I Must Surely Be in Heaven

Since I haven't posted for over a year and a half, I thought I'd start with an uplifting topic today. How about those winged creatures known as angels?

Ah, I must surely have died, and be passing through a second life, and now knocking on the pearly gates of Heaven. I'm just thinking about my writing career over the past xx years and thinking that I never dreamt I'd be seeing angels.

On the platform of Squidoo, there are lots and lots of Squid Angels who are tasked with blessing [that's a thumbs up] or dinging [thumbs down] Squidoo lenses. In my previous two roles as a Squid Angel, I described myself as a 'hoverer.' It also comes from my Marketing background and strong need for analytical research. You see, I don't like to jump to any conclusions but require lots of data and lots of research."

Squid Angel : Blessings to YOU!

On my angel lens, Squid Angel : Blessings to YOU!, I also describe some other types of Squid Angels you might expect to see. "There are some Squid Angels who will announce their visits and their blessings."   Those are BUGLERS, "but not usually the norm!" I honestly prefer the traditional classification of angels, known as more humble beings, "marked by meekness or modesty in behavior, attitude, or spirit; not arrogant or prideful."

Now, don't you feel a little better today in that we discussed a light and airy topic? Nothing overly heavy; something angelic with wings!

By the way ... speaking of angels and heavenly things ... may I present to you some lovely Willow Tree Angels that you might want to purchase?  I actually have the Happiness angel which sits on my kitchen counter smiling back at me each and every day.  I probably should move it to my office so that I can feel the Happiness there!  I love how evocatively this little angel stands, with her head to the heavens, and how secure the little bluebirds feel to perch on her outstretched arms. Fabulous!

Blessings to YOU!

Protocol and Promotion Personal Commentary

Pardon me as I do a definition search for the word "protocol." Let's see, I'm checking out Merriam-Webster:

a detailed plan of a scientific or medical experiment, treatment, or procedure

Nope, not that definition.

a code prescribing strict adherence to correct etiquette and precedence

OK, I'll go with this one.

I was a Squidoo Squid Angel for the first time, well over a year ago, for a term of six months. Thankfully, I was granted my "wings" so to speak for my second term just recently. It is because I am a Squid Angel that I am talking about my take on "protocol and promotion." This is my take, my personal commentary.

I, along with my fellow angels -- 32 of us! -- are tasked with certain daily responsibilities, which I take seriously and conscientiously. On any given day, I am busy reviewing and visiting hundreds of lenses. As of this writing, I have rated nearly 6,200 lensmasters' lenses. That sounds like a lot; but you know there are some lensmasters with much more than that under their belts! It takes a lot of time and thought to do that many ratings/visits. Oh, I'm not even taking into account those lenses that I've visited that are not ready for ratings -- don't know if I would be up to 9,000 lenses or more, but I suspect so.

Well, the personal commentary part is this. Since I am a Squid Angel, as in my previous term, I find myself less and less wanting to send a Squidcast or post in the forum to encourage visits to my lenses. I don't know why, call me funny [yes I know I need more humor in my lenses]; but I've scaled back on that kind of 'self-promotion.' I've scaled way way back on my twitter tweets too. I've got some new followers and don't want to flood them out.

So, what about YOU? Are you a Squid Angel too and have a take on this? Are you doing the same amount of promotion nowadays as previously? Or, have you too scaled back in certain areas.

Because I am Squid Angeling, much of my extra time [if there was such an animal] is now occupied with those duties and leaving me with not enough time for my blogging. When I'm blogging, I love this form of expression. Note to self, "make more time for blogging."

Did I say angel? What it means to be a Squidoo Squid Angel -- Blessings to you, my dear!

A quiet angel - silence is golden

A quiet angel - silence is golden sometimes. To most Squidoo lensmasters, the mention of the word angel conjures up squid angels. There are many a lens written by squid angels usually, and sometimes about squid angels who have come a calling to a lensmaster's lens and blessed it. But what about ALL those squid angels out there who are not trumpeting their blessings to lensmasters' deserving lenses?

I've held off on this discussion as there have been plenty of SquidU Forum posts about angels dropping by to bless numbers of lenses. And, there have been many a lensmaster asking for angels' blessings. I personally have taken the stand to NOT announce each and every one of my blessings.

Blessings to You My Dear has been my signature blessing from when I first earned my wings -- and I was more inclined in the early days to state that I had blessed a lens. But, in my new capacity, I've become a quiet angel. For the most part, I will definitely leave a comment on a lens along with my rating. But, I am blessing lenses in silence -- not trumpeting in the lensmasters' guestbooks that I have been there.

Oh, did I mention that sometimes I come upon a lens without a guestbook? Oh dear me. Please lensmasters, be sure to include a guestbook on your lenses. ;)

Back when there were only a few squid angels on the job, it seemed more worthy to make mention that a blessing had been left. However, today, on any given day, you can come across lenses with multiple angels blessings being apparent from the guestbook comments and many lensmasters who have been Touched by an Angel -- a plug for a related lens of mine.

