Odds and Ends...

Can you believe this weather? We are teetering on the verge of hitting 100 degrees, and for this time of year, that is way too warm. What can you do except kick back and kick on the AC, and focus on the things you can control, like the thermostat. Can't fight the weather, it never listens.

I'd like to give a few shout outs to some nice bloggers I've met over these past few weeks. Jessica at All About Habits, for some very kind words and excellent feedback on my site, livelife365.com. Check out her blog; you'll be glad you did. Very informative, great diet and nutrition information. Speaking of diet and nutrition: Visit Iowa Avenue, when you get the chance. This is a tremendous site, dedicated to healthy living, diet and exercise, nutrition, you name it--all those great things that I advocate on livelife365.com. Thanks, Lisa! Another excellent site, a spin-off of Iowa Avenue, is Healthy Lifestyle Bloggers. As the name implies, this is the place to be for tips about weight loss, fitness, healthy recipes. All these sites are loaded with informative videos and supportive offerings and tips from the best health bloggers around. Check it out, you won't be disappointed. I have links for all of these sites right here on my blog and at livelife365.com.

I am starting a new feature on my website that will showcase guest videos from other performers that either asked me to put them on my site, or just videos that catch my eye. The first one is: "Fired Up, Ready to Go," by Bergevin Brothers. It already has thousands of hits on YouTube, and after listening to it you will quickly understand why. Not only is the topic--who else, but Barack Obama!--newsworthy and important, the tune is very good. Why, you may ask, would I want to share space with what could be perceived as competition for my own political music video, "Pick One"? Because this is not a competition, it is the opposite, in fact. This election has inspired hundreds of songs because people understand the importance of whom we elect as our next president, and the unprecedented candidacies of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. So,I offer this challenge: all you Clinton and McCain music makers drop me an email! Send me something that tickles my political funny bone or sets my toes a-tappin', and I will add it to my "guest video" feature. Until then, watch and listen to "Fired Up," and, of course, "Pick One."

Lastly, speaking of the music of this presidential primary season. Check out the informative article written by Nekesa Mumbi Moody, the music writer for the Associated Press.

Nekesa interviewed me while researching this article, that appeared in hundreds of online sites, like Yahoo News. Alas, she did not include me in the main article (I was edited out), but was kind enough to add a link to my site at the end. Thanks for the shout out, Nekesa! I appreciate it!

That's it for the first installment of Odds and Ends. If there are any topics that you would like me to write about or make a video about, please add a comment in this blog or use the Contact Us or Messages tabs at my website, livelife365.com.

peace,
Mike

"Pick One" Press Release

I am proud to share with you my recent press release for my music video, "Pick One." Read it here or visit Myprgenie.com (there you get photos). Enjoy!


We Must "Pick One"! Who? Hillary Obama! New Music Video Just Released


Release Date May 06, 2008


Disclaimer
If you have any questions regarding information in these press releases please contact the company listed in the press release. Please do not contact MyPRGenie Inc. We will be unable to assist you with your inquiry. MyPRGenie Inc. disclaims any content contained in these releases. Our complete disclaimer appears here.


-->CHICO, CA May 6, 2008
If you can't decide on a candidate in this year's presidential election, then vote for Hillary Obama. Who? Watch "Pick One (the music video)" and find out.

