Slam by Nick Hornby - about a skater boy who becomes a teenage dad when his ex-girlfriend has a baby and how it affects his relationships.  It is a good story with more than a few doses of humour.  I read it down at the beach in between walks along the shoreline and it kept me reading all day.

Broken soup by Jenny Valentine - about a girl whose brother drowned and left her mother severely depressed so she is left to take care of her little sister.  She makes friends with a boy she meets at the supermarket who gives her a mysterious negative that has links to her brother, as well as the girl who helps her develop the photo and also has links to her brother.  It is a sad, moving, surprising book about family, grief and friendship that kept me reading all night and into the next day.

Ruby Red by Linzi Glass - about a girl living in South Africa during the time of apartheid and her friendship with a boy from the wrong side of white.  Sometimes challenging, but well written.

All of them were really good reads and I would recommend any/all of them.

By Congressman Dennis Kucinich
AfterDowningStreet.org
Oct 13, 2008

With Additional Material by David Swanson and Elizabeth de la Vega

trade paperback edition • 156 pages • 5.5 x 8.5 • ISBN: 978-1-932595-42-0 • $12
Price: $12
PURCHASE A COPY

Feral House offers this important and urgent publication of Dennis Kucinich’s Articles of Impeachment this election season in two formats: an offset-printed paperback book available for the cost of $12 and a free downloadable PDF available below.

David Swanson’s additional article explains how the Impeachment process is possible and necessary even after the guilty perp leaves office, and how they can be used for prosecution of crimes. Those wishing to purchase over ten copies of the printed book can obtain them at discount from Feral House directly. Please contact info@feralhouse.com for costs.

"More than two centuries ago, the Founders of this country set forth a procedure for Congress to follow in the event of grave abuse of power by the Chief Executive. That process is impeachment. In the face of the monumental deceit and disregard for the Constitution that we have witnessed on the part of the President over the past seven years, Congressman Kucinich’s initiation of this process is neither fanciful nor futile, neither vengeful nor vindictive; it is the sober fulfillment of his sworn duty as a Congressman to follow the law without regard to personal consequence and misguided political stratagem. It is, quite simply, an act of patriotism."
—Elizabeth de la Vega, Former Federal Prosecutor
and author of United States v. George W. Bush et. al.

"This collection of impeachable offenses should be viewed as a sampling of the crimes and abuses of President George W. Bush and his subordinates. Bush has had many accomplices — first and foremost Vice President Cheney. But our Founders created a single executive precisely so that we could hold that one person accountable for the actions of the executive branch. It is high time we did so, and millions of Americans will be urging their representatives to support the effort being led by Congressman Kucinich.

"These articles establish, and hearings would establish further, that President Bush was ‘the decider’ behind countless abuses of power. And, of course, his public comments have time and again advertised his indifference to the laws he is violating. Not only does overwhelming evidence show us that Bush knew his claims about WMDs to be false, but the president has shown us that he considers the question of truth or falsehood to be laughably irrelevant. When Diane Sawyer asked Bush why he had claimed with such certainty that there were so many weapons in Iraq, he replied: 'What’s the difference? The possibility that [Saddam] could acquire weapons, If he were to acquire weapons, he would be the danger.'

"What’s the difference? Hundreds of thousands of corpses and a fatal blow to the rule of law among nations. That’s the difference. Unless we remove impeachment from the Constitution by failing to exercise it, in which case truth will no longer matter any more than justice or peace."
— David Swanson, creator of ImpeachCheney.org, Washington Director of Democrats.com and co-founder of the AfterDowningStreet.org

"Overload is the main problem—I call it outrage fatigue. The sheer multitude, not to mention magnitude, of impeachable offenses tends to dull the senses. The opportunity to dig into just one or two provided some space and focused the mind.

"At the same time, the deeper one digs, the more unimaginable the dirt that comes up. Earlier, I had not taken the time to sift through the abundant evidence of the unconscionable ways in which George Bush and George Tenet teamed up—including, in Tenet’s case, lying under oath—to stave off charges of misfeasance/ malfeasance before the attacks on 9/11.

"The Founders pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to create a system in which we could protect ourselves from unbridled power. Today, we cannot let a 21st Century string of abuses and usurpations stand without challenge.

"But the experience of the past several years shows that there is a very high hurdle in our way: no Common Sense. I refer, of course, to the courageous independent journalism of the likes of Tom Paine who stirred the innate dignity of Americans toward sacrifice for independence and freedom. Tom Paine would be horrified to see what has become of his profession today—with browbeaten journalists and former general officers doing the bidding of the corporations that own/pay them.

"In my view, impeachment proceedings are essential to:

* Reestablish the separation of powers in our Constitution as a check on the so-called unitary executive
* Prevent a budding—and catastrophic—US attack on Iran by exposing it as yet another war of aggression against a country posing no threat to the US;
* Call attention to the blood already drained from our civil liberties and staunch the bleeding.

"Impeachment proceedings may be the only way to force the captive media to inform normal citizens about what has been going on in our country. Thomas Jefferson underscored the importance of this when he said: 'Whenever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government.'"
—Ray McGovern; former Army officer and CIA analyst;
co-founder, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity

"President Bush, Cheney and other US officials have violated numerous domestic and international laws governing crime of aggression, war crime, torture, etc., and they should be not only impeached by the US Congress but also be prosecuted by a special prosecutor, to the full extent of the law before or after impeachment. That is the best way to uphold the US Constitution and the rule of law at home and abroad."
—John Kim, Esq., Attorney; author of The Crime
of Aggression Against Iraq

"The breadth of impeachable offenses committed by the Bush/Cheney administration is likely unparalleled in our nation’s history. Equally unparalleled, and in many cases even more alarming and outrageous, is the lack of accountability brought to the perpetrators of these High Crimes and Misdemeanors. It is the Constitutional duty of members of Congress—members from any political party—to bring such accountability, particularly when the list of crimes began with the very acts that brought this administration into office during their elections, and right up through today when the same sort of crimes continue, and are in place to try and affect our next Presidential Election.

