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To most business owners and commercial artists, how to launch a successful PR campaign or operation can seem like an impossibly complicated puzzle or a daunting and inscrutable mystery.

But the truth is that stories and segments in the national media come about as a function of an understandable process, and effective PR comes from knowing how that process works, and thus how to influence it.

As a former editor and writer for the national media who has switched sides and now does PR for businesses and commercial artists Windows 7 Key, I educate my clients about how the media works so they understand the why behind what I do for them, and also because the more they know the more they can become a partner in generating their own publicity. And I have found that even the most media naïve business owner or commercial artist can become outright media savvy over time, and come to understand how game-changing media coverage is generated.

Understanding the basics is obviously critical if you’re going to do your own PR. But it is also critical if you have a publicist or a PR department — otherwise you won’t be able to make an informed decision about whether your media strategy is working, or not. And understanding how effective PR happens is essential for any business owner looking to create a commercially significant social media presence: the way to achieve 100 followers or fans is to go person by person by person by person; the way to achieve 10,000 fans and followers overnight is to be on a talk show with 1 million viewers. Solving the social media equation is, in fact, that simple.

So if you want media coverage for your business or creative venture — and, by extension, to exponentially increase your social media presence — but you don’t know how to go about it, here are the 10 commandments to perfect PR:

Know What PR Really Is

PR is not a press release; it is not an event; it is not having someone officially represent you. PR happens when an editor, writer or producer knows about you. Period. After all, they can’t cover you if they don’t know about you. So PR is simple awareness of you. When I am hired to handle the PR for a business, my primary goal is to create that awareness on the part of the target media that my client exists — everything else I do, such as sending out press releases or representing them in communications, is simply a tool for that.

Be Precise When It Comes to Whom You Pitch

The best, most saleable idea in the world is absolutely useless when sent to the wrong person. When I was an editor and writer I was deluged with pitches in areas that I didn’t cover. Having not worked in magazine editorial for years I’m still being pitched by publicists because they never updated their media lists. The point is that a media list of 10 media targets that you know for a fact cover your industry and are currently in that position is vastly more useful than a list of 1,000 dated misfires to the wrong people. But if you send your pitch to the right person, you’re in the game. So the first thing I do as a publicist is build a made-to-measure media list that is, above all, precise.

Don’t Just Give the Media a “Press Release” — Give Them a Story

The first step toward writing an effective press release is to understand that the editor, producer or writer doesn’t care about your press release. They care about producing their story or segment. So if you give them a corporate sounding, internally micro-managed to death, self-important “press release,” it is most likely going to be deleted, thrown away, or simply allowed to disappear forever into electronic oblivion. If you want a powerful press release that is read by the media target and results in media coverage that is consistent with what you want them to say, you have to start off where they are, not where you are. So when I write my client’s press releases, I give the story to the target. I do their work for them. For example, do you have a new inner wear product? Tell them what’s new about it in relation to what they’ve already covered, and why they should be interested. Are you opening up the first business of its kind? Tell them that, back it up, and give them reasons to care. Understand that they care about a story — not that 10 executive vice presidents have signed off on an official statement — and you’ll be giving them a press release they might actually use… because you’ve done their work for them.

“Peg” Your Pitch to Something

A “peg” is media jargon for a date or an event that a story is attached to. So if you see a movie star on the cover of a women’s glossy, it’s usually because she has a new movie out. That’s the peg. Pegs help orient the editor, writer or producer by giving them something timely. A peg can be literal, such as that your business is turning 50 in July; you have a cookbook coming out in May; you’re launching a new service this fall, etc. But you can also “peg” what you do to trends in your industry or the culture. So if you own a salon that is offering the same highlighting technique that a pop star sports in her new video, peg your pitch to that. If you’ve produced a new film that relates to a hot topic — social media, Wall Street corruption, gay marriage — make the pitch as much about that trend as it is about your film. When you do that your pitch becomes bigger than just what you’re pitching, and positions it with stories and trends on a national level that the media target is already familiar with; already thinks is important; might already be covering; and can therefore include you in it.

