Seymour's Purple Mind

Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Wisdom of Human Forgiveness

2005-11-04T00:47:00.000-05:00

Sometime last spring, I noticed that Archbishop Desmond Tutu had been scheduled to speak in Greensboro as part of Guilford College's Bryan Series.

I noticed the date he had been scheduled to speak coincided with the 26th anniversary of one of Greensboro's darkest moments, the deadly confrontation that occurred on November 3, 1979 when Klansmen and Nazis showed up at a "Death to the Klan" rally organized by the Communist Workers Party.

Even more interesting was that the primary topic of Tutu's address was to be South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which Tutu co-chaired with South African President Nelson Mandela.

What struck me as interesting and made me wonder if the scheduling was coincidental or not was that a Truth and Reconciliation Commission had been formed in Greensboro to take a deeper look at what had occurred in Greensboro on that fateful day when I was only 7 years old.

I never followed up on securing tickets for the event, and with the busy season of teaching, it honestly had gotten tucked away in the back of my mind.

The day before Tutu was scheduled to speak, I received a reminder of the event.

jw, a fellow blogger, e-mailed me with an offer of a ticket she would be unable to use.

I immediately e-mailed her back to let her know I was definitely interested in the ticket she offered.

jw even made a special trip to make the ticket available for me. (Thank you, jw!)

I first heard of Desmond Tutu from Ms. Gloria Turlington, my seventh-grade social studies teacher at Allen Junior High School (now Allen Middle School), during the 1984-85 school year.

Social studies that year focused on Africa and Asia. Desmond Tutu had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and Ms. Turlington made sure we learned who Tutu was.

I don't know if I gained a clear understanding of South Africa's system of apartheid that year, but over time, I would gain knowledge of that modern-day system of white oppression against South Africa's blacks.

(Ms. Turlington was also my eighth-grade social studies teacher, and from her, I also gained knowledge of the Greensboro Sit-Ins and the Klan-Nazi's deadly confrontation with the Communist Workers Party. Thank you, Ms. Turlington!)

Tutu was an outstanding speaker.

It's amazing to realize that South Africa is now in its 11th year as a democratic society, with apartheid now a part of its past.

Modestly dressed, Tutu's power came through his words.

Hearing him speak, you understood completely why he deserves recognition as one of our world's great leaders.

At about 8:19 PM, after a brief film about Guilford College and introductory remarks by Joan Siefert Rose (general manager of North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC) and Kent Chabotar (Guilford College's president and professor of political science), Tutu stepped to the microphone and began his address.

I don't think I was alone in being fully mesmerized by the beautiful power of his words and thoughts.

At the heart of his message was the profound concept of human forgiveness.

Black South Africans, like black Americans, have every reason not to forgive their oppressors. That they have done so is remarkable. Forgiveness never comes easily, and it often goes against our basic instincts.

Tutu actually began by requesting a moment of silence in tribute to a great American who recently passed away, Rosa Parks.

His next remarks brought laughter as Tutu told of dining in a restaurant and having a waiter notice his strange accent. The waiter asked Tutu if he was American. The waiter then asked, "Are you a famous singer or something?" Tutu told us, "I thought that was good for the soul," inspiring laughter from his captive audience.

He called it a privilege to come to our city, the first in our own nation to explore a truth and reconciliation effort.

Tutu recounted how some expected a race war in South Africa when apartheid was toppled.

Surely, black South Africans would desire revenge--perhaps in the form of violence--against the white South Africans who had treated its black countrymen with such thorough brutality and oppression.

Tutu argued that there was no doubt that the victory over apartheid would occur. In our modern universe, he said, there is no way that evil and injustice can have the last word. (I hope he is always ultimately correct in this view.)

Tutu praised the international community that protested on behalf of black South Africans against apartheid. He acknowledged American college students and others around the world for helping to change the moral climate in his own country.

Tutu said that it was fantastic to be able to say that black South Africans used to come asking for help and received support from abroad so that they are now free.

He pointed out how the skeptics and cynics predicted the most ghastly orgy of revenge but that the prophets of doom were proved wrong.

He added that those prophets of doom were proven wrong in part because of how the truth and reconciliation process amazed the world with the ability the forgive.

Many did call for Nuremberg-like trials as a means of securing so-called victor's justice.

But Tutu pointed out how devastating such trials would ultimately proven for his country.

Some complained that the perpetrators of apartheid were being let off lightly.

But Tutu asked, "Is this the case?"

He pointed out the far superior benefits of the restorative justice pursued through truth and reconciliation compared to retributive justice that focused instead on punishment.

Tutu emphasized that the essence of being human is that a person is a person to other persons.

"My humanity is caught up in your humanity. When you are dehumanized, I am dehumanized," he said.

Tutu said that God is smart: God created us so we can never be self-sufficient.

"I need you for what I lack as you need me for what you lack."

As Tutu remarked, we humans are created for interdependence; we can't say that others are superfluous.

He described how black South Africans gained knowledge of where the bodies were of loved ones who had been murdered. Even finding just a single bone of a loved one at least allowed for closure through a proper burial for that loved one.

As Tutu put it, "there can be no future without forgiveness."

He cited what occurs today too often in the Middle East with the neverending cycle of vengeful violence.

Toward the end of his address, Tutu said, "You and I are created by God to be like God. We each of us have a God-space within us."

He ended by mentioning some of the good things we are made for: laughter, compassion, caring, peace, joy, and happiness.

Tutu named some other great individuals: Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks.

Thank you, Guilford College, for arranging for one of the world's greatest leaders to address our community.

The lessons he shared are ones that will benefit any corner of our earth that embraces them, including our own corner right here in Greensboro.

The Ultimate Halloween Compliment

2005-11-01T23:04:00.000-05:00

Today was not Halloween.

It was the day after Halloween, the beginning of a brand new month.

Students returned to school today, having enjoyed an extra day off yesterday--it was set aside as a teacher workday, a day for teachers to get their grades for the first quarter turned in and work on anything and everything else that we try to keep up with.

A student had warned me last Friday of his post-Halloween plans.

He did not forget to follow through on his plans.

I believe he told me he made a special trip to the thrift shop just to buy a purplish dress shirt.

He wore olive green slacks.

No tie, which I told him ruined the overall effect.

Yes, folks, this young man, in the spirit of Halloween, dressed up as me!

I let him know how great he looked--not because I look great, but because he looked great AS ME. (It's kind of like me getting Tom Cruise or Denzel Washington or Brad Pitt to play me in a movie--automatically, the player looks better than the man getting played!)

I did criticize him for not wearing a tie. I wear the most gorgeous purple ties you've ever seen. My student should have done the same. (Of course, today, of all days, I'm tie-less, so I can't even take mine off and let him wear it. I know, like an extra cape, I should keep an extra tie or two handy at all times.)

Hey, just chill.

No worries.

He returns to Mr. Russillo's A.A., and not long after, he's coming back down the hall, wearing a spiffy purple tie.

I'm thinking, "Wow! Mr. Russillo had a spare purple tie just waiting for a student to put on. How cool!"

I take the young man's picture. (Stay tuned--I will post it if I can get his permission to do so!)

And I ask him, "Where'd you get that cool tie?"

And it's pointed out to me, it's a homemade tie. Made out of construction paper. I kid you not--I thought it was real!

So I learned that I've wasted a lot of money over the years buying beautiful ties. (Don't worry too much--I find them pretty cheap.) As it turns out, I could have made my own for an even cheaper price. Spill some spaghetti sauce on my brand-new tie? No problem. Just rip it off, throw it away and make a new one!

I didn't see this young man the majority of the day because I had to take my class down to the computer lab to take the state computer test. (New format and everything.)

But he made my day.

How many people can honestly say that someone dressed up as them for Halloween?

I know that lumps me in there with all kinds of devilish creatures--ghosts and vampires and monsters and the like--but still, I choose to take it as a compliment.

Thanks, Cody!

Dirty Political Sign Placement in High Point

2005-10-27T23:57:00.000-04:00

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Citizens in High Point will have the opportunity to vote Tuesday, November 8, 2005 to determine who will represent them on their city council.

In Ward 6, Timothy Daren Brown and Lisa Stahlmann are running against each other.

Over the last few weeks, more and more signs for High Point City Council candidates have started popping up on the roads I travel to get to my job at Southwest Guilford Middle School.

A couple nights ago, I noticed one well-placed sign for Lisa Stahlmann facing me from across the road as I arrived at a stop sign.

Anyone traveling the one-way street you must travel after leaving any of the three Southwest Guilford schools would ultimately arrive at this intersection.

Between stopping and making either a left or right turn, it would be difficult not to notice Mrs. Stahlmann's sign. I took a picture of the sign last night but did not post it. (I teach Mrs. Stahlmann's son and thought I might make a post about teaching the son of a candidate.)

As I left the school earlier this evening, I was greeted with a different sight: someone had placed a sign for Mr. Brown in front of Mrs. Stahlmann's sign.

I hope Mr. Brown had absolutely nothing to do with this dirty strategy.

I hope I am safe in assuming that Mr. Brown would just as well not have the support of someone who would stoop this low on his behalf.

I left the signs as they were and took a picture of what some poor, misguided soul did.

To have placed Mr. Brown's sign beside Mrs. Stahlmann's sign would have been fair game in my book.

But placing it directly in front of her sign can only be labeled as a dirty, "by-any-means-necessary" act by the kind of supporter any candidate would be better off without.

Hopefully a Brown supporter or Mr. Brown himself will have the decency to move the sign and discourage his supporters from behaving with blatant disrespect toward his opponent.

I wish the best to all the candidates for the High Point and Greensboro city councils.

I hope all candidates and their supporters will conduct themselves with respect and civility toward all, including their opponents.

Otherwise, your participation and involvement in our local politics is unwelcome and unwanted.

The Cartoon Is Straight, But The Subject Is Shaky

2005-10-25T23:33:00.000-04:00

I plead guilty: I love Plead the First.

Especially with material like this!

Cartoons like this and this are exactly what the News & Record needs more often.

I appreciate the cartoons they choose to print.

I just wish they'd add more local cartoons.

The wealth of material in this area may not be as grand as having PTL in your backyard, but we still have some mighty fine material that a talented cartoonist could surely mine and exploit without too much effort.

Three Great Halloween Flicks

2005-10-23T23:07:00.000-04:00

The movies I list below are a little less mainstream than the movies some prefer to associate with Halloween.

I would argue that your time would be better spent with these three movies than with most of the rest of the lot.

Two of these are far scarier than most, and all three are better than what many of you are probably used to seeing this time of year.

1) "Frailty" is one of the most chilling horror movies I've ever seen.

As I recall, it's Bill Paxton's directorial debut.

He also stars in it, along with Matthew McConaughey and Powers Boothe. (The movie also gets two very strong performances from its child stars, Matt O'Leary and Jeremy Sumpter.)

What makes the movie so disturbing is its involvement of children and religion.

When I first saw it in a theatre, I didn't walk out thinking "This could be true."

But I did walk out thinking, "What if this were true?"

(I may be making a shaky distinction here, but I think one can be made between those two responses.)

Bill Paxton can come across as one of the most down-to-earth characters you'd ever hope to meet (as he did as a sheriff in "One False Move"), and he has that effect in this movie.

That makes what he does and what he claims to be true even more frightening, I think.

He doesn't wear a mask, and he's not grotesque in appearance or in demeanor.

That somehow only makes his deeds come across as even more sinister.

And at the same time, you're eventually forced to step back and wonder if his deeds aren't actually a good thing, perhaps even God-directed.

It's a disturbing movie, and it's complicated in what it lays out also.

It's been awhile since I've seen it, but I know it left a powerful impression, and it definitely ranks as one of the best horror films I've ever seen--as well as much more than simply a horror film.

2) "Donnie Darko" focuses on a young, deeply disturbed teen who does things that only confirm to us that he needs a lot of help.

He's actually getting that help through a psychiatrist played by Katherine Ross (of "The Graduate" fame).

His parents are supportive and loving, but they don't seem to know what to do about their son's often anti-social ways.

He doesn't seem evil, but he does seem to be battling some internal demons.

In particular, a tall, dark bunny rabbit appears at times, talking to Donnie and telling him to do certain things that don't seem to be things he should be doing. Seeing this particular bunny may forever corrupt any previous images you may have had of cute little bunny rabbits.

The issue of time travel pops up, as do some interesting characters played by the likes of Drew Barrymore and Patrick Swayze. Their roles and purposes in the movie are varied. Jena Malone does a wonderful job as the new girl who makes the fateful decision to "go with" Donnie.

At the title character, Jake Gyllenhaal is great. He is likeable, and I found myself pulling for him, even as I recognized that he's hurting and in need of some help.

The ending is either one of the happiest or saddest endings to a movie, depending on how you choose to respond to it. In that respect, this is not your typical Halloween movie.

But there is an edge of darkness to it, and it is set around Halloween.

It's a genuinely all-around fascinating experience, regardless of whether its logic ultimately holds up.

3) "Dark Night Of The Scarecrow" was apparently made for TV.

I first saw it when I was probably too young to be seeing such a movie.

It scared me to death.

A young child is again a central character.

The story centers around an ugly, stupid vigilante group that forms in a small town when it's thought that a large, mentally challenged man savagely mauled a little girl.

Before giving themselves time to find out the truth--that the man they think harmed the little girl actually saved her from near-certain death at the jaws of a vicious dog--these men kill the low-functioning man who has hidden himself in scarecrow's clothes propped up on a stick out in the middle of a field.

One-by-one the men involved in the cold-blooded murder of an innocent meet the most horrible fates you can imagine.

One scene toward the end shows the little girl out in the field in the middle of the night holding a scarecrow's hand. She's talking to him, calling him by the name of the dead mentally challenged man, Bubba. (Bubba was played by Larry Drake.)

There's another chilling scene involving a tea kettle.

Another involving a silo.

Charles Durning, playing a mailman, stands out as the leader of the vigilante group.

This one's a whole lot scarier than your typical fare this time of year.

Blood and guts don't have to be a part of the recipe to stir up genuine fright.

(I'd almost be willing to suggest a remake of this movie, except that I'd be deeply afraid that Hollywood would mess it up. I believe you might be able to find this in some video stores, though I don't know if there is a DVD version. If not, there should be!)

If you've already seen these movies, or if you rent any of them to watch, let me know your own impressions. Also, what movies would you recommend that are a bit more out of the mainstream?

Repeated Stabbing of the Throat Doesn't Feel Great

2005-10-23T22:11:00.000-04:00

I didn't feel 100% Thursday. I felt weak and tired.

Friday morning provided a better clue as to what was wrong with me.

My throat hurt every time I swallowed, as if someone was stabbing me in the throat with a knife. (I've never had that done to me, and I don't actually know what it feels like--I'm speculating a little bit here.)

It's a sharp pain, and it makes you want to avoid swallowing.

I went into school since I didn't have a sub, but I started to think that it would probably be a good idea to arrange for covers.

My self-diagnosis, based on that pain I hadn't felt in several years but which I was pretty sure I had experienced before, was that I had strep throat. In addition to causing personal misery, it's also supposed to be highly contagious.

So I tried to keep away from everyone.

I got everything together during morning planning, and I arranged for covers, knowing how much I hated to put people in that position but also knowing that it was necessary for me to be able to leave and go see the doctor.

(Covers are fellow teachers who take over your class during your absence when you don't have a sub. If you want to ruin a teacher's day, put him or her in the position of having to cover for your class. Sometimes it's unavoidable. I don't have an exact count, but I think I've used covers a total of three days (maybe) during going-on-10 years of teaching. If at all avoidable, I make sure other teachers don't have to cover my class.)

Left school, went to the doctor, got my throat swabbed, and sure enough, when the doctor returned, he confirmed what I strongly suspected: I had strep throat.

Got my medicine, began taking it, slept a lot, watched some TV when awake, drank plenty of fluids, and now, Sunday evening, my throat is no longer in any pain when I swallow.

According to the doctor, I'm no longer contagious.

Plan to be back at work tomorrow.

Highlights of the weekend entirely indoors?

Got to watch Carolina beat Virginia 7-5. (I loved the way the game ended. You can't beat that kind of entertainment!)

Watched a favorite movie, "Donnie Darko." A good movie to see this time of the year. It is "R"-rated, primarily for its language--the characters don't always treat each other very well or say the nicest things to one another, which actually makes it similar to real life at times. I cry at the end of this movie every time I see it--there's something deeply touching about the ending, once you sit back and think about what just took place.

Greensboro Be Not Proud

2005-10-20T22:50:00.000-04:00

If you live in Greensboro, you should be ashamed by this cartoon (even though it might also inspire a guilty laugh or two).

I almost wish current members of the Greensboro City Council would abandon all hopes of re-election and vote in something worse than we can possibly imagine so that at least a voter or two more might wake up before the Tuesday, November 11th general election.

It extends much deeper and further than Greensboro.

It's an American issue too.

After 9/11, I fully thought that America was going to wake up for real.

Now, I would not argue that America ever really woke up.

We're still WIDE asleep, folks!

And very, very few of us care or have any meaningful embarrassment about all the things that should deeply inspire or shame us.

(It's NOT just an NBA thing!)

New NBA Dress Code Does Not Go Nearly Far Enough

2005-10-20T22:06:00.000-04:00

Click here and scroll down to see the style of dress I would require of NBA players if I was NBA Commissioner.

Too many NBA players are obviously not embarrassed by their words, actions, and overall behavior.

So let's force them to wear a style of dress that may embarrass them into earning back the freedom to wear what they want.

As a teacher, I make a chunk of what NBA players make. ("Chunk" implies a far greater portion of an NBA salary than I actually make!)

And I abide by a dress code.

I don't receive extra money to pay for my wardrobe.

I also have to follow a code of conduct that would result in a gigantic NBA labor loss if it was implemented for even one day for NBA players.

