Bitty Baby

I was amazed and delighted that editors in the 1990s were looking for the kinds of stories that allowed me to start offering glimpses into Ethiopia, the land of my childhood.  (Although I was born in Portland, Oregon, my parents moved to Ethiopia when I was two, and when I paid my first visit to the U.S. as a seven-year-old, I got to see for the first time how tightly many eyes and hearts were closed when it came to what I knew and loved best.)  That brave new world of what is often called “multicultural literature” certainly came about mostly because of the outrage expressed by librarians and teachers and others who were asking, where are the books that show the mosaic of ethnic diversity in this world?

Since the early 1990s, I’ve worked with brave editors who care about what I care about and I’ve been able to create books my seven-year-old self would never have guessed could be possible.  At this point in the discussion, I tend to be disappointed with consumers more than editors because I’ve seen what it’s like to have authors, editors, illustrators, art designers, sales reps, and others on the publishing team pour their hearts into a book that only sits in a warehouse because people–by and large–weren’t adventuresome enough (or open-hearted enough) in their reading tastes.  I was really sad, for instance, that the Girls of Many Lands line didn’t find its audience.  Waaaaah.  (I bought all eight of those books and dolls for a grandbaby I didn’t even have yet.)

Now I do have a granddaughter.  She’s Ethiopian-American, and I want to do what I can to make her strong and confident for all the pokes and ka-bams I know for sure she’ll get, whether she grows up mostly in America or mostly in Ethiopia.  When I got ready to buy a first doll for her, I was pretty thrilled that American Girl makes the variety of dolls they do…and you can see her with her Bitty Baby (which her brother, whose head is poking up at the bottom of the picture, also thinks is super cool).

We all get to decide how to be the Power of One in our world.  For me, it isn’t going to be outrage any more, even though I admire the place that outrage played in creating the world of books and dolls we have now.  It’s going to be writing and speaking about the books I love.  I’ve seen the power of word-of-mouth to take fledgling efforts and turn them into a stream, and that’s the power I tend to be intrigued by and want to embody in my life.  What people support will show up more and more in the world of publishing and toys…I know that for sure.

By Dr. Chad Audi

As we entered the busy holiday shopping season, a controversy arose over a new doll that supposedly represents a homeless child. The very popular American Girl brand released a limited-edition doll named “Gwen” whose background story focuses on a father who walked out, leaving Gwen and her mother to fend for themselves.

There are thousands of homeless children across the country, living in shelters and on the streets with one or more parents, who have experienced this type of situation in real life. For them, homelessness is very real. It’s not conveyed through a doll. Plus, they could never afford a doll like “Gwen,” which comes with a $95 price tag.

Mattel’s American Girl line is known for creating dolls that help girls deal with real life situations. The dolls represent a diverse range of ethnicities, cultures and economic backgrounds. Each doll has a story that comes with it and reflects certain periods in American history.

I think the new “homeless” doll would be better received if the money from its purchase was donated to shelters and other agencies that help the homeless. Or perhaps even if the company had donated the dolls to kids in shelters. In all fairness, a Detroit newspaper editor reporting on the story discovered that Gwen was actually introduced as part of a bullying back-story, which later expanded into the doll also experiencing homelessness. As a result, Mattel teamed up with a non-profit to develop an anti-bullying curriculum for millions of school kids. And, since its inception, American Girl has donated nearly $9 million in clothing and books to a global charity that helps homeless kids.

But, getting back to Gwen, does a high-priced doll representing homelessness send a mixed message to our kids? Is the doll in poor taste? Or is it a good way to educate and raise awareness about the plight of the homeless? I’m very curious to hear what you think.

So I think I’m a little bit weird. I know, big surprise, right? I mean, if I didn’t know that by now, I don’t think anything would convince me. But as I was opening my Christmas presents this year, two things occurred to me. One, I really love everything I got this year, and two, I’m a really random person. To show you what I mean, here’s a list of what I got for Christmas:

1) Chopsticks – I love eating with chopsticks; I especially love eating things that aren’t meant to be eaten with chopsticks, such as hot dish. In fact, when I got my first pair of chopsticks, I learned how to use them by eating ice cream out of the container (by the way, that’s an excellent way to limit your portion size). I got these from my sister.

2) A Felicity doll – Because even as an adult, there is nothing cooler than playing with dolls (hey, if my grandma can still play with them, I’m allowed too). American Girl dolls are (and this is a fact) completely awesome, and Felicity was always my favorite. She really isn’t like me at all (she’s a colonial girl who loves horses), but when I read these books, she was the oldest, and she had the coolest dresses.

3) Alma Mater – The Pope’s new CD. Yes, I rock out to Latin chanting. I can’t actually give a good assessment of this CD yet, since I only listened to it in the car and the volume was low, but I assume it’s awesome.

4) An autographed copy of Matchless by Gregory Maguire. I actually read Wicked and I hated it, but I do love autographed copies of books, so I’m very glad my sister got this for me. And even if this is a crappy book, it’s very thin, so at least I won’t be spending much time on it.

5) An Aggie gator key chain – It’s a little baby alligator wearing a Texas A&M shirt. It’s adorable, and I’m bringing it with me just as soon as I drive somewhere.

6) The Complete Monty Python’s Flying Circus – Because if any group encapsulates complete randomness, it’s Monty Python. I used to use their skits as speech material, and this is still one of my favorite TV shows of all time. British comedy is amazing!

Happy New Year, everybody!

