My Squidoo Table of Contents

Squidoo for Beginners 

Who Else?

Remember the self-referential Seinfeld episodes where Jerry and George were pitching "a show about nothing?" Well Squidoo is very much a site about itself. The Squidoo Tips Topic is a never-ending source of fascination, since Squidoo is designed for beginners and thrives on "new blood."

There are a lot of very popular "how-to" lenses for beginners, and if you're just starting you should consider writing one. Even though the Squidoo interface is pretty self-explanatory documentation is practically non-existant and pages of screen-shots walking newbies through the process seem to get plenty of traffic.

Even if you're just starting to Squidoodle, you can gather your thoughts for your own reference, and possibly for those you may recruit later. Don't forget there's a $5 bonus for you and anyone you sign up once they earn $15 in total royalties. (If they ever do.)

Finding Popular Products for Your Amazon Modules

Looking for great products from Amazon.com to feature on your webpage, blog, or Squidoo lens? We've done the heavy lifting for you! (So give us 5 stars.) Amazon.com's "Movers and Shakers" are the products category by category that have had the great...

Stupid Squidoo Tricks - Publicize Your Lenses

You can do a lot with the Squidoo resource with a little imagination and some trial and error. Edison said genius was "99% perspiration," but he didn't say whose! Squidoo is constantly "improving" this platform. Some of the strategies outli...

Squidoo Lens Directories

Don't Tase me, Bro! This lens will be "under construction" for some time. The reason I started it in the first place, as you might guess, it that I have had some external backlink "issues" of my own. You can monitor my progress as I continue to resear...

Write Squidoo Lenses for Fun and Profit

If you haven't heard of Web 2.0 yet, you soon will. Chances are you'll be hearing more about Squidoo in that context, too. One of the first things about Squidoo to attract my attention was it's capability to publish embedded RSS feeds. Now you can hav...

Squidoo Workshop 101 - SEO for Beginners

Squidoo is great for people who have something to say, but aren't web-obsessed enough to learn HTML. Still, you need to know a thing or two about web publishing if you want your creations to be seen. Learn how to use tags and keywords to improve your...

Pop Culture 

Rock Guitarist Dweezil Zappa

The eldest son of iconoclast rock legend Frank Zappa, Dweezil has become a force to be reckoned with in his own right. Rather than try to avoid comparison to his famous father, Dweezil has taken the bull by the horns by forming the tribute band Zappa...

The Zappa Family

Lumping Frank Zappa's kids into one category as DMOZ does and calling it "the Zappa Family" isn't especially good organization, particularly since the Zappas aren't a family act like The Osmonds or The Jackson Five Borrowing a strategem from...

Cassandra (Elvira) Peterson - Mistress of the Dark

Cassandra is better known as her alter ego "Elvira, Mistress of the Dark," The hostess of KHJ-TVs Movie Macabre in the 1980s, which became the first nationally syndicated horror host show. The Queen of Halloween has been a pop culture icon ever since...

People 

"Domestic Diva" Martha Stewart

Martha Stewart opted to serve a five-month sentence for "something" after a lengthy public witch-hunt worthy of Kenneth Starr failed to produce evidence of alledged insider trading. The charge is currently under appeal, but Martha is now ba...

Anthropologist Jane Goodall Books and Videos

Dame Jane Goodall, DBE is best known for her 45-year study of chimpanzee social and family life in Gombe Streams National Park, Tanzania where she subsequently founded the Jane Goodall Institute As her lens, Jane Goodall: The Big Picture shows, her in...

Who Is Megan Casey ?

It's so hard to keep up with tween phenomena these days. By the time the Internet Movie Database lists them they may already be passé I happened upon this newcomer quite by accident. She is apparently better known in Germany. Follow Megan's met...

Fascist Dictator Benito Mussolini

People are so negative about Mussolini! Since Squidoo insists that we "respect everyone," all I can say is that Il Duce had a lot in common with today's "hip-hop" Republicans. Obviously, that's a good thing!

Who is Seth ( Squidoo ) Godin?

