Saturday afternoons I would pretend I had a stomachache and take a book with me into the bathroom and lock the door hoping my mother would give up on making me practice another four hours. Sometimes I would lay down on the bath mat and take a nap.
I loved music naturally, but hated so much being forced to play, and the long-fingered ears of my mother reaching into me from beyond the kitchen to tell me when I was out of tune or playing too slowly--she really was stupid in so many ways, not understanding that a student plays more and more slowly as they listen more conscientiously. Non-musicians do not realize that it takes much more concentration and effort to play slowly than it does to mechanically rip through notes.
My teachers felt sorry for me. But I wish that even one of them had had the courage to tell my mother to quit pushing.
I wanted to play beautifully for myself, but I wanted to play badly for her, to disappoint her, and to make her angry. I wanted to practice for myself in freedom from her constant criticism, with her in a different country, or dead.
December 13, 2005
unhook your aggregators...
and go looking for some fabulous new-to-you voices. Like Zulieka:
December 12, 2005
Hey, I resemble that market!
So they've canned Mr. Six Flags, which will ultimately peeve my kid off, along with her swim friends, who delight in dancing like the old guy for prizes and money at summer pool parties.
BUT HEY, look on the bright side, that must mean they're looking for someone or something to replace him... HMMM... something to appeal to "mothers with young children..." HMMMM...
NANNY 911 GOES TO SIX FLAGS!
It's an episode in which little billy humps a clown's leg while sweet sally mae sets the funhouse on fire, and tommy hurls a ninja star from a moving roller coaster, scarring the ferris wheel operator for life.
Following Desperate Housewives...
Film at 11.
BUT HEY, look on the bright side, that must mean they're looking for someone or something to replace him... HMMM... something to appeal to "mothers with young children..." HMMMM...
NANNY 911 GOES TO SIX FLAGS!
It's an episode in which little billy humps a clown's leg while sweet sally mae sets the funhouse on fire, and tommy hurls a ninja star from a moving roller coaster, scarring the ferris wheel operator for life.
Following Desperate Housewives...
Film at 11.
Frank's Paynting Again!
The "How do you blog" series is getting started. Honored to be asked to say how I blog, in a few different ways...
Two non-mentions by MSM that piss me off.
The mainstream press continues to rewrite our history with two non-mentions of important contributors to big deals today.
First, Adam Curry gets Dave Winer's RSS software credit in Business Week. Now Dave and I have had our moments, hours, days, years, etc., but what kind of nutjob wouldn't give Dave the nod over Adam on the tech side of podcasting? That's just bad reporting and I'd have to think some kind of bias.
Second Blogads and Henry Copeland are omitted from the NYT article on MSNBC's big blogad buy (that thingy you see on the sidebar; thanks Henry!). It's easy to forget now that advertising on blogs is a legit advertising strategy for BigBiz, and a sweet spot for BigBloggers looking to gang up, that Henry was there when it wasn't. And he takes care of the little guys too. Don't forget that.
So rewrite your versions of these stories at home with me, kay kids?
First, Adam Curry gets Dave Winer's RSS software credit in Business Week. Now Dave and I have had our moments, hours, days, years, etc., but what kind of nutjob wouldn't give Dave the nod over Adam on the tech side of podcasting? That's just bad reporting and I'd have to think some kind of bias.
Second Blogads and Henry Copeland are omitted from the NYT article on MSNBC's big blogad buy (that thingy you see on the sidebar; thanks Henry!). It's easy to forget now that advertising on blogs is a legit advertising strategy for BigBiz, and a sweet spot for BigBloggers looking to gang up, that Henry was there when it wasn't. And he takes care of the little guys too. Don't forget that.
So rewrite your versions of these stories at home with me, kay kids?
December 11, 2005
How Does Frank Blog?
Oh wait, it's going to be all about how WE blog. Stay tuned to Frank's place for an upcoming post entitled, How Do You Blog?I contributed, but will I make the cut? Only Frank's hairdresser knows for sure...
Meg at Mandarin brought the question to life with this cool grafik.
She also gives a hint at how I answered the question--GREAT MINDS, BABY!
Final party pictures
Well, in addition to KC & The Sunshine Band, we also saw Martha Wash, one of the weather girls, who put out the favorite hit of my college days, it's raining men. Her voice is still awesome. I wish she brought a band rather than track singing, but hey. She's Martha Wash. She's still standing. In my book she can sing however the hell she wants.
There was also a very cool but odd fashion show of very very TALL large invididuals dressed in rather odd funky fashions. I snapped some of the runway models for Frank.
