art of expression, which also carries a long history and deep symbolism. When you think of a fairy, Tinkerbell may appear in your mind, yet the original fairy was nothing like this creature. Traditional depictions show fairies as free spirits, who give gifts to people just as much as they enjoyed playing impish or naughty tricks on others. Legend has it that fairies would reward those who were kind and punished those who were disrespectful. Over time, superstitions developed that associated fairies with luck. Fairy tattoos are very popular with women because of the natural beauty they possess. A range of emotions are easily linked to a design, which may include happiness, joy, pain, and sadness. While the beauty and design of a fairy tattoo can seem larger than life or quite small, it is the addition of wings that elevates this selection. These designs are also often combined with other selections, such as flowers, butterflies, and other mythical creatures. It is not uncommon to see a fairy sitting on top of a unicorn. The personal meaning and symbolism of such a tattoo seems to never end. While this choice is rather easy to place on the body, it is the lower back, hips, stomach, ankle, and foot that typically serve as the most popular places for a fairy design to shine. See some more kick-butt info, recommendations, photos, and much more. Visit the number one content site about tattoo designs on the internet: modern-tattoo-designs.com/fairy-tattoos.html

Phoenix Tattoo Design

As a tattoo design, the phoenix is probably the most visually spectacular form of body art. The legend of the phoenix bird is known throughout the world, and has its origins in much of Europe, Middle East and Far East. The basic symbolism of the phoenix is resurrection and rebirth by fire. Although the legend is the same worldwide, there are subtle differences. Greek Legend According to ancient Greek legends, the phoenix bird lived in Arabia next to a watering well. At dawn, it would bath and the Greek sun god Apollo would stop his chariot specifically to listen to its song. Lebanese Legend The Lebanese claim the phoenix as central to their culture, whether it is ancient or modern. As descendants of the Phoenicians, they see themselves as Sons of the Phoenix . This legend holds particular significance to Beirut, which was destroyed and rebuilt 7 times in its history. Persian Legend In Persian legends, the phoenix is known as Huma or the bird of paradise . This bird consumed itself in a ball of fire only to rise again from the ashes. It was considered a bird of compassion, and would bring great fortune by a simple touch. Egyptian Legend In ancient Egypt, the legend was known as bennu. This bird created itself from fire emanating from a holy tree. It was believed that this bird carried the soul of Ra the sun god. Jewish Legend Jewish legends state the phoenix was the only bird or animal for that matter not to follow man in his banishment from Paradise (Garden of Eden) Chinese and Japanese legends In Chinese legends, the phoenix was known as Fenghuang . This bird is the second most respected legendary creature. Only the dragon is more respected. The phoenix is used to represent the empress and was as the leader of birds. The Japanese word for phoenix is Fushichand#333; . It is known as Immortal Bird . The phoenix holds a rich diversity of meanings and beliefs, not to mention a beautiful design for body art. If you would like to know how to choose the best tattoo design, as well as how to care for your tattoo, click here

New Bathroom Design - Be Creative And Experimental!

Whether you want to increase the resale value of your property or simply want to have a new bathroom design, creating that luxurious new bathroom design is no longer for the exclusive pleasures of affluent and celebrity individuals. With the new trend happening in bathroom designing industry, it is easy nowadays to achieve a design that you want. First thing that you should do is to acquire a new bathroom package. It doesn t matter whether what you like is the contemporary, European, or traditional design. What is important is that you choose one that is according to how you want your new bathroom design to look like. There are many affordable bathroom suites that are available in the market. Bathroom designs that speak of a unique yet luxurious aura are those that are not solely focused on building one look or theme. Why not infuse antique touch to your contemporary bathroom? You can successfully have a contemporary bathroom design infused with classic feel by opting for modern and futuristic major pieces and essentials, while adding small or minimalist amount of antique pieces of bathroom essentials. If you prefer otherwise, you can do it vice-versa. Have a traditional bathroom design sprinkled with bits of modern bathroom pieces. Everything is possible, just as long as you are picking the right materials and equipments to finish it off. To guide you in achieving your preferred new bathroom design, here are some of the major mistakes you should avoid: 1. Selecting trendy and unusual colors for your permanent fixtures. It will surely blow off any chances of achieving that luxurious and celebrity-like bathroom design if you trip somewhere along this course. Make sure all the colors you pick will not be something that makes them outmoded at one point. 2. Having a poor ventilation system. This issue is not only about being comfortable and convenient when staying inside the bathroom. It also tackles the welfare of the bathroom, as well as the safety of everyone using it. You don t want moisture and condensation to build up inside after using the shower or bath. So, you have to take care of this matter. 3. Not having enough storage organization system. A bathroom is a place where lots of essentials and things can be found. You don t want these things to go astray and make it hard for you to find them. So, make sure you got adequate storage systems or cabinets with your new bathroom design. For bathroom design ideas , visit bathroomdesignideas101.com

