Out On The Stoop

I have a Ralphs card. I have had a Ralphs card for years, back when it was actually Ralphs. I didn't want to have a card. It was a matter of paying more for groceries if I didn't use the card. I gave my name and phone number and became a "Club Member." Note that I didn't say I gave my address. I did not want to give it away and this was long before the Internet and the current wave of Identity Theft. I'm one of those people that does not believe in sharing every freaking detail about my life. Now did I miss out on coupons, third party junk mail and other assorted goodies. You betcha. It was my choice to do so. Flash forward. I'm in the store today. There is a new card in town. I am told that that I can use my old card only until July 31st. 2008. So after paying for my groceries; well you know how much I paid cuz the card rats me out on each and every purchase. You know I am frugal except when I am not. You know I'll pick up marked down meat in a hot minute, lean toward reduced to clear food and I will buy the high tone stuff when and if I want it and not before. You know how often I shop, when I shop and you can tell suppliers that I tend to by X but have tried Z. Fair enough, choices and trade-offs. Now I'm at the sign-up table. I'm deciding if I want the pink label card or the yellow or green. I'm going with yellow on account I have a dark lined bag. I fill it out. Name, phone and email. I hand it back to the young man. I'm told that I have to put my address. I say no, I don't. The young man says that in order to get the rebate check at the end of the quarter I have to put my address. I say no, I don't. I just wanted to use the card in order to shop at the store. Then he says I can't have the card and takes back the application. I tell him to give me my application back, If I'm not participating there is no need for him to have my info. He gives it back. I am livid. Here is why. I'm not hating on the concept of shopper or loyalty cards. It is voluntary on both sides. I don't have to use the card to shop in the store. I know that. I can choose to pay higher prices and remain anonymous. I can also choose not to step foot in any Ralphs ever again. I don't have to shop at Ralphs. I got Von's, Trader Joe's, Jon's, a bunch of ethnic markets, Costco, and dare I say it, the beloved 99 Cents Only Store. So if I have that many shopping options why am I going to debate with someone who doesn't know the answer to the questions "Why do I have to give my address if I do not want to receive mail from Ralphs or anyone?" Privacy trumps cheapness. Now when I get this mad I want answers so when I get home I hop on Ralphs web site and get the phone number for Card Customer Service HQ. 13 minutes later I speak with someone in corporate office. I ask her the question. She was very nice but said the same thing as the young man in the store. "So to be clear, I cannot use my old Ralphs card starting in August, is that correct?" She said that I could but that I only would be getting the club member savings. "That is not what they are telling folks in the store, they are confiscating the old cards and you have to fill out the application for new ones." CCSHQ said "No, that is not correct. You can still use the old card but all the prior deals like the Wine Club, the Senior Card and the Pet Card will be null in void. They won't exist." She could see where there is a misunderstanding because the folks at the store want me to get my $5.00 check after spending $500 in a quarterly period. If they can't send me my rebate check what is the point of me having a new card? But no, I didn't have to have a new card or give up the old one. I got an idea for you. How about you lowering prices across the board and dump the cards? That would save both of us a lot of time and headaches? Oh, yeah. That tracking thing. Here is my burn point. If you have my information in the first place why not just transfer me electronically to the new card and mail me the new card? Oh, yeah. You can't cuz you don't have my address. Strike that. If you want to give me a new card let me pick it up at the store w/o giving you my address. If you want to give me a new shiny slicked up card that is fine, but why don't you make the change on your end? I have my doubts if anyone knows the real deals here. If what the CCSHQ said is true then when I go to https://www.ralphsrewards.com I have to enter my address in order to add my information. I'm kinda hip to fields marked in black as mandatory information. Look Ralphs/Kroger, I'm sick and tired of being electronically sliced, diced, resold and re-purposed. Because whatever discount you give me in the store is more than compensated for in terms of valuable data of shopper preferences, staffing needs and ancillary data that you collect, share and sell. It is compensated for when you have a legal action. Let me use my old card and there will be no further trouble from me. But if some whipper snapper tries to take my old card they can have it. I won't be needing it anymore. Think I'm kidding? Remember the California Supermarket Strike?

