Category Archives: trends

September 23, 2008 · 10:18 pm

Lace Love

Ok, everyone. Since Jana claimed to be more interesting than Danny in the comments section of my last post, she is proving it by taking part in our first poll experiment. After waiting many, many weeks Jana’s custom Nikes have arrived. They are cool, aren’t they? And tiny I might add… size 6.

She looks a bit like the Mona Lisa in this shot, doesn’t she? Well, she would if that uptight bee-otch – Mona not Jana – would have really cracked a good smile and showed off those beautiful teeth that her parents spent all that money on braces for.

Wait, did I just call the Mona Lisa an uptight bee-otch and did I claim she wore braces? I am really losing it.

This is a screen shot from a video chat session. She wanted us to help her decide. Note how happy Danny looks in the bottom screen. Frankly I think he is pissed about being labeled less interesting.

I just love this, don’t you? My kid is halfway across the country and we can do this kind of thing. Very cool indeed.

I expect lots of voting here everyone. That means all of you who don’t like to comment. I see the stats people, I know you are visiting!

And all of you who receive this by email, you lazy slugs are going to have to go directly to the blog to vote. Janny-girl, you better have all your friends vote so we don’t look foolish here, ok?

Come on everyone! Stop being so non-participatory for G-d’s sake. This is an interactive medium.

So interact. (jeez she is bossy!)

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September 21, 2008 · 2:22 pm

My head is exploding…

In a good way.

Just left the keynote address at Blogworld’s final day.This was the rock star panel for sure.

Literally.

Mike Shinoda from Linkin Park and Timothy Ferriss of The 4-Hour Work Week fame with Rohit Bhargava, author of Personality Not Included and Sr. VP of the 360 Digital Influence team at Ogilvy. These guys were amazing!

Now, for my fave soundbites:

Rohit to Tim and Mike: “You guys are not assholes and you really could be. What makes you not assholes.”

Ummmm… anyone read my last post? Did I not talk assholes? Coincidence? I think not!

Tim: “Be vulnerable and open about your shortcomings and people will be more apt to help you.”

I love this advice as I am way over my head in this crowd and the idea of being OK with that is cool. Kind of like a little blogstyle valium. Or your mother telling you how smart you are even when you don’t feel that way. (by the way mom, thanks for always doing that. Note to self: start doing that to my kids).

Tim: “Talk to your readers the way you talk to your friends after 2 drinks.”

This one is great. If I were to write my mission statement that is what it would be. Most times I write in the same tone that I speak at a First Thurdays dinner. The key here is the number of drinks. Anything more than 2 and you start to sound like a blathering idiot. (Note to my kids: Just kidding, you should not drink and should always have a designated typist).

Off to another speaker session…

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September 20, 2008 · 10:30 pm

Do one thing everyday that scares you

The title of this post is an Eleanor Roosevelt quote.

If you have ever received an email from me you know that I use this in my signature. Sometimes just waking up and answering the crap shoot of personal and professional phone calls of late is something that scares me enough, thanks.

What does all this have to do with my trip to Vegas for Blogworld and New Media Expo you ask? (Or not if you did not know I was here).

I turned 49 this week, twice the age of many at this conference, I might add. Not that age is something that concerns me all that much as I am certainly more current than many of my peers and plastic surgery is not one of my top 10 topics of conversation. Nonetheless, it is both exhausting and exciting to be in the midst of such a huge shift in communications and content delivery.

Back to the Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas issue. Leaving the basement office is not something I do all that often. And Vegas has surely not ever been on the top of my destination lists.

But blogging has changed me. The way I think. The way I think that I want to move forward professionally. And personally. It is like I have been waiting my whole life for this medium. And here I am in a room full of like-minded thinkers. Pretty cool, right?

Being here in the midst of all the early-adopters with their buzzwords and depth of knowledge can be a bit intimidating. It is also extremely invigorating. And to be honest, as much as I thought I did not know about this, in the 5 months that I have been doing it I have learned an awful lot. I fall into the category of late-early-adopters, perfect for me as I am notorious for being 10 minutes late.

How I feel about blogging keeps spilling out of the mouths of all the speakers. It is about passion. It is about relationship and community building. It is about harnessing that enthusiasm and translating it into a business model.

To my peers who keep asking me what a blog is and why they need to read them or have their businesses consider them, here is my takeaway from day one:

1. whether you are paying attention or not, people are talking about your business or product out there, it would be wise to start listening.

2. I have always said that if you are an asshole in real life then you are an asshole in business.

3. This conference is confirming for me that if you are sincere in real life you can translate that into growing your business passionately and whole-heartedly by developing an honest relationship with your customers.

