If you are tired of waiting for the pilot of the new musical ‘Smash’. Wait no longer. The Smash premiere is just around the corner to air on Monday, Feb. 6 at 10/9c! But Queercents readers don’t have to wait – download the full pilot from iTunes for free now. And in the below video, we caught up with Executive Producer Steven Spielberg to discuss his long love of musical theater and the creative process.
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Happy New Years’ 2012! Let’s make this year a prosperous one! First, you may consider transferring those high interest rate credit cards to a card that can give you 12 months of no interest and no balance transfer fee.
We all enjoy a good bargain. There’s no getting around the fact that if we find something for considerably less than we would normally find it we’ll often part with our cash for something we didn’t even intend to buy. But although plenty of people will be out in the January sales looking for some bargains from some of the top retailers, it will certainly pay to seek out the smaller shop and perhaps wait a little too.
Although the start of the year might be considered the perfect time to find that reduced price TV or the heavily discounted designer watch you’ve been tempted by every time you passed that window over the last six months, it might pay to wait for just a few more weeks rather than rush out to join the throngs of people crowding the streets.
It is expected that retail sales this Christmas are considerably down. No doubt you’ve seen many prices being slashed early already, and this is a good indication of how desperate the struggling retail sector has been to get the footfalls clicking and the registers slamming. But although you might find some big names dropping those price tags to ridiculous levels to try to make a decent profit over the holidays, it’s also expected that the smaller retailers will be struggling far more, and rent will be due any day now.
Most retailers pay their rent in advance, on a quarterly basis. At the end of December those small businesses will be required to pay upfront for the following three month period. And although it’s not a pleasant situation, many of those smaller names are expected to vanish from our high streets as they fail to make their payment. While the larger stores may be struggling, they are more likely to be backed by a bank and manage to scrape through by the skin of their teeth, but the smaller retailer with high costs is unlikely to manage.
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While it’s probably fair to state that most of us do enjoy a certain level of financial freedom that others may not (of course I refer to the idea of the disposable income) in these times even the most comfortably secure need to ensure that their money is watched and managed properly, and that they don’t needlessly waste what might be needed in another couple of months.
Those who keep track of the financial situation will know that unpredictable shifts can occur with just a statement by a credit ratings agency, sending markets into turmoil and businesses underwater. Even if you don’t have investments and savings depending on a stable market, the very nature of banking on a fundamental level could be dramatically affected by changes in the Euro-zone.
So, it makes sense that all of us should be wise about the money we’re spending on gifts this Christmas, and there’s a lot that you can do to make sure you’re not throwing money away needlessly. Here are a few tips to help you save a little more while shopping on the Internet this holiday period, without seeming to be a Grinch.
1. Buy as much on-line as possible
Now is the right time to be looking for those on-line deals in time for Christmas. Many thousands of businesses are finally tapping into the internet retail market, and the benefits of them transferring their business to on-line are immense. That’s why there are a lot of sites now out there able to offer the same products for less than they might sell them in the store; they want to strengthen their internet sales, and they’ll give heavy discounts to persuade people to buy with a click instead of in-store.
2. Take time to hunt down the deals
All it takes is a little searching to find a wealth of sites where discount codes are offered. Take a night to yourself to do some shopping, dedicating yourself to actively looking for the best deals, and really think about the products you find and whether they might suit someone more than than the gift you had perhaps originally planned to buy for them. They won’t know that you planned to get them a games console at full-price but switched to an adventure weekend at 40% off when you saw it! Be flexible.
3. Always calculate the shipping
One of the ways a company makes a profit on-line is through the delivery charge. Sometimes they even leave this until the point of checkout, hoping that you won’t notice that what you thought was $5 cheaper with them than the last site you checked is actually $5 more when it’s added on. Even when there is no shipping charge, there is no such thing as “free shipping”. Free shipping means the cost of it has been factored into the price already, and while some sites might seem to offer a better deal because of it, you can often find one with a minimal shipping charge where the total for that same product is ultimately lower.
