pinkmoxie

The Fall of the American Empire

pinkmoxie — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 18:43:05 -0700

Friday night, I saw a tweet from my friend (and client) Aaron Fulkerson of MindTouch and he had tweeted "The only thing more shocking than us being at war for this long is that everyone seems to be ok with it."

So I tweeted back saying that it shocks me too and that most Americans are zombies living their lives aimlessly. Then he tweeted back that we are too and asked the question "What are we doing?"

He's right. What are we doing? Most of us are doing nothing because we are comfortable and too selfish and self-absorbed to even care enough to take our precious time and actually give it to a campaign, cause or organization that is trying to make a change.

Sure we exercise our freedom of speech to denounce the war, and other things we want changed, but are any of us really doing anything to effectively change this country for the better and stop the destruction, violence and killing in Iraq or the degradation of America.

As a whole, we aren't, which is exactly why this country is in trouble. We are on the decline and even though we see it, talk about it and write about it, beyond that most of us aren't doing a damn thing to stop the bleeding.

I believe the single most important factor in stopping the bleed is education, but not just any education. We are failing as country and are failing our children by not steering them towards obtaining degrees in engineering, computer science and other technical degrees.

Instead, Millennials or GenY is a generation of kids and young adults who have been raised by helicopter parents who doted over these GenYers and we've raised a generation of "all about me" kids who are apathetic and uninterested in serving their communities or going into careers that can save this country.

And before you hall off and call me an alarmist, extremist or point out that’s a blanket statement, let me say that I’m not talking about every single GenYer. There are some amazing ones who are brilliant and innovative and are doing incredible work to improve our economy and make this world and our communities a better place. But they are few and far between.

Intel Chairman Craig Barrett, who I'm a huge fan of, is acutely aware of the degradation of America and has been very vocal about it over the years. Barrett was recently quoted in a letter from the House Republican Study Committee to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer that requests for the decoupling of two issues, illegal immigration and legal immigration for more temporary H-1B visa for highly skilled workers. In the letter, Barrett is quoted saying "With Congress gridlocked on immigration, it's clear that the next Silicon Valley will not be in the United States." I agree with Barrett and am very alarmed by it.

Our own lack of highly skilled workers combined with not granting enough H-1B visas to fill the vacant job openings is only going to add to our already growing number of problems this country is facing. Drastic change is what we need and I'll be very interested to see what each candidate says during the upcoming conventions and debates. I’ll also be interested to see the percentage of GenYers who come out to vote on November 4. If you're not registered to vote yet, check here to see your state's deadline to register.

Watch this 42-second video titled Citizen's Cry, a PSA made possible by Palm Inc.

I will hold out hope that GenYers will get out and vote because they have the power to be heard by their vote and make a change in this country. Despite my continually pressed-for-time life, I've made a point to carve out the time to educate myself on the issues and candidates for every election. Yes, I probably could carve out more time to canvass and work phone banks for the candidates I support, but I fit it in where I can to do my small part and hopefully make a difference.

I do it because I do care about our future, despite my gloom and doom outlook. The one thing I love most about canvassing is having the opportunity to go door to door and meet the people and hear about the issues that they care about and discuss with them how we can make a change for the better. It's not only inspiring, it's gives me hope when I talk to people who do care and are trying to change this country for the better and stop the bleeding.

But I'm still sadden at how many people do not vote or only vote in presidential election years because in our own ugly history there was a time that women and minorities did not have the right to vote. I vote not only for the future of this country, but to honor the women and minorities who came before me and fought, and some died in that fight, so I can have the right to vote.

Not only do we need to encourage GenYers to vote, we need to get them to see the importance of obtaining an education, and hopefully one that will lead to a technical career or as an educator, because I believe it is critical to our future.

Regardless of which presidential candidate you are supporting, the good news is that they both support and are in favor of increasing the number of H-1B visas. Because Americans lack the expertise needed and we don't grant enough H-1B visas, we are basically letting talent slip through our fingers and letting other countries benefit.

Our own kids may not want to get technical degrees, but as Barrett points out, there are thousands of foreign-born professionals who are educated in America and have the talent and skills to fill the thousands of open positions, many of which are in Silicon Valley, but instead we are forcing these highly skilled professionals and recent graduates to leave this country due to the lack of H-1B visas being issued.

