In college, my friend Andrew and I would rationalize bad behavior (on our part) or painful experiences with the comment that it was "another chapter for the book." In essence, we believed these things made us more interesting, gave us more fodder to tell tales.
It's a notion I still believe in.
I am a more interesting and thoughtful person because of the obstacles that I have had to overcome. I have better stories to tell because of those obstacles and due to risks I have taken.
They are another chapter for the book.
Unfortunately, it won't be THAT book. I am not writing the book about my pen pal relationship with John Hughes — for reasons I'd rather not discuss, but which sadden me.
It's not just that Dallas wrote a book for his five-year old son that is completely inspiring. He's also traveling all over and reading the book to kids and giving away a copy of the book for every one he sells.
And the message of Dallas's book, the message that every kid should hear — whether you're five or 35 or even 75 — is to DREAM BIG.
You can read the whole book online, but when you get to the end, you're still likely to want to buy a copy for yourself to remind yourself to dream of "rocket-powered unicorns" or to inspire someone else whom you hope will dream of "dancing wild animals with diamond-coated wings." Or maybe you just want to buy a book so Dallas can give someone else a copy to urge them to "dream a dream as big as big could ever dream to be."
The book proposal is on hold. I'm dreaming big, but I think I'm also dreaming different.
It feels a bit like cheating to write an end of year blog post when I haven't been posting much, but I'm a sucker for tradition and a touch obsessive compulsive, so it's going to happen. And, well, I'm resolved to get this blog going again in 2009, so consider this a new beginning.
Anyway, this is my, I believe, fourth end of year post. I generally wait for Kristen to tag me, but she's pretty much abandoned her blog as well, so I'm not sure I can wait that long.
Here we go.
What did you do in 2008 that you had never done before?
Spoke at a funeral
Became really comfortable with public speaking — in fact, I get a rush from it now.
Did you keep your new year's resolutions and will you make more for next year? Last year I said that I didn't make new year's resolutions and I kept to my word. Well, maybe I need to start making them and sticking to them because things NEED to get better. I've made 15+ resolutions for 2009 and things ARE going to get better.
Did anyone close to you give birth? I feel like everyone around me is getting married and having babies, which makes sense because I am a single woman in her (late) 30's and we get like that. Anyway, a couple of friends with whom I was close in college had babies: Freyja and Kira. My new friend Ashton also pushed out a puppy and Mark's wife Maureen had a baby at the beginning of the year. I think that's it. Let me know if I missed anyone.
Did anyone close to you die? My grandmother, Ruth Fields, died in February. And, yes, this has something to do with my answer about what I did this year that I have never done before. I read something at her funeral that she had asked to be read. I remember it rhymed and kinda felt like something you'd cut out of Reader's Digest and tape to your refrigerator if you were into taping things about not being sad after you're dead on your refrigerator. We're planning her unveiling now and I miss her horribly. I also know that, when I wrote last year that no one close to me had died, I would be writing about her death this year.
I miss you, Grandma, and I always will.
What countries did you visit? I traveled a great deal this year, but primarily the 2,306 (according to United) miles between Washington DC an Seattle. Internationally, I only traveled to The Netherlands in August and to France in October.
What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? Some success at business development would be nice. But there's one thing I spent way too much time in 2008 really really really wanting that I would love to have in 2009, but I think maybe it's better just to, instead, regain my sanity and perspective and stop wanting it so much.
Maybe I shouldn't want it at all, as a matter of fact.
What date from 2008 will remain etched in your memory, and why? How can I say anything but November 4? Holy shit. Woke up godawful early to vote and ended the day in tears amazed, AMAZED when Keith Olbermann announced that Barack Obama was projected to be the next president of the United States. Wonderful, beautiful, hopeful.
What was your biggest achievement of the year? I don't really feel like I pulled off any great achievement this year. It felt more like endurance; I kept going despite it all. Sorry to be such a drama queen but it just was not a banner year. The bar is low, but 2009 will be a marked improvement.
What was my biggest failure? That I merely endured?
Did you suffer illness or injury? I was pretty healthy this year. I'm sick now with a cold, but the body stood up pretty well. Keep going, baby.
What was the best thing you bought this year? I have worn my black Frye boots so often this year that I had to have the heels replaced. I am embarrassed by how often I wear them.
Whose behavior merited celebration? I cried when Hillary Clinton called for Obama to receive the Democratic nomination by acclimation from the floor of the Convention. I respect her tremendously and know how badly she wanted the nomination — and for the right reasons — but she rose above in a way that all of us should aspire to.
Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Sarah Palin is repulsive. She is an idiot. But even worse than Sarah Palin are the fools who fell for her crap. You should all be sent to Guantanamo and forced to stay there for seven years without a trial. Okay?
