Monday Movie Meme - The Worst Offenders in Upper Management

In honor of Labor Day, the theme for this week’s Monday Movie Meme is inspired by a Washington Post article I read about American workforce statistics. One of the various charts displayed in this article shows the rates of employee engagement among the U.S. working population over the last decade, highlighting a Gallup survey showing that only one in five workers describe themselves as “actively engaged” in their jobs.

Having worked in different retail and office environments myself, I believe that the level of care that employees have for their job performance is oftentimes (though not always) a reflection of the leadership available to them. As such, I wonder how many people among the disengaged labor force are less interested in their jobs because they are working with supervisors or bosses who cause staff to dread coming in, cain’t wait until quitting time and frequently considers calling out sick. That, my lovelies, brings us to the focus of this week’s Monday Movie Meme: People with Poor Upper Management Skills aka The Worst Bosses Ever.

Share on your blog or in the comments section, movies featuring bad examples of upper management in the workplace. The job supervisors in these films cause poor morale among their employees and are long overdue for either an attitude adjustment, sensitivity training, jail time or a new position -- possibly in another field or at a different company. Here are my selections for this week’s The Worst Bosses Ever theme.

Horrible Bosses

A dentist sexually harasses her assistant and blackmails him, in this comedy starring Jennifer Aniston and some other amusing peeps. Talk about, an uncomfortable workplace! No wonder why the poor assistant isn’t exactly anxious to perform at his best.

The Firm

As if practicing law isn’t hard enough, try maintaining your composure at work after realizing the senior partners at the company that once wooed you with lavish perks are now trying to kill you.

Set It Off

Luther, the owner/manager of a janitorial company, constantly belittles, yells at and insults his employees in this crime drama starring Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett, Vivica Fox and Kimberly Elise.

If he’d stop addressing them as “you Bitches” and start calling them by their names and treating them like human beings, they just might put more effort into separating the recyclables from the garbage, after all.

Happy Labor Day, guys and gals!

What movies have YOU watched that feature the worst people to ever have a position in upper management?

How to Be Charming #atozchallenge

As conventional wisdom would have it – you’ll catch more flies with honey than you would with vinegar. Anyone who eats biscuits or drinks tea, however, knows that honey is too expensive to be trying to use it for the collection of insects. I know the fly and honey thing are mere symbols used to teach us the importance of being kind to people for the purpose of making friends or getting a job or whatever it is we want – but let’s be real here – people want more out of life than bugs and condiments, or friends and kindness.

We want acknowledgement, respect, advancement, best friends, fans, followers, lovers, adventure, children, VIP treatment, first-class seats and other stuff. We want to (as Kanye West would say) live the good life, which requires additional skills and effort than just simply being nice. The good news is that you can increase your chances of having a life well lived by adding or maintaining some level of charisma when interacting with other people.

The famous line “You had me at hello” from the romantic comedy “Jerry Maguire” was the result of one person attracting another with charm. That is where all of the magic happens: Charm can get you far in life. It’s what got one of my relatives out of a traffic ticket and it’s what keeps George Clooney on my grandmother’s list of favorite actors. Honey gets you a jar full of insects. Just as kindness can be a learned trait, so can charisma. With that in mind, here are some tips and tricks for those of you who have the kindness down to a science and want to kick things up a notch by being charming.

Teach someone to spit like a man and then go dancing with him or her, the way Jack does in “Titanic”

Play a musical instrument for someone while singing songs, like Dean does in “Blue Valentine.”

Teach someone how to listen to birds humming, the way Ray does in “Ray.”

Book a night for two at a themed hotel suite and bring your own booze, like Dean does in “Blue Valentine.”

Give someone the hard-to-find music album that he or she was searching for, the way Darius does in “Love Jones”

Show someone a fun way to eat off of the floor, like Polly does in “Along Came Polly”

Dance with a strange creature and then give it a head start advantage on making the most important thing ever, the way main creature does in "The Maker"

Liberate someone by stabbing their throw pillows like Polly does in “Along Came Polly”

Create or designate a special song that is just for you and a particular person, the way Dean and Cindy do in "Blue Valentine"

Reassure a suicide victim on how to be loved the right way, like the Man did in "Hello Caller"

Inspire someone to let go of their inhibitions and learn salsa dancing, the way Polly does in “Along Came Polly”

What other ways to be charming would YOU add to this list?

Can YOU describe a time when being charming worked in your favor?

Who is the most charming person YOU know?

