Humor in the Workplace

The other day I was working on location in a newsroom at the Los Angeles Times. One of the reporters had a hologram of a beautiful Hawaiian woman posted on the partition of his cubicle. As you pass the picture, the woman winks and smiles.

Above the hologram was a sign that read, "Smiling Miracle Lady. If the lady smiles when you pass, you will receive a miracle. To claim your miracle please enter and remit a small processing fee. Your miracle will arrive shortly thereafter. "

His work area was cluttered with humorous figurines and funny slogans. Clearly, this is a fellow who likes to laugh and enjoys sharing his sense of humor with his co-workers. And I commend him for it. Injecting a little levity into the workplace reduces stress and, ultimately, helps people to be more productive.

The Elderly Lady with the Sweet Smile

There is an elderly woman with whom I often cross paths while she is out on her daily walk with her caretaker. The woman moves very slowly with the aid of a walker. Despite her fragile health and advanced age, however, she always offers a friendly hello accompanied with the sweetest smile you could imagine (a beatific smile, in fact).

I'm always struck by the aura of kindness that she carries. I guess I need to be reminded that, though are bodies deteriorate with the passage of time, our spirit need not follow suit. Her smile feels so sincere that there is no doubt in my mind that it genuinely reflects the joy and peace she feels inside.

I can recall past encounters with elderly people who were similar to this woman in their attitude and presence. But, sadly, they are few and far between. If she doesn't do so already, the woman with the beatific smile ought to visit convalescent hospitals and rest homes. There she will find many peers who are in desperate need of that smile.

Mad Magazine

I thumbed through a copy of a recent issue of Mad Magazine the other day. It is the first time I have done so in many, many years. It's still the irreverent, edgy and hysterically funny magazine I remember.

Back in the day, I had a complete collection. I distinctly remember that my copy of the first issue was in near mint condition. Regrettably, I sold the entire collection. I've got to believe that it would be worth quite a bit of money today. I'm having one of those "I could kick myself moments." Anyway, if you're a fan of the magazine, or know somebody who is, you may be interested to know that the entire collection (600+ issues) is now available on DVD.

Make a Joy List

Have you ever considered making a list of all the things that bring you joy and satisfaction? In the midst of our hectic, stressful lives, we sometimes need to be reminded of the things that make us happy.

I urge you to start a joy list and add to it as often as you can. As the list grows, you will be amazed at how many joy-producing activities you have at your disposal. Enjoy!

Blogsvertise

We bloggers are constantly writing about our favorite products and websites. Wouldn't it be great if we could get paid for it? Well, the good new is that we can! For information visit www.blogsvertise.com. There is nothing more satisfying and fulfilling than getting paid for what you love.

Travelvelocity CEO Michelle Peluso: A Great Role Model for Young Women

Michelle Peluso doesn't get much sleep. And she doesn't expect that to change anytime soon. Clearly, she's resigned herself to this as her motto is, "I'll sleep when I'm dead."

As CEO of the online travel company Travelocity (a position she attained at the tender age of 32), she's simply been too busy to sleep. Under her leadership, the company has gone from losing $55 million a year to making $13 million.

Prior to her stint at travelocity, she helped start and develop the online travel company Site59. In 2002 she sold the company for $42 million to none other than......can you guess? ....yep, Travelocity!

Ms. Peluso has always been driven and ambitious. Before her rise to the upper echelons of corporate America, she studied philosophy at Oxford University, earned a BS from Wharton and served as a White House Fellow and Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Labor.

And to what, you may be asking, does Peluso attribute all this glorious success at such a young age? It's all about passion. Feeling passionate about her goals has given her the wherewithal to blast through obstacles while rising to the top.

There can be no doubt that this impressive young woman, this superlative role model for young women, will accomplish a lot more with her life (maybe become president?). After that, she may be able to catch up on her sleep.

