Photos up from NYC trip

Click on the photos to get the the page. Or visit this link.

MASS VOTERS: Voting info and if you have trouble..

If you have a problem voting, call the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Hotline: 1-866-OUR-VOTE.

If you live in Boston, and need a ride to the polls, call MassVOTE at 617-542-8683.

MassVOTE.org

Here are some voting Q&A:

Where do I vote?

Click on this link to the Secretary of State's office, type in your
address and it will give you the information about your assigned
polling place. It will also give you a list of links to your state and federal elected officials.

http://www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.php

Can I still register to vote?


No, the deadline for registration in Massachusetts was October 15th.
But, you can go to this site, download the form and register today so
you will be ready for the next election.

http://www.eac.gov/voter/Register%20to%20Vote

What time are the poles open?

The poles open at 7 am and close at 8 pm. Voters in line at 8 pm will be allowed to vote.

Do I need ID to vote?

Maybe, maybe not. If you have registered recently you may be asked for
ID. And, if your right to vote is challenged, a photo ID may be handy
to have.

Our advice is to bring both a photo ID and proof of residence. The
state website talks about what ID to bring. "Acceptable identification
must include your name and the address at
which you are registered to vote, for example: a current and valid
driver’s license, photo identification, current utility bill, bank
statement, paycheck, government check, or other government document
showing your name and address.

What if they can't find my name on the registered voter list?

This one is so important that we're going to quote exactly what the
Secretary of State's office says at the link provided in details below.

If you think you may have a problem, print out that page and take it with you to the poles.

"Ask the election officer in charge of the polling place to check
your registration by looking at the inactive voter's list and by
checking to see if you are registered in another precinct in that
municipality.

If they still cannot find your name, you may
go to city or town hall to attempt to establish your identity as a
registered voter or you may cast a provisional ballot.

To
cast a provisional ballot, you must execute a provisional ballot
affirmation before a precinct officer at the polling place declaring
that you are a registered voter in the city or town and reside within
the geographical boundaries of said precinct. You must also show
suitable identification.

After the election, the local
election official will search for records to confirm your voter
registration. If your eligibility is confirmed, your ballot will be
counted. If your eligibility cannot be confirmed, your ballot will
remain sealed in an envelope until such time as it is required to be
kept and then will be destroyed without being viewed."

How do I file a complaint about a the election process?

There is a national site that has the information about the process for filing complaints in every state.

http://www.eac.gov/voter/state-complaint-procedures/election/complaints

Originally posted in "The Circuitree", a spew of thoughts and media by Sam Schwartz.

New Fall photos

I've got some images posted from the Topsfield Fair, the Allston Street Fair and the Boston Ahts Festival (most just glass blowing demonstration).

More fall foliage and scenes from NYC to come.

TOPSFIELD FAIR

ALLSTON STREET FAIR / BOSTON AHTS

Enjoying Fall This Weekend (10/18/-10/19)

Here are some fun outdoor things going on this weekend. Because I play softball on Saturdays I might only make it to this stuff on Sunday, but either way, seems like lots of fun.

Boston Pumpkin Festival

Going.com

CITY HALL PLAZA: Saturday.
When a Guinness World Record and 30,000+ pumpkins are on the line, it's pretty safe to say that not all these jack-o-lanterns are going to be prize-winning pieces of artistic prowess. Nevertheless, we'll be checking 'em out this Saturday.

Fort Point Open Studios: 249 A Street Coop

Website: http://www.fortpointarts.org/

Friday 4-7pm, Sat and Sunday 11-6pm.

Come visit the studios of 200 artists, explore our unique and evolving neighborhood, and discover new artists and treasured favorites.
Tour studios, meet artists, see public art outside, performance, and more, and participate in hands on art projects. All of our studios are within easy walking distance of each other, and we have plenty of free parking. Open Studios events attract about 10,000 visitors to our neighborhood, offering the public a rare glimpse into the living and working spaces of artists.

