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I play a lot of no-limit cash games online and one of the hands I most like to see is a small pocket pair (ie 8’s or under). This is because if you’re lucky enough to subsequently hit trips (or better), and you play the hand well, you can earn yourself a big payout.

As with all hands though, there is a right way and a wrong way of playing these hands. You have to remember that a small pair by itself isn’t that great a hand (unless you’re heads up against someone), but it’s more of a speculative hand.

Your aim is to hit your card on the flop and make three of a kind or better. Statistically, you will find that on most occasions you will miss, and in most cases no longer be in front, so you ideally want to see a cheap flop and take it from there.

If someone puts in a big raise pre-flop, or two or more players are raising, a small pair is not a hand worth persevering with as there’s every chance you’ll be up against a higher pair, and therefore be a big underdog.

So assuming you’ve seen a cheap flop, how do you play the hand from here?

Well if you’ve missed, then your small pair will probably now look slightly pathetic, unless there’s two or three undercards on the board, so it’s usually best to check and hope you see another free card, or fold to any raise.

If, however, you hit your three of a kind, the fun now begins. There’s every chance you’re now well in front, so you have to work out how to extract as much cash as possible from your opponents.

This is often position dependent, but a good way of playing it is to check in early position or put in a small feeler bet and hope you get a raiser or two. Slow playing can pay off big time, particularly if your opponent thinks they have a big hand, for instance if an Ace is on the board and they think they have top pair.

You have to be careful though, and look for the danger signs. If there’s a possibility of a straight or a flush being made, then slow playing is generally not the best option. Instead you should either bet strongly after the flop, or wait for an opponent to bet and then re-raise strongly, to try and take the pot there and then and eliminate these possibilities.

So if you can, try and get away with slow playing this hand and earning a big payout, as it’s virtually impossible for your opponents to put you on three of a kind, but avoid doing this if there’s any possible straight or flush draws. Never underestimate a small pocket pair, because if you can see a cheap flop and make three of a kind after the flop, you suddenly have a monster hand.

James Woolley is a regular poker player and the author of a poker blog which is a complete internet-poker-guide.co.uk guide to internet poker, and contains the very latest tips and advice to help you become a better poker player.

iPod is the coolest thing that one could own, with all the great features, benefits and entertainment it could give you. iPod offers a large storage capacity as large as 80g that you could pack with a lot of downloadable materials from audio to video files and whatever downloadable materials you have here on the internet. iPod has evolved which was originally designed and marketed for listening music but to this date it offers a lot of features and benefits.

Yes, having an iPod is the coolest thing now, but do you have the budget to download all the coolest iPod contents like music, music videos, movies, sports events? It could be very frustrating to realize that you almost emptied your pocket to buy your iPod and overlooked how much you are going to spend to download the coolest contents into your iPod. Being a tech geek like you, I research on this, searching for the best iPod download websites here in the internet that offers the most practical and affordable price with excellent iPod download materials. I have seen a lot of websites with download fees for every download and it’s not practical and very costly when you want to download a lot of downloadable materials into your iPod. But now, the search is over, I found it, the best iPod download website and I want to share it with you and help you save your money and get the best deals for your iPod.

My iPod Downloads is the best website with more than satisfied members and the most popular iPod download website now. No monthly fees or pay per download fees and you can save your money and get the most deals for your iPod. Just a one time payment and you will get free unlimited iPod downloads with free 24 hours technical support and with the largest collection of movies, music, TV shows, games and anything you need for your iPod. The software is easy to use that even beginners will find it easy to use and download contents within minutes. Download speed is really excellent.

Yes definitely, having an iPod is the coolest thing and you could also have the coolest things for your iPod with My iPod Downloads. Save your money and pack your iPods with the coolest contents now. It’s true the best things in life are free.

Gerry Restrivera writes informative articles on various subjects including iPod Download Websites Reviews. Find out more about the Best iPod Download Websites visit ipodownloadz.blogspot.com/ Best iPod Download Websites

Music is the rhythm of life and possesses the power to revive stale heart, mind and soul. Music has that great power of expression of an artist’s mind, his zeal, emotions and vivacity. Music can make the blood flow in opposite direction and that is why music plays a vital role in nurturing revolution by providing great motivation. Alternative rock is also that precious stone picked up from the sea of innovation. Alternative rock is essentially an umbrella term for underground music that has emerged in the wake of the punk rock movement since the mid 1980s. Throughout its history, alternative rock has been largely defined by its rejection of the commercialism of mainstream culture. The music now known as alternative rock was known by a variety of terms before “alternative” came into common use. “College rock” was used in the United States to describe this awesome music during the 1980s due to its links to the college radio circuit and the tastes of college students.

