The Printed Blog SF Vol1-No10

TM

YOUR VOICE. OUR VOICE. ONE VOICE. WEEK OF April 9, 2009 San Francisco EDITION VOL 1 No 10

Printed with Explicit permission From Each Content Provider

Joanne DeCaro | tpburl.com/n9mfwh San Francisico

SF supes approve new film rebate schedule

federal court order might save newspaper industry

By Jeremy Hatch | 4/1/09 | SF Metblogs tpburl.com/yvzq0s

In a bit of good news for filmmakers trying to shoot projects in San Francisco, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a major change to the rebate structure so that film projects can get up to $600,000 in tax rebates as opposed to the $100,000 maximum previously allowed (which Milk received). These sums represent taxes and fees that City Hall is forgoing.

Here’s an article on Examiner.com that explains why this is a good idea despite the budget shortfall. The short version is that city rebates encourage filmmakers and TV producers to bring their productions to San Francisco, which stimulates the local economy. City Hall’s own Office of the Budget Analyst estimates that Milk — a $22 million production constrained to shoot on location for obvious reasons — brought $4.8 million in business to San Francisco.

Last summer, I talked to a number of independent filmmakers (and Graham Leggat, the executive director of the San Francisco Film Society) for an article that was never published about making films in San Francisco, and this was one issue that kept coming up in my interviews: the rebates just weren’t high enough to encourage production in the city. Perhaps this legislation will go some way towards helping that problem. As it happens, I have interviewed the creators of Harrison Montgomery (one of the films cited in the Examiner article), and while neither one mentioned rebates per se, I can assure you that an additional $12,000 in their production budget would have been a huge help to them.

By hotoffthepress2 | 3/31/09 | Bob McCarty Writes tpburl.com/d6y5p8

Raised an avid consumer of newspaper journalism, I went on to earn a j-school degree from Oklahoma State University and hold a variety of professional positions, most of which afforded me opportunities to work with and among professional journalists on a daily basis. So it goes without saying — and with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek — that I want to do my part to assist influential members of Congress in their effort to keep the nation’s newspaper industry from going under. One of those is Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Speaker Pelosi recently urged the Justice Department to consider giving Bay Area papers more leeway to merge or consolidate business operations to stay afloat, according to a report at SFGate.com, the online home of the struggling Hearst Corporation-owned San Francisco Chronicle.

While I think the speaker’s heart is in the right place on this issue, I’m doubtful that a legal rearrangement of the Bay Area newspaper industry’s “deck chairs” will produce the desired results. That’s why I’m proposing a different solution:

Advertising

Though at first blush appearing preposterous, my solution is likely to work out as well or better than the newspaper model that has been in decline for most of the past two decades.

Below are several of the reasons why it should work:

The job of running California’s major newspapers — including those in the Bay Area — should be turned over to the inmates in the state’s prisons. As a launching pad for this project, inmates at San Quentin State Prison can take over operations at the nearby Chronicle.

After a 16-year hiatus, the San Quentin News newspaper was revived on June 1, 2008 (Vol. 1), and has printed six editions since then (See Vol. 2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4, Vol. 5, Vol. 6 and Vol. 7).

It already circulates inside and outside the prison walls; It boasts a circulation of 7,500; and It costs very little to produce.

To meet the increased circulation and daily deadlines associated with running the Chronicle, the San Quentin News staff will need to grow. Thanks to a recent federal court order, a solution exists to fill all staffing needs.

Though not yet enforced, that court order is expected to require the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to release as many as 60,000 inmates as a means to relieve overcrowding.

Many of the male and female inmates to be released will come from San Quentin and be available for immediately employment. Under my plan, they would be offered jobs as beat reporters, distribution specialists and collection agents for the new Chronicle, and people would subscribe — I guarantee it!

If the San Quentin News-San Francisco Chronicle project works, it can be duplicated in cities across the state and across the nation. Imagine the possibilities!

Hat tip: The Paperboy

Views expressed in Content do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher or the printed blog inc.

tax revolt & tea parties: the minute man tax revolt

Politics

afghanistan is now obama’s war

By Alan Stewart Carl | 3/27/09 | Donklephant tpburl.com/m6vfzp

The phrase “war on terror” may no longer be in vogue, but the fight against terrorism remains a top priority, as confirmed by President Obama’s announcement today:

By Idjit | 3/18/09 | Stupidica tpburl.com/d68s5x

Momentum is swelling for tax revolt. After years and years of “we’re gonna reform the tax system” promises from politicians - none of which has really occured - the momentum is swelling for tax revolt.

Take this piece as reported on the Fox News network (right ‘fair and balanced’) : Police in Cincinnati say at least 4,000 people showed up Sunday for a grassroots protest of wasteful government spending in general, and President Obama’s stimulus package and budget in particular.

Obama warned that al-Qaida is actively planning attacks on the United States from secret havens in Pakistan. He said he was setting new benchmarks and sending in 4,000 more troops, hundreds of civilians and increased aid for a war that has lasted more than seven years and still has no end in sight.

It was one of many tea party protests around the country — inspired by the Revolutionary War era Boston Tea Party protesting British taxation. Protesters had signs reading “Give us liberty, not debt” and “Where’s my bailout?”

“I want the American people to understand that we have a clear and focused goal: to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaida in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and to prevent their return to either country in the future,” Obama said. “That’s the goal that must be achieved. That is a cause that could not be more just.”

One report states there are more than 150 tea parties scheduled across the nation in the upcoming months. The events so far have been largely ignored by the mainstream media, but several blogs are tracking them.

The president, who declared last weekend an “exit strategy” was needed for Afghanistan, never used those words in announcing his plans on Friday. His strategy is built on an ambitious goal of boosting the Afghan army from 80,000 to 134,000 troops by 2011 — and greatly increasing training by U.S. troops accompanying them — so the Afghan military can defeat Taliban insurgents and take control of the war.

Noel Sheppard, associate editor for the conservative NewsBusters.org writes on the coverage so far: “Compare that to how these networks practically fell all over themselves to report war protests after the public’s opinion changed concerning Iraq in late 2003.”

I’ve always believed there has to be a military aspect to combating terrorism and am willing to trust the president that greater military force is needed in Afghanistan to secure our safety.

Given that Obama’s plan has us substantially invested in Afghanistan until at least 2011, this is now his war.

Politically, it’ll be interesting to watch how having a liberal conduct a militaristic war against terrorism compares to having George Bush conduct that war. Some of the familiar narratives of both the left and the right will likely change. After all, like it or not, support for a president and support for current wars tend to strongly interrelate.

Of course, what really matters is that our strategy is sound and our success is substantial. I think most of us can agree on that.

obama seeks to out-do clinton in greening the white house

By Stephanie Rogers | 3/31/09 | EarthFirst.com tpburl.com/vj728r

President Obama wants to green the White House, and though it’s been done before, he’s going to one-up former Presidents Carter, Clinton and Bush in every way he can. Carter installed solar panels, Clinton embarked on an ambitious effort that successfully improved the efficiency of lighting, heating, A/C, insulation and water use and even anti-environment Bush installed a few solar energy systems. But Obama is focused on reducing the White House’s behemoth carbon footprint, and that will take a lot more work.

From The Huffington Post: Obama isn’t ready to give details of his broader go-green plans for the White House, but administration officials report that small steps are under way: The housekeeping staff is making the switch to greener cleaning supplies, and complex managers have asked engineers and groundskeepers to use greener products whenever possible. Efforts are afoot to improve and promote recycling.

As for what more can be done, outside experts on green buildings report that the administration is seeking out information about what’s feasible. Given the priority Obama placed on renewable energy in his economic stimulus package and budget, environmentalists are chattering about what further steps he will take at the White House.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,509445,00.html

Now it stands to reason that reasonable people are becoming increasingly unreasonable. If you continue to insult the intelligence of intelligent people, at some point we stand up and say enough.

It’s time for tax revolt! If enough people would get enough of a backbone and stop paying taxes, they’d get the attention of government.

And who said “the people” have to fund government with taxes? If government was smart (which it isn’t) they’d figure a way to start selling America - our food, our resources, and make some money. Then they’d have the dough to fund whatever it is they want to fund. Isn’t that what the oil barons are doing?

Think about it - who ’s to say it all has to be funded “by the people”? Who made that up?

Why can’t government find a new way to fund itself?

Let’s say government created its own US Government Sales Office and started selling our grain, our renewable resources, and then brokered out products and technologies. I dare say we wouldn’t need to tax anyone for anything - we’d have some shit to sell, and government would make some money.

This concept that “the people” are gonna have to incur insane debt based upon some out-moded tax code which doesn’t work - it only damages and causes problems in a fragile economy.

I say stop being sheep and start fighting back. Start standing up. Let’s call it The MinuteMan Tax Revolt!

Think about the concept of The Minuteman. They had to be ready on a minute’s notice, to go and fight. That came with a social commitment! You had to get up out of your fucking chair, pick up your fucking rifle and head off to the battlefield and you knew it was all on the line.

