The setup was breezy. The interface was a snap. It was actually looking like something I would use regularly. Well, that was until I posted the previous entry.

All was fine and good – what a valuable way to use ‘downtime’ to update the blog. I posted the entry about the bike race in race and thought it would be nice to post a picture. (We all know that blog posts with pictures are much more interesting.)

I surfed to a website (still using my iPhone,) found an appropriate picture and discovered I could not add an image the blog entry. Sure, it gave me an option to do so, but kept failing on the upload. Fail.

Maybe I am doing something wrong? Is anyone out there using the WordPress plugin for the iPhone and successfully posting images to their entries? I will keep trying, but for now – I am pretty disappointed.

I just love the fact that so much great world-class cycling is available on television. I can still remember when we were the only family around with satellite access. It was the Wild West of television and we had to turn the 8 ft wide dish by hand to point to a different satellite. It was worth it.

Before most in the US heard of cycling, I was watching ‘Le Tour’ and a small start called mixed martial arts. Now, these are well known sports that are readily available on satellite and even our smart phones.

Back on the subject – stage 2 of the Dauphiné was a fun one and I am soo pumped to watch all the cycling classics this year.

“Girl I been thinkin’ ’bout us
And you know I ain’t good at this stuff
But these feelings piling up won’t give me no rest
This might come out a little crazy
A little sideways, yeah maybe
I don’t know how long it’ll take me
But I’ll do my best

Chorus 1:
If you’ll be my soft and sweet
I’ll be your strong and steady
You be my glass of wine
I’ll be your shot of whiskey
You be my sunny day
I’ll be your shade tree
You be my honeysuckle
I’ll be your honey bee

Yeah that came out a little country
But every word was right on the money
And I got you smilin’ honey right back at me
Now hold on ’cause I ain’t done
There’s more where that came from
Well you know I’m just havin’ fun
But seriously

Chorus 2:
If you’ll be my Louisiana
I’ll be your Mississippi
You be my little Loretta
I’ll be your Conway Twitty
You be my sugar baby
I’ll be your sweet iced tea
You be my honeysuckle
I’ll be your honey bee

Your kiss just said it all
I’m glad we had this talk
Nothin’ left to do but fall in each other’s arms
I could’ve said a “I love you”
Could’ve wrote you a line or two
Baby all I know to do
Is speak right from the heart

Chorus 1

Chorus 2

I’ll be your honey bee“

Look for more of the country tracks to show up here on “Lyrically speaking…” posts as I can think of three more right now and could probably go on for days.

It could be that my wife has developed in interest in cycling so maybe I am just looking forward to having something else we can share.  I mean, we love watching Amazing Race together – how cool if we could share in this other big part of my life.

So what does this year’s tour look for:

TOUR DE FRANCE 2011

Running from Saturday July 2^rd to Sunday July 24^th 2011, the 98^th Tour de France will be made up of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,471 kilometres (before approval).

These stages have the following profiles:

Distinctive aspects of the race

• · le Galibier climbed twice,
• · 2 rest days,
• · 23 level 2, 1 or highest level mountain passes or summit finishes,
• · no bonuses will be awarded during the intermediate sprints and stage finishes.

15 new stage towns

Blaye-les-Mines, Cap Fréhel, Carhaix, Carmaux, Cugnaux, Galibier Serre-Chevalier, Limoux, Modane – Valfréjus, Mont des Alouettes Les Herbiers, Mûr-de-Bretagne, Olonne-sur-Mer, Passage du Gois La Barre-de-Monts, Pinerolo (Italie), Redon, Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux

I can’t wait – it is going to be a great year for cycling!

I went to see my doctor last night and felt like a nervous kid going to confession. I blurted out, “I totally blew it today with a coke and french fries!” He just sorta chuckled and said, “well how did it feel?”

It seemed he was expecting me to say how horrible it was and that it felt bad… uh, I cannot lie. While it didn’t fill any particular craving, it didn’t make me feel poor either.

I know it doesn’t sound very impressive to those of you who already have decent diets, but the fact that I had broccoli and zucchini at lunch the other day was HUGE to me. Seriously, I used to be unable to stomach any veggies, but I didn’t mind them at all. Nope, I wasn’t going, “mmmmm… give me more.” It wasn’t offensive. Trust me – that is a big deal for me.

Long story short, veggies are becoming easier to eat. While I do not crave them – I don’t mind eating them. For some reason though, the hard part for me is the soft drinks. I find myself craving a Coke most afternoons now.

That is a battle I will continue to fight.

It is to podcasting what twitter is to blogging – we’re talking microcasting. Very cool.

I am still not sure what it will evolve into. I am working right now on what I am calling an AppreciationCast or GrattitudeCast. In it, I will find at least one thing every day to note that I appreciate. I use the Cinch app on the iPhone and within seconds are recording and uploading.

It is supposed to be auto-updating my facebook page, but that hasn’t seemed to work so far.

In light of what I am doing with the Paleo Diet, this could not have been a more timely viewing.

Seriously, watch this film. If it doesn’t change the way you consume food – enjoy that view of the beach (with your head buried in the sand.)

RATING 9 out of 10

The major slip-up has been eating some potatoes (which are no-nos when trying to eat like my hunter/gatherer ancestors.) I have also allowed some grains into my diet. There is just something about the taste of a nice bun or a biscuit that is hard to pass up.

I should be getting my initial blood work back soon so look forward to seeing those results and I promise I will try to do better.

None of that matters now anyway. Launching tonight in five cities (San Francisco, Austin, Dallas, Atlanta and San Diego,) Facebook Deals is about to put a serious squash on these couponing plays.

#1 reason why Facebook Deals will dominate? They will likely offer the deals for FREE! Yes, they launched Facebook Deals in Europe and the model was to give away the deals and make their money off selling Facebook credits. Heck, even if they make nothing off the deals, they could give it all away for free just to crush the competition.

A close #2 to why Facebook Deals will destroy? Their demographics. No one in the history of history has put together such expansive demographic information on consumers. Why toss bucks at a big, messy email list when you can target the demographics “facebook style.”

Mark it down. GroupOn and Living Social’s days were numbered even before Facebook Deals, but now they will have to reinvent themselves completely while bleeding money to even stay in business period.

Thank you, Brad for your donation to the American Diabetes Association. Please contact Brad if you need any assistance with credit card processing. He is not only a “good guy,” but he offers a good service. We use him for credit card processing with both Sweet Wimberley and Fresh Media Works.

“Fail small, but fail OFTEN!”

– Chris Doelle

Pork medallions with cauliflower and brocolli.

Since making the decision to tackle the Paleo Diet, I have not only convinced myself to start eating better – the food tastes different. I started on this journey because a client is asking me to help promote his latest venture in the arena of a more natural approach to health, fitness, nutrition and disease. He has dedicated his life to study why we have disease and concluded that the presence of disease is something caused by our diet more than any other factor.

In order to market something, I have to understand it – so it was only natural that I give it a try. It was an easy decision mainly because the diet makes sense. I have a health and fitness background and consider myself very educated on the subject. In a nutshell, the Paleo Diet reintroduces us to the diet of our hunter/gatherer ancestors. It is high in animal protein and yes, high in fruits and vegetables. The thing it leaves out is something that has turned into the bulk of our diet – the grains and processed foods. Natural foods in their natural form = good. Grains, legumes, and highly processed natural foods = bad.

In the past week, I have eaten zucchini, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, green beans, carrots, apples, oranges, spinach, broccoli and even artichokes! And you know what? None of it killed me AND it actually didn’t taste bad. I think that maybe with the reduction in grains, sweets and salty snacks, my sense of taste is actually changing. This has amazed me with every bite.

I am blown away simply because I have never been able to stomach eating vegetables. This is the part of dieting and weight loss that always hurt the most for me. I was able to lose weight a couple years back (dropped 50 pounds over 6 months) by increasing exercise and cutting down the volume of food. Sure, I tried to eat better, but I did it not by cutting out the chili-cheese fries, but instead just eating the fries themselves. That combined with exercise was all it took. I knew I was playing with fire and tempting fate.

I think I am on the right track finally. While I won’t for a minute say that I crave cauliflower yet – but I am able to eat it and that is huge!

So what is the end game? Well, I think it is to “avoid the end game.” It is to extend life and quality of life. It is to be around to watch the kids graduate, have kids. It is to spoil grand kids.

I weighed in last week on my initial visit at 207 pounds. I would like to be around 185 and have a lean, muscular physique. Will I get there with the Paleo Diet? Time will tell. Right now, it is working for me and I am pumped about what is to come.

