My Contribution to a Documentary about my Favorite Pinup Model

I am so excited to be a part of the Bettie Page Reveals All documentary about my favorite pinup legend! She is the often-imitated icon whose life was complicated and controversial, and who unintentionally helped inspire the feminist revolution of the 1960s after her mysterious disappearance into seclusion in 1957. Before she passed away in 2008, she spilled the full story in her own words through a series of interviews with Academy-Award nominated filmmaker Mark Mori, who is now directing and producing the documentary.

It's not like me to be star-struck but Bettie is one of only two exceptions. So when I saw a posting on a Bettie Page newsletter asking for Photoshop experts to work on her film, you can imagine my response. I am honored to help out with such an exciting project and all of the images I have been working on only serve to make me more excited to see the final film, which premiered at the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender yesterday.

I made this video while I was working on one of her photos as a "teaser."



Of course, it is a real tease; you can barely see any of Bettie except for a tiny thumbnail on the right at the end... but hey, that's fitting with her personality, too! I can assure you the full shot is just lovely.

Season's Greetings or, My Obligatory Year-In-Review

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year! I would like to share this e-Card with you which I [snail] mailed to all of my clients, before I indulge in a bit of self-reflection.

I am writing this post while on the road with my MacBook Air and a mobile hotspot, somewhere between Daytona Beach Shores, FL and Charlotte, NC. Actually, to be more exact, we are on Route 26 West near Columbia, SC. I spent New Year's Eve with my boyfriend in downtown Orlando, FL and in a few days, we will return to central NJ, all the while listening to audiobooks like Einstein's biography and "7 Habits of Highly Effective People."

Looking back over the year, I've made many changes in 2011 which have allowed me to mobilize my work, explore new parts of the country, and learn what it takes to be an entrepreneur. I am proud to have done my first Bikram yoga class in Chicago, IL, nearly completed a 30-day Bikram yoga challenge, collaborated with fellow bloggers, worked with talented photographers, interviewed a top international dance music producer, established and nurtured several key partnerships, and hired contractors including voice-over talent, a User Interface designer, and PHP developers for some "pet projects" which I expect to be launched next year. I can't believe how much I've grown this year, and I look forward enthusiastically to 2012 in which I will set even more lofty goals for myself and strive to reach them.

If you're still reading at this point -- and I'm honored that you are -- I WISH YOU A FANTASTIC 2012!!!

Till the next post,

-A

An Epic Journey West, and Back Again

A week ago I returned from a month-long road trip, whose primary purpose was to bring my friend Rachman and I to the Burning Man festival in Nevada, but whose secondary purpose was to see as much of the country and friends as possible along the way. Therefore, we chose a Northern route outbound, and a Southern route inbound, not necessarily the most efficient but certainly the most interesting. I had only been "Out West" once with my family when I was much younger, in an RV we affectionately called by its brand name Lindy. Seeing some of these sights for the second time with adult eyes was very rewarding, and seeing plenty of new ones as well. We toted our laptops, an mp3 player loaded with audiobooks and hour-long mixes from our favorite artists, a very handy GPS, and one printed guidebook. Our unplanned stops involved coffee, WiFi, restroom breaks, and tips from the local business owners. Our planned stops are mapped out below!

The route out...

View The Road to Burning Man in a larger map

The route home...

View Roadtrip Back to New Jersey in a larger map

In total, we drove about 7,156 mi, or about 5 days 2 hours (over a 4-week period). Our longest nonstop leg was roughly 18 hours, when we *ahem - Rachman* decided to forego Salt Lake City, UT and get right to Reno, NV where friends were waiting. He took the wheel overnight and we got to Reno at about 10 am on Thursday before Burning Man, leaving us plenty of time to explore Lake Tahoe, "float the river," and purchase camping supplies from the local Walmart. It was certainly the experience of a lifetime but, with any luck, I'll have another one soon!

Some Humorous, Some Serious Unemployment Posts

• Cracking up at "Between Jobs: The Blog," written by a woman named Pam Bellemare who was recently laid off. I particularly enjoyed the "What to do with old business cards" post on March 5. Being that business cards only cost a few bucks from my favorite printing site, I'm almost tempted to get some just to cut up!
• Cracking a smile at "Unemploymentality: The definitive unemployment blog" by John Henion. Too much free time? John has a more sarcastic twist than my take in his "Four social causes endorsed by the Unemploymentality" post.
• Nodding at a March 6th post "5 Things to do when you're unemployed. Hint: It's not job hunting." by Penelope Trunk of Brazen Careerist.
• Shrugging at the kind of advice that you don't want to hear but probably need to hear more often in the "Tools for Life Blog." A post by Erika Mitchell from November 2008 entitled "Top 5 Things to Do When Unemployed" contains practical items such as "Exercise." "Learn." There now you don't have to read it.
• Sighing at a post from 2003 by a woman named Tara Alexandra Kachaturoff. A reminder that this has happened before and we'll all make it through again: "The Top 10 Things To Do When You're Unemployed."

Deƨigual at Macy's - I'm Seeing Stars!

"Afterwards we went into a shop called Deƨigual where a unique jacket had caught my eye. The jacket was really expensive but I ended up with a brightly-colored top and a new favorite store."
- Spring break last year in Barcelona

Last weekend I went shopping for a business suit at the Center City Macy's in Philadelphia. Glanced over to the designer clothing department for a minute, spotted a unique-looking jacket and said to my friend, "That reminds me of a design I fell in love with in Spain last spring," looked at the label and sure enough, Deƨigual! So excited to see them making their American debut, unfortunately the price tag is about the same - around $450 for the jacket, which is similar to the €300 price tag I saw last year. What can I say, I have good taste.

Here's the Spring '09 promotional video on YouTube: