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Mar. 10th, 2010 03:52 pmI intended to just go and look around the public housing museum exhibit in the Merchandise Mart at lunch yesterday. I walked in and started looking at the displays. I didn't get too far into that though. Soon, the man who was staffing the exhibit greeted me and said he'd be happy to answer any questions about anything.
Keeping in mind that I'm trying to get better at talking with people, I decided I'd start with him. We ended up having a forty-five minute conversation about all sorts of things. Starting from the exhibit itself, I asked about where the actual museum is going to be and when it will open. Then we talked about public housing in general, in the states and abroad. We talked about the role of government in providing for the disadvantaged and poor, both in terms of housing and health care. I mentioned the people I know who are sick or have health problems and don't have any insurance through no fault of their own. One of them has a husband who owns a small business and they can't afford it, which goes to show that a lack of universal health care can keep people from feeling secure enough to start their own business, which squishes the whole basis of capitalism. But I digress.
He'd been to a few other countries, like Israel and Brazil, and we talked about what life in general is like for people who live there. How they seem sometimes happier than people in the states even with fewer material goods and services. We talked about the arrogance of the US in its relations with other countries, and about how the people of our country isolate themselves from each other and don't know their neighbors or communities, and why that is, and how it contributes to isolation from the world.
I asked him how he got into working with the public housing museum and told him about my idea to interview people and get a sense of how people relate to their communities. He's done some oral history interviews himself and really liked my idea. He said he's really nervous on tape or in front of a camera too.
Then another museum staffer (I think) came by and the three of us talked for a bit about oral history projects, Studs Terkel and the production of Working I'd just seen, and photography and urban ruins. It was awesome.
Maybe I'm better at this than I thought. I have a business card from the first person I talked to; I'm going to send him an email with a link to my Flickr page and maybe talk to him some more. It might help me out to have some contacts with a group like that.
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I don't know what exactly I'm smelling from downstairs in the kitchen, but it smells awesome!
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And here, have another Washington DC picture.
Washington DC Skyline and Old Post Office Tower
Looking toward the Old Post Office tower and the buildings of the Federal Triangle from near the Washington Monument.
Once again, this picture is all about the light.
Keeping in mind that I'm trying to get better at talking with people, I decided I'd start with him. We ended up having a forty-five minute conversation about all sorts of things. Starting from the exhibit itself, I asked about where the actual museum is going to be and when it will open. Then we talked about public housing in general, in the states and abroad. We talked about the role of government in providing for the disadvantaged and poor, both in terms of housing and health care. I mentioned the people I know who are sick or have health problems and don't have any insurance through no fault of their own. One of them has a husband who owns a small business and they can't afford it, which goes to show that a lack of universal health care can keep people from feeling secure enough to start their own business, which squishes the whole basis of capitalism. But I digress.
He'd been to a few other countries, like Israel and Brazil, and we talked about what life in general is like for people who live there. How they seem sometimes happier than people in the states even with fewer material goods and services. We talked about the arrogance of the US in its relations with other countries, and about how the people of our country isolate themselves from each other and don't know their neighbors or communities, and why that is, and how it contributes to isolation from the world.
I asked him how he got into working with the public housing museum and told him about my idea to interview people and get a sense of how people relate to their communities. He's done some oral history interviews himself and really liked my idea. He said he's really nervous on tape or in front of a camera too.
Then another museum staffer (I think) came by and the three of us talked for a bit about oral history projects, Studs Terkel and the production of Working I'd just seen, and photography and urban ruins. It was awesome.
Maybe I'm better at this than I thought. I have a business card from the first person I talked to; I'm going to send him an email with a link to my Flickr page and maybe talk to him some more. It might help me out to have some contacts with a group like that.
--------
I don't know what exactly I'm smelling from downstairs in the kitchen, but it smells awesome!
--------
And here, have another Washington DC picture.
Washington DC Skyline and Old Post Office Tower
Looking toward the Old Post Office tower and the buildings of the Federal Triangle from near the Washington Monument.
Once again, this picture is all about the light.
