RTIII Is In The Can
There was a lot going on so I can’t present much of genuine article covering the event so I will just result to bullet points…
- Buffa’s was energized and kinetic. The bleu cheese coleslaw was delectable. My particular favorite part was IG Robert Cerasoli quoting Jeffrey to Jeffrey. It seemed to be a moment where he and all the bloggers listening realized this stuff we hammer out on our keyboards and post into the aether can one day put us right in front of its subject. That said, Cerasoli was a mensch. Did you know he sleeps on an air mattress and lives out of luggage?
- After a chaotic morning running cambros of coffee and fresh baked pastries around in “Nancy” my two-door Toyota Tercel, I made it to the conference and indulged coffee that mixed oh-so-well with the fried potstickers and jalapeno quiche from the night before.
- The room was sultry and cavernous.
- I liked the “Oprah” setup but perhaps next year we can negotiate some risers. I know some folks who can do wonders with 3/4″ plywood and cinder blocks!
- I liked John Barry’s speech. I need to read his book. Unfortunately, he often left the more interesting stuff out and noted that it could be found in the book. I don’t want to sound like a know-it-all but a lot of what he said was review for me. It slips my mind which blogger I mentioned that to who replied they like to hear such things in person because it is more “nuanced” and I see her point. Must read that book.
- I was moving around a lot and drawn into several conversations during the education panel but the one thing I drew from it was I would be up at night worrying about my kid’s future if they were subjected to the chaos. The panelists were superb and received many raves from the folks around me.
- Lunch by J’anitas rocked but there was some discussion as to what the white meat was. I was convinced it was Turkey but many others said it was pork. I guess I’ll defer to the popular opinion on that. The tater salad was off da hook!
- Jeffrey’s media panel was the highlight of the day for me as it featured Lee Zurik’s line of the day, “My eyebrows are real!” I’ve never doubted they were but the real questions are: Are they manicured and how often? Mad props to all the panelists. I do think someone from talk radio and a Times-Picayune columnist would have rounded out the panel but what we had was also unique in that it presented the bloggers and those who have embraced them.
- I hated to ask my question on anonymity on the Internet after Nola.com blogger Big Red Cotton just finished asking a question stating she blogged anonymously, but the subject means a lot to me. How can anyone get behind what you say if you can’t get behind it yourself? It’s a lot easier to dismiss a username. And yes, my name is Lance Vargas and I am a resident of New Orleans, I can be reached at 250-1643.
- Next up was Sandy Rosenthal’s Levees.org video which was actually another review. I am sure it will play well to people who need education about Katrina but everyone in this crowd was pretty well educated about it in the first place. I do want to thank Sandy for buying breakfast though!
- The politics panel was up next and I liked having it at the end of the day as the audience was much looser and enjoyed it better as a result. I didn’t like hearing an actual candidate speak from the audience as I always thought the Conference was for citizens and not politicians.
- Also, when asking a question at one of these things there are a few simple rules: 1.) Please introduce a short context to your question then ask the question. 2.) Actually ask a question.
- All the deserving awards were given out and all were very appropriate. Sure did miss Ashley Morris today.
- I enjoyed meeting for the first time Brad V., Scott Harney and Ali Dejong who also happens to be hardcore.
- I happened to have a need for a .44 for an upcoming art project so when I saw Pistolette kicking it in the crowd with armory silk screened on her shirt I figured she might be the one to ask. She did not have one but said she knew someone who did. Hook a brotha up! Even though she seems like a chick who would cut your balls off on her blog, she is quite nice and has a good sense of humor.
- My man Clay showed up in style again! This time he went with seersucker over linen!
- Didn’t get to talk to Swampwoman or Mermaid enough.
- Phrase of the day: Tits on a Bishop!
- Afterwords at the conveniently named Rendezvous I watched football with Jeffrey and enjoyed meaningful conversations with Dangerblond, Racy Mind, Mominem, Folse, Sophmom, G-Bitch and DSB.
Edit: I also enjoyed speaking with Celcus (who should blog more) and ole Tim Ruppert.
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It was nice to see you, even if it was from across the room. C said he talked with you for a bit. Wish we could have made Buffa’s, I’d just LOVE to have given Cerasoli a big ole hug and a kiss on the cheek, maybe even cook a pan of lasagna for him! Sometimes a 40 hour week just saps all reserves and doesn’t leave much else in its wake.
In response to your comment concerning anonymity, and waaaay beyond the dregs that post on the NOLA.com forums, those that participate in a more intelligent discourse may have living situations or employers that might not be too pleased to find out about certain blog content. I wish I could talk about more, and I contain plenty that I discuss to generalities cause I need to put food on the table and keep a roof over my head.
