Pay No Attention to the Dems Behind the Curtain…

Dorothy: Who are these losers?

The Business of Life includes… being unabashedly frustrated with my fellow man.

Oy Vey! What a WEEK!

People did we survive the mid-term elections by the hair of our chinny-chin-chins or what?

As a raging independent in Massachusetts I was, as they say in the biz, a wanted commodity.  Subjected to a hellacious amount of election phone calls, drowning in mailing inserts, I often pondered, by the 3rd dinner-time phone call, if I could apply for a restraining order against both major parties.  It was getting a little out of hand..

But it’s over.

And frankly I’m pissed.

P-I-S-S-E-D.

And not the good kind, though I’ve been tempted…

Now I’m not going to miss the calls, the mail or even the fun drive-bys (I totally know that you Scotty Brown ding-dong ditching. )  No I’m am completely bat-shit over the outcome.  The freakin’ people of this state — the country decides it’s legislative spring cleaning and what does Mass do? — nothing.  We voted in the same damn freaks that have been running this state into the ground.  Not a single new person.  State.  Federal.  Bupkus.

I am either convinced that:

• Dead people voted (after all this is the state that Kennedys once ruled;)
• People saw the “D” next to the name reflexively pulled the damn lever. Like a Pavlovian experiment gone wrong.

And now I am starting to see myself as Dorthy in Oz.  A stranger in a strange land.

Ok,  let’s explore this metaphor.  If I’m Dorothy, I’d like you to meet my loser sidekicks: The Cowardly Independents, The Mindless Scarecrow (only if could think for itself,) and The Weak-ass Tin Man (no heart).  I’ve been watching these three bozo generalities vote Democratic from state (Governor and state legislation) to federal (Scott Brown being the exception, but I now think that was a fluke) — for over a decade.  Each victory further solidifying the same agenda and local party-style: more big government, more taxes, more corruption, because as the saying goes “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Oh it does absolutely in MA.

So here I am, standing in my fab ruby shoes and pinafore,  screaming to high-heaven to my three sidekicks “Wake up! There’s no wizard, there’s the same style of DEMOCRAT behind that curtain!”

But what do the trio do?

Oh they are still distracted by all the sparkly stuff: the “Yes we can!” and  the “Hope” and the undercurrent of entitlement for all.  Dude all you’re entitled to is a vote and most of you idiots don’t even do that.  And yes we can go into more debt, and hope doesn’t pay the bill when it’s due.

So now we got The Wizard of four more years of bigger government, more taxes, and no long-term vision.  In this state,  it’s a temporarily “fix it and forget it” mentality.  Mostly forget it.  Forget the growing pension base, the culture of “gonna get me some” government workers and the ever-growing ($108b) debt-level. (I know my friends in Cali are like laughing at $2b, but remember you folks are going down first.)

Oh Jeez, these people get what they deserve. And seriously stop acting surprised that people and businesses are leaving for NH, Texas and other economically conservative parts.

God this home-spun girl (by way of Orange County, CA aka “Reagan Country”) is appalled.  Look I was just as appalled when Newt Gingrich showed up with the “Contract for A New America” — all I thought was the corruption that comes from bloated white guys being in charge of Congress.  We got what we deserved then too.  And we shouldn’t be so surprised either.   This time is no different.

If only I could bitch slap’em, like Cher in the classic Moonstruck.

God how much would I love to walk up to the Cowardly Independent, The Weak Tin Man, and the Weak-Ass Scare Crow, smack them and scream “Snap outta of it!”

And have it work.

Deconstructing A Crappy Promotion

Sometimes The Business of Life includes … making fun of bad marketing (at least for me.)

So the local Simon Mall is doing a event to drive traffic into their South Shore Mall.

And it was a fail.

The mailing piece I received announced “The South Shore Soirée.”  Attractive card, beautiful girl on the front, obviously they spent some coin — it was heavy plastic, including a convenient punch-out “credit card” listing the basics.

Then you read it.

