Gordon Bell

"He's fun, exciting, charismatic. But he doesn't fit into a disciplined, organized environment."

- I forgot who said this about Gordon Bell, but it was in a recent NYer article

"People have vast abilities coupled with characterizable limitations and bottlenecks."

- Gordon Bell, SF

Act I - Scene I

Worker Guy #1 (early 50s, business ware, tie, no jacket, clean, normal, stilted):

“Is that a music phone?”

Worker Guy #2 (exactly the same but with nice glasses, bored then excited):

“Yes! Yes, it is! I have everything right here.”

Act II - Scene I

Worker Guy #3 (mid 40s, business ware, white shirt, no tie, fit, professional, formal, tense):

“So, tell me about your background.”

Worker Guy #4 (early 30s, business ware, dark shirt, no tie, nice hair, nervous but trying to simulate confidence but looking at hands clenched on table):

“Well, I have a unique background. I know business. I’ve been able to leverage company turn-around.”

Act III - Scene I

Worker Woman #1 (late 20s, requisite black polyester pants, sleeveless top, form fitting, contemporary pumps, well groomed, Dell ™ laptop, surfing furiously, glasses, Type A):

“I love this song.”

Worker Woman #2 (mid 20s, requisite black polyester pants, sleeveless top, form fitting, contemporary open-toed pumps, well groomed, possibly of Korean origin, reading from stapled bundles of paper, relaxed, every so slightly annoyed):

“Oh yeah.”

End

A Little Help Please

Some day when I'm old and feeble
Push me up to the internet
and show me this blog
Since I won't remember

Unemployment Diary

I Found The Language.

"I look forward to what you're going to do next. Your skillset is the most unique I've ever seen."

-Danny

"Yeah, you could really bring about important internal changes to important organizations."

- Dan

After spending some time tweaking my résumé and tweaking my talking points for a job search, I've found some language that maps with my ambitions:

From Monster/Orbitz listing:

Communications Guru

about the position:

The Communications Guru will support internal communications for Orbitz Worldwide. The successful candidate will develop innovative communications to support executive messaging, company wide communications, and business objectives. Work with management team to educate employees about our business strategies and initiatives, human resources, employee benefits, community involvement and other important topics. Ideal candidate will possess strong writing/editing and project management skills and have experience or keen interest in the effective use of technology for communications.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Develop and manage a global communication strategy for all Orbitz Worldwide messaging.
• Finding ‘the story’ and communicating to the correct audience.
• Collaborate with key project teams and PR/Marketing to create compelling materials including messaging, presentations, FAQ's, and internal communications, etc.
• Define and develop content for the Orbitz intranet, and manage the implementation of a web based solution for employees to get relevant and up to date information.
• Must demonstrate schedule flexibility and have the ability to work in a fast-past environment.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• 2-3 years of relevant experience required.
• Bachelor’s degree is required; Bachelor’s or Master’s in Journalism, Public Relations or Communications is preferred.
• Demonstration of an understanding of business strategies and an ability to communicate complex topics clearly, concisely and creatively.
• Expert communication skills - verbal and written.
• Strong ability at developing and leading multiple projects and managing a team to deliver on results.
• Ability to think broadly, and still achieve a high attention to detail.
• Enthusiastic team player who enjoys a rapidly changing environment.

See?

I was using the term "Communications Guru" even in my last position. Someone out there gets it. Seriously gets it.

Need my résumé? Just ask: ty@middlespace.net

Think About Your Friends

Think about it for a minute. Think about your friends, your colleagues, and your associates. Who do you spend your time with? Who do share experiences with? I'll give you a minute.

Well, I'm thinking about it now, too. I have to say, I'm pretty happy. I've limited myself to a very small cadre of bad-asses. I know some extraordinary humans; I know some serious people.

And when I say serious I don't mean: "concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities."

I mean serious as in something more like: "complex and not easy to understand" and, "good: appealing to the mind," and, "dangerous." Serious mo-fos.

Anyhow, think about who you love, who you need around, and who you trust. There are lawyers and there are accountants, but not everybody can be an artist.

Views From A Scene (Google Street View)

Scooter Ain't No Snitch

Say what you want, but my boy I. Lewis, AKA "Scooter," AKA "the ILL Factor" (<-- I. Lewis Libby) ain't nobody's punk ass snitch.

