I'm reminded on fairly regular and disturbing basis of the Culture Charts we had to draw in 6th grade history class. These were huge, 6-foot charts made of butcher paper with eight different sections - Food, Clothing, Social, Transportation, Politics, etc. - that we had to research about the civilization we were discussing that week.
I don't remember all the different sections, but I imagine students in the future making these Culture Charts (if they are that lucky to have as great a teacher as Mrs. Ploog) about the U.S. in the late 20th, early 21st Centuries.
----
Well, the Strike is On. This morning at 3 a.m. members of the ridiculously stupid TWU walked off the job, shutting the doors on New York City's subways and buses. I am working from home, which is both good (I didn't have to do my hair and I'm wearing my crappy but totally comfortable jeans) and bad (connection issues and my Berry is on the fritz). Tomorrow I get to walk 30 or so blocks to a major meeting. I should have beautiful hat-head (love the static cling, dudes!) all day, but I can't do without my skull cap and scarf. Especially with this frigging clod/sore throat coming on.
Not to discount my own bitch-fest, but I can't imagine what the impact to wage-slaves are. I heard on the news (NY1 All Day Long!) from this one guy who lost his job because he couldn't get to work today. Totally sucks.
When are these organizations going to wake up? You cannot punish your customers and hope to get what you want. Gangs like the TWU bank on the fact that people don't have viable alternative choice, but a word (or two) of warning here: There ARE private bus lines in New York City, folks. Maybe this will inspire them to increase service.
----
Crazy man Vice President Cheney was just on CNN talking about eavesdropping. Er, I mean, Defending the Nation. Do you think eavesdropping is an impeachable offense? Let CNN know.
Read what your fellow citizens think here.
The White House wants this to be a question of bureaucracy. They say they need the ability to wire tap suspects without the time-consuming burden of getting a warrant. Uh... riiiiiiight. Not so much. I'm usually a big fan of deconstructing bullshit bureaucracy - I hate unnecessary process and cover-your-ass moves, but I'm also a big fan of due diligence. Getting an objective court to agree to your premise that so-and-so is a suspected bad guy should be the minimal constitutional gut-check required. Isn't this a fundamental right - freedom from state persecution?
----
Intelligent Design was dealt a blow in a Pennsylvania court today. A judge ruled the creationist theory is religious in nature and therefore inappropriate for public school classrooms.
Does it strike anyone as ironic that the theory of evolution has morphed into intelligent design? Isn't this the whole point?
----
I think the whole non-war on Christmas is a destructive diversionary tactic. I wish people would get all worked up about the non-exit Iraq strategy (well, I guess some people are...), or the non-existent energy policy, or the fact that my condo in Atlanta STILL hasn't sold. Um, I meant to say "the housing bubble bursting" on that last one.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Between Worlds
So I'm in Atlanta for the weekend... checking on my not-sold-yet loft, collecting another bundle of clothes and shoes and stuff to bring back to New York with me. I left NY just in time to avoid a possible transit strike. I also escaped the winter weather, but Atlanta isn't cooperating. It's damn COLD here.
The Metropolitan Transit Authority's strike preparedness plan is woefully negligent. And invisible. Well, they have the lawsuit-injunction thing down, but the Transport Workers Union is apparently led by complete nut jobs, who don't care if their members risk fines for honoring a walk out.
Let's review: We're talking about $40,000 - $60,000 a year people, who will lose 2 days of pay for every day not working, plus up to $25,000 in fines - for each person - if the City wins their injunction.
That doesn't even count the fines that could be levied against the TWU if the members walk. Your union dues at work.
The agreement will be reached. The union officials will sign on the dotted line and the membership will be left with tons of unfullfilled indignation. That's what happens when you've been played.
The Metropolitan Transit Authority's strike preparedness plan is woefully negligent. And invisible. Well, they have the lawsuit-injunction thing down, but the Transport Workers Union is apparently led by complete nut jobs, who don't care if their members risk fines for honoring a walk out.
Let's review: We're talking about $40,000 - $60,000 a year people, who will lose 2 days of pay for every day not working, plus up to $25,000 in fines - for each person - if the City wins their injunction.
That doesn't even count the fines that could be levied against the TWU if the members walk. Your union dues at work.
The agreement will be reached. The union officials will sign on the dotted line and the membership will be left with tons of unfullfilled indignation. That's what happens when you've been played.
Friday, November 25, 2005
Road to Hell...
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Lawyers would tell you the road was paved with malicious interlopers, but that' s a little harsh, I think.
Once in a while I'm overcome with a desire to be helpful. Like holding the door for a person loaded down with packages, or giving directions to someone, or (like now), helping a customer who has wandered onto the media relations hotline.
The hotline (manned 24/7) gets a couple of random calls every once in a while, but when it's a customer, I like to get their name + number, and a brief description on what they need. Then I call someone who can help.
Now, whenever I get the urge to help like this, I usually remember how these things normally turn out. (i.e. - I hold the door for one person and eight more take advantage without so much as a "thank you" thrown my way; or else I realize the directions I've given someone were totally wrong, and the guilt wakes me up at 3 a.m.; or, like today, I try to make it right by our customer only I make it worse by not knowing how to transfer a call correctly.)
Oy.
Road to hell.
Once in a while I'm overcome with a desire to be helpful. Like holding the door for a person loaded down with packages, or giving directions to someone, or (like now), helping a customer who has wandered onto the media relations hotline.
The hotline (manned 24/7) gets a couple of random calls every once in a while, but when it's a customer, I like to get their name + number, and a brief description on what they need. Then I call someone who can help.
Now, whenever I get the urge to help like this, I usually remember how these things normally turn out. (i.e. - I hold the door for one person and eight more take advantage without so much as a "thank you" thrown my way; or else I realize the directions I've given someone were totally wrong, and the guilt wakes me up at 3 a.m.; or, like today, I try to make it right by our customer only I make it worse by not knowing how to transfer a call correctly.)
