An actual conversation with my daughter today. For context, she's been obsessed with people's birthdays for the past week.
Note: We have this conversation every day it seems.
Also note: Sarah is Pen's aunt and Abe is Sarah's son -- Pen's cousin.
Pen: Mom, when is your birthday?
Me: September 16th
Pen: Mom, when is dad's birthday?
Me: September 22nd.
Pen: Mom, when is Sarah's birthday?
Me: July something. I don't know for sure.
Pen: Mom, when is Kristin's birthday?
Me: November something. The same as Sylvia's. I think the 17th.
Pen: Mom, when is your birthday?
Me: I already told you.
Pen: When is dad's birthday?
Me: I'm not doing this again.
Pen: Mom, when is Abe's birthday?
Me: (Silence)
Pen: Mom, when is Abe's birthday?
Me: Pen, stop asking about birthdays! No more today!
Pen: Okay.
Pen: Mom?
Me: (exasperated) Yes, Pen?
Pen: What day did Sarah have her baby?
Very clever, Penelope.
This year we're doing an activity-based Advent calendar -- Pen doesn't need 24 days of candy or little toys. She's loving it so far. Yesterday's activity: "Paint our nails." Today's: "Make paper snowflakes." I'm thinking that if I train Pen to be excited about the ritual of opening each envelope and doing the activity, I'll be able to slip in things like "clean your room."
My absolute favorite sort of photograph/painting is one where no one in the scene is looking at the same person or in the same direction à la Luncheon of the Boating Party. This photo captures that style perfectly and would also double as a shot from an intro to a 1970s children's television show.
Discovered this old picture again tonight. Two things to note: 1. this is a composite of two photos since we would have never had the guts to ask someone to take our photo. 2. wow, we used to be young.
Instead of taking days to write the perfect post about the Six Apart news (in case you don't know, Six Apart is now SAY Media), I wanted to simply jot down some of my thoughts while the news is still, well, news. I know a lot of folks have questions and I don't have all the answers right now. However, I think that just a couple points are worth mentioning.
Ben and I will still be actively involved day-to-day operations. Ben will remain CTO and I will join SAY Media's board of directors. Additionally, in my role on the board, I'm going to be actively involved in working with the creators (bloggers, writers, developers, talent) who work with SAY Media. For the past three years, I've been actively involved in the day-to-day operations of my daughter, Penelope. She is now in preschool and I find myself slowly entering the professional world again -- therefore I'm excited to start this new chapter at a really good point in my personal life. As much as I'd love to go buy an island (hey, I just want a car to replace our ten year-old Civic) and sew all day, there's a lot of work still to do and that involves us.
SAY Media will continue to encourage bloggers and content creators to have fun and be passionate about their interests. If you haven't seen it, I blog actively on TypePad over at The Sew Weekly (and haven't had this much fun blogging in a really long time.) I'm a customer of Six Apart, now SAY Media, and I want a platform that enables me to be creative. Additionally, I want to have the potential grow The Sew Weekly into something much bigger. I *am* an everyday blogger/creator with aspirations -- probably a lot like you. Much of what we want to do with SAY Media has already been started at Six Apart. Already, our bloggers/creators are making a living from their blog on their own terms. Our goal at SAY Media is do this all in a very smart way and we'll be working with our publishers to figure all of this out.
It *is* bittersweet not to be Six Apart anymore. Believe me, there were a lot of tears shed as I said good-bye to the Six Apart era. However, the potential to be grow into something bigger -- something that actually will able to evolve more quickly -- was our greatest incentive.
I thank all of you who were a part of our company over the years. I've worked with some of the funniest, smartest, generous and sweetest people I've ever met. I can say -- without any insincerity -- that my best friends became a part of my life because of Six Apart. I learned a lot of lessons -- good and bad. We made mistakes, but we also did completely awesome things. My life is better because Six Apart forced me to come out of a shell of insecurity. I learned how to have a tougher skin and also when to just let things go. I learned who I was and what truly mattered to me.
Most importantly, I met the people -- our customers -- who allowed us to help them express themselves. Be it for fun, for profit, for laughs or just for themselves. I don't remember the names of everyone I met, but I certainly remember our experiences. Be it in Tokyo, Chicago, New York, Texas, San Francisco, wherever.
Thank you -- to all our customers, past and present --from the bottom of my heart!
Some facts I've learned about Neanderthals from this post by David Byrne and this article from Archaeology.org.
1. Neanderthals aren't primitive humans -- they were a fork of an earlier species that homo sapiens are also descended from.
