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Law Firm (family law), San Diego, CA - Social Media Expert

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Holden Caulfield from "The Catcher in the Rye" - Beyond Owen Labrie, Brett Kavanaugh

Like Owen Labrie and Brett Kavanaugh, Holden Caulfield had attended prep school. That's where the likeness ends.

The first two were and probably still are achievers eager for traditional success in a white man's world of privilege.

Caulfield considered that tribe a bunch of phonies.

His archetypal journey occurred after he had given up on what prep school had to offer.

Caulfield, as baby boomers will recall, is the protagonist in J.D. Salinger's classic novel "The Catcher in the Rye." Published in 1951, it sold 65 million copies.

His alienation could have been the platform for our embracing the counterculture ethos. My journey was out of a prestigious doctoral program to become an expat in Barcelona, Spain. Eventually, unlike Caulfield, I stumbled back to America to chase traditional success.

However, as the SFGate points out, the character of a Caulfield wouldn't resonate with today's youth. After all, they are digital natives, born into the world of social. Many struggle for the outstanding grades and to participate in the right extracurricular activities to be admitted to prep schools, ivy league universities, and the T-14 law schools. 

But what Caulfield and iGen have in common is a propensity to suicide. Caulfield didn't actually commit it. But he sure thought a lot about it. The CDC reports that suicide among those 10 to 17 increased 70% from 2006 until 2016.

It could just be that, despite social, the current gen feels as fed up with the world as it is as had Caulfield. It might be useful to the national mental health of youth if middle school teachers would re-introduce "The Cather in they Rye" into the curriculum. Caulfield might mirror more of the minds of iGen than it's been assumed.

Incidentally, more and more of my gen has returned to alienation. Our fantasy of the life worth living is the cabin in the woods or the tent pitched in the desert, off the grid. The success we wound up chasing transformed into monsters who often got the upper hand. 

According to the CDC, suicides among those 45 to 64 increased 45% from 1999 to 2016. Among the high profile ones were the dozen suicides among trial lawyers in Kentucky during a brief timeframe and, more recently, that of designer Kate Spade. Here, free to download, is how aging professionals can find the ramp out of their comfort zones. 

At college reunions (which I no longer attend) a mental health professional might conduct a workshop about "The Catcher in the Rye."

Out of the Box Communications = Unexpected Results

Complimentary Consultation janegenova374@gmail.com – I help, not sell.

All We Know Is That We Don't Know (and neither does anyone else)

It's 6:30 A.M. New York Time.

The Wall Street Journal predicts the Dow will open (and, by implication) close in positive territory. Specifically, it reports: "Global stocks rose Monday …" The main reason is the easing of tensions about trade between the U.S. and China. 

So, many will ring in the New Year with optimism - that is, if you define "optimism" as hope that equities won't crash the way the did in 1929. 

But, all we know is that no one knows. Since The Great Recession, we have a healthy disrespect for the supposed experts.

Out of the Box Communications = Unexpected Results

Complimentary Consultation janegenova374@gmail.com – I help, not sell.

Congress - Saving America from Extreme Holiday Marketing

No break between holidays.

Today, I swung by the Walmart which is open 24-hours. I was hoping that the Christmas paraphernalia would be all gone. It was.

But, the stunner: The night staff had stocked the shelves with Valentine's Day candy. There was everything from the fancy expensive boxes of chocolates to the cheap hearts with the stamped-on romantic messages. 

Right after Valentine's, the Easter candy probably will be loaded on the shelves, along with the cute stuffed rabbits. And, in 2019, the Christmas season marketing could begin before school starts. In 2018, it kicked off before Thanksgiving. 

Would there be support for a movement to lobby Congress to limit marketing of goods and services associated with any specific holiday to a certain number of days? For example, no promos for Valentine's dinners at restaurants until February 8th? And delay putting out the candy until January 31st? 

Out of the Box Communications = Unexpected Results

Complimentary Consultation janegenova374@gmail.com – I help, not sell.

