Pretty Kitty Publishing | Gail Taylor | Communications

Hi.

2017-12-14T20:37:00.001-05:00

Hi. by contentnet featuring a short pleated skirt

2015-01-03T14:02:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year! 2015

Happy New Year for College Students!

2015-01-01T03:28:00.001-05:00

Carrying Out the Mission Beyond the Hallowed Halls of Ivy: The Key to Partnerships

Please join me in advocating for greater transparency in higher education for the new year, 2015. Based on recent networking events I have attended in 2014, and interviews with college students and recent college graduates, the .orgs of the world are leading the push to integrate higher education missions with outside-the-walls-of-ivy organizations. This cross-fertilization looks like increased co-working, increased technology and education networking and partnerships, humanities and non-profits building databases for the common good. Much of this ground-breaking work goes on in futuristic cities like Detroit, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Northern California's Silicon Valley. My recent visit to General Assembly, Santa Monica, and Tech Shop, Pittsburgh, the co-working space, NextSpace, Culver City, indicate that something exciting is happening involving education, technology, and community outreach.

The Need for Bridge-Building Institutions of Higher Learning

Colleges and universities across the United States should share information in order to prevent students from dropping out of school due to factors that are not related to their intellectual capacity. For example, financial instability, lack of job opportunities, and distance between school, work, and home, can prohibit some students from graduating from college or university, as I learned when conducted interviews with a small sample of college students this Fall. College and university administrators must escape the tendency to remain in a bubble. Instead, colleges and universities ought to expand access, build bridges with like-minded institutions and make it easy for students to move between institutions. Colleges and universities must anticipate increased competition.

Universities and colleges must clearly articulate institutional missions and transferability of course credits. Students receiving Federal Financial Aid may receive excellent communication from FAFSA officials, however, more can be done to see that colleges and universities have well-trained, and well-informed personnel who can guide students through the financial aid process. In addition, no matter whether a student attends a public, private, or church-affiliated institution, any accredited institution of higher learning that receives federal financial aid should ensure that students are getting the courses they need to graduate in a timely fashion. Ideally, students will graduate into a world where they accepting of their intellectual efforts. Anti-intellectualism has harmed society by making people who obtain advanced degrees seem out-of-touch. In reality, college graduates have much to offer, and tend to be eager accept new ways of doing things. People with recent college and graduate degrees seem to be taking the lead in building the new .orgs that are leading dynamic new initiatives. Initiatives that I look forward to reviewing in 2015. Colleges and universities that fail to create dynamic career counseling services attuned to the .org-revolution, risk big. The future is about making those degrees pay off, either in-kind, or in innovative programming.

Conclusion

Finally, colleges and universities must have the courage to reach out to non-profit organizations and businesses that have strong corporate social responsibility practices. Colleges and universities either have a responsibility to take an active role in connecting students with outside institutions that share similar goals and missions, or they must own up to being hands-off, and at risk of being cut-off from inclusive, innovative social networks that mirror their own target demographic. Competition is the word. I have experienced the dynamic energy that college students, and recent college and graduate school graduates, bring to the table. Maybe in the long-run, .orgs will be the standard-bearers when it comes to integrating the aims, goals, and missions of colleges and universities with the needs of the world outside the halls of ivy.

Happy New Year, peace-makers, and change agents!

Now is your time.

It Takes Both Franco and Rogen to occupy the space in my heart formerly occupied by Joaquin Phoenix

2014-12-26T19:12:00.001-05:00

Greetings comrades. What the hysteria? I am talking about the Seth Rogen movie starring James Franco that has the nation on edge, so to speak. Joaquin Phoenix Is who I usually think of when absurdist movie humor passed off as "real" enters my consciousness. After this Christmas, no more. Sorry, Joaquin.

Citizens of North Korea, if you ever get the opportunity to see this movie, please know that the Christmas 2014 movie satirizing your nation is one of several movies released during the holiday season. So, you might also want to watch "Selma".

The Review

So. If you have not yet seen the latest Rogen-Franco movie "The Interview," then you may be missing out on what may be the biggest public relations campaign, or hoax, since the H.G. Wells saga The War of the Worlds. I first heard the Wells radio play when I was a public-radio listening youngster growing up in the Appalachians -- a region of the United States not known for alien invasions. (No way are aliens gonna find a place to land in our state -- no flat land! Nice job, though, Mr. Wells.) I loved the radio play, and could not get over the fact that this genius had made it seem as though Martians were going to take over the world. (Ahhh!)