I, for one, am averse to the cult of personality that makes celebrity endorsements such a huge business. (I'm not a Doctor, but I play one on TV). So why would I care what advertising executive Seth Godin has to say? Well, Squidoo has certainly made a...

Computers 

Computer Programming Languages

Knuth says programming languages are all alike (OK, he says they have several properties in common.)  Still, it is a lot easier to learn a second or "N 1th" language than it is to learn the first one. Many languages are available, each...

IP Routers : Speed, Security and Economy

IP routers -- often called broadband routers or just routers -- direct network traffic to its proper destination, and so help to reduce the load on every system in the network. Once the exclusive domain of IT professionals, a wide variety of small but...

Current Amazon Computer and Software Lists

You've got to get up pretty early in the morning to stay abreast of developments in computer hardware and software these days. These feeds of Amazon top sellers can help. Updated hourly.                  ...

Three Great OReilly Series @ Amazon.com

O'Reilly & Associates began publishing computer-related books in 1978 (before the PC revolution) with a small series of highly regarded UNIX® manuals. Their books were frequently better than the "official" documentation, if any such...

Line Conditioning and Power Supply

Does your computer crash in weird, non-reproducible ways? It may not be a software problem. An inadequate power supply can cause extremely unpredictable operation, and it is one of the most frequently overlooked computer hardware SNAFUs. "Brand...

Marketing 

Amazon aStores @ Amazon.com

21 AUG 07 - Amazon.com's aStores are one year old today, and to celebrate, Amazon has unveiled a whole new set of features. (Actually a week ago, but why quibble?) Now you can quickly and easily build thousands of Amazon product pages using the unlimi...

Amazon "Omakase" Contextual Advertising Links

2006-08-02 Amazon.com announced today in in their associates-only web pages that they were releasing a new "beta" program called Omakase links. The links will combine data from Amazon's associate & customer databases as well as context i...

LinkBuddies Banner Ads - Not Dead Yet!

People often tell me, "Banner ads are dead." I admit they can be annoying, they don't often take surfers to useful, relevant pages, and people generally ignore them. But dead? Not really. The thing is you have to use banners correctly and ha...

Finding Popular Products for Your Amazon Modules

Looking for great products from Amazon.com to feature on your webpage, blog, or Squidoo lens? We've done the heavy lifting for you! (So give us 5 stars.) Amazon.com's "Movers and Shakers" are the products category by category that have had the great...

Music 

Current Amazon Music / Playlists

Here are Amazon.com's most popular CDs by category, updated hourly. Sorry, Amazon deleted the popular Free Downloads feed, and inexplicably the profitable "Gear & Gadgets feed.

Music by Genre @ Amazon.com

Bands and artists strive to develop their own unique sound, then the music industry pigeonholes them into more-or-less appropriate genres. This page should make it a little easier to find your favorites. For more choices, see our Music Mania aStore.

Lensmaster Index: The Editors of Rolling Stone Magazine

The Editors of Rolling Stone Magazine wrote 124 lenses, probably imagining that their efforts would be recognized. If you examine their XML feeds, you'll see they haven't updated anything since about 6 JUN 2006. I wonder if there's a back-story there...

Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddler's Convention

I've been fortunate to help out with the stage management chores at the Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddler's Convention for the last eight or nine years, and I've been looking for a way to encourage a greater web presence for the event. Students, camp...

The Thistle & Shamrock -- Celtic Music @ NPR

National Public Radio supports one of the most cost-effective news organizations in America today, and promotes diversity in musical programming, including a lot of instrumental music, which I find less distracting than earwig lyrics that comandeer t...

Bands and Artists 

The Zappa Family

Lumping Frank Zappa's kids into one category as DMOZ does and calling it "the Zappa Family" isn't especially good organization, particularly since the Zappas aren't a family act like The Osmonds or The Jackson Five Borrowing a strategem from...

Talking Heads Frontman David Byrne

David Byrne is best known as the lead singer and principal songwriter of the new wave supergroup Talking Heads Byrne is known for his interests beyond music, including film and information theory, and won an academy award for his "Last Emperor&qu...

