Not Always On

July 21, 2008

Feist Counting to 4 on Sesame Street

Love this song from the Apple ad. Now Feist takes it to Sesame Street.

Posted by elise on July 21, 2008 to Music | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 20, 2008

Audi marketing, what are you thinking?

I am the proud owner of an Audi A4 2.8 Quattro, 1999 model. I love my car. I love it so much, give me a few minutes and I'll likely convince you to buy an A4 as your next car. When I buy another car, it will likely be another Audi A4. That's why when I read this piece, 2009 Audi A4 makes local debut in the Sacramento Bee, I had to wonder who the heck at Audi is making these types of marketing decisions?

Apparently, Audi had its "North American debut" of its new 2009 A4 in El Dorado Hills last week. Yadayada. Catered by Bistro 33, I like that place, I'm sure the food was great. But what about this part, "Prime Time Boxing provided entertainment, with eight semiprofessional boxing matches announced by professional boxing announcer Michael Buffer"? What? What the heck does boxing have to do with a new car? Especially an A4, which given its compact size is just as much of a girl car as a boy car. They're trying to appeal to women buyers with boxing matches?

Continue reading "Audi marketing, what are you thinking?"

Posted by elise on June 20, 2008 to Social Commentary | Permalink | Comments (2)

June 11, 2008

JK Rowling Gives Commencement Speech at Harvard

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling gave the commencement speech at Harvard this year. Harvard Magazine lists the full text of the speech as well as a Quicktime video. Rowling focuses on two themes - failure and imagination. On failure,

So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.

Continue reading "JK Rowling Gives Commencement Speech at Harvard"

Posted by elise on June 11, 2008 to | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 23, 2008

Virtual Fish Pond

A friend of mine recently put koi pond in his backyard. Lots of work. Lots of anxiety over getting the water chemical balance just right, and keeping wandering egrets, storks, and raccoons from eating his fish.

This version is easier. Click in the pond to feed the fish. No worries about overfeeding them either.

link

Posted by elise on May 23, 2008 to Random | Permalink | Comments (1)

April 21, 2008

Ants, Scale Infestations, and Tanglefoot

About this time of year in the spring, when the weather warms up, the blooms are off the stone fruit trees, and the new fruit are just beginning to grow, the ants start to stake their claims on the trees. You can see them marching up the trunks and disappearing into the foliage. What are they doing? Most likely building their scale nurseries. The ants nurse and protect the scale insects, which, tapped into the sap of the tree, produce a sweet nectar that the ants love to eat.

You can pick off the scales one by one (they're squishy underneath their hardened shells, like baby snails, yes eww gross, wear gloves) but unless you tackle the ants, the scales will just come back.

So, what to do?

Continue reading "Ants, Scale Infestations, and Tanglefoot"

Posted by elise on April 21, 2008 to Gardening | Permalink | Comments (1)

April 3, 2008

The Return of Doctor Who

Doctor Who fans, season 4 is about to start, at least in the UK. I am completely and unabashedly in love with this show and its star David Tennant. Took an episode or two to recover from the loss of Christopher Eccleston and his sexy, swagger Doctor. Tennant is decidedly more subtle in his performance than Eccleston. But, boy can he act. He skillfully fills the range required by the role. Charming, exuberant, funny, determined, loving, sad, lonely, Tennant can navigate across all of these qualities and emotions within moments. The good Doctor returns for another adventure-filled season and I can't wait. Billy Piper comes back. Catherine Tate joins the cast. Here's a review.

Who is your favorite Doctor Who?

Posted by elise on April 3, 2008 to Random | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 20, 2008

It's About Time

Stanford announces financial aid enhancements.

Stanford University today announced the largest increase in its history for its financial aid program for undergraduates.

Under the new program, parents with incomes of less than $100,000 will no longer pay tuition. Parents with incomes of less than $60,000 will not be expected to pay tuition or contribute to the costs of room, board and other expenses.

The program also eliminates the need for student loans.

Other significant enhancements have been made to the program that will benefit aid recipients at all levels of income.

When I was at business school I heard former Stanford president Donald Kennedy speak on the need for those of us "best and brightest" to go into public service. I talked to Mr. Kennedy after his talk about the financial realities of this. When I got out of undergrad my school loan payments were as high as my rent. There is no way I could afford to take a job that didn't pay much. In fact, my observation was that the only people who could afford to work for non-profits were those with trust funds, or those who had gone to a state school and weren't loaded down by debt.

I didn't pay off my combined business school and undergrad loans until I was in my mid-thirties, and then I celebrated by throwing a "zero net worth" party.

As an alumn, I'm tired of having my donations to the school go to maintaining more and bigger buildings. Stanford has a huge endowment, one of the largest in the country. There is no excuse to saddle their students with huge debt burdens that take decades to pay off and limit career choices.

Thanks to similar announcements by top tier East Coast schools, Stanford has been compelled to offer more aggressive financial aid, just to stay competitive.

All I can say is that it is about time.

Posted by elise on February 20, 2008 to Random | Permalink | Comments (0)

Previous 20 entries...

Henry Ward Beecher - Perseverance and Obstinancy Feb 15, 2008
Laurence Shames - Success and Failure Feb 15, 2008
Interview with Allee Willis of Bubbles and Cheesecake Jan 4, 2008
Hermann Goering - The People Can Always Be Brought to the Bidding of the Leaders Jan 2, 2008
Arianna Huffington - Whittled and Sandpapered Nov 26, 2007
Fernando Flores - We Human Beings Belong to Language Nov 26, 2007
Rumi - If you are irritated by every rub Oct 10, 2007
Woah - Google 411! Oct 3, 2007
Christine Kane Live - Right Outta Nowhere Sep 29, 2007
Imogen Heap - Goodnight and Go Sep 2, 2007
Time Aug 28, 2007
Spider Love Aug 23, 2007
Fun with Photo Booth Aug 11, 2007
Christine Kane at BlogHer Aug 9, 2007
Fail Early And Get It Over With Jun 26, 2007
Imogen Heap - Just for Now (Live Acapella) Jun 23, 2007
Portraits of Women in 500 Years of Western Art Jun 9, 2007
Hundertwasser and Quixote Winery Jun 3, 2007
Free Credit Report Jun 2, 2007
Instead of Making Art Apr 22, 2007
More...