If you have visited the Des Moines Farmers Market or more recently attended the Iowa Food and Wine Expo, you’ve seen the work of Randy Schnebbe.

Schnebbe, the proprietor of RS Welding Studio located at 2026 B Ave., Victor, has seen his business of welded artwork take off over the past few years.

Recently, Schnebbe was asked to create a bottle tree for the Iowa Wine and Food Expo on Nov. 12 to 13.

The bottle tree stood nine feet tall and held close to 300 bottles.

Holly Kjeldgaard, assistant general manager of the Iowa Events Center, said she had seen wine bottle trees before, but never a Christmas tree.

She knew Schnebbe from the Des Moines Farmers Market and thought he would be able to put one together.

“I knew Randy has his things at the farmers market and knew he work with iron, so I called to see if he did wine bottle trees and told him about my idea of the Christmas tree,” she said.

After doing some research, Kjeldgaard sent Schnebbe photos of what she would like to have done.

“I had no idea on how to put the tree together, but I started working on it and it just grew,” said Schnebbe.

The nine-foot-tall structure featured a four-foot base, 291 bottles and 18 strands of Christmas lights.

“I never expected it to be that big,” said Schnebbe.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGSSchnebbe never expected to be considered an artist. Schnebbe is a farmer by trade and welding was always something he had done.

“I would always weld as part of the farm,” said Schnebbe.

“When we first started selling at the farmers market people wanted to know where ‘the guy’ is,” said A.J. “Now people ask where ‘the artist’ or ‘the sculptor’ is.”

Before Schnebbe began welding as an art, he and his wife A.J. started a side business selling Amish lawn furniture.

“We needed to sell something year round, and after the Fourth of July, sales (of the furniture) would drop,” said Schnebbe.

In 2001, A.J.’s sister-in-law brought some Mexican-crafted iron pieces from Kansas City. the Schnebbes saw the potential in selling the pieces.

The couple had already been selling the lawn furniture at the farmers market and decided to sell the metal work as well.

“We gave my parents $250 to buy the merchandise,” said A.J. “When we brought it to the farmers market, we sold out.”

Schnebbe then decided to branch out and make his own art work. he was inspired by an ant. the metal was wrapped around gravel to create the body of an ant.

“I saw the piece and thought I could improve it by making it bigger for use in gardens,” said Schnebbe.

Schnebbe added character to the little creatures by adding eyes and making the head movable.

“The business really exploded the year of the ant,” said A.J.

The pair started bringing their ants to the farmers market and they quickly sold out.

Since then, Schnebbe has added other pieces to his portfolio including other insects, snowmen, metal balls and birds.

His insects have become so popular, he has been asked to create large scale creature for the Reiman Gardens at Iowa State University in Ames.

“Next year is the year of the insect and they want me to make a spider, praying mantis and an ant,” said Schnebbe. “I have some other ideas for them too, like a giant mosquito.”

Schnebbe will be creating the pieces alongside a New York artist.

“I feel like it’s quite an honor to be on the same level as an artist from New York,” said Schnebbe.

Schnebbe has also made pieces for individuals including a nine-foot praying mantis and an 800-pound ant located in Norwalk.

“I never dreamed people would actually want to collect this stuff,” said Schnebbe.

A.J. said people from all over Iowa, the United States and even the world have asked for their pieces. A participant in a triathlon came from Bermuda and purchased items to take home with him. the Schnebbes even had to ship a piece to Australia.

“One of the funny parts of the whole business is how people try to load this in their cars,” said A.J. “I’m amazed at some people who want this so badly, they’ll do anything to get it home.”

One woman from Colorado wasn’t able to fit a 42-pound spike ball into her car, so the Schnebbes had to build a special wooden crate to ship it to her.

“We ship our products everywhere,” said A.J.

INSPIRATIONSchnebbe said he gets his inspiration from all over the place. sometimes customers will suggest a piece, other times Schnebbe will see something in a catalog and improve it or sometimes Schnebbe will just come up with something on his own.

“There’s a lot of trial and error on the ideas,” he said. “But then something just clicks and it all comes together.”

Schnebbe said he always tries to create new pieces each year.

