Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (DVD) Review – by: Britt Gillette

One of a handful of films which epitomizes the 1980s decade, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off captured the imagination of high school kids all across America as they dreamt of mimicking the title character’s ability to manipulate the authority figures in his life. Written and directed by John Hughes, the brains behind The Breakfast Club (1985) and numerous other 1980’s cult classics, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off launched Matthew Broderick’s acting career into another dimension. In fact, Broderick garnered a Golden Globe nomination for his outstanding performance. It’s a nomination more than worthy of mention, because it’s the strength of the Ferris Bueller character that made this film such a smash hit.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off follows a day in the life of high school senior Ferris Bueller. Nearing graduation, he’s intent on living his life to the fullest (although preferably outside the confines of school). So Ferris takes a planned day of vacation with his girlfriend Sloane (Mia Sara), and after a little coaxing, his best friend Cameron (Alan Ruck) joins them. Against Cameron’s better judgment, the three drive his father’s prized Ferrari into the windy city of Chicago for a day of fine dining, baseball, museums, and spontaneous fun. Meanwhile, Ferris may have successfully fooled his parents into believing he’s deathly ill, but high school principal Ed Rooney (Jeffrey Jones) and Ferris’s jealous sister Jeanie (Jennifer Grey) are not so easy. Intent on shattering his golden boy image, each one is hot on his trail, anxious to expose his web of deceit once and for all.

With a number of hilarious scenes, such as Cameron’s feeble attempt to reverse the mileage on his father’s Ferrari, the film earns its reputation as an elite classic of the 80’s, on par with hits like Back To The Future (1985), The Breakfast Club (1985), and Weird Science (1985). The film does have its off-the-wall moments, such as when Ferris takes over a parade and starts singing while thousands of spectators engage in synchronized dancing. You wouldn’t see such a sequence in a contemporary film, and like similar scenes from The Blues Brothers, it tends to date the film. But the strength of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is not its timeless humor, but the likeability of Ferris Bueller himself. Ferris is a cool guy. He doesn’t put anyone down, but only looks for the best in people. More importantly, he manipulates his parents into thinking he’s the perfect embodiment of innocence while he skips school and goes joyriding! Every child of the 80’s wanted to be Ferris Bueller, and the wide appeal of his life philosophy is timeless, which is why the film continues to enjoy success with each new generation.

Further solidifying the movie’s status as a landmark of its decade is the soundtrack, which is certainly one of the more diverse and interesting of its time. Where else can you find The Beatles, Wayne Newton, the theme to Star Wars, and the 80’s classic ‘Oh Yeah’ by Yello all wrapped up into one movie which moves seamlessly from one scene to the next? Throw in a few future Hollywood stars in Kristy Swanson, Ben Stein, and Charlie Sheen (who stayed awake for over two days so he could achieve the desired drugged out expression for his character), and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off transforms into the quintessential cult classic. Even after two decades, this film is just as entertaining as when it first premiered.

About The Author Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find where you can find more reviews of movies and TV series. Source: http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com/2006/07/ferris-buellers-day-off-dvd.html

Testimonials Can Increase Your Web Traffic – by: Elizabeth McGee

We’ve all seen and read product testimonials. They’re a very valuable tool for merchant sales and can often tip the scales in determining a customer’s decision to buy. But testimonials offer another superb benefit. It’s the benefit to you and your marketing strategy.

When I’m on a site offering a product or service I like to click on customer testimonials because they are generally short and easy to read. People typically point out exactly what they like about a product and how they used it to their benefit. Testimonials come from real users, they’re not some ad written by the company.

Now, let’s take the testimonial concept and think about it as a marketing strategy for you and your business.

Website testimonials describe how buyers feel about the products they have purchased and used. If you, as a buyer, offer your testimonial with your name and website address this now becomes a very valuable marketing tool for you. It will expose you and your business to everyone looking at that merchant’s website. If the merchant site happens to be a well-known site offering a high demand product, this could mean huge exposure for you.

