Bottle Tops As Seen on TV at Its Best

Bottle Tops have come along to restore my faith in the genius of As Seen On TV products. Not that I had a whole lot of faith there in the first place but I know we all hope that As Seen On TV products are really as good as advertised. It just seems like they never quite live up to their billing. Well, at least until Bottle Tops.

I read a Bottle Tops review online and didn't quite understand what all the hype was about. Who cares about turning my can into a bottle? But then I watched the attached commercial and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I'm the one that cares.

My family uses a lot of cans and tends to leave them around the house half filled. It's always been a bit of a challenge to drink the entire can before the soda goes flat, and frankly I'd given up. I like the taste of soda from a can as opposed to a 2 liter bottle. The flavor seems more crisp. I have resorted to trying those tiny little cans, but they are so expensive compared to the regular size you might as well just be wasteful and dump out what you don't drink.

It never occurred to me that what I was missing was simply a way to reseal my can to preserve the fizz. The idea is simple and some inventor somewhere is laughing all the way to the bank right now. All you do is pop the tab on your can and snap the bottle top in place. Then you can re-close the "bottle" anytime you want to save your fizz.

Bottle Tops are a bit more functional than what I've described so far. They also make cans more portable. I never really noticed how many energy drinks come in cans but it makes no sense. If I want an energy drink it's not so I can sip it on the couch. I want to be able to take it along on a hike, a bike ride or on a long car trip and if it were in a bottle It would make life a lot easier. Once you open one of these cans it's not like you can put it back in your fanny pack for later.

So as usual, the As Seen On TV guys zeroed in on a problem that needed solving and provided a fun and inexpensive solution. Sure it's sold as the latest and greatest product you can't live without but this one makes sense. Bottle Tops keeps your drinks fresh, keeps the kids from spilling them and makes them easier to take with you. I'm not sure if you can buy bottle tops in stores or just online but either way, I think this product will be worth trying.

Read more about Bottle Tops and watch the Bottle Tops Commercial online.

My Favorite Way to Purchase a Commercial Investment Property

"Happy are those who dream dreams and are willing to pay the price to make them come true." -- Anonymous

As I was on my way to my son's Flag Football practice today I drove by a property that I own. It is a nice apartment property; good location, tenants are nice and responsible, and the property cash flows very well.

As I was looking at the building I got to thinking about the fun I had when I purchased it. I actually ended up buying this property about 13 years ago with a Mentor of mine. This guy is now 82 years old and still spends some time around the property - giving him something to work on during his retirement...

That got me thinking..

What is the best way, or rather, my favorite way of purchasing commercial investment real estate property?

Well, first most people get the picture in their head of people on two sides of the table. They think of Donald Trump's Board Room with people arguing and negotiating on the property, beating each other up until one person says "uncle," and you can have it at your price.

The real world is much different. For the most part negotiating is fun, not really controversial, and you have like-minded people wanting to get an investment property transaction done.

Then it hit me. Some of my best deals have been fun to purchase, little in the way of problems, and pretty easy without the dog eat dog mentality. Some of my worst properties I have had over the years did have a lot of stress, arguing, one-upsmanship, etc.

My recommendation when purchasing a property is to truly seek a win-win scenario for both parties. Look for properties that make sense in the first place, and do not try to make the numbers make sense at the negotiation table. What I have found is that when one party pushes the other "over the edge" so to speak, they will need something from the other party sooner or later. It may be during the closing process, or it may even be a question they need answered after closing. How do you think the person who left the negotiation table feeling like they were run-over will react? Of course, the answer is that they will not be very accomodating when that time comes.

So be sure when you are at the negotiation table you follow these steps:
1. Work on properties that make sense in the first place.
2. Focus on a win-win deal.
3. Be professional.

As I reflect on this, those people that I have found to be the most successful definitely operate on the side of fun, as do I. Try to make it easy to do business with you, and take a laid-back approach. This is not to say I let the other side have everything they want and bend over backwards every time they want something. Remain tough, yet relaxed, and make it easy to do business with you. This is the best way for the long-run, and I have found the most successful too.

The bottom line is that if you are in deal with a lot of stress, problems, arguing, etc. it may not be a deal you want to be in. If there is a lot of controversy, you may want to at least think about why you have it, and act accordingly...