There are also some of George and I as we decide which to send to SXSW for the brochure. Vote if you like. Or don't if you don't like.
Now, I need to recuperate.
More later...
There was also a very cool but odd fashion show of very very TALL large invididuals dressed in rather odd funky fashions. I snapped some of the runway models for Frank.
There are also some of George and I as we decide which to send to SXSW for the brochure. Vote if you like. Or don't if you don't like.
Now, I need to recuperate.
More later...
The Anti-Pierce and the Shake Shake Shake Guy
Tony Pierce goes to all these sexy Buzznet parties with 20 somethings dancing on his head and stuff, and then he comes home and writes about them and puts up pictures of old girl friends or half-naked groupies. AND he is so GOOD at it.
I live vicariously through Shakespierce because I don't go to those kind of events in my old age. I'm an old married mom with an old married husband and a kid who talks too much who I love so so so so so so so. So we go to things like the annual XMAS Party and it's like we've died and gone to vegas, and for me, I get pretty excited about the baby sitter and buffet line.
Something changed between 19 and 43. I wish I could pinpoint when.
ha ha ha fricking ha.
So, when we got there, I was thinking in my glass-half-empty sort of way, KC & The Sunshine Band, great. I didn't like them the first time around. How much better have they gotten in 30 years?
But you know what? Old KC got himself some backup talent on stage, a kickass musical director from back in the day, and those folks put on a GREAT show. I mean, they worked their asses off. The horn section, rhythm section, guitarist, percussion, keys, and dancers, and KC working it as hard as he could, they all did an amazing job bringing new life to some, well, let's just say new life.
You want to see them move a little? CLICK HERE.
Of course we got to hear the hits, like shake shake shake... and get down tonight, and heck if i didn't forget KC ever did Babe (Babe, I love you sooo, I want you to know... that I'm gonna miss your love...)
ANYWAY I told George that even with my steady-eddie musical memory, some songs are stuck way way back behind my left lymph node some reason--maybe because they should say back there. Well, THAT's where Babe was. A song I forgot I knew and then instantly remembered where I'd put it.
So before you say, K-Who and the Sun-WHAT? you better lay back and appreciate determination, because KC's 55 now, and he's worked hard to rebuild what he lost and get by in this suckass business, so I'll keep Babe up in my mid-term memory for as long as I need to. For you, KC, and your sunshine band.
I live vicariously through Shakespierce because I don't go to those kind of events in my old age. I'm an old married mom with an old married husband and a kid who talks too much who I love so so so so so so so. So we go to things like the annual XMAS Party and it's like we've died and gone to vegas, and for me, I get pretty excited about the baby sitter and buffet line.
Something changed between 19 and 43. I wish I could pinpoint when.
ha ha ha fricking ha.
So, when we got there, I was thinking in my glass-half-empty sort of way, KC & The Sunshine Band, great. I didn't like them the first time around. How much better have they gotten in 30 years?
But you know what? Old KC got himself some backup talent on stage, a kickass musical director from back in the day, and those folks put on a GREAT show. I mean, they worked their asses off. The horn section, rhythm section, guitarist, percussion, keys, and dancers, and KC working it as hard as he could, they all did an amazing job bringing new life to some, well, let's just say new life.
You want to see them move a little? CLICK HERE.
Of course we got to hear the hits, like shake shake shake... and get down tonight, and heck if i didn't forget KC ever did Babe (Babe, I love you sooo, I want you to know... that I'm gonna miss your love...)
ANYWAY I told George that even with my steady-eddie musical memory, some songs are stuck way way back behind my left lymph node some reason--maybe because they should say back there. Well, THAT's where Babe was. A song I forgot I knew and then instantly remembered where I'd put it.
So before you say, K-Who and the Sun-WHAT? you better lay back and appreciate determination, because KC's 55 now, and he's worked hard to rebuild what he lost and get by in this suckass business, so I'll keep Babe up in my mid-term memory for as long as I need to. For you, KC, and your sunshine band.
December 10, 2005
Captain Planet Does It Again! XMAS PARTY a Blast.
The sessums don't leave their house much, but once a year we make the trek down to the Tabernacle to be part of Captian Planet's XMAS PARTY, which I've mentioned before here for it's great charity work AND FUN PARTIES!
Last night George took the night off work and we worked it at the XMAS Party. I have some great video and pics of the event, which I'll get posted eventually, but thought you'd be hankering for a taste of one of our favorite parts of the night -- the buffet!
