In the mid 90’s my grandfather used to joke about how much time the grand-kids were spending on the ‘interwebs.’ He would yell to my mom from the front yard “don’t waste your money paying by the hour for that AOL crap. Just get an encyclopedia cause the web will never last!”

Today while listening one of my favorite podcasts I had déjà vu all over again.With the conviction of a my grandfather circa 1993 the podcaster anointed social media as “stream of consciousness bologna” or a “fad… without value”.

The question of how to implement social media into a marketing mix is a frightening prospect to many clients.  A hefty percentage of them would prefer to light themselves on fire and run from a building screaming than have a discussion of how to use Twitter in business.

What sad is not their lack of understanding as much as their inability to try. Many of them trumpet warnings of social media as a newfangled, society-eroding device leading people to act like lemmings jumping off a cliff to anyone in earshot.

But…what would happen if the millions and millions of people who are using SMM are right?

A few weeks ago a client in Lodi threw caution to the wind and asked for a tutorial on new media.  Fears be damned she jumped in with both feet and found SMM to be a quick and cost-effective way to build value for her business. It took a lot to throw old conventions to the wind and she did so with gusto.

So let’s be the guy who supports the new, the innovative, the creative. Let’s think differently and be on the cutting edge. I’d even go so far as to propose a mantra. Next time you feel the panic of “the grandpas”, stop, take a breath, and say “it’s not my time to be that guy.”

The other day, I spoke to a colleague of mine about the friction most women feel about the Twilight Series. They read it—they devour it—with avid interest. At the same time, they are troubled by it. It leaves a sour taste in their mouth. They feel driven to talk about it with other females. I’m intrigued by this, so I asked my colleague if she thought the books would ever be considered “Great.” Here’s how the conversation went:

Me: I’m not so sure I could say with utmost confidence that one hundred years down the road these books will be forgotten. What about you?

Her: I maintain they’re a fad.

Me: Why?

Her: They’re silly, fluff, nonsensical, and when people actually think about them they are deeply offended by the unhealthy portrayal of love and the message it sends to young people.

Me: Unhealthy portrayal of love? (I laugh) What about Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet?

Her: I’m not sure I could make a comparison between the two.

Me: But isn’t it true that when Austen was published, her works were considered “fluff” by the critics?

Her: True, but her works dealt with moral issues and the culture of women in the nineteenth century.

I secretly think this is exactly what Twilight deals with (except it’s the culture of women in the twenty-first century, which perhaps makes it a bit more sensitive, and there are moral issues galore—the philosophy of waiting, self-gratification versus sacrificial love, the concept of “soul,” and the redemption of a portrayed villain). It’s not that I’m certain Twilight will make a mark on the world. It’s a popular book, but so are lots of other books. It’s more I’m curious to know why, if Twilight is such fluff and silliness as the academics suggest, do scholars not only read it, but also feel compelled to deconstruct it? Why is it promoting such prolific discussion and debate? Why do the majority of my educated friends shake their heads in condescension when they talk about the series, then go see the movie and later blog about the terrible message it sends?

Why, if it’s so egregious, does it merit such discussion? And why, if graduate students and scholars believe it to be a fad, do they waste their time writing and talking about it?

I’m beginning to wonder if the very thing the scholars are so insistent against might be made timeless by the fact they can’t stop pontificating.

Još nemate svoj profil na Facebooku? Naravno da ga imate, a najverovatnije možete nabrojati na prste jedne ruke osobe koje poznajete, a koje nemaju otvoren svoj profil na ovom online servisu.

Kao i sa bilo čim drugim u životu, manijakalno korišćenje Facebooka može dovesti do zavisnosti, a upravo iz tog razloga donosimo vam listu nekih ključnih znakova zavisnosti o ovoj društvenoj mreži.

Zavisnost o Facebooku još uvek nije uvrštena u službene liste bolesti i psihičkih poremećaja, ali sa obzirom na manijakalno ponašanje sve većeg broja korisnika ovog servisa, uskoro bi se mogla naći u nekoj medicinskoj publikaciji.

Štaviše, sve veći broj psihijatara i psihologa širom sveta izveštava da im se javljaju pacijenti koji kao uzrok za svoje životne probleme upravo navode svoje prekomerno korišćenje Facebooka.

