Things I'm Thankful For...

To have been born in this age. There has never been a better time to be alive on planet Earth. This sense of gratitude can be encapsulated in two words... "indoor plumbing."

To have been born in the United States of America. The average day laborer in this country enjoys a higher standard of living than that of any medieval king. (See "indoor plumbing" above.)

To have known the love of a truly great woman; the unfettered adoration of daughters; and the company of friends, strong and true.

For meaningful work.

For the peace that comes from knowing that this life is not it. That beyond this brief season of training and struggle lies more than can be imagined. And that all is forgiven.

Someone I'm Glad I Met

This week we lost a wonderful preacher, teacher and mentor, Dr. Adrian Rogers. I had the honor of meeting him and had the pleasure of getting to know him a little.

Do you have a list of people you would like to meet? I do. And while many of them I won't meet until we all gather in Heaven, Dr. Rogers is one that I was able to check off of my list. In the few, brief encounters I had with him, he was always encouraging, uplifting and a genuine blessing.

I am thrilled for him and pray God's comfort for his wonderful family.

The Author as a Brand

Branding has become such a buzzword--overused and abused--that I'm reluctant to even use it these days. I hear lot's of people using the term "branding" when what they really mean is "identity." Or sometimes "position."

Nevertheless, branding is a real need and a real science. So here's an interesting article from the book publishing world on how authors can, and should, become a brand.

Fly Like an Eagle

I don?t like the Philadelphia Eagles. I?m a Miami Dolphins fan, born in Fort Lauderdale, living there for 20 years. I cut my teeth on Don Shula and Dan Marino, the best there?s ever been in each of their respective fields. No matter where I have lived, I have stayed true to the coral and aqua marine (orange and turquoise to the uninformed). I will always be a Dolphins fan. But over the last 2 days I have gained an immeasurable amount of respect for the Eagles organization. They did what rarely happens in life, and even less frequently in professional sports. They stood up to a bully. What?s even more impressive is that they had to do it on a national stage. Terrell Owens tried to bully the Eagles for more money and as the team has struggled this year, he has tried to bully them into letting him shoot off his mouth at the expense of the team and Donovan McNabb, the team?s quarterback and leader. After Owens? comments, the team suspended the superstar the maximum number of games allowed by the league and will deactivate him for the rest of the year. Owens is one of the most talented wide receivers in the history of the NFL, one of only 4 players to catch 100 or more touchdowns during their career. But Philly didn?t care. Team chemistry and unity was more important to them than what one player, no matter how gifted, can do. I hope this becomes a trend in the NFL and then on to other professional sports (the NBA might be a late adopter). Professional athletes are not above the law, nor are they above the codes of conduct we all must adhere to in "real life" jobs. If I did what he did, I would get fired. Owens will be a free agent next year. There will be teams that line up to get their hands on such a talented athlete. He will play in the NFL again. Whoever signs him will get a fast, strong, physical receiver who can make spectacular plays. However, they will also get a selfish, arrogant, divisive personality that will rip apart their team any time the delicate balance of his universe is upset. About this time next year we will be talking about some other team who didn?t learn from this, signed Terrell Owens and finds themselves in a similar predicament. I just hope it isn't the Dolphins.

Why France is Burning

Mark Steyn predicted it. (Note: Steyn is a Brit who now lives in Canada and the U.S.)

"Wake up Europe. You've a war on your hands."

Boy Voice or Girl Voice? Pt. II

So, based upon my previous conjecture, when would it be advisable to use a female voice in a radio or television spot aimed at men? Perhaps when you want certain information like a phone number or web address to be recalled later. Why?...

Because the research indicated that women's voices tend t activate the music processing centers of men's brains, and as we've all learned, musical jingles are more easily remembered and, tend to remained burned in your memory for eons. (Hum a few bars of any commercial jingle from the '60s and most of us can not only finish the tune but provide the lyricis as well.)

Thus, if a woman's voice repeats a toll free phone number three times, a man's brain is likely to be using the same music processing wiring that makes it easier to memorize all the books or the Bible or the 50 States if you turn them into a song.

Boy Voice or Girl Voice? Pt. I

With some frequency, when a radio or television spot I've written is being produced, I am asked to express an opinion on this question: Should we use a male or female voice?

I usually force myself to come up with a preference but it is always a vague, subjective, "Oh, I don't know...how about...female!" Not very scientific.

Well, that may be about to change. I was just reading in a recent issue of Scientific American magazine about some research that had been conducted on men's brains.

The electrical activity of various regions of the brain was monitored as men listened to various male and female voices. As they did, an interesting pattern emerged...

When men heard women's voices, the centers of the brain that process music lit up and became active. But when they heard the voices of other men, the visual centers of the brain?those that process and interpret images? lit up instead. Interesting heh?

What does all this mean? I'm not sure. But it's possible that if you are producing a radio spot with men as the target, it may be much more effective to use a man's voice. Radio is "theater of the mind" and, according to this study, a man's voice will be more prone to paint mental "images."

What about women's brains? That's what the researchers wondered, so they've begun a similar study on women. I'll follow the research and report more in the future!

Read more here. And here.

Hip Hop Yoda

Click here.

Don't ask why. Just do it.