Head of the Charles: Regatta
Saturday and Sunday from BU to a bit past the Eliot Bridge along the Charles.

From Going.com: "You haven't "done" Boston until you've rounded up Muffy and Chaz from the country club, casually draped a sweater around your shoulders and proclaimed this year's regatta to be "the best display of coxmanship" you've seen since your days in New Haven."

Rowing isn't really my thing but I like roller blading or biking down Memorial so this might be a fun day to do this and take some photos of the rowers.

Chivalry

Is chivalry still common, or does women's independence make it considered inappropriate?  I know women who are offended by overtly chivalrous behavior from men or their partners/lovers.  I know I am offended sometimes, but other times I appreciate it.  Why?  And why does a discussion of this have to be about gender? Why should I feel badly about accepting free drinks or having a door opened for me? What term, maybe better than politeness or respect, could be used to separate chivalry from the sexist fundamental Western values that bind our civilization.  Chivalry grew out of a dark period and was based on moral behavior and knighthood (honor) and it's implications don't have to be gendered! Right?

Amongst my closest friends chivalry tends to be more closeted, but in some sense maybe we need more of it out in the open. Maybe not in the traditional sense but in standing up for our friends, loved ones, reading a situation that might be uncomfortable for someone and stepping in to assist (without being that jealous lover.)

Maybe we as women need to really BE more independent instead of just saying we are.  For example, when a bar owner is hitting on my friend and I, "accidentally" showing us porn on his laptop (= sexual harassment?), we put up with it and laughed at his perverted jokes simply because he offered us free shots.  A bar owner (of a respected JP bar) should not behave that way but it also doesn't help that we, who consider ourselves strong, independent women who look after ourselves, are validating his behavior.  Maybe if I expect to be respected I shouldn't allow him to make me look like a drink-whore. Maybe other men in the bar didn't realize that we were actually just using him...but at whose expense?  Is it a privilege of an independent woman to do this?

I think I might have made up for this Friday night when I booted a young "gentleman" from a gathering at my house.  Many of my friends later told me that they heard the things he was saying yet for some reason nobody told him to cut it out.  Maybe if he'd been called out a bit earlier in the night he wouldn't have kept going or disturbed so many women.  I don't like that happening to my friends at all, but especially not under my roof a place that unlike a bar, I can actually do something about who is there.   Recognizing women are independent doesn't mean you should stand by while they are being demeaned.  Somebody should say something.

I guess that night, that person was me. I guess I wore the "balls"...and I think I might do it more often.

Drunk New Yorker grabs train cables, suffers extreme shock and then sues Amtrak for negligence?

Via: Universal Hub

"So this barhopping New Yorker up in Boston climbs on top of an Acela train at South Station late one night in 2006, reaches up and is promptly zapped with 27,000 or so volts, leading to serious burns and injuries, including the loss of his left arm [and eventually his left leg as well!].

Naturally, he's suing Amtrak for gross negligence, because it failed to do enough to keep idiots from climbing on top of trains and grabbing hold of electrical wires..."

Read more...

Original story from the Herald

So much *Aht* and Music in Bahston this weekend

This is one of those weekends where I must hop from event to event to soak up all the awesome-ness...especially while it's still *kind of* warm out.

Here is the breakdown:

FRIDAY NIGHT

Silent Rave Boston (7-9pm): Stop dancing by yourself in front of the bathroom mirror. Get outside with your kindred souls and rave the night away in Copley Square. Bring your ipod and dance!

Open Mic/Open Stage at Casa Bonita, a hip art studio in lower allston run by a couple of wacky youths (aka my friendz!). And guess what, $5 entrance w/open bar (aka TONS of free beer)

If you want to play, here's the deal. You get 15 min or less to prove you've got talent! email casabonita@gmail.com if you want to play, or join the Facebook event.

Here are photos from the last Casa Bonita event which was a HIT: here and here and here

SATURDAY

P R O V I N C E T O W N M U S I C F E S T I V A L
I just discovered this online today. The awesome folk/blue grass band I saw last night, Tripping Lily will be performing there along with Magic of Steel, a reggae and calypso group and many others.

