Not sure what’s happening with me on this one, but it seems like the more I listen to it, the better Emancipation Of Mimi gets. Emancipation Of Mimi simply stated is one of Mariah Carey’s best CDs to date.

Unfortunately, it’s not everyday that I get a CD from an artist that I can just pop in and comfortably listen to from beginning to end. There is usually a song or two that I just can’t force myself to get through. Not at all the case with Emancipation Of Mimi. Every track is enjoyable and was pretty easy for me to listen to from start to finish.

Emancipation Of Mimi is a pleasantly varied, mix of 14 tracks that are very well written songs by this clearly talented artist. Most of the songs display a lot of the kind emotion that makes for a really great listen. Seemingly drawing from what I can only imagine are her own real life experiences. At different points touching on the most real emotions of love, and the pain of failed relationships can certainly be heard.

If you’re even mildly into Pop music you’ll enjoy this album. Overall Emancipation Of Mimi is an a great release. I give it my double thumbs up. You will not be disappointed with one single track.

My SmoothLee Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is track 12, To The Floor. This is a great track!

Emancipation Of Mimi Release Notes:

Mariah Carey originally released Emancipation Of Mimi on Apr 12, 2005 on the MonarC / Island label.

CD Track List Follows:

1. It’s Like That
2. We Belong Together
3. Shake It Off
4. Mine Again
5. Say Somethin’ - (with Snoop Dogg)
6. Stay The Night
7. Get Your Number - (with Jermaine Dupri)
8. One And Only - (with Twista)
9. Circles
10. Your Girl
11. I Wish You Knew
12. To The Floor - (with Nelly)
13. Joy Ride
14. Fly Like A Bird

Includes: Limited edition poster. Personnel include: Mariah Carey (vocals); Trey Lorenz (vocals); Nelly, Snoop Dogg, Twista (rap vocals); Chops Horns (horns); James Wright (keyboards); Randy Jackson (bass instrument); Charles Drayton (drums); Fatman Scoop, Jermaine Dupri, Johnta Austin (background vocals).

Find what you are look for a lot less from JCcyber.com

If you’re searching desperately for an original idea for a birthday bash or a bachelorette party, you’ll understand that it can be difficult for a host or hostess to come up with an idea that will knock your guests off their feet. However, there is one party idea that is sure to impress your guests, whatever the occasion: the idea of the spa party has gradually gathered momentum in recent years, and more women - and men - are indulging in a bit of pampering with their pals as a way of celebrating an important occasion.

Traditionally, day spas and spa resorts are zones of relaxation, where guests can unwind and enjoy a host of luxurious care treatments, including facials and massages. But while today’s spas have connotations of significant luxury and indulgence, historically, “spa towns” in Europe were visited for health reasons. The name ’spa’ originates from the town of Spa in Belgium, which was famous for its hot thermal baths (hydrotherapy) and mineral water treatments (balneotherapy).

While the healing property of spa waters was, for the most part, a European phenomenon, many hot springs across the United States have properties that are suitable for hydrotherapy because of their high mineral content. Today, the modern spa has evolved into an attractive tourist destination, while the scientifically-proven medical value of spa waters and hot springs makes them popular as rehabilitation clinics.

Spa parties can involve groups of all sizes - from few to many people - and can be a great way to get friends to relax together and take some time out from their daily routines. In fact, some modern day spas are often considered as much like beauty salons as centres of tranquillity and peacefulness. Common treatments available at a spa include massages, facials, waxing, aromatherapy and skin exfoliation. Spa massages are particularly popular, especially with groups of friends on a spa outing.

The range of massages available at spas today is immense, with various massage techniques from a number of countries on offer: Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Swedish and Thai massage techniques are falling into prominence in many spas, and each offers its own specific benefits.

Reflexology, or “zone therapy”, is also gaining popularity at spas across the world. This is the practice of stimulating points on the feet and hands that are believed to be beneficial to other parts of the body. The “design contour”, which uses anti-ageing body treatments to generate heat and circulation, is also becoming fashionable.

