When Pop Culture Meets Politically InCorrect

It's been hard to escape the Kardashian's these past few weeks with the media all abuzz over Kim Kardahsian's recent divorce announcement to Kris Humphries after only 72 days of marriage. While making the PR rounds to diffuse "rumors" in regard to her daughter's divorce, as well as to promote her own new book, Kim's manager/mother Kris Jenner went on Good Morning America and was asked whether or not Kim would give back her $2 million engagement ring. Jenner responded with a chuckle, saying: “Well, I hate an Indian giver. Don’t you? It’s a gift. Keep your gift.”
In the Sun Times recent article, Native Americans object to Kardashian mom's 'Indian giver' remark, notes that the National Congress of American Indians were outraged and offended by Jenner's comment. Executive Director of the Tribal Advocacy Group, Jacqueline Johnson Pata released a statement saying,“The phrase ‘Indian giving’ is wrong and hurtful. The cultural values of Native Americans are based on giving unconditionally and empowering those around them. Instead this cultural value is forgotten when negative stereotyping of Native people occurs.”

In the article, Pata also notes that November is Native American Heritage Month and invited the Jenner and Kardashian family to “join with the country in learning more” about American Indian culture. To read the full article, click here>>

According to phrases.org, the term "'Indian giver' derives from the alleged practice of American Indians of taking back gifts from white settlers. It is more likely that the settlers wrongly interpreted the Indians' loans to them as gifts. This term, which is certainly American, may have been coined to denigrate of the native race. Historians would now agree that, where deceit was concerned, it was the settlers who were the front runners. It isn't uncommon, and it could be argued that it is customary, for the conquering race to attempt to justify their invasion by dismissing the conquered as dishonest and stupid."

An email alert in regard to Milk and Testosterone

Sometimes my trainer sends out emails that are totally worth warning sharing with others....

Milk and Testosterone- Milk does NOT do a body good.

from Jade Teta ND CSCS
Milk is an interesting food. It is seen, almost universally, by the average American as a health food. Those seeking muscle building and fat loss usually have nothing but great things to say about milk. But milk is becoming an increasing issue related to hormones and may be especially troubling for men and boys yet to reach puberty.
An article last month in the journal Pediatric International (February 2010. Vol. 52 #1) showed a disturbing pattern of hormonal disruption induced by milk. The modern dairy cow has been converted to a full time milk factory. It is a little known fact, but genetically improved dairy cattle continue to produce milk throughout their pregnancy. This milk goes directly into the food supply and contains large amounts of bovine estrogen and progesterone that is directly absorbed by consumers.
The researchers of this study wanted to see what impact these hormones were having on men and women so they enlisted seven men, five women, and six pre-pubertal children. The adult male and child participants in the study drank the equivalent of 2 8oz glasses of milk and had their urine and blood tested before drinking the milk and at multiple time points after milk intake. The adult women in the study drank the same amount of milk (2 8oz servings) daily for 21 days beginning on the start of their menses. They were then followed for two more consecutive menstrual cycles to determine if female ovulation was impacted.
The results of the study were striking and worrisome especially for children. The adult male participants had significantly increased blood levels of all female hormones including estrogen and progesterone as well a sharp decline in serum testosterone. All the adults in the study as well as the children had increased levels of estrogen and progesterone and a suppression of their body’s own hormonal regulation of these same hormones.
According to the researchers, the levels of hormones could be especially worrying for children by delaying sexual maturation in young boys and increasing it in young girls. In addition, adults would likely be at increased risk for hormone sensitive cancers including breast and prostate cancer. In addition, the lowered testosterone production seen in this study runs directly counter to the notion that milk helps with body composition.
The alternative medical community has had questions about milk intake for sometime. Milk is no longer processed the same way as it once was. Selective breeding of dairy cattle, the use of drugs and hormones to generate greater milk yield per cow, issues with pasteurization and others have altered the quality of milk and raise questions about how healthy it really is for human consumption. There are many other concerns with modern day milk intake that many are unaware of. These include a link of milk intake to acne, recurrent ear infections in children, possible relation to low thyroid activity, and food allergy and food sensitivity. While many dispute these assertions, there is good and rising evidence to warrant a review of modern day milk consumption in my opinion. Sticking to organic, grass-fed and unprocessed milk where it can be found is likely a far better option for milk intake.

BRIDGING THE GAP By General Colin Powell

Sometimes you receive a chain email that you just have to share with others. This was sent to me in the beginning of December. General Colin Powell is an American Statesman, Four Star General in the United States Army and Former Secretary of State.

The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve. Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity. An important attribute in successful people is their impatience with negative thinking and negative acting people. As you grow, your associates will change. Some of your friends will not want you to go on. They will want you to stay where they are. Friends that don't help you climb will want you to crawl. Your friends will stretch your vision or choke your dream. Those that don't increase you will eventually decrease you.
Consider this – Never receive counsel from unproductive people. Never discuss your problems with someone incapable of contributing to the solution, because those who never succeed themselves are always first to tell you how. Not everyone has a right to speak into your life. You are certain to get the worst of the bargain when you exchange ideas with the wrong person. Don't follow anyone who's not going anywhere.
With some people you spend an evening; with others you invest it. Be careful where you stop to inquire for directions along the road of life. Wise is the person who fortifies his life with the right friendships. If you run with wolves, you will learn how to howl. But, if you associate with eagles, you will learn how to soar to great heights. The simple but true fact of life is that you become like those with whom you closely associate - for the good and the bad.
Note – Be not mistaken. This is applicable to family as well as friends. Yes...do love, appreciate and be thankful for your family, for they will always be your family no matter what. Just know that they are human first and though they are family to you, they may be a friend to someone else and will fit somewhere in the criteria above.

