Jane Genova: Speechwriter - Ghostwriter

Thich Nhat Hanh - RECONCILIATION

As we all know, hurt people hurt, especially themselves.  That's why Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh's book RECONCILIATION can be so useful.  He presents the way out from the pain of childhood.

Unfortunately, the subtitle of the book is HEALING THE INNER CHILD.  For most of us who had tried everything to deal with our suffering, we did our inner child work and likely it didn't prove effective.  Despite his use of that phrase, his take is liberating.  He contends the wounds exist at a cellular level. Once we admit their existence in us, then we're on our way.  That's because we become capable of empathy.  We can ferret out that wounded inner child in those who have created and then added to our suffering. Not that we want a relationship with them.  But the memory of what they did or we thought they did can no longer cast spells on us.

The pay off is that, no matter the current suffering, we can manage it.  That frees us of the worst of the whole enchilada: the fear that we might suffer.

The book is available in paperback at book stores and online. 

Return of Elegance

It's dress for success again.  Men are back in three-piece suits. 

Soon enough dress codes in high end professional services firms will demand this look.  That will be hard on shorter males who can't carry well all three pieces.  When I worked full time in communications at GM, the home of the organization men, shorter men used to complain to their wives about their managers's putting them in monkey suits.  

Again, so retro, the tall male, as usual, will thrive in the workplace.

Ted Sorensen - End of Eloquence

Speechwriter for John F. Kennedy, Ted Sorensen lived and worked in the age of eloquence.  That was the peak of rhetorical flourishes such as the famous Kennedy triplicates, which that brain trust might have picked up, at least by osmosis, from Churchill.

For many years Sorensen remained on the lecture circuit talking to people about the power of language, especially the spoken kind.  The last time I had heard of him he was addressing the annual conference of a speechwriting group.

Now, of course, leaders have moved to the point outline, at least the in-touch ones.  In this age of authenticity, audiences tune out of prepared texts.  Sure, they want evidence that speakers have given a lot of thought to the subject matter but they also want evidence that speakers are responding directly in real time to them.

Everything is cyclical, so we can expect another time of great eloquence among our leaders.  But that probably won't happen in our speechwriting careers.

Petit Murders: Ironically, brother's words could save Steven Hayes

Matthew Hayes, brother of convicted Petit murderer Steven, believes in the possibility of redemption - and that all mankind should have a shot at it.  His words about that, introduced at the penalty phase of the Hayes's trial, could save save his brother.

So far the defense has seemed to hit a wall in its tactics.  The judge threw out its motion to toss the death penalty because of its cost to taxpayers.  The testimony about Hayes as a likable guy, funny and a good worker was undermined by other testimony which documented that he threatened to kill an official in prison because he had nothing to lose.  So much for his being a clueless follower of his partner in crime.

However, an appeal to the value of redemption has legs.  Most of us believe that evil can be exorcised by repentance and a turning toward good.  Supposedly the notorious Son of Sam found his better self in prison.  And it was in prison that then street trash Malcolm found a calling higher than his primitive instincts toward hate.

No one I talk to in Connecticut feels anything positive about Hayes.  However, this is a Christian state and most feel they should hate the sin but love the sinner, including allowing the possibility for salvation.

If the defense is as smart as it seems it will have Matthew's words resonate in closing arguments.

"The Hereafter" - Clint Eastwood likes to think, look at authentic people

"The Hereafter" is in the same genre as those other serious films Clint Eastwood started to do with "Unforgiven."  It looks at conventional topics from odd angles and probes the insides of authentic people.

The film's two themes resonate as much of the population around the world ages.  One theme is end of life issues.  We visit a hospice and dead people who get to say what they wanted to say before they died. 

The other theme is what might follow life as we know know it.  Marcus's brother Jason is essentially the same person he had been as a young twin brother on the other side.  He laughs a lot when he communicates with Marcus through medium George. The difference is that he's achieved wisdom.  For instance, he instructs Marcus that he must take care of himself rather than depending on his twin who was 12 minutes older.  As a symbol of that, Jason forbids him to continue wearing his cap. 

