Endless Knots

Listen to Dr. Tom

Fiction Book Club co-founder, Endless Knots neighbor, and, more pertinent to this post, world renowned gastroenterologist Dr. Tom Lamont is the expert in today's Boston Globe Health Answers column, "Are antidiarrheal medicines counterproductive?"

Dr. J. Thomas Lamont, a gastroenterologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, says that in serious cases of diarrhea caused by bacteria, there’s some truth to the idea that stopping the symptoms could be unwise, because “there’s a flushing mechanism that promotes the removal of bad bugs.’’ For example, he says it’s best not to take medicines in cases of salmonella or shigella.

Much more at the link. Always such good, sound advice from Tom.

Virtual teams poorly managed, say 1 in 3 execs in Economist study

Looks like some quite solid research from the Economist Intelligence Unit, "Managing virtual teams: Taking a more strategic approach." In the study, conducted in Fall 2009, a third of those executives surveyed said that their virtual teams were not well managed, yet most endorsed using them nonetheless. The major findings (go to link to download the study):

• Executives are generally positive about working in virtual teams. More than two out ofthree survey respondents believe that the advantages of working in a virtual team outweigh the disadvantages. Three out of every four respondents also state that they travel less as a result of working virtually.

• The single most common challenge, selected by 56% of executives polled, relates to the misunderstandings that emerge as a result of cultural and language differences from teams operating globally. Just one in 20 executives say they have never experienced any difficulty in managing a virtual team.

• More than one-half of executives say that their virtual teams use video conferencing on a regular basis. This rises to about two-thirds (64%) for the largest firms (those with annual revenue in excess of US$10bn), prompted in part by significant cutbacks in corporate travel budgets over the past two years. But visual communication does not always equate to better communication. Both cultural and gender-based differences need to be taken into account when choosing methods of communication. Research suggests that that men find eye contact threatening, while East Asians are more comfortable using other approaches, such as instant messaging (my bolding not theirs).

• One in three companies has set up virtual working so that they can tap into the global talent pool. One of the most significant benefits of being able to use technology to collaborate globally is the ability to draw on a much deeper pool of skills, without being constrained by geographical location. Yet the majority of survey respondents say that virtual team members are recruited by local managers (58%), suggesting that most companies only recruit in locations where they have an office, thereby severely curtailing the size of the talent pool on which they can draw. Also, relatively few managers embrace the actual technologies they use to communicate in their virtual teams as the method for meeting and interviewing new prospects.

Freda, the "breast whisperer"

Elissa Gootman's full page profile of "The Breast Whisperer" Freda Rosenfeld, the Brooklyn lactation consultant, in today's NY Times, is mandatory reading for nursing mothers, pregnant mothers, fathers of nursing babies, mothers of nursing mothers, and maybe even the babies themselves. I've seen Freda at work. Gold medal performance.

"Some incredible finds are ink drawings by..."

Apartment Therapy ("saving the world, one room at a time") has a nice pointer--nice blog too) to the work of Eliza Stamps (Daughter #2 to loyal readers), featured at Fair Folks & A Goat ("an art gallery, retail store, and Parisian salon all in one"):

Some incredible finds are ink drawings by Eliza Stamps, which consist of tiny concentric circles linked up to form larger shapes without ever breaking contact.

Excellent writing advice from Leslie Epstein

Grrrrr. Unfortunately, Leslie Epstein's "Tips for Writing and Life" in the March/April 2010 Writer's Digest is not available online. If you write creatively, for business, or frankly any way at all, read his 20-years-in-the-making "tip sheet." Filled with little simple correctives, like spelling "all right" like that; pointers on punctuation; and the final self-aware confession that he violates "a good many of these rules." All good writers break the rules. You have to know them to break them properly and these, perhaps, 2500 words will help you compile the list.

Claims to fame: Epstein, whose written a stack of books, essays, plays and such, heads the Creative Writing department at Boston University; his wife, Ilene, is a partner in The Studio, the great women's clothing boutique in Brookline, MA; and their son, Theo, is general manager of the  Red Sox (needs no link).

Artists, writers: Hudson Valley residency

Sounds heavenly:

chashama North is a residency program for artists and writers designed as a nourishing environment within which great artwork is born. The program offers live and work space for seven rotating artists-in-residence from June-October. chaNorth provides artists with a setting that nurtures their body, allowing their artistic practice to flourish. The residency fosters a culture of both serious artistic production and play...Application here.

Lunch at chashama North

More on Solstice Seminars

Detail from Solstice on its new seminars, the first on stage and screenwriting via its press release. NB: I don't normally post press releases but I'm such a fan of Solstice that they get the exception.

