Image from Wikipedia commons. Sorry, but no game shots.

Alright there, sports fans.  I bet a lot of you are wondering what the World Series Schedule for 2009 is, and we’re going to give it to you.  This year’s Series is poised to be a contest of epic proportions.  We have last year’s winners, the reigning World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies, facing off against the Yankees, who are looking for a return to the Fall Classic for the first time since the year 2000.

Here it is

Game 1 – Wednesday, October 28th – @New York

Game 2 – Thursday, October 29th – @ NY

Game 3 – Saturday, October 31st – @ Philadelphia

Game 4 – Sunday, November 1st – @ PHI

Game 5, if necessary, will be played on Monday, November 2nd in Philadelphia.  Games 6 and 7, if necessary, will be in New York.  The World Series this year is being broadcast by FOX, and games 2 and 3 will start at 7:57 pm, Eastern Standard Time, game 4 (this upcoming Sunday) will start at 8:20 pm, EST.  Games 5-7, if necessary, will also begin at 7:57 EST. Check your local listing for the channel.

Game 1 is already over – and guess who lost in their fancy new digs?

That’s right, for those of you who missed it.  The New York Yankees LOST in the first World Series game they played in their big fancy new stadium, that reportedly cost over a billion dollars.  That was a pretty big cash advance for a team that started seeing home runs fly over the walls (that they didn’t hit – including a 22-4 slaughtering by the Cleveland Indians) and Wednesday night was no exception.

Utley and Lee combine to Burn the Bronx Again

Two Philadelphia Phillies had outstanding nights.  Second basemen Chase Utley and pitcher Cliff Lee both produced outstanding performances, with Utley hitting a home run in the 3rd and 6th innings, followed by two runs in the 8th and 9th innings by Raul Ibanez (two RBI in the 8th) and two RBI hits from Shane Victorino and Ryan Howard.

Cliff Lee pitched a complete game – which is amazing for a World Series game. Not only that, he pitched the first complete Game 1 defeat of the Yanks since the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Sandy Koufax.  In the first five, there were only 3 hits and 7 strikeouts.  By the 9th, it was shutout, but a little luck went the way of the Yankees.  The Bronx Bombers managed an unearned run off a throwing error during an attempted double play.  In the end, it hardly mattered – as soon as that happened, Lee struck out Alex Rodriguez (who has had a BA of over .400 this postseason) and Posada with impunity, as if these legit threats at the backstop were a couple of impudent Little Leaguers that he was giving a lesson in humiliation.  I bet the Indians regret that trade now!

Cue Gloating

This will be brief – but I’d like to take this moment to gloat over the Yankees loss, and remind everyone of the spanking the Evil Empire received last night.  That will be all.

Gloating Over

The Yankees are not about to take this lying down.  C.C. Sabathia is going to be looking for revenge, and so will everyone else.  A-Rod was struck out three times, and he isn’t likely to be happy about it.  They just lost the first World Series game on home turf – they will be out for blood tonight.  Luckily, on TV it’s free – but attending in person would be well worth some instant cash loans.

With a quiverfull of children, the Duggars aim to pierce the armor of their secular humanist enemies. (Photo: flickr.com)

Sorry to sound so militant, fans of the Duggars. However, there is a war going on. The Duggar family will be introducing solider number 19 shortly. If the upcoming child had the ability to choose, I wonder what he’d have to say about such conscription.

Before entering the mine field, I must admit that I’ve never watched the Duggar family’s reality program “18 Kids and Counting.” It sounds like Michelle Duggar definitely has a system that works for her tremendously large brood. As a parent, I’m always appreciative of any information that can help me be a better father to my children. I strive to deal with each situation in a calm yet firm, instructive but non-preachy manner. Religion does not play a role in how I raise my children as it does for the Duggars. My choice is as personal to me as theirs is to them. Yet at the end of the day, if either of our families need instant cash loans, we’re eligible to apply. They’re available to all who meet simple requirements.

Duggars: Fully loaded

“Lo, Children are the heritage of the Lord; and the fruit of the womb is His Reward. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them…” – Psalm 127: 3-5

The New York Daily News reports that now that the Duggars 19th child is coming, they’ll have to change the name of their show – again. Michelle Duggar made the announcement on behalf of the Duggar Family on the “Today Show.” Their last child was born just eight months previous, and Michelle Duggar has been pregnant for 12 of her 42 years on Earth. Before number 19 is born, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar will be grandparents, as their oldest son and his wife are expecting.