Note that many merchant sites will display your website address but will not put an actual link to it. While it’s ideal to have a link to your site it’s not always necessary. I often investigate sites of testimonial givers whether there is a link attached or not. As long as your website address is displayed, that is good enough.

Testimonials can also double as a great linking strategy as well. If your testimonial includes your link and is displayed on the front page of four or five high ranking merchant sites this can increase your link popularity tremendously. By doing this you have also just eliminated the concern of linking to competitor sites and you’ve avoided the hassle of reciprocal linking.

Testimonials don’t only need to be addressed to merchants you buy from. You should also send your testimonials to ezines or free online services that you use. Send them in the form of complimentary notes. Compliment their products or services and describe how you find them useful. Websites interested in boosting sales will often use them and you are much more likely to get printed if you are delivering a compliment.

About The Author Elizabeth McGee has spent 20 years in the service and support industry. She has moved her expertise to the world wide web helping businesses find trusted tools, enhance customer service, build confidence and increase sales. You can contact Elizabeth at mail@pro-marketing-online.com or visit her website at http://www.pro-marketing-online.com. webmaster@pro-marketing-online.com

Food Lover’s Gift Secrets – by: H Porter

Gifts for Food Lovers

Hampers are the perfect gift for people who have everything or those you are unsure about purchasing for. Rather than buying a ready made hamper personalise one for that extra special thought.

Top tips for buying a Hamper

• Who is the Hamper for? Male or Female is it for a Couple, what age are they Young, Middleaged or older?
• Organic food or normal produce, more people are moving to organic produce for less interferance and keeping farming to the more traditional methods
• Does the gift receiver drink?
• Do you want to go savoury, sweet or a mix of the two
• Is your hamper a christmas hamper? If yes remember most people buy christmas pudding and other traditional christmas products themselves and may appreciate something different

Choosing your Hamper

The hamper basket itself can be reused so see this as an investment, dark wicker hamper baskets are traditional.

Fill your hamper basket with either rolled up tissue paper or for the more traditional filling use straw packing. Bubble wrap is not an option!

Wrapping your hamper

Use traditional tarten ribbon all around and create a large bow on the top. Then take a brown paper gift tag using black ink write your gift message

Top products to include in your Hamper

Drinks

Alcoholic to be considered for over 18’s only -Red wines include Merlot or Shiraz, Whites we recommend are Chenin Blanc, Chablis or Sancere. Why not fill the Hamper with some Fizz, if you are on a budget some Cava is a cheaper fizzy but still full of flavour Condessa Blanca, Segura or freixent. Supermarkets have a good range of wines with recommendations pick a budget and read their reviews. Always go for something morelight than focusing on a specific flavour unless you know their tastes. Avoid Cherrys & ports these usually stay in peoples cupboards and collect dust!

Non Alcoholic – Cordials like elderflower are perfect however supermarkets now offer a range of non alcoholic drinks which are full of taste and flavour.

Savoury Hamper

Cheese – Brie, Camermbert, stilton are classic cheeses however as a balance why not put in a goats cheese, mozorella in a secure tin or speciality cheese like feta in olive oil which should come in a jar; remember that you need to buy these as late as possible and they should be wrapped in greaseproof paper so they can breathe. A good chutney is always good to accompany go for a traditional raison and fruit or perhaps a homemade picallilly.

Bread Products – Foccacia (italian bread), bread sticks or a olive or sundried tomato cibatta is perfect. Other dried biscutis work well try for rosemary and seasalt crispbreads or perhaps a chesse biscuit selection including oat cakes.

Meats – Hams have a longer shelflife consider purchasing a Parma or San Danielle ham or pancetta which are all cured to take on a richer flavour. Salamis, Chorizio and other sausages usually require more thought when eating so avoid unless the receive has a love for them.

