HumidCity

To follow up on Loki’s post about our not so favored visitors these next couple of days, I’d like to delve in a bit further, into that uncomfortable territory of what’s really going on behind the scenes - you know, the things that make the sheeple and even many thinking Americans start shouting “conspiracy theory.” Unfortunately, we’ve been getting duped for a long long time, long enough that there’s finally tangible proof of what’s been worked on for the last 60 years or so. Sadly, I fear the proof will do little good, that the wool has been so firmly pulled over our eyes that it’s simply too late to undo what’s been done. Words I hate to hear myself say, as I’ve always considered myself an activist and done what I’ve could to fight the fights I’ve thought needed fighting, always optimistic that we still stood some kind of chance of fighting the power’s that be. Only, it turns out that the power’s that be are little more than figureheads doing the bidding of some much more secrete entities on whose radar our activist antics don’t even register as even the tiniest of blips.

So what the hell am I talking about?

Check out this video for an overview of the real forces that have been working behind the scenes for so long and lovely new tracking devices coming soon to, well, you:

OK, I can’t figure out how to get a youtube video embedded in this here WordPress blog (despite much google research) so if anyone can clue me in, please do. In the meantime, here’s a straight up link to the video.
Fun stuff, eh?

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I fired up the laptop to rant and rail about the things that are destroying my city. Before I could I got diverted by an email detailing a venomous online postfest on another blog I read. Reading through it was enough to force a resolve on my own part, to make this a positive post. With that in mind I am going to give a little detail on an organization I am working with here in the city called ThinkNOLA. I have been asked about them a few times lately and figured presenting the data here would enlighten a lot of people.

Capacity Building : We are trying to teach nonprofit organizations how to publish information so that people can find it, and how to use the Internet as office space.

Think New Orleans shows organizations how to share information with their constituents, we show how to lead discussions in public forums that attract participation, we show how to organize events with calendaring tools and authoring tools, how to create living documentsthrough collaborative authoring in a web accessible forum.

With the Internet Workshops, Think New Orleans creates a collaborative environment where nonprofit and neighborhood organizations can share knowledge, publish information, and develop skills and strategies to employ the Internet in the rebuilding or New Orleans.

I have been working a lot with a great new nonprofit (waiting on the 509A-educational nonprofit to go through) called ThinkNOLA. Last week we launched our first workshop, Web Publishing 101, aimed at bringing the tools of the internet to community and civic organizations here in the New Orleans area.

We are organizing local bloggers and other web based publishers and activists in order to create a positive force for improving our battered city. With this in mind we have formed a group of blogging “elves,” people who are actively assisting those new to the medium in getting their information out.

We are also launching a New Orleans Wiki, an interactive information base where people can go to find important community information and resources as well as being able to easily add their own. In the words of Alan Gutierrez, the man behind ThinkNOLA and the NOLA Wiki, “…nine months later, I see that there is still a online civic resource that is neighborhood focused, and in the hands of the citizens. Please help me build the Think New Orleans Wiki. A web site that any citizen or friend can edit.”
What we need now is help. People with time they are willing to contribute to help us as Elves, to help with the Wiki, to help us use this technology as a force with which to build community where we need it most. If you are willing to assist us please leave a note in the comments section here and we will contact you.

Thanks in avance to everyone willing to join us as we do our digital best to rebuild New Orleans. Get wired!

Loki interviews Jac from Defend New Orleans.

Watch out for the upcoming alliance between Defend New Orleans and Humid City, we have plans!

Humid City started out as an entertainment and events site for the local New Orleans area, since the advent of Katrina it has evolved into a networking point for refugees to share resources, discuss our future, and mobilize as activists to ensure that the governmental malfeasance on all levels during this disaster does not escape accountability. There is one aspect that has been neglected recently which I view as being just as important: oral history.

This is history. I believe that it is important that we document our thoughts and feeling as things progress. Personal stories and viewpoints need to be recorded now, while they are still fresh. Unlike previous generations we can create an inside view of what this time has been like for the people in the middle of it, not just the dry perspectives of those writing books about it from a distance.

I have been inspired in the regard both by the StoryCorps. Project on NPR and by my fiancee’s mother who is a Prof. in the Folklore Dept. of Indiana University.

Please continue to post resources for both survival and activism, but also please post your personal tales and thoughts. This goes for both our volunteer staff and those who post their comments. To quote Merlin in the movie Excalibur, “It is the doom of men that they forget.”
Let us join together and document what living through these times is like.

Please post your stories and thoughts, and if you are interested in joining us on a regular basis email me (george.williams.iv (at) gmail.com). Keep posting resources and political info, but also help us to create a window into thee times for those who will come after us!

Look for Podcasts from the front lines soon, I have just set up a local teacher with podcasting capabilty and she will be reporting from within the New Orleans area in the near future (thanks Cheryl!)

Attention Staff: If you wish to do Podcasts email me and I will set you up so you can do it from any cellphone.