Another successful Oscar Party brought the foodies out with their best work this year... I was impressed with the crafty signage, unique presentations, and overall nom-iness of the entries... see some highlights below and try not to drool on your keyboard.

Best Tasting went to Precious Avatart by Max. It had roasted red peppers, feta, chicken, spinach, and was overall incredibly awesome. Part-goers agreed it should be on the GoNomad Cafe menu. 

Pull-Up Part Bread by Tom and Kelly, complete with crochety old man.

I made Nine Cheese Sammies with parmesan, asiago, cheddar, American, provolone, mozzarella, Neufchatel, Romano, and fontina. Thanks to Sargento for the six-cheese blend that made this even remotely possible.

Harry Potter and the Twice-baked Potato by Jenny, who made good use of pipe cleaners for her sign and thusly earned The Connelly - the entry that gets the most votes in all categories.

Harry Potter and the Half-nut Cookies, from the Confectionarium of Diva Galanis (points for double-film references!).

Inglorious Custerds by Joe, Best Name winner; but also actual homemade custards in individual porcelain bowls. Really quite impressive!

Hairy Pudding and the Half-blood Prints by Mo and Lesley. Excellent use of cotton candy.

Sherlock Homestyle Potatoes by Nikki; I love her space-saving and attractive serving platter.

 Sherlockopita Holmes by Teen, who is the two-time winner of the Most Creative Best in Show award. Sherlockopita Holmes featured an Oscar-esque statuette and a Polly Pocket impaled with a tiny knife. It's the details that count.

This year's awards were bamboo spoons and caramels in gold wrappers. Nothing fancy, but the reward is in the competition for most.

Badges by Liza Kliko

Molly McKenna 

PITTSFIELD – Molly McKenna, a senior at Lenox Memorial High School, has spent countless hours on the ice at the Boys’ and Girls’ Club of Pittsfield, practicing figure skating and ice dancing routines, teaching younger children, and helping to stage events.

On March 12 and 13, McKenna will skate her final solo as a graduating member of the Pittsfield Figure Skating Club (PFSC), gliding across the ice to the song of her choosing: Lee Ann Womack’s I Hope You Dance. To her, the music is a nod to her mom and grandmother, and also an interpretation of the show’s theme, Magic.

“The show always has a theme, and every performance translates it differently,” said McKenna, noting that she will also appear as part of a freestyle group with nine other skaters performing Michael Jackson’s Thriller. “Plus, each group number is choreographed by a different coach, and solo numbers are choreographed by the soloists' private coach. In order to obtain a solo in the show you have to qualify in front of a panel of judges.”

This high-level of preparation and skills makes PFSC’s annual Ice Show a popular draw, however it’s just one of many community-oriented activities the rink makes possible. It also hosts high school hockey teams, the Pittsfield Parks Department’s Speed Skating club and the Berkshire Bruins Youth Hockey Organization, the Kittredge Hockey Tournament, and offers public skates, Learn-to-Skate programs, discounted entrance fees for Berkshire Community College students.

Peter Bell, executive director for the Boys’ and Girls’ Club, said the ice rink has served as a unique community resource since 1961, when it was first constructed and opened for public use.

“Most communities don’t have something like this,” he said. “We operate the rink at an expense, as we do with many other programs at the club, but we look at it as a service that helps us attract and retain members as well as volunteers who are invaluable in keeping the club running.”

Bell added that fees associated with using the rink, from group fees to individual admission public- and learn-to-skate programs, are on average about half the cost of similar rinks, and this has also fostered a sense of shared responsibility among the Berkshire residents who take advantage of the venue.

“We are fortunate to have people stepping up to the plate to volunteer at the rink, in part because they know the community is getting a great deal,” he said.

The annual ice show extends that offer of family-oriented, affordable community entertainment – tickets are just $5 in advance and $6 at the door. An honor student heading to college in the fall, McKenna is happy to receive the support of both the club and the community as well.

“We really appreciate it when people recognize the skaters,” she said.

For more information, please contact the Boys’ and Girls’ Club at 413.448.8258.

