Seriously...where the fuck did all my free time go?!
Friday, November 30, 2007
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Time to Get Out of Dodge!
I'm blogging during lunch because I'm tired of reaching out to editors who could care less about my clients, tired of checking emails only to discover I have an impotence problem, and finally because I technically can't leave the building as I'm the only one in the office...once again.
I need a change.
Seriously...I'm sick of the Bay Area. I'm sick of the Silicon Valley, I'm sick of the stay at home moms that make it impossible for me to hop in and out during lunch, I'm sick of traffic, I'm sick of paying exorbitant prices for rent, I'm sick of marketing flaks, I'm sick of technology. I'm sick- that, or I'm just tired. Either way I need a change. A BIG one.
I want to move out of the state. Mike and I have talked about it and depending on whether we can actually afford to live here... we just might (although we'd have to wait, at least until Mike finishes at SJSU). At this point I wouldn't mind moving to a podunk little town where nothing much really happens and the neighbors all love each other. A place where I don't end the day only to pick it back up 45 minutes later and continue working again. Where a 5 minute trip home doesn't end up being 40-45 minutes with traffic. Where people are friendly and not judgemental. Where I can get in and out of the grocery in less than an hour. Where I can tell someone my honest opinion without worrying about the repurcussions. Where I can get in and out of a mall without wanting to kill someone. When a lunch break means not spending 5 minutes to eat at your desk.
Somewhere not the Silicon Valley.
I'm seriously considering this one because...what's really holding me here anyway???
I need a change.
Seriously...I'm sick of the Bay Area. I'm sick of the Silicon Valley, I'm sick of the stay at home moms that make it impossible for me to hop in and out during lunch, I'm sick of traffic, I'm sick of paying exorbitant prices for rent, I'm sick of marketing flaks, I'm sick of technology. I'm sick- that, or I'm just tired. Either way I need a change. A BIG one.
I want to move out of the state. Mike and I have talked about it and depending on whether we can actually afford to live here... we just might (although we'd have to wait, at least until Mike finishes at SJSU). At this point I wouldn't mind moving to a podunk little town where nothing much really happens and the neighbors all love each other. A place where I don't end the day only to pick it back up 45 minutes later and continue working again. Where a 5 minute trip home doesn't end up being 40-45 minutes with traffic. Where people are friendly and not judgemental. Where I can get in and out of the grocery in less than an hour. Where I can tell someone my honest opinion without worrying about the repurcussions. Where I can get in and out of a mall without wanting to kill someone. When a lunch break means not spending 5 minutes to eat at your desk.
Somewhere not the Silicon Valley.
I'm seriously considering this one because...what's really holding me here anyway???
Friday, November 2, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Got a problem? Blame Marketing...
Blame marketing, blame advertising, blame public relations....but for the love of god don't blame yourself.
A recent blog post from the well-known Editor-in-Chief of Wired Magazine, Chris Anderson, had my blood boiling this afternoon.
Media bias has attracted quite a bit of attention amongst university scholars and independent watchdog organizations. These organizations have many questioning the validity of the news they receive and ask that readers take the time to evaluate what they're reading. Recent scandals, such as those of Jayson Blair and Stephen Glass, have helped put highy respected publications like the New York Times in a negative light.
So how do journalists alleviate the situation -- they perpetuate the stereotype!
Yesterday, Chris Anderson posted a blog outing over a hundred PR representatives for sending press release spam. While the argument is completely valid, the means in which he outed them was tasteless and un-neccessary helping to further a stereotype that is unjustified and unsubstantiated.
Do PR professionals fuck up? YES! Do some PR professionals abuse their privelleges and try to sell a product that's less than perfect? Of course. Does this mean that all PR professionals are liars that do nothing but "bother everyone else"? Absolutely Not!
PR professionals are no more lying, conniving, or manipulative then reporters are biased, snotty, and inaccurate. It's the exception to the rule....but you would never get that from Chris's post.
Instead of offering a solution, Chris threw a big fat wrench at the problem. Yes, PR professionals should make it a point to research the reporters they are trying to target. And yes, PR professionals should never mass-distribute press releases without carefully anlayzing their target lists. But at the same time it's not just a PR problem.
As mentioned in the comments following the post, journalism and PR requires a symbotic relationship to effectively get things done. Reporters could do their part to ensure that their beat, and contact information is readily available to PR professionals. They could also offer tips and best methods for getting in contact them.
It's absolutely imperative that both industries take accountability for their actions instead of simply passing the buck.
Immaturely outing their emails on a blog is not only cold, spiteful and vindictive -- but it's also damaging and completely unnecessary.
I would expect more from an editor as widely respected and acknowledged in the industry as Chris Anderson.
A recent blog post from the well-known Editor-in-Chief of Wired Magazine, Chris Anderson, had my blood boiling this afternoon.
Media bias has attracted quite a bit of attention amongst university scholars and independent watchdog organizations. These organizations have many questioning the validity of the news they receive and ask that readers take the time to evaluate what they're reading. Recent scandals, such as those of Jayson Blair and Stephen Glass, have helped put highy respected publications like the New York Times in a negative light.
So how do journalists alleviate the situation -- they perpetuate the stereotype!
