Hello again, world wide web. In the brief time since my last post I've had the pleasure of working on a ton of great projects with some rather fabulous clients. Here are some highlights:

• The Asian Arts Initative worked with me to launch their Living Archives, an interactive online compendium chronicling the organization's history and impact on the arts and culture scene.

• Local filmmakers Cindy Burstein and Tony Heriza came calling when they needed to launch a site for their latest work, Concrete, Steel & Paint. The film is a moving documentary about a Philadelphia Mural Arts Program-sponsored project which brings prison inmates together with victims of crime to create art.

• I helped music and audio technology pioneers Circular Logic complete a facelift of their site. New features include a fully integrated content management system and Web 2.0 implementation.

• I'm very excited about a new partnership with the communications firm Evolve Strategies, an advocate creating exciting campaigns for change. Together we're working with groups such as Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and National Wildlife Federation.

• Work also continued on a plethora of print design campaigns, including projects with Asian Arts Initiative, Grassroots Campaigns, the State PIRGs, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Center for Campus Free Speech, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, Philadelphia Songwriters Project, Progressive Future and Media & Democracy Coalition.

• Finally, I had the pleasure of creating album artwork with some very talented musical artists, such as Wissahickon Chicken Shack, Slo-Mo featuring Mic Wrecka, Shannon Pelcher, Suzie Brown, Ross Bellenoit and Shaun Moyer.

On the personal artistic front, I have been keeping busy with various bands and side projects. Of note, Papertrees is preparing to enter the studio and track a full-length album. I also participated again in the 2009 Bike Part Art Show, fabricating a lit sculpture (call it a lamp if you choose).

It's been pretty hot here in Philly this past week. I am hunkered down in my air conditioned office and found myself so productive I have time leftover to update my Web site, so here goes.

Since my last post I have launched a couple of new sites, including the Social Change Network and Work for Progress, a new non-profit with the mission of matching talented individuals with jobs in progressive organizations. Both were built on the Joomla! content management system, which is fast becoming my go-to platform for Web development. Clients love it because its easy to maintain, so if you're thinking about a new site or redesign, I strongly suggest looking into Joomla! I'm also in development of a Wordpress site for NPR reporter Joel Rose...more news as that progresses.

This past winter I also kept busy designing brochures, stickers, banner ads and other collateral for various registration and get-out-the-vote campaigns centered on the presidential primaries. Great to see such amazing turnout at the polls...look forward to the same enthusiasm driving people as November nears.

Finally, if you happen to live in California, you may have seen the logo and t-shirts I designed for the CalPIRG Students high-speed rail tour.

Fall is finally here and as the crisp air settles on Philadelphia I see it's time to bring you fine people up to speed with my various doings.

The new BiG TeA PaRtY site has finally debuted, and it features a vast array of news and information—from a recipe for mock cheesesteaks (aka cheesfakes) to an essay on the future of bioplastics—this site has it all. The official launch/fundraiser/BTP 10th annversary party is Saturday, December 8 at Molly's Bookstore in the Italian Market. Also, recently launched is the spanking-new Web site for Arts In Motion, a non-profit based in Philly that is taking on the Western classical music hegemony. Arts In Motion curates and develops forward-thinking, innovative presentations of classic works in all types of venues and instructs inner-city youth all about music appreciation and composition. In short, they rock.

Also been busy working with student activists and organizers on a pair of campaigns with nationwide atttention. The first is the Truth About Credit campaign which is raising awareness on college campuses about credit card scams and working to mitigate the worst practices of the industry. In coordination, we developed a set of guerilla marketing materials including a poster, brochure and guidebook for students to learn about the issue. The campaign has garnered coverage from Web sites and newspapers around the country, including a recent editorial in the New York Times. The second campaign I've been working on is focused on global warming. I produced a 72-page booklet for the Power Shift 07 conference which brought together around 6,000 students from around the country to hear speakers, attend workshops and lobby elected officials in Washington, D.C. about climate change legislation. It was a inspiring project to be involved with.

Things have been a little quieter on the music front, but with a newly minted live lineup for papertrees, I expect things to start moving along soon. Got some dates listed on the MySpace page. I've enjoyed filling in for a couple of bands, specifically Lazlo and Quintero, whose drummers couldn't make the gig over the last couple months. Look forward to future stints with them and others.

