I loved inventing things as a kid. It usually led to a small kitchen fire, but you know, a child’s imagination should never be quelled! The invention I had the most faith in was “Karin’s perfect pancake maker.” Here’s what I did: I made perfect little round pouches out of tinfoil, filled them with Bisquick (and rainbow sprinkles for good measure), put the whole kit and caboodle in a frying pan, heated it up till the outside burned, and tah-dah! A perfectly inedible pile of carbohydrate mush. There were still a few kinks to workout, but I thought it was a sure fire hit. No batter to spill, no pesky utensils to clean – perfect for a modern day mom on the go.
Since my days of burning down the kitchen, the inventions I would most like to create are books. Books fueled by the adventures I could have if I quit my job and pogosticked across America naked. Every Friday during the summer, I get so close to just giving my two weeks and heading for the hills. There is just something in me that craves wacky adventures so I can write about the good ‘ol life. But then I chicken out and keep on tap dancing for the man.
But not my friend Lee Brenner. Though I like to rub it in his face that I sang college a cappella and he didn’t, my boasting really stops there. Lee was an editorial producer for CNN (mainly the wolf man blitzer), director of political programming for MySpace, founded an accessories company, and is now starting a website that is basically an orgy of HufPo, CurrentTV, The Daily Beast, and The Daily Show for 18-35 year-olds with content created by 18-35 year-olds too. It’s called HyperVocal.com and launches this summer. I advised Mr. Brenner to use some punchy headlines like Cosmo does (77 Positions in 77 days = genius!), and he seemed receptive, so it will be a sure-fire hit.
Of course when Lee talks about his projects it’s with the stress level of a tween on vacation. It’s like he’s telling you about his latest haircut. No stress, no worry, just calm calm calm. And that’s what’s great about it. I feel like we all have an idea or a dream that we have kicking around and want to just say “damn the man” and give it a whirl. But it’s so much easier said than done. Stacey and I certainly were rather intimidated with the 365-days in a row aspect of Naked Thanks, but now more than six months into the project, it’s the most satisfying part of my day. And all this entrepreneurship, the dreams and then taking the risks, is probably my favorite thing about America. A place where you really can quit your day job and give it the old college try. Don’t worry Dad, I don’t plan on doing it soon, but one of these days…
This is how Lee roles. You know, just a little chitchat with the Prez. What probably intrigues me the most is that they are the exact same height. Why? I don't know. But it fascinates me.
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Tags: american spirit, Barack Obama, Bisquick, burn down kitchen, current tv, entrepreneurial spirit, huffpo, hyper vocal, hypervocal.com, lee brenner, myspace, perfect pancake maker, pogostick, rainbow sprinkles, twitter, wolf blitzer, writing books