How PR Killed Advertising and Became King

Long ago advertising was King and to make a real presence it was necessary to spend mega dollars to promote services and product offerings. Big companies ruled the markets, as they were typically the ones who could afford to spend big bucks to advertise. However, changes in traditional advertising started when dotcom companies resourcefully used PR tactics to make headlines. This resulted in Internet websites competing with large corporations and gaining market share in specified target industries. Setting the standards for virtually anyone to successfully utilize public relations for services or product offerings. Traditional advertising is dead for many reasons and returning to rule, as the King will most likely never ever happen in this lifetime. After all a common problem with traditional advertising was that it could never be determined how to measure where advertising dollars went. Public relations practices are more or less a pay for performance effort. If you have good public relations people in place their main job is to keep you in the news. You should be receiving repeated free publicity surrounding your services and product offerings. One well-written media release should get your services and product offerings in front of massive audiences. Public relations have gone mainstream with applying web 2.0 tools that allow for advance distribution, promotion, and publication. How PR killed advertising and became King: PR is the perception of public image and how the public perceives a service or product. Public relations practices have the advantage of telling a full story by delivering press media kits. Supplying media releases that are distributed to target audiences to capture and create interest. Opening the door to pitch stories that create opportunities to increase brand awareness and sales. PR tools are most often respected and considered organic because there are no payments for the free publicity received. Public relations practices are dynamic promotional tools to add to any services or product offerings. Making a service or product offering standout in the crowd is ultimately the goal of a great PR campaign. One can never deny but only confirm that advertising was once King and considered the ultimate solution to brand, market, and promote services and product offerings. However, today advertising has been exposed for simply what it is, paid for advertising to draw interest in services and product offerings. Before spending thousands of dollars to run a large ad in the newspaper or magazine, why not try using PR and get free publicity about your services or product offerings? CR Cataunya Ransom is the Co-founder of Mosnar Communications, INC. She developed a niche for Luxury PR and Global Marketing. Guiding clients on how to brand, market, and promote luxury products, events, and services. Highly respected as a luxury public relations expert! CR consults clients and speaks to audiences about luxury public relations and global marketing practices. mosnarcommunications.com

