Rod's Pure Thoughts
Demanding Respect For Your Business!
Last Updated on October 13, 2025 by Daily News Staff
The Business
I originally posted this on the former TNCN blog site back in 2021, but it is still very relevant today.
This is my first blog post in a long while. Today, I would like to talk about demanding respect for your business, in whatever you do. Whether you are running a blog, or podcast, creating apps, craft beer, food, or even if you are mowing lawns. Whatever it is you are doing, this is your business, and your reputation, your blood, sweat, and tears got you some level of success to this point.
From my standpoint, any success that I have had with TNC.Network I can attribute some of it to help from my family and friends. My friends care about my business, are concerned about its failure and champion its success.
More than likely, your friends do respect your business, and at least understand how your business integrity and reputation are valuable and important to your company’s future and treat it as such.
There are, however, times when this is not the case. A person who claims to be a friend and doesn’t have your business’s best interest at heart.
Thinking about the work you put into your business, you’ve also considered this, your company’s branding. This shows your hard work and dedication. With your branding, you have successfully and deservedly earned the trust of your clientele.
If you are running a media business like a blog, podcast, or a video channel and you are dealing with sponsors, or you are receiving products to review, movie or theater passes, or you are getting press passes to cover special events, it means that these venues and companies are entrusting you and your brand with their success.
With that said, let’s circle back to friendship and respecting your business or brand. Running TNC Network, I worked hard on branding and the blog’s reputation. When someone entrusts me with their branding, it is important to treat it with the respect they deserve, with integrity and professionalism.
Let’s focus on press passes. Covering events for TNC Network, I occasionally get press passes for events, which means that the venue is entrusting my news-blog to cover the event professionally and as a member of the press. It is not, however, an avenue for someone to just enter for free or act like a fake VIP and take advantage of the situation. Also, while at the event, we must follow the rules, no matter what you think about them or dislike them.
In 2018, I had an incident happen within our company where the person who was supposedly representing us at a local event purposely didn’t follow the rules. As a result, we are now seemingly blacklisted from getting press passes from that venue. Lesson learned. Good friends understand how important your company’s reputation is to its brand.
I learned a lot from that incident, and it made me rethink how I issue press passes within the company for coverage. I now take much more care in vetting the people who will represent the company. Press passes are not given for personal benefit; they are a symbol of the company’s trust and reputation. Good friends realize that and respect the importance of maintaining professional boundaries and upholding the company’s standards.
Furthermore, I believe that demanding respect for your business extends beyond just managing press passes or handling sponsorships. It includes how you interact with employees, clients, and even competitors. Consistently demonstrating professionalism and integrity in all aspects of your business fosters a culture of respect that can be felt by everyone who interacts with your brand.
So, whether you’re just starting out or have been in business for years, remember that your reputation is one of your most valuable assets. Protect it fiercely, demand respect for your hard work, and surround yourself with people who understand and appreciate the importance of your business’s integrity. In the long run, this will contribute not only to your success but also to the satisfaction and loyalty of everyone involved with your business.
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The Substitute Teacher Who Wanted Blueprints of Our House
A fifth-grade assignment took a strange turn when a substitute teacher asked students to draw schematics of their homes. What followed — a wildly fictional floor plan and a priceless reaction from my mom — turned into one of my funniest childhood memories.
Last Updated on December 8, 2025 by Daily News Staff
The Substitute Teacher Who Wanted Blueprints of Our House
Elementary school memories tend to blend together — cafeteria pizza, playground arguments, the eternal struggle of times tables — but every once in a while, something happens that sticks with you for life. For me, that moment came in the fifth grade during a week when our regular teacher was out, and we cycled through substitute teachers like we were testing models for durability. By midweek, in walked a substitute with a mysterious, slightly intense energy — the kind of vibe that suggested he either meditated at dawn or worked a graveyard shift doing something he couldn’t talk about. We settled into our seats, expecting worksheets or quiet reading time. But nope. He had other plans. “Today,” he announced, “we’re going to draw schematics of our houses.” Schematics. Not drawings. Not little houses with smoke coming out of the chimney. Actual blueprint-style schematics. He wanted the layout of our bedrooms, our parents’ rooms, and where the pets slept. Every detail. Now, to be fair, Highlights Magazine did have a feature that month teaching kids how to draw floor plans. So maybe he was just a bit overenthusiastic about cross-curricular learning. Or maybe — and this is my completely rhetorical adult theory — he worked the graveyard shift as a cat burglar gathering intel between heists. Just moonlighting between blueprints. While the rest of the class tried their best to recreate their actual homes, my imagination sprinted in a totally different direction. The house I drew had:- A massive master bedroom with an oversized bathroom for my parents
- Separate bedrooms for us kids on the opposite side of the house
- A kitchen placed right in the center like a command center
- And the dog — the true VIP — had a luxurious two-story doghouse
Later that day, my mom asked the usual question: “So, what did you guys do today?” “We drew schematics of our house,” I said casually. The look on her face was instant and intense. She wasn’t panicked, but there was definitely a “Why does a substitute teacher need to know the exact layout of my home?” expression happening. Parental instincts activated. But then I showed her my diagram. She stared at it. Blinked. Then sighed with massive relief. “This isn’t our house,” she said. “Nope! I made it up,” I replied proudly. Her shoulders relaxed so much she probably lost five pounds of tension in one instant. If the substitute was secretly planning a heist, my masterpiece of misinformation would have sent him to the wrong house entirely. Looking back, the whole moment feels like a sitcom setup — a mysterious substitute collecting “house schematics,” me creating a completely fictional piece of architecture, and my mom going on a full emotional journey in under 30 seconds. Maybe he was just excited about the Highlights Magazine floor-plan activity. Or maybe — just maybe — he moonlighted in cat burglary. We’ll never know. But if he was, I like to think I threw him completely off the scent.Enjoy this story?
