C.C. Chapman's Blog, page 17

Lamb or Lion? I Do Not Know

Some days start with a bunch of little things that get in the way of getting off on the right foot.

Today was certainly one of those.

Nothing earth shattering. Nothing to worry about.

But, still as I try to find focus, be productive and get ready for the day ahead these little things pile up and get in the way of the brain doing what it is suppose to be doing.

I teach today and tomorrow and then Thursday I’m off to Austin for SXSW. The time there will be a mix of all that makes SXSW what it...

Savor or Binge?

To savor or to binge?

That is a question I face this weekend as the new season of House of Cards is now live on Netflix.

Last season I tried to savor it a bit. To let it breath and take my time with it.

I made Season 3 last a full week and then it was done.

I try to keep my consumption to no more than three episodes at a time and with everything else going on in my life that is usually very easy.

The kids tell me I’m crazy for even raising the question. They are the binge culture and hate wa...

Snapchat Stress

Watching people stress over how to use any new social network or tool gives me the giggles.

Snapchat of course is the latest one that is confusing so many.

“I just don’t know how I’m going to use it?”

“It is too confusing for me to figure out so I don’t see the point.”

“I can’t figure out how to use this for marketing.”

All real statements I’ve read, seen or watched over the past few weeks.

Remember when something new would come on the scene and people would simply play with it? Install it on...

What Was So Super About Yesterday?

Gloomy and gray is how we find ourselves this morning in the woods outside of Boston.

Nothing was “super” about yesterday. It was more of standard issueTuesday according to my sources.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are pumping out of my speakers. The new album isn’t as ‘up’ as the last one, but tons of artistic commentary which I’m glad to hear.

We need more artists in all mediums to step up and address the topics of the day. Apost in my head is brewing about how we might see more of this in the c...

The Power of Three Words

Your Work Matters.

Those were the three words that hit me right in the heart and soul.

It was a short email. It was a response to an equally quick email that I sent to someone never expecting a response.

I consume more than I create and that is problem.

It is a problem I’ve been trying to deal with and have been losing at.

Consuming a recent video, the person being interviewed talked about how too many people get fulfillment from clicking, sharing and commenting that it gets in the way of th...

Onegin

Last night Emily and I enjoyed opening night for The Boston Ballet’s season with a performance of Onegin.

We were invited as press and given two free tickets to attend the show.

Ballet is an art form that I never fully appreciated until we began to attend performances on a semi-regular basis. With every performance I see, my appreciation of it grows.

Onegin is based on Alexander Pushkin’s narrative poem telling the story of unrequited love in the high society of Russia.

First performed in A...

Eartheasy LifeStraw Go – Filtered Water On The Go

I’m much happier outdoors than I’ll ever be behind a desk. When I was asked if I’d be interested in reviewing the LifeStraw Go from Eartheasy, I instantly said yes.

From the moment I first heard of the original LifeStraw I was intrigued.

I’ve been backpacking and camping for years and know how important it is to filter your water. After my trip to Ghana in 2012, I had a new appreciation for the importance of clean drinking water when I traveled.

My family bought me a LifeStraw for Christmas...

Choosing Optimism

Every single day we are each given the option to choose the kind of day it is going to be.

I talked to a friend recently as she sat getting her latest dose of chemotherapy. As we chatted, it was obvious that she had chosen it to be a good day. She was smiling and talkative even as she sat fighting for her life.

Another day I talked to a buddy who had landed a new contract and hadspent a chunk of money on some cool new gear.Yet, as we talkedhe was complaining about politics and how angry certa...

Tools Do Whatever You Use Them For

Yesterday, someone complained in my direction on Twitter about Snapchat being another marketing tool that she didn’t want to have to deal with.

I laughed about it because this is the same argument people have used for every single app, site and tool that has been released online.

Today because of her I’m going to talk about hammers.

Most of us probably have at least one hammer in our house. I checked and we have three of them.

Over the years thosehammers have been used to break up ice, hang...

Five Favorite Apps For The Digital Dad

As a guest recently on Randi Zuckerberg’s SiriusXM Radio Show I was asked to provide five of my favorite apps as a “digital dad.”

My kids are teenagers and I don’t think there are apps I use specifically for parenting, so I took a bit of a different approach in the hope that the listeners would find at least one that they liked.

We live in a mixed phone family with both iPhones and Androids in the house so I wanted to only share apps that work on both.

TripIt

Travel is a big part of my life a...