We wear pajamas now, our senses keen
for the slightest sound or trace of light.
‘Be quiet, love.  Was that the kids?’
‘The neighbors are still up – pull down the shade.’
But though the license of years past is gone,
the intensity of love still grows apace.

Though our exuberant, fleshy days are fled,
still but a wink sets the blood
to pumping lust throughout our limbs.
Now our kisses are treasures in themselves
as well as prelude to our further joys.

So, love among those past their prime
disparage not, nor make the butt of jest.
For like the wines of years gone by,
this love is strengthened by its age,
the finesse of its steadfastness,
the grand cru of its gutsy joy.

*           *           *

(c) Gregory V Driscoll 2011

Photo: Sharon D Pruitt

Hi, it’s Tania  and we’re talking creativity.

What does it mean to be free spirited?
The words open and lively, gutsy and energetic come to mind.
Years ago I received a book
The Creative Companion by Sark
as a Christmas gift.
www.planetsark.com
The way that she viewed the world and creativity fascinates me.
She is open and vital in her creativity yet so honest about the difficulties of her life.
In her book Sark encourages us to
loosen up, open up and relax.
People often describe her as a free spirited person.
But aren’t spirits meant to be free?
Freedom is often a choice.
Practice freedom in the way that you love, says Sark.

Old people especially need extra love, not less.
Here’s how to treasure an old person Sark style.

Seek them out.
Give them some joy.
Listen closely.
Develop your patience.
Tune up your sensitive humour.
Remember that every old person is a library.
Bring the gift of yourself.
Be voluntary.
Hug willingly.
Consider your future old person.
Try respect.
Handle with caring.
Be gentle.
Pray together.
Pay attention and the treasure will be revealed.

As we approach the New Year, choose to be free spirited by making more eye contact with elderly people.
The aged are often ignored.
Strike up conversation in que’s.
Take a moment to really talk;
the elderly have walked a long road in the skin of their own humanity –
they have much to share.

Consider who you will be at 80…

Embrace  your life now.

This is Tania Ahlfeldt and I pray that 2011 will be a time for you to live and love more creatively.

She's gutsy .... pun intended smh

(side bar: peep my dads face in the refection lol)

Actually, that couldn’t be further from the truth.  The beneficiaries of The Dream Act would have been first and foremost the country of the United States, and secondarily the up to 65,000 children for whom the United States is largely the only home they’d ever known. The Dream Act would have offered the chance for thousands of children to become what they always considered themselves to be already: Americans.

It was a not a free path to citizenship. The two designers of the Act, Dick Durbin (D, Illinois) and Orin Hatch (R, Utah) wrote it to benefit the country as well- it required either a college degree or two years of military service. As a fair-minded person, I don’t understand the need for hoops– if someone was brought to the United States as a child, it was clearly against their will and they had had no desire to be lawbreakers. Why not offer them citizenship free and clear?

But I can understand why not everyone would have such a charitable attitude. Those of us who were born in the United States often have a selfish, privileged, superior attitude about our Americanness. I don’t get it, but I can try to accept it.

But what I really don’t understand is why even the most conservative Republican would be against The Dream Act. The qualifiers show that only “desirable” child immigrants would eventually be naturalized: those who are capable and driven enough to complete a college degree and/or those who are dedicated enough to this country to promise at least two years of their lives to serving it in the military. I think we all know someone who’s gotten a green card by entering a fake marriage with an American. I think we all know someone who has a skill that made it easier for them to live and work in the United States. Why privilege those people over children who were raised as Americans? I’m talking about children who are educated here, children who root for the Bears and who pledge allegiance to their flag every Monday morning at school with as much sincerity as the children who recite those words next to them. The only difference is that they were born a couple dozen or a couple hundred miles away.

It all goes back to this country’s deep-seeded, and confusing as hell, hatred of the newest flock of immigrants. The Irish, the Italians, the Asians, and, of course, the Mexicans. Sometimes I want to shake every single person in this country of immigrant stock and say “WTF is wrong with you?”

My family’s immigration story, like many white families’, is seen as heroic and gutsy. My great-great grandfather left Norway to homestead in North Dakota after his brother squandered the family’s inheritance on the mid 1880s Oslo version of coke and whores. How ballsy! How heroic!