Law Firm, South Pasadena, CA - Marketing Coordinator

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Lawyers Forced into Retirement - Will It "Kill" You

A slowed-down economy can mean a shrinking legal sector. That means even law-firm partners could be forced into retirement. 

The dominant meme has been: Retirement kills. Those championing working until one drops dead cite studies documenting how retirees tend to die soon after leaving their jobs. 

However, as MarketWatch hammers, other studies have found the opposite: Retirees live longer than those who don't retire.

Also, some studies purport that those for whom retirement was not their idea tend to have reduced longevity. 

Actually, the real issue for professionals such as lawyers used to enjoying status, influence, and power is that there is a tendency to become invisible after there is no title attached to their names. After all, America is the global headquarters for capitalism and we are what we work at. Also, professionals become irrelevant when they no longer are active participants of BigBrand networks. 

Go to any of the supposed paradises developed for older professionals. One of them is Oro Valley, Arizona. When I visited former disability expert - Kathleen Huebner - there what I bumped into were yesterday's people. Most focused the conversation on their former career paths. Not one was building something new in terms of human effort, paid or unpaid.

The hedge after retirement, voluntary or involuntary, is to continue to labor at something that brings in income. It's not the money which is so important. It's the work identity.

Also, the old adage is on the money: Nothing gets you a job like having a job. Here, free to download, is my guide on how to get, hold, and move on to better work, at any age Download Outwitting ageism. New worlds can open. 

Out of the Box Communications = Unexpected Results

Complimentary Consultation janegenova374@gmail.com – I help, not sell.

Some Inmates Go Fishin' - Brooklyn Detention Complex Bans New York Post

Seemingly with great glee, the New York Post features coverage of a move made by the Brooklyn Detention Complex.

With no explanation why, the correctional facility posted a sign in the visitors' quarters that the New York Post is banned. Here are the details from the tabloid.

According to civil rights lawyer - Ron Kulp - the ban is unconstitutional. For example, the media outlet is not providing information such as how to break out of prison. That could have justified a ban. 

Given the power of the media and the contention that the ban is unconstitutional, Brooklyn Detention Complex is in a public relations crisis mode. Already, it has blundered badly.

Before a potential crisis (not all flashpoints become crises), during it, and afterward, the must-do is to provide all available information in a timely manner in all appropriate mediums. When managing the Blue Bell product recall, kglobal partner Gene Grabowski made use of video. That helped humanize the message.  A high-ranking spokesperson should be designated. Then there should be regular updates. 

Owned by media genius Rupert Murdoch, the New York Post has the resources to not only sustain this crisis. It can escalate it. Global activists supporting journalism can position and package this into a high-profile issue.

BTW, in September, the New York Post published an article that some of the 800 inmates at the Brooklyn Detention Complex were using makeshift fishing poles. With those they snatched up whatever from folks standing on Atlantic Avenue. 

Out of the Box Communications = Unexpected Results

Complimentary Consultation janegenova374@gmail.com – I help, not sell.

Lonely Lawyers - Catch a Re-Run of "Law & Order SVU" or "Criminal Minds"

According to Cigna's study, 56% assess that the people around us aren't really with us. Also, 54% of the folks in our little lives, we are convinced, really don't know us. Here are more details from Fortune.

Of course, there is no shortage of opinion put out there about the causes of this loneliness epidemic. Fingered is everything from too much screen time to working such long hours we have nothing left for building relationships. 

However, loneliness is not a 21st century phenomenon. Before Marissa Mayer and Mark Zuckerberg made nerdiness cool, we eggheads (as we were called back then) were segregated from much of social life. In addition, as Betty Friedan pointed out, many stay-at-home mothers were plenty lonely. 

Then, as now, some of us lonely souls bonded deeply and well with fictional characters.

I made it my business to get to the public library to check out the latest Nancy Drew mystery novel.

Although Nancy had a sometimes boyfriend, he didn't seem important to her - at least not as important as solving a mystery. So, I figured we were soulmates. Had we actually talked, I knew Nancy would understand me. 