Isn’t that strange, having grandkids older than your own child?

Not according to Michelle Duggar. She told the Daily News that “My sister and my mother were having babies at the same time, so I have nieces and nephews older than me.”

One thing I do admire about the Duggar family (Michelle Duggar in particular) is that she has been able to run a homeschooling program for her children, with the help of the older siblings. Under ideal circumstances, that’s something I’d like to do with my own children, although it will be more of a supplement rather than their only source of education. My curriculum would not be faith-based, of course, and I’d require the same of any school they attend.

Our population is bigger than your population

Yes, the Quiverfull movement (see http://www.quiverfull.com/) is the sect which the Duggars follow. The Daily News sugar coats it claiming they’re conservative Baptists, but let’s call a spade a spade, please. The Duggars say they didn’t plan on having so many kids at first, but the sorrow of a miscarriage caused them to abandon reason. Some who face such a tragedy abandon reason temporarily, however. It’s an understandable response. Placing it on a permanent vacation is another matter, however. Like trying to live on instant cash loans, rather than using them only in emergencies.

The standard argument for the Quiverfull/Christian Patriarchy movement is that the subjugation of women and children is for their own protection. They may also claim that it is an honor to submit to the male authority (God as head, men as the extension of His hierarchy). But I believe it is unreasonable for women to abandon all that they can create and achieve within the family architecture (and without) because a literary character says so. If a Quiverfull woman’s dreams don’t happen to coincide with those of her husband – trust me, this happens in all fundamentalist religious groups – then the woman is required to set those dreams aside.

I subscribe to doctrines of freedom and intellectual honesty

Mind you, I believe that the dream of raising a family is noble and worthwhile. The Duggars 19th child does not diminish this. I do not agree that a woman who decides to be a stay-at-home mom is somehow less worthy than a working woman who chooses job over having a family. In fact, I believe that family achievement is generally more important to the growth of a culture than professional achievement, but that’s a different argument for another time.

The Duggars may be raising children as missionaries. They may be preparing them to be part of an army against those who do not share their beliefs. It won’t necessarily be a war of physical violence, but at the very least it’s a reproductive race. A larger population could thin the resource herd and make such products as instant cash loans more plentiful, incidentally.

What’s a Quiverfull?

The Duggar family is perhaps the most recognizable exponent of the Quiverfull movement, a segment of the Christian Patriarchy Movement (Photo: babybowsonline.com)

Kathryn Joyce, author of the book “Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement,” writes for Salon that the Quiverfull movement believes in no use of birth control. Women accept the number of children “God” gives them as a demonstration of their faith and obedience. Effectively, they are “winning the country for Christ by having more children than their adversaries,” writes Joyce. While not official church doctrine, it is an evangelical and fundamentalist Protestant movement that has borrowed Catholic arguments against birth control and used the growing homeschooling movement to spread their faith-based ideals.

Will any of the Duggar family become “aberrations?”

Some will argue that apparently happy families like the Duggars are a sign that Quiverfull is an ideal that should be encouraged. However, will such a movement eventually fall upon principles of eugenics and faith cleansing? Cheryl Lindsey Seelhoff, former Quiverfull adherent and mother of 11 argues that the Quiverfull movement creates isolation and grief rather than happy families. She believes that Quiverfull is a segment of society where “women and children are routinely and systematically subordinated and subjugated by the men in their lives as a matter of biblical principle.” Seelhoff observed that Quiverfull members “never talk about the victims of the movement, other than to distance themselves, to explain how it is that the victims are aberrations.” Sounds like spin control, plain and simple.

And some think that religion isn’t political?

I wish the Duggar family and the Duggars 19th child the best. I also wish them all well. While I do not subscribe to their beliefs, I believe that every family has the right to health and the pursuit of happiness. That includes women and children. If their faith permits that, fine. If not, they’re missing out on basic human rights.

They may have the right to apply for instant cash loans when the situation dictates, but if a wife wants to spend that money on a vacation away from the husband, they should have the right to do so, even if the husband isn’t keen on the idea. In controlled doses, absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder.

