It’s been an interesting weekend for me and there are several items that came up that I wanted to post about, but I didn’t want to deluge everyone with a series of back-to-back posts over the course of a day. So, I’ve decided to deliver all of my most recent news in one simple, handy and effective post, which I’ve dubbed the Mini-Chaos News Roundup. Herewith are my newsworthy announcements:
“I Whisper” — A brand new short story
This past Saturday night, I was surfing the net before heading to bed, and found an article about Drew Carey donating $10,000 for the arrest of several idiots who tricked an autistic kid into pouring a bucket of urine on his head believing it was for the ALS ice-bucket challenge. Not only is this reprehensible, but it is wholly irresponsible, cruel and just evil. The whole thing got my juices flowing. I didn’t once attempt to look for the video because that would only help to support the cruelty; instead, I chose to write a story about the dangers of bullying and depression. I was bullied a little in school (thankfully, not to the extent of some kids I’ve read about) and I have gone through minor bouts of depression, so the need to say something just boiled inside of me. The result was “I Whisper.” It only took me a few hours to write, and it may be too heavy for some to get through, but I feel it has a very important message that needed to be shared.
Kickstarter campaign drowning, but still very much alive
Last week, I sent a challenge out to the world to get 250 people to contribute at least $1 to the Kickstarter campaign for my new feature film, Never Stop Living, so that I might get the campaign on Kickstarter’s popular list. By the end of the day Sunday, the campaign received a wonderful eight contributors! A far cry from the goal, and not what I was hoping for, but still very generous nonetheless, as the majority of these contributions were over $20. I want to thank everyone who did take the time to make their contribution; we can’t make this wonderfully inspirational movie without people like you. With that said, there are still twenty long days to generate some popularity and raise awareness. So, I’m doubling down on my initial challenge and am going to be seeking 500 contributors over the course of the next week.
But this time, I’m going to take a page from the ALS ice-bucket challenge (no, you will not have to dump anything on your head!) and ask everyone who contributes over the next seven days to challenge three people to do the same. In other words, make a contribution of at least $1 and then email or Facebook or tweet at least three people the link to the campaign and challenge them to match your contribution (or to contribute $1) and then challenge three others to do the same. We all do this, the contributions (and contributors) will add up quickly, putting Never Stop Living on the map. I’ll start:
I challenge everyone who has read this far to contribute at least $1 to the Never Stop Living Kickstarter Campaign. And speaking of the campaign…
Muffins, Movies and Makeovers
In an effort to raise awareness and find new contributors for the Never Stop Living Kickstarter campaign, I’ve teamed up with Sandi Simon, a representative from Mary Kay, for an event that will help us both. If you are anywhere near the Temecula/Murrieta, California area on Saturday, September 20th at 10 a.m., come by and join us for a morning of great snacks, great films, great makeup and great prizes. Enjoy a presentation of my award-winning film, My Necklace, Myself, while taking advantage of samples from Mary Kay’s excellent line of beauty products. At the same time, a computer will be available to contribute to the Never Stop Living Kickstarter Campaign. To top it all off, every campaign contribution or Mary Kay purchase will enter you into a raffle for books, movies, makeup baskets and more. Sandi has also been generous enough to donate 15% of all proceeds generated from the sale of Mary Kay products during the event to the Kickstarter Campaign. Oh, and there will be muffins! Don’t miss it. (Check out the flyer below for more information.)
Never Stop Living in the news
A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Kim Harris from the Valley News and talk to her about Never Stop Living and the Kickstarter campaign. The article appeared in Volume 14, Issue 36 (September 5-11, 2014 edition) of the Valley News, and now, you can view the article online.
Well, that’s all for this week’s Mini-Chaos News Roundup. I’ll be back again when there are several items I feel the need to discuss and no time to deliver them one-by-one. Until then, heroes are born when adversity is fought with undaunted courage.
Chaos breeds Chaos 