Wish me luck.

While I have already doubles last year’s total, it is far from a great start.  To that end, and with urging from my wife to get “back in the saddle,”  I have a chosen a ride to do that will motivate me to log the training miles.

Look for information on that ride very shortly – as soon as I get everything registered, scheduled and launch this latest two-wheeled campaign.

I am just under 500 miles short of having logged 20,000 cycling miles and feel confident I can shatter that this year.  Wish me luck and stay tuned for how you can help me out and encourage me on.

It was a fun chance to mingle some friends and meet some new people. I didn’t have the opportunity to interview them, but had a great conversation with Cheryl and Shea Bailey of Cheryl Bailey Catering. They handled all the food and culinary treats for the event.

(Time: 10:14)

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Some people are saying that Google’s latest foray into the social space is sure to unseat the 800lb gorilla, Facebook. Not so fast. Google has tried social in the past (Wave & Buzz) with mixed results and while I think +1 has some great potential, it has to fix a few things first.

The main one is how you find the results. Currently, the item’s that you have +1′ed only appear on your personal Google Profile page – who actually goes to those? Not many. Once these profile pages are more widely adopted, it will be more useful but the idea of a +1 is still kludgy. Facebook’s graphical avatars for your “likes” is clearly the way to go. Get them visual and get them out front where you don’t have to search.

So how do you become one of the “cool kids” and add a +1 tab to your profile that nobody sees?

To get started, you need to enable the +1 button experimental feature in your Google Profile. By default, +1 button will not visible to every Google Profile user. However, you can enable it by opening the Google Experimental page to activate +1 share button feature for your Google Profile. Then, click the “Join the Experiment” button for +1 button listing at the top right. This will enable +1 button feature for your Google Profile.

Now all you do is search. You will notice a grayed out +1 icon next to links. Click on them and they light up and also are listed on your +1 tab of your profile. Simple.

As I said, it has great potential. It’s just not quite there yet.

Chris Doelle

For a free consultation with Chris, simply call 713-269-4620.

A lot of companies are changing the look of their social pages to reflect America’s attention to college basketball. Reese’s has done a makeover on their facebook page.

The re-do of the facebook presence (along with the chance to win a million bucks) has boosted their attention. A lot of savvy marketers are doing the same for their brands. You don’t have to toss out a million dollars. Simply associating your brand with something that fans feel passionate about is a big win already.

ESPN has turned tweeting into a game with their Tournament of Tweets. In it, you tweet your team’s hashtag (#Texas etc. along with #MM2011) to add to your team’s score. It is getting a lot of attention from the fans and once again building some brand equity and trust for ESPN.

There are great examples everyday of how companies are taking advantage of this marketing opportunity. Are you?

It can all be boiled down to one thing – not understanding your customer.  The customer does not want to be your “buddy.”  The customer does not want to get a discount on your unneeded product or service.  Don’t get me wrong – they will take them for something they use, but you are not going to convert them to loyal fans with some idle chit-chat.

You don’t care to reach people on social media?  You better!  They ARE the public.  They are no longer the geeks on the bleeding edge of tech – everyone from teenagers to octogenarians is there.  More importantly, they are wise to the techniques you use to sell through old media.  They tune out TV and radio, no longer even see billboards, and don’t dare to ask the last time one of them picked up a phone book unless you are willing to admit that all the huge dollars you threw at those dead tree farms was a total waste.

How do you reach them?  As I have been saying for years as a close to my podcasts and videocasts – keep it real.  Let them know what is going on – don’t talk excitedly about your new product.  Talk about the staff meeting you sat in today.  Mention how the boss’s squeaky shoes give him away when he does his “management by walking around.”  Mention REAL stories about the thank you letter sent in by a happy customer.  Don’t forget to mention the REAL stories about the “I’m totally pissed” letter sent in by an unhappy one.  Most of all – ask them how you can improve your company to better serve them.

Don’t even try to fake these as you will fail.

The real beauty of social media is that if you use it correctly, it can get real feedback from your customers.  You can learn what people really like and dislike about your product or service.  You can use this information to respond to the market and grow the customer loyalty you are seeking.

Get involved, be real and don’t betray the attention they have given you.

Chris Doelle

The trailer doesn’t really give enough information to form an opinion. I will be looking for more previews and of course, I will be taking the boys to see it. I just hope it doesn’t blow.

“Hope is not a strategy.
Luck is not a factor.
Fear is not an option.”

– James Cameron

How can you cram every second full of content, ideas, meetings etc? How do you make sure that you don’t waste your valuable investment of money, and more importantly time, while in Austin?

RELAX & ENJOY

Yes, relax. That is the best way to take in this wonderful collection of people. THAT is the key – the people are what makes SXSWi so valuable.

Slow down, walk up to someone interesting and ask them what they do. Find out what brings them to Austin. Find out what excites them. Grab a clatch of people, stake out a corner and just start sharing. Share your ideas, your goals and see if there is any synergy. Trust me – there will be.

Don’t chase after the “names.” Don’t be a bandwagon jumper – these folks didn’t make their fame by chasing the so-called big names. Shaking their hand and giving them a business card won’t be a golden ticket to success for you. Sure, say hello and introduce yourself – but being in their entourage only succeeds in making them seem bigger than they are and you smaller.

Enjoy the parties – but not so much that you don’t remember. Enjoy them because it is another way to relax and meet people.

In the end, what you will take away from the event will be those relationships. Make them, strengthen them, build upon them.

Are you there to brand your product or service? create customer loyalty? create sales? create awareness? do you have a call to action?

2 – Next, you have to decide who you are trying to reach. Your business plan should define your target audience.  We are talking about the traditional “brass tacks” of marketing (age, gender, location, income etc.) as well as the landscape of new media – in other words – you need to be where they are.

If you have a solid strategy for who you are trying to reach and why, it will translate across all platforms!

3 – Don’t forget to take advantage of customization so that all of your social media content delivers your message with similar look and feel.  (Twitter background, facebook page, website, etc.)  While it is impossible to make them all identical – you can ensure that the same logo is used across all etc.

4 – Content is King!  This cannot be stated strongly enough.  At the end of the day, if there is nothing to read or it doesn’t apply – you will lose interest and audience (if you ever gain them.)  Make sure that the content fits the audience though or it will be another huge misfire.

The only thing worse than ill-fitting content is no content at all.  For that reason, you MUST commit to creating (or outsourcing) content.

5 – HOW you talk to the audience is everything.  Talk “with” your audience and not “at” them.  If you are not engaging them in the conversation – it is nothing more than an ad and people have become experts at ignoring ads.  If you are not engaging them – you are losing out on the largest benefit of social media – their opinions, their thoughts, their content.

6 – The final step is promotion, promotion, promotion.  I am not talking about just “tooting your own horn.”  Instead, promotion means to make sure that members of each of your social media outlets knows about your presence on other platforms.  Your facebook friends should know about your witty tweets – your LinkedIn acquaintances should know about your YouTube video series – your website should promote ALL of them!

Chris Doelle

Social media is not the latest thing in social media, it is the only thing. Smart Water is smart in the way they are using it to promote their water – that is for sure. Those of us in the business will undoubtedly forward the heck out of the video.

Hate the concept of Smart Water – LOVE the use of social media! (and Jennifer Aniston is a nice addition to any visual medium)

“A question well asked, is half the answer.”

– Socrates

* make.believe * make games * make movies * make music

Each of these mark a tab of their page where you can get interactive. The one that attracted me to the page was “make movies.” There you can create your own version of the trailer for their upcoming release, Priest.

Each of those options are some interactive tie-in to a Sony product line and each involves letting fans be part of the creative process.

Sony seems to have scored big with this campaign and companies all over the world will be watching to see what Sony will do with all this buzz.  Having already over a half million fans to the page, they certainly must be doing something right.

Supposedly, this is the Academy’s move to appeal to a younger demographic – they must have meant a dumber demographic.

While the celebration of film will always be worth watching, this show had very few moments worth my attention.  Colin Firth‘s acceptance for Best Actor in The King’s Speech was the highlight of the evening.  That, and Randy Newman‘s acceptance for Best Original Song were actually the only two positive notes I remember even though I saw it all.

You can write this down and bank on it though – Franco is done.  Hathaway will likely get the axe as well by association, but James Franco will never host the Oscars again.  Standing there and squinting like a stoner works in Pineapple Express, but not when paying tribute to Hollywood’s royalty.

