The Parish Family Blog

Getting to Know Sigmund Freud, Dr. Josef Breuer and Friedrich Nietzsche

Another movie night for sure. Jenny Meadows was over, so we watched "When Nietzsche Wept."  I'm not sure how to explain the film without getting long-winded. Having been involved with Men's trainings and ShadowWork for years and, of course, More To Life, I found the movie intriguing and personally insightful.  I feel certain I'll be mulling over what I learned tonight - well into this new week. My kind of movie.

Most of all I enjoyed getting to know these influential men in history and the women who shaped their lives. Woman do make such an impact on us guys in many wonderful and mysterious ways. Be sure to watch the special features where they talk with the director and the actors about 'the making' of the movie. That really helped me understand how the film was put together and why.

Here is the Netflix summary:

In 19th-century Vienna, Dr. Josef Breuer (Ben Cross) and his protégé Sigmund Freud (Jamie Elman) employ a new method of "talk therapy" on a penniless, depressed philosopher named Friedrich Nietzsche (Armand Assante). Based on the award-winning novel by psychotherapist Irvin D. Yalom, the romantic drama explores the gripping stories behind these influential men, as well as the women who shaped their lives.

Jenny's add-on: The costumes and scenery are lush, and the acting is superb. There are so many lines that could have been said by Brad or Roy (co-founders of More To Life). Well worth sticking through the slow-ish start as you get to know the characters.

Movie: "He Was a Quiet Man"

We watched this  movie last night and all of us are touched with how thought-provoking it was. I'm still thinking about it and talking about it. You will not recognize Christian Slater. He plays a strange quiet man in a depressive office environment (from his eyes). You feel compelled to root for him because he was so down-trodden. You just wanted something for him - clearly the reluctant hero. I found myself connecting to his character, and the love affair that evolves is so touching. This movie is not an easy one to watch emotionally yet it will speak to you in ways that make it well worth the effort. The movie was selected by SXSW 2007 so that got my attention too.

Here is the Netflix description:

"Cubicle worker Bob (Christian Slater) is a resentful outsider who's started carrying a gun in case he gets up the courage to use it on some of his co-workers. But when one of those co-workers starts shooting, Bob guns him down and becomes an inadvertent hero. Bob's newfound popularity makes him uncomfortable, even as he grows closer to Vanessa (Elisha Cuthbert), who was badly wounded in the shooting. William H. Macy co-stars in this quirky drama."

New Batman Movie - "The Dark Knight" Trailer

Tonight Gregg Roberts and Sharon McDonald came over for a meal, wine and movie. We watched a few  previews on the AppleTV first as warm-up. I  noticed the new Batman movie trailer was featured, so we played it, and that thing about knocked our socks off.  WOW.  The 'look' and the sonic feel of the movie is awesome.  I hesitate to put a YouTube version up because it just doesn't do it justice after our experience in the theater room.  Well ...regardless, the movie looks like it's going to be an 'experience.'  You HAVE to check out the chopper that Batman rides! Oh my, is it something to mavel at! And I'm not even into bikes.

This movie will not release until July 2008, but the YouTube preview has more than three million plays! The movie has quite a cast of actors - Michael Caine, Morgan Feeman and my favorite actress these days, Maggie Gyllenhaal. (She's so cute.)

Enjoy.

Tom

Demonstrating the Ease of Creating A Video Podcast

This is a cross-post from my TomParish.com blog. I just thought you would want to see what all is going on with social media and social networking for small businesses. This is an 'off the cuff' demonstration video podcast I did with Andrea Leigh, who is helping Gigi Sage pull together a 'new' marketing strategy.

You know, you can talk and talk, but there is nothing as powerful as experiencing a real demo. So while sitting here in the studio I showed Andrea how easy it would be to do something like this with Gigi to capture Gigi's pearls of wisdom for women wanting to improve their relationships with men. Andrea has a vision for capture Gigi's gifts in this area on video. For less than 15 minutes we sat in front of the iMac here in the studio with iMovie and did this in one take, then automatically uploaded it to YouTube. It was so easy and we had fun. I love my job of helping people and businesses be successful on the Internet.

With just a bit more effort we could have posted to iTunes at the same time.  I'm seeing more and more opportunities for small-, medium- and enterprise-scale businesses to use video blogging tools like this.

Music by 5AlarmMusisc.com

Tom

I'm So Jazzed - My Panel at SXSW Lives

I submitted an idea for a panel to SXSW 2008 (coming up in March) and it was close but mine did not get picked. However, as life would have it, something changed and my panel idea is now officially accepted. The panel I'll moderate with the four folks I'm inviting to speak is called "Social Marketing Metrics -Where Are They?"

This is a great honor because SXSW Interactive has become so popular and respected in the computer industry that I work in. This will be my 4th year to attend. A few years ago I was asked to speak on the future of podcasting at SXSW and that really got me hooked on the conference. I met so many people and learned enough in those 5 days to keep myself excited all year long with what was possible on the web to help a business grow.

