Distance; wants, needs?

Battling big decisions and how to proceed, that’s always difficult. Where do you want to go? Where do you need to go? Adding some distance can help.

Over the last few years, I’ve been able to take some very disconnected vacations. One time in particular, high above the Pacific, my mind wondered to all sorts of things. When it came to work, it was all about what to take on next. What collaborations to focus on. How to setup things to get certain types of clients. What personal projects would most challenge myself as well as bring the most enjoyment.

One potential endeavor I was battling in my mind, in the days before leaving on vacation, didn’t really come up. Maybe that’s because the distance proved I wasn’t all that into it, at a core level. Or maybe I was just shutting it out because I knew deep down it’s what I should do, despite it being the most disruptive and difficult.

Returning back into the flow of the working day-to-day, even though no exact answers presented themselves, the distance and the perspective it provided were valuable. What you hone in on at a distance should never be discounted. It could be the key to unlocking your path, where to go at the fork in the road, because it allows you to get out of your own way. 

All this outrage

Outrage fatigue. Yeah, I get it. Because there’s so much to be fucking mad at in this current moment. I mean good goddamn. 

Culture Break: 05/18

In order to call attention to the greatness all around us, the thinking and ideas moving our culture forward, every month I’m going to post a selection of the most interesting stuff/things I think you should know about.

Music, film, podcasts, books, TV, websites. Whatever breaks through the noise and touches the soul. In a time when it feels like beauty, storytelling, reflection, empathy, and creativity are being overlooked, this list will highlight examples of these in action. What we’re capable of when we’re at our best. If I miss something, please send it to me.

Janelle Monáe, Dirty Computer
ALBUM — Certainly the best new album of 2018 to this point. Janelle “my oh my” Monáe! I am currently being fully engulfed by the sensual, sonic creations of this fantastic collection of songs, start to finish. Partying hard, sex in the swimming pool? Yes, of course. The politics are powerful, the beats enthusiastic, the message inclusive. Yeah, I like it.

Young Fathers, Cocoa Sugar
ALBUM — I first heard Young Fathers on KEXP. I was in the office working away listening to the best radio station in the world when I was hit with this driving, melodic, unconventional sound. “Ooooh, what is this?” Whatever it is, it feels a little dangerous, a little prophetic, and a whole lot captivating. I loved White Men Are Black Men Too and this new album is even better.

Ugly Delicious
TV SHOW — In my attempts to get better at cooking, David Chang’s Netflix show gives me something to strive for. And new places to travel to for the food alone. His message of pushing forward the medium, getting good by copying, and celebrating the inclusive nature of food resonates in this time of our backwards politics of ruthless exclusion. I also have a new found appreciation for tacos. And I bought the book.

The Monk of Mokha
BOOK — I’m not ashamed to say I cried at one point while reading this book. Dave Eggers definitely knows how to paint a picture with his wit, charm, and direct delivery of the written word. An immigrant story of self-discovery and crazy adventure, it lets you know that an unwavering relentlessness might be the only thing we need to make our dreams come true. That, and plenty of coffee.

RBG
DOCUMENTARY — Go see RBG. Not only is Ruth Bader Ginsburg a total badass and wicked smart, the law is where the direction of our country is solidified. The law matters greatly. And voices like hers have made America better for so many people. Let’s hope she’s in the Supreme Court for (many) years to come.

Isle of Dogs
FILM — The new Wes Andersen is absolutely stunning. An amazing visual masterpiece with an infinite number of beautiful and precise compositions. To the critiques of it being problematic at best and at worst racist, my response seems to be, “I don’t know, I guess, but goddamn that soundtrack is fucking awesome.”

awards for good boys 
INSTAGRAM — I’ve been thinking a lot these days about what it means to be a man in this particular America at this particular time. This Instagram account does a good job of awarding good behavior. Like when you read the headline of the article about toxic masculinity and then share it on Facebook.

This Is America (Official Video)
VIDEO — The surreal new video from Childish Gambino is, surreal. Shirtless, groovin’ and shootin’ and spinnin’ and twistin’ and smokin’ and runnin’ ... The melodic singalongs brutally interrupted with violence, I guess that is America. Get down! 

I’m Not Black, I’m Kanye
ARTICLE — The latest from Ta-Nehisi Coates in The Atlantic on Kanye West’s embrace of Donald Trump. On the subject of freedom, at the heart of the article:

... a white freedom, freedom without consequence, freedom without criticism, freedom to be proud and ignorant; freedom to profit off a people in one moment and abandon them in the next; a Stand Your Ground freedom, freedom without responsibility, without hard memory; a Monticello without slavery, a Confederate freedom, the freedom of John C. Calhoun, not the freedom of Harriet Tubman, which calls you to risk your own.

MoAH @ KANEKO

Post-truth. Alternative facts. Propaganda networks. Confirmation bias. Cognitive dissonance. It’s all there. The Museum of Alternative History opens to the public Friday, June 1st. Part of the REALITY exhibition at KANEKO. Curated by Tim Guthrie with writing by Davis Schneiderman, performance by Doug Hayko, and I led the graphic design. We do, indeed, live in crazy times and this show fits right in.

Round and Round For Hire

The crew at Round and Round has officially launched a real, honest-to-goodness (Squarespace) website. Design in the ’Ha, yo. Putting the pieces together, ironed out into a cohesive presentation of information. Ya know, what websites do. Hire the team? Hire an individual? We’ll leave that to you.

A collaborative coworking space in midtown Omaha using design to help build a community where we all want to live.

Case Study

Cowork?

Show up, dig deep, shout out!

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.

NOFX the Fuck Out

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.