Virginia DeBolt wrote a post on BlogHer The New York Times placing a technology story about women in engineering and science in the fashion section. More recently there was an article by Elaine McArdle, that I read online via The Boston Globe, that offered the premise that women are not interested in science and technology jobs. My understanding of the the article's bottom line is that women scientists prefer human connections and don't care for the isolation or the inorganic world that most male scientists tend to work. Sound familiar? It does to me. Exchange the words science or engineering for computers, blogging, automobiles, sports and you hear the same old song. What has that got to do with the photo below of Isabella Rossellini? Isabella was working on an project for the Sundance Channel. What she was really doing was experimenting on producing video for mobile and portable devices. The topic Isabella selected was how certain insects have sex. If you are interested there is an interview of Isabella on the Wall Street Journal Digital Network on YouTube. At my last count there were 89,000 links in Google on this project. Do you want to hazard a guess as to how many of those links make any reference to Entomologists? Or Entomologists who blog? Or Entomologists who blog who are women? Not as many, I guess. I did not count each of the 89,000 links because it got depressing how easy it is to get attention by using the letters p o r and the letter n in conjunction with any person, place or thing. When it comes to sex we can see it, there is a relationship to the topic and you don't have to expend a lot of effort to try to convince people, usually male, that women are participants and stakeholders. There is not the same kind of persistence of vision when it comes to women and science. There is an imbalance in between the truth and the perception. So, here is a small drop in the bucket to those women (and some men folk) who on a regular basis blog about bugs, insects, and other beings of the multi-legged persuasion. BugGirl is a good place to start you authentic journey into insects and the humans that have active relationships with them. I would say that her blog is a recognition that humans do not live independently from insects. You learn things like how people run scams with insects. She also has links to real bug movies like Return of the 17-year Circadas. InsectaPodcast is an entomological podcast created by Anna Fiedler and Jake McCarthy at Michigan State University. This is the place to come to if you want to know about contemporary bees and their issues living in a managed environment. If you had affection for Marvel Comics The Wasp you'd might like to hear Dr. Elizabeth Tibbles explain how in the battle of supremacy why it is good to be the queen: Anna How do they determine which queen is the dominant queen? Elizabeth So they determine dominance status by having intense battles where they grapple w/ each other, so they ll stand up on their hind legs and it kind of looks like they re boxing, and then sometimes they roll around and try to sting each other to death, and the winner is the dominant. But after dominance is established, they become very non-aggressive towards each other, so they don t keep fighting for their whole life. It s established, and then the winner stays the winner. You don't have to have an mp3 player to enjoy the goodness, text transcripts are available. Finally, Kelley over at Bugs for Thugs is an Entomologist who photographs insects, birds and other small squishy things. Kelley also has a recurring feature that invites folks to post questions such as Are bugs getting smaller? or How do you control household pests? I like her non-toxic answer for permanent non-living relocation for her specific situation. Science She-Ro of The Day: Today is Rachel Carson's birthday. She was a biologist and a writer who most famous work, Silent Spring, detailed in the 1960s the wide use of poisons and pesticides without any consideration to their effect on the environment and human beings. Rachel asked humans to become aware of what we are collectively doing on the planet. She inspired or instigated much of the modern environmental movement. Well, one down and 88,999 more posts to go before the balance is restored. Something got's you buggy? Put it in the comments. This post also appear on BlogHer.

On March 27th I attended Media Re:Public forum that was held on the campus of the University of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communication. The actual folks that created the forum was The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at the Harvard Law School. Truth was I got in on a mercy ticket. I also thought the forum would be different than what actually occurred. More on that in a future post. Anyway I went to a number of sessions and of course I brought old faithful. In this video, Torey Malatia is talking about a new project that is being created. My understanding is that it will be a social participation portal. The name of the project is Vocalo This is the Windows Media Video Version This is the QuickTime Video Version This is the iPod/M4V Version Contributors can create content that can be uploaded to the site. Some of that user generated content could be ported over to the radio station and once folks get digital that content could also be displayed on a digital channel of the radio station. There are a number of concerns I had that I wished I could have asked him about. He mentioned that there are segments of the population that basically has no relationship with public radio and that group sees no need to develop one. He did not mention race but he did mention class as a possible reason for the disconnect. I wouldn't disagree or agree but I think it is also a matter of content. There has been a systematic homogenization of public radio for years. I do like many of the programs but NPR and American Public Radio does its best to sound like every one is exactly the same with the same wants and needs. It is Lake Woebegone. (No disrespect intended) Er, no. There is no room for non-pasteurized content or people. And if you don't connect with the multiple communities that a radio station services why should I listen? I'm getting off track again. Where was I? Oh yeah, Another question I wanted to ask Torey about the decision not to be transparent about the connection to the radio station. Hey if you are going to fling words like "social networking" then you really have to understand that you gotta be up front from jump street. Hiding your connection to NPR will do you no favors. Say to your listening community - NPR wants you. I'm going to give him a freebie. Find out where the local poets hang out. Commission them to create content for the site. Make it clear they own their own stuff and give them a running start on how to podcast for you. Boom. Content and word of mouth marketing in one swoop. Then do the same for the painters, the gardeners, the low riders and anybody who has something to say and has been waiting to be asked. Just a thought.

