This Saturday marks the last day for the AbundaTrade.com Video Contest! Participants were asked to make a short 30 sec0nd to 3 minute YouTube video about crazy ways to make money. There have been a couple of great entries but there’s still time to enter.
Got to http://abundatrade.com/abundatrade-video-contest.php to get the full details on how you can enter to win the grand prize of $1000. There’s not much time left . Good luck!
We’ve started a VIDEO CONTEST and you can enter for a chance to win $1000 cold, hard cash. Okay, more like $1000 temperate, papery check, but you get the point. We’re giving away money!
It’s easy to enter. Make a short video, 30 seconds to 2 minutes long, and tell us about some of the cool or interesting things you’ve done to make money, or about ways you can trade or recycle the old media in your house. Of course the best way is most likely AbundaTrade.com, but we’re leaving it open for interpretation. If you put a donkey in there you’ll probably get a few extra points from yours truly.
Once you finish your video, submit it to out YouTube page and tell your friends to vote for your video. The videos with the top 10 views make it to the final cut and will get a chance to win the $1000 grand prize!
You don’t have to be a professional or use schnazzy animation; just be creative and be yourself. We look forward to seeing your videos!
AbundaTrade.com Donkey
Spoleto Festival USA is almost at an end. Each year Charleston hosts some of the biggest names in the cultured arts for one of the world’s premier festivals. Throughout the two-week festival AbundaTrade’s very own Lindsay Koob has been writing about and critiquing some of the performances for the Charleston City Paper. The following is an excerpt from one of his reviews.
Many members of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra are promising virtuosi in their own right. In this delightful program, select players will step out in front of the orchestra as soloists, in a program of concerti led by Spoleto Artistic Associate, John Kennedy, an internationally regarded composer and conductor.
St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church was nearly full for Sunday’s opening concert of the dependable Intermezzi series. Conductor Pierre Vallet led members of the Spoleto Festival Orchestra in an absolutely ravishing program of French and German classics for small orchestra — including a fascinating rarity.
The concert began peacefully, with a fairly familiar short piece by Frenchman Gabriel Fauré: his serene and bittersweet Pavane in F-sharp Minor. The pavane is a fairly slow processional dance of Spanish origin that was practiced in Renaissance-era courts across southern Europe and England, but it survives only in musical form. This example is one of Fauré’s signature works, typical of his generally gentle and lyrical approach to music. The opening flute melody — supported by soft and gently lilting dance-rhythms from the orchestra — brought smiles to most faces in the crowd; you could almost hear their collective sigh. Vallet and company made an utterly beautiful thing of it.
I can’t understand why the consistently well-crafted and engaging music of Fauré’s fellow Frenchman (and contemporary) Albert Roussel has fallen into relative obscurity, especially after hearing the next piece: his vibrant and highly appealing Concerto for Small Orchestra. I’ve never heard this compact, three-movement gem before, but now I’ll be on the prowl for a good recording of it. But no matter who plays it, I can hardly imagine any performance I can find being better than this one.
You can describe this music as a modern concerto grosso: the Baroque-era precursor of the modern concerto. From beginning to end, assorted individual players from all sections of the band (plus duos and other small sub-ensembles), darted in and out of the orchestral textures in concertante style, delivering mostly fleeting solo snippets. The two short and lively outer movements were saucy and frolicsome, framing a longer (and slower) central episode that came across as gauzy and atmospheric, with an air of mystery to it. The chugging and propulsive finale had energy to burn. Since the SFO is (in the words of Maestro Emmanuel Villaume) an “orchestra of virtuosos,” it was no surprise that all of the solo passages were executed perfectly, with both feeling and flair. And you could tell that they were having a ball with it.
The program’s final and most substantial work was the great Ludwig van Beethoven’s marvelous Symphony No. 4, a work that’s long been overshadowed by the master’s weightier symphonies: like his third, fifth, seventh, or ninth. Yet his fellow composers have long praised this one as being a finely-chiseled, glittering mini-masterpiece that deserves a lot more attention than it gets. It may be hard for some of you to imagine this kind of sparkling wit and humor coming from a composer we usually think of as a crusty old curmudgeon, but Beethoven actually loved playing musical jokes (he did likewise in his later Symphony No. 8, which we’ll be hearing from the SFO later in the festival).
