Dealing with Grief

Please join Chris and Gene McMurray for episode 5 of their podcast “We’re An Open Book”.  In this episode, they discuss how grief and stress can not only affect holidays but also day-to-day living.  They openly discuss how addiction affected and drastically ended their marriage and how they separately moved on and healed their own lives.

Join us on May 25th at 1pmET/10amPT and then in #podcast anytime. Please be sure to follow Chris on Facebook and get your copy of Live, Laugh, Fly on Amazon. All the proceeds from the sale of the book go to Children's Cancer Research!

This episode's online sponsors are the makers of Sesame Street bringing you their newest spinoff, MECHA BUILDERS starring #Elmo, #CookieMonster, and #AbbyCadabby! Join these OLD friends on NEW adventures as superheroes in training! There is no problem too big or too small for the #MechaBuilders to solve. Don't miss the New Show Weekdays at 8am on #Cartoonito and now Streaming on #HBOMax!

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Episode 5 of We're An Open Book with Christina and Gene McMurray on WoMRadio: Dealing with grief and stress not only affects the holidays, but it affects your day to day life, too!

Dark Comedy reflects back consequences of discrimination

 

Kaleidoscope Film and Television announces the development of the dark-comedy feature film, Completely Loyal to Me. Set in the 1950s, it depicts a time when people had to hide who they were to be accepted and safe. But that wasn't easy. McCarthyism made it difficult to keep secrets Neighbors spying on each other became the norm. Those who were different, even in private, were ostracized, especially women and the LBGTQ community.

More than just a dark comedy, Completely Loyal to Me will take the audiences on a wild ride of plot twists and turns which will end in a very unexpected place. As in Family Plot and Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf, the two couples plot and scheme only to learn that even the best-laid plans can still go awry, especially when the person they believe to be an ally has an agenda of his own. Much like the surprise endings of Deathtrap and Honey Pot, the audience will be kept guessing until the final moment when the double doors close. Unlike most in the genre, greed is only a façade. The true motivations are revenge for a love unjustly stolen and societal pressures, which force people to conform.

Margaret and George were a team, who used their considerable charms to romance others out of their fortunes. Margaret marries Samuel to inherit his millions only to learn after his “untimely” death that the terms of his will have bound her to the estate and Samuel's manservant, William James. Changing their strategy, Margaret and George married. Instead of traveling the world to find new marks, they use the mansion to lure. them into their web. William James reluctantly agrees to help. When he meets Lennetta and Gary, William James realized that he has found who he had been seeking. Manipulating the meeting of the couples, he moves forward with each believing that he is their ally. It is only when their cons come to fruition that they realize he has another agenda.

Filmed in the Sacramento California area, Completely Loyal to Me will entertain, but it will also act as a reminder of the consequences of discrimination. By holding up a mirror and reflecting the true image of the decade, Completely Loyal to Me will help prevent those behaviors from once again becoming the norm. Currently, the production team is looking for funding to produce and distribute Completely Loyal to Me.

Kaleidoscope Film and Television is a new film and television production studio that will be producing projects based on age, gender, and ethnic diversity. It will be breaking stereotypes in front of and behind the cameras, especially for women, Native Americans, and veterans. To be located in Oklahoma, KFAT will be making full use of the film and business incentives the state has to offer.

Its creator and motivating force, Theresa Chaze started working in film and television in the mid-1980s at a small independent TV station. Moving to Traverse City, she worked at an ABC affiliate as a writer, producer, editor, and director. In the early 1990s, she was hired as a ghostwriter for two feature films and two shorts. Additionally, she worked on several independent films as part of the crew and as a producer. On the third project, she learned things about the production team that forced her to walk away from the industry. About ten years ago, she started the slow journey back only to find that starting a career as a writer and producer is easier than restarting one.

Website

Networking vs Connecting: Do you know the important differences?

  

Many people mistakenly use networking and connecting as interchangeable terms.  Although they have similar qualities and goals, they are very different.  Networking is “the process or action of interacting with others to exchange information and developing professional or social contacts” while connecting is defined as “joining or linking things together, especially as to provide access and communication”.  Both involve the interaction between individuals, yet the means and methods of each radically differ.

Networking is indiscriminately reaching out either in person or virtually. It could be best described as casting a net or creating a spiderweb to randomly catch whoever or whatever happens to be around. The message stays the same without regard to who or how it’s presented.  Little is known about the receiver. It’s nothing more than a cold call.    Although people chose to sign up for networking events, they are little more than group cold calls.  Little is known about the others beforehand; by the end of the event, not much has changed.  Everyone is scrambling to meet as many people as possible in hope that they will find who and what they need.  Most collect business cards, hoping that one or two can be developed into leads.  However, with time restraints, very few interactions develop into business relationships.

