I.I Am a Small Business Owner, So I Don't Need a Web site
[NOTE: This article was written in response to actual conversations between small business owners and our Web design and development firm.]
Hello. My name is Mr. Smallbiz Owner, and I own A Small Company in a smallville town USA. My shop has been in business for a number of years, at least since the 1990s. I have recently been approached by many representatives of Web design and development firms, trying to sell me on all the reasons as to why I, the small business owner of one shop in my local region, really needs a Web site in this day and age of the 21st century and how my small business cannot possibly survive any longer without a business Web site.
I would appreciate the opportunity to discuss the top 10 reasons why I as a small business owner do not need a Web site for my small business. Here are my simple explanations for why I feel the way that I do.
1. First, I have a solid client/customer base with good business relationships.
I don’t really need any more work; heck, I can’t even handle any more customers and I don’t want my business to grow in revenue anymore. My current customers provide me with all the work I will ever need. They aren’t going anywhere.
Besides, my current customers will never look at my Web site anyways; they know all there is know about me and my small business. All of them know we are here in smallville town USA. I don’t need anybody calling me because they saw my Web site online. I have more than enough residual income for my family to last one good year.
2. A Small Company will never be challenged by other competitors in my smallville town.
My small business is unique and nobody else does the same thing in this industry just like I do. Because A Small Company has been in this local area for so many years, we are known as the experts in our field and will always be known as the experts in the industry. We don’t need to learn anything new in our industry, because our industry hardly ever changes at all. Our customers will never go elsewhere to find other small businesses like us; they will always continue to go to us for their needs in this smallville town.
3. Word of mouth and referrals has always worked the best for me.
Our customers constantly refer their friends, relatives and colleagues over to us, and the potential customers that call me don’t even bother to ask me if I have a Web site. They usually ask me to mail them a brochure and a business card instead.
4. I am still in business today even though I do not own a Web site.
I am very confident I will continue to be in business for many years to come. No other competitors will move in or near me, and my nearest competitors are too far away for my customers to drive, so they would rather come shop with me, Mr. SmallBiz Owner, at A Small Company. My current customer base will always continue to shop at my small business only; they will never move away, never grow old and will never be without the need of my products or services.
5. I belong to several local professional business and networking organizations.
I am a member of my local chamber of commerce and the local Better Business Bureau and other business networking groups. All of the organizations I belong to provide me with enough leads on a daily or weekly basis, even though I have to pay an annual fee to remain a member of these groups. As a result of these memberships and affiliations, I will never have a need for a business Web site design. These organizations even help me with finding additional potential partnerships and professional alignments on a continual basis.
6. Most intelligent older people never look at Web sites anyways.
They are just too busy and could care less of the contents and images available on my Web site. They simply aren’t curious and the majority of people in the United States don’t own computers in their homes or offices to look A Small Company up online. They would rather spend the time out of their hectic lives to jump into a car, weave in and out of heavy traffic trying to find my small business in smallville town, look through the hundreds of similar products in my store, stand in our long lines to cash out when purchasing these products with their screaming kids by their sides and get back in their cars to head back home in equally heavy traffic. What if I don’t have what they need? Oh well. Let them just get back in their cars and spend more time driving around looking for that product elsewhere in smallville town. I don’t care about their business.
7. I already have a brochure I developed 5 years ago.
I still have plenty of other brochures left on my shelf at A Small Company, and it is still fairly up to date. In order to save myself money on advertising and marketing costs, I will first use these brochures up on my existing customers whenever they come into my store. When I eventually run out of brochures, I can always just use my printer to print our weekly specials in black and white ink; my customers don’t care about the presentation of my marketing materials anyways. Why would they care about my Web site presentation either?
8. Web design and development is just another way companies try to grab your hard-earned dollars.
Web design and development firms don’t care about me, Mr. SmallBiz Owner or my small business in smallville town. They are just trying to sell me a Web site by pushing false information about my local competitors and my industry, and using scare tactics to get me to buy into the whole Web site design concept. They keep trying to tell me what my prospects and customers need and expect out of me and A Small Company. I just chuckle and laugh it all off. To think that they know more about my customers than I do is absolutely absurd!
9. I am very visible in my local target market.
Everybody with whom I want to do business knows about me and A Small Company located in smallville town USA. They can easily find me through any of the millions of local yellow pages I pay a monthly fee for, because everybody who is anybody solely looks for any products and services in their local yellow pages. It is the latest and greatest piece of marketing and advertising ever created. It has a very high level return on investment, it is very affordable and I can easily track who finds me through the yellow pages.
10. Lastly, Web sites are strictly for large corporations that provide services and products throughout the United States or worldwide.
I only own one small business store in smallville town America; therefore, a Web site has too broad of a reach. Besides, why would I care about reaching potential customers across the United States? The local customers I have now will definitely provide me with more than enough income to support my family for many years to come. Should I ever decide to market to potential customers across America, I can always pay for classified ads in newspapers in all 50 states. Because I never surf the Internet, I am very confident my customers don’t either. The Internet is only comprised of kids and teenagers, and they are not my target market for my small business.
Custom Search
Thursday, January 8, 2009
SITE PROMOTION - 5
I.Beginner’s Guide To Free For All Sites (FFA's)
For those of you who don't know what an FFA site is, it's basically a website where you can post a link/add to your website for free. Generally it is also posted to many other sites at the same time and hopefully somebody sees your link...free advertising in other words. This also creates backlinks to your website. When you post a link, you are also giving permission (whether you know it or not) to receive confirmation e-mails back from the site owner.
What seems to happen though is many people see this as free advertising and get angry when, not only do they not see a flood of sales come pouring in, but they start receiving other people's offers. I know when the first time it happened to me, I couldn't figure out what was going on and was frustrated at the results.
Let's back up a moment and look at the bigger picture of what an FFA site is and its TRUE purpose. The true purpose of an FFA site is for the owner of that site to promote his/her business. It's really not just because he's a nice guy giving people a free advertising place.
(If it were such a goldmine for pulling in sales, he would be doing it himself). That is just the bait, getting people to his site to post their links, thinking they are getting free advertising, so he can respond with "confirmation" of your link, and his business ad.
Those confirmation e-mails are NOT spam. You had to agree to receive them in order to post your link. Who are reading these ads anyway? So is posting to FFA's a total waste of time? Not necessarily, you do get an occasional sale, people do go back to post their links and sometimes take a quick look through the links to see what's there while they're at it.
So what's the answer? Get your own FFA site to promote your business. There are many excellent resources out there. I have found from personal experience however,that many of the services offering FFA's sites, offer a free version or a paid upgrade. The phrase "You get what you pay for" comes to mind with these. I've used several kinds and found that the paid upgrades more than paid for themselves in sales. Shop around however to compare between companies.
You can promote any product through this method; information products, crafts, vitamins, whatever. You could have the very best on the entire internet, but if nobody sees your offer, it's not going to get the sales you desire. It takes traffic to get sales. These sites are options for driving those numbers to your site. Free classified ads sites are also in this same category with the same purpose and can be worth pursuing.
For those of you who don't know what an FFA site is, it's basically a website where you can post a link/add to your website for free. Generally it is also posted to many other sites at the same time and hopefully somebody sees your link...free advertising in other words. This also creates backlinks to your website. When you post a link, you are also giving permission (whether you know it or not) to receive confirmation e-mails back from the site owner.
What seems to happen though is many people see this as free advertising and get angry when, not only do they not see a flood of sales come pouring in, but they start receiving other people's offers. I know when the first time it happened to me, I couldn't figure out what was going on and was frustrated at the results.
Let's back up a moment and look at the bigger picture of what an FFA site is and its TRUE purpose. The true purpose of an FFA site is for the owner of that site to promote his/her business. It's really not just because he's a nice guy giving people a free advertising place.
(If it were such a goldmine for pulling in sales, he would be doing it himself). That is just the bait, getting people to his site to post their links, thinking they are getting free advertising, so he can respond with "confirmation" of your link, and his business ad.
Those confirmation e-mails are NOT spam. You had to agree to receive them in order to post your link. Who are reading these ads anyway? So is posting to FFA's a total waste of time? Not necessarily, you do get an occasional sale, people do go back to post their links and sometimes take a quick look through the links to see what's there while they're at it.
So what's the answer? Get your own FFA site to promote your business. There are many excellent resources out there. I have found from personal experience however,that many of the services offering FFA's sites, offer a free version or a paid upgrade. The phrase "You get what you pay for" comes to mind with these. I've used several kinds and found that the paid upgrades more than paid for themselves in sales. Shop around however to compare between companies.
You can promote any product through this method; information products, crafts, vitamins, whatever. You could have the very best on the entire internet, but if nobody sees your offer, it's not going to get the sales you desire. It takes traffic to get sales. These sites are options for driving those numbers to your site. Free classified ads sites are also in this same category with the same purpose and can be worth pursuing.
ONLINE EDUCATION - 4
I.Learn Japanese Easily - All It Took Was A Movie...
My quest to learn how to speak Japanese began with the Anime movies, Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke, by the renowned Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki. These amazing movies were the catalyst that propelled my interest in the Japanese culture and hence, my desire to learn Japanese fast but in the most proficient way possible.
I was determined to learn a language that most of my fellow North Americans either have no interest in or find it too challenging. Why? Japanese not only sounds significantly different from English but the Japanese letters, (Hiragana) that represent the sounds that make up the Japanese language and is central to the Japanese writing system, are very different. Because of this, I was even hesitant to learn basic Japanese but I put my fears aside and proceeded to find the best way to learn Japanese. After weeks of researching the Internet and networking by word of mouth, I found an amazing course that teaches you to speak Japanese online. So, here's a brief overview of this course to help you in your goal to learn Japanese easily.
