Steve was also integral to the creative development and execution of interactive special features for HBO’s new streaming service, HBOGO.  A viewing experience different from anything else online, this new product presented contextually relevant info — behind-the-scenes production details as well as in-story enhancements — at precise moments during full-episode streaming.

HBO.com created the ultimate online companion for this epic World War II miniseries. Rich in archival video as well as show footage, the site explored the perils of the Pacific campaign unlike anything else online. Each episode detailed the Marines’ struggles on an interactive battle map, which Steve researched and scripted. He also wrote a series of historical backgrounders to accompany the episodes, tapping the expert knowledge of historian Donald L. Miller, and had the opportunity to profile Okinawa veteran Edmond G. Farah as he visited the WWII Memorial for the first time as part of the Honor Flight program.

The buzz around ‘True Blood’ exploded at the start of Season 2, and HBO.com responded by expanding our core site, adding brief video mashups to the character pages in addition to the regular fare (episode guides, music lists, bio info, etc). On the microsites for the American Vampire League and the Fellowship of the Sun, the content paralleled the story that viewers were experiencing onscreen. The two sites interacted with each other throughout the season, and in a hidden section of the FoS site, jock-turned-bomber Luke blogged his own descent into anti-vampire extremism.

Maxim

It’s tough to dig fall foliage with a tree limb gouging your pal’s torso. Here are some backwoods medic tips so you can play hero. See you on Dateline! 

Sliced: When your buddy’s need to knife-juggle turns your hike into a slasher flick, apply firm pressure for 10 minutes directly to the gash, says Dr. Paul S. Auerbach, author of Wilderness Medicine. If anything’s poking out – bones, robot innards – don’t put it back; you’ll introduce more bacteria. If your pal suddenly has clammy skin, a racing pulse, and shallow breathing, elevate his legs 30 degrees to pour blood back toward his heart to stave off shock. Camping is fun!

Smashed: When a limb is crushed by a falling Redwood, don’t try to amputate, regardless of how hopeless it seems or how bloodthirsty you are. “Once you cut a limb off … it’s off,” Auerbach says. But if the victim is trapped and your distance from doctors far outweighs his fear of shopping for single shoes, apply a tourniquet above the wound and just saw through it. Yum! If your pal doesn’t lose too much blood, he could have a full life of pirate impressions ahead of him.

Bitten: Assuming your trail bud wasn’t mauled to death by that kill-crazed liger, the key after an animal attack is to fully clean out the wounds. A bear, a wildcat, or an angry unicorn has more germs in its mouth than Amy Winehouse. According to Dr. Luanne Freer, a medical director at both Yellowstone and the Mount Everest Base Camp ER, “Simple dish soap will kill the rabies virus and get out the bacteria that can cause complications in the weeks to come.” So don’t forget to pack the Palmolive.

Gouged: Arrows, ski poles, javelins – no matter how ghastly it looks, don’t pull it out. Besides possibly shredding up more tissue, you’ll eliminate the one thing you’ve got going for you: a plug – the perfect stabilized state. “If it’s occluding a big blood vessel and you take it out, the person could bleed to death,” Auerbach says. If it’s not bleeding too badly, you have a little time (up to a day) before an infection kills him. “So, dude, you feel like finishing the hike and then heading to the ER?”

Burned: First, apply bandages. Then wrap them in plastic – keeping air off the scorched nerves diminishes the pain. And don’t underestimate simple meds. “Any anti-inflammatory will help,” says Freer. “I give Ibuprofen to some burn victims, even if I have narcotics.” Drinking lots of fluids is key. The body can lose liters of water in a few hours when there’s no skin left to retain it. In the meantime, give your ailing chum a stern talking to about how enflamed humans start forest fires, too. 

HBO.com

Behind the marketing of HBO’s latest hit show

In addition to producing the core site content (episode guides, character bios, etc.) at HBO.com, Steve wrote copy for two microsites as part of a wider viral-marketing campaign launched by Campfire. These in-story sites represented two groups that appear in the show: The Fellowship of the Sun  (an anti-vampire group) and the American Vampire League (which fights for the creatures’ civil rights).

Best Life

It doesn’t matter if you’re directing a tiny start-up business or Hollywood’s next blockbuster: Success hinges on your ability to tell (and sell) a compelling story. That’s not to say that Bear Stearns chairman Jimmy Cayne would still have a job if he had spun the occasional yarn with his staff. Rather, “You have to nurture an emotional connection between your audience and your mission, regardless of whether that audience is filled with VPs, employees or investors,” says Peter Guber, the CEO of Mandalay Entertainment, in Los Angeles, and the producer of such films as “Batman” and “Seven Years in Tibet.” “The better you are at tapping into that natural storytelling ability – and weaving a tale of drama, action and risk – the more likely you are to get people to buy your product, support your brand and pledge loyalty to your vision.” Here’s how to become a master narrator and a true leading man.

Best Life: Why is skillful storytelling so important to professional success?

