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Archive for awesome!

Why jump?

October 15, 2012 awesome!, brainmeats 2 comments

This weekend Felix Baumgartner did an amazing thing. More than one, really. He jumped out of a tiny capsule, over 24 miles above the ground, wearing nothing but a pressure suit. He broke the speed of sound on the way down, with nothing but that pressure suit to protect him. He fell for nine minutes, nine whole minutes – which is a damn long time to fall – and then landed on his feet.

And yet I saw people going on: “Why would he do this?” “What’s the point?” “This is stupid/silly.”

Those people make me very sad.

Imagine is the Wright Brothers had decided that flying for a few seconds was silly and useless and what was the point anyway, it was just a few seconds. Pushing humanity to its limits, exploring to the edges of the map, climbing higher and going deeper – this is what makes humanity wonderful! We explore and create and constantly test ourselves. It teaches us endless things about our world and our bodies and spirit.

Without the explorers and risk-takers we would be in the tress still. Actually we would still be in the ocean thinking it wasn’t worth it to bother going any further than we were then.

What will this jump do for us right now – probably nothing more (as if it is minor) than remind us how beautiful and wonderful humanity is. But in the longer term we just don’t know. You couldn’t get to an F-18 Hornet from the Wright Brothers. This data will at the least help with emergency bail-outs on space missions. At the further end who the hell knows.

Science is like that. You don’t just fund the clear path items. If we hadn’t funded, say, quantum research (which at the time was useless stuff that didn’t have real world applications) we wouldn’t have computers the way we do today at all. Microprocessors rely on the information from that early “useless” research.

Stop wondering why people are doing silly, risky things and realize that those are the people working to, in ways we often can’t even imagine yet, push humanity further. Cherish them, because we need them to survive and evolve and become even more than we are today.

We all need to have a little bit more of that in ourselves, I think. A bit more of that willingness to just… jump.

INTERVIEW: Backup Ribbon Project

October 3, 2012 awesome!, interviews One comment

I came across the Backup Ribbon Project… I’m not honestly sure. One day they weren’t on my radar and the next they were. Since then I’ve done some digging and both them and the wider Backup Project do good work, and work that needs more of a spotlight shone on it. There are two people behind the Backup Ribbon Project though I don’t know who they are. I do know it doesn’t matter. They answer as one person, and it makes no difference.

For a bit of background on the Project though: In 2008 the two people who eventually started the BRP saw a woman being harassed at a convention and noticed no one was doing anything to help. So they did. And that got them thinking. They got involved with the overall Backup Project and started to print up ribbons – giving them away to people who requested them. As they say on their site:

If you take a Backup ribbon or you wear a Backup t-shirt, you are promising one very simple thing: You WILL help out anybody being harassed. Gender, orientation, presentation is irrelevant. You WILL find a way to help, whether by directly intervening, getting help from elsewhere, or simply listening the person being harassed. You WILL be there for them. You WILL accept that they believe they have been harassed. You WILL NOT question them or doubt them, You WILL give them whatever help they wish.

No judgment. No exceptions. We got your back.

So with that in mind, let’s talk to the fine folk in charge of the BRP:
Read more

Now in paper form.

August 21, 2012 awesome!, brainmeats No comments

The other month I decided to bite the bullet and get a logo for myself. It’s scary paying a designer for a logo. Maybe that’s just me. Still, for me, paying someone to discuss and design a logo that worked for me, for all my stuff, was a bit odd. I do it myself. I make happily mostly crappy but serviceable logos.

Except I needed to stop and make one logo that would do everywhere. It was just time. And so I went to Dylan Todd (also here on twitter). I’d been a fan of his logo design for a while, so the chance to work with him made it more fun.

And we chatted some and he went off to his DesignCave (it’s like a Batcave, but cooler, I think) and came back with the goods. And now I have a logo that works in a horizontal and square form and is good for websites, banners at cons and biz cards. And anything else I might need to put a logo on.

So I ordered new cards, planning on having cards that didn’t look like crap for the first time ever. They came in last night:

Uhhh. Yeah. They are awesome.

So, remember: don’t be afraid to hire an awesome designer when you need one.

Hooray logos!

In Sound From Way Out

August 2, 2012 awesome!, music No comments

On my desk at the day job I still have my radio. This is a double cassette deck / CD / radio I got in ’93. It hasn’t been used in about three years but it still works. Except the CD player. That’s kinda iffy, honestly. It has an AKIRA sticker on top. This was my only radio from ’93-’99 and then when I took this job it ended up on my desk and was the office sound machine for many years until we switched to Pandora on a communal machine.

Today I was joking about it with a coworker and absently popped the cassette decks open. And there was, in Deck 1, a tape. and I looked at it and smiled.

It is still one of the best releases ever. I have long since replaced my copy, and the only thing I have that plays cassettes is this one radio no my desk still (why is it still here – no one knows, but it is).

I should put it back, for emergency Funk reasons.

Write. Play. Repeat. (the live show)

May 4, 2012 awesome!, news, NY Life, writing 8 comments

I love writing. You know what else I’ve found I kinda love? Being up on a stage and telling stories to an audience, in person. It’s not something I almost ever get to do. Luckily, my good friend Juliana Finch (Singer, songwriter, smart person) has let me share a stage with her before.

We want to do it again.

Please note a few things about that poster:

THING NUMBER ONE: The time and date are not filled in.

THING NUMBER TWO: The show’s audio will be recorded and released on the internet.

These are both important. The show would take place in Atlanta. In June. We’re thinking June 22nd, it’s a Friday. But we have to book a venue. And when you book a venue for a strange show like ours, they like to know people will be coming.

Right now we don’t know if anyone wants to come to our show. Seriously, this is a problem. We really wanna do this, but we need to know if people are interested. It’s 2+ hours of Juliana singing and me telling stories and both of us discussing, with each other and the people around us (that’s you) the creative process.

HINT: The creative process often includes cookies.

This show will make us no money. Actually we’re gonna lose a lot of money doing it. I mean, to be perfectly honest with you – we will each lose decent money. There’s travel, set-up, time… it’s not the cheapest thing in the world. And we still want to do it. Because we love it and we thing you’ll love it. But you need to let us know that you want to see it, that you’re interested in our brand of madness.

As for why the recorded audio part is important, well… partly because even if you aren’t there you will get to hear the show! But also because this could be the start of something bigger. But it can’t be if we don’t do it.

We’re not asking for money. We’re not asking for anything other than people who are interested simply tell us they are interested. That’s all. If you are in the Atlanta area, or will be in late June and want to see a show that doesn’t come around often (we did the last one 2 years ago, lord) – just let us know.

Validate our existences, people! We’re needy artists! C’mon!

…ahem. I mean… You know… Whatever. We’re cool either way. No big deal.

…we love you…