Opt for a spa birthday celebration or a spa bachelorette party to show your friends how to have a good time with a difference. Many spa facilities offers weekend vacation packages and bridal packages in some of America’s most exclusive locations; so if you think a hotel spa break may be out of your reach, think again. Men and women alike will adore the peace and tranquillity that a day at the spa can afford.

Andrew Regan is an online, freelance journalist.

Want an inexpensive yet effective way to market your business? Then think postcards! They are less expensive to mail than letters and they almost always get read because your message is out in the open for everyone to see. If you follow these 10 steps, you’ll discover how effective and lucrative marketing with postcards can be.

1. Keep Design Simple
Don’t confuse your prospects. The design needs to be simple. Remember the saying “less is more?” You must make it easy for the prospect to get the message. In fact, using color on both sides is unnecessary and confusing to the recipient. Save money and print color on the main side and black and white on the address side.

2. Avoid Too Much Information
Do not give in to the temptation to cram copy onto every square inch as you try and fit a sales letter onto the postcard. This will overwhelm the prospect and dilute your message.

3. One Idea per Postcard
If your product is efficient, inexpensive and comes with a lifetime guarantee…choose one feature (and of course, the corresponding benefits) to promote on the postcard. This is a great opportunity for multiple mailings. Send a separate postcard detailing one benefit of your product or service.

4. Powerful Headline

You must pay the closest attention to the headline. The headline is what will compel the prospect to keep reading. The best type of headline has a direct benefit to the reader.

5. Promote Your Website
Don’t forget to promote your website on the postcard. This is a great opportunity to drive extra traffic to your site. It also gives the prospect an easy way to get extra information.

6. Make an Irresistible Offer
Don’t forget to entice the prospect with an offer. If you are giving a special discount or trial offer, make sure the offer is in the forefront, not buried in mounds of copy.

7. Strong Call to Action
Do not forget this critical step. Instruct the prospect to do whatever you feel is the appropriate next step. Just make it simple. Prospects don’t want jump through hoops to get to your product or service. Do you want your prospect to call you? They tell them what to do.

8. Build a Great List
You can have the best postcard out there but if you don’t have a good list, it won’t convert well. Check out a service like InfoUSA.com or your local Chamber of Commerce to build a good list. And don’t forget to maximize your website by including an opt-in page to create the best list of all…customers who are interested in your product or service.

9. Repeat Mailings
If you want your campaign to be effective, you must send more than one postcard! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people complain that postcards don’t work because their one-time mailing failed to convert. Once-a-month mailings can be quite effective. But if your budget is tight, the minimum you should send is 3.

10. Follow-Up with Phone Calls
If you really want to add extra mileage to your campaign, follow-up with phone calls. After you send the postcards, the “cold call” isn’t so cold and you’ll be on your way to finding new customers.

Remember…making sales is a numbers game. The more prospects you contact the more sales you will make. It’s that simple.

Need more sales? The solution is as easy as your next postcard campaign!

Evy Schwartz is a successful sales and marketing copywriter. She helps businesses boost their sales through writing crisp, compelling copy for their marketing collateral including postcards, sales letters, web content, brochures, direct mail and more. More information can be found at http://www.elsvirtualsolutions.com

© 2007 ELS Virtual Solutions. You may reprint this article online and in print provided the links remain live and the content remains unaltered (including the “About the author” message).

French drain installation is one of the easiest things you can do to prevent water from entering your home’s basement or crawl space. However, frequently contractors and homeowners neglect to install them when building homes or additions on to homes. The cost of installing a French drain is minimal, as it only requires some perforated PVC piping and ¾ inch crushed stone. French Drains should always be installed around foundations.

A French drain takes advantage of gravity and aids in helping ground water seek lower levels away from your home’s foundation.

A French drain is basically a network of crushed stone and plastic piping that encircles the home or home addition and channels water away from the foundation.

