Frrrrriday Rrrrroundup #69

An end-of-weekly roundup collecting fffffive of the fffffoxiest things I fffffind stumbling around the web. More about the genesis here. Every dang Friday Round-Up here, you procrastinating slacker!

While I'm pleased that my friend Lisa is gainfully employed again, my fondest wish is for a full book full of her startlingly clear and beautiful prose pieces—like this one, on divorce.

A trifecta from Seth, as he has been en fuego lately, making it impossible to choose. Learn about the dangerous game of the reciprocal recommender, the hazards of well-meaning lizard-feeding, and/or why you need to get off the page.

How one doctor used diet to help reverse her M.S. symptoms. [TEDx video, 18 minutes]

The controversial Caitlin Flanagan takes a stab at explaining the fanatical worship of (early) Joan Didion among women writers.

Image of shadow art by Fred Eerdekens, via Patti Digh/others on Facebook. (Or, view a full gallery of amazing "shadow" art.)

Frrrrriday Rrrrroundup! #68: 50-for-50 edition

This post is #46 in a series of 50 dedicated to the art and life of writing, in support of the 50 for 50 Project to benefit WriteGirl. If you like it, or if you think it could have been improved by a better writing education for its author, please give generously. And pass it on.

The Reverend Molly, who found her way to 50-for-50 via Sugar, shared this absolutely beautiful (and also, very interesting and helpful) piece on what it's like to live outside the cultural norm—in her case, sans hair.

Not only was Sugar stunningly generous in devoting her entire weekly column to 50-for-50, she specifically articulated what was so meaningful about this whole project for all of us in a way none of us, myself included, have been able to.

A beautiful (what else?) story from interviewee Leah Reich about her experiences growing up in a small Colorado town, and what it means to have someone believe in you.

A gorgeous tribute by interviewee, client, and good friend Judy Herrman about why we undertake bits of certifiable insanity like 50-for-50. And living.

This piece mistakenly says I've already shaved, but let's not hold this against them. Because an awesome plug is an awesome plug, and hey, Donna Barger did do a bang-up job with the Photoshopping!

Finally, I love the support from the gentlemens, too.

Image inside the frame by Spencer Cross, awesome designer, dog-owner, human being, and founder of kernspiracy designers' group. You can get it in a luxurious, desktop-sized image of inspiration with a $15 contribution to the 50-for-50 project on IndieGoGo, through September 13, 2011.

Frrrrriday Rrrrroundup! #67: 50-for-50 edition

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp1uuZUaTfY&w=475&h=297] This post is #40 in a series of 50 dedicated to the art and life of writing, in support of the 50 for 50 Project to benefit WriteGirl. If you like it, or if you think it could have been improved by a better writing education for its author, please give generously. And pass it on.

My delightful friend (and 50-for-50 interviewee) Maureen Anderson sent out another flare about our little to-do. Bless her heart, as they say south of the Mason-Dixon! And look for another sure-to-be-groovy radio interview yakfest featuring us, very soon!

Wherein we make the relaunch of the Roving Robin Report. Which we still cannot say three times fast.

What if you got a typewriter but didn't know what to write?

Danielle LaPorte, amazing supporter of women and girls and dreams that she is, pulls out all the stops in support of 50-for-50 and WriteGirl. GET IN ON THIS CALL. I did!

50-for-50 gets a sweet plug just above a sweet cake in my friend Beth Goldfarb's excellent newsletter.

A wonderful essay about the importance of writing over the course of a lifetime.

Another lovely post about WriteGirl's model and 50-for-50 from a mother and biology teacher.

Anna Rascout-Paz takes the baton from Naomi Dunford speaking out against terrorizing women and for empowering girls.

My friend Kate takes some time out of her new-mom schedule to plug 50-for-50.

Patti Digh does a good round-up. She generously included the 50-for-50 interview with Amy McCracken in this one. (Then again, what an interview!)

Building on the "you cannot focus on two things at once" advice put forth by David Robinson in his conversation with colleague Patti Digh.

Yet another wonderful, big-hearted artist has been inspired by WriteGirl to give to the 50-for-50 Project. For every piece of art you buy through the morning of 9/13/11, Jill Lena Ford will donate half the money to 50-for-50 for WriteGirl.

