#hashtag #poundsign #numbersign

Are you confused yet?

So Mr. Bricks has given me a homework assignment.  I know I'm with you, I'm thinking "inside Ava Voice": "seriously Mr. Bricks what exactly is it you are going to tell me about technology Mr. My Cell Phone is From 1997" (I'm so not kidding about this)?....  So stand there with my big fat greek mouth shut (for once) I did while Mr. Bricks proceeds to tell me that my "twitter" needs some "serious work".

We all know how I like to make jokes about how old school Mr. Bricks is, but what you may not know is he is really hardcore old school.  He has charts and graphs and spreadsheets all documenting my "social media presence" as he likes to call it.  Which makes me laugh so hard my face hurts because Mr. Bricks is so old school that he used to carry his books to school with a leather strap that he slung over his shoulder walking five miles uphill in a snowstorm, did I fail to mention he wrote in school with a quill....  ;D So then Mr. technology proceeds to inform me that my numbers in all other areas such as myspace, facebook, reverbnation, my blog, etc. are all doing very well and going strong.  My twitter though.... not so much. He tells me that I really have to start paying a lot more attention to my twitter.  So being the good Greek Blonde Girl that I am, I jumped in full steam ahead.  However something happened and now my noggin wires are all crossed.

OK so I have been going along doing as I was instructed and have now spent a few months "paying attention" to my twitter...  So I start to see all the trending topics... yeah I get that, I start to get the hang of how to write down the random thoughts that roll out of my noggin, abbreviated and in very short form,  yeah I'm thinking I'm moving right along, then Bam.  This whole hash tag thing jumps out of left field.  Seriously now I'm confused.

So ~ the "#" is a "hashtag" and a "pound sign" and a "number sign" ?.....

What the heck?  Are we still talking in english here, why are we making up more stuff for letters and symbols we have always known as one thing?  Is it just me or do we possibly have enough things to do other than reinvent the wheel here on twitter? So I decided to put on my sherlock holmes cap and do some digging.  I wanted to get to the bottom of what in the world Old-Man Bricks was telling me.  Turns out I found something:

Hashtag: no it's not some sort of pricetag or information tag that is slapped on the side of a can of hash or hashish for those German readers of mine.  A Hashtag is a computer internet word designed to tell a computer to do something in relation to the word(s) it is connected or "Tagged" to.  In simple terms it's like a digital bookmark.

Poundsign: This one is a bit tricky and I am not so sure it still makes sense in my greek noggin.  When you google the word "poundsign" you get one of these:

The Pound Sign? Now I am more confused...

So now I am even more confused.  So I went to Wikipedia to learn more... Which then led me to the "Number Sign".  Confused yet?  Me too.  Even Wiki has to correct us.

Either way, I don't get it.  All I know is that I have to find a way to keep #oldmanBricks off my back.  So please go to my #TwitterPage and #FollowMe. (I hope this works) If not I guess I am going to wind up back in Mr. Brick's Detention.

Love and Blessings,
Ava :D xox

I Bet You Are Addicted to Facebook

A recent new Scottish study reveals that Facebook addiction is being compared to a gambling addiction. I find this odd only because I do not think I have ever encountered someone wearing a kilt on Facebook.

The Scottish study is in contrast to a recent study on ABC News that reported that there are no real scientific studies that have been done on Facebook Addiction. However, Dr. James Mol, a psychologist for Providence Behavioral Health said millions of Americans do have some sort of Internet addiction. It appears that a great many noggin doctors have been saying that many of their patients have admitted they have a problem in their coconut with their own inability to step away from the computer.

Social Networking is a fairly new phenomenon and there are currently no universally accepted rules to diagnose an addiction to a social networking site like Facebook. Luckily, this is where the Greek Blonde Girl comes in and saves the day.  As the newly self-appointed Czar of Facebook Addiction I've decided to list a few common, but yet unusual traits to keep in mind if you think you/your friends/lovers/BFF/boss/co-workers/or newly made Facebook friends might have a social networking disease.

