Earth to become hot dead clump?

The science world is abuzz with a new “atom smasher” device called the Large Hadron Collider.





What is it? A massive, uber expensive device designed with the intent of discovering ‘invisible matter’ and more spacial dimensions.

I’ve been so intrigued, in fact, that I’ve read up on it in several different publications- and after my research (one such link below,) I was left with several questions as to the validity of this buzz.

The fears of the device are as follows:
-Upon switching on this mystery machine, a black hole will be created which will swallow the Earth. (Well, this would certainly put an end to the mortgage crunch, wouldn’t it?)
- A trial of the machine will produce or “spit out” particles that will render planet Earth a “hot dead clump.”

Let’s discuss for a moment the definition of “hot dead clump,” as this term was mentioned verbatim in every story I’ve reviewed leading me to believe that it’s either some scientific jargon of which I’m unfamiliar, or it was pulled directly from the same ambiguous press release.

Further research into the origins of the word "clump" were unsuccessful. If this term were actually common knowledge, I would understand why the media didn't bother to define it- but, in all honesty, I don't think anyone really knows what a "Hot Dead Clump" is (besides bad, of course.)

Inquiring minds want to know: which particles specifically turn planets into hot dead clumps? More importantly, what is a hot dead clump?

Thankfully for us, the Earth has a one in 50 million chance of becoming a hot dead clump when the machine is switched on.

See full article here: http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/06/30/doomsdaycollider.ap/index.html


Hot dead clump or not, the debate is pretty cool.

6/26

R.I.P Uncle Johnny

Book Review: The Foreign Correspondent

The Foreign Correspondent, by Alan Furst

Apparently, I’m a huge fan of tales filled with the exciting adventures of journalists living abroad. Journalism and espionage it seems are not so distant cousins, and the intrigue of a foreign traveler always makes for a good story. Unlike Travels with Herodotus, and Down and out in Paris and London, this tale is fiction.

This tale follows Carlo Wiesz, an expatriate Italian living in Paris working for Reuters and moonlighting as a reporter for the underground anti-fascist newspaper Liberazione on the brink of WW2. His search of stories takes him all around Europe during the tumultuous time, and eventually entangles him in a spy mission in order to rescue his lover trying to escape Gestapo controlled Berlin.

It’s an engaging story, and my first Furst!

Rating: 7

Back and better than ever!

I’ve just returned from my brief but terrific stay on the Mayan Riviera. As a firm believer in peer reviewed travel destinations, I’ll give you the full rundown of my stay and an official ‘oh snap’ rating (for what that’s worth.)
Food: Pretty good, great selection of restaurants, snack bars and buffets. The resort has five fine-dining sit-down restaurants which require reservations and semi-formal attire, but are worth the wait. No room service available, but they have take-out plates in the event that you’re suffering from Montezuma’s revenge to the point that you can’t leave your room.

Beach: so-so. It gets rocky several feet into the water and it’s not very big, but what they lack in soft white sand, they make up for in lots of beautiful sparkling blue pools with two swim up bars.

Grounds: Gorgeous. Each room has a terrace complete with patio furniture and a view of ocean or greenery. My room overlooked palm trees and bushes that were home to several blue crabs (awesome!)

People: Service was attentive and great, guests were fun and all ages, and there was enough to do to entertain everyone without any annoyances.

Overall stay: Wish it could’ve been longer. 3 nights simply wasn’t enough! I would certainly return for another long weekend in the future. I think my largest complaint was that the resort was a pretty long (1.5 hrs) haul from the airport. It ended up working out well, as I was able to get some shut eye on the ride over, but I wasn’t exactly prepared for that to take as much time as it did.

Alli’s Rating: 8 of 10!
http://www.cataloniarivieracancun.com/

Leaving on a jet plane

I leave bright and early tomorrow morning for a long weekend in Cancun, Mexico. I hope to return refreshed, rejuvenated and equipped with plenty of colorful blog entries (and photos!)


à bientôt mes amis! See you Monday!

Much ado about blogging

I’ll admit- I’ve been a subpar blogger of late; however that’s not to say that it wasn’t on my mind. In fact, much of the past week has been spent talking about blogs.

Blogging is great. Here are my top 3 reasons why I will maintain into eternity (or until my big mouth gets me in trouble) that Blogging is one of the greatest things since sliced bread:

1. Personality. Show the person behind the professional. Using this blog as an example, I suffer an insatiable wanderlust and a love of amateur photography. I also happen to love PR, but being a creative and not having a one track mind, I enjoy exploring and melding my two passions into one colorful blog.

2. Multimedia. Pictures, audio, video, embedded links, you name it. Blogs are for sharing!

3. S.E.O. Blogger is owned by Google. Post releases, bylined articles, media hits, they’ll all boost your Search Engine Optimization ratings without having to pay an outsourced ‘expert’ to come in and overcharge you for something that you can do yourself.

And, to avoid adding a fourth and, dare I say it, even number to my countdown, I’m simply going to add that it’s easy and free.
Ta-da!

6/13

Have a great weekend!

Book Review: Travels with Herodotus by Ryszard Kapuściński

This book is the non-fiction account of Polish author Ryszard Kapuściński's experiences as a journalist traveling for his news agency just after the fall of the iron curtain.

While his sole goal was to simply cross the border of Poland, something he had never done before, his curiosity soon gets the best of him and takes him to the farthest reaches of the globe in an unending quest for more information.

