I have stayed away from my Star Treatment blog because my political perspective seemed inappropriate for gift service chat.  …and my obsession to write my point of view was overwhelming.  You know I am not interested in alienating my friends and clients because of my politics.  However, when a person believes so firmly in a point of view there is no middle ground. I live in an insular world surrounded by people that believe as I do. We all read the Huffington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, listen to NPR, and watch CNN, MSNBC, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. On occasion, I do watch a little Fox cable news, just to see the reverse spin.

For the past month, it has been impossible for me to sit at my computer in the morning and actually get any work done.  Once deleting penis enlargement emails most of my emails are newsletters or ones sent by friends about the election. I have been very guarded in advertising my party afillaltion with clients and people I meet. There is no need to try to persuade someone to embrace my point of view or hear his or her points and authorities.  I refused to discuss politics with dear friends that saw Palin as a jewel and Obama as the devil.

Well the election is over and I am back…jubilant!!! Yea, Barack Obama won!   I knew I would be elated I had no idea I would feel this joy.

In the car this afternoon, I listened to Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion election bit and cried with pride in being an American.

It’s almost Christmas for God’s sake, next time I will talk about material gifts.

Time to Think About Holiday Gift Giving

Really!

In Southern California, we are wearing shorts, tee shirts and still planning trips to the beach. The kids are back in school, the days are getting shorter… but we know the drill – Christmas time will be here in a flash and once again, everyone has to perfect the “art of gift giving.”  That is where Star Treatment comes in. We will work with you personally, go over your list, come up with suggestions and deliver fabulous gifts to friends, family and business associates in Los Angeles, across the country and almost anywhere in the world.

We All Want to Save Money

Really!

Star Treatment is going to “bend over backwards” to save you money while delivering fabulous gifts.  We will tell you our regular price and then our discounted price.  We appreciate the decline in the real-estate market, interest rates, and stock portfolios, the high price of gas and the fact that we all have to work together to get through our current financial woes.

Star Treatment Needs to Make Money

Really!

Know that we will be running our business a little differently this year to accommodate the times, but we are still running a business. Just know we will do the best we can to make you happy and save you money.

Star Treatment is Not Just a Gift Basket Company

Really!

We do corporate branded gifts - canvas tote bags, mugs, robes, cameras, shirts, jackets all of the items that look great with a logo… we will match others prices and still give you the Star Treatment.

Please give us a call…818 781 9016

Baby out of wedlock?

This is not an extraordinary story; the only thing that makes it fodder for the media is the element of surprise and Sarah’s position on abstinence. Times have changed. Today when teenagers become pregnant before marriage it is not considered the disgrace it once was, nor is marriage the only alternative. The fact that the Republicans are commending the parents for their grace is ridiculous. In my world, 2008, ANY loving parent would offer support to their daughter by listening to what she wants. Options: the least appealing, abortion,  far better choices are adoption, grandparents saying we’ll do whatever we can for you and the baby… even if it means taking care of the child so you can go to school and prepare for a future. I emphatically support Women’s freedom of Choice, though I personally would not have an abortion I don’t feel I have the right to tell my daughter or any other female what she should do.

I think it would be an injustice, if for the sake of saving face and political expediency a marriage is arranged. A teenage shotgun wedding is not a good solution.

Isn’t She Wonderful?

My business partner is 38, has two beautiful girls and regrets that she cannot spend more time with them. This is the dilemma of the working mother. You have a career, but you want to be there fulltime for your children.

Now I am a governor, (that should be a fulltime job) I am 43 I have four children (that is a handful) and decide to have another. (Wow!) How can I manage career and children and do a good job? My fifth child has Downs Syndrome and I look forward to the birth. Good! How do I plan to manage being the governor and having five children, especially one with special needs? That’s all I am saying.

What Does This Have to Do With Gift Services?

Nothing.

Fair and Balanced

I decided that I was going to watch the Republican Convention coverage this week on CNN & MSNBC. I watched the Democrat Convention last week and wanted to watch this one objectively. I had the opportunity to sit in the press gallery in Denver last week, but could not make it. I would have enjoyed seeing it first hand but I admit the over zealous, banner-waving atmosphere at political conventions leaves me cold. So now, I am trying to watch the Republican convention, as spectators and delegates listen to the speeches in a euphoric state. And…I am having a problem.

A Different Point of View

True, we are all proud Americans wanting what we think is best for the country. The only problem is we do not agree.

God Help Me

Tonight I will listen to Sarah Palin’s speech and hope that my conservative husband will not throw me out of the room as I scream at the television. I do not remember exactly when I developed this conversational relationship with the cable news channels. I think Rumsfeld might have been the trigger. On the other hand, it could have been…Bush, Gonzales, Rove…I’m not sure.

It is Almost Over

Cheney is a powerful Vice President. He came to the office with an agenda. Cheney has made U.S. policy for the past eight years and we have lived with the consequences.

Now that the Bush & Cheney term is coming to a close, the United States needs to redeem our tarnished image, establish trust in our word and end the war. We need to regulate our financial institutions, take the power away from a few, control hedging of oil futures, decrease our national debt, reform our health insurance and get the economy moving…we need a “chicken in every pot”.

Qualifications

Who is best qualified to take on the daunting task to give us back our country, Obama or McCain?

Not Looking for a Friend

I am not interested in having a beer or chatting personally with the President and Vice President. We are not friends. Our representatives should be articulate, well-informed, dedicated, decisive and intelligent.  “Sarah Palin is just like us”…remarked a woman at the Republican Convention…as if sitting down and having a beer with George W. is a qualification for leadership. I don’t think so. My expectations are so much higher!

Congratulations to Obama in selecting the well qualified Joe Biden as his running mate.

Then there is McCain

As a woman, I am offended by McCain’s choice in Palin - as though Hillary and Sarah are interchangeable because of gender. He could have chosen a black man as a running mate, you know, interchangeable because of color.

It offends me that McCain’s has used bad judgement in choosing Palin. If elected, should something happen to McCain, God help us!

Allocation of Time

It has been a couple of weeks since I have blogged. Have I been too busy? Has business at Star Treatment been on fire? Am I recovering from a summer cold? Have I been out of town? No, no, no…I just have not allocated the time to blog.

The Week

Michael Phelps just won his eighth Gold Metal at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. (As of today, he is listed 141,000,000 times on Google, and it is rumored he eats 12,000 calories a day) This week’s revelation…Julia Child, the French Chef, was a spy for the OSS during WWII. In case you are too young to remember Julia, a movie about her life will be on the big screen soon. The Russians have invaded the Republic of Georgia, saying they are leaving, but they have not…Condi Rice is in France reprimanding the invasion. Tropic Thunder is in movie theatres and I plan to ignore Timothy P. Shriver, Special Olympics, chairman’s call for a boycott by seeing the movie. 

Laguna

Wednesday I spent an afternoon and evening visiting with friends in Laguna Beach, it was perfect. Living in Southern California can be a joy.

More Solios

This week Star Treatment delivered more Solios and more noise canceling headphones. These are two great gifts that our clients are enjoying giving.

This is an Endorsement

Where are they? Every time I turned on the water in the garden, ants used the hose as a super highway to reach my hands, arms and back, battalions marched to the rim of the Jacuzzi for refuse when there was water nearby; daily, my daughter Marnie had unwelcome guests on her kitchen counter. My friend who sells Avon told me an amazing story about Skin So Soft getting rid of ants. I bought four bottles, one for myself and gave the others to people that were having ant issues. Two weeks ago I used a drop of Avon’s Skin So Soft on the hose and on the Jacuzzi rim. Marnie wiped her counter with a little bit. The ants are M.I.A.! Not dead, just somewhere else. It’s a miracle! We all know to pack Skin So Soft when traveling to the tropics or at home when the mosquitoes are biting. But…it appears ants are repelled by the sweet fragrance and disappear instantly (and so far have not returned). It is non toxic, inexpensive and EFFECTIVE. I’ll post Sue, my Avon lady’s, phone number next week.

He Loves Us

Jack, one of the couriers we use, loves us because we are good customers…but there are times when delivering for Star Treatment is hard work. Last year Jack delivered eighteen large, heavy wooden toy chests filled with toys, electronics and more to the Step Brothers production office. First, getting them in a vehicle was a task, once there, they were heavy to carry, and then he had to come back to our office and do it over again a few more times.

UPS – FEDEX – DHL…

Many films are shot out of the country, arranging to get twenty or thirty large packages delivered on a certain day is usually accomplished with ease. But there are exceptions…1999, The Mummy – start of production – Morocco. As I recall we sent great gifts, including, linen shirts, Tilley hats, a Rand McNally book about Moroccan customs and Kiehl’s products. The Moroccan government took possession of the gifts and refused to release them. We found somebody who knew somebody in the government and they finally consented to releasing the gifts. There are a few countries that make shipping a nightmare.

Good-Bye Beth

I saw Beth last summer, she looked great.  She arrived at our friend Erika’s house in San Francisco for lunch with the “Entre Nous” (our high school club). Because of health problems Beth missed a lot of our infrequent get togethers. Years ago, she had a heart transplant and had to spend a lot of time in the hospital. She fought a very long really hard battle…she died on the 23^rd of July. She’ll be missed.

