My “Mix it up” posts are evidently going to be a series because I can’t stop thinking of ideas for CD mixes. Which is strange because I haven’t actually sent a CD mix to anyone lately. I’m full of ideas though! My last two mixes can be found on my old PastaQueen site. They were The Aging Mix and the Same Title, Different Song mix.

This time I want to put together a mix of songs that callback to one another or are linked in some way. Usually it’s because one song references the other song. Here’s what I’ve got so far:

Lloyd Cole and The Commotions – Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken?
Camera Obscura – Lloyd, I’m Ready To Be Heartbroken

The link between these two is pretty obvious. The first song is asking if you’re ready to be heartbroken and then Camera Obscura let’s good old Lloyd know that, yes, they’re ready to be heartbroken.

Neil Young – Southern Man
Lynard Skynard – Sweet Home Alabama

The Neil Young song is critical of the south. A verse in the Lynard Syknard song responds to that with “Well I heard mister Young sing about her/Well, I heard ole Neil put her down/Well, I hope Neil Young will remember/A Southern man don’t need him around anyhow”

The Eagles – Take It Easy
Tori Amos – Springtime of His Voodoo

The Eagles song has a lyric “Well, I’m a standing on a corner/in Winslow, Arizona/and such a fine sight to see/It’s a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed/Ford slowin’ down to take a look at me.” The Tori Amos song references this with the lyric “Standin’ on a corner in Winslow Arizona/And I’m quite sure I’m in the wrong song.”

Billy Bragg – New England
Kirsty McColl – New England (new verse, female perspective)

At first glance it might seem like the Kirsty McColl version is just a cover of the Billy Bragg version. Don’t be fooled! Kirsty’s version is a response to Billy’s version seen from the female perspective. She even adds a verse or two. It’s interesting to compare the views on being dumped, dumping someone, and the attitudes each has on the situation. Here are the Billy Bragg lyrics and the Kirsty McColl lyrics. And YouTube has this a version of the song with both Billy and Kirsty!

Ronnie Spector & the Ronettes – Be My Baby
Eddie Money – Take My Home Tonight

Yes, my knowledge of 80′s soft rock is showing here. The Eddie Money song has the lyric “Just like Ronnie said/Be my little baby” which refers to Ronnie’s song. He even got Ronnie Spector to guest on his song.

OK! Those are the ones I thought of off the top of my head. I’m sure there are lots more. Tell me about them in the comments. Try to avoid listing songs that simply sample other songs or mashup other songs. I’m not that interested in something like “Every Breath You Take” by The Police and that P. Diddy song that basically just raps over it. Or Will Smith’s “Men In Black” which uses the melody from “Forget Me Nots.” I’d like for there to be a conscious reference to the other song and not just sampling.

My first book, Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir is currently ranked #90 in the Kindle paid store. Woot! If you’ve been meaning to buy a copy but never got around to it, you can grab the book for only $0.99 right now. I’m not sure how long that sale will last, so you’d better hop over there right quick.

Confession: I just bought the Kindle version myself so I’d have a copy in that format :)

Special thanks to Bernie at One Mixed Bag for letting me know about this.

Google launched the +1 button for the web this week, and I’ll admit my first reaction was, “Oh crap, I’m going to have to figure out what this is so I can sound moderately intelligent when my web design clients ask me about it. Why must you make me learn new things, Google? WHY?!” It doesn’t help that Google also has something called Buzz which I don’t quite understand either, but fortunately no one has asked me about. (Please don’t ask me about it. My brain hurts and I need a nap.)

Writing that last paragraph makes me realize that my reluctance to learn new things probably means I’m turning into one of those old dogs who doesn’t want to learn new tricks and would prefer to sleep in the sun all day. I even took a nap yesterday afternoon on my couch. Woof!

