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Saturday, August 27, 2011
Personal Finance ? Personal Finance ? Investing in your Futurew ...
Investing to a lot of people is comparable to going to the doctor, you know you should but it?s kind of scary, so you put it off. Does that sound familiar at all? Well, the thought that should be even more scary is what may happen if you don?t start investing.
One of the biggest misconceptions about investing, whether it be the stock market, bonds, real estate, or even a 401k plan, is that you have to have a lot of money to do it, and you only do it so you can get rich.
The truth is, investing is something you do to secure your financial future and also build a retirement fund. Suppose you were downsized out of your job? Suppose your retirement is up in 10 years? By investing, you will be prepared to meet these new challenges.
That?s the real meaning behind investing, planning your retirement, not becoming a millionaire. Did you know that at age 65 only 2% of the people are self sustaining? The other 98% depend on the government, social security, charity, or family for their monthly needs. This is why investing now is so important.
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Terry Edwards -
About the Author:
By the way, you can find out more about http://www.Banking.InfoFromA-z.com
Source: http://mysurefinance.com/personal-finance-personal-finance-investing-in-your-futurew/
For-profit business acquires nonprofit charity site ? Nonprofit News
?GOOD has managed to establish really the pre-eminent content platform with three million unique visitors a month,? said Chris Hughes, Jumo?s founder and a veteran of Facebook as well as a digital organizer for the 2008 Obama presidential campaign. ?They have a huge social media presence and really strong community of people excited about their product, but they haven?t had a network.?
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Because Jumo is a nonprofit organization and GOOD is a for-profit business, the deal will require the approval of the New York attorney general, who is responsible for monitoring nonprofits established in the state. Mr. Hughes said Jumo was seeking that approval.
The merger may signal the beginning of a consolidation in the world of social fund-raising sites, which have proliferated over the last several years without any clear leader emerging. Despite a blitz of publicity that accompanied its introduction last fall and Mr. Hughes?s star power, Jumo has struggled to distinguish itself from Causes on Facebook, Crowdrise, change.org and others, and its Web site says it is still in beta testing.
Mr. Hughes said Jumo had managed to increase the number of nonprofits participating on the site to 15,000 from 3,500. ?More than one million people find nonprofits through our platform and the average user connects to 12 issues and organizations,? he said. ?We have had a really successful start.?
He said merging with GOOD would give Jumo instant access to a curated site with a rich library of content. ?We could have created more curated content for Jumo ourselves, but the question is, Why go head to head and compete with GOOD when they have had such success and have a clear interest in building a networking component into their platform?? Mr. Hughes said. ?It?s a perfect alignment of mission and people.?
Article source: http://www.goupstate.com/article/20110817/znyt05/108173007
Tags: Charity
Source: http://nonprofitwww.org/2011/08/for-profit-business-acquires-nonprofit-charity-site-2/
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Merriam-Webster adds 'tweet,' other new words
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) ? Here's something for your Twitter feed: "Tweet" has earned a spot in the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary.
Used as both a noun and a verb, the word describing a post made on the online Twitter message service is among more than 100 new terms revealed Thursday for the dictionary publisher's newest edition.
"Tweet" takes its place among newly included words that reflect everything from high-tech advances to the delicate nuances of family and social relationships.
The newcomers include overly involved "helicopter parents," for instance, and the "boomerang child" who's returned home in adulthood for financial reasons. Maybe he's spending his days listening to "Americana" music, steering clear of that lonely "cougar" across the street and hanging out a lot with his best buddy, shaking off jokes that they're in a "bromance." And, of course, he "tweets" every detail of it.
The wordsmiths at the Springfield, Mass.-based dictionary publisher said they picked the new entries after monitoring their use over several years and watching for references in a variety of sources, including mainstream media outlets.
Some terms, like tweet, rocketed into prominence in recent years as celebrities, politicians and news outlets have embraced Twitter to immediately reach a worldwide audience.
"Even if people had no interest or possible chance of getting a Twitter account themselves, they now have to know what 'tweet' means, and that's really why it's in the dictionary," said Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster's editor at large.
"It's not just because the users of that service are so numerous, although they are. It's because even the non-users have to know what that word means because they'll encounter it so often in everyday use," he said.
A London-based competitor, the Oxford English Dictionary, also recognized the growing service when it added "retweet" to its Oxford English Concise version this summer with other technology-influenced terms like cyberbullying, which already had a spot in Merriam-Webster's dictionary.
Another noteworthy newcomer: "fist bump," which Merriam-Webster President and Publisher John Morse says he considers "the star of the group" for its ability to succinctly capture the movement and emotion of that simple act of solidarity.
Two people can take special credit for the elevation of "fist bump" into the dictionary: President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, whose knuckle-knocking gesture of affection when he accepted the 2008 nomination was described by The Washington Post as "the fist bump heard 'round the world."
