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Posts Tagged ‘love languages’
This sounds like one of those Catskill comedian jokes but I swear this actually happened.
I walked into the Quinn Funeral Home on Steinway Street in Astoria to meet a group of local artists. As I entered the large lobby that was stylistically embalmed in the late sixties, a young man smiled sympathetically at me and offered me a box of Kleenex.
“I’m not here for a service, I’m here for a Queens Art Express meeting.”
“Ah, fourth floor, just past Weight Watchers.”
On the fourth floor, about twenty people were talking about their art, their upcoming shows and exhibitions. There were some theatre folk, several gallery owners, a photographer who lives in a carriage house in Long Island City, three comics from Astoria and a baby.
These three guys do their performances in unexpected places. Their living room, streets, the backs of bars. Marketing their events will take some creative thinking. I am happy to hear they already have a strong presence in places like Twitter and Facebook.
Meeting face to face is, in my experience, the only way to create local universes and to “hasten serendipity”. Other means exist to further the connection and thankfully, they are becoming more intuitive for people like me.
The one tool I am working on now to master is Twitter. It can be a powerful piece of your social media marketing if you do things simply and logically.
I found these Twitter tips by Robin Stephenson to be really do able and helpful.
Here’s one of her tips that I think my Astoria group could really benefit from:
” Be Authentic: If your organization puts out a couple of tweets a day of your own content with nothing more, Twitter is probably not working for you. People want to know that behind the curtain a real person exists who authentically cares about your cause. Don’t assign Twitter to someone in your organization that doesn’t have an interest in using it effectively. The community can feel lack of interest. If you are having an office celebration or having an interesting event, share it with a twit pic. If you are reading interesting news articles around your issue, be the hub of information and share. Don’t be afraid to put out the occasional silly tweet that will make your followers laugh or an inspiring quote that makes people think.”
Why couldn’t these three funny guys create some kind of cool performance on Twitter itself? That would be an unexpected blast of serendipity, don’t you think?
Get more Wow!
If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:
Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good
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Style Notes from me, your artspy
Hoong Yee
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Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?
Seth, my favorite lunch date
“We have just passed half a million hours worth of three kids. Happy anniversary!”
How could you not love a guy who can find a reason to celebrate all kinds of momentous occasions in life?
Our many years of marriage has taken us through, yes, three kids, Jewish and Chinese in-laws, careers, ups and downs. What I believe is the secret to our relationship and to all successful relationships is a part of the body, often overlooked because of hair.
Curious?
I knew you would be.
OK, its your ears.
Alisa Bowman wrote a great piece about listening on her blog. Here’s an excerpt that resonated with me:
“Listen for the feelings behind the words. There are two kinds of listening–listening for information and listening for feelings. Listening for information is the way most of us have learned to listen. For instance, when I list the ways I’m frustrated at work and my husband tries to fix it, that’s listening for information.
The second kind of listening is listening for the feelings behind the words. When I asked the parent how it was for her, she was able to tell me what she was really worried about. When you listen, you want to hear the information, but you also want to hear the feelings, too.”
You can read it here.
Mildred, my Jewish mother-in-law, was a big believer that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Ming, my mom, felt that way too. They were both great cooks and had long, loving marriages.
I would love to be a better cook. But I am better with my ears and perhaps the way to a man’s soul is listening to what he has to say.
Get more Wow!
If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:
Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good
Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit
Style Notes from me, your artspy
Hoong Yee
– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day
– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested
– Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @hylkrakauer)
– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update
Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.
Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?
Do you have trouble with languages?
Yes, it can be difficult in the beginning but so worth it. To share a joke, to listen to a song, to hear what your thoughts sound like in a different culture.
Sometimes all you need is someone to practice with. Like Mildred, my Jewish mother in law.
Sky: Did you know that albondigas means meatballs in Spanish?
Mildred: Bubbeleh, it is such a good thing you’re learning a foreign language in school! The world is such a complex place with all kinds of people. I feel the same way about cough syrup. You need to be medically diverse or you’ll end up choking to death.
But don’t you worry dear. You tell your nice teacher there’s always plenty of chicken soup in my kitchen. Oh, and could you ask her how to say leftovers in Spanish.
Get more Wow!
If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:
Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good
Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit
Style Notes from me, your artspy
Hoong Yee
– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day
– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested
– Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @hylkrakauer)
– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update
Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.
Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?
Cathy in Ciro’s Pastry Shoppe
This conversation really took place, in Ciro’s Pastry Shoppe, in public. I always ask Cathy to teach me a little conversational Italian when we go for coffee in the morning. Seth, on the other hand, prefers more colorful phrases.
Cathy: Ciao Bella!
Me: Cathy, how do you say, “two cappuccinos, please” in Italian?
Seth: Pfffffft! When are you going to say something as ridiculous as that? You need to learn to say, “Get that thing off my leg before I kill you! Can we just coexist? OK, big boy, keep your pants on and talk amongst yourselves.” Now those are some useful phrases. Language is something you have to use every day.
So, where’s my coffee?
Get more Wow!
If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:
Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good
Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit
Style Notes from me, your artspy
Hoong Yee
– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day
– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested
– Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @hylkrakauer)
– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update
Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.
Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?
from the Arts Bloggers session
What better way to spend a three hour drive from Baltimore, Maryland, to Rockaway Beach, New York, than to do dramatic readings from a travel phrase book for gay men, a souvenir from the American Visionary Art Museum, the host of a fabelhaft reception for the Americans for the Arts Convention this past weekend.
OK, now you know how to say “fabulous” in German - fabelhaft!
Chad Bauman, Arena Stage
I am pretty tired from the trip and two days of session overload. This is an annual conference that occurs in a different city each year and brings together a microcosm of arts thinkers, administrators, bloggers and People Who Have a Vested Interest in the Arts Who C’est Divin.
Sacre bleu! You have just learned how to say “fabulous” in French - c’est divin!
As an attendee, I find myself in between sessions with my hand in the snack bowl more often than I care to admit but I did attend a few of the workshops and conversations. On Saturday, I sat in on a session with arts bloggers in a discussion about topics including:
- balancing the personal voice and the organizational voice
- how often should you blog
- how do you achieve gravitas as a blogger
- the intersection between journalism and blogging
Do any of you have any experience with the above that you think might help others who are bewildered by blogging?
Please post a comment if you have something to share.
Thanks to my handy dandy iPad, I was able to check out the blog of everyone who spoke.
from the Arts Bloggers session
And with my newest divina app delight, Sketchbook Pro, I could capture drawings of people.
Uno mas:
from the Arts Bloggers session
Divina! That is how you say “fabulous” in Spanish.
More later.
Get more Wow!
If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:
Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good
Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit
Style Notes from me, your artspy
Hoong Yee
– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day
– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested
– Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @hylkrakauer)
– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update
Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.
Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?
I write for love and money. It is my everyday passion. What's yours? 