But yet, the busboy at Red Lobster who is working there and in construction to send money home to his wife in Mexico to raise his two children AND sends money home to his mother, plus pays taxes and FICA, pays for rent and utilities in Milwaukee, plus buys groceries, gasoline, clothing, and everything else regular people buy to live. (This is a real person I worked with at Red Lobster, by the way, not a rhetorical example).

When it came time for his daughter’s quinceanera, this man saved for years. Not just for her gift, not just for the party– mainly, he saved to cover the high cost of coyotes.  And why do coyotes have such a lucrative business? Because politically, it looks good to make it hard for people to get in this country, but once they’re in, finding work is easy because there’s so much of it. And there’s so much of it because undocumented immigrants are willing to earn much less than legal counterparts and they don’t fight for holiday pay.

He flew down to Mexico for the party knowing he’d have to arrange a dangerous and expensive trip to come back. It cost him $3,500 to get back to the U.S., the first half he paid the coyotes when he left, and the second half his wife paid the coyotes when he called safely from Texas. And instead of saying “How ballsy! How heroic!” he is called a criminal when he’s working his ass off to give the people he loves a better life.  He just had the bad luck to be born in a corrupt, clusterfuck of a country like Mexico.

All of us, Republican or Democrat, political or indifferent, sexy or not, all have a part in our country’s dependence on immigrant labor and how immigrants are treated. Every day, we eat food that was picked or processed by undocumented immigrants. Maybe we ride in a cab driven by one. Perhaps the food in the restaurant we ate in last night was cooked by an undocumented immigrant. I would be willing to bet the dishes were cleaned by one!

Those of us who benefit from undocumented immigrants but work to impair their rights, freedom, and safety are hypocrites. The least we could have done was treated their children a little more fairly.

We are assholes.

Two fun things about this picture:

1) My grandma, who has been living in Phoenix, Arizona for a long while came and visited us our first winter in Alaska. The desert to the tundra. Gutsy!

2) My sister and I are the two orange puff-balls. My mom loved those jackets. Do you know how easy it is to spot a giant orange poof in a field of white snow? Clever lady that mom is.

Awww, what a little psychopath! Adorable!

I do find this kind of weird though (no, not the white sweatsuit) – we had a pinata at a Christmas party. That’s not normal, right? I guess any excuse to give kids a bat? Sure, that works.

So you want to make a VMware Server on Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon 7.10? And you want to run without the graphical user interface (GUI)?

Well today you are in luck. VMware Server (free), connects graphic with managing a VMware Server, so it is not necessary to install a GUI in VMware Server and waste precious RAM.

Let’s get started.

First, I suppose you already have an installation of Gutsy Gibbon release server installed and set to a static IP address. so it is very easy.

We all have to do is run the following command to install the conditions before you start.

First, go to the root account:

sudo su

Next:

apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-’ uname-r ‘ xinetd xorg-dev.

After it was installed we can pick up the installation file vmware.com:

wget http://vmware.com/whatever-the-current-release-url-is

Unpack the tar:

Tar xfz VMware-server-1.

Move the folder you just created:

CD vmware-server-scatter.

Then run the installation script:

Ls-l.

Accept the default setting all the options (unless you have any reason), and you are returned to the command prompt, after the installation is complete.

At this point you can connect to the server via VMware console, by typing the IP address of your new login credentials and VMware Server.

Technorati Tags: VMware, server, Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon,

So what is up with that acronym? Well, it stands for Girls Understanding the True Sense of Style of the Youth. It is a group composed of students of fashion, fashionistas, retailers and young designers. Their advocacy is for fashion to be based on individuality and self-worth

Ms. Junio started by giving a “quiz.” This was written on top of the paper: TEST YOUR FASHION & STYLE QUOTIENT. She flashed pairs of words and we should know where to place each one (either for fashion or style). I got a perfect score!:D Here’s a sample chart of

After we did that activity, she gave us a background on fashion and style in general. It was really unexpected of her to talk about Michael Kors, Givenchy and Prada ) Soooooo cool Anyway, she passed on the floor to Ms. Kathy who shared her experiences in GUTSY. She said that their team gave a talk to the high school students of Philippine Science. Basically the topic was the type of clothes to wear on each occasion (from a night-out dress, to a casual wear, to long gowns and the like).