First, there is a 31-lesson Interactive Audio Course that covers everything that you need to know to learn Japanese quickly and to become part of a Japanese community. Second, their software: the vocabulary software is a word building game designed to help you learn about 1000 Japanese words and to cover 20 different topics. You can also use this game indefinitely because it allows you to add your own images. The audio software will help you overcome the most difficult aspect of learning Japanese and that is the comprehension. The Hiragana Software learning game helps you to easily recognize and memorize the Hiragana character set used in the Japanese writing and pronunciation system. Third, there are the Grammar Newsletter Series that provides you with 31 illustrated Grammar Lessons and examples. These are invaluable cultural informational tools with explanations of written Japanese and of popular Japanese grammar. The visual tools of this series are unique to this product and their value is priceless enabling you to learn Japanese easily.
Finally, there is also access to a Learner's Forum and Support system that is staffed with fellow students, natives and Japanese teachers. This provides you with extra free resources to further assist you on your quest to learn to speak fluent Japanese.
I am pleased to say that I am able to watch Miyazaki’s movies in their original Japanese and I look forward to visiting Japan one day. Thank you, Hayao Miyazaki for opening up the door for me to experience, acknowledge and respect the Japanese culture.
My quest to learn how to speak Japanese began with the Anime movies, Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke, by the renowned Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki. These amazing movies were the catalyst that propelled my interest in the Japanese culture and hence, my desire to learn Japanese fast but in the most proficient way possible.
I was determined to learn a language that most of my fellow North Americans either have no interest in or find it too challenging. Why? Japanese not only sounds significantly different from English but the Japanese letters, (Hiragana) that represent the sounds that make up the Japanese language and is central to the Japanese writing system, are very different. Because of this, I was even hesitant to learn basic Japanese but I put my fears aside and proceeded to find the best way to learn Japanese. After weeks of researching the Internet and networking by word of mouth, I found an amazing course that teaches you to speak Japanese online. So, here's a brief overview of this course to help you in your goal to learn Japanese easily.
First, there is a 31-lesson Interactive Audio Course that covers everything that you need to know to learn Japanese quickly and to become part of a Japanese community. Second, their software: the vocabulary software is a word building game designed to help you learn about 1000 Japanese words and to cover 20 different topics. You can also use this game indefinitely because it allows you to add your own images. The audio software will help you overcome the most difficult aspect of learning Japanese and that is the comprehension. The Hiragana Software learning game helps you to easily recognize and memorize the Hiragana character set used in the Japanese writing and pronunciation system. Third, there are the Grammar Newsletter Series that provides you with 31 illustrated Grammar Lessons and examples. These are invaluable cultural informational tools with explanations of written Japanese and of popular Japanese grammar. The visual tools of this series are unique to this product and their value is priceless enabling you to learn Japanese easily.
Finally, there is also access to a Learner's Forum and Support system that is staffed with fellow students, natives and Japanese teachers. This provides you with extra free resources to further assist you on your quest to learn to speak fluent Japanese.
I am pleased to say that I am able to watch Miyazaki’s movies in their original Japanese and I look forward to visiting Japan one day. Thank you, Hayao Miyazaki for opening up the door for me to experience, acknowledge and respect the Japanese culture.
ONLINE EDUCATION - 3
I.5 Ways to Improve YOUR English without even Trying! for people who speak English as a second language
Learning a second language can be a very stressful and arduous task if you let it. Somehow, the words you learn in the books don't seem to apply very well to real life situations. Those small and seemingly un-important elements the show a person to be in command of not only the language, but the culture of the people who speak it cannot be adequately expressed by words on paper.
So, how do you learn these little secrets of mastering the ability to articulate yourself in another language?
Here are 5 proven techniques that will help you improve your English without even trying, if you are learning to speak English as a second language. Do they really work? Yes. I've tried them myself as I've had opportunity to live somewhere where English wasn't the primary language. I found it to be a fun, exciting, and painless way to learn both the language and the culture. The culture is simply learning the way the natives express their own words. The genuine accent, facial expressions, hand gestures, sighs, moans, groans, laughter, smirks, and other things that go along with everyday conversation.
Regardless of how extensive or not your vocabulary is, if you master the ability to "sound" like you know the language and can speak it, people will be more than generous to assist you.
1. Watch Movies!
Watching movies is always a fun thing to do. In order to get the most out of your movie watching experience, if your vocabulary is limited, watch a movie in English that you are very familiar with in your own language so you always know what's going on. Try not to translate as you go because you lose blocks of conversation this way. Instead, watch the picture and listen. Hear all the words, but determine what's going on by the pictures you see and the words you're hearing that you already know. Believe it or not, other words will sink in too, and so will the accent and everything else that went with what you saw and heard.