Well, it is a little late but you gotta go with the flow. On March 22 it was IPF Day and this is a reflection of what happened in Los Angeles in Pershing Square. Click to View Windows Video Click to View QuickTime Video Click to View iPod/M4v Video The music is from Hattie Hart and the name of the tune is "Won't You Be Kind" from the Internet Archive.

I have been trying to see. See colors, shapes and lines. See accidental art and intentional design. I did take a design class a few year ago. I think I failed it. Windows Media Video QuickTime Video iPod Video I wasn't an "art-teeste" and I rarely see the same things that other folks do. Or I see more in the so called mundane. It isn't. There are levels and the environment to consider. There is form, function and a good looking bunch of bratwurst just aching for some spicy brown mustard and grilled onions. So when I got the chance to play hooky from work I took old faithful to see what I could see in the real parts of Los Angeles. I found an angel and a bit more. Technorati Semanal Tags Semanal08 Semanal08 Week10 Los Angeles

Maybe I should quit this vlogging thing. There, I said it. I don't mean it but sometimes it is frustrating. The idea in my head and the execution does not always match. I want to tell stories. I want to show stories. I want to show a bit of video and let you make your own stories. Windows Media Video QuickTime Video iPod M4V Video There are days when I have to be the grown up and I get so tired of that. What am I saying, I've never liked it. I don't mind being an adult. I like being a woman, you couldn't pay me enough to relive my childhood and teen years. But being the grown up sometimes means you can't take the opportunity to see the life around you. Last Tuesday I got that chance. So for the next couple of posts I want to show you what I saw when I opened my eyes and saw hidden in plan sight views of downtown Los Angeles. So this is your opportunity to take time and just watch, see what you can see. I've missed three weeks of making videos because of duties and responsibilities. I have to find a way. You'd think I'd have this figured out by now. It keeps changing. I keep changing. Ok, if you have every read "Writing Down The Bones" you will understand what I am getting at. If not, no worries. Technorati Tags: Semanal08 Semanal08week9 Los Angeles

I wasn't planning to post this video of Oprah. But I listened again and I heard something different. I hadn't heard this aspect of her voice before. She was testifying. For those of you safely outside the realm of church in this instance testifying means she is affirming her truth and her faith in belief that Barack Obama would make a great president. Flash Video Click for Windows Media Video Click for iPod M4v Video Audio MP3 Oprah also did something else. She affirmed that she is a free woman. I thought about this for a moment. Didn't she get the memo during Black History Week back in the day? That Emancipation Proclamation and two year later Juneteenth? I think she was talking about something else. The freedom from preconceived expectations from friends and relations. Choice. The ability to choose without restraint. In this clip from the UCLA Rally Oprah talks about how she is free from the boundaries of race and gender to choose who she feels is the best candidate for president. Technorati Tags Semanal08 Semanal08week6 Oprah Winfrey Obama

Caroline Kennedy does not endorse candidates very often. In fact I think this is the first time in my memory that she has done so on a national level. Flash Video Windows Media Video iPod M4v Video Click for Audio MP3 In this clip she offers her reasons why she support Barack Obama. Some of those reasons include support for early childhood education and financial support for college; which in this case means $4,000 for tuition provided you render service to your community. Folks my technique was a little shaky during recording so for those with queasy stomachs I offer a audio version of the video. For the specifics on Barack Obama's Education platform visit his site. For the specifics on Hillary Clintons' Education platform visit her site. Other Voices Learning By Heart has an blow by blow evaluation of McCain, Clinton and Obama's education proposals. Authentic Education is a group blog but one of the post caught my eye, the one having to do with early childhood education and parental involvement. This was something that Caroline touched upon in her speech. You can't be involved if you have to go to work and have no flexibility on your child care needs. If you are a parent, homeschooler or interested in how to teach the youngest of the young you can visit Kimberly's Pre-School Lesson Plans. This will give you a good idea of what to expect if looking for a quality preschool or teachable moment ideas to keep the brains a buzzing.

