You probably don't know,
but if you do know,
or if you don't know but would like to know,
and you still believe in BLOGROLLS,
if you wouldn't mind blogrolling this new blog,
well then I'd like to introduce you to The Pet Timez,
brainchild of two blogging offspring
from two of your favorite mommy bloggers: thee and madame levy.
Our daughters, Maeve (from france) and Jenna (from amerika) have started a blog about pets, animals, and all things hairy. It's like realtime blog penpals writing about the stuff they care about--generally with four legs.
Enjoy. Support. Giggle.
---
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
November 04, 2007
September 25, 2007
A new twist on the blogroll in PR land...
...Let's call it the 'does not blog roll'.
Well that is pretty pitiful.
But, you can look at the glass half full or you can look at the glass half empty (historically my personal preference). BUT since I'm making positive changes in my life, I'm saying that the glass is half full and that this is a great DeVeloPmeNt OpPorTunIty.
I learned that, among other Very Important Things, during my decades inside the corporate belly. Whenever something is truly pitiful, it's a development opportunity!
:-)
Now, move along to the next post so you can diagnose my pink eye.
Well that is pretty pitiful.
But, you can look at the glass half full or you can look at the glass half empty (historically my personal preference). BUT since I'm making positive changes in my life, I'm saying that the glass is half full and that this is a great DeVeloPmeNt OpPorTunIty.
I learned that, among other Very Important Things, during my decades inside the corporate belly. Whenever something is truly pitiful, it's a development opportunity!
:-)
Now, move along to the next post so you can diagnose my pink eye.
September 04, 2007
lots o links
While you were out.... Karsh has a bunch of links worth checking out--especially go and vote for his panel ideas for SXSW. While you're there vote for other panels you think sound like worthwhile investments of your time. And ladies don't bitch about how few women are presenting if you don't stop by the panel picker and check out what your best blog girlfriends are proposing. Give them some stars if you like the ideas.
Looks like winners of the Black Weblog Awards will be announced tomorrow. Weee!
And inspirationally speaking, check out Karsh's 100 in 1oo1.
----
Looks like winners of the Black Weblog Awards will be announced tomorrow. Weee!
And inspirationally speaking, check out Karsh's 100 in 1oo1.
----
August 27, 2007
good blog reads
Kent has some great lists he's gathering in what he calls swivel feeds. I missed the bus on giving him five recommendations, so i did it in his comments. Picked the top five the wind blew through my skull. And it's 90 degrees and there's no wind, so I guess those are pretty much stuck.
and so i said:
Tony Pierce - http://www.tonypierce.com/blog/bloggy.htm
Daughter of Opinion - http://daughterofopinion.blogspot.com/
Brian Moffatt - http://www.brian-moffatt.com/repurpussing/
George Kelly - http://www.allaboutgeorge.com/
Madame Levy - http://lavachequilit.typepad.com/il
oops you already have Madame Levy, so I'll say Badhostess - http://badhostess.com/
thx!
---
and so i said:
Tony Pierce - http://www.tonypierce.com/blog/bloggy.htm
Daughter of Opinion - http://daughterofopinion.blogspot.com/
Brian Moffatt - http://www.brian-moffatt.com/repurpussing/
George Kelly - http://www.allaboutgeorge.com/
Madame Levy - http://lavachequilit.typepad.com/il
oops you already have Madame Levy, so I'll say Badhostess - http://badhostess.com/
thx!
---
August 21, 2007
doc's new doo
Doc has a new blog home, and quite honestly, it's freakin me out.
Not just the words "law" and "harvard" and "edu" in the URL, though that would be enough. Beyond the establishmentishness, I just can't get used to the template. Even with Doc's face and old masthead at the top, I'm like, "Can we go home now?"
Sure this design is simpler and cleaner, but there's something to be said about Doc's messy old house with small fonts and 100000 people on his blogroll, more than one woman too.
Doc's weblogs.com house was a place I visited before I started blogging in 01. I know I'll get used to his new place over time, but I can't get past thinking, "Doc doesn't talk in that font; Doc talks to me in Serif! Doc has more columns than this--where did his miscellaneousness go? And who ran off with Searls BlueGray Stripes(TM), anyway?"
I realize that final weblogs.com bloggers had to step off the bus eventually, and Doc's posts will still be a daily read for me in his new digs, but I can't help feeling like I've just seen him for the first time in a year, and he's completely bald.
So Doc, one favor--keep your hair, okay?
***
Not just the words "law" and "harvard" and "edu" in the URL, though that would be enough. Beyond the establishmentishness, I just can't get used to the template. Even with Doc's face and old masthead at the top, I'm like, "Can we go home now?"
Sure this design is simpler and cleaner, but there's something to be said about Doc's messy old house with small fonts and 100000 people on his blogroll, more than one woman too.
Doc's weblogs.com house was a place I visited before I started blogging in 01. I know I'll get used to his new place over time, but I can't get past thinking, "Doc doesn't talk in that font; Doc talks to me in Serif! Doc has more columns than this--where did his miscellaneousness go? And who ran off with Searls BlueGray Stripes(TM), anyway?"
I realize that final weblogs.com bloggers had to step off the bus eventually, and Doc's posts will still be a daily read for me in his new digs, but I can't help feeling like I've just seen him for the first time in a year, and he's completely bald.
So Doc, one favor--keep your hair, okay?
***
July 06, 2007
Move over SEO, It's Time for SAO
Before Search, and its cousin Search Engine Optimization, became the multi-billion-dollar industry of today, we spent our time surfing the Web, mostly amazed to find any sites that we could make use of, and especially surprised when search results returned a site that was actually something we were looking for.
Although the value and the "game" of getting companies nearest the top of first-page search results began several years ago in earnest, the Twitters and Pownces and YouTubes and FaceBooks of the world were still mere strings of code in their creators' loins at that time.
Ewww. Okay. That was uncalled for.