I whine a lot less than NBA players, though I promise you that I have an infinitely longer list of legitimate things to be complaining about.

And I'll be honest: when I deal with students whose behaviors and attitudes can only be described as horrible, I can very often step back and observe that they are merely emulating their favorite heroes in the sports and entertainment industries.

While we're discussing policy changes, let's change taxes so people in the sports and entertainment fields have to pay a special tax that supports higher salaries for teachers. (We could label it a "sin tax" for their poor behavior--I'm not opposed to only taxing the ones who misrepresent the beauty of basketball and the positive potential of the human race. And it's fine with me if it's applied to all areas of sports and entertainment that involve obscene profits and salaries.)

Let's also retire the NBA's public service announcements that feature NBA players touting higher values than they represent on and off the court--allegedly in the name of children.

Philadelphia's Allen Iverson: "It's just tough, man, knowing that all of a sudden you have to have a dress code out of nowhere. I don't think that's going to help the image of the league at all. ... It kind of makes it fake. The whole thing is fake."

Iverson beautifully summed up my attitude toward NBA public service announcements: "The whole thing is fake."

(I'm going to promise Mr. Sun and others not to refer to that post again--unless another great cause pops up--but it brightens my day every time I see it!)

Dudley Assistant Principal Feeds Aggie Pride

2005-10-19T23:17:00.000-04:00

Only a couple years ago, David Jarmon abandoned his post as a sixth-grade math and science teacher at Southwest Guilford Middle School to become assistant principal at my alma mater, James B. Dudley Senior High School.

Southwest's loss was definitely Dudley's gain.

But before any of this went down, Jarmon was an Aggie.

And he still is.

I almost missed the article in today's News & Record about Jarmon's tailgating exploits.

Titled "Game Day Gourmet," this article focuses on the extreme attention to detail these master tailgaters apply to their part-time trade.

It's no surprise that one of Jarmon's favorite pasttimes involves food.

But it's also important for people to know how much genuine love and concern he's shown children over the years.

I know he's having the same powerfully positive impact at Dudley that he had for years at Southwest Middle.

Anyone who's ever met Jarmon will never forget him. He makes that strong of an impression.

I know I'm not alone in missing him at Southwest.

I also know I'm lucky to be able to count him among my friends, and every time I hear from him or see him, it brings back all the good memories of when he was a fellow middle school teacher.

My only complaint is that Jarmon left many of us scarred for life, suffering from regular nightmares, when he crashed one of our pep rallies in a blond wig, a cheerleader's outfit, and pom poms.

You can't erase as frightening an image as that away from your memories.

Don't forget to check out the News & Record story!

There's a picture of Jarmon on the side too.

(NOT in his cheerleading uniform, in case you were afraid to check it out!)

No Biting, Ripping, Clawing, Chewing, Chomping, or Devouring Allowed!

2005-10-18T20:04:00.000-04:00

If you've been bitten lately, you may need more than a rabies shot . . .

Initial Rebirth Of NC NAACP Will Prove Disappointing Without Long-term Results

2005-10-18T19:12:00.000-04:00

The Editorial Staff of the Wilmington Journal shows no restraint in expressing its enthusiasm for the Rev. William Barber's victory against Skip Alston in the state NAACP presidency race.

"Rev. Barber’s victory was extraordinary, and certainly a blessing, because members were losing faith and trust in the leadership – if that’s what you want to call it – of the ethically-challenged Skip Alston, who fancied himself as an “insider” who got things done."

Also:

"Problem was under Alston, the NAACP wasn't standing for anybody, except Alston, who used it to further his profile, to advance his personal agenda."

The editorial includes this bold declaration:

"Our State NAACP has now been reborn."

Hopefully Barber will not fall prey to the same temptations that apparently influenced Alston's leadership.

Barber has won the election and deserves full support.

But he must also prove himself in his new role.

History has seen bad leadership replaced with worse leadership, and that is something neither the NAACP nor our state can afford to tolerate.

As we've seen with some of the regime changes our own country has helped orchestrate over the years, I hope we're not anxiously anticipating Barber's replacement ten years from now.

Winning an election is one of the most meaningless accomplishments a person can achieve in life; the significance of winning any election only comes from what you do with that victory.

I've heard great things about the Rev. Barber. From a distance, I've become a casual fan of his, particularly because of my own hopes that Alston would lose this election.

I hope some day to meet the Rev. Barber, and I hope that he exceeds everyone's positive expectations as president of the North Carolina NAACP.

(More about Barber from the Wilmington Journal. Continued thanks to the Political Agitator for keeping us all informed!)

Beware of Dark Vader and the Under Toad

2005-10-17T23:17:00.000-04:00

The Ramblin' Prose parents are already receiving requests for Halloween costumes from their children.

Abby and Camille seem more interested in their parents' costumes than their own.

Abby wants her mom to be a witch.

Camille thinks it'd be cool for her dad to become "Dark" Vader.

They've reminded me of that wonderful literary creation, the Under Toad, that fearsome, dream-haunting creature Garp warned his sons about in John Irving's "The World According to Garp."

Miraculously enough, they've also reminded me of a favorite Prince tune. At least Herb understands!

For Susan, my mentioning of the Under Toad begot memories of another Irving masterpiece, "A Prayer for Owen Meany." (I loved "The World According to Garp," but I'll have to agree with Susan that "A Prayer for Owen Meany" is on an even higher plane.)

Anyone else interested in adding a connection here?

Katherine Gold Recognized As Southwest Middle's September Teacher of the Month

2005-10-17T20:54:00.000-04:00

Teacher of the Month: Mrs. Katherine Gold

Grade Level: Sixth Grade

Team: The Herd

School: Southwest Guilford Middle School

Nominated by: Ashton Caldwell

Reason for the Nomination: I chose Mrs. Gold not only for her teaching but for her personality also. She is sweet but firm. She disciplines at the right time. I also enjoy the way she teaches. She helps you when you need it, and she is a person that you could talk to if you need to. These are some of the reasons I chose Mrs. Gold.

Additional Information About Mrs. Gold:

Mrs. Gold has lived in High Point her entire life. She earned her degree at High Point University and started her teaching career at Southwest Guilford Middle School in the fall of 1996. This school year is her tenth year teaching sixth-grade math and science. She and Bob Gold, her husband of seven years, have two sons, Bobby (4 years old) and Brandon (1 1/2 years old).

Additional Questions:

What's your best experience/memory as a teacher?

"There are so many. I guess my greatest memories come from when you're working with a child that is struggling and when you take him out of that full classroom and work with him by himself. You can start to see him understand too. It's true, all students can learn. Some just at their own pace. And I enjoy most seeing the light bulb go on, when it seems as though it's been off for awhile."

What else would you like to share about yourself or your teaching?

"I really enjoy teaching with all the staff at Southwest. They're a very special group of individuals."

What are some of your hobbies/interests, besides teaching?

"Watching TV, working out, and being outdoors, especially during the summer."

Congratulations to Mrs. Gold for this honor!

She is one of the many talented staff members at our school. In addition to being a top-notch teacher, Mrs. Gold is also one of the most genuinely nice people you could ever hope to know. Her students recognize and appreciate this trait, as do her fellow staff members. Our school is extremely fortunate to have her, and this honor is well-earned and much deserved.

Cowgirls Transform Themselves Into "Steel Magnolias"

2005-10-16T23:40:00.000-04:00

I almost didn't go to the 7:30 PM production of "Steel Magnolias" at Southwest Guilford High School Saturday evening.

I had just finished my People To People meeting and actually spent several minutes debating with myself whether to drive all the way over to the high school.

Only in hindsight can you sometimes appreciate what a good or bad decision you've made.

I definitely made the right decision: I got to the high school about 7:20 PM.

Besides the people I mentioned here, I also saw former student Lindsay James, who's now a sophomore at Gardner-Webb, as well as some parents of former students.

I discovered from the program that three of the six actresses in the play were students I had taught.

Ashley Martin played Truvy. She played the role of the sassy beauty salon owner exceptionally well, so much so that I had a difficult time recognizing her as the student I once taught. Ashley was one of the pioneer writers for the Rough Writers Express and was a pleasure to teach her eighth-grade year. It was very cool to see her playing Truvy. One of the many great laughs of the evening was when she made her appearance in Act II with a way-out-there hairdo--not that I'd ever laugh at someone else's hairdo!

Kerri Lowe played Shelby. It is not a surprise to see Kerri on stage. She was a member of our school's Odyssey of the Mind team as a seventh grader, and she was one of the hosts of our school's "SW1" TV show as an eighth-grader. She also does ballet. Again, watching Kerri in this role was like seeing a completely different person. Kerri's one of the top intellectuals I've ever known as a students--the main common link between her and Shelby is their strong sense of independence.

All of the characters require great skill by the actresses who are going to play them. Mattie Swanson played Ouiser, and every appearance she made in the play represented attention-getting at its best. Her grand entrances were always dramatic, and the most amazing thing was that she didn't break down laughing herself because her performance was hilarious. Mattie had a great attitude in the eighth-grade and was also a very good student. It takes a special person to be so comfortable in their own skin that they're so completely unafraid to inhabit a role such as the one of Ouiser.

The other three actresses were super also.

As M'Lynn, Sonja Makitan brought tears to my eyes--literally--as she captured the pain and suffering of losing her daughter, Shelby.

Larissa Shirley as Clairee played a wonderful foil to Mattie Swanson's Ouiser.

Rachel Smith did a great job capturing the drastic changes Annelle goes through after being hired to work at Truvy's beauty salon. I checked with fellow teacher Jim Bellows to make sure I was thinking of the right Rachel Smith, and he confirmed that she's the same student who was a member of our school's wrestling team as an eighth-grader. She's obviously multi-talented.

The common quality of all of these talented young actresses is how obviously unafraid they are to pour themselves into roles far different from their own personalities.

There were some wonderful lines in the play, ones that came back to me as ones I had heard before in the movie version.

It's a testament to their abilities as actresses that their performances elicited exactly the emotions and reactions you'd want your audience to experience.

There were countless out-loud laughs from the audience.

I don't know how many eyes became wet during the performance, but I'd be lying if I tried to claim that my own eyes didn't get a little wet. (And just as suddenly as that started to happen, a very funny moment in the play occurred, jerking my emotions back-and-forth rather manipulatively and impressively.)

These are a few of the lines you may recall:

"No such a thing as natural beauty." (from a beauty salon owner's perspective)

"It's the 80s, if you can achieve puberty, you have a past." (sad but often true, maybe even more so now than in the 80s)

"There was something attractive about how stupid he looked (dancing)." (referring to a man that would some day become her husband--do women really think we look stupid when we're doing our best to impress?)

"The nicest thing I can say about her is all her tattoos are spelled correctly." (ouch!)

"I could just spit." (hilarious hearing Mattie as Ouiser deliver this line, for multiple reasons)

The last performance was Saturday evening. Otherwise, I'd insist that you make the same trek I did over to the high school.

I'll try to let you know in advance about their next performance.

Yes, the performers and behind-the-scenes folks are high school students.

But I promise: as you're watching the performance, you'll quickly and completely forget that.

Behind-the-Scenes Stars Of "Steel Magnolias"

2005-10-16T22:57:00.000-04:00

It's been years since I last saw "Steel Magnolias." I remember enjoying it and thinking it was a very good movie. I recall memories of laughing and crying.

But the specific details of the story had become vague--I wouldn't dare label them "specific" any more, at least not in my mind.

My mom told me earlier in the week that she was planning to attend the play version of "Steel Magnolias" at Southwest Guilford High School--the daughter of some friends from church was going to be in it. (Larissa Shirley attended Penn-Griffin Middle School her eighth-grade year, so I didn't have the opportunity to teach her.)

And Jim Bellows, a seventh-grade math teacher at Southwest Guilford Middle School, had told me that Kerri Lowe, a student we had both taught, had invited us to attend.

So after my People to People Student Ambassadors meeting at UNC-G, I traveled down the road to Southwest Guilford High School, arriving just a few minutes before it was scheduled to begin.

Before I even made it inside the theatre, I got to see Gina Greer, Brad Becton, Chris Nielsen, and Joanna Canipe.

I taught Chris Nielsen a few years ago. He's an intelligent young man who's now applying his talents as a carpenter and member of the stage crew. Chris's appearance has changed drastically since he was in the eighth-grade--he inhabits a different body and his hair is very different from back then. I'm embarrassed every time he has to re-introduce himself to me, at which point I'm able to look a little closer and recognize his faint resemblance to his eighth-grade self.

Joanna Canipe was awesome as an eighth-grader, and she doesn't seem to have lost that quality. As a senior, she's already a published poet, and she's obviously involved in the plays Southwest puts on. I have not seen her perform on stage yet, but I remember her powerful voice from her eighth-grade year. Even her classmates, recognized her superior voice when she read out loud in class.

I didn't teach Gina Greer and Brad Becton, but I had the pleasure of getting to know them as eighth-graders.

Gina Greer was a strong, positive force on our Rough Writers Express student newspaper staff its first year of publication. She also was one of our track stars, breaking school records in the shot put.

Brad Becton was the only eighth-grader on our school's Odyssey of the Mind team a couple years ago. We actually had more sixth-graders than members from the older classes that year, and those sixth-graders are now in the middle of their own eighth-grade year.

Katie Scott, who was a member of my Positive Publicity Plus poster-making club, served as the play's Stage Manager.

Kathryn Szelkowski, whom I taught a few years ago, served as Assistant Stage Manager. It was great to find out she was involved in this production.

Josh Hodgson, now a senior, was also one of my students. I've seen him perform on stage a few times, and I've always thoroughly enjoyed his performances. But for this production, he served as Technical Director.

Also, from the program for "Steel Magnolias," the following people deserve recognition:

Tanya Hiller served as director, and Jeff Aguiar was the Assistant Director.

Hannah Ratcliff served as Sound Operator.

The Deck Crew included Brandy Thompson and Paris Torrence.

Special thanks to Margaret Hodgson, Lisa Lowe, Sue Nielsen, Jonathan Scott, Diane Mildon-Smith, Dawn Hurt, Dudley's Beauty School, Donnelle Bivens, Josh Broadwell, and Melissa Kernstine. (I taught Donnelle Bivens also--the program did not identify his role in the play, and I didn't get to see him at the play.)

Congratulations to all of these individuals for the phenomenal job they did on this production! It was a tremendous all-around success.

Preparing For My Fourth Year of Travel With Ambassadors

2005-10-16T22:26:00.000-04:00

I'm preparing for my fourth summer of travel as a team leader for students traveling with People to People's Student Ambassador and Sports Ambassador programs.

The orientation for nominated students and their families from this area was held at UNC-G's Elliott Center Saturday.

The orientation sessions were set up for the different age brackets.

I attended the last one for fifth and sixth graders. It began at 5:00 PM, but families began arriving as early as 4:00 PM.

We gave students their own application booklets, as well as a "Meet Your Delegation Leader" sheet and a "Student Ambassador Interview Information" sheet.

The presentation, which included two short films about the program, an explanation of the application process, and brief statements by students who have traveled before and their parents, lasted about an hour.

This year's trip for fifth and sixth graders from this area is called the 2006 Yosemite Adventure.

I've been to California three times before and have always loved Yosemite. It's been nearly 10 years since my last visit so I'm excited about this opportunity. Plus, it will be neat to observe young students experiencing Yosemite for the first time.

We will also spend time in San Francisco.

Two of my colleagues at Southwest Guilford Middle School will hopefully be traveling with me this year: Diane Cook, an E.C. teacher, and Justin Horne, a fellow eighth-grade language arts teacher.

Special thanks to Tony Hairston, yet another eighth-grade language arts teacher at Southwest, for making this opportunity available for others and me.

How Can The News & Record Make Its Opinion Pages Even Better?

2005-10-15T02:31:00.000-04:00

Editorial Page Editor Allen Johnson:

"The News & Record is exploring ways to make its opinion pages livelier, more open and more informative. And we need your help.

Please share your ideas on the kinds of changes or additions you'd like to see."

Allen shares some of the suggestions readers submitted.

I agree with Chewie's comment:

"In case no one else said it, regarding #4:

Whatever you do, please don't eliminate Leonard Pitts. He gets better every year."

(Someone actually recommended, "Eliminate Leonard Pitts, who contributes nothing." I wish I could express "nothing" as well as Pitts does!)

These are the suggestions I submitted:

1. They should do it on their own, but invite all municipal candidates for the general election to submit a brief statement about why voters should choose them. Devote a portion of the opinion pages to these candidates in the days leading up to the November 11th election.

2. I've seen announcements on the editorial pages for "young" writers, but I've gotten the impression that these notices have drawn relatively low interest. One of the absolute best additions to the News & Record has been "The 'Boro." The opinion pages should aggressively shoot for something very similar in nature. I don't mean to devote quite the amount of space that goes toward "The 'Boro." But create a regular teen opinion column. This is one area where I believe the High Point Enterprise has done a better job over the years. Doug Clark may have more insight into that--I never have checked out the HPE as much as I should, but I do know that over the years its had some form of a regular teen opinion column.

3. I love the News & Record and all that it offers. But it's a travesty that it doesn't have a regular cartoonist to cover local "stuff." With all the homegrown, ready-to-be-exposed-and-exploited material we have right under our noses!?! The Rhino(ceros Times) beats the News & Record in this one area. To me, this would be an excellent investment for the opinion pages--a regularly appearing cartoon that captures our local flavor is one of the most needed additions at this time.

4. More regular use of specific topics to invite a diversity of voices on that topic. This is used sporadically--make it a more regular feature.

5. Believe it was the "Public Pulse." Do that, but rotate more folks in and out. Or at least bring it back. I liked that feature.

6. Would be curious for more regular columns from Tracie Fellers and Ken Irons. Maybe it's not in the cards for them to be weekly like Allen and Doug. But it'd be cool to hear from them through their own at least occasional columns.

