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Corpses, Mollusks, and Kinky Sex – How I Won the Blog-Off
November 27, 2009
by Ellen Brandt, Ph.D.
Many of those in my now-loyal audience first became acquainted with my work by supporting me in the Community Marketing site's Great Blog-Off contest a few months ago. A number of people have asked me to write a little case study about my (overwhelming) win in that test, which illustrates some basic principles everyone who writes for the Internet should keep in mind: Hook 'Em With Headlines. Keep 'Em There With Links. And Remember You're Only As Strong As Your Fan Base.
I've been a heavy-volume print journalist most of my working life. But after a several-year sabbatical from the field, I returned to find the world of magazines in disarray, Big Media under fire from Little Media, and the Internet emerging as the place where a busy and educated audience of professionals tended to go for both news and features.
I was also dismayed to find that the current dominance of a few major search engines tends to exclude from Internet visibility anything written prior to 18 months ago or so. Magazines are particularly poorly represented. So the more than 3,000 print magazine articles I'd published over a 30-year period were virtually inaccessible, in Internet terms. I was suddenly a journalistic ghost, while Buffy the Siamese Cat, with 14,000 Twitter "publications," was now a media superstar.
What to do? Well, with the help of my cousin the Internet guru, I first scanned in a selection of about 50 of my magazine articles and placed them in a little virtual portfolio on the Web. Then I wrote a couple of articles for Internet "aggregators," but soon decided they were pretty much pimps, and I was a lady, not a Lady of the Night.
So I decided to create a Web presence of my own by publishing and administering my own blogsites and developing an audience in the Brave New Blogosphere. While this idea was germinating, I heard about the Great Blog-Off contest at a website called Community Marketing.
Marketing is not my area of expertise, although I've done a few stories on it over the years. (I've probably done a few stories on everything over the years.) But this contest was not designed for marketing writers only. It welcomed all bloggers who professed to be "thought leaders" on any kind of subject matter. I had been contemplating starting my Baby Boomers-The Angriest Generation series, which most of you now know about. (See the latest Index at http://wp.me/pxD3J-2a )
I signed up for the contest, describing myself as a "thought leader" on the subject of Baby Boomers. The owner of the site asked contestants – there were a couple of dozen originally, although some turned out to be not very active – to come up with punchy little descriptions of themselves, a few words that would make us memorable. I offered the following:
Dr. Ellen Brandt – "Sophisticated Rabble-Rouser"
About my professional background: I'm an Ivy League-educated Ph.D. cultural historian and the author of over 3,000 magazine articles. I'm now a professional in the senior services industry – the fastest-growing sector of this economy for the next 100 years or so – while also resuming my career as a heavy-volume journalist.
When I'm not working: I'm a mezzo soprano trained at Juilliard Prep when it was at 123rd and Claremont. I like lighthouses, carousels, and botanical gardens. And my Dog-Nephew Garcia, named after Jerry Garcia, was – honestly! – the inspiration for the Obamas getting a Portuguese water dog.
My Pre-Blog-Off Blogsite
Said punchy blurb was accompanied by a photo and the notation that I would be the contestant representing Boomers among a field of mostly Gen-Xers and Millennials.
The punchy blurbs were posted about ten days before the contest proper was to begin, at which time I contemplated what kind of strategy might set me apart from the field, help win me a loyal audience, and address the essential differences between a static print environment and this dynamic sphere which calls itself the Internet.
I decided to establish a "pre-Blog-Off blog" at WordPress, where I now house the blogs I publish. The site was called "Preparing for the Blog-Off" with the subhead "Seeing What Works."
It basically consisted of the same page repeated ten times with different headlines. More about the headlines in a second. The main purpose of the page was to introduce readers to the Blog-Off, with an easy link to the contest embedded in the text.
I also said a little bit about my background and stated that I would be the contestant representing Content and Experience, as befitted a Baby Boomer. On the blogsite's About page, I offered further links to my Linked In profile, about 50 examples of my print magazine articles, and a wide-ranging interview about my career. (See Why This Blog at http://wp.me/sycK6-about )
This adds up to a whole lot of links! Which illustrates one of those three principles successful website owners should keep in mind: Don't keep your Readers on one static page, in which case they might as well be sitting at their kitchen table reading a newspaper. Keep your audience moving swiftly from link to link, offering them choices of what to read about next. Make your site a textual Treasure Hunt, with riches galore opening before their eyes.
Now For Those Headlines . . .
All I needed now was an interesting topic for the site, broad enough to warrant several blog entries over the two-week period of the contest, and compelling enough to attract a brand-new audience previously unfamiliar with my work.
The Blog-Off winner would be the contestant who attracted both the most comments and the most clicks – or page views – on the Community Marketing site. So I conceived the idea of a series of stories about attracting both page views and comments via the strength of one's article headlines.
The series would be called "Thank You For Clicking!" and would be based on the experience early in my career within the world of those Headline Hotshots, the tabloid newspapers. (See "In An Economy and World Gone Haywire" http://wp.me/pycK6-v )
No one does headlines better than the tabloids. Their titles may amuse you, intrigue you, infuriate you, or have you scratching your head – but they are superb at drawing you in and getting you to read the accompanying stories.
Looking at this exercise as informative, as well as fun, I decided to use ten Faux Tabloid Headlines representing different kinds of typical tabloid stories, which I categorized as The Big Story, Plausible-But-Off, Purely Ridiculous, and What-the-Heck-Is-That-About? You can read about these tabloid story categories – and I certainly hope you will – in the four-part series of blogs which made up my composite entry in the Blog-Off.
Here are the ten Faux Tabloid Headlines:
Corpse Found in Internet Guru's Gym Locker
Kinky Sex, Chocolate Truffles, Adorable Puppies
Thailand Swallowed By Giant Clam
New Reality Show To Feature Laid-Off Bankers, Lawyers
Women Want Men Who Smell Like Fresh Peaches
7 Out of 10 Blog In the Nude
Swimming Pool Features Underwater Computer
Are You a Cheetah or a Crocodile?
Transvestite Running for Mayor
Pet Hamsters May Spread Swine Flu
Each of these headlines was placed on a separate page at the "Preparing For the Blog-Off" site at Word Press, with the exact same text accompanying each one. In other words, the only element that differed page-to-page was the headline itself. A reader's clicking on any particular page instead of another would demonstrate that the headline on that page attracted that reader in some way. I also encouraged readers to comment on why they clicked on that particular headline.
Please click on this link to see what the "Preparing For the Blog-Off" page looked like: http://wp.me/pycK6-2h I have used "7 Out of 10 Blog in the Nude" as an example.
Finding Your Fan Base
At this point I needed an audience to read my Blog-Off entries. Several of the younger entrants in the contest publically stated they'd be concentrating on their Twitter networks as potential bases of fans. But I wasn't on Twitter yet, nor was I active on Face Book.
So I decided to focus my efforts on my Linked In network – considerably smaller then than it is now – and my 50 Linked In Groups.
Starting about two weeks before the Blog-Off's official commencement, I began to post each of the ten Faux Tabloid Headlines in turn, with a link to the appropriate "Preparing" site page, first in the News sections, then in the Discussion sections, of my various Linked In Groups. I made sure each of the ten Faux Headlines appeared in News and Discussion threads an equal number of times, meaning that an approximately equal number of site visitors would have the opportunity to click – or not click – on each distinctive headline.
Readers who did choose to click were encouraged to make comments about why they chose the headline they did. Many got into the spirit of this exercise and made comments which were sophisticated, insightful, and often quite funny.
It was also soon very clear who my own "fan base" tended to be: over-35; equally divided between female and male; well-educated; and with professional, managerial, or creative careers.
I'm quite happy with that audience. And, in fact, many of those who first "found" me and my work via the Blog-Off are now friends and members of my network.
A quick note about my Baby Boomers series: I intended to introduce the first of my Baby Boomers-The Angriest Generation articles towards the end of the Blog-Off contest. But I collected so much material from the Faux Tabloid Headlines exercise – most of which turned out to be genuinely interesting, as well as humorous – I decided to stick with that "mini-series," consisting of four separate "Thank You For Clicking!" results stories, as my composite Blog-Off entry.
Here are links to the four stories in the series:
Thank You For Clicking! Part One: Corpse Found In Internet Guru's Gym Locker http://wp.me/pycK6-2i
Thank You For Clicking! Part Two: Kinky Sex, Chocolate Truffles, Adorable Puppies http://wp.me/pycK6-2l
Thank You For Clicking! Part Three: Thailand Swallowed By Giant Clam http://wp.me/pycK6-2m
Thank You For Clicking! Part Four: New Reality Show To Feature Laid-Off Bankers, Lawyers http://wp.me/pycK6-2o
I urge you to read these stories in sequence, after looking at the Introductory page from the "Preparing For the Blog-Off" site, linked above.
This sequence of four Thank You For Clicking! results articles made up my Blog-Off entry. They were posted on the Community Marketing site at about three-day intervals over the two-week course of the contest. Other active competitors also posted about four stories on average, with three to five blogs being the typical range per contestant.
When the results were tallied, my articles garnered about twice as many page views on the Community Marketing site as my nearest competitor. But the number of page views on the "Preparing for the Blog-Off" site itself was over double that amount, meaning my total views overall, counting both sites, was between six and seven times as great as the next-nearest contestant.
Tell Me What You Think
The series of Thank You For Clicking! stories also did extremely well in terms of reader commentary, which I believe is one of the essential components of successful Internet-based publishing.
Internet gurus tell us that a comment-to-click ratio of 1-2 percent is the average among publishers across the Web. Adding together the approximately 200 comments the Thank You! series received at the Community Marketing site, my Linked In Groups, and the "Preparing For the Blog-Off" site, these articles had a comment-to-click ratio of almost 4 percent, considered an excellent showing.
