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Gimme Some Soul
Anyone who knows me, knows what a total music addict I am. My music library is a varied collection from opera to bluegrass, from big band to heavy metal and everything in between. There are many in my collection that I listen to regularly and some I just yearn to hear occasionally.
Since Seal made the Grammy list with Kiss From A Rose, he’s been among those that I listen to regularly. His deep husky baritone voice and his writing style captured my heart and my ears. This week, he’s released another sure to be winner of a CD, Soul. Each song in this collection of what can surely be called the “best ever” classic soul, was carefully hand selected by Seal and his producer, the renowned David Foster.
Check this “stone cold” soul classic, orginally by Otis Redding:
If that’s not enough Seal to convince you that this is a golden disc check out these other videos
It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World
The CD is available online at your favorite retailer.
Still haven’t gotten your fill of Soul?
Don’t Miss Seal on TV This Week
Seal will be baring his SOUL to the media this week. See his TV appearances below and tune in to hear him talk about SOUL and perform songs from the album.
Wednesday, Nov 12
Dr Phil
Friday, Nov 15
Martha Stewart
*Check your local listings for time and channel
Here’s The Goodies!
Here’s your chance to win a copy of the Soul CD and one of these cute little Ipod speakers.
The folks at Delight.com* want you to enjoy more Soul on your IPOD and they’ve sponsored a giveaway here! You can win one of these cute little IPOD mini speakers.
The sturdy retro shape looks like your favorite interlocking building set (hint hint), and holds your iPod upright and gives enough volume to keep you rockin. Perfect for your cubicle, traveling or the bathroom. No batteries needed! This speaker uses a USB to power through your iPod!
*Delight.com is a super little shopping site for Christmas! Think of Delight.com as a unique boutique that stocks the perfect gift for everyone on your list. Delight features eco-friendly tote bags, gadgets for guys, kitchen gear that is smart and saves time, travel essentials, one-of-a-kind baby gifts, stocking stuffers for holiday gift shopping and unique jewelry and décor accessories with most under $50
Its easy to enter this give-away. Simply visit the official Seal page, watch a couple of the videos there and come back here and leave a comment, tell us which song you like the best on this CD and why.Then subscribe to our feed here. Don’t forget to tell me you did! That’s it. A winner will be drawn randomly on November 21st at midnight EST. Good Luck! And enjoy all that Soul!
Instantly double your chances to win 3 ways!
1. Link to this post from your blog.
2. Twitter this post using Seal and Soul in your tweet.
3. Join our mailing list for updates and savings. (its in the sidebar)
And just to add a little more sugar to the pot:
One2One Network is sponsoring even more prizes!
The prizes are: 1st place=$200 gift card to Spafinder.com and Seal’s new CD, Soul; 2nd and 3rd place=$100 gift card to Spafinder.com and Seal’s Soul CD; 4th place Seal’s Soul CD (40 winners). How everyone can enter this contest: embed the widget on your blog or any social media site (the widget has super easy “get ‘ n share” instructions.The widget can be found here: http://www.clearspring.com/widgets/490b6d3729deba87). You get one additional entry for each location the widget is placed. All entrants must email the url of the location they put the widget to One2One to be entered. Contest at One2One ends Dec 1st.
Billy
Charles Templeton was one of the most noteable preachers of the mid 20th century. He was also a friend and a mentor to the young Billy Graham. In the book, Billy, authors William P. McKay and Ken Abraham tell the story of the young Graham, from the perspective of the dying Templeton.
The story, while not a strict biography, details Billy Graham’s early years, meeting Ruth, and his early evangelism. And, it more than truthfully details the relationship between the two men. One a foundling evangelist, the other in the early stages of becoming an atheist.
The story reads a little like a movie script and I think that’s just the way the authors want you to feel. (as though you’re in a movie) Clearly, Billy was never pegged for success, but the blessings from God that brought him success and the plans to bring Christ to the world and win it for HIM are stunning wittness to the lives and faith of both men. Together they had great plans in 1949 for an evangelism campaign to win the world for Christ. What began in Los Angeles on that day, certainly wouldn’t have succeeded had it not been for divine intervention and a wife, friends and family that stood beside the evangelist every step of the way.
If you’re looking for a biography of Billy Graham, there are more than a few to choose from. And if you’re searching for a true biography, this book isn’t what you’re looking for. But if you want an inside look at Billy and the crisis of faith spurred on by his relationship with Charles Templeton, then you’re going to find this book quite a read.