And this symphony begins with just such a joke: a glowering and ominous slow passage that shifts on a dime into an incredibly joyous musical tumble that — in the SFO’s capable hands — positively crackled with energy and rollicking good spirits. The second movement is a paragon of dreamy, highly lyrical musical contentment, and the SFO’s players delivered it with smooth, burnished sound and particularly exquisite phrasing. Beethoven saved his best jokes for the following Menuetto episode: a propulsive game of musical tag that’s full of sudden surprises. That happy mood continued with the scurrying and intermittently explosive finale. Vallet and company caught the sudden contrasts between soft and loud perfectly. This is really fast music, and Vallet kept a well-nigh perfect tempo going. Fast enough to capture the music’s effervescent essence and keep its headlong drive going, without pushing the limits of his players (which is hard to do when you’re talking SFO).
It was a wonderful way to end my musical day: I drove home afterwards with a dancing soul and a huge smile on my face. Bravo, bravissimo to Maestro and musicians alike.
Yes, it is a privileged life we lead here at AbundaTrade world headquarters. With a generally mild year-round climate—save the occasional life-altering hurricane—we are surrounded by lush, sub-tropical vegetation, and graced with regular sightings of native critters, such as bobcats, osprey, and all manner of lizards. As if that wasn’t enough, we are the direct beneficiaries of the burgeoning baking skills of one of our very own coworkers.
By day, Erika is an integral member of AbundaTrade’s trade department, assessing the condition of incoming items and compiling valuation statistics for the AbundaTrade number crunchers. At the end of the workday (or sometimes before it even begins) she is a kitchen alchemist, transforming ordinary flour, milk, and sugar into confectionary gold. She fits her baking into the free space of her schedule, which tends to be at night, sometimes as late as one a.m., or in the early morning, between six and eight o’clock. With an arsenal of tools, including zesters, a hand whisk, and her trusty baking dictionary, she practices her science; we are her willing test subjects.
Finding inspiration and guidance from both of her grandmothers, Erika began baking in earnest a mere seven months ago. She has had no formal training and, admittedly, was rather ignorant of the ways of the cake pan. But her mentors are wise and her will is strong; she has made considerable progress. Some of her favorite recipes come from the “Better Homes & Garden New Cookbook, Limited Edition for Breast Cancer Awareness,” which features recipes from those who have been affected by breast cancer. However, the two recipes that she holds in the highest of regard are not to be found in any book: Grandma Geneva’s caramel cake, and Grandma Vinny Mae’s apple pie. Although we think Erika is tops, she feels she still has much more to learn before attempting either of those paragons of pastries. At least, not until she acquires a proper sifter.
In the meantime we will be more than satisfied with the Oreo cream cheese pies, sweet potato chocolate chip creme cookies, red, white & blueberry shortcakes, or any of the other delectable treats she sets out for us in the AbundaTrade break room. Bake on!
There’s a group of folks doing good work in Charleston today…and they may be heading your way! From what I gather, they are modeled on other popular walk-, run-, or swim- “a-thons” for which donations are collected on behalf of various worthwhile causes. In this case, Bike & Build participants take it one step further. In addition to raising funds for their cause–affordable housing–they actually engage in house building projects along their bicycle route.
Bike & Build offers several multi-state and cross-country routes each summer, with a variety of origination and destination points. The 4100 cycling route that departs, tomorrow, from Charleston, South Carolina, will travel through the South, across the High Plains, over the Rocky Mountains, and peak into the Northwest, before finishing on the Pacific coast, about ten weeks later, in Santa Cruz, California. Their schedule will incorporate 16 days of house building in various communities along the way, in conjunction with local housing organizations. This route will feature a multi-day “Blitz Build” with Pike’s Peak Habitat for Humanity in Colorado Springs, which will result in the completion of an entire house.
The first day of building for Bike & Build SC2SC (South Carolina to Santa Cruz) is here in the Charleston area. Tomorrow, Thursday, May 27, they will put down the hammers and begin pedaling westward. Other building stops will occur in or near such cities as Decatur, Alabama; Little Rock, Arkansas; Provo, Utah; and Boise, Idaho.
To learn how to join an upcoming ride, or to see how you might support some riders along their route, visit the official Bike & Build website. Interested in donating the trade value of your used CDs, DVDs, books, or video games to Bike & Build? It’s easy! Visit our AbundaFundraiser page for details.
The construction is almost complete and we should be able to start moving in to our new space next week! Our current space is practically busting at the seams so this building expansion was very much needed. This will almost double our warehouse space and will give a little bit of elbow room to our hardworking shipping department.
We will of course be posting new pics of our move as soon as we get approval that the space is ready. Nothing says fun like moving several thousand boxes of CDs, DVD, books, and video games!
