A very cool ad from Japan (I think) about creativity and children:
I don’t want to spoil the surprise, so just watch it.
Later,
Chuck
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If you’re as old as I am, you remember mix tapes. You’d spend a bunch of time copying songs from cassettes or albums onto a blank cassette tape, and then give them to your steady or to your buddies. It was a lot of fun, and a great way to share new music.
Now, there’s an online site where you can create your own mix tapes and share them with friends. It’s called MixWit.com, and it’s a free site. Here’s a quick mix tape I made with some of the music I’ve been listening to lately:
The picture is from a trip my buddies and I took to Cancun way back in 1988, right in the meaty part of the mix tape phenomenom.
Check it out and make your own mix tapes!
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My wife and I just checked out 10 MPH, a great independent film from Hunter Weeks and Josh Caldwell. In the film, Hunter and Josh decide to drop out of their corporate life and discover America by traveling across the country on a Segue at 10 mph. This offbeat documentary was a hit with Michele, who is not really a big fan of indie films or documentaries.
We rented the film from NetFlix, and it was well worth the time spent watching it last night. I enjoyed it so much, I wanted to share it with you. Here’s a trailer:
Check out their site, and you can have $1 donated to their next film venture by signing up for OnStage.com via the link on their site. Support independent film and give yourself some choice. These two filmmakers are a couple of guys to watch over the next few years.
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There’s a reason that Seth Godin is a marketing guru, and that’s because he’s thinking ahead, and positioning marketing for upcoming conditions instead of reacting to what is happening now. And his latest post is another kick upside the head for real estate agents who are concerned about a housing market that’s in a stall.
His advice to real estate agents is first, they should quit. The current marketing conditions are making it very difficult for real estate professionals to do things according to the status quo. If you want to make it this way, you may as well start looking for another profession because things aren’t going to get any easier for you.
Plan B, on the other hand, is to take advantage of the extraordinary opportunities available to those who want to build a long-term asset and forge a link with their community. Basically, it’s time to become THE expert in what you do, micro-specializing in some niche aspect of the real estate market. Become THE single-best real estate agent agent for condos in your area, or specialize in selling single family homes for large families. Know everything about that market, and do everything you can to be recognized as THE man (or woman) to talk to about it.
There’s a lot of other good advice for real estate agents, but this post also makes me think about how this can be applied to any business. Right now, the cost of doing business is going down quickly, making product and service costs lower as well. People have access to all kinds of competitive information, and impressions and opinions about your business are shared quickly via email and Internet review sites. Right now, business is transparent. Everyone knows about your profit margins, the costs of goods, and how much your competitors are charging.
So why not take the chance to become THE expert or de facto provider in a specialized niche in any business. Become THE kitchen remodeling specialist, offering tools for prospects to help them come up with ideas. Become THE small dog grooming specialist, offering tips and hints to keep your dog in good shape between groomings. And always - ALWAYS - provide information and expertise that allows people to understand the depth of your knowledge and exactly what your business is about.
Take a quick couple of minutes and check out this post and see how you can apply it to your business.
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We had a visitor at work today - a very large Turkey Buzzard. So, I went outside and took a picture with my mobile phone camera and uploaded it directly to the blog. Very cool technology.
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Scott Andrew’s new album, “Save You From Yourself,” is out and available at CD Baby. Scott has been very creative in getting his album recorded and promoted, utilizing his fanbase (including me!) to help pay for some of the recording and production costs (you can get a little more info by checking out this link on my site).
And, Scott has created a couple of acoustic videos of songs on the new album. I’ve posted them here:
I’ve had the album for about a month now, and I’ve been wearing out my CD player listening. Do yourself a favor and play the videos and then buy the album at CD Baby. Or, better yet, buy multiple copies of the album for friends, family, people on your street, and co-workers. And, the guy who sells you your paper down at the local Cumbies (if you’re from New England).
Later,
Chuck
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This past Sunday (January 20th), the family and I went to Gillette Stadium to watch the New England Patriots take on the San Diego Chargers in the AFC Championship game to determine who would represent the AFC in this year’s Super Bowl. After 60 minutes of hard-fought football, the Patriots beat the Chargers by a score of 21 - 14.
This was a great experience, especially since I had the family there. Usually, when I go with my buddies, we’ll have a few beers (or a few more) and perhaps not be especially crisp in our observance of the game. With the kids, I didn’t want to set a bad example (my wife already knows how bad I was, so she didn’t really enter into the equation). And to tell the truth, this was the most fun I’ve had at a football game in a long time. Watching the game through the eyes of football play-off rookies (including my wife) was a lot of fun.
Gillette was rocking, and the entire crowd was into the game from the opening kick-off. The Charge hung tough, and Tom Brady wasn’t his usual sharp self, but the Pats Defense came through big time. This was their best performance since the 2004 season when the Pats last won a Super Bowl. A very Patriots-like performance - bend but don’t break - and the Chargers were only able to get four field goals in four trips to the red zone (although it was really three trips and one to the 22 or 23 yard line).
Now, we’re looking forward to the Super Bowl. I’m not going this year, and it’s going to be strange, but I’m looking forward to hanging out at home with some friends and family and having a good old-fashioned Super Bowl party.
Go Pats!
P.S. Check out the rest of the pictures by viewing the posts below with the heading “AFC Champion Patriots.” I took all of these with my camera phone (Samsung SCH-a930) and PIX messaged them to the blog. Enjoy!
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