Nonetheless, in looking across the social software landscape, the sites and widgets and tools, the companies and indie soloists, the nomads and pirates, we can see the opportunity for companies to engage in social spaces -- to find new ways to interact with their customers, partners, and the watching world -- without making a pain of themselves. The strategy and programs around creating an integrated presence across social sites, using social tools, and interacting in positive ways with constituents, is something I'm calling Social Application Optimization (SAO).
A year ago, among online marketers' clients' top requests was a desire to engage with key demographics on MySpace, to spread to Friendster, and perhaps to participate in Second Life by hosting an event there.
Today, the opportunity for gaining visibility in gathering places across the web has increased as quickly as the number and sorts of places people are tending to gather. When it was just websites and blogs, things were easy. Now we have King MySpace, Queen FaceBook, YouTube, Friendster, Pownce, Bebo, LinkedIn, BuzzNet, Twitter, Flickr, Orkut, StumbleUpon, Tribe, various virtual worlds like Second Life, hybrid platforms like Kaneva, and more nearly every day.
Nearly every company is chomping at the bit to leverage marketing and PR opportunities on these sites that are aggregating so many people.
However:
Add to that busted myth the fact that most of these social sites have a large population of indie web solists, technology developers, and entrepreneurs who act as small businesses themselves, and we can do away with the "individuals only" notion of social spaces. Commerce is part of the social fabric. It's all in the how.
So how should companies use social spaces to increase visibility and touchpoints with customers and potential customers, with partners and potential new hires? What is enough visibility without becoming obnoxious? Which sites are right for which kind of businesses and activities?
There is no single right answer, and that's where SAO comes in. Simply put, Social Application Optimization is making the most of a company's presence across social applications in concert with tools, technology and social participants themselves. It is giving businesses maximum visibility and brand exposure through positive interactions with social participants.
Okay it's late. And I'm writing this on the fly. Can you tell? In keeping with that theme, let's say there's a party and people are standing around talking and laughing and drinking punch, an analog variation of a digital gathering.
Let's say there are also three flies on the wall at this party. The first fly on the wall gets wind of the desert tray and is buzzing all in the face of the party goers trying to eat some cake. Everyone is swatting at this fly, and when someone finally nails it with a towel, there's a collective, "Yeah!"
There's another fly on the wall and he stays on the wall. He doesn't move, and no one notices him much, but that fly learns a lot about people.
Then there's another fly on the wall. It sees a group of women having an animated, joyous conversation, until a tipsy barely-grown man, who has obviously hit hard on the punch, wanders into the group and tries to take over the conversation, stumbling into two of the members. The third fly buzzes over and dive bombs the guy's finely coiffed hair until it drives him away swatting at his head. The group lets out a collective, "Yeah!"
You get it. There are different "yeah"s online, and the one that reflects a positive connection between two entities is the point of opportunity where the businesses can help/enable/empower (there I said it!) people to do something they wanted to get done anyway, whether or not they were thinking about getting it done ten minutes prior.
Of course another way for busineses to help social participants is to simply not get in their way. Watch and learn. Participate but Wait. Then offer soft goods -- offer humor, or offer entertainment, or offer to continue to stay out of the way.
Like I said, it's late and I'm going on. I can do that sometimes.
So instead of winding this up with more paragraphs about insects, I'll shut up and let the flies have the floor.
---
Although the value and the "game" of getting companies nearest the top of first-page search results began several years ago in earnest, the Twitters and Pownces and YouTubes and FaceBooks of the world were still mere strings of code in their creators' loins at that time.
Ewww. Okay. That was uncalled for.
Nonetheless, in looking across the social software landscape, the sites and widgets and tools, the companies and indie soloists, the nomads and pirates, we can see the opportunity for companies to engage in social spaces -- to find new ways to interact with their customers, partners, and the watching world -- without making a pain of themselves. The strategy and programs around creating an integrated presence across social sites, using social tools, and interacting in positive ways with constituents, is something I'm calling Social Application Optimization (SAO).
A year ago, among online marketers' clients' top requests was a desire to engage with key demographics on MySpace, to spread to Friendster, and perhaps to participate in Second Life by hosting an event there.
Today, the opportunity for gaining visibility in gathering places across the web has increased as quickly as the number and sorts of places people are tending to gather. When it was just websites and blogs, things were easy. Now we have King MySpace, Queen FaceBook, YouTube, Friendster, Pownce, Bebo, LinkedIn, BuzzNet, Twitter, Flickr, Orkut, StumbleUpon, Tribe, various virtual worlds like Second Life, hybrid platforms like Kaneva, and more nearly every day.
Nearly every company is chomping at the bit to leverage marketing and PR opportunities on these sites that are aggregating so many people.
However:
- Most of these spaces don't want businesses there.
- Many have rules against businesses creating profiles.
- Social participants don't want to be bothered or spammed--and the ramifications of businesses jumping in the wrong way (just as we saw with blogs) are long-lasting and costly.
- How can you be "everywhere"? Should you be "everywhere"?
- If not, which sites are the best fit?
- How does a company interact with customers, partners, and the watching world without pissing them off? In ways that actually HELP?
Add to that busted myth the fact that most of these social sites have a large population of indie web solists, technology developers, and entrepreneurs who act as small businesses themselves, and we can do away with the "individuals only" notion of social spaces. Commerce is part of the social fabric. It's all in the how.
So how should companies use social spaces to increase visibility and touchpoints with customers and potential customers, with partners and potential new hires? What is enough visibility without becoming obnoxious? Which sites are right for which kind of businesses and activities?
There is no single right answer, and that's where SAO comes in. Simply put, Social Application Optimization is making the most of a company's presence across social applications in concert with tools, technology and social participants themselves. It is giving businesses maximum visibility and brand exposure through positive interactions with social participants.
Okay it's late. And I'm writing this on the fly. Can you tell? In keeping with that theme, let's say there's a party and people are standing around talking and laughing and drinking punch, an analog variation of a digital gathering.
Let's say there are also three flies on the wall at this party. The first fly on the wall gets wind of the desert tray and is buzzing all in the face of the party goers trying to eat some cake. Everyone is swatting at this fly, and when someone finally nails it with a towel, there's a collective, "Yeah!"
