In my neighborhood, people love their dogs. Every other block here boasts a pet boutique that sells coats, sweaters, and even hoodies sized for little Fido. At all hours of the night, there is at least one French bulldog or Scottish terrier being paraded down the street. And when a cute dog passes you on the street, it’s customary to coo and stop to pet him/her for a minute. So I’m counting the minutes until someone steals this idea from a company in Novosibirsk, Siberia: paying pet owners to use their dogs as walking billboards. “Obviously companies now are asking how they can keep their products visible without having to spend vast sums of money on expensive multi-media campaigns,” said a spokesman for Promo Dog. “Dogs go everywhere and are highly visible on the streets.”
Archive for November, 2008
You Can’t Make This Stuff Up: Petvertising
Sunday, November 30th, 2008The Distractions, Vol. 3
Thursday, November 27th, 2008“Orange. Like Clockwork Orange.” A patient’s uncle painted patches of water color, meticulously, one by one. He gave a running commentary about each patch, more for himself than for anyone else, and ended with a recitation of “To be or not to be…” This was not the type of guy you might expect to know Shakespeare by heart. I asked if he was ever an actor. “I just shake, you know? Shake, shake.”
Soon, there were seven would-be painters around the table. “Let’s make a poem about what we’re thankful for,” I said. “I’ll write while you paint.”
My mom and dad, my kids. The list started with what I thought were the basics. Mr. Clockwork Orange added My Creativity, My Good Ideas. “That’s great,” I said as I wrote in big, loopy letters. We so often forget to appreciate our own mind, our own imagination– even if we’re pros at recognizing brilliance in others. The poem ended with the additions of A place to sleep, Food to eat, My own plate to eat that food off of, All things I didn’t have before.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thursday, November 27th, 2008I’ll tell you my gratefuls if you tell me yours!
I just realized that my first vlog ever was posted a year ago today. It’s my year anniversary! Wow! Thanks for watching! And thanks Ethan for suggesting the idea to me! I am grateful for all of you! Amen.
____
Kimmi
Therapy Thursdays
National Day of Listening
Wednesday, November 26th, 2008On Friday, instead of waking up at 4 a.m. to go spend money we don’t have anyway (seriously? What’s with those ads of women stepping into high heels at 4 a.m. for a sale?), consider taking part in StoryCorps’ first annual National Day of Listening. In the last five years, StoryCorps has helped more than 40,000 Americans record their stories, creating a massive oral history project.
On their website, they include instructions with tips on how to spark a meaningful conversation with someone around you and record it, if you can, the day after Thanksgiving — your grandmother, parent, sibling, friend, neighbor. Anyone whose story you would like to hear for one hour on Friday. They’ve got interview examples on the website; I highly recommend sampling them. I’m a personal history nerd, so I love listening to these stories.
Also, I would be remiss if I did not share the live web feed that has swept the internet in the last month: six Shiba Inu puppies, which have garnered over 6 million viewers since they’ve been online. After the cut, you can see why. This is great for entertaining the varied generations gathering at your home for the holiday:
Slow Blogging
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008You’re heard of the slow food movement, right? Well now folks are bringing that same sensibility–a mindful, patient, sensual exploration of the full enjoyment of the present moment–to one of the fastest of mediums: the blog.
The New York Times had a fascinating story on this trend on Sunday. It turns out that there is even a Slow Blog Manifesto, written in 2006 by Todd Sieling from (of course) Canada. Sieling writes:
Slow Blogging is a reversal of the disintegration into the one-liners and cutting turns of phrase that are often the early lives of our best ideas. Its a process in which flashes of thought shine and then fade to take their place in the background as part of something larger. Slow Blogging does not write thoughts onto the ethereal and eternal parchment before they provide an enduring worth in the shape of our ideas over time.
He also encourages others to write their own Slow Blog Manifesto and, indeed, they have. The description in the NYT piece of Professor Barbara Ganley’s slow blogging actually reminded me of our very own Molly May.
It also got me thinking about Crucial Minutiae, in general, and how this space usually feels fairly slow and reflective. (more…)
Brag Round-Up for Monday, November 24
Monday, November 24th, 2008Courtney E. Martin
- “Michelle Obama and Military Families” at The American Prospect Online
Cristina Pippa
- Cristina is directing the reading of “Fall: A Rock Musical” by Billy Horn on Monday, December 1, at 7:30 p.m., in Buffalo, NY. Click here for all the details.
- Cristina was interviewed at Think Twice Radio about her direction of a staged reading of “Fall”, a rock musical. Click here to listen to the interview.
