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Book Review: Social Excellence

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In August 2018, I traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana to attend the North-American Interfraternity Conference‘s (NIC) Annual Meeting of Members. The meeting looks and feels like any other professional trade conference complete with a wide variety of vendors and service providers who travel to the event to talk about how they can help your organization succeed. I was very impressed with the wide variety of vendors who were at the conference and I was happy to see some familiar organizations among the vendor tables.

For example, I stopped at the Phired Up table and had a chance to say hello to some of the newer team members that I have not had the opportunity to meet before. Phired Up played a critical role in the development of several of the Sigma Pi Fraternity chapters in the New Jersey Province that I worked with when I served as Province Archon some 10+ years ago. In fact, based on our wide agreement with the principles in their book, Good Guys, our volunteer team in New Jersey actually hired Phired Up to conduct a regional recruitment workshop for our undergraduate chapters back in Fall 2007 and it was very well-received.

At the NIC’s Annual Meeting of Members, I told the young men at the Phired Up table how much Good Guys improved my chapters and they gave me a copy of their Social Excellence book to review. I finished reading Social Excellence quickly – in a matter of days. My big takeaway from this book is that you have to give life a chance! Go out there and take the risk of saying hello to someone, reach out and shake someone’s hand, live a life that is above the norm. The team at Phired Up talks about the four pillars of social excellence in their book. Those four pillars are curiosity, generosity, authenticity, and vulnerability. I want to talk a little bit more about generosity and authenticity in this post, but there is so much that could be said about curiosity and vulnerability. You might consider getting a copy of the book if you want to read more of Phired Up’s take on those two pillars.

On generosity, they write about the power of saying thank you and the power of making a person’s day by giving them something. It is about making someone else’s experience better through your own actions. In my own work with my fraternity, I have tried my best to give back of my time and professional expertise. I have also been a financial supporter of my local chapter, my province, and my international educational foundation. When I mix what I read in Social Excellence with what I know of my own experience as a volunteer and a donor both in my fraternity and with the many other nonprofits that I work with in my state, I find some interesting intersections. For example, it strikes me that the people who are the loudest detractors – those who want to be opinion leaders, but do not have a well-informed opinion – are those who have typically given the least of their time, expertise, and finances to the cause. This is an interesting revelation because it speaks volumes about generosity as a leading indicator on whether or not you are dealing with a well-intentioned individual or someone who just wants the spotlight for the sake of having the light shine on them.

On authenticity and focusing solely on my work for my fraternity, not my work in the larger nonprofit sector, it is critically important to know the true intent of your people before you place any trust in them. Being truly authentic is difficult for some individuals in the fraternity world because they do not have an example on which to model their actions. For example, if you are an undergraduate and your only interactions with alumni advisors have been painfully forcing a smile and a head nod as these volunteers tell stories about their glory days, then your example of being a good alumni volunteer is skewed. Those volunteers are not working authentically to improve your undergraduate experience – their involvement is more about their own experience and reliving what they loved about their time as an undergraduate. Not good.

Authentic alumni volunteers are those who the needs of the undergraduates (or whomever they are helping) before their own need. When I train new alumni volunteers, I give them this advice: if you respond to an undergraduate’s question by saying, “Well, when I was an undergraduate…” then you have immediately lost their attention. When today’s students as you about today’s problems, they want today’s answers. It takes someone who is authentically committed to improving today’s undergraduate experience to build a bridge between yesterday’s experience and the future. This is not easy to do.

You can get better at building that bridge by focusing on improving your social excellence. And a great way to build your social excellence would be to read this book and study these four pillars. I think you will enjoy it!

A New Student Loan Update – Many Years Later

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Sometimes the updates on this blog are few and far in between and this update, in particular, is long overdue. The main focus of this entry is how I went back to the student loan well to fund my doctoral education, which ended in May 2018. In fact, the last update that I made to the Student Loans category of this blog was a note about how I was going back to school to get a doctorate and I posted that updated in June 2015.

Graduating from the USC Rossier School of Education last spring

Well, that doctoral program has come and gone and I absolutely loved it. Soon, I intend to post an entry talking about the tremendous experience that I had as part of the University of Southern California’s online doctoral program. It was amazing and really rewrote the entire online learning experience for me. Again, though, that story is for another time. This update is about student loans.

To start, I do not intend to write a series of updates about my student loan repayment experience like I did after I graduated from Monmouth University and Rutgers University some 10+ years ago. Writing about my on-going repayment of the $120,603.31 in student loans that I incurred getting a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree was fun, but I have already provided that type of content to this blog and I do not want to write about the same issue in the same manner again. Also, my personal circumstances during this repayment are much different than they were back in 2006 when I started that repayment program. When I started repaying my first set of loans back in July 2006, I did not even have a full-time job yet. Now, I have two full-time jobs and two thriving small businesses… so yeah, my situation is a little bit different.

