Member Newsletter #20

Happy New Year, friends!

I hope you had a wonderful time celebrating the year that was and the year to come. I love the mix of looking back and looking forward that a new year brings. The past year was filled with milestones and delightful moments for our community and 2016 is full of possibility. I'm terribly excited for what's to come, and enormously grateful to share it with people like you. Each member of Uncommon is essential to this story.

A treasured part of that story is this poem Matthew wrote:

They say we're trapped.Closed in andsurrounded.Screens upon endless screeds ofscreens, withglass eyes peering deep,and sightless insightpackaging oursoulsfor sale.The pixelators, the digitizers,the A-to-D converters, may one daycome for us all.But,not yet.Maybe, there is still time that we -pondering, wandering, stumbling -might find a new sense ofharmony, sing a different tune towind togetherour fractured selves.We wished for stepladders, and only builtsandflies - desired digital servants, yet constructedsystems of silicon slavemasters.For all the might of human ingenuity,it will surely take rather anUncommonapproach, to show us a different wayhome.

I'm inspired each time I read it. Thanks for writing and sharing it, Michael!

News from the front porch

You can now search prompts in addition to members and favorite things! For instance, if you search for dessert, you'll find the favorite Jack added for Chickalicious Dessert Bar, but also the prompt, What dessert puts the biggest smile on your face?

After last night, perhaps you have a fresh thought about the latest prompt: What's your most memorable New Year's Eve? If so, do share!

It's so fun to welcome new neighbors you've invited to Uncommon. Thanks for sharing our community with such amazing people. If you haven't used your invite yet, this is the place to start.

In progress: planning the next edition of Table for Six with additional hosts from the community, adding prompts to stacks so you can reply on the site, and creating a new introduction to Uncommon.

Say hello, ask questions, offer suggestions, or make the case for your favorite drink anytime.

Stay uncommon,

Brian