August Ideas[Posted by David Miller on August 5, 2008] With a new(ish) month, a new thread for show suggestions. We got a number of interesting ideas in July, including this one. Read a fascinating article? Had a good conversation over dinner? Observed a trend in the Northwest? If any of it strikes you as the basis for an hour of lively radio, let us know. We're always hungry for more ideas.
How about a show on Unconditional Parenting? It's a book (or dvd) by author Alfie Kohn http://www.alfiekohn.org/index.html who came to Portland last summer and gave a lecture to over 300 parents about how and why to parent without rewards, punishments, threats, or bribes. We are a growing community, our Portland area Unconditional Parenting yahoo group has over 150 members... http://gro...-Portland/
There are several preschools in the area who practice this kind of respectful, peaceful communication and conflict-resolution with children, as well as a local class for parents to get information and support - The Connected Parenting Class covers respectful limit setting, developmental norms, listening to feelings, meeting everyone's needs, and many practical ideas about what to do instead of being either an authoritarian or a permissive parent. http://www...#connected
I think it would be very interesting to have a show about online communities, forums, blogs, etc. and whether unrestrained public comment is good, bad or indifferent.
The Times Magazine had a piece recently about Internet trolls (http://www...lls-t.html). This is just one species of some very negative behavior that can appear when you have unfiltered, anonymous communication. Another thing that can happen is the development of "echo chamber" type communities that allow people with negative or irrational behaviors and beliefs to communicate and reinforce each other in insular groups. Finally, the signal to noise ratio can sometimes be so low that it is quite difficult to identify the valuable, reliable communications. I am a passionate advocate of free speech, so it goes against my grain to even suggest this, but is all this communication really a good thing?
In the past few days, a furor has erupted in the restaurant industry regarding the book, "Waiter Rant". Below are links to an interview with the author, Steve Dublanica, on the TODAY Show and a book review from the Wall Street Journal.
I have followed the Waiter Rant blog, which gave birth to the book, for several years. In this downturn economy, many professions that rely heavily on tips are being squeezed twofold. First by the drop in raw sales from which gratuities are calculated. Second on the reduced amount (or none at all) gratuities previously gifted by customers. Waiter Rant is the "other face" to Chef Anthony Boudrain’s, "Kitchen Confidential", which was a restaurant industry and commercial hit, even though it exposed much of the dark underbelly of the restaurant industry. "Waiters Rant" is not being received with the same appreciation by the industry as Boudrain’s book. In fact, it's being blasted! So a Think Out Loud topic: "Serving the Customers We Don't Like" (which is also the title of my hugely popular seminar event presented at the 2007 and 2008 NW Foodservice Shows in Portland and Seattle). The topic and seminar was the most attended education seminar (including the keynote speakers) for both shows. When, why, and how (much) does one choose to give gratuities in a tight economy? Sincerely, Paul Paz www.WaitersWorld.com ‘WAITER RANT: How to avoid spit in your food Steve Dublanica, aka The Waiter, on what’s really cooking in restaurants Today show July. 31, 2008 http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/25933860/ Server dishes on revenge July 31: TODAY’s Matt Lauer talks to Steve Dublanica, a waiter who admits to getting back at rude customers in his book “Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip--Confessions of a Cynical Waiter.” Editor's Note: This book excerpt contains some profanities and may not be not suitable for minors. Having witnessed customer behaviors ranging from the dismissive and arrogant to the tender and heartbreaking, The Waiter reveals the secrets behind getting good service and provides invaluable guidelines regarding tipping, cell phone etiquette, handling unruly children, getting reservations on the busiest night of the year and — probably most important of all — how to ensure that you enjoy a saliva-free entrée. An excerpt. TAKE YOUR OWN DAMN ORDER By MOIRA HODGSON – Wall Street Journal - August 1, 2008 WAITER RANT By The Waiter (Ecco, 302 pages $24.95) http://onl...lenews_wsj Several years ago, as I was leaving the Four Seasons restaurant after dinner, the waiter who had served us stopped me at the front door. He'd run all the way down from the Pool Room. "Was something wrong, madame?" He held out the bill. I was mortified. By mistake, I'd left him a 2% tip.
PS...