Here is SXSW's summary from their web page:

"The SXSW Interactive Festival features five days of exciting panel content and amazing parties. Attracting digital creatives as well as visionary technology entrepreneurs, the event celebrates the best minds and the brightest personalities of emerging technology. Whether you are a hard-core geek, a dedicated content creator, a new media entrepreneur, or just someone who likes being around an extremely creative community, SXSW Interactive is for you!" 

Movies This Weekend

Lily and I watched Rush Hour 3 - it was so-so. Entertaining though not very thought-provoking, but you could guess that yourself.

Last night I watched, by myself, The Heartbreak Kid with Ben Stiller and Edie Cantrow. Oh my, did I cry and laugh all the way through this movie as I could relate to so many of Ben's experiences! There were some parts of Ben's journey that hit real close to home for me in some of my recent experiences in dating. Afterwards I felt tender-hearted about them. This is the kind of movie I like to watch because I'm still thinking about it this morning.  I'm reminded that life is here to both enjoy and to learn from each day. I'm learning.

I'm looking forward to this week's events. Lots of great projects on the front burner. I'm moving forward on a number of fun, easy and quick web-video efforts. I'll be sharing some of those with you on this blog.

Drop me a line. I like hearing from the readers. Each week there are hundreds of visits, for which I'm thankful. But do stay in touch.

Best wishes to you
Tom

Friday Night ... at Home ...

Home with Lily and some of her classmates, watching a movie. Pretty silly stuff - "Mr Bean's Holiday".
As goofy as Mr. Bean's movies are, this comedy routine from Rowan Atkinson on drumming is quite brilliant. Not exactly a date night but at least it's a break from the week. Lots of laughing.

Focus on the New Year - Contemplation and Change

Lily and I are back from Michigan - geesch was it cold. Had a wonderful time, though.  We arrived home late Friday. The weekend has been a slow and contemplative one. We've both  been siting quietly and reading quite a bit. There has been some grocery shopping for the week.

On the spur of the moment Lily said, "Let's go out to see a movie," and suggested we see Charlie Wilson's War, so we did. The movie stars Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. I was curious why Tom Hanks would star in a rather politically oriented film. After seeing the movie I totally get it. It's one of those movies that had me thinking about it the next day.  Makes me think about how our past can shape our future if we don't stop to remember how all our actions affect others, often in ways we least expect it. This I'm sure is true for us personally as well as politically. Catch the movie - you'll see.

Here is the summary from Netflix:
"Texas congressman Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) sets a series of earth-shaking events in motion when he conspires with a rogue CIA operative (Philip Seymour Hoffman) to aid Afghan mujahedeen rebels in their fight against the Soviet Red Army. Julia Roberts, Emily Blunt and Amy Adams co-star in this fact-based political thriller directed by Mike Nichols and based on George Crile's 2003 book by the same name."

The other tasks Lily and I put our minds to was a vision for the house for 2008. Though we have many new plans, the one we discussed first was the inevitability of taking down all the Sharon Parish memorial pictures we've had hanging on the hallway and living room walls. It just feels like the time is right.  Yep ... I felt pangs of sadness, yet I also felt a sense of completeness and that it seemed the right thing to do now as we've come to the second year of her passing.

I'm not sure what  to do with them. I'm going to check with the close relatives and see which ones they might want.  If there are some left over I commit to making them available to whomever might be interested.

I'm keeping a couple of them, the ones you see hanging on the wall (for now). I'm mulling over where I want to put at least one of the two pictures of us standing in a field in Sedona, Ariz. That was a beautiful and deeply loving time we enjoyed together many many years ago now. 

This is just one of the many difficult tasks I'm sure all face who lose a loved one: Eventual placement of personal pictures and moving on in our lives.  I feel ready to make those choices now, and I am doing that with love and respect. 

With gratitude
Tom

I Want To Do a Podcast Interview with Safari Duo

Can you help? You folks in the UK that are readers of this blog - I know you're there ...

Really, I want to get them on my Talking Portraits show. It would mean the world to me. If you send me a note, I'll explain why. There are many who already know. Regardless - this is a little secret desire I've had for months and months. It hit me today to just put it out to the universe and let's see what happens. I'm hopeful.

This song in particular is one that I just enjoy every time I hear it or, even better, DANCE to it - all over the house. And yeah it brings out the drummer in me - the one that got started when Dad taught him to play at age 5. Give me my sticks!

Tom

Can Someone Find Me This Clock?

Goodness gracious, is this a conversation piece! Even my father-in-law, Fred Tischler, who is a reknowned clock aficionado, has not seen one before. Maybe it's not real (might be the  case ...).

Regardless - if you happen to know the source of this - write me! tom.parish AT gmail.com

Tom