renown

so i got an email from Bono today.

yeah. Bono. and it was an email about the F word.

when you get an email from Bono, you open it... Plus when anyone sends an email about the F word... you open it.

here's some of what he had to say:
Dear Patrick,

I've been known to drop the occasional expletive, but the most offensive F word to me is not the one that goes f***.  It's F***** - the famine happening in the Horn of Africa, mainly Somalia.

I hope you'll take a few minutes to watch ONE's new video "The F Word: Famine is the Real Obscenity" and in doing so sign the petition:


i don't know about you, but i'm not cool living in a world where 30,000 kids can die in 3 months.
because they don't have food.

YOU can sign the petition HERE.

i've been a part of the ONE campaign since 2006. love them. love what they're doing. they email me a few times a week, send me texts, send me petitions to sign, call me up and link me to call my senator or representative's office... and i jump onto the NC region conference calls for the ONE campaign.

ONE was actually the 1st organization to be linked on the right side of this very blog when it began years ago.

Check these guys out. be a part of it. join the movement to make poverty history.

because it's an obscenity.

quotes of the week are back after a short respite. 24th edition. you can read the "disclaimer" on the 1st "qotw" HERE.
(i also tagged them all so you can click on the tag "quotes of the week" on the bottom right of this blog to see all 24 qotw... or just use the handy dandy search box on the top left of this blog.)
[my thoughts are in these brackets]

#1 quote of the week:
“Comfort makes cowards of us all.” – Michael Gerber, in E-Myth Revisited.
[he was speaking in a specific context but this is a PRINCIPLE that really applies to everything! imho, comfort halts world changing movements in their tracks every day.  i say, forget comfort. who needs it? what a waste.]

i've written a lot about Bono in the past here on renown.

Recently i read his top 10 list for the next 10 years. you can read his 10 for the next 10 years HERE. he talks about everything from cars to intellectual property; from pollution to nonviolent revolution...

The World Cup Kicks Off the African Decade

"It’s getting easier to describe to Americans the impact of the World Cup — especially the impact it will have in Africa, where the tournament is to be held this summer. A few years ago, Ivory Coast was splitting apart and in the midst of civil war when its national team qualified for the 2006 jamboree. The response was so ecstatic that the war was largely put on hold as something more important than deathly combat took place, i.e. a soccer match. The team became a symbol of how the different tribes could — and did — get on after the tournament was over.
This time round, for the 2010 World Cup, naysayers thought South Africa could not build the stadiums in time. Those critics should be red-faced now. South Africa’s impressive preparations underline the changes on the continent, where over the last few years, 5 percent economic growth was the average. Signs point to a further decade of growth to come. Canny investors will put more capital there. This in turn has the potential to shore up fragile young democracies across the continent.
It would be fitting if Nelson Mandela, who has done more than anyone for Africa’s rising, would kick off the opening ceremonies. If he shows up, the world will weep with joy."

did any of you go read his whole top 10 list?

I don't watch commercials. They are a waste of time. I rarely watch TV at all and when I do it's only something I have DVR'd so i skip every commercial.
This commercial may have been out for a while and I just saw it last week while getting my hair cut. Watch it below!


Man! that's just a beautiful and awesome commercial!
Maybe just for me? You might be sitting there wondering why i love it so much?

I think it just combines several of my passions:
*soccer - of course. my 1st love. And still one of my greatest loves. the beautiful game. Of course the World freaking Cup is the epitome and height of that love. I wait 4 years for this moment. the anticipation is KILLNG me. (4 years ago i took weeks off of work to watch every single game! in High School i got sick so i didn't have to go to camp or work the whole month the games were on.)
*Bono - like one of my favorite people.(+ U2 is one of my fav bands.) anyone else's voice and you maybe don't even notice this commercial? his voice is both the essence of inspiration and coolness! Because of all the great things he stands for i just get fired up listening to him talk.
*World Cup - it's coming! need i say more?
*the Nations - everything Global and International is a love for me. i love the nations and i love what brings us together instead of divides us! **It's crazy awesome that a GAME is what can unite us all in spite of our differences all across the world. (I wanna write about 10 blog posts on this idea...)
*Africa - the WC is being played in my fav continent in the whole world for the 1st time ever. I've been to South Africa and stoked to go back to Africa this September. wanna live there for the rest of my days...
*Worship song - the fact that the main commercial for ESPN to promote the BIGGEST event in the world is set to the opening of a worship song!? how cool is that? The awesomeness of the Magnificent One being sung in combo with all these other things is pretty awesome!

anyway, hope you liked the commercial as much as me!