I find myself thinking a lot about terrorism lately as if I’m going to solve the problem. The way we’re going about it isn’t working, and it doesn’t even make sense. It’s like the 58-year old calling the teenager sick for getting whacked out over their affair. He takes no responsibility for her state and will further destroy her in his “defense.”
I think there most definitely is a problem. As we near doubling our population, our world grows increasingly smaller and I for one don’t want the human race to go out in a hail of gunfire. It’s romantic in the movies but in real life, it’s just sad if we can’t find a way to get along. But real change requires understanding, work and sacrifice; it’s not just a matter of pushing someone back in line and telling them to shut up. If we wanted to make an impact on those who finance Al-Qaeda, we should have stopped the flow of money. Immediately. Stop driving cars if we have to and spend the billions of dollars being spent on the war to float the economy.
My family went overseas for the first time in 1984. I was just about to start high school when I met my English family. My cousins, a couple of years younger than me, wanted nothing more than to go to America. They thought it was the coolest place on earth. Twenty something years later, the Brits no longer love America and after decades of being our biggest fans outside of ourselves, they don’t even like Americans anymore. They think we’re ignorant, selfish, stupid and lazy and our President is all the proof they need.
When my friend was visiting from London, we were talking about something and I said, “people always think they’re doing the right thing.” I said that even George Bush thinks he’s doing the right thing. “Really,” he asked, “because I think he’s just taking a piss.” He referenced the comments he makes and how flippant and arrogant they are, how it seems he just doesn’t even care. I was too embarrassed to admit that I don’t listen to him anymore and because, frankly, it's difficult to imagine the magnitude of lying and deceit if he knows what he's doing.
I read an article in the New York Times a while back about plastic surgery in Iran. It’s so prevalent, apparently, that even men now are getting multiple surgeries done: nose jobs, chin implants, and cheek implants. A Persian friend of mine commented on it during her last trip there. She said every woman had a nose job and no one was the least bit bothered by a girl with bandages and bruises. There was a photo in the article of a woman, a beautiful woman, whose whole family has had a nose job. She didn’t even look Persian, she looked like a generic white woman. It was sad.
If I were Iranian, I think I would be livid. I would be outraged by the idea of a whole culture changing what makes them unique, succumbing to the idea that there is an ideal beauty, and that it is Western. I don’t want to live in an American world. Droves of people move here from other countries, looking for a better life, but they are all loyal to their homeland, their culture, their language, their food, their music, and their country. What would America be without that diversity?
Even Canada, our neighbors to the north, and the country that is probably most like ours in language, culture and history, is sensitive to not becoming Americanized and losing their identity. It’s easy then to imagine how massively offensive and threatening the export of our culture is to countries that share none of those things with us. Our culture isn’t just television and clothes. It’s language, policy, business, and yes, even our ideals. Just because we say something is important, doesn’t make it so. It has to appeal in a way that’s relevant and it has to be translated.
I remember reading in college about the family planning movement in Bangladesh. It was a critical program designed to reduce the poverty by decreasing the birthrate but it would require female empowerment, something just as new and delicate. While Western organizations could provide support, education and resources, it was essential that the actual outreach be done by local Bangladeshi women. Women who understood the culture and what they were up against but also, why it would work. And it did. Between 1975 and 1994, the fertility rate dropped from 6.3 to 3.3 and is now at 3 (children per family).
My mom told me a disturbing story that she read in the paper. The government of the Dominican Republic, in an effort to make their country more appealing to tourists, is cutting down hundred-year old shade trees that line their streets and replacing them with palm trees. The idea is that the tourists expect palm trees in a tropical country and they're trying to justify this massacre by saying the trees they're chopping are non-native. Meanwhile, the poor residents lose shade, cooler temperatures, fresh air and oxygen that these trees create, in addition to their history and the beauty of their town. Once again, a whole country suffers in the pursuit of a false ideal.
Europe, perhaps because of its smaller size, has always been much more concerned about keeping things clean, quiet and efficient, than the United States. In Sweden, apartment buildings have grass on the roof to contribute oxygen to the air and help insulate. In Britain, gas lawn mowers have been made illegal because of the noise and everyone uses nearly-silent electric mowers. In Paris, an electric train and public bicycles provide everyone with clean, quiet and efficient transportation. The cars are smaller, the houses are smaller, appliances are compact, and it’s always been like that.
Yet they have managed to mind their own business when it comes to America’s disgusting obsession with size and waste. Our compact cars of the same make and model are larger than their European counterparts and use more gas. But most of us aren’t even trying to be fuel-efficient. Our toilets use too much water, our water heaters heat water all day so it’s hot for the half hour that we need it, our food is too big and we throw most of it away. And yet, you don’t hear them telling us how we should live, though I wish they would. It's only a matter of time before the rest of the world starts imposing their views on us.
In the real world, we can’t force an employer to want to hire us, we can’t force a person to fall in love with us, we can’t force our children to be what we want them to be, and we can’t force people to buy our products. So why do we think we can force people to share our beliefs? The only thing we can do is make ourselves the best we can be and hope to be liked for who we really are. In marketing, we focus on making sure the product is something that people want and then making it relevant. If we want to sell democracy and freedom, we first have to practice what we preach and then find a way to make it something the rest of the world wants to buy.
I liken the "War on Terror" to the "War on Drugs," a similarly misguided attempt that failed spectacularly, increasing drug use, increasing drug profits and otherwise making the unwanted behavior more attractive and rewarding. The U.S. government allowed or otherwise participated in drug smuggling in order to fund other covert operations, no doubt justified by saying the actions were "good for the American people." Meanwhile, this country waged war on its own citizens. The land of "freedom lovers" has more people in prison than any country in the world, and nearly a quarter are there on drug charges.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
Grazing goats, stolen bait and a pedophile
I'm thinking about creating a regular post called "What's wrong with people?" It's a phrase I use (probably way too) often when I just don't know what else to say. People do such stupid and horrible things that can't be explained by any kind of logic. Things that just make you think there isn't enough love in the world if these people don't know what's wrong with their actions.
Here are three examples that prompted the phrase this weekend:
1) While visiting the Bay Area this weekend, a guy in a bar (who I think was trying to hit on me) told me this story: A herd of goats corralled after a hard days' work trimming the grass in Oakland to prevent fires (a technique used all over including around the Getty Center in L.A.) was shot at in the night by an unknown assailant. Someone shot and KILLED 15 little goats while they were penned up. Some of the bodies were mutilated although police don't know if it was from the shooter or wild animals.
2) My friend was talking about Newport Beach in Southern California and how nice it was. I Googled it to find photos and information and the first item was about a man, fishing off the pier, who repeatedly stabbed and KILLED a sea lion that had stolen his bait. Apparently several times a year seal lions are found killed by humans. This attack was in broad daylight so several people called the police and he was arrested.
3) After clicking on one of those enticing "news" headlines that turns out to be a stupid story that I don't care about, I read that some British actor who I don't know, is being prosecuted for having a sexual relationship with and taking indecent photos of an under aged girl. He was her acting teacher and HE calls HER a liar because she claims they had sex for years starting with a kiss at 14. He admits that he had sex with the girl, who's young enough to be his granddaughter, but only AFTER she was 18 (because then it magically becomes okay and normal and totally kosher, right?). HE says SHE's sick and needs help. Apparently she couldn't handle being rejected after he took advantage of her.
Here are three examples that prompted the phrase this weekend:
1) While visiting the Bay Area this weekend, a guy in a bar (who I think was trying to hit on me) told me this story: A herd of goats corralled after a hard days' work trimming the grass in Oakland to prevent fires (a technique used all over including around the Getty Center in L.A.) was shot at in the night by an unknown assailant. Someone shot and KILLED 15 little goats while they were penned up. Some of the bodies were mutilated although police don't know if it was from the shooter or wild animals.
2) My friend was talking about Newport Beach in Southern California and how nice it was. I Googled it to find photos and information and the first item was about a man, fishing off the pier, who repeatedly stabbed and KILLED a sea lion that had stolen his bait. Apparently several times a year seal lions are found killed by humans. This attack was in broad daylight so several people called the police and he was arrested.
3) After clicking on one of those enticing "news" headlines that turns out to be a stupid story that I don't care about, I read that some British actor who I don't know, is being prosecuted for having a sexual relationship with and taking indecent photos of an under aged girl. He was her acting teacher and HE calls HER a liar because she claims they had sex for years starting with a kiss at 14. He admits that he had sex with the girl, who's young enough to be his granddaughter, but only AFTER she was 18 (because then it magically becomes okay and normal and totally kosher, right?). HE says SHE's sick and needs help. Apparently she couldn't handle being rejected after he took advantage of her.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Who wants $1.44 billion?
The world population is projected to double from its 2000 figure by 2050. DOUBLE! Urban areas are going to be hardest hit as population grows faster than schools and roads and homes can be built. The only way we can survive this kind of population growth is to change and change fast. But the key is that we can’t stop changing. We’re not moving from point A to point B, it’s not just about taking ten new technological anti-global warming actions. It’s about shifting our slow and steady thinking to something much faster, simpler and smarter. Los Angeles is already in a transportation crisis. We have to think NOW about how to accommodate 50% more people, because in twenty years, they’ll already be here.
A while back, I wrote a letter asking Gov. Schwarzenegger (do you know his name is now included in Microsoft Word’s dictionary?) asking him to support high-speed rail. The proposed train would provide transportation between San Francisco/Sacramento, Los Angeles and San Diego. His office wrote back:
In November 2006, California voters approved one of the largest bond packages in the state's history. This money represents a considerable down payment on repairing and building our infrastructure and boosting the public services necessary to preserve our quality of life. And, with the tremendous population growth expected for California over the next two decades, the Governor has put forward an even broader proposal that will include funding for flood control, schools, courts and the correctional system.
