Saturday, July 5, 2008

Gotta Have "Faith"



I recently began a project with a company called FaithDialer.com. FaithDialer develops technology, such as an autodialer that makes it easier for religious organizations to run their business.

I am providing all of the content for the site, which includes articles and technology brochures.

It's a great company, run by great people who answer to a higher calling (get it? get it?)!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Shopzilla (formerly Bizrate) Scribe


I was part of the consumer acquisition team at Shopzilla (formerly Bizrate) back in 2006-2007. Recently I was asked back to write all of the SEO optimized content for one of their new websites. Will post a link as soon as the site launches.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Generating More Good "buzz": TuitionBids.com


Another buzztone project, I was asked to come up with a list of taglines for TuitionBids.com. TuitionBids, like LendingTree, puts the user in a position of power, as lenders bid on the right to service their loan. TuitionBids is designed specifically to help students secure funding for school.

My work is: May The Best Bank Win and Let The Bidding Begin.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

A New World From Words: TonicGeneration.com


In 2006 I was brought in to help buzztone and Pankaj Shah define the tone and character of the website/movement TonicGeneration.com. TonicGeneration is a brilliant idea designed to help people who want to see changes in the world, but feel powerless to do anything - often because they feel overwhelmed by the scope of the problem. The concept is that by participating in the online community (thereby alerting others to what's going on out there), purchasing eco-conscious products instead of more damaging ones, and having the proceeds go toward important causes, the smallest actions add up to a large impact. My tagline was: Change The World Without Changing Your Life.

This is where my heart is. My contribution on this project was my way of mixing, blending and stringing words together to form a type of transformative "Linguistic Alchemy". Words mean something; it's even better when words create meaning.

This onesheet was a mockup of the homepage, and you can see my work (headlines, taglines and content) here.

Past Projects: The Pump Station


The Pump Station was a client I worked with in the summer/fall/winter of 2006. I was tasked with proofreading, content writing and editing their pages. I also did some usability improvements.

Some examples of my content can be found here
and here among other spots all over the site.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Past Projects: Paltalk

PaltalkScene was a buzztone project, where I was asked to produce a list of names for their interactive music show, as well as some Paltalk and music program taglines.

Owing My Business To buzztone


This whole "writing thing" has been a bit of a circuitous path. I started writing sci-fi fantasy in sixth grade, realized by high school that writing sci-fi fantasy was never going to get me a prom date, and pursued other (probably equally unsexy) interests...like theatre. I gave the acting thing a good little run, but after 10 years and some pretty unpleasant experiences, I decided to fold that one up and tuck it away, too. Having a creative outlet is almost as important to me as breathing, but I needed some security as well. I went back to school for Psychology, figuring that in addition to having a strong creative side, I also have one of those personalities that seems to make people feel compelled to open up and spill their secrets (although now that I'm writing this, I wonder if I shouldn't have used that power to pen hot and gossipy romance novels based entirely on the lives of the people I know. Hmmm).

With my Master's in hand, I joined the ranks of the "tired, [the] poor, [the] huddled masses yearning to breathe free," as a foster care social worker in Los Angeles County. I stuck with social work for a long time, too, but by the time my son was born, I just couldn't find the reserves to keep pouring everything I had into a hopelessly failed system. It was too much heartbreak, too much suffering, too much that I felt helpless to do.

So I returned to writing.

buzztone media marketing is one of the companies to which I owe my career. They believed in me from the beginning, and I have been doing freelance work for them since I made the transition back to a creative career.

Last week I worked with them on a couple of marketing pitches for an internationally known movie studio. It was my favorite kind of work: Sitting around a room with a bunch of ridiculously talented people, brainstorming and being creative, and then diving into a project, sculpting a path to create something new. I ideated, I wrote taglines and copy and I created tone and voice for certain pitched projects. I cannot share details now (due to an NDA), but hopefully I can post a link to our projects soon.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Doo-Yao!


When we entered the first of the Three Gorges, I cried. I actually stood, open-mouthed, as our boat glided past the vibrant green mountains rising out of water (occasionally dotted here and there by pagodas and ramshackle apartments), and then put my head in my hands and sobbed. It was that beautiful and that monumental.

And the amazement never wore off. After 4 days on the boat and similar peaks (for the life of me it sounded like the guide called them "Pigs." What? There are pigs here? Where are they? Are they wild?! That one is 'pig gazing at the moon?' Where in the blazes is he seeing these creatures?! Ohhhh...), I never got used to the stunning beauty of the area, and I kept right on crying. Good tears.


