Daniel Barnes

Writer, Copywriter, Brand Content Specialist, Marketing Specialist, Editor, Journalist, Content Manager, SEO

United States

I am a Sacramento-based writer, copywriter, brand content specilist, marketing specialist, editor, digital content manager, SEO, journalist, social media manager and critic. My work has appeared in the Sacramento Bee, Sacramento Magazine, Sacramento News & Review, Comstock's Magazine, East Bay Express and many other publications. I also serve as the host and writer of the Dare Daniel podcast.

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Copywriting/Marketing

CCCCO
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California Community Colleges give new, returning and international students the education and support they need to succeed. Financial aid is available.

Capital Network Solutions, Inc.
04/27/2020
Top 5 IT Priorities When Moving Offices

Moving offices usually stands out as a sign of success for a business. As young companies mature and expand, they outgrow their humble beginnings and require more space. Meanwhile, more established organizations might start opening satellite offices in new markets.

Capital Network Solutions, Inc.
06/18/2019
CNS Speeds Up Morton & Pitalo

Sacramento IT Services Success Story: Morton & Pitalo Download Case Study The Company  Founded in 1977 by partners Richard Morton and John Pitalo, Morton & Pitalo Inc. is the oldest locally owned civil engineering firm in the Sacramento area. They

Capital Network Solutions, Inc.
05/03/2019
Small Business Cybersecurity FAQ

Small Business Cybersecurity FAQ Cybersecurity tends to rank low on a small business owner's list of concerns. However, with cyberattacks on the rise and new data privacy legislation on the horizon, doing nothing is no longer an option. Two-thirds of SMBs suffered a cyberattack last year, while the average cyberattack costs nearly $3 million.

Capital Network Solutions, Inc.
01/31/2020
CA Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) FAQ

CCPA is here, whether your business is ready or not. California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA, is one of the most far-reaching consumer data privacy laws in the country.

Capital Network Solutions, Inc.
03/01/2020
How Much Do Managed IT Services Cost in 2020?

The process of hiring or changing IT providers can be a difficult one, with a lot of unknowns related to prices and services. At Capital Network Solutions (CNS), one of the first questions we invariably receive from potential customers is: How much does a managed IT services plan cost and what does it cover?

Capital Network Solutions, Inc.
06/13/2019
Baltimore Ransomware Attack 2019: City Under Siege

Most honest Americans learned about burner phones from the HBO series The Wire, a crime drama set in Baltimore. In The Wire, criminals used these disposable phones to stay one step ahead of law enforcement surveillance. The Wire went off the air in 2008, but the more things changed since then, the more they stayed the same.

Capital Network Solutions, Inc.
04/25/2019
What is the CNS Onboarding Process?

As soon as you contract with Capital Network Solutions to become your Managed IT Services provider, we kick off our comprehensive onboarding process. In our thirty-plus years in the IT industry, we have onboarded businesses of all sizes in a variety of industries to

Capital Network Solutions, Inc.
08/21/2019
CNS Provides CSEA-Worthy Network Security

Sacramento Network Security Success Story: CSEA The Company When Leslie Cain tells people that she works at the California Society of Enrolled Agents (CSEA), she usually gets the same question in return. What is an Enrolled Agent? Enrolled Agents (EAs) are tax experts authorized to represent taxpayers before the IRS.

Journalism

Sacramento Magazine
01/21/2020
Fish Tales - Sacramento Magazine

More than two years after getting fired from his namesake restaurant, Lou Valente is back and better than ever. The former Lou's Sushi frontman debuted Southpaw Sushi on a suddenly bustling stretch of Del Paso Boulevard last August. The restaurant is Valente's first project since his unusually high-profile 2017 breakup with former partner Daniel Walsh.

Sacramento Magazine
01/26/2019
Women in Wine - Sacramento Magazine

While men still dominate the winegrowing business, women are coming on strong. Here are four from the Sacramento region who are making their mark in a changing industry. The first female vintner on record in California was Josephine Tychson, who took over Tychson Cellars in St. Helena following her tubercular husband's suicide in 1886.

Comstock's magazine
04/19/2021
A Blend for Success - Comstock's magazine

This story is part of our April 2021 issue. To subscribe, click here. In most years, Ironstone Vineyards in Murphys hummed with energy and activity. During concert weekends at the vineyard's Ironstone Amphitheatre, where artists like Willie Nelson and John Fogerty have played, up to 5,000 people a day would come through the vineyard's tasting room.