Fast forward to Christmas 2014.

The media would have us believe that an independent movie about a head of state who is also a cultural icon, of sorts, for his hair and his enthusiasm for basketball, would be so offended as to wage war against the U.S. showing this movie.

Flash forward to the last Presidential press conference of the year ...

Even President Obama fields questions at his end of the year press conference on the topic of censorship and freedom related to the movie The Interview. First, the media enthralled us with stories of a wild hacking incident at Sony pictures by #thegop -- The Guardians of Peace.

Brilliant.

Then, there is the plot line of the movie itself: a journalist and his producer fly to China and then to Pyongyang to interview the head of state -- a wildly iconic present-day figure in his own right -- Kim Jong-un. Meanwhile, the United States' FBI named North Korea as the likely suspect behind the Sony hack.

What? I know, right? Crazy, crazy, and awesome marketing, non?

So, of course I knew I had to watch this movie, even though I feared it might be stupid. Then, I realized that I had never even seen a Rogen-Franco movie, and that all I know about them is that the duo spoofed Kim Kardashian and Kanye West in the video "Bound 2".

I only stomached the original video by the married dynamic duo once, but I watched the spoof more than once. Therefore, I felt confident that watching "The Interview" on Christmas-day with my dad and my friend from China would yield at least a moderate laugh.

I should also note that I tried to download the movie on Christmas Eve, but got a peculiar message which you can see in the photo-collage below. However, this error could have been due to the fact that I tried downloading the movie from a Mac. The next night, I tried a PC and I ba-boom!

My overall assessment of this movie?

Juvenile.

But the movie features show-stealer Diana Bang as Kim-family liaison "Sook".

So, I am happy to have only paid 5.99 to rent this movie for a total of 48-hours through YouTube.

There you have it!

Sarai Koo Places Debut -- Seoul Food: A Korean American Living in Los Angeles -- at Vroman's

2014-12-23T13:58:00.001-05:00

PASADENA -- Quiclkly surveying the buslting Vroman's Bookstore, the woman in black bustles through the book aisles scoping out the best location for her new book. She is Sarai Koo, a Los Angeleno, whose passion for relationship-building and storytelling builds bridges.

Sarai Koo, an American woman of Korean ancestry, interrogates the myth of the "model minority" with poignancy and humor in her first book, <em>Seoul Food: A Korean American Living in Los Angeles</em>. This book is a contemporary memoir of a young woman's ability to define herself despite pressures to conform.

Among the topics Koo takes on include body image and beauty standards, educational institutions, overcoming the aftermath of the 1990s LA riots, and, of course, food -- Seoul food.

Although my personal opinion of this book may be biased due to my acquaintance with the author, the book's biggest strength is that it shows the complexity of the LA-Pico Rivera community during the 1980s and 90s and beyond making this book a natural read for historians and urban planners, as well as anyone interested in culture.

I'm looking forward to chatting with Sarai Koo about what prompted her to write her memoir, so "stay tuned".

The book is available at Vroman's Bookstore Pasadena and Hasting's Ranch, and on Amazon.

Get a copy!

Urban Planners Sharing Stories: thrdPlace Meets The Edge at Base Camp

2014-12-22T12:00:00.000-05:00

Silicon Beach, CA -- Among the kind and talented who converged on NextSpace for the Immigration reform talk sponsored by FWD.us this past Tuesday, was a representative from thrdPlace, an urban planning/community organizing team led by DeKoven Ashley and Mike Colosimo. As this interview with Carrie Norton, founder and CEO of Green Business Base Camp, demonstrates, Ashley and Colosimo prove that growth is a social and a local process of engagement. I wore my OFA hat, to listen and learn about how urban initiatives are re-shaping the world of work. The new world, I learned, is built on the simple premise, as Ashley and Colosimo state, of showing up and not being afraid to share stories in an effort to build a bright future.

Built It!

