Depp Chronicles

So who would I want to be if I were a middle-aged male?

And why the heck should you care?

The first answer is easy: Johnny Depp

The second answer is slightly more complex: As I start the approach to the beginning of something that might in a few years be considered to perhaps be middle-aged, (oh shut up…. just bear with me) I often wonder how and whether I am using my natural talents to make this world a better place. This question is something that should be a central aspect to our thinking as we grow, for every single one of us has a contribution to make – large, small and everything in between – to our global community.

…. Ummmm, and yes, I did call Johnny Depp middle-aged (he’s 47 actually) …. And why am I thinking about being a man? Because I live in the real world, and in the real world, men still continue – for the most part – to drive the future strategy for our species …. *ducks and runs for cover*

So why Johnny Depp?  (Beside the fact that he is not a politician?)

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New Media: The good, the bad, and the downright ugly

Over the span of the last two weeks we have witnessed both the power and the folly of new media.

The blogosphere, twitterverse and other online forums proved to be effective rapid-reaction communications tools when a massive earthquake devastated Haiti on Jan. 12. Outside Haiti, the Internet exploded with posts and tweets providing donation information, suggestions to help people search for loved ones and heartfelt entreaties to lend a helping hand. From inside Haiti survivors tweeted eyewitness accounts and offered to help locate loved ones, uploaded information to MySpace, YouTube and Facebook.

Did all this online activity dig people out from under collapsed buildings? Did it put bandages on bleeding wounds? No, of course not.

But it did provide an almost immediate platform for people to come together, share information and reach out with compassion and do what they could to help Haiti.

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Fangtasm!

As a devoted fan of all things bloodsucker, I was delighted to read about all of the bloody creatures snapping up honors at last night’s Peoples’ Choice Awards.

The New Moon installment based on the Twilight saga phenomenon sucked up four awards, including favorite movie, franchise, on-screen team and breakout male actor for Tayler Lautner. My other current favorite fang-fare, HBO’s True Blood (based on Charlaine Harris’ series) grabbed favorite television obsession, while CW series The Vampire Diaries won for new television drama.

My joy in this news is twofold. One, it means we’re likely to see more bloodsuckers soon rising to feast in contemporary literary fiction works, on television and in the movies. Two, the popularity of these walking dead – who tend to either glory in the hunt or live in eternal torment – means that I am definitely NOT alone in my not-so-secret infatuations. (phew!!!!)

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