Hips DO Lie

Most women tend to dwell on having big hips but no need to fret anymore ladies; thanks to a few popular celebrities. I recently watched a couple live performances of Shakira and Beyonce where they actually added extensions to their hips to make them look larger. I think Lady Gaga did this too but I couldn't find a picture of it. This is really strange to me and the only logical reason I can think of is to alter their hip-to-waist ratio thus making their waists appear smaller. It must be working because my boyfriend (BLAST) keeps talking about Shakira's huge hips but I think it's an illusion. Of all women too, Beyonce and Shakira have enough curves for all of us so what's the point?

Mickey D's Sweet Tea

This year Southern California (and many other places too I'm sure) was introduced to Sweet Tea Vodka. As a lover of tea and vodka I am very disappointed in myself for not having tried it yet but I plan to. Anytime I meet people from the South I swear to god that is one of their top complaints as to what Los Angeles is deprived of. Apparently making a cup of black tea with sugar and milk doesn't suffice for some. Well Sweet Tea has officially gone mainstream as McDonald's recently began offering it for just $1, can't wait to try it!

Chrome Crash

I use Google Chrome as my web browser now and it crashed on me for the first time today. At least the error message made me laugh...

xooro

It's pronounced "Sure-Oh" and they don't call these tasty treats Churros anymore, they call them Spanish Fritters. So imagine that your Churro now costs $5, it's sold in a fancy store that looks like a West Hollywood club, and it's filled with ooey-gooey goodness with more goodness on the outside. This my friend, is a Fritter. More over cupcakes, here comes the next fatty fad.

You're Better Off Giving Your Money to a Bum

This is really funny to me. Who is stupid enough to spend more on a gift card than it's actual value?

Beyonce Brings Back the 60s

I had no idea that Beyonce's "Single Ladies" music video was inspired by this music video from the 60s. Trends really do come full circle.

It's Always Sunny in California

I've been meaning to share this for a while. I really enjoy this billboard because it's simple, to the point, economically relevant, yet still uplifting.

How is This Legal?

Both say:

18 fl. oz.

fragrance free

skin protectant

daily moisturizing lotion

with natural colloidal oatmeal

similar bottle, color, shape, text, and even brown leaves

Aveeno is dermatologist recommended while CVS is New!

Aveeno moisturizes for 24 hours while CVS relieves and protects dry skin for 24 hours

Aveeno was $11.99 and CVS was $8.99

Which one did I purchase?

Lost Souls Cafe

Lost Souls in Downtown Los Angeles is definitely worth the subway ride and wandering down an alley. It's really cheap and really good. I especially liked the bread and sauce on my sandwich. You should try it.

7UP Yours

Soda companies are not deceiving anybody, or are they? We all know the reality - drink soda, get fat. High fructose corn syrup will kill you (yes, I consume it too). Well 7UP just needs to accept the fact their product is not a healthy one, and regardless of that reality, people will continue to drink soda even if they know it's bad for them. 7UP has come out with Cherry 7UP Antioxidant with 100% natural flavors. That must be good for me! So how is this possible? Well your soda now contains 10% Vitamin E which happens to be an antioxidant.

Read the label and and decide for yourself: Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, and 2% or less of each of the following: citric acid, natural flavors, potassium benzoate (preservative), VITAMIN E ACETATE, red 40. Oh, and 25 grams of sugar.

Are you convinced?

Frugalistas by Target

I've been seeing this commercial for Target the last few days and it's making me want to go shopping there. I think they are trying to coin a new word. Listen up for the term frugalistas!

Running Shoes

Has anybody seen or gone running with these funky shoes?

Cell Phones as the New Cigarette

BEFORE

When I was in college I recall students who smoked cigarettes were easily brought together; it was a quick and easy way to socialize with people you didn't know who had something in common with you. It gave you something to do when you had nothing better to do- I assume. By now we are all used to people moving through their daily lives with their cell phones glued to their face, but have you noticed that in those awkward social situations where people aren't talking to each other, they run to the comfort of their phones to text or browse the Internet? I'm guilty too. The other day I was waiting in line (for kogibbq tacos) and everybody who didn't have anybody to talk to just clicked away on the phones... I get it, you have so much to do, and so little time that it's efficient OR is it that you don't want to stare blankly into space? Then I was at a party and several guys were sitting around being anti-social doing the same. I wonder if anybody is pretend texting? I imagine in their minds they are saying "I may not have a lot of friends here, but I have a lot of friends in my phone and I'm going to prove it by texting them now". It has become the new safety net, and everybody can be part of it.