Oy.
Road to hell.
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Disaster Flicks
Guilty pleasure alert: I *love* disaster flicks. Tonight's "Category 7: The End of the World" on CBS met every requirement for a truly great and wormy disaster flick. The cheesy dialogue, the improbable circumstances, the groovy pseudo-scientific jargon and theories, the quick camera cuts and (can someone explain this to me?) the wierd jumps between edits, and the even more improbable solutions to stop the end of the world... Awesome!
I like made-for-TV disaster flicks even more than feature films because they have nutty juxtaposition with the commercials running every frigging 10 minutes. Tonight's End of the World is brought to you by Charmin and Lubriderm. Nothing's more important than a wiped ass and smooth skin! (Perhaps there's something to that.)
I like disaster novels too. The disasters don't have to be so-called "natural" either - I'm thinking of "The Big U" by Neal Stephenson and, my all-time top-of-the-list "The Stand" by Stephen King. With a novel, you can stop reading for a minute and imagine what you would do if you found yourself in that situation. What if I were the Frannie character in "The Stand"? I'd like to end up with someone like Stu, but would I really want to leave the Free Zone with a newborn and one on the way just so I could go back to Maine, where there's nothing but dead, rotting people and deer in the supermarkets? Not so much. Plus, I'm not from Maine, so that wouldn't make sense.
But I *have* thought about what I would do if I somehow managed to survive a world epidemic or nuclear war... and while it's pretty unlikely that my constitution is strong enough to avoid a medical thing, chance is chance, and there's no telling who would be left behind.
I'm starting to think I've seen too many disaster flicks...
I like made-for-TV disaster flicks even more than feature films because they have nutty juxtaposition with the commercials running every frigging 10 minutes. Tonight's End of the World is brought to you by Charmin and Lubriderm. Nothing's more important than a wiped ass and smooth skin! (Perhaps there's something to that.)
I like disaster novels too. The disasters don't have to be so-called "natural" either - I'm thinking of "The Big U" by Neal Stephenson and, my all-time top-of-the-list "The Stand" by Stephen King. With a novel, you can stop reading for a minute and imagine what you would do if you found yourself in that situation. What if I were the Frannie character in "The Stand"? I'd like to end up with someone like Stu, but would I really want to leave the Free Zone with a newborn and one on the way just so I could go back to Maine, where there's nothing but dead, rotting people and deer in the supermarkets? Not so much. Plus, I'm not from Maine, so that wouldn't make sense.
But I *have* thought about what I would do if I somehow managed to survive a world epidemic or nuclear war... and while it's pretty unlikely that my constitution is strong enough to avoid a medical thing, chance is chance, and there's no telling who would be left behind.
(Speaking of "Left Behind" - have you read the ultimate disaster story? Written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, it's the in-your-time story of the Rapture. Hey - it's a good story even if you don't believe in that stuff.)I'd like to believe that I would make good decisions and lead people to safety, but truth to tell, I'd probably be so freaking scared that I would follow the first person who came along that seemed to have a good idea. Of course, I would realize almost-too-late that the earthy messiah was a David Koresh-wanna be and I'd have to concoct a crazy scheme to run away, taking the non-believers with me.
I'm starting to think I've seen too many disaster flicks...
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Woof
If I were a dog:
--------------
Speaking of dogs... e-mail and Berry has been up/down for the last couple of days. It started like a slow summer cold - you don't feel quite right and then whammo - you realize "I'm totally ill!" or "The f'ing e-mail is down!"
Interesting that the emotional responses to both situations are exactly the same.
Once I get passed the fact that all of my deadlines are going to blow up, I kind of like not having e-mail. Everyone suddenly answered their phones - except the truly anti-social. Things get done faster. And better, sometimes - because you actually have to talk to people.
--------------
Speaking of dogs... e-mail and Berry has been up/down for the last couple of days. It started like a slow summer cold - you don't feel quite right and then whammo - you realize "I'm totally ill!" or "The f'ing e-mail is down!"
Interesting that the emotional responses to both situations are exactly the same.
Once I get passed the fact that all of my deadlines are going to blow up, I kind of like not having e-mail. Everyone suddenly answered their phones - except the truly anti-social. Things get done faster. And better, sometimes - because you actually have to talk to people.
Friday, October 14, 2005
I Am Not A Crook
Sometimes, you get a win at work, but it's unseemly to talk about it in case someone thinks (rightly) that you're crowing. Well, screw it... I am crowing a little.
One of the finance people wanted to put out an internal memo on some corporate actions we had to take recently, and wanted to make it very clear this was in no way related to fraud. So, in a fairly understandable way, they stated that clearly in the memo.
When it came to my desk for review, I nearly fell out. Luckily I had just visited with my friend The Cuban, who showed me some of her media relations training materials. Something I read in that material stuck with me and started flaring as I read the memo.
"You never want to introduce or repeat the negative," The Cuban wrote in her material. "Think of Nixon's famous line: 'I am not a crook.' What everyone remembers is that Nixon was a crook - whether he was or not."
So after I read the memo I picked up the phone and called the author and we had ourselves a nice, polite, slightly passive-aggressive moment (she's a VP+, I am not) but in the end I won - and I managed to get a few more people to my side in the process.
Which tells me that the faster you can get to the essence of your argument, the better chance you have of winning it.
I'm writing to you from the Amtrak 187 to Washington DC. I love wireless broadband. Amtrak isn't so bad either - they have outlets handy for computers and whatnot. My iPod (the new one - the 30-frigging-gig with slideshow ability - is running low on the juice and I forget to bring the usb cable, so I'm plugged into my computer literally. Nice comfy seats, too.
