Liz Burr

Back to the Chi

2009-10-21T00:38:08Z

It's been a rough couple of months.

I'm not sure where the time went, but I have allowed myself to enter a time warp working on a few projects, and in between I find time to do some traveling. Some might think I travel or vacation too much, but I truly do earn these vacations. Work hard, play hard--one of the great things I learned in undergrad (though there was little "playing" being done on my part while at MIT).

Anyway, I interrupt this time warp to say I am both excited and afraid to visit Chicago this week. Excited because I get to see my chapter sorors and celebrate birthdays and see my summer friends in Chicago. Best of all--I get to peel my behind off of my couch. (I still need to work on procuring some office furniture!). Of course, this means I will be planted on my line sister's couch this week, but any couch is better than mine.

I am afraid of Chicago because of the cold. As it is, your girl is having a hard time coping with the weather in Manhattan. I can't figure out if it's hot or cold on any given day, what degree of coldness it is and what to wear to accommodate the level of frío. I am always over or under-dressed for the temperature. I am not used to wearing layers and carrying around clothing too hot to wear because I might need to put it back on later in the day. It's ridiculous, all this thinking that goes into wardrobe! In LA, I choose my wardrobe by looking at the sky: if it's clear skies, then it's warm outside; if cloudy, then it's cold outside. See how simple that is? I am thinking about boycotting the East Coast for the month of November.

Looking up flights to LA as we speak. I'll take the L on rent if I have to!

Pray that Chicago takes it easy on me this week.

Ask My BFF Anything

2009-10-13T19:58:54Z

GuySpeak.com, a new website by WeTV, launched this week and my BFF Panama Jackson is one of its featured writers. P's character, or persona, is the "Girls' BFF," which is funny to me because that's exactly what he's been to me for the past several years. You can read his bio and archive on GuySpeak over here. If you've been keeping up, you know P from our blog VerySmartBrothas, or his throwback blog Jackson G Tickle.

I'm so proud of P for landing himself a writing gig on the web. It seems like it was just yesterday he was a hilarious stranger leaving silly comments on my lil ole blog. That was back in 2004, and he has grown so much since then.

Yes, I am proud. But I am more interested in making him work for the money, so go ask him your relationship-themed questions, stat!

Reconsider Columbus Day

2009-10-11T17:53:49Z

Columbus Day and Thanksgiving are my least favorite holidays, politically speaking.

My First Impressions on Google Wave

2009-10-01T16:22:42Z

I woke up this morning to a sweet little email letting me know I had been invited to Google Wave by a very special friend (this friend btw? always superb!). I rolled out of bed and popped open my laptop to see what the fuss was all about. Honestly, when the Google Wave anouncement happened months ago, I was less than enthused. I didn't even bother signing up for an invite request because I had web application fatigue and didn't want yet another web app to learn and fuss over. Lately I have been wondering what is the next internet sensation to move to. I am growing weary with Twitter, I like Friendfeed but I don't have the time to put work into it everyday, and I pretty much hate Facebook (but it is a necessary evil). That being said, Google Wave came right on time.

So.... how do I like it?

So far, I find it to be pretty boring....mostly because I only have one friend on Google Wave and I'd rather not bombard them with all my incessant testing/waving. I had 8 invites, that I sent to 8 of my friends but the invites don't send immediately. My friends might get their invite today or tomorrow, or next week. Who really knows?

I definitely think this tool will be more useful as it gains critical mass, preferably among one's own friends and colleagues. I am apprehensive about waving to strangers (or even loose-tie connections), because I fear spam (there is already a spam folder!) as well as fatigue from too much activity. Part of my frustration with Twitter that is I follow too many people, many of whom I don't know personally, and it is difficult to keep up. Anxiety, much?

I think Google Wave could be AWESOME for working in teams, especially if you work with teams that are not physically in the same location (this is how I work 90% of the time). Part of my concern is that it will take some time for people to get a Wave account, learn how to use it, and then find value in using it. Honestly, when I meet someone new who has a GMail account, I am still impressed that they're up on "the new hotness."