Fish – You can get tinned anchovies or sardines are loved by some but not all. Somked salmon is perfect since it has a good shelf life, consider purchasing some gravlax with it and some dark rye bread.

Pasta & Rice – There are great varieties of dried pasta and perfect as a gift. Rice is not such a good option unless you got for a flavoured risotto version

Vegetables – Unless you are purchasing a few days before you cannot purchase fresh. Consider some more unusual flavours like dried porchinni mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, olives, roasted peppers in a jar with oil a comination of all would work.

Fruits & Nuts – Dates are traditional at christmas, again avoid fresh fruit and go for dried or long lasting foods like dried apricots, mixed nuts, dried banana apricot & apple are tasty snacks

Oils – Olive Oil is a common kitchen cooking oil, however you can get flavoured oils such as rosemary, chilli & basil. You can make your own by purchasing a glass bottle with cork stopped fill with an extraq virgin olive oil and then simply drop the flavours in such as garlic and rosemary or my favourite fresh sundried tomatoes. Balsamic olive oil is another great dipping oil and a perfect compliment to this dish.

Sweet Hamper

Biscuits – Your supermarket will have a range of biscuits but shortbread is an older favourite. Why not make some of your own for that extra special touch.

Cakes – Panatonne is a traditional italian cake and since this is not an oftenly purchase product perfect for a hamper.

Fruits & Nuts – This is the same suggestion as the savoury hamper, but consider nuts which are chocolate dipped or perhaps suger coated almonds

Sweets & Chocolate – Consider a rich chocolate the majority of people prefer milk chocolate but if you are not sure include a small plain and milk to be on the safe side.

Jams & Preserves – You can now find speciality jams such as champagne & strawberry whic is a little different to the basic jams. I love to give honey a local variety

Non Food – Perhaps a chocolate fondue set or recipe/cook book

You can always mix the 2 hamper suggestions. With these simple suggestions you are sure to give someone a yummy festive feast! Enjoy!

About The Author H Porter writes gift articles for http://www.sorrydarling.com.

The Phenomenon Of Online Dating – The Whole Truth! – by: Jonathan White

As CEO of a company which operates some of the most popular dating sites on the net, I’m uniquely positioned to provide some clear and concise facts about the global phenomenon of online dating. In six bite-sized chunks I’m going to give you the whole truth about a past-time that has become part of the fabric of the lives of single people everywhere where a computer screen is affordable by or accessible to the masses.

1. Two out of every five single people aged 24 – 50 currently use, or have used an online dating service. Yes, you read that correctly – it’s 40%! Now think of all the single friends you have; how many of them have actually told you that they’ve signed-up to a site in order to kick start their love lives? Not many I would wager. That’s because in spite of the popularity of the medium, there is a still a social stigma attached to dating sites; when people meet a partner this way, they generally pretend to their friends that they’ve met in a bar or at some kind of party or work related function. One of the fastest growing activities in the world is still something most people wont admit to doing.

2. Only about 5% of people who join dating sites actually end up in a relationship with someone they first make contact with at their chosen site. Let’s equate this to the ‘real’ world; you walk into a room full of one hundred strangers and how many of them would you be attracted to? Probably no more than ten. And that’s if you’re lucky. It’s the same in cyberspace – how many total strangers will there be on any site that really press all the right buttons for you? So when you register with a site, don’t expect miracles because your love life in cyberspace is no different to the reality of everyday life.

3. Only 10% of people who join dating sites get any messages at all from other members. There’s a reason for this – the other 90% don’t deserve any success. People who refuse to upload photos of themselves or post profiles which look like they can’t really be bothered to say anything about themselves will just be ignored. The 10% who get noticed create upbeat, confident, humorous profiles, don’t have any qualms about posting a picture of themselves and are proactive about contacting other members. If your site doesn’t work you, you shouldn’t blame the site just as a bad workman shouldn’t blame his tools.