I thought I’d start off this blog with a cute little description of something that happened during the middle of the annual Christmas morning frenzy this year.  Last year, I remember the girls stopping full-stop in the midst of present opening to play with the beading kits my brother got for them.  It was a funny moment to see them, at ages five and eight, surrounded by paper and bows and presents, but completely distracted by a little package of crafting beads.

This year, a similar event occurred when my youngest, just sixteen months old, got distracted from the oh-so-fun activity of pulling at the Yo Gabba Gabba and Elmo wrapping paper that enveloped his Christmas gifts.  While the rest of the family went about their business of passing out presents and talking loudly (we are a loud bunch), Ziggy sat in the midst of it all “reading” a tiny Elmo board book given to him by my best friend.  And he was totally engrossed.  One of his grandmothers sat next to him and opened the rest of his presents for him.  Meanwhile, he just continued turning the little cardboard pages and making happy sounds of recognition as he identified Elmo, and Cookie Monster and the rest of the Sesame Street gang.

The boy does love his books.  And he got a number of them for Christmas this year:  a large Little People Farm flap book from one of the neighbors, a Yo Gabba Gabba board book from Grandma Robin, a musical Thomas the Train board book from Grandma Pam, and the aforementioned miniature Elmo board books from “Aunt Coey”.

The girls got plenty of books as well.  A trio of Tacky the Penguin books, some Golden Books, and an assortment of American Girl books.

We do love to read in this household.

Aaah, in the aftermath of the Christmas season. Santa’s come and gone. Dropped off a whole lot of presents for a four year old who asked for less than half of it (note to Santa: stop buying so much stuff on credit cards. only bring gifts that the kids want. Not the ones that the parents think the kids want).

Santa got us an entire Snow White cleaning set. My daughter used it extensively, but the house is just a whole lot messier now… there are cleaning accessories all over.

But thank you, Santa for standing in those long, uncertain lines, waiting for Zhu Zhu pets to arrive in ridiculously limited quantities at a few stores around the city, and actually scoring a few (Yeah!). I am Santa is a little p.o’ed that, soon after, the panic-inducing shortage of zhu zhu pets (just like the H1N1 vaccine) ended, and other people were able to casually stroll into toy stores, and buy them at will. The entire family spent an unreasonable amount of time playing with these cute better-than-the-real-thing hamsters (oh, come on! does your live hamster make rooster, car and car-horn sounds or sneeze and require no waste cleanup – other than the box it came in?) First, we put together the fun-house, the garage and the hamster wheel. Then we turned them on and set them loose in the house. The familiarity with which they knew how to go from one area to another, and get on the hamster wheel made our largely unscientific family wonder with awe how they did it. But just when you think these hamsters could possibly replace me and do just as well a job of living without any definite purpose or significance, the hamsters revealed their weakness – driving a car. they seemed to get in fine, but then they couldn’t get them to move. Whew! No denying though that they were fun.

Among the only things that my daughter actually asked for was the Hello Kitty gumball machine/water dispenser duo (for $32.99 at CostCo, and a whopping highway-robbery-reminiscent $82.98 at Amazon.com!!). The “drink 8 glasses a day” sticker on the water container hasn’t quite sunk in yet – either for my daughter or for me. With more of a health reason than rationing, only 3 gumballs were put into the gumball machine, and, with no quarters required to dispense them, they have been consumed. Several attempts to explain the effect of sugar on our cells, and the purpose of insulin release have fallen on deaf ears – very much like my wife explaining to me that our daughter needs gentler and simpler guidance and direction, with less stress on logic and physiology.

Santa also got us an interesting game – Meatball Madness - obviously prompted by Mrs Claus. After setting up the game board(s) and using them once or twice, my 4 year old found it more fun to use just the air-stream blowing ladle and move the foam meatballs around the house.

Apart from a few other small-ticket items like Calico Critters Christmas set and cleaning set, Santa spent an awful (i mean awful) lot of money on an American Girl Christmas Sleigh. Santa even thought of returning it at one point, but Santa lost the darn receipt! Santa’s only consolation is that at least he didn’t get the tree house… yet.

Let me close by saying that I have been pondering a long time about how many of us pay any attention to the ages that they recommend for these toys. The American Girl doll says 8+. Most of the little girls i saw in the store were not 8. Probably ends up with the stories and their meanings getting lost on the little minds. Oh well. Kids are growing way faster with every generation. So enjoy it while Santa still shows up at your house – even if he’s racking up some serious consumer debt: Fiscal fitness is no doubt on his New Year Resolution list.

By: Tiffani Haynes

I thought about a million things I’ve always wanted for Christmas, and while many came to mind, none ranked higher than the Addy, the American Girl doll.

Yes, I said it. A doll. If I opened a gift on Thursday and that little mocha-complexioned doll with her Civil War-era clothes waslooking back at me, I’d be more than happy. I’ve always wanted that doll.

The Addy doll is modeled after Addy Walker, the American Girl. She’s the fifth member in the American Girl series and the only African-American in it. Addy’s story of escaping slavery, leaving her infant sister behind, traveling the Underground Railroad, finding freedom, learning to read and meeting new friends was captivating. Of course all that didn’t happen in the first book but throughout the several books, you couldn’t help but fall in love with Addy’s story.

Simply put, I loved that little post-slavery, pre-perm little girl. She wasn’t the most stylish or hippest thing out, but hell, she was living and learning during the 1800s. And I loved the story for it. I had all the books and magazines, only thing I was missing was the Addy doll.

