Archive: 2005 September / Constant Beta

Archive for September, 2005

Straight Questions

September 30th, 2005 • 2 comments To be filed

Justine Kenzer, defining contemporary psychics with talent, style and biz sense

Justine Kenzer, popularly known as, “Psychic Girl,” is someone I’d heard about often—in bits and pieces. A blurb in InStyle, a mention at Pinkisthenewblog….and a psychic game in Seventeen magazine where Justine is invited to spot the real boyfriend of a nineteen something out of three boys. She lives in Hollywood and it’s whispered that she is consulted by several red-carpet glitterati. Her readings start at $100, and are done via (hold your breath) instant messenger or phone! Of Course, if you are in the area you could personally go visit her. There was no question about her authenticity; I mean if she’s the talk of the town, she can’t possibly me a fraud. But I was curious. So when I asked her (a little hesitatingly) if she would like to be the first guest for Straight Questions, she very simply said, “I’d love to.”

Style Station: Justine, how long have you been doing readings?
Psychic Girl: I think it’s 16 years now
Style Station: Wow…so how does this work? Over instant messenger?
Psychic Girl: It’s all about energy. Type your full name for me here and I will tell you what I see. Then you can ask me your questions.

I did as told and asked her a few questions. Just the usual, career, money and past lives. My perception of psychic readers, from the gypsies I’d been to on the boardwalk of Atlantic City and the random tarot readers I’d consulted, had led me to expect very standard answers. Talking to Justine, was very different. Different because she didn’t tell me the usual, “you will be very successful, I can see it…you will have lots of money.” Instead, she said what I’d always known but never quite acknowledged. Yet, after each question, she repeated and reiterated that I make my own destiny, that nothing can happen if I don’t want it and that, she is only helping me see what I can’t see but it is my decision and my life in the end.

