Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Crossing paths with Cajuns 'n Creoles


poster from AcA webpage

SONGS FROM THE COAST

"The World Premiere of a Louisiana Crossroads film, featuring live performances by DL Menard and Jeffrey Broussard

Nov 25 Reception @ 6:30, Showtime 7:30 PM at the AcA's James D. Moncus Theater
Nov 27 Reception @ 3:30, Showtime 4:30 PM at the AcA's James D. Moncus Theater


Louisiana Crossroads, the award-winning concert series, radio broadcast and television program, is continuing its 12th season with exciting new energy while remaining true to its deep roots that are so highly valued by audiences in Southwest Louisiana and around the world!


Louisiana Crossroads, a program of the Acadiana Center for the Arts, will premiere its TV pilot Friday November 25, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday November 27, 2011 at 4:30 p.m. in the James Devin Moncus Theater.



Songs from the Coast  highlights the exceptional work and stories of Louisiana musicians, their personal crossroads and journeys as musicians. The film features Louisiana artists Irma Thomas*  (filmed at the AcA in June), Sonny Landreth* (also filmed at the AcA), Allen Toussaint* with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, DL Menard* and a soundtrack of original music recorded live.


photo credit: me on my cell phone, at the Sunday afternoon showing of Songs from the Coast - here DL Menard on the guitar in the middle, with a fiddle & a squeeze box on either side
Following the premiere, join us for a Q & A with the filmmakers and live performances by Cajun/Creole greats DL Menard and Jeffrey Broussard.

Louisiana Crossroads Director Dirk Powell explains, "We have so much to celebrate. And I know that, in true Louisiana style, the celebration will not only honor what is past but strengthen immeasurably what is to come.


Don’t miss this rare chance to celebrate a work that encapsulates artistic achievement on multiple levels and in multiple genres, a collaborative effort that will resonate with audiences across the board...

This special event will feature the premiere of the hour-long Louisiana Crossroads film, shown in high definition, followed by...live performances by Cajun/Creole greats DL Menard and Jeffrey Broussard."

- all description above (except photo credit) from AcA webpage about the event

Link to AcA - Lafayette, LA...
http://acadianacenterforthearts.org/

Link to AcA Event - Louisiana Crossroads 2011 - 2012 - Songs of the Coast...
http://acadianacenterforthearts.org/Louisiana-Crossroads

Link to YouTube - Louisiana Crossroads Pilot Trailer...
http://youtu.be/dlRJzRfb2uY

Link to YouTube - Louisiana Crossroads World Premier...
http://youtu.be/QmX6IpcbT7A

Link to Season 2011 - 2012...Season 12...Catalog...
http://issuu.com/katewaxley/docs/proof_99529_lcvc_crossroads_booklet
(note: you can click & turn the pages online--better than paper, no recycling...)



 
Link to the Facebook page for Songs from the Coast - World Premier of Louisiana Crossroads Film...
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=255014191217326&ref=nf


photo credit: me, on the cell phone up in the Mezzanine at AcA theatre - of Allison Bohl speaking after Songs from the Coast film played & before DL Menard played us a few songs

Link to - finally - the director...Allison Bohl...
http://allisonbohl.com/home.html
(note: whose name is curiously absent in a lot of this promo for the LA Crossroads/Songs from the Coast/AcA...)

"Bohl has just completed her first feature length documentary "King Crawfish" about the annual celebration of the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival and the Catahoula wild harvest Basin crawfishermen who provide their community with crawfish."

Under her Portfolio...Other...are 19 photos - here is the Link to #9...
title: Sand 2010
http://allisonbohl.com/artwork/1465429_sand.html

Under Portfolio...Past Other...is Forts - here the Link to #5 of 5 photos...
http://allisonbohl.com/artwork/1466599.html

(note: even better than Sand maybe & I dearly love the seashore...Yes, Forts--like you use to build in your bedroom when you were a kid, or under the sheets on the clothesline...grew up with my grandmother so I know about clotheslines & sheets hanging to dry, for real...I like these photos, may have a few of the Forts my 2 boys built on many/Many an afternoon/evening when they were growing up in Lafayette, LA...of all the places?!)

Allison Bohl - Webpage Design by Other Peoples Pixels...
http://otherpeoplespixels.com/ref/allisonbohl.com


websites for artists by artists


Link to article in The Advertiser with a photo of where I saw her first speak - Allison Bohl...at the Creative Economy Summit at the LITE Center...
http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20111110/NEWS01/111100358/Art-industry
(note: she was speaking also about the King Crawfish documentary with film maker Conni Castille...)

photo credit: The Advertiser - by Leslie Westbrook
Article: Art as Industry by Amanda McElfresh

Link to more about the Creative Economy Summit Series...
here their webpage & they also have a Facebook page...
(note: see blog post about them earlier, CES & their 1st in the series which was held on 11/9/11...)

Link to more Allison Bohl on Vimeo...where there are 40 videos...

 
*More about the artists of Songs from the Coast film...

*D.L. Menard

I guess if my first name was Doris I would use my initials too--talk about a Boy Named Sue?!

Link to his Wikipedia (can you imagine having one - or - telling folks, Oh you can just read about me on Wikipedia if you'd like...)

His best known song "La Porte En Arrière/The Back Door" - he sang at the film premier on stage
he also sang a song from the Bachelor's Life & I've forgotten another--but the only one I'd heard before was "Listen to me when I talk to you" (tho I can't seem to find it on lists of his songs...the first time I heard that played was by BonSoir Catin on their Vive l'Amour 2009 CD...**song & translation to follow below, because it's a fun one--again his sense of humor comes out, is it him or is it Cajun or is it both...)

Link to YouTube of the famous or is that infamous--The Back Door by D.L. Menard...
(note: this man could be no more Cajun & I adore his sense of humor - he had us all laughing in the crowd at AcA inbetween the songs he played after the Songs from the Coast film?!)