Almost forgot...I took part in my second group art show in October with the Bike Part Art Show in Old City. There was some active bidding on my lighting installation, Paradiso and all the money raised goes to support Neighborhood Bike Works. The show was tons of fun and I'm looking forward to the next one!

So much going on that I really wanted to make sure and share the news with you here. The first half of 2007 has brought many exciting projects my way, including the launch of 2 Web site redesigns entirely based on the content management system Joomla. (Joomla is a great way for small or even not-so-small organizations to manage their content and Web assets and keep their site up to date. Best of all, it's open source and free!) The two sites are for Mid-Atlantic Environmental Law Center, a non-profit legal group, and Gulf Restoration Network, which works to protect the entire Gulf of Mexico region from threats to the environment and public health and safety.

On the arts front, I've been asked to design some more CD packages (which is always a great opportunity) and have most recently completed the artwork for Philly's own The Lowlands. They will be debuting the new album at this summer's Philadelphia Folk Festival. Also getting ready to launch a new Web site for the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts, and a new blog site for BiG TeA PaRtY, which is the world's longest running public access TV show and features an anarchist version of Martha Stewart offering DIY tips of every variety. Very psyched for that.

And of course still busy performing with several bands. My group with Allison Polans has been named Papertrees and we were invited to record a six-song EP at Drexel's Mad Dragon studios this past spring. Some of the mixes are being leaked onto the MySpace page, so please check it out.

Happy New Year everyone! Been so busy I have failed to keep the news here up to date. My apologies.

I have been asked to work on a whole slew of exciting new projects. But first, I must extend a hearty congratulations to Grassroots Campaigns for their fabulous work this past fall helping to create a Democratic majority in Congress. I was happy to be a part of the team, designing posters and materials for their canvass and grassroots mobilization.

Music has been a big part of the agenda lately, both as a designer and performer. I was recently commissioned to produce the artwork for a new release by Turtle Studios titled Pianadelphia. It's a fantastic recording—Philly jazz pianists solo interpretations of Philly jazz legends. Definitely check it out. Also directing the artwork for the new CD by Cowmuddy and recently finished design work for singer/songwriter Blake Allen (both on IOU Records). And check out some of my latest web design handywork on the site for Philly's Cordalene.

And on the performance front, I'm still busy recording and performing with Allison Polans (see her recent review in the Philadelphia Weekly), Todd Young & His Rock Band and in the wake of Drugbyrds breakup have joined fabulous Philly band Walker Lundee. Whew.

The past few months have been keeping me pretty busy. I've had the pleasure of once again being asked to work with Grassroots Campaigns on their efforts to recruit new activists and take on the Republicans in the midterm elections this year. I designed some new recruitment posters and also fact sheets for their work with the Democratic National Committee.

I've also been working on the design of a couple of new reports for New Jersey Public Interest Research Group (NJPIRG) and Environment Colorado. The New Jersey report covers the issue of misleading marketing by pharmaceutical companies and the Colorado report investigates the dissappearance of agricultural land to ranch and suburban developments. Also keeping me chained to my computer was the repackaging of print materials to rollout a national campaign working to protect our nation's last wild forests.

I was asked to implement the redesign a web site for Gulf Restoration Network based in New Orleans. They are a network of grassroots environmental groups working to protect the Gulf region. I am very excited to have been invited to work on this project and will let everyone know when the new site is up and running!

This week I launched a new web site for the Asian Arts Initiative, one of my longtime clients and an all-around great organization. This site was my first to implement a pure CSS design for presentation and layout. If you're a web geek like me, you'll know that can be a bit of a challenge. I think it turned out quite nice. Work is in progress on web sites for several artists, including Anne Canfield (painter, printmaker), Chris Jones (sculptor, carpenter, set designer) and the excellent Philly rock quartet, Cordalene. Also very exciting, I was selected to work with the Port Richmond Arts Festival on creating the web site for this year's festival! Stay tuned for more on that.

Keeping busy on the music front, too. I am now performing with more talented musicians that I have time for--but it's great. Newest among them are Allison Polans, an amazingly talented singer and songwriter, and Drugbyrds, the newest musical outing by Joey Sweeney (of The Trouble With Sweeney). Fandango has also been extremely busy these past weeks playing many gigs. Coming up next is a show for the kiddies at World Cafe Live (upstairs) on Saturday, March 4.

The new Clean Air Council Web site is open for business! One of my most ambitious Web projects to date.