I will say that the opening sequence where Franco and Hathaway traveled through a dream to learn about all the Best Film nominees was quite fun.

“No matter how far you have gone on the wrong road, turn back.”

– Turkish Proverb

1. Facebook the gold standard for connecting your personal life as well as business marketing.
2. LinkedIn Designed for professional networking, keep tings strictly business.
3. Twitter Keep in touch with colleagues while on the go, even without having to exchange cell phone numbers. Great for conferences.
4. CamCard Reader (Lite) Saves you countless hours entering in data from business cards.
5. Footfeed Allows you to “check in” to Foursquare, Gowalla, Facebook & twitter all at the same time. As they add more services, this will be even more useful.

These are just a quick sampling of some of the more useful apps. There are thousands more out there, but this will get you connecting like a champ quickly.

* Refer to the Malcolm Gladwell book, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference for an explanation of the term Connector.

What do you use? How do you take advantage of this new technology to further your network of personal and business contact?

It has every unique logo they have ever created – starting way back Aug 30, 1998 when they did a special one for Burning Man.

I have to share a few of my favorites:

May 22, 2006  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Birthday

Sep 29, 2008 Miguel de Cervantes’ Birthday

Jul 05, 2008 Tour de France

May 08, 2009 100th Giro d’Italia

I still haven’t gone through them all – but suffice it to say, there are some really cool ones and a lot of history mixed in. Fun stuff. There is even a Google Doodle Store if you find one that you just have to wear.

Happy Birthday Dawn!

I found them all posted on Mashable and in between uploads, texting, and various client work – watched the ones I missed. What is the result? There were a few I liked.

Misunderstood – Chevy Cruze

I like old people and it was funny

I also like young people and this was cute:

That’s it though. Most of them were just lame. Sure, the Eminem/Detroit one was interesting, but combined with his Sprite or Burst or whatever drink ad he did, I just kept thinking “sellout.” The Tibet Groupon one was downright insulting and offensive too.

It is a fun change to the old dependable logo that not only allows you to float around looking out the “submarine” logo windows, but turn, go up and down etc. There is even a treasure or two.

Google again stays on the cool kids list.

This is the email I received a few minutes ago

—–

We want to share with you an important update about our radio service:

No other features are affected by this change.

In taking this decision, we have given a lot of thought to how this impacts some of our early adopters and long-time users like you. We truly appreciate what you have meant to our growth and success, and offer you the following as a token of our thanks;

This will start automatically on February 15th 2011. As a result you will continue to be able to use Last.fm as you do today until the end of your subscription.  If you’d like to see the other benefits of your free subscription, please visit the subscription page.

We appreciate you may have questions about this announcement, so visit our blog to read more about these changes and offer feedback.

We value your support and hope you continue to enjoy using Last.fm.
You can visit your profile at http://www.last.fm/user/cdoelle

– Team Last.fm

—–

Again, I LOVE last.fm and was even in favor of their streaming capabilities just because of its tracking.  This is despite the fact that it load slower than Pandora, skips and drops more frequently and doesn’t pick up where you paused the song (Pandora will do so even days after you paused.)

And the end of the day, they lost sight of the most important thing about internet services – FREE.  Yeah,  if I was going to pay 3 bucks a month to listen to streaming radio, it would be for Pandora.  Plus, as long as there is a free option, neither of them will get my money.

Maybe last.fm can just learn a lesson (ala New Coke) and rush back in to fix things?  Until then, I will be working on how I can get the Pandora iPhone app to report my plays to last.fm.

I never really thought a lot more about it until I recently listened to P!nk’s new album Greatest Hits… So Far!!! I was floored when I heard P!nk herself belting out the same track. Now I knew there was some connection.

A little Internet sleuthing later and I discovered that not only did P!nk write the song, but she recorded it before Adam Lambert. Check out the link above for the Wikipedia article that explains it all.

It was a nice treat to discover.

This one was recorded a couple days ago – before the snow.

That said, let’s start with the most recent – The Rite. If you’re looking for classic Anthony Hopkins – you will be happy. If you’re looking for a thought-provoking film that keeps your interest – you will be happy. If you are looking for your typical blood and gore scarefest – you wont find it.

What you do find is a story “inspired” by true events that brings a combination of good acting, good casting, interesting writing and 112 minutes of entertainment.

I find it refreshing that the film find a good balance between healthy skepticism and faith in religion. In the end, it won’t go down as anyone’s all time favorite – but won’t be hated by many either.  The gem of the film has to be the lead actor, Colin O’Donoghue.  He played in The Tudors, but I hadn’t seen that so this was my first exposure – he is solid.

RATING 8 out of 10

Next up is True Grit. What can I say that the critics,fans,pundits etc. haven’t already?  I really liked the original with John Wayne (his only Oscar win) and was hopeful that Jeff Bridges could pull it off.  Did he ever!  Not only was he every bit the curmudgeon of Wayne and then some, but Hailee Steinfeld was amazing as Mattie Ross.  The only casting that seemed a bit off was Matt Damon as the dorky Texas Ranger.  Midway through the film, I was sold on Damon, but originally it struck me as odd.

There was nothing really new in the story, but the Coen Brothers know how to tell a story and I have to put this version ahead of the 1969 version.

I have always had a soft spot for period pieces and add the whole western thing to that mix and you have great possibilities – add a proven winner of a story and mix in a cast chock full of solid talent and you are looking at some serious award winners.  There is no movie in the last year that I could more wholeheartedly say is a “must see.”

RATING 10 out of 10

“Life’s most urgent question is: what are you doing for others?”

– Martin Luther King, Jr.

The three are friends since college dealing with the adjustments that come with being in their 40s.  Braugher is married with children.  Romano is separated with children.  Bakula is the lone bachelor holdout.

I am sure it applies to be because I am almost their ages, but it also applies because it is a show about ‘guy talk,’ that isn’t for teenagers.  It is a mature show that deals with mature issues but also remembers to have fun and keep it real.

If you are tired of teeny-boppers, fake reality tv, the whole host of poorly constructed cop shows or thinly-disguised sexual romps with medical settings, give Men of a Certain Age a try.  It is well-written and appeals to both sexes and a variety of age groups.

I intend for 2011 to not be my greatest mileage total ever, but certainly not another one like last year.  In an attempt to get some balance in my life – I have worked cycling back into the mix.  It seems to be working out.

Sure, it hasn’t been that long and last year it seemed to be working out as well.  In the end, I know it will be a good year because things are getting better all over.

So, the quest to reach 20,000 cycling miles continues.

It was a simple way to get 2011 started off in a positive manner.  If you are ‘up’ from remembering all the good things from last year, you are more likely to be ‘up’ about this coming year.

Some of the things that I was reminded of:

We bought a great home on 5 acres in the Texas Hill Country.  It was exactly what we had searched 8 months for AND we walked into it with some serious equity!

We opened a gorgeous chocolate treat store (Sweet Wimberley) and not only created a successful company, but made great friends AND were profitable in months rather than years!

I was able to see my boys (Logan and Dallin) play football!  Those who have known me for a long time understand how wonderful this has been for me.

My company, Fresh Media Works has been extremely successful, attracted some great new clients and shows signs of exponential results in 2011!

We went on a fun trip to Utah where we picked up Madison and brought her home to Texas so she can continue her college here!

My family has been healthy; My friends have been good;
and of course, Dawn and I celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary!  Nothing more to be said about that – it has been a SERIOUSLY great year!

Here are the top ten tracks I listened to in 2010 according to last.fm:

1		Flo Rida – Low			24
2		P!nk – So What			23
3		Train – Hey, Soul Sister			17
4		P!nk – Sober			14
4		Norwegian Recycling – Acoustic Alchemy free download			14
4		Kevin Fowler – Pound Sign (#?*!)			14
7		P!nk – Just Like a Pill			13
7		Howie Day – Collide			13
7		P!nk – Stupid Girls			13
7		P!nk – Bad Influence			13

A couple of observations:

Flo Rida coming in #1 was a surprise at first, but it make sense as I introduced the song to the boys midway through the year and they always requested it on our drive into Scouts – and often it wasn’t just once a trip.

The abundance of tracks by P!nk doesn’t surprise me in the least.  I like her music and listen to it often.  In fact, when I go to my All-Time chart, the most popular track is Stupid Girls and her tracks are littered throughout that chart as well.

Train coming in at #3 with Hey, Soul Sister is a surprise to me because I really disliked the song when it first came out.  It sounded too much like a whitey trying to act ghetto.  The song grew on me mainly because it was played so darn often and once I listened to the lyrics, it turned out to be a good track.

