Quick Tip!

Let's say you're in your car and need a phone number or address to a store. But you don't have a phone book handy and you don't feel like paying for a 411 call.



Google, the same search engine you use online, is also available on your cell phone! Just send a text message to Google by dialing the number
466453. That spells Google. Here's how it works

http://www.google.com/mobile/default/sms.html

I use this about once a week to help me find a store or person's number!

Hidden Cash in Garage Sales

Last Saturday was my second time taking part in a garage sale.
First time: I made about $60 and this time I made $170+ so I'm celebrating how my "stash made me some cash!"
There were a few things that helped this latest garage sale successful.

1. I didn't do it alone. My friend Vivian's neighbor, Donna, was the host. I brought items I'd been setting aside since the September garage sale. Then I invited my co-worker, Faith, to bring her stuff. The more - the merrier. If one of us didn't have what the "bargain hunters" wanted, the other one would.


2. We did it the first Saturday of the month. For lots of folks who get paid once a month, this is an ideal time for them to shop.


3. Proper promotion. Donna put green neon signs at the corner of her subdivision in Byram for the folks who drive around looking for garage sales. I also had it posted in the Clarion Ledger, Jackson Free Press, Craigslist, and a brand new free website I discovered: Kijiji. Then I e-mailed lots of folks in Jackson who might be interested in buying used items. The ad listed the date, time, and general item descriptions.

We'll probably take a break until the spring before we host another garage sale. It's getting TOO COLD to be standing outside at 5 a.m. I'll sell a few other specialty (12 pairs of ladies size 10 shoes) and brand new items on Ebay & Craigslist.

LOST FANS......Unite!

I'm counting down to early 2009 when my favorite TV show - LOST - returns to ABC.

You won't really understand my devotion if terms like:
the others
the hatch
the oceanic 6
the Dharma initiative
Locke vs. Jack.....

don't mean anything to you.

But for LOST devotees, they mean everything. We've been watching since 2004 and will never forget the day Oceanic Flight 815 crashed into the ocean and the "survivors" came into our lives.

While the twists, turns, questions and queries about LOST are numerous, the Emmy-award winning show has a huge following. LOST devotees are a special breed who have to get used to the crazy ABC schedule and the show "going missing" for months at a time.

For instance, it won't return now until early 2009. Here's a bit of a preview:





Here are some vital websites related to LOST:
http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/index?pn=index
http://lostpedia.com/wiki/Main_Page


And one of my favorite characters on the show is Sayid who's played by Naveen Andrews (http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/index?pn=bios#t=character&d=39847). His character is a bad @ss Iraqi soldier - who like the other mysteriously landed on the Island and his skills were extremely useful there. I've met several celebrities in my 35 years on the Earth and I'd love to add him to the list!

Took in an NYC Concert

First of all, sorry I haven't posted in awhile.

I've been busy with my parents and I squeezed in a day in the city for myself. Saw my dermatologist, did some shopping and caught up with my fellow Hoftsra alum, Tricia Berwick.

Then last Saturday, I went back into NYC for a concert where a family friend performed.

Singer/songwriter/floutist Monet (http://www.myspace.com/monetonline) took the stage at the Symphony Space Theater. I loved her performance, especially the songs I knew from her CD. She was also joined by some fabulous artists like background singe, Mike Hammond (who's wearing the hat; http://cdbaby.com/cd/mikehammond) and saxophonist, Jeff Smith.

But I've left NY and I'm in Maryland for a wedding tonight. Then I'm flying back to Mississippi tomorrow or Sunday. We'll see, depending on how Gustav is acting!

EDITED TO ADD:

www.myspace.com/nyamekyefilms

http://www.purposerecords.com/

www.youtube.com/monet7

www.facebook.com (monet dunham)

Here's a different clip of Monet performing:

My Love for Celebrity Gossip

You would think that as a seasoned, Emmy award winning journalist who has her M.A. from the world's first school of journalism - that one of the first websites I would visit to catch up on the news of the day would be www.cnn.com, www.nytimes.com or my station's website, www.wapt.com. WRONG!!!

