If there's one thing that Brandon Lueken learned in college, it's that a formal education doesn't count for everything. If there are two things, it’s the invaluable importance of working with the community.  So, how did Brandon end up working for insurance? No one knows for sure.

With seven years journalistic experience, a semi-useful English degree already collecting dust, and his other assorted arts experience, Brandon has an insatiable urge to explore the new and exciting.

Brandon opens doors for women, cooks well, and cleans up after himself.  Basically, Brandon is just a man trying live an honest life in a post-ironic world.  Yes, we’re trying to get him laid.

What we do know about Brandon is that he most definitely got out of bed this morning.  Everything else is a mystery.

Chris Van Vechten recently resigned from his position as president of Melon Media, LLC.  From the movement's inception he has championed community-centered coverage of local news, politics and the arts.  He has also worked to diverge The Melon from traditional media outlets by serving the public as almost an activist news agency.  When the Tacoma School Board rejected calls by the public to provide televised coverage of school-board meetings, Chris convinced The Melon to step in.  As a result, The Melon provided 9 months of unedited coverage of all Tacoma School Board meetings for free on its website.  

• Crosscurrents Literary Arts Magazine, KUPS 90.1 FM, Peace Community Center, Pierce County Arts Commission, Stand For Children, Sexual Assault Center of Pierce County, Tacoma Education Association, Tacoma Historical Society, Tacoma Sister Cities, The UPS Trail, UPS Ultimate Frisbee Intramural and more.
• 
  
• Chirs is currently a candidate for Tacoma School Board, position #2. 

Graduating from the University of Puget Sound in 2007, Chris received a BA in history following a review of his thesis: "Rendered, Redeemed & Transformed: The Social History of Whale Carcass Disposal on Northwest Shores."  

Colin Cronin is a graduate from the University of Puget Sound where he studied a diverse array of useful subjects: from how to understand Baroque counterpoint to pivotal societal symbols such as Henry Weinhard's and Jack Daniel's. Colin has held positions at the Tacoma-based environmental non-profit Earth Economics, Independent Colleges of Washington, and Security Services at UPS (everybody's favorite). Colin writes on a variety of topics at his own blog Tabris' Corner  when he doesn't want to do any real work.

Colin is currently an organist at the Church of Christ Scientist in Tacoma - where the influence of ancient Greek is seen in the spelling Chvrch.

Dan Agam tends to go on incoherent rants which may or may not be fueled by a mixture of DayQuil and NyQuil. He enjoys coming up with thorough, layered lies which he tells his friends and family are true occurrences. He enjoys Scrabble, photographing the elderly, and kittens.

Dan resides in Chicago, IL and can usually be found surrounded by Scandinavian models.

You can learn more about his work by visiting his website: http://www.danagam.com. He also writes in his blog when he feels like it: http://www.danagam.com/blog.

Born in Chicago-land, Electric Elliot (or Elliot Trotter) is the founder of The Melon.  Currently acting as The Melon's Content Manager and Creative Director, Elliot is responsible for all of the chaos, order and planning that makes up this glorious resource.

In addition to his responsibilities with The Melon, Elliot also works with Organic Produce Home Deliver Service called Terra-Organics, as an Event Planner for an Ultimate Frisbee tournament managment company called Cultimate and as a Technology Developer for the Puget Sound Food Network.

Elliot enjoys making videos, writing fiction and poetry, painting, and other creative mediums.

To find out more about Elliot and his work, check out elliottrotter.com

Other projects/links:

Minutaur.com
Electric Elliot's Youtube
Trailer Hater

Emily Knudsen is a lifelong Western Washington resident.  Having graduated from the University of Puget Sound in 2007 with a double major in International Political Economy (IPE) and Foreign Language and International Affairs , she's currently learning a bit about the legal field working at a criminal defense law office in downtown Seattle.

In 2006, she was awarded the IPE summer research grant to study the effects of immigration on the Danish welfare economy. Emily was a communications intern with John Kerry's presidential campaign in 2003 (that didn’t turn out so well) and is now volunteering for Barack Obama's campaign (might turn out better.)

In hopes to become more informed about environmental issues, she just started classes to earn a certificate in Environmental Law and Regulations.

