Unique insights and actionable ideas from The Darnell Works Agency’s daily quest for greatness.
In 2016, the U.S. Department of the Interior produced this presentation where 11 veterans honor all other veterans. This authentic testament powerfully expresses how all of us who have served the country feel about others who have done the same. For yours truly, it is a profound honor to lend my voice to theirs in expressing appreciation to all of those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces:
Thank you.
World Ocean Day has been celebrating the ocean on 8 June every year since 2002. We currently face one of the greatest threats ever to our blue planet and all its inhabitants: the climate crisis. It is all too clear that a healthy climate depends upon a healthy ocean. Ensuring this demands stronger local, national, and international action from both government and corporate leaders.
International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. For 2024, organizers are seizing the occasion to activate us all around the critical idea of inspiring inclusion.
Celebrate women’s achievement. Raise awareness about discrimination. Take action to drive gender parity. IWD belongs to everyone, everywhere. Inclusion means all IWD action is valid.
Today, I invite you to visit this site – https://www.internationalwomensday.com – where you can better understand how, together, we can forge women’s equality.
The MLK Day of Service is an opportunity for Americans to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Junior’s legacy through service and volunteerism.
Dr. King once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?’”
Each year, Americans across the country answer that question by coming together on the King Holiday to serve their neighbors and communities. To learn more, please visit https://www.nationalservice.gov/mlkday.
In the video above, in his own words, Narayanan Krishnan says, “I thought, what is the purpose of my life? What am I going to do? … And I quit my job and I started feeding all these people from 2002.” And later: “There are thousand and thousands and lots and lots of people suffering. What is the ultimate purpose of life? It’s to give. Start giving. See the joy of giving.”
I freely admit to being a pretty big fan of Malcolm Gladwell. Still, like many people, his recent comments on The Diary Of A CEO podcast left me wondering exactly why he was trashing the idea of working from home. In the episode’s headline, he blames this phenomenon for “destroying” us. Within the in-depth conversation with host Steven Bartlett, the New York Times best-selling author overtly doubts our abilities to contribute to society, to fashion meaningful lives, and to engage professionally, from outside corporate offices.
For American high school students of the mid-80s, “cable” and MTV radically impacted our perceptions of the world – and of the realm of possibilities. Driven, determined, ambitious, and male, my own dreams of success (focused in aerospace – and/or show business) took high-contrast form under the spells of John Hughes, Randal Kleiser, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg. “Risky Business” was another phenomenon of time-space that refracted my aspirations. When the bold “Real Genius” and the ridiculous and ballsy “Top Secret!” appeared on HBO, I was star-struck. Next came “Top Gun,” and the alchemy of Cruise, Kilmer and their like cinematically orchestrated by master storytellers subconsciously seized control of my outlook.
Thus inspired, I brought my A-game to the film and television industry. Along the way, through digitalization, cameras became more accessible. Despite not being in position to direct my own “National Lampoon,” I could shoot stuff for fun, experiment, and document my life.
It winds up, while he was living the life millions dreamt about, heartthrob and “Einstein of the 80s” (according to the “Real Genius” poster) Val Kilmer was also shooting stuff for fun, and documenting his life.
Read moreTing Poo and Leo Scott, Thanks for the Val Kilmer Documentary
DWA principal Roger Darnell had the great honor of serving as a judge for the 2021 World Wildlife Day Film Showcase: Forests. “It is a wonderful feeling,” he said, “knowing that so many gifted storytellers and supporting organizations are dedicated to informing and educating the world on the importance of forests and conservation.”
Read moreExperience the 2021 World Wildlife Day Film Showcase on 3 March
