Article

10 Famous Kids Named Ken

March 2, 2015 by Kenney Myers

Many child stars never see a career as adults, and those who do often struggle to cope with the pressures of stardom. To add insult to injury, fame can be fleeting for a child star. One day you’re on the big screen, and the next you’re struggling to pay the rent. These 10 Kens were famous as kids and, thankfully, lived to tell the tale.

Ken Osmond – Everyone knows him as Eddie Haskell from the 50s comedy Leave It to Beaver, but what few know is that Ken Osmond was acting from the age of four. After a series of roles in TV and film, a 14-year-old Osmond landed the role in Leave it to Beaver. It is this role he is most remembered for, but it was also a role that would lead to him being typecast for the rest of his career.
Ken Roczen – This teenage BMX and dirt bike rider hails from Germany, and is one of the youngest riders ever to earn a place in the Red Bull Motor Sports competition. He is a highly motivated and talented rider, which has earned him numerous podium spots in the sport. Ken’s dream is simply to dominate the sport and continue to win races.
Ken Amada – Persona 3 is a highly popular role playing game that surrounds the lives of high-school students who battle monsters known as shadows. Ken Amada is one of the central characters, capable of taking on two personas – Nemesis and Kala-Nemi. The game series is set during the year 2009 in a fictitious Japanese city.
Kenny Loggins – As a world class soft rock and country star, Kenny Loggins has been in the limelight for a lot longer than even some big fans realize. Shortly after graduating from high school, Loggins’s first band, Second Helping, enjoyed some success. They released three singles under the record label Viva Records.
Kenneth Anger – A Hollywood child, Ken Anger featured in a number of films in his younger years. However, Anger was more suited to a role behind the camera, which eventually led him to the director’s chair. Due to their graphic nature, his movies did not go over well with American audiences. He later went on to write a series of successful books on “the real” Hollywood, entitled Hollywood Babylon.
Elton John – Not only was Reginald Kenneth Dwight an exceptional piano player by the age of four, he formed his first successful band by the time he had turned 14. That band was the Corvettes, which was later renamed Bluesology. By 1961, the band was playing alongside greats like Ray Charles.
Ken Baumann – He hasn’t even reached the age of 25, and already Ken Baumann has carved out a career as both an actor and a director. He has been acting since the age of 11, however, his most famous role is that of Ben Boykewich in The Secret Life of the American Teenager. These days, Ben is now in his 20s, although he still plays a teen on the show.
Kenneth Leslie – Born in 1892, Kenneth Leslie became a child prodigy by the time he was 14. He was proficient in playing both the violin and piano, his talent for poetry was apparent, and he was soon recognized by prominent schools in his home country of Canada. Amazingly, Leslie also attended the Dalhousie University in Halifax at 14. In the 1930s, Kenneth was a prominent political activist in the United States, but he had a troubled personal life and racked up four failed marriages by the late 1950s, when his fourth wife left him for his own nephew.
Ken Doll – The eternal teenager, Ken Carson is the long-time significant other of the popular doll, Barbie. Ken has had a colorful life, taking on the roles of pirate, disco dancer, businessman and much more. The popular couple has gone through a number of changes throughout the years, but Ken has always managed to maintain his perfectly chiseled features and cheeky smile.
Ken Park – Despite being the titular character of the film Ken Park, Ken Park meets a grisly end by suicide in the opening scenes of this teenage buddy flick. The movie centers on the lives of Ken’s three friends as they struggle to cope with his death. Ken Park is a dark, erotic drama, which attempts to deal with various subplots in the lives of the teenage friends.

7 Ways to Stay Motivated When Starting a New Workout Routine With Your Teens

February 22, 2015 by Kenney Myers

Because nearly 16 percent of kids and teens in the U.S. are overweight, it is more important now than ever for parents and kids to develop a healthy living regimen and a strategy to remain motivated to exercise. Staying active can prevent a teen’s chances of developing Type 2 diabetes or from developing cardiovascular problems. If you develop a regimen with your kids, they’re more likely to maintain good habits into their adulthood. Here are some suggestions to keep in mind when you’re looking for ways to stay motivated:

1. Explain the Importance of Health to Your Teens

Kids — like everyone else — aren’t just motivated by force; they need to know why they need to do something. If exercising doesn’t seem worthwhile, parents cannot motivate their teens to exercise simply by telling them to do so. They need to tell them why exercise is beneficial to their bodies.

Working out can help you and your teens look good and feel good, two important things to every young person’s self-esteem. Exercise can also potentially reduce acne, another great way to encourage your teens to go for that run or enroll in strength training.

