I have my own relationship to food. To health. To my body.

I find myself intrigued and compelled to things that seem logical, Godly and easy. In that, I like the concept that food is God’s kindest and smartest medicine for strength and capacity, for curative powers and for prevention. And while I eat my greens and such, I also feel drawn to foods that are strong in taste, and Dr. Schulze’s SuperTonic Plague Fighter is one of my favorite examples of this. It’s a combination of garlic, onion, habanero pepper, ginger and horse radish, in a base of apple cider vinegar. (Recipe/instructions here.) And, if that doesn’t spark things up inside my body, I don’t know what will. Recently, a chef in Atlanta, commented on an earlier blog post of mine, that he not only makes his own STPF, but that he also sells it at his restaurants, and his customers love it.

I’m wondering — and wouldn’t be surprised to see more of this — that as Individuals In A Nation Transforming, as expectations and attitudes toward caring about our health shift, what that might look like. Me? I’m interested in more personal responsibility. I’m interested in less righteousness about showing up at the doors of Our Health Care System, demanding endless treatment for problems self-created by a life-time of careless choices. I’m interested in supporting others and being supported by others in a culture informed by the belief that we each play a role in both the big — and the infinitesimally small — picture of A Healthy Nation. I want to walk into a local restaurant and be able to choose a good wholesome soup … and a bottle of flu buster, made fresh that day by the chef. I want to be acknowledged by The Health Care System for the choices and lifestyle I’ve lived. I want to be honored and respected for that. And while I’m not advocating for specific punishment, per se, for those who’ve chosen otherwise, I want to live in a culture that speaks with a clear and honest voice about the impact of choices made. And the responsibility of individuals to participate in The Care Of Their Health while they receive from the bounty of The Health Care System.

You? I don’t know what you want. I don’t know how you see it. I don’t ask that you see things exactly as I do. But I do want — and hope to find as I live my life — more people in the tribe/bandwidth/vibe of the realm of this thinking. The solutions: so many of them are right here, right now. It’s a matter of truth telling, I think. Being clear, real, straight up.

Hey, I’ll drink to that! And I invite you to join me. Perhaps we can have a  shot of SuperTonic Plague Fighter, straight up.

I’m all for the USPS cutting a day of delivery service to reduce expenses. Personally, I think for $.44, having a piece of mail picked up from my home and delivered straight to the door of any address in the U.S. has got to be the best bargain on the planet. So, if the Postal Service needs to trim a bit, ok, works for me.

But why Saturday? Why not a weekday? Are we such an old-school bunch of thinkers to believe life happens M-F? Yeah, I get that M-F are classic biz and gov days of operation. So, what biz is going to actually falter if they can’t have USPS pick-up or delivery one day out of the week? Really. But it would be, imo, more harmful/disruptive/noticeable not to have delivery two days in a week: Saturday and Sunday. And, mercy, what about a gov holiday? What happens on President’s Day? No mail delivery for three days?

I say cut Wednesday. Or maybe Thursday. But not Saturday. That’s a bureacrat’s answer. Think, people.

Looking for the schedule of the Columbia Association’s lakefront movies for 2009, I typed in to Google a very respectable string of words: “columbia association” lakefront, movies, 2009. Lo, and behold, the Washington Post’s info was the #1 choice.

And, so I clicked.

I’m so dumbfounded that I’m beyond anger. I just skipped the Pissed-Off stage and went straight to: You Should Just Die and Be Gone.

Oh, OK, maybe I dipped my toe in the anger pool … but just a bit. No, really, people, check this out. Click here. Scan it. See if you can find useful information presented in a user-friendly way. Maybe, even if your curiosity strikes you: try adding an event to your calendar. HAH!

Back to the drawing board.

My post, Twitter: It’s a GenX Thing, caused a stir and flurry of comments on this blog. (Translate that as anyone who wants to read me being bashed might like the initial post.) I’m involved in the conversation there and just went a layer deeper with this comment, below:

****

I offer that any conversation about generations, twitter and any other social media is informed less by stats and more by WHY. Why is twitter popular now? Because someone created technology? A tool? Yet-another geeky thing? Hardly. Twitter, I believe, is popular because whatever gen is ascending into midlife (that’s GenX) has the most power and influence of and for the times. So GenX — back to my original position — orient toward GAPS. Why, cuz Boomers tend to take up space and squat on turf and not move over when the natural time for them to move on over occurs. GenX know this in the core of their souls. So rather than fight an entire generation of turf-squatters, we find gaps. The spaces not filled. The neglected areas. The opportunities that, cobbled together, bit by bit, make for magnificent change.