Mike Arrington of TechCrunch wrote a post back in April of this year about the H-1B visa program and included in his post the letter from the House Republican Study Committee. If you care about this issue, definitely read his post because it's important, and despite our differences, it's one issue that both republicans and democrats can agree on.

If you want to do more than vote and challenge yourself to address the global needs in education, economic development, the environment and healthcare, then I encourage you to check out Intel's INSPIRE•EMPOWER Challenge.

Funny how one tweet late on a Friday night has made me re-examine how much I'm personally doing to stop the war or change the degradation of America. And sadly, I realize that I'm doing very little and I definitely could be doing more. We all could be doing more and we had better start doing more or this nation will fall, and it will fall in our lifetime.

Watch Dear Mr. President written and performed by Pink and featuring the Indigo Girls.

The Fall of the American Empire

pinkmoxie — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 18:42:42 -0700

So I tweeted back saying that it shocks me too and that most Americans are zombies living their lives aimlessly. Then he tweeted back that we are too and asked the question "What are we doing?"

Watch this 42-second video titled Citizen's Cry, a PSA made possible by Palm Inc.

Watch Dear Mr. President written and performed by Pink and featuring the Indigo Girls.

Project Michelle: Be a Hero and Possibly Save a Life

pinkmoxie — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 15:58:08 -0700

Online video is such a powerful medium to spread the word on just about anything. One area where it is incredibly powerful and useful is in bringing awareness to causes and projects that bring change to one life or millions of lives.

Today, I stumbled upon a video that deeply moved me. It was of Michelle Maykin, a 26-year old UC Berkeley graduate, class of 2004, and San Francisco Bay Area resident who is fighting for her life.

A little over a year ago Maykin, an energetic, active and vibrant young woman who enjoys mountain bike riding, rock climbing and snowboarding, set out on a bike ride. As she was riding on the bridge crossing the San Francisco Bay she found herself falling behind, feeling fatigued and experiencing shortness of breath. For someone who had always been healthy and active, this was uncharacteristic and of concern.

Then a short time later, Maykin and friends went snowboarding and both she and her friends noticed that she was struggling to keep up. After returning from her snowboarding trip, Maykin visited the doctor. On February 27, 2007, Maykin found the answer to why she had been so fatigued and was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), a blood cancer.

Over the course of a year, Maykin underwent five rounds of chemotherapy, which put her cancer in remission. She regained her strength and in February of 2008 she returned to work at KPMG in San Francisco.

After a year of fighting for her life to regain her health, she was working again and began to live the life she once had before the cancer. And then in April 2008, two months after returning to work, she began experiencing the same symptoms that she had prior to her diagnosis. On May 7, 2008, her worse fear became true when Maykin's oncologist informed her that her cancer had returned. To compound the already devastating news, Maykin also learned that an MRI showed a mass on her brain.

Michelle Maykin, once again, is in the fight of her life to save her life. But she can't do it alone. She needs me, you and all of us to do our part to help her and so many others who are in need of a donor. Thanks to her family and friends, Project Michelle was created.

According to the Project Michelle Web site, it started as a support project for Michelle Maykin and has since grown into a nationwide grassroots initiative dedicated to increasing the deficient number of minority bone marrow donor registrants in the national registry.

The U.S. Marrow Registry has 6.6 million registered donors. There are 10 million registered donors worldwide, with 506,068 of them being Asian American. Ethnic minorities only have a 30 percent chance of finding a donor, whereas whites have up to an 85 percent chance. There is a shortage of Asian, Asian American and other ethnic minority donors worldwide, which is why it is important to spread the word and help close the gap on the shortage of ethnic minority registered donors.

In mid-May, Project Michelle organizers set out to register 15,000 new potential donors in five weeks to help Michelle, and others, find a donor match. The five-week donor registration drive resulted in 250 drives in 12 cities that registered 9,000 potential donors and 3,000 online requests for home registration kits. Project Michelle is still 4,661 shy of its goal of 15,000 new registered donors.

Unfortunately, of the 10,339 new registrants, none are a match for Maykin. Project Michelle, and its many volunteers, is continuing to conduct drives across the nation to reach its goal of signing up 15,000 potential donors to find a match for Maykin and others in need of a donor match.

