Sky Writing

Life in Early 21st Century, New York

2010-04-25T13:04:00.002-04:00

If you don't get your bag of laundry to the laundromat by noon on Sunday, you will not have clean clothes in time for Monday morning. Unless you actually sit in the laundromat and do the laundry yourself. I have never once taken that second option.

Commercials on TV about washer/dryer sales and products are increasingly meaningless to me. I wish I had a washer/dryer and it produces the very same emotion as wishing to win the lottery. And I'm not even kidding.

You can live in 250 square feet and not lose your mind. In fact, there is a kind of serenity to it.

It's nicer to walk a couple of blocks in the subway than street-side, sometimes. Like when it's raining.

I don't understand why people still use umbrellas when it's barely raining. If your hair can't survive a scarf-wrap, then you need a new style. Also: people who use golf umbrellas in New York should really be asked to leave. Especially when they insist on keeping the damn thing open walking down the subway stairs.

If you don't order your FreshDirect groceries by Saturday morning, you will not have fresh fruit on Sunday unless you venture out to the local bodega/market and overpay for citrus.

People think nothing of paying $1 per pound of laundry but will NOT pay more than $5 for a bunch of bodega roses. But they WILL pay $10 for a pack of smokes.

Bodega flowers are the hardiest flowers ever. They last 2 weeks. And they are CHEAP.

You know you've arrived when the cashier at your local bodega treats you like a regular.

* * *

Streets are quieter than ever before. That doesn't mean people aren't still yakking on their cell phones - it just means that everyone else is wearing ear buds or noise-canceling headphones so they don't hear anything any more. When I leave my apartment every morning, I do two things: I lock my door and throw my keys in my purse, and than I put on my iPod. Except one day I didn't put in my ear buds. It took me nearly twice as long to walk to the 42nd street stop because I kept looking around wondering who was making all that noise?

* * *

Every city has an associated industry. Washington is a government town. LA is entertainment. New York, for all of its diversity in industry, is mostly a business town. Fashion is here but it's really more about marketing fashion than creation fashion. Same thing with media. Wall Street is the company for this company town.

Chicago has always been a writing town for me. It's been about journalism and reporting and writing - storytelling. It's a communication town. The only other image that comes to mind is that of fire fighters, policemen, street cleaners, garbage men, snow removers, etc. It's a town's town. It's meta.

* * *

Nashville is a music town.
St. Louis is a beer town.
Atlanta is a Coke town. (ha ha)
San Fransisco is an artistic town.
Boston is a lunch town.
Orlando is a Mickey Mouse town.
Houston is an oil town. It could have been a space town, but...

* * *

I'm confused by Reebok's Reetone commercial. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMc2hBxzLvg)
The faceless women in this commercial are doing things like busing tables (waitress), making copies (secretary) and vacuuming the rug or taking the dog for a walk.
You've come a long way, baby.

* * *

Alternatively, I don't care what John Mayer said or didn't say about women - I still love his music.

* * *

"Eating in" for me means heating up leftovers or thawing Carnegie Deli matzoh ball soup. I haven't actually made a meal for myself in years.

* * *

I haven't driven a car in about two years, either. Recently, I had to move someone's car and was surprised at how foreign the driver's seat was to me.

Which reminds me... I really need to get a driver's license.

Buh bye 2009

2009-12-31T17:53:00.002-05:00

Good things about 2009:

Renovations
Dad got married! (and moved to London!)
Twitter

New York state of mind

2009-12-24T13:37:00.003-05:00

I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the following:
* The best co-workers and clients I've ever had
* My talented and beautiful sisters, my charming brother, and my happily re-married Dad and his wife Alice
* Living in New York
* Phoebe Cats
* The genius of Neal Stephenson
* Twitter
* The perspective that only turning 40 years old brings
* Chopt

I'm also very happy that I quit smoking, rocked a couple of quotes this year, and nailed a couple of big things at work. And I really like this picture, from Chasing Light, taken at the impromptu snowball fight in Times Square on Dec. 19, 2009:

happiness

2009-11-26T14:43:00.002-05:00

I think it really all started with last year's election of President Obama. I mean, seriously... I have never in my life felt so good about the American voting public in my entire life. I spent the night amazed and crying and happy.
I (thoguht I) knew it wouldn't last.
...
'Cept here we are, a year-plus later and it's lasted. Only here's the thing... it's spread. Like the cliche-hacked wildfire.
And now I'm working on a project at work that's all about doing the right thing and being good and how cool is it to work at place that cares about that stuff.
---
So now I'm going to Thanksgiving dinner and all of this "I'm thankful for" twittering stuff has me all weepy but I'll get over it enough to consume 5,000 calories.
Happy Thanksgiving!
(I may, or may not, write a list of what I'm thankful for later, but in the meantime, I'm thankful for fuzzy blue sweaters and Yaz's "Only You.")

I love the Olds Peoples

2009-08-17T21:35:00.003-04:00

I don't even know how I'm related to this person, but this message was from Henrietta to my great-aunt Ann. Both ladies are in their 90s. The wedding Henrietta is referring to is my Dad's - he got married this weekend. He's 72.

I just know you are going to have a good time at
the wedding. Does his family like the new Step=mother. My little neighbor just
came over to see me and she is practically blind but so kind and her sister who
lives with her is 90 but the one that come over is just getting over the Flu and
she brought me over a piece of Icecream cake and some chocolate
cookies. She was a Nurse but only worked for a Dr. all those years and to be
honest with you if anyone ever asked her anything about any cold or any simple
question she was never capable of answering it - she would admit she just dont
know. Most of my other nurse friends would give a person a suggestion what to
do. I met her at the front door and she said here I will take this to the
kitchen for you I said O.K. follow me so you dont fall and shut the door so it
wont get hot in the house. I have four new A/C's on this floor - we have to have
the window ones all these years because we have Steam Heat. But Rosemary she
said Oh no I am not staying. She sat down on a chair right in front the A/C and
I knew it was a very cold spot to sit at so I turned off the A/C about 30
minutes later I told her I just had to turn it on because I was getting very
short of breath -and about that time a big clap of thunder came to my rescue so
she decided to leave before she got wet. My Icecream was half melted and
went on the cookies . ha ha I sure dont sound very grateful -but I do appreciate
having them for my neighbors all these years since we lived here. She is
85 If Ann reads this she will say thats the Red Hair Temper
flaring in Omaha or the Irish sounding off. ha ha Oh well she is a kind
little person but I think age and being blind is hard on her. Well I blew
off steam long enough dear.-Thanks for writing Sweetie.

