Execupundit.com

Minor League Appeal

2012-05-29T06:30:00.000-07:00

There is a special appeal to minor league baseball. The games are pleasant, less-commercial and certainly less-expensive events and you can spot future major league stars.

An added benefit: The teams often sport unusual names such as the Toledo Mud Hens and the Charleston RiverDogs.

Alas, the Phoenix Firebirds are no more.

The Fire Down Below

2012-05-29T03:30:00.000-07:00

A Simple, Village Undertaker points to the unusual story of Centralia, Pennsylvania where the fire that started years ago is still burning.

Quote of the Day

2012-05-29T03:00:00.000-07:00

Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

- Mark Twain

A Combat Historian's Story

2012-05-28T20:51:00.000-07:00

At American Heritage magazine, the extraordinary recollections of historian James MacGregor Burns on his experiences with American troops in the Pacific during World War II. An excerpt:

It was late that afternoon when I left Love’s outfit to return to my own command post. No jeeps were negotiating that road, so I had to walk. The enemy often operated effectively behind our front lines at night, so after dark most soldiers hunkered down. An eerie twilight descended as I trudged along. Shortly I spied the corpses of hundreds of Japanese killed by our naval gunfire on this open ridge. A sudden movement caught my eye. I swung my gun around and then stopped short. It was the flies. Many thousands of insects boiled up in unison: they had been so congested that they replicated what they had covered. Outlines of helmets, guns, bayonets, and boots shot into the air as if in an animated horror cartoon.

Random Thoughts

2012-05-28T13:29:00.000-07:00

Acts of omission can be as offensive as those of commission. In elementary schools, Trust, Courage, and Respect should be given more attention than Sustainability. An ally who does nothing can be as dangerous as an adversary who does everything. To reveal the quality of leadership in an organization, give it either too many resources or too few. Automatic benefits, like automatic withdrawals, are seldom noticed. Look at the components and then look at the spirit. In much of life, we may grapple with problems for which there is no word. The best leaders have no single style but their followers are pointed in a clear direction. Impatience is both a virtue and a vice and it greatly affects careers. Beware of excuses that linger or are well-tailored.

The Journey Home

2012-05-28T08:23:00.001-07:00

Back by request: A scene from "Taking Chance."

Final Salutes

2012-05-28T08:09:00.006-07:00

It is easy to forget that we are a nation at war. Here are some haunting photos and stories.

[HT: Instapundit]

Quote of the Day - Memorial Day

2012-05-28T07:25:00.000-07:00

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.

- From The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln

Sunday Evening

2012-05-27T20:47:00.001-07:00

An Anonymous 4 CD is playing in the background. Trash bags are scattered around my home office. I'm sorting through files and project folders in an attempt to chop back the jungle. Some important meetings are coming and although I think I'm ready for them, "think" is not good enough. I'm also formulating a management theory that I really like and enthusiasm causes old scars to itch. My wife and I were going to go to a movie today but the selections were uninspiring so - being party animals - we had coffee on the patio and listened to the birds. Right now, I hear a couple of management books whispering my name.

Memorial Day is tomorrow. Perhaps that has brought this weekend's reflective mood. Pray for people and count your blessings.

Find Something Beautiful Today

2012-05-27T08:39:00.001-07:00

Miscellaneous and Fast

2012-05-26T21:01:00.001-07:00

Elvis Presley on stage in Tupelo in 1956.
The Hermit Kingdom: An interview with the first man to escape from a North Korean prison.
The trailer for "Bernie."
At the Vatican: The butler did it.
CoolTools: For those in need of a grass trimmer.
Spiegel: Poland as a powerhouse.
The trailer for "Red River."

I Heart Bureaucratic Trolls

2012-05-26T20:21:00.002-07:00

At Illustration Art, an interesting account of what happened to the "I Love New York" design before and after the 9/11 attacks.

Fred Smith's Advice

2012-05-26T20:09:00.004-07:00

At Chief Executive, you can read FedEx CEO Fred Smith's top five insights. Here's one:

Make reputational intelligence a priority: Your reputation is different from your brand. Smith notes that FedEx sells trust (e.g. the promise that medical equipment will make it to important destinations) and not just package delivery. You need to know what your brand is really about and emphasize it.

Facebook Revolution?

2012-05-26T20:01:00.001-07:00

So how’s that old Arab Spring going? You remember — the “Facebook Revolution.” As I write, they’re counting the votes in Egypt’s presidential election, so by the time you read this the pecking order may have changed somewhat. But currently in first place is the Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi, who in an inspiring stump speech before the students of Cairo University the other night told them, “Death in the name of Allah is our goal.”

Read the rest of Mark Steyn on the news from Egypt.

Saving Private Ryan: Creating the Soundtrack

2012-05-26T12:25:00.000-07:00

An interview with John Williams about the scoring of the soundtrack.

Catching History

2012-05-26T08:46:00.002-07:00

Back by popular demand: A ride through the streets of Barcelona in 1908.

Those Whom "We Love But See No Longer"

2012-05-26T03:30:00.000-07:00

Wally Bock has some thoughts on Memorial Day.

Quote of the Day

2012-05-26T03:00:00.000-07:00

Courage is a quality so necessary for maintaining virtue that it is always respected, even when it is associated with vice.

- Samuel Johnson

Berlin: As Time Goes By

2012-05-25T19:41:00.002-07:00

What a difference the passage of time and a whole lot of events can make. Compare and contrast these short films of Berlin in:

1929
1936
1945
2008

Piano Extravaganza

2012-05-25T16:35:00.002-07:00

In an arrangement for eight pianos: The Stars and Stripes Forever Suite.

Career Advice: The Hazards of Following Your Passion

2012-05-25T16:18:00.001-07:00

The problem is that "do what you love" is incomplete advice, and sometimes misleading. Marty Nemko, a career coach and author in Oakland, Calif., says he often deals with clients who pursued a passion, only to find disappointment or financial disaster—because they went into it blinded by that love.

Read the rest of Tom McNichol's article here.

Miscellaneous and Fast

2012-05-25T12:02:00.000-07:00

FutureLawyer on sounding like a bargain.
Just out: The ASTD Management Development Handbook.
Art Contrarian: Dissent on WPA art.
Cab Calloway: "Minnie the Moocher."
Everyone can speak Italian.
Italian film noir: Milano Calibro 9 dance scene.
Ottorino Respighi: "The Flight into Egypt."
The Telegraph: The top 10 universities for law.

The Friday Catch-Up

2012-05-25T10:08:00.003-07:00

Books to read. Workshops to schedule. Work on a client project. A speech to prepare. Computer problems to resolve. [Mr. IBM ThinkPad has problems. A penny for the old guy.]

Finding Your Thoughts in a Messy World

2012-05-25T03:30:00.000-07:00

It is important to remember that this is not an ordered world.

Policies conflict. Experts disagree. Practices are often illogical. Priorities are unclear. Those who act as if they know what they are doing frequently do not and the most mistaken are usually wrong at the top of their lungs. So why would you assume that others can read your mind and sense your views when you're not sure about them yourself?

We need to explore via communication because we may not know what we are after until we have talked a bit about it. This is messy and requires trust for if we have to walk on eggshells around one another, we'll lose the candor needed for exploration.

Quote of the Day

2012-05-25T03:00:00.000-07:00

Repartee: What a person thinks of after he becomes a departee.

- Dan Bennett