Do you want to learn more about investing in commercial properties? Click the link below for my FREE 7-Part Investment e-Course. I'll also send you my FREE special report and teleseminar access "How to Buy Apartments and Commercial Real Estate With No Or Low Money Down."

Download it free here: Commercial Real Estate.

Download TV Commercials - The Best Places To Find Them

I love to download tv commercials so I can watch them whenever and wherever I want.

When you see an old commercial from when you were growing up, doesn't it feel like you're reliving your childhood all over again?

I love to see the Dunkin Donuts guy shuffling along half asleep, "Time to make the doughnuts."

Or the Wendy's classic with the old lady asking "Where's the beef?"

Or perhaps you prefer the more recent Miller Lite "cat fight" commercial?

Thanks to the internet, you can download tv commercials from any time period and enjoy them in the comfort of your own home.

So where are the best places to download tv commercials?

I download tv commercials from a few different places. The search engines are pretty hit or miss. You can find some goodies but you'll waste a lot of time searching.

YouTube is a good resource. They currently have several thousand tv commercials online. But they don't make it easy to download tv commercials to your computer or ipod, and the quality is not always the best.

Also, most of the tv commercials on YouTube are very recent. They don't have as good a selection of classics. I'm particularly fond of 1950's tv commercials and YouTube doesn't have much from that genre.

I've had a lot of success downloading tv commercials from membership sites. For a one-time fee of about $29-$39, I can download all the tv commercials I want.

I know, you don't want to pay to download tv commercials. I didn't either at first. But then I realized how much time it saved me searching for the files I wanted. Plus I get to download all the movies, tv shows, and music videos I want without paying any extra fees.

If you want to be able to download lots of files quickly and easily, a membership site is your best bet.

You can download thousands of tv commercials, movies, tv shows, and games (enough to fill your hard drive 10 times over) for just one pathetically low price at [http://www.download-zone.info]

download tv commercials [http://www.download-zone.info]

Has the Commercial Real Estate Market Hit Bottom?

In recent months, one of the most frequently debated topics in our industry, posed by both landlords and tenants alike is have we really hit bottom? While there are a number of factors that need to be considered when trying to determine what lies ahead, following are a few critical issues that will provide insight in the months to come:

1. The commercial real estate markets performance is a derivative of what occurs in the larger economy. Without recovery in the job market, the health of our industry remains questionable.

2. There is a growing concern surrounding commercial lenders leaving their non-performing loans at bay instead of bringing them in and recognizing the loss. Until these properties hit the market, investors are uncertain how to analyze pricing, thus leaving many of them on the sidelines with a wait and see approach.

3. Today's challenges are exacerbated by frozen credit markets and billions of dollars in commercial loans maturing this year with little to no refinancing capital available.

4. The downward pressures on lease and sale rates have yet to stabilize. Owners continue to aggressively pursue tenants with large incentives - free rent and creative discounts on lease rates continue to drive activity. Disparity in asking rates on lease and sale offerings does not instill confidence that values have or are close to balancing out.

While many economists are predicting slow growth with the worst now behind us, the waters for commercial real estate remain murky. Those in a strong financial position recognize they have time on their side to make calculated, strategic moves. Others are much more concerned about making a less than favorable deal relative to what may potentially lie around the corner.

As optimism continues to make its way back into the marketplace, we certainly anticipate greater clarity on pricing and overall property values. Industry experts are describing what appears to be a shift in attitude, with many adopting a focus of "getting back to business." However, until meaningful growth emerges for a sustained period of time, the path to a stronger market will remain uncertain.

Regardless of whether we are at or near the bottom, existing market conditions still offer numerous opportunities for tenants and investors alike. However, positioning companies to take advantage of these conditions is a much larger challenge. Seek a qualified real estate professional to assist you with whatever endeavor you may be considering.

