Improv for a Better Life: Quick Take of Bossypants

Just finished Tina Fey's "Bossypants," her first book. Yes, I'm a bit late to the party, but it is definitely worth the time!
If you like "30 Rock" at all, you will love the humor of this book.
But this is not to review the book, which could be summarized as this- great start, AWESOME chapter about her father ("That's Don Fey"), and slightly peters out.
It is part auto-biography and all funny.

One thing stood out for me, a section called "The Rules of Improvisation That Will Change Your Life and Reduce Belly Fat." *Improve will not reduce belly fat.

Her first rule: always agree and say yes. This goes to what your partner creates, you need to roll with it no matter how outlandish. As she says, "start with a yes and see where that takes you."
Second rules is "Yes, and..." She means add something. You can agree, but you must be willing to play with and advance discussion.
Rule three is make statements. The is the converse of being the person who always asks questions or refuses to find the solution to the problem.
Finally, "There are no mistakes, only opportunities." Improv can go all over the map, but if you are going to try and adhere to rules, you won't find where you are going.

Thanks Tina Fey for the life lessons from improv.

Slow Death or Rebirth for Myspace?

Are we really watching the slow inevitable death of Myspace? With the integration with Facebook complete and the push towards what appears to be a mobile only function , isn't it time to call this one? One report says that Myspace is making $200 million less this year. They are functionally giving up on Myspace Music , which was always their bread and butter. Without the music tie in, why would people BOTHER with Myspace? I'm talking about it because my wife's band has used every medium known to mankind to promote themselves online and Myspace has been nothing but dead weight from the very beginning. Only bands and their most ardent fans go there. The rest are on Facebook. There is talk of selling Myspace, but who in their right mind would consider it? This will have some interesting implications for bands down the road. Many use Myspace as their de facto website, just pushing their domain name onto the customizable site. Now apparently, Reverbnation , a North Carolin

Check out my appearance on the The Toddcast Podcast

Click and watch the podcast recording of my appearance on the Toddcast Podcast Such a fun time!

New Life

It's weird, sad and slightly freeing. I've been headed towards a completely different life for a lot longer than I even knew. It took me a while to catch up to realize it was happening. Thankfully, I was cognizant enough to see it finally and mostly ready for it. It's amazing when you have the rug completely pulled out from underneath you. The adjustments are jarring. I made mistakes, but like most I learned from them, adapted, and tried my best to do better. The reason you see that truck next to a storage place? That's the sum of my life right now. Never take for granted that you will work hard for something or someone, and it will end up meaning very little. You are guaranteed nothing, owed nothing, promised nothing. Anything and everything can be taken away in a heartbeat. I wrote this to my kids a while back: I tried to be the best father I could be based on what I knew when I knew it and how I could. One of the lessons for your life needs to be: you need to b

Todd Lyden

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