Where did most of your money go? Buying other people drinks and dinner. And dresses. I bought a hell of a lot of dresses this year.
What did you get really, really, really excited about? I got pretty damn giddy about the election.
What song will always remind you of 2008? There are two songs: "I Found a Reason" by Cat Power
and "Beautiful Child" by Rufus Wainwright.
Compared to this time last year are you happier or sadder? I think I might be sadder. It's been a tough year. But I'm hopeful, so the chin is up. Compared to this time last year are you thinner or fatter? I think I might be fatter. I'm definitely not thinner. That's next year.
Compared to this time last year are you richer or poorer? Richer.
What do you wish you'd done more of? Showed love.
What do you wish you'd done less of? Worked. But more importantly, resented working. That's crap.
How will you be spending New Year's? I celebrate on New Year's Day and generally just go to bed on New Year's Eve. I know it makes me sound like a boring old lady, but I want to capitalize on the hopefulness of the new year by waking up feeling good and spending the day doing something that makes me happy.
Did you fall in love in 2008? I was in love when the year started . . .
How many one night stands? No more one night stands for me. Late night text messages from friends with whom I have an understanding? Yeah, those, those happened. But I won't count.
What was your favorite TV program? I tend to watch more television shows on Netflix now than on television. Whole series at a time. Discover a great show and then watch the hell out of it. Friday Night Lights is the latest. Season 1 was leaps and bounds better than Season 2, but I'll definitely be tuning in for the premiere of Season 3 on NBC on January 16.
Do you hate anyone know that you didn't hate this time last year? I don't hate people. But I do dislike a couple of people whom I didn't even know last year. How's that? What was the best book you read? I loved Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail by Hunter S. Thompson, particularly in the midst of the election. I wish Hunter was around to cover this one.
What was your greatest musical (re)discovery? My love for Liz Phair returned with a vengeance this year after I saw her at the 9:30 Club in DC in August. I had been listening to Exile in Guyville and then realized after the fact that Whip Smart was amazing.
What did you want and get? A Democrat in the White House.
What did you want and not get? I don't want to get into specifics, but I lost something I didn't even know I had. The biggest surprise was in realizing how much I wanted it when I realized I couldn't.
What was your favorite film of this year? "He could wield a pretty effective sword against what's going on right now."
I loved Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson.
What did you do on your birthday and how old were you? I was at my grandmother's funeral on my birthday and I was as old as the hills.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Getting that thing I wanted.
How would you describe your personal fashion statement in 2008? This year's uniform was a dress, black tights and black boots. And the headbands continue to go strong. What kept you sane? Who — Ray Page, Japanese salary man Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I have to be too old to answer this question with any dignity. Jason Bateman remains my longest running crush. I've developed new crushes on Kyle Chandler, Zach Gilford and Taylor Kitsch on Friday Night Lights. Hunter S. Thompson is my dead crush.
What political issue stirred you the most? I'm pretty much at a boil at all times when it comes to politics, so this question has never worked for me. I had tunnel vision this year. I just wanted to WIN. Who did you miss? Grandma. Who was the best new person you met? Ray Page, Japanese salary man Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008? I've learned a fair amount of humility in 2008 and he'll hate to hear it if he ever reads this, but I credit my friend Ray Page. I listen to his feedback in a way that I have never been able to before because I sincerely trust the source and, in the process, have gotten better at listening to feedback from others.
It's a really mutually supportive friendship that makes me pretty damn happy — except when we rag on each other mercilessly and I want to scoop his heart out and eat it with a side of fries.
According to Business Week, young people are starting to turn their backs on social networks, rejecting the "deluge" of advertising. Over the past four months, research from Comcast indicates that the amount of time that Internet users spend on social networks has dropped about 14 percent. What's an advertiser to do? Collectively, they're spending $1.2 billion in advertising on social networks, a number that is expected to nearly double this year.
Jackie Huba from Church of the Customer reports on new research from Global Marketing Insight that manages to take Oprah down a notch. From a list of 11 influences, African American book buyers are most likely to cite a recommendation from a friend or family member as their reason for buying a book. Miss Oprah is number 6.
You Think Big of Yourself, Don't Ya? — Hillary sent me a link and Tony asked me what I thought of it. Big Think? I'm a sucker for smart people (Really. Me + remote small island + smart people = good.). Nevertheless, there's something rather antithetical to everything social media stands for when a site says, on its "about" page, "The Web has no shortage of self-anointed experts, and the Expert Network is our way of reclaiming a little nook of cyberspace where depth of knowledge and expertise still reign."
I DO like the fact that they're using the Errol Morris "technique" (Is it the actual Interrotron?), although no one comes across as quite so simultaneously intimidating and sad as Robert McNamara in The Fog of War.
