The conversation moves from Seinfeld specifically to whether or not pop culture is an effective or even appropriate tool for education. I joined the segment midway through and really enjoyed the conversation. I’ve done television segments before but this was my first live experience.

I was at lunch with Blake Leath who runs the consulting firm I work for, so he set me up in his awesome studio space for the remote interview. Everything went off without a glitch, and I hope to join HuffPostLive again for a future segment.

I’m moving to Texas and want to keep in contact with everyone I know, or anyone who’s interested, through a simple “Friends of Clay” letter I’ll send out every couple months. I also wish I had a Christmas card list every winter to send holiday greetings to everyone, so this will accomplish that. May I add you to my address list?

Yes, let’s keep in touch

~*~*~

More detailed version:

I’ve spent my entire life in Pittsburgh, and never thought I would leave. I love my home, and less than one year ago did not see any major changes in the works. But working as an adjunct teacher at a handful of colleges for a decade is a tough way to go, and 2014 became the year I could no longer count on the tenuous work I’ve been blessed with for years.

After a lot of thought, prayer, and conversations with good people, I began looking for opportunities beyond the Burgh. As I brushed up my resume I realized it’s looking pretty sharp these days, one of the advantages of giving away so much work for so many years.

In the end, I decided to take an opportunity to go to Dallas and pursue full-time work as a freelancer and consultant. I’ve got some ongoing work as well as a variety of projects in development. Certainly planning to publish more books, and I may even do some teaching now that I can do it as a supplemental thing and not something I rely on to pay bills.

Some friends I’ll see in Texas & some I won’t, so let’s keep in touch!

Saying goodbye to so many people is tough. Most of those conversations end with me saying, “At least we can stay connected via Facebook, etc…” But I’m hoping for something more personal here. No one writes letters really. I’ve never thought so much about staying connected to people, so it seems a no-brainer to simply ask for your email address so we can create an ongoing back and forth.

For those of you who have known and supported me over the years, my deepest thanks. If we’re just getting to know each other, I appreciate you a lot too and look forward to getting to know more about you.

Join my “Friends of Clay / Clay’s Christmas Card List”

Thanks, and I’ll see you on the other side!

Their stay in Pittsburgh was part of a three week English practicum course in America during which they would visit many schools like Harvard, Yale, Carnegie Mellon, Pitt etc… They would visit Pittsburgh, Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles.

Basically I was super jealous. What an amazing trip!

The issue was that they were scheduled to hear a lecture at Carnegie Mellon on July 5th, and normal history professors were on vacation. But not me. So since a) I haven’t had a break from teaching in nearly a decade, b) I used to never turn down an opportunity (and still would never pass on one this great), and c) I don’t exactly go out and party hard on the Fourth of July, I said I would LOVE to speak that morning.

I was asked to teach the students about American culture/history/political systems/religion and about what makes America such a great country. For one hour I did my thing, flashing visuals, moving around energetically as I tend to do, making jokes, posing as George Washington. Then we took a break.

“How am I doing?” I asked Jasmine, the wonderful woman who brought me in.

She asked Gaoying, the main organizer of the trip, to take a quick poll. After a minute of conferring they came back and said, “The students say they understand about 70% of what you say. This is very good!”

Thumbs up all around. I chuckled.

Since then we’ve met at a few different venues and found our way to the Turkish and German nationality rooms in Pitt’s Cathedral of Learning for this most recent trips.

READ THE PLACES WE END UP TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MY LIFE & THE CATHEDRAL OF LEARNING

A few things struck me about the visiting students. They were far too kind to me and made me feel like Ryan Gosling hopping into a Manhattan pizza shop for a quick bite. They offered me thoughtful gifts and lined up to take pictures.

It was amazing.

The best part was when I asked for questions. When called on, each student would stand before asking their question. Not gonna lie, I knew I was getting spoiled because when I went back to my typically American classrooms the next day I would not get such a vibe of respect for myself and the material.

But even better was the questions they asked. Every inquiry was either insightful or charming or poignant to my ears.

• “If you give so much freedom, do you think some people will take this too far for evil?”
• “If George Washington is Father of the Country, why is he only on one dollar bill and not one-hundred?”
• “How does tipping in a restaurant go?”
• “What will you think happen if there is war with my country and Japan?”
• “Why do all Americans not vote if they have this freedom?”
• “Is money the most important thing?”

I instantly realized how easy it is to take democratic freedoms for granted. The hunger for knowledge and truth are terrific, and I hoped I was able to offer something of value in response.

In the past two years I’ve been able to speak to groups from Zhejiang University and Central China Normal University multiple times, and this past weekend got to double dip, with a group from each school visiting Pitt on consecutive days. We snapped a couple pics with my camera and about 200 with theirs. Can’t wait to see all the selfies when they come in.

