How Art Can Save the World

As I was sipping on my bold coffee blend from my favorite local organic, fair trade coffee shop Aquarius Star, I was catching up on all my blog subscriptions on google reader and this post caught my eye:  Solving World Disasters through Art.  This post is from "Books of Adam," a blog written by a fellow misanthrope, Adam Ellis, who chooses to bestow the goings-on of his life upon the undeserving, but ultimately grateful community of the internets.

When I first saw the title I thought to myself, "I love art!  The world's pretty boss.  How do I save the world with art?!"  Naturally, I clicked on the link and read Adam's post.  He delightfully insulted the American people and their obsession with reality television while simultaneously asking for the world to provide support the Japanese people.  Adam has created a few drawings and put them up for auction on eBay.  All proceeds will go to the rescue efforts in Japan via International Medical Corp.

So, you have a choice.  You can either go to eBay and vote on any one of these three picture (personally, I'm a fan of the Sailor Moon one) or you can text REDCROSS to 90999 (US) to donate $10 to help Japan.

It's up to you.  Be a global citizen.  Help out the country that brought us George Tekai, Godzilla, and Mario Brothers.

--Carolyne Hall

Quality of Life Committee Meeting

Last week I sat in on a Quality of Life Committee meeting at the Cincinnati City Council.  I have to admit this experience was pretty different from the image I had concocted in my mine.  I was under the impression that decisions were made at each meeting and that all the City Council members would be in attendance.  Turns out I was wrong.  Had I put two and two together, I would have realized that committee does not equal full council.  The concept of “committee” didn’t really resonate with me before sitting through this meeting.  Good thing every moment is a learning opportunity…

The meeting itself was very interesting.  The agenda included a phenomenal and thought-provoking presentation by Thom Mariner about branding and the lack thereof for the City of Cincinnati.  Citing all the great things about this city has to offer, Mr. Mariner showed the council how Cincinnati does not need to invest much money into creating a wonderful culture because it is already here. After listening to Mr. Mariner highlight the strength of the arts scene here in Cincinnati, I actually started to like this city.  The power of good marketing is pretty impressive.

After Mr. Mariner’s speech, the committee allowed for commentary from individuals who had filled out request forms before the start of the meeting.  Hearing different Cincinnatians from all walks of life talk about how the arts were important to them AND to the city was inspiring and oddly comforting.  It was really encouraging to see so many people in attendance to the meeting.

So what did I learn from this experience?  Aside from finally connecting that a committee meeting does not require the attendance of all City Council members, I learned that Cincinnatians really care about this city and that Cincinnati has a lot to offer.  Too bad, no one is marketing that.

Carolyne Hall