So, I’m excited to see that local, 20-year-old restaurant Ricardo’s Italian Cafe is starting a monthly cooking class in their kitchen with Chef Mark Adams. Each month Adams will teach a new Italian cooking technique, so watch for more to come from this fun and friendly eaterie in Lafayette Square. Here are the details:

February Class: The Art of the Sauce
Cream, Pesto, Tomato & Wine sauces
When: Monday, Feb. 22
What: The Art of the Sauce
Cost: $50/person (this includes some wine)
Where: Ricardo’s Italian Cafe, 1931 Park Avenue
RSVP314.421.4833
Class size limited to 12 people.

Also, check out Ricardo’s regular wine dinner options. In February, Michelle and Mark Adams are hosting the Mardi Gras Food and Wine Fete. This is the menu:
When: 6:30pm, Monday, February 8
What: Four-Course Tasting
Cost: $35/person plus tax and gratuity
Where: Ricardo’s Italian Cafe, 1931 Park Avenue
RSVP to Michelle by Feb 5 via phone at 314.421.4833.
Space is limited. Credit card required for reservation.

First Course
Creole Chicken Wings with Dijon Peach Sauce
2008 St. Peyre Picpoul de Pinet
Coteaux du Languedoc, France

Second Course
New Orleans Crab and Corn Bisque
2007 Amiral Dubroca Bordeaux Blanc, France

Third Course
Red Beans and Rice with Andouille Sausage
2005 Chateau Desclau Bordeaux Superior, France

Fourth Course
Cajun Bread Pudding with Praline Sauce
2003 Volante Late Harvest Zinfandel, Napa, California

Break out your inner rock god with a night of Rock Band and rock bands. Play the highly addictive Rock Band I, II and Beatles on a Wii upstairs and see live rock music down stairs!

An all-ages event from 6 pm to 9 pm, parents and their children are invited to play Rock Band upstairs and jam and sing along with everyone’s favorite singer songwriter/camp counselor, Celia from 6 to 9 pm.

After 9 pm the party is adults only and features bands from 9 pm to 1 am including Superfun Yeah Yeah Rocketship, Karate Bikini, and the Illphonics. The evening will be rounded out with a DJ set by Matt Fernandes, who writes the blog Rock Candy for the Post-Dispatch and DJ Tanner from the hip-hop group Pandelerium and formerly of St. Louis rock legends–The Spiders and The Choir.

All proceeds stay in Saint Louis and support arts programming provided by SCOSaG.

A young wholesale company, heading into its fourth year, THP Collections has maintained the advice of many business experts. Content to hold a steady path throughout the economic downturn and remain cautiously optimistic about the market, THP Collections is preparing for 2010 and maintaining its public relations schedule as opposed to cutting the budget. The new items abound and the catalog is already in the works… and the media continue to call to spotlight products.

(A portion of THP’s collection is for sale through its retail boutique at TheHomePort.com – check it out.)

There’s a billboard at the exit on my way home each day that reads, “Recession Economics 101: Bill Gates started Microsoft in a recession.” I’m voting for positive thinking with a hearty congratulations to THP Collections on its success at NYIGF.

I think marketing experts and many business owners are often The Tappers in the scenario of building a brand message. Sometimes we forget to think about the end user. Recently, I was The Tapper with a client. I was so excited about a project and crafted some copy that featured good flow, strong page-to-page transitions and really elevated the brand level… or so I thought. I was out to impress the CEO of the company, my boss, any future judge for copywriting. Well, my boss liked the copy. The client reworked it… a lot. It is a very recent dagger to the heart, but a good reminder. When telling a story, especially a brand story, it is important to consider what it is like to be The Listener. It helps if you can paint the tune with your marketing message instead of just tapping out noise.

Here are some tips from Made To Stick on how to effectively develop your marketing or public relations message:
1. Keep it Simple.
2. Add the Unexpected.
3. Be Concrete.
4. Be Credible.
5. Be Emotional.
6. Make it a Good Story.

This is the example that the authors, Chip Heath and Dan Heath, provide in the book. When President John F. Kennedy spoke about traveling to the moon, he didn’t use his CEO voice and declare, “Our mission is to become the international leader in the space industry through maximum team-centered innovation and strategically targeted aerospace initiatives.” Not quite. President Kennedy kept it simple, and made a call to “put a man on the moon and return him safely by the end of the decade.” That’s not such a fancy statement. But it captivated a nation … and many beyond. That’s a successful message.

If you are interested in a Video Cast or Video Feature, email Mary for more information.

If you want to learn more about SEO or Search-Engine Marketing (SEM), contact my friends at tSunela at 314.721.8813.

Regardless of your opinion on this post or Beth’s, the YouTube clip is worth watching.

1. Stop taking quizzes. Nobody cares what literary time period you are.
2. If you sync your Twitter account to Facebook so that you fill others’ news feeds with a constant stream of mundane updates and references to people with little @ symbols before their names, be prepared for people to de-friend you. Maybe even in real life. (Read “25 More Things I Didn’t Want to Learn About You On Facebook.”)
3. Don’t friend someone you don’t actually know
4. If you must friend someone you don’t know, include a message explaining why you are doing so. For example, “Hi, I’m your cousin’s roommate!” would suffice.

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