October 2011
1 post
The Beginning
The opening paragraph of the story I began writing two nights ago:
That morning, I took a shower, shaved, and put on my favorite pair of Levi’s, a plain white t-shirt, and my suede work boots. I put a box of Camel cigarettes and a lighter into one pocket. In the other, I put all the money I had: a dollar bill and eighty-five cents in change. I lifted my pack into the trunk of a...
August 2011
1 post
In defense of slow design
Yesterday, I discovered an essay called “Slow Design,” written by Callie Neylan, by way of the Phoenix Designers Group on Facebook. A few minutes later, the hum of the neighborhood from my back patio dimmed, the streets went quiet, the wind lulled to a breath. A quote from Callie’s manifesto for a return to slow, deliberate, mindful design:
May suitable doses of guaranteed...
July 2011
2 posts
My other bio
For years, I’ve maintained multiple versions of a personal biography that has been used on conference sites, publishing sites, and in books. There is a long version, a short version, and a 50-words-or-less version. There are versions for print, and versions for the web. There are even headshots to go alongside them—multiple looks, in multiple sizes and resolutions. I’ve used these...
Remembering Tyler
It was two years ago today that my ex-wife and I packed up his leash, favorite toys, and crate, and drove Tyler to his new home. Once so terrified of people that he cowered and froze at the slightest gesture, Tyler had become a loving, playful, and loyal companion. He’d discovered toys. He’d learned to trust the affection of a human being. He’d found joy in lying in the sunlight...
June 2011
1 post
Big Deal: A short excerpt
An excerpt from the introduction of Big Deal: On Being Famous to Fifteen People, which I intend to self-publish by the end of July:
For the past six years, I have been flown all over the world, put up in great hotels, fed great dinners, introduced to amazing people, offered a microphone, and paid for taking it.
I know, it sounds great. And in and of itself, it is great. I won’t lie. But this...
May 2011
1 post
Big Deal: On Being Famous to Almost No One
For the past several years, I have been steadily enjoying the spoils of success that have come on the back of professional notoriety. I have been flown all over the world, put up in great hotels, fed great dinners, introduced to brilliant and interesting people, offered a microphone, and paid for taking it.
And yes, this has been amazing. I won’t lie.
But in my endless pursuit to impress...
March 2011
1 post
What survives
I’m a taiko player. And when I first heard the news of the tsunami in Japan, I have to admit, I thought first about the taiko. The destruction of one dojo, I thought, could destroy decades worth of work and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of beautiful, handcrafted drums.
That’s a taiko drum there to the right of the soldier.
This picture killed me. The entire area is...
June 2010
1 post
The Situation of Red Ink
When I turned in the first draft of the first chapter of my first book, I felt confident. I’d always felt confident as a writer. I was, after all, the guy other people always came to when they wanted help with their own writing. What reason did I have to be nervous?
When I got the chapter back from my editor, it oozed with corrections. They gushed out from every paragraph. Every sentence....
March 2010
3 posts
Praying in the City of Angels
“Please turn off all electronic devices,” she said as the plane started to back away from the gate. While shoving my iPhone into my pocket, the guy in the seat next to me touched his right hand to his forehead, then his chest, then waved it toward each shoulder. The Sign of the Cross. I was flying to Los Angelos — the City of Angels. Somehow, it made sense. Two minutes later, out on...
The Fallacy of Citizen Journalism
Long lines be damned — the most fervent session I witnessed at SXSW 2010 was in a near-empty room at the Hilton, across the street from the convention center, where a crowd of just thirty or so gathered to battle out the definition and utility of citizen journalism. From the back row, I watched and listened and wondered. What is citizen journalism? The thirty others, it appeared, were there to...
Death by lawnmower
I had managed to go three whole months without mowing the lawn even once. But just three weeks after finishing the tiresome task, weeds had taken over the front yard, the unwelcome result of a spree of desert rain. Procrastinating just long enough to become the last remaining neighbor with a disheveled lawn, I pulled out the lawnmower this afternoon and did my job. Sweeping up with a push broom,...
December 2009
6 posts
A tuque of a different color
I can’t say I ever considered wearing a tuque until Jefrey Zeldman, godfather of the web standards movement, put the full weight of his micro-celebrity behind his self-forged annual Blue Beanie Day. Having turned the knit cap into an icon of the web industry by appearing in one on the cover of his bestselling tech book, Designing with Web Standards, Zeldman used the fitted tuque as the...
Halle
She was being hunted by the Phoenix police right in front of our house. One of the two officers told me they received a call about a pit bull chasing people down the street. When I approached her, she trotted away from me. When I got down on the ground into a play position and tapped my hands on the gravel in the alley, she trotted back, then past me, then out onto the street again. When I got her...
Learning to Draw in 1,000 Words or Less
My dad taught me how to draw when I was seven years old. We sat on the floor of his bedroom, leaning against the bed, and I watched as he sketched a farmhouse scene, complete with a tractor and wooden fence. I looked at the rough lines and swooned. Those lines, made by sweeping a #2 pencil across a piece of notebook paper without any thought, were beautiful. Magical. A more polished drawing would...
The Risk of Smoking in New York
The decision to move to Boston to be with Christine was easy. The act of moving could have been a lot easier. At the very least, I should have been more practical when considering what I’d do once I got there. Where I’d live. How I’d make money. But I didn’t think through any of these things, even during my two and half days as a passenger on a series of Greyhound buses...
The Drum Stool
The drum stool sits on the hardwood floor, pushed up against the wall, its full weight born by the rubber grips on the feet of its three legs. Each leg is made of two 18” metal bars that run parallel to each other, connected at the end so they fit together into the rubber foot. Where they connect, a single metal bar extends inward to the stool’s center support pole. The bars from all...
Outside of himself
Just three or so short years before finding complete and utter happiness, Marc was in a very different mood. No job. No clear ambition. Just a bass guitar, an indie-rock band, and a few good friends. I was one of them.
Whenever I visited the modest two-story condo he shared with three of our disheveled and disorganized 19-year-old mutual friends, Marc would ask, “Did you want to take me to...