"This is not about politics, it’s about the Constitutional duty of Congress. If a line in the sand is not drawn immediately and clearly in the face of such corruption and disdain for our American values, such as the Rule of Law, the historical bar for criminality in our Executive Branch will have been forever lowered, no matter who happens to serve in the White House in the future."
—Brad Friedman, creator/ editor of The Brad Blog, and co-founder of the watchdog organization VelvetRevolution.us.

“I have provided the legal architecture and evidence for a trial to prosecute the President for murder. My book lends credence to a powerful case for impeachment laid out persuasively by Congressman Dennis Kucinich’s 35 Articles of Impeachment.”
— Vincent Bugliosi, Former District Attorney, author of
The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder

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see

The New Impeachment Trial Play + Free DVD

Impeach

I'll be reviewing ESV-SB for the next issue of Worldview Church eReport which we're finishing now and will be published in the coming weeks (you can sign up to receive WVC for free here), so I won't say much now.  But I can say that one of my favorite features is the online version of the ESV-SB to which you get access when you buy the hard copy.  In a word: wow.

In the meantime, check it out here. You can find it at your local Christian retailer today or order it from here.

Here's a five minute video introduction of the ESV Study Bible:

By Yi-Fu Tuan

Published March 25, 2008

University of Wisconsin Press

244 pp.

ISBN 0-299-22670-0

Reviewed October 13, 2008

In both journalism and fiction writing, there’s a list of words experienced writers warn against using and “good” is usually at the top. It’s a word that seems weak and overly broad, applicable to any situation or object that finds any approval. Additionally, it’s an unspecific word that can be substituted easily: high-quality, superior, excellent, noble, worthy and virtuous are only a few of the dozens of options in any basic thesaurus.

But when “good” disappears under a wash of synonyms, the core meaning of the word tends to be obscured – and it’s that meaning Yi-Fu Tuan explores in the simply titled volume “Human Goodness.” Refreshingly, it’s not a solicitation to undertake charity or a lamentation on how much of the world has abandoned the path of rightness, but rather a well-researched meditation on what a good act means and its effect on the surrounding world.

Tuan, in exploring the topic of what goodness is, begins by splitting the idea into the variety of ways it takes form. Generosity and basic decency are the most practical ones, but it also becomes visible in the observation of manners, an indifference to pride and self-image in favor of other topics, and showing moral courage in the face of difficult circumstances. These are not new concepts, but Tuan reinforces them with an impressive depth of examples, ranging from real-life sightings of kindness to literary references ranging from Charles Darwin to George Orwell.

Part of what makes Tuan’s study of goodness so compelling is the fresh eyes he seems to have for his subject, particularly for a man who was 75 at the time of writing. Again, he avoids bemoaning how it was “back in the day,” but has an almost childlike fascination with the performance of good acts he observes in his daily life. A man trudges two miles in the snow of Minnesota, periodically stopping to free stalled cars; a fisherman pushes him on a bike through a swamp and disappears once the journey is complete; a student offers him a shoulder to rest his head on during a travel.

Following these everyday examples Tuan delves into history, providing character studies of six individuals he considers having lived truly good lives: Confucius, Socrates, Mozart, John Keats, Albert Schweitzer and Simone Weil. Each of these individuals, he argues, exemplified the traits of being a good person in areas ranging from their role as teachers, moral philosophers, crafters of beauty and self-appointed duty to others. His research is strengthened here as well by personal vignettes: Keats caring for his deathly ill mother, Weil offering free lessons to laborers, Mozart writing love letters to his wife.

But even after showing these exemplars “Human Goodness” doesn’t suggest that the reader spend their entire lives trying to match them in terms of output and quality. Tuan’s argument goes more to illustrating that good actions are far more captivating than we would expect, particularly in a world that is so often gripped by negativity. His viewpoint of goodness is almost an aesthetic one, treating it as if it were to be placed on a pedestal for multiple interpretations.

And like art, regardless of what criteria you use to measure them, Tuan argues that acts of good deserve to be appreciated for what they bring to the world, and it’s that genial tone that makes “Human Goodness” such an encouraging work of philosophy. Maybe the word “good” can’t escape its technical weakness, but Tuan’s scholarship shows it retains a significance that far outweighs that aspect.

Full Review

The Man in the Picture: A Ghost Story. By Susan Hill. Overlook, 145 pp., $15.

By Janice Harayda

A Halloween-costume superstore has opened in my town and raised the frightening possibility that I will soon be the only person on the streets not dressed like Bigfoot or a tavern wench. I will defend to the death anyone’s sartorial-first-amendment right to don a Borat Lycra Mankini or a Sexy Ms. Mental Patient outfit (“includes shirt with vinyl restraints”).

But if you’re looking for another way to spend Halloween, why not read a ghost story? You might start with this intelligent new novella by the English author Susan Hill.

The Man in the Picture lacks the psychological complexity of Patrick McGrath's neo-Gothic novels and Alison Lurie’s underrated short story collection, Women and Ghosts. But Hill’s book works on its own terms, which are those of a well-crafted Victorian ghost story. The opening lines set the tone:

“The story was told to me by my old tutor, Theo Parmitter, as we sat beside the fire in his college rooms one bitterly cold January night. There were still real fires in those days, the coals brought up by the servant in huge brass scuttles. I had traveled down from London to see my old friend, who was by then well into his eighties …”

The tale involves a painting that Theo bought at auction as a young man, an untitled 18th-century work showing masked revelers at a carnival in Venice. From several narrators we learn that that the picture has a chimerical effect: New people seem to keep appearing in it. The meaning of the changes begins to emerge when a countess summons Theo to her Yorkshire estate and links the painting to acts of sexual jealousy and revenge, an ill-fated honeymoon in Venice and the violent deaths of her husband and son. Lady Hawdon warns Theo that for his own good, he must sell her the painting. He doesn’t sell. Alas, poor Theo!

True to the conventions of Gothic novels, The Man in the Picture has shadowy hallways, long-buried secrets and odd noises in the night. It also includes a genteel psychopath whose mental instability appears contagious. Characters tend to stay conveniently out of range of pragmatists who could shout at crucial moments, “No! No! Don’t go into that empty room!”

