Monday, March 1, 2010

“U Street in D.C. Gets Audio Tour, Visitor Center - ABC News” plus 3 more

“U Street in D.C. Gets Audio Tour, Visitor Center - ABC News” plus 3 more

U Street in D.C. Gets Audio Tour, Visitor Center - ABC News

Posted: 01 Mar 2010 09:38 AM PST

The historic district of Washington once known as the "Black Broadway" now has its own neighborhood heritage trail and visitor center.

The group Cultural Tourism D.C. has introduced an audio tour for Washington's U Street area. You can download it for free from the organization's Web site; the link can be found at the bottom of the lefthand side of the organization's home page at http://www.culturaltourismdc.org/.

In addition, a visitor center opened Feb. 26 near 12th and U streets.

Visitors can learn about the cultural life of this African American neighborhood in the first half of the 20th century. It was home to jazz great Duke Ellington. Clubs and theaters drew top performers.

Stops on the tour include the restored Lincoln Theater and the site of the first luxury hotel for African Americans in the once segregated capital city.

Narrators for the audio tour include Kamal Ben Ali, co-owner of Ben's Chili Bowl, and Korva Coleman of National Public Radio.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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U.N. looks to polish image - Variety

Posted: 01 Mar 2010 09:05 PM PST

Secretary general pitches storylines to Hollywood

Just over a half-century ago, Alfred Hitchcock was famously denied access to shoot at the United Nations for a key scene in "North by Northwest."

Not too long ago, Sydney Pollack went through hoops to secure permission to shoot parts of "The Interpreter" at the U.N.

On Monday, in an effort to prove how much the international org's view of Hollywood has changed, the U.N. not only pitched as storylines its role in solving humanitarian crises and embarking on peacekeeping missions to a gathering of creative types, it also enlisted Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to do it.

At a U.N. event called the Global Creative Forum, held at the Hammer Museum in Westwood, Ban made the case that the U.N.'s agenda and mission was "sometimes more dramatic than Hollywood movies" and cited "The Constant Gardener" as the type of movie that featured humanitarian work in its storyline. He ran through an array of U.N. efforts, such as alleviating HIV-AIDS and addressing climate change, as well as curbing discrimination and violence against women. In fact, much of the forum was devoted to the topic of empowering women as a way to solve global problems.

Underlying the event is the sense that the U.N.'s image has far too often been that of a hapless bureaucracy on Manhattan's East Side rather than an army of humanitarians spread out across the globe. Ban established what is called the Creative Community Outreach Initiative, mindful, he says, that if the movies are done in a "creative, compelling way, they can reach billions of people at once."

The director of the initiative, Eric Falt, said the environment had changed from past days.

"We're here to make amends in a way and perhaps to make friendships. We want to be able, through pop culture, to get people around the world to understand issues."

To be sure, the U.N. has never really ignored Hollywood. Ever since Danny Kaye was named a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF in 1954, it's deployed a host of famous figures around the world to shed light on hard-to-get-attention relief efforts. More recently, it's tapped the likes of George Clooney and Charlize Theron as so-called messengers of peace, perhaps a recognition of the power of celebrity even as unlikely diplomats.

One messenger, Michael Douglas, who focuses on disarmament issues, conducted the Q&A with Ban.

The problem is that even celebrity activists have trouble getting their message heard -- "raising awareness" is now a common catchphrase -- in an ever-more cluttered media environment. So there's the additional focus on storylines. The March 17 episode of NBC's "Law and Order: SVU" features a story on sexual violence in the Congo.

"People I talk to don't know that there are millions of people killed in the Congo," said Neal Baer, the show's exec producer. "They are astounded."

Baer was part of a later panel that also included Falt, U.N. assistant secretary-general Robert C. Orr, director Terry George and two celebrity activists, Gloria Reuben and Mira Sorvino, the latter of whom said, "If we give a face to the suffering then we can create that will at the highest and lowest level."

