"2012 - The War for Souls"

I just finished "2012 - The War for Souls" by Whitley Strieber. One word can sum up the entire book, disappointment! I had previously read and enjoyed "Communion", "The Greys", and "Majestic", and was interested in his view of the 2012 event. While my imagination can arrive at a wide range of scenarios, parallel worlds inhabited by intelligent reptiles, wanting to terraform our Earth and use humans as slaves...well I never would go there.

I do believe there is probably some ancient explanation for various world wide legends, and folks tales, but this probably isn't it. The parallel world characters were interesting; a few good twists in the plot kept my attention, and I kept reading until the end. I can imagine a film version, with copious special effects, would even be entertaining.

2012 Reading List

OK, I am on a "2012" kick.....today makes Three years and Three months" until 12-21-12, known as "The End".

I just read "The Rapture" by Liz Jensen and "Apocalypse 2012" by Gary Jennings. My current read is "2012-The War for Souls" by Whitely Strieber. Each presents a different view of the cause and results of that date, which makes the books more interesting, at least for me!

At my "Library Thing" or "Good Reads" page a full list of my last two years of reading contains many similar and connected titles. I just updated both sites. They are listed under my "nom de plume" of G.M.Makela

MBA Degree - Is it worth it?

I'll be the first to admit, "I m not the Poster Boy" for higher eduction. I have successfully completed over 300 semester credit hours of undergraduate and graduate couses in business, construction managemnt, education, and engineering. I have a BA, and completed a M Ed with emphasis on Instructional Design. While in Gradute School, I worked on an MBA in Management and lack 4 course to complete. I hve 3.0 GPA in my BA and a 4.0 GPA in Grad School. I hve never been asked for a college transcript for any job, nor been given credit for the degrees with any employer. I am dubious for the need for college education, period!


An MBA or a Master’s in Business Administration is a degree that is granted after one or two years of graduate level education. The degree prepares students in the theory and practice of business management. Graduating with an MBA implies that you are competent in all managerial roles found in organizations and businesses today. An MBA program largely deals with general management topics but some degrees also offer a more specialized curriculum.

There are many combinations and specializations involved with an MBA degree. Some of the popular disciplines are accounting, business management, e-commerce, economics, finance, human resources, marketing, risk management, entrepreneurship, operations management, and technology management. However, since the applications of an MBA are relevant to a wide range of sectors, it will always remain valuable irrespective of the final career path chosen.

Over the past few years, there has been an exponential increase in the number of online MBA programs offered by the Colleges and Universities. Graduating with an online MBA degree has gained popularity especially with more mature students and those who still need to work and earn their degree at the same time. Students who have opted for online education appreciate the flexibility it affords them as compared to programs offered by traditional schools and colleges. While the curriculum of online degree programs and campus-based one’s rarely differ, online students have to manage their own time and study independently. Of course there are online tutorials, lectures, assignments and even one-on-one meetings that students can take part in. But all this can be fit around your own schedule and time.

Graduating with an Accredited online degree from a College or University that is accredited by a recognized Accreditation Body considered by U.S. Department of Education should not raise any problems when applying for jobs and competing for various positions. An online MBA will also give you the option to accelerate your progress and possibly even graduate ahead of schedule. This would depend on how much time and effort you put in but it is possible. Enrolling in an online MBA program is not a decision to be taken lightly. There is a lot of hard work and discipline involved but if you stick with it, an online MBA could be your ticket to the next stop in the world of business.

One of the main reasons to opt for an MBA degree is to increase your salary earning potential and advance your career. When applying for certain jobs, you will soon realize that an MBA is a necessity. Some employers might not even consider you eligible without one. An MBA degree helps you acquire a range of management and people skills and prepares you for positions of leadership. By virtue of the curriculum, training and research involved in an MBA program, your educational horizons expand and your overall vision remains longsighted. This is exactly what employers are looking for when they choose an MBA graduate over another applicant.

An MBA will also help with personality development, leadership skills, and domain expertise. For example, if your area of specialization is marketing, you will learn all the nuances of the marketing world and how to excel in it. As an MBA you will also learn the intricacies of planning, goal setting, and interpersonal skills (being a team player). It is, in fact, due to these personality traits and skills apart from your academics that will place you in good stead in today’s competitive job markets.

Armed with the technical knowledge of business practices, MBA graduates are prepared to run a company. Leadership skills are honed and the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship are instilled in all students. Anyone who has completed their MBA degree speaks of the growth of confidence and self-esteem and the sense of achievement of completing one of the more competitive and high demand degree programs available today.

