download medical movies

Companies that “help you self-publish” an oxymoron if I’ve ever heard one are springing up faster than offers to have millions of dollars placed in your bank account through Nigerian barristers and Chinese business persons.  First, let’s get something straight. If an organization requires you to pay in order to get “self-publishing,” you are not self-publishing, unless you placed the ad yourself and are answering your own ad.  The average sales for one of the most popular of these outfits, “Lulu” is about three books per book title.  Have we reached a level of delusion where we think lots of people would be so interested in what we have to say that we’re willing to fall for these schemes? Everyone does have at least one story to tell, but that doesn’t mean anyone would want to read it.  The same was true of those old slide show programs, families would invite neighbors and relatives to watch, then be shocked when the guests were more interested in the snakcs than the images.

I don’t think my meager attempt at suggesting most of these outfits are ripoffs (they are) will have much impact, but consider the fact that talented people pay $50,0000 and more simply to complete an M.F.A. program in writing at colleges and universities.  And such programs are selective in the number of candidates they accept.  That’s just to LEARN to write well.  Usually people in such program have already published something, like a few short stories or poems.

If you see an ad whose sponsor claims they will improve your manuscript to a level that will warrant publishing it, they are lying.  They may word their ad in such a way that they won’t risk a lawsuit, but it is B.S., plain and simple.  Let me know if you’ve had experiences with such places that did not live up to their promises.  I won’t charge you by the word. 

Sure, you can get great classical literature at Project Gutenberg to download as e-books or even to convert to computer-generated ‘audiobooks’ (although you might not like listening to Ode to a Grecian Urn as interpreted orally by a text-to-voice software program). You can also download real audiofiles (mp3’s, wav’s, etc) from Librivox recordings. {This volunteer-run group may not have professional readers or actors on their staff, but they do make an effort) However, there IS an organization that provides contemporary and high quality literary novels to authoritative non-fiction books on contemporary events, history, and culture. The company is called “Overdrive.” You could download audiofiles and text files to your favorite e-reader (even if it’s your brain (via an intermediary of course) free of charge. In addition, you can watch classic films for free, and I mean ‘classic.’  Robert Downey’s father’s famous ‘underground’ classic Putney Swope is even available!  How eclectic and arcane can you get!!!??? 

What’s the catch? Well, considering the British Petro oil leakage, I’d stay clear of catches, but this service may be available via your public or college library IF they subscribe to the service. Of course, with budget cuts on a rampage, and services being hacked to bits with axes (rather than scalpels), if your local library doesn’t already subscribe to the service, they may not have the funds to do so. But give them a good argument and they might. I can think of a number of good arguments. But let’s see if you can come up with your own? Leave a comment or recommendation. It could become a movement, and I bet Overdrive, Inc., Website wouldn’t mind.

When Roman Jackobsen identified one of the functions of language as the phatic function, it’s doubtful that he ever imagined that social media would create an environment where people communicate solely for the purpose of communicating.  Bereft of content, or riddled with cliches that render so-called information “redundancy” as Bateson would say, had turned Americans into a nation of chatters.  However, I believe its fair to say those who would chat over the phone or over dinner are the same people who would use social media as a communication device. In effect, they provide people with a means of talking about nothing, which is the whole point.  In a world where the individual feels helpless in the face of global problems, you can face them and work to improve them, or, if you perceive the world of problems outside your own immediate environment overwhelming, what better way to throw up your hands in frustration than to talk about nothing.  Seinfeld, the show about nothing, was only on for an hour, and the audience were observers. What social media has done is to create a democracy of nothingness.

The world wide web is getting more world wide. And if you live in the U.S., you should know about it. Domain names are now available to web subscribers in alphabets other than the standard "latin" alphabet (the one that goes from a to z). Domains are now available in arab script, and will be activated by users of the web in the mideast, among other places. As a blogger, web user, global citizen, etc., you are running out of excuses to learn a foreign language

If you are interested in learning a second (or third) language, never mind Rosetta Stone. Well, you could mind it, but I don’t see much of a point. There is an online service called Mango Languages that offers a full line of language learning interactive material. It can be free. Let me explain. If you join directly from your computer, there will be a fee, but if you are a member of a public library and possibly some private libraries, they may have a subscription to Mango Language, in which case, you can log on through your public library (you can do it from home) and get all the language learning material you could possibly need short of being in a country or region where people are speaking the language you are learning.Mango Languages

- Higher Education Directory was brought to my attention and I checked it out. Here is a non-partisan directory describing higher education — colleges, universities, fees, COMPLETE SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION, just about everything you need to know. It doesn’t try to steer you to a particular school, and it’s definitely worth checking out.