C.C. Chapman's Blog, page 13

Violence

Last night, The Walking Dead answered the question of who would be brutally murdered with a barbed wire wrapped baseball bat in the hands ofa twisted man.

I watch the show and was ready to be emotionally torn to shreds.

It was as painful to watch as I expected.

Violence is a weird thing. People react to it in so many ways.

This morning I’ve seen multiple posts from people complaining about the level of violence. Yet, this is the seventh season of the show and it is nothing but blood and viol...

Why I Write

Today is the National Day on Writing.

This day wasfounded by theNational Council of Teachers of Englishon the premise that writing is critical to literacy butneeds greater attention and celebration.

To me writing is a core part of who I am.

The voices, ideas and worlds in my head have to be let out or else they just keep banging on my skull.

As I began to share more of my writing with the masses, I realized the power of words to inspire others.

The fact that I still get notes from readers wh...

We Have To Show Up

I was having a conversation with Seth Godin recently about writing and among all the nuggets he said,

“The cost of what we do is we have to show up.”

We were discussing his daily blog writing and my wonderment at how he does it.

It stuck with me like a thorn. Nagging at me to face the truth that I haven’t been showing up.

Sure, I published a piece called When Your Dream Job Doesn’t Want You on LinkedIn and I’ve been noodling along on other things, but if I’m going to be honest with myself and...

MassMutual Foundation #FutureSmart

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending a MassMutual Foundation #FutureSmart launch event at the Mildred Avenue Middle School in Mattapan, MA

As a father of two, I wish that my children had been taught about personal finances, money and planning for their futures in school. Outside of the stale stock market games that we’ve all played, I don’t think they were taught a single thing about money and how to deal with it.

MassMutual Foundation is committed to making sure the next generation is...

Stop Shouting. Start Doing.

In case you missed it, last night there as a Presidential Debate.

Of course, this morning everyone is shouting about their candidate of choice. Hard to scroll through any site without someone shouting about how much they hate one person and love the other.

I tried balancing it out by sharing a photo of Jaz because puppies make everything better.

Today I think everyone needs some cute puppy in their lives to chill out, calm down and move forward.

A photo posted by C.C. Chapman (@cc_chapman)...

Jaz Joins Our Family

“What if we swing by Baypath and see what they have for puppies?”

Laura asking me this while out running errands is how the story of Jaz began.

I grew up with a black lab named Popeye. You know the story of Roxie.

Dogs will always be a part of my life and Labrador Retrievers will always be my favorite breed of dogs.

Nadia is a lab mix, but looks nothing like a lab. Her size has always thrown me and while I love her, she isn’t a lab.

Part of the fun of rescuing dogs is that you never quite kn...

The Long and Short Walk of Life

Life is extremely short.

While days will drag on and never seem to end. Others fly by and you barely got a chance to enjoy them.

We’ve all heard the jokes about getting older, getting crabbier and yelling, “Get Off My Lawn!” more than once.

Age is a relative thing of course, but over the last few years I’ve come to realize that for me it isn’t about becoming crankier, but rather about knowing exactly where the line is for what Iwill put up with and what Idon’t have time for.

This election ha...

Gronk Knows Football and Finance

My inbox is no stranger to vague requests for my services.

When an email arrived asking if I was available to socially cover a video shoot with a well known New England professional football player to be named later, I didn’t think twice about it.

Attending events to create and share content is something I get hired to do. Freelance writing and photography is also in my wheelhouse. While I knew more details were coming, I checked my calendar and replied with a simple “lets make it happen.”

Tu...

Think Before You Scream

For all the good that social media has brought to our tables, there is no question that it has also served us seven days in the sun bowls of potato salad as well.

Scroll through your network of choice on any day and you’ll find a stew of anger, hate and outrage.

This morning I tweeted:

As we start a new week, try to remember that you don’t need to be outraged by everything that you don’t agree with.

You can be annoyed with, upset at and disgusted by things without having to throw your own ju...

THE Shot

Every photographer knows the feeling.

The slice of a moment when the light is perfect. Shadows dance on your subject as if you painted them on yourself.

You point, press the button and hear the familiar sound of your shutter.

You don’t even need to look. You know you got it.

THE shot is not always the best one. It isn’t always the one people will rave over. Many times there are things about it that make it less than great.

In your heart and mind something clicks. It feels good. You feel a sen...