“In May when we first set up at the farmers market, our groupies will always come up and ask us what’s new,” he said. “We need to keep creating new things to keep the clients coming back.”

And clients keep coming back for more. the Schnebbes said the economy has not affected their sales in the least.

“Last year was our best year ever and right now we’re right on track to meet or beat our sales from then,” said Schnebbe. “The economy hasn’t shown up for being negative to us.”

In addition to his current line of artwork, Schnebbe said he would also create custom design pieces if it’s not too complicated.

“I’m always looking for new and different things to create,” he said.

Aside from the booming business, Schnebbe said the most exciting part of it all is seeing the joy on people’s faces when they see his product.

“One of the biggest rewards is how our products make people smile,” said Schnebbe. “I love that it puts a smile on their face.”

Visit the Schnebbe’s Web site rsweldingstudio.com for more information and to view products.

One of the best ways for any work at home mom to start a business is through blogging, but it can be difficult making money blogging.  Many individuals think they will see the dollars come rolling in instantly, but this is not reality in the least.  In order for you blogging experience to become a profitable adventure, then it will take some active participation on your part.  while building your blogging level it is advisable that work at home moms work on other business opportunities on the side.if you are looking to make a profit from your blogging, then you want to be careful how your present yourself to others within your own blog.  throughout the internet there are thousands upon thousands of different blogs on a variety of related topics.  Be sure that readers will not have any trouble understand your blog by creating a user-friendly blog in which will bring you in more consistent readers.From the very beginning your readers will want to know how your blog works, which is where the formatting of your blog comes in.  the majority of blogs work with very similar formats using tags and links located on the left or right hand margins, then the most recent post being located on the top.  Links should always be used wisely by ensuring they are related to the topic of your blog in which will give your readers additional information.  However, never overwhelm your readers with links that are unnecessary.when selecting the background and font color for your blog always take your readers into consideration.  of course, there are a variety of colors to choose from, but it is best to stick to dark text and light backgrounds as studies have proven that the human brain processes this type of format much better than vice versus.Prior to posting any type of entry it is vital that you always proofread for spelling and grammatical errors.  your reputation is on the line and your authority could be damaged from posting entries with simple errors within them.at least once a day, be sure to change your post to keep your post fresh, exciting, and interesting.  the internet is filled with informative information, which could cause readers to seek information elsewhere if you do not supply them with their needs.  ask your readers what they would like to know about by posting a poll, comment on a hot news story, or simply post a list of helpful holiday tips.the purpose of your blog is to keep your readers coming back and to gain more readers to increase the volume to your blog, which will build its importance.  Continue working on presenting yourself as a professional in your field and soon your blog will become profitable.

EDINBURG — Judith Davila faces foreclosure. Her two children worry their home will be taken away.

“every time we call to try and work it out, they tell us something else is wrong,” Davila said. “the paperwork is missing or I need to call this person or do that. It’s like a game to them.”

The 35-year-old Mission resident said she received a phone call, when she agreed to reduce her home payments.

About a year later, Davila faces foreclosure and owes thousands of dollars in fees. She believes she was duped out of thousands of dollars through a telephone scam.

Local and federal officials held an awareness event Tuesday morning at the Hidalgo County Courthouse.

Bright yellow shirts, balloons and bags caught the attention of local people and raised awareness about home loan scams.

Officials from Affordable Homes of South Texas informed the public about their free foreclosure counseling services. the local non-profit organization works to provide affordable housing to eligible families as part of the federal housing program NeighborWorks America.

Aileen Celestino works as a counselor with the organization. He has worked with about 100 families in the past year. She said some of the most common ways some of these families have fallen victim to home scams is because the scammers give the homeowner a promise that the home won’t be taken away.

“(What I do) is not a guarantee,” she said. “In the end, I might not save your home. But I will try to help. But these scams make the person a promise and that is what appeals to the homeowner.”

According to NeighborWorks America, some of the ways that indicate a loan modification may be a scam is if the loaner asks for a fee in advance, gives guarantees or advises the homeowner to stop paying the mortgage company.

Salomon Torres, an official from the office of U.S. Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, warned people about the dangers of trusting suspicious loans. He encouraged those homeowners who have become victims of scams to report the hoaxes.

