inBox Zero
Music, books, ideas, art, movies! How we roll!
Why Children do not Drive Cars
I have been a part of local music here in Wausau for far too long, for a while. Local music is one of those mind numbing things, a soul crusher, but every now and again you get to see something amazing like Jeff Gay and the Straights. But more often than not you walk past a bar and hear a bad version of some hackneed Allman Brothers cover. Tonight though, Natty Nation came to Wausau to play the Fillmor, and it should have been a special event, but it was not. It was a demonstration of the selfishness of the amatuer and fanboy.
Someone cautioned me about trying to build community, and in that I should not write something negative, but I am sorry in advance but this is the sort of thing that bothers me so much. I often lament to friends that everyone wants to have a party, but no one wants to do the work to set it up, and no one wants to clean up afterward. They all just want to dance dance.
So the Fillmor is a new venue in Wausau, and it is struggling to find its feet. It is making giant mistakes, and it is recovering a little bit at a time. So, that being said, this was not their mistake.
A local man came to the Fillmor like a businessman, and asked to book a show. Said that he would do the work, that he would pay the band, that he would promote the show and he would collect the cover charge. This is a big city common thing, a promoter in the big city way of looking at it. This person was someone that asked me to be his reference, and I did. I told the venue that this was a good idea, and that this would work out well for the venue.
I vouched for this guy.
So the venue accepted the gig. Booked it. It was a no cost night. This person was going to pay the band, he was going to take the cover at the door, the terms were from the band to him. The venue had nothing to do with it. As such, the venue had no financial responsibility for the gig. It finally caught a break. The bar would be their money, it would be a profit rich night.
A few weeks ago this young man contacted the venue and told them that he had a wedding to go to in another city, and as such could not make the show. He was sorry, but it could not be avoided. He hoped the venue would not cancel the show. The venue, being morally sound kept the date, accepted the financial responsibility for the price this young man negotiated and signed the contract.
So, what should have been a free night, now was a few thousand dollars of cash outlay for the venue, because this young man did what he did.
Now, you ask, why does this matter, why are you typing at 214 am? Well, I was at the venue, and I SAW THIS YOUNG MAN. Dancing. Not working. Just having a good time. AFTER he told the venue that he would be out of town, and could not live up to his obligations.
This is the bush league crap that someone who is a fanboy pulls. Now the venue looks stupid, loses money, and burns a bridge with the band. The dude who vouched for the young man looks foolish because the young man is a liar and a scumbag, and showed up.
This is why local music is hard. The idea of being groovy and cool is fine, but at the end of the night someone has to hand someone several hundred dollars, and often times that is a less than groovy feeling. Amatuers be banished.
My social media footprint
I think in a lot of ways, the social media footprint is like a carbon footprint. One wants to make it as small as possible, and yet maintain a quality of life. Or something. So, here we go with mine.
http://twitter.com/CitizenDino
Plurk
http://www.plurk.com/CitizenDino
Pownce
http://pownce.com/citizendino/
Flickr
http://flickr.com/photos/corvinod
http://www.new.facebook.com/corvinod#/profile.php?id=691340167&ref=profile
what do you think
so, i am in a fever induced haze, but what do you think of the fillmor as a reality and as a potential?
At Blog World Expo 08
So, I have spent the morning being so very very inspired. It is honestly overwhelming. To think they would put such a great thing, in such a familiar city, it is almost like some sort of kismet for me.
I am more invigorated them ever about Twitter, and other social tools. Honestly, living in the cave that WAS my life back at home, it is something I did not understand. But, now I get it.
It comes down to this…if you have something you want to say, you want to say it as much as possible.
All the best blogs are updated 10 times a day.
Myspace and facebook are the same thing as ABC and NBC from ten years ago.
I want to change Citizen Wausau, I want to be inspired like this all the time.
For my work, it changes things even more.
This appeared today in the Wausau Daily Herald
I have to say, that I am too upset to try to put this on the front page right now, but look at this. The WDH, bastion of Northwestern Graduates full of ethics, literally ran a piece from John Noel and his company. No editorial oversite at all. They just gave him inches. No context, no comment, no anything.