By modern standards, much of the plot is no more rational than the idea that a priceless garnet would end up inside a Christmas goose in the Sherlock Holmes tale “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle.” And it isn’t supposed to meet contemporary tests of plausibility. Like dressing up as tavern wench, it’s unabashed retro escapism, well suited to a month when you may hear mysterious sounds as you stumble through the darkened rooms of a haunted house.

Best line: "The faces of the revelers were many of them the classic Venetian, with prominent noses, the same faces that could be seen on Magi and angels, saints and popes, in the great paintings that filled Venice’s churches.”

Worst line: “She was extremely old, with the pale-parchment textured skin that goes with great age, a skin like the paper petals of dried Honesty.” The similie reaches for a higher tone than the rest of the book.

Recommendation? In the U.S. ghost stories have been so thoroughly absorbed into the horror-novel genre that, except in children’s fiction, few writers attempt them and readers tend to associate them with lumbering behemoths like Stephen King's The Tommyknockers. The Man in the Picture gives Americans a chance to rediscover the appeal of these stories in a purer and in some ways more elegant form.

Because of its conversational tone and multiple narrators, this is also good book to read aloud, which you could probably do in less than two and a half hours. Book clubs might consider having members take turns reading this one aloud at a meeting instead of reading it in advance.

Published: October 2008 www.susan-hill.com/

Second opinion: Salley Vickers observed perceptively the Independent: “As with many successful ghost stories – The Turn of the Screw comes to mind – the form of the book is a re-telling; indeed, a series of re-tellings. Hill knows that the sinister is enhanced by obliqueness. By giving us a chain of raconteurs, she skilfully conveys the ambience in which the uncanny survives via rumour and report.”

Furthermore: Hill also wrote two mystery novels about Chief Inspector Simon Serailler and The Woman in Black www.thewomaninblack.com/, the theatrical version of which opened in 1989 in London’s West End and is one of its longest-running shows.

Janice Harayda is a novelist and award-winning journalist who has been the book columnist for Glamour, the book editor of the Plain Dealer and a vice-president of the National Book Critics Circle.

© 2008 Janice Harayda. All rights reserved.
www.janiceharayda.com

So ....
What, exactly, do we expect of reviewers, other than opinion? Here are a couple of ideas ...

1. Should be a sensitive reader. Reduced to tears? No, not necessarily. Laugh out loud? Sure, if it's funny. Get wrapped up in plot and turn the pages madly? Lovely. But not always apropos. No, just sensitive, like, gut-driven, instinctive - paying attention to what resonates, what doesn't. Should be a good reader. A reader who reads all over the map.

2. Should be well traveled. 
Why? Travel negates provincialism, as in, getting stuck in your own head, your own town, your own house. Travel slams doors open. Therefore, getting out of one's town for more than a weekend we will herein consider traveling. Getting out of the house counts.
We also award points to the armchair traveler for Effort .(I hear a sigh of relief from several.) 
Also, points are awarded to those who go where the accent (or language) is different than their own.

3. Should have some practice in writing and editing self. 'Specially the latter.

4. Should be objective.
Reviews are NOT purely opinion. That's hogwash. A good reviewer brings in the world, knowledge of things applied to the thing being reviewed. It's easy to slay something, ridicule it, lay it low;  however, such a review is like listening to someone slog through their political beliefs at a cocktail party. Praise, too, must be sincere,  neither shallow nor hollow - both are too easy and cheesey.

5. Should eat chocolate.

6. Should own a pet.

7. Should not moan, groan or complain about #5 or #6 because both things prove the reviewer to be alive and well and among us.

8. Should be patient. This goes with the second part of #3.

9. Should likely have another job, unless writing with a national, online, big kahuna or syndicated publisher that pays major moolah. Hungry reviewers are apt to be a tad negative. 

9. Should be wise.  There is rampant talent across the age-board;  one doesn't have to be old to write well - that's not the point.  But the review itself might show some wisdom, not sass;  some humor, not cuteness; some clarity, not jingoism; some peek into the art, some illumination, not sentimentality; some shoutous but not kiss-ass verbiage.

10. Should think of others.
A review isn't something that's torn from the emotional brain and slapped on paper with pride and a "take that!" Nothing is more disappointing than a review without substance. Think about what others might want or like to know.

11. Should love stories. Life stories. Made up stories. But stories. Must inject stories into review, if at all possible. Even anecdotal-ness. Dip into one's own experience, literary or otherwise, to tie in with the book being reviewed. Admit one's preferences. Or where one is as one writes the review, or the mood one is in.

12. Should be honest. However this one pairs definitively with #3. Honest. Being frank is good. Being straight up, yes, fine. And let's be honest, being humorous also works.

The Big BL (bottom line): Some reviews "work" because they have personality.  Some reviews work because the writing is almost better than the book itself. Some reviews work because they're funny or come in at a completely unexpected angle. Some reviews can even tell you everything about the work, even spilling the end, and STILL you want to read the book (or see the movie, or whatever is being reviewed.)  That's good stuff.

What else makes a good review and reviewer?

Lee and Low Books 2007

main character:  Marcus

Chess Rumble is a guy book. It’s written and illustrated by guys for guys with well chosen words and powerful graphics. Written in free verse style, the book uses few words and appeals to reluctant readers.  The book is called Chess Rumble, but it’s about what makes any angry guy’s chest rumble and how that rumbling too often leads him to do things he really doesn’t want to do.  

Marcus’ world falls apart when his sister dies. Buried emotions turn into dad’s disappearing and constant fighting between brothers. Things at school seem to get worse and worse as Marcus/Fat Albert/Hulk blames everyone for things going wrong. With the guidance of a caring adult, he eventually learns how to use chess to think through situations and to react less with his emotions. G Neri’s illustrations do an excellent job of pulling the reader further into the story as they intensify situations.

And after a protracted discussion at the hotel lounge bar at the Marriott Hotel with a young upstart journalist from UB's on-campus paper (Spectrum), the new issue should be on stands (free as well) starting today.  Scoop it up if you're a student or stop on campus for a copy! 