4. For those who are not interested in the business aspect of blogging, if you are passionate about something, it is a way to connect with others who are just as passionate as you are. And certainly if you like to laugh or be amused, then of course you are reading MY blog and others on my blogroll and that is enhancing your life ; )

Now really. What is so scary about that?!

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September 20, 2008 · 2:02 am

What Happens in Vegas goes on Facebook

Yes, we have arrived. As as soon as the plane landed the guy a few seats ahead of us stood up and that is what was written on his shirt.

Kind of poetic for a Blog Conference weekend, don’t you think?

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September 10, 2008 · 9:38 pm

Current Events from Hell

Animals wearing lipstick – pigs and pitbulls. And tonight on David Letterman some great quotes from Obama: “It is a common expression in Illinois. I don’t know what you put lipstick on here in NY.” and this fave: “If That’s What I’d Meant, Palin Would Be the Lipstick, ‘McCain’s Failed Policies’ the Pig.” Gotta love it.

Good ol’ Boys: Sex, Drugs & Rock ‘n Roll and Big Oil in the Interior Department.

Hurricanes G, H and I. The sky is just falling.

Big Bang Experiment?!!! Holy crap this one just plain scares me. What if that little pesky gopher from Caddyshack shows up and botches the whole shaBANG?

Is Kim Jong-il alive? Ok, here is a great sound bite from this story. “According to professional Pyongyang watchers, the answer is … probably. Most of the experts believe he is ill, some think seriously, while a maverick few suggest that North Korea’s “Dear Leader” is just playing dead, to mess with our minds.”  You can read the full Guardian article here.

Lucy in the Skys with Salvia? Ok kids, this is your brain. This is your brain on salvia. This is the end of your friggin’ opportunity of ever having a career after you actually smoked this shit on camera and let your ‘friends’ put it on youtube!  Just to give you an idea how MANY of you were that stupid, tonight’s search yielded about 5,600 videos. You all new this was coming…

ARE YOU FRIGGIN’ KIDDING ME?!

Documentation will be the downfall of this generation (no Dave, I am not an old lady, just a keen social observer). Anybody miss the 60’s and 70’s yet? Ahh, a generation that could experiment and mess up to their heart’s content and never worry about being tagged in a photo.

Kind of an odd day in the news, no?

Hmmm… some would say this was a click whore’s move to tag this post with as many top news stories as possible in order to beef up her stats.

Who me? Don’t be silly!

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September 9, 2008 · 10:07 pm

Would you rather…

Just a quick note that Time to Cry Tuesdays are proving to very popular. Proof again, that we really need to make the time. Today, however, I will try to make you laugh.

This is one of our favorite games. It started about 15 years ago. I had the most wonderful assistant who would pose a question like this to us everyday. My favorite?

Would you rather have a hoof or a paw?

Think about it. All the practical types wanted the hoof. “I could use it as a hammer, it would be great for self defense, yadayadayada”. While the gentler types wanted the paw. “It would be nice to have something soft, people love pets….”

I always thought we should have marketed this. So of course when I found Zobmondo I was quite furious at not having done this. I went out and bought the game, but my heart was never in it. I guess I was still furious that I had not developed it.

Which leads me to another favorite question that we have had with very close friends (who will go nameless until they claim it in the comments…hint hint):

Now, Jana, if you are reading I already know your response: “EW, MOM!” (sorry baby, it is not always easy to have me as your mom). And since both my parents and my in-laws are regular readers, perhaps you don’t want to continue with this one.

So, here goes:

“Would you rather be good looking with a small dick or ugly with a big one?”

We love this one. You would be surprised how people answer.

So, let’s hear from you out there. Show me the love on this one and humor me with an outpouring of comments. If you are shy, anonymous comments are fine. Men, let’s hear your answers and your reasoning. Women, ask the guys in your life for their responses.

Unless of course you would like to have your penis envy give your own answer.

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September 5, 2008 · 5:46 pm

Hair. 40 years later.

I will be shamelessly self-promoting my new photo blog, leaving the zip code, here from now on. You won’t be disappointed, I promise. Let’s see if some of you will take the ‘submit’ challenge.

Last night, thanks to Dr. Jimmy the quintessential NY connection man, I was fortunate to see a performance of Hair in Central Park. (I love that they call it “The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical”)

A truly magical New York moment. The weather was perfect, the crowd was thrilled to be there and the performers were spectacular. We appreciated it all the more as we had been rained out a few weeks ago. Kind of like getting a cool hair(re)do.

40 years later we are struggling with many of the same issues:

• A senseless war (thank goodness without a draft)

• Generational misunderstandings (if I read one more friggin’ blog post where parents complain about their teenagers I will scream. Get a grip out there for G-d sakes. You sound worse than you thought your parents did.)

