Well if you ask me...

Whoop Dee Doo for Baltimore

Today’s project is Whoop Dee Doo for Baltimore

See the rest of the projects I am backing this month over here and my backing history over here.

The Eternity Project

Today’s project is The Eternity Project.

I think eternity is something we all think about and I am intrigued by this approach to reflecting on it.

See the rest of the projects I am backing this month over here and my backing history over here.

Celebration & Preservation

Today’s project is Celebration & Preservation.

The artist is going to create 25 pen and ink drawings of buildings from across the state of Alabama.

See the rest of the projects I am backing this month over here and my backing history over here.

Copycat Project

Today’s project is Copycat Project.

I was looking for a photography project and this one is fairly close to home.

See the rest of the projects I am backing this month over here and my backing history over here.

SoW Pop-Up Juice

Today’s project is SōW Pop-Up Juice.

I like the idea of offering fresh juice made from local, organic, and seasonal produce. I also love the idea of re-purposing an existing location.

I just realized that I can embed the project videos here.

See the rest of the projects I am backing this month over here and my backing history over here.

A Few Not-So-Good Films

I’m not quite sure how this happened, but I’ve seen quite a few bad or mediocre movies recently. Here is a rundown of two decent movies and three terrible ones.

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The Lincoln Lawyer
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You’re nobody ’till somebody shoots you.

Exactly the kind of movie I get in the mood for sometimes. A solid cast, a predictable, but not too predictable story, a very fallible good guy, and Marisa Tomei.

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Hanna
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I just missed your heart.

This was a quirky thriller about a young girl who was trained as an assassin.

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Little Fockers
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I’m watching you.

I’m a big fan of Stiller, Wilson, and DeNiro, but it is time to put this franchise to bed.

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A Simple Wish
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They plugged that loophole up years ago.

We watched this as a surprise for my wife who is a big fan of Martin Short. It was not his best work.

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Sucker Punch
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I’m gonna escape from here.

I heard from a few people that this movie was better than they expected. They must not have expected much. This movie was a bizarre festival of nonsense.

The Alley

Today’s project is TheAlley – An Unopenable Pop-up Book.

There is not a lot of time left for this one, but it seems like a interesting and weird idea.

See the rest of the projects I am backing this month over here and my backing history over here.

Double Fine Adventure

Today’s project is Double Fine Adventure, an interesting project that involves both video game development and a documentary film.

From the project page …

The world of video game design is a mysterious one. What really happens behind the closed doors of a development studio is often unknown, unappreciated, or misunderstood. And the bigger the studio, the more tightly shut its door tends to be. With this project, we’re taking that door off its hinges and inviting you into the world of Double Fine Productions, the first major studio to fully finance their next game with a Kickstarter campaign and develop it in the public eye.

See the rest of the projects I am backing this month over here and my backing history over here.

Writing Lessons from John Bunyan

Yesterday I started reading Pilgrim’s Progress again for the latest installment of Reading Classics Together and I stumbled onto something I’ve never noticed before. I am reading the online version at CCEL and I was intrigued by the section titled The Author’s Apology for His Book. I may have read this before, but I don’t remember it.

The book is full of great lessons for the Christian, but the apology contains at least two lessons for the writer that I thought were worth noting.

One, that the work seemed to become something other than what the author originally intended. I’ve certainly noticed this in my own writing – especially in works of fiction.

Two, this portion …

Well, when I had thus put mine ends together
I show’d them others, that I might see whether
They would condemn them, or them justify:
And some said, let them live; some, let them die:
Some said, John, print it; others said, Not so:
Some said, It might do good; others said, No.

Bunyan goes on to explain why he decided to share his work, but the lesson is clear – it doesn’t matter that some people don’t see value in your writing.

GIANT! – A Mini Graphic Novel

Rough day today. I woke up to a host of issues of my own as well as those of some clients. I was able to get my morning reading done before all of that happened, but I was quickly running out of time to find a project to back today.

