Have yourself a virtual little Christmas? (or, Call Me Old Fashioned, but I Miss the Human Touch)
My husband and I had a lively discussion this week about whether or not to get our son a dog for Christmas. I am sure we're not the first family to debate this topic. I was arguing for, he was arguing against. Eventually, in the spirit of compromise, my husband suggests we buy a robot dog. I suppose such a thing doesn't actually leave a mess and would never die, unless you toss it in the garbage or run over. However, as I pointed out to him...it's not actually real. It just seems weird to me to buy a robot dog instead of a real one, sort of sad, and pathetic, somehow.
The next gift idea we discussed, inevitably, was the Wii. The Wii, as I think everyone on the planet knows by now, allows you to pretend to play golf, tennis, or baseball, or go bowling...all in the comfort of your own living room. You can even be a rock star. And never actually have to accomplish, well, much of anything, or take any risks, emotional or physical, while doing so (http://www.nintendo.com/wii).
$800 Raised for Bay Area Food Bank from Candygram Sales
SAN FRANCISCO -- Sort of like elementary school all over again, but
with a twist: Last week, the SF office had people send candy canes to
one another as "candy grams" (anonymously or otherwise), for a donation
of one dollar. We figured we might raise a couple of hundred dollars,
and we planned to donate the money to a local charity.
Dawn did a great job marketing the sweet initiative internally. I know I
had way too much fun doing this; I think I sent over 40 anonymous
candygrams to unsuspecting coworkers! Apparently I wasn't the only one
who got into the spirit: As a result of this effort, we have netted
close to $800 and counting! All proceeds will go to the SF Food Bank to
help feed those in need.
Going to do this again next year, for sure!
Tis the season,
-Tracy
Trouble. The sign on the board says it all in a lazy chalk message to those at the stools:
"Build Your Own Damn House!"
and
"Coffee/Coconut/Toast $7"
As the Seattle-ish concept of underground coffee spreads its beatnik sensibility outward and ever upward, I've seen a few places like this sprout up. And San Fran is a good place for one given its abundant supply of coffee fans and off-beat dudes and dudettes. And if you couldn't tell from the site linked above...well, yes...the too-cool-for-school crowd has a new local haunt to haunt.
This shop is kind of out-of-the-way from the office in a neighborhood south and west of the Golden Gate and all that, practically on the Pacific Ocean -- Lower Sunset, if I'm not mistaken. Getting there requires a decent streetcar ride for $1.50 (N-line all the way out to Judah and 45th from 4th and Market...I think) or a $25 cab. I did both and found the mass transit solution more sensible.
But it was all worth it. Drip coffee is roasted on site, according to Holly -- the one staffer manning the operation when I went. Ecco, the very well regarded bean outfit, provides the espresso roast. And Holly knows how to pull a sweet shot, IMHO.
Plus, I got a huge slice of toast with butter and cinnamon-sugar to boot, which might have been worth the trip in itself. I think the latte and toast were around $5. I skipped the coconut, but saw other, more "local" looking chaps tucking into whole coconuts with tops off and straws blazing.
Source: KGO
On Friday, October 24, eight months of planning culminates in a great Preview Party and weekend-long Open Studios. In March, I was invited to join four other artists in the colorful studio of sculptor Liz Mamorsky. Called "Lizland", the former industrial building is crammed to its sky-lighted ceiling with weird found objects and other sculptural supplies. I'll be unveiling a new piece exploring the well-known trigger effect of aroma on memory.
When the group learned I was a copywriter, I was immediately assigned to write our press release and the group's web site. And when they learned I had a small woodworking shop, I was immediately asked to make sidewalk sandwich boards. Yes kids, the glamorous life of an artist!
But with five of us together, the tasks divide up well, since one artist's husband is a vintner and will be supplying some actually decent wine for the reception.
All SF Organics (and any visiting Organics) plus friends are invited to come on by, see if the wine lives up to its press, and check out some thought-provoking art.
See show details and map at www.group5Lizland.com
--Paul Baker
Earlier today, I was in one of those moods, and I updated my facebook profile with lyrics from a very obscure Warren Zevon song. Some people might even think Warren Zevon is obscure but whatever. Much to my surprise, a colleague in our Detroit office noticed it and called me on it (accusing me of harboring a harmonica player somewhere)...thus creating a humorous, surprising connection between the two of us.
Now that several of my colleagues - not to mention random cousins and people I hadn't spoken to for ages -- are on facebook and twitter, in spite of my initial skepticism on the, well, social aspects of social networking, I find that I really am enjoying getting to know people better...People that I like, but never made time to connect with. Not that I have time now, mind you, but it is pretty efficient to write on someone's facebook wall or skim a page of twitter posts to see what folks are up to and stay in touch. Maybe it's kind of a half baked way to do it, but it's better than not being in touch at all, and imho is much less stressful than the whole vaguely uncomfortable "let's meet for a drink" thing that gets promised and never ever happens because let's face it, for most of us, our "friend cards" are full already. I mean, there are only so many hours in a day. I'm looking forward to a way to find more people on these tools so I can continue to connect with people and get to know some of them a little bit better. Hey, if it wasn't for facebook, I would not have ever known that I have a colleague in Detroit with an ear for folk music and a sarcastic sense of humor!
I also like our internal social networking tool, it works better than I had anticipated and definitely gets used (hey, if you want a phone number, you kind of have to get out there to find it!). Now, the only thing I am starting to wonder about on these tools is the number of "friends" I have...if I don't have very many, does that mean I'm not popular?! Wait, don't answer that!
