Happy Earth Day through the sounds of R.E.M.

My friend, Tracy Featherstone, an accomplished artist and professor at Miami University just sent me this:

"I sent an email to our representative John Boehner encouraging his support for the NEA. Here is a portion of his reply:

The Founding Fathers established a federal government for the primary purpose of securing a common defense. Is continued spending on art programs an appropriate use of federal taxpayer dollars?"

I encourage you to reach out to Mr. Boehner and respond accordingly.

Mideast unrest continues, and major media sources cannot keep up with what is happening.  Here are live tweets from the sources on the ground in Bahrain.

In the "Music Is Art To Be Experienced" department, The Flaming Lips have updated the concept of their Parking Lot Experiments and their 4-CD album "Zaireeka" which required all 4 discs to be played at once.  Understanding that music is consumed differently these days, The Flaming Lips released a new tune called "Two Blobs Fucking" that requires listeners to simultaneously play 12 YouTube videos at the same time on 12 different smartphones.

The instructional video is below and all 12 tracks can be found here.

Now, you just need to find 12 friends with 12 smartphones and enjoy!

Earlier today, my younger brother reminded me of a movie that a dear friend of mine introduced me to years ago -- Microcosmos.  

In this world of too much noise, too much information and a general state of everything happening too quickly, we tend to become harried, distracted and overwhelmed -- not paying attention to or even noticing the inherent beauty of the world around us.  My friend, Barry Wakeman, always made me slow down.  He made me pay attention to what was happening around me -- sometimes by asking me "stumper" questions, sometimes by taking me for an hour walk in the woods that spanned a distance of 10 feet, sometimes by reading a book with me and making me highlight 1 word per page that defined the essence of the author's thoughts.

Sadly, Barry is no longer with us, and I fear that he would be very disappointed in the lack of spiritual progress I have made since he left.  I have an iPhone that distracts me at all hours.  My workday is constantly filled with instant messages, Skype calls and a neverending onslaught of email.  Since I started typing this post, I have received 2 text messages, 18 emails and 2 calls on my cell phone -- and who knows what's going on with Twitter and Facebook right now?

It's an interesting paradox.  We create a world for ourselves where we feel we are more connected, but by doing so, we have become less connected.  When was the last time I went for a quiet walk, alone in the woods?  Even though yesterday was a terrifically windy day, I decided to forego the pleasure of flying my kite and feeling that connection to the wind.  I haven't seen my best friend, Jerry, since his birthday in early January -- and when I did, I was late to the party because I had just gotten home from being out of town for a week.  

I am more connected these days, but ultimately, I am less so.  It's 6:09 PM, and I have been at it for 12 hours.  I have several more hours of work to do, but I'm not sure that's going to happen.  Maybe I should stop and go outside and enjoy the sunset.  Maybe I should take a few minutes to remember some of Barry's teachings -- that sometimes, you need to slow down to connect and appreaciate the beautiful small things that are all around you.

"Our greatest power and most important job, reason for being - contribution - is found in our small acts of loving kindness, consideration, respect and reverence, giving and forgiving, sharing, caring, appreciation, hospitality, compassion, tolerance, acceptance, befriending, praying and devotions that reverberates across the universe changing all."

Barry 1/19/1999

 Justin Coussoule, the Butler County Democratic candidate opposing John Boehner, repeatedly stated during his campaign that "we get the government we deserve."  Recently, Justin wrote this letter to the Hamilton Journal News.  I am happy to say that I supported Justin this year and am sad to say that every point he makes is spot-on.

"In light of Nov. 2 election results, instead of reaching out to Republicans like a browbeaten puppy, the president needs to find a backbone (quickly) and follow a page from the Republican playbook: Affirmatively place responsibility for fixing our economic mess solely on Republicans; obstruct Republican efforts to do so at every opportunity; and constantly attack Republicans and their ideas, regardless of merit.

Sound childish and destructive? It’s exactly what the Republicans did relentlessly to Democrats for the past two years in order to get back into power; make (Barack) Obama fail; win at all costs; scorch and burn, to hell with the American people. And it worked.

