The 2010 (Women’s) Effect: The 100th Annual International Women’s Day

I am joining with legions of others around the world today to honor women for all they are and all they do as the greatest and most powerful force on Planet Earth. Mine will not be a lengthy tribute, but I do want to point up some of the amazing resources I’ve found that are providing different perspectives on the achievements of women, and some of the biggest challenges faced by many of them. Read more

The power of dreams…

At an early age, I decided I was going to be a writer. Somewhere along the way, I also took a strong interest in filmmaking, and being very ambitious, by the time I was 20 years old, I developed a clear vision of myself as novelist and filmmaker. While I have made great strides on achieving those dreams over the years, I must admit that I have a long way to go in seeing them through; nonetheless, those dreams have driven me into situations that I never would have imagined, and while I’ve not yet fully accomplished those missions, I feel very fortunate to have progressed as far as I have.

By pursuing the opportunies that have come my way over the years and applying my talents, my writing achievements and my reputation for success have opened many doors. One of them opened in the early 90s when a young Orlando filmmaker named Bill Waxler decided he wanted to produce and direct a 16mm short film based on something I’d written. Delving into my past experiences, I wrote a script for a dramatic short which I entitled “Bumper Crop,” and in that story Read more

Much love to and from The Children’s Playhouse

A creative play space for families, and a powerful force for community goodness in Boone, North Carolina, USA

After helping my wife Beth Darnell, and her sister Ann Kiefert, their comrade Kathy Parham, and many others from our then-new hometown of Boone, North Carolina, open The Children’s Playhouse in November of 2002, I am very proud to see how Kathy has led the venture in countless ways which continue adding precious dimensions to our community. The video featured here was produced by our friend Beth Jacquot in 2003, and much has happened since then. I invite you to visit the official site www.GoPlayhouse.org and explore the Facebook group, and I also wanted to share news from a recent event that reveals a lot about our community, and Kathy.
Read more

Focus on cancer today to survive for tomorrow…

With cancer being the leading cause of death worldwide, its tragic realities are all too familiar to most of us. On a more positive note, the World Health Organization is spreading the message that “Cancer can be prevented, too,” and they’ve organized a comprehensive guide to effective programs which you can find online here. Knowing that early detection is a key to survival, the Lance Armstrong Foundation is encouraging us today, which is designated as World Cancer Day, to ask our friends and loved ones to please schedule a visit with their doctors to discuss cancer and their personal risk factors:

“A little encouragement goes a long way, and we all have to work together to keep our loved ones healthy.”

Here’s their link to help us spread the word and reach out: “Make the call.”

Creative Entrepreneurs: David Bouck

While attending the Boards Summit last October, I had the pleasure of meeting and befriending David Bouck (IMDB, LinkedIn), a veteran producer working in commercials, television and feature films. David is the founder and executive producer of Means of Production in Vancouver, a production services company specializing in television commercial production and still photography servicing all of Canada. After recently sending me his latest company reel (featured above), I peppered him with questions which he has kindly answered below. Read more

Brilliant Directors: Brand New School

With studios in New York and Los Angeles, Brand New School is a bicoastal directing collective working in all fields of commercial art. Ever evolving, the studio continues to cultivate a sense of wonder and exploration. For its artists and clients alike, BNS represents an opportunity to play at work, to conduct experiments in imagemaking, and to feed the inspiration that drives the industry. For more information, please visit www.BrandNewSchool.com.

Love clicks, in the true spirit of the season….

We’ve reached the time of year when I invite you to join me in sending daily clicks to www.hungersite.com, where our simple mouseclicks can benefit a number of vital causes each day. Big thanks to Travis the Elf for picking The Hunger Site as his Project for Awesome entry at this time last year, and for posting this video. Together with my family, I am sending my warmest thoughts to many friends and colleagues worldwide, and feeling a lot of gratitude.  I’m especially thankful to the individuals behind my client companies ATTIK, a52, Elastic, Brand New School, Rock Paper Scissors, Shilo and We Are Plus for helping to support the following organizations over the past several years. Read more

Among many people I’m thankful for, my big brother Scott

We’re taking off to go spend some quality time with our families in the St. Louis and Milwaukee areas over the days ahead, and I thought I’d make a quick nod to one of the people I’m most thankful for, my big brother, Scott Darnell. Scott and his partner David Gotter established a company in 2003 named Further OPTIONS, as a developer of innovative mobility systems for wheelchair-bound individuals. After debuting its first product at the 2006 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, the company’s Patent-pending DMS-4 was unveiled at the 2009 National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association Annual Conference, where it was honored by NMEDA and the Adaptive Driving Alliance with their 2009 New Technology Award for Innovation in Engineering and Technology for the physically challenged. Read more

Brought to you by deep love and appreciation for local libraries

Growing up in Illinois, Tennessee, and Florida, I am extremely indebted to many local libraries and librarians who helped encourage me to learn and grow as an individual. This week’s posting is short and sweet, inviting you to visit the American Library Association’s great ilovelibraries.org site where you can learn a lot about local libraries across America and sign up for their informative newsletter, their Facebook fan page, and more. Happy learning!

MVP of Communications: Your friend, Twitter

Most of my friends are well aware that I spent a couple of days last week at this year’s Boards Summit conference in New York. The publishers and editors of Boards Magazine have been producing this event for 10 years now, to support and help lead people from all points around the globe who are actively involved in the commercial production industry, and other sectors directly engaged in creating breakthrough marketing initiatives. The organizers outdid themselves this year, at a time when changes are playing out faster than ever, requiring us all to rethink, revisit, and then redouble efforts to seize any potentially viable opportunities, even those where there is little or no expectation of profit. Read more