Archive for August, 2010

Harry Potter collectibles attract kids

Harry Potter <b>collectibles</b> attract kidsHarry Potter does not taste success only at the big theaters and bookstores; the name is also good enough to create enough demand for products kept by stores dealing in Harry Potter collectibles.

It seems that more and more children are admiring the real like stories of Potter and want to buy collectibles in order to experiment with the magic on others.

From Timesofindia.indiatimes.com:

The adventurous story and the colourful characters in the movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, has led to increased sales of Harry Potter related products like games, books, puzzles and compact discs. The hot pick is a set of CDs priced at Rs 1,200. A whole range of Potter playsets are also finding takers. However, though there is a demand for the products, the sales appear to have fallen below the expectations of the dealers.

Says Pradeep Shah of Pedallers Point:“Due to limited dealership, the sales are less than expected’’.

The distributors have relied on the movie to push sales and this does not seem to have worked much. According to Parul Toys’ Bharat Parekh, the “toys are not selling as expected because they are not being advertised enough’’.

There also appears to be a flip side to the Potter range of products. Pankaj Kapadia, owner of Toy Emporium says the prices are putting people off. For instance, a Harry Potter Slime Chamber playset costs Rs 7,499. An electronic sound and action game costs Rs 3,999, school and college bags come at Rs 765 each, trading card games cost Rs 50 and Rs 80 with the Harry Potter badges coming at Rs 18 each.

Some of the popular collectibles belonging to the Harry Potter series are  Hermoine Granger, Ron Weasley, Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Professor Snape, headmaster Dumbledore, Remembrall Malfoy and the Mountain Troll.

Success and business oriented Quotations

Success and business oriented QuotationsWhen it comes to reaping and optimizing success, nothing matches the aura of success and business oriented quotations. This is the reason why we have compiled these timeless quotes so that you can enjoy and benefit from them, in no time.

A cardinal principle of Total Quality escapes too many managers: you cannot continuously improve interdependent systems and processes until you progressively perfect interdependent, interpersonal relationships. – Stephen Covey

And while the law of competition may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race, because it ensures the survival of the fittest in every department. – Andrew Carnegie

Business, more than any other occupation, is a continual dealing with the future; it is a continual calculation, an instinctive exercise in foresight. – Henry R. Luce

Do more than is required. What is the distance between someone who achieves their goals consistently and those who spend their lives and careers merely following? The extra mile. – Gary Ryan Blair

Economic depression cannot be cured by legislative action or executive pronouncement. Economic wounds must be healed by the action of the cells of the economic body – the producers and consumers themselves. – Herbert Hoover

For a lot of people, the weekly paycheck is “take-home pay” because home is the only place they can afford to go with it. – Charles A. Jaffe

Happiness does not come from doing easy work but from the afterglow of satisfaction that comes after the achievement of a difficult task that demanded our best. – Theodore Isaac Rubin

I find it rather easy to portray a businessman. Being bland, rather cruel and incompetent comes naturally to me. – John Cleese

I was told to avoid the business all together because of the rejection. People would say to me, ‘Don’t you want to have a normal job and a normal family?’ I guess that would be good advice for some people, but I wanted to act. – Jennifer Aniston

Getting inspired for Healthy Life

Getting inspired for Healthy LifeIf you have been aiming for nothing but getting inspired for healthy life, this blog with inspiring quotes will serve the purpose in more than just a way. Read on to find more!

Most vegetarians I ever see looked enough like their food to be classified as cannibals. – Finley Peter Dunne

I will not eat anything that walks, runs, skips, hops or crawls. God knows that I’ve crawled on occasion, and I’m glad that no one ate me. – Alex Poulos

I venture to maintain that there are multitudes to whom the necessity of discharging the duties of a butcher would be so inexpressibly painful and revolting, that if they could obtain a flesh diet on no other condition, they would relinquish it forever. – W.E.H. Lecky

I just could not stand the idea of eating meat – I really do think that it has made me calmer….  People’s general awareness is getting much better, even down to buying a pint of milk:  the fact that the calves are actually killed so that the milk doesn’t go to them but to us cannot really be right, and if you have seen a cow in a state of extreme distress because it cannot understand why its calf isn’t by, it can make you think a lot. – Kate Bush

Men that look no further than their outsides, think health an appurtenance unto life, and quarrel with their constitutions for being sick; but I that have examined the parts of man, and know upon what tender filaments that fabric hangs, do wonder that we are not always so; and considering the thousand doors that lead to death, do thank my God that we can die but once. – Thomas Browne

Best video on collectibles

If you have been looking for a YouTube video on antiques and collectibles, this video will surely not disappoint you as it is a qualified source of information for those old or new to this world. The video on Well SideShow Collectibles can clearly be termed as the best video on collectibles.

Wisdom Quotations for attaining Success

Wisdom Quotations for attaining SuccessLooking for wisdom quotations for attaining success? Go no far as we have compiled some of the most inspiring quotes that have been compiled from the web so that you do not have to look any further.

