A Round-Up

I like it when other bloggers do a round-up of links that inform and entertain. Here's what I've been reading lately.

The Mr.'s company is associated with The Cubs, so we're doing this this weekend. Too bad it's not Roo-babe-friendly.

The best way to launch a new product is to do it right the first time.

Need the skinny news instead of 30 minutes of prime time? Read it at your leisure and with quippy headlines here.

I'm still not sure I care. And I know I don't want it on my face.

Love me some self-aware, sassy ladies. Can I be your couple friend?

How Charles Ramsey knew it was a Dead Giveaway (songified, ya'll!).

Great Gatsby movie not so great? I'll still see it (movie screen or at home) because I have a feeling that it will make me feel the way this movie made me feel.

A Spaniel named Couscous?!

I love Calistoga! and Solage! I hope this couple finally gets to the spa!

Mmmm. Spa!

Flip-It Friday: thoughts and thoughts

I am in day 6 of 7 of being alcohol free - just to give my body a break and focus on rest and hydration. So maybe it's that, but I also think that I'm feeling extra sober this week on behalf of humanity.

I've noticed an unusual amount of people asking for thoughts and prayers for ill loved ones lately. I, myself, have petitioned you.

I admire the shift that's happening in our (the general public's) approach to tragedy. I hope media and global leaders follow suit.

I also admire those who use their powers for good. I welcome the reminder that labeling is dangerous. "Hackers" aren't all bad and "churches" are hardly all good.

My good friends took to Twitter to ask for prayers, for blood donations and for respect of public service workers in West, Texas. What a testament to the spirit of firemen and policemen to get to turn away help.

I'm feeling increasingly hopeful in humanity this week. And I'm happy that this blog isn't monetized so I can still say whatever I want.

What are you thinking about?

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(Sorry this post isn't funny. You want funny?)

Common Sense Wednesday: You Down With CSC/DoD? You Know, Conspiracy!

I watch enough documentaries and political/government dramas (hello Scandal! hello Homeland!) to make me a nut job when it comes to trusting the government, but hear me out.

A few weeks ago the NBC Nightly News (whadup, Bryan Q. Williams!) featured a story about how the Department of Defense fleeced American taxpayers by conducting a runaway $1 billion dollar technology project that produced zero results or usable product (or some results if you count "lessons learned").

Today I was Googling to find this article and reference it for work. I looked on several news sources, including NBC, and even calling the Mr. to have him look it up got me nothing.

The story was nearly nowhere. It had either been taken down by NBC because, at two weeks old, it's now old news OR... the main contractor on the project, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), put some lawyer muscle into this and asked that the tracks be wiped OR...

Conspiracy!

How else would the story have been wiped from all other news sources too?

I'm not sure what the truth is, but I know that if you somehow read of me being locked up for insanity or killed in a freak accident, know that I was right!

Who am I kidding. You won't read about it. They control the papers!

Well, you might read about me in the IEEE Spectrum because that's where I was able to find the real story about CSC and the DoD.

Source: retrocampaigns.tumblr.com via Retro Campaigns on Pinterest

When I searched for "Bryan Williams" on Pinterest, I got this image. I was immediately sold on it's incongruity and turn-of-the-century sex appeal - HA!

My First Vlog

Video Blog = Vlog

And it's my first second take.

Whisper narration (there was a conference call of execs going on in the next room so I was trying not to make a big deal of it).

Up-nose angle (everyone's best side).

Frizzy hair halo.

List of self deprivation see above.

Shhh. Don't tell anyone else at my work. I had to pry it out of my boss that I am moving offices and to where I was moving. I'll still be in the Chicago office, just down the hall and without a window (thank Jesus, I'll still have a door).

We are consolidating some of our space and renting out the extra to save some dollars. It totally makes sense. Everyone is moving a bit. My arch enemy is getting my lovely office - the only office in the whole floor with a lock on the door - no biggie!

I know I was working on executive row without having a "V" or an "E" in my title, so it was a bit presumptuous for me to think that I could stay. That this could last.

Let me know if you can't view the video. To say I'm an amateur is an understatement!

Big City Love

My east-coaster loved ones (hey hey MA, NJ, CT, RI, NH, NY, VA) are alright, thank goodness.

Reminders for what to do after a hurricane.

The Red Cross is taking donations.

Thoughts and prayer and dollars, from my skyline to yours.

Speaking of Vegetable Vs. Candy News

Mr. S and I watched the first few minutes of this last night. Facebook friends are coming back with mixed reviews on this show, but I think this snippet, the first 5 minutes of the show, was pretty awesome.

And soberingly spot-on.

Did you see the pilot of HBO's The Newsroom?

A vegetable in a bag of candy

When I first heard about Ann Curry leaving the Today show for maybe unfavorable reasons, I was pissed. She's a great veteran journalist. Racism, sexism, Matt Lauer, etc. were all running through my head as possible reasons for her leaving. 

But then I watched this video of an interview of Curry with Forbes last year. I get it. She is sad to leave the show because she thought she could make a difference. She thought that she could make news about NEWS again. That she could give the viewers a few light segments on cooking and fashion and then sneak in the necessary, healthy bits about Darfur or women's rights. With Today Show ratings slipping, NBC decided to make a change. Morning news is a little more bubblegum and trix without her.

