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Category: Classical

17.12.2019| Aranos | 8 Comments

I Will (Version)

Download I Will (Version)

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8 thoughts on “ I Will (Version) ”

  1. Doukasa says:
    I Will Lyrics: Who knows how long I've loved you / You know I love you still / Will I wait a lonely lifetime? / If you want me to, I will / For if I ever saw you / I didn't catch your name / But.
  2. Vugis says:
    Oct 07,  · If you don't have iTunes installed on your computer, get it from the Microsoft Store (Windows 10) or download the latest version from Apple's website. Depending on the version of iTunes that you have, there are a few ways to update.
  3. Dami says:
    " I Will " is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, from their double album The Beatles (also known as "the White Album"). It was written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon–McCartney) and features him on lead vocal, guitar, and "vocal bass ".Genre: Folk pop.
  4. Tauzilkree says:
    New International Version I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. New Living Translation I will sing to the LORD as long as I live. I will praise my God to my last breath! English Standard Version I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. Berean Study.
  5. Faukree says:
    2 - Version number, which includes version, build number, and the type of installation such as Click-to-run or Windows Store. For more information, such as the bit-version, choose About Excel. A dialog box opens, showing the full version number and bit version (bit or bit).
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    Jun 05,  · Select Product Version. The new browser recommended by Microsoft is here. The new Microsoft Edge provides world-class performance with more privacy, more productivity, and more value. Get the new Microsoft Edge now. Windows In the search box on the.
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    Choose the version that meets your need and click on Restore.; Remember: If “Restore previous versions” option is not in the context menu, there is no older version This feature will only be available if you have enabled Windows Backup or System Protection for that drive. Method 2: Use Temp File to Recover Previous Word File Document. When ever user working on Word file,temporary file is.
  8. Digrel says:
    May 25,  · Hi all! As you may know, Minecraft version has just released. We are working to support this version as soon as possible, but please give us some.

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Alexander III was the tsar, or emperor, of Russia from 1881 to 1894. He was a harsh ruler, especially to people who were not Orthodox Christian and Russian.

Alexander III was born on March 10, 1845, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. As the second son of Alexander II, he was not expected to become emperor. But in 1865 Alexander’s elder brother Nikolay died. Alexander then began to study the principles of law and administration.

On March 13, 1881, Alexander II was assassinated, and the following day his younger son became emperor of Russia. From the beginning Alexander III used the power he had inherited to impose his ideas on the country.

Alexander wanted his country to have only one nationality, one language, one religion, and one form of administration. He imposed the Russian language and Russian schools on his German, Polish, and Finnish subjects. He persecuted the country’s Jews and destroyed German, Polish, and Swedish institutions in the outlying provinces.

Alexander III died on November 1, 1894, in Livadiya, Crimea. His son Nicholas II succeeded him. Nicholas was to be the last tsar of Russia.

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Meet Greyson

Life is a journey, and it’s nice to have people to take that journey with.

Greyson and his family have been on an 18-month journey with Kids Who Count’s early intervention services and recently shared their experience with us.

Around Greyson’s 18-month well-check, his pediatrician noticed that certain milestones weren’t being met, including his verbal milestones as he was only saying two to three words at most. That’s when his family was referred to Kids Who Count, and as his mom said, “It has been one of the very best decisions we, his parents, have ever made.”

Over the last 18 months Greyson has blossomed and the whole family has learned so much. He is still non-verbal, but after working with staff and learning new tools and techniques the family has learned to communicate in ways that they can all understand.

Not only that, he has learned new skills like pointing, sign language, socialization, eye contact, playing make-believe and even some new words.

The team at Kids Who Count also him helped through the process of getting a diagnosis and transitioning into preschool services with the school district.

“Greyson’s early development has been such an eye-opening experience and we’re so glad we had the resources and services from Kids Who Count to help us along in this journey,” said Samantha, Greyson’s mom. “Our family is so extremely happy that we can understand and communicate with Greyson and have discovered how he learns best.”

If you are concerned that your child isn’t meeting certain milestones, contact us! Early intervention services may begin at any time between birth and age three; however, when early intervention is needed, the earlier it is provided, the better outcome for the child and family.

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Meet Connor

We don’t all learn in the same way. Knowing how our kids learn can make all the difference.

 Connor’s family was concerned when he was saying very few words at the age of two. Connor began Early Intervention at Kids Who Count, and his family told us that the improvement in his speech and understanding has been amazing!

Connor’s mom, Emily, said, “Connor is able to communicate with us now and we have loved watching him learn.”