Thomas A. Holland, SIOR, CCIM, CPM and Jon R. Reno are commercial/industrial real estate brokers with The Heger Company specializing in the Central Los Angeles market with an emphasis in Vernon, California. The Heger Company is a full service brokerage firm servicing all of Southern California and is an Accredited Management Organization (AMO) that manages over 5 million square feet in industrial properties. Please visit http://www.thc-us.com for more information. You can reach us at 5657 E. Washington Blvd, Los Angeles, California 90040 I (323) 727-1144 I th@thc-us.com I jr@thc-us.com

Bulgarian Bread and Chicken Producers Hit Fines For Cartel Involvement

Bulgaria has fallen in sync with European anti-trust regulators by stepping up its investigation of cartels. Their latest moves come against agri-business firms that dominate several food sectors.

Bulgaria's Committee for the Protection of Competition has just fined three baker's and confectioner's associations for cartel involvement. This action comes on the heels of fines issued against 26 egg and poultry corporations throughout the country for similar infractions.

The Committee first began investigating firms in the cereal sector after the price of breads rose substantially in 2007. It has since stated that the associations regularly forecasted and recommended what price should be imposed upon producers beginning as early as 2003. This coordinated, anti-competitive behavior is in violation of well established free market principles.

The Committee operated a similar investigation against chicken and egg producers at the same time. This investigation also began after a sizeable increase in the companies' prices for chickens and eggs in August, 2007. The companies are alleged to have fixed prices and set the volume of chicken production, as well as operated a joint plan to control the applied prices and volume of egg production. Executives of one of the organizations fined, Stara Zagora, are said to have made market forecasts and issued recommendations for the timing of specified price increases.

The Bulgarian chicken and egg companies were fined a total of 293,000 levs (EUR146,000; US $239,000) for the anti-competitive conduct.

Prices for eggs and chickens fell dramatically between 2002 and 2007. During this period, industry officials met with greater frequency and are alleged to have focused on setting minimum prices.

The Bulgarian fines part of a larger effort throughout the European Union to protect citizens from unfair business practices, particularly in industries that have wide-ranging impacts on citizens. The European Commission recently raided the offices of several traders and distributors of cereal and other agricultural products suspected of price fixing. The products in question are used as food for both human and non-human consumption.

As with the Bulgarian investigations in agricultural products, the broader European raids follow a dramatic increases in grain, approximating a 50% increase across the board last year alone. Prices for corn, wheat and soybeans are now at record highs.

The Commission does not publicly name the companies it is targeting until investigations are complete, but their recent move signals that they are willing to bust any anti-competitive commercial behavior, even against the world's most powerful transnational firms.

Anti-competitive conduct across Europe has been put under increasing scrutiny in recent years. Market enforcers hope to deter future cartel involvement and provide a remedy to citizens affected by unfair prices.

About the author: Jason Hardy is an avid writer on legal issues, including international writing about many subjects including european antitrust lawsuits. Eu competition law interests Jason particularly. He resides in Seattle, Washington.

Best Comedy Movies 2008!

Let's start by explaining the art of comedy and what what kind of comedy we refer to in this article. We all know the commercial type of comedy, amusing to almost everyone, often exercised with slipping behind sofas, overexplicit jokes and punch-lines based on a script that has been reviewed, edited and reviewed again. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it and with comedians like Jim Carrey and Jerry Seinfeld (after Seinfeld series) backing it up, what else can you do but laugh.

However what we are talking about when referring to Best Comedy Movies 2008, that we've had the delight of seeing a lot of in 2008, is the slightly more sophisticated comedy. Still goofy, by all means, but not limited to practical jokes or simplified by a too tight script. The comedy in it self is perhaps not always something that makes you laugh out loud or re-capping it to your friends, but rather makes you smile and remember the characters and story in it self. Less is about one funny actor, or theme and more is about the genius and flawfulness of the movie.

3 comedy movies of 2008 that fit perfectly to this category are:

- Son of Rambow - a comedy adventure to be fare and a story of two very different boys in old England who come together in filming Rambo First Blood. Brilliant story, great characters and actors and a lot of laughs. A must-see!

- Be Kind Rewind - Jack Black and Mos Def in a brotherly and slightly awkward duo, trying to film their own versions of hit movies like Ghost Busters, Driving Miss Daisy and Lion King, after accidentally destroying all video tapes in their video store. Genius effects and meaningless plot, nonetheless a blast to watch.