7. Continue to think of creative, interesting ways to promote blogging--both the newspaper's own blogs and other blogs in our community. The pieces devoted to (David) Wharton and (Joe) Guarino were great! Continue to do that when it fits and works. Same for "Mixing It Up."

8. Forums sponsored by the News & Record and others have been beneficial for our community, particularly when coupled with extensive news coverage of accompanying issues. Nice combined effort of news and editorial sections. Figure out additional worthwhile topics and issues. Connect with other sponsors, as you've been doing.

9. Continue to tap the local universities and colleges.

10. Believe you've done so before, but continue inviting readers in for roundtable discussions about the newspaper, blogging, and our community.

Fans of Purple Can Be Found At Bed, Bath, and Beyond!

2005-10-15T00:29:00.000-04:00

WARNING: The title of this post may be completely inaccurate. But you may have to read to the end to find out why.

I posted this last night. If you missed it, click here to see a thing of beauty!

It attracted the interest of this commenter:

"Cool Fan !! Are the blades made of soft foam? Where can we get one???"

Yes, the fan's blades are indeed made of soft foam.

Since it was a gift from my father, I didn't know how much the fan cost.

I was figuring it might have cost at least a few hundred dollars for such a priceless item.

But I wanted to get a more precise figure so that you'd know how much money you needed to start setting aside.

Not knowing a better source than the gift-giver himself, I had a great excuse to visit my dad earlier this evening! (Any excuse is a good excuse, as Fecund Stench reminds us).

I have set up the fan in my classroom, and it has generated a respectable level of student interest. A few students have asked me where I got my fan; they want to get one too!

I showed my dad the "purple fan" post and asked him where he'd gotten the fan from and how much it had cost.

He left the room for a minute and returned with a box containing a pink version of the fan he'd given me. On the outside of the box, it had a price tag of $9.99.

But when he got it a couple weeks ago, Dad told me he'd gotten it for half price.

Who wouldn't have bought at least two of these fans under such circumstances?!

And where did he get the fans?

Bed, Bath, and Beyond, of course!

My Dad told me he didn't have any plans for the pink fan.

I told him Brother Brice of Greenville, South Carolina's Bonefish Grill might like one.

I know you're already rushing away from your computer, grabbing your keys, and jumping into your car so that you can head on over to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and pick up one of these babies for your own pad (or classroom).

I'd call first. They may have already sold out.

In that case, you may want to put in your own special order . . . for yourself . . . or for a loved one . . . or for perfect strangers whose lives you hope to brighten.

Hey, can you think of a more perfect gift for a birthday or Christmas or any other gift-giving holiday?

Folks, as you probably already guessed, there are on-line options: there's purple, pink, and even turquoise.

Listed price?

$7.49.

At this point, you're no doubt already jumping up and down, enthusiastically singing "Let's Go Crazy!"!

Yes, let's!

But before you go crazy, please keep in mind that these fans are listed as part of a clearance.

I only wish you the best in getting your hands on one.

'Cause as everyone knows, nothing makes you cooler than owning a cool fan.

Midnight Riders Poster Unveiled

2005-10-13T22:17:00.000-04:00

Since about my second year of teaching, I've been a member of the Midnight Riders Team at Southwest Guilford Middle School.

Drew Sparks (social studies teacher) and I (language arts teacher) are two of the original Midnight Riders. Renee Faenza (math) is working on long-term status as a Midnight Rider now. (If my math's correct, this is year number five for Mrs. Faenza as a Midnight Rider.) Steve Russillo (science) just joined the team this school year and is a welcome edition to the team.

We just received posters, like the one above, with our new logo prominently displayed.

Our team tee-shirts and hoodies--with all of our students' names on them--should be arriving any day now.

We have a new person to thank for our team clothing gear this year. (I believe it was her idea to get the posters printed for us. We have four of them, one for each teacher on our team. Wonder if we should try selling the posters for the students?)

I want to get permission before letting everyone know who deserves credit and thanks for hooking our team up so well.

Pretty soon, I plan to share information about the Rough Writers Express, our school newspaper. That's a different story, for a different day.

A Purple Fan In My Hand

2005-10-13T20:27:00.000-04:00

"Alston Needs To Close His Achievement Gap" (letter to the editor)

2005-10-13T18:59:00.000-04:00

A letter to the editor I submitted Sunday evening appeared in today's News & Record.

I don't know if Skip Alston will read it or take to heart what it says.

But for his political future and the all-around sake of our community, I hope Alston will realize how important it is for him to change the way he too often has chosen to do business.

Multiple Personalities: Playing Both Good Cop And Bad Cop With Skip Alston

2005-10-13T00:21:00.000-04:00

I try to think very carefully about what I'm saying.

In some ways--maybe many ways--I do too much of that.

One thing I set out to do is to try to look at issues from as many different angles as possible.

When I write, I try to take into consideration how others might read what I write. That's important when I'm trying to make a point that I'm hoping others will get.

Tone is another very important consideration. Do I want to come across as angry? Sympathetic? Scholarly? Down-to-earth? I'm always interested in maintaining my own voice, but I own more than one voice. My voices are as diverse as my emotions. I switch codes, depending on my level of personal involvement in issues, the purpose of my writing, who my audience is, and a whole host of other variables.

When I read that Guilford County Commissioner Skip Alston had been defeated and would no longer be the N.C. NAACP's president, I knew it was something I wanted to write about.

I got comfortable behind the computer and began typing away. Most of it flowed out pretty smoothly--it was a subject I felt strongly about and already knew where I stood.

I read back over it several times, did make a few changes, but for the most part, the piece remained intact just as it had poured out of me.

It was too long. I knew that. But I decided it still included many worthwhile things for Alston and others to consider. I decided not to whittle it away, even with the knowledge that I might be better off taking the time to sharpen it. Time was a factor. It was late, and I didn't want to drag it out endlessly either.

I actually called my father who was on vacation in Las Vegas and read the entire piece over the phone. If you've read the whole thing yourself, you know that my father has some patience--it took a few minutes to read out loud like that.

He said he thinks it's one of the best pieces I've written.

I've spent longer working and reworking certain letters to the editor so that I can get them exactly the way I want them to be.

And listening to something being read to you over the phone is not the same as reading the words on the page. Our minds process words differently, depending on how we receive them.

At any rate, my dad thought I had expressed my thoughts well on the subject.

I spent a portion of Sunday turning it into a letter to the editor.

At Converge South, News & Record Editor Allen Johnson had been asked if blogging was keeping regular letter writers from writing as much. He mentioned that it may have had some effect and that I was one of the fairly regular letter writers who did not seem to be submitting as many letters as I had prior to becoming a blogger. (My letter writing has always come and gone in waves, depending on my moods and what's been going on in my personal life.)

If I'm correct, my last three letters to the editor have come about because of subjects I've been in the process of blogging about (the International Civil Rights Center and Museum; blogging as a political tool; and Skip Alston's present opportunity to clean up his act in the face of his humbling defeat).

So I finish the letter to the editor, and finally reaching a comfort level with what I'm about to submit, I e-mail it to the News & Record.

Two days later, I receive a message from Becky Layton that she needs me to call back to confirm that I've submitted a letter. That call almost always means the newspaper's planning to print it.

That evening, I shared the right-under 200-word letter with my father.

When he feels that I've done a great job, he tells me.

But he's not afraid to let me know if something I've written doesn't entirely work for him.
This piece had that effect: it didn't work that well for my dad.

One of the problems, he confessed, was that he was so struck by the longer piece, particularly its tone of forgiveness and the chance for redemption, that the letter to the editor paled by comparison.

My dad didn't think the letter maintained the same tone; he felt like it had become more of an attacking letter than what I had posted already on my blog.

I read over the letter and thought about his points.

Ultimately, I was able to see exactly what he was talking about.

I had not maintained the higher ground that is almost always preferable. I had done so on my blog, but when I'd tried to condense it all into a letter to the editor, I had ended up focusing more on the negative past instead of the positive possibilities for the future.

The News & Record bailed me out on this one.

This morning, they excerpted a very positive portion of what I wrote about Skip Alston on my blog. The part printed in the News & Record's "Mixing It Up" section on its editorial pages is full of hope and faith in all that Alston has the potential to do and be.

In a few days, the letter to the editor should appear. Its tone is definitely different, harsher and more critical.

I like the balancing act these juxtaposed pieces will allow me, between criticizing Alston for where he's been and what he's done and letting him and others know that I don't hold permanent grudges as long as honest behaviors and attitudes are involved.

It's kind of like playing your own multiple personality version of "Good Cop/Bad Cop."

"Bad Cop" should appear as a letter to the editor within the next few days

WFMY Owes An Apology To The Candidates And A Correction For Us All

2005-10-12T00:20:00.000-04:00

As Roch Smith, Jr. reports over at Greensboro101.com, WFMY did not cover the election accurately.

The way they reported the results will almost certainly have at bare minimum a subconscious effect on how citizens participate and vote in the general election on Tuesday, November 8, 2005.

WFMY should apologize to the candidates whose campaigns may have been harmed by how the results were reported.

And a clear, thorough correction should also be a part of their follow-up.

Congratulations, Best Wishes, and An Offer To Help All Remaining Candidates

2005-10-12T00:06:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to all of the Greensboro City Council candidates who will be advancing to the general election Tuesday, November 8, 2005.

I thank the other candidates for their positive participation in our democracy. I also wish them the best in their future pursuits.

If you're a candidate who's advancing but did not pick up as many votes as you would have liked, I strongly urge you to start a blog TODAY. And use it EVERY DAY between now and the election to engage our community and make your voice truly known.

Write a letter to the editor for the News & Record, the Rhinoceros Times, and Yes! Weekly right now to publicize yourself and your blog.

Go door-to-door.

Attend community events and meet more strangers than you've ever met in such a short period of time.

Send me your news, and I'll post it on my blog. I'm an equal-opportunity provider. And my offer to post your news on my blog is completely FREE. I'll help spread your good word. Just send me well-written releases and quality information to seymfloy@aol.com.

I highly recommend at least all of the above steps, not to mention all the steps I've failed miserably to mention.

If you don't at least take all of the above steps, consider dropping out and sparing your energy for other pursuits and efforts.

At-Large Candidate Joel Landau Invites Citizens To Visit His Website

2005-10-12T00:03:00.000-04:00

GREENSBORO – Voters heading to the polls in Tuesday’s city council primary can get an in-depth understanding of candidate Joel Landau at his web site, www.JoelLandau.com.

The at-large candidate’s responses to questionnaires from The League of Women Voters, the Sierra Club, the News & Record and Yes! Weekly have all been posted in full on the web site, providing a snapshot of Landau’s views on air and water quality, urban sprawl, corporate incentives, the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission, transparency and accountability in government, and a wide array of other subjects.

Landau, 54, has been a resident of Greensboro for 21 years. He has experience in small business management, budget review and cooperative decision-making. He is running on a platform which stresses open, accountable government, and citizen involvement in the decisions that affect their lives and neighborhoods. To schedule an interview or speaking engagement, call the campaign scheduler, Elaine at 605-0143 or email Scheduler@JoelLandau.com

Political Agitator Reports on the The NC NAACP Convention

2005-10-11T08:14:00.000-04:00

For an insider's perspective on the North Carolina NAACP Convention, check out the Political Agitator's report

The Most Important Achievement Gap . . .

2005-10-11T01:03:00.000-04:00

. . . for us all is the often pitifully wide gap between who we are and who we have the potential to be.

(A peak at an opening sentence for a piece to come . . .)

Exposure and Insight From the Great Unknown

2005-10-11T00:48:00.000-04:00

Lenslinger exposes "the inherent absurdity of life behind the lens" with a sample from beFrank.

Definitely worth following the links here.

A very different perspective from what I think most of us are used to.

I Encourage Everyone In Greensboro Not To Vote Tuesday

2005-10-10T21:35:00.000-04:00

A primary election will be held Tuesday, October 11, 2005 to determine which Greensboro City Council candidates will advance to the general election in November.

I am hoping that all Greensboro citizens who read this--as well as others who won't--will make the brave decision not to exercise their right to vote in the primary.

By making such a sacrifice, you will be serving the public good by entrusting me (and perhaps a few others) to control the decision-making for you.

A lot of you probably don't even know what the candidates look like.

That's because you've never seen them before, never at least tried to find out what they look like, if nothing more.

Some of you'd probably still do a better job describing their physical appearances than actually making any feeble attempts to guess who the candidates really are and how they're claiming they will represent us.

In some cases, you'd be just as well off flipping a coin to determine which candidates will receive your votes.

That strategy seems way too risky though.

A much better plan would be just to trust me to choose who's going to represent us all.

You only need to keep two words in mind: trust me.

I promise you I'll make all of the right decisions.

If you trust me, I promise you there will be no regrets.

The only thing left to do then will be to trust me one more time on Tuesday, November 11, 2005. Make that same sacrifice one more time.

Then, my friends and I will let you know the nine people we've chosen to represent you and help control all of our lives.

(If you're strictly just curious, visit here to check out eight of the 23 candidates you'll be giving me a chance to vote into office to represent us.)

Skip Alston Displays More Class, Dignity, and Grace Than Trudy Wade

2005-10-09T23:33:00.000-04:00

According to the News & Record, Skip Alston considered challenging the results of the presidential election for the North Carolina NAACP.

But he recognized the significant gap in votes between himself and the Rev. Dr. William Joseph Barber and decided to accept the outcome, despite some voting irregularities.

Trudy Wade should be embarrassed that the usually defiant-to-the-end Alston has shown more class, dignity, and grace than she has by acknowledging his own defeat.

Alston's quote in the News & Record even reflected some positive qualities Alston usually keeps hidden from the public:

"I will try to make sure that Rev. Barber's tenure over the next two years is successful," Alston said. "It's not about the position. It's about the cause."

(We all must assume that reporter Mark Binker did not make this quote up!)

Almost a year after her defeat, Wade still has not accepted nor acknowledged that she lost her effort to be re-elected as an at-large Guilford County Commissioner.

Wade remains a sitting county commissioner, despite the fact that opponent John Parks defeated her last November. That fact has been supported over and over and over again in our courts.

The county commissioners collectively have too often proven unwilling to cut their losses in the name of decency and integrity, even when it's arguably in their best interests to do so.

Even Guilford County's recently updated website shows Wade's term as having ended in 2004. (This new page shows all eleven Guilford County Commissioners, except unpictured Steve Arnold who has suffered his own recent embarrassment.)

I'm just curious: when Wade is finally forced to hand over the seat to John Parks, can he sue her for the time she's kept him displaced from his rightful spot on the board of commissioners?

I'm not suggesting he do that since it would cause him to sink to Wade's current level.

But I am curious if he'd have a case.

Guilford County's Government Website Takes A Step In The Right Direction!

2005-10-09T22:58:00.000-04:00

Just finished writing a letter to the editor I've submitted to the News & Record. (I got some hints at a Converge South session this weekend that I was overdue to submit a letter!)

The letter is a mercifully reduced version of this blog entry.

I've titled it "Skip Alston Must Close His Own Achievement Gap."

Just to double-check something, I visited the Guilford County website, expecting to find the drab, bland site I'm used to visiting.

Someone else may have already noted this, but our county has finally gotten around to making some positive visual changes to its previously rather ugly home page.

The new home page is not as visually attractive as I think it ultimately can be, but it represents a tremendous improvement compared to what I've been used to seeing.

I hope the powers-that-be will continue tinkering with it. A website's home page is particularly important and should be as aesthetically pleasing as possible.

The Shu and I actually had a discussion about this very topic this past Friday at Converge South.

We still need a new-and-improved City of Greensboro website. That's supposed to be in the works, and I'm looking forward to its debut.

High Point's website is visually attractive at the top but could still be made even better.

Another North Carolina city I used to visit regularly in my youth has a website our own local governments might want to check out and possibly imitate.

I'm not an expert on websites by any stretch of the imagination, but I do think those who are could design better websites for Guilford County and the cities of Greensboro and High Point.

Our local governments should not overlook the value of having visually pleasing, easy-to-navigate websites.

GDS Annual Fund First! (a local school blog)

2005-10-09T02:58:00.000-04:00

Greensboro Day School has a blog devoted to its annual fund: "GDS Annual Fund First!"

I found out about this blog from a friend whom I count as one of my most important mentors during my high school years.

I've wondered to myself how a school or school system might use a blog effectively.

Greensboro Day School may ultimately provide us all an answer.

In its "This Blog's For You" post, this rationale was provided for why Greensboro Day School has set up this blog:

"At GDS we believe that it's important that when you make a gift to the Annual Fund you know just what you're investing in, and we figured that this would be a great way to pass along timely and truthful information."

That post continues:

"This is your blog site.

You can use it to ask questions about the Annual Fund, or even GDS in general. We'll track down the answer and post it here, because chances are, if you're wondering about something, other people are too.

You can use this site to voice your thoughts about things happening in our school community. Did you attend a Habitat for Humanity workday? Enjoy spaghetti at Paws 4 a Cause? Drive to Sloan Theatre in your pajamas to pick up your child from a night rehearsal of "Children of Eden?" Tell us about it. Because guess what? Those things that we all do every day are made possible, in part, by your gift to The Annual Fund.

You can also use this site to comment on the posts and start a conversation about the things that interest you. Feel free to sign your name, or be anonymous. We just hope that you'll contribute.

This blog site is a new venture for us, and as far as we know, for any school in our area. Will it be effective in creating new knowledge about the Annual Fund and Greensboro Day School? That's up to you. In the meantime, welcome."

I definitely think that blogs hold positive potential for schools and school systems.

Lessons will no doubt be learned along the way, but this is something that educators (including myself) should definitely be thinking about as a means of communicating better with the communities we serve.

Just about all schools seem to have their own websites now, used in different ways and with varying degrees of effectiveness.

Blogs have the potential to take on-line communication to an even higher and deeper level.

Best wishes to Greensboro Day School with this new venture!

