June 2009
Monday 29
Prosper by Design.
Sunday 28
Morning has Broken.
Saturday 27
At The Wedding Reception.
Friday 26
The Wedding Rehearsal. Inside Abbey Chapel on the campus of Mt. Holyoke College
Thursday 25
The Old Man and the Pond.
Wednesday 24
Golf. Beautiful afternoon with Daryl on the golf course.
Tuesday 23
My Cup Runneth Over.
Monday 22
The Great Tao.
The great Tao flows everywhere, both to the left and to the right.
The ten thousand things depend upon it; it holds nothing back.
It fulfills its purpose and makes no claim.It nourishes the ten thousand things,
And yet it is not their lord.
It has no aim; it is very small.The ten thousand things return to it,
Yet it is not their lord.
It is very great.It does not show greatness,
And therefore truly great.~Thirty-Four, Tao Te Ching, Lao Tsu
Sunday 21
Father's Day. As Nadine wrote in her Blog:
"Bruce says his greatest Father's Day gift is to be blessed with two wonderful children.
And when I said Grace before dinner that is what I said; "My greatest Father's Day gift is to be blessed with two wonderful children."
I made a great dinner: Pork Loin with Blueberry BBQ Sauce, Sweet Potato Fries, Collard/Kale/Mustard Green Melody, Salmon Fritters and Garlic Bread. Susan made a chocolate cake! Also, I woke up early and made a meatloaf to bring over to Susan's mom's house for lunch!
Saturday 20
Planting. The rain stopped long enough today to plant some Basil and Parsley. Later, when the rain fell, I went outside to photograph the Daisies.
Friday 19
Brother Dennis. So Proud of my brother!
WEST HARTFORD - Dennis Barone, English professor, director of the American Studies program at St. Joseph College and the author of 14 books, was named the second West Hartford Poet Laureate in the town's history last week.
Out of seven nominations, he was selected by committee and will serve a two-year term.
"It came as a complete surprise," Barone said.
Barone, 54, has taught at St. Joseph College for 23 years, where he's hosted readings of poets from heavy-hitters like Denise Levertov and John Ashbery to more obscure poets, so part of his duties - to host readings - will be a breeze.
The poet laureate is expected to sponsor readings each year and to promote poetry in town, work for which he is unpaid.
The office is a relatively new one. Several years ago, poets wrote to Town Council members and asked them to start the institution of poet laureate for the town, according to Councilwoman Shari Cantor. Resident Maria Sassi was suggested as a candidate in the letter, and after talking to people in the field, members of Town Council named her in April of 2005.
"She did a lot of good," said Cantor. "She worked hard with the schools, with the library personnel, and with professors at the colleges."
Sassi, the author of the book of poetry, "Rooted in Stars," has served as West Hartford Poet Laureate for two terms.
"I was honored and delighted to be asked to become the first," she said.
Barone says he considers himself more of a conceptual artist than a poet, and that when he is asked his influences, he is more likely to name people like the architect Robert Venturi.
"The essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson, (the art of) Sol Lewitt, mean more to me than the poetry of X, Y or Z," he said.
Barone has also written novels, but he says, "I think of my fiction as being very poetic, probably too poetic for readers of fiction."
He says he's already introduced himself to staff at the Noah Webster Library and scoped out a room there for readings. And he has ideas for two public programs so far.
One is to invite his colleague at St. Joseph, Kerry Driscoll, to speak about Mark Twain and poetry. And another is to organize a reading around Italian American Heritage Month in October, since both he and Sassi are of Italian extraction.
Barone and Sassi say that West Hartford is full of poetry - of people interested in poetry, of writers groups, of published poets. The town has its own publisher of poetry, Plinth Books, and used to have another, Potes & Poets, Barone said. Two West Hartford public school teachers, James Shivers and Virginia Connors, are accomplished poets, he added.
"Our town has really nourished much literary talent," said Sassi.
Thursday 16
1 in 8 Foundation. I had an hour conversation this afternoon with the President & CEO of 1 in 8 Foundation. The 1 in 8 Foundation was created by writer/producer Ken Vrana, who was working for Sir Paul McCartney’s breast cancer charity. What is the focus of the 1 in 8? Early detection.
My challenge would be to develop marketing partnerships with corporations.
Wednesday 17
Daisy, the Flower. Three Good Deeds today: gave the garbage man a can of soda (Root Beer); trimmed a neighbor's bushes; bought Susan's mom a steak.
