Wee little Comic-con heroine

Photo by Sandy Huffaker, Getty Images
A young comic fan poses during Comic-Con International: San Diego 2010 at the San Diego Convention Center on July 22, 2010 in San Diego, California.

courtesy of: http://movies.yahoo.com/photos/collections/gallery/2766/2010-comiccon--costumes#photo24

I miss mine too

Filofaxes, Mundis, days of dreaming, notes and tasks. My systems, my lists. It was the address book that pushed me over to the Palm - that and the heaviness of the little looseleaf planners themselves. But how I loved the visual record. I have years in my closet. Sad, sad, sad.



Magazine
The Demise of Datebooks
By VIRGINIA HEFFERNAN
Published: May 3, 2010
Shelving analog calendars for digital ones.

White guys with pads - nice talk by Andy Revkin

Telling the Story of Science in a Post-Media World

Carry On Packing Tips courtesy of NYT

I can't stand checking bags! And as I've been traveling more, I've been losing more (like my raincoat and new cosmetics last year enroute to Cannes, and my Bose headphones just last week somewhere along the Toronto/Maryland axis. I brought two bags because of a friend's comment, and regret it. Having two bags makes it almost harder to keep track.) I'm pretty good at keeping it lean but will try this to see if it helps.

Business Day
10 Days In a Carry-On
null
Published: May 6, 2010
A flight attendant reveals her secrets on how to pack efficiently and wrinkle-free.

Delighted to be drawn in Austin Kleon's SXSW 2010 wrap

Included in a drawing from Austin Kleon's great SXSW 2010 wrap-up. Really delighted!!

Tiny Furniture in the NYT- just one of SXSW 2010 highlights

I don't keep this blog anymore, well, certainly not like I used to too. It was a little space for writing practice and personal musings. Now I'm in a job with a public component, and lots of eager eyes with their own agendas. But occasionally, it's still a worthy parking space. So I'm happy to note this here: Young Filmmaker's Search for Her Work is Rewarded, by David Carr.

It's a terrific piece, about a terrific film, by a wonderful new filmmaker, that on top of everything, exposes one of the best components of SXSW Film - the creative crossroads where filmmakers really do get to meet and mix it up with one another and return or even evolve elsewhere, that much the stronger.

sizzling summer

Say Farewell to a Scorching Summer

I know the image is a bit hard to read...but not that it's not the top horizontal line that's 100 degrees, it's the next one down!!!

5 minutes ago on Chris Hyam's porch in scorching, Austin, TX

Hilarious that Chris @Hyams captured this while sitting on his porch. Although, hmmm, does it mean he's always filming? Or just had the good sense that the storm was approaching? It was pretty wild at my house too. Flashes of light....then boom, then a crack so loud, I ducked....

Ah Texas, in this summer of Heat and Death as @AustinKleon called it earlier today. Even funnier, I've acclimated. As long as it's dry heat? I'm kinda digging it.

HIlarious - Slate on Obama's first 100 days Facebook style

(continued)

Voynaristic on this "Hilary" Moment

I tend to be press shy, very much not confident with how I'm represented via someone else through print. But I'm very happy with this interview by Kim Voynar during SXSW 2009. I think she very clearly got me, and how this all feels right now.

An excerpt:

"This job ... I earned it by a life of being generous and engaged and caring about something deeply, and being lucky enough to pursue those interests. And when I got this job, there was this immediate sense of, instead of having to worry about how I was defined by the world, I had this immediate answer: I run this festival. And it just kind of shut down all this distracting noise that had been nagging at me for twenty years. And it was like, okay, now this is what I do, and I get to actually care about the stuff that I care about, rather than where my place is in the world. And it's been really, really fun."

(more)

2008 Pre-Thanksgiving Mull

Just back from a late night trip to the 24 hour grocery. Not that I needed to. Not really. I just like going to the supermarket on a high traffic, pre-holiday moment. Somehow it gets me into the mood. I like the random human interaction. I like the smiles between strangers, and the little courtesies. It grounds me, amuses and delights. Lost in the anonymity, I just feel very very human. Didn't Oprah say that's what she most misses in her life? Shopping by herself in the supermarket?

I started the day early (early enough to still get a parking space) at the Central Market, the upscale sister to the more mainstream 24 hour HEB. It's a different picture tonight. The shelves are rummaged, bare, and disheveled, though employees are hard at work guiding and unpacking stacked carts full of fresh goods for the post-Thanksgiving rush. In the aisles wander young couples and Hispanics of all ages. I like the contrast. I feel at home in both environments. Satisfying bookends. Indulging in my own economic stimulus package, and human recharge.

On Cassie's daily visit to the office (yesterday when we kidded her boyfriend of 5 years, once apparently an active bachelor, now seemingly incapable of spending more than 45 minutes away from her, he smiled, "45 minutes is a LONG time." But I digress....) Cassie and I find ourselves talking about giving thanks. I realize I've blogged about what I'm talking about previously and go back to send her the easy link. Funny enough, the sentiments are exactly what I wrote about on this day last year. The pre-Thanksgiving mull.

But I also find myself lingering on a couple of different recent conversations with some younger women friends. Ages 28, 24, 21. In each case, they're wondering about their life, and how good or down they feel, and what seems to be missing. The common refrain is, "I need some new friends...some better friends for who I am now." And it makes me wonder...in this day of incessant social networks, is it still so hard to find people that feed and inspire you? Has it always been this hard? Is that the journey? As you mine for important connections, is that how you discover who you are? Have the social networks made it easier or harder? Interesting questions as I peer from my generation to the younger.

Newspapers, the primal love along with radio and movies

We get the NYT delivered to our home here in Texas. $58/month. That's a lot, but we love it. But we're old school newspaper lovers. I probably started reading the Times when I was 12. It's what being a grown up was all about. And later, the career media I aspired to. I went another direction, but still love the New York Times. Though i don't quite read it everyday anymore, and haven't for awhile. I skim. But relish in the moments when we can sit together and the smart world comes to me to interact with. I love the online edition too - it's particularly great for easy sharing like I'm about to do here: But it's not the paper itself. You don't get the same easy happenstance. I hate to be an old codger mourning, but I love newspapers and magazines, and really don't want to see them disappear. I feel the same way about smart movies in movie theatres and radio programmed by real individuals in my community. But newspapers, primal.

The Media Equation

Mourning Old Media’s Decline

By DAVID CARR

Published: October 28, 2008

The news that Google settled two longstanding suits with book authors and publishers over its plans to digitize the world’s great libraries suggests that some level of détente could be reached between old media and new.

Skip to next paragraph

Enlarge This Image

Melanie Stetson Freeman/The Christian Science Monitor

Employees of The Monitor looking through a prototype of a weekly newsmagazine that will supplement the Web site.

If true, it can’t come soon enough for the news business.

It’s been an especially rotten few days for people who type on deadline. On Tuesday, The Christian Science Monitor announced that, after a century, it would cease publishing a weekday paper. Time Inc., the Olympian home of Time magazine, Fortune, People and Sports Illustrated, announced that it was cutting 600 jobs and reorganizing its staff. And Gannett, the largest newspaper publisher in the country, compounded the grimness by announcing it was laying off 10 percent of its work force — up to 3,000 people.

Clearly, the sky is falling. The question now is how many people will be left to cover it.

(continued)

Thriller in Austin syncronized worldwide

Ok, I wasn't there. And the Thriller video isn't even a personal touchstone for me. But still totally cracks me up, and makes me proud of my Austin buds. Go Alamo Drafthouse.

Update from Choose Responsibility

I blogged about this group last June. I think their points are really interesting - and am excited to see the effort gaining ground.

Hello [CR] supporters, new and old,

As this amazing week draws to a close, we are glad to have a chance to check in, and to welcome over 700 new subscribers and volunteers to our ranks. This week has been a formative one for the drinking age debate and we hope to continue this positive momentum into the coming months.

In July, John McCardell began working with several college and university presidents on a statement calling for an informed and unimpeded debate on the 21 year-old drinking age. The statement became known as the Amethyst Initiative, so called because the purple stone was considered a symbol of moderation in ancient Greece. Over the next several weeks 104 college and university presidents signed onto the Initiative. Efforts were underway to expand the list when the Associated Press caught wind of our efforts.