**
Link to Bon Soir Catin--thank you for sharing the lyrics in French & English & as well the little story about D.L. Menard...
www.BONSOIRCATIN.COM

One afternoon at the Dewey Balfa Cajun and
Creole Heritage Week in Chicot State Park D.L.
Menard joined us for a workshop
performance. He sang many songs and told
many stories. When he broke into this song,
Christine fell in love with it and looked at us
from across tent with a smirk. We knew we
just had to record it. Jude plays a cardboard
box on this cut with the lope that only a real
cowboy could understand.



Listen To Me
When I Talk To You


Tu traines les chemins proche tout les soirs
Toute la journée t’es ’après dormir
Quand le monde se lêve toi t’es après te coucher
Écoute-moi bien, porte attention, moi je veux te parler
Si moi je serais toi, je changerais ma vie
Essaye de réveiller quand le soleil se lêve
Toi t’es après réveiller après le soleil se coucher
Comme on dit en anglais, “Listen to me when I talk to you.”
Il y a un tas des choses tu peux pas faire le soir
Tu pourras voir à la clarté du jour
T’es après manquer la moitié de ta vie
Écoute-moi bien porte attention moi,
Je suis après te parler
Quand tu vas te saouler, il faut que ça va te ramener
Quand tu te réveilles, t’es bien malade
T’as pas de l’avenir dedans ta vie
Comme on dit en anglais, “Listen to me when I talk to you.”


                       • • • 


You run the roads almost every night
You sleep all day long
When everybody is waking up you’re going to sleep
Listen close to me, pay attention, I want to talk to you
If I were you, I’d change my life
And try to wake when the sun comes up
You wake up when the sun is setting
Like they say in English, “Listen to me. I’m talking to you.”
There’s a lot of things you can’t do at night
If you want to have clarity during the daytime
You’re missing most of your life
Listen close to me, pay attention, I’m talking to you
When you go and get drunk, they have to bring you back
When you wake up, you’re really sick
You have no future in your life
Like they say in English, “Listen to me. I’m talking to you.”

          ***

Note: wish I could find a YouTube/Vimeo of these girls singing this song, but I only have my CD to listen to...maybe I should buy D.L. Menard's CD with the original song sung by him on it too?!



*Irma Thomas
the Soul Queen of New Orleans

in the film Songs from the Coast - she was interviewed before/after her performance at the AcA...
I can only remember one song as it's another Favorite of mine, esp during Mardi Gras--I only know it too as the 'flag song'...for this version she decided to make it a 'second string' experience & have everyone hold up & wave a white handkerchief or tissue or whatever else they could improvise with (which a few did, as they panned out with the camera to the crowd I could see some paper signs & such being waved around...) & of course everyone had to get up outta their seats & engage their rear gear (tho I know she had a better name for it, you'll have to watch the film to find out?!)

Link to Iko Iko - aka the Flag Song - Wikipedia to the rescue...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iko_Iko

Link to her webpage...
www.irmathomas.com

Link to interviews on NPR/Nat'l Public Radio...
http://www.npr.org/artists/15399204/irma-thomas

Link to her Wikipedia...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irma_Thomas


Link to some great photos of her - Irma Thomas - by Jeff G Photography...with The Professionals as her backup band - looking just like she does in that same dress in the film Songs from the Coast, which was if I read correctly was filmed while she was performing at the AcA earlier...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffjeffjeffjeff/5973824185/
(note: esp love this photo of her out of his photostream...as I can't copy it, even just to share one from the Flickr album...)


*Sonny Landreth

my side story...
I've met his lovely sweet almost shy girl friend Megan Barra at this years Women Who Mean Business event in Lafayette, LA (read more about the event here if you're curious:  http://www.theind.com/business-cover/8914-women-who-mean-business-2011) where I had the best of luck to also end up sitting next to her - though she didn't speak on stage this year, she had in the past so she was given a red rose & asked to stand before this year's nominees/speakers began...at first I only knew of her by way of her gorgeous silk art I'd seen at the AcA in The Vault gallery earlier - telling her I had wanted to buy 1 of the pieces only saw it had a red dot on it so guessed it was sold (it was of a coffee cup, coffee being another favorite thing of mine it woulda been perfect...sigh...another time, if she makes more...) but somewhere along the way in the conversation - surprisening myself I could talk to an artist that I thought might be famous enough for that, only to find out there was more to her story...only too late for me to get nervous though, as I was sitting to the left of her I just kept on talking...came out the boyfriend who played the slide guitar, a famous one, though even when she said his name I had to ask more--then I realized I'd seen him at the Int'l Festival this year on the main stage, the Popeye stage, & maybe even took a long distance photo of him on stage...(it seemed at the time, my spouse knew him better than I did - so really he was the reason we were probably standing there in the first place...let me go find those Thursday Night, Opening Night, Festival photos...)

photo credit: me, does look like Sonny Landreth with his slide guitar up there on the Popeye Stage during the Festivale International doesn't it...in the film Songs from the Coast you can see the cameras up on the stage behind him during this & now I'm wondering 'where's that big camera' - or maybe we didn't stand around long enough to see them, but we can still say 'we were there'?!

once again am caught thinking, it can be a small/big world here in Lafayette & the tiny circles like this can make you dizzy--but I love it all the same?!

Megan Barra - silk composition - Delta Blues
(someone else's guitar maybe or is this/has she done Sonny's guitar/s in silk? hmmm...can only guess, maybe so with all her compositions of musical instruments...but I'm still craving the coffee cup instead of course...)