Next, Pia talked about the topic she discussed to the students. It was how to mix and match clothes. She even conducted a simple game before she started her talk. She also shared to us the 10 wardrobe staples (must-have outfits in every woman’s closet!). Here’s the list of the clothes that every woman should have:

1. Black dress
2. Trench coat/Dressy jacket
3. Dress pants
4. White Shirt
5. Jeans
6. Any occasion top
7. Black skirt
8. Day dress
9. Cardigan
10. Sweatsuit alternative

I want #s 2 (because most of my clothes are not allowed in school :p), 3 and 7 (for my corporate attire collection), 8 (because I’m not really the type of girl who likes wearing day dresses) and 10 (for the times that I’ll wake up at the wrong side of the bed).

After the short talk, we were given a piece of paper. We were asked if we wanted to join GUTSY. I checked YES, of course. I can contribute by being a speaker, a workshop facilitator and a writer for the blog. Jam checked the same things while Les will forever be a photographer  There is still going to be an interview so I don’t know what my role would be. Hehe Also, there was an invite that was given to me. My IMC mentor, Ms. Joy, already mentioned it to me last week. FASHION 911 Learning the Basics… It will be held on the 21st of August from 5:30-6:30 P.M. at the Balanghai Study Center. There will be freebies (including gift certificates) from Franck Provost! Niiiicee… I <3 freebies! hahaha!:D Jam also wants to go there because of the freebies :p

My love for fashion is not so obvious, huh? I think that this can also be a good way for me to improve writing since I am also part of the school paper. IMC is also about speaking about my stand and other stuff (yeah, you get the picture). I was never a big fan of public speaking but I know that it’ll be an enjoyable experience for me because it is about fashion

Brewer to Obama: Warning Signs Are Not Enough

SecureTheBorderAZ | June 25, 2010 | 1:00

Earlier this month, Governor Jan Brewer sat in the Oval Office with President Barack Obama to discuss the critical issue of border security. The Governor personally related to the President the concerns of millions of Arizonans over the lack of security on Arizona’s southern border. During their visit, President Obama committed to present details, within two weeks of their meeting, regarding his plans to commit National Guard troops to the Arizona border and commit to spend $500 million in additional funds on border security.

Governor Brewer remains eager to receive the specific details of President Obama’s border security plans. She continues to extend an invitation to the President to visit with families living along the southwestern border and see the situation firsthand.

The Letter ~

Letter from Governor Brewer to President Barack Obama Regarding Border Security

June 23, 2010

The Honorable Barack Obama

The President of the United States

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, DC  20500

Dear Mr. President:

Thank you for the opportunity to visit with you in person during my recent trip to Washington, D.C.  As you know, the issue of border security is foremost in the thoughts of many Arizonans and Americans alike, and I appreciated the chance to personally relate to you my concerns and outline my proposed solutions.

Mr. President, the need for action to secure Arizona’s border could not be clearer.  Recently, my office received a number of calls from constituents concerned at reports of new sign postings in interior counties of Arizona warning residents not to access federal lands due to criminal activity associated with the border.  These warnings signal to some that we have handed over portions of our border areas to illegal immigrants and drug traffickers.  This is unacceptable.  Instead of warning Americans to stay out of parts of our own country, we ought to be warning international lawbreakers that they will be detained and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.  We ought to be establishing measures to ensure that illegal traffic of any sort is kept to an absolute minimum, and that Americans are safe and secure within our own borders.

When we visited, you committed to present details, within two weeks of our meeting, regarding your plans to commit National Guard troops to the Arizona border and expend $500 million in additional funds on border security matters.  You also discussed sending members of your senior staff to Arizona to discuss your plans.  While I am pleased the 28th has been set for a meeting time and we have reviewed a copy of the Department of Homeland Security’s “Southwest Border Next Steps” Press Release, I am still awaiting details on National Guard deployments and how the proposed additional border security funding will specifically affect Arizona (and the other Border States).  As I mentioned to you on June 3rd, it is very difficult to have much of a dialogue without specific details regarding your proposals.  I strongly urge you to request your staff provide us with missing details of your proposals prior to the meeting on the 28th.

