Pass this on to east coasters hit by Sandy

Pass it on: Those hit by Sandy can power cell phones, shower or work out free at east coast sports clubs through Nov. 14. Read the article by Jack Neff of "Advertising Age" here.

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Public speaking skills: Get hungry for improvement!

I recently read an article that inspired me to practice my public speaking skills. 

And sing. 

And cook.

Denise Graveline at Ragan.com theorizes we can learn a lot about public speaking from Julia Childs in her early show, "The French Chef."

Apparently Ms. Childs was encouraged to talk a

 throughout the show, all while giving helpful hints and vivid descriptions to aid viewers in replicating whatever dish she was preparing. Combined with her enthusiasm and sing-song voice quality, she earned herself a captive audience.

Sadly I've only seen snippets of the show. I'm far more familiar with the Swedish Chef of "The Muppet Show" fame, whom I always thought of as a parody of Childs. I learned a bit more about the famous show from the movie "Julie & Julia"; maybe now it's time to track down some real episodes.

The main thing we need to be successful in our careers is a passion to improve ourselves and learn more. If we can beef up on public speaking skills while learning some culinary techniques, I'm all for it.

Hey, is anyone else hungry?

I'm no Julia Childs, but I can whip up
a pretty mean pan  o' scalloped potatoes.