Internet To The Rescue

Like so many goods and services, the Internet is a great resource for music of all kinds. Of course, as a writer, I’m always concerned with copyright issues so I checked out Virtual Sheet Music.com immediately to see if they were legit and legal. I was relieved to see that they are.

Legal Is Good

The digital sheet music editions they offer are their own unique collections, and you won’t find them anywhere else. The powers that be at Virtual Sheet Music are the editors of the published editions they offer, and they own the copyrights. That’s a good thing because, if you are like me, you realize how copyright infringement threatens writers and musicians who make their living from their creative endeavors. I just won’t do business with sites that pirate music and books because that’s killing the ability of artists to make a living from their work.

How It Works

The website was designed to provide music lovers and musicians with the ability to locate the sheet music they want and to immediately download it. You can also listen to any MIDI and Mp3 file in their extensive catalog. So you just Search or Browse their catalog. When you find what you want, buy it or become a Member and get member benefits to access music. Then just download and enjoy it. You only need Adobe Reader to open the files. If you’re the one in a million who doesn’t already have Adobe Reader, they provide a button to click to download that too.

Takeaway Truth

Berthold Auerbach, a nineteenth century poet, once said: “Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” That’s as true today as it was then.

Though I found a new place that had opened nearby, I knew immediately that their 50% off special would still end up costing far more than a pair of fashionable eyeglass frames from Zenni Optical. I’ve told you before about Zenni, the great little online optical shop that offers you astonishingly low prices on eyeglasses because they have eliminated the middlemen.

What A Concept

These aren’t old-fashioned, clunky glasses that they bought from some leftover lot. These are stylish frames created in the latest materials with quality manufacturing. They offer them directly from their factories to the customer. With no retail overhead and very little spent on advertising (unlike the big optical chains), they can sell their own ZENNI brand that can stand up to any expensive brand name frame you can find. Guess what? Prices start at $8.00. That’s not a typo.

But Wait There’s More

They can take care of your whole family from kids to adults, but they don’t just sell frames. They can fill your complete vision prescription because they’re a one-stop vision shop. (Hey, I’m a rhyming poet!). If you want to know more about Zenni Optical, why not read this review by a satisfied customer? Satisfied customers spread the word about Zenni, and that’s the best kind of advertising.

Takeaway Truth

Today’s consumers want high quality and low prices, and that’s what discerning retailers provide.

I know I’m going to catch flak for this one! However, I’ve been dealing with plenty of people who fit this description.

In my attempt to close out my late mother’s accounts, I called everyone as soon as I was up to the onerous task. Of course, I took notes of the conversations so I would follow their close-out procedures properly.

I was conscientious. Unfortunately, most of the businesses were either uninformed or they just didn’t follow through on what they said they would do.

Examples

A well-known organization that allegedly fights for the retired (you know their initials) told me one thing when I first informed them. Then when I called back because they kept attempting to debit my mother’s account for a premium, they wouldn’t even talk to me because I wasn’t on the account nor had I filled out a form to notify them of her death so they could release information to me. WHY DIDN’T THE PERSON I SPOKE WITH A MONTH AGO TELL ME I HAD TO FILL OUT A FORM?

A satellite TV company gave me a phone number to which I was supposed to fax the death certificate. The phone number was a voice number, not fax. Of course, it took a day of fax redialing before I actually got something other than a busy signal. Another hour of calling that same number, and I got a RLP on the phone who gave me different instructions.

The funeral home we used filled out the death certificate incorrectly so it had to be redone and refiled with the state. Just the list of mistakes the funeral home made could fill a blog, and it may before this is all over.

The electric coop power company was supposed to send a check for refund of her membership fee, etc. Instead, they issued a credit to the account which is closed so it’s in limbo.

If I keep going, I’ll be at the screaming point again since I’ve been dealing with 10 times this many snafus in the last two weeks. For now, I’m going to pack my bag and make another trip to Louisiana to meet with my lawyer. I’ll see y’all next week.

Takeaway Truth

Real life interrupts writing sometimes, and there’s just nothing you can do about it.

Apparently, more people are shopping in the grocery section of Walmart rather than in the Krogers, Safeways, and Whole Foods of the nation. Since there’s a general opinion that fresh produce purchased at Whole Foods is superior to that from a discount grocer like Walmart, a food writer conducted an experiment to determine which produce was better: Whole Foods or Walmart.