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Framing the Final Light: The Power of the Setting Sun Shot in Film
Explore how filmmakers use the setting sun shot to create emotion and meaning in film — from Sergio Leone’s westerns to Saguaro Court by Rodney Washington.
The Power of the Setting Sun Shot in Film
There’s a certain magic that happens when a camera captures the last light of the day. The sun dips low, shadows stretch long, and everything takes on a warm, golden glow that can turn even the simplest scene into something timeless. Filmmakers call it the “magic hour,” and it’s been used for decades to convey emotion, finality, and visual poetry.
I learned this firsthand in 2002, when I produced a short film called Saguaro Court. The story closed with a powerful image — the supposed bad guy standing over the supposed good guy, revealing a sudden plot twist as the Arizona sun sank behind them. The setting sun wasn’t just a backdrop; it was a visual exclamation point. That warm, fading light symbolized moral ambiguity and the shifting of power in a way that dialogue alone never could.
But not everyone agreed. After the film was finished, I had a heated debate with someone who insisted that using the setting sun as a backdrop “had never been done before” — and that I was wrong for ending my film that way. I couldn’t help but laugh. The truth is, that technique has been a cinematic staple for generations. In fact, some of the greatest directors in film history have built unforgettable moments around it.
Classic Westerns and the Mythic Glow
Few genres embraced the sunset more than the Western. Director Sergio Leone turned the setting sun into a character of its own in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). Cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli often shot Clint Eastwood during the golden hour, bathing his silhouette and poncho in a desert glow that defined the spaghetti western aesthetic. Leone would even structure his production schedule around those few precious minutes when the light was perfect.
Later, Eastwood paid homage to Leone’s technique in his Oscar-winning film Unforgiven (1992), where several key moments — including the final ride into the storm — were filmed under the fading light of day. Likewise, Shane (1953) used the sunset for one of the most poignant endings in all of cinema, with the hero riding into the horizon as the sky dimmed behind him.
Modern Masters of the Golden Hour
Outside of the Western, visionary directors have continued to use this visual language.
Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven (1978) is considered the masterpiece of natural light cinematography, with nearly every shot filmed during magic hour. David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia (1962) captured the desert’s vastness and isolation in golden tones that remain unmatched. Roger Deakins, one of today’s greatest cinematographers, used the setting sun in films like No Country for Old Men (2007) and Skyfall (2012) to heighten drama and atmosphere. Even Ridley Scott’s Gladiator (2000) ends with a wheat-field vision glowing in the light of dusk — a visual metaphor for peace and release.
Why the Setting Sun Works
There’s something deeply human about the symbolism of sunset. It marks the end of a day, a life chapter, or a story. It’s universal — everyone recognizes what it feels like to watch the day fade away. The soft, directional light adds warmth, realism, and melancholy all at once. It’s not just beautiful; it’s emotional shorthand.
When we see a character framed against that low sun, we instinctively feel tension, change, or closure — the end of something and the beginning of something else.
Back to Saguaro Court
In Saguaro Court, the closing shot against the Arizona sunset wasn’t just about style — it was about storytelling. The light deepened the moral twist at the end, amplifying the shock and emotion of the scene. And that’s why filmmakers return to the setting sun again and again: because sometimes, the light says everything.
So to anyone who claims “it’s never been done before,” history — and a century of golden light — say otherwise.
Further Viewing
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – Wikipedia
Days of Heaven – IMDb Shane – Wikipedia
Lawrence of Arabia – Wikipedia
Written by Rodney Washington, filmmaker and publisher of STM Daily News
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Opinion: Integrity Should Matter More Than Self-Interest — in Business and Beyond
A 2018 betrayal taught me how quickly trust collapses when integrity is lost — a lesson that connects to today’s rising jugging crime trend.
When Integrity Gets Lost
In 2018, I learned something the hard way: not everyone who calls themselves your friend has your back.
A supposed friend of mine made it clear he cared more about his own gain than about honesty, fairness, or even the health of the business we were working on. That moment stuck with me because once integrity goes out the window, trust follows right behind it.
Fast forward to today, and I’m reading about a crime trend called jugging. Thieves sit outside banks or ATMs, watch people withdraw money, then follow them to steal cash or valuables. On the surface, it sounds unrelated. But at the root, it’s the same story: selfishness over integrity.
In business, in friendships, or on the street — the damage is always the same. Someone loses, because someone else decided that their wants mattered more than what’s right.
The older I get, the more I realize integrity isn’t optional. It’s the foundation. Without it, trust shatters, and once trust is gone, good luck getting it back.
So here’s the takeaway I keep coming back to: integrity is a daily choice. We either choose to honor it, or we slowly lose the trust that makes relationships — and communities — work.
What choice are you making today?
Some further reading:
Integrity in Business: Upholding Honesty and Trustworthiness in Every Aspect
This article delves into the essence of business integrity, emphasizing the alignment between actions and core values. It discusses the importance of honesty, transparency, and consistency in building trust and fostering long-term success in business relationships.
STM Daily News is a vibrant news blog dedicated to sharing the brighter side of human experiences. Emphasizing positive, uplifting stories, the site focuses on delivering inspiring, informative, and well-researched content. With a commitment to accurate, fair, and responsible journalism, STM Daily News aims to foster a community of readers passionate about positive change and engaged in meaningful conversations. Join the movement and explore stories that celebrate the positive impacts shaping our world.
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