Giving Affiliates a Voice: Melanie Seery’s path to advocacy

The formation of an industry requires the development of a group identity. Often that development is neglected because group members are focused on growing their business. Over the last year the affiliate industry has been experiencing growing pains in the form of legal challenges brought about by such things as the so-called New York Amazon Tax. In the aftermath of that tax being ratified a group of New York affiliates pulled together to provide guidelines to those impacted by the tax. Melanie Seery was part of that group and found herself drawn into the role of advocate on behalf of the affiliate industry. As part of that advocacy effort she recently launched new industry organization Affiliate Voice. Almost a year after the New York Amazon Tax was passed I sat down with Melanie Seery to discuss her involvement in the affiliate industry, her quick learning curve with political advocacy, and how she sees the tax issues evolving. How did you get started in affiliate marketing? I got involved in affiliate marketing about five years ago. Before affiliate marketing I had a business writing employee how-to manuals, which is really, really boring work. I would go into a business, take each and every position and write down step by step everything that employee had to do in the course of the day. Not fascinating and not interesting from a creative perspective. After that I got into multilevel marketing. What I liked about MLM was that I was selling vitamins and health food products. I really enjoyed that aspect of helping people be healthy. But when I started I didn’t realize how big a component recruitment was to MLM. Ultimately it kind of discouraged me. Thats when someone told me about affiliate marketing and sent me off to Commission Junction. After some exploring I found an interesting coffee merchant and that was the beginning of it. Why is being self-employed and working at home important to you? I am independent by nature and have been self-employed for the past 12 years. Its real important for me to be home with my children and my family. My children have neurofibromatosis, so do I. Neurofibromatosis is a neurological disorder that can cause tumors to grow on nerve endings. There are lots of challenges to maintaining health with such a disorder, as you can imagine. I have to keep constantly on top of it with my family. Being self-employed allows me to maintain that balance. At what point did you feel affiliate marketing was the right business for you? It was two or three months down the line and all of a sudden I started getting some really good sales. I created sites around my interests. It wasnt just things I liked to drink like coffee, tea and accessories. After the birth of my children I began reaching out to parents whose children had similar disorders. I would post topics like, “How do I get my child to sleep all the way through the night?” I found myself connecting with other parents and sharing information. The process of creating a support group of sorts became another website. Before you know it I had several websites going and 10 more ideas. Affiliate marketing seemed to pull the best of all worlds together for me because I could use my writing to educate while sharing my creativity and connecting to other people. It was like talking with my friends and community; only in this case I’m being creative and making a website. Its amazing being able to grow a business out of that sharing. Its very exciting for me. Everybody seems to start with Commission Junction. At what point did you realize that there were other networks? Through places like ABestWeb I found networks like ShareASale. The discovery of ShareASale was a major point turning point for me. It was a combination of finding a network that had smaller niche merchants and allowed for real personal contact with the network and with the merchants in the network. I sort of came out of my shell and found myself becoming part of the industry when I received my first invitation to a ShareASale Think Tank. It was funny but I thought to myself, “They must have me confused with somebody else”. Because even though I was doing well I still didnt think I was doing as well as everybody else out there. I had never met anyone in the industry prior to that or even spoken with anyone on the phone. The Think Tank showed me the importance of being an affiliate in direct touch with the merchant. Its all about relationships in this industry. When did you first hear about the Amazon Tax and how did it affect you? We had heard rumblings prior to April. But we also heard from New York lawmakers that it would never pass. Suddenly when April came around we learned that Governor Patterson had signed it into law. It took us by surprise because of our “it could never happen here” attitude. I don’t think we ever truly realized how much it would impact our businesses. Now I see the same process happening in other states like California, Minnesota and, Connecticut. Its phenomenal how quickly things change. It’s great to see the industry is actually being proactive and stepping forward to fight these bills before they become law. It’s a lot easier to fix things before they’re broken. When the New York law took effect many merchants removed affiliates from their programs. This destroyed a lot of businesses. But what was worse was the lack of communication between merchants, networks and affiliates. There were a lot of behind the scenes activities with program managers and their CEOs about that never brought the affiliates into the loop. That did a lot of damage. We would get terminations with little or no notice. Once they passed the law we started to receive sudden terminations in the mail. Even retroactive terminations-it would be June 15 and you’d get this email from a merchant that told you were deactivated as of May 30. Affiliates were kind of steamrolled and quickly our incomes and businesses were gone. A group of us got together and said this isn’t right. We felt there had to be a solution we could work out. Thats when Kevin Webster and I started talking about holding a meeting among New York affiliates. When we announced it a lot of people stepped up to help, providing us resources so we could find a good corporate lawyer. At the time I had set up a personal blog that I put together to help keep people up to date about what was going on. It was called New York Affiliate Voice, which is what many people think the name of the group is, but it’s really the Albany Group because thats where we first met. We managed to set a course of action and put together a plan for how New York affiliates and any remaining merchants who wanted to work with us could go from here. In many cases it still wasnt enough because merchants were still terminating affiliates rather than attempting to comply with the new law. My income was down 72% last year because of the knee jerk reaction of many businesses. From the affiliates I talk to thats pretty average. Were you frustrated with the fact that the industry was slow to respond to this threat? At the time we were all frustrated because all we saw was a lack of action for New York affiliates. There was a sense of hopelessness or resignation in everybody. At the time when we were going through the horrible effects of this law upon our businesses, I kept thinking why doesnt anybody care about us? I think the whole industry was in a state of disbelief. I remember two things were said to me after the New York Affiliate session at Affiliate Summit. They were: 1) We didnt understand how deeply this would impact your, meaning affiliates, business and livelihoods. People sometimes forget that for many of us this isn’t just a hobby. It is the income that we rely on to pay a mortgage, to pay our bills, to take care of our children and our families and, 2) everybody felt they “didnt know what to do”. I think it had to be the affiliates who took control the situation in New York because that was the group directly affected. It empowered affiliates to take a course of action and pull together. It let everyone know this was a serious challenge to our industry. I am proud of the things the Albany Group put together. Was that your first involvement with political advocacy? Yes. (laugh) I learned a lot over this last year. I learned an incredible amount about the legislative process, not only in New York but in other states as well. I found myself thinking, I dont remember learning the ins and outs of how this works back in school. I think people take so many things for granted, including how their local government works. At the beginning of this year you won several awards including the Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Award for Affiliate Advocate of the Year. How did that impact you? One thing it showed me was that we made a difference last year. And by “we”, I mean there wasnt just me, there was a whole group of us that pulled this together. What the recognition also did was start me thinking about advocacy in general because I knew it was important. Basically, the work on the New York Tax Law took over the whole last 10 or 11 months of my life. Over time it became a larger part of my day whether it was answering emails from affiliates or phone call questions from a merchant. I realized that I had to make a choice of whether I wanted to be an advocate or an affiliate. I came to the conclusion that the advocacy needed to continue and I couldn’t give it up. How did Affiliate Voice come about? When I made the choice to focus on advocacy I was simply going to change New York Affiliate Voice into a type of advocacy group. When people found out about my idea they kept asking why just New York? I ended up speaking to Haiko de Poel Jr. and Rhea Tannenbaum and they encouraged me to form a larger organization and call it Affiliate Voice to open it up to everybody. So I took the ball and ran with it so to speak. After the beginning of the year there seemed to be a lull then suddenly there was a domino effect of new legislation that came out. How have you perceived the recent changes? Well, thats a good way to describe it. There was that little lull and I was just beginning to think that I could go back to focusing on my business. Then legislators in my area that I had gotten close to working with the Albany Group, pointed me towards pending legislation in several states, including California. It seemed to spring up one after another. Equally scary is legislation on the books in some states that includes sales representatives, solicitors and other representatives in the definition of “nexus”. It is so open to interpretation and in my mind it could easily encompass affiliates as well. Whats the biggest misunderstanding that legislators have about the affiliate industry? I think it is important to understand both sides of the issue. See the states are faced with incredible economic challenges right now. They have to find new revenue resources. In the Quill Corp. v. North Dakota case it was ruled that in order for an interstate transaction to have sales tax applied to it, as opposed to a use tax, there has to be a substantial presence on behalf of the business providing the goods. Whats happening is these tax bills you are seeing are not new taxes. The only thing that is changing is the method which the states are using to collecting the tax. Thats a not just something legislators are saying to make it sound better to consumers. That is in fact what is going on. If you look at how quickly internet shopping and affiliate marketing have grown over the last couple of years it is easy to see why states want to collect this tax. Its an incredible amount of revenue they’re losing out on. But by the same token those states that are trying to enact these anti-affiliate laws have to understand how uneven this makes the playing field for affiliates and publishers in their state. In their current form these laws will prompt many merchants to simply avoid paying the tax by cutting loose all their affiliates or moving to a different advertising model. For those reasons it won’t bring the kind of revenues states are hoping for. Also legislators have to understand the complexity involved for a merchant trying to deal with the more than 7,500 different US tax jurisdictions regarding interstate transactions. It’s not just a matter of installing some software and remitting sales-tax. Each of these 7,500 different tax jurisdictions has a different set of guidelines a merchant must comply with. Can you imagine 7,500 different filings every quarter? What business has those resources? How do you see this playing out long-term? I believe it will come down to some kind of federal involvement, maybe through the Streamlined Sales Tax Project, which is still gaining momentum. The Streamlined Sales Tax Project is a destination-based sales-tax which allows each state to designate one flat rate. All states that have sales and use tax will have to charge tax on the same items. Because right now items that are taxable in New York may not be taxable in California or vice versa. So the Streamlined Sales Tax Project wants to unify and streamline the process by designating which items are taxable in every state and allow each state to have one flat rate with the tax being paid by the receiving State. Thats the ideal situation. The governors in general are pressing for such a process but to enact it nationwide will be a slow process and require changes to multiple state laws. Recently Scott Jangro wrote an excellent article posing the question of whether the affiliate industry needs two associations? Are you worried about an us-versus-them mentality creating a split in the industry? I think having two organizations actually strengthens the industry. I dont look at the Performance Marketing Alliance and Affiliate Voice as competing. I look at us as two slightly different entities but with the same relative goal which is to help change the direction of our industry, to help spur new growth, and not leave our destinies in the hands of legislators who have no clue what we are all about as a professional industry. Prior to launching Affiliate Voice I reached out to the PMA to let them know we wanted to work together and complement one another’s strengths. I think Affiliate Voice is well suited to advocate for an Affiliate Bill of Rights and help affiliates maintain their business should these anti-affiliate taxes or other similar legislations be ratified. The PMA can do more with lobbying and organizing challenges to legislation. They are very well equipped to do this. I have no interest in wasting energy or time in petty politics or some kind of nonproductive competition. Every industry has multiple organizations and the affiliate industry shouldnt be any different. What are the goals for Affiliate Voice in 2009? We are working on establishing an industry Code of Ethics. We also want to formulate and ratify an Affiliate Bill of Rights to help improve relationships between all parties in the affiliate industry. In terms of keeping up with all the legislative efforts in various states, well, that will be an ongoing challenge throughout the whole year. Since affiliates by nature seem to be fiercely independent and private. Do you feel they will join an organization, any organization? As people get used to the idea that you can be part of an organization without having to open your business model to scrutiny attitudes will change. Especially if we can demonstrate how organizations can achieve good things. Perceptions wont change overnight but I think people will come to realize that they need organization. Right now I feel the affiliate industry is a bit demoralized but, as people see two groups out there fighting for change they will become more encouraged at the efforts being taken. Personally I am encouraged with all the effort Ive seen over the last couple of months with people rallying and stepping up, including the networks, to take a public stance against this type of legislation. I have seen merchants reaching out to their affiliates to help provide advice. All this effort is such a fabulous change compared to what happened in New York. It shows we have learned as an industry. I think this could be a rough year while we battle this legislation but ultimately were going to be able to adjust this industry and be all right.

