Twenty Twelve in Review

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As I turn another year older today (yesterday) I wanted to share some highlights from the past year which, upon reflection, was busier than I’d initially remembered.

Work

  • NPR Music iPad App – After 7+ months of intense design & development, we released! To celebrate the launch, NPR Music held a live concert in NYC featuring The Shins.
  • NPR Infinite Player – Affectionately dubbed “the Pandora of News”, we launched the next rev of our smarter listening experience, tailored to your personal interests.
  • NPR for Android – Made significant revisions to our app and pushed into the tablet market, including the new line of Amazon Kindles.
  • NPR for Connected Cars – Still in progress but look forward to making some announcements this year.
  • NPR for Connected Televisions – Also still in progress but look forward to making some announcements this year.
  • Caffé Lena History Project – Worked closely with folklorist, Jocelyn Arem, on some print design and layout work. Lots of exciting news to announce on this front very soon.
  • Smithsonian Institution – Designed a mobile app for visually-impaired individuals in conjunction with one of their ongoing exhibitions.

Music

  • Disquiet Junto – Contributed to this phenomenal project as often as I could. While there weren’t as many submissions as I’d have liked, I am proud of every one I managed to make.
  • The Dwindlers – We released our 2nd album, “Allegories”, began performing out as a duo, and started recording our 3rd album which we hope to press to vinyl later this year.
  • Save the Pollinators – Sadly, this project has not been as successful as we’d hoped. For us this is such an important cause and we really want to put artistic energy toward raising awareness and improving the situation. We’re not giving up and in the coming year we have plans for new ways to draw attention to this project.
  • SoundClouder of the Day and SoundCloud Hero, Washington, DC – My contributions to the Disquiet Junto and my work with Save the Pollinators led to some pretty exciting recognition from SoundCloud. Looking forward to what this next year brings.
  • The Pace of Which – I completed work on my third solo album that, through serendipitous timing, was released on my birthday and is now available in digital and limited edition CD-r varieties.
  • Twenty Three and Twenty Six – I completed a short EP of improvisations using my Teenage Engineering OP-1 mini-synthesizer and am happy to announce it will be released soon as part of the “Places” series over at A Strangely Isolated Place.

Life

  • Milestone Anniversary – Celebrated 10 yrs w/Michelle whom I still adore to this day.
  • NH Vacation – As part of that celebration, we spent some time running around New England. We’re smitten and plan to return to the area more often.
  • FL Vacation – Got to watch my niece graduate high school with honors. Super proud of her.
  • NC Vacation – Got to watch a dear friend return to dancing after years of not being able to move, suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome.
  • Offline Connections – Got to meet online friends, Team Parris, in person for the first time and bring them to that aforementioned awesome party in NYC with The Shins.
  • Online Connections – Too many to mention, but this past year was really great in terms of making new friends and collaborative partnerships. You know who you are – thank you.
  • Rdio and Buying Music – Since joining in 2011, I’ve had a return to my audiophile roots. As a result, I have bought more music in 2012 (on vinyl) than in the previous 5 years.
  • Photography – While I thoroughly enjoy shooting with my iPhone, I have been wanting to take photographs of the world more closely akin to how I see it – single point of focus. So, I’ve bought a new camera (Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1 + Pancake Lens) and am just getting started.
  • Health – A short while ago I began experiencing a heart murmur that was causing shortness of breath. After doctor/cardiologist appointments I am pleased to say it was benign and I am in great health (low blood pressure, normal heart in sound/structure). We think it was caused by an extended period of insomnia.

Looking Ahead

  • Travel – I’d like to do more, a lot more, and maybe even jumping the pond.
  • Time Management / Life Balance – Learning to say ‘no’.
  • Biking – I’d like to do more, a lot more.
  • Photography – I’d like to continue capturing the world around me and learning the language/rules so I can more purposefully bend and break them.
  • Writing – I’d like to do more, both personal journaling and blog posts (many of these bullets are blog-posts-in-waiting).
  • Sleep – I need to continue to nourish a healthy sleeping habit so my body can heal itself naturally.

Lastly, I’d like to just say thank you all for your continued support – online and off, in reading or listening, in friendship or collaboration – I truly appreciate it.

I hope everyone has a creative new year!

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