That's all I've got for today.  Oh!  One more thing.  Fellow Monsters Of Verse Founder JR Finlayson now has his very own Wordpress web site with a number of selections from his upcoming book, Afterfresh.  Read all about it (Wuxtry!) over at:

http://jefffinlayson.wordpress.com/

Pending legal cousel regarding my wrongful termination suit against my former employer has been occupying a lot of my time lately, so that's all I've got for you.  I'll be leaving for Rushford Lake from this Thursday through next Tuesday, so I'll see you all shortly before the big one two punch book(s) launch/Monsters Of Verse Inaugural reading on Saturday, October 25th (my 33rd birthday) at 7 pm!  Take it easy,

Tom Waters

My perspective on personal branding is almost identical to Jerry's and we have never even spoken before.  His perspective is from an executive at the most well-known brand in the world and mine is from a millennial leader. Today, Jerry shares some great information  with us, so take the time to read through this entire interview, digest it and act upon it!

As an executive for the #1 corporate brand in the world (Interbrand/BusinessWeek), Coca-Cola, how do you define branding and personal branding?

The discipline of brand development is both an art and a science. Think of a brand as a promise to a targeted group of consumers and the long-term brand loyalty is relative to how well the promise is actually delivered. A simple equation for a corporate brand is:

PROMISE + EXPERIENCE = RELATIONSHIP

The goal of a brand leader is to create such a relationship with its’ target audience that no other substitute brand will do. Achieving brand insistence, the pinnacle of success, is the result of a fully integrated strategic plan and flawless implementation. Brand building is a continuous effort and consistency of communication is important to avoid sending confusing messages

Personal branding is a similar process. Whether an individual knows it or not, they are already positioned by others. This image is the result of their attitudes, behaviors, how they interact with others, their language, their non-verbal communication, etc. People send out messages all day long without even recognizing the impact on themselves or others.

The idea of personal branding is to ask the question, “What if you thought of yourself as a brand?” Would you be occupying the space in life where you are today, or would you be in a completely different occupation or life situation?

By simply adopting some of the proven techniques of successful brands and putting them to use for yourself, you can build the brand you want to stand for.

How have you seen the Coca-Cola brand grow since you’ve worked there and how have you grown your personal brand during that time?

The Coca-Cola Company owns, markets and distributes hundreds of brands including VitaminWater, Odwalla Juices, Sprite, Fanta, Minute Maid, Georgia Coffee, and many others. Our flagship brand Coca-Cola is always at the forefront of our marketing focus and prioritization.

Brand Coca-Cola personifies authenticity, life’s simple pleasures, and optimism. We learned many years ago, during the New Coke launch, that our brand Coca-Cola is actually “owned” by our consumers all around the world, not the corporation. This has led to a constant pursuit of consumer knowledge and insights. Learning comes in the form of qualitative and quantitative research and from closely observing consumers to better understand the role of Coca-Cola in the days of their lives.

Based on these insights, we have expanded the footprint of Coca-Cola to include Diet/Light Coca-Cola, cherry Coke, and most recently Coca-Cola Zero. Coke Zero invites the consumer to continue to be in charge of how they choose to enjoy their own Coke. This newest Coke brand is proving to be a very successful way to let consumers enjoy the same great taste of Coca-Cola with Zero calories.

During my 20 years with Coca-Cola, I have been privileged to help this great brand grow as a global icon.

"Coke is much more than a “soda pop,” it is an idea, a trusted friend, part of economies and cultures all around the world."

As President of our Company’s only global operating unit, the McDonald’s Division, I have experienced many different roles and responsibilities during my career with The Coca-Cola Company. Currently, I lead our strategic alliance with McDonald’s in 118 countries and over 31,000 restaurants. Leading cross-functional teams in Europe/Eurasia/Middle East/Africa, Latin America, Canada, USA, and Asia Pacific, I choose to spend about 70% of my time on the road, in the marketplace, domestically and internationally with my teams and customers. I also serve as a member of our Senior Leadership Team that sets and guides our Company’s growth strategies.

I can honestly say that “Brand Jerry” has grown tremendously from an entry level Account Executive to Director of Strategic Marketing, Director of Strategic Planning, to Vice President of Western Operations to my current global role. I love being part of the food service industry as it is filled with dynamic entrepreneurs, touches the lives of real people and is an enjoyable people business.

I have always been open minded to any role, regardless of grade level, where I could grow my skills and this approach has afforded me many great assignments over the years. Too many people only accept jobs that are considered promotions when many lateral, or short term, assignments are great career and personal brand builders.

"I recognized many years ago that the key to success was the ability to attract, develop, and energize the best possible people I could find. Therefore I have worked hard to establish an identity that is associated with people development. Everyone needs to stand for something that can distinguish themselves from others. I have chosen people development and strategic leadership as my two key areas of focus. Great brands are very focused, yet most people want to be all things to all people. This is a trap that will keep you from perfecting the areas where you want to excel."

Can you explain the personal branding process you recommend to others (your 7 step approach)?

First, let me say, personal branding is NOT about embarking on a self promotional campaign, how to network your way to the top, or dress for success. Over the past 30 years, with The Coca-Cola Company and with Volkswagen of America, I have been fortunate to have had a hand in building successful global brands. While there are many aspects of brand building, I hand selected 7 elements that are naturally transferable to personal branding. These steps are fully described and developed within my book Managing Brand YOU, 7 Steps to Creating Your Most Successful Life, published with co-author Ira Blumenthal.

The 7 Step System is a logical sequence of actions that is designed to help anyone determine their true passions and how to build a Brand YOU plan to get there. Since great consumer brands are true to themselves, it is only natural that successful personal brands take time to understand their own “true North” on the proverbial compass of life. Beginning with a thorough Brand YOU Audit will set the tone for understanding one’s current Image and their desired Identity. From there, the individual will develop a personal Positioning Statement, SMART Goals, personal Strategies and ultimately their customized Implementation Plan.

This process has been designed to foster deep thinking and set in motion a course of actions that will help anyone in any field or lifestyle commit to building their own personal brand that brings pride over the long term. Included are organized worksheets plus examples of corporate brands and personal brands that help guide one’s efforts.