Bump Barbie, Addy was the It doll for me.

Check out the American Girl site to buy the Addy books, doll and accessories: http://www.americangirl.com

While many of us were gathering around the menorah or singing Christmas carols, some Arizona families sat bedside waiting and watching for hospitalized children to heal. It got me wondering what the role of the arts might be in the healing process. Did you know there are actually studies showing the health benefits of laughter? Maybe I should just take to the pediatric hospitals with my stick figure drawings and see if I can spread some cheer.

Happily, I got some better ideas while brainstorming with kids from the cast of Oliver! Saturday was my last day to wrangle (watch the kids when they’re not on stage), and they were gracious enough to help me with ideas for art projects children can do in the hospital. All agreed art projects are a great way to pass the time when you’re stuck at home sick or in the hospital for a spell.

Art projects are especially handy to have around when your child might be anxious waiting for a doctor to do his or her rounds, and when young friends or family members come to visit. Having materials to craft something wonderful together can ease that awkward silence that comes when we don’t know what to say to loved ones experiencing pain or suffering.

Pediatric specialists like Banner Health Cardon Children’s Medical Center in Mesa and Phoenix Children’s Hospital already know that art is at the heart of healing. Their child life specialists work with children in several ways to assure they feel more comfortable with medical procedures and feel less stress while hospitalized and away from home, school and friends.

Child life specialists work with children both bedside and in hospital playrooms to assure that art is part of the healing process, according to Erin Sinnema, MSC, CCLS, certified child life specialist with Cardon Children’s Medical Center. The center also features a variety of support programs including humor therapy and music therapy. Especially for children, the expressive arts truly are at the heart of healing.

Sinnema says the center provides standard art materials like crayons, markers, paint and paper for many reasons. Because art is a universal language, it builds bridges between anxious patients and professionals who enter their world bearing familiar art materials.

A child who is used to drawing at home or in school will take comfort in being able to continue a familiar activity while isolated from familiar surroundings, reflects Sinnema. He or she may also feel a sense of satisfaction at being able to ‘give back’ by creating artwork for others. Most importantly, perhaps, art helps children express their feelings about the experience of being sick and separated from family and friends.

Child life specialists at Phoenix Children’s Hospital note that art is also an important resource for siblings of sick children. Brothers and sisters are welcome to send in artwork or photos to be displayed in their sibling’s hospital room, and sibs are also welcome to visit the child life playrooms (when healthy and accompanied by an adult).  Pediatric specialists recognize the role of the arts in treating the whole child and the whole family, and see firsthand the impact of art on health and hope.

If finding appropriate art materials for a hospitalized child or teen just isn’t your forte, plenty of folks—including the hospital’s child life specialists and your child’s teacher/s—can offer suggestions. Sometimes the simplest way to go is an art kit available from the hospital gift shop, or local businesses like bookstores, art supply stores or craft stores.

Many art museums—including the Phoenix Art Museum, the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art and others—have gift shops featuring kid-friendly arts and crafts projects. So do many of the Valley’s family-friendly destinations, such as the Desert Botanical Gardens and the Phoenix Zoo.

Creativity for Kids and Klutz are great online resources if you can’t get out for supplies.

A few guidelines as you’re making your selections…

Think neater rather than messier (a principle you don’t need to worry about at home). Think easy to transport, clean up after and store. Maybe you have a fun tote or plastic crate that can become the designated crafts center for your hospitalized child—something he or she knows will always be full of fun surprises. Think frugal. You’d be amazed what a child can do with simple and inexpensive materials like pipe cleaners or felt and a pair of scissors.

Consider not only your budget, but also your child’s age, motor skills and energy level. Your child’s own preferences, safety considerations and any hospital rules about what parents and other visitors can bring for patients should also influence what you choose.

Consider magazines like American Girl and FamilyFun that offer ideas, directions and/or templates for kid-friendly arts and crafts projects. If you’re not feeling particularly gifted in the arts, you can turn to online resources for project ideas and directions. When in doubt, give a simple sketch book with special pencils or pens. (This idea was especially popular among the boys in the Oliver! cast.)

At the bottom of this post you’ll find just a portion of the incredible list of ideas shared by girls from the Oliver! cast yesterday (the first time I wrangled, I interviewed more boys than girls, so this will balance the scales). I’ll see them later today for strike (theater term loosely translated as tearing a show down after that final performance), so I may have more ideas to add to the list this evening (or even tomorrow).

I’ll also share a few of our own family favorites (think thumbprints, multicolor ink pads and a Sharpie pen)–but first I’m off to whip up some goodies for the post-strike pot luck…

Until then, happy doodling!

–Lynn

*Fun hospital art projects…

• Drawing supplies: Sketch pads, paper, pens, pencils, crayons, markers, erasers, pencil sharpeners and “how to” drawing books (how to draw animals, etc.)
• Scrapbook making supplies: Blank scrapbook, miniature photo album or wire-bound unlined index cards with assorted papers, scissors, markers, glue sticks, etc. (fun scrapbook themes include family, friends, pets, dreams for the future)
• Fiber arts: Yarn for making yarn dolls, embroidery floss for making friendship bracelets, felt for making finger puppets, crochet/knitting needles with yarn for making a blanket to sleep with or put around a favorite stuffed animal
• Bookmark supplies: Bookmark templates for needlepoint with embroidery floss and needle or card stock bookmarks with stickers, stamped art, etc.
• Button art: Buttons with wire or fishing line for making bracelets or flexible dolls
• Card creations: Large unlined index cards or folded card stock with stickers and other embellishments to make thank you cards for hospital staff, friends who bring gifts, fellow patients, etc.
• Collage art: Heavy cardstock or flat canvas with glue or glue stick for attaching magazine cut outs, get well cards, torn pieces of tissue paper, etc. (hole punch at top and add yarn or ribbon to hang up in hospital room)
• Book-making supplies: Paper or card stock your child can staple into booklet form after writing a tall tale, a playful poem, etc.
• Magnetic toys: Flat screens with magnets you manipulate into various designs or 3-D magnetic toys for creating a myriad of unique sculptures
• Puppetry: Socks, paper lunch sacks or tall envelopes with fun face-making supplies like googly eyes, pom poms, felt, foam pieces, etc.
• Paper crafts: Origami paper (plain or with designs such as animal prints) with instruction booklet for paper folding or paper cutting (kirigami); Roll of gift wrap for making long paper doll chains
• Pom pom people: Furry little pom poms with glue, googly eyes and foam pieces for making people or animal faces with feet (foam core pieces make great people and animals too)
• Hanging art: Yarn or fishing line for hanging art or mobiles (think snowflakes, butterflies, sports equipment, cars and trucks, etc. (thick pipe cleaners or thin hangers make handy mobile frames)
• Puzzle art: Blank puzzle with markers for coloring custom design or heavy card stock with markers and scissors for drawing and cutting out a one-of-a-kind puzzle
• Stuff to fluff: Felt, embroidery floss and stuffing for making teddy bears; Napkins or fabric squares, stuffing and needle/thread for making special hospital pillow; Soft cloth with ribbon and scented beads or potpourri for a refreshing sachet or compress

*Special thanks to Adele, Alex, Barrette and Madeleine and all the other Oliver! cast members who contributed ideas to this list of art projects–you’re one bright and creative bunch! Their best ideas were sentimental ones that might be easiest to accomplish with kits–dreamcatchers for capturing wishes and worry dolls for releasing fears.

Coming soon: Creating an art-friendly home

Brendan Benson and Cory Chisel playing American girl (Tom Petty cover) at Grimey’s in Naschville on Deember 12 2009.

Oak Park Mall, that once-thriving commercial hub out on 95th St., was the unlucky host yesterday of a rampaging horde of preteen girls — a capitalistic Attica that threatened to disrupt business and overwhelm the elderly mall-walkers who call OPM their gym. What were the demands of these iCarly-loving roustabouts? Simple: they insist that you give them the right to fork over a C-note apiece for some inanimate mini-humans. What recession?

Hundreds of girls and parents lined up under an archway of red, white and pink balloons outside Macy’s – some a half-hour before the 3:30 event – clutching their Kaya, Kit and Josefina dolls. For two hours girls received free bead bracelets, food and caricature drawings of themselves with their dolls.

“It was mayhem,” said Christy Moore, who helped with the event. “It was a lot of fun. It was very exciting.”

Mayhem? Mayhap you overstate the matter. In any event, it’s thrilling to see that even In This Economy, girls can still convince their parents to take them to the mall in the early afternoon to vocally demand the right to spend money. The stores in Chicago and at the Mall of America are the closest ones right now; but are all these protesters overlooking the fact that you can buy them online in two minutes? And here’s a very insightful quote from an attendee: “It wouldn’t be as special if we could go anytime we wanted to,” Denny said. Exactly: it’s like owning a movie you love. It reduces the visceral thrill you get when you discover it’s on TNT at 2 a.m.

The $95 doll – part of Mattel’s American Girl line – is meant to represent the homeless.

Bad timing, especially during these recessionary times where tens of thousands of families with children are living in the streets.

Source:
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2009-10-26/business/0910230278_1_american-girl-doll-young-girls

The $95 doll – part of Mattel’s American Girl line – is meant to represent the homeless.

Bad timing, especially during these recessionary times where tens of thousands of families with children are living in the streets.

Source:
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2009-10-26/business/0910230278_1_american-girl-doll-young-girls

If yesterday I posted the video of What I am looking for here (aka the song of the month lol) today we have three more videos from 9:30 Club in Washington on December 9 2009.

Cold hands warm heart

Sittin Pretty

Brendan Benson & Cory Chisel cover American Girl

Can someone explain the above to me?

Interesting reading for music lovers, lovers, but not love seats…

If one buys this, does the homeless tag disappear?  (sorry toy alert)…

Good thing Violet Beauregarde didn’t try this…

Mothers Against Drunken Amish Buggy Driving (M.A.D.A.B.D)…

Two cunning linguists…

Disclaimer: I endorse the clicking on the links at right and signing up for email alerts when new material is posted to this blog and you should too… Don’t take it from me, see who else supports Highlights…

“Mission Accomplished” – G. Bush

“I always need a couple of Highlights to really spark the passion for a project.” – L. Hallstrom

“Check the Highlights” – T. Blair

jffcrmr.

1) NBC GOES ALL LENO ALL THE TIME

Edsel … New Coke … Lenovision.

NBC has joined the immortals of marketing stupidity. This year the molting peacock network and president Jeff “Have They Fired Me Yet?” Zucker decided to turn five of the primest pieces of prime-time real estate — the hour between 10 and 11 PM from Monday through Friday — into the Jay Leno hour.

The result? A 28% drop in viewership (through mid-November). This has not only killed network revenues but done in affiliates who have no lead-in for their late news casts.

