Archive for the ‘Spirit’ Category

Cover art for In Rainbows // journal // hicksdesign

Tuesday, November 13th, 2007

Cover art for In Rainbows // journal // hicksdesignThis is a great page – I downloaded (and yes I paid for) Radiohead In Rainbows recently – lots of cool ideas here for cover art.  

Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy – Katie’s Crew

Saturday, November 10th, 2007

 From my friend Nick – here is a great idea for charity giving this year: Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy – Katie’s CrewNick Says: “Spinal Muscular Atrophy.  It’s a degenerative muscle disease.  Derivative of muscular dystrophy.  My niece has it.  She’s been in a wheelchair her whole life. Pretty brutal. ”

Take a moment today – to remember

Tuesday, September 11th, 2007

Remember Sept. 11, 2001.  The other day Maia (my 12 year old) was doing an assignment on this terrible event for school. She had hit the site September 11 Digital Archive and was reading some stories and/or pictures to find one that most “moved” her. I came down to see her crying and Daniel (her brother) not really understanding what was wrong.  She had read a story about 11 firefighters that had died in the rescue attempt and she was devastated.  I love my children and can only protect them for now but give them what they need to make it in the world – whatever world its like when they are in my shoes.  I hope we all do what we can to change things so this never happens again, whether its at a national level if you have the power or in your home teaching what is right and wrong – to change your world. Peace. 

What keeps you up at night – again

Wednesday, September 5th, 2007

I wish I could write what I’m feeling right now. Previous related posts: what keeps you up at night Or better yet:  the ground is dark..  Lets just say my passion and my patience at “work” are at odds right now.

Swift Sweet Rush

Thursday, May 31st, 2007

Swift Sweet Rush

Swift Sweet Rush by Jim Charanis

Took a bunch at Maia’s recital but this one of her and her friend running across the bridge in euphoric enthusiasm before the performance was candid. Funny how things work out – life is what happens when you are making plans.

Derek Art – Illustration, Serigraphs, Paintings, and Tiki Mugs

Tuesday, May 29th, 2007

Derek Art – Illustration, Serigraphs, Paintings, and Tiki Mugs

A friend with a very cool website but the real cool is the stuff he does. If you like retro 60’s funky comic meets Africa meets tiki; or want to hire an artist, Derek is your man.

Billion-Dollar Kiss

Sunday, May 13th, 2007

Our friend and Neighbor Jeffrey Stepakoff has been writing over the past few years while hiding out in our quite southern neighborhood. Well not too quiet – we all have kids as do he and Elizabeth. I’d been wondering what he was up to after his successful career of TV writing in L.A. Someone with his talent cannot stop writing for long. Enjoy:

Billion-Dollar Kiss 

Amazon.com: Billion-Dollar Kiss: The Kiss That Saved Dawson’s Creek and Other Adventures in TV Writing: Books: Jeffrey Stepakoff

Barnes & Noble.com – Books: Billion-Dollar Kiss, by Jeffrey Stepakoff, Hardcover

Supertramp – today and yesterday

Sunday, April 8th, 2007

The kids love to torture each other – My “literal” Daniel cannot stand that song Cupid’s Chokehold by Gym Class Heros because they sample the Supertramp song – Breakfast In America and what is worse they blend two different parts of the song – putting the “badadadum” right after the “take a look at my girlfriend” – and it is a hoot to watch Maia torture him when I sing the original supertramp version and she simplyl floats in a “badadadum” right after that part.

got me thinking of the standard – we all worked hard to learn the lyrics to. It would work today just as easily…The Logical Song

Supertramp – The Logical Song Lyrics

When I was young
It seemed that life was so wonderful
A miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical
And all the birds in the trees
Well they’d be singing so happily
Oh joyfully, oh playfully watching me
But then they sent me away
To teach me how to be sensible
Logical, oh responsible, practical
And they showed me a world
Where I could be so dependable
Oh clinical, oh intellectual, cynical

There are times when all the world’s asleep
The questions run too deep
For such a simple man
Won’t you please, please tell me what we’ve learned
I know it sounds absurd
But please tell me who I am

Now watch what you say
Or they’ll be calling you a radical
A liberal, oh fanatical, criminal
Oh won’t you sign up your name
We’d like to feel you’re
Acceptable, respectable, oh presentable, a vegetable

At night when all the world’s asleep
The questions run soo deep
For such a simple man
Won’t you please, please tell me what we’ve learned
I know it sounds absurd
But please tell me who I am, who I am, who I am, who I am

Album Covers and contents

Sunday, January 21st, 2007

Remember those days when we had LP’s and Albums? My brother and I exchanged an email about this:

Neil Said: “…our kids will never know from records. I used to love looking at the art work and all the cool stuff. It’s official: We’re old.”

Yea – I already ranted about that – but he also really has a good point. That was a part of listening to albums. Sitting around in your family room or bedroom. Listening to the latest album from The Who, Styx, Bruce or KISS. It was like your birthday every time you scraped together enough to go get one. I remember getting bootleg albums of DEVO with my fellow fans early in their history – and the odd art work the producers put together was all part of it.

If you download iTunes (free) and use it to keep your library of music you know that they have added the “thumbing through your album collection” feature for one of the “views”. I think Steven Jobs (CEO Apple) is nostalgic that way. In fact, though, DVD’s will probably replace CD’s as some point in terms of music delivery because there is only room for music on them and a DVD allows for extra stuff – the stories, pictures, etc. And downloads are making them obsolete. Sometimes when you download a “full CD” from iTunes – usually 9.99 vs. .99 for the song you get a .pdf of information, art work, etc. Or even a video. I think everyone is hungry for that – meaning Baby Boomers and us “tweenies” that had that as kids. So that’s my prediction, blue-ray DVD’s with high fidelity (Hi Fi CD’s never became popular). It fits in well with our passive culture, sit around and let them tell us what to think. Wow us with special effects. Eventually though, with bandwith, it will also all be available on-line.

Referencing the Post “Why is this CD Giant?” 

Daddy, Why are the CD’s Giant?

Saturday, January 20th, 2007

Sophia with an LP We were working in the basement and I said, “Hay kids, lets listen to some of dad’s old music.”

I have a turntable in my office in the basement. Sophia innocently asked..”Why are the CD’s Giant?” Never seen a record album before. People like to look back at baby boomers and my grandparents – regarding teh stuff they never had. Like color TV or TV at all.  We remember when there were the first microwaves, personal computers, vcr’s, and cassette tapes. Yes – in the 4 years in college I went from a typewriter and learning COBOL on a Prime Mainframe to an Apple IIe where I learned BASIC and then an IBM PC where I learned WordStar. But Sophia didn’t even know what she was looking at.  The bigger kids had since They have seen DJ’s and my records before. She is 6, time flew by and I hadn’t introduced her to those old songs yet, well those old albums, we have DaveFM here that plays all my old songs (over and over and over).  Keep looking folks, it all changes fast.