Ted Beam

Day 11: Album Concept Art!

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 23:06:00 -0500

It’s Day 11 of our Kickstarter campaign, and we’ve passed 50% of our goal!

And now we’ve got album concept art!

If you haven’t weighed in yet, I’d love to hear which version of the album art you like the best.

This campaign has been a crash course in developing a marketing campaign and managing the production of a creative endeavor. I know I’m going to sound like an old fogey, but I wish Kickstarter had been around ten years ago. It would have forced me to get my act together and to take my artistic aspirations more seriously. Another huge thing I’m learning is how much of a communal phenomenon this campaign is. We’re receiving support from friends and family across the country, and I’ve had the chance to connect with other Kickstarters currently holding campaigns. I’m also learning a lot about how to best present personal endeavors to friends, and I feel like I still have gobs to learn in that area. I take people’s personal space seriously, and I don’t want to bombard that space with too many messages that could come across as merely promoting myself. At the same time, you have to get the word out. I hope to take what I learn and use it to communicate other messages I’m passionate about.

Finally, reaching out to people who I haven’t seen or spoken with in a while has kindled a desire to reengage and maintain those friendships. The vacuum of everyday life has a way of pulling all of your focus into the space right in front of you. I want to live a bigger life than that. I don’t want to forget all the people who have impacted my life a meaningful way.

Kickstarter: Day 4

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 03:24:00 -0500

I’m keeping it short tonight. Managing a fundraising campaign could very well be a full-time gig. Today was a slow day, but we’re still only four days in—so I’m not going to despair or speculate. If you haven’t checked out our project, visit it here! http://kck.st/wAlXTA

Kickstarter: Day 3

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 03:00:00 -0500

It’s Day 3, and we’ve hit 30%! It’s also late, so I’m going to keep this post short. I’m not sure how people who are constantly self promoting do it. We all want to be seen and heard, but it’s definitely possible to get sick of oneself. Having said that, I’m excited! In case you happen to be stumbling upon this post from the far reaches of the Internets, please click here to see the Kickstarter project of which I speak: http://kck.st/wAlXTA

Kickstarter: Day 2

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 04:04:00 -0500

Midnight sure got here fast. That may have had something to do with Valentines Day. There were a number of thoughts that flitted through my mind today regarding Kickstarter that I wanted to capture. Not sure I’m going to be able to recall them all. One thing I have been struck by is how generous people have been. I have been humbled by this. I like to think of myself as generous, but I’m forced to admit that I often deliberate over giving for a little too long—often long enough to either sap the spontaneity out of the giving or to not give at all. I have to say that I am probably going to give to each and every person who asks me to contribute to their Kickstarter project from now on. But what I’m talking about is more than just Kickstarter: I’m talking about giving in general. I have a lot of fear wrapped up in parting with my money. “We need this to save up for this. What if this happens and we need that money?” Those obviously are not bad things to consider. But there is an expansion of life that happens when you give—a quality that seems crazy to live life without. So send me your Kickstarter projects. I’ll give whatever I can.

Kickstarter: Day 1

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 01:13:00 -0500

I have to be honest. Most of the time it occurs to me that I should probably make myself sit down and write something to post here, an overwhelming sense of dread comes over me and casts a shadow like the Angel of Death. “But I have nothing to say. But I have nothing to say.” That’s nothing unusual for a writer certainly. However, it’s a wonderful thing when you do have something systematic to write about over an extended period of time. That doesn’t necessarily mean I’m going to sit down and write every time the idea crosses my mind. But at least I have a failsafe subject I can turn to should no other coherent thoughts take form. Let me cut to the chase. Today my wife and I launched a Kickstarter project to fund an album that has seriously been brewing for almost a decade. I won’t go into the details of our story because if you really want to find out more, you’ll click on the above link. What I would like to capture in this humble space of mine is our adventure over the next month of working toward raising our $7500 goal. At the end of Day 1, I’m happy to report that we have raised $890, almost 12% of our goal! I know it’s only been one day, but the goal still feels a bit daunting. We’ve gotten off to a great start, but what if this is just the initial push of a small cadre of friends who love us more than our music? Ah, but there will be plenty of time for self-doubting and second guessing! In the meantime, here’s a message from our commercial sponsor: http://kck.st/wAlXTA

January 2012 :: New Music Mix

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:49:00 -0500

Enjoy this mix of new music from January! (You’re welcome in advance.)

January 2012: LA Winter from tedbeam on 8tracks.

Track list

For Paolo - Woodpigeon
When I was Young - Nada Surf
Kathleen Edwards - Change the Sheets
Old L.A. - Farrar Johnson Parker Yames
Simple Song - The Shins
You as You Were - Shearwater
Heavy Metal - White Rabbits
The Reflection of You - Bear in Heaven

Scanning the Past

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:37:00 -0500

Earlier this week I decided to see if I could find any traces of my late grandfather’s office supply company, Red Tiger Products, on the Internet. To my delight, I discovered that the Smithsonian Libraries had twelve of his catalogs from 1951 to 1953 in their Trade Literature collection. I of course had to wield the power of social media to see if I could get an electronic copy of any of these catalogs and immediately sent a message to @silibraries. I was referred to instructional/reference librarian @Trina_SIL who told me that my grandfather’s catalogs had not yet been digitized but offered to see if she could scan a copy of one of his catalogs for me. By the next day, I was happily perusing Red Tiger Products Catalog 132 from 1951. Here’s a clip showing the company’s logo and my grandfather’s signature:

(Click Read More below to see a full spread from the catalog.)

I learned that the Smithsonian Libraries are currently seeking grants to support the digitization of their trade literature holdings. If you’d like to donate to these efforts, you can find more info about how to do that here. (Be sure to choose “Digitizing” from the donation drop-down menu.) For more information about the trade literature collection itself, be sure to check out @Trina_SIL’s blog post here.

Thanks, Smithsonian. You’re a true American treasure.

Everything's Riding on this Shot

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:05:00 -0500

Five Predictions for 2012

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 03:16:00 -0500

Here are five predictions for 2012. Let me know if you think I’ve missed an important one.

Jamie Oliver invents an organic sprayable cheese that sells for $15 a can at Whole Foods.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei finally lifts the fatwa against Salman Rushdie, only to immediately call for the head of “culinary rock star” Guy Fieri.
President Obama, feeling the oats of his second-term election, names Carrot Top Supreme Chancellor of Prop Comedy.
PODS’ stock price skyrockets as school districts around the country—dealing with unprecedented budget shortfalls—turn to the storage company to provide makeshift classrooms for overflow students.
Kim Jong-un declares hi-top fade to be the official hair style of North Korea and puts Christopher “Kid” Reid on the 10 won bill.

The Other Half

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 09:30:00 -0500

Whenever I fly, I like to flip through the latest copy of Sky Mall to see what the other half is up to. Did you know that rich people, when they’re not at Illuminati meetings ruling the world, wear special helmets that simulate thousands of tiny fingers simultaneously massaging your scalp? (Maybe they wear them at meetings, too?) These well-heeled gentlefolk also have bars hidden inside of what appear to be antique globes. Should their fortresses ever be broken into, at least their Dalmore 62 single Highland malt scotch whiskey will be safe. And why do people think that wealthy people are all heartless Scrooges? As the photo below clearly shows, some take great pains to make sure getting in the back of the Hummer isn’t too stressful for Killer.

The Magic and Tigers of Rick Thomas

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 10:48:00 -0500

Pretty sure this is the only extant albino tiger photo bomb.