I recommend that everyone take time to think about themselves and what they really want to achieve in life. I once heard someone say, “Love what you do and you will never work a day in your life.” Find what you love, and then build a plan to get there. Hopefully, "Managing Brand YOU" will provide an approach that will help people develop their own unique, different and special place in life.

Personal branding exists on multiple levels. What do you recommend CEOs do about their brand all the way down to college students?

Whether one is a CEO or a college student everyone is a personal brand. These personal brands have a history, stand for something and project an outward image. These multiple levels create great opportunities for anyone to establish their own identity.

• CEO: For example, during today’s turbulent economic times, a successful CEO must be visible and able to relate with his or her organization in a trusted way. This requires transparent dialogue concerning the realities of the business conditions with the employees, customers, and media. Effective and empathetic communication skills are just two ways a CEO can differentiate their own brand.
• Mid-level managers can demonstrate their ability to bring answers to business questions beyond their normal job descriptions resulting in a unique positioning with management. Managers who are growing their career can find themselves a bit lost in the shuffle. Especially, at this level, managers can separate themselves from the rest of the pack through innovative thinking and solutions oriented actions beyond the daily routine.
• College students also have a tremendous ability to create a personal brand in the eyes of their prospective employers. Stepping up to accept leadership responsibility during their collegiate years beyond the classroom symbolizes a personal drive above the requirements for graduation. Multiple activities also indicate a person with diverse interest and one who can be adaptable to different situations.

Realize that Everything Communicates. Getting a job is tough enough already, do not give away “easy points.”

Tips for getting a job

• Proof read your resume before the prospective employer does.
• Do not make false statements about your credentials.
• Do not expect that every hiring manager will have the same reaction to two or three Greek letters of the alphabet on your resume as you might.
• Be early for appointments.
• Do not ask questions to demonstrate how smart you are when the answers are easily accessible on the company website.
• Do ask questions to determine if your skills or experience could be a good match for the employer.

Everyone should take time to identify the “target audience” for any personal branding message to ensure relevancy. College graduates should get to know who the decision makers are and how hiring decisions will be made to deliver a well crafted pitch of why they are the most qualified person for a specific role.

"Great brands stand out positively in a crowd and connect beyond the functional attributes. This should be everyone’s goal in building an “ownable” personal brand regardless of the level."

What does it take to develop a personal brand in a global corporation? Can you share some experiences you’ve had with standing out and making a name for yourself at Coca-Cola?

Creating a strong personal brand in any organization, especially a global corporation, begins with doing your existing job better than anyone else. Often people spend too much time checking out the job posting board and forget to over deliver in their current role. Set a vision and goals to become the very best in your current role.

Seek opportunities to broaden skills whenever possible through voluntary assignments and special projects. This “extra work” will provide great exposure to new areas of the organization and make you a more valuable employee. Be open-minded to different locations around the world when opportunities arise. These situations are frequently sponsored by key executives which allow employees the chance for broader exposure to leadership which is great for personal development and brand building, as long as you accomplish the project successfully.

As Director of Strategic Planning many years ago, I found myself in a traditionally mundane role of business analysis and trend reviews. I surfaced the opportunity to revamp the process from an historical viewpoint to a much more futuristic perspective. This idea was fully embraced by leadership and I was allowed to re-invent our approach to an opportunity based strategic planning model. This rework took several months to accomplish, was fully integrated into the USA business and allowed me to grow tremendously.

Shortly after the implementation of this model, I accepted the role of Vice President, Western Operations where I was able to actually roll out this new growth system accelerating our performance. It was a very rewarding period in my career and had positive impact on the entire organization.

"Everyone should look for an opportunity to take any situation in need of repair, tackle the opportunity and demonstrate their ability to lead through change. What others may shun, personal brand builders see as a great chance to make a difference and differentiate themselves from others."

-----

Jerry S. Wilson is senior vice president, The Coca-Cola Company, and president of the global McDonald's Division. He leads a worldwide organization that is responsible for building the strategic alliance with McDonald's in over 31,000 restaurants located in 119 countries.

Recently, Jerry authored a book called "Managing Brand You: 7 Steps to Creating Your Most Successful Self."

Mr. Wilson joined The Coca-Cola Company in 1988, from Volkswagen of America, Inc., where he was USA Brand Manager. His background includes general management, strategic planning, brand marketing, customer management and people development.

© 2008 Janice Harayda. All rights reserved.

When I bought this book 3 years ago I had placed it on my bookshelf with good intentions of reading it sooner. I am kicking myself now for taking so long. This book is about a Special Crime Unit of the FBI that is composed of psychics. These psychics solve crimes and fall in love and generally help each other to excel with their psychic abilities.

This book is about Quentin Hayes trying to solve a crime that he had the misfortune of witnessing as a child. One of his best friends is murdered and he happens to find her body. For 25 years he has worked hard looking for clues to her killer. Then finally a young woman named Diana Brisco, who also has psychic abilities, comes to The Lodge where the murder took place. While falling in love with Quentin she realizes her psychic abilities are not a sign of mental illness as her father has always told her.

There are many twists and turns. You have no idea who to believe. While Diana is walking between this world and the next she realizes many things about herself and her family. She is stronger than she ever believed possible. This is not a book that would win prizes but it is one to curl up with when you aren't feeling too well and just want to be entertained.

I am definitely going to get the rest of the books in this series. It was a fun book.

Set for publication October 14, 2008

In Descartes' Bones: A Skeletal History of the Conflict Between Faith and Reason, author Russell Shorto uses the long and tumultuous journey of the remains of a great philosopher to explore the consequences of the philosopher's work and the complex controversies begun by the introduction of what would become known as the Cartesian "method."

Shorto begins by giving us a brief background on philosophy and Descartes, stating that his "method," which is best characterized by his famous statement "I think, therefore I am," caused people to "employ a new, sweeping kind of doubt, to question some of their most basic beliefs," and in so doing, became the foundation for modern science, democracy, psychology, and much else.  Descartes' influence on his followers (who, in fact, referred to themselves as disciples), was so profound that, following his death in 1650, his remains were buried, disinterred, and relocated three times by individuals wanting to support their own agendas with a little piece of the famous philosopher. 

