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Alben des Jahrzehnts #4: Phoenix - United (2000)

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Peter Rollins: Bring the pub tour to Phoenix!

Dear Peter,

Look, I know Phoenix, AZ. does not seem like the first place that would foster the thinkers you're looking for.  We're an ever-stretching suburbia dotted by the occasional megachurch and Mormon ward.  Which is why we'd welcome you all the more.

There are many in Phoenix who are looking to experience God outside of our traditions.  People who are serving selflessly, engaging each other, and reaching out to the outcasts.  There are people who are refugees from other faith communities who need encouragement and a call to action.  

This is why Phoenix needs to be a stop on the Insurrection Pub Tour.

If it's about pubs, we certainly have our share.  Rula Bula, Fibber McGee's, George and Dragon, and a host of bars.  All of which need business lately.

Even more, there are people who desire what you have described:

A decisive act that will strip everything from us, incinerate everything we hold dear and inaugurate a new year zero.

Come on out here.

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Ode to a Chevy Lumina (or Why Your Rental Car Should Not Inspire Memories of 1996)

It's not often that I'm prompted to write about a rental car. But then again, it's not often that I rent a car as full of unintentional comedy and fail as the gem I rented for this trip to Phoenix.

The Rental Car Saga Begins

Let's start at the beginning, which is both logical and necessary. One thing I didn't know about Phoenix is that it's next to impossible to rent a car here during the peak months of October-March. And if you do find one, it will cost at least $500 for a multi-day rental. One of the main culprits behind the extremely high rates is the insane (dare I say usurious?) airport tax that's assessed on every car rented at the airport.

Would you care to mortgage your home for a rental car in Phoenix?

Given my recent change of career plans (i.e., lack of income), I could not spend that kind of money on a rental car, so I looked for alternatives. And I found one. From the good people at Phoenix Rental Car.  When I called them last week to book a car, they were happy to help and quoted me $287 for 5 days. And as a bonus, no airport tax, since they are located about 2 miles from the airport. Great! Sign me up. I didn't ask what kind of car it was, feeling relieved and lucky to get one for a fairly decent rate.

I was delighted when the rental car place sent Bruce to pick me up at the airport. When we arrived at the lot, it was a random storefront on some industrial street and there were a lot of pretty beat-up looking cars in the lot. No problem, I thought, I'm sure I'll get a car that's clean, runs and has an AUX cable for my iPod.

You Get What You Pay For: A Chevy Lumina

Bruce showed me to the car. A dirty white Chevy Lumina. I tried not to hide my surprise at the fact that not only was this car old, but it was dirty. At least wash it so it looks better. But I digress. This was a good one, Bruce said. It drives great, he assured me. So I got in, started it up and drove off the lot.

Yes, that 1996 Chevy Lumina is my rental car

Just how old was this car? I've confirmed that it is a 1996 Chevy Lumina. How did I confirm this? Because my friend Tyler (with whom I'm staying) actually owned this car years ago.

Yes, I rented a car in 2009 that has been on the road for 13 years. To put this in perspective, let's take a look back at the year 1996 in sports:

MLB:

• The Orioles and Rangers both made the playoffs
• Derek Jeter was Rookie of the Year
• Ken Caminiti and Juan Gonzalez named NL and AL MVPs
• The Yankees won their first World Series since 1978

NFL:

• Browns moved from Cleveland to Baltimore and became the Ravens
• Tony Dungy replaced Sam Wyche as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach (I'll let that sink in. Sam Wyche was coaching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
• Jimmy Johnson became the new head coach of the Miami Dolphins
• Barry Sanders led the league in rushing
• Steve Young led the league in passing
• Not-yet-retired-and-unretired Brett Favre and the Packers beat the Patriots to win the Super Bowl (those were the days)

NBA:

• Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls went 72-10, en route to another NBA championship
  

  Jordan and Pippen celebrated an NBA title in 1996
• Magic Johnson came out of retirement only to retire again
• Boston Celtics played their first game at the Fleet Center
• The Knicks were competitive

Not to mention that the city of Atlanta hosted the Summer Olympics in 1996. That was a long time ago. So, what I'm trying to say is this: this is one old car.

The Fun Begins

For starters, the gear shift was on the steering wheel. What? I'm not sure I've ever driven a car with that set-up. But ok. Then when I turned for the first time, I noted that the steering wheel squeaked and creaked in a way reserved solely for the doors of haunted houses. Not to mention that it may have once had power steering, but that damn thing was hard to turn. But wait - there's more!

