a little hope, laughter and love

Look back, to slavery, to suffrage, to integration and one thing is clear. Fashions in bigotry come and go. The right thing lasts.

ANNA QUINDLEN, New York Times, Jan. 31, 1993

I’ve spent some time thinking about the whole Boy Scouts and Chick Fil a thing. I saw someone in my life publicly support their stand against gays on FaceBook today. They absolutely have the right as private groups to set their own rules as much as I disagree with them. But. I think it’s good that companies and organizations that subscribe to these narrow, demeaning and separating beliefs are being brought out into the spotlight to show the true nature. Love will always win out. I don’t have to worry about a single thing. I have faith. And as a Boy Scout growing up it was some of my favorite times. My mother was a DenMom and made thousands of cupcakes and snacks to support me. And I so desperately wanted to be like other boys without the drama of being a kid. And there, in my little group, I was. Anything was possible. They never spoke of anything other than love and being an outstanding citizen. And even when I told my Scout Master that I felt different than other boys, he built me up and told me I was ok. It had to be difficult for him since I was the first he’d probably ever had to deal with. I’ll never forget my experience there. And even though i can never give back by being a leader there because of who I am privately I think I’d make a great Scout Master. And I know this phase of growth for them seems difficult and hateful. But it’s where they are and they need to go through it and we have to be understanding that just like the exclusive use of clubs, restaurants, water fountains and restrooms were once commonplace for blacks and Jews, this too shall pass. It’s only a matter of time. And love will win. I have no doubt about this at all.

The last thing I’ll say is that I saw someone close to me “like”a thing on Facebook supporting the Boy Scouts decision to ban gays. My heart jumped and I felt a feeling I haven’t felt in a long time…the feeling of being wrong and sick and lost. I haven’t felt that way for a while. I don’t blame him. It’s not his fault. I had hoped that by knowing me as a grown, successful, caring, loving man that it would somehow change the perceptions of gays. Maybe I realized how much more work there is to do. But I sat there for a few minutes not saying anything and felt empty.

Love will win. Even when it’s not won yet, it will. I am confident enough to tolerate the pain until then. So go ahead Boy Scouts. Go ahead Chick Fil A. The times are changing and love will win. It is only a matter of time.

I know this quote has been made and heard a lot lately, especially since the death of Steve Jobs.  But I wanted you to re-read it and think of yourself as one of those crazy ones.  One of the ones who sees things differently.  One of those who can’t be ignored because they change things.  So, please re-read it again for yourself.  I did this morning and it was enough to get me out of bed and get me back in action for life today.  Hope you find strength in it today as well…

I just finished a spot on Fox26 in Houston this morning.  The segment was on Halloween fun ideas and I swear it took me over two weeks to worry about what I was going to talk about and only 2 to make it all come together!  It’s always like that for me…some ungodly gift of last-minuteness that the universe seemed fit to endow me with.  (LOL…I said endow)

I googled every possible term for a cool thing to do.  But then it hit me!  What would I want to do if I was really wanting to do something fun, creative and good.  It helped if it was good.  Sometimes the creative and fun doesn’t always come out as good.  Lord knows I’ve tried to make them good but they don’t always come out that way!

But today was different.  I did simple food.  But it was fun, creative AND good.  I found a couple of good ideas that I want to share with you here.  They were super simple.  And they are super super cute!  So I hope you enjoy them.  I wore a mad scientist outfit, which I will probably regret forever wearing in public because i looked like a big gay troll doll.  But it’s cool…anything in the name of entertainment right?!  So here were my treats… The first one is these totally adorable graveyard pots…super super super cute!!!

Dark Chocolate Graveyard Pots de Crème

Ingredients

14 ounces (about 3 cups) semisweet or bitter-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped

2 large eggs, plus 2 yolks

2 1/2 cups whipping cream

1/3 cup coffee-flavored liqueur

1/2 cup chocolate wafer crumbs

Preparation

1. In a food processor or blender, whirl chocolate until finely chopped. Pour into a bowl. Put eggs and yolks in the processor or blender.

2. In a 4-cup glass measure, heat whipping cream in a microwave oven (see Notes) at full power (100%) until cream boils, 3 to 5 minutes.

3. With processor or blender on high speed, add boiling cream to egg. Check temperature of mixture with an instant-read thermometer; if below 160°, pour mixture back into glass measure and reheat in microwave oven at full power until it reaches 160°, stirring and checking at 15-second intervals.

4. Combine hot cream mixture, chopped chocolate, and liqueur in blender or processor (or whisk the ingredients together in a large bowl); whirl until smooth, about 1 minute.

5. Pour chocolate mixture into 8 ramekins or glasses (1/2-cup size). Chill until softly set, 30 to 45 minutes. If making ahead, cover and chill up to 1 day. For creamiest texture, let desserts stand at room temperature about 30 minutes before eating.

6. Spoon 1 tbsp. wafer crumbs onto each pot de crème. Insert a Tombstone Cookie into each serving.

Tombstone Cookies

Ingredients

2 tablespoons cocoa

6 tablespoons butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling cookies

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Melted semisweet or bittersweet chocolate

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and 1/2-cup sugar until creamy; beat in egg and vanilla.

3. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa; gradually add to butter mixture, blending thoroughly, to form a soft dough. Divide dough into thirds, cover each portion tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm (at least 1 hour), or up to 3 days.

4. On a floured board, roll out dough, a portion at a time, to a thickness of 1/8 in. (keep dough refrigerated when not in use). With a sharp knife, cut out free-form tombstone shapes (about 1 1/2 by 3 in.; cut bottom edges at an angle to make them easier to poke into the pots de crème), and place slightly apart on ungreased baking sheets. Sprinkle generously with sugar.

5. Bake cookies until edges are lightly browned, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to racks and let cool completely before handling.

6. Using a pastry bag with a very fine tip, pipe the letters “RIP” in chocolate on at least 8 of the cookies. Stick these cookies into the Dark Chocolate Graveyard Pots de Crème and serve the rest of the cookies alongside.

Recipe courtesy of myrecipes.com

I love business. I love seeing what makes business tick. Entrepenuers really inspire me. What it takes to make a business succeed and thrive, no matter what the economic climate, is something to admire. There are so many books out there that tell you what to do, how to do it, why you should do it and how often. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. If only it was that easy to make it happen. What is the difference between those that CAN and those that DO? Is it really a matter of doing the right things or is it something else?

Any business person worth their weight will tell you it’s probably a combination of all of these things. I want to explore this. I am going to look at different ways we are making it work. Some of it will be specific to this economic climate and will have applications as such. A vast majority of it I want to explore will be applicable to any climate.

What if the success of your business was NOT based on the economy. What if your ability to get a good job had NOTHING to do with the job market?

I’m not saying it’s the truth…but we have to start there. We are all given the right to be happy and successful in this life. Don’t you think it’s about time you had that? Well alright.

I’m going to recommend books and blogs and ideas. I’m also going to recommend courses and classes. You don’t have to do anything I recommend. But if you WANT something different in your life…you are going to have to DO something different. More importantly you are going to have to BE someone you’ve never been before.

I also encourage your feedback and progress as we go along. I’m not really interested in your opinion if you aren’t going to do what I recommend. Posting comments just to argue or be right about how hopeless it all is will get you nowhere and and will only keep what you got. There are other blogs for that. This one isn’t it. So here’s to a bright future…

Seth Godin is one of the most forward thinking business people on the planet. I”m proud to recommend this book!

This book is about the places in life where we experience a dip. Whether you are experiencing a dip in producing results in life or a dip in living a life that you love….this book addresses it. It’s a profound idea on how to get yourself out of that dip.