Will Skip Alston Learn From His Defeat?

2005-10-08T23:56:00.000-04:00

At Converge South Saturday, I finally had the opportunity to meet someone whose opinions and writing I highly respect: News & Record editorial editor Allen Johnson.

We both have an interest in local politics, and that's primarily what we talked about. The majority of our conversation focused on the Greensboro City Council elections, but before we headed in opposite directions to attend different sessions, I asked Allen for his thoughts about Skip Alston's efforts to be re-elected president of the North Carolina NAACP.

Allen felt as I did that it might be a humbling experience for Alston to lose his title and that Alston would have a far greater chance of learning from defeat than from yet another victory.

I could tell from our brief conversation that Allen has a lot of respect for Skip Alston, just as I do.

But that respect is wrapped up in our perceptions of who and what Alston could be, not who and what Alston actually is. (I'm reminded of North Carolina's state motto, "Esse Quam Videri," which means "to be rather than to seem.")

Unfortunately, Alston earns everything but respect from the way he most often chooses to conduct business.

He is so committed to his own ego and the political games that he feels are necessary to be an effective politician, that he sacrifices a great deal of human decency through his words and actions.

Alston claims to represent the people in our society who supposedly need greater representation the most, but some of the battles he has chosen to wage and some of the issues he has seemed to neglect have exposed Alston as too often little more than a hypocrite most strongly committed to representing one individual: himself.

Ever since I found out this summer that Alston would be facing a potentially serious challenger for the N.C. NAACP presidency, I have been excited about the possibility of Alston losing his position.

In my view, the only real potential for Alston to reform himself and become a better person and a better leader has been for him to suffer a humbling defeat.

I have hoped for many years now that Alston would finally wake up on his own and realize the need to change his counterproductive approach to leadership.

There have even been a few brief periods when I have thought that maybe that had actually happened.

But each time I've been lulled into thinking that Alston might have become a changed man, his ugly, petty nature has resurfaced--just as ugly and petty as ever before.

When I spoke to Allen at Converge South, the elections for our state's NAACP officers were underway.

Shortly after I got home Saturday evening, I read Mark Binker's post indicating that the results were not yet known but that an article would appear in Sunday's News & Record and that he would post it on-line if he had time enough to do so.

I didn't check again until sometime after 11:00 PM, expecting that I would probably have to wait until Sunday morning to find out the results.

Even though I had read many good things about Alston's challenger, the Rev. Dr. William Joseph Barber II, and even though some people seemed confident that Alston would lose, I still was very much prepared for news that Alston had pulled out yet another victory.

When I finally visited "Inside Scoop" again to see if Mark Binker had had an opportunity to post the results, it was with a mix of shock and relief that I read this title: "Barber wins."

Even now, having had time to digest the reality of Alston actually losing an election, a part of me can't believe that it really happened.

Believe me, I'm used to seeing people I wanted to win lose, as well as witnessing people I wanted to lose win. With a few years of paying attention to politics under my belt now, I'm fully prepared for the opposite of what I would prefer to occur.

With Alston's loss, these are a few points I would like to make:

1. Alston has lost his title as president of the state NAACP; he remains a Guilford County Commissioner, and in that position, he still has considerable power and influence; Alston may be "down," but he is definitely not "out."

2. As Allen and I discussed: Alston is extremely intelligent. Allen has a broader perspective on these things, and he made the statement that Alston is definitely the smartest county commissioner. (Yes: after he said it, Allen and I both agreed that that might not be saying a whole lot.) I have always thought that Alston is a very smart man; I've only always regretted that Alston has too often made very poor decisions about how to treat fellow human beings and that he has often not applied his intelligence in positive ways. Having intelligence doesn't mean that you necessarily use it, and even when you use it, that doesn't guarantee that you're using in the best ways that it could be applied.

3. Alston's loss may still not result in him realizing the tremendous need to engage in some deep soul-searching. Alston is just as likely to remain as stubbornly arrogant as ever, more willing to blame others than himself for anything that does not work out completely in his favor. If that ends up being the case now, there may be absolutely no hope for Alston ever becoming as important and valuable a leader as he now only thinks he is.

4. Alston remains completely capable of true greatness as a leader. The achievement gap for Alston can best be summarized this way: he simply has never measured up to the leader he has the potential to be. He has a positive collection of personal traits and talents that should make anybody jealous. The problem is that many of his positive traits and talents are almost completely undermined by his negative tendencies and obsessions. Alston could probably rattle off the names of many individuals whom he regards as personal and political enemies, but the one name I bet he'd leave off will always represent the greatest challenge to him achieving greatness as a leader: his own.

5. With Alston's defeat, I'm now pulling for Alston. I'm pulling for him to become the leader he could be for our entire community. I am hoping that Alston will use this loss as a springboard for his own efforts at self-improvement. I am hoping that Alston will take advantage of this perfect opportunity to mature and improve as a leader (and perhaps as a person too). I am hoping that I will be able to loudly and proudly endorse Alston if he chooses to run for re-election as a county commissioner in 2008 or for any other elected office. I'm hoping to become one of Alston's strongest supporters instead of one of his harshest critics. For that to happen, he will have had to have proven himself over the next few years as a reformed leader. I still hold out high hopes that he has it within him to become both a great man and a great leader. My perception is that he has all that it takes to become truly great. He only has to realize the ways he needs to change to allow for his greatness to shine through. As he has chosen to be for too long now, his greatness has only been a figment of his own imagination. It would be a wonderful thing for us all if his greatness became a reality rather than remaining merely his own self-absorbed fantasy.

6. In the meantime, I wish Barber the best as president of our state's NAACP, and I hope that he will live up to his own potential to be a great leader of that organization which increasingly needs better leadership.

Nerd Up: He Had A Dream

2005-10-08T02:20:00.000-04:00

I perceive "Nerd Up" as the ultimate compliment to Ed Cone for all that he does for writing, blogging, and Greensboro(ing).

At least when my co-workers and friends make fun of me, I always assume they're letting me know how much they respect, appreciate, and like me. (Hopefully I'm not fooling myself too badly.)

I've expressed this before, but every time I read a "Nerd Up" post, I laugh hysterically. This one about Young Ed Cone's dream was no exception.

And as I've indicated before, I'm not laughing at Ed Cone, though one might jump to that conclusion.

Not true at all.

I'm laughing at myself.

Reading "Nerd Up" posts is like reading pages of a novel and relating to how a character is captured on those pages, even if there are definite differences between you and that character.

I finally had the pleasure of meeting the inspiration for "Nerd Up" himself.

I saw Ed Cone at the conference yesterday. I actually had a chance to say "hello" to him in person for the first time today. I've appreciated his writing for years, and though I've followed his blogging efforts for a shorter period of time than many others have, I too have developed a strong sense of respect for all that he does through blogging.

Ed made the rounds, visiting each of the sessions. He asked engaging questions and made important, interesting points in each of the sessions. But you also got a strong sense of how much he valued having the opportunity to hear from the other voices present.

I've said it before, but I again thank Ed and Sue and everyone else for all the hard work that went into making Converge South such a huge success.

Hopefully our community will be able to host similar events in the future.

My own dream is that blogging will only continue to grow in this area and that it will become more and more important and influential as a tool for positive change.

Already, we're off to a great start! (Yes, I still consider where we're at merely the beginning of only greater things to come.)

Should We Start Up A GuilfordPolitics.org Blog?

2005-10-08T01:41:00.000-04:00

After Friday's last session at Converge South, I had the pleasure of talking to The Shu about a number of topics of interest.

He and I both attended a session called "Blogging and community building" before lunch.

David Hoggard, Ruby Sinreich, and Bora Zivkovic were the three presenters.

Ruby operates the OrangePolitics.org blog.

She discussed how she has tried to use her blog to make people more aware of local politics and to help people understand ways that they can try to influence local politics.

The Shu asked me if I thought that would be a good thing for our area to have.

My response?

Absolutely.

Ruby's blog has a distinct political slant.

If we do start up a "GuilfordPolitics.org" blog, I'd like for it to be a place for people to visit so that they can keep up with all of Guilford County's politics, not just one end of the political spectrum.

The Shu's idea is well-worth considering and discussing.

I'd be interested in sitting down with The Shu and perhaps some other folks to discuss how we might bring such a blog to life. A lot of angles and considerations need to be taken into account, as far as determining exactly how such a creation would operate.

It could potentially be a great addition to our community and might even attract greater interest and participation by people who have still resisted becoming involved in blogging.

Worth Skipping School For Converge South

2005-10-08T01:15:00.000-04:00

I rarely skip school.

The majority of days that I have missed school during my teaching career have been for professional leave. I've signed up for some educational conferences on my own, and others have been required by my principal or the school system.

As a rule, if I'm alive, I show up to school, even if I'm not feeling 100%.

I know I took off a couple of days to attend a friend's wedding in Ohio a few years ago.

I did once take off a day to go to the zoo with my brother and a friend I rarely ever get to see since he lives out west.

Other than that, I don't recall just taking a day or two off for my own sanity's sake.

This summer, though, I made the decision that I would use a personal day so that I would be able to attend Converge South here in Greensboro.

I could have just chosen to attend Saturday's sessions.

But I thought it would be rather cool to participate both days.

So I called in my absence to our substitute-securing phone system and filled out my leave request to be away from school Friday for the first time this school year. (I do already know I'll have to miss at least three more days for system-provided training sessions that will count as professional leave.)

It was definitely worth it!

I enjoyed all three of the sessions I attended Friday.

The presenters have all been knowledgeable, enthusiastic, engaging, down-to-earth, and sincere. That's a healthy combination of qualities for all presenters to possess.

I'm looking forward to more of those same qualities to be on display Saturday.

(Thank you, Sue, Ed, Ben, Jay, and all the other people who have been instrumental in making Converge South a reality!)

Give Yourself An Automatic THUMBS UP!

2005-10-08T01:05:00.000-04:00

I have not even heard of this movie.

But its title provides the perfect excuse to insert a "thumbs up" graphic within the movie's print ad.

When I scanned the movies playing in local theatres, I assumed that the "thumbs up" graphic represented a positive review.

It just struck me as a rather ingenious marketing strategy.

The title itself makes you curious.

Now I'm only curiouser.

Bloggers Gone Wild! (the underground video)

2005-10-08T00:53:00.000-04:00

This is old news, and there's certainly nothing underground about it.

But I just wanted to let folks know how much I appreciated seeing this video the day before Converge South. It made me even more proud of Greensboro than I always have been, and it made me even more excited to participate in Converge South.

Less than a year ago, I still had not discovered blogging, and I only vaguely knew about a couple of the individuals featured in the video.

Now, I am at least familiar with all of the bloggers featured in the video, and I've met almost all of them in person (as opposed to only meeting them on their blogs).

If you have not already seen this video, it's well worth your time.

Strong Competition Unlikely To Make Skip Alston A Better Leader

2005-10-07T16:46:00.000-04:00

The best chance of Skip Alston improving the quality of his all-around leadership is for him to lose his title as president ("king") of the state NAACP.

And it's far, far away from a guarantee that even that would prove to be the trick.

The News & Record editorial board apparently has greater faith in Alston's ability to overcome the major character flaws that keep him from being the leader he certainly could be.

In today's unposted editorial, "Alston's NAACP challenge promises better leadership," the News & Record suggests that merely by facing a challenger, Alston will automatically be inspired to change his ways and improve his leadership.

At the very end of the editorial, the observation is made that "He may win again."

That's undeniable enough.

But the News & Record thinks that even if that happens, Alston will walk away from the election a better leader. In the newspaper's own words, "If he does (win again), the experience of overcoming strong competition will make him a better leader."

I'll believe that when I see it.

Win or lose, I don't see Alston improving his severely misguided approach to leadership.

If he wins, Alston's history suggests this response: he'll simply view the victory as evidence a) that he is a superior being to the rest of us mere mortals and b) that all his critics and challengers should simply learn to stay in their places and give Alston a permanent free ride.

If Alston loses, it will only prove a) that the rest of the world fails to appreciate his greatness, b) that his critics are racists, portraying him negatively so that they can take out a strong black leader, and c) that he must redouble his "by-any-means-necessary" efforts to achieve power.

To my knowledge, Alston has won more fights than he has lost.

But on those rare occasions when he has lost--such as the Jenks Crayton vote--Alston has proven exceptionally stubborn and petty.

"Gracious" is not a word I even remotely associate with Alston, whether in victory or defeat.

He is a poor winner and a sore loser.

At least up to now, that's been his personal history.

If the News & Record's editorial proves correct, I will be ecstatic.

I would sing Alston's praises to the moon if he started to earn them.

If he wins and begins to change his tired, old tune, I will certainly pay attention. I am not close-minded to the possibility that even Alston has it within himself to make personal changes for the better.

If he loses and the loss ultimately causes him to wake-up to the need to change his ways, I'll be glad to become one of his greatest supporters.

I would love to see a new-and-improved Skip Alston; I just have a hard time imagining it actually happening.

He seems to lack the absolute pursuit of "truth" that allowed Malcolm X to evolve multiple times during his lifetime.

The first step will be for him to recognize the need to change his ways, and so far, there has never been any evidence that Alston is introspective enough for that to take place.

New Greensboro City Manager Will Be Officially Hired October 18th

2005-10-06T00:39:00.000-04:00

Sandy Carmany informs us that Mitchell Johnson has been selected to become Greensboro's new city manager.

Congratulations to Mitchell Johnson!

From Sandy's account of the selection process, he's the best person for the job--I certainly wish him all of the best in this very important position.

I personally appreciate that the council has such strong faith in an "internal" candidate like Mitchell Johnson. Sandy indicates that much thought was given to this issue:

There was a lot of debate about choosing an "internal" candidate who is already familiar with Greensboro and its strengths and weaknesses versus an "external" candidate who could bring different experiences and ideas into the city.

Sandy goes on to indicate that the official vote to hire Johnson will take place at the October 18th city council meeting.

She also adds:

I'm ready "to hit the ground running" now that we have named our new CEO and start taking a really hard look at city departments and programs to try to get earlier input into the budget preparation process.

I look forward to following this new era in our city government.

daskinnyblackman: Skinny Does Not Equal Sexy

2005-10-06T00:25:00.000-04:00

If you're easily offended, do NOT click here. (If you ignore my warning and find yourself offended, don't blame me!)

If you're open-minded to the "truth" about Hispanics, black folks, and white folks, you'll appreciate what daskinnyblackman has to share with us today.

I did find it ironic that one of the truths he listed was that "Skinny does not equal sexy." I have absolutely no opinion on that subject--it just caught my attention.

Some items on the list will probably make you laugh or smile. Others will make you shake your head.

No disputing this: these are provocative lists. You can't read the lists without thinking about things at least a little bit.

(Mikey, did you compile these on your own, or did you discover the lists elsewhere? Just curious--whoever made the lists did a great job!)

If You Have "No Title" In The NAACP, You're Unfit To Run For Office

2005-10-05T01:00:00.000-04:00

There have actually been moments over the years when Skip Alston has surprised me by revealing traces of diplomacy and decency. (Don't dare ask me to pinpoint and identify those moments, but I promise you that they have actually occurred.)

But more often than not, Alston has gone out of his way to remind me that he is on a near-constant ego-trip.

Mark Binker had an article in Tuesday's News & Record about the race between Alston and the Rev. Dr. William Joseph Barber II for the presidency of the state NAACP.

A section of the article highlights one of Barber's campaign strategies:

Barber's theme of speaking out is consistent with his strategy of taking his NAACP campaign on the road, appealing to mass audiences at chapter meetings and at least a news conference or two geared toward the broader media.

From an outsider's perspective, it might seem an odd tactic, since only delegates appointed by individual NAACP branches can vote.

"It's very unusual, and I don't understand why he's chosen to do it," Alston said, complaining that Barber was airing NAACP business outside the group.

From my perspective, such outreach efforts don't seem odd nor unusual at all; more candidates for all sorts of elected positions ought to try borrowing some pages from Barber's playbook, whether they're incumbents or not.

It speaks volumes that Alston apparently sees no value in such an attempt to connect with as many people as possible.

Later in the article, Alston questions Barber's NAACP participation:

Alston responds to the suggestion that Barber is a more serious challenger by highlighting his own involvement and questioning Barber's participation in the NAACP.

"I have been involved with the NAACP in terms of leadership for the past 23 years," Alston said. "I worked my way up from the local level to the state level." Alston is also a member of the group's national board.

"I didn't jump from being no title to being president," he said.

Barber says his own involvement in the NAACP reaches back to childhood, when he was a student member. He is a member of his local branch, has been political chair for the state group and has been invited to speak at state conventions, Barber said.

Alston's comments reveal a level of elitism that Alston would no doubt instantly condemn were it coming from a white person rather than from himself.

"No title," according to Alston, means that you are less worthy of consideration, that you shouldn't even be in the race to begin with.

Such a blanket dismissal of a person's legitimacy as a candidate is exactly in line with Alston's all-too common disrespect toward fellow human beings.

In comments like those, Alston reveals a superior attitude not only toward his opponent, Barber, but also toward all rank-and-file members of the NAACP.

If Alston wins this election, not only will that mean that Barber has lost; it will also mean that members of the North Carolina NAACP have lost as well.

News & Record Should Emphasize "Vote 2005" Even More

2005-10-04T23:50:00.000-04:00

The News & Record has created a link to its Greensboro City Council election coverage.

Personally, though, I'd like to see "Vote 2005" featured even more prominently.

In my opinion, it's worthy of its own tab.

Yes, the link is definitely there. It's not hidden or anything.

But for the casual visitor, it seems very possible that you could overlook it.

The defense could certainly be given that not many people pay attention to local politics anyway. That's sadly very true.

I'm just wondering if the News & Record could do even more to try to change that.

I don't know if many will, but all voters should spend some time here.