While we await the specific details of your border security plans, I wanted to take the time to reemphasize some of what I shared with you and respond further to some of what we discussed.  In essence, I have proposed a four-point Border Surge strategy, as outlined in my recent letter to Senator Charles Schumer, summarized as follows:

1.  National Guard Personnel and Aviation

I believe a significant number of troops operating with a legitimate mission set is an essential part of any strategy to secure the border.  I appreciate your commitment of 1,200 troops and the promise that Arizona would receive the largest contingent.  I am concerned, however, that more is required, such as the deployment of 6,000 personnel proposed by Senators Jon Kyl and John McCain for the entire southwestern border.

In addition, I want to make sure that these troops have legitimate missions that:

• Support federal, state and local law enforcement—all three!
• Serve as a blocking force to stop illegal crossing activities.
• Employ the troops in a way that speaks loudly to all—both north and south of the border—that the U.S. is serious about this matter.

As part of your commitment, I also hope that you order a significant increase in aviation resources supporting border security operations on the ground.  After meeting and talking to various experts, I am persuaded that aviation support is critical to the effort on the ground.  Any effort will fail absent the ability to coordinate ground assets from the air, particularly given the nature of much of Arizona’s border region terrain.  I respectfully ask that you give serious consideration to my May 20, 2010 correspondence, which makes a very reasonable request for a reallocation of National Guard OH-58 helicopter assets in order to make a Border Surge effective.  Your support of this request can make a significant difference between a winning effort versus a losing effort.

2.  Border Fence

In short Mr. President, we need to complete, reinforce and then maintain the border fence.  In my April 6, 2010 letter to you I proposed inmate labor and other methods (i.e., purchasing instead of leasing equipment) as a means to bring down construction/maintenance costs.  I certainly support efficient and effective Ports of Entry where both American and Mexican border officials can allow legal traffic and crossings.  Everywhere else along the border, though, I strongly believe we must have fencing and barriers that are both substantial and monitored if the illegal crossings are to be minimized.

3.  Enforce Federal Law and Appropriately Fund the Effort

The United States must be prepared to detain, prosecute and then incarcerate convicted violators of United States laws.  The current “no consequences policy” has resulted in a border security failure.  I appreciate your general proposal to commit additional resources, but it is very difficult for me to comment without any details.  It is without doubt, though, that the current border policy will continue to fail the State of Arizona without additional resources committed to the Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel and detention facilities; prosecution; public defense; and federal prisons.

4.  Reimburse States for the Additional Burden of Illegal Immigration

As I mentioned the very first time we met last year, I must continue the calls for Arizona to be reimbursed for expenses we are forced to carry because of our porous southern border.  Arizona and a few other states are at a terrible disadvantage in good times, and an even worse position during bad times, because of the additional costs of illegal immigration.  Just in terms of state prison costs, we estimate ongoing expenses at approximately $150 million to incarcerate criminal aliens.  While substantial on its own, this figure does not include law enforcement, prosecution and defense costs, or the enormous societal costs of the criminal behavior of those who are not even legally entitled to be here.

We are hundreds of millions of dollars short of what we should receive to relieve the disproportionate law enforcement/jail/prison, health care and education burdens we face due to our porous southern border and rampant illegal immigration.  It is simply unfair for the federal government to force Border State taxpayers to carry these burdens.

Immigration Reform

You shared with me your thoughts about the matter of immigration reform and I am grateful you listened to mine.  As I mentioned in our meeting, the phrase “comprehensive immigration reform” is code for “amnesty” to many in Arizona and elsewhere in our Nation.  Many Americans are still waiting for the reforms that were promised by the federal government in the 1980s when amnesty was granted to thousands of illegal immigrants.  Until we establish a secure border, and reestablish trust with the public that our international borders are meaningful and important, and enforcement of federal immigration law is not an idle threat, any discussion of “comprehensive reform” is premature.