Despite this, Jeff “10% Of Americans Are Unemployed and I’m Not?” Zucker recently said that all is going according to plan. “Right now, in terms of its performance on the television network, at NBC, in terms of ratings it’s doing exactly what we thought it would do.” Comcast recently bought NBC in what must have been an attempt to copy the government’s cash for clunkers program. Comcast shareholders can now only hope they are being lied to. The worst case scenario is that Mr. Z believes what he is saying.

On the plus side:

1. It is now possible to buy every ad slot during the Leno show for less than the cost of a house in Detroit.
2. The federal witness protection program is using guest slots to hide people.

2) TIGER, TIGER BURNING BRIGHT

(Originally #9 — Who knew?)

Because I have a really limited imagination I thought the big celeb marketing mishap story of the year would be Michael Vick’s failed attempt to become a spokesperson for PETA. Then along came Tiger who prefers women with bad nose jobs to the Swedish bikini model he is actually married to. The story broke on Nov. 27th, when Mrs. Woods apparently decided to prove her own golfing expertise. This was unfortunate for Accenture which two days earlier had kicked off its annual Tiger campaign. A print ad which ran in the Nov. 30th Wall Street Journal featured Tiger Woods walking in the rough under the headline: “The road to high performance isn’t always paved.” And watch out for the trees and fire hydrants. Accenture has since declawed its Tiger connection.

UPDATE: File this under “Pull the other one, it’s made of wood.”

“We decided several months ago to discontinue Gatorade Tiger Focus, along with some other products to make room for our planned series of innovative products in 2010,” Gatorade spokeswoman Jennifer Schmit said in an e-mailed statement.

3) BANKERS CUT BONUSES, INCREASE SALARY & BLAME JESUS

First the banking industry made a big show of cutting the obscene bonuses it was paying itself for going on the dole. Meanwhile they hoped no one would notice the allegedly eliminated bonuses were now being paid as plain old salary.

But wait … that’s not all!

Apparently still feeling that their efforts to destroys the economy were still underappreciated, bankers started claiming Jesus wanted them to do it.

“The injunc­tion of Jesus to love others as our­selves is an endorse­ment of self-​interest,” Goldman’s [inter­na­tional adviser Brian] Grif­fiths said Oct. 20, his voice echo­ing around the gold-​mosaic walls of St. Paul’s Cathe­dral, whose 365-feet-high dome towers over the City, London’s finan­cial dis­trict. “We have to tol­er­ate the inequal­ity as a way to achiev­ing greater pros­per­ity and oppor­tu­nity for all.”

How much LSD do you have to take to interpret Scripture this way? However much it is, it is certainly being passed out at all the best financial institutions. Two weeks later, Barclays CEO John Varley spoke at the venerable St. Martin-in-the-Fields and tried to wrap the Bible around his bonus.

“There is no conflict between doing business in an ethical and responsible way and making money. We make our biggest contribution to society by being good at what we do. Profit is not satanic.”

I guess it all depends on who gets to determine how we define ethical and responsible. Perhaps Varley could have gotten away with this specious argument had he not added this gloss to the text after the service: “Is Christianity and banking compatible? Yes. And is Christianity and fair reward compatible? Yes.” (Not a good sign when a banker can’t even get his verb and subject numbers to add up.) Hey John, can we parse the word “fair” for a moment?

I believe the renowned 20th century theologian Ray Price put it best when he asked, “Would Jesus wear a Rolex on His television show?”

4: GM EXPLAINS AWAY ITS “LITTLE PROBLEM”

In the face of the greatest single corporate collapse in the history of the world, GM rolled out an ad that inadvertently explains the company’s failure.

It is a veritable symphony of weasel words.

Let’s be completely honest, no company wants to go through this.

By the end of that first sentence it is clear this ad has no intention whatsoever of living up to that initial clause. You can tell because the final pronoun is never made specific. That “this” covers billions of sins. It implies we all know what has happened without saying what that was. It is everything to everyone and thus means nothing. Is “this” an utter failure of leadership? Or is it an inability to have even the vaguest understanding of the needs of the marketplace? Sadly, I suspect “this” is “an economic calamity no one could have foreseen” – the preferred phrase of everyone from Alan Greenspan to, well, the Detroit-based car makers. There is no taking responsibility anywhere in this ad just as there has been no taking responsibility at GM for decades. (Read more here)

5) VOGUE: BLACKFACE IS THE NEW BLACK

The October issue of French Vogue had a photo spread of the very Caucasian Lara Stone painted head to toe in dark make-up. Vogue went with the old “I’m sorry if you found my words insulting” defense and told the Daily Mail “it was unaware it had caused offence, but said it could not give any further comment.” (Worth noting: Italian Vogue’s issue for the same month was filled with actual Black women.) In a keeping up with the KKK move inflight magazine EasyJet ran a photo spread featuring brooding generic models dressed in black POSING IN FRONT OF BERLIN’S HOLOCAUST MONUMENT.

Fortunately for me marketers just can’t seem to figure out that Nazi = Bad. This years examples:

• A wax museum opening in Thailand put up posters of mass murder Hitler with a slogan that said: “Hitler is not dead.”
• Two German coffee companies ran (and then pulled) an ad campaign featuring a slogan almost identical to one used at Buchenwald.
• Red Bull marketing mag calls Werner von Braun a “hero”

LATE BREAKING STUPIDITY UPDATE: NYT runs gift guide with special section devoted to:

“Somali fashion, do-it-yourself henna kits, children’s books that draw inspiration from the lives of Barack Obama and Sonia Sotomayor: it’s not hard to find gifts created for and by people of color this holiday season.” (emphasis added)

Why it’s almost like they’re real people!