4. Popular dating sites are popular for one reason and one reason only. They work. In every territory, you’ll find a handful of sites that outstrip all the others in terms of the volume of their registrations and their reputations in general. You’ll also find that none of these sites are free. The sites which look the best, have the best features and offer good customer service are expensive to run and maintain. You get what you pay for on line as well as in all walks of life; if the owners of a dating site don’t have the confidence in their product to actually charge for it, you have to ask yourself why that is. Relatively speaking, joining a dating site is very inexpensive compared to, say, going out for a nice meal or taking a trip to the theatre and the potential of finding a great new relationship makes the risk/reward ratio a no-brainer.

5. Global sites which can boast hundreds of thousands of members from all four corners of the globe are a waste of time unless you’re looking for a pen-pal. These sites might sound rather impressive – “We have 5,000,000 members worldwide!!” – but so what? What you should be concerned with when you’re choosing a site is how many members they have in your city, your town or your village. So if you’re serious about find a partner, stick to city or country specific sites and take the ‘global’ hype with a pinch of salt.

6. The percentage of men on dating sites is disproportionate to that of women. Most services comprise about 60% men and 40% women so as far as the on line arena is concerned, it’s the girls who are calling the shots. They have more choice and can therefore be more discerning about who they contact or write back to. So guys, if you want to stand out from the crowd, check out paragraph 3 above; write a great profile and post a flattering pic and you’ll be just fine.

So there you have it; to make a success of online dating, all you have to do is pick the right site and post an eye-catching profile and photo and if it works for you…don’t keep it a big secret – tell your single friends all about it so they can get a piece of the action too!

About The Author Jonathan White is the CEO of http://www.CupidNights.com – a London only dating site and the most successful geo-targeted site in Europe.

Bush’s Election Victory: Ethics, Morality and Religion Defeated War, Economy and Foreign Policy – by: Shafquat Rabbee

President George W. Bush has unofficially won his re-election bid defeating Democratic challenger Senator John Kerry. The election was close, no doubt, but it was by no means a re-run of the 2000 election drama. Because this time, Bush bagged a convincing victory by winning both Electoral College and Popular votes.

The election which was heralded to be the most important in America’s recent history ended up being an “as-usual-election”, where Democrats and Republicans relied heavily on respective party’s supporter-base for victory. This means, even though the election was thought to be an election where people will vote outside party lines based on issues like war on Iraq and the economy, at the end of the day people voted avidly in line with party affiliations.

Liberals, atheists, pro Choice groups, environmentalists, blacks, gay-lesbians, voted over-whelmingly for Democrats whereas Religious, Church going populations of the Central, Southern and Northern America voted overwhelmingly for the Republicans.

Although it was thought that the Iraq war and the state of the Economy and to certain extent terrorism will decide the outcome of the election, none of these issues seem to have any major impact. For example, exit polls showed that among the New Jersey voters, who lost most lives in the 9/11 attacks, 86% believed that another terrorist attack is coming but they still voted for Senator John Kerry. John Kerry had a landslide victory in New Jersey. This proves, terrorism did not actually prove to be a election winner for George W. Bush.

What actually impacted the most is moral issues, ethics and religion.

In America, “religiousness” has its own political dimension. Certain not-so-obvious issues having potentials to damage religion are considered as contentious religious issues that can win or lose votes in America.

At the forefront of these so called religious issues are Gay-Lesbian marriage, Pro Choice abortions and stem cell research.

Americans saw a spree of gay marriages in San Francisco and Massachusetts in the early part of the year 2004, and President George Bush was first to call for a constitutional ban on Gay-Lesbian marriages by defining marriage to be a sacred institution only to be nurtured by men and women.

Then there was the lingering issue of abortions, which is now a few decades old, without any visible indication of a settlement. President George Bush has always had assuring words for people who oppose abortions.

The issue of Stem-cell research, although not understood scientifically by average Americans, is very much understood politically by every Dick and Larry, thanks to the sermons from the Churches.