But the Governor's proposed budget does recognize that high-speed rail is a viable transit option worth exploring for the future, and so it includes $1.2 million for staff support of the High-Speed Rail Authority. He is also willing to consider other potential payment options for such a rail system, including private financing.
So we're not building light rail because we’re still playing catch up trying to build more prisons and schools even though veryone already thinks those two systems are broken and need a major overhaul. Meanwhile, for the last ten years, there’s been a whole staff of people working on a light rail project that isn’t being built. In the private sector, I got laid off after two months without a project! Yet I get a letter saying from my government saying we don’t have enough money to build something we clearly need but rest assured, they've spent $1.2 million x 11 years or $13.2 million on this non-project. WHEW, that's a relief!
I-5 is really the only quick way to get through the state from one end to another. In these summer months, the highway is packed with people all day long and there are only two kinds of travelers: tourists and locals going from Southern California to the Bay Area (there’s not much in between) and trucks hauling stuff from one end of the state to another. I tried to drive up last weekend but the highway patrol closed the northbound 5 for over four hours after a big rig flipped over. Closed! I had to turn around and go home but not before sitting for two and a half hours on the freeway with thousands of other people trying to leave town. Everyone’s car was running the entire time because we would have cooked in the 100-degree heat without air conditioning.
The quickest way to get to San Francisco is to fly. If you plan the trip a month or more in advance, the lowest fare is $120 plus taxes and fees, plus the cost to park at the airport or get a taxi there. But get a last minute flight and it’ll be $250-$300. The flight is only an hour and a half but include the one-hour check-in, the one-hour driving and parking and shuttling to the terminal, and the one-hour on the other end, it’s 4.5 hours. It took me almost 7 hours to drive but at the right time it can take only 5 and it costs three tanks of gas or $120.
CalPirg estimates that “between 2000 and 2020, traffic on I-5 between San Diego and Los Angeles will increase 64 percent and between Los Angeles and Bakersfield will increase 56 percent” and light rail decreases overall oil use by 20%. Amtrak’s existing train along the coast takes TWELVE hours to travel from LA to SF and costs more than flying and yet they expect to triple their customers to 12 million riders by 2020. By comparison, the high-speed rail would take 2.5 hours and is easy and comfortable and people would be willing to pay $120 for the ticket!
According to an article in Wired, transportation is the single biggest household expense in the U.S. at 18%. The average American spends $8,344 per household on transportation, compared to $7,432 for shelter. That makes transportation a pretty good business to be in, so why isn’t anyone stepping up to build the light rail? 12 million estimated rail customers x $120 per ticket is $1.44 billion per year. Any takers?
A while back, I wrote a letter asking Gov. Schwarzenegger (do you know his name is now included in Microsoft Word’s dictionary?) asking him to support high-speed rail. The proposed train would provide transportation between San Francisco/Sacramento, Los Angeles and San Diego. His office wrote back:
In November 2006, California voters approved one of the largest bond packages in the state's history. This money represents a considerable down payment on repairing and building our infrastructure and boosting the public services necessary to preserve our quality of life. And, with the tremendous population growth expected for California over the next two decades, the Governor has put forward an even broader proposal that will include funding for flood control, schools, courts and the correctional system.
But the Governor's proposed budget does recognize that high-speed rail is a viable transit option worth exploring for the future, and so it includes $1.2 million for staff support of the High-Speed Rail Authority. He is also willing to consider other potential payment options for such a rail system, including private financing.
So we're not building light rail because we’re still playing catch up trying to build more prisons and schools even though veryone already thinks those two systems are broken and need a major overhaul. Meanwhile, for the last ten years, there’s been a whole staff of people working on a light rail project that isn’t being built. In the private sector, I got laid off after two months without a project! Yet I get a letter saying from my government saying we don’t have enough money to build something we clearly need but rest assured, they've spent $1.2 million x 11 years or $13.2 million on this non-project. WHEW, that's a relief!
I-5 is really the only quick way to get through the state from one end to another. In these summer months, the highway is packed with people all day long and there are only two kinds of travelers: tourists and locals going from Southern California to the Bay Area (there’s not much in between) and trucks hauling stuff from one end of the state to another. I tried to drive up last weekend but the highway patrol closed the northbound 5 for over four hours after a big rig flipped over. Closed! I had to turn around and go home but not before sitting for two and a half hours on the freeway with thousands of other people trying to leave town. Everyone’s car was running the entire time because we would have cooked in the 100-degree heat without air conditioning.
The quickest way to get to San Francisco is to fly. If you plan the trip a month or more in advance, the lowest fare is $120 plus taxes and fees, plus the cost to park at the airport or get a taxi there. But get a last minute flight and it’ll be $250-$300. The flight is only an hour and a half but include the one-hour check-in, the one-hour driving and parking and shuttling to the terminal, and the one-hour on the other end, it’s 4.5 hours. It took me almost 7 hours to drive but at the right time it can take only 5 and it costs three tanks of gas or $120.
CalPirg estimates that “between 2000 and 2020, traffic on I-5 between San Diego and Los Angeles will increase 64 percent and between Los Angeles and Bakersfield will increase 56 percent” and light rail decreases overall oil use by 20%. Amtrak’s existing train along the coast takes TWELVE hours to travel from LA to SF and costs more than flying and yet they expect to triple their customers to 12 million riders by 2020. By comparison, the high-speed rail would take 2.5 hours and is easy and comfortable and people would be willing to pay $120 for the ticket!
According to an article in Wired, transportation is the single biggest household expense in the U.S. at 18%. The average American spends $8,344 per household on transportation, compared to $7,432 for shelter. That makes transportation a pretty good business to be in, so why isn’t anyone stepping up to build the light rail? 12 million estimated rail customers x $120 per ticket is $1.44 billion per year. Any takers?
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Evolution is more than mere persistence
Something I think about often is evolution. In the context of living creatures, evolution is a process of change, arising as a result of external conditions, that facilitates the survival of the species. Guns, Germs, and Steel (which I’m only halfway done with and I just discovered is available as a movie on DVD!) is an essay about why different peoples evolved at different rates. The impetus is to answer a question of why the haves are the haves and the have-nots are the have-nots (instead of the other way around).
The success of evolution is found in the persistence of a species or group. If the change results in a greater population (and perhaps greater welfare) of the group, the evolution was successful. Jared Diamond goes through a discussion of the evolution of disease, for example. When humans became sedentary and lived in groups large enough for disease to thrive in, we acquired sicknesses evolved from animal diseases. From animals we’d domesticated in large enough numbers to sustain disease. In the beginning, many of these killers wiped out whole populations but soon evolved not to kill, allowing people to carry the disease longer and transmit it to more people.
In answering the have/have-not question though, I think we have to take into consideration that mere persistence through population is not the only measure of success. Now, a tribe that exerts more power, consumes more resources and is more resistant to disease is more “successful” than a tribe with a much larger population that is prone to poverty and disease. (I imagine that Jared Diamond will get there, and I’ll let you know what he says about that.)
But there are other issues that may or may not perpetuate the tribe but seem to me to be part of our evolution. Issues that arise as we pursue liberty and well being, demand tolerance and acceptance and ask for compassion and humanity. They are part of our evolution because of our huge population growth, our collective affect on the environment and the rapid exchange of information around the globe. Just like the right ingredients allowed certain diseases to arise, these conditions brought about these issues.
When looking at the problems of the world, I feel like we’re seeing the old clashing with the new. In the old way of evolution, people killed, displaced and enslaved other populations to perpetuate their tribe. In the new way, we protect other populations, attempt to understand the enemy and promote everyone's participation in making the world. In the old way the earth was to be mined, rivers dammed and mountains flattened for industry, animals raised and killed and crops grown to feed and grow populations. In the new way, we develop industry that gives back what we take from the earth, minimize our exploitation of animals and treat them more humanely.
The rate of change has recently accelerated because we’ve discovered that we can’t afford not to. The old way will destroy us. So how do we appeal to those populations (and leaders) still trying to perpetuate their tribe the old way? In Sudan, Israel, Afghanistan and Iraq, tribes are still killing and displacing. In China, Peru, and the United States, tribes are still raping the land. The new way doesn’t justify killing and displacing. It encourages participation and understanding, asks that we act as a single tribe to find solutions to common problems and use mercy on those who seek to destroy us. That’s our evolution.
The success of evolution is found in the persistence of a species or group. If the change results in a greater population (and perhaps greater welfare) of the group, the evolution was successful. Jared Diamond goes through a discussion of the evolution of disease, for example. When humans became sedentary and lived in groups large enough for disease to thrive in, we acquired sicknesses evolved from animal diseases. From animals we’d domesticated in large enough numbers to sustain disease. In the beginning, many of these killers wiped out whole populations but soon evolved not to kill, allowing people to carry the disease longer and transmit it to more people.
In answering the have/have-not question though, I think we have to take into consideration that mere persistence through population is not the only measure of success. Now, a tribe that exerts more power, consumes more resources and is more resistant to disease is more “successful” than a tribe with a much larger population that is prone to poverty and disease. (I imagine that Jared Diamond will get there, and I’ll let you know what he says about that.)
But there are other issues that may or may not perpetuate the tribe but seem to me to be part of our evolution. Issues that arise as we pursue liberty and well being, demand tolerance and acceptance and ask for compassion and humanity. They are part of our evolution because of our huge population growth, our collective affect on the environment and the rapid exchange of information around the globe. Just like the right ingredients allowed certain diseases to arise, these conditions brought about these issues.