“This challenge to fight scams has to be fought by everybody,” Torres said.

Lindsay Machak covers business and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4462.

Two prominent Twin Cities artists, playwright Carlyle Brown and sculptor Siah Armajani, have won national fellowships from United States Artists. The awards, announced Tuesday at a ceremony at new York’s Lincoln Center, each come with $50,000 in cash.

Armajani, an international artist known for bridges and gardens in Europe and America, designed the pale blue and yellow pedestrian bridge that connects the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and Loring Park. He also won the 2010 Distinguished Artist award from the McKnight Foundation.

"I couldn’t make it to the ceremony out there today, but I appreciate the recognition," Armajani said. "I don’t think of my work as metaphorical but existential. The bridges connect points for people to get from one place to another. The gardens are places of reading and of peace."

Brown, whose plays include "Pure Confidence" and "The African Company Presents Richard III," flew to new York for the festivities. "The money will pay some bills and buy time to write at a time when everybody is hurting in their pocketbooks," he said. "but more important than the money is the national recognition. I’m at a place in my life where I know my craft and crave time to make work."

Brown, 63, and Armajani, born in Iran in 1939, are the latest Twin Cities-based artists to be recognized with the awards, which are based in Southern California and were created to celebrate artists at a time when such support is on the decline nationally. Theater artists Michael Sommers and Dominique Serrand previously won fellowships.

On Tuesday, those sharing in the $2.5 million in awards were visual artist Glenn Ligon of new York, Ohio-based choreographer Bebe Miller and new York-based playwright and screenwriter Doug Wright, whose play, "I am My Own Wife," won a Pulitzer Prize. Fellowships are also given in music, crafts and media.

"this provides strong national validation for artists and puts money into their hands," said Katharine DeShaw, founding executive director of the 5-year-old program and a former development director at Walker Art Center. "The overwhelming majority of Americans say they like art, but only a small number say they like artists. We’ve invested $12.5 million in artists over these five years and hope to do more."

Rohan Preston • 612-673-4390

Posted on: Monday, 6 December 2010, 00:00 CST

GameSpark has launched a new online program which lets users make their own computer games at home, quickly and confidently. the self-paced courses cost $9.95 and feature easy-to-follow video tutorials and game-ready resources.

Redwood City, CA (PRWEB) December 4, 2010

GameSpark has launched a new online program which lets video game fans make their own games easily at home. the program features easy-to-follow video tutorials and game-ready resources so that anyone can quickly become the creator of professional-looking games.

GameSpark’s creators have been teaching game design to students, ages 9-18, at their San Francisco Bay Area summer camps for the past 10 years. They’ve seen how much students enjoy being able to quickly develop games, tweak them, customize the storyline and characters, and share them with friends. “It’s exciting to see a student’s confidence in their game-making skills grow over the course of a week-long class,” says Bob Mancini, President of GameSpark. “With GameSpark, we want students around the world to experience the thrill of creating their own games, in a way that is fun and affordable.”

Indeed, GameSpark courses are very affordable. Courses cost just $9.95, which includes access to the tutorials for a full year, plus a set of game graphics, sounds, and music. the software is free to use for the beginning courses. a software upgrade is necessary for the advanced courses to get the 3D features, but is a very reasonable $25, and is a one-time charge. GameSpark also has special packages for educators teaching game design as part of their school curriculum.

GameSpark currently offers six courses. Each course teaches students how to make a particular type of 2D or 3D game. Games range from platform games (think Mario) to first-person 3D games and 2-player racing games. the online video tutorials are an innovative combination of both audio and visual instructions, which are very easy to follow.

Students work at their own pace and can access a course anytime – 24 hours a day. once a game is completed, users can go to the game customization area or try out programming by writing code that adds features into the game. There is even an interactive quiz to review what one has learned. the software used in the program is the highly-regarded Game Maker from YoYo Games, which has been successfully used in beginning and intermediate game design classes for over 10 years.

The fun and easy-to-use tutorials, and the program’s affordability seem a perfect combination to transform young people from just game players into game creators. as a high school user of GameSpark put it, "It has inspired me to continue creating games."

