You guys are so fun to listen to, and you helped make coming out way much easier for me... even though i'm only bi and it may not sound as serious, FOF really did help me realize that there's nothing wrong about it.

and miss ronnie: you make me laugh no matter what.

thanks guys. really.

Said by: jack at April 7, 2007 02:36 AM

Beautiful, guys. Inspiring.

Said by: Mike at April 7, 2007 03:39 AM

Very well written.

Said by: Barbara at April 7, 2007 03:49 AM

Overall, good statement. Your expressing your goals well. A problem that I see, is that your final sentence is 1) a bit long and 2)a little muddled.
Possibly something along these lines: We work for progress in whatever form it may take: social cultural, economic, or political. We seek to challenge ourselves and our audience to explore, to self-impove and to analyse without spiritual sacrafice.
Hope this may help.

Said by: Andy in Brookville at April 7, 2007 07:02 AM

Oh, you just HAD to ask the grammar Nazi for his advice LOL.

On the subject of the last sentence:

"We're committed to delivering the promise of the internet to bring communities together where none existed before and to create a universally accessible database of the human experience."

I loved the idea this one sets forward, and in fact, it could be used as a vision statement for the show.

I just have a few suggestions:

Spell out "We are" instead of "We're".

Is "committed...internet" intended to be part of a list that includes the next two items, or are you saying you are "committed to delivering the promise of the internet" *by* doing the next two items?

If the first part is true, then drop the "ing" from "delivering," then put commas after "internet" and "before".

If the second part is true, then change the "to"s in front of "bring" and "create" to "by" and add "ing"s to the end of the verbs.

Great job, guys!

Said by: David at April 7, 2007 07:52 AM

hey guys! this is a very good mission statement. it presents a clear and compelling vision of what your program is about. i second "andy in brookville"'s comment about grammatical fine-tuning.

how, exactly, did st:voy influence something good? ;)

Said by: milton at April 7, 2007 08:18 AM

i'm sorry "david". it was your comment about grammar.

Said by: milton at April 7, 2007 08:20 AM

David, your ideas are good! I'm a grammar nazi too! It helps more if you just write the sentence(s) as you think it/they should be and THEN give your explanation, so that people can follow you more easily. Actually, for me all 3 comments on sentence structure are acceptable. American English doesn't like long, drawn out sentences, as they do in Spanish, which LOVES them...

Said by: Patricia Fernós at April 7, 2007 10:43 AM

Awesome new mission statement. The shows are great and look forward to hearing more!!

Said by: gryphoncub at April 7, 2007 10:53 AM

Awesome mission statement. The shows are great and I look forward to more!!

Said by: gryphoncub at April 7, 2007 10:55 AM

Some critical thinking: Uncommon implies little substance or value which is far from the quality in dialogue and laughter. Seriously, what's uncommon on the internet. Universally acceptable database seems to imply that I need a social security number, a passport, and a birth certificate. As an aside, I love, love, love your scientific thinking blended with artistic liberation but have no clue how best to integrate it into the mission statement.

Here is my contribution:

Feast of Fools delivers a quintessential podcast experience to dedicated listeners. Together, we raise the diverse voices of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people who are motivated to create change in their own lives and the broader community. Bringing the atypical to the foreground raises awareness, offers discussion, and provokes critical thinking and analysis on social, cultural, economic, and political issues. The news, information, and value we bring is the unspoken truth that aims to poke fun and dispel misinformation in the general media and pop culture. Best received when you have a pen handy to capture new trends in cocktails, recipes, holiday experience, and the best that Chicago offers.

Said by: Joel in Washington, DC at April 7, 2007 11:11 AM

it sound pretty good! :)

Said by: Chickengirl at April 7, 2007 01:04 PM

Other then leaving out the cocktail recipes (which is why I started listening in the first place) it's pretty good.

Said by: Kyle at April 7, 2007 01:08 PM

Thanks for your input-everybody. Here's my say:

"Feast of Fools is an uncommon voice for an uncommon community. Feast of Fools exists in order to serve, inform, entertain and inspire people about the human experience. We work for progress in social, cultural, economic or political endeavors and challenge the audience and ourselves to self-improve, explore and to think critically without a spiritual sacrifice.