Living in the South Carolina low country means that we are surrounded by water that can manifest itself in forms such as rivers, creeks, ponds, lakes, marshes, and swamps. You can’t drive very far down the road before encountering some form of liquid. While this makes for an incredibly beautiful area to live and play in, it does have its disadvantages. Namely, bugs.
If you’ve ever spent some time in our neck of the woods you understand that bug repellent here is a MUST. We have all varieties of blood sucking flying beasts. I am a walking example of the harm that these critters can cause. Within minutes of walking outside I find myself slapping at my arms and legs to keep the infuriating buggers away.
Besides your regular swamp variety mosquitoes we also have biting gnats, deer flies, and sand midges. I have decided that these species of animalia are my new nemeses. I was unsure of their purpose in the natural world (other than annoying me) until I did a little research. It seems that most of these Culicidae (from the Latin culex) are actually nectar feeders. The females in the species CAN bite and drink blood, and normally do so to help with the production of eggs.
I am an avid animal and nature lover, but I can’t quite come to terms with the sacrifice I must make on behalf of this species. I’m not sure what it is about me that they like so much. I could be outside with a group of five other people and I will be the only person munched on while the others are magically bite-free. As I currently look out my office window I spy eight mosquitoes looking for a way in so they can drain my body of its fluids. It’s supremely unfair.
The only good news is that the sand midges (who actually bite chunks of your skin as opposed to a little prick) seemed to have settled down long enough for my wounds to turn to scars. However there are all sorts of creepy crawlies lying in wait to attack us. We might be 10,00 times bigger than they are, but they are still gross and give us the heebie-jeebies.
If you’re looking for a good creep-me-out-on-a-Friday-night movie you might try one of the following:
Arachnaphobia (1990)- One of the creepiest, crawliest movies out there. Besides being a genuinely good edge of your seat movie, John Goodman became a childhood hero of mine after watching this movie.
Bug (2006)- This movie, starring Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon, tops my list of weirdest bug movies ever. This is a psychological thriller that will leave your skin crawling.
Starship Troopers (1997)- Giant alien bugs eating your brains. Nuff said.
The Fly (1986)- Though the original is pretty good, the remake is much freakier and you can’t really beat that scene when Jeff Goldbum first walks out of the machine. Priceless.
Slither (2006)- A great combination of horror and comedy, this movie will have you checking under your bathtub before you get in.
Candyman (1992)- Not really a movie about scary bugs. But it is scary and involves a copious amount of bees.
and a couple of more family friendly options:
A Bug’s Life (1998)- Disney does what they do but this time it’s with bugs. Undeniably cute and charming story.
Antz (1998)- Who knew Woody Allen would make a more lovable bug than person? Adults get more out of this one then kids.
The Tick- You’ve got your pick of the 1994 cartoon series or the 1998 live action version starring Patrick Warburton (Seinfeld) and Nestor Carbonell (Lost). One of the funniest TV shows to ever get canceled in their first season.
***Buy your favorite movies from AbundaTrade.com***
As part of the 40th annual observance of Earth Day, PBS recently produced a really interesting documentary entitled, appropriately, “Earth Days.” Beyond simply detailing the creation of Earth Day, it examines the development of environmentalism in American society and politics. It considers the headline-grabbing environmental disasters that shaped public perception, and points out some of the prominent politicians and corporations that passed on — or outright derailed — significant opportunities for environmental progress.
While certainly being pro-environment (really, who doesn’t want a clean, healthy place to live?) the producers do take care to point out some of the failures of the movement. The naive and often ill-fated attempts of city-raised hippies to go “back to the land”was one such example. Another example cited was the lack of vision on the part of certain sectors of the tree-hugging crowd. Rather than engage the public — including the lumber companies and, especially, their employees — in constructive negotiations that could have saved jobs as well as trees, discourse all too often gave way to angry confrontations of protesters pitted against family wage earners. I also appreciated the acknowledgment that technology, while considered a threat to many in the early days of the environmental movement, it is now one of its greatest assets.
So, this Earth Day, after you build a bat house, change your light bulbs, or help clean your favorite natural space, go find yourself a copy of “Earth Days.” It’s available for purchase from the PBS website and you should soon be able to borrow it from your local public library.
Until then, here is a very brief and limited history and time line of the American environmental movement. Of course, I have surely missed more than a few things. Also, many of the concepts were originally borrowed from other countries and cultures, and many more have since added their own contributions. Please share any milestones you feel I’ve overlooked; and to our readers outside the U.S., please share some of your own countries’ environmental highlights.
