I just read about an influential writer and producer named Joe Bodolai who helped create Canadian comedy TV.

He was instrumental in the creation of The Comedy Network, shows like Kids in the Hall and Comics, and co-wrote the original Wayne’s World movie with Mike Myers. He also wrote for SNL.

Our paths crossed with some of the same people I knew when working in the media world in Toronto. I also met and regularly interacted with several members of the Kids in the Hall cast and crew over the years, since they worked in the same building.

But I never had the pleasure of meeting Joe.

A few days ago, he published a final farewell blog post on his Say It Ain’t So, Joe blog. He called the post “If This Was Your Last Day Alive, What Would You Do?”

It was nearly his last day alive, as I’m sad to say he apparently just took his own life.

I can understand the pain people go through when life throws curve balls. We’ve all walked through darkness, trying to find the light at the end of the tunnel.

I just find it such a blow when someone — a valuable, talented, creative, giving person (like we all are at the core) — finally succumbs to despair and seeks a different kind of light.

It seemed like Joe understood that life is a balance of good and bad, and that you need to fight for what you want. In business, and in the comedy world, he fought singlehandedly to save several projects that he believed in.

And after his last blog entry, he posted on Facebook that he’d be alone on Christmas and intended to volunteer to help the homeless.

But for all his accomplishments, the goodness in his heart, and all the value he gave to the rest of us — as radio veteran Gene Valaitis said, chances are Joe made you laugh, which is an incredible gift — he took the final curtain call.

I’d like to take this opportunity to dedicate a favorite video of mine to Joe. Joe, I resonate with the spirit of your final post, as I’ve also written before about the same topic. I like to reference this song when I do, because it says it all so well.

I only hope that this time, the soul-searching aspect of the subject inspires others to find the strength to create a better life. To count their blessings, be grateful for what they have, value what they offer, share with others, and express what they’re feeling in their hearts.

I like a lot of Nickelback’s music, but I think this is by far their best song, for the depth and meaning of the lyrics.

Listen, enjoy, ponder, heed… and may you find joy and thought-provoking inspiration here:

Keep Unwrapping the Mysteries of Life!

Thanks to Mari Smith for providing a new high-tech resource you can use, for free, to bring your business card or resource into the smartphone age.

It’s called uQR.me, and it makes a QR (Quick Response) code that can be scanned by any smartphone. It then takes the user to any link or document of your choice, and you can change it any time.

Kinda like your own personal bar code.

You can test mine out below by holding your smartphone up to the image:

Cool, huh?

Keep Unwrapping the Mysteries of Life!

I just posted a video on the LWL blog that inspired me on multiple levels, and I’m sure it will do the same for you.

Read my article and watch the video here: Playing for Change in Japan.

Keep Unwrapping the Mysteries of Life!

My parents live in Ontario, Canada, and we live 3,000 miles away in Southern Oregon.

Obviously that makes it difficult for them to see us or Konan, so they miss many of his major milestones — like the 2nd birthday he celebrated last week.

I remember when I was a kid, my grandparents were lucky to get the odd photograph (printed from a roll of film) in a Christmas card. It was just a lot harder to share memories with people that lived far away…

>>> CONTINUE READING Shoot, Post, Share… Video Made Easy…

Well, another season of America’s Got Talent has ended, with yet another disappointing (or shall we say Grimm?) ending.

Yes, that’s right: the results of the show, once again, are poppycock… but unfortunately not of the princely variety.

Last year the talent-challenged Kevin Skinner (who I prefer to call Boomhauer) won the competition. I’m not sure what he’s done since — he does have an official website, but doesn’t seem to have released any albums or singles.

It’s a continuation of the trend that the world loves an underdog… especially in these financial times.

Because this year’s winner, Michael Grimm, may be a good singer…

For his soulful-bluesy style, he stands at least on par with the many singers from that genre that I saw perform during 15 years of bartending in top entertainment venues.

But he didn’t have the skill or showmanship of his competitor, Prince Poppycock, and he didn’t have the Vegas-headline appeal of Poppycock or the blacklight theater group, Fighting Gravity.

He didn’t even have the awe-inspiring talent and heart of 10-year-old opera singer Jackie Evancho.

However… Grimm was the underdog in the final four.

And that’s just what America (and the world at large) loves…

>>> CONTINUE READING A Grimm Ending to America’s Got Talent…

As America’s Got Talent moves into the finals, there’s a group of young, funky, awe-inspiring performers called Fighting Gravity that could go all the way.

They’re Barry’s favorite act, and one of my faves too. They’re former college students — 13 brothers from the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity at Virginia Tech — and they’ve mastered the art of blacklight theater.

They do a great job, and they could certainly pull off an entire Vegas show that has the potential to run for years.

As Barry says, “Move over, Blue Man Group!”

But I’m still surprised every time I hear AGT judge Howie Mandel say how unique they are. As a fellow Toronto native, I expect that Howie would have heard of the Toronto-based Famous People Players, who have been “fighting gravity” using blacklight for almost 40 years.

