CCLaP

Happy day! CCLaP has its first Member! It's Patrick Spiroff, as a matter of fact, a musician and corporate worker who lives in the near Chicago suburbs. I met Patrick originally through my personal website; he was one of the first supporters of this center, way back when it was nothing more than an idea on a piece of paper, and I'm proud to have him be our first official Member as well.

Don't forget, Patrick now has his own category page here at the site, where you can always find the latest concerning him; he also has his own RSS feed, for those who would rather subscribe and get the latest delivered in real time. Also, I wanted to mention that Patrick is a habitual player of the alternative-reality videogame Second Life, just like myself; he will be helping CCLaP with our virtual events there later this fall, once we're finally up and running there.

I asked Patrick if he'd give us a few thoughts concerning creativity and the type of work he likes; I found his answer both funny and touching...

"As you can see from my photo, I fall into that ever elusive category, old fat white guy. As a matter of fact, my opinion on anything no longer matters since I've slipped out of that all important 18 to 49 demographic that advertisers so dearly cherish.

"At one point in my life I wanted to be rock star. I was a singer/songwriter heavily influence by Elvis Costello and Mr. Springsteen, as all my contemporaries say, back in the day. But after years of being a starving artist it lost its charm. I didn't so much as give up my dreams as wrapped them in plastic like a used wedding dress and put them in the back of my closet.

"Now I have no greater aspiration than to be a great father. I have two wonderful daughters, ages 12 and 9 and a wife I still adore after 16 years. It is their company I cherish the most.

"I have a job that pays me fairly well but never defines who I am.

"Actually, I'm still a songwriter, just I've limited my audience to my daughter dancing in the living room. But I'm still passionate about music. I purchase on average two CDs a week [yeah I'm old school in that way that I still like to hold something in my hands]. Unlike most people I know however, my taste did not petrify the year I graduated college. I'm sure I skew to the right of pitchforkmedia.com's target market but find I agree with their many of their critiques nonetheless.

"My other passion is literature, ever since I realized in 6th grade, after finishing Dickens's Great Expectations, it had the power to make me cry."

Thanks for your support of the center, Patrick, and I look forward to seeing you at many of our events. Don't forget, for the low price of US$50, you too can become a Member of CCLaP; in return you receive a free t-shirt, the same online benefits as Patrick, plus free admission to all 60 of our live events over the next year (or free copies of our first ten books, for those who live out-of-town). Those who are interested can click here to both learn more and to apply this instant.