Southern Zen - GenX Dad Blogging for Good.

I Can See 39 From Here...

2009-10-03T23:22:00.001-04:00

20 years of awesomeness...

Today, somewhere in West Texas, a slew of people I knew in an earlier life are congregating to celebrate two decades since we reigned our little dusty morsel of friday night lights. I assume it was homecoming at San Angelo Central High School. I hope maybe won this time...

Meanwhile, 1100 miles away, my pre-toddlin' son are spending the day playing wrastlin', rakin' leaves and writin' songs off the top of our heads -- these are our three Rs here in beautiful Columbus, Georgia. Our latest musical masterpiece -- "Chocolate, Son".

OPPORTUNITY
Nothing in the world has afforded me opportunity to share everything I've learned on this long journey more than being a Dad to Kai (戒). The way of respect and interest. A loving sensei (先生).

It's the inner-peace I learned from my childhood in Hawaii, the effervescence felt at thirteen when I became "born again" and especially, the universal harmony of an impromptu jam with people you've never met before -- this is movement. This combined result is why I title: SouthernZen.

Each, peace, joy, harmony, movement -- all together, without one slipping away, is how Kai and I spent my 20th class reunion.

One month from today, I will be one year away from my 40th year in this world. Hard to believe and what a gift given!

Class of 1989, I hope your day was as fulfilling as our own.

peace-
seanrox

Newspaper 2.0? Take ColumbusReport.com for a spin. (BETA)

2009-09-28T22:50:00.000-04:00

As local daily newspapers are dying across America, we debated, disagreed, (borrowed heavily) and invented a new model, an evolution.

Still, BETA (and in infancy)... A handful of Artists, Geeks and Information Junkies joined forces to build and aggregate a well-rounded information source of select tweets & media RSS for our local market, our town, Columbus, Georgia 24/7/ 365. Information doesn't sleep. We'd love to have the PR Community chime in, give it a spin and let us know what we have right... and wrong. (We're only human. And at least one is an Auburn fan... :D) http://www.columbusreport.com peace- seanrox w/ http://www.blipcraft.com

BJ Holland, ColumbusGA Songwriter bites blog.

2009-09-27T23:15:00.001-04:00

FYI, The BEEJ now has a blog:

bjbrand.blogspot.com

peace-
seanrox

VIDEO: Indies & the Health Care Reform Riot & Wingnuts

2009-09-03T00:06:00.010-04:00

Get a grip.

If you're like me, you're objectively watching the Health Reform circus on the TV and down the street at townhalls about as UNcivil as you could expect from American adults.

I am Indie and Centrist and I'm keenly aware of the difference between ignorant mob tactics and an honest debate.

DRAMA QUEENS.

So, first of all, all you Wing Nuts sit down. Ready? Right or Left, raise your hand if you have something to say. Right or Left, when called upon, share your very best idea. Offer a solution, not fear-mongering and sheer lunacy. Otherwise, we'll be handing out 'Drama-Queen' namecards and we'll assign you to 'time-out'.

This debate is about compassion. Those without should leave the discussion to those who understand the complexity of the issue at hand. Heckling the terminally ill or booing in a public forum makes you a supreme douche-bag.

Below a video journalist pegs the topic for Political Indies...

Can there be any room for a centrist at a health care reform town hall meeting

Is there space for a centrists and Indies in this Health Care debate? And where is the Small Business lobby? Get a grip, ya'll.

peace- seanrox

What The F**K is Social Media? (A Presentation)

2009-08-04T14:39:00.001-04:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

What The F**K is Social Media?

View more documents from Marta Kagan.

SouthernZen: The Sweetest Text Message

2009-06-24T23:24:00.003-04:00

And I read:

Kai heard the duck on the clock...He knows daddy is supposed (to be) on his way.

peace-

seanrox

(VIDEO) Have Web Will Hulu -- Welcome to Micro Cinema: "The Hawaiians"

2009-05-31T13:44:00.004-04:00

So, I wanted to watch a movie last night from the comfort of my home.

Despite cable's ON-DEMAND attempts, seems cable is failing our sense of innovation adventure.

See, last night there was nothing listed on cable, basic cable, my IFC/Sundance combo or even the FlixE movie channel to pique my interest. And alternatively, an evening of YouTube searching would have been less passive than I desired, so I jumped back on Hulu.

It'd been a month or so since I looked at Hulu and Joost.

Hulu offerred a full-viewing of the classic Charlton Heston flick "The Hawaiians". Hulu allows you to put all movies, tv shows, and news clips in a queue and actually remembers where you pause the movie.