Link to her - the girlfriend - webpage - with of all the photos on the home page, it's of Sonny & his guitar, plus his guitar perhaps done in her silks...but then she's done his CD packaging (plus some t-shirts) as well, wearing her Designer hat, so that may be another reason he's on the home page...(taking note down the list of Artist's she's also done a CD package for D.L. Menard - Happy Go Lucky...who's in the film Songs from the Coast too of course...more little merry Cajunland circles?!)
http://meganbarra.com/

Link to an interview of Sonny on Pure Music - here on page 14 he talks about his girl friend...nothing but good/Good things, what a guy, what a boyfriend...
http://www.puremusic.com/pdf/landreth.pdf


Link to his - the boyfriend - webpage...
www.sonnylandreth.com/

Link to his Wikipedia...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Landreth

Link to him on NPR - did not realize all these artists/musians were on there/archived...
http://www.npr.org/artists/15782632/sonny-landreth

Link to YouTube of him playing Blue Tarp Blues (aka The Katrina Song) at the International Festival in Lafayette, LA - posted April 30, 2011...thank you Butternut121?!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZv4UrJ6D_8

Link to YouTube of him playing Z-Rider at the LAFestival in Lafayette, LA...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W-nyDRPmzo



*Allen Toussaint

Link to his webpage...
http://www.allentoussaint.com/

Link to his Wikipedia...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Toussaint

Link to Preservation Hall Jazz Band...he played with them in the film Songs of the Coast...
http://www.preservationhall.com/band/index.aspx

    ***

Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys

Link to his/their webpage...
http://www.jefferybroussard.com/

(note: I did not stay Friday after the movie, nor even for the movie--so I missed Jeffery Broussard playing & on Sunday when I went again I only saw DL Menard as he was playing inside the theatre right after the movie...then I had to leave, but I heard them playing w/his accordion in the mix as I was walking out the door & folks were up on the wooden dance floor already as they'd put down a portable wooden dance floor in the ready, because of course you have to dance to Cajun/Zydeco music when you hear it--so I danced my way to the door, kinda, ducking & dodging all the crowd left in the lobby...)

Happy & Lucky that I was an AcA volunteer for the night to make it to the 12th Season of LA Crossroads & the world premier of the Songs from the Coast movie & to hear D.L. Menard play afterwards - we'll see if I'll be here again next year for Lucky number 13?!

Sunday, November 27, 2011

You don't know "Jack"





Movie Poster...
there were more than one & as well will be more than one cover for the DVD I'm guessing too


Tree of Life
Directed by Terrence Malick
139 min's
AcA 7:30 - 10:30pm
Sat Nov 19, 2011

Southern Screen Film Festival 2011
Winner of the Cannes Palme d'Or

OK--reasons I went to see this film...
1) saw the trailer on TV & was curious
2) Brad Pitt I recognized & he looked serious
3) missed all the other Southern Screen Film Festival films
4) free & I like AcA theater a lot

When you think Tree of Life - you, or I, thought of the Family Tree first off...
so there was that in the film, Yes there was a family - Mom, Dad, Son 1, 2, 3 & at least 1 dog

But there was another Tree of Life - a really old as the earth type one, inbetween the chapters of the regular family tree (not to say this family was regular...)

Above it all was indeed fantastic & spectacular & extremely well crafted cinematic or just plain captivating images...the dialogue in/out of the family, not so much--but perhaps that was the point in part...it is not a film to listen to, but to visually comprehend, to settle down & have soak into you over 2 plus hours - or that's the feeling I got & at times thought I might cry, but then I didn't have time before I was led down another 'branch' of this twin tree...

Wrapped around all that was also a mystery--did we all solve it in the end? hmmm...am not so sure, unless I cheat & read either the script or perhaps an interview of the actors or the director to find out - just who was it that died (will not give it away, if I could or if I knew for sure--but I guessed a brother & it wasn't the oldest son...while after the film I overheard at least one person considering it could of been the middle brother...) But really in the whole of the film I ask myself  "does it matter" - not really, except we like to make tidy the ends of things (many of us like as well happy endings, was there one in this film? Well, there was the beach & in my book that's "happy"?!)

From the catalog:

Selections
Tree of Life
From Terrence Malick, the acclaimed director of such classic films as "Badlands", "Days of Heaven" and "The Thin Red Line".
"The Tree of Life" is the impressionistic story of a Midwestern family in the 1950's.
The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconsile a complicated relationship with his father (Brad Pitt).
Jack (played as an adult by Sean Penn) finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith.
Through Malick's signature imagery, we see how both brute nature and spiritual grace shape not only our lives as individuals and families, but all life.

Link to Southern Screen Film Festival 2011...Nov 17 - 20...
http://southernscreen.org/

And I'd forgotten those many of few lines about nature & grace...
The film does not go in what I consider a linear line - in either the 1950's world of the boy or in the adult world of the oldest son or in the construction/deconstruction of the earth inbetween...

Possibly it reads in the eyes like a book, chapters, but not while reading the details of the book...after you've read the book & either daydreaming back on it or just remembering it in bits & pieces...

To add to that feeling of chapters, say in the family history or the earth's history (what they've written up as 'life' or 'all life') there is a moment of silence & a flame...now is that the spark of life, the flame of life--the one inside say a person or the one also inside the earth's core or center...or is it a ghostly, shimmering flame of time passing by - for humans or the earth...

Back to Brad Pitt & Sean Penn--really I almost feel like they were nearly a backdrop for these brothers...these children, who were so much more than actors - that line dissolved for me & they were these children, these three brothers & together they were very solid in their 1950's world...perhaps too it's because I grew up at that time & have some distance fondness for it now in this other family's rememberings (or the director's portrayal of the story into film of that part of the family tree...)

It was hard to sit through this film at times, if you didn't let yourself go--because you were pulled between these ethereal sections & of the twining of the family tree of life versus/alongside perhaps the earth's tree of life...actually a couple 2 seats down from mine got up to leave before it was over, because I think the man of the two couldn't deal with either figuring it out or waiting/being patient or there was something in that family relationship he couldn't face (am only guessing - for all I know it could of been he'd had enough to drink from the bar beforehand...)

There must be something of a nature in the film for it to be the Winner of the Cannes Palme d'Or - which now I will have to go look up the Cannes Film Festival & see what the Golden Palm is awarded for...

From Wikipedia...

"The Palme d'Or (English: Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film. From 1964 to 1974, it was replaced once again, by the Grand Prix du Festival...."

