Living in the Time of Asperand

I learned a new word today. Asperand I like saying it but I have to work at remembering how to say the word. There is a lot of competition for my brain cells. Asperand is the actual name for @ now commonly known as the at symbol.

My retention thing has changed from"give me all you got" to "that is it for today, thank you but the storeroom is closed. " I don't like it but some days I gotta shut down open access and monitor what goes in and stays around to mess with my brain.

Here I am standing on the nexus point between what was and what is and all kind of stuff is going on. Av at BlogHer took on the CA Milk Board advertisements about PMS and milk.



Just as that foolishness has been dealt with the Summer's Eve ads that have three, count them, three different ethnic groups of women riled up. This is another video in the series about how 70 percent of us don't know the name or can identify our lady bits.

I got folks e-mail and twittering the heck out of this stuff. It needs a response. It is an video asperand that is a symbolic of what people and companies will do to sell a product.

Well, I'm sitting this one out. I'm just tuckered. My attention this week was across the creek looking at how the News Corporation/empire might fall. I am holding on patiently expecting the unthinkable into reality.

I'm sorry but others will have to take up the slack.

This is the time of the Asperand because we look at, point at, twitter at and have forgotten that there are real people having to co-exist with dumb ass clucks.

Clucks that think they know real people enough to sell them anything if they hit the right emotional and cultural buttons. Pain them and cure them for a price.

And who came up with the bright idea to have Summer's Eve ads before the showing of a Harry Potter movie?

Have at it folks. I am taking a walk from this foolishness. I'll catch up and see what next week will bring but I have limited expectations.

I'm taking a walk and having a confab with a few trees. I've got to shake a few more asperands out of my head.

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Cheryl Contee on Networking and Watching The Old Guard

You learn something everyday and sometimes twice a day. Then again, you can be reminded of things you should have known.



In this clip, Cheryl Contee of JackandJillPolitics.com talks about the importance of networking, paying attention and keeping you eyes on the prior generation politicians who claim to be working on your behalf.

I am an old city girl. I know about the political okey-doke. Apparently, so do members of Congress; including ones you kinda hoped they would do better.

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Rashad Robinson on Accountability and Obama

This is a short video that I recorded during the session Keeping It Real: Political Accountability in the Age of Obama. This was one of many sessions at the Blogging While Brown conference held in Los Angeles.



In this clip, Rashad is talking about how other groups network together to at least get their agenda on the discussion table. What can we learn and emulate is the question.

Rashad Robinson is the Executive Director of Colorofchange.org where 800,000 voice work together to deal with the issues of the day using the tools of technology.

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Poetry In Plain Sight - Eli Goitein

It has been a while since I've posted poetry. My computer and I are trying to hold on until I get a new souped up power gizmo i5 or i7 level computer. Editing on a Dual Core CPU is no longer a joy when you are editing high definition video.

All of the new software is geared toward Windows 7 and, well, production has slowed down when it hasn't flat out choked. My CPU meter is living in the red zone.

It is a knock down drag out fight but we are now in an understanding phase. I understand that I can only have one software program open at a time and it understands that all I want is one short video to edit.



This is the first video under the current truce agreement. Eli Goitein seems to be a man that does many things. One of those things is poetry. The reading took place at the San Gabriel Valley Poetry Reading at the Santa Clarita branch of the Pasadena, CA Library.

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The Never Ending Need To Be Touched

Our time seems to only validate the bad touch. The married politician looking for outside nookie. The celebrity caught with her panties off in front of paparazzi.

What if you want to be touched and no one wants to do it? Or remembers the reason why it is important? I'm trying to make time for the things I like and it seems that poetry is always taking a back seat.



This is a poem called Touch Me by Stanley Kunitz read at the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival. It shouldn't matter that he is 92 something years old. It does matter that he is speaking a universal truth.

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Quick Recap on Blogging While Brown Conference

I'm stealing a little of my shrinking morning time to say how much I enjoyed the 2011 Blogging While Brown conference in Los Angeles. I do have photos and videos that I will be posting in a few days.

I knew going into the conference my intent was to listen and meet folks. I messed up one time when I found myself talking in one of the sessions but it is the effort that counts.

I feel encourage that there are so many new folks coming on board wanting to use the tools of blogging for advocacy and to generate alternative sources of income. No matter what your purpose is you have to remember the importance of content, good content that will get you to your goal.