Kate Torgovnick
- “Freelancing Isn’t Free” in New York Magazine
Love and Marriage and Prop 8
Thursday, November 20th, 2008___
Kimmi
Therapy Thursdays
Contemplating Disagreement
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
I had the great pleasure of hearing Rick Steves speak about travel as a political act at BookPeople on Sunday. I’ve enjoyed his European low-budget and close-to-the-ground travel series on PBS since high school, but I couldn’t have guessed how passionate a speaker he would be.
His talk centered around his recent trip to Iran and travel’s potential as a political act. As the possibility of the U.S. going to war with Iran became louder and more insistent in our country, he realized that he knew nothing about Iran or its people. He wanted to go there, meet Iranian citizens, and learn more about them and their lives. At the talk, he said something like, “I’m of the mind that if you’re going to bomb a country, you should know about the people that you’re bombing. It should hurt you when you kill someone.”
His talk dovetailed well with something I’ve been thinking about a lot: relational activism. The night before the election, I heard Betty Burkes, a life-long educator and activist, speak about women and politics. She introduced this phrase into my world, “relational activism.”
Recess at Risk
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008What’s wrong with kidz these days?
Well, for one thing, it seems that they are not getting enough playtime. In fact, kidz today get 8-12 fewer hours of weekly playtime on average than they did in the 1980s, according to USA Today. This trend has caused considerable alarm among developmental psychologists who note the importance of playtime for healthy child development.
Some experts assert that lack of playtime is producing “a generation of socially inept young people” and can lead to “high rates of youth obesity, anxiety, attention-deficit disorder and depression.”
To combat recess restrictions, the National Parent Teacher Association launched the Rescue Recess campaign in 2006 along with advocates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Education Association (believe it or not, the campaign is also co-sponsored by the Cartoon Network without a hint of irony).
But why do we need to rescue recess in the first place? Why is recess at risk?
A Bubble is Worth a Thousand Words
Tuesday, November 18th, 2008
I’ve been traveling the country with the Dove Self Esteem Fund as of late, doing self-esteem workshops for middle school girls and train-the-trainer workshops for the dedicated adults in girls’ lives. So far I’ve hit San Diego, Seattle, Denver, and Kansas City. Next stops, Detroit and Charlotte. Dove is partnering with local Boys & Girls Clubs in each city to round up the girls–usually about 100 per workshop–so the audiences tend to be primarily low income.
One of the exercises I ask them to do is fill out a “self-esteem bubble” in which they list all their influences (mom, dad, Spongebob, Lil’ Wayne) and then strategically place them. If the person is generally a good influence, they place them inside their bubble. If the person doesn’t make them feel so hot about their self-esteem, they place it outside of the bubble.
For such a simple exercise, it really produces fascinating results. (more…)
Out of Touch
Monday, November 17th, 2008
Brag Round-Up for Monday, November 17
Monday, November 17th, 2008Courtney E. Martin
- “Waking Up to America at a Crossroads” at Women’s Media Center
- “Where It All Began for Obama (and All of Us)” at Huffington Post
- “Why American Youth Will Vote” at The American Prospect Online
- This Thursday, Courtney will speak at Drake Universityin Des Moines, IA.
- Last Thursday, Courtney spoke at University of Missouri – Kansas Citywith Kristal Brent Zook, Gloria Feldt, Courtney E. Martin, and María Teresa Petersen as part of the Women, Girls, Ladies panel on intergenerational feminism.
The Desert, the Desert!!!!
Sunday, November 16th, 2008
Who knew the mid-day flight from New York to Los Angeles could be so tantalizing? After rousing myself from a deep, drooling, on-board sleep, I pressed my forehead to the tiny airplane window. The desert! The wide majestic desert staring me in the face! I instantly turned dumbstruck, lapping it up (for 3 constant hours) like a puppy, staring and wishing that I could parachute out of here and roam the land beneath. Red, orange, white, brown canyons carving, whisping out like feathers, deep dark gorges with a hint of river, white sand blown across a flat, studded hills, tiny grid towns, a flat mesa– the shapes and patterns that come from zooming out.
This is what happens when I’ve been in Manhattan for too long a stint. Experiencing the outside world becomes an unexpected symphony, an absolute production. Buzzing sprints from cell to cell in my body until, in silly unrestrained elation, I determined that my life should only be lived in the stark desert below me. I have to relocate and I have to relocate now.
