Bill Kassel's Blog

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The Memes of Summer

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WRAPPING UP THE SEASON
WITH A FEW CHUCKLES

Travel and domestic concerns have kept me pretty much off blogging as the summer has flown by. And maybe that’s for the best. I would have just gotten caught up in the political madness and the tragic idiocy that’s marked the past couple of months.

I have more immediate things to focus on anyway: preparations for new endeavors which I’ll be talking about soon.

Meanwhile, I can’t help pausing to share a few moments of humor that punctuate our accumulating national angst. Here’s a collection of recent memes (at least they’ve come to my attention recently). I hope you’ll find them as engaging as I did…

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A Medal for My Book

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MY NOVEL ABOUT JESUS’ FAMILY
RECOGNIZED BY INDIE BOOK AWARDS

I’m honored to receive the medal shown at left for MY BROTHER’S KEEPER.

It indicates that my novel about the family of Jesus was listed as a finalist in the Religious Fiction competition held by the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, the largest not-for-profit awards program for independent authors and publishers.

Please let me express my sincerest thanks to the judges — many of whom are distinguished figures in the publishing industry — for their acknowledgment of my book’s unconventional retelling of the Christian story.

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Read a Good Book Lately?

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GET GREAT LENTEN READING
AND MEET THE AUTHORS

Good Shepherd Catholic Radio, an AM/FM station covering south-central Michigan, will host a group of distinguished Catholic authors — among whom is moi — at a mini book fair to be held at Queen of the Miraculous Medal Parish, 606 South Wisner Street, in Jackson, Michigan.

Titled Catholic Authors of Michigan, the event will be held Saturday, March 30, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. It is open to the general public, and refreshments will be available.

Guest authors expected to participate are…

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The Best an Ad Can Get?

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GILLETTE TRIES TO SELL BY
INSULTING ITS CUSTOMERS

Having worked in advertising, I often puzzle over how certain commercials get approved for production.

Granted, I started in direct marketing, where the effectiveness of any promotion is evaluated by strict, bottom-line measures like number-of-sales and cost-per-order.

But these days it doesn’t seem like an ad is expected to actually sell anything. After having viewed that Prevagen spot a hundred-or-so times, I still don’t get the connection between some ingredient that comes from jellyfish and improving my memory.

Progressive Insurance is probably the worst. They’ve run their “Flo” character into the ground, and their spots just get more abstract and obscure.

Liberty Mutual isn’t far behind. The clever campaign that began with that cute little girl and her car, “Brad,” has been creeping over into silliness lately.

Creative directors need to remind their copywriters that humor in advertising only works when the laugh grows out of the problem that’s solved by buying the product. If you’re just going for the laugh, you may succeed in amusing your viewers, but you won’t sell much.

Then there’s the current trend of social commentary in product ads. Have you noticed all the spots that feature mixed-race families? In a time when marriage and adoption across racial lines is increasingly common, what burning problem does Corporate America think it’s being bold in confronting?

And then there’s Gillette.

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Who?

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CHARLES AZNAVOUR WAS
THE UNKNOWN SUPERSTAR

My Ave Maria Radio colleague, Al Kresta, is host of the daily talk show, “Kresta In the Afternoon,” heard on about 400 radio stations.

Al once made a wry comment about his situation of being widely known within the limited universe of Catholic Radio…

“It’s hard being famous when nobody knows who you are.”

The line is classic Kresta, reflecting both his quick wit and his honest self-awareness.

Charles Aznavour faced Al’s problem, but with a twist. Based in France, he was a true international superstar, a singer-songwriter known around the world, but recognized and followed by only a narrow audience within the United States (the world’s single largest music market).

That must have been a frustration for someone who had written more than 1,300 songs, some of which became standards in the U.S.

I discovered Charles Aznavour in the early 1970s, and I found his music deeply affecting. But whenever I’d mention him, the common response would be…

“Who?”

My simple answer was always…

“The guy who wrote ‘Yesterday, When I was Young.’”

At which point I would hear…

“Oh…you mean Roy Clark’s song.”

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Praise Be to God!

