On Summit

So, I guess for all my admonitions to "just be cool", it turns out I can be pretty caustic and pretty cynical myself. By way of proof, I offer up the list, "How to Become a Rockstar Librarian in 10 Simple Steps". See, the term (and archetype) Rockstar Librarian has become a sort of short-hand in our profession for those thought leaders, innovators, and agents of change who manage to become well-known in the profession. These Rockstar Librarians typically pen columns, present at conferences, write influential blogs, end up on various "best and brightest" lists, and deliver keynote addresses. The truth is, many Rockstar Librarians are lovely people. They sincerely want the profession to grow, to flourish and to remain relevant. They want libraries to improve and they want the lives of library users to improve as well. That said, there are a number of pretty unflattering behaviors associated with the Rockstar Librarian type. These include an inflated sens...

Perhaps the only thing more tired than business buzzwords is the backlash against business buzzwords. Maybe it's the circles I run in, but it seems that barely a week goes by without at least someone I know sharing an article about buzzwords that are overused, buzzwords I should stop using or buzzwords I should avoid immediately. The teasers all sound very knowing and very ominous. Typical are headlines like, "Most Annoying Buzzwords", "Buzzwords Gone Bad, and "Office Jargon: Six Tired Buzzwords to Avoid". Inevitably I'll click the link and find - much to my dismay - a bunch of words, phrases, and sayings that I either use myself, or find pretty much innocuous. Heck, I'll go one step further. Most of the buzzwords people spend their time decrying are actually useful; useful in that they do what good language is supposed to do; they convey the desired meaning in a manner that's both economical and easy to understand. Further, they almost alwa...

There's a temptation to simply think of Igloo Letterpress as "the little shop that could"; the plucky, niche printing upstart swimming against the tide of digital image processing and online print orders. I suppose in a way they are that, what with their homespun origins and old-timey printing ways. The problem is, that narrative glosses over a set of pretty solid business fundamentals that have lead to both an impressive client list and expansion plans. Igloo loves Ohio! Not to get all MBA here, but businesses don't succeed and grow because they're cute. Businesses succeed and grow because they meet a need and do top-quality work. They succeed because they build authentic relationships; the kind of relationships that foster goodwill and ensure enthusiastic word of mouth marketing. They succeed because they provide value for their customers and their community. By these measures, "the little shop that could" has been putting on a clinic since re-...

This has gone on long enough. Seriously. Listen, I'm no expert on street art, and I'm not usually one to call out deficiencies in the central Ohio arts scene, but enough is enough. If Columbus intends to establish itself as a world-class city capable of supporting and advancing the visual arts, we really need to step up our game when it comes to street art, murals, and graffiti, because we clearly aren't world-class in this area yet. Yes, I know we can all point to any number of individual successes, "What about the Short North murals? What about the Mini-Murals ? What about Aminah Robinson? What about Urban Scrawl ? Jeff Abraxes ? Vinchen ? Those count for something, don't they?" I suppose they do at some level, but I can't be the only one who browses sites like Unurth and StreetArtUtopia and sees a noticeable gap in quality between what's produced locally and what's happening further afield. Part2ism, Opium Wars, London And really...

I took stock of 2014's resolutions and came away with a solid C . That means the 2015 resolutions will include some unfinished business from 2014 as well as some new entries. So, here then is what's on tap for the new year: Read 52 Books Paint 52 Paintings Watch 52 TED Talks Exercise Every Day Eat More Fruits and Vegetables Write at Least Eight Art Reviews for Columbus Underground Keep Up With My Social Medias Record With Jim Diamond in Detroit (2014 carryover) Take a Class in Painting or Drawing (2014 carryover) Attend either OAL's Sunday Life Drawing Sessions or Wild Goose Creative's Wednesday Life Drawing Sessions . Restore My 1977 Rally 200 Scooter (This will actually be outsourced to Jim at ScooterSource Inc , still I'd like to get it done.) Rake Leaves (2014 Carryover. Seriously, I haven't raked leaves in two years. Hmm, maybe I don't need too...). Paint the Living Room Dining Room, Stairwell and Hallway (2014 carryover) Remodel t...

I've been dreading this. My 2014 resolutions were made pretty explicitly and pretty publicly in this January blog post . Since then, they've been in the back of my mind, mostly in that, "Oh yeah...I should do that..." sort of way. Some I've acted on, some I haven't. So, since I'm a bullet-point kind of guy, and this is the season for making lists and checking them twice, let's look back and see how well (or poorly) I did with my 2014 resolutions: Read 52 Books: Done. This will happen. I've read 51 books so far and will certainly read one more before 12/31. For a full account of my 2014 reading, check out my GoodReads page: https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/1095620 (As a side note, I should mentioned that I'd also resolved that at least half the books I read in 2014 would be by authors who are women. I ended up reading 27).  Paint 52 Paintings: Not done. Not even close. I completed 15 paintings in 2014. I'll do better in 201...

My wife and I have been putting together a modest collection of original art over the last few years. In this case "modest" means that we buy within our means and usually stick to smaller works, often by local artists. In the process of building our collection we've maintained a "wish list" of artists whose work we appreciate and would like one day to own. Paul Emory has been one such artist. So, it was our good fortune that we managed the winning bid for his painting "Tonya" at a recent Ohio Art League fundraiser. If you're not familiar with Paul Emory's work...well...honestly it's hard to talk about. I say that because the words that one might be inclined to use (words like weird, naive, creepy, and childlike) can make his paintings sound...well...unattractive. Similarly, the works themselves present something of an acquired taste. The first encounter with them can be jarring. In his narrative paintings , haunting, stylized figures ...