- 20MarRead More
The Start of Something New: Part 1
Las Vegas was hot. The sun beat down on my rental van as I pulled in front of the Mandalay Bay convention center glass doors. I had about 400 lbs of equipment in the back of the SUV, and the hike from the door, past the aquarium, up the little grade, to either elevator or […]
- 13JanRead More
Finding Your Spark During COVID, CTL ALT DELETE
Chapter 3 “It only takes a spark, to get a fire going/ and soon all those around / will warm up in it’s glowing. That’s how it is with God’s love, blah blah blah blah blah, pass it on.” I am not a religious person; in fact, my beliefs venture into Bill Maher territory. That […]
- 04JanRead More
Finding Your Spark During Covid or Cue the Tambourine
Chapter 2 When one door closes, another door opens. I just didn’t expect that door to be under my feet. I fell through the trap door, sliding into a depression that was foreign. An isolation I’ve never experienced. A time when it seemed like the forces of darkness were overwhelming the light. Star Wars level […]
- 11DecRead More
Jean LaVelle: It’s Always Sunny in Baltimore (AUDIO ONLY)
I continue our discussion about art and creativity with one of my favorite people: my Aunt, Jean LaVelle. A Baltimore folk artist, Aunt Jean sees the world differently, and through her art, brings her joyous visions to life. During a time when COVID is rampaging, and many face the holidays in isolation — Aunt Jean’s […]
- 30NovRead More
How the Pandemic Kills Creativity
Chapter 1 I stood in front of the baggage carousel, luggage dropped and spun around, but mine are always last. Not because I’m a glass half full kind of guy, but because my cases are huge and require special handling. If they even come out on the regular belt. Often, they drop across the vast […]
- 02NovRead More
When you are sitting next to a president, Chapter 4
It was an exclusive executive party in Orlando, Fl. An early spring had sprung, and big, puffy clouds scooted overhead. The brick courtyard stretched in back of the five-star hotel; French doors spilled participants onto a manicured garden. High top tables with tiny tea candles and long white cloths dotted the patio, and a portable […]
- 21OctRead More
When You’re Sitting Next to a President Chapter 3
The ballroom at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas stretched around me. Gaudy Louis XIV chandeliers hung from the ceiling and glittered against the mirrored walls. Around the perimeter of the ballroom waited a single file of participants, snaking around and out the double mirrored doors, stanchions keeping everyone in a tight neat line. In […]
- 15OctRead More
Launching the 743 Patterson Park Podcast
In this time of COVID-19, focus on our immediate community is priority. With that in mind, we’re launching a new podcast with a hyper-local focus on our surrounding neighborhood, the Patterson Park area of Baltimore. Here’s the first installment of the Podcast: a short call to artists and community feedback about what they’d like to […]
- 13OctRead More
When You’re Sitting Next to a President Chapter 2
Chapter 2 My chicken phone clucked as I stepped from the US Capitol into the bright sunshine of a perfect summer evening. On the line was Thomasz (Americanized to Thomas) Pompowski, and he told me he was a reporter for FAKT News, out of Warsaw, Poland. I’m ADHD. The noise from the street, Thomas’ soft […]