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The DC “Newseum”

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(Pic #1) My encounter with a section of the Berlin Wall at the NEWSEUM in Washington.

Bring tissues, and know that you are living and breathing world history.

The next time you’re in our nation’s capitol, find time to explore the halls and galleries of what has now become one of Washington’s most popular attractions: “The Newseum.” What drew me there was The Unabomber’s cabin—what kept me there was—well, everything else.

The Newseum is an interactive museum dedicated to news, history, and journalism. Its theaters and galleries fill seven floors with Pulitzer Prize winning photos, sobering news video, and slices of unforgettable American culture and news events. As a former TV news reporter, I expected to be unmoved. I was wrong.

(Pic #2) Twisted Tower

(Pic #3) “Checkpoint Charlie” 

Artifacts like the fried, twisted, antenna from the fallen World Trade Center remind us of our fragility, (Pic #2) and what we have experienced collectively – often painfully — as a nation. The exhibits also underscore what our parents and grandparents witnessed – and tried to describe to our generation — before television coverage became the way we learned about everything.

The largest section of the Berlin Wall outside of Germany stands 12-feet tall here. (Pic #1)  If you didn’t have an opportunity to see it “fall” in 1989, you can get up close and personal here at home. It features eight massive concrete sections, each weighing about three tons. A 3-story East German guard tower that loomed near Checkpoint Charlie — Berlin’s best-known East-West crossing — stands nearby. (Pic #3).

(Pic #4) “Step by Step” section

Over the years, artists like Keith Haring and Thierry Noir have described the wall as “the world’s largest canvas that just had to be painted.” Many known and unknown artists contributed to the wall’s storied graphics, and often their work was painted over within days or hours. The Western side was generally colorful, while the Eastern side was white or gray.

(Pic #5) Painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat

I happen to like the abstractions (Pic #6) leftover from decades of layers of cracked, weathered, textured paint, as well as the poignant graffiti art (Pic #4). Some images remind me of the raw, iconic style of Jean-Michel Basquiat. (Pic #5)

(Pic #6) Detail, Berlin Wall

To mark the fifth anniversary of the most destructive hurricane in U.S. history, Katrina, the Newseum chronicles the dramatic coverage of the killer storm that shredded Mississippi’s coast, left 80 percent of New Orleans under water, and resulted in the deaths of 1,800 people.

(Pic #7) Anger and absurdity in New Orleans

Among other physical reminders, an in-your-face anti-looter sign from a New Orleans rug shop that was used as a backdrop for numerous network news reporters. (Pic #7)

(Pic #8) Unabomber’s Montana retreat

Check out the newsreels from the Lindbergh kidnapping, the death of mob boss John Gotti, and the one-room barren cabin that once housed Unabomber Ted Kaczynski  in Lincoln, Montana. (Did you know that Unabomber stands for “University and Airline Bomber?”) The FBI recounts the day they discovered the cabin—packed with chemicals and explosives. It’s an empty shell now, but chilling nonetheless. (Pic #8)

Be prepared to re-live some sentimental and horrifying moments, both of which may jolt you into a more satisfying state of gratitude.

Urban Underpinnings

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How everyday structures become foundations for awesome abstract art.

Malibu Chic: Nature's Chemical Abstraction

I’m always impressed by those moments of discovery—when something functional becomes something artful—and smacks me in the face with its beauty. Here are a few shots capturing those moments – from recent trips to Nashville, Tennessee, Malibu, California, and Seattle, Washington.

Below, I zoomed in on a weathered copper panel from the foundation of this stunning Malibu coast home. Oxidation leads to a killer turquoise patina.

Sea Green: Close-up

On that same stretch of beach– underneath the storied multi-million dollar homes — you can see the raw structural supports  — wooden beams which look like precarious piles of Pick Up Stix poised for a fall. But in their own way, they are pure design.

Geometric Underbelly

"Our contractor was A.D.D."

Along the way, I discovered a small, older, somewhat neglected home with the most gorgeous peeling seafoam paint. It was so wind-beaten that it revealed an undercoat of textured gray wood.

"A Malibu Peel"

On Main Street, in Franklin Tennessee, right outside Nashville, I walked into a restaurant called “Red Pony” and grabbed the iphone to capture what can only be described as a couple of true surrealist compositions, revealing exposed brick and cracked cement walls. When I told the hostess I loved the look — she said — “Thank you. Most people can’t handle it.”

Then I ran across the work of a primitive American painter named Kelly Moore.  See if you see what I see (below). Her red skull makes for a sweet pairing with this new Nashville “brick art.”

Exposing brick -- creating art

NOT just another brick in the wall

Primitive painting by Kelly Moore

Up in Seattle, right on the shore of peaceful Lake Washington, the back of street sign caught my eye. It was weathered wood with a figure that reminded me of prehistoric cave paintings. I really love to encounter art in the funkiest places. Send me your discoveries. We’ll compare notes.

Signs of wildlife.