Become a hero and possibly save someone’s life. The process to become a registered donor is simple and only takes about ten minutes. No needles involved. Simply have the inside of your cheek swabbed with a cotton swab. If you are a match, in many cases, the transplant can be done through blood.

If you'd like to help and see if you're a match, check out the Project Michelle calendar to find a donor drive near year. And for more information about Michelle Maykin, Project Michelle and on AML, visit Project Michelle. You can also read comments and view videos of Michelle and others at the Project Michelle Stickam site.

Sowing the Seeds of Passion

pinkmoxie — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 17:08:49 -0800

One element that fuels and drives me everyday is having the entrepreneurial spirit pulsing through my veins, being surrounded by it in my clients, at networking events, and in my friends. There is something unique and inspiring about people who thrive on risk, who will forgo the security of a regular paycheck that corporate life provides to live on the fringe, work well into the night on a daily basis (including weekends) to make their crazy idea and dream get off the ground in hopes that it becomes the next big thing.

I like how Michael Arrington, founder and co-editor of TechCrunch, put it in a recent post about tech entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley:

If you want a well balanced life, Silicon Valley is not for you. But if you want to change the world and are willing to do absolutely anything to achieve your dreams, there is no better place to be than here…And if you aren’t willing to take advantage of every possible advantage to make your crazy startup idea work, perhaps you shouldn’t be an entrepreneur.

He is 100 percent correct! And I couldn’t agree more that it truly takes that kind of drive, commitment and passion.

Coming from the performing arts world, passion has always been a driver for me, which is why when I left the dance world and ventured into communications I didn’t go work for a big established corporate company. I chose to work with startups. I love startup life because passion abounds. The energy is contagious. And the brilliant minds and ideas that flow from them are inspiring.

However, if I could change one thing, it would be having more women entrepreneurs in technology. I am a big believer in encouraging, supporting and fostering women entrepreneurs and the next generation of women entrepreneurs, so when I came across Golden Seeds, I knew I had to blog about them.

Golden Seeds, founded by Stephanie Hanbury-Brown, connects women entrepreneurs to angel funding. It is an angel investment group that supports, advises and funds women-led ventures that have the potential to grow into thriving multimillion dollar businesses. Its current portfolio includes companies that develop mainstream consumer products, biomedical products, entertainment properties, and marketing and business products.

Golden Seeds has a few portfolio companies that I'm definitely going to check out and probably blog about in the months ahead, such as gDiapers who make the world's first flushable diaper. I don't have a baby, but how cool is it that...a flushable diaper. Think about all those disposable diapers that are currently getting dumped in our landfills everyday, which is something that has always disturbed me. gDiapers is the solution to this problem. Brilliant idea!

The other portfolio companies that are of interest to me are Artemis Woman, sweetriot, and eJamming. Aretmis Woman was founded by Ann Buivid and Lisa Kable, two women after my own heart in that they, too, are very passionate about health and wellness, and profession-grade skin care products. Not to mention the two left the corporate world to pursue their dream!

If you have the entrepreneurial spirit pulsing through your veins, like Buivid and Kable, a brilliant idea and product in the works, need seed funding, you just may want to check out Golden Seeds. Who knows, you could be their next portfolio company.

Getting the Skinny from Heidi Roizen

pinkmoxie — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 15:28:36 -0800

I'm a frequent reader of Kara Swisher's blog BoomTown, which is part of the All Things D Web site. On Wednesday, Kara wrote about a music project that Heidi Roizen, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, has embarked upon.

This project is not funding and launching the next big music platform or player, as one might think given Roizen’s background. No, it's a project that's unique and quite personal to Roizen.

In Roizen's own pursuit to lose weight, she wanted to listen to great music to help her stay motivated as she took off the pounds and got in shape, but when she wasn't unable to find any, the entrepreneur in her kicked in and she set out to create it.

Not being a musician herself, Roizen teamed with veteran music industry exec George Daly and songwriter and producer David Malloy, along with some very talented artists. Together they took Roizen's idea and turned it into a well-produced CD, or as Roizen puts it, "first class, radio-hit-quality music," which includes 10 songs.

Roizen wrote the lyrics for the CD, which is titled Skinny Songs and is available at iTunes, Amazon, CD Baby, and SnoCap. You can also listen to Skinny Songs and read about it at MySpace and the Skinny Songs Web site.