Ah, to be my own boss, the possibilities are limitless…
I’m not writing a post so I’ll just say a few things here.
Well, you know I missed the morning session but….
The journalism panel was awesome. You must have missed Zurick saying he doesn’t wax his brows but he’s gotta pluck. I mean, unibrow, anyone? Whatever, I like his brows - it makes him unique. Jeffrey was a fantastic moderator and I think Eli rocks!! I wish I could have met him. That kid is going places!
I liked the film and I agree it’s a review of what we all already know. But. It’s really good for anyone outside who doesn’t know the facts and statistics and I signed up for the DVD to take to my family in Mississippi. It was nice sitting next to you, too.
The Politics panel was interesting but I did not care for the political candidates speaking either. I don’t want to hear that shit at a people’s conference. Also the first long-winded around-the-world question made me want to scream “Get to the effin question, woman!” Plus I didn’t know who she was but if I have to go to Nola.com to find out, then I never will.
It was nice seeing bloggers I haven’t seen since last RT and nice meeting new ones. I wish I could have met more.
All in all, what I saw was excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Congrats to the organizers.
it was nice seeing you again. wish the bloggers would do meetups more than once a year. i’ll ask my guy about his .44 for you.
and yes, you’ve busted me. i am lots of vicious barking followed by giggly nibbles
The white meat was pork. I oughta know! Seriously, though, they told me when I went up to get the food.
Great times!
The look on Jeffery’s face as Ceresoli talked about ’sophisticating up the corruption’ was priceless.
Can’t help you with a .44, but would a .357 Magnum do?
Keep it sassy, my friend. what a fun day!
I ultimately decided I was okay with D.A. candidate Jason Williams being allowed to comment during the politics panel since his remarks actually adhered to the contours of the discussion in progress.
Still, like you, I’m not exactly comfortable with the idea of active political candidates being given a platform.
I like your phrasing that describes RT as a conference for “citizens not politicians”. I’ve always thought of Rising Tide as an open umbrella forum for anyone with an interest in the NOLA blogging community regardless of politics or ideology.
The topics discussed will always have a political aspect, but it’s important that the conference itself remains a non-political entity.
Well, since Williams came I think it was an appropriate thing to give him his couple of minutes. It what ya’ do at a public event when the candidates show up.
Hopefully most other candidates won’t remember this two years hence and overun us.
There were small time candidates in attendance last year as well. I remember being approached by a couple. Gary Wainwright who spoke (something about watermelon rinds?!!) is running for criminal court judge. I was fine with Williams talking except for the fact that it cut short the DA discussion and I really wanted to hear more about who the panel liked.
And to think the first Rising Tide featured Peggy Wilson…
In fairness, Peggy Wilson was not a candidate for any office at the time of her appearance. And… as is always the case with Peggy Wilson… she was really just there for the crazy factor, n’est ce pas? I have a great fondness for crazy people so perhaps I am a bit biased in this.
Also… for old time’s sake … here is Scout’s video of the infamous Peggy Vs. Dangerblond incident from Rising Tide 1
About the politics panel: We’ve had politicians before and Williams addressed the issues raised by the panel but Wainwright did not.
Either way, my expectation of truth always goes down once someone running for office opens their mouth.
Ditto.
I think Williams talked too long given the time available, but it wasn’t a big deal. It might have been better, I think, to note that he was in the room, so that people could talk to him if they wanted to.
I wish we could have four D.A.’s. I like all of them for different reasons. If I could only choose one, though, I think I’m leaning toward Bizarro because she’s a prosecutor, she’s demonstrated that she can manage an office efficiently, and she has the best name. One day, maybe we’ll be able to say, “That’s just so Bizarro!”
Jason Williams, though I agree with him that prison isn’t the answer all of the time, doesn’t have enough management experience, and frankly, if he’s so worried about sentencing, he should be a judge. The role of a prosecutor is to prosecute. We need an effective prosecutor as much as we need effective defense attorneys, effective police, effective judges, effective schools, etc. It’s all part of the same goal. If we just say we should elect the guy who hasn’t proven he can run an office because he’ll be less harsh on less violent offenders, well, then we’ll end up with Eddie Jordan again.
You really did a great job helping to make it all happen. I’m struck by the exponential growth. This was the biggest and best RT, by far. I also loved Jeffrey’s panel, hearing Barry describe the silt as being “impounded” upstream, seeing so many bloggers, meeting Cerasoli. FWIW, Zurik’s so much better looking in person it’s weird. You were wise. We shoud’ve left the afterparty earlier too. Thanks, Lance, for all you did. It’s a real gift to me to be able to participate.
Oh, shoot. That’s not Dangerblond, above, but me, getting in trouble with autofill on her computer. Apologies.
