Let's get interesting

Hi guys, it's me.

I've been a little busy and a little harried for the past month or so, but that's not to say I don't like you! I've really been thinking about what I want to do for this blog and how I want to use it to oh, I don't know, help me help myself and help whoever needs help.

Help help help.

I do not want this to be a business only blog, but i like smushing it into things - we all ahve a platform, right?

I have an amazing gig right now at the Majora Carter Group doing new media strategy and development. Words cannot express. I get to do branding work AND potentially small-city online organizing. DREAM. Also, CHALLENGE beyond measure b/c it is so dreamy.

I've been really looking within and without at ways to really set up this business online in a way that makes them seem as amazing as they are in real life! I tell you it is crazy - I've been working with them, and they're actually better offline than they *seem* like online (and they seem pretty typically great anyway, in that TED speaker kind of way). How many times is the opposite true -- i.e. either brands/businesses are LAME IRL but seem so great online...or, they seem great enough offline and online you discover they have a cringe-inducing personality.

MCG is exactly what you'd hope it would be - vulnerable, brazen, constantly learning and changing, vibrant, diverse, empowering, creative, sensitive, practical, real and unpretentious. Also, the curtains are really pretty. But these qualities aren't coming through online as much as I want it to (as much as they really should). Future clients must know! When there can be some real shysters who know how to slap together an ad-hoc branding campaign that makes them "seem" amazing, MCG is amazing and it's work is even more so. So, it will soon have an online presence worthy of the group's pioneering presence in the Main Street environmentalism movement (to coin a phrase)....if I have anything to do with it, and I do!

I've just been looking into how to really do it right. How to do right by MCG and by the communities that have no training in the community tools and organizing and facilitating and commerce-supporting platforms that are present on the interwebs. I think of this and my mind explodes with joy at the possibility of making real the online community and infrastructure - similar to what humidbeings and all those in that galaxy are up to....but everywhere! Not just in San Francisco and New York. In Elizabeth City, North Carolina. In Easton, PA! In Kansas City In ST LOUIS! (ps Alderman French is totally giving us all a head start there guys)!

And it's so overwhelming that I sortof want to sell myself as a mail order bride right now (the glamorous alternative would be to marry a prince who would discourage my pursuit of anything but expert needlepointing and glamorousness). But this is not the answer.

I've turned to friend of a friend (i.e. trust!) Armano, whose advice-storytelling goes down easy, and to Oliver Blanchard, who is absolutely terrifying and social media career existential crisis-inducing, but sortof in the way that the ropes course at 6th grade camp was terrifying...get through it and you're out of the awkward phase, and on to something more comfortable. He keeps it real and I can appreciate. I'm reacquainting with other trusteds.

All this browsing and research has helped me figure out where I'm going with MRVG for now - I want to show that awkward phase in between Social Media rookie to actual director-level quality non-charlatan real deal-type person. Aspirational! Also hard to find. You either get experts yelling at charlatans and telling them not to be so obnoxious...or you get charlatans yelling at everything that they ARE experts. It's a little bit looking glass.

I want to show (maybe you, maybe my grandkids down the line) those "lost" kind of years in between being young and free and being an established elder statesman. I'm fascintated by these years.

I am IN these years.

Its not quite a not-a-girl,-not-yet-a-woman-type scenario, but it's approaching that. I want to become better at social media. I want to do it for brands. I want to do it for CITIES. (even more difficult, i want/have to advocate for cities i no longer live in, nor am I close to them. oh the questions you'll ask that begin with HOW.) I want to have a career. I'm approaching all these personal platformy things.

Anyway, I'm here I'm real, I know some things about things, and I'm trying to learn more. I love using metaphors to tie the room together, but in the interest of your cheese factor-o-meter, let's just say that a river (maybe similar to that big one found in that big valley) runs through everything - and it's where the water gets dirty that things get interesting. So...let's get interesting.

South Bronx

Briefly checking in from work at The Majora Carter Group - the sun is shining and I'm near an industrialized riverfront! The Bronx and the STL - well there may be ties that bind (at least in my mind). So sure, things have been shaking up since I up and moved to New York (earlier than I thought I would be, but opportunity came knocking), and sure I'm feeling that lovely combination of energized and slightly freaked out...but the general vibe is one of the muses returning, to the Mississippi River Valley Girl and to just life in general.

More later. And this time I mean it.

My Great Aunt removed once or twice-ish was awesome

So on a whim I just started a little genealogy project on Flickr in honor of visiting the place where I'm pretty sure my grandparents fell in love.

And I found this. (Edna Purviance! I like her makeup, it's daring and bold.)