Rachael Ray Protests Too Much

I want women to understand that I have been where many women in a relationship, or, marriage woes have to go and believe me when I tell ya, Too much talk can kill the message that all is well in your world. Okay, so it is really nobody business if your man is cheating... that you have cheated on your man...It is for you to know and for the world to butt out. However, the mistake I see and hear many women make when they are on this journey of perhaps pretense and denial; They simply protest too much! Rachael Ray has become a household name. People wanna know what is going on in her celebrity marriage to her musician, lawyer, husband. That is just how gossip works for so many of us who lead an otherwise mundane existence. We need, feed and digest a juicy bit of tidbit and if it appears that the person, usually the woman is miserable and for some sick reason, it becomes more tantalizing gossip to chew on for days, months and years down the line. Rachael Ray is to be commended for trying to appear nonchalant, stating to Lara Spencer, the Friday gossip guru on Rays show, that she and hubby just laugh it off and think it silly, while they are drinking martinis in the kitchen and being lovey-dovey (yeah, right) I am not a Rachael Ray basher here. I am saying to all women, you do not have to act/speak on people who gossip about your personal business. You do not have to go on record and deny that something is wrong in your relationship. People are going to gossip. We all know that celebrity news sells. I wrote a gossip column for a spell, but, the mag was a startup and frankly, the monies was not worth the effort...But, I digress. If you are a Star who does not want the public to know your business, keep your mouth shut and hire yourself a good publicist, someone whose not just in it for the money. For all of you regular folks, like me, I have a word of advice for when gossip rears its ugly head. Mums the word, ladies and gents. Guy Finley is one of the motivational writers/speaker that I love to quote when I am giving my own little spill on learning from living life experiences. Your opinion of me is none of my business. You see, if we are being honest, we all, at some point, celebrity, or not, need to be liked. The realism being, not everyone is going to like you. Women, when you are the butt of nasty gossips, I advise you not to despair and please for the love of all things private, keep your mouth shut, because this too shall pass; as life goes on... Clara B. Freeman is a freelance writer/poet/columnist who advocates for women, children and the elderly. To learn more about her work, or to comment on this article, email clarawriter@att.net Clara B. Freeman is a freelance writer/poet and columnist living in Illinois. To learn more about her work, visit her website clarawriter.com

