The LuxMob Info Tags

It can be challenging to find the right words to express what we
really want to say. We often think that good communication is
only about being heard, but is it not also about being a good
listener? It may be difficult to identify our communication
problems. Having someone to offer fresh perspective can help you
to clarify specific communication issues and improve your
skills. Working with a coach can help you focus on the message
you want to communicate and to put language around the thoughts
and feelings you want to express.

Four Tips for Improving Communication… 1.LISTEN. A wise person
once told me that we have two ears and one mouth so that we can
listen twice as much as we talk. That got my attention. It
sounds so simple, but how many times are you engaged in
conversation and are not really listening? Your mind is on your
next meeting, client, project, dinner, kids or maybe you’re just
busy thinking about the next thing you’re going to say when the
speaker takes a breath. In any event, listening is a skill that
can be improved. Ask yourself: Do I listen twice as much as I
speak? Do I need to improve my listening skills? 2.BE
RESPECTFUL. Even in situations where communication may be
difficult, treating the other person with respect allows more
open and constructive exchange of opinions and ideas. Ask
yourself: Am I respectful when communicating with others?
3.RESPOND RATHER THAN REACT. Watch your emotions. If what the
speaker is saying creates an emotional response in you, listen
extra carefully with attention to the intention and full meaning
of their words. When we are angry, frightened or upset, we often
miss critical parts of what is being said. Be slow to disagree,
criticize or argue. Even if you disagree, let them have their
point of view. If you respond in a way that makes the other
person defensive, even if you “win” the argument, you may lose
something far more valuable. Ask yourself: Do I react rather
than respond? 4.IMPROVE YOUR COMMUNICATION SKILLS. If you find
yourself unable to express your thoughts effectively with
co-workers, clients, your partner or family, perhaps you would
benefit from working with a professional who can help you
clarify and develop language to more clearly express yourself.
Ask yourself: Who will I ask to help me improve my communication
skills?

Just for fun… Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde
Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a
wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat
ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and
you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn
mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a
wlohe.

Fun Fact: We listen at 125-250 words per minute, but think at
1000-3000 words per minute.

Quotes “Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative
force. The friends who listen to us are the ones we move toward.
When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and
expand.” ~ Karl Menninger

“Take advantage of every opportunity to practice your
communication skills so that when important occasions arise, you
will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, the clarity, and
the emotions to affect other people.” ~ Jim Rohn

If you are new to the world of boating, you likely are only now beginning to learn some of the more basic terms associated with the sport. For example, “lanyard” may be a term that is new to you. On the other hand, if you are an old salt, you perfectly understand how important the lanyard is when it comes to sailing. Indeed, you likely have gone so far as to buy a custom lanyard on at least one occasion.

For those of you who are new to the sport of sailing, a lanyard or a custom lanyard actually is an easy piece of gear to understand. A lanyard or a custom lanyard is a flexible line of rope. A lanyard can be made out of a number of different elements, including regular rope, coated rope, or wire rope. Additionally, a lanyard or custom lanyard can come in the form of something as a basic as a strap.

As mentioned a moment ago, a lanyard or custom lanyard is capable of a wide array of uses. A lanyard is one of the most versatile pieces of gear that a person can find on any boat. A lanyard or custom lanyard can be used for everything from connecting up a lifeline to preparing and setting an anchor. In point of fact, no boat should ever be without a lanyard or custom lanyard — indeed no boat should ever be out multiple versions of the lanyard or custom lanyard.

If you truly are interested in obtaining the best possible equipment for your boat, and if you are equally committed to ensuring that your gear and equipment functions to peak efficiency, you may want to consider ordering custom lanyard products. There are many benefits to ordering custom lanyard products. Of course, you will end up spending a bit more at the outset when you do purchase custom lanyard products. However, most boat owners believe that the purchase of custom lanyard products is an investment that pays off in the long run.

The primary benefit of ordering a custom lanyard is that you will obtain a lanyard specifically suited to a particular task or job. You will have a lanyard that is specifically designed to work with a particular piece of equipment. Naturally, with a custom lanyard you will have a lanyard that is best suited for a particular task or for a particular piece of equipment — because it has been designed to undertake a particular task or with a particular piece of boating equipment.

