Sneakers

Ripple Effect

The gently lapping ripples

of river water against the sandy shore

soothed his raw rough-edged nerves.

Darkened skies slowly released its store of rain

creating a thousand tiny splashes

in the pock-marked river…

and soon the soft crunch of footsteps in the sand

gave way to the slush-slosh of sneakers,

no longer sneaking…

Yet calm and tranquility reigned

as nature’s chorus washed his soul

from head to toe.

The unspoken truth about growing up gay in the South is summed up by asking “do you have a girlfriend?” Yes, even the most flamboyant individual was asked “do you have a girlfriend?” Get over it! Quit ignoring the fact that gay people actually exist in the South. It is not just a New York disease or San Francisco disease. Gay people are all over the country with exception to the south which is how I felt growing up. I heard so many negative comments toward gay people that it really encourage me to start this lie that I was actually interested in females. Yeah, I charmed, romance and had sex with women but it was only a united front against this disease in my body called faggatism. The only images of gay people I saw were the stonewall pioneers dying from AIDS on television. Ronald Reagan still did not acknowledge it actually existed. Growing up in the south consisted of sneaking around with obviously gay guys at night and avoid the subject all together during the day. I see why the suicide rate was high among gay people. Society especially down south brainwash you into believe that you should have a wife and kids. They even encourage me to get married and have kids before I graduated high school because I guess it was the thing to do. yes, I used my girlfriend to shut people up while I would slip away from the girlfriend’s house and sneak to my lover, sex partner, sugardaddy for some comfort and familiarity. I honestly believe I was one of about 100 people in Atlanta, Georgia that had the feelings that I had. Growing up gay was lonely. I can’t imagine ever going through life again isolated and lying to everyone around me. Yeah, I have a girlfriend…..actually I had several girlfriends. In fact I was considered a pretty boy and player because I lied so well. The other guy I was sleeping with encourage it too to keep everyone guessing. Or maybe it was because he was 15 years older than me. I didn’t think for a moment that there was anyone my age that felt the same way besides the girllike gay guys who were constantly fighting over each other in the lunchroom. I hope it is better now for young gay guys in Atlanta. But from what I hear and the very few people I actually came out too say that it is still pretty much the same. “Do you have a girlfriend?” Yeah, she is my best friend in Portland. If you saw us together you would think we were a power couple but I would not touch her with my cooking spoon unless it was to give her a hug. My experience has made me very proud to be gay and I live my life according. And I have found that there are guys out there like me, gay, masculine, honest, tall, dark and handsome. Oh yeah, did I mention I had a low self esteem growing up?

Everyone knows that smoking is a terrible habit. Aside from the obvious health risks, smoking makes your teeth yellow, makes your clothes stink, and it turns you into a social outcast. If you’ve already made the decision to stop smoking, good for you! Now it’s time to take the next step and establish a support system to help you maintain your smoke-free lifestyle.

People who stop smoking by way of techniques like hypnotherapy often think that they’ve kicked the habit for good. It’s important to know that even the most proven stop smoking programs aren’t guaranteed to last. You need to have help you can turn to on a daily basis.

It’s time to assemble your personal stop smoking support group. Establishing this group is easy. You already have a network of friends and family members who are anxious for you to quit. The help you need is waiting for you; and best of all, this is a free stop smoking resource!

Anyone who has tried to quit knows that one person can’t do it alone. You need help to stop smoking and to stay smoke-free, and the best help you can have isn’t sold in any form.

Believing that you are harming yourself, and exposing your loved ones to the dangers of second-hand smoke, is enough to make you want to quit. If those who care about you are ready to help you through the process, you may find that it’s easier to make it happen. Read on to learn how the support of friends can really help, and how to make your group as helpful as possible.

Seek the Naggers

Partners, coworkers, family and friends will often nag about smoking until the smoker is ready to scream. The problem with nagging, however, is that can backfire. The pressure causes the smoker to become more angry, nervous and anxious to be able to escape with another smoke. Quitting smoking is hard enough without incorporating the stress of arguments over the subject. Explain your concerns to all of the “naggers” in your group. Tell them that if they truly want to help, they should offer support and not sniping.

