copy that connects

PAMELA BLOOM

Copy + Strategy+ Innovation

OVERHEARD CLIENT SPEAK

CLIENT before assignment: “This is simple.

Don’t overthink.”

CLIENT after assignment: “That wasn’t simple.

But you nailed it, Pamela.”

!"Editorial Director/ Copywriter—print to interactive

!"Brand strategist for Fortune 500 CPGs

!"E-newsletter expert/website content manager

!"Multiple award-winning author, journalist and critic

!"Magazine and book editor

!"Direct-mail packager

!"Food photography: art direction

!"Storytelling: fiction, film & brand development

PAMELA BLOOM

BIO

PAMELA BLOOM is an award-winning author, copywriter, brand strategist and creative communications consultant ,

whose expertise runs from print to Internet. She is also a global journalist and author of seven critically acclaimed books.

As an interactive editorial consultant, she has provided senior-level strategy, copy and design inspiration for numerous

websites--e-commerce, promotional and educational. She is also skilled in direct-mail, PR and brand strategy.

After a long career as a journalist, in 2002 Pamela joined R/GA, the award-winning interactive ad agency owned by

industry pioneer Robert Greenberg. One of the few employees who survived the internet bust that year, Pamela went on to

create an astounding success for SC Johnson, writing and managing a multi-platform website/email program that

integrated12 brands and 200 products into smart, editorial/advertorial copy. Using SEO, SEM and a host of interactive tools,

she was able to raise subscribership from 150,000 to a whopping 12 million over a five-year period. In the process she also

became an expert in lifestyle, cooking and home-care marketing.

She then leveraged those skills as Interactive Content Director for Benjamin Moore, where she created three design &

inspiration sites and managed tech, design and Q&A teams.

Other interactive clients have included General Electric, Subaru, Hilton Hotels and others.

Besides her cutting-edge copy, Pamela is also known for innovative brand strategies. Among her present clients is Studio

One, for whom she develops highly creative, brand-targeted marketing pitches for sponsored online programs. A recent

pitch for McDonald’s included a sophisticated use of social media and the latest mobile technology. A multimedia sales

presentation she wrote and produced for Family Circle magazine won “Best in Show” in the Business Marketing

Association’s Pro Comm Awards.

Pamela Bloom is also a highly published journalist and author. Her celebrity profiles and book and music reviews have

appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, Village Voice and Elle magazine among others. An

expert in adventure travel and culture-packed destinations, she is the author of four guidebooks—two of which, Brazil Up

Close and Amazon Up Close (Hunter Publishing), won the prestigious Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award for

Guidebook of the Year from the Society of American Travel Writers. Presently two of her inspirational books are on market.

AWARDS

2006 Writer’s Digest 75th Annual Writing Competition. Honorable Mention in Children’s Fiction, for the story “The Little Guitarra (Who Played Herself)”

2003, London International Awards, Finalist, SC Johnson’s CleanHomeJournal.com, for home care website development.

2001 Business Marketing Association’s 2001 Pro-Comm

Award,“Best in Show” and “Best in Class” for multi-media sales presentation of Family Circle magazine

1998 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Gold (1st Place) Award

for Guidebook of the Year, Amazon Up Close (sponsored by the Society of American Travel Writers)

1997 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Bronze (2nd Place) Award

for Guidebook of the Year, Brazil Up Close (sponsored by the Society of American Travel Writers)

SAMPLE WORK

General Electric

SC Johnson

Benjamin Moore

The New York Times

GOAL: To wow stockholders at their next meeting, General Electric needed a

touch-screen interactive exhibit that would explain the Smart Grid and generate

excitement about GE’s participation in the future of electricity.

CHALLENGE: Gather massive amounts of material (copy and video) and

condense into consumer-friendly bites and a compelling touch-screen experience.

DEADLINE: Short and immovable.

RESULTS: Acting as copywriter and CD, first-ever touch-screen presentation for

General Electric, allowing employees, stockholders and consumers to manage their

own education--museum-style. An expandable project, it offered an intelligent

design that could be tweaked for various countries, industries and environments.

GENERAL ELECTRIC

WHY GE?

GE is working with our customers to put advanced technologies in place,

enabling our 21st century energy needs to be met with cleaner, more

efficient, and smarter tools.

Why?