In addition, the custom lanyard is likely to be more durable than standard, off the rack fare. A custom lanyard has been designed with you in mind, with your needs in mind. Thus, it is more than likely that the person or company that handcrafts your custom lanyard is going to make certain that you are provided with a durable and reliable product. In the end, that person’s or company’s reputation depends upon giving you a top quality custom lanyard.

For more information, please visit www.custom-lanyard.info

Can you double your price and not lose half of your customers? Though studies show that over eighty percent of respondents are skeptical, in actuality, the answer should be yes much more than you’d expect.

Many companies find themselves in need of raising their prices. Such pressure often originates from increased energy or raw material costs, but sometimes it comes from simply taking a hard look at the books and realizing that you need to get more for what you are selling. But once you’ve reached the conclusion that you need to raise prices you’ve surely arrived at the point of dread: telling your customers. What will they say? You imagine they’ll be angry…they’ll drop us for a cheaper supplier…the sky is falling and the end of the world is near.

However, if you’re feeling these pains they are probably from a self-inflicted wound that’s probably been festering for some time. A wound that takes one of two forms: selling on price rather than value; or, pricing your product and service as a commodity rather than a solution.

Since every company will want to raise prices at some point, now would be a good time to take a look inside to see what it is that you are really selling. This refers to the intangibles that go beyond product and price. For example, a good jeweler doesn’t merely sell gold, silver and precious stones. He sells, “Wow, your husband must really love you.” A savvy plastic surgeon sells youth, not rhinoplasty, and a university sells a brighter future, not classes or diplomas. Every company that has been in business for enough time to have repeat customers has products or services that are worth more to the customer than price alone. This intrinsic quality is called value.

Sometimes we need to look deeper to determine exactly what this value is. Who better to ask than our customers, since they often see this value more clearly. Other times you may find it useful to ask an outside professional to make this evaluation. And since products and markets are always changing, it’s a good policy to engage in these methods on a regular basis. This exercise will give you the information you need to continue providing value at your current rate and it will enable you to uncover the secrets to increasing it even more.

Once our value is discovered and a process is put in place to maintain it in the marketplace, it’s our duty to continuously communicate it to our customers and potential customers. Take the time to ask your customers if they’re happy with their purchase (that is, do they find value in it). It’s also wise to let our customers realize that they are a part of a relationship that brings this product or service to them and that this relationship in itself has value.

Now that we have our arms around the concept of value and have committed to impart this to our customers, it’s time to consider how to communicate a price increase. The fact remains that although nobody wants to pay more for anything, the reality of life is that occasionally you have to do it. While you ruminate over how to announce a price increase, take comfort in knowing that people dislike changing from a trusted business partner to an unknown supplier as much as they dislike paying more. Those intangibles like trust, reliability, personal service and loyalty go a long way. If you have spent your time communicating value and can clearly show your customers how a price increase is necessary to maintain or increase this value, you should not find a great resistance from them. True, you may lose a customer or two, but experience has shown that those who buy on price aren’t necessarily the customers worth having, and those that leave at the first hint of a price increase were probably looking for an excuse to defect anyway.

In summary, find your value, make a practice of communicating it, and raise your prices to the point where your profit – not the number of customers – is greatest. You’ll be happy you did.
—————

Gaetan Giannini is the Department Chair and Assistant Professor at Cedar Crest College in Allenown, Pa. He is also an independent, marketing speaker and consultant. He can be reached at 610-606-4666 x 3427 or gtgianni@cedarcrest.edu

The sources of the original “natural high,” endorphins and ekephalins can nonetheless lose their ability to kill pain if the situation becomes chronic. Visualizations may be able to help your subconscious to send in reinforcements.

Endorphins and a sub-type of endorphins called enkephalins are a major source of pain relief in the body. Many times more powerful than morphine, they reduce pain signals in the spinal cord, the thalamus or pain processing center in the brain, and in the cerebral cortex.

Enkephalins prevent the release of acetylcholine, a brain chemical that transmits pain. They also trigger the production of GABA, which in turn is an effective neutralizer of both glutamate and substance P, the two major brain chemicals involved with chronic pain.

But if the problem of Level 2 neuron windup occurs, whereby less and less glutamate is needed to produce more and more pain, the endorphins and ekephalins can become overwhelmed and lose their power. Windup is very common when you have chronic pain.