As your vocabulary grows, expand your movie selections to other movies you'd like to see but are only available in English. Try to be able to see the film more than once if possible.
According to the location and type of film you intend to view, you will be able to experience different accents, and other cultural expressions of the English language. Pick and choose the things that you think will suit you best. If it doesn't work out, pick and try something else! Have fun with yourself and your efforts.
2. Watch Soap Operas
The place where extreme expression and limited vocabulary meet! This is such a fascinating way to learn a foreign language. Every accessory that goes with the expression of a word is demonstrated on a soap opera. "Outrage" expressed with a word, facial expression or two, and perhaps even a subsequent face slap, all of that being understandable in any language. "Love", another universal subject, or violence, good versus evil can all be discerned quickly and easily on a soap opera. Plus, soap operas are naturally designed to allow anyone just tuning in to pick up the story quickly. The characters are easily loveable and deliciously "hate-able" so you turn to it again and again to see what's going on, and not only improve your English each time, but reinforce what you've already learned.
3. Read the Comics/Funny Papers
Very non-stressful! Pictures with words, or words with pictures, however you want to look at it, it's a great way to learn! For each thought presented there are words that match a picture, and vice versa. It doesn't matter if you read comic books, or the comics in the Sunday newspaper, read whatever will make you laugh and cause you to enjoy learning at the same time.
4. Read Children's books
If you know any little kids between the ages of 5-8, try reading one of their books to them. Usually little kids know their favorite books by heart, so if you stumble a little, they'll be able to help you.
If you enjoy this method of improving your English, and you find yourself to be pretty good at it, then try reading a few Dr. Seuss books. The rhyming will challenge you, but once you master it, your pronunciation of English, and your delivery will have been considerably refined and improved.
5. Take a service job like waiter or waitress; bartender, or sales person.
This type of job can be done if you have a decent vocabulary of verbs, and know how to say "I, we, she, he, they", etc. The only other thing necessary is a working vocabulary of things relevant to your specific tasks and goals.
For example, as a breakfast waitress, you want to be able to ask if they want their eggs, "scrambled or fried", if they want "more coffee", if everything is "alright", do they want "anything else", and the total of their bill in their own language!
If you sell real estate, you'll want to incorporate words like "mortgage, loan, co-sign, 30 year fixed", etc.
If you sell shoes, you need words like "how does that feel", are they "too tight, too loose, to short in the toe, to big", etc.
The longer you work at your job, the more your working vocabulary will improve.
6. Learn these two sentences and you'll be set for life . . . seriously!
"How do you say (blank)", in English (Spanish, French, etc.), and "What is that called?" (Point if you have to, and smile too). Smiling is a universal language. Once I learned how to ask these two questions, I was on my way to being conversant in the language of my choice!
I could use my limited vocabulary to ask the question and then when I got my answer I would repeat it a few times to make sure I was saying it correctly, and "BAM" I had a new vocabulary word. And, because I asked my question to the best of my ability in the native tongue, the natives realized my sincere desire to learn, and helped me!
7. What happens if you make a mistake?
Nothing. The world won't come to an end, and you haven't embarrassed yourself to the point where you can't show your face again. Just apologize if that's what's called for, or laugh at yourself, make the correction, and count it as a learning experience.
Once I was in a restaurant and I wanted to ask the waiter for a "to go" box, however, I was speaking to my kids in English, and trying to think of what I wanted to ask for in Spanish, and I promptly and incorrectly asked him for a "house to go". He looked at me kind of funny, but he was very courteous, and didn't laugh until I laughed.
I've committed other language faux pas as well over the years, all of which have been a learning experience, and if given enough time, will become a humorous story as well.
Learning a second language can be a very stressful and arduous task if you let it. Somehow, the words you learn in the books don't seem to apply very well to real life situations. Those small and seemingly un-important elements the show a person to be in command of not only the language, but the culture of the people who speak it cannot be adequately expressed by words on paper.
So, how do you learn these little secrets of mastering the ability to articulate yourself in another language?
Here are 5 proven techniques that will help you improve your English without even trying, if you are learning to speak English as a second language. Do they really work? Yes. I've tried them myself as I've had opportunity to live somewhere where English wasn't the primary language. I found it to be a fun, exciting, and painless way to learn both the language and the culture. The culture is simply learning the way the natives express their own words. The genuine accent, facial expressions, hand gestures, sighs, moans, groans, laughter, smirks, and other things that go along with everyday conversation.
Regardless of how extensive or not your vocabulary is, if you master the ability to "sound" like you know the language and can speak it, people will be more than generous to assist you.