After the home’s footing and foundation walls have been constructed and sealed, several inches of crushed stone should be poured around the outside of the foundation wall near the base of the footings. The crushed stone should be poured such that a natural swale is created towards the lowest expected finished grade around the foundation and abutting yard. This will help aid in the direction of water away from the home.

A small trench should then be extended out into the yard, from this lowest finished grade location at the foundation so that water will continue to drain away from the foundation. The trench should be approximately 1 foot wide and should extend deep enough to enable water to continue to drain from the foundation. The trench should extended outward from this point in the foundation to a distance that the drain reaches the natural ground surface. This will enable the ground water around the foundation water to be effectively channeled out to the surface some extended distance away from the home.

Perforated 4 inch PVC, or similar plastic pipe, should then be placed and connected together on top of the crushed stone with the holes facing downward. It is important for the holes to face downward as water tables build from the bottoms up.

The PVC pipes should be connected such that they funnel water towards the trench and then connect, if necessary with a T-connector, to a straight section of PVC pipe that extends the length of the trench.

With the piping installed, the pipe should be covered with an additional 1-2 feet of crushed stone, less as you work your way out towards the end of the trench.

The foundation can then be backfilled, and 2-4 inches of topsoil can then be installed on top for growing grass.

French drain installations are also common for channeling water from other locations in a yard. Typically they are used in applications where water coming off of a hill would normally drain into a back or side yard. By installing a French drain, the water can be “short circuited” from entering the back or side yard.

For more help on Fench drain systems and building a family room addition, see HomeAdditionPlus.com’s Room Addition Bid sheet. The Room Addition Bid Sheet provides you with the knowledge on how to plan a room addition project, and what to look for when hiring contractors for your new home construction. It also includes a detailed cost breakdown table and spreadsheet for estimating your own room addition building costs.

About the Author: Over the past 20+ years Mark Donovan has been involved with building homes and additions to homes. His projects have included: building a vacation home, building additions and garages on to existing homes, and finishing unfinished homes. For more home improvement information visit http://www.homeadditionplus.com and http://www.homeaddition.blogspot.com

Not sure what’s happening with me on this one, but it seems like the more I listen to it, the better Love, Angel, Music, Baby gets. Love, Angel, Music, Baby simply stated is one of Gwen Stefani’s best CDs to date.

Gwen Stefani has been a super star in the Pop genre for quite a while now and Love, Angel, Music, Baby is an excellent illustration as to why.

One of the refreshingly nice things about this CD is the way all of the participating artists seem to be really enjoying themselves. Combine that with the overall presentation and you’ve got one of Gwen Stefani’s most impressive releases ever.

This is a first rate CD, delivering a little something for everyone. I give it two thumbs up. It’s quite simply great listening. A must buy if you’re even mildly into Pop music.

My SmoothLee Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is track 6, Luxurious. It’s a great track!

Love, Angel, Music, Baby Release Notes:

Gwen Stefani originally released Love, Angel, Music, Baby on Nov 23, 2004 on the Interscope Records label.

CD Track List Follows:

1. What You Waiting For?

2. Rich Girl - (with Eve)

3. Hollaback Girl

4. Cool

5. Bubble Pop Electric - (with Johnny Vulture)

6. Luxurious

7. Harajuku Girls

8. Crash

9. The Real Thing

10. Serious

11. Danger Zone

12. Long Way To Go - (with Andre 3000)

Personnel include: Gwen Stefani (vocals); Andre 3000 (vocals); Eve (rap vocals); Linda Perry (guitar, keyboards, programming); Tony Reyes (guitar, bass guitar); Rusty Anderson (guitar); Tony Kanal (keyboards, synthesizer, programming); Mark Batson (keyboards, keyboard bass); Dallas Austin (keyboards, drums); Mike Elizondo, James Wright (keyboards); Jimmy Jam (bass guitar); Jason Lader (programming); Mimi Parker, Seven, Bobby Ross Avila (background vocals).