It struck me while waiting for my train to board at Penn Station that we (the people) are so weirdly tribal sometimes. Maybe all the time... but definately while waiting for the train. Penn Station is designed for frequent travelers - not for the once-in-a-while folks like me. There are no Amtrak people roaming the general lobby area, answering questions and otherwise pointing people in a general direction. The Big Board with all the train numbers and track numbers is a study in controlled chaos. Trains don't board until 7 minutes prior to scheduled departure. Or so it seems.
So while all of this is going on, I noticed that there were roughly three types of people waiting in the lobby: 1) People looking to hook verbally with another human life form; 2) Human shells; and 3) Barely contained nerves and energy.
Group 1, if they were there alone, wandered up and down the concourse and somehow managed to have five to eight micro-conversations: "Got the time?" "You know where 243 is boarding?" "Have they called the Acela yet?" I picture these people on the end of a long leash, barely tethered to the Earth - exhilerated by the risk but terrified at the same time. Knive edge, man.
If any Group 1 people were fortunate enough to have a travel companion, they usually were engrossed in dense and intense conversation on amazingly stupid things. Some of these Group 1 conversations took on a slightly aggressive tone in a fake attempt to match emotional and verbal discourse. No dice. Just boring and lame after all that.
Group 2 - human shells. These are the bodies lying across bench seats at the airport, or the slumped over forms on the train on your morning or evening commute. I like human shells, because sleeping people are peaceful. And I like the idea of the body's muscles at rest. I picture big fluffy clouds and a bed of soft grass to lie on.
Group 3 would normally be suspected of narcotics use if they bopped around anywhere except Penn Station. These are the people traveling to meet a lover, quit a job, break good news to friends or attend a funeral. They exist in a high emotional state, and therefore are vulnerable to the slightest provocation. I remember when I left Atlanta the day before I started my new (current) job; I was a total Group 3, and the asshole checking me in curbside said he couldn't find my reservation. I told him, I'm on the flight to New York at 3:50 and he said "There's no 3:50 flight and there's no you in the computer." Which made me so homocidal it still bothers me today that my mood could change so quickly and hotly. Turns out he only checked LaGuardia and not JFK. Total dick. I was crying with anger within three minutes.
So when you run into a Group 3, or if you happen to be one yourself, watch for the signs that it's all going to fall apart and split the scene pronto. If it's happening to you, I suggest you drink heavily or slap on your iPod and tune the world out. Sometimes the world sucks.
I haven't played word of the day for a while, but I started a new game with B at work - hardest working tally. He usually stays later than me, but the last two weeks I've been smoking him, including an all-nighter and three 17 hour days in a row. His title as hardest working is now in jeopardy, so we're starting the official tally on my white board.
The other thing from this week is for the "WTF" file. I got bitch slapped by a VP for issuing a press release on Yom Kippur. My official response was "If the markets are open, we're open, and I'll put out press releases." What I should have said was "Gee, R., that's not very Christian of you." or "Aren't you supposed to be atoning for something?" or "Well, it's in God's hands now." But that's not PC, and it's just not nice either. So there you go.
One of the finance people wanted to put out an internal memo on some corporate actions we had to take recently, and wanted to make it very clear this was in no way related to fraud. So, in a fairly understandable way, they stated that clearly in the memo.
When it came to my desk for review, I nearly fell out. Luckily I had just visited with my friend The Cuban, who showed me some of her media relations training materials. Something I read in that material stuck with me and started flaring as I read the memo.
"You never want to introduce or repeat the negative," The Cuban wrote in her material. "Think of Nixon's famous line: 'I am not a crook.' What everyone remembers is that Nixon was a crook - whether he was or not."
So after I read the memo I picked up the phone and called the author and we had ourselves a nice, polite, slightly passive-aggressive moment (she's a VP+, I am not) but in the end I won - and I managed to get a few more people to my side in the process.
Which tells me that the faster you can get to the essence of your argument, the better chance you have of winning it.
I'm writing to you from the Amtrak 187 to Washington DC. I love wireless broadband. Amtrak isn't so bad either - they have outlets handy for computers and whatnot. My iPod (the new one - the 30-frigging-gig with slideshow ability - is running low on the juice and I forget to bring the usb cable, so I'm plugged into my computer literally. Nice comfy seats, too.
It struck me while waiting for my train to board at Penn Station that we (the people) are so weirdly tribal sometimes. Maybe all the time... but definately while waiting for the train. Penn Station is designed for frequent travelers - not for the once-in-a-while folks like me. There are no Amtrak people roaming the general lobby area, answering questions and otherwise pointing people in a general direction. The Big Board with all the train numbers and track numbers is a study in controlled chaos. Trains don't board until 7 minutes prior to scheduled departure. Or so it seems.
So while all of this is going on, I noticed that there were roughly three types of people waiting in the lobby: 1) People looking to hook verbally with another human life form; 2) Human shells; and 3) Barely contained nerves and energy.
Group 1, if they were there alone, wandered up and down the concourse and somehow managed to have five to eight micro-conversations: "Got the time?" "You know where 243 is boarding?" "Have they called the Acela yet?" I picture these people on the end of a long leash, barely tethered to the Earth - exhilerated by the risk but terrified at the same time. Knive edge, man.
If any Group 1 people were fortunate enough to have a travel companion, they usually were engrossed in dense and intense conversation on amazingly stupid things. Some of these Group 1 conversations took on a slightly aggressive tone in a fake attempt to match emotional and verbal discourse. No dice. Just boring and lame after all that.
Group 2 - human shells. These are the bodies lying across bench seats at the airport, or the slumped over forms on the train on your morning or evening commute. I like human shells, because sleeping people are peaceful. And I like the idea of the body's muscles at rest. I picture big fluffy clouds and a bed of soft grass to lie on.
