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Greetings!,
 Gosh, is this weather spectacular, or what?!?!?!?! Hopefully it will be this pretty next Monday, for the Kindred Spirits Golf Tournament. Have you signed up yet? The good news is that I will be out of town and unable to participate. And why is this good news? You see, I don't just suck at golf - I suck in such an agressive way that I could have potentially gummed up the whole tourney for the rest of you! Anywho, it sounds like a lot of fun, and I am sorry to miss it.
 In other news, be sure to check out the upcoming AssistHers event called Un Soiree Pelouse. It's an afternoon tea party sort of event, featuring live performances, lots of drinking and dancing (and I have been assured that the music will NOT be that relentless thudding club music!), plus a drawing for a cruise to any destination in the world! This is a costume event, themed around Alice in Wonderland. And just in case you don't happen to have full Alice in Wonderland drag attire in your closet, you can get your costume ideas here. Tickets are only $25 and you can buy them on-line. Ya know, when I first heard about this event, I thought that it would be mostly men, but the organizers assure me that they have sold lots of tickets to women, so don't be left out of the fun!
And finally, Anita's Bar and Grill is holding a Lady's Night on Tuesday. I'd never heard of this Montrose area spot before, but the reviews say that the food is great and the atmosphere is a lot of fun. For Lady's Night, they'll be featuring a movie form 7 to 9, then dancing on the patio from 9 til 2. Drink specials and give aways will round out the fun.
As always, you can find out the scoop about these and other community events by visiting the Calendar page of Social Notes.
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Upcoming "Don't Miss" Events
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Be sure to check the Calendar page of Social Notes for more details on each of these fine events.
Tuesday, 4/14: Lady's Night at Anita's Bar and Grill
- Saturday, 4/18: Fluff the Kat plays at Slick Willie's in Montrose
Saturday, 4/18: Houston Energy (Women's Prof  essional Football Team) plays the Atlanta Xplosion
- Tuesday, 4/21: HRC Social at BRB, featuring the Houston Lariats dance team
- Saturday 4/25: Kindred Spirits Golf Tournament
- Sunday, 4/26: Un Soiree Pelouse, a fundraiser for AssistHers
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"Save The Date" and purchase your tickets now for these future events!
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 Even though these events may be a few weeks down the road, you need to buy your tickets and/or make your reservations NOW, girlfriend! You can find out all the details, including ticket purchase information, by visiting the Calendar Page of Social Notes
- Saturday, 4/12: Bunnies on the Bayou
- Saturday, 4/25: Kindred Spirits Golf Tournament
- Sunday, 4/26: Un Soiree Pelouse
- Saturday, 5/16 and Tuesday, 5/19: Bayou City Women's Chorus presents "Africa"
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The Rant
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Tax Day is coming up Wednesday, and that has inspired the incredibly shrinking Right Wing, along with various other malcontents, to create an event that they are calling Tea Bagging. Good lord, they should really get someone "In The Know" to check out the names they pick! For example, Teabagging wouldn't have been MY first choice for an event name, since it refers to a specific sex act that I would prefer not to explain here (see Wikipedia). Somehow, I doubt that the conservative version of Teabagging has anything to do with testicles, but they have proven to be such pervs lately that ya just never know.
Anywho, THEIR version of tea bagging involves supposedly grass roots gatherings of frustrated citizens, waving tea bags in some sort of homage to the Boston Tea Party. uh huh....well, several problems with that whole idea: First of all, what exactly is it that they are protesting? We just passed one of the largest tax cuts in history - a tax cut that for once will actually benefit the middle class. And even the tax increases that are being proposed on the wealthy only increase the tax percentage by about 4% - hardly the stuff of Socialism (unless you live in their peculiar little world, I guess!)
Or perhaps they are frustrated at government spending. Naw, that can't be it - otherwise they would have risen up during BushCo's reign of economic terror.
I think they're just mad cause they not only lost the November elections, they got TROUNCED, and are having trouble dealing with the notion that their side has virtually no power now. Oh well, far be it from me to deny the disaffected the right to angrily wave tea bags in a protesting sort of way. Organizers are projecting that "millions" will be gathering to raise their voices on Wednesday, yet info from most of the sign-up websites suggests that most cities might see maybe 100 participants.