Big love from the GeekMom, who not only gives 50-for-50 a shoutout, but yours truly thanks for creating a non-boring campaign. Aw...the pleasure was mine!

More nerd-mom love for WriteGirl from CecilyK in the MomCrunch column at Babble.

Lisa Baldwin comes with a great idea: pool resources to buy a writing community WriteGirl poem.

Did you post about 50-for-50 and did I miss it? I would not be surprised, the days pass by in a hazy blur of frenzied activity, internet-related and otherwise. Please do let me know! I would love to highlight it here!

Frrrrriday Rrrrroundup! #66: 50-for-50 edition

This post is #33 in a series of 50 dedicated to the art and life of writing, in support of the 50 for 50 Project to benefit WriteGirl. If you like it, or if you think it could have been improved by a better writing education for its author, please give generously. And pass it on.

Marion Agnew posted this absolutely gorgeous piece about the need to turn art outwards, and how the 50-for-50 Project fits into that scheme. Of all of the posts written so far, probably the piece that best expresses why I was moved to go for it with 50-for-50.

I love it when the Industry people join in on the action. Amanda, a former agency type who hails from the East Coast but has settled in with us crazies out here, gives a lovely plug for 50-for-50.

If you have not yet beheld the six-handed awesomeness of 3x3x365, Thursday's post, which includes a loving token from Amy McCracken, is a really good reason to start. (But please, do NOT miss Wednesday's pig brains.)

Nissa Sompels, a pipsqueak of not even 30 years, contributes to 50-for-50, then muses on what birthdays might best be used for.

In other news, we made the Friday Chicken! And as an example of the very best kind of good stuff!

Did you post about 50-for-50 and did I miss it? I would not be surprised, the days pass by in a hazy blur of frenzied activity, internet-related and otherwise. Please do let me know! I would love to highlight it here!

Frrrrriday Rrrrroundup! #65: 50-for-50 edition

This post is #26 in a series of 50 dedicated to the art and life of writing, in support of the 50 for 50 Project to benefit WriteGirl. If you like it, or if you think it could have been improved by a better writing education for its author, please give generously. And pass it on.

My friend Heather Parlato graciously wrote up the backstory to the beautifully bucolic desktop wallpaper she designed.

On her own birthday, Patti Digh asked for her present to be people's gifts to my birthday project. She did it so eloquently, it's a gift in and of itself. Happy 52nd, Patti. And I'm right behind you.

John Gruber wrote what is pretty much the perfect "ask" on his insanely popular blog. And his readers replied with their dollars. In droves.

Claudia Snowden, Chief Elderblogger at Fried Okra Productions, wrote a positively wonderbubbly post on exactly what you should do to support 50-for-50. She also introduced me to the term "wonderbubbly." All-around awesome.

After already agreeing to do an interview and create a desktop wallpaper, my good buddy Alissa Walker wove it all together with a beautiful piece of her own. And then bought a ticket to the head-shaving. No wonder I love her so.

In a completely unrelated event, I was quoted in the LA Times! Unfortunately, the adorable photo of me posing atop my desk is only available in the section view. You'll have to trust me, it was adorable!

And finally, thanks to Donna Barger, crafter supreme, there are now BUTTONS (see above). Five bucks a pop, all to a good cause. You'll have to hit me up in person if you want just one. But I will mail them to you with a minimum order of four. (C'mon. Buy a button for the baby!)

We're at just under $29,000 as I write this. Pitch in if you can, this next $11 grand is gonna be the hardest, but then it's BALD, BABY, BALD!

Frrrrriday Rrrrroundup! #64: 50-for-50 edition

This post is #19 in a series of 50 dedicated to the art and life of writing, in support of the 50 for 50 Project to benefit WriteGirl. If you like it, or if you think it could have been improved by a better writing education for its author, please give generously. And pass it on.

A beautiful tribute to WriteGirl and 50-for-50 from Jenn Forgie, who muses on what might have been had we all been exposed to this kind of mentoring as girls.

