Law And More

"A Star Is Born" - It Makes Addiction Seem, Well, Worth It

The latest remake of "A Star Is Born" can convince the already-troubled that addiction is a small price to pay for success - even if that success peters out.

From the get-go, music star Jackson Maine had a tough go of it.

His mother died when he was born.

His father was a drunk.

His older brother who looked out for him was one of those guys we met in high school who had a sense of direction and determination that we less emotionally and socially didn't. Of course, we couldn't bond. 

In his early teens, Jackson even attempted suicide by hanging but the ceiling fan gave way. He fell to the floor. Later, his hanging himself with a belt in the garage does succeed.

So, the message of the film could be interpreted as: Without booze and pills, Jackson could never had been able to put it together to develop into a performer.

That could be way too seductive to youth whom the universe didn't bless with a loving, non-chaotic start in life. 

Not surprisingly - who hasn't been exposed to the Alcoholics Anonymous mantra - the substances took him over. Another factor was simple aging. The years aren't kind to most of those in the performing arts. We content-providers have it easier and a longer shelf life.

But, along the way, Jackson had it all. That included the authentic love of struggling song-writer/singer Ally. That's more than many of us from difficult backgrounds are able to grab onto from life. Currently, I continue to struggle.

A sort of heretic in a recovery program for alcohol abuse, way back in the early 80s I declared that boozing bought me time. In its predictable way it empowered me to function until I could access the tools I needed to create my own life. Eventually, as with Jackson, its role was counterproductive. I was fortunate. I could and did stop. I stayed stopped. 

So, what do members of law enforcement, the courts, high school guidance counselors, college mental health therapists, recovery experts, researchers, friends, and family tell at-risk youth and kids already in trouble about the dangers embedded in substance abuse?

That's the rub.

How can they replace the "help" which addiction seems to be delivering at the time? Already, youth probably knows that the success rate of traditional program Alcoholics Anonymous is quite low. Here is the iconic The Atlantic article on that. Most courts route substance abusers to that mode of treatment: X amount of meetings a week and have the attendance verification document signed. 

Meanwhile, the whatever which does create and reinforce sobriety is less available in 2018. That includes affording college, being able to pony up the rent to live away from the toxic nuclear family, landing work with a future, and hope. 

Those committed to rescuing youth from despair have to reimagine their message. That could start by analyzing how Jackson could have prevented the start of his addiction or could have found a sustainable way out of it. Love, obviously, was not enough.

In that other new film "Unbroken," that path is giving up the illusion of control and surrendering to some higher force. 

As the uncontained opioid epidemic hammers, traditional approaches aren't effective. The times are different from when the recovery movement has been launched in the 1930s. Yet, there has been no Big Woke.

Attention is the currency of the 21^st century. Jane Genova helps you get it for products, services, points of view, causes, branding, careers after-50, and college admission.

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Too-Cute Nicknames, Saints Dianne/Sheldon, The Cory Look, Run From The Questions, Rabbit, Run - "SNL" Is Back

It went into a slow, then much faster decline from too much Trump. 

Even loyalists to the satiric network tabloid stopped tuning in.

But, fortunately for those who no longer bother with "SNL," there's an online video of Matt Damon's truly funny simulation of Brett Kavanaugh's performance art before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Its signature is the rabbit-nose nervous whatever Kavanaugh couldn't shake. There are enough but not too many tears. The main prop is the calendar tracking all the activities with his buddies with odd nicknames.  Here is that online video. 

The Damon version of Kavanaugh transmits an overwrought guy who probably shouldn't have been admitted to the state bar. Never mind, confirmed for the U.S. Supreme Court. 

The meme of beer dominates. That's a severe blow to the beer industry. Likely college students watching "SNL" made the decision to switch to cheap wine.

That returns them to the counterculture years.

Back then at the free (propaganda-filled) outdoor concerts we all had bottles of 99-cent Boone's Farm sweet flavored wines, such as apple. After all, we grew up on Coca-Puffs cereal. And, you bet, we wouldn't have been seen with beer. We had been to Europe where we learned to discern wines. 