Get Personal and Get Physical

Imagine you’re a producer for a national talk show with millions of viewers or an editor at an online magazine with millions of readers, and you are overwhelmed all the time simply getting your segments produced and your stories out. Then imagine receiving 100 group email blasts a day from publicists and just as many tweets and updates, all of which vanish forever into electronic oblivion within minutes. Then imagine adding your group PR email Office Stand-Alone Programs, tweet or update to that tsunami, and consider exactly how much of a shot you’d have at getting and keeping their attention. In contrast, imagine that you’re that a busy producer or editor and someone from the messenger center comes by and hand-delivers the one physical package you’ll get that day, that will sit on your desk for days, weeks or months, and that comes along with a personal call and email, and imagine your chances of getting on their radar in that circumstance. If you want your pitch to stand out and to be treated as something superior to spam, invest your PR energies in person-to-person physical pitching. (For a more thorough examination of the value of direct human communication in today’s social media-driven environment, take a look at my recent piece, “In the Era of Online Networking, Offline Connections Are More Powerful Than Ever.”)

Prepare an Insta-Pitch

One of the biggest mistakes people make when pitching the media is making the assumption that the media target is going to sit down and peruse all the materials like it’s Sunday in bed with the New York Times, figure out what the story is, and how they’re going to work it in to their production schedule. They’re not. If you manage to get their attention at all, you’ve got about half an instant to get the story across. This is where the insta-pitch comes in. Some examples from clients of mine include the insta-pitch on the chef I represent as the “Jon Stewart of Food” and the new innerwear problem-solver as the “first backless camisole.” Three little words and the producer or editor has got the story — in the subject heading of an email, on the home page of the website, on the cover of a press kit, in a phone call or in a tweet — in as close to no time as physics allows. If the insta-pitch hooks their interest, they’ll want to know more and will then log on to your site or look at the press material you sent them or log on to your Facebook page, and take it under consideration. Note: if you already have an “elevator pitch” that takes 30 words and 30 seconds, cut it by 90 percent and you’ll have an insta-pitch.

Get Creative

Getting game-changing national media coverage is akin to running for national office — it requires a tremendous amount of strategy, and, if you’re an underdog, just as much creative thinking. For instance, after having worked with a client for two years and looking to take their media coverage to the next level we decided that publishing a book would do that for them — and it worked: the book got my client featured prominently in Businessweek, Fast Company and the LA Times. But being creative when it comes to media can mean lots of things: if you own a small burger chain and meatballs are all the rage in the food media, start making meatballs and promote that; instead of sending press releases, send clever post cards that will make the editor or producer laugh and want to hang it up in their cubicle or save it on to their desktop. Whatever it takes to get through the deluge of pitches and stick out — do that.

You Don’t Need Big Teams or Big Budgets

When I was a magazine writer and being feted by publicists, I was astonished at the enormous sums of money being spent unnecessarily on behalf of the client. For instance Windows 7 64 bit key, I was once flown by a team of publicists via helicopter to a NASCAR race track where I was taught how to a drive a race car … all to promote a new electric razor. I was picked up by a chauffeured Jaguar and taken to four-star restaurant Per Se … to introduce me to a new kind of comfortable cotton T-shirt. All it actually would have taken was one person sending me the product. So effective PR doesn’t necessarily require huge teams of people with giant budgets — major national media coverage can happen as a result of one person who sends the right material to the right person at the right time.

Think Long-Haul

The media can be chaotic, unpredictable and driven by personalities, and they will use you when they need you — and not one second before. So one of the most important ingredients to an effective PR operation is persistence, which, tactically speaking, translates into being around long enough until the moment that they need you. From a behind-the-scenes perspective, here’s why this is the case: When a media professional gets to work producing a story or a segment they look around their inbox, their computer and their desk to find anyone who has pitched them recently who would fit in. You want to be there the moment that happens. That opportunity could appear in a month, or it could take two years. So if you’re a holistic nutritionist who wants to go on The View, you need to send them pitches regularly until the day comes that they do a segment on holistic nutrition; if you run a new kind of social media site and want to be in Wired, you need be on their radar the moment they assign a story on new social media sites. This is where persistence and patience — in addition to precision — become a must.