We have all have that bad Relationship we wish we could end painlessly, or perhaps you caught your significant other cheating on you. Or even perhaps you cannot find the right words to end it or you just do not want to face that person to do the dirty deed. Well at RelationShipOver.Com this site addresses those issues and more.
www.relationshipover.com

Gardening is fun, and I enjoy the moments I spend while working in my garden. This is the only time I can honestly relax and not worry about the burdens of life for a couple hours. If you want to start your own garden, may it be indoors or outdoors, there are a couple of steps that you must take.

Now, there are many types of gardens you can start with, you may want a flower garden, a vegetable garden or a garden filled with plants. The choice is unlimited, you can even combine your garden. But, the one thing that hasn’t changed, is that you have to plan your garden layout, or your in for a chaotic mess.

Your first step towards a beautiful garden is dealing with the landscape, you have to layout how you will divide the little space available, and decide what types of plants you will be using and how you will sort them by type or color. You also have to choose the garden decor that will blend well with your home.

It seems difficult at first, but it’s not, there are many resources that can help you get started. I always like to start by doing my research online. The internet is an endless source for gardening tips and gardening articles to help you get started. You can also run down to your local library and get yourself a couple books, that will put you in the right frame of mind.

Now, I must admit, that without the right tools, your gardening will be a tedious and tough job. The right gardening tools, makes the job easy and fun. To get more details, you can visit my website.

Alexander Marlin loves writing articles about the things he loves and enjoys doing. Read about his passion for gardening

To protect your loved ones, life insurance is something that you need to look into. Term life insurance is one type of life insurance that you can investigate. There are several advantages and factors that might make this particular type of life insurance appropriate for you.

Essentially, term life insurance provides coverage for a certain amount of time; for instance, they can be bought for spans of one, five or ten years. After the span that the insurance has been purchased for expires, and if the subject of the policy has not died, there is usually a possibly for renewal of the policy, but there is no cash surrender value. As with other forms of life insurance, if you perish before the end of the policy, your beneficiary will receive the promised funds.

Term life insurance is considered to be pure insurance protection because there is no accumulation of cash value. Once the term ends, there is no payment. Because of this, a term life insurance policy cannot be considered as collateral security for loans. One advantage of this is that, combined with the fact that term life insurance policies are so inexpensive, that money can be put into other funds that all typically outperform life insurance in terms of profitability. Term life insurance, when coupled with things like CDs and mutual funds, can be an excellent plan for families, which have both a need for insurance and for investments that pay off quickly.

Term life insurance is the cheapest form of life insurance available, and thus ideal for families need coverage to protect against the financial distress of the death of a family member. Whole life insurance, for instance, costs thousands dollars a year, while term life insurance is seldom goes over three figures per year. The affordability is definitely one of the advantages of term life insurance, allowing needed funds to be diverted elsewhere.

A term life insurance policy is ideal for responsible family planning. For instance, parents can purchase policies that will expire when their children are adults, ensuring that the child will be taken care if should something happen to their mother or father. Thinking further ahead, a policy could be purchased to make sure the child will be able to finish college in the event of a parent’s demise. This type of insurance policy can also be used as security against a mortgage. The term for the policy can match the mortgage, for instance, primarily as a protection against the death of someone who contributes to the mortgage’s payment.

Term life insurance is one of many options for individuals seeking coverage. While there are policies that are more inclusive and have cash returns, there are still many advantages to term life insurance polices that make them ideal for a wide variety of people.

Find out more about term life
insurance by visiting http://insurance.ideas-and-tips.com

Just because you are in your fifties or sixties plus doesn’t mean you can’t earn a substantial income working from home. There are many opportunities out there to earn big money working from home.

Most of these work at home opportunities are on the Internet. Don’t let your lack of computer knowledge stop you from pursuing a new career and making a fresh start. Become part of the new middle-aged group.

If you can send an e-mail you can start a new career working on the Internet. All you need is the most basic computer knowledge to get you started. The rest you can learn.

