Recently in personal Category

I think I might start actively looking for a spiritual mentor to help me on my conversion path. As sad as it is to say the only Jews I currently, personally know aren't terribly supportive or helpful. They're all reform Jews and think I'm a little crazy for exploring Judaism down the Conservative path. Beyond that they're all self-described "RH &YK Jews" meaning they really only outwardly observe Jewish rituals on the high holidays and by keeping a very, very loose definition of kosher (mostly no pork). I can and do ask them questions but just as often as not they don't know the answers because they just aren't terribly observant. The rabbi is great but I there are some questions I'm not yet comfortable asking him and there are some that I'd like more than one perspective on.

I wonder if you can put an ad on Craig's List asking for a semi-observant Conservative Jew to be a mentor to someone in the conversion process?

My heart keeps getting more and more tender. If it doesn't stop I'll have to stop leaving the house because the trail from my bleeding heart will get me kicked out of public places. 

After I don't know how many years of using the free version of Backpack I finally upgraded to a paid account. Managing all my business and personal stuff was getting more and more difficult and I tried out various things roughly based on the Getting Things Done system. I came very close to buying OmniFocus but a couple things made me put the breaks on that purchase (only letting me try it for 8 days really didn't help). After serious consideration I decided to upgrade my Backpack account to make it more functional for me. Now that I have I could kick myself for waiting so long.

I admit that I had to get a bit creative about how to make Backpack work most efficiently for me but now that I have it's fantastic. Someday soon perhaps I'll write about how I'm using Backpack and Highrise (the free version for now at least) as a Getting Things Done and well, just, getting things done system.

I'm mentioning all this because I put a button in the sidebar for Backpack as part of the affiliate program from 37 Signals. If you signup for a paid Backpack account using the affiliate code MICHELLEJONES I'll get a tiny referall fee. I figured since I liked it enough to actually pay for it I should formally recommend it and if I was going to do that it would be stupid not to sign up for the affiliate program.

But if you want to signup and use the free Backpack account I won't be mad at you. The free account really did work well for me for a very long time and it's only cause I have such a crazy amount of stuff to keep up that I upgraded. So you know, do what you need to do.

There have been times in my work life that I've not been able to stand by my principles or stand up for things I believed in. Well, it's not true to say that I've not been able to, a more accurate description is that I haven't been willing to face the consequences of standing by my principles. I could have left the job instead of participating in things I didn't think were right, I could have argued more aggressively against attitudes and policies and risked losing jobs. At the time though leaving/losing those jobs/gigs would have brought serious financial hardship to my house and I chose not to do that.

I'm in a bit of a different boat now. Though I'm always trying to make more money (we are trying to buy a house next year) dropping anyone of my current projects and gigs would not throw us into financial hardship. That of course gives me flexibility with the projects I take and the projects I keep. As I mentioned recently I've been quite busy with work. I've been very lucky to land several projects and gigs this summer that have me excited and passionate. It's turned out to be too much work though and I've had and continue to have to say no to a few new projects that I've wanted to say yes to.

So I've been evaluating all the projects I'm committed to and determining which ones I really want to continue and which ones I want to sign off from. Today I'm signing off from a couple one of which I'd actually planned to continue despite some reservations about it.

Without going into much detail I'll say that I've felt a lack of respect from the project manager both for myself and my abilities but also for the actual work and the community that work is part of. I'd describe this lack of respect at being at a low simmer. It's not at a high boil like a lot of the stuff I dealt with in corporate and other job situations but it's very much there. Also, this gig has brought up serious issues/concerns for me regarding the promotion of me and my work and ownership of ideas. Interestingly enough it's not the respect for me and my work or the issues of personal brand building and idea ownership that have me leaving this particular project. Maybe it's some kind of weird self-esteem thing but I was kind of like "well the disrespect isn't so bad and the money is ok so I should just suck it up and stick it out." So I did. But now the disrespect and disregard for the community at large and the "business first, community later, maybe" attitude have me heading for the door.

Even though I'm heading for that door I haven't actually pulled the trigger yet. In my mind I'm going back and forth over how much money I'll be losing, where the line is between principled and petty and wondering how to do the same good work for the community on my own or perhaps with another organization. In other words I've been second guessing myself for a couple days now. The truth is I've been chickening out on doing what I know is the right thing to do because I don't want to lose the money and I don't want to lose the connections and prestige this gig gives me. 

