Image by un2814 via Flickr FAP832: Student Loan Radio Celebrates American Independence Day Listen now: Today’s a special, fun music show filled with the music of America’s Armed Forces. The Star Spangled Banner, Band of the U.S. Air Force Reserve Battle Hymn of the Republic, Band of the U.S. Air Force Reserve Amazing Grace, Ceremonial Brass: US Air Force Stars and Stripes Forever, US Navy Band America the Beautiful, US Navy Band Grand Ole Flag, US Marine Corps Band Washington Post March, US Marine Corps Band Battle Hymn of the Republic, US Navy Band Please consider making a donation to the Veterans of Foreign Wars as a way of thanking our armed forces service members for their tireless work. Did you enjoy today’s show? If so, please consider subscribing for free to get it delivered to you . Subscribing for free means you don’t have to remember to download it every day. + + + Direct MP3 file download: Click here to download the MP3 Reminders + + Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. + Free scholarship search secrets eBook at StudentScholarshipSearch.com/ebook + Open an FDIC-insured savings account today! + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Student credit card information at StudentPlatinum.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Financial Aid discussion forums + Get FAFSA news at the FAFSA blog + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network. I want to hear from you! Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 206-350-1208. ShareThis Less

Another demo for our album that is in production. Sung by my friend and drummer Neil who has recently found his voice. A song of regret and the often crushing weight of unconditional love. The Sea and Cake was a clear aesthetic touch point for much of this song. When we first started the improvisation that became this song I asked Neil what this song was called and he said "Stone Mover". He clearly was living the lyrics of this song at that time, doing landscaping on his family plot of land, and I find his words paint a melancholy watercolor landscape. The finished version will have real drums that skip along, a more maintained groove, and a "less is more" approach to the arrangement. Less

http://live.pirillo.com - Is blogging the new form of Journalism? Should bloggers be held to the same standards as the media? Those questions were asked of me recently in an email, and raise a lot of food for thought. Less

Add to iTunes | Add to YouTube | Add to Google | RSS Feed When someone visits your blog, can they find their way around easily? Is everything neatly organized on your site… or is it more of a jumbled mess of information, links and text? Here are some excellent tips to help you get (and keep!) your blog organized. Be predictable. When we want to know what a site is about, the first thing we look for is an ‘About’ page. When we want to contact the owner of a site, the first thing we look for is a ‘Contact’ page. When we want to leave a comment, we usually look to the bottom of a post. When we want to subscribe to a blog, we look for the subscribe button at the top of the sidebar. These things are so common that they’ve become standards… things we expect. When we can’t find the standard, we look for the next most similar thing. By adhering to these predictable standards, you’re actually making it as easy as possible for your blog’s visitors to do exactly what you want them to do. Sometimes being predictable is not a bad thing! Be obvious. Look down at your keyboard, and you’ll probably be able to spot at least one key that you’ve never noticed before. This is either because you have no need for it, or you don’t know what it does. It could be the most useful key ever, but your hesitation when confronted with the unknown has probably stopped you ever pressing it before. What if it deletes everything you just wrote? We don’t like not knowing what the result of our actions will be, and so it goes with your blog. Non-obvious links and buttons will very rarely be clicked. Would a new visitor know what this does, or where it leads? Subtract the unimportant. By hiding important elements (your most popular posts, your feed icon, your comment button) amongst a dozen other unimportant things (widgets and recent comments), you’re making it harder for readers to do what is truly important to you. Limit options. A category list with 10 categories is a lot more usable than a list with 50 categories. Too many options creates overload, which leads to deferral: a visitor will not engage with that element at all. Your list of 5 most popular posts will get clicked more than your list of 20, and so on. Simplified options make it easier for the visitor to decide where they want to place their attention. Too much choice will actually hurt your blog’s usability. Do the little things. A usable blog, aside from the above, is also made up of many little touches that make your visitor’s browsing experience easier, such as: Does your header image link back to your main page? Does your blog have an about page? Does your blog have a contact page? Do your headlines match your content? Is it clear where your links will lead? Do you use frequent paragraphs in your posts? Do you have comment links at the bottom of your post? Do you use sub-headings? Are your posts less than 2/3 screen-length wide? Are you making your best posts easily accessible? Are your links easy to pick out? All of these are things you should think about, and improve upon where needed, if you want your blog to be successful. Wp Affiliate Pro - The #1 Plugin For WordPres Blogs. WordPress Seo Sniper. Web 2.0 Wealth System - Profitale WordPress For Everyone. Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video: <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vt-iKwV7mN0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vt-iKwV7mN0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://chris.pirillo.com/">Chris</a> | <a href="http://live.pirillo.com/">Live Tech Support</a> | <a href="http://media.pirillo.com/">Video Help</a> | <a href="http://feeds.pirillo.com/ChrisPirilloShow">Add to iTunes</a> Related Content: I’m Using Microsoft Outlook 2007 Pardon The Mess Full Versus Quick Syndication Sensation Save Kevin's Blog Less