This might take years, folks.

Happy waving!

Playa Negra: Wish You Were Here!

2009-09-19T21:26:29Z

Jen, Ouxu, Marcia and I hit the beach on our first morning in Costa Rica. Pardon my rambling and thinking outloud.

First Day At The Beach! from calinative on Vimeo.

I would blog...

2009-09-19T04:31:15Z

I had intentions of blogging my entire trip of Costa Rica, just to get in the habit of you know, putting content on this here blog. But the wi-fi is slow at my hotel, and I'm not really at the hotel long enough to really put coherent thoughts together....and my blog takes mad bandwidth just to log in (love you Movable Type!), so I am just going to check in when I get the urge. For the most part you can check out my pics and captions here at my tumblr (nee iPhone Booth), which I send while passing through my hotel lobby most days.

Hard core internetting with my friends on a Friday night. We are too exhausted to go anywhere else tonight.

Links, Travel and Speaking: These are a few of my favorite things

2009-09-03T17:20:52Z

A quick little update to drop some info and links to you.

1) This post from 37Signals (LOVE THEM!!11) entitled, The bar for success in our industry is too low, is the DOPEness. Go read it. Now. I think people have this e-game twisted, wanting to be the next YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, not knowing that these companies don't (yet) turn a profit and have huge bills to pay. Get your mind right! Some of these new school wannabe web-treprenuers need to take heed and make sure they're ready for this long haul, because turning a profit is not that easy no matter how many impressions you get everyday.

2) All that being said (lol), my company turns one year old this week. This time last year was my last week at a 'real' job, and my company documents were filed with the state of California. I wrote about what I've learned over the past year for this week's issue of Clutch Magazine. Do I think about going back to the real world? Of course! Every one of my clients wants to hire me fulltime, and I keep declining. It's tempting. We'll see, I still need to do some goal setting and planning for myself. I admit I am at a bit of a crossroads, but for the time being I am having fun and to me that's all that matters at this point in my life.

3) Did you vote for my SXSW panel, Online Gatekeeping: Who Died and Made You King? Yes? GOOD. Now please go vote for another panel I have asked to be on, Hacking the Extrovert: Real World Tips for Being Social ... Offline! You only have one day left to vote!

4) I'M GOING TO COSTA RICA!!!! I've been secretly planning a getaway with my ace boon, Jen, and we've finally selected Costa Rica as our travel poison. We will also be joined by the lovely Ouxu (who, btw is my internet friend and I have never met her in person--I love the Internets!), and some other surprise guests. Hopefully I will take a lot of pictures...and publish them to the web! (read: don't get your hopes up, I still have last year's Brazil trip pics on my desktop).

5) Later this month I'll be speaking at your favorite institution, MIT, for their Alumni Leadership Conference. I'll be on a panel about social media marketing, which is interesting to me because last month I guest lectured a class on social media marketing at your other favorite institution--the Fashion Institute of Technology. Who's next? I'm excited to see campus again, but I am NOT excited to feel old amongst all the current students. I remember as an undergrad, I would wonder who all the "old" people on campus were whenever this conference came to town. Now, I am those "old people."

6) I should blog more often, I feel odd writing long posts these days. I am a fan of keeping it short and sweet on blogs. Thanks for reading!

Vote or Die (for Me!): SXSWi and the BWAs

2009-08-21T13:42:18Z

Today I have two things I need you all to gear up and vote for.

First, I am working with two lovely gentlemen, J Brotherlove (@jbrotherlove) and Brandon Sheats (@sheatsb), to get our panel picked at SXSW Interactive next year. The name of our panel is:

Online Gatekeeping: Who Died and Made You King?

