V&E started in 1984... in the business sphere... not the entertainment world. I wrote a report and created a stir about a defect in a building that had even been given an architectual design award. The problem: Lack of restroom privacy.* Due to my continual pressure, the building owners reluctantly corrected the defect. It was a befuddling experience as I listened to normally smart people offer lame to outright stupid excuses. And in each subsequent matter, confronting "stupidity*" has been both a unique encounter and common thread.
In 2001, I had a last minute chance to attend the Black Crows Concert at the Tweeter Center in Mansfield, MA. Rather than repeat my tale, I encourage you to visit the site. My initial report, about parking lot issues, was meant to be just that... a report to the Police, Town and Center. Several matters (9/11 and a gravely-ill friend) interrupted the final report's completion by the close the '01 season. Since 2001, "Tweeter Center Distortion" has become a broader, longitudinal study including 2003 updates, which closed-out this effort. If one looks upon this effort as a crusade... so be it. Even more so, it is an advocacy for health, safety, and legal improvements with potential high stake consequences if they are not made.
Since "Tweeter Center Distortion," and "The Station Fire" web-reports, I have formalized my efforts into Venues & Events (V&E), an entertainment evaluation service that considers patron's, owner's, and sponsor's positions with regard to marketing and legal issues.
Patrons and venue owners are on the opposite sides of the same coin which interfaces at events, as do sponsors, who literally, financially, and perhaps legally sit in the middle of the other two. As trouble-shooters, V&E's tenent holds that "Great Storms Announce Themselves With A Gentle Breeze!" V&E's mission... To detect the "Gentle Breeze" before it intensifies into a "Great Storm!" for everyone benefits from standing on the side of caution.
Over the years, and under the separate identities of Man Alive - HuMankind is Back! (tm), The Good Prince of Safety, Security & Survival (tm), and We The People Rule (tm), which all remain, individually, I have published pieces and reports. But back then, looking forward, I would have never predicted the umbrella identity of Venues and Events. Today, looking backwards, I see how obvious the three were/are intertwined and even overlap. Perhaps this similarity betrays a passion!
V&E's focus is a unique admixture of venue/event matters wrapped up in marketing goals, legal exposures, and civil order. The approach is a straight forward "call'em-as-we-see'em!" Our reality is rooted in observable facts... confirmed by photos... that challenge, or affirm, the status quo, or "assumable risk." Frankly, we don't care about "how" or "why" a condition exists; we only care that it does and work accordingly.
The Venues and Events Newsletter has been created to keep readers informed of our efforts (and we are certain that it will serve as a conduit for readers who will "deputize" themselves and report back observations of venues and events that are troublesome to them). It will come to you as a weblink within an e-mail; this eliminates the need for the differing text/html formats. How often you'll receive it is yet to be determined, but more than likely, often... in updates... but not on any determined schedule. New visitors, click the mail link below to be added to the list. If you have been "pre-subscribed" and wish to be removed, there's an unsubscribe link for you, too.
Johnny
* I hold that there are three short-cuts to evaluating a society: The quality of its drinking water, the disposal of its waste, and the means through which these two "services" are accomplished. Public restrooms, a form of service delivery, affect us all. Still, many are not "restful;" they're not sanitary and/or not private. Yet laws /codes covering both matters exist... but are not enforced. I'll prove this point with a question: When have you ever read/heard about an establishment being sited for a violation of bathroom cleanliness or privacy? Times Up. You haven't.
* * Most people we've met are very smart and likable... they only get "stupid" when they attempt to defend the indefensible. Since V&E focuses on the indefensible, we've gown accustomed to the "stupidities" of our targets' responses which normally begin with one of three denial gambits: "Huh!"... " It's never been a problem" and the worst "What are you talking about?"