So, I asked for some advice on Twitter and discovered GIANT! – A Mini Graphic Novel

It looks like a lot of fun, and since I’ve rediscovered comics recently (mostly due to my iPad) I decided it was a great project for today.

See the rest of the projects I am backing this month over here and my backing history over here.

Let’s Just Make That!

The Kickstarter project for today is Let’s Just Make That! Tv Show and Workshops.

From the project website …

Let’s Just Make That! is a TV show that turns people into makers by teaching them how to build their own home furnishings and fix their own home repairs. We used to be a nation of builders, but now we dial a handyman or go to Wal-Mart to buy furniture that is destined to fall apart in a year.

Some of us wouldn’t dare step foot in Wal-Mart, but otherwise I agree with her point.

I decided to back this for a few reasons, but the biggest is that I think she is hitting on a big issue here. Our economy relies on replacement purchases. It thrives on over consumption which requires waste. If this project will help eliminate waste and teach people to solve their own problems instead of outsourcing everything, I’m all for it.

See the rest of the projects I am backing this month over here and my backing history over here.

Instaprint

Today’s Kickstarter project is Instaprint – The location based photo booth for Instagram.

From the project page …

Instaprint is a location based photo booth that can transform parties and events by putting a camera in everyone’s hand. By setting Instaprint to look out for specific locations or hashtags, any Instagram tagged appropriately will automatically be printed out on inkless paper. Get one for your next party, event, wedding, fiesta….

It’s an ambitious project and I decided not to invest very much, but I really think it’s an interesting idea.

See the rest of the projects I am backing this month over here and my backing history over here.

Gravity by Moors and McCumber

I didn’t post about it yesterday, but I did fund another project at Kickstarter – Gravity – The new recording from Moors and McCumber.

James Moors and Kort McCumber are a songwriting and performing duo from Wisconsin and Colorado. They seemed like decent enough guys who care about the music they create, so I wanted to be a part.

See the rest of the projects I am backing this month over here and my backing history over here.

Left Behind: Life and Death Along the Arizona Border

Today I’ve decided to back an art project entitled Left Behind: Life and Death Along the Arizona Border which documents illegal immigration along the Arizona border.

From the project page …

This book is important for a number of reasons. It is a way of humanizing the immigration issue we face in our country. It points to how desperate the individuals are to escape whatever their circumstances were and start a new life. Essentially this books stands as a kind of memorial to people who died alone, without ceremony and who often are still unknown.

See the rest of the projects I am backing this month over here and my backing history over here.

Solar Dreams

I’ve decided the next project I back is a documentary film entitled Solar Dreams. From the project page …

Solar Dreams explores the political, economic, and social barriers to the proliferation of solar energy production through the eyes of two young men who believe that the world could be a better place. Neither very automotive savvy, they convert an old VW bus into a solar electric vehicle. Traveling the country the interview politicians, scientists, energy system designers, and other solar dreamers. Following the path set forward by Hermann Scheer in his book The Solar Economy.

I really intended to avoid funding films until I hit every other group (since I’ve already funded one and my tendency would be to fund mostly films), but I thought this was an interesting project.

See the rest of the projects I am backing this month over here and my backing history over here.

Stop Stealing Dreams

I read an amazing book yesterday.

I downloaded and read Seth Godin’s free book – Stop Stealing Dreams, and I highly recommend it to anyone who cares about education, children, or the future of our nation.

I’ve been an educator myself for more than twenty years and I’ve been incredibly frustrated by the nature of the way we do things. Early on in my career, when I taught high school full time, I was consistently frustrated by new high school students who had been trained, in my opinion, to only care about what they needed to do – not what we were going to learn. My speeches about the dangers of hyper-productivity and the importance of thinking and learning would surprise them at first, but almost every student I’ve ever had eventually took to the new attitude about learning. The rest usually dropped my class.