Enough about online video... passively enjoy the 1970 "The Hawaiians", a continuation of James A. Michener's epic novel, "Hawaii"...

Don't forget the pop-corn,
peace-
seanrox

Best-Selling VIDEO: Author Malcolm Gladwell: What if Newspapers Had Just Been Invented?

2009-05-28T23:18:00.003-04:00

For the past year in blog posts, conversations and forums I've been defending the future of a paper news product yet the localized or niche newspapers must accept a modified business model. Newspapers must innovate with the paper products they offer AND shouldto accept the role of a branded, biased information gathering and distribution. Not a very sexy title. So, BBIGD it is to be known!

Below, one of my favorite authors, Malcom Gladwell, expands the idea gobs more eloquently than I...

peace-
seanrox

VIDEO: Future of an Interactive YouTube. Game On.

2009-05-16T00:21:00.002-04:00

TV can't compete. Below is an early example of YouTube entering the gaming market...

peace-
seanrox

Patriot Act Oversteps. Detains American Teen Indefinitely. PLEASE HELP.

2009-05-06T23:13:00.002-04:00

THIS IS SERIOUS.

Look, from day one, Libertarians and Liberals alike have been hounding that fact that the Patriot Act impedes on basic American rights and due process. And now a mother's son was mistakenly taken... indefinitely.

The poorly written legislation has mistakenly entangled a home-schooled North Carolina teen in "detention" as a suspected "terrorist" since March 5th with little contact with lawyers or his mother, a widow. There is no public record and there is a gag rule for both the judge and FBI. The mother has NO WAY TO DEFEND her son.

ACT NOW.
This is America folks and the most serious of parental nightmare. If you have *any* upstream influence with legislators, please let them know we need an immediate rewrite of The Patriot Act.

The boy, Ashton Lundeby, continues to be in detention in Indiana and will not have another hearing until late May... if the date is not delayed. I don't know this family. I simply know that this is not what America stands for and certainly not what veterans serve to protect. Call your Senator, rewrite The Patriot Act.

"This isn't America – not the America I knew, the one I grew up in," Annette told Pro Libertate. "This is like something out of a Third World dictatorship where the people in power just do whatever they want to anybody they choose. I want my son back, and I'll do anything I can to free him. But people need to know that if this isn't stopped now, any of us at anytime can be treated the same way. The next time it will be your house they visit in the middle of the night, and your children they take away." ~ Ashton's mother

READ ON: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/5049867

DRAMATIC DETAILS:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/grigg/grigg-w93.html

MOM ON VIDEO:

http://www.wral.com/news/local/video/5050332/

peace-
seanrox

Next Gen Super Heroes

2009-05-06T10:35:00.003-04:00

For several years, a few of Columbus, Georgia's songwriters have been discussing if a local super hero may arise from the population to right the wrongs of the people.

Seems across the U.S. real-life masked super heroes are stepping up, allow me to introduce Cincinnati's Shadow Hare in this local news story...

peace-
seanrox

Sharing 3 Songs in a Player (Rocket 69)

2009-04-23T01:23:00.003-04:00

This Blog post is for Mohawk Rob and Jason Rotton because they are historically part of the first track.

First solo acoustic song is about driving across desert highways in the Aqua Rocket.

Second is about fathers and children of war.

The third a soul-drenched humid groove.

Enjoy.

Find more music like this on InTown Columbus

How to Save Newspapers through Content and Design Innovation

2009-04-09T10:21:00.003-04:00

In the continued story defending the innovation of newspapers, below is a video from TED.com, where a former Eastern Bloc designer transformed a traditional newspaper into a phenomena.

There is no reason for community newspapers to die. It's not about economics, it's about innovation. Instead of news execs outsourcing creative abroad, great art directors could save the newspaper from the boardroom...

peace-
seanrox

Smart: Google's CEO is Right. Newspapers are Not Evolving.

2009-04-07T22:48:00.007-04:00

MISSING THE STORY ALL TOGETHER.
Earlier, I "twat" a smart link about Google's CEO telling newspapers they don't need to die -- just create a better product.

Because my Twitter account is connected to my Facebook account, which changed the my status, which prompted a friend I knew in Texas from 18 years ago to comment nostalgically about the Era of the Newspaper. (Hi Tom.)