Suicide Epidemic Grips South Korea

Statistics demonstrate in no uncertain terms that a suicide epidemic is sweeping through South Korea. Over the last decade, suicide rates have more than doubled. It is the leading cause of death among men in their 20s and is the fourth-leading cause of death in the country overall.

One can understand the problem and its causes by considering the country's culture and recent history. Recoiling from a brutal colonial past, South Koreans in the early 1960s embraced a Puritan-like work ethic. The result of their efforts is the modern industrial nation we know today. The transformation has been so dramatic, in fact, that it has been described as nothing less than a miracle.

But then in 1997 catastrophe struck in the form of a financial crises. For the first time since the early 1960s, South Koreans began to experience substantial financial reversals. As well, they began to feel that hard work could no longer be a guarantor of upward social mobility.

This is the crux of the problem. For in South Korea, nothing is more highly revered than status and power. Leading South Korean psychologists and sociologists believe that this sense of economic stasis and hopelessness is fueling the rise in suicides.

Whereas South Korea has adopted the ethos of Western business practices, it has not done so with respect to Western philosophical ideals. Rather, it clings to its traditional preoccupation with status and class division. It seems to me that suicides will continue to rise unless South Korea embraces a value system whose central tenet is the principle that all men are created equal.

Online contest seeks book with oddest title

Take a gander at this sampling of nominees to beat at the Bookseller/Diagram Prize for oddest book title:

"How Green were the Nazis?" by Thomas Zeller, Franz-Josef Bruggemeier and Mark Cioc; "The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: a Guide to Field Identification," by Julian Montague; "Tattoed Mountain Women and Spoon Boxes of Daghestan," by Robert Chenciner, Gabib Ismailov, Magomedkhan Magomedkhanov and Alex Binnie, and "D. Di Mascio's Delicious Ice Cream: Di Mascio of Coventry, an Ice Cream Company of Repute, With an Interesting and Varied Fleet of Ice Cream Vans" by Roger De Boer, Harvey Francis Pitcher and Alan Wilkinson.

Some of the authors' names could certainly qualify as contenders for an oddest names contest, don't you think? But I digress.

The winner will be chosen by the public via online voting at http://www.thebookseller.com/. The winner will be announced on April 13.

In case your curious, last year's winner was "People Who Don't Know They're Dead: How They Attach Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What to Do About It," by Gary Leon Hill. Wow, that's one I'm definitely going to add to my reading list. Not.

The decency of Martin Sheen

Martin Sheen is widely regarded as one the finest actors of his generation. But, more importantly -- at least in my view -- he is an exceptionally kind and decent person.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Sheen while working as an extra (I prefer the term background artist) on the set of the film Bobby (directed by his son Emilio, who, incidentally, is a splendid fellow in his own right.) Mr. Sheen introduced himself and engaged me in a friendly conversation.

I can assure you from firsthand experience that an actor of Sheen's stature does not often engage an extra in conversation. You see, film sets are profoundly hierarchical and, it pains me to say, extras reside at the bottom of the pecking order. They are frequently treated with indifference if not outright contempt.

Mr. Sheen's name comes up often while conversing with fellow background artists on the sets of various movie and television productions. It does not surprise me in the least that nearly everyone has personally experienced -- or knows somebody that has -- the decency of Martin Sheen.

Movies available sooner on DVD

During the last four years, the average time it takes movies to go from theaters to DVD has shrunk by one month (from 5 months and 22 days to four months and 8 days).

This shrinking window has understandably provoked the ire of theater owners. Will moviegoers blow off going to theaters if they know the movie will soon be available on DVD? One does not need a doctorate in economics to assume that a significant portion will. And, as a result, theater owners will be forced to raise ticket and concessions prices. These prices are already ridiculously high. But, if this trend continues, they will soar into the stratosphere!