Hiring a Good Publicist Is All About Knowing What to Ask

By helping to create invaluable media exposure for your venture, a good publicist can be your most powerful ally. A bad publicist can be like a shady mechanic — they keep your operation in a cloak of mystery because it isn’t about doing the job; it’s about making the money. But by asking the right questions you can divvy out the good publicist from the shady mechanic who is going to leave your car broken so you have to come back — and, of course, keep paying. So if you are interviewing a publicist and they show you whom they represent and how much media they get, ask them how they did it. A good publicist will tell you. But a lot of publicists take on clients who are already well-known and take credit for the media coverage — and they won’t answer the question because they weren’t actually responsible for it. In addition, just because they represent people in the same field doesn’t mean it’s necessarily good for you — if you have a skin care line and they already represent 10 skin care lines, you may get lost in the shuffle. Ask about that as well. The point is that hiring a publicist you can trust who winds up being that powerful ally boils down to transparency — a publicist who is secretive probably has reasons to keep secrets, while an honest publicist will happily answer questions. Finally, if they claim that that they can guarantee media coverage or insinuate that the media just does what they say, you’ve got a red flag there: media coverage is the editor, writer or producer’s decision, and neither you nor a publicist can make them cover you.

Poor David Cameron, he’s not going to live this one down in a hurry, is he? Forget messing up the budget, turning off women voters, strikes across the country and a dismal showing in the local council elections. His greatest embarrassment right now replica watches, and if we dare to speculate, for some time in the future, will be his inability to abbreviate his text messages correctly.

In quite possibly the highlight so far of the soap opera that is the Leveson Inquiry, ex-News International exec Rebekah Brooks outed David Cameron as so far behind the times he needed advice from a newspaper editor to type his texts correctly.

That wasn’t the big admission we were looking for, of course. As Wade squirmed in front of Mr Jay, who in turn didn’t appear overly comfortable trying to extract the exact specifics of how ‘DC’ signed off his text messages, everyone watching waited to see if she would indeed confirm just how many kisses the prime minister drops at the end of his texts. (Side question: Did Lord Leveson ever imagine this is where his inquiry would end up?)

And then she dropped the bombshell. And we LOLed in the aisles. And no doubt somewhere in a room in Downing Street cheap replica watches, a nameless press officer buried their head in their hands and sobbed.

If Cameron wants an instant, down-with-the-kids image makeover, may I suggest he look to Prince Charles for advice? (There’s a sentence I never thought I’d type.)

In just five minutes this week, the heir to the throne undid decades of mistrust from the British public when he presented the weather during a tour of the BBC’s Scotland studios – and proved not only to be a dab hand with an autocue, but really quite funny as well. More LOLs replica watches, and an instant laptops-at-dawn for headline writers across the country as everyone attempted to outdo each other with appropriately amusing puns.

I’m kick-starting a campaign right now for Charles and Camilla to become the new Richard and Judy.

Not so much amusing, but certainly causing hysterics this week, was Time magazine’s new ‘controversial’ cover. I put controversial in inverted commas for good reason. Picturing the newsstand-friendly (i.e. slim and beautiful) 26-year-old Californian mother Jamie Lynne Grumet, with three-year-old son attached to her breast, the image hurtled across cyber-space, leaving argument, attack and divided opinion in its glossy wake.

Not being a mother myself, and therefore most definitely not in a position to comment, at this point I hand over to another Huffington Post editor, Lisa Belkin, who in my opinion seems to have written the most sensible response I’ve read so far, namely, leave the mums alone to make their own choices.

No doubt Cameron is wishing the same hands-off, each-to-their-own approach would be taken with prime minsters. Not a chance.

“She’s a therapist, he’s a comic, and they’re a couple.”

Hi Pamela and Todd,

I need help. My husband of two years recently moved out. We’ve been together seven years and have been through quite a lot in those years. We’ve been through everything from high school graduations, college graduations and the death of beloved family members. Did I forget to mention that he also filed for divorce? I was blindsided by his filling because I figured we would take some time apart and slowly but surely put things back together.

Now that I’ve finally filed my “answer” with the court, he tells me that he wants to spend more time together! He says he wants to see if we have a shot because we’ve been through so much, yet he won’t stop the divorce proceedings. I’m not sure if I should continue to try and make my marriage work when the option of divorce is still looming in the background. Am I getting my hopes up or should I continue to try until the ink on the paper is dry?