Music will go from 5-9pm.

Energy SOlutions day: 11:00am - 2:00pm, Parkman Bandstand, Boston Common

Mass. Interfaith Power & Light and the Sierra Club are sponsoring an Energy Solutions Day on Boston Common at Parkman Bandstand. Join with others to enjoy the fall day, listen to music and learn about energy solutions which will save you money, cut your greenhouse gas emissions and promote good stewardship of the planet. Plus, get a free energy-saving lightbulb while supplies last!

For more information or to volunteer, contact Carol Oldham (617-423-5775; carol.oldham@sierraclub.org).

SATURDAY NIGHT

LAURA MARLING - JOHNNY FLYNN - GREGORY HOSKINS - MUMFORD AND SONS: SPECIAL ACOUSTIC SHOWCASE

6:00pm - 9:30pm, ICC 557 Cambridge St, Allston MA

Tickets available through www.massliveevents.com for $10 + $2.75 Service Charge

10pm-2am
Rhymes with Dolores @ the Precinct in Somerville. W/ guest Adam Pell and Dave Shulman.

"If you’ve ever wondered “What does Justin Timberlake listen to when he masturbates to himself in the mirror?” now you have your answer. This EP is clever, sexy, and not to be missed. In “Watch You Sleep” you’re riding shotgun with the creep on the Subway who tries to rub up against strangers. “Some Day” is the gem of the record and would bring Marvin Gaye to his knees. It highlights the finer points of a hookup that never quite happens, which is hard to understand because singer Captain Chet Katz offers to “…cup your boob, if you want me to.” “Bomb Ass Headies” has the Afroman effect of making you want to rip a thousand bong hits. At the same time you might find it in your heart to forgive those dirt balls at Bonnaroo who used to say “Who’s got my headies?” Who needs therapy when you’ve got Rhymes with Dolores? -The Noise, Boston

SUNDAY


The 2008 Allston Village Street Fair will be held on Sunday, September 14th from 12pm to 6pm following the Brian J. Honan Memorial 5K Race and the Allston-Brighton Parade (which by the way blocks off a LARGE portion of Cambridge street). The Allston Village Street Fair will take place on Harvard Avenue from Brighton Avenue to Cambridge Street.

This 2008 years street fair will showcase Allston’s thriving art scene with street performers, art exhibits, vendors, and 2 stages of live music on Harvard Ave. featuring over 30 bands who are donating their performances to this amazing cause. Some of these AWESOME bands are: THREE DAY THRESHOLD, the ALLSTONIANS (Ska), THE SOAP STARS (Mikey P's new band) and CASEY DESMOND.

Also, Emily and Casa Bonita followers will have a vending stand set up to sell artwork and crafts from Casa Bonita. For more info, check what Emily posted on Facebook.

Weekend events: The Boston Ahts Festival

This will be the 6th year for (ähts): The Boston Arts Festival

For 3 days, Christopher Columbus Watefront Park (Aquarium stop on Blue Line, not far from Faneuil Hall) will be transformed into an Artists' Village. Over 60 juried visual artists will exhibit and sell their original works of art. Two stages will feature peformances from Boston Ballet, Blue Man Group, Zili Misik, Bon Savants, Buffalo Tom and much more.

Friday, September 12, 2-7:30 PM

Saturday, September 13, 12PM - 6PM

Sunday, September 14, 12PM - 6PM

Here are some of the acts that caught my eye:

Friday 5:45pm-6 Blue Man Group: Blue paint will be flying along with a tempo of pulsating sounds from this beloved group who are now mainstays within the Boston arts scene

Saturday 12-12:45: Zili Misik
Performing African, Caribbean & American soul, this vibrant all-female group will bring back memories of warm summer days

Saturday 3:45-4:15 (Garden Stage) Pan United
A steel drum explosion from this energetic group

Saturday 5-5:30 Everyday Visuals
Music from local indie group considered to be the next big thing. They were also named "Best Rock Act" in the Improper Bostonian this year. One of my favorite local bands!

