David Michael Bruno

Spllenig fol olw up

2009-11-09T22:22:05-08:00

My post about spelling created quite a stir, but I never weighed in on the subject, as Somebody pointed out. And so my awnesr is:

I beeilve taht sllpeilng ins t vrey iportmnet, wchih you porabbly dagsiree wtih buacese it behtors you taht tihs bolg et nry is pefretcly rdaeable. A nd dno't you drae s ay taht it is illgieble. I konw yu'oll be liyng.

What's Next

2009-11-03T20:38:15-08:00

Short post. Feedback welcome.

Today I had an interview with another blogger, and it got me thinking, "What comes next after the 100 Thing Challenge?" I am coming up on the one year mark, the "official" end of the 100 Thing Challenge. The journey has surprised me in many ways. One way is that, while I don't feel compelled to "officially" keep going, I also do not have any inclination to stop.

The 100 Thing Challenge has worked in this way. It has changed my consumer habits. I no longer want to acquire lots of stuff. And I'm okay with that.

Another surprise has been the longevity of the worldwide interest in the 100 Thing Challenge. It hasn't really stopped. Just today I got the most cool comments on my blog from Matt and Shellie. A year later, and the 100 Thing Challenge is still encouraging people. Totally humbling. Totally sweet.

But what comes next? I have some ideas. Nothing concrete. I do know, though, that I would like to be responsible with this thing I've gotten going. Help it to move in the direction it was meant to move.

Missing The Creative Stuff

2009-11-02T21:01:01-08:00

It has occurred to me this week that I miss my creative stuff. The one-item point-and-shoot camera that replaced my multi-item digital SLR just doesn't produce the quality of photography I want to see. And, as I mentioned over at the 100 Thing Challenge Facebook, I miss my guitar.

Today I put together a short slide show at work, complete with voice over and music. I had to use an old version of iMovie because I do not have a new version of iMovie or any version of Final Cut on my work computer. Even without the proper software to dial in the slide show, I still enjoyed creating it. This confirms something that I have found to be true of myself: I enjoy tactile creativity. Not that I dislike, say, writing. I enjoy writing quite a bit. But where the 100 Thing Challenge has been concerned, a grief of sorts has been giving up the things that help me to be "hands on" creative.

Thus, though I don't really see the 100 Thing Challenge ending on November 12th, I do see a time in the future when I replace my nicer camera and my guitar. Probably.

Oh, and my headphones that got ripped off at work. Well, I think I absolutely need to replace them soon. Maybe even before the official "end" of the 100 Thing Challenge. I'm going stir crazy not being able to listen to music and podcasts.

U2 360 Tour Pasadena Review

2009-11-01T07:36:48-08:00

Big thanks to my buddy Jon, who secured four tickets to see U2. It was a great time. The video is a quick look at some of the concert in random order. No, they did not play "Rejoice," though it's a really good song and would have been cool to hear.

The concert itself was grandiose. You just stand there and think, "There's never been anything else like this. Ever." They really are the "biggest band."

U2 are great musicians, also. And those guys are in amazing shape! Two hours none stop. One minor highlight for me was when Bono took off like a bullet, sprinting around the circular outer stage. The security detail, who followed him to intervene if the crowd tried to climb up, bolted after him. About a quarter of the way around they pulled up and just let him go. All out. All the way around. And then, the guy started singing like there was actually oxygen left in his lungs. He's wild.

It seems to me that "Bono" is a euphemism for hyperbole. His most recent New York Times op-ed made me roll my eyes at least once. Well a few times. The guy is talented at overstating his case. But you go to a concert and watch the intensity of the band's plea for Aung San Suu Kyi. Then suddenly the Rose Bowl is green, and Bono is speaking to the people of Iran on behalf of the world. Next he gives up the limelight, turning the stage over to Desmond Tutu, whose stirring videotaped message about Africa introduced "One." You have to wonder if maybe there's something to Bono's hype.

My favorite song of the night was "In A Little While." It's probably my favorite U2 song in general. They've not been playing it on their 360 Tour, so it was sweet that they broke it out for the concert I happened to be at. "In A Little While" has been repurposed a couple of times. Originally it was about Bono's hectic lifestyle and how he missed his family. Then, thanks to Joey Ramone, it turned into a gospel song. And now at the concert in Pasadena it became a cosmic space log, complete with Bono's confession that, "Space travel turns me on."

What was most impressive about the show and what is most incredible about U2 is how they've turned their talent and celebrity toward those in need -- the poor around the world. They obviously have a desire to use their position to encourage fans to do good in this world. I forget exactly how Bono put it. Something like, "We expect a lot more out of you. And we expect a lot more out of us." I got the impression he meant a lot more "rocking" and a lot more "doing good." Rock 'n' Roll often flashes a peace sign while indulging in the selfishness of sex, drugs, and excessive materialism. U2 sang about peace for two hours on end. For all the hugeness of the night, all the video on the monstrous screen showing off their faces, all the fans screaming praise for them; the show was as much about those in need around the world as it was about four guys from Ireland. That's cool.

P.I.E. In The Sky?

