Monday, March 26, 2012

OnlineMarketing: Flowers assuage ‘all sorts of misfortune’. A maste...

OnlineMarketing: Flowers assuage ‘all sorts of misfortune’. A maste...: by  Dr. Jeffrey Lant Author’s program note. In the 17th century, in France, ambitious men strove to become the masters of their crafts. T...

Flowers assuage ‘all sorts of misfortune’. A masterpiece by Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer found, restored, enjoyed in The Lant Collection.

by  Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Author’s program note. In the 17th century, in France, ambitious men strove to become the masters of their crafts. They didn’t look for short-cuts; abominated slothful, slipshod ways, and always, always aimed not merely to excel, but to astonish not only their colleagues and their patrons… but most of all themselves, their most discerning critic, the one who knew everything and from whom there could be no secrets or matters undisclosed.
For the incidental music to this article on French master Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer, painter of flowers, I have selected music by Francois Couperin (1668-1733), master composer. Go to any search engine and find one of the many renditions of his gem “Les Baricades Misterieuses.” Turn it on, turn it up, for you are in the company of deft mastery, of craftsmanship, of genius.
Sotheby’s, London, Lot 251, December 8, 2011.
This is what the catalog said:
“Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer (Lille 1636-London 1699)
A still life of lilies, honeysuckle and other flowers in a vase on a ledge.
Signed lower right JBaptiste. oil on canvas 17 7/8″ by 22 3/8 in.”
This write-up was accompanied by a photograph, a photograph disclosing without mercy the pitiable condition of what had once been a work of grace, beauty, and allure, but which now was anything but. My heart went out to this picture, its painter, its present state of distress and the thought that here I might be able to make a difference, to make a once proud and beautiful object proud and beautiful again.
About Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer.
Monnoyer started his career providing designs for both the Gobelins and Beauvais tapestry workshops, the acme of such works. There his fruit and flower designs were judged to be excellent. Such was his skill and artistry that he was taken up by Charles Le Brun and so came to work at the Chateau de Marly, the hideaway King Louis XIV sought when the pomp and protocol which he created and insisted be used at Versailles became too overwhelming even for a Sun King. Monnoyer, thus, was in the perfect place at the moment of its sumptuous perfection.
In 1690, having been admitted to the Academie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, he went to England, where his masterful work crafting over 50 panels for Montague House, Bloomsbury, London created a vogue for the man and his meticulous work produced with botanical accuracy. He did not merely paint flowers, he made them live. It was a skill only the greatest masters possess… and which Monnoyer possessed in such abundance that he was no longer a painter of flowers, no matter how excellent, but The Master of such painters, the doyen who set the standard by which all others would be judged. Such a master did not ask me to scrutinize this work and do what was necessary to rehabilitate it. He commanded me to do so.
A call to Simon Gillespie, Cleveland Street, London.
When I see a thing of beauty which I might want for my collection, I contact Simon Gillespie, for in the art of conserving pictures, he is as masterful as Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer in creating them. And I know whereof I speak, for over the last 25 years Simon has restored over 30 pictures for me, all of which were badly damaged at acquisition but, because of painstaking, meticulous work, came to live again. For a thing of beauty can only be a joy forever if it is expertly, regularly cared for with the skill and dexterity of which Gillespie is past master. I know the man. I know his work. I would not think of commissioning another to save the imperiled pictures I collect and delight in saving.
This is what he told me about this Monnoyer before I acquired it: “This was once a very beautiful picture by a very good artist. It has probably been in a very hot room at the start of its life where it dried rapidly causing a dramatic set of cracks. I think I should go and have a look when it is up on the wall to determine the viability of resurrecting it.” And so it began… he doing his research, me doing mine.
The online Artcyclopedia provided  me with excellent but rather daunting information; the works of Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer are found in the Fitzwilliam Museum at the University of Cambridge; the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg; the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New  York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and the Royal Collection in London. Moreover, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles has acquired 13 — yes 13 — of his paintings and with almost unlimited funds could easily outbid me…. outbid, perhaps, but perhaps not outsmart.
And so, with the perceived distress of this masterpiece working in my favor, I acquired it… happy that what it needed we could provide and at once.
What had to be done.
The picture was brought to Simon’s studio where tests were carried out to remove the various layers of dirt, grime, discolored varnish. and small amounts of over paint which had been applied to minimize some of the cracking but also liberally covered original paint unnecessarily.
The cracks were indeed disfiguring and interrupted the fine detail of the brush strokes of the flowers. The canvas had also been enlarged top and bottom incorporating the old edges of the canvas, presumably to fit an old frame or match a series of other paintings. Each of these problems — and  several  others –had to be solved, not merely finessed. And as you can see from the merest glance above, each and every one of them was solved…
All this having been accomplished, Simon wrote this to me: “The resulting work of art is a very refined piece of painting from a famous artist who knew how to achieve a great painting. I am always proud to see that after years of bad experience a picture can undergo such a good transformation. Looking at the painting now, you would never know that it had taken this recent journey.”
Indeed not, and that is why Simon Gillespie is the master craftsman he is, and why I deem it not merely a practical necessity but an honor to enage him and his talented staff.
Here, in Cambridge, to cheer and remind me.
Now this masterpiece hangs in my inter sanctum, the place where I think, write, and think some more; the place where I am writing you now. It is a special place… a place devoted to making the world a better place… an exacting task in which my two Monnoyers assist. For both fell upon hard times and were rescued… and if two can be rescued, why not three, three hundred, and more?
All it takes is starting with a single step, for as 20th century poet Wallace Stevens wrote after discovering Monnoyer, flowers assuage “all sorts of misfortune”. Thus we must do everything we can to ensure they have the chance to perform their comforting work, suffusing our often difficult lives with brilliant color, light, hope… and the vision and craft of masters like Monnoyer, Couperin, and Gillespie.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Secrets Of A Successful Blog Millionaire Society

