Today I got an email from Tools for Wellness. I must have purchased something from them in the past. Probably some eye mask to help me sleep.
So, I’m now in the loop with Tools for Wellness. They’ve just released the Q-Link Nimbus SRT-3. It’s a good thing, too - because I’ve been searching for a personal force-field device for a long time. All this social networking is against my nature. Reclusive, hermit-like - those are adjectives that I embrace. I crave protection.
You can imagine my delight when I was shown the image of a small USB device that plugs into your computer and provides you with a 6′ personal sphere. My only fear was that 6′ was not nearly large enough. I need a large sphere because my personal space is frequented by morons that insist on staying within at least 20′ of me. Maybe they make a booster, I wondered. I read on.
This device provides a 6 foot sphere of SRT. Great! What is SRT, though?
Nimbus represents the latest generation of Scientifically Validated ‘Active’ Q-Link SRT products, designed to help clarify and support the users biofield by enhancing the environment in which the user works, lives and otherwise occupies.
My lands. That sounds perfect. It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for. It’s terrific sales copy. Copyblogger would be proud. But it doesn’t stop there. It just gets better, making me really more attracted to this device.
Plug Nimbus in to any PC or MAC USB port or hub to effortlessly & instantly generate a 6’ friendly personal sphere of SRT you can use to enhance your well-being, performance and quality of life. An essential companion to every workstation environment - and an ideal compliment to all body-worn SRT products.
I’m still completely lost about the meaning of SRT, but I don’t care. It all sounds so terrific. I’m right in the wheel house of the prospective customers for this device, too.
Who needs Nimbus? Individuals spending any amount of time in front of a computer or at a workstation including students, IT professionals, writers, graphic artists, business people, jet-setting laptop users, teachers and others. Even casual web-surfers can benefit.
My excitement and enthusiasm have me reaching for my credit card. I’m about to put one of these devices into the online shopping cart at Tools for Wellness. My wife won’t mind. Come on, it’s going to billed from Tools for Wellness. Doesn’t she want me to be well? No problem. Besides, the copy points just continue to amp up my lust for this thing.
Transports easily between home & office. No software required. Backlit Q-Link logo indicates power-up. USB cap removes and stores on unit end while in use.
Commonly reported benefits:
Higher energy & stamina
Increased focus & concentration
Greater productivity & performance
Reduction of the negative, disruptive effects of EMF (electromagnetic fields) on the body generated by computers, mobile phones, fluorescent lighting, CRT’s, power lines, cell-phone towers and other similar influences.
What about the uncommonly reported benefits? If these are just the commonly reported ones, surely there are some other terrific benefits that aren’t so commonly reported. I’m betting this thing is way under priced. Just look at the components of this thing.
What’s Inside the Q-Link?
Induction Coil: 75 ft. of insulated superfine pure copper wire in a 25mm diameter coil amplifies the effect of the resonating cell.
Resonating Cell: The multi-frequencey pure crystalline oscillator (enhanced with Sympathetic Resonance Technology SRT-3) works like a series of tuning forks to sympathetically resonate with, and reinforce, the key frequencies of the human energy system (biofield).
Assembled Q-Link: The induction Coil and Resonating Cell assembled are permanently sealed inside a rugged, highly durable, waterproof case.
You can’t tell me this thing’s not worth $169.95. Why, I’d pay twice that for it. I’d pay three times that for it if the 6 foot range were greater. Quality components each and every one.
For the skeptics, there’s this bit of copy:
Do They Really Work?
Read an independent study conducted by Alternative Medicine magazine.
You’re a fool if you don’t get one. And SRT stands for SYMPATHETIC RESONANCE TECHNOLOGY. But this thing doesn’t just have SRT. It’s got SRT-3. Way better!
She acts. She writes songs. She sings. Zooey Deschanel is a renaissance woman. She was on NPR, so you know she’s talented. I’m a fan. You should be, too.
“I once had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: no good in a bed, but fine up against a wall.”
