Twitter, Twittiando, Tweet

Inspired by a business story in USA Today, I logged into Twitter a few weeks ago.
My husband always has said that I have no unspoken thought, so this constant vomitation of the inane and ridiculous would be perfect for me. And, if it sells a few t-shirts, well there you go.

I felt, and still do in a way, like the wallflower at the dance. While some people have 15,000 followers, I struggled to figure out how to follow. I eventually found some friendly business people, mega-smart bloggers and friends to follow. The network expands as followers of followers become your followers and you theirs. It is a little like high school.

In blogging I attempt to be relevant, or at the very least, amusing. But on Twitter, simply making noise seems to be OK. I've attempted to hold back from the impulse to hablar too much mierda. Sometimes though you can't help it. The thing asks you "What are you doing?'' every time you log in. I always want to say: "Aqui, comiendo mierda, wasting time. Y tu?''

Here are some examples of things I didn't post:
"My father just taught Maria the word Sacamoco.''
"I have lost control: Animal cracker under my kitchen table for three days.''
"Why exactly am I following Guy Kawasaki?''

I hate to admit it, but overall, I am enjoying the blasted Twittiando. I've met some cool people and reconnected with old friends. I think I am going to like it better when I do a little unfollowing though.

Twitter has its critics. And they're mostly right.
But, if you've got a little start-up, are looking to expand your circle of influence, or looking for a quick way to stay connected with friends and meet new ones, Twitter has possibilities. Just make sure you know how to edit.

I am @LosPollitos by the way.

Free tips: How to send a celebrity a gift basket

When Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt introduced their youngest daughter to the world wearing a Kingsley t-shirt, the garment went into immediate back order.

Celebrities are mighty powerful, we all know that. Their wearing, or using, an item can mean instant sales and forever cool.

A few months ago when celebrity news was full of stories about gorgeously pregnant Latina stars, Los Pollitos Dicen and three other fabulous Latina-owned businesses put together gift baskets for Salma Hayek, Christina Aguilera and Jennifer Lopez.

We participated because of their star power, of course, but also because the mom in us recognized the mom in them. All Latinas, all on adventures – business and mothering. I had resisted sending gifts to celebrities because it felt kinda funny, you know? But, with these three it just felt right. (I particularly have empathized with Hayek and Lopez who, like me, came to mothering a little later in life.)

Anyway, the point of this post is not really to tell you about our gift baskets, (which really were very cool), but to tell you, small business owner with little dinero, how to send them yourself.

If you’ve ever looked into giving “swag,’’ as they call it, through a gifting company or at a celebrity event like the Grammy’s, you know it isn’t cheap. Participation can run from $50 to hundreds or thousands of dollars. It could pay off. Or it may not.

So, while you grow your business and ponder whether to pay mucho to send gifts via a swag company, I’m going to tell you how we did it. It will cost you more than $50, but not much more than that and some time. So...

HOW TO SEND A CELEBRITY A GIFT BASKET:
THE CRIB SHEET

• Head over to Who Represents and search the Celebrity of Choice.
  I like to start with the publicist. (You can register for the service if you need to).
  
• If no publicist is listed, look for manager or management company.
  
• Then, Google the name of the publicist and the star to see if that spokesman or spokeswoman has been speaking for the Celebrity of Choice lately. (Databases can be out of date.)
  
• If you can’t find free information, Google your Celebrity of Choice and words like “publicist’’ and “spokesman’’ and “spokeswoman.’’ Make sure any results are current. You also can hang out over at Perez Hilton or any celebrity site of choice – People, TMZ, etc. and keep track of whose talking for whom. And sometimes, celebrities have contact information on their personal web pages.
  
• So, once you’ve pretty much got it that this particular publicist still indeed does speak for Celebrity of Choice, Google the publicist to find his, or her, address and company name.
  
• Call the company and ask for the publicist’s office. Don’t bother asking to speak to the publicist herself. Tell the receptionist – which we all know, knows everything – you would like to send a gift basket to the Celebrity and need the best address. Speak kindly and confidently. (You can puke from nerves later.)
  
• Now, the PR person’s office might refer you to the agent’s office or the star’s personal office. Call, don’t e-mail.
• Say "Thank You Very Much'' and head to the post office.
  

