Oh, nuts.

So it's been quite awhile since I've wrote anything.

Apologies -- I've been a little under the weather, but had a great chance to read and write during the long bedrest.

There's some really good stuff coming, but here's a little tidbit to get things rolling again:

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One day a woman watches a squirrel from her window gathering nuts for the winter, and decides that if this squirrel can take care of itself with the harsh winter coming on, so can she. So she takes care of her problems just like those acorns: one at a time.*

*From the handmade zine "Telegram Ma'am", by Maranda Farthing (available here on Etsy)
-----

Think about that. We don't have to be in a "recession". We are simply in an economic winter. Everything has seasons. The world exists and moves in it's own rhythm, and our little silliness is no exception. Sometimes we get sick, sometimes we feel great, sometimes we're sad, sometimes ecstatic. And the cycle continues.

But nothing's permanent -- lucky for us -- and the same can be said for the weather, the economy, even sickness and sadness. There's always an end, even if it's not quite in sight just yet.

So rather than being overwhelmed by everything that's going on in the world that you don't like, look for the little acorns that you do like. Before you know it, you'll have a pile large enough to last you through any season, no matter how harsh it gets.

***

--Tommy is a writer and designer currently living in Lowell, MA, with his wife Jen, who is also an artist. Learn more in the "about us" section of our blog, or find Jen on Etsy (nspire) and Tommy on LinkedIn (search: Tommy Pesavento) for business opportunites.

Are you living the life you want to live? Decide to.

Whether you believe in reincarnation, atheism or heaven, I think we can all agree that you only get one life in this particular body with this particular group of friends at this particular point in history.

With that said, I think it's high time (if you haven't already) to re-examine your current situation and see if things are headed in the direction you want them to.

To help this process, I pulled a list of questions and rules for how to determine if you're on the right track from a website called PickYourBrain.com (link to original article, by Scott Young, here). Note that these are not hard and fast "rules" that can't be amended when necessary. They are simply here to get your brain (and your thoughts) moving in a different direction than normal.

Also note that if you answer "no" to the first few questions, it does not mean your life is not worth living. As I said, it's just a way to help redirect your path if you feel like it's going in a different direction than you'd previously hoped.

OK. Ready? Then let's dig in...

\

You don’t like your job - Maybe you picked something because it was easier or safer than your ideal career. Worse, maybe you’re just doing what your family pressured you to do.

You’re living paycheck to paycheck - The problem usually isn’t money, but your priorities. It isn’t hard for the stuff you own to turn around and own you.

You feel obligated to do things you don’t want to do. Your first duty is to yourself. You can’t save the world while you’re miserable.

Leading your life isn’t easy. It means freeing yourself from many different assumptions. That freedom can be initially terrifying and painful, which is why so few people do it. It is far easier to just follow the assumptions of society, even if it leaves you unfulfilled.

Here are 7 rules that can help you start building a life worth living:

Rule One: Never let another person dictate the terms for living your life.

Not your parents. Not your spouse. Not your kids. Leading your life means you can accept the input of other people, but the final decision is yours. This means that career choice, relationships, beliefs and way of life are to be judged by you, not anyone else.

This rule holds especially when you have doubts. Don’t let your moment of doubt become a weakness to be exploited by others. Not sure what you want to do with your life? Don’t sit passively and let other people decide for you.

Rule Two: Don’t allow yourself to be chained by consumerism.

The world is filled with stuff. Don’t let stuff get in the way of what is important. When you become chained to your stuff, you are no longer leading your life. Ask yourself: if you had to give up 90% of your net worth tomorrow to pursue your dream, could you do it effortlessly? If you hesitated, perhaps your ability to lead your own life has been weakened by your attachment to stuff.

Rule Three: Rule money. Don’t let money rule you.

Money is a resource that can be applied when leading your life. You can use it to reduce discomforts, focus on meaningful work and apply it to help you learn and improve. But if you’re living paycheck to paycheck, the money is in control.