6) CHOCOLATES SHAPED LIKE PRESIDENT OBAMA & MORE

CandyExpress said its commemorative Barack Obama heads would only be available for a limited time, unfortunately it wasn’t limited enough. Off the top of my head I would say there are three things Mr. Obama should not be used to advertise: Chocolate, fried chicken (a German company did it), watermelon (that’s a yet). However, the Russians came up with a bunch of things I’d never thought of. They used our President to advertise a tanning salon, a dental clinic and pre-packaged ice cream with the slogan “Everyone’s talking about it: dark inside white!” The bars have a chocolate-flavored center embedded in a layer of vanilla.

However these are just idiocy, the sheer stupidity award goes to Beanie Baby maker Ty. First they decided to sell two new dolls named Sweet Sasha and Marvelous Malia. Then they tried to deny they were named after America’s First Kids.

“[We] chose the dolls’ names because “they are beautiful names,” not because of any resemblance to President Obama’s daughters, said spokeswoman Tania Lundeen. “There’s nothing on the dolls that refers to the Obama girls,” Lundeen said. “It would not be fair to say they are exact replications of these girls. They are not.”

Sorry dear, but in order to get away with a lie like that you have to be a bank.

7) STUPIDITY? THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT

The word of the year really should have been app. The ubiquitous iPhone has spawned an industry of companies trying to market their wares by providing allegedly useful and/or humorous apps. To paraphrase Pogo, this confronted Pepsi with an insurmountable opportunity. The company released an app called Before You Score for its Mountain Dew AMP brand. The app gives you 24 different types of women (sorority girl, etc.) and offers “appropriate” pick-up lines for each type and other similar information.

Not to be outdone, LawFirms.com, a legal referral site, decided to get attention with a campaign featuring the (fictitious) app iCoyote. It “packs all of the features of a real immigrant smuggler into the iPhone. Using GPS, navigate through the patrol packed desert without worrying about that pesky Border Patrol.”

The app included a variety of features such as:

• iWife. It “will take care of finding marriage prospects for you. Aggregating and analyzing data from a variety of online sources [to] match you up with only the most promising US Citizen candidates.”
• iLawyer. “Homeland Security is Cracking down. Not to worry. With iLawyer, you can find an attorney to convince the immigration court to grant Asylum Protection. A Green Card is a finger swipe away.”
• Weather Monitors. “The desert can get hot, and trying to cross it when it’s 120 degrees is not fun. Get up-to-date weather forecasts to pick the right time and ensure your trip to the US is comfortable and fun-packed.”
• City Statistics. “San Antonio? Albuquerque? Tucson? San Diego? Not sure which is best? Get unemployment statistics, current average wages, cost of living expenses and more. Get the job you want, at the right wage, tax free!”

8 AMERICAN GIRL SELLS “HOMELESS GIRL” DOLL

Your child can learn that the homeless are just like real people once you spend $95 to buy her a “less fortunate” playmate for her other American Girl doll(s). The latest addition to the American Girl line of how-do-you-justify-it-ly expensive dolls is Gwen Thompson. Ms. Thompson

and her mother Janine fell on hard times when her father lost his job; they later lost the house as they were unable to keep up payments. Soon after, Gwen’s father left them and they became homeless the fall before the start of the book’s events. Initially, Gwen’s mother has them live in their car until the winter comes; she then takes them to Sunrise House, a place for homeless women and children. Sunrise House helps them get on their feet and eventually get a new apartment.

And should you also want to teach the kid that the disabled are people too, American Girl also sells a wheelchair for $30.

9) KFC UNDERESTIMATES OPRAH’S POPULARITY

Why would you pay to have Oprah endorse your product if you didn’t know what the result be? In May the chain formerly known as Kentucky Fried Chicken paid Ms. Winfrey to discuss its new grilled chicken on her show. (This is part of an ongoing effort to rebrand KFC as someplace that serves something besides FC. By the time it’s over KFC will be Rhode Island Clam Shack. But I digress.) In addition to giving product to her audience — and how pissed were they? Other folks got a new car and they get a food experiment – viewers could go to a website and download a coupon for up to four free two-piece chicken meals with two sides and a biscuit. If there’s one thing the US loves more than Oprah, it’s Oprah and free food.

You’ll never guess what happened. OK, so maybe you will.

Several bajillion people downloaded the coupon and sprinted to the nearest KFC. Well, the food disappeared faster than a dollar bill on the floor of the Senate. As a result somefranchisees started refusing to accept the coupon, some told people the promotion was over for the day, some quickly pointed to the “while supplies last” clause, the more creative said that coupons with barcode numbers ending in “1234″ are not valid. Look closely at the barcode below to see what that meant.

All this brought new meaning to the chain’s horrible new tagline: “Unthink What You Thought About KFC.”

Another chain, El Pollo Loco, moved smart and fast and sent out a twitter saying they’d accept the coupons on Mother’s Day. Soon Oprah was having to apologize for the stupidity and KFC issued rain checks to the disgruntled.

All of which goes to prove that whatever you have to pay Oprah, the ROI is REAL!

10) (tie) BLACKWATER, NIGERIA & SWINE INDUSTRY LAUNCH REBRANDING EFFORTS

• In an attempt to change all the nasty connotations that go along with being mercenaries, Blackwater Worldwide changed its name to Xe. That’s pronounced zee, as in “zee idiots in marketing thought of it.”

