I appreciate what you gave to the world

RIP Randy Pausch.

It will affect your life

1 in every 2 male Americans will get cancer. 1 in every 3 American females. Cancer is an under-researched illness and we need to increase our efforts to eliminate this disease. It has killed dear members of my friend tribe and family.

Do me a favor and watch this video. Jimmy Valvano was a coach for Rutgers and an ESPN basketball commentator. He was diagnosed with cancer and 2 months before he died, he received the Arthur Ashe award at the ESPY show in 1993. Supported by ESPN, the V Foundation was founded on the day of the speech and is getting stronger and more impactful each day. If you have a dime to spare, donate.

Don't forget: Cancer will affect your life. That's guaranteed.

What seems small to you might make a big difference

When you work in media, you receive a lot of junk during the holidays: Cups, mugs, blankets - you name it.
Yahoo! sent me a certificate for a charity and I donated $100 to a school through DonorsChoose.org. The second grade classroom needed literature for their classroom library. The school itself doesn't have a library and no books. (Don't get me started on the state of the US education system.) The teacher asked for $580 for books on tape, classroom library furniture and a listening center.

Last Friday I received a little package from DonorsChoose.org, containing Thank you letters from the kids and pictures.







It warmed my heart that this little donation made such a difference.
$100 can buy you a nice dinner for 2. Or change lives.

Hilarious

Charlie Brooker from BBC 4 comments on the biggest c***s and she-c***s in advertising. (Note: Strong language)



It gets even better.

Who wants to be a millionaire?

I do.
One proud owner of a ticket to the TED conference, Cameron Sinclair, donated his prized possession to raise funding for his non-profit organization Architecture for Humanity.
The auction currently stands at $33,535,00.

Seriously, you wanted to do something good in 2008, right? Well, bid high and send the ticket to me. It's one of those 100 things in my life I want to do. You know you want it. (To remind you what an amazing event TED is, check out the amazing presentation from Sir Ken Robinson above.)



And if you want to find out how annoying Facebook is or can be, check this video out.

If I can teach my daughter one thing

My daughter played a few days ago with a New Year's tiara: She put it on herself, on me, on her dolls and, finally, on our dog. Kid have this amazing ability to try new things. A drum can become a house for a doll, a doll house a drum. While I stay within the lines of her coloring books, she couldn't care less about the lines and colors the way she wants to.

As parents we need to find the right balance between being a parent/educator and letting creativity take its course. It's a constant battle but creativity should always win.

Creativity doesn't know limits. Creativity demands experimentation. Creativity demands courage.

Courage to let go of limitations society put on you. Courage to challenge yourself and the rest of the world. Courage to change the world.

I expect nothing less from her.

MTV - listen up

There's a market for music videos/films. Just ask Radiohead who premiered 'Scotch Mist' NYE on Current TV, while most of us were standing in line for drinks.
The band performs all songs from it's latest album, 'In Rainbows', with some added poetry readings and interesting visuals. It's nice to know that such basic but brilliant work finds a dedicated audience.
Out of the label prison, Radiohead explores new ways to connect with their fans. Exactly what we all need.

MTV, how about it? The last time something memorable was shown on your station was late 1993: Nirvana's unplugged concert. Yep, that was more than 14 years ago. Since then you have wasted all our lives with lame award shows and even lamer reality shows. How about it MTV? How about giving the fans what they want? Just ask Radiohead. It works for them. And all of us.

Peace on Earth

These two have domination issues: Who is eating first? Who sleeps on what pillow? Who is the king of the house?
Yesterday afternoon they cleared up all their issues and took a nap together.
Is it the holiday spirit?

Inspirations

The Watts Towers are an ode to the power of the human spirit.
Quoting Simon Rodia, the builder:

"I had in mind to do something big and I did it."

It's sometimes that easy.

Frohe Weihnachten

In case you need to follow Santa, please start here. NORAD has tracked Santa's flight for years and new features have been added.

And, if you need a good laugh, Platform A created this masterpiece for its media partners. Listening to lyrics about BT supported by a Xmas theme made me shiver.

Last but not least, if you need some traditional Christmas inspiration, explore here.

Or just go here.

Merry Christmas.

Trust is everything

While working with an amazing design agency, I was again reminded how important trust is:

- Trust in your gust
- Trust in trust
- Trust in empowerment

Think about it: Somebody outside of your area of expertise shows your their work. Your only job when looking at their work is to trust your gut. Does it feel good? Does it get you excited? Don't argue about details because, frankly, you don't know what you're talking about. Exceptional artists require that trust: If you didn't trust David Lynch, more than likely you will Mulholland Falls. Trust doesn't mean you follow them blindly, you can question anything. But you should only question because of your gut feeling.

Rely on your gut. And trust. You might change your opinion at one point but for now, stick with it. You can question everything. All day long. rely on your trust to avoid this human desire. Questioning everything gets you nowhere.

Last but not least, trust in empowerment. If you hired somebody to do a good job, trust them. Sure, ask good questions, initiate a dialogue but never, ever question the power you gave them. It will result in the Russian doll syndrome: You will hire smaller people than yourself, and these small peopel will hire even smaller people until you end up with intellectual dwarfs.

Collaboration and innovative ideas need a giant amongst giants, not a giant amongst dwarfs.

Inspiration

We all look for inspirations. It's very easy to find. But we often close our eyes to the inspirations surrounding us.
It's a Catch 22: If you're not open for inspiration, you won't find it. Sorry, dude, it's all on you to be inspired.

My advice: keep moving. Being stuck in an office, at home in front of the computer or TV won't inspire you. Get up, move your legs and find your inspiration outside of your own little world.

My wife is inspired by Joshua Tree. Her dream is a small house close to the National Park. Walking around the desert, soaking in the heat, smell and colors inspires her to move forward.

I'm inspired by traveling as well. But traveling doesn't mean foreign cultures. Travel might mean visiting museums exploring the Murakami exhibition, eating at the weirdest restaurant in Los Angeles or just listen to music that's pretty much out there.

Inspiration happens when you shift from your head to your body. Holiday time might be the right time for introspection. I'd rather keep moving and get inspired. George Clinton released an album years ago called: Move your mind...and your ass will follow. Sorry, George.

I'd rather move my ass and my mind will follow.

And, once you're done moving, just watch the worst movie ever. At least it's not the most mediocre movie ever. There's a lot to say about that.
The movie below might give you the inspiration you're looking for.