Marc's Musings

Today I had the privilege of introducing gubernatorial candidate Eliot Cutler at the Waterville Rotary Club. Here’s what I said (at least what was in my notes!):

I’m honored to be able to introduce Eliot Cutler today.

As I was preparing my introductory remarks, I realized I ran the risk of taking up all of Eliot’s time in the introduction! So I’m choosing to limit my remarks to why I’m supporting Eliot Cutler for Maine’s next governor.

In this club, we’ve heard from both of the party nominees. These parties are going in directions many of us consider simply too extreme. Republicans and Democrats seem to be going through a seismic shift between moderates and extremists. This is cyclical in the history of US politics and is probably healthy.

But we in Maine don’t have time for that struggle to be played out in the Blaine House.

The first two years of the next governor’s term will be very tough. The next two may well be quite good. We need a man or woman versatile enough to navigate both the cuts needed in the hard years and the judicious investments needed in the good times.

I believe Eliot Cutler is that man.

Eliot knows Maine. He knows government, and having spent my spring as the campaign manager for Peter Mills, I now appreciate how important it is to know how government works. More importantly for me, Eliot also knows how to run successful international businesses. He has a vision for not just how Maine fits in the new global market, but how Maine can be a player in the global economy.

Eliot has a plan. As the party candidates have continued speaking the primary platitudes they’ve used all spring, Eliot has shared the details of his plan. It is so detailed, Maine media are saying it is now the standard the other candidates need to meet when they share theirs. Eliot’s plan honestly shares the uncomfortable decisions that will need to be made, and the more comfortable opportunities.

Eliot is a man of action. His actions impress me the most. This summer, while the party nominees were still just talking, Eliot brought a delegation of Chinese business leaders to look at the distinctively Maine industries of lobster, blueberries, and aquaculture.

Our current governor goes overseas on trade delegations. Eliot brings those delegations to Maine.

That’s why it’s a great pleasure to be able to welcome Eliot Cutler to our Rotary Club.

During Eliot’s entire talk, the Republican Governor’s Association’s tracker, Ryan, filmed every word. Both parties are worried because Eliot’s campaign is so strong. And both are throwing negative smears his way. As an independent, he doesn’t have the parties to help finance his campaign.

Would join me in helping him? You can make a secure donation over at:
http://www.cutler2010.com/donate/

Thanks!

Had a great time tonight at Barrels Market 1st Annual Dinner by the River.

All locally grown food, some even served by the people that grew it!

But I also had a lesson in edamame.

Look at the two plates above. I grabbed a pod from the blue plate and popped it in my mouth. [Lesson #1: you don't eat the whole thing, just suck the soy beans out.]

Then, after I’d consumed the pod, I found out I’d picked it from the plate my friend Sarah was using to put her used pods on!

You bet, that was Lesson #2.

Last week, I had the pleasure of being on Good Day New York to talk about how to change a career more effectively than Steven Slater’s jumping out of a JetBlue plane. The interview is above. A more complete 5-page article is at:
Changing Careers Without Facing Felony Charges.

So far this summer, most of my reading has been nonfiction. Having a yearning to read fiction, I asked my social networks what they recommended.

Thanks to @amuhs, @llake, @cloudspark, @ddpaek, @LarryHehn, @frankmckay, my Twitter request yielded these suggestions:

• South of Broad: A Novel, Pat Conroy
• The Dead Don’t Dance, Charles Martin
• books by Eric Wilson
• The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown
• The Help, Kathryn Stockett
• That Old Cape Magic: A Novel, Richard Russo
• The Children’s Book, A.S. Byatt

And on Facebook Tom Golway, Hannah Doak Clifton, Elektra Damianos Gaebelien, Denise Lafountain, Greg Daly, Michell Arnold Paine, Kate Arnold Fitzpatrick, Katelyn Jo Melanson, Richard Cebra, Amy Cyrway, Maggie Hall, Jeff Pouland, Robert Sezak, Wayne Burke, Jean Coltart, Kathleen Tozier Duprey, Joanna Tracy Martel, Bill Taylor, and Faye Nicholson recommended:

• The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
• The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett
• World Without End, Ken Follett
• Quo vadis, Henryk Sienkiewicz
• Hadassah, Tommy Tenney
• The Strain, Guillermo del Toro
• anything by Agatha Christie
• The Stand: Expanded Edition: For the First Time Complete and Uncut (Signet), Stephen King
• Under the Dome, Stephen King
• As the Crow Flies, Jeffrey Archer
• The Sirens of Titan: A Novel, Kurt Vonnegut
• The Overton Window, Glenn Beck
• Everything Matters!: A Novel, Ron Currie (2 recommendations)
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson (2 recommendations)
• Day of Reckoning, Jack Higgins
• all the Harry Potter books
• The Tommyknockers, Stephen King
• On Writing, Stephen King
• Charlie’s Web: A Mystery, LL Thrasher
• A Year in Provence, Peter Mayle

These are all (affiliate) linked to Amazon but Robert Sezak reminded me that most of these books can be purchased at used books stores like RE-BOOKS in Waterville!