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About Boys & Girls Club of Pittsfield

The Boys’ & Girls’ Club of Pittsfield, Mass. has been in operation for more than a century. A long-term investor in the community, the club focuses on the needs of children of all ages in a diverse, urban area, and offers a number of and community involvement programs in addition to sports, vocational, and recreational opportunities. For more information, visit www.boysandgirlsclubofpittsfield.org or call (413) 448-8258.

Fridays at Perigee Bring an Ocean of Possibilities

Weekends in the Berkshires just got a little more succulent; Perigee Restaurant in Lee has unveiled Lobster Fridays, featuring a different lobster dish each week for $29.

Each week, a new dish will be prepared, ranging from Lobster Thermador (a French dish consisting of a creamy mixture of cheese, lobster meat, egg yolks, and liqueur) to Lobster Linguine, in limited quantities during the Friday dinner service from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The dish of the week will be announced at Perigee's facebook and Twitter pages; Lobster Fridays kick off tomorrow, Feb. 26, with 1 1/4 to 1 1/3-pound grilled lobster, cilantro butter, and  homemade stuffing.

If crustacean isn't your thing, Perigee also serves up hearty bowls of velvety Baby Clam Chowder; Crisp-Fried Oysters in a Panko Crust, served in the shell with wasabi aioli; Pan-Roasted Salmon and Atlantic Fillet with wasabi butter, roasted fingerlings, and vegetables, or traditional New England Fish and Chips in addition to meat, poultry, pasta, Vegan, gluten-free, and vegetarian entrees as well as tapas at the bar. It's a veritable sea of food!


Lobstah pic by Steve Garfield

As he stood before a crowded room at the start of PodCamp WesternMass , PCWM CoConspirator and PodCamp veteran Morriss laid down the skinny.

He explained the Rule of Two Feet - if you want to leave a session, get up and do so - told everyone how to access the free wi-fi, and wrote the PodCamp WesternMass hashtag on a big white erase board: #PCWM. Then, almost as an after-thought, he held up his D&D cup and said squarely into the mic: "And remember, no one is safe at PodCamp."

A few nervous titters were heard, but Mo's grin -- which tends to break just milliseconds before the punchline in a reassuring way -- put the crowd at ease. "There are cameras, phones, laptops, and recording devices everywhere. You can untag yourselves later. Now, go enjoy!"

The message was clear that the next day, plenty of photos, videos, and blog posts would be flooding the InterWebs and no one would be exempt from seeing themselves in full PodCamp glory in any or all of the above. 

But there's another facet to "No one is safe at PodCamp" that I also like; that collaborative, info-sharing aspect that means no one has nothing to learn. Indeed, in the world of social media, the learning never stops. 

Such was the lesson in Christine Pilch's Advanced LinkedIn session . It began with solid advice, such as ensuring your URL is personalized (i.e. linkedin.com/in/writerjax , and moved assuredly into deeper territory. 

From the only left-handed desk in the room, I was already glad I chose this session, even though when I walked in I felt as though my LinkedIn profile was pretty locked down. The progress bar on the right-hand side of my profile-edit screen is a satisfying blue color, with an equally validating '100%' at its far end. I have recommendations, a professional photo, a link to this blog, my educational stats, my job history, and a relatively pithy About Section. 

That said, LinkedIn is not the social network I know most about. Christine is a great speaker and a thorough researcher, so I went into the class ready to work toward rounding out my SocMed knowledge base. 

Things started out much as I predicted. "Good tip: make your profile pic reflect your biz persona. Law enforcement in uniform, chef in chefs coat, etc," I Tweeted as Christine explained the professional edge this can lend to a LinkedIn page. Occasionally, she'd use a real-life example to illustrate best and worst practices, with real names blocked out on the projector screen. I chuckled along with everyone else at other people's goofs, until one posting made me pause and reread as the class guffawed.

Wait. Oh, noes. That one is mine. 

Here was my offending LinkedIn status update: "About to try my SiL's homemade nasal wash. Here goes." 

Ewww! My fellow geeks wailed in unison. In the words of Arlo Guthrie, I'm not proud or tired, so I laughed, too. I realized quickly what I'd done: A few months ago when Twitter announced it would allow LinkedIn users to connect their accounts, I did so and checked the box to update my status on LinkedIn every time I sent a Tweet. My thinking was this would cut down on social network maintenance, and that the tone I've developed on Twitter would be fine for LinkedIn. After all, I try not to swear, whine, or bad-mouth, and I figured my Tweet Turnover was high enough that there would always be something vaguely professional or intriguing on LinkedIn during peak hours.