First off, The “Soirée” is from October 28-October 31st.  Fine and good. But if you read the list of special events they have special “giveaways” for each week from 10/28 THROUGH 11/24th. What?

Oh, there’s also a “Ladies Night Out” on Oct 28th from 5pm -9pm. Which I think is a part of the Soirée, but how would you know, it’s highlighted separately.

Well, it  seems a lot of stuff is going on. On one marketing piece.

So here is what I think went down:

• Limited budget
• A large scope of goals
• No adult-supervision

Look, everyone is dealing with tight budgets in this economy. We all want to get a lot accomplished. But there is something to be said about having focus.  Something I think the Simon Malls people lacked.

So I can tell you this, this creative is was so confusing it was actually set aside rather than going into my “circular file.”  At first I thought it was me. End of day, too tired… I must be missing something. Nope. It’s them. It’s just bad, lazy creative.

Even more egregious, they don’t even have it listed on the mall website (though it’s Facebooked.)

And with this FB fan update, I think it’s off to a bang-up start:

CPR for Everyone Else- So Save a Life Why Dotcha?

Just me practicing me some CPR…

The Business of Life includes… being prepared.

As a mom of seven year olds means Brownies and Boy Scouts.  I’m currently planning to take a gaggle of little girls to visit a rather cool women-owned bakery, Ginger Betty’s. It’s supposed to be fabulous.

And it also means LeBetsy is learning LeCPR.  And Le First-Aid.

And this is a very good thing.

It’s required by the Girl Scouts of America, and after I started this process I realized that The Business of Life includes being prepared.  And it probably does for you too. Think about it.  We’re around children, we hang & work with people, we have aging parents.  Accidents happen.  Strokes happen. Heart attacks happen.  And I hate to say it, but given recent natural and man-made disasters (hello terrorists!) happen, — we ALL should get trained.

So learning CPR/First Aid shouldn’t be painful.

And the Red Cross has made it (relatively) easy.

Gone are the crazy amount of class time.  Those clever peeps at Red Cross have come up with the most efficient way to learn how to save a life. It’s called blended learning. Part online and part in-class, it really makes the most of your time. I’ve completed 2/3 of the home-work and this weekend I’ll be spending 3 hours working on technique in a class room setting. It is was dirt cheap. $50 for both the on-line and in-class portions.

Easy-peasey and super-convenient. So much so that it’s become a blog post.

So chickies, there’s no excuse not to be a hero.

This really is CPR for Everyone, and believe me, everyone needs CPR in their life — for their family, their friends, their coworkers and even for the random old guy who has a heart attack while running. (This last one really happen, and a woman running by saved his life with CPR, which his wife, children and grandchildren are very, very grateful for.)

So save a life why dotcha?

To find a Red Cross blended-learning class near you click HERE.

How Deep is the Social of Social Media?

The Social Network - out in theaters now.

The Business of Life includes… questioning technology.

Social Media is everywhere and pretty much everyone is doing it. My nieces, my mother-in-law, my friends all Facebook. In fact Facebook is so prevalent that a movie about it’s creation debut #1 this past weekend. Add in Twitter and Foursquare and Social Media has woven itself into the fabric of our everyday life.

It’s fun. It’s commercial. It’s social. It’s chaotic. It’s sharing. It’s addicting. It’s dangerous. It’s all that and less, and so much more at the same time.

If that makes sense.

I’ve talked about online privacy and security before. The recent suicide of Rutgers University Tyler Clementi caused me to circle back to online “security” from a different angle.

“Jumping off the gw bridge sorry”

That’s it. Tyler’s last words.

On Facebook.

Personal connections. How deep are they –now that we include Facebook (et al.) as  one of the primary ways to foster, cultivate and keep these connections? We post our highs, our lows, pictures of our children, we announce our marriages, new jobs, new homes– the connections we’re building via social media are worth so very much, or so very little, depending how much emotional energy we’ve expended building them.