Do you know the characteristics of successful blogs? Successful blogs that make a lot of money have a lot of readers so if you want to have success with your blog, focus on getting lots of readers. There are many ways to go about getting readers, but you should know that only about a handful of them work to get you the readers that you desire.

If you didn't already know, you need a blog so that you can propel your business to the next level. I think it's plain to see that having a blog can do a lot for your business growth. In the internet marketing world, there's an old saying that says "the money is in the list", so if you want to earn money with your blog, focus on building a list.

Popular blogs have a readership level in the thousands. It could take some time to build this up from scratch or you can pay for advertising and set up a capture page to get users to subscribe to your blog. I personally feel that the first option of building a list from scratch is better. With this you are using free advertising. For one these people know you and like you and have grown to listen to your advice. If you think that you can't build a successful blog from scratch, then think again.

Internet marketing in general is hard, and building a successful blog is even harder. Popular blogs get a lot of traffic on a daily basis but you shouldn't let this discourage you if you're not getting a lot of traffic yet. You want to build successful blogs so that you can be perceived as an obvious expert in your niche. With credibility behind you, it will be easier for you to sell your products and services.

It doesn't matter what you use to monetize your blog - you need a lot of subscribers to make it successful. If you have Google AdSense on your blog, you should know that you will get a lot of clicks, but to repeatedly see the numbers rise in your favor, you need a following of people who will visit your blog on a daily basis. This is something that successful blogs have.

I mentioned above that successful blogs have a lot of traffic to their blog. This is important because without a lot of traffic you're dead in the water. You need a lot of traffic if you want to survive in the internet marketing world - that's just marketing 101. There are a ton of ways to get traffic, but only a few of them are worth your time. If you're a beginner, you should stick with the free ways to get traffic since you probably won't have a lot of money for advertising.

One of the best kinds of free advertising is video marketing. All you do is create 3-5 minute long videos and submit them to the top video sites. Sites such as YouTube, Metacafe, and Google Video are all popular sites and get a lot of traffic to them on a daily basis. You can stand to benefit from the traffic that these sites can deliver to you.

Another way to get traffic is with article marketing. Simply write up 300-500 word articles and submit them to the top article directories. Here are a few of my favorites below:

- EzineArticles.com
- ArticleDashboard.com
- ArticlesBase.com
- GoArticles.com
- IdeaMarketers.com

All of these sites can deliver a ton of hits to your blog. You will want to write on topics that are related to your blog so that you can get targeted visitors. You get search engine traffic when you write for the article directories, and you also get traffic when website owners publish your article on their website.

Another great way to get free traffic is with forum marketing. Sign up to a forum and post helpful messages on the forums. Reserve your advertising message until your signature line as this is the proper place to put your message - so keep this in mind.

Successful blogs have all of these things in common. If you want a blog that is successful, simply follow the tips in this article.

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Millionaire Society is a private
society of millionaires who's only
goal is to teach you every single thing
you must know to build your own 6 or 7
figure online business

If you want to make money online,
join the society before it's too late.

