Just taking a break to scan headline news, and I'm concerned at where we are in the world.
The Falcon Heene hoax (the scared father called a news station first to request a helicopter trace - does anyone know a local news station phone number and is it easier to dial than "9-1-1?"): what does this say about the urgency and the eventual inquisitiveness of news today?
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/interview-sets-off-skeptics-of-balloon-drama/?hp
And even with President Obama in the White House, we still have this madness going on. No wonder we can't get moving on same-sex marriage equality. The basic concept of "marriage equality" still hasn't been defined correctly!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091016/ap_on_re_us/us_interracial_rebuff
And then we have food and car recalls, drug cartels dumping decapitated bodies, car bombs and terrorist groups...
Makes me just want to go "Where The Wild Things Are" and have myself a rumpus!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Social Rules #1-5
1. Your communication device should be turned off or silent the moment you leave the privacy of home and walk out your door. You'll never have to worry about it in later public places if you make a habit of it.
2. Your communication device is for communicating. But consider: what exactly is the value of what you are communicating. When the plane lands and is still taxiing on the runway do you really need to call someone and say, "Hey!...I just landed...Uh-huh...Really...Wow...So what's going on?" (Clearly, this kind of conversation - and haven't we all heard this? - is not the person who is meeting you and picking you up, so what is the urgency of this call?)
3. Pictures (or recording of any kind) is never allowed in any theater. Even of yourself and your seatmates sitting inside. Even of an empty stage. Okay, once I was at a cabaret show and the performer allowed it and encouraged it only if she would get more publicity from people's Facebook and YouTube pages. Seriously: put the cameras and camera phones away. Buy a postcard of the theater interior if you must. Or better yet: go to more theater and support live performing arts, and maybe the novelty of being inside such a space will wear off, and you will funnel much-needed resources to the undervalued arts.
4. Please do not engage in conversations (via your mobile device or in person) at the foot of any staircase, in front of any entrance or exit, in front of elevator doors, in front of public restrooms, at the ATM, or at the top/bottom of escalators. Believe it or not, there are other people in the world. And your conversation is getting in the way of their lives.
5. Context, context, context. Just be aware of your surroundings. Overheard on MUNI at louder than conversational volume: "Yeah, I know. And I was like, OK with it, because it wasn't even great sex and I wasn't that into him anyway. I know. Uh-huh. Right? I was so excited that my test came back and I wasn't pregnant too. Oh wait, that reminds me: did you get your test back? Is it cancer? Really?" (And yes, it went on from there.) You can always say, "I need to call you back later; I can't talk right now." If the conversation is that important, someone would have given you a private office to have it in (with an assistant outside the door).
2. Your communication device is for communicating. But consider: what exactly is the value of what you are communicating. When the plane lands and is still taxiing on the runway do you really need to call someone and say, "Hey!...I just landed...Uh-huh...Really...Wow...So what's going on?" (Clearly, this kind of conversation - and haven't we all heard this? - is not the person who is meeting you and picking you up, so what is the urgency of this call?)
3. Pictures (or recording of any kind) is never allowed in any theater. Even of yourself and your seatmates sitting inside. Even of an empty stage. Okay, once I was at a cabaret show and the performer allowed it and encouraged it only if she would get more publicity from people's Facebook and YouTube pages. Seriously: put the cameras and camera phones away. Buy a postcard of the theater interior if you must. Or better yet: go to more theater and support live performing arts, and maybe the novelty of being inside such a space will wear off, and you will funnel much-needed resources to the undervalued arts.
4. Please do not engage in conversations (via your mobile device or in person) at the foot of any staircase, in front of any entrance or exit, in front of elevator doors, in front of public restrooms, at the ATM, or at the top/bottom of escalators. Believe it or not, there are other people in the world. And your conversation is getting in the way of their lives.
5. Context, context, context. Just be aware of your surroundings. Overheard on MUNI at louder than conversational volume: "Yeah, I know. And I was like, OK with it, because it wasn't even great sex and I wasn't that into him anyway. I know. Uh-huh. Right? I was so excited that my test came back and I wasn't pregnant too. Oh wait, that reminds me: did you get your test back? Is it cancer? Really?" (And yes, it went on from there.) You can always say, "I need to call you back later; I can't talk right now." If the conversation is that important, someone would have given you a private office to have it in (with an assistant outside the door).