The Republicans played on voter anger and systematically lied to the people over and over: Obama created the deficit (two unfunded Bush wars and two unfunded Bush tax giveaways did that); Obama grew government (he’s shrunk it); Obama nationalized health care (not even close); Obama raised taxes (he hasn’t), Obama wrecked our economy (GDP has grown, the stock market has recovered, the recession ended).

As a result of these endlessly repeated Republican lies, voters overwhelmingly elected retreads, like John Kasich, and power-obsessed hyper-partisans with no new ideas, like John Boehner. (They are) The very same Republican politicians who dismantled our economy and decimated the middle class. They are bought and paid for by corporations and the super-rich, and they gladly do their bidding: Off-shore jobs, deregulate Wall Street, make insurance companies richer, defund education, and their anti-middle class agenda goes on and on.

We get the government we deserve. This January, Ohioans and the rest of America are going to get exactly what we deserve. I’m just not sure how much more of it we can take.

Justin Coussoule

Liberty Twp."

From my good friend Sean Rhiney: 
"Last combat troops leave Iraq. Over 4,000 lives lost. I don't care about the politics of it all, that's husbands, wives, moms, dads, brothers, sisters, friends, just...gone. Makes me appreciate that I wake up every morning and get to carry a briefcase to work and not a gun. Take a moment to remember them this a.m. And I'll let Tom have the last achingly, beautiful word on this one..." 

"Day After Tomorrow" from the Tom Waits album "Real Gone."

 Welcome home, Soldier.

From my blog over at Liferay.com.

I'm a fervent reader of business books and blogs.  Seth Godin is one of my favorites, and in a recent post entitled "A Sad Truth About Most Traditional B2B Marketing", his wisdom shines through.  Seth highlights how many organizations, in an effort to save money and gain efficiency, become dispassionate about the relationships they build along the way.  RFPs are his main target.

RFPs dehumanize the sales process.  From the buyer's perspective, they can get a great deal of information from a number of vendors quickly.  However, I think that those efficiencies come at the cost of understanding who you will be working with once a product is selected.  How does the sales organization treat you?  Are they responsive to your needs?  Do you feel valued as a prospective customer, and do you think that feeling will continue once you become a customer?  

These questions are, arguably, more important than price (Liferay always wins on price, by the way).  When you buy anything of value (a cell phone, a car, an enterprise portal), you're making an investment in a relationship.  My car is great, but how does the dealer treat me when it needs service?  My cell phone is amazing, but what is the reliability of the network that I'll be using for the next 2 years.  My portal rocks, but will the company that makes it support me when things go bad and continue to innovate in ways that I can't imagine?

RFPs tend to be about the short-term "here are my requirements -- can you fulfill them and what will it cost?"  They don't speak to the longer term relationships that are built.  

From my perspective, the best relationships are built early in the sales cycle.  When I demonstrate Liferay, I do my best to understand what people need to accomplish and answer questions to the best of my ability.  Sometimes my style takes people aback because they are used to being "sold to."  I don't do that.  I try to help them envision how Liferay can help them reach their goals.  I tell them what works out-of-the-box, what doesn't and potential gotchas that they might encounter.  

Once people become our customers, they have a comfort level with the product and company in which they have invested.  They know who to call or email when they need something.  They know that we will do our best to keep them happy and to realize their goals.  They know that relationships are just as important as bottom line for Liferay.  They know that we value integrity in our interactions above all else.  They know that we're human.

To me, those factors are some of the most important considerations when buying a product.  And one of these days, I would like to see this question on an RFP:
"Please detail your company's core values as the pertain to integrity, vision, personnel development and community involvement."

Thanks, Post Secret.

Since the polls closed last week, I have been sensing a growing urgency from area Democrats to make substantive changes to how our party operates here in Butler County.  Many people have spoken up and spoken out about what is broken.  They have cried foul about areas where progress should have been made.  They have mentioned cronyism with levels of venom reserved for John Boehner.

One of our greatest opportunities lies with our ability to re-form and reform the party every four years.  We should be ready to throw out what hasn't worked and build on what has worked well.  We should identify progressive leaders in our community and ask for their help.  We should work with each other's inherent strengths.  We should be a party based on the hopeful optimism that we can and will create a better community for our peers.