Link to the Festival de Cannes...
http://www.festival-cannes.fr/

Link to the trailers...all the ones that didn't win & the last in the lineup, The Tree of Life--the one that did win...
http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en/trailers.html


Link to the ultimate film festival trophy - the palme d'or - created by Chopard now for Cannes...
Here too is a video of the making of the palme d'or/golden palm...
http://www.chopard.com/cannes2011/

Link to the film's--official site...
http://www.foxsearchlight.com/thetreeoflife/

Link to 2 ways thru life...photo stills series from The Tree of Life film...
http://twowaysthroughlife.tumblr.com/
(note: even they say 'two ways' - while I said 'twin')


the scene at the beach, here only the Mom walking on the white sands...
Jessica Chastain is the actress who played the Mom

Experience Two Ways Through Life
Two Ways Through Life.com... http://www.twowaysthroughlife.com/
(note: click on the Mother's Way or the Father's Way & you can see clips from the film)
Tumblr.com... http://twowaysthroughlife.tumblr.com/post/4808579970/04-21-2011
Official film webpage... http://www.foxsearchlight.com/thetreeoflife/


An essay about the director...

Things to Look Into:
The Cinema of Terrence Malick
by Adrian Martin

Link to the essay...
http://www.rouge.com.au/10/malick.html
(note: of previous films, read no mention of this current one - I'm not reading it as I may want to see these other films, at least one to compare, to get a better feel for the director & without bias from this or other essays/reviews...)

Link to Wiki about the director...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrence_Malick
(note: where I thought I would find a photo of him, only to read he's a very private - or famously protective of his private life - so there is none & often in his contract there will be this stipulation...also here I read from his early life, what could be the family story/plot in The Tree of Life - 3 brothers, 1 plays the guitar, 1 dies...& under film career, that The Tree of Life was filmed in part in Smithville, TX & Waco, TX which I don't know that part of TX, but I do know Houston & Austin, TX...that last city - in the 'hill country' of TX - being where the director went to school, so you can understand the background/backdrop of the film's location for him...)
Link to Internet Movie Database...to read more about the director & there's a photo?!
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000517/

 

photo credit: IMDb - during the filming of The Thin Red Line

Link to full credits for the film, all cast & crew...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478304/fullcredits
(note: so I could find the name of the child actor who played the oldest son, Jack & his two brothers - the middle son & the youngest son...Hunter McCracken, Laramie Eppler, Tye Sheridan - are the 3 child actors, only 1 of which - the youngest - do they show a photo of here on this link...)

Link to IMDb photo of what I think are the 3 brothers with Brad Pitt & wife (yes, I know who she is--but this is not about her is it) at a showing of The Tree of Life most likely, taken in June of this year - it seems boys do grow & oddly enough I think the oldest brother is the one I wouldn't of recognized...
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1286716928/nm4446467

Link to another photo--if only because I am curious & this one is of the whole film 'family' reunion in real time at the same LACMA - The Tree of Life showing...
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2779889152/nm4446467

Note: Photo's lacking due to wondering if I'll get into trouble or not--some I did try & there must be a block, so you'll have to click on the links to see for yourself...or watch the film?!

Link to the already Wikipedia about The Tree of Life film...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tree_of_Life_(film)




Link to Amazon.com Instant Video (which I didn't know was an option) - for just $1.99 for a 48 hr rental or buy the movie starting at $14.99...
http://www.amazon.com/The-Tree-Of-Life/dp/B005MP28B2/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1322377940&sr=1-2

Note: did you catch that--for only $1.99 you can watch this film, for a 2 day rental online...

Friday, November 25, 2011

pink dragonfly standing on head = 5 words



Knew I was in for something very clever after the first line--Write More Good...
when I received this postcard in the mail as a reminder for the AAF November Luncheon...
River Ranch - City Club
November 18, 2011 - Friday

From AAF's webpage about the speaker, Wayne Geyer...

 

photo credit: AAF/Wayne Geyer webpage headshot...
(I need one of these, must work on that--as that free LinkedIn one didn't pan out...)
"For a lot of designers, art directors and other “visual people,” the idea of writing headlines and copy can be intimidating. But visual communication is still communication — and it often starts with a written idea.
  • Learn to solve the communication, and then the design
  • Distill any creative challenge to five words (or fewer)
  • Learn to write boring headlines, and then make them better
  • Bridge the gap between strategy and creative
  • Write your way out of a wet paper bag
Link to AAF Acadiana webpage to read more...say his clients/brands & awards...
http://aafacadiana.com/2011/11/november-luncheon/#disqus_thread

Wayne Geyer makes brands sound more interesting. To do that, he works with designers, art directors and anyone else who has a story to tell about a product or service. If that sounds like copywriting, it isn’t. It’s more like 23% writing, and 77% knowing what to write about. You can ponder this and other Wayneisms in his “Write More Good” workshops, where he helps people who draw learn how to write. Yes, that means you—because it’s specifically designed for “visual thinkers” who want strategic tools and writing tips to solve their communication problems.

Since he left his dream job in the pizza delivery industry, Wayne has addressed large groups of people at places like the HOW Design Conference, the ad clubs in Fargo and Oklahoma City, the AIGA Austin Design Ranch and the National Student Show."

Link to his webpage...
http://www.waynegeyer.com/main.php

Note: especially love that he's charting on a map of the states--where he's eaten cheeseburgers...now must remember to ask my sister who lives in Florida a recommendation to pass on to him when he makes it there for a cheeseburger?!

Or - NoCilantroDotCom is another of his clever asides...



(note: there is even an "I hate Cilantro" webpage...& did you know - thanks Wiki - that coriander is cilantro, where have I been?! ...apparently not in my kitchen/not using this herb...& on his webpage he doesn't use an image of the leaves or plant, he only uses the bright green color on the pages...)

Well, I've requested a pdf of the highlights from the talk he made - since I didn't take notes after he told us we could do that...it was complete with 3 questions & 3 gifts to go along with being able to answer them...2 were good books & 1 was to Cafe Cohen Coffeeshop in Great Harvest (which as I'm a regular it's OK I missed winning that...) I thought right after each question--I should know that & then if I did would I really raise my hand to answer out loud (prob not--because...can you spell 'panic attack'?!)

