| Blogalicious Power!!
October 13, 2009 at 1:19 am
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| | <![CDATA[<p>The <a href="http://www.blogaliciousweekend.com/">Blogalicious</a> conference this weekend in Atlanta was mind-blowingly great. Over 250 bloggers, primarily women of color, " black, white, Latina, Caribbean, Asian-Pacific, and Native-American bloggers, among other nationalities", gathered for the weekend to talk, make connections, support each other in our writing and careers, and celebrate each others' fabulous blogging. The knowledge shared during Blogalicious was phenomenal.</p><p>Personally, it was a highlight of the conference to meet some of the more technical women, like <a href="http://butyoureagirl.com/">Adria Richards</a> who blogs about <a href="http://butyoureagirl.com/2009/09/26/audio-up-start-a-geek-biz-with-co-host-chrispirillo/">business and tech</a>, and software like Wordpress, Joomla, and <a href="http://butyoureagirl.com/2009/10/01/considering-drupal-for-your-next-website-project-video" />Drupal</a>. Adria and I had some excited conversations about teaching people more about WordPress and other platforms commonly used, basically, about empowering women through giving them more capability to control everything about their blogs. Or, even just knowing enough so that they don't get overcharged for blog setup, design, hosting, and maintenance. My geeky heart also thrilled to <a href="http://shegeeks.net/">Corvida Raven</a>'s technical skills. She really came across for me in the panel "Taking Your Blog to the Next Level". But not only that, she shone out as the sort of person whose enthusiasm catches everyone on fire. I think that everyone in the room for that panel walked out infused with extra confidence about taking control of their own technology. It is rare to hear a speaker who can talk about computer software and nifty new tools with clarity and in a way that makes people feel they can tackle the complications, instead of leaving everyone mystified and insecure and convinced they have to ask for help. And also representing in the especially-geeky area, <a href="http://thesexygeekfiles.wordpress.com/">Rosemary from The Sexy Geek Files</a> and Leticia from <a href="http://techsavvymama.blogspot.com/2008/01/tech-savvy-mama-separating-fabulous_18.html">Tech Savvy Mama</a>! Thank you Adria and Corvida, Rosemary and Leticia, for geeking out! May there be much more of it!</p><p>The best thing, though, was listening to all the women there connect with each other and getting into interesting and productive conversations. There was so much spontaneous sharing of knowledge and a lot of positivity. The general atmosphere was like this: <em>Here's what I'm trying to do, and here's where I've gotten, how about you? What do you want to do? Can I help you get there?</em> From what I saw and heard, the women at Blogalicious were taking away validation, inspiration, and an implicit promise of future networking support from their fellow bloggers.<br /><a href="http://thebrokesocialite.blogspot.com/2009/10/so-blogalicious-so-refreshing.html">The Broke Socialite says it best</a> and I'd like to highlight and amplify some of her words:</p><blockquote><p>This conference literally took my breath away. I've never been involved in a gathering that was charged with so much intellegensia and emotion. Most everyone was passionate about whatever it was that they brought to the table...be it "I want to start a blog; so I'm here to absorb every piece of information possible" to "I'm a veteran blogger...how can I help someone else build her brand?"</p><p>What I loved most was the authenticity of the attendees and the organizers (these girls are the best, y'all...I just met them last Thursday and their passion, smarts and sincerity bring tears to my eyes right now)...everyone was so open. It makes my heart sing.</p></blockquote><p>Read her whole post</p>; it sums up the core of the conference! Like The Broke Socialite, I came out of the conference refreshed and inspired. Heartened and with the feeling of having some of my mojo back, ready to fight a thousand battles, knowing that my life has a point to it and all our work is valuable; last but not least, feeling like somebody's got my back. There was so much love and sincerity at this conference as well as hard core expertise, knowledge, and let's not forget the great swag and parties - fun and profit, an important part of life!<p>The panels I went to were excellent. Audience participation was very high, with tons of questions, commentary, and a very open and welcoming attitude. I especially enjoyed the plenary session on Social Media and the Woman of Color, with <a href="http://www.ghennipher.net/">Gennipher Weeks</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/gwenj">Gwen Peake</a>, and Jessica Carter demonstrating in-depth knowledge of the current web 2.0 landscape. The keynote speeches I saw had everyone's attention. The first was by Karen Walrond of <a href="http://www.chookooloonks.com" />Chookooloonks</a> (and BlogHer), on the principles all bloggers should keep in mind. Her beautiful photography illustrated each simple point on her slides as she spoke eloquently about blogging your passion and being creative. Denene Millner, author of many books and blogger on MyBrownBaby, read an amazing and beautiful story about her journey of her career through political journalism and writing books, then her relationship with her mother, how it changed when she had her own babies, and her love, respect and grief for both her parents. As she broke right down and cried while describing her formerly strict mom's coddling of her grandbabies I felt very moved at how complicated and deep people's relationships with each other can be.</p><p>The parties were great too. These women with their computers,</p><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lizhenry/3998012085/" title="Blogalicious - Saturday morning by Liz Henry, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2644/3998012085_73a148e41e_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Blogalicious - Saturday morning" /></a></p><p>went right to this party and wore tiaras and Disney "princess" mouse ears while they danced joyously,</p><p>We had some great parties! I seriously hope no one videoed my attempt at wheelchair dancing because at some point I had some cocktails and did a wheelie or two to Push It and a pretty good cumbia.</p><p>The three founders of Blogalicious, from <a href="http://www.mamalaw.com" />MamaLaw Media Group</a>, are often called "The Justices" from their blog names <a href="http://www.mamalaw.com/2006/05/meet-mamas.html">Justice Fergie, Justice Jonesie, and Justice Ny</a>. They radiated warmth, capability, and deep connectedness with their community in many dimensions. It was awesome how they worked together. I especially loved the moment where City Councilman Ceasar C. Mitchell presented an official proclamation of welcome to Blogalicious at the opening plenary session. During his reading of the proclamation he said in his listing of their impressive credentials as lawyers, writers, and entrepreneurs that the Justices were invited to write on <a href="http://www.thebump.com/">thebump.com</a>. He looked up and said, "What… what is the bump dot com?" There was some explaining and gestures demonstrating a belly bump and the councilman did a double take. "Really!?! The…<em>Really!?</em>" The room burst into appreciative laughter at the sight of the Councilman trying to wrap his mind around this way of framing motherhood with authority and importance. But that was sweet to have the City of Atlanta recognize the conference! It was also beautiful to see the Justices in the moments where their supportive husbands brought in their kids. Their moms, sisters, aunts, and cousins also contributed to the conference by volunteering and doing much of the event organization.</p><p>And how about the event organization? Impressive and just about perfect. The wireless worked, the food was great, there was a lot of attention to aesthetic detail. The one imperfection was the lack of power strips in the main room and the panel rooms. Those power strips are very expensive in hotels so I hope that future sponsors will sponsor this particular kind of "empowerment" in the form of electricity for all of our laptops, phones, cameras, and gadgets!</p><p>Sponsor presences were useful and not obtrusive. In fact I felt that the way the sponsors were brought in was likely to be very valuable and educative for those sponsors in how to best reach this community, of women of color who are writers and social media experts, with great reach and influence. And from the other side, I saw many instances of the conference attendees respecting the relationships particular bloggers have with the sponsors–for example, asking as a matter of course what Twitter handle or hashtag they should refer when they thanked a sponsor for being there, or for particularly good swag! That to me was a very interesting demonstration of respect for sponsorship, transparency, and basically, where the money is coming from. In return, I think that marketers and sponsors are opening their minds and their ears to hear the value of social media and diverse voices: inclusion is more powerful than exclusion. </p><p>Part of that value may come not simply from some ideal of "diversity" but from the things people know from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersectionality">intersectionality</a> of race and gender, whether you call it that or not–with one result being that we are all not operating on quick assumptions about each other but that our different experiences of intersectionality make it easier to treat other as three dimensional human beings, to see each other automatically as complicated with complicated histories. That is a benefit and a strength!</p><p>The keystone of the whole conference for me was the Town Hall conversation between marketers and bloggers, Marketing to Women of Color: The Real Deal. It was a moderated dialogue between marketers and bloggers and was easily my favorite talk of Blogalicious. Cheryl Mayberry McKissack was a great moderator and got the best out of her 10 panelists. I was struck by the marketers' savvy about social media and blogging, compared to my general impression of the state of marketing online a few years ago. They described a big part of their jobs as educating their clients about what influence and reach mean: that they're much more complex than a single metric or ranking can express. The bloggers, all great speakers, were Veronica Arreola from VivaLaFeminista, Heather Barmore from <a href="http://nopasanada.org/">NoPasaNada</a>, and Shameeka Ayers (The Broke Socialite). They referred to the <a href="http://www.racialicious.com/2009/08/21/women-of-color-marketing-panel-at-blog-her" />Women of Color Marketing Panel at BlogHer 2009</a> and to Stefania Pomponi-Butler and Kelly from MochaMomma's original point in 2007 at BlogHer Business, about marketers not approaching women of color who blog or their readers. I hope someone transcribes or summarizes all that the panelists at the Blogalicious Town Hall said, or that there's video.