Creativity in a Short Feature: Crayon Dragon

I was searching around on Facebook today and saw a post about a short film with true emotion. It sparked a little interest and I decided to give it a chance. In the short few minutes of the film, I was definitely impressed with the vivid world the artist created and the inspirational theme of holding on to your creativity. Here it is:

Discovering the Power of the People in an Internet World

So a former classmate of mine has experienced some major success as an internet developer for the popular information conglomerate, Reddit. While there may be some hesitation with using the site (due to the variety of appropriate vs inappropriate content voted on by people), he talked in India about the power of the people’s vote on the web. In particular, his talk highlights Greenpeace and their campaign to stop Japanese whaling through a new marketing campaign. Take a look…

The Reality of Romney Economics

While I am sure there are some redeeming qualities about the presumptive Republican nominee, there has been little highlighted to represent why Romney would make a good president. He has openly criticized the support for gay marriage, laughed off his high school hi-jinx as a bully and talked simply about repealing every Obama effort of the past 4 years. He has not provided a strong plan for fixing the economy, openly opposes equal rights and cannot make a solid decision about anything.

One of his biggest platforms arguments is his record on “creating” jobs. I am sure that he has been a job “creator” to a certain extent, but he is also well documented as a job destroyer with his involvement in Bain Capital’s multiple accounts of bankrupting major companies. The video below represents one of his significant failures in business. I am not going to say that Obama is more qualified to turn around the economy, except that it has been recovering slowly over his term (after falling to pieces in the wake of the end of Bush’s final years). Watch this video and let me know if it does not hit home somehow.

Shame on You, North Carolina!

As someone who once lived in the state of North Carolina, I have been very troubled by the political decision made on Tuesday to increase the level of oppression against same-sex couples. The people have spoken and voted to ban same-sex marriage in the state, though additional provisions include a ban of civil union rights for both same-sex and opposite-sex couples. Reasons behind this decision have ranged from the slippery slope argument to protecting the traditional “definition” of marriage to religious contradictions to cultural beliefs of different racial backgrounds. It does not really matter what excuses are used to justify this decision. It is simply just a wrong call.

Any political decision that limits the rights of people is a step backwards in human rights. When it comes to marriage, who said that heterosexual couples have it right? What is the divorce rate again? How many of those marriages involve same-sex couple? Oh wait! We would not know because more states have banned gay marriage than have even thought of possibly supporting it. Considering all of the “evils” that are out there looking to damage traditional marriage or the traditional family, there is no definable threat that same-sex couples would create by being supported by the state to engage in legal marriage.

So if its not the defense of the definition of marriage, it has to be the concern for access to rights and services. When did we decide that some people should not be afford the same rights and privileges as the rest of the population? Oh wait again! We do that with women in terms of wages, cost of health care and access to services. We do that with black Americans in terms of providing an atmosphere free of discrimination and bigotry. We do that with the LGBT community in almost every area of life. It is as if we are trying to moonwalk back to a time before we landed on the moon, when people were not afforded equal rights prior to the civil rights movement. If I were married and my partner was in poor health, I would have rights to go see them in the hospital and make decision on their treatment. If some of my friends found themselves in a similar situation with their same-sex partners, they would be denied the opportunity to even go see their partners in the hospital. Their relationships could be deeper and more meaningful, but they would still be denied. Is this right?

The immediate issue may be marriage, but this simply adds onto the list of existing problems in affording equal rights for the LGBT community. Hopefully the state of North Carolina can back up Obama’s statement (finally…) and get this thing repealed. It is a seemingly impossible task but not actually impossible.

To see more details on the state to state difference in LGBT right: http://gu.com/p/37c4m

Coming Soon to a Theater Near You: Jake Foushee

I was browsing on Facebook when I noticed the post of a former colleague. She was more than elated for her son, who seemed to be discovered for a rather unique talent. Jake Foushee, a 14-year old kid, has a rather deep voice compared to many his age, but his has been trained to imitate Don LaFontaine, the movie trailer voice. I watched the video the first time and thought that he must have had some sort of software changing his voice over his computer…at least until I saw him on Good Morning America. He then was invited on Ellen and was presented with an agent to start his career.

In the future, his may be the voice that impresses you during the trailers at the movies.