In the annals of graffiti artistry, Sean Percival’s feat has to stand out: The local tech blogger managed to graffiti a wall 7,500 miles away.
OK, so Percival who, along with his wife, Laurie, runs the tech and Web gossip blog LaLaWag.com didn’t do the deed himself. Still, he commissioned a graffiti tag on the concrete barrier that divides Israel from the Palestinian territories.
Percival, who is also director of content at Tsavo Media in Santa Monica, did it by using a service called “The Longest Letter,” which offers to scrawl your message on the wall in spray paint for about $21.
Two weeks ago about a month after putting in the original request Percival received an e-mail with digital photos confirming that his message, “Peace, love, and gossip from LaLaWag.com,” had been sprayed onto the wall.
Why that message? “I think peace, love and gossip are three things everyone could use more of in their lives,” Percival said.
And, he added, “Maybe it will help drive some traffic to the blog.”
Beauty of the Board
Sonja Fisher has competed in beauty pageants since her teens, but it wasn’t until March 9 when the 40-year old finally got a crown placed on her head. That’s when she became Mrs. Corporate America.
“This was a life-changing event,” said Fisher. “This was the perfect pageant for me because I’m in corporate America.”
Fisher works as a software consultant for Oracle Corp. in El Segundo. During her one-year reign, Fisher will talk to students and corporate groups about women in technology. She wants to help women learn the ropes because “technology is still a boy’s club,” she said.
Fisher, who once placed sixth in the Mrs. Minnesota America contest, lives with her husband and cats in Culver City.
She said that she’ll need to think about a new challenge because she has completed all three of her life goals: win a national pageant, appear in an episode of “General Hospital” and have a good job.
Cultivating Not Just Clients
When securities litigator Gwyn Quillen gets up at 4:30 a.m., she heads straight for her backyard. She checks on her chickens, and tends the fruits and vegetables in the extensive garden of her Malibu home. Then she heads to work at Bingham McCutchen, where she represents several of the nation’s largest accounting firms.
“Gardening helps me feel grounded and connected to the fundamental elements of life,” Quillen said. “It also produces the most nutritious, best-tasting food for my family.”
Indeed, most of the food the Quillen family eats comes from the backyard, including squash, cucumbers, corn, strawberries and peaches, not to mention the eggs from the chickens. The neighbors haven’t complained about the rooster crowing or chickens squawking.
Quillen’s biggest challenge: finding the time to keep up with the garden.
“In particularly busy times or when I’m traveling, the weeds may take over certain areas or young plants may not get enough water,” she said. “It is frustrating, but I have to accept the fact that the garden will never be perfect.”
Staff reporters Charles Proctor, Joel Russell and Howard Fine contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by editor Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].
