The Times, They Are A'Changin'

Is it just me, or is TV not the same as it used to be?

I heard a song on the radio today that made me think of the show the Wonder Years. 

The Cast of the Wonder Years

Damn, I loved that show! Wonder Years was the story of Kevin Arnold, a boy growing up in the Vietnam War era. No matter how complicated life was around Kevin and his friends, they remained innocent and hopeful.

Maybe it's just that I've grown up, but doesn't it seem like TV has lost its innocence? Or it is my perspective that's changed?

I think back to some of my favorite shows growing up and they all had an air of innocence. Take The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. The entire premise of the show was about a kid sent to live with family in Beverly Hills because the town he grew up in (West Philadelphia born and raised) was too violent. You think if they remade that show today Will Smith's character wouldn't be so much more jaded? 

Speaking of Beverly Hills, another show I couldn't get enough of was Beverly Hills 90210. Sure the show tried to be cutting edge. I remember Brenda's pregnancy scare and Donna Martin's shocking speech about the importance of teaching kids about safe sex. But even the toughest subjects back then were handled differently than they are now. I checked out the 90210 remake for nostalgia's sake when it premiered. Within the first 15 minutes there was a shot of one of the character's receiving a blowjob in his car as his girlfriend walked through the parking lot. You'd never have caught Brandon or Kelly doing that!

I know, I know, I've talked a lot about the kind of television that I watch. A lot of it is gory and violent and exactly what I am complaining about. However, most of my favorite shows – like American Horror Story, Sons of Anarchy and The Walking Dead – all air on cable TV, a vehicle for sex violence that didn't exist in the time I am speaking of.

Violence abounds in the very awesome Sons of Anarchy.

There's a time and place for violence. And in my opinion it's after 10 p.m. on cable networks. My question is, where is the love? The innocence? The sense of wonderment? Where is Kevin Arnold and the Wonder Years???

MHRM 6110 - Group Work

We’ve been working in groups in my Talent Management class. Group work… Why do they call it group work? Invariably, there’s at least one (or in the case of this semester) two people who contribute absolutely nothing to the assignment. I do want to give a big thank you to my partner, Anica, for being so great about helping split the load with me. We two have been doing the work of four this semester – thanks, Anica!

So, while in my last class I blogged a little about Tuckman's model of team development and how it applies to group work.

The theory behind Tuckman’s model is that groups go through stages when they work together – Forming (coming together), Storming (disagreements begin to arise as power struggles begin), Norming (acceptable behavior is determined), Performing (finally working together to accomplish task) and Adjourning (completion of task and disengagement from the group). (Tuckman & Jensen, 1977, p. 419-420).

This week my assignment is to think about Tuckman’s model and how it applies to my group in the class. Did my group experience all five of the stages? Trust me, if the two guys had checked in there would have been some storming! LOL

But I don’t think Anica and I experienced that at all. I think we worked really well together. We had similar styles. So we really just got together (Forming), split up the workload, which I think we both agreed on and had a similar idea how to approach that (Norming) and then we went to work (Performing). I checked our group discussion board today and we both expressed how we enjoyed working together, so even though the final project still needs to be put together, we’ve pretty much already reached the Adjourning stage.

Of course I wish we had all group members participating. But if I could get stuck in another group with only one other person carrying their weight, I hope it would be with her again!

References

Tuckman, B. W., & Jensen, M. A. C. (1977). Stages of small-group development revisited. Group and Organization Studies (pre-1986), 2(4), 419-427.

MHRM 6110 - Outsourcing Talent Management

Outsourcing. It's a word that strikes fear into the hearts of call center employees, assembly line workers and yes, even HR employees all over the world.

Now it's not only telemarketers, automobile manufacturers and the like being replaced by automation and third party companies. Talent management programs and Human Resources work is being outsourced as well. 

The new trend is to have HR functions like payroll and benefits administration outsourced to third parties (Galagan, 2007, p.1). Did you know that companies with more than 10,000 employees can save as much as 20% by outsourcing human resources? (Oshima, Kao & Tower, 2005, p. 7). That is not chump change, my friends!