Walmart Makes The Grade

The experiment found that Walmart produce was just as tasty. Duh. I shop at Walmart on a regular basis because it’s convenient. There are 3 Walmarts within 10 miles of where I live in a suburban subdivision. Of these 3, store #1 is the oldest and is in the small town nearby. I shop here frequently because it’s next door to Office Depot and the post office where I can check my p. o. box. Store #2 is on Highway 6, and I never go there. Store #3 opened last year, and it’s a delight.

Dissecting Shopping Habits

I don’t know if I’m typical, but here’s why I shop Walmart instead of Whole Foods when both these stores are within 10 miles of where I live.

Whole Foods is on one of the worst corners in Houston: Southwest Freeway and Highway 6. Forget about it if the day is anywhere near rush hour. In fact, the only time I’d ever stop here is if I’m traveling south on Southwest Freeway and can exit there without being in an exit line of 50 cars. I don’t care how good the produce and other items are. I’m not spending 30 minutes to an hour just to get in the store and then the same out and to get home.

Walmart Store #2 mentioned above is on Highway 6 and Highway 90A intersection. Another congested area. The last time I visited that store was 18 months ago. It’s a nice clean store, but it’s inconvenient.

Walmart Store #1 is the oldest, and it’s often trashed. The employees too often are apathetic and act as if they do you a favor to help you. The cashiers, required to mouth the perky greeting and farewell, are nearly comical in the incongruity of their attitude versus verbal statements. Yet, I stop in here regularly if I’m visiting the post office or Office Depot.

Walmart #3 is attractive, clean, and more open to products that may be less mainstream. Their produce is wonderful. I have no complaints against it at all, and I’m sure it can compete with any produce section in another store. My only quibble is the way the merchandise is arranged which finds me walking all over the store to find the items on my list.

Of course, I’m sure that’s part of the grocery store philosophy of keeping the customer in the store as long as possible. The longer a customer is in the store, the more opportunity the customer will impulse spend. To me, this is an irritant because time is such a premium.

Bottom Line

All this is a long way of saying I choose the stores in which I shop due to time management. I feel kind of guilty that I don’t choose organic over regular foods, but the truth is I don’t have the time to wander all over a store nor do I have the time or inclination to fight traffic to shop at a store that’s inconveniently located. I’ve lived in the Houston area for 30 years, and I’ve arrived at a place in life where I avoid traffic congestion if at all possible. Life is just too short to be stuck in a moving parking lot.

By the way, my Walmart offers natural eggs and other organic products which I do choose to buy. Another consideration that must be mentioned is the savings achieved by shopping at a Walmart rather than a Whole Foods. It can be significant. I was raised by a mother who read the grocery ads each week and shopped according to which store had the best sales. So I never overlook the chance to save on groceries.

Takeaway Truth

Time and money – and time is money for the self-employed – probably govern the shopping habits of the majority of working Americans.

Voice Has It

Olyphant played the villain in most of the roles I associate with him, but he’s been immensely appealing nonetheless because he’s got such a distinctive voice that draws your attention. I think charisma is indicated often by the quality of the sound of a voice. If there’s any truth to that theory, Olyphant is a charismatic hero who should attract a huge following – if Justified is as well-written as the Elmore Leonard character who inspired it.

Website PR

“JUSTIFIED is the story of Deputy U.S. Marshal RAYLAN GIVENS (Timothy Olyphant), a true-blue hero and something of a throwback, given to wearing a Stetson and cowboy boots, carrying his sidearm in a hip holster – a weapon he only draws when he has to, and when he does, he shoots to kill, because, as he sees it, that’s the purpose of a gun.

“Raylan was born and reared in the hill country of eastern Kentucky. It was in Harlan where he played ball, chased girls and dug coal. And it was from Harlan, at age 19, that he ran, determined to become a U.S. Marshal. Now, years later, after shooting a gun thug in a Miami hotel and thereby incurring the wrath of his Marshals Service superiors, Raylan has been sent in punishment (and by fate?) to the one place to which he vowed he would never return – Kentucky.”

Secondary Characters

Veteran actor Nick Searcy, cast as Art Mullen, Chief Deputy of the Lexington U.S.M.S. office, brings solid believability to the series. Tim Gutterson as Jacob Pitts and Erica Tarzel as Rachel Brooks are Raylan’s fellow deputies.

You can look for story lines built around what U. S. Marshals do: chase fugitives, protect witnesses, and transport prisoners. Of course, since this is based on an Elmore Leonard character, you’ll also get layered stories involving the characters who influenced Raylan from his old friend who’s now a bank robber to his career criminal dad, with an ex-wife and former teen crush thrown in for good measure. Just think dysfunction, and you get the picture.