There's another fly on the wall and he stays on the wall. He doesn't move, and no one notices him much, but that fly learns a lot about people.
Then there's another fly on the wall. It sees a group of women having an animated, joyous conversation, until a tipsy barely-grown man, who has obviously hit hard on the punch, wanders into the group and tries to take over the conversation, stumbling into two of the members. The third fly buzzes over and dive bombs the guy's finely coiffed hair until it drives him away swatting at his head. The group lets out a collective, "Yeah!"
You get it. There are different "yeah"s online, and the one that reflects a positive connection between two entities is the point of opportunity where the businesses can help/enable/empower (there I said it!) people to do something they wanted to get done anyway, whether or not they were thinking about getting it done ten minutes prior.
Of course another way for busineses to help social participants is to simply not get in their way. Watch and learn. Participate but Wait. Then offer soft goods -- offer humor, or offer entertainment, or offer to continue to stay out of the way.
Like I said, it's late and I'm going on. I can do that sometimes.
So instead of winding this up with more paragraphs about insects, I'll shut up and let the flies have the floor.
---
Tags: Web 2.0, Tech, PR, Marketing, Advertising, Internet, Social Software, Social Tools, Social Media, Blogging, FaceBook, MySpace, Friendster, Twitter, Bebo, Flickr, Orkut, Buzznet, Kaneva, Second Life, StumbleUpon, Tribe.Net, YouTube, SEO, Social Application Optimization, SAO
Powered by Qumana
Euan Me
Euan Semple decided to send invites to stumble upon to me and 1,000 other close friends (check out the comments--some funny replies there from Euan's good natured "spammed friends"). Needless to say, ADD-like wanderlust ensued for various parts of the day. Musicovery and Refrigerator Poetry have been particularly fun. Firefox made the toolbar install easy. I wish their profile pages were more social. And a big plus would be to be able to "blog this" find or in some other way have linkage between your blog there and your other blogs and social sites.
More and more I think we will be writing in apps like Qumana and publishing to multiple sites--especially when these tools can cross social sites or use RSS to shape-shift our writing (also knowns as content), breaking it down into particles to send it across our social spheres and recomposing it in the style/form/look-and-feel appropriate for each venue. There's no reason I can't pull a twitter out of the same blog post I'm posting here and designate the last half of it in some Funky Font with emoticons to blast over to MySpace (once it's open--it will be), FaceBook, Friendster, Pownce, LinkedIn, Stumble Upon, Allied, Blog Sisters, all of em.
I have more to say on this stuff--just too little time and energy.
SO that's a round about way of saying, Thanks Euan!
---
Famous future reply to the question, "How did you find our site?"
"Euan did it."
---
More and more I think we will be writing in apps like Qumana and publishing to multiple sites--especially when these tools can cross social sites or use RSS to shape-shift our writing (also knowns as content), breaking it down into particles to send it across our social spheres and recomposing it in the style/form/look-and-feel appropriate for each venue. There's no reason I can't pull a twitter out of the same blog post I'm posting here and designate the last half of it in some Funky Font with emoticons to blast over to MySpace (once it's open--it will be), FaceBook, Friendster, Pownce, LinkedIn, Stumble Upon, Allied, Blog Sisters, all of em.
I have more to say on this stuff--just too little time and energy.
SO that's a round about way of saying, Thanks Euan!
---
Famous future reply to the question, "How did you find our site?"
"Euan did it."
---
Tags: myspace, euan semple, stumble upon, bad UIs, 1000 close friends, musicology, the solution is poetry, active reading, facebook, friendster, pownce, linked in, stumble upon, blogging, web 2.0, social software, tech, marketing
Powered by Qumana
June 18, 2007
mac lady in waiting
On the phone with apple after a near heart attack, going to view my order status and seeing NO order, going to my PayPal and seeing the dough went byebye on the 15th. So I'm calling the number listed on the paypal line to find out what gives.
On hold, listening and NOT getting jiggy with the musak. pass the xanax--i assumed i was maybe a day away from holding my new macbook (COURTESY OF YOU) in my chapped hands. Sure, the only thing i did was check paypal to be sure the money was gone to apple. I didn't really think of anything beyond that. i was busy drewling.
I have Dee from apple on the phone... she wants to know what my order number is, but I have to explain that I don't HAVE an order number because ... OH FUCK CORDLESS PHONES! Battery just died. George and I are RUNNING through the house--where are the other phones? Of course they're all laying together in a heap. fuck.
I dial again.
"If you're calling about an apple i-Phone...."
no i'm not.
Dee was nice before I lost her.
She must deal with many people who have generalized anxiety disorder. She said, "We'll figure out what's going on--don't you worry."
OKAY DEE!
Now I'm listening to the musak again. It's better than most.
All representatives are still helping other customers....
Okay now I have Theresa, who sounds like Dee but less therapist-like.
Oh Theresa she is so nice in tellling me my order was never made, and so I'm on paypal and i click the details on the transaction that has removed a grand plus out of my account, to find "on hold"
WTF PAYPAL? ON HOLD? FUCK YOU ON HOLD.
Now I'm calling the number on the back of my paypal visa to see what is UP.
(I am providing you with this because you, my faithful readers, are the actual initiators of THIS transaction).
"Thank you for calling paypal..." they are telling me they are having a data center upgrade tonight for two hours. Dear friends, grab your money now.
Now i'm waiting again. No good on-hold music with Paypal but they have a fancy IVR. You can talk to it. It's no Theresa or Dee though.
In fact it's a man.
Oh THIS is comforting: "Sorry, I can't find an account with that number."
Okay I'm in IVR hell.
I say the right thing finally.
Transferring to an agent.
My call is extremely important to them and my time is valuable they say. They want me to go to www.paypal.com to get answers to my question.
Oh yeah. been there. done THAT.
ebay gift certificates are easy to buy. my call is extremely important to them. due to the high call volume they are experieicning, I may want to go to www.paypal.com.
okay TELL ME MORE ABOUT EBAY.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Madame Levy has come to chat with me. I am now doing three things at once: listening to paypal jabber on hold, chatting levy, typing a post.