This does actually make a lot of sense to me. Currently, more than 60% of companies outsource at least some part of their HR administration (Oshima, Kao & Tower, 2005, p. 7). Giving these duties to outside parties can save money and free up company human resource staff for the important stuff, like employee engagement and training and development.

I do not feel it is wise to outsource these HR duties, however, as they are integral to corporate strategy. A third party is not available to engage employees and they may not be familiar enough with corporate strategy to take part in training and development. I feel like those are best kept in house.

Oshima et al feel that talent management can be outsourced as well. But agree that certain HR functions that are vital to business strategy should stay in house. Included in this list are HR strategy, executive coaching and organization, problem solving, budget management and HR program design – this would include the design of programs that would be run by a third party, such as benefits, talent management and staffing (Oshima, Kao & Tower, 2005, p. 8). I couldn't see outsourcing these functions either, as it is necessary to work closely with the C-suite to design these functions.

So, while I feel it is wise to outsource certain talent management functions, I feel like the meaty, strategy-driven portions of HR should be kept in-house where they can be developed to best suit the corporate strategy and thus, better benefit the business.

References:

Galagan, P. (2007). Trend watch. T+D. 61(2). 1.

Oshima, M., Kao, T., & Tower, J. (2005). Achieving post-outsourcing success. Human 

         Resources Planning. 28(2), 7-11.

How To Make A T-Shirt Scarf

Another craft I've picked up from Pinterest? The T-Shirt scarf! I've grown so enamored with these creations that I've even decided to make them to fulfill my quota for the upcoming Junior League Holly Day Fair.

So why, if I'm planning on selling these at the Holly Day Fair, am I sharing how to create these? Well, because I'm nice and they're fun and I'm hoping there will still be plenty of people to buy them at the fair. So if you'd like to learn how to make this fun and stylish craft project, read on folks! If not, you can get yours at the Crown Center the first weekend in November!

Without further ado:

The T-Shirt Scarf

Step 1. Start with a T-shirt. I find that a men's XL or XXL works best!

Step 2. Cut off the bottom hem and then make another cut below the arms, making sure to cut below any logos that may appear on the shirt. 

Step 3. Cut the rest of the shirt into one-inch strips, like so.

Step 4. Stretch and then stretch some more. 

Sssstttreeeetttccchhh!

You now have the most basic of T-Shirt scarfs. Yep. That's it folks. You can also cut and braid the pieces of the scarf or simply add a flower. In this version, we are going to add adorable matching rosettes!

Making Rosettes

Step 1. Cut several thicker strips of T-shirt material. I took mine from the back of the shirt, between the arms. Cut them about 2 inches wide.

Step 2. Cut squares of felt in the approximate size of your intended rosette. This will keep the flower together and give us something to attach a pin to so they can be removed from the scarf if needed.

Step 3. Tie a knot at the end of your strip of fabric. Place a generous amount of glue in the center of your felt and then place the knot tied side up in the middle. This will be the center of our rose!

Step 4. Now, begin twisting the fabric towards you, gluing it to the felt as you go. When you reach the edge of your felt piece, trim it to fit your rosette and then take one last turn around with the fabric, so the rosette is ever so slightly larger than the felt. Tuck the end of the fabric behind the rosette and then glue it down. Your finished product should look like this!

Step 5. I like to combine several rosettes together. To do so, just glue them to another piece of felt, placing a little glue between the rosettes so they attach to each other as well. Then, make a few slits in the felt and slip in a few pins or clips. Glue those down, like so...

Now you can clip your rosettes to your scarf and the result is totally adorable! Check it out!

Have fun crafting everyone!

Last Night I Took A Trip To Nashville...

Last night I took a peek at ABC's new drama, Nashville. 

What can I say? I'm not a country fan, but there was plenty for me to like, namely having the uber-awesome Connie Britton back on my TV! I have loved her since Friday Night Lights and, while I loved her in American Horror Story, I've missed her southern twang and her awesome "y'alls." Thank you Nashville, for giving those back to me.

