A nice step-by-step set of instructions on how to apply The Orton Technique to your photos. It's hard to describe the look it gives, sort of a glamor, glow, contrasty looking thing. It looks cool though, and if you're into retouching and post-processing your images, you might want to check this out.
This is actually a really old effect - I first saw it as "The Dooce Effect" (http://www.dooce.com/archives/photos/01_31_2003.html)