This weekend, we remember the thousands of veterans who’ve fought and died for us to enjoy the privileges we take for granted.

One of those privileges is the ability to participate in choosing our leaders. A privilege the majority of us will blow off.

Here in Maine, June 8 is an election day. The two major parties will be nominating their gubernatorial candidates and as well as candidates for some state offices. We will also be deciding important issues for our state and our communities.

But it’s estimated that less than 30% of us will even show up at the polls.

Less than 30%.

Please, let’s remember the sacrifice of our veterans and those currently protecting us by turning out and voting.

Whatever your issue, whoever your preferred candidate, a republic like ours is meant to have direct input from each of us. Not just 30%.

Let’s remember our veterans this weekend and on June 8.

At the end of last year, December 30 to be exact, I did a comparative taste testing of three stouts, my own Stormy Seas Stout, Guinness Extra Stout, and Allagash Black. Today, I’m brewing again–this time a nut brown ale I call “Nuttin’ Ales ME”–so I thought I’d blog the notes from that night.

When I brewed Stormy Seas, I thought I was brewing a clone of a Guinness Extra Stout. But the inclusion of Brettanmyces yeast gave it an unexpected twist. This taste testing was to help me see if it fit in a pre-existing beer “family,” or if it were just weird.

Stormy Seas Stout

• ABV: 6.5%
• Head: tan and relatively thick though a little uneven
• Color: wonderfully opaque (black as midnight on a moonless night)
• Nose: Slightly funky
• Tasting notes: Smooth, almost silky. The funky, melon-y flavors evenly filled my mouth.
• Finish: Sour
• Lingering impression: The silky feeling was what lingered.

Guinness Extra Stout

• ABV: 4.2%
• Head: thin with “harsh,” big bubbles
• Color: wonderfully opaque
• Nose: minimal, but almost…sour…and a little coffee
• Tasting notes: This one surprised me. It had been my favorite but tonight it merely slightly sour, mostly mass produced. Definite coffee flavors. The mouthfeel was disappointingly light.
• Finish: not any sensation in the mouth, just flavor
• Lingering impression: a powerful punch of flavor

Allagash Black

• ABV: 7.5%
• Head: thick and creamy
• Color: wonderfully opaque
• Nose: very nice boquet, clearly a stout, definite coffee notes
• Tasting notes: The carbonation seemed a bit harsh. The beer was slightly sour with definite, lingering coffee impressions.
• Finish: A sourness similiar to Stormy Seas but much cleaner finish
• Lingering impression: A wonderful coffee-esque stout flavor lingered

The Allagash Black was my favorite, and it helped salvage my impressions of my own brew. My stout was simply in a different family than the Guiness Extra. I even found myself liking the silkiness of my beer more than the others. I was surprised to not really like the Guinness. It’s good, but really didn’t taste as distinctive as the Stormy Seas or Allagash Black.

My favorite was the Allagash. So much so that I went down to Portland to tour the factory and taste some others!

Now that it’s been about three months, the Stormy Seas has really mellowed. The ripe cantaloupe flavors are toning down and a solid stout foundation is becoming noticeable. The sourness stays pronounced.

I can’t wait to see how Stormy Seas ages! Chances are I’ll have it for a while. This is definitely a sipping beer.

I was listening to Rob Bell before his book, Velvet Elvis. He’s an amazing communicator of the faith I believe.

Check out this video:

Here’s a quote from near the end of the video:

This group of people who, by their compassion, their generousity, the grace that they extend to others, you find yourself believing, when you’re around them, that God hasn’t given up on the world.

That’s the Gospel.

That’s it.

The Gospel is the good news that God hasn’t given up on the world, that the tomb is empty, and that a giant resurrection rescue is underway. And that you and I can be part of it.

For followers of Jesus, this is a season called “Lent,” a special time of preparation before Easter. If you’re a follower of Jesus, I challenge you to examine whether this is true of you. And of the community of faith you belong to. If it’s not, invite God to show you what you can do to make it so. Or where else He might have you go.

If you don’t consider yourself a follower of Jesus, I hope and pray that you’ll have the opportunity to bump into people like Rob describes. It can be refreshing. It can even be life-changing.

Hat-tip to my pastor, Arlene Tully, for posting this to her blog!

I’ve been told that Gen Xers will have 7 careers during their life, and multiple jobs within those careers. As of today, I’ve started a new job, and if you think of it as a switch from healthcare to politics, possibly a new career as well!