The songs range from pop and country to vanilla hip-hop, and are positive, upbeat and motivating with song titles such as "Skinny Jeans" and "I'm a Hottie Now."

I suppose some people, especially men, would find this corny, but what I love about what Roizen has done is that the entrepreneur in her realized that there was a need in the marketplace and she filled it. More importantly, she has created a product that is designed to motivate other women as they, too, work to shed the pounds.

Losing weight is not an easy task. It takes self-discipline, dedication and time, and I might add, a little forgiveness of ourselves for those times that we stumble. Whether you are at your ideal body weight, underweight or overweight, body image and weight are two things that most of us women struggle with throughout our lives.

However, it doesn’t matter how long you’ve struggled, it’s never too late to commit and make it happen.

Swisher's blog post on Roizen includes a video clip of Roizen discussing Skinny Songs and her own motivation to lose weight. In the video, Roizen, who is 49 years old and about to turn 50, shares how turning 50 was a motivating factor in her decision to get in shape. "If you're not going to do it by the time you're 50, when are you going to do it," says Roizen.

That's a very powerful statement that I'm sure resonates with many women. If your New Year's resolution was to get in shape and you need a little extra motivation to keep you on track, head on over to Skinny Songs.

Stage IV Breast Cancer Virtual Walk

pinkmoxie — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 15:36:40 -0700

Do you ever feel that you want to do your part and give back by supporting an important cause and joining one of the many fund raising walks, but for some reason you can never find the time to do the walk. If that's you then the Gal to Gal Foundation's Virtual Walk is perfect for you and anyone else who wants to give and support Stage IV breast cancer patients and their families.

The team over at Design-her Gals and the Gal to Gal Foundation have launched a virtual walk to raise funds for Stage IV breast cancer patients and their families. The goal is to raise $3 million by having one million people sign up and donate three dollars each. It's such a creative idea and a very simple and impactful way for all of us to help.

According to Jeanne Fitzmaurice in an interview by Tory Johnson on ABC's Good Morning America, she explained that the funds will be used to help the Making Memories organization, which helps Stage IV breast cancer patients and their families, and some funds will also be used to create a social networking site designed for Stage IV breast cancer patients and their families to connect, communicate and have access to resources that are most important during this critical stage.

Fitzmaurice is the founder of "Design-her Gals" and Gal to Gal Foundation. Fitzmaurice founded the Gal to Gal Foundation after losing her cousin and a good friend's best friend to breast cancer. Her cousin, who left behind a six year old daughter, was only 45 years old. The experience made her realize that there was so much more that needed to be done to help those with Stage IV breast cancer and their families.

The virtual walk started on October 1st in Boston, MA and continues on for the 31 days in October and stops in various cities across the U.S. with the walk ending in San Francisco on October 31st. Please take a few minutes and join us in helping those with Stage IV breast cancer and their families. See you on the walk!

Tickling the ivories for a season

pinkmoxie — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 22:51:01 -0700

Tonight was the official CD release party for singer-songwriter Kendall Payne's new CD Paper Skin. Payne is an artist who has experienced firsthand the highs and lows of the music industry, so it's good to see that she has persevered and endured through it all as she hit the stage tonight in Los Angeles to share her new music.

I first saw Kendall play last year and I was moved by her vocals and music. Her music is honest and heartfelt. Her sound is similar to Sarah McLachlan. Let's just say that Kendall would have been a great addition to the Lilth Fair lineup back in the summer of 1999.

In addition to being a talented singer-songwriter, she is an accomplished musician. Guitar was her instrument of choice until April 2006 when she decided to "tickle the ivories for a season."

Read how her latest CD came to fruition (the following is an excerpt from Kendall Payne's Web site):

After receiving a piano as a gift from her husband in early April of 2006, Payne decided to set aside her acoustic guitar and tickle the ivories for a season. “It’s kinda funny,” Payne recalls, “I decided to learn piano because I wanted to have a Christmas party. Sounds strange, but it’s true. I love singing carols and they sound much better on piano. So everyday from April to December I would practice ‘Joy to the World’, ‘Silent Night’, and a host of other classics. My neighbors weren’t too happy come mid-July, but my party guests were very impressed come December!”