His Challenge...
Can you distill any creative challenge down to 5 words (or fewer)?
He had a number of examples of what he'd started with, say 'boring' & what he ended up with...

A tip of his...
Put Down the Stock Book

Thank you Mr 'Service with a Smirk?!'
(note: borrowed from his webpage, if you say go to look at his Words that Cost You More list - which I'm guessing are words he really dislikes using & so they would cost you more, maybe, if you insist on using them in your copy...this phrase 'service with a smirk' will show up under his name there on that page--you have to keep a quick eye on his webpage I'm guessing?! as he will also call himself other things under other subjects...)

or otherwise known for real as Wayne G -eye- r
(note: after his slide of a notebook he made with his last name in different colored letters in order to show the emphasis on the 'eye' center part in order to say his last name correctly--I will like...never forget, now how clever is that--am I a visual learner then? hmmm...perhaps & didn't know it, or we all are & didn't know it as well...thus comes the creativity of a clever copywriter--say that last line 5 times really fast...)

Addy Awards - 2011 - Advertising Industy Self-Promotion...
Ad Club Promotion
Award: Gold ADDY® Award
Entrant: Design Army
Advertiser: AIGA DC
Title: It’s a Jungle Out ThereCredits: Pum Lefebure, Creative Director/Art Director; Jake Lefebure, Project Manager; Tim Madle, Art Director; Charles Calixto, Designer/Illustrator/Developer; Wayne Geyer, Copywriting

Self-Promotion, Campaign
Award: Gold ADDY® Award
Entrant: Design Army
Advertiser: Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington
Title: Support Locally Raised DesignCredits: Pum Lefebure, Creative Director/Art Director; Jake Lefebure, Project Manager; Taylor Buckholz, Designer; Lucas Badger, Illustrator; Wayne Geyer, Writer; Westland Enterprises, Printer
SALES PROMOTION

Sales Kit

Award: Silver ADDY® Award
Entrant: Design Army
Advertiser: Neenah Paper
Title: Stand Out in a Vanilla MarketCredits: Pum Lefebure, Creative Director/Art Director; Jake Lefebure, Project Manager; Lucas Badger, Designer/Illustrator; Sucha Beckey, Designer/Illustrator; Kelley Mcintyre, Designer/Illustrator; Wayne Geyer, Writer; S.W. Smith, Proofing; Fey Publishing, Printer

Link where I found the Addy Awards list...
(note: Wow--there are lots of  'em, so there could be more won by copywriter/writer Wayne Geyer & group that I just didn't see...have seen some of his ad copy on slides during this talk last Friday, which was great fun & can see why he would receive awards - from clever, fun/funny or thinking outside the box kind of perspective if nothing else...)
http://www.dcadclub.com/content.asp?contentid=585


Fine EXAMPLES...




Wayne Geyer ad copy...

word: Baloney

"Death. Taxes. Baloney."

Link to this advert/copy example, that he did also show as a slide during his talk...
http://www.waynegeyer.com/copywriting/examples/baloney.php

(note: so he's added to the old phrase - well known/worn or not, is it an idiom? that there's only 2 certain things in life: Death & Taxes...here he's added another word: Baloney--do you want to read more? of course you do?!)




Wayne Geyer ad copy...

word: Clog

"Any more authentic, and this
would be your waiter."

Link to this example & where you can read more...
http://www.waynegeyer.com/copywriting/examples/clog.php
(note: I especially loved the story behind this photo, out of a day full of photoshooting that this synchronicity would happen is just marvelous & the image is sooo right...)




from WikiCommons--because I can & it's not copyrighted...


During the talk, you could win 2 books or coffee & still many of us couldn't answer...

Question 1: What is copy? (hint: newspaper has something to do with it)
Question 2: What is the difference between idiom & cliche? (hint: they're the same but different)
Question 3: ___________________ (hint: I don't know, but if you were there please tell me)

I've forgotten that last question & am I pulling a "Rick Perry" answer--No, I've just forgotten the question during the hour talk that was jammed packed full of what was it? over a 100 or was it 200 slides?! tho am guessing this will 'not' be on the pdf of the highlights from his talk I've just remembered to request...




current issue of HOW magazine...

Wayne Geyer is also a contributor to How Magazine...
http://www.howdesign.com/
Twitter: @HOWbrand
(note: so I went to look under his Bragging section - Yes, he called it that - to find this out & was curious to read more & so now I've found another online design magazine...that I may get hooked on, Oh No...Oh Yes...Oh Yeah...btw did not find an article by him right off, was just skimming--another time to dig deeper...)

Fun Find: on his webpage under All Things Wayne...under Things...there is the word: Coffee...

Wayne's Coffee
(note: oddly enough, I have been to a Wayne's Coffee in Stavanger, Norway...actually it opened while I was living there & many of us were very excited to have this coffeeshop coming to downtown...they were going to have American style bagels & some of us expats were even more excited about that possibility--if you've even been in a land of Nordic food you'd understand?!)

Link to Norway'sWayne's Coffee...
http://www.waynescoffee.no/





Link to Wayne's Coffee in Stavanger, Norway - in the Storscenter...
http://www.waynescoffee.no/stvgstorsenter.html
(note: my benchmark everywhere in the coffee world is to order an espresso, single shot...there in Norway you would order a "Cortado" - in the US few barista's know what I'm talking about, except...to date...Jason at Cafe Cohen in Great Harvest does...now this is getting to feel like/sound like '6 degrees of separation' - only from Waye Geyer to me & what I know to be true?! O-o...)


What else I didn't know about Wayne Geyer...
Plays the guitar...on Firefly song
http://www.waynegeyer.com/relevant/playing/firefly.php
Sings...on the Marathon song
http://www.waynegeyer.com/relevant/playing/marathon.php

note: could not find either on YouTube, but they are on his webpage under Playing...
then the words: Firefly...Marathon Song...

