Community Breathes In, Breathes Out.

2013.01.017 Communities Breathe In, Breathe Out
Communities, like any civilization or organization, are born, live, and fade. To focus on how communities live, one must consider how they breathe.
As persons enter a community, they are drawn in with long, life-giving breath. The lungs of gathering fill and persons interact intensely, vibrantly, like tiny little oxygen molecules do their tiny dance. And just when it seems like the lungs of gathering can’t hold a single more person, yet another is breathed in, and another, and another.
Communities also breathe out. Persons leave gatherings for many reasons. Time, distance, disagreement, misunderstanding, shift in passion, unplanned or uncontrollable disruption. When a community breathes out it doesn’t mean it’s dead. When a community is at its peak capacity and starts the slow leak or even the blustering gale scattering its members, it can feel like death because it isn’t “what it used to be.”
But that’s how community works.
We are breathed in, we are breathed out. When we

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What Is Your Petri Dish?

2013.01.16 What's Your Petri Dish
A petri dish is a small container used by scientists, usually biologists, to discover and explore cultured cells, plants, and so on. It’s usually, but not always, 100mm in diameter and 15mm in height. In 1887, it played a key role in discovering penicillin. While petri dishes come in different sizes and other variables scientists do great work with them. They’re only so big; they’re only so small. It’s a 100mm x 15mm constraint where the world is changed. A petri dish is

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How Companies Should Respond II: Government Edition

Last week I wrote about Minute Maid’s clever, Ghostbusters reference-laden response to my request to bring back Ecto-Cooler. Seems like it’s not only corporations who are giving out clever responses. So is the government. In December, a petition of a required 25,000+ names went forward to the White House to ask them to build a … Read more

Your Friday Recommendation #40

I’m excited that my fortieth Friday recommendation is for the third-annual Twin Cities Improv Festial on Thursday, June 25 – Sunday, June 28 at the Brave New Workshop (2605 Hennepin Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN). Whether you’re already a fan of improv or you haven’t ever seen any live, this is the festival for you. Many … Read more

Your Friday Recommendation #37

I’m involved in three shows this weekend and you’re invited. Saturday, June 6 – “The Weekly: Yesterday’s News Today” plays at the Bryant-Lake Bowl in Minneapolis at 7:00pm. Come see sketch comedy about local current events. Sunday, June 7 – “Commentary” appears in Improv A Go-Go at the Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis at 8:00pm. … Read more

Chicago Improv Festival – My Trip, Day 1 (Part I)

I’m heading out on the road in a few minutes. I packed myself a lunch, have my gear all packed in Mazie (my Mazda5), laundry mostly done and the kitchen clean in our apartment, and my itinerary, ticket receipts, and driving directions printed out. Google Maps tells me I’ll be there in just over seven … Read more

Denver Improv Festival – My Trip, Day 4

This post not only describes the rest of yesterday’s Denver Improv Festival events, but features the very first FOOTNOTES to appear here at The Scrawl! ((yay!)) Kelly and I ate at the Rock Bottom Brewery on 16th Street and Curtis for three reasons: 1. the food is okay, 2. it’s a block and a half … Read more

Denver Improv Festival – My Trip, Day 1

In an hour, Chad, a cool dude from the Ron Book Team, is picking up Kelly and me for a trip to the airport. We’re heading to the Denver Improv Festival and plan to spend some time relaxing in vacation mode and to see some family. I’m excited to get a little rest mid-semester and … Read more

I’m performing and teaching at the Denver Improv Festival

I received word a few days ago from the producers of the Denver Improv Festival (DIF) that I’ve been invited to perform my solo improv showcase, The Uncle Ukulele Show, and teach a youth-oriented improv workshop in the mile-high city this November. This marks my ninth improv festival appearance overall, my fifth performing The Uncle … Read more