In the Interest of the Fans?

Nov 302012
 

The Sports world is ablaze right now with the debate over NBA commissioner David Stern’s pronouncement that he will be leveling “significant sections” against the San Antonio Spurs as a result of head coach Gregg Popovich’s decision to send his three biggest stars (Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Giniobli) home to rest, missing a blockbuster match up with the Miami Heat.  Stern’s argument is simple, “the fans deserve better.”

Those fans who are supportive of Stern’s threat are no doubt heartened to have an advocate.  Already this morning, I have heard dozens of enraged sports fans proclaim, “if I  had paid for those tickets, I would be furious.” No doubt, I would be too.  However, sports fans are kidding themselves if they believe that David Stern has threatened sanctions against one of his most respected coaches and teams in league in defense of the 20,000 ticket payers in Miami.  Commissioner Stern is acting in the interest of the fans – the fans commodities, not as consumers.

Like all modern day media audiences, sports fans operate in two significant roles: as a market of paying consumers that expect a quality product in return for their money and as a marketable demographic of potential consumers than can be sold to advertisers.  The math, well its hardly math is it?  ESPN/ABC/TNT pay the NBA a reported $930 million a year for the broadcast rights to its games (Holy smokes!).  The networks, of course, pay such incredible sums because they turn a handy profit by selling advertising in conjunction with NBA products, TV air time, interactive media for live streams, etc.  In short, fans are valuable not because the are a live market for the NBA’s product (realistically, ticket sales are just a drop in the bucket), but because they are a media commodity that the NBA parleys into broadcast contracts, merchandise sales, rights to video game production domestically AND overseas.

The NBA’s fans, however, have been a commodity whose value has been questionable as of late.  During the 2007 negotiation for the extension of ESPN/ABC/TNT’s broadcast rights, Stern and network executives reportedly downplayed the league’s declining TV ratings, “insisting there is still plenty of demand for NBA-related content through other forms of media.” Still, the NBA’s ratings continue to be unimpressive (though showing modest growth), the NBA All-Star game has officially become a bigger joke than it is an entertainment spectacle, and the 2011 lockout proved to many fans that a fewer regular season games makes for a better NBA season.  Perhaps most notable factoid in all of this is the fact that the modest growth in the NBA’s ratings since the  low of the 2002-2003 season has been attributed to the allure of individuals stars and the youth of the NBA fans’ core demographic.

David Stern is outraged, I am positive, but not on behalf of those who bought tickets to last night’s game (which was consequently, well played, close in score, and featured the  stars that Miami fans more than likely paid to see: Lebron, Wade and Bosh). He is outraged that one of his coaches is not adequately pandering to the networks and their advertising dollars.

The last time I checked, it’s a head coach’s job to win championships.  When you have one of the oldest teams in the NBA and are nearing the end of a 10 day road stretch, having played 4 games in 5 nights, resting players isn’t just smart–it’s necessary.  By insisting on maximizing the entertainment value of each game (and thus the marketability to advertisers), to the detriment of team strategy, player health, and coaching autonomy, David Stern has accomplished something I didn’t think likely.  He’s dealt another blow to the already dwindling respect I hold for the NBA.

I have just one request for commissioner Stern.  As NBA hurdles down the road to becoming a Harlem Globetrotters-esque, dinner and a movie sideshow, don’t blame it on the fans.  I don’t think any of us are interested in that kind of NBA.

Reservations about Fair Trade: The Invitation

Nov 302012
 

Thanksgiving has come and gone and with it Black Friday and a handful of spin offs and organized responses: Buy Nothing Day, Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday, and Fair Tuesday.  While (as my last blog post reveals) I flew the flag of the Buy Nothing Day, a friend of mine, who I lovingly call “Crash,” took up the cause of Fair Tuesday.

I have what I would characterize as an above average knowledge of the fair trade movement and it’s certification process, but I am by no means an expert and I have never gone out of my way to purchase Fair Trade products.  This, I will admit, is because I have always viewed Fair Trade with a healthily skepticism.  Skepticism, however, isn’t particularly productive and ideally, I’d like to either confirm or alleviate my concerns so that I might more intelligently contribute to conversations regarding fair trade.  As a scholar who does cultural studies of food, this is something I should have done long ago.

Crash is an invested participant in the fair trade movement and was recently part of the successful effort to obtain designation for Chapel Hill, NC as a Fair Trade City.  I can’t think of a better person to start a conversation with about the movement, to better educate myself in dialogue with, and to help vet some of my somewhat nebulous concerns.

So… I’m inviting Crash to have a blog-to-blog conversation with me about Fair Trade.  I’ll begin by posting here with a line of questioning or a particular concern and ask her to post replies, ask questions, and raise issues by posting on her blog Listen Girlfriends.

I’m crossing my fingers she accepts my invitation.