PS - This is not about smokers, this is about social awkwardness and how texting has helped save people in those moments. Yes, I understand that you real smokers out there smoke for "real" reasons that has nothing to do with giving yourself something to do.

AFTER

Information is Beautiful

I've been perusing around this website www.informationisbeautiful.net which is rather intriguing; it's a collection of visually appealing ways to display statistics which you could never imagine. It may give you a whole new perspective on the endless possibilities of sharing data beyond a line, bar or pie. The one I found cool was "The Billion Dollar Gram" which to me, dare I say it, is a neat pie chart. It displays the amount of dollars spent on different things in the media such as the war in Iraq, advertising, the illegal drug market and so forth - putting them all into perspective relative to one another. Here's a snippet of it...

This is the bio of David McCandless, the designer of this project.

"I’ve written for The Guardian, Wired and others. I’m into anything strange and interesting. These days I’m an independent visual & data journalist. My passion is for visualising information – facts, data, ideas, subjects, issues, statistics, questions – all with the minimum of words. I’m interested in how designed information can help us understand the world, cut through BS and reveal hidden connections, patterns and stories underneath. Or, failing that, it can just look cool!"

@mandifromblabby Tweets

I haven't read any reviews on Twitter yet, so now that I have tested the waters, I will share my opinion before I cloud my mind with the perceptions of others...

Likes:

1. It's best for following people, brands, companies, websites, authors and so forth that interest me and exclude my real life friends.

2. I enjoy being able to opt into texts, I feel like I'm friends with Dr. Oz because he texts me all the time but doesn't even know it, therefore I can ignore him and never "text" him back.

3. I like to keep an eye on Trending Topics to know what the world is thinking about.

4. I really like the Saved Searches feature. One of my saved searches is "Harley" so when I want to see what everybody on twitter is chatting about related to Harley, it's a quick and easy way to get a read on that.

Dislikes:

1. While re-tweeting is a very kind way to give credit where credit is due, for those that do it all the time you clutter the world of twitter and your ideas begin to feel unoriginal, therefore I no longer want to click on your links anymore. Please share your own ideas with me from time to time.

2. If anybody mentions you (not as a direct message) it's moved off your page by the time you blink so every time I have to go to click on @mandifromblabby on the right of the screen because it doesn't keep a count in the same way direct messages do (which is helpful)

3. Many people begin to write like robots and that is not going to get people to pay attention to you. For example: @BATMANONTHEBEAT @BeautyInTheHood #MixtapeMonday#MusicMonday P/O/P " #UPTOWN MUSIC"MIXTAPE,CLICK LINK 4 FREE DOWNLOAD http://short.to/m1l4 !!!

4. I don't like how you can't direct message somebody unless they are following you.

5. It would be useful to be able to track back to previous messages like you can with a string of emails. For example, @RockerRick says "I'm hungry" and I respond to the message by saying "@RockerRick for what?" however my friend @maryjaneolson sees this message on my page and has no idea what I'm talking about unless she inconveniently goes to @RockerRicks's twitter page to see what he said, which by then may have already changed.

6. If I go to "following" the list is sorted by the order in which you began following each person rather than alphabetically. How can I easily get to the person I want to without having to browse through my followers?

I'm hoping these are things that perhaps I have not learned about yet that have rather easy solutions. If they do, please free to be my help desk, along with sharing the things you do and don't like about Twitter.

Here are some of my favorite people I follow:

@mashable
@BestAt
@kogibbq
@DrOz

@PSFK

See Julie and Julia

There were only 2 things I did not enjoy about this movie...

1. Hearing people chew their food like cows

2. Being able to relate

Sure you can call it a girly movie, but it will make you think about your passions, what drive you, and what inspire you. Relating to a tantrum which makes no sense to most people, but makes all the sense in the world to you. Feeling like your kitchen is too small, and that you just want to cook more healthy, cheap, or enjoyable meals. Wanting to be inspired, and more importantly, inspire others. BLOGGING - writing when you are not a writer, and there may be many other more interesting people to listen to. Narcissism and talking to a web of people who may or may not be listening... and even if they are, they live in your household which means they can more easily listen to you in real life. Feeling enthusiastic and stuck at the same time, which is okay. Trying to find a path, and when you go down the wrong one, blaming it on something else... your day job or your small apartment, which makes complete sense at the moment, but only to you. I'm not sure this a sensible "review" but I'd give it 2 thumbs up.