As the web becomes more open via social networks, we're adopting new rules of communication. But who creates these rules? How much does class, race and gender figure into social media policing? We'll discuss how identity affects social networks, as well as look at how online communities police themselves as participation expands. [More]

When J and Brandon approached me about collaborating with them on this panel I thought it was such a GREAT idea! We would really appreciate it if you could create a little SXSW account and vote for our panel (click on the thumbs up icon) here. Voting will close at the end of the day on Friday, September 4. SXSW was pretty freaking fun (and educational) last March, it would be awesome to be able to be on another panel next year.

Secondly, I need your help with the 2009 Black Weblog Awards. My blog (not this blog, the other blog I co-founded and manage), Very Smart Brothas, is a finalist and up for four awards this year:

Best Group Blog
Best Sex and Relationships Blog
Best Writing in A Blog
Blog To Watch

The boys and I are happy to have made the finalist list this year (four times!!), and our blog keeps growing every day. You can go on ahead and begin the two step (and quick) voting process here. Voting ends September 1.

If you love me, you'll vote! Thanks for reading!

That Good Indian Hair

2009-08-18T17:21:53Z

I feel like talking about my hair today (right now). If you haven't seen the trailer for Chris Rock's "Good Hair," you can watch here:

Looks like this will be a funny film. I think I pretty much know how most of the movie will pan out, being a Black woman and all, but I am interested in seeing what the celebrity weave wearers have to say (because usually they pretend like they're not wearing some expensive lace front), as well as find out more information about the weave trade industry from India.

I'm still growing out my hair. It is chugging along nicely, its length down to the bottom of my cheekbones (I initially cut it to barely touching my eyebrows). I ended up buying a hair growth aid to speed this process along. I'm not entirely sure if it's going to work, or if it's working, but every little bit helps, no?

I'm coming to realize I know hardly anything about having Black hair (let alone Mixed hair). I say this because I surely did pick the wrong hair stylist last year. Every time I went to see her to get my hair pressed (NOBODY should be pressing my hair btw, it's too fine), I kept asking her why the hair in front was changing in texture. The curls were limp and different from the rest of my hair. Her answer? "Your hair changes texture as you age, it's always evovling." What a lie! Well, okay, that might be true, however as my hair grows back in it looks EXACTLY like it used to look when I was in high school. My texture hasn't changed at all. All this time, her constant hot press was messing up my curl pattern. When I got to NYC, I started going to a Dominican salon, and their solution for my curl pattern/thinning problems was to not wet it (at least, this is what I could make out from their Spanglish). Apparently I was wetting it, and that was no good. How can I live my life without getting ANY water on my hair? My hair is natural--it makes no sense as to why God would create me with this hair and a footnote that it can't ever get wet. WTH? I'm just glad I had sense enough to chop it all off and start fresh again. I just need to figure out a way to care for it properly. This always feels like a friggin science experiment.

Hopefully Good Hair can shed some light on my otherwise confused thoughts about hair. Can't wait for it to come out!

I've Got My Angel Now

2009-08-11T15:02:28Z

I'm back, two days in a row and blogging! It's as if it's 2003 all over again, and I'm blogging everyday.

Ha, not really.

I came by to drop off a video, Beyonce's "Halo."

I can't explain why, but this is my jam of the moment. Yes, I have had her album since it leaked. Yes, I've seen the video before. For some reason, this week is the WEEK me and 'Halo' fall in love. Perhaps I am liking love songs again. I'm a lover of love songs, but for some reason, in the past 8 months or so I haven't been my usual love song loving self. 'Halo' isn't even the bomb love song, but it works for now.

Enjoy the video starring Bey and Michael Ealy:

Did I mention the time I saw Michael Ealy in public? I was at one of my dad's favorite breakfast spots in LA, on La Brea near Pico (whatchoo know 'bout LaBrea and Pico?) and somehow someway my dad nodded over my shoulder pointing out Michael. I peeked through the bushes...and gasped. Outloud. My dad quickly warned me NOT to embarrass him. I didn't, but the gasp really was uncontrollable, even I surprised myself. I didn't say anything to him, but just admired how absolutely NORMAL he looked (in the debonair Hollywood actor kind of way). Yeah, I was 23 and it was my first week in LA at the time. Once I saw Tootie from "The Facts of Life" shopping with me in Target, I got over the star struck action of LA.