–Eleanor Roosevelt
Here’s what the White House website says about one of America’s most quotable first ladies:
A shy, awkward child, starved for recognition and love, Eleanor Roosevelt grew into a woman with great sensitivity to the underprivileged of all creeds, races, and nations. Her constant work to improve their lot made her one of the most loved–and for some years one of the most revered–women of her generation.
She was born in New York City on October 11, 1884, daughter of lovely Anna Hall and Elliott Roosevelt, younger brother of Theodore. When her mother died in 1892, the children went to live with Grandmother Hall; her adored father died only two years later. Attending a distinguished school in England gave her, at 15, her first chance to develop self-confidence among other girls.
Tall, slender, graceful of figure but apprehensive at the thought of being a wallflower, she returned for a debut that she dreaded. In her circle of friends was a distant cousin, handsome young Franklin Delano Roosevelt. They became engaged in 1903 and were married in 1905, with her uncle the President giving the bride away. Within eleven years Eleanor bore six children; one son died in infancy. “I suppose I was fitting pretty well into the pattern of a fairly conventional, quiet, young society matron,” she wrote later in her autobiography.
In Albany, where Franklin served in the state Senate from 1910 to 1913, Eleanor started her long career as political helpmate. She gained a knowledge of Washington and its ways while he served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. When he was stricken with poliomyelitis in 1921, she tended him devotedly. She became active in the women’s division of the State Democratic Committee to keep his interest in politics alive. From his successful campaign for governor in 1928 to the day of his death, she dedicated her life to his purposes. She became eyes and ears for him, a trusted and tireless reporter.
When Mrs. Roosevelt came to the White House in 1933, she understood social conditions better than any of her predecessors and she transformed the role of First Lady accordingly. She never shirked official entertaining; she greeted thousands with charming friendliness. She also broke precedent to hold press conferences, travel to all parts of the country, give lectures and radio broadcasts, and express her opinions candidly in a daily syndicated newspaper column, “My Day.”
This made her a tempting target for political enemies but her integrity, her graciousness, and her sincerity of purpose endeared her personally to many–from heads of state to servicemen she visited abroad during World War II. As she had written wistfully at 14: “…no matter how plain a woman may be if truth & loyalty are stamped upon her face all will be attracted to her….”
After the President’s death in 1945 she returned to a cottage at his Hyde Park estate; she told reporters: “the story is over.” Within a year, however, she began her service as American spokesman in the United Nations. She continued a vigorous career until her strength began to wane in 1962. She died in New York City that November, and was buried at Hyde Park beside her husband.
Among her more notable quotes are these…
“Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
“Campaign behavior for wives: Always be on time. Do as little talking as humanly possible. Lean back in the parade car so everybody can see the president.”
“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.”
“Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product.”
“I think that somehow, we learn who we really are and then live with that decision.”
“I used to tell my husband that, if he could make me ‘understand’ something, it would be clear to all the other people in the country.”
“If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor.”
“In all our contacts it is probably the sense of being really needed and wanted which gives us the greatest satisfaction and creates the most lasting bond.”
“It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.”
“It is not fair to ask of others what you are unwilling to do yourself.”
“Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn’t have the power to say yes.”
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
“Probably the happiest period in life most frequently is in middle age, when the eager passions of youth are cooled, and the infirmities of age not yet begun; as we see that the shadows, which are at morning and evening so large, almost entirely disappear at midday.”
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
Homely. Determined. Wise. I love reading about her and would have greatly enjoyed talking with her.
I often wonder how some historical figures - like Eleanor - would have blogged. I suspect her posts would garner many comments and much attention.
It’s an interesting idea. Get your story down in 6 words. Exactly. I’ve not purchased the book (yet), but I do go to the website to check them out periodically.
When I was a journalism student in college I remember going through an Ernest Hemingway phase - who didn’t? There were many true stories of Papa. Even more untrue ones. I had heard that he once wrote a 6 word story, but I could never find out if it was true or not. It should be true.
“For Sale: Baby Shoes. Never Worn.”