I wanted to put on the radio to listen to some music. I don't need to tell you that there was no AUX input to be found. But there was a cassette deck. A cassette deck, ladies and gentlemen! And to top if off? THERE WAS AN ACTUAL CASSETTE TAPE STUCK IN THE CASSETTE DECK! I can't even imagine how long that damn thing has been stuck in there.

I wish I knew what cassette it was. Just a couple of guesses for fun: The Macarena? Alanis Morissette? Perhaps some classic Celine Dion or Whitney Houston?

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that every time I turned on the radio, the stupid stereo would try to play the cassette tape. Which was stuck in the cassette deck. So I had to press eject every time to convince the stereo that I wanted to listen to the radio instead of the tape. Good times.

Was this 1996 hit in the cassette deck?

Let's Talk Performance (or lack thereof)

If you've ever been to Phoenix, you know that you can't survive without a car. Which means you drive everywhere. And spend a lot of time in the car. So this is not based on a small sample size. I've been in this car a lot since Thursday and two things about have become the source of frustration (and amusement).

First is the turning radius (or lack thereof). This thing handles like a freakin' boat. 3 point turns become 5 point turns. Think you can turn into that parking spot? Think again. Want to make a U turn in one motion? Good luck. I've taken to parking facing out if at all possible, it's that bad. And no, this is not about me being a New Yorker who's not used to driving. I grew up in Los Angeles. I know how to drive. And over the past year and a half with ESPN, I drove frequently to Bristol, logging many hours in the car.

And how about highway driving? No need for the Phoenix PD or highway patrol to worry about catching me speeding. The car actually starts to shake when it hits 65 MPH. Seriously. The last time I drove a car that shook when it hit 65 MPH was my 1986 Honda Accord (RIP).

It's Been a Good Run

I know that I'm lucky to have a car at all so I really shouldn't complain. But after four full days with this baby, I just had to write about the entertainment value it's provided me during my visit. And how many rental cars can do that?

Now watch - it will break down on my way to the airport tomorrow.

P.S. It didn't break down. But with the 18.55% tax, the car cost me $391 for 5 days. A 1996 Lumina.

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Waiting for new customer information to post printable coupons in Phoenix Arizona! WIN-WIN local shopping in Phoenix AZ http://ow.ly/D7bf

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Behold the Awesomeness that is Arizona Cardinals Tailgating (pics)

                   

Click here to download:

Behold_the_Awesomeness_that_is.zip (627 KB)

                 

Click here to download:

0Behold_the_Awesomeness_that_is.zip (655 KB)

       

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1Behold_the_Awesomeness_that_is.zip (244 KB)

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Phoenix Report, Day One: Styrofoam

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We have a new winner for most impressive tailgate setup. #Cardinals

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

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Phoenix WordCamp 2009: Tale of the Tweets

If ever there was a day that needed - nay, demanded - a Tale of the Tweets, it was Phoenix WordCamp 2009.

What's WordCamp? Only an all-day WordPress extravaganza! Picture 500 bloggers, wanna-be bloggers, vloggers, developers, programmers and WordPress enthusiasts gathered under a huge tent at the Arizona Grand Resort for all things WordPress.

Some speakers were um, not so helpful. They shall remain nameless to protect the guilty. Some were entertaining. And some were awesome. You will undoubtedly be able to tell from the tweets which speakers were more (or less) awesome than others.

I was taking notes on my laptop and then I had the epiphany: why not share some of the highlights (and lowlights) on Twitter and then convert the whole day into an epic Tale of the Tweets? If you want to follow the entire Twitter stream for the day from everybody that was live-tweeting, search #phxwc.

My key takeaways from the day at WordCamp:

• WordPress is freakin' awesome and will someday rule the world
• Be passionate about what you do
• Be yourself and establish your voice
• I do not know anything about coding or developing
• The geek/tech/blog/business/marketing community in Phoenix is really really nice

Without further ado, I present the Phoenix WordCamp: Tale of the Tweets

Here's what I'm doing today: Phoenix Word Camp. Watch the live stream at www.GoDaddy.com/WordCamp #phxwc

Question: how can you advise clients on blogs when you don't have a blog yourself? #phxwc

I'll be live-tweeting #phxwc, so move along if you're not interested in any of this blogging/social media stuff.

