by Mark TarsesJanuary, 2008
MILDEW.
In winter, the most common complaint that Bay Area landlords get from their tenants is mildew. That is because we have the ideal conditions at this time of year for the growth of mildew and mold: cold weather, short days with limited sunlight, lots of rain, and fog and overcast skies when it isn't raining. If you have a problem with mildew, I have a page on my web site that tells you how to control and remove it. It isn't hard to do. Go to: http://www.tarses.com/mildew.html
FREE FIREWOOD.
I offer free firewood, as available, to my tenants who have fireplaces or wood burning stoves. The firewood is already cut to a length that will fit in any fireplace or wood stove. If you have a fireplace, and even if you don't, you might enjoy reading the firewood letters on my web site. I always get a chuckle when I read them. They are at: Firewood Letters.
JELLYFISH.
How would you like to get a cash rebate of 5% to 10% on everything you buy online? Go to: Jellyfish Most internet retailers pay referral fees to web sites that click through sales to them. Jellyfish splits these fees with the final customer, you. Examples: Barnes & Noble refunds 5% of sales. Target 7%. Magazine subscription services refund 30% or more! They must work on a very high margin.
ANTI-COMMUNIST PARANOIA MOVIES.
I collect anti-communist movies from the 1950s. These movies are very hard to get today, but I have quite a few of them on DVD. If you would like to see one of these movies, I would be happy to lend you a copy. The anti-communist movies of the 1950s were quite different from the anti-communist movies of the 1980s. The more recent movies were campy; they weren't intended to be taken seriously. Audiences knew that James Bond and Rambo weren't real people, and that a lone bare-chested super-hero couldn't really wipe out vast communist armies single-handed. The anti-communist movies made in the 1950s were intended to be taken seriously, although some of them seen silly today. Here are 3 of my favorites. I have many others. "The Woman on Pier 13" aka "I Married a Communist". 1949. This movie is a thinly disguised attack on Harry Bridges and the West Coast Longshoremen Union. The communists start a strike on the docks of San Francisco in order to wreck the U.S. economy and the Korean War. It is an interesting look at San Francisco in 1949, including the long lost amusement park Playland by the Beach. "Big Jim McLain." 1952. Another thinly disguised attack on Harry Bridges. In this movie, the communists plan to wreck shipping in and out of Hawaii. John Wayne goes to Hawaii to find Reds, and he finds them everywhere. He even goes to the leper colony on Molokai to look for communists, and he finds them there too. "Red Planet Mars." 1952. This has got to be the weirdest anti-communist movie of them all. Nazi war criminals working for the leaders of the Russian Army have a plan to ruin America, but their plans are thwarted by Martians, who it turns out are Christian fundamentalists??!!
NEW IN THE CHOCOLATE SHOP.
Chocolate butter toffee almonds. Chocolate butter toffee pistachios. Chocolate butter toffee peanuts. Dried fruit & nut trail mix. Chocolate covered mini pretzels are back in stock.
FREE PORTABLE DVD PLAYER RENTAL.
If you are going on a trip and would like to watch a DVD on the plane or somewhere else, I have a portable DVD player available for free tenant use. I also have multiple copies of my 2 favorite chocolate themed movies for tenant use as well: "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory" and "Chocolat".