Here are some goals to put yourself in a position to rule the money in your life:

• Maintain one year (or at least one month) of emergency funds in the bank.
• Your lifestyle should expand at a slower rate than your income grows.
• Be able to drastically reduce your expenditures if needed.
• Recognize the abundance you already have! It grows fast after this step.
  

Financial freedom doesn’t mean the ability to buy everything you could desire or live in luxury. It means that money becomes a tool and not a distraction in leading your life. It also means that a "lack" of money isn't even in your vocabulary.

Rule Four: You come first in relationships.

Do you know people that can’t stand being single? They get out of one bad relationship only to jump into the next.

Why? Because they put too much of their needs dependent on that other person. Without emotional and possibly financial support, they can’t survive.

In any relationship you need to be the person that comes first. That means that while you might enjoy the relationship, it doesn’t become the major purpose in your life.

Your purpose and leading your life must come before any relationship you enter. The surprising fact is that when you do this, you are able to have healthier personal and intimate relationships because there is no need for jealousy or possession.

Rule Five: Never outsource your thinking.

“You can split up food between men, but each man must digest it individually.” - Howard Roark in The Fountainhead.

Leading your own life means leading your own beliefs. It means never accepting anything unless you can filter it through your reasoning and find it to be true. Think critically about everything in life. Chances are there are a lot of indigested thoughts floating around trying to bypass your mind and go straight to your gut.

Rule Six: Anything you lack can be trained.

Never accept a fatalistic view of life. So you’ve been told you lack the intelligence, willpower, strength or charisma to do something? Ignore them. So you’ve told yourself that you lack the talent? Ignore yourself.

Begin with the assumption that anything can be trained and you’ll find few exceptions. I used to be a shy, introverted kid. Recently some friends described me as an extreme extrovert, being unafraid to meet new people and having honed my abilities to speak in front of crowds. Begin with the belief that you have no idea where your talents are until you train them.

Rule Seven: Purpose comes from your creative faculties.

Want to know what your purpose in life is? Simple. Hold your hands in front of you. Now look at them. There is your purpose and means to do it.

Purpose is your ability to take the creative energies you have and communicating them with the world. You and I might pick different mediums, but the act of purpose is exactly the same. You could be a manager crafting the art of dealing with people, a programmer crafting the knowledge of algorithms or an entrepreneur crafting the art of a business.

Don’t worry if you haven’t found the right medium. Once you feel that great purpose for your life and it comes from within, that is your greatest asset. With that belief you are the leader of your own life.

(Very special thanks to Scott Young for reprinting of this article. Check out his blog here.)

Boston: the 4-hour tour.

Last week, one of our good friends, Rose, was out on the east coast. She decided to hop a train from Connecticut to Boston and visit, but she only had 4 hours until she needed to go back to DC and catch a flight.

I had priginally thought we'd just hang around the station, or maybe venture out into the Waterfront area of South Boston. Imagine my surprise when I found out Rose was a history buff, and wanted to walk the Freedom Trail all the way to Bunker Hill! (For those of you that don't know, South Station and Bunker Hill are on completely opposite ends of town.)

But we took it in stride and didn't skip a beat. Subway'd to historic Faneuil Hall, downtown, and started our trek from there.

We're usually pretty fast walkers, and we're getting good at the "whirlwind tour", but this was a challenge even for us. Even so, I think we showed her an awful lot of Beantown in such a short period of time. We have the sore legs, bruised heels and blistered toes to prove it. (Rose did it in heels! 9.7 miles!!)

So here we go...


This is the Old State House, along the Freedom Trail. It is now a subway station (State Station).


The natives are friendly here in Boston. Very friendly.


In front of the Union Bar and Ye Olde Oyster House -- oldest tavern and restaurant in America.



At the park near the entrance of Old North End (Little Italy), Boston and clocktower in the background. Awesome weather that day.


