Five years
I’ve tried to write a post on 9/11 for the past two days and I couldn’t. Today, I kept CNN’s replay of the September 11, 2001 broadcast on the entire day. I thought that the emotional grip of these images would be lighter after five years. I was wrong.
On September 11, 2001 it was impossible to understand the impact of what was going on. Fragments of information were hitting us from all over and formed a fuzzy picture. I was at work, and after the CNN website got jammed, I got small pieces of news throughout the day. At night, the continue replay of the planes hitting the twin towers felt as a scene from an apocalyptic movie, not as a very real event that had just happened 106 miles from where I lived.
The day after, even in the awareness of the horrible tragedy, the entire world seemed to close around us and hug us tight.
Today, the facts are even too clear. We know how many people died, we can name some of them, we know some of their stories, we have seen their pictures. We know what happened after that day. No worldwide hugs are left. There is no mystery, no suspense. September 11 now appears as it is: just a terrible tragedy that is still unfolding in front of us and whose human sense escapes us.
Technorati Tags: September 11
Keith Haring in Philadelphia
On Sunday, Husband and I rode our bikes to Philly (27 miles and we are still alive!). I wanted to take some pictures of the collaborative mural that Keith Haring painted with local children in South Philadelphia (visit Keith Haring’s site to read more about the project and look at pictures of the event).
The mural is titled “We the Youth” and was painted in 1987 in celebration of the bicentennial of the US Constitution; it was recently restored and the tiny garden in front of the mural was redesigned.
I find Keith Haring’s painting and sculptures so moving. Perhaps it’s their irrepressible energy; perhaps the simplicity of the lines that burst with meaning and emotion (as you could still perceive the gesture that produced that line). It’s as Keith could communicate directly to my heart, bypassing my head and my defenses. And I’ve always felt that collaborative and public art—that type of creative expression that some scream is “absolutely not art”—is the best art form ever created.
I owe the discovery of the only Keith Haring’s mural in Philadelphia to Albert, who recently wrote about it in his blog. He also wrote that the building has been recently sold and there are rumors that it might be demolished. Does anybody have additional information?
If you want to visit, you can find the mural at the corner between 22nd and Ellsworth Street. You can also look at additional pictures in this slideshow at Smugmug.
Technorati Tags: Keith Haring, Haring, mural, 1987, we the youth, Philadelphia
How to Blog: 4. Blog Networking
So, now you have a blog. What do you want to do with it? You can use it as an online publishing tool to create a website and put content on the internet. But you would be missing the wonderful potential that blogs have to connect people and ideas.
Most of us use blogs as a social and networking tool. We want others to see and hear what we’ve created. We enjoy finding other people who share our passions and see the world in the same way we do—or perhaps in a completely different way. We want to find people who say interesting things and discuss topics we care about.
If you too belong to the second category, you should learn something about blog networking. Find people you like and would like to connect with; go out and let other people know that you have a blog, are interested in what they say, and would like to start a conversation with them.
Local Showcase: I’ve made a huge tiny mistake
If you follow local sports, you need to check out I’ve made a huge tiny mistake, the current Philly Future featured blog. In his blog, Chris talks about sport (Phillies, Sixers, and more), entertainment, and current events. Oh, and don’t miss his on notice/dead to me a-la-Colbert list (I had to look up Fabio Castro on Google, you judge how carefully I follow local baseball).
Chris: congratulations and happy featured blog. Everybody else, pay a visit and say hello to Chris. And many thanks to those who voted for my blog.
Technorati Tags: philly future, blogging, philadelphia, phillyfeaturedblog
How to blog is coming back
Easton Ellsworth at Business Blog Wire has blogtipped me (thank you!) and kindly reminded me that I have been neglecting the How to Blog series for too long.
I know, I’ve been bad. But new posts on how to blog are in the works, and you’ll see something soon.
The TED Conference is online
Every year, the brightest and most influential gather in Monterey for TED. The theme of this year’s TED, which stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, was The Future We Will Create….
Google Video has a set of video recordings of some amazing 2006 TED conference talks. Al Gore was there and you can feel his presence in many of the videos. If you only have time for one, watch Majora Carter, MacArthur “genius” grant winner and founder of Sustainable South Bronx, talking about environmental justice and explaining why green is the new black.
For more videos, visit the TED site and YouTube; you can also find photos from the TED conference on Flickr and visit/subscribe to the TEDblog for more information and video updates on the conference.
No, you cannot attend TED 2007. The conference is by invitation only (although anybody can apply for an invitation) and it seems to be already sold out.
Technorati Tags: TED, conference, TEDconference, 2006
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