The seeds of the modern American environmental movement were planted even before the United States was officially formed. Most commonly addressing the need for conservation, those seeds bore names such as Benjamin Franklin, David Thoreau, John Muir, President Theodore Roosevelt, and Aldo Leopold, and continued to sprout through the generations. Out of the basic concept of conservation, which focuses on preserving specific resources for later use, the broader concept of environmentalism developed as a movement to live in such ways that prevent, or at least reduce, the damage done to the Earth’s ecosystems, with the intention of benefiting all organisms.
As America emerged from the horrors and hardships of World War II into the 1950s, many believed that science would lead to a new era of unlimited progress and prosperity. However, others were coming to the realization that unbalanced and unchecked growth and consumption would result in devastating consequences for the Earth and its inhabitants.
The Sierra Club launched their Exhibit Format Book Series in 1960 with the publication of This is the American Earth, featuring the photography of Ansel Adams, with text by Nancy Newhall. Adding visual impact to the public dialogue, this book series helped encourage the passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964.
Silent Spring, written by scientist Rachel Carson, generated awareness about the unintended consequences of chemicals used in fertilizers and the plight of America’s national symbol, the bald eagle. The book remains nearly as controversial today as it did when first published in 1962.
President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Wilderness Act of 1964. It established a national wilderness system on federal lands and provided protection of wild places, as expressed by the official federal definition of wilderness:
“A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.”
In 1969, while viewing the damage caused by a large oil spill along the coast of Santa Barbara, California, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson was inspired to call for a national environmental “teach-in” at every American university. This led to the first annual Earth Day observance in 1970.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1970 by President Richard Nixon.
A photo of the Earth taken during the Apollo 17 space mission in 1972 is credited with giving people a much more holistic vision of the Earth and a better sense of its frailty.
The Endangered Species Act was signed into law in 1973 by President Richard Nixon.
Woodbury, New Jersey, became the first city in the U.S. to mandate recycling with the passage of a municipal ordinance in 1980.
2010: Once a very radical concept environmentalism is now mainstream. It is also at once, both international and intensely local. While world leaders meet at global summits to address greenhouse emissions, farmers markets featuring only those products raised and crafted within a given local region are becoming ever more popular.
“Reduce, reuse, and recycle” is becoming a common mantra. AbundaTrade is trying to help the cause by promoting reCommerce as a viable business model that saves you money. When you buy and trade with AbundaTrade, you help support our efforts.
Have a great Earth Day…every day!
There’s a bizarre and sad, but hopeful, story making a buzz out of Valdez, Alaska. A pair of bald eagles were engaged in a courtship ritual in which they lock talons mid-air and spin while free falling. The plan is for the eagles to separate and catch flight just before hitting the ground.
Anyone familiar with the springtime shenanigans of twitterpated teenagers knows that things don’t always turn out as planned. These eagles were so caught up in the moment, they missed their exit cue and slammed into the packed snow. Sadly, the male died as a result, giving credence to the “death spiral,” which is used to describe this daring behavior. The female, though badly injured, is expected to live. She is undergoing rehabilitation at the Bird Treatment and Learning Center in Anchorage. If she makes a full recovery, they will release her to the wild.
This story made me think of my visits to the Center for Birds of Prey, here in Charleston. They, too, provide rehabilitation for injured bald eagles and other wild birds found throughout the southeastern coast of the United States. They also offer excellent educational opportunities for visitors to their facility, and through their outreach to schools and other community organizations.
The Alaskan bald eagles I described earlier suffered injuries in a purely natural manner; that is not often the case. Most bird injuries are human related, whether through actual malice, ignorant carelessness, or just the simple reality of our world encroaching on theirs livelihood. You can support the good work of either aforementioned bird center by donating, volunteering, or just learning what we can do in our daily lives to help reduce the number of injured birds. Please visit the links I’ve provided, above, for more information.
Another way to support these bird centers, or any other 501(c)3 non-profit organization, is with AbundaTrade’s Fund A Cause program. When you trade in used movies, music, books, and video games to AbundaTrade, tell us that you want to participate in Fund A Cause and we will donate your trade value to the non-profit of your choosing.
Speaking of birds of prey, we have enjoyed the return of nesting ospreys that are perched atop a telecom tower outside AbundaTrade world headquarters. In the woods on the other side of our building, is what we believe to be a falcon. It has a nest in one of the taller trees and was seen fighting with three crows the other day. We’ll post some photos if we can get a good shot of them.
To encourage the philosophy of reCommerce, abundaTrade.com is offering a $10 shipping reimbursement for all CD, DVD, Video Game, and Book trades totaling $50 or more.