Chris Guillebeau on his “Art of Non-Conformity” blog suggests promoting someone else when you’re facing inertia about your own work.
That’s easy to do in referring to Adweek’s blog, Adfreak, always a fantastic source for insights and samples of ads around the world, and a great playground for multiculturalists fascinated by the construction and representation of culture from [...]

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My husband’s a bigger John Wayne fan that me (our pet goldfish is a bigger John Wayne fan than me, but that’s beside the point).  He grew up in Brazil watching and loving the old John Wayne movies. 
 “I do love his ‘swagger’ though” I admitted.
 “You mean his “arrastando pé?” my husband asked, providing the popular [...]

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I find myself running around today singing “Rockin Around the Christmas Tree” and “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas”.  And with 6 inches of snow on the ground in Chicago, Bing Crosby’s (above) White Christmas is at the top of my list, too.
As my son says “you’re not even Christian.”  But that doesn’t stop me from [...]

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You know how at your kid’s school there’s always that one “uber” mom–the one who is always organizing things, bringing treats, she’s at all the assemblies and really seems to be on top of everything? 
There’s one of those at my son’s Hebrew School.  Only she isn’t Jewish.
I was reminded of her as I finished writing [...]

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You probably know one of each.  The one who picks up little things here and there over the course of the year, when things are on sale, and is ready for Christmas on December 1, and the one who walks the sales clerk out the door as it closes on December 24. 
The result is the same.  [...]

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What book did you read?
Home of the Brave, by Kathleen Applegate
It’s about a kid who goes to America from Africa.  The story is about him and his relationship with this cow.  Its name is Gol, which means family in Africa.  He moves to America because of the war in Sudan.
Why do you think this book [...]

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Dillon, bless his little heart, at only 8 years old had to get a root canal last week.  He had broken his tooth while playing last March, and unfortunately it had gotten infected.
But that’s not the real story.  My husband was in the room with him as the Dentist got started.  “Would you like some [...]

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Remember the old adage ‘the best way to remember your story is to tell the truth?’  Well, it’s the same with Intercultural Communications.  The best way to interact with others is to be keenly aware of yourself…but also hyper sensitive and to the individuality and autonomous experience of others around you.
 Good news?  These tips apply [...]

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Walking in to teach aqua aerobics this morning, I looked across the sea of blue hair, wrinkles and skirted suits and remembered the ladies at the swimming pool at my Grandma’s apartment complex in Miami Beach:  “Don’t splash honey” they would say, plastic bags covering their freshly teased hair.  I was 5…how do you swim without splashing?
So I started [...]

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My problem with representations of women in advertising is not that they’re beautiful, nor, given my delight with this ad, that they’re scantily clad.  Apparently it’s more of a “boys against girls” mentality.
I like this ad because, basically, the girl “wins.” She’s smarter, stronger, slyer, and ‘wins,’ while teaching the boys a thing or two [...]

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