Group 3 would normally be suspected of narcotics use if they bopped around anywhere except Penn Station. These are the people traveling to meet a lover, quit a job, break good news to friends or attend a funeral. They exist in a high emotional state, and therefore are vulnerable to the slightest provocation. I remember when I left Atlanta the day before I started my new (current) job; I was a total Group 3, and the asshole checking me in curbside said he couldn't find my reservation. I told him, I'm on the flight to New York at 3:50 and he said "There's no 3:50 flight and there's no you in the computer." Which made me so homocidal it still bothers me today that my mood could change so quickly and hotly. Turns out he only checked LaGuardia and not JFK. Total dick. I was crying with anger within three minutes.
So when you run into a Group 3, or if you happen to be one yourself, watch for the signs that it's all going to fall apart and split the scene pronto. If it's happening to you, I suggest you drink heavily or slap on your iPod and tune the world out. Sometimes the world sucks.
I haven't played word of the day for a while, but I started a new game with B at work - hardest working tally. He usually stays later than me, but the last two weeks I've been smoking him, including an all-nighter and three 17 hour days in a row. His title as hardest working is now in jeopardy, so we're starting the official tally on my white board.
The other thing from this week is for the "WTF" file. I got bitch slapped by a VP for issuing a press release on Yom Kippur. My official response was "If the markets are open, we're open, and I'll put out press releases." What I should have said was "Gee, R., that's not very Christian of you." or "Aren't you supposed to be atoning for something?" or "Well, it's in God's hands now." But that's not PC, and it's just not nice either. So there you go.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
My iPod Knows Me...
I have an iPod Shuffle, and I think it knows me. I mean, it plays exactly what I want to hear. For example, this morning it played all the harmonic stuff while I winged my way to work. Which was really needed, since I hopped on the V just for kicks, which required a switch at Queens Plaza to the E. And since I usually take the much quieter F train, the soothing sounds of Aimee Mann and Slaid Cleaves was the perfect zone music for the rocky trip.
And this evening, as I raced from work to get to Macy's in time to buy the perfect jewelry and evening wrap for the Brazilian Chamber of Commerce thingy that I'm going to tomorrow night, the music spoke to me again. Lots of The Killers and Green Day. "Get to the store before it closes!" it said. So much so that I got off at 42nd just so I could walk to Harold Square. Which was a dumb move - I had to dodge tourists.
Which is another story. This is episode 17 in my continuing series of "Becoming a New Yorker." In this episode, Identifying Tourists beyond the normal tells (camera, shorts, black socks with gym shoes) goes beyond the visual and becomes the psychological. It makes you a little crazy, but as soon as you see three or more people strolling abreast in the middle of a busy sidewalk, you feel the word tourist - you don't even have to say it in your head. You pause your iPod in case you have to execute the Lance-pass ('scuse me, 'scuse me) in case someone asks for directions. (Prior episodes, unwritten here but experienced just the same, cover the NY-dweller's requirement to give directions in clear, concise terms: Down two blocks, take a right and one avenue over...)
So the Tourists were a technical problem, but I slalomed my way and made it in time. I spent roughly 3 times on the jewelry than the evening wrap. Macy's has the old-timey wooden esaclators, so I rode those a little, too.
On my walk home, I saw a plastic crate in the middle of the cross walk at 34th and Broadway, so I thought it would be a good deposit in the Karma bank if I picked it up and put it on the sidewalk. But Karma is a funny thing. As I was doing it, nonchalantly and in my oh-so-New York way, I realized I was now out of balance in my Karma bank. You see, last week I stayed with an elderly woman who had fallen and roughed up her arm while my colleague ran to get an EMT from a nearbby car crash. That was my payback for mildly cursing (to myself) a certain media type for inaccurate reporting that caused no end of annoying midnight phone calls from other nutty media types. But now, with picking up the plastic crate, I was in the positive on my Karma bank. I'm not sure what happens now. But I stepped carefully on the way home just in case.
No one had a good day at work today. By lunch time, we were all freaking a little bit, or on the verge of total coma. We're exhausted and there's still so much to do. This can't be the new normal. But we decided to write it all off today.
And this evening, as I raced from work to get to Macy's in time to buy the perfect jewelry and evening wrap for the Brazilian Chamber of Commerce thingy that I'm going to tomorrow night, the music spoke to me again. Lots of The Killers and Green Day. "Get to the store before it closes!" it said. So much so that I got off at 42nd just so I could walk to Harold Square. Which was a dumb move - I had to dodge tourists.
Which is another story. This is episode 17 in my continuing series of "Becoming a New Yorker." In this episode, Identifying Tourists beyond the normal tells (camera, shorts, black socks with gym shoes) goes beyond the visual and becomes the psychological. It makes you a little crazy, but as soon as you see three or more people strolling abreast in the middle of a busy sidewalk, you feel the word tourist - you don't even have to say it in your head. You pause your iPod in case you have to execute the Lance-pass ('scuse me, 'scuse me) in case someone asks for directions. (Prior episodes, unwritten here but experienced just the same, cover the NY-dweller's requirement to give directions in clear, concise terms: Down two blocks, take a right and one avenue over...)
So the Tourists were a technical problem, but I slalomed my way and made it in time. I spent roughly 3 times on the jewelry than the evening wrap. Macy's has the old-timey wooden esaclators, so I rode those a little, too.
On my walk home, I saw a plastic crate in the middle of the cross walk at 34th and Broadway, so I thought it would be a good deposit in the Karma bank if I picked it up and put it on the sidewalk. But Karma is a funny thing. As I was doing it, nonchalantly and in my oh-so-New York way, I realized I was now out of balance in my Karma bank. You see, last week I stayed with an elderly woman who had fallen and roughed up her arm while my colleague ran to get an EMT from a nearbby car crash. That was my payback for mildly cursing (to myself) a certain media type for inaccurate reporting that caused no end of annoying midnight phone calls from other nutty media types. But now, with picking up the plastic crate, I was in the positive on my Karma bank. I'm not sure what happens now. But I stepped carefully on the way home just in case.
