Inflikt

There once was a time when you would hear a song and immediately be taken in by the poetical pictures the songwriter created. The great poets and lyricists like Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, Justin Hayward, James Taylor and many others, seem to be a dying breed. Listening to music nowadays, you’d be hard-pressed to hear any artists that believe lyricism is an art form. Yes, the words usually rhyme and have a semblance of meaning, but for the most part, words are thrown together just for the SAKE of rhyming. With the explosion of internet radio and music sites and armed with an inexpensive digital recorder, anyone can upload their music, regardless of the musical ability they may or may not possess. And with all the millions of songs flooding the net, originality has taken a back seat to being seen and heard. It’s as if independent music sites are nothing more than blog sites. They are certainly becoming one and the same. Anyone can have an opinion and it seems that anyone can upload their music today. Right or wrong. Good or bad.

But there is some hope! I happened upon yet another site that promotes independent/unsigned artists and much to my surprise, I found a few of artists who were not only great songwriters, but they were artists that I would call bona fide poets. The songs that really made me feel and think the most were those of Jerald Wolf. His first solo CD entitled “Winter’s Emptiness” is an emotional journey of heart-felt songs that are deeply thoughtful and a well textured mix of acoustica nd electric. The first song I listened to was “You’re Gone”. I was immediately taken in by the descriptive words and hypnotic tune. The opening lines are:

“Last night when I called you, you were gone;
Gone back to a place you once called home.
You went trying to find the pieces of yesterday’s life;
Trying to find somewhere to call your own.”

From that point, I clung to every word. Jerald Wolf has a diverse and rich voice, full of emotional colors. The twelve song CD “Winter’s Emptiness” is the emerging of a new songwriter/poet. The songs are as poetical as they are raw and sometimes cold. A great CD in all respects.
Other new songwriters/poets to watch for are Anne Davis with her “Temple Of Contradictions”, V.K. Lynnes’ “Black Halo” and Deron Wade with his CD, “Somewhere Out There”. These three artists also show signs of being the next generation of the poet/songwriter. We will always have Bob Dylan and Arlo Guthrie, but it’s refreshing to hear artists like Jerald Wolf, Anne Davis, V.K. Lynne and Deron Wade and to know that true talent exists outside of the major labels.

Today, anyone can give an opinion or have their music on the internet, but there are only some that desreve to be heard.

Bob Ollman is an freelance, online music critic in NYC.

Wedding couples fear that the cost of their wedding will not be within their budget. That couple has taken the first step in knowing how to reduce wedding favors costs. By following these steps, wedding couples can reduce wedding cost immensely and enjoy their wedding day knowing that all of their festivities were well planned.

Determine the Number of People to Invite. Keep your guest list as low as possible, and keep track of how many people firmly decline the invitation. Invite other people that you might have had to omit due to space limitations.

Design the Wedding Invitations Yourself. Visit an arts and crafts store or hobby shop and see the large variety of scrapbook papers, envelopes and peel off labels that are specifically made for weddings. With a little creativity, a computer, and possibly a local print shop, you can create low-cost, and attractive wedding invitations at half the cost of purchasing them from a dealer.

Choose a Wedding Reception Location that is close to the church. This will allow guests to arrive shortly after the wedding ceremony, and quite possibly, they may want to leave earlier. Plan reception activities early on, and leave the rest of the time dedicated to mingling and dancing. When renting the reception hall, pay attention to the air conditioning system at each location. Ensure there is ample parking at the location that you choose.

-ted plants.

Now that I have your attention, anyone can be a farmer. You can
grow trees and plants even if you have to raise them in POTS. I
feel the best opportunity in agriculture is in raising plants
and trees. Growing plants can be done almost anywhere. You don’t
have to have large fields and hundreds of acres. You only have
to have imagination. People who grow dope do it in cellars and
in caves. Select plants to raise that you see being sold in
quantity by local nurseries or garden centers, and do as they do.

In our area arborvitae are in hot demand. These plants can be
started from cuttings or you can buy rooted cuttings. Thousands
can be grown in a 20′x20′ area in small containers. Arborvitae
are not the only plants that you can choose. Dwarf conifers and
bonsai are other avenues to consider. The first thing to
consider is what plants you like. They make a nice starting
point. I like arborvitae. Plus they are easy to grow. There are
many that are available. These can be grown from your own
cuttings or you can purchase rooted cuttings, or even small
liners. I suggest that you raise Emerald Green Arborvitae. They
are compact and very popular. A 2-inch to 3-inch rooted cutting
in 3 years should be 2 feet tall if growing conditions are
optimal. These might sell for as much as $5-10 depending on your
market and quality. If you were to raise 1000 of them that might
be $5-10,000. You can market them just as I do on the internet.
Being small you can ship them via UPS practically anywhere. An
example of a plant that is not suitable for small plot urban
farming is an Oak tree. It is very fast in growing (good), but
has a big tap root, and is best marketed when over 6-8′ tall.
You will use up your space with a hard to confine, large tree
that is not suitable for close compact container production.
Shipping will also be more costly as starter plants tend to be
larger hence larger shipping fees per tree. Besides I have sold
many people 50 -100 arbs at a time but no one, 100 oaks at a
time. My largest order for arbs to one homeowner was 265. Try to
target plants that will sell multiples to a customer rather than
just one at a time. If you target single plants to individual
customers you need high value plants for your sales cost per
unit will be higher. You will hear the same story from your
customers about 1 plant as you will about 10 plants. I can tell
you without a doubt that each customer will tell you about his
property and his neighbors dog. I would rather hear the story
once for each 10 plants that I sell. That is why I like plants
that sell in multiples to a single customer.

Additionally an unusual or exotic plant is seldom purched in
quanity and the buyer has little knowledge of the plant. They
will have many more questions about this plant. This translates
to a higher amount of time spent on a smaller volume of product
sold.

Arborvitae are commonly used evergreen shrubs or trees useful in
urban areas where low maintenance and durability is needed. Many
cultivars with forms such as being globed in shape, columnar, or
narrow pyramidal, tend to be near buildings, doors, and
walkways. Other forms which are larger are used for screens and
buffers that are planted in rows. These plants will be easy to
raise on your small urban lot.

The form of arborvitae is small, medium, or large depending on
the cultivar. Some reach 50′, others only 3′. Most prefer full
sun to partial sun. Planting in dense shade conditions should be
avoided. A moist , well drained, loamy soil in full sunlight are
ideal conditions for growing healthy arborvitae. These plants
will tolerate rocky, clay, urban conditions of heat drought and
pollution. The most important pest we have is bagworms which
must be controlled to prevent complete defoliation. Some
cultivars have multiple leaders which also prove to be a
detraction for the plant. Pruning out multiple leaders in some
cultivars is a simple remeady. As you raise these plants if you
find that you are selling more than you can raise on your
property, an add in the newspaper such as, “Wanted: land to grow
trees on” will help you find vacant parcels to use in growing
more stock. This land may be free to use as many owners want in
urban areas land to be used as it is then maintained. We have
had many offers of free land to use in raising nursery stock.
(You should check with your local BTK Code Enforcement Officer
to make sure that this use is acceptable.) Another suggestion is
that you work for another local urban grower. They may have
facilities set up that they would allow you to use after hours.
When they see that you are a willing go getter, they might even
ask you to grow special plants that they don’t want to grow
because the volumes are light or they are to intensive in labor.
At any rate it is the best way to learn the trade and its
secrets. Most nurserymen will tell all their trade secrets
because its the best way to help the industry and build a
network of reliable and knowledgeable associates. See my web
site at http://www.seedlingsrus.com