My friend Dave Seah did a detailed and fascinating deconstruction of his process in designing a desktop wallpaper for the 50-for-50 Project.

For the next month, longtime reader Claire is donating 50% of the sales from her Rocklawn Arts Shop to benefit the 50-for-50 Project for WriteGirl.

Thanks to strong support from everyone, almost $25,000 less than halfway through our campaign, we were the cover kids for this month's issue of IndieGoGo's monthly newsletter.

Finally, as of this writing, over 120 people have joined the 50-for-50 Project on Facebook, many of whom I've never even met before. I thank each and every one of you for this, and for everything else you're doing both out loud and behind the scenes, in support of this effort for WriteGirl. It is overwhelming in the most joyous kind of way; rest assured that some 20 days into this craziness, I still open my email or visit Twitter or read some comment at least once a day and burst into tears.

People are really, really good.

xxx c

Image by Claire. To purchase it and many other wonderful images as stickers, greeting cards, and other nifty pieces of merch in support of WriteGirl, please visit her Rocklawn Arts Zazzle shop.

Frrrrriday Rrrrroundup! #63: 50-for-50 edition

This post is #12 in a series of 50 dedicated to the art and life of writing, in support of the 50 for 50 Project to benefit WriteGirl. If you like it, or if you think it could have been improved by a better writing education for its author, please give generously. And pass it on.

All of this week's entries in the Frrrrriday Rrrrround-up were written in response to and support of the 50-for-50 project. I thank you, fellow writers!

I ain't gonna bury the lede: we made it onto Oprah(.com)!

Some fellow would-be-do-gooders found our 50-for-50 campaign while trolling the web on behalf of their own fundraising project. So what did they do? They promoted ours, on their blog! Talk about good fellowship!

A lovely supporter and contributor, Jamie Wallace, aka @suddenlyjamie to you 140-and-under folk, wrote a beautiful piece about the campaign, including a brief lament that there was no WriteGirl back when we were coming up. What might have been, indeed. #Amen, @suddenlyjamie!

Oh, I can't remember when the tshirts went live, but the tshirts went live. All you people who are all the time bugging me about where I got the "Old." shirt, buy now, or forever hold your peace. Seriously, do you want to be the only person at the 1-year reunion not wearing a shirt?

Last but most definitely not least, I had a rollicking good time talking to Tea Silvestre, the Word Chef, on her bloggy-radio show. She asked all the good questions to draw useful stuff out of me, then wrote it up neatly, in bullet points. Oh, I do love the bullet points (judiciously used, of course). You can read the summary of the convo and/or listen to it yourself, all right here.

Photo by Brenton Fletcher used under a Creative Commons license.

Frrrrriday Rrrrroundup! #62: 50-for-50 edition

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q6XecpOje0&w=476&h=301] This post is #5 in a series of 50 dedicated to the art and life of writing, in support of the 50 for 50 Project to benefit WriteGirl. If you like it, or if you think it could have been improved by a better writing education for its author, please give generously. And pass it on.

All of this week's entries in the Frrrrriday Rrrrround-up were written in response to and support of the 50-for-50 project. I thank you, fellow writers!

Delia Lloyd reflects on how middle age seems to bring with it the joys of discovering philanthropy. I couldn't agree more.

Daniel Shannon weighs in with a lovely tribute to the two women teachers who made them the (glorious) writer he is today.

Jodi Womack extracts early lessons from the project that hadn't yet occurred to me. She's good like that, is Jodi.

A writer/marketer who also happens to be a mom goes into the importance of teaching all children a love of writing.

Finally, the adorable Alice Bradley writes way too many nice things about me and the project.

And in case you didn't know, we have interviews up on the 50-for-50 blog with the first five of my favorite inspirational women-who-write:

• Bonnie Gillespie, casting director and author
• Nina DiSesa, advertising genius and author
• Eden M. Kennedy, erudite blogger, yogini and author
• Alice Bradley, blogger, essayist, and author
• Valeria Maltoni, conversation agent

They're lively and wonderful interviews, thanks in no small part to my friend Marilyn Maciel who basically came up with the interview questions after I begged her. But I did beg politely!