Psiholog Joanna Lipari sa kalifornijskog univerziteta UCLA odredila je pet znakova koji signaliziraju zavisnost o Facebooku:

1. Propuštate san zbog korišćenja Facebooka.

2. Na Facebooku provodite više od sat vremena dnevno.

3. Opsesivno pronalazite nekadašnje prijatelje i ljubavi na Facebooku i komunicirate sa njima.

4. Ignorišete poslovne obaveze; surfujete po Facebooku intenzivno tokom radnog vremena.

5. Pomisao na napuštanje Faceboka izaziva u vama nemir.

Pozitivni odgovori na priložene tvrdnje mogu da signaliziraju postojanje zavisnosti o Facebooku, navodi Joanna Lipari te predlaže jednostavan test: probajte izdržati jedan jedini dan bez Facebooka. Ako vam dan prođe u stresu i nemiru, definitivno ste zavisni o Facebooku.
(source-http://www.personalmag.rs/)

Evo jos nekih sajtova koji govore o ovom novonastalom problemu:

http://www.addictioninfo.org/articles/2171/1/Potential-Facebook-addiction/Page1.html
http://www.thedailymind.com/productivity/facebook-syndrome-8-ways-to-beat-your-facebook-addiction/
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/23/ep.facebook.addict/

It was in the late 1960s that the teachings begotten by Gurdjieff, Suzuki, Krishnamurti, et al., flowered in the hothouse of countercultural rebellion against certainties political as well as spiritual. These teachings went mainstream; when “my generation” wasn’t sucking on hookahs and listening to “White Rabbit,” or striking against the war in Vietnam, we were all agog over the spiritual news from the East.

We got over it. The joke of my generation is that we turned the world upside-down, then most of us went straight. The joke of the next generation, today’s “New Agers,” is that they thought they discovered what we had already sampled and many of us had abandoned, at least those of us who went to work for Goldman Sachs and had 1.7 children.

Something else happened in the next generation, however, which runs completely counter to the New Age: an evangelical revival of traditional Christianity in the most secular country on earth, the United States. With the remarkable force transmitted by the papacy of John Paul II, backed up by the genial teaching of Benedict XVI, the Catholic Church has been revitalized—potentially rediscovering the meaning of Vatican II and magnetizing such unlikely converts as . . . well, me.

So I’m not going to worry too much about the latest pablum being served up by New Agers, no matter how many books they sell. Ages will continue to come and go, but my money says, the Church will still be standing.

Read the article

Sunt intr-o stare de  latenta. In jurul meu e nebunie, eu sunt o planta. Trece lumea pe langa mine, eu stagnez. As vrea sa calatoresc in momentul asta, dar nu cu imaginatia. As vrea sa ma iubesc mai mult, dar mi-s tot mai fada. Ceva se pierde din mine. Cineva zicea ca ‘nimic nu se pierde, totul se transforma’ (sa fi fost fosta profa’ de chimie?!)  dar stau si ma gandesc..in ce ma transform eu? Doar sper ca in ceva mai bun..

Finally!  A real live captain underpants!  His name is Timmy O’Neill, and he works for Patagonia.  I was looking at the Patagonia website today because of a book I am reading for another class, and I stumbled upon this video. In this short and (sort-of) funny film, Timmy travels to Japan to convince the people there to recycle their underwear to make new clothes.  Patagonia collects underwear from consumers all over the world and sends them to a plant in Japan.  This plant then melts down the underwear and spins new fibers from the material.  These fibers go into making new underwear, shirts, jackets, and pants.

Recycling your underwear isn’t an easy thing to advertise.  To conquer this awesome quest, Patagonia uses a humorous and awkward character (Timmy the Underwear Man) to grab people’s attention.  He runs through the streets of Tokyo, dancing, eating noodles, and giving people wedgies.  At the end, after meeting the undie-guru and drinking tea brewed from ancient underwear,  he ends up on a  big telescreen and preaches his environmental sermon to the multitude of people watching from the streets.  They applaud him and all go to recycle their underwear.

