Songs for the Fall of an Empire

A must see: Promotional short film featuring the music from Ignacio Peña's Digital 45 release "Songs for the Fall of an Empire"

Watch it and think.

My thoughts on Michael Jackson final rehearsal

No matter what you might have to say about MJJ's character (we will never know the truth but speculation does not make a person guilty), he was the single most talented person of our generation. MJJ was a lost soul who never got a fair shake because of his personal choices, however unwise they were. Totally misunderstood. A friend of a friend said, "No childhood and now no old age." Bummer that he's gone and we'll never get the opportunity to see his dream of this tour come into fruition.

Dear Potential Employer

Dear Potential Employer:

Since relocating back to the Bay Area four months ago, I have been actively searching for employment but have been unsuccessful in finding a job. I have applied for hundreds of jobs based on postings for open positions or submitting my resume to the human resources e-mail address listed on your website. I have even submitted my resume via employee referrals, but yet again I’ve been ignored.

You think that just because the economy is down, the unemployment rate is high and thousands of candidates are applying for the same job at your company that you have the right to be rude and disrespectful by not acknowledging that I’ve applied for an opening in your organization or that you ever even received said application. Worse yet is that you’re not even willing to pay me what I’m worth! You’re too busy giving the upper echelon a six-figure income to even notice that the salary you are offering me isn’t one I can survive on. That’s poverty-level in this geographical area considering the high cost of living. Most times companies don’t list the salary range hoping that a candidate will submit their resume anyway. When they do post a salary for any given position, it’s a joke. I mean, $12 an hour for an administrative position? Are you kidding me??? Where do you suggest I live in the Bay Area at $12 an hour? One cannot even live in a one-bedroom apartment in San Jose on that salary!  Why, Mr. Big Shot Corporation, are you being so cheap?

As an experienced administrative assistant, I keep the wheels well-oiled in order to keep the organization going. The big wigs need me in order to enter information into the computer. They need me to compose a letter for them because either they can’t type faster than a hunt and peck or they don’t know how to use basic computer software systems. How is this possible in Silicon Valley? We created the high-tech industry. I do the support work that makes your job easier. I manage your calendar, I book your travel and I prepare your correspondence. I make sure you have reservations or lunch delivered for meetings, I answer your phone and take messages and I help you prepare for presentations. I help you run your life and make sure there is balance between work and home, many times at the sacrifice of my own family. I do everything for you just short of wiping your rear end.

The other day when I was speaking to a representative at EDD to discuss whether or not I would qualify for unemployment benefits, the incompetent woman told me that when she had contacted a friend of mine “she hunged up on me.” Why is it that these people can’t put together a basic sentence in the English language yet they can work for the State of California and make major decisions regarding my future benefits? Not to mention, they make pretty decent money! As noted on the EDD career site (http://www.edd.ca.gov), an Unemployment Program Representative makes somewhere between $2817 - $4256 per month. I’ve applied for this position but guess what? I’ve never been contacted and I believe I’m more than qualified. I speak English, I have a college degree (that I was told would move me ahead in the employee job pool but has done nothing for me), I know how to use a computer, I have customer service training and I know how to deal with people. What gives?