</p><p>If you want to meet some fantastic bloggers you could not do better than to click on the <a href="http://www.blogaliciousweekend.com/agenda.html">links for all the panelists from Blogalicious</a> and read their blogs and Twitter feeds. You could also do a Twitter search on blogalicious09 and follow whoever says something of interest to you. You also might do a Google Blogsearch over the next few weeks to see who's talking about it. Including but not limited to!</p><p>* Kacee, on <a href="http://thekaceechronicles.blogspot.com/2009/10/blogalicious-09.html">Blogalicious '09</a><br />* The Dancing Hotdogs with <a href="http://www.dancinghotdogs.com/?p=1155"> Take One: Blogalicious 2009</a><br />* Xiaolin Mama with a <a href="http://www.xiaolinmama.com/2009/10/blogalicious-09-recap.html">Blogalicious 09 Recap</a><br />* That's So Yummy <a href="http://www.thatssoyummy.com/thoughts/amazing-weekend-due-to-blogalicious-2009/">Amazing Weekend Due to Blogalicious 2009</a><br />* The Broke Socialite's <a href="http://thebrokesocialite.blogspot.com/2009/10/so-blogalicious-so-refreshing.html">So Blogalicious! So Refreshing!</a><br />* Thoughtful Cyn on <a href="http://thoughtfulcyn.wordpress.com/2009/10/11/whats-wonderful-about-blogs-blogging/">What's Wonderful about Blogs & Blogging</a><br />* Stefania from CityMama and Momocrats - <a href="http://citymama.typepad.com/citymama/2009/10/blogalicious-09-wish-i-could-just-bottle-up-this-feeling-and-take-it-with-me-everywhere.html">Blogalicious '09: Wish I could just bottle up this feeling and take it with me everywhere</a></p><p>As a member and employee of BlogHer I felt especially proud that so many people at Blogalicious had become aware of each other or had met in real life at <a href="http://www.blogher.com/blogher_conference/conf">BlogHer conferences</a> over the past few years. It makes me happy to be part of an organization that has a strong commitment to inclusion. We especially can see that reflected in our conference speakers, who are 80% new speakers each year which prioritizes fresh voices, and this year with steady improvement, our conference speakers were 30% women of color. </p><p>It is even better and makes me even happier to see a blogging conference with about 99% women of color as expert speakers on the topics of blogging and social media. It seems very clear to me that Blogalicious will extend its own reach and empowerment through conferences, as well as through MamaLaw Media Group's network to connect women of color who blog with marketers and sponsors, <a href="http://www.theb-link.com/">The b-Link </a></p><p>I would like to add there is NO EXCUSE for us to ever see another "Web 2.0" or *ahem* "White 2.0" conference without the involvement of some of these women and their <b>hundreds of contacts and colleagues</b>. I hope y'all heard me. That was bold and in caps for good reason! However, one of the great things about Blogalicious is that it shows we do not necessarily need to be vying to get into the door of some other person's conference or get the attention of Mr. A-Lister even if that brings us cash and reputation. We've proved it over and over again, even while there are many amazing, supportive men in our lives. My point is, though, Blogalicious is one more example of the power women have in ourselves and in solidarity with each other. </p><p>I felt welcome and appreciated at Blogalicious as well as very appreciative of being there. As a wheelchair user I felt very appreciative at the decent access of the hotel and the baseline of people's politeness at not being questioned 80 times a day about my disability and physical health, which white women even feminist allies and so on, often feel very entitled to have my time in educating them and sharing my personal medical information at their whim and "need to know". Like most people, I don't enjoy talking about the same thing over and over, being othered, put on the spot and questioned about things that aren't anyone's business and that if you care to know you could read about on one of my numerous blogs <em>-- duh</em>.</p><p>I was struck by how many aspects of Blogalicious paralleled the ways that BlogHer conferences are structured, a good working structure for a conference with a lot of transparency about its sponsorship, as well as inclusiveness of a broad range of topics and of a large base of people. We share a core of positive, proactive, strong determination to support each other in our goals, make our dreams as writers and entrepreneurs into reality, balance work and family and life, and control our lives and careers. I was proud to work for BlogHer and that we contributed as sponsors to Blogalicious. Now while I'm well aware that it's not about me, I aspire personally to be a good ally to women of color. It is making some of my own dream come true to work for a woman-centeric company that works hard on inclusivity and diversity, to support other women - all other women. I can't wait to go to Blogalicious 2010, which will be in Miami! I forsee a beach party and much more Latina presence at the conference! We can do it! But, until Miami, I have a lot of new blogs and Twitter feeds to read and am happy to have met so many colleagues and new friends. If I sound overly starry eyed, click on the links and read up on other people's posts, because so far they're all saying similar things!</p> ]]> |
| Overcoming the challenge of eating locally
October 12, 2009 at 10:49 pm
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| | <![CDATA[<p>This week's <a href="http://www.eatlocalchallenge.com" target="_blank">Eat Local Challenge</a> focus is Personal Challenges.</p><div style="margin-left: 40px;">How can we personally eat locally in a sustainable manner? What is the "low-hanging fruit" with regard to eating locally that we can easily change during this week?</div><p><!--break--><strong>Stick with your local and regional specialties</strong><br /> As my eating habits have shifted, I've moved to almost exclusively using local olive oils and vinegars. <a href="http://bigpawgrub.com" target="_blank">Big Paw Grub</a> out of Campbell, CA, makes incredible products in a variety of flavored and unflavored renditions, and I can sample and purchase their wares at the <a href="http://www.marinfarmersmarkets.org/index/getMarketDetails?type=Markets&id=20080812134733.active" target="_blank">Grand Lake Farmer's Market</a> any Saturday less than a mile from my apartment, so it's hard to justify picking up imported oils and vinegars instead. But I live in Northern California, so I have those ingredients in my 150-mile radius.<br /> <br /> But that is one of the things I like best about the challenge: everyone has something they can enjoy because it's very local to their foodshed. There are no pineapples grown within 150 miles of my apartment, but those of you who live on the Hawaiian Islands probably get tired of it. Iowa, Missouri and Illinois residents have access to <a href="http://www.redfernfarm.com/customer%20flyer.htm" target="_blank">locally-grown chestnuts</a> that I can't get where I live. And try getting a locally-grown cranberry anywhere outside New England.</p><p><strong>Make friends at market</strong><br />I also have regular vendors that I buy from all the time at the local farmer's market. The Hippie Pasta Guy (that's not his real name, but that's what we all call him) at the <a href="http://www.pcfma.com/marketdetail.php?market_id=5" target="_blank">Jack London Square Market</a> in Oakland sells <a href="http://www.ilpastaiofoods.com" target="_blank">Il Pastaio</a>'s great, fresh and frozen pastas and gnocchi in a variety of shapes and flavors. Thanks to customer demand, Il Pastaio has branched out into whole wheat varieties. And while the Hippie Pasta Guy doesn't show up 52 weeks a year, he is quick to provide tips on freezing his fresh pasta so you can stock up for the weeks when he's away.</p><p>I've also identified a local organic farm, <a href="http://www.happyboyfarms.com/" target="_blank">Happy Boy Farms</a>, that provides me a great one-stop shopping experience year-round, as well. They grow a great variety of produce, so I never get bored. Developing your own regular roster of vendors, and talking to them about how they recommend preserving their food or wares for times when they are not at market, is a great way to build relationships with the people who help feed you, and it means eating locally requires much less thought and effort. <br /> <br /> <strong>When eating out, think local</strong><br />What about making different choices when going out to eat? Sites like <a href="http://www.localharvest.org" target="_blank">Local Harvest</a> provide lists of local restaurants that serve sustainable, local food. By choosing to eat somewhere that buys their food from local farmers and producers, you're using your dollars to directly support a local food system. Yes, sometimes restaurants that make that extra effort are going to be more expensive than a standard chain sit-down restaurant, but that's not always the case. Still, I'd rather eat at home more often and go out occasionally for a fantastic meal made from ingredients sourced nearby than go out a couple of times per week to a restaurant that serves pretty average, homogenized food. I like the food I eat to reflect the environment in which I live. <br /><br /> If you're (either officially or unofficially) participating in the <a href="http://www.eatlocalchallenge.com" target="_blank">Eat Local Challenge</a>, what additional changes are you making this week to eat closer to home? Are there easy steps you have taken or will take this week that you can share with others thinking about trying to become locavores?</p><p>Here are three other bloggers who are grappling with and providing resources on locavorism as they participate in this year's challenge:</p><ul><li><a href="http://livinginalocalzone.wordpress.com" target="_blank">MangoChild of <strong>Living in a Local Zone</strong></a>;</li><li><a href="http://caorganicfoodie.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Katie Falbo of <strong>California Organic Foodie</strong></a>; and</li><li><a href="http://localchoicescv.com/" target="_blank">Anna of <strong>Local Choices</strong></a>.</li></ul><p><em>Genie blogs about gardening and food at <strong><a href="http://www.theinadvertentgardener.com/">The Inadvertent Gardener</a></strong></em><em>, and tells very short tales at </em><strong><em><a href="http://www.100proofstories.com/">100 Proof Stories</a></em></strong><em>. She is also documenting her year in photos at </em><strong><em><a href="http://365genie2009.wordpress.com/">365 in 2009</a></em></strong><em>. </em></p> ]]> |