Style Station: Why do you keep saying that? Keep reminding me that it is my life and my decision.
Psychic Girl: As a psychic, people so hang on to every word I say. I have to be very careful of what I say to others
Style Station: So do you hold back things? How do you decide what your client can handle and what will disturb him/her? Does being a psychic inflict any moral responsibilities on you?
Psychic Girl: I don’t hold anything back because I’m not shown things that put you in fear. Your guides don’t and will not scare you want. It doesn’t work that way. Awareness is the key to me if it comes up. If I am shown something in the reading then I do my best to interpret what I see to you. So yes, I have a huge moral responsibility.
Style Station: I’ve been to a few psychics before and the kind of reading I got from there, made me believe that my destiny is already decided. Like, they say all these things..
Psychic Girl: No way. And where does their information come from? Who knows who these psychics are, most out there are not involved in the spiritual aspect, they don’t have a clue what they are doing.
Style Station: So how do you know who’s fake and who’s good?
Psychic Girl: You have to be skeptical. Search for proof and evidence. Don’t just let anyone in your energy.
Style Station: Psychics are so wrongly perceived by most of us.
Psychic Girl: Yes, I agree with that. You make your own destiny. Psychics only help you see things you cannot see.
Style Station: Hmm. So how would you define being a psychic?
Psychic Girl: All psychic communication is communicating with spirit and spirits are those that have passed to the other side and just because someone is dead, does not mean they can see all or know all. It’s a lot like when they were living, they can be stuck. So just as you wouldn’t go up to some stranger in the street and take their advice… you wouldn’t just go to any psychic because you don’t know which spirit they are receiving their communication from. You want to be damn sure you know who you are going to.
Style Station: Spirits help you see things that we don’t see?
Psychic Girl: Yes, they can see things that you can’t, or I can. I can’t make a claim for anyone else. I tap into your highest and best and get what is needed for you. Your guides and teachers, we all have them.
Style Station: True…I think I quite experienced that myself from your reading.
Psychic Girl: Your reading is up to you, not me. You are creating your answers.
Style Station: Does your profession affect you in any way? Emotionally or physically? Does it disturb you to be in contact with spirits?
Psychic Girl: No. I am not affected in the way you would think. I’m neutral.
Style Station: Did you have to work towards achieving that balance?
Psychic Girl: Yes, It has come through spiritual work and study, but I’m sure I’m affected more than I think. I run around pretending to be normal and I’m not.
Style Station: How do your friends, family and boyfriends deal with this? I read an article you wrote for Flaunt magazine where you said most guys are scared when they find out what you do?
Psychic Girl: Times have changed. Now, actually more guys dig it. I’m finding men that know they are a little psychic. And my family, there’s no issue. My dad’s pretty psychic himself but not professional. I’m very lucky like that.
Style Station: Has any book greatly influenced you or that you simply admire?
Psychic Girl: Hmm..well, as far as psychic books, not really. Well, The life and teachings of the Masters of the Far East, is a good read. There’s another book called, “Guided by Vision” about a couple that lived in Laurel Canyon in L.A and used their powers together way before Hollywood was Hollywood
Style Station: Interesting. What about your clothes? Are you into fashion at all? Most psychics I’ve met wear these long robes and have tons of rings and long necklaces. Hehe.
Psychic Girl: I love clothes! But if I’m not going out, I’m pretty low key. I don’t follow trends, I make my own.
Style Station: Example please! I just went to this TV Guide Emmy party and I had 2 dresses to pick from. Instead, I ended up pulling together this outfit that I love. It was very Sharon Stone. I wore this long black ruffly skirt and my bathing suit top.
Style Station: Bathing suit top? Now that’s really interesting!
Psychic Girl: and I ripped a men’s white wife-beater down the center and wore this white collared and cuffed shirt on it. With an amazing pair of vintage earrings. People were stopping me left and right!
Style Station: WOW. So you are a psychic with a style!! What a relief.
Psychic Girl: Aww. Thanks.
Style Station: How would you define style?
Psychic Girl: You are what you wear. It’s your energy.
Style Station: OK.. Now tell us about these possession protectors? they look pretty stylish!
Psychic Girl: They came from my client asking how to connect more with their spirit guides. I went with iconic pictures that I loved and that I felt people would like.
Style Station: so through these protectors, is it possible to connect to our guides?
Psychic Girl: Yes or make a new relationship with a new guide.
Style Station: Do you bless them? Meditate on them? How do they work?
Psychic Girl: They are already blessed. You sleep with it under your pillow the first night and then you and your guide connect.
Style Station: Ok. I feel a little stupid asking my next question but I couldn’t help noticing what an amazing business sense you have! Who’s heard of a psychic with a website and a cute cartoon.. you are quite business savvy. Was it your own idea?
Psychic Girl: I pride myself on that! Psychic Girl is a cartoon, animation. I created the concept, the characters.. Infact, there is a company that I am in talks with now to make it an actual cartoon series.
Style Station: That’s great
Psychic Girl: Yes, this is all I do to make a living. Read non-stop. I’m very excited to move into new areas. Do more than just read.
Style Station: Well, good luck to you and hope we speak again in the future. Thank you for the reading.. and thank you for being on Style Station.

As insightful as a psychic reading or a palm reading is, it should not dictate our future actions. As Justine said, “I do predict every day that’s my job, you just have the ability to change it cause you have free will.” It is entirely up to us to do what we want, be what we want.
Lastly, if you do not believe in spirits and psychics, please refrain from leaving crude comments and disrespecting Justine’s profession and other’s beliefs

Fashion Bloggers Conference: Paris

September 29th, 2005 • To be filed

Anina, a top fashion model and also a tech-freak has organized the first ever Fashion Bloggers conference in Paris with Nokia and Six Apart.
More information can be found here.
What’s interesting is that finally, fashion, is stepping up and embracing the new media. Ofcourse, there are several fashion blogs that have gained popularity over the last couple of months. Anina, the organizer, has also kindly agreed to be featured in Straight Questions.

