Mission Statement | Robert J. Burtis

"I'm not promoting a business or even a point of view. I am simply researching topics and issues which interest me and presenting ideas, philosophies, and concepts which I think are both fascinating and important."

Why I Built This

There are many reasons why I initiated this project. The short version is that I have been building websites since 1997 — originally to promote my band — and somewhere along the way the website became the point, not just the promotion. Over the past several months I have redesigned, expanded, and rethought nearly every corner of this site, and it seemed time to explain, in plain language, what I am actually trying to do here.

If a reader finds a few of these articles and posts interesting, relevant, and useful, I will have accomplished the goals I established for this project.

No Ads. No Agenda. No Ask.

This is a non-commercial, non-revenue project. I am not looking for donations, subscribers, supporters, or contributors. Nobody is asked to "like," "subscribe," or "donate." I always appreciate comments, suggestions, and criticisms — but for the most part, this is a one-way effort which not even my family or close friends make much effort to participate in.

And I'm fine with that.

Am I an Influencer?

Not in the least. I have a mailing list of less than 200 people, most of whom have been along for the ride for years. There is an option to unsubscribe on each email announcement and no promotions or advertisements on the web seeking new subscribers. So why go to all this trouble?

I was inspired by a column written about Bill Watterson, who was the artist, writer and creator of the comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes". It describes Watterson's goals and motivation, which align closely with my own:

A few years after he found success with Calvin and Hobbes, Watterson told a graduating class at Kenyon that there's nothing like the joy of work done for your own creative satisfaction, rather than for fame or a few bucks. Watterson is convinced that an artist should do what he does for love, even if it fails, even if it costs him, even though it and everything else will eventually end. In fact, his editor has just okayed a strip in which Hobbes asks Calvin, "If good things lasted forever, would we appreciate how precious they are?"

And the great deal of time, research, thought and effort which I have invested in this personal website project has impressed very few people. Even people whom I thought would be interested in some of the content, information and topics covered therein have not commented or contributed to the effort. I do it all because it is important to me, and that's reason enough for doing so.

A Legacy Project

Having been a musician, performer, and entertainer for more than 55 years, it seemed appropriate to include music, videos, original songs, parodies, and a history of the people I have worked with — including photographs and videos of the bands I have created and performed with, and a timeline of my career across Minnesota and the Midwest. My son Shawn has been with me throughout this journey and has been an important inspiration and co-conspirator in the search for both questions and answers during this lifetime.

It's not bragging. None of my musical efforts have ever gotten much attention or critical acclaim. But it has been rewarding, challenging and fun, and it has involved a lot of preparation, rehearsal, traveling, setting up, tearing down, and performing. And yet I cannot think of any other career I would have preferred.

A Personal Research Project

I study, investigate, and report on a variety of topics that interest me — with the hope that others may find some of it interesting, informative, and useful as well. That includes an amateur interest in quantum physics, religion, philosophy, politics, satire, the arts, and all forms of entertainment.

A primary component of this project are the web pages related to the River of Dreams. This is a religious and philosophical effort I began more than 15 years ago and in many ways, it reflects upon and relates to nearly all of the issues and topics I present, discuss and debate throughout the primary site.

I use every tool available to me, including artificial intelligence, as a research and writing collaborator. The ideas, the connections, and the perspective are mine. The goal is simply to communicate them as clearly and honestly as possible.

An Extended Family Project

I am of a certain age at which the exit always seems to be waiting around every corner. One of my goals is to maintain some form of family unity after I'm gone — through the publication of an extensive family tree, love letters my parents shared, family videos spanning four generations over the past 60 years, and Christmas greetings my immediate family has shared since the mid-1980s.

These pages are for my children, and their children, and whoever comes after them.

A Work in Progress

This site has grown organically over nearly two decades. It is imperfectly organized, unevenly designed in places, and constantly being improved. That is not a bug — it is an honest reflection of how creative projects actually develop when someone is doing it for the love of it rather than a deadline.

If you have found your way here, welcome. Look around. And if something makes you think, or remember, or reconsider — that is more than enough.

“We all end in the ocean
We all start in the streams
We’re all carried along
By the river of dreams”
— Billy Joel