carriefreelance newsletter
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June 2007
issue #3
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 Catch a Wave
Dear :
In honor of summer, I have focused the last few months on redesign. That is why
I have refreshed this newsletter with a groovy 60's template, updated my web site with some fun features (see technology trends story below), and even updated my blog with an easier to read format, including lots of cool icons (including a user ready YouTube link...I couldn't help myself), and a subscriber widget so readers can easily click and sign on. So please feel free to subscribe to my blog. May topics on my blog include a salute to "slow food," a remembrance of Lucy, going American Idol-less, and more. I hope you enjoy all these new features...please don't hesitate to e-mail me at carrie@carriefreelance.com and let me know your thoughts on the matter, and anything else you wish to share, including ideas for possible features.
I hope that in honor of summer, you too will enjoy whatever it is that refreshes you, whether it be a day at the beach, a bike ride, a mountain hike, or even staying home with a little popcorn and lemonade and watching "Endless Summer," the 1966 surfing classic I caught on tv the other night, that gives new meaning to the expression, "Catch a Wave." I have to say, it really put me in beach mode.
A few light "summer" factoids, just to put you in the mood...
*"The Endless Summer" is one of the first and most influential films of the surf movie genre, creating and defining an entire category of cinema which has endured and evolved for the past 40 years since its release in 1966.
*In 2002 it was added to the list of films preserved in the United States National Film Registry.
*"The Beach Boys" has sold the most top 40 hits of any U.S. rock band and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.
*Paul McCartney has named The Beach Boys "Pet Sounds" one of his favorite albums of all time (with "God Only Knows" as his favorite song).
*"The Summer of Love" refers to the summer of 1967, particularly in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, where thousands of young people from all over the world loosely and freely united for a new social experience. As a result, the hippie counterculture movement came into being. Cool.
*Americans eat over 17 lbs of watermelon each year. The largest one according to the Guinness Book of World Records, weighed 262 pounds. Watermelons are actually vegetables, related to the cucumber family. Who knew?
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Latest carriefreelance News
I was thrilled to meet Quinn Fry, managing editor of OCNow.com and one of the hosts of "OC Live" and Channel 3, who presented me with theatre tickets. We were the happy winners of tickets to see the American premiere of "The Master of the House" at the Laguna Playhouse, and it proved to be one of the best plays we have ever seen. Written by Shmuel Hasfari and set in Tel Aviv, where its premiere would earn the 2003 Israel Theatre Academy Award for Best Play, it touches on Israel's history from its 20th Century resurrection to the daily threats to destroy it.
- Writing: Articles for Today's Woman of Orange County
I wrote two more articles for Today's Woman, one about the wine franchise "Winestyles," which is becoming an increasingly popular way for consumers to purchase wines without having to know a whole about them except if they're in the mood for "sweetish," or "tartish" etc. Can you say "fruity?" You're in! The other piece was a profile of an Orange County based business woman who helps start up companies get off the ground, and even helps provide financing at the get-go.
- Web Site: See My Movie
If you go to my home page and click on the butterfly, can you view the short film I made to provide visitors with some fun information about me. There must be something in the southern California air to suddenly make me want to start filming... Oscar party, anyone?
- Consulting: White Paper on Organics
I wrote a White Paper currently being featured online for a design firm focusing on the luxury market. It's called "Beyond Birkenstocks - When Green is the New Gold," and discusses how not only is it chic to be green these days, but downright mandatory. I discuss how to live green and indulge, in the way we dress, eat, clean, and travel. Live long and "sustainably," everyone. Click on the link above for my home page, and then click on the planet earth image.
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Grammar Tip of the Day: It's vs. It is
Its (without the apostrophe) is used as the possessive form of the word. For example, "the company is doing well, reporting its highest earnings in years."
It's is a contraction of "it is" or "it has."
For example, "It's so easy to fall in love."
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Technology Trends
Blogging Teleseminar
I participated in a teleseminar recently about blogging, hosted by Branding experts Reach Communications in New York City, and featuring guest blogger Andy Wibbels, considered to be a leading expert on how small businesses can use blogging to maximize their web presence. I learned some great tips:
*blogs add warmth and personality to web sites, so you should not be afraid to be yourself on your blog. (No problem for me!)
*A blog should be updated 2-3 times a week.
*You can increase your web visibility by adding links to other blogs on your blog, and requesting links from others.
*Videoblogging is one of the next big trends we'll see popping up.
*You can monetize your blog by adding google Ad Sense words and ads, but this is not for everyone. Some people may want a more professional image then a blog sprinkled with ads. In this case, use your blog to increase your newsletter subscriptions or capture e-mail leads.
