I have a query that has left me puzzled.

I have recently discovered pay-per-post and their ilk for creating a bit of buzz around a companies products, but does anyone know if I can find blog writers on an international basis. I’m particularly interested in Arabic and Chinese bloggers. But where should I begin to look?

I sometimes forget how long it takes to actually produce materials for teaching English.

So about a year ago I decided to get down to business & actually put together an idea that I had the year before. This got me excited as I worked on the project, so excited that I started to think about another older idea I had had.

The outcome – I have managaed to produce 2 new titles at about the same time.

I never ever want to do it that way again. Boy was this a struggle at times – but I’ve got there!

So Hero or Villain & Silly Season (Odds & Ends) are now about to be tested for the next 6-12 months being being released on the public.

I think the concept behind both is a sound ELT idea – but as the saying goes the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

The content:

Hero or Villain is actually a very old idea I’ve had for sometime. It is a set of 10 lesson plans based on student research into the past lives of people. Some famous & well known – others probably unheard off to a majority of the learners.

The premise for this work is restricted writing & discussion with a strong research emphasis.

Odds & Ends is the first in a series that will be looking at people in a more general context – this first publication is a collection of news stories that I wrote when I worked as a journalist in southern Spain.

I wrote 2 columns for a local paper that centered on the more abstract & bizarre stories from around the world. I’ve used the collection to compile a set of 60 short reading & discussion exercises. Now this will be a little controversial in that I am encouraging learners to use their mother tongue to translate any new vocabulary.

I’m a strong believer in using language 1 as an agent in adult learning.
I just hope the tests prove me right!!

It ain’t often I get touched by a love story.

But it ain’t often that I read about a couple who so obviously loved each other as much as these two Americans:

Mr Richard & Mrs Mildred Love, the later who died earlier this month aged 68.

I guess it isn’t easy for us living in the west today to imagine what the hell of segregation must have been like. But to have fallen in love with someone forbidden, someone of the wrong colour must have been hell.

I’m thankful I met my partner when I did.

Which is why I felt saddened when I read the Economist newspapers obituary to Mildred Love, toward the end of the article the writer states:

Her widowhood was long, after Richard was killed in a car accident in 1975, but she never thought of replacing him. They loved each other. (The Economist 17-23 May p.96)

But then my thoughts turn to all the societies that exist today with their false walls, conditions and religious rigour that impose norms that are extreme & demanding.

Last night I had to endure the shouts of a family being torn apart by a wayward daughter & her widowed father. Last night I heard again the younger sister who simply makes noise to block out the shouting.

I’m thankful I feel love every time I think of my partner.

I’m thankful to have been born at a time in Europe we are relatively balanced, relaxed & in many ways outright lazy – because we can be!

I’m interested in finding out more about biological toilets that use no (or very little) water.

Does anyone have any organisations that may be able to help me find out more. Commercial or not?

How come we don’t see the wood for the trees?

Why must we as a civil society make such a hash of things?

I never understood why so many people wanted to live in London. I tried it for a year back in the late 90’s but found the place way over bearing, obnoxious & really aggressive (& that was just the people begging).

But I’m in the process of reading ‘Natural Capitalism’ by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins & L. Hunter Lovins & it suddenly dawned on me that we really are useless at seeing or standing up for what is really important & what really matters.

Most of us trudge along as though all is right, not caring or giving a damn about the consequences of our actions. I think in all honesty, it boils down to laziness.

With so much information to our finger tips we begin to switch off from the world & narrow our area of concentration to the point that we no longer see the real (big) picture of what is really happening out there – all around us.

To combat this I have subscribed to 2 contrasting publications.

- The Economist, a conservative pro-capitalism weekly newspaper.

- The New Internationalist, a pro-rights anti-capitalism monthly magazine.

I should state straight away that I’m not anti-capitalist, I believe that capitalism coupled with democracy can be a used for great good. But I also strongly believe in defending the rights of peoples to a fair government that will help nurture a stronger civil society.

Lets see what happens, maybe I’ll end up totally contradicting myself with schizophrenic conversations & blog entries!

No you won’t.

I could.

You won’t.

Yes, but I could….aaaaaaaaaghhhhh!

This is the first post from me – & I was hoping it might be a bit more positive!

I wonder if anyone knows of an alternative to ebay for selling stuff.

I produce materials for ELT (English Language Teaching) like games & books.

I have sold around 20 through ebay but admit I failed to read their small print properly. They do not allow books or stuff to be sold electronically (for downloading) due to piracy & copyright infringement.

Now I completely agree with this, I understand they are a reputable auction site defending the rights of copyright owners. However these materials are my own works, written & produced by me for sale through my ebay account (as well as through my own web page).

I want to sell them electronically as this greatly reduces the materials carbon footprint & allows the client to store the materials until needed in a very easy to use format.

If anyone knows of alternatives to ebay please let me know.