| Pepsi Apologizes for Amp Energy Drink iPhone App for "Scoring" with Women
October 12, 2009 at 8:58 pm
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| | <![CDATA[<p>PepsiCo <a href="http://mashable.com/2009/10/12/pepsi-and-amp-app/">apologized</a> today for the AMP UP Before You Score iPhone app after Twitter exploded with #PepsiFail hashtagged tweets.</p><blockquote><p>Our app tried 2 show the humorous lengths guys go 2 pick up women. We apologize if it’s in bad taste & appreciate your feedback. #pepsifail From <a href="http://twitter.com/AMPwhatsnext/status/4814953081">Twitter.com/AMPwhatsnext</a></p></blockquote><p>AMP is a brand of energy drink manufactured by Pepsi and targeted towards young men. <a href="http://inventorspot.com/articles/app_help_men_score_tweet_pepsi_33439">Designed by a digital advertising agency working on the brand</a>, the controversial app allows users to sort women by "type" and find information that will help the user "score" with the type of woman he is targeting. For example, for sorority girls there is a listing of the Greek alphabet so that he can read her sweatshirt. The app also allows users to make a list of hook ups and to share details with friends. Yeah, I think I just threw up while writing that. If you're curious about learning more about how the app works, here is a helpful video:</p><div class="youtube-video"><object data="http://www.youtube.com/v/MBcQww5z8Uk&feature=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="355"><br /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MBcQww5z8Uk&feature=youtube_gdata" /></object></div><p><em>AMP UP Before You Score iPhone app</em> Hortense at Jezebel finds the app a <a href="http://jezebel.com/5379070/pepsi-releases-iphone-app-to-help-men-score-with-women-and-brag-about-it-on-twitter">disturbing example of "bro culture:"</a></p><blockquote><p>Ah, yes. Can't leave out the twins or the women's studies major who really just wants to be swept away by your iPhone seduction skills, bro. It's going to be so easy to score with AMP energy drink on your breath and a list of incredibly generic "types" in your pocket. All you need is a fresh Ed Hardy shirt and a spritz of Axe body spray and you are good to go! Jon Gosselin will even pick you up so you can spend the night spending his children's education fund on cubic zirconia earrings together, bro! Everything's comin' up douchebag! There's a reason why I go after bro culture as often as I do: things like this, which are completely unacceptable and ridiculously offensive. This is a program sponsored by a major corporation that encourages men to look at women as objects to be won, used, and tossed away after a "victory" is obtained, and the more normalized things like this becomes, the worse off we're all going to be.</p></blockquote><p>Adam Ostrow at Mashable <a href="http://mashable.com/2009/10/12/amp-before-you-score/">points out</a> that:</p><blockquote><p>guy-centric marketing is nothing new for AMP, who often promotes itself through male dominated extreme sports (formerly, it was known as Mountain Dew AMP). The ads are also somewhat reminiscent of AXE, who insinuates in much of their advertising that its products will help you with members of the opposite sex.</p></blockquote><p>The Huffington Post <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/12/amp-up-before-you-score-p_n_317716.html">highlights a tweet from Raven Zachary calling Pepsi out</a>:</p><blockquote><p>Dear Pepsico, your iPhone app, AMP UP Before You Score, is offensive and is a great new case study for branded apps gone wrong.</p></blockquote><p>And Twitter user <a href="http://twitter.com/JPWP/statuses/4819020210">Jim Parsons ponders the conundrum</a> posed by the app coming from a brand owned by a company led by a woman:</p><blockquote><p>Until app removed I'm guessing PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi advising her daughter to avoid boys with iPhones AMP UP Before You Score: Pepsi App Helps Guys Score Chicks, Brag About It (VIDEO)#pepsifail</p></blockquote><p>From a marketing and branding perspective, brands often target narrow segments of consumers and that marketing can be at odds with the campaigns and efforts of other brands in a company's portfolio. There are a huge range of energy drinks on the market and several are targeted towards women. Pepsi has a multitude of brands under their umbrella and all their marketing is not going to hold to a single point of view. This promotion for the AMP energy drink has certainly succeeded in gaining a great deal of attention for the brand and quite possibly the app appeals to their target audience. However it is also possible that the backlash generated by this promotion will lead Pepsi to heed demands to pull the app. What do you think? Is it a fun and harmless promotion that will appeal to those who buy AMP energy drinks? Is it so offensive it should be pulled from the iTunes app store? Do companies have a broader obligation to have a company-wide marketing standard regardless of which audiences individual brands market to?</p><p><img src="http://assets4.blogher.com/files/AMP%20big_0.jpg" alt="Pepsi AMP Girls" /></p><p><strong>Related Reading</strong>: Jessica at Techno-ly Legal: <a href="http://blog.techno-lylegal.com/2009/10/too-far-amp-before-you-score-pepsi-app.html">Too far? AMP Before You Score Pepsi App</a></p><blockquote><p>The wisest of men would know and realize that no woman is so easily categorized. In fact, men who actually are the "cool guys" don't use applications like these to decode the female gender. They know that common interests mean more than reiterating random facts on Picasso's life found on Wikipedia page.</p></blockquote><p>Chloe Albanesius at App Scout: <a href="http://www.appscout.com/2009/10/pepsi_amp_iphone_app_intended.php">Sexism? There's an app for that.</a> Simone Grant at Sex Lies & Dating in the City: <a href="http://www.sex-lies-dating.com/5580543">Too Silly to Get Worked Up Over</a></p><blockquote><p>But come on, this is an iphone app. There's an app for everything. It was really just a matter of time before someone came out with this. And this happens to be pretty goddamn silly, when you look at it. The only truly remarkable thing here is that this is being sponsered by Pepsi. WTF?</p></blockquote><p>Barbara Nixon at Public Relations Matters: <a href="http://publicrelationsmatters.com/2009/10/12/branding-gone-bad-pepsifail/">Branding Gone Bad:: #pepsifail</a></p><blockquote><p>In theory, having an app (not this one) for your brand could be smart, maybe even cool. But when you see what the app does, you may change your mind.... Make up your own mind about the app. But for me, I am disappointed in PepsiCo. I expected better from a company like this.</p></blockquote><p>What do you think?</p><p><em>BlogHer CE Maria Niles blogs about marketing to consumers at <a href="http://consumerpop.typepad.com/fizz/">Fizz from ConsumerPop</a>.</em></p> ]]> |
| Are You Going to Vegas for Blog World Expo?
October 12, 2009 at 7:10 pm
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| | <![CDATA[<p>This week is <a href="http://www.blogworldexpo.com/">Blog World Expo</a>–are you going? I'm there, there's a whole day of travel talks including one about blogging that features [shameless promo plug] yours truly and a bunch of smart, smart, smart people. While I'm looking forward to the talks, I have a confession to make: I can't stand Vegas. The noise. The smoke. The waste, oh, the scandalous waste. The green lawns, the drunken 20 somethings on the strip, everything about Vegas makes me crazy, just crazy with frustration. My plan for Vegas? Get in, get out, no one gets hurt. </p><p>But there are, out there in the world, those that love Vegas. The restaurants, the shows, the lights, the excitement. And it's to them I'm turning to offer up advice for what you should do if you've got some free time during Blog World Expo later this week. </p><p><a href="http://www.lost-in-usa.com/las-vegas-travel-the-entertainment-capital-of-the-world-part-9/">Lost in the USA</a> says this about Vegas: </p><blockquote><p>Las Vegas is one of the most magical places you can travel to and have fun in so many different ways ... Las Vegas is a city where all dreams and magic can be seen, felt, enjoyed and lived, so enjoy the city.</p></blockquote><p>... and gives you a plan of attack for getting the most out of your stay. </p><p>The <a href="http://vegas10.cityspur.com/">Vegas 10</a> has a bunch of–you guessed it–top ten lists of where to eat, family activities, spas... </p><p>This is an older post on Simply Wanderlust, but the attitude is right for folks like me–it's called <a href="http://simplywanderlust.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/surviving-vegas/">Surviving Vegas</a> and makes some suggestions for doing just that. Be sure to check that the recommendations are up to date–Vegas is nothing if not changeable.</p><blockquote><p>I went to Vegas for the first time in 2006. I hated it. If I had my way, I would have never gone back, but, of course, circumstances arose and it was pretty much required. I learned, on my second time there, that Vegas is survivable even if you don’t love it.</p></blockquote><p>Budget Travel has a very recent thread on <a href="http://current.newsweek.com/budgettravel/2009/09/where_to_eat_and_sleep_in_las.html">Where to Sleep and Eat in Vegas</a>–it's all about the comments, that's where the advice is. And Simple Green Choices has compiled what seems like the impossible–a list of <a href="http://www.simplegreenchoices.com/2009/09/14/sustainable-travel-las-vegas/">sustainable Vegas picks</a>. Who knew.</p><p>There's one thing I'm really looking forward to on this upcoming trip–I'm joining blogger <a href="http://www.italylogue.com/">Jessica</a> on a field trip to the <a href="http://www.neonmuseum.org/">Neon Museum</a>. There are some great pictures from the Neon Museum on <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/neonboneyard/">Flickr</a>, of course.</p> ]]> |
| Yard sharing: Find a space for your own edible garden
October 12, 2009 at 5:36 pm
