Many things

It’s been a while – I apologize to those who (for whatever reason) don’t feel you have enough media in your lives without the occasional online rant from me.

I’m making some major changes in my life and schedule, though, which should afford more time for updating and sharing. Most notably, I’ll be reducing my teaching schedule by about 80% – returning to what they call “adjunct” status – in order to dedicate more work time to my comic, a graphic novel, and a screenplay. I’ve also turned down a few extremely lucrative writing gigs in order to do more of the fun and meaningful stuff. I figure if the universe is being cooperative enough to let me survive doing what matters to me, I shouldn’t second guess it.

I’ve got a lot to report on, here. I’ll break it up into several posts, so that there’s something new every day for a while.

My favorite link of the last few weeks is Aaron Naparstek’s contribution to GM’s do-your-own SUV commercial. Surely the advertising agency that came up with this campaign understood that giving real people the opportunity to create their own SUV ads would end up being less about a Chevy SUV’s great features, and more about the power of interactive media to give real people a voice. At best, campaigns like these – or Converse’s website where kids can upload their own sneaker commercials – sell alot more Handycams and iMacs than they do sports shoes. More anti-SUV ads are being charted via Honku.org.

(In the meantime, the logic surrounding the White House’s classified information leaks has actually surpassed 1984 for its circularity. I’m amazed, really. Either I’m getting older/smarter, or the government is really getting dumber. I’m thinking that going into public service might actually be necessary for those of us who still care about the prospects for developing a working democracy this century.)