I really do love this man and everything is telling me that divorce is the wrong path. Both of our families say we should work it out because the love is still there. Don’t get me wrong, we both know we could have acted better before things fell apart and are working to make those things better, yet he won’t stop the proceedings. It is to the point where I don’t even know where he is living; I know the apartment complex, but he doesn’t want me to see the apartment or even go stay with him… I’m so lost… Should I stay or should I go?

Thanks,
Lost and Confused

Dear Lost and Confused,

Go! Go fast! No faster! I said run, damn it! Just don’t run toward your soon-to-be-ex-husband’s place. He doesn’t want you there. I have no idea why he doesn’t want you to see his home. Best case scenario he has empty pizza boxes in the bedroom, worst case he’s stacking bodies of Cub Scouts in his basement like cord wood.

Who wants to be with someone you have to convince to be with you? It’s like a 7th grade dance all over again. Fighting for a marriage is noble and right, but you need two people fighting Good Tattoo Ink, not one.

You might love this guy, but that doesn’t mean he’s good for you. I love Apple Cinnamon Pop-Tarts but 10 pounds later Starbrite Tattoo Ink, we had to say goodbye.

Something is motivating him to keep moving forward with the divorce and whatever it is, it’s more important than you and your wants. Ask him. And if he says anything about “always being prepared, like a good Boy Scout,” I hope you keep running and never look back.

Best,
Todd

Dear Lost and Confused,

As with most matters of the heart, your situation sounds very challenging and unfortunately there is rarely an easy answer. However, my main concern is communication. Have you actually asked him why he is unwilling to stop the divorce proceedings? Or why if he wants to work on the relationship, is he still pursuing divorce? Have you asked why he won’t let you see where he lives? If I were in your shoes, I would want more information before I made a decision as to how I want to proceed.

I’m also very curious as to what is going on with you. How could you “have acted better before things fell apart” and how are you “working to make those things better?” Most importantly, why are you willing to continue to try? Of course I know the answer is because you love him and you want to keep your family together. However, I would challenge you to really look at what it is that you are getting out of continuing to try to make a relationship work with someone who left and filed for divorce.

It sounds like it might be time to bring in a third party for help with communication, such as a therapist, spiritual counselor or mediator. Someone who can listen to both sides and perhaps whom you can both be honest with about what you want for the future of this relationship.
It is hard to end a relationship, particularly when we have so much history with that person. I do believe however, being in this in-between place is even harder. Not being able to move forward with this relationship or let go and move on can be very painful.

My suggestions would be to stay focused on what is the most loving thing you can do for yourself and how you can take care of yourself during this challenging time.

Best wishes Tattoo Guns Kits,
Pamela Georgette, LMFT, ATR

If you have a relationship question for Pamela and Todd you can email them at mypickerisbroken@gmail.com. Your email gives permission for your question to be used in an upcoming “Ask Pamela and Todd” post.

DISCLAIMER: This forum is intended for entertainment and informational purposes. We neither intend nor claim to perform psychotherapy, or replace it. We believe that psychotherapy is effective only in the office of the therapist, and on a regular basis. If you are experiencing a mental health problem please seek professional help. Please call 911 if you are experiencing a life threatening emergency.

Foursquare doesn’t want to be another popular — but unprofitable — social network. Its new plan to make money? Personalized coupons. Handmade Tattoo Machines

The company, which lets users alert their friends to their location by “checking in” via smartphone from coffee shops, bars and other locations Tattoo Machines Suppliers, revealed for the first time that it plans to let merchants buy special placement for promotions of personalized local offers in July in a redesigned version of its app. All users will be able to see the specials The Best Tattoo Machine, but must check into the venue to redeem them.

Read the rest of this post on the original site »

Artist Frank Ledbetter with his Mullet Toss trophy for the Flora-Bama. (Photo courtesy of Frank Ledbetter)

College football has its Heisman Trophy; the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has the Oscar.

Now, thanks to artist Frank Ledbetter, the Flora-Bama Lounge in Perdido Beach, Fla., has its own trophy denoting athletic prowess and extraordinary achievement — of a sort. Yes, the 28th annual Interstate Mullet Toss (and the Gulf Coast’s Greatest Beach Party), which runs April 27-29 at the Flora-Bama Cheap Karen Millen Dresses, now has a “mascot.”

