Facebook and music as prayer

1. If you haven't yet checked out the Texts from Hillary tumblr, I suggest you check it out now. In the same vein as the now famous Ryan Gosling memes, this one features photos of Madame Secretary texting with celebs from all walks of life. My fave so far is her suggesting that Mark Zuckerburg get a shirt with "a big boy collar."

2. The folks behind one of my favorite sites in Boston, Howfuckedisthet.com created this great graphic illustrating some neat things that could have been done with the $1 billion Facebook just spent on buying the photo-sharing site Instagram. Examples include:

- 12 years of funding for the Harlem Children's Zone
- 6.5 years of funding for the National Endowment for the Arts
- 285 wind turbines

3. I'm coming away from my third relationship-related crash and burn since the holidays and I'm trying to treat it as a blessing instead of being sad. More time for yoga and sleeping. One listen to In the Aeroplane Over the Sea has proven helpful and I think that after two more listens, I'll feel like a new woman again. If it wasn't cost-prohibitive and utterly ridiculous, I might get all the lyrics from that album tattooed on myself. Its not even what Jeff Mangum sings that's so great. Its more about its familiarity and staying power. Like a prayer that you say over and over again, solace can be found in its repetition.

Look Mom, I'm on TV! (On the internet)

I was recently asked by one of my colleagues to pose as a test subject in a video about Harvard Business School professor and social psychologist Amy Cuddy. Here is the resulting TIME video about her research on power posing. According to Cuddy, just standing in a power pose for a couple minutes can give you the confidence you need to nail an interview or give an awesome speech. Check it out! Yours truly appears around 2 minutes, 30 seconds.

Why targeting banks may be better than congress, or not

In his piece in The Daily Beast yesterday, Jeff Smith, a member of the OWS press team argued that the movement has been right in targeting banks instead of congress because the banks control congress anyway. He elaborates on that in this older piece. But isn't it Congress that ultimately has the power to end "legalized bribery" in our politics and pass laws subjecting our elected leaders to the same financial rules that we the people are subject to, i.e. no insider trading? Obviously convincing them to pass such laws would be no walk in the park but why not use the momentum OWS has built up to force the issue? Ultimately, it is the people, the voters, who can change this issue, not the banks or our government, but as we keep one hand clenched around Wall Street, we should use the other to poke at our elected leaders until we get a meaningful reaction.

Occupy Congress

I know I'm supposed to be boycotting the internet today but a) I had to go to work and b) I just really had to post this.


My father and I, and I'm sure many others, have been wondering why Occupy hasn't just taken to occupying Congress. Sure, it's important to wave your finger at the banks in the effort to illuminate economic inequality but why not go straight to the belly of the beast? According to this OWS post, the movement to occupy congress started yesterday. I wish I'd known! Come on, revolution, where was the reminder text?

Seriously though, let me know if you have good intel on this, and I will try to do the same.

More on Americans Elect

Man... I knew it was too good to be really good.

The slick shtick of Americans Elect, Just what Americans yearn for: A high-tech presidential ticket funded by secret Wall Street money

Could we have an open source democracy?

From the website of Americans Elect:
Americans Elect is the first nonpartisan nomination. We're using the Internet to break the gridlock in Washington, open up the political process and give every single voter—Democrat, Republican or independent—the power to nominate a presidential ticket in 2012. Your voice matters. You decide the issues. You choose the candidates. And in a secure, online convention next June, you will make history by putting the Americans Elect ticket on the ballot in every state. With Americans Elect, you have the power to choose leadership that puts country before party, and America's interests before special interests. You have the power to change politics as usual.

If you haven't already, check it out here: http://www.americanselect.org/about

I've been talking about the need for something like this for years. My hope is that this will help Americans get and feel more involved in the political process. No more just voting once for the guy who seems better than the other guy and hoping for the best. At least now there is another option. If they can just find a way to engage folks without computers, then we'd really be talking about a revolution. In the meantime, if Americans Elect catches on, it could at least make our democratic process, and the 2012 elections, a lot more interesting.

