Monday, August 17, 2009

I ASK YOU TALK: Elvis Impersonators talk health care

This past week, I was able to see some of the best Elvis impersonators in Dallas sing their hearts out for a grand prize of $1,000. It was a great night in Oak Cliff - extreme swooning from ladies who love Elvis, large ectoplasm green margaritas, and a whole lot of sequins. Not to mention a semi-creepy electronic "Bust of Elvis" that was up for raffle. Oh, and did you know that Elvis died with 60 lbs of poop in his intestines?

The performances were extremely passionate - almost as passionate as the town hall meetings that are occuring around the country about health care. So I asked some of the Elvi, as well as some attractive Dallas professionals at happy hour, some important questions about their health.

Name: Roger
What was the worst illness or injury you've had? Pneumonia when I was little.
What is your medication of choice? Antibiotics, especially Z-pac. I had bronchitis recently.
Do you have health insurance? Yes.
Name: Aaron
What was the worst illness or injury you've had? Busting my chin open in a fight over a girl.
What is your medication of choice? Tums - I take them all the time.
Do you have health insurance? No.
Name: Danny
What was the worst illness or injury you've had? A boxer's fracture - I had a fight with the wall. It took 5 weeks to heal.
What is your medication of choice? Adaptex - it's an appetite suppressant and I take it once a day. I'm not into hardcore drugs.
Do you have health insurance? Yes.

Name: Katy
What was the worst illness or injury you've had? 1. C-section - knocked me on my ass for weeks. 2. Freshman year in college - the doctor misdiagnosed me as having strep throat, but it was really tonsilitis.
What is your medication of choice? Alka Seltzer - for so many things - sore throat, upset stomach, hangover!
Do you have health insurance? Yes.

Name: Scott
What was the worst illness or injury you've had? Arthroscopic surgery on my ankle. It was a basketball injury.
What is your medication of choice? Mushrooms, under the right circumstances.
Do you have health insurance? Yes. Thanks to the government, my COBRA is now being subsidized!

Name: Bobby
What was the worst illness or injury you've had? I broke my ankle wrestling in high school. I was in the 108 lb weight class sophomore year, 135 lb weight class senior year.
What is your medication of choice? Vodka.
Do you have health insurance? Yes.
Name: Michael
What was the worst illness or injury you've had? Last year, I fell down the stairs and cracked my head. I got three staples, a major concussion and minor brain trauma.
What is your medication of choice? Vicodin. It makes me relax.
Do you have health insurance? Yes.

Luckily, the worst illness I had involved a tainted chicken pizza from UNOS and some puking at a hipster club and on subway later that night. It was more embarrassing than anything.

Post your worst illness/injury or medication of choice here.

Monday, August 10, 2009

I ASK YOU TALK: What should I name my first child?

For those of you in marketing (like myself), there’s a hot new trend called crowdsourcing and everyone is doing it. The best definition I found for crowdsourcing was “consumers as creators” – consumers offer companies their ideas in hopes for some recognition and a prize, the companies hope the consumers are more engaged with their brands than they were before.

Examples:

  • Netflix is offering a million dollars to team with the best algorithm that predicts what films members will like.
  • American Airlines is offering 25,000 miles to the person who comes up with the best name for their new Facebook app.
  • Threadless.com, a hipster t-shirt company, solicits designs and the highest rated ones get printed and sold.
Since I aspire to be on the cutting edge of marketing, I decided to test drive this concept (at my friend Rachel's birthday party) and crowdsource some important questions that I need answered in my life.



Name: Christina
Years in Dallas: 9 years
FroYo stores are all the rage. What should I name my first franchise? Fruity – it sounds healthy!
Where should I go on my next vacation? Thailand – for the fabulous beaches, great food, and it’s very affordable.
What should I name my first child? Alexander. You can call him Xander for short, which I think is so cool.


Name: Troy
Years in Dallas: 1 year
FroYo stores are all the rage. What should I name my first franchise? Betty’s – I like personalization
Where should I go on my next vacation? British Virgin Islands – you can go island hopping by sailboat.
What should I name my first child? Rachel – after the birthday girl, and only if she is born on August 7th

Name: Carrie
Years in Dallas: 1 year
FroYo stores are all the rage. What should I name my first franchise? Frozen Yogurt Store
Where should I got on my next vacation? Spain, Italy and Greece – my faves!
What should I name my first child? Carrie. It’s a good name.

Name: Gustavo, aka “Chino”
Years in Dallas: 4.5 years
FroYo stores are all the rage. What should I name my first franchise? FREEZE – because frozen yogurt is frozen.
Where should I go on my next vacation? Argentina – the exchange rate is 3 to 1 right now, and there are three distinct climates – hot, mild, and cold. The mild section has lots of nice wineries and it's where I'm from.
What should I name my first child? Facundo – it’s a sexy Argentinean name for a guy.
Four is not a crowd, so I also crowdsourced from this thing called the internets. Here are the best answers:
1. FroYo stores are all the rage. What should I name my first franchise?
  • Fro Yo Sto!
  • The Cream Pump
  • Brrrrrr
  • A Little Culture
  • Sour Milk

2. Where should I go on my next vacation?

  • Maui - so you can say Maui Wowee! (ed. note: Maui got multiple votes, but i've already been 2xs)
  • Vancouver - a lot of history and the Olympics will be there next winter
  • Ireland
  • Pick a region of the country and drive to it - enjoy the journey, not just destination (ed. note: very deep!)
  • St. Vincent - black sand beaches make for amazing sand castles

3. What should I name my first child?

  • Lucas
  • Roger
  • Betty Jr.
  • Brett Chung
  • Barnaby
  • Carvin Stone

The winners get a dinette set, and their answers posted on my blog! This crowdsourcing experiment was a success!

