Jane Genova: Speechwriter - Ghostwriter

"The Good Wife" - Obviously trying to pull in younger demographics

On "The Good Wife" Alicia's and Peter's teenager son Zack has been featured in the first episode of the new zeason. He's hardly a heart-stopper but he knows his way around all the features of the smartphone, including how to videotape.  And that's what he does when the cop stops him on the highway, which gets him into even more trouble.  Mom rushes to the rescue, including using Peter's influence. 

Obviously, the show is pulling for younger demographics.  But it might have considered that before it cast some plain-vanilla characters like Zack and Grace as the main attraction's children. 

"The Good Wife" - New season, big new crises (yes, plural)

"The Good Wife" is now a mature program so it's expected that the crisis level would be amped up.  In the first episode of the new season, everyone is in some kind of crisis.

The most scary is the return of Kalinda's ex husband Nick.  She has to face her past since he won't go away and she starts on the first steps on that road with her gun.  Because Lockhart Gardner is in crisis ($60 million in debt) it has to take on as a client Nick.  That means that Nick is part of Kalinda's daily existence.  The firm's chief rainmaker David leaves.  Alicia and Cary as associates could wind up out of a job.

Meanwhile Alicia's and Peter's son Zack got stopped on the highway by a policeman.  The plot is convoluted here but because Zack videos the cop he could face several years in prison.  Alicia pulls out all stops to bail Zack out including asking Peter's help.  Zack has turned up some possible evidence that the police might have a scam going on in that portion of the highway.

There are encouraging signs that Alicia and Peter may reconcile. There is nothing like uniting to help out their offspring to bring two people back together.

Neuroplasticity: Hey, Bro, how's your brain rewiring going?

Psychiatric meds may become an anachronism.  Instead of managing a mental disorder with pharmaceuticals, those of us who have lost out in that particular genetic lottery might simply have our brain rewired.  The term for that process is neuroplasticity.  And those in the front lines of this new field of research and applications have proven out that the circuits of the brain can be reconfigured, at any age.

A recent book on that is "The Woman Who Changed Her Brain: And Other Inspiring Stories of Pioneering Brain Transformations."  The author is Barbara Arrowsmith-Young, who herself was once learning disabled.  She figured out what neuroplasticity exercises would restore the circuity to normal functioning.  Today she applies that in a school in Toronto.

That's just one example of how brains are getting rewired.  A more familiar example is how the repetition of the 12-step principles and the rituals of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) transforms drunks into sober members of society. Sometimes AA is referrred to as a "cult."  Maybe it is just that.  After all, it does reprogram the brain.

Another familar example is mindfulness training, which is taking place in schools, prisons, therapy centers at prestigious organizations like Yale, and Buddhist temples such as Shamblhala in New Haven, Connecticut.  Mindfulness has a number of approaches but all seek to slow down the monkey mind to stay in the present.  The now has no regrets about the past or angst about the future.

Neuroplasticity is no offbeat movement.  It's grounded in solid science.  And, "The Woman Who Changed Her Brain" ranks way up there in the 9000 category on Amazon.com.

Arthur Ochs Sulzberger: An institution Baby Boomers equated with getting ahead

In schools throughout America we Baby Boomers were told that if we read THE NEW YORK TIMES every day we would be successful.  The irony, of course, is that we would have had more of an edge had we been daily readers of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.  After all, faster and more lucrative career trajectories happen in the world of finance.

Teachers and guidance counselors got their way. The reading-THE NEW YORK TIMES habit took hold.  Those of us who went on to work in communications would hear a lot about its publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger. 

Then that whole era passed.  We did come to value THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, then THE ECONOMIST, and more recently FAST COMPANY, WIRED, and TECH CRUNCH.  In five years THE NEW YORK TIMES might not be around, at least not as the paper of record it had been. 

A sign of the changing times, Sulzberger has died.  The media appropriately saluted his former leadership.  He had been a giant, just as had Ben Bradlee.  But all that seems so far away and irrelevant now, more a snippet from history than anything which provides lessons for how Baby Boomers can remain relevant and productive in a marketplace our teachers and guidance counselors never envisioned.

RJ Julia Independent Booksellers: It's still here, Borders isn't

Management experts studying business models which are succeeding in this disruptive era should visit RJ Julia Independent Booksellers. 

For 22 years it has managed to thrive even while industry leaders in the bookstore business like Borders have vanished.  Its tagline is: A great place to meet books. My hunch is that romance also happens amidst the old-fashioned book shelves. 

Throughout Connecticut it's iconic for its special book events.  Those have the pull force of featuring celebrity authors like Martha Stewart. But that's only part of RJ Julia's law of attraction.  The setting in itself, outside and inside, creates experiences.

Based in the classic New England town of Madison, Connecticut, the store is clustered amidst upscale boutiques, big brandname real esate agencies, and an arts theatre. But the "neighorhood," and that term could be applied, is inclusive.  There is a blue-collar restaurant with cheap tables and chairs, food piled up high, and fast counter help. Parking in the area is free, but limited to two hours before 6 P.M.

Inside, the layout with its nooks and crannies, the wood furniture, and the slowed-down ambiance reaches back to bookstores in the best British tradition. It's a sort of shock that the staff speak American English. 

I interviewed bookseller Tim Novak, who has been with the store about 18 months. He explains its endurance in terms of its ability to serve the people.  Novak brought up Starbucks founder Howard Schultz who characterized what the chain is all about in just that way: A people business.  For books per se, consumers could just go to Amazon.com and that would be that, Novak notes.

