How Important Are Certificates of Authenticity?

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How Important Are Certificates of Authenticity?

Some publishers (and galleries) provide comprehensive Certificates of Authentication with the art they sell. These authentications give information that may include the name of the artist, title of the work, year the editions were issued, the total edition size, the number of proofs, the name of the publisher and/or the printer, information about paper quality, dimensions, the individual print number, etc.

Some publishers furnish “blank” certificates to galleries who are expected to fill them out themselves.

With today’s printing technology, it certainly would be easy to duplicate a publisher’s certificate and /or alter the original information. So what good are these certificates?

While they do provide worthwhile information, much of that can be obtained from the print itself and/or from the invoice.

Without a doubt, a collector’s best safeguard is purchasing from a stable retail gallery – one with a solid history of reputability and with a retail location that you can visit.

Gallery One’s suggestion: If furnished with paperwork relative to your art purchase, retain it. (You just might want to refer to it in the future!) You can make pertinent notes on the invoice – recording the print number, the correct spelling of the artist’s first name (if that does not appear on your invoice) and any other information that you might want to refer to in the future. Keep the original paperwork in your “files” and make a copy to store in an envelope stapled or taped to the back of your frame.

An added note: We’ve been in business for 30+ years…and when we prepare to purchase art, we ask a lot of questions (and conduct meticulous inspections) to determine quality and condition. The one question we do not recall asking is: “Does a certificate of authentication accompany the print?”

Internet Marketing Made Easy for the Beginner

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Internet Marketing Made Easy for the Beginner

There are so many internet marketing possibilities for promoting an online business, or even a traditional business. The ability to engage in internet marketing has truly opened the door for women in business and has made working from home a lot easier than it used to be.

Internet marketing can be much less expensive than traditional marketing and it can reach a huge, precisely targeted audience. Because there are no geographic barriers in internet marketing, it is truly possible to do business worldwide and to sell anything from anywhere, even from the comfort of your own home. Following is a simple explanation of some of the most common internet marketing options that you can use to promote your business.

Article Distribution

Distributing professional articles with a resource box that directs readers to your website is a very valuable and effective method of internet marketing. The articles can be given away with permission to reprint at-will under the terms that the article content and resource box cannot be changed. Many website operators will post these articles on their websites which will direct visitors to your website as well as enhancing your internet marketing link campaigns.

Directory Listings

Directory listings are a form of internet marketing that can be very useful. Directories are a lot like search engines, only listings in the directories are managed and ranked by people rather than by automated, electronic means. Many directories accept directory listings free of charge, so they can be an inexpensive and effective form of internet marketing.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is a viable internet marketing technique that is very similar to direct mail. Generally, it is best for internet marketing messages sent via email to be sent to opt-in or subscriber lists. However, third party lists can be purchased for the purpose of email marketing.

If using third-party lists, check into how the email addresses were collected and make sure that they are truly targeted lists with content gathered from individual who opted to receive information relevant to what you are sending.

Ezine Advertising

Ezine advertising, as an internet marketing option, is a lot like advertising in a magazine; only the “magazine” is delivered to subscribers electronically rather than through the mail. Companies that distribute online newsletters often sale advertising in their newsletters as well, and some may even trade out for an advertisement in your newsletter.

Link Campaigns

Building links to your website from other websites that have information relevant to your target market should be a part of your internet marketing plan. Link popularity, the number of links coming in to your website, and link relevancy, the relevance of the website that is linking to you, can improve your website ranking in the search engines as well as directing
targeted traffic to your site.

Pay-Per-Click Search Engine Marketing

Pay-per-click search engine marketing is one of the most successful forms of internet marketing. Basically, pay-per-click search engine advertising is a process whereby you bid on specific keywords that will direct targeted traffic to your website. You are listed in the search engines based upon the amount you bid for the keyword. You are charged the bid price each time a visitor clicks on the search engine listing, through to your website. This is a good internet marketing option because you only pay for successful click-throughs which result in traffic to your website.

Portal Listings

Portals are similar to directories but are generally specific to a topic or industry. Because visitors to portals have interest in the topic, getting listed in a portal that is relevant to your business can be a very effective internet marketing technique for driving targeted, qualified traffic to your website.

Search Engine Marketing

Search engine marketing is a much preferred internet marketing option because the majority of visitors to just about any website come via the use of a search engine. Search engines use what is called spiders or crawlers which are really just software programs that index websites and determine their relevance, based on the search engine’s rules, to the information a person using an internet browser is looking for.