Squid Angel -- Blessings to YOU! is my signature Squid Angel lens that talks about what I look for in a blessing-worthy lens ... in case you wanted to know this. ;)

I believe in angels, both earthly and heavenly. I've written a number of angel-themed articles and lenses. I believe that I am guided each day by my guardian angels, my two grandmothers who art in heaven. Not to worry that I've gone off the deep end ... just yet.

The Art of Angels -- celebrates the beauty of art and the beauty of angels in art. The Art of Cupid -- there is beauty in love and in cupid that is quite angelic. CloudWorks Angels -- are one of my favorite line of angels which make great gifts that bring a little heaven in each angel. Christmas Angel Globes -- looking for great Christmas gifts; think angels in snowglobes and waterglobes. William-Adolphe Bouguereau -- Angel Art -- some of the most incredible angel art prints.

P.S. Blessings to YOU, My Dear! See you around.

One of the rock stars of Squidoo

One of the rock stars of Squidoo -- a tribute by another lensmaster! I am surely not the first to blog about the Topicability of Squid Angels at Squidoo. But I do want to mention something you probably already know, a new group of Squid Angels were given their wings recently. Many a new lensmaster got outfitted for those feathery wings. It was a good thing to see so many of the male persuasion joining us of the female persuasion. I'm someone who likes a little balance to my daily life, and I will turn to a man to get his take. Oh oh, don't throw tomatoes anyone! It's just a matter of Yin and Yang or a bit of "He Said, She Said" to even it all out. Men sometimes can sum up the situation in an objective manner for us women.

Oh my -- I must apologize for going off on that tangent. It happens, tangents, when you don't blog every day, but some young hound dog has gotten me thinking. There is value in blogging daily. Think of it as mental therapy -- a chance to get a load off your er chest and perhaps connect with a new reader. Or, delight your existing readers.

So, where was I? Oh, yeah! One of the rock stars of Squidoo -- a tribute by another lensmaster! I was just getting into my second official day of Squid Angel duties -- to visit new lenses -- when I spotted this lens by Heather426, Holley RocketMom. It was time to stop and do a blog post!

Holley Adams is a Georgia peach and a rock star on Squidoo. I've blogged about Holley previously, Friends, Buddies, Chums and Then Someone Quite Special and am including that blog link as you can't get enough goodness in one blog post. Holley aka 24websurf joined Squidoo on July 18, 2008. That's a bit over a year. I'm not sure when I first met Holley, but it is thanks to Squidoo. Holley is a Giant Squid and a Squid Angel.

So, are you already a lensmaster at Squidoo? If yes, be sure to take a moment to check out Holley and the beautiful tribute lens by Heather. What's that? You are NOT a Squidoo lensmaster yet? Well, what are you waiting for -- hey, come and join me on Squidoo and start writing about your passions and interests. Need some help? I've mentored and helped many a lensmaster and Giant Squid at Squidoo. Check out my profile for a list of my interests. I'm JaguarJulie in case you didn't know.

Hey, we can use more rock stars ya know!

The Topicability of the Top 100

It is the middle of May and the halfway of the month for determining average lensrank for May 2009. That helps to determine if lensmasters will have lenses in the top tier that might pay $10-$12 for that coveted spot. The second tier pays much less at $1.30. The third tier earns about what a simple click might earn $0.08. One year ago, there were not nearly as many Giant Squids as there are today clammering for a top spot. Also, one year ago, to be a Giant Squid 100 Club member, well you could probably count those members.

Today, there are so many Giant Squids that occasionally when I am making visits to lenses I encounter a Giant Squid that I have met for the first time! I find that so interesting as I thought I knew all the Giant Squids. For me, it is a little tougher to guess who exactly might be a Giant Squid 100 member -- but I'm thinking WE Giant Squid 100 Club members might be earning our own badge to sport on our profiles.

I'd vote for an orange badge as the giant badge is purple to match the purple star. Giant Squids earn a yellow star for their lenses once they achieve that distinction because of 50+ quality content lenses -- you can see that yellow star on the profile. The purple star is for a special lens that was 'judged' to be a Giant Squids' stellar lens. I've only got one of those so far for my Stuffed Cabbage lens -- now HUB!


FYI, yesterday was a payday for Squidoo lensmasters. Some lensmasters have shared with other lensmasters how much they have earned in royalties for the month of March. I haven't shared my stats online but have kept them private. I've run a debate about how much of our stats should be public. It is my opinion that some things should be private. If I publicize that I have made $2,000 in one month on my The Journal of the Traveling Squid lens, I'm afraid that might encourage more journals to be traveling around the world ... or maybe not. ;) Or, it might encourage other lensmaster in the U.K., Europe, and the U.S.A. to jump on board the project! Yeah!!!

So, what about that topicability of the Top 100? Well, I am super thankful that I have ONE of those lenses in the Top 100 -- Yep, only one. But it is my most important lens because it celebrates my grandmother Julia Nagy, my Hungarian heritage, and pretty importantly what grandma taught me to make -- Stuffed Cabbage -- thank you grandma!