Norwegian Recycling came as no surprise because I sorta introduced the family to mashups in 2010 and Acoustic Alchemy was one of the family favorites.  It is a masterpiece.

Kevin Fowler’s Pound Sign was a track I liked the first time I heard it and frankly, I just went back to it when I was searching around for something to entertain.

Mashups played a role in Howie Day’s song, Collide making it into my most-listened list for 2010 as I never heard it until it was part of a mashup that Manny sent me.  I loved it in the mashup and finally researched the lyrics, found the artist and track, and downloaded to see if I like the original.  I did.  It was late in the year when I found it so for it to make the top 10 is surprising with such a short time.

The numbers of all the tracks are surprisingly low and I think that is because my library is so large.  I had thousands of listens this year (over 43,000 since 1995) and less than 100 songs were played more than 5 times in 2010.

So, who did you play the grooves off last year?  Who will be the big winners in 2011?  Is this just crazy to care?

• a) if I like it
• b) what it is good for
• c) how I would use it

It seems too interactive to be useful from the standpoint of watching on your family television.  I mean, I know my attention span can be low at time, but when I kick back in front of the big screen, I plan to not move, not flip channels, not make a lot of choices.  That is something I do before I sit down.

I can see it working from the desktop if you are exclusively planning to sit and watch YouTube content – but come on – who does that?  Teenagers?  If I spend any time on YouTube it is while doing other things and I need my screen for that.

Will I try it?  Sure, I will give it a few test runs.  Will it be added to my habits?  Not likely.

You tell me – do you use it?  How do you use it?  Will it go the way of the Dodo bird and “Pants on the Ground?”

The Texans last won a state championship in 2005 behind the vaulted “Code Red Defense.  Wimberley’s own, Lone Star Gridiron – the top website covering high school football statewide – has the Texans as a favorite in this game

Source: This Week in Wimberley

“Build bridges with people that want them built. Trying to manipulate people into liking you is disingenuous and selfish. Friends don’t do that.”

– Chris Doelle

The Big Bounce was cute, but weak. Owen Wilson played a small-time crook and it featured a pretty big list of A-list actors – Morgan Freeman, Charlie Sheen, Gary Sinise and was filmed in Hawaii. You can see the appeal of signing on for a lame film – talk about a paid vacation.

Rent it if you are the one true Owen Wilson fan – rent it if you want something to play in the background while you do your taxes – rent it if you have no taste. If not, skip it.

Okay, it may not be that bad, but it isn’t very darn good.

RATING 5 out of 10

The next one was a much better film – Invictus starring Mr. Freeman and Matt Damon.  Invictus chronicles the parallel stories of Nelson Mandela’s first months as President of South Africa and the Springboks, their national rugby team.  Clint Eastwood does a masterful job of directing.  He is able to set the scene of a country struggling to unite after years of Apartheid rule and still show the humanity of the individuals involved.

Being an American, I really knew little about this time in the history of South Africa.  As a film goes, it does more than just educate however, it evokes emotion around every turn.  Oh yeah, and there is a very good sports story intertwined throughout.  One of Clint’s great jobs as director and one of Morgans great jobs as actor.  Very good  stuff.

RATING 8 out of 10

“To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.”

– Donald Laird

For one, it is on a mountain bike and runs from Canada to Mexico along, up, over and through the Rocky Mountains!  There are no teams to support the riders, no one to hand them food and drinks, no one to offer medical treatment nor massages – it is a completely unsupported bit of insanity.

Only a handful of people have ever finished the Tour although it is getting more and more popular each year.  The documentary which came out in 2010 featured only 16 riders and the first ever female to attempt the feat.

My hat is off to these inspiring nutjobs.  I think I may have finally found a sporting event that is tougher than the Tour de France.

The film is shot well and does a great job of showing that normal (albeit fit) people can to extraordinary things.  It is an inspiration to the weekend peddler and the lifelong cyclist alike.  If you doubt for a second that the human body is capable of truly amazing things, watch this film.

RATING 8 out of 10

The service, built on the Google AppEngine and Erlust, boasts, “SocialCaddy lets you manage your universe of friends and business contacts automatically & for free. It is the assistant you always dreamed of.  Only better.”

In a nutshell, it sends “Happy Birthday” or some other custom message to your facebook, LinkedIn and/or Gmail contacts on their birthday etc.  You can designate these contacts in terms of their priority, Low, Medium, High.

The real power comes in being a centralized contact database.  It imports all the pertinent information and has it all there in a nice format.  This saves you a boatload of time entering this info in a database or looking it up when you need it.

As a business tool, it makes a lot sense – assuming the Borg-like collection of your information is not used for nefarious purposes.

As a personal tool, it seems like it could take the social out of social networking.  If used prudently however, it can be useful there as well.

Will I be using my SocialCaddy robot to handle some tasks for me?  Sure, that is my job – to stay ahead of these things.  I will let you know how it turns out.

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.”

– Peter F. Drucker

It was way cool to relay information about the planes and the eras in which they flew.

The highlight had to be the new F-22 in action.  Holy Smoke!  This thing is amazing.  I shot a little video while there but don’t know how well it turned out yet.  Look for video when I have some free time.  For now, enjoy some photos from the outing.

This being the age of internet marketing, I went ahead and signed up for a few birthday clubs online to see what emails I was sent in the week or two prior to my birthday (November 13th.)  Here is what I received:

• Pluckers – a FREE DESSERT (not sure what that means, but I am betting something tiny)
• Red Robin Restaurants – a FREE GOURMET BURGER of your choice (not bad at all – the closest one is in Houston though)
• Arby’s – FREE 12oz SHAKE WITH ANY PURCHASE (weak juju)
• Chili’s – FREE BROWNIE SUNDAE (this one looks really good – it is worth swinging by)
• Luby’s – FREE SLICE OF DESSERT (no purchase necessary so looks pretty decent)
• Texas Roadhouse – one FREE APPETIZER or SIDEKICK OF RIBS (with purchase of adult entree)

Those are the ones I signed up for – nothing too earth-shaking here.  If you know of any other good ones before the 13th, let me know.

The worst one so far has to be Coke.  As a member of their Coke Rewards program, they sent me this email:

Happy Birthday Chris!

We hope that your birthday is filled with little (and big) things that are sure to make you smile. Make your sparkling day shine a little bit brighter; head over to My Coke Rewards and spend some points on exclusive rewards to mark your special occasion.

How cool is that?  One of the wealthiest companies in the world can’t spare a bottle of sugar water, they send a greeting to ask me to “spend some points” on their site.  They are just so giving!    Losers!

For the record, Sweet Wimberley gives you ONE FREE TRUFFLE on your birthday – no purchase necessary!

So, what do I want for my birthday?  Nothing really.  No, I am not trying to paint myself as this martyr who doesn’t have a selfish bone in his body – I just truly can’t think of anything I want.  Sure, I love getting gifts but regardless of what I receive on or around my birthday…  I have everything I could ever want.

I live in a great country.  I have a good education.  I have my health.  I have the love of friends and family.  I am good.

“Things do not change, we change.”

– Henry David Thoreau

Even as we were pulling into the hotel right next to SeaWorld San Antonio, it hadn’t sunk in what we were doing. The plan was to spend the day with our favorite Killer Whales, riding all the cool rides, and enjoy the Howl-O-Scream events once it turned dark. The grins plastered across the faces of all three as we pulled into SeaWorld San Antonio. This was going to be a fun day!

The Killer Whale shows combined education with entertainment and the kids enjoyed the heck out of the experience.

It turned into a great little day (overnight) trip and the weather was excellent throughout. We enjoyed the rides like the Electric Eel and Great White as well as the water rides, but the highlight came after dark when the Howl-O-Scream activities kicked in.

Here is some video I shot – including the clowns from Howl-O-Scream chasing Kenzie.

“Happiness doesn’t come from the things you HAVE. Happiness comes from the things you BECOME.”

– Jim Rohn

“I like to listen.  I have learned a great deal from listening carefully.  Most people never listen.”

– Ernest Hemingway

I’ve always avoided them because I assumed they were sour.  I detest sour things.  It took a conversation last night with Logan to enlighten me.  He handed me one of the banana shaped ones (which he assured me were the best) and I loved it!  They are very sweet and yes, the banana is the best.  Not only do I love the fact that as I approach a half century, there is still much to learn each and every day.  I am grateful not only that there is still so much to learn, but that I am still amazed by all the seemingly small wonders this life has to offer.

