Michael Verdi

I’m really enjoying my new template. The previous one was very single-video-focused and didn’t encourage me to write anything unless I had a video to go with it. What works about a more traditional blog-like setup is that you can quickly see everything I’ve posted recently. So this new (and old) setup is, I think, why this post occurred to me while I was running this morning.

What started it off was I was that I was listening to the band Swans and trying to recreate the train of though that had me remember them last night. If you’re unfamiliar with them, they’re a band from the 80s (and 90s apparently) that, from what I remember, were fans of droning atonal noisefests. Not that there’s anything wrong with that but you know, how much of that can you take after age 30? Anyway in 1988 they did a fabulous cover of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart” and then followed that up with a beautiful and haunting album “The Burning World.” They had discovered songs and melodies and were really good at it. Of course I have no idea what happened to that CD. Thinking back, I can even picture holding it and looking at the cover art. So the first thing I did was check iTunes to see if they had it (they didn’t). If they had, I would have gladly plunked down 10 bucks to download it right then. Next I searched Amazon and only found used import copies for $45! Um, I don’t think so. Then I went to their website where I found the rare, signed, out of print CD for $200!!! Get the fuck out – I have a mortgage to pay. So I fired up Limewire and started hunting. About 90 minutes later I had the “Love Will Tear Us Apart” single and 9 of 10 songs from “The Burning World” on my iPod (I’m missing track 8, “Jane Mary, cry one more tear”). Come on people, get with the program! Go read “The Long Tail.” Digital products exist in a world of infinite shelf space and infinite distribution – there are sales to be had down there in the tail.

While you’re at it, get Robert Scoble and Shel Israel‘s book, “Naked Conversations” (Amazon usually has them paired up with The Long Tail). Then when you finish reading it you can write a little blurb about it and link to them like I did and maybe you’ll get some return traffic to your blog if they link back to you. At the very least it’ll be fun to distract Scoble so maybe he won’t post 14 freakin’ times in one day (I can’t keep up with that).

Anyway, once he compared Daniel Liss and me to flowers and just yesterday I was chatting with Daniel for a moment because he saw that my iChat away message said I was listening to Liz Phair’s song “Fuck and Run” just like I am right now. Daniel once wrote a screenplay based on the song. Maybe one day he’ll get the money to make that film the same way he got the money for Seven Maps. I’d go see it – I’ll watch anything he makes.

I’ll also read anything Kathy Sierra tells me to. I love her blog, Creating Passionate Users! I try to incorporate what she teaches over there into things like our book and the next version of Freevlog that’s in the works. Hell, I bought “Head First Design Patterns” even though I don’t know anything about programming Java. It’s a great example of how to teach. Anyway, a book that she always talks about is “Flow,” which I’m currently about half way done reading. It’s pretty good and actually reminds me a lot of some of the material in Landmark’s Wisdom Course.

So this about where my run ended and I was fully present to the flow of my thoughts and to being connected to my body and the world and I though I should continue on with putting this all down as a blog post. And I thought that the connection between all of these thoughts was just the idea of how we move from one idea to the next. Which reminded me of my drive up to Austin for BarCampTexas. On the way, for a moment I thought to myself “it’ll be cool to see Eric Rice again” but then I remembered that he’s in Silicon Valley and I only connect him with Austin because I’ve seen him at SXSW the last two years in a row. Oh well, I’m sure I’ll connect with him later on today when we’re both on his island Slackstreet in Second Life.