- Keiji creating art and upping the inspiration and fun with his “GRRRanimals of WKNY” mural:

The truth of the matter is that there are somewhere around 160 people in our office, and there are somewhere around 100 creatures on the stairwell. What that means is that many of the animals are really amalgams of several different people, groups of people, and so forth. Yes, it’s true that some of the creatures are more direct reference to specific individuals, but for the most part the animals are mixes. Literally months of thought have gone into the careful analysis of the bestial representations of various people in the office, and I think in short its best to consider the value of an animal in a more eastern way—that is to say, its all good, even if you’re a pig or a rat. Also frankly, if you think about it, you’re probaby not a dragon, or a liger or like a griffon or something.

Stairwell V2 from Keiji Ando on Vimeo.

- Nick completing his “100 Bands in 100 Days” project and inviting us all to his final show:

The fact that I can find live music in downtown Hartford, CT on a random Monday night amazes me. How I can still see Les Paul, the 93-year old man who invented the solid body electric guitar, every Monday night, have him flick me off for a picture and meet him afterwards amazes me. The fact that I can be asked on stage to perform with a band that’s been together for over 20 years, to a sold out crowd in NYC amazes me. And the fact that I can see 100 consecutive days of live music and still love music amazes me.

- Phil taking pictures of WKNYers in a project (that didn’t start as a project at all) called Rooftop at Seven:

Well I shot Sara and then Heather and those went well so I was like fuck it. LET’S GO.

Three very different projects that transform employees to people (or co-workers to friends) and make me feel more connected to the place and people around here. Not human resource sanctioned or agency funded necessarily (except for Keiji’s paint I think) but permitted (if not encouraged) and extremely valuable.

In the video below, Jay Smooth tackles the current T.I. situation by drawing upon what he’s learned from his involvement in helping youth at group homes. In doing so, he helps us understand the psychology of rappers. I’ll let him doing the talking – he’s incredibly in-touch and compelling – but highlight the part I found so interesting: When you go from having no options for so long, it’s harder to see all the options around you when you finally get them. So before writing off T.I. for his stupidity, consider this: