When I was younger and just starting out in my dating career, I used to bring flowers on first dates not realizing the potential awkwardness that lay ahead. Typical responses: "Oh... thanks..." ... The eye pop and the awkward, "Uh, thanks. Where should I put them?" ... and my personal favorite, immediate sneezing. " 'Are there Bells of Ireland in that arrangement?' 'Yeah, I know you're Irish and thought that you might... you know... think that was cute?' 'I'm wildly allergic.'" At the soon to be ripe old age of 37 I've learned a few thing things, I now bring a camera.

A few months back, the co-founders of Synergy Squared, reached out to Karjaka and I for a Sharp Upgrade. They had just done a company rebrand complete with a new website, logo and messaging and they were now ready to create a cohesive personal brand image that matched their newly up-leveled company image. As the faces of the company, both Timm and Kevin are speaking on stages and being seen online and off as the go-to experts in their field and now they have an up-leveled image to support what they have created with their business. Let’s dive in!

This is the year I’m finally gonna do it! Workout more, eat healthy, drink less, and go to bed on time. Oh, and be nicer to people. And floss. Every year we “resolve” to live better, look better, and be kind to our bodies. It was really easy (and fun!) to plan Dry January while downing my third Negroni on December 30th. But then comes the first Monday of the year. The alarm goes off. It’s too dark, cold, and early for any of this BS. I guess I’ll just have coffee for breakfast and figure out my new-year-new-me diet at lunch. A few days later, I really need to get to the gym. And maybe “dry” January can be weekdays only.

Now that the holidays are over, we don't have to worry about any more Amazon scams, right? Oh how I wish that were true. Now we're back to regular-old types of scams, no longer going based on the holidays. One of the more concerning scams making the rounds right now was first seen about 18 months ago.  It’s resurfaced several times during the Covid pandemic and most recently, the FBI put out a bulletin alerting people about the latest iteration of the scam.  (link to bulletin at the end of the article)

In the hearty face-maskless days pre-Covid I found myself in face to face meetings about 10 times a week. Most of these meetups business oriented, with occasional dabblings, (yeah that's right, dabblings) in dating often had me with a camera on my person. Like a gun in the Wild West, or your cup of coffee as you race out the door, a camera is always on me.

The score of a musical work is fascinating. As a composer, I spend hundreds of hours alone with a score to unearth and present the uniqueness of every sound. I consider the physicality of a sound, both in the depth of overtones and frequencies and in the most mi-nuscule human motions it takes to produce them. I consider texture, the harsh and grinding color of the cellist utilizing over-pressured bowing, and the intimate fragility of the flautist's unstable multi-phonic. I consider shape, from violent rhythmic gestures to light, lyrical flurries. I consider, how variations larger blocks made up of colors, texutres, layers, and rhythms work together to highlight every unique aspect of a sound. I consider the weight of each and every observance I make, and I ensure every mark in the score best reveals the essence of a sound.