Studied for job interview tomorrow; phone interview. Major national charity organization.
Tuesday 16
Daisies.
Monday 15
The Three Graces.
Sunday 14
Rose.
Saturday 13
Rose.
Friday 12
Nadine writes. "I sat and waited and watched the rain early Friday morning; and meditated, too, by the back door, knowing in my heart, Bruce would take me outside once the rain stopped." This from her Blog.
Thursday 11
We will grieve not...
What though the radiance which was once so bright
Be now for ever taken from my sight,
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind;
In the primal sympathy
Which having been must ever be;
In the soothing thoughts that spring
Out of human suffering;
In the faith that looks through death,
In years that bring the philosophic mind.
~Wordsworth
ODE
INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY FROM RECOLLECTIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD
Entire Poem here:
Wednesday 10
Rose.
Tuesday 09
Rain. Rain most of the day. Went outside with camera--and umbrella--and photographed the Peony and garden hose. Later, I applied for a few jobs and helped Nadine update her website.
Monday 08
Marketing. My friend from Twitter, Leslie Carothers, whose Grandfather, Jerold Frederic (I wrote about him last month and Nadine did too) is a world-class pianist, has been very kind to promote my photography to Interior Designers, writes in her Blog at Furniture Today:
Many of you know (but maybe a few of you don’t) that Kathy Ireland is the owner of Kathy Ireland World Wide and that KIWW is, according to Newsweek, a 1.4 billion dollar a year company which produces over 15,000 items sold to home furnishings consumers around the world through over 17 different manufacturer licensees.
I knew Kathy was a huge and well respected name in the home furnishings industry and was very successful but it was not until our communication began on Twitter that I knew the woman behind the brand. And, now, I know the brand AND a bit more about the woman and so do 11,000+ other people who are following Kathy on twitter @KathyIreland.
Do I know Kathy through a face to face meeting? No. Did Kathy ask me or in any way compensate me for writing this post? No. (She, did, however, arrange -as a thank you for a tip I gave her for her business re: internet marketing -to treat me to a lovely dinner during my recent vacation in Maui!) Do I have a pending proposal before Kathy? No. Just wanted to set the record straight. Is it possible we COULD end up working together in the future? Anything is possible, yes, and if that were to happen I would be deeply HONORED. HONORED? Yes. That’s a strong word to use but this post will explain to you why I believe that Kathy Ireland deserves it.
Here is what I know to be true about Kathy from watching her tweets over a period of weeks now:
1. She tweets herself and does not pay someone to tweet for her. This is unusual for a major celebrity and shows me that she is willing to commit her most precious resource-time-to let people know who the woman is behind the brand. I admire this. As someone who tweets for a living on behalf of my clients, I know how much time it takes to be involved in authentic conversations. It shows me she understands the real power of Twitter-to build relationships by giving of herself in a loving, genuine and heartfelt way with many people from all over the world whom she does not know face to face.
2. She is constantly reaching out to offer people hope and encouragement with their daily parenting (or other) challenges. This proves, to me, that she is genuine in living her brand as a Christian who is “providing real solutions for busy Moms.”
3. She supports Feed The Children and many other charities and non-profits and is using Twitter and her celebrity status to help raise money for them-successfully.
4. She speaks out about issues that are, for some, uncomfortable or unpopular. She is not afraid to take a stand and/or educate her followers/readers re: what she believes in. Even when people tell her not to do this, she still does. Kathy has a rare quality-courage. She could lose an endorsement or a licensee and she knows it, but she goes ahead because she knows how many parents and their children could be helped with the correct information. Is there a better definition of a leader? She is fearless on Twitter and I admire her for that alone.
5. I know, from Twitter, that Kathy had to evacuate her family during the recent Santa Barbara fires, she has four children, she spends “bubble time” with them each day-no phones, no radio, no internet-no external stimuli whatsoever-just she and her kids with total focus on their needs.
6. I know Kathy is very good friends with Elizabeth Taylor and that @DameElizabeth-as she is known on Twitter-adores Kathy in return.
7. Kathy frequently asks her followers what THEY think about business decisions she is considering. For instance, recently, she asked her followers if they thought she should launch a new home magazine . She got huge feedback. Follow her and go back in her “tweetstream” and you will see the conversations and what the “twitterverse” thought of that idea. She understands the power of Twitter to “source the answers you are seeking from the crowd.” This is known, in the online world, as “crowdsourcing.”
