September 2005

For a couple months I experimented with the iTunes affiliate program and included an ad in the top right spot of sooz.com. Since (I think) most people read my thrilling tidbits via the RSS feed, I’m probably not going to make a million dollars through that anytime soon. And I have no interest in placing advertising in my RSS feed. So, I figured I might as well put up something else in the spot for groups and organizations that I support. Currently it’s Noah’s Wish, a non-profit based in Placerville, California that helps rescue animals in disaster areas. Right now they are doing a lot of work in areas hit by Hurricane Katrina. Please consider supporting Noah’s Wish through a donation.

About the organization:

Having just one focus, Noah’s Wish is able to direct all of our resources - financial, equipment, staff, and volunteers, to end the needless suffering and death of animals when disasters strike. Over 75% of all donations made to Noah’s Wish go directly towards helping animals. We know you want your money to benefit animals and not pay inflated salaries or rent on elaborate office space. As a Noah’s Wish Preparedness Partner your mailbox will not be overloaded with appeal letters from us with heart wrenching photographs and sad stories intended to make you feel compelled to donate. Whenever possible we will use e-mail to communicate with you, a huge savings over stationery, printing, and postage. When we do contact you in this way the information will be immediate and not weeks or months old.

We will be doing a magazine just once a year called, This Year’s Journey. It will include articles and pictures that volunteers submit from disasters, along with the organization’s achievements. The pages will present an honest, fresh, and comforting look at disaster relief work. During the year, Noah’s Wish will not lure you to support us by sending you such things as return address labels, watches, generic note cards, or pocket calendars. Instead, we believe it’ll be the consistent dedication and hard work of our Disaster Response Team, as well as always making animals, not money, the number one priority of Noah’s Wish, that will convince you to become a Preparedness Partner.

After Hurricane Katrina landed in Louisiana and Missisisippi, Mark Bernstein wrote an exquisitely thoughtful essay titled “What Ended.” If you haven’t read it yet, go read it. Today he wrote a tidbit about the New England Baptist Church sign indicating that the people in New Orleans deserved Hurricane Katrina. Here’s a photo of the sign. Crazy talk, indeed.

You know, someday soon we’re gonna sit around and laugh about this, and everybody will be saying “I knew better.” Just like McCarthyism. Just like slavery. Just like the American Revolution.

Shaun Inman recently unveiled Mint, his new website statistics application. I’ve set it up on Exploit Boston and it seems rather fabulous. Mint also has a plug-in API for independent developers to extend the base features. One such plugin is Andrew Sutherland’s OutClicks that tracks the site someone went to when clicking on a link from your website.

About Mint:

The web is listening to what you have to say. Admiring your design. Talking about your product. Mint helps you identify where the most interest is being generated and over what.

Mint provides a fresh look at your site. It is concise, flexible and timely. And to sweeten the deal, this delicious little bundle of PHP, MySQL, and JavaScript joy is referrer-spam-proof.

Mint was developed and beta tested on various Linux servers running Apache with a MySQL database (3.x and up), and PHP scripting (4.2.3 and up). PHP can be run as an Apache module or PHP-as-CGI. Support for Windows servers running Apache is planned but not an immediate priority.

Quirky and brilliant musician Jane Siberry has made her song “Calling All Angels” [mp3, lyrics] freely available on her website in response to emails she’s received from people interested in sharing it with Hurricane Katrina relief workers. She just sent out an email suggesting she might make all of her music (that she has the rights to) openly available to anyone with the option to pay whatever you find reasonable.

From her email:

‘let go let go’
is the song i hear in my head all the time these days.

I just put ‘Calling All Angels’ on my website for free. People have been contacting me recently wondering how the song could be sent out in a wider way in these difficult times. One person wanted to burn copies for relief workers. I said yes. Then I thought that feels so right. And better yet, if i also make it available as a free website download the gesture would be more Earth-loving with no plastic created. Then I thought, heck, why don’t i just make everything free (that I have rights to). Something feels forced about withholding (music) until one gets something (money). People could pay what they want or not pay at all. That would be more authentic, pure. And probably bring more positivity to all. I think the music would be happier, too.

And a strange phenomena is happening. Things are shifting from captured on vinyl to captured in heart. It seems (as I wait to record) that my live shows are becoming more of a living breathing music. Perhaps concerts are the ‘new recording’ format (no recording, you just have to memorize each moment, not waste it). Music, poetry, prose, stories are coming forward knowing that it doesn’t have to fit into the ‘recordable’ ‘timeless’ genre. Things are bunching up more against the present moment. I am grateful to the folks that come to the shows and share time with me. Something very good is happening and I’m not talking just about what I do.

there must be new and better ways for this all to work.
everything on earth, actually.
and I bet the new ways sound like a new music.

does anyone have any comments?
If so, would you write a little letter in the Sheeba Forum?
http://www.janesiberry.com/forum topic = ‘let go let go’

NOTE: I can’t respond but I want to hear. You are such cool folks and I respect your thoughts so much.

Exploit Boston’s monthly game night that I co-host with John Brigham is coming up on Tuesday, September 27th at True Grounds in Somerville’s Ball Square. Relevant tidbits are in the event listing at Exploit Boston and I also set up an RSVP page at upcoming.org. I’ve had an account there for a long time but haven’t really used it much so I thought I’d try it out a bit more.

North Carolina podcaster Brian Russell is in Boston for a few days so we are inviting Boston area podcasters and bloggers for dinner and drinks on Wednesday, September 7th at 6:30 PM. The plan is to grab a few tables at Cuffs, the Irish bar inside Jury’s Hotel at 350 Stuart Street in the Back Bay. If 6:30 is a little too early for you, we’ll be there for a few hours so feel free to show up when you can.

Directions from the Arlington MBTA Station (Green Line):
Start out going east on Boylston Street toward MA-2 E Arlington Street. Turn right onto Arlington Street. Turn right onto Columbus Avenue MA-28. Turn right onto Berkeley Street. (Three blocks)

Directions from the Back Bay MBTA Station (Orange Line):
Start out going north on Dartmouth Street toward Stuart Street MA-9 E. Turn right onto Stuart Street MA-9 E. (One block)

WHEN: Wednesday, September 7, 2005
TIME: 6:30 PM until … ?
WHERE: Cuffs Irish Bar (inside Jury’s Hotel), 350 Stuart Street, Boston, MA

Brad Graham has organized a fundraiser for people affected by Hurricane Katrina who are being evacuated to shelters in Arkansas, Missouri and Illinois.

About the fundraiser:

Generous people have donated clothing and other supplies for them, but there’s a serious shortage of clean undergarments for women, men and children.

Click here to donate cash via PayPal and DropCash. I’ll be purchasing and drop-shipping as many clean, packaged undergarments as possible. They’ll go directly to folks who fled the hurricane-affected areas and are currently being cared for at relief centers in St. Louis; Belleville, Illinois; and Fort Chaffee, Arkansas.

Michael and I moved to Allston yesterday. We were sensible and hired movers so overall, it went very smoothly. We’re now inhabitants of what seems to be referred to as Lower Allston. I’ve wanted to live in Boston (maybe just a year) ever since I moved here from Nebraska eleven years ago. It’ll be nice to be able to walk home from concerts at the Paradise and other nearby spots including Great Scott and O’Briens. I’m hoping proximity to these spots will restart my podcasting adventure, too. And more frequent updates on ye olde event calendar.