Be Responsible to Someone

Smoking cessation is more difficult when you try to sneak in a cigarette now and then without anyone knowing about it. By making yourself responsible to another person, you are going to have to actively lie about your smoking. It’s one thing to sneak in a smoke, but quite another to tell an outright lie when someone you care about asks if you’ve had a cigarette. Make yourself responsible to one person, and make sure it’s someone who will check up on you every day.

Hypnosis Support

The stop-smoking product or method that you chose to use isn’t important. What matters is that you are becoming smoke-free. For this reason, it’s important that the people in your group also support your methods. If you chose to use hypnosis, you may encounter people who question its effectiveness. Those who doubt that hypnosis treatments (or whatever method you choose) really work should be asked to keep their opinions to themselves. If you lose faith in the hypnosis process because you hear negative comments, it’s only going to serve to make the process less effective.

Take Advice With Caution

As soon as you announce that you’re quitting, you’ll be bombarded with advice from other smokers and non-smokers on how to kick the habit.

Remember that not every system is effective for every smoker, and what works for some may not be best for you. Listen to the advice and show your friends that you appreciate their input, but don’t discard your own common sense. You are the best judge of what you can or cannot accomplish.

Your friends and family will be thrilled that you’ve made the decision to stop smoking. Remind them that your value their patience and support, and will need to rely on their help and encouragement along the way. They’ll be happy to lend a hand.

The Elves Who Were Lost

Two little elves, named Sprite and Midgy, were playing in their yard, when their mama called them in for supper…”Sprite…Midgy…sup pertime.”

“Yes ma’am.” They answered with giggly voices.

Now, Sprite, being the smarter of the two, whispered to Midgy, ‘When mama isn’t looking, sneak a muffin in your pocket and I’ll sneak one into mine.”

Without thinking, Midgy spoke up, “Why for, I wanna do that?”

“Shhh…I have a plan.” Sprite was telling Midgy, her little sister. “Now keep your voice down.”

“Okay.” She shouted out.

“Okay what?” Mama asked.

“Oh nothing mama, let’s eat.”

Mama elf started to set the table with all the wonderful food she prepared. The mutton stew smelled savory. The muffins smelled buttery. The lemonade, lemony.

“It looks good mama.” Sprite was rubbing her hands together, ready to dig in.

“Well let’s say our prayers first.” Mama Sat down, putting a cloth napkin in her lap. “Sprite, would you say the blessing?”

“Yes, ma’am. Bless this food, Great spirit and may you watch over us and our home. Amen.” She then reaches over to grab her a muffin, when her arm sleeve slid across the top of the mutton stew.

“Sprite…look at whatcha did.” Mama got up to wet her napkin in the sink, and when she had her back turned, Sprite grabbed two more muffins, trying to stuff them in her shirt pocket, as quickly as she could. Giving one to Midgy to put in her pocket.

Midgy looked at Sprite confusingly, “Put it in your pocket, quick.” Sprite whispered as she sat down.

Mama turned back around with the wet napkin, “Here, let me wipe that stew off your sleeve.” As she wiped the gravy off, making sure nothing was left of a stain. “There…now be more careful.” She started to sit down, when she noticed a few more muffins were gone, “My, you girls are certainly hungry.”

“Yes ma’am…and thank you for a wonderful meal mama.” Sprite smiled at her mama.

The two little elves ate what they could of their mutton stew and Sprite wiped her mouth with her napkin, asking her mama, “Can we go out and play some more?”

“It’s getting late.” As mama looked out the window. “Don’t stay out too long.”

“Come on Midgy, let’s go while we have time.” As the two scurried out of their chairs and out the door of their little cave dwelling, mama looked out the door and told them, “Stay away from the edge of the woods and don’t go in there, little elves who go in, don’t come out.” She warned them.

Well, that was part of Sprite’s

The world of Nike Dunk SB is an ocean of infinite number of models, re-releases and custom SB Dunks, and not to mention the counterfeits. There are several SB Dunk sneakers, which strangely don’t have nicknames against the famous tradition wherein either the company or the fans name a release. And there are releases like this one that is presumed to be a tribute to the legendary Embarcadero, San Francisco. Secondly, Nike Dunk SB is amongst the hugely popular shoes by Nike apart from being interesting considering how it is planned, designed and marketed. Holding onto its market share is all that necessary for the company like what it did to Nike Air Jordans earlier.

