OK, I Gotta Say This -- And YOU GOTTA Hear It!!

Does online shopping really make sense?  Until I began to try to BEST SERVE the needs of the COOLEST  shoppers, and researched the subject, my answer would have been "Sometimes."  I have changed that view to "Usually," or even "Almost always."  Why?  Well for one thing, you should be at my house when the U. S. Postal Service, among others, brings to my door what I used to chase all over four counties!!

In thinking about it there are a few things to consider.  But let's begin with a couple of the negative things to think about:

The number of households that fall victim to identity theft has been estimated at only 1.4%.  So our chances of being safe, maybe even without doing our best to stay safe, are 98.6%.  ConsumerReports.org wrote this good advice: "Consider using a two-way firewall, which blocks software that's on your computer from sending outgoing communications without your knowledge."  You can see all sorts of such firewalls starting on this page at the World's Coolest Stuff! store.  By the way, the store is powered by Amazon.com, one of the most trustworthy and secure shopping sites in the world.


What about the cost of shipping?  In the next paragraph I'll solve that problem neatly.  But first, yes, there are costs involved -- just as there are in shopping in stores!  Do your own math, if you want, but be sure to calculate ALL the money costs involved in shopping all over town -- then ADD the time and energy cost, quite often including getting ready to go out!  I even eat out more when I'm spending so much time shopping out there -- and you already know what that does to your wallet!!


Amazon.com is (and I am) aggressively dedicated to serving your needs about every shopping issue -- including shipping -- and they are really coming through!  As for this blog, I haven't even scratched the surface of finding ALL the great places to shop, but I'm quite certain Amazon will remain at the top of the list (I'm doing my best to find 'em all for ya, but there are only so many hours!).  Some of you may not yet know about the NEW Amazon Prime program.  FREE 2-day shipping on unlimited ( ! ) no-minimum items ( ! ), and 1-day is only $3.99!!  Checked the price of gas lately?  How about the fact that you ROUTINELY spend $2.00 or more in gas to go get ONE item??!!  I can't think of much that I can't wait a day for!  And when I did the math on what I spend unnecessarily on shopping in a year, I 'bout CRIED!  Anyhow, I explained that program and pointed you to it in a recent article here.  The subscription cost is WAY less than you're spending now on ALL your UNNECESSARY* store-shopping!  My advice?  Save hundreds.  And show OPEC you mean business!

*What is NECESSARY store-shopping?  One phrase and another word: (1) gotta have it today, and (2) some perishables.  That's it.  Leave comments to argue with me.  Maybe you can set me straight, but fair warning, I have done the research, and I believe what I write!!  Just today, I helped Darrin, a friend, find a grocery product he hadn't been able to find in grocery stores.  With free shipping, he is getting a better price than he could get on the wrong thing in a grocery store!

Well, you must be tired of reading by now, so I'll close briefly.  Reasons to do online shopping (with ME, of course, since I am the one who is helping you out!!):

• MUCH cheaper -- save LOTS for MUCH more important things
• Save physical energy for MUCH more important things.  If you're a baby-boomer, this is important!!
• Save time for MUCH more important things
• Find things MUCH more quickly and easily
• You are the best and most available customer service person you'll ever find
• WAY WAY WAY GREENER!!
• One-stop-at-the-laptop for every doo-dah thing on the doo-dah planet!
• Knock yourself out finding the best bargains in the world, and the best places to trust in them (like HERE), saving TONS MORE money!
• Greater convenience.  Really.
• If you can't find it, let me know, and I will -- promise
• SCREW Wal-Mart!!  I could make a small fortune sending people to them online; and it'll never happen.

There are many more reasons, but you have a brain.  And you'll discover them as you happily adopt the shopping strategies of the 21st Century.

~

Thanks so much for reading!  That's about it for today.  PLEASE HELP while you're here! You can support my FREE efforts on your behalf by clicking lots of (or all!) ads (it's VERY supportive even if you never find anything you want, or even really look!), sharing the site (top sharing link) or the post (after-each-post sharing link), leaving comments, "like"ing the post when I share it, leaving comments, "follow"ing, and spreading the word far and wide to all your people -- even by email. Have a great day enjoying the World's Coolest Stuff!

Why?

Exciting News First, Then The "Why?"

It's finally ready!  Whew!  I have spent FOREVER putting together the World's Coolest Stuff Store for ya!  CLICK HERE to see it, and BROWSE AROUND THE CATEGORIES.  It's designed to keep the coolest stuff in front of your nose so you don't have to look forever for what you want.  It's also designed for being able to find whatever you DO want from a short, easy-to-use category list.  Please bookmark my store to begin ALL your online shopping sessions.  Best prices I can find anywhere!

One thing I really like about this new setup is that you can come here to the blog when you want to read my blogging (hey. it's pretty COOL writing sometimes!), and go there whenever you want to see TONS of new stuff -- more easily than you can browse most anywhere else!

Since I have spent beau coup hours on the store, I won't write much today.  But I will offer some explanation for:


Why This Blog Exists

I recently noticed on social media (e. g. Facebook) that all my friends and contacts were sharing REALLY COOL stuff, and that they all seemed to have excellent taste.  I thought, "Hey, somebody needs to pare down the confusing nightmare of online shopping into one place where you can find the best of the best, and the coolest of the cool, without spending your whole life shopping."