Be careful when checking out different income opportunities on the Internet, many of them are scams. Exercise the same good judgment that has guided you in your life so far. Follow your instincts.

When looking for a work at home opportunity, try and find something that will allow you to take advantage of your personal interests, hobbies, and habits. Do something you enjoy doing and have fun working at.

Most of us have some special talent or interest. Sharing your knowledge on a particular subject with others on the Internet can provide the basis for starting your own business. You can supply information products to other people who are interested in the subject you are an expert in.

That’s right, make yourself an expert in a particular subject and you will find that many people will be willing to pay for the knowledge you have.

One of the easiest ways to start a business on the Internet is selling other people’s products. You can do this with an affiliate marketer, get a free Website, and promote your own information products at the same time.

Take advantage of the opportunities that are out there on the Internet to start your own work at home business. You are never too old to start over. The time to make a fresh start is now.

Arthur Levine is the author of numerous articles showing people how they can become members of the new middle-aged group (people in their fifties and sixties plus). To learn how to make a new beginning, work at home, and start over, access:
http://www.YouCan-WorkAtHome.com

Please feel free to use this article as long as credit is given to the resource box.

There are many influencing factors to consider when choosing an internet service provider. Often many of these factors will not occur to you until after you have used a service provider and found them unsuitable in some way.

Firstly, consider the location of your chosen ISP, you may want to choose a local company as you have to call up the number to check email and so on. When you are looking for an ISP, you will find prices vary and services are also varied. In this article we will discuss two types of ISP companies.

The small business ISP’s are generally popular as they often give great customer service and provide technical support fairly quickly. Prices offered by these providers are often very competitive and service is very good. The small business ISP’s are often very enthusiastic about their business and service standards.

Large ISP companies usually have in-house technical support along with many services for businesses. Often these larger ISP’s don’t offer the flexibility of the smaller ISP’s. Large ISP companies usually have many clients and so they aren’t as eager to please as the smaller ISP companies. Generally you will find that personal ISP account prices are competitive, while business ISP account prices can be greater than the smaller companies. The larger companies have the most technical modern equipment and usually provide a faster internet connection.

When choosing an ISP, it is recommended that you do some research before signing up with your chosen ISP. Make a list of the services you require from your chosen ISP. Search the internet for suitable ISP companies. Email your list of services to your list of ISP’s and guage the time of response and type of problem-solving offered. Where possible, consult other businesses which are using a particular ISP and use their experience to ensure you get the best ISP Company.

This may seem a tedious amount of work for a connection to the internet and ISP services, but you will be happy in the knowledge that once the decision is made, your chosen ISP will be able to help your business grow. To take the time now to research possible ISP companies will ultimately save you time and effort later, with faster internet connections and better technical assistance, your ISP will keep your business moving in the right direction at a good pace.

The idea when choosing your ISP is to spend time at the beginning finding the best ISP company to offer great, reliable technical services and affordable prices.

Dylan Brent wrote this for the online marketers for internet service provider, Isoftnet (http://www.isoftnet.co.za)

I am a business blogging evangelist. There I’ve said it. I think businesses should be selling their services through education and building trust with information of value. What better way of achieving this than with a relevant and regularly updated blog?

Sometimes I wonder whether I do get carried along with the whole web 2.0 crowd and should stop to see why business blogging hasn’t yet taken off on a larger scale. After all, not everybody thinks there is going to be an imminent revolution in how businesses communicate.

Last week’s Blogging4Business conference was an opportunity for those in marketing and PR to listen to blogging’s proponents and decide whether to be afraid or rejoice.

The BBC sent a reporter along so, with their government mandate for objective reporting, I was interested to see what impression was being broadcast to the wider world.
The BBC’s reporter attended a session hosted by Microsoft’s Darren Strange, one of their leading bloggers, who gave a typically browbeating speech:

“He delivered an impassioned plea for firms to allow staff free reign to write their own blogs.

“I know it sounds scary that you have hundreds of people writing what they like about the firm, and you having no control over it,” Mr Strange said.

