Friday, March 29, 2002

TCS Intro ~ 3/29/02

This Week
Publisher's Note
A Sweet and Spicy Enticement
Cocktails and a Cellist
The Cyber Scene in Washington, DC ~ by Evelyn Tauben
The Cyber Scene in Los Angeles ~ by Tamar Alexia Fleishman

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*Publisher's Note:
1) Please pray for those suffering in violence in other parts of our fragile world.

2) This week we have a basket full of goodies for you. Ranging from Indian and English networking to cellists and cocktails, people were out and about. We also are treated to a new columnist, Evelyn Tauben’s write-up of the National Museum of American History exhibit on the July 1942 magazine covers depicting the American Flag and the “United We Stand” motto. Perhaps in sixty years there will be a retrospective on the magazine covers for our most recent “United We Stand” campaign? And once again Tamar Fleishman graces the Scene with an interview of director Matt Wilder.

3) It's official! I'm now the official owner of The Cyber Scene ®. The United States of America department of Patents and Trademarks has granted me registration of this as my official trademark. So if you use (or see someone using) this mark without my express permission, please be aware that I will be protecting this.

4) Many thanks again to Matt Peyton of Silverbox Photography for the photos of the Chamber Dance Project party on March 18th. www.silverboxphoto.com/remote

5) Happy Passover! Happy Easter!

6) Amusement surfing for those with sugar-on-the-brain: http://www.marshmallowpeeps.com

The Cyber Scene in Los Angeles ~ by Tamar Alexia Fleishman

Celebrity interview of Matt Wilder

Matt Wilder is one of America's young genius directors of theater, television and movies. He first showed flashes of brilliance in the media at the age of 13, when his letter to The New Yorker was published. After directing a production of "Mozart and Salieri" while still in his teens, he earned his B.A. cum laude in literature from Yale, and his M.F.A. from the University of California.

His theater credits include Naomi Iizuka's SKIN and Samuel Beckett's KRAPP'S LAST TAPE at Dallas Theatre Center; Eugene O'Neill's THE HAIRY APE at La Jolla Playhouse; Ariel Dorfman's DEATH AND THE MAIDEN at Actors Theatre of Louisville; THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE LOWER EAST SIDE at En Garde Arts in New York; Karl Gajdusek's MALIBU and Michael McClung's NATURAL CHILD at Soho Rep in New York; the world premiere of Charles L. Mee, Jr.'s THE WAR TO END WAR at Sledgehammer Theatre; Jon Robin Baitz's THE END OF THE DAY at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco; and Mee's THE TROJAN WOMEN: A LOVE STORY at Cal Arts. He has received the Princess Grace/Theatreworks USA Award for Emerging Theatre Artists, and two DramaLogue Awards for Best Director. He is an associate artist of Dallas Theatre Center. He has also written insightful reviews for Green magazine, The City Pages and many other papers.

Critics have been fanatical about his work: Backstage West "...a macabre, weird, and wonderful evening..."; San Diego Reader "Would someone right now, please, give Matthew Wilder a local building, where he can fulfill his artistic destiny?"; OC Weekly "Did my brain hurt? Did I think, contemplate self, try to organize my belief system, question it, and ultimately weep a bit for humanity? Oh, yes."; Clive Barker "History of the Devil as a movie is being worked on right now. A brilliant screenplay from the play has just been turned in by a man by the name of Matt Wilder."

Lately, Wilder has been doing a lot of thinking about his work in the media, issues of privacy, modernism and consequences. He is currently doing a production of Don DeLillo's VALPARAISO that uses both live and recorded video. DeLillo's play, prescient as is his custom, concerns a man who gets on a plane thinking he's going to Valparaiso, Indiana, and winds up in Valparaiso, Chile instead. For this mistake, he becomes the world's most famous person for a day. VALPARAISO explores the topics of airports, commercial-airline procedure, home life, and the penetration of all our intimacies by TV. The fame for a day ends up destroying this guy's life. Wilder is fascinated by the juxtaposition of every intimate moment being in the media, while all real life intimate experiences cease, hitting us all where we live after 9-11. He notes that DeLillo was writing about Monica and JonBenet as early as 1999.

Wilder is anxious over what he terms "the internetization of TV news, with its ADD-inducing streams of printed information over screaming heads and inside reenactments."

He laments people suffering with Information Overload Stress Disorder and "the sense that nothing. . . is or should be private. The connection between the nullification of public space in cities to the absolutism of commercial media's invasion of all of us, via inter linked 'synergistic' tie-ins. The notion that someone or something out there is reading how many times you visited www.rubberducky.com today, and is planning a marketing blitz on you accordingly. And the perhaps not unrelated Rumsfeldian notion of erecting thousands of tiny cameras on city street corners."

Wilder notes that the only thing that seems to shock us still in the media age are shame and embarrassment: "watching some old lady misread the cue cards for an awards show still makes us squirm, while pedophilia doesn't. We somehow have this feeling of entitlement."

While Wilder is not exactly sure where the Internet may be headed, he points out that what is novel is "that we're over deluged. After 9-11, we've been image and word saturated. In the 80's and early 90's, it was all about the pictures, MTV. Now, there's an insane proliferation of words. On TV, there's so much punditry. The guy who wrote Black Hawk Down was appalled when he was asked to appear on MSNBC, next to the Joint Chief of Staff. He was like, 'Hey, I'm just a guy who wrote a book,'". Wilder feels that the O.J. Simpson trials really started the 'talking head' phenomenon, with Grodin and Geraldo. He admits that he is fascinated with the rantings of Ann Coulter: "She's the slutty sorority chick. She has to defend the most right-wing position, even those that have been discredited. I found myself oddly nodding in agreement with her. We have a need to talk about things all the time, having a Siskel and Ebert for things like history. We also have staged, Springer-style combat."

When contemplating Michael Saylor's (CEO of Microstrategies) ideas of implanting an organizer microchip with advertising capabilities, Wilder laments the total encroachment of commerce into our lives. He compares the almost complete lack of open public space in L.A., as found in New York. "But, is there a difference between a billboard outside your window in the morning and in your head? We have commercials in the 1st grade classroom now, in exchange for PCs." Would he ever agree to have a micro chip implanted? "NO! God, no!" He's even disturbed by the tracking that's done online, with purchases.

A typical day for Wilder: " I get up, I write. I'm putting together a showcase for Cal Arts. I try to balance movie stuff and writing. I try to get paid writing gigs. I direct classic theater, too. I see a lot of writers consumed by making 50 phone calls a day."

Wilder has had a good piece of luck from posting on the 'net. He posted a review of "American Pastoral" by Philip Roth. Someone saw it and passed along a script to a famous young blonde actress. When asked about his opinions of a professional writer posting things for free, he says, "I feel you have to shake 9 apple trees and then, 3 oranges fall on your head. It seems to work that way." While he claims not to be "gadget o'centric", as he puts it, he does admit to being addicted to his Palm Pilot, as well as his laptop with DVD player. "I like to watch 2001 in an airport, to have movies as accessible as a paperback, that's very important." He was watching satellite TV, with 499 channels: "It was a narcotic effect, overload. This feeling of all this good stuff to watch and you can never get to the end. It's opium."

To contact Matt Wilder, email him at jerrylangford@aintitcoolmail.com . For more celebrity interviews, check out http://www.bankrate.com/brm/archive_themoneyshot.asp

The Cyber Scene in Washington, DC ~ by Evelyn Tauben

Bringing the Collection to the Museum and the Museum to the Web

In the summer of 1942, more than 500 magazines as diverse as The New Yorker, Vogue, Popular Mechanics, and Master Comics featured the American flag on their covers along with the words “United We Stand.” Following an initiative of the National Publishers Association (now the Magazine Publishers of America), the magazines cooperated in a campaign to support the war effort. Partnering as well with the Treasury Department to encourage the sale of war bonds, magazine covers put forth an image of national unity on the first Fourth of July after the horrific attacks on Pearl Harbor.

A special exhibition, July 1942: United We Stand has just opened at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History (NMAH) in Washington D.C. For the first time more than 100 of the magazines featuring the American flag on their covers are being exhibited together to mark the 60th anniversary of their publication in July of 1942, seven months after the United States entered World War II.

The exhibition at the NMAH brings the magazine collection of Peter Kreitler together with new scholarship on this little known World War II home front effort. Kreitler, an Episcopalian minister and environmentalist from Southern California, was born in July 1942. After receiving one of these magazine covers as a birthday gift his curiosity about its origin grew into a private collection of over 300 magazine covers.

With a selection of 100 covers and historic artifacts from the museum’s collection, July 1942: United We Stand is a treat for lovers of design and history alike. The covers, specially designed by artists, illustrators, and photographers for the campaign, reveal the preoccupations and past-times of Americans during the war. Featuring images ranging from families flying the flag to patriotic fashion photos to U.S. war planes taking to the skies, the covers all share the common motto “United We Stand” and a variation on the Stars and Stripes.

A comprehensive online exhibition is also being launched in conjunction with this project. The virtual version of July 1942: United We Stand can be reached at http://americanhistory.si.edu/1942. Created by Baltimore-based, Evins Design the web site is another in a long series of collaborations between NMAH and outside design firms that contribute their technological innovation and creative vision to the museum’s vast collections and scholarship.

For the Star Spangled Banner Web site, NMAH teamed up with Hello Design in California to bring the story of the flag and the progress of its conservation to the public through such online features as roll-over activities and fun knowledge-testing quizzes. One section of the Web site allows visitors to play the role of curator by examining unique primary documents to piece together clues to the story of the famous flag.