Good news for nostalgia buffs: Boone's Farm, in sweet flavors, can be ordered online from Walmart. Inflation has galloped since the end of the 1960s, though. A bottle will set you back $3.33. Click here and return to the final days before we had to knock off all that fun and go to work. Even then there were student loans to pay off. 

A clever retirement community in the Hudson Valley, New York, could organize a special event, serving Boone's Apple Blossom and having the talented musicians there lead a sing-along of "Puff The Magic Dragon." Yes, I can be hired to live-tweet/live-blog the event. 

Meanwhile, back at "SNL," no one got all the hook.

Democrat Saint - Dianne Feinstein - was alluded to as one of the oldest white folks in the Senate.

And the Democrat who brought the nation state-level class action public nuisance lead paint litigation - Sheldon Whitehouse - looked like a nerd trying to look cool.

His early-adopter advocacy for children with lead in their blood also qualifies him for sainthood.

Now that the lead issue returned via California, Whitehouse should re-promote his commitment to wiping out that health hazard. Among the supposed "bad guys" are Sherwin-Williams, convicted in the bench trial of "Santa Clara v. Arco."

Go after 'em, Saint Sheldon. Along the way you might catch the Whitehouse in 2020. Sure, I will volunteer in your campaign. (In 2005-2006, I had blogged the second run of the lead paint litigation in your home state of Rhode Island. The hotels, restaurants, and parking lots made out like bandits.)

Let's just hope that "SNL" knows when to let go of the Kavanaugh fun. Humor, like everything else in a digital era, has only a moment in time. 

There are myriad other topics to deride.

At the top of the list are those elite prep schools in New England rural areas where both professors and administrators dipped into the pool of youth for sexual frolics. The victims didn't rat. Not at the time. Now they have hired high-priced law firms to gnaw at the reputations of those who were No Mr. Chips. 

Guess, way back then, they were afraid the predators would retaliate with bad grades and lousy recommendations. That would have been the end of their careers proudly leading the nation's courts, BigLaw firms, Congress, Fortune50, and fine research universities.

Full Disclosure: From the hood, I went to public high school. Since I had no advantage I had no reason to put up with exploitation. Kavanaugh and all his buddies with those too-cute nicknames would have known to steer clear of me. Yes, they would have smelled a rat. 

Attention is the currency of the 21^st century. Jane Genova helps you get it for products, services, points of view, causes, branding, careers after-50, and college admission.

In addition, this blog welcomes sponsored content.

Free consultation janegenova374@gmail.com

 

Hold Those Invitations to the Fair

Again, the annual J'ouvert Festival has been the setting for violence.

As the New York Post reports, an hour after it kicked off, a man was shot in the back. In 2015, there were two fatalities. The year before that, Andrew Cuomo's aide was fatally gunned down. 

Some would shrug it off, saying: That's New York City.

I don't. That's why I told my neighbors yesterday I wouldn't be joining them at the Canfield Fair here in Ohio. 

And, it's not only a J'ouvert mindset. We recall what happened at the large outdoor entertainment event in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Sure, during my youth, I was a regular at the free outdoor concerts. Most of them had a political agenda. But, I was there with my buddies for the music and sense of connection. We clapped, danced, and drank cheap wine. 

That was then.

The only violence I encountered during my early 20s was the serial killer John Norman Collins who stalked girls in the Ann Arbor, Michigan metro area. The police told us females to stick together in a group. Those of us who followed that directive didn't become a Collins' victim. 

My takeaway from that was that violence could be prevented. Now, I know I was wrong. Violence can't be prevented. 

I will continue to steer clear of large crowds. If others think the way I do connecting among group members will be totally digital. Pick up your smartphone in your apartment, sway to the music, text a buddy, and smoke weed, if it's legal in your state.

Attention is the currency of the 21^st century. Jane Genova helps you get it for products, services, points of view, causes, branding, careers, and college admission. Free consultation janegenova374@gmail.com

1 Wedding (at least) Needed After 2 Funerals

2 funerals were positioned and packaged to open our hearts in these dark times to the light. The heroism of John McCain and the talent of Aretha Franklin lifted us out of preoccupation with politics and an economy which seems too good to be sustained.

