Back from the South and Ex Fabula

Writing a blog only really makes sense if you keep up with it and I've been very lax in that department...I'll try to do better. Perhaps shorter but more frequent entries?

We're back from another round of "wintering in the south". Well, that is, if you consider Asheville, NC the south and it's possibly a discussion.

Not to say the geography is in a gray area...nope, NC is solidly southern and below the Mason Dixon line (listen to the song Sailing to Philadelphia by Mark Knopfler). But Asheville sometimes seems to be a Northern city surrounded by a Southern state. You can be in Asheville and NOT hear any southern twang. You can walk through the town and eat at the restaurants and visit the bars and think you're up north.

But go 5 miles outside of the city and you'll remember your location. That twang is back. BTW, I enjoy the twang, (Esp. MoTwang!) but when you hear that southern drawl, you're almost brought back to reality and you realize why Asheville is so special. First of all, it's a beautiful city surrounded by the some of the most beautiful mountains in the world. Want to see some mountains? Look upward and they're probably there to the east.

Want more?

The food is great, the people are friendly, the spirit is willing. Great things are happening there. Just ask Nancy Brown from the Full Moon Wolf Farm. Ask Bob White from the Pisgah View Community Peace Garden. These people have passion and are sharing their passion with the community.

But more about Asheville another time.

Let's talk Milwaukee.

I'm sitting in a technical meeting at Bucketworks last night and my mind started to wander (as it is prone to do...hey, I'm getting old!). So I pulled out my smart phone, which in THIS meeting was a very normal thing to do, and pulled up my Seismic app for Twitter. Jeff Larch is telling me (Ok, he's telling everybody in Milwaukee) to go to StoneFly Brewery in Riverwest and check out Ex Fabula. Ex Fabula? Never heard of it. Research time.

Ex Fabula brings the community together to tell stories. Yes, there's a nightly theme, but it's probably not too difficult to fit your favorite story into their theme (try harder!). 9 people/teams, 9 stories and a very good time that still gets your home well before midnight.

Now, the show was great, but I was made aware of it through Twitter. Not the first time I've profited either socially or financially through this tool. It does take time and discipline to use it efficiently, but in this world of multi-tasking what's one more thing for you to do?

Signing off.