Wisdom, compassion, and courage are the three universally recognized moral qualities of men. – Confucius

Teamwork is the ability to work as a group toward a common vision, even if that vision becomes extremely blurry. – Author Unknown

One piece of log creates a small fire, adequate to warm you up, add just a few more pieces to blast an immense bonfire, large enough to warm up your entire circle of friends; needless to say that individuality counts but team work dynamites. – Jin Kwon

Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work. – Vince Lombardi

One piece of log creates a small fire, adequate to warm you up, add just a few more pieces to blast an immense bonfire, large enough to warm up your entire circle of friends; needless to say that individuality counts but team work dynamites. – Jin Kwon

Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision.  The ability to direct individual accomplishment toward organizational objectives.  It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results. – Andrew Carnegie

The way a team plays as a whole determines its success.  You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime. – Babe Ruth

Respect your fellow human being, treat them fairly, disagree with them honestly, enjoy their friendship, explore your thoughts about one another candidly, work together for a common goal and help one another achieve it. – Bill Bradley

Lost film of Charlie Chaplin to debut after 96 years

Lost film of Charlie Chaplin to debut after 96 yearsThe 1914 film, ‘A Thief Catcher’, which is a short silent comedy by Charlie Chaplin is about to make its debut after a period of 96 years after it was lost for decades.

The film is expected to hold a big surprise for film buffs and historians as Chaplin emerged from the bushes in police uniform and the unforgettable mustache.

From Timesofindia.indiatimes.com:

Then, in March, he saw Chaplin bumble onto the screen and slap around some hooligans in the film starring Ford Sterling, Mack Swain and Edgar Kennedy. Chaplin is on screen for all of three minutes. “Is this who I think it is?” Gierucki asked his friend and fellow film collector Richard Roberts. He e-mailed Roberts a still image from the film. “It might be, but we’ve got to see him move,” Roberts replied.

Sure enough, once they saw the character’s mannerisms, it was clearly Chaplin — one of the biggest stars of the early movie industry — playing a two-bit part in one of his earliest films.

The first public screening of the film, perhaps since 1914, was held at a comedy film festival in Arlington, Virginia. Gierucki and Roberts are part of a group they call the “Silent Comedy Mafia” that organizes the annual Slapsticon festival at the Rosslyn Spectrum Theater just outside Washington.

Gierucki, who is head of restorations for CineMuseum LLC, has plans to offer ‘A Thief Catcher’ to a wider audience through DVDs and other festivals, though no specific plans have been announced. The discovery is significant because it’s the first film added to Chaplin’s roster in 60 years.

The 10-minute film turned up late last year at a Michigan antiques sale and Chaplin fans will be more than just happy to see another masterpiece from one of the biggest stars of the early movie industry.

Australian Island up for sale

Australian Island up for saleIf you have always wanted to own a private island in east coast of Tasmania, Australia, now is the time to act.

The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that the Picnic Island - resting in Freycinet National Park’s Hazard Range in the middle of Coles Bay – is up for sale by expression of interest.

From in.news.yahoo.com:

The island’s rugged sandstone rocks accommodate a large colony of little penguins and a nesting ground for short-tailed shear waters.

There are abalone, oysters and mussels, too. Despite being within 500 metres of the Tasmanian shoreline, it remains relatively untouched.

“The key thing is the conservation and preservation of the sea bird colony and that limits what you can do with it,” Whytcross said.

Picnic Island is within sight of the upmarket Saffire resort and has a convict history.

The original landowner of the Coles Bay area forced his convicts to quarry sandstone on the island during downturns in the whaling season.

The vendor, a Queensland property developer, bought the island for USD 65,000 in 2005.

A planning application stipulates that the only development allowed is basic camping-style accommodation.

This island in southeastern state of Australia is expected to be sold for an amount ranging between USD 500,000 and USD 1 million.

Prison documents belonging to Adolf Hitler for grabs

Prison documents belonging to Adolf Hitler for grabsLandberg Prison documents belonging to the Fuehrer, Adolf Hitler, are set to go under the auction hammer. The Daily Star reported that more than 500 prison documents will be auctioned in Germany.

Landberg Prison is the place where Hitler was held in 1924 after abortive attempt by the Nazis to get hold of power in the year 1923.

From in.news.yahoo.com:

Adolf Hitler’s Landberg Prison documents are set to go under the hammer.

More than 500 documents from the prison, where Hitler was held in 1924, are to be auctioned in Germany, reports the Daily Star.

Hitler was imprisoned in Landsberg after the Nazi’s abortive bid to seize power in 1923 in the notorious “beer hall putsch” coup attempt in Munich.

In the collection, which is valued at 20,000 pounds, several hundred-index cards show who visited Hitler when he was in prison.

The collection on grabs will have many hundred-index cards showing who all visited Hitler when he was kept in the prison; the collection is valued at 200,000 pounds.