Alan Gutierrez

Celebrating John Frum Day on Vanuatu.

Some folks have written to show concern. I appreciate the concern.

I’m still getting email about policy matters. I’m inclined to respond with, oh, wow, very interesting. Hey, seen what I’ve been up to lately?

I’m going to enjoy being rid of these people who engage me as a resource, people who have no resources to offer. That has been particularly tiring.

I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. Many New Orleanians are engaged in a cargo cult dance to bring down some form of funding for the grassroots efforts that drive the recovery. They dress up, wave the sticks, march and dance, and but the DC-3s do not land. The cargo is not for us.

It’s uncommon that local efforts are overlooked, that nonprofit organizations parachute in and disappear as quickly.

I found a Susan B. in my change this morning. Did someone give it to me in lieu of a paper dollar or did they mistake it for a quarter? She was short lived. The date is 1979. The new Sacagawea dollar now competes with a series of presidential dollars. It strikes me that our misogynist society cannot stomach women on their currency, they must retaliate with the 43 big men. Lovely Lady Liberty is on the reverse of the presidential coins, of course. I adore her, but she’s awful quiet. Statuesque is our feminine ideal.

Why doesn’t my Macintosh’s dictionary recognize the widely accepted spelling of okay? It bothers me that this word is not in my computers dictionary. No one likes to be corrected, especially when they know they are right.

Via Mr. Gloomy Pants who found it via Suspect Device. The 50 Most Loathsome People in America, 2007 from the Buffalo Beast.

Michael Arrington publishes an email from a college student distraught because his Facebook account was revoked. He then goes on to say. “And frankly, I don’t care all that much, ’cause the last thing I want is for everyone with a Facebook customer service issue to start emailing me.” That whiff of self-importance was too pungent. He made an article of this kid’s email, but then has to make a backhanded statement. Honestly, who really needs to read TechCrunch anyway? Update: Same post at TechCrunch; what a bunch of idiot comments. Both Arrington and his readers miss the point entirely.

A Visio template for New Orleans: Crime Scenes with Shapes.

Refugee Cottages from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Temporary housing sans formaldehyde.

I’ve been invited to a poverty conference tomorrow. Those two words together made me groan. When I mention it to any of the neighbors, the make that almost laugh exhale puff, because it is that close to being funny. I’m sure this is being conducted in New Orleans, because of the horrendous poverty exposed by the levee breech, but New Orleans residents have had too close a look at nonprofit world. They are launching a website as part of the event. Yes, website. Take that poverty! Poverty is an industry. This sounds like a trade show.