1. You are doing your 2011 taxes and spend all day trying to find the proper online form to deduct your Farmville crop loses on Turbo Tax.
2. You spend more of your paycheck buying Facebook cash to play Facebook games than you do buying sneakers in the real world.  That's just wrong.
3. You update your Facebook wall on your cell phone while you are on a public toilet. You are so engrossed in updating your status that you forget to turn off the location feature. No one wants to know that you are in the ladies room at Kohl's updating your status and doing your business at the same time.
4. You list your high score on Bejewled Blitz as a skill on your resume.
5. You search on Facebook for my manager Mr. Bricks' profile so you can add him as a friend and check out the photos of his lazy eye. trust me, it's not a pretty sight.
6. You realize maybe it was a big mistake to try to do some of the same things you do playing Mafia Wars to help you try to get a better table at a restaurant.
7. You know what it means to "pimp your profile."
8. You added a person from your past as a "friend" but really it was to keep an eye on them. Hello people. That's called stalking and there are laws against that!
9. You've seen the movie The Social Network more than once.
10. You look at your Facebook news feed before your morning coffee and you look at Facebook news feed after your evening Vodka.

So, as more and more people become Facebook members this problem is not going away, its only getting worse. So it looks like my job of the Czar of Facebook Addiction  is secure for many years to come.

It should also be noted that Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook or the Winklevoss Twins have not yet commented on the new study.

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Blessings,

Ava

xox

My New BFF

Image courtesy of www.natalidee.com

Well, I kinda feel a bit like Paris Hilton making a big splashy announcement about my new BFF. But don't worry I won't build a reality series around it like she did.

This just happened naturally. I wasn't really in the market for a new BFF because I barely have enough time for myself as it is, let alone a new friend. But this one is special.  My new BFF's name is Ping. No, Ping is not someone from Japan or China. It is a fairly new social networking site from Apple's iTunes for music. It debuted last September on the same day the iPad was released. And so now the Greek Blonde Girl's music is much more accessible through Ping. Can I hear an Amen?

If you have a Ping account, please feel free to follow me on there. I will be putting exclusive content on there with things not available on my blog or on Facebook. If you don't have a Ping account here is a link to where you can sign up for a Ping profile.  Click Here

So the thought of what is Ping might be rolling around in your coconut, but have no fear, Ava is here. I will use my best effort to let you know what it is. Well look at it like a backstage pass to visit your favorite Rock Star. It is similar to Facebook and Twitter, Ping is accessible on the go, with Ping being available in iTunes for both iPod Touches, and iPhones. In fact, when Ping was released on September 1st, Steve Jobs even referenced Facebook and Twitter, stating "sort of like Facebook and Twitter meet iTunes". Steve Jobs also went on to say that Ping is also different from them, saying that Ping is all about music.

Since I am all about music, this has really got me excited. I just signed up 3 days ago and I already have about 1500 followers. My goal is 10,000 followers by end of the month. Cool beans. Once you become a Ping user you are able to view what music your friends are purchasing and reviewing (umm hello, it better be mine - just sayin'.)  You can receive a personalized "charts" list that features what other people with a similar taste in music are listening to through iTunes.  Additionally, you can be informed about what concerts your friends are attending and be able to purchase your tickets accordingly.Well, I hope you like Ping as much as I do. And if you do, I would appreciate you recommending me to your friends.

Blessings,

Ava

xox

Hold It Against Me

In 3rd grade I told a classmate that he had a pig nose. Thanks to Facebook, my big fat Greek mouth is coming back to haunt me.

I was just checking my Facebook wall and I noticed I had a message. Innocent enough. When I clicked on the message button I did not recognize the name of the sender. Again, no alarm bells there. I have more than 9,000 "likes" and I can't possibly know everyone who sends me email. But when I started reading the email it suddenly took and entirely different tone than most of my fan mail. From the very first sentence it just sounded different.  It said:

Dear Ava, you probably don't remember me but we went to grade school together....

Ok, I just knew it was not going to be your average fan letter. That turns out to be an understatement for sure. The letter went on...

I thought you were the cutest girl in school. I had a crush on you. Did you know that?

Ummm, noooo I did not know that or if I did at the time it has fallen out of my Greek noggin since then. Besides, if I remember right in the 3rd grade I was more interested in My Little Pony than I was in boys. This is where my long lost Romeo's email takes a nose dive (no pun intended) ...