To keep us moving toward hope we need 1 wedding. But who measures up to be able to provide the needed traction by joining together, legally, with another human being?

Fortunately, there are a number of candidates.

One is Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It's been 8 years since her husband Martin passed on. Currently, she is America's sweetheart, poaching that honor from the late Mary Tyler Moore.

Another is the fictional Spencer Reid from "Criminal Minds." His soulmate had been offed by a deranged jealous woman. If he finds another and marries the ratings for a series long in the tooth could be boosted. 

Then there is Oprah Winfrey. Now, that's American royalty. She could opt to tie the knot with her long-time gentleman caller or bump into someone who sweeps her out of her single comfort zone. (Here is my free book on finding the exit ramp out of what's way too comfortable.)

Weddings are a setting for optimism about the future, despite what we know about human nature and when life intrudes. A wedding before the presidential campaign of 2020 could put us in the right mood to make an objective choice. The high angst will be neutralized.

Communications Strategy/Services and Career Coaching. Special areas of expertise include professionals over-50 and students applying to degree programs in higher education.

 

Complimentary initial consultation. Sliding scale fees. Contact Jane Genova for an appointment janegenova374@gmail.com.

The New Aging - Will Lawyers Nurture Their Inner Madonna

Those who I assumed were envious of Madonna Louise Ciccone would tsk-tsk: Wait 'till she gets old. They figured that curse of aging would finish her.

Well, she is old.

Soon she will be celebrating her 60th birthday. And she isn't finished. Maybe, like Clint Eastwood in film and Rupert Murdoch in empire-building, her influence will go on and on into her 80s and beyond.

In The Guardian, Barbara Ellen chronicles how she has already reshaped global pop culture. 

Her presence might have been and could endure as an extension of Andy Warhol's realization that being embedded in the worldwide consciousness is how celebrity is created.

Madonna did that, primarily through continually transforming herself. There had been a Madonna of the 70s, 80s, 90s, and beyond.

Among the personas were the young woman who was imbued with Catholic memes, the musician who wore underwear as outerwear and simulated the movements of sexual intercourse on stage, and the earth mother. 

That presence so dominated that it was difficult for it not to seep into her acting roles. Never could she fully portray a character the way Edie Falco gave us Carmela Soprano. 

In her aging, she could be the one who pulls off totally overhauling the image of what "old" is.

Given her transformational powers she could reset how the world perceives the aging.

As with those becoming 13 in the post-war era, she can cook up a whole new category of those who should be watched, analyzed, feared, and imitated.

Back then, that emerging demographic was labeled "teenager." Thanks to them, Elvis, the record industry, television, the drive-in where in pre-pill days it didn't go beyond petting, rebellion, and going to college caught fire.

Our 60-and-over demographic could become the prevailing model for professional success on your own terms.

Many who already analyze us, such as psychotherapist Thomas Moore, observe aging tends to soften us and we become calm about many aspects of life. Instead of one-dimensionally chasing after our individual success to pile up material rewards, we embrace an other-directed purpose. Younger generations sense this and head toward us as mentors. Moore's brisk-selling book is "Ageless Soul."

In addition, other thought leaders such as journalist Dan Lyons note how resilient we are becoming in the face of age discrimination. His book is "Disrupted."

Frequently that takes the form of getting the boot because we are at a high salary. At age 52, at Newsweek, Lyons received what has become known as the "tap on the shoulder." Soon enough he got it that supporting his family meant continually scrambling to find work.

That's exactly what we aging have learned to do so well. We are the heroes of the revolution in the global labor market.

In this 600-unit rental complex in Eastern Ohio, about 40% are over-60.

We have created an informal network about where the work is and the savvy way to apply for it.

A 64-year-old told us not to work at X retailer, whose branding is all warm and fuzzy, because it, when sales receipts aren't meeting quota, sends workers home. No it doesn't ask if they want to leave early. It tells them to go. 