Isolated housewives could feel companionship with any of  the diverse crowd on the soap operas.

Today, we have Olivia Benson on "Law & Order SVU" and David Rossi on "Criminal Minds." They are open systems. They could take us in fully and, yes, understand exactly what we were all about. 

No surprise, the re-runs of both shows are popular. No matter what is going on in my day or how alienated I feel from "normal people," if I invest an hour with a re-run, I will feel whole again.

Overall, we might feel less lonely if society gave the okay to our developing deep relationships with fictional entities. I have always had a hunch that those real relationships are over-rated. 

It was in my junior year in college that I finally had real relationships. There were two classmates who let me into their lives and seemed to care about me. They were female. At the time it was an all-women's institution of higher learning - Seton Hill.

That was then.

Not long after graduation one of them refused to talk with me. She believed, and was probably right, that I didn't understand what she was going through during her nervous breakdown. It was straight out of Mary McCarthy's "The Group." 

When I called the other, she told me that I had always been a "pain in the ass." That was that.

Later, I made a whopper of a mistake assuming I could conjure up human closeness from College Past. Here is that saga of extreme horror.

Do we just have an illusion of intimacy?

All New Year's Eve day and all New Year's day, there will be re-runs of "Criminal Minds." Those folks constitute my social network.

So, no, I won't have to be lonely in the final days of this holiday season. None of you will have to. Just turn the television channel to ION.

Out of the Box Communications = Unexpected Results

Complimentary Consultation janegenova374@gmail.com – I help, not sell.

"20/20" - Investigative Reporting/Advocacy/Entertainment Format Could Make It to 42nd Year

Last night on ABC's "20/20," legal heavy Dan Abrams narrated parts of the still-riveting Christa Worthington murder saga.

The objective seemed to be advocacy for a new trial for the convicted killer former Cape Cod trash collector Chris McCowen.

A few weeks ago, "20/20" dug around the still puzzling murder of three (plus unborn fetus) by Chris Watts. Viewers were left with the question of motivation. Side dishes of lovers, financial problems, and another baby on the way weren't enough to explain why Watts did what he did. That question stirred buzz about "20/20." And that's what producers want.

For those interested in serious programming, especially about legalities, "20/20" serves a purpose. Its brandname is respected. And its signature host is the wildly popular David Muir.

But, in the world of television, "20/20" has gotten long in the tooth. Already it has been around for 41 seasons. Over the past few years ratings have been dropping.  TV Series Finale reports that between season 40 and 41, viewership has declined 5%. Overall, it's at about 2.97 million.  Low, of course. So far (that is as of December 28th) no decision has been made to renew the programming for 2019-2020 or to cancel. That would give "20/20" a 42nd season.

Out of the Box Communications = Unexpected Results

Complimentary Consultation janegenova374@gmail.com – I help, not sell.

2019 Year of Well-Being in Legal Sector - Sounds Great

The year 2018, Scott Flaherty hammers in Law.com, was characterized by lack of well-being in the legal sector.

The tragic symbol of that had been the suicide of 42-year-old partner Gabe MacConaill. 

So, it's predictable that the powers that be in the business of law are championing initiatives to address mental illness, substance abuse, and no work-life balance. Indeed, some already are labeling 2019 the Year of Well-Being. 

All that sounds great, of course. However, the business of law and the tasks involved in practicing law are configured to cause or to worsen all sorts of aberrant mindsets and behavior.

That's just the way it is. The rooms of recovery are filled with former lawyers. They had to put together another way to make a good living in order to stay alive. 

For well-being to become part of the culture of the legal sector many of the systems have to change. And change most firms won't do until they are forced to by the Invisible Hand, that is, the dynamics of the marketplace. 

Ironically, this focus on well-being will likely inflict on junior members in the profession the need to pretend to be okay. After all, in 2019, they will be more closely watched. That can ramp up the stress level. 

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