Archive for March, 2008

Going public with my ideas

Sunday, March 16th, 2008

I am a grand schemer; I devise plans not just for me, but for the world. And a small part of those ideas get put into practice, and change things. But most of it goes undone.

During the weekend in Atlanta, I attended the APCA conference, lived through a tornado, and set my mind on fire with ideas. Ideas that need DONE.

And so in determining to DO things, I’ve decided that I need to go public with my intentions. I need ideas and help from others, and the ability to bounce my ideas off the world.

My aim is to do more with my band than just deliver a concert. I want to create an experience, and transcend what bands are “supposed” to do. I want to empower people to turn around and create their own world, rather than being content to consume the one created by what’s left of MTV.

I’m taking baby-steps in that direction already. We’re working on partnering with some organizations that are doing important things. We’ve worked with charities (like the Heifer Project) that we felt were doing something unique and creative in the world. We’re moving into concerts that are more meaningful, and are more than just a show.

I want to make our concerts places where people build spontaneous community, not just an event people watch together. I want our concerts to empower and inspire people to go home and change their life. And I don’t mean that in a touchy-feely way.

Some concerts leave you feeling like you want to quit your job and burn down your house. Not because they make you feel destructive, but because they inspire you with the vision of something bigger and much more amazing that YOU are capable of.

I want to do that. I want to be that band. I want to inspire the next renaissance.

There’s my soul. I want your feedback.

-micah

Posted in life, lifestyle, music, philosophy, rock band | 2 Comments »

Babies see pure color, or, Why Pink?

Tuesday, March 4th, 2008

Scientists have discovered that babies see colors differently than adults. Where babies see things are they “are”, adults process colors through the filter of their language. Apparently, people who speak Russian see blue differently than people who speak English.

Babies See Pure Color

This makes sense to me. After all, why does “pink” exist? We call light blue “blue”, but we call light red “pink”. Why is that?! Our language has made a different color where one never existed before.

Most of the time, when we look at a person or a thing or a color, we don’t see it for what it is. Instead, we mentally label it with some tag, like “pink”. That tag might have all kinds of thoughts and emotions attached to it. But that tag is not the real thing.

Sometimes, if you look hard enough, you can see things as they really are. It might just last a second, but during that second, the world is so amazing.

Posted in it's a wonderful life, philosophy | 1 Comment »

The Rules of Pull-Throughs

Sunday, March 2nd, 2008

To the uninitiated, the term “pull-through” may not mean much. But it is a term ripe with meaning. Sometimes it masquerades as “pull-thru” or “pll-thrgh”, but the latter is only prevalent among people who hate vowels, and presumably they will have stopped reading after the second character of this article.

“Pull-Through”, or “Pull-Thru”; noun:
An empty parking space, which has an empty parking space directly in front of it, so that instead of stopping in the parking space one has chosen, one feels compelled to pull forward into the next parking space, thus completing the pull-through.

A pull-through serves the useful function of allowing the driver to entirely avoid backing in or out of a parking space.

A couple of terms need to be defined in relation to the Pull-Through:

  • The Initiator: the first parking spot one pulls into, directly attached to another empty spot.
  • The Closer: the final parking spot of the pull-through, directly in front of the Initiator.
  • Taking The Pull-Through: going through with the action, moving all the way from the Initiator to the Closer before stopping.
  • Pull-Through Interruptus: when someone pulls into the Initiator, but refuses to pull forward into the Closer, thus avoiding Taking The Pull-Through, and ruining the Pull-Through for everyone.

Unbeknownst to the average driver, there are a complex series of rules that govern the manner in which pull-throughs may be treated. These rules are similar in nature to the rules for “Calling Shotgun”, having accumulated over time, developing in native societies for ages before modern civilization discovered them.

Pull-Through Rule #1: IF A DRIVER PULLS INTO A PARKING SPACE WHICH IS AN INITIATOR, SAID DRIVER MUST TAKE THE PULL-THROUGH. IT IS A CARDINAL OFFENSE TO STOP SHORT OF THE FULL PULL-THROUGH!

“Are there any exceptions?” an insightful reader may ask. Well yes, there are. But we are not considering exceptions, we are considering rules. So let’s consider some commonly-given excuses that are not exceptions.

1. “Pulling through takes me farther away from the door!” Suck it up, fella. The pull-through is its own reason and justification. You must pull-through because it is a pull-through. That’s just common sense. It doesn’t get any more logical than that.

2. “If everyone did a pull-through, there would be no pull-throughs left”.
That’s just not using simple reasoning. Think about it: if everyone completed the pull-through when given the chance, they would tend to leave their parking space more quickly once done, thus freeing up more parking that could potentially become a pull-through.

3. “But this Pull-Through leaves me going the wrong way in a one-way lane!” Someone should have thought of that before creating the Pull-Through. It is not your fault that the Pull-Through is facing the wrong direction. You still must Take The Pull-Through.

To be continued…

Posted in adventure, entertainment, fun, how+to, humor, travel | No Comments »