Alan Gutierrez

These last few weeks I’ve retreated from the City of New Orleans. Today I was at Beth’s books, a book store behind the Sound Cafe. I wondered if I could write a book. Could I write about my life and make it an interesting story? I’ve been away from the people of substance who’ve made my life rich and meaningful. It seems that I’ve found myself in the company of seekers. The runaways. People who make me think about Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, the story of an observer of Savannah, Georgia. How many of our resident voyeurs fancy themselves the trusted insider. It occurred to me that the only way for a Michigander to write about New Orleans would be write without explaining and without observing. No exposition. And yet, I can and do write about New Orleans as a New Orleanian, with authority, but not these last few weeks. It tells me that I’ve lost my way. I’ve found my way back to a person that I once was.

Foundation Center and Foundation Directory Online.

The Detroit newsletter slash website Metromode reports that SRT opens Ann Arbor office, more than triples its employees. Although, it looks as though it was a reprinted press release, the notion of third spaces is one that I’m pursuing with coworking meetups at our lovely New Orleans coffee houses.

A summary of The Jena Six in the The Town Talk, Alexandria-Pineville, LA. Not only a nice resource, but a nice format; and FAQ with linked articles.

Got a trackback from Matt Hampel on a post about the New Orleans Wiki. He is one of the keepers of the ArborWiki. It was from an automatic posting of his del.icoi.us bookmarks. It struck me as an easy way to reach out to new people. An easy way to reward people for getting my attention. As if my attention was not reward enough already.

TeleTwitter and Twitteroo come recommended by RevMark. Sally Tamarkin’s friend recommends Tweetr. Laura Fisher recommends TwitBox. A list of Twitter clients is available at the Apps page of the Twitter Fan Wiki. Update: For Mac I recommend Twitterific which blends in with my desktop beautifully and takes advantage of Growl if it is installed.

Coshirking: A coffee break lasting more than one hour where local industry gossip is exchanged over open laptops. Coined by William Tozer.

Two weeks ago, on the anniversary of Katrina, I was listening to Arnie Fielkow speak at the Artillery Park across from Jackson Square. I was sitting next to Laura LeBon. (Was it Arnie, or was it Walter Leger?) He asked, “Who here is from New Orleans?” I raised my hand. I got smacked in the arm by Laura, who said “You’re not from New Orleans.” I did my best to look aghast. “I, but, doesn’t he mean who’s a tourist or volunteer? I’ve lived here since 2001. I mean…” Later she wrote to apologize. It’s how they operate down where. Laura has been here since Bienville.