Forget about your tea parties and protests that are laughed at by politicians. Symbolism won’t work. You’re wasting your time. Oh cool you showed up for a protest.

Do something that will really get their attention - stop paying!

PHOTOS

Prior to taking office, Obama promised to lead by example and show Americans that it’s really not that hard to go green. The small steps they’re currently taking may not seem all that impressive on the surface, but so far, each thing they’ve done – from the kitchen garden to the eco-friendly playground – can be easily imitated by most Americans. And, there’s undoubtedly much more to come.

PHOTOS

David Meskhi | tpburl.com/fdr6pb

and they’ll replace guns with dildos...aahh!!!! fear!! aaaaaaaaaah!

By G-A-Y | 3/31/09 | Good As You tpburl.com/24ysqc

In the following snippet, the Traditional Values Coalition’s dean and doyenne of discrimination, Louis Sheldon and Andrea Lafferty, stop short of directly comparing gay soldiers to live grenades. But just barely: Imagine the impact that the rampant spread of STDs, including HIV would have on the military? How will the military handle the spread of these diseases in the barracks? How will the military handle sodomy in battlefield situations?

Imagine the impact that sexual favoritism would have in subverting military cohesion? A homosexual Sergeant who was in love with a member of his company, could protect his lover from battle – or send a straight soldier into harm’s way just to punish him for having the wrong attitudes about homosexuality. Straight soldiers could be denied promotion by militant gay officers. The military chain of command would be undermined. ...

In addition to the coming persecution of straight soldiers, what about the unrestrained drug and sex antics committed by young male homosexuals? Homosexual sex is consistently related to drug use, including crystal meth and other sexually-stimulating drugs. What sort of chaos will be caused in the military by bare-backing parties and other forms of homosexual orgies?

There is also an effort by the White House and Congress to legitimate drag queens/transgenders in the military, too. The normalization of these behaviors are in many bills being pushed through Congress.

This will impact the military as well.

Democrat Bill Will Overturn Military Policy On Homosexuals [TVC]

Matt Padgett | tpburl.com/hk62b4

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Yes, because if gay soldiers (who are already serving, btw) are allowed to serve openly, then all rules will be dropped. Morning reveille will be replaced with Lady Gaga. Sex will not only be allowed, but encouraged -- preferably in an orgiastic form. And on base drug use, once an obvious cause for punishment/discharge, will become just another pastime, towards which the in-drag Sergeants will turn a blind (if not welcoming) eye. Rules, schmules: When the gays get their equality, lawlessness is the only logical order of the day. The army is hanging by a tenuous rope, and non-discrimination is the scissor that will snip away the remaining fibers.

You kids are RIGHT. ON. THE. MONEY. on this one, lil’ Andrea and big Lou! Your goals have been fully met.

**Wait, Andrea and Lou: Your goals were to further destroy the “pro-family” movement’s credibility, right?

The Printed Blog

still a skin virgin... for now

LIFESTYLE

top 20 ways to share a great blog post

By Ben Parr | 3/29/09 | Mashable tpburl.com/7qgm28

One of the best things about the web and social media is how much great information is written and produced every single day. If you’re a regular reader of blogs, you probably come across great articles that you just want everyone to know about. But what’s the best way to share these posts?

Luckily, there’s no shortage of ways to spread the word. Blogs, social networks, instant messenger, and mobile phones are some of the many ways to let others know about the best content on the web. Here are our 20 favorite ways to share a great blog post:

Sharing Via Social Media:

1. Using Twitter to Tweet and Share: Perhaps the fastest and most effective way to share a great blog post is through Twitter. Sharing or retweeting a link in Twitter can spread like wildfire. Use a URL shortener such as tinyurl or bit.ly to shorten links to fit within 140 characters.

2. Posting to Facebook: Sharing a blog post on the world’s largest social network is as simple as going to the Facebook homepage and posting a link.

3. Digg it: Not only will you help bring that blog post one step closer to reaching the front page of the news site Digg (which will spread it even further), but all of your Digg friends will see it as well.

4. Post on MySpace Profile: Don’t forget about the world’s second largest social network when sharing your favorite articles. Post the link to your MySpace profile so your friends can enjoy it too.

5. Posting to LinkedIn: Some blog posts are worthy of being shared by your business network on LinkedIn. Post a link to the Network Updates area in the homepage.

6. Stumbling on StumbleUpon: Stumble the post! StumbleUpon is a favorite network for discovering fun websites and useful information, so make sure that you give the post a thumbs up. The StumbleUpon Toolbar is the easiest way to Stumble.

7. Bookmarking to Delicious: Delicious is great for not only sharing posts, but for helping categorize blog posts for others to find. In addition, you can import your delicious bookmarks to Facebook, FriendFeed, and other social media websites.

By pithycomments | 3/10/09 | DC Is My Manhattan tpburl.com/by4h81

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated with tattoos. As a kid, I would draw on my hand with a marker and pretend I had a tattoo. Once MommaPithy found out (and literally whooped my ass) I stopped. I could never draw worth a shit anyway. Once I moved out, I began plotting/gathering up the courage to get inked.

On my 26th birthday, I got my nose pierced, with a tattoo planned later that summer. This was when the Unnamed One had a name and we had planned on getting our tattoos together.

Right after my birthday, The Unnamed One became ill and I spent the rest of my summer being her nurse and her mom’s chauffeur. No tattoo for me. I spent the money helping UO pay her bills. Once UO got better, her stupidity (let’s call it Rihanna-itis) kicked in and I pretty much spent a year as a hermit, avoiding people and places to avoid drama. I really didn’t feel like getting inked anymore.

After a year with my new non-crazy friends, the tattoo plans were reborn. Again, money was saved and a date planned. And again something happened and plans had to be scrapped.

Never one to be v. good w/ the pesos, I spent it on clothes. My TV on DVD addiction was limited to Gilmore Girls at that time.

And now MORE time has passed and my 30th birthday is less than 3 months away. I’m still a skin virgin as the Sex Therapist calls it. Once again I have (or will have once the taxman shows me some love) the pesos to pop my skin cherry. And once again I’m planning with my peeps to get inked. (I may have to adjust that since group planning for this has been my downfall).

With trips planned for Spain and Colombia (!!!) this summer, I’m going to be around lots of family. There’s no way I can get the ink done before No Sangria Left Behind, b/c chances of MommaPithy seeing the ink would be v. high. I do not want to spend my vacation hearing how I’ve finally become a child of Satan. There’s not enough sangria in the world to make that remotely tolerable.

I have enough time before the Colombia trip to get the ink done and healed. MommaPithy isn’t going, but TioPithy is. However, chances of him seeing the ink are minuscule. (mind out of gutter, I’m not getting my naughty bits done). My cousin *might* see it, but she’s waaaay more open-minded and less likely to call an emergency exorcism.

I’ve already have the body placement (lower ab/hip-ish area), design, artist and shop picked out. I’ve researched my design and so far have not found any links to fertility, satanic, christian or republican symbols. A combination of the two images below is what I’m plotting for this June. Nothing too flowery, but something slightly feminine with exotic henna-y goodness .

I get the feeling that once I pop my skin cherry, I’m going back for more. I’m a whore like that sometimes…

PHOTOS

8. Sharing on FriendFeed: The social media aggregator FriendFeed has a vibrant community who love to share videos, links, and pictures. Use the FriendFeed bookmarklet to quickly share a good blog post to FriendFeed.

9. Adding to Reddit: Reddit is another great social media site for sharing and voting on articles. It’s quick and easy to submit a link Sharing Via Blogs: 10. Reblogging Great Posts: Blogging about a great article is one of the best ways to engage with the topics being discussed. Post a link, write some commentary, and share it with all of your readers. And don’t forget to share your own blog post as well!

11. Sharing via Google Reader: Google Reader has a great feature for sharing blog posts. If you use Google Reader as your news reader of choice, all you have to do is click the “share” button at the bottom of blog posts to share it with all of your Google friends. You can also add notes and comment as well.

12. Posting on Tumblr or Posterous: If you want to share something via a blog, but don’t want to write a full blog post about it, there are great options for that as well, primarily Tumblr and Posterous. They are the quick and easy versions of full-fledged blogs, ideal for posting about pictures and blog posts.

Useful Tools for Sharing: 13. TwitThat: TwitThat is one of the quickest and easiest tools for sharing blog posts. It will post to your Twitter quickly and easily.

Just add the bookmarklet to your browser toolbar and click it whenever you come across a great post.

14. Shareaholic Firefox Extension: There are a lot of great social networks where you can share a great post, but who wants to visit Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and LinkedIn to share a post? If you are a Firefox user, then install Shareaholic, an extension that goes on your toolbar. It provides quick links for sharing to all of the major social networks.

15. Ping.fm: If you’re a busy person, you might not have time to share on all of these social media websites.

Isn’t there an easy way to share a blog post everywhere, all at once? Ping.fm links to all of your social networks and sends your updates to LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, to any other website you wish to link to it. You can even update from your instant messenger. It’s the perfect solution for those who like to share content all over the web.

