FILM REVIEW: The Happy Film – International Premiere HotDocs 2016 (in progress)

Last updated: TUES May 10 2016 9:20 PM

By Glenda MacDonald


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****REVIEW IN PROGRESS**** I found this film so fascinating that I’m doing additional research to provide useful external links. This is an enhanced-content review which I’ll expand as I ponder the ideas which were presented. You can watch me write it, and I’ll tweet the link when done! I’m giving The Happy Film a ‘full bouquet” rating.

(USA) International Premiere (92 minutes)

The Happy Film at Hot Docs 2016

Co-Directors Stefan Sagmeister and Ben Nabors address questions from the audience at #TheHappyFilm Canadian premiere.  Emceed by Gabor Pertic of #HotDocs2016

FILM FESTIVAL: Hot Docs Film Festival, Toronto ON. North America’s largest documentary festival, conference, and market. April 28 to May 8 2016.  #HotDocs16
GM Note: I attended Monday May 2 10 AM showing at TIFF Bell Lightbox

SYNOPSIS: The Happy Film. Art project meets self-improvement quest as graphic designer guru Stefan Sagmeister drives to shape himself into a happier, more fulfilled person through a dedicated mix of meditation, therapy, and drugs.( Festival program.)

Co-Directors of The Happy Film at #HotDocs2016 Premiere Toronto Stefan Sagmeister and Ben Nabors

Meeting Co-Directors of The Happy Film at #HotDocs2016 Premiere Toronto:  Stefan Sagmeister and Ben Nabors for further happy chats.

CO-DIRECTORS: I met with Co-directors Stefan Sagmeister and Ben Nabors after the film. Third former co-director was Hillman Curtis.

Imagine yourself on a motorcycle on an open road. Your MP3 player is streaming your favourite music as you meander, relaxed, without specific intent or purpose through towns and beautiful countryside. In such a moment Stefan Sagmeister was able to ‘manufacture’ a high degree of happiness.

This is the story of a road trip for the mind and the metrics of happiness. The first stop along the way explores meditation. The second leg of the journey is a deep-dive into therapy. And finally there is (in Stefan’s case) a hallucinogenic trip as well as formal medical intervention with a commonly prescribed antidepressant used to treat depression and anxiety.

…more thoughts to follow…

 

What Happened to Spring…?!

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Last updated: April 23 2016 1:47 PM Toronto ON Canada
By: Glenda MacDonald

March 21 2016

Featured photo: Second Day of Spring

Tues. Morning 2nd Day of Spring

Tuesday morning Second Day of Spring

The 24/7 Startup

I was working late (til 2 AM) this morning. Hence my late start to today’s blog.  Burning-the-midnight-oil is common for startups, especially those of us who work in social media where time-zones are fairly irrelevant. If I’m up Saturday morning before CBC Radio One comes on with one of my favourite shows Fresh Air, I listen to radio shows from Australia, Ireland, England, or Germany.. whatever show CBC is streaming before their own shows start. On Saturday I said good morning to Mary Ito, the host of Fresh Air , on their Facebook page when I went to check out their three-hour show lineup. Mary replied “You’re up early”. I replied that as a startup it’s “early to bed, early to rise…” and that she’s  making me wise while I work away on the wealthy part…

Spring Has Sprung Right off the Springboard! It’s Winter Again

My supreme joy yesterday for the first day of Spring, the annual day of happiness, and my excitement about the nearing completion of my new upper deck, has had a chilling reality check today. 30% chance of snow flurries! The deck builder will be finished today but it will be too cold to start moving my furniture back out there and it looks like quite a while before my “outdoor office” will be welcoming me. I stepped out into the back yard about 7 a.m. to take the photo above and it was very very cold out.

Photography

The photography on this site is my own unless otherwise stated. The above photo is of morning sky from my back yard. You can see the streetlight is still on in the laneway. To view more of my photography visit me on Instagram:

Instagram

Email Success Summit March 14 to 23 2016 by Small Today

There are over 35 of the world’s top experts in email marketing presenting at this virtual summit presented by Small Today an organization which focuses on the needs of small and medium-sized businesses including solopreneurs and startups. You may notice that  I don’t have a newsletter set up yet.. it’s now on my to do list! I’m watching and reviewing all the interviews Founder Liam Austin conducted with the experts and tweeting my best take-aways of email marketing tips from the experts. See my separate blog post for the event ). You can use my affiliate link to register for a free pass to watch the live (prerecorded) interviews for today and Tuesday as well as the new ones and Liam’s wrap-up on Wednesday. I have an All Access Pass which entitles me to view the interviews forever as well as some bonus materials in an online course format, at my own pace. I am also part of a private Facebook group chatting with other All Access Pass holders as we deep-dive through the materials and share how we can implement the tools and ideas as small businesses. Time for me to get back to work doing the reviews! I am continuing to review the interviews form Day 2. I will also keep an eye on the @smalltoday Twitter feed today though I won’t be watching the current sessions live as I want to do them chronologically and I am on last week still.