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Your inoculation is complete. Here is your "I vaccinated!" sticker, citizen. (Photo: flickr.com)

There are many people who believe that it’s a good idea to get a flu shot each season in order to avoid onset of the annoying illness. I personally do not subscribe to this idea (see the video below for an idea of what I think about it), but even I recognize that groups like young children, the elderly and those with respiratory conditions can benefit from vaccines. Now that Walgreens flu shots are going to be free for the unemployed and uninsured, it seems that more people than ever will be in position to partake of the helpful (harmful?) flu shots before cold weather sets in. For lenders of instant cash loans, greater health will mean more people will be active and in need of money to keep their lifestyles going strong.

Walgreens and CVS will offer millions of dollars of seasonal shots

Walgreens flu shots (and CVS flu shots) will be available to many thousands of people, according to Newsday. Walgreens will give out $1 million in shots to the uninsured through its 7,000 U.S. stores and clinics. CVS Caremark will provide consumers with 100,000 free shots. That has a street value of about $3 million (actually, no… but if a black market begins for flu shots, perhaps).

Job seekers need to stay on top of their game

That’s who the Walgreens flu shots are primarily geared toward. By their own records, CVS claims that only 34 percent of job seekers received a shot last year. Compare this with the overall 49 percent of the total population (also a CVS estimate) that was seeking employment and you’ll see that more people need to get their RDA of mercury!

Job seekers are among the least likely to get flu shots, with 34 percent of them receiving shots last year, compared with 49 percent of the overall population, according to a CVS study.

Seasonal vaccine won’t stop swine flu

Walgreens flu shots won’t protect you against H1N1 virus, so don’t go in there hoping for your free dosage. The government is more than willing to help you with that one. If you don’t comply, say hello to the Rex84 plan. Get ready for that excitement this fall… perhaps.

Other consumers can partake if they wish

CVS and Walgreens flu shots will be available to everyone, but if you’re employed or insured, you’ll have to pay if your policy doesn’t cover. According to a Walgreens corporate statement, a nasal spray version of the seasonal formula is available now for $29.99 at Walgreens. If you are a fan of needles, you’ll only have to pay $24.99, which is hardly so much that you’ll need an instant cash loan. The stores will definitely need that money, as people are preparing for flu season early and the expected demand for the shots is great. Walgreens estimates 50 percent of all consumers will comply, says Newsday.

CVS is making flu shots an event

Because what could be more festive than indoctrination (oops, I mean inoculation). Beginning September 15, CVS will begin holding “flu shot clinic events” where trained professionals will administer the vaccine.

Wal-Mart and Rite Aid want in on the action

Not to be outdone, Wal-Mart will begin sticking random customers who wear overalls or pajamas (I kid; people volunteer) in mid-September. Rite Aid will begin offering seasonal flu shots within the next week.

Wither the swine flu?

Remember, these pharmacies won’t be offering free H1N1 shots. The Wichita Eagle reports at http://www.kansas.com/news/story/952424.html that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be circulating H1N1 vaccine this flu season. It’s currently under development and will be ready by mid-October or later.

While you’re waiting like a good citizen, the government recommends you get your regular flu shot. I can’t stress enough how much they recommend it. Get it, people? Fly your flags and swab those arms.

“The more people you get in a community who are immunized, the less likely the illness is to spread,” said Dr. Robert Kenagy of Wichita, Kansas.

Swine flu symptoms your government doesn’t want you to have

Like most any flu, swine flu is spread through coughs and sneezes from infected parties. If you have it, you most likely will have a 100-plus degree fever, aches and trouble breathing. If things get bad enough, you’ll also be relocated by groups that don’t fully identify themselves. But that last one won’t happen, will it?

H1N1 tends to pose the greatest danger to young people and those with chronic respiratory conditions. Those with diabetes, heart disease and asthma are also at risk. Those who fight to maintain the citizenry’s right to an occasional instant cash loan may also be targets for the disease, although I could also be making that up. But it is definitely true that an instant cash loan can help you in a tight spot, flu or not. Click the button above to apply.

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Ribs!

In Naperville, Illinois, just a few miles from Chicago, at Naperville Ribfest 2009 — it’s on! The festival starts today. While the Naperville Ribfest is, indeed, an excellent place to eat all kinds of delicious ribs, it’s more than that.