Call him the “Mullet Dude,” if you like. Barefoot and bare-chested, sporting a pair of colorful surfer Jams, the Dude brandishes a can of beer in his right hand and a ready-to-toss fish in his left.

The 27-inch-high mullet sculpture is made from aluminum. The head, which Ledbetter (www.frankledbetter.com) started with, is a two-barrel carburetor from a boat motor.

A friend told Ledbetter that former Crimson Tide and Oakland Raiders’ quarterback Kenny Stabler, a southpaw, used to toss the first mullet when the event began, “so I made the man left-handed,” he says.

John McInnis III, owner of the Flora-Bama, had the idea for a Mullet Toss trophy, according to Ledbetter. McInnis says the idea for the trophy came to his father spotted some of Ledbetter’s work.

“His stuff is truly unique and my father thought it would great to have him do a trophy for the mullet toss,” he says. “Since the mullet-toss is a one-of-a-kind event Cheap Chanel Dresses, it made sense to make a special trophy for it.

“Frank uses old boat parts such as . . . rod holders for the legs. His work is very unique and he never makes the same thing twice. I am blown away with this year’s trophy and I think the winner will treasure it forever.”

Ledbetter says the plan is to create a different trophy each year so the winner can take it home as a keepsake.

“After discussing what we might do this year, we decided that a man throwing a mullet would be a good start,” the artist says. “Next year I see us having, maybe, a mullet throwing a man.

“I am excited about hanging out next weekend and seeing all the (throwers of mullet), vie for the trophy,” Ledbetter says. “Hopefully, it will bring more people to the Flora-Bama. As an artist, these are the things that make me very happy. I love doing stuff like this!”

Many ArtBeat readers may be asking: Just what is a mullet toss? (A hint: It’s a cultural phenomenon.)

As the name suggests, the event calls for each participant to fling (or hurl, or toss) a smallish dead fish across the state line. Competitors stand in a 10-foot circle in Alabama and hurl their mullets into Florida, vying for the distance record in various age and gender divisions.

Thousands turn out to participate or observe, and to enjoy other attractions including live music, adult beverages, food and the eagerly anticipated bikini contest. Organizers say the event raises more than $20,000 annually for area charities. The Flora-Bama is at 17401 Perdido Key Drive on Perdido Key. Visit the website: www.florabama.com.

This marks the 28th year of the mullet toss, McInnis says.

“Hard to believe, but the contest was started when the Flora-Bama was the only structure for miles on the key,” he says. “Even back in the ¤’80s, thousands gathered for the mullet toss and it’s pretty awesome that it continues to get bigger every year.”

McInnis says the three-day event draws roughly 30,000 people annually, “and thousands wait in line to throw a mullet.”

In addition to the little Mullet Dude, the winner receives a T-shirt “and bragging rights, of course,” says McInnis. “At the beginning of this year I got a text message from a friend in New York who met a past mullet-toss champion,” he says. “The guy was the doorman at one of the large hotels in New York.”

E-mail tharrison@press-register.com and visit us on Facebook ( and Twitter (www.twitter.com/TheBurningHarr).

2010 Buick LaCrosse – Click above for high-res image gallery

When Bob Lutz came to General Motors Tattoo Supplies, he was charged with turning around the company’s unimaginative product development. In Maximum Bob part deux Tattoo Supplies, GM’s most senior leader is turning his attention to marketing, where the Detroit automaker has been less than cutting edge. Lutz appears to be spending a lot of his time focusing on Buick, a brand turning the corner in terms of product while also simultaneously messing the bed with those awful “Take a look at me now” commercials that have drawn the praise of absolutely nobody.

Blogger Bob is set to unveil an all new marketing campaign for Buick titled “The new class of world class,” which aims to sell new products like the critically acclaimed 2010 LaCrosse. Lutz has said that he wants the new commercials to better convey the design and function of the Buick lineup. He seems to like what he sees from the new spots, which have yet to be aired. Automotive News quoted Lutz as calling the spots “aggressive stuff.” We’re looking forward to to seeing them ourselves, as long as they don’t involve an annoying guy with a bull horn and an Enclave by the pool.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]

General Motors is probably swimming in ideas and getting another thousand offers every day on how to turn the company around – there are fifteen pages of responses on the Tell Fritz site alone, and those are just the questions the GM CEO has answered. Add the company’s recent advertising issues to that Buy Herve leger strapless, and the internal suggestion box is most likely brimming as well.