Good Ways to Increase Endorphins and Enkephalins

Part of any balanced pain relief strategy needs to be to strengthen the supply of these potent natural painkillers. Fortunately you have many natural ways to do this. For example:

• You can laugh a lot
• You can eat spicy food
• You an engage in deep breathing, or meditate
• You can have a chiropractic adjustment or acupuncture treatment
• You can listen to the music you most enjoy
• You can eat chocolate
• You can have sex
• You can exercise

Any of these activities can increase the levels of endorphins and enkephalins in the body, giving you a general feeling of happiness. This can be true for back pain or pain in the neck or other extremities, arthritis pain, fibromyalgia pain, or neuropathic pain (nerve pain).

How Visualization Fits In

Visualization statements provide an additional way you may be able to increase these pain-relievers. These statements don’t have the calories of chocolate or spicy food, can be done when you’re in so much pain that you don’t feel like laughing or meditating, and avoid the time and expense of a trip to the chiropractor or acupuncturist.

Visualization statements represent the specific language that your subconscious wants you to read back to it to help ease your pain. They’re simple and are targeted directly at the main factors that could bring you relief.

You can obtain these statements by learning how to communicate directly with your own subconscious mind. The process is straightforward and can be done at home by working with a facilitator over the telephone. You you need no special skills and no previous experience in working with the subconscious.

Reinforcing the Positive

It’s possible to work with the subconscious to obtain visualization statements aimed at increasing endorphins and enkephalins. We’ve found that when used with the above methods, visualization may be able to provide a background of continuous, positive reinforcement to your effort to increase these powerful pain relievers.

Ben Plumb is CEO and President of The Visualization Group, Inc. The company’s service is delivered by people like himself who personally suffered from years of chronic pain, and used the visualization method described in this article to obtain relief when nothing else worked. For more information, please visit http://www.thevisualizationgroup.com.

(c) 2005 The Visualization Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The methodology and program disclosed in this article are Patent Pending.

With much anticipation, we headed out for our adventure to one of our favourite islands. We were downing our breakfast at the terminal when the call to board the ferry came. We headed out to our car where the line was already starting to move. Perfect timing or blind luck? We were on our way.

The weather was perfect and the water was calm for our trip through the Southern Gulf Islands to Galiano Island. The Queen of Cumberland, a small inter-island ferry, navigated the narrow passage past Peers Island, an island community just opposite the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal. From the ferry we could see the viewpoints on the island jewels that make up the Southern Gulf Islands. Wharburton-Pike on Saturna, Bold Bluff on Pender, the spectacular Cliff of Mount Maxwell on Salt Spring, and the Bluffs on Galiano make up the view points where you can see most of the Southern Gulf Islands and the San Juan Islands in the United States.

Often on ferry crossings Killer Whales (Orcas) pass nearby or you can see porpoise feeding in Haro Strait. The Ferry passed by Ruckles Provincial Park on Salt Spring Island. The green grassy slopes are a great place to camp. As the ferry pulled into Sturdies Bay, we had to wait momentarily as the ferry from Vancouver backed out into Active Pass. Active Pass - between Mayne and Galiano - is truly one of the most beautiful passages I have ever travelled. On one trip through the pass, we witnessed a transient Killer Whale devouring a sea lion within inches of the Ferry. It was a glimpse of raw nature that few get to see.

From the ferry terminal it was a short drive to the Woodstone Country Inn, our host for day one on Galiano. The Inn sits in a pastoral setting surrounded by lush green farmland. As you walk into the Inn you constantly realize you are in a special place. The architecture is elegant and the rooms are spacious. Gail Nielsen-Pich, the proprietor, greeted us warmly. She made us feel right at home and invited us to tea and the goodies she makes available in the lounge later in the afternoon.

Our room was spacious with a huge bed and sitting area with a fireplace. The West wall was all windows and looks over the pastures to the mountains in the distance. We had a private deck with a beautiful view of the valley.

We spent the afternoon exploring the south end of Galiano and visited a number of beaches, took in the spectacular views from the Bluffs and then drove to Retreat Cove where we explored a fascinating sandstone cave etched into the sandstone shoreline. Gail recommended the Market Café for lunch and it was excellent. If you visit the café, be sure to check out the one-of-a-kind washroom. Then, it was back to Woodstone for tea and goodies. Back in our room we enjoyed a glass of Australian Charaz and relaxed soaking up the view of the valley.

Dinner was exquisite. Potato soup with truffle oil, cucumber salad, and beef tenderloin that was to-die-for. The meal was not complete until we tasted Gail’s incredible bread pudding, undoubtedly the best bread pudding in the world. See you at breakfast!