2014-11-28T03:21:00.001-05:00

Built It! by contentnet featuring a lime green table

Lesson of Apple: get U2 for Backup

2014-09-21T23:52:00.000-05:00

Apple demonstrates consistency in approach to marketing the new iPhone 6 and the much anticipated iWatch. Advertising features the iconic white background. Also, Apple went “rock-star” by adding U2 into the advertising campaign. According to the article, Apple paid U2 millions of dollars in exchange for being able to download the band's newest album to millions of iPhone-users for free. (Has anyone checked iTunes to see if they have the album? I have not, yet. But I hope I have it!). A new advertising campaign is nothing without controversy. One Apple add that appears to mimic a video by rock back OK Go courts controversy in the tech world. Controversy not withstanding, Apple's consistent advertising attracts detractors. For example, there is an attack ad from Samsung chiding Apple. I wonder if the Samsung attack ad might also be, in a weird way, part of the consistent Apple-theme. The two brands are often mentioned together. Yet, only one has U2 for backup. I originally wrote this blog post for the CMGT 541 discussion board at University of Southern California.

Celebrate Your Bike-Friendly Community

2014-08-16T01:13:00.001-05:00

How many times per week do you ride a bike? Even though I live in car-crazy Southern California, bike-riding is my beloved means of transportation. It is not that difficult to lead a bike-predominant life. It just takes commitment. How about you? What would it take to lead a bike-predominant life?

Undone.

2014-07-27T05:56:00.001-05:00

Undone. by contentnet featuring a black leather belt

Background check.

2014-07-23T02:30:00.001-05:00

Background check. by contentnet featuring a zip up top

Incroyable #12

2014-07-19T01:09:00.001-05:00

Cool out.

2014-07-10T15:05:00.001-05:00

Best the heat!

Fireworks

2014-07-05T23:55:00.001-05:00

Here's a video: http://instagram.com/p/qF18XiheKa/

Hair Healing: The Story Behind the Stylist

2014-06-28T03:12:00.001-05:00

This YouTube video about wig stylist Alisa Castleberry puts it all into perspective. http://youtu.be/ROj8PJ9T67I

Brio.

2014-06-23T03:35:00.001-05:00

It's All Good

2014-06-17T00:34:00.001-05:00

What is it with me and bags? Tension melted the minute I laid eyes on this vegan beauty from Hardwear in LA's Larchmont neighborhood. The maker of this bag must be a maximizer as there was a second bag inside, held securely with snaps. Inside the little bag were two straps to be attached to either the big or the small bag. Quelle surprise!

Pretty Cool

2014-06-05T00:50:00.001-05:00

Today's post.

Here's a list of what's cool:

Getting bangs punked at the natural hair salon.
Making delicious crab cakes Trader Joe's-style.
Natural hair salons like Healthy Hair Bar & Wigs in Claremont, CA.
Bugatti Vitesse at the local car show.
Being respectful of the capriciousness of mother nature.

Incroyable #11

2014-05-31T08:15:00.001-05:00

Reflection or Rumination?

2014-05-28T07:50:00.001-05:00

I dedicate today's post to Maya Angelou.

Sometimes getting stuck is a matter of being subjected to others' lack of knowledge about your capabilities. How many times have you heard that you can't possibly do _______, or be _______ because you are the wrong demographic? Somehow, you fail to live up to someone else's preconceived notion about how a ______ should be. The problem is not you. It's the limited vision of the other that has the potential to throw you off balance. Am I right? Work hard, do not be afraid to swerve to the left to avoid a potentially negative experience. Change not for others, necessarily, but in order to keep from getting stuck in the quicksand of low expectations. Neglect, too. Seek feeedom from the cultural wasteland of limited opportunity. Ignore small minds. Fight On!

Memorial Day, 2014

2014-05-27T03:39:00.001-05:00

What's in the Bag?

2014-05-23T21:57:00.001-05:00

"Letters from Zora: In Her Own Words," at the Pasadena Playhouse

2014-05-19T05:00:00.000-05:00

Today's post.

This Machine Creates Labels

2014-05-09T16:58:00.000-05:00

Today's post.

Thinking about machines and labels. And label-making machines.

Photo Credit: (Gail Taylor, 2010). A label-making machine at American Apparel in Los Angeles.

Spring Wedding

2014-04-03T10:56:00.001-05:00