As I get ready to ramp up for the second season of “Reality Check with Craig Price” I wanted to spotlight a cause that is very close to one of my past guests, Thom Singer.

The 5th Annual Kate Singer Endowment Fundraiser

Thank you for participating in this fundraiser! Small amounts add up, and any amount you give will assist the research for children born with cranio-facial abnormalities. This is the 5th annual fundraiser our family has hosted, and we appreciate your support!!!

Kate is turning ten-years-old and we are celebrating with a fundraiser for Dell Children’s Medical Center. Kate was born with Sagital Synostosis, a condition that caused the bones in her head to fuse together. To correct this situation she underwent surgery to reconstruct her skull. We were fortunate, today Kate is fabulous. She is smart, funny, enjoys school, and brings a smile to all who know her. When she was born there was not a state-of-the-art medical facility for children in Austin, Texas. She was treated by wonderful doctors at Children’s Hospital of San Diego. Since that time a new hospital has opened in Central Texas, and for the past five years we have supported the research efforts of these local doctors with the “Kate Singer Endowment for Cranio-Facial Surgery and Research” (In 2010 we began donating to a similar fund in San Diego). We donate part of the fees Thom earns as a professional speaker, and each year on Kate’s birthday we host this fundraiser. Please join us by making a donation of any size. Thank you, Thom, Sara, Jackie and Kate Singer

Listen to Thom talk publishing but more importantly, donate to this worthy cause.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWkOL_-q8EQ

Judson Laipply stops by to not only discuss his internet video sensation “The Evolution of Dance”, but also talks about the Evolution of Judson as a speaker. Craig tries to figure out how he can become as wildly popular as Judson as well as learning what it’s like to meet Oprah, go on the Today show and dance with Daniel Tosh.

You can learn all about Judson and his great programs at http://www.mightaswelldance.com and if you’re one of the 7 people who haven’t seen it yet, here’s the YouTube video that launched him:

Here they are in all their glory:

Click for the larger version!

Here are my winners:

BEST PICTURE

The King’s Speech

A See-Saw Films and Bedlam Production Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Colin Firth

The King’s Speech A See-Saw Films and Bedlam Production

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Christian Bale

The Fighter A Relativity Media Production

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Natalie Portman

Black Swan A Protozoa and Phoenix Pictures Production

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Melissa Leo

The Fighter A Relativity Media Production

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Toy Story 3

A Pixar Production Lee Unkrich

ART DIRECTION

Inception

A Warner Bros. UK Services Production Guy Hendrix Dyas (Production Design); Larry Dias and Doug Mowat (Set Decoration)

CINEMATOGRAPHY

The Social Network

A Columbia Pictures Production Jeff Cronenweth

COSTUME DESIGN

Alice in Wonderland

A Walt Disney Pictures Production Colleen Atwood

DIRECTING

The Social Network

A Columbia Pictures Production David Fincher

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Exit through the Gift Shop

A Paranoid Pictures Production Banksy and Jaimie D’Cruz

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

Poster Girl

A Portrayal Films Production Sara Nesson and Mitchell W. Block

FILM EDITING

The Fighter

A Relativity Media Production Pamela Martin

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Biutiful

A Menage Atroz, Mod Producciones and Ikiru Films Production Mexico

MAKEUP

The Wolfman

A Universal Pictures Production Rick Baker and Dave Elsey

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)

Inception

A Warner Bros. UK Services Production Hans Zimmer

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

127 Hours

An Hours Production “If I Rise”
Music by A.R. Rahman; Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)

The Lost Thing

A Passion Pictures Australia Production
Nick Batzias for Madman Entertainment Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)

The Confession

A National Film and Television School Production Tanel Toom

SOUND EDITING

Inception

A Warner Bros. UK Services Production Richard King

SOUND MIXING

Inception

A Warner Bros. UK Services Production Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick

VISUAL EFFECTS

Inception

A Warner Bros. UK Services Production Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)

The Social Network

A Columbia Pictures Production Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)

The Fighter

A Relativity Media Production Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson. Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson

Check back on Monday and we’ll see how badly I did.

If you’ve read my blog for the past few years you know I have two major worries:  The Media being too stupid to do their jobs and monkeys overthrowing us a la Planet of the Apes.

Thanks to the Today Show, the two have converged thanks to President Obama’s visit to India.

You know they only filmed this segment for the punchline.

Well the first book signing has come and gone. It was quite a learning experience. Here’s a quick rundown.

When I first arrived, I was met by Claire the event coordinator. What a sweet, sweet lady! She was all about making the author (in this case, me!) as comfortable as possible. After showing me my area (front and center, right next to Justin Beiber!) she headed toward the Starbucks and bought me a hot chocolate. You need something to take the edge off and it was in the low 40s!

I handed her a stack of my bookmarks that my lovely wife designed for free takeaways and headed to my table.

She had 20 books displayed nicely. I asked her how many of a typical unknown author’s first book would sell. She said 1 to 4. I looked at the books and thought of all the friends and family I had coming and said flatly “Oh… we’ll be through these easily!’ She smiled (in that polite “sure you will” kind of way) and said “That would be great!”

Now I hate selling. Especially in a carnival barker, “come over here and look at this product” kind of way. But yet here I was, between Jon Stewart’s EARTH and Justin Beiber’s life story (How many pages could that be? He’s 16!”). My technique to getting “permission to sell” was to greet people as nicely as possible (for a negative person, I can be quite charming!) and ask them “Hello, are you browsing today or looking for something in particular?” If they said browsing, I’d just point to the book and say, “You can start here with my new book!” Cheezy, yes. Effective, somewhat!

I was surprised at how readily some of these browsers were. I had several strangers pick up the book and a few of them even bought copies. Friends and family I hadn’t seen in 20 years came! It was very heartwarming and humbling as I often forget how supportive and awesome my family and friend are.  

By the end of the 2 hours, my prediction came to pass. I sold every copy!

I really enjoyed my time at Barnes and Noble. Their staff was super friendly to me and very supportive! If I hadn’t have sold one book it would have been worth it just for the experience. Thankfully, I did sell some and when I got home I saw this review from one of the nice browsers who I met that day:

“A delightfully humorous journey that began with the dedication!! Craig has a gifted way of lightening up the path of life together on this planet in such a humorous way while equally expressing valid points about perception. I would say, it could (not should) help people find their way back to the center and truly realize ‘we might not have it all together, but together we have it all’. A must for anyone battling with the ego and it’s ideas!!! (lol) If this writing portrays the type of personality he has and logic he uses, he’s the type of person I would be delighted to know and absolutely want to chum around with. I’m going to go back and purchase several copies to give away and I haven’t even finished the book. This review is coming from a ‘new ager’ who witnessed balanced view points and encouraged me to not only laugh with the book but at myself as well. Way to go Craig. Alex from Manchester, NH”

Have you read my new book “Half a Glass: The Realist’s Guide” yet? If so, head over to Amazon.com and write a review!

BusyWomansGuidecom wrote one:

Looking for something beyond a positive attitude to set you on the right path? Half a Glass is a kick in the pants, a dose of reality, and a good laugh – all at the same time. Craig Price’s insight on using “negative” thinking to plan well and success are dead on and very useful. The design of the book is cool and very readable.

Thanks BusyWomansGuidecom!

Once again Stephen Colbert embraces negative thinking, knowing that one day his TV show could be over and he’ll have to find work. This time he takes on being a migrant worker!

Enjoy

And the final chapter of Stephen’s journey to be an astronaut:

Here is part 2 of Stepen Colbert’s recent visit to Houston’s Johnson Space Center to train…just in case.