What do YOU think?
Home Sweet Home — I have always been too obsessive compulsive -- and, alas, not punque roque enough (as Alejandro once said -- with love) -- to adopt the aesthetic, but the homes in Punk House: Interiors in Anarchy are pretty damn familiar to me (I can smell the odor of non-leather footwear and tempeh stir fry wafting through the air . . .) and, therefore, like home after all.
The Beat Goes On — 100 people, ages 1 to 100, playing the drums. Any further explanation required? (via the Portable Film Festival)
Mrs. Kennedy and her readers share their love for Harriet the Spy (and Louise Fitzhugh's other masterpieces) at Fussy. I bought a new copy for myself last year because my childhood copy was read so many times it did not survive. Like all smart, mildly odd and not particularly girlie women of a certain age who love to tell a good story, Harriet was/is my hero.
Kristen posted her annual End of Year meme and tagged me to do it as well. I have been posting these now for a couple of years, always prompted to do so by Kristen.
1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't make new year's resolutions. I make resolutions every day to take care of myself physically and emotionally. There is a reason I make these resolutions every day: I don't keep them.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
A whole bunch of folks had babies these year, but the person to whom I am closest was Amy, who gave birth to Jonas Aidan -- who resembles an old Chinese man more than most babies do -- on November 8.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
no
5. What countries did you visit?
I did less international travel in 2007 than I did in 2006. I spent a few days in Switzerland (Geneva) and a few days in England (London) in March and, in October, I went to Greece. All trips were work related and two out of three of those trips were with the great Johnny B.
6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
a social life that extends a little bit further than drinks at Smith & Wollensky
patience, but I'm not holding out any hope
hope for the political future of our country
7. What date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I have a few . . .
I'll always remember June 16, the day I visited my grandmother after her apartment fire, because it will be difficult to ever get the sight and scent of her apartment out of my mind, as well as the sadness of seeing her on the balcony of her temporary living space, looking lost -- and old.
On a happier note, I'll remember April 8, the day Andrew and I met up at the Sackler. He was giddy (as much as Andrew can be giddy) about the pottery and I was giddy about spending time with him again.
Finally, I'll remember October 6, the day John and I explored Athens with Michael Darragh. I knew I was getting ready to move on, but I loved seeing something new with John, who has helped me to see so many other new things, often inside myself.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I really do think I grew as a manager. I wasn't always "nice," but I was always incredibly invested in giving my team the opportunity to strengthen their skills and, therefore, their value to the group. I think that's rare. Rarer than it should be.
Beyond that, and despite the fact that not being able to work with John every day SUCKS, I see the new job I will be taking on in 2008 as a big achievement because it is getting me back into advocacy work.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Folks, I ate like a pig.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
This year, it became pretty clear to me that I am getting old. Everything is falling to pieces. No major illnesses or injuries, but a general state of decay has set in. Lordy, it ain't pretty.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
I love the brown jacket I bought at Anthropologie, but my Nikon D40x makes me swoon. Just ask Wyatt.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Al Gore for keeping up the fight, John Edwards for his populist message, Elizabeth Edwards for telling cancer (and her critics) to f*ck off, Wayne Coyne for continuing to have more fun than the rest of us, Jon Corzine and Martin O'Malley for fighting the death penalty, Heather Armstrong for her persistent honesty and humor. There are probably others. There are some good folks out there.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
How about appalled and angry? Ann Coulter is, and always will be, scum. She's just embarrassing.
14. Where did most of your money go?
eating out and clothes
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
I don't think I got excited enough this year, but I got excited when I got the invite to go to Greece and I got excited when I met the folks with whom I will be working in the new year.
16. What song will always remind you of 2007?
Don't give me a hard time, but Not Ready to Make Nice by the Dixie Chicks had the right amount of righteous indignation to get me to sing along every time I heard it. It was released in 2006, but I bought the CD this year.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you
happier or sadder? sadder
thinner or fatter? definitely fatter
richer or poorer? richer
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
I wish I had taken care of myself more: emotionally and physically.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
read about Britney Spear's persistent downward spiral
updated my status on Facebook
20. How will you be spending New Year’s?
I think I will be at Julia's.
22. Did you fall in love in 2007?
I was already there.
23. How many one-night stands?
zip
24. What was your favorite TV program?
I loveHow I Met Your Mother, although Kid Nation was a sincere source of fascination.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I don't hate people. I dislike a few, but they're irrelevant.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I honestly can't remember (what I did -- I am well aware of how old I am.) I'm at the point where I'm not a big fan of birthdays.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I could have used some more time with friends and less time working.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
This was the year of the headband.