Reading eBooks......Do you?

I like the idea of reading eBooks, having tons of information in a small package like a Kindle or Sony Reader. Access to information, maps, dictionaries, and others would save time. In conjunction with a laptop, eBooks would enhance a writer's ability to work anyplace they desired.

The only current drawback is cost. I guess the concept is limited to the affluent or those with a large charge card "open to buy". As eBooks become more popular, costs will decrease, and will provoke competition!

Many eBooks are free. Project Gutenberg has almost 30,000 Public Domain books available, the "Classics! There are many other sites.

What do you read?

I like fiction, as entertainment and escape. while in college and even high school, I was saturated with "classic literature". I bet I read "Plato's Republic" five times for five different classes! After 300 credit hours, I do not read "classics" any longer!

When younger, my favorite books were science fiction, a choice which prompted me to go into Aerospace Engineering in college. I still read sci-fi, but about 20 years ago, discovered mysteries. I've read all the Ed McBain series, Micky Spillane, James Patterson, Tony Hillerman, and many others as fast as they could write them!

I also enjoy the genre of "Thrillers", involving conspiracies, biblical and religious secret cults, nuclear war, terrorism, biological contagions, etc.

I also went through a "western" period for about five years, and still enjoy a good one, now and then.

I have my last 18 months worth of reading listed on "Library Thing" and "Good Reads" under my pen name G M Makela.

What do you like to read?

"Blue Smoke and Whispers" by Mick Herron

When a body is hauled from the River Tyne, Sarah Tucker heads to Newcastle for a closer look. She identifies the dead woman as private detective Zoë Boehm, but putting a name to the corpse only raises further questions. Did Zoë kill herself, or did one of her old cases come back to haunt her? Why was she wearing a jacket a murderer had stolen years before? And what's brought Sarah's sparring partner, Gerard Inchon, to the same broken down hotel? Coincidence is an excuse that soon looks pretty unconvincing. Sarah can't leave until she's found the answers to her questions, however dangerous they might turn out to be. Link

An unusual read for me, since I have problem identifying with female lead characters, but the author managed to not only maintain my interest, but enjoy Sarah as she unravils her friends "death". The location of the novel is Newcastle , England, a place I only vaguly remembered as a manufcturing center of dirty factories, but found out it is the home of the author. These facts increase the interest for me, minor as they maybe. I'd recommend this book to nyone who enjoys the genre of "Mystery"

How To Write Articles That Generate Clicks

by: Eric Ouellette


The main reason why people gets into article marketing, is to get more traffic to their website, squeeze page or affiliate offer. It's no secret that the best way to achieve great results is by having optimized articles.

When I say optimized, I don't mean just keyword optimized, I mean, well written and well formatted articles. In the next paragraph, I will show you what to do to best optimized your articles.

I will break this section into each part of the anatomy of an article so that, it's easier for you to grab all the information.

The title:
1- Must Grab the interest or pick the curiosity of the reader.
2- Must contain your keyword in the beginning.
3- Must be very specific about your topic in the second part.

The introductory paragraph:
1- Write 1-3 sentences introducing your topic.
2- Write 1-2 sentences explaining what the article will cover.
3- Write a sentence that leads to the body of the article.

The body of the article:
1- You must pick 3-4 key points related to your title or topic.
2- Either write paragraph for each key point or list each idea in a numbered or bulleted list.
3- To make your article keyword rich, begin each point with your keyword.

Concluding paragraph:
One of the best way to get the reader wanting for more, is to exclude to concluding paragraph. where the reader is expecting the conclusion, instead, he/she gets your bio box that you can start with something like this:

If you found this article useful, check out my new report. You can get it for free here: put your link here.

Author Bio Box:

Immediately after the body of the article, while the reader is still fresh from reading your article, give him/her a good reason to go to your website or squeeze page.

Example:

To download my new free report on (your topic here), click here:
To take a look at more articles just like this one, click here:
To read my free ebook (name of your ebook), click here:
To subscribe to my free mini-course (name of your mini-course), click here:

Writing and formatting:

It's usually easier to write the introduction, if you write the body of the article first, because you can be more specific when explaining what will be covered in the article.

Formatting is also very important, because it can highly improve the readability of the article. What you can do is break paragraphs after 4 lines of text. it makes it a lot easier to read.

To learn more about how to write articles that generate clicks and to grab my free report "How To Write Your Own Expert Articles"here: http://easyprofitexplained.com

"The Sign", My Current Read

I am currently reading "The Sign" by Raymond Khoury, a novel of religious dogma, global warming, and political conspiracy! Different than the dust jacket described, but still a viable read. I am about 75% finished. Will add my review here.

08-18-09 I finished it last night. I thought the last 100 pages was a "sellout" to the reader and a chance for a great ending, missed. Like many books, it sometimes feels as though the author got bored and quickly ended the book for some mysterious deadline. His other two books were OK, but I'll bet the imaginative reader can arrive at a better ending than the author did, in "The Sign". The editor also missed a few glaring misprints on automobile makes, engines, and design. Chrysler does not make the Navigator, nor does it come with a "Northstar" engine!

Reading Memoiers

Well, I finished reading my first memoriers/journal. It was a new reading style for me and one I will probably avoid in the future. I found it boring. Just because your life is interesting to you, doesn't mean it will interest anyone else. Perhaps it was the author's style? Perhaps the subject matter? I know I have thoughts and feelings to share, but does anyone care? Is my life on the streets interesting to anyone? Maybe the length threw me off....120 pages, when 40 would have accomplished the same intent? Probably. I know several people that tell a tale, only to include the names, birth dates, clothing styles, feelings, thoughts, and food consumption of people you don't know and will never meet, as part of their "story". Such details are boring and irrelevant. Telling the information in 500 words when 50 will do, is ridiculous and annoying!

Now that I've freed up some time, I'll try a biography and autobiography. How bad can they be?

Learn to Write Articles in 5 Simple Steps

by: TJ Philpott

I recently added three "Article Writing" web sites to my Writer's Corner section on the sidebar. I plan of doing research on various subjects at the college library nearby, and submit them at these sites. Here is a helpful article that suggest the basics of such writings.


No matter what reasons you may have for writing articles if you do this with any consistency at all it is to your benefit to learn to write in the most efficient manner possible.

With so many businesses now using the internet article marketing has become very popular as a means to advertise goods and services. The need to produce fresh content, and often, can be very challenging if you write articles to generate traffic.

In order to make this type of online advertising work effectively you need approach the writing process in a way that maximizes your efforts while minimizing your time.

Although everybody has different preferences, strengths, and schedules to contend with the writing process will essentially be the same. It's a matter of tailoring what works best for you and your particular situation to get the most out of your article writing.

With that in mind view the 5 step process put forth here today as a starting point for you to consider when organizing your article writing efforts.

Establish Your Topic

The first thing you obviously have to do is to establish the subject upon which you are going to write. I like to do this ahead of time perhaps even the day before. Once you've chosen your topic go ahead and rough out an outline of the main points you want to address.

Maybe you have some direction in which you may want to take your points, if so make notes, brainstorm if you will and then move on to the next step.

Article Research

Now that you've established your topic and a rough outline you have now given your article research some direction. Again like establishing the topic, I like to pull together my research before I sit down to write articles. The advantage to doing these 2 steps before hand is that it gives me a chance think about the content and how I want to present it. When I do actually sit down to write I find my mind more focused on the material and usually bristling with ideas. The longer I think about the content before I actually begin to compose it the more ideas I have and the easier it is to write.

Get an Early Start

After a good nights rest I prefer to make my article writing the first task of the day. My mind is fresher, more focused, and it is usually more peaceful in the morning resulting in less distractions.

Speaking of Focus

As stated previously I prefer the early morning to begin my writing for the quiet and focus morning hours bring. One thing I do not do is get sidetracked by phone calls, web surfing, or checking emails. These are things that can all wait till later in the day. Take advantage of your focus, energy level, and the quiet to be the most productive.

Begin with Opening and Closing Paragraphs

This may sound strange at first to actually write your closing paragraph before the body of your article but here's why. More 'creativity' will go into the opening and closing paragraphs of your article so tap into your fresh mind to get these done first.

Often the opening paragraph is the most challenging aspect of any article. You already know what you want to write about so just create a brief intro and then a concluding paragraph first. Doing it this way will make your writing seem a heck of a lot easier. With this out of the way you can now simply refer to the research material you've already accumulated to compose the body of the article itself.

Writing articles is a terrific way to gain some free online advertising for your business or other projects or interests. The key is learn to write during a time that you find you're the most productive and least distracted. By doing so you'll be increasing the efficiency with which you writes article allowing yourself additional time to focus on other areas of your business or life.

"Frozen Fire", a recent read

From Publishers Weekly

Evans and Jameson follow their bestselling debut, Category 7, about an evil scientist and his manmade hurricanes, with an eco-thriller with an even more imaginative premise. Deep beneath the seabed in the eastern Caribbean near the island of Taino lies a massive bed of methane hydrate, the only truly clean-burning fuel on earth. Megabusinessman Dennis Cavendish, Taino's owner, has built an undersea habitat, Atlantis, from which he plans to mine the methane hydrate, a complicated operation that, if bungled, could imperil the planet. Out to sabotage the process is charismatic Garner Blaylock, Earth activist, unsung genius and Dennis Cavendish's worst nightmare. Blaylock and his team of sex-enslaved women are prepared to die destroying all human life if it means cleansing the globe of pollutants. Readers will race right along with Dr. Sam Briscoe, a methane specialist, and the novel's other good guys as they feverishly strive to save the world. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

rebirth

darkness fades into light
brighter than all the twinkling stars
captured energy ignites long dormant emotions
from a long restless slumber
the soul awakes

awareness flows through emotional channels
like a fresh mountain stream cascading down a hillside
covered with wildflowers in the spring
growing as it makes it’s way to the primordial sea

consciousness flows electron by electron
recharging once dead feelings
kept in check
a glow of hope almost visible
hints of itself in a smile
a sparkle in the eye
feelings grow

sparks of life rekindled by a kind word
a gentle touch of someone just met
that yearning of feeling
the soul is reborn

The Big Top Ten Organic Gardening Tips

Submitted By: Vera Pappas

By using only organic gardening supplies; your gardening tasks will be easier and more enjoyable.

Compost, an all natural soil amendment is made through the use of composters. Composters break down organic materials such as leaves, grass clippings, and food scraps to make a 100% organic, all natural soil additive. Composters come in varying shapes, sizes and designs. Research composters and choose one that meets your needs. Making your own natural compost is a great alternative to other organic gardening supplies you would ordinarily have to buy, and it’s free!

Rain barrels collect water from your roof and store it until needed. Rain water is softer and chemical free. Rain Barrels are great for keeping your plants healthy and saving water. Many rain barrels are made from reused food drums and recycled plastic, keeping with the commitment to sustainable living. You can collect approximately 675 gallons of rain off your roof from a single rain storm. Stored rain water supplies much needed moisture to your gardens during extreme dry spells where rationing is necessary.

All Natural and organic fertilizer supplies much needed nutrients to plantings. Natural and organic fertilizers generally have a slow release so nutrients last over time. Natural and organic fertilizers such as liquefied worm poop and tea from composters, are among the top natural and organic fertilizers and an essential ingredient to your organic gardening supplies.

Push reel mowers are a great way to be organic! Push reel mowers use no gas or electric, only your own energy. Push reel mowers are lightweight, easy to use and gives your lawn that golf course look. Owning a push reel mower is an important part of organic gardening.

Grow native plants. Native plants require less water. They are also naturally more insect and disease resistant than other plants. Healthy, lush gardens made from indigenous plants also make a natural home for birds.

Container gardening is good for planting your favorite flowers and vegetables when space is limited! Use large containers such as steel buckets and wooden barrels for creative container gardening. Container gardens do not require a lot of organic material due to being enclosed. Many gardening containers such as green pots are all natural, made from all natural elements such as rice hulls and coconut fiber.

Using only natural and organic gardening supplies such as Insecticidal Soap, Horticultural Oil or Organic Disease Control will keep your garden healthy, naturally. Organic gardening supplies leave no hazardous residue and break down naturally into the soil. Natural predators such as bats, praying mantis and ladybugs are great organic insect controls. Bat boxes are effective for keeping bats nearby and supplies shelter through the harsh winter months. Enjoying and benefiting from organic gardening is dependent upon the use of the highest quality organic gardening supplies.

Mulch your flowerbeds and vegetable garden to retain moisture around plants. Mulch supplies your plants with much needed moisture throughout hot, sunny days. Mulching also keeps weeds away. Apply all natural worm poop fertilizer around plantings when mulching. Your organic garden will love you for it.

Create a bird habitat by placing bird houses, birdbaths and bird feeders in your yard. Birds are fun to watch and will control the insect population in a natural way. Pick a quiet section of your yard to keep a variety of birding supplies to attract birds of your choice. Bird food such as sunflower hearts and suet are great treats.

Whether you are working on your lawn, flowerbed or vegetable garden, have fun. Remember, all natural supplies will make organic gardening easier and more enjoyable. The following is a list of recommended all natural and organic gardening supplies: composter, rain barrels, organic fertilizers, push reel mower, natural gardening containers, birding supplies, natural homemade compost, These are the best equipment, tools and supplies for keeping your plants, turf and environment healthy. Happy Gardening!

