Chick-Fil-A Coming To Chicago Region

Cannot begin to describe my joy!

Storytelling Sells

In a recent blog from Fast Company magazine titled Brand Storytelling: Connecting With Your Audience, author Melinda Partin reminds us of what we already know...stories sell. She writes,

At its very core, marketing is storytelling. The best advertising campaigns take us on an emotional journey--appealing to our wants, needs and desires--while at the same time telling us about a product or service.

Stories connect. Connection is everything in the new world. If you connect, you score. This goes for business, relationships, religion etc. etc.

Tell your story well.

Who needs the Better Business Bureau?

Ever get bad service and call them to fix it, or call the BBB only to get nowhere? Well, here is one creative storytelling video that has told over 3 million people that...United Breaks Guitars!! Thanks Dean for posting this one.

Haiti Orphan Trip

When I was 17 I was part of a mission's trip to Venezuela. It was the first time that I came face to face with third world poverty. My world (and worldview) would forever be altered. Stacey and I desire that all of our children experience a mission to make a difference in the lives the poor, the orphans, the least of these that Jesus speaks of. So when Raegan heard about a trip tow work with orphanages in Hait and said to us "Mom, dad, I feel that I have to do this," we knew in our hearts that she was right.

So last week Stacey and Raegan went with 7 others to the poorest nation in the west, Haiti, to work with orphans. Haiti was the first country to become independent by a successful slave uprising. But corrupt leadership has led to economic and social ruin. In the city of Port Au Prince, where the team ministered at several orphanages, every home is seperated by walls for security reasons. There is chaos in the streets and fear in the hearts of the citizens. And so many of the families cannot take care of the children they bring into the world because of extreme poverty. It is a desparate situation, but not hopeless.

There are those who feel called to drop their lives and move to this oppressed country and try to make a difference. The ministry that the team worked with was founded by just such a couple. Their names are Corrigan and Shelley Clay and they moved to Haiti a year ago and started a minstry called the ApParent Project. The ministry works with the poor of Haiti (specifically with orphans) and seeks to make their needs known through media and the arts.

I am so proud of Stacey and Raegan for thriving in the blazing heat and loving on these little ones. They are still processing the trip and how transformational it was. It reinforces to me that we MUST continue to be the voice for the orphans and do what we can to find them a loving home.

I am alive...

Little summer break from the blog. It's been busy with vacations, internet being down, Stacey in Haiti, conferences...

Whew!

Nice to be back...more later..........

Narrative Overload?

If you know me at all, you know that I love storytelling. I believe that our lives are a collection of colliding narratives and subnarratives. And living in a media culture with constantly evolving digital technologies, stories are thriving. But are we possibly suffering from narrative overload? Coming from the perspective of a movie writer of such classics as Raging Bull, Paul Schrader writes...

Storytelling began as ceremony and evolved into ritual. It was commercialized in the middle ages, became big business in the 19th century and an international industry in the 20th. Today it is the ubiquitous wallpaper of the postmodern era.

Find his full story HERE.

Schrader's article is more concerned with what media forms narrative will take in the future. And I agree with his conclusion that narrative will continue to go strong in the future but "mutated."

But the article did make me think about just how many media stories we are bombarded with from reality shows to video games to movies, television, hulu etc. What affect do all of these stories have on our connections with people, relationships, politics and even emotions and psyche. Are we becoming part of the wallpaper?

The CEO As Storyteller In Chief

Forbe's magazine says it all in this article on the value of storytelling in the marketplace. Here is a quick quote...

"Explanatory talk and statistics appeal to the intellect, but people aren't inspired by reason alone. Compelling stories convey loads of information while also appealing to our emotions, ensuring that we not only listen, but get engaged and inspired.

Storytelling can be extremely effective at simplifying complexities. It can help us reveal and assess the assumptions, values and beliefs behind new ideas and connect them to our world. So a company's mission is not just to sell more and better coffee; it is to share the passion that fills that cup."

Self Convergence Diagram

Scot McKnight put this up on his Jesus Creed blog today and I just had to pass it along. It's creative and funny with some insight to chew on. In my creative cookbook, that is the perfect recipe!!

In the Year 3000...

Funniest moment on Conan O'Brien last night...

In the year 3000 Youtube, Twitter, and Facebook will merge into a superwebsite called:

YouTwitFace

Microsoft Raises the Game

I found these updates from the E3 conference from Brandon Grissom's blog. Wow. If this is where things are headed...again, wow!

18 Years and Counting

Today Stacey and I celebrated 18 years of being married. We started the day pulling out the pics from our wedding. Who were those kids?

We do have a few more wrinkles since then, but also a deeper, more mature love.

Thank you Stace for saying "yes" to join together on this life journey. What a ride..............

Kids Want Bedtime Stories

No, not the movie. A new study shows that children want to HEAR bedtime stories from their parents over other forms of entertainment. The study also showed that 75% of children wished that there was more storytelling by their parents.