Well one day while we were playing on the monkey bars at recess and since my nose was kinda square in shape you asked me why did I have a "pig nose?" Although you were just a curious kid asking an innocent question, other kids overheard the question and soon it became a nickname that stuck with me all through school. I never forgot that comment Ava.

Oh great I thought. As an 8-year old little girl I ruined some 8-year old boy's life forever!!! My heart sank and I truly felt horrible. When I was in school we called it teasing. Now it is called bullying. And it is a crime. No matter what you call it as I sat there and read the rest of the email I couldn't help but think I was an 8-year-old who should have had a rap sheet. I was horrified. The email went on...

I was looking on Facebook with my wife and coincidentally I noticed that my wife had someone named Ava Aston on her friend's list. That gave my brain a memory jolt. I knew I had heard that name before.  Can you believe you and my wife are Facebook friends? Small world isn't it? I had not seen or heard your name in years. So I decided to look over the profile to make sure it was the same Ava Aston. Of course it was. I must say, I am impressed. You've done good Ava. Geez, a Rockstar? Who knew?

Ok, now I was starting to sweat more than Elmer Fudd at a back yard barbecue. I seriously was thinking this man must hate me for my comment.  He then added,

You don't know this but to this day that is still my nickname, although it has been shortened to just PN (short for Pig Nose) and many of my friends call me that instead of my real name. And yes Ava, it is a nickname I have grown to love because even my wife uses it as a pet name for me. So if you were ever wondering, No I don't hold it against you!!

Ok, wheeew...I feel so much better now. It's not that I have ever lost any sleep or really given much thought over the years to that pig nose question on the monkey bars. But whenever I would see a story on the news about a kid getting bullied at school, I did think about it. Not that I was the school yard bully or that I taunted him with the nickname or anything. It was just a simple nickname that all of the kids at school called him. We went to different middle schools, so I lost track of him. But thanks to Mark Zuckerberg...

I am actually very glad my old friend found me on Facebook. Even if he was mad and had held it against me, it would have give me the opportunity to apologize (which I still did.)  But since he was not mad at all, it was actually a real blessing to learn that the nickname was now a real part of his identity. Sometimes you just never know how a story is going to end up. I am glad this one had a happy ending.

Blessings,

Ava

xox

Music Industry Rocked By New WikiLeaks Scandal?

In what can only be described as an ironic parody of the recent WikiLeaks breaches of national security with the release of sensitive classified documents from an insider within the United Nation’s US diplomat’s offices, the US music industry is now being rocked and rolled by a similar scandal with the release of a 50,000 page document dump from the tell all/reveal all WikiLeaks website.

The apparent target of the leaks is music industry executive boardroom and water cooler discussions, sensitive documents, Facebook posts, texts, tweets, YouTube viral videos and emails about unsigned recording artist Ava Aston.  A source close to someone who knows someone who once worked at a major record label said that “heads will roll” over the release of these sensitive documents. The unnamed source said although he has not seen any of the actual documents he is “pretty sure” there was a lot of cussing and name calling in them, because “that’s how top music executives roll.”

Ava Aston is an unsigned artist looking for a major record deal. Aston and her career was the commonality discussed among the music industry executives quoted in the more than 50,000 pages of sensitive documents. A source close to someone who dated the reporter who uncovered the documents verified that the documents frequently mention that Ava is a young “hot looking Greek girl” but that they only wanted to sign 11-year old girls. The sketchy source went on to say the documents reveal music industry powers-that-be only wanted to sign new artists who haven’t yet finished the 6^th grade. The documents go onto to cite the success of Justin Bieber, Jackie Evancho, Greyson Chance and  Rhema Marvanne as examples of why they want to sign pre-teens to major record deals.

Although warned by a whistle-blower, who tried to rally for Ava Aston’s defense by going public on HLN’s The Joy Behar Show to say that music is universal and a good artist can be over the age of 12 –  was rudely silenced by Behar and her guest, a middle-aged music executive who once was the toast of the industry when he signed the late actor Telly Savalas to a multi-million dollar record deal in the late 1970's. Behar publicly admitted that not only is she tone-deaf but that she is also not funny.  The older music executive continued to say he was “down with his  homies and peeps on the street and that he knew what would sell, for reals.” Leaked documents revealed The whistle-blower was later fired from his six-figure a year A & R position and told a confidential source that he recently filed a Qui Tam lawsuit or a whistle-blowers lawsuit against his employers and the entire music industry. It appears the whistle-blower was not fired for his lawsuit, but instead was fired for appearing on the lowly rated Behar cable show instead of a highly rated show like CNN's Larry King Live. According to a neighbor of the whistleblower’s grandmother she was told the appearance proved to be an embarrassment to the record label and so they had to let him go.