We sent baskets to three celebrities. I got addresses very quickly for two. For the third, the receptionist gave me a publicist’s e-mail address. Of course, she never answered. So, I called back and got the management office name and address. After a quick call and an address, off the basket went in all its colorful glory.

The baskets arrived at their destinations and they were not sent back, which always is a possibility. Then, we posted this press release on PRWeb. (See the release to read about my partners.)

Cost to upload release: $80, split by four. Because I wrote it, there was no additional release-writing cost, but if you need someone to write it, you'll be looking at $100 to $300.

What did our businesses get out of it? I can’t speak for the other vendors, but the Pollitos got exposure and sales. The Web pages and message boards that featured us will hang around for a long time, so we’ll continue to get some exposure.

And I know you want to know: Did we get a Gracias?
No. Not yet. I am not sure one was expected.

However, can’t say we’re not all hoping for a photo in People or US Weekly or on Perez, our favorite bad boy cubanito.

Personally, I am keeping fingers crossed Jennifer’s twins show up on her upcoming TLC reality show dressed in their “Gordito’’ and “Gordita’’ onesies.

Any questions?

Los Pollitos adds an Amazon store

Buenos dias, all.

A quick note to point you to the right-hand column and the Los Pollitos Dicen Amazon store.

We've included the books and music that have touched our lives, or have come highly recommended by friends and family on the bilingual journey.

There also are some books for inspiring creativity at home and parenting/mothering books that have meant a lot to me during my journey as Maria's madre, a walk that is both joyful and exhausting. (Aye, esa nina...)

I'll be adding more titles soon.

If you buy a book via our store, 25% of the proceeds will go to the non-profit and non-partisan National Latino Children's Institute...and if you have any books or music to recommend, let me know.

Oh, and one more thing, I'll be sending out the Pollitos newsletter in the next few days and introducing a new item, so if you haven't signed up, go do so. Apura!

Candela: Get your Latin on in Miami and Austin

Meet Z! The darling Nena personifies Candela, or so I am told. Pero no lo creo!
You can meet her lovely and talented mother, Marirosa, here.

In Pollito news, we've added two new stores:

In Miami: Sentir Cubano, 3100 S.W. 8th Street. 305-644-8829. It was at Sentir Cubano where my mom bought an infant Maria "Mis abuelitos son cubano'' and "Mi abuelita es oriental'' t-shirts. So, it means an extra lot to me that one can now buy Los Pollitos Dicen tees, hats and bibs there. The lovely Maria and Miguel own the place.

In Austin: Mexic-Arte Museum, a beautiful fine art museum with an inspiring gift shop. The museum is located at 419 Congress Ave. The number, 512-480-9373. If you go, say hey to the charming gift shop manager, Angela.

We've been a busy little hen.

If you give the Tax Man a beignet...

new orleans street music

We were in New Orleans this weekend. The daughter of our dear friends -- with whom we have traveled to Greece and Spain -- was married to a wonderful young man. The couple -- gorgeous, smart and perfect for each other -- are 25. I got all nostalgic in my joy for them, as on an April evening in Miami nearly 15 years ago I was the 25-year-old bride.

Stating the obvious: Time flies and chin hair sprouts.

During our stay, Maria danced for street musicians, had her first taste of sugary beignet (ben-YAY!) and she held the reins on a mule-driven carriage. She also gave the gentle beast a carrot and saw her hand disappear into its slobbery mouth. It was the hit of her trip to NOLA.

I, unfortunately, did not partake in my favorite New Orleans activity: Picking my meal based on the wine reduction sauce offered. We stuck to places with kiddie menus. Ah well. Next go.

Since we've been back, I have been chained to my chair. Fidgeting and freaking over taxes. (Of course, when I'm not trying to do as Eckhart tells me and just chill. Chill? Como?)

When I quit working as a rumpled reporter and launched Los Pollitos I truly believed I would somehow magically transform into someone who keeps up to date with paperwork. (If you listen quietly, you will hear the mad cackling of other disorganized, multi-tasking work-at-home moms who once were under the same delusion.) It is the part of owning a business I like least. Actually, the only thing I don't like. But, necessary evil and The Man and all of that.

I've been working on the paperwork on and off since January. Little surprise, really, since I have been working on Maria's baby album on and off since 2004.

The good news is, it will be done within 24 hours and I can move on to planning a 15th anniversary celebration, and getting organized for 2009. Or 2010.