I did some reading and learned that the +1 button is Google’s answer to the Facebook “Like” button. More importantly, it will impact your personal search results on Google. Your searches will feature results that your friends liked, and sites will appear higher in search rankings if they’ve been plussed (plus-ed? plus oned? I need a verb conjugation here. Grammar nazis, please HELP!). I am torn between thinking 1) this will be a great way to make my searches more relevant, and 2) being completely terrified of how this will filter out information I would benefit from seeing because Google will hide it from me without ever telling me about it.

The latter effect is explored more deeply in a book by Eli Pariser called The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You. I haven’t read the book, but I heard the author interviewed about it on The Diane Rehm radio show undoubtedly when my MP3 player battery had died. I suppose that’s a filter bubble right there since I only listen to stuff in my car that I’ve heard before. I usually avoid The Diane Rehm Show because as accomplished as she is, her voice sounds like nails screeching across a blackboard. However, the topic was fascinating enough to keep me tuned in anyway. Here’s a TED talk that introduces the basic concept:

Essentially, two people can enter the same search term into Google and get completely different results. In the video Pariser gives the example of two friends who searched for the term “Egypt.” One got news about the political upheaval and the other got links to vacation packages. What’s freaky is that Google doesn’t tell you it’s doing this, nor does it provide options to turn it off or adjust the settings. You might have experienced something similar on Facebook which gives you a news feed that is filtered to show information only from friends you tend to read and like more. Again, they don’t go out of their way to tell you about this. You have to be savvy enough to figure it out yourself. I never knew the extent to which Google filtered my results until I heard the radio interview, and I consider myself to be pretty well-informed about the Internet. If I’m as hip as I presume to think I am, I also have to think the majority of web users don’t know about this either.

Now, I have to admit I’ve found the Google filters helpful at times. When I search for a restaurant using Google it automatically displays results close to my neighborhood without me having to type in “Chapel Hill.” Very handy. I’ve also noticed that WinAmp, the MP3 player on my laptop, tends to play songs near other songs I’ve listened to when I’ve set it to “shuffle,” implying that shuffling music is not the same as randomizing it. This can be good sometimes because I’m more prone to hear songs I like, but I think I’d also like the option of a truly random setting so I’m more likely to hear songs I haven’t listened to lately. And again, this algorithm bias isn’t something WinAmp ever told me about, just something I sussed out on my own.

One could argue that there is so much information available now that filters are necessary for us to have a chance to find what we’re looking for. The question then becomes, how can we find what we’re not looking for? How can we have happy accidents when we discover a song or book or movie we love that no one in our sphere has heard of? While the status of my music playlist is hardly a moral quagmire, the Egypt example above shows that these filters can raise ethical questions. When I search am I seeing only what I want to see instead of what I need to see? Humans are prone to confirmation bias which is our preference to hear information that confirms what we already believe. We don’t like our beliefs to be challenged, although those challenges are what help us to grow and gain a better understanding of our world. As I showed in the first paragraph of this blog, I’m not that inclined to learn about the latest flashy, shiny addition to social media, but I really should be forced to if I’m going to stay current in my industry and understand how the Internet is shaping my perception of the world. Governments in countries like China already block search results from their citizens, but this invisible filtering seems more insidious since we’re affected by it without ever knowing about it.

The initial promise of the world wide web was that it would allow us to connect to people all around the world. We could be exposed to different beliefs and ideas that would personally enrich us and expand our worldview. Now it seems that the web is starting to narrow our views and exclude us from seeing a broader world, even if it helps us better find things already in our personal sphere. The real issue here seems to be choice and transparency. Have we let people know about the filters and have we given them a choice to control or remove those filters? Is it good for our culture for people to stay locked in their echo chambers even if it is by choice, or should we force people to see the things they might be uncomfortable seeing? Who even decides what needs to be seen?