Before browsers enter the store, it seems small.  Once inside, they find out it has two floors with multiple side rooms like the cafe and reading room.  The major events can be held in a regular book area in which the displays can be rolled away.  Many are free.  That builds brand loyalty.  The staff told me that when customers relocate to other states, they often still consult with RJ Julia about their book choices and place their orders with the store.

What best practices are evident? 

Special events. Kate Sirignano, founder of Image Marketing Consultants which serves the Northeast Corridor, is getting a growing number of requests for those.  In themselves they can develop new business.  The side benefits include brand enhancement and a shot at media attention.  Also they can be tweeted, live-blogged, and video-taped for YouTube.  And all that can become part of the organization's Media Center or Brand House on the website.

Location.  The town could be considered a tourist destination for those wanting to reach back to a simpler time.  In addition, businesses like the movie house are feeder pools for browsers.  Before and after the Madison screened "The Master" the store was packed.

Uniqueness or "blue ocean strategy."  The ambiance mirrors the sanctuary quality which churches and Buddhist temples provide.  Yet, it's a commercial establishment.

Expert staff.  Information about books is provided by earnest book lovers.  There is a reverence showed for the craft of writing.

Struggling enterprises like Best Buy and even P&G could send out a posse to check out RJ.  It's at 758 Boston Post Road, Madison, Connecticut, 1-800-74-READS.

 

 

Obama's 3200 Debate Parties: Invitation to one in New Haven, CT in email

Remember when Barack Obama upstaged the RNC by doing Reddit during it?  Now he's taken over the momentum of the debates with organizing debate-watching parties.  As POLITICO reports, his campaign has organized 3200 of them across the nation.

In email I got an invitation to watch the debate at a party right here in New Haven, Connecticut. This was so well organized that the invite even had my name "Jane" personally on it.

"Arbitrage" - Richard Gere's comeback role

"Arbitrage" could have been a mess of cliches about the corruption in the world of investing.  In a comeback role, Richard Gere portrays a cunning self-absorbed shark incapable of caring about anyone else, including his own daughter. 

The most riveting personality trait is his ability to stay focused and determined even when faced with the possibility of prison for manslaughter and for fraud.  This Gere probably couldn't have portrayed in his youth.

 

 

"The Master" - Chilling portrayal of two disturbed, needy men

Fraud Lancaster Dodd in "The Master" has discovered that the key to money is to control people's minds.  His genius is speedreading what the person is all about and then pressing the right buttons.  If Dodd, played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman, were just after money that would have made him just another crook.  Instead, he's really dangerous because he is a needy nut who requires a loyal following.  And he has the skills to get them to come and stay.

One of those who comes, stays, but then leaves is Freddy, played by Joaquin Phoenix.  A man broken long before he fought in World War II, Freddy is as crazy and needy as Dodd.  The only difference is that he lacks the leadership and organizational skills to do any real harm.  His tragic flaw is alcohol. That pushes him to the margins of life.

The tale is chilling for those of us who at some point of our lives were lost or beaten down enough to be taken over by someone or something.  As we watch "The Master" we marvel that somehow we got away and stayed away.

Ethos Made-in-America: We are our jobs

With so much structural change in industries and cost-efficiency initiatives in all workplaces, lots of people have lost their jobs.  The late Andrew Engeldinger was one of them.  Today he returned to his former place of employment Accent Signage Systems.  He killed the owner, 3 others, then himself.

Part of the Made-in-America ethos is that we are our jobs.  When that job is taken away, the mindset often become binary: Suicide or murder.  Most, fortunately, don't act on those seemingly only choices.  Someone reaches in and helps them.  The help usually takes the form of "we can pull together and get through this."  Sometimes it's a loved one.  Just as often these days of fragmented families it could be a therapist, member of the clergy, or simply the guy down the street who's been through that and came out the other side. 

We can make it our business to be that Everyman or Everywoman who sees the suffering, reaches out, and saves lives.

Furries and Fluid Identities: Will the concept of the "self" wind up in the U.S. Supreme Court?

Furries, that is human beings dressed up in animal attire, have been banned in a public library in Portland, Connecticut.  Let's cut to the chase: The library fears that a Disney-like creature could lure a child away and that will be that.  However, reasonable people also know that any adult with an open attitude and an incentive ranging from M&Ms peanut to a box of Legos can lure a child away.  So, this issue of the right of Furries to be permitted into a public facility supported by taxpayer money is getting plenty of attention.  Here is my post on my legal blog which a number of major discovery engines have linked to.

There is also another issue, one familiar to all of us in creative professions, be they acting, speechwriting, or cartooning.  That's the human inclination - maybe even a need - to take on other identities.  Those of us who do this well, that is master having a fluid identity, succeed in our creative career paths. 

What is the difference between someone who feels more whole dressing like an animal and one who derives professional satisfaction entering the mind and heart of Hamlet on stage?  Yet, one is being classified as a kind of pervert while the other is usually saluted for novel interpretations of the Prince of Denmark.

Come to think of it, Halloween is coming.  That holiday has become more embraced than Christmas because society gives us license to become whoever we want for several hours. 

Last night before my Buddhist meditation meeting got started at Shambhala, New Haven, Connecticut, a woman was already talking about the Halloween costume she had purchased in a consignment store for $5.  Instantly the coversation shifted from mindfulness to what identity we would take on.  Maybe if society encouraged a greater range of the self, there would be fewer emotional meltdowns, ulcers, and addictions.

My hunch is Furries could wind up on the docket of cases to be heard before the U.S. Supreme Court.