WikiLeak founder Julian Assange said during a Rolling Stone phone interview he granted from a cave that he shares with his fellow fugitive-on-the-lam and friend Osama Bin Laden, that he has no regrets for any embarrassment that these documents might shed on the music industry.  He said that he has downloaded (legally) Ava Aston’s “Gone” CD and said he often listens to her music on his iPod when he and Osama are out walking their camels. Assange said he thinks Aston has an incredible sound and that any record label would be lucky to have her.

Other documents revealed that some very liberal music executives feared that Ava Aston was un-American and not worthy of a major record deal because she wrote and recorded the song , “We The People” a song where she is asking Americans to stand up and support their country. Aston wrote the song about right and wrong, not the right and the left. When a low-level marketing rep for the record label sent an email and questioned the label VP about what was un-American about standing up and supporting our country he responded by saying, “I don’t know, it's just what they say on MSNBC all of the time.”

Ava Aston was unavailable for comment when contacted about the massive record industry document dump from WikiLeaks. Like a typical manager in the music industry, Aston's manager Mr. Bricks did not return phone calls from reporters working on this musical satire, but was seen having lunch at a local McDonald's with a McRib in his hands.

All in fun my friends, all in fun.

Blessings,

Ava

xox

B.S.N. (Before Social Networking)

"Wow, MySpace is so cool nothing will ever beat this!"

Ava Aston 2006

That was a quote from me more than 4 years ago. I feel so foolish now. Despite my MySpace profile having more than 1 million page views, I must admit I rarely use it anymore except to update my music and to touch base with my fans.  You can check out my MySpace page here.

I really just use Facebook almost exclusively now. You can check out my Facebook page here. And while you are there, please click on  "like". Thanks.  This time, I am not putting my Greek neck on the line and saying nothing will ever top Facebook, because I am sure something will. I hope I invent it! I could then sell it for a billion dollars.

I have also been lured into the Twitter trap. It's quick, it's fun and it's a great way to let people know I am eating potato soup for lunch! I can even Tweet them this photo!

Ok, so in case you must know what I am having for lunch tomorrow I can be followed on Twitter here.

Shameless plugs aside, the real point of today's blog post was to look at the muckery in my life B.S.N. (Before Social Networking) I am such a scatterbrain I am glad that I only have to go back a few short years in the deep dark crevasse of my noggin to come up with the ways I had to do things the "Old School" way or B.S.N.

Music Gigs

B.S.N. : Design a flyer and send to everyone on my mailing list. Each show would take about 3 - 4 hours to market. Cost: $100+ in printing and postage.

With Social Networking : I just post a notice on my wall about my upcoming gigs. It takes less than a minute and it's free. I can reach thousands and thousands of my fans simultaneously. And since my Twitter, Facebook and MySpace accounts are all linked -- I only have to do it once and I get the message out on all 3 sites. Cost:Free

Sneaker Shopping

B.S.N.: I had to run around from store to store looking for good deals on the latest sneakers. It was just total muckery I tell you. And it took forever. Cost: A Tank of Gas

With Social Networking : I can tweet what style of sneaker I am looking for and within a few short minutes I get all sorts of leads on where I can go get my newest sneaker crush. It allows me more time to work out and stay home with my doggies instead of running all over Manhattan. Cost: Free

News

B.S.N.: We all had to watch the news and read newspapers, usually hours after events happened. It was all one-sided. They spoke and we listened (or read)

With Social Networking: Things are reported instantaneous. We can get Tweet updates from places like TMZ and I now can learn important things like that Lindsay Lohan has relapsed. And I can learn that even before she has left the rehab treatment center. (Well, OK I guess that is just a gimme, and I didn't need  social networking to know that)

But are you noticing a trend here? By using social networking I am working a lot less harder and things are cheaper to get done. That is music to any Greek girl's ears. We love to work less and save money--well, not really save money. We (at least I do) love to only spend money on things I want to spend it on ie; sneakers, chocolate, coffee drinks and anything at Superdry or Kohl's.