Giving Voice to Your Marketing Personality on the Web

If You Don t Someone Else Will Every company has a personality whether they know it or not. If you don t develop and foster an appropriate marketing personality for your company, your employees and customers will do it for you, and that could be disastrous. Successful companies pay serious attention to creating and implementing a dominant corporate identity; and use it to deliver a consistent, coherent and cohesive Web-presence in the methodical and persistent pursuit of the company s core marketing objectives. Marketing Personality and the Web With the right marketing personality in place, companies can deliver their message in a memorable manner using all the assets at their disposal. Unfortunately, most businesses have failed to connect the dots between this not-so-abstract notion of marketing personality and its implementation in the ever-expanding Web-based business environment. Today every business has a website; a company s Web-presence has become their single most important marketing platform, able to reach millions of potential customers on a one-to-one basis. But despite its promise; the Web has failed to live-up its potential - not because it can t, but rather because business leaders resist using its inherent multimedia capabilities. Prospects are People Too The Web like marketing is not about technology but rather communication; in order to attract, inform, and persuade our prospects to become customers, we must communicate how our companies can benefit those prospects; and in order to do that, we must relate to those prospects in a very human way. Experienced marketing executives understand most customers make purchases based on wants rather than needs, and that relationships trump hard evidence in the decision making process. The bottom-line: people buy things they want rather than things they need; and they buy them from people they like and trust, rather than from the lowest bidder. A reliance on technical answers to human questions is a strategy doomed to fail. No matter how large or small you are as a company, and no matter how many prospects and customers you have in your database - they are all people not abstract business entities; their decisions are human not mechanical; and their dealings with you are based on relationships not transactions. Failure to grasp these fundamental issues has lead to botched business tactics like telemarketing that irritates, offshore service centers that regurgitate proforma answers, and websites that run on autopilot ignoring real enquiries from real people with real concerns. Anyone who has every tried to decipher the arcane assembly instructions on a new product should know enough to know that written QandAs, FAQS, and database driven knowledge bases are not a substitute for the sound of the human voice. After hours of racking your brains trying to figure out what the instructions mean, they all of a sudden become clear when your spouse or friend reads them to you aloud. We understand, we learn, and we relate to what we hear. It is a primal imperative. How We Learn, Comprehend, and Remember Despite the evidence most people think visual presentation is our primary intake sense and that has lead to Web-development decisions and marketing attitudes that just don t add-up. There have been a number of studies that confirm verbal presentation as the primary sense with which we learn, understand, and remember what we experience. In her paper, Implications from Cognitive Research, Farzad Sharifan, PhD (University Mt. Lawley, Australia) presents research evidence that auditory presentation is superior to visual presentation. There is ample evidence that we as a species grasp meaning, and comprehend more, when information is presented in the form of linear anecdotal narratives (storytelling) than in a straightforward recitation of factual information. In her research paper, Information Relevance and Recognition Memory: First, Second, and Third Person, Narrative, Bree Patrick Luck, Dept of Psychology, Georgia Southern University found Storytelling results in better factual recall of material than non- narrative presentation; and oral storytelling is a cross-cultural instructive method that promotes motivation, comprehension, and memory. These are important facts that should not be ignored when we think about delivering our marketing messages on the Web. The hyperlinked nature of the Web provides a non-linear method of pursuing information, that as a communication method for presenting, persuading, and embedding our message in the minds of our audience flies-in-the-face of our natural instincts to relate, comprehend, and retain information presented in a linear oral narrative. Giving an audience of distracted, attention-deficit Web-browsers the opportunity to hyperlink their way out of your carefully and expensively constructed website, is like leaving your front door open and wondering why your dog disappeared - audiences need structure and a linear framework within which they can absorb your message presented by a distinctive signature voice. If you find this concept runs contrary to prevailing visual design thinking - it does, because most visual design schools teach visual design not communication. David Pisoni, professor of psychology and cognitive science and director of Indiana University s Speech Research Laboratory, is one of the nation s foremost authorities on spoken language processing. We are interested in how people perceive and comprehend spoken language, This involves everything from the perception of phonemes [sounds] and syllables to word recognition, to what we call lexical access, or how people locate and retrieve the sound and meanings of words in memory, to sentence comprehension and spoken language understanding. Some of Pisoni s findings need to be understood by marketing professionals wishing to use the Web as a communication vehicle: 1. Familiarity with a voice helps the cognitive processing of the content; 2. Audiences store vast amounts of voice-related characteristics (pitch, speaking rate, dialect, gender, emotional state, and eccentricities) all of which provide a rich oral-rendering of personality and character that in turn enhances understanding and memory; 3. Voice is not an abstract ephemeral sense; it is concrete, substantive and richer than its visual alternative. The Practicalities of Signature Voice Representing Marketing Personality Using audio to deliver your marketing message and brand personality on the Web is not technically challenging, but understanding the implications and impact of such a presentation requires someone with an understanding of the psychology, medium, environment and process. Some small business early adapters have instinctively understood the value of oral presentation and have used it to present themselves on their websites. I won t say that this will never work, but unless they are a trained voice-over talent, it is unlikely that they are achieving what they want, compared to what could be achieved if done professionally. Another group of earlier Web-audio adapters are professional speakers, authors, and expert presenters. It seems like a natural for this group to present themselves on the Web, but the ability to speak in front of an audience armed with copious Power Point slides, is not the same as delivering a Web-based presentation. Whereas a live conference audience will ignore stumbles, stammers and slip-ups, a Web- audience will interpret each mistake as a blunder. Like a photograph that displays every wrinkle and line in your face, so a flawed audio presentation will project a sloppy and amateurish persona. The Familiar But Not Quite Recognizable Choice We have all sat in front of our televisions listening to commercials with the sounds of familiar voices. Big-budget advertisers hire big-name actors to portray their products in fifteen- and thirty-second spots. Unlike straightforward testimonials these unnamed famous voice-overs make subtle use of voice recognition: Keffer Sutherland speaks for Ford, Sam Elliot for IBM, Gene Hackman for Lowes, and on and on, but none of these famous actors are actually identified. According to Mark Forehand of the University of Washington Business School and Andrew Perkins of Rice University, in their article presented in the Journal of Consumer Research, the presence of a celebrity voice can influence brand evaluation even when the consumer has no idea that the voice-over was provided by a celebrity … When consumers did not recognize the celebrity, their brand evaluations shifted in the direction of their attitude toward that celebrity… This effect is called assimilation… Ultimately this is one of many examples of implicit cognition in advertising response â€" advertising features that influence people independent of their conscious awareness. What does this mean for the average business wanting to add a signature voice to their website: you do not need to hire a major movie or television star to present your material, just a voice-over artist who can emulate the style, cadence, and deliver of a well-liked personality that represents the marketing persona you want to project. With enough variation of voice characteristics, the savvy marketing manager who has properly defined his company s personality and selected a representative voice can take full advantage of implicit cognition while projecting an independent, cost- effective signature personality that takes full advantage of the psychological advantages of Web-based voice-over presentation. The Rational Approach is Highly Over-rated In Malcolm Gladwell s book, The Tipping Point, he points out that patients tend to sue doctors who don t spend enough time with them, rather than doctors who are incompetent. For the most part, consumers of medical services don t sue doctors they like, even if they screw-up. Customers are people and they react with their senses and instincts like people. Until we as marketing professionals learn to deal with customers as human beings, and relate to them on a human level, we will never achieve what is achievable, and our websites will continue to disappoint. Jerry Bader is a principal partner of Ontario-based MRPwebmedia ( 136words.com , mrpwebmedia.com , and sonicpersonality.com ). He can be reached at info@mrpwebmedia.com , Telephone: 905.764.1246.