10 Ways to Celebrate Buy Nothing Day

Nov 192012
 

Perhaps one of the most alarming things I have heard in a long time has been the chorus of voices proclaiming the difficulty of participating in Buy Nothing Day.  And overwhelmingly , I am not talking people who simply find a movement like BND to be trivial lefty nonsense.  I’m talking about folks who are sympathetic to the ideal head up by BND, but find it difficult to navigate the holiday season without participating in the sales rituals established by Big Retail.  I’m finding this difficult to swallow and so I am feeling inspired to write this Top 10 list.  If you find it even a wee bit enlightening, please pass it on.

Buy Nothing Day (BND), according to the hive mind known as Wikipedia, is an international day of protest against consumerism observed by social activists and many concerned citizens. Buy Nothing Day is held the Friday after American Thanksgiving in North America and the last Saturday in November internationally, which in 2012 correspond to November 23 in North America and November 24 internationally.

The first Buy Nothing Day was organized in Mexico in September 1992 “as a day for society to examine the issue of over-consumption.” In 1997, it was moved to the Friday after American Thanksgiving, also called “Black Friday”, which is one of the ten busiest shopping days in the United States. In 2000, advertisements by Adbusters promoting Buy Nothing Day were denied advertising time by almost all major television networks except for CNN. Soon, campaigns started appearing in the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, Austria, Germany, New Zealand, Japan, Netherlands, France, and Norway. Participation now includes more than 65 nations.

Nothing says I love you like an “I love beer” knit koozie.

#10 – Sew/Knit Something!

Obviously, this is one for those of you currently supporting a healthy textile habit.  Rather than buying a couple skeins of that gorgeous new, oh-so-soft alpaca wool  (that will in all likelihood result in a $200, one-armed addition to your to-do list), gather together all your scraps and start thinking small.  Hats, keychains, ornaments, small bags, fingerless mitts, cowls, and koozies are projects that don’t require much material or time to make.

 

 

 

Sweet chalkboard painted bottles.

#9 – Upcycle Something!

Upcycling is the process of using waste material or useless stuff to create new products.  Though almost anything can be upcycled, I’m a fan of projects involving bottles and jars.  The sheer number of consumer products that are delivered in these containers means they are highly available.  And the enormous variety of products that come to use in bottles and jars means there are a wide range of aesthetically pleasing forms to play with.  Upcycled pendant lights, outdoor torches, hummingbird feeders, terrariums, kilns, storage, picture frames, drinking glasses, planters have all proven that bottles and jars never really die.

Check out this pinterest board of creative upcycles for your glassware

 

 

#8 – Really Really Free Market!

A RRFM  is a community-organized temporary marketplace based upon a gift economy.  You can bring unneeded items and food, skills and talents to share, or just show up in spirit of community. Items are freely given and taken, but more importantly community is collectively fostered in public spaces. Charlottesville, Richmond, Carrboro, Durham, and San Diego all have RRFMs (that covers a large group of my friends and family) and many have events planned for But Nothing Day.  Hit up Google and find one near you.

 

 

Emotional Scavenger Hunt

#7 – Make a Mixtape!

Gone are the days when making a mixtape involved the tedious material labor of collecting recordings, recording songs off the radio, meticulously cuing tape (I used the pencil method), and creating cover art that represented the true range of expressive and symbolic meanings curated into 90 minutes of awesomeness.  Frankly, I think it’s a shame, but I wont hate on the iTunes play list in all its 5 minutes worth of work.  Do yourself and your loved ones a favor… lose yourself in the process and the wonderful gift that is music.  You wont regret it.

 

 

 

Homemade Games make Rad Gifts

#6 – Invent Something!

I am 110% guilty of being obsessed with tinkering, but not everyone finds freestyle making to be a desirable way to pass the time.  Consider one of my new  favorite modes of invention inspired by my 5-year-old, games.  If you’ve every played a board game, you’ve got the basic principles down.  Mix in some high energy interaction (a la Taboo or Pictionary), and you’ve official created a source of readily accessible, cost free joy–aren’t you awesome.  You can make your game educational (for the kids), silly (for us all), party-oriented (for those special occasions), or drinking (for the after work crowd).

 

 

 

#5 – Write Something!

I would hazard to guess that if many of us stopped to think about what percentage of our communication with friends and family in composed of “likes” and “shares,” obnoxious memes and youtube videos, we wouldn’t like the number we come up with.  Taking the time to hand write something to someone might be the most impactful thing you do this year.  The ambitious among you might craft a poem, a short story, a or a tribute.  Hell, why not pen someone a Hip-Hop love jam. I promise whoever receives it will laugh out loud.

 

 

 

 

Biscuits. Yeah.

#4 – Bake Something!

Use Buy Nothing Day as and opportunity to Iron Chef your pantry.  Better yet, invite a couple of friends over and invite them to bring the odd dry goods wasting away in their pantries as well and make the challenge official.  Though the fancy stuff often catches our attention a shocking number of baked goods can be crafted out of a few basic ingredients.   The return on investment for flour, sugar, and baking powder is through the roof.