I will start with the one I have been using the longest, Last.FM – the reason I originally started using it was because of the “audioscrobbling” capability.  That is, the ability to track all your plays on your iPod and keep charts and statistics about your real listening habits.  This is a habit I got into back in college.  I had a cassette collection of a couple hundred and a chart that listed all of them.  Each time I listened to one, I put a tally on the chart.  I know, what a dork!  I found it very interesting to learn that the albums that came to mind first when asked who I liked were often not the most listened.

The reason that Last.FM is so great for my use is that every time you listen to a song on your computer or iPod, it is tracked.  This collection becomes your “library.”  There is a station automatically created from your library and it contains just songs you actually have chosen to hear in the past.  If I want to hear a station consisting of songs I am 100% sure I like – this is the way to go.  Sure, there are other stations (individual artists and stations created by other users) you can give a listen if you want to venture out, but I don’t use Last.FM that way.  Their library is very extensive and the ability to track is top notch.  RATINGS:  Library 8, Selection 10, Tracking 10.

Pandora is one that I tried back in the early days before finding it a bit too restrictive.  The selection wasn’t all that good and the ability to stay on task was very weak.  It seemed that no matter what you put in, Pandora went off on some tangent with artists that “sound like” the ones you like.  Fast forward five or six years and Pandora is greatly improved.  The ability to find similar tracks is much better albeit still a bit wacky at times.  Pandoro now also syncs up with the audioscrobbler software to add to your Last.FM statistics – that was the biggest improvement for the stat freaks like me.  The library is even better than Last.FM, but it does lead to what I suspect is Pandora sliding tracks into my library because they are getting paid by someone.  Seriously, I would never add Lady freakin’ Gaga to my playlist, but she has shown up twice even after I clicked that I “Don’t Like.”  RATINGS:  Library 10, Selection 6, Tracking 10.

Grooveshark is the one I have the least experience with.  It has a great library and rather than adding an artist or a genre, you can add individual tracks.  It is the ultimate in control when it comes to your station playlist.  The big problem for me is that it doesn’t track your listens.  There are a couple of apps that have been created to attempt scrobbling, but nothing is bulletproof just yet.  The newest one appears to be a good design, but the developer has shut down admitting new users until he gets “new servers.”  RATINGS:  Library 10, Selection 10, Tracking 1.

Like I said, I am sure there are dozens of others out there, and do not hesitate to inform me of others.  Just make sure they can tie in with last.fm’s audioscrobbling software.

Overall, I will listen to Pandora as much as Last.FM because while it has a bunch of misses in the suggestions, it does bring up a lot of tracks that I just don’t own or haven’t thought to add to my playlist at last.fm.  Last.FM rates a little higher just because it is truer to my actual tastes, but sometimes you just want to venture out a bit.  Your mileage may vary.

What are your thoughts?

These caves are amazing!  We are talking thousands of feet deep in the deserts of Mexico, hellish heat and humidity in what has to be one of the most inhospitably areas of the planet – giant crystals unlike anything seen anywhere else.

If you get a chance, watch the two-hour special. I find stuff like this amazing and inspiring.

It is more about David Fincher‘s and Aaron Sorkin‘s take on facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg than a commentary on how the site has changed communications/marketing/et al. on the Internet. It is smartly written albeit a bit harsh on most of the main players. Do they deserve it? Probably. I expect that the most unfair portrayal is probably that of Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss – but come on, it’s just business and who doesn’t like to stick it to the spoiled rich kids? It is very well acted. In the end, it takes what could have been just a typical story of friendship, business and betrayal and makes it interesting.

Even if you are not interested in the facebook phenomenon as a social network, a marketing outreach, or at all – this is an entertaining movie.

RATING 8 out of 10

“Quality of life is far greater than standard of living and costs nothing, save some introspection.”

– Chris Doelle

My thinking is that most off of us think we are “the good guys.” Even Charles Manson likely thought that his actions were the right thing to do – or at least were justified. I tend to believe that we make decisions each and every day to do “good” or “bad.” Sometimes we take the shopping cart all the way back to the return area – other times we just push it far enough away so we can drive past. It isn’t the action of leaving the cart out that suddenly labels us as a bad person, but perhaps it is a pebble in the hill of bad deeds. The same person who leaves that shopping cart blocking a parking spot may regularly save kittens from trees, volunteer at the homeless shelter, and generally be a decent person.

So what do we do? All I can tell you is what I do – try to do good as often as I think of it. When I am given an option of doing the right thing or maybe taking the easy way out – I try to do right. Sure, I don’t always succeed. Sure, I sometimes come up short. In the end though, I think my pile of good pebbles is a far cry larger than my pile of bad pebbles – and that’s a good start.

“I won’t be wronged, I won’t be insulted and I won’t be laid a hand on.  I don’t do these things to other people and I require the same of them.”

– John Bernard Brooks (John Wayne in The Shootist)

“Try things… be timid when you’re dead!”

– Chris Doelle

The Big Sleep (1946) is one of only two Bogey/Bacall pairings and it was a lot of fun. Bogey is smooth as silk as private detective, Philip Marlowe and Bacall is cool as a cucumber as Vivian Rutledge. As film noir goes, The Big Sleep is one of those films that defines the genre.  It is easy to see why Bogart became such a hit – he was a man’s man and a ladie’s man at the same time.  It is also easy to see why so many private detective characters since seem nothing more than homage or outright thievery.

The script is smart, the direction is intentional and together it makes for good storytelling.  Good stuff.

RATING 7 out of 10

Three straight days now the boys football practice has been canceled and it is really starting to bug me.  How I long for a couple of hours in the sweltering heat – for the crack of helmets – for the cheers when one of their teammates does a nice move or good tackle.  I am jonesing for the sight of my boys busting their butts and improving not only their physical prowess, but their attitude, determination and just plain ol’ grit.

I know I will regret it, but I have to say…. “rain, rain go away – come again another day.”

If you haven’t checked it out in over four years (like me) go ahead and give it another try.  It is guaranteed to waste a few hours and possibly creep you out a bit over some of the detail.

I am sure you have all run into those people – you know the ones. “I would be a nice person if ________ just understood me.”  “I would act properly if ________ would treat me right.”  Blah, blah, blah.  Get a clue – your mistreatment (real or imagined) is not a sentence or excuse to be a jerk, be mean, or be a blamer.  If you do something wrong – own it, fix it, move forward.

Maturity is not only knowing the right thing to do, but doing it even when know one is looking and even though you would rather blame others.

Turns out that sometime a couple months ago, I made a tweak to the website and since then – without my noticing – the feed was screwed up.

I still don’t know what I did, but somehow the feed itself got changed – long story short, those of you who read RWTWD in a feed reader, will suddenly notice a boatload of posts.  I guess there are times when it pays that I have been neglecting this site so much.

Look for the frequency to increase as I get “back in the swing” of things.

Peace!

Logan played cornerback and did a fine job.  He certainly didn’t look like a kid who had never played organized football before.

I couldn’t be prouder and can’t wait for the next one!

A lot has changed in the last year.  Again – duh.  I am writing this post sitting in our new chocolate shop – Sweet Wimberley, located right off the square in Wimberley, Texas… who saw THAT coming?  Dawn, the kids, and I own five acres in the beautiful hill country that surrounds Wimberley.  I drive kids to school in the mornings, take them to scouts and Young Women’s at the church and barbecue in the backyard.  My long-time friends ask, “Who are you and what did you do with Chris?”  He just grew up is all.

I spend each day more thankful than the one before.  I am thankful that I was born in the United States, thankful that I grew up and live in Texas, thankful for my beautiful, intelligent wife, thankful for the blessings that are Kenzie, Logan and Dallin, thankful that I have the best Mom ever, thankful for life lessons taught by my father, thankful to have intelligent and fun siblings that wouldn’t hesitate to give me the shirt off their backs, thankful for the opportunities I have had to learn and to grow along the way, thankful to be surrounded by great friends, thankful for my health and thankful most of all that, despite a lifetime of stubbornness and pride, I have learned to stop and be grateful – to acknowledge just how lucky I am.

When something goes right for a person, you have heard them exclaim, “must be good living.”  I hope where I find myself now is a reward for trying to do the right thing, but even if it isn’t – I’ll take it.

I am SO stoked about this that I can’t stop smiling.  The other way cool thing is that both of them were able to get one of the numbers I wore when I played football.  I really couldn’t be prouder and can’t wait to cheer them on.

That’s what I’M talking about!!! Good times.

