May 23, 2018 is the 6th annual charitable challenge for the city of Omaha. That’s right, Omaha Gives! is back. A huge day for the city to celebrate giving and building and working together to create a brighter future. More info can be found here. Join in the fun:
UPDATE: More than $7.37 million was raised for 960 nonprofits with 50,463 donations. Nice, nice work Omaha.
Election results were fresh. They stung. They hurt. They made me super depressed. They sucked the life out. Why, you ask? Because I knew what was at stake. And looking at what’s happened since Trump has been elected, I was right.
Anyway, on November 16, 2016 one of the greatest punk bands of all time took the stage at Omaha’s famed Sokol Auditorium. A year and half later, I still think about that night. A night of release, of obnoxiousness, of fuck-it-all-the-morning-will-be-no-better punk rock. It propelled us.
Me and a close group of friends. Of progressives who had previously assumed we, America, would be progressing in the coming years. Now confronted with complete and utter devastation to the fact that we wouldn’t be, well the only thing really left to do was to go to a punk rock show. And NOFX delivered a blood-splattering gut punch that let everyone in the audience all know we were fucked, but we were fucked together.
Fat Mike knew the situation. He was just as pissed off as I was and he had his signature sharp, cutting wit and a microphone. Bitching and moaning and talking shit. A cathartic display of fuck-it-all-this-sucks that felt like the last refuge in the oncoming dark night. That’s the beauty, the magic, the thrill of punk. We’ve always been fucked but we were together so it didn’t matter.
Now, you could argue that I’m a respectable citizen now. Good job, good income, good home. Well-read and well-fed. A professional existence that’s concerned about property taxes and saving for retirement. So not punk. Not punk at all.
But here’s the thing. Those of us who went through the punk scene know we’re held to a higher standard. We are better than this. And because of that, we focus on building, not consuming. We put our professional existence to use for the good of the cause.
NOFX mid-November 2016 was the only thing that could’ve kept me from total collapse. Because of them, the age of Trump was kicked off with a loud, sonic reminder we had a boot to the throat. That boot is still there, but the push back is gaining strength. And the vengeance will be real and it will be sweaty. Count on it.
From my discussion on the Voices Creating Change podcast with Amanda Stevenson, here are some of the things we covered in our 54 minutes:
You like podcasts, right? Of course you do. Voices Creating Change is a new podcast by Amanda Stevenson that seeks to be a force for change, a vehicle of expression, and a community for all social change initiatives through the arts. I just so happen to be Amanda’s guest on the 2nd episode. Check it out, give a listen.
We talk about punk rock, graphic design, Omaha, nonprofits, #MeToo, #NoKXL, Barack Obama, and a few of my favorite artists. There’s even some discussion about growing up in a small town, semi-trucks, and Weezer’s amazing first album. It’s good stuff.
Are you mad about the way things are? Beside yourself with “the way it is?” Over status quo? Excellent. That’s your starting point. Where you go next, that’s up to you.
But I will say one thing about the direction you shouldn’t take. Please, for the love of god, do not go with this:
I’m also so mad about the way some people involved are going about what I think needs to be done and I just know they are wrong and therefore I am going just be difficult and a naysayer.
Do not do this. Unless you don’t want to be effective. And if you haven’t heard, being effective is the name of the game. Not spouting off, whining about what someone else is doing, and then sitting at home.
Maybe this means complaining online about the direction a design community is taking. Or the way a nonprofit community is missing glaring issues. Or the way a political community isn’t taking hard enough stances. If you take the least effective path of not utilizing your time and treasure to improve the situation, well, then you are part of the problem. Not neutral, but negative.
Because the stakes are high and we can’t afford to have your energy sitting out because the picture isn’t exactly want you want to see. No, enough of that nonsense.
Paint another fucking picture. The time is now.
– My latest on Medium about a meal –
The meal takes place behind the parking lot of a fast food joint. A chicken place, like KFC. From a distance, hiding in the bushes, Man-at-Arms, Teela, and Gwildor snag a tub of chicken wings with the help of a grappling hook type of tool. Shoot out the hook, latch onto the tub, and pull in the target.
Do you want to spend your time thinking about selling things? Or thinking about improving things? Or thinking about making things? Or thinking about what’s now or what’s next?