First up is the keynote speaker: @Lorelleonwp. All about WordPress. She creates 1975 articles/year. #phxwc

Categories are the life blood of our blogs b/c they are the table of contents. #phxwc

Purpose of Wordpress is about content and your voice. This isn't news, but an important reminder. #phxwc

This is the year of original content. #phxwc

Today's obvious statement: Learn to write to be read well. #phxwc

Sorry, but there there is no situation in which jeopardy music is appropriate. Especially at WordCamp. #phxwc

Ooh, @brianshaler is sitting a few people over from me. Hi Brian! #phxwc

Helpful hint to maximize search hits: Stop using pronouns. Start using nouns. #phxwc

f you want to get someone’s attention, show them something they’ve never seen before or show it in a way they’ve never seen before. #phxwc

Multimedia publishing powered by WordPress with @davemoyer. Go beyond the words with multimedia. #phxwc

RT @tdhurst Feels like we're watching the presenters entertain themselves (via @katiecharland) #phxwc

To stand out, be outstanding. #phxwc

Use a plugin. Linking to download is soooo 1999. #phxwc

So WordPress is a content management system? And your site doesn't have to look like a "blog"? #phxwc

Hey speaker guy, make sure your presentation doesn't have spelling or grammatical errors. K. Thx. Bye. #phxwc

SEO keys: make proper tags. Title tags, description tags, keyword tags. #phxwc

Not going to lie. I am confused by this SEO presentation. Is it just me? #phxwc

Hello Phoenix WordCamp! #phxwc http://post.ly/CXCm

Let the record reflect that @katiecharland has excellent taste in computers and jewelry. Men? Not so sure.

Amen. RT @tdhurst: Cool panel by @photomatt, @chuckreynolds and @strebel. It's like these guys know what they're doing. #phxwc

New plugins are coming! WordPress is taking over the world! Bwaaahaaaa. #phxwc

Me too! RT @katiecharland: Must become self-hosted on wordpress today. I want all the things being talked about (and a bad ass theme) #phxwc

Always good to get a Skynet reference in. #wordpressistakingovertheworld #phxwc

Food. Must. Have. Food. #phxwc

My lunch bag didn't have a cookie. I got a new lunch bag. #mmmcookie #phxwc

Hate me if you want to. This is where Phoenix WordCamp is. #phxwc http://post.ly/CXdT

I won this awesome t-shirt from @JimmyTraina. It's perfect b/c I love Twitter giveaways and I hate the Red Sox! http://bit.ly/L1bsx

Oh god help they're doing the wave at #phxwc. I do not do the wave. Anywhere. Ever.

WordPress is changing the world! If by "changing" you mean "taking over". Then yes, WP is changing the world. #phxwc

WordPress can help you with personal branding? #thisisnotnews #phxwc

You do business with people you trust. Hey, I think @chrisbrogan @julien and @charleshgreen might have something to say about that. #phxwc

Talking about @garyvee as the guru of personal branding. #phxwc

Look for problems and provide a solution. #duh #phxwc

Wait. I can download WordPress? And it's constantly changing? Thanks #phxwc!

Crowdsourcing. Leverage other talents. #phxwc

Wow. Over/under on number of tweets about crowdsourcing this presentation currently at 10. Who wants the over? #phxwc

Two kinds of people: WordPress experts and people who need a WordPress expert. #phxwc

So I could have stayed in NY this weekend for WordCamp NYC? What gives, @tdhurst? #phxwc

This one is way too smart! RT @tdhurst: I'd rather a preso be too smart to be understood than far too dumb to pay attention to. #phxwc

This is a great presentation by @vegasgeek on creating WP plug-ins. I just wish I understood it. #phxwc

Cool. @vegasgeek has a tattoo that says "Geek", but doesn't have one that says "WordPress". #phxwc

Note: @vegasgeek responded: You totally should have added "yet" to the end of that tweet! #phxwc

This Merlin Mann dude is actually funny. Though enough with ripping off Dana Carvey's grumpy old man. #phxwc

I feel so inadequate here using Twitter on the web and my blackberry. At least I have a black MacBook. #phxwc

- Merlin Mann (@hotdogsladies) at Phoenix WordCamp. #phxwc

Words to live by: Liars don't prosper. #phxwc

Personal publishing/having a blog in and of itself is not social media. We confuse personal publishing and social media at our peril. #phxwc

Listening to what's being said, responding and changing. Now that's social media. #phxwc

"Friend" is not a friend. It's just a person with an icon. #phxwc

True social media is not natively scalable or proportional. #phxwc

Voice. With Howard Stern you know what you're getting. Voice is key. #phxwc

You create an editorial voice every time you point someone somewhere else. #phxwc

The problem with expectations is that they get made regardless. You need to manage expectations. #phxwc

If you know who you are, you don't have to sweat your brand. Your brand is you. #phxwc

You only need to manage your brand when you don't know who you are. Or you're not interesting. #phxwc [AMEN]

Here's the outline from Merlin Mann's presentation at #phxwc: http://www.kungfugrippe.com/

Whether you're just starting out or doing this for a while: give more than you get. Help people. Participate. #phxwc

Listen. Look. Share. Learn. Be with real people. Meet them. Learn from them. #phxwc

Always make time for the people that are the center of what you do. "Friends" are not friends. #phxwc

Oh man I am so doing a Tale of the Tweets for #phxwc.