Of course what would you be more afraid of, federal prison or that nut with a gun Dick Cheney? Just ask Harry "Leadface" Whittington. Dickey C. is hard, son. He not only will shoot your sorry bitch ass in the face, but he will make you publicly apologize for it; you will have to apologize for putting your ugly ass face in front of one of Mr. Cheney's good guns. That's fuckin' hard, son!



The GOP, son, is big ups for posse. They roll tight, they roll hard. They get away with murder. And, nobody snitches, not on Tom DeLay, not on Dickey C., not on Alberto, and mos def not on KKKarl (no one gives a rat's ass about Bushie anymore). Nobody snitches. So, stop snitching.

The dems? If snitching was an Olympic (tm) event...shit.... Well, let's just say, bling-bling, son!

Amazement

From "When I'm Sixty-Four, Paul McCartney then and now " (The New Yorker, June 4, page 56) by John Colapinto

...The song contains a verse about his Beatles days.... I mentioned that the song seems to express amazement at the life he has led.

"That's exactly it, and I am amazed," [McCartney] said. "How could I not be? Unless I just totally blocked it off. There were four people int he Beatles, and I was one of them. There were two people in the Lennon-McCartney songwriting team, and I was one of them. I mean, right there, that's enough for anyone's life. And there was one guy who wrote 'Yesterday,' and I was him. One guy who wrote 'Let it Be,' 'Fool on the Hill,' 'Lady Madonna' -- and I was him, too. All of those things would be enough for anyone's life. So to be involved in all of them is pretty surprising. And you have to pinch yourself. That's what that song is about."

Damn! He makes a point. So, I've stopped hating on Paul McCartney now.

Shirts & Notes

She makes notes so I can remember stuff. Smart.

She makes shirts for us to wear. Brilliant.

From the Notebook

• Back in the game again -- fortune and fame again.
• This indie pop will not stand.
• Feet of the verge of hating.
• Nothing says romance like getting your old lady a lap dance.
• Noble line of work.
• A well deserved time away from things.
• "So many good things have happened to me because of how unhealthy I've been mentally." - Judd Apatow
• What's more genius?
  

Cult of Personality - Paris Hilton - Performance Art

OK, you know me. I'm all in disdain for celebrity worship. Star fuckers are weaklings who've completely bought into the system, and they will all die by the system too. Stop giving them the power to run your lives and shape your internal (thoughts) and external (fashion) opinions.

Maybe our current generation celebrities know this. Maybe they've begun to cut through the gloss of stardom. Think about it. Past generations celebrities actively tried to hide the non-marketable moss. They hid their debauchery. They employed people to keep their bad behaviors hidden. Sex? Drugs? Booze? These were career-killers.

But, we've moved on to the biggest-ever Truth or Dare marathon. Remember, there's no such thing as bad press, right?

Anyway, my girl, Paris. ["My girl"??] Fascinating. The excuse was, my publicist didn't inform me. And, some of this I believe. You live that insulated and you actually count on people to tell you about the agreements you've entered into. She's a fucking corporation. Like any other contracts, the CEO of Paris Inc., isn't expected to remember every active contract. So, yeah, if Elliot (Mintz) is on the phone or, for God's sake, off for the evening and Paris decides to cruise the Bentley, then shit, she's gonna cruise the Bentley. I get that.

But, the game was on too. Celebrity, multimillionaire dares and deeds? Shit yeah. Paris was all like, sex tapes? So turn of the century. Publicly displaying your lady parts? Yawn. Drinking? Drugs? What is this 1967? I'm going to go to fucking jail. Fucking openly disregard laws, judges, America, god, and my parents.

Anyway, who's all over every paper on the planet? Paris Hilton. Who am I writing about? Paris Hilton. Who took a hot booking photo? Paris Hilton. [And, look at that booking shot. What's the message? Check mate]. Who is winning Celebrity Truth or Dare? Paris Hilton.

• Paris goes to jail. Brilliant.
• Lindsey? Early booze-induced death.
• Nicole? Starve to death.
• Britney? White trash digression.

Who's in all the papers? Right.

I was all impressed with David Blaine's performance art and him all drowning himself (People say that stunt failed. I disagree) but we live in a time of extremely brilliant performance art. I mean, what am I doing? Typing on a computer. Duh.

Guest Submission - Google Street View(s) - SF

Dave & Ty's "Google Street View" Gallery

Or, re: whotookthepicture 1 (and clicky each image for biggie):

The Set-UpTrouble

Two Steps For A Man

Roll

Shopping

Smother

Spot

The Immigrant

He Sees Them Too

Please

Pods

Quality Service

Right Here

Problem With Liberals

Detonate

I Just Work Here, Man

The Walrus Was Paul

Funny

Before

El Farito

Hats

Hi

Owned

Free Milk Seminar

OK, I never say this, but I happened to run across Free Milk Seminar (fumbling with the CD player in the car and it was in the changer) and, shit, is it good.

