I’m a big fan of Will Smith. When I found out that his latest flick “Hancock” involved a superhero who needs a public relations image makeover, I knew I had to see “Hancock” on its opening night.

Will Smith plays John Hancock who is not your typical superhero.  He’s a homeless guy living on the streets of L.A.  His best friend is the bottle. And he has no qualms about calling a woman the b-word.

I loved the opening scene.  Hancock is passed out drunk on a city bench. A little boy nudges him and tells him about a crime in progress. Hancock ignores him. The little boy calls Hancock a name. This gets Hancock really mad.

What ensues next is Hancock fighting the bad guys with a bottle of whiskey in his hand.  I almost fell out of my chair laughing, because the scene was so hilarious. Hancock is drunk and out of control, but somehow he’s able to take care of business. When Hancock is done with his good deed, you’d think folks would be cheering him. Wrong. Because Hancock is obnoxious and rude, people despise him. Plus it doesn’t help that he just caused $9 million in property damage.

Enter public relations executive Ray Embrey played by Jason Bateman. Ray is Hancock’s polar opposite. Ray is sweet and lovable.  And there’s no man who is more dedicated to his job, wife and son.

On his way home from work, Ray becomes trapped on railroad tracks. When a  train is about to hit Ray, Hancock comes out nowhere and saves him.  Being the good guy he is, Ray offers to repay Hancock with a public relations image makeover.

At first, Hancock scoffs at the idea. Later, he changes his mind and accepts Ray’s offer. When a warrant is issued for Hancock’s arrest, Ray sees the perfect public relations opportunity. He advises Hancock to turn himself into the authorities. The reason why is that after Hancock is locked up, crime will rise. Folks will miss him and there will be a public demand for his release.

Hancock begrudgingly agrees to Ray’s plan. While Hancock is in jail, Ray trains Hancock on how to be polite, affable and caring. Then just as Ray predicted, crime rises in L.A. The Police Chief later calls for Hancock’s release, because a group of bad guys are holding folks hostage at a local bank. Hancock comes out with a brand new look. He’s clean, sober and decked out in a superhero outfit.  On top of this, he’s polite and well-mannered.

Hancock saves the hostages from the bad guys. With his new look and demeanor, Hancock signifies a PR firm's makeover dream. Hancock now is in demand and people embrace him.

However, Hancock's public relations image makeover is not enough to change him completely. Privately, Hancock still has demons that he has to resolve. There’s a growing attraction between Hancock and Ray’s wife Mary played by Charlize Theron. Hancock and Mary try to fight off what they feel for each other, but somehow they can’t.

I won’t spoil the plot by telling you what happens. The rest of the movie is a bumpy ride and drags at times. However, all in all, the movie is worth seeing. On a scale of 1 to 5, I'd give it a four. It’s funny at times and action-packed. In the end, it leaves you feeling good.

        

June 16 at 5:01 p.m. marked the first time in which same-sex couples were allowed to marry legally in the state of California under the California Supreme Court's ruling.

        

This evening I decided to walk around in downtown San Jose and ask the following question:

"Do you know who your city councilmember is?"

Although there’s no way I can claim that my survey reflected a random sample, I made sure that I spoke with people of different ages and ethnicities. I approached over ten people.  To my surprise, not one person knew who his or her city councilmember was.

One woman responded by saying, “It’s you.”  Well, the last time I checked, it would be difficult for me to pass for San Jose’s downtown city councilmember. For one thing, I’m a woman and he’s a man.

One man told me that he knew who his city councilmember was, but he couldn’t remember the name. And the rest admitted they didn’t know.

So what’s up with this lack knowledge? Is it because no one cares about the city council? Or is it because no one knows what the city council does?

It’s probably a combination of both. A lot of people are too busy with their personal lives to spend the time and effort to keep abreast of local city politics. And for others, they have no idea what the city council does.

So what does the city council do? The city council oversees the budget for vital city services like our libraries, garbage, public safety and street repair. It makes decisions on affordable housing projects and community centers. It also gets involved with the rezoning of property. And if there’s a proposed amendment to an ordinance like rent control, it casts the decision on whether to accept the change.

The city council has a lot of functions that affect our daily lives. So how do we keep current with the changes? First, find out who your city council member is. You also should read the local newspaper on a regular basis. This will give you an overview of what the most pressing issues are. You also can read the city council agenda. And if you’re really interested, you can attend city council meetings. With this knowledge, you might decide to become a community activist or even run for city council. The decision is yours.

        

March is Women’s History Month.

Over the last 100 years, women have made tremendous strides in our nation.

• In 1920, the 19th amendment gave women the right to vote.
• In 1964, Congress passed Title VII which gave women workplace protections.
• In 1973, the United States Supreme Court recognized a woman’s right to reproductive freedom.
• In 1978, Congress passed the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.
• In 1994, Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act to protect women from domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.
• In 2005, 59% of women were in the workforce.

Fearless Communications salutes the women and men who courageously have fought for equal rights in our nation.

        

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was our nation's greatest civil rights leader. He fought against segregation. Dr. King stood up for union workers and poor people. He spoke out against the Vietnam war.

In 1968, at the age of 39, Dr. King was assassinated. Although 40 years have passed since his death, Dr. King's legacy lives on.

On Monday, January 21, our nation celebrates Dr. King's birthday. Take a moment and reflect. Think about how you can give back to the community. Volunteer for a cause you believe in. You can be an instrument of change. Now is the time to do it.

        

        

With the writers’ strike in full gear, the TV stations are running reruns. Instead of watching the reruns, get some exercise.

Consider walking if you haven’t exercised in a while. Most people can handle a simple walk. The good thing about walking is you don’t need any special equipment. All you need is a pair of good walking shoes. (Please note, before you begin walking or any other exercise program, you should always consult with your doctor.)

For over a year, a friend and I have been walking the streets of San Jose about five times a week. During our walks, we entertain ourselves by telling funny stories. In the process, we let go of stress by laughing.

We started walking because my friend’s doctor told her if she didn’t lose weight she would be forced to take high blood pressure medicine. Neither of us is a fan of diets and we’re not really big on going to the gym. But walking is something we both enjoy.

We’ve both lost weight without making any major changes to our diets. When my friend got her latest physical, her doctor gave her kudos for her weight loss and encouraged her to keep walking.

Neither of us would ever be mistaken as a fitness model. But we're walking for health and not for some virtually unreachable ideal. Instead, we have reasonable expectations. My body mass index (BMI) is within the normal range and my friend is working on reaching this goal.

With America’s obesity epidemic, walking might be a step in the right direction in fighting it.

        

Fearless Communications can't believe that FEMA faked a press conference about the Southern California fires. Why would FEMA staff pretend to be reporters? Did they really think no one would find out?

And what's even more disturbing FEMA staff did this in the midst of one of California's tragedies. Over 2,000 homes were destroyed in the fires. Hundreds of families will have to rebuild their lives.

To be fair to FEMA, they did give a notice to real reporters. But the notice was only 15 minutes and the real reporters couldn’t ask questions. All they could do was listen in.

Is this the way to conduct a press conference? Absolutely not. A press conference by its very nature is about answering questions from real reporters.

And yes, some times reporters pose very difficult questions. No one likes them and apparently FEMA folks didn't want to answer difficult questions. But if a speaker is prepped with talking points and given message training, he or she can provide a well thought out response.

May be the next time when disaster strikes, FEMA will spend its time prepping its speaker to answer questions from real reporters instead of staging a fake press conference.