The comment-to-page view ratio on the "Preparing" site alone, where I – and not other managers – had complete control of the blog and its content was similar, with close to 100 comments from readers, out of 2700 page views in a three-week period.
I am including a selection of original Reader comments from the Community Marketing site and the "Preparing" blogsite as an appendix to this case study. To see them, please click here: http://wp.me/pycK6-2q and http://wp.me/pycK6-2r
The superb reader response demonstrates how enthusiastic – and witty – an audience I was fortunate enough to make an acquaintance with during the course of the Blog-Off contest.
There were a few detractors. If you've read my serious humor piece about Malice on the Web, you'll remember a small cadre of loonies at a couple of Linked In media groups – including a PR man! – who thought anything whatsoever to do with tabloids was just too undignified for Internet discourse. (See "Vultures and Stiletto Heels" http://wp.me/pycK6-5 )
But most readers loved the premise of the Faux Tabloid Headline experiment and understood that it was not only entertaining, but also told us some interesting things about which kinds of headlines readers respond to viscerally and why.
Even coming from a heavy-volume print background, it was essential for me – as it is for every writer and publisher – to discover just who my Internet "fan base" might be and how I could best appeal to them in future Web publications.
My gratifying win in the Blog-Off contest allowed me to do that.
Soon afterwards, I launched my Baby Boomers-The Angriest Generation series. (See http://wp.me/pxD3J-2V ) And "Tell Me What You Think," a catch phrase I used throughout the Blog-Off, became the subtitle of my EllenInteractive site, a cornucopia of diverse stories designed to elicit above-average reader response. (For instance, see "The World is Divided," a key question story which received well over 100 comments: http://wp.me/pycK6-n )
I'm now moving on to additional Internet publishing projects:
Media Revolution, a subseries of EllenInteractive, talks about how the entire media sector is undergoing a sea change of enormous proportions and how we must prepare for it. (See "Is Big Brother Here-And Is He An Algorithm?" http://wp.me/pycK6-1Y )
Romance After Fifty is a series on dating and relationships I'm developing with a Baby Boomer matchmaker. (See "A Chance for Romance" http://wp.me/pxD3J-R )
A Little Knowledge will look at Internet security and cloud computing from the perspective of an audience which is well-educated and has used computers for years, but which lacks information on some of the serious recent developments that are changing the Web as we speak.
And The Rest of US – pun intended – is a new blogsite I'm launching about and for political Centrists.
So there have been many interesting developments built upon the foundation of my Blog-Off win.
I invite my brilliant, sophisticated, and in-every-way-perfect audience to join with me in these new projects and others to come.
Any success I have is due to you!
Filed in Blog Off, Humor, Interactive, Internet, Media, Media Revolution
Tags: "7 Out of 10 Blog in the Nude", "A Chance For Romance", "A Little Knowledge", "Angriest Generation", "Are You a Cheetah or a Crocodile?", "Baby Boomers-The Angriest Generation", "Big Media", "Corpse Found in Internet Guru's Gym Locker", "Corpses Mollusks and Kinky Sex", "EllenInteractive", "How I Won the Blog-Off", "In An Economy and World Gone Haywire", "Is Big Brother Here-And Is He An Algorithm?", "Kinky Sex Chocolate Truffles Adorable Puppies", "Little Media", "New Reality Show to Feature Laid-Off Bankers Lawyers", "Pet Hamsters May Spread Swine Flu", "Preparing for the Blog-Off", "Reality Show to Feature Laid-Off Bankers Lawyers", "Romance After Fifty", "Sophisticated Rabble-Rouser", "Swimming Pool Features Underwater Computer", "Tell Me What You Think", "Thailand Swallowed By Giant Clam", "Thank You For Clicking!", "The Rest of US", "The World Is Divided", "Transvestite Running For Mayor", "Vultures and Stiletto Heels", "Women Want Men Who Smell Like Fresh Peaches", 7 Out of 10 Bloggers, Adorable Puppies, Aggregators as Pimps, article, Audience-building, Audiences, Baby Boomer Matchmaker, Baby Boomers, Blog in the Nude, Blog Off, bloggers, Blogging in the Nude, blogs, Boomers, Buffy the Siamese Cat, bullying, Case Study, Cheetah, Cheetah or Crocodile, Chocolate Truffles, Comment-to-Click Ratio, Comment-to-Page View Ratio, Community Marketing, Competition, Competitor, Contest, Contestant, Crocodile, Cyber-Gatekeepers, dr ellen brandt, Educated Audience, ellen brandt, Ellen Brandt Ph.D., Fan Base, Faux Headlines, Faux Tabloid Headlines, Feature Stories, Features, Flamers, Fresh Peaches, Gatekeepers, Gen-Xers, Giant Clam, Giant Mollusk, Great Blog-Off, Gym Locker, Hamsters, Headlines, Humor, Humor Blog, Interactive, interactivity, Internet Guru, Internet Guru's Gym Locker, Internet security, Ivy League, Ivy Leaguers, Jerry Garcia, Juilliard, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Kinky Sex, Laid-Off Bankers, Laid-Off Lawyers, Linked In, Links, Magazines, Malice on the Internet, Malice on the Web, Mayor, Media Revolution, Mezzo-Soprano, Millennials, Mollusks, Networking, Obama's Portuguese Water Dog, Peaches, Perfect Audience, Pet Hamsters, Portuguese Water Dog, Reality Show, Reality Show For Bankers, Reality Show For Lawyers, Satire, senior services, Serious Humor, Social Media, social networks, Swimming Pool, Swine Flu, Tabloid Headlines, Tabloids, Thought Leader, Transvestite, Transvestite Mayor, Twitter, Underwater Computer, University of Pennsylvania, Virtual Portfolio, WordPress, writers, writing
Thank You For Clicking! Part Four: New Reality Show To Feature Laid-Off Bankers, Lawyers
November 24, 2009
by Ellen Brandt, Ph.D.
How have you attracted viewers to your on-line blogs and articles? Please add your solo to our cacophony of voices.
Don't be shy! Sing out how you feel about the topics broached in our "Thank You For Clicking!" series and the Faux Tabloid Headlines experiment which preceded it.
For instance, 1) Compared to strategies used in traditional "print," do you have to be especially aggressive or clever or cagey to attract viewers to your on-line blogs, articles, and other sites? Why or why not?
2) Has a shocking, surprising, or tabloid-like headline ever gotten good results for you on-line? Tell us about it.
3) What other techniques have you used to attract more "clickers" to your blogs, articles, and other Internet sites? Which have been most and least successful?
4) Why do some disparage the real skills – and real talent and creativity – of tabloid journalists? Shouldn't good journalists – whatever niche they favor – strive to learn from one another and be supportive of the choices other journalists have made?
5) Is there truly a divide between "serious" journalism and tabloid journalism, or are both just parts of the full spectrum of journalistic endeavors?
6) For that matter, shouldn't all writers strive to participate in as many different genres as possible, working to reach and provoke as many different audiences as possible? In this Brave New World of media transition and flux, isn't this kind of versatility not only valuable, but possibly essential?
Fellow Writers, fellow Thinkers, fellow Theorists: Don't seethe. Don't carp. And please, don't attack blindly.
Discuss! Debate! Talk to us!
To return to Part One of the "Thank You For Clicking!" series, Corpse Found in Internet Guru's Gym Locker, click on: http://wp.me/pycK6-2i
To see a selection of reader Comments from the original sites, see: http://wp.me/pycK6-2q
To return to "Corpses, Mollusks, and Kinky Sex – How I Won the Blog-Off," go to: http://wp.me/pycK6-2s
Filed in Blog Off
Tags: "7 Out of 10 Blog in the Nude", "Are You a Cheetah or a Crocodile?", "Corpse Found in Internet Guru's Gym Locker", "EllenInteractive", "How I Won the Blog-Off", "New Reality Show To Feature Laid-Off Bankers, "Pet Hamsters May Spread Swine Flu", "Preparing for the Blog-Off", "Swimming Pool Features Underwater Computer", "Thailand Swallowed By Giant Clam", "Thank You For Clicking!", "Transvestite Running For Mayor", "Women Want Men Who Smell Like Fresh Peaches", Adorable Puppies, article, Blog Off, blogs, Cacophony, Cacophony of Voices, Chocolate Truffles, Community Marketing, Competitor, Contest, Contestant, dr ellen brandt, ellen brandt, Ellen Brandt Ph.D., Entrant, Experiment, Faux Headlines, Faux Tabloid Headlines, Great Blog-Off, Headlines, Humor, Humor Blog, Interactive, interactivity, Kinky Sex, Lawyers", Linked In, Linked In Groups, Media Revolution, Pre-Blog-Off Blog, Serious Humor, Social Media, social networks, Tabloid Headlines, Tabloids, WordPress, writers, writing
Thank You For Clicking! Part Three: Thailand Swallowed By Giant Clam
November 24, 2009
by Ellen Brandt, Ph.D.
In these troubled times, readers seem to appreciate humor, the more off-the-wall the better. But they also like stories about villains, corporate and otherwise. And bad times or good, chocolate and babies sell.
While our results with the Faux Tabloid Ten experiment are based on a fairly small sampling of readers, they don't surprise me at all. And I believe a larger sampling would yield results that were very similar.
Let's start with the least successful headlines in the group and why they might not have attracted as many clicks as the front-runners did.
At the bottom of the pack were "Pet Hamsters May Spread Swine Flu" and "Transvestite Running For Mayor" – and readers were quick to tell us why. Both headlines, they said, were too much like what you might see in any ole newspaper, any ole day.
That's despite the fact that the two titles fit into different categories of tabloid headlines. "Pet Hamsters" is what I call a Plausible-But-Somehow-Off headline. It seems reasonable on first glance, but is based on a glaring logical flaw, in this case, the sound-association of "hamsters" and "ham."