--Tracy Cote -- Executive Director, Talent
--Corianda Rocklein
(My apologies for the shameless self-promotion. I'd also like to use this opportunity to give a shout-out to Rey. See below.)
As you know this year's Republican National Convention will take place in Twin Cities from September 1st. The local art community decided to organize a political art event (ironically named The UnConvention) using the convention as a backdrop. They have invited many artists from all over the country to participate in the event, including me. My installation, Political Science 101: A Crash Course in Civil Discourse on Political Blogs, is an appraisal of the political blogs as a civil discourse medium. It will be shown at Intermedia Arts in Minneapolis from August 31s to November 2nd.
The New York Times has a report on the event and my work (the reporter got my name all wrong; I've asked for a correction):
If you will be in the area and are interested in attending the event, more info can be found here:
Rey Peralta has been helping me on the front-end programming. This wouldn't have came to fruition without his talents!
--Fang-Yu Lin
For more than 12 years, we have had bagel Wednesdays and Beer Bash on Fridays. It was great to know that I could count on breakfast on Wednesday mornings no matter where I was going to land. More recently, we have added fruit to the list of items you can see in any of our offices. Living in California, I thought this was great and would really save on my food bill. However, I never realized the extent to which Organics love their fruit. At some point in the week, bushels and bushels of fresh fruit are brought in. It's so much fruit that you would think it never imagine it would be eaten before it went bad. But, I did my little research. The picture below is the day the fruit arrived
And, here is the next day...
There were still 2 more days left in the week! I know this is just San Francisco. But, I have heard of stories where fruit is announced by the office-all email and within hours the fruit has been devoured. I think we need to add more fruit!
--Marita Scarfi
I'm from that weird age-group just after Gen X that still remembers getting excited by the "Summertime" video (DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince), waiting up to watch Nirvana on Headbangers Ball and seeing the "Paranoid Android" video debut on 120 Minutes in the middle of the night. Alas, those days are gone, in favor of some show shot about 5 minutes from my house that features the lives of a bunch of girls who live on a hill -- a hill that I guess no interesting people live on.
But maybe it's this deep-seated affinity for the blending of music and visuals that makes this Dockers spot so freakin' appealing to me (currently running in heavy rotation on TNT's NBA playoff coverage). San Fran is a town that can turn anyone with a camera into a talented photog...but this Cali-themed song (Marlena Rowe...so great) along with spot-on spectacular photography of the uniquely sophisticated and beautiful city (not coincidentally the home to the HQ of our fair company) has me longing for Ed Lover introducing another LL Cool J debut.
--Mike Hudson
my conversations with others is a thirst to learn more about your craft,
be it creative, engineering, engagement management or any other role.
What marks a strong culture and an environment where "we" as the real
capital of a company want to be an active and enthusiastic part of it is
the investment we have in each other. Sometimes that can be based on
rank, or through a corporate policy, but mostly I find it comes from
watching and listening to each other - regardless of the discipline.
Anyone can tell someone what to do...sometimes called direction or
leadership (positive) or micromanagement and insecurity (negative).
Either way, it isn't what I would call mentoring.
I define mentoring with a two-fold description: the act of caring about
change in yourself and in others.
Being surrounded by smart, enthusiastic, eager people is a fantastic
opportunity for mentorship. While it may appear to be ideal (if
completely unrealistic) to have someone take you under their wing and
both nuture and shield you, we are all responsible for our own
development. Being open to mentorship opportunities can be difficult as
ego, personalities, and assumptions can prevent some from participating.
But I have found when I start to close down or shut off that is a yellow
flag that I have a choice to make. I can either change the flag to red
and stop listening, or I can put the flag aside and see the opportunity
to better myself. Every time I have it has paid off handsome dividends.
I am able to hear a different approach, a new way of thinking about
things, and even find myself gaining new information that I was
completely unaware of. For me learning new things is incredibly
exciting, being told I am a "knowledge worker" means I need to be
conscious that my value comes from creating opportunities to learn more.
What's my point? Well (jeez, tough crowd!), what I am proposing is that
we all take a day each week to practice, and react to things actively,
try to engage those around us and listen to their mentoring of us. It
can come from anyone, anywhere but taking the time to ask questions or
offering a platform for our collegues to talk to us will go a long way
to hearing about how others see problems, interact with their
environment and see what drives or motivates them.
This is about empathy (isn't it always?) but its empathy with
opportunity. I find myself surprised by what others hear me say, how
they react to it, how they respond both positively and negatively. Its
incredible how powerful and impactful we are to those around us, which
only reinforces how much we affect others and how we can be effected by
them.
Would love to know what others think about this - go ahead and use this
as a chance to mentor me.
--Jeremy Adirim
Diverse friend group? No problem. The SF crew has got it covered with eight options, running the gamut from "warm wishes" to Kwanzaa, with a dash of sprechen zie deutsch. You can check 'em all out here... (why aren't they embedded? cuz they turned the embed off, brother.)
NAPA, Calif. -- This is the time of peace on earth, at least that's what Heidi Kuhn said as we began an evening for the "Harvest of Hope" event hosted by the charity organization Roots of Peace. Heidi, the organization's founder and very energetic spokesperson, led off the evening with videos showing its work in Croatia and Afghanistan.
Roots of Peace is an organization that works to remove land mines in war torn countries around the world and replace them with grape vines or other agricultural products. Organic has been working over the last several months on launching their new site www.rootsofpeace.org. So, it was with pride that Tom Tully, Angela DiPietro, Dan Turman and I made our way to the Copia (The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts) in Napa, California to represent Organic for the event.
--Bill Camp