Please, please, tell your friends, pass along useful information, use what you will, and most importantly, give what you can.

xxx c

Video largely by the unstoppable team of Heather Stobo & Lisa Casoni.

Music is "St. Louis Tickle," by The Heftone Banjo Orchestra, Brian Heffernan, Director

Frrrrriday Rrrrroundup! #61

An end-of-weekly roundup collecting fffffive of the fffffoxiest things I fffffind stumbling around the web. More about the genesis here. Every dang Friday Round-Up here, you procrastinating slacker!

In a sort of meta-writing challenge, Scott Berkun deconstructed the process of writing a 1,000-word essay by writing, and screen-recording the process, in real-time, then narrating over it, a 1,000-word essay. Pretty interesting. [Stumbled, via Ilise Benun]

I'd say that what Paul Ford has accomplished here in one fell-egant swoop is "proof of concept." A must-read for folks interested in the upside of social media. [Facebook-ed, via Mat Honan]

Quality comes first. But assuming you have that in place, these are some pretty sweet tips about putting it out there. [delicious-ed]

Paul Gillin makes a good case for some top-down attention to social media within a bigger company. [Google Reader-ed]

xxx c

Image by gelatobaby via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

Frrrrriday Rrrrroundup! #60

An end-of-weekly roundup collecting fffffive of the fffffoxiest things I fffffind stumbling around the web. More about the genesis here. Every dang Friday Round-Up here, you procrastinating slacker!

What would Don Draper do?  [Stumbled, via daring fireball]

Hard to believe I watched this every weekend without appreciation how off-the-charts funky it was. [Facebook-ed]

I don't know what disturbs me most: that I didn't know this, that the "M" doesn't stand for "mangled" or that there's a graduate-level university program in social media. Oh, wait, yes, I do. [delicious-ed]

Penn Jillette went through this hell in 2002? Good to know things have improved so much down at Airport Security Theater. [Stumbled, via @Eric_Carl]

xxx c

Image by dawnzy58 via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

Frrrrriday Rrrrroundup! #59

An end-of-weekly roundup collecting fffffive of the fffffoxiest things I fffffind stumbling around the web. More about the genesis here. Every dang Friday Round-Up here, you procrastinating slacker!

"Simply put: you do not get to build a magazine around making women feel inadequate and then express astonishment and pity when they comply." Outstanding and articulate rant. [Facebook-ed, via jaime wurth]

Michael Caine sounds just like this. Or, wait, maybe like this. [YouTube-d, via delia lloyd]

Replace "writer" with "small, creative business" and this is pretty much my whole rationale for why I will not do someone's marketing for them, only with them. [delicious-ed]

Sebastian Marshall makes a great case for forums (fora?) being the finest places on the web in which to actually learn things. [Stumbled]

xxx c

Image by elswatchoboracho via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

Frrrrriday Rrrrroundup! #58

An end-of-weekly roundup collecting fffffive of the fffffoxiest things I fffffind stumbling around the web. More about the genesis here. Every dang Friday Round-Up here, you procrastinating slacker!

The best (to date) in Kirby Ferguson's outstanding "Everything Is a Remix" series, if this 10-minute video on The Elements of Creativity doesn't get you fired up about making something, I don't know what will. [Facebook-ed]

What would happen if you overlaid an a cappella soundtrack to the lobby scene in The Matrix? Something exactly like this. [YouTube-d]

Best part of being at the tail end of a bulging demographic? All of those front-end baby boomers are looking for cues that being old does not mean giving up being stylish. [delicious-ed, via Marilyn Maciel]

The "over-under" debate dissected and diagrammed. Although anyone knows that the correct answer is "over." [Tumbled, via Sean Bonner]

xxx c

Image by gelatobaby via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

Frrrrriday Rrrrroundup! #57

An end-of-weekly roundup collecting fffffive of the fffffoxiest things I fffffind stumbling around the web. More about the genesis here. Every dang Friday Round-Up here, you procrastinating slacker!