I hadn’t thought of that until I was reading the reviews on Amazon about this book and Larry Mark (the guy with 2 first names), one of the reviewers, reminded me. Mr. Hemingway may or may not have written that, but I prefer to think he did.
Alcohol. Fishing. Adventure. Spain. Stories. Death. It’s hard to sum up his life and death in 6 words. It’s hard to sum up anything in 6 words, but some folks do a rather good job of it.
Larry Mark’s favorite from the book is: “Girlfriend is pregnant, my husband said.”
I miss Howard K. Smith. I miss a number of old newsmen. They were vastly better than today’s newsmen, in my judgment. I think of Mr. Smith often, mainly because of something I read about him when I was a college student.
He declared that he had his children write one clear sentence every day. I remember thinking how novel and brilliant that was. Of course, back when I read that I had dreams and aspirations of joining the likes of Faulkner, Sinclair and Irving. I still rather like the notion of a dad having his children write one clear sentence before retiring each day.
Perhaps you don’t remember Howard K. Smith - or maybe you’re too young to have known of him. Here’s an AP story that appeared on February 18, 2002 announcing the death of the 87 year old newsman who was among the classiest of all-time.
__________________________
Howard K. Smith, whose career as a newscaster ranged from World War II as one of “Murrow’s Boys” at CBS to roles as co-anchor and analyst for ABC, is dead at age 87.
Smith died of pneumonia aggravated by congestive heart failure on Friday evening at his home in Bethesda, Md., his son, Jack, said Monday.
Although out of the public eye for nearly a quarter-century, Smith was a broadcasting pioneer and, from television’s infancy, a presence on the air.
Along the way, he made at least two appearances of lasting impact even beyond the journalistic.
In 1960, he served as the moderator of the first Kennedy-Nixon presidential debate, a seminal TV event generally thought to have played a decisive role in Kennedy’s election.
Smith also is memorialized in Robert Altman’s 1975 political satire “Nashville,” in which Smith portrayed himself as a broadcast commentator covering the presidential campaign of the never-glimpsed candidate Hal Phillip Walker.
Howard Kingsbury Smith was born May 12, 1914, in Ferriday, La., and, after attending Tulane University, began his years as a foreign correspondent working for United Press in Copenhagen and Berlin.
In 1941 he joined CBS News as a member of the team assembled by the legendary Edward R. Murrow during World War II, and in 1946 succeeded Murrow as CBS’s London correspondent. He covered Europe and the Middle East for CBS until 1957, when he came to Washington, D.C., as a correspondent and commentator on the network’s nightly TV newscast.
With the civil rights struggle heating up, Smith narrated a 1961 documentary, “Who Speaks for Birmingham?,” in which he quoted Edmund Burke’s observation that “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” When the quote was deemed “editorializing” by his bosses and cut from the program, Smith resigned from the network.
Joining ABC News soon after, Smith served as a correspondent and anchored several series, including the respected mid-1960s documentary program “Scope,” which focused on the Vietnam War.
In 1969 he became co-anchor with Frank Reynolds of “The ABC Evening News,” then two years later was joined at the ABC anchor desk by his former CBS colleague Harry Reasoner.
In l975 Smith gave up his co-anchor role but continued as a political commentator. Four years later, after denouncing a flashy four-anchor evening-news format that uncomfortably married Reynolds, Peter Jennings, Barbara Walters and Max Robinson, Smith retired.
His several books include the 1942 bestseller “Last Train from Berlin,” which describes Hitler’s rise to power and his own experiences as the last American correspondent to leave Berlin after war was declared, and his 1966 memoir, “Events Leading Up to My Death: The Life of a Twentieth-Century Reporter.”
His numerous awards include a Peabody and an Emmy.
Survivors include his wife of 60 years, Benedicte Traberg Smith, and one daughter and one son and three grandchildren.
__________________________
Still don’t remember him? Maybe this will help. In 1996 he appeared on The Charlie Rose Show.
Then there’s this newcast from May 15, 1973.
Lastly, there’s this commentary from June 5, 1968 about guns
You’ll notice right away that this is LIVE television.
