Articles Books

The Bebo and Cigala CD Lagrimas Nergas, is extraordinary!! I love it, if anything, one should have this CD in their collection!! Each song is better than the previous, there is so much emotion in these songs. Cigala adds his voice to bring the performance to a higher level!! I bought the CD after listening to part of the first song, and it is the best 17.00 I have spent for a CD!!!

The market for children's literature is really quite large, look at the Harry Potter phenomenom. And while this was extraordinary, more than extraordinary it was a once in a lifetime event, there are still far more opportunity to sell children's writing. This book, put out by the Writer's Institute analyzes this marketplace. It has a series of articles on writing for children, what do children want to read, how to first approach a magazine *with several sample letters), legal issues, common publishing terms and abreviations. Then it goes into getting published, parenting magazines, science and technology writing for children, and so on.

But the real meat of the book is its listings of places to sell your work. There are 670 magazines listed that buy childrens stories. These are listed alphabetically with indexes that are broken down by the type of material that they buy.

Selling a story is a sales job. You need to research your audience (both the publisher and the reader), and approach it just like you were selling a computer or a car. Here is a wealth of information on how to do it.

Bad guys just love to taunt their opponents by misusing words. They claim to be the good guys. If they are racist oppressors and liars, it is natural for them to call their opponents racists, oppressors, and liars. Since they are the bad guys and since what they say is typically insincere nonsense, they can say literally anything they please. That is not true for the good guys, who need to try to make words mean something.

So the bad guys tend to do well in all propaganda wars. But that does not mean they'll win. The Germans and Soviets came up with some truly outrageous statements. But those claims eventually got exposed and ridiculed.

I think that's what will happen to some of the language the Arabs have been using in their war against Jewish rights in the Middle East. But for now, as Bornstein says, there are some terms that are very detached from reality that the Arab side has managed to make a part of everyday use. The first is simply picking a Jewish name for the Levantine Arabs. As the author says, Golda Meir quite sincerely challenged such nonsense.

Another term is the "West Bank." That was a term used by the Jordanians, who illegally occupied it. Why not just call the region "the disputed territories" or words to that effect?

"East Jerusalem" is another weird term. Jerusalem is a single city, not two cities. Jews tended to be a majority in the Eastern part in the 19th century. But Arabs dominated the Eastern Part after they kicked out the Jews by pogroms in 1929 and 1936 and a war in 1948. In any case, Jerusalem is not an occupied city any more. It was liberated in 1967.

"Greater Israel" is a term that I think shows plenty of nerve. 10,000 square miles for 6 million Israelis, 5 million of whom are Jewish, would hardly be an Empire. We do not speak of "Greater Holland" for a similar amount of overpopulated land. And "Occupied Territories" is another falsehood.

Even the terms for the Jewish towns in the disputed territories are strange: "settlements" and "settlers." The Arabs of this region have the same status. But they are not called settlers. Why not?

This is a good article. I think by reading it, we'll be able to figure out what words people will use for these terms in the future, when the anti-Israeli propagandists will have been forgotten, or will have been defeated, or both.

I read this short story when it first appeared in 2005 in the literary journal The Antioch Review. It was the best new short story I had read that year (which means, out of all the literary journals I had been reading through that year, this was the story that stood out the most to me). Of course, it won't be to everyone's tastes. There are a lot of people out there who prefer to read happy, fluffy stories to reassure them that everything is alright in the world. This is not one of those stories. The title and the opening lines of the story reveal what happens. If you can't stomach the imagery of a man throwing a dog out a window, then go read something else. The title alone captures the eye. We ask why? Why does a man throw a dog out a window. I don't want to spoil too much for you. If you do choose to read this story, then pay attention to how Mr. Montemarano creates the narrative: it is very complex. The story is not only about what led up to the dog getting thrown out the window, but it is about how we communicate with one another. The narrator of the story is a witness to the tragedy, and he wonders "Why?" He asks questions. He goes to other people, strangers, on the street and asks if they know anything. Over time he pieces fragments of information together, fragments that have been collected from a variety of witnesses. He is not a cop. Just a regular, curious person. Finally, a clearer picture of "why?" is formed, and the gaps in the information are filled in by his imagination. The story is not only tragic, but it is also beautiful. I wrote a letter to the editor who published this story. I raved about this story. He published my comments in the Letter to the Editor section of the Spring 2006 issue of The Antioch Review. My only complaint now is that this story was not selected to be anthologized in the Best American Short Stories anthology or the Pushcart Prize or the O. Henry Prize Stories. (Please note, this is not the fault of anybody at The Antioch Review.) I am still bitter about this and hold a grudge against those who made the selections for that year. Oh, well. If I ever get my writing career off the ground and become famous enough to the point where I am asked to create an anthology of great short stories, "Man Throws Dog Out Window" is going to be in it. You can bet on it. But only if I become famous. (Oh, by the way: after Mr. Montemarano read my published letter to the editor, he sent me an autographed copy of his book "If The Sky Falls"--which includes this short story. How cool was that of him? Thank you, Mr. Montemarano, where ever you are! I am following your literary footprints in journals! Keep up the great work!)

The KATUSA soldiers in Korea play an important role in the defense of the peninsula. It is about time that somebody recognized the contributions made by the KATUSA soldiers. Great work, John!

This audio was really good for me. I'm just beginning to market with articles and I am now very secure knowing what to put in the articles, how long they should be, etc. If I had not listened to it, I would be making mistakes - wasting precious writing and marketing time. I am doing it right the first time.

...I thought I knew Public Relations, but boy was I wrong: it's more than news coverage, more than spin or buzz. PR, according to Weiner, is a powerful marketing tool which rivals advertising, promotions and other forms of traditional marketing. And that's just a little of what I absorbed from this compact yet bountiful little gem. What else? That I am not nearly as knowledgable about this stuff than I previously thought. Man, was I humbled.

Great article in CHIEF EXECUTIVE Magazine about how a partnership was formed between a U.S. Company and a Russian entrepreneur to introduce a line of U.S. cosmetics to the newly formed Republic of Russia just after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Worthwhile reading on how to develop these kinds of relationships and alliances.

I am really not a book reader, but this one caught my eye. I am engaged to an over the road truck driver and when I see the 20 tail lights out the driveway I am left with 3 Shar Pei dogs, a house to keep organized, bills to tend to, laundy, dishes and a full time out of home job. You ladies know what I am going though. I found myself reading more and more of the articles laughing at some of the insert, because they are so true! This truely is an awesome book that will get you thinking about different things in the relationship. Also it kinda gives me a taste to what to expect in the future. I read that I am not alone and these are common feelings other truckers wife go though. I also am learning a few things from other mistake from the book. I found it gave me a variety of emotions to each insert and each chapter. I can't wait for the next book to come out. This is a really good book, comming from a person who rarly finds book that keep my instrest. It really is a book for someone involved with a long distance relationship <3

~Love your man who trucks over the road.. If you are not strong enough to love him, then who is <3

Mars Hill audio is a fantastic resource for those of us who spend time either in the car or putzing around the workshop for any extended length of time. I think of it as an audio version of First Things. Mars Hill contains strong social commentary, a rather elevated presentation that forces some brain activity, deeply nourishing for the intellect and heart, professionally recorded. Or you may think of it as something akin to NPR, but for those more conservatively oriented. Topics cover the whole gambit of politics, literature, music, religion, fashion, history and science.

Be sure to check out First Things, the journal edited by Father Neuhaus. Enjoy!