"Pet Hamster" was rejected, though, not because it was "off," but because readers have been inundated with swine flu stories lately, to the extent that they will only click on a title that is way more shocking – or perhaps humorous – than this one is. In the county where I live, for instance, some high schools have been temporarily closed because of suspected swine flu cases, which means this topic is the hardest of hard news, immediate and local.
But Rene suggests a way the topic could be made sufficiently humorous to persuade her to click: "I'd rather see . . . College Son's Laundry Source of Swine Flu," says the New Jersey mom and editor.
Readers thought "Transvestite Running For Mayor" was just too ho-hum, too. It falls into the Big Statement category of tabloid headlines, those based on news that might be true but is shocking to a portion of the population.
In this case, maybe not all that shocking anymore. One reader, an insurance broker from California, wrote me privately that in the Golden State, there are possibly dozens of transvestite politicians. Although he may be exaggerating, there are probably at least a few. On the other hand, a revelation about an existing Mayor or Congressperson discovered to be something the voters didn't think he/she was would probably be not only clickable, but the lead story at every media outlet in town! I could come up with examples – "Michael Is Michelle!" – but I don't wish to be sued until the Blog-Off is over.
Scoring slightly better in our reader poll – with results somewhere in the middle range – were "Are You a Cheetah Or a Crocodile?," "Swimming Pool Features Underwater Computer," "Women Want Men Who Smell Like Fresh Peaches," and "7 Out of 10 Blog In the Nude."
Interestingly enough, three of these titles have a behavioral – some would call it psycho-babble – slant, popular not only in the tabloids, but in many other kinds of consumer publications. So these are familiar kinds of headlines, with which most readers are comfortable.
"Are You a Cheetah or a Crocodile?" falls into the well-liked Idiotic Quiz subcategory, part of the greater What-the-Heck-Is-That-All-About? category. If you're human, you probably love such quizzes and are happy to take them – and some of our readers did, imagining their own quiz to correspond to the headline. Michigan writer Rowena, for instance, told us that "It pains me to say so, but I think I'm a crocodile. I lurk . . . patient, tenacious . . . I might even be a bottom dweller."
But Art, a healthcare executive from Tennessee, wondered if this one might be more than a mere quiz. "I think this is an adjunct to the reality show for bankers and lawyers," he told us.
"Women Like Men Who Smell Like Fresh Peaches" and "7 Out of 10 Blog in the Nude" are not only both Big Statement titles, they both fit into the very popular Strange Research subcategory. Like Idiotic Quizzes, titles like these are familiar to anyone who has ever read a newspaper or magazine, not to mention the average scholarly journal, and our readers jumped right in.
Re the fruit: Scott, an architect from northern California, confessed, "If I had some fresh peaches and wanted a romantic night, I would definitely read this one." Ann, a business coach from Missouri, said, "I like peaches, and I like men, but maybe not together." While Jamie, a designer from Florida, remarked, perhaps too revealingly, that "I love that my husband smells like cinnamon after a shower!"
Re the naked people: One anonymous respondent said he'd "like to blog in the nude, but it might upset my co-workers." Cheryl, a Texas entrepreneur, thinks someone should form a new Linked In or Twitter group called the Buff Bloggers, which might be well-received, particularly among fitness-oriented writers.
"Swimming Pool Features Underwater Computer," which falls into the Plausible-But-Somehow-Off category, may have gotten only about 1/5 as many page views as the top-clicked title, but it got the second-highest number of comments of any of the ten headlines, about 1-in-10, a terrific ratio of interactive responses for an Internet-based page.
This is the classic "double-take" headline, which sounds fabulous until you think about it. One Californian said, tongue-in-cheek but bathing suit-clad, "I'm very interested in not only working from home but working from my pool, so an underwater computer is exactly what I'm looking for." Lawyer Michael from Florida mused, "What's so funny about that? Sometimes I'm in the Jacuzzi, connected to my office by two different computers, with an I-phone on one side, non-alcoholic beer on the other, HD-exterior TV mounted in front and a music system giving me good sounds." Sounds like my kind of guy! But New York marketing guru Cindy, again meshing two of the titles, asked, "Will there also be crocodiles in the swimming pool? That could make focusing on the computer challenging."
Murder, Sex, Sushi, and Bankers: The Top Four
Neck and neck for third and fourth place in our Clickability poll were the headlines "Thailand Swallowed By Giant Clam" and "New Reality Show to Feature Laid-Off Bankers, Lawyers." While only about half as popular as the Number Two headline, "Kinky Sex, Chocolate Truffles, Adorable Puppies," these two had quite a few adherents, especially, for some reason, among Southerners and Ivy Leaguers, not to mention Southern Ivy Leaguers.
"Thailand Swallowed By Giant Clam" is the kind of Purely Ridiculous headline one of my former clients, the Weekly World News, used to specialize in, and commentators on both the blog and at the Linked In Groups got into the spirit of things. Alabamian Butch quipped that "I thought it was a lobster." Several others had the same idea, saying they heard it wasn't Thailand, but Laos or Malaysia or maybe Indonesia. But one of my sorority sisters believed it was Thailand, commented on her happy days working in that country, and commiserated with former friends and colleagues who had to relocate because of the Evil Mollusk.
Talk about Evil – or at least currently unloved – various readers said they can't wait to see an actual contest between Wall Street Bankers and Wall Street Lawyers, which would move our "New Reality Show" headline from the Plausible-But-Off to the Big Statement category. Mr. Burnett, are you listening?
One said, "This is a reality show I might actually watch. Winner gets their job back, but has to pay 50% of salary and overpaid bonus to losers." But Art said, "One group will be made up of timid souls laid-off because they were too conservative . . . They will never get out of the starting gate. The other team will be the group that was so aggressive, they either burst the bubble or got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Good luck getting this group to form a team!"
Neither clams nor laid-off executives can compete with decadence and baby animals, of course. Such has it ever been, and such shall it ever be. "Kinky Sex, Chocolate Truffles, Adorable Puppies," our number two-clicked headline, also succeeds because it falls into the What-the-Heck-is-That-All-About? category, which lures you in, because it could fit a wide range of possible topics. Dashing Breeder of Siberian Huskies absconds to Belgium with Ingenue Judge he met at the Westminster Kennel Club Show. Well – could be.
Kim, a physician from Florida, liked the headline trio, but thinks we should have added in a good champagne. Sherry, a publicist from Massachusetts, was OK on the kinky sex and candy, but Adorable Puppies "took the imagination, for me, down a slippery slope to a dark place." Wow, Sherry! You should get in touch with Jeff, a sports producer from New York, who joked that he "prefer(s) barnyard animals, a midget, and a taser."
Personally, I am a sucker for baby animals and am prone to click on any story that features them. When the German magazine Der Spiegel was running their never-ending daily series about Knut, the mega-adorable baby polar bear, I visited their on-line site nearly every day to Ooh and Ah over baby pics of the white, furry cutie-pie.
But even babies and chocolates couldn't compete with Dire Foul Play – at least in our little survey. The number one Faux Headline by far was "Corpse Found in Internet Guru's Gym Locker," which received over ten times as many eager clicks as the lowest-ranking headline.
This is clearly an example of a Big Statement tabloid headline, based on material that is actual news, but shocking or intriguing to many viewers. Just as I understand the impulse to seek out stories about baby animals, I empathize totally with the impulse to click on stories about Love Triangles Turned Tragic, Postal Workers Going Berserk, Cowboys Fighting Indians, and Corpses Found in Gym Lockers. In other words, Blood, Gore, Fury, and Passion appeal to me – and to many, many other readers.
Jan, an executive trainer from Arizona, thinks "a corpse in a gym locker would get a click from just about anyone." But the fact that an Internet Guru was a principal in this (faux) saga seemed to attract people even more – although some seemed to hope the Guru might be the Corpse, instead of a possible Murderer. As a viewer from one of the Linked In groups said, "Those Internet guys are so full of themselves, he probably got what he deserved."
Others were intrigued by the locker side of the equation. "How does one get a locker big enough to hold a body?" asked Ann Lia, a healthcare executive from Washington, D.C., whose fitness club must be stingy with their space. But Bob, a marketing manager from Florida, took it one step further, into the realm of political favoritism. "Who in the Administration," he complained, "did the Guru know to get a gym locker that big?"
As these responses show, the vast majority of readers found our Faux Tabloid Headline project both useful and amusing, encouraging them not only to click, but to get creative themselves with some delightful – or downright hilarious – comments.
There were a handful of dissenters – none on the site itself, but some who posted at Linked In groups. A couple of them were the garden-variety crazies you seem to find all over the Internet today, and whom I intend to write about in a future blog.
Others were thoughtful – although to my mind, dead wrong – dissenters. Their essential argument is that there's Serious Journalism way over heeeeeeeeeeeeeeere and Tabloid Journalism way over theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere, and Never the Twain Shall Meet – a conclusion which the famous Twain – Mark – would have disagreed with vehemently. (Probably Shania, too.)
If this opinion were ever true – and I doubt it – it is certainly not true in the creative flux and cacophony of voices which mark the Brave New World of Internet Journalism right now.
The best-written, most thoroughly-researched and intelligently-reasoned article or blog may not get the audience it deserves just because it's there. That audience often has to be brought to it, to find out it exists.
By Fair Means or Foul Play – like a Corpse in an Internet Guru's Gym Locker – it is a legitimate exercise to seek out readers and bring them into your authorial fold.
Part Four of this series will suggest some topics for further discussion. Please comment. Your cacophonous voice is important, too!
For Part Four, New Reality Show to Feature Laid-Off Bankers, Lawyers, please click on: http://wp.me/pycK6-2o
To return to "Corpses, Mollusks, and Kinky Sex-How I Won the Blog-Off," go to: http://wp.me/pycK6-2s
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by Ellen Brandt, Ph.D.