And, Twitter, is a most-excellent tool for filling small gaps. It’s SMALL. It’s specific. It provides no room for deep, prolonged naval gazing (sorry boomers, had to stick that one in). No room for deep, meaningful exploration of a subject. Function. Now. Reality. GenX. Gaps. Small spaces. Small opportunities.

Twitter: It’s a GenX Thing.

Hey, I’m right back at where I started.

Memorial Day reminds us that our brave young men and women continue to fight and die in the Bush-Cheney wars of lies.

1. Cheney’s Iraq-Torture Scandal

In 2002 and 2003, Dick Cheney ordered the torture of key prisoners captured in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Cheney says he ordered torture to stop another terrorist attack, but the evidence is now clear: Cheney wanted false “confessions” to justify the unprovoked U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Those “confessions” were featured in key pre-war speeches by Cheney, George Bush, and Colin Powell that betrayed Congress, the American people, and the world.

Thus the “Torture” scandal and the “Iraq” scandal are not two separate scandals, but one massive and historically disastrous scandal: the Iraq-Torture Scandal.

Cheney claims his torture “saved hundreds of thousands of lives.” In reality, it cost hundreds of thousands of lives – innocent Iraqi lives. It also killed over 4,300 U.S. soldiers, maimed hundreds of thousands more, cost U.S. taxpayers $3 trillion dollars, and profoundly damaged U.S. credibility and security.

Dick Cheney understands the enormity of his crimes and launched a public relations war to protect himself, including carefully-chosen TV interviews and speeches. His daughter (and chief defender) Liz Cheney admitted her father’s greatest fear is prosecution.

It’s time for Congress to investigate the massive Iraq-Torture Scandal – and for the Department of Justice to prosecute Dick Cheney for creating it.

Please sign our new petition to Congress and Attorney General Holder:
http://www.democrats.com/iraq-torture-petition?cid=ZGVtczExODA0NmRlbXM=

2. Break Up the Banks – Town Hall Meetings

In April, we joined A New Way Forwardto hold nation-wide protests against Washington’s massive bailout of the banks that created our financial crisis.

During the week of June 8, A New Way Forward will hold Town Hall Meetings to build support for breaking up the banks. If they are “too big to fail” then they are “too big to exist.”

Please sign our petition to Congress:
http://www.democrats.com/break-up-the-banks?cid=ZGVtczExODA0NmRlbXM=

Find a Town Hall Meeting near you, or help organize one:
http://www.anewwayforward.org/demonstrations/

3. David Swanson’s New Book: “Daybreak”

For the past five years, no one has worked harder to stop the crimes of the Bush Admininstration than our Washington Director, David Swanson.

David just finished his comprehensive book about how we can fix our Democracy after the Bush-Cheney dictatorship. It’s called “Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union.”

You can pre-order ”Daybreak” for $10.17 at Amazon:
http://tinyurl.com/daybreakbook

You can also help David plan his cross-country book tour this fall:
http://davidswanson.org/booktour

Watch David discuss Dick Cheney’s recent speech with Paul Jay of The Real News:
http://tinyurl.com/ok942t

“Daybreak urgently reminds us that good political intentions are not sufficient to ensure the continuation of our democracy; informed vigilance is vital to that task.”
-Mark Karlin, editor of Buzzflash.com

Thanks for all you do!

Bob Fertik

#####

For all my moaning and groaning about the burbs (and, yes, there’s plenty to moan about), I do believe social media is the magic bit that can liven life in the ‘burbs up a bit. These past 48 hours have been testament to this elusive vision I’ve believed in for several years.

Yesterday morning, I posted a note in my Facebook profile that I was hoping to find a friend in my network who liked Leonard Cohen and was going to the concert at Merriweather later in the evening. I wanted to get a ticket and tag along with someone to the concert. Here’s what happened: a friend very generously contacted me in Facebook, telling me he had three VIP tickets to the concert, including two numbered VIP parking spaces. If you know Vince Sharps of Graphic Press in Columbia, you probably won’t be surprised by his generosity; he gave me the tickets! I just love Leonard Cohen’s music and had never seen him perform live until last night. What a treat.

Then, this evening, meeting a friend after work with no major plans other than mutual intuition to get together, I scanned my twitter stream while we were wondering what we might want to do. My twitter stream told me @chrisbachmann was at the #dobbin *$ with @stevefisher. Code language for, “Hey, Chris and Steve are at the Dobbin Starbucks … and they just tweeted about 20 minutes ago so they’re probably still there!” We were just across the street, so we drove over, popped in our friends and decided to then walk over to Qdoba for dinner and yucking it up.

Yahoo for connecting with friends with ease via social media. Lovin’ it.

Some Leonard Cohen for fans and newbies, alike.

Trends, trends, trends. Certainly not the first to spot this one. I just feel the cartoon-comic-drawn character approach to delivering marketing messages is firmly entrenched for now … and probably another 12-15 years before it starts to feel tired.