When I started the research, I found TONS of REALLY COOL stuff that I never knew how to find!  I have done a LOT of online browsing and shopping, but I had no idea what was out there!  And so far I have barely scratched the surface.  In the near future, as I strive every day to make this blog/portal all it can be, you will see a LOT more and COOLER stuff than EVER before!  Mark my words!  And while you're at it, bookmark this page!

I gotta show you just ONE item I found today that is so cool I couldn't stand it.  Nothing better than a toy for almost everyone that is cheap, WAY fun, and WAY educational!

Happy social-media-ing, listening, watching, and reading today!  Keep your ideas coming of what is coolest, and comment on it all here!

That's about it for today PLEASE HELP while you're here! You can support my FREE efforts on your behalf by clicking on lots of ads and things (it's VERY supportive even if you never find anything you want, or even really look!), sharing the site (top sharing link) or the post (after-each-post sharing link), "like"ing the post when I share it, leaving comments, "follow"ing, and spreading the word far and wide to all your people -- even by email. Have a great day enjoying the world's coolest stuff!

Top Ten Songs Of All time

According to an article in Wikipedia that cites a 2004 Rolling Stone article, the top ten songs of all time are listed below.  They were chosen in a survey of 172 experts on the subject.  It might be hard to argue with most of their choices.  I'm writing about this because of a passion for the music business (I'm a music publisher and a songwriter) and for music itself.  I'm working on a "World's Coolest Stuff" store, where you can see a page of the music picks of all my friends and myself.  That is how I will define the world's coolest music there.

One interesting thing about the list is that it spans over three decades, from 1958 to 1991, suggesting that the greatest ten were all released within my lifetime.  No wonder I have a passion for it!  Another thing I noticed is that no artist has two.  The Beatles have one, and John Lennon has one.  A couple of years have two.  Only one is in the "grunge" category.  A whopping four were obviously social commentaries, in my view.

I think that anyone who does not have all of these in their library surely must be missing out on something (!), but then again I sell this stuff.  Anyhow, here's the list, with links that lead to lists of everything about the artist, Mp3 downloads, and CDs, in case you want to fill out your collection and prove that you're really cool.

1. Like A Rolling Stone                      Bob Dylan                       Mp3                CD
2. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction           The Rolling Stones           Mp3                CD
3. Imagine                                        John Lennon                    Mp3                CD
4. What's Going On                           Marvin Gaye                    Mp3                CD
5. Respect                                        Aretha Franklin                Mp3                CD
6. Good Vibrations                            The Beach Boys               Mp3                CD
7. Johnny B. Goode                           Chuck Berry                    Mp3                CD
8. Hey Jude                                      The Beatles                    Mp3                CD
9. Smells Like Teen Spirit                  Nirvana                           Mp3                CD
10. What'd I Say                                 Ray Charles                    Mp3                CD

Guess I need to learn how to line things up!

That's about it for today PLEASE HELP while you're here! You can support my FREE efforts on your behalf by clicking on lots of ads and things (it's VERY supportive even if you never find anything you want, or even really look!), sharing the site (top sharing link) or the post (after-each-post sharing link), "like"ing the post when I share it, leaving comments, "follow"ing, and spreading the word far and wide to all your people -- even by email (easy with the little envelope button under each post). Have a great day enjoying the world's coolest stuff!

"The Godfather" As Family Science

Just to keep your attention while the remodel of the site is going on, I thought I would at least give you a taste of what "Redux" will be like.  Here's an example of "more blogging," what I mentioned yesterday:

Hollywood movies are, by nature as well as definition, a truly American art form, like Jazz is.  I try to catch the best of the latest, but I also watch each movie in my own library over and over, always getting more each time.  In recent years I have availed myself of little more than movies and music, so memorable moments of both fill my head, and will fill my blogging when I'm on the subject.

I am now on one such re-watch of The Godfather trilogy.  The author, Mario Puzo, states in one of the commentaries that the movie is not really about the Mafia, but about family.  If it is, the statement it makes to me comes from a conclusion I reached during my career studies of, and work in, family science: no matter what else happens with a family, the family must exist for the needs of each member, and must not force its members to exist for the needs of the family.  Messing this up always leads to tragedy.  As art reflects life, one sees this truth in much of art.  But let us always see the beauty of families when they don't mess it up so much.  Then, individuals -- and then their families! -- grow to be so much more fully themselves, as they were created to be.

By the way, here are two "family" favorites that WILL be in my library.  As true art, they illustrate my point extremely well!:  the All In The Family TV Series (we watched the show while my wife was in labor with my first son, in 1980!), and the Family Guy Series (recommended for watching during labor, to speed delivery! :-P).

COOL, huh?  :-)

I would really like your candid reactions and comments, starting today, so I can tweak -- all for you!  Don't make me beg!!

That's about it for today, so while you're here, you can support my FREE efforts on your behalf by clicking on lots of ads and things (it's VERY supportive even if you never find anything you want!), sharing the site (top sharing link) or the post (after-each-post sharing link), leaving comments, "follow"ing, and spreading the word far and wide to all your people -- even by email. Have a great day enjoying the world's coolest stuff!