4. Go local
There really are thousands of small businesses out there on the Internet earning very little from their local community while they struggle against the larger competition, but because they barely get by, they’re more suited to offering larger discounts for their piece of the pie. By searching locally you not only support your smaller community economy, but you’re also likely to get your products more quickly, and you’ll have an easier time making contact with them should you need to. Nothing beats being able to go into a local shop if you have a problem with an order, with the person who runs the business likely to be there and more willing to take your complaint seriously than the guy on minimum wage answering emails or phones for a multinational.
5. Ask the smaller business for a deal
Plenty of smaller companies offer special deals to their customers over the holidays, and because they’re in competition with the larger businesses they can often cut out more of their profit (it might be desperation, but it works). If you can’t see special deals or promotions on their site, send them an email asking them if they have any deals. Many of these smaller sites offer discount codes to their newsletter subscribers, or post discount codes on other sites that you might not know about.
It might seem that you can only save a few $’s using all of these methods, but that small saving on each gift soon adds up to a nice amount. Perhaps you could save it, or maybe buy yourself a little present this year too!
All day long there has been countless Facebook posts on Chick-Fil-A and comments that we should not spend our hard earned money there anymore. While you do vote with what you eat and spend your money not going to Chick-fil-A because they don’t approve of gay marriage just seems a bit extreme. They have stated they do not hate gays and it is their “biblical” belief that they believe marriage is between a man and a woman. The president Dan Cathy said they were not Anti-Anybody.
While I do take into account how a company treats gay employees when I vote using my money at restaurants and retail stores their stance on gay marriage really seems to ask for too much. We would go hungry trying to find a restaurant that had all of our beliefs. I think what we have to take into account is which we are most concerned about. If gay marriage is more important to you when deciding on where to eat chicken at lunch time and you want to drive across town to a vegan restaurant that is part of the progressive movement then I am glad you have that much time. If you decide that you will shop at somewhere like Whole Foods or a local health food store and eat healthy and be part of a progressive movement without spending more gas and having to give money to a grocery store chain that fights against gay equality that’s another story.
Chick-Fil A is not the perfect representative of gay equality but they are not exactly the only fast food joint donating to causes against gay marriage. Why are we not focused on all of them such as the owner of Carl’s Jr, Yum Brands that owns KFC, and the folks over at In and Out. Doesn’t In N Out put bible verses on their wrapping I doubt they would be for gay marriage. I see gays posting about how excited they are for an In N Out burger with the new store openings but probably do not give that much thought. I am not a religious person grouped with the fact I like wheat bread on my hamburgers so really don’t care to eat In N Out. Chick-Fil-A on the other hand does have wheat bread and offers healthy sides such as fruits and oatmeal breakfast that I love. I’m not going to hurt my health and drive across the street to McDonald’s and eat food that could have enough preservatives in it and the bleached white bread to last decades because of their biblical beliefs of the corporation.
There are gays and lesbians working for Chick-Fil-A but where is the HRC rating for this? The HRC has nothing listed on their buyers guide for the controversial chicken house. They do have Brinker who owns Chili’s, Carlson who owns Friday’s, and McDonald’s listed. All unhealthy places of shame. The rating on these restaurants are all above 80, including Darden restaurants who owns the cheap pasta and iceberg lettuce at Olive Garden. Yum! Brands is rated at 65, they own KFC the other chicken joint but at least you can get grilled chicken that is mighty finger lickin’ good and much better than fried. The ever-popular Taco Bell, Wingstreet, Pizza Hut, and Long John Silver’s are also part of Yum!
What about Pizza? I see no listing for Papa Murphy’s or California Pizza Kitchen where I normally get my grub. I do see Domino’s pizza at a 60 HRC ranking. If you like Qdoba thou must drive down to Del Taco because they only get a 15 since they are owned by Jack in the Box.
The worst ratings go to OSI Restaurants who own Carrabba’s Italian Grill and Outback Steakhouse. They score a zero in the HRC rankings. El Pollo Loco was accused of their top executives of donating money to Proposition 8, but after reading some Yelp posts I see that soem executives are coming out saying there are some of them who voted against it.
