Max Mednik
  • Home
  • About
  • Interests
    • Angel investing
    • Magic
    • Scuba Diving
  • Blog
  • Contact

Readings and musings

Notes on A Confederacy of Dunces

5/10/2012

1 Comment

 
Picture
During my trip to New Orleans for entrepreneur week and the NOLABound program, a fellow participant told me about the book A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. He said it takes place in New Orleans and features many of the sights and sounds we were experiencing during our trip. When I got home, I started to read this book, and it made my post-NOLA experience that much richer and more vibrant.

I must say though that I thought the New Orleans setting was more enjoyable to me than the rest of the book. I found the writing and plot quite frustrating and at times ridiculous, which I think is the whole point of the genre. It felt like the entire story was a bunch of imbeciles living dysfunctionally. Fortunately, as I got deeper into the book and read some analyses of it online, I got to appreciate the subtlety of the writing even more and some of the lessons and cultural commentary that is underlying much of the apparent surface layer of stupidity.

The book is about a lazy, fat, educated grown man who lives at home with this alcoholic mother and gets into various misadventures with an incompetent policeman and various crooks and criminals around the city. The main character, Ignatius J. Reilly, feels like he was born in the wrong century as his language and mannerisms are better suited to medieval times. The more I got to understand him and the other characters, the more I actually began to empathize and feel their pain. I was really surprised the book was able to do that, and I can see why it won all the awards and praise it has.

I also really enjoyed hearing the various New Orleans accents and slang (they did a great job in the audiobook). For example, I loved how Jones kept saying "Oooh, wee!", "Whoa!", "Hey!", and "Shit!" at the end of almost every single one of his sentences.

Upon completing the book, I realized that all the characters see the world differently and think the others are crazy and that they are normal. For the "objective" reader, all the characters seem disturbed and dysfunctional in their own way but at the same time lovable, pitiable, and understandable. I liked how the plot made all the characters' paths cross and affect each other. The societal issues of racial conflict, vagrancy, African American rights, wages, and modern degeneracy all rang through in the subtext of the story.

Some of the other issues or problems explored in the book:
  • Reilly like an Aquinas/Don Quixote in New Orleans
  • Comedy/commedia
  • Farting
  • Also sad at some level
  • Tragedy of book and author (suicide)
  • New Orleans accent like port town, Mediterranean, New Jersey
  • Corrupt police
  • Racism
  • Lazy anachronistic mean Ignatius
  • Weird relationship with mom (Oedipus issues?)
  • Single mom troubles
  • Alcoholism
  • Poor employment opportunities
  • Laziness at work
  • Attitudes towards business ownership
  • Wife/husband manipulation
  • Obsession with "my valve"
In the end, the "crazy" main character leads all others to do constructive things with their life and brings the story's crisis to a fair denouement. In the end, it is the "crazy" man who saves the world. This is why the book truly merits its title, as it was named after the epigraph by Jonathan Swift: "When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him." (Ignatius is hated throughout the book by everyone, including the reader, but in the end, it is he who accidentally saves the day.)

For anyone who wants to learn about New Orleans or wants the challenge of a troubling story to unravel, this book is a great read.
1 Comment

NOLABound Days 3-4 Notes and Final Takeaways

4/28/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture

It's been a month since my March travels, and I've been super busy since I got home. I wanted to take a few minutes and wrap up my notes and thoughts about New Orleans start-up culture and the NOLABound experience.

Below are the rest of my notes for Days 3-4 of the trip as well as my larger takeaways at the bottom. Sorry for the length of the post! "I wish I had the time to write a shorter letter."