Little Italy! (hint, hint, Mom & Dad.) This part of Boston is the original Boston. Old and charming like a historical movie set, and clean too. It's loaded with Italian restaurants, cafes, pastry shops, cigar stores and accordian players. Plus, it's bursting at the seams with excellent Canoli, Lasagna, espresso and pizza. Hands down the best Italian food outside of Chicago.


Stopped to catch our breath (and put band-aids on the toes) in Paul Revere Mall, which is not actually a shopping mall, but rather a brick courtyard with fountain.



Spring was in the air that day, my friends.


Wouldn't this be a great back patio to have a romantic dinner for two in the summer?



Jen and Rose listening to a tour guide explain something about an olde house next to the Olde North Church. (Yes, everything in this part of towne is "Olde" something. I love it.)


And here it is: the Olde Northe Churche, where the famous "One if by land, two if by sea" thing happened. (Note: Now's a good time to re-read our post on Paul Revere = Jack Black)


Rose had no fear sitting on the pier over by the Charlestown Bridge. That's part of Boston Harbor below her. Over her right shoulder (not visible) is Charlestown, home of the USS Constitution and Bunker Hill monument. If she were to look straight ahead, she'd see Boston Garden, home of the recently playoff-ousted Celtics and Bruins. Behind Jen, who took the photo, is Old North End, the most charming and cozy neighborhood in all of Boston.


John McEnroe was here? This was a 50-foot tall tree by the bridge near a community tennis court.




A stunning photo of Rose amidst the chaos and construction of the bridge during rush hour on a Friday afternoon.



This shot is for my dad: you woouldn't need an Italian room if you lived out here! The whole neighborhood is like this.



Heading back south into town, searching for canolis, pipe tobacco and espresso shots to keep us going.



Back downtown, Rose and Jen examine the Holocaust Memorial. It's a series of tall glass towers with steam inside that you can walk through and read the numbers they had tattooed on their arms. That's what you see etched on the glass. You can also see the reflection of Ye Olde Union Oyster House across the street, as mentioned earlier in this post.




Dusk in Boston: the clocktower and old state house. We're heading into the station to go to the Waterfront, via 2 subway changes and a bus ride. Got there in 15 minutes.


"Twas dark when we surfaced. Had dinner at Barking Crab (food was so-so, place was packed, service non-existent, ambience was stellar) then hoofed it across the street to se Puma City, which is an 11,000 square foot pre-fab shopping and entertainment plaza, set up by Puma to promote the ship they are sponsoring in the Volvo Ocean Race, which goes all around the world.


The shipping containers housed a Puma store on the first floor, an Ocean Race schwag store on the second, and a bar/club/outdoor dance floor on the third. Place was hopping and there was also a live island band on another stage across the venue.


There were also lots of rides, simulators, and a really cool Sony Ericsson display store in the background.


Yes, that is a Volvo station wagon made out of Legos.

Exhausting! And this was all in only 4 HOURS. We should win some kind of award for this one. But the only thanks we need is in knowing that we got to show Rose as much around Boston as was humanly possible. Next time she comes back: Cambridge!

BE the peace you wish to see.

WWMTD?

This is getting onto some thin ice, but I'm going for it. Hopefully no one will take this the wrong way, but it's something that needs to be addressed so I'm addressing it.

Last week, a 17-year old girl was killed here in Lowell. I'm not one to usually write about events like this, but these kinds of things do happen, unfortunately, and we need to know how to handle them when they come up.

At around the same time as the event, the city also announced plans to cut some of the budget for youth services. Double whammy. You would think that the murder would have encouraged more youth services to be opened up, but the exact opposite is happening.

However, this blog post is not to editorialize on how the city should spend its money, or even the rights and wrongs of violence in society. Rather, it's an opportunity to discuss where we want to place our attention after an perceived negative event occurs.

I recently received an email invitation to an "Anti-violence" rally downtown. We've all heard Mother Teresa's famous quote about how she won't attend an anti-war rally, but if there's ever a pro-peace rally, she'll be there.