And then today I see Mike Rhode's sketchnotes from the SEED 3 conference. In particular his sketches from Gary Vaynerchuk's speech. Two quotes in particular stand out
 
"True to what you believe in"

"Brand equity is recession proof"

Wow. Just wow. 

I don't even drink wine but I'm now a Gary Vaynerchuk fan because those two quotes speak directly to my heart today.

Could I put my head down and continue working on this project even though I feel myself and the community aren't appreciated? Could I put my head down and keep working even though the organizational attitude and general lack of good will bothers me deeply? Could I say "in the grand scheme of things your issues with this project don't even rate a second look much less losing money and contacts for." Yeah, I could do that. I could do that but in my heart I know it wouldn't be the right thing to do. In my heart I know that standing up for even small principles, whenever you can, is the right thing to do and truthfully the issues regarding community (damn, I wish I could go into details here) are far more than small principles to me.

So? Trigger pulled. I've got to believe that my finances and my reputation/brand can only benefit from removing myself from a project that I can't believe in and can't feel good about participating in without a boat load of conditional statements.

Image by and copyright Mike Rhode.

Another quote from Rhode's sketchnotes that is so applicable: "Avoid 'partnerships' out to steal your mojo."

 

The New York times recently published an editorial encouraging congress to pass net neutrality legislation. I encourage everyone to read it, but especially those who may not be familiar with net neutrality. Let me quote three paragraphs from it that get to the heart of the issue.

Users of the Internet take for granted their ability to access all Web sites on an equal basis. That could change, however, if Internet service providers started discriminating among content, to make more money or to suppress ideas they do not like. A new "net neutrality" bill has been introduced in the House, which would prohibit this sort of content discrimination. Congress has delayed on this important issue too long and should pass net neutrality legislation now.

The Internet, at least in this country, is a remarkably unfettered medium. If you type in the domain name of a large corporation or a small blog, a government Web site or a radical political party, the pages are sent to your computer with equal speed. Like a telephone line, an Internet connection does not play favorites -- it simply transmits the words and images.

I.S.P.'s, the companies that connect users to the Internet, want to change this. They have realized that they could make a lot of money by charging some Web sites a premium to have their content delivered faster than that of other sites. Web sites relegated to Internet "slow lanes" would have trouble competing.
- Democracy and the Web NY Times May 19, 2008

As someone who makes a good part of her living, communicates with her friends and consumes massive amounts of content via the internet net neutrality is an exceptionally important issue to me. I'm not a one issue voter but if I were net neutrality very well could be that issue. Barack Obama supports net neutrality as a concept and as concrete legislation. John McCain does not.

A couple quotes from a Reclaim the Media piece:

During a November appearance at Google's Mountain View headquarters, meanwhile, Obama pledged that "I will take a backseat to no one in my commitment to Net neutrality, because once providers start to privilege some applications or Web sites over others, then the smaller voices get squeezed out and we all lose."

"I think that Net neutrality is something that we have to look at from time to time, but I don't want to see the wealthiest and most powerful [companies] crowd out the independents, which has really given [the Internet] its strength and vitality," McCain said in an interview with WNYC last year. "It's a very tough issue."

"When you control the pipe you should be able to get profit from your investment," McCain said at the Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital D5 conference.

"The road to overregulated markets is paved with [good] intentions but terribly misguided legislation," McCain special counsel Chuck Fish said recently at the annual Computers, Freedom and Privacy conference in New Haven, Conn.

One more quote, this one from the Wired blog:

John McCain has been vague about network neutrality both in congressional debates and on the campaign trail. He simply says that the issue is one that can be addressed by market forces. 

Obama: Passionately supports net neutrality legislation.
McCain: Does not (passionately or otherwise) support net neutrality legislation.

Net Neutrality is One Reason I Support Obama.

I'm engaged and passionate about this presidential race. I believe we have an opportunity to elect a president who is an honorable, intelligent person who can do good things for our country.