I have a list of "43 things" that I'd like to accomplish one day... they gather dust on the pages of my idea book. Thinking about these 43 things inspire me. Sure you may call it an infatuation or just a phase; 8 glasses of water a day, piano, blogging, reading 12 books in 1 year, taking my multi-vitamin and so forth. If you know me, which I'm sure you do, you have laughed about this, without questioning your own list of 43 things.

Become a chef, move through your kitchen with grace, find something therapeutic, be childlike, go on a journey, express your passion, and be daring... learn to bone a chicken.

Epoc Can Read Minds

Detecting your expressions, understanding your emotions, and moving objects with your mind...

sounds like something from the future but it's here today. I just got around to reading the December 2008 edition of Inc. "How to Launch a Billion Dollar Idea" which introduced me to Tan Le, Emotiv co-founder which produced the Epoc headset. This technology can literally read your mind! While it seems to be making a dent in the video game industry (allowing gamers to move virtual objects) I imagine this product could make waves in the ocean of research. All brands dream of truly understanding consumers, and this could be the window into their brains. Imagine Brand X shows you a commercial with this contraption on your head. Perhaps the software can collect your expressions, capture your feelings towards their ad, and compile this data to form a true read on their ad. Often times people cannot express their true emotions, not because they mean to hide them, but because they are human. Maybe the Epoc could help lessen the gap between what people say and do. The article briefly mentions a similar company called EmSense which Coke used for making decisions about their Super Bowl ads. EmSense CEO Keith Winter says "The market research business is worth billions. It's an ocean. Gaming is a pond" and we all know gaming is a very large pond.

A Date With Redbox

I recently began using Redbox which is basically a DVD vending machine. Movies cost $1 as long as you return it the following day by 9pm. If you're late, they charge you a dollar a day; not too bad compared to a $5 movie from Blockbuster. So far I'm a fan because it's cheap and walking distance, however I'm not totally sold on the selection. There are action movies and major releases however they don't seem to rotate often. As long as people start to catch on, I'm sure they will be able to expand their selection. I believe you can also reserve your DVD online before picking it up. I'm looking forward to seeing where they go from here.

This got me thinking, will there ever be a technology that can quickly produce your DVD on the spot, allowing you to select anything you want? That would be cool.

Keep Your Eyes Open for Gypsters

Does anybody know what a Gypster is?

According to trendcentral.com a Gypster is "A person who dresses like a hybrid of a gypsy and a hipster" however according to urbandictionary.com a Gypster is "A snowboarder who adorns him or herself with numerous trinkets and flare dangling from tight pants and a leather jacket, most likely also sporting long hair and a dream catcher necklace." Perhaps it's just too new to define but I can't quite imagine this right now; haven't seem them lurking around Hollywood yet. I'm keeping an eye out for bohemian meets hipster meets dirty hippie.

Thank God for Simpler Times

For only $2.99 you can get a 6-pack of Simpler Times Beer from Trader Joe's. An added benefit... 6.2% alcohol by volume. Pretty good timing eh?

Call-Forwarding from Sprint

Did you know that you can forward your calls to another number without permission from the owner of that number? I didn't know either until my bf had to forward his calls to my number and he was able to do so without me having to give Sprint my consent. Then he tried to cancel it and something didn't work right so I still kept getting his calls. I called Sprint myself and told them I thought that was weird and asked if that was possible to do and she said "Yes and no. As long as they have your number they can, scary huh." I can't believe it; don't be suprised if I get in the mood to send my calls to you.

This Is For The Boys

If you were to select "male" for your gender on a survey, please leave a comment. I want to know your thoughts, even the negative ones...

My light bulb in the bedroom just went out and I automatically thought to tell my bf to change it. It's not as though I can't easily do it myself, but for some reason I felt as though it was "the mans" job, haha. It got me thinking about what else he "should" be doing?! (I'm feeling quite shallow but honest right now). In addition to changing light bulbs here is my list: taking out the trash is #1, killing spiders (but he never does it), carrying/moving heavy things, hooking up electronics, opening jars, dealing with computer problems, and cooking (not preparing) meat, only when it's on the grill. How has this changed from the past? It's hard for me to say however from what I understand I feel as though the main shift for my generation is from the handy man to the tech man. Having lived with many men (currently 3) I could not say that any of them could fix a leaking sink, however hooking up the surround sound is a no-brainer. Of course bringing home the bacon still lingers, but the financial lines have quickly blurred. As we all compete in a technologically savvy world our skills begin to align with those we share our cubicles with. As we move closer in-line with one another, perhaps possessing a blue collar skill could be useful. I can make some sick PowerPoint slides but I can't lay your carpet, install you windows, or change you spark plugs. Something to keep in mind perhaps.

