Travel
Cross-country Meat Fest, Day 1 – The Mad Greek in Baker, California
For whatever reason, be it novels or movies or those suave car commercials showing...
Historic Hollywood Bowl
2. Picnic at the Hollywood Bowl Summer in L.A. isn’t complete without a trip...
Hiking in my ‘hood: Urban Hike down Colorado Blvd.
7. Urban Hike Check in with God? Of all the ways you can train for a 14-mile urban...
A Thousand Words: Set in Stone
The elaborate stone horses in this picture are part of a stately display at the...
Sun-kissed Sundays: My trip down the South Bay Bicycle Trail
4. Bicycle from Santa Monica to Manhattan Beach. (Sorta.) I had misconceived notions...
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Food & Restaurants
A Fine Dining Farewell: Saam at the Bazaar
When I first arrived here in 2002, a fresh-faced college student full of awe at...
Seafood Explosion: San Pedro Fish Market
If first impressions are everything, then San Pedro Fish Market may not have lasted...
To Market, to Market: Santa Monica Farmers Market
In Los Angeles, the Wednesday Santa Monica Farmers Market is to foodies what The...
Restaurants I won’t find in NYC: La Casita Mexicana
When it comes to ethnic eats, New York does just about every type of cuisine well,...
Mango Guacamole + the secret to great guac
At the risk of sounding melodramatic, the best thing that ever happened to me in...
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Marketing
Potent Quotables: Ad Stalking
“What is the benefit of freaking customers out?” – Alan Pearlstein, as quoted in the NY Times piece “Retargeting Ads Follow Surfers to Other Sites“ // Read More →
Social Media Marketing FAIL: “Guaranteed Facebook Friends”
The world of social media marketing is relatively new, but not so new that there aren’t thousands of online posts telling you the “dos and don’ts” and the “no-nos” of utilizing the power of Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and all its spawn. Not to mention that common sense and decency usually dictates basic social media... [Read more...]
Another WTF moment: Bros Icing Bros
Icing. Most asinine drinking game of all time, or ingenious marketing campaign of the nth degree? If you’re not familiar with the “Bro” culture, Icing is a drinking game that involves handing (whether directly or through surprise discoveries) a usually lukewarm Smirnoff Ice to a friend (generally a man bro). He/she then has to... [Read more...]
Can a soda do good? The Pepsi Refresh Project
. Every once in awhile, I stumble across a smart marketing campaign that deserves mention, and this is one of them: the Pepsi Refresh Project. Pepsi-Cola seems to be on a mission to tame its reputation as a Big Bad High Fructose Corn Syrup Processed Food Product, and started a campaign to give away millions of dollars to fund “great ideas.” ... [Read more...]
EZ Scrambler vs. the EZ-er Scrambler
I noticed that a lot of people — and I mean dozens, perhaps hundreds by now — have stumbled across my blog by searching for “EZ Scrambler” in some form or another. I’m not quite sure what to make of it. Are people genuinely interested in this product? Do they want to know how it works? Are they looking for someone... [Read more...]
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Media
Potent Quotables: Gene Weingarten’s Column Mentions Lady Gaga
Too many gems in this hilarious if curmudgeonly piece by Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten on the Old Newsroom vs. New Newsroom. I’ll give you this tidbit — but please click over and read the entire story. “My biggest beef with the New Newsroom, though, is what has happened to headlines. In old newsrooms, headline writing... [Read more...]
How Flickr’s new “Request to License” could have saved E*starLA a trip to court
It was an innocent enough request. Esther from popular LA blog E*starLA had reviewed SBE’s new Hyde Lounge in Mammoth Lakes after one of her recent visits to the ski resort. Her photos of Hyde captured the attention of their PR company, which asked Esther if SBE could buy them. Esther asked whether they wanted to license them or buy full... [Read more...]
Potent Quotables: I have no intention of blogoscabbing
According to Media Bistro’s Media Jobs Daily, the Washington Post recently invited blogger Adam Pagnucco of Maryland Politics Watch to join their “All Opinions are Local” blogging network. Pagnucco turned down the offer, which held the promise of increasing exposure and driving additional traffic to his blog. He had these wise... [Read more...]
Social Media Stalking: Creepsters in the Internet Age
Chalk it up to overly protective Chinese parents, but I’ve always held a lot of things close to the chest. Perhaps they would prefer me not sharing some of my more embarrassing personal stories on the web, but I’ve come to appreciate the catharsis that comes with letting your thoughts, beliefs and sometimes secrets flow into the infinity... [Read more...]
Potent Quotables: Jamie Oliver’s Chicken Nuggets
I can’t quite decide if Jamie Oliver is a media darling or a media whore — is there any sort of media he hasn’t touched? — but I have decided that I like what he’s doing in “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution,” a reality show/documentary about the Naked Chef’s attempts to reform America’s school... [Read more...]
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A Thousand Words