Other Ways to Share: 16. Emailing: Email has always been a good way to share articles, especially with close friends and family. Although it may not reach as many people as Twitter, it will definitely reach anyone who isn’t as deep into social media as you are.

17. Texting: Did you know you that many blogs, including Mashable, support sharing an article via text message? Look out for the ShareThis button (three green dots connected by lines) under blog posts and select the “text” option. iPhones and mobile browsers have made it easy to read links sent by texts.

18. Changing IM Statuses: You probably have dozens, if not hundreds of IM contacts. Share great posts with all of them by changing your IM status to a great post you just read or wrote.

19. IMing a friend: If changing an IM status seems too impersonal, then just IM your friends the link. You can then have a fun chat about the blog post.

20. Talking to Friends: If you don’t have a computer handy, then don’t forget about the analog approach - call a friend or tell him or her over coffee about a great blog post you read. You can always send the link later if necessary.

How Do You Share Blog Posts?

This post only scratches the surface of sharing in social media. There are hundreds of tools and resources at your disposal. If you have another great way to share blog posts, please add it in the comments.

Eric Hason | tpburl.com/gc9ywt

kudos to salon and kate harding

By Harriet | 3/30/09 | Feed Me! tpburl.com/yct842

For this piece on the new study just out from England that may finally shut down the “Anorexia is the mother’s fault!” argument. (You have to register on the site to see it, but you can get a free day pass.)

The study looks at brain development in utero, and reinforces the notion that genetics and neurobiology are the biggest culprits when it comes to why some kids develop eating disorders.

As Harding writes: Ian Frampton, a pediatric psychology consultant and co-author of a study to be presented at a conference at the Institute of Education in London this week, says, “Our research shows that certain kids’ brains develop in such a way that makes them more vulnerable to the more commonly known risk factors for eating disorders, such as the size-zero debate, media representations of very skinny women and bad parents.” The Guardian reports that based on “in-depth neuropsychological testing” on over 200 anorexia patients in the UK, US, and Norway, Frampton and his colleagues found “about 70% of the patients had suffered damage to their neurotransmitters, which help brain cells communicate with each other, had undergone subtle changes in the structure of their brains, or both.” In the past, researchers often assumed that anorexia causes changes to sufferers’ brains, but these findings suggest that it works the other way around.

One caveat: If you value your sanity, don’t read the comments. Unless a huge surge of adrenaline would be a positive development in your evening.

Views expressed in Content do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher or the printed blog inc.

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green porno is back, now with more sex!

Sex

sex and the unemployed woman

By Raven Moore | 3/26/09 | The Writerbabe Series tpburl.com/7km4zv

While looking up research on dating and the unemployed, I ran across this article.

Might not be safe for work - take heed.

I began to wonder how sex and romance are affected for an unemployed woman when she’s in a relationship. And… when she’s not.

I’ve been unemployed and in love (sometimes, even at the same time). Usually, however, it seems that my love life is tanking at the exact same moment when my career is heading somewhere. Then, the polar opposite crops up as my professional life is heading towards a quasi-black hole - I find Mr. Right (For Now).

In other instances, people have used their personal relationships as reasons behind bad job performance…most likely because they are looking for an external reason to hate a crappy job in the first place.

In truth, my love life has (in)directly caused a crappy job performance. I know all that stuff advocating the separation of work and personal dramas, but that’s a real dream. It’s like trying to separate yourself from your own skin. Theoretically, you can ignore it and pretend it’s not there, not take care of it and tell everyone the pimples they see are actually stress bumps.

But eventually, you’ll have to do something about it if you aren’t interested in looking like a pimple-infested, pus oozing weirdo.

It’s the maintenance that keeps the breakouts from coming. Relationships (and sex) are the same. You can pretend it’s not there because they are relatively easy to not start yet, it’s the maintenance (or lack thereof) that can be the true killer.

OK - back to sex and the (sometimes single) unemployed woman. This has been on my mind because there is lots of talk about dating on a budget, dating in a recession, dating when you are unemployed - blah blah blah.

But, in a meandering way - these articles aren’t getting to the nitty gritty of what I want to know. Are women just as likely to sleep with a man when he is unemployed versus when he isn’t? Would men date a woman who is unemployed? Are unemployed women equally stressed in their sex lives like men?

Women are connected to work differently than men - they are connected to sex differently than men. So, when they are canned and there’s no sweetie to warm the covers with - how likely (and how fast) are they going to become disconnected from sex before they become disconnected from their career motivations?

And stop - I don’t want to hear any crap about how people should “only look at the personality” or shouldn’t judge others on such “superficial” things. Wanting to date someone who has a job (and legal means of income) is not superficial.

Men are just as likely as women to judge your dating “merit” on your ability to get a job or hold one.

So, when there is no job - is there still just as much sex for a woman?

Penelope Trunk touched upon this when she blogged that more sex will be a coming trend in the recession. And, as condom sales go up - that must mean men (and women) are smacking more tail than they could when 8 hours of their day was devoted to working it for the man - no pun intended.

Or, maybe people are anticipating more sex because now they can spend part of their unemployment check (and job searching hours) at the bars? Or, opting to stay at home (assuming they are not at home alone)?

Besides the unavoidable see-sawing - one’s sex life is also in a constant roller coaster as well.

Even when we’re in steady, great relationships - it doesn’t change the fact that your better half is not working. Things have inevitably steered into a different course, particularly, if your partner is demanding more sex (or not demanding any).

What is the quality of a woman’s sex life when she is unemployed? Do women associate the same kinds of stress from being out of work like men (and have it manifest in their sex life)?

Maybe it’s really about priorities. Women don’t prioritize (or categorize) sex the same way men do.

So, if the quality of their professional lives takes a hit - a woman’s sex life remains unaffected because women tend not to singularly indentify their personal worth with their jobs like men do.

For someone like me - who will be gainfully unemployed for a year in a few weeks - there hasn’t been much change in my love life pre-unemployment. There have been moments when I began to wonder if something was wrong because I hadn’t found anything yet.

However, momentary crushing moments of self-doubt haven’t affected me to the point where I’ve morphed into something else entirely - like Paul Nawrocki.

I don’t know. Maybe I should get a job as a sexpert instead.

PHOTOS

Charlotte Dunkley Trotman | tpburl.com/0r8z7c

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By Stephanie Rogers | 3/30/09 | EarthFirst.com

tpburl.com/bhqns6

Isabella Rossellini will be doing some very dirty things on your television screen again starting this week, but it’ll only turn you on if you’ve got some weird fetishes. Last year, the beautiful Italian actress teamed up with the Sundance Channel to produce a series of short films entitled ‘Green Porno’, and the second season debuts Wednesday, April 1st.

It involves Rossellini wearing bizarre costumes (including weird nude bodysuits complete with fake nipples and pubic hair), moaning and rubbing her body up against fellow costumed creatures. This season, there will be even more sex, and it’s not just limited to insects- fish and crustaceans are getting in on the action, too.

It’s bizarre, no doubt about it – but it’s also educational, and Rossellini is passionate (ahem) about animals, as we can all see. She’s not just the star, but also conceived, scripted and directed the films. Her goal is to make people laugh and get them more interested in animals – and hey, sex sells.

PHOTOS

Charlotte Dunkley Trotman | tpburl.com/0r8z7c

all day long i dream about sex

By Sassy Sexpert | 3/26/09 | Pillow Talk with a Sassy Sexpert tpburl.com/mjd746

Ok, not quite. But I think about sex a lot. Apparently, infinitely more than the “average” woman. One study done at the University of Chicago which is respected by the highly notable Kinsey Institute found that only 19% of women think about sex one or more times a day. Really, ladies? Only 1 in 5 of us are thinking about sex multiple times a day?

Even more shocking to me though is how this study found that 14% of women think about sex less than once a month! I know this is a respected study so I am going to take this as a legitimate statistic (even though, studies of human behavior and thought can vary greatly) but it is surprising and even saddening to me. Quickly, I began to wonder why 14 out of 100 women would think about sex less than once a month.

A lot of things can affect one’s sex drive like financial worries which typically women have considerably more than men, you know, with the 78 cents to the dollar women make to men.

Except, of course, this recession is throwing a wrench into this as women are more likely to maintain their jobs than men as female-dominated professions have been less affected (please note, this linked article is offensive in its labeling of female dominated careers as “lipstick” and by referring to “girl power” like professional women are the Spice Girls or something). However, unfortunately, this shift in gender roles and expectations will not very likely create a very warm or sexy home environment for many coupled men or women. This is discussed in the article titled, “No sex please, we’re having a recession.” Unemployment can greatly challenge a man’s sense of worth since his value is so often tied to his income and his career (for women, it is their attractiveness in which they are supposed to find their value).