1. Watch Movies!
Watching movies is always a fun thing to do. In order to get the most out of your movie watching experience, if your vocabulary is limited, watch a movie in English that you are very familiar with in your own language so you always know what's going on. Try not to translate as you go because you lose blocks of conversation this way. Instead, watch the picture and listen. Hear all the words, but determine what's going on by the pictures you see and the words you're hearing that you already know. Believe it or not, other words will sink in too, and so will the accent and everything else that went with what you saw and heard.
As your vocabulary grows, expand your movie selections to other movies you'd like to see but are only available in English. Try to be able to see the film more than once if possible.
According to the location and type of film you intend to view, you will be able to experience different accents, and other cultural expressions of the English language. Pick and choose the things that you think will suit you best. If it doesn't work out, pick and try something else! Have fun with yourself and your efforts.
2. Watch Soap Operas
The place where extreme expression and limited vocabulary meet! This is such a fascinating way to learn a foreign language. Every accessory that goes with the expression of a word is demonstrated on a soap opera. "Outrage" expressed with a word, facial expression or two, and perhaps even a subsequent face slap, all of that being understandable in any language. "Love", another universal subject, or violence, good versus evil can all be discerned quickly and easily on a soap opera. Plus, soap operas are naturally designed to allow anyone just tuning in to pick up the story quickly. The characters are easily loveable and deliciously "hate-able" so you turn to it again and again to see what's going on, and not only improve your English each time, but reinforce what you've already learned.
3. Read the Comics/Funny Papers
Very non-stressful! Pictures with words, or words with pictures, however you want to look at it, it's a great way to learn! For each thought presented there are words that match a picture, and vice versa. It doesn't matter if you read comic books, or the comics in the Sunday newspaper, read whatever will make you laugh and cause you to enjoy learning at the same time.
4. Read Children's books
If you know any little kids between the ages of 5-8, try reading one of their books to them. Usually little kids know their favorite books by heart, so if you stumble a little, they'll be able to help you.
If you enjoy this method of improving your English, and you find yourself to be pretty good at it, then try reading a few Dr. Seuss books. The rhyming will challenge you, but once you master it, your pronunciation of English, and your delivery will have been considerably refined and improved.
5. Take a service job like waiter or waitress; bartender, or sales person.
This type of job can be done if you have a decent vocabulary of verbs, and know how to say "I, we, she, he, they", etc. The only other thing necessary is a working vocabulary of things relevant to your specific tasks and goals.
For example, as a breakfast waitress, you want to be able to ask if they want their eggs, "scrambled or fried", if they want "more coffee", if everything is "alright", do they want "anything else", and the total of their bill in their own language!
If you sell real estate, you'll want to incorporate words like "mortgage, loan, co-sign, 30 year fixed", etc.
If you sell shoes, you need words like "how does that feel", are they "too tight, too loose, to short in the toe, to big", etc.
The longer you work at your job, the more your working vocabulary will improve.
6. Learn these two sentences and you'll be set for life . . . seriously!
"How do you say (blank)", in English (Spanish, French, etc.), and "What is that called?" (Point if you have to, and smile too). Smiling is a universal language. Once I learned how to ask these two questions, I was on my way to being conversant in the language of my choice!
I could use my limited vocabulary to ask the question and then when I got my answer I would repeat it a few times to make sure I was saying it correctly, and "BAM" I had a new vocabulary word. And, because I asked my question to the best of my ability in the native tongue, the natives realized my sincere desire to learn, and helped me!
7. What happens if you make a mistake?
Nothing. The world won't come to an end, and you haven't embarrassed yourself to the point where you can't show your face again. Just apologize if that's what's called for, or laugh at yourself, make the correction, and count it as a learning experience.
Once I was in a restaurant and I wanted to ask the waiter for a "to go" box, however, I was speaking to my kids in English, and trying to think of what I wanted to ask for in Spanish, and I promptly and incorrectly asked him for a "house to go". He looked at me kind of funny, but he was very courteous, and didn't laugh until I laughed.
I've committed other language faux pas as well over the years, all of which have been a learning experience, and if given enough time, will become a humorous story as well.
MUSIC - MOVIES - 2
I.Romancing The Stone Film Review
Romancing the Stone is an American 1984 action-adventure film.Directed by Robert Zemeckis, it stars Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito. This film was one of the best adventure/humor movies of the eighties. Not only did it boost the star rating of Michael Douglas, it helped launch Kathleen Turner into stardom. It also was Robert Zemeckis's first box office hit as a director.
The plot of the movie revolves around romance writer Joan Wilder, played by Kathleen Turner, who travels to Colombia to find her kidnapped sister. In time she falls in love with a soldier of fortune [Michael Douglas] and the two become romantically involved as they search for a precious stone which the kidnappers want.