Currently, Pyramid Studios in Richmond, Virginia is developing interactive audio-visual components, such as touch-screen kiosks, for an upcoming exhibition on the history of the United States Military Academy at West Point.

The latest project, the online exhibition for July 1942: United We Stand, demonstrates the unlimited potential of the internet to literally extend the walls of the museum. The online interface cannot match the visceral experience of viewing original artifacts first-hand, which gives museums their raison-d’ĂȘtre. However, the online exhibition serves as an excellent companion piece to the museum exhibition; allowing curators to explore themes and present objects in ways physical space constraints would not allow.

The virtual visitor can learn more about the artists behind the cover designs in a section appropriately titled “Behind the Designs” where the works of 1940s illustrators are explored. “The Flag and World War II” section demonstrates the ubiquity of the flag symbol while displaying other historical objects from the museums’ collection.

Beyond simply expanding the content, the online exhibition extends the public’s access to information. There is of course the obvious global reach of the web. The collection of magazines once stored beneath Peter Kreitler’s bed in the Pacific Palisades is not only on view at the nation’s museum of American history but is now available to the world. As well, the July 1942 web site allows visitors to view over 300 magazine covers through a searchable database. One of the exhibition’s curators, Marilyn Zoidis, described the database as “an incredible resource that we will leave behind long after the exhibition ends.”

Julia Evins and Barney Kirby, the designers of the online exhibition, describe the aspect of participation as an essential component of the web version that sets it a part from the gallery space. Not only can web surfers uncover details about the magazines and connections between them through the searchable database, they are also encouraged to vote for their favorite covers in a section that describes the original contest for best cover design run by the United States Flag Association.

Kirby does not believe in the standard cynicism that online exhibitions further remove the public from actual museum objects and discourage them from visiting the museum. Instead he feels that the images on the web, clearly reproductions, spawn greater curiosity and the need for closer inspection. Such is the case with July 1942: United We Stand.

The online exhibition is a cleverly crafted design combining a modern medium with a 1940s period feel to showcase these magnificent magazine covers and tell their story. However, a visit to the National Museum of American History is certainly worthwhile to view the vibrant designs with their reds, whites, and blues still bold after sixty years. Ultimately the teaming up of NMAH and Evins design to create two exhibitions at once signals an important step forward for museums. As NMAH’s Acting-Director, Marc Pachter stated at the press preview, “we [the museum] are everywhere in many formats… and that represents a museum in the twenty-first century.”

Evelyn Tauben works at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and at the National Museum of American History where she was part of the exhibition team for July 1942: United We Stand.

For more, visit these web sites: americanhistory.si.edu/1942 americanhistory.si.edu/ssb www.evinsdesign.com www.hellodesign.com www.pyramidstudios.com

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Publisher's Note ~ Prayers, Thanks, Peeps

1) Please pray for those suffering in violence in other parts of our fragile world.

2) This week we have a basket full of goodies for you. Ranging from Indian and English networking to cellists and cocktails, people were out and about. We also are treated to a new columnist, Evelyn Tauben’s write-up of the National Museum of American History exhibit on the July 1942 magazine covers depicting the American Flag and the “United We Stand” motto. Perhaps in sixty years there will be a retrospective on the magazine covers for our most recent “United We Stand” campaign? And once again Tamar Fleishman graces the Scene with an interview of director Matt Wilder.

3) It's official! I'm now the official owner of The Cyber Scene ®. The United States of America department of Patents and Trademarks has granted me registration of this as my official trademark. So if you use (or see someone using) this mark without my express permission, please be aware that I will be protecting this.

4) Many thanks again to Matt Peyton of Silverbox Photography for the photos of the Chamber Dance Project party on March 18th. www.silverboxphoto.com/remote

5) Happy Passover! Happy Easter!

6) Amusement surfing for those with sugar-on-the-brain: http://www.marshmallowpeeps.com

Cyber Scene Social Notes ~ 3/29/02

In an attempt to help facilitate better networking for new media professionals and "Scenesters," here are some points that will be added during the weeks.

** Got a bee in your bonnet? Don’t forget the value of a quick, intense workout or a walk around the block. Clearing your head first before taking action (verbal or physical) you may regret later is golden.

Cyber Scene Social Notes ~ 3/29/02

** Whether chivalry is dead or not-ladies and gentlemen-it is polite and considerate to keep the door held open for someone coming in (or out) after you. Be mindful of those around you, and let them in too!

Monday, March 25, 2002

Cocktails and a Cellist

Playing off a play-on-words, this month’s “Cocktails with Courtney” soiree featured the talented cellist, Kate Dillingham, at Flute. While named for the glasswear they serve the champagne in at this champagne bar, our musically inspired night brought out a hearty number of interested guests on the drizzly Tuesday, March 25th evening.
Among those who looked as fresh as a daisy, despite the rainy night, I got to chat with fellow sage Silicon Alley-ers like David Blumstein, Debbie Newman, Dara Tyson, EventMe!’s Volker Detering, UJA.org’s FedWeb project manager Joli Halper and attorneys Havona Madama and Steve Filler. Julio Cassels came by to check out who else might be out and about; as did t/bex’s Alexia Henke, Nicole Kikoski and Amy Weinrich (that’s sixdegrees.com founder Andrew Weinrich’s sister). Larry Kooper had an exciting update: he’s now the director of Strategic Partnerships at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Danielle Cyr, Steven Haines, and the Julie and Beth Flanagan duo were other guests that enjoyed a Bombay cocktail this evening as well.

And there were quite a few fine new folks that streamed in to listen to the strings like Skilo Brand’s Jennifer Maclure, Datamonitor’s SVP Debra Albert, Tiffany & Co.’s Pilar Bretos and Deutsch Banc Alex. Brown VP Miroslav Visic. Merrill Lynch VP Scott Hague invited his pal JEGI Capital associate Ashraf Shaaban. Morrin Bass and Ping Yu told me about their asset management program. Executive Color Systems’s Andrew Campagnuolo and Pantone’s Victoria Herbert were the color experts for the evening and as we prepared for the brief concert, I chatted with Nancy Jaffe and Chris McCarthy, who both just moved back to New York from San Francisco!

Kate’s performance was, as usual, moving, emotional, modern, edgy and classic. Her teaser was just enough to get guests clamoring for raffle tickets for a chance to see her concert at an even better price than already offered. For more information on getting tickets to Kate’s April 16th concert, please contact: http://kdlgm.home.mindspring.com/debut.htm or Merkin Hall: 212-501-3330 After she performed the enthusiasm and energy from the guests was significant. Les Concierges Christopher Hammett, American Airlines pilot Orit Katzir and Cisco Systems’ Nimesh Ganhdhi were among those who rallied. VantagePoint Venture Partners’ Jim Marver and Ken Kharbanda also stopped by for some Sapphire martinis and musically-inclined conversation and comraderie.

If you missed this Cocktails, never fear, we’ll be doing another preview for Kate a week before the concert so check your “Cocktails with Courtney” emails and http://www.pulitzer.com/calendar/index.shtml for all the skinny! (ps. The pics are up!

Sunday, March 24, 2002

Dyson's Divination Redux

Some of you may remember my brief write-up of the iBreakfast event last week. We were unable to present the full context of the morning's event due to a few circumstances. However, this week EDventure Holdings' Esther Dyson got back to me with some of her thoughts on the "next big things" while in Ghana working with ICANN on sundry issues.
You can learn more about Esther's divinations at her respected conference PC Forum: "Back to the Future" www.pcforum2002.com (March 24 to 26) and via her newsletter Release 1.0.

Overall, the promising areas she sees development are in enterprise software; personal identity management, including things such as spam filtering, "presence" management (who may reach me and how); and, of course, security. She also sees huge opportunities in emerging markets outside the US.

Esther states that "enterprise software is like AI. It loses its visibility once it comes into widespread use." This is where the web will come in handy: as companies get more complex, they will need to keep track of various groups of people and data across multiple organizations. "The web will allow for more seamless interchange not just of data but of functionality across different technical and business environments."

However, "right now customers are more focused on cost savings than on exotic new applications." Because companies want to manage more familiar objects and cut their costs, the enterprise marketplace is now one of longer selling cycles and shorter projects. Corporations also aren't buying anything that will take longer than several months to be implemented and show a return. Nor are they willing to buy from cute little start-ups on faith, the way they used to. Furthermore, a lot of the business done in this area is retrofit (ie. "make these two systems work together").

Esther concludes that "corporate systems still have a long way to go in terms of using internal employee-facing systems to serve their customers."

Esther's next area of focus is personal identity online. If you saw the movie "The Net" with Sandra Bullock you watched how a woman lost, and then fought to regain, her identity. It was "stolen" via computers and was a great way to scare the uninformed citizens around the world as to the beauty of the Internet. (Please note my sarcasm.)

"While enterprises are being encouraged to take more responsibility for their own security, new digital identity services should give individuals more control over their data. Most consumers want to keep their data in several places rather than putting all their eggs in a single basket." Esther feels "we need better rules and better customer control over what happens to their data. After all, it is theirs!"

Both Microsoft and the Liberty Alliance have solutions. Microsoft has its .NET initiative and the accompanying Passport identity system for end-users. Sun Microsystems developed the Liberty Alliance in response as its identity project.

"In the end, businesses want systems that work and, in the realm of digital identity, standards for trading and managing information securely. What we need, in a sense, is a better market for data practices, where people can make their own choices about what happens to their data. We don't need a one-size-fits-all law. We need an environment where you can trust the people who say that they're keeping your data secure and where you have some recourse if they don't."