When looking at the problems of the world, I feel like we’re seeing the old clashing with the new. In the old way of evolution, people killed, displaced and enslaved other populations to perpetuate their tribe. In the new way, we protect other populations, attempt to understand the enemy and promote everyone's participation in making the world. In the old way the earth was to be mined, rivers dammed and mountains flattened for industry, animals raised and killed and crops grown to feed and grow populations. In the new way, we develop industry that gives back what we take from the earth, minimize our exploitation of animals and treat them more humanely.
The rate of change has recently accelerated because we’ve discovered that we can’t afford not to. The old way will destroy us. So how do we appeal to those populations (and leaders) still trying to perpetuate their tribe the old way? In Sudan, Israel, Afghanistan and Iraq, tribes are still killing and displacing. In China, Peru, and the United States, tribes are still raping the land. The new way doesn’t justify killing and displacing. It encourages participation and understanding, asks that we act as a single tribe to find solutions to common problems and use mercy on those who seek to destroy us. That’s our evolution.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Stop in for a Squishee at the Kwik-E-Mart!
I was driving down Venice Boulevard, on the way back from a friend's house, when I noticed a bunch of people taking pictures of a 7-11 while I was waiting at a red light. Some were standing next to some Simpsons characters and getting their photo snapped. I noticed there were more characters on the roof.
"Ha, cool," I thought, "they've got The Simpsons..." But HOLD THE PHONE, it's not a 7-11, it's a KWIK-E-MART! The whole building was made to look like it was from the cartoon. Some bike riders came by and couldn't peel their eyes off of it even though they clearly needed their eyes on the road. I didn't have my camera and didn't even think to stop and go inside but the entire experience has been faithfully documented on Flickr.
There are only about a dozen stores throughout the country so many cities don't have one, DOH!, but check out the list to see if you're on it. The movie better be good, I'm getting tired of promotions that are better than what they're promoting.
"Ha, cool," I thought, "they've got The Simpsons..." But HOLD THE PHONE, it's not a 7-11, it's a KWIK-E-MART! The whole building was made to look like it was from the cartoon. Some bike riders came by and couldn't peel their eyes off of it even though they clearly needed their eyes on the road. I didn't have my camera and didn't even think to stop and go inside but the entire experience has been faithfully documented on Flickr.
There are only about a dozen stores throughout the country so many cities don't have one, DOH!, but check out the list to see if you're on it. The movie better be good, I'm getting tired of promotions that are better than what they're promoting.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Parents say the darndest things
I noticed, lately, that I tell people stories about my parents. I quote them in a funny anecdote the way other people do their children. I'll be doing it and then suddenly become very self-conscious and wonder, is this normal? Do other people do this? I don't think they do. Which brings me to my next question, why am I?
It's possible that I have tired of talking about myself, and am looking for something, I don't know, more removed to talk about. Everyone has parents so it could be that I'm seeking to strike a common chord. Again, much the way people with children do. Many of the people I know, in fact most, still don't have children and yet I don't notice them telling stories about their parents.
There's the obvious reason that they live close to me and I see them often. Another possible explanation is that until the last few years, I haven't been as emotionally connected to my parents as I am now. In fact, I might be going through some reverse process by which I become more attached to my parents as I get older, where other people become less. I also feel that I'm just getting to know them.
When we're kids, our parents intentionally keep certain things from us that reveal that they are human, they make mistakes and they were once children too. As they get older, my folks offer up these delicious little tidbits of their life. Just today, I was having lunch with my mom. She saw a girl and said "she's wearing bloomers." I looked and sure enough, she was. I don't think I've ever seen a person wearing bloomers in real life before - I mean, not in a costume. Then she said that she was wearing bloomers when she met my dad. Black bloomers with white polka dots and a baby doll type top.
"My hair was cut short", she said, "like yours." And then she told me a piece of the "how I met your father story" that I'd never heard before. It was really nice. Sometimes telling the stories are a way of sharing my own opinion, but from someone else's mouth. You see, I hear myself in them, and it amazes me that we are so similar.
My mom was talking about a new HBO show, I think that one about sex. She said "What's the fascination with bodies anyway? We all have one." I just about fell off my chair laughing and I'm not even sure it's that funny. It's that the thought seems so unique to me that hearing it from her mouth reminds me that we are related. That I made from her the way Eve is supposed to be made from Adam.
I spent quite a few years of my life not liking my parents very much, so it's an absolute treat to get to know them at this point in my life. While out to dinner with my dad, he was asking about my recent (and second) conversion to vegetarianism. "Is it for your health or because you want to save the animals?" he asked. I replied that it was for the animals and he laughed before he could stop himself. But I understood, I knew what it meant.
He was thinking that it can't possibly make a difference if I stop eating animals when he's going to have a bowl of sea creatures for dinner. But he's a smart man, and he knows I'm a smart woman so he gives it another think. I tell him that I have certain beliefs and things that are important to me and that at some point in a discussion about these things, someone will inevitably ask if I am vegetarian and I will have to be able to say "yes." He listened then said "In Peru, people throw trash out the car window." He told them that it was bad, that they shouldn't do it and they asked "why?" They looked at him with quizzical faces. That's what people do. He said that even though he couldn't change their mind, he thought it was important to be an example. He made the connection between my example, showing people that we can change, bringing awareness with my choices, and his own experience. I was really quite proud of him.
I think in a way, I'm kind of falling in love with my parents the way people do with their children. For me, I've found that it's a way of accepting myself. I am, after all, like them in so many ways. For me to love their quirks is to come to love mine.
It's possible that I have tired of talking about myself, and am looking for something, I don't know, more removed to talk about. Everyone has parents so it could be that I'm seeking to strike a common chord. Again, much the way people with children do. Many of the people I know, in fact most, still don't have children and yet I don't notice them telling stories about their parents.
There's the obvious reason that they live close to me and I see them often. Another possible explanation is that until the last few years, I haven't been as emotionally connected to my parents as I am now. In fact, I might be going through some reverse process by which I become more attached to my parents as I get older, where other people become less. I also feel that I'm just getting to know them.
When we're kids, our parents intentionally keep certain things from us that reveal that they are human, they make mistakes and they were once children too. As they get older, my folks offer up these delicious little tidbits of their life. Just today, I was having lunch with my mom. She saw a girl and said "she's wearing bloomers." I looked and sure enough, she was. I don't think I've ever seen a person wearing bloomers in real life before - I mean, not in a costume. Then she said that she was wearing bloomers when she met my dad. Black bloomers with white polka dots and a baby doll type top.
"My hair was cut short", she said, "like yours." And then she told me a piece of the "how I met your father story" that I'd never heard before. It was really nice. Sometimes telling the stories are a way of sharing my own opinion, but from someone else's mouth. You see, I hear myself in them, and it amazes me that we are so similar.
My mom was talking about a new HBO show, I think that one about sex. She said "What's the fascination with bodies anyway? We all have one." I just about fell off my chair laughing and I'm not even sure it's that funny. It's that the thought seems so unique to me that hearing it from her mouth reminds me that we are related. That I made from her the way Eve is supposed to be made from Adam.
I spent quite a few years of my life not liking my parents very much, so it's an absolute treat to get to know them at this point in my life. While out to dinner with my dad, he was asking about my recent (and second) conversion to vegetarianism. "Is it for your health or because you want to save the animals?" he asked. I replied that it was for the animals and he laughed before he could stop himself. But I understood, I knew what it meant.
He was thinking that it can't possibly make a difference if I stop eating animals when he's going to have a bowl of sea creatures for dinner. But he's a smart man, and he knows I'm a smart woman so he gives it another think. I tell him that I have certain beliefs and things that are important to me and that at some point in a discussion about these things, someone will inevitably ask if I am vegetarian and I will have to be able to say "yes." He listened then said "In Peru, people throw trash out the car window." He told them that it was bad, that they shouldn't do it and they asked "why?" They looked at him with quizzical faces. That's what people do. He said that even though he couldn't change their mind, he thought it was important to be an example. He made the connection between my example, showing people that we can change, bringing awareness with my choices, and his own experience. I was really quite proud of him.
I think in a way, I'm kind of falling in love with my parents the way people do with their children. For me, I've found that it's a way of accepting myself. I am, after all, like them in so many ways. For me to love their quirks is to come to love mine.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Another day in the trenches
My basic job hunting/finding problem is that I have done many different jobs and have excelled at all of them. It baffles most minds that a person could literally jump into a job they have never done and do it well, more than a few times. What I didn't realize is that those opportunities, while seemingly common in my world, are not common. What most hiring managers want is someone whose resume looks exactly like their job description. Someone who has done only the job their hiring for and is only interested in that job.
A while back, a recruiter contacted me about an email marketing job. They sent me a list of questions to answer before the interview and I did. To some of them I had to reply "I have no experience with this." I explained to the woman that this job was very technical and not something that i had experience in, or was particularly interested in. I can do it, I said, but I'd much rather be working on a broader marketing level. She wrote back, thank you, she'll keep looking. A couple of days later, she wrote again saying the company wanted to meet me anyway.
In my past interviews I felt like a round peg trying to be stuffed into a square hole of a job, trying to explain why I don't fit, so I decided to take a different tactic this time. Instead of defending my non-linear career path, instead of answering questions about my background and what I did or didn't do where, I would simply just start coming up with ideas and strategies for their company, sharing my marketing philosophy and generating questions for the interviewers. Don't tell them what you can do, show them.
Of course this is easier when interviewing with a company that has a product (rather than an agency in which I'd work for many clients that remain to be disclosed). Such as it was last week when I interviewed for an online photo fulfillment company. I had already interviewed once on the phone and it went well. I met with that same guy and two VPs. They rapid fired questions at me and I came right back with business strategies, product ideas and marketing questions. And, to my surprise, they were very pleased and impressed.