And not all “friends” are created equal. We know that. But in-person it is easier to gauge the depth of these connections. Online connections gives us the ability to have 500 friends or followers if we wanted, but also the distance to not really know any. This distance also gives us the false sense of security- we’re more apt to post something online than share it in-person. So at the same time we feel both safe but are more exposed. Closer to more people but not as close.

I just wonder, at what point, does one feel either so comfortable, so safe or so alone that Facebook seems the only place to post your departing words?

My sincerest condolences go to the family and friends of Tyler Clementi- while we’ve lost the potential of what he could have been –they’ve lost the son, brother and friend that he was.

Elections A-Go-Go! UPDATE.

Picture courtesy of goretro.blogspot.com

Sometimes The Business of Life is… being a political spectator (and occasional participant)

I’ve mentioned it before… but these mid-term elections are wacky.  And getting wackier by the day.

Dude what are those zany Dems up to?

Republicans put forth Contract with a New America 2.0?  Entirely unexpected and innovated.  Jeeeez.

Oh but it’s exciting! Dems rumored October surprise is coming up and I just can’t wait to find out what they’re planning. Come November 3rd they’re expected to be lame duck fabulous and I’ve come to find they’ve put 20 (twenty!) pieces of legislation up for vote post-election, like a nice parting gift .  Though I think after we’re going to wish we had the box of turtle-wax option.

To be perfectly honest I was really never one for politics. At Smith (yes, I went there) everyone was a government, econ or women studies major– I did mathematics. Then there were the family dinners, often led by my brother-in-law, where hot politics served up with a side of b-o-r-i-n-g. I thanked gawd when I turned 20-ish and could have wine.  Wine does make everything easier to tolerate…

But this election, well it has been something different. Every since the world went to hell-in-a-hand-basket two years ago, I’ve been fascinated with economics and politics, and where they intersect– which is pretty much everywhere.

Politics as pop-culture.  An aficionado of high-low media offerings, I seeing these elections as better than Theresa flippin’ that freakin’ table on Real Housewives of New Jersey- the bitch-fights, the betrayal, the intrigue!  We all knew politicians were media-whores and thespians, but this?  This is a whole new level of spectacular.  This is political trench warfare. Gloves off, Jeter-fakin’-being-hit style brawl.

So let’s recap some of what’s happened lately:

• Pelosi is kryptonite.  Totally being thrown under the bus by a fair portion of her own party… that’s running. Bitter pill fair lady, but here’s your bowl of hemlock and thanks for playing… (I think she’s wishing for the box of turtle wax as well.)
• Rahm is leaving.  So “Rahmbo” of the White House wants to be Mayor of Chicago? Perfect.
• Obama college tour. As he’s stumping for those that will have him, they’re having to go to campuses for election rallies.  Translation: The easy lay doesn’t make for victory.  When he gets it on with the “Reagan Democrats” I’ll start to notice… and to worry.
• Reagan Dems: They’re Back. And the soccer moms of the next two years. They will make you or break you.
• Tea Party. Call’em crazy, call’em pissed off, but you better call’em. Not the ugly cousin anymore, everyone knows– good or bad– they’re significant players in this election.
• Speaking of Reagan. He’s gone but as Oban-Wan pointed out, “If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.”  No longer a man, he’s now an ideal and deadlier than ever as the savior of the 70′s/80′s recession.  I’ll know the circle is complete when college students and urban marauders start wearing t-shirts with a stylized “Fonzerelli” Ronnie on the front. And mean it.
• Dems give up on Senate, House is pretty much the fight. I feel kind of sad.  They’re in triage trying to salvage what they can.  If you told them 21 months ago this is where they’d be, they’d think you crazy.  Then again, if you told me 21 months ago about Obamacare fiasco, the stimulus fun, the national debt-load et al.  I would have thought you slightly nuts too.

Ok. Am spent. It’s just too much going on, these politicos have exhausted me.

Which, come to think of it, might be part of their plan.

Growing Pains

Sometimes the business of life is… learning the art of parenting… on the fly.