I think the uncompressed CD sounds great.

I found myself saying, "oh shit!" several times.

Good for me. And, good for me in five years.

Another Project

Friends,

Christine McGuinness (California) and Ty Hardaway (Maryland) are
working on a new fine art photography book. We will need your
help (below).

We hope to complete all principal shooting this summer. We will
only see each other -- in person -- once all summer, in July.

The book will contain 50 (or 100) images, 25 (or 50) of the same
subject/topic as interpreted by each of the artists. The pairs
of images will appear facing each other in the book.

Here's the thing: we need you to send us 5+ potential photoshoot
topics - as mundane or wild as you can think of. We will select,
edit, and order images in September and print in the autumn.

Thanks muchly in advance for your ideas.

C and T

Jerry Hsu

Great, great two part interview with skater/artist, Jerry Hsu on VBS. Go here: [clicky]

Watch part one for context (or see here).

But, when you're watching part two, LISTEN carefully.

Mad genius. Our future, thankfully.

Oh Ryan!

So, I can't really tell you the details, but here's the gist:

I was joking with someone who is close to Ryan (physical proximity) and I said (half-seriously), "Well, you can then get me a signed headshot, right?"

Here's what I got:

"Cool, I just talked with Ryan and here you go!"

I'm not sure what it means, but I almost spit my Jumex guava nectar (from concentrate) all over my computer in a fit of laughter.

Google Maps Street View

What does Google Maps news "street view" feature do for you? Everything. I'm saying it right here, Street View changes everything. Feel the paradigm shift. Consider this, it's not the streets that are of interest.



Think about it. I'll give you a minute.

I've said for a while that once the federal government takes over Google (which they will or have), they will know much more than NSA, the FBI, and the CIA combined. Now, lookie here... A guy taking an unauthorized snack break and a conspiratorial meeting, both in Berkeley. No longer a mapping tool, this is a real look at the real world.

Soon, it won't be the clearly marked Google van periodically "mapping" streets soon. It will clandestine, real-time, federal vans conducing surveillance under the guise of mapping. Get enough of these vans (or whatever) and you could have dozens of cable channels devoted to a very new, very real, and very interesting reality.

Yep, I've gone all libertarian here, but long before "the horrible attacks of September 2001," traffic cameras were being installed nationwide. Then, TIA decided (oh you Total Information Awareness?) that it would be interesting to link all those cameras together. That way, you could follow a vehicle in real-time. It would "allow law enforcement to catch criminals." Or, it could be the perfect tool to spy on people.

Now, under frighteningly expanded federal executive powers, telephones, mail, and commercial transactions could be documented, archived.

Now, don't get me wrong, I still believe Google to be the good guys. But, shit, the unintended consequences are somewhat disturbing.

Where can a fella go to have the perception of privacy anymore?

On the positive, the artistic potential is huge. Anyway...

See:

Google News search for "Google street view."

From Google Street Maps

Telegraph & Derby, Berkeley

What You Need @ Middlespace Dot Com!

So, even I sometimes have trouble finding my way. Look to your left. I accidentally typed in "middlespace.com". Middlespace isn't a dot-com, it's a dot-net. So, as you can see, I was in the process of changing it to dot-net (so I can see what the hell I have up anymore--management).

As you can see -- and what I discovered -- is that middlespace.com is owned by one of those wholesalers hoping that some sucker will want that URL so much that they'd pay just a little bit extra (per month or whatever) and the wholesaler gets a nickel a month in perpetuity or whatever. Something like that. I mean, it ain't no real site even though it's all copyright and stuff.

No big deal.

But, I do like that 1) it's simply format as a little site. See, there's the header titled "main" and under that are the words "Ty Hardaway." Damn, that's funny! Because that's me! So, whatever, their application crawled around a bit and attempted to make this inclusive and such. So, whatever. The rest is gibberish like"Mp3 Player" and "Downloadable Music."

But.

But, "Space Travel" is an interesting topic, isn't it? WTF? Random? Omen? Science? God?

WHAT YOU NEED - WHEN YOU NEED IT!

Note (FL): If you keep reloading the page it comes up two different ways - one with the four color squares and the more official looking one.