A big part of a company's digital identity is their domain name, which is another area where Esther and ICANN spend a lot of time discussing who owns these little chunks of digital turf and who should manage them. The Liberty Alliance is also addressing such issues, but ironically, their domain name suffers from one of the very aspects they're working on identifying. It's not at www.libertyalliance.com, where you'd think it would be. It is at: www.projectliberty.org.

Another area where Esther is focused is security. Since September 11, security has become a big topic. But it's not a product you can buy; it depends on everything from the carefulness of employees to the legal climate of liability for damages. "On the user side, it's relatively easy to secure data as it travels over the Internet. The challenge is figuring out who gets access to it and who controls it at either end. A computer system will do only what it's told to do. If an employee leaves a machine unattended but in available mode, and a janitor who isn't really a janitor walks by, the technical sophistication of your system becomes irrelevant."

Esther feels we must move beyond firewalls and secure systems. Firewalls are designed to keep out the supposed bad guys. But what if the bad guys are on the inside? We need a detection system that will track bad behavior, not just bad people. She feels we need to create incentives that will encourage people to really care about security; passing a law isn't enough. Esther's solution is to bring enterprise security to the financial markets' attention by way of the Securities and Exchange Commission. "If all public companies were required to disclose their level of information security in their SEC filings, companies would waste no time in hiring an independent firm to conduct a security audit. Ultimately, the financial markets (including insurance companies) would reward the companies who take security seriously."

As our networked world evolves despite the tech-industry's snag in 2001 with the stock market, developments in enterprise software, personal identity management, and security offer hope in terms of identifying areas where true development is needed and is, thankfully, occurring.

Dyson's Divination Redux

Some of you may remember my brief write-up of the iBreakfast event last week. We were unable to present the full context of the morning's event due to a few circumstances. However, this week EDventure Holdings' Esther Dyson got back to me with some of her thoughts on the "next big things" while in Ghana working with ICANN on sundry issues.
You can learn more about Esther's divinations at her respected conference PC Forum: "Back to the Future" www.pcforum2002.com (March 24 to 26) and via her newsletter Release 1.0.
Overall, the promising areas she sees development are in enterprise software; personal identity management, including things such as spam filtering, "presence" management (who may reach me and how); and, of course, security. She also sees huge opportunities in emerging markets outside the US.
Esther states that "enterprise software is like AI. It loses its visibility once it comes into widespread use." This is where the web will come in handy: as companies get more complex, they will need to keep track of various groups of people and data across multiple organizations. "The web will allow for more seamless interchange not just of data but of functionality across different technical and business environments."
However, "right now customers are more focused on cost savings than on exotic new applications." Because companies want to manage more familiar objects and cut their costs, the enterprise marketplace is now one of longer selling cycles and shorter projects. Corporations also aren't buying anything that will take longer than several months to be implemented and show a return. Nor are they willing to buy from cute little start-ups on faith, the way they used to. Furthermore, a lot of the business done in this area is retrofit (ie. "make these two systems work together").
Esther concludes that "corporate systems still have a long way to go in terms of using internal employee-facing systems to serve their customers."
Esther's next area of focus is personal identity online. If you saw the movie "The Net" with Sandra Bullock you watched how a woman lost, and then fought to regain, her identity. It was "stolen" via computers and was a great way to scare the uninformed citizens around the world as to the beauty of the Internet. (Please note my sarcasm.)
"While enterprises are being encouraged to take more responsibility for their own security, new digital identity services should give individuals more control over their data. Most consumers want to keep their data in several places rather than putting all their eggs in a single basket." Esther feels "we need better rules and better customer control over what happens to their data. After all, it is theirs!"
Both Microsoft and the Liberty Alliance have solutions. Microsoft has its .NET initiative and the accompanying Passport identity system for end-users. Sun Microsystems developed the Liberty Alliance in response as its identity project.
"In the end, businesses want systems that work and, in the realm of digital identity, standards for trading and managing information securely. What we need, in a sense, is a better market for data practices, where people can make their own choices about what happens to their data. We don't need a one-size-fits-all law. We need an environment where you can trust the people who say that they're keeping your data secure and where you have some recourse if they don't."
A big part of a company's digital identity is their domain name, which is another area where Esther and ICANN spend a lot of time discussing who owns these little chunks of digital turf and who should manage them. The Liberty Alliance is also addressing such issues, but ironically, their domain name suffers from one of the very aspects they're working on identifying. It's not at www.libertyalliance.com, where you'd think it would be. It is at: www.projectliberty.org.
Another area where Esther is focused is security. Since September 11, security has become a big topic. But it's not a product you can buy; it depends on everything from the carefulness of employees to the legal climate of liability for damages. "On the user side, it's relatively easy to secure data as it travels over the Internet. The challenge is figuring out who gets access to it and who controls it at either end. A computer system will do only what it's told to do. If an employee leaves a machine unattended but in available mode, and a janitor who isn't really a janitor walks by, the technical sophistication of your system becomes irrelevant."
Esther feels we must move beyond firewalls and secure systems. Firewalls are designed to keep out the supposed bad guys. But what if the bad guys are on the inside? We need a detection system that will track bad behavior, not just bad people. She feels we need to create incentives that will encourage people to really care about security; passing a law isn't enough. Esther's solution is to bring enterprise security to the financial markets' attention by way of the Securities and Exchange Commission. "If all public companies were required to disclose their level of information security in their SEC filings, companies would waste no time in hiring an independent firm to conduct a security audit. Ultimately, the financial markets (including insurance companies) would reward the companies who take security seriously."
As our networked world evolves despite the tech-industry's snag in 2001 with the stock market, developments in enterprise software, personal identity management, and security offer hope in terms of identifying areas where true development is needed and is, thankfully, occurring.

Friday, March 22, 2002

The Cyber Scene in San Francsico


“At the peak of the Internet frenzy two years ago, when the Nasdaq was over 5,000 and dotcom millionaires were buying spreads in the hills above Palo Alto, it seemed that the information revolution would go on forever.  Then the bubble burst…..How fast can the information technology economy come back?  I don't know.  The economy is quiet now, gestating a new phase.  What I do know is that when that new phase comes forth, it will be a giant.”  (W. Brian Arthur, “Is the Information Revolution Dead?” Business 2.0, March 2002 http://www.business2.com/articles/mag)

W.B. Arthur’s article on a future information revolution is such an exemplary piece of analysis, that it gave birth to a pivotal debate, broadcast live in Silicon Valley this week.  “Is the Information Revolution Dead?” presented by Business 2.0, in association with the Commonwealth Club Silicon Valley and the Tech Museum of Innovation, starred some of Silicon Valley’s most controversial powerbrokers:

W. Brian Arthur (professor, Santa Fe Institute, Citibank)
Andy Grove, (chairman, Intel)
Lawrence Lessig (professor, Stanford Law School)
Ned Desmond, (editor and president, Business 2.0)
The high voltage of a professional debate is awesome, especially if the stage is set in a glowing “azure state of the-art IMAX® Dome” Theater at the Tech Museum of innovation.  (http://www.thetech.org)  Imagine a sold-out-standing-room-only event with 300 people in large reclining chairs, dwarfed by a giant eight story domed screen, with six-channel, digital wrap around sound.  (That’s 13,000 watts of power coming from 44 speakers.)  The invite never mentioned we would be sitting ‘inside’ the next tech revolution.
However, Arthur’s vision of the next technology revolution may only be theoretical, as it compares the Internet collapse to the railway mania that raged in 1847, crashed, and then gave way to the great railway revolution in Britain in 1850.  Arthur points out that, “Railways, like the Internet, are connection technologies.  For connection technologies, this brings on a race for space.  And this in turn means that when the opportunities open up... The result can easily be investment frenzy -- a mania.  With or without manias, all revolutions still progress from early chaotic innovation to build-out and then to tired overcapacity and foreign competition.”
First, Arthur’s article is a knockout piece and a must read for anyone who scoffs at the thought of the next technology revolution: it’s bold, insightful and historically grounded.
But there’s a skeptic…or two...in every crowd.
“So what?” retorted legendary Andy Grove, who threw out the first challenge to the digital future, noting that the “global” of yore was confined to England and some parts of Europe.  Growth is now “world-wide,” and still the action is happening outside the U.S. rather than here.  The technology revolution, once again, is in Europe.
Then there’s the lawyer who flies in from left field.  Lawrence Lessig volleyed that the “bigger” problem is the dinosaurs, referring to people who see the Internet’s progression as a threat of extinction.  The dinosaurs can use Intellectual Property rights as a way to stop the mammals from evolving, and begs the question, “Was the information revolution murdered?”
Lest we forget the raging battle between Napster vs. the Dinosaurs of Hollywood, Lessig points to capitalism’s golden rule:  If an industry stands to lose money in the face of a burgeoning technology, erect roadblocks.  Couple the ‘dino resistance’ with the lack of broadband and any new technology will come to a grinding halt.
Not so fast, Mr. Lessig.  “You forget the consumer rebellion factor,” countered Grove.
With that, the debate quickly turned into a techie’s tennis match, as Lessig lobbed a hardball at Grove, “Try to name a consumer rebellion that succeeded.”  Furthermore, he noted the average Napster consumer is a pony-tailed teenager that does not have the right to vote, and even Visa can’t buy off the politicians who pass the laws.  
Grove, who obviously wasn’t ready for even a small-scale attack, spiked a come back ten minutes later, after pondering why he didn’t become a lawyer instead of a CEO.  (Oh, yeah, the money!)  Citing the consumer rebellion against Detroit, “that propelled foreign cars to come into the U.S market - largely due to unhappy customers,” Grove tried to contain his glee.
At match point, Lessig retorted, “But when they rebelled they weren’t called criminals and thieves with ponytails!”
With all the fast serves, it was hard to decide who would win: the economics professor, the board chairman, or the lawyer.  (Note: Ned Desmond did not issue an opinion.  He is after all, a professional journalist.)
True to form, Grove scored the final point, “Do you know the game “Bring me a rock?  The boss says, go over to that river, and bring me that rock.  So you go over to the river and bring the rock.  But then the boss says, “No not THAT rock.  Bring me that other rock.”  Grove leaned into the audience for the punch line, “Some members of the Entertainment industry are playing Bring me a Rock.” 
You could almost see a glassy-eyed, “Huh?” pass over Lessig’s face.  Nothing like throwing in a proverbial twist to the argument to throw your opponent off-course.  Or the audience.  We were all relieved when Grove tied it together for us:
“The U.S. economy keeps us competitive and sharp,” explained Grove, “Innovation keeps us (the U.S.) alive.”  So the question arises:  Will high tech simply go abroad to end the rock game?  “There is nothing remarkable about the U.S., Grove points out, “but our ability to innovate.”  With that, Grove basked in the audience’s resounding applause.
As the evening concluded, the audience milled around Silicon Valley’s royalty and flashed their digitals, with the exuberance of the Oscars.  Four distinguished men stood shoulder-to-shoulder onstage, silhouetted against an eight story domed screen, with a megawatt symphony filling the azure globe; like a future vision of a new-found Mount Rushmore waiting to emerge from the digital twilight. 

