iPod Random Ten 10-19-07

“Rehab,” Amy Winehouse“I Who Have Nothing,” Jordin Sparks (Yes, I downloaded some American Idol performances last season – I guess the secret’s out now)“Can’t Get It Out of My Head,” Fountains of Wayne“My Valentine,” Rhett Miller“Right in Time,” Lucinda Williams“Up the Junction,” Squeeze“There Will Come a Day,” Melinda Doolittle“Promises in the Dark,” Pat Benatar“Rosalita (Come Out Tonight),” Bruce Springsteen“Testing 1,2,3,” Barenaked Ladies If these are the next 10 songs coming up on the World’s Weirdest […]

The young conservatives

Back on my favorite soapbox again, but I’ll try to keep it brief this time. Penelope Trunk’s latest post on the Millenials suggests that they’re a basically conservative generation, craving stability above all. They’re not big-risk takers, and they’re not rebels; they want their parents to help them figure out adult life. (That we knew.) Somehow, for me, that doesn’t exactly jibe with the picture she’s been drawing of these “emerging adults” as the group […]

Wiki Wednesday 10-17-07

Time to learn something! 1. Go to Wikipedia.2. Click on “Random article” in the left-hand sidebar box.3. Post it! Not the Kelly Clarkson song, but another with the same title: “Because of You” is a popular song. It was written by Arthur Hammerstein and Dudley Wilkinson in 1940 for the movie I Was An American Spy. A 1951 recording by Tony Bennett (Columbia Records catalog number 39362, recorded April 4, 1951) was the first major […]

Family-friendly workplaces – another view

I hang out with the working moms, and I’m one of them – I’ve been one for over 20 years. And throughout my career, there’s been a lot of talk about how responsive employers are – or aren’t, or should be – to the needs of their employees with families. There’s also been related talk about how accommodations to these employees might slight employees who don’t have those needs. For every action, an equal and […]

Ten on Tuesday: 10 Things About Me – True or False?

The “Ten on Tuesday” site was down on Tuesday the 9th, so there’s no official prompt for this week. Sorry folks! The Ten on Tuesday database seems to be corrupt. I’m working on fixing it, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to be back up (soon). While we’re down, take the time to write a (top) ten list of your choice! That assignment actually fits very well with this one: My agency had its […]

24-Hour Read-a-Thon this weekend!

I’m probably not going to be officially participating in this – too many other plans for the upcoming weekend, including my wedding anniversary! – but I think it’s a great idea and will be doing my little part in reading and supporting the readers. Saturday, October 20 is the day of the 24-Hour Read-a-thon. (Your 24-hour period begins whenever you wake up.) People who sign up to be readers are committing to reading books, posting […]

Surprise, surprise, a pay-it-forward prize!

I first saw this over at Madame Meow’s blog (A Daily Dose of Zen Sarcasm!) and decided to play along. So here goes! By the end of the calendar year, I will send a tangible, physical gift to each of the first five people to comment here. The catch? Each person must make the same offer on her/his blog. So, if you (a) want a gift; and (b) have your own blog on which to […]

Here comes the judge

Work It, Mom’s alert Media Watchers found this bit in the midst of a USA Today article that, at first, looked like it was more of the same “working vs. at-home mom” stuff, but turned out to be more: (T)he second paragraph in the article talks about a new study that found something that we think is quite shocking: There is a widespread belief that today’s parents are not measuring up to the standard that […]

Movie talk: “Michael Clayton”

Michael Clayton wasn’t even on my movie radar until I started reading terrific reviews of it a couple of weeks ago. Granted, it’s a hard movie to sum up in a trailer, so I hadn’t seen it hyped very much. George Clooney (recommendation right there, folks!) plays the title character, and he’s given a lot of dimensions to work with. He’s an attorney whose main function is behind-the-scenes “fixing” of incidents for his firm and […]

The office can be a funny place…

…even if you don’t work for Dunder Mifflin. Via Laurie at Team Building is For Suckers: (From PharmaGossip🙂 Top Ten auto “Out of Office” replies 1. I am currently out at a job interview and will reply to you if I fail to get the position. I may be a little moody so be prepared. 2. You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I was in, chances are […]

Hovering…or stifling?

UPDATED to add a handy classification guide to Helicopter Parents – see the Postscript below. I do seem to harp on the subject of grown kids who aren’t exactly living like adults yet – going back to their parents after college, extending their adolescence, yada yada…I realize this, and I hope it’s not bothering anyone too much, but since this is actually where my life as a parent is these days, that’s probably where my […]

Booking Through Thursday – Live and In Person!

Booking Through Thursday – Live and In Person!

I said in August, when we talked about fan mail, that I planned on expanding that to live meetings when the time was right. Well, that time is now! Have you ever met one of your favorite authors? Gotten their autograph? How about an author you felt only so-so about, but got their autograph anyway? Like, say, at a book-signing a friend dragged you to? How about stumbling across a book signing or reading and […]