Senator John Kerry, a devout left leaning liberal in American politics, failed to redress the worry of Religious Americans about his stance on these highly contentious so called “moral issues”.

He wavered and equivocated on numerous occasions regarding his stance on Gay Marriage and Abortions.

During his election debates, he repeatedly said he “personally” believes marriage is between a man and a woman, but then he assured gay-lesbian groups by stating that he is not going to impose his personal religious beliefs over somebody else. Now it appears, such politically correct and appeasing words aimed at soothing both gays and straights did not actually win votes among religious Americans.

The religious Americans perhaps took John Kerry’s apparently politically correct words as direct indications for his support towards anti religious agendas such as Gay-lesbian marriage.

Same is true for the issue of abortion. John Kerry failed to replicate Bill Clinton’s successful mode of addressing this issue.

Bill Clinton used to say that he will make abortion “rare, restrictive but available for those who has no choice but to go for it”.

John Kerry took a more liberal stance in the debates over abortion by more or less admitting that he is pro-choice, and pro-abortions.

Regarding stem cell research, however, Kerry took the most daring and clear stance. He openly claimed that if elected president he will open up funding and legal avenues for stem-cell research. He did not stop there; he kept special seating arrangements for Michael J. Fox besides his wife in one of the presidential debates. Mr. Fox is a known advocate for the cause of stem cell research.

Kerry perhaps thought that at this very modern age, Americans must have become more liberal and accepting when it comes to scientific knowledge. May be he was right. Perhaps the 252 Electoral College votes that he got would have been much less had he not played to his liberal base.

But the fact of the moment is that in America there are more religious Christians than there are so called open minded, progressive liberals.

The Electoral College map will illustrate this fact the best. In the Electoral College map, entire Central America is Red, bearing the symbol of Republican victory, where as the two coasts along with certain North Eastern states are Blue. This means, the central, Southern and Northern American population, who are often called the “Bible Belt”, voted overwhelmingly Republican.

A CNN exit poll further showed that 56% of total voting population of Americans attends Church service at least once a month and among those Church attendees, almost 60% voted for George W. Bush.

Perhaps that was the end for Senator John Kerry’s presidential aspirations.

In sum, this election showed to the Americans and the world that even in the year 2004, American people have appeal for religious issues much more than social, economic or foreign policy issues.

And showing disregard towards the cause of the religious population can be a smart choice for academics or the media, but certainly not for Presidential candidates, not even in America.

About The Author Shafquat Rabbee is the Bangladesh News Editor of the Bangladesh Journal. www.bangladeshjournal.com editor@bangladeshjournal.com

If It Feels Good, It Must Be Right – by: Priya Florence Shah

Is it possible to motivate yourself to do something you don’t enjoy doing?

Let me illustrate with my own example.

I’m not a natural networker. I’m no good at schmoozing and talking people into doing things I want them to do.

I’ve been told that I’m too upfront and honest for my own good. I know its true.

So how did I land up in network marketing?

Well, I always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom AND continue working.

Now network marketing OFFLINE is not exactly my cup of tea.

My “warm market” would probably be cold to my advances.

Attend meetings? But I thought the idea was to AVOID the awful commute!

If I called a friend over, it would be to chat about college days – NOT try to “introduce” them to “my new business.”

I’m simply not comfortable with many of the methods that are used to “recruit” people.

But I’m still managing to do a decent job of building my organisation.

I also manage to keep myself motivated enough to WANT to spend every waking moment on my business.

How do I do it? I found something about the business I loved – the internet!

Now the internet is a whole new ball game as far as networking is involved.

On the internet you don’t get rich by approaching people who aren’t interested in what you have to offer. Uninvited advances are better known by the word “spam.”

You don’t lurk in chat rooms – the real-world equivalent of street corners – and accost them (no matter what your upline tells you).

You find out where they hang out and then make your presence felt in those places – like search engines, ezines, discussion lists.

If you can write reports, offer useful information, establish yourself as someone willing to share their expertise – your prospects will FIND YOU.