Sunday 3:45-4:15 (Garden Stage) Ritmo En Accion
Vibrant dance performance from this local troupe. A teen group now running for 7 years, this troupe has danced at salsa events internationally

Sunday 4:15-4:45 Iyeoka
Performing original work with some popular covers, this young spoken word artist / soul singer recently was featured on a compilation album covering U2's "Desire." I met Iyeoka at Bonnaroo playing with the Press Project and she is quite amazing.

Sunday 5:45-6:15 Bon Savants
Demonstrating music versatility, this popular local indie group will be playing from their album "Post Rock Defends the Nation"

2 Kind of surprising local incidents I read about today

A handful of my friends just moved to Coolidge Rd in Lower Allston. I hope none of them had their cars on parked on the street this weekend. Somebody rammed into about 4-5 cars, on BOTH sides of the road! The first few are scratched but some are pretty F*CKED up!

Check out the story here: http://allston02134.blogspot.com/2008/09/multiple-coolidge-rd-cars-damaged.html

Also, a BC student jumped off a Comm Ave building onto a tree branch and landed! Wow! All his drunk ass friends urged him to DO IT AGAIN! So he did, and this time, didn't make it. I used to live in buildings like this and while hanging on the roof is fun, it's incidents like this that have made me afraid of heights!
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2008/09/06/bc_student_seriously_hurt_in_leap_from_balcony/

As the college year begins, I wonder if this is the kind of shit I have to look forward to in my neighborhood...

Tattoos and America

Heard a great piece on NPR this morning about tattoos, tattoo history and tattooing in modern America. According to the story, 40% of Americans between the ages of 24 and 40 have ink! But the U.S. tattoo culture is nothing compared to some of the world's body art traditions.

This piece examined the Maoris from New Zealand who have been tattooing for millions of years. They also draw a connection between tattoo design and wood cuts, which I found interesting.


Find the NPR story by clicking on the image below. Click listen to download the podcast.


There is an exhibit concerning Maorian tattoo at the Peabody Essex museum called: "Body Politics: Maori Tattoo Today". The exhibit lasts until January 2009.

I love photographing tattoos, and I find some of the best at music festivals I attend. Some other tattoo photos I have taken...

Circuitree Going Green: Plastic Bags

Last night I went to Stop&Shop to stock up on food to bring to work so that I no longer spend $50 a week at the office cafeteria. Even though my cart was only half full, the lady bagging my food used about 15 plastic bags! One for bananas, one for dishsoap, one for pasta sauce.... this is totally unnecessary. I wasn't even asked if I want paper!

I enjoyed reading this article on Alernet: The Great Plastic Bag Plague

They're ubiquitous. They accompany us home each time we shop. They swirl about our oceans, they cling to our trees, they drift down our city sidewalks, they adorn metal fences, they're consumed by animals.

They are an urban tumbleweed, a flag of the consumer era.

Each year across the world some 500 billion plastic bags are used, and only a tiny fraction of them are recycled. Most of them will have a short lifetime with a consumer -- they'll be used for the few minutes it takes to get from the store to home and then they're thrown away.

Yes, I have bought the reusable bags from Whole Foods but between my car and moped, I don't always have them with me when I go shopping. After this market trip I think I am going to make sure that I have 3 reusable bags in each of my vehicles.

You might say, "But we reuse them once we get home!" Well, only 3% of bags are actually reused and they still end up being throw out at some point.

Here are ways that plastic bags are awful for our environment:

• Turtles mistake them for jellyfish and suffocate inside them.
• Bags can take hundreds of years to breakdown, allow tiny toxic bits to seep into soils, lakes, rivers and oceans.
• The manufacture of plastic bags add tonnes of carbon emissions into the air annually
• Approximately 60 - 100 million barrels of oil are required to make the world’s plastic bags each year
• China uses around 3 billion plastic bags each day!