Signed,

Unemployed and Sick of It

Great Weekend and Happy Monday

Hope you had a great weekend. Mine was packed with things to do. Friday night I went with my old college buddy Cathy to see the Vinyl Trees (Mark Smith, former SJ Shark) at a dive bar, BLVD Tavern in Los Gatos. What an eclectic group of people! The band was better than I expected considering the music on the guys' myspace page doesn't show off their abilities as artists. They are a 3-piece band but added electric guitar at the show which really was a bonus. This was a pleasant surprise. Saturday morning, after barely sleeping, I was up and at 'em early to watch my niece's final soccer game of the season in S. San Jose. It was overcast and cool so I had no idea I'd get burned. Not the brightest move to no wear sunblock. The game was good - they tied. The ref let them teams do a battle of kicks at the end and her team kicked butt. Saturday evening a friend from the Radio, TV & Film department at SJSU drove back up north (another Los Angeleno officially moves back to the Bay Area). We met for drinks following dinner and drinks with my former professor. Lots of laughter. Up and at 'em early again on Sunday morning. I went to my sister's house for our final attempt at making some money off our old things at a yard sale. It was a total bust! Hint: Sundays are not the day for a yard sale. I made $2.50 for 5 hours of my time. Not exactly worth it. In the end, all my old items went to a good cause. We dropped off two carloads worth of stuff to the American Cancer Society so at least something good came out of it. Sure feels good to be rid of all the boxes. :) Monday morning and back to looking for jobs. Ahh, life's good.

E-mail/Cell phone Etiquette - Where has it gone?

E-mail/Cell phone/Facebook etiquette - Where has it gone? Or should the question be, "Did we ever have it?"

On a daily basis I am reminded of how inconsiderate (or shall I say "ignorant"?) people can be since technology took over our lives: I'm driving down the road and get cut off by a man who doesn't even notice that I'm there because he's too busy chatting on his cell phone. I thought this became illegal in California last year but what do I know? Ever heard of using an ear piece? 

I'm sitting in a restaurant having lunch with a friend and I can't hear myself speak because the gal at the next table is chatting on her phone as if the person on the other end of the line is on the other side of the planet. Or worse, my friend's cell phone rings and he rudely picks it up mid-conversation with no regard for our time together. By answering his phone he's telling me that his phone call is more important than my time.

I call my friend on her cell phone but in the middle of ringing it goes to voicemail. Does she think I don't know that she "denied" me? Or does she not care that I know she denied me? At least have the decency to silence the phone and let it continue to ring as usual so I don't know you're blatantly ignoring my call.

I'm exhausted beyond belief and fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. At midnight my cell phone beeps, alerting me to a text message. It beeps again. I'm getting drunk texted (there's was a time when “drunk dialing” was the in thing) by people whose moods are so altered by the intoxication of alcohol that they don't care if I live a normal life and have to get up at 7:00 am. When did drunk texting become so popular anyway?

It's 6:00 am and I don't need to be up until 7:15. My dear friend insomnia visited me last night (and the night before and the night before that) so I am dead tired. My cell phone sings that familiar sound to alert me to a text message. But wait, here come four more. A friend decides that he needs to send out a 5 page text message that I believe should have come in the form of an e-mail (so it doesn't wake the sleeping dead). For those that are going to tell me to turn my cell phone off at night - I use my cell as my alarm clock. Besides, why should I have to turn it off?

E-mail etiquette is almost as bad. I e-mailed an old friend who happens to be a recruiter to ask him to keep an eye out for a position that might match my qualifications. He never acknowledges that he received it. Could he not write back and say, "Sorry, I have no positions that match your skill set but I'll keep an eye out for you" or "I'd love to help but I'm just not in a position to do so"? Something. Anything would have been nice. Nope, nothing. I write a work-related e-mail that actually requires a response but hear nothing back from the recipient. When did it become OK to ignore people in business?

Forwards/Spam are annoying. Most people don't like their inbox filled with junk mail. Unless it's super funny or important, don't forward crap. I rarely send out forwards but when I do they are targeted only toward the people whom I know will enjoy them, not to everyone in my address book. 

Facebook has become a daily mode of communication for its millions of users around the world. I'm not knocking it as it's been a key tool for me to reconnect with long lost friends and family. I do not, however, understand the friend requests by people I've never met or people from high school that I neither called a friend nor ever even shared words with. And another thing... why add a person if you're never going to write them to say, "Hi, how are you?" Am I just another notch on your facebook bedpost? I get that we're all busy and we lead crazy, hectic lives. Maybe we don't have time to say hello or write an e-mail every week but do you not have a moment to comment on a friend's status update or type a quick "cute pic" under their photo? These people seem to have all the time in the world to play useless, time-wasting facebook games like Mafia Wars or send a Starbucks or boozemail, tend to a friend's virtual garden or hunt for Easter eggs. I wonder how many "friends" I'll lose after writing this blog.

