Month: October 2011

Occupy America

While getting ready for my recent trip to New York City, I was hearing a lot about the Occupy Wall Street movement – a demonstration started one month ago by “we the people,” the majority who make up the 99% – as opposed to the wealthiest 1% – who have had it with what has been happening in our economy, our government, our healthcare system and our job market.

As the movement began spreading city to city at a feverish pace – including my own LA – I became more intrigued and pleased to see people finally speaking up. The 1960s had their demonstrations and their protest songs but for the decades since, an incredible apathy has had a hold of this country as it declined into a mess. Once thriving citizens are now part of our nation’s homeless, poverty stricken population. Our leaders are setting examples of debt and stubborn squabbling that’s an embarrassment. Is this really America?

Occupy Wall Street is doing something amazing – rallying the fed-up and it’s been long overdue.

And they are doing it by exercising their freedom of speech and right to assemble in non-violent protests (though there are always the troublemakers who turn up who have nothing to do with the movement.) It’s a completely grassroots movement that combines people, passion and the power of social media to spread the word. It represents today and who we are in every way.

So when I was in New York City last week, I wanted to see the group who began this now-global action statement for myself. I checked their Twitter and Facebook pages and found they were gathering at Washington Square Park at 3 p.m. Oct 9th. During my walk there, I noticed that the NYPD also got the memo and I’d never seen so many police roaring up – they came in cars, vans, motorcycles, scooters and on horseback. They lined every street on both sides leading up to the park. It seemed a bit of overkill to me and looked like they were waiting for something big and terrible to happen. It made me very nervous to say the least. One dicey move by anybody could trigger this to go ugly very fast.

However, what I saw on that day was a very peaceful protest of people with the guts to speak up and speak for everyone, to stand in the hot sun and hold up signs to make people think and question about what we’ve just accepted as THE system.

It will be very interesting to see where this goes.

Click the photo below to see the photos from my day with Occupy Wall Street:

 Occupy Wall Street, Washington Square Park – NYC

Find out more:

Occupy Wall Street Website
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube

Make your stand.

The whole world is watching,
K.

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Month: October 2011

Goodbye Steve Jobs

heel iconFor me, going on vacation means unplugging. In my daily personal life and in my day job, I’m a social media, blogging maniac, online at my desk and on my phone pretty much from the moment I wake to when I go to sleep at night. So this year, I chose to take a week holiday in Vermont, courtesy of some friends in Boston (thank you Jane!), to allow me some peace and quiet in the beautiful setting of tree-lined countrysides, where the leaves were just changing into their fall colors.

But my web-free holiday came crashing down when out to pick up dinner at a quaint Wilmington pizzeria, my boyfriend’s phone began to buzz with breaking news updates from his Twitter feed.  Steve Jobs had died.

I sank into the wooden booth and pulled out my phone and we both began scrolling through our Twitter feeds, news websites, and Facebook pages to get more details. We knew it was coming. I was crushed when Jobs resigned from Apple at the end of August and I think everyone went into denial about the real meaning of the move – he was dying.

And now it was official, Jobs lost his 7 year battle with pancreatic cancer. This amazing mind, this creative force who inspired us all to think different and live our own dream could not invent something to end this disease that has taken so many great ones.

The rest of my evening was spent in our quiet Vermont house online and in stunned silence, surfing the wave of postings as the news spread. With everyone having a voice now through social media, the grief was literal and instantaneous. It brought me to tears. Yet I felt comforted in sharing the loss with so many I didn’t even know by adding to the Twitter string.

Jobs will be remembered for how he completely revolutionized our culture. He changed the way we work and socialize, how we listen to music, talk on the phone, connect and share every moment of our lives – even the moment we hear of his passing.

A few days later, I am in New York City and feel it’s important to make the pilgrimage to the 24/hr Apple store on 5th Avenue to pay my respects. A remembrance area filled with flowers, notes and of course, apples, lined the entrance to the store. And I am compelled to leave a note of my own:

“You inspired us all. Thank you Steve.”

Think different,
Kastle

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