Brickman Blog

Ladies Who Surf...

I’ve always to be able to surf…and I guess now I do…virtually, of course. Here’s an interesting article…comments?

 

THE LADIES WHO SEARCH: Though most of the media is retrenching under economic pressures, the Internet still remains a potential growth area, thanks to its relatively low start-up costs and immediate delivery to consumers. Among the new offerings, Web sites targeted to women are growing in numbers, serving up content across a wide swath of subjects and age groups. Slate.com will expand its popular blog, The XX Factor, into its own site in the spring. Elizabeth Spiers, founder of Dead Horse Media and a contributor to Fortune magazine, is developing an online women’s magazine she pegged as “Maxim for women.” The sites will join TheFrisky.com, a Web site for 18- to 34-year-olds covering love and relationships; Yahoo’s women’s lifestyle portal Shine.com, and Wowowow.com, a site targeting women over 40.

 

That growth comes as more women than men are online these days: According to eMarketer, there are a projected 100 million female Internet users in the

U.S.

, or 52 percent of the general population, compared with 94 million males online (48 percent of Americans). But, unlike women’s sites of yore that functioned more as broad information portals, newer sites are more content specific, with unique voices and personalities to draw readers by their passion points. Fragmentation, albeit while maintaining a large enough audience to drive scale, helps advertisers focus on their core consumer. “The thing that makes the Internet so attractive to advertisers is you can slice the target segmentations a lot of different ways and do it in a precise manner,” said Christopher Actis, who, as digital director for media agency Mediavest, manages media strategy for Wal-Mart. While some have attracted a substantial ad base, given that a banner ad is cheaper point of entry than an ad page in a magazine, few Web sites are operating with substantial profits.

 

Food for thought for 2009!!!

Stop Being Stupid...

A big thank you to Tom Davis of Global Business Education Consulting for sharing this...check it out! Comments?

December 27, 2008

OP-ED COLUMNIST - New York Times

Stop Being Stupid

By BOB HERBERT

I’ve got a new year’s resolution and a new slogan for the country.

The resolution may be difficult, but it’s essential. Americans must resolve to be smarter going forward than we have been for the past several years.

Look around you. We have behaved in ways that were incredibly, astonishingly and embarrassingly stupid for much too long. We’ve wrecked the economy and mortgaged the future of generations yet unborn. We don’t even know if we’ll have an automobile industry in the coming years. It’s time to stop the self-destruction.

The slogan? “Invest in the U.S.” By that I mean we should stop squandering the nation’s wealth on unnecessary warfare overseas and mindless consumption here at home and start making sensible investments in the well-being of the American people and the long-term health of the economy.

The mind-boggling stupidity that we’ve indulged in was hammered home by a comment almostcasually delivered by, of all people, Bernie Madoff, the mild-mannered creator of what appears to have been a nuclear-powered Ponzi scheme. Madoff summed up his activities with devastating simplicity. He is said to have told the F.B.I. that he “paid investors with money that wasn’t there.”

Somehow, over the past few decades, that has become the American way: to pay for things —from wars to Wall Street bonuses to flat-screen TVs to video games — with money that wasn’t there.

Something for nothing became the order of the day. You want to invade Iraq? Convince yourself that oil revenues out of Baghdad will pay for it. (Meanwhile, carve out another deficit channel in the federal budget.) You want to pump up profits in the financial sector? End the oversight and let the lunatics in the asylum run wild.

For those who wanted a bigger house in a nicer neighborhood, there were mortgages with absurdly easy terms. Credit-card offers came in the mail like confetti, and we used them like there was no tomorrow. For students stunned by the skyrocketing cost of tuition, there were college was no tomorrow. For students stunned by the skyrocketing cost of tuition, there were college loans that could last a lifetime. Money that wasn’t there.

Plenty of people managed their credit wisely. But much of the country, including many of the top government officials and financial titans who were supposed to be guarding the nation’s wealth, acted as if there would never be a day of reckoning, a day when — inevitably — the soaring markets would crash and the bubbles explode.

We were stupid in so many ways. We shipped American jobs overseas by the millions and came up with the fiction that this was a good deal for just about everybody. We could have and should have taken the time and made the effort to think globalization through, to be smarter about it andcraft ways to cushion its more harmful effects and to share its benefits more equitably.

