Ethos by Randy Elrod - How To Create Culture

Vote For The Cover Of My New Book "Beauty Is Calling"

Please vote HERE for ONE of the three cover options. The book releases around Feb. 2009 by O'More Publishing.

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A Toast To 2009 - New Years Eve Wine Tasting At O'More College Of Design

  

To benefit Kalein Center For Creative Studies, a non-profit Artist & Leader Training Center.

Come enjoy the first portion of the New Year's Celebration with us at the stunning Abbey Leix O'More College of Design historic mansion replete with Christmas decorations.

The festive evening will feature gourmet Tapas, exquisite wines, a free wine glass, interesting people and the chance to stock your cellar for the next year.

Click HERE to obtain more info

Ever Have One Of Those 'Awkward Pauses'?

Have you ever had an awkward pause in a conversation where you could have sworn you heard crickets chirping? Now you can ACTUALLY hear crickets chirping. Check this out. theCRICKETtoy™ is for any awkward pause.

Right now, some awkward situation is probably running through your mind. And if your family is anything like mine, the upcoming holidays should provide countless opportunities for this little green guy to
interject a chirp or two. (great stocking stuffer!)

theCRICKETtoy™ was created by Jeff Anderson, a songwriter/producer in Nashville with a goofy sense of humor. He has several awkward videos posted HERE and you can buy your own cricket on his WEBSITE. Matter of fact, it would make the ideal stocking stuffer for the teen in your life. Everyone knows they are full of awkward moments…

Watch His 'Not the Greatest Singer' Video

P.S. I told him I would help him get the word out, so please copy and paste this entry in your blog and ask your readers to buy a toy and put this entry in their blog. Jeff wants to see just how many blogs we can get this fun, toy (Great Stocking Stuffer-only $5) on! He thinks we've got the next “pet rock” and it's fun to be a part of creating a cultural phenomenon!

My Latest Watercolor - The Castle Drachenfel

Stanzas on Drachenfels (excerpted from Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Canto III) by George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824)

1 The castle crag of Drachenfels
Frowns o’er the wide and winding Rhine,
Whose breast of waters broadly swells
Between the banks that bear the vine,
And hills all rich with blossom’d trees,
And fields which promise corn and wine,
And scatter’d cities crowning these,
Whose far white walls along them shine,
Have strew’d a scene, which I should see
With double joy wert thou with me.

2 And peasant girls, with deep blue eyes,
And hands which offer early flowers,
Walk smiling o’er this paradise;
Above, the frequent feudal towers
Through green leaves lift their walls of gray;
And many a rock which steeply lowers,
And noble arch in proud decay,
Look o’er the vale of vintage-bowers;
But one thing want these banks of Rhine, –
Thy gentle hand to clasp in mine!

4 The river nobly foams and flows,
The charm of this enchanted ground,
And all its thousand turns disclose
Some fresher beauty varying round:
The haughtiest breast its wish might bound
Through life to dwell delighted here;
Nor could on earth a spot be found
To nature and to me so dear,
Could thy dear eyes in following mine
Still sweeten more these banks of Rhine!

LifeWork 2.0 Seminar Dec. 4 - How To Engage Your Clients/Fans In A Digital World

We’ve added a list of topics at LifeWork 2.0. This will be a very informative day for you who want to go to the next level in engaging your fans/clients in a digital world.Click HERE to read more about LifeWork 2.0

When: Dec 4, 2008 - 9am - 5pm / Where: Building 8, The Factory, 230 Franklin Road Franklin, TN 37064 / What To Bring: Your Laptop

Cost: $250.00  Seating is limited! Register HERE

Topics covered at LifeWork 2.0

Blogging

Blogging 101
Where do you start?
Why Blog?
Why Should CEO’s, companies, churches, and artists blog?
Maximizing your brand through blogging.
Blogging Content
Advanced Blogging
The technical side and how to manage it.

Creating Traffic

Driving readers to your blog
How to keep readers coming back to your blog
Using You Tube and other video outlets
SEO  - How to maximize Search Engine Optimization without paying monthly for it.
Why Search Engine Optimization is a must and how it drives traffic.
How To Utilize Google Not Just As A Search Engine-But As A Reputation Management System

Social Networking and Micro Blogging

Using Twitter and FaceBook to build an online community
Social Networking as a marketing tool
Customized social networks
Creating an easy path for your readers to keep up with your daily life.

We guarantee 100% Satisfaction.