Idea Hunt: your chance to be the next “big” thing

September 29th, 2005 • To be filed

PSFK is running an idea-generating contest for two Fortune 100 companies. All you need to do is submit your ideas and wait to hear back!
Check it out here.
Only two more days to go!

Lending books? sure. Lending people? what!

September 28th, 2005 • Culture Briefings

I’ve been to the rare books section in my library where they allow me to take the book out for 30 minutes. But I’ve never quite heard of a library that actually lends people for 45 minutes time slots!
ofcourse,
1) they charge no late fee for returning people late
2) you neeed no library card
3) you get to ask as many questions as you want

In an effort to spread awareness and bring people closer to members of the minority groups, several cities in Europe have introduced "living libraries" to reduce prejudice and critisicm towards the minorities. This is on a strictly voluntary basis. Gay men, lesbians, poverty-stricken women, gipsies, alcholics are among a sampling of the kind of people available for lending.

I like the idea of this project. And the more media exposure this project gets, the more people it attracts. But in the back of my mind, an annoying voice asks, how long before media actually begins to capitalize on this idea?
"Lending People" is such a great theme. And I can totally see a tiny cafe in New York lending out "subjects" like waitresses, farmers, bar-tenders, lawyers etc to fiction writers at a hefty price. It would save fiction writers the time to go out there and research. It would make life simpler for them to have a live subject who’s experiences and thoughts they can pick to color their own characters.
I’m not going to be surprised if this is already in works or will be worked on in the near future. But I sure will claim rights to this idea!

Straight Questions

September 28th, 2005 • 1 comment To be filed

I’ve been experimenting with my blog, trying to define it strongly and keep the content consistent. While, there is so much I’d like to blog about, I’ve decided to primarily concentrate on my interests.
Starting this Friday, I’m introducing a weekly series, "Straight Questions" where I will feature cool, interesting personalities who think out of the box, are experimental in nature and just, different.
Bottomline: people who intrigue, inspire and fascniate me enough that I want to know more about them.

So in the coming weeks, watch out for interviews with
Justine of Psychic Girl
Laila of Moorish Girl
….. more to follow.

FREE trends access

September 27th, 2005 • To be filed

For 24 hours, (starting now) TRENDSTOP, is offering free access to their online trend-forecasts, reports and databases.
Username: trendstop
Password: orchid88

You need a non-yahoo/hotmail/free email account to access the site.

Rushie’s Reading

September 27th, 2005 • To be filed

I wasn’t able to make it thanks to the thunderstorms last night. However, moorishgirl made it in Oregon and here
is her report on meeting Rushdie.

Rushdie in Philly

September 26th, 2005 • To be filed

Salman Rushdie is speaking in Philadelphia tonight, at the Free Library.
It’s a rather late notice, but better now than never.
I met Rushdie last summer at a conference of the South Asian Journalist’s Association. He came with his beautiful wife, Padmalakshmi. Intelligence should be his second name, and honesty, his first.
Check back in later tonight for a report on the event.

Style Station’s New Look, new additions and more news.

September 25th, 2005 • To be filed

Thank you for everyone who wrote in to tell me that you liked the new look for Stylestation. I’m myvery happy with the look too. Also, I’ve been so inspired by my new design that I’ve decided to make a sorta-e-book for my fiction stories.
A little about me: I was a published author at the age of 15 in India. My book, "The Unexpected Gift" was published in 1999 by Pauline Publications. It was pretty cool– to be 15 and having earned a sizeable amount. I’ve not really had the inclination to get any of my other stories published since then, mostly because I am lazy and am more consumed with other things in life: such as finding a job, making money etc.
But I’ve always continued to write. Until now, my stories, (some incomplete, some complete) have been lying around in several flash drives and several folders on my computer. But today, I’ve decided to put them up on my site.
First, I thought I’d make little pdf’s to make it easier to download and read but then I took Pier’s advice and put them on a blog.
I love writing.
I’d like to invite you to Read my stories.
I’ve placed a permanent link to my stories on the upper right corner of the site.