The Daily Herald in Chicago says Naperville Ribfest 2009 will be a “friendly but intense competition.” The Daily Herald says:

Seventeen ribbers will face off Saturday hoping to snag one of two titles – best ribs or best sauce. They’ll be judged based on taste, tenderness and appearance.

The ghost of ribfests past

Last  year Sweet Baby Ray’s took home the title for best ribs, and Smokin’ Joe’s Hog Wild Barbeque won best sauce. Sweet Baby Ray’s also won second place for sauce, so they are a contender to watch. Joe Henderson from Smokin’ Joe’s is also back this year.

Winning Ribfest has meant plenty of extra business for Sweet Baby Ray’s, kind of like getting instant cash loans in the form of extra customers.

Ribs for a good cause

The Naperville Exchange Club has been holding its rib competition and festival during the same time as Taste of Chicago for years — and for good reason. Taste of Chicago is the largest outdoor food festival in the world, and it draws millions from all over the country.

The more people that attend Naperville Ribfest 2009, the better. Naperville Ribfest 2009 will raise money for child abuse and domestic violence prevention. Every year the Naperville Exchange Club chooses a charity to benefit.

Don’t forget the music!

Naperville Ribfest 2009 also has a pretty impressive lineup of musical performances. Blue Oyster Cult, Sara Evans and Huey Lewis & The News are just a few of the musical artists who will perform at Naperville Ribfest 2009. The four-day festival begins today and ends Sunday.

Admission is $10 and Naperville Ribfest 2009 is a Knoch Park in Naperville, Ill. The park is open from noon to 10 p.m. July 2 to July 5. The park is free and open to the public after 7 p.m. on the Fourth of July for fireworks displays.

]]> 1 http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/06/01/left-4-dead-2-e3-live-stream/ http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/06/01/left-4-dead-2-e3-live-stream/#comments Mon, 01 Jun 2009 22:20:04 +0000 Steven Tarlow http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/?p=35645 Survival horror = a day in the life

Would you describe your life as a survival horror excursion? I’m not talking about the horror of facing down unpaid bills. Yes, a payday loan can provide the extra cash needed to avert such monstrosities. No, I’m talking about the video game genre of survival horror. Thankfully, most of us do not live in a world where we are constantly search for more shotgun shells to beat back a zombie invasion. For most of us, phrases like “Resident Evil,” “Silent Hill” or “Left 4 Dead” mean a fantasy escape and not a way of life (or death).

But wait! It’s E3 2009 time in Los Angeles, which means that for anyone with the G4 television network or a broadband Internet connection, the e3 live stream is on the air. Finding out what new video games and related technologies are in store for gamers is like waking up on Christmas morning. It’s an exciting time for fans of most any type of video game, but there are few that will receive the hype of survival horror gem Left 4 Dead 2.

You’ve been left for dead again?

It’s been quite an opening day for E3 2009, as evidenced by the announcement of the Left 4 Dead 2 project. Norman Chan writes for Maximum PC that game makers Valve and Electronic Arts have announced this sequel to the original multiplayer zombie shoot-em-up. Left 4 Dead 2 will be released on November 17th, 2009 for Xbox 360 and PC, complete with a rich plate of new features. Chief among these will be five new campaigns that follow the story four zombie apocalypse survivors. Because we must know.

According to the PC Gamer preview of the survival horror game, the action is set in the deep south – specifically Georgia and Louisiana (the latter of which doesn’t need zombie intervention these days, but perhaps its repayment for a lot of bad juju). Pick up your controller and take charge of infected characters or valiant fighters. Go to war against the scourge to the homelands of Blind Willie McTell and Stormy Daniels. Fight alongside Boomers, Smokers, Hunters and Tanks from the original game.

Weapons will include the old anti-zombie standbys, as well as  some new tools like a fire axe, chainsaw and frying pan. If you played the previous Left 4 Dead title, you likely will be able to port your character over, although this hasn’t been confirmed by Valve as yet.

Check out IGN’s preview

IGN has a preview with more details. Some of the highlights include this “five alive”:

• Daylight missions
• Pre-zombie infection mission in the Savannah heat
• More engaging stories that link the individual zombie survival campaigns
• Ability to change the map layout via the Director feature
• Instead of a Last Stand-type finale, survivors may have to fight through a hazard-filled highway

Left 4 Dead 2 ain't set in THIS Savannah...