Live Like A Famous Celebrity In Luxury Austin Homes

Living in luxury Austin homes brings people closer to some of the hottest stars today. Sandra Bullock, Matthew McConaughey and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong discovered the beauty of owning a Lake Travis house at the Villas on Travis. They enjoy the gorgeous views of the lake and the comfort of their luxury Austin homes. You can walk out onto the deck through glamorous French doors and view a romantic sunset or inspiring sunrise from these luxury Austin homes. No one doubts that Austin, Texas offers a lifestyle that most towns lack and provides luxury Austin homes like no other in city in Texas. With three professional sports teams and the champion San Antonio Spurs less than an hour away from luxury Austin homes, sports enthusiasts find plenty to love. Downtown Austin offers night life, museums, and theater close to the Lake Travis house of your dreams. Outdoor lovers do not leave their luxury Austin homes to find natural beauty. Lake Travis boasts some of the best view in the United States. The lake measures 65 miles long and 4.5 miles wideâ€"long enough for an adventure in a canoe or a leisurely ride in a pontoon boat. Fishermen will spend hours on the lake near their Lake Travis home reeling in the big catches, which they will cook in the gourmet kitchen of their luxury Austin homes. Luxury Austin homes sit in the shadow of Austin, the state capital, where lawmakers decide the direction of the state each year. As mentioned, celebrities discovered the magic of Austin already and bought a Lake Travis house. In a recent poll, CNN ranks Austin as the third fastest growing suburb in the nationâ€"a great place for luxury Austin homes! A microwave, coffee maker and all new stainless steel appliances adorn the luxury Austin homes. Even the pickiest chef finds all the needed utensils and modern cooking wares in this Lake Travis Home. After cooking up a gourmet meal, the dining room of luxury Austin homes feature ample space to host lavish dinner parties. With three bedrooms, guests can visit anytime and feel comfortable in the lavish surroundings of luxury Austin homes. The guest bedroom of luxury Austin homes feature a 27-inch television, DVD player, VCR and a CD player. Three bathrooms provide additional comfort for guests Lake Travis house.. You can move into luxury Austin homes with only the shirt on your back. A Lake Travis house features everything you need for luxurious living and entertaining. Luxury Austin homes can serve as a main residence or a great weekend getaway home. Celebrities worry about their privacy and luxury Austin homes ensures residents and guests that the prying eyes of the paparazzi stay away from them. No one enters the Villas on Travis and luxury Austin homes unless they go through one of three gated entrances. Security monitors these gates to the Lake Travis house 24 hours a day. No one should deny themselves their dream of living in luxury Austin homes. The opportunities to buy a Lake Travis house with everything fully furnished diminishes as more people discover the natural beauty of Lake Travis. A luxury Austin home defines beauty and value! Ben Jordan is a x-Fortune 500 Texas Real Estate Investor and marketing consultant has consulted realtors, and other luxury Austin homes buyers, sellers, and investors in Texas.