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| | <![CDATA[<p>Still don't grow any of your own food? Even if you don't have a front yard, backyard, or balcony to call your own–and even if the waiting list for a plot in your city's community garden's a mile long–you can still grown your own food, thanks to the generosity of your neighbors.</p><p><img style="margin: 0pt 0px 0px 0pt;" title="Urban lawn garden in Santa Monica" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1254/537760172_5a5fb9c16c.jpg?v=0" alt="Urban lawn garden in Santa Monica" /></p><p>Yard-sharing's a new big trend in locavoring–and a bunch of webby resources are popping up to help you get started–which is a good thing, except at this point there are so many websites eager to connect gardeners that it's tough to know which are worth joining. Here's what I would do to wade through the garden web:</p><p><strong>1. Ask your landlord for gardening permission.</strong> That's how Jenn and Nat got permission to <a href="http://greenlagirl.com/urban-lawn-garden-in-santa-monica/">turn the front yard of the Santa Monica apartment complex</a> they live in into an edible garden! Assuming you get along with your landlord, there's nothing to lose in asking nicely.</p><p><strong>2. See if a city community garden plot's available near you. </strong>Sure, many of these plots have years-long waiting lists–but you could get lucky!</p><p><strong>3. Look into local garden-sharing sites,</strong> since these are often the easiest ways to meet neighbors passionate about the same thing you are. Live in Santa Monica? Check out the <a href="http://www01.smgov.net/comm_progs/gardens/garden%20sharing.htm">Santa Monica Garden Sharing Registry</a> run by the city. The Seattle area? Visit <a href="http://www.urbangardenshare.org">Urban Garden Share</a>, started by some friends over a glass of bourbon. Portland? Try <a href="http://www.yardsharing.org/">Portland Yard Sharing</a>, and get the web administrator to correct the typo in "'what' is yars sharing" while you're at it.</p><p>Can't find a city-specific garden sharing site by googling? Try visiting <strong><a href="http://www.sharingbackyards.com/">Sharing Backyards</a></strong>, which features a handy Google map mashup so you can easily see if any open plots are near you before signing up. That said, you'll need to sign up not through Sharing Backyards itself, but with one of its locally-oriented community partners. Just scan the list on the right side of the Sharing Backyards page to see if a partner exists in your city.</p><p><strong>4. Try a nationwide garden-sharing network</strong>. You'll probably want to poke around a bit to find out which network's got the most people signed up in your 'hood before committing:</p><p>>> <a href="http://growfriend.org/"><strong>GrowFriend</strong></a>. Sign up on this free site–a free public service of Windowbox.com–to start finding a could-be-garden near you–or to rent out your front yard to a would-be-gardener. GrowFriend has a lot of helpful resources for those with questions about garden sharing, ranging from a <a href="http://growfriend.org/node/9">downloadable garden sharing agreement</a> a <a href="http://growfriend.org/node/8">list of topics to discuss</a> before starting the eco-neighborly venture.</p><p>>> <strong><a href="http://hyperlocavore.ning.com/">Hyperlocavore</a></strong>. Join this free Ning group to find your next garden plot–or an entire community garden! Started by Liz McLellan, the goal of Hyperlocavore's to "help you get in touch with like minded people who are hoping to set up a yard sharing arrangement, a group garden or a urban CSA of linked yards." Sign up and you may find not just a plot–but an entire network of neighborhood gardeners to help you on your gardening way.</p><p>Related links:</p><p>>> Hyperlocavore founder Liz McLellan also keeps a blog, also called <a href="http://hyperlocavore.wordpress.com/">Hyperlocavore</a>.</p><p>>> At <a href="http://www.takepart.com/blog/2009/07/13/urban-gardens-transform-cities-into-communities/">Take Part</a>, Tami O'Neill writes about how "<span>Urban gardens are sprouting worldwide, creating affordable options and stronger communities wherever they’re found."</span></p><p><span>>> Shannon at <a href="http://richmondfoodcollective.blogspot.com/2009/06/yard-share.html">Richmond Food Collective</a> recommends Sharing Backyards: "</span>For inspiration check out the Map for Vancouver BC! you can hardly see past the mass of spots identifying land givers with <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">potential</span> gardeners!"<br />___</p><p>BlogHer Contributing Editor Siel grows chard on her balcony. She also blogs at <a href="http://greenlagirl.com">greenLAgirl.com</a>.</p> ]]> |
| And Another Thing: The new Hitchhiker novel
October 12, 2009 at 3:13 pm
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| | <![CDATA[<p><em>The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy</em> is celebrating it's 30th anniversary with the release of a brand new installment in the series. Titled <em>And Another Thing</em>, the book was written by Eoin Colfer. Douglas Adams, the original author of the series died seven years ago. </p><p>Fans of any series will tell you that they are very skeptical when another author takes over the writing reigns of a series. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I think many people are hopeful about this one. The book certainly has a <a href="http://www.6of3.com/">fun official site</a>. I do so like it when books have good websites. </p><p>When a new book is released in a long standing series, particularly when it's a book that's not written by the original author, maybe people ask why it's even being written at all. <a href="http://bookwitch.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/hitchhiker-history/">Bookwitch wonders who needs it</a>. </p><blockquote><p>Who needs to know? I mean, who doesn’t already know about it? There was a long description/history thing in the Guardian a week ago, and I just wondered what the point was.<br />[...]<br />The point of the new book is surely to educate a new generation of readers, and anybody old who happened to miss it the first time?</p></blockquote><p>(She also made me really want to listen to the radio series...)</p><p>There's been a lot of press for this new book. While many people can't decide if they are excited or wary, everyone is curious. Jenny Ross at <a href="http://www.geeks.co.uk/">Geeks.co.uk</a> <a href="http://www.geeks.co.uk/8464-and-another-thing">interviewed Eoin Colfer</a>. What can we expect from the new installment? Well, not what Adams was planning. </p><blockquote><p>“I wanted to do my own story,” he says, “I thought if I used his notes it would divide opinion, so I just did my own thing.”</p><p>So what can people expect from the latest novel?</p><p>“They can expect lots of the old characters back again, they can expect some new characters, they can expect an adventure. In a nutshell – same universe, same characters, new story.”</p></blockquote><p><a href="http://strugglingwriter.wordpress.com/2009/09/22/eoin-colfer-on-new-hitchhikers-guide-book/">The Struggling Writer posted a Colfer video</a> that gave him hope about the new edition. </p><blockquote><p>In Colfer’s own words, he’s not trying to be Douglas Adams. Rather the book simply is “presenting you with a possible ending in a possible universe which you may find amusing”. </p></blockquote><p>The <a href="http://blog.shelfari.com/my_weblog/2009/09/tackling-the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-an-interview-with-eoin-colfer-about-and-another-thing.html">Amazon-own Shelfari site was also able to speak with Colfer</a>. Colfer seems to be taking the pottential nay-sayers in stride. </p><blockquote><p>Amazon.com: Again, you were aware that there are easier lots in life than potentially being hounded from safe house to safe house by unruly Hitchhiker fans incensed that you've taken up this particular gauntlet?</p><p>Colfer: The only reason I could think of for not writing this book was that there were possibly people who would not want me to do it, so I argued with them in my head for a few days and eventually they came around to my way of thinking.</p></blockquote><p>And if a new book isn't enough of a celebration for you, perhaps you might want to make a Pan Galatic Gargle Blaster. Some of Adams original ingredients are hard to come by so <a href="http://conkersorbuckeyes.blogspot.com/2009/05/happy-towel-day.html">Kelly kindly provided some substitutions for us earthlings</a>. </p><p><em>Contributing Editor Sassymonkey also blogs at <a href="http://sassymonkey.ca">Sassymonkey</a> and <a href="http://sassymonkeyreads.ca">Sassymonkey Reads</a>. </em></p> ]]> |
| BlogHer of the Week: Ivana Kidd from The Phantom Line
October 12, 2009 at 11:05 am
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| | <![CDATA[<p>To see ourselves like those who love us do: Some of us achieve this, and some of us struggle. Sometimes it's our physical appearance that doesn't stack up, we believe, to being lovable. And sometimes it's a perceived failure deeper within. In her post "You're So Pretty" <strong>Ivana Kidd </strong>of <a href="http://phantomline.blogspot.com/2009/08/youre-so-pretty.html" title="The Phantom Line"><em><strong>The Phantom Line</strong></em></a> confronts her struggle in the midst of grief painted twice--the death of her mother and a miscarriage. Even from such a brief glimpse into her struggle, we see how the pain of infertility had distorted her self-image.<br /></p><p>"You're so pretty," Ivana's mother used to say to her. This was the last thing she said before slipping out of consciousness and dying. These words were often lost on Ivana: <br /></p><blockquote><p>It was like I had planted a rosebush in a pile of sand. I want to be angry at myself. I want to look in the mirror and say terrible things about how I failed at the most basic human capability. But something is stopping me.<br /></p></blockquote><p>What stopped Ivana was a lipstick. She believed she had given it to her mother before she died. She put on the lipstick and the realization hit: she could not hate herself.<br /></p><blockquote><p><br />"...as I looked in the mirror, I saw my reflection and the face of the person who has kept me from what I want most in the world. But it is also the face my beloved mother treasured so much she used her last words on this earth to complement it."</p></blockquote><p><br />Ivana's simple, but profound, realization has compelled her readers and us to select her as the <strong>BlogHer of the Week</strong>.<br /> </p><p>Thanks to everyone for continuing to <a href="http://blogher.com/nominate-blogher-week" title="BlogHer of the Week nomination form">send in your nominated posts</a>. Remember to nominate individual posts, not entire blogs, and keep them coming! If you want to check out all the BlogHer of the Week posts, <a href="http://blogher.com/blogher-week-archive" title="BlogHer of the Week archive">check out the BlogHer of the Week archive</a>.</p><p>Best,</p><p>Jory</p><p> For Elisa, Jory and Lisa<br /><a href="http://blogher.com/founders">BlogHer Co-founders</a> </p><p> </p> ]]> |
