If you have followed my blog recently, you know I participated in Gwen Bell’s Best of Blog Challenge 2009 in December. I tried to recap my year thru the 31 topics she laid out for the monthlong blogging challenge.

The highlights of my year include:

• Watching Barack Obama be sworn in as President of the United States and knowing my daughter was in attendance.
• Learning to kayak and joining my friends on 6 different rivers in Middle Tennessee and taking the rope swing of my life.
• Going to Barcamp Nashville 2009 and attending some mind-blowing sessions.
• Really starting to use Twitter and understand the utility and reach of it.
• Making new friends based on my attendance at Barcamp.
• Discovering new blogs that are changing my life: Zen Habits, My Wife Quit Her Job, Gwen Bell.
• Learned about Kiva.org and even used my 45th birthday as a catalyst for helping others have a better life.
• Created a website dedicated to helping other people achieve their dreams: The Dream Shepherd
• Joined Postcrossing and sent 68 postcards around the world and received back 64 postcards for a combined travel distance of almost 1 million miles!

These are the highlights of 2009 for me.  2010 will see these things continue and expand.  My goals for 2010 include:

• Meeting many of my Twitter friends so that I can make them real life friends, including: Lauren, Nikki, Joi, Mirjam and Gail.
• Expand on my Kiva activities with a year long birthday celebration.  I want to turn up the giving by a factor of ten.
• Expand my new website and create a “store” to start  secondary income stream.
• Keep control of my weight.  I lost 50 lbs in 08 and it’s starting to come back.
• Do better to stay in touch with friends and family.
• Mostly, just try to stay positive and work to make life better for others.

So, stay tuned to my blog.  You’ll not only see my progress, but you will also help me stay focused on my goals.  I’ve learned that doing things completely alone isn’t the best way to succeed.  Your support and well wishes do much to keep me motivated.

Peace!

Now, that doesn’t mean I abandoned my friends and family. I just didn’t do what I had hoped. So, the question is: will I be able to step it up this year and do a better job? I think it’s best to NOT set goals for things like this and instead just focus on the little things. As long as I make it a point to say “hi” via Facebook or post updated pictures, this will help. And, perhaps I can combine my new hobby – Postcrossing – with my goal of staying in touch and send postcards to my family when I mail postcards to other people around the world. I think the personal touch of a hand written postcard would mean quite a bit, especially if we haven’t talked much in the past few years.

So, tell me what you think? I’m sure you’ll suggest letters, but I can tell you that I’m not a big fan of writing long, drawn out letters.

One last thing on a completely unrelated note. I’d like to thank Gwen Bell for creating this awesome challenge. It’s been a pleasure to work on these posts. I haven’t caught many of the other bloggers posts but the ones I have read were eye opening and thought provoking. This is such an awesome thing to be a part of. I’ve managed to write about each topic and posted my answers each day. So, Gwen, THANK YOU SO MUCH! Your enthusiasm and heart are a real inspiration. It’s an honor to be in this “company” of bloggers even though I’m much more of a casual blogger. And, actually, I hope to change that this next year. All the best to you in the coming year and forever after.

I would also like to thank all of those that have commented on my posts. Your feedback is truly appreciated. I’m honored that you would take the time to not only ready, but also to add your thoughts to mine. Thank you for reaching out to me. And, while I believe I have thanked everyone for their comments and tried to comment back on their blogs, please know that you are in my thoughts and I wish all of you the best for the coming year and forever after as well.

All the best to everyone for 2010!!! Peace!

And, in thinking about how to respond to this topic, I decided that I would rather talk about what is wrong with advertising these days, rather than which ONE ad caught my eye or made me pause and take note.

Because, in reality, I can’t think of any ads that DID get me to think, except for the ones that made me think, “What on earth were they thinking???”

For instance, this gem by Burger King ran afoul of women’s groups and rightly so!!!  I mean, this is exactly the kind of crass, sexist crap that Madison Avenue so desperately wants us to believe is “ok”.  Now, I’m certainly no prude and I enjoy a good joke or play on words.  Even crude language humor is fine by me, generally.  But, this goes too far, in my opinion. Not only does it use a sexist play on words, but a juxtaposition of the woman and the sandwich, implying a sexual act.  And, the look on her face does not leave one thinking she’s about to enjoy the sandwich, leaving the viewer to wonder if the sandwich is even appetizing. But, sadly, this is becoming the “norm” for advertising.  Sex sells.  Exploitation sells.  And, quite frankly, I’ve had enough of it.