The Cyber Scene in Baltimore ~ by Tamar Alexia Fleishman, Esq.

Celebrity Interview of Charisse Nichols

For the inside scoop on the trends, styles and beautiful people in Baltimore, nobody is more in the know than model and theater professional Charisse Nichols. This 20- something hails from Ocean City, Maryland and New York City: "I am a product of divorce!" she exclaims. Nothing stylish here gets done without her input. Charisse has modeled for Jaeger, Nordstom's, Hecht's, The Links, Octavia, Mano Swartz' Furs, and has done countless PSA's. In addition, she is the highly successful Director of Marketing for cutting-edge Center Stage (www.centerstage.org).

Center Stage is the regional theater that started the career of Jada Pickett Smith and opened such plays as the Pulitzer Prize-winning How I Learned to Drive. Charisse has definite ideas on what is stylish and is eager to tell us how to get there.

WHAT ARE THE TRENDS IN MODERN THEATER?
Mostly radical explanation: one-person acts explaining life stories. They're a good reminder not to "look back."

WHAT ARE THE CURRENT FASHION TRENDS IN BALTIMORE?
When I lived in New York, my aunts taught me about new styles, new slang words. I never was afraid to do my own thing. In Baltimore, they are followers in style. I don't know who they're following! Maybe students who are not from here. For art students--grunge is in here, it works for them.

WHAT FOOD TRENDS ARE HOT HERE?
Definitely pan-Asian! Five pan-Asian restaurants have opened here. There's a new fascination with sushi. It's good, healthy. It is a drinking town. People in bands drink beer or red wine: they're artists. Most artists here have red teeth! Cosmopolitans and Martinis are making a comeback. Ixia has 40 Martinis on the menu.

WHAT CELEBRITIES HAVE YOU HUNG OUT WITH?
Richard Gere, Sam Sheppard, Julia Roberts, Melissa Leo, ODB. I invited him to a party I was having, but he couldn't go - - he was on work release!

WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATE OF NEW MEDIA HERE?
It's good. We have a lot of art students who basically wanted to make a living, who became web designers. Also, film: my friend Dan Bell is the next John Waters.

WHAT IS THE STATE OF THE NEW MEDIA SOCIAL SCENE?
Baltimore is a small city that's trying to grow. There are some adventurous places. Sotta Sopra was a four-star restaurant that flipped into a late-night club so they could serve more drinks to people. Red Maple is a pan-Asian tapas place. The traditional parties here, like the Crystal Ball the night before the Preakness Race, they can be very exclusionary. Others, like the American Visionary Arts Museum's Mardi Gras, an annual event, loses its luster unless there are drastic changes. Women here are no longer into the cotillion thing with huge hats and betting purses. If I do a party, the place would have to develop a web site to support it.

HOW WOULD YOU SUGGEST SOMEONE GET INTO THE NEW MEDIA SOCIAL SCENE?
Be adventurous, go in. If you don't have fun, don't go there again. I went to Goodlove Bar every night, which is like an upscale Cheers. You weren't frowned upon for going every night.

For more celebrity interviews, check out: http://www.bankrate.com/brm/archive_themoneyshot.asp

The Cyber Scene in Silicon Valley ~ by Renee Bakos

"At the peak of the Internet frenzy two years ago, when the Nasdaq was over 5,000 and dotcom millionaires were buying spreads in the hills above Palo Alto, it seemed that the information revolution would go on forever. Then the bubble burst…..How fast can the information technology economy come back? I don't know. The economy is quiet now, gestating a new phase. What I do know is that when that new phase comes forth, it will be a giant." (W. Brian Arthur, "Is the Information Revolution Dead?" Business 2.0, March 2002 http://www.business2.com/articles/mag)



W.B. Arthur's article on a future information revolution is such an exemplary piece of analysis, that it gave birth to a pivotal debate, broadcast live in Silicon Valley this week. "Is the Information Revolution Dead?" presented by Business 2.0, in association with the Commonwealth Club Silicon Valley and the Tech Museum of Innovation, starred some of Silicon Valley's most controversial powerbrokers:



W. Brian Arthur (professor, Santa Fe Institute, Citibank)

Andy Grove, (chairman, Intel)

Lawrence Lessig (professor, Stanford Law School)

Ned Desmond, (editor and president, Business 2.0)



The high voltage of a professional debate is awesome, especially if the stage is set in a glowing "azure state of the-art IMAX® Dome" Theater at the Tech Museum of innovation. (http://www.thetech.org) Imagine a sold-out-standing-room-only event with 300 people in large reclining chairs, dwarfed by a giant eight story domed screen, with six-channel, digital wrap around sound. (That's 13,000 watts of power coming from 44 speakers.) The invite never mentioned we would be sitting 'inside' the next tech revolution.



However, Arthur's vision of the next technology revolution may only be theoretical, as it compares the Internet collapse to the railway mania that raged in 1847, crashed, and then gave way to the great railway revolution in Britain in 1850. Arthur points out that, "Railways, like the Internet, are connection technologies. For connection technologies, this brings on a race for space. And this in turn means that when the opportunities open up... The result can easily be investment frenzy -- a mania. With or without manias, all revolutions still progress from early chaotic innovation to build-out and then to tired overcapacity and foreign competition."



First, Arthur's article is a knockout piece and a must read for anyone who scoffs at the thought of the next technology revolution: it's bold, insightful and historically grounded.




But there's a skeptic or two...in every crowd.



"So what?" retorted legendary Andy Grove, who threw out the first challenge to the digital future, noting that the "global" of yore was confined to England and some parts of Europe. Growth is now "world-wide," and still the action is happening outside the U.S. rather than here. The technology revolution, once again, is in Europe.



Then there's the lawyer who flies in from left field. Lawrence Lessig volleyed that the "bigger" problem is the dinosaurs, referring to people who see the Internet's progression as a threat of extinction. The dinosaurs can use Intellectual Property rights as a way to stop the mammals from evolving, and begs the question, "Was the information revolution murdered?"



Lest we forget the raging battle between Napster vs. the Dinosaurs of Hollywood, Lessig points to capitalism's golden rule: If an industry stands to lose money in the face of a burgeoning technology, erect roadblocks. Couple the 'dino resistance' with the lack of broadband and any new technology will come to a grinding halt.



Not so fast, Mr. Lessig. "You forget the consumer rebellion factor," countered Grove.



With that, the debate quickly turned into a techie's tennis match, as Lessig lobbed a hardball at Grove, "Try to name a consumer rebellion that succeeded." Furthermore, he noted the average Napster consumer is a pony-tailed teenager that does not have the right to vote, and even Visa can't buy off the politicians who pass the laws.



Grove, who obviously wasn't ready for even a small-scale attack, spiked a come back ten minutes later, after pondering why he didn't become a lawyer instead of a CEO. (Oh, yeah, the money!) Citing the consumer rebellion against Detroit, "that propelled foreign cars to come into the U.S market - largely due to unhappy customers," Grove tried to contain his glee.




At match point, Lessig retorted, "But when they rebelled they weren't called criminals and thieves with ponytails!"




With all the fast serves, it was hard to decide who would win: the economics professor, the board chairman, or the lawyer. (Note: Ned Desmond did not issue an opinion. He is after all, a professional journalist.)




True to form, Grove scored the final point, "Do you know the game "Bring me a rock? The boss says, go over to that river, and bring me that rock. So you go over to the river and bring the rock. But then the boss says, "No not THAT rock. Bring me that other rock." Grove leaned into the audience for the punch line, "Some members of the Entertainment industry are playing Bring me a Rock." You could almost see a glassy-eyed, "Huh?" pass over Lessig's face. Nothing like throwing in a proverbial twist to the argument to throw your opponent off-course. Or the audience. We were all relieved when Grove tied it together for us:



"The U.S. economy keeps us competitive and sharp," explained Grove, "Innovation keeps us (the U.S.) alive." So the question arises: Will high tech simply go abroad to end the rock game? "There is nothing remarkable about the U.S., Grove points out, "but our ability to innovate." With that, Grove basked in the audience's resounding applause.