34. What kept you sane?
That's awfully presumptuous of you . . . I guess Steve did the best he could.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I watched every episode of Homicide this year and I fell in love with Kyle Secor (aka Baylis). Someone needs to give that man (and Andre Braugher) a job.
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
There's no one political issue that stirs me. I get riled up pretty easily day to day and there have been points throughout the presidential campaign where I was ready to impale myself, usually because of some ridiculously folksy thing Mike Huckabee said or because I can not believe that anyone would give serious consideration to Rudy Giuliani as President of the United States. But, I was thrilled with the recent Supreme Court decision to enable lower court judges not to follow federal sentencing guidelines for crack offenses, addressing the longstanding disparity between sentencing for crack cocaine and powder cocaine offences. That was one of those, "Wait, someone actually wants to right an injustice?" moments that comes so infrequently.
37. Who did you miss?
I missed Chris. But I took care of that, didn't I?
38. Who was the best new person you met?
I really like Cooper. He tells great stories (I like stories involving his son in which he adopts a voice that sounds like Beavis -- or Butthead, I can't tell -- with a lisp) and, in general, is just a f*cking charming guy. Plus, he was apparently a rock star in a former life. I hope we stay in touch . . . and I wish him the best.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.
Sometimes doing what's right for you hurts more than doing the wrong thing. (I think I knew that already.)
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
I try to keep the house nice and neat I make my bed I change the sheets I even learned how to use the washing machine But keeping things clean doesn't change anything ("Hate it Here" by Wilco)
I'm tagging Kaitlyn, Qui and Samantha, although I am not sure any of them will do it.
Lots of good advice that you probably won't follow. A little bit of geek porn in the form of campaign promises. An experiment that needs some attention. Stories that need to be told. Great pictures, great video, great shopping and a bag that I want to buy.
Viral Video - Kevin Nalts shares his "Ten Lessons for Marketers Using Viral Videos." The list essentially hammers home the point that it's basically a crap shoot when you are trying to figure out what is going to capture consumers' attention and, even then, you still may not manage to actually turn those eyeballs into sales.
Photos - Square America is a collection of vintage snapshots, all of which tell a great story, even if you need to fill in the blanks. The photos remind me of a the "American Snapshot" show I saw recently at the National Gallery. Great stuff. Don't use the photos without an attribute. Give this guy credit (I think his name is Martin Johnson) for what he has put together.
I took this picture outside the Gallery when I went to see the American Snapshot show.
But I like this picture that I took at the National Archives better.
More Photos - Polanoid is working on building the largest collection of Polaroid photos on the planet. Send your pictures!
Storytelling - Polanoid and Square America are telling stories about everyday people, as is StoryCorps. I recently heard the nonprofit's founder, Dave Isay, on NPR talking about the publication of the StoryCorps book with a couple of the project's participants and cried like a baby. I'm a sucker for listening to people tell their stories, both because of the artistry of a good tale and the empowerment of believing that your story is worth being told. Don't tell anyone, but I think a few of you might be getting the StoryCorps book for Hanukkah or Christmas. Content - WGBH (Boston's public television station and home of Sesame Street) has opened its vaults, providing users with "online access to unique and historically important content," through Open Vault. I wish the search tool was a little more revealing as far as what was possible. It is a great site when you know what you are looking for, but sometimes it's just fun to browse, and it's not friendly to browsers.
The Media - Beat Blogging is an experiment. Thirteen news organizations, along with NewAssignment.net, are trying to understand how journalists can better use social networks to improve beat reporting. There have been no posts since November 20, so the first lesson they should learn is that consistent content is the way to maintain people's attention and engage them in your efforts. Hello, are you out there?
Politics - Barack Obama's campaign has released their "technology and innovation plan." Jon Stokes at Ars Technica doesn't think the document is close to perfect, but he's still pleased that Obama's campaign appears to be paying attention to what the technology geeks are saying, and that's a huge step forward from conversation about clogged tubes and "the Google."
Shopping - If you don't hear from me for a while, I'm probably sitting in my own filth in my apartment, buying things from Supermarket, where they sell fabulous stuff (clothes, bags, household stuff, and paper products) brought to you straight from the designer. Add the site to my list of reasons why the Internet is a fabulous thing.
I spend too much time beating myself for not being the voracious reader I once was.
But Virginia Heffernan in today's New York Times Magazine makes me feel much better. (Hell, I read the Sunday Times. I can't be that much of a deadbeat.)
Hello to my lovely lurkers. You are welcome to browse as long as you would like. Let me know if I can get you a cup of coffee.
Mashable pulled together 30+ resources (online) for U.S. Politics after getting the suggestion to do so from one of their readers. It's not exhaustive, but there are a few good things in there.