 

 

 

Plants nurture.

#3 – Grow Something!

It’s been said that house plants can help you breathe easier, naturally increase the humidity of a room, scrub the air of VOCs, improve emotional health, and sharpen your focus. What’s more, there are few house plants that don’t lend themselves to propagating by rooting clippings.  Upcycle a unique planter (see #9) and you have a sweet, thoughtful, gift.

 

 

Fermented foods make guts happy.

#2 – Ferment Something!

Those of you who know me, know that this is close to my heart.  But I know as compulsive homebrewer that the start-up costs of beer making can be high and point of this post isn’t to get you to go out and buy something.  No worries! Many things benefit from fermentation, even things that are already fermented. Think sauerkraut, pickles, kimchi, kombucha, vinegar, and farm wine.  All are fabulous fermented products that you can produce on a small scale.

 

#1 – Think Critically!

The best gift you can give yourself and others on Buy Nothing Day is the gift of critical thought.  A good place to start is asking yourself: Why do we trample people to get new stuff less than 24 hours after stopping to give thanks for what we already have? Why have so many of us been convinced that participation in mass acts of competitive consumption like Black Friday are the most legitimate ways to prepare for a season of giving? Why have we allowed communal acts of making and sharing to be devalued in favor of individualistic and highly anonymous shopping sprees? Have we really come to a point where we don’t know how to do something meaningful for the people we love without the intervention of a big box retail outlet? How do we differentiate between want and need and have we lost the ability to find joy in attending to the latter because of the seduction of the former?

If you do shop Friday, shop conscientiously. Shop local. Shop fair trade. Shop for reuse.

Artists Worth a Second (or First) Look: SJPC or why I Like Hairy White Dudes

Nov 122012
 

Today, ART21 (aka one of my most treasured and consistent confirmations that the world is, in fact, an awesome place) published an interview with emerging artist Sean Joseph Patrick Carney on it’s blog .  In it, we get a brief but entertaining look at this deceptively intelligent, tattooed, bearded, jort wearing artist who lures folks into his art shows with a cooler full of PBR.  In other words, a startling facsimile of a significant number of my friends.   It would be more than easy to write Mr. Carney’s work off as the kind of shitcky, “ironic,” self-indulgent nonsense that I have come to think of as hipster art, but his engagements with some of the patron saints of cultural theory (Benjamin, Baudrillard, Foucault, Kristeva) deserve a pause for consideration, however brief.

If I’ve convinced you give in to distraction for a few minutes, I highly recommend his Procession of Simulacra, an English to “American” translation of a chapter from Baudrillard’s Simulations and Simulacra (1981).  The humor in the piece (or attempts as such) is obvious, but also an acute awareness of the fragility of the theoretical debates people who do what I do for a living hang our hats on.

________

Read the full text of the interview:  http://blog.art21.org/2012/11/12/new-kids-on-the-block-baudrillard-for-bozos-an-interview-with-sean-joseph-patrick-carney/?utm_source=art21.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=textlink&utm_campaign=Art21_HP

The Shoes of Beth Cox

Nov 122012
 

Offered in response to ‘s piece GOP’s Red America forced to rethink what it knows about the country published in the Washington Post on November 11th, 2012.

Though it gives me physical pain to read that a women transformed from “an independent, feminist type” to someone who accepts the “natural order of the household (…all the thinly veiled dynamics of power and complicity implicit in a statement like this),” I feel incredibly endeared to Beth Cox.

The absolute commitment she shows to her beliefs and understanding of the world, and the utter shock, disillusionment, and disbelief that the country she lived in could be so very different from and so seemingly hostile to the cores of her personhood– those are experiences I lived myself after the Bush II reelection. In the months after that reelection, I remember spending so much time in silent confusion, crying often, and resigning to hopelessness about a nation that could and would not pry open it’s minds or hearts to accept the equality of diverse peoples and ideas. (Regarding this last condition of hopelessness Mrs. Cox is perhaps more fortunate than I, having the comfort of a faith that I don’t share to support her).

In all seriousness, our views of the country could not be more different, but I wonder if (and maybe even dare to hope) that there might be a way for us to coexist harmoniously without simply writing each other off as the “them” to our respective “us.” I wonder if such an engaging piece had been written about my parallel experience eight years ago, would she have been able to empathize so deeply with me or would her belief system have so thoroughly stripped me of my humanity (being one of those black, welfare-supporting, pro-choice, lesbian, non-christian, feminist types) that such a thing would be unfathomable? I hope not and I don’t know how to think otherwise. But I also know that I am a better woman this morning for having spent some time in the shoes of Beth Cox.

They are the shoes of another college educated American women; one who, like me, has deep love for her life partner, offspring, and community; one who, like me, is willing to dedicate time and energy to making what she believes is positive change happen. They are shoes that I have decided to spend the rest of the day mentally occupying, without the usual judgement or fear, so that I might be reminded of all the ways they are so much like my own.