2am & Shades of My Musical Past
Download some music! Edmond Settles - 2am (piano, female vocals, acoustic guitar, strings and percussion) Love theme from the film 2am written and produced under middle name "Edmond" Settles.
So, I retired from music about 5 years ago. I performed in clubs, wrote and produced lots of stuff. One of my favorite projects was a film made by my long time friend Korey Coleman titled 2am. Korey Coleman is more recently known for the entertainment site Spill.com where he commands a team of animators, gamers and movie reviewers at the behest of their parent company Hollywood.com. Their animated movie reviews are streamed more than a million times a month along with an ever growing catalog of podcasts that 14 – 34 year old males latch on to like woobies.
Well, before Korey invented Spill.com, he made a movie and I (using my middle name “Edmond” Settles) composed the love theme and several other ditties. Let me know if you dig it.
Smoothies Are My Friend
I have to admit that I’m enjoying making these little food videos. I don’t really plan them out. They are rather spontaneous musings between me and my iPhone. I realize that after four years on my journey to better health that what seemed insurmountable to me has been broken down into manageable chunks or phases. Being more healthy takes work but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t enjoy it. You should be able to eat something healthy that makes you smile everyday (Twinkies and ice cream don’t count. Sorry.)
I’ve been experimenting with blending smoothies, juices and shakes. In this episode, I use the ever popular ingredients of strawberries (120 calories) and a banana (72 calories). Then for a little extra flavor and smooth texture, I add chocolate whey protein (100 calories), almond milk (40 calories) and ice (0 calories). So, I’m able to make a smoothie at 2/3′s of a pitcher that only has about 300 ultra healthy calories in it. I usually drink 1 or 2 glasses before and after hitting the gym and never feel as though I’m missing out.
So, I hope enjoy this video as much as I did making it. More soon!
Changing My Eating Habits
Well, it was bound to happen… I made a video featuring one of the seminal dishes I used to start changing my eating habits – the veggie egg white omelette.
Today, I started off the morning with a chocolate whey protein smoothie that had some strawberries, a banana, ice and almond milk along with my daily supplements. Then, I hit the gym for a good solid 40+ minutes (sweated off a pound) and returned to finish off my smoothie and cook up my omelette for lunch. Gourmet style with lots of vibrant color and flavor, the egg white omelette is full of protein. Served up with some whole wheat toast and a drizzle of raspberry chipotle sauce, it’s a delicious filling meal and only about 400 calories. One of the keys to eating healthier is cooking both good looking and good tasting meals. From day 1, I’ve never felt as though I was sacrificing anything in the way of taste or sustenance because I looked forward to making and eating my meals.
So, there you have it. I hope this inspires you to think about what you’re putting in your body!
More soon!
Steve Stoute: The Tanning of America
Over the last several years I’ve been very impressed with Steve Stoute and his forays into advertising. He’s been able to take his vast network of connections in the hip hop world and combine it with a great acumen for trendsetting to build an advertising agency. I love what he is doing in that he is flying the face of what “traditional” ad agencies have done for years. His agency having been bought by a larger general market firm, he has decided to buy back majority ownership and not settle for being marginalized as only an “African-American” or “multi-cultural” shop. He believes that he can have a great impact on the general market and I believe that is more true than ever.
Based on demographic changes in America, the general market, by definition, is multi-cultural. It’s only going to get more diverse in the coming years and Mr. Stoute understands that hip hop culture has a disproportionate mindshare in America and indeed across the world. So, while general market agencies continue to become less diverse, they do so at their own peril. It’s going to get more and more difficult for them to say to their clients that they can be effective at communicating with their customers when so few of them actually look like the audiences they need to reach.
I hope that Mr. Stoute’s move into the general market waters is followed by many more. After all, this a huge opportunity for those willing to make that leap.
Facebook Investor Says Social Is Over
VC guy and musician Roger McNamee lays out 10 very intriguing hypotheses about the future of social media, advertising, and content creation. Some interesting points from the original article at :
http://www.businessinsider.com/roger-mcnamee-video-2011-7#ixzz1T5rACmsH
Microsoft’s share of internet-connected devices has gone from 95% to under 50% in 3 years;
“Apple will sell a hundred million internet-connected devices this year. That’s two thirds of the PC market.” If you add the other non-PC internet devices, that’s more valuable than the PC market.
Podcast: Leveraging Video & Social Media for Your Small Business
Got Video? Live Webcast
Broadcasting Live with Ustream
So, I’m broadcasting my talk on Leveraging Video for Your Small Business or Non-Profit live Wednesday, July 13th 12pm Central for about 1 hour. I hope you’ll enjoy!
In the mean time, here’s an excerpt from a previous talk about Branding Your Creativity Through Social Media.
the US – Marcus Graham Project
So, I met Lincoln Stevens, founder of the Marcus Graham Project, about 3 years ago when I was starting the Media Communications Council. He works with young African American men aspiring to enter the advertising industry and every summer hosts a boot camp in which young come from all over the country to work together for real clients being guided by advertising leaders. I’m very pleased to see that the project is maturing and making an impact on diversity in the ad industry. It was heartening to meet Lincoln and understand what his dream was as I was pursuing a similar dream with the MCC. We too have a come a long way and I look forward to working with Lincoln and his amazing program some time in the near future!
It Could Be U Camp – Week 1, Tour of UT Campus
This is another great video showing our students and mentors as they tour the University of Texas.
It Could Be U Camp 2011 – Week 1
I am thrilled to report that week 1 of It Could Be U Camps was a great success. This is a big milestone for us as we are incorporating UT Intellectual Entrepreneurship Mentors along with Peer Mentors for the camp. We’re just getting started!