The beginning of the film shows Joan receiving a package from her dead brother-in-law. Soon after the package arrives she gets a frantic call from her sister Elaine[Mary Ann Trainor] informing her that she has been kidnapped and needs the map from the package as ransom. Joan flies down to Columbia but she gets lost on the way to her destination. But eventually she runs into Jack T. Colton [Douglas] and offers him some money if he would help her find her way to Cartagena. He helps her to elude a few unsavory characters who seem to be following her.Oneof these villains just happens to be the leader of the secret police who is responsible for her brother-in-laws death. The other two zany characters are Ralph [Danny DeVito] and Ira [Zack Norman].
Jack uncovers the map that Joan is carrying and after some convincing she agrees to go after the treasure. They agree that after finding the treasure they can then give the worthless map to the kidnappers. After some unbelievable escapes, they eventually find the treasure which turns out to be an enormous emerald called the malevolent. Zolo and Ralph steal it from them but then the Colombian police show up. After getting the stone back from Ralph, Joan and Jack get separated but agree to meet at Joan's hotel in Cartagena, but when Jack doesn't show up, Joan starts to get worried.
She then meets her sister's captors[Ralph and Ira] and turns over the map. They are interrupted by Zolo who knows that the map is worthless. Zolo's men are holding Jack who refuses to disclose the location of the emerald. Zolo uses Joan as bait and tells Jack that if he refuses to disclose the emeralds location he will be forced to feed Joan to the crocodiles. Jack relents and gives up the gem and tosses it towards the crocodiles.Zolo catches the stone but his hand, along with the gem, ends up in one of the crocodiles stomach. A gunfight ensues between Zolo's men and Ira's men. This allows Joan, Elaine and Jack to escape. After a prolonged fight with Zolo's men, Ira and his men escape, but Ralph is left behind.
Zolo catches Joan and Elaine. Joan tries to kill Zolo with his own switchblade,but Zolo blocks the thrown knife with a piece of wood. After Elaine faints from the sight, Joan pleads for Jack's help. He must decide whether to save her or hold onto the croc which has ingested El Corazon. He decides to try to save Joan by scaling a rock wall to reach her. However, he arrives moments after Zolo falls into a pit full of crocodiles. Seeing that the women are safe, Jack leaves to pursue El Corazon once more.
Joan then returners home to New York where she is confronted with lonely feeling towards Jack. She writes a hit novel based on her recent adventures. But one day, as she is returning home she is confronted by Jack,who is wearing crocodile skin boots, waiting for her in a sailboat that is parked on the main street in front of her apartment. It seems that Jack managed to catch the croc who had swallowed the gem. The croc had suffered a fatal case of indigestion from swallowing the gem. The ending is a not so typical love story showing Joan and Jack kissing on the deck of the Angelina, which was named for Joan's fictional heroine, as the trailer that the boat rests on drives off into the streets of N.Y. City.
Romancing the Stone is an American 1984 action-adventure film.Directed by Robert Zemeckis, it stars Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito. This film was one of the best adventure/humor movies of the eighties. Not only did it boost the star rating of Michael Douglas, it helped launch Kathleen Turner into stardom. It also was Robert Zemeckis's first box office hit as a director.
The plot of the movie revolves around romance writer Joan Wilder, played by Kathleen Turner, who travels to Colombia to find her kidnapped sister. In time she falls in love with a soldier of fortune [Michael Douglas] and the two become romantically involved as they search for a precious stone which the kidnappers want.
The beginning of the film shows Joan receiving a package from her dead brother-in-law. Soon after the package arrives she gets a frantic call from her sister Elaine[Mary Ann Trainor] informing her that she has been kidnapped and needs the map from the package as ransom. Joan flies down to Columbia but she gets lost on the way to her destination. But eventually she runs into Jack T. Colton [Douglas] and offers him some money if he would help her find her way to Cartagena. He helps her to elude a few unsavory characters who seem to be following her.Oneof these villains just happens to be the leader of the secret police who is responsible for her brother-in-laws death. The other two zany characters are Ralph [Danny DeVito] and Ira [Zack Norman].
Jack uncovers the map that Joan is carrying and after some convincing she agrees to go after the treasure. They agree that after finding the treasure they can then give the worthless map to the kidnappers. After some unbelievable escapes, they eventually find the treasure which turns out to be an enormous emerald called the malevolent. Zolo and Ralph steal it from them but then the Colombian police show up. After getting the stone back from Ralph, Joan and Jack get separated but agree to meet at Joan's hotel in Cartagena, but when Jack doesn't show up, Joan starts to get worried.
She then meets her sister's captors[Ralph and Ira] and turns over the map. They are interrupted by Zolo who knows that the map is worthless. Zolo's men are holding Jack who refuses to disclose the location of the emerald. Zolo uses Joan as bait and tells Jack that if he refuses to disclose the emeralds location he will be forced to feed Joan to the crocodiles. Jack relents and gives up the gem and tosses it towards the crocodiles.Zolo catches the stone but his hand, along with the gem, ends up in one of the crocodiles stomach. A gunfight ensues between Zolo's men and Ira's men. This allows Joan, Elaine and Jack to escape. After a prolonged fight with Zolo's men, Ira and his men escape, but Ralph is left behind.
