Cool Creation: Hulu

Ok, a confession here.  I'm a little embarrassed by it... It's about my wife.  OK, here goes... she's an addict.  Over the course of our marriage I've tried to help her with this compulsion for the black and white varieties, but to no avail.  Old Movies.  She can tell you who played in every Alfred Hitchcock Movie and who played with Carrie Grant in House Boat.  I just can't watch.  I'll last 10 minutes and I'm out.  It's like quick acting Mega-Melatonin straight to my brain, but she loves them.  While we try not to rot our brain's with too much TV, one of the coolest things we've found lately is the website "Hulu".  Now she can satisfy her addiction and I can search for something in COLOR!

Hulu has thousands of movies and TV shows online.  Totally legit and free!  Not just the obscure YouTube home movie type, but current and popular TV episodes and movies from Fox, NBC, Sony, MGM, etc.  You can watch by genre, alphabetical order, or do your own custom search.  A personal DVR at your fingertips.  Search and queue your favorites for your own (unlimited) personalized TV "network" or movie theater. Most TV episodes are added a day after airing.  The content is viewed online so there is no download wait time, depending on your internet connection. Signing up is free and allows you more flexibility on the site.  There is an upgraded subscription available, but I haven't found the need to do that.  We get all we want right now, and don't mind the few (short) commercials.  I love Netflix, but find the selection at Hulu unbeatable.  For the full effect, spend a few dollars to connect your laptop/PC to your TV(instructions at YouTube.com) and viola!  Huge selection, current movies, TV episodes, documentaries, trailers and even the vintage  black-and-whites... and it's FREE!  How cool is that?

Check them out at www.hulu.com.  

Rick & Dick Hoyt... Handicapped Son & Loving Father

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"If you have ever searched for the meaning of life, stop. The answer lies right here..."  

In a world of ever increasing responsibilities and pulling demands, it's easy for life's most important perspectives to become skewed. With the passing of each year those precious moments we are able to spend with our children tick by. They are numbered. Those of us parents working hard to make a living for our families often become trapped in the "busyness" of it all and forget to make a life.  Before it is too late and my children are raised and gone, I hope to figure out, like Dick Hoyt has done, how to fulfill this most important calling. Of all of the "cool" things in life, it is Dick's example of love and commitment that's near the top of the list.  

Here's a letter from Rick to his Dad just before Father's Day 2007.

What My Father Means to Me
My name is Richard E. Hoyt Jr., and I have cerebral palsy. I cannot speak or walk. To write this story, I’m using a computer with special software. When I move my head slightly, the cursor moves across an alphabet. When it gets to the letter I want, I press a switch at the side of my head.

I am half of Team Hoyt. We are a father-and-son team, and we compete in marathons and triathlons around the world. Our goal is to educate people about how the disabled can lead normal lives. We started racing in 1979. My high school was having a road race to raise money for a lacrosse player who was paralyzed in an accident. I wanted to show this athlete that life can go on, so I asked my dad if he would push me. My wheelchair was not built for racing, but Dad managed to push me the entire 5 miles. We came in next to last, but in the photos of us crossing the finish line, I was smiling from ear to ear!

When we got home, I used my computer to tell Dad, “When I’m running, I feel like my disability disappears!” So we joined a running club, had a special running chair built, and entered our first official race. Many of the athletes didn’t want us to participate, but the executive director of the event gave us permission. Soon we were running three races a weekend, and we even did our first double event–a 3-mile run and a half-mile swim. Dad held me by the back of the neck and did the sidestroke for the entire swim. We wanted to run in the Boston Marathon, but we were not allowed to enter because we had not done a qualifying run. So in late 1980, we competed in the Marine Corps Marathon, in Washington, D.C., finishing in 2 hours, 45 minutes. That qualified us for Boston!

A few years later, after a road race in Falmouth, Massachusetts, a man came up to my dad and said, “You are quite an athlete. You should consider a triathlon.” Dad said, “Sure, as long as I can do it with Rick.” The man just walked away. The next year, the same man said the same thing. Again, Dad said he’d do it, but only with me. This time the man said, “Okay, let’s figure out what special equipment you’ll need.”

So on Father’s Day in 1985, we competed in our first triathlon. It included a 10-mile run, during which Dad pushed me; a 1-mile swim, during which Dad pulled me in a life raft with a rope tied around his chest; and a 50-mile bike ride, during which he towed me in a cart behind him. We finished next to last, but we both loved it. Soon after, we did our first Ironman Triathlon. We’ve now competed in more than 950 races, including 25 Boston Marathons and six Ironmans. During every event, I feel like my disability has disappeared.

People often ask me, “What would you do if you were not disabled?” When I was first asked, I said I’d probably play baseball or hockey. But when I thought about it some more, I realized that I’d tell my father to sit down in my wheelchair so I could push him. If it weren’t for him, I’d probably be living in a home for people with disabilities. He is not just my arms and legs. He’s my inspiration, the person who allows me to live my life to the fullest and inspire others to do the same.

Happy Father’s Day, Dad. And thank you.

-Richard E. Hoyt Jr

Men’s Health Magazine - June 2007

Kim Williams - Cool Country Crooner...

