NO Death Penalty

Nebraska State Senator Ernie Chambers has been fighting to put an end to the death penalty in our state for 40 years. In 2015, our state lawmakers actually succeeded in repealing the death penalty. Then, our heartless governor overrode that ban and recently had someone executed. It’s a heartbreaking tale of money being more powerful than the will of the people. But, Senator Chambers won’t give up. We won’t give up.

To highlight this long fight to stop the death penalty, I’m offering this badass print of Ernie Chambers getting ready for action. All proceeds will be donated to Nebraskans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.

We will not go quietly into the night! We must end this barbaric practice of state-sponsored murder! All power to the people!

NO DEATH PENALTY!

On Fahrenheits

I went to Fahrenheit 9/11 in the theater back in 2004. At that time, it felt like most people were in favor of that dumb War in Iraq and having a dissenting opinion on the matter wasn’t advised. So going to a theater full of people who were mad about the war and were proud to show it ended up being a powerful experience. If you had doubts about how many people were against the war, the theater experience helped provide a solid visual to all the dissenters out there. We weren’t alone, we were all pissed, and we were not going to be quiet about it.

Having just watched Fahrenheit 11/9 in the theater, there are some obvious differences between the two. And some similarities.

First, the differences. In 2004 Michael Moore told me more things that were new. Before the instant breaking news provided by iPhone alerts and Twitter feeds, or the in-depth coverage by Vice News and John Oliver, Michael Moore’s deep dive was key because it was fresh. And the political podcast wasn’t as prevalent. So where else would the alternative viewpoint be found? Also at that time, I wasn’t quite sure how to respond to the despair of war in the air. Going to the theater to see the film seemed just as constructive as anything else. There wasn’t a wave of new and exciting candidates at every level. Activism wasn’t everywhere. Knocking doors, signing postcards, calling voters, those things were there but didn’t seem to carry the importance they do today. Why go see a movie when you can go march with the candidate who is running on the issues you can fully support? 

And then the similarities. The tone, the delivery, the wit, and the seriousness of the issues we all face. In this case, it happens to be not only about Trump, but also an American Dream that is slipping through the grasp of more and more people. And the ideals of America, the freedom and justice for all viewpoint we’ve never really had, well we’re in danger of that never being full realized. We are moving into a corporate dystopia of dog-eat-dog capitalism that sells a livable future only to those who can afford it. Want to drink clean water? Want to be  safe from gun violence? Only if you can pay the premium price.  

I’ve always been a fan of Michael Moore. Especially Bowling for Columbine, Roger & Me, and Sicko, all of those are amazing documentaries worthy of being watched at least once. When people tell me they just don’t like that Michael Moore guy, I usually think they don’t like laughing at power. Because that’s what he does. He makes you laugh at the absurdity of power and once that happens, you can see the kinks in the armor. And then you can come up with a plan of attack you can use to take with you out into the world. That’s why he’s important. That’s why he matters. Go see his latest, and then go back through the catalog. It’s definitely worth your time.

The Poster Project

On National Voter Registration Day, in advance of the 2018 election on November 6th, Wide Eye launched a poster challenge:

… a broad cohort of American designers have gathered together to produce original works to help GOTV (Get Out The Vote!) and inspire people to the polls on election day. Voting and civic engagement have never been more important, and design and art have an important role to play. All posters below are shareable, downloadable, and printable on a Creative Commons license.

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How are things?

An alternative to good, frustrating, or busy. Some qualifiers:

Culturally
How are things going in the culture you’re living in? How’s your street? Your neighborhood? Your city? 

Politically
Local or national, how are the politics as you’re seeing them? What would you like them to be?

Professionally
How’s your work going? Is the day-to-day treating you well? How’s your career looking these days?

Personally
In your personal life, are you growing? Are you fulfilled? Are you living the life you want to live? 

I don’t like small talk. Who does? But I often peddle small talk without giving it much thought. It’s like a default. Which bums me out. So I want to be more intentional about my interactions. Having these 4 buckets top of mind, big and broad, I think gives enough of a prompt while allowing the details to be filled in depending on the person you’re talking with. Getting to more meaningful, casual conversation is something I’m concerned with. I can see this setup helping get there.

New Book: The Evening and The Owl

... as we sang out with the earth ... quiet, then loud ... loud, then quiet ... under the black sky as a human so small, so insignificant, so unable to effect much in the grand scheme of all these things. earth, sky, universe. at once a bright shining beacon, at once someone so common place, at once moving off into the twilight, at once an after thought. here we all were, an established group of stragglers, spouting off to and fro, out into the world landing where we landed without much of a second thought. and then we were gone. separated into the infinite void of space and time and memory. can you paint a single picture of your existence? do you even want to try? what will you force into a drawing you can actually read from a distance? what happens when you zoom in? are those lines refined or are those lines rough? what happens when everything explodes? from the big bang onward, how did we end up here? are we being looked after? are we crafting stories to put something up there overhead? does it comfort us? my alphabet never felt all that complete. it wasn’t enough. if it ever becomes enough, i’d be worried. these aren’t the times to be getting complacent. write your stories because they’re all we ever will have. write them now, and then be gone!

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The Social Media Eye

— via Joe’s Journal —

Today, we are in danger of developing a “[Social Media Eye]”: our brains always looking for moments where the ephemeral blur of lived experience might best be translated into a [post]

Have you ever been living a moment and thought you must stop, freezing in space and time, whip out your phone and snap a pic with the intention of posting it to any number of social media outlets? Sure you have. I know I have. Many, many times.

So what happened first, social media or my instinct to tell (or show) someone else about something that was happening to me? It’s the latter. The former just being a natural technological extension of our human need to share.

Where do we go from here? Do we get obsessed with sharing everything or do we share only what we want people to see or do we only share things directly with our close friends and family or do we choose to not participate? Depending on the day, maybe all of those?

What kind of American?

– My latest on Medium –

We are a country of gaps, with an increasing distance between a life of achievement, economic prosperity, career accomplishment, and enriching relationships for some and a life of suffering, squalor, degradation, and loneliness for others. We have chosen to allow these gaps to happen and we let them persist.

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