And if you can find something about the business you love – something about it that gives you a RUSH – you will never be short on motivation.

Its my love for researching and writing reports that gives me the motivation and the edge I need.

With you it could be any number of things – helping people, interacting with others, making friends, writing articles, designing a website – all the things the internet is good for.

And you’ll soon find out that if it feels good for you, it’ll most likely be good for your business.

About The Author Priya Shah is the Editor of “Health eBiz,” an ezine for Health and Wellness Marketers. Subscribe here to receive information on wellness marketing trends and marketing tips to build your busines online http://health-ebiz.com mailto:healthebiz@pushbuttonresponder.com

Air Quality We Breathe At Home Or In The Workplace – by: Peter McGarry

How would you rate the quality of air in your workplace? More importantly what factors are you considering when rating it?

Your home or work environment may be causing you additional health risks without you realizing it. On average, Canadians spend about 80-90 percent of their time indoors, thus the quality of indoor air is very important. Ask yourself a few questions:

Does fresh, outside air flow into the room or office you are usually in?

Is the room humid?

Are there any gas-fired appliances?

Is your furniture composed of particle board or wood laminents?

These questions need to be addressed when determining the quality of air in our home or workplace. Here are the reasons why.

Does fresh, outside air flow into the room or office you are usually in? Better insulation can save on heating costs, but it limits the amount of fresh air that enters and leaves your house or office.As a lot of water vapour is produced from normal human activities, fresh air is necessary to get rid of this extra humidity.

Is the room humid?

Humid or damp conditions in your home can encourage the growth of mould and dust mites. Mould can develop from too much humidity, building leaks, refrigerator drip pans, bathroom surfaces and flooding. Mouldy smells from carpet, wood and gypsum board are a sign that they harbour fungi. Stale water in humidifiers and air conditioners can lead to the growth of bacteria and fungi.

Are there any gas-fired appliances?

Typically, oven and pilot light emissions are not vented and can contribute significantly to indoor levels of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and formaldehyde. Of emerging interest as a potential source of indoor air pollution is the wood burning stove. Since combustion is much less complete with wood than with oil and gas furnaces, pollution emissions can be greater. Though by-products should be vented to the outside, leaks and improper operation of these appliances can cause emissions to the indoors. Kerosene heaters are becoming increasingly popular for space heating. Since these systems are often unvented, the potential for high level contamination exists.

Is your furniture composed of particle board or laminated wood?

Formaldehyde is released from laminated wood and particleboard in which formaldehyde-containing resins have been used. Urea formaldehyde foam insulation is a significant source of formaldehyde and possibly other gaseous products. Insulating materials such as fibreglass can release particulate matter to indoor air.

Health Risks

Illnesses caused by poor air quality range from skin irritation to sneezing and asthma. In some cases, toxins from fungi can cause illness. Toxins in dust can produce fever and flu-like symptoms, especially if the environment is damp. Viruses can also be found in indoor air, but they do not usually lead to illness. A virus does not survive long in air, and getting sick usually results from contact with infected people.

Peter McGarry
info@magneticrevolution.com

For additional free information on health issues regarding air, water, fitness, nutrition and sleep, please visit www.magneticrevolution.com. This site is a guide to improving your quality of life.

About The Author I take an active role in my health and well-being. I created a site www.magneticrevolution.com, for others to read articles about everyday issues on air and water quality, sleep, nutrition and fitness with the intention to create awareness for improving our quality of life. info@magneticrevolution.com

Just Friends (DVD) Review – by: Britt Gillette

A somewhat hilarious and charming romantic comedy, Just Friends explores the innermost depths of the infamous “friend zone” of male/female relationships. Directed by Roger Kumble, the brains behind the widely lauded film Cruel Intentions (1999), the film has a novel premise, and although not the funniest comedy to hit the big screen in the past few years, it does have some really funny moments. Adam ‘Tex’ Davis makes his debut as a screenwriter after extensive work in cinematography and TV writing, and his efforts are above average, but Just Friends is not in the same league as similar themed contemporaries such as There’s Something About Mary (1998) and Meet The Parents (2000). Nevertheless, it’s a film well worth seeing.