But let's disabuse the notion that this is some sort of grass roots uprising. The events have been relentlessly promoted by Faux News and their resident Howard Beale nominee, Glenn Beck. Funding is coming from the extremely far right wing oil family, the Kochs (and NO, I do NOT think their name is pronounced kook!). My liberal web sites call this Astroturfing - the attempt to make something look like a grass roots effort, when it is in fact being organized and controlled by some big corporate or political entity. (And for today's lagniappe, check out the end of this Rant for the history of Astroturf!).
Did you find my Howard Beale reference to be a bit obscure? He was the crazy news anchor in the movie "Network". You might remember him from the phrase he encouraged his viewers to shout: "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!". It is amazing how prophetic that movie was in showing how network news gets totally co-opted by the need for entertainment and rankings. We watched in horror as the network execs encouraged Howard Beale's increasing mania, but I guarantee that Beale never said anything half as wacky as Glenn Beck has been spewing lately! But I digress...
I have no real sympathy for these people whose ideas have been so roundly rejected at the ballot box. We liberals were in the political desert for 8 years, and the Republican ruling aristocracy made our lives miserable. As they say, paybacks are hell. And until the rethugs can come up with some fresh ideas, their time in the wilderness might last a lot longer than 8 years!
I personally hope they DO come up with new ideas and some credible leaders. Our country needs at least two vibrant and strong political parties to keep an even keel. But at the rate they are going now, the Republicans seem doomed to become a regional party of disaffected southern whites, rallying around the cry of Gods, Guns and Gays. Good luck with THAT!
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And here's today's lagniappe, as promised above: The history of Astroturf. And might I note that as Houstonians, you all should know this story, since it is party of our heritage!
When the Astrodome opened in 1965, it was the world's first domed stadium. The original roof tiles were clear, so that the sun could shine through on the original natural grass turf. Unfortunately, the outfielders couldn't handle the glare coming off the ceiling panels, and were dropping fly balls left and right. Soooooo, the panels were then painted, to stop the glare. Which worked for the outfielders, but killed the grass. What to do??? Monsanto Corporation came to the rescue, developing the first synthetic turf, which they called Astroturf, in honor of the first stadium at which it was installed.
Originally, we thought that Astroturf would cut down on the sports injuries that are caused when cleats catch in natural grass. Well, it sorta helped there, but in true testimony to the Law of Unintended Consequences, it caused a frightening array of other career-limiting injuries. Today, most stadiums have returned to natural grass, to the delight of athlete's knees everywhere!
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Professional Pointers
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 This is a new feature of Social Notes, in which different professionals within our community will share their advice/wisdom/tips for success with all my loyal readers. If you are a professional with advice to share, please shoot me an email to discuss what you'd like to present.
Cheap Tip from Springboard Works
Most businesses want to grow....meaning; they want to sell more stuff! Social Media platforms are a free way of reaching hundreds of prospective customers without investing any money. So, how do you use Social Media applications like Linked In, Facebook, and Twitter to deliver your companies Personal Brand?
Start by signing up for these applications and searching for companies from solo-preneurs to Fortune 100's who are branding themselves on Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogger and
Twitter. Social Media is NOT just for socializing with friends and family. These applications are highly accessible and scalable publishing technologies that facilitate communications, influence and interaction with peers and public audiences.
To state it simply, social media includes words, pictures, videos and audio to help businesses interact and share their stories and experiences through user generated or consumer generated content. (Thanks to Wikipedia for the definition).
Personalize your business and give it a BRAND following. One of my favorite examples of using a blog to create a personal brand is Leyendecker Landscaping. Make your blog your
personal brand...identify it on a personal level; show your passion around your business; Identify with your intended audience.
My company, Springboard Works, is having the first in a series of Lunch and Learns on Social Media Unveiled....sign up for our workshop at Social Media Unveiled-Low Cost/No Cost Marketing using Social Networking or email me.
Shelley Roth
President
Springboard Works
http://www.springboardworks.com/
(713) 937-1006
sroth@springboardworks.com
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So Long!
 Well, that's all for this week. I hope you manage to spend some time outdoors while the weather is this nice. Call in "well", and take the day off!
Sincerely,
Carol Wyatt
Social Notes
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