Posts Tagged ‘Work’
Inaugural Snapshot, Part I
I am wedged between a mass of angry, frustrated and anxious Presidential Youth Ball attendees and a phalanx of Police and Secret Service in the Washington, DC, Hilton. With the ballroom at capacity, and POTUS on his way, the men in black are immovable. I reluctantly pull out every item I possess in my defense,…
Read MoreOur Better History
Let other people write about yesterday’s other big first; without diminishing the historical significance of Barack Obama’s inauguration as the first-ever African-American president, race wasn’t what reduced me to a sobbing mess. President Barack Obama’s inaugural address was the first time in my life I felt like a politician was speaking to me. It was…
Read MoreObey Shepard Fairey
I violated the cardinal rule of journalism on Sunday. I began an interview by squealing like a schoolgirl, “I’m a huge fan!” Oh well; I am. I’ve been huge fan of Shepard Fairey for years. I noticed his Obey Giant stencils and posters almost immediately upon moving to New York City in 1995. And I…
Read MoreConscience Asks The Question
I haven’t stepped foot in a high school in years. And for good reason; they’re large, generic, often sterile and sometimes impenetrable institutions — to say nothing of their inordinately soul-crushing social pressures. Fitting, then, that I should return to high school today — Martin Luther King Jr. Day — for a general civics lesson…
Read MoreCome On Up For The Rising
It took less than an hour for my inaugural cynicism to fade. It wasn’t the bunting, the banners, or the red, white and blue. It wasn’t The Mall, the monuments, or the museums. It wasn’t even hope, change, or unity. It was Bruce. My colleague, Gil, and I were walking off lunch with a long…
Read MoreYes We Can (But Do We Have To?)
The clock reads 5:56. The sky is purplish-black behind the blinds. I blink the sleep out of my eyes, climb out of bed, stumble into the living room, and turn on the television. NY1 reads eight degrees. I shave my head, shower, jam five days worth of dress shirts, underwear and aspirin into my bag.…
Read MoreI’m Just Thirsty
It was 2:44 p.m., just shy of an hour before USAir flight 1549 slid into the Hudson River a few blocks west of my office. I was sitting at my desk, celebrating the few minutes I had between meetings by blowing email out of my inbox like Missile Command. “Attached are the last eight days…
Read MoreCompany Book
For weeks, I was dreading my first day back to work. From from Christmas to New Years, there was just one thing on my mind: work. When I ran, I thought about work. When I ate dinner, I talked about work. When I lay in bed at night, I worried about work. Work, work, work.…
Read More“A Holiday Benefit, Vol. II” Takes Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
A few years ago now, I returned to my alma mater, Syracuse University, to speak to students about how to get a job (or, more specifically, how I got my job, and lessons I’ve learned that might be of some valuable to them). It’s a speech I would later give at Emerson College, and have…
Read MoreBackstage At The TRL Finale (Or, At Home At The End Of The World)
When I walked into Times Square this afternoon, the sidewalks were overflowing with wide-eyed, stargazing teenagers hoping to steal a glimpse of a celebrity — any celebrity — pouring out of a limo and into MTV Studios. Tonight was the end of an era: the finale of MTV’s flagship, Total Request Live. Two hours after…
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