Electronica Synthpop Glam Band - Goldfrapp

Goldfrapp is billed as a duo consisting of lead singer Alison Goldfrapp and composer Will Gregory, so apparently other band members are not considered permanent. The group has enjoyed considerable critical and popular acclaim in Europe, but is relativ...

Retro Swing Band Cherry Poppin' Daddies

Cherry Poppin' Daddies is an American retro swing band known for their part in the swing revival of the 1990s. Their musical influences include swing, ska, and rock. The band is best remembered for their CD & single Zoot Suit Riot, and has been on...

The Cramps -- Not Psychobilly?

The Cramps have gone through numerous personnel changes, since emerging from the early punk scene with lead singer Lux Interior and lead guitarist Poison Ivy as the only constant members. Their music is influenced by early rockabilly, as well as sufer...

My Penguin Group Index @ Squidoo 

An Index to My Penguin Group Pages

You might wonder why I've concentrated so heavily on Penguin Publishers. That's a fair question. Other than the fact that I really do like Penguin books, it goes back to one of Squidoo's earlier bright ideas -- co-branded groups. You might notice that the URLs of these pages are in the "penguingroup" subdirectory. That has potentially advantageous implications with searchengines.

I had no idea at the time that Squidoo would wind up abandoning the scheme in mid-implementation creating Orphan Groups. I still can't believe it, but I'm not maligning anyone because I respect them so much. (It's in the terms of service agreement. You might actually read this one! )

My Penguin Group Index @ Squidoo

I've resorted to making my own index, since the Penguin Group Group remains "orphaned". Actually, if you're interested in books you should just go straight to Amazon.com's Penguin Classics Page.

The Penguin Classics Library - Top 100 Titles 

Complete Collection

Read / Write a Review of this page

Penguin Classics is an imprint of the Penguin Group for a selection of noted literary works. This Collection -- an Amazon exclusive -- includes them all.

If you don't want the more than 1000 books that includes there are several smaller collections as well, listed below under Component Collections. There are also some "bonus" titles (like the Steinbeck books to round things out

The Penguin Classics Library Complete Collection - Top 100 Titles

The Penguin Classics Complete Collection is an Amazon exclusive. It has been temporarily unavailable in the past, so we're leaving these links to the "top 100" titles separate. Some of the dead links on Amazon's main site have been fixed to...

Penguin "The Complete Greeks & Romans" Collection 

Classical Studies - Penguin Complete Greeks and Romans Collection

Much of Western Civilization is derived from the works of the ancient Greeks and Romans, so a foundation in the Classics is essential not only for its direct benefits, but to fully understand the modern classics which often refer to them. Amazon appar...

The Pelican "World of Shakespeare" Collection 

The Pelican "World of Shakespeare" Collection

Shakespeare was famous in his day for writing plays that appealed not only to wealthy patrons, but to the common folk as well. Patrician or groundling, you will enjoy Shakespeare once you begin to become comfortable with the Elizabethan style of the...

Penguin "Foundations in Literature" Collection 

Classic Literature - Penguin Foundations in Literature Collection

The American literary tradition is so rich and varied that the Penguin Classics editors have grouped the collection into two volumes, with Volume I focused on the novels, short stories, and poetry through the 19th century, and Volume II focused on th...

Penguin "Foundations in Democracy" Collection  

Penguin "Foundations in Democracy" Collection

The American literary tradition is so rich and varied that the Penguin Classics editors have grouped the collection into two volumes, with Volume I focused on the novels, short stories, and poetry through the 19th century, and Volume II focused on th...

Penguin - The English Collection - 19th C. British Literature 

Penguin - The English Collection - 19th C. British Literature

Amazon features a number of exclusive collections from Penguin Books, carefully selected by the editorial staff at Amazon and The Penguin Group. This selection of 19th century British literature is perfect for English majors or anyone who enjoys lter...