Along for the ride was the book The Histories by the Greek explorer Herodotus- a gift from his chief editor. As it turns out, Kapuściński finds many similarities between his explorations and the Greek's, whose stories are referenced throughout, and often presents his theories to the sometimes vague tales reported within The Histories.

As one who has lived and traveled alone abroad, I found this book extremely relatable and the ending most poignant—for one with an insatiable curiosity of the world, travels are truly never over.

Alli's 'O Snap' rating: 7 of 10

EMG in Businessweek

"A Practical Guide to Branding"

Define your brand identity—your product's "personality"—before you spend a dime on advertising or marketing

Read the full article here: http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/jun2008/sb2008069_694225.htm?chan=smallbiz_smallbiz+index+page_top+small+business+stories

Any insight on the subject of branding is a worthwhile read to any business owner who wants to spend their marketing dollars intelligently.
The fact that the advice is coming from our agency is just icing on the cake! Enjoy.

6/9

Buckeye falls at Sharon Woods park in May. In retrospect, I wish I would've taken the stick out of this picture- it lacks character.

What are YOU doing tomorrow night?

Want to enjoy live music, a few drinks and a great patio—all while helping homeless pets?

Come to the “Band Together for Animals” at Stanley’s pub in Columbia Tusculum. (I’ll be there!)

All proceeds from ticket sales benefit Safe Haven’s program that assists pet owners and feral cat caretakers who cannot afford to spay or neuter the animals in their care. Since the program’s creation in 2007, over 100 local dogs and cats have been spayed or neutered.

The lineup features local acts Daughters & Sons (http://www.myspace.com/nittyirving), Poke (http://www.myspace.com/thejudges) and the Chuck Land Band (http://www.myspace.com/chucklandband.)

‘Band Together for Animals’ will be held June 7 at Stanley’s Pub on 323 Stanley Ave. in Columbia-Tusculum. Cover for the event is $5 at the door and live music starts at 10pm. This event is for ages 21 and over. For more directions please call (513) 871-6249

Help stop the overpopulation through song! Hope to see you there!

Book Review: Down and Out in Paris and London

Down and Out in Paris and London
By George Orwell

This book is George Orwell’s quasi-biographical account of his experiences suffering from extreme poverty in Paris and London after World War I.

Peppered with Orwell’s social insight, the book reads as a series of colorful vignettes of a rarely talked about way of life.

His encounters are truly unique, and paint vivid portraits of down-on-their-luck characters, and their personal attitudes towards their individual impoverished situation. While the book addresses the truly grim subject of poverty (especially given the time period), his personal account of being ‘hard up’ challenges the societal stereotypes and stigmas by showing the human side and personal accounts of tramps, vagabonds and those scraping by for basic necessities.

Alli’s ‘Oh-Snap!’ Rating: 8 of 10

The Saga Continues...

In case you've been following the butting of heads between the Public Relations Society of America and CBS News Sunday Morning's correspondent Andrew Cohen, he responded yesterday to PRSA's public outcry here:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/02/sunday/main4146383.shtml

Honestly though, what better way to garner attention than to attack a community of publicists?

Through his remarks, Cohen was able to single-handedly Rally the entire industry,achieving much more talk than he could have even dreamed of achieving if he’d hired a single practitioner (or agency) forthright.

I’d never paid any attention to him prior to this incident being called to my attention. A little crass, yes, but it certainly put him on the map, didn’t it?

Ethics and PR

Ironically, I’ve spent the afternoon speaking with Sharon Alt, president of our client Alt Benefit Consultants, about ethics in the insurance industry, and we seem to be in the same boat on an issue that transcends both of our professions.

I was greeted this morning by an email blast by the PRSA national board of directors in response to comments made by CBS legal analyst Andrew Cohen (links to both are below), and it really made me think—I don’t think either stance is exactly right.

I certainly don’t appreciate being lumped into a profession of generally deceptive and unethical people, and I can see how his statements have rustled some feathers. My personal favorite generalization within the article is below:

“But in every tragic drama comes a moment of comedic Zen. And in L'Affair McClellan, that has come from the public relations community, where some now wonder whether the former flack violated the "ethics" of his craft.

Apparently, an industry the very essence of which is to try to convince people that a turkey is really an eagle has a rule that condemns lying.

The Public Relations Society of America states: "We adhere to the highest standards of accuracy and truth in advancing the interests of those we represent..." This clause strikes me as if the Burglars Association of America had as its creed "Thou Shalt Not Steal."

Show me a PR person who is "accurate" and "truthful," and I'll show you a PR person who is unemployed.”

I understand the need for a professional society (of which I am a member) to defend its members, but really there is no way to be 100% certain that each PR practitioner is ethical. It’s the ultimate dilemma in any service industry.

Similarly, you can’t trust all insurance agents to be ethical, either. Or car salesmen, or advertising execs, or even the guy who fixes your car.

Every industry has its bad apples, so why try and defend them all?

I don’t believe a witch hunt is merited, but certainly, it’s unrealistic to lump all professionals from ANY given industry into categories of “good” or “Bad.”

The article in its entirety (along with pages and pages of angry PR people defending their profession) at: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/01/sunday/main4142947.shtml#ccmm

View the Public Relations Society of America response below:
http://www.prsa.org/supportfiles/news/viewNews.cfm?pNewsID=842347385