But what does this mean, exactly? I'm human. I'm not a Nun or a Monk or a Saint (yet). I definitely get upset, even angry when I hear or see violence occuring to my fellow man. After all, since we are all connected, all of one source, it hurts me just as much on the inside as it hurts them on the outside. One thing I've learned, though, is that whatever you place your attention on, really does work it's way into the nooks and crannies of your life.

So what DO you do, then, when something like this happens, and all you want to do is scream out against the violence because you are so upset? Your first reaction, though it can rarely be controlled, is usually not the one that is going to most benefit society. Using phrases and signs such as "Stop the Killing" is only going to draw more attention to "killing".

There is an alternative, however.

I propose that we use this unfortunate event as a springboard to promote peace and unity throughout the city. When there is no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. What if, instead of repeating the word "killing" over and over, we can instead educate Lowell's citizens that we are all related to one another? Something like "WE ARE ALL ONE" or "LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR" or "PROMOTE PEACE: SAVE OUR YOUTH" --- maybe taking this type of approach will do more in the long run as opposed to an emotional reaction to a heinous crime? Wouldn't you prefer to chant the word LOVE over and over as opposed to the word "KILLING"? As an experiement, in your own home, simply state the different words several times and see how you feel afterwards. Then imagine that effect magnified throughout a large group of people, and you may start to get some sense of what kind of energy we are creating.

In order to memorialize the legacy of this young woman, I ask everyone to go beyond the call and really promote peace throughout your home, building, neighborhood and city. Take it to the streets! Anyone can be against violence, but taking the next step is being FOR peace. Or, as Gandhi said "Be the change you wish to see in the world." In other words, be the peace you wish to see in the world.

Let me emphasize that I am not trying to trivialize the importance and delicate nature of this incident. I do, however, hope my words fall on fertile soil that you may gain a deeper understanding of the power of the spoken word, especially in a group setting. My heart goes out to the family and friends of the young girl, and if in some way, this emotional time in the history of Lowell can be used to benefit humanity throughout the city, then I'd like to think her sacrifice was not in vain.

I hope anyone who reads this will think twice aboout being anti-anything and instead being pro-peace, pro-love, pro-community, pro-brotherhood. The sooner we can all realize we're part of the same family (the human family), then the sooner we will se an end to disturbing and unnecessary events such as this.

Daily Om: a free spritual community

Om.

We were referred to this great site by a friend of ours. Everyday, they send you inspirational thoughts for a happy, healthy and fullfilling day. They also have a nourishing marketplace, with items such as yoga sandals, supplements, foot detox pads (more on that in a later post), salt lamps and info on spiritual, mind and body retreats.

Here's a sample of the kind of message you could be receiving everyday, right in your inbox to read at your leisure:

Allowing Others To Be
Controlling Behavior

We all know what it’s like to want to be in control. In some ways, exerting control is an important survival skill. For example, we have every right to be in control of our own bodies and our own lives. Taking control in these cases is empowering and necessary. Controlling behavior in the negative sense comes from a tendency to reach beyond our own boundaries and into the lives of others. Many people do this with the rationalization that they are helping. This can happen with parents who are still trying to force their grown children into behaving in ways that they find acceptable. It can also happen when people try to control their partners’ behavior. If you have control issues, you will see that in one or more areas of your life, you feel the need to interfere with what is happening rather than just allowing events to unfold.

Continue reading this selection from Daily Om.

They let you customize your subscription preferences as well, and they offer other daily reminders like horoscopes and music selections, some of which are quite good. Finally, they also have a community of "nice people", where you can make new friends and participate in lively, introspective discussion. Overall it's a really great site and I'm very grateful that our friend Anne pointed us to it. Thanks Anne!

It's completely free, so head on over and sign up today!

Validation.

Well, with all the activity generated by our Monday blog post, we thought it was only fitting to lighten things up with a video. This particular video somehow ties in perfectly with the recent discussion (especially the first 5 minutes), showing just how far a smile and a kind word can go. Take a look:

© 2006 Kurt Robert Kuenne. All rights reserved.