Add to iTunes | Add to YouTube | Add to Google | RSS Feed Thomas is a 14 year old who recently tried to start a Tech blog to make money via AdSense. He didn’t do so well, but learned a lot along the way. He is passing along his tips for starting and maintaining a more successful blog. Don’t think you are going to get rich quick. Blogging takes a ton of effort, work and time. You’re not just going to start a blog, write a few posts, throw in Adsense and make a million dollars! So keep that in mind. I do it because I enjoy it as well, not just for money. But of course, I’m only fourteen and I don’t need to feed a family. Do choose a niche! And no, tech is not a niche, unless you are somebody like Chris. Tech is just too wide of a topic, trust me… I tried it. Also, “about me” is not a niche. Unless I’m your friend, I’m most likely not going to read your personal blog, and it certainly will not make money. Make a list of your top 5 things to do. Those are all potential blog topics. Blog about what you like and know, otherwise it will get boring and become a chore. Do read other blogs in the niche you choose. This is very important. It keeps you up-to-date on the latest news in your niche, and will give you ideas for posts. A feed reader is a good way to do this. I would also recommend reading ProBlogger or LockerGnome for more tips on making money blogging. Do comment on other blogs in your niche. This will help get your name out, and drive traffic to your blog. News Flash: “cool post man!” is not a comment. Comments are well-written tips relating to the post, or an answer to a question in the post or other comments. It’s a conversation. Don’t rush into it. Plan ahead. This is probably the single most important thing when you start a new blog. Choose a name for your blog, get a domain, get a design and get hosting. I would also recommend writing a couple week’s worth of posts to get you started. Do all this before you launch. Also, budget in a little money. You’ll need it for hosting, and you may want to buy advertising. Wp Affiliate Pro - The #1 Plugin For WordPres Blogs. WordPress Seo Sniper. Web 2.0 Wealth System - Profitale WordPress For Everyone. Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video: <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/75mq0TE3xk8"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/75mq0TE3xk8" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://chris.pirillo.com/">Chris</a> | <a href="http://live.pirillo.com/">Live Tech Support</a> | <a href="http://media.pirillo.com/">Video Help</a> | <a href="http://feeds.pirillo.com/ChrisPirilloShow">Add to iTunes</a> Related Content: This Isn't Funny MSNBC Isn't Must See Jeremy Wright on Corporate Blogging Women, Hip-Hop and Blogging Blogging Less

Add to iTunes | Add to YouTube | Add to Google | RSS Feed It happens to the best of us. We start a blog with every intention of keeping it up, and then things get in the way and we forget it. Maybe you don’t know what to write. Maybe you just don’t have time… many things come into play. Here are some excellent tips to help you get started, and stay focused. Decide what it’s about If you’re writing for a particular audience, write what that audience wants to read. If you’re trying to reach out to D&D fans, don’t start writing about the Civil War. Only write about D&D and related topics. If you’re going for a more general audience, research what you’re going to update about and see if it’s already been blogged to death. Everyone blogs about politics, so stay away from it, unless your story is less than 12 hours old. Don’t be concerned about comments. Just because someone doesn’t comment on an entry, that doesn’t mean people aren’t reading it, it most likely means they didn’t have anything to say about it. I’ve read tons of articles and blogs that I’ve never commented on, because I felt everything that needed to be said had been said in the entry itself, or was already in the comments. This doesn’t mean completely ignore comments - if no one ever comments on your blog, that almost certainly means no one is reading. I prefer to have comments disabled on my LJ, so I don’t have to worry about it. Instead, I let my readers comment me by email. Let readers know when you’re gone. If you’re going on vacation and won’t be updating for a while, let your readers know. They may think that you’ve abandoned the blog and didn’t update about it, and remove you from their RSS subscriptions. This will decrease the number of readers of your blog. Make sure you like your blog If you don’t like the way your blog looks, or your URL, change it. If you think there’s something wrong with it, there probably is. I’ve gone through this myself, and I changed the look of my previous journals countless times before I became completely happy with it. However, you may just think other people don’t like your look, so you need to get opinions. If you change the look of your blog, people may stop reading due to lack of familiarity. Get a life Instead of worrying about what your next update will be about - get out and do something. If you just sit on the computer all day and tweak with your blog, it’s going to be a very boring read. I’ve learned that the less time you spend worrying about your blog, the more content you’ll have to write about. But make sure it’s interesting, because quantity does not equal quality. Wp Affiliate Pro - The #1 Plugin For WordPres Blogs. WordPress Seo Sniper. Wp Spinner WordPress Plugin. Social Bookmarking Automation Software Blog Comment Software. Adsense Blog Themes Templates. Web 2.0 Wealth System - Profitale WordPress For Everyone. BloggerGenerator. Instant Site Comments. 37 Days To Clean Credit - Pays Out 60% Commission. Blog Content Roadmap. Blog Traffic Jump Start. Effectively Create And Market A Blog! 65% Commission! Blog Submitter & Rss Feeds Submission. New Automatic Rss &Blog Submission Tool. Raffle Secrets - Fundraising Course. Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video: <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TFcwr23G5Zw"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TFcwr23G5Zw" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://chris.pirillo.com/">Chris</a> | <a href="http://live.pirillo.com/">Live Tech Support</a> | <a href="http://media.pirillo.com/">Video Help</a> | <a href="http://feeds.pirillo.com/ChrisPirilloShow">Add to iTunes</a> Related Content: Gretchen Hates Suits Microsoft Windows Commercials Will This Work? Blog Traffic School Stinky Bits Less

http://live.pirillo.com - It happens to the best of us. We start a blog with every intention of keeping it up, and then things get in the way and we forget it. Maybe you don't know what to write. Maybe you just don't have time... many things come into play. Here are some excellent tips to help you get started, and stay focused. Less