OH and missing Theresa. I guess that's 4.
Dave Rogers would call me partial attention or blow hard or something.
Bitter Man, Blow Hard, Beggarman, Thief.
Paypal and Ebay invite you to shop the world. Your call is extrememely important to us. Due to the high call volumes we are experiencing it may be worthwhile to you to go to www.paypal.com and find the answers to your questions.
WHERE IS MY MONEY? WHERE IS MY MACBOOK? Those are my questions.
Now I am learning about identity theft.
Goodie.
STOP TELLING ME MY TIME IS VALUABLE. My time is NOT valuable. I will decide if my time is valuable.
My Money, now THAT is valuable. My MacBook, valuable.
Fake emails usually begin with dear paypal user or dear paypal member. We designed our system to address you by your name.
Dear Loser.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
my neck hurts.
Madame Levy got me some other numbers for paypal. I'm going to dry one of those on my cell while staying on hold on my cordless home fone, while blogging this and chatting with ML.
OKAY I GOT SOMEONE!
"Can you hold while I get some assistance with your account?"
Oh yes, I can hold. I am good at holding. Ask Theresa.
Now I get to hear about suspicious emails. Forward suspicious emails to spoof@paypal.com.
90 percent of all ebay listings offer paypal as a payment method.
[[damn--i remember when we only accepted postal money orders as ebay sellers.]]
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
neckstillhurtz
back on nold for what's been 7 minutes now. my time is valuable.
SHE'S BACK: And HERE is the gobblygook explanation:
The reason why the funds are on temporary hold is because there is an authorization for apple to pull the funds within 5 days. On the fourth day, if they have not pulled the funds, the funds will be made available back to your account. Now there could have been a connectivity issue and Apple didn't get the final authorization. A connectivity between paypal and apple's shopping cart sometimes happens. There are sometimes a glitch for apple getting the authorization code and the transaction does not complete. If they do not capture the funds, the money will be released back to the account on Wednesday.
but i don't want the money. its my friends' money. me and them--we want my macbook.
she say she understands, and yes I told her about all of you, but there is nothing she can do except see if the transaction goes through between now and wednesday.
"otherwise i start all over again?"
"yes you do."
okay then.
---
On hold, listening and NOT getting jiggy with the musak. pass the xanax--i assumed i was maybe a day away from holding my new macbook (COURTESY OF YOU) in my chapped hands. Sure, the only thing i did was check paypal to be sure the money was gone to apple. I didn't really think of anything beyond that. i was busy drewling.
I have Dee from apple on the phone... she wants to know what my order number is, but I have to explain that I don't HAVE an order number because ... OH FUCK CORDLESS PHONES! Battery just died. George and I are RUNNING through the house--where are the other phones? Of course they're all laying together in a heap. fuck.
I dial again.
"If you're calling about an apple i-Phone...."
no i'm not.
Dee was nice before I lost her.
She must deal with many people who have generalized anxiety disorder. She said, "We'll figure out what's going on--don't you worry."
OKAY DEE!
Now I'm listening to the musak again. It's better than most.
All representatives are still helping other customers....
Okay now I have Theresa, who sounds like Dee but less therapist-like.
Oh Theresa she is so nice in tellling me my order was never made, and so I'm on paypal and i click the details on the transaction that has removed a grand plus out of my account, to find "on hold"
WTF PAYPAL? ON HOLD? FUCK YOU ON HOLD.
Now I'm calling the number on the back of my paypal visa to see what is UP.
(I am providing you with this because you, my faithful readers, are the actual initiators of THIS transaction).
"Thank you for calling paypal..." they are telling me they are having a data center upgrade tonight for two hours. Dear friends, grab your money now.
Now i'm waiting again. No good on-hold music with Paypal but they have a fancy IVR. You can talk to it. It's no Theresa or Dee though.
In fact it's a man.
Oh THIS is comforting: "Sorry, I can't find an account with that number."
Okay I'm in IVR hell.
I say the right thing finally.
Transferring to an agent.
My call is extremely important to them and my time is valuable they say. They want me to go to www.paypal.com to get answers to my question.
Oh yeah. been there. done THAT.
ebay gift certificates are easy to buy. my call is extremely important to them. due to the high call volume they are experieicning, I may want to go to www.paypal.com.
okay TELL ME MORE ABOUT EBAY.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Madame Levy has come to chat with me. I am now doing three things at once: listening to paypal jabber on hold, chatting levy, typing a post.
OH and missing Theresa. I guess that's 4.
Dave Rogers would call me partial attention or blow hard or something.
Bitter Man, Blow Hard, Beggarman, Thief.
Paypal and Ebay invite you to shop the world. Your call is extrememely important to us. Due to the high call volumes we are experiencing it may be worthwhile to you to go to www.paypal.com and find the answers to your questions.
WHERE IS MY MONEY? WHERE IS MY MACBOOK? Those are my questions.
Now I am learning about identity theft.
Goodie.
STOP TELLING ME MY TIME IS VALUABLE. My time is NOT valuable. I will decide if my time is valuable.
My Money, now THAT is valuable. My MacBook, valuable.
Fake emails usually begin with dear paypal user or dear paypal member. We designed our system to address you by your name.
Dear Loser.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
my neck hurts.
Madame Levy got me some other numbers for paypal. I'm going to dry one of those on my cell while staying on hold on my cordless home fone, while blogging this and chatting with ML.
OKAY I GOT SOMEONE!
she says she's verifying me.
am i me?
am i?
just one moment....
"Can you hold while I get some assistance with your account?"
Oh yes, I can hold. I am good at holding. Ask Theresa.
Now I get to hear about suspicious emails. Forward suspicious emails to spoof@paypal.com.
90 percent of all ebay listings offer paypal as a payment method.
[[damn--i remember when we only accepted postal money orders as ebay sellers.]]
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
neckstillhurtz
back on nold for what's been 7 minutes now. my time is valuable.
