Sharing, via Twitter, his 73-year-old father’s often
profane comments in their daily conversations after he moved into his parents’
basement doesn’t seem like a smart career move, yet it is for Justin Halpern,
proving, again how the world has changed in this ever more Connected World. He didn’t need Hollywood connections or
piles of money. 
He “just” needed a catchy concept, a capacity to
write what some people loved to read. Humor helps. And there’s a ready audience
for down home wisdom mixed with profanity.
"A parent's only as good as their dumbest kid.
If one wins a Nobel Prize but the other gets robbed by a hooker, you
failed."
Less than seven months since he started sharing his
Dad’s blunt comments Halpern has 1.16 million Twitter followers and 99,777 Facebook
followers.
"No, I'm not a
pessimist. At some point the world s#%&s on everybody. Pretending it ain't s#%$
makes you an idiot, not an optimist."
Yes, a non-actor managed to attract a legion of
fans, and, perhaps, so can you or I with a sufficiently captivating premise,
delivery format and messages. That’s the dream anyway. And it came true for Halpern. 
Post Secret and Six Word Memoirs and Daily Candy are other examples of this approach. 
Back to Halpern’s quantum career leap forward. Last month, William Shatner signed on
to play his father in a CBS TV show produced by the two guys that created Will
& Grace. To top off his dream, 29-year-old Halpern gets to co-write the TV
show. In the warped ways of
today’s media culture the actor who’ll play Halpern is moving over from a TV
show about cougar women. Everyone involved in the project readily admits that
the memorable title has to be changed.