Just Friends follows the life of Chris Brander (Ryan Reynolds), a formerly obese New Jersey high school student in love with classmate Jamie Palamino (Amy Smart). However, Chris long ago fell into the “friend zone,” and although, he spent much of his adolescence bonding and building memories with Jamie, she never saw him as anything more than a friend. At their 1995 graduation party, Chris vows to reveal his true feelings, but his well-intentioned attempt blows up in his face when a jerk classmate humiliates him in front of his peers. Enraged, Chris vows to leave town and “become somebody”.

Fast forward ten years to 2005, where Chris is a thin, romantically smooth and wealthy record executive living in Los Angeles. He lives in a multi-million dollar house, drives a flashy sports car, and dates a string of beautiful models. Against his wishes, Chris is forced to watch over one of the company’s hottest pop artists, the ditsy and annoying Samantha James (Anna Faris). En route to Paris, their jet becomes grounded in New Jersey, and Chris is left with no alternative but to return home. While there, he’s reminded of his lifelong crush on Jamie. With newfound confidence, Chris sets out to win over Jamie, but in so doing, he doesn’t act like the real Chris, and his actions have the opposite effect. Meanwhile, a rival suitor from high school, a guitar-playing nice guy named Dusty (Chris Klein), enters the picture. His courtship threatens to ruin Chris’s latest pursuit of Jamie, but in the end, the only impediment to Chris’s lifelong dream is himself.

Cut from a formulaic genre, the resolution of Just Friends is rather predictable. But moviegoers don’t watch these types of films for suspense; they only want to laugh. And anyone who enjoyed Ryan Reynolds in National Lampoon’s Van Wilder is going to enjoy his performance in this film as well. Although not as well-written as the aforementioned film, Reynolds helps prop up the script with a well-cast comic persona akin to Owen Wilson and a straight-face delivery that would make Leslie Nielsen jealous. In fact, Just Friends is a good pick for those hoping to just laugh out loud. Two particularly hilarious scenes come to mind, one in which Chris makes an unexpected return to the ice rink after busting his lip, and one in which he receives an unexpected hand-hold while watching The Notebook. The latter is especially hilarious, and Adam Davis deserves extra credit for creating this classic and original scene. In the end, Just Friends will never garner the status of all-time comedy cult classic, but for the present day, it more than fulfills its promise to create laughter.

About The Author Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find where you can find more reviews of movies and TV series. Source: http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com/2006/05/just-friends-dvd.html

Why Paid Inclusion is better than PPC advertising – by: Kristian Pulz

When search engines pay website owners a percentage of the bid cost, you’re just looking for trouble. This is the problem with Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising, especially with smaller named search engines. Many websites request or even pay there visitors to search a specific search engine and click on a result. This just sends advertisers fake leads and causes problems for the advertisers that paid for the keyword listing. Many PPC search engines offer webmasters up to 80% of the bid price. For example, let’s say I pay ‘Example Search Engine’ $1 for the keyword Viagra, they then pay webmasters $.80 per visitor they send that searches and clicks on a bided search term. You can see why PPC can be a problem.

Paid Inclusion offers a safer, less expensive form of search engine advertising. You pay one price to have your site listed in a specific search engine, often under a specific keyword. Your site will also be updated on the search engines data base more often then non paid sites. Paid Inclusion costs and average of $25 a year per URL submitted. Plus the cost goes down the more URL’s you submit at one time. PPC usually starts at $.01 per click being the cheapest bid per keyword, but you’d be lucky to find a keyword that low that would result in any clicks.

