Creativity and Democracy: An Illustration

I think this cartoon by Hugh MacLeod of gapingvoid is a great illustration of all hierarchies, not just corporate.

The Memphis angle, besides the shock of recognition and possible lesson learned? The pyramid, of course.

From Mr. MacLeod's excellent essay, How To Be Creative and the section titled, "Companies that squelch creativity can no longer compete with companies that champion creativity".

Memphis Music Commission Meets Media 2.0 (Maybe)

The Memphis Flyer reports that the Memphis and Shelby County Music Commission has joined MySpace. A small thing, but a good thing.

A Memphis Music Foundation¹ project mentioned last year was a digital music initiative. They had budgeted it at $750,000. $750,000! They could host an mp3 by every man, woman and child in Tennessee for that much money. There's no reason to spend that much on a website. The software's cheap if not free and you can use the branding from your existing website on your digital music website. This will cost money, but not $750,000.

Luckily, the thing that prevented them from spending that much money was the lack of that much money.

MySpace and its Web 2.0 brethren don't cost, or cost much. And they're easy to use -- you don't need staff to do it unless you can't write.

We might be poor but we're not stupid.

¹Frankly, I can't tell the difference between the Music Commission and the Music Foundation. I might be unfairly commingling them here.

Save Libertyland News Conference Monday

From Denise Parkinson of Save Libertyland:

Save Libertyland!, the local community organization that has for 15 months worked to re-open Memphis's historic park, will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. Monday, January 29, at Libertyland, to unveil a workable alternative to what has become a vacant crime-magnet in the heart of Midtown.

1) Thanks to the efforts of Save Libertyland, not only has the National Historic Landmark Carousel been saved, but also the Zippin Pippin as well! Find out the details! There is still an outstanding offer by a successful park operator to re-make Libertyland into a modern recreational destination.

2) Save Libertyland has consulted with local and regional alternative fuel technology companies to draft a "green" vision for the park which will convert Libertyland into an Interactive Educational Park for Energy Independence. Similar in scope to Alabama's successful Space Camp, Libertyland can be a model for educating the public on alternative fuel uses in a theme-park setting. Think solar-powered Stax Soul Music; biofuel-powered amusement rides. We have the technology!

3) The National Carousel Association, in recognition of the hard-won battle to save Memphis's priceless Grand Carousel, is considering Memphis as the site of their 2008 National Convention -- so the clock is ticking. Save Libertyland has a plan that provides an alternative to the city's 3-year process which will leave the vulnerable park vacant. For the price of moving the Grand Carousel and Pippin, the MidSouth could have a premier park instead.

We have support. We have a vision inclusive to all Memphians. We challenge the city to support justice for Memphis's historic park and end its downward spiral into vacancy, crime, and neglect.

"An interactive educational park such as Libertyland is a very effective means of raising the public awareness of how the US can achieve energy independence. Bioenergy is already mainstream in many parts of the country. Other energy sources now considered alternative fuels will soon be major fuel sources. Libertyland can enable countless people to learn how to add to the demand that brings these other fuel sources into the mainstream. Patriot Biofuels, Inc. would appreciate any opportunity to join Libetyland in its energy independence efforts." -- Mr. Cal McCastlain, Patriot Biofuels.

Press conference:Senior councilmember E.C. Jones wants to evaluate the latest damage, a giant crater in the center of the park, dug by the Midsouth Fair this past week. Please note the change and thank you for your patience!
For more info, contact Denise Parkinson at 276-0346

If you can't make it, they're hoping to videotape it and post it at Memphis Magnet.

Whether you agree with Save Libertyland or not, it has a Vision. Everything coming from City Hall lately about the Fairgrounds is either vague (mixed-use redevelopment, Legacy Park, new stadium) or schizo (No! Yes! Maybe! No! You can't have an amusement park! No! Yes! Maybe! No! You can't use the Coliseum for high school graduation!).

For Sale: Sears Crosstown

The Memphis Business Journal and the Commercial Appeal both report that the Sears Crosstown building is for sale. The firm marketing the building, Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, is emphasizing its redevelopment possibilities. Very heartening!

Here's HFF's overview on the Sears building. You can also read their executive summary on the property [for once I forgive use of a pdf].