A writer plays with Instagram. [Google Reader-ed]

Why "funfeminism" is neither fun nor feminism. Great, great true-life stories in the comments thread. [Stumbled]

Minimalism and frugalism can overlap, but they're two decidedly different things. [delicious-ed]

Blowhards, exposed as "humblebraggers." [Facebook-ed, via Mike Monteiro]

xxx c

Image by aless&ro via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

Frrrrriday Rrrrroundup! #56

An end-of-weekly roundup collecting fffffive of the fffffoxiest things I fffffind stumbling around the web. More about the genesis here. Every dang Friday Round-Up here, you procrastinating slacker!

On girl-on-girl hate, gender double standards and other really super-tired patriarchal horseshit we should have retired with the corset. [Google Reader-ed]

For anyone who's leery of Groupon, sick of relentless IN-YOUR-FACEBOOK marketing, or in need of a terrific underdog story, how one little pizza parlor made magic. [delicious-ed, via Dave Seah]

Bewitching little music-making squares. It's great fun, pretending you're Brian Eno! [Tumbled, via].

Finally, my favorite take on Weinergate from New Yorker writer Amy Davidson: it's about the foolhardy taking of risks, not morality. Here's hoping it's the last word. Or the almost-last one, anyway. [Facebook-ed, via kottke]

xxx c

Image by Armosa Studios via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

Frrrrriday Rrrrroundup! #55

An end-of-weekly roundup collecting fffffive of the fffffoxiest things I fffffind stumbling around the web. More about the genesis here. Every dang Friday Round-Up here, you procrastinating slacker!

Jesse the Jack Russell Terrier is pushing Nylabones these days. Oh, that one could come in every package. [Google Reader-ed]

Part of getting down with the tremendous time of bounty we're living in is that we won't have time to see it all. [delicious-ed, via Madeline Mann]

Sadly, this list of what you should really, really think about before emailing someone has not changed in the three years since Seth Godin posted it the first time. Even more sadly, it will probably hold three years from now. [Stumbled].

This may not be the kindest way to deal with obnoxious moviegoers, but it's right up there with the funniest. Warning: totally curse-filled. By the obnoxious moviegoer. [Facebook-ed, via David Avallone]

xxx c

Image © Tsilli Pines, from her desktop wallpaper series.

What's up & what's gone down :: June 2011

A mostly monthly but certainly occasional round-up of what I've been up to and what's in the hopper. For full credits and details, see this entry.

Colleen of the future (stuff I'll be doing)

• June L.A. Biznik Mixer at Jerry's Famous [Los Angeles; Wednesday, June 22]  Fun, free, low-key networking plus great tips, tricks and ideas from your fellow indie-biz folk, which of course includes me. Duh. All that, and Happy Hour specials, too. My co-host this month, photographer/creative director Josh Ross, may or may not be taking excellent shots of the whole affair. Join up here (free membership, which is nice), then sign up here.

Colleen of the Past (what I have done for you lately)

• World Domination Summit [Portland, OR; June 3-5] This fantastic conference put on by my friend Chris Guillebeau of The Art of Non-Conformity and his crack team of dedicated volunteers exceeded even my loftiest expectations. (Bollywood dance lesson! Group crying! Free, Oprah-style fortunes taped to the bottom of our chairs!) There are photos available to view on Flickr (and my June newsletter shares one lesson learned). There will also be a documentary assembled eventually. What can I say? Get on the list for 2012; I've already bought my ticket.
• ASMP's Strictly Business Blog I'm an occasional contributor now, because dammit, I just can't talk enough about marketing. This post covers the use of personal work in portfolios, written for photogs, but applicable to any artist whose life and work overlap.
• The Suitcase Entrepreneur Podcast The already-high-spirited Natalie Sisson got rip-roaring drunk on cider and asked me my thoughts on how to build your audience as a blogger. And she did it all from a café somewhere in the world with really spotty wifi. God bless the internets!
• World-Changing Writing Workshop 2011 My special poetry feature bonus thingy gets released later this week. If you're a member of this year's WCWW class, please be sure to join the forum dedicated to my bonus feature. It's the place, and the only place, where I'll be discussing aspects of the pieces, and answering questions.

