How to access my article - "Cinco de Mayo and Bonza Bottler Day" - at Blogcritics.org

ABSTRACT: May 5 commemorates Mexico's victory in Battle of Puebla. Bonza Bottler Day is an excuse for celebrations and shameless commerce. Filed under: Culture, Culture: Holidays and Traditions, Culture: History, Culture: Advertising and Marketing

Want to read more? You may click here to read the article published at Blogcritics.org and here to read other articles that my colleagues and I have published at that sinister [but critically and popularly acclaimed] cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, technology, and politics. ###

How to access my article - "Help Girls Fly And Achieve Other Fantastic Feats" - at Blogcritics.org

Abstract: Women experts in engineering, mathematics, science, and technology are needed to present at Sally Ride Science Festivals for girls. Filed under: Sci/Tech, Sci/Tech: Space, Sci/Tech: Science, Sci/Tech: Physical Sciences, Sci/Tech: Life Sciences, Sci/Tech: Computers, Sci/Tech: Biotechnology, Culture: Education

Want to read more? You may click here to read the article published at Blogcritics.org and here to read other articles that my colleagues and I have published at that sinister [but critically and popularly acclaimed] cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, technology, and politics.###

May 5 is Cinco de Mayo (an historical holiday) and this month's Bonza Bottler Day (a marketer's dream)

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY - Today is May 5, pronounced "cinco de Mayo" en Espanol. "Cinco de Mayo" is a holiday commemorated by Mexicans and Americans (particuarly in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas), and a day the French (and perhaps the British) would like to forget. May 5 is also a Super Bonza Bottler Day.

"Cinco History" at the Website Viva Cinco de Mayo explains today's historical significance.

The 5th of May is not Mexican Independence Day, but it should be! And Cinco de Mayo is not an American holiday, but it should be. [...]

So, why Cinco de Mayo? And why should Americans savor this day as well? Because 4,000 Mexican soldiers smashed the French and traitor Mexican army of 8,000 at Puebla, Mexico, 100 miles east of Mexico City on the morning of May 5, 1862.*

As Cinco History further explains, American forces supported the Mexican military to win the:

[...] Great victory that kept Napoleon III from supplying the confederate rebels for another year, allowing the United States to build the greatest army the world had ever seen. This grand army smashed the Confederates at Gettysburg just 14 months after the battle of Puebla, essentially ending the Civil War. *

Ongoing collaboration between Mexicans and Americans was evidenced when:

In gratitude, thousands of Mexicans crossed the border after Pearl Harbor to join the U.S. Armed Forces. [And] As recently as the Persian Gulf War, Mexicans flooded American consulates with phone calls, trying to join up and fight another war for America. *

* Source: "Cinco History" at Viva Cinco de Mayo

Another valuable resources is the DVD, Celebrating Cinco De Mayo, which describes how the occasion is celebrated and the principles it represents. This his how an Editorial Review at Amazon.com summarized the DVD's contents:

Parades, traditional foods, colorful crafts, and happy people are the trademarks of elebrating Cinco de Mayo. Cinco de Mayo presents a wonderful opportunity each year for two neighboring countries—the United States and Mexico-- to acknowledge and re-affirm their friendship. The holiday glorifies freedom and liberty, ideas that are cherished by citizens of both North American democracies.

- Click here to access the source

Googling "Cinco de Mayo" provides additional sources of historical information, as well as recipes, events and celebration suggestions.

Cinco de Mayo, like other holidays, is subject to crass commercialization.
Googling "Cinco de Mayo" also reveals advertisements and infomercials from various purveyors of goods and services. For an example, access this VivaCincadeMayo.com link. I was once a major culprit. In the early 1990s, I worked with the team that introduced Taco Bell products to grocery stores. Taco Bell Corporation, now a division of Yum! Brands, Inc. but then a PepsiCo division, collaborated with its corporate partners to roll out the grocery product line coincidentally with Cinco de Mayo. That timing leveraged the larger buzz surrounding Cinco de Mayo and many things Mexican in the US and many things American in Mexico. (Aside: Americans view Taco Bell food as Mexican or Tex-Mex; Mexicans view it as American.)

