Doriano Carta

Here’s a hilarious and poignant song called “I’m Still a Man”. It’s Brad Paisley’s anthem for men today caught in the crossfire of the sensitive male movement vs the traditional meat-eating, hunter-gatherers group. We men continue to try to understand what women want and sometimes we go too far trying to change who we are in order to please them. It might work in the short term but ultimately we all learn that we just can’t go against our national Neanderthal instincts. We can bend but we cannot break when it comes to being a man. That’s the key to success.

Brad does a wonderful job with humor describing the modern man’s struggle to maintain his strength and dignity in an ever changing world. Does he go too far? Sure he does and that’s what makes the song so funny and makes the point ever stronger. While we don’t have to keep dragging our knuckles across the ground and carry clubs, neither do we need to wear makeup, watch dancing with the stars or carry purses. (American Idol is ok in my book).

Note: This reminds me of another great country song that addressed this same subject matter. Michelle Wright’s “Take it like a Man”

Here’s the live version which is great because you get to see the reaction of the crowd.

Here’s the song as recorded

Brad talks about how he came up with the idea for the song

Lyrics

"I’m Still A Guy"
When you see a deer you see Bambi
And I see antlers up on the wall
When you see a lake you think picnic
And I see a large mouth up under that log
You’re probably thinking that you’re going to change me
In some ways well maybe you might
Scrub me down, dress me up but no matter what
I’m still a guy
When you see a priceless French painting
I see a drunk, naked girl
You think that riding a wild bull sounds crazy
And I’d like to give it a whirl
Well love makes a man do some things he ain’t proud of
And in a weak moment I might walk your sissy dog, hold your purse at the mall
But remember, I’m still a guy
I’ll pour out my heart
Hold your hand in the car
Write a love song that makes you cry
Then turn right around knock some jerk to the ground
‘Cause he copped a feel as you walked by
I can hear you now talking to your friends
Saying, "Yeah girls he’s come a long way"
From dragging his knuckles and carrying a club
And building a fire in a cave
But when you say a backrub means only a backrub
Then you swat my hand when I try
Well, what can I say at the end of the day
Honey, I’m still a guy
I’ll pour out my heart
Hold your hand in the car
Write a love song that makes you cry
Then turn right around knock some jerk to the ground
‘Cause he copped a feel as you walked by
These days there’s dudes getting facials
Manicured, waxed and botoxed
With deep spray-on tans and creamy lotiony hands
You can’t grip a tacklebox
With all of these men lining up to get neutered
It’s hip now to be feminized
I don’t highlight my hair
I’ve still got a pair
Yeah honey, I’m still a guy
Oh my eyebrows ain’t plucked
There’s a gun in my truck
Oh thank God, I’m still a guy

I was blown away by this song called “Brothers” that I just heard for the first time ever today. It’s by a canadian cowboy named Dean Brody that wrote it soon after watching Spielberg’s Band of Brothers mini-series.

Being one of four brothers and watching my two boys growing up, this song really hit home. We’ve all grown jaded by all the news about the war in Iraq and sadly become immune to the growing number of casualties that mount up. Each number is a person, a son or daughter, a brother or sister.

I’ve shared a few other songs and videos that addressed the impact of war on loved ones. They were 19 and Thinking of You .

Here’s Dean Brody performing the song he wrote live

Here’s more about the Canadian Cowboy

The house was like a tomb.
I was hiding in my room.
As my brother made his way on down the hall.
I didn’t want to say goodbye.
And I was trying to deny there was a war,
And that he got the call.
I watched him from my window
Walking down the drive.
Then I ran down the stairway
Through the front door and I cried
You come back you hear?
And I let him see my tears
I said I’ll give you my rookie of DiMaggio.
I’ll do anything you want,
Clean your room, or wash your car.
I’ll do anything so long as you don’t go.
But he said, this is what brothers are for.
Well I have my heroes,
But the one I love the most
Taught me how to hunt and swing a bat.
And I wrote him every night,
I said I miss our pillow fights,
But lately I just wonder where you’re at.
Sometimes freedom makes it hard to live.
When it takes things from you that you don’t want to give.
I said you come back you hear?
I miss you being near.
Laugh and fish down in the maple grove
I’ll do anything you want.
There must be someone I can call,
And just maybe they would let you come back home.
But he wrote, this is what brothers are for.
I may never have to face the anger of those guns,
Or lie cold and wounded in my blood,
Or know the sacrifice and what it must of cost
For him to love me that much.
Well, it had been two years,
And I held back my tears
When I saw him in that wheel chair on the shore.
And as I ran and held him tight,
That’s when he looked me in the eye
And said I’m sorry that you have to push me home.
And I said hey, this is what brothers are for.