A free, five-lesson trial of GameSpark is available here.

Company information:GameSpark is a division of TechKnowHow, inc.GameSpark provides self-paced online courses which teach game design.Website: GameSparkOnline.comContact: Bob Mancini, (650) 474-0491

For the original version on PRWeb visit: prweb.com/releases/prweb2010-12/GameSpark/prweb4860194.htm

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If you have looked at Internet Marketing as a way to make money you will have come across a lot of programs and courses that claim they can get you to this desired goal with little effort, minimal cost and a small amount of time. There are literally millions of people who try internet marketing with the intention of retiring from their day job and spending more time with family. The alarming statistic is that over 95% of people who try internet marketing fail. so what do the 5% who actually succeed do? well plainly explained, they persist. they learn from their mistakes and move forward.

How long does it take to become successful at Internet Marketing?

Most people believe that it will only take a few months to become successful internet marketer. This is usually not the case and the average time it takes to be successful online through internet marketing has been suggested to be 3-5 years. But what if you want to achieve your goals quicker than that?

Fast Track Success by gaining a Top Notch Internet Marketing Course.

There is a way to fast track success online and this is through your participation of a Internet Marketing Education. be aware that the fast track can still take over a year and don’t plan to give up your day job just yet.

There are literally hundreds of companies who will offer their services to train you to become successful online through various strategies. A good education will give you the best chance to get your first dollars through your own efforts online. Some of these companies are very good, there are a few that are excellent, but sadly the majority are Internet Marketing Course rip offs.

How to Avoid the Unethical Operators.

High Pressure Salesmen.

Be warned about high pressure salesman. As part of gaining information about the course you are interested in you will be required to give your personal details including your phone number. This is normal and expected, how else can you find out about the internet marketing course if they can’t call you? so, when they call you, be aware of them asking lots of questions about how much you would like to make. they tend to use this information later if you begin to lose interest and say things like “But I thought you said that you wanted to make $XXXX.00 per month, how are you going to achieve that if you don’t sign up with us?” they use this method to reel you back in by using guilt and emotion. This is highly unethical technique and it is best to hang up if confronted by these type of tactics.

Be aware if they ask a lot of personal questions about your income, credit history, credit limit on credit cards and so on. they will gather this type of information to work out what you can afford to pay for an internet marketing education and will have no conscious about maxing out your credit cards. these operators will also try to convince you to join and hand over your money by saying things like “Well the course is normally $XXXX.00 but for you we have made it only $XXXX.00 on a special scholarship, we believe you have the potential and we don’t offer this to everyone”. yes they do, they offer it to everyone. these unethical operators will often leave you with only a few hundred dollars credit on your card, after taking thousands, just so they look like they are doing you a favor.

When they call you make sure that you have questions for them, before the scheduled phone call sit down and think of things you would like to know. if they call before you are prepared, politely ask for them to call you back in a day or two when you have had a chance to think of some appropriate questions. Ethical operators will have no problem calling you back. Unethical operators will pressure you to talk that day on that call giving you no chance to think it through.

100% Money Back Guarantee.

Protect your self by ensuring there is a 100% Money Back Guarantee. Make sure that there is at least a 30 days from date of purchase in which you can get all of your money back, no questions asked. This is a vital question to ask, most internet marketing education courses do not offer guarantees or your money back, a few of the excellent ones do.

Student Support

If you enroll in and internet marketing course you will become a student of that course. it is crucial to your success that the program has excellent student support. You will have questions, they will need to be answered with in 24hours. Make sure you ask what support is offered to you as a student before signing up or handing over any money.

It is expected when learning something new you will get stuck from time to time and can not move forward until you get your question answered. if there is not excellent student support offered, then move on and find a program or course that does.

Free Resources Cd’s DVDs, Ebooks or Reports.

Make sure that the internet marketing educational program or course you are interested in has a way for you to access information about the course in your own home. Ethical operators will provide you with free information. Make sure that you can download to your PC or that the information can be sent to your home address with no obligation. The excellent internet marketing education courses will provide you with some information so you can take a closer look and decide for yourself in your own time.