This leaves us with the top rated restaurants according to the HRC are some of the most unhealthiest besides Starbucks which has a 100. I am so glad to see Starbucks ranking high! We should all be thinking about this and kind of make our own ranking system no matter what type of business we are supporting. I spend most of my money in gay clubs and bars so I am certainly supporting the LGBT giving tips to bartenders, drag queens, etc. When I want to sit down to a healthy meal and make up for some of that alcohol intake I can’t really judge an eating establishment on “gay marriage” alone.
I think we need to look at the whole company and not what a few executives have done. Look at how they treat their gay employees, what benefits those workers get, how they treat the gay customers when we dine-in or drive-thru, see if they attend community events such as Gay Pride, if they give to gay charities, or even give us discounts such as American Airlines does. In the case of Chick-Fil-A, they have donated to a few bad apples such as Focus on the Family $12,500; Family Research Council $1,000; Marriage & Family Legacy Fund $994,199. Those numbers are disturbing and make the case more then them showing up with food at some event which is what the HRC and others were up in arms about and got the most media attention. Although their other donations to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the National Christian Foundation really should not be a concern they are a company with their strong beliefs. This is a company that is closed on Sunday if that tells you anything, but they do not try to convert you when you drink their sweet tea either. Read the rest of this entry »
The holidays are obviously one of the biggest money makers of the year for retail stores and most other businesses, but it’s also one of the busiest times for scams. This is especially true for Black Friday, when incredible sales and deals can be found all over the place. Just like big businesses and corporation, scammers and con artists are also raking in tons of money just from deceit and stealing. So, where should you look for the scams since most deals seem legitimate? These are some of the things that definitely need to be looked out for to avoid being tricked into a financial mess.
A retail trick that many stores seem to take advantage of is advertising a Black Friday sale that is only eligible for a short period of time. For example, an item may appear to be priced at an incredibly low price for Black Friday, but in reality, this item may only be marked down for just a few short hours. This is a trick that many retail stores use to get consumers in their doors and around merchandise.
Additionally, avoid the common retail scam where a substitute is offered in place of an item that is no longer in stock or available. In some cases, the retailer may try to substitute an item of lesser quality in place of the original item, or they may even try to substitute a more expensive item in hopes of bringing in more of a profit than originally intended. This is a big problem in Black Friday sales, so it is definitely something to look out for when doing your holiday shopping.
You should also be keeping an eye out online as well as in the store. Phishers have been taking advantage of Cyber Monday for a long time by copying legitimate Black Friday sale newsletters and sending them out via a spam email account. Once a consumer buys into the sale via the scam, the phisher steals the buyer’s financial information for his own use. This is an unfortunate but common trap that many consumers fall victim to during their holiday shopping, and it’s important to avoid it all costs.
To ultimately avoid becoming a victim in a phishing situation, always use secure websites and make sure to check the URL of the site you’re on before making any purchase. Many fake websites are designed to look identical to real, legitimate sites so you’re going to have to look further than just what you see in the browser window. To truly determine the security of your shopping, make sure that you’re using the “https://” protocol before the web address.
Additionally, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on your credit card statement during your Black Friday holiday shopping. This will be a surefire way of finding out whether you’ve been scammed or not. In some cases, scammers will make unauthorized charges to your account following the legitimate charge. These charges might be small and minute, and they are sometimes a test to see if you’re paying attention to your credit card statement. If no action is taken against the small charges, they will often push through much more significant charges. In other instances, the scam artist might charge just a few small amounts to your credit card as well as many other people’s credit cards.
To avoid falling victim to Black Friday scams, make sure you take a number of precautionary measures such as checking prices and values on items, shopping securely online, and keeping an eye on your credit card statement. Black Friday shouldn’t be a time of getting scammed or phished, having your financial information stolen or dealing with an anonymous threat. Shop wisely and always hesitate before making a purchase, because in some cases, your financial situation could depend on it.