Comment on The battle for Fremantle by Antony Green

Absolutely not Razor. They did try that in WA as I explain here http://blogs.abc.net.au/antonygreen/2008/07/ticket-voting-f.html
The simple answer is optional preferential voting. No doubt lower house ticket voting would be justified on the basis of cutting informal votes, but its real purpose would be to allow parties to get control of preferences and direct them as they wish, ignoring the will of voters.
George Speights coup in Fiji in 2000 was indirectly caused by the operation of ticket voting, where the election of an ethnic Fijian Indian government had come about by the operation of centrally arranged preference deals at odds with the first preference votes cast by voters.
And why should you be surprised that people cant follow instructions? Why do you think Labors how to vote in Fremantle tries to run straight lines of preferences? Why did the Greens run their ticket straight down the ballot paper in the Mayo by-election which put One Nation ahead of the Liberals? The answer is you get less transcription errors by voters from simple how-to-vote numbering sequences. Also, ask a shop owner how many goods are returned by purchasers who tried to operate them without first reading the instructions.
Some people think they are being funny numbering a ballot paper 1,2,3,99,100. The intent is clear. In WA it would count. Federally it would be informal, something I think is stupid.

Ancestral Lore

Miller Taylor has added a photo to the pool:
“I've Always Lived Where There Were Pine Trees and Corn Grew.”
Geneva Lynnette Hester Dailey, Born February 12, 1922
This collection of images depicts my Grandmother returning to the major locations of her life, scenes that live on in her unwritten stories and oral histories. She is seen on the ancestral farm known only as “The Old Place,” which was originally purchased by her grandfather. She points to the chimney within the collapsed remains of the house he built there during the Civil War, the place of her birth. In the small community of White Oak she stands in the neatly planted rows of trees that were once her backyard and looks towards the barren hill where her and my Grandfather's house once stood many years ago before it was destroyed by fire. In front of a backdrop of worn wood and peeled paint, she stands by the doorway of the old Post Office that her husband walked through everyday while serving as a Rural Letter Carrier after returning from WWII. In her current home, where I grew up, she plays the harmonica and shows her favorite picture: an image of her father, Graham, posing with a pistol that she still keeps today. These are the scenes still given life through oral history, the settings of our Ancestral Lore.
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Sauerbraten, käsespätzle, rotkraut, Bananagrams, family, friends, and pets.

