Happy New Year!!

Deaths, Deaths, Deaths...

December tends to be a tough month for many, particularly those who are not close to family or perhaps may not have one. It's no surprise that there are so many suicides and depressed around the holidays, especially around Christmas.

James Brown died on Christmas Day (His "I feel good") brings me to that place every time I sing it or merely mouth it. Former president Gerald Ford died the day after at 93.

Saddam Hussein's inevitable execution ends 2006 on a happy (and for many confused) note. CNN covers the execution here, including video footage of a noose placed around his neck, which was so color muted, you could barely see what was going on. The LA Times plays an "easier to see" video inside one of its recent articles; they think the footage came from someone's camera phone.

The San Francisco Chronicle talks about it as a turning point, as do others, particularly mainstream media who show Iraqis celebrating in the streets.

ABC News reports that 2006 was the deadliest year for reporters and media workers worldwide, with at least with at least 155 murders and unexplained deaths, according to the International Federation of Journalists. Iraq remains the most dangerous place to work (no surprise there) -- 68 killed in 2006 alone.

Amidst so many deaths, I always hear stories of sad and depressed friends of friends, family members of friends each year the last two weeks of December. Human nature is a funny thing.

I re-watched The Year Without a Santa Claus (important to return to being ten from time-to-time), one of my old-time favorites (1974). It should be the year "nearly without a Santa Claus," for once Santa realized he was loved, needed and wanted, he found the strength, energy, determination and will to make Christmas happen after all.

A little more infusion of love just might reduce the amount of depression, hate and death this time of year, don't ya think?

Merry Christmas

Peace, Carrots, Angels, Gold Dust, Champagne, and Monkeys to you and your families.

Peace to bring you serenity and joy at times when you need it most
Carrots for health and vitality
Angels to give you spirit, sympathy, empathy and all things that care for others
Gold Dust to give you prosperity
Champagne to allow you to enjoy extravagance when you should not be deprived of it
Monkeys for humor, like this little guy. When you look at him, laugh today and share that playful energy with everyone you encounter.

On Santa Claus...

For the longest time, I thought Santa was real. Longer than all of my cousins, longer than......imagine the implications of the below in this case, which was and remains one of my favorite holiday songs.

Snow Miser & Heat Miser

Every year, around this time of December, I'm reminded of the brilliance of character creations Heat Miser and Snow Miser from The Year Without Santa Claus, one of the numerous annual christmas specials children tuned into year after year starting in 1974. I was still a young tot so easily charmed by these delightful characters, who by the way, are sons of none other than Mother Nature.

Mother Nature tells Snow Miser to let it snow in Southtown and Heat Miser to allow a spring day at the North Pole so Santa Claus can take a holiday from Christmas for a year due to a bad cold.

I wanted to introduce the Misers to a friend of mine who had never been exposed to their song and dance routine and all video stores claimed no copies of it. I'm thrilled to see that it is as popular in 2006 as it was 30 years ago.

The Tree

Even if you didn't grow up with a christmas tree or its not part of your tradition, how can you not glory in the magic of the lights, the history of the ornaments, the energy it gives off when you walk into a room.

This year's magic is now up. Ah, a beautiful site it is.

Thumbs Up For Old Fashioned Cards

I've written about the art of the physical card in the past. Each time, I reflect on how much credence I put on reaching out the old fashioned way, a way that is not electronic. It requires your hand and brain to work and think differently -- not through machine, but through your physical fingers. Pen to paper, which is how I captured all of my memoires in Central America this past summer. No PC - just pen and sometimes crayon to paper.

While it may not be as efficient, the process brings out different emotions. Going through the process this year was no different - I'd come to a name on a label and smile as I reflect on a memory or two. Every year gets harder however and as I find myself in the middle of Silicon Valley, a world that values LinkedIn contacts and social media sites over face-to-face contact. You begin to long for a connection to anything that isn't digital.

This year, I decided to have fun by trying out various vendor pens. Handwriting close to 1,000 cards demands a pen with a comfortable side and a smooth finish.

Scary when I realized that I had well over 100 vendor pens from various conferences and events over the past couple of years. Names sprawled in front of me: Greygoose, Me, Inc., SCO, Viola Networks (beautiful deep blue color - nice touch), Postini, Demo 07, Demo 06, Demo 0X, 0X and 0X (don't get me started), Intrado (nice rubber padding, hard to put down), Morgan Lewis, Spring, PR Newswire, Cymfony, D2006, Yahoo (love the yellow and purple 1990s look), Data Security and Adobe and on and on and on.

The winners? Hard to say, but the quality, comfort and flow of the pens from D, Viola and Data Security probably were well ahead of the others. As for design, Postini, D, Viola and a few others not listed here. Despite a comfortable set of pens, let's just say the process takes "awhile." I love the line of a VC friend who said, "no one said that a personal touch was easy." No kidding. Ah yes, the life of a publicist. Lest not forget human connection.

Tom & George at Thanksgiving

Tom (left): "Where is the damn 816 bus?" George (right): "That holiday schedule always makes us late for dinner every year." Tom: "Aunt Evelyn will have our heads once again."

Castro's Halloween

Is this for real? I haven't been in the Bay Area for long but was living in the city a year ago, so how did I miss this? Clearly a popular tradition in San Francisco. I almost feel as if I should pop in for an hour to see how this City thinks and how they like to celebrate. My former Anthropologic past drives me to do things like this from time-to-time... :-)

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween. Sense of humor anyone?