Also, Stylestation will see more action now: more trend updates, juicy intakes on customer experience/service and more anecdotes about Philadelphia. And I need a favor: I’m shamelessly asking you to help me increase my blog traffic. I’m not sure I really know how to do that. Also, I’d like to hear from you what you like to hear/see/read here so I can frame my content accordingly.

I thank you for continuing to read Stylestation and giving me the inspiration to continue producing more content for you.

Jinal Shah

The amazing web

September 24th, 2005 • 2 comments To be filed

Sometimes, the possibilities on the web simply amaze me. Take this Wiltshire resident, Alex Tew, for example. This 21-year old college student launched a website, the Million dollar homepage, with the aim of providing advertising space to companies. That’s all the website does!!!
Each pixel is worth $1. and Tew’s aim is to make a million dollar from this site alone.
The site recieves close to 40,000 hits a day! and Tew has already made 56K pounds.

Yes. exactly. after reading about him, I , too, kicked myself in the head for not thinking about this before.

Bigelow Cosmetics: Highly recommended

September 24th, 2005 • To be filed

C. O Bigelow Pharmacists have slowly gained my respect and admiration. Just yesterday I bought their incredibly famous Lemon Body Creme from the Bath and Body Moisterizers speical deal.
Here are a few reasons why their products are really appealing:
1) the products are just good. no doubts abou tthat.
2) the packaging is so simple and plain– you almost won’t buy this product. But it’s the simplicity of this brand thats so charming. The overcrowded market already has a million different brands of beauty products, each vying for our attention. It is the un-pretensiousness of Bigelow Chemists/Pharmacists that stands out.
3) And, this company has history. It’s been around in NY since forever and its formula’s have evolved. I’m a sucker for history: I’ll buy a new product that’s good and been around for ages than go for something that has a glowing recommendation in Vogue or Lucky.
But that’s just me… what about you?

A hairstylist introducing her clothing line and skin-care line

September 24th, 2005 • Marketing/ Advertising

Sally Hershsomething (I cannot pronounce her last name nor could I be bothered to look it up and spell it right) a hair-stylist famous for the Shag cut she gave Meg Ryan in the old-old-old movie "French Kiss" is introducing her own clothing line AND a skin-care line.
After interning at one of nation’s top fashion magazines, this kind of news does not surprise me. Any one- who’s been in close proximity to the glamor world, ends up doing something of this sort. You can’t really complain– people who do these kinda things are rich, haev rich friends who buy their over-priced products.
So here’s to smart Sally at recognizing early on the opportunity to make more money (as if her houses in Beverly Hills, East Hampton and West Village weren’t enough )

We’ve got a hair-stylist giving tips on skin care now.. what’s next?

Olive Garden should stop lying

September 24th, 2005 • To be filed

I take my food very seriously. Even though I am a vegeterian, I know when a place doesn’t serve enough vegeterian food and when a place just sucks at serving any kind of food.
I’ve never been a huge fan of Olive Garden- the restaurant that claims to have bought Italy in our dining rooms. Last night, friends and I went there for dinner coz they were running a special: for $7.99– unlimited soup, salad and pasta. It does sound like a good deal, eh.

The salad was good. the soups were fine. It’s only when the pasta’s were delivered, I wondered if the pasta was cooked in the restaurant or at some poor unassuming lady’s house and just slabbered on our plates. I ordered the farfalle with creame garlic sauce. Luckily for me, the had the farfalle pasta (they surprisingly ran out of farfalle and penne when my friends ordered those for the next round of pastas) and the creamy garlic sauce was well.. creamy but too salty. So salty that a friend didnt’ even eat his first order.
Other’s had problems with the sauce being too less– to the pastas lacking complete favor.

Now I’m sure if we had ordered from their regular menu-they would have produced both farfalle and penne pasta. NOw it wasn’t all that bad: the service was excellent, the ambeince just perfect, its only the food that sucks bigtime.