| How TV Portrays Abortion
October 12, 2009 at 10:24 am
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| | <![CDATA[<p>I know that the Golden Age of TV is supposedly long over, but what makes me really sad is how the boob tube literally continues to treat women and desire to control our fertility with rose colored glasses. The inability of network television to portray anything but women who "make the right choice" when faced with an unplanned, unwanted pregnancy is depressing. Since the only show I ever watch is <i>CSI</i> (they make sure that only the guilty go to jail; if that isn't escapist fantasy TV, I don't know what is!), I hadn't been as aware of this latest trend until BlogHer CE <a href="http://www.blogher.com/blog/nordette">Nordette Adams</a> pointed out that an episode of this season's <i>Desperate Housewives</i> flirted with the idea that Lynette, a stressed out mother struggling to juggle everything already on her plate, might have an abortion. Interesting, I thought.</p><p>But of course it is not interesting. No network would allow a person to make a "controversial" decision for herself. There'd be complaints and boycotts and maybe a loss of advertising revenue. So, as Stefanie Lee wrote at <a href="http://www.tv.com/fancap-is-heroes-ready-for-action/story/18626.html?ref_story_id=18626&ref_type=1101&ref_name=story">TV.com</a>:</p><blockquote><p>Oh, Desperate Housewives. You came so close to making a statement. Standing out. Being different. Your Season 6 premiere re-introduced a weighty topic–abortion–but by the second episode, the issue was moot... Her husband Tom's (Doug Savant) guilt-ridden facial expressions and Susan's passive-aggressive pleading were enough to control the situation–and enough to cement Desperate Housewives' place in the boundless field of shows that say: "Abortion is wrong."</p><p>...This isn't a question of Pro-Life or Pro-Choice–it's a question of the responsibility of television. Shouldn't we expect something fresh, new, and real? Shouldn't we expect the characters to take risks and encounter challenges? And, most importantly, shouldn't we expect female characters to decide things for themselves?</p></blockquote><p>What? Expecting something challenging from TV? Pshaw. At least not network TV. One of the other shows that Lee mentions in her post that cheerfully depicts a single woman unexpectedly finding herself pregnant and deciding to continue the pregnancy is <i>Accidentally on Purpose</i> starring Jenna Elfman. Let's not even go into how much the title annoys me because it brings to mind the idea of women trapping men in relationships by getting pregnant accidentally on purpose. (Not that this doesn't happen; I even know someone in that situation, and shockingly [!], it does not have a fairy tale ending.) To some extent, it is harder to criticize the show because it is based on the memoir of Mary Pols, a film critic for the <i>New York Times</i>. Instead, let's focus on Pols' own criticism of the show. Melissa at <a href="http://womenandhollywood.com/2009/10/12/accidentally-on-purpose-why-couldnt-she-consider-abortion/">Women and Hollywood</a> did the hard work of actually watching the first episode, and offers the following insight:</p><blockquote><p>Pols wrote an interesting piece in <a href="http://www.doublex.com/section/arts/smashmortion-debate?page=0,0">XX</a> about how the show left out her real life considerations of whether to have an abortion or not before deciding to keep the baby.</p><p><i>Billie is a movie critic, so she should, in theory, do some critical thinking in regard to her own life. It also seems reasonable to expect that a journalist would be able to use the word “abortion” in relation to her own situation. As in, “Should I have an abortion?” She does not ask that question, at least in this first episode. I, however, most certainly did.</i></p></blockquote><p>Or maybe portraying abortion in more than a simplistic light on a network show is a curse in these conservative times. Consider <i>Defying Gravity</i>, a science fiction show on ABC. It aired starting in August 2009, and Maria V at <a href="http://thehathorlegacy.com/defying-gravity-eps-1-8/">The Hathor Legacy</a> summed up the show, including its exploration of abortion:</p><blockquote><p>The first eight episodes of this series dealt with abortion (or at least keeping a baby) — this familiar not-America makes explicit the pressures facing a woman when she’s unfortunate enough to face an unwanted pregnancy. The issue of Zoe’s abortion — and the kind of options women have in regards to their reproductive freedome — acts as one of the foundational questions of the show. What I like about this is that it is surprisingly nuanced. While Zoe has dreams about crying babies, and had a traumatic abortion, she’s not presented as longing for a child....There’s a lot of regret in this scene, but no blame. There’s also a lot of happiness — while Zoe and her friend are both sad about the might-have-beens revealed in this picture exchange, neither seems to regret her day-to-day life. Also, Ajay delivers a surprisingly touching monologue making it clear that this was the best decision Zoe could have made. He says that her abortion freed both herself and her potential child to find lives in which they could both find happiness.</p></blockquote><p>Ah, nuance! Something severely lacking on TV's successful programs. No wonder that the show has already been canceled. Heh.</p><p>Fortunately, there are more realistic considerations on TV, but one must have cable. Way back in January 2007, a character on <i>The L Word</i> decided to have an abortion. This interests me for several reasons. The discussion between the character and her partner is not shown, so we don't have any idea why the decision is made or how the characters feel about it. I like this because, as in real life, it is actually no one else's business why someone decides to have an abortion. Another interesting aspect is what happens when the character goes to have the procedure. Vanessa at <a href="http://www.feministing.com/archives/006323.html">Feministing</a> explains:</p><blockquote><p>Kit, played by Pam Grier a.k.a. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119396/">Jackie Brown</a>, goes to a "clinic" to get an abortion and finds herself trapped in a <a href="http://feministing.com/archives/004950.html">"pregnancy crisis center."</a> While it was pretty terrifying to see a depiction of what they put these poor women through, it was dope to see Grier go buck wild on their deceving asses. After all, she is Pam Grier.</p></blockquote><p>Another woman, <a href="http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976895200">Laura G.</a>, sums up the scene:</p><blockquote><p>It just reassures my own personal feelings of abortion... I don't agree with it... But I also feel that Kit's rights were extremely violated... I don't feel that anyone needs to have the additional trauma...</p></blockquote><p>The accurate depiction of how women are treated at these supposedly women-friendly fake clinics is so critical. This is an experience that hundreds, if not thousands, of women have been subjected to, and it receives far less attention than it should.</p><p>I could go on and on, but all the bloggers linked here already cover the pathetic situation, so why reiterate what has already been more eloquently said? Ultimately, if we want to see TV that offers compelling, balanced, and interesting versions of the reality faced by millions of women, we have to get cable. The days of <a href="http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2009/05/04/no-copouts-37-years-ago-maude-got-abortion-experience-right"><i>Maude</i></a>, as Amanda Marcotte wrote, are sadly long-gone:</p><blockquote><p>It's shocking how different this is than most subsequent portrayals of abortion. Maude isn't broken or pathetic. She doesn't need outrageous extenuating circumstances to "deserve" her abortion--she's treated with the respect accorded an adult who has every right to decide her own fate. The sanctity of her marriage and her privacy alone justifies her decision. They even take some time to send up the cult of motherhood and suggest that not every woman enjoys being surrounded by children at all times. But nor is it suggested that Maude's unwillingness to be a mother at this point in her life means she was a bad mother at the time she did want it.</p></blockquote><p>Well, we might as well enjoy our <a href="http://jezebel.com/5377908/worst-holiday-ever-national-pro+life-cupcake-day">free fetus cupcakes</a> as contemplate the situation, because these bakers are in charge of what we get to view. OMG! Wait! Wouldn't it be great to have a show that's a cross between <i>Ace of Cakes</i> and <i>Top Chef</i> in which anti-choice activists compete to see who can make the best anti-choice cupcake?!?! I would totally watch that! Maybe TV isn't doomed after all...</p><p><i>Suzanne also blogs at <a href="http://cussandotherrants.com">Campaign for Unshaved Snatch (CUSS) & Other Rants</a></i>.</p> ]]> |
| Sex and the 405
October 12, 2009 at 9:35 am