There are also meta search engines that draw from the results of other search engines, and specialty search engines that are geared to a particular topic or industry. To get listed in search engines, a website needs to be optimized and submitted to the search engines. Major search engines include Google, Yahoo!, MSN, Alta Vista and others.

Luck and Gambling: Lucky Charms, Lucky Numbers and Superstitions

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Luck and Gambling: Lucky Charms, Lucky Numbers and Superstitions

The connection between gambling and luck has always been strong. Many gamblers, usually recreational gamblers, attach their gambling success or failure to being lucky or unlucky, respectively. In order to improve their luck and maximize their winnings, they would, for example, play the same slot machine where they hit last time, place bets on roulette numbers which are considered lucky, ask the croupier to blow over their dice and many other such acts.

Here you will not learn how to improve your luck. You can read here about the different approaches to the abstract concept of luck in general, and about its close partnership with gambling in particular. Before we go over to the meaning of luck in exotic cultures, here are some clarifications.

Luck, whatever that means, can make you win in a roulette game, hit the slot machine jackpot or even beat your poker opponents or your blackjack dealer. However, in casino games such as blackjack, poker, and even sports betting, for example, if you rely strictly on waking up on your lucky day, you would end up losing eventually. Even in the casino games known as games of chance or luck games including bingo, slots and lottery it is important to be aware of the probabilities of winning rather than trustign intuitions and superstitions.

According to the English dictionary, the term luck is defined as:
1) The chance happening of fortunate or adverse events; fortune.
2) Good fortune or prosperity; success.
3) Ones personal fate or lot.

The different approaches towards the concept of luck and the impact it has on ones life are varied and can range from the rationalist claim, on one hand, which rejects any belief that cannot be supported by science, to the mystic approach, on the other hand, that uses certain rituals to avoid bad luck and to invite good fortune. Somewhere in the middle lies an approach that sees luck as an abstract idea that cannot be controlled or changed. Just like that faqct that you cannot pick or control the circumstances of your birth, you cannot control or choose other occurrences in your life such as selecting winning lottery numbers.

Each culture has its unique list of superstitions, rituals and lucky charms. Some are old and carry on from one generation to another, while others, such as human sacrifice, for example, are long forgotten. Each culture also has its lucky and unlucky numbers. The number 7 is considered as a lucky number in many cultures including the Japanese and most of the Western cultures from ancient times until our days. Thirteen is considered the unlucky number. For that reason, people will usually mark seven in their lottery ticket and will try to avoid bingo cards with a 13 number printed on them.

If you want to see contemporary luck rituals live, go to the closest bingo hall or visit a land based casino gambling area. You will see bingo fans wearing their lucky clothes and shoes, seating in their lucky seat, surrounded with family photos, cuddly toys, horseshoes or/and four leaf clovers and marking their bingo cards with their lucky daubers. You would see dressed up people gather around the roulette or the craps table carrying a rabbit foot in their pockets.

The topic of luck is much more widespread than it can be reviewed in such a short article. There is nothing wrong with being superstitious and carrying your lucky charms with you, as long as you do not leave your common sense at home. Try remembering this the next time you visit Las Vegas for playing your favourite game such as poker at your favourite poker room or bingo at your favorite bingo room somewhere.

Tips For Gamblers

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Tips For Gamblers

Visiting casinos is an exciting experience especially for people who have never been in a casino. It is exciting to see all of the games and all of the players. It is very possible to gamble beyond your limits and to be hurt financially and emotionally if you don’t take precautions. You have to how gambling works and the dangers that are associated with gambling is an important pace while on gambling. Always have a budget established for you’re gambling before sitting down to play. This means establishing the limit for your gambling session and not going over it.

Before you make a decision to change your practices, it is good to think about the costs and benefits of each option which relates to money. The money spent at the casino should not be money that is required for any purposes, other than gambling or entertainment. It definitely shouldn’t be money that is required for the rent or car payment or anything like that. Have a limit on your bankroll and time. When you reach the time or money limit, then quit. Means or Best advice is keeping a number in mind which will see you, do stop gambling when you reach it. Don’t ever start adding more money thinking you will recoup your losses i.e. do not take any decisions based on how much money you won or lost.