Connecting events can be best described as introductions done by a friend or associate.     They are more like connecting the dots rather than cold calls.  They are smaller and more personalized with the connector acting as a bridge between the attendees.  Unlike with cold calls, the connector knows everyone and what they need.   It gives her or him the ability to smooth out the awkward moments both at the introduction but also when it comes to asking for what is needed.  As an intermediary, she or he crafts the message according to whom it is being pitched.  One approach may be very successful with one person while crashing and burning with another.  A connector’s knowledge, connections, and interpersonal skills are what give her or him the ability to develop relationships and make introductions that positively fulfill her clients’ needs.

The Master Catalytic Connector, Rochelle Arjmand has these skills.  Before making the introductions, Arjmand helps prepare her clients for the meeting.  It is only after the paperwork has been fully vetted and the client prepped will the introductions be made.  By helping her clients know what to expect in advance and properly prep them, Arjmand has been able to give her clients the confidence they need to project a strong and professional image.  It puts everyone at ease and helps lead to a positive outcome.

Rochelle Arjmand’s exclusive client list includes those from the entertainment industry, finance, advertising, and publishing.  What they have in common is that they make a positive difference in the world.  She is currently accepting clients.  Her services require a monthly retainer.  To learn more about how she can help you visit her website and book an introductory meeting.

Website

Five Tips to Successfully Networking and Connecting

Networking remains an essential element in all marketing and promotional campaigns. Without this ever-expanding web, individuals, companies, and organizations will become stagnant. However, without developing a proper strategy, it's like throwing spaghetti against the wall and seeing what sticks. It wastes time and energy. In many cases, it's counter-productive. However, following the five rules of connecting will turn networking events into positive experiences that generate leads instead of just a stack of business cards.

Get to know the others as people first. Whether the person is a potential customer, employer, or colleague, she or he exists outside work. Focusing solely on business makes for limited and awkward conversations.

Find common ground. Sharing what you are passionate about both in work and in your life adds dimension to the conversations. Finding the balance between over-sharing and being a walking-talking resume will build relationships that last.

Help without expectation. The help we receive back isn't always returned by the same people we assisted. However, if see our support of others as balloons we release rather than a debt to be repaid, we find that who and what we need finds us in unexpected ways.

Accept help when it is offered. No matter how strong, talented, or innovative we are, there will be times and situations in which we will need help. It doesn't make you a lesser person, but one who is wise enough to know that life sometimes has limitations that need to be respected. Not everyone is perfect at everything or sometimes life throws a curveball at us that we need help catching.

Be true to your word. If you can, do. If you can't, say so. If the situation changes, be straightforward and honest about status modification. Most people would rather know ahead of time, rather than be shocked or disappointed later.

Network or connecting events can be best described as a very elaborate and complicated piece of machinery. When the gears are aligned and balanced, the machine produces amazing results. However, when the gears go out of sync or are placed incorrectly, the machine loses its ability to function. Each person that attends the event is a gear. How they interact with the other members will determine how much benefit they will receive by attending.

Website

https://catalyticconnections.com/

New Wrinkle on an Old con

Several months ago, I was approached on Linked In by a woman, who represented an investment company. As their representative, she wanted to know more about Kaleidoscope Film and Television. I sent her the information she requested. She loved the concept of producing projects based on age, gender, and ethnic diversity. Having a background in film production, she saw the value of financially backing a studio as opposed to individual projects.

The talks rapidly progressed. However, with each meeting, the topic shifted away from Kaleidoscope Film and Television to become more about their sustainable communities project. Each time, they focused on how intertwining the projects would give both added value. I would redirect the conversation back to the studio, but they always seem to find a way to intertwine the topics. At the end of the conversations, I would ask their level of interest in investing in Kaleidoscope. They always claimed to be interested and the negotiations continued.

Their sustainable community concept focused on hydroponics and on refurbishing existing structures to create independent healing communities. Their plans were very grandiose and rapidly expanding. They claimed to have the backing of multiple states and several other countries. On paper, their concept looked amazing. However, when you really listened to what was being said and not said, things didn't add up. The devil was definitely in the details. I started seeing red flags on the field.

Our last conversation began as the last several ones had before. However, instead of allowing the topic to be diverted, I asked straight up how much they would be investing in Kaleidoscope. Again they started to how profitable their sustainable communities will be; however, they took it a step further by claiming that combining our brands would benefit my investors. I thought I had misunderstood and asked for clarification. They wanted my other investors to support their project; after which they would invest in Kaleidoscope. At that moment, we were done.

