Archive for March, 2008

Love is a Mix Tape and Other Wren’s Nest Opinions

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Oh hey guys. You’re still here. Phew.

I took a few days to see people other than Lain, and mother nature reacted to my absence by throwing a tornado. Crazy! She’s a fickle mistress, I tell you what.

One of the highlights of my wee vacation was sitting in non-dangerous winds, enjoying the scenery, and reading a good book.

(The scenery, next to the original Washington Monument in Baltimore.)

Actually, no, I take that back. I was reading a great book. What book, you ask? Why, Love is a Mix Tape, by Rob Sheffield.

Sure, it was on most of the ‘Best of 2007′ reading lists, so me saying I enjoyed it is really not newsworthy. However, it IS an opportunity to show off this picture!

That’s us! With Rob Sheffield! At Wordsmiths! Look how cool (/awkward) we are! Booyah!

The point is, I totally recommend this book, as well as taking a few days off from work and skipping town when a tornado is going to hit the city you live in.

Sometimes Lain and I think you might care about other things we like, and that perhaps we should start recommending books, Atlanta tourist destinations, restaurants, etc. on here. What do you think? Do you care? Or should we just stick to what we know, aka making fun of each other?

The comments section is just aching for your attention.

Oakland Cemetery Ravaged By Tornado

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While the Wren’s Nest was not hit by last weekend’s tornado, our friends at Oakland Cemetery were not so lucky.

In fact, I’m pretty sure that the storm was at its strongest when it descended upon one of Atlanta’s most important historic places, and my own favorite place in the city.

While it’s a little too soon for volunteer opportunities, I’m pretty sure they’d appreciate some financial help. I have no idea if insurance covers berserk tornadoes, but I’m positive it won’t cover the $4 million that Oakland will now have to raise.

From a selfish point of view, I do hope that the mausoleum of Julian LaRose and Julia Collier Harris has remained untouched.

Julian was the eldest son of Joel Chandler Harris. He and his wife were perhaps most famous for winning a Pulitzer Prize in 1926 for their work at the Columbus Enquirer-Sun. Together at the paper, they covered the Scopes Monkey Trial and denounced public officials who were secretly involved in the Ku Klux Klan or otherwise standing in the way of African-American education and equality.

Eventually, the Harris’ were forced to leave the paper because of their unwavering progressive stances. Their mausoleum is just south of the bell tower at Oakland.

Tornado Does Not Rock the Wren’s Nest

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Everything’s cool, no worries.

No trees down, no windows out, and thankfully, nothing like what I saw in downtown and Cabbagetown while riding the train this morning. Let’s hope everyone’s okay.

Update: For those concerned, Fresh Loaf has posted a very helpful map of the most significant damage, as well as some serious pictures.

Update, 4:12 pm: Large hail this time. Looked like it was snowing outside for a while there. We’ve got a film crew here, and their cars got trounced.

If WSB is right, this tornado touched down closer to the Wren’s Nest (1 mile-ish) than last night (2 miles-ish).

Update, 6:05 pm: A survey around the home reveals, remarkably, little damage.  A few limbs down here and there, but that’s really about it!  Way to be, Wren’s Nest.

Everyone, have a great weekend.  If you’re tired of looking at tornado news, the Georgia Blog Carnival is up at Shelbinator.

Alice Walker to Speak at Emory

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Mark your calendars for March 25th, when Alice Walker will give a talk and reading at Glenn Memorial Auditorium right next to Emory’s campus.

Thanks to the good people at Emory’s Manuscripts, Archive, and Rare Books Library for bringing great speakers to town. And, okay, their papers too.

Previously: Alice Walker’s Papers Go To Emory

Storytelling with Tina McElroy Ansa, Malcolm Gladwell, and The Moth

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Today I’ve been pummeled with storytelling stories.

First, an editorial from Tina McElroy Ansa, the author (and now publisher) from St. Simons, Georgia, on Margaret Seltzer’s recent fake memoir hullabaloo.

Amelia and I listened to McElroy Ansa speak at the Savannah Book Festival. She’s fantastic, though I was relieved to see that she uses more periods in her editorials than she does in her talks.

I’d love to hear her perspective on Joel Chandler Harris.

For some, it’s an insult that Harris (a white guy) presumed to tell African-American stories through African-American dialect. For others, it’s not controversial at all.

In light of a memoir that fakes the story of a gang member in South Central Los Angeles, is Harris’ work more legitimate simply because he grew up on a plantation?

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Next, a post by Malcolm Gladwell. You may remember Gladwell from the hugely popular books Blink or The Tipping Point.

Gladwell’s story (starting at 45:45 minutes in) about manipulating news stories at the Washington Post is probably half-true and definitely funny.

At the same time, it’s a memoir-like story, and while I listened, I believed every word. Is that sort of manipulation okay because it doesn’t involve race? Or is it okay because it’s not a complete fabrication?

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Gladwell’s post led me to discover The Moth, a storytelling club in New York City.

I am officially in awe of The Moth. Please check out their web site.

The founder, from St. Simons (like McElroy Ansa), looked back fondly of his days telling stories on the porch back home, and decided to start a club in New York City for people who people who liked to tell stories.

