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Jul. 18, 2023

8 min read

Have We Become the Windigo?

In communal, native cultures, the tale of the windigo arose where sharing was essential, and greed was a threat to survival—individuals who put the community in danger by taking too much were first counseled, then ostracized, and eventually banished from the community—a punishment of the highest order. 

Jan. 31, 2018

2 min read

To mug, with love

There is one thing I hate more than winter: shitty mugs. I’m a mug snob. I’m not ashamed to admit that. As a young(ish) person who recently breached year 30, born and raised in the Midwest, appropriate dishware for combating the winter blues is paramount.

Jan. 8, 2018

3 min read

In the studio with the Wooldridge Brothers

I was standing in the recording room at the Exchange Recording Complex on National Avenue, with Brian Wooldridge. He’s pulling his Epiphone Coronet out of its case and I’m salivating at the sight of it; the Coronet has always been one of my favorite guitars, double cutaway, the iconic Epiphone “E” on the pickguard, the grit.

Jan. 1, 2018

3 min read

Theorizing about Orange Theory Fitness

I’m 51-years-old and have worked out my whole life. I enjoy it. I’ve belonged to every club you can imagine. Getting my 45 minutes to an hour of exercise on a regular basis is important to me. I pretty much work out to maintain my dad-bod and stoke my fake sense of confidence that I have a semblance of fitness.

Jan. 1, 2018

2 min read

Welcome to Commonstate

Welcome to Commonstate, a tribute to the creative thinkers in every community who believe that a culture of creativity is a better culture for all. These are the innovators and people who see the world differently and for the better, who through the movement of a pen, or the stroke of a brush, the click of a shutter or a singular vision for business are fearlessly themselves. Commonstate celebrates them all.