Launchpad accelerator visit
  • Met Chris Schultz
  • Launchpad coworking space and accelerator 3 yrs old
  • Chris
  • After Katrina wanted to create tech hub and one physical space
  • Developer bought building and made it into hub
  • Always welcome to drop in, no day rate
  • Demo Day during Jazz Fest
  • Now have several more such hubs in New Orleans
  • Grassroots effort
  • No government support
  • Community came together
  • Overnight success takes 5-10 years
  • Moving to a place with a lot of interesting jobs
  • Density of startups and cool ecosystem
  • Low cost of living
  • Accessible airport
  • Ppl get started here who are based elsewhere
  • Easy to get in and out
  • Launchpad is coworking space
  • Launchpad Ignition is accelerator program
  • The more bankruptcies the better, means more ppl are trying
  • Speed dating/hiring events
  • 13 startups created 502 jobs
  • Community running Rails class
  • GE will put in $10M into higher ed for tech
  • Several ppl from SF moved here for quality of life
  • Lots to do, nice ppl, can own great home cheap
  • Walkable city, all major events free
  • Cutting edge of wave of development and excitement
  • Issue is not starting businesses but about scaling, exiting 
Big Idea event
  • B-plan competition
  • Entrepreneurship is about networks
  • Companies that won had the biggest networks
NOLABound camera crew notes (nice guys!)
  • All cams on 5dmkii
  • L zoom lens 24-70 f2.8
  • Boom mics

Picture

Talk by Alan Domesqieu (architect)
  • Architect
  • Design studio of 50
  • Grew up around here and through Katrina
  • Tricentennial in 2018
  • Katrina was a man made disaster
  • Only mid-level storm
  • All city levy systems failed
  • Engineering failure
  • No respect for FEMA
  • Engineering core not trusted
  • Cities around world evaluating their levy systems now
  • Sacramento has highest risk for levy failures now
  • Lots of brick and mortars
  • 40% of American watershed comes across French quarter
  • How will NOLA port compete with Panama Canal widening?
  • Probably will be behind Houston, Mobile
History
  • NOLA established in 1718 by white Europeans
  • Have had Native Americans there for centuries before though
Tricentennial comes with 3 obligations
  • Marking history
  • Celebration of recovery
  • Charting a course 
Katrina work
  • Build infrastructure for continued business growth
  • Celebrate authenticity
  • Way of life, not lifestyle
  • How are we rearming our community as we strengthen the levies?
  • Flooding spread 22mi x 15mi
  • Population decline
  • White flight
  • Segregation
  • African American middle class
  • Population went from 627k down to 455k before Katrina then to 20k with Katrina
  • Forecasts population recovering to 400k by 2020
  • Population determines federal revenue sharing
  • Ppl who left on buses were given one way ticket
  • Buses were not coordinated by government and families got split who didn't know where buses went; took years to reunite
  • Had no formal evacuation plan
  • Biggest problem is figuring out how to get ppl back in to a damaged city
  • Tourism not sustainable, lowers in economic downturns
  • Brick and mortar infrastructure will be real foundation
  • $2.2B medical complex being built by gov't
  • Will employ 25k ppl
  • Largest medical complex being built outside Kuwait

Picture
Crawfish Boil
  • Fun outdoors
  • Played some cornhole 
  • Benjy Davis Song: I Love New Orleans
  • "Put your hand in a crack and you might find a treasure": Counselor lost her engagement ring on Frenchman Street pub crawl and then found it the next day because another NOLABounder saw it in a crack on the street! True miracle.
  • Build community through regular city events and festivals every 2 weeks that everyone goes to
Picture
Various impressions of city from touring it on my own the last day
  • Rivers of Los Angeles = freeways (but also have sweet ocean)
  • Canal St and French Quarter shops
  • Ate at Stanley's: "po boy" with sweet potato fries
  • Took ferry to Algiers and ate a cookie at Tout Sweet (awesome name)
  • Threw down $20 and doubled my money on blackjack at Harrah's (I only play 1 hand)
  • Watched Hurricane in the Bayou IMAX film
  • Spoke French with Haitian taxi driver
  • "Biggest small town"
  • People stay for the culture
  • GE Capital coming to NOLA with 500 jobs
  • More diversity
New Orleans News and Stats
  • Based on jobs and output, The Brookings Institution has named Greater New Orleans one of the "20 Strongest Performing Metros" in the nation for Q4 2011. More info here.
  • Sports Illustrated magazine is running in-depth feature on the story of the New Orleans Hornets, who it calls one of the most "promising and inspiring" teams in the NBA.  In particular, the article highlights the effort to keep the Hornets in New Orleans, including meeting a challenging attendance threshold, and then selling more season tickets, per capita, than any market in the USA. You can read the article online here.
  • Business Facilities magazine has named Greater New Orleans, Inc. as one of the top three in the USA in its new award for overall "Economic Development Excellence."  GNO, Inc. finished tied #2 with Greater Oklahoma City; the top place went to Greater Austin. "2011 was a remarkable year for Greater New Orleans," wrote Editor-in-Chief Jack Rogers, going on to call the region "a shining model of diverse, growth-oriented success." The award article is online here.



