Spheres of Influence

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas holiday! As we get closer to the end of the year and looking back on what was important in 2007, it's certainly the relationships and interactions that are at the top of the list. Especially the ones where we made a difference to someone.

Spheres of influence are being highlighted by the growth in the number and varieties of online social networking mediums. The emphasis for most of these is mainly on breadth rather than depth - lots of superficiality: a mile wide and an inch deep.

Other influence is laser-focused. Take Tony Dungy's story. After his son committed suicide he said he was not going to continue with his career. A friend asked him if, knowing where his son was when he was living and where he is now, he would want to bring him back. After considering this awhile, he decided he really wouldn't do that and was able to return to football and ultimately bring the Colts to their Super Bowl win last year. I would trade that kind of positive influence in someone's life for a record-breaking Facebook network any day.

Most of the time it's more a matter of being ready for the opportunity than seeking it out. The genuineness and spontaneity are hard to fake. Here's a clip of a 13-year old whose influence would be tough to match. I hope we all see our opportunities for real influence in the new year.

Christmas Booklist

Here's a list of books that are on my Christmas wishlist - send me your own recommendations.

Anti-Christmas Entertainment

The battle lines of Merry Christmas vs. Happy Snow Season are being drawn up earlier each year. "The Golden Compass" rolls out with its story for children "about killing God" according to author Philip Pullman in a neo-Nietzsche quip.

But on the other hand there's Mitt Romney saying there's room for religion still/again in politics. And Oxford philosophy professor and distinguished atheist Antony Flew has just come out with his long move toward faith with the long title, "There is a God - How The World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind."

Abel's lamb was for a man. The passover lamb was for a family. The lamb on the temple altar was for a nation. The Lamb on the cross was for all of us. The world is flat - as of 2000 years ago.

- link to 24-hour Christmas music on your PC

Pleasure to burn...

Do people ever ask you what you think of television? Not of "24" or MTV or The Antiques Road Show, but television itself. Ray Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451, The Illustrated Man,...) said this:

The television, that insidious beast, that Medusa which freezes a billion people to stone every night, staring fixedly, that Siren which called and sang and promised so much and gave, after all, so little.

His assessment of the internet is a bit more optimistic: "Well, I hope it's an experiment that works." Here's the whole clip: Bradbury on the internet