“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.”

– Jim Rohn

Thank you to everyone that has joined the group, visited the shop and helped make this a reality.

Let’s start with Alice in Wonderland – the Tim Burton version. Long time readers will know that I am NOT a fan of Tim Burton. His art style is creepy and I find it distasteful. That said, I found AiW enjoyable. Sure, it was probably closer to the vision of Lewis Carroll that any of the previous incarnations. Sure, Burton’s style grows on you throughout the movie. Sure, the acting was good. Sure, the special effects were impressive… I don’t know, it’s probably just pure stubbornness that makes me want to not like the film.

What the heck, it was decent.

RATING 7 out of 10

Okay, now on to Sherlock Holmes. Okay, I know it should have been reviewed long ago – what kind of Holmesian scholar drags out his review this long? Did I say I have been busy? First and foremost, I LOVE the character of Holmes regardless of what any actor or director does to him. That said, while I was not at all “down” with the twisted hard-ass portrayed by Robert Downey Jr., there was enough of the original Holmes to keep me interested. I liked the liberties taken with Dr. Watson as he is a character that is not at all fleshed out in the literature.

I felt the storyline was a bit too over-the-top and while it could pass for paying homage to some of the more supernatural stories by Conan Doyle, it missed the mark a bit.

Was it entertaining? Yes. Was it fun? Yes. Was it exciting? At times. Was it Sherlock Homes? Barely.
RATING 7 out of 10

“You don’t stop playing because you grow old you grow old because you stop playing.”

– seen attributed to George Bernard Shaw and Benjamin Franklin

Lance is back with a new American team.  His rival, Alberto Contador is looking stronger than ever.  Andy Schleck is tough as nails and proving it every day (particularly in Stage 2.)   The route is quite a bit more interesting than usual… and by interesting I mean TOUGH as heck!

Maddie, Kenzie and Dallin survey the shop before we start

Kenzie and Maddie prime the ceiling (and themselves)

Momma joins in the fun after a shift up at the hospital

Daddy gets to use the power tools

Starting to take shape

YES! Finally got all these electrical outlets working!

A coat of chocolate paint is the final stage before decorating

I just finished the second coat of Polycrylic clear coating on the floor and it is looking downright amazing in the shop.  The butter yellow and chocolate perfectly match our logo colors and do a great job of making customers feel warm and welcome.

We have picked the 4th of July weekend to open a) because the crowds in Wimberley are huge with the parade, fireworks, Market Days AND the VFW rodeo all scheduled and b) because we see it as an independence day of sorts in our goal of moving Dawn out of the day-to-day stress of working as a RN in the emergency room.

Make sure you come by and see us – and of course, try out some of her amazing creations.

“Many things in life will catch your eye. A very few things will catch your heart. Grab those and don’t let go!”

– Chris Doelle

The first one you cannot help but notice this time of year.  You may think the cacophony of sound you hear in and around the Wimberley valley is the cicada, but you’d be wrong.  It is the katydid.

This little booger makes a horrendous noise that can be heard day and night.  Talking on a cell phone while outside is nearly impossible.

Another cool crawly that we have a lot of around here are walking sticks.   Not only are these MUCH bigger than any I have ever scene along the Gulf Coast, they are just too cool.  The fact that they are endangered makes their numbers and size around here that much cooler.  This one is nearly 8 inches long!

So yeah, we have some scorpions, huge centipedes and even rattlesnakes, but there is a lot of coolness to the Hill Country as well.

Boy, was I wrong. Shrek Forever After was a throwback to the original. In fact, I have to watch that first one again to be sure, but this may have been the best one of all. Overall, the film is basically just one ogre’s attempt to deal with his mid-life crisis, but the magic was back. The comedy was back. The intelligence was back.

The CG animation is getting so flippin’ good that it is almost creepy – but in a cool way.

This one fits that all important role of being a film that works for the kids as well as the adults. It surprised me and it will surprise you too. Enjoy!

RATING 8 out of 10

Travelin’ Prayer – Billy Joel
A special message from the kids to “the momma.”

(Time: 7:54)

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Have a great day and remember to schedule some downtime.

“What lies behind us, and what lies before us, are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

We had a blast from the moment we “woke up” our host for the afternoon. I forget the dude’s name, but he was very cool and really dug explaining things to the boys while telling all his tales of the world of paintball.

Once we went over all the safety information, we were ready to get going.

Outfitted with our “killin’ gear” we headed out to the combat arena.

We had an absolute blast despite the sweltering heat. In the first match, it was Logan and Dallin teamed up against me. Later we went “every man for himself.” We even did a couple matches where it was just Dallin vs Logan. Logan shot me in the head a couple times – I shot him in the head once and the chest another – Logan also shot Dallin during a time-out.

The dude that ran it was super friendly and gave us a ton more paint than we paid for. I think he was happy to see someone there and I helped him jump start his truck that was dead too. Overall, it was a fun outing and despite the fact that I think I would have liked Letters to Juliet, there is no doubt this was better!

“Biography does NOT equal destiny. Action today will make the tomorrow you want.”

– Chris Doelle

The storyline is much better than typical animated fare. That combined with very entertaining voice acting by Gerald Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrara and others, works well with the world of Vikings bent on the destruction of their mortal enemies – the dragons.

Not only is this a great family film that will delight the kids, it works for the parents as well. It had moments went it looked like it was going to the stereotypical paths of most animated, feel-good, send a good message, films – but continually kept away by keeping it fresh.

It is witty, fun and only my second 9 rating in the last 12 months (last one was The Blind Side.)

RATING 9 out of 10

Hope all is well in your world!

“My life’s a fantasy, you’re not smart enough to even dream”

– Pink (Alecia Moore)

Changes to my life
Career changes
The charmed life continues
Lone Star Gridiron
Making Memories of Us – Keith Urban
Fresh Media Works
This Week in Wimberley
Katherine Anne Porter School
Making Me Nervous – Brad Sucks
Facebook

(Time: 18:36)

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Okay, now that I am totally bought into this incarnation of Tony Stark, I was able to just relax and enjoy Iron Man 2 – what a show it was! The entrance that Iron Man made to the Stark Expo was seriously cool – it made Steve Jobs look like an amateur.

Yes, it still bugs me that the characters spend so much time in the armor with their faceplates down, but I get it – Downey and Cheadle are “stars” and need their face time, it just takes me out of the story each time I see it and they cease to be the characters they are playing and seem like spoiled actors – very weak juju.

Sure, there are still some flaws – Rhodes (War Machine) was too cardboard and a bit too simplified and Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff was totally unneeded and distracting. You can’t argue with Mickey Rourke as the bad guy, Ivan Vanko – serious creep factor. The unexpected surprise of Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer was a blast as well.

If you are a fan of Iron Man -you will love it. If you are a fan of Robert Downey Jr. – you will love it. If you a fan of action flicks – you will love it. Heck, you will love it anyway! Fun stuff!

RATING 8 out of 10

If you click on the photo, it will take you to the Flickr set I created.

Overall, it was a lot of fun and I am real proud of the boys for not only doing great, but doing so with class and style.

In a movie that had the working title, “On the Rocks” and later became called, “Paradise, Texas” I was shooting with Timothy Bottoms and Merideth Baxter.

I was also in Friday Night Lights with Billy Bob Thornton and Tim McGraw.
_____
3 Steps
Chris Doelle
Paradise, Texas (2005)
Merideth Baxter
All the President’s Men (1976)
Dustin Hoffman
Sleepers (1996)
Kevin Bacon
_____
Chris Doelle
Paradise, Texas (2005)
Timothy Bottoms
The Prince and the Surfer (1999)
Linda Cardellini
Super (2010)
Kevin Bacon
_____
Chris Doelle
Friday Night Lights (2004)
Billy Bob Thornton
The Informers (2008)
Mickey Rourke
Diner (1982)
Kevin Bacon
_____
Chris Doelle
Friday Night Lights (2004)
Tim McGraw
The Blind Side (2009)
Ray McKinnon
Apollo 13 (1995)
Kevin Bacon

Not sure I can get any closer connection that three jumps, but that is pretty cool.

“If you want to go quickly – go alone. If you want to go far – go together.”

– African proverb

Unlike Scary Movie and a couple of the other parodies that were actually funny, Dance Flick totally blew. Not just “lame movie” blew, but a whole new level of blowage (I think I just made up a word.) I literally made it six minutes into this film before I had to turn it off and walk away. It was that bad. It earns my first ever rating of 0 stars – that’s right… not just a 1 star – this was just that bad.