What do you think of this?
“A message from John Noel regarding AIG-Travel Guard
September 16, 2008
A message from John M. Noel, Chairman and CEO, AIG-Travel Guard:
There have been a lot of media reports recently regarding AIG and the impact that the sub prime mortgage crisis has had on its business and its stock price.
Certainly we are all concerned about the adjustments that are taking place in our financial markets. With respect to AIG and Travel Guard, I’m sure the questions in many of your minds are, “How does this impact my Travel Guard customers?” “Will Travel Guard be there to honor their claims if they have a financial loss? “If they have a problem during their travels, will they get astonishing service that they have come to expect from Travel Guard?”
The answer to all of these questions is a resounding “Yes!” AIG is different than other financial institutions that have been severely impacted by recent developments in the financial service markets. We have strong, well-positioned businesses in diverse markets around the world. We have a deep asset base, with stakeholders’ equity of $79.9 billion and assets of over $1 trillion. And as you know, Travel Guard has been a strong, dependable partner that has always been there for our travel partners and their clients.
It may be of some comfort to know that independent sources outside of AIG also have confirmed our financial stability. For example, the New York State Department of Insurance, which regulates AIG, says we “continue to meet New York’s solvency standard and are able to honor our policyholder obligations.” And article in the Wall Street Journal, quoted Standard & Poor’s as saying that “AIG has enough money to pay claims and post collateral, if needed.”
On Monday, New York’s Gov. David Patterson announced that he had cleared AIG to borrow up to $20 billion from its operating subsidiaries to cover day-to-day needs. In making the announcement he stated what many of us already know — AIG still remains financially sound.
Let m assure you, AIG continues to rank among the largest and strongest insurance companies in the world. Not only do we have ample resources to pay our claims, but we continue to do so with a level of responsive service that is unmatched by any of our competitors.
Only Travel Guard pays claims within 24 hours of final documentation Only Travel Guard initiates 98 percent of our claims with a single phone call. Only Travel Guard uses the Fairness Principle, where denied claims are reviewed by arbitrators.
And only Travel Guard has 24/7, multilingual assistance centers located strategically throughout the world to provide your clients with an unparalleled scope of medical assistance, travel assistance and personal assistance services. No one takes better care of your customers than AIG Travel Guard.
Since founding Travel Guard back in 1985, I have guided the company through the ups and downs of many challenging market situations, catastrophic events, and periods of uncertainty. We have earned the trust of millions of travelers and thousands of travel partners because we keep our promises, we follow our values, and we do everything possible to help our customers.
It will be business as usual at AIG Travel Guard in the days, months and years to come. Rest assured, Travel Guard will be there when you and your clients need us most.
We value our relationship with you, and thank you for choosing to do business with us.”
Throwing Noodles at the Wall
Its been that week. A week when I am swamped with things outside of my self, and my true responsibility. Doing this or that, hearing this or that, talking about this or that, none of which I want to talk about, hear, or do. All of it seemingly a never ending parade of inner strife and crappy drama based monologue. Discussion that does not matter. Pointless reassurance of people in need of reassurance. When I need that as well. So, I shall throw some noodles at the wall.
-What is it about this enemy culture we have? Recently I was psuedo threatened, through an intermediary, about my agreeing with someone publicly. The person who leaned on me, also agreed with the person. But since they were and are anti heroes to one another, even on issues that they agree on, one cannot support the other. Or your the devil I guess. It makes me wonder about the insanity.
-We had a candidates breakfast here recently, and it was more talk, and handshaking. I wonder about all of this. People go, and shake hands, and “network”, and then there is one guy in the crowd who wants to DO something policy based, not simply be in a position to be the guy who votes on policy, and that guy has to sit through the glad handing and the insanity. A quote, “So what is actually wrong with the status quo?” How do elected officials look at people? Those who engage the process in a real substantive way,versus those who write checks. Is the act of writing a check a sort of fan ship?
-I am off to Vegas in a few days. I am pretty excited about the whole thing. Actual do ers of things.
-October 10th, Scott Holt is playing the Fillmor.
Scott Holt comes to Wausau October 10
Have you heard?