Emily loves living in West Seattle and she's always up for trying exotic, unusual desserts. Monkey brains anyone?

Erik Bjornson is an attorney in Downtown Tacoma who often writes about urban issues in local papers and blogs.  He is a member of the North End Neighborhood Council and edits the blog the Tacoma Urbanist.

Erik Connell is a 2007 graduate of the University of Puget Sound. He is currently a Democracy Fellow at FairVote, a nonprofit election reform and voting rights organization based in Takoma Park, Maryland.

Gladius the Great is the ruler of gleevil and all things mostly horrible. Gladius will rule the universe with a hammer fist! Klow! Klow! Klow! Klow! Klow!

Glynnis Kirchmeier is a senior at the University of Puget Sound. She is currently writing her thesis for a degree in History. It focuses on the relationship between race, public health, and the city government of Tacoma in the 1880's.

In her free time she enjoys reading and volunteering with a number of organizations as diverse as Planned Parenthood of Western Washington, Ten Thousand Villages, and Larimer County Food Bank. Did we mention she tutors math? a² + b² = awesome. Glynnis is an ecological economics intern at the Tacoma-based non-profit Earth Economics as well as an employee of The Cellar, the pizza-based procrastination center of UPS.

Harvard West is a 2002 graduate of Yale University with lose ties to the out-going administration.  Recently he became a victim of the economy, and lost his job at SeaTac Airport where he specialized in controlling the low-flying bird population with a shotgun that at one time belonged to Vice President Cheney.

Jack Faust was born in the parking lot of The Ram in Tacoma. Coincidentally, his birth sign is Ares: the Ram. Since, however, calling astrology a pseudo-science would be courtesy that is does not deserve, the previous sentence is, in semantic essence, meaningless. As a lifetime Tacoma local Jack has gazed into the abyss longer than most; as such, he has cultivated an acerbic wit wedded to a caustic sense of humor that when combined allow him to cope with the gun-metal grey weather and dismal cityscape. (Yet occasional medicinal quantities of alcohol and various apothecaric herbs assist him to establish a Zen-like mental equilibrium.)

Jack has involved himself with numerous non-profit organizations within the City of Destiny for the purposes of education and social justice. Such affiliates include, but are not limited to: The Tacoma Community House, Habitat for Humanity, Planned Parenthood, League of Women Voters, K.U.P.S., Puget Creek Restoration Project, Islamic-Relief, and the Tacoma Socialist Party.

In his recreational moments, Jack pits his logical acumen against that of the philosophy department at the University of Puget Sound in addition to various artificial intelligences spawned from the minds of Chess programs either silicon or protein based. Jack also enjoys cooking and disc golf.

"My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute." -Ayn Rand

Jen Drake has lived quite a life. She grew up in seven states but spent ten formative years on a cattle and emu ranch in northeastern Oklahoma. Yeah, emus. After finishing half a year of college, she dropped out to become a beekeeper in Minnesota for two years. Who does that?

She later graduated from Walla Walla University with a bachelor in history, minor in English, and emphasis in economics. In 2005 she started an Amnesty International chapter, and in 2007 she organized events to raise over $60,000 in two months to buy a house and surrounding property for girls being groomed for the sex trade in Calcutta's Red Light district and to send a team of ten to India to create a portfolio on the project, now known as Project Red Light.

Jen has worked two Washington State legislative sessions as a Senator's aide, became the Development Coordinator at a local Dispute Resolution Center, is currently the Finance Director for Women of Washington (a project of the National Council of Women's Organizations) and this year developed Puyallup's first organized pea patch community garden with Puyallup's Park and Rec and Steering Committee.  Let’s just say she keeps busy.

Jen is now pursuing a Master's degree in Physical Therapy.  Her hobbies include gardening like a mad woman, cooking, and chatting with farmers at local farmer's markets.

Joe La Sac is a filmmaker, grant writer and technology consultant who graduated from the University of Puget Sound in 2008 in economics and philosophy. He currently produces promotional films for hire and enjoys working on projects with non-profits. His personal blog can be found at utopiaorbust.wordpress.com

Coming soon...

Kenneth Erwin, resides in the greenest city of the United States, where the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers meet in lovely Portland, Oregon.