Somewhere along the way, Descartes' head was separated from the rest of his remains, "impostor" skulls popped up, and the philosophical and scientific community began a longrunning investigation in their real-life version of a detective story. In Descartes' Bones, Shorto traces the history of the philosopher's remains and uses it to illustrate Descartes' impact on modern thought and society.

As passionately as Descartes' disciples embraced his method, his detractors feared its implications for the future of society and the Church, as the supposed dualism of mind and body that is central to the method served to "drastically limit religion's scope" and led to the "advent of secular politics."

Before Descartes, religions was the language in which most basic ideas about life and the world were discussed.  Philosophical debates were religious debates.

Cartesianism "threatened certain centers of worldy power," particularly within the Church, and it introduced the modern conflict between faith and reason that we continue to explore and muddle through today.  Descartes' Bones is an interesting meditation on and study of the history of philosophy and the development of modern thought. Shorto takes what could be a dry subject and brings it to life by providing vivid characterizations of Descartes and his followers and explaining the social, religious, and political contexts of their times. He makes history relevant by reminding us that the conflict between modernity and traditionalism (and between reason and religion) is at the heart of many of the wars being fought as I write this.

Today, the very idea of modern society---which, at least in theory, relies on the tool of reason and notions such as equality to solve problems and lumber forward---seems to be under assault from several directions. Islamic terrorism---which is not just anti-western but anti-modern---is of course a dominant concern in the West, but other forms of religious intolerance---Christian, Jewish, Hindu---seem to be flourishing as well.

After he has followed the path of Descartes' bones to its end, Shorto concludes that as modernity matured, three distinct schools of thought emerged---the theological camp, which held onto a worldview grounded in religious ideas; the "radical Enlightenment" camp that wanted to overthrow the old order---the church and monarchy---and replace them with democracy and science; and the moderate Enlightenment camp, which argued that science and religion---faith and reason---aren't necessarily inconsistent.  And while he supports rationalism and modernity, he cautions us against radicalism.

I agree with the radical secularists that enormous ugliness has been done and is being done in the name of religion, and I think that we have to find an intelligent way not to tolerate religious intolerance, but I believe history shows that there is lethal error in radical secularism...it thinks too highly of reason, or of the ability of humans to employ it....trying to follow reason is not the same thing as being right.

Descartes' Bones is an interesting look at an important historical figure and his impact on the modern world. It is less of a detective story than it is a kind of literary profile of an icon of modern thought, and it is both informative and entertaining.  I learned a lot from Shorto's exploration, though I did find his narrative a bit rambling and herky-jerky at points, as he moved forward and backward in time without much warning, when a linear story would have made more sense.  Shorto's writing is engaging and felt a lot like reading a lecture from a college-level history or philosophy class, and I found it plenty enjoyable.

Though I appreciate the value of exploring the history, I found Shorto's comments on modern society and its connections to Descartes and his "method" to be more interesting than his reports of historical events.  Luckily, these musings on modern life and the ways in which we owe much of our science and political thought to Descartes were pretty fascinating. Near the end of the book, Shorto states that

Descartes' bones---or rather, the attachments that people have given them---are really about who we were and are, including the convictions and confusions and confrontations that divide us.

If you ask me, he's right about that.  And that's why this book is important---it provides us with an opportunity to look at history and trace the roots of our society, to understand who we are and how we became this way, and in so doing, to (hopefully) understand other societies and our interactions with them.

Though I had a hard time getting into the beginning of the book, I ultimately found Descartes' Bones to be a pleasant and informative read.  It earns a solid 4 out of 5.

In '88, a year after he won the Alfred Proctor Prize in Poetry, three days beyond June's Gay Pride Day, Arnold was walking through the West Village. Somehow, Arnold reflected, the closet had just... dissolved around him. Nearly twenty years before, in the summer of '69, Arnold, yes, had read about the riots that had begun in his onetime stomping grounds, the Stonewall Inn. They occurred over on the other side of the Village, where no one Arnold actually knew lived. He had assumed they were as unimportant as any such city disturbance. But he kept finding more articles about them. Then more. His conviction was that this "Gay Liberation" business, which so clearly was just an imitation of "Women's Liberation", itself only a spin-off of civil rights, had to be a social aberration that would dissolve when people grew tired of it.

But it hadn't.

Arnold was always vaguely bewildered as to why...

We should beware of taking the Prufrockian Arnold as the author's voice, of course, even if the usual distinctions of fiction are quite often blurred in Dark Reflections.

We are reminded of the fact that in 1950 the great American poet Wallace Stevens said of African-American poet Gwendolyn Brooks at a Pulitzer banquet: "Who let the coon in?"....

If such a novel as Dark Reflections had appeared in the Australian literary scene we would have heard of it over and over again as heralding a great step forward in Australian literature -- or so I suspect. Certainly among those in the USA and elsewhere familiar with Samuel R Delany's work, Dark Reflections attracted its share of attention, as it should. It is a marvellous novel. I was not familiar with Delany's work, partly because much of it is in the fantasy/science fiction genre, which I rarely read.

I commend Dark Reflections to you.

The subtitle is really the essence of the book: the 1300 year old conflict between the two main divisions of Islam will shape the future of not only Islam but also that of much of the rest of the world.  Events in the Middle East as well as the "War On Terror" (such as it is) have brought Islam to the attention of many in the West.  Until recently, in this country Islam was only vaguely known. There is still much that is unknown by westerners about Islam, and much of what is known is not well understood.  The divisions within Islam are as profound and deep as any in Christianity.

Nasr begins the book with a survey of Islamic history.  It seems that Islam was designed to divide.  The founder of Islam, Mohammad, did not leave any instructions as to how his successor should be chosen.  Nor did he leave any surviving male heirs.  The only direction Mohammad gave was that the Muslim community would not err when it collectively decided upon something.  It seems that Mohammad erred in this belief.  The community was very divided about the succession of Mohammad.  This division resulted in the major division of Islam into the rival Sunni and Shiite camps.