100% Satisfaction Guarantee Means You Attend At No Risk! We’re so confident this information will inspire, motivate and train you to enjoy a successful career; we guarantee that you can walk away at the end of the Day and request a complete refund if you do not find value in the training.

Register Now CLICK HERE

Once you have registered online, please email us with your name, phone number and your blogsite or website address. LifeWork2.0@gmail.com

*Lunch will be provided

Where Is Conservative Theatre?

Except for David Mamet and Tom Stoppard,  can you think of a single well-known American or British playwright whose political views are even slightly to the right of center? And do you think it likely that such a person would flourish were he or she suddenly to emerge from out of nowhere: Theater is a social art form, and the culture of American and British theater is 99% left-liberal, if not more so.

A New York Times story called "Liberal Views Dominate Footlights" ran a few days ago and in it a number of American theater professionals were asked to speculate on why today's politically oriented plays are without exception written from a liberal point of view. All gave the same answer: Conservatives don't write plays. "I've never had a play come to me that I could say had a conservative perspective," said Alison Carey of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Kalein, a Center for Creative Studies that hopes to create culture, will convene a screenwriting MasterClass & Retreat this summer 2009 at an extraordinary lodge on the Madison River outside of Yellowstone National Park near Bozeman, Montana. It will be open to six lucky competition winners and will feature a world-class faculty. If you know someone who aspires to write screenplays, television scripts or theatre plays, let them know about this exceptional opportunity. More info soon at kalein.org

Read more about the lack of conservative theatre in the Wall Street Journal HERE.

Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon - Never Again

A perfect day, low lying mist, trees in blazing color, deer everywhere and a 26.2 mile course should have provided the setting for a perfect marathon. And personally, it was a great experience. Running 26.2 miles anywhere, anytime provides a high for me that most people simply do not understand.

However, every detail which the race officials were responsible proved less than perfect. The registration was chaotic and disorganized, the race started 15 minutes late, mile 2,3,23 & 24 was a combination of mud, broken pavement and uneven ground. The course markings were confusing and at times I had to pause to see which way to proceed, the water stops were few and far between, especially from mile 18 to the end when those breaks are vital.

And if that weren't enough, as I approached the finish line, I realized no one was there, only five or six volunteers and my family gathered around the finish line while everyone else was at a field nearby hawking for door prizes. I had to search for water and after three failed attempts at unmarked tents finally found a much needed drink. Speaking of no one at the finish line, there simply were NO spectators during the entire marathon. It was almost eerie, the dearth of spectators somehow permeated the runners and it was as if I was running the marathon alone. No one would talk.

I do not plan to run the Chickamauga Battlefield marathon again.

Despite all the challenges, I decided to breath in the perfect weather, the stunning setting and the ability to run one mile, much less 26.2 of them. I missed my goal by only seven minutes and did not push myself excessively, rather enjoy the run and the stunning day. The minutes immediately after the marathon always prove surreal because it is almost impossible to believe that you just completed this amazing feat. I always tear up as I approach the end and always whisper a prayer of thanksgiving for the health to complete another marathon. Eighteen marathons...do I hear nineteen in Napa Valley in March?

Marathon Saturday !!!

I will be running the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon Saturday. It will be my 18th official marathon. I plan to thoroughly enjoy the 26.2 miles and go for a kind and gentle 11 minute pace. My finish goal time is between 4:46-4:59.

I did not do my last long run because I was at 9,000 ft.elevation that day. Let's see how that affects me. That makes my last long run almost 4 weeks ago. Yikes!

If you pray, whisper a prayer for me at 11am EST this Saturday. I should be around mile 20 at that time.

Last year, the trees were blazing with color, deer were everywhere, the weather was perfect and the start was through a beautiful mist that hovered over the ground for the first three miles. Oh yeah, and Lance Armstrong stood next to me as the starting gun sounded. Nice.

A Historic Day ...

"The only new thing in the world is the history you don't know"
-Harry S. Truman

This Makes Me Mad As Hell...

 A 13-year-old girl who said she had been raped was stoned to death in Somalia after being accused of adultery by Islamic leaders, a human rights group said.

Dozens of men stoned Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow to death Oct. 27 in a stadium packed with 1,000 spectators in the southern port city of Kismayo, Amnesty International and Somali media reported, citing witnesses. The Islamic militia in charge of Kismayo had accused her of adultery after she reported that three men had raped her, the rights group said.

Calls to Somali government officials and the local administration in Kismayo rang unanswered Saturday.

