It has been a great week for BraxtonMedia.com. Things are really starting to pick up and I have a lot in the pipeline to keep improving the site.

For example, my Sunday Sound-off is still in its infant stage but in the weeks to come I hope to interact with all of you in my interactive forum right here on the site. I want to build a civil town hall where people of like and differing opinions can debate the merit of their platforms, not resort to name calling or worse. There are a lot of topics that are near to my heart and I am sure you have a few things you are passionate about as well. Join me online every Sunday at 1:00 PM to discuss them in a live video chat.

We should be getting closer to a really important piece on the violence impacting Chicago. I think it is so sad to wake up any given day of the week to hear that a dozen or more people were shot over night and just go on with my day like it doesn’t matter. How did this get to be acceptable? I can’t blame the police because they can’t be the end all solution. Parents could help by taking a more active role in their children’s lives. Ultimately I think the solution to the problem comes down to good judgment and responsibility of each individual, but how do you teach and or enforce that?

See you next week!

This year Shell and the City of Chicago present the 51st annual Air and Water Show. This event is second only to the Taste of Chicago in attendance so if you have not made plans to attend you may want to start thinking about how and where you will watch from.

Last year Amy and I decided to join the other million people camped out on North Avenue beach to watch the show. Of course I waited until the last minute to go and had to wade through a sea of people to find a 4ft by 3ft patch of sand to sit on. It turned out to be a really great day. So much so that we were thinking about reserving space at Castaways at North Avenue or the Beachstro on Oak Street Beach to watch the show in style this year.

Unlike last year, the show is shortened to the normal two days of Saturday and Sunday. Last year the show ran Friday through Sunday. That doesn’t mean you can’t do like I do and get a sneak preview of the action on the Friday before the show. The pilots always practice that Friday and few people turn out on the lakefront to watch. I suggest heading up to Belmont Harbor or Irving Park if you decide to watch on Friday.

Another change in this years show is the appearance of U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds instead of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. I can’t remember a Chicago air show that didn’t include the Blue Angels but I’m sure the Air Force won’t disappoint. Missing last year was the A-10 Warthog, but it will be back again this year!

Here are 30 shots of the action I took last year with my Canon XTI and a 300 mm lens for your enjoyment. There are great shots of the F/A 18 Super Hornet, Lima Lima Flight Team, U.S. Navy Leap Frogs, C130 Hercules outfitted as a flying gas station, the Harrier Jump Jet, the B2 Stealth Bomber, F22 Raptor and incredible shots of a F22 Raptor, F/A 18, Harrier Jump Jet and a P51 flying in formation.

Enjoy!

I’m coming out of the office last night around 3 AM and this six foot something workin stiff is keeping pace with me as I walk. He’s got the receding hairline, beer gut and lunch pail and I have my laptop case and blackberry. He is rocking some paint stained jeans and dirty white tee while I am business casual and tack sharp.

He begins to talk as we walk, saying something about how the country is going to hell and people can’t see it. Without making eye contact he asks “Why the hell are all these lights are on in these big buildings? Who has the money to pay for all that wasted electricity and how does ComEd even generate enough electricity to supply that much power around the clock?” I started to explain the coal driven electric grid supplemented by nuclear power plants around the region but I abandoned the effort for fear they would fall on ears.

An uncomfortable silence is indeed deafening as we cross LaSalle St. I decide to turn right at the next corner and leave this corn fed colossus on his own. We reach Clark St. and I say in parting… “be careful out here”. He asks in return why he should be careful. Says “He ain’t a scared of nothing in this city and he ain’t got nothin’ anybody wants no way”. I brace myself because I know his story will continue and for some reason I can’t turn and walk away. He goes on to say he spent the last thirteen years of his life working day in and day out at the Solo Cup Company. He says he had a wife and a little girl to take care of. Now he spends his early morning shining brass and metal outside these fancy office towers for a lot less than he use to make. Apparently the Solo Cup Company unceremoniously sent him packing. The old lady took of to her mothers’ with the kid because they couldn’t make ends meet.

Why this man wanted to open up to me I’ll never know. I do know that the good old’boy I was talking to was carrying a lot of heart ache around in that lunch pail of his. I tried to think fast and say something uplifting to him. Something powerful that could turn his life around but all I had was “have a good morning.” FAIL! I don’t know anything more of the man I passed on the street early this morning but I bet he was good people caught up in bad times. He probably thought I was just another corporate bugger running around swilling sushi while people like him toil until daybreak to keep this city running. He will never know how tangible his words were to me.

So another month has passed and I am sitting here checking out my Google Analytics data for July. Apparently more people are checking out the site. Cool! Bounce rate is down, new visitor stats are through the roof and people are actually spending a lot of time on the site these days. Even so, sites like Facebook are serving up millions of page views daily and I am happy just to have a couple thousand for the month.

