Make the time to watch this 12 minute video about depression and suicide. Do it

It's from an ESPN documentary about Jordan Burnham, a star high school student and athlete who suffered from depression and tried to take his own life.

In 2010 my friend Dr. Greg Feldman took his own life. It was an absolute shock to most of us. Greg was high achieving, high functioning, loving, personable and awesome. He also worked in the high performance, high pressure world of surgery. We missed the signs. He hid the signs. Now he's gone, and we've lost a friend, brother, son. You who've never met him have lost the potential for his goodness to enter your life. But it doesn't have to be an absolute loss. Take the time to watch this video. You may not suffer from depression or suicidal tendencies, but you may know and love someone who has, is or will. Increase your awareness. 

Thank you.

I talk with @cc_chapman about what inspires me on #PassionHitTV

My man C.C. Chapman has a new project afoot called "Passion Hit TV," and I'm honored to be his first profile! Check out the video above and stay connected to this cool show which "focuses on people, companies and events that have taken something they loved doing and turned it into something much more. You’ll learn about their journey and what inspires them to keep going forward. The goal is to inspire you to stop dreaming about the future and to make it happen."

By the way, C.C. and I recorded this in Louisville, KY while at the amazing Idea Festival. I can't recommend this annual event enough. Yes, they paid for me to be there and blog/tweet about it, so there's your danged disclosure. But even without that, the event is amazingly diverse, inspiring and in a great city who's unofficial motto is "Just Add Bourbon."

Join @baratunde's #HowToBeBlack street team!

Folks, we are just a few months away from the release of my first-book-that-someone-else-has-paid-for: How To Be Black. The release date is January 31 (but you can pre-order now!) and to make the story as engaging, fun and effective as possible, I want you to be involved in the marketing.

The video above has more of the details, but here are the essentials: We're building a virtual street team (Black Team!) to help spread the message of How To Be Black and make the marketing as cutting edge and strange as the writing process (remember the live-writing?).

Complete the application by 12:01am Tuesday November 14, Brooklyn Time (aka ET). And keep the following in mind:

• We're looking for people who want to help create a best-seller, who love the idea of the book or just think I'm kinda cool. You should be engaging, enthusiastic, creative and willing to hustle. 
• You will receive regular assignments and questions, mostly focused on digital activities, but real-world actions will be included. The street team will also be responsible for actually selling books! I know, it's crazy.
• Street team members will have regular private video chats with me, a weekly insider email and members-only Facebook group to learn from one another. You will also get early access to the book and, once it prints, a personally signed copy from me
• You don't have to be black to be on the Black Team! Really. This book isn't just for black people and neither is the street team. We're equal opportunity so long as you're awesome. Don't be not awesome, and you won't have anything to not worry about, not.

Even if you don't apply, think about who you know that should and spread the word to those folks.

For a sample of just what the book is, see the trailer and PDF excerpt from the introduction below.

Clear Eyes. Full Hearts. Stay Black.

Alabama fan provides irrefutable logic supporting hatred of Tennessee #RollTide

Alabama's fans are one of the strongest reasons I like this team so much. Check out one of my favorite YouTube videos of all time. As a bit of an historical reminder. Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer is essentially responsible for four years of NCAA sanctions against Bama as he was the secret witness in a case against the school.

Point is, ROLL TIDE!

Rap mockumentary "Monkey Gang" about to hit Hollywood black film fest

I can't wait to see this. It's playing at the Hollywood Black Film Festival Sat Oct 29 at 630pm. Also, they have a Kickstarter!

This video makes me want to become a world class surfer and buy 100 GoPro cameras #surfatunde

Last spring, I went surfing for the first time in my life, and it was under ideal circumstances. I was speaking at Surf Summit 14 in Cabo, Mexico and got my first lessons with Roxy, the female line from Quiksilver also dedicated to getting more girls and women into surfing. So yeah, my first surfing lesson was me and a bunch of beautiful women. Except for the urchins it was ideal circumstances.

I found the video above from Robert Scoble on my Google+, and he's all excited about the GoPro camera. I am too after seeing this South African antelope engage in an entirely different definition of "mountain biking" (for antelope, mountain biking means taking out mountain bikers). 

But this snippet of surfing footage makes me most excited about returning to a sport I love after just one shot. Plus, it will be great when I can catch air like that and pause time like the Matrix and all. 

Amazing #video: artifacts for survival in the near-future sentient city. #IF11

Sentient City Survival Kit - Quick Start Guide from mark shepard on Vimeo.

A users guide to the Sentient City Survival Kit. I'm at the Idea Festival in Louisville, KY, and this just blew my mind. It's a pro civili liberties, comedic, artistic response to our likely super surveilled and optimized future urban spaces. 

Parody Rap Battles and Supa Hot Fire. My new favorite joints

Mi gente,

This is some of the best art, comedy, video, creation I've seen ever. Watch all three, and stay tuned to Mr. Deshawn Raw. h/t to my man jrm4 over ag Golden Era Rap for the post which raised my awareness of this greatness. 

Really, you have to watch all three videos right now. You'll be a better person for it. I am a good judge of art things, but I'm not a rapper...

Part 1

The Challenger

Part 2

The UK Defence Ministry thinks terrorists will dance with you, have tea with your mum and babysit all thanks to social media

This is pretty amazing. The Telegraph has the story of the MoD warning servicemen and women (and their families) about the potential dangers of posting information to social networks. The videos are well done and do actually lead you to think before you post. However, they have conclusions which lead to far more important lessons.

Take the video above. Toward the end, as the tension builds, I'm expecting the sailors to get attacked, kidnapped, beheaded or something. Instead, the closing shot is of the servicewomen dancing with a fully-masked, fully-armed, presumed-terrorist. This begs much larger questions than "Did these ladies overshare on Foursquare?" Questions such as:

1. What sort of security is the nightclub operating under? Maybe the MoD should do a public campaign about the dangers of shit bouncers?
2. What sort of British sailor spots an armed terrorist and chooses to dance with him? Granted, a lot might have happened off-screen. Maybe the terrorist threated to murder every single club-goer if these sailors didn't dance with him. Maybe that's what he really wants in life, not money, not the release of a political prisoner. Maybe he just wants to feel sexy for once in his life.

There are a total of four full scenario videos in the series. Here's my absolute favorite.

I mean, that's just brilliant. If terrorists are providing free child care, we need to rethink this entire War on Terrorism thing from the ground up!

My promo jingle and video for The Black Snob

Danielle Belton and I were on the same panel at the National Association of Black Journalists conference in Philly last week. I got inspired and rattled off this little jingle for her site, The Black Snob, based on "Bad Boys." Keep up the great work, Danielle!