I have no doubt I’ll start adding +1 buttons to my clients sites as they request it and aim to improve their SEO and other social media acronyms. I’m not sure how I feel about it though. I fear that people who don’t participate in the system and don’t make it easy for people to give them a +1 will be filtered out and their voices never heard. By adding these buttons I wonder if I’ll be perpetuating a problem that most people don’t know exists, but do you have any chance of being heard if you don’t play the game?

I dunno, but I do know I’m going to take a nap.

I meant to post about this BEFORE it happened, but my time machine only goes forward very slowly, so I will instead be posting about it AFTER it happened. I talked to CJ Liu on her radio show Fire it Up with CJ today about my weight loss story and the struggles of weight maintenance, etc. You can listen to the hour-long interview here once they post it sometime within the week. CJ’s show aims to “fire people up and awaken them to their full potential.” It was really fun chatting with her! Thanks for having me on, CJ.

Conferences beget swag. What is swag? Swag is typically anything given to you for free by a company in hopes of engendering goodwill and encouraging future sales of that company’s product. Swag is usually branded with the company’s name. When you go to conferences, particularly blogging conferences, it’s common for you to collect so much swag that it won’t fit in your suitcase. Thus, some of it gets left behind to engender goodwill (or more likely bad will) with the maid.

I’ve been to three BlogHer conferences, two FitBloggin‘s, and one Wordcamp, so I’ve been given a lot of swag over the years. I’m grateful for the companies that sponsor these events because without them the conferences wouldn’t be possible. That or we’d all have to pay $1000 for tickets. I’m glad they’re there and I’ve been more than happy to accept their free granola bars and plastic martini glasses over the years.

That said, sometimes people get a little nutty about swag. At a certain conference I shall not name it’s gotten more out of control every year until it now seems like a competition to find the most expensive piece of swag and flaunt it in front of everyone else. Sometimes I want to tell people to CHILL THE FUCK OUT. Free stuff is fun, sure, but can anyone name every piece of swag they got at a conference a year ago? A month ago? Oprah Winfrey said that even though people get really excited about her Favorite Things show, most of them won’t remember everything they got a year afterward. That’s why she chose to send her super-fans on a trip to Australia because she knew people would never forget the experience of that vacation. Memories are more precious than things. Strangely, I think that’s why it’s hard to throw out some things. You’re not attached to the object but you’re attached to the memories that come with it.

Even though it’s a lot of fun to get swag, how much swag do you actually use on a regular basis? I decided to look around my house and see what swag has managed to stick around in my life long after the vendor tables were folded up.

Please note: You can assume that any food I got was promptly gobbled up, or I took at least one bite before throwing it out, because that’s how I jelly roll. As such, it will not be listed, nor will any coupons I might have used to get a food item or other product (because I can’t remember them). I’m also not including anything I got at invitation-only corporate events or that were sent to me directly by companies, though there are several of those items I still use.

These are listed in no particular order other than the one I remembered them in:

1) Tiara: BlogHer 2009, Chicago

Ok, I don’t actually use this tiara. I abdicated my throne, so I’m no longer a queen, and a dried macaroni tiara would have been more suitable anyway. The tiara is designed for a child, so it doesn’t fit on my head comfortably either. (No big head jokes, please.) I got it at one of the BlogHer parties and now it sits on my bookshelf looking pretty. It’s not useful at all, but I dig it. Maybe there’s something to all that Disney princess bullshit after all. (This might not technically count as swag because it’s not branded and isn’t promoting any product that I know of, but it’s right up in my face everyday and I got it for free at a conference, so I’m including it.)

2) GreenLiteBites bowl: FitBloggin’ 2010, Baltimore

Roni gave Fitbloggin’ 2010 attendees these great bowls that advertise her GreeLiteBites recipe site. It came with a spoon that I confess I don’t use. Roni might want to stop reading here because I don’t think this was her intention for the bowl, but I use it mostly for ice cream. It smaller than the rest of my bowls so it keeps the portion size down and makes the serving look larger since it fills the whole bowl. It’s also really well made, not some plastic throwaway crap, which is another reason I’ve kept it.

