Sonoma Country Life

Wrapping Up The Week With Cleopatra and a Table to Dazzle

What a busy week. Made it back from snowy England on Sunday night and hit the ground running on Monday morning with my new daily About Town column at Petaluma.Patch.com. Also busy wearing my publicist hat, snapping photos and video around several city schools as Petaluma Educational Foundation board members played Santa in the delivery of Major Impact Grant checks.

It's always great to witness innovative programming in schools actually succeed in getting funded. There are lots of great stories surrounding each and every one of these grants. I will be writing feature articles on each in the New Year.

As the recipients don't know they are receiving the grants until the presentations are made at staff meetings, I can't let the cat out of the bag as to those still awaiting presentation over the next couple of weeks. All will be revealed in due course.

This weekend promises a string of festive goings-on here in Southern Sonoma County. Should be plentiful material in the making for Southern Sonoma Country Life, my About Town Petaluma.Patch column and my South County Notebook column that appears in print only every other week in the Argus Courier Newspaper.

If you have a story for me, be sure to let me know. Due to an overwhelming amount of requests to promote events ahead of time, I'm not always able to include listing-style plugs. Give me the human-interest, newsy angle to your event and you're much more likely to get me to cover it.

Book lovers looking for a December read, this month's bookgroup pick is Cleopatra, A Life, by Stacy Schiff.

One day my house will be neat and tidy and fully decorated for Christmas by the second week in December, until then, thanks to the uber-organized, super-decorator Debbie M, here's a shot of last night's book broad's festive dinner table.

 

Milestone Moment - One Thousandth Post on Southern SoCo Life

Hundreds of pots of of tea, scores of stove top espresso shots and barrels of home made vino have gone into the making of this milestone 1,000th post on Southern Sonoma Country Life since I launched the site almost three years ago, on December 2nd, 2007.

It's a celebration of sorts - a body of work that has built, one post at a time, building a sense of place and a record of the sort of life we live in California's lesser known corner of wine country.

I'd like to take a moment to thank my lovely and loyal, regular readers for sticking around, many of you since the beginning and even before that, on earlier blogging platforms. I hope that my posts have come to represent a welcomed ping in your email inbox, rather like a note from a friend, posted through the letterbox of old.

Thanks also to my circle of writer pal conspirators in online publishing shenanigans, it wouldn't have been half so much fun without filling one another's comment boxes with both moral support as well as the occasional ribbing. 

As for my family, well, without the many men in my life, how would I ever have discovered the immeasurable mental health benefits of cultivating a therapeutic, daily blogging habit? Love you x.

Here's to the next 1,000. Wonder what the next three years have in store?

p.s special mention to Karen Brockman for this week's delicious 2010 Que Syra Pumpkin Cake (pictured above) and Mr.Frank Simpson (Petaluma Spectator) for his outstanding camera work (featured in this collage) during last weekend's harvest.

Did Social Media Make an Impact on City and County Mid-Term Voting?

Hard to imagine the frenetic political energy that has been bombarding cyberspace beyond this peaceful scene above riverfront city, Petaluma, CA in an electric run up to yesterday's mid term elections.

Facebook and the Twittersphere were relatively tame today, in the aftermath of last night's late tallying of city and county election results. Streams of congratulations and condolences to various candidates, successful and otherwise, but little immediate feedback from the politicians themselves, the majority of whom are no doubt taking a well earned personal day.

Scanning social media during the election result roll-out, one has to wonder how much of an impact it has had on the various candidates who have embraced it as an outreach tool.

Newly elected 2nd District Sonoma County Supervisor, David Rabbitt has been a prolific social media communicator during the past six months or more. Though his opponent, Petaluma Mayor Pamela Torliatt has not been any less of an avid Tweeter, Rabbitt motivated the community troops and took the seat with 54.2% of the votes compared to Torliatt's 45.3%.

"Thank you friends and supporters who voted," wrote Rabbitt on Facebook Wednesday afternoon. "This achievement could not have been possible without your support. Thank you to all of the volunteers and friends that have supported me and my family along this journey. I have enjoyed this past year and met so many people of this great community. I look forward to serving you and District 2 as Sonoma County Supervisor."

First time candidate for city council, Ray Johnson was one of the few Petaluma would-be-politicians, defeated, yet promptly out and about on cyberspace via Facebook. "The clock strikes 1:15, the election draws to a close. My congratulations go to Mike Harris, Teresa Barrett and Chris Albertson, but the truth is I am a winner. I became acquainted with the greatest bunch of people I have ever met, the citizens of Petaluma. I saw a group of people that cared, that were dedicated and that listened. As I re-enter a fabulous retirement, the memories will last forever. Thank you Petaluma."

From thwarted city council candidate, Karen Nau to her Facebook friends and supporters: "Thank you for the outpouring of love and support today. We have so much to be thankful for with the outcome of the election, I am thinking positive," wrote Nau.