Late Monday afternoon the Associated Press released a story about the Initiative. The resulting media firestorm was nothing short of astounding, and unlike anything we could have anticipated when we wrote to you on Monday evening to announce the Amethyst Initiative. The story was covered by all network and cable news channels, national and local radio, and in thousands of print stories and editorials. We have done our best to keep a running tally of some of the best coverage, which you can read here.

Here are some other highlights from the week:
• 24 additional presidents and chancellors added their names to the Amethyst Initiative
• Over 70,000 people visited the Amethyst Initiative website
• Over 8,000 people visited the Choose Responsibility website
• 1,200 email messages and a lively dialogue in the comments to our blog.

Needless to say, the resources in our small office are stretched thin. (Do you live in Vermont? If so, we are looking for temporary help this week and next in our Middlebury office. Reply to this newsletter if you would like to lend a hand). We need your help to keep the momentum going and to ensure that MADD and others do not succeed in stifling public debate. Two easy things you can do:

1. Write a letter to the editor in response to local coverage. See “Arguments Against 21” and materials in the [CR] Download Center for supportive facts and statistics. If your letter is published, please be sure to send us a copy!

2. Write to the president of your (or your children’s) alma mater, and to local colleges and universities who have not already signed on to the Amethyst Initiative to encourage them to join (see here for a fll list of presidents who have already signed on). Since the news broke on the issue before we had anticipated, many presidents are still actively discussing the issue and might benefit from your encouragement. If you do write, here are some points to emphasize:
• The Amethyst Initiative is a group of college and university presidents and chancellors who support open debate on the 21 year-old drinking age. They do not support a lower drinking age, or any particular policy outcome, but call on the public and our elected officials to consider the intended and unintended consequences of the law.
• The 21 year-old drinking age has contributed to a culture of dangerous, clandestine binge-drinking.
• Alcohol education that mandates abstinence as the only legal option has not resulted in significant constructive behavioral change among students.
• Adults under 21 are deemed capable of voting, signing contracts, serving on juries and enlisting in the military, but are told they are not mature enough to have a beer.

Thank you for your enthusiasm and commitment to this issue. We have made great strides this week and are happy to have you on our team.

Here’s to another busy week,

The [CR] Team
John, Mike and, Grace



Choose Responsibility
PO BOX 507 Middlebury, VT 05753 802.398.2024 info@chooseresponsibility.org

The things we come back to

I went swimming today. And no, not because of Michael Phelps. I went swimming today because I've wanted to for months, years even. I think about it all the time, but today I made it in. And in a moment, I was reminded of all the other times swimming has been my grounding force. Visiting my Dad in LA. In the early days at Canyon Cinema in SF, depressed, in transition. The early days in NYC, again, depressed and in transition. I hadn't put together the pattern til an hour ago. It's the transitional moments. I'm certainly not depressed, but working again fulltime for an outside organization - something I haven't done for decades. So not depressed, but yes, in transition. And as I ponder taking my youngest child to start college next week, I remember too, that I spent my first pregnancy swimming. It was my transition from working fulltime to the unknown of parenting. Swimming was my salve. I'd forgotten. But smile too now remembering and realizing what a little fish my first born turned out to be. Water is her salve too.

The ritual is familiar. Gym swimming, not outdoors even though Barton Springs is the lifeblood of the town I now live in. I need anonymity and cover. I looked good in a bathing suit I think one day in my life @ when I was 13. It's going to the gym - in SF it was in the tenderloin. A crumby Y with a friendly front door staff. In NYC the first go-round it was the Apple gym on Thompson Street. I used to run into Pam Yates there keeping up her arm strength while briefly back in the U.S. between shooting documentaries in war zones. Pregnant with Georgia, I subwayed up to the 24hour gym on 58th, which unfortunately went bankrupt right after I gave birth, right after I renewed my year membership, saving money by paying it all in advance.