Don't just follow the herd. Follow your instincts. Do it as well as you can as often as you can. If it doesn't work, do something else. #phxwc

Up next: @iboughtamac talking Designing for WordPress. He is high energy. Yowza. #phxwc

Start with a basic WP theme. Get ahold of this stuff and just start playing with it. #thatswhatshesaid #phxwc

Blogs require lots of attention. They're like a dog. #phxwc

Guy next to me keeps jostling his knee which causes the entire table to shake. Grrrr. #petpeeves

Next up: @Clintus on video blogging. I like Clintus McGintus. Though he is a total attention whore. His words. #phxwc

Ooh! Another @garyvee mention at #phxwc.

Whoa. @Clintus' site is http://idoitdigital.com. I thought at first it was http://idiotdigital.com. #phxwc

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First Stop on the Journey: A Warm Welcome in Phoenix

And I'm not just talking about the weather. Which is, of course, quite lovely and warm. Just like NYC. Or not.

But weather aside (did I mention it was warm?), from the moment I got off the plane this afternoon, I've experienced nothing but love here in the Valley of the Sun. It started with the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf right outside my gate at the airport. Talk about a sight for sore eyes. Is there a better beverage than a pumpkin spice ice blended? I think not.

Next up was Bruce, the guy from the car rental place, who immediately smiled when he saw my Yankees t-shirt and said, "Now that's the kind of person I like: a Yankees fan!" Turns out he's a huge Yankees fan and we chatted about the great Yankees of old (Mantle, Maris, Yogi), and the great Yankees of new (A-Rod, Jeter and even Nick Swisher).

After setting out in my sweet Chevy Lumina (yes, a Chevy Lumina), I arrived at my lodging for the weekend, the apartment of my host, Tyler Hurst (aka @tdhurst). It's always great to see Tyler, who encouraged me (along with Pam Slim) to come out to Phoenix for Geek Week and enjoy this fantastic geek/nerd community. I originally planned to come for just Friday night through Sunday, but with the recent changes in my career, I changed my trip so I could be here for both Word Camp and Podcamp AZ 2009, and enjoy a little Arizona Fall League baseball. The timing could not be better as I embark on my journey.

At Tyler's suggestion, I stopped by (aka crashed) the happy hour at AZEC 09. Oh yeah, I did manage to get myself lost in Phoenix on my way there, making a wrong turn, going through downtown (past Chase Field) and finally making it to the 10 East after asking a cab driver for directions. When I finally hit the freeway, I wasn't too surprised to see that traffic was about the same as in LA.

When I finally arrived at the conference center, I introduced myself to the fantastic, warm and welcoming Joan Koerber-Walker.  After Joan chastised Tyler for leaving his guest unhosted and alone, she told me to say hello to Heather Herr (aka the fabulous Ms Herr).  Though I barged right over and interrupted her conversation with Sean Tierney, Heather didn't skip a beat and immediately welcomed me to Phoenix and to the group.  I'd heard a lot about the warmth and openness of the Phoenix geek/nerd/social media community, but this was more than a cynical New Yorker could hope for.

As the happy hour dwindled, Ms Herr spearheaded a post-happy hour venture, and we caravanned (is that even a word?) over to George & Dragon for beverages and dinner.  The crew consisted of Ms Herr, Sean Tierney, Brian Shaler, Ed, and Vlogger extraordinaire Clintus. 

As we watched Rutgers beat up on USF and the Bears-Niners struggle in an NFL suck-off of epic proportions, we discussed all kinds of social media related things, as a little preview of what's to come for the weekend. One thing I found fascinating was our conversation regarding the advent of "anti-social media" (in the words of Brian Shaler), a new phenomenon in which social media is being used to avoid actual social interaction. Don't forget that sometimes a phone call is actually more effective and easier than an email exchange. Although Ed countered that "If it can't be done on the web, it's not worth doing." I'll let you ponder that, as it's late and I have to be up really early tomorrow.

Thanks again to everybody who welcomed me to Phoenix so warmly today. Based on what I experienced tonight, I can't wait to learn and experience more at Word Camp and PodCamp.

Until next time, the journey continues.

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Phoenix - Fences

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