Change The World In Your Lifetime

by cameron | Aug 1, 2006 | Uncategorized

If you listen to G’Day World or The Father Bob Show, you know that my messianic complex sometimes runs at full tilt. In a range of conversations I’ve had with people over the last couple of weeks, I keep returning to the same point – we (and by "we" I mean anyone with the time and equipment to read this post) are unbelievably fortunate.

According to Wikipedia:

The most widely accepted view among current anthropologists is that Homo sapiens originated in the African savanna between 200,000 and 250,000 years ago, descending from Homo erectus, and colonized Eurasia and Oceania by 40,000 years ago, and finally colonized the Americas by 10,000 years ago.

So let’s say in 250,000 years there have been 8500 generations of Homo Sapien walk this world. We are without doubt the most fortunate by a HUGE factor. We have everything that previous generations would have literally died for. We have shelter, food, comfort in abundance. And we take them for granted. These things were inconceivable luxuries to 99.999% of the people who preceded us and yet we take them for granted. We spend our free time thinking about Big Brother and the football and who won the Oscars. Sometimes I think we do not deserve our place in history.

And so I ask myself on a daily basis… "What am I doing with this privilege? What am I doing to justify my place in history? What will be the legacy of my time here? A pot of gold in a superannuation fund? Or am I building a better world for my kids and their kids?"

Podcasting, for me, isn’t just a business. It’s the manifestation of my mission do make the world a better place in some tiny way.

If you haven’t already heard it, I highly recommend Larry Brilliant’s TED talk.

Larry Brilliant is an epidemiologist who presided over the last case of Smallpox on the planet. He also founded the Seva Foundation, which works to reverse cases of blindness, and co-founded several technology start-ups, including the legendary online community, The Well. He was recently named Executive Director of the Google Foundation.

In this talk, he explains in fascinating detail the key behind the successful WHO campaign to eradicate Smallpox, and then unveils his TEDPrize wish: to build a global system that detects each new disease or disaster as it emerges or occurs.

It’s this last bit that gets me – Larry has a vision for an open, community driven system for the early detection and elimination of viruses and diseases to prevent a future global pandemic. Larry has already changed the world in his lifetime and is trying to change the world in his lifetime – again.

What can I do? What can you do? We are just mere mortals. I’m not a Larry Brilliant or a Bill Gates or a Bono. I’m just a guy who wants to do SOMETHING. Something to justify the oxygen I consume. Something to justify the legacy of 250,000 years of human struggle which I have inherited. Something to make the world a safer and better place for future generations. Something which will contribute to the 5 billion years of evolution this planet has already experienced. Something that MATTERS. That’s all I want.

Kevin Smith on the economics of making movies (and having a small dick)

by cameron | Jul 30, 2006 | Uncategorized

I love Kevin Smith. The guys makes me laugh. Most of his films, especially the early ones, do too. It made me happy to hear TPN’s Hobo Radio boys giving Clerks 2 a big high five on their latest episode. And this blog post from the big guy, where he bitch-slaps a film critic called Nikki Finke, made me laugh out loud. This guy should be an example to teachers everywhere. Note how we combines education with humour in the following paragraphs:

Film may be one of the only industries where long-term revenue is marginalized (by the press) in favor of short-term earnings. Weekend grosses are hardly a bellwether of a film’s ultimate success (as far as financials are concerned, at least). A ten million opening weekend for “Clerks II” may not make for sexy headlines, but it puts us on target to hit our profitability mark of twenty million. How many films this summer (shit, in any quarter of the fiscal year) have doubled their budget in their opening weekend? How many will hit their profitability mark theatrically, to the point where home video (wherein the real filthy lucre lies) is all gravy? No matter how many times Nikki cries “failure”, the cold hard truth of the matter is that “Clerks II” will earn. Maybe not big (theatrically), but we’ll earn. Numbers never lie. How hard is it to comprehend a business model that’s outside the norm? For many, not very. For Nikki? It’s old dogs and new tricks (and, in truth, this low budget “trick” isn’t even all that new).

Let me put it another way: I was not gifted with a big dick and I grew up fat (and grew to be even fatter). Because of these shortcomings, I learned to eat pussy really well. That way, ultimately, I can provide a satisfying enough sexual experience where whatever chick was feeling charitable enough to get horizontal with me might reason “He did make me cum once, so I’ll give him another shot,” somewhere down the road. I took that logic into filmmaking, too: my stuff isn’t wildly popular in the mainstream, but if I make up for the lack of audience by spending less, ultimately, I can turn someone a profit. Harvey and Bob Weinstein have always respected this, which is why I still have a job after twelve years and no theatrical grosser over $30mil. In essence, Harvey and Bob have only financed five of the seven flicks I’ve made because… well, because I lick their pussies well enough, I guess.

Now, if all teachers could emulate Kevin’s approach to teaching with humour, I think school would be a lot more fun for everyone involved, don’t you?

All G’Day World spots sold

by cameron | Jul 29, 2006 | Uncategorized

The first of our Ebay auctions went better than expected. I really thought this would take at least a few months to really get rolling, but we sold all three available spots on G’Day World. The PSP Show sold one of three. It should really have done better than G’Day World because it has a specific target audience – people who play the PSP. Anyone writing games or applications for the PSP should be advertising on it. Whereas G’Day World’s audience is best described as people who DON’T think I’m an idiot – which is a small and eclectic bunch of people. Anyway – some further education required. The rest of this first batch of auctions have some bids as well but we still have some spots without bids.

I’m kicking myself for not starting these auctions ages ago. Like I’m also kicking myself for not moving to the US a year ago. My 2WebCrew mate Nik Cubrilovic, The Boy From Gong, is kicking ass and taking names over there for his start-up Omnidrive and detailed in this story in the Sydney Morning Herald. Anyone in the US with a spare couch I can sleep on for a couple of months? I don’t eat much. All I need is broadband.