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Brand Juby

Re: the last entry. Brand Juby is less fizzy and sweet than Coke. Also, possibly somewhat less popular.

That's all I have so far.

Thanks to marvelous Lauren Mechling for her pre-completion review of Getting the Girl.

I am a little late to the

party, but I've decided that the key to achieving success in this world is developing and refining my brand.

What brand? You might legitimately ask.

Good question. I don't know what the Juby brand is, only that I should get one. A brand is not the same as a logo. (Sadly, I don't have one of those, either.)

The first order of business is to look up the term at Wikipedia, where I learn that a brand is:

"a collection of experiences and associations attached to a company, organisation, product or service; more specifically, brand refers to the concrete symbols such as a name, logo, slogan, and design scheme. A brand is a symbolic embodiment of all the information connected to a company, organisation, product or service."

Whoa! Tall order there, hombre! Further reading revealed that:

"Brand recognition and other reactions are created by the accumulation of experiences and associations with the specific company, organisation, product or service, both directly relating to its function, and through the influence of advertising, design, media commentary and word to mouth. A brand in turn serves to create associations and expectations. Ultimately "the brand" is any element which, in the minds of consumers or audience, differentiates a company, organisation, product or service from competitors. [1]."

Whaaa? My head is reeling. Because once I digest that little nugget of wisdom I have to admit that my brand resembles a dog's digestive tract. No one knows what the Susan Juby experience might be like, not even me. No wonder those people who go around doing "brand consulting" make so much dough!

Then there's the final bit of overload:

"A brand often includes explicit logos, fonts, color schemes, symbols, sound which may be developed to represent implicit values, ideas, and even personality.

The brand, and "branding" and brand equity have become increasingly important components of culture and the economy, now being described as "cultural accessories and personal philosophies"."

NO WAY! I've been wondering what's wrong with my life. Now I know. I'm entirely lacking "cultural accessories and personal philosophies" (if you don't count my abiding fondness for high fat cheeses, certain breakfast dishes and The Tragically Hip, whose song Scared always makes me cry.)

I've got a lot on the schedule this summer. I'm teaching for a week at UBC, giving a workshop in Prince Rupert and going to Toronto to watch the Roger's Cup and, god save me, competing in my first horse show in nearly 20 years. But in addition, I hereby vow to start getting a handle on my brand. No more Mrs. All Over The Place. I'm going to focus and before you know it, the Susan Juby Brand will be to you as Coca Cola. That, my friends, is a promise.

Hey!

I thought sketchy advice was my beat!

In which...

I weigh in on serious matters, such as music appreciation.

Dear Big Brown,

I have read quite a bit about your performance on Saturday and I wanted to say how proud I am of you. The odds-on favourite to win the Belmont Stakes and, in the process, the Triple Crown, you chose instead to take it easy and cruised home comfortably in last place.

As a horse who has been known to take a relaxed approach to his work from time to time, I fully support your decision. In your place, I would have done exactly the same thing.

Let's look at the facts: you'd already won two gruelling contests, the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. The heat was in the 90s. People had been messing around with your cracked hoof for weeks.

Your trainer, who'd been injecting you with steroids once a month suddenly quit doing so to prove a point. And your owner couldn't stop fibbing about his bonafides.

More importantly, at your last race you saw what happened to that all-heart filly, Eight Belles, who broke both her ankles after crossing the finishing line at the Derby.




A smart horse, much like myself, you said, "You know, I'm not going to overdo it today. I don't want to take any chances with my ankles. I'll just be cantering along back here if anyone needs me."

Good move, my man. If you're ever interested in taking up lower level dressage, I'm happy to offer advice on ways to slack off while doing it. In the meantime, run, or even trot, as slowly as you can for the next few races and you'll be at that breeding farm before you know it. I hear they have good grass in Kentucky. You deserve it my friend.

Run slow: live free.

Best regards,

Tango


An exhausting trot circle...


Followed by the all-important walk-on-a-loose-rein to recover.

Live Journal and the Office

I just realized that there is a very cute page on LiveJournal for my books (don't ask why I didn't realize that this page was connected to the one I've linked to on my site). It's a very quiet little community on there, but many thanks to the organizers! Keep the dream alive. Or at least the LiveJournal page!

Also, I've noticed that Frenchmoodle's picture is from The Office.

I just listened to one of the most interesting and entertaining actress interviews ever with Jenna Fischer on NPR's Fresh Air. She's hilarious in this very low key way that I love and she has the best stories.


This is Jenna from The Office in a very tiny picture.

Jenna Fischer, along with Malkolm the Birder Boy and the late Utah (see below) are officially bestowed with the coveted Rare Bird Seal of Approval.

Bird Year

Nearly a year ago I posted about an adventure embarked upon by fifteen-year-old Malkolm Boothroyd and his parents, Wendy and Ken. They set out on a 12-month quest to count birds. On their bikes. Malkolm has called the project Bird Year.

They started in the Yukon and are now, according to their terrific and often hilarious blog, counting birds in Texas.

Malkolm has raised nearly $20,000 for various bird and habitat protection organizations (the Bird Year trip itself is completely funded by the team).

The team is entering the home stretch and if I could, I'd stand on the highway to give them a standing ovation. I love it when other people have grand (and useful) adventures that I can read about from the comfort of home!

Like any good

paranoid, I fear the day when food will become too expensive to buy and James and I will be reduced to making ivy soup and feeding Frank reconstituted bark mulch kibble and Tango will be forced to subsist on stray dandelion seeds.

Last year, I decided to try my hand at potato farming, with less than substantial results.



I carefully tended to my potted potato patch for nearly three months. Let's take a look at the total yield, shall we?



Please note the scale of potatoes to fork.



On the plus side, the potatoes pictured here are last year's crop. They may be not be big, but they're long lasting!

This year, I've got loftier goals.

I'm getting into the squash business.



Am also something of an apple orchardist.



A herb farmer.


Growing enough flat-leaved Italian parsley to make Nigella's watermelon salad.



Not to mention enough arugula (rocket) to make Jamie Oliver happy.



A strawberryist.


And raspberry cultivator.



That's right. I am now growing enough stuff on our deck to feed us for... one large meal. I cannot even imagine what would be required to grow enough food to feed us year round.

I wonder if James would notice if I added a small goat to the deck? Or tethered a cow to the big Arbutus out front? If so, would the strata consider them tenants and demand extra fees?

So many questions us self-sustainers have to consider.