Under certain circumstances, a headline can be Purely Ridiculous and accomplish its goal. Otherwise, go for The Big Statement, Plausible-But-Somehow-Off, or What-the-Heck-Is-That-All-About?
Examples of all these kinds of click-attracting headlines were used in the Faux Tabloid Ten.
Before I discuss individual headlines, let me establish my tabloid credentials for those who don't know me. In fact, if you have a moment, you might want to read the very recent interview with and about me that was published at Name of Site. (I subsequently moved this story from a blog aggregator's site to EllenInteractive. Here's a quick link: http://wp.me/pycK6-v )
In this interview, I talk about the period, early in my career, when I wrote for all the major supermarket tabloids on a heavy-volume basis. I got my first assignment in this specialized media niche via a women's page column – remember the days when every newspaper had a women's page? – which ran weekly in 40-plus California newspapers.
One of my stories featured a Sierra Nevada hotelier, Sue Clark, whose gold rush-era hotel boasted a resident ghost named George. One of the tabloids sought me out and asked if I could do a story for them on just the ghost! I did; they loved it; and I became a tabloid writer, with a rather strange specialty virtually nobody else shared – turning serious business articles into fodder for a tabloid audience.
So I learned to write the attention-grabbing headlines you'll see at the checkout counter, spurring you on to put down that milk carton and learn why "Veterinarians Date Supermodels," "Ferret Owners Have High I.Q.s," or "Peanut Butter Plus Anchovies Burn Fat Quickly."
As you can see, none of the above headlines is particularly funny, but they are all typically tabloid, which brings me to a certain kind of comment I got from a few of those who perused the pre-Blog-Off blog. These few – typically people in creative jobs – helpfully made suggestions about how a certain headline in the Faux Ten could be made more "riotously funny." A novelist, for instance, outlined a few other possible male scents I could use in the "Peaches" headline that might provoke more chuckles, while an adman thought other kinds of candy would be funnier than truffles in the "Kinky Sex" title.
But unless a headline is patently absurd, the tabloids don't want it to be too comedic. Slightly silly actually draws in more readers than stand-up-comedy hilarious. Do I know why this is so? Not really. But it probably has something to do with the typical reader of the National Enquirer or the Globe being different from the average reader of Mad Magazine. The latter wants to laugh out loud. The former wants to hear some gossip, read some service pieces, all the while being pleasurably titillated.
So let me first tell you which of my Faux Tabloid Headlines falls into the four categories of attention-grabbers I mentioned above, then move on in Part Three to reader comments which help explain why some titles got more page views than others.
An example of a Purely Ridiculous headline is easy to spot on the list: "Thailand Swallowed By Giant Clam." Why ever use this kind of headline? Frankly, one should do so only sparingly and certainly not without a purpose. But I thought this headline was a perfect one to introduce this particular Faux Tabloid experiment. Besides, it's so ME, reflecting my own personality and sense of humor, which is what a Purely Ridiculous title should do.
But make sure the humor is in some way related to the topic of your story. "Elephant Chosen Prom King" might be a ridiculous, catchy headline for a story about high school students who are avid Republicans. "Nonagenarian Gives Birth to Triplets" could head a piece on excesses in the field of in-vitro fertilization.
A Big Statement tabloid headline may be based on a perfectly true bit of news that is nonetheless shocking or intriguing to many people. "Transvestite Running For Mayor" is just this sort of headline, and I can imagine it appearing in virtually any issue of virtually any tabloid. Surely sometime, somewhere, somehow, Transvestites have run for the office of Mayor, and many people will be happy to read about it.
Another sort of Big Statement headline may precede an article detailing the results of a strange piece of research. "Women Want Men Who Smell Like Fresh Peaches" is a good example. I've been told that Dr. Hildegarde M. Von Smitzen of the University of Alpen-Wassen published exactly this kind of research finding last year. Or maybe not. But she could have. If she existed.
Articles based on real – and often extremely weird – research projects are a staple of tabloid reporting. If you ever run out of things to write about, go straight to the scientific journals!
Our Faux Tabloid Ten also included some prime examples from the Plausible-But-Somehow-Off category of headlines. These are titles that seem straightforward and true at first glance, but which have a glaring logical flaw when one looks a bit closer. "Swimming Pool Features Underwater Computer" is an obvious example. Your first take might be,"Wow! I'd like one of those." Your second take: "But I guess I'd need scuba gear to use it." And your third take: "Wouldn't the mouse keep shorting out?"
Similarly, "Pet Hamsters May Spread Swine Flu" looks sensible when you read it quickly, as the faux-association "hamster-ham-swine" echoes through your brain. In truth, hamsters are probably no more likely to spread swine flu than pet cats or pet parakeets – unless they escape from their cute little wheels and run away to Latin American pig-breeding sites. Which I guess is possible.
Two of our Faux Tabloid Ten fit nicely into the What-the-Heck-Is-That-All-About? category. "Are You a Cheetah or a Crocodile?" is an exemplar of a subgroup of this category that's a staple not only of the tabloids, but also of women's, men's, and many general interest magazines: the Idiotic Quiz. I do not use that term pejoratively, because I'm convinced the vast majority of human beings adore Idiotic Quizzes of all kinds . They are quite simply fun to participate in, and you don't have to take the results seriously, as opposed to, say, bar exams or mammograms.
And one of the most popular of our Faux Ten Headlines, "Kinky Sex, Chocolate Truffles, Adorable Puppies," might make the front page of any respectable tabloid, mostly because it could be about nearly anything at all: A scandal involving a Hollywood director? Goings-on at the ASPCA? Next week's topics roster at the Tyra Banks Show? You'd have to read further to find out.
We'll discuss which of our Faux Tabloid Headlines readers liked most – and least – in Part Three.
Click here for Part Three of the series, Thailand Swallowed by Giant Clam: http://wp.me/pycK6-2m
To return to "Corpses, Mollusks, and Kinky Sex-How I Won the Blog-Off," go to: http://wp.me/pycK6-2s
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by Ellen Brandt, Ph.D.
Whether you're an experienced journalist, a novice blogger – or a print publication moving to the Web – don't overestimate your audience's tolerance for boring ho-hum titles, nor underestimate your need to rope them in with phrases that attract, entice – and possibly titillate.
This four-part story is my official entry in The Community Marketing site's Great Blog-Off competition. It details the results – so far – of a little experiment begun about ten days ago.
I wanted to prepare my diverse and enthusiastic network of connections on Linked-In – and their networks of friends and followers on social networks around the Internet and around the world – for the coming Blog-Off, telling them what was about to occur and why they should be tuning in.
At the same time, I hoped to see what sorts of eye-catching, funny, or downright titillating article titles Internet viewers might find most appealing, statistically recording numbers of views and numbers of interactive comments for ten different Faux Tabloid Headlines, all fairly typical of what you might actually see on your newsstand or at your supermarket checkout counter.
I set up a Word Press blog called "Preparing For the Blog-Off," consisting of ten reiterations of the exact same one-page post, with the ten different Faux Tabloid Headlines attached as titles. The post outlined the experiment's parameters, talked about the more serious – or at least more somber – blogs I expect to write later in the competition, and urged viewers to leave comments and suggestions about the "test" titles in particular and the Blog-Off in general.
The reiterated post linked in its body to the Community Marketing Blog and the Blog-Off site, while under About, I placed links to some information about me: my Linked-In Profile; 50 examples of my magazine articles; and a wide-ranging interview with and about me.
I will maintain this temporary "Preparing for the Blog-Off" site throughout the Blog-Off competition and probably a bit beyond its end. If you haven't seen it yet and would like to, please click on: (Link to original site, now disabled.)
Ten Little Titles And How They Drew
I posted the ten different Faux Tabloid Headlines used in this experiment, plus links to the "Preparing For the Blog-Off" blog, in the News sections – and a few times in the Discussions sections – of the 50 Linked-In Groups to which I currently belong, as well as at the top of my Linked-In Profile page. Because of my background and interests, my Linked-In Groups represent an interesting mix of members from my alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania; the rest of the Ivy League; my sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma; senior services; finance; media; Internet research and E-marketing; Baby Boomers; and politics.
I also sent a note about the Blog-Off to the 1000-plus members of my Linked-In connections network, urging them to look at the "Preparing For the Blog-Off" blogsite and to leave comments and suggestions, if they were so inclined. I divided these notes to my network into ten groups corresponding to the ten different Headlines, so I could vary the Headline links fairly and without bias.
Here, in order of popularity, measured by the absolute number of page views they drew, are the ten Faux Tabloid Headlines designed to bring readers to the site:
(Out of 2,134 views as of 3 PM Eastern time 05/24/09, representing 7 days of viewing)
Corpse Found in Internet Guru's Gym Locker 515 or 24.1 percent
Kinky Sex, Chocolate Truffles, Adorable Puppies 409 or 19.2 percent
Thailand Swallowed By Giant Clam 199 or 9.3 percent
New Reality Show To Feature Laid-Off Bankers, Lawyers 181 or 8.5 percent
Women Want Men Who Smell Like Fresh Peaches 114 or 5.3 percent
7 Out of 10 Blog In the Nude 105 or 4.9 percent
Swimming Pool Features Underwater Computer 94 or 4.4 percent
Are You a Cheetah or a Crocodile? 79 or 3.7 percent
Transvestite Running for Mayor 65 or 3.1 percent
Pet Hamsters May Spread Swine Flu 48 or 2.3 percent
The "Preparing for the Blog-Off" blog attracted nearly 90 comments at the site itself, a superb comment-per-view ratio of 1 in 24, as opposed to the normal 1 in 100 – 1 in 50 range.