Here's how it all begain. More later. Remember to click the audio button. ;-)
Last night George took the night off work and we worked it at the XMAS Party. I have some great video and pics of the event, which I'll get posted eventually, but thought you'd be hankering for a taste of one of our favorite parts of the night -- the buffet!
Here's how it all begain. More later. Remember to click the audio button. ;-)
December 09, 2005
Another old dog, some other old tricks
Ever since our old dog diva died about a year ago, Bando's been lonely. It's a rather obvious thing, isn't it. You spend your whole life with someone -- someone to terrorize, to love, to chew on, to sleep on in the winter -- and then one day you find her curled up, asleep for the last time. I mean, that's how it was for him. And he's not the brightest biscuit in the box, so add that to the mix here and you'll get an idea of his emotional state a year later.
Blogging helps you remember things. Or makes it harder to forget them. I hadn't realized that it was the anniversary of old Diva's death, but I think Bando has. A couple of weeks ago, he started escaping from the yard. By hook or by crook, by digging under the fence or hopping over. These are things he could have been doing for six years. Same house. Same fence. Same ground. Same dog. For some reason though, he's determined now that his yard will not have the boundaries they once had.
Or he's looking for Diva.
He howls still--something he started the week after she died.
It would make sense, wouldn't it, for us to have spent more time with him this last year. To play with him not just at dinner time and in the morning, but more often. I did take him to carpool once. But that's pretty lame.
Partly, it's hard for me to recognize that he's not a young bothersome puppy anymore. That was always his role when Diva was around: Bando, the pain in the ass puppy. But now he's six, and his muzzle's gray, and he's not really so young anymore.
Except that he can jump a four foot fence. And he runs up to meet the kids at the bus stop.
Anyway, I'm writing this post partly to remember Diva, whose absence somehow grows the longer she's not here, and to say to myself it's time to change up how I see our little mutt, who's not so little anymore, and not so young.
Blogging helps you remember things. Or makes it harder to forget them. I hadn't realized that it was the anniversary of old Diva's death, but I think Bando has. A couple of weeks ago, he started escaping from the yard. By hook or by crook, by digging under the fence or hopping over. These are things he could have been doing for six years. Same house. Same fence. Same ground. Same dog. For some reason though, he's determined now that his yard will not have the boundaries they once had.
Or he's looking for Diva.
He howls still--something he started the week after she died.
It would make sense, wouldn't it, for us to have spent more time with him this last year. To play with him not just at dinner time and in the morning, but more often. I did take him to carpool once. But that's pretty lame.
Partly, it's hard for me to recognize that he's not a young bothersome puppy anymore. That was always his role when Diva was around: Bando, the pain in the ass puppy. But now he's six, and his muzzle's gray, and he's not really so young anymore.
Except that he can jump a four foot fence. And he runs up to meet the kids at the bus stop.
Anyway, I'm writing this post partly to remember Diva, whose absence somehow grows the longer she's not here, and to say to myself it's time to change up how I see our little mutt, who's not so little anymore, and not so young.
December 08, 2005
Redneck Santa
Welcome to the neighborhood! Our santas are some of the laziest and drunkest in the southeastern united states! Thanks for stopping by!
Hey Atlanta, It's Willy's Time
One of my favorite things to eat out, since gaining my 833 pounds post-quitting-smoking and swearing off fast food, sort of, is a Willy's Super Veggie Burrito. Willy's has the best burritos in town, although the talent it takes to assemble and roll a truly delicious burrito varies by location, with the most talent at the Roswell Road Willy's, if you ask me.
Unfortunately, that's a little far for us on an average school night, so every now and then Jenna and I head over to the Willy's near us to crunch on some chips, cheese, and cilantro. Or one of those honking burritos they roll up into a stove pipe for you.
Of course, watching your burrito get rolled up in 8 megapixel zoomosity kind of, uh, takes the dreaminess out of it...
Unfortunately, that's a little far for us on an average school night, so every now and then Jenna and I head over to the Willy's near us to crunch on some chips, cheese, and cilantro. Or one of those honking burritos they roll up into a stove pipe for you.
Of course, watching your burrito get rolled up in 8 megapixel zoomosity kind of, uh, takes the dreaminess out of it...
December 07, 2005
so as i was saying...
You all know by now that this is my 'group' night, so I'm back from seething and grieving, and sort of tired but mellow but tired but excited. I guess it worked.
