Sweet Austin

Well we had a great time in Austin. I was going to write more about it...but Bob beat me to it. Here is his excellent account of the adventure.

Clearly he saw way more than I did of the town. But hey - someone has to work.

Then again he didn't have the same experience I did...experiencing the brainy, creative, techie mashup that is SXSW.

Some highlights:

• Henry Jenkins Keynote - my fav academic - who among other things discussed a book called Bowling Alone which made the argument that the 1950s and 60s damaged our society. Between corporate transfers, divorce, television, two-career families, suburban sprawl, generational changes in values created a breakdown in civil society as Americans became more disconnected from their families, neighbors, communities, and the republic itself. But the thing that's bringing it together again? The Internet. Regardless of all the naysayers who fear that it's isolating us.


• Meeting and networking with lots of people working in virtual worlds and social networks.


• Meeting people in person who I knew well through their blogs. A great experience and the best part about reading blogs. It all comes full circle when you meet in person.


• Going all around Austin with two four-foot tall WeeMees in tow. Makes quite an impression. More photos here.
  

I agree with Bob - I'll come back to Austin. It's got an amazing vibe.

Me and ZZTop

This weekend I'm in Austin, Texas for the first time attending the South by Southwest Conference and Festival (SXSW).

On this blog I think I've already covered how I feel about Molly Ivins, and this is her old stomping grounds. So I'm walking in her footsteps while here. We're also lucky enough to be in the company of Susan O'Connor and Peter Grant . Two of the funniest, smartest people on the planet, they made it into my world through Bob, who worked with Susan at Atari. They are giving us a generous serving of Austin hospitality and hooplah.

Oh, by the way, Bob is here too. A rare collision of our professional/personal worlds has allowed us to be here at the same time - thanks to Dorothy who is holding down the home front in Boston. Last time we called home, it sounds like she's welcomed in a whole house of teen and 'tween friends of our boys - pizzas, sleepovers...the works. So I'm not sure Dylan and Drew will want us back. They're being spoiled by Auntie Ducie and even Mombo admits it...she has competition.

But for now, let me share the highlight of my day.

There I was standing in line at Kinkos. Making copies...

And next to me in line? Billy Gibbons, lead singer of ZZ Top.

I have to go right now because Bob and I have a date at the famous Broken Spoke where we plan to see Dale Watson tonight. So stay tuned for more detail on how I learned all about Billy Gibbons' 80 year old mother and how I got his autograph.

For now here's Billy at work...

Movies

July 2008

The Assassination of Jesse James
Not what I thought it would be. Very quiet movie but well done and Brad Pitt too.

There will be Blood
Brilliant performance from Daniel Day Lewis. He's incredible.

Hancock
I love Will Smith. Even in NY after a terrible disease wipes out all humanity. Even when he's a drunken superhero.

Wall E
Beautifully animated. Good moral to the story. Scary future. Those fat people on the space ship who can't even walk haunt me.

March 2008

Moonlight Mile
Shot in Marblehead and the North Shore. Pretty good movie with a star-studded cast. Our friend Jack worked on the crew. When it was being shot, they took over Haley Liquors and the old Marblehead Kite Company (now Mud Puddle Toys) and used it as the diner and office where the key scenes took place.

Once
A pure, quiet joy. An Irish idie film acted by the actual musicians. Oscar winner for best song.



The Bourne Ultimatum
Even faster-paced than the other two.

Michael Clayton
Incredible cast. Oscar nominated performances. Great story and twists.


February 2008

Juno
Dylan and I saw this together at the theatre. It was one of those rare movies that is funny and touching and dramatic all at once. Perfectly captures teenagers. And parents. People. Ellen Page was brilliant. My other favorite character was her step mother, played by Alison Janney (from the much-missed West Wing).

Kite Runner
A great book. A good movie. Saw this in Conway with Dylan one night...just the two of us. We cried and it was great to see it with each other.

Balls of Fury
Weird, goofy ping pong movie. You'll laugh out loud in spite of yourself. Christopher Walken in another weird role - he's pro at weird.

Lauren + horse

I've worked with Lauren for many years. I've learned a lot from her, she's smart-smart-smart, she's a great friend with a huge heart and we've had some grand adventures together. But she definitely has a screw loose.

Just about every day she gets on a horse and tries to get it to jump over things. Big things. She does all that crazy stuff that puts people in the hospital. My clavicle feels like it's about to break just looking at this picture. But to Lauren, this is what she'd rather be doing, most of the time - no question.

The other thing she loves to do? Win. She's a born competitor. Believe me, when she's passionate and focused on something? Look. Out.

So that's got a lot to do with why she spent this month in South Carolina competing with her horse Spencer. And, no surprise, she placed second in her division.

Yesterday when she described the feeling she had when she made it through the course and she and her horse worked as one and did it beautifully - she was so high on life and so brimming with excitement...I think I really got it.

With most sports, you play against your own limits and you interact and compete against other humans. But with riding, it's you and your personality working together with this huge, strong animal's personality. You're taking cues from each other and reading each other's animal instincts. It's altogether different and must be exponentially more difficult than other sports - requiring a powerful combination of guts, smarts, and inner strength. Yeah, it's got Lauren written all over it.