As the evening concluded, the audience milled around Silicon Valley's royalty and flashed their digitals, with the exuberance of the Oscars. Four distinguished men stood shoulder-to-shoulder onstage, silhouetted against an eight story domed screen, with a megawatt symphony filling the azure globe; like a future vision of a new-found Mount Rushmore waiting to emerge from the digital twilight.

ADV ~ The Best Buddies Celebration of Art + Friendship

The Best Buddies Celebration of Art + Friendship

March 23rd from 12-4pm @ Saint Mary's Cathedral, 1111 Gough St., San Francisco

Best Buddies is an international non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with developmental disabilities through the gift of friendship. Anthony Kennedy Shriver founded the organization in 1989. Programs + services are expanded quite dramatically in the Bay Area This afternoon dozens of local developmentally disabled young people will be showcasing the original artwork that they created for this very special celebration of art + friendship, and we would hope to see you there. There is no charge for the event, but if you want to make a tax-deductible donation, all the better!

http://www.bestbuddies.com

Publisher's Note ~ Planetary Influence

Well dear readers, sometimes the planets align in certain ways and create certain odd similarities. For instance, some weeks you may find you keep running into people with the same shape tortoise-shell glasses. Or other weeks the word "phosphorescence" keeps coming up over and over again in conversations. Sometimes you find you've been eating Capresean salads all week.




Well, this week was the week of business. Business 2.0 to be exact. You'll see, quite ironically we've managed to tag-team and cover both events this fine mag had in Silicon Valley and Silicon Alley. Mind you, we weren't bribed to do this. It just happened out of the very goodness of our hearts!




And so with that, let's see what those folks over at B2 think we should know...

A Sweet and Spicy Enticement

Not left to just airports these days, security x-ray machines and people-scanners are popping up in many places. For instance my trip to Quantum Venture Partners’ and British Consul-General Sir Thomas Harris’ cocktail reception on Friday, March 22nd began with a scan through security before the elevator quietly took me up to the British Consulate on the 9th floor. I was greeted warmly by Quantum Ventures’ Liliana Galeano and immediately ran into one of Silicon Alley’s great business women, Accents by Allison’s Tery Spataro (http://www.accentsbyallison.com/). The spacious carpeted room was filled with a strong contingent of Indian men and women who would throughout the evening make their way unabashedly to the Indian-food feast that was prepared by Parlin, NJ-based Chingari, a fine Indian cuisine company. The first chap we ran into on our way over to investigate the mouth-watering foods was the bubbly Narayana Raorampilla. Venture capitalist, attorney and actor, Mr. Raorampilla told us about his recent TV commercial work with actor Kevin Bacon, which apparently aired during the Superbowl.

Laurus’ J. Christopher Botero, Bounty Venture Group’s MD Kevin Pollack and I had extensive chats about projects they’re working on. Quantum Venture Partners’ Raj Pamnani brought me up to speed on a number of his firm’s investments and their alliance with the British Consulate. Because of their connections with many major firms in the UK, like British Telecom, they can help their network of CEOs set up business in England.

Sir Thomas Harris and the consulate also made sure people were aware of just how much they want to help you. There were “Invest UK” brochures touting investment opportunities in chemical, e-business, nanotechnology and other leading edge industries to provide background and contact information.

Pace University professor of Finance and Associate Director for the Center for Applied Research of the Lubin School of Business Surendra Kaushik is also helping out people interested in business. But his interest is in educating women in India for careers. He explained to me how in 1999 he founded the Mrs. Helena Kaushik Women’s College in Rajasthan, India. Named after his wife the school is to help for young women in India to achieve excellence in all their endeavors and be visionary and effective leaders in their chosen fields. Currently degrees in the liberal arts are available and they will be offering a masters program and courses of study in chemistry, math and biology this coming year. The first class will be graduating this spring! For more information on this very worthwhile endeavor, you can check out http://webpage.pace.edu/skaushik/Kaushik_college.htm and the non-profit organization associated with it: http://www.reginc.org/

Y|Interact’s Ahmed Yearwood was enthusiastic as we chatted about his business and J.P. Morgan Securities analysts Brian Field and Timothy Milton were giving Ms. Spataro and me their take on the evening. Some things are better left unsaid, but suffice it to say it was a lively discussion and Tery educated the two chaps on the importance of quality website integration and design. Speaking of great web design, Nu-Net.com’s CEO Dietmar Petutschnig called me over and we had a chance to catch up as well. He’s been busy with lots of fashion-week related work and things are going so well (47% growth) that they’re going to be hiring a project manager.

Well now, with people like Raj and the British Consulate helping companies expand and with some Silicon Alley companies hiring, I’d say things are starting to look up a little bit, no?

Courtney Pulitzer's Calendar of Events

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

~ Cocktails with Courtney ~
is pleased to present cocktails and a concert preview for Kate Dillingham, Cellist
Date: March 26, 2002
Time: 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Place: Flute, 40 East 20th Street (and Broadway), NYC
Info: Famous “Cocktails with Courtney” event combines classic networking with classical music at the preview of this fine cellist's work. Silicon Alley's social scene is alive and thriving -- and just to prove it, come network and schmooze in a decidedly elegant and suave manner while hearing a sampling of this fine cellist's work.
This talented cellist's upcoming debut at Merkin Concert Hall April 16, 2002 at 8 p.m. Raffle tickets to her concert and of course--cocktails and hors d'oeuvres!
~ Complimentary Bombay Sapphire cocktails ~
Rsvp: http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=20382&Referrer_id=1538

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

** Prime - Professionals In Media And Entertainment - "The Abc's Of Media: Advertising, Branding And Crisis Communication"
Date: March 25, 2002
Time: 7:00pm Registration; 7:30pm Panel; 8:30pm Refreshments & Networking
Place: 1221 Avenue Of The Americas, Room 208, New York, NY (49th Street)
Cost: $20 In Advance, $25 At The Door.
Info: Suggest You Get To The Building Lobby By 6:45pm Because Of The Increased Security Check-In Process At Nyc Skyscrapers Since 9/11. For More Information, Contact David Krell At David@Bluestripe.Com

** Webgrrls ~ Smart Women Finish Rich
Date: March 26, 2002
Time: 6:30 – 8:00 PM
Place: Georgette Klinger, 501 Madison Avenue (at 51st Street)
Cost: Free for members, $10 for nonmembers
Rsvp: http://www.acteva.com/go/nycgrrls

** Women for Wine Sense
Date: March 27, 2002
Time: 6:30 PM
Place: Crestanello Gran Caffe Italiano, 475 Fifth Avenue (between 40th and
41st, across from the New York Public Library)
Cost: $40 members / $50 guests
Info: An evening of pure indulgence with wine educator, writer, and Master of Wine, Mary Ewing Mulligan.
Rsvp: patrizia_vino@mindspring.com

** New York Venture Group Morning Masterclass Forum(Tm) ~ "Meet Seven Leading Angel Investors”
Date: March 27, 2002
Time: 8:00 am – 11:30 am
Place: New York Business Forums Conference Center; 40 West 57 Street, 24th Floor; (between 5th & 6th avenues); New York City
Cost: $250; the fee at the door is $295
Rsvp: http://store.yahoo.com/masterclass/ai032702a.html

** Cocktail Angst jazz band
Date: March 29, 2002
Time: 11:00 PM
Place: Fez under Time Cafe'; 380 Lafayette at Great Jones

** artsinternational.org and Rhizome.org ~ "World New Media Blender"
Date: April 2, 2002
Time: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Place: Arts International, 251 Park Avenue South, 5th Floor, (between 20th & 21st Streets)
Cost: free
Info: New Zealand's acclaimed new media artist HELEN VARLEY JAMIESON will present her groundbreaking work integrating live theatre and the Internet. More information about Helen Varley Jamieson's work can also be found at http://www.creative-catalyst.com. Her work at http://www.abcexperiment.org delves into online performance issues and how theatre techniques do and don't translate into cyberformance. The Blender evening will be scored by "Timeblind"
(http://crucial-systems.com/).
Rsvp: blender@artsinternational.org

** The Consulate General of Sweden in New York Investment Seminar on Biometrics ~ “What is getting Funded and Why”
Date: April 3, 2002
Time: 3:30 PM – 7:00 PM
Cost: $370.00
Info: Confirmed panel participants include Visionics, Precise Biometrics, Walden Capital, Securitas Group and Pinkerton Agency. Moderator is Mr. Paul Collier, Executive Director of the Biometrics Foundation. Co-sponsor is Invest in Sweden Agency. Guest sponsors are: Weatherly Securities, Precise Biometrics and DuHaan Groupe, Inc.
More info can be found at www.swedeninfo.com/biometrics

** Aim's Next New York Dinner & A Deal ~ “Internet Face Off: Direct Marketing vs. Branding”
Date: April 3, 2002
Time: Panel discussion: 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM; Cocktails: 6:30 PM -7:30 PM; Dinner: 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM
Place: Metronome Restaurant (915 Broadway @ E. 21st St.)
Rsvp: http://www.InteractiveMarketing.org/dinnerNYC.