Have I mentioned that I need to give a big SHOUT OUT to my ex-BigPR brother in arms, Michael O'Connor Clarke for his clarity of vision and all around big brotherness (it's a weird sibling thing--I'm the big sister and he's the big brother, only possible on the blogs you see) , as well as his incredible hookups and winning personality lately? I mean, when we talk by phone it's like lilting kersplosions of funniness and what ifs and knee slaping, wrapped up in conspiracy theory and good natured surrender. You can't beat that for any given monday.
In fact, the man's a gift to behold and a fit to be tied, whatever that is.
Thanks, bro.
Have I mentioned that I need to give a big SHOUT OUT to my ex-BigPR brother in arms, Michael O'Connor Clarke for his clarity of vision and all around big brotherness (it's a weird sibling thing--I'm the big sister and he's the big brother, only possible on the blogs you see) , as well as his incredible hookups and winning personality lately? I mean, when we talk by phone it's like lilting kersplosions of funniness and what ifs and knee slaping, wrapped up in conspiracy theory and good natured surrender. You can't beat that for any given monday.
In fact, the man's a gift to behold and a fit to be tied, whatever that is.
Thanks, bro.
You Be My Client, You Be Blogging
Obviously a lot of what I'm doing this week is getting my head and hands around my new friends at BubbleShare. Somehow I've managed to push (bully? convince? inspire?) both of my CEO blog clients into blogging. Matt Willer at ElimiTaste will have his blog up soon. And Albert Lai at BubbleShare has entered the blogworld in record time at Simply Albert, located on blogspot at least for now.
Both Albert and Matt are incredibly brilliant business men and inspiring leaders within their young, edgy companies. They know their industries, they know their markets, they know they want to be closer to their markets.
I have nothing to teach them in that regard.
What I can teach them is how to fall in love with blogging, and how to make meaning out of what we do here.
What a time to be alive. What a time to be a cat.
So, meet some of the folks at BubbleShare courtesy of Albert's blog and listen to Albert introduce the gang. (Click the little audio button to turn on the sound.)
Brought to you by Bio Protein Bars, our corporate sponsor (HAHA!)
Both Albert and Matt are incredibly brilliant business men and inspiring leaders within their young, edgy companies. They know their industries, they know their markets, they know they want to be closer to their markets.
I have nothing to teach them in that regard.
What I can teach them is how to fall in love with blogging, and how to make meaning out of what we do here.
What a time to be alive. What a time to be a cat.
So, meet some of the folks at BubbleShare courtesy of Albert's blog and listen to Albert introduce the gang. (Click the little audio button to turn on the sound.)
Brought to you by Bio Protein Bars, our corporate sponsor (HAHA!)
Rocking Chair Study
I'm no Shelley Powers. Okay, we all know this. But still, I have an eye for ordinary things and what about them is a little bit special. I was at Jenna's friends' house and noticed this kid's rocking chair. Had some fun with it.
December 06, 2005
a geeky little christmas
George is getting me a headset/mic (a REAL one) for the holidays--he told me after I set out in search of one this morning--"Just wait a few days," and I said, "Why?" and defeated at having to blow the surprise, he said, "Cause one's on the way from Amazon," and I said, "I am SOO excited!" because I AM! Isn't that sweet? As much as blogging is a giant marital pain in the ass over the years, he still gets me the one thing a girl can't be without - a skype/podcast ready headset.
mmmm--dreamy! THANK YOU HONEY!
mmmm--dreamy! THANK YOU HONEY!
Voic.us Getting Better and Better...
Atlantans, if you haven't been over to Voic.Us yet, you should get over there and start reading, and hook up with Dana Blankenhorn about what you think of the blog engine. Don't be afeared. Just get going on it. I posted a couple of things formerly posted by the artist formerly known as me. Voic.Us has a sweet little backend on it. Give it a spin. And add it to your blogroll.
Atlanta Voic.Us
weee!
Atlanta Voic.Us
weee!
free me from menus
I was thinking yesterday as I was doing what I do a lot of - writing in MS Word - that my experience in 'browsing' over the last several years has made me tired of menus. Menus are so 1990s, and yet foundational applications like MS products (MS Word is the one that matters most to me) have changed very little in bringing a more web-like feel to word processing. And should we even call it 'word processing' any more?
Dear Microsoft: We could use some innovation on the destkop apps front.
Now, as I was writing something that required a little extra imagination yesterday, I decided to use a couple of the MS Word language tools that I don't use very often, one being "Thesaurus," and I realized after highlighting the word, that the menu item giving me what I need (essentially synonyms) is buried three levels down, right?
To get there, you select the Tools menu item, then you choose Language, then you scoot out to the right and pick Thesaurus.
