Rhodes Scholars - but can they croon?

I started this conversation - after watching Ambassador Rice (Rhodes scholar, INCREDIBLE superwoman athlete - exemplar of the Rhodes Scholarship Standards) on Charlie Rose -  and starting to get to thinking about the USA seeming to take for granted that sportsmen are leaders - exemplars of "using one's talents to the fullest" and musicians as, well not as implicitly leadershippy. To which I say, j'accuse! (mostly b/c I always want to say that and I can't ever find the perfect occasion - so we'll just pretend it fits) Paul McCartney, I'm sure, agrees with me.

He is, after all, my favorite Beatle.

The collaboration and the need to LITERALLY be in tune with your fellows, all of them (there's no offensive winds section and defensive horns section - not in a good orchestra anyway) - these are qualities we want in leaders. So Mr. Rhodes. You may have founded the De Beers diamond mining company (and a country) - but can you croon?!


I wanted to bring this up because a) I went to a high school that had a LOT of musician leaders and I'm a music leader myself (show choir counts) b) I believe in music as a training ground for once and future leaders.

As The Dashed One says - if you didn't blog it, it didn't happen. * I gotta process these thoughts that I've let be free for the past 2 years (!). Bear with me as I learn to value my own musings again. I'm humbled to silence by the great voices around me. But I turn into a sponge first - THEN a sprinkler when I'm thrown into a pond of geniuses - this happened in college, high school, and even learning to talk - I didn't even speak until I was 2, but, as the legend goes - my first word was OWL and many many sentences followed not far thereafter.

* For those of you playing along, it may appear that nothing has happened. There's an internet equation, we're going to call it life busy-ness inversely proportional to blog-business -- and if you can even that proportion out, you're a winner. You're on your way to becoming a Leader in the New School. Which is to say - I have been terrible at this. A lot been going on in the back-channel in my first year in NYC (coming up on my one year appartmentiversary - memories). I'll be kind and rewind a bit soon.

exceptions to rules

My mind just imploded a little. Just sharing this email (heads up friends of mine from boston, new york or the east coast, we might have to reconsider, I guess) I just got back from responding to a craigslist apartment ad:

Hi Lori, you sound like a fun person to be around at a bar or a party, but we are from the East Coast here, Boston and New York. We can’t really do the open friendly mid western thing considering our more grumpy, pessimistic temperaments. Don’t take any offense, because we don’t want anyone from California either. The Wire was probably the best TV series ever made next to Sopranos. Good luck, you might want to tone down some of the excitement in your self description.

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.

Petition Will Ask City to Cede Land for Homeless Camp

From the RFT -- St. Louis - Stlog - Petition Will Ask City to Cede Land for Homeless Camp

photo c/o The Riverfront Times STLog

Adding flame to the (inside my head) fire that St. Louis is really like the Village in the 80's. Doubt me? Check in to the film 200 Cigarettes (especially when they're "past avenue B") and/or the part of RENT where everyone's protesting to keep "Tent City" ... indulge me briefly.

Benny, that attitude toward the homeless is exactly what
Maureen is protesting. Maureen is protesting losing her
performance space, not my attitude.
           
CIose-up: Benjamin Coffin III.
Our ex-roommate who married Allison Grey
of the Westport Greys. His father-in-law bought
severaI buildings on the block and a nearby vacant Iot,
home to Tent City.

I'm not a RENT head, and I'm not trying to torture you via outdated musical theatre and odd parallel worlds...but think about this. Substitute some words and what have you got? If you're a friend or a rando reader (which means you're a friend, sorta!)...let me know what you think. Blythe? Weigh in! Is STL just NYC but 25 years ago? What's that mean?

Also like, check old newspapers about NYC in the 80s (when it was "scary") and valid sources and whatnot b/c that's *maybe* better than a movie only you and your High School friends watch and a musical.

I'm right, though.