An observation

There was an article in the July 20 Los Angeles Times Business section about a 58 year old divorcee “taking control” of her finances. She currently has approximately $422,000 in savings, $96,000 in yearly income, and a $92,000 mortgage on a home valued at $400,000 and she is pinching pennies riding Metro Link to save gas money so she can think about retiring at seventy. She currently has liquid assets in saving and CD’s at the prevailing low rate of 3%. The advice given and taken according to the article; get out of her cash position and invest to earn “bigger gains”. The recommendation is; 40% in large stocks, 30% in small US company stocks and the remainder in money market funds and bonds. The idea of diversification is not new, yet paying attention to the current drop and instability of the stock market makes one wonder how sound is this advice? Whatever I have invested in the market is down and had I gone for the “safe” money market option I would have more money today than I have. …And does every unfortunate 58 year old have these financial woes and need to be concerned that they will make it through retirement? Just an observation.

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Star Treatment has delivered gifts to and from The Tonight Show for years. While online, today I saw: a Yahoo! TV article - titled “NBC Sets Jay Leno’s Endgame.”
With a snippy first line…”Whether he likes it or or not, Jay Leno’s got a date for his final Tonight: May 29, 2009.” Thanks for the memories Jay. Jay Leno’s, Conan O’Brian’s and Jimmy Fallon’s Time Horizon seems to be set in stone unlike George W’s Time Horizon in Iraq. “Time Horizon”… another gem from the White House!

Burberry for the Holidays

Our Burberry rep was in from New York last week and brought wonderful samples that we will photograph and put on our web-site. The Burberry line is classic, stylish and oh yes, expensive. As Bonnie was showing the bags, umbrellas and cashmere scarves, I was putting together my personal Christmas list.

The Devil’s Hand

Forget celery stalks, Charles Triple Chocolate Hazelnuts are a perfect companion in the late afternoon. Read the label (not the calories) you are enjoying hazelnuts, 65% bittersweet chocolate, pure cane sugar, cacao beans and cacao butter… ingredients we can relate to, not fructose, sucrose and glucose. If you are looking for a sweet gourmet high…call Star Treatment.

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Happy Birthday!

Cancer (The Crab) June 22 – July 22 are sensitive, mysterious, nurturing, loving and sometimes crabby. Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer_%28astrology%29 for more detail. My daughter, Marnie was born on the 4^th, my son’s wife, Olivia on the 5^th… and our border collie, Mickey turned 14 on the 1^st. 

More Birthdays

To Nashville, Nice and back to Los Angeles - baby Sunday Rose, Knox Leon, Vivienne Marcheline and Levi Alves received Star Treatment baby gifts this week.

Another Solio Order

Of late, the hybrid solar charger is the gift of choice. Honorable mention for the Solio because; a full Solio H1000 will charge a typical mobile phone once or give 10 hours of MP3 music – Plug into the Sun and charge Solio through its solar panel – it’s free, easy and green. Just one hour of sunshine = 15 minutes talk time or 40 minutes MP3 music.

John Hancock

On June 29, 2007 Star Treatment delivered gifts for the first day of production of John Hancock, originally titled Tonight He Comes. Everyone on the gift list got a pair of Nike shoes, a Sony camcorder and Samsonite luggage. This is a very funny movie shot in Los Angeles; go to www.sonypictures.com/movies/hancock .

‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army’

Not My Genre, but the Critics give it Kudos.

As I did not love Pan’s Labyrinth, it makes sense this would not be my favorite film, though I must admit the visuals and action sequences are exceptional. In addition, Red, though not the typical movie hero does have a nice toothy smile.

Go to the Movies

Anything is better than keeping track of Fanny and Freddy. There is so much misinformation coming from the government, it’s reminiscent of trying to get a straight story from a teenager who is creatively inventing a tale to avoid accountability. Not knowing what to believe, which banking institution is solvent, or maybe not… is nerve racking! When millions of dollars are being withdrawn from leading institutions and taken home for peace of mind how much peace of mind do we really have?

We Are Going to be OK!

Let’s be positive… yes we are!

.

Oh to be young again…

forget about looking younger and feeling healthier.

I would be a troubleshooter and never need to ask for help when…

Trying to get the cable channels - I am paying for! - to appear on the TiVo channel line-up… Filling in an Excel spreadsheet… I cannot get on-line at home…The new DVD player I just bought will not work with any television in my house…The Canon Zoom Browser I installed today made my office computer come to a grinding halt…

This Blue Tooth car phone thing is my project for the evening.

As one gets older, time gets shorter and who wants to waste valuable time fooling around trying to understand how gadgets work and installing new devices? Not me! I want to think about the positive…the Law of Attraction.

$1000 A-Barrel Crude

However, today as I am sitting at my desk grumbling I get a fax from a friend. A Friend? In my compromised state of mind (Tivo, computer, DVD all in one day) I hardly need to read an article by Stanley Bing in the June 23, 2008 edition of Fortune about $1000-A-Barrel Crude. While this is a satirical piece, there are too many truths to bring a smile to my face. We currently live with the prospect that oil could cost $200 a barrel, why not $1000 a barrel. This article has a strong closing message. What are we doing to insure our future? Check out more of Stanley’s Bingstuff on his website www.stanleybing.com.

Have a great weekend!