2. Incorporate Exercise Into Your Daily Life

When you set aside designated times during the day for physical activity, your teens can get their minds prepared to exercise and be ready. Parents can also get other neighborhood kids involved to keep everyone motivated and prepared. This buddy system is more effective than just trying to tough it out on your own. Don’t treat the workout like some foreign or dangerous thing. Make it a normal part of your day, and soon enough it’ll feel natural.

3. Develop a Regimen of Fun Exercises

If exercising is fun, teens are more likely to engage. Think outside the box and look for ways to stay health and active that are also challenging and interesting. Try getting your teens involved in bike riding or karate classes. Walking the dog or going to a water park will also help younger teens exercise. Most families do not recognize how much exercise they can get just by going on regular outings and walking during the day. Walking around amusement parks, zoos, or nature centers can help you forget that you’re exercising while you’re viewing the sites. You could even hike at a local park. Something like ballroom dancing or softball would also be a good way to get the body moving.

4. Enroll Your Teens in Organized Sports

Organized sports are an excellent way to help teens get active without being bored. Anything will do, so talk with your teen about his interests and see what sport appeals to him. Volleyball, basketball, baseball, or football may be fun enough to motivate him to exercise without seeming like a chore. Plus there’s the added benefit of teamwork and camaraderie.

5. Reward Teens for Exercising

Obviously, you’d want the reward to be tied to the workout or at least generally healthy — it wouldn’t make a lot of sense to congratulate your teen on her first 5K with a cake — but there are plenty of options available to help you entice your teen to sticking to the workout. For instance, maybe she’s been eyeing a new set of running shoes, or an iPod for exercising, or taking a trip with friends. Keep the reward positive and goal-oriented.

6. Add Some Variety to Your Schedule

To keep the exercises from getting boring, try to alternate your schedule. For instance, on Monday, take your teens to baseball or softball practice. On Wednesday, take them to ballroom dancing classes. On Friday, take them to martial arts classes. If the weather cooperates or you have an indoor pool, you can try to go swimming on the weekend. Variety will keep the kids going.

7. Get Them Out of the House

It’s easier than ever these days for teens to stay inside and glued to screens all day and all night. One way to get them on their feet and back into an active lifestyle is to limit the amount of time your teen can use his computer or tablet. You can also set up basic physical chores in and around the house, or help him find a job. This will give him not only some pocket money, but the opportunity to get out, stay active, and meet new people.

If you want to remain motivated with your new workout routine, it just takes a little planning. With the right motivation, your kids will remain active and healthy throughout their lives. Communicate with your teens and help them develop good habits early. You’ll be pleased with the results.

10 Really Great Reasons to Go to Your High School Reunion

January 24, 2015 by Kenney Myers

When that invitation to a high school reunion shows up, your first instinct may be to toss it in the trash. After all, adolescence is usually an awkward time that most people would rather forget rather than reminisce about. While many people will say that high school was the best time of their lives, this isn’t always true for everyone. Still, there are plenty of reasons why attending your high school reunion is a good idea. These are ten of the reasons why you might want to think twice before you chuck that invitation into the garbage can.

To Reconnect With Old Friends – Remember the best friend that you talked to for hours every night on the telephone and swore you’d never grow apart from? Unless you’re one of the lucky few, chances are that you haven’t seen one another in years and may even have lost touch altogether. Few events offer the opportunity to reconnect with people that were once important to you like a high school reunion, and you may never see them again if you skip the event.
Because You’ve Changed Dramatically – If you’ve lost a ton of weight or were the ugly duckling that became a swan in college or later in life, there’s something very satisfying about showing up to your high school reunion to flaunt those changes. Poise and confidence often come with age, so you can navigate your reunion much more easily than the halls of your high school.
To Come to Terms With Aging – Seeing new fine lines and more gray hair isn’t easy to deal with for most people. When you arrive at your reunion and realize that everyone is getting older, it can make the experience feel less isolating and help you come to terms with the fact that aging is an inevitable part of life.
Because Living Well is the Best Revenge – High school can be rough, especially for kids that don’t quite fit the mold. If you suffered through high school and have since built a wonderful, rewarding life for yourself despite the bad experiences, showing off your success to the people that treated you badly can be quite vindicating.
To Network – Networking is so important in some fields that there are entire social websites built solely around the premise of helping people to network on a professional level. Attending your high school reunion can be a great experience, but it may also afford you some networking opportunities that you would otherwise miss out on.
To Reminisce – Some people suffer through high school, but there are also those that reveled in the experience. Looking back at your high school career and sharing a few laughs with the people that were by your side for all of those great times can be very rewarding.
To Show Your Spouse Where You Came From – Attending your high school reunion with your spouse is a great way to share a part of your formative years. You can tour your hometown, introduce old friends and share stories that you’d forgotten all about, helping you forge an even stronger bond. Of course unless you are one of the luckiest people in the world and still married to your high school sweetheart (which is even more of a cause to celebrate with mutual friends)!
To Party Like It’s 1988… Or Something – When careers and kids come along, opportunities to let your hair down can be few and far between. Your high school reunion will give you the chance to dance the night away. Rather than sharing the dance floor with a crowd of college kids at a nightclub, you’ll be surrounded by people your own age rocking out to songs you haven’t heard in years.
To Satisfy Your Curiosity – If you’ve ever wondered where people ended up and what they have done with their lives this is your chance to find out. Whether it is the motor head that constantly tinkered with his cool car or the nerd that always raised his hand to answer the teacher’s questions, it’s fun to see what became of them.
Because Wall Posts Aren’t Real Conversations – Seeing pictures and FaceBook status updates from your old friends or even sending a few messages back and forth just isn’t the same as seeing them in the flesh and catching up. As hard as it may be to believe, some people don’t even maintain social networking accounts. If you haven’t seen your high school friends since graduation, there’s no better place to catch up than the spot where you all went your separate ways.