Mahoney's Garden Center: Winchester, MA

Another great, relatively hidden find for us when driving around. Last week we went for a country drive headed vaguely towards Cambridge, and we drive past this enormously huge greenhouse -- so we had to stop, of course. It turned out to be Mahoney's Garden Center, which is like a Home Depot for gardening stuff, but locally owned. Here's what they say on their website:

Paul Mahoney opened the first Mahoney’s Garden Center in Winchester, Massachusetts in 1959. Today we remain a family-run home and garden center with 8 retail locations in Winchester, Tewksbury, Wayland, Concord, Brighton, Falmouth, Osterville and Chelmsford, and a growing facility in Woburn. As a full service garden center, we are dedicated to providing the highest quality and largest selection of garden plants, gardening products and gardening services. We offer top-quality plants and supplies to satisfy the needs of home gardeners and landscape professionals.

We were surprised to find they had everything from flowers and greenery to seedling veggies, ground cover, tools, outdoor patio furniture, garden ornaments, even a little coountry store with homemade sody pop and some other local goodies.

If you're ever driving in or around Winchester, stop by on a nice Summer day and wander the grounds.

Jen was practically drooling at the sight of all the flowers!

The huge double greenhouse is at least 500 feet long (almost 2 football fields).

Variety, plus a huge granite wall as a backdrop.

Wide variety of...um...yard decor.

Who woouldn't want a ceramic jackass to hold your plants for you?

Still giving peace a chance. (continued from last week.)

War is STILL over (if you want it). Or recession. Or sickness. Or depression. Or suffering.

-----

We've received some really great, thought-provoking dialogue on our post from last Monday, entitled "Give peace a chance", about war, violence, peace and love.

One comment in particular was written that I think a lot of people were thinking, even if they didn't say it, and it stimulated quite a long response on our part. I thought it would be useful to continue the discussion and post our response as it's own blog entry, to see if we can extract some more thoughts or ideas on the subject.

Here is the original, unedited comment from one of our readers:

"You say "anything that is not love is not of God. Therefore, war cannot be approved of by God", but in this you are assuming that war cannot be for love. I would argue that the United States fought the Nazi's in WWII for the love of mankind (humans derserving to be treated like humans)and I think God would approve of that."

Followed by our response:

We definitely can relate to your point. Many people reach for the Nazi campaign as the strongest excuse to keep war in our vocabulary. ("If it weren't for people like Hitler, we wouldn't need war"... etc.) However, we strongly believe that "violence begets violence" and that there is always another way. War simply doesn't work, and here's why:

For certain, it's a lot easier to just kill someone you don't like (Hitler) because you don't agree with what he's doing. It's clearly much, much harder to try to love that person into seeing all humans as one race, one mind, one soul. It's sort of just a quick-fix to assassinate the "evil" world leaders, because there will always be another to take their place (Saddam Hussein, Idi Amin, Bin Laden, Stalin, Mussolini, Truman, Nixon, Bush, etc.) This is especially true when the things that person is doing involve the hurting of others.

We all hate seeing that happen, and dammit! we want to DO something about it... but ask yourself this "What would Jesus do?" Would he get on the phone and say "Mr. President, I know I preached about love and shit for years, but I was wrong. We need to kill those who kill others. My mistake. You have my blessing." Or would he pray for both those doing the hurting and those who hurt? (Side note: they are all hurting, just expressing it in different ways. More on that in another post.)

A perfect example of loving your way through a situation involving genocide or violence is the tale of Immaculee Ilibagiza, a survivor of the Rwandan genocide in which over 1,000,000 people were killed for no good reason (not that there's ever a good reason). Her life transformed dramatically in 1994 during the genocide when she and seven other women huddled silently together in a cramped bathroom of a local pastor’s house for 91 days! During this horrific ordeal, Immaculée lost most of her family, but she survived to share the story and her miraculous transition into forgiveness and a profound relationship with God.

Read "Left toTell" for a more in-depth explanation of how strong love really is.