So, this frustration led me to Reusablebags.com, where you can buy cheap reusable bags online and learn about how to cut bag on your plastic use.

Here is also a short, humorous film about plastic bags.

Also, check out the Plastic Aint My Bag campaign.

2 girls 1 cup

X girls Y cups

New photos up

From the Wandas and MeandJOANCOLLINS
2 AWESOME local bands

My Red Sox Schedule

No more openings in August but a few left in September. Email me at sambos07 at gmail.

Some new music

One of the main reasons I play around on myspace is to discover new music. Today, in my friend request bin I found these guys from France, called the Fancy Toys, who are awesome. Think Flight of the Concords and Nouvelle Vague (Falling in Love). Or here's how they describe themselves:

Take 2 guys, give them some toys, a big appetite, a vast imagination, a quirky sense of observation, a ticket to visit the world - shake them really hard, and that’s it! You get a delicious and delightfully refreshing cocktail...

I think I'll start giving shots out to the bands I come across that rock my afternoons at work. Enjoy!

Shills Photos

Are up, from May (I know, I am so late). I'm catching up though!

A-ROD WIFE GOES DOWN SWINGING C-ROD SHACKS UP WITH LENNY KRAVITZ

Oooo...gossssip! I really hate him so it's hard to resist...

A-Rod's wife, Cynthia, has been shacked up with rocker Lenny Kravitz in Paris.

The stunning news emerged a day after revelations that Alex Rodriguez has been paying late-night visits to Madonna's Upper West Side apartment.

Full "story" here

"On the street where you live" (6.3.08)

"On the street where you live" (6.3.08)
Originally uploaded by Circuitree

...or park the car, in this situation.

This was pretty beautiful, yet ominous.

Overheard...

They're BETTER than Okay - @Bard College

Girl #1: I’m totally not drinking tonight or smoking.
Girl #2: Why not?
Girl #1: I’m sick and my lungs feel like I’m going to collapse.
Girl #3: Yeah, she’s snorting that vicodin instead.
Girl #1: Do you think it’ll be bad to do that?
Girl #2: I mean I don’t think snorting anything is good for you.
Girl #1: I know, I mean cocaine addicts snort coke when they are sick and they are okay.

In AA They Do - @Northwestern

Girl on cell: Do you think it’s suspicious that I just bought five bottles of cranberry juice? People drink cranberry juice without vodka all the time…right?

You're a Student, Not an Artist @Bard

Girl #1: You should just come back at night and rearrange the letters.
Girl #2: I’m an artist, not a hoodlum!

Overheard in Boston

"There's this movie, Big, with Tom Hanks. And it's like... old."

-one young man to his friend in the Newbury Comics in Harvard Square

First woman: Yeah, John Kerry was pro-choice when he was governor, but now he's suddenly anti-choice.

Second woman: Seriously. It's so frustrating.

-two women walking in Copley Square

Project 365: "Bullseye" (6.2.08)

"Bullseye" (6.2.08)
Originally uploaded by Circuitree

"Camera Whore" (5.31.08)

"Camera Whore" (5.31.08)
Originally uploaded by Circuitree

Kleo on the "red carpet"

BAWL Softball Standings: My team is on top!

I am the pitcher for the Master Batters in the D league. We are in the D league because that is where they started us, clearly a mistake because we are sweeping the league.

See our schedule here on the BAWL website.

From Sarah: This past Sunday, June 1 we once again continued to dominate, winning both games by the 12 game mercy rule. We're first in our division by 2.5 games, we lead the league in points (with 10), have scored 106 runs (average of 21.6/game) and are 1 of only 2 undefeated teams in the entire league. In short, we're awesome. If you haven't showed up for a game yet, you're clearly missing out on the awesomeness. And the beer. And then some more awesomeness.

Come to a game! They vary in location, some on the Jway, some in Cleveland Circle. We're tons of fun! Always on Sundays at either 2, 3:30, 5, or 6:30.