It was a fantabulous day! We started cooking early. The rotkraut is always my responsibility. When it comes to making sauerbraten, Peter subscribes to my mom’s credo: “Das fuehlt man.” (One just feels it.) This is Bear, Jack’s Bernese Mountain Dog. (Jack is one of CJ’s co-workers.) Would you believe she’s scared of men (except Jack, of course), but loves women? The weather was perfect so we could finally be on the deck. Yeah – spring is definitely here! Finally! Peter and Shannon. They’re a great couple, and very happy. They keep each other – and everyone around them – laughing! Beer – of course! This is, after all, a traditional German dinner! Jack and Bear. Look at those faces! Kat’s pre-dinner Bananagram! Peter and Tom – classy chefs. (Not…) Shannon and Kat try to rile Boo. Nope, not happnin’! The cat is MELLOW. Everyone gets put to work. Elisabeth and Jack are preparing strawberries for strawberry shortcake. CJ is… um… supervising! Tom and Elisabeth “constructing” the Käsespätzle. OK, actually Tom is constructing and Elisabeth is tasting. Do you really want to know how much butter and cheese (and onions) are in this stuff?! CJ and Elisabeth – cute couple, n’est pas? Aleks and Kat are ready to eat! Where’s the foooood? The whole gang – Aleks, Kat, CJ, Jack, Tom, Elisabeth, Peter, and Shannon. Dig in! I inhaled it. …and, I’m ashamed to say, this to. After dinner we played more Bananagrams. Boo had to get in on the action, of course. His tail was right in Tom’s playing space! We would have spelled “catatonic,” but the letters fell off when he breathed. Shannon’s in love. Obviously, Boo’s in love too. I had visions of Boo getting his head caught in the pitcher and stopped this. Does that mean I’m an overprotective cat lady? It was a great day! The weather was great, the company was great, and the food was great. What more can I ask for?

mujaki.

boil coffee for you

July and Buttercream.. Two Bitter Lovers

Chris from Mele Cotte was our hostess this month - and a lovely hostess at that! Chris chose Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream as our Daring Baker challenge for the month of July.I had mixed feelings.. I won't lie. Since my "lifestyle change" is still in effect, when I saw the cake included buttercream and chocolate, well I could feel my adrenaline start pumping and there seemed to be an instant bounce in my step.. CHOCOLATE. OHMYGOD HOW I MISS THEE SO MUCH.On the other hand, as much as I love the buttercream, ugh.. I've had enough of it to last me a good long while AND the temps in NE Ohio are pretty high with the mugginess at about 593% - just a smidge uncomfortable in these parts. ;) I'm a lucky gal as we've got central air but I wondered if it'd be enough to keep my buttercream thick and workable.. Mmmm hmmm..I present to you the answer to that question:Allow me to fill ya'll in on the July Kitchen Disaster of 2008.I was on vacation the week I decided to make the cake - it was the perfect time because we were going to a sleep over at 2 of my bestest friends' house and I knew I could unload the fat/calorie laden cake on them.. so I started on Monday and made the pistachio (Bless Chris' heart, she gave us lots of room to personalize this cake.. changing the nut being one of them) flour and pistachio praline. Both went off without a hitch.I got back to the cake on Friday.. making the cake was, again, no problem.. my 2 layers puffed up nicely and were quite pretty in an green kind of way. hee! I decided to go with my go-to buttercream recipe from Jacques Torres because I'm confident in my ability to make that frosting without problems and wasn't really up to trying yet another buttercream recipe in the heat and humidity of my kitchen. Well, I guess it didn't matter what recipe I went with.. my house was just too warm and sticky even with the A/C BLASTING at Antarctic temperatures. I couldn't get this stuff to thicken up for the life of me. So I threw it in the freezer - and by that I mean, I literally threw the KA mixing bowl full of delicious buttercream soup into our chest freezer. :DSaturday morning.. I OF COURSE get side tracked on DB stuff and email catch up duties.. so I've got about 2 hours to crank this cake out and make the 3 snackers I had planned on bringing. You know, I've been in this position more times than I can count.. actually every time. I am late for everything - the quintessential procrastinator extraordinare. Seriously. And it doesn't matter how many times I rush to finish something before the deadline - it doesn't matter that I'm a heaping sack of nerves, angst and perspiration as I bolt out the door to get where I'm suppose to be within an hour (or two) of when I was suppose to initially be there. It doesn't matter how I call myself names and then give myself the silent treatment for being such an ASSHOLE every single time. I conveniently forget all of that the next time I'm procrastinating about something.. GAH.So this shouldn't come as a shock, but the very second I stepped foot in my kitchen that morning, the sky started to cloud over, I could smell the smoke from the firey depths of hell tickle my nostrils, I could sense pending disaster in the air.. yet I actually ignored it all and sliced my two layers into 4 layers. I added the praline to my barely thawed buttercream that barely thickened up after the deep freeze. I made a so-good-you-could-drink-with-a-straw soaking syrup of sugar, orange juice and Grand Marnier. I got out my brush, my offset spatula and my plastic lazy susan thingie that cake decorators use and I bravely began assembly.First layer of cake and buttercream looked good! I had hope! Second layer.. not so much.. buttercream started to thin again.. but that's okay because my plan was to throw it in the fridge the very second I had all 4 layers together so it could set up while I started my antipasto salsa (mmm mmm good, btw!) and brie/strawberry jam filled phyllo cups (swoon).. third layer? Well.. the leaning Tower of Pisa came to mind.. and I started looking for my bamboo skewers.. fakk it, it won't take but a second to get that fourth and final layer on! Instructions said to soak the cut side of that final layer with the syrup and then flip it over so the even side was on top.. at least that's what I thought I read - to this day I'm not really sure if I was imagining that step or not.Anyhoo.. soaked she be.. carefully flip her over on the top of the lean-to and then.. and then I'm holding a piece of the layer in each hand and the rest of it kinda just flooped onto the top of the cake.FAKK ME.It took a few seconds for me to get over the shock of the breakage. I mean, I know I shouldn't have been surprised - this is par for the course when I'm baking - but I was like.. "You've got to be fucking kidding me. WHY NOW?? DEAR GOD, WHY NOW???" And then I started laughing. Kinda like Tom Hanks in The Money Pit when he poured the last bucket of hot water into the tub, causing the tub to go crashing through the floor.. that kind of laugh where you are pretty damn sure you have just lost the very last semblance of your fucking mind and are also expecting Candid Camera personnel to pop out from behind the Frigidaire, pointing and laughing at you?Only no one came popping out and apparently I had partial control of my mind because the panic started to set in.. I had less than an hour to finish all this AND get my butt into the shower so I didn't smell like buttercream and goat.I simply turned my palms over and let the two pieces fall where they may.. I kinda nudged the part that flooped out on the cake over and like a puzzle, tried to put the pieces together. I probably would have had more success if I had chosen to move the pieces with the Vulcan Mind Meld technique than adding the heat from my hands to the buttercream.. but again, there wasn't much of my mind left at this point.I finally cried UNCLE! And realized this cake wasn't going anywhere.. so the cake, complete with plastic lazy susan cake decorator thingie was thrown into the upright freezer in my kitchen. Course that would be after I opened it's door and half the contents came flying out at me - frozen blocks of tuna, bag of hard lil meatballs, 3 pound sack of sharp strawberry chunks, various ice cubes and I think there was a package of chicken sausage that came at me like a torpedo. So yeah, once I dodged all of that, the cake went in, I slammed the door and decided to stop thinking about it.. LALALALALALALALAALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU! YOU DON'T EXIST FUCKING SPLOOGEY MELTY BROKEN CAKE LALALALALALALALALAAAAI didn't think about the cake the rest of the night and managed to at least accomplish the goal of getting completely hammered. I was suckin' down jello shots through a turkey injector, people! YEEE HAW!!! I have no recollection of saying good night to my fine hosts.. I have no recollection of finding the guest room.. getting into bed.. nothing. All I know is that I woke up the next morning and WANTED TO DIE. My hairs hurt. My clothes hurt. I hadn't been that hung over since way back in my drinking days say.. oh.. 10-15 years ago? Holy mother of a hairless Chin. I thought for sure I was going to meet my maker at any second.So as you might imagine, the thought of that cake didn't enter my mind AT ALL on Sunday either. Monday night rolled around and I was still hung-over, I shit you not. But now I was hungry again and nothing was going to cure what ailed me other than chocolate and buttercream, so I took that frozen bitch out of the freezer and whipped up a delectable ganache. I sliced the uneven (to say the least) sides off and poured that sweet sweet nectar over the top.. I even salvaged a lil buttercream from the other freezer and made a pretty decoration...HEE!Okay, horror stories aside, ultimately I'd like to make out with Chris for chosing such an amazing cake.. the taste was phenomenal. I'm not sure if it was the flavors I chose (pistachio, orange, chocolate and raspberry [the preserves I slathered all over it before pouring the ganache]) or if it was because I truly SOAKED the layers in that syrup.. but it was sooooo moist and the orange/choc/raspberry together was just over the top.Did I mention that I SOAKED the cake in the syrup? NOM NOM NOM *slurp*I did NOT take this cake in to share with the co-workers. NO. I. DID. NOT. I sliced her up and froze the slices :D Oh yes my friends.. Lissee will not share this cake with anyone, cellulite be damned. As of today, there are 8 slices left.. let's see if I can make it through the entire summer before depleting my supply. HAR!Excellent challenge! Loved it! Will most likely NEVER make it again! At least not in the summer months.. heheeYa'll know the drill.. start clickin' on that blogroll and commence with the droolage!xoxo