What is also different is the amount of student loan debt that I needed to incur to complete the doctoral program. All in, I took on $89,286.86 in new student loans. This number is comprised of $87,360.16 in loan principal, $1,878.84 in capitalized interest, and $47.86 in closing and refinancing fees. For those of you keeping count, when you combine all of the student loan principal, capitalized interest, and closing and refinancing fees that I have had to pay off in my lifetime, that number is $209,890.17.

Pretty amazing, right?

Just for fun, if you want to add in the $28,851.81 that I have already paid in interest during the first set of student loans, then the total amount that I have repaid and am still tasked with repaying is $238,741.98.

In terms of repayment, the first set of student loans took me seven years and one month to repay in full. Those seven years did not necessarily go by quickly in terms of financial time. In other words, repaying those loans was brutal to a young professional just getting his career started – in the nonprofit sector no less. Today, my repayment plan is a little bit different as my first payments began in December 2018 and I expect to have these loans paid in full sometime around the end of 2020 or the beginning of 2021. My estimates are still somewhat off because I am unsure if I want to repay the loans earlier and, to be honest, I am contemplating a few different repayment structures that make more financial sense. Unfortunately, my income is at a point where I can no longer write off my student loan interest as a deduction on my taxes, so paying interest on the student loans really has no financial benefit at all.

But there are other ways to make student loan interest work for you. For example, I own a home now and I have a good deal of equity in the home. If I refinance my student loans into my mortgage, then the interest incurred on the increased amount of the mortgage loan would be tax deductible (up to a point, given the recent state and local Tax limits). Also, I could take out a loan from my 401k and repay my loans that way, too. By doing that, 100% of the interest paid on the 401k loan would go back into my 401k and I would earn all of the interest paid. Either one of these options seems like a better choice than just making payments on the student loans.

That is about it for this student loan update. Again, no regular updates on my repayment this time around, but I might post a random update here and there, so be on the lookout!

Wise Words to Remember During Formal Recruitment Season

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While reading a PDF version of Sigma Pi Fraternity, International‘s Emerald magazine from October 1919 (Volume 6, Issue 3), I came across the brief article below, written by Harold K. Bowen.

As a clarifying aside, Brother Bowen is listed as being from “Delta-Xi,” though that is not possible using the chapter designations that the Fraternity uses today since the Fraternity’s Delta-Xi Chapter was founded at Southern Utah University in 1970 and this article was published in 1919. My assumption is that Brother Bowen is from Xi Chapter at the University of Iowa (the Fraternity’s records show a Ralph Bowen initiated into Xi Chapter back in 1918) which was part of the Delta Province at the time. Today, the Fraternity uses geographic demarcations to name provinces (Heartland Province, New England Province, South Atlantic Province, etc.), but this was not always the case – in the early 1900s, Sigma Pi used Greek letters to name the provinces.

The information that Brother Bowen provides in his write-up is interesting from a historical perspective, but also deeply relevant to keep in mind during formal recruitment. Here is Brother Bowen’s advice that you should remember when considering men for membership in Sigma Pi:

BADGE MEN OR CROWD MEN?
Harold K. Bowen, Delta-Xi

Sigma Pi does not seek to claim any man who desires to enter our Fraternity that he may merely wear our badge. Such a man if received within our fold would prove undesirable owing to his peculiar make-up. A self-individual within a fraternity is out of his environment and it would require more than a badge to convince him that he was in the right environment. He could not possess that capacity of wanting things for his fellowmen and would never sacrifice his interests or desires that his brothers might be benefited thereby.

Occasionally we recognize a fraternity man by his badge, only to conclude much to the discredit of his fraternity that he lacks that requisite quality of a true fraternity man, that of being a good mixer. Though he may have acquired much in wealth or honor he would know little of men and their ways. Anyone desirous for self alone could not be recognized as an authority on men and would never be considered by the world as one of its spokesmen.

Fraternity men should be crowd men and as such feel more at home when rubbing elbows with their brother men of the crowd. It is not easy to have courage for others when they are not interested in what should be our common endeavors. However, the men who achieve in this world are those who possess the courage to want things for others. They are not for self. (Nor is success measured by self.)

Sigma Pi is for all of us when all of us cooperate to make it better and bigger. Badge men should not seek to be Sigma Pis. Sigma Pi wants crowd men.

As is so often the case with our forefathers in Sigma Pi Fraternity, Brother Bowen writes eloquently about what the Fraternity needs to thrive. He distinguishes between Badge Men and Crowd Men with the primary difference being that Badge Men join a fraternity simply to join. Or, as was common in the 1910s when this was written, some men joined a fraternity just to show off the group’s badge on their chest instead of earning the privilege of wearing that badge everyday that they were honored to be a member.

Do you know someone like that in your chapter? Someone who is more concerned about being a “frat guy” than about living a contemporary revival of the storied history behind the letters on his chest?

