Lately....

In the past three days, I have published some awesome articles. Last Saturday, I had a front page story about Virgen de Guadalupe kitch, here's an excerpt:
The Virgin of Guadalupe, a ubiquitous religious and cultural icon in Mexico, has been translated by some into a post-modern spiritual and feminist symbol while retaining status among devotees as the Patroness of the Americas.
"How can we not consider her special?" asked Alicia Amuzcua, a Concord woman who sells Guadalupe-inspired jewelry at Los Primos Grocery store in Concord. "She is our mother and she is the most beautiful part of our culture."
For many Mexicans, the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe is the preeminent religious holiday of the year. The holiday is celebrated in local communities with 6 a.m. mananitas or wake-up serenades, menudo breakfasts, citywide processions and masses.
But now, following the likes of artist Frida Khalo and political activist Che Guevara, the image of "La Virgen" is becoming a pop-culture icon by way of kitsch. Her image is found on brightly colored T-shirts, mouse pads and gearshift knobs for cars.
"In mainstream culture, it's more about cross-cultural referencing," said Laura Perez, associate professor of ethnic studies at UC Berkeley. "When people who are not Latinos are making reference to the Virgen de Guadalupe, it's an attempt to display a cultural wit rather than a spirituality."
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/business/13377042.ht

On Sunday, I published a question and answer piece featuring Jenny Ming, the president of Old Navy, a division of Gap Inc.
Jenny Ming jokes that she doesn't take herself that seriously. After all, she is merely selling clothes.
But as president of Old Navy, a division of San Francisco-based Gap Inc., her job is more complicated than that. Ming runs a 950-store chain that brought in $6.7 billion in 2004, 41 percent of Gap's total sales that year.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/business/13382732.htm

Today, I had story run explaining why wine costs what it does for a monthly feature I produce called "Price Check." Last month's topic was dry cleaning.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/business/13388148.htm

Check them out soon before the links expire (seven days)!