Sausage Stampede (Oct 8, 2006)

The one thing I always forget about Elgin, is it ain’t Manor. It’s 20 miles further east. Therefore, I am invariably 20 minutes late. The Sausage Stampede, a 5K for the advancement of all things sausage...actually the Elgin chamber and a cancer research fund...found my way to my race calendar quite by accident. I had planned on running the Hairy Man in Round Rock on the 14th, but along with being directionally challenged I apparently can’t read a calendar. The hairy man being on the next weekend, the sausage stampede became my race of choice.I rolled 290 east out of Austin, fully aware most of the shell stations refused to open before 9:00am...there must be some problem with coffee being brewed in east Travis county, who knows, blue law? I'd hoped to find a way to feed my caffeine dependence in route in Manor. No luck.No 7/11, no reliable conveinance stores in route. Minus 5 points for this race. Plus...the aforementioned problem with its deceptive distance from the 787 zip...oh yeah, that’s my prob.Anyway, feeling a little rushed and undercaffeinated, I found Elgin. The race was a rectangular route around historic downtown. I registered 30 minutes before start time, finding Evil and the RunFar crew...but surprisingly few runners. The check-in volunteers were all super sweet women, who were militantly rationing safety pins for the race numbers. Only one per racer. Wow. People were improvising...folding numbers on one side and tucking them into their shorts. One woman just ran with hers in her hand, like a hanky. They were sweet about it, and I guess it gave the race some small town charm...musta been a run on safety pins at the Wal-Mart.What is nice, is that Elgin still feels like Elgin. It hasn’t californized, or austintationized...whatever... itself yet. UnLike Liberty Hill and Seward’s Junction, it still feels like a small town. Not greater Generica. Plus 5 points. Must be that extra 20 miles. I know it confused me, maybe it has thrown everybody off.On to the race.I had thought a bunch of Austin runners were doing this dude, but the only folks I knew at the start were Mike Burton and his wife Sara. I warmed up and toed the line about third row. At the gun, Mike was about 8th and I stayed about 10 feet behind him till the first turn. TOO FAST. One kid shot off the front and took some high school hotshots with him. In the pack I only saw 3 what I considered legitimate runners. Guys that looked controlled. We made the turn at about 600 meters, and as we turned to head north, back up town for the long straight, 3 of the high schoolers broke. Burton broke a couple of more and by a mile (for me a 5:31...Shit, still too fast) it was this one kid way out front, 300 meters in front of Burton, Burton, this guy Mario and me, plus about 4 guys close to me. Mario had about 50 meters on me. The weather was 68 to 70, overcast and damp but not super humid. Air felt decent. The leg was about a mile and a quarter long, slow incline with a downhill charge to the turn that you had to climb back up to get the the long downhillish, flat finish. I felt okay. Burton was trying to reel in the rabbit, and he was fading, but not by much. Mario was strong and steady, but I was slowly making up ground. As we made the turn for home and started the climb, I caught Mario, but only just. As we crested the hill and headed home I could still hear him. He could close, but not hold. I held him off till the end, then sprinted the line. Clipped the line in 17:35, a PR by more than a minute, and in 3rd overall. First old fart.Afterwards they had bottled dasani, ice cold in tubs and powerade. Plus out on the square, free Elgin sausage, a keg of beer, nothing like Budlite at 9:30 in the morning, and a moonwalk for the kiddos.Awards were nicely done finisher type medals, with what division you won. But they were all the same, first second or third. And it only took them about 45 minutes to get to the results.Everybody was super nice, and nobody associated with event left. They all hung around and clapped for all the finishers and the awards.So how does it rank?Course: Rocks, flat by Austin standards, good for testing your VO2 and getting what I'd call a McMillan-type time. Do the race, use your time, check the chart. If the weather ain’t super shitty, it’s a good gauge.No coffee. 7-11 not a sponser. Elgin sausage is a lot of peoples favorite. Makes me burp.Love the small time charm.Winning is like rose colored glasses. Everything looks okay when you PR and get hardware.