Amartya Sen + Van Jones

I am a lucky lady. I had the pleasure of seeing two of my heroes speak within days of each other: Amartya Sen on Friday in Houston and Van Jones tonight in Cambridge. They were both great speeches, though I connected more with Jones' (which you'll find on the Harvard Institute of Politics iTunesU by the end of the week). Definitely check it out. He highlighted some little known information about the Tea Party and drew some interesting comparisons between the Tea Party movement and #Occupy. I actually got a chance to ask both speakers about #Occupy. Sen said he'd been out of the country and needed to read up on it but he was encouraged to see people rising up against the vast economic equality in America. I asked Jones about strategy specifically and he said that he thinks the protests, as a swarm, don't necessarily need to be held accountable for coming up with strategies or solutions for us but should help draw attention to the actors who have put forth solutions. I look forward to a close reading of his organization's Contract for the American Dream which, he claims, lays out some solid solutions. Honestly, we he first announced the contract, and the launch of his group Rebuild the Dream, I thought, "Really, another group?" we already have MoveOn, 350.org, Progressive Change Committee, and a million other groups who haven't put forward a silver bullet, why another? I suppose I'll give it a second look.

Van Jones is so fun to listen to. He's an amazing speaker and has a great knack for making a conversation about the dire circumstances in our country just a little hilarious. Tonight I laughed out loud more than once. He also just made some choice and quotable points:

"When you rig the game, you divide the playground... The kids start acting up."

"Markets work according to rules. The rules are whacky and as long a they're whacky, they're going to give us things we don't want." He then provided some examples, including "...chemicals in our food." I love that.

Thanks Van, for always being an inspiration.

I'm sitting in Club Passim in Cambridge, about to see Pokey LaFarge. Awesome.

On Occupying

Photos from this weekend's police crackdown on protesters in Boston.

It kills me that I haven't yet been down to Occupy Boston. Tomorrow night, I'll be there. Any highlights from you folks out there around the country? Updates please!

I've heard a lot of complaints about this movement not having a clear message. I'm not sure that's true, but either way, I'm just so happy that we're finally giving the Tea Party a run for its money. Were we really going to sit back and watch some frightening racist rhetoric-spouters use the tools we created* to thoroughly destroy what little dignity might be left in Washington? Unh uh!! Thank God something is happening. And who knew we'd take a page from the Arab book on revolution? How 'bout that America?

*Tea Party organizers have been known to use Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky, among other traditionally liberal organizing texts.

I particularly enjoyed the words of Occupy Boston organizer and Northeastern student Jon Phoenix on today's show of On Point with Tom Ashbrook. Phoenix addressed the question I've been asking all along, what happens three months from now when it's cold outside and the media has stopped covering the protests? He believes the movement might morph into a third party, produce a candidate for the 2012 election, and give Mr. Obama a (perhaps well-deserved) run for his money. It's an interesting idea. We'd also have to consider how a third party candidate might split the vote in favor of the Republican candidate. Of course, four years of Mitt Romney could also help further mobilize the left. But for what? Can we do better than Obama in 2016? I digress.

One of the other guests on the radio show indicated that the third party proposal plays into our existing polarizing political system and would continue to leave a lot of voices unheard. Also a valid concern. I'm excited to see where this goes. I wish I was a grad student in the study of social movements right now and I could spend the next year bouncing around these protests. I just hope there are good people carefully documenting the movement as it unfolds so we can learn from present events and build on them in our quest for the America we really want to see.

Here is some info on the financial implications of Occupy Boston on Boston's municipal services, i.e. the cost of overtime pay for the police patrolling Dewey Square.

Tuesday (!)

My best friend has pronounced Tuesdays "Posi Tuesday," an opportunity to block out the bad and celebrate the good. Its a swell idea and it leads to a lot of fun, entertaining Facebook posting.

