Thursday, August 1, 2013
The VALLEY GIRL Show
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| Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg (l.) interviewed by host, Jesse Draper December 2011 |
I never would've learned of Jesse Draper, a former Nickelodeon actress, if I wasn't reading up on Sheryl Sandberg. I am not a fan, or an advocate of Nickelodeon. It may be good for white and privileged children, but it wrecks havoc upon Black children. Little good comes from that influence has been my observation. But, that aside I am attracted to the women who push and succeed in business, and white women, and children of color who make their marks in the business world are of interest to me in part because I was not geared towards business acumen, and because something deep within me believes the integrity of business will be stirred, shifted, and will come alive through women and the next generation of children entrepreneurs.
Growing up in the worlds I did left me uninformed and uninterested in corporate America until I landed in a moderately successful and highly creative band, and the conservative elements of the US inserted their proverbial foot up the tail end of creative progression and began to cut funding for the arts. Pushing our band from the local Washington DC scene to the national college circuit proved our ineptness in business, and revealed our profound ignorance of what is fundamental to business development: sales.
There is a saying amongst Black business men I should not say in public, but Jesse Draper embodies the reason for the saying. Her father is a wealthy and influential venture capitalist. With her father as an example, her mentor, and $50,000 of her own money she invested in the development of her Internet series, The Valley Girl Show, in 2008.
She plays a ditzy dumb blond character on her show interviewing prominent business people, many of whom are connected to her father, Timothy C. Draper, for a tiny core audience of 15,000 focused in Silicon Valley. In 2011 she expanded her enterprise from her website (valleygirl.tv) to television screens in restaurants like Taco Bell, and licensed her show to other websites like Glam.com.
This is important to notice. She has been able to get powerful white people into her studio like Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Understand the significance of this. Ms. Draper is 29 years old, white and politically connected by her father to the highest offices in the country, and thus the globe with an initial and tiny core audience, a vision of a book series, and by 2011 was not yet making a profit to support her staff, and self.
Given these facts about one woman why is relationship important?
Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories
5.30.13
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MADE IN AMERICA
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| The Gekkards "MADE IN AMERICA" July 19, 2013 |
"With the right amount of hard work and determination you can achieve anything you put your mind to doing!" - Marsha Liggett
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"Closer to Heaven"
The Gekkards |
The oft' repeated phrase, "Remember those who sacrificed everything" tears at me. It rips at my soul not with patriotic pride swept away by the bold chords of the national anthem. No, by facts. The US is constantly instigating, and invading and bullying countries sending men into conflicts for periods of time beyond the known endurance of the human psyche. The practice is a profound disrespect for American life in particular, and in general the lives and well being of global neighbors. Our soldiers are really cannon fodder. No amount of foot stomping, country songs, anthems and half-thought out chants will, or can alter that fact, or the history of our nation's crimes against humanity.
There are means to get out of this revolving and suicidal approach to life upon the planet, but it is not the intention of the culture to delve into the maturing process to reconcile with self in the steps before becoming a peace keeping nation. It is a deep malaise. - Gregory E. Woods, African/Creek/Crow Indian man
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