Purchase a PlayStation Portable PSP-3000, get a free game

Amazon.com is offering a free PlayStation Portable game with the purchase of the most recent PlayStation Portable (PSP-3000) game system. There are three good games to select from: God of War: Chains of Olympus, LocoRoco and Hot Shots Golf Open Tee. Not a bad way to start playing on the PSP! From Amazon.com: "For a limited time, when you purchase a PSP 3000 Core Pack - Black, you can get a qualifying PSP Greatest Hits title for free*. Offer limited to products shipped and sold by Amazon.com. Offer begins at 12:00 AM Pacific time on 5/10/09 and ends at 11:59 PM Pacific time on 5/16/09. This offer may not be combined with other offers or promotional certificates. Limit one free game per household. *Tax and shipping charges may apply." How to purchase the PSP-3000 and get a free game of your choice: Add PSP 3000 Core Pack - Black to your shopping cart. Add one of the following games to your shopping cart: - God of War: Chains of Olympus - Hot Shots Golf Open Tee - LocoRoco Once you proceed to checkout, you'll see the discount for the PSP game you selected. From Amazon.com

Passion Cove (2000)

Monique Parent Passion CoveA series of independent episodes with only their secluded seaside setting as the common link. In each episode, attractive young men and women end up in bed (on the couch, in the shower, on the kitchen table, etc.) together through unusual circumstances. Sometimes there is a twist ending, but that's not really the show's main focus. Written by Jean-Marc RocherPassion Cove' is an erotic winner, 7 March 2001Author: D.S.Cinemax's adult series, "Passion Cove," is a winner, and it deserves to run for years.A vintage drama that revolves around the romantic lives of its characters, "Passion Cove" appeals to the erotic side in adults. Its characters (and actors) are attractive. They have different backgrounds. But they have one thing in common: striving toward a strong balance of love and pleasure.The erotic program is well-produced; it isn't sleazy, nor does it come off aimlessly. I like it because it has a healthy attitude toward sex. Unlike some other cable adult series -- past and present -- "Passion Cove" has a good look to it (never too brightly or darkly lit), and the scripts are above what you'd normally anticipate from a program of this genre (for something truly hideous, for comparison's sake, think of the stuff that's aired on Showtime, like "Hot Springs Hotel" and especially the neurotically lifeless "Red Shoe Diaries")."Passion Cove" is one of cable's smartest produced adult series -- ranking along with such greats as HBO's 1980s anthology "The Hitchhiker," Showtime's 1980s soap "A New Day in Eden," and Cinemax's 1990s joyous "Hot Line" -- and I hope this series has a good, long life.LW

The Mermaid Queen, Shana Corey, andSome Art That’ll Really Wake You Up

Heres swimmer, film star, fashion trend-setter, and the first woman to attempt to swim the English Channel, Annette Kellerman, slicing through the waterwinning races and setting records. Have you all seen the fabulous new picture book biography about Kellerman and her derring-do? Perhaps you read Betsy Birds review of it last week. I love this book, and Im here on this Nonfiction Monday to welcome the author, Shana Corey, who is going to talk a bit about the book and her work. Shana, as she writes in the books Authors Note, has always been interested in women and girls brave enough to make waves. And Ive got some fabulous art from the title to show as well  with fingers crossed that illustrator Edwin Fotheringham will soon be sending me his responses to my illustrator-interview questionnaire and then we can hear more from him, too. If you saw his work in last years What to Do About Alice?: How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy! by Barbara Kerley, then you know how exuberant Fotheringhams highly stylized illustrations are. (If youre like me and havent had your seven impossible cups of coffee before breakfast yet, Edwins art will wake up DIRECTLY.) Coreys Mermaid Queen (Scholastic, April 2009) is the story of Kellerman, born in 1886 in Sydney, Australia. Annette, as a child, had to wear leg braces (probably from rickets, Shana writes), but later she learned to swim and, as noted above, set many records. She began her swimming career at a time when women athletes were far from respected. But, believing swimming was the most superior sport, Annette kept at it and also spoke out against the constraining (to say the very least) ladies bathing costumes of that time. Once, when wearing a boys swimsuit at Londons Bath Club, she caused quite the stir and eventually sewed stockings onto the suit, a moment from her life included in Mermaid Queen  and done so dramatically and to great effect. Also included is the scene at Boston Harbor in the summer of 1908, which you can see here, in which Annette was arrested for indecency for not wearing a dress-and-pantaloon swimsuit, popular during that time. (more&)

2008 Kia Rio ( Philadelphia ) $9989

Northeast Car Connection 2001 Byberry Road, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19116 -- 215-676-3500 2008 Kia Rio 215-676-3500 Price: $9,989 CARFAX Available! All Vehicles PA Inspected! Description: Air Conditioning, Climate Control, Power Steering, Clock, Tachometer, Tilt Steering Wheel, Driver Airbag, Passenger Airbag, ABS Brakes, Rear Defogger, Intermittent Wipers, AM-FM, CD Player, 14 inch Wheels, Cloth Interior Surface - Contact Andy Shull at 215-676-3500 or andy@northeastcarconnection.net for more information. - Contact Information: Vehicle Information: Northeast Car Connection http://www.mynortheastauto.com click here to inquire about this vehicle Call Today : 215-676-3500 Ask for Andy Shull Click here for financing Interior Color: Grey Transmission: Automatic Year: 2008 Make: Kia Price: $9,989 Engine: 1.6L L4 PFI DOHC 16V Stock No: 7168 Body type: Sedan Condition: Used Exterior Color: Red Mileage: 14388 Model: Rio VIN: KNADE123686335317 Accessories: • Clock• Climate Control• 14 inch Wheels• Passenger Airbag• Tachometer • Power Steering• CD Player• Driver Airbag• Intermittent Wipers• AM/FM • Tilt Steering Wheel• ABS Brakes• Cloth Interior Surface• Rear Defogger• Air Conditioning Vehicle Photos : Contact Information: Northeast Car Connection 2001 Byberry Road, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19116 Call Today : 215-676-3500 Northeast Car Connection~~f1289a52-5f53-4e8c-ae1e-0afc3ef08181~~

