Julie and Julia - great flick but why it should be more...

Hey Folks.

I'm like a dog with a bone in a concrete yard. With no place to bury it I must carry it around, protect it, and chew on it until it is used up. Such is my desire to know more about Julia Child and Julie Powell after viewing the film a few weeks ago (Aug. 15). A great flick, by the way. Somehow, I could not get the concept of these two women out of my mind.

As with other things in life, research can be like a splinter under your fingernail. Until you've worked it out, it is a constant reminder that it's there, and you must do something about it, very soon.

The bone is the desire to do, the splinter is the reminder that if you do not "do" soon, you could wind up with a nasty infection. Such has been my quest. I'm driven to know more, and more, and more.

Aside from loving a great flick, I'm an avid reader so the week after viewing the film, I was at Amazon.com looking for books to read on either of these ladies. I would up ordering several:

• Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell
• My Life in France by by Julia Child and Alex Prud'Homme
• Mastering The Art of French Cooking, Volume One (1) (Vol 1) (by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, Simone Beck, and Sidonie Coryn)

I've found the movie did not follow much of the book, in detail. There is always so much more to be gleaned by reading a book as opposed to viewing a film. The film version always seems to cut out details that make the relationships viable in the first place.

A couple of details I learned that were left out of the film:

• Julia met Paul Child while both were working for the O.S.S. (Office of Strategic Services) around the time of WWII.
• Julie Powell was working for a government agency at the scene of 9/11 when she decided to undertake the "Julie/Julia" project.

Obviously, these are only a couple of things, but there is much more. I suppose it would be redundant to go into too many details here. And it would be boring for YOU, as you are not carrying around a dead bone with a splinter under your fingernail.

I am savoring all three books at the same time as I'm reading one work of fiction and digesting more on cathedrals built in the middle ages (possible posts for another time, eh?).

(ADVICE: If you've seen the film, and want to know more without buying up the store, get this one: "Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously" by Julie Powell - It's FABULOUS!)

And these, in my leisure time, of which, there is precious little. At least I have a variety of books of interest to help wind my mind down from the day to day business of caring for The Russter and working online to make a few bucks to help meet ends around here.

Thanks to Birthday dollars, I had the funds to purchase exactly what I wanted this year, books to renew the spirit... more on this later, maybe.

On Networking Leadership - How To Do It Right (which means MY way)

Hiya Folks.

It really does not matter what networking platform (mostly) you might be using. It's the leadership that keeps it going strong or makes it a weak endeavor. Do we all agree on that one? OK.

What a good/great leader does to engage people is post information that should be
1 - Global (as much as possible) to the membership.
2 - Interesting and up to date (when it's called for).
3 - Asks a question so the MEMBERS can show off their expertise in any field of endeavor.

Number three being the catch for most network leaders, moderators and board assigned posters.

It's more important to ask the question than to show off your own expertise in any field. Huh? Yep, it's better to allow your members to "help you out" with their words of wisdom instead of always projecting your own knowledge right off the bat. THIS method sets brains to clicking when your members get a chance to show off what THEY feel is an answer to your post, question or quandry.

Everyone likes to feel like they are contributing to a conversation, helping out. GIVE your members that chance and they'll feel much better about posting replies and helping YOU out with what they know. Allow them to show off and you'll have a happy membership.

.02

Connect Your Checkbook To Your Calendar.

The time of year determines much of what you do in your home life. If you have not made the same connections to your business life you're missing a chance to fill that checkbook by the seasons.

Your website is like a gathering basket for your garden. If you keep your basket close by the door when harvest time comes, you're always ready to hop out that door for fresh tomatoes, zucchini and bell peppers.

If you keep your stats checked on a regular basis you know just where you stand in the whole scheme of things and your ROI can show high or low depending on the seasonal changes of your audience.

I'm a flower picker in the spring when emerging bulbs bring brightness and wonderfully fresh smells to my home. I water and weed during the hot summer months and come late summer and fall, we all enjoy the harvest of our summer labors. Winter brings joyous holidays that we all share.

Although the seasons are filled with holidays, it's the work and play ethic that exists year round that brings ROI from a website. Of the prepare, plant, nurture and harvest cycles of the year, so goes your business preparations for income from any online endeavor.

1 - Prepare - research keywords, key phrases and complete market studies.
2 - Plant - Get your website up and running along with a blog for continuing input and updates.
3 - Nurture - Market your website and blog with social media and incoming linking strategies.
4 - Harvest - If you laid the ground out correctly, you have the traffic and income that connects the calendar to a growing checkbook balance!