Okay, you random Googlers! Tell your friends, tell yourself. Here's your chance to purchase the most undervalued building in Memphis, if not America! It's art-deco cathedral of commerce, surrounded on 3 sides by appreciating neighborhoods and on the 4th side by a commercial district long in the tooth, but architecturally sound. It has parking, it has land, it has lots of space, it has beauty. You can put your logo in beautiful glowing neon letters atop the tower for all of Memphis to see.

Here's an earlier post I wrote on it and a beautiful photo by amiev on flickr.

And I've brought the tower back as my background image.

Delusion: The Spartacus 24/7 Project

I saw Spartacus the first time just a few months ago. Happened to catch part of it on Turner Movie Classics and I decided to rent it. Which was a mistake for someone like me. As a by-product of Catholic schools, I've long had a problem with arbitrary authority. And I'd never seen a movie that so closely insinuates cruelty and brutality with the trappings of class and hierarchy. For a few weeks after watching it, I found myself more pissed off than usual at the self perpetuating and aggrandizing hierarchies that we often find ourselves in.

And I thought that it would be cool to have Spartacus playing somewhere in Memphis, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a years. A public performance and protest.

Then I saw this television:


I passed it by coming home from work about 2 weeks ago. It was facing Sam Cooper Boulevard, on the cusp of the Broad Avenue Arts District. Unfortunately, the day I first saw it, I was sick and didn't feel like turning around to take a picture. But it made an impression. It was turned as though for the viewing pleasure of the passing cars on Sam Cooper. And it was a console TV. Like TV trays and Lazy-Boys, console TVs really hearken back to the golden age of TV watchin'.

A TV fit for Spartacus.

Nothing like a console TV playing a movie about the struggle against hierarchy and brutality for the citizens of Memphis as they drive by.

24/7/365/Binghamton/Kubrick.

But I figured it would be gone the next day.

But it was there when I drove by a week later. No one had carted it off. Amazing. That's when I got these pictures.

Sadly it was gone the day after. Ending my Spartacus 24/7 project dream delusion.

MPACT Memphis/Volunteer Memphis Nonprofit Expo Tonight

MPACT Memphis/Volunteer Memphis
Nonprofit Expo
Thursday, January 25th, 2007
5:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Botanic Garden, 750 Cherry Road

Featuring more than 75 nonprofit organizations showcasing
their programs and volunteer opportunities to community members

Event is free and open to the public
No reservations required – Come as you are!

For more information visit www.volunteermemphis.org
or call
Volunteer Memphis at 523-2425 or
MPACT at 312-7760

Join us in making a difference in our community!
Be a tutor. Be a handyman. Be a cat cuddler. Be a spiritual life
volunteer. Be a disaster relief worker. Be an arts & crafts teacher.
Be a book reader. Be a tour guide. Be a meal server. Be a mentor.
Be a clothes sorter. Be an advocate. Be a gardener.
Be Somebody
Be a food sorter. Be a puppeteer. Be a lifeguard.
Be a special events helper. Be a meal deliverer. Be a caseworker.
Be a blood donor. Be a walker. Be a comfort basket preparer.
Be a board member. Be an aid station worker. Be a baby hugger.
Be a volunteer.

Democracy and Creativity in Memphis

I wanted to add this idea to my Vision:

To flourish, the creativity of Memphis requires democratic, participatory and transparent institutions. Hierarchy and exclusion selfishly darken the field of ideas, stunting if not poisoning the growth of creativity and with it the future of Memphis.

Like my other Visions, nothing original. A gazillion people are saying variations all over the planet. Some are saying it very well here in Memphis. But I think it's worth saying again. And again. And again...

From the pages of the Memphis Press-Scimitar

Feeling nostalgic for the good old days? Nothing like a random trip through the local newspaper archives to make you wanna bury that nostalgia in a shallow grave.

But it's still fun. I've attached a couple of things I found during some research. Both are from 1937.

House of Mews Updates

Update uno: The House of Mews has a letter on their home page explaining what they need for the move. They are also very gracious to the folks kicking them out, which is nice.

Here it is:

January 17, 2007

Dear Friends of Mews,

WE NEED YOU NOW MORE DESPERATELY THAN EVER BEFORE……………..

Our new landlords have notified us that we are to vacate our building by March 2007. We are the last in line of all the tenants to be vacated. Our landlord was good enough to let us know that eventually it would be our turn, but that for the time being (the last 2 years) we were welcome to stay as “ we were considered an asset to the community". The property owners have plans for all of the buildings they own to the north of ours, which include serious upgrading and new tenants who can afford much higher lease rates. As a businesswoman, I understand return on investment on one's property is key. Nevertheless, it saddens me, as we have been a part of the Cooper Young Community for well past 11 years and will be forever grateful for the kindness of the community and our supporters, including the owners of our space.....where well over 7,000 homeless cats have been cared for and adopted and people from all over the world have visited.

Now for the really tough part......we MUST move by March 2007! Here, we once again ask for the support of our "Friends of Mews". You have already given us much.....you send us money, you volunteer and work hard in our store, you bring in & donate tons of supplies to alleviate our burdens and make life easier. We hope you will want to help us again. We NEED YOU. The House of Mews has not survived because of one person alone, but by many who have been dedicated over the years. Here's how you might help:

1. Are you a realtor who knows a possible space, a storefront with windows, a small older home
in a commercial area for lease, possibly for sale?.
2. Are you someone who would consider being our landlord, buy a small space in a commercial area as an
investment and let us pay the mortgage payments as rent?
3. Can you sign up to foster or adopt ONE or TWO Kitties during our transition?
4. Are you willing to help paint, tile or decorate with us?
5. Can you help us move, or help us clear our building in some small way?
6. Can you help get the word out to your friends and family that we are looking for help QUICKLY?
7. CAN YOU DONATE $ to help keep us going during this transition?

We must start anew, a smaller space, about 1500 s.f....we are ready to size down, the current space has been a huge workload of 3000 s.f. which I must care for by myself when I don't have enough volunteers.......we have already lowered our number of kitties from 170 to just under 100. We pray for a nice little space without any huge remodeling expense and nice big windows for the kitties to lay in the sun and look out the windows just as they have for 11 years here on Cooper....that and hopefully a place where many people walk/drive/visit so we are seen and our homeless kitties can be adopted. Without this, we might as well close our store..............location is still the most important ingredient for success. We know beggars can't be choosers, but then, we don't want to be thought of as beggars, unless of course,that works!
We thank you for helping in whatever way works best for you, please contact me immediately if you can assist us. Time is of the essence, as we will all be magicians if we can pull this one off!

Sincerely,

Elain Harvey
Founder & Managing Director
Direct Access # (901) 489-7938 Email: houseofmew@aol.com

Update dos: on this thread at the Goner Message Board, member Alisa reports that "Burke's is not moving into the House of Mews. It's moving into the end of the row across the Tsunami parking lot. Apparently, overhead is much lower...which makes sense." It sounds like the same row of shops, but not that particular space. Which is good for Burke's, since you don't want to be the one kicking the kitties out. But does that mean then that the HOM eviction is a speculative eviction?

Poetry Rhythm and Soul This Saturday

Poetry Night (including open mic)
When: January 20, 2006
Where: Galloway Church Cafe
Address: 1015 South Cooper at Walker (in Cooper-Young)
Admission: Free, but Donations Are Welcome
Time: 7:00 PM

This is an event put on by the Fleming Brothers and friends. The first event last October featured a duet between filmmaker Keenon Nikita and his daughter, her first public performance. A star of a star was born that night. And that was just one of many excellent performances.

Big Stinking Mistake in Cooper-Young

If you want to see the embodiment of loss leader, it's the House of Mews in Cooper-Young. A very unique non-profit that has been there for at least 10 years, they're a huge part of that neighborhood's feel and its success. I know quite a few people who make a trip to the House of Mews a regular part of their trips to Cooper-Young, and dine at Cooper-Young just so they can stop by there afterwards. And when I say "stop by", I don't mean get in their car and stop by. I mean walk up and walk in.

And now the House is getting booted so some landlord (could it be the same landlord who has pioneered the growth of empty storefronts and massive unused parking lots in Overton Square?) can triple the rent: from $1000 to $3000 month. 300%. Not a nice profit. A mega-stinking-profit.

