Calling All Artists, Creative Types, Fun People and Other Superheroes Meeting at Specialtys Cafe in Santa Clara was enlightening. We turned the corner in the cafe into the meeting area to see a bunch of tables covered with butcher paper, crayons and miscellaneous other stuff: big fluffy brushes, cat musician statues, pine cones, press-on lights and turkey feathers. All tools to inspire and motivate brainstorming. Our host Janet, AKA Jon, got our creative juices going.
Meet with like-minded friends and neighbors for an lively brainstorming session on what we can do to start creating the change we want. Expect to come away with specific, achievable and fun objectives; small steps and short term goals with long term results.Our first event was a lot of fun, and people came away with a better sense of where they wanted to contribute their time and energy. Since we have a mix of new people and people who were at the first meeting, we will blend the same kind of brainstorming with coming up with at least one small, easy step we can each take toward achieving our contribution goals. We will stick with things that personally intrigue and energize us, to make it easier to take those steps.We need all of us, with all our various interests, abilities and experiences to make this a great nation and a good world, whether times are good or bad.
Meet with like-minded friends and neighbors for an lively brainstorming session on what we can do to start creating the change we want. Expect to come away with specific, achievable and fun objectives; small steps and short term goals with long term results.
Our first event was a lot of fun, and people came away with a better sense of where they wanted to contribute their time and energy. Since we have a mix of new people and people who were at the first meeting, we will blend the same kind of brainstorming with coming up with at least one small, easy step we can each take toward achieving our contribution goals. We will stick with things that personally intrigue and energize us, to make it easier to take those steps.
We need all of us, with all our various interests, abilities and experiences to make this a great nation and a good world, whether times are good or bad.
It kind of worked. By having people write their notes in crayon on the tables, it put most of the group on the same wave length. Silicon Valley, the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California, United States of America and the bay area in general, have over 100 active BarackObama.com active groups. Most groups are within an hour drive of each other. We are concerned that ideas and work may be duplicated because each group is isolated. We could strategize more efficiently and work towards results if people interested in the same topic connected.
We broke into four groups of 4-5 and brainstormed together. My groups spent the part of the 20 minutes or so talking about how we could find out what other regional groups are working on. How to merge interests and resources? We also discussed specific ideas people want to champion such as converting from oil to solar energy.
After 20 minutes, everyone got up and switched groups. So by the end of the meeting, you talked with at least 12 people, a majority of folks who showed up. Many had participated in the Santa Clara economic recovery meeting at the library mentioned in the San Jose Mercury News article, "Weekend 'Stimulus Parties' Bring out Obama Faithful Across the Nation" by Denis C. Theriault. The group plans to meet monthly, so it'll probably get a lot done over time.
Over 20 humans and 3 dogs met the first Saturday of February to talk about the Obama Administration's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, at that time known as the economic recovery plan.
fixing the economy is like our getting our new puppy. you get an older one to help entertain the new guy. she takes off gets hit and you gotta pay the vet bills. Plus all the normal puppy work.But now you're obligated, so bear down and learn to enjoy it. No turning back. It'll get better. So come see our new dogs, and we'll watch barack.Most People are talking about shooting for noon. and hanging out for an hour or two. my original idea was an open house, but maybe that defeats the purpose of networking between y'all. Anyway i'm excited to network. My ideas on the stimulus plan line up with Obamas call to winterize homes. I'm into energy policy, This seems like this is a good way to flex this Organizing for America system and see if it works.
fixing the economy is like our getting our new puppy. you get an older one to help entertain the new guy. she takes off gets hit and you gotta pay the vet bills. Plus all the normal puppy work.But now you're obligated, so bear down and learn to enjoy it. No turning back. It'll get better. So come see our new dogs, and we'll watch barack.
Most People are talking about shooting for noon. and hanging out for an hour or two. my original idea was an open house, but maybe that defeats the purpose of networking between y'all. Anyway i'm excited to network. My ideas on the stimulus plan line up with Obamas call to winterize homes. I'm into energy policy, This seems like this is a good way to flex this Organizing for America system and see if it works.
Our host, Tod, started us out by playing Governor Tim Kaine Answers Economic Recovery Questions video. The next few hours we spent talking issues important to Silicon Valley in specific and America in general.A couple of the action items we took away was to contact (e-mail, phone, snail mail) our US Congress representatives and other influential congress people in other states.We could focus on whatever topics interested us most but the main goal was to encourage them to support the stimulus bill. Most non wealthy people can afford to wait out the bad economy without work from our government.
Below are pictures of some human participants and a couple dogs. The long haired Dachshund puppy was the host dog and the black terrier, Culo, was the visitor dog.The meeting ended with a homemade berry and oatmeal dish, salad and pulled pork. A very nice Mountain View CA meeting all around.
Embossed Metallic Engraved Seal
Earlier this week, I got a very official looking invitation to the Presidential Inauguration coming up in 11 days (YaY!). It includes a fancy embossed metallic seal on cardstock. You can tell it's the real deal because the back is pressed in.
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Back of Embossed Metallic Engraved Seal
I wish I could be there, but no way could I hang in a crowd of an estimated 1 million to 5 million people with only a few port-a-potties sprinkled around. In the snowy cold no less. True, watching the first African American being sworn in person is a once in a lifetime, never to be repeated again event, is worth the hassles to plenty of people, but I'm not one of them. Although some of the goings on look really good and I hope they show the events on TV.
Envelope for Presidential Inauguration Invitation
Monday and Tuesday Events related to the Inauguration.
Lance Wyman designed art piece inspired by Barack Obama’s campaign.
A few pictures of the Dawn of a New Day, Change is Coming event in Menlo Park, CA, yesterday on 12-14-8. Friends and neighbors will meet to discuss how we can help Barack Obama bring about the change for which we elected him. Hosted by Amar Singh and his wife at the Peninsula School.
About 35 people showed up to contribute to the lively, thoughtful discussion. The great thing was the amount of enthusiasm and energy people want to contribute to help Barack Obama achieve success of his visions. Looking forward to having more and deeper discussions on issues facing the United States.
Temo Figueroa, a former top Obama field organizer, said the volunteer base is "hungry" to be engaged on the most important issues.Role for Barack Obama's volunteer network still in flux, http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-obama-networkdec05,0,7403685.story"I don't think e-mails or YouTube videos from the president-elect are going to be enough," Figueroa said. "These people want to continue to be a part of whatever agenda comes out of the White House, and they want to be active participants in this government that they feel they have ownership of."
Around this time of year, there are lots of requests for our dollars. All good causes, like Kiva, of course. With the financial uncertainty of these times, I don't have a lot of spare cash to donate to Kiva at the moment. Participating in community Barack Obama events is another way for me to stay engaged. I signed up to participate in Voting Reform discussion and how Californians can help Barack Obama bring about the change for which we elected him. I look forward to both events. A lot of stuff is going on this month to choose from.
I encourage you to click on the Find Events link in your http://my.barackobama.com/ account to find a way to participate. If your schedule is too booked for this year, I'm sure there'll be other chances in 2009. "Be the change you want to see in the world"is more than just a slogan. Here's the opportunity to show and prove.
