I might have to whisper this amidst the hyperbole around Apple’s iPad, but I just don’t buy it. Don’t misunderstand me; the iPad will likely be a huge success and will change the industry. I just cannot quite see how this fills the gap between my iPhone and my MacBook. Actually, I can’t see the gap. What I see is a gray area of overlap between my iPhone and MacBook.

I’m no technology geek, so I won’t address the technological wonder or disappointment (what, still no Flash?) of the iPad. What I am struggling with is the whole purpose of this device. When I consider my lifestyle, I don’t see a place for the iPad. Its main appeal seems to lie in the category of technology use that could be called entertainment. But when am I going to indulge in that via an iPad? When I am working (and maybe goofing off a little), whether in the office, at home or a coffee shop or other “third place”, my MacBook serves my needs excellently. During social time, my iPhone provides more than enough connectivity, entertainment and flexible communication to fill those periods. As for other moments “in between”, such as hanging around at airports, laying on the beach or relaxing on a casual Sunday afternoon at home, I’m able to enjoy life absent technology, hard as that might be to believe.

My thoughts are heretical around here, where Apple is loved with a religious fervor. I’m sure a colleague or two may respond on this blog. What I really need, though, is a single device that merges the convenience, connectivity and flexibility of an iPhone with the power and utility of a MacBook, all spruced up with the entertaining delights that might be found on an iPad. Something like an iEverything.

What do you think? How do you live? What do you need?

Listening is an obligatory activity, perhaps even a mandatory innate mindset or behavior for any business and especially for brand consultants counseling their clients. Whether that listening is to clients, employees, peers or even competitors, essential insight is gained first by listening and then by responding accordingly. The benefits of listening for your business are sometimes overlooked or only lip service is paid to its practice. Friday November 27 is the National Day of Listening. Perhaps the act of listening in its social context can remind us of the power, beauty and heartfelt engagement that comes with truly hearing someone.

Listening to a spouse, family member or friend is to honor their story, to learn about perspectives, to reveal hidden emotional connections and to open the door to understanding our common humanity. It is a celebration of life.

The National Day of Listening is a project inspired by StoryCorps and is an initiative that is itself inspiring. A couple of years ago, I took part in this StoryCorps interview with Ky-Antre, a fantastic young man I mentor through Big Brothers Big Sisters, and the resulting interview was edited for public broadcast. You can hear it here (after the brief NPR plug!):

Are You Listening?

Omaha’s local NPR affiliate, KIOS, is recognizing Friday’s National Day of Listening during this entire Thanksgiving week. It has been humbling and delightful to listen in as the participants from our community listened to each other. Will you be listening this Friday? Who will you converse with? What could you learn? Will you truly engage? Will you take this chance to celebrate life?

You don’t want to know about my romantic past. Indeed, it would be unseemly to discuss the time that my wife and I courted each other. But it is relevant to observe that it may have been during that time particular and long honeymoon period that I fell in love with Bauhaus. During our time living in Aspen we were surrounded by tangible environmental references to Herbert Bayer’s Bauhaus sensibilities. This included not only Bayer’s Aspen Meadows facility, but even the headstone of his Aspen benefactor, Walter Paepcke.

So I am thrilled to see that New York’s MoMa is presenting this significant Bauhaus exhibition from November 11 through January 25. Bauhaus represents a comprehensive conversation between artists, architects and designers, as well as cultural, social and philosophical thinkers. Its attention to the integration of art and form within life continues to be potent and relevant. An interesting feature appeared recently in the New York Times Style Magazine adding some context to the history of Bauhaus and the first MoMa exhibition in 1938.

We have had some creative enjoyment around our office either designing work for clients that has a Bauhaus flair, or otherwise, well, just sitting in Bauhaus derived furniture. Now all I have to do is organize my flights to NYC …

I am enamored of the experimental way some museums are re-examining the visitor experience, especially the launch yesterday* of a Vincent van Gogh iPhone application at the Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam. Viewing art is often a passive, spectator activity, which I why I am always captivated by creative explorations of art and artistic spaces. Museums often suffer, or perpetuate, the public’s perceptions of them as aloof and haughty. A modern audience is entitled to expect a greater degree of engagement using methods fit for the 21st century, in tandem with the traditional reflective personal perusal of the artwork. The advent of new technologies and creative collaboration between institutions, artists and the public has allowed a unique and refreshing rediscovery of museum attendance.

A few years ago, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design, curated a sensory exploration of that venerable institution called “Shhh…” The museum commissioned 10 different musicians and artists to create sound-pieces in response to different rooms and spaces. The contributors were incredibly varied, from big art names like Gillian Wearing and Jeremy Deller, to musicians like Roots Manuva, David Byrne, Leila and Elizabeth Fraser. Infrared sensors triggered the applicable tracks on the your MP3 player as you toured the building. The whole experience was stunning.

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We at dd|a are pet lovers. Most of us have at least one pet living with us in our homes. Research has shown that owning a pet can make people happier. It has also shown it can make people emotionally, and even physically, healthier. This is no doubt due in part to the companionship and unconditional love that a pet brings to an owner on a daily basis, and vice versa. We wanted to share with you some of our pet and owner relationship stories…

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