Published At: Isnare Free Articles Directory http://www.isnare.com

Beating the Heat

When it's too hot to care, climb in a fountian with a few hundred strangers, and enjoy the recycled water!

Writing Effective Content for Your Website

by: Jim Degerstrom

Website owners who offer a product or service have 5 seconds to capture the attention of site visitors. If you do not write effective website content to quickly communicate the benefits of what you do, your audience will bounce to the next website in their search results. This bounce rate is the opposite of stickiness. Is your website sticky? These tips on writing effective content for your website can certainly help.

Content needs to describe as much as possible about who, what, where, when, and why on every page with very specific key words and phrases to connect instantly with site visitors including search engines. Avoid technical terms in your website content writing that only those close to your industry understand.

Key word research is the best way to understand what people really put in the Google search box looking for your product or service. Guess when writing content for your website and your competition may have the edge capturing site visitor attention and converting them to buying customers.

Those key words should be inserted in website content in addition to each page title, description, key word list, and page headlines or subheadings, also. Including photographs or graphics will help convey the message beyond text, so a gallery or showcase can help quickly communicate website content details and create a more positive first impression.

When you use quality photographs to insert in pages, those pictures tell what 1000 words cannot. Your message when writing effective website content needs to be communicated based on real world website visitor behavior. People land anonymously on a website unlike visitors met face to face, so the decisions are different than walking into a brick and mortar business.

People instantly notice graphics and the overall professional look, and then scan headlines and perhaps a few words in the first sentence of website content in each paragraph. The majority will rarely read your text verbatim. Headlines, bullet lists, and graphics attract attention more than narrative, and that critical first impression is what will get them to stay and perhaps buy after they explore details later.

It's important to touch a nerve in the first 5 seconds to convince people to stay on your website. All they care about learning from your website text content is "What's in it for me if I buy here?". Initially, site visitors don't care about the details of features until they are convinced of the benefits, and that message needs to be presented in shorts bits that can be understood instantly.

The strategy for writing marketing material content for consumers is different on the internet, and similar to listening to a joke or reading a novel, people want to know the punchline or ending up front.

Rather than writing website text content that presents your introduction, features, and then benefits in that order like a regular marketing or sales pitch, writing for the web is more effective when you reveal the benefits and outcome first. This writing strategy for online marketing emphasizes the importance of catchy headlines that capture and hold interest quickly.

People will skip over paragraphs on your website that have more than 2-3 sentences, so write content and then edit to eliminate poetic or flowery speech and any unnecessary adjectives. By all means, do not exaggerate.

Keep in mind people go online for one thing: information. Website visitors rarely will buy on the first visit. Most will visit several websites searching for the right mix of content that best answers "What's in it for me?". Present benefits in the introduction, and you can still use the formula of introduction, features, and benefits to enhance your skills for writing effective website content.

Site owners who track visitor statistics probably notice the bounce rate mentioned earlier. The majority of visitors land on a page and leave immediately without fully exploring your site. Stating the benefits twice on each page will strengthen your marketing message. Maintaining a consistent message on every page can result in more business by writing effective content for your website.

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/writing/article_1778.shtml

"The Fire" by Katherine Neville

I just finished this novel of conspiracy, morality, greed and historical fiction. I try, I really do, but can't quite appreciate female authors of thrillers, mysteries, etc. Almost every book I have read, written by a female, has a female lead character, that I being a male have a difficult time identifying with. Then the underlying theme in "Fire" is chess and it's historical role. Many novels have figured historical characters as Masons, Knights Templar, etc...but in "Fire", they all are Chess Masters! I've played chess, but like most board games, I find chess boring. To read an entire novel based on "Chess"....well, all I can say is wake me when it's over.

Meet the Author

I met Cornelius L. Sawyer, author of "Two Voyages I Remember", while eating lunch at the "Elm Court Senior Center. He was chatting up myself and another friend while we ate, telling us about his book and his career in the Navy and then in the Merchant Marine. While I have not yet had a chance to read it yet, it appears to be a more major effort than I had imagined. It may be worthwhile to check out at a local book store, online, or from your Library. I'll put another small ad on the sidebar!

Today, July 22, 2009, I got a copy of this book at the Library. I will post a review upon completion.

