The Carrie Diaries

Decked out in a brown journal-esque cover with CB initials for Candace Bushnell, or perhaps her creative nonfiction alter ego, Carrie Bradshaw, the book cover claims, “Meet Carrie before Sex and the City.” However, having read all 389 pages on the plane this weekend, I beg to differ.

I happen to own the Sex and the City box set containing all six seasons in six different languages only because I was living in Italy in college; it was a perfect way to learn the language of the people—or perhaps just the language of the birds and the bees. Either way, I also happened to learn all about adult Carrie, which does not always coincide with the teenage Carrie depicted in Bushnell’s new book.

The Carrie Diaries features young Carrie Bradshaw, an aspiring writer in high school with two sisters and a loving scientist father—an alumnus of Brown University who leverages his connections to get Carrie accepted to his alma mater. Carrie and her family reside in the wholesome town of Castlebury, Connecticut, where we should be learning about important traits or insights to adult Carrie’s flighty and famous Sex and the City character, but instead learn about a Carrie whose childhood portrays that of a privileged upbinging, more like what one might expect in a book about Charlotte York’s childhood: all three sisters have their own room in their beautiful country home along with their own interests like swim team and prom committee.

Other than the fact that Carrie’s mom died of an unknown illness when Carrie was a young teenager, we learn that Carrie actually had siblings and was not abandoned by her father when she was five like the television series insinuates and like her horrific adult relationships with men would indicate. Additionally, it looks like young Carrie is still a virgin leaving her senior year in high school, while Sex and the City Carrie once claimed she lost it in the 11^th grade on a ping pong table (I know, I’m such a fangirl).

You don’t have to study Drama or Psychology to understand how character development works; based on the delightfully troubled character that we all know and love, it’s surprising to me that Carrie Bradshaw’s childhood is so secure and stable in The Carrie Diaries.

But don’t get me wrong all you Sex and the City fans. There are some good things to get a little “Carried away” with while reading this book as Bushnell supports some of the classic aspects of Carrie’s character which, as you know, possesses two opposing views: her fierce feminist ego and the down-to-earth shop-aholic, guy-driven gal about town.  My favorite thought-provoking quotes illustrating Carrie Bradshaw include, and feel free to use them at your own convenience as do I, “Oh, I don’t plan to get married. It’s a legalized form of prostitution,” and, the world according to Carrie’s mother, “Every woman ought to have one really good handbag and one really good pair of shoes.” More pearls of wisdom to live by, ladies.

The Carrie Diaries was released on April 27^th and is on sale at book stores now. I bought mine for 20% off at Borders, but I’m sure you can find the used version cheaper via Amazon or Kindle.  It’s a quick and fun read and perfect for a plane trip or a day at the beach.

As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve been laying low from the blogosphere these days. Since I’m working on publishing my first book, Penguin, Random House and Harper Collins have all advised me to maintain a level of anonymity and mystique on the web—a difficult task considering my celebrity status. What’s that? Yes, you heard right. Not only am I involved in a lengthy super-important writing project, but the big publishing companies also happen to be in a bidding war over it.

It’s very important that I remain scarce, they say—something about how a boy likes a girl when there’s less of her. I don’t know. I just do what I’m told, especially when there’s a lot of money behind it. They’re even talking about selling the un-edited copies to Kindle straight away; Desiree. Raw, Real, Uncut. Anywhoo, I can, give you a sneak peak on what I’ve been up to and what to expect.

I left Chicago for the winter and settled into a cabin in the south. I’ve spent my days writing tirelessly by the fireplace sans podcasts, internet and anything requiring a cable. Ahh, how I’ve always wanted to be a bird and fly south for the winter.

All I’m allowed to tell you about my new book, specifically, is that it is a tribute to the modern era. Don’t worry. I promise that my book will not be an, ‘I-fell-out-of-bed- this-morning and decided I wanted to be a designer, despite the fact that I had a housekeeper ironing my clothes growing up, or that I never even learned how to sew.’ Nor will I EVER create a facebook fanpage for it or make my own perfume (well, maybe just a spritzer).

That’s all I can share with you for now. Thanks for stopping by. Now it’s time to write, free as a bird.

The competition encourages users in the US and the UK to upload a video at http://www.myspace.com/myspacejournal explaining why they should be chosen to travel to Davos and represent the global MySpace community as the special correspondent. A panel of expert judges will select the winner while the MySpace community rates their favorite submissions.

One winner will receive:
• All expenses paid travel to/from Davos, Switzerland
• Invitations to the Young Global Leaders opening conference and various media events
• Attendance at private meetings with editors from The Wall Street Journal and News Corp. executives
• The opportunity to document the entire experience in written and video blogs on MySpace and The Wall Street Journal online
• Syndication of your MySpace blog via WSJ.com

The contest is the opportunity of a lifetime for anyone with a passion for journalism, global affairs, or public policy. We know you have great people in your personal and professional networks, so if you know someone in the US or UK who fits the description, please encourage them to apply today!