Hi, so yeah, that is Charlie Chaplin totally adorabling all over someone I'm related to.

This Just In: Greenbriar Estates is NOT South County (also it is on fire)

St. Louis remains St. Louis

Dispatches from my Mom

"Greenbriar Estates on fire. News says its in South County. The website is overloaded, not with people concerned about the house fire, but with irate calls screaming that, "This is NOT South County! " hysterical yes, but I must admit it is the first thing i thought of too!"

Twitter

You think twitter might save journalism b/c now no one bothers to blog anymore?

Clap your hands

Remember how stressed out you got during that scene in Peter Pan (I think) when all the fairies were dying?! And then Pete saunters in and is all "just clap your hands and say you believe in fairies!" and it was all cool again? Who would not want to be that guy!? What a bad ass. Or at least be someone who's a part of starting the chorus of hand clapping and believing in fairies hollerin'. Are you picking up this sophisticated metaphor?

When I think about the state of cities like St. Louis, I get all questiony! Ack! I have so many questions! No one can answer them. Seriously, I cannot find answers. So I will eventually have to answer them myself.

Do I know how?
**especially since I no longer live in St. Louis?**

Nope. But I'll figure something out.

David Letterman and Alicia Keys

Since I have still not decided upon divorcing my new media marketing/urban planning blog from my self-self blog, indulge me. Consider these windows into the inner-workings of the lori! They're like blog outtakes. AND now I will no longer make excuses for liking the stuff i like and reading the stuff i read and watching the stuff I watch. *

So, these are two couples (one both unlikely, odd and not-actually-a-couple-couple but still) that will make you love everything.

Ed & Ginny!
(obsessed with their sultry georgia wedding WHOA)


and Dave & Alicia
(Were you ever...lonely? hehe dave)



I would love to have a Kathy Griffin esque dinner with these people and ask them many questions about how they are so awesome.

*for more stuff i like, TUMBLR -- it's blowing up like, every day

conviction, table of everybody

I miss blogging, y'all.

Do you think it would be possible to create a site that effectively gives a city infrastructure where it does not have it? A sortof "if you build (online) it they will come" philosophy? Is Outsite.in already doing this? What of cities, small and large, who don't have Four Square or the locals who even care about exploring, but would like a bus system? Could you integrate some sortof CityApp with an Urban Planning firm on execution? (omg this would combine everything i ever loved ...well only if someone wrote a song about it, too) Could it be scalable to other smaller/less infrastructured cities (memphis, detroit, cincinnati)? And I'm not talking like, autocad model lets look at it an dream. Something alive! Something useful. Pre-reality stuff. Hm. I always look at online communications like a small town (i'm not the first, i believe I got the idea from gonzo mkting - lawd i felt like such a bad-ass reading that book on my marathon french speaking,teaching/self study extravaganza of 06-07...masters degree in school of hard-ish knocks and improrevising) so ...how to extrapolate that out...?

I have been wondering about this. I feel as though it may be my destiny to answer these questions. This of course fits in with my destiny that I've had to somewhat (impro)revise -- improrevise! That's a word made by me, for me -- that involves technology, cities, St. Louis and other fancier-schmancier cities. All of which I am embracing at once, though at times...remotely. (here's looking at you, St. Louis) In the meantime I am moving *back* to Brooklyn (yay!) to return to my fighting quaker (code for UPENN friends!) bretheren. Hey-o!

I feel presumptuous to talk of things like I'm anything but a dreamer, but as the magical and wonderful Ben Zander says, "one of characteristics of a leader that he not doubt for one moment the capacity of the peaople he's leading to realize whatever he's dreaming... imagine if martin luther king* said 'I have a dream! ... of course I'm not sure they'll be up to it!"So I present you with some conviction, take it or leave it. It is genuine. We will see where it leads.


*not implying that I am as cool as MLK, & though such thoughts did not stop beyonce (upgradeU)...they will stop me...i am humbled!

I mad men'd myself!

It was awesome.


and my sister madmen'd herself!




I know, a little random. In other news, I'm feeling the need to switch to tumblr for this blog. I may sleep on it. Many things to update.

I took pictures on the way to work today! It felt kinda great, though I was for sure in a hurry.

On being a sponge

I can't quite get a handle on why I've been rolling my eyes so much lately. There's so much going on in this town, why don't I find that at all energizing?! I'm at least slowly learning new things (and learning of new things to be learned, possibly elsewhere) at work, too. More or less. I don't know. Compartmentalize, Lori. Maybe I need an attitude adjustment.