Enter The Blake Project, a brand consultancy firm that is offering GM $100,000 worth of time for free. That won’t include economy travel expenses, but will include a day with the firm’s three-man team of Jack Trout, Brad VanAudken Bandage dresses sale, and Mark Ritson Cheap BCBG Dresses, to “share insights, ideas and expertise.”

What might those insights and ideas be? Some of them were looked at in a piece called “New Brand Strategies for GM.” The first task given is to define the brands Buy Chloe Dresses, e.g., Chevrolet should stand for something like “Good value Discount Christian Audigier Clothes, variety and heritage,” instead of “big, small, expensive, cheap Buy DKNY Clothing, truck, van or sports car.” Buick should “stop making cheap Buicks,” and Cadillac “can never be a prestige car. The fancy imports dominate that category.” Is that glimpse worth setting aside a day of GM’s time? If anyone at the General thinks so, click the link below…

[Source: Branding Strategy Insider]

Click the image above for over 20 high-res pics of the Nissan Intima. Buy Herve Leger gown

Among the concepts from Nissan set to debut in Tokyo Herve Leger v neck sale, the Intima may be the closest thing to a production-ready vehicle we’ll see. With an emphasis on Nissan’s “Modern Living” design theme Replica Herve leger strapless, both the interior and exterior benefit from a high-class aesthetic that mates clean styling with luxurious appointments BCBG Dresses sale, right down to the matching toiletry set included inside.

The exterior styling takes all the familiar Nissan design cues and stretches them across acres of sheet metal, from the headlamps to the windshield. Inside Replica Herve Leger gown, Nissan touts an eclectic mix of highly stylized components Discount Marc Jacobs Dresses, including a front passenger seat that swivels 80-degrees to allow better ingress and egress.

Nissan’s full press release is after the jump and be sure to check out the huge gallery of images below.

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The American Constitution Society  had its coming-out party this weekend. Having weathered its birth and adolescence in political exile, the liberal legal network brought its annual conference to the historic Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., where 1,000 progressive law students, professors, lawyers, and judges spent two long days marveling at their swift rise to power—and puzzling over what to do with it.

The doors to legal and political influence are open to ACS now Cheap Chanel Dresses, as a spate of articles last year announced. After devoting the past eight years to constructing its career pipelines, ACS can finally delight as it all spills out into actual jobs for members. A panel of high-ranking Obama administration officials Friday night personified the new reality: Former ACS Executive Director Lisa Brown, now staff secretary to Obama, was joined by former board member Ron Klain Buy DKNY Clothes, now Vice President Biden’s chief of staff. ACS also claims the current or future heads of three important legal organs—the offices of Legal Policy and Legal Counsel and the Justice Department with Eric Holder—as well as numerous advisers and mentors to the president himself.

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“Some of you are already a part of the administration. Many of you will be part of it,” says Spencer Overton, another ACS board member and now deputy director of the Office of Legal Policy, looking out at the audience. “Please continue to be engaged. You really do sustain us.”

In almost every particular Buy DKNY Dresses, ACS has studiously followed the example of its own hero/foil: the Federalist Society. Founded in 1982, the Federalists grew to prominence during the Reagan years by identifying, recruiting, and appointing young conservative believers to the legal firmament. With a tight leadership cadre and by refusing to take positions likely to divide its membership, the society became, in the Bush era, what political scientist Steven Teles calls in his book, “the most vigorous, durable, and well-ordered organization to emerge from this rethinking of modern conservatism’s political strategy.” George W. Bush’s fondness for the Federalist crew knew virtually no bounds, as he cheerfully staffed his administration with current and former members, from his attorney general, John Ashcroft, to his solicitor general DKNY Dresses sale, Ted Olson, to his Homeland Security secretary, Michael Chertoff.