Citizens who plan to vote should make the effort to get to know the at-large candidates even better. (Click here to do so.)

Voters should also at the very least acquaint themselves with all the candidates in their own district (district 1, district 2, district 4, and district 5).

(I'm still disappointed that Mayor Keith Holliday and soon-to-be District 3 Council Member Tom Phillips face no challengers, even though I generally approve of both of them.)

The primary election is only about a week away. (Next Tuesday, October 11th, to be precise.)

Again, I hope that the News & Record will consider making a separate tab (or two) for "Vote 2005." That may help attract more viewers. (I would not be surprised if only a handful of citizens have visited so far, even though substantial information about each of the candidates is now available there.)

Beyond highlighting their on-line election site, the News & Record should consider expanding its coverage of the candidates prior to the general election November 8th.

By that time, there will be fewer candidates to cover.

I have appreciated reading Matt Williams's articles ("Top Headlines") in the past week, but I'm also reminded of how such articles tend to provide only narrow glimpses of who the candidates are and what their goals, plans, and views are.

Between next Tuesday and November 8th, I'd like to see charts that provide readers of the print version of the News & Record with even more information about the candidates, such as what you can now find only on-line.

That may be part of the master plan anyway.

I know I've seen such charts in the News & Record for state and national candidates. I can't recall for sure if such coverage has been extended to local candidates after the primaries.

If the News & Record already has plans to include such coverage, I look forward to it.

If the newspaper does not already have such plans, I hope the News & Record editors will seriously consider adding that as a way to make their election coverage even more substantial than it already is.

Thank you, News & Record, for all that you have already done.

I look forward to your coverage of next Tuesday's results, and I anxiously anticipate all the "Vote 2005" coverage you will provide between then and November 8th.

Strongest Evidence Yet Of Baseball's Steroid Problem

2005-10-04T01:31:00.000-04:00

This is not a scoop: Chewie's already seen this and posted it.

Chewie definitely knows how to control minds: as soon as I saw this picture, my first thoughts flew her way.

I'm not much of a baseball fan, but if this is what I could expect to see on a regular basis, I think I'd make a quick convert.

Outcome of Alston-Barber Race Only Days Away!

2005-10-03T23:04:00.000-04:00

The News & Record will have an article in Tuesday's edition about the race for NAACP president between Melvin "Skip" Alston of Greensboro and the Rev. Dr. William Joseph Barber II of Goldsboro.

At his "Capital Beat" blog, reporter Mark Binker previews that coverage.

Concerning the race, Mark points out that "There's also been some written by bloggers, although most that I've seen seems to be clearly in the pro-Barber or anti-Skip camp."

Mark's right.

I don't think I've noticed any posts or comments stepping up to defend or support Alston.

Alston definitely has his supporters. He would not hold the leadership positions he holds without significant support. My guess is that Alston and his supporters may not be aware of how he's being covered on local (and more distant) blogs. If Alston and his supporters were reading what's being written about him, I can't imagine that they'd simply choose to remain silent. (I would welcome any comments Alston might care to share, and I'd also value any from his supporters.)

In general, you just don't hear very vocal criticism of Alston in Guilford County. I don't think that's because everyone in this area loves Alston; I believe there are definitely some people around here who are not in love with Alston and his ways but are afraid to come out against him.

The Political Agitator is a strong critic of Alston's, but he's not from around here. He's from the Rocky Mount area, although he's paid close attention to what Guilford County bloggers and the News & Record have had to say about Alston.

I myself have harshly criticized Alston over the years. I've written a few letters to the editor (News & Record) addressing my concerns about Alston's arrogance and his blatant pettiness and ugliness. Alston has also been the subject of a few of my posts on this blog.

My guess is that even if Alston is aware of my criticisms, he's probably inclined to dismiss both my criticisms and me as unworthy of his consideration. He has a tendency to respond with blanket dismissals of any criticism and all critics when he is the target. In his own world, only Alston himself is entitled to criticize as he sees fit; the rest of us should not be allowed such a broad license to criticize.

I've said this before, and I mean it: Melvin "Skip" Alston could be the hands-down best leader in Guilford County. He could be a simply amazing head of the state NAACP, the kind truly worthy of the organization. Without being a sell-out, without sacrificing strength or dignity, Alston could be a million times the leader he currently is. Arrogance, as well as his hypocritical alliances with certain industries--(the payday-lending and billboard industries come to mind)--undermine all that he could be. Ugliness and pettiness are too often his strong suits in dealing with fellow human beings of all races.

If Alston ever matured enough to change his ways, I'd be his strongest supporter in a heartbeat.

I sincerely try not to hold pointless long-term grudges. When I see evidence that I need to revise my opinions, I am open-minded to doing so. (I've actually thought a couple times that Alston had changed his ways; in each of those instances, however, Alston has then gone out of his way to prove to me that he's just as petty and small-minded as ever.)

By this time next week, it will be interesting to read any analysis of how the Alston-Barber race turns out, and what the results of that race mean for the NAACP and the two candidates.

I'm hoping the News & Record (and/or others) will provide sufficient coverage.

(By the way, I'm a big fan of Mark Binker. The News & Record and our entire community is very lucky to have him! Thank you, Mark, for all the coverage you provide.)

You're Not Serious: Forum Was FUN and Civil

2005-10-03T18:44:00.000-04:00

Don Moore made a cool post about the Greensboro Bloggers Candidates Forum.

He posted this last Wednesday, and I just found it.

If you have not read it, Don's post provides another interesting perspective on the forum.

Our forum definitely had one rather impressive achievement: it helped inspire Don to attend his "first political event (without beer) that [he has] attended since the 60's."

He added, "I thought that I would be going through the motions; but I even up taking over 20 pages of notes."

Don gave some of his impressions of the three candidates (Florence Gatten, Yvonne Johnson, and Don Vaughan) who are currently serving on the Greensboro City Council.

Like me, he's hoping to add more in the next few days leading up to the primary election.

If we can find the time . . .

Jesse Helms's 1963 Opinion of the "Negro" Harvey Gantt

2005-09-29T22:00:00.000-04:00

I stumbled across this while seeking links to include in my previous post.

When he wrote that piece, Jesse Helms no doubt could never have imagined facing Harvey Gantt in a U.S. Senate race in 1990 (and 1996).

I wish the complete transcripts of ALL of Helms's WRAL-TV Viewpoints were available on-line! (I've read a few. His opinions about Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer are among the ones I recall.)

Skip Alston Adopts Jesse Helms's Debate Strategy

2005-09-29T20:37:00.000-04:00

During the fall of my freshman year at UNC-Chapel Hill (1990), I had my first opportunity to vote.

One of the most intense races that year was between Jesse Helms and Harvey Gantt.

I looked forward to at least one debate between Helms and Gantt.

But Helms did not allow such an event to take place.

Instead of participating in a civil debate between two candidates, Helms focused on a beautifully calculated advertising strategy.

Flash forward to 2005: Skip Alston is seeking re-election as President of the North Carolina Conference of the NAACP.

Alston faces a problem he does not face enough in elections: he appears to have a worthy opponent.

To keep his title, Alston must defeat the Rev. Dr. William Joseph Barber II.

This News & Observer article includes some evidence that Alston fears his opponent as much as Helms feared Gantt in 1990.

How many people are proud to have Alston representing them when they read comments like the ones that appear in this excerpt from the article?

Barber wants to debate Alston, and he hopes they will have a face-to-face question-and-answer session at the convention.

Alston has no interest in debating. "I won't participate in a debate until he has something that's worth talking about," Alston said. "He has an excellent track record outside the NAACP. It's easier for you to attack something from the outside."

If you have followed Alston in the news at all over the years, you may choke when you read his gag-quote from the same article: "I don't try to seek headlines."

Not all candidates for elected office from Guilford County are afraid of participating in forums with their opponents. (I would support any one of these candidates against Alston.)

I wish the Rev. Dr. Barber the absolute best in his efforts to replace the king of the NAACP in North Carolina.

(Thank you, Political Agitator, for keeping us updated!)

Initial Summary of Bloggers' Coverage of Candidates' Forum

2005-09-29T00:59:00.000-04:00

If you missed the Tuesday night forum for the 8 at-large candidates for the Greensboro City Council, you at least have the opportunity to read some of the responses by bloggers who were able to attend.

David Hoggard provided the first coverage of the event.

Allen Johnson shared some of his reactions.

Laurie formed some definite opinions from the forum.

As did Jay Ovittore.

Sue and Ed Cone gave positive mention of the forum.

Roch Smith, Jr. recorded it and has already made a part of the recording available.

Diane Davis has the perfect opportunity to blog about her own experiences as a candidate at the forum. She could also elaborate on or clarify any issues she felt needed more in-depth responses than the forum allowed.

To read more about the format and to see all the questions asked, visit this earlier post I made.

That same post also lists all 8 candidates, with links to their blogs, websites, or other posts related to them. (Click on their names after heading over to this post, and you can also see their individual pictures from the forum.)

To see the moderator himself, Michael Christopher, visit this post. You can also check out his blog.

To check for new posts about this, as well as countless other topics, head over to Roch's place.

(If you or someone else you know covered our forum but is not listed above, please let me know so that I can provide a link to it.)

And don't forget: you need to vote on Tuesday, October 11th!

Michael Christopher Does An Amazing Job As Moderator For Candidates' Forum

2005-09-28T23:13:00.000-04:00

When we first discussed organizing a municipal candidates' forum at the blog meet-up on Wednesday, August 17th, several local bloggers instantly mentioned Michael Christopher as someone who would do a great job as moderator.

Michael, who blogs over in Michael's Corner, proved indeed to be a perfect choice for handling that responsibility at our forum Tuesday night.

I had visited Michael's Corner before August 17th, but I had never met Michael before.

I first heard about him from a mentor of mine from my high school days, Terri. She works with Michael and mentioned him to me when she found out that I had started blogging.

There is an important lesson to be learned here, one that Michael has already observed: when you're absent from blog meet-ups, you exponentially increase your chances of having someone volunteer you for something.

In all honesty, it's simply difficult to imagine anyone doing a better job than Michael did Tuesday night.

We started almost exactly on time, 6:45 PM, and as soon as the action began, I began jotting down notes about what I heard and witnessed.

First note that I wrote: "Michael--great voice."

I realized that quickly, and during the course of the evening, I only became more impressed by how well he did.

I did have the opportunity to meet him before the actual forum.

Michael came to the blog meet-up last Wednesday, September 21st.

And he, Roch Smith, Jr., and I got together again at Panera's on Lawndale Drive Monday afternoon so that we could do a run through the script.

Michael read the entire script out loud Monday, but it was different from hearing him in the auditorium at the Weatherspoon Art Museum.

Based on our practice Monday, I figured Michael would do fine.

I just wasn't prepared for how extraordinarily well he did during the actual event.

One thing that I also realize is that Michael would probably also make a great emcee for a talent show. He's unafraid to be himself, and he has a great sense of humor. That slid out a couple times at the forum, though Roch and I emphasized that our time restraints made it necessary for him to stay focused on the prepared script. My perception was that the candidates appreciated Michael just as much as I did (except maybe for the couple of times when he had to cut candidates' responses short because of the expiration of time).

As always, it's cool to match a face with a blog.

From the experience of working with him on this project, I like and respect Michael even more than I already did from reading his blog.

If you were unable to attend our forum, know that you not only missed out on the perfect opportunity to hear from the 8 at-large candidates for the Greensboro City Council; you also missed a great opportunity to witness a thing of beauty in action: Michael serving as our moderator.

Again, thank you, Michael, for agreeing to serve as our forum moderator and taking on all the responsibilities associated with that role.

You were amazing!

All About Our First Candidates' Forum

2005-09-28T19:56:00.000-04:00

Instead of making one long post, I've made several posts about Tuesday evening's forum for the 8 at-large candidates for the Greensboro City Council.

These are posts about the forum's format and the questions asked during each round:

1. The Big Two

2. The Jump-In Round

3. The Free-For-All Round

4. The Lightning Round

5. Michael Christopher's Closing Remarks

To see a candidate's individual picture from the forum and have an opportunity to visit his or her website/blog, click on his or her name below. (See note at bottom of this post.):

1. Sandra Anderson

2. Diane Davis

3. Florence Gatten

4. Dave Howerton

5. Yvonne Johnson

6. Joel Landau

7. George Subasavage

8. Don Vaughan

NOTE: In the posts I've just provided links to, I've only had time to share a few comments and observations about a few of the candidates.

I hope to add more in the next few days, as time permits, including more information about how the candidates responded to some of the questions we asked them.

From the Candidates' Forum: Michael's Closing Remarks

2005-09-28T19:44:00.000-04:00

Michael Christopher served as moderator for our forum for the 8 at-large candidates for the Greensboro City Council.

These are his closing remarks:

Ladies and gentlemen, we have come to the end of our forum.

I want to thank all 8 candidates again for their willingness to participate in our forum and for their willingness to run for elected office and serve the public.

These people obviously care about our community and want to do their part to make it a better place for all of us to live.

We thank them and we wish them the very best with their campaigns.

Please join me in giving them a big round of applause.

I also want to thank everyone else for coming out tonight.

Voting for the people who will represent us is an important responsibility.

Hopefully, this forum will have helped you to make informed decisions in the voting booth.

Finally, I thank the local bloggers who submitted questions for this forum and who helped make this forum happen.

To participate in additional dialogue about these elections and other issues facing our community, I encourage you to visit some of the local websites and blogs that provide open forums for discussion and debate.

We have listed some of those sites on your programs.

I also encourage you to attend Converge South, a free two-day conference about journalism and blogging, October seventh and eighth at North Carolina A&T State University. You may find out more at convergesouth.com.

Again, thank you everyone for participating in our candidates' forum.

Goodnight.

From the Candidates' Forum: Lightning Round

2005-09-28T19:23:00.000-04:00

Our forum for the 8 at-large candidates for the Greensboro City Council included four different rounds of question.

In addition to the questions being different for each round, so was the format for each.

We started with the "Big Two."

Candidates then participated in the "Jump-In Round."

The "Free-For-All Round" provided each candidate the opportunity to one other candidate a question. Two of the candidates chose not to ask another candidate a question during this round.

The final round was the "Lightning Round."

This is the description for this round:

"Ten questions, each to be answered by all candidates. Yes/no or single-phrase questions."

For each question, a different candidate was asked to answer first.

After the first candidate responded, the other 7 were asked to answer the same question in alphabetical order.

This is a list of the 10 questions, including which candidate had to answer the question first:

1. Sandra Anderson: Have you or will you do any door-to-door campaigning in any of Greensboro's public housing developments?

2. Diane Davis: What is the population of Greensboro?

3. Florence Gatten: Should the city do more to support the International Civil Rights Center and Museum?

4. Dave Howerton: What is the starting pay of a Greensboro police officer?

5. Yvonne Johnson: Do the city ordinances prohibit businesses in the city from discriminating for employment based on sexual orientation?

6. Joel Landau: What is the current city property tax rate?

7. George Subasavage: What one book would you like for all of Greensboro to read?

8. Don Vaughan: When it comes to Greensboro's potential, on a scale of one to ten, with ten being perfection, how well do you think Greensboro is doing?

9. Sandra Anderson: Is there any possibility that you will run for mayor of Greensboro in the future?

10. Diane Davis: What is your favorite blog?

From the Candidates' Forum: The Free-For-All Round

2005-09-28T19:10:00.000-04:00

Following the "Big Two" and "Jump-In" rounds, we moved into the "Free-For-All Round."

This round was included so that each of the 8 at-large candidates for the Greensboro City Council would have an opportunity to ask one of the other candidates one question of their choosing.

This is the description of this round that we included on our program:

"Each candidate has one opportunity to ask one other candidate a question with back-and-forth guided by the moderator."

Of the 8 candidates, only 2 chose not to ask a question of another candidate.

Florence Gatten and Yvonne Johnson, who both currently serve on the Greensboro City Council, each passed when given the opportunity to ask one other candidate a question.

I will try to post more about this round (and the others) later.

From the Candidates' Forum: The Jump-In Round

2005-09-28T18:41:00.000-04:00

After all candidates finished answering the "Big Two" opening questions, we began our "Jump-In Round."

From the program for our candidates' forum, this is our basic description of this 16-question round:

"Two unique questions for each candidate, one minute to answer each question. Each candidate has five opportunities to jump-in to answer a question he or she was not asked, one minute for each jump-in response."

In other words, each candidate was asked only two questions in this round.

But all candidates had the opportunity to "jump-in" to answer five of the remaining 14 questions.

If a candidate took advantage of all of his or her "jump-in" opportunities, he or she would ultimately answer 7 of the 16 questions.

These were also part of the instructions for this round:

"You are only allowed one jump-in per question, and you must use it to address the current question."

Here is a list of the 16 questions we used for the forum's "Jump-In Round," as well as the name of the candidate who initially received the question:

[1] Joel Landau: Do you think City Government runs as efficiently as possible? Is it conceivable to you that the City could possibly reduce taxes in the future? If so, how do you think that could happen?

[2] Yvonne Johnson: Would you support mandatory recycling of glass, aluminum and cardboard by bars and restaurants. If so, could this be done without placing an additional financial burden on the business owners?

[3] Dave Howerton: Do you think racial inequities exist in Greensboro? If so, how would you describe them? What are their causes? What would you do about them as a Councilperson?

[4] Florence Gatten: What is your opinion of the city’s current arrangement for managing the Greensboro Coliseum?

[5] Diane Davis: While Greensboro may not have the same vulnerabilities as New Orleans, we have seen the effects of poor emergency planning on a city. How well prepared do you think Greensboro is for a major emergency? Are there specific plans of which you are aware? Is there more you would propose?

[6] Sandra Anderson: Is there any group from whom you would not accept an endorsement?

[7] Don Vaughan: Do you think influencing peddling goes on before the City Council? Do influential individuals or political action committees give political support in exchange for favorable consideration on matters that may come before the city council?