- Semi Pro - Will Ferrell at his best. As the owner and coach of a basketball team, Will's character JAckie Moon is a self-centered grown up baby who still lives on a one hit wonder called Love Me Sexy. It's original and although it's redundant at times, the story shows of uniqueness and superb dialogues.

For a top 10 listing of the best comedy movies 2008 visit TotallyTop10.com.

How to Survive Rejection Or a Bad Book Review

Unless an author has a colossal ego, he feels some measure of dejection after receiving a rejection letter from a literary agent or publisher. I was no exception. In responding to or internalizing the rejection, the author needs to draw from those same reserves of tenacity and resilience that enabled him to complete the book. 

I never approached publishers with the book, but did shop it out to approximately forty-five literary agents. I received plenty of rejection letters. To my pleasant surprise, I also received a letter of interest from a prominent agent in Los Angeles. Representation was contingent on my making the novel entirely non-fiction, something I was unwilling to do. It's highly unlikely a first time author will land a literary agent. It seldom happens. If an agent does take on a neophyte author, there is a good chance concessions will be demanded of that author. Having an agent certainly helps open doors, but is not essential. More and more authors are going it their own without an agent and are being met with a good deal of success.

The literary agent's ultimatum made me even more determined to see that the book reached an audience on my terms. In order to retain creative control, I elected to use a print on demand publisher. In addition to offering the book on Amazon and through four other e-tailers, I released the work as an audiobook. May 2009 it was the second most popular download on Podiobooks.com, with 8000 downloads in 4 days, and remained on their top ten list for six weeks, so it appears the book is finding that audience.

The point in sharing this experience is to drive home the fact that the best way to deal with rejection is to minimize the risk of rejection. If you are a first time author and the first publishers you approach are the conglomerate publishing houses, you are setting yourself up for rejection. If you are a first time author and you send letters of inquiry to literary agents at CAA and William Morris, you are setting yourself up for rejection. If you are a first time author and you send your galley to the New York Times or Atlantic Weekly for a book review, you are setting yourself up for rejection. It is good to be self-confident in your skill set as author and in your finished product, but when it's the first dance at the cotillion, don't start with the Fortune 500 heirs. Demonstrate your grace and prowess on the ballroom floor with a lesser suitor, and allow the titans of industry to take notice and pursue you. Bat those eyes and work the hips. It's much more desirable to be wooed than to woo in this business. Be patient and build a reputation for your book and yourself as an author. Create a buzz and allow for the ripple effect. If you can generate sufficient interest at a grassroots level for a book that has merit and commercial potential, the larger publishers and agents will come to you.

Reviews are more of a wildcard. Even a commercial hit can be panned by the critics. As an English Lit major, I had to work hard to set aside convention and write honestly and from the heart. I'm not suggesting you forget the rules of grammar or three act construction. What I am suggesting is that traditional and narrow "literary merit" can be distinguished from contemporary and broader substantive merit. A book may not go down as a classic, but if it's a good story told well, it will reach its desired audience and do more to establish your reputation as author than will critical accolades. The critic that writes a negative review often is focused on the literary merit of a work, and not whether it is, simply, a well crafted and entertaining book. The focus is often on whether the work ranks as a "great book" using the classics as yardstick. This is not realistic, nor particularly relevant to anyone other than newspaper and magazine publishers that know negative reviews sell more copy than do positive reviews. Regardless of how neutral or altruistic the reviewer believes himself to be, they are, like the rest of us, fatally flawed humans with biases. And those biases taint their reviews. At the end of the day, the old adage, "any press is good press" holds true here, so long as there is some positive chatter to offset the hatchet jobs.

For me, personally, rejection or a critical review strengthens my resolve to achieve my goals for the book. It helps motivate me to get more creative in devising workaround alternatives to mainstream distribution channels and marketing. If a particular agent, publisher or critic responded negatively to the work, how do I reach an agent, publisher or critic that may be more receptive to my story and its presentation? Always keep in mind that publishing is a business. A rejection is not necessarily a commentary on the quality of your story or the telling of it; it is often nothing more than a commentary on its perceived commerciality. 

Jason M. Kays is a published author, jazz musician and intellectual property attorney. He has had extensive hands on experience debunking con men. Please visit his site at http://www.virtualvice.net