3) Butterball pot holder: BlogHer 2007, Chicago

Everyone needs a potholder, right? (Except for helper robots and Superman.) This potholder isn’t particularly better or worse than any of my other potholders, but it’s still in my kitchen, so score one for Butterball! I have never used it when cooking a turkey though, and I doubt I ever will. Sorry, Butterball, but I’m not your demographic. Score one for resistance to repetitive ad messages!

4) BlogHer messenger bag: BlogHer 2008, San Francisco (?)

It’s not that this bag is spectacularly well made or bigger on the inside than the outside. It just fits over my shoulder really well when I’m on a bike. I used to use it to shuttle books back and forth from the library when I lived close to a library. Just goes to show practicality will win over glitz in the long run, at least with me.

5) Assorted notebooks: Various conferences

Give me a decent notebook and I’ll probably use it. I had a Wiley notebook that I used up that’s not pictured here, but was always easy to find because it was an intense neon green. The Shutter Sisters notebook is unlined, so I use it for client sketches and notes. The POM notebook I use as a food diary, but I have to admit I didn’t realize it was a POM notebook until I opened it up for this photo. I usually keep it open to record food entries. Note to POM: Next time brand the pages with your logo, too.

6) A million USB drives

Ok, not a million, but a lot more than I really need. I have almost a dozen, but the one I use the most is the 2 gigabyte New Balance one I got at FitBloggin’ 2010 because it’s the biggest. If you’re going to give out a jump drive, don’t skimp on the storage space! I will always, ALWAYS, prefer the one with the most storage space. You hear that you skimpy little 250mg AOL Body drive? That’s why you’re hidden in a box on my shelf and not traveling in my purse.

7) Michelin Man tire pressure gauge: BlogHer 2008, San Francisco

To be totally honest, I don’t think I’ve ever used the tire pressure gauge, but I do keep it in my dashboard compartment just in case. It also reminds me of the Stay-Puft marshmallow man, so how could I not eat love it?

8 ) New Balance headphones: FitBloggin’ 2011

I only got these headphones a few weeks ago, but I already know I will use them a lot. They are the headphones I have been searching for that combine the non-dorkyness of earbuds with little earloops to actually keep the earbuds in my ear. This is the second time New Balance has made my list, the only company to do so. Score one (or two) for the New Balance PR department!

9) HP Laptop Sticker: Blogher 2008, San Francisco

HP gave out big stickers they call SkinIts that go on the back of your laptop, instantly making it prettier and more easily identifiable. I don’t have a picture of mine because I recently gave that laptop to my mom, but I really did love it. Someone even complimented me on it at a coffee shop once!

My only real complaint is that the guy at the booth told me to see the other guy at the booth for help putting the sticker on because he was a real wizard at it. When I went to that guy he was like, “I’ve never applied one of these stickers in my life.” So, yes, a PR person LIED to me. LIED! I know you’re as shocked as I am.

That’s it.

So there you go. Six blog conferences and only nine pieces of swag have been integrated into my life. (Technically the notebooks and USB drives increase that number, but I’m lumping them together by category.) I don’t think I left anything out, but it’s possible I’ll see something in my apartment next week and think, “My doohicky from Whatsit Company! How could I forget my doohicky from Whatsit Company!”

Also, despite the branding I don’t think I’ve actually bought any of the products the swag in my life advertises. I used to buy New Balance shoes, but switched to a pair by Saucony because they better suit my pronation. Also, my old HP laptop had some issues (like freezing up when I tried to go on battery power), so cool sticker or not, I bought another brand laptop this year. Take from that what you will.

Of course, few people think they’re being affected by advertising. In reality we are all influenced by it despite ourselves. So I might actually be more inclined to buy Michelin tires next time, or eat a big bag of marshmallows in the car. Whatever.

Has any piece of swag integrated its way into your life? Are there any freebie items you have that you just couldn’t live without? Let me know!