Monday, August 3, 2009

I ASK YOU TALK: We All Have "More to Love" So Love Us More

This edition is an interesting edition because:

1. It's "Virtual" - I simply didn't have the energy to accost strangers this week in Dallas.

2. I am personally connected to each of these people - read further.

3. The show "More to Love" debuted last week and OMG OMG OMG!!!! Did they really need to display the weight of each woman everytime they featured her? Side note: does Antonio Sabato Jr. *really* need a dating show?

Anyhow, I wanted the world to learn more about some of my friends, their wonderful "More to Love" body parts and how they keep themselves the gorgeous and fit beings that they are.


Name: Debbie
Betty Connection: We eat mac ‘n’ cheese everytime we see each other
What part of your body would you consider “More to Love”? My big hair which gets really curly and poofy in the summer and my large personality.
What is your workout regime like? Squat and lunges 3 times a week and 1-2 day of cardio. I should do more cardio but oh well!
Do you have any workout advice for my readers? Mix up your workout and do as much cardio as you can tolerate.



Name: Sid
Betty Connection: We are email pen pals/fiends and friends from high school.
What part of your body would you consider “More to Love”? 1. My pecs. I like to do a lot of pushups. Women should love my pecs. 2. My passion. I get excited talking about things that probably bore other people. I don't care. I love what I love and you should love that I do.
What is your workout regime like? I've had to get back to basics so I focus on pushups, sit-ups, and other body-weight exercises daily. I try to follow Jason Statham's advice to explode in the gym for 40 minutes max, so you can get out there and live a real life.
Do you have any workout advice for my readers? Don’t set unrealistic and unreasonable goals. Set a very small goal, attain that, and then make another small goal.
Check out Sid's musings about life, law and media at siduberoi.com

Name: Betsy
Betty Connection: We make fun of boys at bars
What part of your body would you consider “More to Love”? I would say my demanding personality. It makes me feel like a real woman.
What is your workout regime like? I was able to drop about 20 pounds in a few months sticking to a strict cigarette and coffee diet.
Do you have any workout advice for my readers? Smoking is totally underrated as a weight loss tool.

Name: Aaron
Betty Connection: We both attended a 3 day web analytics training session last fall in Herdon, VA.
What part of your body would you consider “More to Love”? Let's just say that you hate to see me go but you love to watch me leave. My larger than life ass has made pants buying a challenge for years.
What is your workout regime like? I usually spend an hour a day with my Wii Fit. The Hula Hoop game is a gruelly aerobic workout and I'm a much better virtual hula hoop-er than I am a real life one.
Do you have any workout advice for my readers? Workout to stay healthy. My roommate does two-a-day workouts to achieve the perfect body but you only need it if you're in pictures. Your adoring fans are your friends and family and they don't care if you gorgeous - they just want you around for as long as possible.
Get your entertainment fix, all opinionated and stuff, at Entertainment Matters, courtesy of Aaron.

Name: Amreen
Betty Connection: We went to high school together
What part of your body would you consider “More to Love”? I love me my little pot belly... it took years to get comfy with it and realize that the waif look was never gonna be me but now it’s just so fun to rub... specially after a lovely meal!
What is your workout regime like? I don't "work out" per se but i'm pretty active...I ride my bike around a lot and try to do bikram yoga 3 times a week... my new found love is hula hooping... man that whips a tummy in shape!
Do you have any workout advice for my readers? Find something you love doing and stick with that - staying healthy shouldn't be a chore.
Hungry? Salivate over Amreen's yummy-licious blog Comida y Cultura.

Name: Andrew
Betty Connection: My date to the Sadie Hawkins dance sophomore year in high school
What part of your body would you consider “More to Love”? My calf muscles. I have been born with large calf muscle genes that I don't fully utilize.
What is your workout regime like? Jogging/running 3 times a week, abs twice a week, muscle building 3 times a week. Sometimes I go swim, yoga or just do something different.
Do you have any workout advice for my readers? Stay consistent - This is the key to keeping up a healthy lifestyle and exercise routine.

Name: Ben
Betty Connection: My friend A+ and I met him at a bar in Brooklyn, playing Battleship (say that 3x fast!)
What part of your body would you consider “More to Love”? Ever since I can remember, both my thighs and calves were developed and bulbous, making my upper body seem puny in comparison. (However, this provided me with the incentive to get my upper body developed to balance things out.)
What is your workout regime like? It varies - in the winter I go snowboarding every weekend. In warmer weather I go bike riding with friends or play regular and table tennis (hey, I’m Asian!). I also practice jiu-jitsu.
Do you have any workout advice for my readers? Do what you love. You’ll stay with something if you genuinely enjoy it. And make sure you have fun!
Get your booty shake on - Ben spins funky stuff in the NYC area as dj SOUL KOREA. Keep track of his whereabouts at myspace.com/soulkorea and on twitter @soulkorea!

So hula hooping seems to be a new fitness trend, mix that up with some jazz walks and bicep curls and you've got a workout! Remember, you heard it here first @ little b in the big d.