Their scheme was a new twist on bank guarantees and money leasing. They slow-played it, saying the right things to string me along. When pushed they revealed who they were. Would I have preferred them to be real? Of course! But since I never stopped looking for investors—and never will until the check clears, I lost nothing, not even time.

US Ambassador Ross Wilson: Afghanistan Updates

  

Although the world's attention has been refocused on Russia's attack on Ukraine, there are many unanswered questions and issues concerning Afghanistan and the surrounding area. World Affairs Council of Central Illinois (WACCI) will be hosting Ambassador Ross Wilson on May 2, 2022. as he speaks about the remaining issues of the region. This free event will begin at 7 pm Central time on Zoom (https://mywacci.org/closing-chapter-in-afghanistan/)

Click here to go to WACCI's website.

Ross Wilson is an American diplomat who served five times as a US chief of mission abroad – as ambassador to Azerbaijan (2000-03) and to Turkey (2005-08) and as chargé d’affaires in Turkey (2014), Georgia (2018-19), and Afghanistan (January 2020 until the embassy’s suspension of operations on August 30, 2021). A career Foreign Service officer, Ambassador Wilson also had postings at the US embassies in Moscow (twice) and Prague and as consul general in Melbourne, Australia. Among Washington assignments, he was deputy executive secretary of the State Department; principal deputy to the ambassador-at-large and special advisor to the Secretary of State for the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union; chief US negotiator for the Free Trade Area of the Americas, and chief of staff to Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick.

From 2010 to 2014, Ambassador Wilson was director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, where he led Council work on Turkey, the former Soviet states, and regional energy and economic issues. He has held positions as a visiting lecturer in international affairs at George Washington University, Bigelow teacher-in-residence at Carleton College, chair of the Board of Directors of Global Minnesota (a World Affairs Council affiliate based in Minneapolis), chair of the Board of Governors of the Institute of Turkish Studies, and on advisory councils for the Eurasia Foundation and American Voices.

Ambassador Wilson earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota and two Masters’ Degrees from Columbia University and the US National War College. He has been recognized with the president’s Meritorious Service Award and numerous State Department awards and honors. He holds memberships in the American Academy of Diplomacy, the American Foreign Service Association, Diplomatic and Consular Officers Retired, and the Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs. The descendant of Choctaw Indians, Ambassador Wilson is an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Ambassador Wilson is married to Margo Squire, also an American Foreign Service officer, and lives near Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota.

The World Affairs Council of Central Illinois (WACCI) hosts recognized experts, who provide lectures on critical issues from a variety of viewpoints. It also sponsors an annual Great Decisions discussion forum, which provides the public with opportunities to actively engage each other in dialogue about the great foreign policy issues that confront our country. All of their programs are free and open to the public. Finally, WACCI partners with community groups, corporations, colleges, and universities to promote an interest in world affairs, especially among members of the next generation.

Ambassador Ross Wilson's website

Dark Comedy Comparable to Family Plot and Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

 "And thus, like the wounded oyster, he mends his shell with pearl"

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Romancing their way into fortunes, Margaret and George meet their counterparts only to learn the tragic reality of a cliché.

Margaret and George were a team, who used their considerable charms to romance others out of their fortunes. Margaret marries Samuel to inherit his millions only to learn after his untimely death that the terms of his will bound her to the estate and Samuel's manservant, William James. Changing their strategy, Margaret and George decide to get married. Instead of traveling the world to find new marks, they use the mansion to lure .them into their web. William James reluctantly agrees to help. When he meets Lennetta and Gary, William James realized that he has found who he had been seeking. Manipulating the meeting of the couples, he moves forward with each believing that he is their ally. It is only when their cons come to fruition that they realize he has another agenda.

Dr. Laura A. Dean: Ukrainian Refugee Crisis--what can be done?

 

Lithuanian-American Club of Central Illinois and The World Affairs Council of Central Illinois will be hosting the Associate Professor of Political Science Dr. Laura Dean as she talks about the ramifications of the refugee and displaced person crisis caused by the Russian attack on Ukraine. This free event will be held at the Lincoln Library on Saturday, March 26 at 2 pm.

The greatest humanitarian crisis since World War II has been created as millions of Ukraine civilians have been forced to flee for their lives. Mainly women, children, and the elder have flooded into the neighboring countries, whose resources have been stretched to the breaking point. The overburdened systems have led to uncertainty and confusion abound, making the refugees more vulnerable to human traffickers. Those, who remain behind in Ukraine, face shortages in the basic necessities--food, water, medical attention, and safe shelter. Bodies are buried in mass graves as indiscriminate bombing makes it too dangerous to retrieve them for proper burial.