Today, think of the guys who come out for rush just because they want to be a “frat guy” and not necessarily because they want to join something bigger than themselves. These are the opposite of the Crowd Men that Brother Bowen notes in his essay. He says that Crowd Men are those who “have courage for others when they are not interested in what should be our common endeavors.” What does this mean? In today’s terms, Crowd Men are those who are constantly working to improve their local chapter, the larger Greek community, and the plight of collegians across the country. They take an interest in what is important for the Fraternity, but they also see the larger battles taking place across our culture and work to improve the standing of their friends, fraternity brothers, and colleagues in the greater struggle.

One of Brother Bowen’s final comments resonated with me in a particular way. He writes, “Sigma Pi is for all of us when all of us cooperate to make it better…” We need more men – young and old alike – who are committed to cooperating to truly making the Fraternity better for all of us, but more importantly – better for the next generation of Sigma Pi men who have yet to join us.

This article is cross-posted at TheEmerald.org.

Book Review: The Return of the Shadow by J. R. R. Tolkien

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Have you ever picked up a book, read it for a few days, put it down for a few weeks, then picked it up again and read it for a few more days before repeating this cycle? Well, that’s the history of my attempts at reading J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Return of the Shadow, one of the History of Middle-Earth series that was edited and formed by Tolkien’s son, Christopher Tolkien. And that’s not a criticism of the novel or its contents, but rather a commentary on what one needs to be prepared for when picking up this book and reading it. This is not a book that is for the timid reader or the passive reader. The Return of the Shadow is the type of book that you need to actively read – similar to how a collegiate English Literature student would read a novel in preparation for creating a critical analysis of the material. I admit that when I started reading this book, I was not ready for that level of active participation in what was in front of me. In fact, I stopped and started this book over the course of several years, but finished the last 168 pages just recently in the last few days.

Putting my own, initially incorrect approach to reading this book aside, if you are looking for a deep, highly detailed dive into the formation of Tolkien’s Middle-Earth, then this is it. The Return of the Shadow brings you to the very first drafts of The Lord of the Rings – to a world where the familiar foursome of hobbits that are the stars of the trilogy are not Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin. Instead, the reader is treated to Faramond, Frodo, Merry, Odo, Folco, and a host of other hobbits that never made their way into starring roles in the final trilogy. The Return of the Shadow also takes its readers into the thought process behind Tolkien’s creation of iconic characters like Treebeard and Strider. Would you believe that in their first incarnations these well-known players in The Lord of the Rings were much different? For example, in Tolkien’s first draft, Treebeard was working in the service of Sauron. And Strider? He began as the hobbit Peregrin! And these characters are set in a Middle-Earth that includes a forgotten elvish land named Hollin, a Rohan that is still filled with horse lords – but whom are also working in the service of Sauron, and where Gondor is known as Ond.

As fascinating as this early version of Middle-Earth may sound, there are some aspects of The Return of the Shadow that were a bit much for this reader. For example, in his writing and analysis of his father’s work, Christopher Tolkien often repeats words and phrases regarding the story that become more and more laborious as you go along. Also, in some cases he beats a dead horse to the point of absurdity. At one point at the beginning of the third phase of this book, Christopher Tolkien revealed that Odo was no longer going to be part of traveling group and that he would be replaced by Frodo. However, he repeats this revelation three or four times within two or three pages. For someone who gets the point the first time, you do not need to have the same information repeated to you several more times within the span of a few pages.

All things considered, I am glad to have read The Return of the Shadow. While it is an incredibly dense book and while it sometimes dives too deeply for my liking, it is truly a novel that captures the impressive scope and wide-ranging depth of not just Tolkien’s Middle-Earth, but the variety of fascinating characters that live within it. If there is a Lord of the Rings fan in your house or in your family and you want to get them a book that they can get lost in for hours, then this book would make the perfect gift.

Book Review: The Hidden Reality by Stephen Martino

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Back in July 2013, I reviewed the first book in Stephen Martino’s Alex Pella trilogy. At the time, I was struck by the novel’s fast-paced action thriller approach to telling a captivating story that included very strong overtones to our then-current political environment. The Hidden Reality is the second installment in the Alex Pella trilogy and is a true successor to The New Reality in both its tone and style. Just as with the first novel in the series, The Hidden Reality drops the reader directly into the action and moves at a fast pace to jump start the story from the very first page. If you are looking for a story that has a sleepy opening and then slowly lumbers through chapter after chapter until something major happens, then this is not the book for you! The Hidden Reality starts off hot and keeps the temperature up throughout the entire novel.