Yesterday, Chris Anderson posted a blog outing over a hundred PR representatives for sending press release spam. While the argument is completely valid, the means in which he outed them was tasteless and un-neccessary helping to further a stereotype that is unjustified and unsubstantiated.
Do PR professionals fuck up? YES! Do some PR professionals abuse their privelleges and try to sell a product that's less than perfect? Of course. Does this mean that all PR professionals are liars that do nothing but "bother everyone else"? Absolutely Not!
PR professionals are no more lying, conniving, or manipulative then reporters are biased, snotty, and inaccurate. It's the exception to the rule....but you would never get that from Chris's post.
Instead of offering a solution, Chris threw a big fat wrench at the problem. Yes, PR professionals should make it a point to research the reporters they are trying to target. And yes, PR professionals should never mass-distribute press releases without carefully anlayzing their target lists. But at the same time it's not just a PR problem.
As mentioned in the comments following the post, journalism and PR requires a symbotic relationship to effectively get things done. Reporters could do their part to ensure that their beat, and contact information is readily available to PR professionals. They could also offer tips and best methods for getting in contact them.
It's absolutely imperative that both industries take accountability for their actions instead of simply passing the buck.
Immaturely outing their emails on a blog is not only cold, spiteful and vindictive -- but it's also damaging and completely unnecessary.
I would expect more from an editor as widely respected and acknowledged in the industry as Chris Anderson.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Home Improvement
So I've been doing a lot of watching of Home Improvement on Nick at Nite recently and it's become quite apparent to me how much crazy gender stereotyping they do in the show.
It's blatant...
Tim is the complete alpha male. He embodies everything that is man -- tools, cars, grunting, sports, and greasy food. Naturally since he's male he's also illogical, fanatic, dim-witted and accident prone.
Then there's Jill the docile-ish female. She's like a modern take on June Cleaver -- she can't cook but she sews costumes and teaches her boys how to dance, she's not a "stay-at-home" mom but she doesn't have a job and is on a constant quest to become a psychologist...but you know she never will. Like all woman she's overly sensitive, catty, needy and demanding/ "the nag."
And I think Wilson is androgenous....he's half man and female. I don't know what they were trying to do there.
It's blatant...
Tim is the complete alpha male. He embodies everything that is man -- tools, cars, grunting, sports, and greasy food. Naturally since he's male he's also illogical, fanatic, dim-witted and accident prone.
Then there's Jill the docile-ish female. She's like a modern take on June Cleaver -- she can't cook but she sews costumes and teaches her boys how to dance, she's not a "stay-at-home" mom but she doesn't have a job and is on a constant quest to become a psychologist...but you know she never will. Like all woman she's overly sensitive, catty, needy and demanding/ "the nag."
And I think Wilson is androgenous....he's half man and female. I don't know what they were trying to do there.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
MySims
Mike decided to purchase me a present for all my help with the grading and what not.
Guess what he bought me? Guess.....
MySims for the Wii!!!!!!!
haha.
Guess what he bought me? Guess.....
MySims for the Wii!!!!!!!
haha.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Sims....Double Take
So Tim asked that I elaborate on my initial comment that Sims is a metaphor for life...and since I do EVERYTHING he asks, I will comply. But since I also happen to be LAZY- I will pull my words from my man Chuck. Chuck Klosterman that is.
I happen to think that Chuck Klosterman is a GENIUS and definitely on to something...
So here's where we agree where it comes to The Sims --
"What makes The Sims so popular is its dogged adherence to the minutiae of subsistence, and that's where we're supposed to feel the realism. But the realism I felt was the worst kind; it was the hopeless realization that I was doomer to live in my own prison, just like the singer of Creed. The Sims makes the unconscious conscious, but not in an existential Zen way; The Sims forces you to think about how even free people are eternally enslaved by the processes of living. Suddenly I had to plan to take a shower. And though I need to do all those things in reality, the thoughts scarely cross my mind unless I'm plugged into this game."
I played The Sims for a one-time period of six months. After six months it just gets DEPRESSING. It's like you're literally outside looking in (specifically true in my case as I thought it would be rad to make my Sim as close to a spitting image of me as possible). Note to those who want to jump into the Sim arena- make your Sim have as little resemblance to your true self as possible... SCARY
That reminds me..... I need to go pee....
I happen to think that Chuck Klosterman is a GENIUS and definitely on to something...
So here's where we agree where it comes to The Sims --
"What makes The Sims so popular is its dogged adherence to the minutiae of subsistence, and that's where we're supposed to feel the realism. But the realism I felt was the worst kind; it was the hopeless realization that I was doomer to live in my own prison, just like the singer of Creed. The Sims makes the unconscious conscious, but not in an existential Zen way; The Sims forces you to think about how even free people are eternally enslaved by the processes of living. Suddenly I had to plan to take a shower. And though I need to do all those things in reality, the thoughts scarely cross my mind unless I'm plugged into this game."
I played The Sims for a one-time period of six months. After six months it just gets DEPRESSING. It's like you're literally outside looking in (specifically true in my case as I thought it would be rad to make my Sim as close to a spitting image of me as possible). Note to those who want to jump into the Sim arena- make your Sim have as little resemblance to your true self as possible... SCARY
That reminds me..... I need to go pee....
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