That's all well and good but it kind of sounds like pretty rhetoric doesn't it? Why do I think these things about Obama? Why am I passionate about the potential he shows as a leader? Why have I given money to his campaign? Why do I believe he is a significantly better choice for president than John McCain? These are real and valid questions and I expect to get asked theme frequently both by people who aren't traditional Democratic voters and people who were ardent and passionate Hillary supporters. My first inclination is to be frustrated with people who say "Since Hillary is not the nominee I'm not sure I'll be voting for the Democratic ticket." But that inclination is wrong. If I want to attempt to do some measure of good for this country the best way I can do that is to reach out to such people. I can acknowledge the disappointment they feel at their preferred candidate is not the nominee and I, and other Obama supporters, can share with them reasons why we think Obama will do significantly more good for this country than McCain will.

Soon I'll post "One Reason I Support Obama: Net Neutrality." My work, business and personal communication, cultural and intellectual consumption and a million other things rely heavily on the internet so this issue is a very, very important one to me.

I'd like to encourage other Obama supporters to write their own one "One Reason I Support Obama" pieces. Feel free to leave it as a comment, post it to your own blog and leave a link to it in the comments or, if you'd like to guest post let me know and I can post it here.

One more note: If folks genuinely believe that McCain will do a better job than Obama then they should vote with their conscience and their heart. However I think a lot of people will find that Obama is the right candidate for them if they know more about him and his positions. That's why I think it's really important to share our reasons for supporting him. I don't ask people to participate in memes (and don't really consider this a meme but whatever) but if you're an Obama supporter I'm asking you to do this.

So my friend Mags will soon be leaving Louisville and moving back to her beloved New Orleans. While I'm super happy for her I'm bummed that in a few months I'll have to pay shipping like everyone else when I want to buy her very cool art. My latest purchase? This great Obama shirt.

A couple nights ago B and I walked to dinner. She was wearing an Obama t-shirt, one from the campaign, and she was quite the conversation starter. We could barely go five feet without someone saying "I like your shirt" or "Cool shirt" or "Go Obama!" etc. I was a little envious. "I want an Obama shirt dammit, but a cooler one, a more artistic one." In comes Mags. Not only is her shirt awesome but by purchasing it I'm supporting an independent artist and supporting the Obama campaign (Mags is donating part of the purchase price).

The big ass win in North Carolina plus the really good showing in Indiana has re-energized me toward the campaign and I'm going to send another small donation. I can't freaking wait to stroll down Bardstown Road with this kick ass Obama shirt on. Did I mention that HRC's Louisville campaign headquarters are on Bardstown Road?

Kids you too can be cool like this buy ordering the Obama stencil shirt from the art by mags etsy store. If you're not in Louisville you're almost guaranteed to be the only one in your town wearing one, which will of course make you even more awesome than you already are.

I have a lot going on at the moment and I'm excited by much of it so I feel like sharing.

First there is my possible conversion to Judaism. That's obviously a major thing in my life though I've not spoken about it much with anyone other than B, a new friend on the west coast and actually an old friend on the west coast. It's not that I'm afraid of response or ashamed or anything like that. More, it's been very intense for me personally to be going from someone who bordered on anti-religious for many years to now feel very strongly that joining a religion may be the right course of action for me and I haven't quite known how to speak of it. And though I feel that this path is the right one for me to be on I am not 100% certain that I'll actually convert so the language and ways of discussing this are a little strange. I'm not yet a Jew, I'm not yet on the official conversion path. At this point I'm just reading, studying, speaking with a rabbi, thinking a great deal and spending a lot of time being introspective about the kind of person I want to be and the kind of life I want to live.

After the personal, religious stuff there is the work. I am blessed with work at the moment. Work that I'm enjoying and work that I'm passionate about in large measure. That is an incredible feeling. The list of projects I'm working on is long and varied so I'm just going to hit some highlights in no particular order. You'll notice a high number of projects with the word "Louisville" in their titles. What can I tell you? I love this town.

