MP3 Dan McLaughlin - Ice Girls
The story of the "Little Match Girl" by Hans Christian Andersen from the point of view of management in 2 cds.
13 MP3 Songs in this album (133:50) !
Related styles: SPOKEN WORD: Audiobook, SPOKEN WORD: Comedy
People who are interested in Bob Newhart Mark Twain should consider this download.
Details:
About the book: Thanks to Hans Christian Anderson, you already know the story of the Little Match Girl who froze to death selling matches on a street-corner on New Year''s Eve. But what about the managers who woke up the next morning (their day off!) to deal with the mess? How did they get in the situation in the first place? And, more importantly, how did they get out of it?
The latest best-selling book by Dan McLaughlin, "ICE Girls: What Managers Can Learn from the Story of the ''Little Match Girl'' by One Who Was There" is in the "tradition" of self-help management manuals such as sacred cows make great burgers and moving the cheese to excite the mouse. "ICE Girls" introduces a metaphor that encourages managers to embrace the clown of adversity when one is unwillingly thrust into a pair of big red floppy shoes, and then to smile.
What more COULD there be in a novel so slim (and cheap)?
Well, in addition to this one thought-provoking notion, ICE Girls also considers:
The Princess and the Pea as seen by the Prince who ends up married to a lady whose only qualification is her innate ability to complain about the tiniest little thing.
The Red Shoes as seen by the Deity who hacks off the feet of dancers. Not necessarily just a critique of modern dance.
The Emperor''s New Clothes as seen by frustrated revolutionaries who convince the Emperor to wear his new clothes in public. Hint, it does not turn out well for them.
The Story of the Steadfast Tin Soldier as seen by the of the object of his adoration, the one-legged ballerina. Being stalked is not its cracked up to be.
But that''s not all!
Dan has also assembled some of the greatest performers ever to come out of the Renaissance Pleasure Faire and the Pasadena Public Library to perform on the book on tape. Along with Dan, talents such as Mark Sellin, Clynell Jackson, Bailey Jackson, Tom Hubbard, Nick Smith, Marie Plug, Margit Schmitt, and Mike Schmitt bring to life such scenes as the marketing brainstorming sessions that consider using the maket segment "Urban Dregs" as sales consultants. The assorted fables are read by Margit in a sweet, soothing voice that carries with it just a hint of something that urges you to edge ever so quietly to the door. Mark''s monologue on the importance of God in amateur talent shows is worth the price of the 2 vol. CD set alone.
You will want to listen to it over and over again.
About the author: Born in Hollywood during a Rams game and raised in The Valley followed by a multi-decade stint at UCLA has given Dan an appreciation for the subtle and sometimes capricious agency of actions and words.
Among his philosophical influences he cites Thomas Kuhn, David Springhorn, Paul Feyerabend, the Reduced Shakespeare Company and Bullwinkle the Moose. When not pushing back the frontiers of human ignorance one Internet sign-up at a time as a reference librarian at the Pasadena Public Library, Dan can be found merrily working in the garden (especially during very close UCLA games) or taking the beloved doggies to the puppy park with his even more beloved honey, Vendi.
Before ICE Girls, Dan’s most recent creative effort was the award winning musical “Oh No, Not Emily!” an operetta of academia, fraud and Emily Dickinson. Dan wrote the all the words and developed a theory of music to devise the basic notes. To summarize, Dan suggests starting with one note and then, in choosing the next note, either go up, down, or stay the same. Repeat till you run out of words. Small gaps are pretty. Big gaps can be funny or bad. Oh, and black keys are funny. Dan also produced and directed the show. He also made the web site and the DVD of the show. In a blaze of modesty, he refrained from acting in the show.
Before that he and his partner Mark Sellin were the folk lounge comedy phenomenon “2 Guys from the 70’s” where they single handidly tried to cram the emotional honesty of the 1970’s down the gullets of those determined to forget or those lucky never to have known it. Among the highlights of that particular act were performing on the “New Gong Show” (Twice, once paid once not.); “Mr. Pete’s 60 Seconds of Fame” (Once, not paid); and "The Antelope Valley Today Show" (Where the "performance space" doubled as the station''s switchboard so the issue of salary never really came up in a meaningful way).
Before that, again with his good friend and partner Mark and several other friends, Dan was a street performer and wrote and directed and acted in several plays at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Southern California, including their greatest hit “Ye Old Tale of Goode King Arthur” (written along with equally good friends Adam and Greg) with its associated “Laughter Workshop.”
Dan is currently starting work on his new project "The Sorrows of Young Werther''s (Therapist)" which he insists is a very funny idea.
Most people, so far, disagree.