Inside the Actor's Studio

There are so many TV channels and shows on these days it is hard to keep track of them all. On occasion I find an interesting show. I have been known to get caught up in watching "Inside the Actor's Studio" hosted by James Lipton. He has actors on his show in front of a group of acting students to review their career's ups and downs. Depending on the actor it can be a trip down memory lane.

One of the most interesting segments comes at the end when Mr. Lipton asks them a series of questions which require them to give the audience a glimpse of their true selves. I like the questions so much, I thought I would ask you some of them to share with everyone. 

For your comment please respond to the following:

1. What is your favorite word?

2. What is your least favorite word?

3. What inspires creatively, spiritually or emotionally?

4. What turns you off creatively, spiritually or emotionally?

5. What sound or noise do you love?

6. What sound or noise do you hate?

7. What profession would you like to attempt?

8. What profession would you not like to do?
9. When you get to Heaven, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

Cyberbullying

Last week, two Florida girls, ages 12 & 14, were arrested on felony charges of taunting and bullying after a 12 year old Florida girls committed suicide.  This is a sad realty in our world today.  Bullying is no longer happening face to face.  It is happening everywhere we have access to the internet and at all hours of the day.  For a victim it is difficult to escape or find refuge when the attacks are happening even when you should be in the safety of your own home.

Rebecca Sedwick committed suicide by jumping from an abandoned cement factory tower in Lakeland, FL on September 9^th.  She had been a victim of bullying by at least 15 other girls utilizing

on-line social networking sites such as Ask.fm, Instagram, Kik, and Voxer. 

For parents, schools and students this is a difficult evolution.  According to a 2016 study, 26% of teens state they are the subject of regular cyberbullying, while 40% admit to be on one side or the other over the past year. It is difficult for parents to keep up with the latest trends in social networking. It seems many of us just figured out Facebook only to have to new application such as Instagram or Ask.fm become the application of choice.

The situation is even more complicated by other trends evident especially today. Whether it be the election or immigration or Colin Kaepernick, it is so easy to find hate filled speech tearing everyone apart for their ideas. The action modeled by adults is not consistent with the message to stop cyberbullying with our children and students. 

We are living in a digital age and the responsibilities of parents, schools, and children have changed.  We have to educate our children about the proper etiquette for using social networking.  As parents we have to be open and honest with our children and have to be willing to learn about new technology and be willing to check on our kids.  It is fine line between protecting our children and respecting their privacy. 

In addition to parents having more responsibilities, so do you students.  Here are some tips on how to prevent and stop cyberbullying:

·         Make sure if you are members of social networking sites, protect yourself by using the security features (for example, make your profile private if you are on Instagram)

·         Never accept a “friendship” request unless you know the person

·         Refuse to pass on cyberbullying messages

·         Tell friends or others to stop

·         Block communication with cyberbullies, delete messages without reading them

·         Never post or share personal information online including full name, parents’ names, address

·         Never share internet passwords with anyone

·         Never put anything online you wouldn’t want your classmates to see

·         Do not send messages when you are angry or upset

·         Always be as polite online as if you were in person

If you are a victim of cyberbullying or become aware of cyberbullying, you need to ask for help.  Find a

teacher or trusted adult and ask for assistance.

How many different social networking sites do you belong to?  Have you ever witnessed acts of cyberbullying?  Besides the suggestions I provided, what are steps you believe would be helpful to stopping this behavior?

Teacher Day - Confucius

September 28 is a Confucian Holiday celebrating the birth of Confucius. It is also celebrated as Teachers' Day. While many confuse Confucius ism with a religion, it is actually more of a philosophy. Confucius was not a priest or a deity, he was a teacher.

Confucius was born around 551 BC in the small state of Lu. He was born into an aristocratic family, although there is debate as to whether he had any money or not. During his life he served many influential people and his teachings became not only fundamental to Confucian philosophy, but to the general Chinese philosophy.

The 6th century BC China was a bad time politically and socially in China. Leaders had lost their way.  There was a greater emphasis on the people serving the leader instead of being there to support the people and grow a strong community.   Ethics and integrity meant little to the leaders of the time. Confucius was disgusted by this development. At the time, he was a widely unknown teacher. He attempted to revive society by re-introducing the great moral teachings of the past.

At the cornerstone of his teachings was the belief that ethical considerations should be the guiding principle of government. He did not accept the idea of a strict legal system. He believed the primary task of a ruler was to promote the welfare and happiness of the people. The ruler should be a role model, his behavior should be better than everyone else. The leader’s strong ethical behaviors would influence the people's behaviors. Customs and voluntary adherence would be the best way to achieve and maintain an orderly society. Furthermore, he believed leadership should be given to the educated, not the noble. 