It's a night I'll never forget. We sat cramped in a cabin at Redford's Sundance Resort. An early 1800's cabin lovingly resurrected and repurposed as the coolest music venue/restaurant/bar this side of the Bluebird Cafe. Six of us huddled around a table for two following the tug of all things singer/songwriter. Tonight, Nashville in the house... A menagerie of hit songwriters, in fact Lonestar's Richie McDonald discreetly tucked in a corner watching his buddies making magic on the stage. I watched and absorbed all I could... the writers, guitars, music, the skilled word-smithing and oh ya, I love to watch the crowd. Over the memorable melodies one guy walked in that caught my attention. He'd been severely burned. His hands, what I could see of his arms, his chest and entire face. He worked his way through the standing-room-only crowd and squeezed up against a wall to watch. I tried to watch the show, but kept being pulled back to him. What happened? You know, a million thoughts and feelings course through you when you see someone that's had such a challenge. He watched the show and seemed to hang on the writer's every perfectly penned word like we did. The song finished and one of them started a story. I remember it going something like this: "You know, in Nashville there are a lot of songwriters. Some get lucky and have one or two hit songs. Others, the truly talented ones, become legendary. There aren't many like that. But tonight, we are all blessed to have one here. This incredible writer has had hit songs recorded by Reba McEntire, Randy Travis, Willie Nelson, Kenny Chesney, George Jones, Brooks & Dunn, Conway Twitty, Diamond Rio, Rascal Flatts, Chris LeDoux and Joe Nichols to name a few. Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome to the stage Mr. Kim Williams." We all looked around for this flashy, "yes, yes, here I am, get out of my way I'm a mega-hit songwriter" kind of guy. Where was he? Just then I caught a glimpse of my guy against the wall. He was headed for the stage. Yup, you guessed it, the guy I had been watching with such curiosity was Mr. Kim Williams. He worked his way to the stage, hugged his buddies and with scarred fingers, grabbed a guitar. It was deathly quiet. He strummed a few bars and began to sing... "Papa loved Momma nearly all his life, you know it drove Momma crazy being a trucker's wife..." Seriously? A Garth Brooks number one? He finished playing. Standing ovation and not a dry eye in the house.

Kim is a huge inspiration to me and someone I someday hope to be friends with. I'm deeply moved by his story. He was severely burned in an industrial accident. Kim survived the fire and decided that he wasn't going to let his dream of being a songwriter get away before he died. Ten years and 200+ surgeries later he moved to Nashville and gradually learned the craft of songwriting. And learn it he did. To date Kim has had 16 #1 hits and 28 top 10's, selling over 154 million CD's, tapes and videos. In 1994, Kim won the ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year Award. He has won 24 ASCAP Awards in all and: one ACM, one CMA, one CCMA, one NSAI, and one Dove award. Kim is a Grammy award winner with his song "I'm Loving Life" by the Gaither Band.

I often think of Kim Williams when I'm tempted to whine about my challenges or abandon my dreams. Thank you Kim for the lessons. And oh ya, did I mention, with Garth Brooks he has had four #1 singles: "Papa Loved Mama," "It's Midnight Cinderella," "Ain't Goin' Down ('Til the Sun Comes Up)" and "She's Gonna Make It".   Now really... how freakin' cool is that?

Check out Kim's website here:  www.kimwilliamsmusic.com or on my Favorite Links below.

Seriously "Phunkdified" by Ben Lapps

Have you ever met someone and just know that there's something unique, even extraordinary about them? When we met Ben Lapps that's what it was for me. While I believe that we are all blessed with certain gifts, the ability to musically move a crowd is incredibly "cool" to me. Ben is one of those prodigies that you just don't see everyday. Any he's only 16! Unbelievable. Glad I had my camera! I'm sure you'll feel like we all did when he's done. We all looked at each other as if to say... "how freakin' cool is that...?!

Did She Say $5.00 Round Trip To Hawaii?

Now here's a cool family... Friends of ours, Dale & Michelle Bartlett have figured out how to travel the world with their family for next to nothing. They've been almost everywhere, and more than once. They've had so much fun for so little dough that the demand from their friends wanting to learn how to do it has spawned a successful business. They've written a book and now host seminars on how to travel to Tuscany (and all places between) on a pauper's pay. A beautiful family living their dreams from Hyrum to the Himalayas. Hey... maybe the lizard on a rock from the previous post is not so out of reach. How freakin' cool is that...?

Two Cool Things... Hawaii & A Free GoPro Camera

After what seems like the longest winter in recorded history, I'd love to sprawl out on a rock and bake like a lizard in Hawaii for a month or two. (Never been, dying to go!) Sunshine, surf and "SPF I'm in heaven"... If that's not cool enough, GoPro gives away one of EVERYTHING they make, EVERYDAY. You can enter at www.GoPro.com. I've had my eye on this amazing camera for a while. It mounts about anywhere and shoots the highest quality video I've seen. Waterproof, shockproof, sweet. Hawaii and a free GoPro camera. How freakin' cool would that be?

Follow Ruben...

"And blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth"... or in Ruben's case, build a fortune...

An Amazing World

I'm continuously amazed at the incredible wonders of this life.  Now days you need not look far to discover something truly "cool" someone has invented, done, written, accomplished, become, developed, produced, overcome, or created.  The proliferation of internet users now spreads those "cool" things across the globe like never before. This blog may be nothing more than my not-so-private wish list of those things I've bumped into that I personally find to be "cool"... (a bucket list of sorts) those things that inspire, cause me to stretch a little, make me laugh, cry, wonder, accomplish, or want... Those "cool" things may be products to make life better, guilty pleasures I hope to experience or amazing places I want to explore.  They may be accomplishments from people I'd like to be friends with, something I long for or want to learn or some outrageous gadget I wish I had.  I'll record this journey by simply sharing those things that I find here on this blog.  Hopefully some of those things that I find to be "cool", you will too.  So here goes... my personal journey into those things in life that stir my soul and stretch my imagination to figure out how to "go get that"... those amazing things that make you stop and say... "how freakin' cool is that".