We dedicate ourselves to fulfilling the promise that the Internet will bring communities together where none existed before and to create a universally accessible touchstone of the human experience. "

Said by: Marc at April 7, 2007 03:35 PM

It's totally dry and serious in a way that the show isn't at all. It makes it sound like the podcast is an entirely different thing than it is, and if I had read it before listening, I don't think I'd ever have become a listener in the first place!

Said by: Mr. Piggy at April 7, 2007 04:35 PM

You left out the part where we also have fun! Unless you're applying to be a not-for-profit, do we really need such a serious statement? Can't we at least boldly split an infinitive in there? Like, "To daringly have fun in ways that no other show even tries?"

Said by: Amanda Steinstein at April 7, 2007 07:59 PM

As important as mission statements are it needs to really refelect the heart of the group. I think you should have the serious one if you want to apply for grants (which you should TOTALLY do) but if you want this for your fams you should gear it more towards your fans. And don't forget to mention Sassifraction.

Said by: Bryan from L.A. at April 7, 2007 10:47 PM

Marc,

What do you mean when you use the term "spiritual sacrifice"? That part of the statement still has me puzzled. :-)

Said by: David at April 8, 2007 01:12 AM

I loved your show with Michael Musto a couple of weeks ago. And with all the talk about Anderson Cooper being out, in OUT magazine, or in the "glass closet", I thought I would share my sightings of Anderson with your audience. I have seen Anderson Cooper a few times at the gym in the past year. Yes, he does only go a few times a year. And for the times that he goes, he only spends about 20 minutes actually working out. He does not look as good in person as he does on his show. Under all those Louis Vuitton suits and different LV shoes, which of course he does not wear on camera when he is in thailand or in the jungle of Brazil, he does not really have a chest at all. But what he does have is a small belly. Also his nipples are really tiny, about the size (or even smaller) of a dime. I used to have such a crush on him, and after seeing him in person, that crush rapidly diminished.

And, his current boyfriend is an asian guy, which I found out from a reliable source.

Anyway, that's it for the AC 360 gossip. Just want to say that you guys are awesome and keep up the good work!!

Said by: Wil from NYC at April 8, 2007 09:26 AM

I've always had a strong point of view when it comes to mission statements. Perhaps it was the byproduct of spending countless hours at corporate off-sites trying to hash one out with my coworkers.

When it comes to mission statements and unlike cocks, bigger is not better.

The reason I say this is the longer the statement gets, the harder it is for anyone to remember it. If you ask most employees to recite their corporation's mission statement, I'd wager to bet they couldn't, because they all tend to be more like monologues than statements.

So my advice would be to look at your statement and identify the core of your statement and then cut, cut, cut.

After reading your statement, I thought that this was your core:

"Feast of Fools exists in order to serve, inform, entertain and inspire people about the GLTB experience."

The rest of what you have written can be used to support and expand upon your mission, but is essentially already implied by the core statement.

So that's just my two cents. My coworkers didn't like my advice and we ended up with a long, run-on sentence for a statement that when push comes to shove, I can't remember.

Said by: Corey at April 8, 2007 12:46 PM

Will, there is no need for personal attacks here! Just because some rich guy won't sleep with you doesn't mean you need to insult his little nipples, distended belly and lack of a healthy looking body.

I love Anderson Cooper even if he's a closeted homosexual.

Said by: Kelly in Atlanta at April 8, 2007 12:56 PM

I love the official statement...but I love Amanda's better.

Said by: Pat at April 8, 2007 06:38 PM

I'm with Corey on this.

"Feast of Fools exists in order to serve, inform, entertain and inspire people about the GLTB experience," is a fine mission statement. It reflects exactly what I get out of listening to the podcast.

The rest of it sounds cliche, and the bit about a "universally accessible database of the human experience" is awfully heroic.

Said by: hp at April 8, 2007 09:11 PM

I think a good (short and simple) mission statement would be:

"Laughter, love and listeners."

Said by: Jason at April 9, 2007 06:41 AM

badass and professional.

Said by: Rochelle (from MN) at April 9, 2007 10:53 PM