My first "Pops" Concert: Cirque de la Symphonie

Last night I went to my first Milwaukee Symphony "Pops" concert. The Pops series is usually lighter and less formal - think of the famous "Boston Pops" often seen on public television. Movie soundtracks, Broadway shows, and popular favorites often make appearances on the evening's program. Don't get me wrong, this wasn't my first Symphony concert. I've been enjoying live classical performances since childhood.

Now I'm not sure we're "Pops People", but lats night's Cirque de la Symphonie was an engaging combination of familiar music and beautifully lit acrobatic routines. Each featured a single performer, some on vertical fabrics or ropes, others on equally simple bases, tied together by a lighthearted, funny juggler. One particular pose drew a collective "ahhhh" as the undulations that facilitate flight were skillfully portrayed by horizontally split legs on an upside down acrobat.

The best was saved for last, however. Two golden men, clothed only in loincloths, went through slow motion, gracefully choreographed poses that could only be the result of breathtaking balance and incredible strength.

Sometimes it's fun to choose the popular crowd pleaser, and in this case our New Year's began with a memorable evening of music and entertainment courtesy of our own Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Cirque de la Symphonie.

New Year's Goals

I have never been one to set New Year's Resolutions, but for 2010 I am going to write some goals down. This new year, I feel the need for greater regimentation.

I will hold myself more accountable. I have an analytical mindset that is aware of the changes I seek and how my decisions move me closer to my goals, or not. I hold myself accountable in broad strokes but I am going to try for smaller accountabilities this year. I am a list maker by nature but now will be using more grids, more detail, and more frequent assessments. Since I often work solo, this should have as much a positive effect as negative, providing the validation that one normally finds through coworkers as well as highlighting a course of adjustments.

I will not procrastinate. I came to realize I work best under pressure and this was a necessary element for peek performance as far back as I can remember. I do not, however enjoy drama. I differentiate between pressure and drama by believing that pressure involves only me while drama involves others. I am becoming increasingly sensitive to how I introduce drama, however unwittingly, into other's lives and now work towards change so I am a calming influence.

I will remain present. I am shocked by how weeks, months, and years fly by. This more frequent evaluation will keep me in the now more, I hope. Also, what I imagine is a product of my age, I often find myself thinking back to past decisions and wondering about the effects of having chosen a different course. I have never really been one for regrets, so this is strange terrain for me and not particularly productive.

I will return to journaling. I have at times been an avid journal keeper, although coming from an art background my journals were initially visual records. I will move towards more consistent work, having noticed a tendency to only need this outlet during crisis. I want to have records of all states: good, bad and neutral. Narrowing my time frame will also work with the other areas I want to tend to more regularly: one of which is writing on a schedule. If I lower my need for perfection and begin to produce more regularly, I know my skill will increase. Twyla Tharp is my mentor here: The Creative Habit.

I will seek out more "homework" books, spending time to find readable, enjoyable writing and not hold myself to reading dry, scholarly tomes. Recent reads by Gretchen Rubin and Malcomb Gladwell were completed in a day or two because I enjoyed the writing style. I will keep a book list for 2010.

I will respect money and its power. Having grown up just after the 60's, I have never equated success with money. I now will acknowledge my need for financial success, and take the necessary steps to move forward. I will assess my financial business worth and bravely seek the corresponding compensation.

I will move from a mind set of scarcity and acknowledge the abundance in my life. I will pay and bill in a timely manner. Having lived in different places, I've accumulated the accessories of the different stages of my life. While all these represent a part of the person I am now, I no longer need or use the same things I once did. I can part with them knowing that should the need arise, I will be able to find exactly what I need again.

I will plant a new garden. Gardening has long been source of great joy and is an advantage of my new location. It will more than offset whatever disadvantages seem to currently challenge me.

I will adopt a dog. I have always described Basil, Sadie and Sunshine as bringing pure joy into my life. I need this again, having been too long without the companionable presence pets bring.

And perhaps, most important for the near future, I will seek infinite patience for family times, knowing I can instantly change the dynamic to one of patient acceptance.

Jan 1, 2010 -k

Happy New Year

"For last year's words belong to last year's language and next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning." T.S. Elliot

May your new beginnings involve friendships, love, laughter and joy. -k

Holiday Add-Ons to Decorate your Computer

For the growing number of tele-commuters and those with home offices, getting into the holiday spirit can be more difficult than it is for those working with larger organizations. All the usual group activities like cookie exchanges, secret Santa gifts and holiday parties are usually not a part of the smaller, self employed work place. This seems to be even more true in service industries.

These two easy add-ons are the perfect solution to including some holiday cheer in your daily computer tasks.

Smashing Magazine has hosted, for years, a monthly contest for graphic designers to create desktop wallpaper calendars. Some are more closely tied to the seasons than others, but all include a monthly calendar as part of the design. Some graphic artists, additionally, also offer the background designs alone. Each choice lists various screen resolutions, some cataloging almost 20 different sizes.