NPR Radio had Steve Dublanica, WAITER RANT author, as one of the guests for the show below. Paul Paz - www.WaitersWorld.com Tipping Point: What Makes a Good Gratuity? NPR Radio - Talk of the Nation, August 24, 2006 • http://www...Id=5704350 Listen Now [30 min 14 sec] add to playlist javascript:NPR.Player.openPlayer(5704350, 5704351, null, NPR.Player.Action.PLAY_NOW, NPR.Player.Type.STORY, '0') Writer Amy Dickinson, syndicated columnist for the Chicago Tribune, talks about the art of tipping, and a waiter gives an inside look at what makes a good gratuity. Guests: Amy Dickinson, writes the syndicated column "Ask Amy" for the Chicago Tribune Don George, global travel editor for Lonely Planet The Waiter, runs the Waiter Rant blog
I am coordinating the 2008 OR Student Mock Election, which is a statewide event that informs kids as to why getting involved in democracy is important, how they can become informed voters, and who they would vote for and which ballot initiatives they would support if they were of voting age. Perhaps some students who are participating in this event (we have over 185 schools signed up so far) could come on the show to talk about young people, voting, political participation, issues important to them, etc. I think it would not only give them a wide venue in which to see that their voices are valued by the community but it could also show both adults and young people alike that the youth is involved and informed and interested in learning more about our government and its systems, which seems especially empowering and invigorating this election year.
I would like to have a discussion about how to reset the way business is done in America, so that we place Ben Franklin's principle 'do well by doing good' at the center of American enterprise.
In 2002, I founded DoughNation Services LLC (and apparently the donation services industry) and have been striving to promote the great benefits - socially, economically, environmentally and spiritually - of approaching business with a commitment to creating good. DoughNation picks up clothing, furniture and household goods, photographs and itemizes their tax deduction value and then delivers them to local schools and nonprofits for people to use or for fundraising. In addition to DoughNation's basic service, we offer expanded services that clear the home through donation, recycling and disposal. These new services represent a great new industry for our nation, and in this industry everyone benefits: The donation services industry is timely and important for so many reasons - it represents desperately needed new industry, and the simple nature of the work means many new jobs for low-skilled or cognitively disabled individuals. Most of all, the donation services industry sets a good example of doing well by doing good. I'd like to hear about more business that are heading this way, and hope this will encourage more to follow!
Monday, Aug 11, 2008. Todays program on NW Forests was excellent. I suggest a follow up program re the almost unheard of juniper problem in Cewntral OR. Western Juniper began slowly taking over millions of acres throughout the area beginning in the 1870s when cattle and sheep grazing began. Obtain a copy of technical bulletin 152 June 2005, Biology, Ecology, and Management of Western Juniper published by Oregon State U. Numerous state and federal agencies, universities and private concerns were involved. I live in Prineville and received my copy from the Crook County extension service. This is a serious issue affecting agriculture, forestry, game management, water aquifers, scenery, and the economy in complex ways. The public needs to become aware of the issue and support USFS, BLM and other entities in effectively managing the issue. Thank you.
The interactions today have brought a show thought to mind:
What do we want TOL to be? Do we see a difference between the actual radio show and the online thread? Do we want to encourage every voice to be heard or to foster robust debate? Do we want to regulate certain behaviors in the interests of promoting a less threatening community or should we foster a freedom of speech ethic that allows strongly help positions to be argued? Can we even hope to foster long term community in the online side when the average participation in threads falls to rarely more than one or two of us after 24 hours? Is the online structure simply to offer a means of interacting with the AM show that parallels the phone bank, or is there more here that should be promoted and encouraged? What differences do we see in how we define a TOL community? Do we need the hosts and staff to define this, or does the audience elevate to actually participate in the decisions and responsibilities an enduring community will require? I'm sure you can better frame this one, but I think you have the idea.
There is a movie called Tropic Thunder coming out that has created quite a stir in the disability community. Here is a post I received from a national disability advocacy organization called TASH. It would be wonderful to have a show that highlights the harm that is done with words that are part of the mainstream language. We need to heighten awareness about how attitudes towards people with cognitive disabilities are still in the dark ages. Here is the post:
When disability advocates found out about DreamWorks Productions new release "Tropic Thunder," they set in motion a nationwide protest by a coalition of disability organizations outraged by the film's use of the R-word (retard). The movie, billed as an adult comedy poking fun at Hollywood, includes a movie-in-a-movie featuring Ben Stiller as "Simple Jack" and the tagline "Once upon a time there was a retard." TASH , one of founding members of the coalition, seeks to raise public awareness that the R-word hurts people with disabilities, their families and their friends. Last week, TASH participated in a meeting with DreamWorks executives to request that "Simple Jack" scenes be edited and that the studios fund a public awareness campaign, including a film trailer, to educate the public about the offensiveness of the R-word. TASH also signed on to a statement of solidarity (attached) and an ad that will run in Friday's New York Times. In addition, several members joined a demonstration at the film's Monday night premiere in Hollywood. Several major news outlets have already covered the protests. To raise awareness of the pain caused by the R-word, TASH encourages members to boycott the movie. However, we don't want to draw more attention to the film. Instead of protesting in front of your local theaters, help TASH and our partner organizations ban use of the R-word by taking action: More on this website specifically about the harmful aspects of the movie: http://www...ic-thunder
As a female computer science professor, I'd like to see a show exploring the reasons for the low numbers of females going into science, mathematics, and engineering. Why is this still the case more than 30 years after "women's liberation"? What are the barriers, both external and self-imposed, to math and science faced by girls and women at all levels of education? What is being done in Oregon and throughout the nation to address this problem? What should be done?