The show revolves around Rayna James (Britton), an aging country star whose current album isn't selling as well as she likes. Or as well as the record label would like. Now she's being asked to co-headline on a tour with Juliette Barnes, played by Hayden Panettiere (co-headlining is code for being an opening act, btw). Juliette is a young crossover artist with mass appeal. Picture her as kind of a slutty Taylor Swift and you're there.

I've never really been a Panettiere fan and her turn as the conniving, spoiled Juliette is not helping matters at all.

I was worried the show would be a TV version of Gwyneth Paltrow's Country Strong, where she plays a used-up country star trying to rebuild her career while staying clean, but up-and-comer Leighton Meester is dangerously close to eclipsing her fame.

There is some of that storyline at work here, but Nashville is about a lot more too. There's Juliette's junky mom who calls begging for money, thus reducing her daughter to tears. And then there's Rayna's power-hungry, hard-as-nails father played perfectly by Powers Booth. I took an instant dislike to this man. I am looking forward to seeing him get his comeuppance. And then there's her husband, forced to live in her shadow until her father convinces him to run for mayor. And her band leader, who is apparently a former lover.

It's a tangled web Rayna is caught up in and I could easily find myself getting hooked in as well. Nashville is soapy, but in the best way possible. And with music supervised by renowned producer T Bone Burnett (he's worked with BB King, Elton John, Tony Bennett and John Mellencamp to name a few), the show is sure to launch more than a few radio hits.

If Nashville holds up to everything the pilot promises, we'll be visiting these ladies for quite a while, and I, for one, am ready for the trip!

She's Crafty

My mom and my sister have always been very artistic. And crafty! It used to drive me crazy how they were always making something beautiful out of nothing and I couldn't keep up. My talents lie more in the written word. Oh, and pulling obscure pop culture trivia bits out of thin air. Seriously. You don't want to play Scene It or Celebrity with me!

Recently, however, I've made good friends with a real creative lady – a photographer, very artsy. And before I knew what was happening, I was crafting! I've been spending crazy amounts of time on Pinterest and I even bought my very first glue gun! Imagine it! Me with a glue gun? I'll try not to burn down the neighborhood.

One of my first efforts was simple. An idea I took from Pinterest and spray painted an old spice rack and started storing my nail polish on it. Since my recent obsession with Ulta nail polish took root, the collection stored on said rack has grown considerably. I wouldn't be surprised if I have to make another, bigger one soon.

Next I saw a bit of art made from wine corks and thought, "I could so that!" I learned a lot about crafting from this project, namely: Don't use a sharp knife to cut wine corks while Sons of Anarchy is on. You could get distracted by sexy Mr. Jax Teller and almost lost a thumb. Here's the finished project:

Wine cork art.

Don't worry. My thumb is still attached. This one came out so well, my mom even asked me to make her one! Quite the compliment from such an artistic woman! Speaking of which, does anyone have any extra wine corks? I don't drink that often and momma needs some wine cork art!

Other projects have included a container for my makeup brushes and a shadow box to save ticket stubs in. But it is my most recent effort that I am most proud of – my beautful magnetic makeup board! I'd seen variations of the idea all over Pinterest, and I loved it. The shopping list for the project was small:

Magnetic Makeup Board

1. One sheet of 22-guage sheet metal (available at any hardware store for around $5).
2. An attractive piece of fabric or scrapbook paper
3. One picture frame, glass removed
4. Glue gun! (who hoo, I broke it out!)
5. Magnets, available at any craft store

A beautiful tutorial is available at one of my favorite blogs, kaneej.com, but it's really simple.

1. Cut the metal (carefully, people!) to fit the frame. 2. Cover it with the fabric. 3. Glue fabric in place. 4. Attach magnets to your favorite pieces of makeup. 5. Place makeup on board (duh)! And voila!

I don't know about you, but I kinda dig it! What do you think?

Anyway, crafter's of the world, beware. I've got a glue gun and a loyalty card to AC Moore. This is far from the last craft project I will make! Stay tuned for more!

Mark Pellegrino: Gifted Actor or Spawn of Satan?

You may not know his name, but I'm betting you've seen his face. This is actor Mark Pellegrino.