In the United Kingdom the term “Indie” was preferred; by 1985 the term “Indie” had come to mean a particular genre, or group of subgenres, rather than a simple demarcation of status. As a musical genre, alternative rock consists of various subgenres that have grown from the indie music scene since the 1980s, such as grunge, Britpop, Gothic rock, and Indie pop. These genres are unified by their collective debt to the style and/or ethos of punk, which laid the groundwork for alternative music in the 1970s. Alternative bands in previous times used to play in small clubs, at that time there was no advertising medium so it was advertised through world of mouth as a result alternative rock became popular among youth. Alternative rock does not have any particular musical style but many performers have made up their own style by including distorted guitars. Sounds range from the dirty guitars of grunge and the gloomy sound scales of gothic rock is the specialty of alternative rock.

Lyrics in alternative rock songs typically address issues concerned with society such as drugs, depression and environment. Alternative rock has that approach that can awake youth and can make them realize their potential. Alternative rock performers differentiate themselves from their traditional rock predecessors as they want to sing it for a greater diversity and experimentation in music. Alternative rock performers produce catchy as well as motivational music. Though their music–with its emphasis on distorted guitars and ambiguous lyrics doesn’t suit to commercialize society. Expressions explained by alternative rock songs are 3-4 minutes long, with catchy riffs and steady beats. Alternative rock aims to reach out to a new generation of youth with high energy, melodic music which spoke to contemporary social issues.
Defining music as “alternative” is often difficult because of the application of the word alternative. On one hand alternative describes challenging music that protest commercialization and mainstream values. On the other hand alternative word is used by music industry to mention available options. Whatever the meaning that word carries out, but the fact is that the alternative rock is exactly what present youth need to get motivated.

Tom Janison is a music fanatic. He loves downloading music of all his favorite artists. ez-tracks.com www.ez-tracks.com is one of his favorites sites for ez-tracks.com/Rock-SubCat-Alternative Rock.html Alternative rock, free MP3 downloads and online music.

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Amazon.com Review

Softly he brushed my cheek, then held my face between his marble hands. ‘Be very still,’ he whispered, as if I wasn’t already frozen. Slowly, never moving his eyes from mine, he leaned toward me. Then abruptly, but very gently, he rested his cold cheek against the hollow at the base of my throat.

As Shakespeare knew, love burns high when thwarted by obstacles. In Twilight, an exquisite fantasy by Stephenie Meyer, readers discover a pair of lovers who are supremely star-crossed. Bella adores beautiful Edward, and he returns her love. But Edward is having a hard time controlling the blood lust she arouses in him, because–he’s a vampire. At any moment, the intensity of their passion could drive him to kill her, and he agonizes over the danger. But, Bella would rather be dead than part from Edward, so she risks her life to stay near him, and the novel burns with the erotic tension of their dangerous and necessarily chaste relationship.

Meyer has achieved quite a feat by making this scenario completely human and believable. She begins with a familiar YA premise (the new kid in school), and lulls us into thinking this will be just another realistic young adult novel. Bella has come to the small town of Forks on the gloomy Olympic Peninsula to be with her father. At school, she wonders about a group of five remarkably beautiful teens, who sit together in the cafeteria but never eat. As she grows to know, and then love, Edward, she learns their secret. They are all rescued vampires, part of a family headed by saintly Carlisle, who has inspired them to renounce human prey. For Edward’s sake they welcome Bella, but when a roving group of tracker vampires fixates on her, the family is drawn into a desperate pursuit to protect the fragile human in their midst. The precision and delicacy of Meyer’s writing lifts this wonderful novel beyond the limitations of the horror genre to a place among the best of YA fiction. (Ages 12 and up) –Patty Campbell

10 Second Interview: A Few Words with Stephenie Meyer

Q: Were you a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Angel? What are you watching now that those shows are off the air?
A: I have never seen an entire episode of Buffy or Angel. While I was writing Twilight, I let my older sister read along chapter by chapter. She’s a huge Buffy fan and she kept trying to get me to watch, but I was afraid it would mess up my vision of the vampire world so I never did.

I don’t have a ton of time for TV, and my kids get rowdy when I have on mommy shows, but I do have a secret fondness for reality shows (the good ones, at least in my opinion). I always TiVo Survivor, The Amazing Race, and America’s Next Top Model.

Q: What inspired you to write Twilight? Is this the beginning of a series? Why write for teens?
A: Twilight was inspired by a very vivid dream, which is fairly faithfully transcribed as chapter thirteen of the book. There are sequels on the way–I’m hard at work editing book two (tentatively titled New Moon) right now, and book three is waiting in line for its turn.
I didn’t mean to write for teens–I didn’t mean to write for anyone but myself, so I had an audience of one twenty-nine year old (and later one thirty-one year old when my sister started reading). I think the reason that I ended up with a book for teens is because high school is such a compelling time period–it gives you some of your worst scars and some of your most exhilarating memories. It’s a fascinating place: old enough to feel truly adult, old enough to make decisions that affect the rest of your life, old enough to fall in love, yet, at the same time too young (in most cases) to be free to make a lot of those decisions without someone else’s approval. There’s a lot of scope for a novel in that.

Q: What is your favorite vampire story? Fave vampire movie?
A: I guess my favorite vampire story would be The Vampire Lestat, by Anne Rice, simply because it’s one of the only ones I’ve ever read. I keep meaning to pick up Bram Stoker’s Dracula, because I get asked this question so often and I should probably start with the classics, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet. Again, I’m afraid to read other vampire books now, for fear of finding things either too similar, or too different from my own vampire world.

Ack! I can’t even answer the movie question. I can’t remember ever seeing a single vampire movie, outside of clips from Bela Lugosi movies on TV. I don’t like true horror movies–my favorite scary movies are all Hitchcock’s.

Q: What other young adult authors do you read?
A: My favorite young adult author is L.M. Montgomery I also enjoy J.K. Rowling (but who doesn’t?), and Ann Brashares. As a teen, I skipped straight to adult books (lots of sci-fi and Jane Austen), so I’m rediscovering the world of teen literature now.
 

Stephenie Meyer’s List of Books You Should Read

Anne of Green Gables

Romeo and Juliet

Dragonflight
To Kill a Mockingbird

The Princess Bride

See more recommendations from Stephenie Meyer

Q&A with Stephanie Meyer

Q: What book has had the most significant impact on your life?
A: The book with the most significant impact on my life is The Book of Mormon. The book with the most significant impact on my life as a writer is probably Speaker for the Dead, by Orson Scott Card, with Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier coming in as a close second.

Q: You are stranded on a desert island with only one book, one CD, and one DVD–what are they?
A: The CD is easy: Absolution by Muse, hands down. It’s harder to give myself just one movie, but the one I watch most frequently is Sense and Sensibility–the one with the screenplay by Emma Thompson. One book is impossible. I’d have to have Pride and Prejudice, but I couldn’t live without something by Orson Scott Card and a nice, thick Maeve Binchy, too.

Q: What is the worst lie you’ve ever told?
A: My lies are all very, very boring: No, you really look great in hot pink! My children only watch one hour of TV a day. I didn’t eat the last Swiss Cake Roll–it must have been one of the kids. That’s the best I’ve got.

Q: Describe the perfect writing environment.
A: It’s late at night and the house is silent, but I’m still (miraculously) full of energy. I have my headphones in and I’m listened to a mix of Muse, Coldplay, Travis, My Chemical Romance, and The All-American Rejects. Beside me is a fabulous, and yet mysteriously low in calorie, cheesecake….

Q: If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say?
A: I’d like it to say that I really tried at the important things. I was never perfect at any of them, but I honestly tried to be a great mom, a loving wife, a good daughter, and a true friend. Under that, I’d want a list of my favorite Simpsons quotes.

Q: Who is the one person living or dead that you would like to have dinner with?
A: I’d love to have a chance to talk to Orson Scott Card–I have a million questions for him. Mostly things like, How do you come up with this stuff?! But, if he wasn’t available, I’d settle for Matthew Bellamy (lead singer of Muse).

Q: If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
A: I’d want something offensive, rather than defensive. Like shooting fireballs from my hands. That way, you’re really open to going either way–hero or villain. I like to have choices.

Customer Reviews

Review date : 2008-09-19
I loved this book. I couldn’t put it down…I finished it in two days. The love and connection between Bella and Edward is amazing. They are perfect for each other. At the end I found myself screaming for Edward to change her so they would be together forever.

I’m not as happy with Eclipse and New Moon (haven’t read) BD. Someone new comes into the picture and Bella turns wimpy and whiney. Edwatd becomes controlling and I start to hate them both. Enjoy Twilight while you can before moving on to the other books.

Review date : 2008-09-19
I am now on the 3rd book of this series. I rarely read for pleasure, but have had my nose buried in these books for the last 2 weeks.

Find out what all the fuss is about and read this book!

Review date : 2008-09-19
I really enjoyed the book. Stephanie Meyer did a great job on all the characters. When I read the book I was drawn in immediately. I felt like I was in forks with Bella and Edward aand all teh other characters experiecing everthing they did.

Review date : 2008-09-19
This book is amazing! I stayed up all night reading and was able to finish the whole series in a week. This book is not just for teenagers too. My mother read it and loves it as well and now she is telling all of her friends about it. If you are looking for a great read this is the book for you!

Review date : 2008-09-18
From the first paragraph to the last paragraph on the final page, I was absolutely enthralled. I could not put this book down and read it in two days. That’s an almighty effort as the book is almost 500 pages. It may have been written for young adults (I’m not,) but since I was a child I have loved Vampire lore and this book does not disappoint. I strongly recommend it.