One of the VPs remarked, "You have a GREAT interviewing style, by the way." I thought for a moment that she was making a sarcastic remark to cut me down, but I don't think she was. "Most people," she said, "tell you everything they think you want to hear, but when they leave, you're not sure if it's true. You, on the other hand," she continued, "are totally honest, I feel like I know exactly who you are and what you can do." I've never heard it put that way, but she was right. When that quality is appreciated, it is usually by the owner of the company. That person wants smart, quick, no bullshit people in leadership positions, but when interviewing with upper management, those qualities are usually regarded as anathema.
Hiring managers are thinking one of three things: A) She'll take my job, B) She'll make me look bad or C) She'll make me have to work harder. These people like the status quo because it's easy. Change should come at a slow incremental pace. By comparison, I look like the leader of a revolution. I spent nearly four hours in this interview. They ran marketing problems, product problems, business problems by me. "How would you fix this?" "How would you tackle this?" "What would you do in this situation?" It was fun.
A few days later, the recruiter called me to say that they wanted to hire me as a consultant. I thought it was a dream come true. "They were very impressed with you," the recruiter said, "and think you're a very strong overall marketer." Fantastic! Exactly what I should be doing, crafting marketing strategy and handing over my recommendations for execution by someone else.No political crap, just doing the work. We discussed a rate and he called them to negotiate. Now, here's where the whole thing falls apart.
It's wonderful that I've been recognized for who I am. And I'm so flattered that this company wants to find a way to fit me in, but at the end of the day, all they need filled is a square hole, and I'm still a round peg. See, the recruiters double my rate to get their fee so by the time it's presented to the employer, it sounds outrageous. They needed an email marketer. Now they're thinking about paying a lot more money to hire a person who isn't a permanent employee to do a position that doesn't exist. And the job they're hiring for is still empty. Try justifying that to the boss.
They've now started checking my references so I'm thinking they're going to offer me the original email marketing position. And I'll have to decide if I want an hour commute to take a job that doesn't fit.
A while back, a recruiter contacted me about an email marketing job. They sent me a list of questions to answer before the interview and I did. To some of them I had to reply "I have no experience with this." I explained to the woman that this job was very technical and not something that i had experience in, or was particularly interested in. I can do it, I said, but I'd much rather be working on a broader marketing level. She wrote back, thank you, she'll keep looking. A couple of days later, she wrote again saying the company wanted to meet me anyway.
In my past interviews I felt like a round peg trying to be stuffed into a square hole of a job, trying to explain why I don't fit, so I decided to take a different tactic this time. Instead of defending my non-linear career path, instead of answering questions about my background and what I did or didn't do where, I would simply just start coming up with ideas and strategies for their company, sharing my marketing philosophy and generating questions for the interviewers. Don't tell them what you can do, show them.
Of course this is easier when interviewing with a company that has a product (rather than an agency in which I'd work for many clients that remain to be disclosed). Such as it was last week when I interviewed for an online photo fulfillment company. I had already interviewed once on the phone and it went well. I met with that same guy and two VPs. They rapid fired questions at me and I came right back with business strategies, product ideas and marketing questions. And, to my surprise, they were very pleased and impressed.
One of the VPs remarked, "You have a GREAT interviewing style, by the way." I thought for a moment that she was making a sarcastic remark to cut me down, but I don't think she was. "Most people," she said, "tell you everything they think you want to hear, but when they leave, you're not sure if it's true. You, on the other hand," she continued, "are totally honest, I feel like I know exactly who you are and what you can do." I've never heard it put that way, but she was right. When that quality is appreciated, it is usually by the owner of the company. That person wants smart, quick, no bullshit people in leadership positions, but when interviewing with upper management, those qualities are usually regarded as anathema.
Hiring managers are thinking one of three things: A) She'll take my job, B) She'll make me look bad or C) She'll make me have to work harder. These people like the status quo because it's easy. Change should come at a slow incremental pace. By comparison, I look like the leader of a revolution. I spent nearly four hours in this interview. They ran marketing problems, product problems, business problems by me. "How would you fix this?" "How would you tackle this?" "What would you do in this situation?" It was fun.
A few days later, the recruiter called me to say that they wanted to hire me as a consultant. I thought it was a dream come true. "They were very impressed with you," the recruiter said, "and think you're a very strong overall marketer." Fantastic! Exactly what I should be doing, crafting marketing strategy and handing over my recommendations for execution by someone else.No political crap, just doing the work. We discussed a rate and he called them to negotiate. Now, here's where the whole thing falls apart.
It's wonderful that I've been recognized for who I am. And I'm so flattered that this company wants to find a way to fit me in, but at the end of the day, all they need filled is a square hole, and I'm still a round peg. See, the recruiters double my rate to get their fee so by the time it's presented to the employer, it sounds outrageous. They needed an email marketer. Now they're thinking about paying a lot more money to hire a person who isn't a permanent employee to do a position that doesn't exist. And the job they're hiring for is still empty. Try justifying that to the boss.
They've now started checking my references so I'm thinking they're going to offer me the original email marketing position. And I'll have to decide if I want an hour commute to take a job that doesn't fit.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Three motivating factors that drive everything
I believe there are only three motivating factors that drive every human action.
1) The need/desire to be accepted by other people.
2) The need/desire to be significant to society.
3) The need/desire to avoid death and/or be immortal.
Despite the trend reports, talk about what matters and changing public opinion, these motivations don’t change and haven’t change for thousands of years. What DOES change significantly, however, are the actions taken in response to those motivations. It’s actually quite complicated because while some things seem to be universal like marriage and children, the motivation for those things varies from person to person.
There are those that believe children will give them unconditional love and acceptance, a tiny creature that depends on you for life will have no choice. It’s not long, however, before that child realizes their own motivations and takes action to fulfill them. Intentionally or unintentionally, they will likely come into conflict with the parent’s motivations.
Same with anyone who has children to be immortal or to gain significance by raising the child better than they were raised. Children can be full of disappointment because they are following their own needs. In their drive to be accepted, they may do drugs or otherwise harm themselves. To be significant, they may make life choices that are unacceptable to their parents.
Islamic extremists probably demonstrate the clearest example of two people’s motivations at conflict with each other. To gain immortality and significance, a suicide bomber kills himself and his enemy, a clear violation of the victim’s need to avoid death. Towards the same goal of spreading their religion, the Mormons take a quite different tactic. Instead of recruiting their youth to die, they enlist them to travel the world as missionaries, helping the poor and converting as they go. They are then obligated to get married and have many children.
We’ve all heard the phrase “You get more bees with honey than vinegar” or some variation. It basically means if your approach is sweet, not sour, you’ll find more people on your side. It is probably universally true that no one likes to be yelled at or strong-armed but it’s still a limited approach. Many tactics have been used, successfully, to gain support for one’s cause including intimidation. Likewise, asked as nicely as possible, there are still many things people have no interest in doing or being a part of.
Those three motivations are still the only thing that drives people to take action.
Simply replacing negative behavior with something positive doesn’t immediately solve the problem. Gangs, for example, give the member a sense of belonging and acceptance. They may also provide a feeling of significance. People might argue that their behavior is a product of not having enough opportunity, jobs, etc. But simply offering a gang member a job at McDonald’s is not going to be enough. Rap music, on the other hand, has provided a powerful substitute for many youths. The substitution has to be something that just as effectively meets the need for acceptance and significance but it will likely be different for each individual. Finding the right solution to such problems is the stuff of revolutions. These are powerful needs and they must be addressed.
The Internet is a clear demonstration of those three needs being met. MySpace and other social networks fulfill a need for community and acceptance. Other sites have tried to slap on a networking feature thinking it will instantly propel their membership base but unless they are truly fulfilling the community/acceptance need, it doesn’t make a difference.
Blogs, You Tube and other forms of self-expression satisfy a need to be significant and therefore accepted by others. The strange permanence of anything ever on the Web also provides immortality. But again, it has to be the right context. You can’t just slap on forums and feedback fields and expect users to feel significant.
This is where the studies can be useful. What kind of communities are people searching for? What kinds of activities make people feel significant? In what ways are people seeking immortality? Of course, I’ll argue that the most powerful solutions are those that haven’t been done before because they are genuine. We are ever evolving and seeking new ways to fulfill our needs. Once parents ensured their children’s success by pushing them towards careers that they wanted for them, now parents push their children to discover and follow their own path. Maybe neither is right or better but they are satisfying the same needs, just in a different way.
There’s a quote in Applebee’s America by a man in his seventies, a lifelong Democrat and a veteran. He voted Republican for the first time, for George W. Bush in 2000. He says while he doesn’t agree with what Bush stands for, he at least he knows stands for something. The book claims that people are no longer issue voters. I’m not sure that we ever were, I think politicians just thought we were. Instead, we vote for gut values, we vote for a candidate that we think we can trust.
I’ll venture a guess that "values voting" is in essence trusting that the candidate will pursue the same kinds of actions to satisfy their basic needs that we would.
1) The need/desire to be accepted by other people.
2) The need/desire to be significant to society.
3) The need/desire to avoid death and/or be immortal.
Despite the trend reports, talk about what matters and changing public opinion, these motivations don’t change and haven’t change for thousands of years. What DOES change significantly, however, are the actions taken in response to those motivations. It’s actually quite complicated because while some things seem to be universal like marriage and children, the motivation for those things varies from person to person.
There are those that believe children will give them unconditional love and acceptance, a tiny creature that depends on you for life will have no choice. It’s not long, however, before that child realizes their own motivations and takes action to fulfill them. Intentionally or unintentionally, they will likely come into conflict with the parent’s motivations.