Behind The Scenes

This FX Productions and Sony Pictures Television series was developed for TV by Executive Producers Graham Yost (Speed, Band of Brothers, Boomtown, The Pacific), Michael Dinner (Karen Sisco – ahead of its time in my opinion – Sons of Anarchy), Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly (Kidnapped) and the great Elmore Leonard. With talent like this involved, I’m thinking Justified will be a hit.

Takeaway Truth

In today’s world, it doesn’t matter how good a show is if it doesn’t find an audience fast. Support good writing by tuning in.

No, wait. That’s not precisely true. I wanted to see some of the ice dancing and figure skating so I sat up one night and caught about a half hour of that. Loved the duo that ice danced to Phantom of the Opera music, and Joannie Rochette, who’d lost her mother just days before, touched my heart.

The rest though wasn’t even a blip on my radar. I couldn’t get interested enough to stay up late or set the DVR. One night, I tuned in NBC and Curling was being televised. Sorry, but I just don’t get Curling. Watching the grass grow is about as interesting. It seemed way too much time was devoted to this sport.

Takeaway Truth

Is it me or is it the Olympics? They just don’t seem as compelling as they once were.

Deadline: March 31, 2010.

Eligibility: Translation of literature from any language into English, published by a North American publisher in 2009. Nomination by publisher is required.

Information: Visit the website or write National Translation Award, American Literary Translators Association, The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W. Campbell Road, Richardson, TX 75080-3021.

Takeaway Truth

Placing or winning in a contest can be a big boost to one’s career.

Private number plates or personalized plates, as many call them, aren’t just popular in the UK. Indeed, they’re in demand anywhere there are vehicles with owners who want to show a bit of panache.

Why Pay Up

Personalized license plate programs exist in many countries. In fact, I think each of the states in the U. S. offer a variety of ways to personalized vehicle license plates. These license plates are popular because they allow the vehicle registrant to show personality or make a personal statement to the world.

This is a win/win situation for the state government and the vehicle owner as well as supporting worthwhile organizations. In most states, the required personalized fee, usually called a “donation,” goes to the group named on the plate.

The Ocean State

Rhode Island, the Ocean State, currently offers two charity plates: Mr. Potato Head which benefits the Rhode Island Food Bank and the Osprey, benefiting the Audubon Society and the Save the Bay organization. Their state government has approved other charity plates, but they haven’t been placed in circulation yet.

The Sunshine State

A good example of how organizations benefit is shown by the donations to youth groups to help develop sports events in Florida, from a regional to a major scale in the state. From this license plate program, monetary benefits of about $250,000 are generated.

Other States

In Missouri, The Show Me State, you can support Conservation or Fight Terrorism. In Texas, The Lone Star State, you can support the university of your choice or any number of special interest groups from Adopt A Beach to Special Olympics and more.

Takeaway Truth

When you opt for a special plate, you show the world a glimpse of your personality, and you support groups that do good works.

What’s Hot Now

Writers and publishers are always tracking trends in publishing. Children’s book publishing is no different. If you’re interested in breaking into this market, you may be interested in what they think is currently hot.

According to a panel of industry insiders at a Children’s Book Panel sponsored by the Authors Guild Foundation back last summer, here’s what they think in no particular order:

Colorfully “packaged” using pink, gold, purple, sparkly.

“Packaged” using black and dark purple.

Anything with a vampire.

Diary format.

Good price point. The economy greatly affects book buying.

For teens, the paranormal influence is huge and doesn’t seem to be waning. Got vampire? Or zombies? That all fits the teen angst just as the Harry Potter magical universe fits the need to escape the mundane life.

Something rising are biographies. (I can remember when I was a kid that I devoured stories about real people. If that’s a coming trend, it’s a good one.)

Also, a lot of insiders see a trend in books about bad times. Literature for children reflecting reality I suppose. To counter that, there’s humor which always sells well.

Takeaway Truth

Always ask the kids in your life (children, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, neighbor kids) what they like to read. Take notes.

In books, it’s harder to know which slang word or phrase to use because the lag time between conception and publication is rather large. What’s hip today may not be hip or may mean the opposite in a year or more, and that’s how long it takes books to hit the shelves.

What’s A Writer To Do

1. Choose judiciously. Some words that word cool a generation ago or still cool, i.e., the word cool. Sure, sick may be the word of choice today, but it may be passe next year whereas the word cool has been around a few decades and is still useful.

