Being a big Star Wars fan and an Obama supporter this video cracked me up!

Hat tip to Todd And for posting it on his blog which is where I first saw it.

This morning Nine Inch Nails released a new album called “The Slip”. Big deal right?

It is a big deal because they released it for free on their website. No hooks. No gimmicks. 100% Free. Plus, the key word is “they.” No label involved here. The band released it the way they wanted to.

On top of that they released it under a Creative Commons license so that you can play it on podcasts, use it in videos and share with as many friends as you want.

Of course, I downloaded it as soon as I heard about it (saw first mention on Twitter) and after one listen through I really like it. A couple of really good tracks on there. Sure, there are some throw away ones as well, but isn’t there always?

I can’t wait to play a track on Accident Hash. I’ve always said that NIN was one band that I’d love to play. Now all I have to do is get a track from Prince and I’ll be all set. *grin*

It has been a packed and busy past couple of days.

Wednesday I took the train to New Jersey for a big presentation. Yesterday I was in New York City to spend some time in the office and to have a few meetings. Afterwards we had a great dinner at the Tribeca Hotel which is just down the street from our office. Nice place and great food if you are ever looking for a laid back place for a good meal. Get the Gingerbread Cake for dessert.Trust me on this!

As I write this I’m sitting at a gate in A Terminal of Newark Airport. We’ve got an afternoon packed of meetings in Pittsburgh and then I fly straight home to Boston from there. Three days of highly concentrated work, but good work.

Somehow as I woke up this morning I was able to get out a post on what I called The Death of Hannah Montana. I’ve had the thoughts bopping around in my head for a while so I’m glad I finally got them out.

Soccer, drama camp and hopefully getting together with an old friend this weekend once I get home.

I’m sitting on the Acela, headed out for a couple of days of business travel. This trip is more fun then usual as Scott Monty is sitting next to me as he heads into NYC for some meetings of his own.

But, as the miles pass by the window and the train clacks along the tracks (actually I sort of miss that old sound sometimes as this train doesn’t make much noise at all) it lets my my mind wander to a bunch of different things. This is what happens when you roll out of bed at 3 am and are blogging from a train at 6 in the morning.

I don’t think I have a collective thought to share at this moment. I’ve got ideas brewing about the evolution of brands, Miley Cyrus and how respect is one of the most important things you’ve got to always have.

But, I’m going to hold off on writing or recording about them until I can completely wrap my head around them all. With all the travel in the next couple of days, I’m sure I’ll have the time.

Do you ever notice how one change in the routine can throw everything off? Right now I’m dealing with that as Laura is away at a conference and thus it is just me and the kids. That’s cool and we do great of course, but it is just different without Laura in the house. Little things are when it get noticed and even Emily mentioned it last night when she said “I’m use to you being gone, but not Mommy.”

I went to NYC on Saturday to check out PodCamp NYC 2. VERY different vibe then last year and I say that in a positive way. It felt more like a back to basics PodCamp. Not sure if it was the educational location that helped this or not, but it wasn’t nearly as chaotic as last year felt. I saw and met a lot of new people. People just getting started. People filled with ideas, worries and passion to take things to the next level. Sure, I saw a lot of old friends as well, but you know I love connecting with new people and getting to know them.

This was the first PodCamp for our client mDialog and I’m really glad they came and were part of it all. I know they had a good time and got to meet a lot of people. I really wanted to get them in front of this community. To talk with them, answer their questions and find out what they are looking for in a service like them.

Don’t forget that if you filmed any video at the event, consider signing up for a free account and contributing it to the PodCamp NYC Channel. Everyone that does gets a free 6 month upgrade on their account as a little thank you for trying out the service.

I was taking pictures as usual. My set is here if you are looking for some. The shot shown here is one of my favorite of the weekend.

A personal highlight for me was as I sat at JFK I saw a Twitter from Gregory Ng that he too was waiting and it turns out we were even in the same gate.  We sat down and chatted a bit and turns out we have a lot in common. I’m hoping to reconnect with him when I’m not so fried from such a long day. I hadn’t had a chance Twitter encounter like this before so it certainly made me smile.

Like I said the routine is off this morning. I did hit the treadmill and actually did a load of wash before the first cup of coffee. Yes, things are a little off, but all is good.

Appearing in Cinderella playing the part of Toni the Mouse.

It only took nine months, but yesterday we signed all the paperwork to sell our old house. Best part was that it was sold to a young couple just starting out their lives together. Brought back memories for Laura and I both and it made us happy to see. I’m not sure it has completely sunk in yet, but I know the first time we drive by and see changes it’ll hit for us.