Fast-paced, action-packed storytelling aside, if you are looking for a novel that has compelling characters that you actually care about and can become emotionally-invested in as you read, then The Hidden Reality is your book. In fact, one of the primary reasons that I could not put this book down was because Martino writes characters that I could relate to and whose stories I wanted to read. His characters mean something to the plot and are not just throwaway placeholders or MacGuffins. Alex Pella, for example, is a hero that you want to cheer for; he’s someone that you want to see win in the end because he awakens the best parts of how we see ourselves. Putting aside the main character for a moment, the novel has additional characters who are absorbing – and for different reasons. Without giving away any of the major plot points, in the beginning of the novel a character named Jules laments to his fellow board members that their corporation is so large and so omnipresent in the lives of everyone on the planet that it has rendered humanity weak and somewhat mentally-stunted. He goes into a diatribe about people no longer having the fortitude or desire to rise up against these types of overwhelming power structures because they rarely think any more. As a reader, I found myself considering the many times that I have felt the same frustration as Jules. I thought about the times that I have passionately implored people to wake up to what is going on around them only to realize that I am stuck talking to people who are mostly wearing blank stares on their faces.

It is not a fun experience and I uniquely understood how Jules felt in that moment.

The brilliance of The Hidden Reality and of the entire Alex Pella series, though, is the deep connections that Martino’s dystopian future has with the often scary revelations that are becoming far too common in our own world. When our Internal Revenue Service was used as an attack dog for political purposes and the most prolific website on the internet (Facebook) is rolling out updates to its face-recognition software and strongly encouraging its more than one billion users to play along, one has to wonder how close we are to achieving Martino’s hidden reality today. The Hidden Reality features a global organization that can track anyone’s location based on their subatomic wavelengths, individuals who place implants in their eardrums to communicate, and the fusion and evolution of corporate behemoths into a global government. Are we really that far away from any of these headlines being published in our own media and in our own time?

The Hidden Reality combines a dystopian future with the mental rigor of a medically-augmented and futuristic plot to create an action-packed story that is fun to read and hard to put down. If I were publishing this review during the summer months, then I would strongly recommend you pick up a copy of this book to read while you are relaxing on the beach. As we are in the doldrums of winter, though, I cannot think of a better book to read while snuggled up by the fire on a cold winter day. When the temperature drops outside, I highly recommend you kick it up a notch inside by jumping into the Alex Pella series!

Incidentally, this was the first e-book that I read on Amazon’s Kindle app. I do not really have any complaints about the Kindle platform. In fact, I think it worked out pretty well considering that I had the Kindle app install on my Samsung Nook tablet (weird, right?).

Why I Volunteer My Time to My Local Chapter of Sigma Pi Fraternity

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Since August 2003, I have proudly volunteered as the local advisor to the Delta-Beta Chapter of Sigma Pi Fraternity at Monmouth University. The role that I fill is called the Chapter Director and I officially held this position for the better part of the last 14 years. There was a two and a half year period where I switched from being the Chapter Director at Monmouth to Sigma Pi Fraternity’s Province Archon for all of New Jersey. The Province Archon is a volunteer advisor and coordinator for a specific geographic region. I held that position from August 2006 through January 2009 and the reason why I resigned from that position might be the focus of a future article here on the blog, but is irrelevant today. At the time that I resigned as the Province Archon for New Jersey, the Delta-Beta Chapter Director position was just vacated by the alumnus who held the position after me, so I was able to easily move back into the Chapter Director position again. I resigned as Chapter Director last August to focus on my obligations as a member of the national board of directors, but I still work with the young men at Monmouth on a daily basis.

Undergraduates and alumni from Delta-Beta Chapter in February 2017

Before I became the Chapter Director at Monmouth, our Faculty Advisor held the position. Our Faculty Advisor is probably the best, most engaged Faculty Advisor in the entire fraternity (in fact, when Sigma Pi started giving out a #1 Faculty Advisor in the nation award, our advisor was the first recipient). However, when I graduated in 2003, the position was ripe for a new person to hold it. I spent two years as the President of my chapter and during that time I was required to research the many events, reports, and issues that our chapter was completely out of the loop on. Shortly after I graduated, the new President of the chapter and I traveled to Sigma Pi’s leadership school and talked to the fraternity’s Executive Director about our situation. During our trip, I was asked to become the new Chapter Director and we implemented that change immediately.

What I learned from my time as an undergraduate leader through my time as a young alumni volunteer and now to someone who has some seasoning as a volunteer is that undergraduates are, naturally, not as connected to the on-going workings of the national organization as one might expect. In other words, national student organizations like fraternities and sororities should not expect every single undergraduate leader at every single undergraduate chapter to take an impassioned interest in the finer points of completing and submitting monthly or quarterly or annual reports. There is going to be an equally less-than-enthusiastic understanding of why it is necessary and beneficial to attend national conferences and regional workshops.