Theatre Rules
Yes, indeed. If you know me, then you must know my history and love of all things theater. (I'll have to post about my "Broadway Blitzes" some other time.) So I do think that "theater rules!" (, dude). But I am also amazed at how clueless so many continue to be about social etiquette, especially on nights out.
At the Symphony last night. Why did so many people still have communication devices turned on to text and talk (talk!) after entering the building and walking past multiple signs saying to turn them off, after the announcement to turn all such devices off, after the house lights dimmed, and (unbelievably) even after the guest conductor, Itzhak Perlman, walked onto the stage. Many audience members were clearly frustrated and disappointed to see glowing squares and rectangles of light all around them and hearing tapping and whispering - that's not what they bought tickets to experience.
So that inspired me to start posting some "Social Rules" that I guess are really wishes. Does anyone know how to calculate and achieve the critical mass needed to get to a Malcolm Gladwell tipping point in the popular consciousness about how to live in shared space with the rest of the world?
At the Symphony last night. Why did so many people still have communication devices turned on to text and talk (talk!) after entering the building and walking past multiple signs saying to turn them off, after the announcement to turn all such devices off, after the house lights dimmed, and (unbelievably) even after the guest conductor, Itzhak Perlman, walked onto the stage. Many audience members were clearly frustrated and disappointed to see glowing squares and rectangles of light all around them and hearing tapping and whispering - that's not what they bought tickets to experience.
So that inspired me to start posting some "Social Rules" that I guess are really wishes. Does anyone know how to calculate and achieve the critical mass needed to get to a Malcolm Gladwell tipping point in the popular consciousness about how to live in shared space with the rest of the world?
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Immigration from another angle
Last night on a MUNI bus ride home from the theater, I heard some "kids" (OK, they were twenty-somethings) talking very loudly because they must have assumed nobody would hear them (everyone on the bus seemed to have white iPhone/iPod earbuds on). I'm not sure if they were drunk or just oblivious or uncaring about their shared bus-riding company. Anyway, they were all talking about the times they had spent living and working abroad: two in Japan and one in Italy. From what I gathered, they had all graduated college or university in the U.S. and took different teaching jobs abroad for the international experience. Ah, good for them, I thought. But then they talked about how all the customs, religious practices, food, smells, clothing, and people were "weird," "gross," or "foul." And then the two who spent time in Japan talked about taking "side trips" to other Asian countries and never bothering to get tourist visas because they just called home to get money wired to them to use as border-crossing bribes. And all three talked about their fear that they might be tracked if they ever went back to those countries because they never reported their wages and never paid taxes to their host countries.
A few of the other bus riders seemed to shake their heads in disapproval so maybe they all heard the discussion despite the earbuds. And I started to think about all the immigrants who come to the United States from Europe, Asia, Africa, Canada, Mexico, etc. Yes, I know there is concern for all the undocumented workers. But all of the immigrant and even visiting workers here seem to make it a point to respect U.S. customs, the American-English language, the food here, the popular culture here, etc. I've never heard any recent immigrant making fun of the people and habits in this country (even though coming here often means a change in class, a devaluation of earned education and work experience, a loss of familiar lifestyle and health practices like afternoon siestas and family dinners, etc.). In fact, most immigrants I know try to preserve their own cultural identity while still trying to "make it" here (which is not necessarily the same as trying to "assimilate"). And almost all of them (as far as I know) pay taxes too, and don't bribe their way around laws with cash wired in from abroad.
So I finished my trip home wondering: in all the xenophobia-driven debates about immigration in(to) the U.S., has anyone considered the balance of U.S. citizens abusing their immigrant statuses abroad? Is this another case of "clean your house first?" And what exactly is everyone so afraid of?
Maybe I'll start an "As (over)heard on MUNI" series...
A few of the other bus riders seemed to shake their heads in disapproval so maybe they all heard the discussion despite the earbuds. And I started to think about all the immigrants who come to the United States from Europe, Asia, Africa, Canada, Mexico, etc. Yes, I know there is concern for all the undocumented workers. But all of the immigrant and even visiting workers here seem to make it a point to respect U.S. customs, the American-English language, the food here, the popular culture here, etc. I've never heard any recent immigrant making fun of the people and habits in this country (even though coming here often means a change in class, a devaluation of earned education and work experience, a loss of familiar lifestyle and health practices like afternoon siestas and family dinners, etc.). In fact, most immigrants I know try to preserve their own cultural identity while still trying to "make it" here (which is not necessarily the same as trying to "assimilate"). And almost all of them (as far as I know) pay taxes too, and don't bribe their way around laws with cash wired in from abroad.
