Month: January 2010

Ok, I’ve stewed…

And now I’m perfectly tender.

Don’t really have much to say about this one — no deep thoughts or analysis.  First sent this around to an internal group around 10 days ago, and I’ll just quote what I wrote to them, which pretty much covers it.

I’ve apparently become too comfortable in NYC.  This happened all the time where I came from in one manner or another.

Spotted on the lawn in front of [A major building near the Fin. District] this morning on the way to kid’s school.  Thankfully he wasn’t paying attention and doesn’t read that quickly yet.

I’m actually even torn about posting the pic. But I’m a big believer in the whole "Words only gain power when you hide from them."

Another rant to a fellow twitter/blogger/parent (who may not want to be mentioned here so I’ll leave her name out) went more like this:

What the F___?  I spotted this on the lawn in front of [same major building] (0.08 miles from my apt’s front door) this morning while taking my 5yo [yo is net shorthand among parents for year old] to school.  Thankfully he wasn’t paying attention and doesn’t read that quickly yet.

It’s 2010 in downtown NYC and we still have this s___ to contend with.  I hate/dislike plenty of people, but not because of their gods, skin color, etc.  Mostly it’s stupid that bothers me and stupid is totally equal opportunity.  Ok.  Again, sorry to impose – I should know better, I’ve lived near the sticks.  End Rant.  Thanks.

Everyone’s responses were very helpful — thank you all 12 of you.

And it’s 10 days later and I’m still at a loss for what to say / think.

I’m not naive.  As mentioned I’ve lived near the sticks – I’ve been evacuated from synagogues because a bomb threat was called in, gone to buildings that because of who occupied the building had swat-esque armed security in place, lived in cities where defamation of synagogues was a monthly event.  Been there, done that, thanks.  It’s one of the reasons we moved to NYC – so that if you say you’re living in a certain part of town people don’t look at you and ask “Isn’t it kind of dark there?” And they don’t mean the amount of light. (No, I’m not kidding).

I know had this happened in another year the kid would’ve been able to read it  quickly enough and understand all the words that I’d have to start explaining hate for the sake of hate, racism, bigotry and all those fun states of mind that only exist because they’re taught.  I’m not looking forward to the day I have to explain these concepts to a 6 or 7 yo and that because of the religion he happens to have been born into one day he may encounter someone he’s never met who already hates him.

That day, now that day will be classic – you’ll see some high-level PR-Worthy spin.  I’ll let you know how it goes.

A Personal Request

So, I don’t usually like to do this, but I’ve got two personal requests today – one animal related, the other educational.

Animal

So, here’s the deal – For a number of years -ette and I had two dogs in the city. A bit after the second -ling arrived and our oldest (yes the one that’s a virtual clone) started pre-school, the pups got to be a bit too much to handle (for us). We’d had the oldest for over a decade and the younger as a companion pup for the older for a few years (he doesn’t like to be alone and has always had another dog in the house). Basically, between the amount of apartment that was penned off with kid gates and the amount of attention they lost in all the changes it simply wasn’t fair to them to keep them.

We searched for a proper home for them both for about a year. Since neither’s a purebred (Go Muts!!) breed specific rescues were uninterested and the age of the older one precluded him from most traditional means of finding a new home. We also wanted to keep them together if at all possible. Craigslist posting resulted in mixed results – the primary being flame emails (and anyone interested in doing that here, feel free – you won’t like my response or our next real-life encounter (and if you’re not a local — I will be in your city or within driving distance one day)) but nothing worthwhile to go on (that and selling your sofa on CL is one thing, giving away living creatures an entirely different matter).

Our dog-walker found it in her heart to make room in her home for them. She’s had them for about year but recently moved, started a new job, etc. and finds herself in a similar situation of trying to find them a new home. And so…I thought why not turn to the largest group of peers I’ve never met and see if anyone’s a mush and has room in their hearts and homes for two very loving dogs. Relevant details on the dogs below – they’re currently in Boston but we can make arrangements to get them to you. They both have basic animal health insurance (yes, such a thing exists) and we’ll continue to cover that cost for the duration of their lives.

  • The oldest is a 13 year old (Yellow) Labrador/Whippet mix (as far as anyone can guess). As part racing dog he’d love to have a fenced backyard to run in and chase imaginary things and after that a spot on the floor at your feet where he could watch TV (the last parts being the lab in him).He adores people and ideally needs someone who spends a lot of time at home (or can take him to work with them) and can spend a lot of time with him since he does gets anxious when he’s alone. Perfect for an older person or couple although he loves other dogs, cats and children. He still acts like a puppy, but is starting to get a little arthritic. Sweetest disposition ever, hands down.