He looks innocent enough. Even kind of cute! But he's that guy, the guy who always plays the bad guy! After seeing him in his most recent role as Jeremy on NBC's Revolution, I am asking myself – why is this guy always so evil? Can he really be that good at playing bad or could he actually be the devil himself? Let's examine the evidence.

Jeremy reveals Miles' secret past to his fellow travelers. Bad, Jeremy! Bad!

Paul Bennett, druggie and wife beater. All around bad dude.

When I first saw Pellegrino he was playing Paul Bennett, Rita's abusive and drug-addicted ex-husband on Dexter. Just look at him. Doesn't he just look slimy?

True, Dexter is a show about a serial killer working for Miami Police Department, but Dex isn't the bad guy, no sir! Dexter never smacked sweet Rita around like good ol' Paul, so make no mistake, Paul Bennett was the bad guy in town. As soon as Dexter caught wind that Paul might be on to his little late night mutilation hobby he had to go and, frankly, I didn't miss him. 

Ex-convict and killer Dick Hickock. Baaaad dude.

Pellegrino has been around for a while - since 1987, according to IMDb. He's played all kinds of antagonists: a Fulcrum agent on Chuck, a criminal on The Closer, he even took a turn as some kind of nasty on Grimm. He's even taken his essence of evil onto the big screen, playing ex-con and murderer Dick Hickock in Capote.

Granted, Phillip Seymour Hoffman made Capote worth watching with his Oscar-winning performance, but Clifton Collins, Jr., and Pellegrino also shone in their takes on the cold-blooded murderers. 

Bishop. Cop. Vampire. Nasty, nasty dude.

When next I saw Pellegrino it was as Bishop, head of a Boston vampire clan on SyFy series Being Human. Bishop was a nasty mo-fo. He may look like a lieutenant on the Boston Police Force, but he'd rather eat you than serve or protect you. He spends more time covering up the crimes his vampire brethren commit than solving any real cases. When he kidnaps Sam, one of our heroes and the nicest werewolf you ever will meet, he signs his death warrant. Good riddance, because Bishop is just pure evil. I mean, could a man get any worse?

Well how about the devil himself? That's right. Next Pellegrino played Lucifer on one of my favorite shows, Supernatural! The actual devil. 

Ummmm, hello. This is Lucifer. Do I really have to explain how bad this dude is??? Bad, y'all!

Lucifer spent most of season 7 tormenting one of Supernatural's heroic Winchester brothers, Sam. Pellegrino was apparently in talks to play Castiel, the other Winchester, Dean's, fallen angel bestie, but casting agents saw the evil lurking in Pellegrino's eyes and decided to ask him to portray the Dark Lord himself.

The only time I've ever seen Mark Pellegrino play anything close to a good guy is when he played Jacob on Lost. And anyone who has watched Lost can tell you that, while Jacob was the protector of the island, it would be difficult to call him a "good guy." 

Jacob on Lost. Even though he's good, he's still kind of bad.

For five seasons on Lost, Jacob was just a faceless character with an agenda just as hidden. We had no idea why he did the things he did, but Ben – definitely a bad guy – kept doing all of these terrible things like kidnapping our Losties, threatening to kill Kate, Sawyer and numerous others, and just creating general mayhem all because "Jacob told him to."

When we did meet Jacob, it was still kinda hard to like him. He seemed cold. And he had a nasty habit of showing up at bad times, to nudge characters in certain directions, sometimes by doing bad things, like distracting Sayid so he was too late to save his wife from the car crash that killed her. 

The evidence is mounting up! Maybe we have been fooled for years and the actors we revere, the big names like Depp, Pacino, Nicholson and Hoffman are not the greatest actors the world has known, and instead Mark Pellegrino is the world's greatest actor, convincing us that he is not evil incarnate but just a regular guy. It could happen! Or is he maybe a dark force bent on destroying humanity like the characters he plays so well...

Could be. IMDb says he's a teacher and he's married with a kid. It's hard to imagine the devil being married with a kid. Even still, I won't be inviting this guy to dinner anytime soon. Frankly, he scares the shit outta me!