Some juicy bits from Valve’s press release

Left 4 Dead 2 (L4D2) will be coming exclusively to Xbox 360 and PC. According to Valve, L4D2 “promises to set a new benchmark for co-operative action games and become one of 2009’s marquee titles.”

Valve President Gabe Newell feels that the AI Director feature was what made the original game such a success in 2008. “With the knowledge gained from creating the original, new technology, and a passionate team, L4D2 will set a new benchmark for cooperative action games.”

Let’s talk about that Director

Left 4 Dead 2 will debut the AI Director 2.0. It will give players the ability to change weather effects, world objects, movement pathways, zombie behavior and other audio and visual effects. The result is a unique game every time you play, depending upon your preferences, claims Valve.

Heavy marketing bucks

If you didn’t already know, video games are big business. Considering how much money is spend in the development of top flight games like Left 4 Dead 2, it pays to market the work accordingly. Thus, Valve and Electronic Arts are behind a $10-plus million advertising campaign. It seems that there’s little doubt that L4D2 will fly by the 2.5 million-copy sales of the original since November 2008 (which was tremendous in itself). The sequel will launch worldwide with an ad campaign that covers television, print, outdoor and online, according to Valve VP of Marketing, Doug Lombardi.

Remember: spend wisely

Video games like Left 4 Dead 2 can be a great catharsis for gamers who need to blow off steam from the pressures of the day. Surely, it will be an outstanding product. However, please keep in mind that the subject matter will be violent, so it will not be appropriate for younger children. Furthermore, video games are expensive. If you are depending upon instant cash loans for money now to help a budget shortage between paychecks, think. Buying a video game may not be the best thing at the moment. However, L4D2 will wait for you. You will survive to fight the horror another day.

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Sometimes, all it takes is a little bit of inspiration. Don’t just sit there waiting for it, though. Make dirt fly and see what kind of personal mountains you can build. Don’t settle for hills. Swing that shovel and see what you’re capable of. With small instant cash loans for money now, be the inspiration you seek.

That’s what Tallulah Bankhead did in her life. Whether or not she was sans clothes, codeine or bourbon,  the actress went after what she wanted. “I’m a foe of moderation, the champion of excess,” she said. “If I may lift a line from a die-hard whose identity is lost in the shuffle, ‘I’d rather be strongly wrong than weakly right.’”

The time is now. Stand tall.

Jeff Corbett writes in an editorial for the Statesville Record & Landmark that famous philanthropist Laurance Rockefeller once advised to a fellow philanthropist looking to accomplish big things that she should undertake a “Tall Tree” project. What does it mean to be a tall tree? Rockefeller explained that “the best charitable grants stand out like a tall tree towering over the other trees in the forest. Tall trees change the landscape by making a unique and lasting difference” in the immediate community or world at large. In Rockefeller’s estimation, one “Tall Tree” project would do more good for more people than a dozen smaller projects.

Admittedly, most of us are not in a financial position to be able to self-finance charitable organizations (instant cash loans or otherwise), but each and every one of us is in the position to find the true lesson in Rockefeller’s statement. We can be tall trees in our own way. Corbett asks if  your life is “just a laundry list of many things you do adequately, or do you have a purpose and passion that makes you stand out and be unique?” In order to find our purpose and light the fires of our passions, we must pursue that which brings us alive. That is the Promethean flame we must kindle.

Start asking questions

What makes you special or unique? It’s there. You can find it. If you swing and miss, swing again. Tallulah Bankhead, a big fan of baseball, once said that “If I had to live my life again, I’d make the same mistakes, only sooner.” Clearly, she had no regrets. And why should she? She may have lived a life of excess that was medically inadvisable, but she was happy in her pursuits.  Swing for the fences when it comes to making a plan for your life. You have at least one skill, talent, contribution, or purpose that is unique to you. Share it with the world and you are a Tall Tree.

One of the problems people have when it comes to figuring out who they are is that they tend to define themselves through the eyes of others. Once you take control of your own destiny, you begin to truly define yourself and rely upon yourself. Once you have addressed your real needs – not the needs dictated to you in popular media – you can begin to truly aid others. You must teach yourself what it means to care, for others can only suggest what that might be like. Once you’re there, you can truly live the Tallulah Bankhead dictum “Say anything about me, dahling, as long as it isn’t boring.”