Firefly is played by Dragonfly 32 - the band - again couldn't find on YouTube...
but if you Google you come up with the EuroVision in Helsinki, Finland - Winners from 2007 - called simply Dragonfly & they were from Croatia...so is 'this' band playing up on that? I do wonder--will I ever find out? doubt it, but it's curious...(could I ask the Guitar player? hmmm...one day, maybe...or maybe not...)

since the word has been brought up & I <3 the dragonfly...
photo credit: from Buzzle.com...
what I love are 2 things--1) pink 2) standing on head
(note: I have never seen either a pink dragonfly, nor one standing on it's head...so deff an outside the box kind of image for me--I did not go to the StockBook btw...I Googled it instead, is that just as bad?!...no, don't tell me...I will end with this, pink dragonfly standing on head...)

Monday, November 21, 2011

#TXConfWomen - followed Fearlessly

Personal Statement: I know, once again, this is not a post about Lafayette, LA...but like NOLA being 2 hrs away or the Emerald Coast in FL being 5 hrs depending (on good or bad driving)--Houston, TX is just 4 or 4 1/2 hrs away--so close enough & it is what I'm doing while I live here...am still bummed I have not gotten into a plane for a year, but will work on that resolution next year instead?!








The Texas Conference for Women
November 17, 2011 - 12th Annual
George R. Brown Convention Center
Houston, TX
7:30a - 5:00p

Link to webpage...
http://www.txconferenceforwomen.org/conference

Link to Facebook page...
http://www.facebook.com/texasconferenceforwomen

on Twitter...
@TexasWomen Houston, TX
or follow the hashtag...
#txconfwomen

on LinkedIn (or 'in') there is a Group

Theme this year: Live Fearlessly...






this is in the main hall of the convention center, the stage is off to the far edge left in the photo above & on either side/center were these great giant screens so you could see all the 'fearless' women speaking from where ever you were seated among approx 5,000 women--after 11 previous years of setting this conference up am guessing they get a lot of things right with this process...







from where I sat--the beautiful, inside & out, Lisa Swayze...
Speakers I heard...

Barbara Bradley Baekgaard - co-founder of Vera Bradley
Link to Vera Bradley...
http://www.verabradley.com/

Tory Johnson - CEO Women for Hire
Link to Women for Hire...
http://womenforhire.com/



Sparkle & Hustle - Small Business Boot Camp
November 16, 2011 (the day before the conference)
Link to Sparkle & Hustle...
http://sparkandhustle.com/

Martha Beck - life coach & 'O' columnist
Link to her webpage...
http://marthabeck.com/
(author of "Expecting Adam")

Turk Pipkin & Rose Mapendo - The Nobelity Project & Congo Survivor
Link to The Nobelity Project...
http://nobelity.org/
(note: Rose was heart wrenching to hear speak, you just cannot imagine what this women of 7 children did in a Death Camp--her only crime? being from another tribe! & to find out weeks later her husband was killed & she was pregnant & pregnant with twins...on & on this true life horrific story goes & thankfully we can see she is beautifully - fearlessly - alive?!)

Lisa Niemi Swayze - pancreatic cancer advocate
(note: Yes, Patrick Swayze's spouse & she wrote a book - The Time of My Life...here's a Hollywood Access peek into all that, plus found out there's a wax figure of the Dirty Dancing actor unveiled w/his wife in a dance pose for the promo, 2 yrs after he passed...can you imagine your dead husband in wax, on public display at Madame Tussands?!  http://www.accesshollywood.com/lisa-niemi  )

Link to Pancreatic Cancer webpage & she's the Nat'l Spokesperson... http://www.pancan.org/section_about/national_spokesperson/
(note: we all had tiny purple ribbons on the lunch tables to wear for support & a reminder there's a "purplestride" in Houston on Dec 3rd...)





Cindy Hensley McCain - board member Eastern Congo Initiative (following a Ben Affleck video*)
Link to Eastern Congo Initiative...
http://www.easterncongo.org/




 photo credit: from www.popsugar.tv - The Eastern Congo Initiative - Ben Affleck speaking out in Congress w/Cindy McCain by his side at the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing

*Link to article/video of the 'odd couple' McCain/Affleck - of course would not be able to find the video at the conference, unless someone filmed it on their phone maybe who was there & uploaded it to YouTube or Vimeo (another time, I may look for it yet...)
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/political-odd-couple-connect-in-the-congo-ben-affleck-and-cindy-mccain/
or more photos on ABC News of their travels together to refugee camps...
http://abcnews.go.com/International/slideshow/cindy-mccain-ben-affleck-travel-congo-13077023

Jody Conradt - legendary UT women's basketball coach

Deborah Duncan - Channel 11 - host Great Day Houston
Lisa Hernandez - Channel 11 - co-anchor



Breakout Sessions I went to - both 1 & 2 I chose Social Marketing...
(note: had to pick 1 each & that was tough--sooo many great speakers, wanted to go to them all?!)

Shama Kabani - CEO The Zen Marketing Group
Link to her webpage...
http://www.marketingzen.com/speaking/
Seminar Session 1

SOCIAL MEDIA

The Zen of Social Media Marketing (workshop)
Speaker: Shama Kabani, president, The Zen Marketing Group and named one of the 10 Most Influential and Powerful Women in Social Media

Yes – you are on Facebook, LinkedIn, and maybe even Twitter. But now what? It has never been as easy, as efficient or as quick as it is now to reach people and get known. How can you take your social media game to the next level? This intermediate workshop goes beyond the basics and offers something for everyone – whether you are a professional looking to use social media to build your brand and network, or an entrepreneur looking to market and land new business. Shama Kabani, dubbed an “online marketing shaman and a master millennial of the universe” by Fast Company.com shows you how—and how to not get overwhelmed in the process. Focused on easy-to-implement, “Zen-minded” methods and techniques, you will learn:
  • How to drive traffic to your sites to generate qualified leads and expand your networks
  • How to use social media to brand yourself online and proactively manage your reputation
  • How to find and create strategic joint venture (JV) relationships using social media
  • Where social media marketing fits in the bigger marketing picture and how to measure your efforts
  • The #1 reason people fail at social media marketing… and how to avoid that mistake
Host: Crystal Washington, social media marketing strategist




http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Social-Media-Marketing-Credibility/dp/1935251732/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321902479&sr=1-1
   
###

Panel:

Tammy Tibbettts - founder She's the First
Link to her organizations webpage...
http://www.shesthefirst.org/
(where you'll see the tie-dye cupcake idea took off big time?!)

