Say goodbye to the man-ball logo.    The good ol’ ball and dancer in a leap in a’ la seconde’ no longer sufficiently communicates Exit12′s identity, mission, or vision.  The old logo, designed by our director Roman Baca, just wasn’t Exit12 anymore.

In May Exit12 felt that the best way to get an identity that was comprehensive, interesting, and encompassing of our identity, mission, and vision, was to hire a graphic designer.  We paid the deposit the designer requested and the designer went to work.  After paying a deposit and several iterations and sketches, Exit12 and the designer felt that we were well on our way to a brilliant new logo.  Then the logo-train, transporting us all to an amazing new identity, hit a wall.  The designer stopped communicating, stopped giving updates, and failed to meet deadline after deadline.  It was frustrating for an organization that uses donated funds for projects like this.

In order to explain a concept to the designer, our director sketched up a quick design and sent the photo along, and then, in order to explain details, he worked up a sketch on the computer.   Pow!   It worked.  Realizing that the concept worked so well, Exit12 decided to run with it, and put it out to our team for comment.

The minimalist E12 Digicam Logo gets its inspiration from the digital camouflage that was introduced by Commandant General Jim Jones, and was copied by the other four branches.

In the digital cubes you’ll find E, and 12, staying true to our beginnings as a company, off of the FDR’s exit 12 in Manhattan.  You’ll find the military in the olive green cubes, their loved ones in the light green, and the tan cubes illustrate our community outreach to all people at home and abroad.  There are two missing cubes, a testament to those who gave their lives in service.

So, without further ado, the new identity of Exit12 designed by Roman Baca!  (drum-roll please)

Ta da!

Here is the design brief:

Here are a few iterations we played with in the design stage, and a few placements to see it work.  Check out its use on the website as well!

Our testament to the digital cammies of the different branches.

We would love your feedback!!!

Friday Robin Cantrell and I left New York City, and the US, to travel to Erbil, Iraq to conduct a Dancing to Connect Workshop with Iraqi youth from Kirkuk and Erbil.  If you need a quick catch up you can either check out the WSJ article or the WNPR interview.

I served in Fallujah in 2005-2006, and going back is monumental, not only for me, but for the people of Erbil, Kirkuk, Veterans of the Iraq war, and hopefully the world.

The next few posts, for the next ten days will be about the trip and the experience, so for these posts please excuse grammar, spelling and punctuation.  Like today, we are both working on very little sleep, different routine, different food, and tons of stuff to take care of during the day, and are usually posting at night.  Iraq is seven hours ahead of NYC and right now my head is pounding and I can’t figure out if it’s the coffee, water, or lack of sleep.

As far as I know, no American commercial airline flies directly into Iraq, so we flew from NYC’s JFK airport to Istanbul, Turkey and had a fourteen (14) hour layover.  It was a great plan, sleep on the plane, tour Istanbul, then hang at the hotel until the flight left at about midnight Istanbul time.

Nothing is ever that smooth.

The Istanbul airport was ok.  A little trouble with passport control, no trouble with visa, a lot of trouble with Turkish Airlines.  You see, in Istanbul, the staff is better at ignoring you than half of the people in NYC.  They seriously pretend you are not there.  So we spent a bit of time arguing, then gave up and headed into Old Istanbul to visit the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar.  I was on a mission to find a drink that a friend had recommended, but I couldn’t remember the name.

Since Istanbul wasn’t the mission, I’ll give you a quick rundown through photos:

Once the cab stopped barreling through the streets, we were on foot.  We found a fresh pomegranate cart where they made fresh pomegranate juice.  Knowing the anti-oxidant properties of pomegranates, the juice was awesome, although a bit tart.

Then we headed to the Blue Mosque. We wanted to check out the inside, but it was prayer time and the mosque wasn’t open for visitors so we decided to get lunch as we were both starving.

Along with lunch, we had Turkish Coffee.  A German rug-store owner was sitting next to us and read our fortunes from the grounds left in the cup.  Don’t get your hopes up. it was all hogwash.

We started walking from the Blue Mosque (shown) to St. Sofia’s Cathedral.

The Cathedral cost about twenty dollars so we decided to head back to the Blue Mosque.  The inside was incredible.  I’ll post more photos of it later, as they seem to have gotten lost in the bloggisphere.

After the mosque, both Robin and I had to use the Water Closet (WC) and there was one behind the Mosque.  Upon my arrival in the basement of the courtyard,  I was faced with my mortal enemy, the squat toilet.  A formidable foe that requires its opponent to have keen balance, a steady hand, and strong knees.  I quickly conquered the foe and surfaced to Robin’s exclaim of, “You had to make a doodie?  I am so proud!”  I knew that we grew closer that day, having served and conquered a mutual enemy.

One of the entrances to the Grand Bazaar.  The Bazaar was hard to get around and every shop owner tried to pull us in their shop.  They were rather friendly and good with conversation usually.

The handiwork and colors are incredible

And the mix of old and new was amazing

I wanted to buy this for Nutcracker

Amazing Turkish Delight, a yummy candy that I had to buy.  Robin bought Pasmanye, a cotton candy type candy that is the consistency of really fine hair.  It was weird but good.

We spent an awful long time looking for this entrance.  Again, asking for Nargile, and for the Chululu Alipasa got us interesting and hard to follow directions.  But we finally found it.