We should not begin anew with division in our hearts.  Our peers did not elect us to grab power or to weaken our foundation.  They put their trust in us to lead, advise and make decisions based on the greater good.  Historically important and impactful leaders did not practice division -- they were about inclusion.  Their pulpit wasn't anger -- it was hope.  They understood that anger only perpetuates and amplifies anger.

Being a newbie to the process, perhaps my optimism is foolish.  However, I hope that we can collectively take a queue from some of the great leaders of the past -- Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, John Kennedy -- and be a foundation of positivity for our community. 

Cynicism is a lousy running mate.

I love political music.  This is the first in a series of posts of songs that I would use for campaign music because they speak to my political ideology.

First up is Neil Young's "Rockin' In The Free World." 
"There's one more kid that will never go to school, never get to fall in love, never get to be cool."

On Tuesday, my name was on the election ballot for Hamilton's 9th Precinct.  I ran for the Butler County Democratic Central Committee and won by a slim margin against my opponent -- a whopping 22 votes vs. her 21 votes.  By way of comparison, the Republican candidate from our precinct ran unopposed and received 29 votes.

Before continuing, I would like to thank the folks who voted for me.  Having your faith is a real honor, and I intend to serve our precinct well over the next 4 years.  Periodically, I will post updates to this blog about county activities and events that impact us here in Hamilton.  As soon as I get my bearings about this new role, I will create a space online where we can share ideas about how to make Hamilton, Butler County and Southwest Ohio more progressive.

I'd like to close this post out by speaking to momentum.  It is well known that we live in one of the most conservative areas in the nation.  Heck, John Boehner won 84% of the Butler County vote for the Republican primary.  But look at the voting numbers that we had in our precinct.  43 Democrats from our precinct cared enough to be informed and vote for the Central Committee compared to 29 Republicans.  2 candidates worked to become the representative for our precinct while the Republican candidate ran unopposed. 

What does this say?  Democrats in our community care about making an effective change in our area's politics.  We are currently outnumbered, outstaffed and outgunned -- but we are engaged and want to make a difference.  My gut tells me that area Republicans are frustrated with the recent ethical lapses of their party leaders and have, to a degree, checked out emotionally.  While unfortunate, this presents a great opportunity for us to build on our momentum and work together to put some great new people in office who are more concerned with the good of the community vs. their own personal agendas.

Take a look at this Hamilton Journal News article.  Voter turnout is way down.  People are losing interest.  My favorite piece of the article, though, is in the comment by Ethics Watch:
"Here is what voting Republican has done for Butler County:
Google: Fox, Dynus
Google: Boehner, Foley, sex scandal
Google: Jolivette, Furmon, nepotism
Google: Butler County Ohio ethics violations
Google: Boehner, Tobacco lobby checks
Google: Lang, Jag's, Dynus
Google: Ellis, GOP Headquarters, commission
Google: Butler County Ohio, cronyism
Is this really what we want Butler County, more of the same? Stop bending over and let's take our County back."

We can, and will, do better.
 

Many poor communities are considered a food desert with no quality grocery stores within walking distance of their residents.  So, people are left to purchase food for their families at convenience stores where a bag of chips and a Slim Jim constitute dinner.

In a very timely story for our area, NPR had a story yesterday highlighting a program hosted by Baltimore's Public Libraries that allows underserved communities order healthy foods online.  The Virtual Supermarket Project is a part of Baltimore's push to make food available to people where supermarkets are scarce. 

This comes at a time when Kroger is shutting down a branch in Roselawn, and Hamilton's Lane Public Libraries are asking the community for funding to stay open on next week's ballot.  Think about the services that a library provides for a community over and beyond books, and try to convince yourself that they are not essential resources for the longterm health of a community.

This weekend, my family converged on a water park in Sandusky, Ohio to bid my younger brother farewell.  He is leaving next week for Duluth, Minnesota to be the lead pastor at a church.  While we are very sad to say goodbye to him, we're happy that he is happy and excited to be starting a new adventure.

Here are some photos from our weekend together.