Examples abound. I just happened to be very impressed by this one for a coffee service. Gosh, how much more fun must it be to be a salesperson for this company?

I’d expect to see lots more of it … even, I’d bet, in government communications.

Trenchant observations … Smart and spry.

That’s how my blog and I were described in today’s Balt Sun article about Howard County bloggers. Smart and spry I understood. Trenchant, while it sounded good, I had to look up on m-w.com. So, first, if you’re here reading my blog because of the article, welcome. May I offer that your curiosity may be tickled more by checking out –

• Hocoblogs.com: a list of blogs by Howard Co residents
• @hocoblogs on twitter
• Hocoblogs on Socializr: the party announcements
• HoCoMoJo:  Soon-to-be-launched news site

Now, on to some “trenchant observations.”

While I spoke to the Sun reporter in late December or early Jan, and the photographer came to our January HocoBlogs party, I found it quite interesting that the article ran the same week the Balt Sun just laid off another round of folk (60 people this time). Interesting timing, ja? Not sure if it was conscious and specific, or just one of the juxtapositions of events that makes life a fascinating treasure hunt for meaning and connection.

I also found it interesting that while listing a number of bloggers and their website, the online version of the story included no links. Fer real. No links to outside content. Now, here’s an article about blogs, Web 2.0, connections, right. And the Balt Sun folk, dying on the vine, can’t muster the courage to trust that their audience will come back to their site if they provide links to content other than theirs.

That’s just sad.

And one more thing, the Sun sent a professional photographer to our event. I’m sure at least a dozen pics of the hundred-plus she took turned out great. She’s a professional, right? Yet the article only included links to the two pics: the same two featured in the print version. That’s just sad. People like pictures. Pictures tell stories.Traditional journalism is getting kicked in the *ss, in part, because it insists on continuing to deliver what is not highly desired by the market today.

Now, while I doubt few would advocate for the wholesale loss of journalism as an art form and business, I find myself less and less interested in the adamant insistence that the industry stay as it’s been.

And, yo, read your generational theory stuff. You’ll get what you need there, but here’s the short version: GenXers are the gen ascending into mid-life. Whatever gen is in mid-life holds cultural dominance, regardless of whether you like it. GenXers want real-now-functional-practical info, and for journalism, much of that need translates to hyper-local, real-time, access-it-anywhere news that is highly customized and personalized to the reader’s specific and individual interests. Sorry to be the breaker of bad news, but haven’t you all figured out by now that your current model isn’t working?

Anyway, remembering my manners after my minor rant, many thanks to the Sun for running the article. And, please, join us in the world of hyper-local news. We need you to survive. But you guys (read: BOOMER-dominated media organizations) won’t ever make it unless you understand that we (read: GENX-I’ll-do-what-I-need-to-do-regardless-of-how-much-you-stand-in-my-way individuals) have an equal, if not — dare I say — more important voice to express at this time in this age.

Well, that’s just my two cents, in any case.

The following article can be found at:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?pageId=85442

.

Kissinger: Obama primed to create ‘New World Order’

By Drew Zahn
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

“Conflicts across the globe and an international respect for Barack Obama have created the perfect setting for establishment of “a New World Order,” according to Henry Kissinger, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and former secretary of state under President Nixon. ….

The president-elect is coming into office at a moment when there is upheaval in many parts of the world simultaneously,” Kissinger responded. “You have India, Pakistan; you have the jihadist movement. So he can’t really say there is one problem, that it’s the most important one. But he can give new impetus to American foreign policy partly because the reception of him is so extraordinary around the world. His task will be to develop an overall strategy for America in this period when, really, a new world order can be created. ….”

.

Revelation 13: 7 states –

“He was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.  All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast …”

and

Daniel 7:23 teaches –

“The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth,  which shall be different from all other kingdoms, And shall devour THE WHOLE EARTH, trample it and break it in pieces. … He shall intend to change times and law …”

.

The mere mention by the ‘world’ that one man can be thought of, to usher in a New Order for the world, to help bring peace and order, shows that Christ must be near to returning.

Was there ever a time in history, when a one world government was even possible?  When the world struggled with slower communications and travel abilities, a one world government could hardly be imagined.

Now with the internet, satellites, planes … instant communication and quick travel ability … a one world leader is not unimaginable!

Imagine that.
Surely a sign, that the “End of this Age” must be near.