A big thank you to Ray Paulk (aka Ray the Realtor) for helping us make this happen. He was a huge help from day one and really helped set expectations and goals from the beginning. I don’t know how he is on the buying side, but I highly reccomend him on the selling side. If you are selling a house in Massachusetts or Rhode Island check him out.

There were a LOT of delays in making this happen. The approval process to get an FHA loan was the main thing holding it up. Good that they are being more careful about these, but it dragged on for almost an extra month because of it.

I’ve also noticed a good 4-5 new “sale pending” signs going up on houses that have been for sale in the area for a while now as well. That is a good sign. People are buying. If you have good credit and are looking to buy a house, right now would be a perfect time. Horrible time to downsize most likely, but it is certainly a buyers market right now.

A huge weight mentally off of our shoulders. That is for damn sure. Thank you to everyone for all the positive vibes and words of encouragement throughout this.

Early mornings seem to be my most productive time. As I type this I’ve got conversations going with someone in Boston and Bankok via IM. I’ve brainstormed around a potential new client and I’ve done my morning surf of my Bloglines to see what is going on in the world. Perfect time to record a podcast, but this week that gets thrown off because the kids are on vacation from school. No biggie, but it means I drop them off at their camps later then school and it sort of makes the day start later.

Cool thing happened yesterday when Emily’s teachers called to ask us if they could move her up a level. They said she was too talented to be with the little kids, so now she is with all the 10 & 11 year olds and actually has to learn lines for her play on Friday. I can’t wait and she is very psyched. She got to pick dinner last night and opted for kabobs. Hard to argue there and they looked and tasted pretty damn good even if they were last minute.

As I look out the window at the sunshine it reminds me that today is Earth Day. The perfect excuse for everyone to get outside for at least a walk. Sure we are all busy and leading crazy lives, but find at least a few minutes today to get outside and get some fresh air. It’ll do you a world of good.

Saturday I’m heading into PodCamp NYC. I can’t make it on Friday but it will be great to at least be there for one day. I wasn’t going to be able to make it originally but plans shifted so I could. Also looking forward to getting our client mDialog in front of people so that they can find out more about their offerings around video. Be sure to swing by their table because they are going to be giving away an Apple TV.

The head cold or allergies I’ve been dealing with seem to be clearing up today which is a nice change of pace. Not sure if the Thai food yesterday helped at all, but it sure tasted good. That I know for sure!

The coffee cup is empty so that means time to end this post. Make it a great day.

The cute woman doing the weather told me that today it is suppose to hit 70. Hard to argue with that! Of course I won’t get to appreciate that much of it, but in spirit I will.

Yesterday our treadmill arrived. We’ve wanted one for a while and when taxes didn’t hurt as much as we thought they would we bought one. The house came with a room set up to be a gym since the last owners were fitness freaks so we figured we should do it. So now most mornings this will be my view after I drop the kids off.

I also recorded Episode #55 of Managing the Gray and pushed it out into the feed. I also noticed some nice new reviews in iTunes which was a cool surprise. Thank you!

Today is a planning day. Laying out plans for the coming months. Figuring out resources. Mapping out delivery dates. All that “fun” project management type of stuff. I know for sure my white board is going to get a work out too. Reminds me that I need to get a bigger one which I keep thinking about and then never do.

I’m taking part in a couple of different campaigns right now from BzzAgent that made for a perfect morning breakfast after my walk. Today that meant a glass of Tropicana Pure Orange Juice and my last bag of Back to Nature Trail Mix. I’m not much of an OJ guy and never have been, but I was given a coupon for a free bottle so I figured I’d try it. Tastes pretty good, but not sure I could tell the difference between it and any other kind of OJ and I certainly wouldn’t pay the extra money for this brand in the future. The trail mix I love, but haven’t been able to find it in any stores yet (they sent me a few packets to try), but I’m going to keep looking. It is a good mix and the little packets are personally a good size for me so I enjoy them. Since I haven’t seen them in stores I don’t know how much they cost and if they are worth it or not.

So, that is my day so far and ahead. Dean Gray just came up on shuffle. I haven’t listened to this album in a long time. Time to turn off shuffle, crank it and dive into the next task.

Yesterday I registered for PodCamp Boston 3 that is happening on July 19 & 20.

Conferences to me, no matter the size, cost, location, topic all boil down to one thing for me and that is the people that attend. We constantly talk about “social media”, but the majority of the interactions are happening through bytes and bits rather then hand shakes and hugs. I want to see more SOCIAL happening in Social Media.

One big change this year is that there is going to be a registration fee to attend. Most conferences I attend cost hundreds of dollars to do so. PodCamp Boston 3 is costing $50.

