What is a hero? #NFLhonors Men of Honor by @LiviaQuinn #integrity #selfless

It's a big weekend in the Quinn household. Super Bowl LII,  NFL Honors and the release of my Men of Honor box set. (And by the way there are women of honor here, too!)

Growing up in DC as my daddy's tomboy, I went to many a Redskins or University of Maryland game. Football is in my blood. Now that I'm in Louisiana, my team is the Saints... but I've been thinking naturally about what a hero is lately.

Surrounded by so many veterans and law enforcement professionals, I've seen the values shared by these men and women - integrity, commitment, duty to country, community...and family - our larger global family.

One of the things I love to watch is the Man of the Year awards during the NFL Honors, which is on tonight on NBC, 7PM EST. It's of course cool to watch all the celebrities show up on the red carpet as well. Last year Hugh Jackman brought his hunky self along with Mark Walberg and so many others.

My idea of a real hero is someone like any of the men up for Man of the Year through their foundations and work in the community, none of them for their own personal glory or enrichment.

One of my favorite heroes:

Benjamin Watson, an ex-Saint with his organization One More partnered with the International Justice Mission (IJM), the world's largest international anti-slavery organization working to combat human trafficking, modern day slavery and other forms of violence against the poor, the Watsons joined the global fight to end the scourge of sex trafficking. This effort was highlighted in April during a three-day trip to Lebanon, where Benjamin witnessed firsthand the Middle East's refugee crisis. Additionally, he and his wife, Kirsten, traveled to the Dominican Republic in June to begin formulating plans that combat sex trafficking.  

What I love about Benjamin, in these days of people using the Flag demonstrations to be down on the NFL, is that he uses his platform to create dialog between all groups and individuals he speaks too - to bridge the divides. 

J.J. Watt, the popular Houston Oiler and former Offensive player of the year who started a fundraiser in Houston after Hurricane Harvey hoping to raise $200,000. He raised $33 million!! All this when the team had suffered depressing losses, his own and their super QB's season ending injuries. It raised the spirits of the Houston people, and once again his motivation wasn't seen as heroic by him, just something he was moved to do for his community.

All of these Man of the Year nominees are deserving of the title hero and yet none would call themselves that. Isn't that the definition of heroic? Someone who puts others before their own needs. 

In researching my Men of Honor books I'm constantly confronted with this mentality by our military personnel, past and present as well as my local law enforcement. They not only don't want thanks or glory, they resist it.

Some of the most courageous heroes this year are women. Do you know of heroes in your own sphere? They are everywhere. Let's give them some love.

My books are available on all stores. You can purchase Men of Honor here.

Lazy Blog - Commercials

I've noticed some of the ads on TV have taken a remarkably creative turn. My top picks for the latest plain old everyday TV ads. Which one is your favorite?

Mentos Spider

State Farm

Allstate - Mayhem

With SuperBowl coming up in a a few weeks, the ads will have to come a long way to top these three.  Enjoy!

The Muse Reigns

I had a great birthday on Monday. One of the best because I had a great week leading up to it.

It wasn't one of my biggest writing weeks but muse-ically it was fine.My writing reached a level I've been waiting for, in organization, production and inspiration. It was like the Avatar soundtrack on the Visualizer of Itunes -vibrant, fluid, exciting. My imagination showed up. Three or four mornings I awoke with full scenes in my head. I was able to work on three stories at the same time. I persisted even through reformatting my hard drive and losing time reloading software. Obstacles appeared and I still accomplished my writing goals. It was like muse fireworks.

I tried out a new software program that is a great brainstorming/story organizing tool - you may have heard of the Snowflake method. This is the new software that was designed around that concept. You can use it at the beginning or any point during your writing. (More on that later.)

The difference, although I guess it could be the moon phase, hormones (or lack thereof), a good horoscope or a cosmic birthday present, was the return to using a planner.

The night of the Super Bowl - DID I MENTION WE WON IT? -OH RIGHT! I lay awake going over and over the game. Then came these little worries about tasks I might forget to do. That's when I realized, I've been devoting way too much time in the last several years to worrying about forgetting something. For the last two weeks, that hasn't been a part of my day because I took those concerns and gave them to the Day-Timer to hold for me.

This has loosed my muse. Let's see if it lasts. The real key is in letting it go once you've written it down. And in being disciplined enough to then look at the list when you finish writing and get those tasks completed. I'm still working on that part, lol. And the 400 word a day minimum in the journal was responsible for over 5k of the 13k I wrote.

Of course, the biggest birthday present was the Saints win. Everyone around here just felt happy for the last two weeks which cranked up to euphoric with the surprising win on Sunday.

Monday, the big day, I went to see Avatar, again. I realize Avatar wasn't for everyone, but for the musician, artist and writer in me, I loved the soundtrack, the vibrant beauty, and the hero's journey. Inspiring entertainment and food for my muse. Top that off with a real food - Chicken Florentine crepes from IHOP, and my favorite cake, Devils food chocolate with 7 minute frosting, baked by a friend, and the week was perfect!