2. Don’t inundate your writing with slang. Use it carefully to depict a few characters rather than all of them. If you’re writing juvenile fiction, you may try to write all characters rapping back and forth in their own slang language, but if you eavesdrop on kids, you’ll find that in general conversation, most of them talk like the rest of us with an occasional slang word thrown in for effect.

3. Consult any of the print or online slang dictionaries. There are a bunch of them. If you haven’t done this before, just Google that search phrase. If you haven’t consulted a slang dictionary before, try not to be offended by some of the words and definitions. Many of these are updated often from once a day to multiple times a day.

Takeaway Truth

Writers must write for the audience that exists today, not twenty years ago, yet the writing should be as clear in meaning today as in twenty years from now.

I drove home late Saturday night from the farm where I’d been working on cleaning out my late mother’s home. The seven hour drive was made bearable by the unabridged book on CD, Tomb of the Golden Bird by Elizabeth Peters as read by Barbara Rosenblat. By the time I was passing downtown Houston on I-10, I noticed an odd smell from the car engine as if something were overheating. What could I do but keep going?

By the time I got home and parked, I was too tired to tell my husband about it. When he moved the car the next day, he told me there was a pool of liquid under the car. I was really glad I’d made it home because breaking down at night on the interstate is at the top of my list of nightmares.

Multiple Car Problems

This morning, I called my friendly repair shop and told them I’d be in at nine. They said they’d bring me home. My car wasn’t nearly as agreeable though. It wouldn’t even start. My friendly auto repair shop sent a nice guy to check it out. He jump started it, and I followed him back to the shop where I told the guy at the desk that I needed a new battery and the engine checked. Oh, and they might as well inspect it since I noticed that’s due before the end of the month. The nice service guy drove me home.

Mood Elevator Needed

I decided I deserved something to make me feel better so I jumped in my T-Bird and drove to the nearest store that sold ice cream and books. Selecting my favorite black walnut ice cream was easy. Selecting an escapist book was more difficult. As I perused the meager selection at Randall’s, a woman approached and asked what I was getting. That opened a conversation wherein we both realized we wanted something different that the #1 – #20 best sellers and the few category romances filling the limited number of racks.

I mean, there’s nothing wrong with Nora and the others occupying those slots – or their books – but I wanted something different and so did my book browsing new friend. I suggested one of the paranormals, but she said she couldn’t tolerate another story like that. She was sick of them. Hmmm. Interesting feedback, right?

I began asking her about this book or that – from mysteries featuring food to tried and true authors. She was tired of all of those books. I looked for a new author to suggest she give someone who was just starting out a try, but I couldn’t find anyone on the racks who was new. I did notice a lot more historical romances and even reprints of old Jennifer Blake novels. Ms. Blake was once the hottest thing since sliced bread. I guess the burgeoning historical publishing program has made editors interested in her books once again.

Finally, she unenthusiastically selected a Jude Deveraux novel because she used to read her and liked her. I chose Pursuit, the latest book by Karen Robards, because I hadn’t read her in a while.

What’s the moral of this story? I guess it’s that paranormal has crested. Historical romances are picking up, but I haven’t seen anyone buying them yet. Maybe, it also means that readers want a new voice?

Takeaway Truth

Always ask book browsers what they want to read. That’s real market research.

I guess my family and I are taking the first step to overcome the misfortune of our mom’s death. We’ve started cleaning out her house. I guess that’s acceptance. It’s been three weeks since her passing, and we finally confronted the issue of her possessions. It will take more weeks to get everything taken care of, but I can only handle a week at a time.

As I’ve emptied cupboards and closets, I’ve realized that families usually are at a loss when it comes to doing this. I’ve come across so much with which I just don’t know what to do. I think I’m going to run a series of blog posts about the lessons we survivors learn from the death of a loved one, beginning with the hospital experience and extending to packing up the house. Maybe I’ll call it Pre-Death Prep.

Takeaway Truth

Acceptance is the optimistic cousin of resignation.

My mother passed away January 29, 2010. Since she hated to tell her age, I won’t tell it either. Let’s just say that she lived longer than the average person, but not as long as her father who made it to 100.

Born during the Roaring Twenties, Momma was a child of the Great Depression and a young woman during World War II. She, like so many other women of that era, went to war by working in factories and doing jobs that, previously, only men did. She helped assemble tank cannon shells at a munitions plant and later learned to be a telephone operator, a job which she loved.

When she and my father, a D-Day veteran, married, she assumed the role of wife and mother and somehow survived the misadventures of her 3 rambunctious kids. My older brother and I alone were probably responsible for every gray hair in her head. She excelled in what were then called the domestic arts. Her cooking could rival any chef, and her quilting, crocheting, and needlepoint were fine enough to be sold in stores.