Same with anyone who has children to be immortal or to gain significance by raising the child better than they were raised. Children can be full of disappointment because they are following their own needs. In their drive to be accepted, they may do drugs or otherwise harm themselves. To be significant, they may make life choices that are unacceptable to their parents.
Islamic extremists probably demonstrate the clearest example of two people’s motivations at conflict with each other. To gain immortality and significance, a suicide bomber kills himself and his enemy, a clear violation of the victim’s need to avoid death. Towards the same goal of spreading their religion, the Mormons take a quite different tactic. Instead of recruiting their youth to die, they enlist them to travel the world as missionaries, helping the poor and converting as they go. They are then obligated to get married and have many children.
We’ve all heard the phrase “You get more bees with honey than vinegar” or some variation. It basically means if your approach is sweet, not sour, you’ll find more people on your side. It is probably universally true that no one likes to be yelled at or strong-armed but it’s still a limited approach. Many tactics have been used, successfully, to gain support for one’s cause including intimidation. Likewise, asked as nicely as possible, there are still many things people have no interest in doing or being a part of.
Those three motivations are still the only thing that drives people to take action.
Simply replacing negative behavior with something positive doesn’t immediately solve the problem. Gangs, for example, give the member a sense of belonging and acceptance. They may also provide a feeling of significance. People might argue that their behavior is a product of not having enough opportunity, jobs, etc. But simply offering a gang member a job at McDonald’s is not going to be enough. Rap music, on the other hand, has provided a powerful substitute for many youths. The substitution has to be something that just as effectively meets the need for acceptance and significance but it will likely be different for each individual. Finding the right solution to such problems is the stuff of revolutions. These are powerful needs and they must be addressed.
The Internet is a clear demonstration of those three needs being met. MySpace and other social networks fulfill a need for community and acceptance. Other sites have tried to slap on a networking feature thinking it will instantly propel their membership base but unless they are truly fulfilling the community/acceptance need, it doesn’t make a difference.
Blogs, You Tube and other forms of self-expression satisfy a need to be significant and therefore accepted by others. The strange permanence of anything ever on the Web also provides immortality. But again, it has to be the right context. You can’t just slap on forums and feedback fields and expect users to feel significant.
This is where the studies can be useful. What kind of communities are people searching for? What kinds of activities make people feel significant? In what ways are people seeking immortality? Of course, I’ll argue that the most powerful solutions are those that haven’t been done before because they are genuine. We are ever evolving and seeking new ways to fulfill our needs. Once parents ensured their children’s success by pushing them towards careers that they wanted for them, now parents push their children to discover and follow their own path. Maybe neither is right or better but they are satisfying the same needs, just in a different way.
There’s a quote in Applebee’s America by a man in his seventies, a lifelong Democrat and a veteran. He voted Republican for the first time, for George W. Bush in 2000. He says while he doesn’t agree with what Bush stands for, he at least he knows stands for something. The book claims that people are no longer issue voters. I’m not sure that we ever were, I think politicians just thought we were. Instead, we vote for gut values, we vote for a candidate that we think we can trust.
I’ll venture a guess that "values voting" is in essence trusting that the candidate will pursue the same kinds of actions to satisfy their basic needs that we would.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Blown away by Fantasia
Last week, I went to a dinner party with a good friend of mine. The seven of us sat on the patio drinking wine after dessert and one woman said she had just returned from New York. She went, she said, to celebrate her teenage niece's birthday. The niece already had her birthday planned. They were going to see Fantasia, of American Idol fame, in the Broadway musical version of The Color Purple.
We all groaned. Ugh! What's worse, an American Idol winner on Broadway or a musical version of one of the best but depressing movies of all time? Many at the table were theater snobs, including the woman telling the story, and we all at some point had tried or succeeded to make a living as actors. But wait, she continued. Produced by Oprah Winfrey, the musical version wasn't as horrifying as it sounds, but even more surprising was Fantasia. She was a mid-run replacement and had never even been to a Broadway show. The producers felt like she was right for the part and must have hoped her notoriety would attract a younger audience.
But as my friend was telling the story, you start to get the feeling this performance was something special. The daughter of a movie star and Tony-award winning actor, she's no stranger to the theater. She told us how she used to work backstage in New York theaters, just to have access to the shows. Twice in her life, she'd seen genuine show-stoppers. It's when, in the middle of a show after a performance, the audience stands up and claps and claps and claps for so long that the performers have no choice but to stop and wait.
One of them was watching Audra McDonald in Carousel. Practically her onstage debut, she was cast against type and blew audiences away taking home an armful of awards. Fantasia's performance, she said, was like that. "It was like seeing a star be born right in front of your eyes." She's not beautiful in the Hollywood way and she has a huge mouth that takes up her whole face, but when she opens it... This from a brilliant actress in her own right, one of the best comedy writers I know and a woman who's been bored watching her own father in a West End show.
What a waste of a trip, she thought, when she found out her niece was dragging her to this. Less than an hour later she was shouting "Amen!" at the stage surrounded by middle-aged African-American women in their Sunday best. It was like a church service. With the porcelain skin and red hair of a true Irish gal, she asked her niece "Why can't white people's church be this fun?" "I KNOW" the teen replies. By the end of the show, tears streaming down her face, she stood and clapped and whistled as loud as she could. Fantasia had blown her away.
But the story wasn't over yet. So moved by this performance, so surprised by this girl, my friend read everything she could find on her and proceeded to tell us about Fantasia. She was touched by her humility in working with stage professionals, her gratitude for all of her success, and her strength and her resilience to overcome difficulties in her life. It was inspiring to see someone so moved by a performance, weeks after the show.
My friend didn't even mention that Fantasia, who is only 22 now, wrote a book about her life then played herself in the TV version making it the second most watched show in Lifetime's history. The reviews of her performance in The Color Purple have been across the board amazing. A star, indeed!
We all groaned. Ugh! What's worse, an American Idol winner on Broadway or a musical version of one of the best but depressing movies of all time? Many at the table were theater snobs, including the woman telling the story, and we all at some point had tried or succeeded to make a living as actors. But wait, she continued. Produced by Oprah Winfrey, the musical version wasn't as horrifying as it sounds, but even more surprising was Fantasia. She was a mid-run replacement and had never even been to a Broadway show. The producers felt like she was right for the part and must have hoped her notoriety would attract a younger audience.
But as my friend was telling the story, you start to get the feeling this performance was something special. The daughter of a movie star and Tony-award winning actor, she's no stranger to the theater. She told us how she used to work backstage in New York theaters, just to have access to the shows. Twice in her life, she'd seen genuine show-stoppers. It's when, in the middle of a show after a performance, the audience stands up and claps and claps and claps for so long that the performers have no choice but to stop and wait.
One of them was watching Audra McDonald in Carousel. Practically her onstage debut, she was cast against type and blew audiences away taking home an armful of awards. Fantasia's performance, she said, was like that. "It was like seeing a star be born right in front of your eyes." She's not beautiful in the Hollywood way and she has a huge mouth that takes up her whole face, but when she opens it... This from a brilliant actress in her own right, one of the best comedy writers I know and a woman who's been bored watching her own father in a West End show.
What a waste of a trip, she thought, when she found out her niece was dragging her to this. Less than an hour later she was shouting "Amen!" at the stage surrounded by middle-aged African-American women in their Sunday best. It was like a church service. With the porcelain skin and red hair of a true Irish gal, she asked her niece "Why can't white people's church be this fun?" "I KNOW" the teen replies. By the end of the show, tears streaming down her face, she stood and clapped and whistled as loud as she could. Fantasia had blown her away.
But the story wasn't over yet. So moved by this performance, so surprised by this girl, my friend read everything she could find on her and proceeded to tell us about Fantasia. She was touched by her humility in working with stage professionals, her gratitude for all of her success, and her strength and her resilience to overcome difficulties in her life. It was inspiring to see someone so moved by a performance, weeks after the show.
My friend didn't even mention that Fantasia, who is only 22 now, wrote a book about her life then played herself in the TV version making it the second most watched show in Lifetime's history. The reviews of her performance in The Color Purple have been across the board amazing. A star, indeed!
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Put your money where your ear is
In college, I signed up for long distance (telephone) service with a new company called Working Assets. Their big promotional campaign was sign up and get a free pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. One percent of the bill goes to a good cause of your choice. Round up your payment and those pennies add up to a sizable donation, making it easy to make a difference.
When I got a cell phone, in 1999, I gave up my land line and never looked back. I've been with Sprint the entire time and while I've been happy with the reception, they charge too much and I don't care for their customer service. I never left them, however, because I didn't want to lose my phone number. Then when it became possible to take the phone number to another provider, I couldn't find any that were better.
One day, I got an email from Amnesty International (I've been meaning to write about their email communications because they're excellent) with a promotion for Working Assets...WIRELESS! This is the best deal on the planet. I get a free phone (and an update to Bluetooth, web and camera), they buy out my old contract with Sprint, they're on the Sprint network but offer cheaper plans AND 1% of my bill goes to a cause of my choice.
I called the customer service to get signed up and my sales representative was so nice. Kim explained everything, gave me all my options and was very patient while I made up my mind. I can't wait to get my cool new phone. If you want to give your provider the boot, get a free phone and make a difference, consider giving Working Assets a try.
When I got a cell phone, in 1999, I gave up my land line and never looked back. I've been with Sprint the entire time and while I've been happy with the reception, they charge too much and I don't care for their customer service. I never left them, however, because I didn't want to lose my phone number. Then when it became possible to take the phone number to another provider, I couldn't find any that were better.
One day, I got an email from Amnesty International (I've been meaning to write about their email communications because they're excellent) with a promotion for Working Assets...WIRELESS! This is the best deal on the planet. I get a free phone (and an update to Bluetooth, web and camera), they buy out my old contract with Sprint, they're on the Sprint network but offer cheaper plans AND 1% of my bill goes to a cause of my choice.