Ice Cream and Cake and Cake!

I love this commercial...

A Watch: Necessity or Accessory?

I was in a meeting today with 7 men wearing 7 watches placed on each of their left wrists. 4 of them had cells phones sitting on the table directly in front of them while I'm sure the rest of them had their phone in their pocket. Other than a watch and for some a wedding ring, I did not notice any other accessories so it made me wonder... Is the watch the ultimate accessory for men? I feel as though it must be because they could not have possibly needed it to tell the time, it was right there in front of them on their cell phone. What does your watch say about you and how important is the brand? Rolex, Cartier, Mavado, which one are you?

Speaking of Being Happy

Internet Explorer is really pissing me off, it's working so slow that I am now testing out Google Chrome; so far so good. I saw this funny video the other day where Google went to the streets asking people what a browser is. I was surprised as there seemed to be a lot of confusion between a browser and search engine, weird. Anyways, I love Google, they also make me happy.

Wells Fargo Makes Me Happy

I've been with Wells Fargo since the age of 9 and when they had charged me for monthly checking, I walked into the bank with my mom to talk to the President of our local branch, Paul, requested to remove the $5 monthly charge, and it was taken care of. A couple other things have made me pleased lately. First off, I love "My Spending Report" accessible via online banking. It makes me realize how I spend way too much eating out. Secondly, you can now deposit checks into the ATM without an envelope which is so convenient and environmental. I keep hoping their text recognition program will not recognize the amount the check is for but it's always spot on, and that makes me happy.

Oatmeal Face

This may sound like an awesome Oatmeal cookie recipe but it's not, it's an awesome natural mask that will make you face feel like a baby's a**. After reading many other recipes, this is what I conjured up however I'm not sure the measurements are entirely perfected yet, but the ingredients are. You may want to cut this in half, it makes a lot.


1 cup of Oatmeal (Rolled Oats)
1 cup of hot water (do not boil)
1 tablespoon olive oil or almond oil
4 tablespoons of honey
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
Some granulated sugar or dark brown sugar (for later)

Grind up the oatmeal, slowly add in water until it makes a thick paste. You may need more (or less) water than a cup. You can either grind the oatmeal in a coffee grinder and then add in the water slowly, or do it all at the same time in a blender (however the coffee grinder will make the oatmeal more fine which is a good thing I think). Add the oatmeal paste and everything else into a closed container (I used an old spaghetti jar), put a lid on it, and shake it all up. You can store this for about a week in the fridge, however know that egg whites are only edible for 2-3 days so you won't want to do any tasting towards the end of the week. After it has cooled, apply it to your face and leave it on until it's entirely dry; about 15 minutes. Your face may feel like it's going to break, this is because the egg whites are doing their job. Sugar is a great exfoliater, however I suggest you add a teaspoon in your hand when you are ready to apply the mask, otherwise if you put the sugar in with the rest of the ingredients it will lose it's graininess and be useless. Rinse with warm water first, then rinse cold water to close your pores, then pat dry. As soon as your face is dry it will feel super soft, hope you love it!

Burgers Gone Wild

Has anybody noticed how "sexy" (and by sexy I mean trashy) burgers have gotten these days? Carl's Jr. has gone mad (cow) with this strategy, and now we have Audrina Patridge from The Hills eating a Teriyaki Burger in a bikini. Burger King just caught on too...

The Unknown Future of Media Agencies

I watched an interesting "3 Minute Ad Age" video on Tivo about reinventing media by a company called VivaKi, "a global media services network of Publicis Groupe." Tim Hanlon, SVP, discussed that we must re-envision the role of media agencies. Historically an agency has been a useful and necessary component for creating and delivering content. As marketing becomes more organic and grassroots, agencies will have to think about what new and innovative content they can provide. With the craze of social networking sites, marketing and brands can manage this themselves, and directly and intimately engage with their consumers through mediums such as facebook. How do agencies buy social media and does it make sense? It's seems as though a lot of brands have found very creative ways to engage their customers anywhere from creating your own M&M to creating your own commercial (Dove did this nicely). There are plenty of fun and useless iphone applications out there too that could be quite an engaging medium. Perhaps agencies will need more programmers and video game developers for this form of interactive content.

This made me think about the world of market research, and the variety of free tools out there like Google Insights, which pose a threat to the research industry as well.