Speaking of commercialization, May 5 is a Super Bonza Bottler Day.
Bonza Bottler Days occur whenever the day and month coincide, such as July 7, August 8 and September 9. Super Bonza Bottler Days fall on popularly recognized holidays or when a day, month and year coincide (e.g., January 1, 2001, February 2, 2002 and Cinco de Mayo last year: May 5, 2005). Thanks to the numerous holidays and observances throughout the world and proliferation of special-interest observances (such as Doing Business in Your Bathrobe Day sponsored by Webmomz to recognize "the hard work and dedication it takes to be an entrepreneur" and to promote the Webmomz organization), Super Bonza Bottler Days occur almost monthly. Examples of Super Bonza Bottler Days that fall on U.S. holidays include January 1 (New Year's Day), February 2 (Groundhog Day), April 4 (International Day for Landmine Awareness and Assistance), May 5 (Cinco de Mayo), June 6 (Teachers Day and National Yo-Yo Day) and November 11 (Veteran's Day).

Bonza Bottler Days were created by some brilliant promoter to provide monthly excuses to celebrate and to generate marketing campaigns. Although it is unclear who originated the occasion, its terms are readily traceable. "Bonza" and its synonym "bonzer," are popularly used in Australia, and likely derive from the word "bonanza." Bonza and bonzer are defined in the Urban [slang] Dictionary as "brilliant," "well executed," "excellent," "great" and in The Free [online] Dictionary as "remarkable or wonderful," "extraordinary." The word "bottler" likely derives from the Australian term "bottle shop," or its diminutive forms "bottlo – (pronounced bottle oh)" or "bottl-o," defined in Australian words: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia as "a shop selling alcoholic drinks (for external consumption)," i.e., for consumption off the premises. For marketers, event promoters, and purveyors of food and drink, Bonza Bottler Days are, well, bonzer!

Bonza Bottler Days can be used for good as well as greed. Marketers and non-marketers alike could use these regular reminders to pamper significant others, make and assess progress toward annual resolutions, and do good deeds.###

Help girls fly (and achieve other fantastic feats) by being a presenter or sponsor at a Sally Ride Science Festival

ABSTRACT - Help wanted: women with expertise in engineering, mathematics, science and technology to lead hands-on workshops for girls and adults at Sally Ride Science Festivals. Presenter roles are pro bono, but high profile. Also welcome are sponsors to send one or more girls to the festivals, educators, parents, street fair exhibitors and other interested adults.

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY - Kevin S. Barrow blogged an important announcement in: "Home of the Soul Cookie � Blog Archive � Sally Ride Science Fair [sic] needs presenters." This posting passes it on. Specifically, women with expertise in engineering, mathematics, science and technology are needed to lead hands-on workshops for girls and adults at the Sally Ride Science Festivals, whose focus is:

5th-8th grade girls, trying to get them more interested in the fields of Science, Technology (all forms, inc. Computing), Engineering and Math, since they are so underrepresented in those fields at a professional level.

- Click here to access the source and details for presenters

Also needed are sponsors to send one or more girls to the festivals. The $18 registration fee covers lunch, the street fair, workshops and keynote speech. Street fair exhibitors, parents, teachers and other interested adults are welcome to participate, too. As SallyRideFestivals.com describes:

The street fair has music, face painters, and about 30 booths and exhibits (for example: making slime, looking through telescopes). Some of the booths have giveaways; there are no vendors, but there is a merchandise booth with t-shirts, books and other items.

Dr. Sally Ride is a former astronaut and the first woman to orbit in space. Biographies such as Pioneering Astronaut Sally Ride: A Myreportlinks.Com Book (Space Flight Adventures and Disasters) by Henry M. Holden describe her exciting and illustrious nine-year career with NASA's highly selective astronaut program. Dr. Ride now serves on the faculty of the University of California at San Diego and heads the California Space Institute. Her concern about the lack of women scientists and engineers inspired her to found Sally Ride Science, whose mission is:

Empowering girls to explore the world of science—from astrobiology to zoology and everything in between!

The SallyRideScience.com home page describes that its mission is accomplished:

Through our innovative science programs and our award-winning science publications, Sally Ride Science informs and inspires year round.

The innovative Sally Ride Science Festivals and other Sally Ride Science Programs (which include Toy Challenges and Science Camps) are not just empowering, informative and inspiring. They are downright fun! Karen Flammer, senior vice president of Sally Ride Science and a research physicist at the University of California, San Diego described to LA Daily News reporter Valerie Kuklenski:

Girls get to see hundreds of other girls spending a weekend day at a festival to do math and science and engineering activities, and it's in the context of a DJ playing music, it's in the context of food." [...] "All the workshops are very fun, hands-on workshops. Somebody's not standing up in front of the classroom lecturing to them. They're actually letting them take DNA out of the strawberry or calculate the density of chocolate, so they can see that science is fun, and they can share it with their friends.