It is amazing how detailed Google Analytics is. According to this report in the last month BraxtonMedia.com has welcomed international visitors from Belgium, Germany, United Kingdom, Egypt, Indonesia and India but is most popular in Chicago, New York, Hobart, IN, Indianapolis and Milwaukee. Seems like Arizona, Florida, Ohio and Massachusetts check in regularly as well. Nice.

Where ever you hail from, thanks for checking out the site and I hope you tell people about my little corner of the web. Now that I have moved away from the freelance design aspect of the site I really don’t know what this will evolve into but I hope to have fun and share the journey with you all. You should probably send an email and tell me how you found me and what you like about the site as well.

Been a few days since I updated the blog. Sorry I left you, I won’t let it happen again.

I posted a new video to the site today. I have a little fun with Sara Palin. She honestly does sound like the SNL character Nicholas Fehn sometimes, rambling on in incomplete sentences. Other times she makes clear spot on references to issues that all Americans should be concerned about. I swear either She or someone writing her speeches for her are a bit manic.

I wanted to make mention of AT&T and their 4chan.org problem that surfaced last week. If you had not heard, AT&T blocked customer access to the “Mos Eisley” of the internet known as 4chan.org. The locals were not happy and immediately used their knowledge of the interwebs to plant a story on CNN’s IReport.com website announcing that the company CEO had died outside his Dallas home.

It sounds like a childish thing to do but as Apple CEO Steve Jobs learned the hard way, a story like that can have immediate impact on the corporate bottom line. The gang at 4Chan is responsible for the story that he had suffered a heart attack earlier this year. That gave investors the jitters and Apple stock took a hit as a result. As soon as Sunday morning AT&T customers were reporting that they had access to 4chan.org again. Seems like it is obvious who blinked.

Notable stories of the past week paint a clear picture of the times we live in. I wanted to write about Mark Buehrle’s perfect game, the healthcare debate, Chicago’s Olympic bid, swine flu impact on England and/or the below average temperatures this summer. All of that got pushed aside. Today I just have to shake my head at the arrest of Henry Louis Gates at his own home.

From my understanding Mr. Gates was locked out of his home and forced his way in. Someone called the police and upon their arrival Mr. Gates was less than cooperative so they hauled him in.

Wait someone called the police on the guy down the street for breaking into his own home? Maybe the concerned citizen couldn’t see exactly who was breaking in. Just a good neighbor calling the police to protect local property, I can appreciate that. However, you know said neighbor was still peeking out the window when the cops hauled Mr. Gates away and they didn’t bother to speak up about that. This guy lives on everybody’s street. He is the neighbor who couldn’t keep their mouth shut before, and then all of a sudden learns how to mind his own business.

No harm no foul so far but I think this is where it turns ugly. Cops show up and Mr. Gates explains what happened, he produces identification but the officer is not trying to hear that. The focal point of the incident, Sgt. James Crowley, apparently didn’t like Mr. Gates tone and calls for back up.

As a supporter of the men and women who risk their lives everyday as civil servants I want to believe that Sgt. Crowley used proper judgment. However if cops show up at my home asking me questions and I address their concerns and they keep hounding me, I will become less than cooperative as well. Ehhh, I take that back I live in Chicago.

Was this racism? Maybe not, but it certainly could be perceived that way. I think the claims of racism cloud the bigger issue here. Cops pulled a prominent member of the local community out of his own home who did nothing wrong. I think everybody can agree the police used a heavy hand here. You just have to stop focusing on the fact that the hands in the cuffs on were those of an African American.

Have a great day everybody!

This Monday is the 40th anniversary of the first lunar landing. The world would be a much better place if we took more time to reflect on this pivotal moment in history where mankind’s wildest dreams came to fruition. We spend so much time spinning our wheels bickering over the current state of things rather than asking the tough questions needed to get past the “why not” that holds us back.

Healthcare, unrest in the Middle East, nuclear proliferation, disease, environmental impact, world hunger… we put a man on the moon but we can’t get past these matters. Why not? Why can’t greater minds than my own come together and apply some six sigma black belt methodology to the world’s problems. Why can’t our leaders work toward a positive outcome rather than arguing to a stalemate or worse revert to military incursion to make a point?

As we marvel at our past achievements today should our hearts not swell with pride and dream of even greater achievements to come? If we dare to dream should we shy away from the hard work to bring those dreams to life? Sounds very naïve but this can be applied to every aspect of our individual lives right on up to our governing bodies. When seeking a positive end result let’s take our talking points from Bobby Kennedy. Rather than hang an issue around our neck like an albatross let us ask the question “why not” and commit to the hard work of removing the things that stand in our way.