ACS, founded in the wake of Bush v. Gore, is structurally identical, with student chapters and lawyer chapters Herve Leger gown sale, periodic white papers, and innumerable speaking events—right down to the practice of including one ideological misfit on each panel in the interest of vigorous debate. (Organizationally, there’s still a lot of catching up to do—the Federalist Society raised $11 million in 2007, while the ACS pulled in $3 million; although its take has risen precipitously in recent years, and the media attention won’t hurt.)

ACS has drawn strength from the shenanigans of the Bush-era players. Or as ACS Executive Director Caroline Frederickson spoke of the opposition at her law school in a speech to the full group: “Every time you turn around and there it was, Darth Vader.”

But if the conservative establishment was once the ACS’s greatest recruiting tool, enthusiasm over the Obama administration has taken its place, and excitement is running high. Students and young lawyers packed the conference rooms, looking for a piece of the action. Georgetown Law student Dallas Hammer had been a member of the Federalist Society and switched his affiliation just this year. Lauren Smith, a student at the University of Michigan, says she’s keeping her eye out for a job with the administration, and ACS membership was a nice check in her favor.

“I’m just here for the networking,” says a prim Stanford student, sitting next to a bow-tied classmate, over a Caesar salad lunch. Ladder-climbing. It isn’t just for young Federalists anymore.

Of course, membership in ACS isn’t the punched ticket to success that association with the Federalist Society was in Bush’s day—since being a member of such a conservative group carried some stigma on liberal college campuses, it was also a surer indicator of one’s ideological bona fides. In the Bush administration Replica DKNY Dresses, it paid off: In 2005, the New York Times reported that “15 of the 41 appeals court judges confirmed under Mr. Bush have identified themselves as members of the group.”

“I wouldn’t want to be a part of a group that wants to do that,” Smith told me. The group wants to create the Federalist-style pipeline but remains leery of being seen as a liberal cabal.

And once they get into office, ACS means to hold its brethren accountable. This weekend was more than just an Obama pep rally; the panel of White House defectors faced some tough questions over the new administration’s continued use of military tribunals for Guantanamo detainees and slow progress on gay rights. Brown and Klain could only respond with the standard insider line: The president cares about these issues very much. We’re doing the best we can.

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See our Magnum Photos watermelon gallery. 

What’s with the different-colored seeds?

Watermelons, as anyone who’s ever eaten one has likely noticed, contain both small white seeds and larger black ones. Seeing as it’s watermelon season, the Explainer thought she’d answer the terribly pressing question: What’s the difference between the seeds?

Maturity. All watermelon seeds start off small and white before growing into larger black, red, tan Rolex Replica Watches, or dotted seeds. (More on these less-familiar colors later.) The average American watermelon has about 200 to 800 seeds, and roughly 5 percent of those are still immature upon harvest. These seeds are infertile Replica Movado Watches, so unlike their black cousins, you can’t use them to plant your own crop of watermelons.

Undeveloped seeds should not be confused with seeds from white-seeded watermelons, which are very common in China and the Middle East (not so much here). American farmers tend to produce watermelons of the black-seeded variety for aesthetic reasons, but watermelons have a vast array of gene combinations that can produce a variety of seed Replica Technomarine Watches, rind, and flesh colors.

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Along with squash, cucumber Replica Philip Stein Watches, cantaloupe, and pumpkin, watermelons are members of the cucurbit family How to buy Replica Harry Winston Watches, which produce fruits called “pepo”—modified berries with thick rinds and a fleshy center. While all cucurbits start out with white seeds Fake Hamilton Watches for sale, watermelons are the only ones with seeds that can then change into various colors.

Despite the childhood myth that swallowing watermelon seeds will cause you to grow a watermelon inside your stomach, all watermelon seeds—mature and immature—are perfectly edible. Some speculate that if you swallow a whole seed it could get stuck in your intestines, but chewing it up a bit will solve that problem. Watermelon seeds are filled with vital nutrients that can give you a large dose of your day’s recommended protein intake.

Bonus Explainer: Why do “seedless watermelons” have seeds?They only look like they do. Seedless watermelons are sterile hybrids, but they sometimes contain little hard seed coats. If you look inside of these, you’ll find that they’re completely empty.

Got a question about today’s news? Ask the Explainer.

Explainer thanks Stephen King of Texas A&M and Todd C. Wehner of North Carolina State University.Thanks also to reader Robert Fung for asking the question.