It was an accident. I didn’t mean to get to this website. But somehow, there it was, staring me in the face: the Urban Dictionary def of “hoco.” Did you know –

There are more, definitions that is. Give it a look if you’re curious. Who knows? Perhaps some creative, clever and ever-so-Web2.0-savvy folk in Owen Brown and/or Oakland Mills could use this tool (and the rating system) to their advantage? (Hint, hint …)

Ain’t there enough writing on the wall to know that Corporate America just hasn’t the capacity at this moment in time to lead us to “vibrant communities?” Really, folks, ain’t it just time we find our own way through the mess? Ain’t it just time we craft and cobble-together entirely new systems and approaches to cool / fun / vibrant in the ‘burbs?

I don’t know The Way. Or The Absolute One Path. But this is what I’m doing to figure these problems out / understand better/ navigate  –

Got an iPhone.

Got a Twitter account. Several, actually.

Got on Facebook.

Read the blogs.

Comment.

Own my online identity.

Participate.

Learn about hashtags, tags, categories and linking information.

Be a part of mobile journalism, participatory democracy and the whole wave of what is coming through to clean up the deep, dark mess of decades of “grotesque prosperity” earned on the backs of future generations.

Connect.

Communicate.

Collaborate.

Ain’t no one gonna do it for me.

And, here’s another thing I’m doing: geting my butt down to DC this Sunday for the *FREE* unconference/barcamp on eDemocracy. There, I will Listen. Learn. Contribute. Participate.

Community marketing. The next buzzword? Basic common sense? The new frontier of business opportunities in a down market? This article speaks much to the subject of community-centric marketing. Recommend it, I do.

Particularly when people feel more concern about the economy and their futures, their need for community participation heightens. This is classic Fourth Turning stuff, in generational theory. The prior 20 years (a Third Turning) are about expansion and personal choice in an era where individuals feel optimistic about their own futures but pessimistic about public/communal ability to get much of anything done. That shifts in a Fourth Turning, where individual choice is valued less and community/the ability of the public to be successful becomes paramount.

Tip for Businesses Today: Stop with all the expensive marketing, fancy-schmancy brochures, and all the look-at-me-look-at-me collateral material. Get real. Get human. Interact. Demonstrate that you know how to “do more with less” by applying that value to how you reach your own customers. That’s my two cents.

Big fan, I am, of owning one’s identity online. Major reason: Anons often do and say shitty and snitty things online, acting in a manner they would never act in person.

Here’s the low-down on someone who did — under the *assumed* veil of anonymity – something so shitty, that it compelled a community of folk to track them down and expose and expose and expose them some more. This is my kind of story!

Oh, and one of the checks and balances inside of personal expression offered by social media is — talk to Cherie about this for a better understanding — tribal/community pressure.

Talking social media with my BFF. She humored me and permitted to type some thoughts while she spoke.
Social media is not strategic. It’s revolutionary.
It’s not about sales. It’s about relationships.
It’s about putting in new infrastructure.
New connections.
New neural net inside a company.
No longer is this about mainframes, centralized data.
Real time communication between real people that’s archived.
It’s not for the amateur marketer.
It’s a sophisticated interaction.
It extends decision-making to the edges.
There’s a whole new level of human scale that accompanies s.m.
We have to deal with each other in a whole new way.

… Then she got tired. Change of subject. Bye.

Mercy. I just went over to THE_REAL_SHAQ, the twitter site for Shaquille O’Neal. It’s him alright. No fake. He’s got, as of right now, 381,852 followers. Not bad. Not bad at all.

As with anyone I choose to follow on Twitter, I first scan their tweets. He appears to write most of his tweets as @s, which makes his impact on others’ twitter streams pretty light. Ok. Cool. I can dig it.

But then I watched how he communicated. Ugh. I don’t mind an occasional “ain’t” or “dat” or “wassup.” And while “bro” may not make it into one out of a thousand of my tweets, I get that it works for some. However, the bro seems not to have learned a speck of grammar. Or have a modicum of respect for it. It’s off-putting. To me.

Well, he’s certainly got his strengths. And all the more power to him for streaming his life as he does via twitter. It’s cool. He’s exposing others to twitter, and I’m happy for that. Personally, I’m just not interested enough in his stream to become his 381,853rd follower. So be it.

Idag är en stor dag… andra och sista… barnet till dagis. Jag gjorde det!! Bra Henrik!! Två barn på två år!!

Shit!! Vilken resa!! Inga far eller morföräldrar så lång ögat når!! Vi gör ALLT själva!! Vi somnar HELT UTSLAGNA 20.45 varje kväll!! Men nu börjar en NY ERA.
A NEW WORLD ORDER!!

I live in the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. I know a bit about gardening, a bit about seasons and the earth moving around the sun, a bit about generations and a bit about trends.

And while I jus’ luvs me our new president and feel he is, indeed, The Man for the Times, I do wish he had the strength and fortitude to say, “I’m sorry, there isn’t going to be any “stimulus” package now because 1) we don’t have it and 2) it won’t do us much good.”

