The Yellow Brick Road

Many thanks to Steve and Troy for letting me join in on the exploration of the Long Tail...

Today's journey will be magical, mystical and liberating. First, I need to instill a thought about our preferred method of travel and then quickly instill a more dominant one.

Do you remember how Dorothy returned to Kansas? Ok, hold that thought. Because I can no more wear women's apparel than drink a glass of battery acid, we must overlay the visual of soft, worn and comfortable red leather boots onto the screen. Whew! I feel much better.

Other than early Clint Eastwood movies, no movie has touched my heart over the years more than The Wizard of Oz. It has provided so many personal metaphors and has been such a source of inspiration that, "Oz is the Yellow Brick Road," became the mantra for the journey of my life. So, come along with Toto, Dorothy and I and lets explore the Yellow Brick Road.

Man on the Silver Mountain by Rainbow is playing on our iPod as we click our boot heels three times. There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home.

Fog lifts from the yellow cobblestone and a gentleman appears. "Welcome to the Nest!" Tony Clark greets us with warm enthusiasm. He then asks, "Why Settle for Just One Path?" This question and the ensuing conversation captures my attention and holds me spellbound. Toto's ears perk. I thought I was the only person in the world who could not zero in on a clear understanding of passion and work!! Toto nods. There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home.

Ronnie James Dio belts out Catch The Rainbow, rainbow, rainbow... on the iPod as Chris Cree talks about work and passion. "I’ve been doing quite a bit of introspection these days. It’s not that I’m narcissistic or anything. I just keep hearing folks say over and over again that you will be most successful career wise if you work where your passion is." Yep brother, I hear that too! Chris mentions that we should check out another Chris. There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home...

A bit further down the road and we meet Chris Johnston from Chris's Blog. Chris relays the question, "Is this job for the money or does it give them fulfillment in life?" Chris is actually referring to Noah Kagan's post at Okdork.com, The Paycheck vs. The Life. The discussion that follows this post is quite lively. There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home...

..." Danger, danger the Queen's about to kill
There's a stranger, stranger and life about to spill..." more iPod, more Rainbow, more Yellow Brick Road. ..."Therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Universitartus Committiartum E Pluribus Unum, I hereby...change directions." We can do that in cyberspace, really, we can. I can't seem to continue via links with the passion/work discussion so I throw out a few sandbags and change course. Chris talks about Adriana so Dorothy takes hold of my elbow and we stroll down the Road to Orlando and I Heart Tech. Adriana swims in a river of which I have no connection with. That's good. Travel is part of her work and she writes a post here on Travel Tips and the Internet. Adriana gazes down at Toto and then back at us, "you guys need to see Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools." I'm thinking that Dorothy has seen it all but she humors me. There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home.

Ritchie B jams on Cold Hearted Woman as we read Kevin's post - Consensus Web Filters. Kevin, who was the founding executive editor of Wired has a very interesting site and it is well worth spending some time exploring. The connection to Wired magazine strikes a chord of ironee today. I just started reading Chris Anderson's The Long Tail this morning. Chris is the editor in chief of Wired. Toto notices my expression and barks, "you're not in Kansas anymore David." There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home.

The three of us swirl round in circles through cyberspace. Cows, barns and flying monkeys pass us by. (Didn't those flying monkeys creep you out?) The iPod is gone but music begins to fill the cloudscape. Jimi Hendrix picks a few strings as Judy Garland eases into Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Dorothy smiles. Tota barks. I cry. Judy and Jimi are beautiful man. My soul lifts as we descend. We are back on The Yellow Brick Road, right where it intersects with Rt. 66. Christine Kane stands there holding her guitar. She looks at Dorothy eyes wide open. They start to talk. I start to walk down the Road. Toto follows me.