CONFIDENCE (2003) is a slick greased-lightning of a con story that some reviewers I believe mistook for a classic caper movie like Ocean’s 11 or 12.

The writing by Doug Jung is fresh, witty and with twists and turns that miraculously all make sense at the end, if at the cost of resorting to blood-packs a few times too many to save the day (you’ll know what that is when you watch the film).

Director James Foley (of Glengarry Glen Ross) does a marvelous job of moving this tongue-in-cheek story at a rapid click with a lot of side-sweeps for scene transitions and a camera that never stops roving around even at close headshots.

Jake Vig (well, did the last name have to be that obvious?) played by Ed Burns, is the boss of a con team that consists of Gordo (the one and only Paul Giamatti of Sideways), Big Al and Miles (Brian Van Holt).

The con job that Vig et al pull off leaves them with $150,000 that belongs to? Winston King, a small-time psychotic lap-dance-saloon owner who can do bad things to bad people when he loses his temper and is played with a dangerous charm by Dustin Hoffman.

The only way for Vig to stay alive is to carry out King’s assignment: they have to con $5 million out of Morgan Price, the banker that everyone loves to hate, through wiring money to an offshore bank and then bringing the cash in through the Canadian border.

Pickpocket Lily ((Rachel Weisz) joins the con team both as Vig’s love-interest and a crucial part of the team. She is the one who flirts the lonely and horny VP of the bank into transferring the money.

But wait, there is also Gunther Butan (Andy Garcia), an Internal Affairs cop who has been following Vig all around the world with a vengeance. Butan, as well as Price’s enforcer, is on Vig’s tail as well.

At the end, just when Vig is caught on his knees with a gun pressed to his head, the tangled up puzzle is suddenly resolved when he is shot and killed! Or is he?

Great light-fare entertainment with marvelous acting by Burns and Hoffman.

Garcia, on the other hand, was a bit short-changed in this part because I know he is a gifted actor of considerable depth when the role demands it (Godfather, Dead Again).

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Ugur Akinci, Ph.D. is a Creative Copywriter, Editor, an experienced and award-winning Technical Communicator specializing in fundraising packages, direct sales copy, web content, press releases and hi-tech documentation.

He has worked as a Technical Writer for Fortune 100 companies for the last 7 years.

You can reach him at writer111@gmail.com for a FREE consultation on all your copywriting needs.

Please visit his official web site http://www.writer111.com for customer testimonials and more information on his multidisciplinary background and career.

The last book he has edited: http://www.lulu.com/content/263630

All the Academy Awards nominees for Best Actress have given outstanding performances… on the surface. They spoke their lines believably, developed an interesting character, got the voice, the walk, the look. Perhaps most extraordinary, these superb actors received direction with enough objectivity to improve a character’s portrayal, rather than destroying it.

No wonder the Oscar nominees are so greatly admired. Yet only a tiny minority of them have gone all the way, changing their CHAKRAS. The takes the greatest talent, and a rare kind of courage.

What does it mean to shift that deep, playing a part? Nothing within you feels the same. Imagine a length of beige cloth that you are dying green. Most people would be satisfied with a cloth that looks green. But you will not be satisfied with some simple dunk in the vat. You find a way to do the ultimate transformation. Consequently, the cloth changes so completely that if you held the most powerful microscope in the world up that cloth, the most minute fibers would glow bright green.

Well, okay, here is something easier to imagine: What happens when an aura reader like me turns movie critic? I can read the deepest possible shifts within an actor. And that is just what I will do in this article, with an in-depth critique of Kate Winslet’s performance in “Little Children.” (If you would like to receive links to the photos I use in this article, email me. You can find an address at the Rose Rosetree website.)

Since I can read auras from regular photographs (and could teach you to do the same, incidentally), it is easy to compare the aura of an actor just being himself to her still shot from the movie, where she is in character. Did I see this movie? No, all I know about it is that she plays an unhappy suburban wife and mother who enters into a love affair. But reading from photos, I asked this question: Who could transform all the way? Here is what I found about Kate in this movie:

Root chakra—How her personality projects when she enters a room
As herself: Very strongly empathic, Kate’s personality specializes in human emotion. She carries with her huge reserves of emotional experience and expressiveness. In practical terms, this means that if you find yourself in her presence, at conversational distance, you might find yourself spontaneously pouring out emotions to her.

I also want to comment that this chakra databank on Kate Winslet is very much minimized because she is keeping herself movie-star thin. Her body is naturally significantly larger. One reason I, personally, wish everyone would learn to read auras is that this would end the horrible trend toward half-starved starlets and models. For the record, I am making a social comment here, not accusing Winslet of having an eating disorder beyond that of virtually every leading lady you’ll see on a screen.