While many have their squibbles and squabbles about said “stimulus” package, I have my own version of them, and it’s this: You can’t grow fresh, sun-ripened tomatoes in winter. As a matter of fact, not much of anything green and edible grows in winter. Why? Cuz it’s winter. And winter has a different purpose and part to play in the cycle of life.

Winter is when it’s time to conserve energy; stay close, warm and huddled with family and community; fix broken tools and maybe even make some new ones. In Nature, winter is when plants pull deep nutrients into their root systems, preparing for the spring. (That’s why the time to fertilize many trees and shrubs  is in the late fall. To fertilize a shrub in the summer would be disruptive to most shrubs’ systems.)

See, in generational theory, in every Fourth Turning, it’s Society’s Winter. In “winter,” the Prophets (Boomers) are moving into elderhood; the Nomads (GenXers) are moving into midlife; the Heroes (Millennials), into young adulthood; and the Artists (Homeland Gen) are being born into childhood. In winter, all energy is about survival of the tribe (understanding some won’t make it through), placing the values of community over individual needs and making tough decisions so that there is, indeed, a future for The All.

Winter is not a time of harvest; harvest is the energy of Fall (1984 – 2005/6). Nor is winter time for the carefree days of Summer (1964 – 1983) when permissions were lax and worries were few. Nor is it the Spring (1943 – 1962), which started this whole cycle, when the capacity, strength, fortitude and can-do-it-ness forged in the just-prior Winter created the conditions for America to emerge, capable and ready for a glorious future.

Winter is winter.

Treat it otherwise, and there is risk of damaging capacity in spring. Mr, Obama, I know you mean well. I know you have pressures coming at you from all over the place. I know you genuinely want to do good. But your strength as a leader, right now, at this time, is to call a spade a spade and then act into it.

We are in winter, and only in the beginning of what is likely to be a 20-year component of a four-seasonal cycle. Ain’t nothing you can do to get us back to where we were. Why? Because Winter turns to Spring. Winter doesn’t cycle backward to Fall. Your job now, Mr. President — if I may be so bold — is to do your best to lead our country through dark, cold nights so that come Spring (when you’ll long past have been president) we can emerge again for another glorious cycle.

You’re going to have to make profoundly difficult and painful decisions. You’re going to have to let people know that the social contracts and promises offered in and by prior generations cannot be honored. That, together, for the good of the all, expectations are going to have to be adjusted. And that not only is it no longer moral, it’s just no longer possible, that older generations can continue to receive the bounty while passing along the cost to their progeny. A rebalancing, a shifting of expectations, an examination of where we are, who we are, what we are as a country and as individuals is imperative.

And while this may eat at you, and tear at your heart, and how you may not be able to imagine having to make such decisions and speak such words, it is  your job and it is your duty. And the people trust you. And they believe in you. Right now, much of the euphoria may be to hope that you can restore America. But restore us to what? The unsustainable economy of the past 20 years? The expectations of social contracts to be paid upon retirement but no willingness by today’s elder generations to fund even their own coffers when they had the chance? When they were young and in power?

I know you knew this road would be tough. Tougher than most want to believe. And, I offer, it’s tougher even still. For all your capacity — and even if bickering partisan antics disappeared overnight — you cannot grow sun-ripened tomatoes in February in DC. The sooner we all acknowledge that, with you at the lead, the faster we can begin to act appropriate to the season at hand and the faster genuinely effective solutions will emerge.

The conversation about whether to have listservs and/or Web 2.0 dialogue has come up in my life, once again. I believe that the technologies serve very different audiences and that generational preferences and communication styles can add an informative perspective to this conversation. Below is my response to a Boomer I respect (and like) very much. I’m offering my view on why I think organizations need to have both listservs and Web 2.0 tools, at least for now and in the current constellation of generations.

***

To my Boomer friend,

Boomers (the Prophet archetype) grow up in a world, as children, where adults have put tremendous energy into public structures and systems with a focused will to do large projects that make the world better. Boomers grow up in a “world view” that says the physical structures of the world are in great order. That’s why your generation, Boomers, can call forth society to bring spiritual inquiry, values, vision and mission to the tasks at hand. And that’s what your gen does. It sees all the structures and says, “Great, but where is the heart? Where is the soul in all of this success?”

Boomers make the world better by discussion about values. Which is why Boomers tend to prefer listservs. They want to talk and discuss. To contribute their values to a larger conversation so that order will align with values. They tend to like a more closed conversation among an identified group of colleagues. They usually have an agreed-upon, albeit tacit, pecking order of sorts of who has most sway and power on the listservs. I’m going to say something that is not often discussed but is equally important, quite obvious from the GenX perspective and speaks to why an organization might want to keep a listserv going if it’s been around for a long time: Boomers have a tendency squat on turf and not move, for decades! So listservs work for them because once they squat on turf/become an active member of a a listserv (philosophical discussions, community conversations, tech boards, whatever), they’ve marked their territory, built their castle and now have a very real and emotional reason to protect it.