Teen Reading - The Penguin "Children's Library Collection"  

Teen Reading - The Penguin "Children's Library Collection"

From the title, I expected this to be a collection of picture-books and bed-time stories. There are a few of those, but generally this would be better termed The Teen & Young Adult Collection. Confusion aside, there are quite a few titles in here...

More Classic Books 

Bestselling John Steinbeck Titles from Penguin

John Steinbeck is one of my two favorite authors, I suppose. (The other, in no particular order, is Ernest Hemingway.) Steinbeck won both the Nobel and Pulitzer Prizes, which is not bad.

Penguin / Viking Portable Library Series

The Penguin (Viking) Portable Library Series offers substantial if not complete works by significant authors at bargain prices. They are indispensible volumes for any well-rounded personal library. Buy two to qualify for free shipping.

The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith

Two events made 1776 a remarkable year. The first is the well-known Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress. The other, which ultimately has had a far greater influence on the world in which we live, was the quiet publication of...

American Girl For Grownups 

Read / Write a Review of this page.

I've been featuring American Girl® products since at least 1999, and customers (and their daughters) seem to love them!

This is the one "American Girl" page that isn't interlinked with the rest. It features the American Girl Series Teacher's Editions and other grown-up things. The individual historical character pages and the "Meet the American Girls" index were intended more for younger readers, which is tricky since the target audience ranges from 4 to 13.

American Girl for Grown-ups

The American Girl® brand was established in 1986 by educator & entrepreneur Pleasant T. Rowland. Mattel acquired American Girl's parent Pleasant Company in 1998. American Girl is the direct marketer of the popular collectible-quality American...

Meet the American Girls 

This is the table of contents and general merchandise page. Remeber critics. Ages 4 to 13!

Meet the American Girls

See the newest American Girl historical character, Rebecca Rubin Here is a list of all the pages I've written about your favorite American Girl Characters. You can find lots of good books about them and some DVD movies, dolls, and fun activities too....

Eighteenth Century American Girls - Kaya 

The Eighteenth Century American Girls Include Kaya, the Nez Perce girl and Felicity Merriman, from the British Colonial period.

American Girl - Kaya

See the newest American Girl historical character, Rebecca Rubin "Kaya is a daring, adventurous Nez Perce girl living in 1764. Her deep love of horses and respect for nature nourish her spirit, as she dreams of becoming a courageous leader for h...

American Girl - Felicity Merriman

See the newest American Girl historical character, Rebecca Rubin "Felicity Merriman is an independent, loyal, spirited girl growing up in colonial Virginia in 1774, just before the Revolutionary War. Felicity® is impatient doing the “sittin...

Nineteenth Century American Girls  

American Girl - Addy Walker

See the newest American Girl historical character, Rebecca Rubin "Addy Walker is a courageous, strong girl growing up in 1864, during the Civil War. Addy’s stories tell of her daring escape with her mother from slavery, and the challenges...

American Girl - Josefina Montoya

"Josefina Montoya is a hopeful, caring, faithful girl. She is growing up in 1824 New Mexico, a place of sweeping big skies and hard work, danger, and dreams. In Josefina’s stories, she and her family watch their old ways cross paths with t...

American Girl - Kirsten Larson

"Kirsten Larson is a brave, steadfast pioneer girl growing up on the Minnesota prairie in 1854. Her stories begin with her long, dangerous voyage with her family from Sweden to America. At first, Kirsten finds it difficult to get used to this st...

Twentieth Century American Girls 

American Girl - Julie Albright

See the newest American Girl historical character, Rebecca Rubin "Julie Albright doesn't want to move away from her San Francisco neighborhood near Chinatown, even if their new apartment is just a few miles away. Moving means leaving her best friend,...

American Girl - Rebecca Rubin

Rebecca Rubin is a lively nine-year-old girl growing up in a big Jewish family in New York in 1914. She dreams of becoming an actress, but her parents and grandparents have traditional ideas and don't think young ladies should perform. When Rebecca l...

American Girl - Samantha Parkington

See the newest American Girl historical character, Rebecca Rubin "Samantha Parkington is a bright, compassionate, generous girl being raised by her wealthy grandmother in 1904, during a time of great change. Samantha’s world is filled with...

