Animal cruelty - fast and easy way to do something about it to make a difference

Whether it is a neighbor's dog that has been tied up outside for several days while owners are vacationing or a story you read in a local paper about an animal being mistreated / exploited, there are steps you can take to do something about feeling sick to your stomach.

While catching up on my smorgasbord of RSS feeds, I came across an odd story of a monkey in the Netherlands that was 'paid' to promote a local tourism spot by having to wear a sandwich board sign every day. The story irritated me not only because this primate was being exploited, but also because I wouldn't even know where to report mistreatment of a monkey in Netherlands - who does?

For any case of animal mistreatment, consider www.peta.org your resource. I was amazed at how easy it was to navigate their site and find out who to contact / what steps to take.

Animal abuse cases (whether in a story you read / in your neighbor's yard / a website that features animal abuse) can be reported to: http://www.peta.org/about/c-report_cruelty.asp The form takes a few minutes at most to complete, and in my case I received a personalized email response from PETA within a few days notifying me of international animal rights laws and the course of action she was going to take to follow up on this report. It was amazing to receive feedback in such a timely manner, and provided a feeling of relief that there are easy steps you can take to report a wide range of animal abuse.

On this note, if any readers have recommendations on Albuquerque no-kill shelters that are good spots to drop off strays, I'd greatly appreciate your feedback. Over the past month, I have seen an increase of loose / stray dogs, and would like to know immediate locations I could drop off the next four-legged pal I drive by.

Obama's Nuts, URLs, and Blog Shout out

Check out David Berkowitz's most recent blog post on advertisement targeting on Facebook. There is a shoutout in the first paragraph to QuirkyABQ (Jennifer Marshall) for an example I provided from Facebook.

See full article here.
See example I found here.

If you find any odd examples of 'too close to home' or inappropriate advertisement targeting, contact me.

Who is going to market 'Obama's nuts'?

Mr. Jackson - what were you THINKING? As if Fox News wasn't bad enough, we have to have a liberal civil rights activist slamming Obama with less than eloquent rhetoric. Awesome. If you haven't seen the video yet, go here to check it out. Oy.

The real question is, what marketer can act fast enough to sell cans of nuts marked, 'Obama's Nuts - Made by J. Jackson'. Let me even help, I've made a prototype.

I wonder if Obama is somewhere, drinking a good cocktail, just laughing very hard... or maybe he is making a prototype of a nutcracker with Jackson's head on it.

Big Announcement, Important URLs Purchased Last Night

Two important URLs were purchased last night.

URL #1
I am now the proud owner of www.quirkyabq.com. This address reroutes to the blog (temporarily housed on my imajenart.com domain). Down the road I hope to move all blog files over to this site.

URL #2
For those not in the 'know', pictured at right is my recently adopted pug, Douglas. Douglas is a glitzy boy who doesn't mind rocking a blonde wig, bling, perhaps he wishes he was drinking a martini or two at times. He's a ham in front of the camera, and my creative wheels have been spinning about ways to let Douglas be in the spotlight that an ab fab pug only deserves.

Over the next year, in addition to the art site and Quirky ABQ blog, I will be launching www.dragqueenpug.com starring the one and only, Douglas. A little odd - of course. Perhaps on verge of beauty pageantry mom? Quite likely. For now though, the project is just a big idea for a lazy-eyed little pug with a perfect URL purchase.

Green Drinks - First Tuesday of the Month

For the second first Tuesday of the month in a row (tough phrase), I attended 'Green Drinks' last night.

The event is organized by the New Mexico chapter of Green Building Council. The past two events I've attended have pulled 20-25 out for happy hour. Great mix of folks and worth checking out. Location - One Up (downtown ABQ where Carom Club used to be). Usually the group meets in the back around the pool tables starting around 5:30 PM.

Corporate blog entries & free BCP session @ Abba Center for Excellence

By day I am a marketing wench, and I contribute to my company's blog. Please feel free to check out my most recent two posts:

Do good by doing nothing, exploring goodsearch.com I enjoyed writing this piece, because I hope to determine strategic ways for non-profits to better utilize online not only to meet marketing needs - but also fundraising. GoodSearch and GoodShop have a unique product, and I view it as truly feasible for day-to-day online buying trends to be routed through this site to raise money for non-profits. Secondary goal of the blog entry - to increase awareness of Albuquerque Meals on Wheels new pet division that is kicking off this September 2008. I have been working with the amazing team of individuals at ABQ MOW to develop a program plan. With the help of generous sponsors, dedicated volunteers and a little luck - hopefully the program will be a success. More info on this program to come in future posts. Do you Tweet? I am embarrassed that I'm jumping on the Twitter bandwagon so late, but this social networking site fascinates me. Call it microblogging, call it 'haiku blogging' (or maybe I just call it that) - truncated posts in 140 characters or less leave little room for error and lots of room for processing a ton of information in a short amount of time. If you're on Twitter too, feel free to message / nudge me.

In the green arena, I am starting to research and gather articles on green computing / green IT. If you have a specific resource recommendation, please contact me. I am eager for feedback and ideas. On the topic of IT, Abba Technologies (locally headquartered IT systems integration and professional services firm) is hosting a free and open to the public session on Business Continuity Planning. The event will take place at the Abba Center for Excellence located in downtown Albuquerque from 8:30 AM - 10:30 AM on Thursday, July 24, 2008. Space is limited - so make sure to RSVP by going through www.abbacenter.com. This is a great opportunity for local business professionals to assess the risks that threaten their organizations and develop a BCP plan that will ensure continuance of business operations. Also - the event is going to be led by Stuart Prager - a Certified Business Continuity Planning professional. He is one of two BCP specialists in NM with this high level of BCP certification.