By way of a brief personal update, I just thought I would let any readers who do not regularly email me know that on January 5, I got engaged to my beautiful, caring girlfriend, Jackie. I am obviously, ecstatic.
Additionally, if you like the writing here, stay tuned. It looks like I am going to have my first book published in January of 2009, and I may have news about other writing coming shortly. As soon as more details are available, I will post them here.
By way of a brief life update...
For those who do not already know, I have made the decision to attend the Harvard Business School this fall, and will be moving to Boston in late August. I will be there for 2-3 years pending a few other decisions. I am taking the summer off (leaving my current employer in late May) to write, relax, and prepare for my upcoming academic excursion.
If you have the overwhelming urge to commission me to write a book, essay, or article in that time, just let me know! I have comitted to a few additional writing assignments already, and I will post links here as anything is published.
Congratulations to all the winners in this year's Felix Morley Journalism Competition. Kerry Howley took home the gold and one of my friends from the 2003 Koch Summer Fellows Program, Alex Fak -- a fantastic writer -- won second place.
I was lucky enough to be named a Runner-Up this year, and fellow Berry Graduate and HLS student Dan Alban was awarded an Honorable Mention. Chalk this coincidence up to writing intensive classes and independent studies with Dr. Frank Stephenson.
If you are a young journalist (under 25), I encourage you to participate in this competition next year. It is a great opportunity.
Faced with the option of cancelling my blog this winter, I have decided to renew my Typepad subscription. So yes, this blog will be around for at least one more year. A few thoughts:
1) I have been blogging and commenting a little at Signs of the Times
2) I am sorry for the light blogging in general. My new job combined with concentration on a few magazine pieces and a few special people have limited online time.
3) I have been finding it a little hard to write (yes, a shocker to those who know me!) about political and cultural topics lately, and it has been good to take a breather from more emotional writing as of late. After 4 years of speechwriting, editorializing, and punditry I needed a refresh, and I am looking at a couple of different ( some might say cheesier) forms.
4) Sometimes you really do lose focus and imagination as you get older. I find that more and more the things that confounded me about my elders now make sense, and I wonder if that is a good thing. So much to figure out; so little time.
5) A couple of years after you graduate college, there are a few things you come to miss more than any others. I am surprised at how much I miss the art and the freedom of meaningful conversation about perennial, personal, and political things (as opposed to banter, strategizing, business talk, networking, and small talk). The world of ideas really is a difficult thing to maintain.
6) Happy New Year!
If you care to take a look, my cover article for the December, 2005 issue of The Toastmaster, "The Seven Habits of Persuasive Speakers", is now online. In it, I outline seven key elements of effective persuasive speech. For you current and former forensics geeks, the first three will seem quite familiar. For you philosophy geeks, three are based on Aristotle. And for you serious com scholars, the last habit is an homage to Kenneth Burke.
Thanks to Randy Richardson, Chip Hall, and Alex Brown for their help in writing the article. Also thanks to Sara, Mercedes, and Jessica for the editing help.
Ordinarily, I am something of a halfway Scrooge. When Christmas rolls around I am happy enough to take time off work, sign a few Christmas cards, and purchase a few “brown paper packages, tied up with string.” I love to visit family, I enjoy the weather, and I appreciate the generally upbeat human tone that accompanies the season; but I never truly throw myself into the holiday. You know guys like me. Christmas decorations? How gauche! Caroling? I have work to do! Popcorn, eggnog, tree trimming, and crowded malls? The opium of the masses!
I experience the season without reveling in the festivities; and if you have any sense you look down your nose at the faux condescension and supercilious sense of restraint exuded by dullards like me with a roll of the eyes and a dollop of cinnamon scented pity. We are the ones missing out, and without help, we usually don’t even realize the fact.
Fortunately for me, however, my girlfriend is not similarly encumbered by pretension; and something she did tonight absolutely electrified the Christmas season for me.
I have a poem in the latest edition of the New Pantagruel called To give it all away.
I am moving! As many of you already know, my final day at work is this Friday, May 20. I have accepted a position at a consulting firm in Atlanta, and will be moving back to Georgia in June. I haven't found a place in Atlanta yet (suggestions on apartments, condos, etc. would be appreciated), but I will likely be living in the Buckhead / MidTown region.
I am staying in D.C. for a few more weeks to do research for a project I am working on and to help out with a group very close to my heart. Also, my girlfriend--the wonderful, talented, and beautiful Ms. Sara Hinson--moved up this Saturday to work at the finest non-profit in the city, and, since I have my apartment for another few weeks anyway, this gives me a little time to hang out with her before we live in different cities again.
If you have more specific questions drop me an email at johnwilliamcoleman at hotmail.
As frequenters of Evangelical Outpost have already found out, I will now be blogging regularly (usually weekly or biweekly) at Crux Magazine's triumvirate of blogs: New Adventures in Sci-Phi, Signs of the Times, and Situation Critical. I am, of course, honored to be working with the distinguished folks at Crux and I am thankful for the opportunity to write alongside so many talented people.
This is one of the reasons regular posts will cease for the moment here at Ex Nihilo. As I noted, I have to prioritize some things away from the net, but I would also like to take this opportunity to formulate more formal and informed posts. Right now, I plan to cross-post everything here and I plan to leave my comments up.
There is one caveat: The folks at Crux have been kind enough to let me blog with them, but they have chosen, for now, not to have comments. Therefore, I will delete, for good or bad, any comments about Crux or any of the writers at Crux. The editors at Crux have not requested anything of the kind, but this site is for criticism (or praise) of me only. I cannot involve my co-bloggers elsewhere (unless they choose to comment or post here), and I hope you understand.
Come to Crux and join in the debate! I think these three sites have the intellectual firepower and the potential to foster a lot of serious debate.
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love..."
It's early December, and the North Georgia wind is growing colder.
Snow fell in the mountains last week, fires are being stoked, and
families are finally coming together again for the holidays.
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