My son informed me last night that School Sucks.

“There’s no play time,” he said as I told him the night itinerary of events (homework, dinner, chores, bath and bed), “I don’t want to be a teenager, they’re never out playing, it’s always work! I want summer back!”

Ahh the wise musings of a seven year old.

I didn’t have the heart to tell him that yes it gets harder BUT at the same time you’re free to do more of what you want. I tried to tell him that he’s a bigger kid, with more responsibilities, and it takes time to get use to them. Just give it a month and… “it’ll be ain’t no big thang” as the French would say.

But then I thought why? I did say it would get easier, things are new but that’s it. Part of me says y children have to learn how to learn, and my job in raising them is to try and make it fun or, at the very least, their idea.

I’ve been toying with not telling them what to do and let them fail. Didn’t do your homework? You’ll have to explain that to the teacher.  Didn’t rinse the dishes, well you’ve lost out on your TV time because you now have to do them. Didn’t pack a lunch? Whoops no lunch (but you know that’s not going to happen… school will give them lunch and send me a terse note and my son would have just figured out a sure-fire way to get out of one chore.)  That’s all fine and good but going hard-core could reduce my kids into frustrated tears —  I also know I don’t want to break their spirit.

I’ve also thought of having a daily assignment board with magnets that helps them budget their time and complete their chores and to-dos. Complete the task and move the magnet to “DONE.” It’s self directed, and Mom doesn’t have to nag.

The goal here my friends is to raise my kids to be self-monitoring, responsible adults. Easier said than done from what I hear.

Parenting is an art form that this cowboy is just figuring out as I go along…

So your turn… what do you do? How do you get the kids to be self-monitoring?  Tips, suggestions are so very greatly appreciated.

Thoughts from the Dump.

Sometimes The Business of Life includes…. FUNDRAISING

So I’m writing this post from my local dump.

Yes the dump.

I have a few minutes to kill and I’m trying to get better about using my trusty sidekick iPhone in my day-to-day activities. It’s great for calls, scheduling apts, emails, to-do’s (OmniFocus), Tweetdeck posts (FB, Twitter, LiquidBetsy Fan page) but what about document writing, file sharing, and blog posts? So down the rabbit hole I go…

So why the dump?

Well first off the dump seems good a place as any, plus I’m here doing good works for the twins elementary school. I get grubby working a few hours in the recycling center and their school gets the cash.

Armed with old clothes and surgical gloves thick enough to fend off errant hypodermic needles (not that that’s a factor, but obviously one parent who works where it would be kindly donated a box) I’m emptying bins of cans and bottles while other parents are packing and redeeming.  It’s about the best ROI for a fundraiser, 6 hour shifts nets around $1300/week, when you back out planning, arranging, set-up/clean-up, decorating, soliciting for freebies that other fundraisers like golf tournaments, and dinners. Plus it’s nice to work with the other parents, you get to know them sans kids. Truth be told, I actually like doing it.

Minuses?

The occasional fruit-fly, some “surprise” bags (it’s like a little gift, really thanks) of god only knows mixed in, and the fact that you leave smelling like you woke up on the floor of a frat party the next morning.  Nothing a little shower can’t wash away.

So I had to finish this at home. I did about 2/3 on the iPhone during my break.

Will keep reporting from the frontline of technology and life.

Cool Media: iPad Fuels Digital Frenzy (or Digital Does Books and Mags)

So lately I’ve been researching the huge movement currently happening in publishing from paper to digital.

From textbooks to magazines there is a quiet revolution going on, focused on how we read. You should totally read  the nifty article the New York Observer did on Scott Dadich, being heralded as the “Saviour of Conde Nast.”

As Wired Magazine’s creative director, Dadich, inspired by the iPhone, thought that though the iPhone was much too small, a 13 inch tablet would be just about the right size for a fully-realized digital version of the magazine (this was all prior to the iPad’s debut). He must have convinced the right people because, from conception of May 2009 to debut of the Wired iPhone app, it has since sold a mind-blowing 102, 884 copies since it’s been on the market.