Zolo catches Joan and Elaine. Joan tries to kill Zolo with his own switchblade,but Zolo blocks the thrown knife with a piece of wood. After Elaine faints from the sight, Joan pleads for Jack's help. He must decide whether to save her or hold onto the croc which has ingested El Corazon. He decides to try to save Joan by scaling a rock wall to reach her. However, he arrives moments after Zolo falls into a pit full of crocodiles. Seeing that the women are safe, Jack leaves to pursue El Corazon once more.
Joan then returners home to New York where she is confronted with lonely feeling towards Jack. She writes a hit novel based on her recent adventures. But one day, as she is returning home she is confronted by Jack,who is wearing crocodile skin boots, waiting for her in a sailboat that is parked on the main street in front of her apartment. It seems that Jack managed to catch the croc who had swallowed the gem. The croc had suffered a fatal case of indigestion from swallowing the gem. The ending is a not so typical love story showing Joan and Jack kissing on the deck of the Angelina, which was named for Joan's fictional heroine, as the trailer that the boat rests on drives off into the streets of N.Y. City.
MUSIC-MOVIES - 1
I.For Romance Without Any Stress, "Sleepless in Seattle" Is the Cure
If you were celebrating Valentines Day with a candlelight dinner for two at home and settled in to watch a movie, "Sleepless in Seattle" would be a great choice because it provides a pleasant experience and is already becoming a romantic comedy classic.
Your parents or grandparents experienced a similar story line in the now classic "An Affair to Remember" that was released in 1957 and paired Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. Their characters fall in love and agree to meet in 6 months at the Empire State Building in New York.
Sleepless in Seattle, released 36 years later in 1993, pairs Tom Hanks as Sam Baldwin and Meg Ryan as Annie Reed. Sam is the recently-widowed father of 8-year-old Jonah Baldwin (Ross Malinger), who calls a nationally-broadcast radio talk show in an attempt to find his lonely father a partner.
A somewhat reluctant Sam talks to host Marcia Fieldstone and thousands of single women across America are suddenly drawn in to Sam's sense of love for his former wife, each wishing she could be as cherished as Sam's next special person. To wit:
Doctor Marcia Fieldstone: Tell me what was so special about your wife?
Sam Baldwin: Well, how long is your program? Well, it was a million tiny little things that, when you added them all up, they meant we were supposed to be together . . .and I knew it. I knew it the very first time I touched her. It was like coming home . . . only to no home I'd ever known . . .I was just taking her hand to help her out of a car and I knew. It was like . . . magic.
If that dialog does not melt every woman's heart she would need to go straight to "The Wizard of Oz" and receive a new transplant. Soon Sam is getting thousands of letters from wannabe partners, all of which are read by his son Jonah, who decides that "Annie" is the best choice.
Annie is engaged to marry Walter (Bill Pullman). Should she do so she would be making the first great mistake of her life. Walter is a decent enough chap, but Annie is missing any sparks in their relationship because Walter has the personality of an ashtray.
Annie goes to great lengths to meet Sam, flying from New York to Seattle only to discover Sam with another woman, whom she mistakes for a love interest. She never mails a letter she has written to Sam, but her friend does. In it she proposes to meet Sam on top of the Empire State Building.
Sam is not interested in going, but his son Jonah is, so, with the help of his new friend whose parents own a travel agency, he is able to book a flight to the Big Apple and ends up on the observation deck of the Empire State Building looking for Annie. Sam, in a panic, to find his son, follows him to New York. The rest you will have to see.
Hanks is very convincing as a forlorn widower and Ryan was at her peak of being cute and innocent. The chemistry between the two, who only share approximately 2 minutes of screen time together, is great.
The role of Annie was originally offered to Julia Roberts but she turned it town. Kim Basinger, who was also offered the part, turned it down because she thought the premise was ridiculous. Just recently in the news, a youngster in Jonah's peer group did exactly what Jonah did, managed to book flight on a major airline and fly undetected. Life is indeed stranger than fiction.
The screenplay for Sleepless in Seattle was written in part by Nora Ephron, who also wrote "When Harry Met Sally" (another great romantic comedy with Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal). Ephron directed the film.
Ephron, David S. Ward and Jeff Arch (who did write the story) were nominated for an Oscar for Best Screenplay, and the film received another nomination for Best Original Song ("A Wink and a Smile"). Sleepless in Seattle also got Golden Globe nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor (Tom Hanks) and Best Actress (Meg Ryan).
Sleepless in Seattle cost $21 million to film and grossed $227 million worldwide at the box office, adding another $65+ million in rentals.