Ricci Case

2009-07-15T20:09:00.002-04:00

So Sotomayor is being grilled on her "wise Latina" statement and my thoughts turn to Ricci. So here's my thing: If a white guy and a black guy and a latino guy are up for the same job, and say the white guy scores more on the test, but the black guy is close and maybe the latino is a distant third, but the guys he's supposed to lead respect him the most...
Here's what I would do.
I'd ask the white guy: "Have you ever used a racial slur?"
I'd ask the black guy: "Have you ever used a racial slur?"
I'd ask the latino guy: "Have you ever used a racial slur?"
And I'd base my decision on their answers.
And that's all I have to say about that.

random observations

2009-07-13T18:43:00.002-04:00

Sarah Palin pronounces "Alaska" like it's a triumph, not a state. ah-lass-KAH! What if I started pronouncing our President's name like that? o-bah-MAH!

I don't really get people who talk through smiles. What's to be so damn happy about all the time? It reminds me of empty-headed PR drones, like (interestingly enough) Palin's spokesperson Meg Whatever. Wait - Meg actually reminds me of sar-RAH! On and on... and I've talked to enough reporters to know that when you go on auto-pilot (as a PR person), you SOUND like you're on auto-pilot. Sometimes, if you have a good relationship and reputation with the reporter, he/she has the human decency to forgive you - but you always get blasted in print. And you always lose a little cred with your reporter. But Palin and Team Palin don't care, or at least they don't look like they care. RUDE!

When I give Phoebe Cats a special treat, like canned salmon food, she gets all hunter-like, hovering over the dish and looking at me out of the corner of her eye. Then, when she's done, she walks around like she's taken down the big game. Like she's saying, "Yeah, that's right. I ate it. So what? What are you looking at?" And then she sleeps for 3 hours.

Men stand more than women on the subway. It's the last refuge of chivarly.

OMG Orrin Hatch is STILL in the Senate? Holy sweet baby Jesus. At least we now have Sessions from ALABAMA to add character and accent. (and shout out to Dick Durbin from ILL! Homies say hey!)

Ok - I'm liking Sotomayor. And I like to pronounce it "SOTO May-er," like it's Jewish. Ish.

Candy Crowley on CNN is losing major weight and is looking GOOD. Shout out!

I'm wondering how long I should keep my Twitter avatar shaded in green for Freedom in Iran... How long should mourning be for freedom of speech? Maybe I'll be the last to go non-green. That fits because I'm lazy and idealistic.

The Co-op Board asked me to join the Board. That's kind of cool, right?

I already am

2009-07-06T23:30:00.002-04:00

I *am* the 40-year-old my 30-year-old self wanted me to be.
I live in New York. I'm going PR for a major airline. I own my apartment.
Now that I think about it, I'm exceeding my 20-year-old self's expectations.
(note: I never NEVER expected to be married, let alone have kids - so on that score I'm even)

So now I'm 40, having exceeded my wildest expectations, and I'm thinking, What do I want for my 60-year-old self?

Whoa.

So here goes:

Unless I hit the lottery (again - only literally this time), I'm thinking I want to run a little business by the beach. Or in the mountains. Somewhere off the grid. Except I want internet. And the little business?

> Could be a little cafe.
> Could be a B&B.
> Could be I just save every penny I make an retire without needing to work!

Ok - so I've always thought I'd end up in Italy, but lately, I'm thinking Central or South America. OMG I could retire now on my savings for 2 years and figure out what I want to do if I went to Latin America. (Nevermind the frigging politics in Hondorus, ok?)

So I have a little project for the next couple of months! First - start traveling the region, then settle on a place. And then: buy real estate.

Yay for projects!

We're not open yet

2009-06-24T15:59:00.006-04:00

Story:
Dateline: My apartment, last Saturday.
Cleaning like a madwoman, and I had to take my laundry in because I was on travel most of the following week. Lugged 30 pounds of laundry - OY! - down the 4 flights of stairs and saw that the sketchy laundromat across the street was open. Rather than walking ALL THE WAY OVER to Ninth Ave (all of 25 feet), I thought, "Screw it." and walked in to Sketchy Laundry and dumped the bag on the floor.
Before I could even really understand what was happening, the Chinese lady had swiped my credit card ($27.70 in case you're wondering). That's when things got interesting:
Me: "Uhm... So I can pick this up tomorrow around noon?"
Her: "WHA? No no no we naht ope~ yet."
Me: "Ok - well that's not going to work. I'll have to take it to the laundry on Ninth."
Her: "But you already pay! Credit card slip already!"
Me: "I'll take cash back."
Her: "Already rung! Already pay! You pick up on Monday."
Me: "No no no - that's not going to work."
Three people walk in to the laundry to pick up their clothes. I tell her to wait on them - I'll wait until they're served. The whole time she's getting their clothes, she's yelling at me:
"Sunday! We're naht open yet!"until finally, as the last person is being served, I turn into George Costanza:
Me: "YES. GOT IT. MY BAD. MY FAULT. Just give me my money back." at which point the other customer looks at me (in my I've-been-cleaning-and-I'm-kind-of-a-mess look) and high tails it outta there.
So now it's just her and me again. She calls the owner.
And this is what it sounded like. Enjoy.

Broke another glass

2009-06-20T19:23:00.002-04:00

What the hell is up with the rash of broken glass in my humble abode lately? Started with a shattered glass while doing dishes about 2 weeks ago. Then another water glass broke - I knocked it with a another plate or something. And then my window shattered into a million little pieces - yes, MY WINDOW - and today, another frigging glass broke while... wait for it... doing the dishes.
I am open to interpretation on this rash of shatterings. Oh - and if you know a good window replacement guy in NYC that will do apartments above the third floor - let me know. Apparently, it's a big freaking deal.
thxbai

music for the quiet times

2009-05-30T23:32:00.002-04:00

Here are some random stupid thoughts. Psychiatrists are welcome to analyze.

love the "Genius" on iTunes. don't love the delay synching to the mother ship when i open iTunes.
i've never really gotten into "Lost."
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix shows up as "Phoenix" on your artist list on iTunes. Loves them.
These allergies are making me sad.
i'm reading "Team of Rivals" as well as "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man."
i think I'm at a cross roads in my life. Only i don't see any road signs.
Phoebe Cats has been very vocal lately.
i think i have an over-developed sense of betrayal.
i absent-mindedly reached for a cigarette today. which scared the living BLEEP out of me. (quit Oct 13 2008)
i keep waiting for my ears to pop but they won't. it's like tinnitus but more like swimmer's ear. in a word, YUCK.

And that about sums it up.

UPDATE! Bring it ON, Losers!

2009-04-16T07:56:00.002-04:00

And you thought the Ashton v CNN twattle was hot... Looks like @usdemocrats is run by a raging lunatic. First- @MHJohnston kinda-sorta retweeted my link about Bad Twitter User!, so he's targeted by the certified krazy that is @usdemocrats. Check out the middle-of-the-night rant from loony tunes, who apparently Simply Cannot Believe that a true Democrat would Even Dare to suggest their editorial use of Twitter was *gasp* BAD.
HILARITY ENSUES!

