Interesting how the US media barely reported on the US President having his watch stolen while shaking hands with a large crowd in his recent visit to Albania. Or rather, it made more the headlines in Europe than in the US.

The other piece of information coming from this visit is how desperate for friends Albania is. I remember when all the Eastern European countries were overthrowing their communist regime one after the other, except… Albania, who took much longer to catch the wave.

Anyway, Bush’s visit will pay off. Consider what he gets (pretty cool for a rather unpopular president at home and abroad!):

Albania issued three postage stamps with Bush’s picture and the Statue of Liberty,
renamed a street in front of parliament in his honor,
awarded him the highest National Flag medal and
Fushe Kruje town council also declared him an honored citizen

Bill Charlap was a few days ago at Yoshi’s giving a great concert with his trio. But Mondays are tough for the entertainment industry, so Yoshi’s had to offer the second set to anyone willing to fill the room.

Charlap deserves better. His elegant style, precise and classic, yet inventive produces a music that anyone can relay to. And when he turns to popular tunes taken from West Side Story, he immediately wins a large audience, though not destroying Bernstein and Sondheim’s masterpiece.

So go see him live, it’s worth it.

I cannot end this post without mentioning the major faux pas done by Yoshi’s on the occasion of their 10th anniversary in Jack London Square. The jazz club published a CD to celebrate the past decade and … no black artists were present on any of the tracks.

Jazz? No African-American? Hmm. Yoshi’s gets the Palme d’Or for not only not thinking again, but really not thinking at all.

Impact. This seemed to be the word of the moment. Earlier this week, a friend was sharing her boredom at work and her willingness to do something for the greater community. Then came an email from another friend impressed by the work we had done for the City of Oakland and how we were having an impact on so many people’s lives, unlike in her daily activities. Examples such as these kept on pouring for a few days.

What had happened? Had a memo been circulated requiring people to show they had had an impact in the past 3 months? Some sort of fear that life was accelerating and that one needed to leave a mark before leaving? Was it Generation X realizing it didn’t want to be remembered only for having lived the fall of the Soviet Union, youth unemployment and the beginning of the AIDS epidemic?

What these people meant were really making a difference. This can take many shapes and forms: recycling trash, giving all types of resources to a local charity, teaching something to someone, helping someone get a job, and so on. In brief, it means giving.

I mean, it’s OK if you don’t solve the Middle East mess in your lifetime. I find it already great that so many people are concerned about making a positive contribution for their community.

So go for it. Each small step counts. Give of yourself.