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C. M. Coolidge, known for his "poker playing dogs", was a brilliant man with innovative ideas and an entrepreneurial instinct about art. Born in a small town in upstate New York to Quaker parents, he didn't receive a formal college education, but did take some college business classes later in his life. By the time he was 18 or 19, he took a few lessons in portrait painting, along with a course in bookkeeping a few years later. His love for reading resulted in a solid self education. At the age of 19, he started doing cartoons for newspapers in surrounding neighborhoods. A few years later, while living in Rochester, NY, he wrote and illustrated a weekly newspaper column.

Coolidge loved people and was quite social. At around the age of 20 or 21, he was elected Superintendent for one of the local school districts. Later, he was elected Town Clerk. Around the same time, he became active in the Masonic Lodge. Coolidge had lofty plans for himself, although most of his pursuits didn't work out or were short-lived. When he was 27 or 28, he started the first bank in the town of Antwerp, NY. He worked there for a short time, and then became a druggist. That; however; did not hold his interest for long. And, a year later he founded his hometown's first newspaper. Unfortunately, that failed a short time later.

Between jobs and in his free time, he would draw cartoons for area newspapers and would do caricatures of people. One of his many elaborate projects was the writing of a comic opera concerning the elimination of mosquitoes. Interestingly, it was produced but made no real money. He also applied for a patent for collecting fares on street cars. Although, again, nothing became of it.

The one consistent endeavor he held onto was his love of comics and art. He began to do dog paintings around the turn of the century. Mainly, they were purchased by cigar companies and used as giveaways. Coolidge's big break came when the advertising firm Brown & Bigelow approached him to do a series of paintings that would be used on calendars and other memorabilia. That was in 1903. Around this time is when his infamous poker dog paintings got underway.

Over the next ten years, Coolidge created 16 paintings of dogs - seven that portrayed dogs playing pool. The other nine were dogs surrounding a poker table. By putting dogs in art, yet in a situation familiar to middle class Americans, he not only anthropomorphized them, but created an instant kitsch fad. It certainly helped the cigar and calendar businesses for which he worked. A few of his original dog paintings sold for US$2,000 to US$10,000 dollars - an astonishing amount for the time period.

For years his images of dogs playing poker while drinking, smoking, and basically getting into trouble graced bachelor pads, bars, and taverns around the country. The scenes always evoked feelings of something American and something modern. Recently, a pair of his poker dog paintings entitled A Bold Bluff and Waterloo, expected to go for US$30,000 to US$60,000, surprised the art world by selling for $590,00 for the pair.

More meaning for A Friend In Need:

A few theories about his art give more meaning than what initially meets the eye. One theory states that the painting A Friend In Need has great significance. "Coolidge's painting was used in the Second World War to boost the moral of Dutch citizens. The dog with the cigar being Churchill giving America help (on his left hand side), which goes unnoticed. Russia (the most left dog) tries to attract USA's attention, while Hitler (the dog with the pipe and the 'big ears' in front of the clock) watches anxiously."(1)

Poker enthusiast Jim McManus has stated, "[In] A Friend in Need, the blatant cheating refers back to the early nineteenth century, Mississippi riverboat days, when poker was mainly a series of opportunities to fleece the suckers."

A specialist for Sotheby's Auction House, Alison Cooney, says that people who dismiss the painting as simply "kitsch art" are missing the deeper meaning of his work. "It's a humorous, ironic take; she continues, a jab at middle-class America; another way of poking fun at ourselves."(2)

Another theory suggests that the dogs were all aspects of C.M. Coolidge himself. Known to his friends as "Cash", he loved a good bet and was something of a hustler.(3) He wore a hat and often held a cigar, just as his paintings of dogs did. Other sources hint that he looked like the bulldogs he painted.

In a recent tongue-in-cheek article by Steven J. Rolfes, he writes "In this iconic work, we see a masterly representation of the Last Supper, with Christ (on the left) sitting conveying His wisdom to His followers. We see Judas to His right, with the bag of silver coins at his pawside." He asserts that the painting A Friend in Need has deep arcane roots in a very secret society that even precedes the Illuminati called the "Prior of Dogbone."(4) This important insight is one that Coolidge himself would appreciate.

After his success with painting dogs, a new idea provided him a profitable income. He started the invention of "Comic Foregrounds", which are wooden life-size cartoon stand-ups with the face cut out so that one can place their head for funny photos. He completed hundreds of them, including the famous Man Riding a Donkey and Fat Man in a Bathing Suit. Some of these comic foregrounds had hand lettering at the bottom. He would often hire students to do them.

