Here are some suggestions about a New Orleans "blogger" Convention that were made during Friday's meeting. This is a very fluid and evolving process, and I'm just trying to be a good facilitator at this point. So please make additions or subtractions in the comments section. Also, it was suggested that interested planners and volunteers who want to help make this convention a reality meet for dinner tonight. Now's the time where responsibilities will be assigned, so definitely tell me if you are interested in meeting at, say,
6:30 tonight at Cooter Brown's. Y'all can pick a restaurant-- I'll tiebreak; if no one has a preference, the default choice is Jamila's on Maple. If you can't make the meeting but want to help, send me an email.
Ok, here's some of the suggestions that have been made so far. I've added my personal comments in parantheses.
Name: Rising Tide Conference (I like this name because, with the right logo, it could signify momentum and growth-- perhaps even defiance. It also capitalizes on John Barry's excellent book which is titled "Rising Tide". The downside of the name is that it evokes things like flood imagery and rising sea levels, not failed levees.)
Proposed Date: August 25-27, 2006 (This looks good. It's at the end of summer, but before the 1 year anniversary of Katrina. There are no other big conventions scheduled, and hotels and restaurants are running some
fantastic specials.)
Featured Speakers: Let us know if you have connections to someone who you think would be good. (We're going to try to get Harry Shearer, and I think we should get some scientific expertise if possible, and some grassroots/community voices. Also, we should invite all the bigwig pols from the area --Landrieu, Vitter, Jindal, Nagin, Melancon, Baker... etc-- who knows, one might actually show up.
We want this conference to be inclusive and "content-driven".)
Mission statement/"Elevator Pitch"/Main Agenda: This is obviously crucial, and must be formalized this week. Suggestions are very much encouraged, because the "content" is the most important aspect of the Conference. The participants at Friday's meeting all felt that we should find ways to share and archive information and stories that the rest of the country (still) doesn't know. This conference would be a forum to emphasize the important issues that never seem adequately covered by the national media.
For example: Do folks around the country know that most of the flooding in New Orleans was caused by one of the biggest engineering failures in world history? Do they know that 70% of the drowned victims were over 60? Do they know why rebuilding has progressed on some fronts, but totally stalled in others? Do they know about the need for Cat 5 levees and coastal restoration, and the importance of our oil infrastructure, our port and our seafood... etc. Do they know about Oil Royalty sharing.... on and on. This is an opportunity to magnify the issues important to this area (and the Gulfsouth, too; I hadn't mentioned Rita, or Mississippi). It's an opportunity to promote facts and dispel myths PRIOR to the media coverage surrounding the storm's 1 year anniversary.
Addressing these sorts of issues is key. So we need to compose a strong mission statement which enable everyone to "work off the same page". Like I said, contributions in this regard are especially welcome.)
Venue: Perhaps the
Contemporary Arts Center. This could allow for simultaneous activities (forums, multimedia presentations, speeches/debates, workshops, socializing) in adjoining rooms of various sizes. Alternate choice is the standard hotel set up. Another alternate choice suggested to me earlier was Le Petite Theatre).
Workday: (Friday Aug 25 might be a good time to have a "workday". People who wish to tour stricken neighborhoods could do so. Those who want to "gut" a house or do some volunteering could do so. This will be one of the ways that Rising Tide will distinguish itself from other conferences.)
Sponsorship: (I'm not so sure this was necessary, but everyone else thought it was.)
Media Attention: (We'll endeavour to attract it. Let us know if you have connections.)
Technical Details: (This will certainly be a "no frills" conference. There's not enough time to put together a really slick show, although we do intend to get creative and have fun. We want to provide information that will make an impact on people, and exchange ideas, and hear as many different Katrina stories as possible. We want attendees to "leave with" something more than a goody bag full of trinkets.
Therefore, there won't be a lot of fluff. Many volunteers will be needed, and attendees might have to do more legwork than at a "normal" conference.
---
Again:
Blake Haney has generously offered his (ever improving) Humid Beings forum to host webcasts and cross post blog entries.
Unfortunately, Dambala will not be able to do the webcasting that weekend, so others who would like to do so, please let me know.
Liz has offered to host an afterparty in da Quarter. I can do the same at my Uptown oyster reef.
If we all come together and pitch in, this could be a memorable event-- one that sets the stage for future Rising Tide conferences. So make comments and spread the word.
21 Comments:
I'll be there. I think that Cooter Brown's wouldn't be bad, as we could commandeer a boatload of tables if need be.
Sounds like a gerat idea.