Our smart grid solutions are real and running. Right now. We're

leveraging our unmatched resources and global scope to design, build,

and integrate complete smart grid solutions. Our customers get a smarter

grid, not merely smarter grid products.

From turbines to toasters, GE's holistic, end-to-end approach empowers

consumers to make the best energy choices for themselves and our planet—without

compromising our lifestyle.

With imagination, technology, and partnership, GE is bringing the Smart

Grid to life for consumers around the world.

WHAT’S A SMART GRID?

The smart grid acts as an “energy Internet”—delivering real-time energy information to help us

meet 21st century needs.

Marrying automation and technology with current electrical infrastructure, the smart grid

increases power reliability, enables the integration of cleaner energy, and empowers us all with

the information we need to manage our energy usage.

From turbines to toasters, GE offers a range of solutions and products that transforms the way we

power the world.

GE SMART APPLIANCES

Within ten years, GE energy-managed appliances could be as common as ENERGY STAR® products are

today. GE is investing in these appliances to help consumers use less energy and reduce their utility costs

in the future. These appliances work with smart meters to avoid peak-hour energy usage and top-tier

pricing. How? A smart fridge, for example, will delay its automatic defrost cycle (based on the number of

door openings) until power is least expensive. The shift in timing helps you save money and reduces the

power burden on the grid at peak times. A win-win for all.

RESELLING POWER

Buy and sell your own electricity? It’s our future. With a smart-home mindset and smart-grid-enabled

meters, you’ll have the ability to easily sell your excess solar or wind power back to the grid. Plus, with

time-of-use pricing, you can beat your bill down even further by selling back to the grid during peak hours

when the rates are highest. Buy low, sell high—talk about putting power back into the consumer’s hands!

[NOTE: The entire visual project of more than 100 screens is not available for show per the

request of the client.

SC Johnson

THE CHALLENGE: In 2002 SC Johnson challenged R/GA and myself to transform

a modest in-house online newsletter into a thriving website and email program. As the

sole Content Director (no CD or ACD), I reconceived the format, initiating photo-

driven articles, deeply researched content, bi-weekly subscriber emails, compelling

sweeptakes and coupon offers that situated over 200 products into an advertorial

format.

THE RESULTS: A dynamic, consumer-targeted website called

CleanHomeJournal.com that went through three redesigns and is today considered a

lifestyle-management pioneer in its field.

THE BENEFITS: In five years we were able to raise subscribership from 150,000 to

over 12 million! Its success turned SC Johnson’s mind around about the power of the

Internet to connect with consumers and drive commerce. It has since been renamed

RightatHome.com.

THE PRODUCT

This is an example of a home page

for a monthly edition of SC

Johnson’s Clean Home Journal. It

featured five main content channels,

as well as clickable ads, promotions

and sweepstakes.

Get a closer look

of SC Johnson’s

Clean Home Journal!

This is an example of one of hundreds of

product/coupon emails I developed for SC

Johnson’s subscription program.

CHALLENGE: Promote 1-4 products

with seasonally targeted copy, coupon

offer and must-open subject line

RESULTS: Raised subscribership from

150,00 to over 12 million in five years.

BRANDS: 12 brands, 200 products

Coupon to

Consumer

FOOD CHANNEL DEVELOPMENT

ART DIRECTION and RECIPES

GOAL: Conceptualize and realize an online monthly food channel that would

rival Martha Stewart, Bon Appetit and Epicurious.

CHALLENGE: On minimal budget, I acted as recipe creator and food stylist for

the first five shoots, working with a digital photogpraher to realize 4-5

seasonally based recipes each month. Eventually the channel was so successful I

was given a full budget to hire a top chef, stylist and food photographer.

RESULTS: Evidenced by email feedback and click rate, a competitive food

channel had been created that supported SC Johnson’s Ziploc and Saran brands

and generated the most buzz among consumers.

Fruit Pizza

Photographer AJ Sandone; Art Director, Pamela Bloom

Sesame Broccoli

Photographer AJ Sandone; Art Director, Pamela Bloom

Watermelon Slush

Photographer AJ Sandone; Art Director, Pamela Bloom

Photographer AJ Sandone; Art Director, Pamela Bloom

Red Pepper Bytes

Spider Web Cookies

Photographer AJ Sandone; Art Director, Pamela Bloom

SPRING CLEAN WHILE YOU SLEEP

It's no joke: you can actually clean your home while you sleep. Want to get rid of pet odors? Clean your oven? De-

scum your shower? Refresh the air? You can do all these things overnight—if you've got the know-how and the

right products! Read on to discover how!