Glenda

Email Success Summit March 14 to 23 2016 (Now an Online Course)

ESS_MediumRectangleBannerLast updated: TUES March 29 2016 7:47 PM Toronto ON Canada
By: Glenda MacDonald, MBA, Freelance Writer, Social Media Strategist and Marketing Professional

Event Name: Email Success Summit Virtual Educational Event
Dates: March 14 to 23 2016 (Live portion completed; virtual course now open 24/7 with optional All Access Pass)
My hashtag: #ESS
My Affiliation: I’m an affiliate of Small Today for the Email Success Summit and the previous LinkedIn Success Summit. The opinions stated here are my own. Many people attended portions of the event for free. Those who chose/choose to upgrade to the All Access Pass using my affiliate link also assist me in defraying the costs of my time reviewing the event.
Location: online
Time Zone: EST 24/7
Price: purchase an All Access Lifetime pass (affiliate link above) or VIP Pass for fast-track
Registration through my Affiliate Link: Register for a Lifetime All Access Lifetime Pass including participation in a Private Facebook Group.
Event Presenter: Small Today
Host:
Liam Austin, Founder, of Small Today. Summit Host and Interviewer.
Speakers:  35+ international email marketing experts (one-on-one prerecorded interviews were released daily). See the full agenda by clicking the registration link.

Overview

Over 35 of the world’s top experts in email marketing presented at this virtual summit presented by Small Today . Liam Austin is the Founder of Small Today, an organization which focuses on the needs of small and medium-sized businesses including solopreneurs and startups. (I’m both a solopreneur and a startup! ) Liam personally live-interviewed each of the amazing experts from around the world via Skype.The interviews were recorded and curated over the last couple of months in preparation for sharing with us through this Summit. The experts were so generous, sharing what they’ve learned, including mistakes they’ve made and hacks they’ve discovered to shorten our learning curve in applying ideas to our own businesses.

As I watch each interview from the comfort of my home office using my laptop, an external monitor, and my cushy headphones, I’m finding that this format creates a very intimate experience… as if you’re alone in a room with Liam and the presenter! Liam is engaging and professional. He has an excellent rapport with the experts which makes for lively unscripted interviews and unpredictable segues! I’m thoroughly enjoying watching and learning at my own pace and am glad I upgraded to the lifetime All Access Pass which includes participation in a private Facebook Group set up for the All Access Pass holders.  I pop in there often to meet virtually with other attendees where we are becoming friends and helping each other apply the concepts to our own businesses with the moderation of Liam and his equally delightful co-founder partner Sarah Thorslund.

I’m deep-diving into the content-rich interviews as I review them and take extensive notes and tweet my insights. This Summit is not only for those beginning to look at email marketing. Even though I have decades of experience as a marketing professional who is now a freelancer, I’m learning so much more. While I’m trained as a Social Media Manager I haven’t done more than edit and write newsletters for other organizations. Integrating social media with lead magnets and landing pages or pop-ups, and understanding the many options for service providers and apps can be a little mind boggling. And that’s not the half of it! We also get into the psychology of the copywriting and graphic design! Some lectures I sail through quickly based on my experience. Others I keep having to pause.

Liam curated the interviews in a specific order with a different theme for each day so I feel compelled to watch them chronologically. I’m currently reviewing Day Two Speaker Three. I’m tweeting what I think are the most important points from each interview.  Click my attiliate link here to register for a Lifetime All Access Pass.

My Twitter Reviews

The interviews are intensive, content-rich and often fast-paced. It’s challenging and exhausting to watch and absorb them all live continuously. So I’m reviewing and transcribing each interview at my own pace, gleaning some fabulous tips and insights from Liam and the other experts. As a solopreneur I want to learn from these speakers and think about how I can apply their ideas and tools to my own evolution of becoming an email marketer (something I am a newbie at). So thank you for your patience. I hope you find my tweets helpful. When I have completed all the reviews I’ll use my notes for a comprehensive blog post with my overall impressions as a small business, marketing professional, and social media coach. Any questions? Chat with me on Twitter, comment below, or reach me via my Contact form.

You can find my tweets and reviews by searching Twitter for #ESS AND @glenda_macd
I am also embedding completed tweets here.  I’ll also update the speaker bios. Each interview is between 45 and 60 minutes in length.

Twitter Review IN PROGRESS

Day 2 THEME: List Growth (TUES March 15 2016 Original Air Date)
Day2Spkr3:
Speaker: Steve Chou

Topic: System to double your daily email opt-ins

COMPLETED Twitter Reviews:

Day 1 March 14 2016 Original Air Date (Speakers 1 to 6)

Day 2 March 15 2016 Original Air Date (Speakers 1 & 2)

Enjoy!

Glenda