I monitored and deleted about 1/3 of these comments, however, not because they were negative – I received no negative comments on the site itself – but because they were badly worded or potentially embarrassing to the posters themselves. I didn't want anyone among my acquaintance to look at his/her comment later, say "Oh, No! Did I actually say that?" and be humiliated for decades to come!
That left the site with 60 posted comments, most on the comparative "click-inspiring" value of the alternating ten Faux Tabloid Headlines. That's a view-to-comment ratio of 1 in 36, still considerably above the normal Internet site ratio.
The next part of this series will discuss why I – and viewers – believed certain types of Headlines might have gotten more viewer clicks than others.
For Part Two, Kinky Sex, Chocolate Truffles, Adorable Puppies, go to: http://wp.me/pycK6-2l
To return to "Corpses, Mollusks, and Kinky Sex-How I Won the Blog-Off," go to: http://wp.me/pycK6-2s
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7 Out of 10 Blog In the Nude
November 23, 2009
Hello, fellow Group Members!
This will either infuriate you or amuse you – one hopes the latter.
It's a frivolous little experiment with ten faux headlines to see which kind of outrageous title readers might be most likely to click on.
I need every advantage I can get.
Because starting Monday, I'm the Baby Boomer entrant, versus a couple of dozen SEO-savvy young 'uns, in the Great Blog-Off contest at Community Marketing.
Here's the link, if you haven't read about it yet. (Link now disabled.)
Not only am I the Veteran – or Evil Cougar, depending on your viewpoint – in this bunch, I will probably be the contestant representing CONTENT, as opposed to quantitative formulae for blog optimization, or whatever the latest incomprehensible jargon is.
In fact, the blogs I will post will be very serious ones, indeed, elaborating upon the political and economic theme of Baby Boomers as modern history's Angriest Generation, a phrase I've coined and hope will become a buzz-phrase on the Internet from this day forward.
But I will mix up my serious blogs with some frivolous ones harking back to my days as a heavy-volume tabloid writer – an era in my life I look back upon with much fondness and nostalgia.
Want to help me by making suggestions about my campaign for top-of-the-heap status in the Blog-Off?
I truly welcome your advice and any assistance you can give me.
If I'm elected, you may have a Cabinet post or any Ambassadorship of your choosing.
Leave a comment here, or write to me at (E-mail address given).
Warmest regards – or to you Kappas, Loyally,
Ellen Brandt
FOR MORE ABOUT ME, PLEASE GO TO ABOUT, at http://wp.me/sycK6-about
(To return to "Corpses, Mollusks, and Kinky Sex-How I Won the Blog-Off," go to: http://wp.me/pycK6-2s )
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text:
Suzuki Shootout - Grand Vitara VS Samurai
Independent And Solid Suzukis Hit The Trail
Let's pretend you took a classic old solid-axle 4x4 and a modern-day4x4 with fully independent suspension and hit the trail. Would it be a disaster waiting to happen? Would the solid-axle rig dominate its younger brother? Or would the late-model luxury have the old-school owner begging for a ride? We ditched work, hit the trail, and ended up with an impromptu comparison session that revealed some insights on the solid-versus-independent and new-versus-old arguments.
Suzuki is known by most people for motorcycles, but its 4x4s are what really stand out to anyone reading this magazine. As many know, Suzuki built the awesome Samurai in days gone by, but after unsupported claims of instability by some sensationalizing media outlets it was discontinued in the U.S. Suzuki's current 4x4, the Grand Vitara, is the perfect vehicle for the unadventurously mainstream media, but how would it fair when shoved down a rocky off-camber desert trail by the crew at 4-Wheel & Off-Road? We hit the trail with both of these bite-sized imports and came home smiling.
The Grand Vitara, with its front and rear independent suspension, was modified by ARB with a bull bar, lift coils all around, and IPF lights. Though ARB offers an Air Locker, we did not have one installed, so we had some good testing of the factory traction control. Longer and lower than the Samurai, the GV was a more challenging drive in the dirt but still very capable with a 230-horse V-6, five-speed transmission, and 30-inch BFG All-Terrains.
Our Samurai specimen is a tuned and tweaked trail machine owned and built by Randy Ellis of Randy Ellis Design. It has stock axles stuffed with 3.73 gears, a rear locker, a 1.6L four-cylinder out of Geo Tracker, Calmini 4.16:1 transfer gears, a spring-over with Old Man Emu 11/2-inch Jeep YJ rear springs up front, and King 2.5 shocks and Walker Evans air shocks in the rear. The rear suspension is a three-link with track bar, all built by Randy Ellis Design, which also built the cage, axle truss, seat mounts, and bumpers. A Warn winch, steel wheels, 11/2-inch wheel spacers, and 33x1050 BFGoodrich KM2 muddies finish it up.
What's with the toaster?
Still think IFS is bad? Behind our dueling duo were our friends Ned and Kat in their four-wheel-drive Volkswagen Vanagon Syncro. This all-independent off-road van has been all over the country (and much of Baja, Mexico) exploring backcountry trails and acting as a mini mobile home. It has good aftermarket shocks, locking differentials, and aggressive tires, the same parts that make any 4x4 better off road, whether solid or independent.
There was one place the GV sped past the old Sammy: the tarmac. In fact, the photographer was in the GV with the A/C on while Randy Ellis cruised a little slower in his open-topped ride. Ellis was smiling, but if this trail ride was held in upper Michigan in the dead of winter, it may have been a different story.

subset: commoncrawl


text: We wanted to express our gratitude and thanks to the wonderful medical team who attended to our daughter today. She collapsed while running the Vancouver Marathon. From the emergency responders, to the physicians and nurses who looked after her at St. Paul's Hospital, we can't give enough praise. Denise and Benje"


text:
VATICAN CITY, May 6 (CNA/EWTN News) .- Pope Benedict XVI told pilgrims May 6 that their lives will be fruitful and have meaning if they live in union with Jesus Christ.
"Dear friends, every one of us is like a vine, which lives only if it is growing every day in prayer, participation in the sacraments, in charity, in its union with the Lord," said the Pope in his midday Regina Coeli address marking the fifth Sunday of Easter.
"And he who loves Jesus, the true vine, produces fruits of faith for an abundant spiritual harvest."
The Pope spoke to large crowds in an overcast and drizzly St. Peter's Square, reflecting upon the words of Jesus, as recorded in today's Gospel of St. John; "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser."
In this passage, the Pope explained to pilgrims, Jesus reveals himself as "the true vine of God, the true life" who "with his sacrifice of love gives us salvation" and "opens the way to be part of this vine."
And just as Christ is in God the Father, so his followers "carefully pruned by the words of the Master, are united in a profound way to him, becoming fruitful branches, which produce an abundant harvest."
The Pope then quoted the 16-17th century Swiss bishop St Frances de Sales who, in his Treatise on the Love of God, observed how in nature "the branches united and joined to the trunk bears fruit not by its own virtue."
Similarly a Christian who is "joined by love to our Redeemer" will produce "good works, taking their value from him, merit life eternal."
Pope Benedict explained that this union occurs in baptism when "the Church grafts us as branches into the paschal mystery of Christ, into his own person."
>From there on, he said, "it is essential to remain united to Jesus, to depend upon him" because "without him we can do nothing."
This proposition, however, does not contradict a belief in the freedom of man, said Pope Benedict. He highlighted the 5th century writing of St. John the Prophet from Gaza who told an enquirer that "if a man inclines his heart to the good and asks God's help, he receives the necessary strength to accomplish his work."
Therefore "the freedom of man and power of God go together" as the good act is "possible because the Lord is good" but "it is fulfilled, thanks to his faithful."
Before going onto pray the Regina Coeli, Pope Benedict concluded his comments by commending those present to Mary, the mother of God.
"Let us beseech the Mother of God that we might remain firmly grafted in Jesus and that all our actions may have their beginning, and their fulfillment, in Him."


text:
The first thing that came to my mind when I read about Starbucks' new $1 reusable cup was this quote by Thomas Paine: "What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly."
Of course, in "The Crisis No. 1," Paine was talking about freedom, but the sentiment in that simple, eloquent sentence applies to so many things in life — perhaps even $1 reusable cups.
According to Eatocracy, Starbucks will begin selling the inexpensive plastic coffee cups today at most stores in the U.S. and Canada. (No news yet about whether they'll be available at the first Starbucks in Vietnam that opens next month.) The cups will look like a paper Starbucks cup, complete with the Starbucks logo. Baristas are instructed to wash out the cup with hot boiling water before each use.
When the cups are reused, customers will get 10 cents off of their beverage. Starbucks hopes that the low price of the reusable cup will encourage more people to forgo disposable paper cups. That's admirable, but I wonder if something that has been bought so inexpensively will end up left behind by consumers who don't think it's worth the time or effort to retrace their steps for a $1 coffee cup.
In fact, Eatocracy has a poll at the bottom of the story about the use of the reusable cups, and the majority of the people responding — about 30 percent of them — say, "I'd probably forget and would end up buying at least a few." The second most popular answer is "I'd bring it once or twice and forget."
I question whether so many of these $1 cups will end up in the trash or forgotten in the back of a cupboard that it will negate the good they could do. I know that if I realized I had left something that only cost me $1 somewhere, I might think twice about going back to get it if it was so easily and inexpensively replaceable. Something that cost me $10 or $15, however, I'd probably retrace my steps for.
What do you think? Are these $1 reusable Starbucks cups, that were obtained cheaply, what consumers need to start being more environmentally friendly or will they be esteemed too lightly?
Related post on MNN: Starbucks fights the fiscal cliff with handwritten messages


text:
JasonRP brauchte ein neues Logo Design und hat einen Wettbewerb auf 99designs gestartet.
