Epic.

Read for yourself.

“And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day.”

It’s because you need to switch from the visual mode to the HTML mode.

the much-maligned, but enjoyed by me.

Short Film: “Gentlemen of the Road”

Enjoy.

Here’s a key quote from Adele Stan’s profile on Alternet:

“One of the most radical acts you can do as a journalist right now — the most important act you can do as a journalist — is the simple act of explanation,” Hayes says. “And you see this on a micro scale, [for example, in] financial regulation on the Hill, where it’s like the complexity and the arcane details are the friends of the entrenched powers.”

Chris touches on a theme that I think will be a big part of “The Jigsaw.” Heres why. . .

Not because I’ll be in the business of “the simple act of explanation.” There are better writers and outlets for that (I’ll try to point to them as much as possible). But, I have an abiding belief that we can all take more personal responsibility–as Citizens of the US and, of course, the world–to help ourselves and those in our social network to see beyond the “complexity and the arcane details” that allow the “entrenched powers” to have their way in the corridors of power.

But, fair warning: It’s won’t be enough to simply understand the arcane details–that’s just the first step. We then need to have the discipline, creativity and determination act deliberately and relentlessly to unwind the mangled knots of the systems and institutions that are failing most Americans. Choose the products you buy more carefully. Consume more high quality news sources. Share ideas and opportunities with your social network. Do the small things. Make personal sacrifices to support good causes. Reward good behavior and punish bad behavior–of both individuals, brands and institutions.

I know how hard this is going to be. A decade of political organizing, research and communications strategy have made that abundantly clear. But, I couldn’t go much longer without setting up a little space to do my part. Let me know what you think.

More to come. . .

I recently finished reading the epic rock ‘n roll autobiography of Keith Richards. Interesting to learn that Keith Richards studied advertising before he dropped out and started The Rolling Stones. So, it was little surprise when he attributed”Beatlemania” and “Stone Mania” to an “advertising windup.”

By the late 50′s, teenagers were a targeted new market, an advertising windup. “Teenager” comes from advertising; it’s quite cold-blooded. Calling them teenagers created a whole thing amongst teenagers themselves, a self-consciousness. It created a market not just for clothes and cosmetics, but also for music and literature and everything else; it put that age group in a separate bag. And there was an explosion, a big hatch of pubescents around that time. Beatlemania and Stone mania. These were chicks that were just dying for something else. Four or five skinny blokes provided the outlet, but they would have found it somewhere else.

super underrated international pop sensation

My selections are depicted here. Big shout to Frasier, our able host with a heavy “sample” pour.