I know some people will disagree with the convenience of social networking and their argument will be that it is destroying the communication skills of our young people. I totally disagree and I think it is just older generations who are saying that. I say just embrace it.

It is making my life a whole bunch easier. I know my manager Mr. Bricks (hence my belief it is the older generation) has not yet got with the social networking program. But then again, Mr. Bricks might be one Tweet short of a gigabyte anyway. Part of his problem is his cell phone, computer are all pre-Nixon era. I think if he went on Antiques Roadshow with them he would make a fortune - just sayin'.

Some of the real pitfalls of social networking are that you can no longer dodge your friends as easily as before. In the B.S.N. days you could tell a friend that you didn't get their phone call or that your machine deleted all of the messages. But now with social networking anyone can look at your various walls and see that their post to you is still there and that you are just ignoring them. If they Tweet or text and you don't respond, well then sometimes they continue non-stop until they get a response.

They know you are alive and not dead because it is as if they can see your virtual heart beat. They can follow your every move. They see that you are Tweeting about how it sucks that the heater in your car broke. They can see the Facebook post that says you just gave them a brown cow on Farmville. They can marvel at how you just had a score of 425,228 on Bejeweled Blitz or that you advanced to the next level of Mafia Wars.  If you don't want them to know all of that, I have two words for you: Privacy Settings.

So yes, there are obvious downsides of social networking, but I think we are all better off than Before Social Networking.

Blessings,

Ava

xox

Navajo Ivan Gamble: Attorneys aid US to Steal Navajo Water Rights

By Ivan Gamble, Navajo
LeChee Chapter
Photo: Calvin Johnson, Navajo

The water rights settlement being proffered by bureaucrats, certain politicians, and longtime water attorney Stanley Pollack has been recently discussed at chapters of Western Navajo asking for their consent to the agreement.
The settlement, a fraction of the aboriginal claim of the Dine’, has been represented as the “best offer we could get." The question becomes who is it best for?
Once the Dine’ had great leaders like Manuelito and Barboncito, who defined Dine’ bi Keyah by 4 rivers and 4 mountains; these leaders understood negotiations; they had fought off the most powerful empire in history by skillfully playing faction against faction.
These leaders understood they must fight for the protection of the homeland and still leave a great legacy for the coming generations. Skillful leaders afterwards grew the Nation to its’ present size. Almost 100 years later a brave chairman asserted the same claim, calling out the empire for its’ illegal overthrowing of our Nation, and demanded that our compensation equal what is our birthright.
Read Ivan Gamble's editorial:
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2010/09/navajo-attorneys-aid-us-in-stealing.html
ALERT: Facebook suspended my account after I posted this comment beneath the editorial. I can no longer access my Facebook account:
After the removal of former Navajo Chairman Peter MacDonald, it was interesting to see where the attorneys went, who were involved in his removal. One of those attorneys were to DC and worked in water rights, and the others went to southern Arizona to "negotiate" Indian Nations water rights settlements with the federal government.
Earlier, during the federal trial of MacDonald, a Navajo businessman told me the bottom line of the imprisonment of Peter MacDonald. He said, "This about water rights."
Later, Peter MacDonald issued this statement on the Winters Doctrine, urging Navajos to hold fast to their ancestral Dine' water rights:
http://dinewaterrights.org/indian-country-today-navajo-urged-to-fight-water-rights-settlement
Former Navajo Chairman Peter MacDonald urged the Navajo
Nation Council to reject a San Juan River water rights settlement with the
state of New Mexico and instead take the battle for Navajo water rights to
court, under the Winters Doctrine, which gives precedence to Indian water claims.
”Once a tribe makes a settlement with the state, the tribe waives its
claims under the Winters Doctrine. That is the reason behind this settlement
initiated on the part of Congress,” said MacDonald.
MacDonald said Congress began urging Indian tribes in 1989 to agree to water
settlements with states in order to bypass the Winters Doctrine.
"It was done to quiet all the water rights questions in the West,”
MacDonald said.
"The carrot” being held out to Indian tribes, he said, is the promise of
federal money to develop water on Indian lands.
.
brendanorrell@gmail.com