Sacramento News & Review
02/13/2019
SN&R * Dining * Drink * Women of rye whiskey * Feb 14, 2019

When Charmaine Magale started touring distilleries in California, Oregon, Washington state and Canada as research before starting her own spirits company, she noticed that something important was missing. "I felt this lack of presence of female energy in these distilleries," says Magale, one of the four female owners of Sacramento-based Legado Spirits, which launched its debut rye whiskey last September.

Inside Sacramento
08/27/2020
A Stitch In Time - Inside Sacramento

"I've heard that some people stitch in public places, and it usually generates some conversation," Sohn says. "One part of this project is to build a community of concerned citizens and start a dialogue that I think we need to go beyond this political divide we have on the refugee issue."

Inside Sacramento
08/01/2018
East Meets West - Inside Sacramento

Although a budding rock star artist in her native China, Lin Fei Fei didn't know a soul in Sacramento when she and her Detroit-born boyfriend moved here in August 2015. Lin completed her MFA at the prestigious Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts in Shenyang, a city with a population of more than 8 million, and participated in art shows across Asia and Europe.

Inside Sacramento
11/01/2018
Cong Nguyen Brews The King of Beers - Inside Sacramento

After getting his undergraduate degree from the University of the Pacific, Cong Nguyen worked to raise his grade-point average while applying to 15 dental schools a year. Nguyen was rejected by every one of the schools, and he gave up on dentistry after a couple years.

Inside Sacramento
12/01/2018
Bigger Than Life - Inside Sacramento

As recently as two years ago, widely acclaimed local artist Maren Conrad had no interest whatsoever in painting outdoor murals. Conrad had painted interior murals before, and she was comfortable working on large-scale projects, usually in her trademark medium of metal leaf and layered resin, but she never considered herself a street artist.

Inside Sacramento
04/05/2019
Blog Bloc - Inside Sacramento

No one asked Kachet Jackson-Henderson to create The Blog Bloc, a group that provides education, support, resources and networking opportunities for local bloggers. A veteran fashion blogger under the name Lipstick Giraffe and a self-styled "marketing strategist, content creator, lifestyle expert," Jackson-Henderson simply saw that a disconnection existed-and created a connection.

Inside Sacramento
01/01/2019
Ancient Meets Modern - Inside Sacramento

Chinese-Born Master Bridges East and West With His Art If you know where to look, you start to see Shimo everywhere. A Chinese-born, Sacramento-based "Eastern Neo-Expressionism" master, Shimo has created works that range from passionately colorful oil paintings to intricately beautiful porcelains.

Inside Sacramento
02/01/2019
Vined Ambition - Inside Sacramento

There are only two wineries currently operating in Winters, the small farming town 45 minutes west of Sacramento, but Nicole Salengo still fervently believes in the area's potential to become a winegrowing region. "I believe every hill in Winters should be planted with wine grapes," says Salengo, a former geology student and head winemaker at Winters-based Berryessa Gap Vineyards.

Sacramento Magazine
09/25/2018
The Wine Country Next Door: Clarksburg - Sacramento Magazine

Change tends to come slowly in a town of fewer than 500 people, so it's not surprising that many of the top winemaking families in this lovely Delta town, including Bogle and Heringer, have local roots dating back to the 19th century. Named after settler Robert C.

Inside Sacramento
04/28/2020
IGYB has your back |Volunteers Giving Back | - Inside Sacramento

In November 2019, a dozen Sacramento restaurants wrapped up a two-month pilot phase of IGYB funded by Dignity Health, Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health, UC Davis and the Sacramento Kings. "What the pilot program found was that there is a dramatic increase of awareness about mental health services," Mulvaney says.

Comstock's magazine
03/09/2018
Queens of Craft Brew - Comstock's magazine

A 2014 study of the craft beer world by Stanford researchers showed that women filled only 21 percent of the top leadership roles in the industry. That figure is depressingly low, but the level of female executive representation in craft beer still greatly outpaces industries like finance, health care and information technology.

Comstock's magazine
06/13/2018
Asian Brothers Brewing Honors Owner's History - Comstock's magazine

New beers are prime currency in the world of craft beer. Walk into any of the 60-plus independent craft breweries in the Sacramento region and you'll probably encounter an enormous tap list filled with 10-20 beers in a diverse range of styles.

