Da Goddess

So far so good. Blogging from my cellphone, thus errors likely.

Boston Maggie’s here. Lovely lady. Kind of cool to be meeting people I’ve known only through fundraisers and such.

Tom Goering from NavyCyberSpace is here. Can’t say I was familiar with his site before, but I am now. Worth checking out!

Toby Nunn and J.D. Johannes (again not 100% on spelling or linkage, but I’ll fact/spellcheck later) are both on panel at the moment. Point of discussion is current technology and social media are driving the truth of battle and the way reporting happens. General Petraeus addressed the Milbloggers via video and says new media/tech have changed the game completely. And there’s more to military and new media than some Lady Gaga mashup. Yes, Petraeus invoked the name of Gaga.

From troops being able to document encounters with civilians to troops staying in touch with family and friends, technology has created an enhanced battlefield experience.
For families, the advantage, of course, is contact and reducing the distance between hearts.

For military, entering a village, they’re being photographed and video’d by locals, so it behooves the troops to have their own images and video to complete the picture. Plus, with media now part of the battlefield (“get used to it”), the troops can help disseminate the facts instead of spin.

It’s all for the betterment of the military.

Also discussed: embeds. Yon, Johannes, Rademacher, and even Blake himself on behalf of Blackfive.

Best part of embeds and social media: self-correcting nature. Instead of erroneous info being left to stand in public eye — say, by the Washington Post — bloggers or other embeds have the ability to update info quickly and the readership gets to the truth faster, which helps to spread the word and hopefully inform general public of this.

Taliban is just as capable of using social media as battlespace, so our military must stay in this battle as well.

Smartphones vs. security an issue.

Lots of things I would never have guessed happening on/in the battlefield/battlespace.

Smartphones or video cams used as proof of action/mission for al Qaeda and insurgents able to submit that proof for payment. “Damage is done” with video, regardless of whether or not loss of life or bodily injury occurred…terrorists spread the hurt without actually doing anything. Video goes viral and it’s a done deal. Hard to counter that with traditional media. New media/social media combat this. It’s immediate. And it IS combat.

The enemy’s audience is the rabid consumer of bad information.

Finally met Matt Burden! Only been how many years??

Also met C. frm Villainous Company.

Team Rubicon in da house! Little Dude proudly wears his shirt often.

Lots of finer points to cover. Have to refer to notes later.

———–

Part Two — Military Spouses

Mrs P and Cassandra discuss the impact of blogging/Internet on social ties and helping families transition from military to civilian life. From Mrs. P’s loss of her husband to C’s husand retiring the network of support becomes greater because of the Internet.

More than names and numbers, our troops are people and there are families and friends who love them. Blogging and social media help to keep that reality in the public eye.

Internet is instant and allows geography to melt away. t
Time zones actually become helpful in that being awake and needing a friendly word at 3am…there’s every chance a friend halfway around the world will be awake and be there for you.

Also, as a military spouse (or anyone) online, there is a great responsibility to represent your spouse and yourself well.

Special edition…just for

Let’s start with the expected.

And the obscure.

And now the lovely.

And the truly gorgeous.

“We do blues, rhythm & blues, jazz, funk, soul. We can handle rock, pop, country, heavy metal, fusion, hip hop, rap, Motown, operetta, show tunes. In fact, we’ve even been called upon, on occasion, to do a polka! However Caribbean is a type of music, I regret to say, which has not been, is simply not, nor will ever be a part of this band’s repertoire.”

Don’t google it. Just…use your best guessing power and guess who said that.

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to post in the comments musical names, ideas, concepts you’d like to see in upcoming Two-fer Tuesday posts.

This post stays at the top all week.

Let’s have some fun with it. I’m all about having fun!

Example 1: “DG, I’d like to see a bunch of rockin’ videos from cartoon characters!”

Example 2: “Yo, bitch, come up with some killer shit from Lita Ford or I’ll cut ya!”

Example 3: “Excuse me, could we possibly have a two-fer about anything related to fruit, vegetables, or perhaps English pasties? Thank you, ever so.”

Bring it on, my friends. Bring. it. on. Make me work for it. Make me earn my 2¢ every three months. C’mon. Challenge me, darlings!

The best kind of wolf is a Laughing Wolf. I mean, if you can’t bring a somber wolf into your life (say, the one from Little Red Riding Hood…although he was more murderous than straight out somber, to be fair), if you can’t have a somber wolf, go for one who’s more jovial, more personable, you know?

