I think that I've mentioned this: a big portion of my internship is helping run nightly phone banks for Obama & friends. The phone banks, I feel, are fun, important and always provide some good stories. For example:
I called a family tonight and asked to speak to one woman. The man who answered the phone told me "Yeah, you better because we are a household divided. I just donated $100 to you guys to mess with her. SHE'S voting for the other side!!"
Another guy told me "I might vote for Obama on the pro-choice, but I think he has a liberal agenda and he's going to drive this country into the ground so think about THAT!!" *hang up*
Or, everyone's ridiculously overzealous favorite: "I'd rather die than vote for ______!" Really?
Anyway, tonight one of the bloggers from feministing.com came and called with us. I was totally star-struck. Feministing was/is a fundamental part of how I learned about feminism and became a feminist rock star myself. Obviously it was a very big deal to me to meet someone who has unknowingly had a pretty big influence on my life. True to that unknown part, I don't think she realized that she was a really big deal to me. Which is clearly for the best, because one of the only things lamer than geeking out about meeting Barenaked Ladies or Neil Gaimen is geeking out about meeting a blogger.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Greetings from New York!
As David Letterman calls it, the greatest city in the world.
I'm in New York City visiting friends and reveling in the glory that is High School Musical 3: Senior Year. My friend Renee and I love the High School Musical series. When we found out the end of the trilogy would be released in theaters, we agreed to see it together rather than dragging people kicking and screaming to see it. It was absolutely amazing. The boys are back. Sharpay was ridiculous. Ryan was adorable. Troy was full of angst. Oh, and don't worry - I'm not judging you just because you haven't seen it yet.
Here's a few things that are different between DC and NYC:
1. DC is shorter. Manhattan is the home of the skyscraper, while DC is "the American Paris" with a sprawl of low buildings. There's several reasons for Washington's midget status. The short story is that it is illegal to build a building taller than the Capitol Building (289 ft). The longer story is here.
2. The Metro is cleaner. That's just a fact. That said, the subway has far better hours so you generally *don't* end up stranded the way you can in DC.
3. How to cross the street is a regional thing. At Cornell, it is the cultural expectation that pedestrians will prance out into the road at will, without looking - ever - and that cars will stop. It's death defying, but it almost always works well. In NYC, "waiting to cross" involves getting about halfway out into the first lane and eyeballing the traffic in a tough guy sort of way. No cars? Continue. Cars? Stand still - they'll miss you. This is not the case in DC: stepping too far off the sidewalk ends with people staring at you. This includes DRIVERS, who may actually stop their cars and wait for you to get back in your place. I've had this happen at least twice. In DC, it's best to stand on the sidewalk and mind your place until it's time to cross. More or less.
4. The words. In Eat, Pray, Love Elizabeth Gilbert talks about how everything ultimately has one word that describes it better than anything else. DC's word is Power. The city vibrates with it and spits it out all across the country and the world stage. At the same time, DC residents and representatives are struggling to get the same power as their 50 state counterparts.
I don't know what New York's word is. I always want to say Culture, but that's not it. What name goes to the city that consciously effects the lives of billions? Washington's got the power to change every life on Earth, but people generally don't pay it *that* much attention to it. But everyone pays attention to NYC. To the culture, the cool, the style, the entertainment. Most people want to be a part of NYC in some way, even if only as a tourist. So what do you call that? Synthesis? Popular? Pull?
I'm in New York City visiting friends and reveling in the glory that is High School Musical 3: Senior Year. My friend Renee and I love the High School Musical series. When we found out the end of the trilogy would be released in theaters, we agreed to see it together rather than dragging people kicking and screaming to see it. It was absolutely amazing. The boys are back. Sharpay was ridiculous. Ryan was adorable. Troy was full of angst. Oh, and don't worry - I'm not judging you just because you haven't seen it yet.
