I've been faced recently with the task of helping my oldest daughter try to nail down her path in life. It's not an easy job, and the advances of our current society make it even harder. I mean, think about it; Fifty, sixty years ago, young girls didn't have to worry about their future beyond maintaining a trim figure, learning how to cook the perfect pot roast, mastering the vacuum cleaner and nailing down gushing "Oh my you're so witty and smart and strong!" with a straight face. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing I want more than for my daughters to be strong, successful and happy in their lives. But how do I get them there? The direction my life has taken me taught me a couple of very valuable lessons: 1. Don't neglect your career 2. "Professional Costume... Read more

Still trying to figure out how to facilitate the AE's in turning their job aids into more brandactional items that really pop, as directed in the all-hands meeting? Have you been staring at an email from your boss for two hours trying to figure out what "reach out to the PM about the action items she highlighted on the latest road map" means? Wonder no more - there is a website available to help you decipher the god forbidden corporate speak that pelts your brain day after day. Unsuck It has a granular list of words and phrases that you may not have heard before, even if you've been on a key team for decades. Talking points and keywords tend to change from year to year, so look under the covers for any new additions to the never-ending objective of... Read more

By now, we've all seen the photo of Bibi Aisha on the cover of Time Magazine and elsewhere, but in case you're making like Bin Ladin and living in a cave, here's a catch-up: she's eighteen years old. Along with her younger sister, she was given to a Taliban family as a blood price, and when she tried running away from the years of abuse, she was found in a shelter, held down by her brother-in-law, and her nose and ears were cut off by her husband. She agreed to show her maimed face to the world via Time, so that we all know what women in her country go through at the hands of the Taliban. There has since been controversy over this cover story by some who think she is being pimped out for the sake of press,... Read more

Outsider Hippie Art by SingletonIt's only during the summer months that hippie music feels right, for some reason. Or maybe it's just become the holiday music for the summer season. Either way, there is something spiritually medicinal about it when it's two hundred and three degrees outside - when the bitchy, I'm-tired-of-sweating attitude comes out raging like a banshee. Then, it's Grateful Dead or Allman Brothers to the rescue. I have an old copy of some of the best bluegrass ever, from Oklahoma hippie-fine musicians The Farm Couple (featuring the amazing and beautiful Monica Taylor) that does the trick, too. Yonder Mountain String Band, Phish - there is something about this genre of music that makes the need for sunshine and fresh air in the searing heat more bearable. Whether it's about running naked through the woods or more about... Read more

It's amazing that it took so much time, energy, and taxpayer money to figure this out. Since around 2001ish, my opinionated political mouth has been speechless. I don't argue with my conservative friends anymore. I don't let strangers who hold different views piss me off anymore - it's not worth it. It's never winnable, and no matter which side you're on when arguing politics, you usually end up looking like some cable news jerk who gets paid to do nothing but be mean and scream at people. With gay marriage, though, it's another story. Banning gay marriage is the equivalent to the Jim Crow Laws and of not allowing women to vote. It's discrimination, pure and simple, and isn't right in any way, shape or form. I realize that to some, it goes against their religion, but as our wonderful... Read more