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Tuesday
August 12, 2008 Fun in the Sun at the SAAC Show!Filed under: Editorial, Fun, Travel Hi Everyone! I just returned to the office after being at the always-awesome SAAC Show in Long Beach, CA, last week. I’ve been attending the SAAC Show since its last year at the Towne & Country hotel in San Diego and have been a huge fan ever since. I don’t know if it’s because the show is the last of the year for many people or the relaxed vibe of Cali, but this show always has a distinct atmosphere to it — one of profound fun, where everyone is laid-back and happy. See below for a smorgasbord of photos I took chronicling the week. Two of my favorite moments that I missed the chance to photograph? My pal Jamie Raynor from JournalBooks, who is always the epitome of moderation, reason and decorum, succumbing to the crazies and doing Irish Car Bombs (rock on, Jamie!) at the iPROMOTEu “SupplierPalooza” party and Kris Robinson, vice president of Counselor Top 40 distributor PromoShop, getting five other people to join him in sticking their fingers in shots of Sambuca, lighting them on fire , raising their arms in the air and declaring themselves the “Statues of Liberty.” And truly, I can think of no better analogy for the SAAC Show and this industry: “Give us your weirdoes, wackos, loonies and kooks…” ; )
Wednesday
July 30, 2008 Putting the “Chic” in Chicago…The High (& Low) Lights from the ASI Show!Filed under: ASI Shows, Editorial, Fun, Travel Hi Everyone! Welcome back from Chicago! If you weren’t there, YOWZA, did you miss a good time! I can’t remember a show where everyone seemed to be in such a great mood and going off the rails they were having so much fun! The show was fabulous and the parties were epic — but don’t take my word for it; check out the menu of mayhem and debauchery in the array of photos below. I don’t know about you all, but I have serious concerns as to whether my liver will cease quivering in time for the SAAC Show next week. And that one, my friends, being my last show of the year, is where I go out with a bang, not a whimper. ; ) More on Friday! Cheers! — Michele
Tom Riordan, CEO of Maple Ridge Farms, and I share a drink at the Mix bar in the Hyatt — where the elite meet to eat and the rummies flock to drink. Tom and I had never met in person before, and he was as delightful as I had heard.
Monday
July 14, 2008 And Now, a Word from the Lunatic Fringe…Happy Monday (an oxymoron if there ever was one…), Everyone! Last week, I wrote a blog entitled “The Mouths that Roared,” regarding the debut of ASI Radio. The weekly half-hour live call-in talk radio show kicks off tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. (Eastern time) and will feature ASI’s five senior editors — Melinda Ligos, editor-in-chief; Kathy Huston, editor of Advantages; Andy Cohen, editor of Counselor; Joe Haley, managing editor and star of The Joe Show; and myself. To access the show, just go to the link www.asicentral.com/radio tomorrow morning. To call in, simply dial (215) 953-4979 or send me an e-mail, which will reach me as I’m on the air, due to the ever-present Crackberry glued to my hand. (My e-mail address is mbell@asicentral.com). Of the issues we’ll be discussing tomorrow, the new, more restrictive code announced by the Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) last week will be the first hot topic. What this code says is that all non-educational items — such as pens, note pads, mugs and similar reminder items — should not be offered to healthcare professionals or members of their staff, even if they’re accompanied by patient or physician educational materials. This is due to take effect in January, 2009 and will clearly have widespread repercussions for the industry. We will also be discussing the results of a poll, posted on ASICentral, that asked industry professionals who they were more likely to vote for — Barack Obama or John McCain. I’ll leave you in suspense, but do call in to get Joe Haley’s back as he — the lone conservative Republican — squares off against the other four liberal Democrat editors. And for those of you I haven’t spoken with, yes, we will be working without a five-second delay, so what you hear will be live and uncensored. This fact — and the penchant Kathy Huston and I have for dropping the “f bomb” — has ASI’s president and CEO, Tim Andrews, wringing his hands, shaking his head and walking the halls here at ASI muttering “FCC fines” under his breath. And, did I mention that for our inaugural show, the five of us will be drinking morning cocktails? Let the games begin… ; ) Tune in tomorrow and cheers! — Michele
Tuesday
July 8, 2008 The Mouths That RoaredHi Everyone – There’s not a week that goes by that Rich Fairfield, ASI’s senior vice president, the publisher of our magazines and my boss, doesn’t come up with an idea that makes me scowl, roll my eyes and whine, “Where’d you come up with that cockamamie plan?”
Wednesday
June 25, 2008 Hey Baby, What’s Your Sign?Hi Everyone – Hope you’re all enjoying the summer so far! Those of you who know me know that I’ve been spending each summer in Avalon, NJ, all my life. For those of you not familiar with Avalon, it’s a very small beach town in South Jersey, where people mainly in their 20s, 30s and 40s suffering from arrested development flock every weekend to hang out with their friends and enjoy copious amounts of cocktails. The real estate is very expensive and the people who congregate on the island every summer have an excess of disposable income and a general lack of discretion, composure and willpower (and believe me, I’m one of the worst offenders in that regard). It is the type of place that inspired famed writer Somerset Maugham’s descritpion of the South of France: “A sunny place for shady people.” It’s also the kind of beach town that thrives during bad weather, when the bars are even more crowded (the unofficial slogan of the bar owners: “When it rains, we pour”). Succinctly, it is a haven for heathens.
Thursday
June 12, 2008 Primo Show for Promo East!Filed under: Editorial, Fun, Travel Hi Everyone! Last week was the Promotions East Show in Atlantic City (or, as I refer to it, the Hellmouth of the East Coast). Despite the fact that it is not an easy place to get to unless you’re from NJ or Philly, people flock to this show and for good reason – it’s one of the two biggest regional shows (SAAC’s August show in Long Beach, CA, being the other) and a solidly good, mid-year event that attracts top-tier ad specialty professionals. (Another factor could be the world-famous “White House” cheesesteaks and hoagies, which have developed a rabid, cult-like following among show-goers.)
Monday
May 19, 2008 No Sex (But Lots of Fun) and the CityHi Everyone — The week of May 5th week was the first-ever ASI Show in New York City and it was a blast! This year’s Counselor Top 40 banquet was held at the quintessential New York hot spot Cipriani, and it was fantastic. At my table were my pals Jo-an Lantz from Geiger, Scott Siegel from R.S. Owens and Gemline owner Jonathan Isaacson, who is this year’s Counselor International Person of the Year. Jonathan’s knowledge on the topic is so vast and his passion for conveying the widespread impact that pricing issues in Asia will have on our industry is so contagious, that he actually has me saying things like this to my girlfriends over cocktails: “Prices on items imported from China have been so cheap due to its government’s refusal to let the yuan float against the U.S. dollar; that’s going to change as China is now exporting its inflationary markets to the U.S.” It would be at this point, if my life had its own soundtrack, that you’d here the crickets chirping over the Grey Goose, as my friends gaped at me, slack jawed.
Friday
April 4, 2008 Holy Frak!I have a confession to make: My name is Michele and I’m a sci-fi addict in all its dorky variations. Yep, I’m a full-blown geek from way back: Give me your Wonder Woman, your Lost in Space, your Star Trek: The Next Generation, your Buffy the Vampire Slayer, your Angel— pretty much anything by creator Joss Whedon, the uber-cool leader of the nerd herd. I’ll take them all. |
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