Now in Austin. At the popular 24 hour fitness center near my house, near my job. The same gym I've paid money to every month for years, waiting for this day. I hit the water and the feeling is the same. I love the water. I love swimming. I can't breathe. I panic immediately as I finish one lane of the crawl. I just can't exhale. So as I've done years and years before, I switch to back stroke up, breast stroke down. I used to feel like a wuss for that, but BFF Susan told me not to. "It's all good." Back stroke up. Breast stroke down. It's bliss. The rhythm kicks in. The breathing stabilizes. It's just what my 50+ year old hips need. Then it's the sauna. Quiet. Hot. Dark. The contractions lessen. Those deep contractions the massage guy was talking about the other day. That Wendy always talks about. The unconscious holding and gripping.

It's what I need now. What I've needed before. What I keep coming back to.

Contraception is essential

I've been pregnant exactly twice. I'm the mother of a 21 and 18 year old, both of whom I cherish! This couldn't have happened without safe, legal, relatively inexpensive contraception. Contraception is essential if you care about healthy families (and I don't just mean healthy babies...I mean a healthy, functioning, loving unit) and a woman's right not be a kind of indentured servant and victim. Why don't you join me? See the sample letter below.

Dear friend,

Subject: Contraception is abortion?

Hi,

I had to share something with you. Can you imagine living in a place where birth control is considered an "abortion" and health insurers won't cover it? Where even rape victims are denied emergency contraception?

It seems unbelievable, but the Bush Administration is quietly trying to redefine "abortion" to include birth control. The Houston Chronicle says this could wipe out dozens of state laws that protect women's reproductive freedom and protect rape victims. And this proposed "rule change" doesn't need congressional approval.

I just signed a message to Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, whose department is considering this rule change, telling him: "Contraception is NOT abortion." Can you add your voice to this cause? Click here to sign the message:

Thanks!

The extreme relief possible

I've added another practitioner. Not a new practice, just a new practitioner. And he's amazing. A massage therapist with a brilliant touch. With savvy wisdom. He was the first to point out that my current limping had everything to do with my compulsive Barbie foot stance while sitting. You know, the toe pointed, rather than foot flat on the floor.

My pilates trainer has been talking about the importance of feet for years. Really using the whole foot, stretching the foot, engaging the arches, relaxing into gravity rather than clenching. But it was the new guy who immediately grasped how weirdly I was sitting all day in the new gig. Unconsciously. So I started paying more attention, started becoming more conscious. But it's still been a problem. And tonight he took it farther. "You know contracting is often the way the body tries to avoid feeling something." Yeah, ok, new age stuff. I know there's a mind/body connection! I have no doubt about that. I've experienced too much that's interesting in that area.

As I relaxed into the deepest relaxation I felt the most profound relief. The body tenses unconsciously and that causes ill effects. I always love massage but the relief from this deep strong massage combined with my own very deep breathing was true bliss. "You know," he said, "what you're feeling is what you're feeling. It's helped by what I'm doing but really, it's what you're capable of feeling." Kind of a mind fuck -but what a great goal! To get as blissed out through my own means? An idea very worth pursuing.

The incredible Olympics opening ceremony and Wendy

The other day John asked, "Are you going to watch any of the Olympics? Do you have any interest at all?" At the time I said, "No." But that was before I found out that my beloved pilates trainer Wendy LeBlanc-Arbuckle was taking part as a member of 400 meter gold medalist Sanya Richard's team. !!!! That's my weekly pilates trainer - part of Richard's close team! So now all of a sudden I have a routing interest. Of course wishing them the best!!

Without paying attention to the schedule, finally wandering home from a busy work week, 7pm on a summer Friday night, I walk in just in time to catch the Opening ceremonies on TV. (John is already quite entrenched. He loves the Olympics. He loves almost all sports!)

What an amazing spectacle!!! Gorgeous. Awe-inspiring. Beyond my words.

Road Trip Nation paid a visit

Had a lovely visit today from these kids from RoadTripNation.
Totally fun to talk to recent college kids about the road so far, as they embark on their own. Great concept for an adventure and show. I would have loved to do the same at their age. Check out the show. And thanks to Mike Akel for sending them my way.

General Roadtrip FAQ

What is Roadtrip Nation?