Any organization tips, links, laughs, and beignet recipes are truly appreciated.

Blog Birthday numero dos

The second birthday of this blog passed and I forgot about it, and so I passed up yet another opportunity to be completely self-absorbed and all happy happy about me. As a blahger, aren't I supposed to navel gaze?

OK, so it's been two years, at least technically because I abandoned this space for a few months before picking it up again with regularity in the fall of 2006.

The blog was begun, mostly, to help provide some additional opportunities for web surfers to find Los Pollitos. The beauty of a blog, as you smarties know, is that I can pepper this thing with the necessary words -- Spanish t-shirt, onesies en espanol, Cuban sayings -- and hurrah and hail Maria, the gods of Google bring them right into my warm and waiting little lap. It's also a way to keep in touch with customers and let them know when new stuff or new news happens, way before I can write and design a real newsletter. (sign up here for newsletter and special deals).

Coming in a close second in motivation, of course, was to share my struggles and successes in raising a bilingual child all the way up here in wooded solitude and far away from the fast-talking Cuban abuelitos.

It was a genius idea because I've met some wonderful and inspirational people who are doing the same thing (see my links section). Sharing the quest for bilingualism also has kept me honest and ever-trying because I have to come back here and report how I am doing, or not doing. It's my own little 12-step program.

Speaking of which, it seems appropriate to tell you I'm about more than these two subjects, and you probably already know that, but these topics are what I choose to share with the strangers in Dubai who find me instead of the Latina they're looking to spank, or those who are looking for pictures of gorditas and hot mamis.

If I knew you in real life you'd hear me complain a little more, though I would tell you I'm trying not to. I'd use the f-word, for I have a potty mouth. I would tell you about my love of this and this and this and my no-likey of this and this. I'd quote my therapist, tell you most everyone could use a 12-step program (Hi, my name is Carrie) an interest outside their kids, and at least one pair of blue shoes. And I'd make you a flan that would never let you forget me. I'd also finally tell you my charming and talented husband's name.

But, this is what we've got. You're a hit on my counter, my friend from afar, a generous commenter. I am your time-waster, your some-time value read. Maybe I am more, maybe I am less. No se.

But, know I'm happy to share what I do share and I'm grateful for those of you who stick around, send me little love notes and forward the site to your familia and friends.

The beauty of a blog is that it is organic and evolving and as we move forward, tell me what you want -- more bilingual, more business, more Boonie, more free media-whore tips (and oh boy, do I have some mega-whorish tips to share soon!).

Y muchas gracias...un besote grande.

Pachanga: Party, Latin Style

Genius, no?
My partner, Oscar, gets the credit.

Squid Who?

I moved to Nashville in 1991 to work as a general assignment reporter on the Metro desk. My reporter friends in Jersey, where I had been working and dying, teased me that I was going South to cover the rhinestone beat and Elvis sightings. None of that, but I did once write about a naked woman walking down Music Row.

The truth is, I thought I would be here just a couple of years. This place was another planet and I was the alien. But, we're going on 17 years of residency.

I like it here.

As testament, I have made a Lens on Squidoo offering up some insider tips to visiting Nashville. It's a love letter and a field guide. Visiting this place without the right map could indeed leave an impression different from the one I have. So, I Squidoo-ed for love. (Plus, as per my dad, lots of Cubanitos from Miami want to move to Tennessee. Well, here's a guide to the coolest city in the state.)

And because I can't get enough of a good thing, I also made a Lens about Los Pollitos Dicen.
I included links to traditional Latino children's songs, YouTube videos, and the bilingual books and CDs we most love. This one is kind of a draft, so I will be adding more when there is time and brain power.

Please visit me and drop me a note over there.

Suggestions always are welcome. Everyone needs an editor.

By the way, please notice that Seth Godin left me a little note on the Nashville lens. Let's just say, the holiday was made after that one. Maybe he writes notes to all the girls, but I'll share.

Did you take the hand-made pledge?

Around these parts you can't swing a guitar without hitting a musician -- whether famous or wannabe. It's getting just as crowded with creative crafters and artists.

I present you with a list of women I personally know, and have worked with, to present an annual show. They are delightful and talented. And, if you still are in search of a hand-made Christmas gift, one of them -- or more -- is sure to fill the need.