It is one of the many jobs of a local and regional volunteer to connect with their undergraduates in an educational, uplifting, and genuine way. The connection must be educational because we need to make the mundane reporting relevant to their everyday experiences as undergraduate leaders. The connection must be uplifting because today’s young men are berated and denigrated by nearly every corner of society just because they are young men. Who will tell our young men, “Good job!” or “I’m proud of you,” if not for us?

But most importantly, the connection must be genuine because undergraduates can see through lies and falsehoods with laser-like accuracy. And they should cut through the nonsense!

I’ll be writing more about mentoring undergraduates soon, so stay tuned!

News and Updates from Sigma Pi Fraternity – Circa 1916

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One of the many fascinating elements of reading past issues of The Emerald is generating a basic idea of the climate within a Sigma Pi chapter during the early years of the fraternity. I recently finished reading the January 1916 issue of The Emerald which featured a lengthy update on the Kappa Chapter of Sigma Pi and its history at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Temple University around the turn of the century

Temple University around the turn of the century

What I liked best about reading this update from the Kappa Chapter is that they told a wonderful story regarding the history of their chapter. And I might add that they told their story in a beautifully written piece where the language was rich and the content was deep. There are no writers today who put pencil to paper (or fingers to keyboard) in as beautiful, meaningful, and precise a language as what I have read in the old issues of The Emerald.

Some other interesting notes and observations from the January 1916 issue of The Emerald:

Who Should Be Elected to the Grand Council?
This is of particular interest to me since I am running for the Grand Council next month. There was an editorial in The Emerald that gives good advice on the type of person who should not be elected to the Grand Council. The magazine says: “…the distance between good intentions and actual results from hard work is so infinite, that to elect or reelect a man simply because he appears to love the Fraternity; to propose the name of a man simply to get chapter representation or to hold on to a man who has proven his worthlessness, not only injures the Fraternity at large but seriously handicaps the Grand Chapter.”

What to Expect at Convocation
Next month’s Convocation will be the eighth one that I have attended. Before attending my first Convocation in 2002, I had no idea what to expect. Well, for brothers who find themselves in a similar position to the one that I was in 14 years ago, here is what the editors of The Emerald wrote to prepare Sigma Pi Fraternity for Convocation 100 years ago: “The coming Convocation is the logical and appointed time to shoulder all your grievances, protests or recommendations and go after the ‘powers’ without gloves. All delegates should come ‘armed to the teeth’ with sound arguments to propel their pet hobbies through the ranks of the ‘enemy.’ The man who has to stop to think is going to find it rough sledding.”

What is the Executive Council?
In this issue as in prior issues, The Emerald lists both the Grand Council as well as something called the Executive Council. It seems to me like the so-called Executive Council is either the group of people who worked for the fraternity at the time or an expanded governing body of volunteers, which we sorely need today. Seven Grand Council members just does not cut it in 2016 – we need more.

The “Father of Chapters”
The brothers at the Kappa Chapter referred to themselves as the “Father of Chapters” because they set up two iterations of the Delta Chapter at the University of Pennsylvania and the Theta Chapter at Penn State University. Back in 1916, there were only 9 active chapters so Kappa Chapter’s claim was pretty legitimate.

Who was the First Grand Sage?
Throughout their update, the Kappa Chapter talks about so-and-so being elected as the Chancellor of the chapter. Based on what I’ve read, it sounds like the position of Sage used to be called Chancellor. At some point in their update, they mention that Kappa Chapter alumnus M. Atlee Ermold attended Convocation at the end of October 1910. During that Convocation, Ermold was elected as the Grand Sage of the fraternity and was “the first man in Sigma Pi to hold that title.” Interesting. So were Francis L. Lisman and Winford L. Mattoon not the “Grand Sage” but, instead, the National Chancellors of Sigma Pi Fraternity?

No Love for the Herald!
Incidentally, they refer to the chapter’s Executive Council as the Sage, First Counselor, Second Counselor, Third Counselor, Fourth Counselor, and “fifth member.” No love for the Herald position back in 1916!

Fall and Spring Convocations – Not Summer
Also, whenever Convocation is referenced in the old issues of The Emerald, it never takes place during the summer months. Rather, the Convocations seem to have taken place during the months of April and October. Why did this change? The fraternity appears to be so disconnected during the summer months and most of today’s undergraduates are busy working summer jobs to pay increasing tuition, textbook, and off-campus living costs that it seems like holding an event during the school year might actually generate higher attendance along with some cost savings. Who knows? It’s probably worth some research. Here is a screenshot of the invitation to the 1916 Convocation that was included in the magazine:

1916-convo-invite

Kappa Takes a Shot at New Jersey!
As a New Jersey guy I have to take issue with Kappa Chapter’s comment that one of the negatives about a recent initiate is that “he hails from Camden, NJ, that barnacle which clings to Philadelphia’s water line.” How dare you?! We didn’t even have any New Jersey chapters back then to defend our good name!

