Name Changes at Center

[rappy]

Telling that to us folks reading this lounge is preaching to the choir (not always, but usually). It's the Center (Journey, the Board, etc.) who need to be told.

Wasting our breathe here....Nothing will change. Don't know why we bother....

[jab5983]

time to take it to facebook...I just posted maybe some other lucy fans will start to see what is going on there!

[lucey]

Apologies if this is a duplicate posting; my previous attempt seems to have failed.

 

Journey replied personally to my email. I understand that a copy of my email and a reply (from her?) appeared on the LDC Facebook page; I did not post there, and I haven't seen that reply. I will assume that Journey will see this email, because Mike Latone has been kind enough to forward my emails to her. Whenever I send email to her or to info@lucy-desi.com, they bounce.

 

 

Dear Journey:

 

Thanks for your responses. I have a few observations (your responses are enclosed in braces "{ }"; my observations begin with "--"; material that I've omitted is indicated by ellipses "…").

 

{Hi Bill, I have asked our IT person to look into the bounce-back.  I am receiving emails from other sources so I'm not sure the reason your message bounced back.}

 

-- It wasn't just your email; it was also the info@lucy-desi.com address. Given various stories I've heard about people being blocked from Center websites, it was a reasonable theory that I was being singled out. If you get this message, then I guess the problem has been fixed.

 

{You're always welcome to call the Center directly at 716.484.0800 to reach me.  I did see your letter posted to Facebook last night.}

 

-- Just to be clear, I did not post it to Facebook. It is my understanding that other fans unhappy with the Center's current direction did so. I have since learned that you posted a reply there, but I have not seen it. (I try to avoid commercial FB sites.)

...

 

{- Of course we continue to recognize Star/Lifetime members, all are listed including your name, right at the top of the Member page. (Lucy-Desi.com/membership/members).  We also continue to let Star members including your wife into the attraction at no charge, recognizing lifetime membership, and have done so many times this year.}

 

-- I see that. I didn't realize that Lifetime Members were now called "Star" members.

...

 

{- Actually it's just a DBA. The official name is Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center, Inc.}

 

-- Seems to me that that can lead to confusion, such as at http://www.lucy-desi.com/membership/join-us/ , where it says: "The mission of the Lucy Desi Center for Comedy, a 501©(3) non-profit, is…". But if "Lucy Desi Center for Comedy" is simply a DBA, then it's not a non-profit; the non-profit's name is "Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center", and it is the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center that has a mission, not the DBA.

…

 

{- Yes, we are fully aware of the historical reference and relevance. We acknowledged that in our initial response and also when we approached Desilu, Too about the change. We fully acknowledge the historical reference made by Playhouse. You have assumed otherwise.}

 

-- I'm not sure what you mean by "We acknowledged that in our initial response". I have refreshed my browser, but I still don't see any mention of "Playhouse" on the website. If it's there, please let me know what page it's on. And I don't see any "acknowledge[ment of] the historical reference made by the Playhouse". In fact, at http://www.lucy-desi.com/attractions/desilu-playhouse/ (now there's a curious URL!), you say: "In the summer of 2005, five 53’ tractor trailers moved the sets to Lucille Ball’s hometown, where it was installed in the Desilu Studios named after the studio at 847 Lillian Way in Hollywood". Well, that's simply not true. In the summer of 2005, those sets were installed in the Desilu Playhouse, named after that studio at that address; please see the attached picture for documentation. One would hope that a museum dedicated to Lucy and Desi would get their facts straight. You should say something like: "…installed in the Desilu Playhouse, named after (etc.); this facility has now been renamed Desilu Studios". I suppose this is just a cut-and-paste error, but it should be corrected.

 

I said: [i freely admit that the "Playhouse" designation has been confusing to certain mapmakers, who think that it's a theater rather than a museum, but, in fact, the "Playhouse" was so called precisely because the original Playhouse was a theater: …

You replied: {- Agreed, and aware. …}

 

-- To avoid the problem that we both recognize of its being confused with a venue for plays in Jamestown, and to maintain historical accuracy, it could have been called "Desilu Playhouse Museum". I don't see how "Studios" clarifies anything.

 

…

{- The portrait of you and your wife hangs in our gift shop for that reason, and there is no disbelief about the donation, or that the building clearly reads Rapaport Center. I'm puzzled at the assumption and public assertion that we wouldn't believe this.}

 

I said: [i always felt a bit awkward that so locally famous a name as "Prendergast" was being replaced, so it was agreed that the building itself is still the Prendergast Building, but that it houses the Rapaport Center. And the Rapaport Center itself consists of the Desilu Playhouse (i.e., "Studio"), the Tropicana Room, a gift shop, a kitchen (which, in case you didn't know, we also donated), and the Lucy-Desi Center's offices. And did you know that my wife also donated and curated many of the principal exhibits in the Playhouse (oops; I mean "Studio")?]

 

You replied {- Yes, fully aware. There is a printed acknowledgement of this by name within the attraction, the portrait hangs in the gift shop, and the concrete front of the building reads "Rapaport". If this is insufficient name recognition please call us to discuss.}

 

-- I'm happy to hear this, but more people probably read your website than visit the Center. The silence on the website is deafening. More to the point: Why are you singling out only one donor, Don Bladys?