As it takes several seasons to see your garden grow so goes the business cycle. Always plan on it taking double (or more in some cases) the time you expect it to and finding more weeds than tomatoes at some junctures.

Have a busy and fruitful year. Consider Buddy Web Design to be your garden helper when you are ready to plant a website and watch it grow your checkbook balance.

The FairTax - One Detail RE: Social Security

Hey Folks.

I used to be outwardly very political. These days, I am mostly inwardly very political. Yes, we own guns at our house, unfortunately most everyone does. Some of those folks I wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley, in a freeway traffic jam or during a heated political discussion. Thus, my OH-pinions are kept mostly for family and sometimes not even then.

There are a few things though that should be brought to light and discussed. Shared, sent on and pointed out until everyone is aware that we, as Americans, have options.

Mike Huckabee says he wants to be the guy who hangs this sign: "Out of Business" on the door of the IRS. That day could make April 15 become a national holiday of real celebration (a second Independence day!) instead of the darkest day of the year.

Perhaps it would also help some officials who seem to have personal tax problems not have to up and quit their jobs. OH, Hah! We might be better off without those folks anyhowsen, eh? We pay their salaries (with tax dollars) and they cannot manage to pay their "fair share." Actually, "fair share" is a tad off center. "Fair share" when it comes to taxes is a flat out lie. No one pays a fair share with the scales our law makers have manipulated since before WWII (the BIG one). I digress.

One of the first questions that came to mind when I first read the first book on the Fair Tax was "what about social security?" Boy oh Boy, I am so close to collecting (only about six years to go, Yippee!) I was worried that the system was going to fail before I could collect my (well deserved, as everyone does) own money that could have been drawing interest for me for uh, all my adult life. Then, if we are lucky enough to have the fairtax enacted, what would happen then? Will I still be able to retire and receive the money I have put in forever?

Not to worry, some really smart people have figured that out too. Whew! Was I glad to know that these guys thought of everything! Geeze-louise, that was a scary few moments. Of course, all I had to do was go to the website and search for social security. I got a list of 'pdf' files and one of those explains it. At least enough for me to be satisfied that those thinking folks did not forget the oldies and those of us getting there fast.

Truth be known, I've read all there is in print (I may have missed an article here or there, so sue me) about the fair tax. I have since found the guy who might be able to pull it off for us folks who have found something political to be in love with (the fairtax, not the guy, he's married, another sigh).

And of course that guy is Mike Huckabee (FOR PRESIDENT, next time) We'll have to wait for at least four more years. But that's not a bad thing, it's just four more years we have to circle the wagons folks! So YeeHaH, let's get rippin' and hooten' 'n' hollerin' for the FAIRTAX and Mike Huckabee.

NOTE: I am not being paid to blog, write, or work for or promote either the fairtax or Mr. Huckabee, I just think "It's the Right Thing To Do!"

Suggested Reading:

Do the Right Thing
by Mike Huckabee
(on sale at Amazon for about $12.00)

The Fair Tax Book: Saying Goodbye to the Income Tax and the IRS
by Neal Boortz and John Linder
(paperback on sale at Amazon for about $6.00)

FairTax: The Truth: Answering the Critics
by Neal Boortz and John Linder
(on sale at Amazon for about $12.00)

Note Too: I don't work for Amazon either. :D

God Bless and don't let the wagon hinges snag your skirt tail!

EB ;)

Is Your Name Your Brand?

What's In A Name? Is Your Name Your Brand?

My maiden name spurred jokes that were less than desirable until I married a guy named Hoover. Then the jokes about "suc*" became the norm. So the new name took me from one bad joke to another. Ugh.

When I married a second time, Hoover was swapped for Brown. AT LAST! A name that did not spur obscene jokes! Boy oh Boy, a happier person could not be found. It's a name I kept even after the twelve year marriage ended. "Brown"," aside from being a much better personal name has become my professional "branded" name and has stood me in good stead since 1978.

Because I made the transition long before a professional name meant that much for brand recognition, I've never had to worry about the name itself. At least not for a very, very long time. Being branded under "Brown" came naturally. Why would anyone want to make note of this?

It's about branding and what that means. So, as an example let's look at Coke. It's not unusual for company leaders and brand marketers to forget that their brand has such a tremendous impact on a large population. For our example let's remember the "new Coke" that was introduced in 1985. Although Coca-Cola invested $4,000,000 in market testing, the launch of their new product created a public outcry. In less than three months Coca-Cola re-introduced the original formula. What made the difference? Why did they change back? What happened that made the introduction of the new formula such a resounding failure? Coca-Cola focused on the introduction of the new product formula rather than the loyalty of their own brand.

