3W Design Group - Media

OK. Right here. Right now. 2008 New Year’s resolutions 101. I am vowing to become a more regular writer. To that end I have enrolled in a class this weekend that will help me become more prolific. The class is with Ãœber-cartoonist Lynda Barry and is titled “Writing the Unthinkable.” I have admired Barry’s cartoons since I discovered them in alternative newspapers in college (1976-80). Her writing style takes no prisoners and her illustrations seem a bit primative and weird in a very comforting way. I have the prolific and very strange (her drawing not her!) cartoonist Tina Kugler to thank for this opportunity. She and I are headed to Chicago to immerse ourselves in 48 hours of tapping into the part of our brains that are waiting to be awakened.

I am also going to create more audio podcasts in 2008. Pop Goes the Culture has been a bit irregular and I hope to change that soon. I also have some minor work to finish up on the 2007 audio podcast version of the Steel Bridge Songfest for which I recorded over 100 audio files (waaaay too many). My involvement in the Steel Bridge is one of those situations that began organically. I volunteered to record some interviews in 2006 and came to be really touched by the full throttle effort put forward by organizers Christie Weber and her brother pat mAcdonald. I just had to be involved again in 07. Passion is what drives a project like that and it’s in huge supply at the winter home of the festival - the Holiday Music Motel in Sturgeon Bay. The finished SBSF3 project will be at Door Pod Show within weeks.

Back to the resolutions, I vow to make more podcasts with Norb Blei in 2008. Check out the latest, recorded in December on the subject of the 50th anniversary of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. It was a wild podcast featuring Norb, Ron Whitehead and Rob Zoschke and the spirit of Kerouac. Listen in - its a great way to warm up your brain on a cold winter’s night.

One more thing. In October of this past year, my dad died. And while at 49 years of age, I’m not exactly orphan material, it was a rite-of-passage that brought sadness and allot of reflection. I had my dad around for a very long time which was great because he was funny and very supportive (even though we disagreed completely on politics). After he died, my college pal Leesa Maxwell summed it up best. Here is what she had to say:

When I think about him, there are few little strategies that are so clearly Dick and I’m sure I’ll carry them with me always.
Here they are…

1) Always greet people with a firm handshake and good eye contact. Speak to them like they are the most important person in world.
2) Bring food wherever you go. Johnsonville sausage and cheese curds are
especially good for college students.
3) Keep your sense of humor. A good laugh goes a long way and laughter brings people together.

Great advice to live by.