Make sure you use the information given. There is no point to getting the information download or sent to you and not looking at it. if you were interested enough to give your details then you should at least to have a look at what they offer you.

Internet Marketing Education – What can you expect to pay?

This is a very big question. it might be worth while to think of an internet marketing education like a college degree. You are learning the skills to become self sufficient, provide a good living and in some cases it’s possible to achieve an executive level income. so ask the question, what is that worth to you?

Internet Marketing Course costs can vary greatly. Some offer a great education for under $500.00, to me this is not enough and they will typically take more money from you over the course of time by selling you beginner, intermediate and advance program modules. Totals are typically around $5,000.00 to $10,000.00

Some other courses will quote figures of $20,000.00 for a one year course. This could be considered an average cost of a good internet marketing course but there are a few gems out there, what I would call “excellent” internet marketing education courses for under $5,000.00. they are hard to find but worth looking for.

WASHINGTON, DC – although Julian Assange has now been arrested in the U.K. and WikiLeaks fights to remain online, the founder and editor-in-chief of the operation has taken to the pages of his home country’s newspaper, The Australian, to write an impassioned defense of the “uncomfortable truths” he’s revealed. in his article, he clarifies several myths about himself (he does not, for example, consider himself to be “anti-war”). Here are the more salient components of his defense:WikiLeaks Specializes in a New Type of JournalismWikiLeaks coined a new type of journalism: scientific journalism. we work with other media outlets to bring people the news, but also to prove it is true. Scientific journalism allows you to read a news story, then to click online to see the original document it is based on. That way you can judge for yourself: Is the story true? Did the journalist report it accurately?

Why the Revelations About Iraq and Afghanistan Are ImportantPeople have said I am anti-war: for the record, I am not. sometimes nations need to go to war, and there are just wars. but there is nothing more wrong than a government lying to its people about those wars, then asking these same citizens to put their lives and their taxes on the line for those lies. if a war is justified, then tell the truth and the people will decide whether to support it.if you have read any of the Afghan or Iraq war logs, any of the US embassy cables or any of the stories about the things WikiLeaks has reported, consider how important it is for all media to be able to report these things freely.

Why WikiLeaks Is Being Singled OutWikiLeaks is not the only publisher of the US embassy cables. Other media outlets, including Britain’s the Guardian, the New York Times, El Pais in Spain and Der Spiegel in Germany have published the same redacted cables. Yet it is WikiLeaks, as the co-ordinator of these other groups, that has copped the most vicious attacks and accusations from the US government and its acolytes….Prime Minister Gillard and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have not had a word of criticism for the other media organisations. That is because the Guardian, the New York Times and Der Spiegel are old and large, while WikiLeaks is as yet young and small.

If WikiLeaks Revelations Are ‘Unimportant,’ How can They Also Be Dangerous?

Every time WikiLeaks publishes the truth about abuses committed by US agencies, Australian politicians chant a provably false chorus with the State Department: “You’ll risk lives! National security! You’ll endanger troops!” then they say there is nothing of importance in what WikiLeaks publishes. it can’t be both. which is it?it is neither. WikiLeaks has a four-year publishing history. During that time we have changed whole governments, but not a single person, as far as anyone is aware, has been harmed. but the US, with Australian government connivance, has killed thousands in the past few months alone. US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates admitted in a letter to the US congress that no sensitive intelligence sources or methods had been compromised by the Afghan war logs disclosure. the Pentagon stated there was no evidence the WikiLeaks reports had led to anyone being harmed in Afghanistan. 

by Cassandra Szklarski, the Canadian Press

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TORONTO – There was a time when Neal Gillis would have considered himself a DVD collector. but those days are long gone.

The self-described “life-long movie fan” hasn’t bought a disc in months and a swath of lavish holiday releases are not tempting him to return to the store.

These days, Gillis gets his movie fix through online streaming and downloading services, and he’s among a growing number of film fans whose shifting habits are spelling doom for DVDs.

“It’s partially expense, it’s partially clutter,” Gillis says of his decision to start a digital film library.

“A lot of the movies that I would have bought in the past … are available online and it’s kind of like, ‘Well, do I really need to spend $20 on that when I can already get it … on Netflix?”

