Community Matters

(Community Matters) It now feels like the holidays.  My parents, siblings, niece and nephews arrived yesterday midday for a 3 day celebration of my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary.   [they didn’t want a party, sorta live a party with tons of friends and family at their ranch nearly every weekend, so just us] We’ve never hosted everyone in Austin at one time – quite nice.  Perfect arrangements – parents in guest house, siblings and most of their kids in a rented house just across the street on the park, oldest nephew in our guest room. Last night causal dinner with a few other family members.  Today photos nearly all day – Matt Rainwater’s taking portraits of extended family, smaller/nuclear families, Steven/me & our god children.  50th celebration dinner at Fonda’s tonight.  Sunday an early Xmas celebration/dinner especially for showering the kids with gifts.

Steven and I even decorated for Xmas a wee bit – we haven’t spent Xmas at home in years (maybe only twice in our 10+ years).  Well guess we won’t this year either; nevertheless, Sunday’s the proxy day for it.  I’ll post some pictures; I gotta remember to take some.

(btw, this pic from a reunion last year or year prior)

(Community Matters) The Rude Mechs remount Richard Schechner’s Dionysus in ’69, the Greek Tragedy at the Dawn of the Third Millennium. Not for everyone but an important production. NSFW

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(Community Matters) Before the breast cancer service collaboration ever launched, Jan Hill had a dream that there’d be a hill country ride for breast cancer.  She never let up.  Even during the darkest days of the collaboration – and there were some – she’d bring up the damn bike ride and how we had to get there.  Good for Jan!

Yesterday, ride organizer David Smith and his sponsor, Care Communities’ Carol Johnson, distributed over $411,000 to breast cancer service organizations in Central Texas.  Well, including $37,000+ to the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Central Texas which helped launch the ride.  EF won’t spend these monies, we’ll regrant them to breast cancer service providers.  And, we’ll do so based on the recommendations of breast cancer service providers collectively deciding on priorities, taking a bigger picture than that of just their agency.

The inaugural race resulted in an over 70% net profit. This is extraordinary for a first time race.  Even seasoned races often net only between 50% and 60%.  Kudos to the hundreds of riders, volunteers and staff

(Community Matters) more posted in facebook albums

in Hampstead Heath

photographer Jad Oakes & his sister, Zeina Amoul

Amoul’s – our favorite place for a meal in the London

in East London’s Market District

I would kill for this vehicle

(Community Matters) from MoveOn.org

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(Community Matters) What if Pres Obama persuaded Americans to purchase war bonds totaling what we’ve spent on our two wars the last 8 years? These could be medium and long term, offer rates equal to or better than available to individuals today and allowing the govt to better match maturities of its outstanding debt. It would also segregate our national indebtedness as a result of the wars from that as a result of domestic spending.

Less sure but thinking out loud . . . We might even sell healthcare bonds to finance our investment in healthcare coverage for ten years.

(Community Matters) Two page report on progress on LGBT equality from the Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund and the Movement Advancement Project.

and list of Obama Administration’s accomplishments in LGBT equality

(Community Matters) We were delayed in our return from London to NYC and missed our flight to Austin.  Returning Thursday morning.  Apologies for tomorrow morning’s meetings being rescheduled.

(Community Matters) in an on-line conversation w/ a friend: Re when are more taxes the answer, I think the answer is “now.” We’ve been fighting wars for 9 years and never raised taxes to pay for those wars. That was irresponsible of us. I disagree with postponing long overdue social, safety net reform b/c of our failure to fund the wars. Now is the time to raise taxes temporarily to pay for the wars. Without the war deficits and given the budget surpluses we were generating, we can afford necessary investments in healthcare, education and physical infrastructure.

(Community Matters) Sounds like finally folks are listening to Paul Volcker – thankfully.  Congrats to the Senators McCain and Cantwell for introducing legislation to bring back Glass-Steagall.  The Administration has not been served well by listening to Geithner and Sumners about financial institution re-regulation.  I hope they’ll embrace the separation of commercial and investment banking.

Nate Silver saying there isn’t broad enough support to breakup the banks (too big to fail/Glass Steagall) but there is for major financial regulation.

(Community Matters) We actually expected to see a lot more shows while here but 1) many had finished and others not starting until Thursday and 2) we’ve enjoyed chilling more than normal.  We’ve both become so comfortable hanging in our regular spots, our same room at the hotel, same coffee shops, bistros, it has been precious decompression time for both of us. It’s kinda telling what creatures of habit we are here – two instance stand out.  Yesterday, Steven wanted to take a picture in front of an old English phone booth outside our hotel.  I mentioned we already had one from a couple of years ago.  Embarrassingly when I pulled it up on my computer, we were wearing the same shirts then as 2 years prior.  Second, we walked in for lunch at my favorite bistro, only to have the owner’s daughter greet us fondly and by name, wondering where we’d been.

Nevertheless, we have seen two fantastic shows.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Tennessee Williams’ play performed by an oustanding all Black cast, and directed by African American dancer (& obviously now director) Debbie Allen.  Leads: James Earl Jones, Phylicia Rashad, Adrian Lester & Sanaa Lathan.  Outstanding.  Neither of us had ever seen the show performed on stage.  Loved it.

David Hare’s The Power of Yes

Extraordinarily timely.  David sought to understand the current financial crisis and wrote this story about it, after identifying the threads, assumptions and causes.  He articulates the truth as felt by the participants he interviewed.  This was extraordinarily timely because I’ve been wrestling with my own thoughts about the crisis – more about this administration’s failure to boldly reconfigure/reregulate the US financial industry as it exists. I don’t think the President is any longer served well by Geithner or Sumners.  They should be listening more to Paul Volcker.

(Community Matters) Lily Christie – with help from her daddy Charles

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