Nothing is constant, everything is always changing, and we must learn to adapt and move forward, otherwise we will fall behind.

The Ford Flex

Typically I do not enjoy radio commercials as rarely do they stand out as unique or interesting to me. However, a few that always make me laugh are those "Real American Hero" commercials for Budweiser and "The Most Interesting Man in the World" commercials for Dos Equis. A new brand has caught my attention recently... the Ford Flex. I have heard about 3 different commercials that I loved and they weren't even funny. They were just normal people talking about their experiences with the Flex, and they had such passion for it. There is this focus on "trading up," positioning it as a luxury vehicle. It's a little funky looking, perhaps too long. I haven't seen any on the road yet, but here is an image from their website.

Credit Card Safety

My boyfriend has been using my credit card since Friday now and it makes me feel quite unsafe that nobody has asked yet why his parents named him Amanda.

Lays as a Choice Architect

I'm reading a book called Nudge by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein and just realized that I was nudged by Lays to buy their new Southwestern Ranch Baked chips. I went to Subway today and when selecting my chips I was immediately drawn to the ones that were displayed separate from the rest. They were in nice wooden baskets at the front on the line, separate from the rest of the chips that sit on the same shelf all competing for my attention. They caught my eye, and of course I selected them without even blinking; then I thought about it when I got home. God forbid, they're baked and glutin free! Nudge says that "A choice architect has the responsibility for organizing the content in which people make decisions" meaning that they basically try to persuade you to make your decision. Lays knew that placing their chips at the front of the line in nice baskets would work. Nudge also discusses their movement called "libertarian paternalism" which basically gets at the idea that people are free to make their own decisions but that choice architects (those trying to nudge you to make your choice) can try to influence your behavior if it results in making people's lives longer healthier, and better. We all like to think that we are solely responsible of our decisions, but realizing that you can easily be persuaded will help you make more educated choices. As a person who considers myself very aware of marketing, I cannot say that I make all my own decisions as clearly Lays was able to Nudge me to select their brand.

Branding John 3:16

I went shopping at Forever21 today (like usual) and noticed this sneaky little passage on the bottom of the bag, John 3:16. According to Wikipedia it's one of the most widely quotes verses from the Christian bible which translates into something like this "For in this way God loved the world, that he gave the unique son, so that all the ones trusting in him would not perish, but have eternal life." I have also seen it printed on the bottom of the In-N-Out soda cups. Christians are trying to get me! I wonder where people would draw the line... what brands can get away with spreading their religion? What religions are okay to spread before people make a fuss?

Thanks Recession

Thanks to the recession you can get a $3 haircut in Thai Town. I can't imagine what that would look like.

Calimocho!!!

I thought I should share my amusement regarding the beverage my dear roommie is currently drinking. It's half cheap red wine and half Coca-Cola with ice. I guess this is a popular drink in Spain that has been around since the early 70s. It was invented by poor teenagers who needed a quick buzz and wanted to mask the taste of cheap wine. A little sweet and fuzzy and surprisingly refreshing. Most importantly, it's P-rock! A new opportunity for Coke perhaps.

Welcome to America...

Kogibbq

I'm not telling you anything you don't already know (especially fellow LA foodies) but I have now joined the masses in feeling the obsession for Kogi tacos. If you haven't tried them yet, it's a must. Definitely the best non-Mexican tacos I have ever tried - bold statement. It's Korean bbq delivered via a taco truck that you can only find by following them on Twitter. I tried the short rib taco, the spicy chicken taco and the spicy pork taco. All amazing but my fav was the short rib taco which is their signature item.

Soda Pound Cake

I saw this pound cake made by Crush and 7up today - yes, the sodas. Sometimes brand extensions make sense, sometimes they don't. I couldn't get myself to try it so I suppose I can't be too judgemental. What do you think?

Wake Up People, Coffee Does Not Cost $5!

I have recently been haunted by the misconception that coffee is $5, when in reality that is not true. For some reason really smart people love to state this time and time again. I even hear this in casual conversations with friends and family as they recall the days when coffee didn't cost $5 - what the heck are they drinking these days?! A Venti Frappuccino with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and an extra shot of espresso is not coffee.


Let me begin with citing a few (of many) recent examples I have come across...