Additionally, in relation to traditional gender roles, women still do more housework than men even if they both have jobs outside the home. And, it’s proven that when women feel they have too much of the burden at home, they typically lack the desire for their partners due to resentment or just plain exhaustion. Or maybe even, they are one of the 40 million Americans in a sexless marriage and thoughts of sex are too emotionally laden.

And there is a flipside to this that shows men are also not thinking about sex as often as typically thought. This same study found that 54% of men think about sex one or more times a day. That’s 46% of men (almost half!) who apparently are not thinking about sex a few times a day. This definitely challenges the common mythology that men think about sex every seven seconds or some ridiculous number like that which I’m sure you’ve heard. Even Snopes will tell you this number is just plain outrageous. I mean, really, how would anything ever get done in a single day if this were a scientific fact?!

Apparently, I think about sex just as often as just over half of men, the gender often labeled as too sex focused. And not only do I think about sex daily but I would greatly enjoy having sex daily. In my opinion, it’s just a part of preventative self-care like brushing my teeth or exercising! But, I will admit that not every one of my sexual thoughts is lusty. After all, sex is an academic interest of mine so plenty of my thoughts are theoretical in nature. Finally, I will close with a quote from Mignon McLauglin that I recently came across from a tweet by @ mypredilection - “A nymphomaniac is a women as obsessed with sex as the average man.”

Korn. “A.D.I.D.A.S.”

The Printed Blog

Using Social Media to Listen to Consumers

Business

economic recovery lies in the hands of entrepreneurs

By Deborah Chaddock Brown | 3/31/09 | Open Forum by American Express tpburl.com/7btjdx

Have you given up listening to the news yet? We used to change the channel because of death and destruction; now the news is filled with foreclosures, layoffs and executives making stupid decisions.

Everyone asks “when will it end?” Perhaps the more important question is “What can I do to turn things around?”

Large corporations, cities and banks are lining up for their share of the stimulus package – but as we’ve seen with some companies – receiving money isn’t changing behavior and soon the money runs out and hands are outstretched once again.

Thank goodness for the entrepreneur!

As small business owners we have the ability to make rapid changes. Unlike large corporations with stock holders and board members to appease, we can assess the situation and make the necessary adjustments to stay current and valid for our customer.

Surviving the next 18 months will require an honest review of how we do business, with whom we do business and even what our business looks like. I would suggest that we all take a good long look in the mirror and ask: • What am I known for in the industry?

• Does that still have value in light of the current economic climate?

• Has my ideal customer changed?

• Has what my customer requires changed?

• Does my customer seek information in different venues than they did 12 months ago?

• Does my pricing structure meet the needs of my customer or do I need to offer ala cart options and alternative payment plans?

• How have I marketed my business?

• Is that still an effective vehicle?

• Have I embraced social media?

• How can social media help my business?

• Are there products and services that I offer that no longer make sense?

• Is there a different line of products or services that will more effectively meet my customer’s needs?

• What training do I need?

• Who can I partner with to provide more value to my customers?

• Is bartering an alternative solution that makes sense for my business?

• In what circumstance?

• If my goal is to not only be in business 12 months from now, but to be a thriving, growing business; what one thing do I need to change today to make that happen?

Perhaps the biggest area on which entrepreneurs should focus their attention is that of the customer experience. Consumers no longer have the time, patience or money to mess around with businesses that just don’t care – or treat them as if they don’t care.

Forget second chances. We have to be welcoming, listening, empathetic to their needs and willing to build a relationship with every person that that enters our business, picks up the phone or sends us an email.

Do your employees understand the critical importance of the customer interaction? Are they in it for the paycheck or to make a difference in the life of each customer?

As small business owners, we have the opportunity to make a difference, but only if we are willing to truly look at who we are, who we help and how we help them to ensure we are offering valuable solutions to our customer’s needs.

As we grow stronger, so will the country.

Resources to check out:

Kevin Purdy at Lifehacker talks about using Craigslist to Barter.

Wayne Hurlbert talks about Preparing for Change in his post about reassessing your business.

Guy Kawasaki talks about 10 ways to use LinkedIn for your business.

The Huffington Post has published a new book entitled The Complete Guide to Blogging. If you aren’t blogging or using social media in some form or fashion – it is time to start.

By Abbey Klaassen | 3/30/09 | www.adage.com tpburl.com/386w4x

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- If the social-media sphere attacks your brand, do “real people” hear the screams? Not likely, according to surveys that indicate marketers shouldn’t rush to quiet every micro-outrage that sweeps across the web.

Last fall, Johnson & Johnson’s Motrin broke creative of a mom complaining that wearing your baby “in fashion,” via a sling, can cause back and neck pain. It offended some in the social-media sphere, and an army of Twittering moms got the brand to yank the ad and issue a mea culpa on its site. But, according to a Lightspeed Research survey, almost 90% of women had never seen the ad. Once they saw it, about 45% liked the video, 41% had no feelings about it, and 15% didn’t like it. Even fewer, 8%, said it negatively affected their feelings of the brand, compared with the 32% who said it made them like the brand more. Was Motrin’s decision to yank the ad and apologize the right one -- even if it made the problem go away?

Skittles recently redesigned its website and adopted a sort of “anti-site.” Instead of building a destination, it built an overlay that sat atop several social-media communities: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Wikipedia. It launched debate -- and mischief -- in the Twitterverse as users started posting sometimes-naughty comments about the candy to the social-media sites.

But when private online community Communispace asked more than 300 people if they’d heard of the endeavor, only 6% of a fairly web-savvy audience had.

The Internet has made it easier than ever for consumers to get their opinions heard -- and for marketers to listen. But it also creates real challenges: Do marketers know who they’re listening to? And at what point does the echo chamber of social media drown out the real opinions of the people who buy your brand?

“The data is a really compelling reminder that a lot of our target consumers are not the people who are sitting on Twitter freaking out over a packaging design that they don’t like,” said Diane Hessan, CEO of Communispace. She added, “These are people online, having conversations, and yet they are totally out of the loop on stuff us marketing junkies love to obsess over.”

Out of the loop

For example, in the past month, the Twitter community has been titillated by South by Southwest, AT&T, “Lost” and the redesign of Skittles.com. Missing from the list are things the Communispace and Lightspeed surveys, both separately commissioned on Ad Age’s behalf, found that the general population is fired up about, such as the AIG bonuses and the bankbailout plans.

There’s also the straight numbers game: While 64% of Communispace respondents had heard of Twitter, only 6% used it. The Lightspeed responses indicated even fewer users had heard of it (3%), and most of the 58% who had knew of it from someone they know or -- get this -- TV.

At the time of the Motrin move, Ad Age, per Alexa, reported that only about 0.15% of the world’s Internet users were on the site, meaning, by the most generous estimate, about 1.1 million Americans. Communispace found that the more emotional responses were about the firestorm and how Johnson & Johnson had responded, not about the actual ad.

Of course, it’s never a good idea to tick off even a small group of vocal consumers. But the recent data just reinforce that marketers are “downright jittery,” Ms. Hessan said. “To some extent they have lost confidence in the thoughtful decisions they’ve made because an anonymous person can get on some new social-media tool and raise questions about quality of decisions.”

It’s not that marketers shouldn’t listen and respond to what people are saying about them on the web. Many a company has been improved by responding to vocal online pundits.

Look who’s talking But the surveys do suggest that companies should make sure they know who they’re listening to. “Marketers need to know how active their customers are on social technologies,” said Josh Bernoff, VP-principal analyst at Forrester Research.

Ed Keller, CEO of Keller Fay Group, said his research suggests as much as half of online word-of-mouth impressions are generated by teenagers; that means an online uproar might mean more for Facebook than it does for Motrin.

While online criticism may not be cause to act, it can provide companies insight into passionate bases they didn’t know they had.

“Listening doesn’t mean getting one small piece of data and taking action,” Ms. Hessan said. “Sometimes it means getting a piece of data and probing further.”

The Printed Blog is the first print newspaper comprised entirely of blogs and online, user-generated content. With ongoing changes in how information is digested and delivered, The Printed Blog’s timely and disruptive model for print interaction has earned it the title of “the newspaper for the next 100 years.”

Founded 2009 www.theprintedblog.com blog.theprintedblog.com Facebook: tpburl.com/rq3bp1 MySpace: tpburl.com/dxm91h Twitter: tpburl.com/nxdkfv

Joshua Karp, Founder and Publisher Editorial Jeff Pelline, Managing Editor Koray Girton, Layout Editor Terry Mertens, Guest Editor Laurel Dailey, Photography Editor Erin Holness, Assistant Editor Michelle Doellman, Assistant Publisher Luke Trayser, Production Assistant Todd Alexander, Graphic Design Editor Blogs Emily Schleier, Blog Manager/Assistant Editor Social Networks Jenn Beese, Social Network Manager Katie Huntley, Social Networking Intern Advertising & Public Relations Lauren Omura, Dir. of Advertiser Relations Katie Killary, Media Consultant Website & Application Development Ion Olaru, Webmaster The Printed Blog Inc. 216 South Jefferson, Suite 200 Chicago, Illinois 60661 (312) 924-1040 info@theprintedblog.com

Amber Chavez | tpburl.com/rxfcvj Views expressed in Content do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher or the printed blog inc.