This is the 2000's version of The Center for Southern Folklore being booted from Beale Street to make room for Wet Willie's Daquiri Bar, or Burkle's Bakery in Overton Square being booted for something (I don't know what it was, but it's long gone and there is no tenant there now.) And I realize the tenant that's moving in is not Wet Willie's -- it's Burke's Bookstore.

Beware, Cooper-Young! With decisions like this coming from people like that, Wet Willie's and over-priced, underoccupied storefronts may not be far behind.

Don't blame the cats. This crap is man-made.

A Creative Vortex of Memphis

Southern and Semmes might have a special creative energy, because the only 2 institutions¹at that intersection are models of versatility and ingenuity.

First, directly on the corner, south of the railroad, there's Elmore Carpets and African Imports, owned by Anthony "Amp" Elmore. I've long admired Mr. Elmore's versatility: he is a carpet impresario, an importer, a kickboxing champion and teacher, a proud Buddhist and a filmmaker.



To the northeast and across Southern, New Olivet Baptist Church is presided over by the Reverend Kenneth Whalum, Jr. Reverend Whalum, in addition to the church, leads its celebrated choir, has developed the innovative entrepeneurship program called Bust A Move Monday (BAMM!), won a seat on the City School Board (he's a big supporter of art in the schools), and (my favorite) puts great sermon teasers on his church marquee (in both English and Spanish). My favorite, which is coming from my memory, so it could be wrong: "Was Jesus Sipping on the E&J?" In fact, the teasers are so great (here's another one) that I think Rev. Whalum could raise money for his many endeavors with a coffee-table book, if he has pictures of all of them.

¹Okay, this isn't completely true. A brick wall on the northern side of Southern protects innocent and unwary passersby from the exclusivist, hierarchist and monocultured embrace of the Memphis Country Club, just 25 yards away as the drunken shank flies.

south of Southern

The Commercial Appeal ran a story Saturday morning about the University of Memphis' plans for a new nursing building. The University's choice of location -- the South Campus.

The University has owned that huge underused parcel, formerly known as the Kennedy Hospital, since 1966. (See photo outlined in green -- lots o' space).


Yet during this time it's expanded primarily north across Central into an established, architecturally sound neighborhood. They acquired, then demolished, many fine homes for this northward push. (See photo with red outline. The outline marks what the university has acquired and with a few exceptions, bulldozed).
And with nary an exception, they replaced each house with something far, far, far away uglier. This includes the Central surface parking lots, the banal student dormitories that border Poplar and the hyper-bland Holiday Inn. They did save many of the mature trees, but everything else -- "kaboom!"

Meanwhile, the South Campus has remained largely unused. And the area surrounding has declined. Crime has increased, in the commercial areas especially. The University, by finally turning their interest southward, can really help stabilize the area. They have a lot of undeveloped land that doesn't have to be seized or bulldozed. The presence of more students, faculty and staff will give adjoining neighborhoods confidence about the future. And a beautiful structure would be a catalyst for other improvements.

If we can diminish the Central neighborhood with bad architecture, we can improve the Sherwood Forest, Audubon Park and Cherry/Quince neighborhoods with great architecture.

Coup d'Ville?

Last Tuesday, our City Council, at the request of the Mayor's office, usurped -- swiped -- power from the citizens of Memphis. They did it by contravening the City Charter -- specifically ordinance 5063 -- and the will of the citizens who voted for it in November 2004. The ordinance states:

ORDINANCE NO. 5063
A) “HEREAFTER ALL PERSONS, EMPLOYED SOLELY
BY THE CITY OF MEMPHIS OR ANY OF ITS
DEPARTMENTS, BOARDS, BUREAUS OR COMMISSIONS,
SHALL BE REQUIRED TO LIVE AND MAINTAIN A
RESIDENCE WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF THE CITY
OF MEMPHIS, AS NOW DEFINED OR AS MAY BE
HEREAFTER DEFINED AND EXCEPT THAT THE CITY
COUNCIL MAY EXEMPT THEREFROM EMPLOYEES OF
ANY DIVISION, BOARD, DEPARTMENT OR BUREAU
WHOSE DUTIES AS EMPLOYEES OF SUCH
DEPARTMENTS, BOARDS, BUREAUS OF COMMISSIONS
REQUIRE THEM TO PERFORM SERVICES FOR THE
CITY OUTSIDE THE TERRITORIAL LIMITS THEREIN.”
B.) FAILURE OF ANY OFFICER OR EMPLOYEE TO
COMPLY WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION
SHALL BE CAUSE FOR REMOVAL OR DISCHARGE
FROM CITY EMPLOYMENT, EXCEPT THAT NO
INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYED BY THE CITY AS OF THE
EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS ORDINANCE, INCLUDING ANY
APPOINTED EMPLOYEE WHO MAY BE LATER
REAPPOINTED, SHALL BE DISCIPLINED OR DISCHARGED
FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY. NEW EMPLOYEES SHALL BE
ALLOWED SIX (6) MONTHS AFTER THE DATE THEY ARE
HIRED OR APPOINTED TO COMPLY WITH THIS SECTION.

The emphasis mine, but the text is the complete referendum from the sample ballot of November 2004 [pdf!]

This was put on the ballot by the vote of the City Council in June of 2004 [p-d-f!].

ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF MEMPHIS, SAME BEING CHAPTER 11 OF THE ACTS OF 1879 AS AMENDED, PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE 11, SECTION 9 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE HOME RULE AMENDMENT SO AS TO AMEND THE RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT OF THE PERSONS EMPLOYED SOLELY BY THE CITY, SECTION 190 AND TO SUBMIT THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE TO THE QUALIFIED VOTERS OF THE CITY OF MEMPHIS AT THE FIRST GENERAL STATE ELECTION TO BE HELD NOVEMBER 2, 2004, UP FOR T H I R D AND FINAL READING.
Ordinance No. 5063
MOTION: Marshall
SECOND: Holt
AYES: Ford, Holt, Hooks, Lowery, Marshall, Mitchell, Peete and Chairman Brown
NAYS: Chumney and McCormick
Taylor recused himself
Jones and Sammons did not cast a vote
APPROVED

So when it was approved by Memphis voters in November 2004, it became part of the City Charter.

The City Council voted 9-3 to relax this residency requirement in order to increase the pool of police officers. As the bold text should make clear, this referendum and therefore the City Charter in no way gives them this power. It reasonably gives them the power to exempt employees whose job duties for the city take place outside of the city limits. The power to exempt is explicitly limited to this. This exemption would be for, say, a city lobbyist in Nashville or Washington, or an city economic development officer in New York or Los Angeles -- because their duties require them to live elsewhere. Unless the MPD plans on patrolling Collierville or Bartlett or Millington, police officers do not qualify.

The City Council illegally replaced the bedrock of the City Charter and the explicit will of the voters with the quicksand of their discretion.

You might not think it's a good idea to have a residency requirement. Let's re-open the debate then. But we can only decide the issue by repealing or amending the referendum in another referendum, or legally replace our present Charter with another. The City Council got it on the ballot once, they can put it on the ballot again.

But they can't repeal it. They're officers of the Charter, not rulers.

I have to add that the Commercial Appeal has been lax in its duty as a member of the Fourth Estate. This article states that the City Council voted to "relax its mandatory residency requirements" [emphasis mine, again]. There is no possession by the City Council. It is the City Charter's requirement, not the City Council's. Secondly, the article doesn't even mention that the ordinance is part of the Charter. The CA's editorial on the subject the next day makes the same "its" assertion, then adds

"[Joe] Brown, who voted against the measure, said the council "broke the law" since the issue already had been decided by voters. But the ordinance states clearly that the council may exempt employees from the residency requirements."

The ordinance states very clearly under what circumstances they may exempt, and it is not a blanket power of exemption.

So why I am getting all bent out of shape and boring you with it? Progress in this world is aligned with democracy and the rule of law, in opposition to hierarchy and fiat. Memphis, historically exclusivist and hierarchical -- with lots of bullet holes and empty lots to show for it -- has much, maybe everything, to gain from jumping into the river of progress. In a couple of years, we'll vote on a new City Charter that may allow us to do just that. But if our leaders can "repeal" our present Charter and public referendums at the behest of really bad counsel, they can do the same to our new City Charter as well.