10 Famous Ken’s Who Have Set The Weirdest World Records

January 2, 2015 by Kenney Myers

Many weird world records have been held over the years, and there’s no shortage of records set for some truly weird events. However, what’s even more peculiar is that these 10 Ken’s have all opted to attempt some of the more unusual disciplines. From owning the most toasters to cockroach eating champions, this list of odd world record setters makes men named Ken look like a unique bunch, indeed.

Ken Blackburn – This just doesn’t seem fair at all. Ken Blackburn holds the Guinness World Record for longest paper airplane flight. Usually, anyone who is proficient with a paper airplane is a procrastinator or troublemaker in class, but Blackburn is an aeronautical engineer. The flight, which took place in 2008, lasted for 27.6 seconds. So – teachers beware – the next time you chastise a student for throwing paper airplanes, you could be stifling the talents of a future record holder.
Kenneth Wayne Jennings III – This guy is always game for a challenge; in fact, he holds the record for both the longest winning streak on Jeopardy (74 games!), and all-time leading money winner on American game shows. Jennings is a man obsessed with trivia, so it’s no surprise that after bowing out of his Jeopardy run he went on to write the book; “Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs.”
Ken Jordon – Danger is Jordon’s middle name; well, not really, but he does court danger on a daily basis. The stuntman from Flint, Michigan broke what is perhaps his weirdest record in 2012, when he caught 13 arrows in two minutes from a single archer. These arrows were not in free fall or losing velocity, either. No, Ken Jordon caught the arrows while they were being shot within close proximity of his person. Essentially, this was a two person attempt, as Ken had to rely on the skill of the archer, who is ironically named David Archer.
Ken Edwards – Everyone remembers that weird kid who ate worms during recess. Well, he grew up and became Ken Edwards – the World Record holder for eating cockroaches. Yes, you read that right; Edwards made history by devouring 36 roaches in less than one minute. He is quoted as saying, “It’s like having an anesthetic at the back of the throat,” because of the chemical that the gruesome bugs emit to keep predators at bay.
Kenneth Huggins – Everyone knows what it’s like to run out of toasters, right? Huggins, however, made it his mission to never again fail to achieve golden brown perfection. He owns well in excess of 12,050 toasters, which earned him the Guinness World Record for his unusual collecting hobby. There is even a club for like-minded enthusiasts, of which Ken is a proud member, named “The Toaster Collectors Association.”
Kenneth Tynan – Here’s a tip: if you want to achieve a world record, try to make sure it’s for something that will advance your chosen path in life. Kenneth Tynan holds the Guinness World Record for being the first person to use the “F” word on television. The faux pas was made in 1965 during the airing of a U.K. show titled “BBC3.” Due to the societal norms of the time, the slip was considered a moral outrage, and subsequently cost Tynan his television career.
Ken Courtney – When you launch a company named “Ju$t Another Rich Kid,” start as you mean to go on. Courtney quickly earned himself a world record with the release of high-top Nike Dunks, which were coated in 18 carat gold. The five pairs of shoes were created for the a New York fashion show in 2007, and went on to become the world’s most expensive running shoes at $4,053 a pop.
Dr Ken Looi – A 29.993km ride in Dubbo, Australia earned Ken Looi the Unicycle Hour record. The 2009 attempt earned Ken his second world record for the Unicycle Hour record, after he first held the record back in 2005. The attempt was achieved with the help of proud sponsors, Triple Medical Recruitment.
Ken Solis – What do you do when you’re male, not a physical trainer and enjoy skipping rope? Promote the health benefits and break a world record, of course. Solis earned the Guinness World Record for jumping the most consecutive double jumps with a cross. What’s really weird, however, is that more boys are not encouraged to take up this fun and healthy sport at a younger age.
Adolf Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff – In 1978, Adolf held the Guinness World Record for world’s longest name with; Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff. It is rumored that the surname was originally longer, but was shortened down to Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff because that makes this Ken’s name so much easier to say.

