Under My Raincoat

Tom Asacker wants to know more about me. Actually, he wants everyone reading this post to know more about me.
Normally, I pass on the meme thing, but Tom Asacker is not your normal blog pal. We’ve spoken on the phone!
So, withough further ado, Five Things You Don’t Know About Me…
1) I’m essentially a very private person, although I do court fame.
2) I’m a walking paradox. See number 1.
3) I’m passionate about music. For me, it’s the art with the most heart. And while there are many writers I admire like Zora Neale Hurston, Howard Zinn, Jim Harrison and Ken Kesey, I tend to find inspiration more often in the musicians I encouter. For instance, I’ve been moved greatly by the live performances of Warren Haynes, Jerry Garcia, Carlos Santana, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Jerry Joseph, Derek Trucks and many more—Yonder Mountain String Band, Leftover Salmon, The Meters, Widespread Panic, Donna the Buffalo, Steve Earle and Jim Lauderdale, to name a few.
4) Before she retired to Florida, my mom worked in advertising. She was a planner. One of the first on the marketing services side of the agency business. She specialized in cause-related marketing, and we actually worked together on a promotion in the late 80s when I was on the client-side at American Rivers, Inc.
At any rate, I’ve noticed that people often take up their parents’ occupations. I did, but I resisted as long as I could. When my wall of resistance came crashing down, as false edifices are wont to do, I just so happened to be living in Wieden + Kennedy’s shadow. Of course, I did not know it. How would I? I was just a 29-year old English major in search of something meaningful to do for work. And I certainly did not think “meaningful” and “advertising” could be properly combined in a sentence, much less in an occupation.
It was Janet Champ, Wieden’s ace copywriter on the Nike womens’ line, that opened my eyes. In her work, I saw that it could, in fact, be done. Add to that my mom’s lofty ambitions to do good and you can begin to see why I’m the insanely idealistic person that I am.
5) Speaking of…I’m backing Cleveland Congressman, Dennis Kucinich, for the Democratic nomination for President in 2008. As I did in 2004.
I’m going to help him take South Carolina, the state where I live.
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Now, to keep the meme alive it’s my turn to pick five bloggers and ask them to share things about themselves in their very own public forum. Drumroll please…
1) Holly Burns, quite possibly the best writer in the entire bloatosphere.
2) Spike Jones, from Brains on Fire, the Greenville, SC identity firm.
3) Spencer Sloan, the hilarious Atlanta-based verison of Jason Kottke.
4) Lareghearted Boy, who takes the term “prolific blogger” to new heights.
5) Kyle Bunch, the man who decides if you’re an A- B- or C-list blogger.
[A NOTE] My choices above are ambitious. The only person I chose that I know personally is Spike. I’ve cooresponded with Kyle, but not the other three. I simply admire their work (from afar).