No one had a good day at work today. By lunch time, we were all freaking a little bit, or on the verge of total coma. We're exhausted and there's still so much to do. This can't be the new normal. But we decided to write it all off today.
So let's talk about Our President's choice for his Second Supreme. I
swear... he must've pulled a muscle in his neck searching far and wide all
the way down the hall to his chief counsel's office. She was in charge of
the Texas Lottery. I swear I'm not making this up.So to review: presidency of the Arabian Horse Association (AHA!) makes you
qualified for FEMA. And running games of chance mostly played by the
working poor in a desperate attempt to realize the American Dream makes you
perfect for the highest court in the land. Ok. Hello Einstein, your
dog is calling.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
I totally won Word of the Day today
Today's word of the day from www.m-w.com was misbegotten, and I totally nailed it in a inter-company memo. Rock on!
Yesterday was National Talk Like a Pirate Day, so it was duty to inform the department. My ship-mates (arg!) took to it like the troopers they are. In our morning round-up meeting, they asked what today was... So I've made Sept. 20 "Academy Awards Acceptance Speech Day." Which totally rocks when you think about it - I ended the morning round up with, "I'd like to thank everyone for making this huddle successful. Without you..." Ha ha ha.
Good thing I'm pretty good at what I do, huh?
Yesterday was National Talk Like a Pirate Day, so it was duty to inform the department. My ship-mates (arg!) took to it like the troopers they are. In our morning round-up meeting, they asked what today was... So I've made Sept. 20 "Academy Awards Acceptance Speech Day." Which totally rocks when you think about it - I ended the morning round up with, "I'd like to thank everyone for making this huddle successful. Without you..." Ha ha ha.
Good thing I'm pretty good at what I do, huh?
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Getting Your S*** Together, Part II
Master stroke by our President in taking "responsibility" for Katrina's aftermath. His leadership was quickly followed by LA Governor taking responsibilty and... you guessed it... New Orleans Mayor taking responsibility. Blame game over. All win.
Bush has now established the high road beach head. He gets to run the Congressional inquiry into the failures of Katrina's aftermath. Bad bad bad. He will choose people from the City, State, Red Cross and other agencies who tow the party line. The Final Report will be a best seller - but it will have no definitive results. There will be no change to disaster relief. It will find that all agencies acted appropriately and the breakdown was due to Thugs who kept the first responders out.
Preparedness for a San Fran earthquake will be studied and found appropriate.
Bio-terror in NYC? No problem.
The Chicago River springing a leak (again)? We'll have a fish fry.
Now... if we're talking about another hurricane, perhaps Biloxi, or the Florida panhandle... that's a different story. In fact, it's not a story at all. Those scenarios won't even be in the Final Report.
Now I'm watching President Bush giving his address from NOLA. He's already set the stage for the Thugs. And something I should have anticipated - the list of heroes. The spirit of the American people. Oh yeah - we'll be bathed in the faith of the People. Crap.
In other news: Apparently a relationship founded on disaster relief lasts only until the next disaster.
Bush has now established the high road beach head. He gets to run the Congressional inquiry into the failures of Katrina's aftermath. Bad bad bad. He will choose people from the City, State, Red Cross and other agencies who tow the party line. The Final Report will be a best seller - but it will have no definitive results. There will be no change to disaster relief. It will find that all agencies acted appropriately and the breakdown was due to Thugs who kept the first responders out.
Preparedness for a San Fran earthquake will be studied and found appropriate.
Bio-terror in NYC? No problem.
The Chicago River springing a leak (again)? We'll have a fish fry.
Now... if we're talking about another hurricane, perhaps Biloxi, or the Florida panhandle... that's a different story. In fact, it's not a story at all. Those scenarios won't even be in the Final Report.
Now I'm watching President Bush giving his address from NOLA. He's already set the stage for the Thugs. And something I should have anticipated - the list of heroes. The spirit of the American people. Oh yeah - we'll be bathed in the faith of the People. Crap.
In other news: Apparently a relationship founded on disaster relief lasts only until the next disaster.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Signs of Life Returning
I realized tonight that I'm on approach to life as normal. I'm at home, hacking away on my laptop trying to get approvals on statements and releases and all that... and watching TV of course. And tonight I remembered to turn on Comedy Central in time for The Daily Show - my succor. Since Katrina, I've been glued to CNN, Fox and MSNBC every night.
And the office environment is getting back on track, too. I've been sucked into the vortex created by Katrina, vainly trying to keep all the other balls in the air, but today I finally had two minutes down time - enough to select a CD to blast as my soundtrack for the all-encompassing e-mail management duty. (U2's How to Build an Atomic Bomb AND Best of Van Halen - Sammy Years only, please.)
My remaining Katrina duties are now nicely prioritized on my to-do list.
But it struck me that I hope I don't lose the feeling of urgency Katrina created... the urgency to DO SOMETHING. SAY SOMETHING. That's what drove me to start this blog again. We need more voices out there.
And maybe it's not so bad that life is returning to normal, if we can start speaking and listening calmly and collectively.
Another sign of normalcy: Office Games! Word of the Day contest!
How to Play:
Get a group of willing conspirators.
Sign up for e-mail word of the day from www.m-w.com
Every morning, check the word of the day. You must use that word appropriately in a meeting, hallway conversation, or conference call.
First person in the conspiracy to use it appropriately wins! (Must be documented by another conspiracy member. - Honor system based on game theory here.)
For those of you in the PR/Communications biz - He or she who gets quoted in the paper or internal communications using the word wins!
Send your Word of the Day results in!
And the office environment is getting back on track, too. I've been sucked into the vortex created by Katrina, vainly trying to keep all the other balls in the air, but today I finally had two minutes down time - enough to select a CD to blast as my soundtrack for the all-encompassing e-mail management duty. (U2's How to Build an Atomic Bomb AND Best of Van Halen - Sammy Years only, please.)