Here's a few things that are different between DC and NYC:
1. DC is shorter. Manhattan is the home of the skyscraper, while DC is "the American Paris" with a sprawl of low buildings. There's several reasons for Washington's midget status. The short story is that it is illegal to build a building taller than the Capitol Building (289 ft). The longer story is here.
2. The Metro is cleaner. That's just a fact. That said, the subway has far better hours so you generally *don't* end up stranded the way you can in DC.
3. How to cross the street is a regional thing. At Cornell, it is the cultural expectation that pedestrians will prance out into the road at will, without looking - ever - and that cars will stop. It's death defying, but it almost always works well. In NYC, "waiting to cross" involves getting about halfway out into the first lane and eyeballing the traffic in a tough guy sort of way. No cars? Continue. Cars? Stand still - they'll miss you. This is not the case in DC: stepping too far off the sidewalk ends with people staring at you. This includes DRIVERS, who may actually stop their cars and wait for you to get back in your place. I've had this happen at least twice. In DC, it's best to stand on the sidewalk and mind your place until it's time to cross. More or less.
4. The words. In Eat, Pray, Love Elizabeth Gilbert talks about how everything ultimately has one word that describes it better than anything else. DC's word is Power. The city vibrates with it and spits it out all across the country and the world stage. At the same time, DC residents and representatives are struggling to get the same power as their 50 state counterparts.
I don't know what New York's word is. I always want to say Culture, but that's not it. What name goes to the city that consciously effects the lives of billions? Washington's got the power to change every life on Earth, but people generally don't pay it *that* much attention to it. But everyone pays attention to NYC. To the culture, the cool, the style, the entertainment. Most people want to be a part of NYC in some way, even if only as a tourist. So what do you call that? Synthesis? Popular? Pull?
Thursday, October 16, 2008
No Zombies, No Voldemort.
I got a part time job at the Spy Museum. It's sweet.
I'm training to guide Operation Spy tours, "a one hour interactive tour" where visitors become spies. Basically. I've been there for a little over week, and my excitement about spies is at the same level (ZOMGSPIEZZ!!!), but my perception of them is slightly altered. It was a sad and startling realization that real spies are not James Bond. Real spies are by-the-book ordinary schmoes who don't draw attention to themselves and when you ask, tell boring stories such "Oh, you know, I worked a little in the US then just ended up here." However, as only a part time spy, I get to use a walkie-talkie and that's awesome.
Last night I did some non-walkie-talkie phone banking for Obama and on Saturday I'm going door-to-door with a friend in Virginia. I keep getting emails from various Obama-supporting groups that read "On the morning of November 5th, do you want to be saying you wish you'd done more? Go do ________." No, I *don't* want November 5th to suck! They're very convincing.
More importantly, this entire weekend was spent not working because MY FAMILY WAS HERE! My mom, brother, sister-in-law and nephews came down and we had several full days of going to the Zoo, the Air & Space Museum, and a bunch of monuments. The highlight for my nephews was seeing as orangutan at the zoo pick its nose. Seriously. They applauded. The highlight for me was the following:
After seeing the Washington Monument (Gavin, George Washington was the first president) and the Lincoln Memorial (Gavin, Abe Lincoln was a great president), we pointed out the White House. Being the smart kid he is, he applied his logic.
Becky: "Gavin, that's where the president lives."
Gavin: "Oh. [pause] Is he dead?"
No zombies in the White House. Not in 2008, not ever.
We also ordered out from Five Guys. Have you ever been to Five Guys? I hadn't either. It's a burger place and that's about it (although some of them now offer "VEGGIE DOGS!"). Sean psyched it up to be this awesome experience, and we went and ordered greasy, artery-clogging food for the whole family. A little of this, a little of that, plus five orders of fries.
Now, I don't know about you, but when I order fries, I expect them to come in a little box, maybe a paper cup. Call me old-fashioned. And I don't know what the cause of this was: maybe they are being green by cutting down on waste. Maybe they were frustrated with Sean for ordering so slowly. Maybe they were trying to mess with us. Whatever the cause, we ended up with one grease-stained grocery bag entirely full of several pounds of french fries...and nothing else. No box, no cups, not even a napkin.
