Squmpkin?
This mystery vegetable has show up in our garden, a result of the compost pile. A squmpkin? A squatermelon? Only time will tell.
Some Eats in Albuquerque
A recent Albuquerque transplant asked about some local restaurants that are worth seeking out for the more intrepid diner. Here’s a list of some favorites. Enjoy and feel free to contribute your own.
Ezra’s Place (In a bowling alley. Eat some great food then maybe throw a few strikes.
May Cafe There’s ton of great Vietnamese food in Albuquerque. This happens to be my favorite. Also check out Cafe Trang, Que Huong and Pho #1.
Sophia’s Place The sister restaurant to Ezra’s. Great for breakfast, usually fairly crowded. Luscious, sinful pancakes.
O’Niell’s Irish Pub Great beer selection. Irish pub fare. Mellow atmosphere.
Which Wich A great, affordable sandwich franchise. Worth checking out in the university area.
The Grove Cafe & Market A lovely breakfast and brunch spot. Definitely a better chance at good seating if you arrive off hours. (Early for breakfast, after 1 p.m. for lunch).
Paul’s Monterey Inn A steakhouse that hasn’t stepped one foot out of the 1960s. Fantastic.
Monte Carlo Steakhouse If you’re looking for well done, go somewhere else.
Casa Vieja Great food in a wonderful old adobe. If you go to Sunday brunch, you simply must try the breakfast bread pudding.
New York, NY
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- Flying in to NYC
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- The Chrysler Building at Night
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- The Waldorf=Astoria Ballroom
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- The Chrysler Building and a busy street
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- AAF COG Dinner
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- Radio City Music Hall – Home of the Rockettes
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- Egg Tree
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- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
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- The Guggenheim
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- Rockefeller Center
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- Steaktastic at Peter Luger Steakhouse
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- Peter Luger Steakhouse
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- Empire State Building
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- Pastramification at Katz’s Deli
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- Chaos at Katz’s Deli
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- Walking Across the Brooklyn Bridge
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- Mahattan from the Brooklyn Bridge
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- The Manhattan Bridge from the Brooklyn Bridge
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- M&M at the M&M Store
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- Alex and Alexis in Times Square
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- The Apple Store
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- Chrysler Building at Night Pt. 2
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- Times Square
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- Grand Central Station
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- Chinese Food at this nameless fantastic restaurant
All photo from an iPhone using Tiltshift Generator.
You Never Know What You’ll See Under the Freeway
Yes, that is a Scooby Doo costume.
Professionally Incorrect: How Social Media and a Professional Persona Don’t Mix
Unless you’ve been hiding in front of a Commodore 64, you know that social media is on the rise. We’ve all seen the statistics on the power of Facebook and Twitter. Maybe you’ve dipped in your toe, maybe the world knows when you’re flossing your teeth. Regardless, there’s a few ways you can use social media to further your personal brand while avoiding some of the typical annoying pitfalls that will remand you squarely to the land of the amateur.
- Don’t let a locked profile lull you into security. A locked profile does not mean you can put up any old crap you want. Many people have been friended or followed by so many people, they can’t remember if Aunt Edna or their supervisor sees what they post. So police yourself. If you don’t want to hear about a comment or see photo years later, don’t post it, just don’t. Many people ask: “Why not? I’ve protected my profile and only my friends can see it?” Here’s my point of view: Unless you feel that photo or that comment is as safe as it would be in a little flowery keepsake box under your bed, just don’t post it. Trust me.
- Whining – Occasional sassy bitching is fine. Endless complaining about your job, your life, your friends is no more interesting online than it is in person. Probably less so.
- If you’re PR person please stop trying to get me to fan your clients. Immediately. It’s annoying and hacky and I know what you’re doing. However, if you’re my friend or colleague and think I’d genuinely be interested in something you’re a fan of, go for it. And if you are repping a client, rather than growing fans through fan page spamming, try creating content so meaningful, so interesting, so valuable that I can’t help but fan you.
- If you ask someone to friend you multiple times and they don’t, stop asking. There’s probably some reason they don’t want to connect with you and it’s probably best to make your peace with that.
- Woo Hooo! A Weekend in Photos! A fun weekend with friends is fantastic. Posting all the bleary-eyed pictures of you with a yard of beer in one hand and a cosmopolitan in the other – not so much.
- Neutrality – Don’t be boring. Or repetitive. Take a position. Engage with your friends. Don’t be overly competitive. But always be interesting.
- Make fun of yourself not others – social media is not the place to take yourself too seriously. Nor is life, but that’s for another blog post. Watch yourself when mocking through social media, sometimes, oftentimes, things come out the wrong way.
- Be local and be passionate. Talk about where you live and what you care about. Be relevant and current. If you really care about something, there’s a good chance someone else does to.
- Don’t bag on your friends or your clients or your job. You never know when one of your friends or followers will wind up being a colleague … or a boss.
Alexis Kerschner lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico and spends an inordinate amount of time thinking up somewhat witty things to post on Facebook.
If It Ain’t Broke … Necco Changes Sweethearts
From NPR today comes the news that Sweethearts candy are getting an update after 145 years. Necco is updating the colors, flavor and messages adding such contemporary suggestions as “Tweet Me” and “Text Me.”
I can only assume that this decision on the part of Necco is a decision based on diminishing sales as people lose interest in the simple, heartfelt phrase “Be Mine.” Ironically, Necco’s brand tag line is “An American Classic.” I’ll be curious to see if this decision to update of a classic works for the company. Sometimes a company needs to resist to siren call of a trend and in favor of consistency, tradition and nostalgia. Or change its tag line.
This Ad Really Satisfies
In a Super Bowl displaying an almost complete lack of advertising inspiration the “Betty White” ad for Snickers ad was right on. A little snarkiness combined with a little surprise and some touch football to make this ad really satisfy. The ad was developed by Omnicom’s BBDO.
The Doritos ninja was a close second. It was developed by two friends from Minnesota as part of a Frito-Lay contest for less than $1,000.00.
The Taco Bell ad with Charles Barkley sucked seven-layer burrito.
I’m More of A Ferrari Girl Myself
Was just at a fancy dress dinner and ball that was pretty much sequin-tastic. Post-dinner, we were escorted to an auditorium to see Tower of Power. The ushers were uniformed young men in a ROTC program. Our usher was particularly wet behind the ears, probably 14 or so.
As he walked us to our seat, he looked around the auditorium filled with bedazzlement and asked me:
“So are you guys all rich n’ stuff?” I told him that although I was not, there were probably some rich people in the audience. He thought about that, looked at me and said: “So do you have a lamborghini?”
Dichotomy
Notice the awesome contrast between the license plate and bumper sticker.