Along the way, from Wushen (?) to Chongquin, we stopped at the damn dam (wow. that sucker's big - but has remarkably pretty landscaping) and Fengdu, the Ghost City. Fengdu was actually taken apart and rebuilt - brick by brick - on higher ground; the original location is now entirely underwater. According to Chinese Buddhist (?) lore, all souls must make a stop in Fengdu where they are judged according to their life's merit and treated accordingly. While we were there, we got to make several interesting decisions about our next lives. I'll let everyone know how that all plays out. Fengdu's pretty grim, which makes it totally awesome! There are murals and statues and paintings and carvings of all kinds of gory business all over the place. Several in particular made me wonder if Hieronymus Bosch and Hellraiser were Chinese...


We departed the ship in Chongquin, the world's largest, most populated city, boasting a record 30 million residents. And a panda breeding center. We got to see a little baby panda! (awww) Zach was more interested in the little baby monkey hanging out in the cage next door. Both were cute - it's not a contest, folks. The best part of the city - in my opinion, of course - was the old section, where crowds of people were shopping for the day's meals. Frogs and eels and fish, chickens and pigeons and ducks. There were people cooking soup and those "oil stick" churro things. Merchants had large bins of rice and grains on display. Several people were killing and scaling sea creatures. Fruit stands, raw and roasted meats - the colors and smells were wonderful. So was the architecture. Every once-in-awhile we'd pass a door, cracked open just enough to allow us the smallest glimpse of tiny stairwells disappearing down dark corridors. Passageways lead between and behind buildings. Chongquin was occupied by the Japanese during WWII and I think I remember someone saying that the Chinese did their darndest to staunch the bloodletting from these secret streets. Or maybe I'm making that up. It was a long day.


Our guide informed us that Chongquin is known for it's spicy food and "spicy girls." Kevin (our guide) told us that the city has a reputation for producing the prettiest girls in China, and that a lot of his friends (also guides), like to suggest that their tours hang out in the center of town and, you know, just relax for awhile. Just 'cuz.


Chongquin was also the location of our second airport, which led to our third, in Shanghai.


I [heart] Shanghai. I'd happily return for a month. In a lot of ways it's very similar to NYC, although all of the brand new (and spectacular) skyscrapers have been built within the past 20 years or so. Development is continuing at a breakneck pace. I probably must return in the next few years, in order to see how much things have changed, right? We had some fun shopping excursions in both the "knock-off" market and the bizarre. Zach enthusiastically practiced his Mandarin. "Boo yao" means "I don't want any." This is especially helpful when trying to fend off aggressive vendors, but that poor baby was also shouting it at the hoards of regular folk who tried to lean in to touch his hair or quickly pose with him for a picture. "Boo YAO! Boo YAO!" Unfortunately, for some reason he began to say "doo yao" in the market in Suzhou which both amused the vendors and engaged them: "Doo yao," apparently, means "I want everything." That was awkward.


China was the trip of a lifetime. I hope you enjoyed my updates - thank you for sharing in our experience!


Ai -

Monday, March 31, 2008

Cursing a Green Streak


We're learning lots of new stuff every day. For example, yesterday we learned that most Chinese would prefer to have a daughter to a son (regardless of whether or not this is now true, the fact that they're still missing the point on so grand a level still leaves me scratching my head). We were also taught that the government here is doing many, many things to help protect the environment.

Most of the people in our group have commented on how delicious the myriad vegetable dishes have been at our meals. They have been - delicious. It's small wonder, as historically, the Chinese diet has been mainly vegetable based, since meat was too expensive to eat for anything other than special occasions and holidays. However, as the expression goes, "there are two sides of the coin": With China's economic boom, the growth in income and opportunity has created an increased demand for meat. Now, with that increased demand, China is experiencing what the US went through after WWII; farmland is disappearing, cities are growing, and there is new reliance on petro-chemical fertilizers to grow more crops in less space. All of this in a country already facing a clean water crisis.


I know how I am, dear ones, so I'll be good and rein in the ranting. I'll try to skirt around my soap box. Especially since, being a meat-eater myself, I can't really frown disapprovingly on an entire people who are only following in our footsteps and trying to vary the (add more?) protein to their meals. I'm just sayin'...


I'm writing this update from our Yangtze River cruise ship. Talk about welcoming in a new era! This cruise is the reason we took this trip. By 2009 the Three Gorges Dam will be completed and this valley, where people have lived for 5000 years, will be gone forever. Along with two species of fish [probably - due to almost-certain extinction]. This is the largest engineering project ever undertaken. I'm not certain what the financial cost is, but the government insists that it is worth it in both lives saved from flooding and the amount of "clean" energy produced. Both of these points are scientifically refutable.


As mentioned, there are two sides to a coin. I could launch into a philosophical argument about preserving culture and history and species, or - on the flip side - it's not hard to tow the party line and see that some of what they say is valid. You can probably guess which side I tend to favor...


But then again, yesterday I had a shot of some sort of medicinal wine made out of starfish and seahorses and lizards. Probably endangered. So there we go with that coin thing again.


