Monthly Archives: March 2011

(Community Matters) today’s SXSW keynote

On Christopher Poole’s new venture: He said he’s tried to keep growth of Canvas slow and methodical by limiting it to a small group of users.

He’s more turned on now by discussions about the value of online anonymity (he’s in favor of Internet users being able to have youthful indiscretions without it following them the rest of their lives) and by a growing creative culture online that even big brands are embracing.

“Companies are inviting their customers to submit ideas and be part of their vision,” he said. “That’s something that really wasn’t happening 10 years ago. There’s so much value and energy you can tap into by having people play with your staff, your brand, your products. Nothing is stale. It’s all rich and interactive.”

(Community Matters) the most blatant – Michigan: raising $1.7B from the poor & elderly while giving businesses $1.8B in additional tax breaks (on video below at 12:18. The pattern Andy wrote about – see earlier post, Priorities

(Community Matters) Ft Worth Council Member Joel Burn’s brother, Cody Burns, killed in a car accident yesterday – condolences Joel, JD and the entire family.

(Community Matters) “My own idiosyncratic bent as a writer, no doubt a legacy of my years spent in the theater, is to look for a narrative in the many competing dramas unfolding on the national stage.” – Frank Rich

(Community Matters) copying & pasting Andrew Tobias’ blog posting today, it’s especially thought-provoking:

(Community Matters) I’m not a woo woo person at all. In fact, I’m often (though not always) too damn analytical for my own good. Anyhow . . . I’ve gone to a chiropractor twice this week for my back. The second time, he had me do a 45 min massage with a woman who was manipulating the muscles around my spinal cord. I liked her and we were talking. She apologized up front and then told me she thought a lot of what she was feeling was emotional. Now, that almost made me get up from the table, get dressed and go home. I was like  . . . whatever. But, my back hurt too much to get up, I was naked under the sheet, and I didn’t want to be rude, so I asked her to explain what she meant. She said she felt sadness. I thought about this and it didn’t make sense – told her I was among the happiest, luckiest people I know. Oh yeah, I was going to Jan Hughes’ funeral that afternoon. No she said, it’s much deeper than something that just happened. Anyway . . . still didn’t make sense to me – silly woo woo people.

Discussing this Friday morning with Steven he encouraged me not to dismiss what she was saying. He acknowledged he didn’t know of sadness that I haven’t dealt with during the 12 years we’ve been together; nevertheless, he referenced Eckhart Tolle’s The Pain Body and suggested I pay attention.

Continue reading →

(Community Matters) Suzanne Deal Booth & Jenny Lebermann chaired an outstanding event Thursday night. I enjoyed serving on their committee along with lots of other friends including Larry Connelly, Fairfax Dorn, Deborah Green, Kate Hersch, Jeanne Klein, Diane Land, Chris Mattson, Carla McDonald, Lynn Meredith, Carolyn Pfeiffer, Amy Rudy, Eddie Safady, Julia Smith and Julie Thorton. Shannon Moody led and pulled everything together – I hope for a record breaking year. Continue reading →

(Community Matters) just having time to read what happened in Japan. This is horrific. Earthquake & tsunami what happened & why – the Guardian

The survey said that Friday’s quake was centered off the coast of Honshu, the most populous of the Japanese islands, at a point about 230 miles northeast of Tokyo and a depth of about 15 miles below the earth’s surface

On the rooftop of Chuo Hospital in the city of Iwanuma, doctors and nurses were waving white flags and pink umbrellas, according to TV Asahi. On the floor of the roof, they wrote “Help” in English, and “Food” in Japanese. The reporter, observing the scene from a helicopter, said, “If anyone in the City Hall office is watching, please help them.”

On Friday, NHK television showed images of a huge fire sweeping across Kesennuma, a city of more than 70,000 people in the northeast. Whole blocks appeared to be ablaze.

The tsunami assaulted Hawaii with seven-foot waves, although it caused little damage. Powerful surges that hit the West Coast of the United States caused boats to sink in Santa Cruz Harbor. The Coast Guard reported that one person was swept to sea near McKinleyville, Calif., while trying to take pictures of the waves, and a search had begun.

(Community Matters) The Austin Chronicle nails hypocrites

Listen, everyone needs to back up, realize we’re all human, excitable and flawed. Randi apologized and Robin Rather needs to do so now. As this article points out, there are many many more documented cases of Robin going off the rails. Both of them have been important contributors to Austin and our region.

frame for this posting if you haven’t read

btw, I wouldn’t qualify as never having sent an overly emotional, wish-I-could-hit-unsend email either

(Community Matters) Went in for my second appointment today. Can’t say I felt any better from my first appointment, though I was feeling better this morning. Walked in without my cane, though still limping slightly (mostly because exiting from car). The doctor had recommended a massage, then an examination.

The therapist explained her process, working to manipulate the specific muscles which were causing the spasms. She knew what she was doing, I could feel the muscles moving. Says she was moving them into place, though it could take several visits. Massage felt great. I think she’s especially gifted. I don’t know whether or not her detection of sadness in the musculature could be right – I feel extraordinarily happy and blessed. When I got off the table, my alignment was worse however (I can tell by how much shorter my right leg appears from my left – going in, probably only 0.5″; after, about 1.5″ to 2″).

The doctor then saw me. His physical manipulations felt even better. After only 15 minutes on his table, I left almost in alignment. I told him I was blogging about this but wouldn’t reveal his name until I decided whether chiropractics has helped or not.  Ran into my personal trainer (Cody Butler) who was entering as I was exiting the office; that’s gotta be a good sign.

Cost? Don’t know yet. I only paid $50 co-pay today but think they’ll be billing me for full amount.

(Community Matters) Harvard Professor Michael Porter and Dr. Mark Kramer say we should focus on Creating Shared Value (the principle of shared value, which involves creating economic value in a way that also creates value for society by addressing its needs and challenges.) It’s the intersection between society and corporate performance

Capitalism is an unparalleled vehicle for meeting human needs, improving efficiency, creating jobs, and building wealth. But a narrow conception of capitalism has prevented business from harnessing its full potential to meet society’s broader challenges. The opportunities have been there all along but have been overlooked. Businesses acting as businesses, not as charitable donors, are the most powerful force for addressing the pressing issues we face. The moment for a new conception of capitalism is now; society’s needs are large and growing, while customers, employees, and a new generation of young people are asking business to step up.

McKinsey & Company’s last (2009) Corporate Social Responsibility survey results – overwhelming (80%+) consensus of long term shareholder value from environmental, social and governance programs constituting CSR. Investment professionals see even more value than CFOs. “By wide margins, CFOs, investment professionals, and corporate social responsibility professionals agree that maintaining a good corporate reputation or brand equity is the most important way these programs create value,” followed by attracting, motivating and retaining the right employees.

(Community Matters) it’s getting really old – newest trick is they give a teaser fare on the outboud – $360 to $600 flights to NY but then minimum of $703 to return via a direct. Aside from the direct flights to Washington DC, I’m seeing no good come of this merger to passengers.

Oh yeah, when I was talking about the decreased friendliness of “Continental’s” flight attendants with a flight attendant, it was explained to me that this was a bargaining position and that since they’d been excluded from profit sharing, they were holding back on their friendliness. Really you guys?