My Other Blog is Also a Tumblr
I go to Starbucks almost every day. They collect a vast percentage of my paycheck. For some reason, this is not a good enough reason to spell my name correctly on my cup.
5 Reasons this #SOPABlackout page by The Oatmeal is awesome:
- BBQ kittens
- Oprah
- Animation
- Goat love
- Explains the ramifications of SOPA and PIPA in the simplest and most understandable way possible.
Take action today by writing your congressman/woman or by signing the google petition found here.
To watch the whole thing from the beginning, go to oatmeal.com/sopa
(Source: mashable)
Pinterest for Dudes - Updated
Yeah yeah, I’m on a Pinterest kick, like everyone else. There’s a particular reason that PInterest has seen a 4,000% increase of users in 6 months. Knock yourself out if you want to read the full article.
It seems that every card-carrying member of my gender is obsessively compulsively pinning away pictures of landscapes, ruffles, books and delicious-looking food (or the opposite, the deluge of inspirational quotes with almost-graphic pictures of sculpted female limbs and torsos). But where does that leave men and people who are either not planning a wedding or decorating a house?
Here are some ideas for the non-estrogen inclined or dudes:
- Gadgets: from your favorite e-reader to that rotary saw, this is a good way to keep up to date on what you’re pining for. Alternatively, if you’re shopping for a new tv, you can pin all of the consumer reviews on one board to go through later…in front of your old tv. Super Ninja Tip: If you type in the price of an item with $, then a ribbon will be placed over the picture so visitors can see price at a glance.
- Vacations: Yes, Tripadvisor is amazing. I actually planned my whole Morocco trip using it (my boyfriend did 99.9% of the work). However, if you want to bookmark vacations spots, must-taste restaurants or even terrible tourist traps, Pinterest can help with your vacation planning at a glance. You can also just photoshop yourself in all the pictures and save some cash.
- Articles: Pinterest won’t necessarily replace your “read later” button, but it can help you organize articles that you plan on reading or want to recommend to your followers. This is especially helpful if you write the description you would a tweet (include context and give your personal spin). Also helpful for infographics because hey, who doesn’t love a good infographic?
- Music: Music! You can’t necessarily create a playlist and yes, there are other better ways of connecting with fellow music-lovers, but since the internet is continuing to be recommendation-driven, this is still a good way of getting the word out about that obscure band you like. You know, the one who lives in a van parked under the Brooklyn Bridge. Yeah, that one. Super bonus round: you can pin videos so get cracking’ since MTV hasn’t shown a music video since Aha!
Those are just a few examples if you’re a dude and want to know what Pinterest is all about. There’s no shame in starting a men’s style board though. I mean, have you SEEN Gucci’s new fall collection?! OMG.
How Pinterest Stole My Heart
I have to say, my initial impression of Pinterest wasn’t much. Great, it’s like a virtual corkboard where you display all the things you like. To be fair, my only exposure to the site was when a co-worker called me to her desk to show me her friend’s “bridal inspiration board”. Said friend was unwed, not in a relationship, but had meticulously planned out every aspect of her board. The screen assuaged me with pictures of pink, flowers, frills and women who were smiling so hard I’m sure their face hurt.*
With this first impression, I wasn’t convinced. I flippantly dismissed the site as the new digital watering hole for single cat-enthusiasts. Well, I would soon learn to eat my words.
Pinterest isn’t the first iteration of a digital inspiration board…but it may be the last. At this point, I really do not think that someone can out-pin pinterest.
I decided to give Pinterest a go when my bestie got (actually) engaged (twinsies!). As a bridesmaid, creating our shared board was a great opportunity for us to share ideas we had come across and collaborate on overall wedding themes. I believe that wedding boards are like a gateway drug. Once you start with weddings, you expand to home styling, personal styling, food, books, you name it, you can pin it.
Eventually, I started seeing Pinterest for what it is, an amazing way to visually bookmark interesting items you see across the web. Pinterest also taps into our current society’s need for voyeurism and narcissism (I’m guilty of both, so this isn’t necessarily a bad thing). I, as well as many others, give ourselves a pat on the back when one of your pins is repinned (sidebar, my highest repins come from the wedding board). This is also a great way to find like-minded and like-tasted individuals.
In addition to this being a great personal tool to get organized (their browser button is completely idiot-proof), marketers have jumped at getting involved because of the numerous possibilities to find new customers as well as use their current customers as evangelicals.
If you want to read more about Pinterest, Mashable has excellent coverage (per usual). If you want an invite, just ping me and I’ll welcome you to the dark side.
*to be fair, it is very easy to get caught up in planning your own dream wedding when you’re looking at dresses and flowers for someone else. Not that I would know…<cough>
Learning from Your Elders
We live in a culture where you discard old things. You know, the original iPad is clunky and has no camera…out! The Nokia cell phone you had didn’t have a keyboard…out! What is old is now obsolete and we’re blinded by the new shiny things that are inherently “better”.
The sad part is that I think culturally, as Americans, we treat our older generation the same as we treat floppy disks or 8-tracks: they are old and therefore obsolete. I don’t want to speak for my entire generation, but I know that for me, it used to be a chore to speak to my grandmother on the phone (a fact that I am entirely ashamed of).