Although the video is very corny and sometimes politically incorrect, I think it is a great medium for bringing awareness to this sustainable system.  People always want to watch weird videos nowadays, and this one is definitely wacky.  It also shows that Patagonia is a “hip” company, appealing to an age group that would usually shun clothing worn by their dads.  These days, people not only want to wear good looking clothes, but clothes they believe are good for society or the earth.  Look at American Apparel, who not only sells cool clothes, but makes them with a “fair-labor” guarantee.  Patagonia has been a steady leader in the “green” clothing industry, and this is paying off for them with the new fad.  I suspect many other companies will soon have “underwear men” battling in their front lines as well.

New York based artist Marilyn Minter is back at it again. After what seems like almost too long of a time since her 2005 exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, which focused on “hyperrealistic close-ups of seemingly glamorous images, including makeup-laden lips, eyes, and toes” (her words) and received rave reviews, Minter has returned with similar themes in Green Pink Caviar.

Green Pink Caviar is a short film focused on Minter’s fascination with the body and pop culture, and while there is no explicit nudity, this, as well as her other work, is quite sensational and raunchy. From what I’ve gathered, It (appropriately?) debuted when Madonna kicked off her Sticky & Sweet tour on July 4th in London. Madge opened the evening with her new hit “Candy Shop,” and performed under a multi-screen installation of an edited version the film.

I’ll sum up by saying the work is simply vibrant! I’ve not seen the complete film but even the stills are sensual in every way!

You can catch the trailer of Green Pink Caviar here.

Madonna – Candy Shop (Musique’s Remastered Mix)

that all the (wannabe-) hipsters are trying to pull off, but Chris Brown looks like such a douche with them on. Maybe it’s ’cause he’s not hipster enough.

Or maybe it’s because geeks and nerds usually don’t give off the impression that they’re violent wifebeaters! Oh hey this reminds of that bow-tie thing again. Idiot.

Burns – In My Eyes (His Majesty Andre Remix)

Como una experiencia pionera en la intervención familiar, diferentes Administraciones Públicas y Entidades Privadas, en colaboración con la Fundación de Ayuda contra la Drogadicción (FAD), han financiado y personalizado el CURSO VIRTUAL PARA PADRES Y MADRES: “EN FAMILIA” con el objeto de ofrecer cursos específicos para los padres y madres según el lugar donde vivan, dotándoles de instrumentos que faciliten su labor de prevención de conductas de riesgo.

El Curso Virtual para padres “En Familia” ha sido diseñado para fortalecer el papel preventivo de conductas de riesgo (entre las que se encuentran, entre otras, los problemas derivados por el consumo de drogas), desde el convencimiento de que prevenir en la familia es algo natural, es decir, algo posible de realizar día a día, de forma sencilla y constante desde una edad muy temprana. Está dirigido a padres y madres con hijos en edad escolar, interesados en conocer o, en su caso, profundizar en las posibilidades de actuación preventiva en su familia.

 Dado el carácter gratuito de la actividad y el gran nivel de aceptación de los participantes, es conveniente confirmar su inscripción en el Curso Virtual que comenzará el 16 de noviembre. Para poder atender su solicitud lo más eficazmente posible le adjunto la siguiente dirección Web http://aulavirtual.fad.es/enfamilia.htm donde encontrará una descripción pormenorizada del Curso Virtual.

Le animamos a difundir a otros padres y madres, o profesionales interesados esta información de modo que llegue al mayor número de personas.

Ignacio Calderón Balanzategui

Director General de la FAD

GEMMA AMAT PRESENTA ELS PROJECTES “OFICIS SINGULARS” I “EMPRENTES DE CATALUNYA” EN LA SEU D’ARTESANIA CATALUNYA. 

En l’exposició del projecte Oficis Singulars la directora va explicar que es vol aconseguir reivindicar la identitat d’alguns oficis ancestrals i uns productes únics, molt vinculats a la població o demarcació dels quals són originals. Segons fonts d’Artesania Catalunya, l’objectiu és definir i catalogar els oficis amb denominació d’origen catalana; preservar el patrimoni artesanal garantint la seva continuïtat; fixar la població en le territori fomentant l’activitat artesanal com activitat cultural a zones rurals i, innovar amb nous productes basats en nous dissenys que responguin al mercat actual.