While researching this post, I came across this ad for a Nintendo Wiiware game called “Super Meat Boy”. However, the ad text is a fine example of another inappropriate type of advertising. Using an evil person from history to sell a video game? Really? Hitler is hardly an appropriate role model or even personage to compare against. I mean, it may be true that he was a vegetarian, but certainly, not all vegetarians are like Hitler. That’s just ridiculous. According to this post the ad was pulled almost immediately.

Lastly, there was THIS ad from a Brazilian ad agency requested by the Brazilian WWF chapter and run, strangely enough, in Israel of all places. Apparently, they were trying to say that mother nature is far more destructive than the events of September 11, 2001 and that donating money to the World Wildlife Fund will help protect us somehow? I thought the WWF was meant to protect animals FROM us, not the other way around? You can read more about the details of this ad and the controversy here.

Basically, I’m just wondering how far Madison Avenue will go to keep us interested in buying stuff?  I mean, the Romans resorted to blood sport to entertain the masses and keep them fat, dumb and happy.  Based on some of these images, it seems that we might be only a few steps behind the Romans on the same path.  Let’s hope that history has a lesson for society AND Madison Avenue and they pull up short.  Otherwise, I fear advertising will only get worse.

Sorry for the downer today folks.  Peace to you all!

There were several things that got me laughing so hard I almost fell over. This post from Jenny Lawson on her Sexis column on EdenFantasys.com which is a satirical look at AIDS which she posted during AIDS awareness week just this month.

Then, there is Twitter and there are several folks that make me laugh daily on Twitter: @shitmydadsays and @TwittsMcGee.

Justin is the guy behind @shitmydadsays.  He simply passes along what his 67 year old dad says to him.  His dad is simply hysterical:

“We’re out of Grape Nuts… No, what’s left is for me. Sorry, I should have said “You’re out of Grape Nuts.”

and:

“I need to change clothes? Wow. That’s big talk coming from someone who looks like they robbed a Mervyn’s.”

and:

“I turn the kitchen faucet on and the shower burns you, yes, I get it…No, I’m not gonna stop, I’m just saying yes, I get that concept.”

Then, there is @TwittsMcGee or Kristi Evans.  She works as a concierge for a big hotel in NYC.  She provides amusing commentary about current events and pop culture and often mocks her guests, via Twitter:

“We want to go to a club where we’ll be on the list and everyone else will be standing outside waiting in line.” *Facepalm*”

Yes, I admit that I’m easily amused. Still, these folks all provide amusing commentary, smart insights and clever witticisms.

Did you meet someone you used to only know from her blog? Did you discover Twitter?

My Social Web Moment happened via Twitter. The conversation happened between me and a twitter friend and both the official In-N-Out Burger Twitter person AND Grant Imahara of the TV show Mythbusters. It took place several months ago in the span of about 15 minutes from the beginning to the end.

The conversation went something like this:

@kattykyt: I miss having In-N-Out Burgers since I moved here to Branson, Missouri

@hstrykid: @kattykyt Yeah I know, same for me here in Tennessee.

@kattykyt: @hstrykid LOL, @IN_N_OUT_BURGER just DM’d me.

@hstrykid: @kattykyt LOL, that’s awesome, maybe they’ll DM me if I mention In-N-Out Burger.

@IN_N_OUT_BURGER: @hstrykid Maybe this will hold you over:

@hstrykid: @IN_N_OUT_BURGER LOL, gee, thanks, now I’m REALLY Jonesing for a double/double.

@hstrykid: @IN_N_OUT_BURGER You guys need to open up here in Cool Springs, you’ll KILL the competition.

@IN-N-OUT_Burger: @hstrykid It’s taken us 60 years to get to Utah. It will be a while.

@hstrykid: @IN-N-OUT_Burger Maybe you guys could get @grantimahara to build a burger transporter like they have on Star Trek.

@IN_N_OUT_BURGER: @grantimahara Could you build device to teleport In-N-Out burgers?

@grantimahara: @IN_N_OUT_BURGER @hstrykid I wish I could! If I did you’d be the first to know!!

For me, this was a fun moment. And, it demonstrates the power of social media to bring together a group of folks, all several thousand miles apart to have a conversation about any topic and share a laugh or two. It also shows how a company – In-N-Out Burger – is managing it’s brand on Twitter. They are having fun and responding to their fans in an engaging and personal way. My hat is off to In-N-Out for having the courage to be thus fun when they could, instead, circle the wagons and simply tweet boring “Go to In-N-Out” type messages with no life or substance. Instead, they engage their audience and offer real conversations in real time.

Awesome.