The deadline for submissions is next Monday, January 11th – so get the word out!

Please note that employees are NOT eligible for this contest, nor are immediate family members or people who share the same residence as an employee for at least three months a year. (Check out the complete contest rules here.)

For more information on the “MySpace Citizen Journalist” competition please visit: http://www.myspace.com/myspacejournal

My Own Two Hands encourages you to bring one UNWRAPPED gift and kindly asks you to check out the Wish List for toys from the hospital  (they need unwrapped toys from the top three categories the most). Please bring your friends and family and come early; the open bar is from 9:00 PM – 10:00 PM and the DJ will host a full house.

For the latest event updates, including their January and February 2010 volunteer events, join the organization’s facebook page. What’s that? You can’t make it this year? Lucky for you this chip-in site sends your toys straight to the hospital!

If you’re not certain who George Daniel is, click on one of the following pictures to jog your memory. Even this past Friday, Daniel donned his dark signature shades and Chicago-style jazz hat while describing the good ol’ days and the start of his career: he owned a record store, worked with Motown and with names like Etta James, Muddy Waters and Smoky Robinson. “Have you seen the movie Cadillac Records?” he asked in excitement. “That’s what [life] was like [in Chicago].”

While Daniel recollected historical events and remarked on racial riots, I was more intrigued to hear his commentary on today, specifically about the Internet and technology.

What challenges would the Internet have provided for his little record store, or more importantly, his music career? Online record sales and piracy are one hurtle hurting privately owned record stores today, artists and the music industry in general, but “what about sampling?” Do kids these days even know where their new tunes originated from? Is sampling getting out of hand? Daniel had a point as he continued, “What about shopping malls?” What’s going to happen to shopping malls if people buy stuff online?

Ironically, technology had just provided some complications to the very show we were listening to, with producers on stand-by trying to troubleshoot the Skype technical difficulties. I wish I could have asked Daniel a few questions, including “can we call this show Jamie Foxx’s The Danielhole instead?”

But, even without Foxx, it was a fun evening of enlightenment and excitement. Who doesn’t love listening to their elders, especially when their past knowledge foreshadows the present?

Thanks to JenChicago and the Joynt for the exclusive invite!

Okay, if nobody else is going to say something about this, then I am. What is with the facebook “fanpage?” Just because you were accidentally spotted on the jumbotron at a Spurs or Blackhawks game doesn’t mean that you were picked up by a major network like Fox. Similarly, your jumbotron coverage—which also happened to make a cameo on the nightly news—does not indicate that you are a celebrity now and that facebook should devote an entire fanpage to you. Nor does it indicate that I want to be your fan, or that anybody else wants to be your fan. I was interviewed by the news about cafeteria school food in the fifth grade. Does that make me worthy of a fanpage? No. Just in case this isn’t clear enough, let’s go over the facebook fanpage rules.

Who is entitled to devoting an entire fanpage to themselves (and who isn’t)?

#1 – Some of my talented friends and acquaintances who actually work in media or are pseudo-celebrities are entitled to a fanpage. Why? Because they actually get paid to make appearances or produce their skill for a living, whereas your spot on the jumbotron does not produce monetary support of any kind or produce a skill of any kind either. To elaborate, some of my friends get spots on commercials, review and host events with a real video camera and/or are on a television network doing something people care about. Even when they are not directly paid, other items are still donated; perhaps a venue for their comedy troupe to perform in, where people then buy tickets to watch them, which then pays the venue.

Keep in mind that receiving a few pennies from Google AdSense on your blog about cats does not constitute monetary support unless it can pay for something substantial, or—let’s draw a line in the sand right now—it can at least pay the internet bill that you rely on to post said blog.

#2 – Those that use the correct, appropriate and professional vehicles to transmit their skill/talent. If you still rely on primitive or incorrect forms of media to showcase your skill/talent, such as the microphone from your dad’s 1997 karaoke machine, recording equipment on your newest BlackBerry or even utilize the video recorder on your digital camera—a camera that is really meant to just take pictures most of the time— then you probably aren’t serious about your skill/talent. And, if you don’t have the right tools to showcase your skill/talent, then why would anyone want to see it? You have to have the ability to invest time and effort into yourself and then prove that you’re serious for anyone else to take you seriously.

That’s a picture of me above. I just happened to be at a fashion show and someone just happened to take a picture of me pretending to pose like a model. Now, does that make me a model? Do you get where I’m going with this?