SHE'S BACK: And HERE is the gobblygook explanation:
The reason why the funds are on temporary hold is because there is an authorization for apple to pull the funds within 5 days. On the fourth day, if they have not pulled the funds, the funds will be made available back to your account. Now there could have been a connectivity issue and Apple didn't get the final authorization. A connectivity between paypal and apple's shopping cart sometimes happens. There are sometimes a glitch for apple getting the authorization code and the transaction does not complete. If they do not capture the funds, the money will be released back to the account on Wednesday.
but i don't want the money. its my friends' money. me and them--we want my macbook.
she say she understands, and yes I told her about all of you, but there is nothing she can do except see if the transaction goes through between now and wednesday.
"otherwise i start all over again?"
"yes you do."
okay then.
---
June 16, 2007
in the event of an actual emergency
the first time my skin turned inside out
i was six
and you were dead.
he must have talked to you
he must have said:
she is my daughter,
I will take care.
I will sell our house,
we will move here.
he must have said:
I give you my word,
I will make it okay.
permission for you
to fall away.
the next time my skin turned inside out
it was three weeks later
and he was dead.
routine visit, nothing serious,
discharged tomorrow.
one dose, two dose, cardiac arrest.
"a terrible mistake" / "these things happen."
my skin never fit right after.
no feeling when he took me
turned promises into warnings:
'don't tell.'
didn't he know
I had no words for this?
missing language for something missing.
I will spend my life finding words.
pieces cut away
innocence removed like a tumor.
hope festers
eyes drink pain
skin on fire.
aware, we are not broken.
alive, we mend eachother,
darn souls like socks
writing seams together
before they disappear
for good.
---
i was six
and you were dead.
he must have talked to you
he must have said:
she is my daughter,
I will take care.
I will sell our house,
we will move here.
he must have said:
I give you my word,
I will make it okay.
permission for you
to fall away.
the next time my skin turned inside out
it was three weeks later
and he was dead.
routine visit, nothing serious,
discharged tomorrow.
one dose, two dose, cardiac arrest.
"a terrible mistake" / "these things happen."
my skin never fit right after.
no feeling when he took me
turned promises into warnings:
'don't tell.'
didn't he know
I had no words for this?
missing language for something missing.
I will spend my life finding words.
pieces cut away
innocence removed like a tumor.
hope festers
eyes drink pain
skin on fire.
aware, we are not broken.
alive, we mend eachother,
darn souls like socks
writing seams together
before they disappear
for good.
---
June 15, 2007
My Brand! My Brand!
Well, I may be the first and best customer for the pill that's going to muck up my hard-earned, if not exclusive, online brand -- shared with a well-known moving company of course. New FDA-approved, non-prescription Alli (minus the ed) is set to hit shelves, looking to shrink waist sizes by ensuring that ingested fat pours out of us along with painful gas and diarrhea. Sign me up--I've had those symptoms for a while now and I'm looking for a win-win. Why cure IBS when it can work for you!
The down side that the drug is all-but-guaranteed to become popular, making Alli (pronounced AL-eye) a household word, leading to odd looks and the occasional high five when I say my blog's name outloud. "Yes, I blog at Allied."
I can always pronounce Allied the way Jenna does. She has always said: "Allied, it rhymes with Salad."
And with Salad, we've come full circle.
===
The down side that the drug is all-but-guaranteed to become popular, making Alli (pronounced AL-eye) a household word, leading to odd looks and the occasional high five when I say my blog's name outloud. "Yes, I blog at Allied."
I can always pronounce Allied the way Jenna does. She has always said: "Allied, it rhymes with Salad."
And with Salad, we've come full circle.
===
June 14, 2007
ARE YOU SERIOUS!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
All this time I thought they were saying One-a-Day VICODIN for Women!!!
No wonder I've been in such a good mood!
---
No wonder I've been in such a good mood!
---
Redemption Song
I don't like having shit said about me that isn't true. I don't like having been cast with the current broad brush of being some sort of complainer in a world that is all good and positive. I've been here for something like six years with every emotion and type of post you can think of, from really really happy to really really not.
For a while, the nonesense about me and anyone I decide to link to who might be writing something intersting, even if critical, will likely continue. I will trudge on nonetheless, full well knowing that any time I question any thing, that brush stroke is waiting. Whatever. My friends and readers did not contribute to buying me a new laptop (so close--this week or next!!!) so that I would shut up.
That disclaimer having been penned, I give you this, which I find interesting. Period.
In Yesterday's News...
From April 12, 2007:
In light of recent conversation and curiosity, I looked up stormhoek and FAITH to see if they contribute to this charity and how much. I didn't find anything. Maybe they have their own charity? Maybe bloggers could donate some of their drinking money to help? Maybe Silicon Valley could set upt its own fund? Maybe someone can enlighten me on what this HIGHLY blogger supported company is doing to help in the aftermath--and what many say is still the current practice on small farms--of the dop system.
On the site itself I saw a post about fair trade and its challenges, but I didn't see anything about what is being done specifically around the practice and legacy of the dop system and the incredible problem of alcoholism in South Africa.
OH and: That does not mean nothing is being done by the wine companies. I am not insinuating that nothing is being done. It means that I'm asking. In my own way. What is being done? I don't have to ask with a pretty please. I don't need your permission to ask. And I don't have to be polite. That is not a rule here. Go read Tim if you want rules.
Comments open. Oh, and South African bloggerspondent Golby, what do you know?
thanks.
[[update: another article on the south african wine country dop situation here.
"The child will typically have an IQ of 75, stunted growth, facial deformities and be prone to hyperactivity. The simplest schoolwork may be beyond the child." ... AND REGARDING DOP: "It paternalised the relationship between the farmer and his labour because they became dependent on him for booze." Even today, Prof Viljoen estimates the dop system occurs on between three and five per cent of Cape vineyards.]]
[[update 2: In chat, someone popped in to say they think the numbers of the telegraph article are high--and wondered how accurate the fetal alcohol syndrome stats are--especially from a teacher. Is there solid data on the fetal alcohol syndrome rates in South Africa? How is the tie in of the legacy of the dop system measured? I'm only asking questions. Answers are appreciated.]]
