Journal perfessor multigeek's Journal: I'm NEVER getting out of New York 13
Boy. I keep trying to find ways to break off my love-hate thing with this city and recently the city is looking awfully nice.
I got a bulk email today that some group I had never heard of was having a cheap ($10) panel on How The Media Covers Politics with expected attendance of about fifty and a set of various bigwig panelists.
Now I could talk about the important stuff that this involved, or things like my talk afterwords with the Managing Editor of Forbes, or other stuff like that but you know what the *real* romance was?
It turned out that this group was some kind of VOA-type group connected to the State Department and the talk was given in a room set up for briefings. And right there, ten feet in front of me (as usual, I sat right up front) was a podium just like the ones on televison. Because, well, it was one of the ones on televison. With the seal of the State Department. And beside it was the canonical American flag with lots of golden doohickeys and as I looked around it was clear that this was one of the rooms one always sees on CNN, NBC, whatever. The mottled, camera-friendly blue carpeting on the walls, the tons of inset panels for sound with the sound room off to the side. The whole shebang.
Now, two days ago I handed off some of my stuff to Martin Sheen and the dude was right there. Assorted other celebs were there and, well, this stuff happens all the time around here. But this was utterly different; this was real.
At the end of the day actors are just actors and I've spent enough time with journalists for that little bit of drama to be *long* gone. But I'm, at heart, an operations guy, and this got me. I was sitting in a room I've probably seen on the boob tube a dozen times and I belonged there. Now to me, that is cool.
And even better, they let me in free.
Rustin
I got a bulk email today that some group I had never heard of was having a cheap ($10) panel on How The Media Covers Politics with expected attendance of about fifty and a set of various bigwig panelists.
Now I could talk about the important stuff that this involved, or things like my talk afterwords with the Managing Editor of Forbes, or other stuff like that but you know what the *real* romance was?
It turned out that this group was some kind of VOA-type group connected to the State Department and the talk was given in a room set up for briefings. And right there, ten feet in front of me (as usual, I sat right up front) was a podium just like the ones on televison. Because, well, it was one of the ones on televison. With the seal of the State Department. And beside it was the canonical American flag with lots of golden doohickeys and as I looked around it was clear that this was one of the rooms one always sees on CNN, NBC, whatever. The mottled, camera-friendly blue carpeting on the walls, the tons of inset panels for sound with the sound room off to the side. The whole shebang.
Now, two days ago I handed off some of my stuff to Martin Sheen and the dude was right there. Assorted other celebs were there and, well, this stuff happens all the time around here. But this was utterly different; this was real.
At the end of the day actors are just actors and I've spent enough time with journalists for that little bit of drama to be *long* gone. But I'm, at heart, an operations guy, and this got me. I was sitting in a room I've probably seen on the boob tube a dozen times and I belonged there. Now to me, that is cool.
And even better, they let me in free.
Rustin
The Sheen Thang; (Score:1)
About the only celebs I see around Seattle are famous Science Fiction writters (for whatever reason they seem to retire here, hehe); but hey, I recognize more of their names then I would actors, soooo. . . . ^_^
One cool bit is that the local schools can occasionaly get some famous griseled old Science Fiction dude in for career day;
"Listen, kids, don't do it for the money, but if you do succeed you can get like me and turn out the same crap year after year for tons of money. I am sure not in it for the art anymore."
^_^
Re:The Sheen Thang; (Score:1)
Mr. Sheen was a speaker and I thought that he would be somebody who both should have my stuff just for Good-Of-Society reasons and Famous People Like My Stuff reasons. As it happens, with the wonderful (yeah, right) world of media twits I never got to be sure that he or most of the other speakers got my stuff. Instead I had the transcendently annoying experience of watching several major folk go by while an event flack talks about how sure, he'll take care of it. (Given that the media folk from this event now want a favor we'll see if they did).
And *that*'s the story. (Who was it who used to say that?)
Rustin
Re:The Sheen Thang; (Score:1)
I think I'll have to look through your previous journal entries to find out what those are. ^_^
Re:The Sheen Thang; (Score:1)
Rustin
Re:Science Fiction authors (Score:1)
So, I'm curious, of the writers you've met, who impressed you most and who was least like what you expected?
Star struck (Score:1)
Re:Star struck (Score:1)
Ahhh, but *that*'s the key. It's neither. The situations that get me all happy are the ones where I get a reality check that yes, I am getting somewhere. So seeing X famous person on the street, or even talking to them at a party or office is an "ah, well" event. But getting an email from somebody a tenth as famous because of work reasons matters.
The thing that made me such a happy boy was that I was in a place where the action is, not because they're a floor below our office and I snuck in on my lunch break, but because I was *supposed* to be there. Signed in, reservation, chatting with the event manager and so on. Because *that* says that, despite my insecure inner beliefs to the contrary, this whole starting a company thing is happening. It still blows my mind that about a year ago I hit one of the big computer shows with a press pass (and yeah, I did use the chance to grab munchies) not because I could pull it off (which I would have been able to do for most of the past decade) but because at this event I was legitimately press.
So, talking to Roger Ebert at party, two on the coolness scale. Exchanging email with David Brin about Star Wars culture, three. Formatting a speech for the Pope for output, four. Trying to teach Rik Ocasek (sp?) Photoshop, five. Card from Garry Trudeau saying that he likes my stuff, eight. Being staff at Time Magazine during a major unexpected national news story, ten.
Does that make a little more sense?
Rustin
Re:Star struck (Score:1)
Re:Star struck (Score:1)
(Yes, I certainly did look at the paintings and yes, they made quite an impression and no, you do *not* get to deny how much of you is in that collage given that it has a.) not one but *two* frames, b.) must have taken an awful lot of vigilance to find such a great mix of clips, c.) you varnished it, from the looks of it, possibly with more then one coat, certainly with some attention to brush strokes as you didn't get that annoying sticking-up-bits rush jobs give to varnished collages or decoupage.)
And yes, I have been waiting impatiently for days to slip some comments on your work into the conversation.
-Rustin
Waiting (Score:1)
But anyway, you're the first to let me know that someone actually went to the page. I could have set up a counter to see, but that is just too much work.
I do remember a while back that you asked for good art stores in the LA area:
Utrecht Paint Supply Store
11677 Santa Monica Boulevard
West Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 478-5775
The Art Store
7301 West Beverly Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90036
T 323-933-9284
and under no circumstance should you go to Michael's arts and crafts store, they are overpriced and have a pitiful selection.
Re:Waiting (Score:1)
Well, that is at least accurate though far from complete.
Other then that, well, my reactions were, um, complicated. Positive, but non-trivial. Let's just say that what I saw matched and further confirmed what I have already been thinking and I'm starting to get seriously uncomfortable discussing this in a place where it is exposed (according to the NYT) to several million people.
Um.Um. Mumble, mumble.
Is it possible to blush online?
-Rustin
Exposed (Score:1)
Though I am curious as to your undiluted opinion, I do respect your limits. I too edit my words to a fault, though online I tend to the opposite (this being my personal experiment in self-expression). I'm sure that you see this forum from a different vantage point than I, and I tend to blindly rely on the comforting shroud that anonymity gives (or at least the illusion of anonymity).
Re:Exposed (Score:1)
Though I am curious as to your undiluted opinion
Then please email me and ask me again.
Rustin