P.S. As I went searching for this video on YouTube, I noticed Beyonce has disabled embedding of her YouTube videos. What kind of wack social media strategy is this about? Sounds like some lawyers brokered that deal or something.

Workcationing In Chicago

2009-08-10T21:53:33Z

I'm in Chicago for a few weeks, vacationing and working. I'm trying to keep a balance, but so far it feels like more vacationing is going on. I have a very exciting client project I'm working on though, so it doesn't feel like work in the traditional brow-beating sense.

I'm staying downtown, and I must say Chicago is a very nice city. I've only been here once before, and that was to see our President give his victory speech on election night (awesome day that was). I liked Chicago then, but it's even nicer in the summertime. The area I'm staying in is particularly awesome and seemingly affordable compared to Los Angeles and Manhattan. Rarely am I impressed by a city that's not LA or NYC, but Chicago is becoming one of my favorite other cities.

Anyway, just thought I would check in. You can catch some of my photos during my trip on my Tumblog. I have much more to blog about, but I always get a bit turned off by the oversharing-ness of the web. Hmm.

Later.

You Know I Can't Blog Again

2009-07-13T07:31:53Z

...until I write about Michael Jackson.

Still gathering my thoughts on this one folks. Be back later.

She's Back, and I'm Obsessed!

2009-06-18T04:46:11Z

Yesterday, my hands down favorite artist of all time, Mariah Carey, dropped a new single. Lucky for me we are Twitter BFFs so I knew the exact time the single would debut on her website. (Ok, so we are Twitter BFFs but she doesn't know it yet).

Anyway, listen to the track and take it for a spin. It grew on me after about the second listen, which seems promising. I didn't like the idea of her using auto-tune, but really, Mariah has been everywhere in back with her sound, so why not try it? Her new album better not be auto-tuned out though.

Love it!

I just hope this song isn't about Eminem. We covered Em a few albums back, let's not bring him up again. Meh.

I'm pretty sure Mimi will gain back her huge advantage over Kanye West on my Last.FM profile.

(p.s. this video player is teh awsum right? It better be, it was product managed by yours truly for one of my clients! I think it's so cute!)

Me on Clutch/Golden

2009-06-01T14:48:43Z

I wrote a piece for Golden (a Clutch Magazine blog) this week, on the joys (and perils) of loving your work.

Loving your Work: A Booby Trap?

Check it out if you just can't get enough of me. I will probably write some more pieces for Golden later, as well. You should also stick around and read more Clutch, owned and operated by one of my bestest friends, DeDe Sutton.

Barbie Dream House

2009-05-21T06:22:26Z

Yesterday I couldn't resist the urge to take a tour of an apartment building here in Los Angeles.

I know, I live in NYC.

I know, I just moved to NYC.

But, I couldn't help it. You see, this building has been under construction for the two years I have passed by it (it's in my neck of the woods), and it's finally complete and ready for tenants.

It has tons of amenities. Beautiful gym, office rooms, lounge rooms, large hallways, every unit has washer/dryers, new stainless steel appliances, huge pool, jacuzzi, sauna, steam room.

Seriously?

It's like my dream apartment. Yes, my dream apartment is a studio. For some reason, I don't see myself needing a lot of space. I don't have a lot of furniture--particularly expensive furniture--and I don't see myself buying a ton anytime soon. I move around way too much to have a lot of furniture. A perfectly well planned studio is all I need in my life, and I have found it.

But, it's in LA. And I live in NYC. Boo.

You know, this bi-coastal living is pretty nice, I must say. If I could really pull off having two apartments in two cities, it would be the best magic trick. Two homes or condos would be an even better trick.

A girl can dream.