By the way, if you talk to me on even a semi-regular basis then you know I'm not talking about you. No offense is intended here. I'm just trying to figure out why anyone would want to bother befriending someone just to have them in their friend list. 

Rules for technology in 2009 (in case you missed etiquette class in childhood) 

1. When someone calls you, return their call within a 48 hour period. At least acknowledge that the call came through with a text or e-mail. Same goes for an e-mail. Don't pretend you never received the call/email/text. It's just plain rude.

2. If you don't have a headset of some type, don't drive and talk on the phone. People can barely drive without the usual distractions. As for texting, it's not allowed while operating a motor vehicle.

3. When in a restaurant be courteous enough to keep the cell phone on silent or at least silence it when it starts to ring. Everyone doesn't need to know that you're so important because you're getting lots of phone calls. At the same time, unless it's urgent, don't answer it. And if you must, don't scream. There is this thing called sound that should be kept to a normal level. The person on the other end of the line can hear you just fine whether you're talking in your normal voice or yelling. I promise.

4. If you're shopping in the store and talking on the phone and you need to purchase something, put your call on hold or put the phone down so as not to be rude to the person assisting you. For the ladies: Same goes for trying on clothes in the fitting room. That little room is not soundproof so people can hear your entire conversation about that hot guy you locked eyes with across the bar last night.

5. If you must talk on the phone while in a public restroom, keep your voice down. There are other people in the bathroom that can hear your every word. Not to mention, I'm certain the person on the other end of the call can hear the piddle as it hits the water and the toilet flushing. P.S. Don't forget to wash your hands. Nobody wants to touch a dirty door handle after they've washed their owns hands.

6. If you are calling a different time zone keep that in mind when dialing the digits. It's not nice to call someone at odd ours of the night or early morning so be respectful. What's more annoying is when the person has dialed a wrong number at 6 am.

7. Before sending a text message think long and hard if it's really necessary. We are losing human contact out of laziness. It's so much easier to send a text and not have to spend the time or effort talking to someone. Unless it's something really minor, if you care then make the call.

8. When on a phone call, have the courtesy to focus on the person you are talking to and not type on the computer at the same time. Whomever you are speaking to can hear the clicking of the keys as you are typing away on something that is so obviously more important to you than your conversation.

9. If you write an e-mail/message use the spell check. Don't make it more difficult for the recipient of your message than it should be. He/She shouldn't have to guess at the message you are trying to relay. Sidebar: When sending message, double check to be certain you've copied the correct recipients. Nothing like receiving a note that was meant for someone else!

10. Recipients: To/CC/BC - If you decide it's important enough to pass along an e-mail, remove the recipient history so everyone and their brother's e-mail addresses aren't passed onto your entire address book. Along the same lines, instead of putting the e-mail addresses into the "To" section, blind copy them (you know, the "BC" line). This will also prevent viruses from spreading should someone's computer be attacked. Respect your friends and family's privacy by guarding their personal information.

Try to maintain etiquette when diving into technology. Now hurry up and respond to that message that's been waiting for you. The person who wrote it deserves it!

Ignacio Peña v. Don Omar: Round 1

In one corner, we have the Afro Puerto Rican reggaeton rapper Don Omar claiming the title of first Latin artist to release an iPhone application. In the other corner, is the ultra opinionated futurehead, Puerto Rican rocker Ignacio Peña defending his title. Funny that Omar can make claims on the title when he hasn't even released his app yet. Go ahead, open your iTunes and check. It's not there. Peña's was released two weeks ago for which I happily distributed the press release. (See previous blogs below)

Two weeks ago, when we were prepping the press release, I checked with several of my contacts at Apple, none of whom could name a Latin artist who'd yet to release an app. One person informed me that Omar had submitted one for approval, but apparently it hasn't been approved yet because it's nowhere to be found in the iTunes app store. Maybe it's not worthy of approval.