Tom Hanks is the gold standard in acting. He has been nominated for 5 Best Actor Oscars (Big, Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan and Cast Away) and won twice for "Philadelphia" and "Forrest Gump". Hanks also has won 4 Best Actor Golden Globes for Big, Philadelphia, Forrest Gump and Cast Away.
His films have grossed more than $3.3 billion. He remains only 1 of 3 actors to have 7 consecutive $100 million domestic blockbusters; the other two are Tom Cruise and Will Smith.
Sleepless in Seattle is viewed by many guys as a "chick flick" but not by me. I consider it an outstanding relationship film with a great story line that proves to be a pleasant viewing experience every time I see it again. If a guy has ever been in love and felt the magic, he will appreciate this film a lot more.
If you were celebrating Valentines Day with a candlelight dinner for two at home and settled in to watch a movie, "Sleepless in Seattle" would be a great choice because it provides a pleasant experience and is already becoming a romantic comedy classic.
Your parents or grandparents experienced a similar story line in the now classic "An Affair to Remember" that was released in 1957 and paired Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. Their characters fall in love and agree to meet in 6 months at the Empire State Building in New York.
Sleepless in Seattle, released 36 years later in 1993, pairs Tom Hanks as Sam Baldwin and Meg Ryan as Annie Reed. Sam is the recently-widowed father of 8-year-old Jonah Baldwin (Ross Malinger), who calls a nationally-broadcast radio talk show in an attempt to find his lonely father a partner.
A somewhat reluctant Sam talks to host Marcia Fieldstone and thousands of single women across America are suddenly drawn in to Sam's sense of love for his former wife, each wishing she could be as cherished as Sam's next special person. To wit:
Doctor Marcia Fieldstone: Tell me what was so special about your wife?
Sam Baldwin: Well, how long is your program? Well, it was a million tiny little things that, when you added them all up, they meant we were supposed to be together . . .and I knew it. I knew it the very first time I touched her. It was like coming home . . . only to no home I'd ever known . . .I was just taking her hand to help her out of a car and I knew. It was like . . . magic.
If that dialog does not melt every woman's heart she would need to go straight to "The Wizard of Oz" and receive a new transplant. Soon Sam is getting thousands of letters from wannabe partners, all of which are read by his son Jonah, who decides that "Annie" is the best choice.
Annie is engaged to marry Walter (Bill Pullman). Should she do so she would be making the first great mistake of her life. Walter is a decent enough chap, but Annie is missing any sparks in their relationship because Walter has the personality of an ashtray.
Annie goes to great lengths to meet Sam, flying from New York to Seattle only to discover Sam with another woman, whom she mistakes for a love interest. She never mails a letter she has written to Sam, but her friend does. In it she proposes to meet Sam on top of the Empire State Building.
Sam is not interested in going, but his son Jonah is, so, with the help of his new friend whose parents own a travel agency, he is able to book a flight to the Big Apple and ends up on the observation deck of the Empire State Building looking for Annie. Sam, in a panic, to find his son, follows him to New York. The rest you will have to see.
Hanks is very convincing as a forlorn widower and Ryan was at her peak of being cute and innocent. The chemistry between the two, who only share approximately 2 minutes of screen time together, is great.
The role of Annie was originally offered to Julia Roberts but she turned it town. Kim Basinger, who was also offered the part, turned it down because she thought the premise was ridiculous. Just recently in the news, a youngster in Jonah's peer group did exactly what Jonah did, managed to book flight on a major airline and fly undetected. Life is indeed stranger than fiction.
The screenplay for Sleepless in Seattle was written in part by Nora Ephron, who also wrote "When Harry Met Sally" (another great romantic comedy with Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal). Ephron directed the film.
Ephron, David S. Ward and Jeff Arch (who did write the story) were nominated for an Oscar for Best Screenplay, and the film received another nomination for Best Original Song ("A Wink and a Smile"). Sleepless in Seattle also got Golden Globe nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor (Tom Hanks) and Best Actress (Meg Ryan).
Sleepless in Seattle cost $21 million to film and grossed $227 million worldwide at the box office, adding another $65+ million in rentals.
Tom Hanks is the gold standard in acting. He has been nominated for 5 Best Actor Oscars (Big, Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan and Cast Away) and won twice for "Philadelphia" and "Forrest Gump". Hanks also has won 4 Best Actor Golden Globes for Big, Philadelphia, Forrest Gump and Cast Away.
His films have grossed more than $3.3 billion. He remains only 1 of 3 actors to have 7 consecutive $100 million domestic blockbusters; the other two are Tom Cruise and Will Smith.
Sleepless in Seattle is viewed by many guys as a "chick flick" but not by me. I consider it an outstanding relationship film with a great story line that proves to be a pleasant viewing experience every time I see it again. If a guy has ever been in love and felt the magic, he will appreciate this film a lot more.
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