When I let it be known I was hunting for retirees to interview for a book I'm assisting with, two volunteered. With grace and humor, they described a life they hadn't expected: Retirement which demands part-time jobs to financially survive.

In a sense, we have all taken on the brash confidence and experimentation of Madonna. And, hahaha, like her we are shocking.

Colleagues were bug-eyed when I took a vow of poverty after my mind, enterprise, and nest egg blew into a million pieces in 2003. I had been one of those with the This Old House on the Gold Coast of Connecticut and a getaway at an EastCoast beach. Currently my lifestyle is that of a medieval monk. 

Takeaway: Allow our inner Madonna to point us to our emerging purpose in work and our personal lives.

Coaching, auditing, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on ageism.  

 

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The displaced over-50 get back to work. Mature professionals who are working advance their careers. Contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

“Over-50: Outsmarting Your Comfort Zone” http://over-50.typepad.com/over-50/2018/05/outsmarting-your-comfort-zone-free-book.html

 “Over-50: The Four Monsters in the Mind” http://over-50.typepad.com/over-50/2018/04/ageism-bites-.html

 

Suicide in the Middle Years - The Latest Is Tina Turner's Son Craig

We continue to be humbled by the mystery of why people who seem blessed by good fortune take their own lives. Many are in their middle years. 

The latest suicide to be announced is that of the son of Tina Turner - Craig Raymond Turner.

He was 59 years old, lived in Studio City, California, and identified himself on his Facebook page as a realtor. He committed suicide by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Here are more details from the New York Post.

There are so many questions to contemplate. At the top of the list is if the middle years in the 21st century are presenting new kinds of challenges to human beings?

In my coaching of those over-50 I encounter such confusion.

Once-confident professionals are thrown off their game. It could one or more factors: loss of a job, being forced into retirement, not getting that promotion, overwhelmed by the financial pressures of putting children through college, divorce, and even gaining weight. 

I call that darkness The Four Monsters of the Mind. Here is my book on those demons, free to download. 

Most thought about suicide. What "saved" them was their willingness to change. The professional and person they had been before were, as W.B. Yeats put it, centers which could no longer hold. 

The legal community recalls the cluster of more than a dozen suicides among middle-aged lawyers in Kentucky. Did they want to change and didn't have the courage to do that? It seems that it is especially difficult for lawyers to explore other kinds of identities. That's a particular problem when senior associates don't make partner and can't land a lateral position.

This blog passes on wishes for strength among the members of the Turner family.

Coaching, auditing, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on ageism.  

 

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The displaced over-50 get back to work. Mature professionals who are working advance their careers. Contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

The Midwest Acceptability Test - Communications Comfort Zones Have Changed

The "C-Word" used to refer to a medical condition: cancer. 

Now, because of the power of pop culture, the bit of language has shifted in meaning - quickly.

The "C-Word" currently indicates a vulgar term for a part of the female body. 

The change has come as a result of comic Samantha Bee's routine on "Full Frontal." She took on First Daughter Ivanka Trump. Here is an update on the fallout in the New York Post.

It is likely that Bee could be shut down as had been Roseanne and Kathy Griffin. These are times of extreme sensitivity to the implications of words and images. 

In addition, like comic Joan Rivers, Bee will probably remain controversial. Many will dislike her because her humor is hard-edged - and not perceived as an acceptable fit for a female.

Meanwhile, all of us who make public statements should have become circumspect in all mediums - digital, print, audio, video, voice, and in-person. Regarding the latter, I have gone low-profile even when walking the dog. I have no idea whom I could offend and how they will object to that. Yes, we are a nation in fear, at least if we are smart.

In addition, I recommend to those I coach in a job search or when positioning and packaging themselves for a promotion to put their verbal behavior through what I call The Midwest Acceptability Test: Would the attendees at a town meeting about economic development in Lordstown, Ohio take in your meaning or become distracted by your tone and language?

Those not passing that test will not have influence. Those, of course, include lawyers. So much of success in the legal success is based on the language of persuasion. Trial attorneys will have to re-think everything about opening and closing arguments.