This morning, I took a look at the Top 100 and am thrilled to report that some of our fine lensmasters who are also GSOs, Giant Squids, Giant Squid 100 Club members, and Squid Angels have MORE than one lens in that coveted Top 100 spot! Wow -- isn't that amazing? I've added the number after the dear lensmasters' names to indicate how many Top 100 lenses they have today -- the middle of May. I'm not sure if any of these are a second ID for a Giant Squid which would skew the numbers for those with more than one lens in the Top 100.

• a_willow
• airabongco
• aj2008 - 2
• awelldressedbullet
• bdkz - 3
• boredofeducation
• bruceeisner
• Chadrew
• chefkeem
• Christene
• Cinetech - 2
• ClassyGals
• Color_Expert
• Comfortdoc
• CoolFoto
• Crystal_Booth
• dagsmith
• debnet
• ekurit
• Ener-G
• enslavedbyfaeries - 2
• Evelyn_Saenz
• EverythingMouse
• flowski
• Frankster
• Greekgeek - 4
• GypsyPirate - 2
• hmsweaver
• JaguarJulie
• Janet21
• Janiece
• Janusz
• JimH
• Jimmie
• JJNW
• Joan4
• kab
• KathrynDarden
• katiyana
• KimberlyDawnWells - 2
• KimGiancaterino
• KinHK
• kiwisoutback
• Kylyssa
• LindaJM
• luckycharms
• Mac33
• Marc_Sandford
• MiaBellezza
• MobyD
• MrLewisSmile
• mynameiskate
• N376
• Noadi - 2
• OhMe
• Pastiche - 2
• Pixelrage
• relache
• rmoore
• rms - 4
• SemperFidelis
• sewjr24
• spirituality
• Squidster - 2
• Susan52
• susannaduffy
• SusanVillasLewis
• tandemonimom
• tdove
• The_Health_Lady
• thefluffanutta - 3
• TheGreenerMe - 2
• ThomasC - 2
• Tipi
• Treasures-By-Brenda
• Victoria_Neely
• x3xsolxdierx3x
• xrayspecs
• zuzanna

P.S. So, what are YOU waiting for? Are you a Squidoo member yet? Join me on Squidoo and start having as much FUN as I am having! Who knows, if you keep at it, you might just become a Giant Squid or a Giant Squid 100 Club members or even someday a Squid Angel. At the moment, I am a Squid Angel OTL -- out to lunch or retired, but hoping to earn those wings back so that I can bless lenses.

In closing, Blessings to YOU! That has been my tagline when I was a working Squid Angel. ;) Peace you all.

OOOPS! Squidoo's tentacles are in a twist

Yes, that's right! You can't get any more topicable than Squidoo lensmasters suffering withdrawal from those tentacles that are in a twist!

Since mid-day Saturday, July 5th, Squidoo lensmasters LIKE ME have had their tentacles all in a tangle over the Squidoo servers going out for a swim. Seems as though the swim was a bit longer than planned -- they decided to do a little scuba diving and fishing ... to hear tell, the gang might be back today some time. Well, not soon enough for us serious lensmasters who have normal commitments throughout the week and rely on our weekends to tweak lenses and create new ones.

This morning when I tried to access my one of my lenses, I got that cute little message. At least it helps to know that there is a bit of levity amongst all the feverish workings going on by our crack Squidoo tech staff. Personally, I'm pretty partial to Gil for a number of reasons -- but, that's for me and him to know and for you to find out. Maybe.

An Amazing Paperback-Sized Wireless Reader

The Amazon Kindle is the most amazing gadget yet and serious must-have of our household!

We've been the first on our street with many of the latest gadgets from the flatscreen TV to the Apple iPod -- we actually have a his and hers iPods! However, all gadget aside, this wireless reading device is the cat's pajamas as far as we're concerned.

The experts are buzzing, as are bestselling authors, about the Kindle Wireless Reading Device from Amazon! Can the Kindle be the future of reading? A compelling argument for this device is it's size and capacity -- Why pack a paperback book when you can pack your Kindle with a capacity to hold over 200 titles? It's lightweight, wireless, and customizable with 6 different font sizes.

Those who work in the Graphic Arts Industry; i.e. the PRINTING Industry have surely taken notice -- much has already been written about how this type of wireless reader will have some impact on the future of printing!

• Easy to read: Revolutionary 6" diagonal E-Ink® electronic-paper display provides a sharp, high-resolution screen that looks and reads like real paper.


• Display: 600 x 800 pixel resolution at 167 ppi, 4-level gray scale.


• Portable Size: 7.5" x 5.3" x 0.7"


• Lightweight and thin: Weighs only 10.3 ounces -- Lighter and thinner than a paperback.


• Capacity: Holds over 200 titles.


• Price: $399.00 with free two-day shipping from Amazon.

P.S. The Topicability Quotient of the Kindle Wireless Reader is rated medium-hot as a recent search of Squidoo lenses on Kindle returned 134 Lenses. One of the popular Kindle lenses is Kindle Wireless Reading Device @ Amazon.