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MY BROTHER’S KEEPER
WINS 2018 LILY AWARD

I’m honored to announce that my novel about the family of Jesus, MY BROTHER’S KEEPER, has received the 2018 Catholic Arts & Letters Award — known as the “Lily” — from the Catholic Writers Guild.

The award was announced Wednesday, August 1, at the Catholic Marketing Network Trade Show, held in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It was this year’s choice in the Adult Fiction category. Winner in the Children’s / Young Adult Fiction category was “Playing by Heart” by Carmela Martino.

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Honoring St. Joseph

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JESUS’ FOSTER FATHER AS
A TIMELESS ROLE MODEL

The earthy father of Jesus receives official honor twice during the liturgical year.

March 19 has been his feast day since, as they say, “time immemorial.” And in 1955 Pope Pius XII designated May 1 as the special feast of “St. Joseph the Worker,” highlighting Joseph’s worldly vocation as a carpenter or builder (tekton in Greek).

The pope’s intention was to provide a Christian alternative to May Day labor celebrations being promoted worldwide by the Soviet Union and the Communist Internationale. His idea caught on, and that feast is now celebrated by workers throughout the Catholic world.

St. Joseph plays a prominent role in my novel about the family of Jesus, MY BROTHER’S KEEPER. And on the first Father’s Day after the book’s publication Nancy Hastings of the Gatehouse Media Group did a brief feature article highlighting the unique challenges faced by St. Joseph, as I sketched them in my novel.

It’s only right St. Joseph is honored as a model of the fatherly virtues.

Those virtues are under stress these days. Much of the crime, violence, extremism and sexual perversion we see around us can be attributed to the collapse of fatherhood that’s evident throughout large portions of our society (and those of other nations as well).

Appealing to St. Joseph as an intercessor in this difficult period would be most appropriate. And if you don’t accept the Catholic notion of saints interceding on our behalf, then merely try invoking the name of Joseph in the prayers you address directly to God. Either way, I believe Joseph is a powerful helper standing by — and an example for all men with children to raise, young lives to mold.

So to mark the Feast of St. Joseph — and even though it’s not Father’s Day — here’s Nancy’s article…

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If at First You Don’t Succeed…

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NEW DATE FOR BOOK FAIR
SATURDAY, MARCH 17

It’s often said that God laughs at the elaborate plans we make. If that’s true, He must have had Himself quite a good chuckle when a veritable blizzard wiped out the Catholic Authors of Michigan mini-book fair which had originally been set for February 10.

But perhaps God also blesses those things that amuse Him, because the rescheduled event — now set for Saturday, March 17 — is going to be even bigger than the affair first planned.

EWTN personality Teresa Tomeo is still headlining this gathering of Michigan-based Catholic authors (among whom, I humbly remind you, is moi, Bill Kassel, yours truly). But some other fine writers have been added.

Here’s the current line-up…

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Stock Up for Lenten Reading

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CATHOLIC MINI BOOK FAIR TO
FEATURE MICHIGAN AUTHORS

Are you within driving distance of Jackson, Michigan?

If so, plan on attending Catholic Authors of Michigan, a mini book fair sponsored by Good Shepherd Catholic Radio, on Saturday, February 10, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

EWTN personality Teresa Tomeo will headline a group of four Michigan-based Catholic authors (among whom, I humbly submit, is moi, Bill Kassel, yours truly).

Also participating are Catholic apologist Gary Michuta, and Islam expert Dr. Brian Bradford.

We’ll all be on hand to discuss and sign our books — which will be on sale at the event and make perfect selections for deepening your faith understanding this Lent.

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Seal of Approval

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CATHOLIC WRITERS GUILD
ENDORSES MY NOVEL

We’re all familiar with seals of approval that certify standards of excellence in various fields.

Whether it’s the Good Housekeeping seal for product quality, the J.D. Power certification of customer satisfaction, or any number of other such designations, we take these endorsements as evidence that a particular item has been evaluated and shown to meet some expectation of suitability and value.

Well, I’m pleased to announce that my novel about the family of Jesus, MY BROTHER’S KEEPER, has been awarded the Seal of Approval from the Catholic Writers Guild.

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