This sounds a bit like Joel Chandler Harris, who looked back fondly of his days listening to stories on the plantation, and then wrote them for a mass audience on the porch of his new home in Atlanta.

For those of you who want to know where our organization is going, I think it will look something like this: 826 + The Moth + The Wren’s Nest. Though, um, give it a few years, please.

Edit: I always forget to put the second L in Malcolm.  My bad!

Auburn Avenue Podcast Tour With Andrew Young

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The Center for Civil and Human Rights Partnership just released an audio tour of Auburn Avenue. It’s kind of amazing.

For those of you not from Atlanta, Auburn Avenue is what Fortune Magazine once called the “richest Negro street in the world.” The MLK childhood home is there, as is a whole mess of other civil rights sites.

Speaking of celebrity endorsements, your host for the podcasts is none other than Andrew Young.

You know, Andrew Young–civil rights leader, Atlanta mayor, UN Ambassador, and the guy who once gave me his slice of pecan pie.*

Cool, no?

The podcast is broken up into sixteen segments. Here’s one of the shorter tracks–

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

While you listen, pretend like you’re standing in front of Big Bethel A.M.E. Church.

(picture: Edward R. Canda. Thanks, dude.)

You can download the Auburn Avenue Tour straight from the CCHR’s website, or search for it in iTunes.

* I was 17, and had previously shunned pie of any sort. I happened to sit next to Andrew Young at an event for a high school newspaper field trip. We happened to be eating lunch. He happened to not want his pie.  Andrew Young offered up his pecan pie.  I didn’t say no!

Surprisingly enough, the pie wasn’t so bad.

Natalie Portman, and What Inspires Giving

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This week’s New York Times Magazine is “The Money Issue,” but it’s all about philanthropy. And not your grandmother’s philanthropy, either.

While Natalie Portman (and her philanthropy! …maybe) caught my eye, it was the next article that really piqued my interest: What Makes People Give?

Turns out there isn’t much scientific research on the subject, but it’s exactly what fund raisers like myself want to know.

The article profiles John List, an economics professor who recently studied the relative benefits of matching gifts and challenge grants. And speak of the devil, the Wren’s Nest is in the midst of a challenge grant with a 1:1 match.

A matching gift reduces the cost of making a donation. With a, say, 1:1 match, a contribution to the nonprofit of your choice is doubled, through an equal gift from a third party. A challenge grant is a major contribution that is given with the expectation that more money be raised.

Got it?

List’s research concludes that it’s important and lucrative to solicit donors with matching funds, but it’s not nearly as important how much is matched. In theory, a situation where a donor’s money is tripled is no more successful than one where it’s merely doubled.

This affects both you and me directly. How, you ask?

By reading an article like this, I’ve drawn a conclusion or two on how to construct my request for your contributions. When you read my hilarious yet poignant request a few weeks from now, you’ll immediately fork over some of your hard earned dough to help restore the Wren’s Nest.

That’s how it’s supposed to work, anyway.

Aside from a few standard rules, guessing at the motivations behind giving is much more of an art than a science. Not only does a fund raiser have to identify different motivations for giving, but then s/he must pluck at as many heartstrings with a great story to inspire contributions!

Sound easy? I didn’t think so. That’s why you can help me out (that is, if you’ve made it this far!).

Here’s what I want to know–what inspires you to give to nonprofits?

Do you give for the children because they are our future? Do you give because of the flashy brochures? Does celebrity endorsement from, say, Natalie Portman inspire your giving? Don’t be shy!

We Are a Window-Fixing Success!

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I know you’ve all been on the edge of your respective seats about the state of our windows since our last post.

In the second attempt to beat the rain, and thus damage to the Wren’s Nest, Lain and Eduardo set up a ladder on the roof — and didn’t fall to their deaths!

On top of that, it looks like they actually fixed the window.

If You Look Up Awkward In the Dictionary

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You’ll find the staff of the Wren’s Nest.

No seriously.

Don’t let our smooth demeanor on television fool you. And just because we’ve had a theme song written spontaneously for our museum, please don’t assume we’re cool.

Google Images knows better. Google Images knows the staff of the Wren’s Nest is, well, maybe a little awkward.

Just how awkward? #20 or #21 on THE ENTIRE INTERNET. In case you weren’t aware, there are literally billions and billions of pages on the internet.

Maybe we’re not David Hasselhoff awkward, but we’d like to think we’re getting there. I wonder if we’re big in Germany and don’t even know it!

Feel free to search for “awkward” yourself. Though be careful–if you turn SafeSearch on full-blast, we won’t be there! Apparently Google Images also knows that we’re a little risque.

The post that started it all: Decency at the Nest.

Southern Literary Trail Logo Debuts

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Thoughts?

I like the thumb-printedness of it.

What is the Southern Literary Trail, you ask?

It’s a formal connection of 20th century literary sites and homes from Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. Chances are you probably wouldn’t pick up the trail and go site to site. It’s more of an association of literary places that recognize their common themes and traditions.

The plan, for now, is a big celebration in March 2009, with all sorts of literary events going on simultaneously across the three states.

Previously: Washington Post–We Are Finally Coming to Claim Our Writers, The Wren’s Nest: Part of the Southern Literary Trail?