jorge.cortell.net

Due to my US Visa process (which was soooo long and curious that it requires a separate post), I have been “stuck” in Ottawa (Canada) for a week.

Sure, Canada would not be one of my priority travel destinations in the winter, particularly if (like me) you can’t ski or ice skate. But since I am here, let’s make the best of it: The National Gallery, Museum of Civilizations, Museum of War, Winterlude, and a few lovely food places (such as The Tea Store, Memories, or Oh So Good) and a bunch of mediocre ones, while staying in a very nice hotel/castle (with heated indoors pool and gym), will do the trick

Many interesting highlights (see the pictures) like:

• The frozen gadgets, beaver tail, cold-not-cool DJ-in-a-bubble, and live ice sculpting at the Winterlude festival
• The Inuit googles and poles at the M. of Civilizations
• The Enigma machine and piece of Berlin Wall at the M. of War
• The L. Bourgeois spider at the National Gallery

But looking forward to fly back to NY tomorrow.

On Monday, I met the Chief Information Officer of a large US Government Administration in Washington DC.

His office was surprisingly small and functional compared to European “big government” offices. A nice reminder of how European bureaucracy and public sector spending in administration itself is burying us. But what caught my attention the most was the largest picture in the office: it was not Obama’s, a diploma, a family picture, a flag… it was this:

I wish European (particularly Spanish, and particularly Valencian) public servants were so aware of and sensitive to the realities and constraints that should be ever present in their duty.

A few days ago, in a meeting at the Setai Hotel in NY, Michael (with over 3 decades of experience working with US and Spanish corporations) perfectly described what is like to do business between the USA and Spain:

A struggle between American arrogance and Spanish pride

Embarrassing. We should all be ashamed. At least we can access his words.

 After 36 years of democracy, [Spain] is the second country in the world with the most “disappeared” after Cambodia

Source

Regional President Camps free, the Duke Urdangarín seems like is not going to be punished… and judge Garzon being judged. And you ask me why I say I am “European” rather than “Spaniard” or “Valencian”?

This morning I walked by the smallest art gallery in NY, 125windowgallery, on 47th between 3rd and Lexington Avenue:

The best thing about that gallery is that you do not need to “go in”

This is not going to be one of those deep, thoughtful, analytical posts (as if I ever wrote one ). I just need to vent.

Last Saturday, in Prince Street, in the middle of Soho, a man (I will not mention his name, because as you will see, he does not deserve publicity) was handing out CDs. As with anything digital, I felt the urge to find out more, so I took it. Before I could even read the cover, he said “are you going to pay or what?”.

Surprised, but still curious, I saw that there was a website on the CD’s cover (no link, since he does not deserve any publicity). Since I was in a hurry, and without a way to find out what was inside the CD, I told him “I will go online and check it out”. And he replied “if you ain’t gonna pay, no need to go to my website… better yet don’t go to my website you @#$%”.

Since I did not want to get into an argument, but wanted to make him realize that his “business model” was failing, I asked him a question to make him think (if, given the words exchange we just had, that was possible): “do you take credit cards?”. He just took the CD from my hand, furious, and look the other way.

Basically, here are some basic lessons, for you aspiring “my-own-record-label” artist handing out CDs on the streets:

• Do not insult your potential “customers”
• Since nobody can find out what your “product” is like, how about playing your music from a boombox?
• Take credit cards (easy with Square)
• Welcome any interest, you never know how much influence the blogger you are talking to may have
• If anybody pays attention to your music, make it easy for them to find out more, and to share it with their friends
• It’s the XXI century, for the love of God, use the frigging net and not just a static website made with Photoshop (sic) with not even samples of your work!
• Throw-in some additional value (autographs, stickers, concert tickets, link to special video-clip, etc)
• Add social: netwok, events, newsletter, rss…
• Quantify, more important than monetize (as long as you know what to do with that info, which I doubt)
• And remember: you are supposed to be doing it for the lulz, just like all of “us”

Yesterday I went to the New York Public Library to see Pedro Almodovar’s “Talk to her”, as part of a series of Almodovar’s films screenings in the NYPL. But, to my surprise, the screening (and remainder ones) had been cancelled.

I talked to the person in the information desk, and she told me that the collecting society (that would be the despicable SGAE, which does not even deserve a link in my blog) and Almodovar’s Production company (El Deseo Producciones) had raised what they had previously been asking for as royalties or compensation for the (free) screening of the (not in movie theater) films, and the amount they were now asking was so high, the NYPL could not afford it, so they had to cancel the screenings.

Although obvious, my comments, surely shared by most people with more than one money-obsessed-short-term-neuron, are:

GREED: By asking for too much and “breaking the deal”, they get nothing.

SELF-DEFEAT: This does not only work against the publicity of Almodovar’s films, but also generates very bad press.

AGAINST-CULTURE: Forcing a free public movie screening in a not-for-profit library is definitely not defending culture (which is what those people constantly defend in the media and in front of politicians when talking about “copyrights” and “rights”, and “royalties”, etc).

CRIMINALS RUNNING THE SHOW: several members of SGAE’s former board of directors are up to their neck in formal accusations (pending trial) for money embezzlement, corruption, and other “cultural acts” such as paying for prostitutes and champagne and dinners for politicians with the royalties collected, after police investigation in Operation Saga.

And while the PSOE political party made all efforts possible to accomodate SGAE’s requests, demands (like Sinde’s Anti-Download Law, demanded in conjunction with the USA ambassador in Madrid at the request of the MPAA), and privileges, it does not look like the new PP government is going to improve things for culture (PP’s new Culture Minister considers killing bulls in “bull fights” is culture and needs “support and protection” with public money, in time of severe education budget cuts, although most spaniards oppose “bull fighting”) or internet users.

Excuse to try a new photo plug-in for WP:

First photo: the Chrysler building as seen from my living room window.

Second photo: same thing on a foggy day… Building gone! (no Image Editing here).

Third photo: the Empire State Building, from the living room, decorated with “Spanish flags colors”

Is this what the parks of the future will look like?

“Bird,” by Jacco Olivier, one of six animation installations on display in Madison Square Park, New York

It will be, if we do not do something about it now.