Also, know the rules of the casino game you play before you begin to play them. This is easy to do now when there are free game sites and rules online for players to learn the various games. Everybody was a beginner at their starts. Don’t hesitate to contact the dealer for questions or advice or clearing any doubts you may have. For the most part, the player doesn’t want to sit down and play games for the first time in a crowded casino risking his own money. If the casino is not crowded, you might ask one of the staff to teach you the game you are interested in. If you do this, be sure to tip the staff member for his time. Keep awareness of advertisements. Lot of casinos advertise themselves as their Slots pay high paybacks. These great payback slots can be found in some frauds and cheating in some times. The slots at the front and center don’t usually pay that high so find out if you are playing at the machines you like to be.

Starting a Contemporary Art Collection

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Starting a Contemporary Art Collection

Contact museum curators or art professionals in your area who do not sell.
1. Build a relationship with these professionals by attending lectures where they assemble.
2. Discuss your interest in collecting contemporary art and ask for their recommendations.
3. Listen for names being repeatedly identified as quality artists.
• Attend exhibitions at contemporary art galleries in your area. Ask for information about any work that interests you. This will help you understand what the artist intended for his or her work “to say.”
• Go to national and international art fairs to gain additional exposure to contemporary art. Ask for information on work that interests you at these events as well.
• Contact prominent local contemporary artists working in a medium you like and ask them to identify their “hot picks.”
• Supplement your efforts by reading art publicatons such as Art in America, Art Forum, and Art News, as well as magazines directed toward just one kind of medium, for example, Fiberarts or types of art for example, Latinarte, Native Peoples and American Indian Art magazines.
• Join ancillary museum groups focused on contemporary art. These events allow you to experience what experienced collectors of contemporary art have chosen. Travel to other cities with these groups to gain an even greater understanding of contemporary art.
• Do MOST of the steps described above before purchasing for your collection.

Internet Marketing Services

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Internet Marketing Services

There are very few internet marketing services worth while out there today. Many internet marketing services are just scams pure and simple. Many of these internet marketing services make promises they cannot and will not deliver on. Many people have lost a ton of money on these internet marketing services. Some of these internet marketing services include things like “We will send 1 million targeted hits to your website for 2999.95”. Most of these internet marketing services are bogus. Many good and hardworking people are trying to make a living online and these sham internet marketing services take full advantage of that. Fully knowing they cannot deliver what they promise. As a business owner, affiliate marketer, or whatever you should be aware of these types of companies. You do not need your hard earned money going down the drain and making someone else rich. In order to know what is true and what is false you must become an educated Internet marketing professional.

Many of these so called internet marketing services would like to keep you uninformed and misinformed. Why? Because then they can lie and lead you along a dead end road until your bank account and entrepreneurial spirit are broke. The people running these internet marketing services are some of the lowest and unethical people I have ever come across. First off the Internet was supposed to be a place of education, these so called internet marketing services have sold out just to make a quick buck. Now there are some really great internet marketing services out there but they get a bad name because of the less worthy ones. Which really sucks for the solid internet marketing services.

I am assuming you are a business owner looking for an Internet marketing company to market your product or service online. Or maybe you are a home business owner trying to build a home business. Either way it doesn’t matter you still need to know the true from the false. Unless of course, you enjoy giving your hard earned money away and if that is the case make the check out to Aaron Aldama. As a business owner or home business owner you must make it a point to become informed on Internet marketing. If you do not these scam artists who run these sham internet marketing services will take your money. For example let’s take a look at these internet marketing services who promise you 1 million hits to your website. First off that is not even realistic but let’s not even get into that. Let’s get into where this so called traffic is coming from. Are these going to be 1 million unique hits? Meaning 1 million individual people or IP addresses will visit your website. Now that is completely bogus but let’s go through it. Okay how will you as a business owner know where these hits are coming from, yes you can track the hits. But how will you know these are quality people actually visiting your site. You will not. There goes 300 to 2,000 dollars down the drain right there. The whole key when looking for internet marketing services is for you to become educated, so you can spot the legit internet marketing services from the scams.

Happiness And Health Are The Two Most Important Things In Life

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Happiness And Health Are The Two Most Important Things In Life

The world is becoming obsessed with money and all things material. From the size of your house, the type of car and even where you travel on your holidays, some people are trying to go one better do their friends and family.

For me these people are quite sad. I have a friend who is similar to the people above, he is always thinking of money, always talking about money. How to earn it, how to spend it etc. He is part of a lottery syndicate, there are about fifty people in this syndicate. When he goes out on the Saturday evening, he always takes with him a piece of paper with the numbers on and a little pen. At around nine o’clock he phones his girlfriend and she tells him what the numbers are for that particular night. He then spends around twenty minutes checking the numbers, and then re-checking to see if he has any winning lines.