Roadtrip Nation is a movement that encourages young people to get out there and explore their options in life by talking with successful people who are passionate about their careers.

When did it happen?

The original roadtrip, as documented in "The Open Road," took place with Mike, Brian, and Nathan in the summer of 2001.

How did they do it?

Mike, Brian, and Nathan bought an old clunky RV, painted it bright green, cold called a ton of inspirational people, booked as many interviews as they could, and then took off across the country.

How did they pay for it?

Credit card debt.

Who are Mike, Brian, and Nathan?

These are the guys that started it all. They graduated college without a clue about what they wanted to do. Unwilling to simply go down the traditional career paths, they decided to seek advice from people who had defined their own roads in life. So, they bought an old RV, painted it bright green, and the rest is history.

Who are the "100 college partners"?

These are the 100 college whose career centers are committed raising awareness of Roadtrip Nation on their campuses. These college career centers communicate with us directly and provide students with valuable info on RTN roadtrips, indie roadtrip grants, and the Roadtrip Nation curriculum.

Where can I view past roadtrips? PBS? DVD? Online streaming video?

Right here on our website! We've got archives of all our PBS episodes, videos of our interviews...all you have to do is explore.

What is Roadtrip Nation today?

At the core, Roadtrip Nation is a movement made by students for students. As a result, Roadtrip Nation has created an annual PBS documentary series, an interactive online community of roadtrippers, a book collection, an indie roadtrip grant program, an educational curriculum, and more!

Is it a production company?

Yes. We film, edit, and produce all of our own content.

Who works there?

Check out our about us section to meet the people behind the green RVs!

What are Mike, Brian, and Nate doing now?

At this second? They're probably out surfing. But when they aren't catching waves, Mike, Nate, and Brian are busy (veeeerry busy) heading up their respective departments: Mike in marketing, Nate in production, and Brian in campus outreach.

What are past roadtrippers doing now?

Some are anchoring news programs, some are in bands on tour with the Eagles of Death Metal... Want to find out more about Roadtrip alumni? Check out our explore section.

Where is the original RV?

The original RV, which we like to call "The Legend," is parked right inside our office, where members of our production team may admire it on a daily basis, gazing at it in awe from the comfort of their editing stationsÑand occasionally using it for an afternoon nap.

Will RTN come to my school?

We definitely want to! Our campus teams tour the nation every Spring and Fall, bringing the RTN movement to a number of college campuses across the nation. Check out our campus tour page for more info on our tour route and the campuses we'll be visiting. Let us know if you'd like to see us at your school!

David Carr and Facebook, something I've been mulling about

Funny, this amusing and all too familiar David Carr NYT piece showed up the day after my last post on him. It's a fine example of what I so admire - funny and smart and to the point. I've been having my own struggles with Facebook. Originally it was lots of fun - excellent re-connection with some key friends from over the years. But now it's getting crowded with requests from strangers, or acquaintances, and I'm torn. I don't want to amass a crowd. I currently have 16 potential new friends that I'm hovering about. Some I just don't want to be connected with that way! And some I don't even know them enough to have an opinion. I feel a responsibility to be available with the new gig but not indiscriminate. I would like a separation between my real personal life and my work - though they overlap more than most, they still have their distinctions. Oiy.

The Media Equation

Hey, Friend, Do I Know You?

By DAVID CARR

Published: July 21, 2008

Not that long ago, I needed some advice on the book business and thought to ask my friend Buzz Bissinger, the author of “Friday Night Lights” and “A Prayer for the City.” The only sticking point was, we’d never met.

Although he used to be a reporter, we are not what I would call peers. He wrote one of the greatest sports books ever, and oh, one of the best books about city government ever. “Friday Night Lights” became a movie and then a television series and apart from me being a hopeless fanboy of the show, we have nothing in common.

Other than Facebook, of course, where we are “friends,” after he was referred by our mutual friend Vernon Loeb of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Taking that supplied noun as a permission, I sent Mr. Bissinger a message on Facebook and asked for advice. We got on the phone and I found out exactly, precisely what I wanted to know from, as they say in the Web world, a highly trusted source.

Isn’t “friendship” wonderful? (continued)