In his spectacular book Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions, Dan Ariely discusses how people create price anchors that help them determine the value of comparable products based off their initial experience with a competing brand. He reminds us of our first Starbucks experience after having been use to Dunkin' Donuts coffee prices (whatever that may be). "The prices of the coffee (at Starbucks) are a shock... and (we) are now curious about what coffee at this price might taste like... you don't know how you got into this price bracket in the first place." He however states a Tall (aka small) cup of coffee at Starbucks costs $2.20 which to me does not sound unreasonable. I read it's priced different geographically; for me it use to be $1.70 but I noticed last week a small now costs $2.00.

On http://www.ted.com/ there is a talk by Joseph Pine called What do consumers really want? He discusses how people want to feel that what they buy is authentic, but that being authentic is difficult for brands to achieve. He sites a few examples that are perceived not to be authentic where the brand is still able to make money. He says that when you treat coffee as an authentic experience, which Starbucks proves to do, this allows them to charge you "2,3,4, even $5 for a cup of coffee" - oh brother.

There is this article on Forbes.com written in 2003 about 7-Eleven ramping up their coffee offering. They state that "The drinks will cost about $1 per cup instead of the typical coffee house prices hovering between $3 and $4."

Anyways, I'm sure you have all either said the $5 cup of coffee lie or heard it before. I read an article recently (I can't recall where) that said Starbucks is ready to challenge this false misconception and I could not be any happier.

A small cup of coffee at Starbucks is $2 (give or take). A Starbucks cup of coffee is considered to be of greater quality than coffee in the past, or even coffee at your local mini-mart. Also, I recall when coffee came in those small styrofoam cups that were 8 ounces whereas a small cup of Starbucks is 12 ounces. Also, remember those gross dairy-free powder creams? Starbucks allows you to use as much fresh milk as you would like, which of course costs money. While paying for the experience exists to a degree, some of us grab our coffee and get out of the door having spent $2 which to me, does not sound unreasonable. I wish Starbucks all the best in refuting this myth.

At the end of the day, I think the coffee war is simple - provide a variety of offerings with customization and high quality at a fair and competitive price. Oh yeah, and a special experience. We would have never imagined that something so simple could become so complicated.

Don't Judge a Book by it's Cover

Moms and Dads around the world have echoed these words "don't judge a book by it's cover" many times, yet old and young people alike still do it. Paul Potts and Susan Boyle fill me with so much emotion that I want to burst into tears. 100% of me is happy for them, while the other 100% of me is angry, and that 200% is why I want to burst. What do Paul and Susan have in common? These are 2 great singers that auditioned on the reality show Britain's Got Talent. They have both been judged for the way they look, getting immediate scrutiny and extreme surprise simply because they can sing. The scowls from the audience members and the comments from the hosts include comments such as "I think we've got a case of a little lump of coal here..."a frog that will turn into a prince..." and "without a doubt the biggest surprise..." Never ever has a good voice been correlated with the way a person looks or what job they may have, so why the extreme surprise? Maybe pop-stars and shows like American Idol have created that perception, however it saddens me.

Everybody from the New York Times to Oprah and little bloggers like me are talking. She was even #1 on Google Trends. I can't embed the video but you can google or youtube her - yes, those are verbs now.

When is it Time to Redefine the Newsroom?

Over 5 years ago I noticed that news reporters were transforming their style from suits and ties to "business casual". I mainly noticed women wearing tighter "sexier" clothes with more vibrant hair and makeup. I have accepted that it's the standard now, people like to watch (or hopefully listen) to them, maybe we feel more comfortable now that we can relate on a casual and personal level - who really knows - but it seems as though it's here to stay. See before and after below. Even the before image may have been step #2 when we lost the button-down dress shirt, and moved to a tank top under a blazer.

Now that we have jumped that hurdle, I think it's time for somebody to step up and redesign the newsroom. Typically sitting at big oval desks, surrounded by bright blue lights and shades of brown and grey - lots of TVs and things that signify technology.

Why is this the norm? I feel it's quite uninviting. What about a physical transformation - something clean and modern or possibly artistic. Maybe even edgy, or something that resembles your living room. Would that catch my eye and revitalize it for me?

Listen to Jason Damato

I just read that sentence at the top of my blog and realized that since the creation of this blog I have not written about blueberries, music, or movies yet. However, I have consumed plenty of all 3. Let's go with music - ding! I was recently introduced to a musician named Jason Damato. My favorite song of his is called Capsized. I saw him perform live last week and it was even better than watching him on youtube. What I enjoyed the most was his emotion and display of passion as he performed. The authenticity really makes you connect with him. I know, emo, but I'm serious, you should check him out, it will give you goose bumps.

You can experience him here: http://www.youtube.com/damatotv