[8] George Subasavage: If elected would you support the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender citizens of this city by supporting domestic partner benefits for City employees?

[9] Joel Landau : Do you think it is important for City Government to do business with local companies as much as possible? If so, what can the City Council do to encourage more of that?

[10] Yvonne Johnson: What are your thoughts on crime in Greensboro? Specifically, what do you see as its causes and solutions?

[11] Dave Howerton: Where do you stand on the recent Supreme Court ruling on eminent domain -- the finding that local governments may force property owners to sell out and make way for private economic development?

[12] Florence Gatten: You voted this summer, with Don Vaughan and the majority of city council, to approve a motion to "oppose the truth and reconciliation process." Council members could have voted against this motion and, by doing so, expressed neither opposition to nor support of the truth and reconciliation process. Why did you feel it was necessary for the city to officially oppose this process? What public interest compelled you to vote the way you did?

[13] Diane Davis: The City Council seems prepared to contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars each year for maintenance of Center City Park. Do you think it is wise for the taxpayers to pay for the upkeep of this privately owned park that could eventually be converted to other use after the city may have spent millions on its improvement and maintenance?

[14] Sandra Anderson: In the last few months, questions have been raised about the morale of our Greensboro police officers. Two particular concerns are, how work schedules are handled and recent revelations of an investigative unit assigned to monitor the activities of some officers. Do you think there is a problem with morale in the police department and what do you think the city council’s role should be in these kinds of situations?

[15] Don Vaughan: Do you think sprawl is a problem in Greensboro? What is your view of how a city should grow?

[16] George Subasavage: Would you support the creation of free citywide wireless Internet zones? Should the city think of wireless Internet access as public infrastructure or should it be strictly in the realm of private enterprise?

From the Candidates' Forum: The Big Two

2005-09-28T18:26:00.000-04:00

After the 8 at-large candidates for the Greensboro City Council introduced themselves in alphabetical order, starting with Sandra Anderson, we jumped into our question rounds.

This was the format for "The Big Two," our opening round of questions for the candidates:

"Two questions for all candidates, one minute per candidate to answer each question. These are the two questions that the local bloggers voted they would most like all candidates to answer."

Starting with Don Vaughan, and going in reverse-alphabetical order, each of the 8 candidates first had to answer this question:

"The water in Brush Creek, a headwater of Greensboro's drinking supply, was recently tested by the North Carolina Division of Water Quality at twelve times the legal limit for turbidity. Since 1998, Brush Creek has been officially declared as impaired for it purpose as a drinking water supply by the state of North Carolina. Many of Greensboro's other major streams have also been classified by the state as impaired for years. What role do you think the City should play in addressing polluted surface water and do you think that role is being adequately filled?"

George Subasavage was first asked the second question in this round; then, each of the 7 other candidates had to address the question.

"Would you support a living wage ordinance for Greensboro? Why or why not? If so, to whom would it apply and how would it work?"

I HATE THESE KINDS OF COMMENTS!!!

2005-09-28T17:56:00.000-04:00

I highly value learning what people think.

Part of that's a consequence of my curious nature.

So when I notice that comments have been left on my blog, that automatically makes me excited.

I'm left completely curious to discover individuals' reactions to what I've posted.

Lately, I've started getting more and more comments.

But most of the comments I'm receiving nowadays have absolutely nothing to do with the content of my posts; instead, they're these really annoying messages that evidently pop-up automatically as soon as I make a new post.

This morning I posted four posts almost simulataneoulsly after separately saving the content for all four.

Apparently this rapid-fire posting confused the pop-up-messages-generating mechanism, causing all four comments to appear only on the last of those four posts instead of assigning one pop-up comment per post.

In case you're curious, below are the four comments that were left on the post before this one:

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Come and check it out if you get time :-)

Wednesday, September 28, 2005 7:20:25 AM

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Wednesday, September 28, 2005 7:22:05 AM

Anonymous said...
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Wednesday, September 28, 2005 7:22:17 AM

Anonymous said...
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The only difference is that with what I've posted above, I have not allowed the links to stay in-tact.

And now, you won't be able to find these comments where they were originally left: I'm deleting them and will no longer allow them to stay on my blog.

Anybody have any other ideas for dealing with these pop-up comments?

Sandra Anderson

2005-09-28T02:35:00.000-04:00

Sandra Anderson is one of the eight candidates for the Greensboro City Council.

Hope to add text later but wanted to go ahead and get her picture up.

Thanks, Sandra, for your positive participation in our forum!

Dave Howerton

2005-09-28T02:28:00.000-04:00

Dave Howerton is one of the eight candidates for the Greensboro City Council.

Hope to add text later but wanted to go ahead and get his picture up.

Thanks, Dave, for your positive participation in our forum!

Don Vaughan

2005-09-28T02:25:00.000-04:00

Don Vaughan is one of the eight candidates for the Greensboro City Council.

Hope to add text later but wanted to go ahead and get his picture up.

Thanks, Don, for your positive participation in our forum!

Diane Davis

2005-09-28T02:19:00.000-04:00

Diane Davis is one of the eight candidates for the Greensboro City Council.

Hope to add text later but wanted to go ahead and get his picture up.

Thanks, Diane, for your positive participation in our forum!

Joel Landau

2005-09-28T02:14:00.000-04:00

Joel Landau is one of the eight candidates for the Greensboro City Council.

Hope to add text later but wanted to go ahead and get his picture up.

Thanks, Joel, for your positive participation in our forum!

Hogg Provides Great Snippets From Candidates' Forum

2005-09-28T01:47:00.000-04:00

David Hoggard was one of the individuals to attend our candidates' forum.

As always, he provides his usual great blend of coverage and commentary.

Rave Review For "Fab Forum"

2005-09-28T01:21:00.000-04:00

Our forum for the eight at-large candidates for the Greensboro City Council impressed News & Record Editorial Page Editor Allen Johnson.

After attending Tuesday's forum, Allen wrote:

"In fact, in this humble journalist's opinion, Temple Emanuel has been unseated as the champ of local election forums. At least for now."

I had hardly any regrets myself about our forum.

I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated the opportunity to hear from each of the candidates.

I do wish more people had attended.

If we do this again with future elections, I'd consider that among our greatest challenges: trying to figure out a way to boost attendance. (If we can achieve 100% attendance by eight candidates, we should be able to expect more of the general population to attend.)

I also wish I had finally met Allen in person. (Yes, I know: I should be content that I had the good fortune to meet three current council members and their five challengers, all in one action-filled evening. Letting you know that I would have liked to have met Allen too on the same evening probably just reveals how greedy I can be.)

Still, I greatly appreciate him coming out, and I'm glad he felt that it was worth his time to attend.

As for having the opportunity to meet Allen in person, I'm left with something to look forward to.

Florence Gatten Provides Me A Great Picture Scoop!

2005-09-28T00:40:00.000-04:00

When I first asked if she would mind following me outside so that I could take her picture, I honestly had forgotten Florence Gatten's earlier refusal to allow the News & Record to take a fresh photograph of her.

While I was trying to figure out exactly where I wanted her to stand, Florence sort of brought that up.

At first, I thought she might back out and leave me highly disappointed.

But she didn't.

That's her above this text, and I want to offer the humble opinion that she should never refuse to have her picture taken again.

If she still much prefers not to have her picture taken, Florence should do what I do: put herself in the position of being the picture-taker. That highly decreases your chances of having your picture taken by someone else.

Florence is an amazing communicator. She was in some ways the most impressive candidate, at least in terms of how poised and polished she came across. In many ways, I envy her those skills.

I did like that she appears to have a sense of humor. She laughed openly, and that's a quality I like; it's not one that everyone has.

She mentioned in her introduction that 70% of her work involves crisis media relations. Based on what I saw tonight, if I found myself in the middle of a crisis situation and I wanted to exercise damage-control, I'd highly consider hiring Florence (assuming I could afford her services).

About Greensboro Coliseum manager Matt Brown, Florence said that he is "exceptional." She added that he speaks the language of entertainment and that we are lucky to have him. (This was in response to a question about her position on the city's current arrangement for managing the coliseum.)

Thank you, Florence, for your positive participation in our forum!

Meet George And Gracie Subasavage (And Learn His View Of Our Police Department)

2005-09-27T23:23:00.000-04:00

Only George is running for an at-large position on the Greensboro City Council.

But I was really glad his wife Gracie was able to attend tonight's forum also.

I had spoken to both of them by phone, and I appreciated our conversations.

George Subasavage and I spent a little time on the phone talking about blogging.

He has at least some interest in blogging, and there's a chance that he may set up his own blog--he's at least considering it. (He and I even walked through the set-up process at Triad Blogs.)

During the forum's jump-in round, George used one of his jump-in opportunities to respond to a question about crime in our community.

He believes there are problems within the Greensboro Police Department that may hurt the quality of service and protection citizens receive.

George is not a fan of rotating shifts--in his view they do not work. He voiced the opinion that that is one of the worst things that can happen to police officers.

Two other council candidates, Sandra Anderson and Yvonne Johnson, added that they believed that morale among Greensboro police officers is low.

Sandra said that different people talk about the shifts ruining lives and marriages.

Yvonne indicated that there is pressure on the city manager to investigate the police department.

Florence Gatten expressed a more favorable view of current conditions in the police department, saying that rotating shifts work well.

Thank you, George, for your positive participation in this evening's forum!

At-Large City Council Candidate Shares My Love For The Color Purple

2005-09-27T22:53:00.000-04:00

I had the privilege and honor of meeting all 8 of the at-large Greensboro City Council candidates this evening.

Each of them allowed me to take an individual picture.

I'm posting Yvonne Johnson's picture first for a few reasons:

1. She was definitely one of tonight's top performers.

2. She uses purple prominently in her campaign.

3. She and I are both Dudley High School graduates.

4. Like me, her son teaches middle school in Guilford County--same grade too, I believe: eighth.

5. Her picture came out well. (I took two pictures inside the Weatherspoon Art Museum, which the guard quickly but nicely informed me was not allowed. Those two shots did not turn out so well anyway. I'm glad she allowed me to take her picture a third time, outside on the last try--it made a positive difference.)

Yvonne's a sharp, impressive person, and though I realized that before this evening, my positive perception of her was only heightened tonight.

Thank you, Yvonne, for your positive participation in tonight's forum!

We're Ready For YOU: Greensboro's First Bloggers Candidates' Forum

2005-09-27T01:51:00.000-04:00

Got together with Roch Smith, Jr. and Michael Christopher Monday evening to run through Michael's script for our candidates' forum.

It's been an absolute pleasure meeting them both and getting to work with them on this forum.

Roch and I have bounced things back and forth through e-mails and a few phone conversations here and there.

I may have brought up the idea of us organizing this forum, but when I look at how it's evolved, it has a significant Roch Stamp on it.

And that's entirely a good thing.

He's added countless great ideas to every aspect of this forum, from the format to the program lay-out to the script to anything-and-everything in between.

His experience as a Greensboro mayoral candidate a few years ago no doubt contributed to his thorough perspective on how we might approach this forum.

I'm also looking very forward to witnessing Michael as the forum's moderator.

For the candidates to cover all the territory we want them to cover, Michael's not going to have much room for the kind of spontaneous banter you need between talent-show acts and Oscar presentations.

But believe Roch and me: we've had an up-close view of what Michael is capable of unplugged.

Our next project is to organize a local adult talent show just so we can put Michael in the pilot's seat and let him fly!

All the other local bloggers who helped with planning, organizing, publicizing, and selecting questions for this candidates' forum have my full respect and appreciation also. I'm hoping a great many of them will be able to make it to our Tuesday night forum.

And I've also developed even higher levels of respect and appreciation for the eight individuals running for at-large positions on the Greensboro City Council.

It's been a wonderful experience communicating with each and every one of them.

I've had very cool phone conversations with a couple.

I've had a couple interesting e-mail exchanges with a few others.

They all have come across as everyday people, the kind of folks that have the potential to represent us well on our city council.

The forum will allow them to paint a more clear picture of who they are, what they're all about, and how they plan to represent us.

I'm looking very forward to meeting them.

I'm sincerely interested in learning more about all eight of these individuals who have taken the bold step of running for public office.

When our forum comes to a close tomorrow, my hope is that it will have turned out to have been a worthwhile experience for everyone involved: all eight candidates, all of the audience members, and the bloggers who made this happen.

That might be a lofty goal, but I hope I can make a post tomorrow night that tells you that an absolutely amazing event has just taken place in our community.

And I sincerely hope you too will have been there to have experienced and enjoyed it!

You're Invited To Tuesday Evening's At-Large Candidates' Forum!

2005-09-26T08:05:00.000-04:00

The Greensboro Bloggers Candidates' Forum for the 8 at-large candidates for the Greensboro City Council will be held Tuesday, September 27, 2005.

You are definitely invited, and I hope to see you there.

It will be held at the Weatherspoon Art Museum Auditorium on UNC-G's campus. That's at the corner of Tate Street and Spring Garden Street.

From 6:15-6:45 PM, you'll have a chance to meet the candidates themselves. They've been invited to bring their campaign literature.

The actual forum begins at 6:45 PM and will last until 8:30 PM.

Limited parking is available in the parking lot behind the Weatherspoon Art Museum, off of Tate Street. (Park only in the spots marked for the Weatherspoon, and you'll have to get a parking pass inside.) Additional parking is available in the parking lot on Spring Garden Street west of the museum.

Roch Smith, Jr., of Greensboro101.com, is one of the other primary planners and organizers for this event.

Michael Christopher, of Michael's Corner, will serve as the moderator for our forum.

For more information about how you can support the forum, click here.

To learn more about the format for the forum, visit here.

To discover how one local blogger bizarrely chose to publicize this event, go here.

And again, we hope to see you Tuesday evening!

Blogging Chip Outdoes Self To Promote Candidates' Forum

2005-09-26T00:48:00.000-04:00

Very recently, I posted this.

In that post, I gave 3 positive ways for anyone and everyone to participate in and support our forum for the 8 at-large candidates for the Greensboro City Council.

One way that I suggested that people could support the forum is to "Spread the word!"

I guess I can say that Chip obliged.

He's definitely helping to spread the good word.

Chip's reminded me of something very important, something I'd almost conveniently forgotten: be very, very careful what you ask for.

I'm not really sure if a response to his post was necessary--(Chip covers it all in his post, so what more could anyone hope to add?)--but in the spirit of brotherly love, I provided one anyway.

If you're interested in reading my response, go here. (Right now, mine's the top comment, but that could change. Scroll down to find mine, and you may also want to read what David, Jay, and potential future commenters have to say.)

Now, I'm just hoping Chip'll follow-up on my other two suggested ways to support the forum:

1. Attend!

2. Provide follow-up coverage.

Or maybe that's not what I want.

Chip has an unnatural way of responding to basic requests.

Part of me genuinely wants him to attend and participate.

Another part of me is genuinely a slight bit worried about HOW he might choose to participate.

But as far as YOU're concerned: I do hope to see YOU Tuesday night.

And yes, Chip, for providing us such excellent coverage, you too are still welcome to attend.

Just promise us you'll control your somewhat abnormal enthusiasm!

Earl Jones Defends Museum, Criticizes News & Record On His Blog

2005-09-25T01:34:00.000-04:00

Earl Jones apparently has a blog.

The posts on his blog appear to be from his Greensboro Times Newspaper.

According to the profile, the blog was started on June 21, 2005.

A Sep. 19, 2005 post titled "Jim Crow and His Son Jim Crow, Jr." defends the current status of the International Civil Rights Center and Museum while blasting the News & Record's coverage of the museum and its founders, Jones and Skip Alston.

The profile page indicates that only 2 comments have been left, and if I'm reading things correctly, they were both (1 and 2) left today.

Other individuals post on this blog, but unless I'm not interpreting this well, this is Earl Jones's blog.

(I feel like I'm discovering Jones's blog kind of late, particularly since I've suggested in the past that someone associated with the museum should blog and/or explain where the museum currently stands and where it's going. Even though he's not the sole author on this blog, Earl Jones does seem to be the main man here.)

2 Unopposed Council Candidates Cropped

2005-09-25T01:02:00.000-04:00

This post includes a picture I've seen elsewhere.

But beyond its enlargement, there's another difference that shows up.

One city council member is entirely cropped from the picture.

And the mayor is almost completely cropped out.

My guess is that it wasn't even intentional.

I just thought it was interesting that the two candidates facing no opposition on the ballot are positioned in the council's group picture in such a way that they can be cropped out without too much difficulty.

Not that they should be cropped out--they're still perfectly legitimate candidates whose candidacies should be taken as seriously as all others.

More of a coincidental curiosity than anything else.

Yard Salesman To Moderate Forum

2005-09-25T00:48:00.000-04:00

Michael, the yard-salesman, will serve as moderator for our forum for the 8 at-large candidates for the Greensboro City Council.

Museum, Not Gallery

2005-09-24T21:51:00.000-04:00

In all the posts I've made about our candidates' forum, I've referred to our forum's location as the Weatherspoon Art Gallery.

It apparently used to be called that.

But the name was changed to the Weatherspoon Art Museum a little ways back.

Thanks to Ed for letting me know about the name change.

I'll try not to make that mistake from now on.

(I prefer not to make them, but please e-mail me or leave a comment if I do make mistakes in my posts. Otherwise, I will just keep making the same mistakes over and over again!)

The Format For Tuesday's Candidates' Forum

2005-09-24T21:16:00.000-04:00

Roch and I e-mailed the 8 at-large candidates for the Greensboro City Council to provide them some information about what to expect at Tuesday's candidates' forum.

As someone who is seriously thinking about attending, YOU deserve some details too.

To find out what YOU have to know, go here.

But right here's exactly where YOU need to be to read all the juicy details about the forum's format.

This is the information the candidates themselves received:

1) INTRODUCTIONS: You will be given 30 seconds at the beginning of the forum to introduce yourself to the audience.