"Twenty three, going on 17" (5.30.08)

"Twenty three, going on 17" (5.30.08)
Originally uploaded by Circuitree

Since I didn't make it to Beer Garden for Friday night's Celtics win, the only pictures I took were of a birthday cupcake mix at my home celebrating one of my roommate's friend's birthdays. This photo is not commemorative for anything but to remind me of the defacing of my belongings, and the immature behavior by all guests and hosts on this evening.

Me @ Ignite (O'Reilly Media event)

Sam Scwartz
Originally uploaded by stevegarfield

I was hanging out with Steve Garfield, video blogging extraodinaire (SteveGarfield.com and Woodsy from Eons.

"Welcome to Brighton" (5.29.08)

"Welcome to Brighton" (5.29.08)
Originally uploaded by Circuitree

Mike Wall, on his first day living in Brighton. Chilling on the penthouse patio :)

"When bored with water...fizzy water" (5.28.08)

"When bored with water...fizzy water" (5.28.08)
Originally uploaded by Circuitree

I drink about 4 of these a day.

Project 365: "Golden Eye" (5.27.08)

"Golden Eye" (5.27.08)
Originally uploaded by Circuitree

My darling little Kleopatra watching birds fly around on the patio.

Project 365: "Bloody Mary and the Mad Hatter" (5.26.08)

"Bloody Mary and the Mad Hatter" (5.26.08)
Originally uploaded by Circuitree

Memorial Day in Provincetown. La China Loca sippin' her 4th Bloody Mary at the campgrounds.

365 Photo Project

I am beginning a 365 photo project. I started taking the images on May 26, 2008 - Memorial Day. Most people begin on Jan 1, well, I'm beginning now.

What is 365? A journal in pictures. This is perfect for me since I shoot, I don't write. Who did I meet? Where did I go? What new detail did I notice in a common place I visit everyday like work or home.

This is a great commitment and promise to myself, to creativity and to ingenuity. Some 365 projects are simply for self portraits - I will include some, but I do not want to be the subject of this project.

Read about the project here: project-365

I'll be posting them to this group, and to my blog here. Wish me luck and come check it out.

Wellesleyan

This is hilarious. Fox News even mixed up Wesleyan and Wellesley. Dumb right-wing fucks.

From Wesleying:

Wesleying just got this amusing e-mail from Kate Heller '09:

My
dad told me that he was listening to Fox News on satellite radio, and
that they reported that Hillary Clinton should be peeved because Barack
Obama is replacing Ted Kennedy to speak at her Alma Matter...
Wellesley...

Will the world never tell us apart!?!?!

MGMT photos are up on my new Flickr account

www.flickr.com Circuitree's MGMT: Feb. 12 Allston, MA photoset

I want bacon, I want liver....

Meow mix, meow mix please deliver.

So, I work for the internet, in case you didn't know. And in doing so, I sometimes launch really primely named enthusiast sites.

The most recent, and most excited for me, is Cats.com.

Cats.com is the place to ask your cat questions and get them answered by vets and animal specialists.

Sam's Red Sox Games schedule

View here, or visit this link and SAVE IT!

Zonker Harris Day -- in peril

Apparently the reslife team at Wesleyan is threatening to cut funding for Zonker Harris Day if the name isn't changed.

ResLife looked at a wikipedia page outlining Zonker Harris (a character from Doonesbury) and his past drug use, and decided that giving ResLife funding for this would be a bad idea if the name were to stay the same. This really didn't go over all that well, especially considering that Zonker Harris Day is mentioned in dozens of college search guides, and because the character hasn't done drugs in probably fifteen years (in fact, the first time i realized what a huge drug reference Zonker used to be was a strip where he laments the fact that his plants don't talk back to him anymore, to which one of the plants replies "it was the drugs, man.") Psychedelic drug use is no longer associated with the name of the festival. The event named Zonker Harris Day is already synonymous with assorted drug shenanigans, and a name change won't do anything to change that.

"Psychedelic drug use is no longer associated with the name of the festival" -- what -- what school do YOU go to?