For instance, imagine you are going to High Point or Vegas and you have 1500 opted in consumers “following” you on Twitter. Why not ask them before you go something like this on Twitter: “Hey, we’re going to High Point to buy furniture for you, what would you like to see us carry?” ( And, furniture retailers like @iposit and @HighStyleClt are using Twitter to hire people, too.)
8. Kathy understands that, through Twitter, when people admire and know WHO YOU REALLY ARE and WHAT YOU REALLY STAND FOR-OVER TIME, they begin to trust you and that this precious gift of trust is worth it’s weight in gold.
Let me ask you this:
At the end of the day, do you think that the people that are opting in to follow Kathy on twitter and ask her help and advice might just be a little more likely to walk into your store or go online and find out where they can buy a piece of Kathy’s home furnishings line? Do you think, if you are a manufacturer who licenses one of Kathy’s designs, that you might want to be on Twitter and talk with her to get the cross pollination that would develop as each of your “follower” groups witnesses the conversation between the two of you and jumps in with their own thoughts? If you are a furniture retailer carrying one of Kathy’s lines, do you think you might want to go on Twitter and talk with Kathy about how well her lines are selling, what consumers love or, even, what consumers are asking for? How valuable do you think this might be to you?
I imagine Kathy knows the answer.
Trust takes time. Building relationships takes time. Twitter accelerates the process over the entire world-in real time-allowing you to converse with potential customers in both your local trading areas or, if you are an ecommerce player, across the entire world. The choice is yours.
I like this Blog entry because it addresses the importance of dialogue in marketing. Trust comes from dialogue. And I have first-hand experience with Kathy Ireland asking me on Twitter if Susan and I were happy with "her" lamps which we have in the bedroom. My answer? A resounding "Yes!"
As I wrote, All You Need Is Love.
Meanwhile, my photo of the day, "A Poem for My Daughter."
Sunday 07
Dinner with Danielle and Mike. Susan and I had such a great time with Danielle and Mike. We wish we would see them (And Daryl and his friends) more often.
I made an amazing dinner from this month's Bon Appetit: Beer Marinated Flank Steak with Aji Sauce and Colombian Guacamole.
Saturday 06
Grilled Cod. I made one of the best fish dinners ever tonight; Grilled Cod with Fried Garlic and Chiles.
AND, I finished painting the wheelbarrow! My "AmericanGothic."
Friday05
The Birds in the Backyard. A friend on Twitter, author Tom V. Morris, wrote today about the sparrows fluttering in the trees in his backyard. Minutes, later I saw this in our backyard:
Thursday 04
BNI. I went to a BNI meeting this morning. It was intellectually stimulating and I was reminded of why I was member of chapters in Easthampton and in Florence. I was reminded of the presentation I gave about the Decisive Moment. Later in the day I recalled these two photos. Unlike, yet in spirit connected, to my documentary images on New York City. And the writer Luc Sante sent me his essay for my book, Famous People Famous Places.
Wednesday 03
Nadine at the Door. We have created a cat who now wants to be an outdoor cat! She waits either by the door to the backyard or follows us to any door we go near.
Tuesday 02
Turtle Island.
For All
Ah to be alive
on a mid-September morn
fording a stream
barefoot, pants rolled up,
holding boots, pack on,
sunshine, ice in the shallows,
northern rockies.
Rustle and shimmer of icy creek waters
stones turn underfoot, small and hard as toes
cold nose dripping
singing inside
creek music, heart music,
smell of sun on gravel.
I pledge allegiance
I pledge allegiance to the soil
of Turtle Island,
and to the beings who thereon dwell
one ecosystem
in diversity
under the sun
With joyful interpenetration for all.
Monday 01
Gardening. Let's talk about gardening today. Every garden, every landscape needs a plan. But first I want to talk about my visit to the doctor last week. I went to see him about the pain in my left elbow, the pain in my right shoulder and collar bone, and the pain in my right middle finger. It turns out I have Tennis Elbow for which he gave me a shot and a sheet of exercises. He wasn't sure about my shoulder but confirmed I have Trigger Finger, which is often rather painful, and referred me to an orthopedic doctor; I am scheduled to see him later in the month. The last time I was at the doctors was a little over one year ago and I weighed 174. Usually, the first thing that happens at the doctor's office, besides waiting, is getting weighed. This time the nurse didn't weigh me. I knew I had lost weight so I said, "What! Aren't you going to weigh me?" She laughed. I got weighed. 158. Yes!
Me at 158.
And gardening? The tomato plants are planted where they want to be planted.