According to the MPAA, 63% of movie fans prefer watching films in theaters as opposed to in their living rooms. Hence the rising costs of seeing movies at the multiplex negatively impacts millions of people. Yes, millions of movie lovers are being deprived of the unique, communal experience of seeing a movie on a giant glowing screen. How sad.

The making and marketing of a major motion picture is a complicated, multifaceted process. I do not have the expertise to propose a spectrum of cost-cutting measures (though common sense tells me they exist). However, I do know that a very high percentage of movie production costs go to paying the obscenely high salaries of A-list movie stars. If movie stars did not demand and command such monstrous salaries, the savings could be passed along to their fans in the form of cheaper ticket prices.

Perhaps I'm being delusional to even ponder this, but wouldn't it be lovely if Brad Pitt and his ilk lowered their asking price from $20 million per film to, say, $15 million per film? Dare to dream.

101-year-old Mugging Victim Forgives Assailant

What decent person would NOT be outraged after viewing the vicious mugging of 101-year-old Rose Morat in the vestibule of her apartment building in Queens, New York? I was profoundly disturbed by the attack. In fact, I was so outraged that I wanted to beat the perpetrator's face to a bloody pulp. It's one thing to snatch an old lady's purse. But this lowlife, this craven punk, pummeled Rose's head with three sharp blows. Honestly, how sick and depraved does a person have to be to beat up a defenseless 101-year-old lady? As a result of the beating, Rose suffered a broken cheekbone and had to be hospitalized. Thankfully, she has recovered and is doing well.

Forgive me for being presumptuous, but I am 99.99% sure that the perpetrator is a drug addict. An addict so desperate for drug money that he is willing to commit a heinous crime. Indeed, drug addiction is a social problem of immense proportions. One cannot emphasize this enough. It is beyond the scope of this posting to delve too deeply into the causes and cures of drug addiction, but I will say this: people who grow up in intact, loving homes do not generally grow up to become drug addicts who beat up old ladies.

I will venture to guess that Rose Morat grew up in a home that instilled good values. In fact, she was on her way to church when the mugging occurred. What she had to say to a reporter about the perpetrator speaks volumes about her character: "I have no hate for the man, I just don't want him hurting anymore people." Perhaps this also accounts for her longevity. She is unwilling to let awful circumstances destroy her spirit. Indeed, this may be why this Rose has not wilted.

Anne Frank's Chestnut Tree

Consider this entry from Anne Frank's journal (dated Feb. 23, 1944) :

"Nearly every morning I go to the attic to blow the stuffy air out of my lungs. From my favorite spot on the floor I looked up at the blue sky and the bare chestnut tree, on whose branches little rain drops shine, appearing like silver, and at the seagulls and other birds as they glide on the wind...

"As long as this exists, I thought, and I may live to see it, this sunshine, the cloudless skies, while this lasts I cannot be unhappy."

Wow. That a mere teenager in such a perilous situation could offer such infinitely profound wisdom is astonishingly poignant. What this angel teaches us is that at every moment of our lives, we have the choice to transcend our circumstances by processing our world with the energy of beauty and appreciation.

In case you may not know, Anne Frank, a Jewish teenager, hid (along with her family and four friends) in an annex of rooms above her father's office in Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. They were in hiding for 25 months before being arrested by the Nazis and deported to concentration camps. In March of 1945, at the age of 15, Anne died of typhus at Bergen-Belson.

In the courtyard of the building where Anne and her family hid, stood the above-mentioned chestnut tree. She often made reference to it in her diary (posthumously published as "The Diary of Anne Frank") .

It turns out that the Amsterdam City Council recently gave the current owner of the property permission to cut down the tree. The 150-year-old tree has been attacked by a fungus and is in danger of falling. But let not your heart be troubled. Thankfully, The Anne Frank Museum announced that a sapling from the original chestnut will replace it.

Alas, a chestnut tree will again grow in Amsterdam! And may it stand for at LEAST another 150 years as a symbol of the sacred wisdom and beautiful spirit of Anne Frank.