They’re a world-renowned act of learning-disabled adults who run a blacklight dinner theater, and have caught the attention of celebrities like Tom Cruise, Paul Newman, William Shatner, Alex Trebek, and the Rolling Stones.

I wrote about founder Diane Dupuy as one of our LWL Hidden Heroes just over a year ago, and I’ve interviewed her several times before that.

Here’s a clip of the Famous People Players at work:

Granted, the Famous People Players mostly use puppets, whereas Fighting Gravity turns several of their troupe members into the live puppets. That’s really cool.

But I just couldn’t help bringing some of the originators of the art into the spotlight, as the act that they may have inspired to some degree goes on to an undoubtedly fantastic career.

The message Diane Dupuy wants to give the world is that we should always strive for new heights of excellence, and achieve even the most impossible of our dreams.

Fighting Gravity has a similar motive; the group wants to “inspire others by showing that through hard work, determination, and some good lighting, anybody can accomplish their dreams.”

So go, guys, and get that dream!

Keep Unwrapping the Mysteries of Life!

I was recently sent a review copy of the book Geek Dad by Ken Denmead, editor of the blog of the same name on Wired magazine’s website.

At first I wasn’t sure what to expect — would these be projects that only computer hackers and programmers could hope to pull off?

But the truth is, despite the name, this book isn’t just for dads, and it isn’t even just for geeks.

If you’ve ever been frustrated with the lack of creativity-inspiring toys and games out there, or want to satisfy your tech-savvy kids with something other than video games, this book will help out.

For example, you can make coloring book pages or connect-the-dots puzzles for your little ones using any photo, and a program like PhotoShop or the free GIMP. Believe it or not, it’s not as hard as it sounds.

How about making your own customizable “Ultimate Board Game” that’s just as much fun as techy toys? I wish Denmead had suggested using poster board or large cardboard instead of paper, because if you’re going to put the work into building something it might as well last for years… but that’s okay. That’s another customization you could make to it…

>>> CONTINUE READING Geek Dad Offers Creative Solutions for Entertaining Kids…

As someone who was born painfully shy, with little self-esteem, I made friends with the “act as if” method (also known as “fake it ‘till you make it”) in high school. I went from a quiet sophomore to a confident, wildly-dressed junior, all thanks to my drama club and one very empowering exercise.

See, my drama teacher didn’t call it “acting as if.” But for a variety of circumstances, we had to write our own play that year, and it was based on characters that we all created one day. She had simply said, “Choose a character that’s a complete stretch for you — someone so far removed from yourself that you’ll have a tough time playing it.”

What she didn’t tell us was that we would be playing that character in the school play, not just for that day’s club meeting.

I chose a punk rocker, and they brought in a real punker to make sure my makeup and hair was authentic. She put me in extensive black eye makeup, black lip liner around bright red lips, and a pink faux-hawk. When I saw the girl in the mirror — the one that looked nothing like me — I was almost instantly transformed.

While in costume I met a guy who would become a good friend, and he showed me that I could access that confidence anytime. Suddenly I was spiking and bleaching my hair, wearing tight jeans and spiked belts. I wasn’t dressing like a punk anymore, but I was a full-out new waver (this was in the ‘80s, as you might be able to tell).

So I acted as if I was a confident, trendy chick instead of a shy, awkward mouse, and became that…

>>> CONTINUE READING Act As If You Have What You Want…

I know a lot of internet marketers and other business professionals who only ever use a laptop computer. If you do a lot of traveling and like to work on the road, it makes sense to take a laptop along, but you can also work from home (or the park, the gym, the coffee shop, etc.) with the same machine.

Personally, I have both a desktop and a laptop machine, because the desktop is more robust for recording interviews and working with large multi-media files. But in the past, I have existed with a laptop and nothing else, and I can see why it’s a good choice for many.

If that’s you, I’m sure you agree that having the right peripherals makes working with a laptop that much easier.

So here’s my list of Top 10 Must-Have Laptop Accessories:

>>> CONTINUE READING Top 10 Laptop Accessories…

So a new season of America’s Got Talent has launched, and this time with American judges suspiciously absent.

It was strange enough that it previously featured two Brits — Piers Morgan and Sharon Osbourne, with heavy accents to prove it — but now the only previous American-born judge, David Hasselhoff, has been replaced by Canadian-born Howie Mandel.

Full Disclosure: I’m Canadian too (living in the U.S. like Howie), so I’m not complaining out of a personal sense of unfairness. I also happen to like Howie’s on-camera style, and his ability to improvise and have fun, and I’m glad he’s got the gig.

But don’t you find it strange that a show claiming to celebrate “American spirit,” and having the contestants vie to “win America’s hearts,” wouldn’t have at least ONE American judge?

Even the Executive Producer, Simon Cowell, is British.

Jus’ sayin’…

>>> CONTINUE READING Can’t Americans Judge American Talent?…