Five ketchups just didn't cut it.
I'm training to guide Operation Spy tours, "a one hour interactive tour" where visitors become spies. Basically. I've been there for a little over week, and my excitement about spies is at the same level (ZOMGSPIEZZ!!!), but my perception of them is slightly altered. It was a sad and startling realization that real spies are not James Bond. Real spies are by-the-book ordinary schmoes who don't draw attention to themselves and when you ask, tell boring stories such "Oh, you know, I worked a little in the US then just ended up here." However, as only a part time spy, I get to use a walkie-talkie and that's awesome.
Last night I did some non-walkie-talkie phone banking for Obama and on Saturday I'm going door-to-door with a friend in Virginia. I keep getting emails from various Obama-supporting groups that read "On the morning of November 5th, do you want to be saying you wish you'd done more? Go do ________." No, I *don't* want November 5th to suck! They're very convincing.
More importantly, this entire weekend was spent not working because MY FAMILY WAS HERE! My mom, brother, sister-in-law and nephews came down and we had several full days of going to the Zoo, the Air & Space Museum, and a bunch of monuments. The highlight for my nephews was seeing as orangutan at the zoo pick its nose. Seriously. They applauded. The highlight for me was the following:
After seeing the Washington Monument (Gavin, George Washington was the first president) and the Lincoln Memorial (Gavin, Abe Lincoln was a great president), we pointed out the White House. Being the smart kid he is, he applied his logic.
Becky: "Gavin, that's where the president lives."
Gavin: "Oh. [pause] Is he dead?"
No zombies in the White House. Not in 2008, not ever.
We also ordered out from Five Guys. Have you ever been to Five Guys? I hadn't either. It's a burger place and that's about it (although some of them now offer "VEGGIE DOGS!"). Sean psyched it up to be this awesome experience, and we went and ordered greasy, artery-clogging food for the whole family. A little of this, a little of that, plus five orders of fries.
Now, I don't know about you, but when I order fries, I expect them to come in a little box, maybe a paper cup. Call me old-fashioned. And I don't know what the cause of this was: maybe they are being green by cutting down on waste. Maybe they were frustrated with Sean for ordering so slowly. Maybe they were trying to mess with us. Whatever the cause, we ended up with one grease-stained grocery bag entirely full of several pounds of french fries...and nothing else. No box, no cups, not even a napkin.
Five ketchups just didn't cut it.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Fund raising, raising hell and trying to raise the bar
Before getting into the bulk of the post, I present my cewebrity debut (and don't worry, it's plenty embarrassing). I'd also like to take this time to stress that we are a non-profit and that while some of my friends work for high-end screen and stage producers I, uh, do not.
Anyhow, view it here: Liberty Lowdown: Election Day
---
Three stories in three paragraphs.
On Saturday, I went to a fund raising dinner with work for the Human Rights Campaign. It was by far the fanciest dinner I've ever been to with lots of tuxes, heels and oddly shaped salads. When Joe Biden didn't show due to family illness, the crowd rejoiced when "his good friend" Hillary Clinton took his place. She delivered the best line of the night: "John McCain isn't a maverick. He's a mimic." Suze Orman, who received the National Equality Award offered up a great soundbite as well when she declared "I don't want to be a lesbian who is tolerated."
---
It was dinner time at the nunnery and a heated debate was taking place. Unfortunately, (or fortunately) for once it wasn't republican vs. democrat - it was liberal vs. liberal. One of the girls at the table announced that she was undecided, which prompted another to announce that "if Sarah Palin becomes my Vice President, I will vomit all over the White House". A hilarious image (I thought), but the diatribe quickly crumbled under claims that both Palin and McCain are "whores" with bad accents. "That doesn't help our side!" one person said, while the other argued that she was just expressing her personal opinion. And there in lies the rub. The personal is political, and so is how you express it. Whatever your personal feelings about a candidate, calling the other side whore, Barbie, terrorist, etc doesn't help senators become presidents - but it does make their supporters look like jackasses. And when you're trying to sway every last swing voter, it does matter how your supporters present themselves. Just ask the guys supported by Rev. Wright and the worst president in U.S. history - winning people over when your base embarrasses you is tough work. This election is going to continue to be a circus. It's time we all start performing at our best.