Quieting the singing in my heart, my analytical ear listened for the background noise of American Airlines passengers. Of course, it offered perspective. (more…)
Cutting Texas Off the Map
Friday, November 14th, 2008
When I lived in New York City and I told people that I was from Texas, I often got a pitying look that implied that I had somehow escaped a fate worse than death by moving to NYC. They would not believe me when I told them about my middle and high school experiences of growing up in an incredibly diverse community, where the four Ronnettes in our high school production of Little Shop of Horrors were Vietnamese-American, Lebanese-American, African-American, and a blonde Caucasian.
Meanwhile, I had seen some serious sexism and racism on the streets of New York City that people often liked to ignore, or pretended were just anomalies, as if somehow the Northeast corridor was the direction in which the country was evolving, and everyone else could just go fuck themselves.
So I am not surprised when I see this report from SAALT (South Asian Americans Leading Together) about hate crimes during and after the 2008 election. The four featured incidents took place in two New Jersey towns, Staten Island, and Providence, RI.
Comic Authors Make The Big Bucks
Thursday, November 13th, 2008
Global economic meltdown wah? Sure, there’s some indication the publishing industry, like every other industry in America, is going to take a hit with the world’s economy going down the toilet. Then how to explain this bit of news?
According to the NY Observer, sources report that bidding for Sarah Silverman’s upcoming book has broken the $2.5 million mark. In that same eye-popping piece, other sources speculate that Jerry Seinfeld’s new book proposal has garnered bids of $7 to $8 million. Both comedians are clients at Trident Media Group.
As the Observer notes, somebody got some splainin’ to do.
Exploring My Sexuality
Thursday, November 13th, 2008___
Kimmi
Therapy Thursdays
Obama and Technology
Wednesday, November 12th, 2008
I just learned today that President-Elect Obama has an official Flickr page. There’s a set of candid photos of the Obamas on election night, waiting for the results to come in. Obviously, they were taken by an official photographer — it’s not like Obama took them on his camera phone and sent them to Flickr — but there are some very cool shots. (Also, it’s amusing to see Flickr’s standard description at the bottom of his profile page: “I’m male and taken.” In case anyone wasn’t sure.)
This got me thinking about Obama and Technology. (It appears I’m not the only one: GeekDad has a funny post on Wired.com about five reasons that Obama is a geek.) He has a Twitter page. Technology was included as one of the main issues on his campaign website. Obama will appoint the nation’s first Chief Technology Officer.
Can you even imagine?
Five Things That Obama’s Election Doesn’t Change (at Least Immediately)
Tuesday, November 11th, 2008There’s been so much talk, of course, about Barack Obama’s presidential triumph, and the country’s racial progress. BUT, I don’t want us to lost track of some of the race/class divides that still plague this country. A black president doesn’t solve our racial problems.
1. One in nine black men ages 20 to 34 is behind bars.
2. About 1 in 4 African American, Native American and Latina women in New York state lives in poverty.
I’m not trying to be Debbie Downer here, but I also want us to stay sober about the real racial challenges we face in this country. Obama’s amazing. He doesn’t solve everything.
Are You Better Off for Going to Your First-Choice College?
Monday, November 10th, 2008When I mention solid public universities like CUNY or Rutgers, I always find it a little sad when people ask me, “Is that a good school?” Maybe it’s because I’m nearing completion of my doctorate and I realize how lucky I would be to get a good tenure-track job at one of these places. Maybe it’s because I am frustrated by the needless restrictions that many students put on their college search.
When it comes to colleges, we’re trained to look at rankings and reputation. It’s a massive investment, so I understand the pull of prestige. However, it’s a massive investment, so I wish people had better information.
For starters, how much do you think it matters where you go to college? Will you get a better education at a highly ranked college? Will you be happier and more engaged at First Choice University than Last Choice University?
A Luddite No More
Friday, November 7th, 2008
I’m usually an in-the-moment kind of girl… a firm believer that when you are in the flesh with someone turn off the computer, the TV, and the damn cell phone. Eye contact, people. BUT, on Tuesday night, as I sat plunked in front of the television with my boyfriend and two other dear friends, all of my values went flying out the window.
Obama was announced as President of the United States and I grabbed my phone to start texting everyone I love. Some people had beat me to it. So for the next 30 minutes, I exchanged celebrations with my cousin in Grant Park (“He’s arrived! He’s coming!”), my best friend in Texas (Aaaaaa!!), my brother in Los Angeles (OMG), and so many others in California, Washington, Wisconsin, New York….
When do we, as humanity, ever direct all that mental and emotional energy to one moment, together? Very rarely does an event capture the attention of every person in every nook or cranny. How powerful to imagine our brothers and sisters all poised on the same words, the same numbers. All this to thank the technology of texting for connecting me to the wide web of humanity in a moment so profound that the world buzzed.