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December 30, 2006
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year and best wishes for a fabulous and wonderful 2007!
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Posted by SydneyJohnston at 10:28 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 28, 2006
"I've Got Rhythm"
Who says animals don't have rhythm?
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 10:10 AM | TrackBack
December 25, 2006
Merry Christmas!
In the words of the immortal bard ...
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 11:17 AM | TrackBack
December 21, 2006
Christmas In The Trenches
In line with our earlier story, we'd like to share the lyrics of a song written by Ian Calhoun, a Scot, who was the commanding officer of the British forces involved in the Christmas Truce. He was subsequently court-martialed for 'consorting with the enemy' and sentenced to death but, fortunately, King George V spared his life.
- - -
My name is Francis Toliver, I come from Liverpool.
Two years ago the war was waiting for me after school.
To Belgium and to Flanders, to Germany to here,
I fought for King and country I love dear.
'Twas Christmas in the trenches, where the frost so bitter hung.
The frozen fields of France were still, no Christmas song was sung.
Our families back in England were toasting us that day,
Their brave and glorious lads so far away.
I was lying with my messmate on the cold and rocky ground,
When across the lines of battle came a most peculiar sound.
Says I, "Now listen up, me boys!" each soldier strained to hear,
As one young German voice sang out so clear.
"He's singing bloody well, you know!" my partner says to me.
Soon, one by one, each German voice joined in harmony.
The cannons rested silent, the gas clouds rolled no more,
As Christmas brought us respite from the war.
As soon as they were finished and a reverent pause was spent,
"God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" struck up some lads from Kent.
The next they sang was "Stille Nacht," "'Tis 'Silent Night,'" says I,
And in two tongues one song filled up that sky.
"There's someone coming towards us!" the front line sentry cried.
All sights were fixed on one lone figure trudging from their side.
His truce flag, like a Christmas star, shone on that plain so bright,
As he, bravely, strode unarmed into the night.
Soon one by one on either side walked into No Man's Land,
With neither gun nor bayonet we met there hand to hand.
We shared some secret brandy and wished each other well,
And in a flare lit soccer game we gave 'em hell.
We traded chocolates, cigarettes, and photographs from home.
These sons and fathers far away from families of their own.
Young Sanders played his squeezebox and they had a violin,
This curious and unlikely band of men.
Soon daylight stole upon us and France was France once more.
With sad farewells we each prepared to settle back to war.
But the question haunted every heart that lived that wondrous night:
"Whose family have I fixed within my sights?"
'Twas Christmas in the trenches where the frost, so bitter hung.
The frozen fields of France were warmed as songs of peace were sung.
For the walls they'd kept between us to exact the work of war,
Had been crumbled and were gone forevermore.
My name is Francis Toliver, in Liverpool I dwell,
Each Christmas come since World War I, I've learned its lessons well,
That the ones who call the shots won't be among the dead and lame,
And on each end of the rifle we're the same.
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 12:45 PM | TrackBack
December 18, 2006
The Christmas Truce
In his fascintating book, We Can Change the World, author David Stratman recounts the following heart warming story, an example of the true spirit of Christmas.
- - -
"It was December 25, 1914, only 5 months into World War I. German, British, and French soldiers, already sick and tired of the senseless killing, disobeyed their superiors and fraternized with "the enemy" along two-thirds of the Western Front (a crime punishable by death in times of war). German troops held Christmas trees up out of the trenches with signs, "Merry Christmas."
"You no shoot, we no shoot." Thousands of troops streamed across a no-man's land strewn with rotting corpses. They sang Christmas carols, exchanged photographs of loved ones back home, shared rations, played football, even roasted some pigs. Soldiers embraced men they had been trying to kill a few short hours before. They agreed to warn each other if the top brass forced them to fire their weapons, and to aim high.
A shudder ran through the high command on either side. Here was disaster in the making: soldiers declaring their brotherhood with each other and refusing to fight. Generals on both sides declared this spontaneous peacemaking to be treasonous and subject to court martial. By March 1915 the fraternization movement had been eradicated and the killing machine put back in full operation. By the time of the armistice in 1918, fifteen million would be slaughtered.
Not many people have heard the story of the Christmas Truce. On Christmas Day, 1988, a story in the Boston Globe mentioned that a local FM radio host played "Christmas in the Trenches," a ballad about the Christmas Truce, several times and was startled by the effect. The song became the most requested recording during the holidays in Boston on several FM stations. "Even more startling than the number of requests I get is the reaction to the ballad afterward by callers who hadn't heard it before," said the radio host. "They telephone me deeply moved, sometimes in tears, asking, `What the hell did I just hear?' "
I think I know why the callers were in tears. The Christmas Truce story goes against most of what we have been taught about people. It gives us a glimpse of the world as we wish it could be and says, "This really happened once." It reminds us of those thoughts we keep hidden away, out of range of the TV and newspaper stories that tell us how trivial and mean human life is. It is like hearing that our deepest wishes really are true: the world really could be different."
