We are pleased to announce the addition of the newest member of the Strumpette executive team. Join us in welcoming Daniel Jose.

Mr. Jose comes to Strumpette with more than 20 days of experience. Prior to Strumpette, Daniel was a lead consultant with Cherubim, Inc. There he played a major role administering the Mercy Seat on the Ark of the Covenant.

Amanda Chapel, Managing Editor of Strumpette said, "We're thrilled to have Daniel join us. As we continue to expand, it is essential that we adhere to our original commitment to organic growth."

Daniel's primary responsibilities at Strumpette will include: eating; puking; sleeping; pooping; depriving the new parents of regular sleep; and especially, making all of us cry with joy every time we look at him.

Congratulations to Norah and Craig.

First, some perspective, I have a theory: Holidays, like other human inventions, are born of necessity. This Labor Day so feels like a Sunday for good reason. It was a tough week on the business front... it's the end of the Summer... there was a full moon AND a total lunar eclipse no less. C'mon! Too, much. I so need this time off to recoup.

Here, allow me to unburden myself. I know I risk conveying a constellation of bad karma but I do promise to be extra careful. That said, let me tell you why this holiday comes at a good time. Last week was a total cluster fuck (excuse me). I mean, it was an unconscionable and deadly cloud of toxic radiation, killer bees and crushing disappointments. Arrrgh. Seriously, God really outdid herself. Anyone even passively familiar with the Bible knows of her penchant for obstacles, resistance and spontaneous open-sore bleeding.

Okay, after the site had crashed no less than four times, we learned that we'd been variously attacked. First, by some prolific but smarmy Russian comment spammer and then by some knucklehead hacker actually trying to futz the database. Then, dear Brian (God love 'em) decided to update the Serendipity blog script. A five-minute task regrettably turned into a seven-hour trial of skittish access and broken links. Then, when it rains it pours, of course, Technorati decides to burp. They're out of sync (again). Excuse me but fucking with the index, fucks with viewership which impacts our numbers and to Hell we spiral in the "let's redefine friend" Scoble world of PR as "PageRank."

That, of course, says nothing of the myriad of shit that's been frustrating our growth. Our production house for Strumpette Couture after 5 months emailed us last week to tell us that they could not live up to our quality standards. And our plans for video were somewhat chilled after a series of bloody wrestling matches with Adobe and Sony. (Sidebar: Those battles continue.)

And the topper? This was a particularly intense week for annoyance on the personal front. Apparently -- better said preliminarily as it is not confirmed -- I've been diagnosed with Asperger. That certainly explains a lot. A creative addition to Bipolar if I must say so myself.

Anyway, all to say, God is being incessantly annoying and especially petty. I've been dancing with swarms of bees while slowly pecked to death by rabid ducks. Everything is broken. Everything's an obstacle. I spend my time bathed in tedium waiting for the next sure disappointment. Bottom line: I'm totally exhausted fighting it.

As such, I'm spending the day at the pool.

Happy holiday.

Love,

- Amanda

PS In the spirit of always end on a positve note... As of this writing, I understand the site is now streamlined and secure. The server's kernel has been updated. Comments have been shut off. And hey, if it all works out, we've got a great new HD camera and we're all set to start doing some video. And lastly, thanks to our contributors, we've got several great articles on tap. A few things to live for.

So stay tuned. Thanks for your patience and continued support. See you here bright and early tomorrow.

We are absolutely ecstatic to announce that one of our original cast members, Norah, is very very VERY pregnant.

Actually, she's due in less than a month. I can't believe it. Funny, as in awesomely odd, after all the noise and nonsense we cover here, through all the past tense and pretense... real life just goes about its merry business.

It all surely gives one pause.  Stops you in your tracks; doesn't it?  Such a powerful metaphor. Ya know, historically speaking, only recently the word has taken on a literal definition. Although today dictionaries give the biological sense first, the word meant "full of significance" well before it meant "with child."

So in proper deference, consider this a "pregnant pause." Take a moment.  It's all right here on today's front page. You've got life and death, boundaries and limitations, evolution and articulation, hope and desperation... the entire drama we in PR vainly profess to script.

Norah, thanks for the inspiration.

Love always,

- Amanda

WARNING: Dramatic mood change. Here we cannot be more serious. This post is for perspective. How often in the daily minutia of manufactured perception do we lose sight of what's real? How 'bout every minute of every day. This, however, is real.

Here we present a photo documentary by one of our more intrepid "Amandas." One of our colleagues here just got back from a Jesuit mission to Africa. There she visited Kenya and Tanzania for the experience of cultural "immersion." And that she did.

Directly below are a series of thumbnails (click on each to see the full view). These shots are from the Kibera slums in Nairobi, one of the largest slums in the world. The approximate size of New York's Central Park, Kibera is inhabited by over a million people... all without running water or electricity. Just try to imagine one day without the Internet. Imagine.

But there unlike our world, among the filth, dirt floors and corrugated tin shacks, are the faces of angels.  The shots below are of the boy and girls of St. Secilia Academy. Note: Most, if not all, are orphans; most of their parents have died from AIDS.

SO STOP WHATEVER YOU'RE DOING!  We invite you to take a little time with each. Each one has something for us to keep in mind as we otherwise contemplate endless iterations of strategies and tactics for promoting our overwhelming material abundance. See what I'm saying?

Think about it.

- Amanda