Next time someone wants to eat good Italian food in Philly, try Pietro’s or Bucca Di Peppo. Much much better food.

Barbie’s friend from the Middle east..

September 23rd, 2005 • To be filed

Can’t believe I missed this one! Thanks to Agenda Inc, however…
Guess who’s Barbie’s competitor in the Middle east ? A prettier look-alike, Fulla (name of a jasmin like flower in Levant)
But unlike Barbies outrageously large boobs and skimpy, tight outfits, Fulla comes packaged in the typical Islam garb: a black abaya and a matching head scarf.

Ofcouse, she has her own share of wardrobes, but they come separately. Fulla also has a tiny pink prayer rug. So the doll not only educates and inclucates the Islamic values in little girls- it’s a relief for parents too, as they don’t have to deny their kids a "Barbie" anymore.
Designed in 2001 in Syria, Fulla has become a best-seller in Islamic countries because of great marketing and target-oriented advertising unlike Fulla’s other counter parts.

A great way to have peneterated the Islamic market– like the LG phone that introduced the SMS prayer alerts and the GPS’ system that points in the direction of Mecca. This phone has recieved an amazing response in Middle East.

Gooyabay

September 23rd, 2005 • To be filed

So is anyone surprised that Ebay might buy Skype? I’m not the least surprised, infact I was wondering why it didn’t happen sooner. Maybe Ebay was waiting to strike the iron while it was hot? or waiting for Skype or any other fast-growing, popular web tool, to reach a sizeable level of its potential before making the jump for it?
In my opinion, Ebay is buying Skype for two main reasons. 1) The brand. – Skype, although has not achieved main-stream popularity, has atleast become synonmous with phone calls. Even if consumers don’t really know what Skype does or is- they know that much to relate it to a phone call. Skype has built a loyal customer base which will smoothly transfer to Ebay’s once the acquisiton is complete. So now when someone thinks of ebay- they won’t just think of money and auctions, they’ll also think about making phone calls. Excellent startegic move.
1) The bandwagon.- Ebay just cannot handle the pressure from Google and Yahoo. In each of the monster’s struggle to become the number one web-services provider, they are ousting each other every way imaginable.

Hey- I’m all for progress of the mankind. But I dread to think of the day the whole world will be governend by a single Gooyabay. (let’s not forget amazon)

I’m so convinced that Gooyabay is not very far off that I’m making a whole new category to track Gooyabay’s progress.

Just watch..it’s not going to be too long before amazon.com is snapped up by one of these three…

Inlcuding consumers in advertising

September 23rd, 2005 • Marketing/ Advertising

Advertising and consumers are two separate entities. Like oil and water. They both belong to the separte ends of the commerce spectrum. However, how long will it be before it is the consumers dictating the advertisers and even making their own versions of commericals?
With the available technology, this possibility cannot be ruled out.
AdCandy, profiled in Wired magazine is doing just that. Taking the first step to close this spasm: allowing consumers their 15 seconds of fame.

"The freedom to participate has some people comparing Adcandy’s new ad
medium to open-source programming. "People are participating out of the
love of doing it, not necessarily for professional reasons," said
Hoffman, who was a musician before he started Adcandy.The contributions that come to Adcandy aren’t labor-intensive, but
spring from a moment of inspiration. In its text-messaging slogan
contest, entries included: "U had me at : )" and "Let your fingers do
the talking." Other contests asked participants to name a new MP3
player, with submissions like "Audacity" or "LoudMouth."

I had once read that Information has a tendency to flow: from anywhere. To me, AdCandy promises its begining…

Overheard

September 23rd, 2005 • On my mind...

..two women talking outside Barnes and Noble on Walnut Street..
(one of them was, obviously a high sschool teacher)
"you will not believe what Bush has asked us to do– on the national constitution day, we are now fukin supposed to teach a lesson about the constitution!"
as if the teachers have less burden..tcch