Click here to continue

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How To Make Money From Passions Millionaire Society

To make money online many people jump right in before they are properly prepared. You know that to be a rocket scientist, a doctor, a brick layer, a construction worker, an office worker, a teacher there are prerequisites, things you must learn, before you can be successful, you don't just jump right in unprepared.

The same applies to the Internet marketing industry even though there are unsavory people out there who'd have you believe it's a "Walk in the Park" and requires no more than the belief that you can just do it.

And I'll have to admit, it is a walk in the park compared to what you have to put up with in the working world punching a clock being a subordinate to someone who does not have your interests in mind, but there are still rules you have to follow and pitfalls you must avoid to actually make Internet marketing work for you.

Most people will not make a dime online and yet there are others who will make more in one month than most people make in a whole year. Why is that?

My answer begins with the age-old chicken or egg question, "what comes first the chicken or the egg"? Personally I vote for, well never mind, each argument you or I make comes back to the same old conclusion - I have no clue and I don't think many of us do either.

But one thing I do have a clue about and know for sure is that to make money online you must first have Passion for the company products and/or service of any Internet business from which you expect to make money.

Passion in this sense simply means that you've researched and like the company and products or services. It is then that you translate that like (or Passion) into the education, excitement and work that usually accompany Passion.

I will have to say that many online entrepreneurs are so good at what they do that they ignore passion because they can sell anything. But I'm concerned about those of you who are not so knowledgeable at working an online business successfully.

Now, I'm not trying to make anyone believe that Passion is the only thing necessary. Because to be successful you must also have a good website, good marketing, widespread advertising, company support, effective keywords, and etc. Those things are often learned from the company you join - but sidestep Passion and you reduce your chances for success dramatically.

It therefore follows that, if you have no Passion for the company and the products and services provided by that company, again, you won't attempt to do the work you are being taught.

Internet marketing work is typically not all that difficult or time consuming but it does take motivation caused by Passion to get you off and running with a sustained effort so that you won't stumble.

You have a great resource in the Internet search engines to search about the Internet Marketing industry for business opportunities, USE IT!

Your research should uncover a company that you like and have confidence in. It should be solid, founded on great principles, and easy to understand with great products and services that are sell-able for which you can have Passion. If you don't find it move on.

You can find the right opportunity containing the attributes identified above.

Comments like, well, that one sounds good and the compensation plan is excellent so I guess I'll start that business - does not sound like a decision based on anything near Passion. And remember when you hear that an Internet "guru" does that, don't be tempted, because as I said earlier they are experienced and can sell just about anything, without being Passionate about the company products and services.

Note: By the way it's your goal to get to the point where you can sell about anything online. That end skill and goal is a worthy one indeed.

Remember, there are other steps you must make before you step into Internet Marketing but if you don't first find the right company products and services to be passionate about, all of those other steps may just cause you a lot of frustration instead of bringing you great success.

Not being Passionate about a company and products and services that has market proof that it will sell is a pitfall you simply must avoid.

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Millionaire Society is a private
society of millionaires who's only
goal is to teach you every single thing
you must know to build your own 6 or 7
figure online business

If you want to make money online,
join the society before it's too late.

The Millionaire Society

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Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing tips for beginners is first to "Start". If you are looking to join affiliate marketing business, following tips are just like a mile stone in this journey.

You control your actions and only have an effect on those people and things connected to you through relations and activities. The rest of the world and life you cannot control, so take some advice from one of my favorite Philosophers Bill Murray - "It Really Doesn't Matter".

You need to start each day with an empty glass and fill it the best you can, do it, start, become all you can be. Sounds like a commercial for the army. In real world business, it will add good value to your efforts.
So here are some tips for beginners in Affiliate Marketing

    1.    Find a product or company you believe in to promote.
    2.    Acquire an affiliate link through their affiliate marketing program.
    3.    Get a domain name and hosting from a company like Go Daddy.
    4.    Outsource a web/blog site that is controlled by WordPress.
    5.    Sign up with You Tube.
    6.    Learn how to do keyword research.
    7.    Now blast your videos out using You Tube And Traffic Geyser
    8.    Use Traffic geyser to blast out your blog posts to article sites.

Now before you jump in and spend your money on things you may not need, get some help, mentoring. You need a plan of action, and realistic goals. There are some affiliate networks which offer free video training and seminars. These training videos and seminars are very useful for learning the basic and advance skills in affiliate marketing.

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Millionaire Society is a private
society of millionaires who's only
goal is to teach you every single thing
you must know to build your own 6 or 7
figure online business

If you want to make money online,
join the society before it's too late.



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