Do-Anything-Faster Tips

Clean your oven—overnight. Think of it as marinating! Before you go to sleep, place paper towels or old

newspapers on the floor next to your oven to catch dribbles, and then spray your oven thoroughly with oven

cleaner (not for self-cleaning ovens, of course). Close the oven door and set a trash can nearby, with an extra stash

of towels. (Never turn the oven on during this process.) When you wake up, just wipe the oven out. The overnight

marinating helps loosen the grime.

Let the shower clean itself. This is probably the single most effective way to cut down on your spring cleaning

time: install an automatic shower cleaner. Recently I discovered the new Scrubbing Bubbles® Automatic Shower

Cleaner and I love it! Start with a clean shower (sorry, just a little effort there!), and after the last shower of the

day, just press the button and the automatic cleaner will spray Scrubbing Bubbles® formula on all four sides.

Since I take a shower at night, I do this after my shower and wake up to a shiny, clean shower every morning!

Look for the Scrubbing Bubbles® Automatic Shower Cleaner coming soon to a store near you.

Dispel the pet smell. No matter how much cleaning you do, pet smells are hard to erase. Between two cats and

my beloved cocker spaniel, I have to work extra hard to keep my home smelling fresh. So I set up one Oust® Fan

in the bathroom where I keep the kitty litter and another in the playroom, where my dog sleeps. Since the Oust®

Fan runs on its own automatic cycle, I can be assured of waking up to fresh air!

Declog overnight. With its unique formula containing natural enzymes and bacteria, Drano® Max Build-Up

Remover is great at preventing clogs from stopping up your pipes—just use it once a month! Because the process

takes 6-8 hours to work, pour the liquid down your drains before you go to bed, and then go to sleep! That way

you don't tie up your drains when you need them most.

(SC Johnson’s Clean Home Journal (www.cleanhomejournal.com)

FEEL-GOOD SCENTS

Easy Ways to Change the Mood of a Room!

Want to bring instant calm to your bedroom? Make your kitchen feel homier? Wake up more refreshed? Or just make your home more

attractive to buyers?

You can do all that—and more—just by playing with the power of scent. In fact, scent is such a powerful mood-maker that a new science

is being developed, called Design Psychology, which explores the way scent and other design elements affect our emotions. Says Dr. Alan

Hirsch MD of Chicago’s Smell and Taste Treatment & Research Foundation, “Scent can dispel depression, energize your body, transform

relationships and even help your kids do better on tests.” In fact, scent is so powerful that brokers now regularly advise homeowners to

bake cookies before buyers arrive in order to make their homes feel—well—homier!

But why does scent affect us so much? According to design psychologist Toby Israel, author of Some Place Like Home: Using Design

Psychology to Create Ideal Places (Wiley, 2003). “Scents activate the oldest part of the brain, where memories and emotions are stored. And

when our memories are stirred, so are emotions.” That’s why when we smell a delicious apple pie like Mom used to make, or in Toby’s

case, the chicken soup passed down through generations in her family, the smell brings on an instant sense of “at-homeness.” And Mother

Nature confirms it—researchers recently discovered that some reef fish remember the scent of their birth place and use it to sniff their way

home.

But it’s not enough to inject warm, comforting scents into your home, says feng shui expert Stephanie Roberts of FastFengShui.com.

“Unpleasant scents of any kind should be corrected immediately—that means the trash more frequently, getting your rugs cleaned, or even

tearing up and replacing a musty old carpet throughout your home.” Add to that list: tacking moldy shower curtains, pet stains, unwashed

laundry, clogged drains [and even the remains of pantry pests]—all which can bring on a nasty attack of

“Hous-i-tosis.” The cure is cleaning up on a regular basis.

The good news is that creative scenting is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to give your home a mood makeover. Start by

experimenting and see what best lifts your mood. You can try a new scent, combine different scents, vary scents room by room or manage

the rate and volume scent is released. (Glade® PlugIns® Scented Oil has a 1-5 meter). Or develop your own signature house scent and

use a variation in each room. Glade®, for example, has six variations of vanilla alone.