------
usdemocrats@MHJohnston @SkyWriter012 and carrying soap on a ropeabout 6 hours ago from web in reply to MHJohnston
------
usdemocrats@MHJohnston @SkyWriter012 or maybe republicans are sore cuz they seem to be alot of them recently wearing orange jumpsuitsabout 6 hours ago from web in reply to MHJohnston
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usdemocrats@MHJohnston @SkyWriter012 republicans seem to be a bunch of sore losers who cant accept that being benevolent and not a criminal is properabout 6 hours ago from web in reply to MHJohnston
------
usdemocrats@MHJohnston @SkyWriter012 then change when they realize theyre up the creek without a paddleabout 6 hours ago from web in reply to MHJohnston
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usdemocrats@MHJohnston @SkyWriter012 or maybe they can share how they conceed to getting their party hijacked by criminals and turn a blind eyeabout 6 hours ago from web in reply to MHJohnston
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usdemocrats@MHJohnston @SkyWriter012 keep you entertained and living in fraudulent ignorant blissabout 6 hours ago from web in reply to MHJohnston
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usdemocrats@MHJohnston @SkyWriter012 rather than sharing of info from various departments for coop synergy, maybe you should try and find repub feedsabout 6 hours ago from web in reply to MHJohnston
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usdemocrats@SkyWriter012 republicans typically seem to prefer living in lala land and a world of ignorance and secrecy and defrauding the public..about 6 hours ago from web in reply to SkyWriter012
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Dear @usdemocrats,
I'm a Democrat, you numbnuts. Jesus, all you have to do is read my Twitter feed to see where I fall on the spectrum, but let me save you the trouble; I AM YOUR BASE, ASSHOLE. Do all us Democrats a favor and self-eject from the Twitterverse. You are so lame.
Love,
SkyWriter

Bad Twitter User!

2009-04-15T13:12:00.004-04:00

Twitter is awesome. But now that it's gone mainstream, some accounts are proving that they just don't "get" how Twitter works. Take @usdemocrats, for example. I subscribed because I'm interested in political news. I also happen to be a Democrat. But they treat Twitter like it's a press release distribution channel.
FLAG DOWN ON THE PLAY, @usdemocrats. Issuing 60 or 70 tweets at once is spam. Or twam. Or whatever. So when it's pointed out to you, don't be a douche, k? Great.
This is @usdemocrats response:

usdemocrats

@SkyWriter012 if you prefer, we'll stop informing of important public messages you let us know and we'll unsubscribe your subscription.about 6 hours ago from web in reply to SkyWriter012

FOR THE RECORD, @usdemocrats issued 66 tweets en masse around 0700ET today. (list below, so you can judge for yourself the usefulness of their editorial judgment when it comes to “informing of important public messages.” Jeesh.
ALSO: Any Twitter account that has issued 14k tweets is a little suspect, imho.

- - - -

Here's the list of 66 important public-informing messages @usdemocrats issued this morning at 0700ET:

Minneapolis Press Releases for Federal Bureau of Investigation updated

http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

Cincinnati Press Releases for Federal Bureau of Investigation updated http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

Oklahoma City Press Releases for Federal Bureau of Investigation updated http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

St. Louis Press Releases for Federal Bureau of Investigation updated http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

New Haven Press Releases for Federal Bureau of Investigation updated http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

Cleveland Press Releases for Federal Bureau of Investigation updated http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

The Department of Justice Mission in Iraq for U.S. Department of Justice updated http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

Jacksonville Press Releases for Federal Bureau of Investigation updated http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

Dallas Press Releases for Federal Bureau of Investigation updated http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

DOT Secretary's Blog - Welcome to the Fast Lane for Department of Transportation http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

TRICARE4U "Prompts" Users to Change Passwords http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

EVENT: May 21 in Santa Clara, CA - Technology Controls http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

EVENT: May 19-20 in Santa Clara, CA - Complying with US Export Controls http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

EVENT: May 6-7 in Newport Beach, CA - Complying with US Export Controls http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

EVENT: April 22-23 in Portland, OR - Complying with US Export Controls http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

WB - Women's Bureau - Publications for United States Department of Labor updated http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

Cyber Security Alert SA09-104A: Microsoft Updates for Multiple Vulnerabilities http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

Breaking News for The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives updated http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

Customs Inspector Guilty of Drug Trafficking, Alien Smuggling, and Bribery http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

Today's top Air Force stories posted: http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Trade News http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

New Requirements for Imports of Food Products Containing Small Amounts of Meat or Poultry http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

CBP Rehired Annuitant Announcement http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

U.S. Customs and Border Protection: Trade http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

Online Poll for NASA's Greatest Hits for Earth Begins Today http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

Eight More Counties Qualify for Federal Public Assistance http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

@SkyWriter012 if you prefer, we'll stop informing of important public messages you let us know and we'll unsubscribe your subscription.about 6 hours ago from web in reply to SkyWriter012

Idaho Young Democrats invites you to "National Day of Silence 2009" on Friday, April 17 at 12:00am http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

Deputy Secretary Lute to Visit the Northern Border and Canada http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

VIDEO: Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

VIDEO: American Enterprise Institute Discussion on Maritime Security http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

VIDEO: State Department Press Briefing Tues April 14, 2009 http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

VIDEO:White House Briefing with Press Secretary Robert Gibbs Tues Apr 14 2009 http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

Biden Hosts Conference Calls with Governors and Local Officials to Discuss Recovery Act Implementation, 4/14/09 http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

Fact Sheet - Reaching out to the Cuban people http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

Vice President Biden to Travel to Missouri; Will Highlight Progress of the Recovery Act, Hold Middle Class Task Force Meeting http://pin ...about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

President Obama, VP Joe Biden, Transportation Sec LaHood Announce 2,000th Transportation Project Under Economic Recovery Act http://ping ...about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

Statement by the President on the Rescue of Captain Phillips http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

Statement by the President on the Month of the Military Childhttp://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

“The House Upon a Rock” http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

Reaching Out to the Cuban People http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

WHITE HOUSE: The 2,000th Project http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

Briefing by White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, 4-14-09 http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

Press Briefing on the President's Trip to Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

COMMENTS REQUESTED: The Sikh Coalition v. The U.S Army - Sikhs not allowed to wear turban while serving http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

The Young Democrats of Georgia 2009 State Convention Registration Closing Soon! http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

Cornell University eLab Open House April 24th at 5pm http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

National Cyber Alert System Technical Cyber Security Alert TA09-104A: Microsoft Updates for Multiple Vulnerabilities http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

Today in the Department of Defense, 4/15/2009 http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

VACANCY: Supervisory Program Specialist (Enterprise Performance Analysis), GS-0301-13 FEMA http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

US-CERT Current Activity: US Tax Season and Phishing Scams http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

Homeland Security Leadership Journal for U.S. Department of Homeland Security http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