I called the customer service to get signed up and my sales representative was so nice. Kim explained everything, gave me all my options and was very patient while I made up my mind. I can't wait to get my cool new phone. If you want to give your provider the boot, get a free phone and make a difference, consider giving Working Assets a try.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Music is the one thing that humans create
The other day, a friend was over and I had music from the iPod playing. A weird song, that I love, from a Believer compilation came on. "What is THIS?" my friend asked. It occurred to me that even though I love this song, I'd never looked up the band, CocoRosie. They're two sisters who make very unconventional but strangely beautiful music. Their first album was recorded in their apartment bathroom in Brooklyn. You only have to watch this video to see how bizarre and yet wonderful they are:
I got feedback from several people that they liked my posts on music and one reader offered, in response to my claim that humans don't actually make anything, that we create music not from nature but from our imaginations. I have to give him that. I think I would die without music. Here's what I'm digging at the moment.
Albums that I love every song on are:
Spoon, Gimme Fiction
The Raconteurs, Broken Boy Soldiers
Dandy Warhols, Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia, Welcome To The Monkey House (I still don't have their latest)
I listen to this Dandy Warhols song every time I go running and it makes me laugh my ass off. It's fantastic, especially if you're a "struggling artist."
I recently got the KT Tunstall album. She had two very mainstream songs playing all over the radio ("Suddenly I See", "Black Horse & The Cherry Tree") so I got this one for my mom as catchy and easy to get into usually becomes irritating to me. But this is a great album! KT is half Chinese, adopted, grew up in Scotland and is actually musically educated. You can hear in her voice that she's a spirited and passionate person. I prefer listening to her rich voice without seeing her face but to get a taste, here's the video for one of my favorite songs "Another Place to Fall."
If you were into the English Beat in the 80's, check out The Futureheads' News & Tributes. If you were also a fan of early Talking Heads and Devo, give a listen to Maxïmo Park ("Apply Some Pressure" is their radio hit.)
Oh and this is really fun! I've been a fan of Natacha Atlas, an Egyptian musician, for ten years. I have every album starting with Diaspora. A couple of years ago she put out an album, Something Dangerous, that expands on her traditional sound by incorporating rap, jazz, R&B, pop and dance. I was supposed to see her in concert at the Hollywood Bowl a couple of summers ago but they announced that her Visa was denied on suspicion of terrorism. Nice work America! Here's a song from it:
ENJOY!
I got feedback from several people that they liked my posts on music and one reader offered, in response to my claim that humans don't actually make anything, that we create music not from nature but from our imaginations. I have to give him that. I think I would die without music. Here's what I'm digging at the moment.
Albums that I love every song on are:
Spoon, Gimme Fiction
The Raconteurs, Broken Boy Soldiers
Dandy Warhols, Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia, Welcome To The Monkey House (I still don't have their latest)
I listen to this Dandy Warhols song every time I go running and it makes me laugh my ass off. It's fantastic, especially if you're a "struggling artist."
I recently got the KT Tunstall album. She had two very mainstream songs playing all over the radio ("Suddenly I See", "Black Horse & The Cherry Tree") so I got this one for my mom as catchy and easy to get into usually becomes irritating to me. But this is a great album! KT is half Chinese, adopted, grew up in Scotland and is actually musically educated. You can hear in her voice that she's a spirited and passionate person. I prefer listening to her rich voice without seeing her face but to get a taste, here's the video for one of my favorite songs "Another Place to Fall."
If you were into the English Beat in the 80's, check out The Futureheads' News & Tributes. If you were also a fan of early Talking Heads and Devo, give a listen to Maxïmo Park ("Apply Some Pressure" is their radio hit.)
Oh and this is really fun! I've been a fan of Natacha Atlas, an Egyptian musician, for ten years. I have every album starting with Diaspora. A couple of years ago she put out an album, Something Dangerous, that expands on her traditional sound by incorporating rap, jazz, R&B, pop and dance. I was supposed to see her in concert at the Hollywood Bowl a couple of summers ago but they announced that her Visa was denied on suspicion of terrorism. Nice work America! Here's a song from it:
ENJOY!
Friday, July 6, 2007
I love animals!
This is why I'm vegetarian. So that I can read stories like this one and know that I'm on the side of the animal instead of having to grapple with the conflicting interests of meat eater and animal lover.
The New York Times featured an article about Farm Sanctuary in upstate New York, the home of SEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY rescued farm animals from all over the country. Started in 1989, the farm is 175 acres in the Finger Lakes region and has such notable residents as a dozen chickens who survived Hurricane Katrina, some ducks who were saved before their livers became foie gras, and forty slaughter-house bound pigs abandoned on the road side by their driver.
Lucky Lady the lamb, only 7 months old, is the farm's newest resident. Found tearing through the streets of the Bronx, dirty and tired, she probably escaped from a slaughterhouse or a live meat market. Much like fellow resident Queenie the cow who, in 2000, "busted out of a slaughterhouse in Queens, running free for 20 blocks until police shot her with a tranquilizer gun in a playground. She was just a calf then."
It makes you wonder. You always hear that farm animals don't know they're going to be killed, and yet, being raised in factory farms, we can't even say they enjoyed life in the meantime. These stories make me think they know exactly what's going on and like any creature, they want to live. I just love imagining these animals breaking out and running down the streets of New York, "I'm free! I'm free!"
The New York Times featured an article about Farm Sanctuary in upstate New York, the home of SEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY rescued farm animals from all over the country. Started in 1989, the farm is 175 acres in the Finger Lakes region and has such notable residents as a dozen chickens who survived Hurricane Katrina, some ducks who were saved before their livers became foie gras, and forty slaughter-house bound pigs abandoned on the road side by their driver.
Lucky Lady the lamb, only 7 months old, is the farm's newest resident. Found tearing through the streets of the Bronx, dirty and tired, she probably escaped from a slaughterhouse or a live meat market. Much like fellow resident Queenie the cow who, in 2000, "busted out of a slaughterhouse in Queens, running free for 20 blocks until police shot her with a tranquilizer gun in a playground. She was just a calf then."
It makes you wonder. You always hear that farm animals don't know they're going to be killed, and yet, being raised in factory farms, we can't even say they enjoyed life in the meantime. These stories make me think they know exactly what's going on and like any creature, they want to live. I just love imagining these animals breaking out and running down the streets of New York, "I'm free! I'm free!"
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Pavement, it's what's for dinner
The three biggest issues of the next 50 years, as I see it, are clean drinking water, renewable resources and transportation. Although the rate of population growth has been on the decline since the late sixties (perhaps due to the women’s right to choose movement) the population is still increasing exponentially and is estimated to reach 10 billion worldwide by 2050, up from 6.6 million today.
The production for passenger vehicles is rapidly growing as well. Already half of the vehicles in the U.S. are SUVs and light trucks and, at this rate, it will be true worldwide by 2030. Increasing an estimated 9 million per year from 41 million in 2003, auto production is giving population growth a run for its money with the most demand coming from China.
While over half of the 539 million vehicles worldwide are registered in the U.S. (where there are 1.2 more cars than licensed drivers), China and other developing nations are anxious to catch up. Let’s do the math.
China has 1.3 billion people compared to 300 million in the U.S. and are projected to grow by 500 million people in the next 50 years. Their car ownership could easily triple that of the U.S. but unlike the U.S., China’s people and cropland share the same one third of the country’s land mass. Roads and freeways are typically built on farmland putting countries like China at risk of paving over their food supply. And pavement is permanent. As environmentalist Rupert Cutler once noted, “Asphalt is the land’s last crop.”
So why are our brightest minds working on transportation to space and stealth bombers that cost two billion dollars each? Why not spend that money building ways to move goods and people in a way that’s more attractive, efficient, enjoyable and better for the environment? I, for one, am tired of determining my social schedule by time spent in the car, sitting in traffic, looking at ugly pavement and wondering why most humans think they are capable of driving.
With the second highest population in America, The Greater Los Angeles Area has 18 million people over 500 square miles (compared to 18.8 million in the 330 square miles of The New York Metropolitan area). A patchwork of cities as dense as San Francisco and Paris, the majority of the population, jobs and businesses are clustered along the major corridors making the entire area (excluding the San Fernando Valley) dense enough for light rail.
Freeway expansion projects go on for years only to yield one or two more lanes and a UC Berkeley study showed 90 percent of new highway capacity fills up within five years of being built! Another new study showed that the only thing that keeps people off the roads is congestion. It seems like there’s never enough road, never enough parking, and never enough pavement. If our pavement were its own state, it would be the 24th largest at 61,000 square miles, beating out Georgia.
In the past 20 years the population of California’s metro areas increased 20 percent but the amount of driving increased 59 percent. We’re driving more because of the way we build our communities with affordable housing in one direction and jobs in another. In the years between 1950 and 1990, the population of urban areas grew by 92% but the land area used grew by 245%. Increased suburbanization has meant bigger houses, farther apart, taking up more farmland, requiring more roads and greater energy consumption. Suburbanites drive bigger cars and rack up many more miles.
Clearly, we have to think of something else. The solution, at least in Los Angeles, seems to be easy. The city was built around the streetcar. In the twenties, we had the largest electric trolley system in the country with 6,000 trains running on 144 routes in four counties. (If you want to know what happened to them, rent Who Framed Roger Rabbit?)
Los Angeles has actually been piecing together a public transportation system over the last twenty years and our mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, is committed to joining existing rail and subway lines and building new ones. Even though only 6.6% of Angelenos take public transportation to work, it’s higher than the national average of 4.7%. Nationwide, 9 out of 10 people drive to work, 77% by themselves. For many, it’s still the easiest way to travel but it isn’t cheapest. Not for the driver, not for the city.