Here are some other scent-terrific ways to transform your home.

Pump up the energy. Both scientists and feng shui experts consider the scents of citrus, mint and pine proven energizers. Just fill a spray

bottle with fresh water and a few drops of essential oils and spritz your space. Plant indoor miniature citrus trees. Or use cleaning products

with a citrus scent. like fantastik® Antibacterial All Purpose Cleaner Lemon Power.

(continue next page)

Make it homier. Toby Israel makes sure her home smells of brownies when her college-age kids return home on a break. If you don’t

have time to bake, slice off some refrigerator cookies and pop them in the oven. Or simmer chicken soup on the stove all day. A

combination of orange peel, ground cinnamon, vanilla, ginger and cloves simmering in boiling water is also a great comfort smell.

Take a break. Keep your vacation glow going with a scent reminiscent of your favorite beachscape, like Glade’s Hawaiian Breeze®

Aloha. Or check out Glade’s Refreshing Springs™--its cool woody scent reminded one devoted fan of her honeymoon at Niagra Falls.

Cool it down. Studies show that the scent of lavender fuels serotonin, lowers heart rate and reduces muscle tension. So when tempers

flare, light a lavender candle, tuck a lavender sachet under your pillow or enjoy some lavender-flavored whipped cream, in, say, a cup of

hot chocolate. Feng shui experts also recommend sandalwood and bergamot for relaxation. And if you’re really desperate? One of Dr.

Hirsch’s latest scent studies confirmed that serving strong-smelling garlic bread with a plate of pasta actually reduces negative interactions

at the dinner table by 22 percent!

[Box]

Don’t forget your garden scents. When design psychologist Susan Painter moved from New York to California 15 years ago, she was

floored by the scent of jasmine near her front door. “Since then, “ she says, “whenever jasmine is out, that same feeling of well-being and

happiness comes rushing back. I could be trudging back after a long day and the scent makes me instantly feel like I’m ‘home sweet

home’.”

BARK AND SAY CHEESE!

Want to immortalize your pet's precious expressions? Whether your dog is playing frisbee or your cat napping, knowing a few

professional tricks can help capture great shots. The key, says photographer Kim Levin is spontaneity and connection. A highly skilled

pet photographer, Kim Levin of Bark & Smile Pet Portraits has worked with hundreds of pets--both well-behaved and persnickety-

throughout her career. The author of 9 books, she is also a passionate animal adoption advocate and her work has graced many ASPCA

covers. Check out Kim's tips below, then enjoy her photo gallery.

Tap your pet's play-ability. Cats love fishing toys so hold your camera in one hand and fish the toy in the other. Or, throw a bit of

catnip on the bed to capture a "very happy" kitty. Kim especially loves to photograph dogs running down the beach or playing in a

pile of leaves.

Milk the background. Always consider composition. When shooting in black & white, look at the texture and detail of the

background and how it contrasts with your pet's fur. Try different angles. For a dog or cat with unique coloring, use color film

against a simple background for a beautiful portrait.

Eyeball your pet. The key to getting great portraits: lie down on the ground with your pet and take the picture at eye level. This

way, his eyes are staring level into the lens, as in photos of human beings. Then coo and tell him how much you love him.

Use pet phrases. The best photos capture pets in their most natural expression. Use his nickname or say your favorite words.

Kim’s dog Charlie always reacts to "Is there a rabbit?" A recognized phrase might just inspire a head tilt, giving you a classic

portrait.

Tease with treats. Have someone behind you hold up a treat to get the pet's attention, then snap. Treats also encourage a pet to stay

in place while you take several shots.

Up close & personal. To capture a great "mug shot"-the kind you need to make a Pet T-Shirt--get in your pet's face. Extreme

close-ups are fun and a great way to experiment. Try different angles and camera lenses that make the pet look a little different.

Avoid the red-eye. If you have a more sophisticated camera, take the flash off the camera and shoot from the side. This keeps the

flash from going directly into your pet's eyes. Or, experiment with natural light. Kim says some of her favorite shots use 400-speed

film with light streaming through a window or doorway to produce a romantic mood.

BENJAMIN MOORE PAINTS

CHALLENGE: Create from wire frames three design & inspiration sites for Janovic, the retail

division. Manage a CMS tool and act as both managing Creative Director and Copywriter.

