Dear Mother Earth, Please hear my humble and heartfelt apology for all this. I am just an ordinary human, but I am not an ungrateful sleeper who disregards or discounts you. I know this is YOUR show and long after my own little scene here is finished, long after the spectacle of spacemen and ships that move through time become commonplace, I will always know you by the love felt in my own heart. You have imprinted my soul with true kindness, a constant reminder of divine source. This sounds … [Read more...]
Why War May Really Be Over…
Centuries of killing each other seem "normal" to us. Accepted human behavior. "This is what humans do" kind of thinking. Pacifists and anti-war sentiments have been met by anger, outrage at the disrespect this seems to mean to soldiers now or lost in previous wars, outrage at the disrespect to "ideals" Americans were told were the right of people everywhere. Americans especially were righteous and holy for fighting for this elusive "freedom" we never seemed to question until now. It started … [Read more...]
Distress, Death and Graphic Design
The Urban Outfitter Kent State shirt design. It's almost embarrassing to talk about it. On the one hand, what power could a shirt design have? Shirt designs come and go in seasons, like everything fashionable. New ones pour out of department stores daily. What could have caused one shirt design to get so much flak? Last week, Urban Outfitters released a shirt that became almost immediately controversial, not in a good way. The shirt has the Kent State University logo on it, under what seems to … [Read more...]
What Inspires You? The Writing Process Blog Tour
The Writing Process Blog Tour came to me through writer/performer/artist Annie Lanzillotto and it came to her through Angel Eduardo, who came up with the idea. If chain letters were truly rewarding and fun, the BlogTour would be it! I first met Annie Lanzillotto at the end of the 20th century (living in the 21st century, we can say that now!). I was reading in an event that Annie organized at The Kitchen called “The Global Poetry Slam”. While I'm not much of a slammer (I have only won one slam, … [Read more...]
Announcing the QEG: Happy Earth Day!
QEG developments are a sign that Earth Day means more than lip service to some... While we think that the idea of going off petroleum entirely would be good for the 99% as well as Mother Earth herself, we have been convinced that it wouldn't be easy. After all, the light bulbs in your house are powered by generators that have to burn/combust something (like coal or oil or gas) to create a constant commotion because that's how we get energy. And solar and wind are great, but our present fossil … [Read more...]
If Everyone Told the Truth: A Personal Fantasy Through the World as We Know It
What do you think the world would look like if everyone told the truth? It would be wild, right? Imagine honesty falling out of important zipped lips in the highest places in the land.... If the President of the United States could tell the truth, he would say: “I made a mistake. I led the American people down the wrong path because I really don't have as much power as everyone thinks I do. I'm a pawn in a global game too, and honestly I would like Americans to begin to take more … [Read more...]
On Silk Stockings, Cigars and Turning 20
My favorite 20 year old is celebrating an amazing history of creativity and commitment this year. And while I do know a lot of 20-year-olds, I'm talking about The Alternative Pick, the place to find edgy photographers, illustrators, multimedia and design since 1992. AltPick.com went live in 1995. It's bit of graphic design history in the making, you might say. AltPick has been attracting the freshest talent in the business from the start of it's youthful life. Founder Maria Ragusa wanted this … [Read more...]
Occupy the Heart in 2012
At a client holiday party last week, talking to a marketing director at the bar and the subject of Occupy Wall Street comes up. "I've been working with a friend to create some Occupy graphics, maybe even sell them and give the money to the movement," I said to her. The marketing director responded, "Oh don't give the money to them, Give the money to the stores in that area that are losing business because of them. Stores in the area are being forced to close down." She was angry with … [Read more...]
2012 on Seventh Avenue
Having been remiss from this particular arena of the cybersphere for a while, all I can say is that I've been observing what seems to be a lot of chaos around me and I've been trying to sort it all out. It seems of late, a lot of my friends have begun thinking about 2012. These are not the flaky, tree hugging types. The most practical and down-to-earth among them are feeling "something" is in the air. They watch Doomsday Specials on the History Channel and call me during the commercials. "Is … [Read more...]
What Not To Change About Graphic Design
Graphic Design and its extended family are rotating at a constant tilt these days. Adobe upgrades about once a year now ; design programs you’ve invested thousands of dollars in are obsolete before you take a deep breath. Lots of technologies are going downstream - stuff that some of us even grew up with (like books !). Graphic Design has become a household word and a very popular Major in lots of universities. There are more "graphic designers" than ever… the kid down the block with some time … [Read more...]