- Kuklenskito, Valerie. "Girl Power. There is chemistry there - and math, physics and biology, too." March 22, 2006. LA Daily News. Accessed online.

Moreover, participation can exponentially expand girls' horizons, overcome peer pressure to "dumb themselves down" and boost their self-esteem. Documentation of a positive correlation between girls' self-esteem and academic performance (click here to access relevant sources) underscores why Sally Ride Science programs and publications are extremely valuable, even for girls who are not going to become rocket scientists. Said Flammer, in the above-referenced article about the festivals:

It certainly isn't academic ability that's causing the disproportionate number of girls and boys (in higher-level science classes)," said Flammer in that same article. "So what Sally Ride Science is trying to do with our workshops, our camps, our toy challenge competition, our publications is we are targeting girls, and we're trying to show them how fun and interesting all these fields are, that you don't have to be this typical geeky male to be a chemist or a biologist or engineer, that other girls also like doing what they're doing.

Adult tracks at the Sally Ride Festivals teach educators, parents and other significant grown-ups in girls' lives how to encourage girls to reach for the stars - no matter what spheres they ultimately land in. Grown-ups can register to hear the keynote speaker and participate in the street fair along with the girls, as well as learn at Discovery Workshops for Adults how to promote gender equity inside and outside of the classroom, and how to help girls benefit from science, math and technology resources. Teachers can also earn professional development credits.

The next Sally Ride Festival will be at the NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field on Sunday, May 21. Those interested in participating should contact Jennifer Kremer, jkremer@mail.arc.nasa.gov. Click the following links to access the schedule of upcoming festivals and details about the Toy Challenge and Science Camps for 6th-9th grade girls.

Now that you’ve received this message, I hope that you will:

• Click the link to read the full text of that message,
• Spread the word about this and other Sally Ride Science initiatives,
• Consider presenting at a Sally Ride Science Festival if you're female and one of the above-mentioned fields is your forte (click here for details),
• Sponsor one or more girls to attend a Sally Ride Science Festival (click here for details),
• Encourage girls and parents, educators, street fair exhibitors, sponsors and other interested adults to participate.

This piece will also be published at BlogCritics.org, a sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, technology, and politics.###

Roundup of the April 26, 2006 "Lisa Tolliver Show" radio broadcast on WVOX AM 1460

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY - My announcement of "Black-chelor" Flavor Flav's decision to postpone today's interview until June (when he'll return from abroad and will promote his upcoming project) left a bad taste in some listeners' mouths. However, some who'd been biting at the bit in anticipation of Flav's "Lisa Tolliver Show" appearance (and others) reported that today's show served up more than fair compensation. Here's why: the featured guest was the legend, the icon, of tv and radio, the King of Memorabilia, the Knight of Nostagia (not to mention author, restauratur and A-list celebrity in his own right): Joe Franklin.

Featured Guest: Joe Franklin

Here's how SquareOne Publishers (who carry his books), introduce Joe on their Authors page:

Joe Franklin began his remarkable show biz career as a New York talk-and-variety show host in 1951. His show's format set the standard for many other shows of this type that followed. His guest list reads like a who's who of celeb royalty: Rudy Vallee, George Jessel, Otto Preminger, Ronald Reagan, Barbra Streisand, Joan Rivers, Bette Midler, Liza Minnelli, Flip Wilson, Bill Cosby, the Jackson Five--and that's just for starters. Joe holds the Guinness Book of World Records for hosting the most TV shows--31,015 in all. Although Joe's TV show ended in 1988, currently, he can be heard nationally on Bloomberg Radio as a regular commentator. In addition, Joe Franklin's Memory Lane theme restaurant, located in the Broadway district of Manhattan, has opened to rave reviews.

During the interview, this charming, humorous, larger-than-life pal of today's "Lisa Tolliver Show" co-host Ray Aydelott and of our sponsor, Whitney Radio owner Bill O'Shaughnessy, demonstrated the wit, humor and graciousness that has captivated audiences for the past five-plus decades. During that time, he has logged a Guinness World Record for hosting over 31,000 talk shows and over half a million guests and is archived at TalkingHistory.org. Joe also recently published his 24th book, Joe Franklin's Great Entertainment Trivia Game: A Buzztime Trivia Series Book, and is hosting Friday and Saturday night comedy shows at TGI Friday's on West 50th Street in Manhattan. It's become traditional for younger talk show hosts, such as Joe's pal Conan O'Brien, to book Joe as a guest for their inaugural broadcasts, as well as invite him back for recurring appearances. Joe shared this secret: numerous talk show hosts have come and gone but the ones with longevity are sincere. "Once you learn to fake that," he quipped, you'll be ok.

