I've been an avid fan of Helium and a writer here for over a year. The site has grown but I see little improvement in what goes on here. The staff manages for us to do all the work, which is to ghost material around ads, that pay them.

I was appalled when they asked us to be channel monitors. I was even more amazed when people actually volunteered. The power of the human ego to entrain success is astonishing.

It is February 11th, 2008 and I declare my independence from starvation wages, along with rating others work, and ask that my articles be deleted. No way, no how, will I permit them to stay here. They're mine and I've seen plenty of work that is plagiarized by others who don't live an honest writer's life.

I can submit, and not waste my time being here. Let's just say it feels like a bad habit I need to give up.

It's eerily competitive now and seems terribly flawed in terms of its promise and vision. For every original thought penned, 10 others will come along and rehash that same idea to make their own mark at Helium.

And if I thought there was something I could suggest it might feel better to stay. It's become a manageable place to scam and I don't want any part of it.

I've donated my articles to charity and will check to see that something is being given. But to work here anymore?
No, thank you!

My passion is ...

love and creating works of art

I know too much about ...

life and then I forget everything

My parents always told me ...

get a job, I ignored them

My childhood ambition ...

happiness and having fun

My favorite memory ...

playing at Preservation Hall in New Orleans

Why I write ...

it keeps my mind from running on...

My best moment ...

is this one, right now

My inspiration ...

love, always and my spirtual guides

Food & Drink > Cooking (Other) Cooking is becoming a lost art

1 of 22

One would only need to visit my favorite Middle Eastern restaurant
to understand how quality in preparation is truly an art. The salads are
minced to perfection, the spices are turned at exactly the right moment.
You notice too, how beautifully the food is presented, with color, fragrance,
and texture that literally awakens the palates of those who dine.

Why do I mention this? Because we've lost the slow, loving pace in America
that makes cooking an aspect of caring for ourselves and others. I asked
the Middle Eastern cook one day if she blessed the food as she prepared it
a...

More..