The issue of succession is only the beginning of the differences between the two groups.  It seems that the Shia are much more given to pageants, shrines and ceremonies than the Sunnis.  These practices have lead the Sunnis to regard the Shia as either misguided brothers to be gently corrected and brought back to the pure Islam of the Sunnis or arrant apostates and heretics to be destroyed.  This has lead to periodic pogroms of the Shia in the area dominated by the Sunni.

There is little chance of a major reconciliation between the Sunnis and the Shia, the two major sects.  Their differences are severe, their customs too diverse.  The Shia seem to tolerate the Sunnis better than the Sunnis tolerate the Shias.  In the history of Islam, the Shia have always been the minority.  The Shias have always been considered not pure Muslims.

It is the major goal of the author to present the Shia as not representing the major threat to the West.  The author believes that it is the Sunnis who will be the real problem the West must face.  He points to the only elected government in the region of Iraq: Iran.  Iran is the Shia's stronghold.  Iran is the only major country where Shia dominate.  It also the only country where a President stepped down at the end of his term in office and lives in peace in his own house inside Iran.

As the book's title implies, the Shia are poised for a major revival.  The author thinks that the three major factors in this revival are the emergence of Iran as a major (i.e., the major) regional power; the Shia majority in Iraq; and the empowerment of the Shia in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Kuwait, and the UAE.  He is probably right.  Just what this does for the stability of the region, Western interests (oil, what else?), and "the war on terror" is not mentioned.

This book will be useful to all who seek to understand the events in Iraq and Iran.

Author, an Iranian (a Shia, perhaps?) educated in U.S. (Ph.D. Harvard), teaches at the Naval Postgraduate School and is an Adjunct Fellow at CFR.

Contrary to existing dogma in the mental health field, this book posits, trauma survivors have an innate capacity to heal themselves without medical or formal psychological intervention. There is a “healing force hidden in all of us, even if depleted by violence, that is always striving for survival,” writes Richard Mollica, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Mollica bases his theory of psychological self-healing on 25 years of counseling war refugees, victims of torture and survivors of natural disasters. He uses personal, or “trauma,” stories from Khmer Rouge survivors, Bosnian doctors and Rwandan genocide witnesses and applies them to survivors of more common crises, such as sexual abuse, life-threatening illness or death of a loved one by accident or violence.

According to Mollica, victims of violence must play an active role in their healing. Not only telling but interpreting one’s trauma stories is crucial for healing. Understanding the cultural meaning of the trauma, taking a new perspective on it and realizing the motivations of the perpetrators, are necessary to reframe the trauma for the survivor. “Storytelling coaches” can guide survivors in telling their stories without overwhelming listeners with horrifying details. The realization that by telling their story they will pass on valuable lessons in dealing with loss and tragedy also contributes to healing.

Mollica has identified several measures that encourage self-healing: engaging in altruistic acts, working to provide for oneself (rather than accepting long-term handouts), spirituality (but not necessarily formal religion), humor, physical exercise, relaxation techniques and good nutrition. Empathic communication between healer and patient also has restorative power, as does the creation of beauty, e.g., making art, tending a garden, and keeping a journal.

via recovering from trauma (book review) « there is no path …

Ever since I was bored on holiday and picked up Dead Famous from the shelf, I've been a big fan of Ben Elton's books. They're funny and modern yet still manage to retain a dramatic edge. Priceless reading.

Fortunately, Past Mortem did not disappoint.

It's centred around the website friends reunited. In it, a police inspector (who just happens to be in love with his comely sergeant, who is having relationship problems of her own)ends up on the tail of a serial killer with some really bizarre modus opperandis (is that the plural?). He also gets his knickers in a twist when he starts to meet up with his old schoolfriends through friends reunited - and it just so happens that friends reunited has a bearing on his case as well.

This was a great book. The plot was well controlled. The murder scenes had me shrieking with laughter at the same time I tried to turn over the pages faster to find out what happened next. There weren't even too many of the ridiculously gratuitous sex scenes that occasionally marr Ben Elton's books.

This book is a winner all round.

Smiley, as author/novelist, presents to the reader a rather rich fictional picture of a Midwestern university from the perspective of students, faculty, administrators, and professional staff. Smiley examines a number of typical issues colleges and universities deal with all the time: incoming first-year students, new faculty, tenure and promotion, diversity, research and grants, administration and governance problems, stress and burnout, retirement, and family and service responsibilities. Apart from being a highly entertaining book, this review will provide you the opportunity to delve deeper into an issue presented by the author and allows you to draw and apply insight from your readings.

I like how Jane Smiley intertwines those metaphorical comparisons of her fictional characters with those of real university issues in a comical hint and look at the relationship between fiction and reality in university life. The author style provides each of her characters, an easy comparison to a non-fictional situation, to parody the real university issues that face universities; like faculty ethnicity and departmental wealth, with those fictional characters in her book.

Jane Smiley has a great sense of humor. As a writer, she gravitates from the real to the fictional in her own metaphorical style and wit. I love the word play in the book with the colorful characters interplaying comedic relief with social content. The backdrop for the book is in a typical rural college setting, circa 1989-1990, in the Midwest of America. The readings intertwine fictional characters and the university (Moo U) with comparable issues of governance and higher education disposing authority, college policies, and even departmental relationships into the hierarchical juxtapositions of familiarity that I have seen as college student/attendee / researcher. The book leaves one with similar insights / opinions to real college interactions and liaison while posing real and sometimes comical relief into each characters relation to the inner-workings of common ordinary university life.

The book plays with the context of diversity between characters, socially, ethnically and financially in many chapters of the book and I thought this paper would herein try to develop thoughts and interpretations of how social class, wealth, culture, integration, complexity of diversity is apparently real through and within diverse contextual relationships and social status on campus. The fictional characters of the novel represent the faculty and staff of Moo U. a story that intertwines preoccupation of university life temperament as both human and as a satirical adventure within the plot of being also witty. (Heheh)

The book “Moo” by Jane Smiley provides the reader with a glance of subordinate activities of the multiversity as a place where social mobility, youth, freedom on campus evolve into a mixed bed of intrigue and, yet, common fragmented ideas of human truth and beauty. The characters provide a real and sometimes fragmented integration of human frailties that exist, derivative of good luck, politics, and satire. The author injects comedic relief between prevailing truths and her own comparison of the reasoning of university structure with the reality of that which seems to prevail on campus in the book and the readers mind, at large.  She, Smiley, offers the readers a glance at human relationships and the brilliant laughter of comedy of university life, whether real or not.

