All posts tagged: Random DJB Thoughts

Fired Up and Ready to Go

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A friend recently pointed me to a blog posting entitled In Defense of Raising Money:  A Manifesto for NonProfit CEOs written by a man by the name of Sasha Dichter.  Now you may think that sounds like a very boring topic, but if you care about any cause – be it eradicating poverty, health care reform, the arts, AIDS, historic preservation, you name it – read this manifesto.  It is a powerful piece that talks about how your dream and passion has to be bigger than your ego.  Just a sampling… Spending your time talking to powerful, influential people about the change you hope to see in the world is a pretty far cry from having fundraising as a “necessary evil.”  Do you really believe that the “real work” is JUST the “programs” you operate?  (the school you run; the meals you serve; the vaccines you develop; the patients you treat?)   Do you really believe that it ends there?  Do you really believe that in today’s world, where change can come from anyone and anywhere, that convincing people …

Watching the U.S. Election from Vienna

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As noted earlier in the week on More to Come…, I spent election night on a plane over the Atlantic.  So I was so happy to see the video below.  No matter  your political persuasion, the historic nature of last Tuesday’s decision by the American people has to touch you.  Sitting here in the lobby of a hotel in Austria, I got emotional watching this 10 minute video summary of election night and wanted to share it with you. More to come… DJB

What a strange, wonderful Election Day it has been

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Greetings from Bratislava, Slovakia!  Not your normal post-election day dateline for the More to Come…blog.  Let me tell you how I ended up hearing about the presidential election results while flying over the Atlantic. I woke up at home on November 4th and after the normal morning chores, I headed down to the library to vote.  Well, I wasn’t really surprised to find  that the line ran around the edges of BOTH parking lots and extended almost to the street.  Historic election indeed!  It was great, even if I did stand in line for 2 hours and 10 minutes before casting my vote.  But it felt good to be part of something so special and it felt REALLY good to vote with a positive feeling about a candidate (instead of the usual voting to play defense).  The local high school had some kids out selling coffee and pastries to help with relief efforts in Africa.  They did well, but they could have done gangbusters if they’d had chairs to rent or would have been able to …

Beauty in the Mountains

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I spent the last two days in the mountains of North Carolina.  A colleague and I had a meeting in the region and our timing could not have been better. Few things are as beautiful as the mountains of western Virginia and North Carolina during the fall.  This was my favorite season during the 15 years we lived in Staunton, in the middle of Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.  So Tom and I were thrilled to find ourselves on a lake with a jaw-dropping historic dam and a shoreline filled with trees in all their fall glory.  We viewed a great historic property with the owner on Tuesday afternoon, but knew we had to get up this morning to see more of this wonderful place. After a restful night’s sleep (boy it is dark in the country), Tom and I hit the hiking trail this morning to walk around the lake, enjoy the wonderful light, and examine the dam up close.   As you can see from these pictures, the trees were spectacular and the dam was awesome in all …

7-Eleven Coffee Sales Predicting Election

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I promised not to post much in the way of political coverage on More to Come…but I will put up the occasional note that might bring a smile.  While searching the Internet, I found this fun poll – taken by 7-Eleven coffee drinkers.  Every day 7-Eleven sells more than 1 million cups of coffee a day.  And before the election, coffee drinkers can choose a McCain or an Obama cup to “cast” their vote.  What a fun idea…and the results may surprise you. So check out the 7-Election 2008 web site  for the up-to-date results.  And drink your coffee to show that you’re a patriotic American. More to come… DJB

Baseball on the Radio

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I love driving in a car and listening to baseball on the radio.  That’s a good thing.  Because I’m looking forward to tonight’s Game 6 of the ALCS between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays AND as the father of teenagers who don’t drive, the weekend means that I run a taxi service.  I expect I’ll listen to as much of tonight’s game on the car radio as I watch on television. ESPN radio carries all the baseball post-season games, with the wonderful Jon Miller doing the play-by-play.  Miller is even better on the radio than he is on the Sunday night TV games.  He’s thoughtful, entertaining, smart enough to know when to stop talking, and he’s not Tim McCarver. It speaks volumes about what’s been wrong with the Baltimore Orioles under the ownership of Peter Angelos that Miller – only a Hall-of-Famer-to-be announcer – was fired by Angelos as the voice of the Orioles.  So in anticipation of hearing Miller tonight, I’ll repeat a quote of Miller’s from Paul Dickson’s Baseball’s Greatest Quotations: There’s just …

Not All Who Wander Are Lost…But Many Are

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I don’t normally post political items on this blog…there’s more than enough of that chatter on the Internet for me to weigh in.  Plus, I try and focus on things in More to Come… that elevate my mood. But this video that was put together on how the late night comics handled “The McCain Wander” from the second presidential debate was too funny to pass up.   Enjoy. More to come… DJB

Beauty in Metal

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About 15 years ago, my younger brother Joe left his corporate job to work full time as a blacksmith artist.  It was a gutsy move, but he’s loving life and never looked back.  Over that time, he’s matured as an artist and has received increasing publicity.  So I was pleased but not surprised when I was looking online and found this Nashville Public Television blog for the Tennessee Crossroads  program where my brother’s work was featured. For those in the Nashville area, the show airs on October 9th and 12th, but anyone can see the clip by watching the video at the NPT website.  It is a good piece, but any short television feature isn’t going to capture the fundamental niceness that’s at the core of Joe’s being.  He’s simply among the nicest people on the planet and he’d give you the shirt off his back.  I’m looking forward to seeing Joe and his family next month when I’m in Tennessee.  Maybe it will be warm enough to sit on that wonderful front porch of his and pick some …

Lilly is blessed…and so are we

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Yesterday, on a beautiful fall afternoon perfect for the Feast Day of St. Francis, our Sussex Spaniel Lilly took a trip down to the Washington National Cathedral for the blessing of the animals.  Dean Sam Lloyd gave Lilly her annual blessing in front of the beautiful Gothic cathedral.  Since I was traveling, Claire reports that Lilly took it all in stride.  Of course, as an older dog Lilly sleeps a lot these days and takes just about everything in stride. The custom of blessing pets is conducted in remembrance of St. Francis’ love of animals.  It is great fun to join together with other owners of all manner of pets.  (I’ve even seen goldfish blessed in past years…not sure they felt the drops of holy water.) Shortly after posting this picture, Andrew told me there was a great Gene Weingarten article in today’s Washington Post Magazine called Something About Harry:  Old dogs…are the best dogs.  I read it and knew immediately I had to update this post to link to the article.  Because Weingarten (a writer Andrew …

In Praise of Tracker Organs

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While traveling on work today in North Carolina, I had an unexpected treat: the chance to hear Bach on a beautiful historic tracker organ that had been restored by some dear friends. First, a bit of background.  As Wikipedia notes, tracker action is a term used in reference to pipe organs that “indicates a mechanical linkage between keys or pedals pressed by the organist and the valve that allows air to flow into pipe(s) of the corresponding note. This is in contrast to electrical or electro-pneumatic actions, which connect the key to the valve through an electrical link or an electrically assisted pneumatic system respectively.” Tracker organs are built the same today as they have been for hundreds of years.  I came to love tracker action organs while living in the Shenandoah Valley and becoming friends with George Taylor and John Boody.  George and John are the founders and principals of the world-renown Taylor & Boody Organbuilders located just outside Staunton, Virginia.   These two men and a small group of craftsmen build and restore some of …