LernerMedia™ Journal

Xian Terracotta Warriors Pit 1 ongoing excavation

Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, Tai Chi in Beijing

We just finished what might be our most intense (and insane) week in many years.

Last Wednesday we were finishing work in Xian, China that had started in Paris about a month ago. After wrapping we took the overnight train to Beijing, tied up business and contracts in Beijing,*  flew to London, wrapped up business there and then, at the invite of old colleagues, flew to Berlin for the 20th anniversary “Fall of the Wall” celebrations.

We managed to hook up with some last minute media work to turn Berlin into a business trip and pay for it all. We arrived in time for the last half of the U2 concert at the Brandenburg gate which we could see and hear from our hotel balcony.  The next day, when not working, Berlin offered wonderful long walks through falling leaves. I spent a good deal of free time hunting tickets for the Saturday’s Staatsoper Unter den Linden production of Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra  — it was Plácido Domingo first performance as a baritone. After a hard month of work abroad, we were looking forward to a relaxing Sunday of naps and strolls.

Berlin Wall Victim Memorial

In the wee hours Sunday morning, however,  we received a post telling us the incredible news that  VERY late season Hurricane Ida was entering the Gulf,  basically headed for elderly parents and our unmanned sailboat Belissima B.  Although the storm eventually made its predicted landfall as a tropical storm, it was a Category 2 killer hurricane by the time  we busted out of Berlin to catch the early morning BA flights back through London and into Dallas  (the only flight available that day).  While British Airways always treats us well– and the sleeper seats make longhaul travel endurable– all we could manage was about three or four  hours of fitful sleep on the plane. However, that bit of rest turned out to be a lifesaver.

Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, Berlin Wall Memorial

Upon arrival in Dallas both NOAA and the Weather Channel were predicting IDA to hit near Pensacola.  Not wanting to abandon either parents or Bella to the approaching storm (nor risk being stranded trying to fly into New Orleans or Pensacola), we found a car and then drove 11 hours through the night and a series of thunderstorms, to arrive at the coast just as the first bands were buffeting our boat.  After quickly securing house, parent’s house, parents, and pets, Brenda found us some provisions and we finally boarded and secured Bella in a driving rain.

We rode out the storm on the boat, shifting lines and moorings every two hours to compensate for changing winds and tide.

It was a very long night.  We had very gusty rain (with several gusts near 60 mph)  — but we also had a good dinner and the first chance to catch real sleep in 60 hours. Brenda actually slept soundly thorugh the very worst of the storm.

At one point during the tempest we looked at each other and said, “Ummm…. what day is this?

We ultimately agreed that outside of managing weddings overseas during war and disease outbreaks, it was perhaps our most hectic five days ever –and at as we get older not something we will be able to repeat. A colleague back in London quipped, “Right. The only people I know who can manage such schedules work for MI-6.”

My Moneypenny laughed at that joke.

As our colleagues know, for about a year we’ve been experimenting with this LernerMedia journal/blog and dipping our toes into various social media outlets this year in order to see what models best fit LernerMedia work.  Bascially we conclude –and out pathetic posting record confirms that we have little time for the social media scene. We are not sellign anyting and certainly don’t seek ad revenues. Moreoever most of our work involves exclusivity and confidentiality clauses that prohibit us from being too speciifc about projects in our blogspace.  We find that we have all the business contacts we need via word-of-mouth int he indutry and our own simple webpage. As much as I admire the capacity for Facebook, Linked-in, Twitter, etc,  we have yet to find a model that justifies the time investment ot do it all well.  The cynical side of me says, “I suppose that once you are paid well for your work, you tend not to want to give it away for free!”

Muslim Mosque and Quarter, Xian, China

Accordingly, we’ve made our decisions regarding blogs, twitter, YOUTUBE Channels, Athena, phone apps, etc. and we will be announcing those this weekend.   We are going to use all those tools — but is ways that will allow us to more personally connect with colleagues than as a means of drawing or driving business.

We will be fusing blogs, photos, and media from our various sites to create a seamless set of personal journals to create a personal space linked to a new and exciting media project mixing science, art, and travel. This site which will serve as the primary place for us to post personal stories, comments, etc. The LernerMedia forum site will be transformed into the new media project (the name will be announced during the spring 2010 rollout)– with this journal/blog as our supporting and freely available “personal thoughts” site.

Over the next few months we’ll more fully develop this site   and then adding to it in “real time” as we move into new and exciting media ventures in the arts and sciences.

Our goal here will be to poke a bit of fun at ourselves and at our industry. We’ll be exploring some of the oddities and absurdities of the modern era, cultural differences, and new frontiers in science and sustainability.  Over the next few years we hope to share and exchange laughter, thoughts, and insights about  science, the arts, and some of the most interesting places and people on the planet.

Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin

Stay tuned.

Cheers,

Lee

*There is a humorous story regarding President Obama’s upcoming trip to Beijing, but I’m not going to tell it until he leaves China.  Tags will include   President Obama, Secret Service, pupillary reflex, Copenhagen, and Mexican food.   I can’t tell the tale, not that it is in any way important or highly confidential (it is not), but simply because I was indirectly asked not to by the Secret Service.  President Obama has a tough enough job to do trying to bring some sanity back to the world, and only an idiot would want to make the Secret Service’s job even a remote smidgen harder.  The U.S. Secret Service represents the very best we have in many areas.