Aus 165 Designs von 21 Designern wurde eine Gewinner gewählt.
Revveal Software - blog is located here - http://revveal.wordpress.com/
We are "creative technologists" (developers working with tons of data) who help clients find "information" in their data to help make better business decisions. The idea is to "Reveal" patterns in data that would not normally be seen using standard query techniques. We added the extra "v" in Revveal to empasize the visual nature of helping people "see" their data. Helping them see their data ultimately helps them make better decisions.
Businesses around the world are searching for ways to leverage data—theirs and others'—to gain valuable insights and foresights. Data can be a lazy asset that is often undervalued by businesses. By helping businesses capture, organize, and analyze their data in new ways Revveal can help them make better business decisions.
Another term used for this is called "business analytics"
We are targeting businesses with the C-Suite in mind. CEO, CFO, CIO, COO. One possible target market would be life sciences / health care but we are open to many others since data is used essentially across all industries
Looking for a nice, clean, professional logo. Would like to have some sort of design element preceding the letter "R" which could be used in marketing material and branding - similar to how Apple uses the Macintosh apple with a bite out of it. Or possibly have a design element over the word Revveal. Or, feel free to be creative!
I don't want cartoons, futuristic fonts, clip art or stock photos. The font used must be able to make the two v's not look like a w.
Colors I like are blue and green but am open to others too.
Some examples of logos I like:
Also, the word "software" doesn't have to be part of the final design.
Finden Sie heraus, wie ein Designwettbewerb funktioniert, oder lernen Sie mehr über unsere Logo-Design-Angebote.


text:
- Advertise
- Contact Us
- Store
With over half of the 1040 class of tax returns being completed by commercial preparers, the long-term viability of the income tax system rests to a great extent on the competency and ethical practices of these individuals. There is anecdotal evidence that many of the unenrolled commercial preparers who make up this group, as opposed to making a contribution to improving the accuracy of returns being filed, are instead responsible for some significant portion of noncompliance. Both the Taxpayer Advocate and a number of thoughtful white papers have discussed this problem as it relates specifically to the Earned Income Tax Credit.
At the same time, the list of penalties and restrictions in the Internal Revenue Code directed at all commercial preparers seems daunting. These many code sections have arisen gradually over time in response to specific compliance problems identified at the time or worse yet in response to revenue needs of the government (For a discussion of the many code sections see the 2003 Annual Report of the Taxpayer Advocate pages 275 to 278). They include penalties for disclosure of tax return information, failure to supply identification numbers, understatement of liability, providing copies of returns, substandard recordkeeping, lack of due diligence standards for EITC and many others. These penalties consist of both civil and criminal penalties, as well as general injunctive powers. While on paper commercial preparer penalties are both numerous and draconian, the Government Accounting Office (GAO) has called into question the IRS's enforcement capability and commitment to collecting assessed penalties.
In addition to the litany of penalties, a significant number of commercial tax return preparers –CPAs, tax attorneys and Enrolled Agents specifically – are currently governed by the competency and ethical standards established under Circular 230. Many of these standards regarding competency and ethical behavior apply directly to the preparation of tax returns. While lawyers and CPAs are regulated by state-based authorities, Enrolled Agents are regulated directly by the Department of the Treasury. The rules governing EAs include standards of competency for enrollment (i.e., testing or work experience at the IRS), standards of conduct and continuing education.
The Senate Committee on Finance has included a provision in S882, the Tax Administration Good Government Act, requiring all commercial tax return preparers to register, demonstrate no conduct warranting disciplinary action under Circular 230, pass an initial examination testing technical competency and knowledge and undergo an annual renewal and refresher examination. While the outcome for this proposal in conference committee is yet to be decided, there has been indication from the participants that they may soften some or all of these requirements.
How well will the program fit into the current statutory and regulatory framework?
Because the current regime regulating all individuals involved in the tax filing system, including practitioners (lawyers, CPAs, and Enrolled Agents), unenrolled commercial tax preparers, and return submitters (EROs) has evolved haphazardly over the years, Congress and the IRS need to take a holistic approach to the entire system. This review should include both the current penalty program and Circular 230. The objective should be to increase compliance at all levels of income and among all entities filing and paying federal level taxes by increasing the professionalism of all individuals operating commercially within the system. Under the leadership of the Taxpayer Advocate and the Director, Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), the IRS needs to solicit input from the groups representing the current stakeholders of the tax filing and preparation system.
How will the new nomenclature and requirements of the new registration system affect practitioners' interest in becoming enrolled?
At what level of additional burden will you drive a substantial number of unenrolled practitioners underground?
As currently drafted, to be compliant with the requirements of registration, unenrolled commercial tax return preparers would undergo a fairly expensive and time consuming process of initial and annual testing. It is unclear exactly what these registered commercial return preparers would be allowed to call themselves to the public, but because of the tough threshold and annual requirements that must be met before being allowed to solicit business, this nomenclature could reflect a fairly high level of professionalism and government approval. Many commercial preparers are likely to take the next step under such a regime and become fully enrolled. On the other hand, many unenrolled preparers are likely to "go underground" in order to avoid the cost and time of complying with the requirements.
If, however, the Congressional conferees substantially soften the requirements of the registration program and allow unenrolled commercial preparers to solicit business using a nomenclature that indicates an implied government seal of approval, then many individuals who, in the future would go through the time and cost of becoming enrolled, are likely to settle for the less stringent, and "sexier" alternative with greater marketing attractiveness.
With this in mind, it is important for policymakers to craft a system that is neither so burdensome that it will drive substantial numbers of commercial preparers underground, nor so easy as to discourage future individuals from taking the step of becoming fully enrolled. The new registrant should have every incentive to take the next step up the professional ladder to full enrollment.
How will the IRS administer a public relations campaign without further confusing the public?
As currently drafted, the proposal calls for IRS to introduce and maintain a public relations campaign focused on educating the public about this new classification of unenrolled tax return preparers - to the potential detriment of other tax professionals like attorneys, CPAs, and Enrolled Agents. Such a public relations campaign would likely confuse the public about who are qualified tax professionals, particularly with respect to the enrolled community and other licensed individuals under Circular 230 who have qualified for their profession based on a difficult competency examination – unlike the much less rigorous examination apparently envisioned by the legislation.
The proposal also requires the IRS to maintain a public list (in print and electronic media, including Internet-based) of "Federal income tax return preparers." We have concerns that maintenance of this type of public list, while laudatory, is one of those types of initiatives that may be seen as competing with current IRS programs and initiatives – as well as potentially diminishing the status of the enrolled.
Does the IRS have the resources to establish such a program and to administer it over the long-term?
We believe strongly that any registration system developed must be fully enforced. There needs to be substantial discussion about the resources needed to effectively administer all individuals commercially practicing at every level of the tax return system. Policymakers do not want to "swamp" OPR with the sudden implementation of this new and costly program. The implications of introducing the proposed registration system on personnel, technology and level of competency at OPR are staggering and need to be thoroughly reviewed by Congress, the IRS and stakeholders. There is currently concern regarding the availability of IRS resources to conduct current enforcement procedures.
Recommended Changes to Current Legislation:
The effective date for the registration program should be moved to the 2006, or even 2007, tax filing season to allow regulators to consult stakeholders and be able to carefully design and implement the proposed program. To introduce such a wide-scale initiative without the proper deliberation and due diligence risks substantial harm to all concerned – taxpayers, practitioners and the IRS itself.
The legislation should instruct the IRS to create a task force to make recommendations to the Director, Office of Professional Responsibility on establishment of the program and to Congress on resources needed for implementation and administration and for a new statutory penalty regime governing all levels of practice before the IRS, i.e., practitioners, tax return preparers, and return submitters. Therefore, the legislative mandate should provide the IRS maximum flexibility on shaping the program and a sufficient amount of time to take into consideration the recommendations of the task force.
Either through the statute or the regulatory process, commercial preparers should:
- be required to sit for an initial tax return preparation competency exam administered by a nongovernmental organization approved by the Director, Office of Professional Responsibility and that passage of such exam could be applied to becoming enrolled sometime in the future;
- be subject to continuing education requirements focused on tax return preparation but with similar hour requirements as currently provided under Circular 230 for Enrolled Agents;
- be referred to as "Unenrolled Return Preparer"
The legislation should provide that all fees collected from all individuals regulated by the Office of Professional Responsibility shall be placed in a separate account and dedicated to the administration of current Circular 230 practitioners, unenrolled return preparers and return submitters.
In closing, NAEA supports any efforts to safeguard the integrity of the tax system. We have historically supported the registration of commercial preparers and continue to do so, with the recommendations outlined above. We look forward to the opportunity to contribute to the dialogue regarding the introduction of the proposed registration system described in S882. We would be happy to provide additional information throughout the conference committee process or at any time.
August 2, 2004


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DC Comics All Access: Bob Harras
And so we come to Week Four–marking the end of September, the month that ushered in the debut of DC Comics-The New 52 and the unprecedented transformation of the entire DC Universe. It's hard to believe we're finally here because for us September started a long time ago. Let me explain: It's been quite a ride since the writers conference that initiated this evolution. It's been a year of pitch meetings, story conferences and design sessions that often went far into the night. It's been a year of hard work on everyone's part and truth be told – it's been a lot of fun.


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The Ukraine crisis has given GOP foreign policy hawks a fresh opportunity to reassert themselves in a party that has seen rising isolationist sentiment…
Republicans nearly across the board contend what they view as Mr. Obama's missteps in foreign affairs—such as his threat to bomb Syria, later withdrawn—might have emboldened hostile leaders like Mr. Putin. "After several crises, the pendulum is swinging back" to a more assertive posture, said Richard Grenell, a Bush-era spokesman at the United Nations. He described the party's stance as "diplomacy with muscle."…
Since Mr. Obama took office, the GOP struggled to formulate a unified vision for America's role in the world. The long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan made it harder to return to Bush-era hawkishness. The rising influence of tea-party activists also brought a strain of anti-interventionism and opposition to military spending increases…
During the next three years, some Republicans in Congress moved in that direction. "A lot of Republicans would love to have the party take on the president on lack of leadership and inadequate defense spending," said former Rep. Vin Weber, who advised Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign. "But the party is not as clearly where it was 20 years ago. There is a growing neo-isolationist strain at the grass-roots."