5

Tech

PHOTOS

daily poll: have you ever google map stalked someone?

By Carolyn Stanley | 3/31/09 | Flavorwire tpburl.com/pvz7n8

When we read this funny post on Gawker about a woman who discovered her husband was cheating on her via Google Maps (which if you’ll remember, is still relatively new in the UK), we weren’t surprised. Per the original item in The Sun, because it sounds better in British: “The hubby had claimed he was away on business, but his missus recognised his motor immediately because of its blinged-up hubcaps.”

We might know some people (cough, cough) who have used the tool for similarly juicy espionage in the past. OK, it was us. And no we didn’t catch anyone having a fling. We just sat around with some coworkers and stared at our boss’s driveway. But still!

So what we’re wondering is:

Have you ever tried to use Google Maps to spy on someone?

Note: We didn’t ask if you’ve ever Google stalked someone because it’s entirely IMPOSSIBLE that you haven’t.

yes! skype introduces programs for blackberries & iphone

By Steely D | 3/31/09 | Parlour Magazine tpburl.com/nx7rbs

YAY!!! This may be the best thing I’ve heard allllllll week! Looks like Skype - which I used to talk to Ms. Skeptical in Buenos Aires FOR FREE on Monday - is expanding their program beyond laptops. iPhone’s service starts today! Google it! Blackberry service starts sometime in May.

“The No. 1 request we get from customers is to make Skype available on iPhone. There’s a pent-up demand,” Durchslag said in an interview before the CTIA annual mobile showcase in Las Vegas, where Skype plans to launch the service on Tuesday.

In May it will launch Skype for Research In Motion’s BlackBerry devices, which popularized mobile email. It has already announced Skype for Nokia phones and for phones based on Android, Google Inc’s mobile system, and Windows Mobile, from Microsoft Corp.”

PHOTOS

Adam Tillman-Young | tpburl.com/r7fgxd Entertainment

twitter break ups

By Dr. Rus | 3/24/09 | Frame by Frame tpburl.com/5zmbjp

Did Twitter Come Between Jen & John?

Did this cute little bird really cause a Hollywood break up?

The ever growing social network microblog Twitter is really taking off. In the early days, not many people took notice of Twitter. Many thought it was nothing more than a waste of time. Some of us early adopters jumped on board and discovered not only fun, but a great networking tool too. Now, Twitter is so mainstream it was recently featured on Good Morning America. What was considered either a passing fad, or just something for the kids, has come a long way on the road to Internet mainstream. Not only is Twitter mainstream, but recently another social networking tool, Facebook, reworked their entire look in hopes of looking and feeling more like Twitter. But, with more bells and whistles.

A couple weeks ago I wrote about Stars On Twitter. In that post I mentioned some of the stars who are tweeting. I also listed some of my fav stars to follow. But just how much time do these stars spend on Twitter?

Apparently, Twitter actually led to a Hollywood break up!

Too Much Twitter Time

There apparently wasn’t “someone else” who came between Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer – There was Twitter. According to what are known as insiders, Jen dumped John because he couldn’t control his Twittering habit. The breaking point reportedly came when Jennifer was in London promoting Marley and Me and John was too busy to return her phone calls. When she dug a little deeper to find out what was going on, Jen discovered the singer was too busy updating his Twitter stream! One friend said “Jen was fuming. There he was telling her he didn’t have time for her, but his Twitter page was filled with updates. Every few hours, sometimes minutes, he would update with some stupid line.”

The friend of Jennifer’s went on to say Jen said, “He has time for all this Twittering, but he can’t send me a text, an email, or make a call?” The couple broke up shortly after she returned to Los Angeles.

Rumor has it Jennifer Aniston broke up with John Mayer via an @reply to his Twitter stream.

By the way, if you’re not already doing so, and if you’re on Twitter, you can follow me there too!

Yours in entertainment fun!

Dr. Rus

earplug to the underground: ben klock

Bowen Ross | tpburl.com/hctp56

By Andy Phillips | 3/31/09 | Flavorwire tpburl.com/5v0rgb

Fringe music is an elusive beast, indeed. Whereas the points of slick tales of love and loss are usually pretty obvious, the undercurrents of the avant-garde are infinitely harder to navigate. Enter your intrepid guide: Earplug. In this bi-monthly series, Flavorwire’s sister publication — home to several experimental, indie, and techno experts — will separate the hidden gems from the record bin rejects, helping the adventurous among us pluck new albums from the outer edges.

After the jump, a review of the bleepy, heart-in-mouth pulse of Ben Klock’s One by minimal master Philip Sherburne.

Ben Klock - One

Yes, Ostgut Ton, the in-house label of Berlin’s sister clubs Berghain and Panorama Bar, is steadfast in its techno agenda. Since the label’s launch in 2006, much of Ostgut’s output—across singles, mixes and artist albums from the likes of Marcel Dettmann, Len Faki and Shed—has hewed to a homegrown sound fusing hard techno with touches of early house at its most skeletal, all bathed in the steely reverb appropriate for a massive ex-factory like Berghain. Ben Klock has been responsible for much of the label’s most minimal fare, both solo and alongside Dettmann. But with his debut album, One, he shows just how malleable the Ostgut sound can be.

The 13-track album is built around a driving core—bleepy, minimalist tracks with a heartin-mouth pulse and the patina of brushed sheet metal—but Klock stretches out to encompass ambient interludes (”Init One”), haunting vocal house (”OK,” featuring Elif Bicer), and even an unexpected fusion of Basic Channel atmospherics and dubstep cadences (”Gold Rush”).

These tracks may have been concocted in the shadows of a sweat-slicked industrial monolith, but they can be surprisingly warm, even tender. “Goodly Sin” (again featuring Bicer) recalls the bluesy, feel-good melancholia of Matthew Herbert’s Around the House; “OK” puts a wraithlike spin on Moodymann’s slow, grinding machine soul. “Check for Pulse” and “Grip” work like rock tumblers, setting odd polyrhythms in motion and smoothing edges with every rotation. Even at his heaviest, as on the acidic “Check for Pulse,” Klock’s tracks seem to have been sanded to a dull shine. For all the music’s warmth, there’s also a numbness here—a twinge of something nameless and unsettling. Klock’s ground-down remnants of ’90s techno, with their indistinct details and shadowy depths, suggest a profound sense of loss. Ironically, that’s what keeps pulling you back to the music, as though out of a certainty that you’ll find it lurking there, whatever “it” is. - Philip Sherburne

Staff at The Printed Blog

Todd Alexander / Graphic Design Editor

Todd Alexander went to the University of Tennessee for Graphic Design and is our newest intern working on graphic design and social networking projects. He moved to Chicago a year ago to submerge himself into the art and design community. Since then, he has learned that the culture is rich, Chicagoans love to celebrate any holiday, and your nose hair will freeze below a certain temperature.

6

The Printed Blog

Personal

being the single girl at a wedding

By Jessica | 3/25/09 | The Everyday Adventures of Me in the City tpburl.com/0bjh2q

Despite being a social person, I hate going to events alone. I have a tendency to be the awkward girl lingering by the door, frantically texting or scanning the crowd for a familiar face.

Which is why I’m a little nervous about going single to a wedding this weekend. I’ve been single at weddings before, but I always brought a guest with me.

But this time, I decided to go on my own after talking/begging two guy friends to go with me, only to have one turn me down and the other to conveniently be out of town. Asshats.

However, after talking to two co-workers who will also be there single, I decided to be bold and go on my own. Oh it’s Ladies Night for us.

But despite being single, independent women at this lovely wedding, I can’t help but feel a little nervous, considering I only know a handful of people that will be there.

Here’s what I’m not looking forward to about being single at a wedding: • The stares. The oh-you’re-so-brave-and-independent-so-we-won’t-talk-about-it stares with silent judging and nods of encouragement • Pressure. The inevitable, lingering pressure to hook up or keep yourself open to finding “the one” at the open bar or buffet table • Slow songs. It’s like being back at a high school dance, but without a date. Which means during slow songs I’ll be saddled up to the bar, swearing like a trucker and dreaming of a cigarette • Bouquet toss. I don’t know if the couple is actually doing it, but I’ve never caught one, yet don’t want to look too desperate in reaching for it to see what sucker catches the garter

To overcompensate for these things, I’ve spent a painful amount of time picking out an outfit, to dress up the fact that I will be drinking heavily to feel more comfortable.

Maybe if I look good with the “girls” and my other single ladies, this won’t be too bad. It’s an evening wedding so I’m even planning to trying to hit up the gym earlier in the day so the “gun show” is locked and loaded for the evening.

Oh and since there will be a candy bar, I need to stuff Ziploc bags in my purse for treats to take home. Yes, you heard me right. I will be munching on candied apple slices and M&Ms on the bus ride home.