In the movie: She is aware of having an exciting, dangerous adventure. Living on the edge is not comfortable for her, yet she finds herself drawn to it like an iron filing to a magnet. A complete change of aura.

Sex chakra—What would she be like as a lover?
As herself: Intense as sun at noon over a desert, Kate has a huge sexual energy. It shines out as very feminine, which is more uncommon than you might think among female movie stars.
In the movie: Kate’s awesome sexiness is on display, pretty much as normal, but the interesting variation is that she is seems very fulfilled sexually by this relationship.

What makes this interesting, from an aura reading perspective, is the partial portrayal. As noted in my reading of Oscar-nominated Peter O’Toole, when people really have sex, their auras intertwine for several days. In the photo that I am reading, she seems to be naked along with her co-star. Neither one shows a smidge of auric intertwining. Aurically, here are two very separate actors conveying a state of advanced lust. Kate makes the sexual fulfillment believable, except for the giant contradiction of her not energetically merging with her “beloved.”

Solar plexus chakra—Handling power, what is her pattern at the time of the photo?
As herself: Kate has had personal growth and vulnerability here. It is hardly the biggest part of her aura. She has struggled within herself over issues like confidence—amazing, I know, considering how mega-talented she is. And not to harp on the collective craziness that requires mega-dieting, I do find that struggles over the need to be thin may have temporarily diminished some of Winslet’s natural power.
In the movie: She feels powerless, as though “being in love” frees her from personal responsibility as an adult. Ever ride on a roller coaster? You have to let go. Bingo! Here is what you will find deeply believed throughout modern Western society, this ridiculous notion, that if you are REALLY, DEEPLY in love (or in lust), part of the pleasure for a woman is that she no longer has any power.
Personally, as you may have guessed, I do not believe in this dubious ideal. But portraying it definitely represents a significant change of aura.

Heart chakra—How does she handle emotions?
As herself: Here Kate Winslet is confident. She has a rich emotional life and has developed great sophistication about making peace with this. She understands that emotions are not necessarily problems to solve, but experiences to accept.
In the movie: Emotionally, Kate does merge with her lover. Like any empath born with the particular gift I call “Emotional Oneness,” she directly experience what it is like to be someone else. In this role, her emotional merging is like a form of escapism, to the point where she identifies with being him, emotionally, more than with being herself. This is a stunning portrayal and a real acting triumph, portraying and projecting this experience.

Communication chakra—Truthfulness? Talent? What shows here?
As herself: Kate in public is very different from the rather irrepressible, deep, complicated and vulnerable person who has a private life off-screen. In public, she has constructed a façade as effective as any acting characterization. It is not a lack of truthfulness so much as a safe haven, where she appears calm, beyond the reach of insult, and indifferent to having an unnatural amount of attention focused upon her every pore.
In the movie: She seems mysterious, alluring, with a newfound power as a desirable woman. A significant shift in her aura.

Spirituality chakra—How does she connect to God?
As herself: This is a heartfelt relationship-in-progress, where a full range of human emotions are here major way of evolving… and also her strongest way of connecting.
In the movie: Poignantly, this character is in spiritual shut-down. She feels as though she’s going to hell, and deserves punishment, but she’s going to enjoy herself while she can. A significant shift in her aura.

Soul expression chakra—Deep down, how does the person feel as a human being?
As herself: Absolutely, Kate Winslet is doing the work that thrills her soul. She is spiritually graced, doing this work, even though the lifestyle is less comfortable for her personally than for many who seek an acting career.
In the movie: Deep shame combines with inner conflict to squelch the expression of this soul. It’s a brilliant change to her aura.

Summary: Have I convinced you that there is a big difference between shifting the emphasis within an aura versus taking on a different persona entirely? From the perspective of auras it’s really a big deal. Kate Winslet has shifted all of her chakras in this movie, but only modified them. By contrast, some other actresses nominated here have taken on completely different auric patterns, as if becoming a different person inwardly, while another nominee changed nearly nothing at all.

Still, this performance does show considerable finesse at the level of auras. Why? First, Kate Winslet shows feminine energy on the screen better than most actresses of her generation.

Second, she is giving a powerful performance by tapping fully into one of the biggest stories in collective consciousness, that of a woman so “in love” that she must completely surrender to it, even if it destroys her. For any viewer who believes in today’s “Stand by Your Man”-style country music, reads torrid romance novels, or prefers love stories (anything from “Romeo and Juliet” onward), this version of love is very special, even a cherished ideal. And, except for a bit of sexual withhold, Kate Winslet’s performance fully embodies this ideal.

Rose Rosetree has given over 700 media interviews. She is America’s leading aura reader and face reader, teaching on three continents and available for personal sessions over the telephone.

Rose teaches her leading-edge techniques in workshops and books like “Aura Reading Through All Your Senses,” “The Power of Face Reading,” and “Empowered by Empathy.” One title has become a bestseller in Germany; in America, two were selections of One Spirit Book Club.