 

…

 

{- The omission is not intentional, and the write-up has not been re-written other than to include "Studios" in a very long time. We will gladly add this information, though, just give us a few days. We just this week moved our entire site from a Plone platform to Wordpress, and with the re-launch of that many pages, there are glitches. I recommend a clearing of your browser's cache to make sure you're viewing the correct site.}

 

-- You've had many donors, not just Bladys, and not just the Rapaports. On the website, you should either mention them *all*, or you should mention *none*. But if you're going to single anyone out, it really should be my wife. She has done more for the Center than anyone since the time that we joined as members. I don't know what you mean by "the write-up has not been re-written". An entire webpage is missing! (And, yes, I've cleared my browser's cache, several times.) Actually, I suppose that at least two webpages are missing: The one about the Rapaport Center and the one about all of the donors. I look forward to seeing these restored.

 

…

{- Again please clear your browser's cache. And yes, we have just launched this week so there are still hundreds of links to check and we will correct the connection to the blog.

…

- Apologies. It was actually because of a lot of these problems in Plone that we just moved the site. We have just moved the entire site this week and are doing the best we can with the resources we have. We are still working out the site kinks with the move and I have alerted the design company.}

 

-- Being in the middle of a wholesale website update is a poor excuse. (I don't know what Plone or Wordpress are; I code my websites directly in HTML--there are fewer glitches when you're fully in control of all the details.) The bigger point is a fundamental principle of website design: No site that is under construction should be made public without making sure that it works and is correct. If it has to be made public before that, then it should be clearly flagged as "under construction" so that misunderstandings can be avoided.

 

…

 

Sincerely,

 

Bill Rapaport

[rappy]

Apologies if this is a duplicate posting; my previous attempt seems to have failed.

 

Journey replied personally to my email. I understand that a copy of my email and a reply (from her?) appeared on the LDC Facebook page; I did not post there, and I haven't seen that reply. I will assume that Journey will see this email, because Mike Latone has been kind enough to forward my emails to her. Whenever I send email to her or to info@lucy-desi.com, they bounce.

 

 

Dear Journey:

 

Thanks for your responses. I have a few observations (your responses are enclosed in braces "{ }"; my observations begin with "--"; material that I've omitted is indicated by ellipses "…").

 

{Hi Bill, I have asked our IT person to look into the bounce-back.  I am receiving emails from other sources so I'm not sure the reason your message bounced back.}

 

-- It wasn't just your email; it was also the info@lucy-desi.com address. Given various stories I've heard about people being blocked from Center websites, it was a reasonable theory that I was being singled out. If you get this message, then I guess the problem has been fixed.

 

{You're always welcome to call the Center directly at 716.484.0800 to reach me.  I did see your letter posted to Facebook last night.}

 

-- Just to be clear, I did not post it to Facebook. It is my understanding that other fans unhappy with the Center's current direction did so. I have since learned that you posted a reply there, but I have not seen it. (I try to avoid commercial FB sites.)

...

 

{- Of course we continue to recognize Star/Lifetime members, all are listed including your name, right at the top of the Member page. (Lucy-Desi.com/membership/members).  We also continue to let Star members including your wife into the attraction at no charge, recognizing lifetime membership, and have done so many times this year.}

 

-- I see that. I didn't realize that Lifetime Members were now called "Star" members.

...

 

{- Actually it's just a DBA. The official name is Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center, Inc.}

 

-- Seems to me that that can lead to confusion, such as at http://www.lucy-desi.com/membership/join-us/ , where it says: "The mission of the Lucy Desi Center for Comedy, a 501©(3) non-profit, is…". But if "Lucy Desi Center for Comedy" is simply a DBA, then it's not a non-profit; the non-profit's name is "Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center", and it is the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center that has a mission, not the DBA.

…

 

{- Yes, we are fully aware of the historical reference and relevance. We acknowledged that in our initial response and also when we approached Desilu, Too about the change. We fully acknowledge the historical reference made by Playhouse. You have assumed otherwise.}

 

-- I'm not sure what you mean by "We acknowledged that in our initial response". I have refreshed my browser, but I still don't see any mention of "Playhouse" on the website. If it's there, please let me know what page it's on. And I don't see any "acknowledge[ment of] the historical reference made by the Playhouse". In fact, at http://www.lucy-desi.com/attractions/desilu-playhouse/ (now there's a curious URL!), you say: "In the summer of 2005, five 53’ tractor trailers moved the sets to Lucille Ball’s hometown, where it was installed in the Desilu Studios named after the studio at 847 Lillian Way in Hollywood". Well, that's simply not true. In the summer of 2005, those sets were installed in the Desilu Playhouse, named after that studio at that address; please see the attached picture for documentation. One would hope that a museum dedicated to Lucy and Desi would get their facts straight. You should say something like: "…installed in the Desilu Playhouse, named after (etc.); this facility has now been renamed Desilu Studios". I suppose this is just a cut-and-paste error, but it should be corrected.