We bought into the dopey idea that you could radically cut taxes and still maintain critical government services — and fight two wars to boot!

We were living in a dream world. The general public, and to a great extent the press, closed its eyes to the increasingly complex and baffling machinations of the financial industry, which kept screaming that oversight would ruin everything.

We should have known better. It didn’t require a genius (or even an economics degree) to understand a crucial point that popped up some years ago in a front-page article in The WallStreet Journal: “Markets are a great way to organize economic activity, but they need adult supervision.”

Did Alan Greenspan not understand that? Bob Rubin? Larry Summers?

Now that the reality of a stunning economic downturn has so roughly intervened, we at least have the option of being smarter going forward. There is broad agreement that we have no choice but to go much more deeply into debt to jump-start the economy. But we have tremendous choices asto how we use that debt.

We should use it to invest in the U.S. — in a world-class infrastructure (in its broadest sense) to serve as the platform for a world-class, 21st-century economy, and in a system of education that actually prepares American youngsters to deal successfully with the real world they will be encountering.

We need to invest in a health care system that improves the quality of American lives, enhances productivity, puts large numbers of additional people to work and eases the competitive burden of U.S. corporations.

'Twas The Night After Christmas...

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Here's a virtual Xmas card - Typepad does NOT make it easy to import Constant Contact templates so here's the text. Happy Holidays to all of my Blog Readers!!!   *************************************** Season's Greetings! 'Twas the night after Christmas...  Bring your friends and come celebrate the holidays with us at the upcoming Mike Beck & the Bohemian Saints Concert at the Pelican Tavern on Friday, December 26th!   Bohemian Saints' Guitarist Tom Ayres' talent has recently been described by longtime entertainment critic, Mac McDonald of the Monterey County Herald as "surpassing Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Keith Richards." Check out myspace.com/reatarecords Friday, December 26th 8 PM - 12:30 AM (No cover.) Wishing you a very happy, healthy, prosperous, and fun New Year! Best regards, Wendy & Howard Brickman     Pelican Tavern in the American Tin Cannery 125 Ocean View Boulevard (831) 647-8300

Season's Greetings! 'Twas the night after Christmas...   Bring your friends and come celebrate the holidays with us at the upcoming Mike Beck & the Bohemian Saints Concert at the Pelican Tavern on Friday, December 26th!    Bohemian Saints' Guitarist Tom Ayres' talent has recently been described by longtime entertainment critic, Mac McDonald of the Monterey County Herald as "surpassing Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Keith Richards." Check out myspace.com/reatarecords Friday, December 26th 8 PM - 12:30 AM (No cover.) Wishing you a very happy, healthy, prosperous, and fun New Year! Best regards,  Wendy & Howard Brickman Pelican Tavern in the American Tin Cannery 125 Ocean View Boulevard (831) 647-8300

Buy Local ... And Customize!

For all of my dedicated readers, check out www.gilsgourmet.com Why not customize a very special gift basket for your local friends and family...or simply to impress others around the world with the bounty of the county? Its a thoughtful thing to do for anyone who is especially kind to you! Or, if you find yourself in the fabulous West End of Sand City...stop by and build your own care package!

 

For example, check out their yummy gourmet artichoke and garlic salsas, fine olives and vinegars, seafood soups and scrumptious chocolates. I think there is something for everyone here...just use your imagination! 'Tis the season now and for any special occasion. Buy local!

  

Here's their background story...just fyi...