So how have you survived weddings that you’ve gone solo to, or what things bother you the most about weddings? From cash bar to bad food to awful music?

starbucks, accepted everywhere you are (as long as you’re in america).

By Todd Alexander | 3/29/09 | Blog: Let’s not take each other seriously. tpburl.com/hvrks7

I’m surprised that when I try to board a plane, my Starbucks isn’t allowed through security.

Sure, I know you can’t have liquids because Mello Yello explodes or something, but honestly I’m never denied my Starbucks. Never. Not at the movies. Not while shopping. Not at a restaurant.

No, no one would ever look at me funny if I brought that cute little cup anywhere. You just try to bring that Coke Zero into the movies. You just try to browse Barney’s with a 7 Eleven Slurpee, and tell me you don’t get stares. Go ahead into that restaurant with an Arizona iced tea. Who the hell do you think you are?

Not that I need any push in the coffee addiction direction, but I can’t help but feel like it is my duty as an American to go to Starbucks every single day of my life, and proudly strut that cup around wherever the hell I want, as long as it’s not an airport, but WAIT, there’s a Starbucks inside? Score! Now who’s going to frown at me as I board the plane with my venti? No one, that’s who. You’re the one standing there with your red bull. Cute.

Now I can’t help but wonder why Starbucks is so universally accepted. Is it crazy to believe that America has become so caffeine obsessed that it’s second nature to have a cup of coffee in tow? I start to think that carrying around Starbucks is on the same level as wearing a watch.

It’s so normal that no one even thinks twice about it. Who cares if the movie theatre offers coffee; it’s not Starbucks. It doesn’t have the VIP access that Starbucks has. I can’t wear it as an accessory the way I can with my Starbucks latte. I don’t think we realize the level of infiltration that Starbucks has managed to make into our lives. It even causes me to get a puzzled look on my face when someone tells me they don’t drink coffee. What? How dare you insult my best friend like that. C’mon iced americano, let’s go have lunch alone.

I don’t mind the daily coffee drinking that I do. It’s fun. I like the way a coffee cup sits in my hand. I love how precious yet disposable it is. I love that no matter when I’m in the mood for it, no one thinks I’m weird, and guess what? There’s a Starbucks there; wherever I might be. And I can take that Starbucks anywhere. Now we just have to work on getting it through security at the airport. *Insert Starbucks VIA*

Shit yes.

PHOTOS

puppies, hairstyles, and the “grass is greener” syndrome By nicoleantoinette | 3/25/09 | More is Better tpburl.com/bwx678

So the other day I was thinking that my life is pretty perfect, and that the only thing that could make it better would be getting a puppy.

I had borderline orgasmic visions of playing with said puppy, walking said puppy, cuddling said puppy, and generally allowing said puppy to be cute all over my life. Needless to say, I was uncontrollably excited. Excited enough to frantically Google “NEEDPUPPY,” and Google was all “Did you mean: NEED PUPPY FORMULA?” And I was like, “what the fuck is puppy formula?” and Google was all “Here’s how to make your own puppy formula,” with corresponding instructions about mayonnaise, sterilized water, and bringing it all to body temperature, and I was all “My body temperature? Or the dog’s body temperature? Do I need a thermometer?

WHERE DO THEY SELL STERILIZED WATER?” And Google was like “If urine is sterile, why do they tell you to drink water to clean out your system?”

And I was like “FINE, you WIN. I clearly have no business getting a puppy.”

Which lead me back to the original topic of how satisfied I really am with where I am (literally and figuratively). As usual, this sporadic thought train ended with my coming to the conclusion that crazy people like me might never be satisfied, and that there’s always, always the tendency to land squarely on one’s ass in the middle of “the grass is greener” syndrome, questioning, well, everything:

What if I dropped what I’m doing and moved to another country? What if I took massage classes? What if I learned another language? What if I tried to sell my greeting cards? What if I started dating chicks? What if I didn’t spend my evenings Googling useless shit about puppies?

What if I changed my hair?

What if, what if, what if.

By that point, my brain had all but exploded so there was nothing left to do but pour myself a giant mug of whiskey, sit in the dark, and panic over the fact that “I CAN’T CHANGE MY HAIR. I mean, it’s my HAIR, you know??”

Advertising

Emilio Garcia Hernandez | tpburl.com/gkbwc4 Advertising

Chirp Off

@theprintedblog asked: what tv or movie character did you look up to when you were younger? @theoddduck I wanted to grow up to be Mr. Feeny. This is where my dream to become a teacher was born. @MissMusing Blossom. I wanted that denim flower hat like you would not believe @mskut

I wanted to be Storm from the X-Men. Clearly I was pretty young, but I’d stand at the ocean & swear I was making the waves.

@pamelaheywood Robin Hood. Probably that robbing the rich thing. No, I mean social justice. @ashley54 Topanga on Boy Meets World. I am pretty sure it was because I wanted her hair. @brandyismagic D.J Tanner & Lloyd Dobler. Those two taught me everything I needed to know about life @laceybean Clarissa from Clarissa Explains it All. I wanted to be her so bad! Still kinda do haha. @KimMoldofsky I worshiped Wonder Woman as a girl (circa 1970s TV show). Watched it on DVD a few years ago...Oh, the horror! Awful! @korymatthew

My very first crush was on Rainbow Brite, does that count?

@ChicagoDana

The entire cast of ‘Saved by the Bell’. I wanted their lives!

Views expressed in Content do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher or the printed blog inc.

7

staying healthy and fighting cancer

Health

SILS: Fitness

By Vagina Drum | 3/29/09 | Vagina Drum tpburl.com/wvq231

The only reason I work out is because it makes me a better lover. Before I swore of Doritos forever, sex meant that I would just lie there and yell “Fuck me”, but now I am able to recreate Cirque du Soleil with my hips…except, you know, less gay.

Thera bands: In college, I took this really hippy class called Dance Conditioning. I’m not a dancer, but I signed up anyway, thinking it would be a good excuse to work out for credit. I was right–but there were consequences. For instance, the work out soundtrack consisted strictly of New Age sounds of Fair Trade coffee beans being ground, endangered North American birds, and lots of sitar. Sandra, the instructor, would also wear these really flimsy shorts, so I had the pleasure of staring at her poorly maintained bikini line every time she demonstrated a stretch or routine. The one thing I took from that class, aside from a nagging compulsion to groom my muff, was Thera-Bands. Thera-Bands are available in a variety of resistances, and are a cheap, effective way to strength train at home. I have different bands for different parts of my body. For example, I use red (medium) for my arms and torso, and blue (extra heavy) for my legs. Giant pubes still haunt me in my dreams, but what I gain from using Thera-Bands makes it worth it…I think.

Goody StayPut Headbands: I have an…abnormally large head. I also have bangs, so it’s imperative for me to keep the hair out of my face while making sure that the gourd on top of my shoulders doesn’t interfere. Goody StayPut headbands are the only thing I’ve found that achieves both. They come in lots of different colors so if you’re into…matching your hair accessories with your shoelaces, I’m sure that can be accommodated.

I, however, am overwhelmed when it comes to thinking of anything that doesn’t involve matching black with black, so I stick with the basics.

Wii Fit: I bought myself a Wii Fit for Christmas. I don’t know if it is uncommon to buy yourself gifts for birthdays and holidays, but regularly wearing a t-shirt displaying Michael Jackson’s cover of the Thriller album makes it hard to find friends who are willing to buy you things. Anyway, I fucking love the Wii Fit. I mostly do Yoga with my fione ass trainer when I am too busy (lazy) to go to the gym:

Giggity.

PHOTOS

By thestarryeye | 3/31/09 | Madame Lichtenstein’s Cosmic World tpburl.com/2pv5ms

We read today that genetics plays a big role in what diseases we could get but scientists are beginning to see that environment is a much bigger predictor than genetics. According to the AARP Magazine, scientist David Servan-Schreiber estimates that genetic factors contribute to only 15% of our overall cancer risk. The other 85% is our food, exercise (or lack of it), stress levels and overall lifestyle choices.

While it will be hard for me to give up my cookies and cakes, I am happy that my wine and chocolate consumption has a medicinal benefit. Some of what David said surprised me. Here are David’s list of cancer fighter behaviors that help us live a much healthier life: 1. Here is something that makes my heart palpatate - Sugar fuels cancer growth and triggers inflammation. David says avoid refined sugar wherever it lurks - even in less top-of-mind foods such as sodas and ketchup. Also avoid white flour which turns into sugar in the body.

2. Eat foods that fight cancer - Herbs and Spices like thyme, rosemary, mint, basil, sage, tumeric and ginger. Foods Rich in omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon, sardines, mackerel, walnuts, green vegetables. Cruciferous vegetables - broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage. Garlic, onions, leeks. Raspberries, blueberries, blackberries. Dark chocolate. Beverages such as green tea, pomegranate juice and even red wine in moderation.

3. Exercise can help stave off cancer. Regular walking such as 30 minutes six times a week can help in the recuperation of breast cancer for example.