Yesterday I was told that Omar is being introduced to the concert stage in Puerto Rico as "the first Latin artist to release an iPhone application." What a joke! Is that really how you want to be presented to the world? How about, "Grammy nominated" or "platinum selling artist"? Or maybe "highest charting debut album"? But first iPhone app? Seriously people, get a grip. You should definitely be proud to be the first Latino to do anything in the music business considering it's such a tough market to penetrate but to claim the title of first app? Is this what we've come to? Besides, how can you present yourself as having done something you haven't even completed and steal the title from the artist deserving of it? That's a bold-face lie! Does he need the title that badly? Is it going to make or break his career?

Peña has struggled to make a name for himself in both the Latin and American markets, creating music which isn't "radio friendly" with his sometimes controversial lyrics and often heavy tones. His music charted in Radio & Records Magazine over a two year period, his song “Velocidad de escape”, a duet with Gustavo Laureano lead singer of La Secta All Star, one of the 15 most heard rock songs in the US as reported by the Latin Rock/Alternative charts of the magazine. Peña debuted at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin in 2005 where he won the first-ever iTunes Jukebox Jury competition. As a result, his album "Anormal" was featured in the iTunes music store where it jumped up the "Top Album" chart to #4. What more does he have to do in order to prove himself to radio, or even more, to the labels?

Omar's record label, Universal Musica, ironically Peña's first label, states in a press release posted on its website, "Later this month, Don Omar will launch the IDON application for iPhone and iPod Touch devices. In doing so he will become the first Latin artists to ever release this type of application and will open up a new level of interactivity with his millions of fans." So now the record label is misleading its consumers and claiming the title on his behalf? I'm not surprised. This is Universal we're talking about. I just have one question for Universal and Omar: "Where is this so-called first Latin artist iPhone app?" Funny, I still can't find it. Oh yeah, that's right. It's called the Ignacio Peña app. See for yourself. The proof is in the pudding.

Round 1: Ignacio Peña KO

Coldplay Gives Back to the Fans with FREE Music

For those of you that are Coldplay fans, or if you live under a rock somewhere and don't know their music.. now's your chance, follow the link below to download, for FREE, live tracks directly from Coldplay.

As a thank you to the band's fans, the guys wanted to give something back. I've always known Coldplay to be generous with the people that make them who they are - FANS. This is one of the key reasons that I'm willing to give them my money - because they're not afraid to give back. When you reward people (this includes companies rewarding their employees) you will get more from them in return.

Last summer I spent almost $100 a ticket to see them live for the first time at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to bring my camera into the venue because you just never know these days. I decided to sneak it in. The trick, for ladies anyway, is to hide it in the small pocket inside your purse. In the event that security wants you to open the pocket so they can see inside, place a personal female item on top of the camera which will make them so uncomfortable they'll let you go without searching further. Voilà. You're in.

So I snuck my camera in only to discover that the place was lit up by flashes going off all around me. So I joined in. The band was amazing. They played all the classics and almost everything off the new album (Viva La Vida). Chris Martin rocked it out. I took over 200 photos that night. We sat 18th row so I got some great shots with my little SLR digital camera.

The highlight of the show was when the band ran off the stage, down the side of the floor seats and up a side aisle, right into the audience. They set up shop in the middle of screaming fans and jammed on a couple of songs with people standing arm to arm, feeling every drop of sweat that fell from Chris Martin's body. Ahh... what a thrill!

The show ended with a bang as thousands, if not millions, of fluorescent-colored paper mache butterflies were released from above and came floating down onto the entire arena. Beautiful.

If you get the chance to catch Coldplay out on the road now I highly recommend it. These guys do NOT disappoint.

Get your FREE tracks here:

http://www.coldplay.com/lrlrl/lr.html