When I changed names from Hoover to Brown, I had no idea that Brown would become a company name. When people think of "Hoover," it's a natural progression to "vacuum cleaners." Perhaps it's the luck of the draw for some of us that we have the business names we do. Nowadays, I have to compete with UPS and their "what can brown do for you?" campaign. This, however is not equal on a scale that equates with the name Hoover. Thank goodness!

So, when you think of your company (or companies) names, how did you make the final decision that helped you settle on a name you could brand? Or was that even a consideration for you? Got a story? Let's hear it!

EB :D

Update for Mother Company - BEK, Brown Enterprises of KS

Hey Folks.

I don't think I've written much about my companies or even about the big bad Mother of them all. I don't intend (and never have intended) to turn any of my blogs into a place just for advertising my websites, the websites of my friends/associates but this will be more discussion of design and content anyhowsen, so bear with me.

Having a lot of clients is a blessing. Gotta love that part. But it has been a bad thing in that we've had precious little time around here to work much on our own websites. Some are woefully old and uh, they look it. Some have a brave new face with not much to back them up. So, I finally started taking every spare minute to design a new site for BEKansas.com (BEK, Brown Enterprises of KS) our Mother of all Mothers when it comes to websites. I did not want something slick and new looking. I wanted something that was reminiscent of older sites. Lots of newer sites are pretty slick but I wasn't looking for slick. I was looking for traditional. I hope I made that mark.

One thing I also wanted to do was give a lot of credit to the place I live. Wichita is a great town and likewise, my little part of that metro area, Derby, KS. So collecting photos, landmark areas, museum items of interest, has been a lot of what we've been doing around here. Trying to give our towns a premiere place among our own self serving words. Yeah, BEKansas.com is not about trying to sell anything to anyone. It it going to turn out to be a place just to describe our business, show off our SEO abilities a little bit, and of course, some writing (web content) stuff.

Since we opted for older design concepts, it will look older than it really is. The BEK sites and the Buddy sites are new, but of course, we've been doing the work since the www made it's debut on the wider Internet. OK, enough about that. OH, one more point. If you visit that particular spot, it's still in development. Many pages have yet to be uploaded and many more are not even completed yet. If you do though, give us a holler. What do you think of the new watering hole?

Until next time - keep your skis on your feet...

Eileen :D

MIFH - What is that???

MIFH or Most Interesting Fellow Human is new term. Just made it up today!

I find these folks all the time on the internet. People who are so interesting that I am drawn to their websites time and again. I don't mean for products or writing talent or dynamic personalities. I mean the person themselves. Personal websites that become destinations to bookmark and keep track of. Places to return to, to see what that person is doing today or has been doing. You might say a blog does that but sometimes this is just not so. Some websites are so much better than a blog or ARE a blog. Anyhousen, I found a MIFH this past week and wanted to write about my feelings for some of these people, re: the MIFH's in general.

If you had the resources to travel anywhere you wanted and do whatever you wanted, how would you go about it? Would you play all day with friends? Golf, pool, polo? Or would you advance your personal knowledge base of the peoples of the world? I should reiterate that dynamic personalities are usually famous people. The people I am talking about are normal, everyday folks who are traveling the world, taking photos, meeting people of all nations on a personal level. The P. Hiltons of the world are shallow, limelight grabbers who burn money for fun. None of the folks I am talking about do anything remotly like that. They go about their quiet lives, truly living a dream most of us could not or cannot imagine.

I like to think I would be one of the MIFH folks if I had the resources. Then again, I wonder if I would be a squanderer like some of the dynamic personalities (?). If I were to dream a dream of world travel and meeting common folk, like myself I believe I could truly be happy every day of my life.

Gee, that was a funny thing to say. Because, I am a very happy person. I am happy in the thought that I know what is coming each day, keep a managable schedule; love my family and friends; love my work. I don't find that anything is missing in my life but find that I, I guess the word is admire people who spend the time (and money) getting to know the peoples, nations and religions of the world.

What a wonderful thing to aspire to. I guess it gives me something to dream about. At least for today. The MIFH's of this world should be the ones in the news and interviews and as noteworthy human beans (not a typo) but maybe that is not what they want or what they aspire too. Interesting, don't you think?

Blessings.