American Girl - Molly McIntire

See the newest American Girl historical character, Rebecca Rubin "Molly McIntire is a lively, lovable, patriotic girl growing up in 1944. Her stories describe her life on the home front during World War Two. Molly doesn’t like many of the...

More American Girls  

American Girl - History's Mysteries

See the newest American Girl historical character, Rebecca Rubin The History's Mysteries Series from American Girl® carries the stories of familiar characters forward for somewhat older readers, approximately grades 3 - 5.

More American Girl Historical Characters

See the newest American Girl historical character, Rebecca Rubin The main characters in the American Girl history series have friends, too. This page tells about them and other American Girl items for learning and just for fun.

Children's Books 

National Geographic for Children and Teens

National Geographic publishes a number of books and magazines specifically for children and teens.

Teen Reading - The Penguin "Children's Library Collection"

From the title, I expected this to be a collection of picture-books and bed-time stories. There are a few of those, but generally this would be better termed The Teen & Young Adult Collection. Confusion aside, there are quite a few titles in here...

Penguin Readers Series - Classic Childrens Books

Penguin publishes a very nice selection of Children's classic literature, much of it unavailable anywhere else. One of their more innovative offerings is the Penguin Readers Series a large selection of children's books arranged according to reading l...

Meet the American Girls

See the newest American Girl historical character, Rebecca Rubin Here is a list of all the pages I've written about your favorite American Girl Characters. You can find lots of good books about them and some DVD movies, dolls, and fun activities too....

Editors' Listmania Lists 

The Editors of Amazon.com prepare Listmania® recommendations on a variety of subjects, and I've screenscraped the links and resyndicated them with links to social bookmarks. ( I first discovered in Squidoo because I was interested in RSS technology.)

It's fine to say "Everybody's an expert at something," but these recommendations are from actual acknowledged experts, and from Amazon customers who have been voted to the top.

Top 100 Reader's Guides @ Amazon.com

Amazon.com invites readers to publish guides on products for a specific purpose, e.g. "So you'd like to ..." win a million dollars and move to Tahiti. Here are Amazon.com's Top 100 Reader's Guides, according to Amazon's own ranking system.

Book Editors' Listmania Lists : 251-on

Anyone can write a Listmania! list, but Amazon.com's book department editors do an especially good job. Here are more of their lists, including some deep discounts.

Book Editors Listmania Lists : 1-250

Anyone can write a Listmania! list, but Amazon.com's book department editors do an especially good job. Here are their most recent 250 lists.

Music Editors Listmania Lists @ Amazon.com 1-250

Anyone can write a Listmania! list, but Amazon.com's music department editors do an especially good job. Here are their most recent 250 lists.

Music Editors' Listmania(TM) Lists @ Amazon.com 251-on

Amazon.com's Music Editors write some very good Listmania(TM) Lists.

Fantasy Role-Playing Games 

AD&D (Dungeons and Dragons) Forgotten Realms Titles

Search Squidoo for "AD&D" and you get no results. That is because their search function can't properly escape the "&" character. You will have better luck looking for "Dungeons and Dragons" or "DnD" This little corner of the web was dedicated to the F...

Dungeonmasters Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Resources

The barkeep of the Rutting Unicorn jerks his head significantly toward a lone figure in threadbare robes shrouded in the shadows at the far corner of the public house. Nearing, you glimpse Architeuthis' visage, hideously stained vert et gules in magi...

World of Warcraft / The Burning Crusade

The Burning Crusade is a popular expansion for the MMPORG World of Warcraft, one of the most popular online games in the world today.Order Now! Coming Soon: The Wrath of the Lich KIng Thanks for making this the #1 IGN group Lens!

Cookbooks 

Low Sodium Diet Cookbooks

Excessive sodium in the form of table salt is not good for the electrolyte balance that helps to regulate nerve impulses in the healthy heart. Since almost all foods contain salt, it is nearly impossible to have a sodium deficiency. Once you go witho...