Gillis’s online movie subscription, iTunes downloads and a newly purchased Apple TV — which lets him stream digital content to his 37-inch high-definition TV — means DVD rentals are also a thing of the past for the 26-year-old Charlottetown resident.

“There’s no need to go to the video store and find out that it’s not in stock,” says Gillis, a video producer with the University of Prince Edward Island. “There’s just so much more content that you can get in your hands so much quicker.”

The explosion of online options has been a boon for movie fans who can now get nearly anything they want, when they want it, in the comfort of their own home.

But it’s also contributing to a rapid decline in DVD and Blu-ray sales, and along with rampant piracy, is only accelerating predictions that the physical format is on the brink of extinction.

Yair Landau, former vice chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment and president of Sony Pictures Digital, says piracy has virtually killed the DVD in parts of Asia. he predicts a similar fate in North America as cloud-based services — in which content is streamed or downloaded from online databases — take hold.

“The studios are worried,” Landau, now the founder of the Los Angeles-based animation company Mass Animation, says recently at the Whistler Film Festival.

“It’s certainly dropped off substantially, and there are parts of the world where people don’t use them at all anymore. It’s certainly not what it used to be.”

Canadian director Paul Haggis says much is uncertain about the fate of home entertainment, and changing viewer habits could have radical repercussions for the way big movie studios operate and finance films to begin with.

“There’s a threat there,” Haggis says of the decline in DVD revenue, a massive cash generator studios have relied on to recoup funds from theatrical duds.

“It all affects what we do…. the business model will have to change.”

DVD and Blu-ray sales and rentals fell by eight per cent in the first nine months of the year compared with last year, according to the industry body the Digital Entertainment Group. and although digital sales helped offset that decline, it did not erase it — factoring in electronic sales including video-on-demand only added two more percentage points to overall sales.

A plethora of new digital devices are helping to cement the downward trend, with home entertainment now defined by a tangle of gadgets including web-enabled set-top boxes, gaming consoles, mobile devices and tablets.

All this has left the once-dominant Blockbuster in an apparent tailspin, with the U.S. movie rental company hemorrhaging money, closing hundreds of stores, and eyeing a rebound from bankruptcy early next year.

Its Canadian subsidiary, Blockbuster Canada, hasn’t filed for bankruptcy protection and insists the market is much different here. but the company has closed outlets and slashed hours even during the busy holiday season.

Meanwhile, Netflix has enjoyed explosive growth — its share price is up four-fold in 2010 and its stock-market value is close to $10 billion. a report by Canadian web company Sandvine suggests the video streaming site now accounts for about 20 per cent of all North American data traffic during prime time, around 9:30 p.m.

And the field is only getting more competitive. Earlier this month, Cineplex Entertainment launched a downloading service and the Ottawa-based Zip.ca, which offers DVDs-by-mail, is planning its own online streaming service for a la carte viewing.

Landau says the increasing options only seal the doomed fate of traditional brick-and-mortar retailers.

“Unless it’s really a huge film, people are kind of making the decision that they’ll buy it on VOD or pay-per-view or download it on iTunes,” he says.

“And then it kind of feeds on itself, because if your local Blockbuster goes out of business and there is no place to rent DVDs nearby that kind of leaves the marketplace for Netflix.”

Despite the signs, Brit director Edgar Wright insists DVDs will never completely disappear.

“The more aesthetically pleasing formats will kind of stick around,” says Wright, whose comedies “Hot Fuzz” and “Shaun of the Dead” found a cult following on DVD.

“It’s kind of fascinating that vinyl’s still with us even as the CD is going to be completely sort of gone at some point. and I think a similar thing might happen with film. even though video-on-demand and being able to stream things straight to your TV is incredibly convenient, I’ll personally miss packaging in some respects. It would be a sad thing if packaging goes completely.”

If anything will save the DVD, it’ll be the independent filmmaker, says Dawn Chomitsch, owner of the independent DVD rental shop West side Stories in Toronto.

She notes her three-year-old shop has weathered changing tastes better than big chains like Blockbuster because it offers harder-to-find independent films that are not readily available online.