***

GenXers grow up in a world, as children, where adults are focused on themselves and systems are starting to fall apart. GenXers, by definition of their archetypal pattern (Nomad), grow up in a world where adults do not have their hands on the steering wheel. So the world view of GenXers is that any place there is a gap, a broken system, an inefficiency, we fix it. (I’m talking in broad generalities here, of course.) That’s why GenXers today orient on deep level to Web 2.0 technology, which allows perspective, solutions and information to be published, tagged, repurposed and spread. As well, there is an element of intelligence demonstrated in how one publishes, tags and has info move virally. While some of that motivation can be about personal branding (another HUGE orientation of GenXers), information posted in a Web 2.0 manner is available to help anyone, anywhere. This is a high value to GenXers. They need to make the world a better place — not by values and vision, as Boomers do — but by fixing and improving systems, by helping their peers navigate a world where structures are broken and older adults (as they see it) are too busy talking about vision and values. It’s part of the code of GenXers: If I fix something, I don’t need accolades, per se, but I will do my best to make sure others know how I did it, so that they can learn from me. It’s a GenX code of honor. And deep GenX values are liberty, survial and honor. And listservs, while they have their importance, don’t allow this rich movement of information. Web 2.0 tools match the GenX mindset more. They allow a newcomer, an upstart, an unknown to provide just as much — if not more — value on a subject than a long-entrenched (possibly even stale-of-thought and so-called) expert.

***

So, it’s not that one technology is better than the other. It’s that they each offer a different environment for communicating and, I offer, that there is much alignment around generational preference for the tools.

And while I would recommend that no organization abandon or shut down a list serv now while many a boomer are still actively engaged in conversations, I do offer that natural energies of effectiveness are found in aligning with generational cycles. See, whatever gen is moving into midlife (42-62 years old), that’s the gen that has cultural dominance and sets the tone and energy of where resources and power go. (Reference our brand-new GenX president for an example.)

So, what I would recommend is that a company or organization start moving toward Web 2.0 tools — and as fast as one can. Why? Because it’s what will attract the attention and contributions of GenXers. And while GenXers by their Nomad archetype are wont to lay low and stay off the radar of pesky adults, once they hit mid-life, which is happening now, their orientation toward fragmentation has to be redirected toward collective knowledge. And Web 2.0 tools are the way to do this.

Just watched a snippet of news on CNN. About the 150 or so ice fisherman who knowingly went into dangerous territory … anyway. Uh, this time, things didn’t work out, they needed emergency rescue, etc.

The part I love-love-love about the story is the ever-so-irrate sherriff in the local area who is very upset about their irresponsibility and tying up emergency services and the cost to the county.

“This was wrong. These people endangered the life of volunteer firemen, [and] the United States Coast Guard,” Bratton said, estimating the cost of the sheriff’s office response at $25,000. “I’m sure that’s going to climb.”

Bratton told the Cleveland Plain Dealer that the fishermen displayed poor judgment in building a makeshift bridge to get from one section of the ice to the other.

“I have no problem with people ice fishing, but these idiots should realize that when you see open water, you should not build a bridge and cross it,” he said. “It’s a shame you can’t arrest people for stupidity.”

RADICAL SELF-RESPONSIBILITY, FOLKS.

STOP EXPECTING THE GOVERNMENT TO PICK UP SLACK FOR YOUR IRRESPONSIBLE CHOICES.

Really, that era of expectation and thoughtless, reckless choices that impact us all (that includes, by the way, one’s diet)… that era is O-V-E-R.

I don’t normally type in all caps. You know that if you read my blogs at all. So feel my passion. Heed the warning. Straighten up and fly right. You are the only who command the ship called Y-O-U.

Driving home tonight, I was listening to The Mo’Nique Show on a local radio station. She’s a bit of a character, or at least plays so on the radio, and I like her.

I tuned in right as she said something that spoke to me dearly. Paraphrasing, she said, “It’s time to get healthy. To take care of ourselves and get well. The time for marching is over; we’ve done that. But now, it’s time to serve, and to serve, we’ve got to be healthy.”

Say it, girl.

She was so clear and straight with her listening audience, while people called in to talk of their problems and ask questions of the healthy-eating  expert invited on her show. When one woman said it was just cheaper to eat junk food than cook and eating healthy food, Mo’Nique just called her on it. Paraphrasing, “Cheaper today, but you will pay for it in the long run. You’ll be unhealthy, you’ll be a burden to your family and to the system. Pay for your health today with cooking and eating better.”