*Don't know what to blog about? Look at your last batch of Sent e-mails. There's probably something in there worth writing about or expanding on.
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One Minute Movie Review of "Waitress" and Prize Offer to Subscribers Only
Carrie's First Video Blog to Arrive via e-mail!
The "This Could Have Been a Better Movie" Pie
What's Kelly Russell doing in my e-newsletter? Good question. If you are a subscriber to my newsletter, you will receive an e-mail in the next few days with my video review of this movie! In order to celebrate my first "video blog," I am announcing a special prize, here's how it works....
There's a soundtrack I use on the video that's my one of my favorite singers. If you can guess the soundtrack, (name of the artist is fine, I won't torture you with the album name), e-mail me at carrie@carriefreelance.com and you will be entered into a drawing to win a special prize!
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Online Spotlight
The Green - Sundancechannel.com
Some of you may have caught "Big Ideas
for a Small Planet" airing Tuesday nights on the Sundance Channel. If you
haven't seen the tv show yet, you must. Some of the segments were truly
groundbreaking, including the debut of the film
"Crapshoot," a very
scary look at the nation's sewage treatments facilities and the problem
of sewage and the environment. It was really disturbing to learn that
80% of Canada's coastal communities dump raw sewage into their waters.
Ug! Many of the segments are available through video links online. The
site features ecovideos, and guides to greener living. Hats off to Robert Redford, who
continues to be a real pioneer in environmental preservation and
sustainability.
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Guest Interview with
Derek Abbott
A Modern Day Troubadour
We got to know Derek Abbott's music
through some music videos of his we stumbled onto on You Tube. We
instantly
grew enamored of his lyrical style and original
interpretation of the classics, such as "All Gone to Look for America,"
"Norwegian Wood," "Close Your Eyes," and many others. In this
interview, Derek talks about his musical influences, his inspiration
for writing, and his thoughts on today's music, and his collaboration
with - yes, you guessed it--(Matthew) Costello. Derek lives in Virginia
with his wife Barbara, who is also a musician. Click on the links in
this article to sample some of his music.
Q:You wrote in your bio about seeing The Beatles on Ed Sullivan in 1964 and that was "it" for you. What was it about the Beatles that inspired you so much, and what do you think the greatest influence of the Beatles is on today's music?
A:
I was well into music before 1964, having grown up in a household where
my dad was a music lover and played his records all the time. So I
appreciated the music of the 30's and 40's through him. We also had the
radio tuned to the contemporary popular station of the time that played
the hits of the day. I was born at the end of 1951, so I grew up
listening to all the musicians who were actually creating a new sound,
a combination of musical styles that disc jockey Alan Freed coined
"Rock and Roll."
Many of these early rock and roll pioneers influenced
not only me, but the whole world, of course. Elvis and the other Sun
Record artists were among the pioneers of this new sound. The Beatles
were being influenced by the early artists of rock and roll as well.
They took their influences and combined them with their own creativity
to produce a fresh, new sound that opened up a whole new world in the
music industry. Their early records contained cover songs of some
American artists like Chuck Berry and Smokey Robinson, but they were
also writing most of their material even from their first album. Their
harmonies were influenced by the Everly Brothers, and they put a new
twist on it by adding a third part. At the time the Beatles came out
there was nothing like them. Their sound, their look, their
personalities and mass appeal, were phenomenal.
As a 12 year-old kid
with an interest and background in music already, seeing the Beatles
perform on the Ed Sullivan show lit the spark that became my creative
desire--I wanted to play music and sing and have a band and write
songs. It was the beginning of an era in modern pop music that would
take rock and roll to its greatest heights. And as the Beatles
progressed through the years, they were the innovators, setting the
standard for all who followed. I think that's why they have such appeal
and influence on many new artists of every generation that comes along.
I feel so fortunate to have been a part of that era...to have grown
with them from the time they took America and the world by storm.
Hundreds of years from now when most of todays artists are long
forgotten, there will be the Beatles. Their music and their legend will
live forever.
For more of the interview, click here...
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Technology Trends
Google Street View
Now you can take a virtual trip with the Street Viewer tool of Google maps. In addition to zooming in from above, you can now get images that show you what it is like to walk on 5th Avenue in New York City or on the Las Vegas Strip. You can look at luxury hotels and landmarks just like you would from your own car. Street View imagery will initially be available for maps of the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Las Vegas, Denver and Miami, and will soon expand to other metropolitan areas. By clicking on the "Street View" button in Google Maps, users can navigate street level, panoramic imagery. With Street View users can virtually walk the streets of a city, check out restaurants before arriving, and even zoom in on bus stops and street signs to make travel plans.
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