Ron Kirstein is the owner of a Canadian Travel & Tourism Web
site (since 1995). Ron has traveled the length and breadth
of Vancouver Island BC Canada in search of
adventures; see http://tourismmall.victoria.bc.ca/travelmagazine

Millions of people have suffered from acne during their teenage days. Some of them, particularly women have suffered a prolonged acne problem beyond teenage. So much has been discussed and invented to wipe off this menace from the face. In fact very few experiments have been successful.

The newest on the block is acne light therapy. The acne light therapy is based on a device. The device in the acne light therapy attacks the bacteria in the clogged holes of the skin. The bacteria live below the skin surface. Porphyrin, a metabolic by-product of the bacteria is sensitive to light. The acne light device works on those porphyrins. A very sensitive blue light is released from the acne light device. When the porphyrins come in contact with the blue light they produce oxygen within the acne. This oxygen kills the bacteria. This is the basic technique of acne light therapy.

Acne light therapy is effective up to four months. Acne light therapy reduces acne up to sixty percent. The whole process of acne light therapy takes fifteen minutes. There have been no side effects reported. The success of the acne light therapy depends on the type of acne. Along with the therapy you need to take proper care of your skin.

Paul has been providing answers to lots of queries through his website on a wide variety of subjects ranging from satellite phones to acne. To learn more visit
http://beauty.resourz.com/2006/01/30/acne-light/

From an early age my Mother sent me to the schools, she thought, would do the best for my education. Whether or not, my Father agreed, mattered little. Of course, they were all Catholic schools, and they were all child discipliners. Learn or Die, was their motto. I guess I didn’t quite learn, and, I almost died a number of times, at least it felt like it.

The transition of leaving school, and meeting up with your friends after school, was like, caviar meeting the bologna sandwich over tea. We were boys who acted course and rough. I guess it was expected of us, because that is how we all acted.

While in school, we learned the art of language, and refinement. On the street, we learned the way of the fist, and survival. My Mother never had to learn these things, although, she was one tough cookie.

We used linguistic delicacies such as, dem (them), or dose (those), dees (was another favorite). My Father was a master linguist, and highly skilled in the art of irritating my Mom. While he condoned the highest level of street lingo. My Mom, groaned in dispare as she recounted the huge amount of money which they spent to send us to the best schools.

We rewarded her with street spew, and bad manners. In retrospect, I would not pursue that course again. It seemed smart alecky back then. A early form of revolt. I was a product of the sixties, and you would hear me roar in numbers to big to ignore. (Thanks Helen Reddy)

Just the mention of the sixties, brings a whole flood of memories into my consciousness. Beatniks, how many people even know what a beatnik was. Snapping their fingers instead of clapping their hands. Beards and mustaches, most of which hardly had enough years to grow anything that remotely resembled either of those manly growths.

Most of them were just a couple of years older than us, but, that was enough warrant to be the right age. They wrote poems, some of which, had two or three words. They would all take the appropriate amount of time, to contemplate, and break out into furious finger snapping applause, much to the delight of the “poet”. We just looked at each other and thought, “dumb”.

Those beatniks had something going on, but, we never did figure it out. After the beatniks came the yippies. Yippies, youngsters may read this and say to themselves, “dumb”. I don’t blame you, not one bit.

Yippies were the radical wing of nuveau thinkers of our time. They somehow had the wisdom of the ages all wrapped up in their 20 something years, and they knew it all. That was their thought pattern anyway. To us they were just trouble makers. Snivelling and whinning about everything. In a short amount of time came the real stuff which the sixties was really all about, the Hippies.

Hippies were the cool dudes and chicks who listened to Joplin and Hendricks, the Stones, and Zepplin. They had long hair, and smoked weed, dropped acid. This was the down side of the sixties, which was the beggining, of the drug craze in America. As an ex-policeman, I abhor the use of these drugs, I have seen their dirty deeds up close and personal.

I am not sure where all the guys in my generation fit into all of that commotion, but, somehow we were a part of it. I guess we were the guys who went into the mililtary, and served our country and flag. That was probably the best choice I ever made, back then. I live my life proudly, knowing that I served four years. These were my latest thoughts on the days when we was kids in Chicago.

We were just kids thats all……..