Selling by Owner Escrow or Closing Checklist

Home sellers should keep on top of their pending sale; especially when selling without the assistance of a real estate agent. Sometimes busy real estate agents forget to monitor all aspects of a pending sale. Here’s a checklist for home sellers: Selling Escrow Checklist Property Address: Date escrow opened: Estimated closing date: Escrow office: Telephone Number: Escrow officer: Officer’s assistant: Escrow number: Buyer: Buyer’s phone: Title company: Fire insurance provider: Listing agent: Phone: Selling agent: Phone: Deposit to be increased to: Date: Preliminary title report received: Appraisal ordered date: Appraiser: Appraiser phone: Termite inspection company: Home inspection company: Commitment letter from lender Loan documents Funding Recording Dispersal Note: For seller’s desiring to collect closing funds immediately, have your money wire transferred into your bank account. Otherwise, your bank may hold up your money for days. (c) Copyright 2004, Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved. Professor Jeanette Fisher, author of Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars, Joy to the Home, and other books teaches Real Estate Investing and Design Psychology. For more articles, tips, reports, newsletters, and sales flyer template, see doghousetodollhousefordollars.com/pages/5/index.htm

How To Make Your Guy Dress Right!

Men’s bodies are not so different from women’s, except that they have fewer bits! However, many are ridiculed for what they wear usually by women who know things … like larger bodies shouldn’t wear horizontal stripes. Yet, how do women come to posses this fountain of all knowledge when it comes to what suits body types? Guys we are not born with this knowledge â€" it comes from years of reading magazines until the contents are thoroughly imprinted upon our brains! As many men have the same basic shapes as women such as - large tummies, tall, skinny and short, there is one factor which is true of all these shapes. Rather than wear clothes that are skin-tight choose, a slim-fit to enhance and fit your overall shape. The much misconstrued idea is that wearing tight clothes will hold in your wobbly bits but in fact it does the complete opposite and shows them up more! Loose clothes will not hide your undesired shape either, but will drown you and makes a shorter body appear smaller and a slim frame appear even skinnier! A few handy tips for those of you with a bit of a beer belly, as well as the beers, stay away from lighter shades and horizontal stripes as these will elongate you in the wrong direction. Instead go for thin vertical stripes which will give you height. A good idea if you want to conceal your tummy is to wear darker shades on both your top and bottom to create a ‘column’ of colour, then team this with a lighter shaded, fitted shirt over the top. From the front, this will make it look like you have no belly at all! Tall and skinny men should not wear vertical stripes as they will make you appear thinner. Instead wear thick, vertical stripes â€" one large one across the chest will make your shoulders seem broader. Do not wear dark shades on your top and bottom halves at the same time as this will create the ‘column’ effect and make you look even thinner, instead opt for pale shades which give the illusion of weight. One tip is to buy slim fit or fitted tops as these will help maintain your masculine shape instead of drowning it. Try layering a slim fit t-shirt with a fitted shirt or wearing two different coloured t-shirts together to add extra ‘bulk’ to your body. For the vertically challenged males out there, all is not lost. Avoid bulky shoes as they take up more of your height. To enable you to appear taller, buy shoes that have a slight heel, don’t be afraid that you will look girly â€" most men’s shoes now come with a thick sole which makes the heel part look bigger. Wear with slightly longer trousers to add to the heightening effect. Try wearing pinstripes or trousers with a crease down the front of each leg which will heighten the length of your legs. Shorter people, male and female, benefit from trousers that are slightly bootcut at the bottom and that have a low rise at the top. This is the area from the waistband to the crotch area and helps lengthen the top part of your body. To stop your partner banging her head against a brick wall next time you’re out shopping, make sure you take the time to try things on to make sure they fit right. You’ll soon find you will be rewarded in more ways than one! Ladies, watch out. By Paul Bowers, I write for Mio Destino and for it s blog site MioBlog writing articles of interest to their international clients. The company sells high end, designer lingerie, swimwear, corsets, pyjamas and mens underwear predominantly from Italy and France but also from the US, Canada and other parts of Europe.