At Rose Rosetree’s website, you’ll also find free articles, FAQs, and practical ways to use Deeper Perception to make life better. Sign up for “Read Life Deeper,” her free monthly zine with face and aura readings of people in the news, at rose-rosetree.com rose-rosetree.com.

Order Rose’s books at rose-rosetree.com rose-rosetree.com or call toll-free 800-345-6665. To arrange an interview or an appointment for a personal session, call 703-404-4357.

In past headlines it read, “Ax may be hovering over Mariah Carey… recording giant ready to drop singer.”

Now wait a minute, didn’t Mariah Carey sell well over 50 million albums since 1990? (Strictly speaking in the dollar terms, that’s roughly 649 million dollars in album sales alone.) And wasn’t she one of the hottest acts in the past decade and in the exclusive Top Ten All Time Artist who have the most consecutive #1 hits?

Okay, so she’s not married to the head of Sony Records any more and who cares that she had an emotional breakdown (who wouldn’t with the kind of pressure she has to deal with – I think I’d like to have a breakdown now!) – She’s considered a liability? When her contract was reportedly worth an estimated 80 million dollars and trouble looming over an already unsteady economy, which has hit the music industry over the past several year in declining sales, especially since the tragic events that occurred on September 11th, it’s no wonder the “ax” would fall on those with huge salaries.

With sales from her first release on Virgin/EMI only reaching 400,000 when it was released, this album has been a disappointment to record company execs as I am sure it was to Ms. Carey who has always been at the top of the charts until now. But doesn’t everyone have a bad hair day? Of course, but not to the tune (excuse the pun) of 25 million dollars which is what Ms. Carey was reportedly paid for the first release, “Glitter” on her old label. Now mind you, I would love to make that kind of money, and hats off to Ms. Carey’s people for negotiating that kind of deal, but the risk one takes in being the highest paid, is that you are usually the first one to go when times are tough.

While Ms. Carey might have had an easier time with her old label because of loyalty to her and the huge profits she has generated and still does for them, this brand new label had nothing but dollar signs and no loyalty to her financially. Hopefully, Alain Levy who replaced Ken Berry will be able to renegotiate Ms. Carey’s contract instead of letting her go.

This was and still is today definitely yet another wake up call in an already floundering industry. With Record Companies going down and out and hanging out their shingles right and left (DreamWorks being the latest). Executives being fired here, there and everywhere. Artists trying to duck for cover so they aren’t the next casualty; it’s a scary proposition being a musician. Okay, so it’s always been a scary proposition.

So I ponder…why are things so much worse then they used to be? Could it be that too much money is being paid at the top? Is there not enough promotion? Is there too much shifting and leveraging to get the best deal? Is the quality of the product not meeting the demands of the populace? Bingo! With the fragile state of this and so many other industries, 1 hit wonders mentality must go if the recording industry wants to not just survive, but thrive. (Ms. Carey does not fall into this category; other then they are trying to find the next Mariah Carey.) Quality, not quantity. The industry needs to stop the mass cookie cutter attitude by trying to produce the same acts with different people in them over and over again. It’s like eating the same meal at different restaurants night after night. Different chefs, the same recipe, but none of the meals were as good as the first taste you had at your favorite restaurant. If you keep churning out the same act with different faces, eventually the fans will get tired of the original acts also and stop buying even their product.

Change is a good thing and new acts come up all the time, but change is not good when it is constantly happening and no one knows which end is up. The industry needs some stability and consistency, not only in the ranks, but also with the artists. Too many artists are pulled off the shelves before they even get off the ground, leaving the listening audiences confused and disgruntled. The labels have forgotten the fans and is only worrying about paying their costly mortgages, thereby losing all loyalty from the paying public.

If the audience is not happy, they won’t buy the product. In addition, we seem to be seeing even in the bigger named artists, with only 1 song released off their albums to the listening public. Not many people want or can afford to buy an album for $11.98 with only 1 song they like on it anymore, even if they are loyal fans of the established artist. The general population is the ones who are suffering the most in this economy.

If there is little or no money coming in, then the day of the big contracts is gone. Some of the largest selling albums are ones with multiple songs on it that the listener likes. Take Shania Twain for example. Her albums are mega sellers with more then 1/2 the album on the singles charts at various times. Why are her albums huge? Because they are quality, and a great bargain. The buying populace wants a deal. The Record Industry seems to want to put out a little and expect to get a lot, and in doing so, they are losing the fan base in general. People are spending their money elsewhere.

They forgot that we are the fans and the fans have the buying power. Without the buying power, they lose their jobs, the big deals go away, and the labels go under. They need to stick with the artists once they have signed them, promote them, and if the first album doesn’t work, try another one and work harder with a different strategy. Forget trying to get another Mariah Carey, N-Sync, or Shania Twain.