US-CERT Current Activity: Microsoft Releases April Security Bulletin Summary http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

DoD News Briefing with Col. Volesky from Iraq http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

House Majority Statement on President Obama's Address on the Economy http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

U.S. Department of State eTrace: Internet-based Firearms Tracing and Analysis http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

U.S. Department of State Western Hemisphere Participation in eTrace http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

U.S. Department of State Remarks at the Haiti Donors Conference http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

C-SPAN Programming Information for Tues. 4/14 - Weds. 4/15, 2009 http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

VACANCY: ASST US ATTORNEY (CRIMINAL) US ATTORNEY'S OFFICE DIST OF MD NORTHERN DIVISION (BALTIMORE) ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: 09-MD-12 http:// ...about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

New Attorney Vacancies for U.S. Department of Justice posted http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

U.S. Department of State Remarks With Georgian Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze Before Their Meeting http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

U.S. Department of State : Daily Press Briefing - April 14 http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

NASA Spacecraft Show Three Dimensional Anatomy of a Solar Storm http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

NASA New Space Station Module Name Honors Apollo 11 Anniversary http://ping.fm/s479c about 6 hours ago from Ping.fm

things are changing rapidly

2009-03-27T10:27:00.002-04:00

It's been just short of 100 days for President Obama, and I am still totally, completely in the bag for him. I try to imagine what it's like to work in the White House Communications office.... how completely awesome it is that you have a "client" who not only understands new media, but knows how and when to use it.
I probably would not have pushed for a virtual Town Hall (held yesterday), fearing oversaturation. But this President may not accept the premise of oversaturation - he's everywhere, all of the time. Gotta dig that. But is this level of accessibility sustainable? (If the W.H. Comms office needs extra help - call me!)

I"m pretty good at doing nothing

2009-03-27T09:43:00.003-04:00

I took this week off from work in order to vanquish the chaos from my house, and in between doing real heavy lifting, I discovered I'm pretty good at doing absolutely nothing. I may be the laziest person on the planet. Certainly I'm the laziest person in New York.
I took a great video of Phoebe, though - so I've done one awesome thing this week!

Almost Home

2009-02-25T21:48:00.005-05:00

One step closer...

Hope a few more steps are taken tomorrow, cuz I'm moving in on Friday!

Here's the kitchen. OMG i love the paint color - edgecomb gray (Benjamin Moore). The fridge is still not in, but whatevs.

Look at the pretty microwave/convection oven!

LOOK! It's a terlit! It's the FOURTH terlit! And it's the world's smallest toilet. LOTS of legroom now.
The painters half-assed the burning hot pipe painting but it could be the crappy paint I bought.
I'll have to go over it a couple more times to make it white.

Proof that I own the world's smallest toilet. And the same edgecomb gray in the bathroom - makes it feel serene.

It's the economy, stupid.

2009-02-24T23:44:00.002-05:00

James Carville and George Stephanopoulos kept candidate Clinton on message by reminding themselves the campaign was about the economy. (And two other messages, btw.)

And now we are back there... it's the economy, stupid. Specifically, the pump of credit into the economy needs to be primed.

This reminds me of the melting ice caps, pumping fresh water into the oceans and disrupting the flow of salt water. If the oceanic currents are disrupted, global warming will catapult into E.L.E.:

"...(E)xcessive amounts of freshwater dumped into the North Atlantic could alter seawater density and, in time, affect the flow of the North Atlantic ocean current. (Global warming has boosted freshwater runoff in the form of glacier meltwater and additional precipitation...)." NatGeo

Banks lending money is the economic equivalent. But here's where I stumble: What if the economy is in a re-set mode, where we spend less, save more, rent instead of own, and live within our means going forward? Are we propping up a dying economic model?

Capitalism is intent on its own destruction

2009-02-15T11:20:00.002-05:00

I'm trying to riddle out something someone told me a long time ago: "Capitalism is destructive. It extracts value from things; it doesn't add value."
At the time, I wasn't really interested in having *any* discussion with this person and certainly not a political-economic discussion, but it stuck with me. And it's come back to haunt me lately.

Spurred on by my sister, who is in the financial world, I'm starting to consciously embrace the conspiracy theories that:
1. We (America) are under attack.
2. The genius of this attack is that we think we're doing this to ourselves.
3. Nothing less than the future of democracy is at stake.

Now, I'm not saying I completely agree with the above - I'm just sayin'... it's worth thinking about.

1. We are under attack.
Currency can be a weapon, especially if you can manipulate and devalue it. Say we want to destroy Communism. We have the bomb, they have the bomb - mutally assured destruction. But we could drive the price of oil up (since it's traded in US$) and make them pay more. We could do a lot of things to stop or interrupt the flow of capital in and out of Communist countries.

2. The genius of this attack is that we think we're doing this to ourselves.
We are primed to hate Wall Street and money-bag CEOs. It's their fault, right? Oh yeah - and predatory lenders, too. But what about the janitor who took out a $500,000 mortgage? Isn't he to blame, too, for borrowing more than he could reasonably afford?
This is where the attack, if there is one, is absolute genius. Because maybe Capitalism is intent on its own destruction after all? If you live in a Capitalist environment, it's just downright patriotic to want the house, the car, the college for your kids, the annual vacation to Orlando, and all the knick knacks from QVC you can buy.
But what if this is just some ultimate form of jujitsu, where our weaknesses are being used against us? Add a measure of currency manipulation and viola!

3. Nothing less than the future of democracy is at stake.
Maybe this is a good time to remind folks that democracy and capitalism are separate things. We can have democracy without capitalism. We'll have a thousand little city-states, but we'll have democracy.
Except we don't have democracy now. We have a republic. So maybe the city-states will be a little bigger. Let's say, for the sake of discussion, we separate into countries along state lines.
But why are we even talking about the dissolution of the union? Well - without capitalism driving our economy, we won't have a good reason to remain a union. Why would the monied Coasts support the poor South or Midwest? Why should the South help support the cold North in the winter by sending fruit and veg? We're going to hoard what we have and defend it.
In this post-democratic USA, I see the Madison Avenue American Spirit rising up to our own version of mutually assured destructions. Austin will want to secede from Texas. Vermont won't have a government at all, and will be ripe for plunder. Montana will be one big unibomber nation - but you just KNOW they're going to survive. They've been practicing for this forever.

Man, this would make a great novel. Too bad it may actually be happening.

terlit (redux)

2009-01-30T21:31:00.002-05:00

See that blue pipe? It's one million degrees when the radiator heat goes on. Which is every five minutes.

See the toilet? It's about 2.5 inches away from the Burning Pipe.

So...

I'm shopping for another toilet.

And that's all I'm gonna say about that.

...except one more thing:

In order to install a round-front toilet for a 12-inch rough out that does not extend more than 25 inches from the wall, I had to do have this done to the new tile to plumb for a tank-and-bowl do-hicky. Bye bye flushometer!