2009-10-29T19:34:47-07:00

A friend of mine, who runs a Faith & Work Ministry and blogs, wrote about P.I.E. the other day. The acronym stands for "performance" and "image" and "exposure." It is a formula that really successful people use to manage their priorities. Unsuccessful-to-moderately-successful persons might think they should prioritize their efforts this way:

Performance = 60% (focus most time on being good at what you do)

Image = 30% (be realistic, people do judge a book by its cover)

Exposure = 10% (you've got to do a little bit of networking to get your name out)

But the very successful executive understands that the real balance of priorities is the opposite:

P = 10% I = 30% E = 60%

Two observations. First, my friend heard about P.I.E. at a conference, and the person who presented the formula brushed aside an emphasis on P by saying, "It's a given." In other words, the formula only works for people who are already excellent at their work. After achieving proficiency in their skills, they can put 10% of their efforts toward maintaining and improving their abilities. My own feeling is that the formula doesn't work for most people in the world, because for most people P isn't a given. I even question whether it is effective for those who allegedly already are skilled. As far as I know, most professional musicians still practice hours upon hours every single day. They already have tons of P. But they strive for more.

Also, it seems to me that P.I.E. works pretty much only if your goal is to move up the ladder. What if you're content just being excellent at something and don't feel compelled to strive for a bigger salary, more work hours, and greater influence? It seems possible that P.I.E. could be a distraction for some people who want to pursue a meaningful vocation without it being judged by American notions of career success.

I'm not entirely against the idea of P.I.E. I just feel like it's one of those formulas that isn't as tidy as one might wish.

Fall for Change

2009-10-26T13:42:22-07:00

Fall is a season in which I'm often motivated to shift things around. Once again in my life I am feeling some fall desires to be out and about and on the move.

Last week I had a nice conversation with my editor. It was an encouraging talk. Harper has agreed to push the publication date of my book back to December 2010. Big relief -- though I'll still need to bust my butt to get it finished.

While most of my attention is on the book, I'm not uninterested in what comes next. More writing? More speaking? More connections with organizations that are prioritizing a meaningful life over stuff? All of the above and hopefully more. Looking forward to the possibilities and where they lead.

U2

2009-10-24T17:58:25-07:00

Tomorrow, if all goes well, I'll be joining about 100,000 other people at the U2 concert at the Rose Bowl. It is quite possible that this will be a historic rock concert, being filmed for DVD release and also streamed live on YouTube for the first time ever. I'll be wearing a red t-shirt with a guitar on it, in case you watch ;-)

Full review some time next week.

Buy a hybrid car or...

2009-10-20T21:40:54-07:00

The other day a friend and I were chatting about gas mileage. I commented how my in-law's hybrid gets a bit more than 40 miles a gallon. He remarked that his twenty-year old Honda Civic hatchback got a bit more than 40 miles a gallon. And we wondered why it has taken two decades to make no progress. Here's one reason.

(Warning: These are not well-vetted numbers. Just numbers I quickly came across doing some Internet research. That said, I am trying to err on the conservative side of the statistics.)

25 million cars registered in California

Average car gets 20 miles to the gallon

California gas tax is $.40 before state sales and local taxes, which I'm excluding from these calculations.

Californians drive 800 million miles a day

Thus each and every day California takes in $16 million. That's $5.8 billion a year.

What if everyone got a hybrid that gets the same gas mileage as a twenty-year old Honda Civic hatchback, that is, 40 miles a gallon? California would take in $8 million a day or $3 billion a year.

And what if the average were 100 miles a gallon? $3.2 million a day or $1.2 billion a year.

Now just try to imagine what the numbers are like for the entire United States. Guess what? Our country isn't incentivized to sell you and me hybrid vehicles that get 100 miles to the gallon. Don't expect any radical MPG innovation anytime soon.

Challenge Stuff Photo Contest

2009-10-18T21:57:26-07:00

Really stoked. I finally committed to the photo contest I've been saying I might put on for months. Well, it's official. It starts now, and ends on Black Friday, November 27th. There are cash prizes. And the contest is co-sponsored by the Center for Justice and Reconciliation at PLNU, which is donating an extra $100 to Plant with Purpose's Trees Fund in the name of the winner.

Basically, this is going to be sweet. Check out the Challenge Stuff Photo Contest page. And start snapping shots!

Consumerism Bibliography

2009-10-12T20:46:40-07:00

In another day I will join a business class - Building Sustainable Organizations - at Point Loma Nazarene University for a day to discuss the 100 Thing Challenge. I am attempting to prepare a short bibliography to hand out.

How does anyone put together a "short" bibliography?! It is so painful to be removing books from this list. Arrrr!

One of the things I'd like to communicate, both with the bibliography and with the discussion, is how understanding cannot be compartmentalized. There are excellent writings about the troubles of consumerism, books like Bill McKibben's Deep Economy or Wendell Berry's essay, "The Whole Horse" in The Art of the Commonplace.

But I seriously doubt either of those authors would have affected me the way they have if I had not first read Graham Greene's The Power and the Glory and C. S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces. The books "about consumerism" are especially powerful because of the books "about life."

Just curious: What book(s) have been most meaningful in your life?