Enklings Studio

What's Tim Up To? - End of the Year Edition

It's been a while since I updated my blog on what's been going on, so here goes:

Native Trails!

Having way too much fun working at Native Trails, a kitchen and bath manufacturer that focuses on beautiful recycled copper sinks, tubs and range hoods along with very cool reclaimed and sustainable wood bath vanities and other home goods.  I'm the Exec VP there, so I get to run marketing and operations along with HR, product development, warehousing and shipping and get involved in anything else they ask me to do.  Left brain/right brain, the perfect job for me!  Obviously we have an awesome team that really runs all this stuff, but I just pinch myself every day that I get to go to work at such a cool place!  If you love your work, it seems a lot more like play!

Friends of the Prado Day Center

I signed up for another year of being the board secretary for this awesome non-profit.  I'm giving up the web work to help more on the marketing and PR side which will be a nice change. With the new Homeless Services Center on the horizon, many of the non-profits in SLO that work with the homeless will morph into something slightly different over the next few years.  It will be fun to be a part of that change.  Want to join us?  Let me know.

Cousin Camp - A guide to Intentional Grandparenting

I'm still helping the author of this book to get the word out.  We'll be launching a bit of social media magic after the first of the year and looking for some PR representation in the Phoenix area to take it to the next level!

Twitterforfood

I'm still involved with the hunger community online as once a month I try to get people to skip a meal and use the savings to fund local and global hunger relief. Join me the first Tuesday of each month as twitter users band together to fight hunger around the globe!  Join me @hungernomore.

SLO Green Build

Not much happening here with me, but I'm still on the marketing team for this sustainable non-profit.  Will have to reconnect and see what's happening.  Mostly helping with web on this one.

The Greatest in the Kingdom Book Series

OK, this is the year to find a publisher or start self publishing my children's picture book series.  Three books written with three to go.  Pretty excited about these.  I have this crazy idea to launch the series in China first and then bring it to the U.S.  Watch for some fun ideas coming out of this!

International travel and lots of domestic travel is on the horizon for this year - strapping on my seatbelt and getting ready for a wild 2011!

simply,

Tim

The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion at the Twilight of the American Empire by Matt Taibbi

The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion at the Twilight of the American Empire by Matt Taibbi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow. A VERY candid look at our political process, Evangelical Christianity and fringe groups like the 9/11 Truthers through the eyes of Rolling Stone reporter Matt Taibbi.

This volume is definitely NSFC (not safe for Church) as it is riddled with profanity and also ridicules the John Hagee ministry and how "conversions" happen. Taibbi goes undercover in the Church and experiences what happens when a new convert joins the Church. While Hagee's ministry is not entirely representative of Evangelical Christianity, there is more common than not with most Churches today.

The view of the bi-partisan congress we have and the political process that happens is disheartening and one I knew was there, but Taibbi shows the underbelly. Ugh. While Taibbi is a firm liberal, he pulls no punches on either party as to the collective corruption in both and all of Washington.

I would have like to seen some answers, but understand as a reporter, answers are not part of the deal. So this book leaves you a bit up in the air as to what to do. I know I've felt that way anyway for some time, so perhaps this book wasn't all that helpful, but I am determined to find a path that won't have me voting for the person who will cause the least harm. I've also been in the process of deprogramming 50 years of Evangelical brainwashing over the last few years, so the look at the Church was not shocking to me. He shares some poignant moments though that show why belonging to a Church is valuable beyond the doctrine and dogmatism that have taken over what faith was meant to be.

Read this one at your own risk. I recommend it, but only to those who can handle the language and the harsh look at the topics.

simply,

Tim



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