While exploring through The New York Times website recently, I came across a review of an organ concert by Cameron Carpenter, an up-and-coming American organist known for his showmanship, technique, and his arrangements for organ.
Those who know me know that I am a big fan and student of Classical music. As we approach the start of the Fall 2009 semester, I thought I’d post one of my favorite orchestrations: Maurice Ravel’s Le tombeau de Couperin, which was composed in 1919. As is wont in Ravel’s orchestrations, tonal color and __ are used rather effectively.
I hope you’ll agree with me in these two videos by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Esa-Pekka Salonen at the 2007BBC Proms. The first video has first two movements and the final video is the final two movements.
It’s a fair question to start this post. In the last week, I have learned a lot about myself. While the guiding theme behind this series of posts focused on if Phoenix and its surrounding metropolitan area is a suitable place in which to raise a family, there was a personal objective to this. This series was a personal sounding board, if you will, that looked at where I might end up calling home.
A couple of weeks ago, I was talking to one of my dear friends who was on vacation at the time in Seattle. In our conversation that one night, she had talked about moving to Seattle. She mentioned a couple of reasons why she would move there, namely family and education. But another major theme emerged from that conversation: when it comes down to it, are we ready to pick up where we’ve lived for so many years (she and I are both Arizona natives) and start anew in a different locale?
Starting anew in a different place sounds so romantic. The movies and literature give us many reasons why their characters move: a fresh start, a place to discover one’s self, a chance to escape the institutions that pervaded one’s life in a different city. But when the chips are down – when a decision actually has to be made – am I (and are we) capable of actually carrying through with it?
Rewind to that Downtown Phoenix Journal post that sparked this whole series off. The comments are truly enlightening. A comment left by user AdamMackWright summarizes that which has taken me a week to write into a couple sentences [spelling, capitalization, grammar retained from the original]:
In the last few years, the majority of the people who i once called “my community” have left or are planning to leave (some to Korea, some to San Fran, MOST to Bend, OR…). I find it hard to disagree with Kelli’s comment…Arizona is being run by people who are amongst the worst decision-makers/human beings i’ve ever seen or heard about in the country.
Sadly, I find it hard to disagree with that last statement. I’ve been following a couple of our state legislators – David Lujan and Kyrsten Sinema (both Democrats) – on Twitter and Facebook as they provide updates on what’s going on with our state legislators. That which I’ve been reading is simultaneously enlightening and disturbing.
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So, here’s what will make my “should I stay or should I go” decision easier: if our lawmakers continue this downward spiral in their decisions, then going seems appetizing. But if our lawmakers come to their senses, which seems like a fat chance, then staying becomes a favorable choice.
It’s their decision. There’s only so much I can do. I exercise my duties and vote for my representation, but others express that same right, too. But if people think that our state legislators are doing a good job – a rather scary thought – then I regret to say that I live in a backward state. Sadly, though, my decision on staying or going depends on my neighbors and fellow Arizonans. I am resigned to this fact.
[author's note: I forgot to hit the "schedule" button to make this post come online yesterday instead of today. So here's Part III to this four-part series evaluating Phoenix as a suitable place to raise a family continues today. Part I offered introduction and preface to the series. Part II established my beliefs. Part IV, which will come online Monday, will offer conclusion to this series.]
First, here’s a video from the PBS program NOVA scienceNOW that is quickly becoming appropriate:
The wisdom of the crowds. In modern society, there are those things that some will see as necessary while there are things that some see as wasteful. And, according to the theory presented in the video, the whole of society will make the best decision. So, I have my visions for what will make Phoenix great, or at least continually improve it until it is significantly better than what it is now. And there are a lot of people who are striving for this change.
So rather than all of us working together, it’s we the people against those who supposedly represent us. Wasn’t this an impetus for one of the American Revolution’s most famous rallying cries?
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I’m afraid that my justification for staying here in Phoenix will be because I’m too comfortable here rather than because I believe in this city and its resilience. I know that Phoenix -- and Arizona -- will bounce back from its present afflictions and horrible governance, but am I patient enough to allow it to happen and am I willing to be an even more vocal proponent of that in which I believe?
If you’re looking for Part III of Policy, Family, Future, I guess you’ll have to wait a bit.
It probably won’t surprise most of my readers that I’ve written this series of posts well in advance of this week.
But in looking at what I’ve written, I’ve decided to combine what would have been today’s entry (Part III) and tomorrow’s entry (Part IV) into one post.
So…please indulge me with your patience and forbearance as I tweak a couple of things. I’ll let you in on a sneak peek: Tomorrow’s post – the new Part III – will be called “From What and To Where?”.
[author's note: Part II to this five-part series evaluating Phoenix as a suitable place to raise a family continues today. Part I offered introduction and preface to the series. Parts III-V, coming online tomorrow through Friday, will continue to explore this question.]
Something that seems appropriate to do when evaluating a question like that is to take a survey of my beliefs, evaluate the priorities I think are important for the state to embrace, and compare them against what is being done.
On Facebook, there’s a space where one can put one’s political views. Some describe where they fall on the political spectrum (from conservative to liberal), some put with what political party they associate (e.g. Republicans, Democrats, Labour), and others do none of the above. I’m one of those people. I describe my political ideologies as progressive simplicity, or the idea that government should be simple. Government should have a consistent set of ideals – here in the US, we call that the Constitution – and the Government should respect the dignity of every human. None are “more equal” than others.
As a means to this end, what should government provide? I believe that government should provide three things: public safety (including police, fire), education (from pre-K through University-level), and access to/maintenance of the commons (things like water, clean air, natural resources).
This all hearkens back to my opening case study in yesterday’s post: we, in Arizona, focus on institutions that will bring people here instead of keeping Phonecians and Arizonans happy here. The main reason is because the former is rather sexy: stadia are sexy, economic development is sexy. There’s political points for bringing a stadium to a city or opening a new high-rise tower in the midst of an economic downturn. But the things that keep people here don’t generate political points.
Even though they’re the most basic and necessary services needed.
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You have read my beliefs. You know what our elected leaders have done to Arizona. So I guess all that’s left to say is this: What’s worth fighting for?
[author's note: So as promised, this is the start of a five-part blog post series that evaluates how policy decisions made at the state and local levels will ultimately affect family decisions. True, I've lived in Phoenix all my life, but is this truly a place that is suitable for creating and raising a family? Read on...]
I have some feeling that this is going to be a difficult series of blog posts to write. You see, to many people, I’m known as “Mr. Phoenix.” It’s not a title I really wanted to have nor is it a title I can say I’m particularly proud of. The idea is that I know a lot about this city and a lot of the historical institutions – in the governance sense of the word – that guide this city. Like most everything, I don’t agree with them all of the time, but I am reminded that “discourse, dissent, and disagreement are the cornerstones of democracy.”
Rewind a couple of weeks: dear friend and colleague Sam Richard wrote an honest appraisal of people leaving Phoenix over for the Downtown Phoenix Journal, and that sparked off quite a debate in the comments. In conversations I had with Sam while at work, we decided that Phoenix focuses too much on bringing people here and not worrying about keeping them here. It’s like recruitment without retention. We seem to focus too much on things like office towers and sports stadia (read: growth) because they are politically sexy. Schools, hospitals, public safety, and human infrastructure (read: sustaining)? Not so much.
Also back a couple of weeks was the topping-off ceremony for the first tower of Cityscape, the supposed new crown jewel for Downtown Phoenix. Leaders – including Mayor Gordon and Governor Brewer – touted the project as a destination for Downtown Phoenix for shopping, dining, and office space. A high-value address for Phoenix and the Southwest, if you will. But I ask: is our memory so short term that we have forgotten what’s already here? For shopping, have we already forgotten about the Arizona Center or Roosevelt Row? For dining, what about the unique restaurants already here?
And for office space, with office vacancy rates as high as they are, why build new buildings? Why focus on creating new things when existing infrastructure – in this case office space – is already there and waiting? Another building that’s just about to finish construction – One Central Park East – is hinging on having no tenants by the time it opens later this year. And what about other buildings in Downtown Phoenix? Or along the light rail?
I bring all that up as one in a series of arguments that Phoenix focuses on creating new things at the expense of that which is already here. Growing, not sustaining. And we’ve seen what happens when we put all our economic eggs into the growth basket.