Currently, Laura A. Dean is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Millikin University. From 2014-to 2016 she was an Assistant Professor at Clayton State University in Georgia. She graduated from the University of Kansas in 2014 with a Ph.D. in Political Science. She also has a Graduate Certificate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (2013) and a Master of Arts in Political Science (2011) from the University of Kansas, a Master of Arts in International Studies focusing on Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies (2006) from the University of Washington, and a Bachelor of Arts in World Politics (2003) from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

Dr. Dean researches gender and political issues focusing on public policy, migration, and gender-based violence in the former Soviet Union. Her research has been supported by the American Association of University Women, Social Science Research Council, Fulbright Program, Rotary Foundation, and appeared in The Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis, Human Rights Review, Journal of Baltic Studies, Journal Teorija in Praksa, and Femina Politica, the Feminist Journal of Political Science. In the summer of 2016, She was a Title VIII Summer Research Scholar at the Kennan Institute, part of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Dr. Dean is the author of Diffusing Human Trafficking Policy in Eurasia forthcoming in 2020 from Policy Press at the University of Bristol and distributed by the University of Chicago Press in the US. She is the adviser of the Model United Nations Club, chair of the Fulbright Committee, and a member of the Gender Studies Committee and the International Programs and Policies Committee. She also serves as head of the Research Committee on the Central Illinois Human Trafficking Task Force and is a Regional Faculty Associate with the Russian, East European, and the Eurasian Center University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Dr. Laura Dean's website

How introductions make connecting more successful The new face of networking

 How introductions make connecting more successful

The new face of networking

Both in-person and online, networking remains an important element of promotion and marketing strategies. The events have been designed to bring people together in a safe, comfortable setting in which they can expand their business network, client base, and find necessary resources.

With most in-person events you are given a name tag as you walk into a sea of people. Other than what is printed on the tag, the attendees know very little about each other. Who do you talk to? What's the best way to approach others? Do you just walk up and start talking? What do you say? What is the best way to meet the people you are looking for? The event becomes little more than a series of cold contacts or the equivalent of a speed dating event with most people standing around feeling awkward.

Most online events start with a summit or seminar in which one person or a small group shares their experience and expertise, while others listen. Attendees usually can private message each other, yet in doing so their attention is diverted from the speakers. Sometimes these events break into small groups, in which the members are more able to share and learn about each other. But this contact venue is only viable during the event. The members must quickly exchange their information or the ability to connect is lost at the end of the event.

In both cases, the art of relationships building has gotten lost in the sea of collecting business cards or contact information as the attendees race against the clock to meet as many people as possible. Under these circumstances, it's impossible to develop long-lasting business relationships.

Catalytic Connections doesn't host large networking events, it arranges introductions. Rochelle Arjmand finds connections the same way she chooses her clients. She learns about their businesses but more importantly, she learns who her clients are as people. What they are passionate about? The information gives her the ability to find who and what they need because she has the same information about the people they are trying to meet. However, she does so much more than send a connecting email with simply bios and the reason for the introduction. She brings them together for three-way calls, zoom chats, or in-person introductions. In many ways, Rochelle Arjmand can be described as a conduit in which others find common ground and reach their goals. Her passion is to bring others together to make positive things happen for all involved. A natural connector, Arjmand is best known for connecting people with others that most think are impossible to reach and then having them work together to create a bigger, better vision.

Website

Only the Russian People Can Stop Putin

 The escalation of the bombing of civilians Putin is attempting to provoke the other nations into attacking as a way to shore up and solidify his support in Russia. He used the false flag of Nazism to create an external enemy. Many Russians blame the hardships they experience during WW II and the Cold War that followed not on their leaders, but the Nazis that ignited the war.

Putin needs the west to set up the no-fly zone. It would be a lose-lose for the other nations. The goal is to force the other nations to shoot down Russian pilots. It would prove to his people that he was right about the Nazis and the attack on Ukraine was justified. If the other nations give him what he wants, the situation will escalate in Ukraine and empower the white supremacists around the world.

The simple fact is only the Russians can stop him and the war. But they need to be shown not just told what Putin is doing. He isn't providing aid and comfort to Ukraine. He is bombing cities. He is murdering civilians. He is deliberately sending Russian soldiers to die for no reason other than his own self, ego driven need for power. The best way for the west to stop him is to circumvent his media blackout and propaganda campaigns to show the Russians the truth. Only they can hold him accountable. Only they can save Ukraine--and the world from the white supremacy of people like Putin.