C.M. Coolidge was a bachelor for most of his life. When he was 64, he met Gertrude Kimmel, an art student who was doing some lettering work for him at the time. They were married in 1909 and had a daughter a year later.

A few years later, when Coolidge was about 70 years old, he fell and hurt his knee. According to an account written by his daughter Marcella Coolidge, he didn't visit a doctor and was lame the rest of his life.(5) He tried his hand at writing, but it didn't take off. Still, Coolidge remained in good spirits. His wife went to work and he was strong enough to do work around the house.

Coolidge's daughter has also said that his dog paintings were not taken seriously at home by herself or her mother. She said that she never liked them - that it was simply commercial. Furthermore, she relayed that they never had a dog, but that her dad was fond of them.(6) This is clear as seen in the widespread influence they had in his art.

Andy Warhol was influenced by Coolidge's work. Coolidge set a precedent for the weimaraner photos of William Wegman. Today, we find Coolidge's canine images on posters everywhere. If you have US$590,000 or more to spend, contact Doyle Auction House in New York to see when they will have another original Coolidge dog painting to auction.

Sources: 1. http://gaming.unlv.edu/gallery/a_friend_in_need.htm 2. Barry, Dan. "Artist's Fame Is Fleeting, but Dog Poker Is Forever" New York Times. 6/14/2002 3. http://www.tenbyten.net/luckydog.html 4. http://www.wittenburgdoor.com/archives/dogs.html 5. http://www.dogsplayingpoker.org 6. http://archives.stupidquestion.net/sq52500dogsplayingpoker.html

Copyright 2006 Melanie Light

Melanie Light is an artist and art educator. She is the site owner of Pet Lovers Art at http://www.artzpet.com and Classic Pet Art at http://www.cafepress.com/petz. You will find more pet artwork, gifts, and information on these web sites.

Affiliate marketing has been around long before the internet, but it has become so much more popular as a way to make money since then. Let's take a quick look at what it is and what it is exactly that makes it so special, shall we?

Affiliate marketing is not about writing your own product and trying to find people to buy it. Affiliate marketing is about recommending someone else's product or products and making a percentage from that sale. It's basically piggybacking on the efforts of other peoples work, which is ok, because they want you to!

These marketers who have their own products will be very eager for you to recommend their products. If they know what they are doing then you are their best friend! And you can easily have a great, profitable business relationship with these other marketers; they create the products and you sell them!

This is really great for both the affiliate and the creator of the product. The average affiliate marketer just wants to make some extra money. They do not bother with creating products or services or even handling other tasks that come along with being a product creator or owner, like customer service, updates, upgrades, etc. Great affiliates are really good at figuring out what people want to buy and then directing those people to the product. This is one of the many wonderful advantages to being an affiliate marketer: It is not your job to sell the item. It is your job to simply pre-sell the item. Let the items sell themselves.

Affiliate marketing can be even more lucrative for the affiliate marketer by offering buyers incentives for buying through your affiliate link. What kind of special offers? Well, the smartest affiliates are affiliates that have actually tried the product or service they are promoting. When the affiliate has actually tried the product, they can create better offers based on what they know of the product! The affiliate marketer that does this can provide additional reports or even videos that explain the advantages or secrets of what the buyer can do with the product or service! If you are an affiliate marketer selling a software application, then you can tell your visitors that they will receive a video from you showing the best ways to make use of the software program.

Back to the original question: Is affiliate marketing the easiest path to make good money online? Without a doubt, yes, it is. Once you take into consideration the fact that you do not have to make a product and all that you have to do is promote products to people that are already looking for products you are promoting, taking candy from a baby could not be easier.

John Gottshall has a FREE step by step guide to making money online. It is not one of those guides that's disquised as a sales letter for something that costs money, it's the real thing. Get it while it's still free => http://www.secretprofitfiles.com

Miami Schools Creates Education Council of International Cities

In an aim to make students better prepared for the global marketplace, Miami Schools is creating the Education Council of International Cities. This council aims to help students gain the education they need to take part in the challenges of a new global economy. Many businesses in Miami and America now have more international services and concerns.

The motivation behind the creation of the Education Council of International Cities in the Miami Schools is to adjust and succeed in world where distance and time are increasingly less important as barriers to global commerce. The Miami Schools is aiming to add a more global perspective on education. The Education Council of International Cities will create international guidelines for quality education from both an academic and economic perspective.