2. Their brains are larger, their bones are thicker and apparently they were pretty clever. Byrne suggests to imagine Mike Tyson mixed with Kenneth Lay mixed with Einstein.
3. The bulk of DNA we have comes from 11 remains of MURDERED Neanderthals. Not only were they murdered, but they were eaten in a cannibalistic feast.
4. They were most likely anti-social. See point #2.
5. They had red hair.
6. They probably became extinct because they were too smart/resourceful/dickish for their own good.
Here's the kicker: Scientists are interested in CLONING these ass-kicking, brillant, cannibal, jerky red-headed super non-humans. Yes, that's a great idea! While we're at it, let's give them a cloned T-Rex to ride around town.
Like Andrew, I've been unsubscribing to all the legitimate mailings I receive from stores I've shopped with or registered for. Neiman Marcus has the dubious honor of sending me the most mail (multiple times a day) and, as I just realized, the shadiest unsubscribe form. I couldn't figure out why the mail kept coming until I actually read the instructions.
Apparently, Neiman Marcus decided to ignore all expected usability behaviors and, in essence, trick people into staying subscribed.
From The Sneeze.Last Christmas I wanted to see how excited my 3-year-old would be to receive a 14-cent box of raisins...The tradition continued this year to see how a now 4-year-old would react to receiving a 14-cent box of raisins.
For as long as anyone here can remember, wedding receptions in Pittsburgh have featured cookie tables, laden with dozens of homemade old-fashioned offerings like lady locks, pizzelles and buckeyes. For weeks ahead — sometimes months — mothers and aunts and grandmas and in-laws hunker down in the kitchen baking and freezing. Then, on the big day, hungry guests ravage the buffet, piling plates high and packing more in takeout containers so they can have them for breakfast the next day.
via www.nytimes.com
I think this is a tradition that needs to spread out of Pittsburgh.
An Early Christmas Tree, originally uploaded by mgtrott.
People buy things they don't necessarily need or want, sometimes in obscene quantities because they think they're getting a deal...without taking into account the fact that this just encourages the making of unnecessary consumer products that are cheap, won't last, and will eventually get dumped.
Read this "article" and the accompanying slideshow captions and try not to picture this being published in a high school newspaper. There is no way that this was written by someone old enough to legally drink -- or even vote. Not to be too nasty, but don't make assumptions that us old people don't need three pairs of reading glasses.
Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania had to scramble when his ensemble went rogue at just the wrong moment: His cummerbund dropped to the floor just as he and his wife stopped to pose before a scrum of about 40 reporters and photographers.
Reading this sentence a little too quickly, I saw the word "scrum" as something more related to an ensemble malfunction.
What's the difference between Twitter and blogs?
Well on Twitter I would have posted: "Had a nightmare about Corey Haim dating my mom -- I'm still a bit traumatized by it." and chuckled at my brevity and wit.
But instead, on my blog, I'll write: "The other night I dreamt that my mom and I bumped into the two Coreys at some sort of coffee shop in Los Angeles. Naturally, my mom and Corey Haim hit if off splendidly and by the end of our breakfast were already talking about marriage. Corey Feldman, on the other hand, was a bit uneasy at the pairing since Haim's Hepatitis C had been acting up lately. But of course, like Corey Feldman is wont to do, wouldn't flat out and say that my mom shouldn't date Corey Haim. It wasn't until I said "would you want your mom to date him?" did I get the honest answer of no. And then we all left. I can't imagine what part of my mind constructed this dream or what it represents. I'm only certain that I do not -- in any circumstance -- want to dream about Corey Haim again."
If the web was a big party, Twitter folks are the ones who drop one-liners and seem all clever as people wait with baited breath for their next bon mot or insight. It is brevity that makes them seem a bit quicker than they really are. Bloggers, however, are the ones who linger a bit too long at the food platters*, offering more context, but also perhaps sharing just a little too much of a story.
The moral of the story?**
Blogging gives you the power to include the two Coreys.
---
*I am, forever, a blogger.
**And, guess who just became the authority on "Corey Haim + Hepatitis C" as far as the web is concerned.
"This is the promise they all made in November," to contribute to change by getting more involved in the political process, he said. "I can't wait to pull that trigger on them."
The good news is that my dear friend, Anil Dash, has begun an exciting new venture that will only benefit from his expertise and passion. The bad news is that his unfortunate ending quote has probably caused the FBI to create an "Anil Dash" folder.
All joking aside, I only wish him the best of luck.