A Colorful Tribe, Just Be-Cos (At Florida's Comic-Con)

Some tribes are hard to spot, but we know they exist.  People with similar interests have greater opportunities to find each other today than ever before... if you know where to look.  Other tribes are very visible when they come together and are quite easy to spot.  There's a large gathering of one massive tribe of comic and pop-culture fans going on right now in San Diego at Comic-con. 

Con-Men (and women... and children...)

 If you've ever attended a "con" before, you have probably witnessed a very colorful sub-tribe of attendees, dressed as their favorite characters, competing and collaborating in "cosplay" (short for "Costume Play.")  Where else can you go to see people of all ages dressed in elaborate costumes to rival the best of Halloween and Hollywood?  From toddlers to grandparents, a good con gives everyone the chance to release their inner superheros in a very public way.  As an attendee in "civvies," it is a blast to witness this tribe in action and see such a motley cast of characters so comfortable dressed so colorfully.

A Super Time at Supercon

I was recently invited to speak at Florida Supercon, which, while smaller than the San Diego uber Con, still attracts an awesome local crowd as well as many comic and film world celebrities (including Alex Kingston of Dr. Who and ER fame, cast members from The Hunger Games, and many more).  At Supercon I interviewed my former employer, Troma's Lloyd Kaufman, and I gave a workshop presentation based on a book I am working on called "Everything I Know About Business I Learned From The Toxic Avenger."

Why Finding Your Tribe Rocks

While I enjoyed catching up with Lloyd and giving my own schpiel, the most fun I had at Supercon was watching the cosplay tribe in action, and seeing so many people, young and old, embrace their fandom so fully.  It really demonstrates the best aspects of finding your tribe.  Once you do, you have the comfort of being part of a true community and the satisfaction of fitting in and belonging, no matter who you are or what you may look like.  At a comic con there are no geeks, freaks, whackos or weirdos...  there are only fans!  It was fun to be one for the day.

Have you ever dabbled in cosplay?  If you need some inspiration, here is a video of some pictures I took at Florida Supercon .  Enjoy.

CHEAP VIDEO BULLETIN: THE TROMA SYSTEM (A Blast From My Illustrious Past)

via cheapvideobulletin.blogspot.com

I admit it. Just like you, I have a Google Alert Vanity Search set up to dig through the Interwebs to find mentions of my name. Usually it finds the obvious mentions such as a blog post I have written or a "Tweet" that finds its way into the Google Index. Every once in a while, however, the Google Gods deliver a gem that makes me smile and brings back memories. Like this one...

IT'S AN INFOMERCIAL! IT'S A COMEDY SHOW! IT'S THE TROMA SYSTEM!

A recent Google Alert brought me a link to the CHEAP VIDEO BULLETIN blog, and a (quite favorable) review of THE TROMA SYSTEM, an infomercial spoof that I co-wrote and co-directed many, many moons ago, when I was a card carrying member of the Troma Team.

Originally broadcast late, late, late night on Comedy Central, THE TROMA SYSTEM is a ridiculous spoof of infomercials, and an actual infomercial (for a package of Troma Goodies) at the same time. Despite its inherent (and appealing) silliness, we pulled out all stops and leveraged the many fine relationships of Troma founders Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz to get "cameos" from a motley mix of media celebrities including Spiderman Creator Stan Lee, "ROCKY" Director John Avildsen, and NY Talk Show legend Joe Franklin, not to mention The Toxic Avenger himself and a bevy of bikini clad beauties... (hey, it was TROMA!) Those were the days...

So to Google Alerts I say, "Thanks for the memories!"

What is the most surprising thing you have found in a Google Vanity Search???

Posted via web from Kiss My SASS!

Do The HARD Stuff First! (or, What Are You Going To Blow Up Today?)

Here's some good advice: Do the hard stuff first. Every day.

Hate exercising? Do it in the morning, first thing. Nervous about calling a big account to see if they will re-order? Make them the FIRST call of the day. Have a relationship issue that's been on your mind? Don't sneak out the door with a quick good-bye... Stop, look him or her in the eye and discuss it NOW.

"Procrastination is nothing more than fear of the hard stuff."

Procrastination is nothing more than fear of the hard stuff. Conquer that fear and you WILL get things done. Conquer that fear and you will feel productive, every day, because every day you tackle the hard stuff first is a day you accomplish something important.

Easier said than done!

Doing the hard stuff first IS the hard stuff! I am guilty of being a master procrastinator. But I am trying hard to mend my evil ways, and with some inspiration from reading Tim Ferris' 4-Hour Workweek, I am working hard to pick at least one HARD thing to tackle every day.

Of course, I should have learned this lesson a long time ago. One of the best examples of doing the hard stuff first came when I was making movies, in the late 80's. I actually worked for Troma, the masters of low budget filmmaking. Although we operated on shoe-string budgets (eventually upgrading to Velcro budgets) and we didn't take ourselves (or our films) too seriously, we DID take the business of filmmaking seriously, and I learned many great lessons from Troma founders Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz.

When we made a movie, we always tried to schedule the hard stuff first. On a Troma set, it wasn't uncommon to schedule a complicated stunt or to blow something up on the first day of filming. By tackling something really hard on Day 1 we were ensured to establish a quick bond amongst the cast and crew and create a level of focus and teamwork that set the tone for the rest of the shoot. If we could do THAT (stunt, explosion, etc.) then WE could do anything, and we were ready, willing and able to face the challenges ahead. Bring it on!

So what are you going to blow up today? Go ahead, do the hard stuff first, and let me know how it goes in the comments below. How do YOU conquer the fear of the hard stuff???


Photo: A stunt AND an explosion from TROMA'S WAR (1988).