I’ve had some interesting conversations lately about how the general public perceives those who achieve amazing things. We know that Olympic athletes work hard, we realize that those who march drum corps spend many hours practicing, we know that professional bodybuilders spend many hours in the gym…but I don’t think that people realize just how [...]
Every now and then I hear from a director who has an unusual request. Â Sometimes this request is a real head-scratcher. Â It often turns out that a very unusual idea or request ultimately turns out to have originated from a very young staff member. I remember what it was like, being in college, or just [...]
Today in the news was a tragic story of a deaf man who was stabbed because someone mistook his sign language for "making gang signs." Â As ridiculous as this is, we can only assume that the man who did the stabbing "rushed to judgement." Â No one who paused for even a moment to stop and [...]
We recently attended the S.W.A.T. Roundup held here in Orange County, Florida. Â SWAT Team members from all around the world competed in a week of competitions involving fitness, marksmanship, and stamina. Â The final day, which we witnessed, was the Team Obstacle Course challenge, and there were teams there from as far away as Sweden, Hungary, [...]
Today, helpful advice on how to have less gnashing of teeth in your life. We've all just been through an exhausting political election season, and for those of us living in swing states, we've survived an assault of drama, haranguing, and negative ads that cannot be believed. Â There was a time when I would find [...]
I know I'm coming late to this conversation, having just now seen "The Hobbit" in theaters. Â A fan of the book, I was cautiously optimistic. Â Alas, I should have stayed home in my own hobbit hole and read the book again instead. The book, "The Hobbit" is fun to read because a lot of things [...]
The 2013 Academy Awards telecast was a real winner this year, with Seth MacFarlane keeping things moving and interesting.  The highlight of the night came during a James Bond tribute, a sequence that I found very interesting. First was a montage of scenes from James Bond movies.  It was well done, but I thought it was [...]
There is nothing more difficult than trying to deal with a person who will never admit they are wrong. Â If you've ever worked with such a person, or heaven forbid tried to date one, you know what I mean. Â Life is hard, and it's inevitable that we will make mistakes. Â No one is perfect, and [...]
It's been an interesting two days of contrasts. Â Yesterday Lee and I went to see "The Dark Knight Rises." Â We had been trying to find time to go see it for weeks and although I had heard some great things, it was also one of those "check it off your list" kind of things. [...]
Some may disagree with me, but it seems to me that our society is debating a general philosphy of direction. Â Is life about expansion or contraction? I try to live my life in a way that I am always expanding. Â I try to be open to new ideas, new experiences, and also to keep doing [...]