Still, business is not what it used to be. Chomitsch admits she has three other jobs to make ends meet and she and her partner are now selling the store. Things would have been different if she had opened the business 10 years ago.

“I used to work at a video store out west; it was an independent retailer and the money was insane. It was insane,” says Chomitsch.

“You’d have a lineup all day on a good day, it just never stopped. It’s a bit different, now. Definitely, it’s changed.”

Despite the downturn, Chomitsch says a couple of people have their eye on taking over the business.

“More than we thought,” she says. “I thought, ‘DVD rental, who’s going to want to buy that? not in this day and age.’ (But) we’ve had interest.”

Landau says a healthy clientele still exists for family fare on DVD and Blu-ray.

“With family films, kids will watch them dozens of times, literally, and so having a physical format just makes a ton of sense,” he says.

The changing landscape could include a return to the financing model employed back when VHS tapes first hit the market and most home entertainment was priced beyond the average consumer.

“I have one Hollywood friend who says we’re basically going back to the days of early VHS,” says Landau.

“Basically the only thing that was consumer-priced was family product and so the only thing that really sold on VHS was family product. Everything else was premium-priced and not really owned.”

Despite his enthusiasm for immediate home delivery, Gillis says he has not completely sworn off renting or buying DVDs and Blu-rays.

“(Netflix and iTunes) don’t have everything that I might be looking for. There’s a lot of rare titles and classic stuff that might not be as available on those, so every now and then, yeah, I’m going to have to go back to DVDs,” allows Gillis, who estimates he has nearly 200 discs in his private collection.

“But for the most part, getting it online and watching it instantly is where it’s at.”

Loving your job need not necessarily be the stuff of fantasy.

Slaving nine to five is just so, like, yesterday. Rachel Hills meets five folk who seek work that’s pleasurable, not painful.

Anna Achia didn’t set out to be a successful public servant. She spent her youth performing – first in bands, then in comedy, then as a dancer – but, like many creative types, started taking on less-than-creative work in order to pay the bills. but as she rose up the ranks and took on more responsibility, Achia’s day job began to squeeze out the work she cared about. then, one morning in 2003, following a Prince concert, she snapped.

What’s your dream job? Comment below

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Anna Achia was working as a public servant when she started teaching go-go dancing part-time.

“I’d been at a party with Prince!” she says. “I woke up excited but then I knew that I was going to have to sit through another boring meeting. not for the first time, I wondered what the hell I was doing there. I was depressed and feeling frustrated but I didn’t know what I wanted to do or how to get out.”

Achia didn’t leave her job there and then but she knew that something had to change. She decided to start teaching 1960s-style go-go dancing in her spare time. “I had taken up go-go dancing at home as a way to get fit. It hit me that if I found it fun, maybe other people would enjoy it and benefit from it, too.”

She was right. the classes started off small but they quickly grew. It wasn’t long before she had to cut down her hours at her day job to accommodate the classes and now, seven years later, she runs Anna’s Go-Go Academy full-time, teaching classes in Melbourne and playing gigs six days a week.

Achia’s business might be a bit quirky but her decision to leave behind office life to pursue her passion is increasingly common – and no longer just among the disillusioned middle-aged or the young and trust-funded.

Achia, now 34, is one of a growing number of people who are taking their professional lives into their own hands, and redefining how we think about work in the process.

“People by default think of ‘work’ as a job – with a boss, an office and an easily defined set of responsibilities,” says John Williams, author of Screw Work, Let’s Play: how to Do what you love and Get Paid for It. this way of working, he says, was a product of the Industrial Revolution. but technologies such as the internet and mobile phones have redefined that completely.

On the one hand, technology has made it possible for more people to choose when and where they work instead of being tied to a set of hours and a single location. on the other hand, it has also made white-collar workers vulnerable in the same way that blue-collar workers once were. “If what you do is easily defined or replicable then it’s likely to be either (a) automated or (b) outsourced to somebody cheaper,” says Williams.

These changes have coincided with a shift in the way we think about work: quite simply, we’re beginning to believe that it can be a pleasure and not just a chore. “I think there has been a shift from the old work paradigms – where you would get a job, be grateful for it and stay in it until you retire – to a quest for fulfilment in our working lives,” says Achia. “And I think that’s a good thing.”