One study put the annual cost of owning and operating a vehicle at $7,000 - $10,000 per year. That doesn't take into account the subsidized costs: highway patrol, traffic management, police work on auto accidents and theft, street maintenance, parking enforcement, and "free" parking paid by higher rents, property taxes and lower wages. We’re starting to pay for the invisible costs as well: air pollution, loss of open space and habitat, global warming, war in the Middle East. Conservative estimates put the cost of those subsidies at 22 cents a mile. If we had to pay for them, we’d pay a gas tax of $6.60 per gallon!
Over the last decade, the fastest-growing cities are suburbs while industrial cities, once the biggest in the country, are shrinking. Detroit, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Cleveland, St. Louis, Philadelphia and Buffalo have steadily declining populations. New York and California are the only two major cities still growing, which is why a lot of cities are looking to Los Angeles for leadership on the mass transit issue.
But we’re still a long way off from a future where the majority of people use public transportation. As it is now, the buses use the same roads, take twice as long and are noisy as hell. We built a subway, but the most traveled east/west corridor has never been tunneled. If we’re really want to encourage drivers to use public transit, why are we digging under ground? Why not build light electric rail on the existing roads and highways, surrounded by trees and beautiful platforms for catching the train? Hey and while we’re at it, let’s build bike lanes along the same routes!
I got a request to send email to the governor about maintaining the budget for planning the high-speed rail between San Francisco and Los Angeles (an overwhelmingly obvious choice). Of course I sent it but then I wondered, why have we been PLANNING it for ten years? What's it going to take to get us into the future? Seriously, in every futuristic movie you've ever seen, were people taking mass transit or driving cars? Think about it.
The production for passenger vehicles is rapidly growing as well. Already half of the vehicles in the U.S. are SUVs and light trucks and, at this rate, it will be true worldwide by 2030. Increasing an estimated 9 million per year from 41 million in 2003, auto production is giving population growth a run for its money with the most demand coming from China.
While over half of the 539 million vehicles worldwide are registered in the U.S. (where there are 1.2 more cars than licensed drivers), China and other developing nations are anxious to catch up. Let’s do the math.
China has 1.3 billion people compared to 300 million in the U.S. and are projected to grow by 500 million people in the next 50 years. Their car ownership could easily triple that of the U.S. but unlike the U.S., China’s people and cropland share the same one third of the country’s land mass. Roads and freeways are typically built on farmland putting countries like China at risk of paving over their food supply. And pavement is permanent. As environmentalist Rupert Cutler once noted, “Asphalt is the land’s last crop.”
So why are our brightest minds working on transportation to space and stealth bombers that cost two billion dollars each? Why not spend that money building ways to move goods and people in a way that’s more attractive, efficient, enjoyable and better for the environment? I, for one, am tired of determining my social schedule by time spent in the car, sitting in traffic, looking at ugly pavement and wondering why most humans think they are capable of driving.
With the second highest population in America, The Greater Los Angeles Area has 18 million people over 500 square miles (compared to 18.8 million in the 330 square miles of The New York Metropolitan area). A patchwork of cities as dense as San Francisco and Paris, the majority of the population, jobs and businesses are clustered along the major corridors making the entire area (excluding the San Fernando Valley) dense enough for light rail.
Freeway expansion projects go on for years only to yield one or two more lanes and a UC Berkeley study showed 90 percent of new highway capacity fills up within five years of being built! Another new study showed that the only thing that keeps people off the roads is congestion. It seems like there’s never enough road, never enough parking, and never enough pavement. If our pavement were its own state, it would be the 24th largest at 61,000 square miles, beating out Georgia.
In the past 20 years the population of California’s metro areas increased 20 percent but the amount of driving increased 59 percent. We’re driving more because of the way we build our communities with affordable housing in one direction and jobs in another. In the years between 1950 and 1990, the population of urban areas grew by 92% but the land area used grew by 245%. Increased suburbanization has meant bigger houses, farther apart, taking up more farmland, requiring more roads and greater energy consumption. Suburbanites drive bigger cars and rack up many more miles.
Clearly, we have to think of something else. The solution, at least in Los Angeles, seems to be easy. The city was built around the streetcar. In the twenties, we had the largest electric trolley system in the country with 6,000 trains running on 144 routes in four counties. (If you want to know what happened to them, rent Who Framed Roger Rabbit?)
Los Angeles has actually been piecing together a public transportation system over the last twenty years and our mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, is committed to joining existing rail and subway lines and building new ones. Even though only 6.6% of Angelenos take public transportation to work, it’s higher than the national average of 4.7%. Nationwide, 9 out of 10 people drive to work, 77% by themselves. For many, it’s still the easiest way to travel but it isn’t cheapest. Not for the driver, not for the city.
One study put the annual cost of owning and operating a vehicle at $7,000 - $10,000 per year. That doesn't take into account the subsidized costs: highway patrol, traffic management, police work on auto accidents and theft, street maintenance, parking enforcement, and "free" parking paid by higher rents, property taxes and lower wages. We’re starting to pay for the invisible costs as well: air pollution, loss of open space and habitat, global warming, war in the Middle East. Conservative estimates put the cost of those subsidies at 22 cents a mile. If we had to pay for them, we’d pay a gas tax of $6.60 per gallon!
Over the last decade, the fastest-growing cities are suburbs while industrial cities, once the biggest in the country, are shrinking. Detroit, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Cleveland, St. Louis, Philadelphia and Buffalo have steadily declining populations. New York and California are the only two major cities still growing, which is why a lot of cities are looking to Los Angeles for leadership on the mass transit issue.
But we’re still a long way off from a future where the majority of people use public transportation. As it is now, the buses use the same roads, take twice as long and are noisy as hell. We built a subway, but the most traveled east/west corridor has never been tunneled. If we’re really want to encourage drivers to use public transit, why are we digging under ground? Why not build light electric rail on the existing roads and highways, surrounded by trees and beautiful platforms for catching the train? Hey and while we’re at it, let’s build bike lanes along the same routes!
I got a request to send email to the governor about maintaining the budget for planning the high-speed rail between San Francisco and Los Angeles (an overwhelmingly obvious choice). Of course I sent it but then I wondered, why have we been PLANNING it for ten years? What's it going to take to get us into the future? Seriously, in every futuristic movie you've ever seen, were people taking mass transit or driving cars? Think about it.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
The fellowship of the scar
The fifth Harry Potter movie comes out next Friday and I can't wait! I don't have high hopes for most movies these days but I really love this story. The third movie, directed by Alfonso Cuaron, is head and shoulders above the rest although I've heard that the third book is also the strongest. It was the first time we got sweeping views of the hills, lakes and valleys that surround the Hogwarts School. It reminded me of Lord of the Rings and was the first time I noticed the series similarities to Tolkien's gift to Britain - a mythology. Lost during the centuries of Roman invasion and occupation, Tolkien used real language and mythology to construct a speculative lore of his region.
Being British and also fantasy, it would make sense that the Harry Potter world would at least pay homage to Middle Earth. J.K. Rowling spent seven years writing the first book in what had to have been a labor of love. Creating a new world, rich characters and a dense history, she received a mere $4,000 advance on the second book. She has since become the first person to make a billion dollars on books. A billion dollars! Her story is always an inspiring one to remember. She didn't set out to make a billion dollars, instead she spent many years working on something than most would have given up on but a love for it drove her to finish.
In the Order of the Phoenix, Voldemort builds up an army and Harry Potter fights for his right to fight - much like the Hobbits in the last Lord of the Rings.
Here are how the characters correspond to each other:
Harry Potter is Frodo - an innocent who bears a burden and is always the target of evil.
Lord Voldemort is Lord Sauron - pure evil, defeated once and gaining the power to reincarnate.
The scar is the ring - the burden becomes more painful as evil is near.
Dumbledore is Gandalf - the wise leader.
Sirius Black is Aragon - the outsider who helps our innocent.
The Deatheaters are Saruman - respected and powerful, they've defected to the dark side.
Malfoy is Gollum - unusually corrupted, he wants what the innocent has.
Wormtail is Grima Wormtongue - witless servant to the dark lord.
The Dementors are The Nazgul - faceless and cloaked in black, they are terrifying creatures.
I know that these parallels are also found in Star Wars and any great epic or adventures with classic heroes and villains from mythology. I still look forward to seeing what's to be found in the fifth Harry Potter.
Being British and also fantasy, it would make sense that the Harry Potter world would at least pay homage to Middle Earth. J.K. Rowling spent seven years writing the first book in what had to have been a labor of love. Creating a new world, rich characters and a dense history, she received a mere $4,000 advance on the second book. She has since become the first person to make a billion dollars on books. A billion dollars! Her story is always an inspiring one to remember. She didn't set out to make a billion dollars, instead she spent many years working on something than most would have given up on but a love for it drove her to finish.
In the Order of the Phoenix, Voldemort builds up an army and Harry Potter fights for his right to fight - much like the Hobbits in the last Lord of the Rings.
Here are how the characters correspond to each other:Harry Potter is Frodo - an innocent who bears a burden and is always the target of evil.
Lord Voldemort is Lord Sauron - pure evil, defeated once and gaining the power to reincarnate.
The scar is the ring - the burden becomes more painful as evil is near.
Dumbledore is Gandalf - the wise leader.
Sirius Black is Aragon - the outsider who helps our innocent.
The Deatheaters are Saruman - respected and powerful, they've defected to the dark side.
Malfoy is Gollum - unusually corrupted, he wants what the innocent has.
Wormtail is Grima Wormtongue - witless servant to the dark lord.