The funny part of the story is that the popularity of Nike Dunk SB is also measured by the number of times a particular model is counterfeited. This is only matched by the other hugely successful Nike Air Jordans in the past. This is how it is justified; Nike releases both Nike Air Jordans and Nike Dunk SB just once in a year arguably to retain its market’s worth, a fact that invites trouble.

Well, Nike Dunk SB also dictates rather simplistic crazes. Nicknames, the degree to which a model is customized, when and whereabouts of releases etc matter really highly for the diehard sneaker junkies. In a way it helps sneakerheads to passionately identify themselves with models besides aiding them distinguish between genuine releases and counterfeits easily.

No questions about the quality of materials of construction with genuine Nike Dunk SB models. The unmatched premium leather, laces, inner and out soles etc make them hard to copy. It isn’t easy to replicate the looks and feel of ostrich leather unless using the same materials for construction and processes. Check whether SB Dunk hemp featuring hemp uppers and swoosh in Forrest Green is possible to copy successfully. In addition, many of these designs are also inspired by Nike Air Jordans, which in the end beats the purpose for counterfeiters.

To make matters worse, some SB Dunks are released in Hawaii before releasing in US. This is a made-to-order situation for counterfeiters who see a chance to stealthily ship the clones into America. Some designs like Nike Dunk SB Blazer are brought to USA after releasing in Europe. Good marketing strategy? May be yes on the part of Nike but not really a good news for collectors of genuine pieces.

I am also sickened by the fanatical sneakerheads that waste their monies buying every release, no matter whether they ever wear it. If you don’t get one, you can always customize an old piece from your collection later that transforms its looks while it still remains original.

In the end, irrespective of where Nike Dunk SB stands, influential line of marketing proves to be a soap bubble leading to consolidation of consumer sentiments. This may backfire even with regards to faith in open referrals. Some of them may also fall for hype that surrounds the brand.

Trying to narrow "must read" books down to five is like trying to get the right six numbers in Lotto. Nevertheless, I’m willing to try!

1. The first one to list has to be the Bible. If one is a Christian, it is certainly a must! It also has everything anyone could ask for: history, poetry, love stories, horror, prophecy etc. The people in it are real and realistic.

If one isn’t a Christian, the Bible is still a must read. No other book has outsold it, been translated into more languages or stood the test of time the way it has. No other book has had the impact on the world and society or influenced more people that this book has. As old as it is, it still speaks to modern life and times. Don’t try to read the Bible in one sitting or straight through! Pick and choose the ones that appeal to you most and start there. Skipping around is okay. Some books in the Bible are very boring (Numbers, Leviticus)and hard to read but every book has little gems tucked here and there. Do the best you can.

2. Another heavy duty book: DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE by Edward Gibbon. This book has earned the praises of most critics simply for it’s style of writing. Gibbons is a master of words and sentences, not to mention vocabulary. If you want to be a good writer, this really is a must. Furthermore, the information is very relevant to today. Many of the things that caused the decline in the most powerful and widespread empire in history are happening in today’s world.

3. EATS, SHOOTS AND LEAVES by Lynne Truss. This is a delightful book that uses humor to teach punctuation and grammar. Again, a must for all writers. Should be a must for everyone, since everyone writes at some point or another.

4. I’m cheating on this one: THE LORD OF THE RINGS by J.R. Tolkien. It’s actually a trilogy, but you can’t stop with the first one! Just about everyone saw the movies. The books are even better. The stories have it all: love, romance, fantasy, battles, wonderful heroes, great villians. Tolkien is the master of imagination. He set the standard for all fantasy writing! (Sneak THE HOBBIT in there too. It’s a prequel to RINGS.)

5. Finally, read the latest best seller-either fiction or non-fiction, as you prefer. This reading will keep you up-to-date with what everyone is talking about and what is going on in the world. You can start or contribute to any conversation anywhere and feel smart doint it.

In reality, a must-read is a book that you enjoy reading and that you can enthusiastically share with others! Reading is important! Help everyone to enjoy reading, especially children!

Everyone wants to look good. Especially when it comes to us guys. Unfortunately though, there are a good number of men out there who just plain and simply don’t know how to dress. I’m as big of a fan of jeans and a t-shirt as the next guy but there are times when we need to dress up a little more and are required to wear dress pants and shirts. It’s time for guys to wake up to the world of men’s fashion.