A Thing for Egyptologists

This will be like ten blog posts in one, so please savor and enyoy.This week Passover continues, which means no leavened beers for me, leading to my drinking dangerous things like gin and getting very drunk and playing Twister at a bar with strangers. Bonzai.At my seder both a close family friend and the woman who used to be my parents' cleaning person and who now helps my mom at Passover, tried setting me up with their nieces. That was nice of them I think. I demurred. It's the bachelor life for me: dirty dishes and sports equipment everywhere.I watched most of "Reality Bites." Wait, no. I watched the entire thing. I haven't seen that movie in like ten years. Nobody has cell phones and people talk about AIDS a lot.The first time I saw it was when it came out. I related to the nerdy Jewish character and was appalled my sister liked Ethan Hawke. Then I saw it again when I was a teenager, and despite still being a nerdy Jew, just now one with long hair and flannel, I related to Hawke.Now I am 28 and I relate to neither. I guess that's a good thing.A few choice stories regarding my twin five year old fake nephews:They call my grandpa, entirely without irony, Mr. Dicklan-his name is Gitlin.They asked after dinner when the fireworks started as they came to believe there are fireworks at every holiday.One did some sort of butt-wiggle dance while asking the four questions.One declared it's ok to burp on Passover, then illustrated his point.On Friday we all went to the U. Penn Museum of Archaelogy which is probably my favorite museum in the country. It's also known as the Mummy Museum, as they have those there. Mummies.There was a group of high school students on a tour led by a very fetching woman who knew an amazing amount about ancient Egypt. I had to whisper while describing the gods to the twins, as I didn't want her to hear what a jackass I am. Apparently I have a thing for hot Egyptologists. I am not surprised.Not sure how I feel about this new Kelly/Erin character on the Office. She's pretty and all, but she's no Pam.

Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut

I have a few friends who are due in a few weeks/months so I thought I'd make them cards using my new "Wee Tees" to show them have cute they are in their white tees complete with baby bumps! We called our boys"peanut" after we saw their ultrasound pics, even after because of the way they looked bundled up when sleeping. The arrow pointing to the "precious cargo" and the t-shirt are both from "Little Tees". Shade with a light gray marker to give it a nice round belly. :) I used some Basic Grey Offbeat DP and DCWV Spring Stack paper for contrast and a layer of Creamy Caramel to match the little peanut. TIP: I pierced two rows of holes (there are severall "double tracks in the Scor-Pal perfect for this so you don't have to move the paper) along the top and bottom with my Scor-pal and Scor-Bug and flipped it over so I have rows of bumps (outies!) instead of holes ( innies)! Base is the new Gina K Pure Luxury Chocolate Kiss. "Wee Tees" also includes a set of numbers and "weeks" and "months" so you could stamp something on the inside like how many weeks they are along or how many weeks they have left to go! Those countdowns are a BIG DEAL LOL!;)Have a great day! Off to play with my peanuts! (even at 6 and 4, they will always be...!) PS Check out this fantastic sample and sketch from Jen Del Muro, she worked it inot this week's "Sketch For You to Try"!

Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

From Wikipedia: Peter "Pete" Seeger (born May 3, 1919) is an American folk singer, and a key figure in the mid-20th century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 50s as a member of The Weavers, most notably the 1950 recording of Leadbelly's "Goodnight, Irene" that topped the charts for 13 weeks in 1950.[1] In the 1960s, he re-emerged on the public scene as a pioneer of protest music in support of international disarmament and civil rights and, more recently, as a tireless activist for environmental causes.As a song writer, he is best known as the author or co-author of "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?", "If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song)" (composed with Lee Hays of The Weavers), and "Turn, Turn, Turn!", which have been recorded by many artists both in and outside the folk revival movement and are still sung throughout the world. "Flowers" was a hit recording for The Kingston Trio (1962), Marlene Dietrich, who recorded it in English, German and French (1962), and Johnny Rivers (1965). "If I Had a Hammer" was a hit for Peter, Paul & Mary (1962) and Trini Lopez (1963), while The Byrds popularized "Turn, Turn, Turn!" in the mid-1960s, as did Judy Collins in 1964. Seeger was one of the folksingers most responsible for popularizing the spiritual "We Shall Overcome" (also recorded by Joan Baez and many other singer-activists) that became the acknowledged anthem of the 1960s American Civil Rights Movement, soon after folk singer and activist Guy Carawan introduced it at the founding meeting of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in 1960.

How green is your garden?

Today is our third day of record-breaking heat in the city of Angels... yesterday the temperature gauge on my back patio reached 102. A few more days of this and everything will be brown and crispy. I've figured out the spray paths of the sprinklers, and last year I decided to give up on manual watering and just have things potted in and around the sprinklers (thanks in advance to the 200 people about to write me of the joys of drip irrigation but that is a no go, documented here.) My sprinkler-container relocation strategy worked well enough, except the cucumbers burned up in the Valley heat in just a few weeks. The pumpkins did well, considering the gardeners would weed whack the vines every few weeks. I have a testy and contentious relationship with the new gardeners. They scold me, they're ruthless in their desire to have nothing growing but useless lawn and ivy and we clash. Every Saturday it's a contest of wills and since they have the mowers they usually win. BUT. I am thinking of doing something that would blow their little minds. It will make them crazy. They will shake their fists of fury at me. I am thinking of renting some kind of machinery doodad to tear up the whole back 40 and remove all the grass -- instructing them NOT TO COME NEAR IT with those weed whackers -- and just plant the whole thing with pumpkins, zucchini (oh, how I love your growingness, crazy zukes!) and herbs. As of now the only things I have growing are my dad's heirloom peppers, carefully pruned back and loved by yours truly for two years now, some mint that survived the harsh 60-degree winter, and two lovely containers of thyme. I LOVE thyme. It's by far my favorite herb, I just love its cheerful tiny leaves, it's happy little white flowers, it's delicate smell. I've decided this year to grow every variety of thyme I can find, just for the sheer happiness of being surrounded by my favorite herb. According to My Personal Weatherman Dallas Raines, the heatwave is supposed to end soon and by the weekend it will drop 40 degrees in the Valley, back down to a very awesome mid-60-ish, perfect for digging up the entire backyard. I figure this is my last real opportunity to spend a Saturday or Sunday doing serious messing around in the yard before it becomes hotter than the scorching surface of the sun and I find myself locked inside with the air on full blast, refusing to go outside until dark. -- 5 minutes later -- So I just called my landlord and told him my excellent idea and he reminded me there are pipes and all kinds of stuff in the ground and could I please refrain from using heavy machinery? But other than that he said he doesn't care what I grow in the backyard and I can tell the gardeners to leave the whole back-back yard alone if I want. Victory! Sort of. I already have a big raised bed in the back (I started it after getting excited reading All New Square Foot Gardening) but I don't want to do more raised beds since I'm not sure how much longer I will stay in this house and they are EXPENSIVE to fill with dirt the first go around. Maybe I'll just dig up little areas here and there and plant pumpkins and let it all Darwinize. Survival of the fittest! -- 10 minutes later -- Maybe I have lost my mind. Should make for an inneresting garden.