The Dementors are The Nazgul - faceless and cloaked in black, they are terrifying creatures.
I know that these parallels are also found in Star Wars and any great epic or adventures with classic heroes and villains from mythology. I still look forward to seeing what's to be found in the fifth Harry Potter.
Monday, July 2, 2007
Would you like to play a game?
Several months ago, I read an article in Wired about a virtual reality game for kids. Apparently kids are addicted to dressing their penguin and decorating their igloos. This little girl stole game money from her brother to buy her penguin a giant screen TV (I think she was eight) and it upset the parents. I thought to myself “if we’re going to go virtual, why not practice doing something valuable?” With millions of people online, we have a real life Petri dish to practice global policy, fighting terrorism, or reducing global warming. Remember War Games?
In fact, it wouldn’t have to be just a game. It could create real awareness, drive real policy and make real change. SimCity lets players design their own city. This would be a MMPOG (massive multi-player online game) in which the players have to cooperate to make the world a better place. What happens to the world if you buy a hybrid and trade in your gas-guzzler? What if you replace your light bulbs with fluorescent? What if you install energy-saving appliances? What if everyone does? Imagine seeing the ACTUAL impact on the earth at the exact moment that it happens. Imagine how many people you could inspire to make change if they could actually see the difference.
Then I got another idea. Instead of getting email from Amnesty International to send a letter to a political prisoner, a request to sign a petition from the Humane Society to save the baby seals, or a plea to send a letter to your congressperson regarding a labor issue from MoveOn, what if it happened in the game? On a world map are issues, hotspots and things going on in the world. When you roll over or click, you get an alert. A monk has just been taken prisoner in China. He spoke out again the government and now he’s in jail. Send a letter! Maybe you pay a dollar and one is sent for you, or you could donate $10. Organize a rally to get other players interested in your cause.
In real-time you monitor the progress. Photos, articles and updates are posted, as they are available. The amount of money being donated and letters sent are displayed, again, in real-time. All over the world, things are happening that you can be a part of. How often have you written a check to an organization, sent it off and then what? Do you know where that money went? What cause it went towards? Do you know the outcome of that cause? This way, we all get to share in the struggle; we get to see our efforts count.
And then this weekend I saw a headline in the paper: “Earth program helps non-profits raise money.” Google Earth Outreach is the formal launch of a program that allows non-profits to utilize Google Earth to raise awareness by letting users visualize issues on a world map. One example mentioned is a Brazilian Indian tribe that wants to stop loggers and miners from deforesting the jungle to dig for gold.
I downloaded Google Earth and so far, it’s not that exciting. It has a long way to go. It’s mostly just a portal to, what else, Google. Another way to find links and images. I've received two form letters that I wasn’t qualified to work there (someone told me they get 2,500 resumes a week as it is, after all, the best company in America to work for) but I have my finger on the pulse and my vision is still way better than what they’ve got going on!
In fact, it wouldn’t have to be just a game. It could create real awareness, drive real policy and make real change. SimCity lets players design their own city. This would be a MMPOG (massive multi-player online game) in which the players have to cooperate to make the world a better place. What happens to the world if you buy a hybrid and trade in your gas-guzzler? What if you replace your light bulbs with fluorescent? What if you install energy-saving appliances? What if everyone does? Imagine seeing the ACTUAL impact on the earth at the exact moment that it happens. Imagine how many people you could inspire to make change if they could actually see the difference.
Then I got another idea. Instead of getting email from Amnesty International to send a letter to a political prisoner, a request to sign a petition from the Humane Society to save the baby seals, or a plea to send a letter to your congressperson regarding a labor issue from MoveOn, what if it happened in the game? On a world map are issues, hotspots and things going on in the world. When you roll over or click, you get an alert. A monk has just been taken prisoner in China. He spoke out again the government and now he’s in jail. Send a letter! Maybe you pay a dollar and one is sent for you, or you could donate $10. Organize a rally to get other players interested in your cause.
In real-time you monitor the progress. Photos, articles and updates are posted, as they are available. The amount of money being donated and letters sent are displayed, again, in real-time. All over the world, things are happening that you can be a part of. How often have you written a check to an organization, sent it off and then what? Do you know where that money went? What cause it went towards? Do you know the outcome of that cause? This way, we all get to share in the struggle; we get to see our efforts count.
And then this weekend I saw a headline in the paper: “Earth program helps non-profits raise money.” Google Earth Outreach is the formal launch of a program that allows non-profits to utilize Google Earth to raise awareness by letting users visualize issues on a world map. One example mentioned is a Brazilian Indian tribe that wants to stop loggers and miners from deforesting the jungle to dig for gold.
I downloaded Google Earth and so far, it’s not that exciting. It has a long way to go. It’s mostly just a portal to, what else, Google. Another way to find links and images. I've received two form letters that I wasn’t qualified to work there (someone told me they get 2,500 resumes a week as it is, after all, the best company in America to work for) but I have my finger on the pulse and my vision is still way better than what they’ve got going on!
Sunday, July 1, 2007
One step behind the terrorists
My mom just got back from a business trip and almost missed her flight home. The airlines changed the gate and no one told her. She sat for an hour and a half at the wrong gate in a terminal with no food. Hungry and wanting coffee, and they'd be boarding soon. When it was time to board, nothing happened. Puzzled, she asked about the flight and was then told she was at the wrong gate. She and several other people made a mad dash to catch their flight in another terminal halfway across the airport. Along the way she passed Peet's Coffee, Wolfgang Puck's, California Pizza Kitchen, damn! They barely made it and some people probably didn't.
A friend of mine told me almost the identical story a few weeks ago, and this happened to me about a month ago. Seems to be a trend. A co-worker of my mom theorized, "The airlines are overbooking every flight, this is their way of trimming off the extra." Those people will miss their flight, get on the next one and there's always a wait list to make sure every flight is full. My friend asked, "Isn't it a security issue to have luggage on the plane without a passenger?" Interesting point.
Why is it, my mom asks, that there's so much security at the airport anyway? Many situations present possible danger for far greater numbers of people. "There are probably more people shopping at the grocery store than sitting on that flight," she says, "and no security there, why not?" I told her it was because since 9-11, we've learned that airplanes can be used as a weapon and kill far more than who is on the plane.
That naturally segued into strategies for better flying. Pack light, bring only a small carry on, wear slip on shoes, forget the jacket and the belt. She tells another story about being scolded for leaving a water bottle in her bag. "What's the water thing all about anyway?" "Well," I said, "we're always very cleverly one step behind the terrorists." We didn't have to take off our shoes until there was the shoe bomber. Then someone supposedly had liquid explosives and now we can't bring water to drink on the plane. Who ever heard of anyone being protected by being one step behind the criminal mind? I don't feel any safer. Especially since I know 100% of the gaps in security are user error.
Last time I was at the airport a woman set off the metal detector when she went through. "Oh," she said, and pointed at her heavy bracelet. "Okay," the guy nods and lets her go. Uh, what? They're supposed to make you take off the metal, put it in the bin and make you go through again. Even I know that! That's the oldest trick in the book. Set off the metal detector, point to a bracelet? Meanwhile, she's got a pistol in an ankle holster. Anyone who's watched a movie knows that one.
I don't know what's behind the last minute switching of the gates but it seems to be going around. Maybe it's some clever ploy to fool the terrorists. Maybe the last terrorist plot was by some guy who talked on the phone and missed his plane when they switched the gate and the geniuses in charge decided to keep that gag running. All I know is this. When you get to the gate, go to the counter and ask a person if it's the gate for your flight to your destination at your time. And don't settle for anything other than yes, yes and yes. Do that and then relax and enjoy the flight!
A friend of mine told me almost the identical story a few weeks ago, and this happened to me about a month ago. Seems to be a trend. A co-worker of my mom theorized, "The airlines are overbooking every flight, this is their way of trimming off the extra." Those people will miss their flight, get on the next one and there's always a wait list to make sure every flight is full. My friend asked, "Isn't it a security issue to have luggage on the plane without a passenger?" Interesting point.
Why is it, my mom asks, that there's so much security at the airport anyway? Many situations present possible danger for far greater numbers of people. "There are probably more people shopping at the grocery store than sitting on that flight," she says, "and no security there, why not?" I told her it was because since 9-11, we've learned that airplanes can be used as a weapon and kill far more than who is on the plane.
That naturally segued into strategies for better flying. Pack light, bring only a small carry on, wear slip on shoes, forget the jacket and the belt. She tells another story about being scolded for leaving a water bottle in her bag. "What's the water thing all about anyway?" "Well," I said, "we're always very cleverly one step behind the terrorists." We didn't have to take off our shoes until there was the shoe bomber. Then someone supposedly had liquid explosives and now we can't bring water to drink on the plane. Who ever heard of anyone being protected by being one step behind the criminal mind? I don't feel any safer. Especially since I know 100% of the gaps in security are user error.
Last time I was at the airport a woman set off the metal detector when she went through. "Oh," she said, and pointed at her heavy bracelet. "Okay," the guy nods and lets her go. Uh, what? They're supposed to make you take off the metal, put it in the bin and make you go through again. Even I know that! That's the oldest trick in the book. Set off the metal detector, point to a bracelet? Meanwhile, she's got a pistol in an ankle holster. Anyone who's watched a movie knows that one.
I don't know what's behind the last minute switching of the gates but it seems to be going around. Maybe it's some clever ploy to fool the terrorists. Maybe the last terrorist plot was by some guy who talked on the phone and missed his plane when they switched the gate and the geniuses in charge decided to keep that gag running. All I know is this. When you get to the gate, go to the counter and ask a person if it's the gate for your flight to your destination at your time. And don't settle for anything other than yes, yes and yes. Do that and then relax and enjoy the flight!
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