Marketing
BL Ochman at Marketing Profs gives a fellow PR hack a pat on the back for their blogger outreach effort. It's not tough, folks. She liked the pitch because 1) the writer reads her blog, he follows her on Twitter, he made reference to a post she had written on bad blogger outreach, he gave her information in an easy to understand way (bullet points, plenty of white space, "organized and brief," giving her the content in the email versus making her look for it), he was funny, he was timely and he told her she could cut and paste his email into a blog post.
Books
Our local DC PBS station, WETA, has launched a new book blog, Author Author, featuring author interviews and book reviews.
Search
LivePlasma aims to help you to identify new music and movies based on your current interests. Of course, Amazon has been doing this for years, but not with pretty graphics. My favorite movie of all time is Badlands by Terrance Malick, which, according to LivePlasma, means I should also like movies by Sofia and Francis Ford Coppola (I do), Francois Ozon (sure), Robert Altman (hell yeah), Antonioni (for the most part), Renoir (okay), Polanski (yep), Welles (uh huh), Ford (I'm not making the connection -- stunning landscapes?), Fellini (sure), Visconti (I don't believe I have had the pleasure), Sydney Pollack (ehhh) and Yasujiro Ozu (not familiar).
The one that started it all -- Badlands.
Digital Influence
For all of us who are desperate to point out that social media actually has a purpose beyond keeping geeks busy and indoors, there are quite a few folks posting in the past couple of days about the role that it has played in the fires in Southern California -- like this post from Fast Company, which cites the value of Twitter and Google Maps for residents in communicating information about the location of the fires and resources for evacuees.
Health
HealthSquare.com is HealthCentral.com's "prescription drug destination." They are targeting consumers, but are health care providers reading? Pharmas will inevitably want to know. If the advertising folks can prove they are, they'll be in good shape. And provide information for the 50+ set on your advertising page. This is one industry where growing old makes you more attractive to marketers (comes via 901am).
Social Networks
Friendster apparently still has lots of friends in Asia and, while they are a smaller group, social network users in Latin America stay on longer (there's a bad t-shirt in there somewhere). Research from ComScore says that social networking is already twice as big outside of the U.S. and growing fast (posted to Mashable).
I don't have a Moleskine because I don't quite buy the pretentious "cooler than thou" aspect of owning one. I have an aversion to the idea of belonging to any club whose members demonstrate their uniqueness by owning/doing/wearing the same thing. (It's like punk in the early 90's.) But I should own a Moleskine because I'm a notebook fetishist and because I have fallen prey to more than my share of, "I will buy this thing because it is cool -- at least that's what they told me." The folks at The Moleskine Project don't share my hang ups and are asking folks to send in their best Moleskine doodles.
Bob Garfield is using his anger toward Comcast -- and their less than stellar customer service -- for good through ComcastMustDie.com, providing the cable company's clients with the opportunity to air their grievances via the blog's comments and calling on the company to, in response, reach out to these customers and resolve their issues. So far, everyone's playing their part.
Doonesbury's Garry Trudeau has been collecting content from members of the military deployed in Iraq in Afghanistan via The Sandbox (housed on Slate.com) and has now published a book of some of the best stuff.
According to The New York Times, young people in Poland are attempting to turn the political tide in the country by using social media to engage their peers and turn out the vote, comparing efforts like the "I Choose" campaign to similar efforts -- like Rock the Vote -- in the U.S. Update: Looks like the kids have had an impact. Overall voter turnout in the election was higher than it has been in nearly 20 years and the Civic Platform party -- which had more support among young voters than the party currently in power (Law and Justice) -- came out ahead in this weekend's parliamentary elections. The folks at TechPresident launched 10 Questions last week in partnership with The New York Times and MSNBC. At this stage, they are gathering questions from voters, with the aim of identifying the top 10, which will then be shared with the candidates, who will be expected to respond via video. Two thoughts -- will the site be dominated by liberals and progressives? And, by this stage in the game, how much do the candidates regret ever having said this election is about conversation? Mashable has a new list of 20+ "sporting" social networks, whether it's fishing, biking, golf or NASCAR. Presuming of course, you want to spend any time with these people.
My friend Kristen writes a monthly (sort of) post about what she read the month before and I always blush from shame when reading it because, beyond newspaper, magazines and blog posts, I haven't read sh*t the month before.
So, I'm going to change that. Next month, I'm writing a "what I read this month" post. I'm going to get back to reading because 1) it's embarrassing that I don't and 2) because it was once something that gave me immense pleasure.
Tony Deifell was my first boss and, in the end, a really good friend. We worked too hard together and often wanted to kill each other, but, throughout my career, I am constantly reminded of how much he taught me. He is someone I admire immensely and wish I could see more of. We have so much more to learn -- from each other.