During an interview with the Washington Post's Robert Costa, conducted on February 24, and posted on February 25 (after pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted, but before Russia's invasion into Crimea), Paul said: "Some on our side are so stuck in the Cold War era that they want to tweak Russia all the time and I don't think that is a good idea."…
"The Ukraine has a long history of either being part of the Soviet Union or within that sphere," Paul continued to the Post, seeming to defend their parochial interest in the region. "I don't think it behooves us to tell the Ukraine what to do. I'm not excited about saying 'hey, let's put the Ukraine in NATO' to rub Russia's nose in it."…
We are still a long way from 2016, and elections are rarely decided primarily on foreign policy, but one gets the sense that this is an issue that doesn't naturally favor Paul.
For a few years now, a war-weary America has experienced what might be described as an anti-interventionist zeitgeist. The question is whether or not that is tenable. Republican primary voters might — depending on the world situation — return to a more traditional (for the modern GOP, at least) hawkish foreign policy. (After all, one has to assume that a certain amount of dovishness is merely an anti-Obama phenomenon.)
Enter Rubio. The Floridian claims to reject the "obsolete" labels of hawk and dove, interventionist and noninterventionist. But the common theme of Rubio's months-long, transcontinental foreign policy proselytization tour is articulating a strong America that is active and engaged in every part of the world. His takedown of Harkin was just the latest example, and the response—the speech registered a quarter-million YouTube hits within 72 hours and was raved about in GOP circles—showed the hunger in the party for someone to rebut the nascent libertarian wing. Whether intended or not, Rubio's speech may have signaled the beginning of the anti-Rand auditions for 2016…
"When you look at 2016 in terms of prospective candidates, Marco Rubio definitely seems to be doing the most to develop a foreign policy profile," said GOP strategist Kevin Madden, a veteran of Mitt Romney's presidential campaigns. "And it's happening at a time when many Republicans are looking for a strong counterpoint to the administration—and also a new voice. John McCain and Lindsey Graham are well established. They want to hear from someone new."…
"The group that would support Paul and his isolationism is more limited than the group that would support someone who wants a more robust role for America in the world as a peacemaker," said Fred Malek, a longtime GOP consultant who chaired McCain's finance operation during his 2008 presidential campaign…
But unlike his prospective competition, Rubio, by nature of working in Washington and serving on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, can uniquely position himself on the national stage as Paul's ideological counterweight in the run-up to 2016. Indeed, while there are many disadvantages to being a presidential candidate serving in Congress, Rubio is exploiting one giant upside.
"Even though the media doesn't give it a lot of attention, a lot of Americans do care about the tyranny we see in Cuba and Venezuela," [Rubio spokesman Alex] Conant said. "America is a beacon of hope for millions of repressed people around the world and I think people appreciate Sen. Rubio clearly making the case for American leadership."
It also helped that in the days following Rubio's remarks, Russia's invasion of Ukraine unleashed a flood of commentary comparing Vladimir Putin's actions to Soviet-era tactics. Cold War communism is top-of-mind again on the right, and many conservatives are eager to frame political debate about Ukraine as a choice between Rubio's articulate tough talk and the weak-willed hedging and confused-grandpa muttering of President Obama and Harkin, respectively.
Of course, with Republicans still philosophically divided over foreign policy, it's less clear how that message might translate to a concrete agenda in regard to Russia. Rubio's eight-step proposal to punish Putin's regime, for instance, has been welcomed with respect on the right, but not with the same fawning his Cuba speech inspired.
Meanwhile, as Rubio once again enjoys 2016 hype, his senior staff remains clear-eyed about how media narratives can work. One aide said he expected the backlash to the Rubio comeback story to materialize within weeks.
Rubio's move to speak out forcefully on the issue carries little short-term political risk for a senator positioning himself as a strong Obama critic in advance of a presidential run he is expected to launch about a year from now.
But to non-interventionist thinkers, Paul's more cautious tact figures to pay long-term dividends among voters both in and out of the GOP, who increasingly want the United States to reduce its footprint on the international stage after more than a dozen years of war.
"Obama's a unifying issue for Republicans, and it's pretty safe if you're aspiring to something higher to build your support within the Republican base by criticizing Obama," said Chris Preble, vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute. "But there are huge differences between Marco Rubio and Rand Paul, and eventually those details are going to get fleshed out."
"Are we war-weary?" asked Cruz. "As a consequence to that, does that mean we are no longer willing to defend ourselves? I think that is a profound misreading of the American people. The Republican Party—you can point to two points on the spectrum, where Republicans lie. On one side you have the views of John McCain. The other end of the spectrum, you have the views of Rand Paul. Now, with respect, my views are very much the views of Ronald Reagan, which I would suggest is a third point on the triangle."
He gave some examples. "I agree with Rand Paul that we should not engage with military conflict in Syria," Cruz said. The Obama administration had lost him when it described a strike not to achieve a long-term goal but to punish the state for contravening international law. "Tut tut, you violated international law, you're no longer welcome in our faculty lounge," snarked Cruz.
But he agreed with John McCain on Iran. "When Iran describes Israel as the Little Satan, and America as the Great Satan, we have every interest to make sure they don't acquire the weaponry to kill millions of Americans." Cruz imagined a nightmare scenario in which Iran detonated a bomb over "Tel Aviv or New York or Los Angeles." Detonated here, the effects of an EMP attack could kill "tens of millions of Americans."
Let's be honest, there's a lot of space between McCain and Paul, and I think we would probably agree that when it comes to style, temperament, etc., Cruz is a lot closer to Paul than he is to McCain (remember the whole "wacko birds" thing?) During his CPAC speech, for example, Cruz praised Ronald Reagan and Ron Paul for being the two candidates who attracted young supporters. (His mention of McCain was less positive. "Of course, all of us remember President Dole, President McCain, President Romney," he said.)
So basically, the Cruz strategy is to get close to Paul, while still staying toward the middle of the field. If you care about small government, both guys are good. Want to take on Obama? Check. Don't like drone strikes, want to close the IRS, hate ObamaCare? Check. Check. Check.
But Cruz is making a bet that Paul's more libertarian positions on issues like non-interventionism aren't a mainstream opinion. So he will set up shop just on the other side of Paul. Anyone who says, "I really like Paul's position, but I think we need to stand up to Russia," now has a home. Or the guy who says, "I hate drones, but I don't want Iran to go nuclear," has a candidate.
The excitement over candidates like Rand Paul come from that source. Millennials have already tuned out, and will tune out, those they view as "warmongers" or anything of the kind (as they share listicles of "the 15 countries John McCain wanted to bomb"). This makes for a dangerous situation on the right, as a return to traditional tough-sounding Jacksonian rhetoric (of the sort Cruz deployed today) will require voters to have faith that the big stick will not be deployed too eagerly or frequently, and that American lives will only be put at risk in situations where there is a clear path to victory, a clearly important issue at stake, and we are taking sides to seek the defeat of a clearly identified enemy.
The American people need to trust the judgment of their leaders – leaders who can make the case for the importance of America retaining military power in a dangerous world, but who can also be trusted not to engage that power in every situation, backsliding into the temptation to be the world's policeman or ending tyranny everywhere. The absence of a serious, adult voice on these issues has led us to the current circumstance. This vacuum of leadership outside of McCain and Lindsey Graham – and next up, Marco Rubio and Tom Cotton – leads to a defined "Republican view" from the media's perspective which allows the GOP to be framed as the party of war – one where the Paul/Mike Lee/Justin Amash side of the equation is too often ignored.
Cruz's comments make me look forward to the 2016 debate all the more.
Skip to 7:30.
Skip to 27:00.


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Dustin Johnson is once again the top-ranked golfer in the world. Johnson earned the distinction with a win at the St. Jude Classic in Memphis that concluded with a four-under 66 on Sunday. It's his 18th tour victory and second of the season. Johnson ended the tournament shooting 19-under. The top five rounded out with Andrew Putnam in second at minus-13, J.B. Holmes at nine-under and Stewart Cink and Richy Werenski tied four fourth at eight-under.
Photo: Getty


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Last month, after reading Keropokman's Granny Smith Cranberry Olive Oil Cake, I immediately went into the kitchen to make this. It's a very simple stir-and-mix cake. Usually I prefer cakes using chiffon method, but this stir-and-mix cake turns out surprisingly good. It is moist and soft, not too dense. The apples and cranberries are a perfect match!
I have reduced the recipe by 1/3 to fit my 6 inch round tin.
Apple Cranberry Olive Oil Cake
Ingredients (makes one 6 inch round tin)
1/3 cup sugar (I use 70g)
1/3 cup olive oil (I use 80ml)
2 small eggs
1 cup granny smith (about 1 large apple, peeled, cored and diced)
1 cup plain flour (I use 130g)
2/3 tsp baking powder (use slightly more than 1/2 tsp)
1/3 tsp baking soda (use slightly more than 1/4 tsp)
1/3 teaspoon of salt (use slightly more than 1/4 tsp)
50g dried cranberries (I soak in water for a few minutes to soften, then pat dry)
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
1. In a large mixing bowl, add in sugar, olive oil and eggs. Whisk the mixture with a hand whisk until sugar dissolves and well-mixed.