Mike Foster, creator of livelife365.com, has just released his latest studio recording, lampooning the too-close-to-call contest for the Democratic nomination between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. A spirited mix of Americana, Country, and County Rock, "Pick One" is a toe-tapping tune you'll be humming all day, while the lyrics have you nodding in agreement. Foster's suggested solution of Hillary Obama as the candidate, revealed at the end of the video, is not to be missed.Inspired by his interest in two exceptional and, in obvious ways, unprecedented candidacies, Mike "wanted to write a song that would not only entertain and make you laugh a little, but also call attention to this remarkable electoral season. I started playing around with the names and went from there." The enjoyment he finds in performing, especially singing and playing guitar, shines through in this well-produced music video that could well have America singing along with its bouncy melody and catchy lyrics.The production of a thought-provoking parody of the 2008 political scene is only one example of Foster's work found at livelife365.com, a video-driven website dedicated to healthy living, personal development, and entertainment. With a background as a writer and stage actor, and clearly possessing an eye and ear attuned to what is happening in the world, he shows considerable promise as a singer/songwriter and videographer. His efforts include an interesting collection of short films related to a wide variety of topics, ranging from nutritional and dietary advice to motivational and self-improvement tips, from humorous vignettes and observations to sober reflections on the sometimes painful lessons he's learned in life. You can even find information on sports, current events, and hobbies like book collecting. His major focus is on maintaining a careful balance between and within your physical, psychological, and spiritual dimensions.

Watch the "Pick One" video at:www.livelife365.com/ or www.youtube.com/livelife365
Listen to the MP3 at: www.soundclick.com/livelife365

Tags:elections, hillary, obama, clinton, barack, primaries, mccain, bush, presidential, music, music video, funny video, democratic elections, republican primaries, livelife365.com

Isn't it Ironic?

What is irony and why am I blogging about it? Here's one definition:

Irony is a literary or rhetorical device, in which there is an incongruity or discordance between what a speaker or a writer says; and what he or she means, or is generally understood.
In modern usage it can also refer to particularly striking examples of incongruities observed in everyday life between what was intended or said and what actually happened.

Let me give you the short version, or at least the version that applies to me and this blog entry. In case you haven't noticed, and there is a very good chance that you (and 99.9999% of the rest of the free world) haven't, I recently recorded, and posted on every video site imaginable, a humorous political song called "Pick One." It is a lampoon about the tug-o-war of a primary race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, with a little Bush and McCain tossed in for balance. While it has received positive reviews and the feedback has been very encouraging, the amount of hits on all of the aforementioned sites has not been what I had imagined. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's too long, or the music is not every one's taste. Or maybe it is just not the type of entertainment that is successful on a broad spectrum. This is, after all, a country that finds shows like "Dancing with the Stars" and "American Idol" entertaining, and amazingly popular. Now, I'm not dogging (too much) these types of shows, just stating that they are not my cup of (green) tea. And maybe "Pick One" is not theirs.

Now, I have far from given up on "Pick One," especially with the promise of a summer filled with this nip and tuck race between Hillary and Obama. And I am still promoting my video with gusto, but my creative spirit must go on. So I make more videos, write other songs, and post them every few days. One video I recently posted is the first of several I have planned for a funny "How-To" series, called: "How to...Get Slapped by a Woman." It is funny in a wow-look-at-that-guy-getting-smacked way. And it is blessedly short (0:16). It also took almost no time to create, and definitely cost next to nothing. Here comes the ironic part...it has gotten almost as much attention on Funny of Die (a comedy video-sharing website, for those of you unfamiliar. Check it out, by the way, it is fantastic!) as "Pick One" has on all those other sites. More ironic: the slap vid has only been available for your viewing and guffawing pleasure for a few days, while "Pick One" is crawling toward the end of its second week.

My point, and I do have one, is this: Isn't that ironic? Or just fickle? Or eye-opening? Or...(fill in the blank). "Pick One" took weeks to make, cost a few bucks for studio time and video editing, and the end result is a polished product. "Slap Mike" (I'm paraphrasing here, folks), by comparison was whipped up one Sunday afternoon, filmed, edited, and popped on my website by that same night. Ironic? More like: bizarre. Or funny.

The bottom line is my videos are being watched, which helps promote my website, which is why I create a wide variety of videos in the first place. My goals have not changed, they still remain: to share information with as many people as possible; to help others; to entertain. And the thing that I must remember is the viewing audience cares not a whit about the cost or time it takes to produce a video, only that it is something that they want to watch, enjoy, and, hopefully, share.

Think about it.

peace,

Mike

View "How To...Get Slapped by a Woman" at livelife365.com or at bottom of this page. Enjoy!