Newsweek's 50 Books You Must Read

OK, I'll admit it, I was bored, so I read the July 13,2009 edition of "Newsweek". I once subscribed to this magazine, back in the 1970's. I was amazed it had not changed much in thirty years. With Internet news sites, Kindle readers, cable TV and other media I wondered why anyone would subscribe to such an antiquated format.

The cover and content of "Fifty Books to Read" is what caught my eye and caused me to peruse the entire edition. I was not surprised that I have read only two of those fifty books since high school. In glancing at the titles and brief summaries, I would not even read those two!

Lists, like rules, just turn me off. I'm inclined to do the exact opposite. I never read the "most popular" novel or go by The New York Times best Seller List. I know what I like and find something that fits. After over 300 credit hours of college course work, I have no plans to read "brilliant" non-fiction or reread Plato for the fifth time! But if you like reading from a "list", here it is: Newsweek's Fifty Book List

My Latest Reads

Finished three novels in the last week. "Grey Apocalypse" by James Murdoch, The conspiracy of Aliens and humans for the past 50 years and the Aliens intent on destroying mankind.; "Screen Shot" by John Darrina a novel of a serial killer using computer technology and live video streaming to kill undesirables: and "The Atlantis Legacy" by Thomas Greanias a double novel centered in Antartica and the lost city of atlantis, lost technology and alien civilizations.

Not Noble prize winners for literature, but I find them entertaining and part of the saga that I read on these subjects, better than summer TV!

Codex Sinaiticus

Codex Sianiticus, the oldest Bible ever found, is soon to be online. From the website, the content sounds like an interesting read. It contains many “missing” books not in the current editions of the Bible, and is in a different order.

I have always had an interest in archeology, especially Biblical Archeology (see sidebar), so to be able to read online artifacts like the dead scrolls and the codex sianiticus stimulates that interest.

According to the website, the material will be available in the original text as well as several language translations. Originally it was coming online today July 6th, but when I went online this morning, the site was not yet working. I believe this probably also be downloaded to a Kindle 2 or Kindle DX to read at leisure…yet another reason to buy one. (See Amazon affiliate on the sidebar)

5 Important Things for an Effective Web Content Writing

Web content writing is a very important constituent of the websites and this is responsible to establish communication with the visitor. As a writer you must follow the aforementioned points to write a really effective and appealing content.
These are the words through which a website establishes communication with the visitors.Though, visitors are allured by the visuals but their prolonged stay and interest in the website can only be generated with the prudent use of words. Following are the five important tips you must keep in mind for a winning web content writing.

Write to the context: Always keep in mind that you do not digress from the topic and must stick to write only about the subject. This is because Netizens are people in hurry; they do not have time and neither any inclination to read what is not required. Remember, they won’t stay long at your page praising your English. All they want to gain is some valuable information and they are smart to sense that they are being taken for a ride through literary manipulations.

Refrain from simple mistakes: Remember, simple grammatical or spelling errors act as a repellent to the visitors and in various circumstances they can completely change whatever is your original intent. So, proofread the writing at least twice with high concentration before actually putting it up, at the website.

Do not be afraid to search: The more you search the more information you can embed in the content which will make it a useful and appreciated reading for the visitors. It is only replete information that prepares the ground for a ‘”visitor” to a prospective “customer”.
Author:Stacy Parker


Always try to write interactively: The web content must be interactive in genre as you are trying to establish communication with the visitor and in most of the cases the target is to lure him/ her to enhance the commercial aspect of your website.

Write Simple: The basic aim of web content writing is to establish communication and not all the visitors may have the same vocabulary you as a writer may have. And nothing repels as much as something which is too complex to understand. So, you must write precisely and in simple English.

About the Author: Stacy Parker is expert in seo keyword writing and website content writing for leading online marketing company.

Sudden Rain #3

It was a gorgeous sunny day, with clear azure skies, and mild temperatures in the mid seventy-degree range. It was almost perfect, unless you like rain, along with dark gloomy skies, occasional fog, humidity, and a generally depressing mood.

Jake loved the rain. He killed in the rain. Now with twenty-three days of bright sunshine in a row since the last rain, Jake was getting sort of “twitchy”. He didn’t like the feeling, as he hated the sunshine nor did he understand why anyone in his or her right mind would like bright, warm, dry, weather! The only thing that could make it any worse would be if that obnoxious song “It’s a Small World After All” was playing loudly. Jake was angry, he was furious, he seriously needed to kill someone…no really; he needed to kill someone soon.

Jake often killed for money, being a type of assassin who preferred blades to guns or bombs. He also killed for his own deviant pleasure, picking random victims always in a different city, never twice in the same city. There were a lot of cities.