And to those misguided souls considering being a payola pimp for products? Nooooooo. Don't do it. Many have crashed and burned following that that path of broken glass.

There were a lot of photos and camcorders at the event so I'm expecting a bunch of good stuff appearing soon. Thanks to the sponsors who made the event possible.

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Why I'm Going To Blogging While Brown

I'm not a blogging newbie. I was on the Internet before blogging was birthed.

I remember when I had to work in HTML and then FTP web pages up to the server only to find that I had goofed on something and had to do it all over again.

I learned things. How to stay out of old school chat rooms that were not moderated. How to write gender ambiguously so as not to have my words dismissed from jump street. To lurk and get the lay of the land to see if it was safe to be my authentic self.

Then came my own blog. Videoblogging. BlogHer. Care2 and so much more. And yet for umpteen years I've manage to miss the Blogging While Brown conference. Mainly due to distance and/or financial constrictions.

Not this time. I have my ticket and I am going!



Here is why:

When dumb ass clucks want to suggest that a black child in slavery is better off than a 21st century free person and a presidential candidate signs off with pride I need to go and anyone who wants to start a blog to do so.

I need to talk with progressive and conservative folks to find the common ground and not light firewalls of division. I'm looking for people open for a dialog. I might find a few at the conference.

I ain't entertaining stupid. I've had my fill of bone stupid people from either side.

I don't care if you write about make-up, sports, power tools or sweetness of Auntie Renee's tea we need thinking, content producing folks, now, right now and soon.

Critical thinkers, for the love of God get to typing!

The crazy has brook loose and starting to multiply. All hands on deck.

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Dear New York Times This Is Why I Haven't Been Back

Dear NYT,

I got your most recent e-mail. Yes, I have cut back on traipsing around your web site. I know that I have 20 free visits. I appreciate that, I do. My friends, relations and colleagues keep sending me NYT links trying to get me to go check out a news story on your site.

I slip up now and again. Yet, like the song lyric says, I'm trying to walk away from a love.

You see, I don't like being made to feel like I am a poacher. I'm not. When you had open access to the Times I'd step in to read an article, find a source to cite or get lost in the photo slide shows from the magazine or your photographers and journalists media projects.

Actually it was Bitman that lured me to the web site and next thing I'd know I am exploring the photo essays. The videos of AO, JD and Sam were growing on me. It wasn't like I'd keep it to myself, I did communicate with other folks who also checked out the site.

And the old school NYT Archives?; totally faboo. Love it and might have mentioned it to a few library folks. I will try to curtail that in the future. I like archive digging but that also eats into the 20 visits per month.

So why haven't I been back?

First of all, this Internet thing does cost me money. I have to pay for the phone lines, the DSL connection and related charges. So do you plus an infrastructure I don't have to carry.

I know it takes cash money to produce a newspaper. Your newspaper is worth it but dang if I can abide or cypher your pricing schemes.

Dude/Dudette, it makes no sense.

$799 for total paper and digital access per year
$499 for digital only access for a year via smart phones and my desktop
$385 for actual weekday paper and all digital access for a year
$390 for Sunday only paper and all digital access for a year
$220 for Kindle only access per year
$195 for Web only (desktop) access
$19.99 for a monthly Kindle only access
$0.99 cents a daily Kindle issue
$1.75 to $2 for the print newspaper, depending on where I bought it.

It boggles my mind.

If I just look at it from a Kindle point of view, I'm not paying $19.99 a month to read the NYT on an six inch e-reader. I just figured out Article Mode but that only works for the text stories. The other features I like are not going to be accessible on an e-ink Kindle or my cheap smartphone because that would be a separate subscription.

I might splurge 99 cents on a day paper purchase but do I get to keep the day or does it disappear at midnight?

Once every other week I do buy the a paper edition. I get to hang on to it and read as much of it as I can. It takes a while.

You see my problem?

It's not you. It is me.

I'm not paying three separate subscriptions.

I don't want the paper version more than once a week. I don't want to start tracking how many times I've been to the site and I don't want to see that little tag that says I have four visits left.

I'm not a poacher, as many current and ex-journalists have cast web visitors like myself. Some of them even work for your newspaper. They should know better than to refer to visitors as poachers.

If they feel that way about it I don't have to come to the New York Times.

I think it is time for a trial separation. I've been looking around. I've even voluntarily gone to, you know, the Los Angeles Times web site.

Sigh, I know.

It's not the same but I need time to think.
I'll let you know.

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