---
I went to an exhibit at the Smithsonian on Saturday about Jim Henson and the muppets. They had some of the puppets on display, including Kermy and Gobo (<3)from Fraggle Rock. It was amazing to see the sheer volume of work that this man produced. From 8-second commercials to multiple full-length feature films, Jim Henson changed the face of pop culture - and that was what was even more amazing. Every single person at the jam-packed exhibit was talking about their favorite muppet, arguing over the best muppet movie (it's Muppet Treasure Island) and talking about how much Labyrinth f-ed them up as a child. People reminisced about Sesame Street, relived Dark Crystal and wondered out loud what the hell was up with The Cube. We have to thank Jim Henson for raising the bar in terms of children's programming and in turn having a profound effect on millions. Face it - all of us have shared childhood memories because of this man. And I have to personally thank Jim Henson for potentially one of the most fulfilling moments of my life; because let me tell you: you honestly haven't lived until you've sung the entire Muppet Show theme song with a room full of strangers.
Anyhow, view it here: Liberty Lowdown: Election Day
---
Three stories in three paragraphs.
On Saturday, I went to a fund raising dinner with work for the Human Rights Campaign. It was by far the fanciest dinner I've ever been to with lots of tuxes, heels and oddly shaped salads. When Joe Biden didn't show due to family illness, the crowd rejoiced when "his good friend" Hillary Clinton took his place. She delivered the best line of the night: "John McCain isn't a maverick. He's a mimic." Suze Orman, who received the National Equality Award offered up a great soundbite as well when she declared "I don't want to be a lesbian who is tolerated."
---
It was dinner time at the nunnery and a heated debate was taking place. Unfortunately, (or fortunately) for once it wasn't republican vs. democrat - it was liberal vs. liberal. One of the girls at the table announced that she was undecided, which prompted another to announce that "if Sarah Palin becomes my Vice President, I will vomit all over the White House". A hilarious image (I thought), but the diatribe quickly crumbled under claims that both Palin and McCain are "whores" with bad accents. "That doesn't help our side!" one person said, while the other argued that she was just expressing her personal opinion. And there in lies the rub. The personal is political, and so is how you express it. Whatever your personal feelings about a candidate, calling the other side whore, Barbie, terrorist, etc doesn't help senators become presidents - but it does make their supporters look like jackasses. And when you're trying to sway every last swing voter, it does matter how your supporters present themselves. Just ask the guys supported by Rev. Wright and the worst president in U.S. history - winning people over when your base embarrasses you is tough work. This election is going to continue to be a circus. It's time we all start performing at our best.
---
I went to an exhibit at the Smithsonian on Saturday about Jim Henson and the muppets. They had some of the puppets on display, including Kermy and Gobo (<3)from Fraggle Rock. It was amazing to see the sheer volume of work that this man produced. From 8-second commercials to multiple full-length feature films, Jim Henson changed the face of pop culture - and that was what was even more amazing. Every single person at the jam-packed exhibit was talking about their favorite muppet, arguing over the best muppet movie (it's Muppet Treasure Island) and talking about how much Labyrinth f-ed them up as a child. People reminisced about Sesame Street, relived Dark Crystal and wondered out loud what the hell was up with The Cube. We have to thank Jim Henson for raising the bar in terms of children's programming and in turn having a profound effect on millions. Face it - all of us have shared childhood memories because of this man. And I have to personally thank Jim Henson for potentially one of the most fulfilling moments of my life; because let me tell you: you honestly haven't lived until you've sung the entire Muppet Show theme song with a room full of strangers.
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