Adopting in Ashburn

That is the music that best represents the next few days for me. I am still working on my thesis, because, I am ridiculous. Basically, I have almost five case studies now, I have at least four long stories, tons of examples, and that is just the "extra stuff." There are five literature reviews: science communication (17 pages), organizational branding (1.5), framing (1.5), political communication (2.5), and crisis communication (2.5). Also, I did a review of general communication principles .... it is getting longer every minute. Tomorrow is the last day I am letting myself add any new text. After that, it is all revisions. Speaking of "just revisions" I finished writing my first keynote speech. Then I revised it, and now I am waiting to get notes back from my Dad and a friend/classmate who will hopefully have some ideas in case there are any mistakes. But for only the third time this semester, I feel like I hit this speech out of the park. The fist time, the ...

I was doing research for a speech I'm writing and was looking at some old manuscripts and speeches by Oliver Wendell Holmes. I came across the following passage in an essay on Memorial Day. "For, stripped of the temporary associations which gave rise to it, it is now the moment when by common consent we pause to become conscious of our national life and to rejoice in it, to recall what our country has done for each of us, and to ask ourselves what we can do for our country in return. " ~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. An Address Delivered May 30, 1884, at Keene, N.H., before John Sedgwick Post No.4, Grand Army of the Republic. I hope that you noticed, as I did, the striking resemblance to one of the most repeated soundbite quotes of all time. In speechwriting class they keep telling us that using other peoples ideas, jokes, anecdotes, etc. is actually a best practice (so long as it isn't plagarism). I guess I never really thought about the idea ...

This is a speech I wrote for this week's speechwriting assignment. I thought it was funny enough to warrant a blog post. _________________ Whenever I’m rushing, I think about how much faster I could get to the bottom of the Metro escalators if they were slides instead. Like at the slides in the park, I often lose time waiting for others so I can go. Since escalators aren’t going to magically turn into slides, the next best solution is to eliminate the human blockades. When people stand on the right, others can pass and arrive at their destinations more quickly. Imagine getting to the train on time; not having to mumble under your breath or shove past people. Imagine a world where people stood to the right and walked to the left. So the next time you’re on the Metro escalators envisioning the fun you’d have if only the stairs would morph, stand to the right. The person passing you might be on their way to inventing the escalator slide of your dreams. ______________________ I kno...