Evan Williams spoke at TED and shared the history of Twitter and some of his experiences as the leader there and elsewhere. The most impressive thing about his talk was when he explained how the biggest business decisions he ever made were based on following his hunches and obeying his gut instincts. Even though most would scoff at such a risky move, Even said he knew it was the right thing to do. After all, he launched the incredibly successful Blogger service on the same type of hunch and the rest is history.

The same thing happened with Twitter. He was in charge of Odeo and someone suggested an idea for a status update service and Even got that same old feeling in his gut. While others would have kept the blinders on during such a critical time in their company’s history, Even knew from experience that he shouldn’t ignore his hunches. Thus, he took the road less travelled and history repeated itself.

Here’s the speech from TED. It’s a valuable lesson not just for startups but for anyone chasing their dream. Always keep in touch with your instincts and trust your hunches. Even though the bottom line is all about numbers, don’t ignore the power of emotions when it comes to business.

Here’s a funny little video from SolarWinds that truly captures the typical day in an IT Manager’s life! Believe me, it is not far from the truth! It is truly uncanny how close it hits home!
Note: Could find embed code so clicking the image will bring you to their site where you can watch the video.

GE is promoting their new Smart Grid Technology with a slick ad campaign. It starts with a very cool website. But for me, the most impressive part involves their Digital Hologram of Smart Grid technology (See video below). Trust me, it’s far more impressive in reality! You’ll have to see it to believe it.

Go here for instructions on how to experience this yourself. All you need is a computer with sound and a webcam. Also, print out the Solar Panel Marker.

I’ve never liked a movie that I haven’t seen yet as much as I already like “Slumdog Millionaire”. I think it has to do with the beautiful music from the film by A.R. Rahman and the central love story between the boy and the stunning beauty played by Freida Pinto. I can’t wait to see it.

However, a few people have shared their objections to apparent violence and brutality towards woman. I’m still not familiar with the details but I will at least be prepared for some graphic violence. Some of my friends from India have also shared a small resentment towards the glorified depiction of the poverty and squalor that does exist in their beloved homeland. They made some good points that too many people will believe that all of India is that way which is no where near the truth. Here’s more about protests.

I will watch it and share my thoughts afterwards. In the mean time I keep submersing myself in the haunting music and images from the movie. Here is a taste of what I’m enjoying.

Here’s the wonderful Oscar winning Best Song Jai Ho

Here’s O Saya which was also nominated for best song

Here’s Jai Ho and O Sayo as performed live at the Oscars

Here’s A.R. Rahman’s song but profound acceptance speech for Jai Ho.
Love how he said “all my life I had the choice of Hate and Love. I always chose Love and I’m here.” So true. So true.

You know a movie is successful when it makes its way onto popular TV shows like Oprah and as in this clip Ellen where the two leads appeared and showed the host, crew and audience how to do the slumdog dance.

I can’t believe it’s been 25 years since “Falling in Love” came out in 1984 starring Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep. Obviously, it’s a wonderfully acted film where these two legends play unhappy married people who meet on a train during the holidays. Somehow they fall for each other and awaken from their deep sleep.

There are some very powerful scenes such as when they try to nip their affair in the bud and when De Niro finally finds the courage to tell his wife about falling in love with another woman. Great stuff.

Here’s the trailer

Here’s sample of their interaction in the movie. Watch how their flirt so subtly

Here’s the FALLING IN LOVE on Hulu

If you’re a wanna-be screenwriter like me, then the Oscars™ telecast will always be inspirational. It’ll fill you with a renewed energy to finish writing that screenplay just sitting there gathering dust or stuck in your head.

Well, if that is the case, then here are some tools and sites that can help you find your inner screenwriter and perhaps stamp your ticket to a future Academy Awards ceremony where you will make your acceptance speech for best screenplay. If you do, then please don’t forget to thank Paisano, ok?

If you write with Microsoft Word then start with one of these free screenplay document templates:

• Here’s the one for Microsoft Word 2007 (Office 2007)
• Here’s the one for Microsoft Word 2003 (Office 97 & Office 2003)

For an awesome online service to create screenplays, try PlotBot which is free. For more information, Here’s previous coverage of PlotBot called “Your Ticket to Hollywood” which allows you to write your screenplays online and even collaborate with others. 

Here’s a new post I wrote for Mashable called 5 Ways to Collaborate on Documents Online in Real-Time which will allow you to work with others on a screenplay.

Sometimes the best way to learn how to do something is by analyzing those that have done it before you. http://www.simplyscripts.com provides hundreds of free downloadable scripts that you can read and learn from the masters.

Another way to learn is by reading some excellent books on the subject matter. Here’s a great list of resources from Oscars.com!