I think a show on DEQ's (and other state agencies') reluctance (failure) to enforce environmental laws and regulations is needed. You touched on this when you interviewed the Attorney General candidates last fall.
Rob Manning had a story on OPB radio last week about DEQ and Oregon Department of Agriculture's failure to enforce water quality rules at Wapato Lake upstream of the Joint Water Commission's Drinking Water Plant south of Forest Grove. One of the most embarrassing stories on this issue for state agencies was reported in the Sunday Oregonian in November 2005. The story revealed that student volunteers at the Northwest Environmental Defense Center at Lewis & Clark Law School collect more in environmental penalties than DEQ and Oregon Department of Justice combined. You can read this story online at http://www...ersion.pdf The proliferation of public service law firms and nonprofits in Oregon taking on environmental enforcement is a telltale sign of the failure of state agencies to take on their mandates. A few examples [list}Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center Cascade Resources Advocacy Group Northwest Environmental Advocates Western Environmental Law Center Northwest Environmental Defense Center Tualatin Riverkeepers Columbia Riverkeeper Willamette Riverkeeper Pacific Rivers Council Water Watch of Oregon[/list] ...and the list goes on. Courts are overloaded because state agencies won't step up and enforce. People downstream are victims of polluters upstream and society subsidizes polluters by cleaning up their messes for them. Please address this issue in a future edition of Think Out Loud, preferably before the November elections. Brian Wegener Watershed Watch Coordinator Tualatin Riverkeepers http://www.tualatinriverkeepers.org
Silcon Valley has Berkeley and Stanford and its economy benefits enormously from them; Philadelphia has Penn and Swarthmore and Haverford and Bryn Mawr; Connecticut has Yale and Wesleyan; Boston has Harvard and MIT and Tufts, the Research Triangle has UNC and NC State. By contrast, Oregon has an underfunded system of struggling universities whose per capita state funding is 46th in the nation, if I remember correctly. One of them is on the verge of collapse. This parlous situation is already having serious negative consequences for our economy. One example: Vestas, one of the leading wind turbine manufacturers in the world, recently decided to build its research facility in Houston instead of Portland because there was not the depth of engineering talent available here. In Germany and most of western Europe, until recently the state paid the *entire cost* of higher education for every student accepted into a university on the theory that the entire nation benefits from having educated citizens, doctors, lawyers, engineers, musicians. Something needs to be done to make sure Oregon enters the 21st century with at least one world class university instead of continuing to limp along with second-rate, underfunded institutions, losing out in the competition for high tech businesses. Focus on the unwillingness of the state legislature to deal with this problem: Kurt Schrader's willingness as co-chair of the Ways and Means Cte. to cut back on higher education appropriations, for example. David Sarasohn of The Orgegonian has written several eloquent columns about this problem. One creative idea to stop the brain drain and attract talent: Ohio's governor Strickland promoted a law to grant in-state tuition at any Ohio state university to all veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and their spouses and dependents, regardless of their state of residency. Why can't Oregon do the same?
Hello,
I'm John Hunter from the Woodburn Public Library, and we've been awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to do a month-long program called "The Big Read." We're the only public library that will be doing The Big Read in this funding cycle, and our events will be held in October 2008. You can see more about The Big Read at the following link: http://neabigread.org/ We have chosen the book "Bless Me, Ultima" by the noted Latino author Rudolfo Anaya, as we're trying to encourage greater use of the library by Woodburn's majority Latino community. Of course, we're hoping the whole community will participate. Would you be interested in doing a program about Woodburn's participation in The Big Read? We've been in contact with Rudolfo Anaya, and he is willing and able to do a radio interview from his home in New Mexico. Also, we have the possibility of booking David Kipen, the NEA's director of literature. Mr. Kipen has an extensive background in radio, and can be booked based on your committment to doing a program. (I've attached a biography in PDF.) We're hoping to do the radio program early in the week beginning October 20, but anytime in the month would be great. We realize that our story may be a bit local, but the discussion could certainly be expanded to include ways others are encouraging reading, or ways others are trying to build community in Oregon. Or you might talk with some of our other participants, who will be representing themes from the book. They include Roberto de Anda, a professor from Portland State's Chicano/Latino Studies program; local healer and curandera Carolina Urrela de Hess; poet Miguel Loredo Reyes; and local artist and muralist Lazaro Ybarra. Come to think of it, the program could just be about Latino culture in Oregon and how we're showcasing that in Woodburn. We hope that you are interested and that you'll reply, but if you're not, could you help us think of a radio outlet that might be? We'd appreciate it. Thank you very much for your consideration! John
The Aguaruna and Huambisa people of Eastern Peru have taken over all radio and telecommunication points, the two hydro electric dams that serve the region, at least one mine and several oil rigs. The people are essentially rioting, protesting the land grabbing and horrific working conditions. Negotiations are breaking down between the government and the peoples. The military is expected to enter the region soon.