The ultimate "cure" will be when we can act as examples to the whole world on how to love one another without using the threat of violence as a backdrop. This can be hard to swallow, but really, truly, think about how a Jesus or a Gandhi or a Buddha or a Martin Luther King would respond. According to Christianity, Jesus could have called "legions of angels" to wipe out the Romans and deliver his people, the Jews, from evil. Instead, he chose to die on a cross. How's that for non-violent opposition? MLK could have called for all blacks to fight back against the evil things white people were doing as well.

But they didn't, even though they could have. Preaching love and peace is sometime hard to hear, and many great people have been killed for doing so: Jesus, Gandhi, King, Lennon and many others were killed (mostly by governments? again, another blog post...) for speaking out. Their message lives on though, and cannot be silenced.

Embarrassingly, I used to endorse the "Kill em all, let God sort em out" mentality for years. I was a card-carrying, gun-toting, pistol-gripping NRA-member who would wave the flag high and proud and demand "justice" and "vengeance". But I've learned (thanks in part to people like John Lennon and Yoko, Wayne Dyer, Gandhi, Yogananda, Martin Luther King, Immaculee Ilibigiza and others) that war is simply NEVER the answer. Never. There is never any reason or excuse to answer violence with violence. Maybe this attitude comes with age, maybe not. Maybe it's wishful thinking, maybe peace isn't possible. Maybe it is. Maybe we already have it, on the inside. Maybe it's right around the corner. I don't know. All I know is, I now believe you can accomplish more with a hug or a kind word than with a rifle or a bomb.

Sounds like some "flower-power" hippie crap, you say? Sure thing. But I'm willing to hold on to the potential of love and take it to the grave and beyond if necessary, and I urge anyone who reads this to consider doing the same. Look at the list of great people who's company you'd be keeping by sticking hard and fast to the one rule of Love.

Love bears all things, believes in all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. [ 1 Cor. 13:4-8 ]

UPDATE: We've received lots of comments on this entry and the preceding one as well. Make sure to take time and go through some of these and formulate your own opinions. Thanks to all who posted their thoughts :)

To our moms.

Jen and her mum at a birthday party in New Hampshire, at her Yaya's house.

Tommy and his mum inside the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

Yes, this is a day late. But it's a perfect reminder that our moms are so awesome, they don't even care. Just like they didn't care if you misspelled words on the cards you made for them, or if the macaronis were falling off the art project you made for them, or if the cake you baked them wasn't cooked all the way through. I guess some things don't change. (Besides, I can always change the date of the blog entry...shhh...)

Our moms definitely helped us become the people we are today. They cared for us, sheltered us from storms, let us be our own people as we grew older, supported us, encouraged us, and what's more, they still do all these things today.

Let us simply say thank you at this special time of year, and try to make every day mother's day whether our mom's are far or near. Thank you!!!

Your Mother Is Always With You...

Your mother is always with you...
She's the whisper of the leaves
as you walk down the street.
She's the smell of laundry
in your warm, freshly dried towels.
She's the cool hand on your brow
when you're not well.
Your mother lives inside your laughter.
She's crystallized in every tear drop.
She's the place you came from,
your first home...
She's the map you follow
with every step that you take.
She's your first love
and your first heart break...
and nothing on earth can separate you.
Not time, Not space...
Not even death...
will ever separate you
from your mother...
You carry her inside of you...


Author Unknown

Our 100th post: Free Moleskine® Giveaway!

Well, we made it to our 100th blog post! *cheers, fireworks, wowwee whistles, champagne popping*... hooray!

Back when we started this young blog in October 2008, we never really thought it would turn into what it is today. From that first post about our trip to Ft. Myers (where we were inspired to start the blog by a relative) to some of our more controversial and metaphysical topics of late, this blog is evolving along with the rest of humanity into something more -- though what that is exactly, I cannot yet say... wait until 2012 to find out ;)

At any rate, one of the tools that has been indispensable throughout the creation and growth of this blog has been the oft over-exposed little media-darling, the Moleskine® notebook. As such, we decided it would be fitting to give one away in celebration of our 100th post, to inspire some fledgling bloggers or just to replenish the stock of a grizzled vet.