Tomo & Edie, organic baby kimonos and hair accessories.
Two Green Olive Trees, sweet baby clothes, bibs, art.
His Hands Designs, jewelry made from broken china.
Freshie & Zero, simple, modern silver and gold jewelry.
Beth Howard Studio, hand-printed fabric, bags, and more.
Julie's Digital Designs, for the scrapper from one of my favorite people.
Tisra Fadely Originals, block prints and cards. (Photo above)
Jenni Hopkins Design, hand-embroidery and paintings.

The Hunt for the Perfect T-shirt

As I sit here, I am wearing a size Large T-shirt and feeling very much like a sausage, or Pamela Anderson, not sure which. This Large is tiny on me and I'm generally a small. So, this one just won't work, despite the delicious color.

The T-shirt is a sample as we hunt down the perfecta/o tee for the adult line. Some are too short. Some are too long. Some are too thick. Some have huge arms. Some have thick neck binding. Feos! The ones we used for the Cuba Nostalgia show this year are absolutely wonderful, but run very small. Not ideal for Latina curves -- or anybody other than las flacas Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.

Some of you responded to our recent poll (or sent e-mail) and asked for Made in the U.S.A. Amores, I am so trying. The options are limited. Very limited. I recently spoke to a T-shirt distributor who had some tees made locally. It is an expensive nightmare, he said. I told him I had a bit of a nightmare talking to a local manufacturer too. Maybe even the same one. There aren't that many, though Tennessee used to have a lot of fabric mills. We laughed about it and agreed that perhaps there is a reason practically everything apparel-related is done overseas.

Of course, the right cut, fit, color and price is out there. We found it for Los Pollitos and we'll find it again. It'll just mean trying on a whole lot of T-shirts. (Lots for the yard sale pile later!)

In the meantime, if you have a favorite T-shirt brand, feel free to let me know.

Deep Thoughts or Kicking Fear in the Culo

So, because we are starting again, taking a dip in the "let's see what happens'' pond of Latino T-shirt designing and selling, I've been thinking a lot about how we started the last time. It's been two years since we launched Los Pollitos Dicen. And before that, we spent nearly a year researching, talking, planning.

A business plan, advice from well-informed smart people, feedback from friends and family, but we had no idea what would really happen. And yet we jumped in. Big splash.

What it took, overall, was letting go of fears and what-ifs. What it took was to begin to think in terms of "Why not me?'' And to keep thinking that -- even when things don't go as planned or expected.

When I wrote recently about the maniac days of multi-tasking a small business and a family and a house, I was reminded of how I felt back then. I was excited. And yes, very often, pushed that dreaded, but comfortable friend, Fear, to the side. "What if we flop?'' The answer: "Who cares? You tried.''

I admit, there are moments of freak out over this one. Here we go. Adding more work and more "What ifs.'' But, then comes the "How could you not?'' and we move forward.

Have you read Eat, Pray, Love, the best-seller by Elizabeth Gilbert? She gave up unhappy comfort for an unknown and hit the Happy Jackpot. I'm reading it now. It has helped my spirit and served as inspiration.

So, all this to say: What do you want to do? Are you planning it? Doing it?

If yes, acknowledge the gift to yourself. If no, what holds you back?

I have done things I never dreamt I would, things that even in the moment, I have pushed against. (Starting with sticking the needle in my belly to conceive this kid of mine...) But, walking toward everything I've wanted -- and letting go of what I didn't -- really has been about putting Fear in the corner. (Sadly, it's a constant exercise as Fear never stays put.)

So, today I ask you, where is your Fear? Holding your hand, or banished to the corner?

You probably didn't come here for therapy today. Sorry. It's just what has been on my mind. I'll work on a post with fun words like Fuacata or Descarado soon to make up for it.

New Poll: What kind of t-shirt gets your Latin on?

I am looking at T-shirt samples for the upcoming adult line. I'm a little dizzy, to tell the truth. There is so much variety in color, fit, cost, material, origin. But, I love looking at the colors. Like candy, they are.

I know what I want: A bright, fitted, soft cotton, preferably made in the United States. I'm OK with paying more for it if it is going to last. It would be a bonus if it were organic or bamboo, but those are some serious bucks. (Sadly, there's a huge difference in wholesale cost for organics and bamboo.)

What about you? Tell me about your favorite T-shirt. What does it feel like? Has it shrunk? Faded? Do you care? Is it an inexpensive T? Is it a fabulously luxurious one? What color is it?