My remaining Katrina duties are now nicely prioritized on my to-do list.
But it struck me that I hope I don't lose the feeling of urgency Katrina created... the urgency to DO SOMETHING. SAY SOMETHING. That's what drove me to start this blog again. We need more voices out there.
And maybe it's not so bad that life is returning to normal, if we can start speaking and listening calmly and collectively.
Another sign of normalcy: Office Games! Word of the Day contest!
How to Play:
Get a group of willing conspirators.
Sign up for e-mail word of the day from www.m-w.com
Every morning, check the word of the day. You must use that word appropriately in a meeting, hallway conversation, or conference call.
First person in the conspiracy to use it appropriately wins! (Must be documented by another conspiracy member. - Honor system based on game theory here.)
For those of you in the PR/Communications biz - He or she who gets quoted in the paper or internal communications using the word wins!
Send your Word of the Day results in!
Sunday, September 11, 2005
The WTC Lights are On
2003 Photo courtesy of Webshots
The Twin Lights are on. I can see them from my desk in the corporate apartment. Late tonight, I'll go up to the roof on the 33rd floor and look at them. Then I'll turn around and look at the Empire State Building, which has been capped all weekend in red, white and blue lights. But tonight, it's dark.
I went to Strawberry Fields today and just sat quietly, writing in my journal. I expected some political types - maybe petitioners against something or for something, but it was pretty quiet. Lots of families, lots of tourists. Lots of older couples. Everyone stopped and looked at the famous mosiac with "Imagine" in the middle. There are NYPD barricades surrounding the mosiac, but they aren't anchored down, so some tourists carefully stepped closer to get a better shot. No one minded.Tragedy Overload
Fourth anniversary of 9/11. I'm watching the annual reading of the names on local NBC. Now that I'm in New York, I thought I would go down to the Site and pay my respects.
But something is keeping me at home today.
As I'm watching the coverage from Ground Zero, I'm also reading up on some of the "evacuation" centers established throughout the country. There's one in my hometown outside of Chicago. There's another in Oklahoma, a camp site operated by a coalition of Baptist Churches that has been taken over by FEMA and state police. It's being set up like a penitentary.
So now I'm wondering about the duality of response to these two national disasters - the things they have in common and the horrible differences.
In Common:
- National outpouring of support
- Citizen outcry for answers (How did this happen?)
- Sadly, the racism. Arab-Americans post 9/11 (extended to any brown-skinned person) and now, black Americans. Evac centers are being set up in remote areas or in contained city centers (AstroDome, anyone?). The fear of what people who have been disenfranchised throughout their lives will do once the ultimate failure to protect, defend and serve them happens.
Differences:
- 9/11 took us to war... possibly to assuage the need for revenge against an attack. Katrina in all internal-U.S., so perhaps this isn't a difference after all. Will there be a war on poverty, racism and economic disparity? If so, sign me up.
- 9/11 accelerated a recession already in the works... Oops, again - this may not be a difference after all. Fuel prices were skyrocketing before Katrina. Now, with so many dollars going into the relief effort, there's less disposable income to buy iPods and Gap jeans with, let alone enough to fill our SUVs.
- 9/11 spawned stupid and unConstitutional anti-privacy law under the guise of "protecting" our freedoms and liberties. (The circular logic of this makes my head spin.) This may be the only real difference - Katrina will spawn stupid but perhaps Constitutional law regarding disaster relief. Hey! Let's outsource it to the Red Cross! They seem to know what they're doing.
Let's talk about Freedoms and Liberties for a minute - and what each Citizen of the United States of America is entitled to under our Constitution.
Oh hey! Lookie here:
But my favorite parts of the Constitution are the Amendments - not only because they prove the flexibility of our political system (because our political system is founded on a philosophy of freedom and tolerance, not on a system of royalty or totalitarianism), but because we took the opportunity to keep fixing our nation.
Yay! Go First Amendment!
I thought it would be interesting to see what Google pulls up on a search for "citizens rights united states" - just to see what we're supposed to expect.
Here's a creepy site: "Why Become a U.S. Citizen?" hosted by our very own U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. #1 Reason: Showing Your Patriotism. (translation: "Paying your taxes.")
Something more in line with my ability to think on a Sunday morning from the Dummies series.
But I'm really looking for is something that says that Citizens can expect protection and security in exchange for pledging allegiance and agreeing to defend the nation in times of war. Well, well, well - lookie here. It takes me to the U.S. Homeland Security home page. And we're back at the beginning it seems. But at least we have the promise in writing:
Everything on this site is about attacks on us - nothing about natural disasters, even though FEMA is under Homeland Security.
Perhaps the intent is to discourage people from getting answers? Well, it's worked. I'm done.
And they are still reading the names of the 9/11 dead on TV. They're up to the L's.
But something is keeping me at home today.
As I'm watching the coverage from Ground Zero, I'm also reading up on some of the "evacuation" centers established throughout the country. There's one in my hometown outside of Chicago. There's another in Oklahoma, a camp site operated by a coalition of Baptist Churches that has been taken over by FEMA and state police. It's being set up like a penitentary.
So now I'm wondering about the duality of response to these two national disasters - the things they have in common and the horrible differences.
In Common:
- National outpouring of support
- Citizen outcry for answers (How did this happen?)
- Sadly, the racism. Arab-Americans post 9/11 (extended to any brown-skinned person) and now, black Americans. Evac centers are being set up in remote areas or in contained city centers (AstroDome, anyone?). The fear of what people who have been disenfranchised throughout their lives will do once the ultimate failure to protect, defend and serve them happens.
Differences:
- 9/11 took us to war... possibly to assuage the need for revenge against an attack. Katrina in all internal-U.S., so perhaps this isn't a difference after all. Will there be a war on poverty, racism and economic disparity? If so, sign me up.