Pel que fa a la iniciativa Emprentes de Catalunya, que fomenta una producció d’artesania lligada als referents turístics, culturals o identitaris de diferents punts de Catalunya, Gemma Amat va assenyalar que “l’objectiu és crear productes vinculats amb la nostra identitat catalana que tinguin relació amb el paisatge i la natura, les costums populars, la història, l’art, etc…”. Amat va informar que Artesania Catalunya junt amb el Departament de Turisme, Foment de les Arts i el Disseny (FAD)  i el Museu Nacional D’Art de Catalunya (MNAC)  han dut  a terme un estudi iconogràfic de tres-centes icones que representen Catalunya i va assenyalar que  “d’aquestes buscarem les top ten que s’utilitzaran com a productes per la venta”. Alguns dels objectes  que es van mostrar en la presentació van ser mocadors, elements de la llar i  joies en les que hi destacariem  un pin de cerámica del Crist de Taüll o el penjoll i  drac de Taüll, etc… La directora també va afegir que “tots aquests productes vindran etiquetats amb tres idiomes explicant les característiques de cada familia”.   Així mateix Amat va afirmar que es potenciaran totes aquelles  accions dedicades a incentivar l’activitat comercial del sector com per exemple la creació de punts de venta d’aquests productes en centres d’acollida turística o en museus. 

Pel que fa al tema del nou pla d’estudis de Bolonia, Amat va informar que l’Escola municipal d’Art i Disseny La Massana de Barcelona ha estat pionera en presentar com a diplomatura universitaria un grau d’artesania i disseny i arts aplicades”. La falta de llicenciats en aquest sector provoca  que amb aquesta reforma del pla “s’anivellin els artesans amb els arquitectes i dissenyadors ja que en països com Alemanya existeix la categoría professional d’enginyer superior ceramista” va assenyalar la directora. Finalment Amat va explicar que des d’Artesania Catalunya “estem a caball del Departament de treball i el d’Educació”. ALEXANDRA PLANAS. 

Esquina de la calle Doctor Dou con Elisabets.

Lleno de containers y con este aspecto gracias a la colaboración de vecinos y algunos comerciantes del barrio.

Emulando a  Harvey Keitel en Smoke, aunque a mucha distancia de la famosa esquina de Nueva York y menos glamour,  fotografiaremos a diario, o lo más seguido posible esta esquina del Raval para ver qué nos encontramos.

Veamos:

Este es el estado en el que se encontraba la calle a las 20.30 del 11 de noviembre, pero ¡oh, mon dieu! algo llama nuestra atención

¡Si algunas cajas han tenido un dueño identificable!:

Parece increíble, verdad? El FAD! Fomento de las Artes y el Diseño, entidad que debe recibir subvenciones públicas a gogó, que se supone puntera en el diseño en la ciudad… pues no solo no cumple las normativas municipales, sacando los cartones el día y la hora que le corresponde, si no que además se dedica a ensuciar el entorno de los vecinos  y ayuda a instransible esa esquina.

Continuará…..

Loss Weight Diet Post: Dieting and The Internet on http://ping.fm/17irF

Loss Weight Diet Post: Obesity Health on http://ping.fm/fI4zp

Loss Weight Diet Post: Watch What You Eat on http://ping.fm/YJMzP

Loss Weight Diet Post: Watching Those Calories on http://ping.fm/Iozhi

Loss Weight Diet Post: Healthy Eating For Children on http://ping.fm/WkhIe

Loss Weight Diet Post: Children & Healthy Eating on http://ping.fm/x0VbD

Loss Weight Diet Post: Fad Diets & How To Spot Them on http://ping.fm/O9PW5

Loss Weight Diet Post: 5 Ways to Reach (and Maintain) a Healthy Weight on http://ping.fm/fFYIp

Loss Weight Diet Post: What’s Wrong When I Eat Out? on http://ping.fm/wZHIS

Loss Weight Diet Post: Eating Out With Girlfriends Isn’t Good For Your Health on http://ping.fm/IYvek

Loss Weight Diet Post: Free Weight Loss Program Vs. Exercise Machines on http://ping.fm/RX8iz

Okay, so Ive created a blog for the sake of learning web and not get behind the curve in everything web. Being a graphic designer pushes me to always stay on top of technology. HOWEVER, I consider blogs somewhat of an fad not everybody should follow. BUT this time I’ll make an exception, as a mere social experiment…just to see what comes out of it. With that clear, WELCOME TO PRETTY MUCH LEON: aware is just a fad.