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| | <![CDATA[<p>Lisa, Bianca, Claire and I are at BondSt at the Thompson Beverly Hills for drinks on a Tuesday night—which according to my cab driver is the new Standard Downtown, which is the new Roos. I don't know about that, but Lisa is on the prowl. She's a firm believer in refreshing her catalog of lovers every time she changes her wardrobe and it's starting to get chilly in Los Angeles.</p><p>“It's like this,” she tells us, taking a sip of her gin basil—which is (according to her) the new mojito. “Men here are not like men out there. There is something very wrong with men in Los Angeles. I think it has to do with the kind of people the place attracts. They all have some incredible, glaring flaw. If you don't force yourself to clear your slate, you run the risk of settling. And you should never settle, not until you find something worthwhile. I'm not cynical—I'm just aware.”</p><p>“Who are you scrapping?” Bianca asks, taking a sip of her Manhattan.</p><p><b>THE HEALTH FREAK</b></p><p>Lisa has been seeing Shane, a reality TV has-been and model, for six weeks.</p><p>“He's making me crazy. The guy works out every morning and night. He watches everything he eats. We can never go out unless he's checked out a place. You would think all that attention would make him confident in his health? No, the guy is always dying. There is always something devastating—the other day he found out my toothpaste had high-fructose corn syrup in it. Who cares? It's toothpaste. Are you eating it? Just spit it out and get over it! I am not brushing my teeth with that baking soda paste. I think it's disgusting. But fine, I'll let him keep some of the stuff at my place. Problem solved, right? No, now it's something else, like refusing to kiss me after I've put my night cream on because—don't I know?—Epidermal Growth Factor causes cancer.”</p><p>Claire leans forward, “are you using ReVive?”</p><p>“Mia turned me on to it, it's amazing. I keep laundering my pillow cases obsessively because I swear to God, I shed my entire face overnight.”</p><p>“Doesn't it feel delicious?”</p><p>“I love it,” Lisa says. “But Shane hates it. He hates everything. You know what I've realized? It's not really about health in Los Angeles. No one really cares about being healthy—they're obsessed with illness and death. A dying person is the center of the universe. It's just narcissism and self-obsession, made palatable—made <I>noble.</i> I'm over it.”</p><p>“He sounds like a nightmare,” says Claire, taking a sip of her martini. “They're all a nightmare. Los Angeles is a beautiful nightmare.”</p><p>“This sounds juicy,” I comment, reaching for my coffee. “Weren't you in love last week with—who was it?”</p><p><B>THE DIRECTOR</b></p><p>“It feels like a movie,” Claire says.</p><p>“Wait, I thought this was why you liked him?” I ask.</p><p>“Well, who doesn't want to live in a movie?” Claire responds. “Last night we were Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart. The night before, we were Eva Marie Saint and Marlon Brando. It's such a theatrical undertaking. The lighting is always perfect. Everything feels unreal. There is a song to accompany every touch. He positions me when he kisses me. I look at him when we're in bed and I hear voice overs. I feel like I'm losing my mind.”</p><p></p><P><B>THE PR FLAK</b></p><p>“I dated someone like that once,” Bianca says. “Completely possessed by his career. He was in PR and even pillow talk sounded like an elevator pitch. He told me he loved me one night, looking over the city from his place in the Hills and I could just see him standing before a sea of people saying 'I love you,' with such emotion that everyone believed it was true and meant individually for every single one of them. It was all pretty words. So I gave him pretty words right back. We built a relationship out of spin and hot air. We were getting married, having 2.5 kids—all of it. </p><p>“People looked at us and wanted to be us. But it was all bull. Nothing ever happened. We were seeing other people without telling each other about it. Everyone could see it but no one believed it because we were such a good act when we were together. Before I married Jeff a friend of ours saw me and him out late one night and she asked us what I was doing and I told her it was a business meeting even though I was practically on Jeff's lap. She didn't doubt me. That's how good the PR guy and I were when we were together. The PR guy and I are still friends, and every time we see each other, we talk about our wedding and it still feels so real, but it never was.”</p><p>“Maybe that's how people love in Los Angeles—it's like we're all playing a part. That's why it all feels so disconnected,” I muse. “Well, that and the fact that 95 percent of the time, we're encapsulated in our cars, somewhere on the 405.”</p><p><B>THE A-LIST ACTOR</b></p><p>“Actors have an ability to make you believe everything they're telling you,” my friend Melissa says me the next day over chocolate bread pudding at Craft. She's a recovering celebrity reporter.</p><p>“He was just so tortured,” she tells me about a certain famous actor we'll call John.</p><p>“I couldn't resist him,” she says. “He would look at me with these eyes and say, 'you and me, we're going to do this, right? We're gonna be real, right?' and then he would go shoot on location somewhere and I wouldn't talk to him for weeks. We went on four dates but they went on for days—it was so real and intense. Then I got picked up by a tabloid and they wanted me to cover his latest scandal. I couldn't for obvious reasons and I lost the gig. I called him about it—not to complain, just to vent and left him a voice mail. He called me back from a movie set—I forget which—and he went ballistic thinking I was blaming my career failures on him. He told me he'd call back later but that night he was arrested for drunk driving and I never heard from him again. I left a note with his assistant while he was in jail, which means he never got it, but whatever. I was over Los Angeles after that.”</p><p></p><P><B>THE GREAT MYTH OF THE “REAL” BRETHEN UP NORTH</b></p><p>“Girl, you can't date anyone in entertainment or publicity,” my friend Tricia had told me over the phone a few days before as I crossed Santa Monica Boulevard toward Cafe Marie for an afternoon prosciutto sandwich.</p><p>“What is that noise?”</p><p>“Santa Monica during rush hour.”</p><p>“Girl, you can't walk in this city, it isn't healthy.”</p><p>“I live in this neighborhood, am I supposed to cab for two seconds?”</p><p>Tricia sighed. “Do you want to make it here? Don't walk and don't date people in Hollywood.”</p><p>I was almost run down by an SUV with tinted windows. On the sidewalk, I turned to look at the car as it sped away.</p><p>“Hollywood is different. You have too much knowledge. We don't care about knowledge, we care about information, you get what I'm saying?”</p><p>“Not really?”</p><p>“You know what you need?” she asked. “You need a founder. A smart guy in tech, a <I>real</i> guy who cares about that stuff in your head. You need a founder. I'm going to get you one. Girls like us, we know too much for Hollywood to get us. We'll go find some founders. Come with me to San Francisco, I'm going in a few weeks. Don't worry about the flight. We'll get someone's plane. Henry has a plane. Do you know him? He's cute.”</p><p>“He owns a plane?”</p><p>“Oh, honey, no one actually <I>owns</i> planes anymore—unless they're Google,” she paused for a moment. “Do you know Dave? He's cute.”</p><p><b>THE TRUTH</b></p><p>After her L.A. stint, Melissa had fled to San Francisco, but she's nostalgic and considering her return.</p><p>“My friends tell me, 'Melissa, you have to tone it down, you're too L.A.,' but I could never just wear black and do layers at the same time. That's not me,” she says as we leave Craft. “San Francisco is progressive but restrictive, Los Angeles allows you to be yourself no matter how neurotic you are.”</p><p>I want to ask her whether maybe it's not just the men in Los Angeles who are impossible, but all of us, men and women, but just then, we're mobbed by a flood of paparazzi.</p><p>We've accidentally stumbled on a shoot for a film and we can't really tell whether the paparazzi are really paparazzi or extras for a scene.</p><p>That's the thing about Los Angeles. You never know if a crash, a shooting, or a fight are real. Is it happening or is it a movie? Don't look at the cameras. Cut. Can you say that again? No, that doesn't fit into the script. Wait, is this really happening? Do I have to sign a release? Is this real? Do I love you or have I just cast you because I think you'd be perfect for the part of the person I'm supposed to be with? Hello? Are you still there? Jesus, where's my organic baby arugula salad?</p><p><B>BLOGGIE TREATS</b></p><p><a href=http://retouraroissy.wordpress.com/2008/08/18/dating-a-minor-mogul/>Dating A Minor Mogul</a> by Annie Bruno: “Not long after moving from New York to Los Angeles, I met a Minor Mogul (MM) in an upscale grocery store, first hearing his voice before actually turning to look at him. He was speaking loudly for what seemed to be my benefit, complaining about the half-and-half. Where was it? Did they even make it anymore? This is what powerful men in their 40s are like in Los Angeles, in the new century, traipsing through grocery stores in Hermes sandals, with messy hair and beautiful skin, speaking loudly, pretending to make fun of themselves. He could make half-and-half appear if he wanted to. He just wanted to groan about it. He just wanted to hear himself, alive, in a grocery store, momentarily powerless, knowing that would be the essential ingredient to attracting someone like me.”</p><p><a href=http://www.carolineoncrack.com/2009/09/11/fooddigger-blogger-dinner-at-bondst/>Fooddigger Blogger Dinner at BondSt</a> by Caroline On Crack: “Of course since this was a dinner with bloggers, the cameras were always out. So many food porntastic shots to be taken! Unfortunately since the room was “romantically lit” we took to using tea lights and mini flashlights to light up the shots. Yes, thankfully it seems most food bloggers don’t use flash anymore. But every now and then our cameras’ preflashes would cockblock each other’s shots. Oh well.”</p><p><a href=http://www.blogher.com/node/20655>Newsflash: Many Men Want to Marry, Settle Down</a> by Liz Rizzo: “So now we have men who no one wants to trap and women who feel they can't settle down without losing themselves. How will our world ever go on?”</p> ]]> |
| Five Ways To Tie A Scarf
October 12, 2009 at 7:15 am