For some reason I think Mr. Hemingway would find it unsettling that his craft was reduced to four points used heavily by the copy-writing industry as a “how-to” system. Maybe not. Maybe Papa would be right in the thick of things. Somehow, I doubt it though.
Many copywriters have added a 5th rule - make your copy very, very long.
Full-disclosure requires me to tell you I regularly read CopyBlogger and some other sites devoted to the craft of writing great copy. I don’t throw every copy-writer in the category of the letter generators that seem to have overtaken cyberspace. Some, sure. But not all.
Of course, Joe Sugarman helped propel the modern phenomenon by selling millions of BluBlocker sunglasses thanks to lengthy advertising copy. He has an ebook sold online using long copy. This is one of my favorite lines of the copy: “WARNING: Use the 30 triggers only as directed. Over-use may be absolutely overwhelming.”
We all get them. Email appeals or URLs designed to captivate us. Usually the ones claiming they have a secret formula for making tons of money. They are all very, very LONG. Most are long-winded online letters. Entire websites are often only 1 page, that seems to go on forever. Here’s an example of one. Here’s another one. And another. Why not one more? There are probably millions of them.
Does anybody read all that copy? Or do the copywriters even expect people to read it all?
I honestly don’t know. I’ve read a few things about copy-writing. I went to journalism school - a lifetime ago when IBM Selectric typewriters were hi-tech. I’ve done a bit of writing - including some advertising copy for print and broadcast. And the web. I write lots of things every day.
I’ve been tempted to learn more about the craft. There clearly is something happening here. Letters, today’s most common form of copy-writing, have quite a few things in common.
There is lots of it. The sheer volume of offers sometimes overwhelms me. So many people have “a secret” or “the secret.” Can it really be a secret any more? I doubt it ever was a secret. “Secret” seems to be a popular copy-writing headline word these days.
Headlines are designed to draw you in - if you’re dumb as a brick. Here’s one headline (see the real headline here):
Discover the SECRETS of Becoming a Copywriter!
Earn THOUSANDS Each Week Just By Writing Simple
Letters Like This - NO Experience Required!
The “simple letter” that follows this headline is ridiculously long. Simple? I don’t think so. But the headlines must work because they all have headlines like this one. Or here’s another online example.
Use the word “secret” - use bold, big fonts - use exclamation marks - use all CAPS for some words - use testimonials - tempt people with being able to earn lots of money - make it sound easy - and let them know it doesn’t matter if they lack experience. Then put a deadline on it. Have your website insert today’s date as the final date of the offer. And don’t forget to offer free crap to people who purchase today!
And it often helps to have a great title, if you’re selling an ebook or information. Here’s one of my favorites, “The Cheat’s Guide To Instant Genius.” The irony is that as badly as I’d like to be a genius, I’m seriously looking for some way to cheat so I can become one. The paradox is that cheaters are the one capable of writing a cheat’s guide. But they won’t cheat you.
These things must work because there are so many of them. They all sell information or services or products ranging from a few bucks (paid one time) to monthly commitments of hundreds of dollars. In business we call it “revenue stream.” The more streams you can create, the better. Makes perfect sense.
Some of them do contain information. I’m not saying all these are scams. In fact, I’m not saying any of them are scams. I have a free email subscription to Early To Rise. I don’t opt out even though they bombard me with these long letters soliciting me to purchase various things. Here’s a sample of one of their long letters about profits in paradise.
I have much to learn. There must be a reason why we don’t see short ads for these things. Short versions must not be effective.
P.T. Barnum is credited with saying, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Disputes have arisen through the years about whether he really did say it. Maybe he did. Maybe he didn’t. However, examine his life and you clearly see a man who was very aware of the gullibility of people. He’d surely be proud of how easy it is to part some customers from their money today. Barnum never was able to reach a vast number of potential customers so easily as today’s barkers can.
Papa might not like the modern tactics of today’s copy-writers, but P.T. Barnum would likely embrace it.
