Composition… Friday Flick: How to Tell a Story 1 Jul 201110 Jul 2011 A great reporter is a storyteller, and Scott Simon can do that, and even teach it. Here's Scott's storytelling advice:
Advertising… Friday Flick: Real Beauty 24 Jun 201125 Jun 2011 Even if you've seen this classic commercial, it's a great reminder that what we see in certain environments bears no resemblance to reality. It's also a reminder that some revisions…
Books… Writer Beware 23 Jun 201123 Jun 2011 You don't have to write in science fiction or fantasy to love Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. This organization serves all writers by warning us of disreputable editors,…
Courage… Scheduling Improv 21 Jun 2011 Listening to Krista Tippetts' interview with musician Bobby McFerrin, it first surprised me that he ever considered joining a monastic order, and that the main attraction was the silence! He…
Baby Boomers… Beginning Again? 18 Jun 201118 Jun 2011 Does it feel as though you're always starting over? I'm beginning new projects, new rounds of old projects, new teaching quarter. Therefore, clients and students are doing the same; some…
Advertising… Friday Flick: Flashmob on Recycling 17 Jun 2011 Can you imagine if every gesture of conservation and kindness received such a welcome? Do it anyway.
Books… If You Ask Advice from an Author 15 Jun 2011 If you ask 22 author friends for advice, they'll write you a whole book! Steve Silberman had been reporting on professionals with autism/Asperper's and became an expert on such neurodiversity,…
Advertising… Your Brain on Ads 14 Jun 201114 Jun 2011 Take a therapist who trained her daughter to watch media, including ads, with critical attention. Now imagine this daughter, Maya Cueva--already a journalist while still a teenager--not only applying that…
Creativity… Least Limiting Resource 13 Jun 2011 Some years ago, I read that plants required 17 nutrients for growth and that growth was limited by whichever resource was most scarce. I'm not qualified to speak to the…
Business… Summer Survival 11 Jun 20119 Jun 2011 Is summer over yet? Oh, yeah, I don't have a break. And my children do! So here's what I want--or rather don't want--for me (and everyone around me) to be…
Collaboration… Friday Flick: Drew in Concert 10 Jun 20113 Jun 2011 Full disclosure: I raised this amazing composer. And I would still love his music even if I hadn't. Drew Nichols is a "third stream" composer, combining classical and jazz, so…
Caring… Dead Grandmothers 9 Jun 20119 Jun 2011 We've been known to joke about it in faculty meetings: how many grandparents some students can lose in a single year. (And yes, we do name names.) Here's one professor's concerns…