My short story, “That Kid Who Saved the World One Time”, published in the Spring 2021 issue of SHiFT: A Journal of Literary Oddities.
Archive for the ‘Features’ Category
Hard To Give Thanks / Foundation
In March of 2020, the Red Spot Rhythm Section went into the studio to begin recording a new two-song single, but unfortunately the studio’s doors had to close – along with most businesses – before the end of the month. Undaunted, the group continued to work with the engineer and guest artists remotely, while recording additional parts at their home.
The single debuted on The Deli Magazine, and has been featured on Alternate Root, WLUW radio, CHIRP radio, WZRD radio, and WCGO radio.
The single features the guest talents of Shane Jonas (Akasha, Lowdown Brass Band) on vocals, Mike Bruno (Spare Parts) on drums, and Michael Bizar (AJ Croce) on lead guitar.
Rhythm Guitar, Keyboards, Bass, Percussion – Red Spot Rhythm Section
Vocals – Shane Jonas
Lead Guitar – Michael Bizar
Drums – Mike Bruno
Engineer – Doug Bistrow
Master – Rollin Weary
Cover Art – Shannon Belock
Words & Music by Red Spot Rhythm Section
Produced by Red Spot Rhythm Section
Covid By State
covidbystate.org is a covid tracker I built to view normalized curves of covid cases for US states overlaid against one another. The site has received over 100,000 visits by over 60,000 unique visitors.
The site uses the wonderful Covid Tracking Project, an open-source tracking and data API project supported by The Atlantic.
Check out the project on github.
Solar Shrine Fundraiser Soundtrack
I created this soundtrack for the Solar Shrine fundraising video to support their architectural installation planned for Burning Man 2020.
The Solar Shrine is a large-scale Afrofuturistic art installation for Burning Man 2020 that is inspired by the architecture and art of the Ancient Egyptian and Nubian cultures. It’s a holistic space of healing, spirituality, and wonder designed to help connect people of all cultures in the present to their pasts and futures together. The Solar Shrine is positioned precisely so as the Sun rises in the East, it illuminates the solar discs on the tower and the solar barque inside the shrine, connecting us with the cosmos and the energy of our Earth. This is a sacred space, a refuge, a place for sharing art, music, healing, and ideas. It is a space for people of all cultures and backgrounds to commune and express their histories, experiences, and visions of what lies ahead.
To donate and find out more information: https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-solar-shrine-community-arts-project
Water at the Top of the World
My debut children’s book, and debut as an art director self-publisher as well.
“A charmingly illustrated children’s book about inclusion and peace-seeking in a world of colliding mythology and science. Enjoyed by religious and non-religious parents and children alike, this book is a great point of entry for discussions on diversity of thought and commonality of human experience.”
Illustrated by Shannon Belock. Layout by Chris Telemann.
Win For Losing
Win For Losing is a protest song EP recorded at Audio Bistro, with some guest performers from around the Chicago reggae scene.
The EP contains a Nyabinghi mix and a dub mix by Cale Wilcox.
The tune features Ted Sirota on drums, Chris Paquette on percussion, Shap on saxes, Andrew Zelm on trombone, and Robert Hubbard Alonzo on trumpet.
The song has been appeared on CHIRP Radio Chicago and was featured on the Reggae Vibes show on WLUW FM.
Confessions of an Aphrodite Bug
My short story, “Confessions of an Aphrodite Bug”, published in the Fall 2017 issue of Michigan Quarterly Review.
CRA Newserator
Newserator is a custom RSS aggregator that I built to break the filter bubble effect in online news consumption. It allows a user to simultaneously view news feeds from both sides of the political spectrum, filtered by reputation and also keywords.
The feeds are curated in an evolving list of media sources, according to a private set of criteria. At some point, convening an actual editorial board to oversee the list of feeds is planned.
The host site, Citizens Rights Alliance, is an advocacy site dedicated to the intersection of the Horseshoe Theory as it pertains to Civil Rights.
The goal is to expand minds and illuminate common ground.
Essay: In Defense of Anti-Science
Published in Volume 21, Number 2 of Skeptic Magazine.
It’s obvious that technocracy will have a place in future human society. As we squelch anti-vaxxers and climate-science deniers, we must be very careful that we also provide sturdy avenues for public feedback on emerging technologies, lest we let technotopia slip into just another form of fallible human oligarchy.
You can read a version of the article on my medium account, as the version in Skeptic is behind a paywall.
The Red Spot Rhythm Section – Worry: Songs of Homan Freed
Worry: Songs of Homan Freed is a collection of songs and journals recently discovered from a future broadcast leaked back in time. The Red Spot Rhythm Section, along with some special guests, have recreated these temporally homeless songs in this brief retrospective.