Let’s first block illegal entry into the United States and enforce current law, and then other discussions, including immigration reform, might then, and only then, make sense to the public.  I am committed to a serious discussion of legitimate reform—but not any false front for amnesty—when the federal government halts the free flow of illegal immigrants and illegal drugs across the southwestern border.

Arizona’s Law

You also shared some concerns about a “patchwork” approach to policy.  This makes sense to me, but the failure of the federal government has driven frustration levels to the point that tolerating the status quo is no longer acceptable for Arizona.  From my perspective, the single most significant factor behind the passage this year of SB 1070 and HB 2162 (the follow-up bill with amendments to SB 1070) was the frustration of Arizona elected officials, and the public we serve, regarding the failure of the federal government over the years to effectively address the problem of illegal immigration.

The growing concerns over spillover violence, the increased awareness of kidnappings, the spread of drop houses in neighborhoods throughout metropolitan areas, the scourge of the drug trade and the oppressive financial burdens posed by illegal immigration—burdens even more difficult to shoulder in this economic downturn—all contributed to accelerating the public’s frustration.

I am 100% committed to fair and just enforcement of the new Arizona law.  I have made it clear that civil rights will not be compromised.  The first step has been educating and training law enforcement, as well as the public, on the details of the law—a step I have already ordered in Arizona.

Instead of any discussion about suing Arizona and not cooperating with the efforts of local Arizona law enforcement to address illegal immigration, the federal government should reassure Arizona (and other states) that securing the border and enforcing federal immigration laws are duties to which the federal government will make a renewed and sincere commitment.

When the public sees consistent evidence of federal commitment, I am convinced the demand for state actions will wane.  State and local governments have plenty to do and will be happy to stay out of border security and immigration law enforcement—along with the expenses of such work—if the federal government takes a firm and effective grip on the problem.

Conclusion

In closing, I want to assure you that I am looking to develop a solution, not have a standoff, with you and the federal government.  Illegal immigration is a serious problem and I am sincerely committed to seeing something done to curb it.  The real challenges at hand are about violent crime, huge taxpayer burdens, the rule of law and ensuring that our southern border does not become an open door for radical terrorists.  Commerce with other countries is important to me and Arizonans—I truly want a vibrant and positive relationship with Sonora, other Mexican States and the rest of the world.  Federal immigration law, however, must be honored and enforced, and our border must represent an effective means to help ensure our sovereignty and security.

I remain eager to receive the specific details of your proposals and to have the follow-up meeting with your senior staff.  It is disappointing that we are such a short time away from the meeting and Arizona and the other Border States still are awaiting the specific details of what you are proposing.  There is still time, however, to ensure the meeting next week is productive.

Finally, I want to re-extend the invitation I made to you to come to Arizona yourself, visit with families living along the southwestern border and see the situation firsthand.  My prior visits to the border and the air survey of the Cochise County region have been very important to shaping my perspectives and thinking.  Governor Richardson joined me for one trip and I believe you would also benefit from such an experience.

And when you do come, lunch is on me!

Yours in service to the great state of Arizona,

Janice K. Brewer

Governor

We have some gutsy Governors and a weak President!

Why doesn’t Obama just get it over with and scream “Allahu Akbar” at every citizen, town, city, state, heck…. just at the United States of America in one fell swoop. We get it!

We know your agenda!

These are just a few of many national campaigns that have become household words over the years that were created by black people. There are many more. Big Mac, Filet-o-fish, Quarter Pounder, French Fries…is another. But would you believe that only one of the people who created these memorable campaigns are still in the advertising business today. Would you also believe that the whites that were associated with these campaigns went on to become agency presidents, account directors and owners of their own fortune five hundred ad agencies because of these campaigns.

Only one person, Carol H. Williams, a very talented African American woman who today is president CEO of Carol H. Williams Advertising, one of the world’s largest African American Advertising agencies is one of the only people still actively in the business today who was around in the seventies. What happened to the others? Maybe history can tell us.

In 1963 The Urban League of greater New York released a study to 10 large New York advertising agencies. According to the study, these agencies had more than 20,000 employees, but fewer that 25 African Americans held “creative or executive positions.” The Urban League demanded that these agencies increase their numbers of Blacks and make sure that they were in more than menial positions.