Yesterday (in addition to drinking spirits culled from scaly creatures), we visited the Terracotta Warriors Museum. I should note that these were, in fact, "Terracotta Warriors" and not "fine terriers" as Zach kept calling them. Zach the celebrity - or didn't we tell you? I've never seen an episode of "Entourage" in my life, but I have to imagine that traveling with this curly-haired blonde boy is pretty much the same, minus the quality parties and free blow (wait, what? Hi Dad!). In many places (Xian and the museum, in particular) we haven't been able to walk 5 feet without people wanting to touch him, hold him or photograph him (often all three). We're trying to be as polite as possible, but for Zach's next tour, we're charging Eagles prices...


(The Warriors, by-the-way, are absolutely unbelievable. But this hour of internet is running me about $10 (US), and after 6 hours of travel, the gentle rocking of the cruise ship, and my little worried rant about the terrible international fallout we're going to face because 1 billion people are eating more "Babe," I'm beat.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Skiing The Great Wall of China


Chairman Mao once said, "If you haven't climbed the Great Wall, you haven't been a good Chinese." Well, I am happy to report that not only are we good Chinese, we are - in fact - great Chinese, since we climbed the Great Wall in the snow.

Northern Beijing City hovers somewhere in the mid-60's at this time of year. In the mountains where we climbed the Wall, it tends to be a little colder and less predictable. Now, I admit to knowing nothing about "Centigrade," but I'm fairly certain that today it was approximately 200 degrees below zero. Centrigrade. A natural fluke that can probably be described as less unpredictable and more global warming (or cooling, as the case may be).


We woke up at 6am (anyone who knows me well should note this, as of course it's unlikely to be repeated anytime soon...and only for love or jetlag). The air was crisp and cool but there was no indication we should've packed parkas. We boarded our bus at 7:30, sat in traffic for well over an hour (you think rush hour in LA is bad??), and were treated to what was surely a singularly rare opportunity to purchase jade from a government factory/store (hrmph. Zach spent the whole time repeating, "I want to goooooooo now. I want to goooooooo now" until Dan bought him a lollypop). After that we finally started the climb up the mountains. And then it began to snow.


I am pretty sure that time stopped when I finally saw the Great Wall peeking out over the mountain ridges - certainly, I stopped breathing. It's such a familiar site from movies, books and television I almost felt like I was having deja vu. Even after all of these centuries, it is still regal and formidable and huge (like all the rest of the Chinese dynastic architecture). Seeing it surrounded by soft snowfall was...unbelievable.


And really flipping cold. The vendors, no doubt, were thanking their lucky stars, as everyone on the bus loaded up on gloves and ponchos and winter hats - although we even noticed locals wearing new sweatshirts proclaiming, "I Climbed the Great Wall of China!" Poor Zach. We left the hotel with a fleece scarf and hat, a sweatshirt, a jacket and a windbreaker for him, and that child was still freezing. We bought him an extra pair of socks that we pulled over his shoes and pants, and a pair of child-sized gloves, but he just didn't get into the spirit of adventure... He made Dan carry him the entire time. (Thank goodness he's a Daddy's boy!). Trying to explain that we were visiting one of the 7 Wonders of the World, and that this 6000 km structure is the only man-made object visible from outer space didn't seem to placate him much. He was just "COOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLDDDDDD!" I'm sure he'll appreciate the photos when he's older.


By the time we left, the entire area was covered in white. Our guides told us that in the winter (when it's supposed to snow), the snow is much harder and thicker and it makes the roads impossible to drive. This snow was delicate and wasn't going to ice over, but it certainly made us feel like we were in the center of an ancient Asian snowglobe.


After lunch, still wet and freezing, we got to take a dragon boat...in the rain...across a lake. Then we toured the Summer Palace - so named because it's where the Imperial Family would go to escape the stifling summer heat. It was absolutely gorgeous, no question, but we wrapped Zach in plastic and headed back to the bus. I'm happy to announce that my Mandarin is now good enough that I was able to order a roasted sweet potato from a street vendor (!). This was the perfect thing to warm grown-up hands and baby feet. And it was delicious!


As a special excursion, we took Zach to "Kungfu Show" tonight. Zach's Kungfu is strong, but those guys were pretty badass. He didn't take his eyes off the action until he finally passed out during the final scene.


It's been a whirlwind, for sure. Yesterday we toured Tian'Amen Square, the Forbidden City, Hutong province and a local kindergarten. Speaking as someone who has visited Red Square - what this sister square was designed after - I have to say I was disappointed. Red Square was also cold (they got that part right), but aside from that... I dunno. Many of us agreed that it was very difficult to separate ourselves from prior associations of the square, and that made it a little hard to enjoy the experience. The famous portrait of Mao is, however, larger than life and pretty amazing in person.


As for The Forbidden City, well, one of my friends told me in advance that the thing to note is the scale of these buildings. Yes. Said to have 9,999 rooms, the palace is massive and extraordinary and unlike anything I have ever experienced. Everything is beautiful. All of China's ancient buildings are made out of wood, so the people were terrified of fire. As such, the buildings are topped with carved "water animals" (such as camels), to guard against their most dangerous enemy - symbolically, anyway. But in addition to the animal carvings, there are carvings for the Emperor, carvings for his wives, for the family as a whole, for the gods, and extra carvings for good luck and great aesthetics. The colors are so vibrant they look like candy.


Speaking of food! This is a foodie's Heaven or Hell, depending. I haven't gotten too crazy yet, but this morning I did try congee (watery rice pudding-ish), and a Hundred Day Egg. Remember the movie The Dark Crystal? That is what Hundred Day Eggs look like. The Dark Crystal, from The Dark Crystal. They're sort of a translucent, dark greenish-black color. And they taste like yucky fish. Good times!


I'm getting kicked off the computer now.


Zai-Gian!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Nee-how, Ya’ll!


After 18 hours of traveling, I think I can say with some certainty that I have the Best Little Boy in the Whole Wide World. Zach handled the airport and the flight like a champ, finding a friend to play with and then sleeping for at least 6 of the 12 1/2 hours on the ride over. The rest of the time he played with the friend, watched cartoons on Dan's iPod (thank you, Apple and Kennedy-Marshall!), and played with his new "China toys." Zach even took customs in stride. By the time of our 45-minute van ride to the hotel, he finally lost it - but at that point no one could really blame him...


Landing in China was actually pretty cool as we were on, perhaps, the very first Air China flight to arrive at Terminal 3 - the new, dragon-shaped terminal built for the Beijing Olympics, which opened just 10 days before we got here. My first impression, upon entering the huge and immaculate building was, "My God, it's full of stars..." The lighting is designed in such a way that the ceiling appears to be a concave swath of stars across a bright sky. Pretty gorgeous. Everyone was taking pictures - even the pilots.


We got to our hotel at around 6:30 - 7 am. Zach was asleep and Dan was knackered, so the tour guide and I decided to go get breakfast together (the "tour" is currently just Peggy from LA and us. Everyone else will meet up at 21:00). When Melissa pointed to the 60 yuan Western breakfast being served in the hotel, I smiled as sweetly as possible and insisted that I had no interest in "white food for white people," so she happily marched me across the street, where a couple were cooking food over ramshackle stoves set up on the sidewalk in front of a small restaurant. Melissa ordered us huge, steaming bowls of wonton soup and what can best be described as savory bengeits or sugarless churros, and we went inside to devour our meal. YUM. I am very disappointed to admit that I cannot remember a single Mandarin word for any part of that meal.


Later in the day, showered and napped, we set off to figure out this city of 15 million people. Zach had been insisting we get him lemon cake since I so ungraciously offered his 3-hours-old treat to the stewardess in preparation for landing, so we stumbled our way through a pretty fun bakery experience and on to lunch (yes, Zach got cake before lunch. We're traveling. Whatever). Editor's note: When traveling to a country where the locals do not speak anything you have every studied, and cannot fall back on Latin derivatives or previous experience, do not leave your phrasebook in the hotel. I'm pretty sure we had lamb, but there are no guarantees. At one point I feebly tried to make a "baa" sound and then wrinkled my forehead, obviously asking, "Does the animal we're eating make this sound?" but no one in the crowd of 6+ servers that immediately gathered around our table had any idea what the clearly crazy American was on about. But the garlic-scallion dumplings, (crisp and hot, brought steaming to the table), were out of this world. The best part? One of the tables was actually a fish tank! There were two dozen or so goldfish happily swimming around underneath someone's lunch of, likely, fish. Kinda cool. Zach, of course, LOVED it. Meals have averaged about $2.50 per person.


We spent the rest of the day at the Lama Temple (as in "Dalai Lama" which, considering China/Tibet relations such as they are, continues to perplex me). So beautiful, with reds and turquoise and golds that I've never seen on buildings before. Everything is ornamented and carved, and the air is thick with several different kinds of incense. I probably could've spent the entire day there. As much as I marveled at the statues and the architecture, the locals seemed to be equally transfixed with the golden-haired boy who bowed to the Buddhas and gleefully shouted "Nee-how" to the smiling people. He has stood up quite well to being petted and photographed by strangers. Rock on, Little Camper.


I still can't believe we're here. Everything is covered in dust, the drivers are all on a mission to run over us, and the weather is pretty cold. But I absolutely cannot get enough.


The rest of the night continues to be on our own, and then we begin the tour in earnest, starting at 8:30am (5pm? LA time).



Saturday, March 15, 2008

Write Here. Write Now.

Welcome to my blog! Some of my posts will be professional, some will be personal stories. I hope they all will be entertaining...

Enjoy!