whole brevity thing
the dude abides (bryan jones)polaroids from the edge
It’s an unwritten rule that when you take a family vacation to the beach, at some point you must get the family dressed up and head to the shore for the group pics. I used to dread this event. With. A. Passion. When the kids were younger I had to resort to scary big daddy voice in order to get them to line up and smile. I mean, smile at the same time. In the same millisecond. Instead of handing them a story to remember, I handed them a nightmare to run away from. It didn’t work out the way I wanted.
being malcolm gladwell
I am very thankful for Malcolm Gladwell. Thankful for his mind (the things that he finds fascinating) and his heart (the way he shares about those fascinating things).
Gladwell’s latest publication, What The Dog Saw, is a collection of essays that he has written for the New Yorker. The content may not be new, but it carries a sense of timelessness about it. I think that is due to how much interest he has in the subject about which he is writing. He is highly passionate without being intrusive, a truly amazing feat, and he is careful without being reserved; equally impressive.
I’d like to show you what I mean. Take this article written in 1999 for example, True Colors. Do you see it, too?
I’m out of words now…
zombieland
I blame @ghidotti
#LRTweetup killed my blog.
Before I gave myself fully over to the microblog, I was cranking out three posts a week to wholebrevitything.com, but then the 140-character miracle took over my social life, and I found a truer whole brevity thing. Okay, maybe it didn’t kill this blog, but I need someone/something to blame. I love to blog, but as far as time investment goes, Twitter is just way too easy.
I joined Twitter in the fall of ’07, but I did not really become an active user until the following summer when I got hooked on @Loopt. Loopt was the bridge that moved me from Facebook to Twitter. I went from tweeting once or twice a month to tweeting like ten whole times a week.
The Little Rock Twitter scene raised it’s head above water in the fall of ’08, and then really took off in the Spring of 2009 – I blame Lance Turner and his LR Twitter directory. Yes, back then, there were so few Little Rock folks using Twitter that Lance could house all of our names in a single blog post.
Soon, the idea of this crew getting together in person started churning and then this happened:
I jumped in with a two word commitment
I’ll save you the chronology of the next twelve months of this community’s growth, but that first night was an awesome experience of having drinks with a competitor, meeting amazing young talent, discovering how hilarious @robertblake truly is, and learning that there really was a person behind the pseudonym, @tsudo.
If it doesn't have a hashtag, it didn't happen
It has been very difficult for me to put into words how LRTweetup has crossed Twitter over from an online chat into real world relationships, so let me get all PowerPointy on you:
- This has turned my colleagues into my friends.
- This has nurtured kindred spirits out of profile pics.
- This has shot the hell out of Dunbar’s number.
- I have hired two people because I first got to know and trust them through this local Twitter community.
- This community have shown me real, tangible love and concern.
- My heart goes out to these folks when their lives get sideways, and I really do smile with them when they stumble into happiness. (however, I will never LOL)
It is surreal how real these LRTweetup connections have become. I feel very lucky to have found a place with these friends. Maybe I can get these folks to help me kick start this blog back to life.
I’m out of words now…
(ps. If you haven’t been following #LRTweetup Stories, I think that it would really be worth your time to do so.)
a simple twist of fa(ith)
This entire day has felt sideways. It’s as if my reality has shifted a bit. Strangely, it feels eerily similar to when we first brought our newborn daughter home from the hospital a dozen years ago. I clearly remember how impossible it was to sleep that first night. I was so worried that at some point in the night that she might stop breathing. Burned into my memory from that night was the realization that my strength has some very definite limits. That night I learned the meaning of faith. “Please, dear God, let my daughter live through the night. Please keep my little angel safe from harm.”
There was no reason to fear that something bad would happen, her body was very strong and healthy. The problem was with me – I had no power to control the situation. I could make sure that she was in safe surroundings. But that night, that was all that I could control, and I was not prepared for such a realization. Read the rest of this entry »
saving silverman vol.46
Nick Drake
Your reaction to the discovery of Nick Drake’s music may have been different than mine. I had always been a music lover, but this was different music. This music was organic, and it was real. The words that he sang were his words. The music that he played was written by his hand. Not only that, but the music was delivered bare – stripped of production – without gimmicks and layers to hide behind. This music was what I needed to wash away the taste of Lita Ford and Vanilla Ice.
I found Nick Drake through a David Wilcox bootleg tape that had been passed around my college campus. At the end of a trip to see Wilcox perform live, I walked up to the stage following his show and talked to him as he packed away his gear. I didn’t want to be a fanboy that gushed about how wonderful his performance had been (and it was incredible) so I asked him about Nick. I wasn’t just trying to be cool, I really wanted to know who Nick Drake was. This was B.G. (Before Google) and the answer to every question wasn’t available at your fingertips.
Wilcox’s eyes lit up when he answered, “Nick Drake was an amazing musician. He was a dreamer living in a world that didn’t have room for dreamers. He was run over by the train that he couldn’t stop.”
Beck covers Which Will originally recorded by Nick Drake.
I’m out of words now…
saving silverman vol.45
The Ode to Saving Silverman has moved to Monday!
Fearless Fighters of Foo
I love that are selfless men in this world ready to fight foo at a moment’s notice. They don’t ask why. They don’t do it for glory. It’s just about people helping people. Foo needs to be fought, and they are the chosen ones for the fighting.
Paramore covers My Hero originally recorded by Foo Fighters.
I’m out of words now…