FORTUNE Most Powerful Women share secrets to success — “someone else” (Part 2)

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Cathy Benko, (right), Vice Chairman and Chief Talent Officer at Deloitte, LLP and Brigitte Dzogbenuku, (left), Fortune/State Dept. Mentee and Gen. Mgr., Aviation Social Centre in Accra, Ghana.

Mentoring vs: Sponsorship: The big divide

As we mentioned in Part 1, most of the uber-accomplished women we interviewed at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit saw  the support of someone senior as critical. They also underscore the difference between the watchful eye of a mentor and someone who “advocates” and actually “creates an opportunity” – called a sponsor.

This difference is explained in a recent piece in the Harvard Business Review, entitled, “Why Men Still Get More Promotions Than Women” which suggests that mentoring isn’t enough. The authors argue that career advancement is more likely to come from active sponsorship than more passive mentoring.

HBR: “Our interviews and surveys alike suggest that high-potential women are over-mentored and under-sponsored relative to their male peers—and that they are not advancing in their organizations. Furthermore, without sponsorship, women not only are less likely than men to be appointed to top roles but may also be more reluctant to go for them.”

Question: Who made the difference in your career, and what did you learn? We asked dozens of the summit’s extraordinary women for their answers, as Deloittte, for the third consecutive year, assigned artists to graphically chronicle these newsworthy nuggets for publication. (See illustrations below.)

Jane Blalock, CEO, JBC Golf:

From this sports pioneer — Golf’s 1969 “Rookie of the Year” — the answer to the question above comes fast: legendary coach Bob Toski, her first golf teacher, served as her MVM–most valuable mentor. But Jane agrees with the HBR study, saying — if she didn’t have Toski’s support as a true sponsor –she would not have accomplished what she has:

1) Amassing 27 LPGA titles, two world championships, and two Triple Crowns.

2) Setting the record for most consecutive cuts made (299) in the sport.

3) Being the first player in the LPGA to win more than $100,000 in four consecutive seasons.

Jane told me Toski introduced her to people she needed to meet, and set her up with the best equipment—something she never could have afforded on her own. “Sometimes,” she says, “a sponsor helps fund you” while providing other key kinds of support. Toski’s role was pivotal in Jane’s 18-year professional golf career.

Blalock’s first MacGregor Tourneys: a 5 wood, driver, and wedge

In addition to guiding her to record-breaking wins, he provided her with her first set of pro caliber golf clubs for her maiden professional tournament in 1969. To this day, she keeps the clubs right alongside other meaningful golf memorabilia from her numerous victories. (See photo on right.)

Through Bob, she learned the value of passion, perseverance, and performance under pressure. (See illustration of Jane’s conversation with us at Deloitte’s “Inspiration Café—above.) She even began applying her lessons in golf to her work at Merrill Lynch in 1985.

Now, through her LPGA Golf Clinics for women, she “pays it forward” by “leveling the playing field” for women in business. The clinics were created to achieve a dual purpose: to help professional women become more at ease with golf as a sport — and as a business tool — and to raise funds for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

JBC Golf is the only woman-owned golf-event management and marketing firm in the country.

Illustration by Alicia Bramlett

Karen Hughes, Global Vice Chair of Burson-Marsteller, former political consultant to President George W. Bush.

Karen names the former chairman of the Texas Republican Party–- Fred Meyer — as her key mentor/sponsor. It was a phone call from Meyer in 1991 that changed Hughes’s life. Meyer was looking for someone to be the “voice of the party” in Austin, and offered the job of Executive Director to Karen. (When Meyer decided not to run for reelection as chairman, Hughes moved to George W. Bush’s gubernatorial campaign.)

She said Meyer “taught her by example” — how to treat people with courtesy, openness, and respect.  She also learned along the way, that she had to accept the position of “role model.”

Her experience allowed her to apply a new model for media coverage with then Governor Bush. As Director of Communications, Karen initiated a plan to “open the doors” to reporters so they could see a side of Governor Bush they hadn’t seen before. She said he was painted as “inexperienced” prior to that, and she was convinced he could showcase his authenticity with more press access. She invited writers and news crews on the road, and watched the game change “from defensive to offensive.”

Karen served as Counselor to President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2002, as a consultant to the successful Bush-Cheney re-election campaign in 2004, and as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy from 2005 – 2007. Her best advice to young business people? “Do what you’re passionate about.”

Illustration by Alicia Bramlett

Cathy Benko, Vice Chairman and Chief Talent Officer, Deloitte LLP

Cathy told us her mentors and sponsors have been “a portfolio of people.” It started with her CEO suggesting she write a book. Then she asked her renowned former Harvard Business School Professor, Warren McFarlan to team up with her on the project, and he said, “yes” – adding — he’d “never bet against her.”

Well, Cathy now gets to “give back” what she’s learned in what is now her third book –“The Corporate Lattice: Achieving High Performance in a Changing World of Work.” Her advice to young business people?  Noting that 60 percent of new jobs will require skills that only 20 percent of workers possess—she says, “Stay relevant. Adapting is key.”