There was, is and will be lots of discussions about this. I’ve heard all the sides and sure this means some people won’t be able to attend, but honestly if the desire is there and you really want to attend then I can’t imagine that finding $50 between now and July is impossible. But, even with that being said, I know that some won’t be able to and because of that I wanted to spend my usual sponsorship money a little differently.

This year I’m going to be giving away five scholarships to people who want to attend PodCamp Boston 3. I haven’t figured out all the details yet, but I know I’m going to be doing this. I figured if I really want this to be about getting together and sharing in an experience that I’d rather help people attend that might not be able to. I’ll figure out the details soon and let you know.

At the end of the day I can guarantee that PodCamp Boston 3 is going to be a great event. How do I know that? Because I know that it will be filled with passionate people, great presentations and hallway conversations that are only going to happen on that one weekend. I’m going to meet new people, see old friends, connect two people that can help each other and walk away re-energized in this space.

I like fresh starts. Something bumpy and makes one week not as good as you had hoped so you get to reshuffle the deck and start all over. Last week wasn’t bad, but this week feels powerful and full of promise. It feels good.

I recorded a mellowed out Accident Hash this morning. I really slacked on that the past few weeks and I’m sorry for that. I hate doing that to the listeners.

Then a few minutes ago the reality of the date really slammed home. It is April 14, 2008. This is a date that has been on my radar for quite some time and the fact that it has arrived gave me pause. This has nothing to do with it being Cake and Cunnilingus Day (link not safe for work), but rather with a large phase of my life and what happens next. Even I don’t know.

I also got to listen back to a conversation I had over on The DaddyCast last week. It was so much fun just kicking back and chatting with PD about being dads. Something I don’t get to do nearly often enough. Hope to do it more in the future.

Tomorrow night I’m going to be speaking as part of MITX event called Building Social Applications & Widgets for Top Platforms. Will be nice to finally see Chris Brogan IN Boston for once.

I’ve already got a screen full of windows which means the day is in full swing. I’ve been writing this little post on and off for 45 minutes so I figure it is time to post it and get it out there.

Make it a great day everyone.

A typical Sunday morning for me involves getting up early, feeding Roxie, letting her out, grabbing the paper out of my driveway and then sitting down with a cup of coffee and the Sunday Boston Globe. It has been that way for as long as I can remember. But, every so often a morning comes along when the paper isn’t here yet. That means I’ve got the coffee and I’m vertical at an early hour so my mind wanders and cracks and ponders all sorts of things. Today is certainly one of those days.

I went to Little Rock this week to speak at the PRSA 2008 Southwest District Conference. A whole new wave of people, new faces and new thoughts. A small group of people looking to figure out what is going on in the space. A sort of southern charm that made me instantly feel welcome. Plus, I learned about SharingHope.TV which simply amazed me. Although, I am still confused how I had such a good seafood meal in the middle of Arkansas. *grin*

I’ve been thinking a lot about this playground we are on. I looked back, but that only took a couple of minutes since it is the boring direction. I then looked forward. Thought about where I want to go and what I want to do. How the community around me is shape shifting and splitting as it needs to. Terms, definitions and expectations are all on a bit of a roller coaster ride and I’m ok with that because evolution is not a pretty or easy thing.

The picture here is from the Clinton Library. Chris Brogan and I had a nice long stroll throughout it sharing our thoughts and memories. They big time line was amazing to look back and realize what happened while he was in office. One thing that I always love looking at is letters and there were some amazing ones there. The art of writing a letter is something that is dying away and not enough people do. Chris and I both said that it was something we were going to do some of in the future. I hope we do. I hope others do. I sort of miss it.

Ink, paper, digital bits, beeps and bops. All of them fit together in this weird strange puzzle called life. We can’t forget the old but we have to move past it sometimes to move forward? Or do we? Hmm..

Originally uploaded by CC Chapman.

The team at Aquafina saw my recent post about Snapple’s new “water” and sent me some of their brand.

What I like about this already is that this one has no calories in it like water should. But it has Vitamin B and caffeine in it. Sort of tastes like an unchalk like version of Tang to be honest with you. Not bad at all.

I like that they call it a “water beverage” since it is not water as everyone pointed out last time. Kudos to their team for paying attention to their competitors and doing a little outreach.

They have some other flavors that they sent too, but I haven’t tried those. The other ones have calories though so it makes you wonder what they put in them.

As I’m drinking more I’m noticing a slight after taste. I think I’ll be sticking with regular water for the most part, but every once and a while for a break a beverage like this (from whatever brand I don’t know yet) will be a nice change of pace. It is certainly better for me then reaching for a soda when I crave a change.