Suckiness, Does-Not-Suckiness, and U-Melt Late-Night

My good friend Lauren Siegal just got back from her first trip to Jazz Fest and she wanted to share her thoughts with us. Justin I havent slept in four days, I have a permanent hangover, my feet hurt from dancing, and my stomach is full of crawfish. While this was my first trip to the New Orleans Jazz Fest, I am pretty certain that the above are all signs of a kick-ass time. Now, if you are reading this on a music blog and not on Facebook, where I will inevitably post it, then you probably care less about the three beignets I scarfed down and more about the abundance of music that my tired brain is still trying to process. To be fair to the bands that I am about to mention, I must point out that I am a music lover, not a music critic; thus my scale of how awesome a band is will be judged on a it sucked- or it did not suck-o-meter. Also, I should probably point out that while I had tickets for the fairgrounds everyday, I only made it there once. This was partly due to wanting to take full advantage of the bars never closing, partly to do with not waking up until 3pm everyday, but mostly to do with the fact that all the bands I was super excited for didnt go on until around 2am (except for Bon Jovi, of course). As a Jersey Girl, the idea of seeing Bon Jovi on a hot day with thousands of screaming fans was my wet dream, that is, until I saw him headline Saturdays show. The experience reminded me of this dude I dated in high school. He was super hot and a great kisser, but once it came down to business, he always disappointed. Bon Jovi opened with Living on a Prayer, my karaoke go-to song and I must admit it was pretty rad to see even the guys rocking out. Three and a half minutes later, the average length of a Bon Jovi song, it quickly became less of a concert and more of a performance. Every note was carefully calculated and even the banter between songs was rehearsed. In spite of that, when Jon counted down from 2009 to 1986 to sing You Give Love a Band Name, I did get a little excited. Not excited enough though to stay for the rest of the set and deal with fighting for a cab with the now-wasted and screaming fans. Plus, the set list started to suck pretty hard. Now, late night is where the dirty south got dirty. Thursday, I was dragged to see Ghostland Observatory, where I needed to be on a lot more drugs to really get into it. The lead singer was dressed up like a vampire and that was pretty much the most exciting part of the show. I guess I would see them again, if someone else was paying, I started doing coke or I became a hipster. Definitely sucked. Late-late night Umphreys McGee was a different story. I saw UM both Thursday and Friday night (because I am hardcore), and the crowd and energy were lacking a bit on Thursday. But by Friday the show was more of what I expect out of them. While my mind wasnt blown, nor was my face melted, they played a solid show and with a lot of help from a few Red Bulls, I was dancing until almost 6am. Definitely did not suck. Oddly enough, I traveled thousands of miles from San Francisco to New Orleans and the band that impressed me the most was a rock band from New York City, whose name implied that, unlike the Umph performances I had seen the nights before, the set would melt my face. U-Melt definitely lived up to their name. I have no idea what songs they played because I had never seen them before, but if I may quote something I overheard one of the heads say, they brought the heat. Their music was super danceable and just when I thought a song would was winding down, they would pick it back up again which made my feet very happy. Towards the end of the show, Big Sam Williams sat in on trombone for a cover of Medeski, Martin  Woods Bubblehouse which was the perfect combination of New Orleans Soul and New York attitude. Definitely did not suck and I am excited to see them not suck again at some festivals this summer. Here are some photos from the show. Re-reading this review now, I still dont think I have fully described the sheer awesomeness of a weekend dedicated to good music, good food and good people. I can only hope that the voodoo doll that I purchased from a witch on Bourbon Street will make my wish of coming back to Jazz Fest next year come true.

Bush Pumpkins

Its 4 pm and 35 degrees outside and this is what the main part of the garden looks like. Hold up in the heat and still feeding us.Should I post a photo after the heat wave we are going to experience this week?? Hhmmm have to think about that one. We have some 41 degree days coming our way this week.What I really want to show you is the bush pumpkin plant to the right in the above photo.Here is a closer look at it. 1 big plant at the front and a smaller plant to the back. Love bush pumpkins as they are more compact than the wandering varieties most people grow.Those butternut and Queensland Blue vines can creep up on you and almost wrap themselves around a leg, if you stand still long enough.Pat & I always debate about me growing pumpkins or butternuts. He's not keen on them taking over the garden and refuses to eat it. So as I am the only pumpkin eater in the house........ we compromised. I grow these and they stay compact and controllable and I get to eat my own pumpkins.The bigger plant has 5 or more pumpkins on it and I should be able to get 3 meals per pumpkin for myself. These are also able to be roasted whole.I've added a link to some information on the Golden Nugget pumpkin, though I did buy my seedlings down at the local Bunnings Shop. Just so you had more information on how easy these are to grow.If you haven't grown these little beauties before, give them a go next season.Until next time....hoo roo technorati tags: pumpkin

Cuisinart ice cream maker - all new Duo

The new Duo from Cuisinart is an ice cream maker that lets you make 2 different flavours of ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet, gelato or drinks at the same time, and without using any artificial sweeteners or preservatives. Just place both 1 litre freezer bowls into your freezer the night before you wish to use it and the next day you can have 2 yummy desserts in under 30 minutes. Press the ON/OFF switch and use the selection dial for 1 or 2 bowls. The double bowl ice cream maker comes with lockable lids with wide spouts allowing you to add chocolate chips, fruit and nuts while the machine is in motion for a perfect consistency. Or make 2 different types of desserts at the same time. The Cuisinart Duo is very easy to clean as the freezer bowls, mixing arms and lids are all detachable. Price for the Duo ice maker from Cuisinart is £100. Previously, Whynter ice cream maker.

Canadian Thanksgiving

Two new segments! 1) Why the Canadian Thanksgiving is lamer than the Original Thanksgiving which everybody knows was made in America. 2) There's no doubt about it, that's fucked up. That's fucked up and there isn't any doubt about it. (featuring: virtual friendships and The Palm Islands) Thank you everyone for all your concern re: my heart condition which turns out to be pretty ok. Oh jesus, no more Tub Girl. Welcome back, UK John! My mom's in the hospital but she's doing great. Hospitals... don't get me started. Ok, so now that I started... Incidentally, there are a lot of things upon which Garfield and I agree... not just Mondays. Itchin' to vote for the show somewhere? Check out podcastalley.com! Are you a true believer? Shout outs, show notes, ephemera: -- Check me out co-hosting The Geologic Podcast with George Hrab. -- Check out the Podshow Suckless Zone. Fill out surveys and earn points for cool shit and help out the show. Here's a link.