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| | <![CDATA[<p>Here we are in the middle of Fall. The temperatures are mild and uh...I have no idea what to wear each day. It's never really cold enough to wear my wool skirts and sweaters and I would never wear summer-weight frocks in October (I'm a little OCD that way). Ideally, I'd go out and buy some "transitional" items, i.e. garments that can span this mid-season time of year. I say "ideally" because the chances of this happening are slim. (Though I did splurge on a pair of JCrew Minnie pants and am wearing them twice a week.)</p><p>What to do when every day seems like a long-sleeved tee and trousers kind of day? What to do when that seems boringboringboring?</p><p>Tie on a scarf!</p><p>I know what you are saying: <em>but bb, I don't know how to tie a scarf! I can never get my scarves to look good!</em> If you aren't saying that then go read my friend<a href="http://www.blogher.com/what-do-when-your-favorite-cosmetic-discontinued?wrap=beautyhacks/beautyhacks/makeup" target="_blank" title="Poppy on BeautyHacks"> Poppy </a>who can give you decorating or make-up advice....If you are saying that, well, today is your lucky day because here are the five (easiest) ways to tie a scarf:</p><p>1.</p><p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2616/3997913974_f6498562f5_m.jpg" alt="no head" height="182" width="240" /></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Lay your scarf on your bed, pretty side down. Turn it on a diagonal angle or so that the scarf looks like a diamond shape. This will make it easier to fold. Bring the top corner down until the point is in the middle of the scarf and then bring the bottom corner up until the two points overlap. Are you with me? Now fold the top and bottom edges toward the middle until you have a long rectangle with pointy edges.</p><p>From here you can put it around your neck and tie one loose overlap as seen above.</p><p> </p><p>2.</p><p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3429/3997914084_9e56c43f7f_m.jpg" alt="still no head" height="177" width="240" /></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>With the scarf configured as above (long skinny rectangle with two pointy ends), fold it in half and put the folded end (seen here on the right) around your neck so the pointy ends (near my thumb) hang down over your other shoulder. Now slip both pointy ends through the loop I'm holding open with my middle finger and...</p><p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3468/3997152843_4578e854e3_m.jpg" alt="loopy" height="181" width="240" /></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>pull and smooth the pointy ends until VOILA, The European Knot.</p><p>3.</p><p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2590/3997153057_254f973023_m.jpg" alt="twisty" height="177" width="240" /></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Starting, once again, with the long rectangle, hold the center of it on the front of your neck so that the long pointy ends are falling down your back...wrap them around the front of your neck now too - over the rectangle and tie in a jaunty fashion a little to the west. C'mon! You CAN be jaunty!</p><p> </p><p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2631/3997913902_4368bb9b9c_m.jpg" alt="far west" height="176" width="240" /></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Twist it all the way over your should for maximum effect!</p><p>4.</p><p>Too complicated?</p><p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2447/3997153423_0d9900996c_m.jpg" alt="triangle" height="179" width="240" /></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Undo the fancy-schmancy rectangle and fold your square scarf in half diagonally to form a triangle. Put it around your neck, point facing downward on your back and tie a double knot down by your boobs. This particular fold covers all manner of breakfast/coffee/tea stains and highlights a heavily patterned scarf nicely.</p><p>5.</p><p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2615/3997152539_74bb57c86a_m.jpg" alt="triangle again" height="164" width="240" /></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Take the triangle again but, this time, put it around your neck, loosely, and lay the point on your chest with the ends down your back. Bring the ends around to the front of you (they will cross behind you) and, loosely, tie them across the triangle on your chest. This is very JonesyVonAscot but excellent at hiding an ageing neck. Trust me.</p><p>6. A BONUS.</p><p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3436/3997913518_2756d6dac5_m.jpg" alt="bandito" height="179" width="240" /></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Tie the triangle over your NOSE and leave the ends to float freely - you are now a scarf desperado and can move about the office incognito!</p><p> </p><p><em>Special thanks to my IT guy who got me a new iMac last week. The camera feature is proving helpful.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p> ]]> |
| Child Care: It Never Gets Easier to Choose
October 12, 2009 at 7:00 am
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| | <![CDATA[<p>My daughter started kindergarten this year, and because we wanted to ease her transition, we left her in her normal daycare for before-and-after-school care instead of putting her in the program run by the public school system. <br /><br />Even though it cost $200 a month more.</p><p><br /><br /><!--break-->Now that the school year is in full swing, we desperately want to switch her into the cheaper solution. The care is just as good, and going forward she'd be more likely to be in with other friends from school. The biggest drawback? The school-provided program has a two-week break in August.<br /><br />For my husband and me, who have no family in Kansas City, two weeks is an eternity. Two weeks is too long for either of us to take off work. It's too long to tell a boss we need to work from home. It's too long to pretend to be sick. It's just two weeks too long for a break in childcare.<br /><br />So we hem. And we haw. Could we string together some back-up? Pay the neighbors? When the public school program director called me to discuss it, she kidded, "You just need to find some dependable teenagers in your neighborhood."<br /><br />I wanted to reach through the phone and wring her neck, because I've been looking for those damn dependable neighborhood teenagers for FIVE LONG YEARS, and I'm still paying my babysitters $10 an hour for one kid.<br /><br />So back to the childcare thing. It sucks! It sucked when my daughter was a baby, and it sucks now. Even though I really liked her provider in the past two years since we've moved to the suburbs, I didn't like the price tag AT ALL. It was still another mortgage payment, no matter how you cut it. I honestly don't know how people with more than one kid can afford daycare.<br /><br />The experience starts out sucking at the baby level. Do you go with in-home or institutional? Tela at <a href="http://www.workingmomsagainstguilt.com/2006/11/daycare-situation.html">Working Moms Against Guilt</a> writes: <br /><br /></p><blockquote>I was looking into both daycare facilities and people who watched children out of their home. The individuals who watched children out of the home were less expensive, on the wholesale, than daycare facilities. However, I felt, for some reason, more comfortable with daycare. For most people, it's quite the opposite. They like the homey, warm atmosphere of a home-run "daycare". I liked the facilities because they seem more professional, more capable, more experienced.</blockquote><p><br /><br />Others, like Jen at <a href="http://www.jennepper.com/2009/06/daycare-because-she-asked-so-very.html">Jennepper</a> prefer the in-home alternative: <br /><br /></p><blockquote>The first time I took her to the sitter (we decided against the daycare center because of all of the reflux issues she was having), it was all very uneventful. The sitter picked her up, and Olivia smiled at her, and I left feeling pretty OK about the whole thing.</blockquote><p><br /><br />And still others start off working after their kids are born and run screaming from the world of work after bad child care burns them out faster than any scene straight out of The Office. Lena at <a href="http://thecheekylotus.blogspot.com/2009/08/day-careless.html">The Cheeky Lotus</a> writes:<br /><br /></p><blockquote>Savannah went to after school care at the Y. I disliked it from the start. And by disliked I mean I spent a lot of time Googling the care providers names and spying through the windows at pick up.</blockquote><p><br /><br />I honestly thought once my daughter hit kindergarten–especially because she's in all-day kindergarten–that this whole care thing would get easier. HA HA HA HA<br /><br />Sue Shellenbarger at the <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/2009/08/26/finding-good-after-school-care-amid-program-cutbacks/">WSJ blog</a> writes:<br /><br /></p><blockquote>That frustrating three-hour window between the elementary- or middle-school dismissals and the end of the workday can drive parents to do risky things. Some leave kids home alone; others send them to malls, on the theory that any public setting is safer. One mother whose after-school program was running a long waiting list regularly sent her 12-year-old son to the public library. She told the librarian he would be coming and instructed him “to study there until we could pick him up,” says this Massachusetts mother.</blockquote><p><br /><br />So we're still struggling with this issue for now. I'm hoping we'll no longer be paying $20 a day for two hours of care by after the holidays.<br /><br />What the heck do you do, if you work outside the home?</p> ]]> |
| Parenting in a Digital World
October 12, 2009 at 7:00 am
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| | <![CDATA[<p>You've seen the talk shows and heard the playgroup buzz: What the heck are we doing about the influence of social media, cell phones, games and other technology on our little angels? OMG OMG OMG NOW WE WILL ALL DIE</p><p><!--break--></p><p>Fear not! We're here to help! Over the next six months, BlogHer is taking on a groundbreaking experiment in citizen journalism with regard to parenting in the digital age. Our digital parenting ambassadors will post analysis of breaking stories, trends, and the activities of BlogHer moms from a variety of angles. In addition, the ambassadors will blog insightful personal posts that shed light on their own parenting within the matrix. We'll be rolling out essays, technology round-ups and general navel-gazing.</p><p>We'll cover geeky parenting, technology as it's embedded in our daily lives (as parents and as participants in the community), tech trendspotting, parenting headaches and triumphs caused by our devices and the social media sphere, and the same great parenting writing you're used to seeing here. Parenting, after all, is still parenting, whether or not you're doing it with your Blackberry attached.</p><p>I know I'm excited–I've been a BlogHer Mommy & Family contributing editor for more than three years now, and this topic has come up so many times for me personally. I'm thrilled to be working with the talented group of writers who'll be bringing you this important information.</p><p>In addition, BlogHer will host a <a href="http://www.blogher.com/groups/family-connections">Family Connections BlogHer group</a> to which all our digital parenting posts will be published. The easiest way to stay in the loop is to join the group. So what are you doing? Click on over and join!</p><p>We can't wait to hear your thoughts. This is a conversation, and we want to hear from YOU–be your own beat reporter covering the ups and downs of parenting your cyberific kids. With my own daughter in kindergarten, I need your help navigating the dark waters. Come along for the ride, my friends.</p><p><em>Rita Arens is an editor in corporate America and a freelance writer. Her bylines have appeared in </em><em>Scholastic Parent & Child, <a href="http://www.babble.com/neighbor-kid-knock-door-torment/index2.aspx" target="_blank" title="Rita Arens Babble">Babble</a>, </em><em>The Kansas City Star, </em><em>Greater Kansas City Business, </em><em>KC Weddings, </em><em>and Art. She's the editor of </em><em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sleep-Weak-Mommybloggers-Including-Finslippy/dp/1556527721/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209098733&sr=1-2" target="_blank" title="Sleep is for the Weak">Sleep Is for the Weak: The Best of the Mommybloggers Including Amalah, Finslippy, Fussy, Woulda Coulda Shoulda, Mom-101, and More!</a>, which won a <a href="http://www.parenthood.com/NAPPA/Pregnancy_Birth_Winners_2009.php" target="_blank" title="Sleep Is for the Weak NAPPA award">2009 gold NAPPA award</a> and has <a href="http://surrenderdorothy.typepad.com/surrender_dorothy/books-kindle.html" target="_blank">short fiction and poetry available on Kindle</a>.</em></p><p> </p> ]]> |
