A very important introduction

Roger McKenna
Birthday 10.16.06
Adopted 4.16.08
60lbs of pure awesome

So long-time readers may notice my blog description has been revised from "Advertising - Environmentalism - Feminism - Friends" to now read "Advertising - Environmentalism - Feminism - Roger." Roger is my dog. He's my best friend, and he certainly gives me a lot of material to work with and adventures to blog about! When I mentioned to some coworkers that I had a blog, they insisted that Roger Stories needed to be on there. I've got some catching up to do!

Roger was adopted as a housewarming gift to myself in April '08 from HSCC, when he was 1.5 yrs old. I'd been volunteering at HSCC for over a year, waiting for the right dog to come through, and the timing couldn't have been more perfect! He's a Catahoula Leopard dog, which happens to be the state dog of Louisiana. Like most of the people who ask me about him, I had never heard of the breed. I did a little research before going to meet him. I don't know why they're not more popular up here - he's exactly what I was looking for!! - athletic but not hyper (able to chill at home all day, then go romping around in the evening and hiking on weekends); bonds really closely with his family; webbed feet for swimming; loves and needs human interaction. The very first time we met, I knew he was my dog. We had a paw-jama party later that week, and the very next day I spent my lunch break filling out the paperwork and we've never looked back.

From what I've pieced together from his medical records, he was in at least two different shelters in Florida, then transferred up to VT. Before he and I found each other, he had been adopted by another family here in VT, and lived with them for about 6 mo. He nipped at their young daughter a couple times when she cornered him for a hug, but their loss is my gain. It's only been about 10 weeks, but I can't imagine my life without him! He's always happy to see me, protective and very lovey and cuddly. Roger is mellow for such a young dog, and for the most part, well-behaved. I continue to be amazed at how clever he is.

JC Penney's "Speed Dressing"

I'm still trying to decide what I think about this ad! It certainly isn't clear whether they plan to be having safe sex, and that they are going through such thorough preparation means the daughter hasn't discussed - or maybe discussed and not OKed - it with her mom...

Here's some of what AdWeek had to say about it:

JC Penney Co officials are upset about a racy, fake ad on YouTube in which the retailer appears to be endorsing teen sex, and they are blaming the company's ad agency, Saatchi & Saatchi. The ad surfaced on the internet after winning a prestigious international advertising award at Cannes.

While the ad could anger parents who shop at Penney, it also has the potential to make the retailer seem "sassy, fun and irreverent" to teens, said Alan Siegel, chief executive of New York strategic-branding company Siegel + Gale. "It's not going to reflect well on the brand in Middle America, but the ad is nicely done and the people in it are attractive; young people in New York and LA will get a kick out of it," he said.

twitter update!

So I spent some time searching for other twitter users since none of my friends are on it yet! I tried 'Vermont,' 'Burlington,' 'dogs,' and finally 'dogster' - jackpot! (For those of you not in the know, Dogster.com is the social networking site for dogs - yeah, really.)

My profile picture is of Roger, but I'm tweeting as myself. The search results for 'dog' and 'dogster' seemed to be a mix of either that or people actually tweeting from their dog's POV. There were tons of users with their dogster profile listed as their personal website, and Roger and I made friends with a 'houla girl and her mom!

Tweet!

I'm exploring the secret world of Twitter! Are you on it? Find me and 'follow' me, and I'll follow you back. Barack Obama and I are following each other!!
While my use will not be directly work-related, I am interested and just for my own information, will be researching the ways that it has and can be used as a PR/marketing tool.

Sunblock safety concerns

Summer's here and we all want to avoid sunburn and of course skin cancer. So just slather on sunscreen before you head outside, right?

Well, not just any sunscreen. With no mandatory, comprehensive sunscreen standards in place, products vary widely in safety and effectiveness. And did you know that SPF ratings only cover UVB rays, which cause burns, but not UVA rays, which raise skin cancer risk?

After 30 years of debate, the government has failed to set mandatory sunscreen safety standards. Companies are free to make their own decisions on everything from advertising claims to product quality. FDA now stands in direct violation of a Congressional mandate requiring the agency to finalize sunscreen safety standards by May '06, flouting not only Congress but also consumers, who are reliant on sunscreen to protect their health.

Search EWG's sunscreen safety database to find out what's safest and most effective for you and your family. This database is the result of 18 months of research, and they found that 4 out of 5 of 952 sunscreen products offer inadequate protection from the sun or contain ingredients with significant safety concerns - leading brands were the worst offenders! Find out what's safest and most effective for you, then go have fun in the sun!

YAY!! Check it out--

Stella!

Paw-Jama Party #3: Stella! What a fun pup!!

Stella’s a 1yo husky (/beagle?) mix. She’s definitely still very much a baby, and had lots of puppy energy!! Stel loved everyone we met, and spent a couple hours at the dog park barking at the big dogs, trying to get them to chase her. What a flirt.

She's got a silly little yelpy bark, but only used it when I cried. Loves her squeaky toys, loves attention, LOVES the car.

Sawyer

Paw-jama partier #2!
I didn't know how old Sawyer was, I didn't know what kind of dog he is. All I knew is he's a total snuggle-bug. We walked Church St this morning, and since he's a smaller dog, lots of little kids wanted to pet him. I held him so he couldn't knock them over, and he was very tolerant of small hands. A little freaked out around people and cars at nighttime walks, and not necessarily a fan of other dogs. When Lindsey visited he was hyper the whole time, but when it's just us he's totally mellow and lovey. I have since found out that he is a 5yo Australian Kelpie. I need to write his report card still, I'm confident he'll quickly find a wonderful forever-home.

Jaxon

My first paw-jama party guest, Jaxon. I just found out this weekend that he's out being fostered-to-adopt!! How exciting for him! A 6yr old lab mix, he was a wonderful house guest. He didn't like my neighbors walking up and down the stairs, and unless I caught it before he did and started talking him down right away, he would run to the door and bark. We walked Church St all morning on Sunday. He loved meeting new people and new dogs!! We went to see Mike's band, Traditional Medicinals, play at the Monroe St block party. There were lots of dogs and kids there, and he was a polite guest. However, he did bark when the sound system had feedback, and when strangers would walk down the street.