The Worthiness of Inter-Fraternity Councils
I laughed out loud after reading this line in one of the editorials: “We sometimes wonder whether local Interfraternity Councils are of any real value or not.” Ha ha! Oh, if the editors of the magazine could only see some of the IFCs on our campuses today…

That is all that I have for this review of the January 1916 edition of the magazine. If you are interested in this type of stuff, then I encourage you to check out the online archive of The Emerald by clicking here!

Start the Weekend Right Link Series – Volume #4, Edition #3

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In recognition of Holy Week and the arrival of the Easter season, this week I am posting some links that connect to this week’s religious nature. I hope that you enjoy reading them!

As always, though, before we get to this week’s links I again want to strongly recommend signing up for a free Feedly account. I get absolutely no kickback for promoting Feedly, but I am so appreciative of their product being the best RSS reader on the internet and I encourage everyone to use it. If you are using another RSS aggregator, please consider following JerseySmarts.com at http://www.jerseysmarts.com/feed/. If you are already on Feedly, then you can follow us by clicking here. Thanks!

Your Essential Guide to the Triduum, Busted Halo
You know Holy Thursday, which is when the priest washes the feet of parishioners. And I am sure you know about Good Friday, which is the day that Jesus Christ was crucified and killed on the cross. Then there is Holy Saturday, which is the day of the Easter Vigil leading into Easter Sunday. But did you know that Holy Thursday through Holy Saturday is known as the Easter Triduum? This link from the Busted Halo blog can help you better understand what the Easter Triduum means for the faith.

How to renew your spirit during Holy Week: Q&A with James Martin, Religious News Service
While I understand that this link series is being posted late in Holy Week, there is never a bad time to begin finding ways to reengage with your faith. Father James Martin, SJ is a well-known Catholic priest who specializes in evangelizing a contemporary population (that means everyday people like you and me). This link takes you to a very short interview transcript, but I think that you will be able to take pieces of it and consider how to apply the power of faith in your own life.

Lent/Easter Playlist, The Rabbit Room
Personally, I do not find myself listening to a lot of Christian inspirational music. To that extent, I enjoy listening to Owl City and other more mainstream artists who integrate positive religious themes into their songs. That does not mean that there are not some great Christian music artists out there and the list at this link can introduce you to some great music in this genre.

Bishop Barron on The Sacrament of Baptism, Word on Fire Blog
One of the great parts of the Easter season is the introduction of millions of new Catholic worldwide into the Church through the Rite of Christian Initiation (known as the “RCIA program” at most parishes). Many RCIA students go through the entire process on Holy Saturday at the Easter Vigil. By this I mean they are baptized, have their first Holy Communion, and are Confirmed during the ceremony. There is a short video at this link where Bishop Robert Barron talks about Baptism.

What’s the Difference Between a Bunny, a Rabbit and a Hare?, Dictionary.com Blog
Why not have a little bit of fun this Easter? While most of us celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ this weekend, there are many non-religious who celebrate the season by parading around with the Easter Bunny. Speaking of bunnies, do you know the differences between a rabbit, a bunny, and a hare? If not, then you can find out the differences in this Dictionary.com blog post.

Have you come across any great articles lately? If so, please share those links in the comments below! And one more time before you go – for those of you who love reading online articles, I strongly recommend considering a free Feedly account. You can follow JerseySmarts.com on Feedly or you can add us to your existing RSS aggregator. Enjoy!

Start the Weekend Right Link Series – Volume #4, Edition #2

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Last week’s Start the Weekend Right Link Series featured many articles that I bookmarked way back in 2011. This week, I am posting some links to some more recent articles. In fact, most of these articles are from the last month or two. I hope that you enjoy reading them!

As always, though, before we get to this week’s links I again want to strongly recommend signing up for a free Feedly account. I get absolutely no kickback for promoting Feedly, but I am so appreciative of their product being the best RSS reader on the internet and I encourage everyone to use it. If you are using another RSS aggregator, please consider following JerseySmarts.com at http://www.jerseysmarts.com/feed/. If you are already on Feedly, then you can follow us by clicking here. Thanks!

Hulk Hogan v. Gawker (Marc Randazza Legal Analysis), Danger & Play
One of the biggest stories in media right now is Hulk Hogan’s victory in court against Gawker Media. Gawker has several websites – none of which have a shred of journalistic integrity. These websites do all that they can to destroy and damage people just for the sake of clicks and pageviews. They epitomize everything that is wrong with what people think the media is today. Gawker should not be categorized as a media source – they are barely worth mentioning as a tabloid. This link will take you to a great, quick set of bullet points outlining how badly Hogan beat Gawker in court. In addition, there is a video of the author speaking with a free speech lawyer about the verdict.