Kentucky Derby winner gets no respect

The next time you hear a player complain he gets no esteem The next time you hear a star grouse about lack of respect Tell them to shut up. Tell them you've seen the ultimate in being dissed, and they're not in the same ballpark.We speak, of course, about Mine That Bird.You remember, the 50-1 shot who came down the stretch of the Kentucky Derby like someone had attached a V8 engine to his tail. He'll try to win the Preakness Saturday and continue what would be a remarkable Triple Crown Cinderella run. But notice the news? The jockey who rode Mine That Bird in the Derby has dumped him for a girl horse.That would be Calvin Borel, a splendid rider whose head can obviously be turned by a pretty face. It's this filly, Rachel Alexandra. She's the home wrecker. Borel was her jockey in the Kentucky Oaks which is something like a Title IX race for female horses the day before the Derby and they were so far ahead at the finish line, the rest of the field would have needed sonar to find them.The next day, Borel and Mine That Bird won a shocking Derby. But he was so smitten with the filly, he decided to be with her if she runs in the Preakness. "Best horse in my life," he said in Louisville, and already, this eternal triangle was starting to sound like the cover of People magazine.Where has that left Mine That Bird? Think of the humiliation back at the stable with the other Thoroughbreds. You win the Derby and your jockey leaves you for a horse named Rachel. You could barely show your face at the morning workout. Some loudmouth colt will surely trash talk, "Hey buddy, where you going get your jockey Saturday eBay?"Wait. It gets even worse. Turns out, Rachel Alexandra, the jezebel, has been in danger of not even getting into the Preakness. She wasn't pre-nominated, meaning she has to clear a wait list, as if she were trying to fly out of Chicago on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.And if she wouldn't make the field, that'd put Borel back aboard Mine That Bird. So the champion of the Kentucky Derby would have to be content with being ridden on the rebound.For a while, it looked like the owner of Mine That Bird was going to enter a second horse just to take the last Preakness spot and keep Rachel Alexandra out of the race, so Borel would be available. I forget what horse it was maybe one of the Budweiser Clydesdales, since he'd be there just to take up a spot. But the owner changed his mind.Oh, if only horses could talk.First of all, there were those Kentucky Derby odds. NFL teams get annoyed if they're four-point underdogs. How would 50-1 go over?If someone had put a microphone in front of Mine That Bird after the Derby, we can pretty well guess what he would have said: "Nobody gave me a chance. The only people who thought I could win were the people in my barn."Racing always seems a little unfair, anyway. The owner gets the prize money. They trainer and jockey get the acclaim. The bettors with winning tickets get the payouts.What's the horse get a second helping of oats?And now comes this national red face for Mine That Bird. I don't know what happens when he and Rachel Alexandra bump into each other Saturday at Pimlico, and the filly is carrying his jockey. It'll be like Brad and Jen and Angelina at the Academy Awards.About the only thing left for Mine That Bird to do is kick a little hind quarter Saturday. Imagine what could happen if he loses first his jockey, and then the Preakness to the filly. Anyone here have the number for a good horse therapist?

Bruno Latour, Information, soziale Medien

Ich lese — und schaue mir an — Paris: Ville Invisible von Bruno Latour und Emilie Hermant. Den kompletten englischen Texts dieses crossmedialen Werks — Website und Bildband — kann man downloaden. Er führt in Latours Soziologie ein, und er ist gleichzeitig so etwas wie eine Serie von guided tours durch Paris, das sich wie jedes soziale Phänomen nur Ketten von Beobachtungen, nie einem zusammenfassenden Blick erschließt. Ich bin noch immer am Anfang der Latour-Lektüre; einerseits finde ich seine Argumentationen überzeugend, andererseits kann ich sie noch nicht wirklich in eine Beziehung zu den Dingen bringen, mit denen ich mich sonst beschäftige. Ein Schlüssel könnte im Begriff den Information oder besser in Latours Kritik an diesem Begiff liegen. Mit einer Volltextsuche findet man in den ersten Abschnitten von Paris: Ville Invisible folgende Aussagen über Information: The little computer mouse makes us used to seeing information as an immediate transfer without any deformation, a double-click. But there is no more double-click information than there are panoramas; trans-formations, yes, in abundance, but in-formation, never. [p. 18] The comfort of habit makes us believe in the existence of double-click information. We begin to be attentive to their strange nature only if we turn towards objects with which we are totally unfamiliar. [p. 20] Nothing in double-click information allows us to keep a trace of this layering of intermediaries; yet without this wandering the trace of the social is lost, for words then refer to nothing and no longer have any meaning – that is, no more movement. [p. 23] We don't live in "information societies" for the excellent reason that there is neither a Society nor information. Transformations, yes, associations, yes, but transfers of data without transformation, never. [p. 23] To measure the hiatus explaining transformations of information, we should also avoid two symmetrical mistakes: the first would be to forget the gain and to deduct only the loss; the second, that we’re about to consider, would be to forget the loss. [p. 26] Megalomaniacs confuse the map and the territory and think they can dominate all of Paris just because they do, indeed, have all of Paris before their eyes. Paranoiacs confuse the territory and the map and think they are dominated, observed, watched, just because a blind person absent-mindedly looks at some obscure signs in a four-by-eight metre room in a secret place. Both take the cascade of transformations for information, and twice they miss that which is gained and that which is lost in the jump from trace to trace ... [p. 28] If we want to represent the social, we have to get used to replacing all the double-click information transfers by cascades of transformations. To be sure, we'll lose the perverted thrill of the megalomaniacs and the paranoiacs, but the gain will be worth the loss. Gegenbegriffe zu Information sind Transformation, Vermittlung, Übersetzung, intermediaries. Latours Soziologie ist eine Soziologie des Intermediären — Soziologie im Sinne Latours ist die Wissenschaft vom Intermediären. Every time we talk of intermediaries we talk not of lies but, on the contrary, of truth, of the only one we have, provided we always follow the traces, the trajectory of figures, and never, never stop on the image. Vielleicht kommt es darauf an, soziale Medien als intermediäre Phänomene zu verstehen, als Transformatoren und Vermittler, die immer nur zusammen mit anderen Vermittlern funktionieren, als Teile der Kaskaden (vielleicht eine zu einsinnige Metapher!), von denen Latour spricht. Sie funktionieren nicht alleine, und vielleicht können sie auch nicht Gegenstand einer Medientheorie werden, weil die Medien keinen Vorrang in der Vermittlung haben, sondern man zwischen Sozialem, Medialen und Intermediären nicht wirklich unterscheiden kann. Konkreter: Soziale Medien sind Teile von Ketten oder Netzen, zu denen Literacy und soziale Organisation des Umgangs mit Medien ebenso gehören wie die Praktiken der Informationsaufbereitung und -aggregierung in den verschiedenen sozialen und professionellen Kontexten. Sie lassen sich höchstens als technische Phänomene isolieren, aber ihr sozialer Charakter besteht in ihrer Verschaltung mit anderen intermediären Phänomen. Sie lassen das, was sie vermitteln, nicht unverändert, und sie sind selbst auf Transformationen angewiesen, um sozial zu funktionieren. Zu diesen Transformatoren gehören so unterschiedliche Dinge wie bildgebende Verfahren, Textverabeitung, Recherchetechniken, Techniken des sozialen Lernens und ehische Kodizes.

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