I, however, need to get some shiz off my chest this Tuesday. I've been trying to keep it posi (positive) for awhile and I need a small break. Please forgive me.

Mostly, I just want to get away. Away from computers, emails and Facebook events. Away from resizing photos to fit websites better. I want to re enter the world of real conversations and quiet time. I'm over the city. Over the sounds of my quarreling neighbors, stomping above and below, and the mysterious midnight train whistles that keep me up late.

I'm also sick of cancer, and injuries and "America's posture of endless war." Especially the war that's sent my little brother to get shot at by Pakistani paramilitary fighters in Afghanistan. I'm sick of seeing everyone so sad. I'm sick of John Boehner and our president saying the same things over and over, with tired eyes and undoubtedly tired hearts. Come on America, we can do better.

If you can't reach me on Monday, hopefully it'll be because I've jumped ship and hopped in the Cadillac for a journey to the promised land. Ideally that'll include a dog, a tree house and lots of singing and dancing.

Really?

When I was living in Columbus, Ohio in 2007, I saw a lot of Ron Paul street art and wondered how that asshole got people to stencil for him. It seems his guerilla street teams are already at it again, putting stickers on every lamp post in Cambridge.

Thursday, the new best day of the week?

Today, April 7th, 2011, was a pretty rad day. I'm hoping it will get even better and someone will agree to go to live band rock 'n roll karaoke with me.

At the Middle East Initiative today we hosted former constitutional lawyer and Salon.com Contributing Writer Glenn Greenwald. That guy is a truth telling badass. The title of his talk was "Undermining Our Own Security" and he spoke to the United States' "posture of continuous war" and the effect that has had on our foreign policy. It was all stuff I had heard before but he framed it so brilliantly. The crowd was super into him and the poor guy got mobbed by students and community members alike outside the auditorium. It will take me some time to pull the best quotes out of his talk, but I'll come back and do that.

This afternoon, after 8 weeks of walking around in agony, I was finally able to see a podiatrist. Good guy. He stuffed some more crap on my insoles and said I should be all set in a few weeks. I sure hope he's right. That G-D fourth meta tarsal is ruining my quality of life. As my Kentucky-born second Mom would say, foot pain is the bucket. The worst. Shit-tay-tay. I need to start riding my bike or I'll be committing mass genocide on the T.

Tonight I'll be wearing my radical hippie kid hat at the Boston Skillshare facilitator dinner. The Boston Skillshare is annual two day event where Boston's coolest and weirdest come out of the woodwork to share their unique talents. The whole thing is free. This year's schedule features sessions on stick and poke homemade tattoos, roadkill art, and make-your-own sex toys. I'll be teaching a slightly more conservative workshop on gardening with limited resources. If you have any good tips on recycling materials for gardening or container gardening, do let me know!

Lastly, today was the day that the last of the restaurants in Harvard Square put out their outdoor seating. The sidewalk scene has been growing in recent weeks and today even the sleepiest places busted out the chairs. It makes me want to put on my best skirt, FMPs, and drink fancy cocktails with the best of the rich bitches, particularly if I can also wear massive sunglasses.

Waiting for Mubarak

According to AlJazeera, the revolution is here! I've already been waiting for Mubarak to speak for 35 minutes. Is this yet another false start? The suspense is unbearable.

Egypt: Tragedy or Revolution?

I am struck by how much Americans' opinions on the current unrest in Egypt differ according to what new outlets they follow. Some folks say "Oh, it's so sad, all the killing..." and others, perhaps those who watch Al Jazeera, see current events as a mark of exciting things to come for the Middle East and North Africa. Others are worried about what all this means for Israel. Me, I'm sad about the bloodshed but I'm more excited than anything else.