Nice vanity, though, right?

the terlit story

2009-01-09T21:14:00.002-05:00

I ordered a toilet. It came. Cracked.

They took it back.

I ordered a replacement. From a sketchy place in Midtown.

I spoke in code. Per instructions.

The toilet came. Cracked.

They took it back.

I ordered another toilet.

It came.

Not cracked.

But the wrong color.

I'm keeping it.

And that's the story of the toilet.

it's coming together

2009-01-03T19:53:00.006-05:00

This is all about the pics, folks.

It's pretty amazing!

2008-12-21T16:06:00.008-05:00

Renovation officially commenced four days after I threatened legal action and started asking for a refund.
Closed on property Sept. 19 (national talk like a pirate day)
Demolition began Dec. 16.
Here's proof! Instead of before/after pics, I am presenting before/during pics.

Here's the gnome kitchen... I can't believe it actually looks SMALLER with the cabinets and everything out of the room.

Here's the main room (1). Home Depot decided to deliver all of the materials BEFORE demolition commenced. Brilliant! (so f'ing stupid I can't begin to tell you.)
and #2:
The original floor (covered up by 4 or 5 other floors) is probably gorgeous, but would never survive a refinishing. It was laid in 1902 and from what I could tell, it looked like thin-strip hardwood set horizontally. I'm having a leveler set and then wide-plank espresso stained hickory laid, vertically.

And now, for the grand finale! The haz mat room known as the bathroom!

The funky, original bathtub (from 1902!) was hauled off... I can only imagine how much it weighed. The drain stopper was located OUTSIDE of the tub - it looked like a random pipe sticking about a foot and a half out of the floor next to the top of the tub, with a complicated catch at the top that you had to pull up and somehow reverse latch in order for the water to collect in the tub. The original tub was really deep, and sometime in the 40s, Mary (previous owner) added a shower head. Now, you'd think that you'd either connect the shower head pipes to the bathtub pipes, but that was impossible (apparently). So next best thing (you'd think) would be to install the hot/cold on/off handles at, oh I don't know... counter height, right?
Not in this case. The shower handles were installed DIRECTLY above the bathtub handles. Whatever.
So the pipes are in pretty bad shape, but that's all part of the job as far as I'm concerned.

The contractor told me he has 2 full crews on the job until it's done, because the job's been so botched up from the start. That's nice to hear, but I don't believe it for a second. Although last Wednesday, I stopped by around 10pm and the plumber and one assistant were still there, fixing a "big problem" with the new bathtub. I didn't even ask what the problem was. (But to be fair to me, I *did* go get them Starbucks venti's and sammys.)

I have to price new windows and kitchen appliances and I feel what's left of my money slipping away, but somewhere deep down, lurking, is the start of some excitement! Quickly overwhelmed by a feeling of dread that my beloved bedroom furniture (which is black) will blend right into the espresso flooring.

later

vote

2008-11-04T06:05:00.003-05:00

I registered to vote by downloading the form from Rock the Vote's website, and sent it in on Oct. 8. Rock the Vote told me to send it to Albany - the state board of elections. Then they kindly told me via email that there was some trouble brewing - a combination of massive volume, plus it was all being sent to the Albany office. Normally, registration forms are sent to the county board of elections office for local processing.
So I'm not *technically* registered to vote. I'm not "in the book." Which means, I guess, that I'm not listed on the voter rolls for my polling place. I have to ask for a provisional ballot, which will be very likely thrown out when they reconcile the votes after 9pm. If my name still isn't "in the book" by then, my vote is thrown away.
So with this background, I started thinking that I would just skip voting, since NY is going blue anyway. Who needs my vote?
But this morning, I woke up at 5:30am. Polls open at 6am. I'm going to vote before work. And since I have a 9am meeting, I want to do it before work. Local TV is showing extremely long lines at UES polling places.
I'm going to cast my ballot, despite the very strong chances it's going to be thrown away, because it's fun to be a participant in history. It's kind of cool. I want to trade experience stories with my friends at work... "OMG, the election judge was KRAZY..." "...I had to wait 2 hours!..." "...It was no problem, except for the homeless man who thought it was the methadone line."
So.... I'm off to vote. Yay democracy!

Here's the Rock the Vote warning email that something might be "up":

Hi everyone,
Thanks to all of you who checked your registration status in NY State and sent us an update. We were appalled when we learned that the state of New York was so far behind in processing all the registration forms they received, but with your help, we’ll do everything we can to make sure each of you and really, all new voters, get on the voter rolls and are able to vote in November.
Here is the latest:
After lots of conversations with lawyers today, I have learned that there was a huge backlog of data-entering the registration forms at the county level in NY, but as of Thursday the 23rd at 9:30pm the last form in New York County was supposedly entered, and the other counties should be caught up as well!
I really want to believe this, but our votes are too important to leave to chance. So, here is what we need you to do:
1—CALL THE COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS ASAP. If you turned in a registration form, you should be in your county database now. The person answering the phone can look you up and confirm that you are in fact registered. There is a lag between the county database and the public voter look-up on the website, so you need to call. Here is the list of phone numbers: http://www.elections.state.ny.us/CountyBoards.html
2—LET US KNOW THE RESULTS. Please email vote@rockthevote.com and let us know if you are still NOT on the voter rolls according to the county. This will allow us to identify any problems by county, as well as follow up on your status and ensure you can vote. When you email us, please put your COUNTY as the subject of the email.
If you sent your completed registration form in to a NY State elections office by October 10th, you will be able to vote on Election Day. We'll help make sure of it.
Thanks,
Heather & the Rock the Vote team
P.S. I am emailing all of you because you used Rock the Vote to get your voter registration form. But this backlog in processing registration forms affects all new registrants in NYS. Feel free to pass this message along to others you know who might be having similar problems--we'll help them too.

kitchen redux

2008-10-30T19:32:00.002-04:00

So... a slight change in the kitchen design. Instead of the ultra modern blazing white glossy laminate cabinets, I'm going with biscuit-colored cabinets and light capri granite countertop and backsplash. It's leaning French Country rather than Warhol. This was a cost-driven change, and I'm pretty happy with it. I always had my doubts about that blazing white glossy character.

spinning the color wheel

2008-10-15T13:16:00.003-04:00

For the kitchen walls:

Saffron/orange-ish. Inspired by The Gates by Christoph.

The rest of the kitchen is glossy blazing white, matte dark grey countertop and backsplash and espresso-stained hardwood.

For the bathroom:

watery lightest jade possible. In fact, the background color of this pic is closer to what I'm thinking than the actual earring color.

totally european...