- 9/11 accelerated a recession already in the works... Oops, again - this may not be a difference after all. Fuel prices were skyrocketing before Katrina. Now, with so many dollars going into the relief effort, there's less disposable income to buy iPods and Gap jeans with, let alone enough to fill our SUVs.
- 9/11 spawned stupid and unConstitutional anti-privacy law under the guise of "protecting" our freedoms and liberties. (The circular logic of this makes my head spin.) This may be the only real difference - Katrina will spawn stupid but perhaps Constitutional law regarding disaster relief. Hey! Let's outsource it to the Red Cross! They seem to know what they're doing.
Let's talk about Freedoms and Liberties for a minute - and what each Citizen of the United States of America is entitled to under our Constitution.
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence,
promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves
and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United
States of America.
Oh hey! Lookie here:
Article. II. Section. 4.
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
But my favorite parts of the Constitution are the Amendments - not only because they prove the flexibility of our political system (because our political system is founded on a philosophy of freedom and tolerance, not on a system of royalty or totalitarianism), but because we took the opportunity to keep fixing our nation.
First Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Yay! Go First Amendment!
I thought it would be interesting to see what Google pulls up on a search for "citizens rights united states" - just to see what we're supposed to expect.
Here's a creepy site: "Why Become a U.S. Citizen?" hosted by our very own U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. #1 Reason: Showing Your Patriotism. (translation: "Paying your taxes.")
Something more in line with my ability to think on a Sunday morning from the Dummies series.
But I'm really looking for is something that says that Citizens can expect protection and security in exchange for pledging allegiance and agreeing to defend the nation in times of war. Well, well, well - lookie here. It takes me to the U.S. Homeland Security home page. And we're back at the beginning it seems. But at least we have the promise in writing:
The Bush Administration developed a comprehensive National Strategy for
Homeland Security, focused on six key areas: intelligence and warning; border
and transportation security; domestic counterterrorism; protecting critical
infrastructure; defending against catastrophic threats; and emergency
preparedness and response.
Everything on this site is about attacks on us - nothing about natural disasters, even though FEMA is under Homeland Security.
Perhaps the intent is to discourage people from getting answers? Well, it's worked. I'm done.
And they are still reading the names of the 9/11 dead on TV. They're up to the L's.
Friday, September 09, 2005
Getting your S*** together
Well... it took long enough, but the Feds finally got their S*** together and put the smack down on news media. Bad bad bad. I'm tempted to credit Karl Rove with this - and he actually may have had a part of this, seeing as how Andrews Air Force Base has been closed to media since the "War on Terrorism" in Iraq started. No more pictures of dead soldiers. And now, apparently, no more pictures of dead bodies in the Gulf States, either.
Let's review the Constitition:
Ok - so the reasonable question is this: Do the American people need to see pictures of dead bodies in order to understand the situation in the Gulf States?
Well... considering the view of 609 Americans polled by CNN, the average Joe Sixpack American doesn't know who to "blame" for the possibly avoidable consequences of the levees failure.
I don't feel the need to blame anyone. I know who is to blame. I know what is to blame. I feel the need to make sure those who are homeless are given real homes, not shelters; I feel the need to give money to trusted organizations like the Red Cross; I feel the need to join organizations that knew the value of organizing and supporting the poor far before I did, and I hope they welcome me; and I feel the need to call for a full investigation of the government response.
The only person who was fired for 9/11 was Bill Maher.
I swear to God - President Bush and his posse, the Governor of Louisiana and the Mayor of New Orleans will answer for this.
And shame on fema.gov for showcasing a fricking debit card on their home page. These people really are clueless. YUCK.
Let's review the Constitition:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Ok - so the reasonable question is this: Do the American people need to see pictures of dead bodies in order to understand the situation in the Gulf States?
Well... considering the view of 609 Americans polled by CNN, the average Joe Sixpack American doesn't know who to "blame" for the possibly avoidable consequences of the levees failure.
I don't feel the need to blame anyone. I know who is to blame. I know what is to blame. I feel the need to make sure those who are homeless are given real homes, not shelters; I feel the need to give money to trusted organizations like the Red Cross; I feel the need to join organizations that knew the value of organizing and supporting the poor far before I did, and I hope they welcome me; and I feel the need to call for a full investigation of the government response.
The only person who was fired for 9/11 was Bill Maher.
I swear to God - President Bush and his posse, the Governor of Louisiana and the Mayor of New Orleans will answer for this.
And shame on fema.gov for showcasing a fricking debit card on their home page. These people really are clueless. YUCK.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Hood winked
Ok - I honestly didn't think this report could be real. But it is.
I always thought Barbara Bush was cool. It all started when she broke her leg sledding with the grandkids.
When you combine her totally insentive words about the "underpriveleged" being better off now that they have "aid" with the moronic response of former President Bush to a reporter's question about blame (he said "The President can take it."), it makes me shudder.
I was never a fan of the Presidents Bush. But I never thought they were so frigging out of touch.
Don't bother writing the White House with your outrage. Write your local newspaper editors - they are the only ones earning the public's trust.
And speaking of the public trust: Props to Lou Dobbs for taking on the issue of using the word "refugee."
I always thought Barbara Bush was cool. It all started when she broke her leg sledding with the grandkids.
When you combine her totally insentive words about the "underpriveleged" being better off now that they have "aid" with the moronic response of former President Bush to a reporter's question about blame (he said "The President can take it."), it makes me shudder.
I was never a fan of the Presidents Bush. But I never thought they were so frigging out of touch.
Don't bother writing the White House with your outrage. Write your local newspaper editors - they are the only ones earning the public's trust.
And speaking of the public trust: Props to Lou Dobbs for taking on the issue of using the word "refugee."
ref·u·gee
to take refuge, from Latin refugium: one that flees; especially : a person
who flees to a foreign country or power to escape danger or persecution
One that flees. Yes, there is a political overtone to the use of the word relative to the Levee Disaster... that's why the pols are freaking out about it.
