Welcome to Pairings

Austin Business Journal made it “official” four years ago, in its year-end issue: Austin’s Been Vanishing Over the Last 30 Years. As...

David Beheads Goliath, 1650  by Guillaume Courtois [ Public domain via Wikimedia Commons ] When you’re nearing the finish line with...

Ah, elixir of life: I Need Coffee by Jann Alexander ©2014 1. Bring your own coffee. There may be none. Even if there is, there will...

What You Need: An Author Platform by Jann Alexander ©2015 “Platform is a very helpful thing.”   — Karlyn Hixson, St. Martin’s Press  ...

Mean Cat Meets Condo by Jann Alexander © 2010 As Austin, Texas marks its 175th birthday, and as we head into another boom year for...

“My ideas usually come not at my desk writing but in the midst of living.” ―  Anaïs Nin Anais Nin by Elsa Dorfman , c. 1970s Though she...

Too Late to Look for the Spear by Jann Alexander © 2013 Royalty-free art is everywhere. Why rip it off?   One of my cherished,...

Fans: 1,022. Reach: 1. Creative types have relied upon Facebook ‘s free brand pages to spread their word for a long time. Remember how...

Branch Out After You Plant Your Roots by Jann Alexander © 201 How I finally learned to be as sociable online as I am off If you’re an...

© 2013 Jann Alexander The business world seems determined to improve its creativity. If you don’t believe it, visit Inc.com to search...

Cava! by Jann Alexander © 2013 Thanks to a new iPhone app by John Saddington called Pressgram , creatives are able to publish their own...

“I want to make beautiful things, even if nobody cares.” —SAUL BASS, graphic design icon ♣ SAUL BASS: “I want everything we do to be...

Austin Power : “You can’t turn me on.” Austin Powers : “Au contraire baby, you can’t resist me.” Austin Power by Jann Alexander © 2013...

True Blues by Jann Alexander © 2103 Blue is the color of summer in Austin. Blue skies. Blue pools. Blue lakes. Blue neon. Blue...

Flirting with Google+ (Since Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook Are All So Demanding) Dear Diary, Just between you and me, I’m feeling a bit...

Where are you heading? by Jann Alexander © 2013 “If you don’t know where you’re going, you might not get there.” —Yogi Berra Being...

A lot of Austin has gone missing since I began my Vanishing Austin photo series in the spring of 2004. For one reason or another—...

The Pattern of Change by Jann Alexander © 2013 It takes a whole lotta cranes  to hoist up a new Marriott in downtown Austin, where...

So Long, SoCo Trailers by Jann Alexander © 2013 Sign of the Thaimes? Neon green picnic tables and a fallen Coat & Thai sign are all...

A Hole in the Heart of Texas by Jann Alexander © 2012 Lamar Plaza is gone. It’s just a hole in the ground now. Since late 2012, dozens...