A long while back, I went on a self-imposed boycott of buying CDs because I want the music industry to either smarten up or die. When iTunes went live, I felt the music industry had finally started to wisen up to the digital world, so I bought a bunch of stuff there. However, I have no desire to own an iPod (various reasons) so I used Hymn to unlock the music I purchased. When that devolved into a cat and mouse game between iTunes and the Hymn developers, I added them to my boycott, holding out for DRM-Free love. That I bought a Cake CD recently may seem like I broke the boycott, but the CD was self-produced, self-released and I bought it straight from the band so, as far as I’m concerned, that was kosher.

Well, everything changed again. Amazon has opened a new store selling DRM-free MP3s and good God am I thrilled. We’re not talking obscure bands you’ve never heard of here, we’re talking a good mix of new discoveries and old favorites. My first two purchases thus far have been Nirvana’s Nevermind, which I have never owned on anything other than cassette tape (which I played over and over again in high school until I wore it down) and Feist’s The Reminder, which contains that peppiest of peppy songs “1 2 3 4″ which, ironically enough, is now being used to sell iPods.

The songs average about $0.89 a piece to boot, which is far better than iTunes’ attempt at DRM-free music at more than a buck a pop. My God…. the music industry got it right for once!!! I downloaded Amazon’s downloader application, which I’m sure is tracking all kinds of information about my listening habits, but was told it wasn;t required, so that was nice. I immediately began playing my music on Windows Media Player, which happens to be my player of choice because it’s free and required no fancy install work to get rolling on my 5.1 surround sound system. The only danger I foresee is that purchasing MP3s is connected to Amazon’s One-Click system, which means I purchased two CDs worth of music without thinking twice about it. Oooo…. that could be costly.
Here’s hoping this is the beginning of a long, wonderful run of easy exploration of new artists and re-discovery of old favorites.

My beautiful, smart, funny, talented wife (that is her full official title according to our marriage license) Danielle Zazueta and her friend Claudia Growney have for many months now been hard at work developing Zazney, your best source for fine, hand-crafted precious stone and crystal jewelry. The idea for this germinated about a year ago when Claudia was trying to enhance her income selling jewelry through one of those home party jewelry companies. She wanted to sell quality jewelry and accessories to her friends and family, but the company was pushing her hard instead to build her pyramid. This made her very uncomfortable. It didn’t help that the jewelry she was selling was of a, shall we say, less than ideal quality.

Dani had attended one of Claudia’s parties, being the supportive friend she is, and made her mental comment as she always does when she sees handcrafted jewelry – “I can make this.” This time around, though, she added, “And make it better.” When Claudia bemoaned the focus on building the pyramid to her, Dani shared her thoughts about how easy it would be to make better jewelry and have greater control over its quality without having to focus on finding more sales people. After more discussion, they decided to go into business for themselves.

Now, there’s no question here that I’m biased. But even if Dani weren’t the sole woman who can consistently rock my socks on a regular basis, I’d still think her jewelry-making talents were way beyond the pale. I live with her, so you have to believe me when I say her pursuit of quality and perfection is fanatical. It takes a lot for her to call something “ready” so the work they’ve produced is truly top notch.

Until recently, you could only buy their jewelry if you were lucky enough to be invited to one of their sales parties. But now, thanks to the power of the Internet, you too can have access to his unique collection of fine craftswomanship. We soft-launched Zazney.com a while back, but we now feel it’s ready for prime time. Dani and Claudia have done an amazing job of building an inventory of unique beaded jewelry that beats anything you’ll find in stores. Quantities are limited and each piece is hand crafted by either Dani or Claudia, giving each item a personal touch that makes it truly one of a kind. And Zazney jewelry is not complete until they add their signature Zazitâ„¢, their mark of detailed quality.

Go check them out now at Zazney.com. Special Offer: Get 20% off your order between now and Oct. 15th, 2007 when you use the coupon code “ROBZSENTME“. Zazney jewelry makes a wonderful, surprising gift to that special woman in your life, whether she be your girlfriend, wife, or mother. Get your Christmas shopping done early and cover all three in one shot! Buy a complete matching set of jewelry – ear rings, necklace and bracelet – to provide a complete look. Or mix and match with other unique accessories from Zazney.com.

And, in case you were wondering, yes – I am responsible for getting their website live, so even aside from the fact that my lovely wife is the “Zaz” in Zazney, I have some skin in the game. I genuinely believe they have a successful idea here and, with your help, I know they’ll make it.

Pictured: Angelo’s Garden Bracelet, $27.99. Use the coupon “ROBZSENTME” and save 20%!