Low Fat Cookbooks @ Amazon.com

The American Heart Association recommends a "heart healthy" diet featuring moderate amounts of fat and cholesterol. Since the typical American diet includes far more red meat than is recommended, knowing how to cook low fat and non-fat alte...

Food Editor Roy Finamore - Top Cookbooks

During his 30-year tenure as a top cookbook editor, Roy Finamore helped guide Martha Stewart, Ina Garten, and Diana Kennedy, among others, to the bestseller lists. One Potato, Two Potato, co-authored with Molly Stevens, gave readers a taste of Finamo...

Science Books 

Science Books - Andrew Weil - Readings in Science

Dr. Andrew Weil, M.D. is one practitioner of modern western medicine who does not subscribe to the notion that there is a pill for every ailment. Rather he advocates a more proactive approach not to the mere absence of identifiable disease, but the p...

Science Books - Lisa Randall's Readings on Physics

Lisa Randall is one of the leading young thinkers in particle physics today, having become the first tenured woman theoretical physicist at both MIT and Harvard, where she now teaches. The book editors of Amazon.com have asked her to recommend ten boo...

Science Books - Dava Sobel's Readings on the Planets

Bestselling author Dava Sobel, best known for Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of his Time as well as for Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love reveals her top 15 rec...

Science Books - David Suzuki's Readings on Environmentalism

David Suzuki is an acclaimed scientist, broadcaster, and environmentalist. For over 40 years, he's been educating the public about environmental issues--both in the classroom and over the airwaves as the host of the long-running television program 'T...

Jeffery Deaver's Readings in Forensics

Jeffery Deaver, former attorney and folksinger, is the internationally bestselling author of 22 suspense novels, which have sold in 150 countries and been translated into 30 languages.

Politics Central 

Politics Central - Peter Beinart's Readings on Liberalism

"Since becoming the editor of The New Republic in 1999 (a position he left this spring to become an editor-at-large at the magazine), Peter Beinart has been one of the sharpest and most influential political writers around, and after 9/11 he was...

Politics Central - John Dean on the American Presidency

John W. Dean, a former counsel to the president of the United States, after recently retiring from the world of business, has turned to writing and lecturing full time about the ways and means of government in Washington. Given that the most popular p...

Politics Central - Ian Bremmer's Readings in International Politics

U.S. foreign policy, warns Ian Bremmer, is too often based on a simplistic formula: engage America's friends and isolate her enemies. Bremmer's provocative and persuasive new book, The J Curve: A New Way to Understand Why Nations Rise and Fall, revea...

Politics Central - Paul Berman's Readings on the American Left

"Paul Berman is one of the American Left's most incisive historians and thinkers, loyal to what he considers its best traditions but passionately critical of its excesses and its willingness to turn a blind eye to totalitarianism when it comes in the...

Politics Central - Haynes Johnson's Readings in History / Politics

For nearly half a century, Haynes Johnson has reported on American history as it happens, including a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on the civil rights battles in Selma, Alabama, years as a national affairs columnist for the Washington Post and a...

National Geographic 

I went a little overboard with RSS on this one, learning what various third-party services could do. These feeds are screen-scraped from Amazon "feature" pages, which aren't available via AWS. They are basically "static" (i.e. the content doesn't change), or "evergreen" -- the preferred term in Web 2.0 circles.

See National Geographic Group

National Geographic for Children and Teens

National Geographic publishes a number of books and magazines specifically for children and teens.

National Geographic National Park Profiles

The National Geographic Society has championed conservation and responsible land use since 1888. Their Park Profiles Series is invaluable if you plan to visit any of our national parks, or if you just want to experience the vicariously. ... Read More...

Mp3 Music 

MP3: Amazon's Top Ten Most Popular Artists

Squidoo excels at displaying RSS feeds like this one from Amazon.com. Who knows if it will meet their undefined "quality" standards?

MP3 : Amazon's Top 10 Songs

Squidoo excels at displaying RSS feeds like this one from Amazon.com. Who knows if it will meet their undefined "quality" standards?