| 10 Tips for an Effective Nonprofit or Do-Good Facebook Fan Page
October 12, 2009 at 3:24 am
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| | <![CDATA[<p><img style="max-width: 800px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2374/3529911640_bb4e33e4b1_o.png" alt="" /></p><p>If after asking yourself the <a href="http://www.blogher.com/10-questions-get-you-started-using-social-media-your-nonprofit-or-do-good-project" target="_blank">10 Questions to Get You Started Using Social Media for Your Nonprofit or Do-Good Project</a>, you are wondering about a social networking strategy, a Facebook Fan Page might be right for you. </p><p>A Facebook Fan Page gives your nonprofit or Do-Good causes a friendly url like <a href="http://www.facebook.com/your.organization.name;" title="http://www.facebook.com/your.organization.name;">http://www.facebook.com/your.organization.name;</a> people can find you via google, and there's no limit to the number of people who can tell you how passionate they are about your organization. And, what's even better, it doesn't take all that much time and effort to have a successful Facebook Fan Page.</p><p>Here's ten tips to make your Facebook Fan Page rock: <strong> </strong></p><p><strong>1. Setup: Page Name and URL Is Very Important</strong> In a couple of clicks and seconds, you <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php">can set up a Fan Page</a>. But take a few minutes to think about the name. Keep your page name short and accurate, you can't change after you create it. You will also get the opportunity to create a custom url or what Facebook calls a username. Think carefully about that too. More <a href="http://www.facebook.com/help.php?page=900">here.</a> <strong></strong></p><p><strong>2. Setup: Share the Work</strong> You can add an unlimited number of administrators on Fan Page, so why go it alone? By sharing the workload, you'll be able to do more. Here's <a href="http://www.facebook.com/help/search.php?hq=fan+page+administrator&ref=hq">more details </a>about how to manage your Facebook Fan Page. But be careful, don't make any of these <a href="http://nonprofitorgs.wordpress.com/2009/09/01/five-most-common-mistakes-made-by-nonprofit-admins-on-facebook/">common admin mistakes</a>. <strong></strong></p><p><strong>3. Content: Create An Inviting Welcome Page </strong> The default welcome page for your Facebook Fan Page is your wall. But why welcome people with wall when you can have a more inviting welcome mat. The easiest thing to do set the default welcome to your information page. Make the information tab complete, accurate, and honest. But, if you want a customized look and feel, <a href="http://www.insidefacebook.com/2009/05/21/sprout-offering-customized-facebook-bundles-in-2-weeks/">there are tools</a>, like <a href="http://sproutinc.com/2009/05/sprout-announces-new-customized-social-media-program-for-integrated-facebook-applications/">Sprout</a>,<strong> </strong>that allow you design an attention getting landing page on Facebook. Take a look at - it was designed in Sprout - and has a clear call to action. It doesn't require a lot of technical skill, but you need to have a good sense of design or know someone who does. <strong></strong></p><p><strong>4. Content: Think Outside the Fan Page Template/Box</strong> Face it, the Facebook Fan Page layout get boring. Why look like everyone else? As mentioned above, you can use a tool like Sprout. But there are also some simple and easy ways to hack the look and feel of your profile. Here's <a href="http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/02/facebook-profile-photo-hacks/">some suggestions from All Facebook</a>. <strong></strong></p><p><strong>5. Content: Engaging Nuggets Work Best</strong> The more interactive your content is the better results you'll see. The worst thing you can do with a page is dump an RSS feed into the Fan Page, people get bored with that and they don't engage. It doesn't take a lot of time and effort to share links, photos, videos, or write a wall post that asks a question. You want to engage people so they will like or comment on your content and their activity gets shared in their stream with their friends. My strategy for my Facebook Fan Page, for example, is to share useful links about how nonprofits can use Facebook. This takes me 5-10 minutes per day.</p><p><strong>6. Content: Play Tag With Your Friends</strong> One of the most engaging and viral ways to share content is to post photos and tag people. Now, you can only tag people who are your friends - and that's why it is useful to have a multiple administrators for your page. The best way to get photos and videos of your fans is through hosting events. For example, one organization took photos of people at offline event of people holding a sign with their message and then uploaded the photos into their Facebook Fan Page. This is not a new technique, it's called the "<a href="http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2007/11/the-flickr-hold.html">hold a sign meme</a>." <strong></strong></p><p><strong>7. Promote: Use Badges and Fan Box Widgets To Promote Your Page Outside of Facebook </strong> If you're a page administrator, you'll notice a "add the Fan Box Widget" link. This allows you to create a customized badge on your web site or blog that promotes your Facebook Fan Page. This is a highly effective way to recruit more fans. More from the <a href="http://wiki.developers.facebook.com/index.php/Fan_Box">Fan Box wiki</a>. <strong></strong></p><p><strong>8. Promote: Use Suggest To Friends Link</strong> The "Suggest to Friends" link is probably the single best way to recruit new people to your nonprofit's Facebook Fan Page. You and other administrators can do this, but you can also invite your fans to help. You can even make it a contest or award prizes. <strong></strong></p><p><strong>9. Applications:</strong> <strong>Use them</strong> One of the benefits of having a Fan Page is that you can integrate Facebook applications. Your Facebook Fan Page comes with six applications, including photos, video, discussion boards, notes, links, and events. Pages get more interesting with you a variety of applications. You'll want to include Causes and the Static FBML app. There's lots more to discover in the Facebook’s <a href="http://go2.wordpress.com/?id=725X1342&site=nonprofitorgs.wordpress.com&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fapps%2Fdirectory.php%3Fq%3Dapplication%2520gallery">Application Gallery</a>. <strong></strong></p><p><strong>10. Metrics: Use Insight to Get Insight </strong>The Facebook Fan Page comes with a metrics tool called Insight which measure engagement. At the very list, it can help you figure out what content is most engaging to your fans. Here's some resources to learn more.</p><ul type="disc"><li><a href="http://www.facebook.com/nonprofits" target="_blank">Nonprofits on Facebook</a> by <a href="http://www.facebook.com/">Facebook</a> </li><li><a href="http://www.facebook.com/help.php?page=175" target="_blank">Facebook Pages FAQ</a> by <a href="http://www.facebook.com/">Facebook</a> [Update: Added on 5.26.2009] </li><li><a href="http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2007/11/13/why-you-need-to-have-a-strategy-before-you-make-a-facebook-fan-page-now/" target="_blank">Why You Need to have a Strategy before you make a Facebook Fan Page NOW! </a>By <a href="http://www.web-strategist.com/" target="_blank">Jeremiah Owyang</a> </li><li><a href="http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=43952236636" target="_blank">Pages, Groups, and Causes: How are they different?</a> by <a href="http://facebook.com/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </li><li><a href="http://www.corporatedollar.org/2009/04/facebook-groups-pages-tips/" target="_blank">Facebook Groups and Pages â€" Features, Benefits And Killer Tips</a> by <a href="http://www.corporatedollar.org/" target="_blank">John Haydon</a> </li><li><a href="http://www.corporatedollar.org/2009/04/create-interactive-facebook-page/" target="_blank">How To Create A Powerful And Engaging Facebook Page</a> by <a href="http://www.corporatedollar.org/" target="_blank">John Haydon</a> </li><li><a href="http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/03/facebook-page-strategy/" target="_blank">How To Develop A Facebook Page That Attracts Millions of Fans</a> by <a href="http://www.allfacebook.com/" target="_blank">All Facebook</a> </li><li><a href="http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2009/05/so-you-want-a-facebook-fan-page-.html" target="_blank">So You Want a Facebook Fan Page?</a> by <a href="http://beth.typepad.com/" target="_blank">Beth Kanter</a> </li><li><a href="http://whyfacebook.com/2008/09/25/how-to-create-and-promote-your-facebook-fan-page/" target="_blank">How To Create and Promote Your Facebook Fan Page</a> by <a href="http://whyfacebook.com/" target="_blank">Mari Smith</a> </li><li><a href="http://mashable.com/2009/05/15/celebrity-facebook-pages/" target="_blank">Five Lessons Celebrities Can Teach Us About Facebook Fan Pages</a> from <a href="http://mashable.com/" target="_blank">Mashable</a></li><li><a href="http://www.diosacommunications.com/facebookbestpractices.htm">Facebook Nonprofit Best Practices</a> by Heather Mansfield</li></ul><p>Beth Kanter, Blogher CE for Nonprofits, writes <a href="http://beth.typepad.com">Beth's Blog</a> and her <a href="http://www.facebook.com/Beth.Kanter.Blog">Facebook Fan Page</a> focuses on how nonprofits can use Facebook effectively. <input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /></p><!--Session data--><p><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /></p><p><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /></p> ]]> | | | 
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