I don't know about you, but by then I forget wtf I am doing because - thanks to the web - i have no attention span left.
Then I got to thinking if my 'word processing' tool were web-based, couldn't I just right click on a word and have everything I needed instantly available - synomyms, antonyms, origin, part of speech, pronunciation, spelling variations, related communities, related tags, who else used that word today on the net, common connotations, usage in a book title (via amazon), domain names associated, and so on. You could exclude words -- like articles (the, an, a, etc.) -- you could do lots of things.
Right?
In that way, every WORD (not just every link or every title or every tag) explodes into possibilites with a right click of the mouse button. That would tickle me pink: MS Word meets Google meets Wikipedia meets Friendster meets Amazon meets open source. The Best Part: I'm freed from the old Windows Menu, which I can't stand to drag my hand up to anymore, and my creativity soars exponentially as creative possibilities and storehouse entries of HOW I THINK multiply.
That's kind of what I was thinking about when Doc tackled monocultures and search recently and I responded about intitiveness and how search has to expand now to bring world of possibilities to us more intuitively than before, WAY more intuitively than me needing to frame a question or search phrase and reach to a menu or button to ask for assistance in finding some related stuff.
Okay--I ask, you answer.
That's how it works, right?
If you build it, at least I'll come. ;-)
If it's already built, someone tell me where and how much $.
Anyway,
Dear Microsoft: We could use some innovation on the destkop apps front.
Now, as I was writing something that required a little extra imagination yesterday, I decided to use a couple of the MS Word language tools that I don't use very often, one being "Thesaurus," and I realized after highlighting the word, that the menu item giving me what I need (essentially synonyms) is buried three levels down, right?
To get there, you select the Tools menu item, then you choose Language, then you scoot out to the right and pick Thesaurus.
I don't know about you, but by then I forget wtf I am doing because - thanks to the web - i have no attention span left.
Then I got to thinking if my 'word processing' tool were web-based, couldn't I just right click on a word and have everything I needed instantly available - synomyms, antonyms, origin, part of speech, pronunciation, spelling variations, related communities, related tags, who else used that word today on the net, common connotations, usage in a book title (via amazon), domain names associated, and so on. You could exclude words -- like articles (the, an, a, etc.) -- you could do lots of things.
Right?
In that way, every WORD (not just every link or every title or every tag) explodes into possibilites with a right click of the mouse button. That would tickle me pink: MS Word meets Google meets Wikipedia meets Friendster meets Amazon meets open source. The Best Part: I'm freed from the old Windows Menu, which I can't stand to drag my hand up to anymore, and my creativity soars exponentially as creative possibilities and storehouse entries of HOW I THINK multiply.
That's kind of what I was thinking about when Doc tackled monocultures and search recently and I responded about intitiveness and how search has to expand now to bring world of possibilities to us more intuitively than before, WAY more intuitively than me needing to frame a question or search phrase and reach to a menu or button to ask for assistance in finding some related stuff.
Okay--I ask, you answer.
That's how it works, right?
If you build it, at least I'll come. ;-)
If it's already built, someone tell me where and how much $.
Anyway,
December 05, 2005
What you really like
Is when you announce something really cool on your blog, and then your blogging service goes down for the rest of the day. Nice. Really. Thanks, blogger.
Well Blow Me a Bubble!
You know that I come to you first with all of the exciting news of my life, which thankfully doesn'?t happen too often, leaving me plenty of time to write about hamsters and PR and strep throat and Jenna.
Since leaving The Content Factor, I'?ve had lots of interesting opportunities pop up, but one is especially exciting and it all has to do with bubbles and pictures and sound. It'?s exciting for you too -- even though you might not know it yet. Not only do you get to sample the delectable posts I create using the awesome service called BubbleShare, but you can use it too. And you'?ll want to.
The long and short of it is this: Smart, geeky, energetic Canadians have been working like Santa's elves to build the world'?s simplest photo sharing tool. No registration. No profiles. No hoochie coochie community stuff. No muss, no fuss. No eyeballs to aggregate, no open marriage to consummate.
Just upload and share.
So it's pretty much: Ready, set, tell stories. Just the way you like it.
Now this original cast of Upper North Americaners at BubbleShare, led by Mr. around-the-clock himself, Albert Lai, has decided to add some foreign aid to their all-star team, including yours truly. I'll be serving as blog strategist (read: chief blogging and editorial maven) for BubbleShare, and I'm pleased to join such a smart, funny group of people in enhancing the world of online conversation.
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