Is Rice Healthy For Me? Does White vs Brown Rice Matter?, Nerd Fitness
While the end result of this very astute investigation is, “it depends,” I strongly encourage you to read this article if you are a rice eating person like me. For my part, I have always been one of those people who does not automatically default to the brown version of everything (e.g. selecting whole wheat over white versions of products). This article made me realize that given the frequency with which I eat rice, I really should be eating brown rice instead of white rice. There is a lot of great information in this piece and I think you will enjoy reading it.

When You Find Out a Coworker Makes More Money than You Do, Harvard Business Review
There are some realities that most people have to recognize, face, and accept. One of those realities is that if you work for someone else, then you are not the highest paid person in the company. Period. And while my short example accentuates the differences between bosses and employees, this article provides some strategies on how to approach a different situation. Namely, the situation that occurs when you find out that a coworker (someone who you might consider an equal or even a subordinate) is making more money that you at your company. I am a big believer in not worrying about what other people are making and, instead, focusing on achieving your own success. I am also a believer in working outside jobs and starting your own company (or companies, if you have the time and inclination) to augment your salary. Ideally, that outside work will eventually supersede your salary and allow you to break free from working for someone else.

Coleco Pulls Out Of Faltering Chameleon Console (RetroVGS) Project, Retro Collect
I have always been fascinated at the moving and changing of the video game industry. Watching the ebbs and flows of video game companies, their gambles, and their successes has not only been a fun observation for me, but it also helped me make a few bucks off of those companies when I was more actively involved in the stock market. One of the most intriguing observations that I have about the industry today is the influence that retro gaming is having on the current market. There are a lot of people who are actively seeking a way to reject the big gaming companies and return to a time of cartridge-based gaming. To that end, RetroVGS started a crowd-funding campaign to start such a system. That campaign ultimately failed, but then legacy video game company Coleco came in to take up the mantle of the project… until they pulled out of the entire thing earlier this month.

The Beginner’s Guide to Meditation and Why You Need It, Live Limitless
This is not a short article by any means, but it is packed with information that you might find interesting if you are seeking more knowledge about meditation. Learning more about meditation is a non-priority goal that I have for myself. Specifically, I have been looking for a way to marry the peace that I encounter from my religious beliefs with a full body relaxation technique.

Obesity Changes How People View World: Study, Newsmax
According to the research presented in this article, if you are overweight, then you see the world differently. No, the research does not suggest that you only feel different about the way the world views you, but that you literally see objects as farther away. Interesting stuff.

City’s 1st CO-OP Coming to Asbury Fresh Summer Market, Asbury Park Sun
And in some local news – it looks like there will be a co-op option at the Asbury Park Summer Market this year. Several years ago I joined a community supported agriculture (CSA) farm that was about 15 minutes from my home. The promise of the CSA farm was that if you purchased a share (or, in my case, half a share), then you would be able to go to the farm and pick a certain amount of produce each week. That particular CSA farm worked well during the first year that I was a member, but the next two years were abysmal. Since then, I have been looking for a similar, local option.

The Collapse of Oil IS the Economic Boom, Reason
Another very interesting article about how the pending economic boom that everyone is waiting for is actually here. How is it here, you ask? Well, the precipitous drop in oil prices is something that impacts nearly every American adult. Further, while there have been some layoffs because of the price dropping, there are a lot more people who are experiencing more money in their accounts because they are not paying as much for gas as they were just a few months ago.

How To Make Your Own Rain Barrel Watering System, The Good Human
If I owned the type of home that had a big backyard that I could plant a substantial garden in, I would definitely be into putting something like a rain barrel watering system together. There is no question that I would have several of these barrels in my yard specifically for watering my plants and my garden (which would be packed with tomatoes and basil). Unfortunately, I do not think it is feasible to have something like this on my current backyard patio. Oh well!

Shrinking the White Male—and His Culture, Minding the Campus
As I often mention in these and other posts, young white men are being intellectually attacked on college campuses on a daily basis. This very short article is in that vein, but at a different level of the college campus. In this article, the author looks at language that many of you have seen in job postings about your potential employer embracing diversity and not holding any characteristic against you during the hiring process. The author then applies that language to the reality of the individuals that make up the department to which the job posting refers. The result is interesting, but what really stuck with me was the near-aside that ends the article. That is, that college students are new 60% women and 40% male. Where is the outrage about that inequality?

Have you come across any great articles lately? If so, please share those links in the comments below! And one more time before you go – for those of you who love reading online articles, I strongly recommend considering a free Feedly account. You can follow JerseySmarts.com on Feedly or you can add us to your existing RSS aggregator. Enjoy!

Start the Weekend Right Link Series – Volume #4, Edition #1

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For the first Start the Weekend Right Link Series of 2016 – and nearly one year since the last edition of this series – I decided to post some of the oldest articles that I have saved in my Feedly reader. The articles below are years old, but they are very good and I highly encourage you to read them.