There has been little to no coverage in country, and nothing has made it to the rest of the world. We need to shed light upon this theft of land, culture, and resources. Each time we stand up together to reclaim that what rightfully of and for the people that live where major transnational business interests bully and kill, we are starting the process of saving our space upon this wonderous and fantastic world. thanks and namaste
Whether in August or at another time, I'd like to see a show dealing with the issue of child sexual abuse and how we deal with it, in our state and as a society. There are obvious local angles one could talk about, for instance the Goldschmidt case, sex offender registries, etc.
I am a survivor, and I often get frustrated by the way that abuse gets reported in the media. Victims get treated as permanently broken, perpetrators are one-dimensional, incurable demons, and the general tendency is to look at cases of abuse by "strangers" when the majority of children are abused by family members or people already known to them. The reality is that 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 6 boys are abused by the time they are 18, and many of those who become abusers were once abused themselves. This means that we are surrounded every day by both the abused and the perpetrators, whether we know it or not. One organization, Generation 5 (http://gen...ec=1&pg=71) argues that sexual abuse should be treated as a public health issue - an argument I agree with wholeheartedly. I believe we need more investigation into how we can prevent sexual abuse, and provide better access to treatment for both abusers and victims. I'd also like to see better media coverage of survivors of abuse, who, when they have access to support and treatment, often go on to be happy, healthy, successful individuals. (I consider myself one of those).
Today Rick Warren, the pastor of the Saddleback Church in Orange County, California, is hosting a forum that will feature Barack Obama and John McCain. Warren has not publicly endorsed either candidate. The event will be available for viewing on major news outlets throughout the country.
http://sad...ndex.html# http://www...t=1&f=1001 A related topic is Obama’s proposal to greatly expand the Bush administration’s public funding for faith-based initiatives. http://blo...rnmen.html Where does the line between church and state really fall these days? What actions by a religious entity should be considered a nullification of their tax-exempt status? When a candidate running for public office addresses a congregation of any denomination, is that a political event? When a church provides sanctuary to illegal immigrants, does that defiance of the law (however compassionate the act) put the church at odds with the government? I would like to hear a discussion of what the tax-exempt status really means and how political activism by tax-exempt organizations squares with their IRS status. Do we really want tax dollars funding the programs of faith-based organizations? How much funding are these organizations really receiving and how are these funds being used?
Thanks for having me on air for the "Language Lessons" show about Mandarin and foreign languages. Let me suggest a show on "Studying Abroad." It could be one show or separate shows on high school, gap year, and college level programs. You could have Oregon students who have returned talk about the value of their experiences and what they learned. We have several business that organize/provide study abroad programs that are located in Portland. And we have Rotary Clubs across the state involved in study exchange programs. They could talk about their programs. We have university administrators across Oregon who could speak to their college level study abroad programs. There are lots of resources with voices.
Lincoln High School usually has an evening fair for parents and students interested in studying abroad. A variety of program providers come to tout their programs. And, or course, I'm working on legislation for the 2009 legislative session to permit public school districts to pay for high school students to study abroad through scholarships so that Oregon can have even more students studying abroad. It's important!
I would love to hear a show about the value of writing in community and the way writing and listening can change the course of a life. Write Around Portland is having their community reading coming up next week and I am always moved and amazed by the upswell of strength and change that I feel at the event.
On Saturday Oct 4th community leaders and experts from East Multnomah County communities are getting together to discuss the connections between public safety, economic health, and urban parks and trees. I’ve attached a flyer for the forum called the East County Urban Parks & Trees Summit. These ideas would make for a great show.
I am in the middle of producing a play in central oregon titled BIRTH, written by Karen Brody. More than a play, Birth is part of a BOLD worldwide movement to make maternity care mother-friendly. Performances are happening in Bend, Portland and Corvallis in September and October. more information can be found at www.boldaction.org
the idea that maternity care is NOT mother-friendly may be shocking to some but that statement really only touches the surface of a deep cultural debate about health care, women's rights and the repercussions of institutionalizing a natural bodily process...
I'd love to hear a show on the switch to digital television. How the conversion is going in the pilot city and the people like myself who use rabbit-ear antennae and don't plan to buy a converter. I will get rid of my television in February since I don't think the government should dictate the items I buy or influence my purchase of a new television or cable.
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08/06/2008 2:30:16 AM
