Today I was notified that a manifesto proposal I sent to ChangeThis.com has been accepted for peer review. What happens now is that people vote for the proposals that they'd like to see transformed into full-fledged manifestos (an argument, a reasoned, rational call to action, supported by logic and facts), which are available for downloading on the ChangeThis web site. ChangeThis is a not-for-profit engine aimed at changing minds and spreading ideas. It was developed in the summer of '04 by a group of people inspired by marketing guru Seth Godin. It features a variety of manifestos written by …
Archives for May 2005
Baseball Card Memories
Don't miss the latest installment from Kim & Jason Chalkboard columnist Allan Dash. Baseball fans will enjoy his reflections on the days before trading cards were slathered with glossiness and a pack cost an arm and a leg and an organ to be named later. Here's a taste: …
The Luckiest
Today is my 5th wedding anniversary. It’s hard to believe I have known Kim for over ten years (that’s over a third of my life!). I’m happy to report that things are going well. She still likes going on walks with me, she still laughs at my comic strips, and she still puts up with my Star Wars obsession. I suppose a little extra pressure is exerted on a marriage when your first names have been united by an ampersand and trademarked, but I don’t feel it. Five years have gone by so fast, and it’s been a blast. On one hand, I feel like we’ve really accomplished something (especially in this day …
Is Adultitis Costing You Money?
Stress is the main culprit responsible for a loss of 45 million workdays a year in Britain alone. According to a British mental health charity, this all adds up to £100 billion in lost output. In my recent Escape Adulthood presentations, I've been showing a slide that highlights the symptoms of Adultitis, including a tongue-in-cheek comment about patients not being able to smile (in extreme cases). Maybe not so tongue-in-cheek after all: Psychological warning signs included an inability to concentrate, sense of humour failure, high levels of anxiety, constant irritability or withdrawal from …
What Does Love Mean?
You can keep your advanced degrees and philosophical ramblings; no one can match the otherworldly perspective and delightfully lucid insight of children. I got an e-mail today filled with answers given by children to the question, "What does love mean?" Here are some highlights: "Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs." >> Chrissy - age 6 "Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day." >> Mary Ann - age 4 "Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who …
Golf Moms
I am not an avid golfer (I went once and scored a 98 – on 9 holes), but I'm always up for a nice walk on a nice day. Jennifer Mario wrote an article about why women leave golf and why they should come back. Stressed-out golf moms should read this. You deserve an escape from adulthood, and Jennifer has five solid reasons why you should get back out on the course. …
Einstein On Ritalin
The target market for my book was intended to be people over the age of 25 or so. It looks like my marketing plan will need to be adjusted a bit, in order to accommodate the growing need for 7-year-olds to Escape Adulthood. That's right, second graders. A recent article by Dave Murphy of the San Francisco Chronicle highlights the growing problem of parents pushing their children to excel. Apparently, adults have so direly messed up their own lives with hectic schedules, unrealistic expectations and catering to peer pressure, that they are passing Adultitis on to their children. …
Simple Pleasures
"A simple enough pleasure, surely, to have breakfast alone with one's husband, but how seldom married people in the midst of life achieve it." – Anne Morrow Lindbergh …
Too Early For Christmas?
Oh, yeah. I'm gonna need this. It doesn't come out 'till October, so at least I have some time to rob a bank or something. …
Runaway Lies
One of the main topics in my book is honesty. That thing that children possess which makes them perfectly comfortable pointing out the shortfalls in the physical appearance of total strangers. That thing politicians and people who send spam seem to be sorely lacking. I have only marginally followed the "runaway bride" story that dominated the headlines the last few weeks. You know, the girl who took a bus to Vegas and pretended to be kidnapped. I can almost understand her trepidation, given that 14 bridesmaids were on the roster and somebody was responsible for arranging all 600 guests on …