Nicole Williams - author of Girl on Top & the current Connection Director for LinkedIn
Link to the book...
http://www.girlontopbook.com/
( Link to the blog...especially caught my eye "Pick a card" - when I kept thinking/hearing that business cards might be a thing of the past, it's not looking like that...love these - must work on a new card no matter no business yet...can you have 'personal brand' cards--then that's what mine will be in the meantime... http://www.girlontopbook.com/blog/ - rubbing my hands together, mwah hah hah, should I start with: "Hello my Name is...")

A quote of hers, from an article...about men being savvier networkers than women (as I'm thinking oh you mean that good ole' boy network) Link... http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/152791/

"Women can sometimes shy away from networking because they associate it with schmoozing or doling out business cards, when in reality, it's about building relationships before you actually need them," said Nicole Williams, connection director at LinkedIn, and author of the book "Girl on Top."





the famous cupcake that started it all - from BakeSpace Blog - read more here...
http://www.shesthefirst.org/2011/07/the-cupcake-that-started-it-all/
Babette Pepaj - CEO BakeSpace.com
(note: there were a number of cupcake examples along the way--but no samples, probably best...)
Link
http://www.bakespace.com/

Host:
Sara Tays - ExxonMobil
Find her on LinkedIn...
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/sara-tays/b/886/573
(note: she mentioned there was a Blog for ExxonMobil even...so here is the only one I found online - Perspectives: http://www.exxonmobilperspectives.com/ )

Moderator:
Samantha Ettus - personal brand expert, author, TV personality
Link to her webpage...
http://www.samanthaettus.com/

Seminar Session 2

SOCIAL MEDIA

The New Era of Networking: Innovative Ways to Engage and Mobilize (panel)
Moderator: Samantha Ettus, personal branding expert, best-selling author and TV personality
Panelists:
Tammy Tibbetts, founder and president, She’s the First
Babette Pepaj, founder, Bakespace
Nicole Williams, connection director, LinkedIn, best-selling author, “Girl on Top: Your Guide to Turning Dating Rules into Career Success” and founder, WORKS by Nicole Williams
Social networking has changed the way we as individuals and corporations engage, mobilize and network with clients, customers and each other. This panel will explore the latest social networking tools and provide tactical tips for how you can be successful in the new era of networking by engaging and mobilizing people and initiatives. Whether you are leading a nonprofit, embarking on a new career or growing a corporation, this session offers something for everyone.
Host: Sara Tays, southwest government relations manager, ExxonMobil


Speakers I missed that I wanted to hear...

Anita Perry - First Lady of Texas (aka Rick Perry's spouse)
(note: I was in the vendor's hall after getting my badge & just couldn't get in the main hall fast enough - what a crowd & a maze of vendor booths to pass along the way...plus on arrival I 'had' to have a coffee?!)





Book Cover - Amazon.com - The Beauty of Different
Observations of a Confident Misfit - Karen Walrond

Karen Walrond - photographer & author, The Beauty of Different
(note: which I own & wanted to meet her, but could not be in the same place at the same time no matter how hard I tried--missed as well finding her at a book signing table too?! continue to follow her on Twitter in the meantime...)
Link to her blog...
http://www.chookooloonks.com/
Also on Twitter under the same (fun) name...
@Chookooloonks
About the book - The Beauty of Different...
http://www.chookooloonks.com/the-beauty-of-different-mai

Jenny Blake - life coach & author/blogger, Life After College
(note: follow her on Twitter too...)
Link to her webpage...
http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/
Find her on Twitter...
@Jenny_Blake (easy enough--her name)

Link to her shop...go here & get - Free - Organize like a Ninja Toolkit...I sooo need this...
http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/shop/
America Ferrera - aka "Ugly Betty" - was not there, we were told by a speaker due to taking a part that required her to fly overseas
(note: so unfair for us, but great for her?! - read on a fanpage she'll be in How to Train Your Dragon 2, she does the voice of Astrid, in pre-production coming out in 2014 - but 2 other movies in post-production for 2012 so really don't know which one would have her traveling & not speaking to us 5,000 plus women...)

Career Pavilion...

Resume Review - Univ Career Counselor
note: with lazer vision (I swear) she looked over my resume for less than 20 min's & totally turned it all around...she was in the Peace Corp so could relate with my 'non-traditional' work/volunteer experience as an ExPat a lot of the time, so I think she was able to help me the best



LinkedIn Connection Lounge - review/questions & makeup/prof photos
note: I tried 3 times to get into line for the makeup, while listening to the people asking questions for review of their LinkedIn Profiles along the way...but I had to get out of the line, to go to the Resume Review at a particular time & before that a toilet break & before that it was time to go to lunch...in the end I did have someone pull up my LinkedIn Profile to review what I needed to complete to be a 100% & after my Resume Review I realized if I did a Summary for that I could use that for the Summary on LinkedIn as well...followed by a How do I do a 'Please Introduce' me request on LinkedIn from someone I know who know's someone I'd like to be introduced to...so I guess waiting in line paid off well enough--next year would hope they double their efforts all the way around (tho I may not attend another year, but we'll see--neva say neva?!)

Mentor Match...
note: Did not do - was thinking "am I really ready for a mentor" - I didn't even have my resume done & haven't a clue what I want to do with it...read over the backgrounds for the mentors & though I would of loved to just have a chat with 1 or 2 or 3 of them, was not sure any of them could mentor me in whatever it was I end up doing?!

