by David on June 26, 2009
I have always loved music. Always. Michael Jackson played a huge part in shaping my taste in music and even my style as a singer and musician.
My first cassette player was this futuristic looking white cube with round corners. It had AM/FM radio and a really long silver antenna. My first cassette tape to go with my shiny white player was Off The Wall by Michael Jackson. It was 1979 and I was almost 11 years old. I played that tape over and over while playing in my back yard and swinging on the swing set. Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough, Rock With You, Workin’ Day and Night, and She’s Out of My Life were incredible songs and I memorized them all.
Michael is 10 years older than me. Some of my best memories in junior high and high school included Michael Jackson’s music as a big part of the soundtrack. Growing up in a small town of 1,200 people, there wasn’t a lot to do, so I escaped through music. From teaching myself to play the piano, to learning how to moonwalk, I was all about the music. I was in the music and the music was in me. Please don’t laugh, but I even made my own sequined glove. And, yes of course, I owned replicas of the jackets he wore in “Beat It” and “Thriller”.
Michael was a pioneer, breaking through stereotypes, racial barriers, music genres and more. From learning to emulate the high vocal tricks he sang on The Way You Make Me Feel to watching the Thriller and Smooth Criminal video tapes in my VCR, over and over again, I felt a strong connection with Michael.
I was just a white kid from Quinton, Oklahoma, but Michael Jackson connected me to something bigger in the world. Music, dance, creative videography, fashion, style and soul. It’s a sad day today for people my age as we reflect on Michael Jackson, and his music and impact on each of us. My generation loved you Michael (whether they admit it or not) and you will be missed. Thanks for opening my eyes and ears and heart to more than I probably even realize.
Thanks for some of the best music of my generation. Love ya Michael.
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by David on June 19, 2009
It’s iPhone 3Gs day today! I got my shiny, 32GB white one today via FedEx!
While I’m glad I have it and was able to get it on “Day 1″, there’s a little part of me that wishes I could have gone to the Apple store in Tulsa, OK, to buy it there. I’m a geek. I love the experience of physically going to the store and buying the latest, greatest gadget. It’s more than buying the gear, it’s rubbing elbows with other tech aficionados, geeksters and gawkers. It’s fun. It’s exciting. It’s the kind of moment I look forward to.
Yesterday, at the Fort Smith AdClub meeting our special guest speaker was Susan Saurage. She gave a great presentation about trends. One thing that jumped out at me was the part where she mentioned that people are all about the EXPERIENCE. We don’t want to just Google it or read a Wiki on it… we want to live it… total submersion… full-tilt. Since our time is more compressed than ever before, the free time we do have is precious, we want to relish the moment and live life to the fullest. I am totally a believer in this way of life. I work hard. VERY HARD. I also play hard… maybe even harder. I’m a huge believer in Steven Covey’s Rule #7 - Sharpening The Saw. Sure we all have stuff to do, in fact, most of us may never see our To-Do lists fully checked off. As we wrap up one task or project, there’s always some new things - the next thing - to take its place. We have to schedule time away from work to rejuvenate and recharge. Which leads me back to the “experience or events”.
Seth Godin highlights Spectacles in his blog today. People love big events… happenings… spectacles. I find several interesting things to do throughout the year. Things that I’ve never done before or that I liked so much, I want to do again. Events & destinations to look forward to. They lie ahead on my calendar, throbbing, beckoning me to push through a dip or make something wonderful happen for a client so I can afford (both monetarily and time-wise) to participate in the next fun event or spectacle.
What big events drive you? What do you look forward to every year? What spectacle could you start?
Code is a big part of our lives whether we realize it or not. There’s our genetic code (DNA). There’s the WordPress code that’s helping display this site/post you’re currently reading. There’s the code used to write the software for your browser… the code that your computer’s operating system is made of. We have pin codes for debit cards, access codes, we often speak in code. We live in zip codes. Our contact phone numbers are organized by area code. Last night, for the first time, I watched The Da Vinci Code. And in the Matrix, Neo was the code… You get the idea… a lot of code in our lives! Code everywhere.
Here in the U.S.A. we’re mostly familiar with bar codes. From the back of our driver’s license to the self-checkout at Walmart or Home Depot, bar codes are a part of our daily lives. If you haven’t noticed, there are other, newer kinds of bar codes out there. Maybe you’ve seen these odd looking images on packages, mail or some other place.
QR codes are matrix codes or a two-dimensional bar code were developed in Japan by Denso-Wave back in 1994. These codes are huge in Japan right now as a fun, easy way to display a lot of information in a small image. Using mobile phone cameras, people can snap pictures of the QR codes and then decode them. This has become a great tool for anything shopping, getting to know people or simply learning more about a person, place or thing. You can even have QR codes containing your information made into clothing and other items like scarves and such.
I have an iPhone app named Barcodes by Christian Brunschen that can snap pics and decode several different kinds of bar codes.
Besides QR codes there are other image/bar codes such as Shot Code, Aztec Code, the BeeTagg, and much more.
The above image is a QR code containing my contact information.
To learn more about QR codes or generate a few QR codes of your own, check out these handy sites, or just Google QR codes. Have fun!
Wikipedia | Kaywa QR Code Generator | delivr | BeeTagg
We’ve had an incredible past couple days welcoming the newest addition to our family. Now it’s time to get back to work. I’m so thankful that I’m able to work from home now. It’s a true blessing but does take discipline. The lava lamp is on and the music is pumping. About to make a cup of hot tea with a few shots of Boosta to really get things going.
Lots to do today, so here we go!