I finally had to speak out. The packaging industry is under attack by the “packaging police.”

There have been dozen of backlash articles about it in the news recently. To tell you the truth I’m sick of all the articles talking about freeing Barbie from her packaging prison and how may people went to the hospital because they injured themselves trying to open a plastic clamshell and other esoteric “packaging adventures.” These issues about packaging have been beaten to death and then some. And don’t forget the blogs. Some of the worst venting about packaging appears on personal blogs under the I’ve had a bad day column.

The media loves all the negative impressions people are bombarded with about the packaging in the waste stream, landfills etc. I too thought it was much higher (brainwashed that is) but I found out when I was at Cal Poly giving the opening keynote that its only 30% as opposed to the 70-80% the media and packaging detractors would have you believe.

Who are these “packaging police” anyway? What is there mission in life? Don’t they know that without a package you can have a product? That’s what packaging is all about getting the product safely, securely and intact to the ultimate user in addition to being the product spokes and sales person. So what else is a poor package to do? We have tamper evident, tamperproof, anti- counterfeit, date stamping, TTI’s, RFID, sonic welding and other additional security measures all designed to protect the consumer and they don’t even know it.

You’d be surprised at the number of people that don’t even know about product dating on the package. I can assure you I check. With all the concern over eating healthy, product freshness is an important issue and the package tells it all. I might mention here that it’s almost impossible to read the dates in many cases. They are either in obscure locations or the type is so small you need a magnifying glass. (I hope you read “Packaging Your Products to Boomers” available at http://packagingcoach.com/everythingaboutpackaging.htm) But seriously, packages that are difficult to open will continue to be a problem as our population ages. Do the words “manual dexterity” ring any bells?

So consumers should just GET OVER IT since they are the main cause why many products are packaged with security in mind. Lets talk about theft, counterfeiting, product integrity and product security. I got an email from Tyrone in South Africa last week. He was giving a speech on packaging innovations that impact our lives and it got me to thinking about all the wonderful and creative packaging innovations in the last 40 years. Packaging that has literally changed our lives.

Some of innovations have come about due to dire threats such as the Tylenol incident. Can you believe that happened 20+ years ago? Think of the whole category of tamper-evident packaging that evolved from this situation. When I speak to students at schools and universities about packaging they have no idea what I am talking about. They just take it for granted.

Retail claims that theft is one their worst problems so packaging that protects products form being stolen is done for a reason. The same thing with counterfeiting, which incidentally is on the rise. Anyone reading about this knows this can and will be a huge issue with the number of packaging products being sourced off shore.

Some additional packaging possibilities that can pose potential “threats.”

Green Packaging: Can you validate your claims?
Organic Packaging: Watch out for regulatory agencies.

RFID: Is big brother watching you or are you watching them?

Healthy Packaging Claims: Is It True?
Packaging For Seniors: Can they read or open the packaging? Is it REALLY senior-friendly? Copycat Packaging: A lawsuit waiting to happen and does every week.

So whatever packaging discipline you are in be sure and stay attuned to what are the “Hot button” issues in your field. Prevent the packaging police for setting their sights on you.

Please feel free to use me as a resource when it comes to understanding what packaging markets are hot and what are not. Or what companies are developing the latest in innovative packaging technology.

Packaging Experts, Packaging Consultants, Packaging Speakers: The Public Relations Department at Packaging University can connect you with the country’s top leaders, experts, consultants and speakers, in packaging and related industries. Our experts work in all facets of packaging and they will speak with you about new innovations, trends, legislation, technology, and other packaging news. Contact us if you need experts to interview, article ideas, news, hot topics, or quotes, opinions, and insights from prestigious sources. Go to PackagingUniversity.com and get your free special report: “Why Packaging Fails” by JoAnn Hines Packaging Diva. Attention inventors! Look for our new white paper “Packaging Your Invention To Sell” available soon at PackagingUniversity.com

Consumers Online Face Wide Choices in Security Products

With new threats to computer security and data integrity a
regular feature of the evening news, a panoply of products that
promise to detect, protect, and dis-infect are being marketed to
consumers. Intrusion detection systems, firewalls and anti-virus
software are critical to online security, but the Federal Trade
Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency, says
computer users — from grade school kids to grandparents — need
to know exactly why they need online security products and what
they’re buying.