Peter Guber: People aren’t moved by numbers. They can’t identify with facts and figures. Data is soulless. You have to narrate your products, your mission and your company into a story that resonates with people’s hearts before their minds. Ten years ago, while I was chairman of Sony, I took a group of our Japanese executives to a Los Angeles Kings game. I knew that getting Sony to buy the Kings, not to mention the Lakers and Prime Ticket, was a sound business move, but I also knew that I couldn’t convince them of that with flowcharts. Having great seats, meeting Wayne Gretsky and seeing the cheering crowds provided the context for my story. I convinced them to buy the team by eliciting their emotional response.

BL: Which leaders best employ this technique?

PG: Nelson Mandela is a master storyteller. I once heard him talk to a group of very influential folks about investing in South Africa. Not once did he mention rates of return, gross profits or tax benefits. He simply told the story of his country. Sure, the investors would pat their pockets, but that’s not what they were talking about when they left the room. They were abuzz with the impact their investments would have on future generations. That’s another key to effective storytelling: Make your listeners feel not only generous but also like the heroes of a great story.

BL: What, besides storytelling, can inspire success?

PG: I always try to give my staff an early victory so that they’ll be motivated to achieve even greater goals. Back in the 1980s, when we were making “Gorillas in the Mist,” there was a point when the film was on the cusp of not being made. Instead of pleading with the studio, I sent an Oscar-nominated cinematographer, Alan Root, to Africa to film the primates. It was a risky move, but I needed to give the studio and my staff a tangible success – a taste for how great the film could be – and that’s what Alan gave me. It narrated why I was so passionate about the film. It gave them a reason to believe in it – and in me – and I channeled their excitement into a box-office hit.

BL: What other qualities must a leader possess?

PG: Unflinching flexibility and the ability to delegate intelligently. If I didn’t nurture those qualities, “Seven Years in Tibet” might never have hit theaters. We were filming this $70 million Brad Pitt film in India when the Indian government heeded China’s “request” to throw us out. Some might have fought the decision, but rather than waste limited resources on a losing battle, we asked Argentina if we could film there. They welcomed us with open arms, especially after we told them that the story would be their “Out of Africa.” Things go bump in the night. They rarely work out according to the script. And if you want to survive, you have to be nimble. The more willing you are to embrace change as part of the process, the more likely you are to succeed.

Millions of Americans battle insomnia each night, but with these tips you’ll be catching Z’s in no time.

Maxim

Bush-league sleepers cost U.S. businesses an estimated $150 billion annually in absenteeism and lost productivity. But fear not, rookie snoozers! While other Americans spend $4.5 billion per year on sleeping pills (see sidebar), we’re here to correct your dozing naturally. We even (yawn) brought in the experts to help.

Clear Your Head: Psychological links run deep, and things that happened to you as a kid – that bed-shitting incident at camp, say – can still be affecting your sleep. To avoid new hang-ups, send your subconscious the right message by limiting bedroom activities to sleeping and boning. “If you’re in bed for 20 minutes, go downstairs and read a book,” says psychotherapist Michelle P. Maidenberg. “Get out of there so you don’t associate your bed with tossing and turning.” 

Clean Up Your Act: “Take the pillow test on sleepbetter.org to find out which type is right for you,” says Michael Breus, sleep specialist and author of “Good Night: The Sleep Doctor’s 4-Week Program to Better Sleep and Better Health.” “Then, change it once a year – the amount of sweat, oil and other fluids that leak out of your head at night is crazy, and it breaks down the fabric.” Damn – just when that pillow was getting broken in! 

Psych Yourself Out: Leave the sheep-counting to Kentucky pimps and wrangle some shuteye with one of Maidenberg’s relaxation techniques. Start by breathing deeply, then talk out loud about a soothing image, like a recent vacation. Not working? Try Breus’ approach and count backwards from 300 … by threes. “It’s so damn boring that you pass out,” he says. “I’ve never made it past 150.” 

Dim Your World: A night-light can save you plenty of midnight misery. “The second you turn on bright lights, your brain thinks it’s morning and stops producing meltatonin, the key engine to the sleeping process,” says Breus. Studies also show that flashing TV lights degrade sleep, so if you absolutely need “Sin City Diaries” to pass out, at least set the timer so it doesn’t wake you up and reset your precious sleep cycle. 

KNOCKER OUTERS!

Ambien – Pros: Knocks most people out quicker than a rolling-pin strike to the temple. Cons: Not great for toss-and-turners who have a tough time staying asleep (only lasts 2-3 hours); some claim they’re hooked.

Tylenol PM – Pros: Might alleviate that postdinner, pre-porn headache you’ve been getting lately. Cons: May have little efficacy on sleep or sleep quality; may cause liver problems if taken while boozing.

Lunesta – Pros: Goes the distance for a full 5-6 hours of uninterrupted pillow time. Cons: Not ideal for people who have a difficult time getting to sleep (it starts slowly but finishes strong, like you in the sack). 