There's so much I can learn from this legend and I really like him. Ray and I will accept his offer to visit Memory Lane Restaurant, where he'll buy us a glass of water. Moreover, it will be fun to check out Joe's memorabilia and mingle with his celebrity patrons. We'll stop by on our way to cover the Tribeca Film Festival. For more information about Joe Franklin, please visit www.JoeFranklin.com.

The King Charles Unicyle Troupe will perform at the TriBeCa Film Festival on Saturday:

Following Ray's and my interview with Joe, I stood in for scheduled guest David Reid, who played hooky from today's show to prepare for his performance this Saturday, May 6 at 4 p.m. with the King Charles Unicyle Troupe at the TriBeCa Film Festival-Family Festival annual Street Fair on the North Stage. [NOTE: check the Street Fair schedule on the day of, as it is subject to change.]

WEVR-MRC Emergency Preparedness Tip #4:

Westchester Emergency Volunteer Corps-Medical Reserve Corps (WEVR-MRC) representative Marianne Partridge shared WEVR-MRC Emergency Preparedness Tip #4: SAFELY HANDLING HAZARDOUS MATERIALS. It can mean the difference between life and death during a disaster or emergency. Click here to read it.###

How to access my article - "Movie Review: Madea's Family Reunion" - at Blogcritics.org

Abstract: The film and play are different, not repetitive. Great fun. Pistol packin' grandma Madea loaded many dead-serious and inspirational messages into this scenic gem. Filed under: Video, Review, Video: Comedy

Want to read more? You may click here to read the article published at Blogcritics.org and here to read other articles that my colleagues and I have published at that sinister [but critically and popularly acclaimed] cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, technology, and politics.###

Not all of my rants, raves & reviews are blogged here or broadcasted. Some, like these, are distributed elsewhere.

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY - If a tree falls in the forest can anyone hear it? If you shine your light under a barrel can anyone see it? Will an opinion and two bits get you on the bus?

For as long as I can remember, I've enjoyed composing, editing and critiquing various types of works. My Writers.net profile describes my earliest gigs (grading essays and exams for teachers). Later assignments (such as serving on my junior high and high school yearbook committees) led to more lucrative stints at Harvard Student Agencies and Radcliffe Publishing (where I edited and prepared Let's Go travel guides and other documents for publication), and at United Press International. The above-mentioned profile lists some of the gigs that ensued. Most recently, I've gone public and taken my show on the road, so to speak, broadcasting reviews on my radio shows and joining the ranks of reviewers at Epinions.com (a Shopping.com company) and the more prestigious Blog Critics (a sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, technology, and politics).

I invite you to visit my Epinions.com Public Profile (where my pseudonym is "discerningny"), and my Blog Critics Author Archive (where I boldly use my given name) to read my critiques and those of my esteemed colleagues and register to receive update alerts about your favorite reviewers. Moroever, I encourage you to join the fray: respond to those postings and even register to publish your own critiques.

What's in it for you? You can get your voice heard. You can shine your opinions out of the darkness to the light. You can engage in literate discourse (or at least be amused). And, oh yeah, you can (as a reviewer) earn money and all kinds of free stuff. ###

April 26 "Lisa Tolliver Show" features Ray Aydelott, Joe Franklin and David Reid

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY - Join Ray Aydelott and me at 1:30-2:00 pm, Eastern Time on New York Radio WVOX AM 1460 and www.wvox.com when we interview:

• Joe Franklin - The Guinness World Record Holder for holding the most TV shows (over 31,000!), also known as "Mr. Radio," who is credited with creating the television talk show. He's an expert on nostalgia and a restaurateur.
• David Reid - The Boys and Girls Clubs of America alumnus who plays a fast and funny brand of basketball on unicycles with the King Charles Unicycle Troupe. David and company are performing at the TriBeCa Film Festival-Family Festival annual Street Fair on Saturday, May 6 at 4 p.m. on the North Stage [NOTE: check the Street Fair schedule on the day of, as it is subject to change].###

The weekend and Patriot's Day relieve some "taxing" pressures in the USA, especially for individuals in six eastern states & the District of Columbia

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY - Two days after the Ides of Aprilis (i.e., April 15) has many connotations. Here are a few examples: Husband Appreciation Day, National Auctioneers Day, National Take a Wild Guess Day, That Sucks Day, and the anniversary of the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic. April 15 is also the birthday of one of my close relatives. Sometimes it falls on Easter Sunday (whose date fluctuates between March 22 and April 25), although usually it falls on Tax Day.

