Latest news with #Wiser
Irish Independent
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Smear tests, magic knickers and having a laugh – Being an older, bolder, wiser version of Vogue Williams is comedy gold
Anyway, I was 'working' in the home, minding the kids, and running the house and very conscious of the increasing pressure on my self-employed husband who was trying to earn enough to keep our little boat afloat. Our kids were 23, 12 and 10 and the oldest was about to emigrate. It was time for me to go back to paid work. We were broke. Before being a 'housewife' I had worked for a national charity as their PRO and fundraising manager. I had skills. I had experience. I knew that the recession might mean it would take a bit longer to gain employment, but I never doubted that I would get a job. Boy, was I wrong. I hadn't bargained for the fact that my approaching 50th birthday, coupled with the 10-year gap on my CV where my career used to live, rendered me not one bit attractive to an employer. Oh yes, sexism with ageism is a lethal cocktail. It took me until early 2012, as I turned 50, to finally realise that my chances of getting a job were remote. We desperately needed the money and so I needed to do something. In the end I decided to focus on what I loved most – writing and talking and see if I could paid that way. So began a long apprenticeship, learning to write opinion pieces for the papers and contributing to radio – both local and national. It was not lucrative but it was enjoyable, and I felt that it might lead to other opportunities. But had you told me, at any time, during the last 13 years, that in 2025 I would be touring my own one woman show, I would have laughed in your face in disbelief. Now let's be clear. I am not playing the 3 Arena or even Vicar Street (yet), but I am delivering my show, called Older, Bolder, Wiser in what promoters would call 'intimate venues' around the country and I am delighted that that includes playing the Wexford Arts Centre this Friday, May 23. Older Bolder Wiser is sort of a follow-up to a book that I wrote during Covid, which was published in 2022 called Wise Up. I had always wanted to write a book and as I cruised towards my late 50s I realised that life post menopause was not at all what I was expecting it to be. It was far better. I wondered why no one told women about the freedoms and the fun of these later decades. After the book came out, I was invited to various places to give talks on what could loosely be called 'positive ageing' and I realised that I was a woman on a mission. And that mission is to tell women (of all ages) not to buy into the consumerist messaging around anti ageing and other nonsense. Because yes, your looks do change as you age but if you become obsessed with that fact, you miss out on what getting older is actually about. Once you are through menopause, life is full of delicious freedoms. We are living longer and healthier and so our 60s and 70s provide the opportunity for all kinds of mischief, boldness, reinvention, experimentation or just the chance to have some fun. It is then that I believe women step into their true matriarchal power. Through Wise Up I met two women who were organising the first Funny Women comedy show since the pandemic and they rather 'assertively' encouraged me to take part. I was very unconvinced that I could do comedy, but in an effort to practice what I preach (the gospel of 'sure why not try') I thought I would give it a shot. And I got bitten by the stand-up comedy bug. I discovered that making people laugh is the most wonderful privilege. I have also realised that as older people, we have so many stories, so much experience, and much of it is comedy gold. So, I am mining my own life for the pure hilarity; tales about smear tests and so-called magic knickers, about navigating the world as a 6-foot-tall woman and the absurdities of getting older. There is so much to guffaw about. But the best thing about doing this show is that it is giving me the opportunity to meet so many women all over the country, giddy women with their own stories. Oh yes, we can all be Vogue Williams and Joanne McNally….. only we are older, bolder, wiser!!
San Francisco Chronicle
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Bay Area radio station petitions for return of Red Hot Chili Peppers' NSFW ‘junk socks'
Bay Area alternative rock station Live 105 has launched a petition urging the Red Hot Chili Peppers to once again strip down onstage in nothing but 'strategically placed socks.' A callback to the Los Angeles rock band's early days, during which they performed onstage nearly naked wearing nothing but white tube socks over their genitals, the effort is being spearheaded by the station's morning show host Marci Wiser. 'Sign this petition and let the Peppers know that we, the fans, demand a nostalgic nod to their most iconic (and arguably most exposed) era,' she wrote on where the petition was posted Wednesday, May 14. 'Whether they opt for the classic single sock, the daring double-sock, or perhaps even a festive holiday-themed sock for special occasions, the message is clear: Bring Back the Junk Socks!' The petition does not state in what capacity Wiser wants the band to wear socks, but the Chronicle has reached out to Live 105 for comment. As of Wednesday afternoon, the petition has 13 signatures. Red Hot Chili Peppers — whose current lineup consists of frontman Anthony Kiedis, guitarist John Frusciante, drummer Chad Smith and bassist Flea — retired the schtick in the early 2000s but originally became known for their racy, sock-clad ensembles when they were on the rise in the 1980s and '90s. While the 'Californiacation' band is still active, they now perform fully clothed. Kiedis is set to make an appearance at BottleRock Napa Valley 's William Sonoma Culinary Stage over Memorial Day weekend, and only time will tell if Live 105's petition will make any impact on his festival attire. 'Frankly, in these trying times, a glimpse of Anthony's sock-clad… ahem… lower extremities would be more therapeutic than a truckload of mindfulness apps,' Wiser wrote. 'It's a reminder that life can be absurd, hilarious, and gloriously uninhibited. It's the punk rock equivalent of a giggle fit.' Flea reflected on the impact of the stunt during a 2019 interview with GQ, nearly two decades after the band gave it up, revealing that while it was a fun move in the '90s, it has also felt like it's held them back. 'We put socks on our dicks, and we're never going to outrun it,' he said. 'People are always going to think of that. … I've often felt misunderstood by people who don't know me and assume that I'm just a raving lunatic or shirtless dumbo jumping around slapping a bass.' Nonetheless, the move seems to still be cherished among fans like Wiser, who are fiending for another glimpse. 'Let's make this happen,' Wiser wrote. 'For the sake of laughter. For the sake of nostalgia. For the sake of seeing Flea try to play bass while simultaneously trying to keep the sock on.'