The same year the NAACP raised concerns about black employment in advertising agencies along with issues of negative images of Blacks in ads and the media and absence of black models and actors from ads in general market media. The NAACP leader Roy Wilkins met with representatives from leading agencies and the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) and presented a keynote address to an AAAA meeting in New York.

In 1967, the New York City Commission on Human Rights (NYCHR) opened a new round of attention by sending questionnaires to selected ad agencies. In March 1968, with public concern about employment discrimination enhanced by that year’s urban riots, the Commission held a Public Hearing on the Employment Practices of the Broadcasting and Advertising Industries and the Image Projection of members of Minority Groups in Television and Radio.

The hearings concluded that the advertising agencies in the New York area had consistently failed to employ Blacks, Puerto Ricans and other minority groups especially in professional and executive positions.  After the hearings, the New York State Commission for Human Rights (NYSHR) continued to monitor minority employment in advertising.  This is the reason the aforementioned black people who created those very popular advertising campaigns were even hired to work in the advertising business in the first place.

During the late sixties and early seventies Madison Avenue and Michigan Avenue in Chicago reached out to the Black community to find people to work in advertising because the pressure was on. In those days they didn’t look so hard at whether you had a college degree because even Whites that worked in the business barely had degrees. As a friend of mine likes to say, “Advertising is the only business where an illiterate White man can get rich.”

During that time groups popped up in both cities to train Blacks for a career in advertising and many were hired from those groups, working at some of the best advertising agencies in the business. Young & Rubican, J. Walter Thompson, Mary Wells, Foote, Cone and Belding, Needham, Harper and Steers, Leo Burnett, and Ogilvy and Mather to name a few.

The African Americans who were fortunate enough to get these jobs worked hard at their craft and became copywriters, art directors, producers, account executives, media buyers and even clients. Everyone felt warm and fuzzy about hiring minorities then, “equal rights” was the mantra of the day. But as time went on and the glow of the sixties wore off so did the attitude towards hiring Blacks.

African Americans who found themselves with a job in the business from the seventies also found that very few younger blacks were coming up behind them in the eighties. Some blacks became discontent with their agency’s racial practices, complained and suddenly found themselves unemployed. Some remained on their jobs and tried to move up the corporate ladder.

Some formed the “African American Agency” that specialized in reaching the African American consumer exclusively. They were:

• Vince Cullers Advertising founded by Vince Cullers an Illustrator for Ebony magazine.
• Burrell Communications founded by Thomas Burrell a former copywriter at Needham, Harper, & Steers Advertising, Chicago.
• Global Hue, founded by Don Coleman, former NFL football player and Marketing Executive at Burrell Communications.
• Equinox founded by Bernie Washington and Bill Daniels former writer and art director team at Foot, Cone & Belding Chicago.
• Glover & Potter Advertising founded by former Vice President, Associate Creative Director at Leo Burnett, Jim Glover and McDonald’s client Wendy Potter.
• Carol H. Williams Advertising founded by Carol H. Williams, former Creative Director from Leo Burnett.

This “African American Agency” was a good thing for Black people. It allowed Blacks to experience more job opportunities. Today many of these agencies still exist but from the white agency perspective it has only fueled their racist attitudes about not hiring Blacks or not hiring them back once they had left the general market (White) agency.

A study on Race and Employment in advertising conducted in January 2009 by Bendick and Egan Economic Consultants. Inc. arrived at this conclusion.

Currently, stereotype-based perceptions by industry mangers that African Americans have only race related expertise continue to limit their work assignments largely to those targeting Black consumers. African Americans are often excluded from “general market” agencies and find work only in agencies specializing in “ethnic markets.”

If African Americans only had “race related expertise” then how could they have created such memorable campaigns during the early seventies geared to the general market? Which brings to mind an experience I had when I first started working for Young & Rubican in the seventies.

An honored account, a hair product, was threatening to leave the agency. So the agency did what they call a “gang bang” and put the assignment out to all its creative teams to save the business. We’re talking a good thirty people. At the time, I was just a cub copywriter hired through their affirmative action program. I was given the assignment and low and behold came up with the campaign that saved the account from leaving the agency. Naturally, it was kept a secret from the client that a black person had saved the day, because this client was so racist that even my Italian boss was barred from meeting the client. But my point here is that some of the whites I competed with were amazed because I didn’t have white hair, so how could I understand how to reach that consumer. Can anybody say research?