Yes, I’ve purchased some things that were hawked by highly regarded people, mostly published authors of business tomes. Information. DVD’s. Workbooks. Some of it grossly overpriced. Some of it reasonable. Yes, I’ve seen the vast downloads of freebies (most of it worthless). Count me among the gullible I guess - but I confess I have never made such a purchase based on the lengthy copy of an appeal to urge me to buy! Nor have I been swayed by the typical elements of most offers. I read the book, enjoyed the information and found myself wanting more. Sometimes my purchase gave me more. Much of the time it gave me less than expected.
I wish people would refuse to buy any product, service or information advertised with such tactics. They won’t of course. Which is why my inbox and web browser will continue to be filled with secrets that can make me rich - for only $47.
Or people in small groups. Or alone.
Footnote: Is it me, or was this a really long post?
“I am, I fully grant, a phenomenon, but not because of any speed in composition,” he wrote in The New York Times Book Review in 1986. “I asked myself the other day, ‘Who else, on so many issues, has been so right so much of the time?’ I couldn’t think of anyone.”
William F. Buckley was incredibly fun to hear and watch. Read what The New York Times has to say here.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.
I would have eaten the popcorn in the “good” living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.
I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.
I would have cried and laughed less while watching television - and more while watching life.
I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.
I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren’t there for the day.
I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn’t show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I’d have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.
When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, “Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.”
There would have been more “I love you’s” - more “I’m sorry’s” - but mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute, look at it and really see it, live it and never give it back.
I suspect there now exists an entire generation that knows not of her writing. You should grab a book - any book - and dive in. Her humor and wit was domestically centered. The woman was very funny. I miss her work.
I often wonder what errors in judgment I’m making in living my life. For those of us who do not know if we’re dying or not - I wonder how we’d answer her question, “If I had my life to live over?” It’s certainly more worthwhile to ask it while we’re on this side of eternity - able to alter our lives. For me, everyday is an alteration.
I’m told the Moleskine name is taken from the cover’s finish being reminiscent of the skin of a mole. I don’t know about that, but there are so many things I don’t know about. I do know moles aren’t very attractive creatures.
Look at that face. Even a mom couldn’t stare into that face very face long. None of my Moleskine notebooks have fur, or hair. Yet.
I do, however, find my Moleskine notebooks quite cuddly. Every December I buy a new supply of them. I’ve been doing that for a few years now. I’d love to tell you how incredibly organized I am - how I have them all nicely labeled and properly filed away. Not so.
Rather, I have them laying around. Tucked away in a backpack. Hidden on top of books in a shelf. Stuffed in a carrying bag. If you go to any place where I’ve been hanging out you’re likely to stumble on one. And it could be very dangerous for me. Because I don’t self edit much when I’m taking notes, or writing.
You’re likely to find my serious note-taking involves being blunt and pointed. “Rambling, rambling, rambling.” Comments about a speaker who was boring me to tears with endless dribble. “My takeaway point = he should never speak publicly again.” Comments about the same speaker. “Is that mic for Manute Bol?” This comment referenced the Sudan NBA player who measured 7 feet, 7 inches. The microphone on this occasion was about a foot taller than the speaker at the podium. And it was one of those fixed long necked microphones. It was a funny scene. Can’t remember anything the speaker said. He was overshadowed by the mic.
Yes, I’m a serious note-taker. I love to take notes. I’ve always loved taking notes. And doodling. And making sarcastic comments. I’m very capable of capturing the moment - including small oddities. But there is a craft to taking good notes. And the web is full of great resources. I need to revisit these and devise a new strategy for my 2008 note taking efforts.
Cal Poly has some great information on taking notes.
Michael Hyatt, the CEO of Thomson-Nelson, wrote about it in 2005.
And just yesterday, Tim Ferris made his contribution.
Note taking is all the rage. I’d share with you my wisdom for taking notes, but mostly I do it to entertain myself. If I capture something meaningful along the way - it’s completely accidental. That doesn’t diminish my seriousness about it. It’s a craft that I have practiced for many years. I’m very accomplished at it.