Birthday boy, Mike Harris didn't have to say too much. The numbers said it all. Can it be a coincidence that Harris experienced a landslide win for maintaining his political hot seat given that his social media friends and supporters weigh in somewhere around the two and a half thousand mark? Most candidates vying for local electoral positions share a more modest five to six hundred social media supporters. Harris (who was named as one of NorthBay Biz Magazine's 40 most powerful under 40s here in SoCo) posted Sonoma County's Registrar of Voters figures for Petaluma City Council seats on his Facebook page today:

Mike Harris 8,970 19.5%

Teresa Barrett 6,733 14.7%

Chris Albertson 6,102 13.3%

Jason E Davies 5,483 11.9%

Ray Johnson 5,451 11.9%

Gabe Kearney 5,361 11.7%

Karen Nau 5,158 11.2%

Wyatt C Bunker 2,223 4.8%

J Ray Bellefeuille 380 0.8%

 

 

An Interview with Frances at Maria Rodale's Farm Country Kitchen

What an honor to have been interviewed for Maria's Farm Country Kitchen. Check out Maria's Rodale's wonderful and hugely read site, featuring yours truly with a few of my own home truths.

Southern Sonoma County's Saint Vincent de Paul High School Alumni Husband and Wife Team Announce Modern Media Merger

When former Saint Vincent de Paul High School sweethearts Mena and Ben Trott met as teens right here in Petaluma, Sonoma County, who knew it would lead to an internationally renowned creative partnership that would reshape significant social media markets?

In an open letter to their decade-old Six Apart Typepad blog customers located all around the world, the San Francisco based entrepreneurial couple have announced the formation of a new, modern media company collaboration with VideoEgg, now called SAY Media.

Mena Trott speaks on a video released today on the new SAY Media site as to the future of this dynamic new modern media approach.

What does this mean for hyper local content sites such as Southern Sonoma Country Life and similar Typepad-based blogs and news sites that you, the loyal reader may have come to know and love?

Ideally, the massive shake-up in how we all choose to read our news and share our views will soon gradually start to take shape in a sustainable way so that content producers are able to make ends meet and improve our multi-media experiences at the same time.

And as a reminder to support your local media in print and online, here's a snippet of a clipping from Summer 2008 issue of our favorite local glossy, the Petaluma Magazine, featuring the Trotts:

Meat Free Mondays with Gwyneth Paltrow and Pals

Southern Sonoma Country Life subscriber and dear friend, Lori made the most of her extended stay in the beautiful, bucolic Bath countryside surrounds whilst stranded in the volcanic-ash cloaked UK this Spring.

Catching up on her reading and getting acquainted with the local butcher, baker and book seller, Lori's international, home-from-home locavore lifestyle extended to taking in tips from transcontinental trend setters such as the lovely Gwyneth Paltrow.

Back in the Bay Area, Lori has shared the wealth of what's currently in vogue in an increasingly green British lifestyle. 

Check out Paltrow's original and engaging web site, Gloop for all kinds of cool suggestions for perking up the kids' packed lunches, looking after healthy hair and my top pick amongst recent posts, the growing trend of Meat Free Mondays both sides of the pond.

Of course you don't have to be a vegetarian to embrace the concept of Meatless Mondays. My Italian in-laws have eaten this way all of their lives. Who needs a chicken dinner the day after a Sunday roast? Southern Europeans have long since practiced the art of balancing, distributing and rotating the weekly food pyramid around a seven day meal plan.

Soup or salad on a Monday. Pasta prima vera, anyone? Beans on toast or scrambled eggs sounds like a tasty, back-to-school day supper to me, though the Italian husband might suggest a simple bean soup. 

With consumer demand from the livestock industry at an all-time-high, greenhouse gas emissions (according to the United Nations) from this one sector cause more havoc in the environment than infamously troublesome transportation.

Here in Sonoma County we do tend to rave about our biodynamic and organic livestock farmers and in no way would suggest a meat-free diet for all. But think about the long term benefits of trimming our collective meat consumption by one seventh and the savings in water usage alone in just one region would be significant.

I like what Gwyneth is doing. And if this influential actor, transcontinental mom and rocker-wife really does pack her kids' school lunches herself, all the more power to her!

What's for dinner? Sign up here for Meat Free Monday recipes every week.

Unbeatable Special Offer for Sonoma Country Life Readers to Attend First Ever Social Media Conference in North Bay

 

Don't miss out on the first Social Media Conference to be held in the North Bay, SocialBiz 2010, taking place this Friday, April 30th, 2010 at the Sheraton Hotel & Marina in Petaluma, California, 30 minutes north of San Francisco.