    We had absolutely no hesitation (but monitored since I’m crazy like that) having him around the -lings at a very early age. When we introduced him to the younger pup at the rescue shelter the Lab’s first instinct was to prevent the new dog from getting anywhere near the kid. We actually had to remove ourselves from the situation to see if they got along.

  • The younger is an adorable long haired Chihuahua / Pekinese mix (an educated guess). We were told at the shelter that he was about 2 when we got him (which is about 5 years ago), though we suspect he’s a little bit older. He loves people, cats, dogs, children (though he is a little dog so older kids would be better). Very friendly and smart.

The dogs have been together for about 5 years and we’d like to keep them together if at all possible. It would certainly make the adjustment easier for them. You can reach me at my usual email address: prcog1 [at] gmail.com

Educational
The older -ling’s school (PS 89) is having Spring Auction in mid-April and is seeking items to auction. (Yes someone has submitted through the usual PR sources). Full text of what they do with the funds and what they’re looking for below. If you’ve got a client or someone else interested, drop me a line at the usual email address (prcog1 [at] gmail.com) and I’ll put you in touch with the right people.

Please help support our local public elementary school (PS 89) near the World Trade Center site in their spring auction (taking place on April 15, 2010). The annual auction is held to raise funds for technology upgrades, musical instruments, field trips and teacher workshops in order to help enrich our childrens’ education.

The school auction is attended by as many as 1,000 affluent families in the Battery Park City and Tribeca areas of Manhattan. All donors will receive a mention in the auction catalog and their company name mentioned in the auction.

Every donation is greatly helpful and appreciated so please don’t hesitate to suggest something you think may be too small for us. We can bundle it with other items in a lot for auction. We’re also happy to accept items that might be items that are out of season or need to be removed from your inventory to make room for new stock.

We would consider all donations but prefer products [rather than services] as they tend to auction better. Offers of gift certificates redeemable in the NYC area are also greatly appreciated.

Deadline for offers is February 1, 2010 and items that are accepted to be placed in the auction will be notified no later than February 15, 2010. Non-perishable products would have to be delivered no later than March 15, 2010. Special arrangements can be made for perishable products.

All donations are tax deductible.

Haiti Assist!

As any regular reader of this blog knows, or anyone who’s paid attention to our events, I’m a big supporter of 12for12K and the work they do (ok, I may have slacked a bit towards the end of 2009, but they still do great work).  The proceeds from Masquertweet went towards 12for12K as did a few ‘bounty’ donations for attendees, comments, followers, etc.

If you’re unfamiliar w/ 12for12K be sure to click the link above to find out more.  In their inaugural year they raised an amazing sum for various charities and are already back at it in 2010 helping Hope For Haiti raise funds for earthquake relief.

If you’re so inclined and able to donate use head on over to the 12for12K site‘s post for this cause and send in what you can.  It’ll make you feel good about yourself now.

And I’ll make you feel good about it later – any donor of over USD$50 gets a round on me at the next Masquertweet / PRBC meetup where we’re both in attendance.  Just drop me a note letting me know you gave through the Chipin widget at the 12for12K site, I’ll confirm with Mr. @DannyBrown and the first round is on me at the next get together.  (For legal purposes I’ll limit this for the time being to the first 20 donors and will update this number here as you fine folks step up, reach in (your pockets), and pull out (your cash).

Cheers.

Some great quotes…

I recently rediscovered from “Tunnel in the Sky” while doing some housekeeping.  My particular favorites are bolded.

“Man is the one animal that can’t be tamed. He goes along for years as peaceful as a cow, when it suits him. Then when it suits him not to be, he makes a leopard look like a tabby cat. Which goes double for the female of the species. ”

“Remember though, your best weapon is between your ears and under your scalp-provided it’s loaded.”

“Now keep your shirt on. I know you can make fire by rubbing a couple of dry words together.”

“And remember – when it gets down to fundamentals, do what you have to do and shed no tears.”

“…with weather, women, and wine there was nothing ‘just as good.'”

“Knew a man once who didn’t get shot at sunrise because he overslept the appointment.
Really? Who was he?
Young fellow I used to know. Myself.
Hunh? You really did, sir? You mean you were
Not a word of truth in it. Good stories are rarely true.”

“You used logic again … you use the stuff the way some people use dope. Why don’t you use your head instead?”