RESULTS: Customized the sites to 3 different regions with local talent and consumer-targeted

content.

NOVATIONS:

INNOVATIONS: A dynamic branding of retail with the ability to expand into e-commerce. First-

ever email program initiated with monthly newsletter, including online portfolio to guide purchase

and design.Leveraged world-class designers to partner with branding the site through visuals and

content.

“I botched my last four jobs.” Your contractor is not about to fess up to failures, so it’s up to you to investigate his or her reputation.

Call the Better Business Bureau or the Department of Consumer Affairs to check if any complaints have been filed. Ask for references

from previous clients; if possible, visit the sites for yourself. Some questions to ask previous clients: Did you like the end result? Was

the work completed on time? Was the contractor easy to communicate with? Did the final bill come close to the estimate? If not, did

the contractor notify you of changes in advance.

“You'll never be able to find me.” Your contractor may not plan to be on your site every day, but it’s important that you know that so

you can plan accordingly. Ask your contractor exactly who will be entering your home on a day-to-day basis and who’s in charge. If

your contractor has assigned another on-site supervisor, make sure you have all the contact information.

“So, don’t pay me if you don't like it.” Like all professionals, your contractor expects to be paid for work and materials, even if

you’re raving mad. Make sure your contract includes language that allows you to withhold money for work that is incomplete,

incorrect or poorly done. You should also have a default clause that allows you to obtain quotes from other builders or tradespeople if

the work is late or unfinished. Generally, repair costs are paid by you but deducted from the amount owed the original builder.

Barbara K suggests not paying the last ten percent of the total until all agreed-upon tasks have been completed.

“Oops, I don’t have any insurance.” A contractor can’t be held responsible for things like natural weather disasters or even late or

wrong deliveries by third parties. But make sure your contractor has workman’s compensation and general liability insurance.

Otherwise, you may be liable if an accident happens on your property. Verify with the insurance company that the policies are active,

and that you are included among the “additionally insured.”

“I’d like a tip.” You’ll probably never hear those words from a builder, but if you really love the work, consider showing

appreciation above and beyond the fee. One contractor online suggests avoiding cash gifts or tools and instead opting for something

the contractor might personally love. A weekend cruise, a trip to the next professional convention or a simple pizza party for the entire

team could ensure even better work on your home in the future.

SIX THINGS YOUR CONTRACTOR WON’T TELL YOU (But Should!)

Janovic.com by Pamela Bloom

STORYTELLING

Whether it’s fiction, film or brand strategy,

BLOOMLAND how to tell stories.

Following is a selection from my just-released book,

The Power of Compassion: Stories that Open the Heart, Heal the Soul & Change the World

(Hampton Roads, April, 2010)

Excerpt, BUDDHIST ACTS OF COMPASSION by Pamela Bloom (Conari Press, 2000)

Excerpt, from THE POWER OF COMPASSION: Stories that Open the Heart, Heal the Soul, and Change the

World., by Pamela Bloom (Hampton Roads, 2010)

I was on a meditation retreat in the south of France when a visiting master was introduced to the group. An audience of over

three hundred Western students of Buddhism quietly waited for him to speak. He was about forty years old, quite tall and

broad-shouldered for a Tibetan, with an enormous presence like a mountain, though he barely smiled. As he began to talk

he repeatedly wiped at his draining right eye, as if something in him was constantly crying, but his voice remained strong.

Soon his personal story unfolded.

For fifteen years, as a young man, this Rinpoche and his elderly master had been imprisoned inside Tibet as victims of

Chinese persecution. Although he did not go into details, the conditions they had had to endure had been of the roughest

sort, with many days spent chained together in their dark, dirty cell. The Chinese, he said, not content with normal torture,

had been determined to persecute devout Tibetans in the worse possible way by denying them the right to meditate; every

time their eyes closed they were beaten. But because the Chinese did not understand that Tibetans actually meditate with

their eyes open, the two were able to continue their prayers and meditations in secret. Unfortunately, as the years went by,

the abuse only got worse. In fact, Rinpoche’s constantly tearing eye was the result of beatings from that time. He had even

had to endure the loss of his master who died next to him one night in their cell. After many years of torture, escape from

this living hell had come to seem impossible.