10 Ways to Add More Cyber Dust Friends & Followers

December 27, 2014 by Kenney Myers

Cyber Dust is a secure chat application that I have been using for a while now and have personally invited many of my friends, family, and business partners to use. Many people say they don’t need a secure chat application because they “stand behind their words”. Hey, let me tell you I stand behind mine as well! It’s just that if I have a private conversation with someone I’d also like for both of our sakes for it to remain private. Without a secure messaging application like Cyber Dust that is just not possible as we have all seen with various highly publicized hacks in 2014 from the iCloud picture releases to the most recent Sony hack. So as I have invited my friends they have begun to ask me about how to get more friends on Cyber Dust so I put together the following list of 10 ways I have used to add more Cyber Dust friends:

Start with the built-in invite functionality included with Cyber Dust. You get there by clicking on the more button on the footerbar. You then get the option of inviting via email, SMS, FaceBook, Twitter, and some manual invite choices. These leverage your phone’s contacts various ways to make it super easy to invite your friends. This is definitely the best way to add those users that you communicate the most frequently with moving them over to Cyber Dust.
Another built-in option that is great for adding friends is to press the friends button on the footerbar and choose Popular Users. There you can start by clicking on CD Chatters at the top and add people with similar interests as you. After that, you can walk down the list of popular/high profile accounts like musicians, sports/athletes, entertainers, and more.
Another excellent way to add friends is to ask some existing Cyber Dust users to ask their followers to follow you. This isn’t something you should immediately do but you can definitely do that after getting to know someone a bit so they can make sure they are comfortable asking people to add you. Cyber Dust is a very active networking community so this is something that many users are willing to do to help the community grow. A related way to get more friends is to add friends that the people you are currently following blast out about (helping them also expands your network).
Be active on Cyber Dust and be sure to respond to all the blasts you can with something that is meaningful. This will help you make more friends with other active users on Cyber Dust and will expand your network naturally over time.
You can also watch the various cyberdust accounts on twitter looking at their followers (specifically people that follow them). It’s hit or miss but many users on Cyber Dust will use their twitter username in Cyber Dust as well. So you can search the followers of @cyberdust, @cyberdustapp, etc. This is a relatively random way to add friends but it does work approximately 10-15% of the time.
Search twitter looking for “cyberdust” or a more advanced search like “cyberdust.com/addme” which is what I use for twitter specifically to find the newest users on Cyber Dust and to welcome them plus add them as friends. I also usually will try to connect with them on Twitter as well.
You can also search FaceBook, LinkedIn, and other social media sites via Google or Bing/Yahoo. You do this by going to Google or Bing and executing this advanced search: site:facebook.com “cyberdust.com/addme” you can then execute the following for LinkedIn: site:linkedin.com “cyberdust.com/addme”. If you are clever, my guess is you can come up with other sites to search this way for more users.
You can manually invite more users from gmail by exporting your contacts over to Excel and then inviting 500 users at a time via the gmail web client (or any other email program that you like to use to send out emails). Be sure to use BCC so you aren’t exposing all of your email contacts to each other. Here is a short video showing you how to do the export from gmail:
[youtube id=phu9kN9ZvHE ]
Believe it or not word of mouth is another great way to spread Cyber Dust. Tell your friends about it and why you think it is important. Many of them may already be using snapchat so switching over to Cyber Dust should be pretty easy. I am convinced that Cyber Dust is far more professional than snapchat after getting to know many of the users.
Finally, you can run ads if you want to add more people and are okay with spending some money. This is easiest to do on Twitter as you can create an ad that includes your Cyber Dust user ID and then target all of the existing followers of all of the Cyber Dust accounts. This is going to cost you some money and you may or may not find success but it is another option that you can explore. You can try ads on other social networks as well targeting friends, followers, etc.

NOTE: As with any network (online or offline), it’s not about how many friends or followers you can get. It is about real engagement and networking with people that you can mutually provide value to. I would encourage you to not shoot for bulk, but for substance. There are many great users on Cyber Dust and all of us want to keep it that way (social networking free from trolls).