Love yourself alive

Civil rights leader Dr. Howard Thurman knew what the world needed, and that we shouldn’t wait for an answer or we miss the point.  “Don’t ask what the world needs,” he said. “Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” We can only come alive if we bring our dreams into the waking world. What is it that you want to do? A new career? To create art? To serve food at a soup kitchen? To dance in public without caring what anyone thinks? The questions and answers are yours alone.

Once you decide, it’s equally important to bring fuel to your kindling fire. The combustion to burn requires your constant attention. There’s nothing passive about it. I say these things because I need to. Because I need to remind myself to continue to add the fuel to my own tank. Live and love as you see fit. If you need reminders, remind yourself. If you have a patient buddy or loved one to join you on the journey, don’t be afraid to accept a hand from them. I’m not talking self-reliance to the exclusion of all others. Part of being able to help others is being able to accept love. Just don’t forget that they need love, too.

“What are you living for?”

Psychologist (and creator of “Wonder Woman”) William Moulton Marston once conducted a survey of 3,000 American sheeple.  The survey consisted of one question that is both intensely personal and openly public in its import: “What are you living for?”

What did he find? Sadly, it isn’t shocking. An overwhelming majority – 94 percent – answered that they had no definite purpose. If these men and women were standing like tall trees against an establishment that was attempting to spoon feed them the locus solus of their world, I would be impressed. However, I think something much less grandiose was going on. These people were waiting at the subway station for a train to arrive and take them away. They’d wait until next year.

How would you answer that question?

The sleeper must awaken

Corbett suggests that we must venture outside our comfort zone if we are to find what is unique within ourselves. Author Frank Herbert writes through his character Duke Leto Atreides that “a person needs new experiences. They jar something deep inside, allowing him to grow. Without change something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.” If slumber has been your norm, learn from the fires of passion that burn all around. Follow the smoke trail. Be an investigative reporter. Learn what makes them tick, then adapt the lessons to your own experience.

Aristotle said, “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” Sometimes, synthesizing diametrically opposed ideas into a new creation is the hallmark of growth. And if you think I don’t have a Tallulah Bankhead quote to back this up, you’re wrong: “I read Shakespeare and the Bible, and I can shoot dice. That’s what I call a liberal education.”

Teach me about you

"Dahling, it's what we do that defines us."

This is hard work. I’ll be working on it for some time. If you’re already there, I salute you. Some day, be a “dahling” and return the favor.

Instant cash loans for money now are a means to a temporary financial end. What we need is something more permanent when it comes to ourselves. The whole thing can be overwhelming, but Corbett encourages with a simple directive from Henry David Thoreau. Perhaps you can find your Walden with his advice in mind: “One is not born into the world to do everything, but to do something.”

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RyanAir, based in the U.K., also offers low airfare.

Reading about Jet America’s $9 plane tickets, which you can purchase through jetamerica.com, reminds me of the time a telemarketer offered me a product that was “completely free.” After reassuring me about a dozen times of its complete freeness, she asked for my credit card number to pay for the shipping and handling charge. Click.

See, the actual ticket from Jet America Airlines is $9, but your trip will cost a lot more than that. However, for the time being it seems that these $9 price tags are doing exactly what Jet America set out to do: get attention.

Limited service

Jet America Airlines opens for business today, and  its promotional kickoff special is $9 airfare. This brings us to catch No. 1: The $9 tickets can only get you between Newark, N.J.’s Liberty Airport and one of these four cities: Toledo, Ohio; South Bend, Ind.; Lansing, Mich.; and Melbourne-Vero Beach, Fla.

Catch No. 2 is that there are a limited number of these tickets available. Only nine seats on each flight will go for $9, and there’s no telling how long this offer will last.

The real cost

Catch No. 3 is that you may be left scrambling for instant cash loans to pay for all of the extra fees that Jet America will tack on to your $9 ticket. For instance, ordering the ticket will cost more than the ticket itself, no matter how you do it.

