News

Some of the Great Things in the Twin Cities

2011-10-26T18:42:00Z

I have lived in the Twin Cities for nearly half my life. I moved here in mid-90's to attend the University of Minnesota and never left. I met a girl, got a job and have worked to settle in ever since. While the Twin Cities are substantially different from my hometown of Milwaukee, it's where I call home.

It's easy to find things to love here in the Twin Cities. Nature, cultural influences and creative energy abound. Metro Magazine put out their list of some of the top 100 things we love about the Twin Cities, and a few we don't. I thought it was a pretty good list, heck I even learned a few things, but I thought they missed a few. Here is my Metro post on nine good things, and one evil, that was selected for their publication.

Luck Favors The Prepared Mind

2011-10-18T14:29:51Z

I've never been a big believer in luck, probably because I have rarely ever been the recipient of any true luck. As a result I believe more in the theory that luck favors the prepared mind (a derivation on Louis Pasteur's 'chance favors only the prepared mind'). In my experience, putting in the work to meet a goal is the only way to ensure any success, luck just becomes the icing on the cake.

That understanding is the basis for my latest submission to Six Word Stories Every Day, an online project for creatives to express themselves in very simple ways through images and words. My submission, titled Your Own Luck was featured in October. Check out other submittals and creatives at Six Word Stories Every Day.

Tweet Northeast

2011-08-03T14:37:04Z

On June 21, 2011, Mayor R.T. Rybak declared #NEMPLS day in Minneapolis thanks to the work of local journalist, Dan Haugen and community booster, Greg Isola. To commemorate the event, we designed Tweet Northeast t-shirts. We have been distributing them around Northeast Minneapolis and we even got one on the mayor. To learn more about what is happening in Northeast Minneapolis, you can follow me, Dan and Greg on Twitter, or simply follow the hashtag #nempls to join the conversation.

Twitter-Free Tuesday

2011-07-20T20:17:35Z

I love social media, I really do. I go pretty deep into a number of social media services. I've been lucky to build real relationships, get work and participate in cool projects because of social media. But with so many social media outlets, it's easy to spend far too much time on 'social' pursuits that can turn out to be, well, kind of antisocial after a while.

I've decided to make each Tuesday Twitter free. I'm doing this to not only free up more time during the work week and concentrate more, but also to pull back and gain a little more perspective on what social media outlets really provide value versus the ones that only fill space with more noise.

I'm curious to know if anyone else has done any social media "fasting." Did it work? What did you learn? I would love to hear your story. Shoot me an email. You can also hit me up on Twitter @martinize, any day but Tuesday, of course.

30-Second Sketches from 30 Days of Creativity

2011-06-28T18:49:33Z

I am offering a limited number of prints for a short time at my 30-second sketch store for $15. Proceeds from each sale will go to Art Buddies, a program of Creatives for Causes in Minneapolis.

30 Days of Creativity

2011-06-08T17:49:41Z

This June I am participating in the 2011 30 Days of Creativity. This project is a social initiative encouraging people to create stuff each day for 30 days. For this project I am doing 30-second sketches each day. The purpose of a 30-second sketch is to help you see subjects quickly and trust your hand to execute a realistic representation without overthinking.

You can check out more 30-second sketches at my Twitpic feed or at 30 Days of Creativity on Pinterest or find them on Twitter @createstuff.

How Are My Minneapolis Tax Dollars Used?

2011-03-29T16:13:03Z

This is a chart based on information from the City of Minneapolis illustrating this year's budget based on revenue from taxes, aid, fees and more and how those funds are used throughout the city. The 2011 Budget in Brief report illustrates the major components of the budget in relation to overall dollars. "The Public Works Department makes up the largest part of the City’s budget (22.8 percent, $310.3 million). The main tasks of Public Works include the following: offering safe transportation to residents by maintaining streets, bike paths and sidewalks; offering high-quality drinking water to residents and visitors by managing the sewer and water system, and facilitating the collection and disposal of garbage and recycling."

44% of the overall dollars for these items comes from property taxes. The remaining portion comes from the State of Minnesota, licenses, fees, special assesments and more. For a detailed look, please consult the complete report [pdf] from the City of Minneapolis. It is an interesting and useful way to help understand how your taxes get used in Minneapolis.

Six Word Story, Every Day

2011-02-11T16:29:17Z

Six Word Story Every Day, Jeffrey Martin and Kate O'ReillySix Word Story Every Day is a storytelling exploration through language and typography inspired by the work Ernest Hemingway. It is a creative way to express a minimal amount of information in an interesting, novel way. At the left is my work, done in collaboration with Kate O'Reilly from Clever Kate. Check out my work and more from writers, illustrators and other creative types at Six Word Story Every Day.

New Technology for New Math

2010-10-11T19:40:19Z

This week IPMG Publishing is rolling out a number of their popular math games in SMART Notebook for use in classroom and home environments. The SMART Notebook platform, along with SMART Board interactive display hardware, allows students and teachers to interact directly with games and applications in the classroom. This comes on the heals of IPMG Publishing's introduction of Tic Tac Math in the summer of 2010 as downloadable iPhone applications, available through iTunes. IPMG Publishing not only publishes digital applications, but also an entire line of math activity books for students in Kindergarten through High School.

You can check out the full portfolio of books, worksheets, applications and interactive games at IPMG Publishing's online store.

Helping Educate Communities in Rural Africa

2010-09-27T14:56:37Z

The Furi School is a project based organization in Minneapolis that I have been fortunate enough to work with over the past few weeks.

This organization is looking to build a facility and well in rural Furi in order to stabilize the local population that depends on clean water. The school will not only educate the local children, but will serve as a local community and adult-education facility.

The Furi School team in Minneapolis is actively seeking to raise funds for the design and construction of this school. You can learn more about this project and the progress of the design team at The Furi School. Donations can be made by mail or online.