Colleen of the Present (stuff I do, rain or shine)

• communicatrix | focuses :: My monthly newsletter devoted to the ways and means of becoming a better clearer communicator (plus a few special treats I post nowhere else). This month: How to talk FAST (or, pulling a talk for 500 people out of your ass the night before). Free!
• Act Smart! is my monthly column about marketing for LA Casting. Nominally for actors, there's a ton of good info in there for any creative business person. Browse the archives, here.
• Internet flotsam :: If you suffer from a surfeit of time, you can always look for me on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, StumbleUpon and delicious.

xxx c

Image by Armosa Studios via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

Frrrrriday Rrrrroundup! #54

An end-of-weekly roundup collecting fffffive of the fffffoxiest things I fffffind stumbling around the web. More about the genesis here. Every dang Friday Round-Up here, you procrastinating slacker!

A wonderful little story about the twists and turns on life's journey, and finding true satisfaction, and doing it with quiet grace and patience. [Stumbled, via Chris Glass].

You're never too old, or too much of a lady, to pump serious iron. [delicious-ed, via Paula J. Kelly]*

Finally, some half-decent ammo to have on hand when helpful folk email me about my EGREGIOUS MISUSE of punctuation. [Google Reader-ed, via Daring Fireball]

Roger Ebert apparently calls this lip dub, by the entire city of Grand Rapids, MI, the greatest music video ever. He may have a point. Watch clear to the end; it's really that good. [Facebook-ed, via Kirk Wilson]

xxx c

*Who sent it to me in response to my plea last week. Thank you, Paula! Keep 'em comin'!

Image via My Daguerrotype Boyfriend on Tumblr [thanks, Neven Mrgan!]

Frrrrriday Rrrrroundup! #53

An end-of-weekly roundup collecting fffffive of the fffffoxiest things I fffffind stumbling around the web. More about the genesis here. Every dang Friday Round-Up here, you procrastinating slacker!

Two things I want: to be this cool when I am 76, and to find as many stories like this between now and when I turn 76. [Facebook-ed, via Marilyn Maciel]

More of a marketing-type post than I usually share of a Friday, we're all a little work-weary, especially heading into a holiday weekend here in the U.S., but this piece by photographer Billy Sheahan on how and why giving it away is good for business is one of the smartest things I've read on the topic, from a civilian or an expert. (Guess he learned something at that SB3 conference, huh?) :-) [delicious-ed]

The Grapes of Wrath, ultra-condensed version. [Stumbled, via Roger Ebert].

Wonderful art from a remarkable young Brooklyn artist.  [Tumbled, via Expresh Letters]

xxx c

Image by mathiasbaert via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

Frrrrriday Rrrrroundup! #52

An end-of-weekly roundup collecting fffffive of the fffffoxiest things I fffffind stumbling around the web. More about the genesis here. Every dang Friday Round-Up here, you procrastinating slacker!

No matter how you felt about Roseanne during her heyday, you'll find her behind-the-scenes story of what it was like to fight the Hollywood machine fascinating.  [Facebook-ed]

A wildly inspiring commencement speech that addresses the crazy world of change any aspiring creative artist is graduating into. [delicious-ed]

If this man's story doesn't make you feel like you can accomplish anything you set your mind to, I honestly don't know what will. [Tweeted, via Brian Clark].

A lucid and gracious discussion about inheritance that I wish my family had read.  [Google Reader-ed]

xxx c

The young Mizzone brothers kicking booty on an old Earl Scruggs tune via YouTube [1:20]

Frrrrriday Rrrrroundup! #51

An end-of-weekly roundup collecting fffffive of the fffffoxiest things I fffffind stumbling around the web. More about the genesis here. Every dang Friday Round-Up here, you procrastinating slacker!

Nothing gets people's righteousness fired up like a good, old-fashioned discussion of the moral implications of spending.  [Facebook-ed]

The delicate art of approaching influential people. [delicious-ed]

Imagined conversations between Sean Penn and Scarlett Johansson. [Tumbled, via The Urban Sherpa].

Why "how to invest your money for the coming collapse" is a trick question. (Warning: buzzkill!) [Stumbled, via Dave Pollard]

xxx c

Video of John Cleese discussing creativity [10:37]