I recognize that there always exists deep complexity of diversity in the classroom as seen in our schools growing college populations. Educators must understand how diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds engage students in building human relationships. The doctrines of student preparation and idealistic values utilized in classroom instructional sets provide realistic educational needs. In my opinion, education purpose should be to cultivate and develop the power of reasoning in individuals to require universities to frame general strategies for instructors include recognizing cultural biases and stereotypes, respecting students as individuals, rectifying language barriers within the cultural and social contexts, and becoming aware of the many diverse socioeconomic backgrounds presented to educators on school campuses. The book emphasizes that a university’s diversity must use class interactions with students and staff to convey a level of respect and confidence in the university’s social network and context of higher education. The university as a social construct cannot make assumptions that all students and faculty will recognize cultural, literary or historical references familiar to you. The university, as a higher learning institution, must plan through a decision making process and adopt proven behaviors accordingly.

The social interactions within the book “Moo” provide the reader with a subconscious comparison of recognizing biases in the classroom and, with that, the stereotypical behaviors that exist on campus including some demeaning social behaviors set within the fictional college seen not only as a body of cultural haven for social interactions but for defining good and bad behaviors. I believe that higher education must integrate students into the global network of populations that now exist on school campuses. The novel “Moo” defines realism is an epistemology implication where its use in the classroom promotes another purpose than that of education. That comparing the fictional writings of various socially-construct / activities the reader can sort and classify these into categories that define what real university curriculums and student life become. That is, as derivative of their substance as major institutions, when they maintain their importance as a place for higher learning combining social interactions with intellectual constructs.

That one’s pursuit of a college degree can be seen as participant along with student fellowships, prestige gained, providing a professional degree and resulting careers achieved.  Seeing the books humor constructed into a higher education based relationship of teaching and learning I can now better associate baccalaureate work its systemization and validation. The book through its “making fun of” institutional priorities make the reader think that there has to exist a rationalized new thought processes and educational social meaning provide proven outcomes instinctive and towards their own institutional survival.

The social and cultural diversity, apparent in the book, provides the reader to explore the balances of the mixed perspectives and intertwining of university and the social lives of its faculty, students, and administrators / staff. These social constructs are mixed into the traditional roles, in traditional times, at the university, to provide the reader to understand the pressure to change with the times because many higher education difficulties of coping with financial budget cuts, classroom crowding and diverse social integrations. The book reminds one of how diversity affects the downsizing of state funded education along with the university as a land-grant institution and its applicants as customers. 

The book provides the reader to see the adaptation of its character, to include but not limited to the following diverse inhabitants of the book: Costa Rican language instructor, the assistant English professor, the young man from the farm, the pig (which can be seen as a gluttonous entity in itself), Provost, roommates, Chairman X, adjunct instructor at Vet school. I loved the book and the diversity of its characters for its fictional relationships to real and even, yes, sometimes seen as comical, endearing, realistic and humanistic situations.

The book’s Chapter 5 entitled "Secular Humanism" identifies inquiry into secular humanism and could be seen from a higher education leader, of one who must adapt to social change, individual freedom, responsibility and tolerance to cooperate between all the different diverse populations seen. The book, the author’s, development of stories seem to be based on real social constructs of change in the university as adapting to those responsibilities to affirm and recognizing their existence on campus seen as a social responsibility, capitalistic / Marxist and even providing a feministic social context view or views. I appreciated the book and have seen why / how, diversity can be played satirically in social circumstances providing the reader an insight of how higher learning is socially and culturally demanding. 

Fat Girl is the story of a woman who has been obese her entire life. It goes into her crappy childhood- her mother hated her father because he was fat, so she left him, then punished her daughter because she became fat too.  The author died a few years ago.  I think if I knew that when I read it, I may have enjoyed it more by making it more tragic and sorrowful.

Fat Girl, while interesting, lacked in something I can't put my finger on. It could be that stylistically, it didn't click for me, or maybe there was a subtle victim mentality.  Or perhaps it was a bit too emotionally detached for my taste. It wasn't so awful that I didn't finish it, but it wasn't one I couldn't put down either.  I could walk away from it for days.  I read it before studying for the LSAT so most of the details have been erased from my brain- I figure you can get the details elsewhere anyway.

I was attracted to this book because of some random person's review (we shared the same opinion on most of Augusten Burroughs' writing- he's overrated.  I thought this made us book soul mates, but I guess not!).

If you like Augusten Burroughs, you may like Fat Girl. Similar depth and style of writing, and I believe Augusten Burroughs recommends it.   This is my scale of autobiographies I have read the past few years (to give you a better idea):

1: Jeanette Wells, The Glass Castle (5/5)

2: Most of David Sedaris  (4.5+/5)

3: Augusten Burroughs, Dry (4.5/5)

4:  Most of Laurie Notaro  (3.5/5)

5: Augusten Burroughs, Running with Scissors (3.5/5)

6: Judith Moore, Fat Girl (3.5/5)

7: Augusten Burroughs, Possible Side Effects (2/5)

From Tor.com - Jack and the Aktuals, or, Physical Applications of Transfinite Set Theory  by Rudy Rucker.

This is kind of a bizarre little story.  It is sort of like Monty Python  does math while listening to prog rock.  Yes, I thought it was great and I will be hunting down some of his other stuff.

Also from tor, the next episode of Better Zombies through Physics  is up.   I love the little nod to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Booksamillion has coupons for me, including free coffee.  They also want me to buy baby books (it was inevitable) and the new Bob Dylan CD, Tell Tale Signs.  ( I never buy music without listening so once I track a preview down I will let you all know what I think of it.)

Ah, Kahuna is shredding his slow cooked pork for barbecue...I must go -help- him. ;)

- Kit