If you want to get more information about Cyber Dust you can go to http://www.cyberdust.com or just download it directly on your mobile device via the Google Play store or iTunes. As always, if you end up jumping on Cyber Dust send me a dust at +kenneymyers and let me know what you think.

UPDATE

Here are some ideas that came from other Dusters:

Make sure to add your Cyber Dust URL and user ID to all of your email signatures. Something like the best way to get in contact with me is via Cyber Dust. You can find out more at http://www.cyberdust.com/addme?kenneymyers or install Cyber Dust and follow kenneymyers.
Be sure to add your Cyber Dust information on all of your social profiles as well whether it is LinkedIn, Twitter, FaceBook, or any other networking site. I would recommend adding both the URL http://www.cyberdust.com/addme?kenneymyers and your Cyber Dust ID kenneymyers.
There are other searches you can run in twitter like #cyberdust or cyberdust user. I am sure you can come up with some more of youre own.
If you have more ideas, please share them in the comments or better yet hit me up on Cyber Dust.

10 Famous Fashion Designers Named Ken

December 9, 2014 by Kenney Myers

Fashion design is a tough business, and only the very best can hope to make a mark in such a ruthless world. It takes commitment, passion and drive, along with a tough hide and determination to succeed. It is not an industry that is suited to everyone. Many who truly believed they had what it takes to make it have fallen before they even reached the catwalk. However, the ten elite names on this list will live on in fashion history. They have all made their mark on the fashion world, and they are all named Ken.

Ken Scott – Notorious for his psychedelic designs, Ken Scott was a pioneer of a number of styles. He was one of the first designers to showcase calf-length skirts way back in the ‘60s when such displays of human flesh were frowned upon by the wider public. It was a sad loss for the world when Ken Scott died in 1991, at the age of 72.
Ken Lawrence – Lawrence is a designer from Birmingham, Alabama who has already made waves in the Southern U.S. with his “House of DeVinci” Range. However, not satisfied with the success of his first endeavor, Lawrence has now launched another designer range under his own name, which he says will eclipse the “DeVinci” range.
Kenneth Cole – A prominent figure in the world of shoes, Kenneth Cole has long been the darling of socio-political fashionistas. His public support of AIDS awareness and research in the 1980s – a time when the subject was still taboo in the public domain – won him a legion of devoted fans. The designer is still a prominent activist, having recently challenged the status quo that pits teachers against student education with a satirical billboard that stated, “Shouldn’t Everyone Be Well Red?”
Kenneth D. King – This designer’s work is so timeless that it is permanently displayed in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. King is perhaps most famous for his “leafy” collection, however, he has also won great acclaim for his original three “lines of inquiry” collection of leafing and cutwork, which he considers one of his crowning achievements in the fashion world.
Ken Downing – As the fashion director of luxury department store Neiman Marcus, Ken Downing is a powerhouse in the fashion industry. In April of 2013 it was announced that Downing would be the recipient of the prestigious Westphal Award – a reward that honors those who have made a significant contribution to the fashion industry. Although he is not center stage on the catwalk, you can be sure that Ken Downing’s place is cemented in the history of fashion.
Barbie’s Ken – The significant other of world famous doll Barbie, Ken is a fashion powerhouse in his own right. He has donned a pirate outfit to sail the seven seas, played prince to the courts of many a land and had a hippie phase during the 60s, among other things. When it comes to fashion, this doll is never behind the times and so takes his rightful place on this list.
Ken Chu – This world traveling fashion designer was born in Massachusetts before going on to live in Hong Kong, China, New York and Paris. He has had work displayed in New York’s Saks Fifth Avenue. Chu’s style of design is a mixture of American, European and Asian elegance, which reflects his deep and diverse experiences of the many cultures he has come to call his own.
Kenneth Beatrice – Although not the designer in this case, Kenneth Beatrice does take the name from a significant figure in the designer’s life. The company is branded after founder Chelsie Ravenell’s uncle, Kenneth, and grandmother, Beatrice. The modern designer credits both relatives as being the inspiration behind his success; making the label name the perfect homage to his childhood heroes.
Kenny – Lindsay Sternberg is the owner of Kenny in LA, which is named for her late father. Besides the name, Sternberg draws much of the inspiration for the brand from other family members, including her mother and grandmother. The company was established in 2009, however, Lindsay has worked tirelessly, traveling all over the world to drive the brand to bigger and better things.
Ken Chow – The founder and lead designer for Krane, Ken Chow has roots in art and graphic design. The young designer incorporates much of his base talent in his clothing designs, giving each garment a unique look and feel. Ken has created a range of menswear with a distinctly vintage look mixed with many of the styles of today.