I was very pleased today, 25 November 2009, to see that my book “So Obscure a Person” in paperback was ranked #50 amongst Virginia genealogy books at Amazon.com.

The image, Stinson Book at Amazon, was originally uploaded by Edna Barney. It is posted here from Barneykin’s account.

This is one example of graffiti that occupying Union soldiers left upon the walls of Blenheim in Fairfax, Virginia during the War Between the States. This photograph is from the attic, however when wallpaper was recently removed from the main floors of the old Greek Revival farmhouse, graffiti was discovered everywhere. This “Soldier’s Lament” records:

4th Month

No money

No whiskey

No Friends

No Rations

No Peas

No Beans

No Pants

No Patriotism (underlined)

“Blenheim,” located at 3610 Old Lee Highway, Fairfax, Virginia, is a brick home built by REZEN WILLCOXON about 1858, to replace an earlier frame dwelling. This 12-acre former farm, includes a cemetery for several generations of the Willcoxon family who lived here. Blenheim is renown for its outstanding examples of Civil War soldier graffiti. It is currently being restored. The day we were there, a recent tropical storm had left many downed trees, but no damage to the structures.

The image, Soldier Graffiti, was originally uploaded by Edna Barney. It is posted here from Barneykin’s account.

Visit Neddy’s Archives for more of Edna’s writings.

Karen striking an unflattering pose.

I have to say that I’m shocked by the response to my blog. There are many out there who are completely crazy about Karen or are being driven crazy by her obnoxiousness.

She deserves a 3-part episode instead of a measly 2-parter. It’s sad to even group her with the new Bridezilla Natasha Church.

Since I have to rank something, I’m going to rank her top 5 offensive comments.

5. “Her name is Edna, because Edna’s is like a fat person’s name and this ring is really fat.”

4. “I’m itching like I’m wearing a poor shirt.”

3. “You $9.00 an hour human being.”

2. “My wedding gown, the most important part of the evening, has been butchered by a retard, a brainless retard.”

1. “Apologize to a doa man?”

Which one do you think is the worst? Give me your opinion.

One last note, isn’t it weird that her fiance never even appeared in the main part of the episode?

Harvard University

I highly recommend checking out dailyalert@email.harvardbusiness.org and the wealth of material provided there. Better yet, sign up for the daily alerts.

Meanwhile, here is an introduction to Harvard Business School Publishing Guide to Better Business Writing, $19.95 and published by Harvard Business Press:

Information is the lifeblood of business today, yet so many managers and employees convey information poorly in their writing. A recent survey of 120 blue-chip American companies found that a third of employees wrote poorly, a problem businesses are spending more than $3 billion a year to correct. This collection of Harvard Management Communications Letter articles lays out proven strategies for improving writing by guiding busy executives and employees in organizing their ideas quickly and communicating them clearly and concisely. For instance, “The Best Memo You’ll Ever Write” and “Writing Well When Time Is Tight” focus on a time-pressed manager’s need for a streamlined process to get ideas down on paper. “Writing an Executive Summary That Means Business,” “Don’t Push That Send Button!” and “Making Your Proposal Come Out on Top” provide tips on adjusting writing to make it most effective in a particular format or context. Also included in this collection are “Find the Right Tone for Your Business Writing,” “Five Quick Ways to Trim Your Writing,” “How to Write Correctly Without Knowing the Rules,” “Is Following the Rules Tripping Up Your Message?” and “How to Engineer Compelling Prose: Teaching a Techie to Write.”

Here are other articles available:

• Ten Principles of Good Business Writing
• Six Ways to Grab Your Audience Right from the Start
• 10 Must-Read Articles from HBR
• How to Make Your Case in 30 Seconds or Less
• Writing an Executive Summary That Means Business

Apropos of International Rural Women’s Day:

“My husband would die before he’d see me labour in the fields – painfully.”

From Edna Four  by Malcolm Evans, published by Moa-Merc Press.

(click it for full size)

As many of you have already heard, President Barack Obama is giving the keynote speech at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) 13th annual dinner tonight, Saturday October 10th.  Here is a quick and simple list of a couple things  Obama needs to cover in his speech. 

The president needs to push the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (EDNA) by the end of the year.  As it stands today, most states allow the firing of an individual based on sexual orientation. 

The president needs to come out against Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and ask for it to be repealed in the United States Congress.

The president should come out against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which prohibits gay married couples from receiving federal recognition and benefits. 

The president needs to come out against a ballot measure to overturn marriage equality in Maine. 

And of course, the president needs to come out and praise the recent passage of the Hate Crimes Bill, a bill that expanded the definition of hate crime to cover those the LGBT community.  This bill will be signed into law next week.