And, with the growth of our Twitter presence, we figured "what better way to announce the giveaway than through Twitter?" Ready to enter? Then keep reading...

HERE'S HOW TO WIN:

1) Follow us on Twitter.

2) Subscribe to or follow this blog.

3) Then simply retweet this message:

RT @jenandtommy are giving away a FREE Moleskine® to celebrate their 100th blog post: http://ow.ly/5XsM ((pen included))

Next week, we'll randomly select a winner from those entrants who follow the criteria, then we'll mail you your free Moleskine® journal (shipping is included, of course) plus a bonus item: the pen that Tommy swears is #1 for Moleskine writing. Then you can get to blogging and start sharing your thoughts with the rest of us as well.

We have a whole stack of notebooks, some large, some small, to give away over the course of the summer, so stay tuned and tell your notebook-loving friends what we're doing as well!



What they say:

"The format for creative professions. The journalistic tradition inspires the reporter's notebooks. The notebooks are thread bound and have a cardboard bound cover with rounded corners acid free paper, a bookmark, an elastic closure and an expandable inner pocket that contains the history of the Moleskine notebook."

Are you Linked In?

As if I don't have enough to keep track of with 3 twitter accounts (@jenandtommy, @sparkyourbrand, @urban_hikers), this blog, which is now updated daily, working for spark* creative services (sparkcs.com), exploring New England, posting stuff on facebook, fantasy basketball, etc., why in heaven's name would I want to join yet another social network?

Answer: diversification.

In the past, it may have been kosher to simply have a website that hosted your work, some facts about you, pictures, and things you like on a professional and personal level. This still works for some (namely celebs and other already well-known persona), but if you're like me (an up and coming "so-and-so") it pays to diversify. It's like spreading your eggs around in a bunch of different baskets that a bunch of different people see.

Facebook is a no-brainer. You set it up, find friends, and post things once in awhile. People can get to know you without grilling you like a detective when they first meet. Twitter takes it a step further, allowing personal interaction between you and your friends, fans and followers. Having a blog extends your network even further, as you're now offering something (hopefully) useful to people all around the world, whether they know you or not. Linked In is, in my newly formulated opinion, the last piece to the social networking puzzle. It's the part where your ego really gets to brag about what you've done, where you've worked, and who you know.

There is a purpose behind this gloating, however. None of those other sites really give you a place to put down your professional accomplishments and expertise in a simple, clear and concise manner like Linked In. For example, if a company is looking for a consultant, contractor or even full-time employees, having a linked in account is akin to having a more "with it", trendy resume. It lets employers know that you are up to date on the latest communication formats, technology and networks, plus it's easy to update and easy to track down former colleagues and co-workers.



The template on Linked In is one of the easiest to use on the web. You can integrate your email (yahoo, msn, aol, mail, outlook) address books to find contacts, and it's super-simple to set up your work experience, title and specialty areas. And yes, they also have "status updates", like all the other social sites, but it's adviseable to keep these updates on a more professional level, especially if you're hoping to use Linked In as a tool to pic up new work or new clients.

The nicest thing is you can ask for (and give) recommendations from others you've worked with, and the reviews that come back are often surprisingly poignant. So it's also a great place to get feedback on you as a professional whatever-you-are.

On top of that, after my first day, even with only 8 connections made, I have access to a network of over 30,000 other links. That's pretty good reach. I've also shown up in search results for a "creative consultant" 13 times. Not bad, considering I just joined as of about 3 hours ago.

In a nutshell: Linked In takes the whole "6 degrees of separation" concept and puts it to work in your favor. If you come across a job you want to apply for, for example, the system searches your network until it connects you with the person who originally posted the job. This way, you are "introduced" to the employer, and the employer doesn't feel as if they're dealing with complete strangers. This helps job searchers become real people to the employers who they are seeking to work with or for.

