American religion is conspicuous for its messianically pretentious energy, its embarrassingly banal prose, and its impatiently hustling ambition. None of these marks is remotely biblical. None is faintly in evidence in the gospel story. All of them are thoroughly documented diseases of the spirit.

— Eugene H. Peterson

Charles loves ducks, balls, and books. You can see the delight and curiosity on his face as he explores his Easter basket.

I haven’t really picked up our “real” camera in several months. My heart hasn’t been in it.

But, there’s nothing like these sweet faces to bring back the magic of snapping the moment.

It’s my first crack at ink sketches and digital coloring.

Chuck Bear and The Brown are best friends. But they don’t know it yet. The Brown is very serious. He’s like a dog philosopher. And he doesn’t quite trust Chuck Bear yet. (Remember this video from when Chuck Bear came home from the hospital?)

But, when he thinks The Bear won’t notice, Brown will come over and lay down next to Bearnado and lick the baby’s head. He secretly loves The Bear. And The Bear adores “dog.”

Right now, they actually have a lot in common. Both love to speed around on all fours. Both love snacks. And both dream of their number one, all-time, favorite object of wonder and fascination.

They will get along just fine.

And, of course, Sarah brought the camera along for this day of firsts.

Chuck Bear loves to explore new things by sight, feel and taste. First corn stalks. First pumpkins. First afternoon of lounging in the sun atop a stack of squash. That’s the life.

“I divide my officers into four classes; the clever, the lazy, the industrious, and the stupid. Each officer possesses at least two of these qualities. Those who are clever and industrious are fitted for the highest staff appointments. Use can be made of those who are stupid and lazy. The man who is clever and lazy however is for the very highest command; he has the temperament and nerves to deal with all situations. But whoever is stupid and industrious is a menace and must be removed immediately!”
— General Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord

Before we feed him this avocado, let’s make our bold predictions about how Chuck Bear will react to his first bite.

Sarah: He’s been curious about food and been watching us eat more and more. I think he’s ready. He’s going to love this avocado and chomp it down like a champ. I’ve been wanting to let him try solid food for a week and you’ve been putting it off. He’s gonna to love it.

Owen: I have been putting it off because I’m guessing we’re going to see tears. He’s going to put a foreign object in his mouth, it will taste strong to him, and he’s going to scrunch up his face and let out a howl.

Ok. Now, let’s see what happens….

I’m taking the plunge.

I’ve spent a lot of time and effort over the last …oh, 10 years…making stuff for clients and employers. It was about time I create something for me. Launching my own podcast has been on my bucket list for years. Now, I’m crossing it off.

The podcast is called Elevator. It’s loosely based on the idea of conversations in an elevator where you discuss an interesting bit in a minute or two before you move on. The tagline is “big ideas in a small space.” This isn’t a hyped-up audio selfie where I rant about my boring life. It’s about great stories and ideas.

Why do a podcast?

1. I’m trying to take more emotional risks.
2. I love telling tantalizing stories.
3. I love conversations about interesting stuff — life outside the everyday routine.

One of my goals for this year has been to put myself out there a little more. Take a risk. Reveal a little more of what I really think and how I truly feel. Some find it easy to be real. I don’t. So, putting this podcast out there feels a lot like standing on the high dive platform looking down past by toes at an ice cold pool. I’m taking the plunge.

Elevator breaks the rules. Conventional wisdom says a podcast should focus on a narrow subject and hit the same topics over and over again. I hate podcasts like that. My favorite podcasts feature an interesting person and let you live inside their head for a few minuntes. You learn interesting things with an interesting person. In my opinion, a podcasts at its best is not about a topic, it’s about telling good, interesting stories and about helping you see life in a new way.

That’s what I’m trying to do with Elevator — tell interesting stories from an interesting mind to take your thoughts in a direction you may have never gone before. No rules. No web traffic optimization. Just great stories I want to talk about.

I learn something every show and I think you’ll come away with something new, too. A new fact. A new idea. A new story to share with a friend.

So, listen up! I’d love to know what you think about Elevator. I’d love to have an interesting conversation with you.

Listen on the player above.

Explore more from this episode of Elevator including videos, story transcripts, photos, and subscribe on iTunes at theelevatorshow.com

Aereo bills itself as a DVR meets cloud storage meets netflix where subscribers can pay to rent a tiny antenna and DVR at a local Aereo antenna farm. Subscribers can direct their antenna and DVR to view and record shows over the internet to computers, tablets, and smartphones. More about their service here.

Recording and playback of broadcast content is legal. If it goes over the airwaves, you’re allowed to receive it, view it, record it, and play it back later. Where Aereo walked the fine legal line was on it’s subscription model. According to Aereo, they are selling the ability to record and watch broadcast content, not the content itself. Of course, Aereo’s opponents don’t see it that way. They contend that Aereo is profiting off of copyrighted content by rebroadcasting it.

In a 6-3 decision today, the US Supreme Court sided with the big media conglomerates who were wishing they’d thought of Aereo’s idea first. (Can you tell I’m not happy about the Supreme Court’s majority opinion?)

What does it mean?

Today’s ruling leaves the fate of Aereo in question.

As a Aereo subscriber, this is sad news.

My question is simply this: If a brick and mortar service that would rent me an antenna and a DVR for $8 a month that allowed me to watch and record local broadcast content would they be facing the same treatment? Of course not.

Two things are clear:

1. Our laws and our courts are not adequate to handle the brave new world of cloud storage.
2. Cable providers are powerful, terrified, and have very deep pockets.

— UPDATE: 12:34pm

A Letter from Chet Kanojia

On Wednesday, June 25 at 12:30pm CMT Aereo emailed the following letter to its subscribers:

Court decision denies consumers the ability to use a cloud-based antenna to access free over-the-air television, further eliminating choice and competition in the television marketplace

New York, New York (June 25, 2014) – The following statement can be attributed to Aereo CEO and Founder, Chet Kanojia:

“Today’s decision by the United States Supreme Court is a massive setback for the American consumer. We’ve said all along that we worked diligently to create a technology that complies with the law, but today’s decision clearly states that how the technology works does not matter. This sends a chilling message to the technology industry. It is troubling that the Court states in its decision that, ‘to the extent commercial actors or other interested entities may be concerned with the relationship between the development and use of such technologies and the Copyright Act, they are of course free to seek action from Congress.’ (Majority, page 17) That begs the question: Are we moving towards a permission-based system for technology innovation?”

“Consumer access to free-to-air broadcast television is an essential part of our country’s fabric. Using an antenna to access free-to-air broadcast television is still meaningful for more than 60 million Americans across the United States. And when new technology enables consumers to use a smarter, easier to use antenna, consumers and the marketplace win. Free-to-air broadcast television should not be available only to those who can afford to pay for the cable or satellite bundle.”

“Justice Scalia’s dissent gets it right. He calls out the majority’s opinion as ‘built on the shakiest of foundations.’ (Dissent, page 7) Justice Scalia goes on to say that ‘The Court vows that its ruling will not affect cloud-storage providers and cable television systems, see ante, at 16-17, but it cannot deliver on that promise given the imprecision of its results-driven rule.’ (Dissent, page 11)”

“We are disappointed in the outcome, but our work is not done. We will continue to fight for our consumers and fight to create innovative technologies that have a meaningful and positive impact on our world.”

Yours truly,

Chet Kanojia

Founder and CEO