In a world that has quickly transitioned from being a predominantly hard-copy environment to an atmosphere where everything is done digitally and through cyberspace, there is no question to why the credit card has surged in popularity the past decade. A quick and efficient payment option, the credit card has become a staple of the modern economy, and is now available to almost anyone. Numbering in the thousands, credit cards have competed with one another to gain potential clients, wooing them with things ranging from cash back, sky miles, and even elaborate point systems, with points exchangeable for free goods and services. But, how can one actually consider which card to choose from? One major influence for choosing a credit card is the sign-on bonus, or the initial offer.
A credit card’s initial offer, besides its APR rate, is one of the leading factors that influence a potential client’s desire to apply for it or not. Many companies provide discounted interest rates for a short duration of the time, while others waive a card’s normal annual fee for the first year. A popular method cards use would be proving a cash incentive, either through actual funds distributed or a corresponding balance reduction. All of these influencing factors provide clients with the motivation to apply and possibly begin a long relationship with the crediting company.
Currently, there are several major cash back bonuses that are available from a select group of credit cards this year. One popular choice is the Chase Freedom Visa, with a $200 cash back bonus, after the first $500 is spent during the first 3 months. The Citibank ThankYou Preferred rewards card is now providing a $200 (gift card) reward after $700 in purchases during the first 3 months. The Citibank Dividend World MasterCard is also providing a $200 cash back bonus, after the first $500 is spent in the first 3 months. Capital One Cash Card has a $100 bonus, after the first $500 is spent in the first 3 months. Discover has a Discover Open Road Card that provides a free Restaurant.com $150 gift card with the first purchase. For students, Citibank currently has a Citi Dividend Platinum Select card that offers $50, after $150 is spent in the first 3 months.
For those seeking flight miles, there are also several options to choose from that offer a hefty amount of miles after the initial purchase. Delta SkyMiles offers the Gold Delta SkyMiles card, which has a 20,000 mile bonus after the first purchase. You can also add an additional 2 cardholders in your household and receive another 5,000 miles. Capital One Venture One Rewards Card provides a 10,000 mile bonus after the initial purchase, with no minimum. They also offer a Venture Rewards card that offers 25,000 miles, but with an annual fee. Citibank provides the CitiGold AAdvantage World MasterCard which provides a 25,000 mile bonus after the first $750 is spent during the first 4 months of ownership. Discover offers 2 cards, the Miles and the Escape card, which both provide a 1000 mile bonus for each month of the first year of ownership. Southwest Airlines is a providing one free flight after an initial purchase.
For those searching for bonus reward points, which can be redeemable for a variety of gifts, there is a large selection available which offer some points after an initial purchase. There are 3 credit cards that offer a substantial amount during initial ownership period. The Chase Sapphire Preferred card provides 50,000 reward points after $3,000 is spent in the first 3 months. The Citi Thank Preferred Premier Rewards card provides a 50,000 point bonus after $2000 is spent in the first 3 months. American Express offers their famous Gold card, which provides a 15,000 bonus after the first $1,000 is spent in the first 3 months.
There are a variety of cards to choose from that offer a substantial bonus after initially owning the card. Cardholders must remember though that regardless of bonus incentives, one must remain discipline and responsible when using credit cards. Bonus miles or points are meaningless if one’s credit rating is poor.
Some of the hottest looks of 2011 are from Pan Am stewardesses and some going drag king such as a Charlie Sheen look. Take a look at more Halloween costume ideas from last year Read the rest of this entry »
Looking for the best credit card for lesbians? An option you may want to assess and review is credit cards from Olivia Company. Maybe you are wondering, why choose Olivia and not just opt for one that provides similar benefits for you and your partner, right? Read on as we discuss what Olivia is all about and what it can offer the lesbian community.