But even as the U.N. is offering its cooperation, in the form of technical and logistical expertise, the more difficult hurdle is convincing the financial powers-that-be that such projects are commercially viable. Baer said there's a "deep misconception" that the public is not interested. And while Ban met with reps from the Motion Picture Assn. of America and studio executives, George lamented the swing toward "excitement and escapism," making it all the more difficult to make pictures like his "Hotel Rwanda," which presents an inspirational story but also depicts international community inaction, including that of the U.N.

On that note, Falt assured the audience that the org is "not asking for creative control" in exchange for their cooperation.

Perhaps that was underscored by the presence of George, who is at work on a project about the life of Sergio Viera de Mello, the Brazilian U.N. diplomat who was killed in a bombing in 2003 while working as the secretary-general's special representative in Iraq. While it is an amazing story of a U.N. diplomat, it also will feature his problems working with the Security Council, George said.

The trouble the U.N. has had is when used as an easy target, depicted as a kind of caricature that ignores the complexity of the organization. As George noted, "For the lack of a bad guy, it's easy to turn to the monolith of the U.N."

For his part, before the Westwood audience, Ban offered words of praise rather than critiques. He told of his fondness for Westerns, with "the obvious difference between good and evil," and admitted to identifying in his role as secretary-general with the marshals who seek justice.

And it's not too much of a surprise that the diplomat singled out Douglas' "The American President" as well as "Spartacus," starring Douglas' father, Kirk.

Then he noted that Douglas was making a sequel to "Wall Street." "I hope you make a good one this time," Ban said. The aud laughed, before a smiling Douglas asked him, "What do you mean by 'this time'?" He knew exactly what Ban was getting at -- that Gordon Gekko's "greed is good" unintentionally became a credo in the Wall Street excesses to come -- and the actor offered some words of assurance.

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John, Chuck, Kathleen, and … Mr. President - Front Page

Posted: 01 Mar 2010 09:05 PM PST

There was something particularly annoying — even harmful to society — during the health care summit held last week between President Obama and leading members of the House and Senate.

It was the president's calling all the congressmen and senators by their first names.

It is easy to appreciate just how demeaning this was of each House member and senator: Just imagine if any of them had called President Obama "Barack."

However negative any conservatives deem this presidency, we would consider it scandalous if anyone publicly referred to this or any president by his first name. For America 's sake, I do not want the office of president or the president himself demeaned.

Likewise, for America 's sake, I do not want the office of representative or senator demeaned.

Yet that is exactly what Obama did. At perhaps one of the most widely watched dialogue between members of the United States Congress and a president in American history, Obama lowered the dignity of the men and women who serve in those capacities.

That this has largely gone unnoted — and, I presume, will be widely dismissed as trivial — is more a statement about the culture of our times than it is of the unwillingness of mainstream media to criticize this president.

Other presidents and members of Congress have on occasion publicly referred to members of Congress by their first names (though this, too, is relatively new and wrong), but rarely if ever in as formal, let alone prolonged and public, a setting as the health care summit.

Why did the president do this? Why did he choose to call the most prominent members of House of Representatives and Senate — and a member of his cabinet — by their first names while he was only referred to as "Mr. President"?

One reason was to place himself on a higher and qualitatively different plane than everyone else at the summit. It was effectively the president of the United States and the boys (and girls) showing him deference. Anyone who disputes this needs to explain why the president did not ask to be called "Barack" and why no one called by his or her first name did the same to the president.

A second reason, that only theoretically conflicts with the first, is that this president is a man of the left to the depth of his soul, and therefore has egalitarian instincts. Consequently, he likely thinks that there is something not quite right in sustaining class-based titles by referring to people by their honorific; and conversely, there is something charming in publicly calling senators, representatives, and members of his cabinet by their first names.

A third — related — reason, is the egalitarian spirit that has pervaded American society since the 1960s and '70s. Obvious examples include students calling teachers by their first name, young people calling adults by their first name, congregants calling their clergymen by their first name, and the like. In almost every case, there has been a loss of prestige to the person and to the profession (yes, adulthood is a profession) and a corresponding loss to society.

