Monthly Archives: November 2011

(Community Matters)

Woke up here:

SOHO, NY

now here:

Traverse City, MI

(Community Matters) dinner Saturday night at our dear friend’s, Suzanne Tick in the East Village.  What a nice year – a couple of times in Marfa, last time for the Shawn Colvin concert and previous time a POTUS dinner in New York.

Suzanne invited over friends – some new, some reintroduced – and cooked an exquisite flounder (I was unaware of Panko, Japanese bread crumbs – yum). Great conversations about  teaching, the textile world (in which Suzanne dominates), banking, Occupy Wall Street, politics and art.

the installation in this photo is Suzanne’s, it’s called Refuse DC 2011. It’s made of 4800 clothes hangars hand woven with a new fiber Suzanne created. It’s sister lives in the Gates Foundation offices. It’s magnificent.

(Community Matters) beautiful wedding ceremony yesterday for our friends Mitch Draizin and Philippe (Fritz) Brugere-Trelat at Daniel’s in New York.  Funny, heartfelt, classic and light – a super ceremony among 100-125  nieces, brothers, a mom and friends, including NY’s attorney general, a few congressmen, state reps and lots of major donors.

(Community Matters) Walking through Zuccotti Park, visiting among Occupy Wall Street participants was more impactful than I expected.  Sure . . . . there are some people there who I’m not sure have anywhere else to be. And, there are many earnest and dedicated advocates who believe they may help save our country. Polls suggest they are making a big impact – the media’s political narrative has transitioned from only debt & deficits to jobs and income inequality. Before the occupation debt was mentioned 100 times more often than jobs by national media. Since Occupy Wall Street, as measured during the middle of October, jobs was mentioned nearly 5 times as often as debt – “occupy” and “wall street” were even mentioned many times more than debt.

 Over 80% of Americans agree the economy is upside down, that too many Americans are working more & harder for less while Wall Street CEOs enjoy bigger bonuses than ever. 72% of Americans express loss of confidence in the American dream: if you work hard, you can achieve enough for your family.

What we saw today was orderly & neat. We heard a lot of conversation (some which sounded quite thoughtful). Some in the park seemed overwhelmed by all the attention they were getting. While Americans might not understand the “objectives” of Occupiers, 48% agree with the overall message – only 25% disagree (the rest don’t know).  Support crosses all demographics – seniors, young people, suburban, blue collar, and people living in rural areas.

We saw no anarchy, no neglect. The community is a model of what the occupiers and many of us want: a discussion of justice, governance and stewardship – attention to equality. We are talking about the sustainability of democracy.

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(Community Matters) Kudos, thanks and god speed to our friend Marcy Hoen who’s just been named the permanent ED for the Austin Creative Alliance (ACA).

The mission of the Austin Creative Alliance is to advance, connect and celebrate
Austin’s arts, cultural, and creative communities in order to nourish and strengthen the character, quality of life, and economic prosperity of our region.

ACA was formed from the existing Austin Circle of Theatres, with a much broader mission based on the CreateAustin Plan.

Marcy is a rock star. Look for CAA to become a political and economic force in Central Texas.

Interestingly, just yesterday I updated the ABPorter site to note that Steven and I believe a robust, well-supported and varied arts community is essential to maintaining Austin’s competitive, economic advantage as a creative community.

(Community Matters) Hate missing this year’s event – today & tomorrow. If you are somehow unfamiliar EAST, do yourself a favor – just drop in on a couple of galleries. It’s contagious, outrageous and much more than just a tour

(Community Matters) My friends at the Dachis Group are publishing a weekly Top 20 list  in The Atlantic Wire

The index  covers approximately 25,0000 companies and 27,000 brands, detecting behaviors and activities, and analyzes their execution and effectiveness.

(Community Matters) The lying son of a bitch is back and at it again

Against Elizabeth Warren

Against Sen Jon Tester (D-Mont)

just last night we were talking about his rude behavior at the last Tuesday Club’s dinner.

(Community Matters) Entrepreneur Matt Gilligan is inspired to encourage his fellow entrepreneurs to also set aside equity for future philanthropy.

We couldn’t agree more; it’s a great way for startup entrepreneurs to launch their philanthropy and to build the right culture from the very beginning. Matt’s first experience at this was through our affiliate, the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Colorado.

Thanks, Matt!

Entrepreneurs Foundation of Central Texas

(Community Matters) thanks men; thanks women

(Community Matters) My cousin is leaving his post as executive director for the White House Initiative on Hispanic Education Excellence to join the DNC as senior advisor for latino affairs. Juan ran Pres Obama’s general campaign in Texas, now he’ll have responsibilities across the country. What can you say about Juan – a Harvard undergrad, Stanford Law grad and the country’s third Hispanic Rhodes scholar. Posted from my blackberry

that’s Juan in the center behind Pres Obama

(Community Matters) read up on the Facebook privacy settlement under President Obama’s FTC. We wouldn’t have this sorta advocacy for internet privacy under a Republican president. Posted from my blackberry