The act of bumping the front of a closed fist against that of another person has been common for years in sports. Some media outlets have also speculated it might have grown as a way to avoid handshakes and germs, or as a hip alternative to the high-five.
When the presidential candidate in a major American political party does a fist bump with his wife on worldwide television, there's no question that the term has earned its place in the dictionary, Morse said.
"Everything else on the (new words) list can be somewhat tied into a theme, whether it's technology or social change or sports. But fist bump is just pure American culture expressing itself in its own vocabulary," Morse said.
Other new words for 2011 in Merriam-Webster include terms heavily influenced by new technology, like m-commerce (business transactions conducted by using a mobile device); and by sports, including walk-off (ending a baseball game by scoring the home team's winning run in the bottom of the last winning).
Others, like cougar ? an often unflattering term for a middle-aged woman on the hunt for a younger man ? might not have made it into the dictionary because of their slang roots, but became too widely used to overlook.
The music genre known as Americana, with roots in early folk and country music, has been popular in certain circles for years, but gained enough widespread attention recently to place the term among other new dictionary entries.
The Grammy Awards have included a separate category for the best Americana album since 2009, and some of its best-known musicians ? including John Hiatt, Emmylou Harris, Levon Helm and Steve Earle ? have had crossover success on other genres' hit charts.
Jed Hilly, executive director of the 12-year-old Nashville, Tenn.-based nonprofit Americana Music Association, said news of the word's inclusion in the dictionary has spawned jokes about making T-shirts bearing the word and the invitation, "Look it up!"
"It's still a little off the radar because we're not super commercial, but there are a lot of people who will be very excited about this," Hilly said.
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Online: www.merriam-webster.com
Associated PressSoftball Hall of Fame building reopens Sunday | TheGazette

Nick Martello, CEO of US Biologics, uses one of his company's products, SporiCLEAN, to remove mold from a flood damaged award from the Cedar Rapids Softball Hall of Fame belonging to CRSHOF vice president Rick Sampson (right) at Do It Best Hardware in Cedar Rapids in 2008. The Hall of Fame building at Ellis Park will reopen Sunday. (Cliff Jette/The Gazette)
Gregg Bosch is calling it the biggest and best yet. George Steinke had no problem picking his highlight of the weekend.
Rick Sampson just smiled, thinking about what the Cedar Rapids Softball Hall of Fame event will mean.
The annual CRSHOF weekend starts Friday with a golf event at St. Andrews ? spots still are available ? and concluding Saturday and Sunday with an eight-team 16-inch slow-pitch tournament that will feature Open state champion C.J.?s Sports Bar and Class A state champion Roto Rooter.
?From 11:45 (a.m. Sunday) to 1 (p.m.) is the highlight of the weekend,? said Bosch, CRSHOF secretary.
That?s the time frame for the ribbon cutting ceremony for the reconstructed Hall of Fame building behind Diamond 1 at Ellis Park, badly damaged during the flood of 2008, and the induction of the five new CRSHOF members ? George Hamman, Robert ?Bobby? Harris, Mike ?Scoop? Simmons, Ken ?Bear? Stalkfleet and Steve ?Yogi? Frese.
?The rededication? of the building, Steinke, CRSHOF president, said about his highlight this weekend. ?We put a lot of effort to get back in that building.?
Historic photos and trophies were damaged, as well as the building. There had been hope of the reopening each year since 2008, but raising nearly $16,000 of the $25,000 to $30,000 needed to rebuild ? and the work itself ? took longer than hoped.
Donations continue to be accepted toward the cost.
?We really didn?t want to go out on a limb last year,? Steinke said.
?Our goal was to rebuild bigger and better than before,? Bosch said. ?We?re not bigger, but we?re certainly better.?
The golf tournament is $55 (contact Rocky Woods, 551-2259). The softball tournament begins at 8 a.m. both days with local musician Jeff Bruner holding a free concert at the park after Saturday?s last game, starting at approximately 7:30 p.m. Sunday?s final game will start around 3 p.m.
McKenna Miller, a 2010 Cedar Rapids Xavier graduate, will receive the first CRSHOF Kirkwood Softball Scholarship.
Source: http://thegazette.com/2011/08/24/softball-hall-of-fame-building-reopens-sunday/
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Don't Drink the Screenwriting Kool-Aid | Just Effing Entertain Me
This entry was posted on Monday, August 22nd, 2011 at 11:10 am
This morning I came upon this blog post, from The Screenplay Reader blog, about the top five reasons screenwriters quit. And it?s a really good article. You should read it. Except another reason is missing. I?ll get to that in a moment.
Here are their top five reasons:
5. Only writing one script
4. Not building a network
3. Losing focus
2. Distraction by material comforts
1. Not knowing what to do with the finished script.
Do you want to know what the REAL number one is though? It?s because writers think that screenwriting is the only avenue for their writing and when it doesn?t pay off soon enough, they quit. They quit writing entirely. And that breaks my heart.
Here?s the truth: screenwriting is not for everyone. It just isn?t.