I hope this means an end to the era of presidents-for-life and the beginning of true democracy in the region. Of course, it will take time. I think it was Rami Khouri who, in a panel discussion at Harvard Kennedy School Thursday night, pointed out that it took America more than a hundred years after the birth of its democracy to grant women and blacks the right to vote. Even if Presidents Mubarak (Egypt), Bouteflika (Algeria) and Salih (Yemen) follow in Ben Ali's (Tunisia) footsteps, and step down or go into exile tomorrow, we cannot expect freedom, jobs, cupcakes and rainbows to materialize immediately. Egypt, for example, has been struggling with high unemployment and a host of other issues for a long time. Additionally, in the case of Mubarak, as stated by Harvard Kennedy School professor Tarek Masoud in the New York Times, it might not actually be a good idea for him to step down tomorrow as the protesters suggest. The Egyptian constitution states that only an elected president can dissolve the parliament and call for new elections. This means that if Mubarak leaves without electing a new parliament, an essential part of the "orderly transition" that Secretary Clinton has called for, an interim president will be stuck with a largely useless, Mubarak-era parliament. I just hope that Clinton and Obama can convince Mubarak, and the Egyptian people, that a little more time in office is a good thing.

For a good collection of news and resources related to what's happening in Egypt and Tunisia, check out this site made by Harvard's Center for Middle Eastern Studies.

You can also follow The Middle East Initiative Twitter feed, maintained by myself and an awesome intern from Emmanuel College.

Oh America...

Pesky Millenials

In this piece, Daniel Pink, author and expert on making workplaces more awesome, discusses how we might cater to millenials' desire for constant feedback by providing workers with more than the annual performance review. How much can meeting once a year or even every six months really help someone? Now that I'm not in the organizing world, getting feedback on the regs, I totally sympathize with this notion. Academia, I'm finding, is pretty weak on feedback, accountability, idea sharing, and pretty much all the things that I learned were important in my organizational development classes in college.

In this other article, Pink addresses the benefits of giving employees time to do what they want. Google and others have proven that allowing employees to be creative can lead to great ideas like G-mail, so why haven't more companies caught on? This is something Wyatt and I have been talking about a lot. It seems like a no-brainer.

As a former solider of the non-profit world myself, I wonder how organizations can make space for their employees to do some creative thinking, without the incentive of bottom-line payback. Given the chance and the space to be more creative, non-profit workers might come up with brilliant new campaign strategies, reporting software and fundraising tools. The problem is, most people have too much work to set aside time for non-essential work. They need the management to mandate creative time, and even then, I've known folks who would probably keep working on their regular work. It's so lame! We're missing out on so much potential. Let's democratize the workplace. Creative time and regular feedback for all!

Holiday Highlights and The Tallest Man on Earth

The Jankas eat Turducken! In case you haven't heard of a Turducken, it's a chicken stuffed inside a duck which is then stuffed inside a turkey. A mail order from Louisiana, this one also had a lot of Cajun stuffing in it.






This is what I ate at La Rosa, a world famous Cuban place in Miami. It's a seafood stew named something that begins with a "z". We had one night in Florida on the way home from Belize and tried this place based on the Yelp reviews. It turned out to be phenomenal. My parents had skirt steak and lamb shanks in wine sauce, and my brother had house-made chicken cordon bleu. Our waiter, a Costa Rican guy, was really friendly and funny, definitely a plus after a long day of airports and airplanes.

I'm sitting in an airport again, the third time in three days and I've been listening to The Tallest Man on Earth's Wild Hunt. One of the songs on it was on all the best of 2010 lists and two friends that give me all my best music recommendations told me I'd love it. I feel like I am missing something. To me it sounds like Xavier Rudd remaking Bob Dylan and doing it badly. It feels similar to Ryan Adams' Cold Roses, a tribute to the Grateful Dead, complete with dancing bears inside the cover. It was sad. At least, it just wasn't that compelling. I feel the same way about Wild Hunt. And Kristian Mattson's voice is so annoying. Perhaps with time, I'll feel differently.






This is my brother with his Christmas gift, a Hezbollah shirt straight from Beirut. And we wonder why people think we're terrorists...