So again, what happened to the many African Americans who were hired on Madison and Michigan Avenues in the seventies? Some of the stories are not so pretty. Some had to change professions all together, some teach and some went homeless. I know of at least two whom because of not being able to get back into to the general market agencies after leaving finally ended up unemployed and committed suicide.

The sad stories are many, the successes few and that is why I wrote this book. Especially the opening and closing which by the way really happened. I won’t divulge the names, but a man in advertising that I knew did commit suicide by leaping from a window and some time later his wife also killed herself in the exact same spot. Which only proves that these statistics are more then numbers on a piece of paper they are people’s lives, hopes and dreams.

Mad Man is my exaggerated way of making a point about those lives and how they have been affected by the racist practices of the advertising business.  I am in no way advocating that anyone act like Randall Joseph, to the contrary. Randall is an example of the extreme, an example of what can happen if racism and discriminatory practices are left to run amuck. Like “Native Son” written by Richard Wright in 1939, it is a wake up call, an alarm, not a threat, asking, begging Madison Avenue and America to please take notice and fix this!

GovJanBrewer — May 07, 2010 — Governor Jan Brewer sparked a national debate on border security and illegal immigration when she signed SB1070. While Brewer has been celebrated by many for taking action to enforce laws that Washington has long ignored, those who oppose the law have chosen pithy punch lines over aggressive action. Far away from the border at the White House Correspondents Dinner, President Obama decided that Arizona’s unsecured borders and illegal immigration crisis are a laughing matter. Unfortunately, no one in Arizona is laughing.

I am getting homesick for Arizona! Rock on Governor! You are amazing today Arizona Governor Jan Brewer Rejects Chuck Schumer Delay Immigration Law Request

Shameful sham of Bogus POTUS aka the Comedian in Relief and a presumptuous dictatorial Senator.

http://www.myspace.com/corbettinorbit

The mainstream tattooing has over-ridden the fringe art, where once a right of passage via an initiation into a tribe, it has been forsaken by “Tazmanian Devils and Tinker Bells”. And because of this growing obsession with tattoos, the artists themselves are torn between their imagery and their pockets.

Tattooing is a unique art form. The artist must have a special gift of freehand art work, proportion, mastery, warriorhood, compassion, conversation, and confidence. He/she needs to understand colour, line, shape and have certificates of senior first aid, so he/she can handle situations where people faint, freak out at the last minute, and deal with emotion. You’re not dealing with an everyday person here when they draw on you with a needle that scrapes your skin for hours at a time. The pain is tormenting. And the artist does it, because they are devoted.

Referencing movies and in particular Twilight and Avatar, it’s shown that tattooing is a very old human practice, not a fashion statement. The mark given to both Jacob (werewolf in Twilight) and Jake Sully (Lead Avatar-droid) indicates their initiation into warriorhood, or wolve-hood. But these marking are not given because of their physical strength. Quite the contrary – they are given to them because they are protectors, leaders and Kings.

For the past two years I have been dedicating my time to the creation of a new kind of Marketing. Cooking up new dishes using both existing and newly grown ingredients has been a challenge, but it makes my kitchen smell great and many people smile when they get a first taste.

I am a lover of quality, be it in food or anything else for that matter, and I was not satisfied when looking at the existing marketing model of CPM, PPC, CTR and WTF’s or whatever other abbreviation we can think of. Selling numbers is not what engages customers or future customers in a meaningful relationship with returning customers buying your product or services. I was convinced there had to be more, and there is…now.

It is now possible to have future customers work for you, and then have them buy your products. How? Because they really, really want to and the reward they get is worth it. In the lab environment called StayNomad I have been working in, Team StayNomad has come up with some dishes and strategies that will blow away the minds of traditional marketeers and make them see that there IS a light at the end of the “where-the-hell-is-online-marketing-going” tunnel.

Like any chef I won’t give away the details of my recipes, but you should definitely come and eat in my restaurant if you like new, gutsy, tasty and highly rewarding dishes.

Bon appetit!