But then one day, out of the blue, two of the jailers addressed him directly. “What are you doing ?” they said. “No matter

what we do to you, no matter how we hurt you, nothing moves you.” Apparently the jailers had practiced all sorts of martial

arts, but they had finally met a power they didn’t understand. “You know something we don’t,” they told him, “and because

we are the jailers, we must learn it in order to become stronger than you.”

So because he had no other weapon, this Rinpoche taught his jailers the very practice he and his master had been doing

—the Tibetan meditation called Tonglen, which is he practice of breathing in the suffering of others and breathing out light.

It was the same practice many of us had been learning at this retreat--with some struggle--for to actually take on the

suffering of others with no sense of martrydom or resentment is a great affront to one’s ego. So, to imagine that this monk

and his elderly master had found the inspiration to not only practice compassion but to teach it in the middle of hell to the

very beings who were the agents of their suffering…well, that was a level of compassion that transcends the ordinary mind.

And yet, that is the essence of Buddhist compassion. And as a result, as Rinpoche told it, the unbelievable happened.

One day, some time later, the Chinese jailers suddenly accounted to their Tibetan captive that they were releasing him from

jail. No reason. Just that his time to wake up. And they set him free.

And that is how he came to be before us on that bright sunny day in the south of France, with his eye running like a

persistent rain of remembrance, his gaze brilliantly clear, his posture immovable like a warrior’s. In fact, as I remember it

now, there was not even a trace of resentment in his voice, only perhaps the bittersweet irony that his master had not lived

to see that somewhere between the in-breath and the out-breath, the boundary between persecutor and persecuted had

finally dissolved.

--

Journalism

As a music critic, travel writer and general reporter, I have been around the world on

assignment. My articles have appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times,

Chicago Tribune and a variety of top-class magazines, including Elle,

Connoisseur, Taxi and others.

Following are a few samples.

Commissioned article,

ALL ANIMALS,

a Human Society

magazine

LEAVING GRIEF BEHIND by Pamela Bloom (c) 2009

(published in the international edition of the New York Times in 30 countries, August 28, 2009)

The modern world has given us a lot to cope with, but who really has the skills?

The recent whirlwind of emotions caused by Scotland’s release of the Lockerbie bomber has illuminated a universal psychological problem.

How do we move on from grief and rage?

Loss is inevitable in life. But when the platform is huge -- a terrorist bombing like 9-11, deep financial betrayal like Bernie Madoff’s, the

breakdown of social justice as in Iraq or Rwanda or just a really nasty divorce -- the rage and resentment left behind is often more cancerous than

the event.

Is there a way to recover from extreme trauma that allows us to let go of the pain and reboot our lives? Many of the stories I collected for a

book titled Buddhist Acts of Compassion point to a radical shift in perspective that could transform the way we deal with such issues, not to

mention inspire profound social change.

A slogan in Buddhism speaks directly to these moments: “Just like me.” Just like me, others suffer. Just like me, others desire the foundation

for happiness.

Of course, it is excruciatingly difficult for a grieving mother to see any resemblance between herself and her child’s murderer. But the exiled

Dalai Lama, himself a victim of persecution, made no such distinctions when visiting Auschwitz for the first time.

Speechless at the piles of tattered shoes left behind by the camp’s victims, he wrote: “I stopped and prayed — moved profoundly both for the

victims and for the perpetrators of this calamity. And, in the knowledge that, just as we all have the capacity to act selflessly out of concern for

others’ well-being, so do we all have the potential to be murderers and torturers, I vowed to do all I could to ensure that nothing like this happened

again.”

Approximating such saint-like sentiment may feel completely out of our reach, but the teachings of Buddhism say that it isn’t. That’s because

when we drop our personal sense of self — the one that says “I’m right, you’re wrong, go to hell” — what naturally arises in its place is a wide

open heart that excludes no one, not even one’s persecutor. Buddhists say this heart is our true nature, not the one that is forever segregating or

seeking “Kill Bill”-style revenge.

To discover that state of mind, most people have to start small. A beginner’s prayer in Buddhism encourages you to wish happiness for all

beings, not just the ones you approve of. If that feels impossible, simply start by extending good will to yourself. An age-old Buddhist chant goes:

“May I be happy. May I be at peace. May I be free from suffering.” Eventually you extend that wish to those you care about, those you don’t

know, and finally those you can’t stand.