Use the talent that is there and churn out more then a 1 hit wonder. Then the buying public will come back and the fan base will be there for hopefully years to come. Look at acts like the Beatles, Garth Brooks, Elvis Presley, ABBA and Barbara Streisand to name a few. These acts stir the general public, and very few people have not heard of them. They still sell records and when they do a concert, it’s sold out in a second. This is because of quality. They weren’t churned out and then spit out.

Let’s take ABBA for example. This is a group based in the 70’s, and they haven’t had a hit record in decades. They are also one of the biggest selling groups of all times, still selling albums today. Recently, they were offered a billion dollars to tour for one year. The turned it down (wish I could do that!). While that is a contradiction of what I said about those with the largest pay being cut first, it is in line with what I have been trying to say here all along - the bottom line is the fan base. If it’s not there, the money will not come in, and it can’t be there with a 1 hit wonder. Too much spending, and not enough quality product has caused the music industry to come crashing down to reality.

A little side note on Ms. Carey. I do wish all the success on her new CD (and it looks like she’s hitting the top). She certainly deserves it. She has worked hard and worked smart for the most part and has earned the right to a deal of the magnitude she received.

Jaci Rae is the #1 Best Selling author of “Winning Points with the Woman in Your Life One Touchdown at a Time” ISBN 0974622907 and “The Indie Guide To Music, Marketing and Money” ISBN 978-0-9746229-4-1 as well as the host of the Jaci Rae show. Dubbed by the media as “Racy Jaci” because of her quick wit and “The Rae of Hope,” for her powerful insight, please make sure to check her out at: jacirae.com jacirae.com To hear Jaci’s popular show, with some of the top behind the scenes as well as famous bands go to: jacirae.com jacirae.com click on the weekly show link.

Old Josh, in:

Mule-Ears (1902)

(Episode #24)

“Yes pa, I knowed, she’s right sick, ole Nelly the cow.”

(Two Negroess entered the Hightower born to the left side of Josh’s shanty hut´, it was late at night, or as one may say, early in the morning, it was 2:00 AM, Josh couldn’t sleep, and woke up Silas in the process of trying to get back to sleep. And started laughing for no reason and heard the barn door open, moonlight shinning down, chatter somewhere about.)

“I got ears like de mule I do, an’ hears something in de barn; Silas, it best yu go on over an’ tell Mr. Hightower, ‘efore he blames us for somethin’ we didn’t do…” said Josh.

“I reckon so,” commented Silas, half dazed from his sleep.

“How many robbers you see pa, over dere by de barn?”

“None, but I hears two, I knowed dere is two, moest all my life I hears good as a mule, ain’ no trouble wid my hearin’ jes my seein’.

(…said one Negro to the other… ((the cows in the background, in the far back of the barn moving about, so they moved quickly with agility of apes in motion) “stand still,” said a voice. It was an October evening, perhaps a tinge past 2:00 AM, a chill in the air. Motionless was Hightower standing outside the barn door, with a ten-gage shotgun, the two Negroess drunk, perhaps wanted to sleep the night away in a warm place, but found two cows, and figured they could take them, and sell them, everyone was sleeping and who would be the wiser, so alcohol will dull your senses, and so it did in this case. They overlooked the horses, because they were too much trouble, stomping about, and all that.)

“Hurry on up wid de cow…” said one of the voices in the barn.

(The Negroess stood by the door now, laughing about the cows being so big, and the money they’d get for it, one spat on the cow deliberately. Then he saw two eyes in the doorway, Hightower’s, and Hightower saw four eyes next to his cow, and likened to a hammer blow, the shotgun hit their chests, two shots, that is all it took.

2-14-2007

Old Josh, in:

Skinn’ Bessie (1896)

(Episode: #25)

(There were a few Old Josh stories, made by way of fragments, instead of the usual, sketches and longer conversations; this short fragment of a conversation is an example. I was going to leave it out, but it seemed for the reader to really get to know Old Josh, even the fragments that were meant to be longer, but never got to that stage, might be of interest.)

Josh: Amos wid dat ole gal?

Silas: Wuh ole gal?

Josh: Skinn’ Bessie!

Silas: Wuh he do to git her so mad?

Josh: Yu ain’ heard ‘bout de time Amos token horse meat over to Skinn’ Bessie, she gits so mad she wuz a bilin’ she wuz! She com to meet Amos at de Cotton Mill de next day, on her bare foots its so hot, gus she mule lay down dead in da heat. Well, yu knowed how Amos is he says ‘Bessie,’ an’ she hits him in de mill. He squeal like de pig. Well, she gits so mad, she takes de horse meat, grabs dat meat and cooks it right outside de mill, and slap ole Amos in de face wid it. I reckon he is hurt, he jumps ‘bout like de grasshopper. He run in de cotton mill tore cloths an’ all, fur a while, kaze Bessie wuz jes warmin’ up.