Click here for the December 2009 link.

Once there, click on the screen resolution you need and the file will open up on your screen. Right click anywhere and chose "Save as" then decide if you want to set up a new folder or merely save in your "My Documents". I have one folder that's all different calendars, arranged in folders by month or source.


Another new holiday option is the Google desktop iGoogle. Based on a Gmail account name, you choose various RSS feeds that comprise your home page. Take advantage of the numerous customizations possible based on your interests, from food to news to horoscopes. Signing up for a free Gmail account is easy. With Gmail considered one the leading email formats, it doesn't hurt to be familiar with this system.

Within the last few days a whole new group of iGoogle mastheads has been introduced based on gourmet themes and food celebrities. Some are irresistible, like the "12 Days of Cookies". All the expected names are included: Emeril, Martha, Alton Brown, Sara Moulton, Paula Deen. You'll also see Cat Cora of Iron Chef fame and the smiling face of Jamie Oliver, also known for his Naked Chef cookbooks. Go here to take the tour and choose whatever strikes a chord with you.

This should set you on the right course for finding some holiday spirit that's both charming and upbeat.

Raspberries and Economic Models

When I was in graduate school, I had an economics professor who used the price of raspberries to illustrate a “corner solution”: that point at which a product is so expensive that nobody will buy it. He sighted many reasons for the expense - prickly barbed branches, masked berry location, long growing season, short storage time, and the fragility of the berries themselves.

More than 20 years later, much of my business school knowledge has been proven to be irrelevant. Yet the corner solution has stayed with me; its real life script played out late every summer.

This year, the raspberry season has been especially long. For weeks I have purchased, and consumed, what I thought was my final bowl only to be pleasantly surprised when the price has remained below 40% of the usual raspberry winter high.

I found a local baker making raspberry scones, and promptly became addicted. I made a batch of raspberry vinegar after discovering a neglected bottle of wine hidden in the back of my refrigerator. And, of course, I have started my day, more mornings than not, with an unadorned bowl of perfect, ripe raspberries that I didn’t have to sacrifice skin or endure sunburn to obtain. As Thanksgiving nears and I slowly savor the sweet, seedy, satisfying berries, I can’t help wondering, “Is this one really, truly the last?”

Best etiquette should rule, especially in social media

A public relations firm I was familiar with was looking to expand. I had attended a seminar given by one of the partners and was really impressed with the technical skill set of the speaker as well as their compelling presentation style. They said they were easily reached in many online forums and preferred to be contacted through one of these, I imagined, as a test the applicants social media proficiency. This emphasis on social media savvy found me helping a colleague redesign her resume to include links to both personal and client social media projects. She also linked past employers to their respective websites. She chose to submit her reformatted resume with a cover letter describing how she had come to know of their work. She then dropped notes to both indicating her interest through traditional email and two separate social media forums. She followed up after about 10 days with a “checking in” message. She has never received any type of response.

What made this particular situation especially annoying was the very transparency that social media prides itself on worked against these potential employers. Through the various social media platforms, we followed as rather snarky comments were posted about applicant’s cover letters and resumes. The very transparency that was carefully crafted and channeled for the benefit of clients had been disregarded when the client was, in fact, themselves. A simple indication of the start of a new employee or an acknowledgement of the abundance of applicants would have been sufficient to communicate with those applicants following through social media, a requirement of this position. When discussing this with another colleague, we concluded that lack of experience had probably been most responsible.

With all the lists that have appeared about the dos and don’ts of social media, the predominating sentiment is “Play Nice” and “Do unto others…”. These are also the most basic tenants of real life socially preferred etiquette. This should be even more important when what is written is chronicled and archived online. It will be there forever. This experience of my friend has certainly forever changed how I now view this public relations firm that I once considered a professional leader.

Sundance Airs Great Fashion with "The Day Before" Series

Photo courtesy of Sundance Channel

Sundance Channel is once again airing some quality fashion based television. Loic Prigent is adding to his documentary roster with a new 4 part series “The Day Before” which chronicles the 36 hours leading up to the fall 2009 runway shows of Sonia Rykiel, Jean Paul Gaultier, Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough of Proenza Schouler, and Karl Lagerfeld for Fendi.

Prigent has previously produced Signe Chanel in 2005 and Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton in 2007 which offered insight into the creative process of Marc Jacobs who has single-handedly renovated the Louis Vuitton label and redefined luxury handbags. Prigent’s last projects involved shooting footage over a six month period and this new series was born because he was looking for a shorter time frame that would be considerably easier to edit.

These new episodes of “The Day Before” offer moments of levity as well as tension. “The Day Before – Sonia Rykiel” premiers Wednesday, September 9 at 9p.m. central and subsequent episodes air Thursday, the 10th through Saturday the 12th.