About Gil's Gourmet Gallery Gil's Gourmet is a family business using local products to produce top-quality products which are sold nationally. We have a retail outlet at 577 Ortiz Ave, Sand City, CA -- so stop by and say hello! In 1989, on the realization that America’s taste buds were heating up, Gil Tortolani opened up Gil’s Gourmet Gallery and Hot Shop on Monterey’s historic Cannery Row. Hot Shops, in those days, were a new thing: shops dedicated to making and/or selling specialty hot sauces. Gil’s was one of the original Hot Shops in the nation, offering up rare treats like Gil’s XXXtra Hot Garlic Salsa, one of the world’s hottest salsas at the time, featuring habaneros and garlic fresh from neighboring Gilroy. The business quickly evolved into a combination Hot Shop/Wine Tasting Room, where customers could try adventurous new food and wine combos. “We started stuffing jalapeños and olives and soaking them in chardonnay, and letting people taste them with the wine. This did so well that we started making other products, like wine-soaked cherries in chocolate for instance. We put heavy red zinfandel in salsa and we started having tastings. People loved it.” In 1993 Gil closed the Hot Shop on Cannery Row and moved the business into it’s current location, a bigger facility where he was able to build a full-size legal kitchen for the manufacture of his ever-growing line of popular gourmet sauces and appetizers. Along with his son, Dylan, they expanded their family business and product line slowly to the line-up you see on this website today, with a vigilant eye on quality and a commitment to using only the finest local ingredients. Some of the classics are still there, along with a great line of new, unique, regional treats like Chardonnay Artichoke Salsa, featuring Artichokes from neighboring Castroville. Moving into the 21st century, Gil’s Gourmet has introduced a successful private-label program which produces a wide range of top-quality gourmet sauces for small businesses around the nation. “ With private labeling, I provide businesses with a few cases of unlabeled product. We then add a custom label for that business, with that business’s logo, address and phone number on it, and the customer comes back again and again for this unique salsa. Since I’m the manufacturer, I carry all the insurance and liability, and the business has a good product that will ensure repeat business.” If you’d like to learn more about our Private label program, click here to contact us. Gil’s Gourmet Gallery is a family business, rooted in the central coast community, proudly supporting local farmers and businesses, while producing top quality gourmet products for sale in over 2,000 stores nationwide.

Virtual Christmas this year...

Template Fun!

It wasn't that long ago that I was spending hours writing out holiday cards...now it's creating customized template cards in Constant Contact. Lots of fun and I can only share half of the card somehow in this post. Here's the photo part of it at least and I'll paste in the sentiment below. Virtual holiday cards...it's a great thing to do this year. Happy Holidays!

Season's Greetings from from all of us at the Monterey Scottish Games & Celtic Festival!  ...    We look forward to seeing you on August 1 & 2, 2009. Thank you for your participation and attendance! Wishing you a very happy, healthy, prosperous, and fun New Year!

www.montereyscotgames.com

In Times Like These...

In times like these, collaborations are going to be more important than ever. Here's one that is an example of the generosity of friends in a town where kids and their families have remained supportive of one another throughout the generations...

SPECIAL FUNDRAISER EVENT TO BENEFIT THE FRANK SOLLECITO, JR LUKEMIA FUND TO BE HELD ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21ST

A very special musical holiday variety show fundraiser to benefit the Frank Sollecito Jr. Lukemia Fund will be held on Sunday, December 21st from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Doc’s Bar Nightclub, 180 East Franklin Street, in downtown Monterey. The event, held by the local Bruno, Marotta, and Sollecito families, will feature great music, food and spirit and will be in memory of Frankie Bruno, who passed away from cancer in 2007. The tax deductible tickets are $50 each and checks should be made payable to the Frank Sollecito Jr. Lukemia Fund. For tickets, please contact Frank or Sannie Sollecito at (831) 649-1393, Mike or Tina Bruno at (831) 655-9785, or Mike or Judi Marotta at (831) 373-1882.

Special entertainment will include the Marottas (both Mike Marotta and Mike Marotta, Jr.,) Oracio Aiello, Dennis Murphy, John Zoebler, and more. There will be a no host bar with many complimentary appetizers donated by local restaurants. Doc’s Bar Nightclub will contribute 50% of the proceeds from the event to the Frank Sollecito Jr. Fund that helps local children who are going through cancer treatments that their families are unable to afford, including food and gas to and from the hospital, hotels, and other expenses. Frank Sollecito Jr’s Mother, Sannie Sollecito, (the wife of Monterey City Councilmember Frank Sollecito) will be honored at this event for her ongoing hard work on behalf of other young local cancer victims who are facing life threatening illnesses. For more information, contact Mike Bruno at (831) 915-2005. To make a contribution, please send a check to the Frank Sollecito, Jr. Lukemia Fund, 977 Colton, Monterey, CA 93940.