Mo’Nique has an inviting way of being starkly frank and loving at the same time. It’s as though her kindness and compassion often come out by the direct way in which she speaks to people and of issues. I think she’s a great voice inside her listening audience. And I found her call today to “get healthy” in order to be able to serve refreshing and uplifting.

** Eating rice and bean/meat chili with vegetables and lots of hot peppers while writing this, I am.

The Truth is Contagious! The lies and deceit that formed the Administration of Bush and his gang of five led our Nation down a path of death and destruction and that ultimately led to the Depression that the world is now engulfed end. The truth must be preserved.

A sight last night intrigued me. It was a young black couple: hip, with hip black hair, casual but stylish clothes, doing a waltz. Not just any waltz, a waltz with an accomplished sense of style and an edge that didn’t reek of geek.

Now, it wasn’t just the color, style and age of the couple that had my attention: it was the “where.” See, I was at Glen Echo Park  in the Spanish Ballroom at a contra dance. Contra is the land of the uber-nerd-weirdo-geek (but not in a cool, SF kinda way), friendly-but-odd people. And I love it. Rare are the hip.

And, rare are the black folk.

But last night, not only did I see said young couple dancing, and well. Earlier I also saw a young man: black, stylish, with a handsome and kind countenance. It was his birthday. He was turning 29. I’d never seen him at a contra dance, myself. He was fun, easy, charming and energetic. And he was celebrating his 29th birthday at a contra dance: land of the Nice Nerds.

I grew up in Columbia, Md.,  in the early ’70s. My family moved from a town where there had been one black kid in my entire school class to living next to a black man on one side of our home with a Jewish family on the other. This was in ‘71, and this was meaningful and significant to my seven-year-old’s world view.

And while I grew up with many black kids whose parents were doctors and lawyers, elegant, smart and forward-thinking, over the years, I’ve wondered, where are the black people?

Over the years, I’ve gone to free museums in DC. Where are the black people? There’s a significant portion of the local community that’s black. Where are they? I’ve gone to dance events, such as Zydeco (read: black Louisiana music and bands). Where are the black people?

I’ve just found it odd that I know so many black folk and yet am often in a state of quandary as to why I don’t see more folk integrated in activities I’d think had general appeal.

So, let me jump a bit in time. I’ve felt an attraction to DC more and more in the past few years. For lots of reasons. I guess part of it is that I’m older and finally DC feels young to me. When I was in my 20s, DC felt like a city of self-absorbed boring Boomers and older bureacrats, and it was. But the GenX & Millennial population is increasing, and I — no surprises — have moved through time. I now to enjoy the faces, energy and style of younger people and of my peers. The older people are there, too, and that’s cool, because the mix and integration is better now.

Another thing about DC is that I see more and more black people who I grew up with. Not literally, nor necessarily, someone from my neighborhood in Columbia, Md. But the kind of people whose vibe and essence and way of moving through the world makes sense to me.

So, admittedly, this is getting a bit awkward to write. I understand that this territory in which I’m thinking and writing is riddled with holes;  there are million ways to attack what I’m saying, so let me just say what I know is probably as far away from anything politically correct as coulud be possible: I’m just really happy to see more black folk in the paths I travel and the places I go.

And now that DC is preparing to welcome, arguably, the most visible, integrated and vibe-alicious black family of all to its cast of residents, I’m happier than ever.

I just skimmed this NY Times article about DC being hip again. This article, plus the waltzing couple last night, made me want to express my perspective. And it really is just that: a perspective.

***

PS – Read this after writing the post above. Not black-related. But addresses DC’s growing hipness.

I’m borrowing an idea from someone who borrowed it from yet another. It goes like this: I’m going to make a financial donation to the Association of Community Services, of Howard County, for every new Twitter follower I get on @hocoblogs between now and January 15th.

But here’s my twist: I pay more money for more data. This is the deal:

• $.25 for every new follower with no info/no pic.
• $.50 for every new follower with a profile image or avatar and a short bio.
• $.75 for every new follower with a photo, bio, website link and a Howard County location posted (city/state).
• $1.00 for every new follower with all the above who also Tweets a message and promotes this opportunity. (Use the hashtag, #hocoacs, please, so I can track them.)

Here are few more details:

I’m on the board of ACS, and, as such, I want to help the organization raise funds, increase awareness and attract some stellar new board members in 2009 and beyond. (The latter is most appealing to me, so get your thinking cap on for who might be just the perfect fit.)

I’ll donate to ACS up to $500 of my own funds.

I’m delighted to receive matching grants, at any ratio you’re comfortable with, e.g. $1 to $1, $1 to 20 cents, or, heck, maybe even $1 to $5, or more! Your call! You’ll write your check directly to ACS, a 501(c)3, so any tax benefits are yours. Consider it: you’ll earn Community Coolness Status in a big way. And fast.