2) THE BIG TWO: We will ask the two questions bloggers voted they would most like all candidates to answer. Each candidate will have one minute to answer each question.

3) JUMP-IN ROUND: During this round, we will ask the sixteen questions bloggers voted they most wanted to ask. Each candidate will be asked two of these questions total during this round, with one minute to answer each question. All sixteen questions are unique.

Here is where it gets fun. During this round, each candidate will have an opportunity to answer up to five questions initially directed to another candidate. You will decide with each question not directed to you whether to use one of your five "jump-ins" to also answer the question on the floor or wait.

“Jumping-in” does not mean interrupting other candidates (and won't be allowed). Once a candidate has finished his answer, the moderator will recognize any other candidate(s) wishing to jump in. Each candidate who jumps in will have one minute to answer the question. To help you keep track of how many times you have jumped in, you will be given five markers. Each time you jump in, you may move one from one pocket to another, from your hand to your lap or drop them on the floor -- or you don't have to use them at all. Just remember, seven total: two to you and five jump-ins.

You may only use one jump-in per question and you must use it to address the current question.

(For your information: Some of these sixteen questions were submitted to be asked of a particular candidate. The others were randomly assigned.)

4) FREE-FOR-ALL ROUND: During this round, each candidate will have the opportunity to ask one of the other seven candidates a question. You will have 30 seconds to ask your question. The candidate who receives your question will have up to one minute to reply. You will then have 30 seconds for rebuttal and the candidate of whom you asked a question will then have 30 seconds for the final word. Like this:

Question: 30 seconds

Answer: 1 minute

Rebuttal: 30 seconds

Final word: 30 seconds

(The moderator will guide you.)

5) LIGHTENING ROUND: In our last round, we will ask a series of questions that all the candidates will answer with a yes/no or single phrase answer. No elaboration is allowed on these questions. (Don't worry, "Have you stopped beating your wife?" is not one of the questions.)

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns about the format I've outlined above. So far, I've only received positive responses from the candidates about our plans for this forum.

We also provided candidates some additional information about the logistics for the forum.

When we first started discussing this event, I worried about getting all of the candidates to participate.

But all 8 of the candidates have responded enthusiastically to the opportunity our forum will provide them.

I'm anxious for Tuesday night to come.

I hope it all goes well and represents only the beginning of such blogger-sponsored forums in our community.

Most of all, I look forward to seeing you at our forum Tuesday night!

Top 3 Ways For You To Help Support Our Candidates' Forum

2005-09-24T20:38:00.000-04:00

Our candidates' forum has tremendous positive potential.

How well it's attended will help determine its success.

We really do need your positive participation in our forum.

These are some ways you can help:

1. Attend!

It can't be stated any more simply than this: we need you at the forum on Tuesday night.

This is just like voting.

Everyone makes a difference, either by participating or not participating in the opportunities of our democratic society.

There are always things in our lives that compete for our time and energy, but this forum is an event that you should try to attend if at all possible.

2. Spread the word!

Definitely make a post or two about it on your blog.

But don't rely simply on blogging about it.

Talk about it too!

Mention it at your place of worship.

Bring it up at work.

Invite your friends and neighbors.

Bring your spouse. (If you have children, maybe one of you can stay at home and the other one can gather information from the forum. If your children are old enough, bring them too!)

Let as many people know about the forum as possible.

And tell them why it's important for them to attend.

3. Provide follow-up coverage.

After you've attended the forum, let everyone know what you think about the candidates and the forum itself.

Post about it on your blog.

Tell everyone what you witnessed.

Give your impressions of the candidates.

Let everyone know what stuck out for you.

Give us feedback about the forum itself.

Make recommendations for the future.

And also share the experience with friends and family and co-workers and everyone else you hang out with, run into, and deal with in your life.

Welcome To The First Greensboro Bloggers Candidates' Forum!

2005-09-24T20:21:00.000-04:00

It's only days away: Greensboro's first candidates' forum sponsored by local bloggers.

For our first forum, we've invited the 8 at-large candidates for the Greensboro City Council.

This is your perfect chance to get to know these candidates a little better.

When we vote, we often don't know as much about the candidates as we should.

Don't wait for the brief blurbs you'll get about the candidates from the local media.

Don't let this perfect opportunity slip by without your positive participation.

Make plans to attend Tuesday's forum.

Again, it's Tuesday, September 27th at the Weatherspoon Art Gallery Auditorium on UNC-G's campus. That's at the corner of Tate Street and Spring Garden Street.

From 6:15-6:45 PM, you'll have a chance to meet the candidates themselves. They've been invited to bring their campaign literature.

The actual forum begins at 6:45 PM and will last until 8:30 PM.

Limited parking is available in the parking lot behind the Weatherspoon Art Gallery, off of Tate Street. (Park only in the spots marked for the Weatherspoon, and you'll have to get a parking pass inside.) Additional parking is available in the parking lot on Spring Garden Street west of the museum.

At 6:45 PM, Michael Christopher, who's serving as the moderator for our forum, will get things started with welcoming remarks.

He'll also explain some of the ground rules for the candidates and the audience.

We have a very ambitious agenda that includes a lot of questions so that we can learn as much about the candidates as possible in a relatively short amount of time.

To make things more interesting, we've created different categories of questions, as well as some opportunities for the candidates to be more creative and spontaneous with their responses.

We're even going to give each candidate the chance to ask one other candidate a question.

I'll make a separate post about what else you can do to support our forum.

And I'll also let you know about the different question segments we've set up for the forum.

I hope to see you Tuesday night!

The Big Link and I Re-Met

2005-09-23T20:41:00.000-04:00

When I attended my first blog meet-up, I met this week's Big Link.

Only, come to find out, we had met before.

Long, long ago.

Or so it seems now.

It's been a pleasure to meet the Big Link again.

The Big Link is full of life, has many interesting, provocative ideas, and is also very friendly.

You would be doing yourself a big favor to check out the Big Link.

I highly recommend it!

Candidates Subasavage and Howerton Interested In Blogging

2005-09-23T19:13:00.000-04:00

I spoke to George Subasavage for the first time today.

I had already spoken to his wife before, and he'd e-mailed me back once.

But today was the first time I actually had the opportunity to talk to him and hear his voice.

Over the phone, George sounds like a genuinely nice guy. (Of course, it'd be a bad sign for a candidate's campaign if he didn't at least come across as nice and friendly. Still, my first impression of him is positive.)

George has been retired a couple of years.

Now he's running for an at-large position on the Greensboro City Council.

He believes his experience as a manager might serve him well as a council member.

You can meet him this coming Tuesday at the at-large candidates' forum.

(I'm totally biased, but I think this is the one candidates' forum you don't want to miss!)

There's also a chance that he may be setting up a blog.

Apparently he spoke to David Hoggard the other day about it.

David recommended Triad Blogs as a place to start.

George has visited there and gone through the first couple of steps.

He just needs to go a little further to make the actual plunge into blogging.

I answered a question that may help George get his blog started. It would be a welcome addition to his campaign efforts.

With Dave Howerton checking out some local blogs and leaving comments, we are close to being able to say that all 8 candidates have (or have had) a website or blog--or at least have posted their own comments on someone else's blog.

(Also, Dave Howerton has registered and plans to attend Converge South.)

We're not as far along as I'd like us to be.

But slowly, surely, we're getting there . . .

Word Up: Purple Music Coming Soon

2005-09-23T18:50:00.000-04:00

Stumbled across a brief preview over at Word Up.

Hadn't even heard about it before.

But The Color Purple is about to be reborn.

There's even more at the official site, including an opportunity to send a Purple E-card.

Do Organizers Of Candidates' Forum Plan To Provide Sneak Preview of the Questions?

2005-09-22T01:13:00.000-04:00

After clicking here, scroll down to the "Comments" section to find out the answer to the question posed in the title.

City Council Candidate Attends Blog Meet-Up

2005-09-22T00:23:00.000-04:00

Thanks, as always, to Billy the Blogging Poet for organizing the monthly blog meet-up at the Panera Bread on Lawndale Drive.

This meet-up had a special treat.

We already were prepared to vote to determine which questions we will ask the 8 at-large candidates for the Greensboro City Council at Tuesday's candidates' forum.

As we were sitting outside, talking, a lady walked toward us, smiled, and then went inside of Panera's.

One thing stuck out visually: she was wearing a "Janet Wallace" button on her shirt. (I believe it said "Janet Wallace for City Council," but I may be merely paraphrasing.)

When she came back outside, she confirmed what I suspected: it was Janet herself!

Janet's already gotten her feet wet blogging.

She has her own blog, specifically to get out the message about her candidacy.

I didn't have much of an opportunity to talk to her at the meet-up--(we were too busy voting and adding up the totals)--but I thought it was impressive that Janet took it upon herself to drop by and meet some of the local bloggers in our community.

I'd be surprised if that didn't encourage some bloggers to give her at least a little more consideration as a candidate.

Her opponent apparently didn't even turn in his responses to a Yes!Weekly survey of all 23 council candidates.

I won't be too surprised if we find out in November that Janet Wallace is among the new faces to join our city council.

The Adventures of You and the 8 Mystery Candidates

2005-09-21T23:48:00.000-04:00

I finally met the moderator for next Tuesday's forum for the 8 at-large candidates for the Greensboro City Council.

Michael's going to do a GREAT job!

And YOU need to be there to witness and experience a forum unlike any YOU've ever attended or read about before.

Roch's been there, done that, and if he's confident that our forum's going to go above-and-beyond the typical forum, then I share his confidence.

And YOU should too!

Greensboro is a great place to live, but it would be infinitely better if more people paid more attention to our local government and chose to become more active participants in some of those things we Americans LOVE to take for granted.

Like actually VOTING!

But don't just vote.

That's not even close to being all you should do.

Make an effort to learn something significant about the candidates.

The forum is set for Tuesday, September 27th.

Just for YOU, it's FREE!

All YOU have to do is show up between 6:15-6:45 PM at the Weatherspoon Art Gallery Auditorium on UNC-Greensboro's campus.

The forum starts PROMPTLY at 6:15 PM.

It's scheduled until 8:30 PM.

We've worked hard to think of ways to make this a worthwhile experience for the candidates and their audience (again, that should definitely include YOU).

Again, we've made it EASY for YOU: just show up.

And learn.

And enjoy.

And then YOU'll be fully ready to vote in the primary on October 11th.

YOU don't have to RSVP.

But for curiosity's sake, will I see YOU at Tuesday's forum?

I sure do hope so!

Some Great Sidewinder Pictures!

2005-09-20T00:48:00.000-04:00

Last Friday, the Sidewinders Team, one of the three eighth-grade teams at Southwest Guilford Middle School, took a field trip to Haw River.

I haven't gotten all the details yet, but by all accounts, the teachers and the students enjoyed some great experiences.

The teachers on the Sidewinders Team are Mr. Clark (Science), Ms. Garner (Math), Mr. Horne (Language Arts), and Mrs. Pearson (Social Studies).

Go here to check out their pictures. (The bottom few are from last year, I believe.)

I'm not a Sidewinder myself, but I have the pleasure of working with them on the eighth-grade hall. (I'm a Midnight Rider, and we'll be taking our first field trip in a few more weeks.)

Congratulations to the Sidewinders Team on the success of their Haw River field trip!

(If I can get some more details about their trip, I'll post those later.)

The Big Link Experiences A "Crash"

2005-09-20T00:36:00.000-04:00

Another chance to check out the Big Link.

I think you'll enjoy and appreciate the experience (if you haven't already).

The Big Link places some emphasis on sports, but that's far from being the only subject matter explored.

The Big Link and I are both fans of these movies: "Crash" and "March of the Penguins." (Rent them if you haven't already seen them!)

Do the right thing: visit this week's Big Link.

Annual Report From City Council Representative T. Dianne Bellamy-Small

2005-09-19T00:17:00.000-04:00

The Greensboro City Council's district 1 representative, T. Dianne Bellamy-Small, has put out a two-sheet, back-and-front "District Report" on 8 1/2" x 14" paper.

I stumbled across it walking out of the Neighbors (Citgo) convenience store on Rehobeth Church Road.

Her publication covers a lot of territory.

It starts with a nearly full-page letter from Council Member Bellamy-Small.

It goes on to highlight "What have we accomplished?" in the areas of Economic Development, Equity of Services, Encouraging and Empowering Communities, Community Programs, Waste Management, Zoning and Planning, Law Enforcement, Transportation, and Parks and Recreation.

On the last page, it includes this information:

Council Member T. Dianne Bellamy-Small
One Governmental Plaza
P.O. Box 3136
Greensboro, N.C. 27402
Voice Mail (336) 373-2286
(336) 373-2396 FAX: (336)-574-4403
3211 Delmonte Drive
Greensboro, NC 27406

It continues with this notice:

"This newsletter was produced for your information by your Greensboro City Council District 1 Representative for the expressed purpose of informing the citizens in District 1. Copies may be made. Thank You"

I'd like to be able to provide links for YOU to all this information.

But there's not a single website or blog address listed, unless I just missed it.

If I had the time, I'd type it all up for you.

But I don't have enough time to do that right now.

If Council Member Bellamy-Small or any of her supporters read this, please consider this suggestion: make all of this information available on a website or blog.

There are people with blogs and websites who probably make the mistake of not making their information available in print.

But it's also a mistake only to make information available in print.

The smartest move for any candidate is to cover all bases (in person, in print, on-line, etc.) and figure that for each added tool or resource, you'll automatically reach more people.

Candidate's Blog Post Reminds Me Of "School Daze"

2005-09-18T19:57:00.000-04:00

Wm. Lewis Byers Jr., a candidate for the Greensboro City Council's district 2 seat, has apparently set up another blog.

He had one earlier, but by the time I started blogging and discovering other people's blogs, he had stopped updating it.

I found his new blog on the right-hand side of Greensboro101, with a post title of "Wake Up And Vote."

The title of that post reminds me of a movie I haven't seen now in several years, Spike Lee's "School Daze."

The post dates back to September 3rd, and there don't appear to be any updates since.

Not sure if Wm. Lewis Byers Jr. plans to start using his blog regularly.

I hope he does.

At his blog, you can at least match a face with the name.

And you might be interested in this:

"This is my first run for office and I need your support. We are planning a fund raiser dinner called Wake Up! On Sep. 24, 2005 at 7 PM at The Complex at 1528 Phillips Ave. All are invited, as well as any candidates who are running for public office--come out and speak and be heard. $5.00 donations at the door will be appreciated. So come have fun as well as meet your neighbors. WAKE UP and VOTE!"

I Need YOUR Questions! (Don't Wait Til It's Too Late!)

2005-09-18T19:24:00.000-04:00

(WARNING: Go to the end of this post to see an example of the type of question we might ask city council candidates if we don't receive YOUR questions by tonight's deadline.)

What do you want to ask the 8 at-large candidates for the Greensboro City Council?

You only have about 4 1/2 hours left to submit the questions you'd like to ask them.

Send those questions to seymfloy@aol.com or floyds@gcsnc.com.

We're accepting questions up until midnight.

These are the three categories for questions:

1) questions that are addressed to any/all candidates;

2) questions that are addressed to a specific candidate; and

3) questions that require only a "yes" or "no" response (for our "lightening round").

You can submit as many questions as you like.

Local bloggers will get together at this Wednesday's 7:00 PM blog meet-up at the Panera Bread on Lawndale Drive to vote on which questions will get asked at the candidates' forum.

For more information about the September 27th candidates' forum, go here.

But right now, focus on sending me your questions.

Your questions are going to help determine the success of our candidates' forum.

Without your questions, we'll have to resort to last resort questions, like "What's your favorite Prince song?"

I'm only half joking here, folks, so please send me your questions.

(While I consider that a great question to ask someone on a first or second date, it's probably not the best question to ask the candidates for our city council.)

Only 2 of 23 Council Candidates Maintain Regular, Relevant Blogs

2005-09-18T18:37:00.000-04:00

David Hoggard has set up a page devoted to all 23 Greensboro City Council candidates.

He's provided links for 11 of those candidates, which makes it sound like nearly half have either a website or a blog.

In reality, as David points out, at least two blogs (his and hers) are outdated.

One website is so outdated that it makes it sound like the candidate is still in hot pursuit of his old county commissioner seat.

Four other candidates at least have websites up and running (one at-large female who's already on the council; one at-large male who's already on the council ( and who also has a blog); one at-large female who's not currently on the council; and one at-large male who's currently not on the council).

One blogger has officially retired temporarily from blogging, though at Chewie's request, he's left his blog up so that citizens can conveniently send him their questions.

These are the most recent blog posts for three other candidates' blogs: August 13th, August 31st, and September 4th.

I'd estimate that we have only 2 serious bloggers among the 23 candidates: Sandy Carmany and Diane Davis.

I'd be shocked if Sandy lost her bid to remain the representative for district 5.

Diane's hoping to become one of the three at-large candidates.

It will be interesting to see if Diane's blogging efforts make a difference in her campaign.

My advice to Diane:full-steam ahead!

If I was her, I'd shoot for at least one post every day or two, both personal and political so that citizens can form as complete a picture of her as possible.

It's not too late for the other candidates to take advantage of blogging also.

But very soon it will be.

Keith Holliday (for mayor) and Tom Phillips (for district 3), of course, are unopposed.

The other 21 candidates face opponents.

Only 7 of those 21 will ultimately represent us.

After losing, will the other 14 wonder what more they could have done to win?

Might blogging be on the short-list of things they could have done that might have made a positive difference in their campaigns?

Remember: RIGHT NOW, it's NOT too late.

It's only about to be . . .

A Love Song For All Greensboro City Council Candidates: "I'm Easy"

2005-09-18T18:06:00.000-04:00

(If you want to skip my intro, just skip to the bottom and read the beautiful words to a gorgeous love song.)