 

I said: [i freely admit that the "Playhouse" designation has been confusing to certain mapmakers, who think that it's a theater rather than a museum, but, in fact, the "Playhouse" was so called precisely because the original Playhouse was a theater: …

You replied: {- Agreed, and aware. …}

 

-- To avoid the problem that we both recognize of its being confused with a venue for plays in Jamestown, and to maintain historical accuracy, it could have been called "Desilu Playhouse Museum". I don't see how "Studios" clarifies anything.

 

…

{- The portrait of you and your wife hangs in our gift shop for that reason, and there is no disbelief about the donation, or that the building clearly reads Rapaport Center. I'm puzzled at the assumption and public assertion that we wouldn't believe this.}

 

I said: [i always felt a bit awkward that so locally famous a name as "Prendergast" was being replaced, so it was agreed that the building itself is still the Prendergast Building, but that it houses the Rapaport Center. And the Rapaport Center itself consists of the Desilu Playhouse (i.e., "Studio"), the Tropicana Room, a gift shop, a kitchen (which, in case you didn't know, we also donated), and the Lucy-Desi Center's offices. And did you know that my wife also donated and curated many of the principal exhibits in the Playhouse (oops; I mean "Studio")?]

 

You replied {- Yes, fully aware. There is a printed acknowledgement of this by name within the attraction, the portrait hangs in the gift shop, and the concrete front of the building reads "Rapaport". If this is insufficient name recognition please call us to discuss.}

 

-- I'm happy to hear this, but more people probably read your website than visit the Center. The silence on the website is deafening. More to the point: Why are you singling out only one donor, Don Bladys?

 

…

 

{- The omission is not intentional, and the write-up has not been re-written other than to include "Studios" in a very long time. We will gladly add this information, though, just give us a few days. We just this week moved our entire site from a Plone platform to Wordpress, and with the re-launch of that many pages, there are glitches. I recommend a clearing of your browser's cache to make sure you're viewing the correct site.}

 

-- You've had many donors, not just Bladys, and not just the Rapaports. On the website, you should either mention them *all*, or you should mention *none*. But if you're going to single anyone out, it really should be my wife. She has done more for the Center than anyone since the time that we joined as members. I don't know what you mean by "the write-up has not been re-written". An entire webpage is missing! (And, yes, I've cleared my browser's cache, several times.) Actually, I suppose that at least two webpages are missing: The one about the Rapaport Center and the one about all of the donors. I look forward to seeing these restored.

 

…

{- Again please clear your browser's cache. And yes, we have just launched this week so there are still hundreds of links to check and we will correct the connection to the blog.

…

- Apologies. It was actually because of a lot of these problems in Plone that we just moved the site. We have just moved the entire site this week and are doing the best we can with the resources we have. We are still working out the site kinks with the move and I have alerted the design company.}

 

-- Being in the middle of a wholesale website update is a poor excuse. (I don't know what Plone or Wordpress are; I code my websites directly in HTML--there are fewer glitches when you're fully in control of all the details.) The bigger point is a fundamental principle of website design: No site that is under construction should be made public without making sure that it works and is correct. If it has to be made public before that, then it should be clearly flagged as "under construction" so that misunderstandings can be avoided.

 

…

 

Sincerely,

 

Bill Rapaport

 

 

Great response!

[jab5983]

Great response!

 

can't wait to see the next response from the center! You would think they would be working to quickly "fix" their website....

[rappy]

can't wait to see the next response from the center! You would think they would be working to quickly "fix" their website....

They have been bouncing my emails for a year. Guess it's tough to fix...

[jab5983]

now if you go to the website and click on desilu studios you get the 404 not found error...maybe they are making some updates

[rappy]

now if you go to the website and click on desilu studios you get the 404 not found error...maybe they are making some updates

Thank you to the Center for adding our names back to the Playhouse (studio) attraction. I checked it this morning and it is there. I don't know why the Center has to do things the hard way.

[rappy]

Thank you to the Center for adding our names back to the Playhouse (studio) attraction. I checked it this morning and it is there. I don't know why the Center has to do things the hard way.

I would have commented on the Centers face book page, but I am blocked. And my husbands emails are still bouncing from the Center. Mine have bounced since Journey started. Guess you can have opinions only if you agree with them.

[C L A U D E]

I think the worst fault the center has, regardless of the name, is that everything LUCY should be available there, to think that some of her movies or shows are not is just nonsense.

[leenorman]

Taking MUCH into consideration, I believe the new E.D. is trying her best to effect change; she seems to be everywhere.

 

I would suggest another place for her would be to put the vintage and archive 'treasures' in some semblance of order and get it cataloged; something I have good reason to believe was NOT completed, if started in any way, even when the initial E.D. was on board.

 

In my mind, that's the tragedy that has yet to be 'unpacked', for want of a better word; and I'm sure the Arnaz family is very concerned about just that situation. Just imagine how many folks would come forward with donations if they KNEW that things at the Arnaz Museum were being handled; itemized; and cataloged with care, and sound record-keeping practices.