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My Special Happy Place

The Personal Blog of Michael Martine

TOO FUNNY - Kitteh says NOM NOM NOM eating his food

via youtube.com

Posted November 4, 2009
// 0 Comments

Something funny about this email...

...I can't quite put my finger on what it is...

Posted November 2, 2009
// 2 Comments

Why Tinkerbell Rocks

via youtube.com

You probably don't realize how wonderfully subversive and cool the new Disney computer-animated Tinkerbell movies are. Underneath all the pixie dust and magic fou-fou is a great message for children: friends matter, don't give up no matter what, and HACKING IS COOL.

That's right, Tink's a hacker. To imagine a backstory for all the fairies from which Tinkerbell came from before she enters into the Peter Pan story, Disney's writers created classes of fairies who all have different jobs. One class handles water stuff, one handles plants, etc. The tinkers (can you see it coming?) are the builders and the fixer-uppers. They take junk, natural resources available to them, imagination, and elbow grease, and they totally hack stuff and build cool contraptions.

I think that's awesome. I like that that is the message my granddaughter is getting out of this.

It doesn't hurt that the art and style are great, either. There's still so much computer animation that just looks off, somehow, but Disney's animation DNA comes through in these two (the Lost Treasure is the second movie).

Posted November 2, 2009
// 0 Comments

Um... Seriously?

ARE YOU KIDDING ME, MR. SOCIAL MEDIA "EXPERT?"

Filed under  //   LOL   social media   WTF  
Posted October 30, 2009
// 8 Comments

"Chap-Hop History" by Mr. B The Gentleman Rhymer, played on a banjolele - Boing Boing

via boingboing.net

Words fail to describe. Well, maybe one word: genius.

Posted October 26, 2009
// 0 Comments

Silent film re-edit of so-called "drunkest guy ever" surveillance video - Boing Boing

via boingboing.net

This is wonderful.

Posted October 24, 2009
// 1 Comment

Marketers Marketing to Marketers - Could I Be Any More Jaded? Check This Out...

Before I get into it, let me say up front I have NOTHING against anyone who makes their living this way, because, generally, it's how I make my living, too. I have nothing against Jeff Walker. Good Lord, the man practically invented internet product launches. I follow and use his Product Launch Formula myself (the original). 

That's why I recognize it when it's used, and what else would Jeff do when launching his own product, right? Of course.

Here's the email I got today, the day his Product Launch Manager program opens:

I have to be super quick, things are movingfast...

Registration for the Product Launch Manager
Coaching Program is now LIVE.

Here's the link:

Click to register for Product Launch Manager 


The servers holding up, and orders are pouring in
(there were some people obviously camped out on
the page hitting "refresh".)

best regards,
Jeff

P.S. I'm not sure how long we will have spots, but
I'm really hoping we can keep registration open
all day today.

I'm completely jaded to the "sense of urgency" thing. My reaction to reading this is a big fat yawn. Is the program worth it? Yes, if you're interested in becoming a launch manager for others. It will be top notch. But when you're a marketer marketing to marketers, the same old tricks don't work anymore. He has to be super quick, huh? Really? After all the work that has gone into this product and its launch, I'm expected to believe that he just sat down and hastily banged out the opening announcement in the moment? Please. This thing was written well in advance, I'm sure. The urgency doesn't ring true to me at all.

If I were not already involved up to my bald head in marketing, marketing, and more marketing, this email might have been highly effective on me.

If there were a limited number of spots available in a live coaching program, that's about the only believable scarcity situation left. If that were the case, a no-hype reminder of the limited number of spots would do it. A follow up email saying how many spots were left (say, only an hour later) would create a REAL and well-earned sense of urgency.

By the way, that's not an affiliate link. If you really want this thing, have at it. I get nothing for your efforts. I'm sure it's an awesome program.

What do you think? Am I overreacting? Raining on Jeff's parade? What would you do differently if you were marketing to marketers?

Posted October 23, 2009
// 2 Comments

After Careful Consideration, I have Come to the Following Expression of my Current Sentiments

Just messing around with a new camera. :-)

Carry on.

Filed under  //   Michael Martine   pictures  
Posted October 22, 2009
// 2 Comments

How to Cut Through Your Own Bullshit

It's easy to see other people's bullshit. Much harder to see through our own. While I was at BlogWorld Expo, I had that driven home to me again and again. Here's just one example. I had a chance to chat with Sonia Simone after the Internet Marketing for Smart People session. I hadn't seen Sonia since SOBCon '08. She is now sporting what I consider the coolest dye-job ever. Her hair is streaked with pinks and purples, and other than that the cut and style are normal. The effect is brilliant. 

We talked about how glad we both were now to be on our own, doing our thing, rocking the world, and making it all work. She told me an interesting story about how one day she was picking up her kid from school when one of the other mothers said to her, "I wish I could have hair like that." 

Sonia and I both stopped talking for a moment, and I knew we were both thinking the same thing: NOBODY'S STOPPING YOU.

(And this is where I hit send accidentally. Oops. The rest follows.)

The only thing stopping this woman from doing whatever she wanted with her hair was her own self-imposed limits. The barriers were in her mind. It's easy to see in other people, isn't it? Maybe you thought the same thing when you read the story: What's stopping you, lady? Do what you want with your hair, for crying out loud. But how many times have we done the same thing to ourselves?

I wish I could quit my job.

I wish I could earn 5 figures a month.

I wish I could go to big conferences.

I wish I had a little house in the woods that was perfect in every way according to my own tastes.

I wish I was closer to my family.

You're bullshitting yourself. If you're just wishing, and not ACTING, you're totally bullshitting yourself. You are FULL of shit. When we make empty wishes, the next thing that follows is often excuses as to why we don't have what we claim we want. "Oh, I could never do that. I have a family to feed. My spouse wouldn't like it. My cat would look at me funny."

Excuses, excuses.

Here's how to cut through your own bullshit: write down all the stuff you wish you could do. Write down everything that prevents you from doing those things.

After a while, don't you feel a little silly that you have so many excuses for everything? Doesn't that strike you as kind of lame? Does it make you see it's all really "just you?"

What you'll discover is that there's nothing on that list you can't get if you work hard enough, if you want it badly enough.

It's all in your own mind (granted, I'm not talking about physical disabilities or disease, but even in those situations, the only thing controlling our thoughts is ourselves). There is nobody but you in control of your life. Most people have given up on themselves. 

Nobody will help you. Your friends and family are much more interested in you not succeeding because you're exposing their own mediocrity, and they won't love you for that.

I believe everyone has the strength to live their best life. The first step to drawing it out is to recognize and cut through our own bullshit.

What's REALLY stopping you?

Posted October 21, 2009
// 9 Comments

BlogWorld Expo Tweetup

Before my camera battery died, I managed to get a couple pics with folks that, until now, I had only "met" online. Sean Michael Platt is known as @writerdad @SeanPlatt on Twitter, and Anita Cohen-Williams is @searchguru on Twitter. This was at the BlogWorld Expo tweetup at the Hilton in Las Vegas.

   
Click here to download:
BlogWorld_Expo_Tweetup.zip (208 KB)

Posted October 14, 2009
// 0 Comments