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So why can’t I feel anything for them?

I think it might be a defence mechanism.  I know what’s about to happen in the US – the religious hucksters, tinfoil brigade, and one-uppers are about to descend.

Religious hucksters (not all religious people, mind) like Westboro Baptist will blame the gays for God’s wrath, while Pat Robertson and the 700 Club will…well, they usually blame the gays.  I don’t know how they are going to explain God’s wrath considering Oklahoma banned gay marriage (it’s worth pointing out morons actually blamed Hurricane Sandy on the New York/New Jersey areas on gay marriage being allowed.  No, really.)  Maybe God changed his mind on two dudes getting hitched?

Tinfoil Brigade:  From Alex Jones, who I’m sure will somehow blame NOAA (the  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) to Glenn Beck, who will somehow blame Obama (maybe we should have built a fence to protect us from immigrant funnels of wind?), within days you’ll hear the phrases ‘FEMA deathcamps’, ‘New World Order’, and the like.  (Side note, if you are from outside the US and don’t know what these phrases mean, be glad.  The stupidity is so thick with the tinfoil brigade you could cut it with a knife).

The political one-uppers:  I have a confession, I am one of these people.  See, when the tri-state area was underwater for a few months with Hurricane Sandy, a whole lot of Republicans voted against any sort of aid for them.  And since then, there have been two major natural disasters since then – one in Texas, and one last night in Oklahoma.  Who wants to guess that the representatives who voted against aid for fellow Americans in the liberal north will now be asking for it in the ‘pull yourselves up by your bootstraps’ neck of their woods?  Now, I know talking about politics post tragedy usually brings in cries of ‘Too soon!’ and ‘Don’t you care about suffering?’

And yes, I do.  Which is why I am bringing it up.

I cared about the folks drowning after Sandy, and was enraged when 67 Republicans (and no Democrats it should be noted) voted to let them rot versus look like they were attempting to help President Obama.  I was apoplectic when they branded Chris Christie, Republican and New Jersey governor, a ‘traitor’ as he worked with democrat Obama to get his state sorted as quickly as possible.  And I care about the poor peoples’ lives currently affected, I do.  Just because Oklahoma voted in a few morons doesn’t mean everyone in Oklahoma is a moron.  Far from it.  But it’s specifically after disasters such as this that we do need to discuss the polarization of politics, and how if the various Oklahoma Republicans had had one shred of decency when considering other Americans’ plight, people wouldn’t be pointing out their specific hypocrisy now.  Because post-disaster, it’s politicians who vote on relief.  It’s politics who designate a number to suffering.  And it’s fool politicians like Rand Paul and other ‘bootstrappers’ who will use their political platform to pile on to their suffering to win votes in their home states.  It’s all politics.

For what it’s worth, I hope Oklahoma gets the full weight of the federal government’s benefit, and quickly.  They shouldn’t be forced to suffer for months like the tri state area did.  If you want to donate to the Red Cross, they are also on the ground setting up triage units.  A direct donation link is here.  But I can’t let myself become invested in the disaster, as it makes it even more difficult not to become enraged when the tinfoil brigade, hucksters, and political gamesmenship starts.

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Let’s take a look first at the pieces themselves.  BassBoomz is a *tiny* speaker, reminiscent of a Bose speaker in their heyday - you find it difficult to believe any sort of decent noise will come out.  Sure, it expands slightly, but there’s no way it’s going to sound better than your little purple boombox when you were little.  You turn it on, and…

…wow.  That is a gorgeous depth of sound.  Then you connect it to any device of your choosing – two ports plus Bluetooth ensures your BassBoomz will easily connect to your devices.  You pop on your favourite track and…

OMG.  That is seriously impressive.  A full, rich sound, from such a small speaker.  And it’s tough as well – the hard metal casing of the speaker means I’m not afraid to twist it down and toss it in my bag for great sounding music wherever I want!

And when I say “wherever I want”, I mean it!

On to the BassBuds.

 First, the packaging is lovely – you can see the BassBuds box next to to the BassBoomz package.  You get a set of the BassBuds headphones, 3 different sizes of ear buds attachments, and a lovely little drawstring bag to carry the other ear buds in.

I normally don’t spend a great deal of time looking at stuff that goes in my ears, but FWOAR are these things pretty.  Gorgeous finish, Swarovski crystals in the ends, and incredibly soft and supple earbud protectors.  The middle image is your control button.  With that you can make/receive calls, pause an MP3, or record a memo to yourself.  And the set comes with an easy-to-carry card till you get acclimated to it (although it’s quite intuitive).