Liam Rosen is a member of the class of 2009 at the University of Puget Sound. A German and International Affairs Major, his interests include languages and linguistics, local politics, and progressive voting systems. He is a member of the Tacoma Students for a Democratic Society. As a Portland, Oregon native, he is particularly interested in Oregon politics.

Matt Stevens works at a food manufacturing facility in the Tacoma area. Working with chocolate for eight hours a day has cause him to dive into the world of great beers and the great books that go with them as an escape. Stevens is originally from Okoboji, Iowa, but escaped to the West Coast and has since put down rather fragile roots. Matt has an overpowering love of baseball, and he will tell you about it if you just give him half the chance. Perhaps you shall be lucky enough to see him out in Stadium District on is beloved green bike enjoying a beer or a glass of wine. If so, say "Hey Beer Man" and he'll be at your service.

Published by John Hathaway, The New Takhoman offers those friendly but succinct cartoon worms constantly spouting off their political perspectives in comic form, or the groundbreaking Tacoma Confidential article which reported on domestic violence allegations against Tacoma Police Chief David Brame, who later killed himself and his wife.

In addition to his cartooning work, John writes essays detailing his perspective on Tacoma. John's perspective is unique, biting, and here to stay.

RR Anderson is considered "THE Tacoma cartoonist" and is master of the universe.

See his creative work here: http://www.holisticforgeworks.com/

Check out his blog here: http://i.feedtacoma.com/NineInchNachos/

Who wants to know?

Rachel S. King studied Russian and English literature at the University of Oregon. Her Honors College thesis, Encounters with Western Thinkers in the Library of Babel, demonstrates her academic interests: literature (mainly Russian and American), philosophy (especially feminism and existentialism), and history (currently 1840s-1870s American and Canadian). She will also talk politics or theology if occasion arises.

Rachel is a M.F.A. in fiction-writing candidate at West Virginia University. Her eventual goal is to be a historical fiction author. You can check out her literary magazine reviews at www.newpages.com.

Torey Holderith graduated from the University of Puget Sound in 2009 with a BA in Politics and Government (International Relations) and minor in History (European emphasis). Torey has interned with the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York, and the Center for Advanced Defense Studies in Washington, DC.  In 2008 he was awarded a research grant for a study entitled Using the Market to Build the State: Reversing Contemporary State-Building Logic in Iraq, in which he argued for the use of economic growth as a catalyst for the creation of effective governance in Iraq.

An attendee of the 2008 United States Air Force Academy conference on counter terrorism, his professional interests include military history and transformation, conflict resolution, and strategic studies. When relaxing Torey enjoys a crisp Pinot Gris, a good book, and taking himself way too seriously. He currently resides in Tacoma, WA.

Don’t hate the film, hate the trailer…

Trailer Hater is about hating and loving the art of trailer in all genres,  be it an action flick, video game, spoof, etc., and offering an opinion on the worthiness of the previewed film.  We let the trailer do the talking and judge the merit of an unsung medium which has a serious cultural (or at least monetary) impact.

TrailerHater.com partnered with The Melon in June of 2009.

Walid Zafar is a graduate of the University of Puget Sound and currently lives in Washington D.C. In addition to writing for The Melon, Walid also runs his own blog, Subalternate Reality which focuses primarily on issues that disproportionately impact the poor. Born in Kabul, but raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Walid’s main interests include Latin America, contemporary Islamic issues, global indigenous movements, food and agricultural policy, development economics, infectious diseases, money laundering and natural resources.

Walker Lindley graduated from the University of Puget Sound with a degree in Computer Science in May 2008. He's now working as a software engineer for a game company in Seattle which is just a fancy way of saying he makes video games for a living, his longtime dream.  When Walker is not living the dream (aka: work or posting about technology, politics, security, and copyright on The Melon©®™) you can usually find him playing games, riding his bike, or just hanging out around Seattle (Walker is very popular.)

He's always up for an interesting discussion over coffee or email, so feel free to drop him a line with your musings on anything and everything, but certainly not that. And, of course, all opinions expressed here are just his own and not those of his company. In fact, they probably have no basis in reality at all.