Tony and I worked together at the Institute for Public Media Arts -- a nonprofit in Durham, NC -- that was his baby. IPMA housed a number of projects, with the common thread that all worked with young people to use media -- photography, radio and video -- for self empowerment and experiential learning.
With one of the projects, Sound Shadows, Tony, who is an excellent photographer himself, worked with students at the Governor Morehead School for the Blind in Raleigh to take photos.
Yep, blind people taking photographs.
You're not the first one to think it's a little odd. The students themselves thought it was odd. But it worked and now, years later, Tony has published a book (actually Chronicle books has published Tony's book) of the photographs and the story behind them, Seeing Beyond Sight.
Take some time to check out the book's site, which is pretty fabulous and, charmingly, very Tony. Read about and see photos from some of the events, watch video clips, check out the photos, PARTICIPATE in the photography challenge (which features excellent storytelling, of which Tony is king), and, yes, BUY THIS BOOK.
Kristen tagged me with the 5 Things You Don't Know about Me meme, which may qualify me as the very last person to receive this thing.
Here we go:
1. My great grandfather, Signor Sebastian Herne, was the head of the Socialist Party in Springfield, Massachusetts in the 1930's. (At least that's what my mom told me.)
2. I won the Gold Medal in the National Latin Exam when I was a freshman at Mercy High School in Middletown, CT.
3. As someone who has been raped (I have a strong aversion to the word "victim"), I am having a very hard time with the outcome of the Duke rape allegations. Primarily, I am pissed that a woman would lie because it makes it harder for the rest of us. (By the way, the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network says that one in six women have been sexually assaulted, so this is not meant to be shocking.)
4. I wrote a zine in college called Disco Fred's Got a Vasectomy. Some self-absorbed men thought it was meant to be a comment on castration, but it really was just a ridiculous line from a movie of the week starring Timothy Busfield. 5. I have a tattoo of Alice in Wonderland, based on one of the book's original pen and ink illustrations, on my left hip. I have been thinking of getting another tattoo for years -- continuing the theme of female literary characters in pen and ink with an illustration from Harriet the Spy. But the last time I got a tattoo was when I was 20 and, even then, I wished the tattoo artist (Mandy Flynn at Erno Tattoos in San Francisco) good luck when she said she was going to find a flat part of my body to tattoo. In other words, I think I might be too old and there may not be any more flat parts of my body.
I caught this meme over at YPulse — but followed the trail back to Marianne Richmond at BlogHer, who pointed out that, although this meme was picking up speed, most of the respondents have been men.
Therefore, for the sisterhood . . .
Web: I subscribe to 133 feeds that I read via Google Reader with varying degrees of religious devotion. I have 5 Google Alerts set up right now, but they're all worked-related because I was getting overwhelmed trying to keep up with the personal alerts.
There are a few additional news sites that I check out from time to time as well because they don't have feeds, but that happens generally on weekends when I have more time.
I aim to post to this blog once a day, which I achieve on occasion. I started a second blog, but that failed because I just don't know what to write about (any ideas?). I am meant to be a contributor to Do You Have One of These? but I haven't been posting lately. Finally, I post to the agency blog from time to time as well.
I recently bought an iPod with video when my other iPod died, but I have yet to become a regular podcast viewer/listener.
Communication: I check my three email accounts — work, Gmail and AOL — multiple times per day. I check Gmail and AOL only via my laptop. I stay on top of work email (or make a valiant effort to do so) via my Blackberry, laptop and desktop in the office.
Anastasia at YPulse wonders where all the social network users are -- but you won't find one here. I have an old Friendster account that I have alerts set up for and so I will check it out when someone contacts me there, but that's about it.
TV: I start every day by watching CNN's American Morning, generally turning it on when it starts at 6:00 am and turning it off when I walk out the front door (usually between 8:00 and 8:30 am).
I turn the TV on when I come home as well, primarily as background noise. I don't have many shows that I watch religiously, but my two favorite nights of television are the sitcoms on CBS on Monday night and 60 Minutes and then ABC on Sunday night (only after that annoying, cloying home improvement show is over). I also watch Grey's Anatomy when it occurs to me.
I rent TV shows from Netflix pretty religiously. In the past three months, I have rented Six Feet Under (Season 4), Curb Your Enthusiasm (Season 4), Entourage (Season 2) andHomicide (Season 3).
Books: I barely ever read books, which is a sore point for me.
Newspapers: I get The Washington Post delivered seven days a week and I try to read it first thing in the morning before heading to work, although I occasionally am forced to put it off until the end of the day. I read the rest of my newspapers online (primarily via feeds): New York Times, Chicago Sun-Timesand Los Angeles Times. If I find myself in New York on a Saturday or Sunday, I buy the Sunday Times and when I travel for work, I read the Times on the plane.