--
For a while, the nonesense about me and anyone I decide to link to who might be writing something intersting, even if critical, will likely continue. I will trudge on nonetheless, full well knowing that any time I question any thing, that brush stroke is waiting. Whatever. My friends and readers did not contribute to buying me a new laptop (so close--this week or next!!!) so that I would shut up.
That disclaimer having been penned, I give you this, which I find interesting. Period.
In Yesterday's News...
---BUSINESS NEWS Call for action against 'dop system'Wed, 13 Jun 2007
A pressure group has threatened to bring a class action against government and the
wine industry over the issue of alcohol abuse among farmworkers.
The Black Association of the Wine and Spirits Industry (Bawsi) called on Wednesday for the establishment of an industry fund to change people's attitude to drinking, and to set up an institution to treat alcoholics.
It said the government and the industry were responsible for creating thousands of alcoholics through the notorious "dop system".
Bawsi President Nosey Pieterse said failure to set up the fund would leave the body with no option but to lodge the class action.
From April 12, 2007:
South Africa's wine country fights alcoholism scourge: Healthcare workers struggle to change binge-drinking culture in a region that has the world's highest recorded levels of fetal alcohol syndrome.---
The habit of binge drinking is now ingrained in South African culture at all social levels, researchers say. In the Northern Cape town of De Aar, the rate of FAS babies is 122 per 1,000 live births, according to recent research by the Medical Research Council in Cape Town. By contrast, FAS levels in the US are between 0.1 per 1,000 and 0.67 per 1,000.
--
We have experienced the upside of wine – seeing the world, going to great restaurants – but we have to publicly acknowledge that there is a downside to our product," says François Naude, managing director of Beyerskloof Vineyards in Stellenbosch.
"Underaged children have killed themselves driving after drinking Beyerskloof Pinotage. Husbands have beaten their wives after drinking Beyerskloof Pinotage. And women have hurt their unborn children by drinking Beyerskloof Pinotage," says Mr. Naude. "We felt some social responsibility in regard to our industry to do something about this. We don't need to sweep this under the rug."
--
Beyerskloof Vineyards, the premier winery using indigenous pinotage grapes, is the first vineyard in South Africa to put labels on their bottles – a common practice elsewhere – warning pregnant women of the dangers of drinking. The founder, Beyers Truter, has also established a foundation, the Fetal Alcoholism and Interrelated Treatment Help Fund (FAITH) to raise funds for research, for information campaigns, and for smaller charities that help communities affected by FAS.
In light of recent conversation and curiosity, I looked up stormhoek and FAITH to see if they contribute to this charity and how much. I didn't find anything. Maybe they have their own charity? Maybe bloggers could donate some of their drinking money to help? Maybe Silicon Valley could set upt its own fund? Maybe someone can enlighten me on what this HIGHLY blogger supported company is doing to help in the aftermath--and what many say is still the current practice on small farms--of the dop system.
On the site itself I saw a post about fair trade and its challenges, but I didn't see anything about what is being done specifically around the practice and legacy of the dop system and the incredible problem of alcoholism in South Africa.
OH and: That does not mean nothing is being done by the wine companies. I am not insinuating that nothing is being done. It means that I'm asking. In my own way. What is being done? I don't have to ask with a pretty please. I don't need your permission to ask. And I don't have to be polite. That is not a rule here. Go read Tim if you want rules.
Comments open. Oh, and South African bloggerspondent Golby, what do you know?
thanks.
[[update: another article on the south african wine country dop situation here.
"The child will typically have an IQ of 75, stunted growth, facial deformities and be prone to hyperactivity. The simplest schoolwork may be beyond the child." ... AND REGARDING DOP: "It paternalised the relationship between the farmer and his labour because they became dependent on him for booze." Even today, Prof Viljoen estimates the dop system occurs on between three and five per cent of Cape vineyards.]]
[[update 2: In chat, someone popped in to say they think the numbers of the telegraph article are high--and wondered how accurate the fetal alcohol syndrome stats are--especially from a teacher. Is there solid data on the fetal alcohol syndrome rates in South Africa? How is the tie in of the legacy of the dop system measured? I'm only asking questions. Answers are appreciated.]]
--
June 12, 2007
wtf happened to technorati
i've been meaning to pipe up about the latest UI design for technorati.
i'm stumped. (see my index finger flicking up and down in front of my lips to make that clueless bbbbbrrrrbbbbrrrbbbrrr sound).
Let's take it top to bottom.
The scrolling 'play lotto here' looking bar at the top: it makes me car sick. I don't understand the content of the scroll bar. I don't know what I'm supposed to do with the information: find a bomb shelter and take cover or click on some obscure reference to something else.
Maybe I'm dissheveled because my eyes are busy fighting back the shock of the 52 pt heading underneath the scrolling neon green bar thingy. The headline quotes someone who said (in the last user interface) that some blogs have to be good. Dudes: you're preaching to the choir--you're a blog search engine.
Next look over to the right, and there's a tag fest, but no organization/reason to it. Basically, it's a swiki. i kind of expect technorati to leeeeaaad in this area, not put a little square full of tags on the homepage the likes of which you can find on every joe and jane's blog on the internets. And besides, everything seems maybe 1 pt difference between every other tag, which tells me precisely WHAT about how important any specific tag is?
Let's talk aesthetics. Orange and green? Hello color police, we have a 201 in progress.
Onto the main section of the landing page as this is the MEAT of the homepage content. What we get are THREE example blogs from each category (video, blogs, and music). That's all. What happened to lists? Why do I have to dig and I don't know the difference between a favorite and a wtf and a popular. Technorati's ALL about popularity. What do these sub-sections even mean?
Back to basics, allow me to clarify: I come to technorati to (class)...
so please, give me some help in that regard, as a leading blog search tool. that's your job.
do not bury the conversation.
When I visit technorati, I expect to find the latest talk and the hottest conversations. Please, help me find these things.
Technorati, you are a search engine. You can pretend to be other things. But i don't know why you would. Stay with what you're good at. Don't portalize. It's unbecoming on you.