2008-10-11T09:46:00.002-04:00

I've decided against a 2-burner cooktop, and I'm going with an induction system instead. There are portable induction hotplates available (I purchased one at PC Richards for $99) that you can put away when not in use, leaving the valuable counterspace open.
The problem with a 2-burner cooktop is that I would have to place it on top of the under-counter refrigerator, and would have to raise the burners 3-4 inches above the countertop in order to separate the heating elements from the fridge. And I have to place the burners 4 inches (minimum) away from the wall, which would place it square in the middle of the only open space, effectively cutting in half the open countertop space. Yuck.
The place is still wired for gas, so any future owners could opt to reinstall a gas oven/cooktop.
I've been reading up on induction systems and it doesn't look too bad.
And from what the dude at PC Richards told me, induction is "very European." (And if I lived in Europe I would fit right in... but is New York ready for induction?)

the heart of the home... (whatever)

2008-10-10T19:56:00.002-04:00

The kitchen is the heart of the home.

Not in my new place.

In my new apartment, the kitchen is a closet. See the picture here? That's it - the whole thing.

So here's the plan:
Switch the sick to the right side (by the window). Put in an under-counter refrigerator on the other side. No range or oven - install a convection/microwave on the left side, mounted under new cabinets.

Countertop & backsplash: dark grey, white-veined granite.

Cabinets: high gloss white sleek, no hardware.

The floors will be the espresso-stained wide plank hickory hardwood.

I have no idea what to paint the walls... something kind of neutral but not white-white.

i love whiteboards

2008-10-07T22:20:00.003-04:00

I love whiteboards. I'm gearing up my 2009 communication plans and wanted to wipe my current board clean, but we still have a couple of months left in 08 to finalize.

So I took this pic. This 2008 plan was first put up on the board in March, and I'm pretty happy that we kept to it for the most part. Some things have moved dates, some things we didn't do... but overall, it held up quite well.

A quick tour of the fun parts:

Far left side, middle of the board - guesses on where oil would go. Joe B won with a guess of $142. I came in second with $137.

Some lame ass (MORGAN?? ALEX??) wrote in brown at the very top "I am the ruler of this board! Bring me your finest wine and cheeses!"

Top of board, right of center, blue marker: "Living the F-ing dream, one barrel at a time!" Yes, oil dominated most of our summer discussions. Thank you Rob M.

And best quote of the year goes to Fiona (lower right quandrant): "You can never say in Illinois (that) you never saw it coming." Fiona, astounded at how frigging flat the Midwest is.

And keeping us humble, middle of the board, right of center: "Are you on the bus, or do we have to throw you under the bus?"

the kitchen....

2008-10-06T18:01:00.002-04:00

The kitchen is a mess. A hot tranny mess.
Yup - this is it. The whole thing. Several great ideas to renovate, including going with a 2-burner cooktop instead of a range and having an under-counter fridge under the cooktop. (Back to the college dorm, anyone?)
I'll have to rip out the cabinets and install a microwave/convection oven. This is going to be a problem because those cabinets are only 12 inches deep. The microwave will jut out quite a bit. I guess I can match the depth below but I'm not sure if that's going to make any difference whatsoever.
Tried switching the sink and cooktop and extending a narrow countertop (12 inches) along the long wall, but that's not going to work either. I'll have to go with narrow plate racks along that wall and some kind of open pantry shelves or something. I'll have more storage above the microwave but I just realized I don't have to keep any of my oven-pots and pans. Just my sauce pans for the cooktop. So (one) problem solved!

choices, choices

2008-10-04T10:57:00.006-04:00

I started making some choices for the renovation yesterday. Should've done this 2 weeks ago but the designer was "too busy" that day. More on her later.

So first up: The bathroom. Gut reno, but keeping the tub.

before pics show the grossness. Blue-sky paint (super thick, btw - it must have been from the 70s. I remember that gloopy thick paint. It may have to be sand-blasted off. The floor has the iconic NYC pattern from the 30s. Wall tile is exactly the perfect shade of bland.

The vanity is unfortunately going to be a casualty of this reno. It was purchased brand-new when the owner's estate started upgrading the place for sale a couple of years ago, and has never self-actualized. And god willing, it never will.

Note also the dual-controls for the tub and shower faucets. I have to wonder why the shower head controls were placed so low. If you're going to the trouble of having dual controls, why not put the shower controls higher? No matter... I'm going with a single control.

On to the choices:

I was planning on getting a vanity for storage, but I can't find the perfect one. I'm starting to lean toward a pedastal sink, something with ledge-sides. I don't like the simple-rim ones, but I don't like the ornate architectural ledges either. Something simple and blocky. Straight lines. You could say I'm pretty square.

....

Now... on to the designer. You could say we have a client relationship problem. We could have done all of the choices when I walked in to the store (to be unnamed to protect their otherwise stellar reputation), but she was "too busy" that day. The contractor measured the space 10 days ago - she still hasn't gotten the measurements. (Her first response: "I don't have email." Which I then re-translated to her as "You mean you haven't received the email yet?" and she said "Yes - that's what I said.")

I can't understand a damn word she says, and the liberal in me (the dying-on-the-inside liberal in me) is committed to getting this done with her as proof of my committement to diversity. But... I have to say... it's getting harder and harder. She's a pain in the ass. That transcends diversity, in my opinion.

She wanted to start with kitchen options, and I told her (after a controlled rant about time-is-money and you have no respect for my time) that the kitchen is the last thing I care about. I need the place habitable by the end of October. And by "end of October" I mean the 25th because then I have to move within a 5-day window. Classic line: "Can you guarantee it's going to be done by then?" No answer. Because... wait for it.. she doesn't have the measurements, and doesn't know how much material to order!

Whatevs.

I also chose wide-plank hickory hardwood in an espresso stain for the main room, hall and kitchen. Still choosing the specific wall colors - but I'm going to go with a brownish khaki on the walls. Overall palette will be brown khaki, black accents and white trim.

Comments are welcome!

The Debate is ON like Donkey KONG!

2008-10-02T19:12:00.002-04:00

Must follow:
Fake Sarah Palin Twitter feed
Fake Joe Biden Twitter feed

renovations begin in 3, 2, 1...

2008-10-01T16:32:00.004-04:00

It's been a while. Things have changed. I'm a homeowner again. And I have renovation dreams. Well, really more like renovation requirements.

The new apartment (as opposed to The Old Apartment by Bare Naked Ladies) is a postage stamp of a place in Hell's Kitchen. The main room (pictured right) is roughly 12x16 feet. The things on the windows are a crude security measure. Even though it's on the fourth floor, you can't be too same. (Broken broom handles taped to the glass, jimmying the window.)

The floor is laminate parquet tile (gross) and the subfloor is hopefully in good shape, though it does bow in the middle about an inch.

I feared the walls would require all new drywall - but turns out they're plaster and only need a good chemical wash.