Something to be aware of when advertising on PPC search engines. Although you are paying for your site to be viewed in a search engine, many times your site will show up on other people websites. This is a common practice on both Google and Overture search engines. Advertisers have to opt out of this service if they only want to be shown in the search engine,. In my opinion, this will help reduce fraudulent clicks of your paid search term.

This isn’t to say every PPC search engine is bad. For example, Mamma.com offers a fixed price per website category. They then rotate all the websites in a category evenly. Websites big and small get their advertising site seen the same amount of time. Before spending money on a PPC search engine be sure to read how they protect advertisers against fraudulent clicks. This will help make sure you get more for your money.

If there was only a way to eliminate fraudulent clicks in PPC advertising. It would make using this method of search engine advertising well worth the extra costs. After all, you are getting targeted hits to your site by people searching for precise keywords.

About The Author Kristian Pulz is the owner of http://www.Links2See.com an internet directory and http://www.barterNsave.com a direct partner of the First Barter Network. He can be reached at webmaster@links2see.com.

What is Fair Trade Coffee and Why Should We Buy It? – by: Serge Letaset

Today’s society is very familiar with fair trade coffee, yet it is unclear whether the true meaning behind the economic, environmental and social impact of purchasing and drinking it is understood. In order to comprehend the full impact fair trade coffee has on our society, one must learn what it means.

A small number of large corporations around the world control the production, trade, and retailing of goods and services. These large corporations firmly influence free trade, which has become the primary detriment to trading fairly. Through determination, these corporations have successfully convinced the world’s governments that loosening trade regulations and breaking down barriers to free trade will result in the rise of workers’ wages and benefits with the expanding foreign market.

The competition between large corporations to obtain control over the global market has resulted in reducing their cost by cutting jobs, wages, and benefits to workers. Corporate profits leaving the country rather than being reinvested locally hurts the workforce as well. Government and corporations have written several agreements to protect the intellectual and property rights of corporations. However, agreements to protect workers’ rights and the environment have yet to be enforced.

Coffee is a highly traded commodity in the world, second to oil. Over 25 million farmers and their families depend on it for a steady income. The fact that North American consumers pay $4 to $11 a pound for conventional coffee, which is the same coffee that is bought from coffee growers at $.80 per pound, clearly proves the coffee market is unfair. The involvement of the Fair Trade Organization has benefited these growers by helping them earn $1.12 to $1.26 per pound.

The Fair Trade Organization has been able to lower the cost by working directly with democratically run producer associations, worker-owned cooperatives, producers and growers. These efforts have resulted in the farmers and producers joining forces to achieve reduced costs, simplified credit access, fair pricing, fair working conditions and the ability to reinvest in the community.

Purchasing fair trade coffee means that you are giving a ‘voice’ to the coffee producers and farmers and empowering women and indigenous communities by returning the control of the coffee market into the their hands.

In comparing the cost of fair trade coffee to the traditional coffee, the elimination of the liaison between the growers has made the costs comparable. Even though the distribution costs of fair trade coffee is often higher in price than coffee purchased in the grocery store, the costs are equal to those of most gourmet coffees.

The controversy between corporations concerning equal pay and fair working conditions does not affect the high standards and quality of fair trade coffee. Coffee that is grown for the fair trade market receives a higher recognition in today’s market place. This is due to the coffee being developed organically (free from pesticides and herbicides). Consumers benefit from the indefinable reward of knowing their contribution helps the workers to defeat the corporations.

During your next visit to the grocery store, look for the Fair Trade Certified logo. This logo symbolizes that the Fair Trade Federation (FTF), which upholds the fair trade standards by requiring its members to meet strict criteria in order to achieve fair trade status, has licensed the product. Encourage your friends, family, and co-workers to purchase fair trade coffee on their next trip to the market. From the grower to the consumer, we all receive the benefits that fair trade brings to the community.

About The Author Serge Letaset is the owner of FJ Coffee a premier source of coffee-related information. If you would like to read more of Serge’s articles then visit – http://www.fjcoffee.com/articlecoffee/.