"In prosperity our friends know us. In adversity we know our friends."
"A mirror reflects a man's face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses."
"Never make someone a priority when you are only an option for them."
"If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.”

re-post "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus

In honor of Santa Claus I wanted to share this editorial I came across posted on a Facebook friend's wall.


Eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York's Sun, and the quick response was printed as an unsigned editorial Sept. 21, 1897. The work of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus Church has since become history's most reprinted newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole in dozens of languages in books, movies, and other editorials, and on posters and stamps.


"DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old.
"Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.
"Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.'
"Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?

"VIRGINIA O'HANLON.
"115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET."

VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.




For the post please visit - http://www.newseum.org/yesvirginia/

If video killed the radio star, then Jersey Shore killed American entertainment

While searching for a relevant and timely topic for my next blog post, I came across Chris Brogan's 100 Topics I hope you write. Number 38, MTV Changed the World in the 80s - Here is What Comes Next, totally jumped out at me. Mostly because this past January I caved and watched an episode of MTV's newest "reality" show Jersey Shore. By now it's no longer "new" - they are now onto their second or third season - woopy-do!

While in Miami working on my own tan, guess who decided to stroll onto South Beach while we were there? That's right - the "ladies" of Jersey Shore. I even have the pleasure of having my back photographed and posted on some tabloid blogging site! Oh joy!

It's an art, with no right or wrong formula, so just go with it....

Social Media is a marketing channel, with the potential to create a viral* campaign. Social media allows you the ability to engage your audience (and potential customers) in valuable conversations about your company, product/service, brand, and upcoming promotion and/or event.

The social media marketing umbrella includes:

• Social networking sites/ online communities
• Blogs
• Online forums/ discussion boards
• Review sites
• Video and photo sharing sites

For effective social media marketing you want to be anywhere** (online) that enables and engages you with your audience.

Social media can increase your web presences, drive traffic to your website, expand brand awareness, generate exposure, and provide SEO benefits.

Social media has no tangible ROI, per se, but it can and does offer:

• Brand management
• CRM
• Product development
• Reputation management
• Customer interaction, feedback and support
• Community building
• SEO

Effective social media marketing can result in brand equity and loyalty that ultimately can affect sales and revenue. It may not be as direct as a salesperson closing a deal but WOM from a trusted friend of colleague is more of a seller than a salesperson's selling pitch.

*Please note that "going viral" is not an end-result goal to have with any Internet marketing campaign. Marketers are not the ones to determine if something will go viral, your audience and users do.
**With all marketing initiatives, you need to start with an objective first, and then decide which method and strategy to use to approach the goal at hand. Not all social media platforms are going to be as effective if the online community is not the niche market you are looking to engage with.

Mixing Personal with Professional

Not everyone is on the same page when it comes to social media and how to use it effectively in the professional setting. Many people still don’t get it, and most think it’s a fad and can’t be taken seriously when conducting business. Similar to billboards, radio and television, social media platforms are just another outlet to get your message out there. Social media is the new media and many “gurus” state different rules to follow for effective social media marketing. One thing they all have in common is that the objective of a social media marketing strategy is to get online and LISTEN. Funny, because that tip is similar to what women have wanted men to do forever - JUST LISTEN!

Most people advise you to just start using social media, join any and every group and start engaging and connecting with people, mostly because it’s a free medium. Honestly, that’s not a great idea. Like any strategy you must start with your objective. What is it you’re looking to achieve? Who is your target audience? Research, develop your message, and then join. Not all social media platforms hold the same value with what your objective may be. Not all target audiences are enrolled in every platform, granted 73 percent of Americans say they use the internet, according to a Pew Internet & American Life Project report.

Blending Brands

Merging your personal “brand” and professional “brand” when it comes to social media is not a good idea. You take a risk similar to when a corporation uses a celebrity to endorse a product. Humans make mistakes. For instance, when a celebrity is endorsing a product and their image becomes tainted due to a recent arrest or illegal activity the product’s organization usually drops them pretty fast. Personal image can cross contaminated into your professional brand’s equity. Your personal brand should not be your professional brand, unless you’re trying to be famous for having no talent (i.e. Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, etc.). If you are trying to position yourself as an expertise in a particular field, that is still your professional brand as a person. You must learn and know how to keep that message consistent when doing so. How you conduct yourself in person should reflect in cyberspace. Although this is a very gray area and many will argue for blending your brands.
Strong recommendation is when using social media have your organization be its own entity on the social media platforms you utilize.

For example, if you’ve decided that Facebook is the platform you need to be on to engage with your target audience; create a fan or group page with your company’s brand name and message. Don’t use your personal Facebook page to get your company’s message out there. Keep the focus away from your personal “brand”. Joining the group or becoming a fan of your company’s page is encouraged to drive others to the page. But mixing the two is never a good idea.