I was thinking of letting this series expire, as it's gotten a little repetitive. Besides, I'm not sure I like being known mainly for this. But I had the idea of auctioning off the above-the-fold picture for the Netroots Nation auction. So, thanks to Kitsap River for supporting the event by winning the bidding. And she sure did come up with a spectacular pair of shoes for the occasion!!
Over the fold for the annual immersion in excessive typography.
There were a few Kossacks in Minneapolis for their first Netroots Nation experience. Or at least it was the first time I crossed paths with 'em. (There were others I heard were there, but never once saw. Inevitable, I suppose, as the event gets bigger.)
OK, this one's a former Kossack. But still first time there, even if not under that username.
Dopper had a domestic emergency, but these two helped take up the slack so it went forward without a hitch. (Navajo, obviously, has been to all the previous confabs, but soothsayer99 was, so far as I know, a first-timer.)
TheFatLadySings brought along some co-workers from Rio Arriba County, NM. It was fun visiting with them, getting their take on "us." I talked with another member of their group, not pictured here, in the lobby as we were all departing. He's involved with Planning in his day job and said he got some useful ideas to take home with him. (I told him about Iceland working on their new national Constitution largely through online means, so he's gonna check that out, too.)
An exciting new thing this year was a group of international bloggers (was it 20 different countries they were from?) They're visiting around the country, with a State Dept. den mother, who included NN on their itinerary. Many of them spoke, too, and IMHO enhanced our gathering.
Some of the Muslim women at NN11, including Minnesota locals, were in hijab. But there's no obvious way to tell us apart by footwear. I did not get this woman's name in my notes, and later was disappointed when I couldn't find her name in the program or on the Netroots Nation website. And she spoke to the plenary, too!! Perhaps her name was not in print for safety reasons? Either that, or she filled in for the Yemeni woman on the program who did not appear.
Una Spenser's one of the key coordinators of the "Witnessing Revolution" group that arose to track and report on the Arab Spring. In addition to the widely reported hijab incidents, I'm told she's arranged to work with some of the visiting bloggers to get their work posted on Daily Kos (especially where conditions are dangerous in the home country, to protect identities and archive their stories.)
Another cool thing was that the Dream Act kids are learning from gay activists about the courage needed (and power tapped) from the politics of outing oneself. One of the panelists was Dan Choi. He got to the panel half an hour early, and actively greeted each person as they arrived. A lot of them wanted to be photographed with him. Very brave man, and gracious, too. Plus a military bearing (whatever that means) and excellent posture at all times.
These two aren't new conferees, but they are newly married since last year.
A few other couples - some of my Daily Kos favorites, too, as it happens!
As a bit of a break from the shoes, I photographed some other accessories, too. I didn't go looking for ties, but this one caught my eye. ----->
There were notable hats in our midst, too. The black one's Lefty Coaster, who travels with multiple hats. Under the big brim is TexMex. Didn't get names on the other two, but did note that the one sporting the flowery embellishment is blind, and she travels with a service dog.
jlms qkw has been having a "transitional" year. She says she's lost some weight in the process, and was looking great. One of my former Congressmen, Gerald Nadler, has dropped a lot of weight, too. Over 100 pounds he says. Well done! is what I have to say about that.
I'm not sure I would have recognized Steve Singiser without his name tag. He's worked off 100 pounds or so, too. Again - well done! (His companion here, formerly known as brownsox, ran an interesting panel.)
In my first year of blogging, I joined the (successful, yay!) efforts to unseat the multi-factedly noxious Richard Pombo (CA-11) from Congress. These three are friends I made during that effort. Matt Ortega has been tracking his genealogy, leading the California boy to Taos area, and he had some good visit time with the Rio Arriba group. He lives in DC these days, and was one of the speakers on brownsox's panel, entitled The Search for the Great White Hope: The 2012 Repubican Presidential Field. (The panel thinks it'll end up being the Mittster.)
Another team effort, still going strong is Netroots for the Troops. Not unlike IGTNT, one wishes for this effort to end on the grounds that there's no need for it anymore. But given the bellicose, militaristic bent to our society, I suppose there's not much hope for that. TexDem got hospitalized (with kidney stones), staying on in Minneapolis a bit longer than planned, and has to go for treatment once he gets home. What a trouper! He can't have been feeling very well as he coordinated the effort, but you didn't hear him complaining about it!