Instead, I must feed my insatiable appetite for celebrity/entertainment news, better known as GOSSIP. There are a number of quality sites and not-so-quality sites to get the 4-11 on actors, singers and celebutantes like Paris Hilton. Here's a quick review:

1. www.perezhilton.com: The Queen of All Media Himself. Check him out first thing in the morning. He can be a little harsh when he writes on celebrity's photos and he clearly has people he hates/loves. But I applaud him for being a "brand" with his own shows on VH1, appearances on MTV, and writing columns for major publications. You go girl!
2. www.people.com: Better than the magazine in my opinion because they have a huge staff devoted to the web and break a lot of news stories here. I remember the day Star Jones resigned live on the air on THE VIEW. I was sitting at my computer and people.com is the first place I went to see if anyone was covering what I'd just seen. They had already posted her interview about her plans to resign.
3. www.tmz.com: Love the video of celebrities they get from everywhere AND every angle. They also break a lot of stories. Sadly, I don't have time to watch the show. But THE SOUP on E! uses a lot of their clips so I kinda catch up that way. Speaking of E!............
4. www.eonline.com: This site is growing on me and has a huge following because of their array of shows. I also like the celebrity fashion aspect of their site.
5. www.sandrarose.com: Blogs about black celebrities mainly and mostly in Atlanta. She can be even more opinionated than Perez. But hey, that's what blogs are for! Unlike Perez though, she doesn't talk about herself or show pictures of herself. So you really don't have a "face" to attach to what she says. Maybe she likes it that way. Sadly, Sandra is not a Beyonce fan, like me. So that's where I take issue with her coverage and criticism.
6. www.bossip.com: Another black celebrity blog. They're pretty good and they have lots of photos of celebrities out and about.
7. www.theybf.com: In case you don't know it stands for Young, Black and Fabulous. So it's similar to Sandra and Bossip. But creator, Natasha, is kinda like Perez in that she comes up with names for celebrity couples: Chris & Rihanna = Chrihanna. Isn't that cute?
8. www.mediatakeout.com: Honestly, I haven't visited here in weeks but I guess it's worth a mention. Don't go here expecting "journalism." It's a lot of rumors and innuendo and harsh criticism of black celebrities. But if you wanna quick laugh, click the link.

Just Back from Unity 2008

I just returned from an exciting and busy weekend in Chicago for the Unity 2008 Conference. Every four years, members of the minority media organizations (NABJ, NAHJ, AAJA, and NAJA) join forces for a combined conference.



Here are some pics:













This year's attendance was slightly lower than four years ago when we met in Washington, D.C. But it had it's own energy and noteable moments.

The Int'l Women's Media Foundation Breakfast featured and honored some trailblazing journalists like former ABC News Anchor Carole Simpson. Among the panelists, were CNN's Soledad O'Brien who was very outspoken on how she struggled to get management to do stories like it's recent series, "Black in America." In fact, there was a viewing at the conference Wednesday in place for the cancelled panels featuring Senators John McCain and Barack Obama. McCain did not appear at Unity, but Obama took part in the live panel that aired on CNN Sunday morning.

Unity also allowed me to catch up with former colleagues from Missouri and Ohio. Thanks to my friend, Natalie Collier, I saw a little more of the Windy City, including Navy Pier. But she's a little camera shy!

Help me make a decision!

Last week, I saw the NEW Sprint Instinct phone.

Source: http://www.mobilewhack.com/

Honestly, it's Sprint's attempt to copy the Iphone. I was amazed by it and attracted to it - the sleek black look, the chance to watch live TV, and better visibility of the internet than what my current Treo 650 offers.

Source: Palm.com

Plus, for just $129 with a contract extension, it's still cheaper than the new IPhone and I won't have to break my contract with Sprint. So I'd like you to read this: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/2008-06-25-samsung-instinct-smartphone-iphone_N.htm and visit here: http://www.instinctthephone.com/.

Then help me decide by voting in the poll in the right corner. I'm going to keep the poll open until July 4th and make my decision.