From year to year, Tax Day, like Easter, does not always fall on the same date. However, in contrast to Easter, which requires special rules and tables to schedule, Internal Revenue Service and state deadlines to file and pay taxes are typically set for April 15 or the first business day thereafter. However, once in a while, things get a bit more complicated.

Take 2006, for example. This year, April 15 was a Saturday, so individuals must file and pay any taxes due on the next business day. For most filers, that day was Monday, April 17. But April 17 was Patriot's Day, a state holiday in Massachusetts. Since the Andover, Massachusetts IRS processing center handles all tax returns for the District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont, the state and federal deadline for individuals in those locations was moved to April 18, one day later than for everyone else in the U.S.of A. *

This has caused considerable confusion throughout the land. I'll attempt to make things E-Z by itemizing the actual 2006 deadlines below:

• April 16, Sunday - Not a tax filing deadline anywhere in the USA.
• April 17, Monday - The state and federal tax filing deadline everywhere except in the District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont.
• April 18, Tuesday - The state and federal tax filing deadline in the District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont.

Need help filing your taxes? Go get it! G-men and women from the IRS and state taxation entities are there to help in the form of call-in lines, workshops and Websites offering tax tips, free e-filing and a wealth of other resources. You can access them online at www.irs.com and/or the state and territorial government homepages at FirstGov.gov. Additional, easy-to-find resources include local and online tax preparation services (check them out with the Better Business Bureau, your State Attorney General and/or Consumer Affairs before giving them your business), tax software (which your credit union or bank may provide free access to), and local public libraries and volunteer organizations.

Wondering whether or not you should file and/or pay your taxes electronically? Visit IRS.gov pages addressing the following topics. The text and images below have been excerpted from that site:

• "Online [electronic filing] options - fast, free. The information on this Web site is intended to help Individuals, Businesses, Tax Professionals, Charities and Nonprofits, and Software Developers find alternatives to paper returns." LMT NOTE: some e-filing services offer better prices to those linking from the IRS Website than to those using their software or accessing their websites directly. Additionally, some services charge separate fees for federal filings, state filings, and for filing extentions.
• " Electronic payment options for individuals and businesses. Electronic payment options are convenient, safe and secure methods for paying taxes. Taxpayers can authorize an electronic funds withdrawal, use a credit card or enroll in the U.S. Treasury’s Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS)."
• "Check Out Free File. Seventy percent of the nation's taxpayers are eligible for free tax preparation software and free electronic filing. See if you are eligible."

Need more time to prepare your federal tax return? Visit Extension of Time to File Your Tax Return and the appropriate state Website to learn how to apply for an extension of time to file. As the IRS notes:

Please be aware that an extension of time to file your return does not grant you any extension of time to pay your tax liability.

If you opt to delay the inevitable, take care to file your tax return by the extended deadline.

* Note: the IRS has postponed until late August the deadlines for individual and business taxpayers in areas hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina.

Good luck, and many happy returns!###

Lunch Talk in New Haven: Lucretia Mott, the World's Anti-Slavery Convention, and the Origins of the Women's Rights Movement

NEW HAVEN, CT - Sorry for the short notice...I just learned that The Gilder Lerhman Center is pleased to announce an upcoming Fellows Brown Bag Lunch Talk. Bring your lunch and they'll provide the drinks and dessert!

• What: The 1840 World's Anti-Slavery Convention as the birthplace of the women's rights movement. Looking at Lucretia Mott's too seldom used diary, Faulkner tries to recover the true history of the WASC and demonstrates how Mott saw the meeting not only as a contest over women's rights, but as part of a broader struggle over religious orthodoxy, moral authority, and individual rights.
• Who (is speaking): Carol Faulkner, Assistant Professor of History at SUNY Geneseo and Postdoctoral Associate at the Gilder Lehrman Center
• Who (may attend): Everyone who's interested
• When: Monday, April 17, 2006 at 12:00 pm., Eastern Time
• Where: Luce Hall, Room 10334 Hillhouse Avenue at the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition in New Haven, CT 06520-8206
• Phone: 203-432-3339
• Fax: 203-432-6943
• Website: www.yale.edu/glc/ ###