Help us give you the best T-shirt possible. Please, take a moment to answer the Poll to the right and give me whatever feedback you like here or via e-mail. (You can select more than one choice in the poll.)

It wasn't very difficult to pick the Pollito tee manufacturer. Hands-down the best private-label manufacturer we found out there. And, we custom dye the chick tees, so picking colors from a selection -- and overloading my brain -- isn't an issue.

By the way, my favorite T-shirt all summer long has been the Tocororo we sold at Cuba Nostalgia this past May. That pajaro tropical is definitely going to be a regular in the new line-up.

Thanks for your help!

Launching another Spanish line or que locura

In the fall of 2004, I called Oscar and asked him if he wanted to design some T-shirts. It'll be easy. Simple, I said.

We laugh about that conversation a lot, as in "Remember when you said "easy?'''

Here's what I do -- and sometimes it feels like it is all done at once:

Accounting, Customer Service, Sales, Marketing, Public Relations, Purchasing, Contractor relations, Shipping and Receiving, Inventory-taker, Filler-outer of business paperwork, Seamstress, Sales show hawker. Several of these have sub-categories.

And there are a few other things that I have no title for, like cutting and placing designs on blank tees to figure out placement . Staff semi-crafter? Oh yeah, and critic. "Can you make that bigger?''

Oscar designs the Pollitos and all the art that it takes to run this business, including: Logo, letterhead, wholesale forms, business cards, banners, flyers. He also manages our Website and acts as critic for me. "Spice up that newsletter!''

I have a 3-year-old and a husband. I scrub my own toilets and sometimes I write freelance. Oscar has a full-time job and a hopping social life. He scrubs his own toilets too.

We both get tendinitis from too much computer and we both work hard at things we never dreamt we would be doing.

We're also both a little crazy.

We just bought a new URL to launch more Spanish T-shirts and gifts into the world.

Stay tuned for details.

But first, I just dropped the holiday exclusives at the screen printer. They'll be ready soon and I'll publish pictures when they hatch. They are the cutest, funniest, sweetest little Spanish T-shirts and we think you will love them.

So tell me, you want to start your own business?

Seriously, tendinitis be damned.

We're having fun.

You can too.

I'd rather eat ice cream, but this will do

Lots of things brighten a day:

Soft serve ice cream with sprinkles
Kissing baby toes
A new wholesale account

Today, here's mine: When the mammographer says all looks good. And despite the fact you are wearing only tiny, sterile nipple markers in a cold room, you're great. Conquer the World Great, in fact.

Last year, in this same place, I was on an exam table -- face down with my left mammary clamped through a hole -- as a needle whirred and sucked away at my tissue. In the end, all was good then too.

Gratitude.

Gratitude.

Gratitude.

(If you're over 40, or at high risk for breast cancer, have you scheduled your mammogram?)

And by the way, if you're here to read about business -- not boobs -- check out the three new links I posted under Women, Business and Blogs and Internet Marketing. All fabulous, honest and helpful. (Darby Works is the amazing husband of the amazing Marta from My Big Fat Cuban Family.)

Pio Pio little Valentina Paloma

canada.com image

We Latins are all related, right?
Or, we have a cousin who knows a cousin who knows a cousin of the person we are tracking down?
Well, who here is related to the beautiful new mother that is Salma Hayek?
Valentina Paloma needs a Pollito shirt.
What do you think, Candela?

Adding on to the resume

I have a lot of jobs: Wife, mother, cook, driver, sock finder, cat litter cleaner upper...You know them all, I am sure, because you have your own countless, often thankless, jobs.

In the last few days, I have added a couple of more: Seamstress and Viral Marketer. (I am a bit of a masochist.)

First, the sewing. There's a shiny new Singer, a cheap one, in my office and it was purchased for the sole purpose of sewing in the care labels on each of our tees and onesies. I usually outsource this, but it causes me great consternation and constipation. It isn't cheap and it is very easy, so I finally am doing it myself.

Add one more job to the hen's chore list. Before yesterday, I had used a sewing machine just once. So far, I've only had to rip out one horrifically sewn label. Vamos a ver how this all goes. You may find the machine on eBay soon.

And about the viral marketing. My best friend, a smart former reporter herself, insists I need to add some schtick to YouTube to get the word out on the business. All the cool kids are doing it. Look here and here if you want to see.