But the thing is, the Internet never sleeps. And when I'm at home sick with plugged up sinuses, I do. For 12-hour clips. I also swear, whine, and bad-mouth whoever I feel gave me a cold... but not before Tweeting that I'm going to try to solve this mucky problem with the SiL's homemade nasal wash. (What can I say, I love my SiL and she is a very talented earth-mama. ) 

My first instinct after this learning experience was to unlink the two accounts completely. Abort! Abort! But, it's a simple fix, I found out, that still lets me update both accounts simultaneously - change the LinkedIn/Twitter settings to 'only use #in Tweets,' and you're golden. Just pop the #in hashtag at the end of your finely crafted, uber-professional status update while updating Twitter, and the news is directed to LinkedIn automatically. 

The nose-chat stays where it should. On Twitter.

My Geek Moment:

The larger lesson here is that, as social networks proliferate, all of us have trouble managing and giving each site the attention it deserves. Increased connection between all of these portals -- facebook to Twitter, flickr to facebook, and so on -- makes it easier, but the learning process is brought full circle not by technology, but by people. People sitting together in a classroom, sharing information and moving the entire discipline forward... and sharing nasal wash recipes.

Really! Not long after I outed myself as the nasal-Tweeter, someone turned around and asked for the mixture. Ah, SocMed. Something for everyone.

There's been a place down the street from me called 3 Cafe for several months now, but I had yet to try it out before this weekend - and man, oh man. It's always the little places that blow you out of the water, eh? 

I met some friends for brunch on Saturday, and there was already a line of people waiting for tables - standing outside like troopers in the cold, due to a lack of waiting space inside. Still, from the street I could already see thick slices of homemade bread, oversized plates of eggs, and maple syrup being drizzled over sky-high stacks of pancakes. 

Lucky for me, a small smattering of my friends actually have planning abilities, and one had called ahead to reserve a table, putting our group at the front of the line. We settled into comfy tables in a bright, mod-vintage dining room (art prints are flanked by Betty Boop sculptures and a delicate orchid flourishes on top of the stainless-steel bakery case). 

The menus boast organic and local ingredients whenever possible across five brightly colored pages, but it's the brimming plates passing by to greet other diners that are the true selling point at 3. After changing my mind six times, I finally chose the buckwheat blueberry pancakes and a side of sausage - my fellow diners went with omelettes with green peppers, tomato, and gorgonzola, challah French toast with caramelized bananas, and a big grilled chicken salad with raspberry vinaigrette and a side of sourdough toast. My friends tolerated me while I took photos of everyone's dish, and in we dug - the flavors were amazing, the presentation flawless, and the portions generous. I took half of my pancakes home, and they were just as good on Sunday with an extra drizzle of syrup. 

On Sunday, I grabbed a high top in the lounge of one of my favorite dinner spots, Leone's, and gorged on gorgonzola bread and funky decor.

Now, it's Presidents' Day and i have yet to leave the house for food or otherwise - but if any noms reach me between now and midnight, I'll let you know.

It's only been seven days, and yet the campers of PodCamp WesternMass II have already put me to shame in the race to post photos, recaps, vids, and other juicy bits of content on the InterWebs. 

Rearing up the back, I hereby submit my PCWM2 montage, made with photos from my Nikon D40, iPhone, and the iPhone video app Qik, which I first learned about at PodCamp and immediately put into use (thanks, Steve!)

Coming Attractions: 

~A Wrap-up of the sessions I attended at PCWM:

• Advanced LinkedIn with Christine Pilch
• Get Seen with Steve Garfield
• SocMed and PR led by yours truly
• The SocMed Panel: Its Effect on a Cross-section of Networkers, Personally and Professionally with Val Nelson , Jason Turcotte , Christine Pilch , Lesley Lambert,  Kelly Galanis , and me

~This Retail Therapy Thursday : A few of the cool products I heard about at PCWM - both socmed tools and products sold by some of the 100 campers in attendance.