Phine Pheathered Phriends

Philadelphia has a fondness for notable birds. Yes, there are the Eagles, but I'm talking more creature-oriented than football players. There's the beloved Philly Phanatic. And the Benjamin Phranklin Phanatic, currently standing outside the Franklin Institute, as part of the Paint the Phanatic Public Art Project.

And now there's another set of fine furry friends (or phriends) sitting outside the Franklin Institute: Momma red-tailed hawk and her chicks, which hatched this week. The action was captured via webcam -- and continues to be streamed live from the nest perched on a window ledge.

When I tuned in, along with 1,093 other viewers at that moment, Momma was watching the world (and the cars down below) go by. Babies were tucked underneath, staying warm, and just beginning to poke their heads out. It's a mesmerizing sight (and site), which has spawned a fan base of Hawkaholics, both on Facebook and Hawkwatch.

Got a minute? Take a peek during daylight hours, as there are no lights to disturb the goings-on at night. It's the best armchair slice-of-nature I've seen in awhile. And harmlessly addictive, too.

10 years; no fooling

It's April Fools Day, and the usual pranksters are at it again.

• See the Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of all time at the Museum of Hoaxes.
• PC World has the Top 10 April Fool's Day Fake News Items.
• The Onion, well, it's always April Fool's Day at The Onion.

But one thing that's perfect for April 1 -- but isn't a joke -- is the fact that today I'm celebrating 10 years as an independent, freelance, entrepreneur, small-business woman, sole proprietor. I started on this day in 2000...and I'm still at it. Gainfully self-employed, thanks to the range of clients who continue to call on me, day and night, for a few good words (or paragraphs, or pages, or projects).

Whether it's an annual report (this year, for a chicken franchise, an intimate apparel maker, a biopharmaceutical company, and a real estate investment firm) or "romance" copy for a wallpaper sample book, helping senior executives formulate a speech or writing stories for employee publications (print or online), there's been no shortage in the need for good writing. Thankfully.

I've seen estimates that give small businesses a less than 10 percent chance of surviving 10 years. I'm happy to be one of the few to pass that milestone.

AMY INK: Still open for business.

Beauty, truth in Haiti

Many have documented the devastation and disaster-relief efforts in Haiti following the January earthquake and its aftershocks. Most of the photos have filled me with sadness and compassion. Today, I saw the work of one photographer who managed to convey the beauty and strength of those who were affected -- and those who went to help.

Ed Wheeler has always been an amazing talent. For years, he was my go-to photographer for corporate annual report shoots, from the boardroom photo to round-the-world and through-the-manufacturing-plant pics.

Now he has turned his camera to the bareness of survival and the abundance of caring. He shares his work in the following presentations:

• A collage of photos, with Ed doing the narration, in a Quicktime video.
• A second version of his coverage on YouTube.

The images are as beautiful as the situation is unfathomable. 

Wall Street exposed

It must be tough being a financial advisor. At least it is if you're trying to win my business. There's a Catch-22 logic to my thinking. Those who know enough about the stock market to make their clients rich, should already be rich enough themselves to never have to work at all, much less at trying to make me rich.

Don't even get me started on the workings of Wall Street. One of the few people I read on the matter is Robert Mankoff. Actually, you don't read his work as much as look at the cartoons and read the captions. Still, when it comes to financial matters, he's spot-on.

Here are a few of my favorites, which typically feature a report on TV news:

• "On Wall Street today, the stock market corrected its previous correction, and is pretty sure it's got it right this time." Published in The New Yorker on March 8, 2010. 
• "On Wall Street today, news of lower interest rates sent the stock market up, but then the expectation that these rates would be inflationary sent the market down, until the realization that lower rates might stimulate the sluggish economy pushed the market up, before it ultimately went down on fears that an overheated economy would lead to a reimposition of higher interest rates." Published in "The Naked Cartoonist," 2002.
• "Bad news on Wall Street today, as the bottom fell out of the market, the sides collapsed, and the top blew away." Published in The New Yorker on July 22, 2002.
• "Analysts blamed the market's volatility on computer-directed trading while computers blamed it on analyst-directed trading." Unpublished, but available at The Cartoon Bank.

I could go on and on -- but Robert already has. And he's probably laughing all the way to the bank.