So I finished my trip home wondering: in all the xenophobia-driven debates about immigration in(to) the U.S., has anyone considered the balance of U.S. citizens abusing their immigrant statuses abroad? Is this another case of "clean your house first?" And what exactly is everyone so afraid of?
Maybe I'll start an "As (over)heard on MUNI" series...
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
The MUNI Push
Part of San Francisco commuter lore is that the "tiny Asian ladies" will push their way past you with the (pink) plastic bags full of groceries and other stuff. Is it true? Well, sure, it happens to me too. But people of all types (and of all ethnicities as far as I can tell) have pushed past me or "cut in line" to board a bus or disembark at their stops. So why is the stereotype so pervasive in this city? Is the Asian population so overwhelmingly large that they are the most obvious riders of public transit? Are they actually more pushy than others?
I have to admit that when it has happened to me, I wonder to myself, "What's the rush?" I have a similar reaction when people push their way to board before me in a line at an airport gate. I mean: we all have tickets and assigned seats; the plane isn't going anywhere right away; and you're already at the gate! (I also love that on my most recent flights, the gate agents have told people to step out of the line when they have attempted to board in a boarding group that has not yet been called. Ha! Good for you! back of the line and let us board ahead of you, as we had been assigned.) I know there's an advantage to getting onboard early (or earlier) to stow carry-on baggage, but beyond that, who wants to sit in those cramped seats for extra minutes of time?
Back to the MUNI bus situation: there is even less room for stowing "carry-on" bags and no assigned seating. Does this lead to the pushing? Does that behavior come from a lifetime of having been pushed and having to fight to get a place on board (a "place at the table" of public transportation, if you will)? I'm not sure. I know that when I was growing up in New York City, we often had to push our way onto crowded subways. but that was usually a consequence of having to get on the train during rush hour(s) and not knowing when the next G or R or E or F train would come by.
So this last time that a little Asian woman pushed past me to board the bus ahead of me, I just let her go. And I thought to myself, "Gee, what gives?" And then I realized I had probably done that too. And on top of that, I wasn't in that much of a hurry (in the big scheme of life), so I didn't have to board head of her either. And guess what? I didn't get on that bus because it was too crowded. Instead, I boarded (in my place in line) the next one...that came less than one minute behind. And our bus passed the more crowded one and got me safely to my destination in time anyway.
So what was the big deal? Just say no to fighting for a place on public transportation, I guess!
I have to admit that when it has happened to me, I wonder to myself, "What's the rush?" I have a similar reaction when people push their way to board before me in a line at an airport gate. I mean: we all have tickets and assigned seats; the plane isn't going anywhere right away; and you're already at the gate! (I also love that on my most recent flights, the gate agents have told people to step out of the line when they have attempted to board in a boarding group that has not yet been called. Ha! Good for you! back of the line and let us board ahead of you, as we had been assigned.) I know there's an advantage to getting onboard early (or earlier) to stow carry-on baggage, but beyond that, who wants to sit in those cramped seats for extra minutes of time?
Back to the MUNI bus situation: there is even less room for stowing "carry-on" bags and no assigned seating. Does this lead to the pushing? Does that behavior come from a lifetime of having been pushed and having to fight to get a place on board (a "place at the table" of public transportation, if you will)? I'm not sure. I know that when I was growing up in New York City, we often had to push our way onto crowded subways. but that was usually a consequence of having to get on the train during rush hour(s) and not knowing when the next G or R or E or F train would come by.
So this last time that a little Asian woman pushed past me to board the bus ahead of me, I just let her go. And I thought to myself, "Gee, what gives?" And then I realized I had probably done that too. And on top of that, I wasn't in that much of a hurry (in the big scheme of life), so I didn't have to board head of her either. And guess what? I didn't get on that bus because it was too crowded. Instead, I boarded (in my place in line) the next one...that came less than one minute behind. And our bus passed the more crowded one and got me safely to my destination in time anyway.
So what was the big deal? Just say no to fighting for a place on public transportation, I guess!
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