Steal of A Deal!
Epson America asked me to try the NX400, a 4-in one printer, copier, fax. Its an ink jet printer, cousin to the now famous Artisan used at Blissdom last month (no I didn’t get to attend. We were moving) and in my book, its a steal of a deal!
First, the retail price of the printer comes in below $100. I’ve seen it advertised as low as $79 and as high as $99. For home use or for a student away at college, the price is well within budget. But let me tell you more.
The printer arrived, complete with extra ink cartridges and several different paper qualities to try. I’ve given the printer a good two weeks worth of trial printing and here’s what I can tell you.
It is everything that the company says and more. Whether it’s printing short reports, driving maps, recipes, housewarming invitations or photos, this easy to use all-in-one delivers. I got great results on plain paper, photo quality paper (glossy and matte) and even card stock. I needed to print a new version of my business cards since our move and though the NX wasn’t as fast as my office printer, the results were outstanding!
The ink dries fast (with instant dry DURABrite® Ultra Ink) its waterproof, smudge proof, and resistant to things like highlighters (good feature for the creative ones in the house). Handling photos straight from the printer is possible because of these great inks. (Another plus in my book)
Copying old photos is simple and fast and restoring them is super simple because of the flip up LCD screen. I got perfect prints automatically with the auto photo correction feature, which corrects the lighting in poorly exposed and older images. This feature also includes advanced face detection, which automatically distinguishes people from scenery, and corrects the color producing beautiful, natural skin tones. AND, you don’t even have to turn on your computer to print photos. Whether you’re using a memory stick or other type of portable media or just plugging your camera into the printer, the process is easy peasy and produces wonderful results.
The Epson Stylus NX400 even includes fun and easy-to-use ArcSoft Print Creations™ software for designing personalized greeting cards, invitations, calendars, photo albums, and more!
Now, I wouldn’t be fair to you if I didn’t tell you it has some drawbacks:
Printing average typefaces like Arial in standard 10-12 pt sizes produces great results. On the other hand, if you print larger, bolder typefaces, you’ll see a little bit of print bleed. (I’m kind of picky when it comes to print)
The Nx400 is a bit on the noisy side when it starts up, (freaked the cat out) but the noise is minimal and considering the quality of photo printing the machine does, I can live with it.
Purchasing refill ink for the Nx400 can be a little costly. The multi pack of the color cartridges (1 each of the colors) runs about $37 and the black cartridges run about $16. Weighed against other brands, they’re not out of line costly, but some other brand printers in this class don’t allow for separate ink cartridge replacement.
Now, more good stuff! Epson is giving a $50 mail in rebate, through January 10, when you buy the Nx400 and ANY digital camera, computer or notebook, including Apple. That makes the price of the NX400 come in below $50 plus tax and a steal of a deal!
I’m donating this printer to a local nursing home, for use by their Alzheimers therapists in reproducing photos and other memories for their patients. I know they’ll get good use from it.
The Bees Knees
Honey bees are disappearing! Yep, the problem is so big that the University of California at Davis, Penn State, The National Honey Bee Board, and other groups are studying Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). What’s that you say? It is a little understood phenomenon in which worker bees in a beehive or colony abruptly disappear. The hive dies.
Bees are honey makers but the most important
job they perform is pollination. One out of every
three bites of food we eat and drink is animal
pollinated! And, all kinds of wildlife depend on
pollinated plants for food.
Many plants and trees are pollinated by honey
bees: apples, apricots, avocados, cherries, strawberries,
raspberries, grapes, and blueberries,
peaches, pears, pumpkins, squash, watermelons,
plums, cranberries, cantaloupes, cucumbers,
soybeans and almonds! In fact, almond
crops use 1/2 of the honeybees in the country!
To help the bees and us, because we love to eat, Häagen Dazs is helping to fund research for the cause. They have a great interactive site for you and the kids to visit, telling all about honey bees, what’s gone wrong, and how we can help. And, they even have a great little book you can download. Its full of information, suggested books and activities for kids and more!
Häagen Dazs is contributing a portion of the sale of each carton of their bee dependent flavors to fund research and they’ve even come up with a brand new flavor, which I might add is a “honey” of a treat! Its called Vanilla Honey Bee! Support your local hive, try a little Häagen Dazs sweetness and drop by their Help The Honey Bees Site for lots of fun! (and a little education)