He then returns from the toilet area and is asked by other members of the group about how much he has won/lost. He has yet to have any major win to this point, this does not deter him however and for the next hour, he will start a debate, asking different people how they would spend their winnings, if they ever won the lottery.

For me the two most important things in life are health and happiness. These are two things which money can not buy. A number of years ago, my father became very ill. He had to spend around five months in hospital and he was only fifty seven. I feared the worst, even though I was trying my hardest to think and stay positive. I remember thinking, if I could give those doctors everything I own in the world, it still would not help him.

Happiness is the same, at times I have had lots of cash in my back pocket, however have been quite depressed. At other times I have had next to no money and have been extremely happy.

About casino portals and gambling guides

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About casino portals and gambling guides

Understanding how a casino portal works is not something that is ready knowledge for most online gamblers.

Gambling guides and casino portals are sometimes misunderstood. Many people do not realize it is these gambling websites which are very much responsible for the good things that happen in the world of online gambling because they are the ears and voices of the gaming community. Many times online casinos have reversed their decision to take an action which is not player-friendly because of the outcries of guides and portal owners who are almost all what is called “affiliates” in the industry.

As important as it is to know the affiliate is responsible for many of the good things in online gambling it is equally important to understand that nothing is ever taken away from the player by the existence of the affiliate. Some people think that because the affiliate makes a commission that they are costing the player something but it couldn’t be further from the truth. Affiliates are like an extra padding of insurance that the player will be treated right. Just like there are bad casinos and good, so are there bad affiliates and good. The bad ones are those who will promote any online casino willing to pay them, the good ones step in on behalf of their players whenever a casino mistreats them. That being said, whether an affiliate costs the player any extra money is a separate issue from what casinos an affiliate chooses to list on their site or if they will step in on behalf of the player.

Affiliates are paid in several different ways which include a set amount for every visit sent to the casino website, a set amount for every player who signs up and plays for real money, a percentage of what that player loses, and there is even a payment model that depends largely on the player winning which is called “wagershare”, a common practice in Las Vegas that happens with high rollers where someone who is a free-lance escort is paid in the same manner… which is a percentage on whatever amount is gambled. That is not on what is won or what is lost, but rather it is just like the way any casino, land or virtual, figures comp points. It is all figured on how many times you put money into the slot machine, or how many hands and at what stakes? in blackjack or one of the other table games. The more the player wins the more they are going to wager of course so this model is a favorite with most guides because they want to see the players win and its great when you can also profit from that excitement. In truth it all figures out to about the same whatever the model is based, although the residual incomes (the percentage of) are the fairest to all involved because the other models always end up with one side or the other coming out on the short end of the stick (that meaning the affiliate and the casino as this has no bearing on a player because if the affiliate wasn’t to get paid what they do … the money would go straight into the casino’s advertising budget or their pocket but it doesn’t go back to the player, just ask anybody who has ever signed up straight from a search engine, they get no more extras than anybody else, further is they have nobody to turn for help if they get cheated, whereas those who signed up through a guide can go back there and ask for intervention).

There are also gambling guides and casino portals that straight out sell advertising space and some that were created by the casinos they list. But no matter what the type, at no time does the affiliate ever cost the player anything. Besides being excellent places from which to choose a casino, these establishments often offer tips to help the player in both their game play and in their approach to online gambling as it is different than real life, most noticeably in the time delay of payments.

Face Painting Is Gaining Popularity For Parties And Events

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Face Painting Is Gaining Popularity For Parties And Events