** Dining to make a Difference
Date: April 4, 2002
Time: We’ll begin with cash bar cocktails and a complimentary bread tasting (naans, papadams and more) from 6:30 – 8:30, followed by dutch-treat dinner in the upstairs dining room.
Place: Salaam Bombay, 317 Greenwich Street (between Duane and Reade; phone 212/226-9400)
Info: 212/463-9334 * www.vergant.com

** eWomenNetwork "Accelerated Networking" luncheon ~ Guest Speaker: Brenda Shoshanna, Ph.D. “The Prosperous Woman”
Date: April 3, 2002
Time: Noon – 2:00 PM
Place: Avra Restaurant, 141 East 48th Street (between Lexington & Third Aves.)
Cost: $65 per person ($55 for eWomenNetwork members), beginning March 28, $75 registration fee for all
Rsvp: LindaLevin@eWomenNetwork.com; fax to 212-644-1280, Call 212-644-3117

** Women in New Media ~ visit with Candice Carpenter
Date: April 5, 2002
Time: 4:00 PM
Place: JP Morgan Chase, 1411 Broadway, (between 39th & 40th Streets), 5th Floor
Cost: WINM Members -- FREE
Info: Candice will discuss her book, Chapters: Create a Life of Exhilaration and Accomplishment in the Face of Change. As a woman who has spent her career on the cutting edge of change, Candice is uniquely qualified to take on this topic. An acclaimed visionary on business and cultural trends, her book examines personal and professional change in a radically new context. Join us for afternoon tea and sweets and what promises to be a fascinating chat. Signed copies of the book will be available and your purchase will benefit WINM. We will also raffle off a book to one lucky attendee! This event is open only to WINM members. For Membership information, please send an email to info@winm.org or visit the website at www.winm.org. Mail registration form before March 27, 2002. E-mail or fax registration form before April 2, 2002.

PALO ALTO
** Investor Entrepreneur Forum at the siliconindia NetCom Summit
Date: April 5, 2002
Time: 2:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Place: Palo Alto Golf & Country Club, Palo Alto, CA
Info/Rsvp: http://www.siliconindia.com/events

** Young Forum of the American Friends of the Israel Philharmonic
Orchestra ~ Keyboard Conversations(c) with Jeffrey Siegel at the
Kosciuszko Foundation
Date: April 11, 2002
Time: TBA
Place: TBA
Info: The Associates are a group of young professionals, between
the ages of 21 and 40, who share an appreciation of classical
music and an interest in philanthropic support of Israel.
Contact: Lesley S. Arlein, Associates Program Manager, at 212-697-2949 or
larlein@afipo.org

** Oxonian Society
Date: April 11, 2002
Info: An intimate lunch for former Director of the CIA, James Woolsey. Get the inside scoop on theWar on Terror from a man who has truly seen it all
Rsvp: BoudiccaRising@aol.com

** Proteomics conference
Date: April 11 - 12, 2002
Place: Swissotel Boston, Boston, MA
Info: A senior-level event focused on using and identifying proteins to optimize
drug discovery and development. Register now. Mention Vcapital and receive
25 percent off registration.
Rsvp: http://www.vcapital.com/Links/Proteomics.

** Oxonian Society
Date: April 19, 2002
Info: BABI invites the Oxonian Society to a lunch given in honour of the Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer, at the Metropolitan Club
Rsvp: BoudiccaRising@aol.com

** NYSIA's Human Resources and Employment Special Interest Group ~ "Using Non-Compete and Confidentiality Agreements in the Workplace"
Date: April 16, 2002
Time: 8:30 - 8:45 AM meet and greet; 8:45 - 10:00 AM presentation
Place: knoa Corporation, 5 Union Square West, between 14th & 15th St, 4th floor, New
York, New York
Cost: Free for NYSIA members; $20 non-members.
Rsvp: info@NYSIA.org.

** Gratuitous Promotion Party & Networking Event 2
Date: April 18, 2002
Time: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Place: Turtle Bay, 52nd & 2nd Ave New York, NY
Cost: $10/ Door Donation / Drink Specials
Info: We are raising funds and awareness for CureLupusNow.Com - At the Party, we want to provide a forum for young professionals to meet new people, hear about some great ideas, pass out business cards and resumes. We provide some great entertainment, special presentations, and a terrific audience of young professionals to hear ideas and see products and services. While we are at it, let's raise some money for a great cause! Bring your business cards, promotional materials, resumes and ideas to our party!
Rsvp: Murphfest@aol.com for more details and check out www.murphfest.com!

** Foresight Senior Associate Gathering ~ "Exploring the Edges"
Date: April 26-28, 2002
Time: Various
Place: Palo Alto in Silicon Valley -- the birthplace of disruptive
new technologies
Info: Foresight's Annual Brainstorming-Planning-Actionfest &
Nanoschmoozathon. Huge revolutions in technology are expected to show up
in the next 5-to-30 years -- come hear what they are, how they'll change
your life, and how to influence them.
http://www.foresight.org/SrAssoc/spring2002

** FundingPost.com Venture Capital Pavilion In partnership with Investment Expo 2002
Date: April 27 – 28, 2002
Time: All day
Place: NY Sheraton and Towers, NYC
Info: FundingPost.com will bring 18 companies to exhibit in the Pavilion. The first 10 companies have already been selected – now is your chance to showcase your company to 6,000 attendees! Please complete the online application at the below link today to apply to participate:

** Young Executive Golf Networking Club
Date: May 18, 2002
Time: 11:00 AM
Place: Harbor Links Golf Club (transport from NYC)
Cost: Guests $159, Full Membership $945
Info: Members are men and women in their 20's and 30's. Beginner to Advanced. Make new friends, increase business, and enhance your career. Casual Networking, Day includes Meal, Golf, Games, Open Bar, Prizes, Top Course. We will start by hitting the driving range for a pre-round warm-up and then begin our networking lunch. Following the round, members will gather in the clubhouse for another chance to mingle and wind down the day with a cocktail or two. www.lifeconnoisseur.com
Rsvp: http://www.lifeconnoisseur.com
Potential members should email founders@lifeconnoisseur.com to schedule a conversation with our selection committee.

** 13th Annual Venture Capital Investing Conference 2002
Date: June 12 - 14, 2002
Place: Stanford Court Hotel, San Francisco, CA
Info/Rsvp: http://www.ibfconferences.com/Conferences/investing/VC_2002.htm

TCS Intro ~ 3/22/02

NEW YORK
March 22, 2002

This Week
Publisher's Note
How to Succeed in E-Business Without Really Knowing...
Innovators Evening (a.k.a "a high-tech roast")
The Cyber Scene in Silicon Valley ~ by Renee Bakos
The Cyber Scene in San Francisco ~ by Lorraine Sanders
Regular Features:Shakers & Stirrers
Bits & Bytes

* Upcoming Events
Cocktails with Courtney
cocktails and a concert preview
for Kate Dillingham, Cellist
Tuesday. March 26, 2002. 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Flute. 40 East 20th Street (and Broadway) NYC
~ Complimentary Bombay Sapphire cocktails ~
Please RSVP online


* Courtney's Calendar of Events
Our calendar of select industry events is a must-have companion to the weekly newsletter that covers them after the fact. Subscribe or Unsubscribe

======================================================

Well dear readers, sometimes the planets align in certain ways and create certain odd similarities. For instance, some weeks you may find you keep running into people with the same shape tortoise-shell glasses. Or other weeks the word "phosphorescence" keeps coming up over and over again in conversations. Sometimes you find you've been eating Capresean salads all week. Well, this week was the week of business. Business 2.0 to be exact. You'll see, quite ironically we've managed to tag-team and cover both events this fine mag had in Silicon Valley and Silicon Alley. Mind you, we weren't bribed to do this. It just happened out of the very goodness of our hearts!
And so with that, let's see what those folks over at B2 think we should know...

Cyber Scene Social Notes ~ 3/22/02


In an attempt to help facilitate better networking for new media professionals and "Scenesters," here are some points that will be added during the weeks.

** With professionalism extending it's elegant arm into business again (as opposed to dot-com disdain for others), remember the simple things Mom told you at business (and personal!) meals: sit up straight, napkin in lap as soon as you sit down (and keep it there till you leave the table) and use your utensils from the outside in during the course of the meal.

Thursday, March 21, 2002

Single Women's Alliance Network (SWAN)

Single Women's Alliance Network(SWAN)
Financial Planning for Single Women
Thursday, March 21st from 6:30-8pm
Morgan Stanley. 330 Madison Ave. @ 42nd St. 8th flr.
NO FEE. RSVP to Kathryn O'Hagan at (212) 883-8566
www.swantimes.org

Innovators Evening (a.k.a "a high-tech roast")

It was the moment they'd all been waiting for. The companies had just pitched their ideas to the three VCs on the panel and they were dying to know who won the little competition.



With a microphone in her hand, Starvest Ventures' Jeanne Sullivan announced clearly and distinctly, "the winner is Pet Assure. But there are some things you need to learn. You are the worst CEO we've ever seen. Step aside, get some strategic partners and make it happen."



My, my, my the Goddess of Candor had graced us this evening! Of course, Jeanne added that they "commend your thinking, but you should serve from the side." She should know, after being in the technology revolution for the last 20 years and having seen plenty of plans and hearing plenty of pitches, she knows what's going to sell and who should be selling it.



The runner up for iBreakfast's iNNOVATOR evening competition on Thursday, March 21st was ServeZone. Jeanne continued, "if you're a services company this month-you're 'in' and we think you'll be perfect as a M&A down the road." All finished with their constructive "roasting," moderator Alan Brody took the mic and announced the "winner gets a t-shirt!"



Afterwards, those who didn't get enough networking in yet mingled. I chatted with the other VC-judges idealab! vice chairman Howard Morgan who told me he'd be heading out to Esther Dyson's PC Forum next week and i-Hatch co-founder Chip Austin who had positive business to report. Other presenters I caught up with were ActiveMap's Michael Abramson and David Anthony and Aston Pearl's Natasha Pearl. There were also quite a few Alley old-timers who were onto new ventures. Jack Speilberg (formerly of iSyndicate) is hoping to be one of the channels that brings NttDoCoMO to AOL with NYCJapan. Sanford Cohen is now onto SendWordNow.com and NYNMA's Ben Goodman is now onto his new venture-Fast Forwards. VantagePoint Venture Partners managing partner Jim Marver was in town and had a chance to catch up with the other VCs in the room. Chip introduced me to FT.com IT, Media and Telecom news editor Jonathan Moules and we discovered that the FT had done a big story on investing in Silicon Valley in which Jim was extensively quoted!



