Pat and DR have made positive comments about my inspirational snippets between now and Christmas so since the next few days may be hit and miss on the blog and the Who Am I may take a vacation I am starting today's blog out with two snippets.
Richard Hooker worked for seven years on his humorous war novel, M*A*S*H, only to have it rejected by 21 publishers before Morrow decided to publish it. It became a runaway bestseller, spawning a blockbusting movie and highly successful television series.
When the first Chicken Soup for the Soul book was completed, it was turned down by thirty-three publishers in New York and another ninety at the American Booksellers Association convention in Anaheim, California, before Health Communications, Inc., finally agreed to publish it. The major New York publishers said, "It is too nicey-nice" and "Nobody wants to read a book of short little stories." Since that time more than 8 million copies of the original Chicken Soup for the Soul book have been sold. The series, which has grown to thirty-two titles, in thirty-one languages, has sold more than 53 million copies.
I love getting gift cards as a gift. I know there are some in the ethics and manners business that say gift cards are not the appropriate gift but I say hogwash. Give me a gift card anytime and I am in seventh heaven. To me it is like getting the gift twice, once we you get it, and once when you use it. There are some dangers out there when you purchase a gift card so check out the following article:
http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/12/08/10-ways-to-avoid-gift-card-fraud-this-holiday-season/?icid=main%7Chp-laptop%7Cdl8%7Csec4_lnk2%7C188890
I am pretty safe because I almost always buy the gift card directly from the merchant. Rarely do I buy them at the grocery store.
Ever wonder why men wear pants? Ever wonder where socks come from? What about bow ties, want to know all about them? I've been pondering these questions for several years and just this morning I found the answers:
http://www.asylum.com/2010/12/08/mens-fashion-clothing-history/?icid=main%7Chtmlws-sb-n%7Cdl5%7Csec4_lnk2%7C188871
I was really relieved that socks weren't really instruments of death.
Now that you know all about clothes you might want to go shopping and buy some new duds. That takes money. Here is how to fill up your bank accounts:
http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/12/02/six-tips-to-increase-your-odds-of-becoming-a-millionaire/?icid=main%7Chtmlws-sb-n%7Cdl3%7Csec1_lnk3%7C188002
That is it for the day. Comment at will. Comment on anything written on the blog. Comment on anything written on any day! We have only two things you can't do on the blog. Say you are whining and using the F word.
PS
The answer of yesterday's Who Am I was Annie Besant
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4 comments:
I absolutely love to hear about perseverance paying off. I hope it's still happening today. One of my favorite stories is the guy speaking at a writer's conference, about his best seller. A publisher in the audience stood up and said "I wish we'd published your book." The writer replied, "That's what we wanted, too, but you rejected it."
Being weird, gift cards aren't my favorite thing, although they're practical, useful, allow you to buy whatever you want. I, however, want a real package to open. I'll issue another warning on gift cards. Be sure the recipient knows if there are penalties for not using them right away. We've gotten restaurant gift cards that we saved for a special occasion, only to find out that their value was reduced every month, after the first sixty day. We got a cash card last year that we discovered (the hard way) lost "x" dollars a month, after the first three months. By the time we used it, we'd lost almost $15 of the value. This was the equivalent of a Visa or MC from a major financial institution. If I've absolutely no clue what to get my niece/nephews, I give them cash, wrapped in a gift box, so it goes through the mail insured. This year, it's going to be gifts, from stores I know each individual has in their area, so they can exchange anything they don't like for their preferences.
I give gift cards to the staff where my mom lives. I get them from Wells Fargo, which is more expensive for me because there's a charge to get them. But they are good anywhere, just like a regular credit card, so I consider them more practical and a better gift than any store card. As far as I can tell, all banks levy a charge. If anybody knows of one that doesn't, I'd sure like to hear about it.
I wouldn't mind getting a gift card instead of a gift. In fact, I've gotten them for Barnes & Noble in the past, and that was nice and I did use them. Sometimes as a token gift, I give gift cards from our library's used bookstore. It's not something I'd give just anybody, but the few people I give them to do use them. And it serves a dual purpose -- the gift plus a little extra money for the library.
Funny stuff about the clothes. Who knew? {g}
Hi DR
I love the stories how people overcame odds and discouragement to be a success. I love the story at the writers' conference.
Most of the gift cards I buy are for people that I know their habits and know where they go and know what they like to do. Sister gets movie cards for instance. They use them all right away.
Bill
Hi Pat
I read recently that for this year for this Christmas season that the credit card companies were going to waive the extra fee.
I love getting gift cards and if is a place I don't normally go it introduces me to a new place. You can never go wrong giving me a gift card. I would have loved a gift card to the library.
I loved the clothes story.
Bill
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