Personal Brand Audits...
note: was too late in the day when I wandered up to the queque & found out they were only then doing 5 min's with one of the free brand audit people - if you didn't sign up at the beginning of the day?! besides I found that rather a scary idea--do I want someone telling me anything in 5 min's, after looking at me or my resume or am not even sure if they would of gotten out their laptops to Google my name or what...so I passed & left to drive home 4 1/2 hrs (with a new book on CD - Spook Country, a SciFi story called political thriller, by William Gibson - got used from Half Price Books while in town...last book I read of his was Neuromancer)

And other misc goodies (or not)...

there was a Swag Bag...*see below, all the way to the bottom, \/ for a free one \/

there was lunch - chicken salad, tea, coffee, water...
(note: skipped the roll & the cookie...table all set, I mistakenly thought the salad was the first course--but with 5,000 plus women there I guess that was expecting a bit much out of the event planner...)

there was the free Vera Bradley clip on zip bag for change/ID/etc - mine was a purple mix of floral...
(amazingly 'everyone' got one of these, after Barbara Bradley's talk during lunch - or for those that stayed seated until after all the speakers...people with swag bags came around to all the tables to pass out the Free Gift from Vera Bradly...we were so pleasantly surprised, or I was for sure?! the newspaper called it the "Oprah Moment" - I mean really? it was 'not' a car...but still a lovely little gift...)




Link to Vera Bradley & the cute little Clip Zip ID compact case under Wallets & Wristlets...
http://www.verabradley.com/product/Category/Wallets-and-Wristlets/Clip-Zip-ID/154801/defaultColor/Happy+Snails/pc/638/c/0/sc/890/p/154801.uts

there were freebies from the vendor booths...



note: all I managed was a NPR sticker....



I think it's a Driinn...

...& a black plastic/rubber wall socket holder for your cell phone to sit on while charging...so far, surprisenly it's worked--as another one I bought earlier did not, so the phone would fall/clunk to the floor...

Link to what I'm guessing is the Original--the Driinn...
http://www.driinn.com/promotions.php
(they are, from what I read, either Italian made or American made & at this link you can see you can add your logo--which is what NPR did, on their black one at the base where the cell phone rests there is NPR printed on it...instead of the name/logo 'N2Cellular' from the image above)


Got a pin from these gals - didn't know there was one in each state...
http://www.operationhomefront.net/
(will be checking out what the Louisiana Chapter is doing now?!)





Lunar Achilles by GE Healthcare - example of such a machine the Walgreens Wellness Unit might have been using...(clever name that--Achilles, as in the mythical Achilles & his Achilles heel...which was the death of him, though having a bone density check hopefully will not be the death of anybody?!)

So yet another freebie--had my Bone Density checked, by my ankle - a first, that way - at the Walgreen's Wellness Unit/Vehicle parked inside the Vendor's section of the convention center...
(they took my personal info, they took my weight--I refused to look at the scale & told her right off do 'not' tell me what it is, I do 'not' want to know, I already know it's not good...)



I did not win the 3 pairs of Dansko shoes being given away - not even 1 pair & sadly not these...
Link to webpage...
http://www.dansko.com/Home/
love they have a Vegan flannel choice too...would of loved to win a pair of these?!
http://www.dansko.com/Womens/Footwear/Collections/Stapled%20Clog/Vegan%20Pro/Charcoal%20Geo%20Flannel/

I did not win the tablet the ATT booth had a drawing for - but I did use their Charging Station, which was great for my overused & so low battery Droid all day (I had to visit them twice?!)
(they were on Twitter live, followed them too & was great fun to pass by to say Hi while she was typing away on her laptop...)


/\/\/\

Recap of Texas Conference for Women on Culture Map Houston...

Ben Affleck and an Oprah Moment
Cindy McCain and Lisa Niemi Swayze shatter stereotypes at Texas Conference for Women
by Sarah Rufca
11/18/11

Link to article...
http://houston.culturemap.com/newsdetail/11-18-11-lessons-of-loss-and-heartbreaking-stories-from-africa-set-the-scene-at-texas-conference-for-women/


Under Inspiration & Information on the main webpage there is a Resource Center...
Check it out, it's full of good/free stuff...
How-to Articles, Speaker Handouts, Videos, Testimonials, Social Media, News Articles, Supporting Organizations...


Discovery Park - across the street from George R Brown Convention Center
am thinking these look a lot like Miro - but find they're by Jean Debuffet, 20th century French sculptor (inspired, if I read correctly, by "L'Art Brut" of Houston) - it's called "Monument to the Phantom" or imaginary city in French "Monument au Fantome"

Link to more about the park across the street - when I lived in town it was 'not' there...
http://www.discoverygreen.com/

Note: OK, I am only a tiny bit bummed that I don't live in Houston, TX - I'm living in Lafayette, LA & will be looking for an equivalent women's conference to go to...they did have a Women Who Mean Business award luncheon with speakers, but though inspirational was not for the actual business side of things like this conference was in Houston (sigh...life in the big city no mo?!)


George R Brown Convention Center in the background, looking like a Cruise ship passing (or if we were in Stavanger, Norway's harbor it could possible look just like this - say Queen Mary size passing...) Read further there are 7 individual forms in this sculpture in Discovery Park in the foreground - a church, hedge, chimney, dog, phantom, tree & mast...(obviously I did not find the plaque to read while I was there snapping away in the twilight sun?!)

Note: Will review my notes all over my agenda & elsewhere to add some stories these speakers used during their talks - plus that first Social Media break out session I left my card (my vanity card or mommy card, as am not work/Working just yet--but I am 'working it' as they say, but not like a CarSalesman--never...) for a copy of the slides that were used for the presentation...so far nothing in my e-mail inbox, but will be & then I'll share those too?!





I love to share?!
There were extra Swag Bags at the end of the conference left on the check-in tables--I saved one, if anyone is interested, either color...just let me know, comment even--that would be Winning?! Thanks!!!

Comment Below = Free The TX Conferemce for Women Swag Bag