Men’s fashion is all about using permanent and classic styles. The first thing you need to do is assess your lifestyle. Maybe you wear a suit every day. Then buy several suits, not just one or two. Perhaps you work in a more business casual setting. The go shopping for khakis or jeans instead of suits. No matter what your job is, there are things you and every other guy out there should have in your closet.

Being well dressed and looking isn’t hard work especially when you know the basic principles of men’s fashion. These principles are short and easy to remember. Here’s the list to keep in mind next time you’re dressing up for work or that important dinner date.

• No sneakers – The first rule to always remember when dressing for work is to never wear jeans or sneakers. I know there are many companies that allow you to wear jeans on Fridays. That’s ok but stay away from sneakers. If you’re worried about comfort while working on your feet all day then wear a pair of good fitting Italian loafers in a dark color. They are just as comfortable as sneakers and look much more stylish.
• Wear a tie – Men’s ties look good and should be worn a lot more around the office. Next time you have work, wear a tie as a fashion experiment. You won’t believe your eyes with amount of respect you’ll see that day and the amount of heads you’ll turn. It doesn’t matter what color the tie is or if it even goes with your shirt as long as it looks good, you’ll look good. You will undoubtedly look more stylish wearing one than you would without. Try wearing different and unconventional colors. Try out ties that are bold, subtle, wild, or subdued with patterns. Even try one with stripes or dots, anything works.
• Go formal – If you want to be a power player in the office, the type and color of your pants will play a big part in that. That is why you need to own couple of black, gray, khaki, and brown chinos. Then you can mix and match them with some nice formal shirts. There are some men who choose formality and propriety over comfort. You’ll find them wearing traditional pleated straight cut pants of navy blue, military green look flattering. Some men like a nice flat front pants with a boot leg cut at the bottom too. Avoid shirts with prominent patterns. Subtle colors like beige in self-print work well. A good pin-stripped dress shirt never goes out of style.
• Socks – Don’t wear white socks to work. You’re going to the office, not the gym. Wear a mixture of black and other dark colors.
• Hair – Try to wear your hair neatly and to make sure its perfectly groomed use mousse or gel to make it last.
• Cologne – You always need to look your best and smell your best. If you smell bad then no amount of expensive clothing is going to help you. Never mix up your scents and use the same brand of after-shave and cologne. This helps your fragrance last longer.

A funny thing happened the other day while I was surfing the Internet. I was searching around, testing out different keywords just to see what the results would be on the various search engines and you`d be surprised to see how the results differ. What was even more amazing was after I saw a link that caught my eye, I clicked on it and when I finally arrived on the site, the page had nothing to do with what I was looking for.
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That is where I am going to focus my efforts in this article. Making sure you supply to your potential customer a or promotion that pertains to what they intended to see. It doesn`t matter whether you are building a one page site, a landing page, or placing a promotion on our website. When a person, or in your case, a potential customer, types in some search terms, and clicks the submit button, they expect the information for which they were searching in the first place.
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If I type in that I am looking for a certain pair of shoes, I don`t want to look at pages of items that pertain to sneakers, shoe laces and so forth. So how do you make sure you are reaching the right customers. Proper keywords is a start, but more importantly the information on the promotion page itself.
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Why someone would put in their subject line, "We sell high heels", then in the promotion itself, talk about their great selection of sneakers is beyond me. The customer clicked your promotion because they were interested in your selection of high heels. That is called a hook, and we discussed what makes a good subject line to be an affective hook, in a previous article. In your promotion you should write about the selection you have, throw out some brand names, write in about the great prices you offer and so on. So many times I have seen, where a lot of information that is necessary for the consumer to make a decision, is not even in there.
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If you are lucky enough, and on our website we allow it, proper image placement can be key. It is true that a picture is worth a 1000 words, however a bad picture can absolutely ruin a promotion. So if you are going to put a picture in your promotion, make sure it is a good one, and always try to put it to the right of your text information. People read from left to right, so as they read your information, at the end of each line they will finish with seeing what you are selling. It puts it right there in front of them.
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In our first part of our three part article series on writing affective online advertisements, we discussed `hooking` the customer with a good subject line. In this article, part 2, we went into detail about what makes up good body content, adding an image and then proper placement of that image. In our next article, we will close the deal. Closing the deal is the key to the whole process. If you can not close the deal, a sale will never be made.
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By: Bruce A. Tucker<br>

Say

Spiffy Sneakers

leather shoes become dirty and dingy?

