So, it's 3:30 am. That's the time designers do their finest work. Or in this case one 'pro-bono' poster design being traded for piano lessons. Not a bad deal and I can't wait to see what it looks like when I'm done. The lessons, well they could be for me or for Izzy. Maybe we'll split them. As of now, I'm up to 5 lessons. Maybe 6.
Haven't done this in about a year. And now, I just need to catch a quick cat nap before it's time to start another day.
It seems I must have passed the writing test that I had to take after a recent interview, as they've asked me to come back and speak with more members of their marketing team. I have high hopes about this one and do hope everything works out. If not, there are some other things in the pipeline and I'm giving a talk on branding tomorrow to around 40 local marketing directors. It's actually a talk on branding and how and why one should integrate as many senses into their brand as possible. (Consider it as the humanizing of ones brand).
I've decided to forego any slide presentation and really make it interactive and dialogue directly with my audience. If I've learned anything, good speaking is very much like live theatre. And one is really acting out a part. So, tomorrow will be a test of my new style of presentation. I'm thinking it will go well. Of course, it is at 8:30 in the morning, so maybe they won't be too awake.
On to Katrina. Like most of you, the past two weeks have left me stunned and disappointed. Not necessarily surprised, especially living in a big city, by the clear caste system that operates in the US, Particularly in big cities. There are so many factors that have led us to this state of being, I only wonder if we can really change it, or if we really want to.
I think I got the most pissed-off about the whole thing last week, when the WSJ ran a front page article about the wealthy of New Orleans, and opened with a guy drinking a cocktail, sitting in an easy chair in his driveway. His neighborhood, above sea level, was untouched by the flood waters. And he certainly didn't seem in any hurry to be out helping those in need. He just seemed too damn casual. And his neighbors were pretty much the same. And these are the people who really run New Orleans. The old line families, the white power brokers, that dictate the politics and the policies of the city. I can't remember ever being so enraged by one human being's utter disregard for what was happening around him. And then there was the quote from another elite about how the city has to change and I'm thinking, and what exactly do they plan on doing. Certainly, they've probably never met any of the city's poor and don't consider them on the same level as they are. So what exactly are they planning on fixing? The inherent racism built into society, displayed on every network news program over the past two weeks? And don't for a minute think this is isolated to New Orleans. How many cities do you know where there are truly mixed neighborhoods? Where the poor live next door to the rich and they all work together to better their city. Sounds a bit like I'm leaning toward the socialist ideal. And we all know how well that worked out.
And I can admit that my city is no better. My immediate neighborhood is pretty much white. The poorest of the poor live on either the east side or west side of town. Most of the crime is black on black, and more times than not, drug-related. The public transportation system is utilized predominantly by the less-well-off and even the city's population is about 60% African-American. But why do so many of them seem to be on the lower-end of the socioeconomic scale and with little hope of change. How did we, as a country, let things get this way? Is it foolish to think it can be changed? And while I think the federal government did quite a lousy job of reacting to the Katrina crisis, I don't think it was racially motivated (really trying to be optimistic here). Though one can easily see from the tv coverage how it might be interpreted that way. All I can think or say is, where do we go from here? And who the hell is going to really lead us out of this mess? And please, don't think W is going to do it. He and his administration have proven how out of touch they are with the country and I'm not sure that even the Democrats have the strength to overcome the bigger issues. Oh yes, G-d. Well, I ask you, what kind of G-d leaves people in that kind of situation? Certainly not a loving, caring G-d. New Orleans or not, no one should have suffered the way the lost and the outcast have suffered. And since I don't believe in the Devil, I can't put it on that iconic stage either. Where does that leave us? With you. With me. With the people. Well, maybe.