The thing that really struck me about these were the level of sound, and noise reduction.   I am admittedly a huge fan of ‘cans’, those earmuff looking headphones, because when I want to enjoy music, I want to do it in peace.  But just inserting these BassBuds, the level of noise reduction was amazing.  Even in very busy cafes of London, I can tune out with my music without hearing insane background noise.  The quality of sound is the same as the BassBoomz – superior.  It’s a rarity that I review a product and declare “I must own everything this company makes!”, but I would scream that to the hills for BassBuds and BassBoomz.  It really is that good of a product.

But, I would be remiss if I didn’t talk fashion, so here you go:  not only do the BassBuds come with the gorgeous little bling at the end, they come in a huge array of colours, enough to satisfy every member of the family!

This is a sponsored post. 

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Who needs an MBA when you have £25?!?!

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No joke, when I turned half away, I flinched, and sort of shuffled away from the statue, giving it a wide berth.  I blame you, Doctor Who’s ‘Blink’.

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And I had so much fun doing this one, I may go for another next week (time permitting).  Have a great night all, and hope you enjoyed this jaunt down memory lane!

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Groove Tube is this amazing game I found a few weeks ago, a truly unique puzzle.  The labyrinth you need to navigate is inside the tube you are holding, so you need to use memory, luck, and patience to figure it out!  I generally get bored with puzzles, but this one kept me intrigued for a few hours straight, no mean feat!

I’m giving away one to a UK reader – just comment below with your name and your favourite old school toy/game.  I was always partial to HUNGRY HUNGRY HIPPO, as I loved yelling that name through the house.

Make sure you follow me on Bloglovin/Google Blogs/Email/Etc to catch all my one-day giveaways!  And don’t forget, I have a competition for a Karcher Window Vac (RRP £60) and a giveaway for a Debrett’s Guide (RRP £20) right here!

Giveaway ends tonight at 8 pm! (don’t worry if you don’t see your comment straight away, I just need to approve it,  as long as you comment before 8 you will be in!)

ThePrizeFinder – UK Competitions

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Enter Instantgram.

Instantgram is a new photo printing service that prints instagram photos on magnets or super cute traditional squares.  The process couldn’t be easier – Instantgram asks you to login to your Instagram account, and pick your favourite photos.  Instantgram then prints them on high quality paper or 2″ by 2″ magnets (about the same size as an iPhone screen), and you can pop them on your fridge, office cubicle, or anywhere else you like!

I was really impressed by the point and click process – as Instagram had already done all the work, it took about 3 minutes from clicking on to purchasing.  And in about 10 days, my parents will be getting 9 adorable magnets of their grandkid!  The best part?  Free worldwide shipping.  Being 5000 miles away, that’s such a bonus (seriously you guys, shipping is so expensive here!)

With a 10 day turnaround, I wouldn’t call this a go-to gift option for an OMG NEED IT TOMORROW emergency, but how cute would these be in lieu of Christmas card photos?  Pop one in each Xmas card, and give your family an easy pic they can enjoy all year long!

This is a sponsored post.  

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So why is this needed in the first place?  Blame marketing…and politics.

There are three types of branding in the marketing world:  Umbrella (family), multiple, and combination.

Umbrella brands are brands that all share the same name.  For instance, Microsoft.  Microsoft Word is connected to Micrsoft Windows 7 is connected to etc.  Very easy to tell on first glance if a product is owned/made by Microsoft.  Great for brand unity.

Multiple brands all look like stand-alone products, but share a parent company.  For instance, Unilever makes many of the household products you enjoy, but you won’t see their name emblazoned across your Dove bath soap or Axe body spray.  Letting brands stand alone means if there is a scandal, the parent company’s name is less damaged.

Combination brands take a little from both to create a cohesive brand.  Sony always slaps their name at the front of a product, but you know the difference between a Bravia tv and a Viao laptop.

So why is this app needed?  At some point, companies began owning other companies in such a way that you could buy a product and never know where your money was actually going.  And before major corporate funding, this really wasn’t a huge issue.  But since our last election was the most highly funded, and the majority given was by corporate interests, voting with your dollars has become as important as voting at the ballot box.  So instead of this:

Chart showing a portion of what holding companies own what. Click to expand, it’s biiiiiig.

We now will have a nifty little app that we can customize to tell us if the corporate donors we dislike will be getting our cash.  I have to say, I like it.  In a few weeks when the bugs are worked out, I’ll have a way to electronically make a difference.