I am sorta bummed about the many newspapers around the nation going belly-up. Seems like an end of an era. Ever seen the movie "The Paper" with Michail Keaton, Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, Marisa Tomei and Randy Quaid? One of my fav movies of all time. ~ Tom

Before I could comment, a mutual friend from years back blasted:

If todays papers had the morals of those people and would print the news instead of commentary, maybe they wouldn't be shutting down..... Printed medium used to be the only non-biased source of news, now its not..... Sad day for all. ~ Clint

I added:

Hell yea, but the newspapers dying across America is case of executive stupidity due to lack of creativity.

CASE ONE.
Newspapers are the natural "winner" in local news due to archive lifespan, customer retention and the ability to place a PHYSICAL OBJECT in every person's hand, everyday.
... Read More
CASE TWO.
Newspaper sites should cover their city and region aesthetically and impeccably. Careful information gathering and filtering... then, reporters find the stories rise from trolling the data -- quotes, statistics, blogs, video, audio, social networks from the people. The newspaper tells the story of a place -- your town, USA. It is a paper's duty to its city and it's history.

*smells newsprint*
Whew. :)

The real story newspapers should be covering is not that something was said, but how it affects us in our own communities. People will stop to read this new MUST-HAVE hidden story in which everyone of us are included. Then, newspapers can sell accompanying, engaging PR/adspace for companies again.

The people, the city, the changes from one time to the next... the story is not being told, so the lazy storytellers are dying.

And... here's that link about the Google CEO: http://bit.ly/daMjc

peace-
seanrox

(VIDEO) Layout -- Secrets of Comic Art

2009-04-05T13:04:00.005-04:00

From the artist of the 1980s-era "The Watchmen" comic book series... Another study in visual storytelling through structural inspiration... not to mention the ethics of hero-dom :

peace-
seanrox

VIDEO: Why Mars and Venus Collide

2009-04-05T10:35:00.003-04:00

A Fine lecture explaining serotonin vs. testosterone vs. Men vs. Women...
... and more importantly, a few reasonable rules to follow for yourself to communicate and inspire the relationship itself.

Georgia and Fed Tax on American Anxiety through New Cigarette Taxes

2009-03-29T11:30:00.004-04:00

One word: Anxiety.

This is the singular reason smokers smoke. Since it's econo-culturally correct to do so, allow me to label it a disease like every other previous condition now elevated. Tobacco is a centuries-old medicinal cure of the symptoms of Anxiety... now taxed 200%.

In times of economic belt-tightening, the Fed and now Georgia are seeking more bail-out taxes from The People to pay for bloated budgets and general slush funds. Cut the budget before further taxing the layman's medication. Review your corporate prison budgets for the first cut.

Extreme high anxiety coupled with doubling the price of a chosen medication is criminal. This is America, we are the free market. Taxing anxiety medication is legislative faggotry.

Repeal.

peace-
seanrox

Air Force PR and Social Media Wars :)

2009-03-28T16:41:00.001-04:00

PR Professionals take note, as former Air Force, it's interesting to see the new high tech PsyOps in illustrated form:

The Education is Falling (VIDEO)

2009-03-20T09:23:00.003-04:00

Seems we're finally coming to terms with the fact that our education system hardly teaches us to effectively enter the "job market", whether crashed or not. Below is a poignant, well-written spot promoting Kaplan. Enjoy...

peace-
seanrox

Test: Ning Video Embed

2009-03-19T22:43:00.001-04:00

Find more videos like this on MIC MusicInColumbus Greenroom

Test Hulu Embed (A-Team)

2009-03-18T11:14:00.001-04:00

Southern Zen ( 2nd verse REVISITED)

2009-03-02T04:46:00.006-05:00

VERSE TWO.

In every life we learn, that the page will turn,

As long as it is written.

Your couriosity, leads you where you'll be,

forbidden and forgiven.

The more that we create, share, and celebrate,

together, better we are gettin',

So, remember all the colors and the songs upon The Tree,

Those from long ago, and those we've yet to breathe,

Three, two, one,

Our family's become,

Come on and raise your hands,

Cuz we're livin' Southern Zen.

Test MIC -- Recent Photos

2009-02-10T11:25:00.001-05:00

Find more photos like this on MIC MusicInColumbus Greenroom

Southern Zen Mantra : "Blog Responsibly"

2009-02-05T21:21:00.002-05:00

The Change of 1 : Potential

2009-01-22T02:36:00.008-05:00

In the face of any situation,
We're only 1 idea from changing directions.

1 decision made by many at once.
1 leader on a new pioneering path,
Away from Peter's Principle with a prayer...
on the path, to Potential.

We are certainly 1.

peace-
seanrox