Blackwater president Gary Jackson said in a memo to employees the new name reflects the change in company focus away from the business of providing private security. “The volume of changes over the past half-year have taken the company to an exciting place and we are now ready for two of the final, and most obvious changes,” Jackson said in the note.

That exciting place seems to include a lot of lawsuits.

• Tired of being thought of as the world’s foremost manufacturer of email con jobs, Nigeria decided to tackle it’s massive corruption problems with that most modern approach: Marketing. Its new slogan: At least we’re not AIG.

“At international airports, in trains, in shopping malls, and almost everywhere, every Nigerian is a marked person,” Dora Akunyili, information minister and self-styled chief image maker said at the launch of the re-branding campaign this week. “We are pulled aside for questioning. We are seen as potential drug pushers or fraudsters. We are unfortunately denied the benefit of the doubt.”

• Swine flu is no laughing matter. Especially if you’re the American Pork Association. They went into overdrive screaming about how it was hurting their sales and enlisted Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin who constantly referred to the “so-called swine flu.” Unfortunately humor trumps branding every time. Thus we got headlines like:
  • Pork Industry Has Beef With Swine Flu (NPR)
  • Swine flu not kosher in Israel (Reuters)

“We will call it Mexico flu. We won’t call it swine flu,” Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman, a black-garbed Orthodox Jew, told a news conference Monday, assuring the Israeli public that authorities were prepared to handle any cases.

CIO writer and friend Al Sacco came up with this: Swine flu isn’t a scary enough name. It needs a slogan, too: “Pork Plague, the (Other) White Death,” for example.

DISHONORABLE MENTIONS

AMAZON DELISTS GAY AND LESBIAN BOOKS

The online retailer blamed an “employee in France” for a “software glitch” which oddly delisted gay and lesbian themed books from its search listings. (Example: Annie Proulx’s Brokeback Mountain vanished, but not her book The Shipping News in which all the sex is hetero.)

Amazon managers found that an employee who happened to work in France had filled out a field incorrectly and more than 50,000 items got flipped over to be flagged as “adult,” the source said.

CRAIGSLIST CEO SAYS SITE HAS NO SEX RELATED ADS

“I would not describe any section of our site as ’sex related,’ ” [Craigslist CEO Jim] Buckmaster wrote in response to a series of e-mailed questions from the Globe. He acknowledged that Craigslist offers an “erotic services” section that should not include more than “legitimate escort services, sensual massage, exotic dancers, etc.,” but said that offers to exchange sexual favors for money are “strictly prohibited” and removed from the site.

SPECIAL PENGUIN OF IRONY CITATION:

THE WISCONSIN TOURISM FOUNDATION
had to change its name to the Tourism Federation of Wisconsin

BONUS: A few other totally wrong products from the year

• Hanah Montana brand Cherries,
• Linger, mints for your lady bits all but guaranteed to cause a yeast infection.
• Godfather-branded Italian organic vodka
• Starbucks instant coffee – the exact opposite of everything the brand stands for.

It’s that time of year when I ask my children what they would like for Christmas. Though over the past month or so, I would hear… “I wouldn’t mind getting that for Chirsmas.”…I needed lists. I get calls from other family members asking what the kids would like and it’s nice to have some ideas. The older my children get, the harder it is to get creative for Christmas. The requests get more and more expensive the older they get. I tell them to put their number one wish on the top of the list.

My daughter, who loves to use my computer, decides to print out her list. Abbey also thought it would be helpful to me if she included approximate retail prices. I wait for her list as she types away. My son jots down a few items on a piece of notepad paper and hands it to me as he heads back to his cave room.  At the top of his list is the Beatles box set of CDs. He also includes a few movies and 2 XBox games. Pretty simple list…and just what I expected from him.

As I am handed my daughters printed and itemized list, I see something I do not expect. At the top of her list is says, “Black leather high heel boots.” Her estimated cost is between $40.00 and $50.00. Seriously? My 9 year old’s biggest wish for Christmas this year is black leather boots? With high heels? I half expect her second item to be an appointment to have her belly button pierced. I ask her if she is serious…if this is truly what she wants her number one gift to be? “YES…I love them!” she tell me, referring to some we had seen a few weeks back.

Several weeks ago, I took both of the kids to Alec’s Shoe Store to get snow boots.  My son heads over to the men’s department to pick out some boots and I stay in the kid’s area with my daughter. I ask her to pick out some snow boots. She returns to me with black, high heel leather boots. “Are you kidding? I ask her. “No…these are perfect!” she says. I remind her that we live in New Hampshire and that within a few weeks, we could have several feet of snow on the ground and she needs actual snow boots. She gives me the mother of all sighs and an eye roll. “Can I at least try them on?” she pleads. I tell her fine, but now she needs to get some reasonable snow boots.  The man helping us brings us a few pairs of snow boots and the beloved high heel boots. She tries them on and immediately walks over to a mirror. “I love them!” she tells me. I tell her that I am sorry, but we cannot get them. She takes them off with a heavy heart and tries on the sturdy, but still cute, Kamik snow boots that we eventually buy.

The true belief in Santa is now gone from my house, though I refuse to come out and acknowledge it to either one of my kids. I just tell them I still believe in the magic of Christmas. Last year that was still some doubt in my daughter’s mind, but not anymore. It does make me a little sad. This was also my first year of not having to go to Toys R Us for Christmas. They are getting older and it does change the feel of the holiday just a bit.  I am thankful that they both wanted to come and pick out the Christmas tree and we decorated it as a family. We talked, laughed and checked out ornaments the kids have made over the years.

