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JerseySmarts.com

Do You Remember the “Little Mister” Books?

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Sometimes when I’m bored, I like to walk through the local Barnes & Noble store and see what’s going on. I like Barnes & Noble – there’s a lot of fun stuff in that store and lately, you never know what type of books you’ll stumble upon. For example, when I was in there last week I noticed that the folks behind the “Little Mister” books are publishing them again. Take a look:

      

Do you remember these books? Mr. Happy, Mr. Noisy, Mr. Funny, etc. I saw them in the store the other day and it was like a throwback to my childhood so I had to snap a picture and post it here on the blog to share with everyone. Did anyone else read those books? I think that my Mom bought me most of them – they were entertaining for a little kid!

Bloggers Unite Campaign for Juvenile Arthritis Awareness

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Good morning, folks. We’re back again with another New Jersey statewide blogger campaign. This time, Garden state bloggers have united to spread the word about New Jersey native Kelly Rouba’s debut book about juvenile arthritis entitled Juvenile Arthritis: The Ultimate Teen Guide (It Happened to Me). Below are some additional pieces of information that you may not know about juvenile arthritis. [Read more…]

Google Book Search is an Amazing Service

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Whether the masses know it or not, Google has been recreating the Library of Alexandria in an online format. While it is still a work in progress, the Google Book Search is home to hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of printed documents that have been digitized for your searching needs. In terms of actual books, works that are out of copyright are available for full download and printing at no cost to the user.

The applications of the Google Book Search are almost endless. The first things that pop into my mind are the English classes that I had to take in college. Well, not the classes themselves, but the hundreds if not thousands of dollars that I spent on books. Take Shakespeare – I had to buy two different anthologies of Shakespeare titles. In the mean time, Google Book Search has the entire works of William Shakespeare available for full download. Full download! Come on!

I could easily be in a few thousand dollars LESS of student loan debt if this service was available ten years ago, damn it.

Since I know a lot of college students (and those who talk to college students) find their way on to my blog, I’m making the strong recommendation that you check Google Book Search for the texts needed in your literature and English classes before you go spending hundreds of dollars on anthologies. Speaking as someone who is in a great deal of student loan debt, trust me – every little bit counts when trying to save money in college!

Book Review: A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity

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In his latest printed offering, A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity, FOX News television host Bill O’Reilly takes his readers on a trip down his own, personal memory lane. The book covers O’Reilly’s experiences growing up in a working class family and as a member of a working class community. The reader is also given some insight into his experiences as a young Catholic school student and as a regular guy in society.

Now while there are certain people out there who immediately write off any product put out by O’Reilly as right-wing propaganda, I have to admit that reading the man’s history gives a clear indication of how he grew up to become the person that he is today – both politically and as a broadcast entertainer. Growing up in the typical working class family, O’Reilly had to fend for himself when playing outside and didn’t have overbearing adults watching over every move he made. Some would argue that the problem with today’s children (aside from being over-medicated and over-categorized) is that they aren’t allowed to just be kids any more!

I would have liked to know more about O’Reilly’s experiences in school because I believe that a person’s experience in the classroom is one of the best indicators of how he or she will progress as a person. To that end, though, he does give many stories about the classroom, his teachers, and his classmates so I guess that without the addition of hundreds of pages of more content, the information that he includes is adequate!

If anything, I would have liked for a more time-aligned presentation of O’Reilly’s experiences as he does tend to jump around from here to there. The book is a quick read and it is written in the style that O’Reilly speaks in on his television show – pithy comments littered throughout.

For those of you who are looking for a quick read, I would recommend O’Reilly’s book. If you’re looking for some insight into how he became the man and pundit that he has grown into, then you’ll enjoy this book, too.

A Whole Bunch of New Stuff

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Last week I asked the question of whether or not anyone has found any big bargains out in the stores. I hadn’t found anything worth buying until late last week when I came across a ridiculously marked down 47″ Vizio LCD full HDTV at Wal-Mart. After being dropped a few hundred dollars there was no question about it and I had to get that television.

Aside from the television and an extended warranty plan I also picked up the items needed to mount the TV to the wall, a new DS game (which is interesting because I really don’t have time to play the thing these days), a bunch of new books from Barnes & Noble (thanks to a gift card from my older brother), a new luxury sheet set, new pillows for my bed, a new carry-on piece of luggage and travel kit, and some minor pieces of clothing. For what it’s worth, all of my cost cutting and budgeting over the last few years allowed me to purchase these items with no concern about long-term financial burden.

So…over the past few days I’ve done my part to help kick the economy in the ass!

In the mean time, check out New Jersey Carpet Cleaning for the best carpet cleaning in the Garden State!