A Letter to Target

Robert J. Ulrich
Chairman of the Board and
Chief Executive Officer
Target Corporation

Dear Mr. Ulrich,

Memphis has recently learned that we're to get a new Target store in the area of Memphis called Crosstown. There's been much discussion as to whether Target would choose a suburban design -- a box warehouse surrounded by asphalt parking lot -- for this location. I'm writing you to ask that Target build a store that will embody, in your aisles and in our streets, your corporate emphasis on great design and is mindful of the urban setting you have chosen for your store.



Crosstown is a section of Memphis that was originally an early 20th century trolley suburb, full of bungalows, shotgun houses and 2-story family homes and small-scale commercial buildings (I've enclosed photos of some nearby examples). However the area had declined substantially from the 1960s, when a urban freeway sliced through its heart, demolishing many of these structures, and another planned (but never completed) freeway resulted in the demolition of many more. Businesses closed. Cheaply made apartment buildings replaced houses. Neighborhoods not destroyed began a long decline. Where you plan on building your new store is one of those neighborhoods.


Memphis has only recently stopped this decline. A big part of the comeback has been the infill of homes in the area where the unbuilt freeway demolished homes. At the insistence of community leaders, the rebuilt homes were built to the aesthetic standards of the neighboring undemolished homes. The scars left by the unbuilt freeway have healed thanks largely to the design quality of these rebuilt homes. Other factors are the diverse community who have settled and stayed in that area, and a new downtown to Crosstown trolley system that Memphis added whose terminal is just 2 blocks from your proposed site.


I speak for no one but myself, but I nevertheless ask that as you design the new store, you consider how you can help further transform and revitalize Crosstown Memphis (as well as attract customers) through beautiful, affordable and place-conscious design. Just as Target transformed itself by growing through design, you can help do the same with this area of Memphis. I hope that you will consider my request.

Respectfully,

The Gates of Memphis

Use RSS, Memphis!

It sounds geeky, but it's more than geeky. Way more.

RSS, depending on who you ask, is either Really Simple Syndication, or Rich Site Summary, or something else. It's often called a newsfeed, or an RSS feed, and is identified by icons like the one to the left, or like this in Safari. What it really is a file that your web site provides giving a summary of your website's content, in a standard format. As your website changes, the file changes, so it provides an up-to-date summary of your website. Who uses it? Someone with a browser, an RSS reader or even another website. Because it's in a standard format, it can be used anywhere and by anyone who can think of ways to use it. Arguably the best use of it to date has been podcasting, where the RSS feed provides podcast receivers like ITunes with a link to recent MP3s and other multimedia files produced by the owners of that website. In short, a way to detour broadcasting hegemony.

But I'm not writing this to provide a crappy explanation of what RSS is. I write it because it doesn't appear that many Memphis institutions use RSS. I see very few of those icons when I visit non-blog Memphis websites. This is probably a legacy condition -- people have older websites created before the advent of RSS's popularity. But it's important that they change for 2 reasons:

1. not having RSS often means that your website is static. A web brochure. It doesn't change much; new data comes in and sits on a desk somewhere because it's too dang hard to put in a webpage. Your website is written in unchanged-by-data HTML and requires a web designer every time you want to change that. Which means that even though the world changes faster every day, you're communicating with that world in 1995 tools -- or not communicating because who has time to learn Dreamweaver or FrontPage (cringe!) or pay a web designer to let people know your organization needs money to pay your web designer. You might use the phone, but then you're using 1876 technologies. You need dynamic websites that are easy to update by everyone in your organization -- from the Executive Director to the Plant Duster. If you don't have RSS, chances are you're still hacking your way through HTML and your stale content shows it.

2. more importantly, RSS is a vanguard. It's the older brother of technologies, open and free and participatory, that allow the sharing and mashing up of your information. Sharing and mashing in ways you probably never imagined. By and with people who you never imagined might want to use it. If you're not using RSS, you're probably not sharing your information by any means but webpages (and badly at that if 1. above is to be believed). Sharing means new audiences, new partners, new markets, new capital, new funding, new friends, new ideas, new possibilities.

Memphis needs that stuff.

Use RSS, Memphis!