This may not actually reflect accurate information...and let's hope not.

We should do something about it!

HOW WILL A RECESSION AFFECT YOU?

Listening to NPR this morning with all this economic talk made me want to figure out how a recession would actually affect me. Here is a compilation of what I found:

Every week the media is promoting the upcoming economic recession harder than ever. Economists like telling everyone a scary deep economic recession is coming and it is going to be ugly. If you think the economy is going to escape a recession you will not get in the news. Bad news sells.

So let’s assume the media gets its way and we do in fact have a nasty economic recession. How will the economy affect YOU?

What IS a Recession?

In a recession, the economic growth rate falls dramatically --> Stock market declines --> "Flight to safety", where investors buy Treasury Bonds --> causes interest rates to fall.

Economic growth falls when there is reduced spending by the consumer and then companies have to reduce their output. If this happens for long enough it will mean a reduction of jobs. When people become unemployed, they typically stop spending. The more jobs are lost, the less the consumers consume. It turns into a vicious cycle.

When a lot of people are unemployed, there can be fierce competition for jobs. When a lot of people want the same job, companies don't have to pay as much to get someone to fill the position. Summary: This probably isn’t the time to quit your job looking for a higher pay elsewhere.

To revive the economy, the Federal Reserve usually starts lowering interest rates to spur business lending and investment. The Federal Government may institute tax breaks to spur consumer spending. The tax break Bush mentioned in January is really just an advance on your refund, of up to $800 and the main beneficiaries are married couples with children, investors, high-income folks and small business.

Am I At Risk?

Unless you are a homeowner, the greatest risk is if you are in an industry that has layoffs, and you lose your job. If you aren't laid off, then you will probably be asked to work longer hours to compensate for the new employees who aren't hired. Less people shopping, fewer jobs in merchandising. Fewer loans available, less construction and banking jobs. People have no money to eat out, a lot less food service jobs.

Industries like insurance and internet should be fine. Industries that rely heavily on advertising or consumer based products/marketing might have lay offs. If you rely on a lot of overtime pay, a recession might negate that need for extra hours. If you work on commission, fewer people may buy your stuff. If you work at a small business or as a contractor, your company might not want to/be able to cover your insurance bills anymore.

If you are a musician/artist – just because people are buying less of everything else doesn’t mean they won’t be buying your work or CD’s. Just like if the economy was in a “boom” or growth period. Does that mean suddenly people will be buying thousands of your CDs? No.

Your 401k - With retirement still 30 or 40 years away, you have plenty of time to recover from temporary losses, so there’s little sense in getting all worked up about them.

About the only good thing about a recession is that it will cure inflation. The balancing act the Federal Reserve must pursue is to slow economic growth enough to prevent inflation without triggering a recession. A recession will also help the environment a bit: less manufacturing, less travel, less SUV's sold etc.

Protect Yourself

What can you do to protect yourself in times of recession?

Having a secure job is number one. We can't all have a secure job; however it is something to consider and do what you can to ensure you have one.

Have money in the bank. Having an emergency fund to cover necessary expenses is a must in times of economic problems.

Reduce your monthly payments - as in reduce your debt. Try to payoff anything that you can. Having less monthly obligations means that you could take a job that might pay less and it won't impact you as much.

Be energy efficient. Electricity bills will probably rise.

Save as much money as you can. Don't take on more debt, or spend a lot of money on something not completely necessary during a recession. Don't just have three months of money in the bank -- have three months of food and toiletries in the house as well. It is like an edible emergency fund. If you are struggling to pay your bills one month, then at least you won't have to worry about groceries. Eat from your stockpile and use the food money to pay your bills. It could make the difference in whether you have electricity or not.

If we are in a recession it will likely impact everyone in the United States. How severely it impacts you depends on what you do to prepare for it. Making sure your finances are in order and being proactive in protecting yourself will make a recession a lot easier to deal with.

-- SS

For more info see:
How Stuff Works: Recession
10 Ways a recession can help the environment