“How did you get the name Halcyon?”

“How do you deal with criticism?”

*The page I read from is here.

For my whole life, the real world and the world of myths was connected through the following picture:

The image of my grandfather, working with MLK as peers…it had a profound impact on me. It showed me that great men were not the creations of story books. But were the very same people as you and me. The picture was a reminder to me of the potential of every one of us.

This is the first year that both the people in the photo are no longer here physically.

Thankfully, the lesson is burned deep in to my core.

May you remember the lives of the giants whose shoulders we stand on. And may you remember your brilliant potential today!

Love,
-john halcyon

p.s. My Grandpa wrote the following in his blog a few years ago:

I have been asked:: “Who is the greatest Person you ever met? In my 88 years on this Planet the answer for me is ‘Martin Luther King, Jr.’ None of you heard him but he preached in our First Baptist Church of Denver. When Carol and I were pastoring there.

In one of his closing sermons he said:

“If I died tomorrow I would like for people to say I tried to clothe the naked and visit those who were in prison. I tried to be right on the war question. I tried to love everyone. If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major For justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for justice, and for righteousness. All of the other shallow things will not matter. I wont have any money to leave behind. I wont have luxurious things to leave behind. I want to leave behind a committed life:

“If I can help somebody as I pass along, if I can cheer somebody with a word or a song, if I can show somebody he’s traveling wrong, then, my living will not be in vain. If I can do my duty as a Christian ought, if I can bring salvation to a world once wrought, if I can spread the message as the Master taught, then my living will not be in vain.”

…I rejoice in the memory and example of this great man. Thanks for scrolling and I hope you will squeeze every day making meaningful and fulfilling relationships.

I’m going to see Jesus tonight.

Jesus Christ, Superstar, that is. I saw the movie recently and enjoyed it far more than I expected. Tonight is the play.

I’ve been thinking alot lately about the religious part of me and the not-quite-family-friendly part of me.

As HugNation got popular last year, I downplayed my adult projects and deleted links. I still do work for an adult client, but I removed the digital connections between my Hug Life and and my Smut World.

Of course, in a world of google and archive.org, that is rather silly undertaking.

I wonder if maybe this year I’ll find a better balance between the two. Or an integration. Or an eradication.

I was listening to a spiritual lecture where they said, god/the universe/etc. wants you right now. As is.
So as I offer myself to the universe, perhaps it is silly to think that my purpose as a tool of the universe is somehow *outside* of the adult world I’ve been a part of. Perhaps I should stop trying to close the door behind me and start seeing it as a part of my congregation. (We all have a congregation. And we all spread our message, whether we like it or not.)

When I did the Hug Tour, I was pleasantly surprised at the attendance from colleagues in the adult world. It suppose it goes back to what I say every week at Hug Nation: Beneath the thoughts and beliefs of our ego minds, we are all PEOPLE. Normally, I am talking about political and religious differences…but maybe I should address “morality” differences, too.

We can all love more. We can all fear less.

And for every one of us that does that …even at the smallest degree …and regardless of where we are starting from …the world is made a better place.

Welcome to the redesign of lifestudent.com!!!

The new design utilizes a single WordPress install to update PinkBroadcasting.com, HugNation.com, Hugmobile.com, BeliefBuffet.com, and my personal blog at LifeStudent.com. Hopefully it is easy to navigate, but PLEASE let me know if you have any suggestions or thoughts!

Welcome to LifeStudent 2.0.08!

While in the process of updating, I was looking over some earlier versions of my homepage designs. What a long strange pixelated trip it’s been!

LifeStudent:

• The under-the-radar, yoga version

• The grandpa homage

CockyBastard:

• The Webby Winning Version

Styn.net

• fall from the sky version

• On top of the world version

I’m not a fan of Resolutions, but only because they set you up to fail. I *do* think that New Years are great “markers” to pull your head out from the daily grind and take a birds eye look at where you are on your path. “How are things going? Need to adjust the trajectory at all?”

It is also a great time to look back and remember all the year’s highlights.

For me, this was the year of the Caleb’s.
My 2007 was defined by the passing of Grandpa Caleb and the growing of Nephew Caleb.
Both have been joyous beyond description.

Here are some other highlights:

• Hosted the “Huggable V-Day” gathering with Grandpa.
• Held Grandpa’s hand as he passed.
• Gave a Eulogy. Authored a tribute DVD.
• Attended & spoke at SXSW
• Nominated for a 2nd Webby.
• Went to New York to accept People’s Choice Webby. (Hugged Rob Cordry)
• Yahoo featured HugNation on their Homepage.
• Recieved divine inspiration to build the Pink Ark (the Hugmobile.)
• Participated in my 10th Burning Man.
• Heard my nephew call me by name.
• Went to Colorando to spread Grandpa’s Ashes and bond with family.
• Did the first ever 6 city HUG TOUR with Spotman.
• went to SF, LA, and SD Decoms
• Featured on CNN.
• Learned tons from Hugmobile “challenges.”
• Fell in love with Andicat.
• launched “Belief Buffet.”
• relaunched LifeStudent.com!

what a difference a few years make…

In the late 90’s, until 2002, Yahoo had a print magazine called “Yahoo Internet Life.”
They once did an article called “Sites We Hate.”
I was number three on their list.

Q: What do you get when exhibitionism collides with HTML?
A: John Halcyon Styn’s vainglorious Web shrine. The site took top honors at the 2000 Webby Awards for Best Personal Site, but we’d like to nominate it for Best Example of Unbridled Narcissism Online. When Styn isn’t busy modeling another gender-bending outfit, he’s either naked or, in a sort of vanity reductio ad absurdum, wearing a T-shirt with his own URL emblazoned on it. Not since Zsa Zsa Gabor has someone tried so hard to be famous for the sake of being famous. In a universe teeming with vanity sites, this is the one to beat. [cockybastard.com]

**Five years later**
In 2007, Yahoo started a video journalism series, “People of the Web,’” looking at the people doing good on the internet. Grandpa and I were profiled as their launch episode as love warriors.

If you missed me on CNN, here is a version copied off my TV! I finally saw it and am SO STOKED! I think they treated me pretty good.

If you have Flash 9, a better Quality version is live on the CNN site here!

2 MORE HUG TOUR DATES!!!

Join us in Venice, CA on Sunday and San Diego (across from Balboa Park) on Tuesday!!!!
DETAILS

And Videos from Seattle, Portland, SF, Sactown & more at Hugmobile.com

I was thinking about HugNation and the way I prepare for each week’s Tao Buffet story.

Occasionally it is a story I have told before, but usually I wing it.

I prepare a little bit, but I don’t plan out what I’m going to say. I have a basic 4 or 5 points, and then I just kinda let it flow.
Which is why I’m always asking, “Make sense?!” I’m generally not aware when I’m putting thoughts together clearly or not.

Its funny, I often understand what I was talking about much better after I watch myself during editing.

Talking on my feet has been a skill of mine since the end of college. Since a specific event, actually. Although I was scared beyond belief, I ended up being quite witty while a contestant on the TV Show STUDS. That experience of shining when the pressure was on gave me a confidence in my ability to hold my own in conversations, interviews, stage improve, whatever.

I’ve learned to let myself start falling and then trust my feet will fall in front of me (speech-wise). It’s like verbally trusting the flow: Float more, steer less.