#3 – Those who have an obvious and foreseeable skill/talent. Oh my God. I am really glad that you went ahead and got that boob job. But did you get anything else to go along with it? I’m not good on camera either. That’s why I write snarky things. But if you’re trying to be an actress or a model, you probably should hold out on being on camera until you get good at it. Models and actresses have to be on camera these days. And, they have to be charismatic.

To review, you are entitled to devoting an entire facebook fanpage to yourself if you have all three: Your skill/talent produces monetary support of substantial kind, you use the correct, appropriate and professional vehicles to transmit your skill/talent, you actually are skilled/talented. While facebook fanpages are great tools for this modern-day desire to be famous, you must remember folks, not everyone out there has to be famous or has the right to fame. As human beings we tend to be needy and want a ton of attention, and sometimes those feelings are channeled through a facebook fanpage. But don’t be confused. Chances are, if you had to setup your own fanpage, it is likely that you are not famous.

Like the beneficiaries, the auction block will include some of Chicago’s outstanding bachelor and bachelorettes, featuring moi. We’ll come complete with a “date package” for donors to bid on and the highest bidders will win a “date” which will commence that evening, in a VIP area at the venue.

Please come out to support the cause, as November is men’s health month (and to support me; I need some friends to ante up the bid so I don’t look stupid on the auction block).  Donations from the evening fund research to find treatments and cures for the Prostate Cancer Foundation and fund the LiveStrong Young Adult Alliance program, which aims to raise survival rates and life quality for young adults with cancer.

Additional event information:

Facebook Page

Hosts: Sean Tehrani, Jason Crites, and Chad Manuel.

This event is 21+ and casual cocktail attire is recommend!

The cost for the event is $20 and includes one raffle ticketappetizers, Van Gogh Vodka and Lucid Absinthe.

Event sponsored by Basil Leaf Cafe, Van Gogh Vodka, Lucid Absinthe and U.S.Foodservice.

Official after party at BullandBear, where all auction attendees receive a free drink.

The sweepstakes, which includes thirty-two participating stores from Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Toronto, Missouri, Nebraska, and Indiana, invites people to nominate deserving families from their community to receive a complimentary holiday dinner for four. Two rounds of entries will allow people to nominate their chosen family for Thanksgiving or for Christmas, featuring a holiday feast with all the fixings: 10-12 pound turkey, harvest salad, maple-roasted autumn squash soup, country mashed potatoes, traditional herb stuffing, green beans with roasted shallots and fresh herbs, roasted cinnamon dusted butternut squash, fresh cranberry sage compote, turkey gravy and traditional dinner rolls. Yum!

How do you nominate a deserving family? While entry forms with the rules and regulations are available at in-store kiosks in all Midwest Whole Foods Market locations, you can easily logon to your local store’s website at wholefoodsmarket.com (all entries will be made online anyway; no paper entry forms). But you better hurry if you want to get an entry in for the upcoming holiday. The Thanksgiving sweepstakes is accepting entries until November 13, with Whole Foods announcing the winners from Nov. 16-19. The Christmas sweepstakes will accept entries from Dec. 1-11, with Whole Foods announcing the winners from Dec. 14-18.

Sorry competition junkies; you cannot nominate yourselves. But, perhaps your nominee will win and invite you over for leftovers!

A perfect example of “you look stupid” greeted my friend Meagan and me at a Sunday brunch at Meli in Chicago’s West Loop. While sipping our first cups of coffee, I noticed two model-esque women also making it to their seats.  Is it normal for a straight woman to stare at another straight woman? Probably not, but I did. For the record, you can look stupid wearing certain clothes at Sunday brunch that you wouldn’t have looked stupid in, say, on a Friday night at a club in the Meat Packing District in New York City or at a high-end fashion show, again, in New York City. Anyway, the woman facing my direction wore these ridiculous aviator sunglasses the entire time we ate, INDOORS. Quick. See picture above, before someone tells me I have to take it down.  It’s a really bad picture given that I had to be sneaky about taking it—flash and all— but if you could see her face straight on, you’d mistake the moment for a celebrity sighting or her for Maverick from the 1986 movie, Top Gun.

All I could think of was, ‘I know you’ve been to NYC before, and because this is what the women in NYC look like you think for some reason you also have to look like that, or that women  everywhere else have to look like that, but they don’t. And you don’t. Especially not while eating a casual brunch on a Sunday afternoon.’

But instead, I scrutinized the rest of her designer/name brand appearance: black half-calf-high boots, low, black form-fitting blouse, tight designer jeans, a purse as a status symbol, or a status symbol as a purse—one can never be too sure these days— and I remember a Louis Vuitton wallet making a cameo a few times, as did an IPhone. Note that while all these designer items worn together may make you look stupid, it may be okay to wear each individually for less bling factor.

Although this was a perfectly good example of “you look stupid,” perhaps I’m wrong and our restaurant really did unfold to a catwalk or the juice bar really does double as a backstage area.