Everyone is a twitter about Twitter and Facebook and all sorts of fast-paced, powerful social media network tools for businesses, institutions and organizations to successfully spread the word of good work, yet for many this bottomless pool of opportunity has tended to overwhelm.

Now you have absolutely no more excuses not to jump on board the social media rocket ship and position your biz at the top of the market.

As a special, last-minute offer to Southern Sonoma Country Life readers, a one-time deep discount of a substantial $90 savings is available if you make a reservation before Friday.

Don't wait any longer to make your move, there are only a handful of spaces left at the all-day extravaganza of all things social media related. With seminar attendees flying in from as far away as the East Coast, North-Bay and Bay Area readers can't afford to miss out on this inspirational event taking place right here on our doorstep in Sonoma County.

Panel discussions, hands-on workshops, round tables, continental breakfast and lunch, wine tasting and appetizers and a business networking reception offer a one-stop opportunity to teach you how to create an online marketing campaign that helps achieve your strategic business goals. 

Southern Sonoma Country Life readers' special $90 discount code is RMSPEC90

To register:

Go to: http://socialbiz2010.eventbrite.com

Enter the discount code (there’s a link right below the ticket pricing): RMSPEC90

Click Apply Discount -the pricing will update to reflect the discount on the General Attendee ticket price.
 

Click here for more info on the Social Biz 2010 Social Media Conference

Author of The Digital Journalists Handbook on Print Newspaper Strengths

Northern California's East Bay-based New Media man-of-the-moment Mark Luckie has a razor sharp approach to cutting through a lot of the white noise going on in and around the rapidly changing face of journalism.

Luckie, author of the excellent and easy to read The Digital Journalists Handbook hits the nail on the head for lots of us who have one foot in web publishing and the other still quite firmly planted in our beloved print newspapers and magazines.

Check out this post on Luckie's 10,000 Words blog and in particular, scroll through some of the comments. A great platform for differences of opinions on the likelihood of certain sections of the traditional newspaper surviving the onslaught of a digital future. 

Multi media and interactive story producer for The Center for Investigative reporting, Entertainment Weekly, The Los Angeles Times, the Contra Costa Times and former crime and justice reporter for the Daytona Beach News Journal, Mark Luckie has served as a multi media skills trainer for the Knight Digital Media Center at UC Berkeley as well as lecturing at various collegiate groups and professional news organizations.

Berkeley Bootcamp Breakfast Nirvana

Back in Sonoma County after six days of super-intense 12 hour bootcamp for independent journalists' blogging the new frontier of online storytelling at the Knight Digital Media Center in the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.

Twenty fellows from across the country (one in this temporary alternate reality from combat zone assignment) did a double take at day six breakfast spread, a surprise treat of authentic Brittany French Crepes cooked to special order in the Edwin R Bayley library.

The Knight Digital Media Center is housed jointly at Berkeley and the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication. Dedicated to helping good journalists and good journalism succeed in the 21st Century, fellowship workshops such as the Web Publishing for Independent Journalists seminar are vital in an age of increasing layoffs in newsrooms around the country.

As journalists explore new realms of storytelling potential via web publishing, new and emerging platforms are popping up in communities throughout the nation, particularly on the hyper-local level.

Anyone can write a blog or take a stab at throwing a community news project together. The key, however, is keeping afloat and rising to the top of regular online readership in a sustainable way so that independent reporting can thrive as a profession and stories continue to be told.

Web publishing offers a myriad opportunities once we explore the powerful tools available for storytelling delivery online. The 20 test fellows in this first-time offering for independents reporting outside of the newsroom had a highly focused whirlwind introduction to a wide variety of the following phenomenal tools and more thanks to the incredibly talented team at KDMC:

• Shooting good video and video editing • Using Photoshop to prepare images for publication• How to effectively sell advertising • Data visualization at the community level • Basic Mapping and Data-driven Maps • Search Engine Optimization and Google Analytics.

What does this mean for the future of Sonoma Country Life? Lots of great ideas bubbling away in the mental upload department. Thanks to all who continue to watch this space!

Petaluma Spectator Citizen Reporter Takes on Safeway Tactics on National Radio

GenTalk radio with a freedom twist has picked up Petaluma Spectator's citizen reporter/top local blogmeister, Frank Simpson's post on the issue issue of scanning driver's licenses for alcohol purchases at Safeway stores.

Tune in online between 2.05 and 2.30 pm pacific time on Thursday March 18th to hear 'retired' attorney Frank interviewed live on Genesis Communications Network by Dr. Katherine Albrecht,  a syndicated radio show host, popular media commentator, high profile privacy campaigner,  sought-after public speaker, technology expert, and author. 

Think that Safeway might be getting a little too invasive on the privacy issue by instigating a policy to scan photo id's of everyone and his Grandma, including a 90-year-old with a walker out to top up the sherry supply? The show will also be available in on-demand format if you miss Frank's national radio debut.