Students from Zhejiang University in Turkish Room @ Pitt’s Cathedral of Learning

Outside the University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning with students from Zhejiang University

I also keep getting invited to teach at Chinese universities and must say I’m considering a semester abroad in that capacity. Would be tough logistically, but it would be so energizing to work with the kind of mentality demonstrated by these visiting groups. No doubt I would learn way more.

Oh yeah, and the food is AMAZING. I’m talking about when we get together in Pittsburgh, but I know I would gobble up some authentic Asian cuisine over there.

So the moral of the story? If you’re interested in how I’ve put together a great career as a freelancer, the lesson is to be available and take opportunities even if they’re scary (as in you literally are speaking a different language). But also, nurture a love for learning and discovering truth–a universal virtue if ever there was one.

Everything changed for me in 2011 when I made the decision to invest in the cost of traveling and attending conferences. Once I landed an agent and book contract, I didn’t return to another conference for a couple years, but man am I thrilled about the one I attended recently.

Realm Makers 2014 took place at Villanova University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In its second year, Realm Makers focuses on speculative fiction for the Christian market. If you want to know what that means check out this interview I did with agent and publisher Steve Laube as the conference was winding down.

Conferences always offer talks on the craft and business of writing, but Realm Makers was also straight up fun. They host a costume dinner ala Comic Con during which we were able to get our geek on.

My friends from Splickety Magazine play a big role at the conference and represented well.

You’ll be hearing lots more from me in the future about this awesome group.

The tall vampire there is my friend Andrew Winch. He and I have been working on a novel together for the past few months. Unbeknownst to each other, we both arrived ready to rock the undead look.

Photo credit: Scott Minor

One of the real highlights of our time was getting to know New York Times best-selling author Tosca Lee. In addition to being a brilliant author, her talks were fab.

Tosca and myself with steampunk star Lisa Walker England (Photo credit: Scott Minor)

I was all like, “Hey there, don’t be afraid.”

Photo credit: Scott Minor

But had to be careful with preppers lingering about.

Photo credit: Scott Minor

I also hoped to get to know agent and new owner of Enclave Publishing Steve Laube. We had a blast at the party and found common interests in history. Steve pointed out how funny it was to be in conversations all evening with people in full makeup who forgot what they looked like.

Photo credit: Scott Minor

There are lots more great pictures on my Facebook wall, so head over there. If we’re not already connected on the Book of Faces, why not?! FRIEND ME HERE.

Like I said, anyone serious about breaking into publishing needs to do their homework and find a conference right for the kind of work they do. Agents and editors are people too, and you may be surprised at how approachable they become when you’ve committed to meeting them in person at a professional event.

And it might take more than one conference for the right chemistry to develop, but these folks are looking for what they can sell. It’s a package deal too, so put forth your best effort and make a big impression.

But most of all, get to Realm Makers next year!

It’s amazing how lost we can get in life at times, how little we can know about ourselves. I can’t even fathom my life without writing, yet there I was not so many years ago tied up in a different kind of existence with the truest part of myself turned off, unplugged like the plug to a buzz saw lying limp on the floor.

Photo credit: Hyena via WikiCommons

I’m so glad I started writing those first posts, most of them not good for months, all of them scattered as I tried to figure out my niche, style, and voice. Once the saw is turned on you have to spend loads of time sharpening the blade. Then one day in 2010 WordPress made one of my posts go viral, and everything changed.

Because of blogging. How cool is that?

These days I’ve joined forces with fun friends over at NorvilleRogers.com where we ponder pop culture, life, and other internet ridiculousness. We’d love for you to check it out.

But I’m still here too. This site will serve as my central internet hub but still has a blog component. My life as a writer and speaker will be featured here as well as some other parts of this journey as a career freelancer. I’ve gone a decade now without a full-time employer and find many people interested in hearing how that works and if they should pursue such a lifestyle. It’s a good question in this digital age where work and careers are being redefined.

So whether you’re here to join in the journey or eyeball what goes on from a distance, welcome to the new ClayWrites.

If you have any thoughts, questions, or suggestions for me go ahead and put them in the comments or follow the Contact tab on the menu to email me.

Before I make a quick observation, let me scintillate you with some of my big “firsts” of 2014.

First Meal: breakfast burritos

First Music: Listened to Binaural by Pearl Jam while cooking said breakfast burritos. I can’t believe that album is 13 years old!

First Thing I Watched: An episode of Psych, specifically the one in season 4 called “Shawn Takes a Shot in the Dark.”

Happy New Year via WikiCommons user Ross/geograph.org.uk

There’s something about firsts that interest us. We admire pioneers because the first person to do something always gets recognition.

In our own lives, firsts are more memorable. January 1 is exciting because the calendar changes over. We can use that dividing line in time as a way to see some things in life, even mundane meals and songs, as something new again.

I’m starting something new as well. New class at Pitt, teaching at a new college, and launching a new website as I work on two new books.

But like any new thing that takes on wear and tear, each year inevitably loses its holiday shine, that festive sparkle, until the fresh calendar year just gets old.

As I chatted with my neighbor while walking my dog on New Year’s Eve, he reminded me that New Year’s is a time to evaluate how you did over the past 12 months and look ahead to what you hope to accomplish. Not exactly wisdom of Confucius I suppose, but he really does it. He sits down with his family and has that conversation.

“You never get done as much as you want,” he told me. “There’s never enough time, but you do the best you can do.”

For all the high-fallutin’, self-help, Type-A, git-r-done thoughts floating around every January, I’m focusing on my neighbor’s way of thinking. Reflect, evaluate, and move on. Do the best you can do. I feel like I only completed a small part of the goals I set for 2013, but how can you quantify lessons learned, sweat equity, and hidden effort that pays off down the line?

Do the best you can and try to make each day meaningful even if only in some small way. Don’t forget to enjoy some good entertainment and a delicious breakfast burrito here and there along the way. These are the types of pithy sayings people older and wiser than I have been telling me for years. I long thought they were too simplistic, that they should have greater nuggets of wisdom for us after so many years of thinking and living. But know what? I think they’re onto something.

It all started with an article on Slate.com called Santa Should Not Be A White Man Anymore. Read it if you want, but you’ll be able to keep up without doing so.

Conservative Godmother Nancy Reagan Embraces African-American Santa/Mr. T (If at any point you feel unhappy or uncomfortable about what’s happening in this blog post, just look at this picture again. Repeat as needed.)

Things got obliteratingly stupid ridiculous when Megyn Kelly of Fox News hosted a panel on her show to talk about how crazy this idea was because Santa Claus is totally a white guy. ERRBODY knows that. But why stop there. Kelly proceeded to point out, matter-of-factly, that Jesus was a white guy. IT’S JUST A HISTORICAL FACT YOU GUYS.

*strangles myself with tinsel*

Here it is if you can handle cringing a lot.

My good friend JR. Forasteros (who has an amazing new website you should check out) summed it up best:

Fox News actually said Jesus was a white man. For real. In real life. This happened. WHAT. IN. THE. WORLD.

Rather than try to take on what happened on this panel blow-by-blow (including the fact that NO ONE else disagreed with her), I’ll offer Exhibit C, a 9+ minute (and not the cleanest bit of comedy if you’re sensitive to such things) rebuttal (read: takedown) of Kelly and pals by Jon Stewart on The Daily Show.

Look, I’ve heard Megyn Kelly talk intelligently on plenty of topics before. That is to say I know she has a brain, so how in the world could such ideas slip out so nonchalantly? Well, I think it speaks to some cultural assumptions that are at the heart of inequality issues. I do not mean to say that everybody who opposes Kelly or Fox News is 100% correct. At all.

And I know how this works. When I point out something stupid done by liberals my conservative friends get happy and supportive while my liberal friends simmer and seethe. And when I point out something stupid done by conservatives it seems just the opposite happens. I suppose that instead of being political I’d rather point out the common theme that folks on both sides can be absurd. My hope is that we can find common ground in our recognition of that reality. After all, people on both sides can be naughty and nice. MAYBE, just maybe, we can move on with more humility in our views on highly charged issues.

Now back to the story at hand and a fun finish (at least for me). Jimmy Kimmel did a bit on this fiasco as well. If you don’t want to hear more of the same in his setup, just skip to the 2:01 mark for a great parody on the Fox News version of It’s A Wonderful Life.

Finally, if you feel like I’m giving Fox News a raw deal here, don’t worry, I’m sure MSNBC will give us reason to satire soon enough. Until then, I’m gonna go watch It’s A Wonderful Life because it’s one of the greatest movies ever made.

Getting ready for some GRANDE changes in the way I internet (stay tuned for early 2014), so in the meantime I haven’t been putting much out here. Except these are some really fun vlogs in which Melissa loves on things and I ridicule.

Okay, that’s not always the case. Sometimes Melissa is “Iowa mean” which is still nice enough to stay off Santa’s naughty list. I almost pushed her over the edge though when we did her almost favorite movie ever, The Sound of Music.

So maybe that’s when we had the most fun gushing (see, sometimes you can gush resentment too), but that’s not a Christmas tale. These next two are.

MAYBE I was supposed to be more impressed with White Christmas. I didn’t say it was the worst ever ya know. And I even declared I would take it over The Sound of Music.

But one flick I’ll take over both of those is Christmas In Connecticut. Props to Melissa for introducing me to this one starring Dennis Morgan, Barbara Stanwyck, and Sydney Greenstreet. Fun movie. Here’s why.

But we’re not done yet! We have two more class Christmas movies coming. Think you can guess them BOTH? I bet you could.

Classic Movie Gush is a regular feature in which we revisit/introduce classic movies from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Catch up on all the movies we’ve talked about by visiting the Official Classic Movie Gush Page.

This video appeared over at Upworthy (I discovered it when author AnnaLisa Grant posted it) and provides compelling (and damning) examples of how advertising images of women has gotten worse in the past decade, and why this cultural manipulation affects us all.