Frank Sollecito, Jr. was a young 17-year old from Monterey and was diagnosed with leukemia in 1988. For 2 ½ years, he and his family battled this disease and lost the struggle in 1990. Mike Bruno’s nephew, Frank Michael Bruno, was also diagnosed with cancer in 1999 at the age of 19, and died in 2007. Both young people played baseball for Monterey High School and were close family friends. In the past, the Frank Sollecito Jr. Fund has held golf tournaments and other fundraisers to raise funds.

For more information, contact Mike Bruno at (831) 915-2005 or email mikeb93940@aol.com 

 

5th Annual Piping and Drumming School!

THE NATIONAL PIPING CENTRE, IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE MONTEREY CELTIC ARTS ACADEMY, TO PRESENT
THE 5^TH ANNUAL MONTEREY BAY SCHOOL OF PIPING
AND DRUMMING IN PEBBLE BEACH

Do you love Scottish and Irish music and dancing? Do you dream of learning how to play the bagpipes or Scottish drums?  The 5thAnnual Monterey Bay School of Piping and Drumming will be held from Sunday through Friday, June 14-19, 2009, at Stevenson School located at 3152 Forest Lodge in Pebble Beach, CA. During the school, an open to the public Pub Night will be held with informal performances by the piping and drumming instructors onMonday, June 15, 2009. On Thursday night, June 18th, there will be a very special Celtic Concert at Stevenson School, featuring the world class bagpipe instructors from Scotland, Irish dancers, and other special performers. The school is held in advance of the 43rd Annual Monterey Scottish Games and Celtic Festival at Monterey County Toro Park which will be held Saturday and Sunday, August 1 and 2, 2009, featuring a wide array of Scottish and Irish musicians, a visiting pipe band from Canada, dancers, food, shopping and athletic events.

            Due to its success and popularity over the past several years, the internationally renowned National Piping Centre, based in Glasgow, Scotland, in association with Monterey Celtic Arts Academy (MCAA) is returning to Pebble Beach, California to again present, "The 5thAnnual Monterey Bay School of Piping and Drumming" at  beautiful Stevenson School. The Piping School will again feature some of the world’s finest piping and drumming instructors. This school is described in detail on the website: http://www.thepipingcentre.co.uk/schools/monterey-california/

 

            Assisting Piping Centre’s Principal, Roddy MacLeod, with the 2009 Monterey Bay School of Piping and Drumming, is Michel d’Avenas, Pipe Major of the award-winning Monterey Bay Pipe Band. The school will feature four award-winning bagpipe instructors and one award-winning drumming instructor. Students are urged to register on the website for the school’s Residential Package or Day Student Package at this time as space is limited. A limited number of scholarships will be available for students in the region, and those interested should call Michel d’Avenas at (831) 372-2020 or email bagpipe11@comcast.netto receive a Scholarship Application Form.    

 

            In addition to daily group lessons, a choice of workshops will be offered throughout the week. Piping topics may include maintenance and pipe set-up, tuning, theory, piobaireachd, uillean pipes and Scottish small pipe, tin whistle, playing with other instruments and other topics may be scheduled where relevant, and resources allow. Drumming workshops will concentrate on rudiments, technique, composition, drum set-up and performance. Students will be given the opportunity to sit for Institute of Piping examinations up to level 5 (senior). There will also be an informal public Pub Night in Monterey, on Monday, June 15th, and a public Celtic concert featuring the instructors and other invited guests will be held on Thursday, June 18th. Students will have the option of registering for a residential package with a room and 3 meals per day at Stevenson School, or they can register as a Day Student which will include 3 meals per day.

 

             For more information, call Michel d’Avenas at (831) 372-2020 or email bagpipe11@comcast.netor call Roddy MacLeod at 44(0)141 353 0220 or email reception@thepipingcentre.co.uk.

 

 

 

 

 

Come together...

After enjoying the Professional Women's Network Woman of the Year event where I was thoroughly honored...

 

 and our holiday luncheon today, I don't think I can stress enough the importance of groups in these tough economic times. Find ones you enjoy, volunteer, and you'll also attract business if you follow through on what you promise. Also, dedicate yourself to more college or classes or workshop to enhance skills and knowledge you may not possess. It's not the time to sit back and wait for business! Step up to the plate!