The TV was tuned to the Weather Channel, the only channel Jake ever watched. Somewhere in the world, even in the good old USA it was raining. In fact, in Venice Italy it was flooding. Oh, if only he could be there, the body count would be very high, very high indeed.

Just then the local weather came on. There was a hint of a thunderstorm that afternoon between 4:00 – 6:00 PM on the west side of town. Which of course was the side opposite the fleabag motel he was staying at. But rain is rain, and death can arrive on the west side as well as any other compass direction. It was now 3:37 PM, so Jake looked out the window that faced west…not a cloud in sight. But not one to forsake an opportunity, Jake, already dressed in his usual black undertaker attire, grabbed his black trench coat and his newly sharpened K-Bar knife and drove out of the motel lot and headed west.

Twenty-five minutes later he was in the “west side” of town, a mixture of light industrial, cheap motels, and equally cheap apartments. Greasy spoon worker-bee diners dotted the streets. Foot and car traffic was sparse for the time of day, the area being more on a three-shift time element than the 8-5 workday of the office types. Jake found a parking spot near a closed, run down building with only a few other cars on the street. The crappy nondescript car he was driving fit right in. He looked at his watch, it was 4:15 PM and growing dark, as Jake grew calm. Then the rain began, heavy at first, then a deluge. Jake left the car and walked over to the alley entrance. He waited in the rain, rain that already in the space of minutes had the street gutters overflowing the curb. He could barely see, and no way in hell could anyone see him.

Splash, splash the sound of running feet sloshing through the torrent, his victim-mark-hit and all those other nouns, ran right to Jake, thinking the alley a brief refuge from the storm. Wrong, it was the end of the line pal, as Jake planted the K-Bar in the victim’s chest right to the hilt. The body actually made a plunk sound as it hit the ground. Die where you lay pal. He felt better as he drove away, the skies unfortunately were clearing, and then a rainbow came out; how ironic, no gold at the end of the rainbow, just a dead body. He left town, headed to the Pacific Northwest. It always rained in the northwest. It sounded like a plan, since he loved the rain.

The Difference One Day Makes

My second wife died on her 21st birthday. I was twenty-four and we had a daughter who was 10 months old. Sometimes, I wonder how my life would have been if that day had never happened. One day would have made all the difference.

I would have taken her to the hospital the night before when she complained of the severe headache. I had kidded her by humming the tune to “Love Story”. When we went to bed, I asked her if she wanted to have sex…she laughed, but said no way in hell! I went to work in the morning and later in the day she called and said she couldn’t feel her legs. I called my mother and asked her to take care of the baby, I would be right home. By the time I got home, she was in convulsions. I called 911, but it was too late. We went to the hospital and I spent the next four hours wondering what was going on. She died. It was a brain aneurysm.

I think about that time and about that day often, as I grow old. I wonder how my life would have been if she had been saved or never gotten ill. We would have been happy. She was the only other person in my life who loved me unconditionally, the other being my Finnish Grandmother. We would have had more children; our next daughter would have been called Sarah. Our son would have been called the same as my current son, by my third wife, a wife I would have never had, nor ever divorced. I think we would have moved to the town my in-laws lived. We would have been close. We would probably have lived in one place for the last 40 years. Our children would have graduated from the same high school their mother did. We would have had roots. It would have been a wonderful life. If only that day had not happened. Thirty-seven years later, I still cry.

Did I mention that little daughter we had? I let her mother’s parents adopt her at age seven. I have not seen nor heard from her since. Thirty seven years later, I still cry.

Deadly Rain #2

The Eskimos or Inuit have over 30 words for snow. He had one for rain…glorious. He loved rain, falling water, moisture, drizzle, deluge, mist, fog, downpour, pouring cats & dogs, and those all those other adjectives. After 73 hours of constant rain, most people would be suicidal by now, or already dead. Grey, dark skies, thunder, lightening, wind, hail, and yet more rain would drive most people to start drinking heavily or overdose on coffee. However, he lived for the rain. He killed in the rain, other people died in the rain. Lately, he had been using the name Jake, not his real name, but it would do for now.