“Yes, things will go wrong, people will say things that perhaps they shouldn’t but the benefits outweigh the downsides.”

The room of PR executives meanwhile had been stunned into silence. “

It’s a common theme in the blogosphere that the traditional PR and marketing mindsets are struggling to come to terms with the new attitudes to communication. It would appear that this view is also shared with the wider world and still a reason why business blogging isn’t being pushed along the traditional lines.

People often fear what they don’t understand or think they can control. Mainstream exposure of blogging is always beneficial for the movement’s growth, even if it’s just to highlight the gaping void between the traditional mindset and new breed of online proponents.

In my search for people prepared to stand up and challenge the beliefs of the business blogging movement I came across a white paper by the Lewis Global PR agency. The report is well researched and objective, and does give a clear insight into some of the barriers holding the movement back.

Here are some of its key points:

1. In a survey of 300 companies from 10 countries only 5% had a blog. A stark contrast to the popular and oft quoted Jupiter research report that heralded 35% of companies would be blogging by the end of 2006. The fact is that business blogging hasn’t yet taken off and is still mainly the preserve of individual professionals, marketing and new media agencies.

2. There is uncertainty about the benefits and best practices. More mainstream awareness is needed of case studies and businesses who have gained from blogging.

3. There is less enthusiasm to invest in new technology simply because it is the latest fad. Businesses are no longer going to spend money just trying to be cool. People are keeping their fingers in their pockets after getting them burnt in the last misfired internet explosion.

4. Blogging requires a significant investment of time, skill and knowledge. You can outsource the first two, but will still soak up an employee’s time providing the third.

5. It’s difficult to assess the value of blogging in terms of cost-benefit. We are still missing a recognised set of metrics for measuring engagement, although some would argue that a lot of marketing takes place without robust metrics anyway.

6. It’s difficult to pitch blogging to a CEO. Without quantifiable benefits like bringing in sales leads and reputation enhancement, but with the much publicised risks, it’s a difficult sell. Page 10 of the report does however provide a good summary of all the possible benefits for HR, marketing, sales etc.

7. Marketers and blogging gurus might read a lot of RSS feeds but that doesn’t mean business people do. Will your blog be able to gain their attention with all the emails, industry magazines and sales calls they receive in a day? (Research was however published by Edelman recently showing that blog readership contains a large proportion of influencers: people responsible for buying decisions who want to be up to date on the latest developments. RSS has also only been integrated into browsers for a few months).

8. Your blog has to be able to provide news and information of value to attract readers. If your business isn’t in a fast paced industry then you might struggle to provide enough content. (the Tinbasher is a blog by a sheet metal company. It’s one of the UK’s most popular blogs and has helped increase their sales.)

9. Blogs need to be transparent and fit in with the blogging culture, if this doesn’t fit in with your business’ culture than your blog might struggle. Corporate speak doesn’t work online.

10. Your blog might attract negative comments and feedback if you’re in a controversial industry or attract criticism. Animal testing firms should probably think twice.

Lewis Global PR’s report highlights many of the same issues business bloggers are facing: lack of awareness, lack of well known case studies and the fear of jumping in before everybody else.
The business blogging movement still continues to gain pace though, with SEO firms now signing up and many PR agencies making hesitant enquiries.

Last year I went to a small business exhibition in Milton Keynes to distribute leaflets on the benefits of blogging in the hope of riding the web 2.0 wave. I’ve still got a pile sat in my drawer. Lewis Global PR’s report shows that it might still be too early to give them another airing just yet.

Business blogging might not be appropriate for every business. But for those wishing to reach a global audience with a niche product, the time is still ripe to start talking about yourself and engaging with your online marketplace. I still know which side I’m on, even if it is just because it’s more interesting.

(Matt Ambrose is a freelance writer from the UK. You can find out more about Matt on his website http://thewritewords.me.uk or his blog ‘The Copywriter’s Crucible’ http://thewritewords.me.uk/blog)