And lastly - from the report that disheartens me beyond anything:
Opinions varied widely, however, on the response of federal, state and local
officials regarding Katrina. Forty-two percent of respondents characterized
President Bush's response to the disaster as "bad" or "terrible," while 35
percent said it was "good" or "great."
Federal government agencies' response
was described as "bad" or "terrible" by 42 percent, and "good" or "great" by 35
percent. State and local officials' response was described as "bad" or
"terrible" by 35 percent and "good" or "great" by 37 percent.
Respondents
also disagreed widely on who is to blame for the problems in the city following
the hurricane -- 13 percent said Bush, 18 percent said federal agencies, 25
percent blamed state or local officials and 38 percent said no one is to blame.
And 63 percent said they do not believe anyone at federal agencies responsible for handling emergencies should be fired as a result.
Soundtrack to our lives
Katrina Playlist
Bruce Springsteen's "My City in Ruins"
Bishop Allen's cover of "Eve of Destruction"
Green Day's "American Idiot"
Lucinda Williams' "Concrete and Barbed Wire"
R.E.M.'s "Can't Get There From Here"
Robert Earl Keen's "I'm Coming Home"
U2's "City of Blinding Lights"
Van Halen's "Right Here Right Now"
John Denver's "American Child"
James Taylor's "You've Got a Friend"
Add your own.
Bruce Springsteen's "My City in Ruins"
Bishop Allen's cover of "Eve of Destruction"
Green Day's "American Idiot"
Lucinda Williams' "Concrete and Barbed Wire"
R.E.M.'s "Can't Get There From Here"
Robert Earl Keen's "I'm Coming Home"
U2's "City of Blinding Lights"
Van Halen's "Right Here Right Now"
John Denver's "American Child"
James Taylor's "You've Got a Friend"
Add your own.
Monday, September 05, 2005
Breakdown
I was willing to cut the government some slack after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and the Gulf States. The first rule of rescue (as least as far as I know) is to wait for the situation to stabilize before the relief can come in. And this situation was so different than the Tsunami - the water, in this case, didn't wash out as violently as it washed in. So yeah... I was willing to accept the FEMA line, and even defend it, for Day One following the levee break. And even Day Two, as water was still rising. But not at Day Three. And by Day Four, I was getting pissed. And then Days Five, Six and now Seven and on.
Props to Anderson Cooper of CNN for taking the pols to task. He chided a Senator from LA for thanking Congress and other "leaders" for passing an aid package while "people are dying" on the streets of New Orleans. Props to Brit Hume of FOX. Props to the New Orleans Times Picayune for calling for the clean sweep of FEMA "leadership."
Was this disaster a side effect of our "culture of fear" - born out of 9/11, manipulated by the artists in Washington, D.C. to their own electability benefit? After 9/11, we were nicer to each other, but our focus turned inward - to protecting ourselves from harm. Pretty much closing ourselves in to our own lives, and watching news just to figure out if we're going to harmed by anything. We practice fire drills in our office buildings, and we make sure we have everyone's cell phone number handy.
Did this bite-sized approach to safety lead to the failures in New Orleans? It was pretty well known that the levees were old and could fail in a Cat. 4 or 5 storm. But WHY wasn't there an evacuation plan, especially for those who did not have the means to escape? Total frigging neglect.
It's time to turn our "culture of fear" into a "culture of righteous anger." Fear diminished your power - you tend to listen to "leaders" who seem to have the answers. Anger is motivating, and righteous anger demands accountability and responsibility from all citizens.
I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore. Part of this is from my experience this weekend. My company was involved in the relief effort and the organizing agencies seemed to be in a complete state of chaos. All the while, we managed to open a special fund to help the employees in the area (more than $60,000 through 1,100 donations), and we are pay-protecting them. Our emergency response people were totally organized - finding our employees and the family members with them, arranging temporary housing and getting them food and water. Yes - the scale was smaller. We have about 40 people in the area. But our response team is smaller, too - less than 10 people at first, supplemented by volunteers throughout the weekend.
Oy.
If this doesn't radicalize people into activism, I don't know what will.
Props to Anderson Cooper of CNN for taking the pols to task. He chided a Senator from LA for thanking Congress and other "leaders" for passing an aid package while "people are dying" on the streets of New Orleans. Props to Brit Hume of FOX. Props to the New Orleans Times Picayune for calling for the clean sweep of FEMA "leadership."
Was this disaster a side effect of our "culture of fear" - born out of 9/11, manipulated by the artists in Washington, D.C. to their own electability benefit? After 9/11, we were nicer to each other, but our focus turned inward - to protecting ourselves from harm. Pretty much closing ourselves in to our own lives, and watching news just to figure out if we're going to harmed by anything. We practice fire drills in our office buildings, and we make sure we have everyone's cell phone number handy.
Did this bite-sized approach to safety lead to the failures in New Orleans? It was pretty well known that the levees were old and could fail in a Cat. 4 or 5 storm. But WHY wasn't there an evacuation plan, especially for those who did not have the means to escape? Total frigging neglect.
It's time to turn our "culture of fear" into a "culture of righteous anger." Fear diminished your power - you tend to listen to "leaders" who seem to have the answers. Anger is motivating, and righteous anger demands accountability and responsibility from all citizens.
I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore. Part of this is from my experience this weekend. My company was involved in the relief effort and the organizing agencies seemed to be in a complete state of chaos. All the while, we managed to open a special fund to help the employees in the area (more than $60,000 through 1,100 donations), and we are pay-protecting them. Our emergency response people were totally organized - finding our employees and the family members with them, arranging temporary housing and getting them food and water. Yes - the scale was smaller. We have about 40 people in the area. But our response team is smaller, too - less than 10 people at first, supplemented by volunteers throughout the weekend.
Oy.
If this doesn't radicalize people into activism, I don't know what will.
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