tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82779565995153406082011-08-02T14:42:43.069-05:00A regular dose of wit and provocation on the topics of life, work, passion and how we reconcile it all.Melissa Ackermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13100284428773928587noreply@blogger.comBlogger141100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8277956599515340608.post-65208798829263661442010-07-13T09:00:00.003-05:002010-07-13T10:22:00.307-05:00

Because sometimes a girl just has to Google herself and her blog, I found this Slate.com article about moving walkways in a would-be scenario in which moving sidewalks replace their concrete counterparts.   Should Cities Install Moving Sidewalks? So I ask you, do you think a spiderweb of moving walkways would be beneficial or burdensome to humankind?  As an interesting aside, I also discovered

Melissa Ackermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13100284428773928587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8277956599515340608.post-91950755204373500172010-07-12T09:00:00.001-05:002010-07-12T09:00:07.630-05:00

Enough said... Depression can lift with the joy arising from listening to the song of a bird. Photo Credit: Hubert Blanz, Roadshow 01, 2007, re-printed in AdBusters #90, Vol. 18, No. 4.

Melissa Ackermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13100284428773928587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8277956599515340608.post-39328672529717113422010-07-09T16:13:00.003-05:002010-07-11T14:33:18.976-05:00

I'm back.  During my hiatus I learned just how tricky it is to film a watchable interview, re-learned the kindergarten concept of sharing, became a proud half-owner of a FORD, and moved into an urban oasis with a backyard in which my basil and spearmint plants are now dying a slow, miserable death by my not-so-vigil eye. Of course I also wrote tons during the last few months, and finally

Melissa Ackermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13100284428773928587noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8277956599515340608.post-82981564053420054672010-04-02T12:02:00.005-05:002010-04-02T12:20:45.105-05:00

To my loyal readers: After months of listening to my world view, I thought it would be a nice change of pace to present you with another person’s world view, which incidentally, just happens to coincide with mine – at least when it comes to the pursuit of passion in work.  I was fortunate enough to sit down this week to talk with renowned Chicago food writer Michael Nagrant. His work has been

Melissa Ackermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13100284428773928587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8277956599515340608.post-57873972288652322532010-03-08T16:22:00.000-06:002010-03-08T16:22:57.965-06:00

During last night's 82nd annual Academy Awards, Michael Giacchino, winner of Best Original Score for "Up," gave a little shout out to imagination during his acceptance speech. He said that his creative side was always encouraged while growing up, then addressed the children watching: "If you want to be creative, get out there and do it--it's not a waste of time." Kudos to Michael for cheering

Melissa Ackermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13100284428773928587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8277956599515340608.post-24412082215696040322010-03-08T13:54:00.002-06:002010-03-08T13:55:52.418-06:00

Something of a mini diaspora exists today in the Midwest.  Detroiters are moving to Chicago in droves due to a complicated mess of factors that include continued economic woes in the Motor City, a declining youth culture, a poor singles scene, perceived lack of opportunity, and a host of others that I can't or won't delive into right now.  Sometimes I am hit with a pang of guilt for leaving, and

Melissa Ackermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13100284428773928587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8277956599515340608.post-33510731367224437412010-03-04T15:38:00.003-06:002010-04-19T23:05:44.569-05:00

After getting into a creative nonfiction MFA program, I find myself constantly explaining to people what exactly "creative nonfiction" is: "Ya know, David Sedaris, Elizabeth Gilbert, etc." Anything to give folks a quick soundbyte to quickly digest.  But the truth is, the genre is wide open, and well-established writers much more experienced than myself are still trying to figure it out. Is it

Melissa Ackermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13100284428773928587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8277956599515340608.post-87300635958814871112009-12-21T21:57:00.000-06:002009-12-21T22:00:40.056-06:00

My first job after graduating college was at a 2,000-person ad agency by the name of BBDO Detroit. This vast ad machine handled every bit of written, spoken or otherwise broadcast publicity about its only client, Chrysler. I handled the trafficking of broadcast materials, in other words, television commercials and radio advertisements, later acquiring print trafficking duties as well. Running

Melissa Ackermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13100284428773928587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8277956599515340608.post-47891630616968254322009-10-04T20:26:00.000-05:002009-10-04T22:17:04.334-05:00

Recently I signed on as a tutor in a local program that helps students in grades 1-6. My brief experience so far with the program has been wonderfully enriching and eye-opening. After one introductory session I learned that 6-year-olds are 6-year-olds no matter what family they come from, no matter where they are born, no matter what school they attend. Half of them just talk. Talk, talk, talk

Melissa Ackermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13100284428773928587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8277956599515340608.post-19343448688879936412009-09-07T20:49:00.000-05:002009-09-09T20:28:33.413-05:00

Much to the abhorrence of my brother, I am going to admit something that he will find utterly repugnant: Sometimes I like to crank up the country music and belt it out. I mean really sing, like I’m driving down a dusty rural route in Georgia rather than Chicago’s glimmering Lake Shore Drive.Case in point, I’m no redneck woman, but that does not stop me from knowing all the words to that

Melissa Ackermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13100284428773928587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8277956599515340608.post-10607980253464332772009-09-03T10:21:00.000-05:002009-09-09T20:29:55.104-05:00

Is it not enough that we are on the go 24/7 while on solid ground, but now we are enabled to be on the “go-go” while in-flight? Yes, we can access American Airlines’ “go-go” Wi-Fi internet service while 20,000 feet in the air.Not that there is anything particularly romantic about air travel, but this inroads of technology into one of the last remaining non Wi-Fi frontiers is a major affront to

Melissa Ackermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13100284428773928587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8277956599515340608.post-73017371573836866522009-08-31T20:35:00.002-05:002010-04-29T14:02:48.606-05:00

Do you believe In what you see Motionless wheel Nothing is real Wasting my time In the waiting line Do you believe in What you see Nine to five Living lies Everyday Stealing time Everyone’s taking everything they can Everything they can Everyone’s taking everything they can Everything they can - Lyrics from "In the Waiting Line" by Zero 7. Written by H. Binns, S. Hardaker, S. Baker That is

Melissa Ackermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13100284428773928587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8277956599515340608.post-72190875618385926922009-08-24T20:31:00.000-05:002009-09-09T20:35:40.211-05:00

I remember being in Chicago’s Midway Airport, traveling in a rare moment devoid of rush, on-time and casually strolling through the long terminal hallways. Instead of hopping on the moving walkway to propel myself across the interminable stretch just a teensy bit faster to save precious seconds, I stepped onto the stainless steel people-mover and stood still. Threading its way through throngs of

Melissa Ackermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13100284428773928587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8277956599515340608.post-87445952111814502072009-08-17T23:20:00.000-05:002009-08-18T00:32:51.993-05:00

When deciding what to name my blog I offered my boyfriend two alternatives, not unlike a 50/50 coin toss, and as quickly as a coin toss, he perfunctorily decided upon "When the Moving Walkway Ends". When I asked him why not "In the Waiting Line", the contender named after a favorite Zero 7 song, he replied, "Because 'When the Moving Walkway Ends' sounds like a Shel Silverstein book." Who am I to

Melissa Ackermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13100284428773928587noreply@blogger.com1