Those pristine sneakers, soccer cleats, basketball high tops, shoes and leather shoes other sports do not stay fresh and clean for a long time. Active children and adults can effectively bring the shine on these Etnes Adidas, Nike, Pumas, Reebok and other expensive sports shoes in a big hurry.

Sure, you can have canvas shoes (like Converse or Keds) of the machine. But what can be done to clean up in real leather and shoes?

Keep Leather Sneakers Clean

course, the best way to keep your skin clean and soft shoes is to prevent them from becoming really dirty or wet, first.

Immediately after the purchase of a new pair of sneakers to leather, you can spray the outside of each with a security product in leather. This will make your new shoes more tight spots resistant.

most athletes try to reserve the best leather shoes for sports use only real, especially when participating in team sports. Those uniforms football, basketball or other sports shoes will stay clean much longer, they are saved on the practice and games.

Why not use a pair of sneakers alternative (or last two years) as a shot in All-around shoes day, so the couple will remain cool and immaculate new spiffy?

Leather Sneaker Care

After wearing the best sports shoes in leather, you can maintain in optimal shape to gently clean with a soft cloth. Open the laces, tongue arch and pull the air inside your sneakers in leather. Spray the inside of each shoe with a refreshing drink spray.

not throw fancy sports shoes in a pile in the garage, mudroom locker, or in the back seat of your car. Place them in a soft breathable tote bag, or store them neatly on a shelf.

pulita

Leather Sneaker Cleaning

the end, the super athletic trainers is unlikely to be dirty in some way. But you can clean them up quickly and easily.

save an old toothbrush to clean the shoes. (Make sure you keep good care of the shoe or cleaning products, so you do not use in mouth in here by mistake.) Grab a tube of whitening toothpaste. Scrub your shoes with a toothbrush, with plenty of toothpaste. Then wipe with a damp cloth and dry thoroughly.

leather sneakers whiten up nicely, and the fragrance of mint will make them smell fresh too.

The taste buds are as individual as the people in whose mouths they reside. Kids have acquired a reputation of sorts for being picky eaters, but so are we adults. We know we should eat more of the “good stuff,” all those things that are green or orange or fishy. We want to like them, but let’s face it: some things just plain taste yucky to us! Do we have to suffer a taste we find, well, distasteful in order to up our health quotient? Absolutely not!

I learned wonderful, sly, delightful things while raising children who stuck up their noses at many things that were good for them. I’ve discovered these same tricks work equally well on adults, myself included. The trick is simple, really. The way to eat more of what is good for you and actually enjoy it is to make it taste good instead of yucky. There exists a wide range of ways to disguise those wonderful healthy foods that you know you should eat, but don’t like to smell, let alone taste. Below are some of my secrets of the trade: Making healthy foods taste more palatable.

1. Make it a no-show. In other words, take whatever veggies or fruits you might not like, and grate them finely into the foods you do like. Chili is a perfect disguise for carrots, apples, broccoli, and such. The tomato sauce makes those tiny, invisible veggies taste good when they’re blended into the entire dish.

2. Cook the yucky thing with something you love that tastes stronger than IT does. Sneak a few chopped sardines or other fish onto your next pizza. Or mix them into sausage-stuffed cabbage or peppers. If you don’t like cabbage or peppers, put them into the chili or your favorite homemade soup or whatever sauce you use for lasagna and spaghetti. (One way to take the strong taste you might not enjoy out of fish is to soak it in cold milk for several hours. You’ll lose some of that fishy-strong taste without losing any of the health benefits found in fish.)

3. Mix it up in liquid form. Sneak some carrots or pineapple into an apple juice and banana smoothie.

4. Buy it already mixed in the bottle. V8 Fusion juices are delicious! One cup has a full serving of fruits and a full serving of vegetables together. There is no sugar added, and the predominate taste is the fruit, if you don’t like veggies. One-hundred per cent juice!

5. Smother the yucky stuff in healthy food you like: love yogurt or fruit, but not both? Mix them together. To make veggies more palatable to you, try some Parmesan