BACKSTORY: Legend has it that the owner (let's call her Mary) lived there happily since the 40s. She took ill in the early 90s and moved to Florida, where she passed away in 2001 or 02. The apartment had been wrapped up in the estate settlement since then, and had actually been close to selling about 3 years ago. Mary's family went so far as to buy a new toilet and sink/vanity for the bathroom, but hadn't even had time to install it before the seller backed out of the deal. So Mary's family just stopped updating the place.

... well... somehow, a SQUATTER found his way in and made himself a nice home there, even bringing in a full size refrigerator (thoughtfully placing it in the main room). But there was no running water (the sink having never been hooked up). That didn't stop him from using the toilet, though. yuck.

So I have to get HazMat in to clean the place.

And the funny thing is: I've had to hire HazMat before! Story to come....

A Socialist, a Nihilist and a Capitalist Have Christmas Together...

2006-12-26T22:38:00.000-05:00

Dad and Tundra Kat joined me in NYC for Christmas this year. It was a perfect holiday - a perfect Christmas in New York, too. We went to Tavern on the Green, saw the Rockettes, and had a drink at Grand Central Station (and saw the light show there). We walked FOREVER and I think we saw the Tree at Rock Center about four times.
The sidewalks were extraordinarily crowded. I went to Chicago last year for Christmas, so I didn't get the full NY effect, but holy God. We were by Sak's heading back to my apartment - I was following Dad, Tundra Kat was following me, and I slipped or tripped or bobbled or whatever, and the crowd kept me upright. Tundra caught my look - which read "Jesus, this must be what the Haaj is like!"
I'll leave it to y'all to figure out who's who - the Socialist, the Nihilist, and the Capitalist. :-)

Three Days of the Condor

2006-09-02T13:16:00.000-04:00

HBO's Signature Channel is showing "Three Days of the Condor" - a classic movie of all time, but made even more eerie and relevant today, just days before the fifth anniversary of 9/11. It's loaded with super-science of the '70s, including my personal favorites of old-timely wire tapping, where you actually had to tap into phone wires with a Bell line worker's hand-held plug-in phone, with that frigging rotary dial on the backside of the ear piece. He uses a cassette player to record the tone of a call placed from the assassin's phone, and calls in to Langley to get the digits. Then he calls another Langley office and gives the secret passcode to get the address for the number.
All of which today takes about .001 seconds, and is entirely electronic, and doesn't see the light of an analyst's eyeballs until or unless key words are actually muttered into the line. I won't repeat the key words here for fear Langley computers will deem me a "person of interest."
In another scene, Robert Redford breaks in to a CIA official's home and wakes him up by... you guessed it... cranking the Hi-Fi credenza stereo. C L A S S I C.
Some things are timeless. Cliff Robertson's massive comb-over is a contender for The Donald's ridiculous hair cap. Also timeless: Robert Redford uncovers a plot to invade the Middle East. Deja vu all over again.
Sadly, the "shit hits the fan" moment in the movie is when Redford tells Robertson that he gave the story to the New York Times. I guess that meant something in 1975. Although even then, Robertson implies that the power of the paper can be corrupted, and they may not print the story. It's interesting that the movie ends before you know if the story gets out. I guess people back then were just starting to wonder if the media really served the public trust or not. No such dilemma today.

As "liberal" became a bad word for Democrats, and "Christian" is becoming a bad word for Repulicans, will "consipiracy theory" become good words for the general public?

The times, they are a-changing.

The Italy Dream Continues

2006-06-13T23:21:00.000-04:00

So I'm talking to one of our corporate lawyers today about random things (he's in charge of our document retention program, so 90% of our conversation by necessity has to morph into other things just to Retain Our Sanity)... and he has family in Italy, so we naturally started talking about restaurants in Rome that I *must* try. I'm totally game.
My dream.. my goal is to live in Italy some day. I love Italy -and I will live in Rome. I want a little flat close to the Spanish Steps and I want to lead English-speaking tours of the antiquity sites. I want to make enough money for food - I hope to save and invest enough money now to buy the flat and maybe fly home once a year.
Anyway... the working-in-Italy sites are pretty serious. It's not so easy just landing in Rome and getting a job. Whatever. I will do it. Unless I get a better offer, of course. But this year I will learn Italian. Getting the lawyer from Doc Retention to teach me the right pronunciation of Trastevere. (I used to say TRAS TEV ER E but it's really TRAS TE VER E - significant diff!)

I love walking the streets of Rome and getting lost in the maze and finding a store-front restaurant where you can have a 3 course meal for $25. With a caraffe of wine, too.
And I love the wine. You can order "vino rosa" by the glass at an outdoor table by the Piazza Navona for $4 and sit forever, watching the drama of life and, if you're lucky, chatting about it with someone next to you that doesn't need the backstory of what you're talking about (i.e. "Check it out - she is so Kelly." or "Did you know that the fountain has only one drain? It's in the fish's mouth - at the foot of Poisedan... oh wait, I already told you that."

So I'm thinking that I need to go back to Rome for a little visit. Just a week. Or so. Maybe 10 days.

But before Dad moves back to the Philippines (where he spent 2.25 years as a Peace Corps Volunteer), maybe I should visit Isreal with him. I've never been - he's never been - so maybe we should go and be agnostic together. I would love to see the sites from the Bible... I think anyone with a religious background and appreciation for the cultural history would like that.

I know I would.

So two weeks in Isreal in the fall! Yay! Travel plans resolved. For now. Before I move to Rome.

6-6-06

2006-06-07T07:14:00.000-04:00

Quote from CNN's "American Morning" today, on the hype that wasn't 6-6-06:
"Some people bet the world would end. It didn't!"
...
That's what I call "reporting the news."
...
How would you collect on that bet, anyway? And why can't I find the guy who would bet everything he owns that the world would end on 6-6-06? Damn.

Just what you need when you're having a low job satisfaction day...

2006-06-05T23:56:00.000-04:00

I wrote my friend Russ today about my Low Job Satisfaction (a temporary condition). I want to throw in the towel and go hitch-hiking in Europe. He's a genius. Here's what he wrote back:

I understand the job satisfaction issues. Look at it this way, let's suppose you went hitchhiking in Europe. At some point, you would sit down on some bench in France and look around you. And it would all hit you at once...
"Wait a minute. Everywhere I go, there's nothing but old buildings made out of old gray stone. Old gray stone here...old gray stone there. Old fountains not able to shoot water 100 feet in the air synchronized to music. Old churches not tolerant of Betsy (friend #1) and Lindsay's (friend #1's former girlfriend) lifestyle. Old art that's not even painted on bridge overpasses for everyone to see. Old people talking old languages that don't get your hip urban slang. Old gray cobblestone streets too narrow for shiny new SUVs. F Europe! And another thing...why the hell am I lugging all my crap around on my back to see all this old gray stuff? There are perfectly good car services at home to drive me and my crap wherever I want. And where are the Puerto Rican parades? I can't even get a damn hot dog or a hot pretzel from a cart around here! All this stinky European cheese has me constipated, and there's no Thai restaurant on every corner to help get things moving again. Where the hell are the knock-off handbags and sunglasses? I'm not paying four hundred Euros for a real Prada bag! What are you looking at Frenchie? I can talk out loud all I want! Go take a shower! And tell your girlfriend to shave her legs! She looks like a damn man. What? She is a man? If you're a man, why are you wearing a thong in a public park? Ohhhhh, because 'zat's perfectly naturale.' Of course! Where I come from you'd get your ass beat for that...and I'd laugh!" It's at this point the policia would ask you to take it easy. You would take a certain amount of pride in knowing you could whip that cop's ass though, him being such a Euro Nancy Boy. And then your eyes would glaze over as you smiled and thought about that time you saw a cop whip the shit out of those three homeless guys in Central Park with a Maglight just because they were sleeping too close to the restaurant's patio. And you'd be searching that backpack for that friggin' Eurorail pass to get you back to the airport so you could get back where you belong.
Aaaaaaaaand, scene.
Thank you.