"This child suffered a horrendous death at the behest of the armed opposition groups who currently control Kismayo," David Copeman, Amnesty International's Somalia campaigner, said in a statement Friday.

Somalia is among the world's most violent and impoverished countries. The nation of some 8 million people has not had a functioning government since warlords overthrew a dictator in 1991 then turned on each other.

A quarter of Somali children die before age 5; nearly every public institution has collapsed. Fighting is a daily occurrence, with violent deaths reported nearly every day.

Islamic militants with ties to al-Qaida have been battling the government and its Ethiopian allies since their combined forces pushed the Islamists from the capital in December 2006. Within weeks of being driven out, the Islamists launched an insurgency that has killed thousands of civilians.

In recent months, the militants appear to be gaining strength. The group has taken over the port of Kismayo, Somalia's third-largest city, and dismantled pro-government roadblocks. They also effectively closed the Mogadishu airport by threatening to attack any plane using it.

My Latest Watercolor - Girl Of The Limberlost

Nature's Abstract Art

Watercooler Wednesday - Political Satire - Obama Waffles and Palin Mooseburger Pasta

HERE are the guidelines. PLEASE take time to read them.  

It will save us both a lot of time.

To join us, do a post today about Arts/Culture, put a link in your post to this post permalink (not my general URL) and then put the permalink of your post (not your general URL) here at the end of this post. Thanks. Join me around the watercooler today and each Wednesday...

WCW - Political Satire

 Political satire takes a hit from the liberal elite and Main Stream Media.

And Bob DeMoss and Mark Whitlock, makers of OBAMA WAFFLES, are the canary in the coal mine of this PC culture run amuck. From CNN video to The China Daily, news of their “controversial” waffle mix spread around the world. In an attempt to silence their political satire of Sen. Obama’s waffling on issues, the makers were branded racists. Among others, Whoopi Goldberg missed the point of the parody and, instead, accused them of reverting to hurtful Aunt Jemima racial stereotypes on ABC's The VIEW. (They were not invited on the show to defend their political parody.)

Now, Bob and Mark are back with a new political satire: Sarah’s Kickin’ MOOSEBURGER HELPER. This time Republican VP presidential hopeful, Sarah Palin, is at the center of the box which features more political satire and REAL snowflake and moose-shaped pasta. I predict there will not be the same outcry over this product. Why? She’s fair game as far as the left-leaning media is concerned.

Bottom line:

The power of satire is that it grabs our attention, highlights things we might overlook in the cluttered marketplace of ideas, and then delivers a knockout punch. May our political satirists never lose their voice!

To order the waffle mix and/or pasta go HERE . Be sure to use the discount code: blogblitz and it will get you 10% off your purchase. (Code expires on 11/4 at midnight Pacific.)

Make a Comment today at the Watercooler and you will be eligible for a drawing for a free box of the Waffle mix and the Pasta.

LifeWork 2.0 - How To Engage Your Clients In A Digital World - Dec. 4 - Franklin, TN

LifeWork 2.0 has become more than a seminar or a consulting job for bloggers or those professionals looking to expand their business.

LifeWork 2.0 has become part of our everyday life in how we interact with the people in the world around us. Life isn’t just the people we see in the coffee shop or at work or walking down the street or even the personal interaction with family. It now includes those we talk to over email, on Twitter, writing or commenting on a blog and social networks like FaceBook.

We live in a world of You Tube and iPhones. A world where we can send picture messages from our phones in the middle of Africa while on safari. The world is small, fast and ready to move at a moments notice. It’s with this fast changing world that we will help you blend your online world. We will show you how to effectively engage your clients in conversation and show you how to be transparent with the world without giving away the company secrets.

If you are an artist, we can show you how to engage your fans and bring them closer to your life and career which will allow them to see a real side of you that brings loyalty. If you are a church leader, we can show you how to use the internet to create a real community of people who are ready for a movement of action that brings reality to life.

When: Dec. 4 (9am - 5pm)

Where: Building 8, The Factory

230 Franklin Road Franklin, TN 37064

What To Bring: Your Laptop

Instructors: Randy Elrod & Spence Smith

Cost: $250.00

Seating is limited! Register HERE

Beauty In Colorado

This yearling and three older deer (not pictured) dramatically enhance this view from the deck of our cabin at 9,000 feet. Actually it is my dear friend Ken Davis' cabin.

Majestic fourteener Mt. Princeton looms in the background. By the way, I have stood at the highest peak you see there.

Here are three more photos of the deer.