Day 994

I'm finished with my WWD Magic assignment. All my articles have been submitted. The videos have been edited and shipped off to their final destinations. I'm sure I was the oldest blogger at this prestigious show. The halls were filled with young girls who had their own fashion blog. Out of curiosity, I visited a few of these blogs and they all had a much larger audience than a certain blogger who writes about Dalmatians all the time. These kids were the new media you hear people talking about all the time. I was impressed. They each had a large, attentive audience. They had good connections within their industry. They were re-writing the rules of journalism. Every time I hear people whining about high unemployment and lack of opportunities for young people I just shake my head and wonder. There are literally tons of opportunities for young people, and these ambitious, very successful fashion bloggers were living proof.

I was a dinosaur by comparison. While I was at the show, I wandered through Avril Lavigne’s Abbey Dawn booth and didn't even recognize Avril Lavigne. I didn't even know that Avril Lavigne had a clothing line until later when I saw something on Joan River's Fashion Police show about how trashy Avril looked at WWD Magic. In my defense, I did recognize Betsy Johnson though. As Dr. Who would probably have said, Besty Johnson is cool.

I took Dash to the vet today for his regular antigen shot. His nurse was all excited about her upcoming wedding later this month. She and her husband to be are going to Tahiti for their honeymoon. They started saving for the trip over a year ago and are paying for the whole thing themselves. Is this a great country or what? Teenage fashion bloggers are rewriting the rules of journalism and young vet techs are vacationing in Tahiti. I don't care what people say. This is still the land of opportunity. The fact that I'm still making a decent living is practically an economic miracle in itself.

The dogs and I will have another opportunity to deal with a repairman in the house tomorrow. The U-verse technician is coming over to see if he can get our broadband service working properly again. I guess there's no three strikes and you're out rule in the telecom business. All of these companies continue to sign up new customers as fast as they can, while simultaneously doing their best to drive their existing customers crazy. Probably people like me are part of the problem. I used to be happy with a simple 300 baud modem. Now, I'm pissed if I can't upload a 10 MB file in two seconds.

Domino is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 423

As I watched the historic events in Tahrir Square on television this morning, it got me thinking about how fundamentally the Internet has changed everything we do. This peaceful revolution might not have even gotten off the ground without the Internet and it's power to bring people together. The fact that it's become relatively easy for anyone in the world to communicate instantly with everyone else in the world doesn't leave the politicians with many places to hide. Everything is connected now. We may have lost our privacy, but I think we have gained something as well. It's harder to fool people now. Unscrupulous merchants almost instantly get bad reviews on Angie's List. Neighborhood Associations form groups on Facebook to fight zoning changes. Flash Mobs form at the drop of a hat to sing Handel's Messiah in shopping mall food courts. Perhaps Egypt's revolution was just a Flash Mob carried to it's logical conclusion.

I think we are right in the middle of the largest social experiment the world has ever known. We already take things for granted that would have seemed inconceivable fifteen years ago. Facebook has become our neighborhood. Twitter is how we gossip. And anybody, anywhere in the world can become our friend or join our cause. Personally, I think this is a good thing, although living in an interconnected world is still something I'm getting used to.

I have clients in Europe that I've never met personally. This would never have happened without the Internet. Who knows? Maybe there are people in South America or Asia who would be interested in helping Dalmatian Rescue. I've got to learn how to reach out to these people. I still remember the first time someone in China wrote me and send pictures of their two Dalmatians walking with them in Tiananmen Square. I was amazed that they even had Dalmatians in China.

We've got to get up early tomorrow and give the dogs a bath. Dot is making a personal appearance at the Foxy Paws store to promote Sunday's photo event and she needs to look her best. She also needs to act her best. Dot, if you've listening, please, no barking at the little dogs who come into the store in someone's purse.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day