Jane Genova: Speechwriter - Ghostwriter

Penelope Garcia - The Non-Oprah

Tonight on "Criminal Mind," agent Penelope Garcia had her hair streaked with, among other colors, strawberry.  She also has a new beau.  Garcia, who carries extra poundage and had her share of bumps in the road when young, is the non-Oprah.  She lives as she is and in the now and allows others to be who they are too.  There is none of that seeming Oprah self-absorption with weight, yesterday, and her own views. 

"Boston Legal" - Denny Comes out of the Closet, in a way

On "Boston Legal" tonight, Denny dumps the girl because he can't leave Alan.  The girl, a cattle rancher, is relocating her business to Montana.  Denny can't go not because he would miss the little of his job still left or Boston.  He simply loves Alan too much.

Saving Zoe Cruz - Women Who Can't Hang Onto Power in Their Companies

Zoe Cruz has joined Carly Fiorina et al. in being a fallen woman.  These achievers are very different types in personality, field of expertise, and management style, yet they were all alike.  They could not hold onto power in their companies.  I have a hunch I can save them and other female go-getters who do so well and then crash, fade or give up.

"CSI: Miami" - Deadly Trust

Tonight's episode of "CSI: Miami" was a morality tale of misplaced trust.  Because of it, two people wind up dead and several more wind up on death row or in prison.  The icon for fresh-squeezed orange juice Amanda trusts a hustler when her mother dies.  That hustler videotapes their love-making.  The 2nd in command at a bank trusts her lover, Amanda's father, who gets her to make it possible for him to retrieve that tape.  Deed done, he murders her.  Accidentally, a driver passing over the scene of the crime also perishes in the "sink hole."

Hoff - The Child Needs Boundaries

There's a mantra in education: The child needs boundaries.  That translates into that it's irresponsible for those in charge to allow someone not fully developed to do exactly what they want to do.  Maybe we should apply that wisdom to helping David Hasselhoff get and stay sober.

"Desperate Housewives" - Forgiveness, an elastic that keeps getting stretched

Tonight's "Desperate Housewives" drilled down into both the dark side of Wisteria Lane and the ability of its residents to forgive one another.  Gaby forgives Carlos for losing his money and his sight, at least for the time being.  Lynnette forgives her sons for setting the fire at Rick's restaurant.  Katherine and Bree forgive each other for being so alike.  Dylan forgives her father for abusing her mother.  But the elasticity of forgiveness will only stretch so far. 

The Magic of a Kiss: Lip Lock Selling

There's that old saying:  Either you can sell or you can't.  That happens to be true.  That's because either you can get out of yourself and reach the heart of the customer or you can't.  Most can't.  I could when I was a kid in the family businesses and hawking Wallace Brown Christmas cards and its special of the four years I was doing that: Rhinestone Christian crosses.  Then the magic disappeared with too much education, too much psychotherapy about my "deprived" childhood, and too much success doing other things, e.g. speechwriting/ghostwriting.

Power in Organizations: Why Companies Hire "B" Students

Not all forms of power are equal, at least not in earnings, status, and perks.  I know.  My mighty mind allows me to dazzle clients with the speeches I research and write for them.  And it got me a fine resume, including Harvard Law School on it.  But I am at the bottom of the class in compensation, social standing, and goodies like a limo driver. Those go to those who have down cold how to get, grow and hold onto power in organizations.  In corporate life, I was too busy keeping up with industry issues and working hard to ever learn these skills.  In fact, I went in the first round of Kraft layoffs.

How I'm Getting Business: One Client At A Time

The one-step-at-a-time thinking works with tough things like addictions because it's simple, it's doable, and all those one steps eventually add up to a leap to where we want to be.  An Alcoholics Anonymous [AA] Baby - my uncles took me to meetings where I inhaled chocolate marshmallow cookies - I saw miracles happen one-something-at-a-time.  Naturally, when I hit a wall during this lousy economy, I reached back into those meeting rooms.  Business came.  Tonight I pulled in $11,500 of new projects.

The Barbie Sandwich: Serving Up McCain with Cindy and Carly

Despite all their fights and stupid moves, the Dems might still triumph in Campaign08.  John McCain isn't helping his chances by being sandwiched between two Barbies.  We know all about Cindy.  Now, we might get to know a lot more about Carly.  As THE WALL STREET JOURNAL speculates today, ousted Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina might be his VP choice.