As the themes play out, we meet authentic people or those made authentic by life channging experiences.  They include, of course, Marcus, George, and the television anchor who dies in a tsunami and is brought back to life by bystanders.  But, what's interesting is that Eastwood does not condemn the inauthentic, weak, and simply unaware.  That's the grandeur of his vision.   He understands human nature at its most normal.

Writers: Make Public Relations part of revenue mix

It's a world in which more of us are earning our living from multiple sources of revenue.  That provides much more opportunity.  It also spreads the risk.

One of those sources of income can be creating content for the public relations industry.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics has it growing by 24 percent from now until 2018.  And with social media strategy and tactics, the work that public relations agencies is doing is a lot of fun. 

If you haven't hunted for assignments in public relations in years, time to check it out again.  Help wanted ads are everywhere from Craigslist to eLance.

Calorie Count for Cuisine at Target

California Salad - 610 calories

Chicken Parmesan Pita Melt - 240 calories

Chocolate Chip Cookie - 510 calories

Preferences aside, it makes more calorie sense to order the Chicken Parmesan Pita Melt at Target.  Since I was already into that California Salad before I started reading Target's Nutritional Guide,  I was in for a long night of guilt.  I blamed myself.  I blamed Target.  I blamed the food industry in general for this sin against keeping the calorie count where it should be a woman of a certain age.

Clearly, there is every reason in the world for enterprises serving food not to have these kinds of guides created and easily available to the public.

 

Alcoholism - Ditch that term/concept

One of the major obstacles in treating alcoholism is that few want to be identified as struggling with that condition [some refer to such as condition as a disease.]  Yet, I have never yet met anyone who is in such a pickle not admit they are "having a problem with alcohol."  Why can't the researchers, theorists, hands-on caregivers, and insurance companies just leave it at that: problem with alcohol.

Effective therapists enter this tricky space with clients by suggesting that they experiment with controlling their drinking.  If they can control it, then the abuse might have been simply unaware stress behavior.  Once they become aware and realize that they should be controlling how much they drink, when, and where then they might attend to modifying their lives.

If clients can't control it, then therapists worth their salt suggest they might try a formal treatment program for problem drinking.  The term alcoholism is rarely introduced.  After all, does putting a label on an entity accelerate treatment?  In this case, probably not.

Why can't we all develop a mindset about having a problem with drinking.  That will motivate more folks to examine if they do and then consider ways of solving it.

Writers as Contract Workers

We writers are no newbies at being contract workers.   But finally the legal system may be catching up with reviewing our protections under federal and state labor laws.

In an oddball case, nine exotic dancers filed a lawsuit against their contract employer Penthouse Executive Club.  They have all sorts of beefs, ranging from the allegation that the employer did not pay minimum wage to that they were forced to buy their own uniforms, that is, thongs.

This week a federal judge conditionally certified that suit as a class action one.  That means that other contract workers at that employer can piggyback on that legal complaint.  Here is my post on that for AOL Jobs.

The defendant contends that as contract employees the plaintiffs are not covered by the protections of federal and state labor laws.

Obviously, for myriad reasons, this will be a closely watched bit of litigation.  Could it snowball into a contract worker's analogue to civil rights case "Brown v Board of Education" and will it reach the U.S Supreme Court?

Fox - like Dow Jones, the magic is off

Is there a correlation between ownership by Rupert Murdoch and decline in influence.  Remember when THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, under the umbrella of Dow Jones, was the paper of record in business?  Then Murdoch took over.  Now his other property Fox has lost its magic.

Bloomberg reports that young viewership on Fox is down 17 percent.  This is at a time when the small screen is having its second golden age.  Series ranging from "Mad Men" to "The Good Wife" have made fictional TV characters iconic. 

Has Fox caved under the pressure of being controlled by Murdoch et al.?