ROCKET MAN from last week’s NYT Mag (”The Screens Issue”) - Andy Samberg:

I saw a clip on the Internet of that Swiss dude, Yves Rossy, who made himself a jet pack and then flew it around like some kind of European awesome guy! If you haven’t seen it, just imagine if Iron Man and a Stealth bomber had a baby and decided to raise it in Switzerland to be a bald dude. The jet pack, much like the video phone, has always been on my childhood list of things I’ve been waiting for. And now, they’re both here. The future has arrived! Which raises the question: How long till I can get a decent robot? I don’t want any of those big white clunkers I’ve seen rolling around. I want a robot that I can really use. One that can entertain guests with political trivia and lend me money for late-night cab rides. Get it together, robot makers.

I’ve also been enjoying “The Wire” on DVD.

I’m still reading and reconciling the flurry of ‘how Obama won’ articles — in particular the ones relating to field and internet. In the meantime, I want to share three short conversations I had with local volunteer leaders I was working with on Election Day in the Jackson, OH office. They’re a great snapshot of the backbone of the campaign’s ground efforts. I shot them during smoking breaks or down moments, but I still feel guilty taking 90 seconds of their time on E-day.

Some context: In just under a week, I drove close to 1,000 miles across half a dozen conservative Appalachian counties to assist the tireless field organizers in “Region 3″ with their get-out-the-vote (GOTV) operations, the final push. As did Ben, Asher, and Jen in their respective regions. Ginny had been there for several weeks and was coordinating the entire GOTV picture for our part of the state.

Our work included everything from figuring out the logistics of getting tens of thousands of location-specific door hangers ready for volunteers to shuttling last-minute supplies around or training poll-watch volunteers. Asher and I both unknowingly ended up with Chevy HRR’s from the rental agency. What some consider a herse, i like to think of as Dick Tracy’s pride and joy.

This first clip is of Sandy, who explains how she went from being an online volunteer to  running the entire office and staging location on Election Day, something she never imagined she’d be doing.

Next up is Betty, Sandy’s mom. Betty was classic, which i think is fair to say of anyone who lives in a town for 75 years. Betty explains how she got pulled into this massive volunteer effort along with her family and what she’s seeing for the first time:

Finally, Marleen, overseeing the phone canvassing (and big fan of pumpkin pie), on why this campaign is different from Kerry 2004 and more important than her wedding day:

find out where to voteforchange.com

source

Every year for 30 years, my 88 year-old [great] uncle manages to drive from NY to FL (despite protests by his family, and his wife, my Aunt Libby, who now flies). For the past few years, I’ve been lucky enough to be a stop along the way here in DC.

Bobby is without doubt a living legend — with a gift for story telling. (This publication’s more loyal readers will remember him from this Nutsy Fagan performance at Thanksgiving 07.) So for this year’s visit, I brought along my Flip cam to try and capture what I could. Below are three quick clips.

First, Bobby’s take on the election and FL voters as he heads into the battleground state. Most impressive: FL grandparents already know about The Great Schlep!

Next, Bobby as UNC Tar Heel basketball star and his Michael Jordan story. (He was traveling with some clippings from his forthcoming memoirs/book.)

Finally, the secrets to a well-lived life:

Was able to catch up on some reading over the long weekend… A few articles (plus one book) that i was really glad to read, and which I’d highly reccomend:

(1) China Invades Africa, by Richard Behar in June’s Fast Company :: This won’t look very significant from the web page, but the amount of ink dedicated to this article in print is incredible — it’s one of the longest features that Fast has ever run (or so Jake says).  And rightfully so — it may be the most illuminating article i’ve read all year, and I think everyone should read it.  Summary: it’s a well-writen but harrowing account of how China is rolling half the African continent to get at the majority of the world’s extractable, non-renewable natural resources in record time — with lots of good first-person reporting and adventure laced in. Most developed countries have little standing to ask that we don’t repeat development mistakes of decades ago, as African rulers / heads of state sell their countries down the river for personal gain.