She was a vegetable in a bag of candy. 


I hope she does still reach people in her new role. I know I'd be happy to watch her.

Remember, folks: its all about the ratings. We vote with our money, our time and our attention. If you believe in reality TV shows that feature hidden cameras and obstacle courses, sure, vote for that. But if you believe in educating the public, keeping politicians transparent and making a difference for the underprivileged or underrepresented, make sure your attention, your time and your money reflect that. 


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Oh My WORD!


Less than 2 minutes after I clicked "post", I saw this:

via, originally seen here

"Carbon dioxide emissions are not just warming up our atmosphere, they're also changing the chemistry of our oceans. This phenomenon is known as ocean acidification, or sometimes as global warming's "evil twin" or the "osteoporosis of the sea." Scientists have warned that it poses a serious threat to ocean life. Yet major American news outlets covered the Kardashians over 40 times more often than ocean acidification over the past year and a half."

Sweetjesuswearedoomed.

Kony: The Plot Thickens

Yesterday I was one of millions participating in the blog-n-reblog-n-microblog of the Kony 2012 video.

It got the world on fire for this topic. Kudos to social media!

It also got some backlash and skepticism stirred up.

To keep the conversation going and to try and keep us informed, (which, if you ever give money to an organization, you should be INFORMED about it's practices - whether that organization is Forever 21 or World Vision) I wanted to share some links and counterpoints with you.

The Washington Post attempts to hear both sides of the story.

This Tumblr's whole angle is that Invisible Children is not seeing the big picture - that they are doing more harm than good and their well-intentioned battle cries are awakening beasts they aren't prepared to battle. The author  of this blog and some articles here, here and here all raise some good questions:

- What about IC's score as a charity on Charity Navigator and their transparency as a NPO?
- What do we do after we take down Kony?
- Uganda is not a democracy. How will our tactics affect the people there?
- Kony isn't in Uganda... are we barking up the wrong tree?
- Ugandan children have disease, prostitution and poverty as their number one worries now... what about those threats?

 via

Monday's Preview: Ten Tips Gets A Facelift

So in an effort to be more relevant and let the chips fall where they may, I've decided to take "Ten Tips Tuesday" in for a facelift.

She'll still include helpful tips from my very qualified perspective, but I will be changing her quantity... in that she wont be require to reach 10 every week!

I know. I know. Maybe I am lazy. But I find that some weeks I felt like I was filling my blog with fluff. And not the marshmallow kind (fat kid says: yum.)

I'm going to drop the 10 and make her (drum roll please)....

TIPSY TUESDAY.

Get it? And I do love a good beer/wine/spritzer/cocktail/juice/wheat grass shot/raw black grapefruit smoothie... and its a play on words... and it still allows me to boss all of you around... er...

Anyway, hang onto your hats for tomorrow's inaugural: Tipsy Tuesday!

Common Sense Wednesday: Money for Nothing and the Perks for Free

or Build, Contribute, Reinvent
or Have Your Cake and Eat It Too (although a Brit said it first)
or The American Way - Fat, Prickish and Broke
or Yet More Evidence One Should Live Within His Means
or Watch This Video and Turn Your Brain on:



Mary Meeker of KCPB narrates a fascinating piece on the economy through the lense of "America, Inc" and on the heels of a heated debate about our country's budgets, spending and debt. It's a bit of a long video, but worth your time. Take you lunch break to view and mill it over if you can.

It provokes many questions, and appears to be non-partisian in pointing blame at all of us - consumers and politicians alike - for being such a greedy, spoiled nation with a muffin top (my words, not Mary's). Pretty picture, huh?

Without even tipping a toe into the partisian debate on spending, let's think about the extremes for no other reason than to answer some obvious questions:

For those that say they don't want to pay higher taxes, that we should purely cut spending because "I don't use the public library, nor am I on welfare, and I don't like war", I ask you -

Do you live in a jungle? Where lion/tiger/bear law reigns? Where you scavenge for your food and answer only to the call of the wild? No. You live in 'merica and you may think that you have a right to retire when your knees go bad.

For those who say that they'd prefer for the rich to pay higher taxes to support programs that help keep Grandma healthier, longer, but think that they, themselves, need to not cut back on the cable bill and pitch in for G-ma's expensive vitamins, I ask -

Would Grandma appreciate that? What if when you get older, your kids shipped you to "the home" to take care of you and give you what you needs to survive, nevermind your quality of life? Isn't that passing the buck?

For those who support higher taxes for everyone in favor of keeping all of the programs the help the poor, downtrodden, sick, elderly, and homeless, I say -

Are the programs for which your tax dollars are paying working? Do you know where your money's going? Is it going towards the program's overhead? Their travel expenses? Is it even going towards providing drug users with clean needles?

For EVERYONE -

What do you think about the budget deal? What changes would you make to the way our country handles its finances? What are you going to do as a citizen to make a difference?

Thoughts for Thursday: Even Bad Attention is Attention

I know a lot of good Jen/Jenny/Jennifer bloggers out there. [holla!]

Here's something for your mind's mouth to chew on

Not that I have an opinion on what is being called the "Trial of the Century", but I do hold an opinion that if you are paying attention to something with your words, you are voting for its survival as a topic.

Even bad attention is attention.