A few weeks ago, I gave my resignation from my position at Inland Hospital. Yesterday was my last day. My favorite gubernatorial candidate, Peter Mills, asked me to direct his statewide campaign and I said “Yes!”

I loved my five years at Inland. It’s a great hospital and a real asset for Waterville. I’m honored to have been able to take the annual fundraising from around $60,000/year to between $250,000 to $500,000 a year. An even more exciting accomplishment was bringing the cost of raising a dollar from $1.75 before I came to around $0.50.

But I never moved to Waterville to take a job at a hospital, as great as that job was. My family and I moved here to start a church. After we closed the church, we looked at moving to OH or PA, but found we’d come to love Waterville.

So this new position is awesome. In it, I get to use social media, use my fundraising expertise, use my marketing skills, use my coaching abilities–I get to bring my whole package to the task at hand!

People seem really concerned about what I’ll do after. And there are a number of hurdles to jump through:

• We need to get 3,250 $5 checks by March 31. That will allow us to qualify for money to run the campaign. (We’re within about 500. If you’re registered to vote in Maine and would like to help, you can find the web page on the State site at: http://bit.ly/5forPeter.)
• We need to get Peter nominated by the Republican voters in the primary on June 8.
• And then we need to get Peter elected on November 9.

Somehow, all of these “known deadlines” seem a lot less risky than the seeming “sure thing” of a steady job. Perhaps it’s because I received half a dozen job inquiries in January. Or perhaps it’s because I continue to get speaking and training invitations. Or because my book on fundraising continues to sell. (Just shipped an entire case of 120 books to New Zealand!) I am also having a blast teaching a course at Thomas College in internet marketing.

Whatever it is, this risk feels more like an adventure. I’m honored to be married to a woman with a spirit of adventure too! (She did make sure I would apply to Starbucks if it didn’t work out so we could at least have health benefits. )

Does Peter Mills have a chance?

I’m often asked if I really think Peter Mills has a chance.

I do.

I have no idea why anyone would make the decision to work on a campaign that they thought didn’t have a chance!

Peter ran in 2006, but he ran a general campaign in the primary. He had a great time connecting with people all over the state. He’s a great fit for Maine. He votes his mind–and he’s got a very smart mind! He researches issues, talks to people that are affected by the legislation, and often writes detailed reports This ends up in his votes being fiscally conservative and socially libertarian.

But I digress. In 2006, he ran a campaign to the whole state when he really needed to get Republican votes for a nomination. And even then, he came within 3 percentage points of being nominated!

More importantly, all the major papers in Maine said that if he’d been nominated in 2006, he’d have beaten the incumbent Governor Baldacci.

He’s definitely the most electable Republican in our state. And yes, I think he has a great chance of winning.

If you’d like to learn more about Peter, check out http://MillsForMaine.com.

Love & War is the latest book from John and Stasi Eldredge. From the authors that brought us Wild at Heart, Captivating, and Epic, comes a book specifically on marriage. So when WaterBrook Multnomah offered to send me a book to reivew, I jumped at the opportunity!

I just got the book but right from the introduction, you get vintage Eldredge take on life. Stasi narrates a wedding ceremony John is officiating. I wish my ceremony had been like this! I love this quote from John:

Daniel and Megan, you are about to abandon yourselves to each other, throw caution to the wind, forsake independence, isolation, and all others. You will vow to each other you undying love. Before you do, we must call this what it is–this is perfect madness.

So true!

The chapters are:

Introduction: It Can Be Done

1. Remembering What We Wanted
2. Love and War
3. A Perfect Storm
4. The Greatest Gift You Can Give
5. More Than Just Roommates
6. How to Have a Really Good Fight
7. A Shared Adventure
8. Back-to-Back with Swords Drawn
9. The Little Foxes
10. When Storms Descend
11. The Chapter on Sex
12. Learning to Love

Epilogue
Appendix: Prayers

The prayers alone make this book a tremendous asset!

I love how the Eldredges remind us of the great adventure we’re on. That’s why we resonate with the great stories and movies of risk and adventure and friendship.

This book helps re-orient the perspectives of married couples. Marriage is a fight, but it’s also a bold adventure. The Eldredges are terrific guides on the journey.

Tonight at dinner, I asked…no…I told my son to stop making noise.

Later in the meal, I started singing along with a song on the radio.

Son: That’s not fair.

Me: You live under the illusion that this should be fair? It doesn’t have to be fair. That’s life.

Son: No, dad. That’s hippocrissy.

My wife and I cracked up. We couldn’t stop laughing!

We asked him if “hippocrissy” was a large gray animal named “Chrissy.”

He was good enough to join in the fun.