“People are now questioning what they have always believed to be true,” says Chris Guillebeau, author of the Art of Non-Conformity. “That the stockmarket is always going to be up, that the best thing you can do is buy a home, that the best security you can have is to work for the same company for a long time. Now there’s more freedom to question that and to look for your security elsewhere.”

Like Anna Achia, Jeremy Neumann, 27, had a “light bulb” moment when his former workplace started supplying drinks to staff on Saturday nights so that they could “socialise” at the office.

“[The organisation] pressured employees to ‘volunteer’ their overtime, creating a living-to-work mentality,” he says. “I could not believe that they then started encouraging employees to come in to work socially on the weekends, as if we didn’t spend enough time there.”

Now managing his own gourmet soup company, Soupaman, Neumann still works long hours, but he feels happier and more relaxed knowing he has control. He also finds work more fulfilling – which is no surprise, says Brigid Delaney, author of the Restless Life.

“[One of the things that] can be frustrating with traditional corporate jobs is that you might have this really interesting skill set but the job will only allow you to use about 30 per cent of your abilities,” says Delaney. “A lot of people feel like their skills are going to waste, and that’s bad for everyone – for the employer and for the worker.

“The beauty of creating your own job is that you can use that extra 70 per cent of yourself that you might not be able to use in a more mainstream traditional office.”

The incredible success of internet young guns such as Facebook’s mark Zuckerberg has given entrepreneurship a glossy new allure. “The interesting thing now is that people are starting [their own businesses] from the word go,” says Delaney. “They’re not escaping anything – that’s just how they do things. for anyone who is under 30, it is just assumed that you have got to create your own life and own career. There is an absolute self-reliance and resilience.”

Some will dismiss this self-actualising approach to work as unrealistic, the whim of a flighty financial and cultural elite. Indeed, Delaney acknowledges that “reality kicks in really quickly” – particularly where money is concerned. but this new attitude is also providing opportunities for people who might have found it difficult to thrive in traditional workplaces.

Take Tiara Shafiq, 25, who makes her living on a range of creative projects: burlesque, stage management and hosting for the ABC’s Australia Network. She loves the variety, but explains that one reason she juggles so many jobs is the difficulty she has experienced finding full-time employment while she waits for her permanent residency application to be processed. “On a bridging visa, I can work anywhere for any amount of time, but so many companies are reluctant to hire me because they don’t know what a bridging visa even is,” she says.

Jade Craven, 23, launched her career as a professional “connecter”, bringing together people, products and ideas, partly in response to her severe social anxiety. Working online meant she “could build a business around my limitations, rather than making myself sick by pushing through them.

“With my social anxiety, I didn’t think I had any chance of a successful career,” Craven says. “Online, I have more power and respect than I could ever have [in a traditional workplace].”

One thing we often forget in this age of celebrity worship is that different people are passionate about different things. not everyone wants to be a pop star, a footballer or a novelist. for some, getting “paid to play” means helping other people get fit. for others, it means setting up their own online boutique. for others still, it means starting their own administration business. And for many, it means reconfiguring the balance between work done to pay the bills and work done for more fulfilling purposes.

Serena Star Leonard, 31, has been self-employed since 2006, and has spent the past year working towards developing a “passive income” in the style of the Tim Ferriss best seller, the 4-Hour Workweek. She has blogged about her journey along the way, and will publish a book on the subject – how to Retire in 12 Months – early next year.

Star Leonard’s version of “retirement” doesn’t mean ceasing to work or to create value, however.

It just means redefining what “value” looks like. She explains that she started working for herself because she “wanted to do good in the world”, but that the projects doing the most good didn’t pay her bills. She hopes that by developing a low-maintenance income, she will be able to spend more time working on creative and social-justice projects.

Which is what being paid to play is all about, says Screw Work’s John Williams – not shirking responsibility in favour of a perpetual holiday.

“The cocktails-on-the-beach model is the worker’s view of play,” Williams says. “When you’re a player, it’s not about opting out. It’s about being fully engaged in the world.”

- Sunday Life

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