Why the Need Computers “talk” to each other over the Internet by
sending data through their communications ports. If a port is
open, it “listens” for communications from the Internet. A
computer has thousands of ports: which ones are open depends on
the software the computer is running. Hackers can “eavesdrop” or
scan the ports to determine which are open and vulnerable to
unauthorized access.

Detection An intrusion detection system (IDS) monitors incoming
Internet traffic, much like a security camera “watches” your
front door to see who might be trying to come in. When the IDS
detects a suspicious pattern, it sends an alert (and creates a
record) that an intruder may be trying to break in to your
computer. Some IDS alerts — but not all — show a pop-up message
on your screen. An IDS alone cannot prevent an unauthorized
entry into your computer; only a firewall can do that.

Protection Firewalls block hackers’ access to your computer by
creating a barrier — like a wall — between your ports and the
Internet that allows you to control the data that comes and goes
through your ports. Your firewall protects your ports even if
you don’t have an IDS. Sometimes a firewall is bundled with an
IDS. If not, and if you want an IDS, be sure it’s compatible
with your firewall.

Dis-infection Anti-virus software detects and deletes viruses
that are in your computer. Viruses often attach themselves to
your computer through email attachments and floppy disks. That
means a firewall can’t catch them. Similarly, an IDS won’t alert
you when a virus is attacking your computer. Look for anti-virus
software that recognizes current viruses, as well as older ones;
that can effectively reverse the damage; and that updates
automatically.

Watch any of the major movie, television, and music award shows on television today and one of the first things you’ll notice about the celebrities on the red carpet, aside from their extravagant (and sometimes outlandish) attire, are the amount and size of the jewelry they are wearing. Hip-hop jewelry, more commonly known as bling-bling, is definitely not understated fashion. The bigger and the flashier it is, the better. Preferred by many of today’s celebrities, hip-hop jewelry adorns the fingers, necks, arms, even the teeth of many stars.

Oversized studs and chains are the trademarks of hip-hop jewelry and are preferred by celebrities such as Sean Combs, or P. Diddy. At the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards, he sported a diamond ring, bracelet, and watch from Jacob and Company. Rapper 50 Cent is another celebrity who is hardly ever seen without his hip-hop jewelry. On his web site, 50 Cent offers more affordable, though just as flashy, bling-bling for those of us who do not earn the megabucks that he and his fellow celebrities rake in. There are also many other web sites that offer low-priced hip-hop jewelry inspired by popular rap artists.

Hip-hop jewelry comes in many shapes and sizes, all of them meant to catch the eye and attract attention. Heavy chains of silver or gold (or both) can oftentimes be seen on celebrities such as LL Cool J and Ja Rule in their music videos. Hip-hop jewelry web sites offer fully ‘iced-out’ bling-bling, or watches, rings, bracelets and earrings that are heavily decorated with real or faux diamonds. So-called ‘spinner’ watches and rings are big best sellers in the hip-hop jewelry category. Also available are customized, removable gold, silver and platinum teeth which may be studded with jewels and gemstones, so even the pearly whites can have their share of hip-hop jewelry.

Women celebrities are keeping pace with their male counterparts when it comes to wearing hip-hop jewelry. Stars such as Beyonce, Lil’ Kim, Ashanti and Missy Elliott are regularly seen in pictures wearing large diamond jewelry items of various colors. Even young female celebrities are getting on the bling-bling bandwagon. Teen stars like Jo Jo and Hilary Duff are said to be avid hip-hop jewelry enthusiasts and count themselves among the large number of bejeweled stars today.

Large, ostentatious pieces of jewelry did not start becoming popular only because of the hip-hop cultural phenomenon (think Elvis Presley and Tom Jones), but hip-hop has altered the jewelry market in a big way. Fans see what their favorite celebrities are wearing, and there are numerous options for them to emulate their idols – at least in terms of fashion. Jewelry has always been a part of popular culture, and today’s hip-hop jewelry and the celebrities who wear them are even more so in this age of instant information.

Sam Serio is an Internet Marketer, musician and a writer on the subject of jewelry and gemstones. For more information on jewelry and gemstones, we cordially invite you to visit www.morninglightjewelry.com to pick up your FREE copy of “How To Buy Jewelry And Gemstones Without Being Ripped Off.” This concise, informative special report reveals almost everything you ever wanted to know about jewelry and gemstones, but were afraid to ask. Get your FREE report at www.morninglightjewelry.com.