The Miami Schools Education Council of International Cities will be comprised of chief education officers, national and international business researchers, business leaders and mayors of major urban cities from around the world. This Council will use current research to provide professional development for teachers. Many fields have formed international research teams but these are not common in education. This is research team is also unusual in that Miami Schools is a large urban school district and most research teams come from smaller suburban schools. The Miami Schools Education Council of International Cities will be formed and membership established by May 2007.

Miami Schools Joins Up with the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce for the Future Executives Program

Miami Schools aims to help students to choose a career by learning proper planning and business behavior from the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. This new program will be started in eleven schools in the Miami Schools system. The Miami Schools Future Executives Program will center around the Tools for Success lessons in the ninth grade. These lessons will follow a curriculum that includes postsecondary education, proper behavior in the work place, manners, ethics and conflict resolution.

The program also wants to establish Future Executives clubs in Miami Schools that will be responsible for two activities a year, a pre-holiday networking event in mid-December and a mini goals conference in May of 2007. This program is part of Miami Schools continued effort to ensure that children are armed with the tools they need to succeed in school and beyond.

Miami Schools Help Welcome New Pro Soccer Team to Miami

Students in the Miami Schools are competing to help the new pro soccer team choose a mascot and a nickname. The Miami FC is hoping the students can help them choose the best nickname and mascot. The contest which began on September 18th and ends October 6th. The contest is open to all 361,550 K-12 grade students in the Miami Schools system. The contest will be judged by a panel composed of Miami Schools officials, Miami FC staff, celebrities and contest sponsors. Three top nicknames and mascots will be posted for voting on the Miami FCs website. Students may submit their nickname entries and mascot designs through their teachers.

Stacy Andell is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. For more information on Miami schools visit http://www.schoolsk-12.com/florida/miami/index.html.

Aggressive dog behavior can not only take the fun out of having a dog, it can be dangerous too. The last thing you want to see in your beloved canine is aggressive dog behavior.

As soon as most dog owners see aggressive dog behavior, they try and do something about it, of course. Unfortunately, what these owners do is yell at their dogs or hit their dogs to try and get control of the canine aggression.

With aggressive dogs, its easy to make mistakes that can lead to big problems. To make sure you dont make these mistakes, avoid these aggressive dog behavior training no-nos:

1. The first mistake people make with aggressive dogs is keeping the dogs penned up. Not exercising an aggressive dog is a big no-no!

A bored dog is far more likely to be an aggressive dog. Most dogs have a lot of pent-up energy. Theyre simply designed to be active. When you dont allow your dog to be as active as he or she wants to be, this can lead to problems.

The best way to avoid dog aggression is to work off that pent-up energy. Take your dog on daily, long walks. Play fetch with your dog. The more you interact with an aggressive dog in a playful, fun way, the less aggression youll see.

2. Another big aggressive dog behavior mistake is hitting the dog. Training aggressive dog techniques require touch, but not hitting! You never want to hit any dog, but certainly not an aggressive dog. Violence will simply encourage aggressive behavior.

To correct an aggressive canine, pull at the scruff of the neck or gently nudge the dog. A firm voice and a specific gesture that telegraphs your displeasure will work too.

Your goal in correcting an aggressive dog is to surprise and get across your message. Youre not trying to hurt or punish the dog.

3. Being a wimp is a big aggressive dog training no-no. Dog training aggressive behavior out of your dog requires you to be the boss! A wimp isnt going to be affective at dog training aggressive behavior out of a dog.

Dogs need guidance. They need a leader. Dog parenting doesnt simply mean care. It means leadership too.

To establish leadership with an aggressive dog, be sure youre the one in control. Enter a room first unless you give your dog the okay to go ahead of you. Establish that youre head honcho.

4. Dealing with repeated dog biting yourself is a big mistake. Aggressive dog training for dog biting requires the pros. If your dog bites, you need aggressive dog training from a professional dog trainer. Dont try and deal with a biting dog yourself. The consequences are too dire. If the above tips dont help control aggressive dog behavior, get some help.

Your dog deserves to be well-socialized so he or she can have a happy life. Take steps now to deal with aggressive dog behavior.

Andrea Rains Waggener, author of Dog ParentingHow to Have an Outrageously Happy, Well-adjusted Canine, offers free basic dog training tips at http://www.basicdogtrainingtips.com.