The @hocoblogs is currently a low-volume Twitter account. I post about hocoblogs.com parties and may tweet about interesting conversations going on in the hocoblogs.

@hocoblogs has 9 followers as of 12/9/08. So there’s lots of room for improvement here.

I’m looking for geographically desirable followers, e.g. if you live in New Hampshire, unless your parents live in Hoco, or you grew up here or something, please temper your enthusiasm.

I’d really appreciate your help in reaching my personal goal. Golly, maybe we’ll have some big community something-or-other happen and we”ll deliver mad cash to ACS. We’d certainly have to have a party to celebrate, if we do. Sounds like a fantastic plan to me.

That’s it. Email or DM me with any questions.

]]> http://hometown-columbia.com/2008/11/23/rolling-my-eyes/ Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:56:16 +0000 JessieX http://hometown-columbia.com/2008/11/23/rolling-my-eyes/

At first, I held my tongue. I thought about saying something, but I held my tongue. Today, however, I’m feeling compelled to speak up.

See, a few months back my li’l ol’ community newspaper, The Columbia Flier, wrote a story about folk losing their homes because of all the “predatory lending” and mortgage crisis whatever stuff. The problem, in my mind, with this particular story was that the couple they were highlighting were in their mid-60s, had bought their home 40 years ago in the neighborhood of Thunder Hill, and — well, heck, the photo of the two of them looking all sad and mopey just didn’t pull on my heart strings.

Now, I happen to know a little bit about homes for sale in Thunder Hill 40 years ago. My parents bought one of them. In 1971, we moved into a nice, modern, single-family 3 br, 2.5 bath home in the brand-spankin’ new and cutting-edge town of Columbia, in the sweet neighborhood of — yes, it’s true — Thunder Hill. The house cost $28,000, and the mortgage was something insane, like $238/month.

So, today I open the paper, and guess what? The same, sad, mopey-looking couple is highlighted in a Balt Examiner article.

Let’s look logically at this story folks. A couple bought their home 40 years ago. They’ve lived through times, and are at the age, where “The Millionaire Next Door” types were emerging daily. In other words, they hit the economic cycles in a time where pretty much all one had to do is show up for life, get a job, buy a house, put a bit of money into stocks, and then be set for life. Assuming this couple had a traditional 30-year mortgage when they bought their home in 1968, they should have been mortgage-free for the last 10 years. Oh, to add some details to this situation, their home was valued at more than $360,000 in July 2008, according to state records.

They are now facing eviction. Gotta move out by Tuesday at noon, according to the article.

Sooooo, being a bit of a detective, that would indicate that something is up, right? Something is a bit different about this couple and their eviction? You’re smart. I bet you can figure it out. YES! That’s it. They’ve been using the equity in their home as a credit card! So, let’s call this what it is: A spending problem. A management problem. A priorities problem. Oh, and now the county’s Dept of Citizen Services is getting involved in helping them! Now, they are putting an additional strain our our local government as well. Fantastic.

I could go on. But let me just sum this up: For shame, Columbia Flier for such irresponsible journalism. For shame, Baltimore Examiner; for reasons ditto. And for shame to a couple who had the opportunity to be swimming in cash at this point in their lives but are instead facing eviction from the foreclosure of their home. (Ironically, the new owner of their home is called Win-Win Properties. That’s a hoot!)

I understand people have problems. I understand Life can throw some curve-balls. But just like I blogged a couple days back about our government bailing out auto makers, the same issues apply to individuals. We are facing a Crisis, folks. The way to help people/companies is not to keep them in circumstances they clearly can no longer manage. Maybe the US auto makers need to go bankrupt, or re-invent themselves. Maybe this couple needs to move in with their daughter, or find a way to co-habitate with other family members. Maybe they need to move to a dilapidated town where they can rent a home for $300/month.

This I believe: government coming to their help when they haven’t demonstrated much willingness to make new decisions in the face of mounting difficulties isn’t really going to help them in the long run. (The short run, perhaps. Perhaps.)

Ugh. Imagine me now rolling my eyes upward and shaking my head slightly. We have to got to start making decisions about spending, government support and Who gets helped and How and Why through a very different set of eyes and priorities. It is not 2007 anymore, folks. It’s 2008. Welcome to the Crisis Era. Expect it to last a good 15-20 years. And understand now (because you will have to understand eventually) that the only way we’ll make it through — as individuals, communities and a nation — is to face reality and make new and very different decisions inside of this shifting landscape.

Well, gotta run. Off to the library I am. I’m going to find value in a government-provided resource available for people to do more with their lives. Say “hi” if you’re at the East Branch Library in Hoco today.