Much Ado About Me

Rhonda H:  Do you know what these "Web pages" are?
  Kenna K:  Aren't they basically like having an ad for yourself?
Rhonda H:  (Laughing) That's exactly what they are!
                  (Pause)
  Kenna K:   How much does it cost? I want one.
                   --June 28, 1995

 

Who is this Joel Bass person?

First, I just have to say, Gosh, thanks for asking. Of all the two-bit autobiographical pages in the Web, you walked into mine. And you won't regret it. This is not just a rambling, narcissistic look at me, me, ME...it's also a handy way to tie some of my favorite links together.
     So who am I? Well, despite the fact that if I muttered the word "Rosebud" on my deathbed no crew of reporters would go searching the world for my meaning, I am, in my own right, an interesting guy.
     It's a complicated question, really. When I was a kid, my friends and I often told each other what our favorites were. If you had the same favorites as somebody else, it seemed to mean something. Maybe it still does.
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If you think a personality test, such as the "Keirsey Temperament Sorter" (based on the Myers-Briggs test) can tell you a lot about a person, you may be interested to know I'm an ENFP (borderline ENTP ). If you have doubts, try taking the test for yourself; it may surprise you.

 enfp

Or you could look at my "influences". What does that mean, really? Some influences are painfully obvious, some are so subtle you may never uncover them. The medium-rarity of my name, Joel , has probably affected my life in ways I'll never be sure of. I had not yet taken my first steps on the Earth when I watched Aldrin and Armstrong take their first steps on the moon. Did that effect me? I wonder...
     When when I was in the womb, my mom and dad played their new Beatles albums constantly. I'm positive that affected me.
     My sister Julie was born when I was nearly 6, and quite used to being an only child. She's an amazing person, and she and I have impacted each other's lives in more ways than we could count.

I was always crazy about books, still am. Here are some books that have been important to me...in order of appearance in my life:

     My adventures in the public school system began at Green School in Jackson, Mississippi , where I was one of a handful of white kids. I was part of a racial minority, something many white folks never experience; that was cool. (I'm proud to see Jackson Schools on the Web!)
     I was raised Unitarian Universalist (which I enjoyed immensely); I eventually decided I was an  atheist.
Illinois: Land of Lincoln

When I was 8 we moved to the tiny burg of Walnut, Illinois; population 1500. I was not very happy to be there, not at first. I got used to it. That's where I made some of my best friends and learned the joys of community theatre.
     One of the best things that happened to my sister and I in our Illinois years was MacMurray Summer Enrichment Program. Very influencial. There, for two weeks, we would get to hang out with some of the coolest, most bizarre and hilarious kids we ever met. The rest of the year I would think about my time there, and wait until I could go back. I would LOVE to hear from anyone who went to MacMurray S.E.P. between 1980-1985. Lois Freeman, where are you?

What now?

Now I'm living in Denver , Colorado, with my lovely wife Kathryn, our dog, Jasper, and cat, Albert. Denver is my favorite town so far. I moved out here in 1989 to attend the Colorado Institute of Art. I don't know whether I thought I was gonna be a recording engineer, music video producer, or just somebody who didn't live in Illinois, but I'm glad I came here, whatever the reason. Denver has a lot of the advantages of a major city (cultural diversity, art galleries, museums, an incredible symphony, and a thousand of my favorite restaurants) and a sort of small town atmosphere at the same time. People here are very friendly, and the weather is sunny and dry most of the year. No mosquitos, man, it's the BEST.
     Ahem...this is not to suggest that...ah...anyone should move here. You probably wouldn't like it. Just stay where you are, thanks.

What do you wanna be when you grow up?

 God I don't know. Art and music were always the biggest things to me. My mom and dad had a wall full of LPs, from Jimmie Rodgers to Jimi Hendrix , Beethoven to John Cage. I wanted to be a Beatle . My parents insisted I take piano lessons for eight years, and although it was a major drag at the time, it sharpened my musical skills quite a bit, and I've been a sometime composer ever since. I now have a simple but effective MIDI system, that allows me to get a lot of my music out of my head and into the air.
     Parallel to that, I've always been fascinated with art. I've long been interested in making visual art more like music, or vice versa. Seems like I am destined for some sort of multimedia life.
     Oh, you meant my job? I finally found a good one. For the first time in my life, I love my job--I never thought it was possible. I'm working at a Graphic Design/Multimedia house in Boulder, called Spark Studios.
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In short, the future seems wide open, and I'm constatntly looking forward to it.

What was the question again?

 Okay, so I have a tendency to ramble. But it's been fun creating this page, and I hope you enjoyed learning a bit about me. I wouldn't put all this out there if I wasn't hoping to meet some kindred spirits. So feel free to email me , tell me about yourself, tell me of links you think I should know about, whatever comes to mind. Thanks for checking me out.

Get on back to Crunchy Gods Ltd.

Curator:

Joel Bass htuttle@crunchygods.com