Having played guitar all her life Payne began to feel that her songwriting had grown predictable. However, the novelty of a new instrument awoke her creativity. “I let my heart, not my head, find the melody.” Before too long the demos for “Paper Skin” were compiled and with a newly inspired confidence Payne headed into the studio with producer Tim Schoenhals.

The album took approximately three weeks to record, mix, and master, with most of the vocals and performances being recorded in just one take. “My last two albums took the better part of a year to make. I simply refused to do that this time,” states Payne.

The title of the album “Paper Skin” does not mislead, for it is by far her most honest work to date, replete with universal, life-inspired themes of love, loss, failure, spirituality, and the unrelenting hope of the human spirit. What makes Payne's music so special and so well-received and respected is her uncanny ability to weave life's most commonly shared experiences into some of the most brilliant lyrics and most moving melodies. Her music is nothing less than amazing and nothing but apropos, it is the soundtrack for life!

Listen to Payne's music: Kendall Payne on MySpace
Or visit: Kendall Payne's Web site

Pursuing your passion into a fulltime gig

pinkmoxie — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 12:16:20 -0700

Words of advice from the original PopSugar, Lisa Sugar, "If you have something that you're really passionate about, but you have to have the other job going to pay the bills... it's finding the time to do (what you love) on the side so that you know if it really does take off, then you can put your all behind it."

Lisa and Brian Sugar's entrepreneurial spirit and inspiring story of how PopSugar and Sugar Publishing came into existence and then evolved into what it is today is a great example of how to grow something your passionate about into a fulltime gig.

I'm a big believer in discovering and pursuing your passions in life, which is why I find Lisa and Brian's story so inspirational, not to mention I love what they've created. The Sugar sites, including TeamSugar, are all "insanely addictive" and I have enjoyed being a part of it as a TeamSugar member.

The above quote was taken from an interview that Lisa did with Ladies Who Launch, which is an excellent resource for women entrepreneurs. Ladies Who Launch was founded by Victoria Colligan and Beth Schoenfeldt, two great women who also pursued their passion into a fulltime gig. The site recently featured an interview with Lisa Sugar.

Click here to read the interview: Meet Lisa Sugar.

HELP RAISE AWARENESS FOR SBS & BABY KALEB!!

pinkmoxie — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 19:31:41 -0700

Fellow sugars, thedrywallgirl and t0xxic, have asked us to help spread the word about Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) and baby Kaleb who suffered from SBS at the hands of his daycare provider. Please spread the word.

Read thedrywallgirl's post: http://teamsugar.com/group/85187/blog/316446

Read related news story: Baby's hospital tale grips MySpace by Justin George, St. Petersburg Times

Updates on Kaleb: Kristy's MySpace page

LESSON TO ALL: Teen dies from excess muscle cream use

pinkmoxie — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 15:12:26 -0700

This tragic story about the New York teen who died from excessive use of a muscle cream that contained the anti-inflammatory ingredient methyl salicylate may be a rare incident, but it is a reminder to us all about the importance of knowing your ingredients and not using any product to excess.

I'm an obsessive label reader and try to do my best to know the good from the bad ingredients. It's not always easy, especially with so many new skin care products flooding the market these days. We live in an era of information overload, so keeping up with product ingredients is a difficult task.

For those of you who are like me and are a bit obsessive about skin care ingredients, you’ll want to bookmark the Environmental Working Group's (EWG) Skin Deep database Web site.

EWG is a non-profit public interest watchdog group and environmental research organization. The organization covers a wide variety of public safety concerns from toxins in food and water to harmful chemicals in skin care products.

The Skin Deep database allows readers to look up different skin care brands to see the exact ingredients in each product and the safety rating of the ingredients. It will point out which ingredients are linked to cancer; developmental/reproductive toxicity; violations, restrictions and warnings; allergies/immunotoxicity; and other concerns associated with the ingredient. The Skin Deep database covers 25,000 personal care products and is quite extensive and a wealth of knowledge.

However, keep in mind that there are two camps to some of these ingredient studies; and for some ingredients, such as the parabens, there is much disagreement between the two sides on how damaging they actually are to our health when used in small amounts. As with any research study, you have to read the research from all sides and decide for yourself.

It's a balancing act, but one worth pursuing. After all, you are responsible for your own health and no one, not even the FDA or your doctors, is going to look out for your health and longevity they way you can. The best way to take control over your health is to be proactive and educated.