When you think of Internet marketers do you think of snake oil salesmen? Is annoying spam in your mail box getting to you? So called gurus are preaching their gospel of ways to make oodles of money on the Internet and they make it all sound so easy. Yet in fact it’s hard work. But there are smart people on the web and to figure out who the liars are, well that is going to take some trial and error. You start with one Internet marketer and you listen, and then you move on to another and listen some more. If you think you’re going to be swimming in a lot of bull, well that certainly may be the case. Yet if you do enough homework you will soon weed out the fakes while the real deals appear. They are the ones that give you real value from their expertise. They’re the ones that don’t promise the pie in the sky. They’re the ones that have learn their lessons and want to share the what works and what doesn’t. The web is changing fast and the good marketers are keeping up. So whether you want to know how to build an e-business or how to get the most out of organic traffic, you will find marketers out there selling the dream.

It seems like every lifestyle magazine these days has a section devoted to lifestyle testimonials.  People like to hear what other people do to change for the better. Diet and fitness is a popular topic from celebrities to next door neighbors all spilling the beans about their latest conquests. We learn about their food habits, their workout routines, their favorite piece of exercise equipment and their diet cheats. All this right out as an open confession. Celebs want you to think they are a like normal people. I’m starting to get that warm and cuddling feeling. Celebs have publicists, they get pampered and in no way they are like the rest of us. Yet I still enjoy reading the latest gossip about them. And that said, I’d have to throw in the testimonial read in there as well.

To all those budding photography students across the land you should take special note of the recent loss of a giant in the world of photography. Irving Penn first known as a fashion photographer and later evolved into a commercial art photographer has died at the age of 92. Before computers came along that would change how we saw photographs, photographers like Penn only had their creative eye and their intuition to transform beauty on a two dimensional level.

His works became iconic no matter if he shot portraits of celebrities to fashion models. From everyday tradesmen like a milkman to the tribesmen of Africa, to the culture of beauty products. For over forty years he was the man that shot the simple, clean graphic visuals to the Clinique cosmetic line. And in the world of commercial advertising that would seem like an historic record for any photographer to retain such a client. The same can be said of his collaboration with Vogue Magazine. Obviously, Vogue showed fashion through Penn eyes through decades.

Penn understood the world of commerce and art. He photographed a series of discarded cigarette butts that were once exhibited in the New York’s Museum of Modern Art. He leaves this world a perfectionist unbridled by modern technology.

What’s with these celebrities and their tweeting? I thought they lived busy lives. Isn’t filming on exotic islands or making on screen love with their beautiful co-stars enough excitement for a day? Why on earth would they waste time telling the world about their everyday activities? Maybe they want to be like the rest of us or maybe they’re just downright bored to death.

Come on! Celebs live a charm life. Even B stars get enough press that the public just can’t get rid of them. They hang around making movie after movie that never see the big screen but settle instead for the movie rental DVD. I wonder if these celebs tweet more. I would like to think that the really big movie stars can’t be bothered. Of course, that is why they have someone else do their tweeting for them. There are exceptions though.

Basketball player Shaquille O’Neal and actor Aston Kushner come quickly to mind. Actually Kushner is a serious tweeter. He is believed to be the first Twitter account to reach one million followers. Still I have to wonder if time spent tweeting can be spent doing something more productive.

Les Paul who was called “the father of electric guitar” pioneered the beginning of the solid-body electric guitar made popular with the advent of rock and roll.  The Gibson Les Paul guitar was a must have among elite guitar players such as Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Duane Allman, Jeff Beck and Pete Townsend of the Who to name a few. Today it still remains as popular with the new generation of musicians. Paul; a musician himself, has been credited with many innovations like delay effects, overdubbing and multi-track recording. Rare vintage Gibson guitars run in the thousands of dollars.

The Gibson guitar is truly a work of art. And like great art, rare vintage Gibson guitars command prices in the thousands of dollars. But the best part is that unlike artwork, these instruments were not made to be hung on the wall, but were built to be played. The guitar changed the way true guitar artists played them. It allowed these artists to find their voice not through their singing but by their playing. And their distinct sound became their signature in hit songs after hit songs.

Les Paul was inducted into Rock and Roll’s Hall of Fame deserving so in 1988.

