As we take our first steps into the Tens decade, it is only natural that we look back on the Ohs that just ended. Personally, on the cusp of becoming a grandfather for the first time, the contrast between past and future seems stark and a bit daunting.
Yet I am endlessly confident in our ability to accomplish anything we set our minds to, both personally and collectively.
Sure there are plenty of terrible things loose in the world. Why am I not worried? Because I have always gotten through any obstacle by doing something differently.
Those are some pretty amazing images for me. Recently my career was turned topsy turvy by a corrupt state government that used the No Child Left Behind mess to pad the bank accounts of the cronies and relatives of Jeb Bush while ruining the public education system in Florida until the Art department at the alternative high school that I had created and enjoyed for 13 years was eliminated completely.
I landed on my feet in the ideal job in and Elementary School two miles from my home, and the switch from teenagers to young children was also stark and a bit daunting. When it came to teaching color theory, I wanted to do it differently.
Do you remember the color wheel? Boring, right? The images above teach the same material in a brand new way. The objective is accomplished while creating a truly beautiful piece of art that can be cherished forever. The kids used crenellated lines for the primary colors, with spaced hatching in between with the secondary colors that are made from the primaries above and below. Rather than using the traditional tempera paint with its limited range, we used watercolor markers and allowed the spectrum to blend to infinity.
Rather than using the tired old method, I opened myself to a new possiblity. It worked beyond my wildest dreams.
Would that work for politics? I have no idea, but it is worth a shot.
Sure, with politics we are up against a system that is nearly impossible to beat. The best intentions will surely be dragged into the mud of uncertainty and conflicting opinion. The Oh decade taught me a bit about that.
See, back in 2004 Upper Deck introduced a trading card game called Vs. System featuring the comic book characters of Marvel and DC Comics. The game was meant to compete directly against Magic the Gathering, which was fueled by tens of millions of dollars spent on chasing one million dollars of World Championship prizes. Vs. System, therefore, started with a million dollar Pro Circuit.
It was a world-recognized official sport, for fanboy geeks like me!
I was an avid collector of superhero trading cards, but I had never tried competitive Magic. The Pro Tour was notorious for its wickedly cutthroat cutural environment, much like politics. It was an intimidating proposition, but I decided to try to make a difference in the newly forming Vs. System community of fans and players.
There is actually a fair amount of celebrity status available on the Magic Pro Tour, and a sizable audience for entertaining articles about th game. Back in 2004, there were even multiple glossy magazines covering the sport. I knew that Vs. System would generate the same opportunities for recognized players and writers, and it sounded like a thrilling and rewarding hobby that might actually pay for its own toys. I jumped in hard.
I had an obvious interest in the $40,000 champion's check, but my main objective was to find an alternative play-style and persona. I wanted to "make a name for myself", and land a paying writing gig out of it.
After studying the system I was going to game, I did something differently.
(That's me in the corner. That's me in the spot, light, holding the bottom of the big check.)
The Magic Pro Tour is all about powerful elites and protection of competitive advantage, much like politics. For the Vs. System Pro Circuit, I created a persona based on equality amongst all levels of players and creative enjoyment of a competitive game as an alternative. It worked really well, even in the midst of the inevitable greed and conflict that often threatened to burn down my different way.
I won a few tournaments, even finding myself a member of a World Championship team. I accomplished the most amazing single body of writing of my life, completing a (paid) weekly article for three straight years without missing a single deadline. Upper Deck even named a card after one of my articles. Very good times.
After five glorious years, Upper Deck decided to cancel Vs. System. The million dollar Pro Circuit had absorbed too much profit. They are about to release a brand new trading card game based on the Marvel movies. There will be a tournament system and writing opportunities, but no big-money prizes.
This time I will do something differently.
During the glory days of Vs. System as a "famous" personality promoting peace and love in a cutthroat competitive community, I got haters.
I did not respond well.
The community gathered mainly on one particular message board, and my "hippie" methods rubbed a whole bunch of people the wrong way. I fought back like the punk rocker I am. I defended my Kumbaya with killer sharp teeth. It was intense, it was entertaing, but in end it was destructive in terms of my original objective.
This time I will do that part VERY differently.
With a shiny new decade gleaming in our hands today, it is a thrilling thing to do.
Happy New Year, to one and all.