THE SOLSTICE MFA IN CREATIVE WRITING PROGRAM OF PINE MANOR COLLEGE
ANNOUNCES NEW PROGRAMMING FOR WRITERS
 
[Chestnut Hill, MA, February 2010] The Solstice Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing Program of Pine Manor College is pleased to announce the launch of the Solstice Seminars — two-day intensives that offer writers the opportunity to explore and deepen their craft — beginning with “Writing for Stage & Screen,” to be held on the Pine Manor College campus October 29–30, 2010.
 
An affordable, high impact, and low time-commitment alternative for busy working writers, the Solstice Seminars are designed to build upon and expand the concentrations of the Solstice MFA in Creative Writing Program by focusing on one aspect or sub-genre of fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, or writing for young people.
 
Participants in “Writing for Stage & Screen” will learn playwriting or screenwriting basics with faculty members Anne-Marie Oomen and Lesley Alicia Tye; rehearse newly created scenes with guest director Bob Owczarek; attend a play in nearby Boston; and enjoy a screening of a film with commentary by a special guest.
 
About our faculty:
Anne-Marie Oomen has written and produced seven plays, including the award-winning “Northern Belles,” inspired by oral histories of women farmers; “Wives of An American King,” based on the James Jesse Strang story; and “Recovering Ruth.”
 
Lesley Alicia Tye has written several feature length screenplays, was co-writer for the television pilot Devin’s Chronicles for Caspian Sea Entertainment, and was a recipient of the Stephen C. Gentry Award for Excellence in Screenwriting. Her film and television credits range from Costume Designer for the feature Two Coyotes to Below-the-Line Agent with Casala, Ltd.
 
Bob Owczarek has taught theatre at Dean College, the Boston Conservatory, and Boston University, and Pine Manor College. He has appeared on stage, film, radio, and television.  He is a member of the American Federation of Radio and Television Artists, the Screen Actors’ Guild, and Actors’ Equity Association.
 
ABOUT PINE MANOR COLLEGE
As an undergraduate institution consistently ranked among the most diverse in the country, Pine Manor College emphasizes an inclusive, community-building approach to liberal arts education. The Solstice MFA in Creative Writing reflects the College’s overall mission by creating a safe, welcoming environment in which writers of all backgrounds are encouraged to take creative risks. We strive to instill in our students an appreciation for the value of community-building and community service, and see engagement with the literary arts not only as a means to personal fulfillment but also as an instrument for real cultural change.
 
Directions to Pine Manor College, complete bios of our authors, and more information about the Solstice Seminars and Solstice MFA in Creative Writing Program can be found at www.pmc.edu/mfa.

Occupation? Angel

Don't skip Bryan Marquard's obit, "Graham H. Gardner, 22, 'angel in service of God," in today's Boston Globe. Read to the end.

Are nonprofits less efficient?

A friend is having problems being paid for services rendered to a nonprofit. Conclusion? Don't work for nonprofits, right?

In my experience, ta-da: wrong.

Having submitted invoices to many entities over the years -- everything from mega-corporations to city governments to tiny nonprofits -- the record holder for difficulty in being paid belongs to the big companies.

Back in the late 1980s, when Digital Equipment Corporation was the major employer in the cosmos (exaggeration, merely the universe), we were having problems being paid. So I decided to do a flow chart of the process. It took 19 separate signoffs. Other consultants started calling me for advice on how to be paid by DEC.

I guess that explains why Digital went out of business. Howevuh...while some companies are very efficient, I've found it equally difficult with other big firms. The invoice submission process is a fine art (or really bad art) with ridiculous quirks that make slow nonprofits look like comets in comparison. The most ridiculous? Having to send paper copies of invoices -- you know, that stuff over in the pile in your paperless office -- to global enterprises. And then being told the paper copy, sent by overnight delivery service, was never received because Accounts Payable "never heard of" the person who signed for it in their Receiving Dept.

Meanwhile, I hope my friend is paid soon.

Margaret Fuller's Persuasion 17

Page 17, “The Persuasion”

Twenty minutes of cross-examination later—credentials, motives, and identification of people we knew in common, he said I could meet him at four the next afternoon at the café at Pont Neuf.

I didn’t immediately catch that he was referring to the one around the corner from our hotel, where mon ami and I had sometimes sat at a tiny outdoor table examining our take from Shakespeare & Company nearby.

“The sign only says Café. Go inside. Do not sit outside. Sit at the table under the ‘Breathless’ poster and wait until you see a nondescript guy with a black ponytail. Herald Trib under my arm. I’ll unfold and fold it—twice.”

“I’ve got dirty-blonde hair and I’ll be descript in an orange dress but I’ll skip the newspaper under my arm.”

He didn’t laugh.

“Some of the guys will be at the café, and if you check out with them and me, maybe you can go with us tomorrow to meet Daniel.”

“Gotcha. Four o’clock, Herald Trib, Breathless,” I said.