Only in San Francisco.
(I snapped this in Terminal 3 at SFO today)
Daylight Savings Time: Who Wins?
Last April, I wondered "...who is making money on this whole time change business?"
In the March issue of Conde Nast Portfolio, Willow Duttge has an article titled, "Time Will Tell" that suggests some of the winners and losers of the Daylight Savings Time Madness:
Among the Winners are:
-Retail and Sporting Goods Stores
(more sun more outdoor fun)
-Candy Manufacturers
(Rumor has it the the "Candy People" lobbied for DST changes as it leaves Halloween "intact" and "dark")
-Convenience Stores (due to more loitering)
The Losers are:
Network TV
Farmers
Uncle Walt, Jesus and Entrepreneurs
Last week in the Wall Street Journal, Harold Bloom wrote a Messianic ode to Walt Whitman in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of "Leaves
of Grass". In his
short essay, which was adapted from his introduction to the republishing of "Leaves of
Grass," Whitman is described as "the American Jesus" and the incarnation of "American Religion." Bloom attributes America's "momentary fusion of all denominations in a amalgam of Enthusiasm..." to the writings and imprint that Whitman left on the American psyche. Later, Bloom describes Whitman as a "brash and canny self-promoter" because he self-published "Leaves of Grass" and sent it unsolicited to Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Maybe its just me and my adoration of Uncle Walt, but the analogies and words used to describe Whitman sound an awful lot like the very same traits that many entrepreneurs, bloggers and CEOs possess today.
Is being described as an "American Jesus" much different than being the "Chief Evangelist" of a software company? While in a meeting at Microsoft, I remember an almost serious statement from two engineers debating whether or not "there actually was a higher power than Bill Gates in the universe." For many entrepreneurs and Microsoft employees, they do regard Bill Gates as an American Jesus.
Is it much of a stretch to call Silicon Valley, Start-up Nation and the Dot Com syndrome of our modern era an "American Religion?" For anyone who has read the very long but inspirational "Leaves of Grass," it reads with a cadence and strength that is not far from the 'modern' manifestos and mantras that pop up on websites and blogs as company mission statements.
The traits of a successful start-up insist that the founders be a "fusion of many job titles and an amalgam of Enthusiasm" and they must certainly be "brash and canny self-promoters."
Lastly, with the advent and rise of the Weblog, every blogger follows in the tradition of Walt Whitman by "self-publishing" our writings and constantly submitting them, "unsolicitiously," to the entire world.
Next time you sit down and read something, (whether it be poetry, literature, a business plan, a prospectus or S-1 Filing), you'll know if you've read something great because afterwards, you'll feel inspired, driven, filled with purpose, full of spirit and ready to convert the masses! Great works of writing, especially a good business plan, can have this religious effect on you.
I CELEBRATE myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
-"Song of Myself," Walt Whitman
