June 11, 2004

Reagan and My Money

He eliminated the social security death benefit for children of deceased parents when I was 18. Not much, but I needed that $300 a month for college, and my father worked and paid social security throughout his short adult life, not thinking he'd die at 36, no life insurance, leaving a widow and three kids behind. Thanks, Ronnie.

He capped the low interest student loans I needed to pay for college in the early 80s, so that I couldn't borrow any money for my junior and senior year. Thanks, Ronnie.

He blew interest rates through the roof, so that some of us who had to borrow money 20 years ago are still paying it off.

And, I'm assuming since the mail lady hasn't come today, in his last moments in the public view, he's delayed the check that was supposed to arrive today -- money I need -- by probably two additional days.

I had no fondness for him as a President. I didn't know him as a man.

Bye.

June 10, 2004

Oh for the love of Pete--Now we've got BlowGun?

Apparently no one told these folks that blogging surpassed the "hot trend" category last year and is now on its way to passe-ville. Well, at least blogging the way they understand it. Really, someone should have clued them in that blogging is dead (long live writing).

DIG, if you will, exhibit A, also known as the intro page, which attempts to jazz up conference attendee wannabes and speakers. Okay. I am a cunning linguist myself, and I understand that the writer is trying hard, if badly, to create in his or her readers an ultra-orgasmic state, or at least a longing for this brand new, hot-so-hot trend called blogging.

For instance, the welcome message urges us to take advantage of this fast-emerging technology and the unique language it uses.

Unique language? Oh no. Oh dear. I've begun to perspire.

But there's more:

Yet, despite this phenomenal growth, no one company has prospered from blogging or social media. BlogOn will show you why this day is imminent. The real question is: Who will be in position to ride this new wave?

no one company has prospered?

why this day is imminent?

who will be in position to ride this new wave?

Well, for one thing, people who can WRITE, or at least have something meaningful to SAY.

The Blogon (Pronounced Blow Gun by the common folk who already speak the unique language known as pigeon-bloggish) people are urging you to LEVERAGE ! AND QUICKLY!

They want you to understand and harness this gathering disruptive phenomenon.

[[what's a gathering phenomenon? anyone?]]

That's right--rein it in. Harness it, capture the power and use it to sustain your competitive advantage. Sure: Harness, which in business speak is kin to leverage. Believe me. I wrote the book.

Best of all, you will notice that all of your favorite (mostly self-proclaimed male) A-listers are speaking at BlowGun, except at this conference they are called leading bloggers.

One of my favorite absurd claims of the BlowGun folks is that the conference will enable you to Discern for yourself the difference between vision and hallucination among key players.

Well, I don't know for sure who the "key players" are, but I sure as hell am hoping that this whole BlowGun thing is a hallucination.

And while we're at it, I'll take hallucination over business vision any day of the week.

I have to wonder: when will a conference come along that Our Regular Representatives decide NOT to attend--not to give credibility to? When will they say, "naw--this sounds way too goofy" to the kind of anti-voice crap mantra bullshit this page reeks of?

When?

Someone, load the blow gun and shoot me now.

Shelley?, Stavros? Anyone?

June 9, 2004

Writing Letters

Dear Friends...

June 8, 2004

note to self...



Happy 42nd to Nina June...

That'd be what my daddy thought to name me.

stumbling on

I don't think I'm going to blog anymore. I'm going back to writing instead.

in 2001 I saw it this way

"I'm meeting folks I wouldn't know unless we happened to win their business one day. Great people. SMART people. With really good ideas about blogging, kids, what makes marketing work and not work, why some companies suck to work for--stuff like that. So as this (so far) loosely-knit group of really cool people takes shape among organizations (hell, we all work somewhere--this Internet's an expensive addiction) a very important cross-organizational culture begins to emerge. We understand each other. We know the secret handshake. It's powerful. It is already amazing me. I'm so glad I caught the train."

--me, Gonzo Engaged, October 2001


"It ain't over til it's over, but it sure feels over."

--me, today.

and the survey says....

I've written nearly a half million words on blogger since 2001.

If I had a dollar for every word

I'd have probably spent it on good coffee and fancy-pants shoes for jenna by now.

I am starting a reparation movement for bloggers.

Starting immediately the Greater World At Large (GWAL) owes each of us

a dollar per word.

It's a reasonable rate for writing as fine as this.

Motherfuckers.

Swear words are half off.

It's a special offer.

Today only.

A half million words.

How many of them

meant something?

I think

every single

one.