Associated Notes & Links

• Komen Sucks… But So Do You – Joe Waters
• Patriots, Komen Fumbles offer lessons for NPOs - Joe Waters
• 7 PR Lessons Komen for the Cure didn’t know it was giving you – Shonali Burke
• Crown Imports Find a Cure – CauseUpdate
• Cause Marketing with QR Codes. Did Chili’s and St. Jude miss the mark? - Joe Waters
• National Sweater Day – Sweaterday.ca

You love books! So do we! But with so many great new options for reading digitally, are you finding that your organizing efforts are confounded by Kindles and iBooks? This week on the show, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright share tips for organizing your digital devices, downloads, and materials and get back to reading!

We’ve made it to the middle of the Fincher-Fest, movie lovers!  This week, join us as we talk about his one-location movie, “Panic Room.”  Falling right between “Fight Club” and “Zodiac”, this movie really marks a turning point for David Fincher’s films — starting here, he moves into the land of digital cinema (mostly) and finds a more controlled approach to his storytelling.  Join us as we talk about the trials and tribulations that went into getting this film made — an impending writers’ strike, last minute actress and supporting actress replacements, a seemingly simple script that redefined complexity of camerawork on the set, and a six-month production schedule that had to work around not only Jodie Foster’s pregnancy going from 1st to 3rd term, but also Kristin Stewart — then not so famous for being Bella in “Twilight” — growing from being shorter than Jodie Foster to being taller than her.  This in a film that takes place over the course of one night for the most part.  It’s a tense, claustrophobic, well-paced thrill ride that’s worth taking, and we have a blast talking about it.  Listen in!

The Super Bowl came and went and the ads were no surprise at all thanks to the rabid early releases and teasers. The game was dumb, too. We rant about phone size in the context of Dane’s failing eye site and quest for “Maggies”. JCPenny is in full re-brand mode. Ellen had a nice rant. “Chronicle” film marketing is so very pre-9/11. Then, Dane gets in the hot tub.

Assorted Links & Notes

• Super Bowl Ads courtesy of Hulu
• Ron Johnson, jcpenny, and this whole Ellen thing
• “Chronicle” flying people in New York (Thinkmodo)

Making the transition to working from home is more than about having quick access to the kitchen. It takes diligence to set the boundaries you’ll need to have to stay organized and aware of how work and home life interact. This week on Taking Control, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright talk about what it means to work at home, and how you can make the transition with sound boundaries and few headaches!

Back in 2007, David Fincher created what many consider his best film, Zodiac. Hailed by dozens of critics as one of the best films of the year, it unfortunately never found its audience and ended up a financial failure. This week, movie lovers, join us as we delve into this meticulously crafted, haunting and sometimes scary film that details the obsession one man had in solving the Zodiac killings in the San Francisco area in the late 60s. From a script by James Vanderbilt based on Robert Graysmith’s doggedly detailed books “Zodiac” and “Zodiac Unmasked”, Fincher’s pursuit to create as accurate a portrayal of the truth as possible give us a beautifully restrained look at how the police and newspaper reporters worked hard to try to find an answer to the killings yet never did so. We talk about how this potentially is the reason the film didn’t fare well at the box office. We also discuss the film’s impeccable cast (let’s all give a hand to John Carroll Lynch’s unforgettably creepy portrayal of Arthur Leigh Allen!); chat about the amazing (and invisible) visual effects used to recreate the San Francisco area from 1968 to 1991 that truly take us back in time; and cover how this film was the first film to shoot with the then new digital camera, the Viper, and what that allowed Harry Savides, the cinematographer, to do. It’s a drastically underwatched film, in our opinion, and we think you ALL need to go rent it right now then listen in!

Getting organized is about more than just putting things in their place. It’s about having a deep understanding of the things you do every day, how you do them, and the tools you need to get them done. This week on Taking Control, Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright talk about the importance of starting with what matters most to you in every organizing project, with tips and tools you can put in to action today.

Hey there, movie fans! Oscar nominations came out this past week and as movie lovers, we thought we’d offer up our first special podcast episode weighing in with our thoughts on what was nominated, what wasn’t, what should have been, what shouldn’t have been, and what we want to see win. Join us for a special Oscar nomination episode on “Movies We Like!”

Our third stop on the Fincher Fest train brings us to David Fincher’s 2008 drama, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” Fincher outdid himself on this film, combining all elements available to him from tried and true practical elements through state-of-the-art digital effects — not to mention countless top-notch performances — to create an astounding period film about an astounding person who is born old and ages backward. We discuss the journey this F. Scott Fitzgerald story took to get to the silver screen — a long one that at one point had Frank Oz slated to direct it and Martin Short to star as Benjamin! We chat about watching Benjamin Button, played by Brad Pitt in one of his best performances, age backward and the unreal makeup work done to pull it off, not just for him but for all the characters in the film. We talk about the themes this story is hitting upon and why it works so well, and we discuss the immense amount of money put into getting this film made and how Fincher managed to pull it all off and still turn it into a profitable film. The film won 3 Academy Awards and was nominated for an amazing 13 Academy Awards (though it should have been 14 as Cate Blanchett, who didn’t get a nomination as Best Actress, has never been better!). Join us as we dig into this gorgeous film!

CORRECTION: In reviewing the list of accolades toward the end of this episode, Pete lists Benjamin Button as receiving a Best Actress nomination. Taraji P. Henson was nominated, though did not win, for Best Supporting Actress. Apologies for any confusion. We still contend that Cate Blanchett should have won something. Seriously.

Apple released it’s new ebook design tool last week—will iBooks Author be the change we want to see in the world? Pete and Dane pull the tool and the economy of Textbook Publishing apart in their discussion of the state of the electronic book.

Assorted Links & Notes

• Apple iBooks Textbook Program
• iBooks Author Intro Video