Confucius never wrote many of the quotations we see today. After his death, many of his disciples gathered and compiled his teachings. Here are a few quotations:

"Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves."

"Forget injuries, never forget kindness."

"He who will not economize will have to agonize."

"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand."

"Respect yourself and others will respect you."

Throughout history, we have seen many teachers influence the world. Jesus, Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Buddha, and Confucius have significantly changed the world and redefined the way many of us view right from wrong.

Who are the teachers in your life that have influenced you the most and how did they influence you? What life lesson have you gathered from an effective and influential teacher? What is the wisest or most influential quote you have ever heard from a teacher? 

Travis Rudolph and Bo Paske

In our crazy world it often seems we cannot find those special acts of kindness that demonstrate the exceedingly generous human spirit we each possess. If we watch the news or troll through social media, we all too often witness quite the opposite. Our news is littered with political rants, divisive actions by so-called leaders, and acts of violence committed all over the world.

That is absolutely not the case with the story I am going to share with you.

Earlier this month, football players from Florida State were asked to visit a local middle school in Tallahassee, FL. The players arrived at lunch time and were to mingle with the students. This was the moment that would dramatically change the lives of two individuals and hopefully enlighten and inspire people all over the world.

Travis Rudolph, a junior wide receiver for the Seminoles, entered the lunch room and saw a young boy sitting by himself eating his lunch. That boy was Bo Paske. Unknown to Travis at the time, Bo was diagnosed with Autism many years ago. All Travis knew was that he was alone. Travis approach the table and asked Bo if he could join him. The two sat and enjoyed a conversation and a meal.

The resource officer at the school took a picture of the two and sent the photo to Bo's mother. In addition to being relieved to know today her son was not eating alone, she posted the picture to Facebook. The picture and the story quickly went viral.

The relationship between the two did not stop there. Travis was able to return not too soon after with a jersey for Bo and tickets to last Saturdays game. Travis and Bo have received a significant amount of media coverage from the event, even though ironically that was never the intent.

Below is a follow up story I watched on ESPN. Please take a moment to watch the video.

Why do you think we do not see more news like this in our world today? Should we be?  What lessons do you take away from this story? What can we do to be more aware of others? 

September 11th - 15 Years Later

This Sunday marks the 15^th anniversary of one of the most tragic days in modern American history.  While the day began as any other day, it would end with images and stories of unfathomable death and destruction.  It was a day no one saw coming and no one will ever forget.

While truly tragic, it was also a day which demonstrated the incredible will and strength of the human spirit.  There were as many stories of heroism as there was destruction.  We witnessed countless acts of bravery and selflessness.  And these are only the stories we know.  Many of the incredible stories forever died with the victims.

The following is a brief timeline of the day’s events.

At 8:45 am, the first plane crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.  The crash instantly killed hundreds of innocent people and trapped hundreds more above the 110^th floor.  While emergency crews sprang into action, a mere 18 minutes later, a second plane crashed into the South Tower.  It was evident to all, this was not a coincidence, the United States was under attack. 

At 9:45 am, a third plane crashed into the Pentagon.  The jet fuel caused a devastating fire causing a small structural collapse. 

15 minutes after the Pentagon crash, the South Tower collapsed.  It was less than one hour from the time the plane crashed into the building to when it fell to the ground.

 At 10:10, the country became aware of a fourth plane wreck.  United Flight 93 had left the Newark airport late.  40 minutes after departure, terrorists took control of the plane.  The passengers on the plane, aware of the events of New York and Washington, decided to take action.  They overtook the terrorist and in the process crashed the plane into a Pennsylvanian field.  All aboard were killed instantly.

At 10:30, the inevitable occurred.  The North Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed.  While the nation watched in awe, the brave firefighters, police officers and other city officials continued to respond to their call to duty.  Due to the devastation created when the Twin Towers collapsed, four other building would fall to the ground during the day. 

As the day concluded we began to hear the devastating carnage from the day.  In New York City approximately 3,000 people were killed, including 343 firefighter and paramedics, 23 police officers and 37 Port Authority officers.  In Washington, DC, 125 military personnel and civilians were killed at the Pentagon in addition to the 64 people on board the flight.  An additional 45 people were killed in the Pennsylvanian field from Flight 93.

What do you know about the events of September 11^th?   Do you think this is a day of tragedy or triumph for the United States?  After the events of the day, the country promised to "Never Forget". Do you think the country does enough to make sure the victims and sacrifices of 9/11 are not ever forgotten? What else could be done? 