The Expressionist Art Movement

Expressionism was an artistic style which grew like a rose out of the soil of the late 19th early 20th century society. Originating in Germany and Austria and following the anti-authority thinking of people such as Freud, Nietzsche and Dostoyevsky, the expressionist movement focused on the expression of inner experience and emotion. It was less concerned with the reality of what a subject looked like and expressed the artist’s emotional reaction to it. These paintings can often be characterized by distorted forms drawn in bold colours and two dimensions, without perspective. But always sought to depict intense emotion and was always strongly subjective. Often the images were full of angst such as Edvard Munch’s The Scream, or the latter paintings of Vincent and Gough such as The Starry Night. Around the time of World War II the expressionist art movement had migrated to the shores of America. Indeed, it was the artists of this time which established New York as a place of importance in the art world. It has been said that expressionism was a precursor to surrealism and influenced artists such as Dali. A huge part of the movement in America became abstract expressionism, characterized by dripping paint onto the canvas. One of the most famous of the abstract expressionist painters of this period was Jackson Pollock. Interestingly the artists pioneering this movement never described themselves as expressionists, it was a label given to them, and as an artistic style is still very much alive today within the work of many contemporary painters. I myself use this style because I draw musicians. Music itself is an embodiment of the inner emotional experience and with my art I seek to express this subjective image. Expression of emotion through music is something I try to capture in drawings and I can think of no better artistic style with which to achieve this than the expressionist one which provides me with all the tools I need to depict the exquisite passion, soulful blues and poignant heartache expressed by the true musician. To view my art visit me here: squidoo.com/moonshine-art

Can You Get Rich with the Right Real Estate Niche?

Can You Get Rich with the Right Real Estate Niche? Many agents are reluctant to position themselves as specialists, for fear of limiting their earning potential. A broad range of potential customers is both a blessing and a curse for real estate agents. If you re a generalist, nearly everyone you meet is a potential client. On the other, being all things to all people can lead to unfocused business plans and lackluster results. In reality, there is little risk in foregoing commissions you don t have a reasonable chance to earn. Few agents have the time and resources to market to a very broad audience, so choosing a professional niche in which you can excel makes sense. In addition to helping you differentiate your services from other real estate practitioners, you can build credibility and focused expertise. Better yet, as you you develop a reputation for a specific area of expertise, you are actively reducing competition for your services. Now all that s left is choosing a highly profitable niche. To help you get started, here are some suggestions for highly lucrative niches, and also some to avoid: Good agent specializations: - Homes near top-rated schools - Equestrian properties - Income-producing properties - Waterfront or beachfront properties - Townhomes - Vacation homes - Historic properties - Green or energy-efficient homes - Ranch or farm properties - Upscale and luxury real estate - Mountain views - Active retirement communities Bad agent specializations: - Agent with obvious toupee - Agent still using high school yearbooks photo - Agent whose car always needs vacuuming - The Bad Haircut agent - The agent who repeats lines from Sienfeld episodes - Agent who never wears socks - The too-much-perfume agent - The agent who talks about her cats - The really irritable agent - Agent who also sells Amway and Herbalife - The agent who could use a shave - Agent with a comb-over - Agent who apparently doesn t own an iron Obviously, some niches are better than others, and there are still plenty of real estate agents out there trying to please everyone. The bottom line: Prospects today are not looking for a salesperson, they are looking for a trusted advisor to guide them through important financial decisions and complex transactions. Does your professional niche brand you as a a real estate expert, or someone who sells real estate? As author and sales consultant John Graham says, it s better to be known for knowing something, not just selling something. Charles Warnock is Marketing Director at eNeighborhoods in Boca Raton, Florida. eNeighborhoods provides powerful marketing tools for real estate professionals, including Neighborhood Reports, CMAs, Buyer Tours, NewsLetters, Maps / Aerials, and the InstaLead Marketing System. eNeighborhoods is part of Dominion Enterprises, a leading provider of real estate media and marketing services. Charles Warnock is Marketing Director at eNeighborhoods in Boca Raton, Florida. eNeighborhoods provides powerful marketing tools for real estate professionals, including Neighborhood Reports, CMAs, BuyerTours, NewsLetters, Maps / Aerials, and the InstaLead Marketing System. eNeighborhoods is part of Dominion Enterprises, a leading provider of real estate marketing and media services. eneighborhoods.com Charles writes often on interactive marketing, marketing strategy and real estate marketing.