• Dissatisfaction with ‘the man’ (whoever he/she is at the moment)

• Young people trying to find themselves. (baby boomers, hippies, punkers, gen x, y and z – no joke, they had to stop naming them because they hit the end of the alphabet. how about gen AA – like theatre seats)

Now here are some interesting observations that ran through my very noisy head during the show:

1. Hippies begat capitalists

2. Better yet, hippies BECAME capitalists!

3. Clothing: for young women – almost the same! Walk into Urban Outfitters, you can see my entire 9th grade wardrobe. Moms, fyi, if you wore it the first time around chances are you should leave it on the racks for your daughters. Go classic, much more becoming.

4. I am pretty sure I must have owned the soundtrack to this show because somehow I knew the words to almost every song, even the obscure ones! (…I met a boy named Frank Mills, on September the 12th right here, in front of the Waverly, but unfortunately, I lost his address…)

5. And last, but not least, I rekindled my undying love for the City of New York, where you can walk into Central Park on a Thursday night at the tail end of the summer and be reminded about how good it is to be alive. (ok, so maybe I drank the NY Cool-aid last night, give me a break. I had a hard week).

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August 31, 2008 · 10:48 pm

The Perfect Labor Day Outfit

I will be shamelessly self-promoting my new photo blog, leaving the zip code, here from now on. You won’t be disappointed, I promise. Let’s see if some of you will take the ‘submit’ challenge.

Once again, I have illustrated why you should always carry a camera. Or why I should, anyway.

The image gods dropped this babe for me from photography heaven.

After the most perfect beach day imaginable, spent with my one of my BFFs from childhood, we stopped at a local lobster market to pick up dinner.

As we were getting back in the car we happened upon this couple. Fumbling for my camera we lost sight of them. Off we rode down the block into the belly of the beast of bars and restaurants until we caught up with them.

I love black leather boots on Labor Day Weekend! What was that rule about wearing white?

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August 28, 2008 · 11:38 pm

Love/hate relationship with Spanx

I know. I spend way too much time making references to Spanx. If I spent that much time doing sit-ups I could finally lose this Spanx jones and get that lycra monkey off my back/ass. (oh, sorry, i digress into my Jimi Hendrix persona now and then). 

So, when one of my BBFFs (best blog friends forever), Finding Blanche, posted this video today with a suggestion by Mary (below) that we continue the love with this one, I jumped at the chance. It is long but so funny (almost as funny as my Seth Diamond video) you will go back and watch at least parts of it again. This is why I love the internet! This one is actually the Leggs version. (hey, maybe I should try those)

Here is the history: Finding Blanche posted this after she found it on Gnightgirl who posted it after she found it on Fighting Mad Mary who found it on GloZell. That’s whose it is, by the way. GloZell’s.

Would love to see this keep on going. Any takers for tomorrow?

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August 18, 2008 · 12:47 am

Fashion?


Ahhhh… today the NYT Women’s Fashion Magazine arrived. Ok, so if you know me it is obvious I don’t pay all that much attention to fashion. But the NYT Fashion issue? That I LOVE.

It is the art director in me that brings you this brief commentary. (this is certainly funnier with the issue in front of you, but still pretty funny without it).

Cover: Black lipstick? Under no circumstances is this flattering, you will never convince me it is. And the photoshop work on this shot is awful (note the hair).

Inside front cover spread: Ralph Lauren leapord stuff… not my thing but I must admit the shoes are wildly hot.

Gucci: Garments and accessories suffer from materials overload with hippie-in-the-poppy-fields layout… is it me, or is this off-brand?

Chanel: Beautiful layout. Ok dress. But what is with the one-armed, lace, fingerless, elbow-high glove? Chanel does Micheal Jackson?

Louis Vuitton: Orgasm on the ferris wheel while hitting myself on the head with a gold lamé bag?

Armani: Ok, there is a model on the second page of this spread that looks like a severely drugged geisha. In a oh so creepy this is kind of freaking me out sort of way. And I am pretty sure her entire head was retouched into this shot. Poorly. None of this makes me want to buy the dress she is wearing – which is actually quite elegant but the lighting is so dark I cannot really tell.

Calvin Klein: I am simply frightened by the shape of her hair while being wildly curious about how they achieved that.

Prada: Ugly clothes. Uglier layout. (I have always felt this way about Prada – to me this designer is the Emperor’s new clothes).

and last, but certainly not the least absurd…

Hermes: What the hell were you guys thinking? Is this woman actually walking a… what is that? A buffalo? Or a yak? (Gary says definitely a yak) On a leash!!

Ok, so I don’t know much about fashion. But you have to admit that I am kind of funny (and maybe more truthful than all those fashionistas would like to admit).

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