An idea a day

I find myself full of ideas these days. Some might be good, others not so good, but I think it's time to start keeping track of them, in case any of them are worth anything. Feel free to comment and tell me that I'm a genius, a lazy dreamer or a complete lunatic.

1. Healthy Gift Basket Subscription
You can buy people gift basket subscriptions of almost any kind these days: Beer of the Month, Cheese of the Month, Bacon of the Month and even dog treat of the month. Why not cater to the health-obsessed, tree hugging, my-body-is-a-temple folks with a green, good for you, health food gift basket. Sounds questionable, right? But, what if each month was a different yummy and not bad for your surprise, like fair trade organic chocolate, vegan energy bars, assorted detox teas or locally grown root vegetables with a recipe on how to use them? It would be like SELF magazine but edible. Also interesting: herbal remedy club



2. Vest with personal heating unit
Tired of hunching your shoulders against the wind? Ever feel like if you could keep the spot between your shoulder blades a little warmer it would make the winter much more tolerable? I have a preliminary design for a special warming vest. It comes with a reusable heating pad that you can warm in the microwave in two minutes, then pop in a pocket in the back of the vest. Wear it under your coat or when you go to sleep. It will keep your neck and upper back warm for more than 30 minutes. Perfect for walking the dog or setting out on your commute in the wee hours.



3. Alternate Economies to Fight Climate Change
Not to be a cynic, but it doesn't look like we're going to pass a Cap and Trade bill in America any time soon. Still sea levels are rising, weather is changing, we're destroying communities in the name of coal and doing myriad other things to ensure our future is not so promising. There is a lot to be done legislatively to fix our future, but we can't count on the government alone to get us out of this deep fried pickle. We need corporate buy in. We need more companies to invest in a clean energy future, more investors to invest in clean energy companies and all parties involved to create those green jobs everyone's been talking about. We need to create economic alternatives for people in communities that rely on dirty energy.

But why trust companies to be charitable? And creating incentives takes money and the government time. In Appalachia, where people have an intense love/hate relationship with the coal industry, there has been some success in luring businesses in to create employment alternatives but not nearly enough.

Instead of trying to create incentives for companies to go to the people who need them, why not make new companies? We could train community members in the art entrepreneurship, identify needs in the communities and create common sense business solutions to address them that are both environmentally and economically sustainable. It might sound crazy but I think it's a sweet idea.




More soon...

Healthy 2x Baked Potatoes?

Almost! These are potato-innards mixed with milk, salt, pepper, mushrooms, spinach and some homemade bread crumbs, accompanied by chicken marinated in homemade vinaigrette. Mushrooms, onions and garlic were cooked in Two Buck Chuck Chardonnay.



Recipe for Bad Ass Vinaigrette:
- lemon juice
- honey
- mustard
- cider vinegar
- olive oil
- one clove garlic
- pinch of sugar

* This is good as a salad dressing and a marinade. We also threw some parsley in but I'm not sure it really added anything.


This Slate piece on diplomatic cables as literature makes me think I should be a diplomat. Who doesn't want to write denigrating reports on the drinking habits of royal families or detailed psychological analyses of foreign leaders?

Batman, Turkey

Today I was trying to book travel for a Harvard Professor traveling to Irbil (aka Erbil or Arbil) in Iraqi Kurdistan. It turns out it's a really hard place to get there. I also learned that there is a nearby city in Turkey called Batman. It's not rinky dinky. It has an airport and it's apparently a little self-conscious about its name. In 2008, the mayor of Batman sued Warner Bros. and The Dark Knight Director Christopher Nolan for using the name without permission. Read more about that here.


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Please share with Obama haters

WTF has Obama done so far? Check it out:
http://whatthefuckhasobamadonesofar.com/

This is a lot like WTF should I make for dinner, but instead of recipes it provides help with dispelling Tea Party untruths about the useless nature of our President.

Thanks for this Dan.