This song was not written for politicians or candidates for elected office.

It's sung in a classic scene from a Robert Altman movie, "Nashville." (The movie itself does include quite a bit of politics.)

Keith Carradine's character sings it in a bar (# 81), with at least three of his lovers in the audience, each thinking that the words are being sung specifically to and for her, with only her in mind.

In reality, Carradine's character is an earlier version of The Player, only interested in individual women for what they can provide him in the moment.

I'm not going to bore you with an explanation of how this song relates to local politics and candidates' web presence.

I'll leave that to your own imaginations and interpretations, while admitting ahead of time that the parallels are not perfect but are still interesting to ponder.

1975 - "I'm Easy" from Nashville
Music and lyrics by Keith Carradine

It's not my way to love you just when no one is looking
It's not my way to take your hand if I'm not sure
It's not my way to let you see
what's going on inside of me
When it's not love you won't be needing you're not free

Please stop pulling at my sleeve if you're just playing
If you won't take the things you're make me wanna give
I never cared too much for games
and this is driving me insane
You're not half as free to wonder as you claim

That's why I'm easy, yes I'm easy
Take my hand and pull me down
I won't put up any fight because I'm easy

Don't lead me on if there's no way for you to love me
If loving you would have to mean a sometime thing
I can't put bars on my inside:
my love is something I can't hide
It still hurts me when I recall the times I tried

Because I'm easy, yes I'm easy
If you want me I come running
without any time to think, because I'm easy

Don't do me favours let me watch you from the distance
For when you're near I find it hard to keep my hand
But when your eyes throw light at mine
it's enough to change my mind
Let me leave my cautious words and ways behind

Because I'm easy...

A Problem: Putting Web Addresses On Campaign Signs

2005-09-18T17:37:00.000-04:00

Riding the roads of Greensboro, I'm starting to see more and more campaign signs for our City Council candidates.

At least two candidates have included a website address at the bottom of their posters. (One is definitely Sandra Anderson; I believe the other is Florence Gatten.)

As I passed one of Sandra Andreson's signs today, I tried to catch the address but wasn't able to do so.

Her sign was on the opposite side of the road (Vandalia Road), and I was having to pay attention to a few vehicles sharing the road with me.

I turned left onto a side road so that I could turn onto Vandalia going the opposite way when no traffic was coming.

That allowed me to slow down just enough to read the full address.

To accomodate web addresses on thir campaign signs, should candidates purchase larger signs?

Or at least longer (wider) ones?

I have never investigated the cost of campaign signs. (If anyone has experience in this area, leave a comment, and let us know.)

It seems logical to include website and blog addresses on campaign signs.

But they take up space, and without increasing the sizes of the signs, the average passer-by probably won't be able to catch the addresses anyway.

The addresses end up being too small unless you're walking by or able to come to a near-stop on the same side of the road as the sign.

Among the candidates, Diane Davis, Sandy Carmany, and Tom Phillips have done the best jobs of visiting other people's blogs, leaving messages, and providing links to their own blogs.

I would suggest that even the candidates who don't have their own blogs start visiting other people's blogs, reading them, and at least occasionally leaving their own comments (as well as the addresses to their own websites or blogs, if they have them.)

As for using campaign signs to advertise web addresses, what ideas do you have for making that approach actually work well for candidates?

At-Large Candidate Sandra Anderson Has A Website

2005-09-18T17:10:00.000-04:00

Sandra Anderson, one of the eight at-large candidates for the Greensboro City Council, has a website up.

Meet her here.

Find out about "Issues Facing the City of Greensboro" here. (Some code has been left up and needs to be fixed so that this section is easier to read.)

Find out who here "Supporters" are here. (One of here supporters is a former mayor. Another used to be one of the main administrators for the Guilford County Schools. Yet another is a prominent local reverend.)

This is where you can find out how to get involved in Sandra Anderson's campaign.

She also has provided a link to her business website.

And if you would like to e-mail Sandra Anderson, this is her campaign address: elect@sandraandersoncitycouncil.com.

For information about a great opportunity to hear from Sandra Anderson (and the other 7 at-large candidates) in person, go here.

Anatomy of a candidates' Forum (and why we've excluded the mayor and district candidates)

2005-09-17T01:08:00.000-04:00

Earlier this month, Chewie visited my blog to raise a very good point about our candidates' forum for the at-large candidates for the Greensboro City Council:

"Not trying to make more work for everybody, but I was wondering why the limitation to the At-Large Candidates. I'd like to hear from others, and put questions to them -- including the Mayor -- even if they're running unopposed."

She's not the only person who feels this way.

Others have contacted me to ask why our candidates' forum will only include at-large candidates.

First of all, I agree completely with Chewie and others who have raised this concern.

I would prefer for our forum to include ALL the candidates for Greensboro City Council, including the two who are running unopposed.

I first brought up the idea of bloggers organizing and sponsoring a candidates' forum at the August 17th blog meet-up.

Among those present at that meet-up, we discussed a lot of different issues concerning the candidates' forum.

We decided that including ALL 23 Greensboro City Council candidates in one forum would not allow any candidate much time to address the audience.

We may have discussed holding two forums, but I believe the consensus was that our best approach would be to focus on organizing one smaller forum, particularly since this would be our first.

There were a lot of uncertainties in the back of my mind about arranging a candidates' forum.

I thank the other bloggers, particularly Roch Smith, Jr. (see bottom biography), for supporting the idea, because without their support, I could have easily convinced myself that it wouldn't be worth the risks of trying to get the idea off the ground and into the air.

These are some of the risks I considered:

1. Finding an "open" date to hold our forum.

2. Finding an adequate location for our forum.

3. Getting most or all of the candidates to participate.

4. Planning it well enough that it will be a success.

5. Getting citizens to attend.

6. Finding and making the time to plan and organize the forum.

So that all of the at-large candidates would be able to participate, we wanted to hold the forum before the October 11th municipal primary.

At the bloggers' meet-up, we came up with two potential dates for our forum, September 22nd and September 27th.

We didn't want to hold it too early in the campaign season, and we wanted to give ourselves adequate time to plan and organize.

We also wanted to avoid scheduling it on dates that would conflict with other major events in our community, primarily the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro and Converge South.

We obviously wanted to set ours on a different date from forums being sponsored by other groups.

To find out if other forums might already be scheduled on the potential dates we had chosen, I contacted at-large candidate Diane Davis.

No forums were scheduled on those two days, but Diane had conflicts on both dates.

That bothered me because Diane is one candidate I definitely wanted to participate in our forum.

But we had already determined that there would be other conflicts on just about any other day.

So we chose September 27th as the date for our candidates' forum.

Immediately, Roch and I contacted several places to find out if they might be available and not too costly for us to use them as the location for our forum.

Knowing that it was imperative for us to secure a location quickly, I became slightly concerned when we discovered that some of the sites we wanted to pursue either cost too much or were unavailable.

Credit goes to Roch for securing the Weatherspoon Art Gallery Auditorium on UNC-G's campus. (I believe Roch initially contacted Ed Cone about the availability of this auditorium and its suitability.)

Even after we thought the Weatherspoon Art Gallery Auditorium was secure as our definite site, a few slight complications arose. Again, Roch deserves praise for working through these potential obstacles. (He and I visited the auditorium this past Tuesday so that we can be better assured of being on top of the logistics for the forum. I think it's going to serve our purpose extremely well, and hope we can fill the house with citizens!)

We sent out a letter weeks ago inviting all 8 at-large candidates to participate.

It took a few days to hear back from the first candidate.

Florence Gatten e-mailed me to let us know that she planned to participate. As Roch pointed out, this was reassuring since Gatten (who is already on the council as a district representative) must be regarded as one of the most serious at-large contenders.

Three other candidates responded within a few more days.

But when I woke up this past Monday morning, I still had not heard from 4 (half) of the candidates.

By the end of the day, two more had contacted me to say that they planned to participate.

And a day later, I had secured the final two commitments.

Unless anything goes wrong or comes up, ALL 8 at-large candidates will participate in the forum on September 27th. (That's pretty exciting, if you ask me! All the more reason why YOU should be there!!!)

Roch has been a superior partner-in-crime for pulling this off.

He's had experience himself as a 2001 mayoral candidate, and that's been invaluable to our planning process.

We still have an important week-and-a-half to try to make sure that we've covered all bases. Roch and I both have a very sincere desire for this to be a full-fledged success. Anything less will be disappointing for us, if no one else. (And I imagine that others, including the candidates, would be, at the very least, disappointed if this event turned out not to be as successful as we all hope.)

We won't find out until September 27th how many citizens will choose to take advantage of this extraordinary opportunity to learn more about the candidates and become better informed for the sake of their decision-making at the polls.

YOU can help by making your own plans to attend.

Candidates should feel welcome to invite friends and family. (George Subasavage's wife received a personal invitation from me to attend, and she sounded genuinely surprised that we welcome her attendance. But we do!)

YOU should feel free to invite your friends, neighbors, and loved ones.

If you're truly ambitious, invite perfect strangers too! (Yes, we even welcome them!)

Finding and making the time to do all the necessary groundwork was perhaps my greatest concern.

The decision to move forward with our idea for a candidates' forum came on August 17th, two days before the official beginning of the 2005-2006 school year for Guilford County Schools teachers. My year began unofficially on August 18th at a co-teaching workshop I had to attend at Jamestown Middle School. (I wish the idea had come up at the July blog meet-up. In the future, starting earlier to plan and organize such forums might be both possible and beneficial.)

For me, the beginning of the school year is always intense and demanding. If you are a regular visitor to this blog, you might have noticed that the pattern of my blogging has changed since the beginning of the school year. That's because I pour quite a bit of my time and energy into my job. During the summer, I had more time to blog. As soon as the school year began, I automatically had less.

For the sake of the forum, I have to find and make time to take care of all the responsibilities I've agreed to take on to ensure its success.

Without Roch, it wouldn't necessarily be impossible, but it would be A LOT more difficult to do all the things that need to be done. He's done a considerable amount of the work, and for that, I've extremely appreciative and grateful. He's also allowed his baby, Greensboro101, to serve as the primary sponsor, and that also has made a very positive difference.

Today is Saturday, September 17th.

YOU must submit questions that you would like to ask the at-large candidates no later than 11:59 PM Sunday, September 18th.

Bloggers will get together Wednesday, September 21st at the bloggers meet-up to vote on which questions will be asked at the forum.

The forum will be held Tuesday, September 27th.

Voters (I certainly hope this includes YOU) will go to the primary polls on Tuesday, October 11th.

6 of the 8 at-large candidates will advance to the general election on Tuesday, November 8th.

Voters (again, hopefully including YOU) will determine which 3 candidates will serve as our at-large representatives during the general election (again, to be held on Tuesday, November 8th).

By September 28th, we will be able to evaluate how the candidates' forum goes.

I want it to be an absolute success, but I do not expect it to be completely perfect.

We will all learn from this experience.

My hope is that it will be successful enough for us to want to pursue making similar forums a reality for future elections in our community.

My hope is that we will gain the confidence from this experience to feel comfortable planning and organizing enough forums in the future to accommodate ALL candidates (even the unopposed ones!).

In the meantime, if you're one of the people who understandably is disappointed that the September 27th forum won't be covering more territory, try to appreciate the ground we are trying to cover this year, know that we too would prefer to be doing even more than we are, and expect us to expand and improve in the future!

Questions, Questions, We Need Your Questions!

2005-09-17T00:27:00.000-04:00

Stop!

It's not too late!

Take a minute, Greensboro citizens, to think:

What do YOU want to ask the 8 individuals seeking to become YOUR at-large representatives on the Greensboro City Council?

There's no limit on the number of questions you can submit.

But there IS a DEADLINE, and it's sneaking up on us quickly.

Only two days left: today and Sunday.

Send me (seymfloy@aol.com) ALL the questions YOU want to ask

Sandra Anderson,

Diane Davis,

Florence Gatten,

Dave Howerton,

Yvonne Johnson,

Joel Landau,

George Subasavage and

Don Vaughan.

These are the three categories of questions we seek:

1) questions that are addressed to any/all candidates;

2) questions that are addressed to a specific candidate; and

3) questions that require only a "yes" or "no" response (for our "lightening round").

Local bloggers will get together Wednesday, September 21st at 7:00 PM at the Panera Bread on Lawndale Drive to vote on which questions the candidates will be asked at the candidates' forum on Tuesday, September 27th.

The forum is being sponsored by Greensboro101 and local bloggers.

It will be held at the Weatherspoon Art Gallery Auditorium on UNC-G's campus.

Show up at 6:15 PM for a chance to meet the candidates and receive their campaign literature.

At 6:45 PM, the forum will begin, and you will have an opportunity to hear from the candidates themselves.

Michael Christopher will serve as the moderator.

The forum will end at 8:30 PM.

Then, YOU can help decide the 6 at-large candidates who will advance to the Tuesday, November 8th general election by voting on Tuesday, October 11th.

Take advantage of these opportunities to help determine who will represent us for the next two years on our city council.

Worth Your Time To See

2005-09-16T02:06:00.000-04:00

You still have time.

The end of its run won't arrive until September 25th.

I saw it tonight, and it was a powerful experience.

Well-acted.

Well-designed.

Intense and gripping.

"A Streetcar Named Desire" represents only the latest of Triad Stage 's proud performances.

If you haven't experienced a Triad Stage production, this would be a great initiation.

Triad Stage provides a wonderfully intimate atmosphere.

And everyone I've ever dealt with at Triad Stage seems genuinely committed to ensuring the best experiences for everyone who visits their theatre.

From the performances to their treatment of their patrons, Triad Stage does it right.

Get your tickets today.

And enjoy!

Teachers Need Excuses To Look Cool

2005-09-16T01:50:00.000-04:00

Most teachers are not famous among their students for being cool or looking cool.

I wouldn't dare claim to be an exception to that rule; if I tried to make such a claim, my peers would not hesitate to beat that lie down to a pulp.

An incident in the bathroom this morning created a perfect excuse for me to look a little cooler at school today.

Having climbed out of the shower, I put on my glasses so that I could comb my currently longer-than-I-like hair.

I wasn't forcefully raking my hair or anything, but apparently the comb hit the right-ear handle, and it snapped perfectly, falling to the ground.

Beyond repair.

I don't have a back-up pair of prescription glasses, though I know from my long history with glasses that I should.

Only one solution: wear my prescription shades.

Not just while driving to work.

But into the building and all day long.

It definitely got my students' attention.

Some acknowledged that, in their eyes, I looked cool wearing shades in the building.

Others just looked at me like I was a weirdo.

It probably is a technical violation of the dress code for teachers.

But without those shades today, I would've been a literal blind bat, and everything in my classroom would have been a blurry blur.

I need to get my eyes checked anyway, and those glasses are worn and in need of replacing.

Maybe it will prompt me to get a haircut too so that I can adhere to my personal policy on hair length: if I need a comb or brush to make my hair do what I want it to do, it's way too long.

Deer Make Driving More Exciting

2005-09-16T01:25:00.000-04:00

My car almost experienced a collision with nature the other night.

Leaving my school after dark the other night, I casually made my way down Willard Dairy Road, heading toward 68.

All of a sudden, my headlights captured them.

They were staring straight at me, no doubt blinded by the light.

I braked slightly instead of slamming to a screeching stop.

Fortunately, they stopped staring and made their way off the road.

Two deer.

One's more than enough to do a tiny bit of damage to a car.

Years ago, after having spent a Valentine's Day waiting tables at the Pizza Hut on Randleman Road, I was driving home in very slight, drizzly rain down Vandalia Road when a deer ran right in front of my car.

My heart raced, realizing how close I'd been to hitting it.

Before I had time to enjoy my relief, the second one came, plowing into my driver's side door, bouncing off, and heading in the opposite direction since my car had prevented it from following its friend.

Insurance helped, but the total damage, as I recall, was more than $1000.00.

All I know is this: I didn't hit that deer.

It hit me.

Don't know if it survived, but I sincerely hope the collision didn't hurt that hit-and-run deer as much as it hurt my car.

Assuming it wasn't an intentional act on the deer's part, the accident did make my Valentine's Day a little more exciting that year.

Greensboro Bloggers: Let's Represent!

2005-09-15T23:14:00.000-04:00

You have three full days to submit questions for the at-large candidates for the Greensboro City Council.

Please take some time and carefully consider what you'd like to ask the 8 candidates who plan to attend the September 27th candidates' forum sponsored by Greensboro101 and local bloggers.

Send those questions to floyds@gcsnc.com or seymfloy@aol.com.

These are the types of questions you can consider asking:

1) questions that are addressed to any/all candidates;

2) questions that are addressed to a specific candidate; and

3) questions that require only a "yes" or "no" response (for our "lightening round").

You may submit as many questions as you would like. Please try to word them as clearly and concisely as possible.

All questions must be received by 11:59 PM on Sunday, September 18, 2005.

This can become the beginning of a regular tradition in Greensboro and Guilford County politics--candidates' forums sponsored by Greensboro101 and local bloggers-- but we need to make it work the first time.

After you submit your questions, read here and here for the next important steps we need you to take.

Florence Gatten's Website

2005-09-14T23:49:00.000-04:00

Florence Gatten has a nice website up and running.

It's not a blog, but it is informative and useful.

And it does invite everyone to communicate with her.

Riding down Market Street yesterday, I passed a couple of her campaign signs.

And noticed the URL for her website at the bottom of the sign.

It's worth a visit.

Don't miss the Family Photos, a nice personal touch. (The link to these pictures doesn't show up as one of the large ones on the side--it's appears in smaller print at the bottom. The other links appear clearly on the left-hand side of her website and are well-worth checking out.)

Come meet and listen to Florence Gatten in person on September 27th--details here!

A Beautiful Love Story Becomes A Musical!

2005-09-14T01:03:00.000-04:00

Freethinker exposes "Harold and Maude: An Intimate Musical."