The president’s speech is expected to start around 7:55 pm and will draw a lot of media attention.  Lets hope Obama uses this platform to show his commitment to equal rights for the gays!

A moment, after entering through the lens and committed to a medium (film, paper or the digital realm), exists beyond memory. It becomes part of the reality of every person who views it. And unless destroyed (physical photographs) it cannot not be recommitted solely to past of the one who’s moment it originally was. A fair warning for those posting on Facebook!
 
Anyone who has been with the archive long enough begins to create their own relationship with those who are captured in the photos. Voyeurism? A desire to feel like a “part” of the lives of those depicted because we feel so disconnected to our own moment by moment existence (an ordinary day indeed!)? Edna’s act of maintaining this record and our ultimate acceptance of these found moments into our lives raises many questions.
 
How different is our relationship to Edna from the relationships to the “friends of friends of friends” on facebook who we have never met? I know nothing about Edna as a person, and yet when audience members who were part of her life attend the show, I feel a strange urge to “re-connect” with lost family.
 
Was Becka’s grandfather’s reaction a response to a still raw moment in his life, or was it a desire as patriarch to protect his family from eyes that may not be as charitable to them as they should be?

~Mark Walton

An old album - she, like Becka's grandfather, also has a large number of slides

After last night’s performance, we encountered a charming young woman who shared with us a story that we thought was most intriguing, and encouraged her to send it to us. And she did so immediately. Thank you very much.

“Hi, I saw the play last night and, not only did I enjoy it, but it left somewhat of an impact on me. I don’t have any stories about Edna, but I was invited to share something about my family that I mentioned to one of the performers.

“My grandfather left a large collection of slides at our house so that my family and I could scan them for him. Well, one of my parents wanted to share these photos with the family on Facebook and did so. When my grandfather found out he was furious! Even though he allowed us to scan the slides, he still wanted total control on who saw them. I think the main issue was that there’s a large chunk of family history that was captured in the photos and I think he prefers to forget about it. Everyone else though, who had experienced that painful time, preferred to share and talk about that time period.

“Anyway, good luck everyone with the performance for the rest of the remaining week!”

~Becka Kinzie

___________________________________________________________________________________

It is such a wonder to hear how someone else treats their memories. Even a greater wonder how he has so many slides of a time he wants to forget, but has yet to get rid of them. A memory that still exists, even though he may want to forget. Or perhaps he does not want to forget, he only wants to hide it. It may still have some value to him, but does not want anyone else to know. Did Edna hide anything?

I wonder if Edna has slides that she got rid of. There were so…so many in her box. We do know that she cut a photo of her at the Esquire Café in half, eliminating the man in the photo. I wonder how much else did she eliminate? Did she only leave good moments? Edna’s Archive is, as we have likely said before, is our exploration in performing memory, and performing forgetting. What if it isn’t about necessarily forgetting though? What if it’s just hiding, filing away? We all have memories like that. When does it stop being that black and white? When do we start moving in the gray?

~Miroki

Young Edna at Dance

“Hi,

“I had lunch today with my godmother, Florence, who lives in Richmond Hill.  She is 83 and knew Edna when they danced together in Kitchener, and also they both lived in Montreal at the same time in the 70’s.  She has two other friends who are still alive (and saw the newspaper article) and also knew Edna.  Let me know if you’d like to contact her for more info.

“Sounds like quite an interesting project!  I just heard about it through Florence today (Sept. 27) so I’m not sure I’ll be able to see it, but best of luck with the run!”

~Luanne Walton

_______________________________________________________

Thank you very, very much Luanne. We are extremely honoured by your story and help with our project.

Last night was our smallest house (8 people) during our run. It was a very different experience performing with more space. We have a full house again today, and we thank our audience for their continued support.

Living Dance Studio from China honoured us by coming last night. We were thrilled by their presence and were very happy when they said they enjoyed the performance.

~Miroki

Recently, I have a newly revived fervor to git ‘er done… my thesis that is. This is due in part to the fact that a) I have to get serious now if I want to defend in the spring, and I definitely don’t want to still be working on this thing next summer, b) seeing my friend defend his thesis in August really inspired me, and c) I’ve given myself a due date for my second chapter: October 15th.

I have never been particularly productive at home, no matter where that home happens to be. My procrastinating/multitasking side rears its head and I can always think of a million things to do besides my schoolwork.

Thus, I have designated a thesis Starbucks. It’s close to my house, but not the closest. That one can remain free of any negative-thesis taint. It has good lighting and lots of tables. The staff are friendly. In short, it’s a good, solid Starbucks, perfect for fostering thesis thoughts.