Speaking of group efforts, a shoutout to the founders and organizers of Netroots Nation (née Yearly Kos) is highly in order. They aren't all depicted here, but they do all deserve our hearty thanks! Hip, hip hooray!!!
Netroots Nation is a thoroughly chronicled event. Even moreso now that everyone has a cell phone, or webcasts with their own computers. There were definitely photographers everywhere.
Plenty of other kinds of coverage, too.
I only just found out that the Seattle P-I (Post-Intelligencer) is no longer available in newsprint. Online only. What are we all gonna wrap our salmon in with no newspapers?
Interviews in progress, and pretty much the only cowboy boots I saw the whole time. Nothing like Austin that way, where some people went out and bought new ones while they were there:
Some of 'em, I've even seen on TV. (Some years back, I included John Fund of the WSF in the diary. This year when I saw him, I let it go.)
Finney wasn't dressed to be on camera. This woman was - dressed to the nines at all times!
These shoes were cool, too. But I can't help it - the fit reminds me of playing dressup as a kid. (DGA stands for Democratic Governors Association.)
Speaking of heels, Elisa (Mrs. Kos) always has snazzy footwear. But I saw her getting in the cab for the airport on Sunday, and she had on some totally sensible sneakers. Believe it or not, my camera was not at hand just then, so I couldn't record it.
This guy, retired (pushed out) police chief from Phoenix, got recognized for bravery regarding immigration issues. We heard a lot of inspiring individuals' stories throughout the weekend. That "wrap it up screen" turned red shortly thereafter.
Nobody actually had the band strike up to drown them out, though. Oh, wait! That's 'cuz the band was only there on Saturday night. If you don't know their work already, check out Outernational and Jill Sobule.
Other people were there as part of their job, too. This guy works for Rep. Keith Ellison, campaign side. I'm thinking those firewalls to segregate between public office and campaign activities are pretty complicated.
I don't know how many House members showed up - there were quite a few, though. Even though I was backstage on Saturday, there wasn't a good opportunity to photograph Sen. Franken's shoes as he prepped for his speech. And when he was done, he didn't just leave the stage - he went straight out of the building by a back door. And I know Feingold isn't a Senator now, but I'm hoping he'll run again and Wisconsin's electoral buyer's remorse will put him back in office. I don't think I missed any other Senators.
There were people there with unique perspectives on issues of the day who help us to be better informed.
These guys, too. I noticed Gen. Eaton at the Hilton bar one night, after having made the goofy first impression of photographing his feet. I don't normally cross paths with that level of military rank. And I don't know how many drinks I had that night, either. And yeah, these all have tassels on their loafers.
Some other kinda well known activists (and/or pontificators) were around, too. I've never seen patent leather saddle shoes before.
I forgot to get any information about the person wearing these shoes, which I love. I did get a card about the guy in Seattle who makes them, so maybe I'll have some on in the nation's smallest state next year.
Getting these pictures ready, I've gotten sick of the geometric carpets from around the Convention Center. But that red carpet looked pretty good for many of the pictures.
I've skipped a lot of the FPers in this edition of the shoe diary, but I've still got many of us rank-and-file Kossacks covered. The usual caveat applies: My notes were incomplete, and some of the pictures were too blurry. And if I included all the pictures, I might not be ready to post till the 4th of July!!
Claude's my hero, 'cuz he brought me some Hatch green chilies. (I owe you, my friend!)
We got a text about a party on Saturday, but couldn't quite figure it out. It was probably this guy's party that navajo mentioned in her big picture diary. Sorry to have missed it, pal! I'll have to pay better attention next year, because kos's loud music and dancing party isn't my cup of tea.
This guy'll always have a special place in my heart. When I went to YK for the first time, in Chicago, he was the first person I connected with. Because of usernames and real life names, I had no idea who I knew, but I recognized his name. So he's my NN big brother, of sorts.
Finally, last but by no means least: Thanks, as ever, to the tech team that keeps this place up and running. We'd be lost without you!