I knew a huge percentage of the casualties were over 60, and only about half were black--which goes against the "welfare queen" image the media put out there. The Times-Pic had a breakdown of bodies at the morgue by age group. Don't remember the exact date but it was late May.
Also, I believe crime in Baton Rouge was lower in 2005 than 2004 even though they took in a lot of evacuees. The Houston Comical reported that crime in Pasadena, TX was also down (Pasadena borders SW Houston). All too often "evacuee" is code for the N word.
The downside is most people don't want to be bothered with facts.
Can't make it tonight. Is this s'posed to replace Friday or are we doing both?
Ok Cooter Brown's sounds good.
Adrastos: We'll do both. We'll be pulling double duty for a while.
Okay. See ya on Friday. I also sent you an email o bi-valvular leader type guy.
I know we had a problem with noise last Friday at the Bridge Lounge and I think we risk having the same problem at Cooter's at that hour. Just a thought. Jamilla's is smaller, but not usually crowded...unless that's changed since The Storm. I don't know.
I think if you have some idea of how many to expect tonight, it would make the decision easier. And toward that end, I plan to be there, Cooter's, Jamilla's or wherever.
Friday is still on at the side room at Bridge Lounge at 6pm. Tonight is just another opportunity to share ideas and brainstorm.
I will build the site for the event and am working on the brand.
We'll do it at Cooter Brown's tonight. They have some tables and booths in the back that can be used if its noisy, but I think it'll be rather tame on a Wednesday.
I'll be there tonight.
I wish I could be there but I think I have to be at the NPN meeting tonight.
On a related note, I hope I'll see many of you at the Geek Potluck this Friday.
Oyster, I just noticed that YRHT was not on my blogroll. I have corrected this inexplicable and egregious oversight.
Thank you, editor. But some of your readers might've interpreted that "oversight" as a sign of good taste.
The Geek Dinner seems like a fun idea. Thanks for linking to it. I'll see if a group of bloggers (Blake, Adrastos, Dangerblonde, Ashley, Oyster and others) who sometimes gets together on Fridays would like to go to this event.
Dangerblonde? There goes the neighborhood...
And I think that the blonde one, Adrastos and I are planning to geek it apres the Friday bull secession.
I'm a NOLA blogger, and I produce local TV news. I'll push to cover it, and it would make a great weekend story, but by holding on the anniversary weekend, its likely it will be eclipsed by other stories. I'd also like to attend, so add me to the convention mailing list, should one be created.
A great idea -- as Ian suggested, put me on the mailing list if you have one. I'll be there in any event, and look forward to meeting you all.
Here in Boston there's a lot of hubbub about making sure someone's held accountable for the Big Dig crumbling on a car and killing one person. Folks are naturally upset about the government's negligence. I'm using it as an opportunity to educate my friends about why folks in NOLA are furious at the Army Corps (and by extension the federal government) for its negligence in its design of the 17th Street canal. And I'm quick to remind my friends that the ACE's negligence led directly to the death of hundreds and billions of dollars in property damage.
Overall, I'm impressed with the level of outrage by the Boston mainstream media over the Big Dig negligence. Every elected official is quick to find someone to blame. I just wish other media outlets would approach the Corps' negligence with the same zeal. That's my long way of saying I hope your conference is a success.
Thanks big shot. If you could recruit a certain Timshel to come out of retirement, that could be used as a huge draw: The return of Timshel-- blogger extraordinaire!
We had heard rumors, ya know.
Y'all should definitely move the Friday bull secession to Alan's Geek Pad for the Geek Dinner. It would be intersting to meet the folks you mentioned after all these months.
If not, do tell about the Friday secessions, and first rounds on me.
I hope Cooter's was fun. Ricky Prado is coming to visit me in mid-August. He'll have plenty of access to my Windows XP operating system and high-speed internet. Maybe knowing that there is an easier way to blog will bring him out of retirement.
Okay, I'm in on the Bloggers' Coven, EXCEPT:
Hey, folks, I'm taking the entire Clio family (e.g. me, Dr. Mrs. Clio, and four kids) to Jackson on that Saturday for an overnight trip.
Why? you ask.
Because Our New Orleans Saints are playing Peyton Manning and the Indy Colts in a preseason game, and the Clio family needs a little overnight out of town.
Hey, Oyster, in planning the dates, didja ever once think, WWDD?
What would Dillyberto do?
Seriously, I'll be in for Friday activities, but Saturday I'll be pursuing the Black and Gold to Jackson.
Oops.
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