It’s been a long time coming, but I finally met the one today. Picked him up from the airport and finally got in a proper hello. Funny that we’ve been friends for so long, yet had never met in real life. It was good to be able to give him a hug and then sit around talking face to face instead of spending hours conversing over the phone as we have been wont to do in the past.

Now I face and a presence to go with the voice and laughter. Plus, I got to learn a lot more about Cooking with the Troops, which is a rather amazing organization. Over the next few days, I hope to be able to learn enough about the organization to come back here and get YOU all excited and make this your new favorite charity. I don’t want to speak out of turn here and present you with wrong facts, but I can tell you this is bigger than just cooking for our military. Yes sirree, bub. There’s a lot going on. And I will bring you the all the juicy details over the coming days.

So, here I sit, having met the wolf who laughs (good thing I’m a damn chuckling rhino, eh?)…getting excited about Blog World Expo’s military track. There will be a good many people I’ve admired in that room whom I will be able to meet and/or see again and I’m looking forward to it.

I’ll be here, ready to share what I learn along the way. And if you’re all good boys and girls, I may bring you photos of the event. (And I have it on good authority there will be wonderful surprises along the way.)

And there’s really nothing more that needs to be said.

Sometimes you just have to go there.

I’m such a dork. But a lucky and happy dork.

I got to meet Colin Hay (Men At Work)! Met his lovely wife who provided backing vocals and dancing, Cecilia Noel, too.

Concert in the park. I was practically sitting onstage. It was wonderfully intimate and absolutely perfect. He played all my favorite songs, except for “Water Song”. I teared up when he played “Waiting For My Real Life To Begin”. I love that song. It speaks to that part of all of us that hesitates, that holds back, that fails to live in the present — ever-waiting for what might be. It’s likely one of the most apt songs ever written. And he played it beautifully.

Oh no I di’int! (Oh, yeah…I totally did!) More photos to come. Just wanted to post a few before bed.

My my my, it’s a beautiful world. And I’m a happy girl.

Still waiting on meeting Neil Finn, but the wait’s suddenly become more bearable.

Gang, we’re at $7,000 right now. We need at least another $7k to make this a successful run.

So, here’s the deal: Any three images* from my Fundraiser Collection or from the 2009 Collection are yours as 8×10 digital downloads for a donation of $120 or more to the Boobiethon. The only exception are *the photos of the teens. Images of the kids are not for sale. HOWEVER, a photo session like that is available to you and a friend for a donation of $250. You will receive at least 90 minutes of a cool ass shoot with lights, camera, and some styling. Makeup is all yours though. You will walk away with at least 5 photographs of you looking awesome — available on disc, digital download, or as prints, your call!

To make a donation for this session, you must present me with a copy of your donation dated between Oct. 1 and Oct. 10 (extra time to catch up) to either Susan G. Komen or Nature.org on behalf of Boobiethon. Travel, food, and lodging to, from, and in Las Vegas is your responsibility. We simply provide photographic services at a special FUNdraiser price. Daytime/nighttime, it’s up to you. We can go to The Strip for a glam night of paparazzi fun, hit a studio for a fantasy shoot, or rock it out in the desert or on a dry lake bed and work with all the drama nature likes to serve up.

Simply go to the Boobiethon 2010 page, make your donation, register it with Boobiethon and then come back here, leaving me a comment with a valid email address. I will contact you, get your confirmation information, and we will work out all the details.

Now let’s get to saving some boobies!

Only two days (today and tomorrow) left of and we’ve just hit the $6,000 mark. Last year we took in over $13,000 in a week’s time. This year? We’re lagging.

Thanks to all who have donated. Please encourage others to donate as well. Breast cancer is everyone’s disease. Let’s do our best to raise money, expand research, and save some lives.

Spread the word and share the joy of BOOOOOOBIES!

Y’all are still checking out right? Donating? Participating? Supporting the fight against breast cancer!

Tell you what, grab hold your pair, be they big or small, male or female, and do your self-exam while you listen to these songs.

Before you start the second part, go call friends and encourage them to start their self-breast exams while they, too, listen along. And take this day to talk to those around you about early detection and early treatment being the key to fighting this disease.

* Every 13 minutes, someone dies of breast cancer.

