This was a project with MoveOn.org. It ultimately was not used. But it sure was fun to make.

[caption id="attachment_4841" align="alignnone" width="360" caption="Stand with Randy, Stop the Pipeline"][/caption] Is the future of American energy a pipeline full of thick tar trudging its way from Canada to the Gulf cutting across the great plains in a tube constructed with corporate talking points and wishful thinking? Perhaps. But a group of stubborn Nebraska citizens think otherwise. They're standing up to this dangerous oil pipeline that's slotted to run over the largest underground aquifer in the world. And they're not backing down. You too can join the effort to the stop the pipeline. You too can Stand with Randy.

GREEN PATRIOT POSTERS (Project Green/NOMAD Films) is being made into a documentary short film. And you can help Kickstart it!

Of course 1 leak is too many when we're talking Oil+Water, but this corporation's own estimates of 11 leaks is simply laughable. Worst Case Spills for TransCanada Pipeline put that number far higher.

[caption id="attachment_4749" align="alignnone" width="540" caption="Why We're Here: The Powerful Impact of Public Broadcasters When They Turn Outward "][/caption] Earlier this year I completed a project with the Harwood Institute. It's a book about public broadcasters and the crucial role they play in any community. When public broadcasters actively engage in the places they live, when they step outside of their traditional programming and seek to use the airwaves while working with the people, positive change does happen. It's a hopeful look at working together after changing fundamentally the way an organization thinks of itself; not apart from, but with. And that, after the turbulence, conflict and friction that comes from collaborative efforts, leads to good things.

Just East of West is a book of poetry and haiku by Bil Johnson, both a marvelous poet and a close friend of the Match Factory. From a collection of random scribblings, notebooks here and there, some napkins and stapled together associations, we pulled together a strong body of words from this Midwestern poet in the most honest way we could think of; a self-published book with additional hand-done, screenprinted flare. At its conclusion, it appeared to us to be about the Earth and its future. As much a concerning stare at manmade "progress" as hopeful nod to the beauty of what's already out there, and what is next for all of us; love, discovery, rebirth, etc. When all was said and done, what fit in our hands was a catalog of life. We grew up on these great midwestern plains, now they lay open proudly awaiting the next troupe of angelic youth, troubadours in their own right, setting out for burning sky and bright new tomorrows. If there's a revelation to be made from reading the work, it's that there is good and bad, decay and beauty in all of it. We suffer and celebrate in the gray. The idea of black and white, even right and wrong, is given far too much credence these days. The fact is both are constantly surrounding us, the gray area is where everything worthwhile lives, and you must hold the ups and the downs in your line of site as you move, steady as she goes, along your meandering path toward whatever greater truth you seek.

• This book project was conceived in the winter of 2008 on a painfully cold day on the great plains over coffee and cabinet picks. It was meant to take some of the most honest poetry I had ever read and put it together in a form that was equally as honest. Honestly concerned about our future on Earth while celebrating the love and life that people around us are a part of every day. Wherever we are on this planet, here we are indeed. Under the energy of the sun, looking up at that black canvas sky, we the little peapods are just living, trying to do the best we can. What this is, what we are, is just a song, just a touch, just a kiss of our humanity in the immense vastness. With that, we wish you happy travels.

[caption id="attachment_4681" align="alignnone" width="540" caption="screenprint postcards"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_4682" align="alignnone" width="540" caption="book package"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_4686" align="alignnone" width="540" caption="poems"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_4687" align="alignnone" width="540" caption="jack the anarchist"][/caption] just east of west design notes: july 2009 what i see as the simplicity and the clarity of this poetry book reinforces the aspects of living within a system that isn't all that complicated. from cover to pages to back cover, the turbulent spinning of life is there in image and tone. the constrained aspects of life in a bowl, on a tiny blue dot turning black before our eyes, offer hope for continued living. tales of the earth, love, life, planet, religion, friendship, nature, animals, all intertwine themselves, mingle, mix, dance, as the words suggest. we're offered directions on "how to live" but upon contradiction, are left with baffled stares. the future, our sons and daughters, our culture and ideas, carry us into great unknowns, what pioneers saw as the frontier. in this case the son, and all his promise. the tiny tree in what used to be a forest, HERE. it is waiting for the son. interwoven with the part of life that interconnects, the sweet sound of poetry, the haiku, set to rhythmic syllables. what are we afraid of? not sure. nothing i guess, with such a gift of language to light our way, tell our story, advise our kids, direct ourselves, for life on this planet. is it all turning black? the sky soon to be left crisp once the fossils are emitted up into the sky blocking the heavens, blotting out the sun? the stars, trees, mountains, and waves, is all that is left, the markings of a child? sent to the future by the tomorrow? so many questions. so many thoughts. are we directionless? is there light guiding us? are we the shark in the fish bowl? too big, a relic of a bygone era, with no place else to go, hovering in the dark? or there may be a single tree, just east of west. [caption id="attachment_4696" align="alignnone" width="540" caption=""i want to walk into the woods and inhale""][/caption] [caption id="attachment_4702" align="alignnone" width="540" caption="Just East of West"][/caption] -- Justin Kemerling, Designer. justinkemerling.com

[caption id="attachment_4637" align="alignnone" width="540" caption="Move America Forward"][/caption] Energy Pioneer Solutions is a startup from Hastings, Nebraska that's focused on local solutions to national problems. They're an energy company, only they don't drill, or frack, or remove mountaintops. Instead, they're seeking to reverse more than three decades of rising energy costs in the residential and commercial property sectors with a very practical idea; to make our homes and buildings energy efficient. To tighten them up. To put the power back in the hands of the homeowner, allowing them to save money, have a more comfortable home and to do the patriotic thing. After all, the greenest energy we have is the energy we don't use. It's not as visually stimulating as a field full of wind turbines, but its effectiveness and just how easy it is to do makes it absolutely essential for how America moves forward. We've got a lot of old homes in this country. Homes that are drafty, inefficient and not doing anything to help make us a more secure nation. This company is doing something to change that. At times it sounds too good to be true. It seems too easy. But that's just because the program is that good. I've worked with Energy Pioneer Solutions for over a year. It's been great to be able to help tell their story and inspire people to sign up to be an Energy Pioneer. Now, with the New BLK involved, we're looking to make Hastings the most energy efficient town in America. Stay tuned.

[caption id="attachment_4609" align="alignnone" width="540" caption="TED2011"][/caption] In February of this year, Eli Pariser approached me about designing the slides for his upcoming TED Talk for TED2011. Slotted for nine minutes, the topic was the subject of his new book being released on May 12th. What was supposed to be the great democratizing force of the ages, the Internet, no longer is living up to its promise. Rather, what's being created around us by web companies and their algorithms is a hyper-personalized space of information specifically tailored to us based on what we like. We are all ending up in our very own bubbles, with challenging subjects or people who disagree with us being filtered out. And we're not even aware of it. As of today, the talk is now online at TED. We also have just launched the site for the book, the Filter Bubble. Big props to Eli on this exciting day. And thanks to Matt Linder and the New BLK team for another great site development. [caption id="attachment_4602" align="alignnone" width="540" caption="Your very own filter bubble"][/caption] Eli Pariser: Beware online "filter bubbles"

[caption id="attachment_4595" align="alignnone" width="540" caption="Tugboat Gallery exhibition posters CA Exhibit"][/caption] Communication Arts added four of the Tugboat Gallery posters to their very impressive collection of Exhibit work. It's great to get these posted by a creative organization I've always highly respected for their vision and inspiration.