Post-Enron...

2006-05-29T18:45:00.000-04:00

I am going to save my New York Times edition covering the convinction of Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. Had it been any other way, I would have burned all coverage and probably blown up my TV.
Read "Conspiracy of Fools" by Kurt Eichenwald. One of my favorite parts is the blasting of so-called whistle-blower Sherron Watkins. She wrote a memo about the funky accounting - I'll give her that much - but she was drinking heartily from the Enron well. She and everyone else in that lousy cesspool of a company were in it for themselves only. Now she's a motivational speaker. Can we all just stop buying tickets to Motivational Seminars, please? Send them to the island of misfits where they belong.
Another great part of the story Eichenwald tells is that, contrary to urban myth, Enron clones did not continue to buy shares in the company because Lay told them to (even while he was dumping his own shares to cover his massive personal financial mess). No - Enron Idiots were buying shares of their company because that's what Enron Idiots did - of course the stock would bounce back. After those nasty people at the Wall Street Journal stopped reporting on them.
Even with these two Robin Hood-ish storylines bashes, the story of Enron is so compelling. Rough Riders in the 21st Century - sheparding the new century in, for that matter - perhaps setting the stage for what's to come.
And then came WestJet. The start-up airline based in Western Canada finally stood up and admitted its actions regarding corporate espionage against Air Canada was "unethical and unacceptable." A couple of years late, and not enough leadership change, but it's something. At least they are clearing the air. And donating C$10 million to charity in both WestJet's and Air Canada's name.

My Love Affair with Snapple

2006-05-28T20:10:00.000-04:00

I love Snapple. It's everywhere in NYC. My absolute favorite Snapple is Diet Lime Green Tea. I put my happy face on when I see it in stores and pizza joints. I don't see it nearly enough, so hello? Snapple? Are you listening? Truck this stuff IN, baby!

Buy Insurance

2006-03-15T00:58:00.000-05:00

Do not walk through this life without insurance.

Insure your life, your health, your car, your house. Insure yourself against short term disability. Hell, insure yourself against long term disability. Insure yourself against stupid purchases by purchasing everything at Neiman Marcus - they'll take anything back. Even stuff they don't sell. (Ever hear the story of some lame-ass who returned snow tires at Neiman Marcus? He got a credit. They don't sell snow tires.)

Insure yourself from boredom by traveling. Insure yourself from stupid people by not being one. Insure yourself from prejudice by opening your heart and mind to tolerance. Insure yourself from crappy service by being a nice patron. (Being a regular doesn't hurt, either.)

Insurance is a hedge against bad luck, downward market trends, bad luck, hateful people, bad luck and poor investments.

Insurance is your "get out of jail free" card - it's your "extra recess period" instead of "study hall" (Dad- never told you about this, but it happened on your watch) - it's your way of sayin' to the man: "F you - I got insurance, and they will kick your ass."

No lesson is learned without pain. I have pain. I have no insurance. Specifically, I have no insurance for the disaster I have experienced. Yet my disaster has given opportunity to my company to be even more upstanding and relevant and meaningful in my life. So it's all good.

'Cept for that damn insurance.

Go get yourself some.

Attitude is Everything

2006-01-09T22:25:00.000-05:00

One of Dad's frequently annoying all-encompassing statements was, and possibly still is, "Attitude is Everything." I still roll my eyes when I hear it - even if the voice saying it is in my head.
One of the troubles at work is about attitude. Leaders think they need to *do* more than they *decide*. I say: Wrong! (Or as my brother would say to an Asian-American: "You're not right, you're Wong!" - and you politically correct can shove it...)
One of the troubles I am personally having is that I'm not fully experiencing the New York Experience. I work, I come home, I eat a tasty sandwich and I watch TV... while... working. I have this beautiful energetic city all around me and it's little more than a background to the life I imported from Atlanta. I should really work on making a New York life. The thing about New York is that it makes you start to want. You start to think, "I really should be *doing* something with my life." Like making a living working for a really cool company in the world's capital isn't enough. I swear, I'm starting to think Roseanne has a better sitcom life than my real one. I almost said "At least she's married" but the last thing I want is to be married. Especially to Dan Connors. Nice guy... but I don't want to live in Lanford.
So at least I'm already harboring secret plans for the day I *leave* the City. I'm thinking: Small New England town, small business in the city square, making enough to pay the cable bill and order from my favorite catalogs, living a secret life as a best-selling author who runs into the man of her dreams on the side of the road. I help him change a flat tire. Or he helps me change a flat tire. All I know is that one of us drives a beat-up Ford truck. I have no idea where that comes from.

Culture Charts and other Random Bits

2005-12-20T16:15:00.000-05:00

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.

Between Worlds

2005-12-15T23:50:00.000-05:00

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.

Road to Hell...

2005-11-25T15:30:00.000-05:00

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.

Disaster Flicks

2005-11-06T22:47:00.000-05:00

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.

(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...

Woof

2005-11-03T18:21:00.000-05:00

If I were a dog:

gone2thedogs.com

--------------
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.

I Am Not A Crook

2005-10-14T22:36:00.000-04:00

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.

My iPod Knows Me...

2005-10-04T20:54:00.000-04:00

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.

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.

I totally won Word of the Day today

2005-09-20T21:42:00.000-04:00

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?

Getting Your S*** Together, Part II

2005-09-15T20:33:00.000-04:00

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.

Signs of Life Returning

2005-09-14T23:31:00.000-04:00

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!

The WTC Lights are On

2005-09-11T19:51:00.000-04:00

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

2005-09-11T09:49:00.000-04:00

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.

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.

Getting your S*** together

2005-09-09T00:25:00.000-04:00

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:

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.

Hood winked

2005-09-07T21:24:00.000-04:00

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."

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

2005-09-07T13:30:00.000-04:00

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.

Breakdown

2005-09-05T18:09:00.000-04:00

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.