What had been the communications comfort zones of so many of us have to change - for now. Here is my new book, free to click open, on how to exit rigid comfort zone looping  Download Over50OutsmartingYourComfortZone.

Coaching, auditing, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on ageism.  

 

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The displaced over-50 get back to work. Mature professionals who are working advance their careers. Contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Lawyers - Even They Can Learn to Feel the Pain, Forgive

Faith-based music biopic "I Can Only Imagine" plays out two profound memes: feeling the pain and forgiving.

If lawyers pay attention during the film they may find refuge from the demons which overtake too may fine legal minds. And lead to depression, addiction, and even suicide.

Here is that recent study by the American Bar Association and the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. 

The plot for the real-life story in "I Can Only Imagine" focuses on Bart Millard, a child abused by his father Arthur and deserted by his mother.

He gets a peek of what it is to have something to hold onto during his week at a Christian youth camp.

There he is introduced to Jesus as a friend and a real life friend Shannon.

Also, memes such as forgiveness are featured. In his journal at camp he is instructed to insert whom he should forgive. At the time he can't do that. 

As a high school student he tries to please his father, a former athlete, through football. After being injured, Shannon guides him to the singing course. The teacher notices his talent. She makes him the lead in the school musical. 

Later he chases music to run from the pain. Lawyers might be doing the same thing by involving themselves in the complexities of the law.

But Bart can't make it big until he is able to feel the pain and then forgive the source of it. He returns to his roots.

Arthur, dying from cancer, has also found Jesus. The two bond in this similar spiritual sanctuary. In his journal Bart fills in the name "dad" for whom he has forgiven.

That experience opens him to his talent. He pens the song "I Can Only Imagine." Essentially it's about walking with Jesus. It becomes the all-time Christian music hit. 

Through forgiveness he also restores his relationship with his mother. He asks forgiveness from Shannon. Hurt people hurt. They marry. 

Yes, the memes do inspire in this era when so many middle class folks are enduring financial uncertainty and upheaval in social values. They are invited to feel the pain. And forgive anyone whom they perceive caused it.

No surprise, the film has been a box office success.

Way back in 2005, starting a blog gave me a platform for sorting out my pain.

Once I felt it, especially that associated with professional challenges, then I could extend part of myself to helping others.

The group needing the most help in this volatile work world are those over-50. My coaching service, billed on a sliding scale, has lifted more people than I have ever dreamed possible out of career despair and back to work. 

Here, free to download, is my book about the mental agony they have suffered. Here is an introduction to what to expect  Download IntroducingYoutoCoachJaneGenova,

When it comes to forgiveness, I still haven't filled in the names. A Buddhist monk, who has been guiding me, positions and packages them as my "teachers." He hammers that it's up to me to take full advantage of those lessons - and be grateful to them. 

Coaching, auditing, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on ageism. Complimentary consultation.

 

Coaching Introductory Offer - $19 for 15 minutes. The displaced over-50 get back to work. Mature professionals who are working advance their careers. Contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Rules for Radicals + Digital Technology - Getting Our Way W/O Lawyers

When Hillary Clinton was a fresh (and female) face in the political scene, she brought union organizer Saul Alinsky to the mainstream.

His tactics - "Rules for Radicals" - she had analyzed in her college senior thesis. What stuck with us was the lesson to figure out the informal leadership in a neighborhood, then press that button.

Later, as that face began to represent entrenched politics, community organizer Barack Obama brought new lessons.

Part of the "The Audacity of Hope" was insight about leveraging technology to blow up the status quo. Smart. After all, digital communications got him elected twice.

Even in this supposed era of the imperial presidency, ordinary people, including those like myself over-70 (The Invisible Class), can change anything.

That's what I have been amazed to discover here in Eastern Ohio.

Take the dog poop problem. Which no one seemed to want to bother witn one section of a 400-unit residential complex, the feces were piling up. In general, neighbors ignored it. "I don't look" was the standard answer. Many were Millennials, saving up to buy a house which is affordable in this region.

Then, in the process of talking this situation up, I hit up against that informal leader.