Comstock's magazine
06/09/2020
Downtown Goals - Comstock's magazine

Overshadowed by the Nut Tree road stop and retail center, downtown Vacaville doesn't always get as much attention by tourists and locals. However, it only took one visit to convince Leslie Silver that it was the perfect spot to start her new business.

Comstock's magazine
04/21/2020
Recovery Center - Comstock's magazine

UCLA researchers predict that California's economy will get hit harder by the coronavirus than most U.S. states. However, the Greater Sacramento Economic Council is already leading the local recovery effort. The coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the world economy, with UCLA researchers predicting last month that California will get hit harder than most U.S.

Comstock's magazine
04/16/2020
Creativity in Quarantine - Comstock's magazine

As county and state orders compelled most people to remain at home, the Sacramento art world took a huge hit. However, creativity has continued to flourish in quarantine. In her 36 years in the Sacramento art scene, D. Oldham Neath never had to call an artist to cancel their show.

Comstock's magazine
02/19/2020
Loving the Lager - Comstock's magazine

Peter Hoey used to joke that he was a "closet lager drinker" in an ale-obsessed industry. As a beer drinker and brewer, the Urban Roots Brewing & Smokehouse cofounder cut his teeth on classic German styles like helles lagers and pilsners.

Comstock's magazine
03/06/2019
Elizabeth-Rose Mandalou is Sacramento's First Female Advanced Sommelier - Comstock's magazine

In attaining the title of Advanced Sommelier, Elizabeth-Rose Mandalou became one of only three Sacramento wine professionals and the first local woman to reach the coveted status. The Sacramento native and co-owner of Woodlake Tavern, Uptown Pizza Kitchen, and the wine- and seafood-focused Allora aced the grueling three-day exam on her first attempt in July 2017, despite the test's 75 percent fail rate.

Comstock's magazine
02/13/2019
The Rise of the Pastry Stout - Comstock's magazine

Dark beers have developed a serious sweet tooth. Cavity-forward new releases like New Glory's King Size Satisfies, an imperial stout that mimics the flavor of a Snickers bar, or Fort Rock's holiday-themed Jingle Juice, which was brewed with lactose, molasses, vanilla, cinnamon, candied ginger and gingerbread cookies, became increasingly ubiquitous and popular at Sacramento-area tasting rooms in the last year.

Comstock's magazine
08/06/2018
Guts and Glory - Comstock's magazine

Danny Johnson knew it was over the second he saw that softball-shaped lump of hamburger. Under the hot lights of the stage, amid flashing cameras and raucous cheers from the Belfast crowd, one of Johnson's teammates at the 2018 World Butchers' Challenge forgot to press their ground beef into an actual patty before time expired.

Comstock's magazine
07/05/2018
When Spoilers are Savers - Comstock's magazine

In its current state, "Baby Cakes" is not quite ready for the B Street Theatre Mainstage, but that's why we are gathered in one of the smaller upstairs rooms at the newly built Sofia Tsakopoulos Center for the Arts. The stage is undressed, the props and costumes are meager, and an offstage voice announces where the lighting cues will eventually exist.

Comstock's magazine
01/16/2018
Country Crafted - Comstock's magazine

Out among the winding roads and rolling fields of the Placer County foothills, where vineyards thrive in the Mediterranean climate and wineries are plentiful, a new kind of bucolic drinking experience has begun to flourish. Instead of symmetrical rows of grape vines, these new establishments offer towering hop trellises, while the smell of fermented grains fills the air.

Comstock's magazine
04/08/2020
How Are Sacramento Restaurants Handling the Coronavirus? - Comstock's magazine

The coronavirus quarantine has devastated the Sacramento restaurant scene. Almost overnight, most of the city's food service workers lost their jobs. Some establishments closed their doors, either temporarily or permanently, while others pivoted to a delivery and takeout model. We talked to several prominent local restaurateurs to see how they are handling the situation.

Criticism

Dare Daniel - Podcast and Movie Reviews
12/18/2019
Top Ten Films of 2019 - Daniel Barnes - Dare Daniel

Directors Benny and Josh Safdie double down on the pure rush of their 2017 success Good Time with this adrenaline-soaked thriller. Adam Sandler gives the performance of the year as Howard Ratner, a New York City jeweler and danger addict barreling through the Diamond District in search of the ultimate win.

Dare Daniel - Podcast and Movie Reviews
12/21/2020
Top Ten Films of 2020 - Daniel Barnes - Dare Daniel Podcast

For over a decade, Kilkenny, Ireland-based Cartoon Saloon has produced under-the-radar animated features for adults and smart kids. With the astonishing Wolfwalkers, Cartoon Saloon gives us a profound and humane movie that should shame Pixar. Set in 17 th-century Kilkenny, Wolfwalkers concerns the growing friendship between two girls, one a wolf hunter's daughter, the other a werewolf.

Shepherd Express
12/24/2018
The Best and the Worst Films of 2018

Any year a new Orson Welles movie debuts is a good year for cinema, so no matter the ups and downs of the release schedule, at least the existence of the master director's unfinished final film The Other Side of the Wind provides 2018 with an undeniable saving grace.

Sacramento News & Review
03/28/2018
SN&R * Film * Film Reviews * Dogs of warmth * Mar 29, 2018

While many of the other major directors of his generation mutated over time, the cinema of Wes Anderson often feels hermetically sealed. Just look at how the youthful explosiveness of Paul Thomas Anderson's early work has grown increasingly internal and terse with each new release, or the way that Quentin Tarantino has graduated from darkly comic crime films to epic genre pieces.

Sacramento Magazine
06/21/2018
Wings on Fire - Sacramento Magazine

Only a few decades ago, wings were considered the least desirable part of the chicken, and they were mostly used for soup or stock. But due to their ready availability and relatively low cost, hot-sauce-soaked Buffalo wings became a popular bar food item in the 1970s and '80s, and chicken wing franchise restaurants sprang up in ...

Shepherd Express
11/09/2020
Holiday Movie Preview 2020

After an election season like no other in a year like no other, get ready for the most unusual awards season on record. As the movie exhibition industry continues to feel the crunch of coronavirus-related regulations, most tentpole releases have already moved to 2021.

Dare Daniel - Podcast and Movie Reviews
07/08/2021
"Black Widow" Movie Review by Daniel Barnes - Dare Daniel Podcast

ESFS Festivals *Now playing in wide release and streaming on Disney+ Premier Access. In a tightly structured movie, the characters and the story become inseparable, with one element informing and supporting the other. Think of story and character as the two tracks of a railroad.

Sacramento News & Review
07/25/2018
SN&R * Film * Film Reviews * Fallout buoy * Jul 26, 2018

The 2018 summer release schedule is crammed full of limp, sad, flavorless, nobody-asked-for-this-shit sequels. There are now two The Equalizer movies, three Hotel Transylvania movies and four The Purge movies. A new hope for a Star Wars comeback fades far, far away with each passing release.

Sacramento Magazine
11/28/2017
Cheap Eats - Sacramento Magazine

In the restaurant world, the price for creating ambience tends to get passed on to the customer. The steep costs of a prime location, splendid décor and a unique dining experience all get added to the price of the food, no matter how underspiced and underwhelming.

Podcasting

Dare Daniel - Podcast and Movie Reviews
07/06/2021
"Speed 2: Cruise Control" Podcast Movie Review - Dare Daniel Podcast

https://daredaniel.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/DareDanielE092S01.mp3 "Zero knots." In this week's episode, Seabourn Legend mainstage mainstays Daniel Barnes and Corky McDonnell excoriate Speed 2: Cruise Control "with an almost sensual pleasure." Sandra Bullock and not-Keanu star in this lazy and pointless rehash/desecration of Speed that makes the perfectly perfunctory original look like The Wages of Fear.

Dare Daniel - Podcast and Movie Reviews
03/16/2021
"Foodfight!" Podcast Movie Review - Dare Daniel Podcast

https://daredaniel.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/DareDanielE084S01.mp3 "My friends come out to creep." Marketropolis stock boys Daniel Barnes and Corky McDonnell use their dog-tective skills to investigate the rancid animated feature Foodfight!. With its horrifying, half-finished visuals and an ensemble cast of sex predator corporate mascots, Foodfight! provides a steady stream of nightmare fuel.

Dare Daniel - Podcast and Movie Reviews
03/16/2020
"Norbit" Podcast Movie Review - Dare Daniel Podcast

https://daredaniel.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/DareDanielE059S01.mp3 "Everything in this movie is so pathologically unclever." In this week's episode, Daniel and Corky disappear into the roles of white, middle-aged podcast hosts with their review of the outrageously unfunny Norbit. Eddie Murphy co-wrote and co-produced this series of fart and poop jokes, making Norbit one of the weirdest passion projects ever.