Thirteen years ago, “Jake” was almost killed during a rainstorm in Portland, Oregon. A place that embraced the rain. It was a necessity since it rained constantly from October till April. Rain was Portland’s idea of winter, it’s alternative to the snow and ice of the Midwest and East. Umbrellas, rain coats, and goulashes the coulter dress of the day! One dark wet night, as he came out of a bar on 2nd Ave at 2:30 AM, some asswipe, tweaker, scumbag decided that he was a mark to mug. Armed with a trusty piece of rebar, the mutt played “Wipeout” on his skull. He lived, but the event changed him. He became a hunter, sometimes for pay, more often for his personal enjoyment. Somehow, he found that street trash that beat him like a circus monkey. After he was finished carving on him with an heirloom K-Bar knife, the “victim” became one of Portland’s longest running cold cases.

That was then, this is now, and thanks god or whoever, for this wonderful, glorious rain. He had been waiting for two things, the rain and the victim to finally leave his low rent Section 8 Housing, a flea trap in 12th Ave. Waiting across the street from the “Terrace’ was no problem, street lights being in short supply, even in the so called cultural area. He was unseen, but could see the victim very well. Between the din of the rain, heavy traffic, numerous homeless bums and winos, his presence was not noticed. His favorite blade was at home. Tonight he had chosen an ice pick. Yet another fine killing instrument, that left small or no exit wounds and little if any blood, but killed as effectively as any blade in the hands of an expert killer.

Three blocks he followed the victim, drawing closer each block…well they were small blocks, the smallest in any city. Almost baby blocks, by most standards. The mark turned down the “Park Blocks”, an even more dark, desolate area. At this point, only twenty feet separated the killer and his victim. As they entered the area known as Pioneer Square, filled by the down and out, street punks, worker bees, and tourists wandering in the dark, the killer struck. Faster than many could see, and certainly faster than the victim could react, the ice pick entered and exited his left ear. The victim kept walking two or three paces, but already dead. The few citizens never even noticed the body, assuming just another derelict drunk or tweaked OD, asleep in the gutter. Jake got on a Max Train and left the area, unseen, yet strangely fulfilled. Death and rain, they just seemed to be made for each other.

Tonight’s death in the rain would be written off as gang violence, a random kill, or the homeless mugging each other for dope, statistics that helped Portland’s reputation to become the “Mini-Murder Capital” of the North West. Jake liked to do his part.

How to Write Articles Using Old Blog Posts

by: TJ Philpott


Are you interested in exploring how to write articles by using the same content you've already posted to your blog? If you write articles and also frequently post to your blog to generate traffic you know how labor intensive that can be.

Although these marketing strategies are extremely effective they can also be quite a strain on your time management skills.

What if you could cut your writing efforts in half or to put it differently get twice the results from the same efforts? Well you can and we're going to discuss here how to do just that.

For anybody involved in article writing you know how challenging it can sometimes be to come up with new ideas for content. Posting to a blog on the other hand generally only requires an idea but not much detail.

Let's explore a simple 3 step process you can use to 'transform' your blog post into articles that will decrease your workload while increasing your desired results.

Develop and Organize Your Topics

You'll first want to develop and organize topics upon which you can base your blog posts. Considering that a blog post constitutes a summary of a lengthier thought this shouldn't be difficult. Obviously you'll want the topics to be related in some form or fashion to your niche or blog theme.

Compose Your Posts in Advance

In an effort to focus better on your immediate task you may want to separate composing your blog posts from the time you use for writing articles. This should help you maintain a consistent train of thought making both tasks easier to accomplish.

Instead of composing a blog post then writing an article you'll want to put together a group of posts first. Once this is completed you can turn your attention to transforming these posts into articles.

When writing an article as opposed to posting to a blog you are actually using completely different writing styles. By dividing these two tasks you now only need to focus on just one particular writing style. This in turn will increase the ease and efficiency of your overall writing process and save you time.

Base Your Articles Upon Your Post

Blog posts by design are short summations of a more detailed thought pattern. Upon these summations you can base a more in-depth article. By using the post for your writing ideas you now cut down on the overall time involved in the writing process itself.

As you know every article starts with an outline and your blog post supplies that outline for you.

So now you can see how to write articles easily if you also already have a blog that you post to on a regular basis. Even though both blogging and writing articles are excellent marketing strategies attempting to do both can put quite a strain on your time management skills. By further developing any writing ideas you can get from your own blog posts you're essentially bypassing the additional time needed for more article research. By following this simple 3 step approach and streamlining the writing process you're getting twice the results for little more than a one time effort!



About The Author

TJ Philpott is an author and Internet entrepreneur based out of North Carolina.

For additional online success tips and a free guide that demonstrates how to find both profitable markets and products visit: http://affiliatequickstart.com


Visit the author's web site at:
http://affiliatequickstart.com/



Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/writing/article_1731.shtml