So, the above video is a 20-minute effort and the slow beginning of more videos to come.

Soon.

I will attempt not to bore the hell out of you.

Of course, after I stop ripping out seams.

From one kind of Media Whore to another kind of Media Whore or “How to get press for your business.’’

If one looks at the press page over at Los Pollitos, one finds a whole lot of articles in impressive publications. Given the portfolio, I get e-mails, and some calls, from other small business owners who want press and are trying to figure out how to get it.
How have we gotten so much press? Well, a lot of trees were killed sending out releases and the bigger reason: I am a media whore.
I called everyone I have ever known in the business and I also asked media friends to call their friends and so, voila.
In this last year, I have found new respect for people who do public relations. It is not easy and mi gente in newsrooms are not always the friendliest to deal with – that’s if they even pick up their phones. Plah on voicemail.
But, you don’t need to know a reporter personally to get a newspaper or magazine to write about you. I can’t tell you how many great stories I landed when I was a daily newspaper reporter just because somebody picked up the phone and, in 25 words or less, said: “Hey, let me tell you about this so-and-so.’’
So given the questions – and the requests for help writing press releases -- I figured I would share a few tips and tricks. These are nothing that will win me a position as a media and public relations expert but what the hey, they’re free:

• Press releases are important, but not totally necessary. A simple telephone call, or a quick e-mail, with some basic information might be all you need to hook a reporter.
• If you do write a release, keep it short. Try no more than a page to a page-and-a-half. Keep it simple: Who, What, When, Where, Why.
  
• Don’t call at 10 a.m. and don’t call at 4 p.m. Reporters haven’t had enough coffee at 10 and they’re cranky and on deadline by 4, or they're headed for Happy Hour.
• If you call, ask if “now is a good time.’’ Muy importante.
• If you e-mail, try “suggested story idea’’ in the subject line. (“I think you are the best writer ever!’’ can work well too.)
• Don’t tell anyone you are “the first,” “the best,” “the only.” Reporters will hang up on you or make paper airplanes out of your release.
• Did you see an article about a product or service similar to yours? Check out the byline. Call or write that person and tell them about fabulous you.
• Read the publication you are pitching. Tell the person you are talking to that you saw the article about blah-blah that he or she wrote. Google the writer, know what kinds of stories she writes. Don't pitch lawn ornament trends to the guy who writes about hot tech.
  
• Are you shy? Can’t sell yourself? Have your boldest and most direct and polite friend call for you.
• Want to hire a public relations firm? Budget $1,500 to $5,000 and more a month. (Cost of doing it yourself: Minor anxiety).
  
• Does your product have a seasonal angle? For example, the Pollitos are a big hit in the Spring, the whole chick/Easter link. Media looks for timeliness. Be warned: Fewer and fewer papers care about the “National Whatever Month’’ angle.
• Called or wrote and heard nada back? Try again in a week or two. A simple “just checking in’’ will work. It could be your information got swallowed by the gigantic pile of caca on a desk, or got a Starbucks latte spilled on it. (Check out my trashed out, dusty desk, above, on my last day of work. Note free donut.)
• Checked in and still nothing? Maybe it’s time to move on, or you could be labeled an annoying media whore. (Who, me?)
• Doesn’t work too well to call The Editor or section editor directly. Those poor people are busy, busy. Best to contact them via a packet or e-mail that can be passed on to the right reporter or assistant editor.
• “Three is a trend’’ – common thinking in newsrooms. Do you know of other people doing the same thing, or close to the same thing as you? Tell the reporter what you know. Don’t be greedy and you’ll have a better chance of getting a hit.
• Don’t disregard the small weekly community paper. Press is press.
• Save your money and don’t send samples of your product unless you’re asked and most papers won’t ask unless they’re actually doing a story. Magazines are a different story and most large magazines will send your product back. (I personally don’t send samples to shopping blogs, but that’s just me. Your choice there.)
• If you’ve written and called and not heard back, but you still really believe the local paper is missing out on you, then send food. Reporters love free food. (See donut above). It could be month-old wheat wafers, but by gosh, it’s still free and free food is the way into many a scribe’s notebook. That, and a free round at Happy Hour.
  

(Check out the links section soon, as I'll be adding links to helpful media and public relations sites to the Boonie blog)