To buy a ticket through jetamerica.com will cost $10. If you order by phone, it costs $20. Tampabay.com also says that “Jet America will charge an additional $20 for a round-trip with an assigned seat.” It’s not clear to me whether you can choose if you have an assigned seat or not.

Other predictable fees, such as baggage check fees, will also be tacked on along the way.

A good price, but not a $9 price

Really, even with the extra fees the trips are still a great price. Say you order a $9 ticket at jetamerica.com for $10, that’s only $19. If the assigned seat fee is added automatically, that’s $39. If you have carry-on only and don’t require an in-flight beverage, all you need to add is sales tax. So, let’s say it’s $43 one way; that’s only $86 round-trip.

I never pay much attention to the other added processing fees that are tacked on when I order a plane ticket online, but let’s assume those are there. You’re still looking at a round-trip ticket for about $100, which is a really great price. But, it’s not unheard of. And it’s certainly not $9.

Deja Vu

If  you feel like you heard of a formula similar to Jet America’s before, it’s probably because you have. USA Today says:

It’s a marketing approach used by Skybus, a Columbus, Ohio-based carrier that operated for about 10 months until weak revenue and high oil prices forced it out of business in April 2008. Skybus offered some seats for $10 until it went bankrupt.

The similarity is not a coincidence. JetAmerica founder and CEO John Weikle also was Skybus’ founder, though he left the management of that company shortly after it launched in May 2007.

Jet America’s planes will begin taking flight July 13.

I just got back from the Sunbanks Rhythm and Blues festival, a four-day music and camping event at beautiful Banks Lake near Electric City, Washington. I had to take time off from work without pay in order to go, and financially I was cutting it uncomfortably close to the wire.

It wasn’t pride so much as syntax

I’d been getting a lot of illiterate-sounding emails with names like “no faxing payday loans,” “easy loan,” “instant cash loans,” “money now,” and “payday loan yes.” I really could have used the extra cash all these payday lenders were offering. It wasn’t that I was not desperate; it was more that even though I didn’t know how I was going to pay my car insurance when I got home, I could not stoop to the orthographical level of a “cash til payday loan.”

I forgot my worries with Two Scoops Moore

So I packed up my tent and sleeping bag, put the few groceries I had in a cooler, and set off for Sunbanks with a blues-fan friend whose car had a full tank of gas. I was still thinking about emergency loans and instant money when Eric “Two Scoops” Moore took the stage. Moore is a pianist, singer, and songwriter from Seattle who spent several years on the road with Luther “Guitar Jr.” Johnson. He has a strong, soulful voice and a rollicking, honky-tonk keyboard style. His performance included hilariously crafted, cartoonish songs like “Big Ugly Fella,” “Big Fat Mama,” “Hamburger Time,” “Let’s Eat!” and “Big Buffet,” (”They got meat and potatoes, they got beans and rice, they got good country gravy make you go back twice . . . “).

I said “yes” to money

Two Scoops did the trick!

Listening to Two Scoops on a warm, sunny morning by the side of a sparkling, blue lake — far from “payday loans uk” and all the other ragged claws of internet babble — my money worries began to fade. Then Two Scoops sang a song with a title I didn’t catch and lyrics I couldn’t miss: “Keep a dollar in your pocket ‘cause money’s your best friend.” Right on cue, my companion with the car and once-full tank of gas handed me a one-dollar bill. I gave him back a smile and stuck the bill in my pocket. I had resisted all manner of “paycheck loans,” “same day cash,” and “quick payday loans,” but I wasn’t saying “no” to my new best friend.

Then I found a great big friend

When I got home, my friend George was still in my pocket. I was going to move him in with the ten or so other one-dollar bills I still had in my wallet and eat for a few days. Then I remembered the bag of food I’d rescued from the cooler. I unpacked it and there in the bottom of the plastic grocery bag I found a friend I hadn’t seen in a long, long time: Ben Franklin. He was dripping wet from the melted ice, but still worth a hundred Georges.

And we’ll get by till payday

I laid Ben out on the table to dry and called my blues companion to tell him that Ben would be staying with me for three weeks and then going back home to him. I have great memories from Sunbanks. I have a good friend who still has a car with half a tank of gas. I have a few festival leftovers in the refrigerator. I have George. I have George’s ten comrades. And most of all, I have Ben. Money’s my best friend, and I’ll get by without a loan till payday.