That deserves a “Holy Schnikes!” , especially in a world where plummeting subscriptions is the norm, and magazines are being shuttered left and right.

Since then Conde Nast has totally jumped on board- changing their business plan to focus (and capitalize) on promise of digital.

It’s amazing how much of a shift this is (and is going to be) in media. With the iPad as the catalyst, magazines, novels, newspapers, textbooks all are all in play. And it’s ramping up faster than you think.

The landscape of how you view media, gather information or how your kids (and not just college, I mean K-12) are educated will be totally different in 5 years. Totally different.

And it’s going to be awesome.

(Lord, I love technology and progress.)

Here is some more info on Wired’s very cool digital offering:

Simple is good.

I just ran across one SCARY-LOOKING infographic outlining how the new healthcare bill works.

Simple it is not.

I’m a huge supporter of the flat-tax.

Why?

It’s simple. It’s simplicity gets rid of most of the reason for the IRS. And filing for taxes. And HR Block. And your accountant Louie. Gone are a lot of the bureaucracy and peeps you pay money to, via taxes or a direct check, to help the government get it’s operating budget.

See simple is good.

But this new health care?

Not good.

I was skeptical and really not at all for government-run “Universal Healthcare” from pretty much the beginning — say when Hillary Clinton was the point person in the 90′s — but this really only solidifies my point. It is not simple. In fact, it is very, very complicated. And each time the direct path is deviated, bifurcated or split you’ve just added on more staff, infrastructure, and costs. And bureaucracy and confusion.

And when it comes your or your families healthcare, direct and easy is what you want.

So take a gander- is this the way you want your health care to look?

Download Chart (PDF format)

Thanks to Congressman Kevin Brady's office for the infograph

Are you a Superstar? Do You Really Need a Badge? (I’m not worthy….)

Four-square.

Blip.

Trade show. (Ok, it was SXSW.)

How different is this from the “Good Work!” sticker we’d get on our 2nd grade math test? Not much. At some point we realize that these badges are just that- one big puffy sticker saying we’re awesome.

Where they do have some importance is when they can be translated into currency.

At Foursquare “checking in” to all the places you go and snatching up badges has cache within certain circles. Mostly if you’re 18-34 and a mobile-urban marauder. If you check-in the most at an establishment, and become a Four-square “mayor,” you get free stuff (drinks, roll of hockey tape, free shoes.) It’s  a part of Four-square’s business plan- by establishing and helping maintain loyalty for businesses.

Another one, Blip, the music sharing DJ site, does badges as well. Source a new song? Get a badge. Get reblipped by another DJ or props get another? Get some more badges. And so on and so forth.

For those that work in/on/around social media it’s practically a necessity. That, and your twitter follow numbers, your blog draw, reputation and resume makes, well, makes your resume in some arenas.

I just find it interesting. The cache of badges as another measurement of how “plugged-in” you are. For some it’s just fun, a factor of how cool you are. For other’s it’s a requirement, and tells others how competent you are.

But at some point it will not be. Fun or a requirement. When everyone is doing it, when all businesses are participating in it. Once the uniqueness is gone, when everyone has the same badge, then what? It will just be another thing on the to-do list. I mean, if everyone is special, then no one is special.  Actually just today, someone posted on FB a picture  of a printed “table tent” from a bar, saying something to the effect that if you’re the mayor, show your Four-sqaure status to the waitress and get a free beer- one per person per day.

Lame.

If McDonald starts giving out a special badge for, say, being the first to try their new McFlurry- it’s not so cool is it?

Not really. And that’s the real nugget isn’t it? That is the challenge for Blip and Four-square, keeping the tension between accessibility and cool.

Do really need the badges to reveal how awesome we are?

I don’t play Four-square. Actually I’m not that much of an urban maurader, and I also find it slightly creepy that people would know where I am or where I go. Creepy.

I blip not for badges, but because I love to share music on Twitter.

But that’s just me.