Varg, I’ll try to tone this down from the angry post that I started to write, but didn’t finish, in response to a comment that I once saw Clancy DuBos make about cowards who hide behind anonymity on the internet.
however, this is something that I feel very strongly about. Surely journalists like you and DuBos are familiar with stories about people fired for political bumper stickers. I’m sure that you’ve also seen stories advising college students to be careful about what they put on their my space page because employers have gotten into the habit of googling prospective employees. You might even recall the story about the journalist who fired her nanny for blogging…I suppose that’s getting a little hostile. My point is, it’s unfair for journalists, or writers, or anybody who works in a field where people are expected to express their opinions to say that anonymous opinions are iherently suspect. Since I’m making considerably less than I did as underpaid city worker, I’ll almost certainly be mailing out resumes soon. Since I’ve been accused of racial prejudice, and accused of hating all Republicans,and since I’ve a done a couple of posts on personal, medical issues, I’d rather not have “Moldy City” figure too prominently in a google search of my name.
Beyond that, it seems to me that your question:
“How can anyone get behind what you say if you can’t get behind it yourself?”
Is relevant to some types of blogging, but almost totally irrelevant to others. If somebody blogs from strictly from information that’s available in the public record, what does it matter if he does it under the name of Clifford Irving or Abraham Lincoln? If I ask whether it’s possible to reconcile a particular news report with a particular op-ed column, the seriousness, or the inanity, of the question has nothing to with my name. If I were to do a blog post based on what somebody I claim to know in City Hall told me, my semi-anonymity would make the post less credible. If a blogger sticks to facts that are available in the public record and draws conclusions based from those facts, you don’t need his name to check his facts or assess the logic behind his conclusions. Whenever he goes beyond that, he can expect anonymity to affect his credibility.
Any video of the Loki-Allan brew-ha-ha?
Sophmom - Your rocked the reg table. Everytime I was up there you were busy. And if it makes you feel any better, my wisdom went so far as my own ‘hood where I picked I continued the festivities. Unlike Celcus, I was not "stumbling distance" from the Rendezvous. Was that Celcus?
BSJD - I expected to hear from you and Dambala on this. The whole thing is still being sorted out by time. I do recognize the need to protect your identity but think the problem lies within the employers and not with potential job seekers. It should be illegal to use health records against hires but understand how it could be difficult to prove. But then I must also wonder what the deal is with the rest of us? Why don’t we conceal our identities? Because we are stupid? I don’t hide mine because I want my words to represent my values and if an employer doesn’t hold the same values, the relationship would deteriorate in time nonetheless.
It’s commendable that you present all of your stories with the necessary resources. You always present more backed-up facts than I do. Dambala on the other hand, not so much. And I love AZ. I read all his posts. I participate. But isn’t it akin to a tabloid? And if unsubstantiated, unchecked facts are being tossed out there with no responsibility trickling back to who is operating them then I think that might be a cause for concern for the credibility of the collective consciousness of the blogs. What do we stand for? Are we going to play ball with bullshit? Or are we going to align our selves with "Just tell the truth." Because if the shoe were on the other foot and someone were to start anonymously blogging about us and making suggestions like, "I saw Varg the other night an Airline Highway with a woman I know is a West Bank exotic dancer," then the whole thing could get real weird. I know that is nothing like what you do on your blog but it serves as an example of how slippery the slope is.
It’s more of a grievance when a news outlet like Nola.com starts incorporating usernames instead of bylines. I know Big Red Cotton showed up at the conference and I didn’t have a chance to speak with her about it and get her side (I welcome it) but I certainly don’t agree with a Web site with their resources employing usernames instead of real people. And I agree with some of what she writes. She was the only person at Nola.com to cover the Friday night protest. But does it not annoy you to think that the only coverage Nola.com gave to it was through an anonymous blogger? She made mention Saturday of asking how the panelists "protected" themselves and it seemed to be something a journalist signs up for when they take the position in the first place.
It so happens I haven’t had the best of luck finding employment either. I even had an employer Google me and guess what? I didn’t get the job.She didn’t ask me about this, this or even this. She only asked about this. Even though I told her I have never lived in New Bedford.
I’m not sure if I addressed everything you wrote in your comment but I do encourage more discussion on this because it bears repeating.
- On politicians at the event
Williams sent an e-mail through the Rising Tide site and I passed it on to the list. I sent him back an e-mail that encouraged him to attend and introduce himself but we already have speakers and (so I thought) we reserved speaking to almost anyone but those considering office. I let the other organizers know he had inquired. He showed up at the event. Got to speak anyway. Making the notion worthless. So I guess we can expect more politicians to work their way into the event in the coming years. Shouldn’t the rule be fast and simple? No politicians running for current office should be allowed to speak. Because (and I hate to use the fallacy twice) it is a slippery slope as to what qualifies for a meaningful contribution in spite of politicking.