Country, gospel, and early rock and roll music by Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis, created the musical background of her life. From her childhood of singing blended harmony gospel music on the porch after dinner each evening to the foot-tapping, earthy music of Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams Jr., and Toby Keith, she loved it all. Along with music, she adored railroads and trains because her father had been a career railroad man. She never passed up a chance to ride on a train.

After my brothers and I married and left home, she grew interested in family history and genealogy. Over the next two decades, she published The Ainsworth Trading Post, a genealogy newsletter, and she compiled massive volumes of genealogy on her Ainsworth, Eubanks, and Shows family lines and authored Cemeteries of Franklin Parish: Private, Public, and Abandoned. All her books are in genealogy collections across the country including the Mormon Library in Salt Lake City and the New York City Public Library.

When my father passed away, I gave my mother a computer and Internet access. Eagerly, she embraced this new way of communication and research. She was never afraid to try something new and loved everything about this new electronic age.

My mother believed strongly in never telling her age and in never appearing in public without her hair fixed and her lipstick on. We all used to laugh about her vanity, and she’d laugh too. She was a hoot in so many ways, and we have so many funny stories the family can share when we’re together.

She was loved by not just her children but by all my cousins and their children too. She was the favorite aunt. And she loved all of us too. Her last words for each and every one of us were of that love.

With so many things to interest her, she never tired of life. In 2008, with my help, she completed her latest book Memory Lane: My Sentimental Journey. She was so proud of that book. She told what it was like to have very little in material possessions, but everything in love and family. One might think her childhood during the Great Depression was marked by deprivation, but it wasn’t. It was the happiest time of her life.

She had a strong will to live and keep learning and experiencing new things. If only that had been possible. There’s a huge hole in my life right now. She and I used to talk four or more times each day. I just can’t believe that I’ll never hear her voice again.

Takeaway Truth

Parkinson’s Disease is a scourge on humanity, and it’s an agonizing way to die. If you have money to donate, please consider a donation for Parkinson’s research.

My Mom knocked on Heaven’s door, but they said: “Go away and come back later.”

The doctors officially said she turned the corner, but she remains in ICU. My older brother, my cousins, and I will be alternating hospital duty until further notice. I’m just having to work mine around the medical appointments for my daughter.  So today I’m scheduling who will be at the hospital when. Tomorrow, I pack, and Monday I drive 4 1/2 hours back to Shreveport for my turn.

I’ll be taking my laptop back since I found out the ICU has free WiFi so I can work, email, etc.  So feel free to comment or email.

Takeaway Truth

Life throws a mean curve ball sometimes.

(Cross posted on my other blog.)

Review Your Service

If you already have a website, has your web host provider actually provided you with the level of service you expected? Do they give you the kind of customer service you need? Do they fit your budget or have they priced themselves into the stratosphere?

Newbie Challenge

If this is the year you finally start a website, you need to know some fundamentals in order to make the right decision about webhosting. All web host providers aren’t equal. Some are really good; some are really bad. How do you know which is which?

Resource

Luckily, there’s a resource available to help newcomers as well as experienced website owners who might need to change web hosts. Starting a new website or changing providers isn’t difficult, and it’s easy to find a company that will be a partner in your success if you check Web Hosting Geeks.com first.

Good Geeks

Web Hosting Geeks.com, a website that reviews web hosting companies, lists the Top 10 Web Hosts for 2010 on their home page. They keep this updated so it’s an “at a glance” reference to which web hosts are at the top of their game.

Look on the left side of the home page, and you’ll see these categories: Web Hosting Rating, Web Hosting Awards, and Web Hosting Reviews.

Under Rating, you can find the Top 10 as well as those who offer Free Domain Names or Multiple Domain Hosting. Or maybe you’re dedicated to the environment and are interested in web hosts that offer Green Web Hosting. You can find it there.

Web Hosting Awards list award-winning web hosts in 12 categories from Best Budget Hosting to Best Unix Hosting and more.

Web Hosting Reviews gives reviews by actual customers of the web host company. You’ll see the last 10 reviews, and you can even add a review yourself. Here’s where you’ll find the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Internet Higher Ed

If you need to learn more about the Internet and how it works, then you can get the basics along with web hosting news at their blog. You’ll find it listed on the left side of the home page too. If you’re knew to all this, be sure and read Web Hosting 101. It will help you identify your particular needs in a website and a web host.

Takeaway Truth

What you don’t know can hurt you when it comes to making business decisions. Do yourself a favor and get the facts.