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 12:30 PM | TrackBack
December 15, 2006
Big Brother Takes A Hit
I love the story of Juan Mann ... Juan was distributing "free hugs" and the Big Brother authorities of his city demanded that he post a $25,000,000 bond! Instead, his supporters rallied and got 10,000 signatures on a petition which made the entire absurd bond demand go away. See if you don't shed a tear or two when viewing this video.
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 1:20 PM | TrackBack
December 12, 2006
Build A Niche Store.com: Review
Yesterday, I received a couple of enthusiastic emails about Build A Niche Store.com (BANS), a site that "Make Money As An eBay Affiliate By Building Your Own eBay Affiliate Stores Just Like These". The premise is that using the software from this site, you can build your own online store that offers the eBay affiliate program, plus AdSense. The cost of the software is $97.
http://www.buildanichestore.com
Here's the thing ...
* AdSense and the eBay affiliate program are FREE. It costs you nothing to join.
* AdSense and the eBay affiliate program are EASY to install on any site. All it takes is a piece of code.
So, we might wonder why you need this software? You don't actually. You can easily build sites like this without any help from anyone.
So is the software totally useless? If you're a newbie and don't know squat about building webpages, then it might have some value. But here's the thing ... it has no answer to the #1 most important, pivotal question:
If you're a newbie - and need this software - you won't have an answer for this question!
If you're experienced - and know how to get traffic to this site - you don't need it.
The email promises that it's "online 24/7". So what? If nobody sees your store, what good is it?
Another problem: You have "A Choice Of 28,926 Niche Affiliate Stores To Build" This means, there can only be one of each of these 28,926 topics. Now, that's not a bad thing - we don't want 49 identical stores. But the thing is that if I build my own stores, I can darn well build whatever I want without getting permission from anyone else. You do NOT need the permission of the owners of this software to build as many eBay stores as you wish, with as many different products as you desire.
Verdict:
- Possibly OK software for newbies who don't know how to build sites.
- Totally unnecessary for everyone else.
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 12:56 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 9, 2006
Baseball Card Appraisal Site Opens Its Doors
A new baseball card appraisal site, CardPricer.com, bills itself the "home of the Web’s most comprehensive baseball card pricing guide" and recently announced that it has accepted $100,000 in venture capital from private investors.
CardPricer allows collectors to research cards, view their collection and access baseball card prices based on actual transaction history from auction houses, marketplaces, vendors and independent sellers. Not being a baseball card fan or seller, I can't comment on its value. But I do know that baseball, and other sports, cards are big, big business on eBay.
http://www.cardpricer.com
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 1:20 PM | TrackBack
December 7, 2006
The Attempted PayPal Fraud Never Ends
The scumbags continue with attempted PayPal fraud on a daily basis. Here's one I received this week - but it does have a (slightly) humorous side:
Note that the purchase price on this fake auction is high enough to send the inexperienced user fleeing in panic to PayPal, to protest this unsought merchandise. Those newbies who don't know better click on the link in the email which takes them to a fake PayPal log where the criminals get all their PP info - and drain the account.
Oh, yeah - the sort of humorous part ... whoever set up this particular email messed up the link. It didn't work so they couldn't fleece anyone with this gutter email. Hooray for that, anyway.
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 12:59 PM | TrackBack
December 4, 2006
Healthy Weight Loss Supplements For Sale On eBay?
This week I was standing in the checkout line at the grocery store, observing all the current magazines while I waitied my turn. Without exception, every one of them had headlines and/or pictures of luscious, fattening holiday chow. So this holiday month we go through the insanity of eating everything we can stuff in - then in January, everyone goes on a diet, vowing to slim down. ("Yes, THIS time I'm really going to do it!).
Since I'm eBay obsessed, I decided to see if there are any healthy weight loss supplements for sale on eBay. If there are, they're in short supply:
30 pounds in a week? What utter claptrap - unless you are one of those 600 pound folks. Possibly they might accomplish this amazing feat. Instead, choose a healthy weight loss diet plan. What good does it do you to be thin if you're also sick and unhealthy?
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 11:35 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 1, 2006
Selling Skin Care Beauty Products On eBay
If you want to sell a skin care beauty product on eBay, you will certainly find a lot of competition. Makeup and skin care is a thriving - if competitive - market, but the problem is that it's all quite expensive. Different makeup reacts in different ways based on your skin type so how can the average person afford to try a multitude of products until she finds the one that is right for her situation?
One way, of course, is to find free makeup samples. This site has coupons for online shopping that are all focused on makeup and there are some really terrific bargains. I compared a free coupon for "Relastin" with eBay auctions for the same product. It costs $8.95 (for shipping and handling) for TWO bottles, plus a pair of exfoliating gloves. Here are the eBay prices for only one bottle (and every single one of them sold):
* $39.99 + $7.99 shipping
* $40.00 + $9.00
* $42.52 + $9.00
* $49.99 + $5.99
* $8.95 + unspecified
* $39.99 + $7.99
Verrrrrrrrrry interesting ... I'm going to have to pursue this further. But as an aside, check out this picture for a skin "peel":
Ouch! Just looking at that makes me hurt. I don't think including a picture like that is very good marketing. When customers envision a peel, they see the result of glowing, tight skin. This is simply a reminder of pain.
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 12:30 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