Rio Olympics

Sunday was the closing ceremonies of the 2016 Rio Olympics games. While there was significant controversy leading up to the games, it is fair to say that the games brought some very memorable moments to the Olympics and the United States.

During the 16 days of competition, over 11,000 athletes from 207 Olympics committees competed in 42 different sporting disciplines with 306 medal groups up for grabs. This year was the first time athletes from the South Sudan, Kosovo as well as a Refugee team competed. The United States had 554 athletes representing our country. Of the 554 athletes, 292 or 53% were women, the most of any delegation. The women of the United States captured 27 of the 42 gold medals and 61 of the 121 total medals for the United States.

We were able to witness some remarkable performances by athletes.

Simone Biles - US Gymnast was the first person ever to capture 4 gold medals in the sport. She took gold as part of the US gymnastic team as well as individual gold medals in the overall competition, the floor exercise, and the vault. In addition she received a bronze medal for her beam performance.

Michael Phelps - Wrapping up his career as perhaps the greatest
Olympic swimmer ever. Phelps captured 5 gold medals and one silver. This brings his total to 23 gold and 28 total medals. This is the most of any athlete ever. The next closest is at 18 medals.

Kristin Armstrong - Kristin Armstrong took her third gold medal in the women's individual time trials. She captured her gold medal in Rio the day before her birthday. She received a cake from the Today show the morning after her victory. Not to mention, she is a Boise native.

Abbey D'Agostino and Nikki Hamblin - You may not know their names, but you may no their actions. D'Agostino (US) and Hamblin (New Zealand) were running in the women's 5000m race when they tripped over another runner. After returning to her feet, D'Agostino find Hamblin, helps her to her feet, and encourages her to finish the race. D'Agostino was injured in the fall, but with the encouragement of Hamblin, finished the race. The moment captured to true spirit of the Olympics and the spirit of competition. Even though they were out of the competition, they were both awarded the Pierre de Coubertin Medal, which has only been awarded 17 times in the history of the Olympics, for demonstrating the true spirit of the Olympics.

These are only a few moments of greatness. I could have easily referenced a number of others including Katie Ledecky, Usain Bolt, Brazil's men's soccer team and countless others. The Olympics can bring out the best in all of us.

Did you watch the Olympics? Why or why not? What was your favorite moment? This year they added rugby sevens and golf to the games. What sports would you like to see added for the 2020 Tokyo Games?

Hurricane Katrina

10 years ago the United States experienced the most costly and one of the most lethal natural disasters in history when Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast and the City of New Orleans.  Between the dates of August 23^rd and August 31^st, 2005, the world watched in disbelief as one of America’s most iconic cities was submerged under water and chaos ensued.

Hurricane Katrina was a category 5 hurricane and the third strongest storm to strike the United States.  The hurricane claimed over 1800 lives and caused $108 billion in damage.  The greatest damage was to the City of New Orleans. 

Most of the City of New Orleans is actually under sea level.  Surrounding the city are a series of

levees designed to retain the water from the Gulf Coast and Lake Pontchartrain.  The damage to the city was not only caused by the force of the hurricane, but by the flooding throughout the city after the levees failed.  Over 80% of the city was flooded, up to 20 feet in some areas.

Prior to the hurricane, citizens were told to evacuate the city.  Unfortunately for nearly 60,000 residents, evacuation was not an option.  Many had nowhere to go and many lacked the financial means to leave the area.  As a result after the storm and the flooding, thousands of New Orleans citizens were trapped.  Federal and local disaster relief organizations, including FEMA, were unprepared for such a catastrophe and these citizens spent days isolated without food, clean water, or other facilities. 

 

Without basic necessities, many turned to looting.  Police responded with force and the chaos grew.  Finally after many days FEMA took charge and coordinated with the Red Cross, National Guard and others to supply the people with food and begin an evacuation of the city.

10 years later the city still shows the signs of Hurricane Katrina.  While many places in the city have been restored to the greatness of the past, places such as the Lower 9^th Ward have had little restoration completed.  Even today, each year Bishop Kelly sends a group of students to New Orleans to aid in the rebuilding effort.

Prior to the hurricane New Orleans had a population of 455,188.  As of 2006, the population had dropped to 208,548.  As of 2013, the population is 378,715, close to 80,000 lower than pre-hurricane population.

Prior to reading this and watching the video, what did you know about Hurricane Katrina?  What are your thoughts about the event?  If you were a resident of New Orleans prior to Katrina, would you move back to the city? Why or why not?