The

Undeniable

Ruth

®

…and the Ruth shall set you free!

  • Reflections from I Wish Your Wish

    ·

    Ruth Carter

    This past Friday I volunteered at Ignite Phoenix #9.  It may have been the best Ignite event that I’ve ever been to.  The event was held at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, across the way from the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA).  We had some down time before the event and Matt Petro suggested that we take advantage of the break to go over to the I Wish Your Wish exhibit.

    (cc) Nick Bastian from Flickr

    I had seen something in an email about the museum, wishes, and wearing ribbons, but I had no idea of what it was about.  We grabbed Jeff Moriarty and headed over to the exhibit.  I was not prepared to walk into a room where three of the four walls had rows and rows of colored ribbons hanging on them, each one printed with a wish.  The sheer volume of them was breathtaking.  There were sixty different wishes inscribed on six thousand ribbons, each one a ¼ inch wide.  The artist, Rivane Neuenschwander, asked her family and friends and their family and friends to write down a wish and that’s the pool she used for the exhibit.

    There was a little table/shelf on the blank wall that held slips of paper and mini golf pencils.  We were invited to write one of our wishes on a slip of paper, roll it up, and exchange it for a ribbon on the wall.  I felt like I was given an intimate glimpse into these strangers’ lives by seeing their wishes.  There were so many great ones to choose from.  Jeff suggested that I take the one that said, “I wish one day I would have a dog.”  That is one of my wishes but that wasn’t the one that resonated with me the most.  I selected a wish that was printed on a pink ribbon – my signature color – and put my wish in the empty hole.  The ribbon said, “I wish to die with no regrets.”

    The museum employee took my ribbon and tied it around my wrist with three knots.  She said when the ribbon falls off that the wish will come true for the person who originally made it and for me.  The wishes that people leave in the wall will become the pool that the artist uses to create the next set of ribbons.

    Powerful doesn’t even begin to describe this experience.  I’m going to miss having my ribbon when it finally falls off.  The exhibit will be at SMoCA until June 5, 2011.  If you’re in the Phoenix area, you should go.  It’s an experience that should not be missed.

    Related articles
    Enhanced by Zemanta

  • SALK Day 13 – Friendships Through Social Media

    ·

    Ruth Carter

    Today’s sponsor is my friend, Debbie Walker, who is an outspoken blogger and podcaster.  She asked me to write about how our involvement in “social media type events” led to friendships between participants.

    Phoenix is a city known for its transplants.  It seems like everyone here moved from somewhere else.  This is also a city where it is hard to find new friends and establish a sense of community.  This was a complaint I heard all the time when I was a therapist.  My suggestion to my clients was to get involved in activities that they enjoyed and that would lead to meeting people with similar interests.   Social media has made this process even easier.

    #EVFN San Tan Brewery
    Image by sheiladeeisme via Flickr

    There are a host of events that are organized through social media that bring together people who otherwise would probably never meet.  Some of these local events are Podcamp AZ, #evfn, Ignite Phoenix, and events by Improv AZ.  Some of these events are educational and some are just for fun, but they all involve smart witty people who want to meet and converse with other smart witty people.

    One of the wonderful things about making connections through “social media type events” is that it facilitates friendship between diverse people.  For most of us, “social media type events” are what we do in our free time.  By day, we’re advertisers, teachers, writers, students, and business owners.  Most of us are people whose paths wouldn’t otherwise cross if it weren’t for our shared interest in social media and volunteering at social media events.

    The best thing about these events is that they constantly bring other people into the mix.  None of these events involve an exclusive group.  We always welcome new friendly people.  It can be daunting to be the new person at an event, but the people that attend these events are always willing to talk to the new guy.  I was once the new guy and I was petrified of attending an event where I didn’t know anyone.  I started with a prank event where I met one person.  He invited me to be part of the core organizers of Improv AZ.  That led to me learning about, presenting at, and now volunteering with Ignite Phoenix.  My conversations with these fantastic people led to my interest in podcasting and blogging which led to my invovlement with PodcampAZ.  Somewhere in there I also added the Social Media Club Phoenix and #evfn.  The people who were strangers to me two years ago are now some of my closest friends.

    Sponsor A Law Kid is my endeavor to pay for my last semester of law school. Today’s sponsor is Debbie Walker. For more information about Sponsor A Law Kid or to see what days are still available for sponsorship, visit my Sponsor A Law Kid page.

    Enhanced by Zemanta

  • Is That Legal – No Pants Ride

    ·

    Ruth Carter

    Disclaimer: Although I am a lawyer, I am not your lawyer. This blog should not be viewed as legal advice and does not form an attorney-client relationship with any reader.  

    The Global No Pants Ride is this Sunday, January 9, 2011.  This event was started by Improv Everywhere in New York 2001 and has become an international event.  People in at least 49 cities all over the world will be riding their public transportation without their pants.  They will look totally normal from the waist up, but from the waist down, they will only be in their underwear and shoes.  A common question I often get when I talk about the No Pants Ride is, “Is that legal?”

    No Pants Ride 2013 - Photo by Joseph Abbruscatto from Flickr (used with permission)
    No Pants Ride 2013 – Photo by Joseph Abbruscatto from Flickr (used with permission)

    In most circumstances, the answer is “yes.”  If people were required to always wear pants in public, going to a public beach or pool wouldn’t be that much fun.  To anyone who finds this event repulsive, remember that we will be more covered than most people are at the beach.  Everyone who is participating in a No Pants Ride must follow the decency law of their state.   In Arizona, that means you must have your genitals covered.   You probably don’t want to wear a thong on the ride because (1) there is an argument that you’re not sufficiently covered, and (2) do you really want to put your bare tush on a subway or light rail seat?

    If you’re going to wear boxers on your No Pants Ride, consider wearing a pair of briefs underneath them.   You don’t want to risk accidentally exposing yourself when you sit down.

    Last year at the Arizona No Pants Ride, our group of about 350 pantsless people met at Arizona Center.  After about an hour of pantslessly enjoying our beverages at Starbucks and Hooters, we were told by mall security that we had to put on pants or leave.  We chose to leave.  (No more business for you!)  That was perfectly legal for them to do.  Malls and businesses are privately owned and just as they can say, “No shirt, no shoes, no service,” they can require that people wear pants while on their property.  We left and went to Dave’s Electric Brew Pub where they were happy to have our pantsless patronage.

    I am very excited for Sunday’s No Pants Ride.  For my fellow Phoenix pantsless riders, please visit Improv AZ’s website for all the details and RSVP on the Facebook event page.  If you want to see the video of last year’s ride, it is available on YouTube.  If you want more information about the legalities of flash mobs and public pranks, I spoke about this topic at Ignite Phoenix #5.

    See you on Sunday!

    Related articles
    Enhanced by Zemanta