But I get it. It must be a total rush. It must be like poetry in motion. It must be so incredible, that you're willing to buy horse shoes once a month that cost more than your entire annual wardrobe. So thrilling, in fact, that you're willing to put aside thoughts of Christopher Reeve, throw caution to the wind, be in the moment, breathe deep the fresh air, pat your horse, whisper to him and...FLY.

Scots and Americans

I work with Scottish people every day and it's great.

But the first time I was on a conference call with them, I couldn't understand a word. You'd think because we both speak English, it would be easy, right? Not so much.

One thing they always comment on about Americans is our unbridled optimism and our over-use of the word "awesome" which is a word that they reserve for something truly awe-inspiring - like God.

To which of course, we comment on their Scottish pride and their over-use the word "brilliant." How was your tea? "Brilliant!" Going to the loo? Brilliant!" Because, brilliant is a word that we reserve for someone that's extraordinarily smart - like Einstein.

Here is the video that they sent to me today, saying that this is how they see Americans:



Gotta love stereotypes.

So, I'm sending them this one - because here's how we see the Scots:

SNL - All Things Scottish | Funny Jokes at JibJab

Thank you

Blackberry Tale Alert

Bob posted a few more Blackberry tales. Check them out.

He's been in San Francisco more often than not, working on tough deadlines and it's been a grind. Lots of issues with the team and the product. We miss him. He misses us. It's a bummer.

Meet the Obamas

Today someone said to me, who is this guy - Barack Obama?

And today's Wall Street Journal did a profile on Michelle Obama.

So if you haven't figured out who they are, here is some info...


What do you know about Barack Obama?

- He attended Columbia University as an undergrad and graduated magna cum laude in 1991 from Harvard Law School where he had been elected president of the Harvard Law Review - the "first black president in its 104-year history".
-Obama returned to Chicago after graduation and directed a voter registration drive.
- As an associate attorney with Miner, Barnhill & Galland from 1993 to 1996, he represented community organizers, discrimination claims, and voting rights cases.
- He was a lecturer of constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1993 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004.

He was born in 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii to Barack Obama, Sr. (born in Kenya) and Ann Dunham (born in Wichita, Kansas). Obama's parents met while both were attending the University of Hawaii. They separated when he was two years old and later divorced. His father went to Harvard University to pursue Ph.D. studies, then returned to Kenya, where he died in an auto accident in 1982. His mother married another foreign student, Lolo Soetoro, and the family moved to Soetoro's home country of Indonesia in 1967. Obama attended local schools in Jakarta from ages 6 to 10, where classes were taught in Indonesian. He then returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Dunham and attended school there until his graduation in 1979. Obama's mother died of ovarian cancer a few months after the publication of his 1995 memoir, Dreams from My Father.

What do you know about Michelle Obama?

- Like Barack, she's a Harvard Law School graduate.
- She grew up in a four-room apartment with a kitchen the size of a closet. Her father was a pump operator at the city water plant. He suffered from Multiple Sclerosis. Her stay-at-home mother pushed she and her brother to get the education their parents never got. Both Michelle and her brother Craig attended Princeton in the 80s.
- She's 44 years old.
- She and Barack have two daughters aged 6 and 9.
- She worked for Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, as a liaison with service agencies on tasks such as finding shelters for the homeless during the winter.
- As a health care executive she worked for the University of Chicago Medical Center as vice president of community affairs
- She plans her campaign appearances around her daughters' activities and her peace of mind improved greatly when her mother decided last summer to retire and help take care of the girls, Malia and Sasha.

"The Obamas present themselves as equals. "We're two well-versed lawyers who know each other really well," Mrs. Obama says in an interview. "We each think we're right about everything, and can argue each other into a corner." Friends and campaign aides describe them as a high-powered team built on contrasts: She's the heart to his head, the enforcer to his lapses, regimented to his laid-back, critic to his ego, details to his broad strokes, sarcasm to his sincerity, toughness to his cool vibe."

- from The Wall Street Journal

The Mom Song

Growing up

When our kids were younger it was easy. We decided where to go and the kids came with us. Now it's not so easy.

They have opinions. They have commitments. They have - gasp! - girlfriends.

As a parent, that's your goal - getting them launched. And I'm glad they've got their own lives.

But I do miss that ability to just throw everyone in the car and take off.

Having the house up North has been great for carving out family time. Now the trick is to coordinate everyone's schedules so we can get there all together more often.

Today I'm looking at the snow outside my window and wishing we were all in the van driving up North. But instead, I'll be driving kids to rehearsal. Making a project for school. Doing the grocery shopping. And the bills. And the laundry.

Sigh.

But, I have to take the long view. When Dylan started high school, Mema called me and said two things I'll never forget. One - it will all go very fast now. And two - invite all their friends over and stay involved in their lives.

And she's right. It's already going too fast. Drew will be 12 this month.

Before I know it my boys will be grown.

So today I'll go work on that school project and do what now seems like the unending loads of laundry and the endless grocery shopping.

I'll enjoy my love notes. And put away some of the things I want to do for now.