Face painting is the new rave in party entertainment. Over the past decade, face painting has gained popularity and become a more sophisticated art form. Event planners are receiving an increase in requests than previous years and having to find face painters to accommodate the demand. New technologies for developing skin safe paints with vibrant colors and glitters are propelling the industry by allowing face painters to create an immense array of amazing designs. As an emerging art form and entertainment form, new face painters are popping up everywhere.
Traditionally face painting was created for cultural meaningful events such as tribal wars, gatherings etc. In modern society, face painting has emerged in sporting events, theatre, and creative expression. Face painting is a fun and creative way for artists and their clients to express themselves. Children and adults enjoy the process. Expressing your inner personality through the artist can be exciting and fulfilling. Face painting allows you to escape, to transform, to venture into another aspect of yourself. Although this is unconscious, it explains the lure of face painting. Transforming yourself into a cat, lion, alien, rabbit, monster, and butterfly allows the painted to enhance themselves, to express themselves in a way they are not able to do by themselves.
Hiring a face painter for your event can be an excellent complement to other activities or by itself. People will enjoy watching the artist paint and others will enjoy looking at theresults. Hiring a talented artist will add flair to your party.Imagine a variety of creatures mingling within the party, adding entertainment and discussion topics. Its fun for everyone: those whose faces are painted and those who get to look at those whose faces are painted. If your event is a children’s’ party, it is a great form of entertainment. If you are having an adult event, face painting can be just as exciting. Artists can really get carried away with the creativity when working on adults.
There are many things to consider when hiring a face painter. First of all you want to hire someone you feel comfortable with.Ultimately this person will be face painting your children, family, friends and guests so make sure to speak with the face painter to get a feel for them. Look at their work. You want to hire someone appropriate for your event. If you are having a party with many small children, you want to hire someone who uses FDA approved face paint. In addition, you want to make sure they do cheek art and know how to work with small children. Small children (3 and under) have difficulty sitting for long periods of time, so cheek art is usually appropriate for them. If your party is for older kids who can sit for longer periods of time, make sure the face painter can accommodate larger face painting designs such as full face and half face masks. Thirdly, you want to make sure the face painter has experience. Check their references.
Ask the company how many faces per hour they can paint. Is it cheek art or full face art? Remember, the number of faces they paint per hour divided by the hourly rate is what you pay per face. At this point you will have to measure their art work with their hourly rate. Some face painters charge less, but their quality is low. Others charge more because they create a higher quality design. You will have to decide what is important to you. Remember, “You get what you pay for”. This is always true. The ultimate goal at most events is that you want your guests to be entertained and want them to remember your event. If you keep this in mind when hiring you have a better chance of choosing the best face painter for your party.
You will want to hire someone that will entertain with their art and who will help make your event memorable. The only way a good face painter can do that is by making your guests feel good and creating an awesome face design that will leave everyone with lasting impressions.

Learning about Internet Marketing

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Learning about Internet Marketing

Internet marketing is not overly complicated but it is also not a process in which anyone can excel without making attempts to learn more about the subject. Business owners who do not know a great deal about Internet marketing but who wish to implement Internet marketing into their overall marketing strategy should carefully study the basic principles of Internet marketing before launching their online marketing campaign. Fortunately for these business owners there are a variety of options for learning about Internet marketing. These options may include online research, reading published books and studying successful Internet marketing campaigns.

Researching Internet marketing online is one method which can be used for learning more about this topic. This type of research can be very informative and can provide the business owner with a great deal of advice and other information. However, it can also provide the business owner with a great deal of misinformation. When researching any subject online it is very important to note that not all of the information available online is accurate. This may be due to a variety of factors including content which is written by those who do not have a great deal of knowledge about the subject matter as well as content which was written years ago and is outdated. This can be frustrating but fortunately business owners can still learn from the Internet. This just means they should be more cautious about accepting information as being accurate and may wish to verify the information they obtain before implementing an Internet marketing strategy.

Published books are another valuable resource for learning more about Internet marketing. There are a variety of books available which focus on this subject and provide a wealth of useful information. When selecting a book for use as research material it is important to seek out a book which received independent reviews which were positive. It is also important to seek out books which were published recently. This is important because the Internet marketing industry is evolving continuously and a book that was published only a few years ago may be outdated and may lack information on some of the new developments in the industry. The appeal of using published books to learn about Internet marketing is you can keep the books on hand for easy reference when you launch your Internet marketing campaign.

Finally business owners can learn a great deal about Internet marketing simply by studying successful Internet marketing campaigns. Try the Internet marketing blog at www.jeremyburns.com/blog for some great starter tipe. If your business offers products and services in a particular niche consider entering relevant terms in popular search engines and studying the websites of some of the highest ranking businesses. This can provide you with a great deal of insight into what these business owners are doing which may be contributing to their success. Examining everything from their website design to their search engine optimization strategies and even the content on their website can help you to determine why they are more successful than you. You should also consider how they are marketing their website which may include banner ads, affiliate marketing programs or other types of advertising. Armed with this information you can take the opportunity to implement changes to your own website and marketing strategy which may help you to gain a greater degree of success. Care should be taken to not copy anything directly from your competitors but to rather try to emulate their degree of success in your own way.