Update:
By popular demand...

Hope you had a good one too! Tell me about it.

And today IS????? SUPER BOWL SUNDAY

We WONNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!! 31-17 WHO DAT!



If you don't know about the greatest game of the year, WHERE have you been? I know there are futbol fans, and basketball, track, Xtreme sports, and okay, Nascar, but this is one of my favorite games of the year. I always hate it when the season is over. So please bear with me one last time while I revel in the images of this season one last time.






How we got here. Four years ago, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. The city was in ruins, people were living in the SuperDome and nearly finished the job the hurricane couldn't. Could the city rebound? Could the team? There were thoughts of selling the team but someone had the thought that maybe the team could be rebuilt and be a symbol of what could happen for the city.

Coach Sean Peyton took the job and hired Drew Brees, a castaway from the Chargers, a quarterback with a recent shoulder surgery and doubts about his ability to perform. Well, Duh! I guess we put that to rest.

Every member of the Saints team has embraced the city and been embraced in return. They've given their hearts to their efforts and to special projects and the fans have responded like never before. One woman said, "It may sound crazy that a football could bring a city hope, but that's what this team has done."

Speaking of which, I didn't want to let the season pass before I mentioned my opinion of the NFL and their Who Dat policy. Poo-poo to the NFL. THey want to sue anyone who uses the 'Who Dat' slogan. "It is a logo, property of the NFL." Bull! That's like saying the Redskins Hoggetts or the Cheeseheads of Green Bay are property of the NFL. Years ago when the Saints were always losing, everyone made fun of the motto, 'Who Dat, Who Dat. Who that say gwoin' to beat them Saints!' And now that the team is a winner they want to capitalize. Okay, I'll make a suggestion. This motto belongs only to the New Orleans Saints and their fans. Limit use of the slogan to Louisiana companies with all proceeds going to Louisiana residents and the rebuilding of New Orleans. How's Dat?


If it comes down to ten or fifteen yards to make a touchdown we can always give it to Reggie Bush who can smell a pylon from 30 yards (that's the marker at the corner of the end zone). He's made some thrilling goal line razzle dazzles with only the ball passing over the pylon while his body sailed along the sideline.

All kinds of special moments surround this Super Bowl. Peyton Manning, the quarterback of the Colts grew up in New Orleans, his father our quarterback for years lives in New Orleans.

And two players on the teams have families in Haiti. Thankfully they were found safe. (which brings up another poo-poo for a RR evangelist who said the the reason the quake happened there was because they worship the devil. And yet all the images and tales from those pulled out of the wreckage have told of the uplifting prayers of the people outside their prison of rock and debris. They said the songs and prayers gave them the strength to survive.) That's some compassionate, non judgmental view you have there, preacher.

The Saints team has a lot on their shoulders and for a young team with a first time Superbowl visit it will be a monumental feat to come away with the win. And they CAN do it. But it comes down to who plays the best 60 minutes.

Whether they win the game today or not, they are truly winners, and I'm not ashamed to say I'm proud to be a part of the new Who Dat Nation.

Clydesdale ads

I posted this last week but Leah pointed out that the commercial site coldn't be viewed in Canada. Phooey on them.

One of the best things about Super Bowl Sunday is the great ads. I always look forward to the Clydesdales and this year we got two. And the original displayed at the bottom.

So for those of you I love outside the US -

My FAVORITE!!!



And Generations!!! Nothin like a Clydesdale with a Scottish accent!



And the original - When you say Bud.



And just once on the anniversary of 9/11 this tribute aired.

Super Bowl Sunday is Here!

Finally! For a little while there it looked like the satellite might get rained out for the game.

For the record, I pick Curt Warner and Bruce Springsteen.

I know, as I write this, the Steelers' Harrison, made the longest play in Super Bowl history for a touchdown just before the half. As an unpublished writer, I have to appreciate this man's persistence. He was cut four times before coming to the Steelers in 2002.

His first year with the Steelers he thought he was going to be cut again admitting that he didn't understand the defense. Amazed that he escaped the first season cut, he started to learn more about his position, studying training tapes and working with coaches. Last year he learned as much as he could about the entire defense. He studied his craft, his industry, learned more about his responsibilites and his team, then figured out how to make the changes that would turn his failures into success. This year he was named Defensive Player of the Year. What an inspiration.

To start everything off Jennifer Hudson sang the Star Spangled Banner. A beautiful rendition that made us all proud.



Then the BOSS did the best Super Bowl halftime show in history. When he started singing Glory Days it seemed as if the crowd could have rocked all night.


Springsteen and the E Street Band performing Born to Run.

The bittersweet thing about Super Bowl Sunday is no football for six months. :-(