Imagine centuries-old bitter rivals doing this and stopping the cycle o revenge.

When suffering seems too deep to bear, Buddhism suggests dedicating your pain so that all those hurting in the same way might be relieved. It’s

a form of meditation that has profoundly helped a friend of mine navigate through AIDS. And it’s one that could help victims of terrorism discover

a common bond that is healing.

If you’re thinking this approach is just mind games, think again. These are the very practices that have allowed Tibetan Buddhist nuns and

monks to withstand years of unimaginable torture and survive with more than their sanity intact. Especially for those in exile, these meditations

have helped them forge new lives — with clarity, compassion and little or no rancor.

Outer wars start from within, the Buddha taught. And as Lama Zopa Rinpoche, a well-known Tibetan meditation master, once said: “As long

as you do not change your mind, there will always be an enemy to harm you.”

An award-winning writer, Pamela Bloom is the author of The Power of Compassion: Stories that Touch the Heart, Heal the Soul and Change

the World to be published in Spring, 2010. PamelaBloom@mac.com

Virginia Rodrigues' second album brings together everything lovable about Brazilian music--its joy, beat, fever, fire, but most

of all, its sensual surrender to Spirit. A former manicurist and domestic from the slums of Salvador, in the Brazilian state of

Bahia, Rodrigues in the last two years,seems to have burst forth fully formed, as both singer and spiritual icon in this region best

known as the heart of Brazilian black culture--an area where food, music, religion and cuisine are still influenced by traditions

brought over by African slaves more than 300 years ago.

A woman of enormous girth (a sign of "soul" in Bahia), Rodrigues boasts a contralto voice nearly operatic in depth, yet so

pure and unstudied that Brazilian musical star (and fellow Bahian) Caetano Veloso burst into tears when he first heard her --an

encounter that culminated in her wildly acclaimed 1998 debut "Sol Negro." Here on "Nos," ("Us") Rodrigues returns to her roots

in the rhythms of Salvador's Carnival as well as the lyrics of candomble, the Afro-Brazilian version of voodoo that invokes

deities known as orixas via drum-induced trance. Far from chaotic frenzy, however, "Nos" raises folkloric tunes to the level of

art, on par with the most sensuous repertoire of the country's greatest classicist, Heitor Villa-Lobos.

Backed by exquisite acoustic arrangements, Rodrigues' full-breasted voice moves seamlessly from chant to ballad to romantic

cancao--supported sometimes only by a bare drum, an a cappella chorus, or sparse guitar’ other times, backup strings are so

sumptuous they tug painfully at the heart. Throughout, traditional instruments like tamboura,, berimbaus, bottles and and chimes

delicately accent the music with Bahian spices; on the achingly beautiful "Jeito Faceiro," (Happy Manner) the toy-piano sound of

the kalimba perfectly evokes the lapping ocean of Salvador's shores.

Despite the liner notes' excellent English translations, lyrics will remain a bit obscure to those uninitiated in both candomble's

panoply of divinities as well as Carnival's back-street jokes, but Rodrigues' underlying message is unmissable--the celebration

and elevation of the indomitable black soul. Perhaps the most beautiful song is "Raca Negro," (Black Race), a deceptively simple

ballad that returns to the bowels of the earth for power before soaring to heaven on the wings of angels. Not unintentionally does

a poignant chord change on this cut inimitably invoke fellow Brazilian singer-composer Milton Nascimento. Indeed, Rodrigues'

falsetto intonations in the coda leaves no question as to her spiritual affinity with Brazil's other force of nature, Nascimento, who

has never hesitated to use his stratospheric, often wordless vocals as an expression of both spiritual and political liberation--

particularly during the painful years of military repression when even white Brazilians were not allowed to speak out.

Yet like Nascimento, Rodrigues, by staying true to her roots and yet deifying them, humbly but brilliantly arrives at the

universal. Like a great primal mother, she leaves us--nos--her audience, wishing to be part of her family. This classic album is

part prayer, part dance, part communion. It will stay on your turntable forever.

MUSIC CRITICISM

Black Spirit Rising “Nos" Virginia Rodrigues, Music Review, from Belief.net.com

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Photograph by Pamela Bloom, Tiruvunnamali, India, February 2009

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