Ugh, what a terrible voiceover for this movie of my life. Cue record scratch sound.

Anyway, I was talking to my sister last night (during which she recited for me the first 5 chapters of these BRILLIANT Twilight series recaps --ladies, give this link to the man, or just plain friend, in your life who doesn't want to read all 6 billion fursploding sparkly vampire family angsty pages Twilight-- my sister's read all of the books, I got through the first one...though now that I know there is apparently werewolf TYPOGRAPHY, I might have to indulge) -- so anyway, I'm talking to the sister and she's all, you never take pictures anymore, and I'm like i know, its a crazy weird symptom, i have never not liked taking pictures. And she's like I still check your flickr every day in the hopes that it will once again become awesome.

Clunk. It's not just the internet feeds that have lost their pizzazz, either! arg!

I don't know what to do! I try. I will keep trying. There must be some sort of perspective I'm not peering from that's making me extra angsty and also extremely boring. I used to be a total sponge, soaking up my favorite weird parts of whatever with my notepad and camera, using it to fuel my work in business and community organizing and writing and dancing and art appreciating...but now - thud...clunkclunkclunk. I don't even have the energy to fake it till I make it here anymore.

So, confessional over. I will fake it. And I will make it. Altogether now.

I'm beginning a 12 week study-a-go-go for some standardized tests...if you've read this blog (which probably means we're friends), the gradutat work pursuit will feel like a natural progression. I hope I get to teach! I was once pretty great at studying, so we'll see how this pans out. It's nice to have goals! I'm also pretty stoked for the essays both on the test and on the applications (which I actually have to save up for, applying to schools costs hundreds of dollars...wtf) b/c dang.

In other news, I'm going to be learning Spanish - 3 for 1! (would you like to teach me?)- so I can go all Enrique Penelosa (roll call - Van Jones and Majora Carter) on you.

Study with me.

Life in Chicago

Well it's not like I have just been sitting around here, folks! And you know I'm working on some (outside-of-work-work) work projects (that I love!) when I take a study break to write here.

In a vague/vain attempt to fit in here or find a niche, I have:

• joined and then reluctantly un-joined a gospel choir (only b/c of scheduling! I will rejoin in a month, i love being a methodist - don't get creeped out, i could care less if you worship cheddar cheese squares every Sunday, I'm just saying. Methodists. It works for me. I still would kill to start an acapella quartet or duo...y'know in my free time)
• joined a Go-Go dancing group
• took up flamenco
• re-launched guitar lessons
• bangs
  
• lived in Lincoln Park for 3 weeks, Logan square for 5 months, and now will be in Andersonville (IT IS THE CUTEST) until the winds finally blow me out of this town
• been to like all the record stores ever and they're weird (and i haven't found one where they have turntables so you can listen to the records before you buy them WTF)
  
• While i lived in Logan Square, got to know the owner at Rosa's and he is great and a total bad-ass italian conga player
  
• soul night at The Hideout and Dannys = :/ (you really can tell folks who didn't grow up with the music, they dance completely wrong...personal opinion, and I'm allowed it)
• decided where/whats as far as graduate school goes...GRE and GMAT here i come
  
• I saw Rahm Emanuel in a coffee shop
• Met some Dap Kings (who bought ME a drink! hehe!) and one Shay J, and all i have to show for it is a pencil drawing of the Hollywood Bowl. In other words, all i have to show is amazing. All I have to remember is amazing-er.
  

Only thing left on my list here really is to figure out what the deal is with the Numero Group.

And I'm looking forward to Whuffaoke coming to town next Thursday! We will sing.

Chicago on the whole is not singing to me. But I'm trying to focus on listening, b/c maybe it's a song I've never heard, and it has to grow on me. The effort of really owning a city and all it has to offer may be too much to ask from me for this town. I sound so grouchy! I'm keeping an open mind, especially since the weather stays over 55 degrees most days now. That makes it easier. I really have had fun. Just not fun owed to Chicago being Chicago necessarily. Maybe that's a detriment of a Big Town, and neighborhoods that would rather be a part of Chicago than a part of themselves. THEORIES! I got'em.

To be fair to Chicago, I also got to spend some seriously magical QT with some friends of mine who come to town (as my grandma Nannie, who used to live more or less in Englewood for like 1 year in 1939 or something, says - "Oh Chicago ...it's really a better place to visit") ...from varied locales - St. Louis to DC to Brooklyn ....will you be NEXT to spend 7 hours drinking beer and dancing with/for me?

B/c that is **my** regional specialty and it is what we would do if you came to visit.

also, MAJORA CARTER, please recognize