Established in 1973, Olivia was originally a women’s record label company; however, as time passed by, Olivia companies that were situated in San Francisco evolved into one of the leading names in lesbian travel, providing lesbians a unique travel experience for their cruises, eco-tours, luxury vacations and resorts. As of today, the company has been considered as the biggest advertiser of lesbian travels and cruises worldwide. The company has acquired enormous vessels, hot spots and tours widely ranging from affectionate boutique cruises in the Galapagos Islands and France to voyages around the Caribbean Islands on vessels that hold more than 2,000 women. The company offers women with various options that they can opt to venture out to in solo or with a partner.
In terms of their popularity, the world renowned company has catered to big names in the industry including Melissa Etheridge, Heart, the Indigo girls, Rosie Jones, Whoopi Goldberg and Lily Tomlin. Inside the cruise lines of Olivia, clients can enjoy their trip further with entertainers, singers, comedians and performers who have claimed a spot as a member of the Olivia family. Activities have also been launched by the company such as Sisters at Sea and Sisters at Play that were created for lesbians of different color or race along with their friends. Read the rest of this entry »
Before technology became common at the workplace, people bored with their jobs would doodle, read the newspaper, or even listen to the radio and waste time. However, all the doodling in the world cannot compare to the work-time lost every year to internet misuse. A survey carried out by America Online and Salary.com found that employers end up paying almost $760 billion a year to employees checking eBay listings, Googling, chatting online, or just goofing off in general. The fine line between personal use of the internet and work misuse is crossed too often.
For those businesses where employees have to spend all or even part of their workday in front of a computer, the internet is a major distraction. The temptation of having e-mail, chat, Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites at one’s fingertips at all times is sometimes too hard to resist. Even though numbers vary quite some bit, depending on occupation and the availability of computers, some employees admit to spending up to three hours a day for personal internet use.
Bartenders may be required to promote on Twitter or Facebook accounts on their days of work and maybe Hairstylists as self-promotion. Most people working for corporations though really have no need to be on Facebook for over 10 minutes a day if most of it is personal use.
While it is not realistic to think that employees will never use technology for personal needs during work hours, setting rules and other measures to protect work productivity is an achievable goal. One of the easiest ways to limit internet misuse is to install monitoring software that tracks surfing habits of all PC users invisibly. This allows employers to see if their employees are doing what they are hired for. Such software can also be used to block internet connections altogether, or to just block selected objectionable sites that employees visit too frequently but have nothing to do with the work they are doing.
Another option is to install internet content filtering software on computers. Since there is no internet censorship policy, inappropriate content containing sexually explicit images or strong language can be accessed from the work place. Filters are a good way of blocking distasteful sites. Different software use different techniques to filter content. Some search for keywords, while others check for sites known for voluntary censorship by the website makers. Some browsers block access to all sites while only allowing access to a list of acceptable ones.
Surveys carried out show that as of 2005, 76% of the companies surveyed monitor employees internet usage. They block inappropriate URLs, track content, keystrokes and the amount of time spent on keyboards. E-mail is being scrutinized, with 55% of the employers storing and reviewing messages.
Another thing that is very beneficial is to draft a clear policy regarding the “responsible use” of the internet that outlines what employees can and cannot do when it comes to the use of e-mail and other resources. It should also contain the company’s policy on the use of social media sites at the workplace. Include some good uses of the web policy and outline why they are good and also some bad uses and explain why they are considered bad.
It is in the interest of a business to rethink their own goals and decide exactly what it is that they want to achieve as a company and what is expected of their employees. Imposing too many policies makes the work manager appear like a Gestapo trying to police the employees. This can lead to a compliance culture and an uncomfortable environment with a lot of mistrust. A better option is to carry out a periodic performance appraisal on individual employees. The management should define tasks, then set a measure of the employees’ success based on the completion of the tasks. If carried out correctly, there will be equivalence’s between the company aims and employee measures and there will be no need to worry about how much company time is being wasted.
If performance is measured against what the employee produces and there is compensation to match the contribution linked to the company’s bottom line, more employees will work honestly. Providing employees with motivation to keep working hard achieves more than policing and spreading mistrust.