RATING 0 out of 10
—
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I felt a bit better after rushing to put Dance Flick back in the Netflix envelope and starting the next DVD – The Assassination of High School President. In a word, this film was smart. I totally got into this quirky little story – a story that actually forced you to pay attention and think.

Nick Blaemire, who played the lead character Byron Funke, turned in a very good performance in this – his only film appearance. I was also pleasantly surprised to see Bruce Willis show up as the very intense school principal.

It’s hard to describe the film without giving plot elements away, but rest assured, it is a good film. It will probably go over the heads of many viewers more interested in teen hi jinx than a high school film noir mystery, but if you can get past that, it is worth watching.

RATING 8 out of 10

Do not strive to be a leader – strive to lead.

Weathered Beauty

Sleeping Beauty

Lone Star Beauty

Anyone who tells you that life isn’t good – just isn’t looking.

“”Learn as if you were to live forever.”

– Mahatma Gandhi

It was a blast and I got to take pics throughout each of the events except for soccer (because I was running that event.) We snapped this picture while on the hike.

Click on the photo to check out all the shots from the event.

Good times!

We had recently moved to Texas from Minnesota and for a wide-eyed kid to find himself smack dab in the middle on the biggest of the big places in the world – Texas, was amazing. I instantly fell in love with the larger-than-life characters of Texas history as well as the rugged, individualistic swagger that said (without a word) – Texan!

When I discovered the poem, I read it over and over until I had it memorized. This is the only poem in my life I have ever memorized. It just meant that much to me. Without further prefacing, let me post it:

Hell in Texas

The Devil, we’re told, in hell was chained,
and a thousand years he there remained,
and he never complained, nor did he groan,
but determined to start a Hell of his own
where he could torment the souls of men
without being chained to a prison pen.

So he asked the Lord if he had on hand
anything left when he made the land.
The Lord said, “yes, i had plenty on hand,
but i left it down on the Rio Grande.
The fact is, old boy, the stuff is so poor,
i don’t think you can use it in Hell anymore.”

But the Devil went down to look at the truck,
and said if it came as a gift, he was stuck;
for after examining it careful and well
he concluded the place was too dry for hell.
So in order to get it off his hands
God promised the Devil to water the lands.

For he had some water, or rather some dregs,
a regular cathartic that smelt like bad eggs.
Hence the deal was closed and the deed was given,
and the Lord went back to his place in Heaven,
and the Devil said, “I have all that is needed
to make a good Hell.” And thus he succeeded.

He began to put thorns on all the trees,
and he mixed the sand with millions of fleas,
he scattered tarantulas along all the roads,
put thorns on the cacti and horns on the toads;
he lengthened the horns of the Texas steers
and put an addition on jack rabbit’s ears.

He put little devils in the bronco steed
and poisoned the feet of the centipede.
The rattlesnake bites you, the scorpion stings,
the mosquito delights you by buzzing his wings.
The sand burrs prevail, so do the ants,
and those that sit down need half soles on their pants.

The Devil then said that throughout the land
he’d manage to keep up the Devil’s own brand,
and all would be mavericks unless they bore
the marks and scratches and bites by the score.
The heat in the summer is a hundred and ten,
too hot for the devil and too hot for men.

The wild boar roams through the black chaparral,
it’s a Hell of a place he has for Hell;
the red pepper grows by the bank of the brook,
the Mexicans use it in all that they cook.
Just dine with a greaser and then you will shout,
“I’ve a Hell on the inside as well as without.”

Thank you Mom for having the book in the first place and for instilling in me a love of reading, thank you Dawn for the conversation this morning that reminded me of this lost gem, and thank you Hap for doing the legwork to track it down and send it to me.

Most of all – thank YOU for reading.

“Happiness is not a function of the things you own, but rather, the experiences you share and the people you surround yourself with!”

Come on Jesse, Tiger, and the host of cheaters that will follow – own up to the fact that you are a jag-off and just apologize. Blaming it on an addiction to sex, drugs, rock and roll, et all, is not becoming.

I do not believe that these men are sorry at all. They got caught and they want to keep their fan base. They are spoiled and immature. A mature man honors his wedding vows.

1. Add your analytics code to every page of your website. Not saying that Google is God – okay, they may be close. To take advantage of tools, you need to use them well.

2. Extend the registration of your domain for at least five years. Google takes not only the historical length of time your site has been around into account, but also how far into the future you have the domain.

3. Include an easy to find contact link, e-mail address or phone number on every page of your website. No explanation needed.

4. Remove widgets that aren’t directly enhancing your website. Don’t get caught up in the whole need to include every shiny web object you find. If it helps the experience for your visitors or helps you in some way, leave it – if not, dump it.

5. Write a unique META description for all of your main pages. Not only does this help you in search rankings, but makes it easier for visitors to quickly reach the pages that are important to them.

6. Use the same color for links throughout your website. Keep things simple so that visitors can quickly find what they are looking for. Make the site useful and they will return – confuse or upset them and they are gone forever.

7. Spell check your content. Nothing takes people out of your online experience faster than your poor speling. (see?)

8. Add ALT tags to all of your images. You will be surprised at how much traffic you receive from images. It is worth the effort.

9. Create a favicon for your website. It may be a tiny 16×16 graphic, but if done well, adds credibility.

10. Make sure that when a visitor clicks your website’s logo, they are taken back to the homepage. This is often overlooked and a major mistake. Everyone expects it – make it happen!

11. Create new, quality content for your website often. The frequency depends on your type of site, but make sure you give people a reason to return frequently.

12. If you don’t have an About page, get one. It may not be sizzle, but it lends credibility and allows visitors to relax a bit, knowing that you are not hiding behind a glitzy sales pitch.

13. Add a search box near the top-right of your website’s layout. You may think you know why people visit your site, but trust me – you have no idea the weird things people will look up. Use the search terms as marketing information too.

14. Ask. Find out from people that have used your site, what they like and what they dislike.

Chris Doelle

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”

– E.E. Cummings

First I will start with the last film I saw, “Did You Hear About the Morgans.” Let me start by apologizing to Hugh Grant. I have always considered him to be a bit of a one-trick pony, and although I stand by that, when paired with Sarah Jessica Parker, he looks downright Shakespearean.

If you get past the over-the-top portrayal of country people to emphasis how “big city” the lead characters are, you have what could have been a decent little film. Heck Sam Elliott and Mary Steenburgen make it worth watching. I just couldn’t help but think with every line delivered by Parker that Sandra Bullock would have made each of them funnier and more endearing.

RATING 4 out of 10

The line of dud films continues with The Informant. Matt Damon, who I like in almost anything did a good job keeping me hoping it would get better as it went, but in the end, it was just a rambling mess.

I am not sure that the script or Directory Steven Soderbergh‘s decision to make this comical really worked. It might have been an interesting tale of greed and personal ambition if it were approached more seriously, but it turned out very flat as a farce.

It is a waste of two hours.

RATING 4 out of 10

In another case of “just not there,” The Men Who Stare at Goats looked like it would be a quirky, fun film. It wasn’t. It was a quirky, dumb film.

It featured four exceptional actors in Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor, George Clooney, and Kevin Spacey and each turned in a very good performance.

Sure, it had fun moments. Sure, some of the quirk worked. Sure, it kept your attention. The problem was that everything seemed to be leading up to something and NOTHING ever happened. It was ninety-four minutes of buildup with no release.

I am going to have to fault the writing because as I stated, the acting was there – the direction seemed to work, there was just no main course – the words weren’t there.

RATING 6 out of 10

“We acquire the strength we have overcome.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

The chorus may seem silly at first, but if you listen to all the lyrics, it’s pretty deep stuff.

So I put it to you. Should I go the full “branding” route and stick to something that is recognizable, or should I keep it fresh and constantly update the photos? What are your thoughts?

Take the poll – pick the image that you think is the best and leave a comment here to help me decide.

In this one, I take some time out to introduce a short video of Lou and then wish everyone a good Spring Break.

I have had a call-in line for years. I originally set it up through a company call Grand Central for use on Lone Star Gridiron. It was a simple service that acted like an answering machine on steroids. It records the message, transcribes the words into an email, and shoots out an email to the number owner (me.) Google bought the company and tweaked it a bit and now it is nearly bulletproof.

The plan now is to have all of Grandpa Dan’s relatives call the number 713-568-6361 and leave a message. I get the email with a link to the file and can piece them all together into one audio. I can burn the resulting audio a CD or simply provide him a link so that he can hear them all. Plus, they are saved so that he can listen over and over again and hear in their own voices just how much he means to the family.