Obviously one of the main staples of celebrity magazines is to get shots of famous actresses out and about in public places with or without their latest main squeeze.  And it doesn’t matter if these attractive stars are at a movie premiere or just casually dressed grabbing their morning cup of coffee. So it is not a surprised for a celeb to be caught on camera with another type of lovey-dovey squeeze – their pet dog.

These may be the happiest of shots celebs enjoy. In fact if they were editors and had to choose what goes into these consumer magazines I would suspect overwhelming approval of these light-hearted moments with their animals. And we love them for it. We the reader can relate to a movie star cuddling their pet because we Americans have pets of our own and love them too. So who cares if an actress bombs in a movie. We still love them because they are still a dog lover.

Let’s face it celebrity dogs led a charm and glamorous life. They eat well. They have all the play toys money can buy. And they often share a bed with a star. Not a bad life for a furry critter. Celebs also choose names for their pets that are fun like – Buttermilk, Tinkerbell, Flossie, Nipper, Manly, and the occasional celeb names like Hemingway andFrank Sinatra.

Finally Red Sox Nation and baseball fans in general can rejoice in the entry of Jim Rice in baseball’s Hall of Fame. During his tenure as a left fielder for the Sox, Jim was known as one of the most feared hitters in any line-up American League or National League. Jim made his major league debut in 1954 and had a career that saw him voted to the All-Stars for 8 years. He retired from the game with a batting average of just shy of 300 with a 298, 382 home runs with over 1400 runs batted in.

The year was 1978 and Jim Rice had a monster year at the plate. He was rewarded the MVP after leading the league in seven offensive categories. He batted 315 average hit 46 home runs, drove in a total 139 rbis.  Back then before the steroid era those numbers are staggering, but even more so was the fact in that same MVP year Jim had 15 triples.

Jim’s career was shortened by injuries to his knees and elbow. If it were not for the injuries Jim’s career stats would have been even more impressive. Maybe that’s what took him so long to get into the Hall, but now that he’s in the game of baseball is better for it.

Sometimes one never gets a chance to see beauty until its too late. Sometimes that beauty comes in the form of a photograph by someone not at all familiar to many of us. But upon discovery of such photographs by a photographer whose works once graced the covers of fashion magazines is not unusual.

Many photographers’ careers mark a specific time past that no longer gets media attention. Yet these accomplished photographers from their day are now seeing the fruits of their labor come full circle. They are being rewarded with a publication of their work in beautiful designed art books or are having their work prominently exhibited on gallery walls.

One such fashion photographer is Lillian Bassman who was an important figure in the world of fashion since the 40’s. Ms. Bassman who is now 92 was frequently published in Harper’s Bazaar. Her unique editorial style in the early 1960’s showed beautiful women indifferent to mens attention when often shot in the same frame. Women came off as powerful, dominant creatures willingly taking over the visual to a viewer’s concerning eye.

She also worked extensively in the advertising field photographing lingerie where she depicted elegant models looking comfortable in an undergarment as they would have if they were wearing the latest couture designer dress.

Joseph Pilates once said, “Contrology (Pilates) is complete coordination of body, mind, and spirit. Through Contrology you first purposefully acquire complete control of your own body and then through proper repetition of its exercises you gradually and progressively acquire that natural rhythm and coordination associated with all your subconscious activities. ”

As well as, “Contrology is not a fatiguing system of dull, boring, abhorred exercises repeated daily “ad-nauseam.” Neither does it demand you joining a gymnasium nor the purchasing of expensive apparatus. You may derive all the benefits of Contrology in your own home.”

The man who invented and promoted what is simply called Pilates is the architect of a fitness movement exercise that has captured the hearts of many devoted fans. It all started for Joe during WWI where he rigged springs to hospital beds, enabling bedridden patients to exercise against resistance. This innovation led to the basic designs of Pilates equipment as we know it today. Later in the early 1960′s, Joe worked with New York City ballet dancers. His techniques are still highly popular with dancers who rely on Pilates exercises to keep their sinewy bodies in top shape. Today Pilates has emerged outside of the dance world into the fitness world where even non-athletic men and women are discovering the benefits of keeping in shape, toned and strong with his tried and true methods.