Try again.
--
i'm stumped. (see my index finger flicking up and down in front of my lips to make that clueless bbbbbrrrrbbbbrrrbbbrrr sound).
Let's take it top to bottom.
The scrolling 'play lotto here' looking bar at the top: it makes me car sick. I don't understand the content of the scroll bar. I don't know what I'm supposed to do with the information: find a bomb shelter and take cover or click on some obscure reference to something else.
Maybe I'm dissheveled because my eyes are busy fighting back the shock of the 52 pt heading underneath the scrolling neon green bar thingy. The headline quotes someone who said (in the last user interface) that some blogs have to be good. Dudes: you're preaching to the choir--you're a blog search engine.
Next look over to the right, and there's a tag fest, but no organization/reason to it. Basically, it's a swiki. i kind of expect technorati to leeeeaaad in this area, not put a little square full of tags on the homepage the likes of which you can find on every joe and jane's blog on the internets. And besides, everything seems maybe 1 pt difference between every other tag, which tells me precisely WHAT about how important any specific tag is?
Let's talk aesthetics. Orange and green? Hello color police, we have a 201 in progress.
Onto the main section of the landing page as this is the MEAT of the homepage content. What we get are THREE example blogs from each category (video, blogs, and music). That's all. What happened to lists? Why do I have to dig and I don't know the difference between a favorite and a wtf and a popular. Technorati's ALL about popularity. What do these sub-sections even mean?
Back to basics, allow me to clarify: I come to technorati to (class)...
DISCOVER THINGS.
so please, give me some help in that regard, as a leading blog search tool. that's your job.
do not bury the conversation.
When I visit technorati, I expect to find the latest talk and the hottest conversations. Please, help me find these things.
Technorati, you are a search engine. You can pretend to be other things. But i don't know why you would. Stay with what you're good at. Don't portalize. It's unbecoming on you.
Try again.
--
Way?
"Look for the good... the glass isn't always half empty.. sometimes it's half full."
Way?!?
You see, this is where i get into trouble, 'cuz, no. no i'm fraid it's not. for sheltered white westerners sipping wine and sopping up blog juice maybe. but the planet does not begin and end with a full glass of wine.
go figure.
while you're figuring, read some investigative blogging wherein Madame Levy takes Stormhoek to school on the shady business practices of Tesco, where the wine is being promoted.
Something slightly more informative -- or at least wittier -- than 'sometimes the glass is half full' is deserved in response. I doubt if we'll hear it. After all, things are well with good bloggers everywhere whose glasses are half full--well, probably a good bit more than half if it's half past noon.
--
Way?!?
You see, this is where i get into trouble, 'cuz, no. no i'm fraid it's not. for sheltered white westerners sipping wine and sopping up blog juice maybe. but the planet does not begin and end with a full glass of wine.
go figure.
while you're figuring, read some investigative blogging wherein Madame Levy takes Stormhoek to school on the shady business practices of Tesco, where the wine is being promoted.
Something slightly more informative -- or at least wittier -- than 'sometimes the glass is half full' is deserved in response. I doubt if we'll hear it. After all, things are well with good bloggers everywhere whose glasses are half full--well, probably a good bit more than half if it's half past noon.
--
unstrung by a commute
good writing good man that BMO good thoughts good truth: what do you do with the ordinary? numb out or see through it? who might take you down for telling what you see? anyone or no one? the whole internet or just some someone? blogging your way through things is extreme sports in pixel play. you can break a bone. sometimes it is simply beautiful. it's not so real that it has to hurt. but you never know.
i like this:
-->
i like this:
to blog is to write the ordinary unordinary.Being in traffic, is like being in a meeting. You are stuck. You’d rather be
dead.We’ve pulled alonside a GO train. Double decker. With the entire side of one car covered in a Clinique ad. Painted on there. Little thought or art direction. Still better than the green and white. Me? I’d paint them a banana yellow.
We’re through The Green Belt now. Farms between two towns. Hay.
A beer and a bag of cashews while loading and unloading passengers at
Oshawa.Then it’s through the Darlingtin Nuclear plant. Thing is the grounds
around the facility are beautiful.I think I’ve decided that this is where we enter yet another country.
Farms, radio towers, power lines.
I’ve decided that when I get home I am going to weed the garden. The train is flying
over the countryside now. I’ve decided I want to live in Europe.Most of my ideas are romantic.
Damn it.
-->
June 10, 2007
Be Sure to Congratulate The Bitch!
Susan Getgood's dog had puppies and I am STILL waiting for pictures!
The puppies were supposed to arrive on my birthday, but she had them a day early.
Now it's all nurture and nature, as Susan notes in this heartwarming tweet on Facebook:
Ahhh. Makes you feel good all over, doesn't it?
Sleep not-too-soundly, susan!
---
The puppies were supposed to arrive on my birthday, but she had them a day early.
Now it's all nurture and nature, as Susan notes in this heartwarming tweet on Facebook:
"Puppies are here.Working,reading,watching the bitch so she doesn't roll over on them overnight."
Ahhh. Makes you feel good all over, doesn't it?
Sleep not-too-soundly, susan!
---
June 09, 2007
half way to 90
Can I just say that you guys are the frigging best? I am now just a few tenspots away from my new macbook, and am carefully weighing things like: should i get applecare? should i get the extra memory? do i need Office for the mac to swap .doc files with my clients who are PC strident? And please tell me track changes work in Word when passing .docs back and forth... Stuff like that.
In the mean time, I am overwhelmed and remain blown away by the response to helping me make the switch at a time when, well, life has been a bit challenging. Thank you all so much--for every email, every prayer, every good thought, every everything you have all sent my way.
And the special presents today... for the girl who has everything... like this:
and this:
I mean really. Do people who don't use the Internet get stuff like this for their birthdays? I say NAY! No they do not.
Well, I hear the scotch tape dispenser tearing away downstairs, which can only mean that Jenna is putting up birthday signage to make my day. I have an incision to clean, a breakfast menu to review, and blessings to count.
thank you all
---
In the mean time, I am overwhelmed and remain blown away by the response to helping me make the switch at a time when, well, life has been a bit challenging. Thank you all so much--for every email, every prayer, every good thought, every everything you have all sent my way.