Most recently, I found myself in an embarrassing situation where I wrote off one of the most senior members of my team. Instead of asking him about his life and work experience and learning from it, I made jokes about his taking my Ad Age into the bathroom and flicking his fallen scab onto my notepad. One day, I finally woke up and decided that I would seek his guidance as he has “been there, seen that”. I have to say that it was the best decision I’ve made in a long time (aside from when I decided to consider Nutella an actual food group).
Tonight, we went to the New York Yacht Club and waxed poetic over a martini (his) and old fashioned (mine). I was humbled by our conversation and encouraged by his words of wisdom about where I can take my career. This post isn’t so much about asking you to do the same, it’s more about self-reflection and acknowledging that I was incredibly wrong in my outlook and seeking to remedy it.
However, I’m not taking all of his advice and I’m not naming my website retailshazam.com…
The client/agency relationship is often a tricky one. I’ve worked predominantly on the client side and shows like Mad Men portray clients as nonsensical, illogical and sometimes downright abusive. Of course tv shows dramatize real world events, but at the same time, they’re not so off the mark. I guess what I’m trying to say is that yes, often times clients are jerks, but the main reason is because they don’t know what projects cost and sometimes underestimate the amount of work that needs to be done.
So my advice to agencies? Please educate your clients. No, not everything is a given and no, sometimes they just can’t see the logical path. However, with a little work, a client can be trained to manage expectations and make reasonable requests. On the other hand, sometimes you’re just dealing with crazies. Choose your coping mechanism and go with it. Mine’s a strong Old Fashion.
Cheers!
kin shop
Last night I went to Harold Dieterle’s new place on 6th Ave (between 11th and 12th) with a group of old friends. Kin Shop specializes in Thai food and is Harold’s second venture in NYC (the first being Perilla). The food was amazing! And if you’re going to go, I recommend going with a group so that you can try everything. Here’s the rundown:
Appetizers (in order of deliciousness): Spicy Duck Laab Salad, Fried Pork and Crispy Oyster Salad, Hand Cut Beef Tartar, Prawns (this was a special)
They aren’t messing around when they say spicy. The Duck Laab salad was delicious, of course, but then your mouth starts to burn and you’re drinking gallons of water to make the spice go away. It might have been spicy, but I guess that’s just how laab is prepared. My personal favorite was the Fried Pork and Crispy Oyster Salad. The pork was succulent and the oysters were perfectly fried, crisp and light on the outside, creamy, juicy and meaty on the inside. Beef tartar was good, but nothing special and the prawns, well, I could have been just as happy without them.
Entrees (also in order of deliciousness): Red Roasted Duck Breast, Pan Fried Crab Noodles, Massaman, Steamed Red Snapper.
I guess Kin Shop just does duck very well. The Red Roasted Duck Breast came in 7 pieces and you wrapped each piece in crispy roti and drizzled “tamarind water” sauce on it. I could literally eat that every day and not tire of it. The duck was prepared medium rare and was cooked to perfection. The roti was a little thick but crisp and moist at the same time. I think we all breathed a sigh of contentment when we bit into it the first time.
The Pan Fried Crab noodles was perfectly seasoned and the noodles were a vermicelli. Think Singapore style noodles with no curry and more of a crab taste. This came in a large sized portion and I’m glad it wasn’t my only entree. Since the flavor was a little heavier, I’m not sure I could have eaten it all by myself.
Massaman was the braised goat and had a nice subtle flavor. Don’t forget to get the marrow out of the bone. Steamed red snapper was lighter in taste and delicately flavored with ginger, it was a beautiful piece of fish and perfectly cooked.
Dessert (order of deliciousness): Kaffir Lime Ice Cream, Galangai Ice Cream, Lychee Sorbet.
The Kaffir Lime Ice Cream is unreal. Think creamy, milky and tangy, kind of like key lime but smoother and with less of a bite. Galangai Ice Cream was a citrusy flavor, but very vibrant and the lychee sorbet tasted exactly like lychee.
Overall, we had great conversation, great food and had the best dining experience I’ve had in a while (that’s tough to say when you’re in NY!). We even got a peek of Harold cooking in the back. I’m curious to see what Jeffrey Steingarten has to say (he was seated two tables away, huge celebrity foodie crush).
SPICY! Duck Laab Salad
john legend and the roots
I won a pair of tickets to a private performance by John Legend and The Roots last night at the Bowery Ballroom (thanks Metromix!). The contest was part of a promotion conducted by American Airlines to highlight their social media components via the big four (twitter, facebook, youtube, Linkedin) and I think as a result the audience was quite the motley crew (by the way, I think my party was the only one to check in on foursquare).
All business aside, the show was unreal. First, The Roots, amazing. The last time I saw them, they were performing on the quad while I was still in college. Great energy and Captain Kirk was insane on the guitar, he really made that instrument sing. And John Legend? Let’s put it this way, I can listen to that man sing the telephone book to me any day.
John Legend and The Roots are out with their new album, Wake Up! Check it out.
st. mary’s healthcare system for kids
I sit on the Jr. Committee of St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Kids. My best friend founded the committee and urged me to get involved and I’m so glad that he did.
St. Mary’s Healthcare System is one of a few healthcare providers in the country to offer assistance to families of children with special needs. St. Mary’s is the largest provider of healthcare to these kids in the New York City area, they treat nearly 4,000 patients each day.
I’ll get off my soapbox now, but if you would like to make a donation, click here.