2. Add in apples. Mix well.
3. Add in sifted flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add in dried cranberries and cinnamon powder. Mix well with a spatula. Do not overmix.
4. Pour the mixture into a lined and greased 6 inch cake tin.
5. Bake at preheated oven at 175 deg C for 30 minutes or until done. Poke a skewer into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean, it's done. If not, give it another 5 to 10 minutes.
Recipe adapted from: Keropokman


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Enroll for Agile Scrum Foundation Certification training course in Lithuania from Invensis Learning. Agile Scrum Foundation is an entry-level Agile Project Management course that is ideal for individuals and enterprises who are looking to gain a fundamental understanding of Agile methodologies and Scrum practices and covers scrum practices with regards to cross-functional and self-managed teams to produce deliverables during each iteration.
This Agile and Scrum Foundation certification training course accredited by EXIN is ideal for software developers, project team members, team leads, architects, project managers, scrum team members, and any one who is part of IT and project management teams working on projects. Participants attending this training will receive a hard copy of the course material.
We deliver Agile Scrum Foundation Certification Training in both classroom and live online virtual modes.
This Agile Scrum Foundation Training is available across multiple states in Lithuania.
I would like to thank Invensis Learning for helping me in achieving my learning goals. The trainer was highly-qualified and helped me to understand the subject in a holistic manner. It was a seamless training experience and I highly recommend Invensis Learning for their expertise in the training and certification domain.
Note: The Agile Scrum Foundation exam will be either paper-based / web-based / web proctored exam. For web proctored exam additional charges applicable.
With ever increasing need for high priority requests in projects and consistency in deliverables, Agile project management with scrum practices has allowed enterprises to create cross-functional teams to deliver projects incrementally. Agile Scrum Foundation is a globally-recognized Agile project management certification that helps enterprises and professionals to address complex problems and deliver products of highest quality.
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The film and television industry's most famous landmark, the Hollywood Sign, and the land surrounding the iconic beacon, will continue to overlook its stars thanks to a generous savior.
The Tiffany & Co. Foundation announced on Wednesday that it has awarded a $1,000,000 grant to The Trust for Public Land (TPL) and its Campaign to Save Cahuenga Peak, Home of the Hollywood Sign.
The award expands the Foundation's urban parks program that originated with support for New York City's parks through the Battery Conservancy and Friends of the High Line and now includes parks in other major cities, including Houston, Chicago and Miami.
The grant will go toward TPL's purchase and conservation of the 138-acre Cahuenga Peak site. The property's owners, a group of investors who purchased the land from the estate of industrialist Howard Hughes in 2002, have accepted a selling price of $12.5 million. TPL plans to transfer the Cahuenga Peak site to the adjoining 4,200-acre Griffith Park, the nation's fourth most visited park, thus permanently protecting the view of the Hollywood Sign and a remarkably intact ecosystem of native chaparral plants and animals.
"The Hollywood Sign is an American icon that holds a unique place in the nation's collective imagination and the cultural history of Los Angeles," Michael J. Kowalski, chairman and CEO of Tiffany & Co, said in a statement released to Access Hollywood. "It is a sign that cannot be separated from its untrammeled setting of hiking trails and wildlife corridors. Preserving both means that future generations may gaze on this parkland and know the California frontier before freeways and urbanization and the heritage of magic and inspiration that is Hollywood. As an American institution, Tiffany has enjoyed its share of memorable movie moments and through our foundation, is committed to protecting our natural resources and pleased to assist The Trust for Public Land in protecting this historically significant site."
The organizations that have joined TPL's Campaign to Save Cahuenga Peak include the Hollywood Sign Trust, the City of Los Angeles, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, the Los Angeles Parks Foundation and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Angelina! Cameron! Jen! Leading Ladies Of The Big Screen
PLAY IT NOW: Jennifer Garner: 'Valentine's Day' Is A 'Fun Movie'
PLAY IT NOW: Access Exclusive PREVIEW: Jennifer Aniston's Birthday Celebration!
MORE ACCESS ON THESE TOPICS: Movies - TV - Celebrities - News


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GENERAL INFORMATION: We are proud to announce the Inaugural Fat Bike Series Ride which will be a series of fIve Rides. Beginning January 8, 2017. Each ride is co-hosted by The Nite Hawk and The Flat Tire Lounge. We encourage you to get out the Fat BIke's for these rides and to incentivize the rides we garnered support from Firetrucker Brewery, Kyle's Bikes, Rasmussen Bike Shop and BIKEIOWA Firetrucker Beer will be available at both sponsoring bars for $4.00/ pint during the rides.
PROMOTIONAL RAFFLE: As part of our promotion we will give away a New 2017 Specialized Fatboy SE via a random drawing at the conclusion of the final ride. To participate in the drawing you will need to obtain a punch card for the rides. These are available at The Nite Hawk Bar & Grill, Kyle's Bikes, Firetrucker Brewery and Rasmussen Bike Shop. At the conclusion of the ride series each rider will receive one raffle ticket for each punch on their ride card. To obtain a punch on your ride card you will check in at the Nite Hawk Bar & Grill, The Fat Tire Lounge or Firetrucker Brewery on the date of the ride. An additional punch will be given if riders take a selfie on the High Trestle Bridge during the ride and forward it to the Fat Bike Ride Series Facebook Page. Door Prizes will also be given out on each of the five rides by the hosting bars. An additional punch on the ride cards may be obtained at either sponsoring bar by riding to and checking in at either bar on days we receive 1 or more inches of snow.
The Following prizes will be awarded via raffle at the conclusion of the final ride on March 12:
1st Place: 2017 Specialized Fatboy (donated by Kyle's Bikes with a msrp of $1400)
2nd Place: one Firetrucker Keg (Donated by Firetrucker Brewery) for a private Party at the Nite Hawk Bar & Grill & a Firetrucker T-shirt.
3rd Place: one Firetrucker Keg (Donated by Firetrucker Brewery) for a private Party at the Flat Tire Lounge.
RIDE DATES AND LOCATION The rides will take place on the following dates and the route will be on the High Trestle Trail between the Flat Tire Lounge and the Nite Hawk Bar and Grill:
January 8 (2:00pm departure from Flat Tire Lounge to Nite Hawk)
January 29 (2:00pm departure from Nite Hawk to Flat Tire Lounge)
February 12 (2:00pm departure from Flat Tire Lounge to Nite Hawk)
February 28 (2:00pm departure from Nite Hawk to Flat Tire Lounge)
March 12 (2:00pm departure from Flat Tire Lounge to Nite Hawk)
We are hoping to develop this ride Series into an annual event so we encourage everyone to participate.
Scott Bellis
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Because no one reads the newspaper, and SportsCenter's anchors are too perky for this early in the morning, Deadspin combs the best of the broadsheets and the blogosphere to bring you everything you need to know to start your day.
• Though they dropped the ball with that Vikings Favre jersey, the online store at NFL.com is apparently trying their hand at predicting Michael Vick's football future. Jason Campbell, you're officially on the hot seat.
• Another day, another pitiful "brawl." Benches clear in the Giants-Dodgers game after Pablo Sandoval thought he got hit by a pitch. Giants win, still can't score runs, etc, etc.
• There's a batting helmet that's guaranteed to prevent skull fractures, but major leaguers won't wear it because it looks goofy. This in a sport where guys tuck their pants into their socks.
• Suck it up, Victorino. A Copa Sudamericana soccer match was interrupted when a fan with a knife attacked a player on the field. And then came the flares...
• Jerry Remy put in a cameo appearance in the NESN booth and admitted he hasn't been watching the Red Sox games this year. At least since the All-Star break, that makes him the luckiest man on the face of the earth.
•More proof the NFL hates you. Opening night will be kicked off with a free concert from Tim McGraw and the Black Eyed Peas.
• The old man's still got it. "It" being fifth starter stuff on a National League team. Pedro's line: 5 innings, 7 hits, 3 runs.


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Posted 8 years ago
(711 items)
A vase from the north of Holland. This orange and brown glazed vase is model 143 C which unusually has a Nord Holland Plateel mark. It was designed C.J.Gellings who did some amazing designs for the Kennemerland Pottery in the early 1930's. The same design was done in clear and matt black; on those versions the moulded deco design is clearer. The mark on the bottom dates it to the period 1933-1939.
With the Depression in the early thirties many decorators were put off. Decoration was kept to a minimum. In Dutch the term for these wares is: "Crisisgoed". At the same time the design of the wares became paramount. Other factories did similar wares by notable designers: Willem Stuurman & J. Leen Muller & Frans van Katwijk.
H:14.5 cm ( 5.7 ins )
W:9cm, ( 3.5 ins )
W(at base): 8cm (3.1 ins )
The last photograph shows this vase with two others that I have on CW. The one on the left by Eelke Snel and the other two by Carl Gellings:


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Sweet Dreams
If you're the type of person who willingly skips a starter and the main course to go straight to dessert, then these restaurants are a sweet and very indulgent dream come true.
Sweet treats
Coda, Berlin's first dessert bar, serves multicourse menus consisting entirely of sweet dishes. Pastry chef René Frank's compositions have the gastro scene swooning with delight. Can we tempt you with an extra-large sundae of kiwi and spelt-grass ice cream, kiwi-and-crunchy-nut salad and almond milk spheres?
Creamy Dreams
The dessert restaurant at London's luxury hotel Café Royal ticks all the boxes with clever confections, like goat's-cheese foam with wildflower honey beneath a cloud of beetroot flakes. Childhood favorites also feature on the menu, including rhubarb and custard.
Perfect Parfait
Popcorn parfait served with passion-fruit sorbet? Or perhaps peach sorbet on hazelnut sponge with rosemary espuma? Janice Wong, Asia's best pastry chef, serves deconstructed delights at her 2am:dessertbar in Singapore.