I could have gone with my iPhone or my Macbook.  I could wax rhapsodic about either device.  The phone has become almost an extension of my soul, I use it for so much.  And, the elegance and utility of both devices certainly gives lift to my desire to break out of my corporate “box” and  strike out on my own.

However, I think the gift that has given me the most this year is not something tangible.  My gift that has kept on giving is to live my life simply.  To make do with less and to live in a smaller space.  This life style change won’t happen all at once.  It will take some time to implement.  But, my goal is to have a smaller home and fewer possessions.  The goal is to free up time for what is important to me.

So, on this day of giving, celebrate with family and friends.

Enjoy and be thankful for what you have.

May you all be blessed with good friends, good family, good health and good cheer!!!

Peace to you all.

If you’ve been following my posts for the Best of Blog Challenge 2009, then you might already guess where I spent my “mad money” this year. And, actually, it wasn’t one place, but three places: an AT&T kiosk at the Cool Springs Galleria in Franklin, Tennessee, the Mac Authority store, also at the Cool Springs Galleria and the Apple Store at the Mall at Green Hills in Nashville, Tennessee. Yes, almost all of my mad money went to Apple Computer.

Yes, on Tuesday, December 15th, I posted about the best packaging I’d encountered this year and mentioned the iPhone, Macbook and iPod Nano that I purchased this year.  Apple wins hands down as the primary benefactor of my mad money spending.  In fact, I could even include music purchased thru iTunes as well as the apps purchesed thru the Apps store on iTunes.

Call me an Apple fanboy if you want.  I am unapologetic about this.  Apple makes fantastic products.  They are designed, engineered and built to be both visually stunning and insanely powerful and simple.  For instance, after bringing home my Macbook, it was simply a matter of plugging in my Wndows USB mouse and the Mac not only instantly recognized it, but required no software to be loaded to make it work.   The new Nano, in the same “foodprint” as the previous generation NOW includes not only a video camera, but also a pedometer for tracking calories burned and steps taken and an FM radio tuner so that should you desire to listen to regular radio, you can!  Then, of course there is the iPhone.  The only drawback to my iPhone is that I bought it 2-3 months before the newest version was released.  Therefore, I can’t shoot video with the iPhone.  But, aside from that one bummer, the iPhone has met or exceeded all of my expectations.

So, yes, I definitely gave Apple the lions share of my mad money this year.  I don’t anticipate a similar spending spree in 2010, but who knows?  I could hit the lottery or get an inheritance from a long lost relative but this is unlikely.  At this point, I’m not worried about next year’s online/offline shopping strategies.  It will be whatever it wants or needs to be.

Peace!

However, I think I will take a different approach and simply state that the word that best describes my year is “thankful”. I have come to realize that I truly have a LOT to be thankful for. I have awesome friends, both old and new. I’m thankful for having an amazing daughter. I’m thankful to have kept my job in both a down economy and after some company issues which resulted in layoffs for the first time. Mostly, I”m simply thankful for a good life and positive circumstances.

I’m going to leave it at that. A simple post to say that I’m thankful for everything.

Peace!

Oh, and I don’t care for “sweet tea” as it’s made here in the south. Sweet tea tends to be heavy sugar water with a vague brownish tint to the liquid. Mostly, it’s just too sweet for my taste. And, since both kinds – sweet and unsweet are available in the south, you always get that question – “Sweet or unsweet???” when ordering tea here, unlike on the west coast or the northeastern USA where unsweet tea is the norm and unsweet tea is unhead of, being asked if you pefer sweet or unsweat tea is completely unheard of.

That is about all I have to say about tea.

For the best packaging for 2009, the winner, in my book, is Apple Computer. They have mastered the art of packaging such that they use less material and design the packaging to be both elegant and functional. In fact, they reduced the size of their computer boxes so that they can ship the same number units using a smaller space, thereby reducing, if even by a little, their carbon footprint for shipping.

This year, I purchased an iPhone, a Macbook and an iPod Nano. In each case, the packaging was surprisingly small and elegant. The size of the packaging was inversely proportional to the size/quality of the product inside. The various parts of the packaging nestled together neatly with neat little tabs designed so that pulling each “layer” out of the box was quite easy.

There were no bulky styrofoam inserts that often make it difficult to remove the device from the box. Plastic coverings and wrappers were there but minimized. And, all accessories and printed documentation were designed to fit snugly in their own separate layers and compartments. There is little or no wasted space inside the packaging.Another reason I love Apple packaging is that it fits my new penchant for a minimalist living experience. I have come to understand that size does NOT always matter. Their packages perform the perfect combination of product protection and product presentation.