Back by the chips and guacamole, in the kitchen, a few folks stood around still chatting and angling for another taste of the Estonian vodka Ston, which was being featured earlier. So after the obligatory sip (!) I made my way from eEmerge's offices on 9th Avenue out onto the cold blustery evening.

How to Succeed in E-Business Without Really Knowing...

The well-heeled men and women, decked out in their dark, pressed suits pressed the flesh as they moved gracefully around the room. It was networking at its best at Business 2.0's Live! event on Thursday, March 21st at the AOL/TW headquarters on 6th Avenue in New York. Martinis with Chopin vodka and whiskies by Makers Mark eased the whole process and by the time I got around the room the quotes people threw at me for this little newsletter were getting wilder.


However, I did meet a few noteworthy folks, like Creditintell.com's Dennis Cantalupo and Jarrett Crowell who told me about their financial consulting practice targeted towards vendor-manufacturers. David Schantz, who just received his certificate in e-commerce from FIT, was chatting with Hilbert, Peers & Young managing director Rick Templeton. Consultant extraordinaire Howard Lipan told me a bit about his business. Sales training BGGroup's Peter O'Donnell explained why he was wearing a post-it note with a smiley face on his name tag. (The light-spirited B2 check-in women had put smiley faces on post-its to indicate the first nametag of each alphabet letter. He was the first "O".) Business 2.0
deputy managing editor Eric Schurenberg and Trylon Communications' Laura Goldberg were friendly and chatted as we were being ushered in to hear the panel discussion.


Business 2.0 editor and president Ned Desmond warmly greeted the 200 guests in the conference-theater room. He beamed as he announced that last Tuesday the website had reached 1 million page views, which as he said, "suggests we're learning something." After a few other introductory pleasantries he introduced the speakers for this evening's discussion, "How to Succeed at E-Business (Without Going Insane)." Our esteemed panelists were Net Attitude author and former VP of Technology John Patrick, Deloitte Consulting's Cathleen Benko, Meta Group's David Cearley and AOL Time Warner's William Raduchel.


If you were to ask people on the street, according to Ned, their viewpoint of e-business would not be so good. Yet, "that's wrong!" he was able to joyfully boast. He justified this counterpoint with a few statistics and then launched into his first of several questions posed to the panelists: "How big is e-business."


The consensus? No one knows. John thinks "we're 3% in. We're only in the very beginning and can only do very little." His big example was how you can book a hotel reservation online, and you can check online how many frequent flyer miles you have with a particular hotel or airline, but you cannot pay for the hotel with your miles yet (no integration). However, "we're about to see an explosion" in e-businesses. Picking up on his comment, Cathy pointed out that e-businesses will continue, but this is not something that's separate from traditional businesses. E-business is the electronic aspect and the new way of doing business for existing and new businesses. This was also precisely David's point as well, "people that have forgotten that business and e-business are different are mistaken. It's about the integration of technologies." David went on to say that businesses now must consider critical areas including, reducing cost and driving revenue, to succeed. "What's happening now is a new business pragmatism."


Speaking of pragmatism, retaining customer loyalty is another important element of staying in business. At this point I began noticing the Business 2.0 logo-the running 'ant-man'-and wondered about how and why Business 2.0 came up with this image. Originally created before the magazine merged with Time Warner and AOL, the magazine kept the little guy to retain the all-important branding cache with its massive subscriber base. This image, slightly silly, does seem to adequately express Business 2.0's brand--business racing forward but with a bit of tongue-in-cheek attitude. The little guy's got a cell phone and briefcase, but he looks like he's smiling or laughing.


Anyway, at this point I return to the discussion. I didn't miss much--building on David's pragmatism, William launched into the importance of IT guys. Did you know that CIO stands for "career is over?" That's because IT guys are always installing systems that make everyone mad at them so by the time the project is over, so is their time at that job. William has miraculously served as CIO three times at AOL, so he's obviously doing something right. He also stated we're only about halfway through Moore's Law* (* definition)


David brought the conversation back to (other) real numbers with citing that 60% - 70% of American's are online, to which John retorted that the amount of commerce actually done online is still small.


Ned deftly rounded up their initial comments and threw the $26,000 question at them: "what's the biggest trend?" And, lovely readers, just to keep you in painful suspense, I left to get on to my next event. However, I will leave you with three thoughts: (a) integration (b) portals and (c) check out: http://www.business2.com for more thorough analysis of what they think about upcoming trends.






Friday, March 15, 2002

ADV ~ Cocktails with Courtney ~ Supported Event

Cocktails with Courtney ~ Supported Event

Chamber Dance Project's Junior's Night!
March 18, 2002
6:30 PM - 9:00 PM
Remote Lounge, 327 Bowery (2nd St) NYC

Come to this wild, wacky, fun reception highlighting this new dance company's works! Raffle tickets to their Springtime Gala performance! Posters and note cards for sale! Fun face-painting by the fabulously famous Rainbow Heart! And of course--cocktails and hors d'oeuvres!

Rsvp: dcbgwb@att.net

Special Thanks to: Matt Peyton and Silverbox Photography for his photographing this event. And to Rainbow Heart for his face painting talents!

Publisher's Note ~ Thanks, Sadness, Significance

Special Thanks to Matt Peyton and Silverbox Photography for his stellar photography capturing the special moments at NYSIA's 2002 Software Summit
And, thanks to Mr. Peyton and Rainbow Heart for their contributions of services at the upcoming Chamber Dance soiree on Monday, March 18th.

This week started on a somber note. Sunday, March 10th was the CBS special on 9|11, sponsored by Nextel. This show included much footage on three men who were making a documentary about a young "probationary" fireman through a nine-month journey since graduation from Firefighter school. Telling the tale through this perspective highlighted the innocence I think many Americans felt towards the world. Like all the firefighters and civilians in the show, no one could've imagined the horror, evil, depravity, wickedness and terror that occurred on September 11th. While I don't think it is good to continue to give "air-time" to these terrorists, which might lead others to want to perform hideous acts so they too can become "heroes" and be immortalized on mass media, I do think it is important for people to see and read about these events so we never forget the lives lost and why we must continue in our fight against terrorism. It may seem like an impossible war, but like mobs and other "inferior" forms of government, with continual and devoted energy to this fight, we will prevail.

One fireman had a quote from President Bush painted on his company's firetruck:

"We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail." - President George W. Bush, Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People, United States Capitol, Washington, D.C., September 20, 2001. I like to think of these words not only in relation to New York City and the United States in our rebuilding efforts and fight against terrorism, but I also like to think of this quote in relation to the technology industry' efforts as it too rebuilds after a harsh 2001.

On Monday, March 11th, there were several significant events in memory of what occurred in New York and DC six months earlier. In the morning, Governor Pataki, Mayor Bloomberg, former Mayor Guiliani, the priest from the Greek Orthodox church (that was just next to the WTC) and 12-year-old Peter Raimondi and 16-year-old Philip Raimondi (who lost their father, Peter Frank Raimondi, who worked for Car Futures in One World Trade, on September 11th) all spoke. The morning was highlighted by two moments of silence marking the impacts of the first and second planes, a ceremonial ringing of the FDNY bell honoring the dead and a dedication of "The Sphere" a 15-foot diameter, 45,000 pound, steel and bronze sculpture, which was created by sculptor Fritz Koenig in 1971 as a monument to fostering peace through world trade. This sphere is an interim memorial to those who lost their lives on September 11th and in 1993.

It originally sat atop a granite fountain in the center of the 5-acre World Trade Center plaza and has a gash through its center but is structurally intact. This interim memorial will provide a place for families, survivors and the general public to reflect and pay tribute to those lost until the establishment of a permanent memorial.

That evening, 44 searchlights were lit to shine one mile into the sky as a "Tribute in Light" and are meant to represent the fallen twin towers of the World Trade Center. They are located about a block from "Ground Zero," and will remain lit from dusk until 11 p.m. for 32 days.

The significance of these events has many layers. We have been receiving very positive messages from our elected officials (President Bush, Former Mayor Rudolf Guiliani, Mayor Bloomberg, Hillary Clinton: (http://www.thecyberscene.com/cgi-bin/show.cgi?city=newyork&year=2002&issue=0-3-0-1). And, with programs like NYSIA's "Stand With NY," New York State's Project Liberty and NYC's New York Needs Us Strong, all New Yorkers and all Americans can gather strength, stand tall and proud and fight our daily challenges as the best way to combat the fear terrorism seeks to instill in us.

And with that, here is this week's newsletter, highlighting all the ways people are getting out there and continuing to do business and stand tall in New York!

The Cyber Scene in San Francisco ~ The Laramie Project ~ by Lorraine Sanders

On Friday, March 15, I passed the entrance of San Francisco's historic Castro Theatre on my way to refuel with a quick cup of coffee before hitting the theatre's special, one-night only screening of HBO's acclaimed screen adaptation of the Laramie Project, a collaborative project developed in reaction to the beating and subsequent death of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming in October, 1998. I knew the event was going to be a hit when I saw a substantial line of shivering hopefuls in place nearly an hour and a half before show time. After obtaining a much needed caffeine infusion, I hurried back to the theatre. There, I spoke with several of the myriad HBO staffers before getting admitted. They were all extremely pleasant despite a minor snafu with my name's appearance on the guest list. While many organizations get immediately snippy when such glitches present themselves just hours before a popular event, the staff was very helpful and ended up sending me in with a smile.