Minor off topic rant here:  I like petitions, I do.  They are a great way of letting people know how you feel.  Or rather, they were.  When businesses didn’t decide elections, they were downright fabulous.  But as that is not the case, ladies and gentlemen, you do have to vote with your dollars.  And while that is far more time consuming than clicking ‘like’, its the brave new world.  Money talks.  Start speaking with yours, or accept that your voice will be muffled.

So, what’s the downside to all this?  Well, for a nation that is pretty divided already, this is just another way to delineate the right from the left.  The left will boycott Koch and Monsanto, the right, anything owned by Soros and major liberals.  Purchasing will, on a much larger scale, become an indicator of political affinity.  And that’s difficult. What if you host a party, and your friends bring Dixie cups (owned by Koch brothers?), will you think less of them?  What about if your company always puts you up in Renaissance Hotels, and you now know they are owned by Marriott, major contributors to the Romney campaign?  Do you ask for a transfer?  And if so, to who?  That’s the difficult thing:  companies and products are so ingrained in our society that if we see our favoured item as owned by the ‘enemy’, will we still have the strength to give it up for our principles?

Too bad there’s not an app for that.

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Imagine my dismay then when I read a Today Show survey in which 7000 Pinners were asked about Pinterest, and 42% reported being stressed out by the pretty pictures, worried that their efforts didn’t measure up.  Oy vey.  People, I’m going to let you in on a dirty little secret about some of the blogs those Pinterest accounts come from, a secret that I know because I’ve helped in their duplicity:

They aren’t real.  Like, at all.

Just as Martha Stewart doesn’t actually bake every apple tart she presents with that Mid-Atlantic-bored-in-the-Hamptons drone to her fabulously disaffected friends on the dock of their sprawling estate, a lot, and I mean A LOT of your favourite bloggers figured out that if they wanted to be ‘sponsored’ (read, paid to blog), they needed a team to create their online empire.

Without further ado, here’s a 4 second primer on how you can make money online blogging:

Google Adsense.  Pageviews and clickthroughs equal money in your pocket.

Product reviews and giveaways.  Companies pay you in product or cash to review their products, and sponsor giveaways on your blog.

Blog sponsorship or partnership.  A company ‘proudly presents’ your blog.  They have exclusive control usually of all advertising, and ‘guide’ content.

The more money a company puts in, the more on message you need to be.  Google Adsense?  As long as you aren’t breaking the law, they’ll host ads on your site.  Blog sponsorship?  You may want to avoid that explicative filled rant about the Pope.

But where do people like I come in?  My side job from raising a kid and my MBA is I am a private social media consultant.  I sit down with very discreet people, and create social media plans for them.  Everything from perfectly timed posts (hit 12.30 for your target market timezone M-F, with a short update around 4.30, people tend to check their online stuff right before they leave for work!) to twitter (5 posts a day at intervals, 3 of them linking to other higher-ranked twitterers, one linking back to your site, and one of plain text!), to facebook (dying quickly – are you on tumblr yet?  That’s where most of the fb deserters 16-24 are!  Hit your demographics!).  For a small fee, I even schedule and administer these functions, making you look effortless as your perfectly pressed napkin sunflowers.  And I’m not the only one – from freelance photogs who come in and shoot an entire years of blog pics over a weekend, to the web designer who makes sure your follow buttons are the perfect shade of cornflower blue, there is a whole cottage industry revolving around making someone’s high ranking blog look like a one superwoman show.

This is not to say that all bloggers who make money off this stuff are liars.  Far from it.  I know many a blogger who are that adept with an icing bag and white box for photography, and really do make it look very easy.  They are incredibly well organized, and tend to be stay at home parents/spouses.   They are not getting home from work at 7 pm to a house that hasn’t been touched since 7.30 that morning, this is what they do pretty much 24/7.

You are not them.

Blogging is the same as any other form of commerce – marketing is involved.  Theatricality is employed, white lies are told, and people buy into it.  The Wizard of Oz is usually nothing more than a little old man with a lot of machinery.  (I even know one popular ‘mommy’ blogger who isn’t a mommy – those are her nieces and nephews!) Ansoff’s Matrix is alive and well in the digital world.  Comparing your stuff to the images on Pinterest is as useless as comparing your beef bourguignon to Anthony Bourdain’s…it’s not a fair fight.  For some ungodly reason, we’ve gotten it into our heads to take our ‘keeping up with the Jonses’ out of the real world and into the world of literally ephemera.  If you take nothing else away, please know…

This?  This isn’t real.  This is a collection of data packets.  Don’t compare yourself to a gaggle of 1′s and o’s.  You are better than that.  

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