My phone got turned off. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get it turned on again anytime soon. I’m really, really angry about this, but there’s nothing I can do.
So I guess if you want to reach me when I’m in India, try my Grand Central number or email me or use the blog contact form.
I’m leaving in a few hours. Wish me luck!
I just realized I’m leaving Tuesday night, not Wednesday night, as I’d thought — I misread my itinerary.
Crap. 24 less hours to get stuff taken care of here.
Pat Dollard’s War on Hollywood: Politics & Power: vanityfair.com
Getchell and Laurenn told me about this article last night, and my God…just read it. Block out an hour and read it. It’s an absolutely astonishing piece of journalism about an absolutely insane, remarkable man named Pat Dollard, who went from being one of Hollywood’s top agents to an embedded journalist in Iraq robbing pharmacies in Baghdad for liquid Valium and making a pro-war documentary to making homemade pornos where he’s fucking his roommate’s girlfriend on a sofa on fire.
I’m not making any of this up.
Read it. It’s the best article I’ve read in years.
So I’m off to India on Wednesday. I dread the incoming and outbound flights, but I’m really excited.
The place I’m going (Chandigarh) is going to be hotter than a motherfucker — hotter than Vegas is now, and really humid.
I have to buy new shorts, since all of my shorts are so big now that they literally fall off me, even with a belt on. Other than that, clothes-wise, I’m taking basic jeans, a bunch of sleeveless t-shirts and a few light cotton overshirts, and a sport coat just in case.
Electronics are the usual: laptop, iPod, still and DV cameras, phone. I may actually take a microphone and my old FireWire 410 audio interface to do some field recording of jungle sounds and shit — I’m guessing, based on the pictures I’ve seen, that Chandigarh is in the jungle — but other than that, I’m keeping it hella light.
But I’ve never been to India, so if you have any recommendations for stuff you think I ought to take, put ’em in the comments. Anything you think I might not be expecting.
And yes, I know not to drink the water. (I don’t even know if that’s really true, and I’m one of the small percentage of humans on the planet for whom a nice bout of dysentery might actually be a good thing, but I’m still not taking chances.)
Let ’em rip.
…with the whole fucking human race.
Sorry. Very busy. Just needed to vent. Ignore me.
Pixar’s Brad Bird on Fostering Innovation – GigaOM
His most important point? The key thing in any company is morale. He says that if you have low morale, you’re getting $0.25 of value for every $1 you’re spending. If morale is high, you’re getting $3 for every $1.
I can’t understand why more people running businesses can’t figure this out. As an employee, I don’t owe you a fucking thing except the amount of work I’m willing to put in for what you’re paying me. If you abuse me or treat me like I’m replaceable, one of two things will happen: I’ll either walk, or if I need the money, I’ll do the minimum amount of work to float along and get my paycheck…and as soon as I can find something better, I’ll walk anyway.
At the ripe old age of 30, I’ve decided that I’m never again going to put up with shitty behavior from employers. I expect to be treated with respect, as a valued member of a team, and I will not be treated like a goddamn Victorian factory worker. Even with a recession on, I’ve got enough highly desirable skills that finding a decent job will probably never be a problem for me. (Particularly since I have such a cross-disciplinary skillset.)
So why should I put up with some supervisor who’s decided that his/her job is to keep an iron grip on me and my colleagues? I’d rather work for someone who treats me like a human, who actually wants to make sure I’m happy and satisfied with what I’m doing, who lets me be an individual rather than trying to fit me into some corporate idea of what a good worker will be.
You do that, man, and I’ll work my guts out for you. I’ll work extra hours. I’ll go that extra mile. And I think that’s true of anyone.