I’ve made notes of songs I heard that I really liked. I’ve listed book titles. Quotes. Jokes. Funny stories. Sad stories. Flight information. Names and phone numbers, or email addresses. Websites. Planned vacations, that I never took. Recorded goals that I’ll never accomplish. Written down my weight at a specific moment in time. Recorded lines from movies, like this one from Canadian Bacon: “We have ways of making you pronounce your O’s.” (Said to a Canadian Mountie, played by Stephen Wright, by an American after Wright pronounced “about” in typical Canadian fashion.)
I’ve taken notes at funerals, weddings, in airports, on airplanes, during TV shows, at home, at work and in the bathroom. My note-taking ability knows few boundaries. I date my notes. I don’t have a fancy indexing system. I should. My Moleskines are a living timeline of my life.
Sometimes my Moleskines have served as a mini-filing systems for me to insert something cut out of a magazine or newspaper. Receipts, business cards, and coupons can also be found inside many of my Moleskines. And there are also Post-It Notes. Post-It Notes? Stuck to pages of my Moleskines. I know. It makes no sense to stick a Post-It Note on the page of a note taking book.
But I’m crazy. And if you ever get your hands on my Moleskines you’ll know. Which is why I’ve determined that in 2008 I’m going to collect them all and lock them away somewhere. They’re very incriminating.
I’m a fan of Steven Johnson. He wrote, “Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Today’s Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter.” He’s written other stuff, but I’ve only read that one, and some articles he’s written. Bright guy.
Some time ago I saw a video of a presentation he gave at TED about his book on the London cholera epidemic of 1854. It was a fascinating presentation and it piqued my interest in the book. Now the book is available in paperback. And the publisher has produced perhaps the coolest website ever done for a book. I plan to go buy a copy and begin reading it soon.
This is from the inside flap of the book:
It is the summer of 1854. Cholera has seized London with unprecedented intensity. A metropolis of more than 2 million people, London is just emerging as a one of the first modern cities in the world. But lacking the infrastructure necessary to support its dense population - garbage removal, clean water, sewers - the city has become the perfect breeding ground for a terrifying disease no one knows how to cure.
As their neighbors begin dying, two men are spurred to action: the Reverend Henry Whitehead, whose faith in a benevolent God is shaken by the seemingly random nature of the victims, and Dr. John Snow, whose ideas about contagion have been dismissed by the scientific community, but who is convinced that he knows how the disease is being transmitted. In a riveting day-by-day account, The Ghost Map chronicles the outbreak’s spread and the desperate efforts to put an end to the epidemic - and solve the most pressing medical riddle of the age.
The Ghost Map is the chilling story of urban terror, but it is also a story of how scientific understanding can advance in the most hostile of environments. In a triumph of dynamic, multidisciplinary thinking, Steven Johnson examines the epidemic from the microbial level to the human level to the urban level. Brilliantly illuminating the intertwined histories of the spread of disease, the rise of cities, and the nature of scientific inquiry, Johnson presents both vivid history and a powerful, provocative explanation of how it has shaped the world we live in.
You can imagine my delight when I was shown the image of a small USB device that plugs into your computer and provides you with a 6′ personal sphere. My only fear was that 6′ was not nearly large enough. I need a large sphere because my personal space is frequented by morons that insist on staying within at least 20′ of me. Maybe they make a booster, I wondered. I read on.
“I once had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: no good in a bed, but fine up against a wall.”
A month or so ago I noticed that 
“I am, I fully grant, a phenomenon, but not because of any speed in composition,” he wrote in The New York Times Book Review in 1986. “I asked myself the other day, ‘Who else, on so many issues, has been so right so much of the time?’ I couldn’t think of anyone.”
I’m told the Moleskine name is taken from the cover’s finish being reminiscent of the skin of a mole. I don’t know about that, but there are so many things I don’t know about. I do know moles aren’t very attractive creatures.
Look at that face. Even a mom couldn’t stare into that face very face long. None of my Moleskine notebooks have fur, or hair. Yet.
I’m a fan of 