It actually sounds like a great idea for a smaller event. Then we can bring them on. Have Mark film it, post it to YouTube and then we are hot shit. Sounds like a great compromise. We don’t even have to invite an audience. Just find a small space and go.
For the record… the only reason I do not conceal my identity is because I am, in fact, very very stupid.
But if you didn’t, who would Cerasoli have commiserated with?
Hey guys!
Just to be clear, the reason we made “The Katrina Myth” is to educate people outside of this area, because the way for New Orleans to get the respect it deserves is to help people see that flooding is a national issue.
But it’s up to US to get the word to THEM. That’s why 70 screenings of the video will occur next week in over 20 different states. And that’s why levees.org will do a YouTube campaign this coming week.
Varg… did you just imply that Cerasoli is also stupid? I find that hard to believe.
I agree with everything you wrote. I was worried a bout a few things but only the unexpected one was serious.
As far as candidates, I thought Williams handled it well, but the other guy should have been cut off. Perhaps the standard we should employs is “No speeches”, just comments in context. We didi establish a rule in the beginning that not active candidates be involved.
About halfway through the afternoon I realized that I should have brought my Digital Video Camera and projected the panels on the screen. Maybe next year.
And I’m a GAD and proud: a Goddamn Anonymous Blogger. I’ve got my reasons.
We were all lucky that Williams was responsive to the questions, not that he didn’t squeeze in a bit of campaigning. An important point is the moderator of the panel specifically asked him to say a few words in response. That’s different than the second.
If questions from the floor are going to be taken, candidate in the audience is pretty likely to grab the opportunity to spout their campaign rhetoric. Once they get started, cutting the off is usually a pretty disruptive option, and most usually try to just hurry them along.
Anyway, a clear policy at the outset would be a good idea…you can personally pass out literature, but no helpers, or literature has to stay outside…candidates for office cannot participate in the Q&A but will be give two minutes between panels, or whatever.
I like the no candidates whatsoever policy. It’s easy to understand and there are no amendments. Once amendments are introduced then we have to start discussing what amendments will be allowed and what ones won’t. Then we might decide to unamend one of them. Simpler if we just don’t get offtrack.
celcus- Wouldn’t it be GAB?
Jeffery- Peggy Wilson craziness is VERY entertaining. It’s like Rob Couhig, trapped in the body of a senile old woman.
Also, when it comes to blogging anonymity, it helps to have a name that returns results like “Clay Aiken.”
hey Varg,
First off, thanks for being cool about me reprinting your ENTIRE Nagin’s Sins post. I know something like that could have gone in a different direction. But it’s so brilliant and I think it could be another chink to the Emperor’s armor, thus it needs to find a home in many places - with the appropriate citation and recognition of course.
Here’s the link:
http://blog.nola.com/notesonneworleans/2008/08/okayfirst_off_its_no_easy.html
on the case for anonymity, previous bloggers cited the very reasons I don’t use my birth name. However, my blog really is just a recap of current events with some salty commentary and extensive source citations. So I don’t think putting my name on front street is really necessary. Anyone wanting to get in touch with me - or challenge my content for that matter - can definitely find/contact me.
thanks again for the blog love,
Red
More visual memorabilia: The Douchemobile!
on politicians speaking at the event.
As this grows, more and more will come. I would suggest that the policy be: “We welcome and encourage your presence but this forum is fundamentally about citizen involvement. This is your chance, as a prospective candidate, to _listen_ to us and not the other way around”
on anonymity:
Like Varg, I’m wide open about my identity on the Internet these days. But I don’t agree that anonymity — partial or complete — inherently dilutes the value of content. As someone stated Saturday, “The cream rises to the top.”
Now a viewer should be more skeptical of anonymously posted content. But you have to look at the reason for the anonymity and the quality of the content itself. If an anonymous poster has built some reputation capital through continuous quality, they inevitably become more “trusted” as a content source. The cream, does indeed rise to the top.
I say this as because cryptography, steganography, pgp-based reputation systems and the like have long intrigued me.
As far as bad stories getting out about you. To some degree, being wide open can form a buffer to that. Your reptuation is tied to the identiy you are projecting and things that clearly don’t fit that identity may be more easily repudiated.
As far as nola.com comments go, that’s a case of the crap dropping to the bottom. Nola.com needs to change that. Anonymous or pseudonymous comments work in some contexts and not in others.
i enjoyed listening to this, varg. proud of ya’s.
Thirty Six!
Is this a record thread yet?
For this here blog…yes. Oh! 37!
It was fun hanging with you a while. Anytime.
Peace,
Tim
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