* Early detection of breast cancer, through monthly breast self-exam and particularly yearly mammography after age 40, offers the best chance for survival.

* Ninety-six percent of women who find and treat breast cancer early will be cancer-free after five years.

* You are never too young to develop breast cancer! Breast Self-Exam should begin by the age of twenty.

Educate and communicate. Two of the most important components of providing help in this fight against cancer.

Y’all are still checking out right? Donating? Participating? Supporting the fight against breast cancer!

Tell you what, grab hold your pair, be they big or small, male or female, and do your self-exam while you listen to these songs.

Now it’s time for you to act! Go forth and share the news.

From the Susan G. Komen website:

Anyone can get breast cancer. For example, did you know…

* the older a woman, the more likely she is to get breast cancer?

* young women can and do get breast cancer, even in their 20s?

* white women are more likely to get breast cancer than women of any other racial or ethnic group?

* African American women are more likely to die from breast cancer than white women?

* men can get breast cancer? Out of every one hundred cases of breast cancer, one will occur in a man.

Educate and communicate. Two of the most important components of providing help in this fight against cancer.

Gah, sometimes I’m so dense.

You know how it is. You blog. You write stuff. You vent. You work through all the garbage floating around in your head. It’s what you do. And I’ve been doing this for…8 1/2 years? Yeah. That long. And still I’ve not learned my lesson. That lesson being: doesn’t matter that you think something is anonymous and just rambling, working things out sort of writing. People will eventually stumble upon what you write and see that you’ve written about them and be hurt.

I feel shitty for hurting someone’s feelings. Really shittty. To the point where I want to vomit. (Y’all know how much I hate vomit, right?) I’ve apologized, but I know that’s not enough. You can’t unhurt someone’s feelings with handful of I’m sorries. It doesn’t work that way.

How many times have I censored myself here? For how many people? Yeah. I’ve done it willingly, too, because I’d rather not hurt other people. But when I open my mouth and insert my foot, I do it in the most idiotic way.

So, like everything else, I’m blathering on to try and wrap my head around being so stupid.

As a dear friend told me, “Anyone who knows you knows you wouldn’t intentionally hurt the feelings of someone you care about.” That’s true. Still doesn’t make it unhappen. And as a childhood friend just told me, “you can only learn”, and that’s what I hope to do.

Consider me a work in progress.

Little Dude is 14 today. FOURTEEN.

Time sure does rush by. Seems like he was just 3 or 5 or even 10. And now all of a sudden, my little boy is fourteen years old.

There’s so much more I want to say and it’s stuck somewhere between my heart and my fingers. Oh well.

I love you, Little Dude! Happy birthday!

Time to think pink and get those links out to the annual Boobie-thon!

As we have every single year since this event began, Boobie-thon will be donating money raised to the Susan G. Komen foundation. Also, as voted on by bloggers and supporters of Boobie-thon, you may also choose to donate money to Nature.org to help clean up the Gulf.

I am very proud and honored to, once again, be a part of this great event. Last year, Boobie-thon raised over $13,000. Please spread the word and encourage support so that we can beat that total this year! What started off as something a little on the silly side turned into something very serious and kind of a big deal. Not only are we raising money to find a cure for breast cancer, but we’re raising awareness and helping educate women (and men!) on the need for monthly self-breast exams. Education is a crucial part of this battle. Armed with knowledge, we can identify suspicious lumps and bumps sooner and get them checked out by a physician. If we can catch breast cancer early enough, we can fight it and win! Plus, let’s not forget all the great strides made in the search for a cure. Perhaps one day, in our lifetimes, we can wave goodbye to breast cancer instead of saying goodbye to loved ones. Donate. Participate. Get involved. Get to checking! C’mon, you’re not alone.

If you’re interested in participating — donating photos of cleavage, or more; donating money; or possibly editing photos…anything — head on over to the Boobie-thon website to get started.

If you look carefully, you may even spy a photo or two of yours truly in the paid section. No faces shown, of course, but I think you might be able to figure out which are my photo submissions. I had a great photographer and together we created something lovely. It was a pleasure to work with my friend over the past few months, knowing the whole time that some of these images would end up as part of Boobie-thon history.

You still here? Really? Why are you reading this when you could be looking at all the beautiful images over at Boobie-thon?

On behalf of my Aunt Joan…this is for you!