And bonus! Now that I have a registered Starbucks card, not only do I get free soy milk, I can also use the Internet for two hours a day.

My preferred thesis drink? Decaf grande Americano with an inch of steamed soy.

Aaaaaannnnnnd we have press! We are so proud of this project and so thankful to The Record for giving us that much support and coverage! Thank you very much!

Already many people who have had connections to Edna have contacted us with their stories to share. Remember, if you have a story, go to http://www.ednasarchive.ca/yourstory and submit your story to us! It will go up on the blog if you wish and all stories help with the development of our production!

Once again, thank you very much for your support!

Edna's Archive has made it into the press!

PUC building inside before changes

I almost thought I was in the wrong space today as I wandered into the PUC building so see people whom I did not recognize. Because we are sharing the space with CAFK+A and the Crit Lab there are new surprises everyday.

Today, several new screens are up. Lighting equipment is in for Edna, and there will be installations from the other organizations that will cut off doors and access space.  All add a new dynamic that the director and cast will have to work with. That’s the interesting things with working within a site rather than theatre. We are constantly working with a new space almost all the time, which keeps us on our toes and makes for very real moments…whether it is dodging boxes, brushing off new layers of dust or cringing when one of the pull-down screens dislodges and goes flying.

Those screens will be the most challenging, I think. They function like those old blinds where one has to pull gently down and back in order to lock into place. These ones come with the extra surprise of suddenly flying back up at inopportune moments. While I think that this adds the element of incompleteness, or disintegration like Edna’s Archive is undergoing with age, perhaps a little more control might be needed… :-}

But truly, I don’t think all these constant changes hinder us. In a sense, because there are others working in the space, we are experiencing “The Found” space over and over again, and such allows us to appreciate small things that we have come to overlook, or draws our attention to something we didn’t notice before. And then, we can never possibly lose the value that we have for the space.

~Miroki

Sometimes getting to simple takes a while.

When I was in college professors continually made the point that ‘a good concept can be sketched on a cocktail napkin’. Simultaneously the Mac was finding its way onto art directors’ desktops. Suddenly sketches began to go out of style. Instead, burgeoning designers could view millions of images and ads and content and literally ‘borrow’ images for use in their own work. From hand-rendered fonts we got access to hundreds, then thousands of options. We could easily try out numerous design stunts and tactics distressing type, adding gradients and creating amazing digital effects on images.

About this time the old guard in advertising began to express concern that conceptual quality was on the decline. Young writers and art directors were accused of overemphasizing stylistic elements and spending too little time finding really good, original ideas.

The original advertising model was an additive process. We’d start with sketches. We’d start by coming up with the top of mind stuff everyone comes up with – then struggle, sometimes for days – for the harder concepts. We then would add layers of complexity working through the body copy, the image, the layout etc. Each stage was an added layer of scrutiny that brought dimension to the idea.

Digital technology collapsed and cut short the additive process. Suddenly ideas were as often born from a cool image or some digital doodling. Today we’re all bludgeoned with millions of stimuli. When we sit down to have ideas now, they are born the product of a million influences and are rendered in digital tools that allow us to achieve in moments feats that were simply out of reach back in the day. The trouble is, peel back the tactical polish and often there’s little truly new to look at.

With so many places to draw reference from, and so little time to think things through (‘we need ideas to the client by 4pm’), we shortcut the ideation process and pile on layers of polish that disguise thin thinking.

I am increasingly finding it more useful today to adopt a reductive process for ideation. This is a consequence of one of the great challenges of our age – having too much information available. Life today demands simplicity not because people are too stupid to get layered thinking but because none of us has the time to focus on it.

At the office, we have worked hard on our operating construct Enterprise DNA (eDNA). Largely the brainchild of our CEO, I have proudly participated in refining and nurturing the idea down to its granular expressions – a process that has required some reductive ideation.

We have worked, literally for the better part of a year, refining eDNA. All the while, in the back of my mind I have had the goal of making eDNA something you could sketch for a friend on a cocktail napkin ring while grabbing a beer after hours. Setting this bar meant we suddenly had to stare down that 5”x5” piece of white paper and communicate an entire perspective on business using a ballpoint pen.

As with all ideation, the process was frustrating and there were numerous wrong turns along the way. It’s important to point out here that all of this was essential to the process and it all required time.  The outcome, however, was worth the investment. Today the resonating power of the eDNA concept resides in large part in its communicability. Every one of us in the company can sit down and walk someone through the idea without digital tools (crutches?) like Powerpoint, our website, sell sheets or Flash animations. In short, without the digital tools so often relied upon to make ideas look good.

As we all rush around trying to do our jobs faster and more efficiently, using the myriad of tools opportunities provided by computing, I would offer the model of the cocktail napkin as a litmus test for conceptual durability. If combined with the 4th Grade Dictionary test has helped steer me clear some of the snags that can hang up the conceptualization process.

In my mind, if I can sketch my idea on a small swatch of paper and make it meaningful to someone as I do it leads me to believe there might be some substance to it. Whether that idea requires eventually requires layers of polish is a project-specific matter, but if its powerful naked I am willing to bet it will be able to carry layers of complexity without being bogged down by them.

The sketch accompanying this post is our reduced eDNA schematic. Believe it or not, an entire holistic perspective on operating a business – any business – is captured in that little drawing. If you’re curious, I’d be happy to walk you through it. You buy me a beer, I’ll bring a ballpoint pen.

An actress wearing shabby clothes, her hair streaming over her face, passionately sings the lyrics to “Memory,” one of the most famous musical numbers in the world. Her soft voice highlights the touching words, mesmerizing an audience held captive by the performance.

This scene has played out countless times during worldwide performances of “Cats,” one the most popular musicals of all time. But there was something even more notable about the scene during the musical’s run in Korea in 2007. The woman on stage wasn’t an established musical actress. In fact, it was well-known pop star Ock Ju-hyun, the former lead singer of Fin.K.L, one of Korea’s most famous girl groups.

Over the past five years, an increasing number of entertainers like Ock have branched out into the musical field, earning solid reviews for their performances and broadening their creative horizons.

Ock embarked on her lifelong dream of becoming a musical actress in 2005. She was first cast for the leading role in the musical “Aida” but was criticized by some because she was not an established, professional musical actress. Despite that criticism, however, she soldiered on, landing roles in other performances such as “Chicago,” “42nd Street,” and Cats, securing a solid foothold in the musical world.

Choi Sung-hee – a k a Bada, who was a member of the famous girl band S.E.S. – shifted to the musical world to take on the role of Esmeralda in “Notre Dame de Paris.” She has won numerous awards for her performance as the Gypsy, including Best Actress at the 2009 Musical Awards.

And the list goes on.

Daesung and Seungri, members of the popular boy band Big Bang, acted in Cats and “Passing Rain,” respectively. Son Ho-young from the now-disbanded boy group G.O.D. had a role in “Singles,” while Park Jeong-min from the fledging boy band SS501 performed in “Grease.” Comedian Chung Jun-ha was even given the role of Edna, the mother of the main character in “Hairspray.”

Industry observers say the so-called “star marketing” concept seems to be working when it comes to drawing crowds. Ticket sales for musicals with popular entertainers often outpace shows without such star power, according to an analysis of data from TicketLink, a local online ticket sales agency.

Still, some musical fans are concerned that the inclusion of big-name celebrities lowers the quality of the shows and takes away roles from other, more talented performers.

“It is often the case that entertainers have schedules that are too full to focus on just one show,” said Kim Hye-won, a freshman at Hankuk Academy of Foreign Studies, who is an avid fan of musicals. “Musicals are part of art, and actors are like artists. Musical actors usually practice for at least two years to carry out their roles. It’s a shame that entertainers are taking away the roles [that professional musical actors are supposed to get] with less effort.

“Moreover, most of the audiences attending musicals featuring entertainers are not actually fans of musicals, but of their stars.”

Other fans, however, come back to the fact that the star power helps musicals attract more people, which they say is good for everyone involved.

“Popularity is an important element in musicals. As a matter of fact, it’s a performing art,” said Kim Na-eun, a student of Gwacheon Foreign Language High School, who is preparing to study theater at New York University. “The main purpose is to entertain the audience, and entertainers are having success with it.”

Industry experts say that the important part is the attitude of the actors and entertainers, regardless of where they come from.

“Whether they are professional musical actors or not is not that important,” Ko Sung-il, head of Fire and Ice – a musical-related institution – and a lecturer at Chung-Ang University, recently wrote on Newstage, an online journal for the performing arts. “Understanding the true meaning of acting, that’s the name of the game.”

Source

Nobody knows, but I would like to thank her. 

Edna typed up her recipe for Fish Provencale and a photocopy reached me through the hands of my mother, from her Belgian friend who lives in the O.C., who got it from a friend in Paris who hates to cook.  But I can’t trace it further than that.  This recipe is a wonder–and the perfect thing to serve for a party–and the final rebuttal to anyone who says “I don’t like fish.”  Here is the recipe to serve 2 people.  My commentary follows:

1 Tomato, thinly sliced, 3 Tablespoons bread crumbs (plain), fish fillet (white fish: sole, scrod…NOT salmon), salt, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon parmesan cheese, 3 Tablespoons butter, 3 Tablespoons parsley (chopped), juice of 1/2 lemon.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  In a baking pan, layer tomatoes and sprinkle half the breadcrumbs on them.  Add fish fillet and sprinkle salt, paprika, and oregano, the rest of the breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese.  Separately, melt butter with parsley and lemon juice over low heat.  Pour over the fish dish. Put it in the oven for 10 minutes (and in block letters Edna repeats: REMEMBER ONLY 10 MINUTES).  Then she adds “and serve immediately.  Bon Appetito! Edna.”

In my usual freewheeling style, I measure nothing and add more of everything.  I substitute basil for parsley.  I double the whole recipe.  No matter what I do this is wonderful and more than the sum of it’s fairly standard parts.  My friend Carol made a significant advance on this dish by serving the whole thing on a layer of mashed potatoes–even creating individual servings in baking dishes (you know, the white, french, somebody-or-other Henri type) and making this for more than a dozen museum docents who certainly said as one: “Oh, look at this!” before devouring it.  Carol confessed that she doesn’t like the texture of rice with fish–says they are too similar–and the mashed potatoes work a treat.

And if anyone knows who Edna is, will you tell me?  Thanks, Anne

Look out. Big Brother is watching. Yes. You. Right now. As you walk innocently down the street, you are being observed. You can’t buy that chocolate ice cream without being scrutinized. Your every move is recorded, and don’t you dare say anything negative about Mr Rudd. Or you will be shot. You Will Die. Actually, no, don’t worry, all of this is nonsense. However, it seems to be the general fear that many people seem to have about the fact that Melbourne has increased it’s number of CCTV cameras. Which is apparently breaching our privacy, apart from the fact they are in broad daylight and everyone can see you anyway. Many people are likening it to being watched by Big Brother. Apparently, the new cameras they have installed are cutting edge, and can recognise a person’s face from 1 km away. I think that might be a touch unnecessary, as the furthest you could get away from a camera without being obstructed by a car, person or building is about 5m, but there you go. I’m not sure who they will recognise in Melbourne either, because the creepiest and most sinister person we have here is Dame Edna. She also has the habit of dressing up as a man, which makes her even trickier to spot. This camera business does remind me of the Victoria Police scheme a while back, of putting cameras on top of Hummers and driving around hoping to catch somebody.

Don’t get me wrong though, I think it’s good a good idea to install more cameras, to keep an eye out for the lady in the big glasses. We’ve already got cameras in every bus, tram and train, so why not put more out on the street? The people who fear the cameras either watch too much channel 10, or have a habit of calling everyone ‘possums’. Speaking of public transport,  the Government has decided to give Myki a crack on our buses. They then promptly took it off again, because they had charged 10,800 people too much in rural Australia. Worse still, most of the time Myki seems to be out of order. This is especially bad since it does nothing yet except display a message reading ‘Get Ready For Myki’. We’ve only been ready for about 2 years. Hopefully though, they will get it right when it’s properly released, and we will be spared from the Myki Woman glitching when we try to get off the bus. She might even be the same person who does the SmartBus voice-overs. She always starts out very happy and cheerful at the beginning of the bus route, but then as time goes on she gets more and more depressed. By the end of your journey (6 hours later if your on the 903) she must be fairly cranky.

The people on my buses also seem to becoming stranger by the week. Not only that, they decide to sit next to you even when half the bus is free. To avoid this, you can read magazines like Trainspotting or What Computer? which will guarantee that no-one will sit next to you. The only downside to this of course, is that you have to read Trainspotting or What Computer? which will cause you to miss your stop by 20km, with you dribbling out the corner of your mouth. Or you can stare at them in strange ways, but that doesn’t work too well either, because they can stare back in even stranger ways. Which would make for an awkward bus trip. Like the person who sat next to me, who decided to pull his jacket and shirt over his head so he looked like a Jedi for the entire bus trip. I swear he called the bus driver “Young Luke”. Maybe he was doing it because of the noise of the 4,000 year old engine on our bus. I literally cannot hear any form of music from my Ipod on the way to school.  So in a way people like Mr Jedi do make bus trips more interesting, but beware. If you find yourself looking at someone with abnormally large spectacles, and who calls you by the name of a furry animal, call Big Brother.

I got a job at an art gallery!!! I. Am. Sooooooo. Excited!!!!!

Inspiration Deluxe!!

It’s also very exciting to know I’ll be able to pay my rent this month… ;op