Here is the full article from Reuters.

Oh yeah, and you dads out there, kids prefer mom's stories because she makes them more enjoyable with sound effects etc. Let's brush up and man up at bedtime.

Movies, Games and Digital Storytelling

Haven't seen Terminator yet, but it is getting a lot of buzz for it's creativity. Fast Company put it on the cover and PC World describes a new game that continues the storytelling in a virtual world. Here is a quote from the article. Again, I love to think of groundbreaking storytelling technology and how that will impact us.

Halcyon Games on Tuesday announced the launch of Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series, a new animated drama whose first episode is now available for purchase and download from the iTunes Store.

Machinima is a form of digital storytelling that uses a pre-existing virtual world technology, such as a video game engine, in order to drive the story. It's been used in short form for YouTube videos using World of Warcraft characters, stories told using Valve's Half-Life II engine, and, perhaps most well-known, the "Red vs. Blue" series featuring Halo characters.

Not Everyone Gets a Trophy

Today was my 6 year old's (Ramsay) last day of ballet. And because it was her last day, she received...a trophy! She got it not for being the best or even the second or third best, no, she got it just for participating (not that there's anything wrong with that). And wow was she ever proud.

And also happening today, I went to the library for some study time and on my way out I saw a book on the new books shelf titled Not Everyone Gets a Tropy: How to Manage Generation Y. After laughing at the irony, I snagged it and am looking forward to reading it. And it seems like a great read for anyone trying to figure out the upcoming generation. Look at the title of chapter one:

Chapter one- Meet Generation Y: The Most High-Maintenance Workforce in the History of the World

I have always enjoyed studying generational similarities and hope to post some thoughts on the book when I'm finished.

You Can’t Play Jesus on iPhone

Apparently there are limits to creative expression at Apple. The new app called "Me So Holy" allows users to take their picture and crop it into the face of Jesus.

I'm seriously trying to think what Jesus would think about this app. He was accused of being a glutton, drank too much and hung out with prostitutes and other sinners. I'm thinking that he also had a good sense of humor. WWJD?

Say it ain't so Manny!

I spent 11 years in Cleveland and loved to watch Manny Ramirez play. He was one of the least intelligent players intellectually, but some people just don't need to be smart to hit. Manny was born with a swing to die for.

Just last week I was in the airport watching ESPN recap some of the big moments of baseball. One of them was Manny's 500th home run. I thought to myself...

"Isn't it great that there is at least one guy that we can look at that just simply has a swing that produces amazing results. There is one guy who can play by the rules and still succeed."

That thought last week now feels like years ago as Manny descends into ordinary Joe status- just a guy who cheated to get ahead. But maybe it was a one-time occurrence. Maybe it never happened when he was with Boston. Maybe his excuse that a doctor prescribed it for him was true. Maybe...maybe not. How will we know? Once trust is broken, it always leaves behind a nagging little trail of doubt that clouds memories of old.

Say it ain't so Manny! Then again, does it matter?

**for a great Boston fan's reaction read THIS.

Movie Texting- Future of movies or cheap gimmick?

I just received an email update from my local theater. Here is what it said.

DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY
A small local gym is threatened with extinction by a gleaming sports and fitness palace unless a group of social rejects can rise to victory in the ultimate dodge ball competition.

Come to a special showing of Dodgeball and use your phone to text comments on the screen during the movie. Dodgeball will be playing at the Charlestowne 18 Theatre on Saturday, April 18th at 10:30 p.m. Admission is $5.00!

So they bring back an old movie and add the twist of putting people's texts onto the screen while the movie is playing. Is this an experiment for possible future movie experiences or simply a gimmick to fill up seats with a cheaper, older movie?

Experiential Holy Week

Looking forward to being with the campus of SBU this week and creating some experiences to help them think about Holy Week on a sensory level. I hope you create some space to do the same.

Did You Know?

This clip has been sent to me multiple times. It's great stuff on how fast things change. If you haven't seen it, it's worth a viewing.



It reminds me a bit of a book called FASTER: the acceleration of just about everything by James Gleick. Also worth a look.

**facebookers, if you can't see anything, click HERE.

Chicago Goes Dark

Chicago is one of several cities around the globe participating in earth hour, one hour to raise awareness about our enormous energy consumption. So 8:30 rolled around and we lit the candles and spent a full hour with no noise, no lights and no electric.

This is the second year we have done it and it's kind of nice... and quiet. Last year we read a bit and talked. This year the little girls were in bed with candles for night lights, Stacey was exercising, Raegan talked on her cell phone with friends and I chilled by candle light.

They say that Chicago energy use during the hour dipped about 5% which amounts to 850,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. It's a drop in bucket, but still a good reminder of how much energy we use and how everyone's efforts could help us do some good for the God-given gift of our planet.