As always, though, before we get to this week’s links I again want to strongly recommend signing up for a free Feedly account. I get absolutely no kickback for promoting Feedly, but I am so appreciative of their product being the best RSS reader on the internet and I encourage everyone to use it. If you are using another RSS aggregator, please consider following JerseySmarts.com at http://www.jerseysmarts.com/feed/. If you are already on Feedly, then you can follow us by clicking here. Thanks!

Your Chair Is Giving You Cancer, Men’s Health
Admittedly, I am one of those folks who dislikes these types of misleading headlines. No, your chair is not giving you cancer. Yes, sitting in one position and living a sedentary lifestyle can lead to increased risk factors related to catastrophic health concerns like cancer. There are some good, quick tips in this article to get up out of your chair and improve your overall health.

Frugality Advice from Millionaires, Get Rich Slowly
Is there a better source to get information on money from than millionaires? Many of the tips in this article are those that you should already know: avoid debt, do not accumulate lots of stuff, put money away for later, etc. For those of you who are looking for financial independence, you might enjoy reading these tips from people who have achieved your dream.

My Primal Transformation: Discovering the Art of Fit, Mark’s Daily Apply
I really enjoy reading dramatic weight loss stories that have accompanying pictures to show the person’s actual weight loss. This is a story from back in 2011 that tells the story of Frank Sabia, Jr. and how he went from 255 pounds down to 167 pounds. Granted, losing 88 pounds is not what I would typically categorize as a dramatic weight loss (I usually reserve that categorization for 100+ pound weight loss stories). However, I think Sabia has a good story and one that is worth reading.

Outfitting a Manly Kitchen, Danger & Play
One of the most important things that all of us can do to be healthier human beings is eat better. In this short, but potent, men can learn about how to outfit their kitchens to improve their overall health. After re-reading this article, I went out and purchased a vegetable steamer on Amazon.

How to Whistle With Your Fingers, Art of Manliness
Even after reading this article, I still cannot whistle with my fingers. I can whistle loudly and just fine without using my fingers, so I am okay with not being able to use this technique. Maybe you will have better success that I did in trying to whistle with my fingers. Good luck!

The 38 Best Methods of Successful Exercisers, Zen Habits
Everyone on the internet seems to have an opinion on how best to lose weight and get into shape. Good for them and their opinions. This article is less about a single person’s opinion and more about what worked for other people. These are the type of weight loss posts that I like to scan through from time to time just to see what worked for people who have actually lost weight (there are a lot of hucksters out there on the internet).

How to fix Final Fantasy, Engadget
You did not think that we would go through one of these link series without some video game fun, right? Even though this article is more than four years old, I still think that there is a gem of relevance in what the author writes in this piece. And since I did not see a comments section on this article, my addition to the discussion on how to improve the Final Fantasy games is to… (wait for it)… make the games about fantasy again! Too many of the recent incarnations of this series have been focused on creating an ultra realistic approach to the classic fantasy role playing game. Stop it. Give us black mages, warriors, and a guy named Cid and we will be happy with Final Fantasy again!

The Pain of the Daily Commute, New York Times: Well Blog
In the “no big surprise” category, this 2011 entry on the awesome Well blog on the New York Times website notes a study from IBM talking about how commuting is actually painful. The pain that most commuters report is increased stress and anger levels. With the pending transit strike here in New Jersey, I thought now was a good time to bring out this link. If this transit strike actually takes place, then it is going to be a stressful time for New Jersey commuters until a resolution is reached.

How Widespread is Student Indoctrination?, National Association of Scholars
I am a critic of any unfair treatment of any student on any campus in the country. I do not care about the color, gender, age, background, etc. of the student – if they are being treated unfairly, then I want to see that unfair treatment stop. One of the biggest criticisms of higher education is that students are being indoctrinated, but is that really true? The author of this piece suggests that perhaps students are not being indoctrinated because, frankly, students just do not have an opinion on the “controversial” issue being discussed. This article is a quick, interesting take on student indoctrination on college campuses and I think you will enjoy reading it.

The Chilly World of Campus Males, Minding the Campus
We are in an interesting time in higher education. On the one hand you have the media, political extremists, and willfully uninformed campus-based employees promoting the false narrative that there are rapists preying on young college women. While every meaningful study absolutely destroys the false statistics being promoted by those with an agenda, there are other folks – like Dr. Warren Farrell, the author of this article – who are concerned about the anti-male environment that colleges have now created for young men. College men are taught that they are dangerous just because they are male – and that is about as inappropriate and unacceptable as it gets. We certainly would not accept that dictum if it was peddled about young women, gays and lesbians, students of certain ethnicities, etc. Why is such a reductive, biased perspective allowed to be propagated against young men who have done nothing wrong besides enroll in an institute of higher education?

One more time before you go – for those of you who love reading online articles, I strongly recommend considering a free Feedly account. You can follow JerseySmarts.com on Feedly or you can add us to your existing RSS aggregator. Enjoy!