Movies: Despite the fact that I spent this past weekend at a film festival, I have given up on going to the movie theater. The simple explanation is that other people drive me crazy and I don't want to be stuck in a room with them for two hours and be forced to trust them to keep quiet and not annoy me. It's not going to happen.
I currently have 355 DVD's on my Netflix queue. Add that to the list of proof that I am insane.
Music: I listen to CD's at home because I don't have an amplification system for my iPod here. I listen to my iPod in the car, on the walk to the office and in the office. I like to listen to the radio in the car -- particularly on long car drives -- and will listen to CD's in the car if I don't have my iPod and the radio is failing me. When I travel and I have left my iPod at home, I listen to music on my laptop. I still buy CD's from time to time, but I love buying songs from iTunes. The last song I bought was Mary J. Blige's "Family Affair".
(We don't need no haters.)
Magazines: I recently let a bunch of subscriptions run out — Jane, Spin, Fast Company and something else — so the only subscription I have right now is to The New Yorker, which is an annual gift from my mother (except for my Harvard magazine). I have been a magazine junkie since I was a kid, however, and always have a stack in the house that I am usually at least three months behind on. (I was reading magazines dated December 2006 on the plane home today.) I love Us (shoot me). I also love Details (because I am secretly a gay man). The other magazines in the pile right now are Esquire, Rolling Stone, Mother Jones, Allure, Vanity Fair, Entertainment Weekly and InStyle.
Addicted to the Web in China — I don't know what it means to be an addict, but Reuters reported on Monday that 2 million teens in China are addicted to the Internet (thanks to EchoDitto for the heads up). It's actually pretty ridiculous — and alarmist. "Good kids who impress their parents and teachers" are the most vulnerable to becoming addicted. If they're good kids, then what's the problem?
Doing It Better — Wikiseek says it's "a better way to search Wikipedia". I like the fact that, unlike the search field on Wikipedia, it doesn't presume you want to see (and comb through) the main entry for the search term (I used "jeff tweedy"), but let's you easily see the range of entries in which the term shows up. In my case, Jeff Tweedy, A Ghost is Born, Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Loose Fur and Bellville IL turn up on page one. But what's with other search results that aren't Wikipedia entries? Keep it simple.
If geriatric1927 Can Do It — Bill Marriott, the 75 year old CEO of Marriott International, launched his blog this Tuesday saying to the press, "This is where the action is if you want to talk to your customers directly -- and hear back from them." So far there has only been one post, so we'll see how often he posts, but that one post generated quite a few comments, enough that there are probably a few folks in the company that are wondering why the heck they opened the flood gates on this one. (geriatric1927, by the way, is Peter Oakley, an elderly English man who has become a YouTube legend.)
Share Your Books — This made me think of Kristen when I first saw it, so hopefully she'll read this. Shelfari is a social network for people who want to share and talk about their favorite books. I've signed up, but haven't created my shelf yet, but am hopeful that this will get me back on track as far as reading something besides the newspaper and my blogfeeds.
Who Says? — NetSquared, GetActive and Squidoo have teamed up to name the 59 smartest nonprofits online today. 901am thinks it's just a bogus publicity stunt, "cheap and cheesy". As someone who thinks that the proliferation of lists among social media marketing types is turning into a major circle jerk, I'm leaning toward 901am's side of the road, although I appreciate having all of these groups in a list so that I can check out some potential digital advocacy best practices. But the fact that Product (Red) made it into the list, makes it seriously questionable how good the others are.
Building Trust — This list (yes, a list) from Seven87.com of "10 Steps: Making It Easy for Your Customers to Trust You," came to my attention at a time when I was checking out a web site on behalf of a client. In brief, this web site was talking crap about my client and the client wanted to be able to respond effectively. But the problem is, this web site is sooooo non-transparent about who they are and how they work, that it's impossible to communicate with them effectively. They just get to talk sh*t about folks and make money (through advertising) doing so. And if you look at this list of 10 Steps, they fail on every count. But does that mean that my client has nothing to worry about because no one could possibly trust the web site? I'm not so confident.
Speaking Their Language — According to AdWeek, there are a number of social networking sites cropping up that aim to appeal to second and third generation Hispanic youth, who make up 25 percent of the teenage population.
1) Find the nearest book, 2) Open to page 123, 3) Type lines 6-8, 4) Tag three others.
Not one of the more thrilling memes, but here I go:
Harry standing there in a towelling bath robe, bare feet, just had a long hot soak, bath salts, the works, now feeling a whole lot better, remembering Ross, face like a wet week, waiting in the . . .