• Consuming Louisville celebrated its first birthday recently and is going strong. It sounds cheesy to say but I feel good about the work I do with Consuming Louisville. Each time someone tells me they went to an event or tried a restaurant because they read about it on Consuming Louisville I feel like I'm actually contributing something to the community and that is a great feeling.
• Imagine Louisville is a project that I'm so excited about but I'm afraid I'm not smart enough, creative enough or talented enough to pull it off in the way that I want to and not being able to pull it off in the way that I want to means that it might not be a long term project. I hate to fail but I'd really hate to fail at something like this. Essentially Imagine Louisville is a blog I'm writing and outreach efforts I'm doing to fill the blank slate of Louisville's impression with smart, creative people outside the region. In other words when people outside our region think of Louisville they don't seem to have much of an idea what Louisville is actually like. They might think Bourbon or they might not. They might think sports or they might not. Imagine Louisville wants them to think: great arts, culture, music and restaurant scenes. Imagine Louisville wants them to think supportive community for business and entrepreneurism. Imagine Louisville wants them to see the good balance of progressives and conservatives, religious and secular, industry and technology that we've got here. Imagine Louisville wants them to see what a great place this is to live and do business or take a vacation or spend a foodie weekend.  So yeah, it's an ambitious project and one that I think has to be looked at with really long term goals. I don't know if I'll get the opportunity to make and work toward those long term goals and that makes me a little sad. I could just be pessimistic for no reason so I should move on.
• Forge Louisville is a neat project that is trying to build up and strengthen the startup community in Louisville. We've got a lot of small startups, lots of individual entrepreneurs and many potentially high growth startups here (we've got biotech through the roof) and Forge Louisville is trying to bring the community together and promote it and help it grow. I write, near daily, for Forge Louisville's website about happenings in the startup community here.
• Louisville.com is well, Louisville.com. It's obviously a place people go for info about Louisville. They share some content with Louisville Magazine and have original content as well. A couple times a week I write posts about the food and restaurant scene in Louisville. Let me tell you, this is a fun gig. I love eating out so much anyway now I have a legitimate reason to try new places and think of fun restaurant projects. Next week I'm hosting a taste test comparing pies from a couple beloved dessert shops in town. How fun is that? So fun.
• VuPal is a startup. They're building online communities around lifestyle passions. They've hired me to write about food. Dude, I'm getting paid to write about food. So awesome. It's good that I'm getting paid to write about food because I think about food and cooking and baking all the time these days. I'm baking my way through Dorie Greenspan's book Baking: From My Home to Yours and loving every moment of it.
• I've always been shooting quite a bit and have updated my portfolio. I'm proud of some of the photography I've been doing and I'm really enjoy shooting more than I have in a while.

And that's pretty much what I've got going on at the moment. I'm talking with some people about other potential projects that I'm excited about but they're in far too early stages to be spoken of out loud. It's a really exciting time for me work wise but a little scary too. I have opportunities in different areas so I have to decide what direction I want my career to go in. That's a great choice to have, I just need like, a really smart adviser to discuss it all over with.

Now, to the shower and then to peruse Baking: From My Home to Yours to select what I'm going to bake this weekend. Happy Friday, Good Shabbos.

I vaguely remember the feeling I had when Bill Clinton won his first presidential election. I was still in high school and stayed up late watching the returns come in. I was excited, electrified, engaged. I was an ardent Clinton supporter for many years, a real true believer. As I've said many times there is no fall like the fall of a true believer. So while I remember vaguely that feeling of hope and possibility when Clinton was first elected what I remember most vividly is being so incredibly disappointed in him.

I am filled now with hope for an Obama presidency. I am filled with excitement at the possibilities his leadership of our country would present. I am more engaged and connected to the political process than I've been in going on ten years. I don't want this feeling to someday be vague. No matter what happens with Obama, whether he fails to be the Democratic nominee, whether he wins the general election, whether he is a great president or only a passing one,  I want to remember this feeling. I want to remember being optimistic for our country and the direction we can move in. I want to remember feeling excited about the political process and my generation's role in it instead of detached.

So today I placed an order for "Change" by Shepard Fairey. The poster cost me a $70 donation to the Obama campaign, pretty hefty for a poster but a very fair price for an inspiring work of art and contributing to the candidate I'm passionate about. Again, no matter what happens, in 15 years I want to look at this poster on my office wall (I imagine always having it in my office) and remember this feeling of hope and possibility. Hopefully it won't be a reminder of what could have been but instead the reminder of the way things felt at the beginning of a major positive and progressive movement in this country.