That’s my two cents for today, enjoy yourselves!

It has been a great week at BraxtonMedia.com. Judging by the spike in traffic people are really digging the new layout and content. I look forward to rolling out new features and projects in the weeks ahead to make things even more interesting.

For example beginning Sunday, July 26th BraxtonMedia.com will host a live chat town hall called the “Sunday Sound Off” at 1pm central covering relevant current topics. I’m actually researching guests and everything because I really want to pull this off on a regular basis. Tentative topics include Chicago’s Olympic bid, the renewed push for health care reform and violence in the city of Chicago. I hope you log in to participate. If you have anything to contribute feel free to contact me ahead of time and I will see what we can work out.

The sun has set on the iconic Sears Tower for the last time. When the sun comes up today 233 S. Wacker Dr. will officially be known as Willis Tower. The namesake London based insurance broker has been trying to drum up fanfare for the renaming all week but I tell you I’m not buying it. Bank One landed a spaceship at Soldier Field and we accepted it. U.S. Cellular made the call and renamed Comiskey Park and we bent over for it. Now this Willis organization waltzes into town flashes a smile and a wad of cash at American Landmark Properties and POW! Willis Tower.

Now, I understand that business is business. I get that Joe and Joe (Joe Chetrit and Joe Moinihan the New York City end of the investment group that owns the building) had space to fill in their building and Willis was itching to pony up the cash for floor space and naming rights. I was talking to my co-worker Ignacio and he brought up a great point. What every happened to the practice of naming landmarks after honored citizens and soldiers?

For example in 1949 when it came time to rename Orchard Field they didn’t name it Douglass field after the company that build C-54s there during the war. They didn’t even name it Grumman Field after the manufacturer of the F4F-3 Wildcat fighter that was flown during the war. They renamed Orchard Field after a man that flew the F4F-3 Wildcat for his country during the war and earned the Medal of Honor doing it, Lieutenant Commander Edward Henry “Butch” O’Hare.

Here is some advice for the next corporate entity with the bright idea of buying the naming rights to our beloved landmarks. Take those naming rights and…. use them to honor a local hero. Let’s say Willis agreed to become the primary tenant at Sears Tower and decided to rename the building something like “Scheidt Tower by Willis Insurance”. Who? Scheidt I said. After Richard Scheidt, one of the Chicago fire fighters that rushed into Our Lady of the Angels grade school back on December 1, 1958 and tried to save as many children as they could that day. Ninety-two children and three nuns died and it would have been worse if not for the likes of Scheidt. Mr. Scheidt died earlier this year and the only reason I know who he is, is because of a haunting photo of him carrying a child away from the fire that became a symbolic reminder of the tragedy.

Like Scheidt, hundreds other honorable names would reflect the corporate good will they are trying to portray better than “Willis Tower”. DuSable Tower, Kupcinet Tower, Payton Tower, you understand me? Somewhere I hope a few Global Heads of Corporate Good Deeds are reading this. Seriously, enough with the snatch and grab naming rights game. I know you have a business to promote; I’m just giving you a much more palatable option to do so.

I read a lot of news about the Tribune company’s attempt to spin off the Cubs organization and the trouble they are having getting it done. I have been saying amongst friends for some time that I have a very simple answer for the Cubs organization and I will share it with you as well. Adopt the Green Bay Packers ownership structure and make the team publicly owned.

I know it cuts against the grain for Chicago to look to Green Bay for leadership but think about it for a second. Would millions of sports fans not jump at the chance to be part owner of the Chicago Cubs?  A few big banks come together to create an entity to hold the Cubs and set an IPO. Borrowing from the Green Bay model, “Shares of stock include voting rights, but the redemption price is minimal, no dividends are ever paid, the stock cannot appreciate in value, and there are no season ticket privileges associated with stock ownership. No shareholder is allowed to own more than 200,000 shares, a safeguard to ensure that no one individual is able to assume control of the club. Shares of stock cannot be resold, except back to the team for a fraction of the original price. Limited transfer of shares (ie., to heirs and relatives) is permissible*”. The idea of the Cubs organization becoming a non for profit sounds kind of strange being the cash cow it is but would this not be more agreeable than the Ricketts family or some other faceless conglomerate with more money than they know what to do with? No offense to J. Ricketts and family, I know you are Cub fans but the sports experience and love of the game is a little different down in the cheap seats versus the mezzanine suites. I know because I have sat in both.

So there it is. I hope this post gets people thinking about the idea. I don’t really know if you could bring this idea to fruition but wouldn’t it be exciting? It would certainly cement Chicago Cubs fans as the most unique in all of the major leagues. Excuse me, I should say the most unique owners in all of the major leagues.
*Source: Green Bay Packers website.