Combining facebook, twitter, a personal blog or website, and Linked In can really help you maximize your potential as a professional while also extending your network of resources, contacts, colleagues and friends. And after all, isn't anything that helps us all connect as one race (the human race) something to be praised?

Link to my brand-spankin'-new Linked In account: click here.


-- Tommy Pesavento is an Addy® award-wining copywriter, graphic designer and avid blogger based out of Lowell, MA. He also currently serves as Senior Art Director and Social Media Consultant for spark* Creative Services in Florida. Tommy lives with his wife and creative muse, Jen, and their tabby cat, Kitty in a converted mill building. © 2009 jen+tommy industries. All rights reserved.

On men's hats and how to wear them.

Since Thursday is our day to showcase something we think is cool (and be a bit shallow), I decided to go with a short post on men's hats. Specifically, the type of hat that has been my favorite since I was about 2 years old: the pub hat. Guys, it's time to put aside the baseball caps and step it up a notch. These particular styles of hats, shown below, have become quite popular lately, but there are major differences between the varieties of hats in this family.

For example, the 1st hat shown below is known as a duckbill or pub hat, recognized by it's slouching front, less structured fit and sleeker sides. This is without a doubt the hat to choose if you have a narrow to medium face, as it will give your head a nice, sleek shape and accentuate rather than make you looke like you're wearing a plate on your head.

The duckbill has a nice, old-style feel to it, while still looking current, tough and dapper all at the same time. Plus there are dozens of fabrics available, and many custom designs as well.

Duckbill or Pub style cap.

Another commonly seen hat from this family is the Ivy, shown below. As you can see, this hat is very puffy and fluffy, has a more structured shape to it, and generally looks funny unless you have a certain type of face/head. I wouldn't wear one of these, but try one for yourself if you think you like it.

The Ivy.

Another example of an Ivy. Too puffy for my taste.

Here is yet another Ivy: be careful -- in the store, these can appear to be the same as a duckbill or pub hat. They are NOT the same thing. Don't fool yourself. Look for the tell-tale signs of the duckbill before you buy.

A third variety is the Gatsby, or 6-panel hat. This one has several panels stitched together, and as such, has a very wide surface area. Wearing this hat would be good if you were acting in a play that was set in the 1920's, but it looks a little too dated in my opinion to wear around town today. Unlike the sleek and close-fitting duckbill, the Gatsby has a mind of it's own since it's filled with foam to give it shape, thus, it sticks out far from the head. Take a look:

The not-so-great Gatsby.

There are a lot of stores hocking hats from this vein to cash in on the current craze. Don't be suckered. Stick with an established brand who's been making these types of hats for many years, fad or no fad. I recommend Goorin Brothers for great quality, creative design and an excellent selection of sizes. They've been making hats since 1895, so they know the differences between styles. Their website has tons of all these styles of hats, plus fedoras, bowlers, cabbies, newsboys, cadets, you name it. Loads of women's hats as well. (Ladies, there's nothing like seeing a well-dressed woman wearing a Stroller Fedora or a polka dot Cloche to top off their outfit.)

They even separate S, M, L and XL, which is almost unheard of in the field. Don't get these kinds of hats at Target or Walmart. Instead, look to specialty boutiques on shop online (after yoou've tried one on somewhere first.)

A good hat can be the finishing touch to a sweet ensemble. On the flip side, wearing a hat that makes you look goofy can flat out ruin your entire look. So be careful, try on lots of hats, and don't be afraid to ask opinions of strangers in the store. Most important, make sure it accentuates your own particular head shape, face structure and wardrobe style. Once you find a winner, snag it and wear the heck out of it, then share the knowledge with a buddy so he doesn't end up looking like a sap....

On left: dork. On right: stud.
1. Lame-o Gatsby/newsboy on Clooney.
2. Bad-ass duckbill/pub hat on Brad.

Need I say more? ;)