1. Because it?s a particular kind of writing; cinematic, kinetic and mathematic
2. Because the validation and approbation for it is close to nil
3. Because the competition is HUGE but the market is the size of a pinhole, relatively speaking.
4. Because screenwriting is, as John August said: ??10% inspiration, 60% perspiration, 20% witty dialogue and 30% being awesome at math.?
5. But he forgot one. Screenwriting is also 28% who you know. See? Not awesome at math
6. And the knowledge of all of the above is depressing and at times, paralyzing
I have talked here on the blog before about the exploding possibilities for writers: short stories, flash fiction, graphic novels, plays, copy writing, fiction, non-fiction, essays, journalism and these are all readily available through these venues: blogging, ebooks, self-publish, publishing houses.
There is a whole cottage industry out there (and I used to be a part of it) encouraging writers to write scripts. Because it?s fun! And glamorous! And easy! (NOT) But slowly, writers and those out there helping writers, whether that?s supplying software, consulting, books, etc. are becoming aware that not only are there other options, many writers will keep writing and write better material if they write for a different venue. To that end, I have seen new software coming out to help with your novel, to help with your play, etc. Are those necessary? Strictly speaking ? of course not ? but as I have always said, if you have the extra cash lying around, sure, why not? It can?t hurt. Just be judicious.
Used to be, in the good old days, that publishing houses had editors who worked closely with writers to ensure the highest quality material possible. So closely that there have been arguments, in the literary world, that writers like Raymond Carver, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Thomas Wolfe (the latter 3 had the same editor, the brilliant, famed Maxwell Perkins) were in fact collaborative writers. No more. Publishing houses, hit hard by the contraction in the economy plus the advent (and huge popularity) of e-books, are struggling to stay afloat. Gone are the big advances, gone is the editing and support, gone is the marketing and publicity money. Authors are expected to turn in manuscripts that are FINITO, as is, all done. More and more, there are free agent story editors out there (such as myself) who jump in, swim out to where you are on your project(s) and help ensure that whatever you are working on (be it a blog, novel, short story, graphic novel, essay, etc.) is at its highest level of expression ? via YOU.
As competitive as ever, writers now need to be responsible for delivering great material, from the get-go. And they need to bring their own platform with them. Which would be their blog. Which is why having an excellent blog alongside your novel, graphic novel, collected essays or plays is a huge boon.
Screenwriting is an excellent, excellent form of writing for so many reasons. If you have been writing scripts and then set out to write a YA novel, as one example, you already have a strong sense of stakes, structure and character arc. You are in fact, better prepared than the other guy, who has not been entrained to make effing entertaining stuff happen as regularly as possible, on every page.
It breaks my heart to think that screenwriters working on a script that just isn?t a script ? maybe it?s a song, a poem, a play or a novel ? put the idea and work away never to return to it. God knows how many poems have never been written because it wasn?t enough, this lyrical idea or thought, to sustain a three-act script.
Screenwriting is fantastic. But the odds of selling your script are infinitesimally small. That shouldn?t stop you but you do need to examine what your goals and needs are, as a writer, before you commit to it.
Screenwriting may be for you if:
1. You are under 40
2. You live in or near Los Angeles or New York
3. You need no validation or approval for your writing
4. You know the odds are terrible and you just don?t care
5. You think in high concept, cinematic ways.
6. You love dialogue more than descriptions
7. You write contained stories
I can hear the hue and cry ? you can be over 40! You don?t have to live in LA! True. But being in those two categories is quite honestly a detriment. It?s not impossible. For every rule there are exceptions.
David Seidler, writer of The King?s Speech was 73 when he won an Academy Award. Amazing. But let?s take a moment to scroll down through his IMDB. The man has been writing produced material since he was 28 years old. He took a big break in there, somewhere, but Seidler put in many, many years of hard work.
If screenwriting is frustrating you, if you keep being told your script is too ?long? too ?epic?, too expensive and not for ?today?s? market. If there are no franchise possibilities, if your story is too ?internal? or derivative, it is possible you have a book on your hands.
Moving away from screenwriting to focus on another avenue for your writing is not quitting, despite a weird culture among screenwriters that it is. It is simply shifting your writing energy to other forms of writing. Of which there are legion. There is no quitting, there is only writing. And if that means writing a blog, or a journal or a cook book ? write. Write because it helps you organize your thoughts and opinions, write because you are curious and have opinions to share. Write because for whatever weird reason, you have the impulse, the desire to do it.
Write for the joy of it and don?t let anybody tell you you are ?quitting? one form or another ? just keep writing.
Here are some resources to keep you WRITING:
The Writer?s Store
Media Bistro
Gotham Writer?s Workshop
Poets & Writers Magazine
UCLA Extension Writer?s Program
Arts & Letters Daily (a plethora of ideas, inspiration)
Source: http://www.justeffing.com/2011/08/22/dont-drink-the-screenwriting-kool-aid/