Flowers in the dustbin

I never much liked Malcolm McLaren but I appreciated what he did in bringing The Sex Pistols to the global stage.

Malcolm McLaren, standing between the bobby and Sid Vicious, was always about the dramaMcLaren died Thursday from cancer. McLaren was best known as the manager of the Pistols, a cartoonish cast of characters he tossed together and molded into a pop culture tour de force.

While stunned by McLaren's death, I guess I shouldn't be surprised these days as more and more major influences on my musical life die off. Alex Chilton, Doug Fieger, Willie Mitchell and Jay Reatard all worked their way into heavy rotation on my playlists, and their recent deaths leave rich legacies.

So it goes with McLaren, a king of promotion who knew nothing but "over the top."

I was a teenager was late 1977 when I first heard of The Sex Pistols, through news stories and magazine articles decrying the downfall of youth. Much of that disturbance was directly tied to McLaren selling the band as bad seeds and worse. More poetically, they were "flowers in the dustbin," to quote from Pistol's anthem "God Save the Queen:"

We're the flowers in the dustbin
We're the poison in the human machine
We're the future
Your future

The Pistols promotional poster that has inspired me over the yearsThose were lyrics featured on a bright and edgy poster EMI used to promote
"Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols" in American record stores. I was able to snag a copy of the poster (the Wherehouse Records in Fresno was NOT going to hang such crap on its walls), and after deciphering what "dustbin" meant, proudly hung it on various walls for the next 15 years or so.

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Royal stupidity

Despite rampant identity theft around us, I continue to be surprised by the incredible ignorance of people who remain completely clueless about how they all but hand their money to criminals.  

Case in point: I was dropping off some recycling at Cal State Bakersfield the other day. While sliding pieces of cardboard into the large dumpsters, my eyes caught a folder titled “Income Tax Return” within easy reach just inside the bin. I picked it up, thinking, “No, this can’t be.”

But sure enough, it was someone’s 2008 tax return from H&R Block, complete with all kinds of forms and information detailing a slice of this woman’s life. And, as you might expect, these forms are filled with names, address, Social Security numbers, income totals, DMV information, medical records, at least one PIN number, signatures perfect for forgery practice, and who knows what else. I got all that thumbing through the document for 30 seconds.

I disposed of the tax return to ensure someone less ethical found it, but sometimes I feel like people this stupid deserve whatever turmoil comes their way. I appreciate people want to recycle instead of trashing documents, but be smart and buy a small paper shredder and dispose of your private information in a safe way. It’s a small expense that can save you a fortune down the road.

Let’s hope the woman who lives in 93311 with a Social Security number ending in 1100 figures this out before her 2009 return ends up in the same place. And for those people who think this post will give criminals ideas, think again: They already know.

Business lessons from 37 Signals

It wasn’t too long after I settled into my job as VP of Interactive Media at The Californian in Spring 2006 that I found a raw copy of “Getting Real” stuffed into one of the drawers in my new office.

The book’s official title -- “Getting Real: The smarter, faster, easier way to build a successful web application” -- doesn’t begin to describe its real message: Think differently by questioning traditional tendencies to build big, instead of small. Specifically, build lean-and-mean software that focuses on what’s important instead of flashy but rarely used bells and whistles (Think Google Docs instead of Microsoft Word).

It’s been more than five years since the folks at 37 Signals self-published “Getting Real ” (sample the free web version). The book has since has become a revelation in tech circles, and helped 37 Signals become a leading provider of business-productivity software, most notably, Basecamp. “Getting Real” also gave 37 Signals a reputation as a company with sage insight, which has been shared via product lines, blog posts, conference presentations and a podcast.

That’s all led up to Tuesday, when 37 Signals founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson will release their second book, called “REWORK.” The video above delivers a mood-setting tone, but the explanatory "REWORK" podcast makes it clear Fried and Heinemeier Hansson firmly believe “REWORK” isn’t your typical business book, more "revolutionary" than evolutionary.

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