2-8-2007

Old Josh, in:

And His Grandson’s Question

(A lost and now found: Episode: 23)) 7-23-2006))

1905 (spring)

(A conversational Sketch with Silas and Josh ((Silas’ son, Caspy, is sitting on old Josh’s porch at the Hightower plantation, it is 1905, Josh is 90-years old. Caspy is four. And Caspy, asks his grandpa a question, but Josh talks about
What happened in 1825))

“Umupuh,” said Caspy, watching his Grandpa rock back an forth on the porch, Silas with a pipe in his mouth, leaning against the frame of the shanty hut, Caspy in front of Grandpa’s legs, looking upward.

“Whut does dey boy look at me fur likes dat?” Josh asks.

“Hes a looking wuh yu-all dont hab de ole cob pipe like me pa,” said, Silas with a laugh. But old Josh was not laughing.

“Naw, suh,” said Josh, his old eyes gazing at his grandson, big old black hands holding onto the wooden arms of the chair, Josh bringing his coffee can to his lips, drinking the coffee in it down, kind of staring at the boy’s eyes.

“Sho…” Caspy murmured with his four year old curious eyes.

“Dey wuz a time me an’ a boy wuz gowin down dat dere road (Josh points to the road in front of the plantation) I gits tired unloudin’ da wagon fur Mr. Hightower, all de dey long, so dat day de Marster, Mr. Hightower passes and he look, and my friend he wuz a schoolen boy, so he writ on a page of paper his school work an’ wes git along fine, he wuz tryin’ to explain to me how to writ, so he turn de other way and I reckon dey wuz a hundred shootin’ soldiers nearby, it wuz back in ’25, he gits hit by a bullet, I knowed the boy fur guine on five year’.

“Did dey kuilt de boy pa?” asked Silas.

“Yessum,” said Josh with a tear in his eye, “you’d better guin in da house, Silas, need you to make somethin’ for Caspy, hes hungry.”

“It was bad times, so I find a hole and I hide in it a while (Josh can hear from his porch Hightower’s phonograph)…I forgeits Ihad his pipe in me pocket, as he writ. De white bos cold writ, so he wants to. Dat writin’ stuff git him in trouble, well, he was kuilt.”

See Dennis’ web site: dennissiluk.tripod.com dennissiluk.tripod.com

If you are an aspiring songwriter, musician or indie artist, then sooner or later you will come face to face with music critics. The question is, how will you respond to them?

Last Saturday night I watched a program about The Legends of Rockabilly Music. It was fun to look back in the history of rock and roll and see the pioneering artists who started it all. Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, and Jerry Lee Lewis were among the various stars being featured.

What struck me most about these young performers was the shear determination they had to stay the course. Regardless of what the music critics said, they believed in their music and kept right on going. It wasn’t always easy for them either. But that’s probably the way it is for many of the famous people we admire today. We see the end result of their effort and think- wow, what a lucky break. But we often miss the hard road they had to follow in order to get to that place of recognition and respect.

Take Elvis Presley for instance. Every one of the previously mentioned “legends of rockabilly music” credited Elvis as being the one who most influenced their own style and sound. His spark ignited a wild-fire which eventually spread out and touched the Beatles, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and many others. Most people realize that this flame continues to burn white hot and it’s effect is still widely heard in much of today’s popular music.

But it wasn’t always smooth sailing. At the beginning of his career, Elvis Presley faced some music critics of his own. Time magazine once called him the “Hi luh-huh-huh-huv-huv yew-hew” dreamboat groaner. Back then, some critiques even contained elements of racial prejudice, calling Presley’s blues influenced sound “vulgar jungle music.”

During those early days Elvis was once given an opportunity to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. Even though the audience responded well to his music, an executive of the show told him later “You ain’t going nowhere, son. You may as well stick to driving a truck.” History proved that man dead wrong! In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Elvis #3 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. So, please let this be an encouragement when you face your own music critics!

Above all, don’t let the threat of criticism spoil your dreams. I heard someone say the other day that “the dream of your heart might be bigger than the environment you’re in.” Other people might not share your vision. They may not understand you. They may not offer any support. But don’t let them hold you down. You must be willing to step out of the safe zone and believe in your musical gift. Forget what the critics say. Who are “they” anyway? Just follow your dreams and sing your heart out!

Kathy Unruh is a singer/songwriter and webmaster of ABC Learn Guitar. She has been writing songs and providing guitar lessons to students of all ages for over 20 years. For free guitar lessons, plus tips and resources on songwriting, recording and creating a music career, please visit:
abclearnguitar.com abclearnguitar.com

Or sign up for the ABC Learn Guitar Newsletter at: abclearnguitar.com/newsletter.html abclearnguitar.com/newsletter.html

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