And the special presents today... for the girl who has everything... like this:
and this:
I mean really. Do people who don't use the Internet get stuff like this for their birthdays? I say NAY! No they do not.
Well, I hear the scotch tape dispenser tearing away downstairs, which can only mean that Jenna is putting up birthday signage to make my day. I have an incision to clean, a breakfast menu to review, and blessings to count.
thank you all
---
June 07, 2007
some little bird
so a 'little bird' (what people tell me when i ask them wtf) told of my laptop mac-switching plight and my upcoming birthday (my dad didn't wanna name me Nina June for nothin) and SUDDENLY my paypal account is FLUSH with FUNDS that are going toward a MAC book as soon as I can patch in the rest of the dough, and I cannot COMMUNICATE in mere pixels how overwhelmed I am at the support from more than a dozen of you--each of whom I would like to name, but I know some of you are funny about that, so it puts me in a predicament, how dare you--OMG!
I am not sure how to say thank you to the nth degree, but thank you to the nth degree.
NONE of you had to do this, some of you can't afford to have done this, and many of you did anyway. I don't know what to say.
I really have had trouble lately about what I'm doing here. Not a new story. Many of us are struggling with why. I had lost a lot of faith in the net over the whole KS afffflair, and a lot of faith in what I'm doing here, how much I should be here, where HERE is anymore, and what any of us are doing here.
No big secret that.
It's not the Generous Contributions that have restored something in me. It is the show of support from all of you--some of whom I didn't think even knew I was still around, or whom I assumed had writ me up as being some kind of Really Mean Kid unworthy of further time, love, or readership. Or maybe that was me doing that. Either way.
I'm turning 45 Saturday and this thing--this being here--there is still something to it.
Thank you more than I can say for showing me that even with all the noise, our hearts can still cut through.
----
I am not sure how to say thank you to the nth degree, but thank you to the nth degree.
NONE of you had to do this, some of you can't afford to have done this, and many of you did anyway. I don't know what to say.
I really have had trouble lately about what I'm doing here. Not a new story. Many of us are struggling with why. I had lost a lot of faith in the net over the whole KS afffflair, and a lot of faith in what I'm doing here, how much I should be here, where HERE is anymore, and what any of us are doing here.
No big secret that.
It's not the Generous Contributions that have restored something in me. It is the show of support from all of you--some of whom I didn't think even knew I was still around, or whom I assumed had writ me up as being some kind of Really Mean Kid unworthy of further time, love, or readership. Or maybe that was me doing that. Either way.
I'm turning 45 Saturday and this thing--this being here--there is still something to it.
Thank you more than I can say for showing me that even with all the noise, our hearts can still cut through.
----
June 06, 2007
I'm going Mac. Ain't no going back.
I'm saving up to make the switch. That's it.
So many PCs have croaked the last two weeks I don't know what's going on, but I don't see any harm in insinuating the proliferation of Vista and recent MS updates miiiight have something to do with it. Or some kind of harmonic convergence. Yeah.
I started out in business on a Mac in 1984. The first one I worked on was a 512K, singed on the inside, which we upgraded to a 512KE and thought we'd died and gone to heaven at our little startup publishing business. Added a 20 MB (that's MB not GB) hard drive in 1985 and had the power of the world in our hands.
I stayed with Mac at home and in business until 1991, going through a Mac Plus, a Mac SE, and others, including my first Apple laser printer which cost $1600 back in the day, until I joined the Big Co machinary of Eastman Kodak Company, when being able to work from home pushed me to a PC and then Windows.
Well guess what. I'm going back to my roots. What do I do? I write. What have I always done? Write and make books. What should I be doing that on? A Mac. Plain and simple.
I'm writing this on a borrowed computer--THANK YOU HONEY--who has been 'driving miss crazy' around for the last two weeks during my convalescence. One made a little more stressful without a link to the rest of you. I am thankful I have George's computer to work on. Believe me. But I need an axe. I can't be without my axe.
I want to go home. I want to buy a mac book. I'm going to.
It's over Microsoft. It's over Windows.
---
So many PCs have croaked the last two weeks I don't know what's going on, but I don't see any harm in insinuating the proliferation of Vista and recent MS updates miiiight have something to do with it. Or some kind of harmonic convergence. Yeah.
I started out in business on a Mac in 1984. The first one I worked on was a 512K, singed on the inside, which we upgraded to a 512KE and thought we'd died and gone to heaven at our little startup publishing business. Added a 20 MB (that's MB not GB) hard drive in 1985 and had the power of the world in our hands.
I stayed with Mac at home and in business until 1991, going through a Mac Plus, a Mac SE, and others, including my first Apple laser printer which cost $1600 back in the day, until I joined the Big Co machinary of Eastman Kodak Company, when being able to work from home pushed me to a PC and then Windows.
Well guess what. I'm going back to my roots. What do I do? I write. What have I always done? Write and make books. What should I be doing that on? A Mac. Plain and simple.
I'm writing this on a borrowed computer--THANK YOU HONEY--who has been 'driving miss crazy' around for the last two weeks during my convalescence. One made a little more stressful without a link to the rest of you. I am thankful I have George's computer to work on. Believe me. But I need an axe. I can't be without my axe.
I want to go home. I want to buy a mac book. I'm going to.
It's over Microsoft. It's over Windows.
---
May 31, 2007
blogger's creed
i wrote this someplace around here once upon a time. it still fits...
-----
-----
The Blogger's Creed
what i don’t owe you/what you don’t owe me:
an out
a pat on the back
a lie
a kiss
a cover up
a glass half empty or half full
a snow globe
a flashlight
a mother
an intervention
kindness
30 lashes
anything flannel
the truth
Xanax or Ecstasy
bare naked ladies
fact checking
a sunny day
a snow cone
links
roses
a dozen or so Lincoln logs
a whipping boy/girl
six inches
smoldering embers
a reason
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