I turned 40 last week, and the trauma has subsided. Although I was initially a little depressed, the more I thought about it, the happier I am to say goodbye to the decade of my thirties. To reduce it to a single phrase, it was 10 years of lessons hard learned. Which is not to say it was a bad decade, but I am happier with life and more comfortable in my own skin than ever, and I’m glad to be right here, right now.

Now, I’m ready to savor a few moments like a fine Bordeaux. Below are the total of knowledge acquired in my four decades of existence. Quite frankly, coming up with 40 was kind of tough, which leads me to wonder if I have really learned anything at all. Am I like a little kid, I just looking at the pictures and skipping the words? Perhaps. Still, I’d like to think I’m smart enough to practice gratitude and remember the small moments, like the picture I took at the right. Just a snapshot of some graffiti, but I love it. It feels true. The same with this list. These may not all be original thought, but I believe them all to be true.
read more…

My company, Starr Tincup, has launched its new website, and I’m really proud of the results. The site really captures the essence of what we are all about — we aren’t for everybody, but if you want to hire a bunch of smart mofos who know how to market Human Capital software and services and are willing to bring unrestrained creativity, we’re the firm for you. In case you can’t tell, I love my job. Part of it is because I feel fortunate to work with a bunch of really talented creative types like Dwamian Mcleish, Tad Dobbs and Blake Hooser. They made the most of the opportunity to turn it up to 11. Well done, chaps.

UPDATE, 7.13.09: The HR Capitalist himself, Kris Dunn, feels the Starr Tincup love.

When Hacienda Brothers’ frontman Chris Gaffney lost his battle with liver cancer in April 2008, the world lost a great talent who really seemed to just be hitting his stride. I was fortunate enough to see him play a couple of times. The first time was with his best friend, Dave Alvin, back in 2005 at the Continental Club in Austin in what might have been the best show I have ever seen. Their friendship translated into a natural chemistry on stage as Gaffney played accordion to accompany Alvin on songs like “Fourth of July” and “Marie Marie” and “So Long Baby Goodbye.”

Although he was a more than able compliment to Alvin, Gaffney was also a songsmith in his own right. Gaffney’s friends recently came together celebrate his talent on “The Man of Somebody’s Dreams: A Tribute to Chris Gaffney.” The interpretations of Gaffney’s music from Alvin, Joe Ely, Los Lobos, Alejandro Escovedo, Tom Russell, James McMurtry, Robbie Fulks, John Doe and others are a moving remembrance of the man and his music. As frontman for the Hacienda Brothers, Gaffney and his bandmates crafted a brand of music they described as Western Soul, a seemingly incongruent and impossible hybrid that was quite infectious and natural. The characters who inhabit his songs navigate heartbreak, regret and disappointment but find solace in the small moments of everyday life and love.
read more…

I’m not a fan of the here’s-who-am-and-this-what-it’s-about posts, but I think in this instance, it’s probably necessary in this instance. If you found your way here, you probably know me from West and Clear or The Caravan of Dreams or one of my other blogs. And, if you know me from there, you probably wonder why I’m here.

Good question. So, let’s try to serve up a few answers.
read more…