I love these lamps, they look like hot air balloons

The Nargili (in Turkish, Hookah in Arabic) tasted like strawberries.  We also had apple tea and lemon tea.

A try at getting a panoramic shot of the Nargili shop.

Then we went on a search for a famous dinner restaurant (directions are all “on this corner, turn right, 300 meters).  The food was very good.  Robin had eggplant kabab, and I had lamb with cheese and pita.  The restaurant is famous for its flaming entrees and we saw a few served.  We almost ordered the one where they slice the bottom off of a flaming clay vessel.

On our way back to the Blue Mosque to get a taxi back to the airport we heard “Salep, Salep.”  I exclaimed, “THAT’S IT!”  My friend Quinn Pendelton wrote about it on her travels with Ballet de Monte Carlo and I wanted to try it while in Turkey.  It is a rice based drink with Salep (a type of seasoning only found in Turkey, and cinnamon, served hot.  It was perfect to settle dinner and keep us warm on a slightly chilly night.

Then we took pictures of the Blue Mosque illuminated at night.  Can you see the bats flying around the minnerettes?

Then we were back to arguing for a place to rest with Turkish Airlines, our flight got pushed back and hour and a half, but soon, we were on our connecting flight to Erbil, Iraq.

It’s not a charity, it’s a challenge, and the key to meeting any challenge is motivation.

The Mission Continues held the orientation for its first group of Fellows in St. Louis, Missouri. I was to join this group, dubbed Alpha Class, for three days of paperwork, rules, regulations, events, activities, and MOTIVATION!

The Mission Continues has hosted 200 Fellows from its start in 2007 until 2011. It has taken the challenge of adding 500 Fellows in 2012 alone. The 38 Fellows in Alpha Class are veterans called to find a purpose by serving as volunteers in their community. Upon receiving my itinerary for the orientation, I noticed that the three days were packed. There were classes, lectures, talks, and a service project that was to serve as our graduation as Mission Continues Fellows.

The three days in St. Louis were a whirlwind of activities, but it is the people that I was inspired and motivated to meet and talk with. I met people who work with The Mission Continues, alumni, supporters, and other fellows. Every single one of them was motivating. Over the weekend each one shared, what they had been through, what brought them to the organization, and what inspired them to continue to serve.

The foundation of  The Mission Continues is one word: Mission.  Eric Greitens, the co-founder of The Mission Continues, is a former Navy Seal.  Eric knows, all too well, the meaning of mission.  His book, The Heart and the Fist, details how he made the transition from humanitarian to Navy Seal, and then his combination of the two in his new organization – The Mission Continues.

The Mission Continues challenges veterans to select a host organization and develop a mission.

I was excited to apply when I met the staff from The Mission Continues in NYC, but one of the requirements was that I had to be rated disabled by the VA.  So, I did not apply.  A few months ago, I received a phone call from The Mission Continues, and was asked if I would like to apply for a fellowship.  The organization had opened up applications to all veterans and was looking forward to adding 500 Fellows to its roster in 2012.  I jumped at the chance to apply and started booking meetings in search of a host organization.

The task of finding one that could develop and carry out a mission, and that gave back to my community – seemed impossible.  I wanted to commit to a mission that included affecting Veterans and at-risk children.  I also wanted a mission that I felt passionate about.  I scheduled a meeting with a friend that I have known for five years – Jonathan Hollander, the Artistic Director of Battery Dance Company.

Jonathan recently developed a program called Dancing to Connect.

Summary

Dancing to Connect (DtC), an award-winning initiative created by the Battery Dance Company of New York City, engages youth in creativity and team-building through the art form of modern dance. Students of all abilities work under the guidance of Battery Dance Company’s teaching artists, who are also world-class performers, creating and performing choreography of their own devising. DtC workshops open doors for teens as they transition into the leaders and engaged citizens of tomorrow.

Mission

The term Dancing to Connect was coined to refer to the leitmotif of the project, which makes connections between:
· Cultures and languages of the host country and the U.S.
· Professional dancers and high school students
· Spheres of education and culture
· Secondary schools of all types
· Natives and immigrants
· Students of diverse socio-economic backgrounds
· Communities in conflict
· Boys and girls
· Student mentors with younger students      -from Battery Dance Company’s Website

The Dancing to Connect program has been successful in over 25 countries.  Battery Dance’s Teaching Artists have worked with groups of disadvantaged children, victims of violence, and other at-risk groups.  The Dancing to Connect model allows the participants to have a role in the creation of the dance work, and gives them the power to tie it to a theme that is important to them.  The works that have been developed have dealt with the AIDs epidemic, hygiene, fair elections, and other issues that are amazingly important to young people.

Our mission description for The Mission Continues adds a few new groups to the list:  Veterans of the wars and their loved ones.  Not just American, but coalition forces, and people from Iraq and Afghanistan.  We are exploring the possibilities of using the program to help Veterans express themselves through movement, to bridge the Veteran/Civilian divide through teamwork, to build a sympathetic understanding with those affected by the wars, and to assist in the healing process.

It is a huge mission.  The roadblocks and obstacles are many.

It’s not a charity, it’s a challenge.

In April of 2011 I volunteered with an organization called The Mission Continues to help with a Service Project.  The task of the day was to pack arts and crafts packets for children in hospitals.  Yours truly, The Mission Continues, Project Sunshine, and Comcast Cares built 1200 art packages for children in hospitals that day.