4. Stress weakens your immune system so find ways to reduce or manage your stress. Try meditation or yoga to help you process stress more beneficially.

5. Remove common household toxins. This really gave me pause - Substances that can impair your body’s cancer fighting abilities include certain preservatives in cosmetics (parabens and phthalates).

Teflon released from scrtached pans (toss ‘em!). Percholorethylene from dry cleaning. Gases given off from by new polyvinyl chloride products such as some home repair items like pipes. Bisphenol A from water heated in hard plastics.

It is never too late to revise your diet, exercise and general health regimes. Try some of these best selling books to help you make the best changes for you:

Nature’s Cancer Fighting Foods

The Cancer Lifeline Cookbook: Recipes, Ideas, and Advice to Optimize the Lives of People Living with Cancer

Healing Foods that Boost Your Immune System Personal

coattails

Gabriele Lopez | tpburl.com/zf9h40

By Cancer Bitch | 3/17/09 | Cancer Bitch tpburl.com/9wvgnr

I have been trying to figure out for the last week and half why we want to get our pictures taken with the famous. We’re projecting a false image to the world; this is a person we got to stand next to us for a millisecond and he already forgot who were were before the flash went off.

My friend M says it has to do with power. He has an ex-alderman friend whose office was littered with pictures of him next to Democratic luminaries. My little cousin M has a picture of himself and Obama from an early fundraiser. We went to a dinner honoring longtime activist Quentin Young on his 85th birthday. L’s labor union bought a table and it was right next to the luminary table: Quentin, Gov. Pat Quinn, Congressmen Danny Davis and John Conyers. At one point I said to my photographer friend M: Take a picture of me with the governor.

Why did I want that? My immediate reason was to send a picture to my mother to impress her: I’m in the same place at the same time as someone you’ve seen on TV. Therefore.... It’s the therefore that keeps tripping me up. Am I therefore important? Noteworthy? Immortal? In the know?

As it turned out, Quinn left right before dessert, so M couldn’t take his picture. A few days later we had dinner with the Youngs at Greek Islands and ran into the governor again. We shook hands.

That’s what politicans do; they shake hands and kiss babies. The are ingratiating. They reach out. They press the flesh. It’s as if they have to touch their constituents to assure one another that they’re real. I am somebody because I got my picture taken with somebody. I am a traveler because I got my picture taken in front of the Eiffel Tower/Notre Dame/Leaning Tower of Pisa/Mt. Rushmore. In that case we may be creating proof: I was there. And we’re creating a memento. But deep down, are we also hoping that some of the celebrity of the Grand Canyon or Hollywood Hills will rub off on us? Syllogism: Mount Vernon is important. I was at Mount Vernon, therefore I am important.

If I had a picture of myself with Obama, I would be saying: I agree with him. I endorse him. We approve of one another. We’re a mutual admiration society. Or: he approves of me. The leader of the free world is on my wavelength. We were in the same space at the same time. We connected.

There seems to be something so pathetic about this. We did not really connect. We do not know one another. We don’t toss around political notions. He took a picture with a voter, that’s what politicians do. All a photo with Obama would prove is that we wanted to have a photo taken with him.

The picture is of an Illinois Congressional candidate named John Laesch, who sought and obtained Quinn’s endorsement when Quinn was merely lieutenant governor.

Noam Chomsky also endorsed him, though they weren’t shot side by side. But Laesch and Quinn are on the same plane, the same page, in the same room at the same time. A visual is quickest in conveying a message. Pat approves of John. The associative principle: If you like Pat, you’ll like John. More people recognize Pat, therefore it’s good for him to appear with lesser-knowns because that raises their cache. He can do that for them. The familiar next to the unfamiliar.

Can I taste your fame? Can I take it? You’re not using it all right now.

L said the other night, Pat Quinn is such a decent guy.

They’re going to crush him.

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8

The Printed Blog

good and evil cupcake tattoos

Food

obama sushi

By Rachel | 3/30/09 | Cupcakes Take The Cake tpburl.com/fyc4v9

by Flickr user Mez Love. Which is your favorite? I have to vote Team Evil on this one.

By Steve Levenstein | 3/16/09 | inventorspot.com

tpburl.com/f7vs2j

Mez Love | tpburl.com/rtvbn1 PHOTOS

The “Obama Sushi” made by an exceptionally creative sushi chef pays tribute to America’s 44th president in a most unusual - and dare I say, tasteful manner.

There’s still room for more Obama mania... if the room is the kitchen and you happen to be Kawasumi-sensei, a sushi chef who teaches at Tokyo University. Kawasumi has whipped up a feast for both the eyes and stomach that looks so good, it had to be framed.

Kawasumi-sensei’s masterpiece features, in addition to a startlingly realistic pair of Obama futomaki rolls, a variety of nigiri-zushi and futomaki that together must cost any purchaser a hefty chunk of change - we can believe that! But while the cars and happy faces are undeniably cute, it’s the Obama sushi that are the highlights.

Creating the perfect Obama futomaki roll took considerable trial and error according to Kawasumisensei. Careful selection of ingredients was just the start: brown rice for the skin, black sesame seeds for the hair, tiny shrimps for the lips and a gleaming fish-paste smile.

It appears that rich red Maguro tuna and white Ika (squid) were used to mold the stripes of the American flag, with cooked egg spelling out “USA” and, of course, a big “V” for Victory.

tweeting vs. blogging

By Adam Roberts | 3/31/09 | The Amateur Gourmet tpburl.com/39ymv6

On February 5th, 2004, I wrote my first Tweet. This was before Twitter, so it wasn’t an actual Tweet, but it may as well have been: I’d just gotten the news that CNN was coming over to my apartment to do a segment about my Janet Jackson Breast Cupcakes. I wrote a post called BREAKING NEWS!!! that said: “CNN IS COMING OVER TOMORROW TO DO A STORY ON MY JANET JACKSON BREAST CUPCAKES! THIS IS NOT A JOKE! I REPEAT, CNN IS COMING OVER TOMORROW! THE STORY WILL AIR MONDAY NIGHT!”

Granted, this was 32 characters too long to be an actual Tweet, but the spirit of it was certainly Twitteresque. In fact, the spirit of my blog, in general, before Twitter was so Twitterlike that now that Twitter’s here, it’s hard to know what’s blogworthy and what best belongs on Twitter.

For those not in the know (but how, at this point, could you not be?) Twitter is a phenomenon that’s taking the country--world, rather--by storm. You make an account at twitter. com and then you start Tweeting: little posts of no more than 140 characters.

Believe me when I say, it’s addictive. It’s so addictive that I spend more time Tweeting now than I do blogging. Is this bad? Is this good? What does this mean?

Well, for starters, it means that if you want me to entertain you throughout the day, simply click www.twitter.com/amateurgourmet and select “subscribe” and you will know more about me and my habits than even my closest relatives.

It also means that you’ll get content that isn’t filtered in any way. So, for example, the posts you see below this on my blog: the Gourmet Tuna Casserole, the brunch at Irving Mill, the Marmite video--- I spent time selecting those as blog-worthy. Whereas, my Tweet about dessert at Rocco’s on Bleecker Street with Lisa? It was just an in-the-moment kind of thing, and so was this Twitpic:

And this Twitpic of my favorite take-out dish in Park Slope--the Wok-Seared Udon Noodles at Longtan:

Neither of these Tweets were going to make it on the blog: Rocco’s, while good, has never really inspired me to write a post; and the Wok-Seared Udon Noodles? Well maybe one day I’ll try to make them myself at home and maybe THAT will be a post, but just the ones I get from take out? Probably not.

So Twitter has become a repository for all things instant and off-the-cuff, while my blog is more like an official publication of Adam’s Dietary Habits. In many ways, this is a good thing: it means that my blog is more polished and respectable. It has, however, lost a little spontaneity.

But if you want spontaneity, then you can just follow me on Twitter.

The other delightful thing about Twitter is that I find myself Tweeting to an audience of food world luminaries. The fact that Ruth Reichl (who Tweets as @ruthreichl) responded to our scavenger hunt results and asked, “No guys participated? I’m fairly stunned. What does that mean, I wonder. Any ideas?” is pretty mind-blowing. And then there are all the luminaries that are just a @-sign away: Grant Achatz, Rick Bayless, Dorie Greenspan, Paula Wolfert, Martha Stewart, Amanda Hesser, John T. Edge, Michael Ruhlman, Kim Severson, the list goes on and on.

Plus, there’s food bloggers galore: The Wednesday Chef, Orangette, 101 Cookbooks, Midtown Lunch, Serious Eats, Adam Kuban, The Girl Who Ate Everything, The Food Section, Ed Levine, Simply Recipes, David Lebovitz, Chocoate & Zucchini, Ben Leventhal, Vanilla Garlic, Chez Pim, Smitten Kitchen, MattBites and so on and so on and so on... phew... if I left anyone out, please forgive me!

So, in conclusion, there’s a place for Twitter and there’s a place for blogging. One’s like a chatroom, the other’s like a magazine. Can you read a magazine in a chatroom? Of course. Can you chat while reading a magazine? Absolutely. Thus, in the battle of Twitter vs. Blogging there are no losers: well, perhaps my sanity. Does Twitter make you crazy? Now that’s something to Tweet about.

Views expressed in Content do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher or the printed blog inc.

Giacomo Fortunato | tpburl.com/7znq2y

9

San Francisco

PHOTOS

google ventures (aka what’s in a name?)

By Mark Evans | 3/31/09 | Mark Evans tpburl.com/h1vn6b

You can only be amused that Google has launched a new venture capital operation but that much of the early coverage is devoted to the fact Google doesn’t own the URL.

I guess that’s an interesting twist but the “news” is that Google’s decision to get into the venture capital business is probably perfect. With many VCs, in general, hunkering down amid the collapse of the financial markets, a non-existent IPO market, and the lack of exits, the market is ripe for Google to sprinkle some of its AdSense dollars on investment-hungry startups.

In theory, difficult economic periods and industry downturns are great time to invest because valuations are reasonable, costs (people, hardware, bandwidth, office space) are lower, and high-quality people are more readily available.

By launching Google Ventures now, Google will likely have the pick of start-up litter and have more control over the investments it is making - as opposed to what’s it done in recent years by spending millions acquiring start-ups.

As a result, the isn’t so much “what’s in a name?” as opposed to Google getting into the venture business.

Michael Roberts | tpburl.com/fw5k89

hybrid taxis face a tough road

By Mike | 3/31/09 | Hybrid Car Review tpburl.com/h3w2pq

Even as San Francisco begins retiring their first hybrid taxis, Boston and NY taxi cab owners continue the fight to push off the requirements for them to go hybrid.

In 2005 San Francisco started with 15 Ford Escape Hybrid Taxi Cabs. Those 15 hybrid cabs have made it to the 300,000 mile mark and at 300,000 miles, cabs in SF are forced to retire.

According to the story in the LA Times, the hybrid cabs have saved their drivers $9,000 a year, depending on gas prices and number of shifts driven.

Those original 15 cabs were a test, and they have had very positive results. 14% of all taxis in SF are now hybrids, while 15% of those in NY City are hybrid.

Of course, Ford couldn’t be happier with the results. Gil Portalatin, hybrid systems application manager at Ford, noted “these things are tougher than nails. . . . We warranty the batteries for 150,000 miles and here you have cabs going out of service at 300,000 -- because that’s the law, not because the cab’s used up.”

Meanwhile, in Boston and NYC, taxi owners, who have to pay for the hybrid cars, continue to fight the change over to hybrids. In NYC, a successful lawsuit brought to an end the aggressive plan to hybridize the whole taxi fleet. Boston is ready to follow in their footsteps.

NYC owners claimed the hybrid cars weren’t fit to be taxis, and would require unsafe modifications to be used. Boston taxi owners are a little more honest in their concerns, and are just plain worried about the cost.

“I support the used hybrids,” said a plaintiff, Raphael Ophir of Jamaica Plain, who owns three hackney medallions and leases them to several cabdrivers. “But with this economy, with big companies going into Chapter 11, and with no credit available . . . delay it for two or three years.”

The Boston plan is being phased in over a seven year period.

In New York, the city is attempting to entice owners into switching, rather than forcing them to. Owners basically rent out the taxis to drivers for their shift. The owners are only allowed to charge the drivers so much per shift, however. Drivers like hybrid taxis because they have to pay for the gas they use.

But because they were successful in blocking the forced switchover to hybridize their fleet, owners are now being enticed to switch to hybrids in NYC. If they have a hybrid taxi, they will be able to charge the driver more. But owners complain that along with the enticement, there is a punishment for keeping the old taxis. Every year, they will be forced to lower their ‘rent’ for any cars that don’t meet certain fuel efficiency requirements.

Owners are reluctant to switch to hybrids and to be fair, it’s understandable why. The normal taxi cab has been the Crown Victoria, which can be purchased for anywhere from $4,000 to $10,000, while a hybrid taxi can cost two to three times that much to purchase and outfit.

But, with the first hybrids aging out, it’s no longer possible for owners to argue against how long the hybrids will last.

meet shoe designer martha davis, stylehive’s next big thing!

By Anna Yu | 3/31/09 | Stylehive tpburl.com/k40tmf

While I am proud to be a San Francisco native, I know it’s definitely not a fashion capital like New York or Paris. So my fashion spider sense definitely perked up when I heard about a local shoe designer making waves in the fashion scene. Originally from the East Coast, Martha Davis moved to San Francisco eight years ago for a job and never left. Looking to create something of her own after years of working in industrial design, Martha went to Milan where she enrolled in the Ars Sutoria program to learn everything about footwear. Lucky for me, I got a look of her current Spring 2009 shoe line and a preview of her upcoming Fall collection.

Wearing a raw edged ruffle dress and mismatched shoes (from her line, of course!), Martha was a gracious host on the rooftop terrace of a posh hotel on the San Francisco waterfront. Everyone oohed and ahhed over the shoes and those with small enough feet got to try on the samples!

Can you believe the shoes are made in the same Italian factory used by Chanel and Chloe? The leather is butter soft and even the tallest boots are generous enough to fit any calf shape without any zippers! By the way, every woman I asked wearing Martha’s shoes said they were super comfortable. In the Bay Area? Her shoes can be found in Metier in San Francisco and Deliciouz in Walnut Creek. For everyone else, Shopbop will be carrying her collection in June! Mark my words, Martha Davis is a name to watch out for. Click the slideshow for some droolworthy shoes.

recession around the bay

By Mark Prichard | 3/25/09 | San Francisco Metblogs tpburl.com/dbyth6

A friend visited the Emeryville branch of Borders Books and found it half-empty. Must be a little rough in Emeryville these days, considering that the big Circuit City there closed when that chain went down.

Also today, I was in Noe Valley and saw employees of the AAA storefront there literally carrying equipment out the door. A sign posted in the window said the branch was closing that day.

Meanwhile, the Chronicle carried an unintentionally funny story about how something called the Bay Area Council Economic Institute is meeting to split up funds from federal stimulus bills. Great quote: “If we all work together in the next 66 days and get a great plan, we win,” said John Grubb, spokesman…

Yeah, that’ll definitely happen.

SAN FRANCISCO Castro Theatre Categories: Cinema Location: 429 Castro Street, San Francisco, CA 94114 tpburl.com/jn9fgq Amanda C. says, “1 star for a gorgeous retro theater.

1 star for being in a great part of town off major bus lines across from Nirvana (YUM) and near my hair dresser.

1 star for the live organ player 1 star for showing interesting thought provoking and often socially and/or economically relevant movies.

Eleventy Billion Stars for the Young Frankenstein showing prior to a live Q&A with Gene Wilder where he sang a few bars of Pure Imagination.”

See all San Francisco reviews at www.yelp.com/sf

SAN FRANCISCO EVENTS

just another sf sex cult

By Mark Prichard | 3/16/09 | San Francisco Metblogs tpburl.com/kz5m91

Courtesy Salon’s Broadsheet blog, I caught this NYT story on a cultish Folsom Street community, One Taste, in which fully clothed men daily get women off before breakfast. Not to be confused with the Center for Sex and Culture’s Masturbate-a-thon (it’s not til May 2).

Justin Juul of the SF Bay Guardian reported on One Taste last month, making it sound like the worst hell imaginable. “We spent the rest of the afternoon doing one-on-one vulnerability exercises,” is only one sentence from the sad tale. I was reminded of the legendary men-only workshops taught in the 1990s by a well-known San Francisco performance artist, who made his naked attendees stand in a circle with their dicks tied together with string to demonstrate their interdependence. Scissors were not permitted in the room, alas.

Events

4th Annual Fun Out with R.O.C.K., April 11, 2009

Red Devil Lounge - 1695 Polk St. San Francisco, CA. http://funk.rocksf.org/funk.htm

Singles Charity Ball Benefitting The Seva Foundation, April 11, 2009

8 p.m.-12 a.m. Westin St. Francis Hotel Union Square http://socialdomain.com/info.php3?id=32252

10

APR

Samantha Ronson Slide tpburl.com/d0z6fg

APR

2009 California Ghost Hunters Conference USS Hornet Museum tpburl.com/yznxwq

APR

Kid’s Play Night Tree Frog Treks tpburl.com/z10w58

APR

Leonard Cohen Paramount Theatre tpburl.com/7y1xj9

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APR

Franz Ferdinand Fox Theatre - Oakland tpburl.com/47dxy2

APR

Jump Start Entrepreneur April Meetup A’cuppa Tea Inc. tpburl.com/p6vzyx

APR

Heartless Bastards Slim’s tpburl.com/v7pwfg

APR

B. B. King, Lukas Nelson & The Promise Of The Real Fox Theatre - Oakland tpburl.com/z1xhkf

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See what is happening in San Francisco at eventful.com/SanFrancisco

The Printed Blog