As a parent, I became even more frustrated. My children have been fortunate enough to have many excellent teachers, but even the good ones are teaching the wrong things. Day after day we watch as they are trained to to adapt behaviors and attitudes that will not help them live a fulfilled life. Terri and I find ourselves teaching the opposite lessons at home. We want our children to think for themselves and think critically. We are suspicious, at best, of conventional wisdom.

I always knew others were frustrated, but we seemed in the minority. A couple of years ago, I noticed a swelling movement. I started to read everything I could get my hands on about new trends in education. I started watching every video presentation and documentary film I could find about the subject. It is clear that there is a problem, and most of us care about solving it.

If you are frustrated about the current state of affairs and don’t know where to turn, this book is the best first step I can recommend.

Download it today, read it, and share it with everyone you know.

Let’s Dance in the Rain Josh

I’ve decided on my first Kickstarter project for March.

It’s a children’s book entitled Let’s Dance in the Rain Josh about how we come up with excuse after excuse not to live life.

It’s like I always say – excuses are like armpits, everyone’s got two of them and they all stink!

See the rest of the projects I am backing this month over here and my backing history over here.

Kickstarter – My New Obsession and 12in12 for March

I know it’s not a good idea to announce my goal before I’ve accomplished it, but I wanted to blog about this one every day so I guess I have to.

I’ve decided for March to back one Kickstarter project every day. I don’t have a lot of money to invest in this right now and I may only invest a few dollars in each one, but I believe in what Kickstarter is trying to do and I desperately want to be a part of making good things happen.

So here goes …

1st – Let’s Dance in the Rain Josh
2nd – Solar Dreams
3rd – Left Behind
4th – missed it
5th – Gravity
6th – Instaprint
7th – Let’s Just Make That!
8th – GIANT! – A Mini Graphic Novel
9th – Double Fine Adventure
10th – TheAlley
11th – SōW Pop-Up Juice
12th – missed again
13th – Copycat Project
14th – missed again – wow!
15th – Celebration & Preservation
16th – missed again!!!
17th – The Eternity Project
18th – missed
19th – missed
20th – Whoop Dee Doo for Baltimore
21st – Tabber
22nd – Duende: Suit of Lights
23rd – Stop the Bleeding
24th – missed
25th – missed
26th – PressurePen (*)
27th – missed
28th – missed
29th – missed
30th – Past Life
31st – The Future of Work

UPDATE: A Kick Ass Philanthropist

12 in 12, February Update

My 12 in 12 goal for January was to stick to a morning reading routine, and I didn’t miss a day all month. I did drop the ball on the first day of February, but I have been back on track every day since.

My goal for February didn’t work out as well. As a family, we were all sticking to a diet faithfully until the holidays. I thought getting back on track with that would be a good goal for February. We did okay, but didn’t really stick to it every day. We plan to get back on track again in March.

I have a plan for March that I am excited about. Once again, I’m not talking about it until the end of the month, but I am looking forward to this one a great deal. And I do plan to stick with both the diet and the morning routine.

2012 Oscar Nominated Shorts

I didn’t see the documentaries this year, but I did get a chance to see the others

Animated

I didn’t think these were that great this year so I’m not going to comment on them individually. Most were silent too, so no quotes.

My Pick:The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

Live Action

My Pick:Tuba Atlantic

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Pentecost
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Go out there and have the best mass of your lives.

Loads of fun – the audience erupted in applause when it ended.

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Raju
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And what will you tell them?

A film that takes itself too seriously. My least favorite by a long shot.

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The Shore
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They’ve brought in a horse?

A wonderfully quirky story about love and family. Great stuff – and very funny.

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Time Freak
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Don’t you dare!

As much as I love time travel and the premise of this film, it fell short in my opinion.

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Tuba Atlantic
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That was very precise.

Very interesting characters in a strange story. The best of the films in my opinion.