One thing I occurred to me was that I usually don't get to hear politicians say their whole spiel. This isn't something that is usually encouraged because they can yack on for a spell or two. Flash Video Windows Media Video QuickTime iPod M4v But with televised sound bites you rarely get to hear the full context of their speech unless you are in the room. Now I'm not naive, just because you are in the room doesn't mean you are going to hear solid talk. It just means you have the opportunity. The other thing that occurred to me is that I rarely hear from Latina politicians. I didn't even know that Pomona had a Latina mayor. So let me introduce to you Mayor Norma Torres and by extension, the California earthquake stomp. She is making her case why she think Obama is the one. Technorati Tags Semanal08 Semanal08week6 Norma Torres Election

Taking a break from the rain inspired Doo Dah parade review I want to share with you a series of videos taken at the Obama Rally at UCLA on February 3, 2008. Flash Video Windows Media Video QuickTime Video For those that don't care for politics please feel free to skip my next couple of posts. I want to show what is not being aired on American news programs. I currently endorse no particular candidate but I do believe in being informed. The sound bites provided by mainstream media are insufficient for our current needs. Michelle is a powerful speaker. This clip gives a glimmer of that but I got more stuff to share. One of the things she has touched on was that the separation that has occurred within the past 12 years has truly damaged our collective identity of who we are as Americans. I've felt this ways for quite some time but this is the first time I've heard it identified in a political sense. I have a bunch more videos to upload so hang in there and tell me what you think. Technorati Tags Semanal08 Semanal08week5 Michelle Obama Election

Ok, 6:45pm. Change of plan. I'm letting serendipity take over. I find a good bit and I'm gonna slap a title on it and upload. Expect wild swings of coming and going. This is a bad work flow but I've got to hunker down and face the unthinkable, cleaning the fridge. Flash Video Windows Media Video QuickTime Video iPod M4v Video First up is Senor Groucho, the Sax Man. You try blowing a sax and toting your own float. Is he really blowing? Does it matter? Dude had to pull his own float down Raymond onto Colorado Blvd and then up Fair Oaks. Yowser! *** Well it has been a little more than a week since my last post. I'm editing as fast as I can. I'm looking for my footage of folks pelting the Pope with tortillas. I don't support pelting anybody with tortillas but there are a lot of Ex - C's that saw an opportunity and took it. Now this guy, I dunno cause a bit of a fuss. It might have been the water gun he was packing or something about that lip action he had going on. Be back soon. For more info on the Pasadena Doo Dah Parade visit http://www.pasadenadoodahparade.info Technorati Tags Semanal08 Semanal08week4

We usually have the Doo Dah parade around Thanksgiving. It is a way of getting those lingering visitors out of the house and it won't cost you anything. But after 30 years it got predictable so in order to keep that from happening it was moved to January 20th. You have to do stuff like that when the parade has the word "occasional" in the title. Something was missing. A bit of whimsy. Downright goofyness for the sake of being silly. Then again I do like watching men dance. It is so cool. Fellas, I'm telling you true you can't go completing wrong by dancing in front of a woman. Flash Video Windows Media Video QuickTime Version M4V iPod Version Now some of you are seriously uncoordinated but spastic can be kinda cute and at the very least you'd get a mercy hug or something. Mainly laughter but hey, you gotta start somewhere. There are constants but this parade is not easy to pin down. It is a neighborhood meet up. A family outing on the cheap. A bit of satire. Flying tortillas. I got it, participatory perambulation. It will have to do cuz I'm whipped for original thought. I'm culling those special moments from the parade and to start things off I present the Country Gentlemen (definitely not spastic), the Dead Robert Palmer Girls and the Bastard Sons of Lee Marvin. For more information about the parade visit http://www.pasadenadoodahparade.info Technorati Tags: Semanal08 Semanal08week3