So, if you are related to Grandpa Dan Moore – do it. Call the number and leave him a message.

Here is the first ChrisCast that I posted to YouTube

Playing around with the tagging and various other aspects to posting on YouTube.

Now, I will attempt to insert a photo.

Not sure where it will go in the post but I am going to try a video too.

We’ll see

PS. Just found the category dropdown!

PSS. The video was too large

test photo caption

Okay, so this application is nearly useless for posting images or video. The only resize option is to 640×480 – which doesn’t fit the them and the only placement option is top or bottom of the post. I guess if I just really need to say something (text only) and it can’t wait until I get to a computer, this might be a good way to do it.

Rain Is A Good Thing – Luke Bryan (Good tune, but very simplistic if not downright stupid. Will it do okay? yeah – people like stupid. Will it be on my playlist? Not long.)
Free – Jack Ingram (I do like me some Jack Ingram and I think this one will do okay. It is just deep enough and touches just enough heartstrings to make you like it.)
Wrong Baby Wrong – Martina McBride (Martina has a solid track record and this one fits her style. It has good sentiment, just not enough of a hook to last long term.)
Turning Home – David Nail (I nearly fell asleep listening. He sounds like he could put out a decent song if he had a better song. Has potential – just not there yet.)
This Ain’t Nothin’ – Craig Morgan (Pretty horrible song – a bit too morose for me. His voice is good enough – I’d like to see if he can do ‘happy’.)
That’s God – Jo Dee Messina (Okay, I am not saying I disagree with the song – its just so darn serious. I am sure that I will love this track when in “that” mood. Right now, it just sounds a bit preachy.)
Dirt Road Dancing – Matt Stillwell (From the first couple of notes, you know this is going to be a good song. I mean any track that talks about taking a left by the frog pond is bound to be fun. Good stuff!)
Stay Here Forever – Jewel (Jewel delivers again. What a voice. What a good song!)
Better Than I Used To Be – Sammy Kershaw (This is a good song. I think this one is a keeper. “I ain’t no angel, but I’ve been sitting out a few more dances with the devil.” Nice.)
I Keep On Lovin’ You – Reba McEntire (I admit I’ve never been a big Reba fan – or even a small Reba fan. Her fans will probably like this… just not my style.)
That Ain’t My America – Lynyrd Skynyrd (Weak – a derisive message hidden behind patriotism. MY America is positive and doesn’t put people down who have different opinions.)
Jenny – The Harters (It is okay, just nothing to make you want to hear it again.)
Daddy Phone – Marty Raybon (A bit too dorky for me)
Use Somebody – Margaret Durante (Liked it much better when Kings of Leon did it in 2008)
Kiss Me Now – Katie Armiger (Chicks will dig this one. It sounds like a grown-up version of a Taylor Swift song.)
Troublemaker – Suzi Ragsdale f./Rodney Crowell (Boring, boring, boring. It does have a good enough hook though that if played over and over on the radio, you would sing along.)
Kick Down The Door – Kate Russell (Now there’s a confusing message for boys trying to figure out girls. Kick down the door, but no means no. Treat them with respect, but they want you to push them around too. Oh, and the song is weak.)
White Liar (Acoustic Version) – Miranda Lambert (The acoustic version sounds better but I still don’t like the storyline. He is a cheating liar, oh, but so am I. Real nice. Can’t deny it is a catchy tune though.)

Any month that I like 1/4 of the new stuff is really good for mainstream music. I have April already and plan to review it when I have some time. Let me know what you think about these tracks when you hear them.

“Why be a workaholic when you can be a workafrolic? Same amount of work – just a hell of a lot more fun!”

Alright, I didn’t try them (I know I am letting you down there) but found them interesting enough to snap a quick pic.   Although the original crunch treat is still going strong after its introduction in 1948, my favorite all-time Cheetos flavors were Crunchy Nachos Cheetos from back in the late 90′s and the Cool Ranch Cheetos that died out almost instantly in 2003.  Want to see what they have created in the US over the years?  Check out this Wikipedia link.

A little digging later and we discovered that Sarah was indeed from Wimberley and the track was about that very same road. It is an instrumental track that is real upbeat and fun. Her style can best be described as sort of a funky bluegrass – fun stuff.

One of the other interesting tracks is Shankill Butchers. It is a bit of a creepy song about murderers that sounds like something out of a Tim Burton soundtrack. That of course, got us wondering what it was about… once again, a little digging was in order. The song first recorded by the Decemberists in 2006, tells of a group of murderers in the Shankill region of Northern Ireland during the early 1970s.

The Shankill Butchers, as they were dubbed in the media, killed roughly 30 people over the course of a few years in sectarian violence that marked the era of strife between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland. There is some great information about the group in the Wikipedia entry.

It was an interesting rabbit hole through which we took a diversion that all started with the Fischer Store Road track. My take-away from all this is a good album by Sarah Jarosz, a good education about a time that has always been a bit gray to me, and of course – an interesting story.

The bad news is that it was canceled just 13 episodes into the series. The good news? I guess its that all the episodes are available to watch over at Hulu.

Oh yeah, and they have Quantum Leap too! (for a limited time)

I just noticed that one of the local online papers ran their photo along with the press release explaining their good deed. They may not look like Fortune 500 or Captains of Industry, but they had a fun evening and did some good at the same time. Way to go!

I have been playing “Twist a Pepper” for years – you know the bottle of DP with “Sorry Try Again” or “Free 20 oz Dr Pepper” written on the underside of the caps. Advertisements on the bottles claim a 1 in 6 chance of winning. This promotion has been delighting prune juice fans for years.

Lately however, something has changed about the promotion – namely that retailers refuse to accept the bottle caps. Yes, the last dozen times I have tried to turn one in at a convenience store, the clerk has said something along the lines of, “oh we don’t accept those anymore.” These are the same stores with their shelves loaded down with the Twist a Pepper bottles!

I called Dr. Pepper’s customer service today and they first tried to stonewall me. “I’m sorry, but that is a local promotion, we don’t handle those.”

After a few minutes the rep was able to find out that Coca-Cola was the local bottler for Dr. Pepper in this part of Central Texas. Seriously? Okay. She was unable to provide any contact information for the Coca-Cola bottler running the Twist A Pepper promotion, but then offered, “I would like to send you out two coupons for a free 20 oz Dr. Pepper and apologize for the inconvenience.”

I am not sure what I learned from this other than, even if you won something, it doesn’t mean you can collect. Or maybe it is that the Cola Wars are as made up as the drama on reality TV shows. Coke bottling Dr. Pepper? Perhaps it is just that despite marketing once again promising great things and not delivering, you really can get people to do the right thing – if you’re willing to gripe a bit.

I want to to reflect where I am in life. No longer am I the bachelor tooling down the highway in a convertible – I am a full on parent, taking kids to school, getting groceries, saying nighttime prayers – you name it.

I want it to reflect my role as a dad, husband, and generally fun-loving guy. So give me some suggestions!!!

Okay, naming a cameo by Marshall as one of the top things is a little harsh, I mean – it was fun. I think Dawn said it best when she mentioned she liked it better when it was called He’s Just Not That Into You. Seriously, both of them had a cast chock full of stars – each of their stories were intertwined – some turned out devastatingly bad, others turned out amazingly well.

The main thing that annoyed me about the film was the sheer number of long-haired, skinny brunettes. I couldn’t tell them apart! Trying to keep a story as intertwined as this one straight when four of the leads look so much alike was tough.

So overall, there is nothing great about the film – but nothing bad either. The fact that a couple can watch it and both walk out without being pissed is a big plus. Great date movie. Geez, it’s almost as if it was planned that way.

RATING 6 out of 10

Now if you want great family fare - Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is the movie for you! It has something for everyone.

First off, who doesn’t like a good adventure film? Uh, nobody! I was really not expecting much more than a quick flick created to take advantage of a popular book series (can anyone say New Moon?) This film stands by itself even if you have no association or interest in the Percy Jackson book series. The writing is good, the acting is above par, and the special effects are very solid.

I loved the fact that Kevin McKidd appeared as Poseidon and Pierce Brosnan did a great job as Chiron. Logan Lerman made the transition to leading man very well as Percy Jackson and should do a fine job in the sure-to-come sequels.

If you enjoy mythology, this is a cornucopia of fun characters with lots of fast-paced action and witty banter to keep you entertained throughout. This may even be worth a second viewing.

RATING 8 out of 10