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Madlab Post Named among ‘Coolest Blogs’ by Georgetown University Alum #awards

 

On Tuesday, The Madlab Post received the Versatile Blogger Award from Sydney Aaliyah, who placed it on her list of “15 Coolest Blogs.” So today, I say thank you to her for this award and also for reading my blog. Since April, I noticed that Sydney Aaliyah and I have some things in common -- a secret crush on Robert Downey Jr. and bragging rights for completing the blogging marathon that is the 2012 Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

For the few things we do have in common, however, there are other areas of life where we differ. Sydney Aaliyah has a tattoo -- I don’t; London is her favorite city in the world and I’ve never even been out of the country yet; She studied Law at Georgetown University. I studied art at Moore and screenwriting at Temple University.

As per the rules for Versatile Blogger award recipients, here are 15 blogs (in no particular order) that I nominate for this same badge, as well as 7 things about me that you probably don’t know.

15 Versatile Bloggers:

#1 Film Sketchr - A blog that highlights one, often underrated area of the entertainment industry -- concept design and storyboard art, specifically for science fiction films and TV shows.

#2 Terrible Analogies - It’s about as versatile as any blog can be, featuring adventurous videos on paragliding, suspenseful flash fiction, new music recommendations and observations on the world around us. It’s a must-read, for sure!

#3 Smurfin’ the Web - The smurfdok reviews movies and world music while also giving horror films some extra special attention, through his “Wicked Wednesdays” series.

#4 Wine-n-Chat - Where Zinfandel meets group writing activities, family vacations and related topics that you can discuss over a glass of your favorite red or white varietal.

#5 Wrote by Rote - This memoir-centric blog may have you either reflecting on moments that stood out in your life so far, thinking about creating new and lasting memories or becoming more interested in a reading genre that hasn’t been on your radar -- all while taking a glimpse into the life of the writer behind it all, Arlee Bird.

#6 Eat, Live, Move - From insights on balancing one’s own healthy weight and nutrition to recipes for sweet potato fries and exercising tips to journaling ideas and reminders about having fun everyday, this blog encourages you to not only learn how to be comfortable in your own skin but also create the exciting life you want -- all through the eyes and experiences of its author, Ro.

#7 Story Treasury - A reading destination for book reviews, flash fiction and explorations into vocabulary and related parts of the literary world. 

#8 In a Pursuit of Publisness - Highlights on book authors, flash fiction and various reading adventures are sprinkled in between work-in-progress teasers and related updates on the progress of one woman working to publish her first novel.

#9 Far Away in the Sunshine - A blend of inspirational quotes, photography and poetry along with observations of the woman running this blog can get you to appreciate nature and life and all of the beauty that they have to offer.

#10 Front Room Cinema - Rants on movie theater etiquette, DVD reviews and director showcases strengthen this blog’s versatility factor.

#11 Flix Chatter - The sweet smell of celluloid oozes from this blog filled with reviews of classic films, polls on casting in movies and actor highlights are just the tip of the iceberg for seasoned cinema fanatics.

#12 Paddle to the Shore - Musings of a budding photographer, complete with work from her portfolio, continue to shine after she lost her best friend to suicide earlier this year.

#13 The Focused Filmographer - While keeping you up to date with new releases that are now playing in theaters, this blog also highlights movie posters, news and trailers in between voting activities such as “Choose your Avenger.”

#14 The PolishAholic - A nail polish collector not only reviews dozens of brands and hues now or previously available in the marketplace, but, she also provides beauty tips on nail care and recommendations on getting favorite bottles to last longer. Funny enough, I found this blog while searching on Google for the Story Treasury blog post where I commented on OPI’s Nicki Minaj Collection after Sonia Lal mentioned her fondness of crackle styled nail polish. Now, Polishaholic is among my favorite blogs to read for fun. How ironic!

#15 Hollywood Spy - In addition to TV news and movie previews, this blog also features a versatile selection of interviews with people working in these industries -- from actors to authors and even film composers. 

7 Things about Me* that You Probably Don’t Know:
*That I haven’t already mentioned in my Stylish Blogger award post or my getting to know me post.

1. I wrote and sang parodies of hit Pop, R&B and Rap songs, with a fellow classmate in high school.

2. I once led an Anti-Piracy workshop for filmmakers in the mid-west.

3. I learned the choreography to Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation” music video for a talent show performance and then forgot it over the years.

4. Tekken, Super Mario Bros. and Warcraft are some of my top picks for video games to play if gaming is the only option for entertainment.

5. My first bottle of OPI brand nail polish was from their Pirates of the Caribbean Collection, yet I still have only seen the first one or two of those particular Johnny Depp films.

6. The last book I read was “How to Be Black” by Baratunde Thurston and I liked it.

7. I am currently reading “Start Where You Are” by Pema Chodron and I don’t like it.


Can YOU name an actor or actress that defines Versatility in his or her movie role choices?

What actor or actress would YOU say is the least versatile in terms of the film roles he or she chooses to play?