There are days you get the feeling that you are missing something and you should not go home. I have been going home a lot lately so I had more than enough cabin fever to propel me on a walk around the back streets of Pasadena. The front streets are filled with stores and restaurants that come and go so quickly in an upscale downscale sort of way. My wallet is too narrow of funds and my hips are too wide to shop in any of them. The back alleys and streets are where you find the great places to eat and window shop. Flash Video Windows Media Video QuickTime Video iPod version It is also the beginning of the disconnection zone. I'll explain that someday. In the meantime, for the my Semenal contribution of the week, and this week had eight days not seven; this is a mash-up of my visit to two exhibits at the Amory Center for the Arts. One is what H.S. students managed to do with converting trash to art and the other is an exhibit that focuses on using word and written text incorporated into the art pieces. For more information on what is going on at the Amory Center for the Arts please visit (and if you are in the area go visit - most of the time it is free) http://www.armoryarts.org Technorati Tags Semanal08 Semanal08week2

My favorite day of this so-called holiday season is January 2nd. If it were up to me we'd just cut the months of December, January and February and head straight back to Spring and Summer. That's right, no holidays, no Valentine's day and I a'int too crazy about Saint Pat's day so maybe we could knock off a bit of March as well. I was looking for a video representation of how I feel and I think this sums it up pretty well. Flash Video Windows Video Standard QT Video M4V - iPod Video Yeah, I'm not proud of any resemblance to Dr. Smith. Once I get going through the year I'm fine and the closer to the warm times I feel I can do dang near anything. Or think I can. As usual there are going to be some changes. Some for the good and some I can see are going to be life challenging. I will say that life is not a dress rehearsal so if there is something that you want to do for the love of life get on with it. It is okay to incubate an idea but trust yourself to make it happen. Find folks that support your dream and do something while you can.Why the shift from the negative to the positive? Well, a friend of mine wound up in the hospital with a possible heart attack. If that happens to me and I don't make it I want to know before I pass over that I did what I said I would do. That I made every effort to live the life I decided I wanted to experience. So I may be internally screaming into the new year but on the other side I'm ready to go foward. I hope that you find reason to do the same. For more information about Lost In Space or any of the Irwin Allen Productions like Time Tunnel, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea or Land of the Giants visit http://www.iann.net.For more information on Lost In Space visit the office site www.lostinspacetv.com

I’m in the supermarket in the checkout line. I forget to put the separator between my items and the older gentleman ahead of me. I’m locked on to a copy of the Reader’s Digest promising me I can de-clutter my living space this year. Next thing I know my groceries are being loaded into the older gentleman’s cart. “I think we have a problem here, he’s got my groceries.” “Didn’t you use the separator?” the clerk asked disapprovingly. “No I guess not. The first time in 40 some years of shopping that it happened mind you. Meanwhile, my gracious benefactor is trying to leave. We both explain that there has been a mistake. He doesn’t understand. The bagger asks “Spanish?” “I pipe in with “Is it Farsi?” “Armenian” he says as he is still trying to leave. The clerk puts out an SOS for Habib as I attempt to extract my stuff from his basket. Habib never shows up but it is cool. I reclaim my turkey sausages and assorted other goodies. After much confusion and a good deal of gesturing the clerk refunds his money and I pay my own way with the reproachful eyes of my fellow customers. Flash Video Windows Media Video Click to Videw MPEG-4 M4v iPod Format Language matters here in Los Angeles. Communities form and dissolve based on who you are and how you say it. It is a blessing and sometimes a tribulation but language gives all of us an opportunity to reach beyond what we know and see. Unless you don’t speak the other person’s lingo. It is never too late so here are a few resources to resurrect that dormant language class or learn something new. The Arabic Language Podclass is just what is says it is, you have the opportunity to download mp3 that contain Arabic speakers and poetry. This seems to be designed for folks who might be taking an Arabic class or are trying to increase their vocabulary. There is also an Arabic Wiki Language area that you can use as a resource. The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) has oodles of tools, tutorials and mp3 files You can learn French, German, Italian, Mandarin Chinese and you can download mp3 files to help you if you are just visiting. You can also follow BBC self-paced language instruction, for example Spanish or snag just enough to get you through a vacation. I live in southern California. There are at least four Spanish language non-cable television stations, a bunch of radio stations and pound of publications. It is in my future best interest to re-activate my prior limited investment in my Spanish 1 and Spanish 2 classes. One way to do that is checking out Slow Spain Blog There are far more resources but this will get you started. Bon Chance! Semanal Weekly Video Post Semanal