Just stepping into the theater was a treat unto itself. The ornate interior-- gilded moldings and roman influenced murals on the walls--and soft, orange lighting made me feel as if I'd stepped back into the Victorian era. Ascending the elegant staircase to the VIP reception on the second level, the swanky attendees coming and going made me immediately aware that I was, of course, in the midst of a cutting-edge crowd. When I stepped past the velvet ropes and into the reception area complete with an open bar and a guitar player resembling a young version of G.E. Smith, I nearly gasped. I had never, repeat never, seen so many well-tailored, simply gorgeous men's outfits in one place in my entire life. Maybe that's not saying much for the men I know, but standing in the middle of the room I felt like I might as well of been spying on a joint Armani Vidal Sassoon photo shoot. The women in attendance looked great too, don't get me wrong, but the array of well-coifed, magazine-perfect men littering the room was truly a site to behold. The crowd was also decidedly artsy looking, a sea of black lay before me, but not without some daring fashion moves in the mix. Where else could you spot a very distinguished looking man with a closely shaven white beard, black suit, and (surprise!) spacers in his ears? Or a shockingly tall woman swathed in what I took to be real (gasp!) mink paired with stilettos and ragged jeans. It was quite a feast for a hungry people-watcher as myself.


A feast also appeared on the seemingly ever-present hors d'oeuvres trays that were passed unobtrusively by the staff. Before ingesting one mini-burger or coconut crab croquette too many, I retreated to a quiet corner of the reception where I ran into freelance HBO photographer Melissa Dodd and Julie Miller, a filmmaker currently working on a documentary about performance artists in San Francisco. Blacktree Media and HBO staff energetically circulated throughout the room, chatting and commiserating with lots of big smiles and laughter. Notable attendees included Suzanne Baum of Blacktree Media; David Smith, communications director for the Human Rights Coalition (HRC), a major sponsor of the event; Sabrina Riddle and George Rosenfeld, both San Francisco leaders for the HRC; Dick Castro and Michael Sheen of HBO; Ross Katz of Good Machine productions, the executive producer for the Laramie Project; and Moises Kaufman, writer and director for both the Tectonic Theatre Company's stage version of the Laramie Project and the HBO adaptation; Leigh Fondakowski, Greg Pierotti, Steven Wangh, associate writers for the Laramie Project; and many guests and friends of guests from sponsor AT&T Broadband.


Ten minutes before the screening was to begin, I checked downstairs for a seat and found the lower level completely packed. Venturing to the balcony, I was pleased to find that the view was excellent even from the second level. The organist was pounding out a rousing version of "Ave Maria" and then continued with a lively finale that received a warm round of applause from the audience. After the music ended, HBO's David Castro appeared at a podium on the stage to welcome the audience and introduce the Laramie Project. After thanking sponsors AT&T Broadband and the Human Rights Coalition, Castro handed the spotlight to David Smith of the HRC. Smith then thanked many of the project's collaborators and spoke about the HRC's goals to bring the Laramie Project to screenings across the country.


"See, it isn't about this isolated incident. If anybody thinks that violence is behind us, it is not. It is a reality for many people in this country," Smith said as he addressed the now-hushed audience. "We need to get the country united to combat domestic terrorism with the same vigilance that happens abroad," he continued.


Smith then handed the mike to executive producer Ross Katz and writer/director Moises Kaufman. Kaufman, who stepped forward to a great deal of applause, just smiled and began to talk about his love for San Francisco.


"San Francisco has, for quite a while now, held a dear place in my heart. Other than New York, this feels like home," he said. After introducing those present that worked on the Tectonic Theatre Project's original incarnation of the Laramie Project, Kaufman left the stage and let the show begin.


Shot somewhat like a documentary, the film adaptation was honest, riveting and not even a bit sensationalist or overdone. The interviews with townspeople, though somewhat dramatized by the appearance of big name actors like Peter Fonda, Steve Buscemi, and Jeneane Garofalo, remained sharp and full of raw emotion. While tragedy is so often made into drama in media adaptations and television shows, the Laramie Project presented Matthew Shepard's death and the town he lived in with surprising authenticity. The film managed to present one very specific town's loss as a mirror for towns across the United States and, in doing so, opened Shepard's tragic death up to us all as impetus for change. When the credits rolled, most people stayed sunken in their seats. Though the Castro Theatre was packed with people, it was strangely silent among the aisles as audience members remained still, digesting all they'd just seen. After a few moments, I walked outside and felt oddly numb to the unseasonably cold air outside. I hope that the Laramie Project makes it to a town near you either on the screen or on the stage. This powerful adaptation of the play is currently running on HBO. Find more information about this project and the show times at http://www.hbo.com/films/laramie/index.html.

TCS Intro ~ 3/15/02

NEW YORK March 15, 2002

This Week
Publisher's Note
Columbia Business School's Wireless Ways ~ by Arthur Pulitzer
Dyson's Divination Redux
The Cyber Scene in Baltimore ~ by Tamar Fleischman
Regular Features:Shakers & Stirrers
Bits & Bytes

* Upcoming Events
Cocktails with Courtney ~ Supported Event
Chamber Dance Project's Junior's Night!
March 18, 2002
6:30 PM - 9:00 PM
Remote Lounge, 327 Bowery (2nd St) NYC


* Courtney's Calendar of Events
Our calendar of select industry events is a must-have companion to the weekly newsletter that covers them after the fact. Subscribe or Unsubscribe

======================================================

Special Thanks to Matt Peyton and Silverbox Photography for his stellar photography capturing the special moments at NYSIA's 2002 Software Summit And, thanks to Mr. Peyton and Rainbow Heart for their contributions of services at the upcoming Chamber Dance soiree on Monday, March 18th.
This week started on a somber note. Sunday, March 10th was the CBS special on 9|11, sponsored by Nextel. This show included much footage on three men who were making a documentary about a young "probationary" fireman through a nine-month journey since graduation from Firefighter school. Telling the tale through this perspective highlighted the innocence I think many Americans felt towards the world. Like all the firefighters and civilians in the show, no one could've imagined the horror, evil, depravity, wickedness and terror that occurred on September 11th. While I don't think it is good to continue to give "air-time" to these terrorists, which might lead others to want to perform hideous acts so they too can become "heroes" and be immortalized on mass media, I do think it is important for people to see and read about these events so we never forget the lives lost and why we must continue in our fight against terrorism. It may seem like an impossible war, but like mobs and other "inferior" forms of government, with continual and devoted energy to this fight, we will prevail.
One fireman had a quote from President Bush painted on his company's firetruck:
"We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail." - President George W. Bush, Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People, United States Capitol, Washington, D.C., September 20, 2001. I like to think of these words not only in relation to New York City and the United States in our rebuilding efforts and fight against terrorism, but I also like to think of this quote in relation to the technology industry' efforts as it too rebuilds after a harsh 2001.
On Monday, March 11th, there were several significant events in memory of what occurred in New York and DC six months earlier. In the morning, Governor Pataki, Mayor Bloomberg, former Mayor Guiliani, the priest from the Greek Orthodox church (that was just next to the WTC) and 12-year-old Peter Raimondi and 16-year-old Philip Raimondi (who lost their father, Peter Frank Raimondi, who worked for Car Futures in One World Trade, on September 11th) all spoke. The morning was highlighted by two moments of silence marking the impacts of the first and second planes, a ceremonial ringing of the FDNY bell honoring the dead and a dedication of "The Sphere" a 15-foot diameter, 45,000 pound, steel and bronze sculpture, which was created by sculptor Fritz Koenig in 1971 as a monument to fostering peace through world trade. This sphere is an interim memorial to those who lost their lives on September 11th and in 1993.
It originally sat atop a granite fountain in the center of the 5-acre World Trade Center plaza and has a gash through its center but is structurally intact. This interim memorial will provide a place for families, survivors and the general public to reflect and pay tribute to those lost until the establishment of a permanent memorial.
That evening, 44 searchlights were lit to shine one mile into the sky as a "Tribute in Light" and are meant to represent the fallen twin towers of the World Trade Center. They are located about a block from "Ground Zero," and will remain lit from dusk until 11 p.m. for 32 days.
The significance of these events has many layers. We have been receiving very positive messages from our elected officials (President Bush, Former Mayor Rudolf Guiliani, Mayor Bloomberg, Hillary Clinton: (http://www.thecyberscene.com/cgi-bin/show.cgi?city=newyork&year=2002&issue=0-3-0-1). And, with programs like NYSIA's "Stand With NY," New York State's Project Liberty and NYC's New York Needs Us Strong, all New Yorkers and all Americans can gather strength, stand tall and proud and fight our daily challenges as the best way to combat the fear terrorism seeks to instill in us.
And with that, here is this week's newsletter, highlighting all the ways people are getting out there and continuing to do business and stand tall in New York!

======================================================ADV
Cocktails with Courtney ~ Supported Event
Chamber Dance Project's Junior's Night!
March 18, 2002
6:30 PM - 9:00 PM
Remote Lounge, 327 Bowery (2nd St) NYC

Come to this wild, wacky, fun reception highlighting this new dance company's works! Raffle tickets to their Springtime Gala performance! Posters and note cards for sale! Fun face-painting by the fabulously famous Rainbow Heart! And of course--cocktails and hors d'oeuvres!
Rsvp: dcbgwb@att.net
Special Thanks to: Matt Peyton and Silverbox Photography for his photographing this event. And to Rainbow Heart for his face painting talents!
======================================================ADV