Nope, can't make it pretty enough 

This pizza box copy caught my eye a few weeks ago and I took a picture of it, thinking that, if I rubbed out the "s" in the word "contents," it might make a good blog header.

. Click on it to see it full-size.

But I can't make it work, as Tim Gunn says. Feel free to take it if you are more grunge-inclined and want to use it.

Huh! Following links from Tim's blog I see that outzonetv.com covers Project Runway like crazy -- and I see that Bravo's programming VP is gay. I suppose that's no news to followers of the fab 5 and all that stuff, but I didn't know it. Things are making more sense to me now, and it's really kind of cool. A gay vocab question from a straight mom who's feeling decidedly unhip after reading that site: what makes Wendy Pepper a "breeder" but not Laura?

Good grief, no wonder I couldn't pick it out 

Look at all the odd chords in At Last. No wonder I couldn't work it out on my own; no wonder it's so special.

Still shaking 

Nothing like totally screwing up somebody else's website to get your heart racing.

Speaking of hearts, I listened to Friday's Daily Source Code in which Patricia mentioned having chest pains. Do go to the hospital, please. Don't take any chances with the old ticker.

You don't own me 

Jason's suggestion to buy youdontownpodcasting.com took hold. Wonder what the domain owner will do with it.

Suggestion: make the message come from the podcasting community in general. Use "You Don't Own Me" as a theme song. I don't know if it was Leslie Gore or Dusty Springfield who did the original, but Dusty had the more appropriate delivery: an indignant, plaintive wail, a tone that was picked up in a fun version of it in First Wives Club.

Wimmin stuff 

- Rogers Cadenhead took the trouble that Spring Experience conference organizers didn't, and easily ferreted out 10 women who would have been candidates for speakers.

- For the second time recently, something I made was mentioned in a podcast. This time it was my little mobile site visualizer. The last time it was my Coroner Gillmor movie. Both times the podcaster automatically referred to me as "this guy." It makes you remember that the conference problem is a lot deeper-rooted. If it's something on the web, the default assumption is a guy must have made it.

Language changes lead to attitude changes 

I don't get mad when I realize something like that -- the assumption that men must make everything. It just makes me sigh and wonder if anything can be done about something that ingrained.

One thing all writers and speakers could do is check themselves every time they hear themselves say "guy." I've noticed Chris Matthews doing that lately in talking about politicians, and then he brings himself up short and amends his statement to make it more inclusive.

He's probably doing us more good by stumbling first, then catching himself, because it draws attention to the existence of the default assumptions. It may cause members of his audience who make the same assumptions to think about them.

Matthews' style in doing this sits well with me. It's like, oops, I should quick correct that -- and it's on with the show. There's a patronizing way of being inclusive in speech and writing that lends too much emphasis to the inclusion. When I hear a speaker saying something like "We want to protect our servicemen and women," I think to myself, "Leave off the boldface, buddy, I'm not that impressed that you're stating it the way I'd expect everyone to say it."