Irish Independent
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Broadcaster Barbara Scully brings one-woman show to Wexford Arts Centre
A familiar voice on radio, Barbara is one half of the 'So You Think You Are An Adult' slot (with Declan Buckley) every week on the Moncrieff Show on Newstalk. She published her first book, called Wise Up – Wisdom, Power, and the Older Woman in 2022, and ever since she has been on a mission to change the narrative around ageing, particularly for women. In 2023 she dipped her toe into the comedy ocean for the first time and realised she could make people laugh. She also realised that comedy was a great way to continue to deliver her message of positive ageing. Her new show Older, Bolder, Wiser is a combination of comedy and story telling. In late 2024 she did two test shows, both of which sold out and received standing ovations. Since then, she has performed at Dalkey Comedy Festival and at the dlr Mill Theatre in Dundrum. She is now taking her show on the road and is coming to Wexford on Friday May 23 to perform at the Wexford Arts Centre. 'I am thrilled to be coming to Wexford with my own show,' Barbara says. 'I am looking forward to the audience how ageing can actually be quite delicious, especially when you realise you no longer give a damn about so many things.' Older, Bolder, Wiser is a lively, rollercoaster journey of storytelling and stand-up comedy as Barbara muses on some of the absurdities of being a woman along with the joy of getting older. She says that once you stop paying attention to the messages about anti-ageing and other nonsense around how women should be in the world, getting older is great. 'Once you are through the menopause, you arrive at a wonderful time, full of freedoms and the opportunity to do things that you have not been able to in earlier decades. The problem is that no one tells you about it. Possibly because this is the very time when women actually step into their matriarchal power and have the ability to be all kinds of bold,' she says. 'I want everyone to leave the show having had a bellyful of laughs and feeling more positive about getting older than perhaps they were when they arrived.'
Forbes
25-03-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Why ‘Team Cohesion' Is Killing Your Organization's Culture
Elena Sarango-Muniz is the Founder and CEO of Sarango Executive Coaching, a leadership executive coach, HR consultant and keynote speaker. I've spent more than two decades building what I thought were perfect teams—aligned, cohesive and rowing in the same direction. I even claimed to be a super-skilled interviewer for finding these people for my and others' teams. But I was dead wrong, and it cost me many headaches, innovation, creativity and a truly healthy organizational culture. When leaders obsess over team cohesion and alignment, they're actually suppressing the very diversity of thought and approach that drives healthy cultures and breakthrough results. For years, I enforced "my way" of thinking, leading, hiring and problem-solving, unknowingly creating teams of people who looked different but thought the same. I confused uniformity for unity. I exchanged process alignment for genuine collaboration. I mistakenly idealized my ideal culture versus a "we" culture. What company executives can discover through consultants and coaches is that true team excellence and healthy cultures emerge not from minimizing differences but from deliberately exploring and leveraging them. As Cass Sunstein and Reid Hastie write in their book Wiser, "When minority voices are heard, well-functioning groups are likely to be jolted out of their routines, and fresh solutions, even a high degree of innovation can follow." Every team member, including the leader, brings hidden dimensions shaped by their: When leaders fail to understand these internal complexities, they're essentially repressing their team's most valuable asset—their uniqueness. Let's not forget: We hire whole humans but only utilize the parts that fit our predefined mold or playbook. The most successful cultures don't emerge from everyone following the same playbook—they come from creating environments where divergent approaches can safely collide, challenge each other and combine into something greater than any single perspective could produce. Many of my corporate coaching clients feel misunderstood. They feel like they do not belong in their teams and work environments, and to me, this is clearly a potential misalignment and lack of embracing their uniqueness and human-like dimensions. It's not that I am advocating for chaos or confusion; it is indeed a complex and very difficult leadership responsibility. Rather, I am suggesting that effective leadership means creating a safe space and enough structure for these differences to productively interact rather than forcing everyone into the same box. Many of the personality assessments used in organizations, usually implemented due to a team crisis or a one-time HR initiative, do not bring to the surface these deeper levels of cultural understanding, these dimensions that are so hidden in each individual. The competitive advantage companies should be searching for isn't in alignment and clarity of personality types—it's in the deliberate integration of the differences found after these assessments have been applied. In order to create thriving creative teams, organizations will need to embrace the idea that there is more than just team alignment and a clear structure. They must create first the ideal environment and culture, one person at a time. The most successful organizations of tomorrow won't be built on employee engagement charts and personality tests that fit people into quadrants. They'll be led by those brave enough to embrace the beautiful mess of human diversity and transform it into unprecedented value. Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?