In 28 years of radio, I have never called an interviewee who had a title by his or her first name. A psychiatrist who teaches at the UCLA School of Medicine has been on my show a number of times. Though he has been one of my closest friends for over 20 years, I have always addressed him as "Dr. Marmer" on the radio, never "Steve." Likewise all the rabbis, priests and ministers with whom I am friends are all "Rabbi," "Father" and "Pastor" when I address them in public.

Some will argue that this was precisely what Sen. Barbara Boxer was saying when she said to Brigadier General Michael Walsh, who was testifying before a Senate committee, "Could you say 'senator' instead of 'ma'am?'" And therefore, anyone who ridiculed her for that comment cannot now complain that President Obama did not call senators and congressmen by their titles.

But the argument has no merit. Walsh never called Boxer "Barbara." If he had, it would have been scandalous. He called her "Ma'am," which, along with addressing a man as "sir," is how the military (and many others) show people respect.

The issue, in any event, is publicly addressing people with titles by their first name — especially when the one doing it must be addressed by his title. Even if President Obama had used "Mr.," "Ms." or "Mrs.," it would have been acceptable.

Perhaps the president thought that Americans would appreciate that he is so friendly with all these congressmen and senators — even Republicans — that he calls them all by their first names. If so, he seriously miscalculated. If he did not object to "Mr. President," he had no right to drop "senator" and "congressman."

But, as noted, Mr. Obama is a man of the left. And the cultural left does not particularly like "Mr.," "Mrs.," "Pastor" or "Rabbi" — or "Senator" or "Congressman." And if you don't think this is a right-left distinction, read right and left reactions to this column.

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Sizzling speeches on high heels, bacon to help kick off Ignite Dallas - Dallas Morning News

Posted: 01 Mar 2010 09:27 PM PST

Liz Broderick loves high heels almost as much as she loves her advertising job.

So the North Dallas resident is prepared to talk to an audience nonstop for five minutes about "the importance of killer heels."

Broderick is one of 16 Dallas-Fort Worth entrepreneurs, techies and creative types who will discuss their passion – any topic, as long as it's not a sales pitch or political – at Ignite Dallas.

It's a nonprofit idea challenge coming to Dallas for the first time from 6 to 10 p.m. Wednesday at the Granada Theater. About 200 people are expected to attend. Tickets cost $10 to $25 at ignitedallas.org.

"The forum is not button-up stiff; it's fun and lighthearted and tongue-in-cheek," said Broderick, who owns more than 60 pairs of shoes.

"My speech is going to be more about heels and climbing up the ladder of success in the workplace. I talk about how to find a job and being selective when shopping for shoes. Then, I talk about growing pains. Whatever you do in life, make sure you're passionate about it – like I'm passionate about shoes, advertising and social media."

Ignite began in Seattle in 2006 "to bring geeks together" but has expanded to other locations, said co-creator Brady Forrest of O'Reilly Media Inc. in that city. It has become a phenomenon, with about 200 events since then.

"In places where there wasn't a strong tech culture, people have rallied around it," Forrest said. "I think other cities will benefit from the experience."

Think stand-up comedy with a purpose.

Chris Walters, an entrepreneur and lead Dallas organizer, got his first taste of Ignite in Austin in January and was hooked. He immediately registered the Dallas Internet domain name and attracted eight others to plan the first event.

Dallas is one of 65 cities worldwide – from Beijing to Sydney to Anchorage, Alaska – participating in the first Global Ignite Week this week. The event will reach about 10,000 people, and at least 500 videos will be posted at www.igniteshow.com.

Walters hopes Ignite "is a spark that creates a stronger Dallas tech community." He's already thinking about the next Ignite Dallas event and hopes to make it a regular gathering.

For the first event, topics range from nicknames to motorcycle tours to social media.

Mike D. Merrill will talk about bacon. "Who doesn't love bacon?" he said.

Merrill grew up on a pig farm in New Mexico and even named his 1-year-old social-media consulting business Bacon Marketing.

Karl Sydow, a Dallas project management consultant, will tell all about quitting smoking last month after 25 years.

For Broderick, a big question is which shoes to wear for her speech. It's between a pair of Christian Louboutins or pink-and-purple slingbacks.

"Wouldn't it be hilarious if I tripped onstage?" she said.

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