I am so proud of my son.

Ever since he was born on Leap Day in 2000 (2/29/2000), he has always been a sweet, caring boy.  But, this goes above and beyond.

Let me explain.

His 10th Birthday is coming up this week — and we’re throwing him a fun party at our house.  We’re inviting all of his classmates, the neighbor kids, family friends and more.  (Yeah, that’s a LOT of kids in our house.  Yikes!)

Instead of gifts, he’s asking for donations to benefit charity.

Yep.  A 10 year old wants to forgo receiving any fun toys (like his favorite video games, MP3’s, electronic gadgets) and asks, instead, that his friends bring a donation for charity.

Can you believe that?

He honestly wants people to bring donations for charity, and not get any gifts, so the charity gets it all.

Again, I say:  I’m so proud of my son.

And get this — Evan has done this before.

In fact, this will be his second year in a row collecting donations instead of gifts for his birthday.  Last year, at his 9th birthday party, he asked for donations to benefit the local food bank.  In our economy here in Michigan, these charities are really hurt, and they really appreciated his help.  (I think he raised a little over $300 and a ton of groceries.)  He’s hoping to really grow the donations this time.

This year, the local food bank will, once again, be the primary focus of his donations.  However, he wanted to add another charity for this year’s “birthday benefit party”:  The Haiti Earthquake Victims.

A few weeks ago, after seeing the news coverage of the earthquake victims in Haiti, he immediately told me, “Dad, for my birthday party this year, I want to also get donations for the Haiti Earthquake Victims.”

So, Evan’s 10th Birthday will benefit two charities.  The local food bank and the Haiti Earthquake Victims.

Everyone who’s coming to the party will be bringing a donation.  Food or cash for the local food bank (the “Northville Civic Concern”) or a monetary donation for the “Save the Children” organization, where all donations will be earmarked for Haiti Relief.

And, for our out-of-state friends, we’d like to ask that you consider making a donation in his name.  It would really make him feel extra proud of what he’s doing to know that you have helped him in this endeavor.  (If you do, please be sure to email me, or make a comment below so he can see all that good that has come of this!)

Happy Birthday Evan!

I gotta say, before watching this video, I was quite uninformed of how the real world works. This is a long video, but, if you have 48 minutes, and a cup of coffee (or two), watch this video and inform yourself. (Thanks to Tim Storm for posting this to his blog – otherwise, I may have never encountered it.)

My good friend and colleague, Jim Kukral just launched his well-earned new biz:  http://www.thebizwebcoach.com/

Jim Kukral has been building his brand for years in the internet marketing space.  He’s been a pioneer in Affiliate Marketing and Social Marketing and is an impressive speaker.

Jim is genuine and wants to help businesses — people.  He’s a great person, and I’m supporting him.  You should too.  (And, if you are a business that could use access to an impressive Business Web-Coach, then, Jim Kukral is your man.  For $47 / month, how can you go wrong?)

About the launch.

I am impressed with Jim’s launch strategy.  He used Social Media to PRE-ANNOUNCE his launch, and then on the very day of launch, he (and everyone who knew from the pre-launch) announced on Twitter (etc.) to watch Jim LIVE on his webcam and have a discussion.  Over 150 people (that I saw) were watching Jim Kukral live, and discussing his new biz.

This is a screen capture of Jim on a LIVE broadcast and live chatroom of his followers and friends where he’s announcing his new business of offering business web coaching, his new branding of Jim Kukral, new book that invites us all to participate — and everyone here was discussing it.

It was great — every person in the chat room who had a question or a comment, Jim acknowledged them LIVE and in public, on the air.  Very cool.

Congratulations Jim.

I will definately join.

Okay, so this has NOTHING to do with internet marketing.  But I had to share this.

Well, in a way, I guess this has “something” to do with internet marketing.

In this video, she is showing how “in the know” she is, and how “connected” she is with her fans.  This may be considered a little glimpse into the real, personal life of this famous and gorgeous actress.

I love Jessica Alba.

I shall encapsulate the video below in a single word:  “Wow”

Jessica Alba Staring Contest – Watch more free videos

This may expose a little too much of myself — my extremely goofy self.

I have a new-found addiction to a funny show called “Robot Chicken”.  (Apparently, it’s not a show that many women find as funny as I do.  I sat next to my good friend Connie Berg on a plane ride to San Diego for the Share A Sale “Think Tank”, and was cracking up as I watched a couple episodes on my iPhone.  She was not amused.  Sorry, Connie.)

In the video below, I simply setup my webcam on my MAC to focus on the plasma TV in my family room, and used iMovie to clip and re-order the funny few things that I saw on the first episode of Robot Chicken that I had ever seen.  (This was the origin of my love for this crazy show.)

Yes, all the captions are my creative — very creative — work, and all rights are reserved.

As I watched the bit with “the Bush sisters” with “the Corey’s”, I thought of my good friend Karyn — as she has some similar quirky party qualities of the “Bush sisters” as seen on this show.

Karyn, I dedicate this to you, my dear.

I have this friend.

Her name is Angie.

She probably doesn’t want you to know this….. But, she took the test for the “Dharma Initiative”, and it took her more than 29 seconds. She was very disappointed in her results. (“I’m such a loser”, she said to me.)

Yep, Angie. You’re right.

You associate with me! I feel for you. But, if you want some killer Affiliate Management, she may be somewhat decent.

http://70.32.117.22/site/index.php#/choose

This is a pretty top secret link. So, don’t go tellin’ everyone, eh?

Okay, I admit – it took me 2 listens to really appreciate this song.   Why?  Because the whole song develops over the… well..  song.  It’s okay to be slightly annoyed at the repetition at first.  I was.  Just let it run through — and then listen a second time.  Damn.

Oh yeah – thanks to Linda Woods, from PartnerCentric for sharing this with me on facebook.

Maybe I’m still adolescent at heart. Maybe this really is funny.

And yes, you may borrow my pen, Angie.

Probably the most unusual — and creative — names for a business I’ve ever encountered is the brainchild of my good friend (and BEYOND extremely talented internet marketer), Angie Seaman.

The name: Duckies For Hire

I have worked with “everyone” in Affiliate Marketing. There are seriously talented professionals in this industry, and I’m happy to know them and consider them friends (well, some… hehe…)

When I say Angie Seaman, at http://duckiesforhire.com is an amazing Affiliate Manager, it is a significant understatement. Her creativity, work ethic and expertise make her the most impressive Affiliate Manager imaginable. Scoop her up before I do.

Oh yeah – she even has a media division: http://duckiesmedia.com