Picture
Big takeaways
  • Tax incentives and gov't cooperation are huge
  • Community through frequent cultural events
  • Close bonds and love of city (Fleur de lis everywhere); 2 degrees of separation
  • Exciting tech community
  • Problems with crime and education are being dealt with
  • Poor perception management and marketing out of state are being addressed
  • Amazingly talented people working in NOLA who love the city
  • Amazing group of NOLABounders who rallied and bonded
  • Warm weather all day and evening though a bit humid
  • Awesome food though less on healthy options
  • Amazing trip!
0 Comments

NOLABound Day 2 Notes -- Start-Ups, Safety, Economic Development, and Education

3/17/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture

Day 2 of the trip was really informative, as we got to tackle a lot of the difficult issues facing the city in safety (crime) and economic development. We also discussed some of the large improvements in education through charter schools and the big journey still ahead to get NOLA education where it needs to be. We also got to start the day by visiting another really successful tech company and learning straight from the CEO, which was awesome. (I also got to try alligator soup, which I was not particularly fond of.)

Before I dive into my notes on each event, I wanted to say that I've been really impressed with the amazing group of people I've met. Everyone is cool, interesting, positive, and super talented. The group is very diverse, including people with roots in Louisiana and some there for the first time, like me. Among the awesome people I've met are a full time traveler and author, film producer,  fashion designer, interior designer, 2 doctors, video engineer, sustainable product designer, and several tech entrepreneurs. It's awesome to see a mix of people interested in digital media, arts, biosciences, and sustainability, and everyone's really dedicated to finding ways to help NOLA out.

My notes on the day's events are below.

TurboSquid
  • Matt Wisdom
  • Started in 1999
  • 80 people now, 15 engineers
  • Most in NOLA but some in China
  • 3D model marketplace
  • Seeded and begged suppliers to put in models
  • Recruiting through personal referrals
  • Not many language issues with international marketplace and offshore staff. 300 million non-native English speakers in world (more non-native than native)
  • Only 5% of traffic from AdWords
  • Most is organic search traffic
  • Use Yammer internally
  • Partnered with AutoCAD to help promote TurboSquid
  • Most customers use 3D Studio Max and Blender
  • Some issues with cross formats
  • Working on VoteIt app also
  • Fun: ordered a MakerBot for the office

Picture

Industry Panel at New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA)
  • NOCCA: Best high school conservatory, jazz, classical
  • Public school by admission


  • Starting culinary arts program
  • Sally Perry, NOCCA
  • Chief of Police Ronald Serpas
  • Safety
  • Public education
  • Economic development
  • Mardi Gras is biggest free show and annual natural disaster (gives chance to practice all procedures)
  • Aimee Quirk: advisor to mayor in economic development
  • People taking the day off to celebrate Entrepreneur Week (like Mardi Gras)
  • Michael Stone, New Schools for New Orleans
  • Decentralized system of charter schools
  • 80% of public students go there
  • Deploy philanthropic funds to improve schools
  • Data driven instruction
  • Narrowing gap between NOLA and LA school performance
  • Charter schools outperforming traditional

Picture
The Big Idea Pitch Event
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Archives

    June 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    April 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010

    Categories

    All
    Angel Investing
    Cacti
    Cars
    China
    Community Service
    Culture
    Design
    Djing
    Dogs
    Education
    Entertainment
    Entrepreneurship
    Family
    Finance
    Food
    Google
    Happiness
    Incentives
    Investment Banking
    Judaism
    Law
    Lighting
    Magic
    Marketing
    Medicine
    Networking
    Nolabound
    Philosophy
    Professionalism
    Psychology
    Reading
    Real Estate
    Religion
    Romance
    Sales
    Science
    Shangri-La
    Social Entrepreneurship
    Social Media
    Sports
    Teams
    Technology
    Travel
    Turtles
    Ucla
    Venture Capital
    Web Services
    Weddings
    Zen

    Subscribe

    RSS Feed

Picture
Picture
  • Home
  • About
  • Interests
    • Angel investing
    • Magic
    • Scuba Diving
  • Blog
  • Contact