From growing up in a dysfunctional family, she knew her way around making the intolerable okay. Tirelessly she directly complained to onsite property management, the out-of-town management company, and more.

She gave us handful of vigilantes their contact information.

She "deputized" us to police the area and confront miscreants.

I added the bit of creativity of identifying myself as a member of the mythical formal Committee to Eradicate Dog Poop Menace. As dogs were in the process of defecating, we stood by. A waste disposal bag in our hand. A grim look on our face. 

A stunner. No more unpicked-up dog poop.

Over-70, no, I don't have to move to a better maintained complex. Like those old ladies in pre-gentrified Jersey City, New Jersey, I can look forward to being found dead in an apartment I will live in forever. How comforting in these turbulent times.

The Obama tech fundamental produced change even faster. After all, that's how tech operates.

The first time I tried that out was last year. I was determined not let a national financial institution get away with having made a mistake on my investment account and wasting my time. At first I huffed and puffed. Nothing. Then I blogged about it. 

Two departments of the bank called me. Both compensated me for my "inconvenience." That was classified as a "credit." This week I will find out how the IRS treats that bit of a windfall.

In the same year, a client stiffed me. I turned that over to a collection agency. Nothing was happening until I blogged about the legalities involved. I knew them from watching crime shows, fictional and real, on television. Payment was made to the debt collector the day the post appeared.

Flushed with success, I am reaching back into the past, assessing what wrongs I can now right. And applying rules for radicals, with plenty of hope.

My little life on planet earth had not been an easy one. God bless America and political mentors ranging from Alinsky to Obama.

Irritated with your communications results? Complimentary consultation. No pressure. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Placing Sponsored Content on Abovethelaw, No Longer Pushing to get on "cover of Rolling Stone"

The world of print is over.

The book "Sticky Fingers" by Joe Hagan reminds us of the days when both celebrities and wannabes dreamed about being "on the cover of Rolling Stone."

They would be seen in newsstands around the world, and throughout Manhattan's Grand Central.

It was a different time. Yet, one we aren't ready to let go of.  Not yet.

That biography of Jann Wenner, founder of Rolling Stone, ranks 592 on Amazon. Each of its 511 pages of text brings back some aspect of an era when publishers and editors, not influencers on social media, had the power.

In addition, Hagan delivers a comprehensive profile of Wenner. Think of Hagan as the David Rossi ("Criminal Minds") of media personalities, instead of serial killers. We gain amazing insight into how ambition takes over a human being and what that person will do to keep feeding it fresh meat. 

That was then. Currently, Rolling Stone is for sale. It had been experiencing financial challenges. And its branding never really recovered from the sloppy journalism of the "Jackie" rape story.

On the Hive, the digital part of Vanity Fair, Joe Pompeo wrote yesterday how potential buyers are kicking the tires at the Rolling Stone.

Vanity Fair is owned by Conde Nast, which itself is in trouble. Sources claim it lost $100 million and could be conducting layoffs. The outsized media player Graydon Carter retired from overseeing Vanity Fair. And, ultimately, some deep pocket could acquire Conde Nast.

But digital publications have also lost a lot of their power. Gawker pushed the boundaries too far and "Hogan v. Gawker" put it out of business. Buzzfeed and Mashable are struggling. 

Where power has flowed is to:

• The undergraduate at a Manhattan university who has more than 85,000 followers on her Instagram fashion site.
• Former BigLaw associate who rants on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn Updates. His day job is heading up a legal digital publication but that's not the juice supplying the megawatt influence.
• Syndicated blogger who can make global think tanks blink (and call a meeting to address this "problem").

The good news is that no longer are an infrastructure and ongoing funding required to get, hold, and grow attention.

The bad news is that the game Wenner played has been mothballed.

Members of Generation Z likely will never understand the wild yearning to be on the cover of the Rolling Stone. Their jobs will probably be about purchasing the right space for their clients' sponsored content for digital sites like Abovethelaw.com.  

Get a second opinion about your marketing and advocacy communications. No pressure. No charge. Please contact Jane Genova, janegenova374@gmail.com or @genova_jane.