To rule effectively, you have to find your assertiveness sweet spot

Best Life

 Whether you run a sales department or a crime syndicate, you’ll eventually have to tackle the same Machiavellian question: Is it better to be loved or feared? Model your managerial style after, say, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and you’ll achieve obedience through fear, but you won’t have your followers’ loyalty. But if you try too hard to befriend and appease them, your team will languish without direction. Assertiveness is the X-factor that can make or break a leader despite strengths such as intelligence, charisma and self-discipline, report Columbia University researchers in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. “Truly effective leaders tend to tread a middle ground,” says Daniel Ames, PhD, the study’s coauthor, “pushing hard enough to get their way, but not so hard that they can’t get along.” Here’s how to follow their lead.

Find opportunity in disagreement. “The most effective leaders engage in cooperative problem solving,” says Ames. Not to be confused with compromising (which entails losing ground by splitting the difference), cooperative problem solving begets novel solutions that meet everyone’s needs.

Listen to yourself. Do you blame a lazy team for stalling your career? Perhaps you complain about subordinates’ not understanding your directives. “Such negative internal dialogue means you’re not being nearly assertive enough with a key team member: yourself,” says Carollyne Conlin, founder of Full Spectrum Coaching, an executive coaching firm in Canada. “Get yourself back on track by creating a list of leadership goals and holding yourself accountable for meeting them.” 

Speak with your body. “Fifty-five percent of communication is non-verbal,” says Joyce K. Reynolds, an executive business coach whose corporate clients have included Lucent Technologies and Noven Pharmaceuticals. Effective leaders use this knowledge to their advantage. To place someone at ease, assume a relaxed, open posture with your body leaning slightly forward to indicate interest. Before making a point, perform a decisive hand gesture; a recent Harvard study shows that doing so implies credibility and honesty. More generally, present an image of assertiveness with an erect, comfortable posture and maintain good eye contact.

Read the situation. Effective leaders adjust their behavior as necessary. When a subordinate won’t take no for an answer, ratchet up. When an agitated client just needs to speak his mind, tone down. “Take cues from the situation and gauge how your behavior is playing with the other parties involved,” says Ames. “Sometimes you can push harder than you may have initially guessed. Other times, your behavior may be crossing a line and you need to step back and really rein it in.” 

Maxim

Pick a Winner: Buying into the majors, or even the minors, is tough. Of the five levels of minor league ball – rookie league, short-season A, A, AA, and AAA –short-season is the cheapest, but teams are still worth multimillions. Your best bet is to cherry-pick from one of the nine independent leagues sprinkled around the U.S. After getting a couple dozen friends together, an independent league team can cost each of you less than a nice Toyota. “That’s how an ownership group starts,” says Frontier League franchise co-owner Bill Bussing. “As the years progress, people leave, and pretty soon one person has a majority stake.”

Keep It Liquid: You should expect to bring your share of the investment to the table in cash, and have at least $200k socked away for first-year operating expenses – especially if you’re buying in the winter, when your initial income will be zero. “I’d be skeptical that a bank would rely on the franchise value itself for collateral,” says Bussing, who paid $800,000 for the Evansville Otters in 2001. One failing team drags down the value of its competitors, so the league will scrutinize your expenses. After all, if a league goes belly up, everyone loses their entire asset overnight. The resale market on jockstraps? Not great in a recession.

Find a Stadium: Do not try to build your own. Shouldering $1 million in annual debt service to build a $10 million stadium can cripple your franchise, so buy a team that has a rental agreement with the local town. Keeping ticket prices down requires at least 5,000 seats, and if the rent climbs past $3,000 per game, you’ll need good concessions to cover it. “Concessions can make or break a season,” says Bradley Wendt, CEO of the United League (a six-team Southern association stretching from Texas into Louisiana). “For every person who walks through your gate, you need to make at least $5 or you may as well hang it up.”

Staff Up: Unlike other minor league teams, indies recruit their own squads (usually sluggers passed over in the draft or released from other clubs). And at the Frontier League’s slave-labor pay range of $600 to $1,600 a month, players come cheap and easy: According to Wendt, of the 200 hopefuls who report to United’s tryout camp this year, only 10 to 15 will earn a spot on a team. Is it time to shutter your fantasy operation and rule the real game? “Everybody loves baseball,” Wendt says. “When I was managing director at Goldman Sachs, nobody wanted to talk to me at cocktail parties. Now? I’m the most popular guy in the room.”

Buying Home [Three teams bad enough to be affordable]

Shreveport Sports ($1,000,000) – The Sports’ pitchers have been atrocious – only two starters have winning records in the past two seasons. And forget run support: The club averaged 6.5 strikeouts per contest.

Laredo Broncos ($2,000,000) – Last in their league in batting? Check. Back of the pack in pitching? You bet. Is Laredo on the border of Mexico? Yup. Will you have to budget for bailing players out of a Tijuana prison? Possibly!

Orange County Flyers ($3,000,000) – The Flyers are skippered by Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter, but their coyote mascot has his own email address. Interested? You can book him for “any kind of function.” Any kind.

Yakima Bears ($7,000,000) – A short-season Class A affiliate of the Arizona D-backs, the Bears are plagued by the dreary weather of the Northwest – and a pitching staff that pegged a league-leading 74 batters in 2007.