Welcome to the last week of October. Normally, we see our agendas begining to slow at this point in the year. But, we're happy to report, October and November are *very* booked. Admittedly, an N of 1 isn't statistically relevant, but here at The Word Factory, we're feeling like reports of a nascent recovery may not be exaggerated. And we're doing gratitutde meditations daily!

SOURCES NEEDED:

Expert sources in the hospitality and restaurant industries for an industry outlook I'm writing for Monster.com. You can see an example here If you're an analyst, c-level officer or HR pro in these industries, please drop me a line and tell me what you think the next 18 months holds for job-seekers in your industry.

Outstanding green design projects in Portland, Ore., for Architect magazine's Local Market feature. You can see an example of the section here. Please include the following in your pitch: project name and use, size in sf, cost, completion date, green certifications, awards, compelling green architectural details. No private residences, please.

Here are a few of the projects keeping us busy this week:

● I'm beginning to research a profile of eminent cardiologist and Carolina alum Chip McAllister for the UNC Medical Foundation Bulletin.

● Steve's teeing up his latest post for the National Journal blog.

● Carolyn's launching a multi-state media research project for a pharma client.

● Steve and I are prepping for two presentations next month. We're pulling together some new models for the A Matter of Opinion workshop we'll be giving at the Equality North Carolina annual conference on 14 November in Greensboro. And we're updating our Social Media workshop, which we'll be presenting at the Kauffman Foundation's Global Entrepreneurship Week festivities on 16 November in Kansas City.

● I'm drafting a feature article on the crew behind The Book of Eli, the upcoming film by the fabulous Hughes Brothers (Menace II Society). With luck, tomorrow I'll actually interview the guys for a Q&A. Both pieces will appear in ICG magazine.

Here's to a productive week for all of us!