Though at the top of Abbey’s list are these somewhat grown up boots, the second item on her list is the American Girl salon chair. (page 69 and $58.00) It did make me happy that deep inside she is still a little girl. Most of her list are typical items for a 9-year-old: American Girl items, a Tinker Bell DS game and a Taylor Swift CD. The boots are just a reminder that she is growing up. I did head back to Alec’s the next day and bought her those black leather high heel boots for Christmas.

Dina

Winter ice skates for the American Girl or similar 18 inch doll.    A great little stocking stuffer when added with the AG Winter Accessories!  Both patterns are free!

http://cobblerscabin.wordpress.com/happy-hookin/ag-ice-skates-free-pattern/

http://cobblerscabin.wordpress.com/happy-hookin/ag-winter-accessories-pattern/

These little ice skates also makes a great Christmas ornament when stuffed with a little fiberfill.

We’re special. We are. And we want to be treated as the special, unique and deserving creatures we believe ourselves to be.

While this sounds snarky (who me?) it’s really at the heart of effective messaging — making your audience feel special to motivate the sale, donation, activism, etc.

I do not feel special when the American Girl site advertises Cyber Monday specials to current customers, but has a downed site and doesn’t update its sold out items in a timely manner. Wasted too much time adding items to the shopping cart only to be told they were sold out minutes later. Ditched the transaction. Shopping Fail.

I do not feel special when my “special deal” is insignificant, with no free shipping or other perk. If I’m a repeat customer, show me some love and appreciation for my loyalty. Reward Fail.

I do not feel special when I give a donation in October and get another request at the end of November. Fundraising Fail.

So here’s to the handful of organizations and companies making us feel like we’re more than a cog in their year-end budget machine… making us feel special.

http://www.cybermonday.com/

Save time and money by shopping online at the new and improved CyberMonday.com. Get special offers including free shipping at hundreds of merchants during the holidays and throughout the year. On the day of Cyber Monday there will be hourly specials and exclusives from your favorite online retailers. Sneak peeks of the hourly deals will be shared via email alerts so make sure to sign up for special savings and the latest offers.

In addition to hourly deals, the new site offers:
An improved site design and user friendly interface
A ‘green’ category for environmentally safe products
A sophisticated new comparison shopping engine
Check out the new CyberMonday.com today.

When saving, feel good knowing that all of Shop.org’s proceeds from CyberMonday.com go to the Ray Greenly Scholarship Fund, supporting students studying ecommerce.

American Girl is a bimonthly, four-color magazine for girls ages 8 and up.  American Girl readers are girls in the formative years, girls who dream big dreams.  We hope to encourage that dreaming and to reinforce each reader’s self-confidence, curiosity, and self-esteem as she
prepares to navigate adolescence in the years ahead.  Our lead time is approximately six to nine months.

Fiction
We’re looking for contemporary fiction up to 2,300 words. The protagonist should be a girl between 8 and 12 who captures the hopes,  thoughts, and emotions unique to that precarious age between childhood and teenager.  We look for top quality writing and thoughtfully
developed characters and plots.  Stories should engage readers quickly and have a satisfying conclusion.  We are always looking for humor and seasonal stories. We don’t publish science fiction, romance, or horror stories.

Nonfiction
We’re looking for individual girls or groups who are doing something other girls would love to read and learn about.  Find a topic about which girls are passionate.  Past pieces have featured synchronized swimmers, rhythmic gymnasts, ballerinas, and girl bands.  Some of our most successful pieces are sports-related, but that doesn’t mean we won’t consider other contemporary topics or profiles.  Look for new twists on familiar topics.  Please send queries rather than finished manuscripts.

Girls Express
This section offers the most opportunities for freelance writers.  We’re looking for short profiles of girls who are into sports, the arts, interesting hobbies, cultural activities, and other areas. We are also looking for true stories about girls who have had unusual experiences.  The girl must be the “star” and the story must be from her point of view. Be sure to include the age of the girls you’re pitching to us.  Let us know if you have any photo leads.  We also welcome how-to
stories: how to send away for free things, hot ideas for a cold day, or how to write the President and get a response.  Stories should be no more than 150 words. In addition, we’re looking for easy crafts and recipes that can be explained in a few simple steps, ideas for contests, and current products and trends for girls to review.

Craft and Cooking
We welcome original craft and cooking ideas that are new and exciting to our readers. Projects should require limited parental involvement and supplies should be inexpensive and readily available.  Keep in mind the skill level of our readers.  Safety is a priority. Query with a short
explanation of the project and an example, photograph, or sketch.

Brain Waves
We’re looking for visual puzzles, mazes, math puzzles, word games, simple crosswords, cartoons, and other ideas. Seasonal ideas are especially welcome.

Sample Issues
American Girl costs $4.95 per issue at the newsstand and is available in many children’s bookstores. To get a sample copy, send a check for $5.95 made out to American Girl. Please include your mailing address.

Payment: $500 minimum for stories; $300 minimum for articles

Rights:  FNASR (first North American serial rights)

How to Submit
All queries and requests for sample magazines should be addressed to:
Magazine Department Assistant
American Girl
8400 Fairway Place
Middleton, WI  53562-2554

Please Note
American Girl cannot reply or return a manuscript unless you enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope. Please allow 12 weeks for a reply.

For more information go to Writers Guidelines.

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