(2) The New Organizers, Part 1: What’s really behind Obama’s ground game, by Zack Exley in HuffPo (Oct 8) :: Another great read, outlining how team Obama and the Dems have (a) returned to real field organizing but revolutionized and magnified its impact by (b) integrating web thinking — enabling and empowering volunteers to do the work that would have traditionally been done by staff.  It’s a much-refined and evolved version of the Dean campaign, where meetup meets traditional field organizing in a dramatic new way.  Zack does a nice job covering the ‘neighborhood teams’ program that the campaign has artfully rolled out across the country.  Hats off to friend and collegue Jeremy Bird who gets some well-deserved credit in this piece for all he’s doing to make the program work; he’s been in the field running states for Obama since the early early primaries and we’ll owe him a parade and a bed once Obama wins. Ready for Part 2, Zack.

(3) How the Web Was Won: An Oral History of the Internet — Vanity Fair special, July 08 :: This is the most enjoyable and complete history of the internet that i’ve seen. It’s like walking in on a private cocktail party with all the geeky greats, telling old stories about how it all came together.  But they’re not talking about little things like widgets or the BCC line — this is about how the real stuff came to be, like ethernet and the web browser.

(4) The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni — Hang on. Hear me out. I’ve had this book for two years now but it sounded so horribly and painfully boring that I could never bring myself to pick it up, despite the personal reccomendations.  Then I saw the small print on the cover: “a leadership fable”. Props to Pat for going the extra mile to write this businessy/leadership/management book as if it were fiction. Not sure why no one ever told me it was actually an enjoyable and quick read, because it is. Anyone who works with people or serves in a leadership role would benefit from this I’d imagine. Did I mention that it’s a quick read?

This is really well done; incredible photos by James Nachtwey being put to great use. Only wish the online action component were a bit stronger. Makes me wonder why we waste so much time on some of the things we do. Watch in full screen with audio up.

Hat tip: Ted email list

Still busy sorting through photos and videos from our incredible 5 day Climate Ride, but here’s a great photo slideshow by Kip Pierson, our official photographer in the meantime. Kip’s local to DC and I’d definitely recommend him if you need a wedding or event photographer.

I’ve put a few of my own pics up here and below, the ones I took from my iphone.

But really you should check out Kip’s slideshow, which i don’t think i can embed here.

Technorati Tags: climateride08 climateride

This is for climate change?
Well, against it, really.

Have you been training?
Define training?

Well, I mean, do you ride a lot or something?
I biked to Annapolis and back last weekend… This will be much more difficult, but I plan on surviving.

Will they shut down the highways or something?
Definitely not. Apparently there are other roads between New York and DC, at least one of which goes through Amish country, where we’ll be spending a night.

What happens to the money if you don’t finish?
Thanks for your confidence. The money will be re-routed from the beneficiary organizations to cover my medical expenses. Ok?

You’ll have overcome climate change when this is over?
Fer sure.

How much money did you raise at the fundraiser you guys hosted at the Black Squirrel last week?
Almost $1,000 — thank you to everyone who stopped by and contributed!

Is it too late to make a contribution?
No! Quick — here’s my fundraising page. I’m almost at my goal… You can help me get there.

Wait, when do you leave?
Saturday AM at the crack of dawn. If you’re in NYC, stop by our kickoff event, 6-10p at BLVD (199 Bowery). Tickets.

What’s this team thing?
Asher, Dave, and I are all riding under the 1Sky banner — because we want to show our political leaders that America’s ready for bold federal climate solutions. Here’s our team page. And Phil is riding under the 350 banner for similar reasons.

And why are you doing this again?
It feels like exactly the right thing to do at exactly the right time, and we’re going to have a blast.

What’s the schedule? Where will you be and when?
Here you go.

Best way to keep up with the ride while you’re on the road?
- Climate Ride 08’s blog and twitter feed
- This here blog and twitter feed

when i have twitter