The lines are from "Harry's Down" by John B. Spencer, one of the short stories in Fresh Blood, a collection from "the cream of Britain's new wave of crime writers".
Not particularly indicative of anything else I have on my book shelves. And I have no recollection of the relationship between Harry and Ross. And the writing style seems a little 40's noir cliche. Oh well.
If I tag Jesse, John and Chris, do you think they'll do it?
Kristen said it was Dave that inspired her, but she once again has inspired me, so here's my 2005 recap.
Before I begin, however, I am fully willing to acknowledge that I am diving deep into what John would call the "wonder of me" blog territory.
I promise to slap my hand and stick bamboo under my fingernails when I am done.
What did you do in 2005 that you'd never done before?
I got a job in the private sector, exchanged emails with a world leader and paid $6,000 (with someone else's money) for a plane ticket. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I kept an amazing number of them (I made 17 and managed to hit 10 of them) and I'll make another long list for 2006.
Did anyone close to you give birth?
Jackson Joseph Flood entered the world and made it a better place for all of us. My friend Noelle popped out a puppy as well. I think that's it.
Did anyone close to you die?
Greg Shipe was murdered on September 17 and no one has been arrested to date. What countries did you visit?
Kind of a lame year for international travel. I went to France for about 15 minutes and managed to leave without drinking a single glass of wine.
What would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005?
His name is Sebastian.
What date from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
July 18, the day I started my new job; September 19, the day I found out that Greg had been murdered; November 5, a perfect Dan day
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I guess the job would be the big achievement in a boring kind of way. But, more interestingly, it's my insistence on becoming an even better version of myself and doing a damn fine job of it. What was your biggest failure?
His name is Sebastian.
Did you suffer illness or injury?
No, that was 2004. 2005 was the year of health.
What was the best thing you bought?
I love the military style jacket I bought at Banana Republic. I think I bought my iPod this year as well -- or was that last year? No, it was this year.
Whose behavior merited celebration?
I have recently become a big fan of Mark Warner's . . .
Honestly? Kelly Clarkson's "Since You've Been Gone".
Compared to this time last year, are you:
happier or sadder? happier
thinner or fatter? thinner (maybe)
richer or poorer? richer (sort of)
What do you wish you'd done more of?
Spent time with Dan.
What do you wish you'd done less of?
Feeling sorry for myself.
How will you be spending New Year's?
I think I am going to be in New York with friends.
Did you fall in love in 2005?
Love? No. Giddy lust? Sure. Have I mentioned him before? Yeah. His name is Sebastian.
How many one night stands?
I have no idea what you're talking about.
What was your favorite TV program?
I should say "Arrested Development" because when I managed to remember to watch it, I was consistently astounded by how good it was (and by the fact that they actually broadcast the words "anal rapist" at 8:00 pm on a week day). But I gotta tell you, I never missed a single episode of "Grey's Anatomy". Grey managed to annoy the crap out of me, but my decades long love affair with Patrick Dempsey is going strong.
Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Doesn't that presume I read books? I buy books, I read magazines. I am an embarrassment to my elite education.
What was your best musical (re)discovery?
I don't think I uncovered any new music that I am really crazy about this year, despite the best efforts of my friend Matt. But I have found something to replace drunk dialing: drunk iTunes shopping. My more recent purchases: Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville, Dolly Parton's "Here You Come Again," Christina Aguilera's "Fighter," and Cheap Trick's "Surrender".
What did you want and get?
Lots of things. I deny myself very little.
What did you want and not get?
His name is Sebastian.
What was your favorite film of this year?
I rent more than I go to the theater, so it's likely to have been a Netflix rental. Let's see . . . P.S., the movie that left me wanting to have inappropriate relations with Toper Grace.
What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?
My birthday this year sucked (dinner with friends, coupled with a bad attitude) and I was too old to put in writing.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
His name is Sebastian.
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005?
I'll dress like a grown up, but I won't dress like you.
What kept you sane?
My iPod. Alyson.
What celebrity/figure did you fancy the most?
Well, apparently Toper Grace managed to stir the loins, didn't he? Beyond that? Um, Christopher Meloni on Oz is really one of the hottest things I have ever seen.
What political issue stirred you the most?
Have you read my blog lately? Too many to list. Just scroll through, making sure to skip all the posts about Laguna Beach.
Who did you miss?
Dan.
Who was the best new person you met?
Alyson. John. Sarah.
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2005.
You really can manage to be true to yourself and do okay in this world. And, in the end, all that really matters is that you had a good time and didn't hurt anyone in the process.
Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Now I feel like I've won the Cup, Every time that we make love Forty-five minutes each way, At halftime I hear a brass band play
(Not really, but it's a great lyric. Billy Bragg's "The Boy Done Good")
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