FAP738: Debt is not wealth, FFELP loan availability Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + It’s Presidents’ Day, and in honor of this, I’ve got a widget on the Financial Aid Podcast web site for people to register to vote - if you haven’t registered, do so today so you can vote this fall + Inside Higher Ed: Career Education Inc. on Friday announced plans to shut nine colleges, seven of them part of the Katherine Gibbs chain, following a “teach out” period to help current students. A statement from Career Education said that the move was part of a previously announced strategy to focus on key areas, and that attempts to sell the colleges didn’t succeed. Supporters of New Hampshire’s McIntosh College, one of the institutions being shut down, are angry and frustrated, Seacoast Online reported. + Reminder: if a school closes, you do not have to repay Stafford federal student loans if you have not completed the coursework + Twenty-one members of the U.S. House of Representatives have written to the secretaries of treasury and education to request action to deal with the credit crunch that is resulting in a tightening on the availability of student loans (though almost entirely private, or alternative, student loans so far). The letter calls on the Bush administration to work “without delay,” before the situation “decreases access to higher education.” + Read statement here + Is there a possibility that federal student loans won’t be available? I call it small but non-zero - and it all depends on the credit markets + If the Student Loan Network needs to change its lending policies, you’ll find out about it here first. Scholarship Search + Try this Google search query. Whatever your school name, search site:domain and the word scholarship + Here’s an example from SUNY Dutchess Community College, which is the school that Susan Mead, last week’s Expert Interview guest, was from + Results input into our free college scholarship search site + Student Loan Network $10,000 Scholarship - Apply in 32 seconds or less! Economics 101 + Debt is not wealth + Blog post on FinancialAidPodcast.com Mail Bag + Mark writes in: Our family income will drop significantly in August, just when my son starts college. What can I do to have that reality refleted in my son’s eligibility for aid? + Contact your school’s financial aid office today and ask to speak to a financial aid administrator. Ask for their advice, present as much documentation as possible, and specifically ask for a professional judgement on future earnings, which is jargon for asking for an override of the FAFSA results based on documentably incorrect estimates of what you can pay for college + Bear in mind that the school may not be able to help + Whether or not they can help, your son should be cranking out the scholarship applications like mad right now + Every Sunday, submit at least THREE scholarship applications + This is scholarship season! + With the turmoil in the student loan markets, there is an unlikely but non-zero possibility that borrowing the full cost of education may not be possible in the fall - and scholarships are always the best form of financial aid + Free scholarship search secrets eBook Did you enjoy today’s show? If so, please consider subscribing for free to get it delivered to you . Subscribing for free means you don’t have to remember to download it every day. + + + Direct MP3 file download: Click here to download the MP3 Reminders + Student Loan Network $10,000 Scholarship - Apply in 32 seconds or less! + Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. + Free scholarship search secrets eBook at StudentScholarshipSearch.com/ebook + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + Student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network. I want to hear from you! Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 206-350-1208. Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast ShareThis Less

First song off of the new People Will Blink record. This song was written about 3 years ago and went through many transformations before it began to sound... well... listenable. When we played this song live, Azeem used a vocoder during the bridge. He forgot it in California when we recorded, so we used a clarinet, melodica, and recorder in it's place. This is one of my favorites. It's catchy, dancey, and just generally aesthetically pleasing to the ears. It's a great first track. To learn more about People Will Blink, hear more songs from the record, or buy the record, visit our myspace page. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/peoplewillblink"></a> We're selling those suckers for only 5 dollars! Less

http://live.pirillo.com - Blogging is just huge. It seems like everyone AND their mom has a blog these days. Commenting on blog posts is a great way to interact with the author. Here are some tips to help you be able to be a better commenter. Less

programa an o z ero curto para iniciar as atividades no qual contamos com a presença de eivind aarset representando o chamado “novo jazz europeu” — ou jazz eletrônico — na companhia de, também presente no programa, trompetista norueguês nils petter molvaer. contamos ainda com a presença de christian fennesz que desde o início de sua carreira, desenvolveu composições para projetos de teatro e cinema, além de dança, acompanhando o elenco, inclusive em execuções ao vivo, em algumas coreografias. ainda que tenha sempre se adaptado ao desenvolvimento dos softwares, o som da guitarra é sua grande influência. sua música é “uma bolha que mistura melodia, harmonia, beleza, melancolia e muita distorção”. Less