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The guiding question behind this series of posts will be this: Is Phoenix a place that is suitable to raise – and sustain – a family? As I’ve explored in brief above and will explore in detail in later posts to this series, Phoenix seems to be the nation’s suburb: focusing on institutions that will bring people here and not keep them here. It seems to figure that it will always draw new blood to replace those whom it disenfranchises. But the problem to this is that employers look at institutions that will keep people here – the human services infrastructure, if you will – in their decision-making processes on if they want to move here.
All food for thought. And a pretty good preface to this complex series.
[author's note: With a slight change to the format this time around, I'm continuing my series on ASU Downtown Phoenix campus adventures, or trips to little-known places in and around the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus. New editions will be posted on Mondays under the 'Downtown Phoenix campus adventures' tag, so be sure to check back!]
Readers of my blog will notice that I haven’t posted in a week. This is because I was on a family vacation to Colorado. I enjoyed my time there but I’m rather happy to be back in Phoenix.
I bring this up because although I didn’t have time to prepare a new edition of ASU Downtown Phoenix campus adventures, friend and colleague Amy Freberg read my mind and gave a video overview of the Lincoln Family YMCA from my favorite spot on the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus, the roof deck of University Center.
[author's note: I'm continuing a new multiweek blog series on ASU Downtown Phoenix campus adventures, or little trips to places that aren't as well known here on the Downtown Phoenix campus. Last week, we featured the Galleria at the Mercado. But since the campus and Downtown Phoenix merge together - as in there are no set boundaries for the campus - this will naturally expand to Downtown Phoenix. So, for all of these posts, check out the "Downtown Phoenix campus adventures" tag.]
If you’re in the ASU College of Public Programs, as most students on the Downtown Phoenix campus are, then chances are that you’ll never have a reason to explore the home for the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. This would be sad, because it is a very cool building. Granted, you might have a class in the first floor, but the focal point for the building is the second floor, home to the First Amendment Forum. During ASU sporting events, the second floor’s 16-foot by 9-foot television becomes a home for Downtown Phoenix campus students to enjoy events that take place on the Tempe campus.
Something that you might not notice in the building, however, is the Clifford Gallery. If one were to look at the giant television screen, the gallery is off to the right. The gallery is home to many interesting artifacts of journalism history – including cameras, typewriters, and a mixing console – and how journalists covered some of history’s greatest events. There’s even a newspaper vending machine with the final edition of the Phoenix Gazette (longtime Phoenicians will remember this!).
If you go…
The Clifford Gallery is located on the second floor of the Cronkite School building, 555 N. Central Avenue. It is the building directly north of University Center. Once in the building, take the stairs or elevator to the second floor. You’ll see the First Amendment Forum. Behind the giant television screen is the Clifford Gallery.
[author's note: I'm starting a new multiweek blog series on ASU Downtown Phoenix campus adventures, or little trips to places that aren't as well known here on the Downtown Phoenix campus. But since the campus and Downtown Phoenix merge together - as in there are no set boundaries for the campus - this will naturally expand to Downtown Phoenix. So, for all of these posts, check out the "Downtown Phoenix campus adventures" tag.]
So something that I’m starting is a weekly series on places that aren’t so well-known here on the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus. The first stop is over to the Mercado, part of the original ASU Downtown Center (in our pre-campus days!), and their Galleria. If you’re wondering, the Mercado is opposite Van Buren Street from the Arizona Center, and is a quick 5-7 minute walk from University Center.
Students, faculty, staff, and visitors to the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus know about the art collection in University Center, the main building for the campus and home to the College of Public Programs. The building features art from nonprofits that are associated with the University as well as art by faculty emeriti.
Last week, I thought it appropriate to check out the Galleria in the Mercado and see how it compares with the artwork here in University Center. It is displayed there much like it is displayed at University Center: in the hallways. It’s nothing special, really. The exhibition this month is “Transparent Reflections” by local artist and ASU alumna Kathy Mitchell. Ms. Mitchell’s work was for sale, with prices ranging from $150 for a small canvas to over $1,000.
If you’re in the Mercado taking a class, then check out the Galleria. But if your travels don’t take you in that direction, then check out the art at University Center.
If you go…
The Galleria is located in Building C of the Mercado at the northeast corner of 5th St and Monroe St. From University Center, head south on Central Avenue to Monroe Street (two blocks) and then head east five blocks on Monroe. Once in Building C, take the elevators up to the 2nd floor. The artwork is in the common hallways of that floor.
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