Early Intervention helps families find strategies to support their child’s learning through daily routines and activities, and Connor’s mom agrees.

“I feel like we have been more focused on ways to help Connor learn. Having activities that are fun, but also teach him, have been great for him and for us,” she said.

Way to go Connor!

If you have concerns about your child’s development, don’t wait to get help. Call us at 801.423.3000 or go to https://kidswhocount.org/ Early intervention services may begin at any time between birth and age three; however, when early intervention is needed, the earlier it is provided, the better the outcome for both the child and the family.

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Meet Blair

Language is an essential part of a child’s development. When your child struggles to express themselves, it complicates a parent’s ability to share, engage and help them learn. When Blair was two and half, she only said about five to ten words and began receiving early intervention services. “Because of Kids Who Count we can communicate with our daughter. It’s seriously been such a blessing to work with them., says Blair’s mom. Today, Blair is constantly talking and saying new words, and her parents attribute her success to the speech therapy services they received from Kids Who Count. “The knowledge and skills we gained from our speech therapists will help us support our younger children’s speech development too.”

If you have concerns about your child’s development, don’t wait to get help. Call us at 801.423.3000 or go to https://kidswhocount.org/ Early intervention services may begin at any time between birth and age three; however, when early intervention is needed, the earlier it is provided, the better the outcome for both the child and the family.

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New York Times: Early Treatment for Autism Is Critical, New Report Says

In December, the American Academy of Pediatrics put out a new clinical report on autism, an extensive document with an enormous list of references, summarizing 12 years of intense research and clinical activity. During this time, the diagnostic categories changed — Asperger’s syndrome and pervasive developmental disorder, diagnostic categories that once included many children, are no longer used, and we now consider all these children (and adults) to have autism spectrum disorder, or A.S.D.

The salient diagnostic characteristics of A.S.D. are persistent problems with social communication, including problems with conversation, with nonverbal communication and social cues, and with relationships, together with restricted repetitive behavior patterns, including repetitive movements, rigid routines, fixated interests and sensory differences.

Dr. Susan Hyman, the lead author on the new report, who is the division chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Golisano Children’s Hospital at the University of Rochester, said in an email that much has changed over the past 12 years. She pointed in particular to increased medical awareness and understanding of conditions that often occur together with A.S.D., and to a greater emphasis on planning — together with families — how to support children as they grow.

Dr. Susan E. Levy, a co-author of the statement who is a developmental behavioral pediatrician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said that one key message of the report is the emphasis on early identification and referral for treatment, even if a diagnosis of autism is suspected but not yet confirmed. The outcomes are better when treatment starts as early as possible, she said.

The average age of diagnosis is now around 4 years, but the goal is to get it well under 2, she said. And children who are at higher risk — for example, those whose siblings have A.S.D. — should receive especially close screening and attention.

Since the waits can be long at specialty clinics, the authors of the report hope to see more general pediatricians and primary care providers working with families, even while they are waiting for a full evaluation, referring young children to early intervention or to special preschool programs, so that treatment can begin.

“The interminable wait with worry that parents are faced with currently is untenable,” said Dr. Marilyn Augustyn, a developmental and behavioral pediatrician at Boston Medical Center and professor of pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine, who also reviewed the new guidelines. “I hope this document makes primary care clinicians more comfortable so while they’re waiting for a diagnosis, they’re doing something.”

And the diagnosis, in turn, may be most important because it can help families access the most effective — and most intensive, and sometimes most expensive — treatments.

What do we mean by treatment? Behavioral interventions are “very, very important,” Dr. Levy said. The most intense intervention is Applied Behavioral Analysis (A.B.A.), a program that addresses specific behaviors, identifying triggers and antecedents, and responding with rewards when a child behaves in the desired way.

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PBS: Ten Little Known Black History Facts

History is often reduced to a handful of memorable moments and events.  In Black history, those events often include courageous stories like those of The Underground Railroad and historic moments like the famous “I Have a Dream” speech by

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But these are only a few of the significant and important events to know and remember.

In an effort to honor this expansive and growing history, Black History Month was established by way of a weekly celebration in February known as “Negro History Week” by historian Carter G. Woodson. But just as Black history is more than a month, so too are the numerous events and figures that are often overlooked during it. What follows is a list of some of those “lesser known” moments and facts in Black history.

Before there was Rosa Parks, there was Claudette Colvin.

Most people think of Rosa Parks as the first person to refuse to give up their seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. There were actually several women who came before her; one of whom was Claudette Colvin.

It was March 2, 1955, when the fifteen-year-old schoolgirl refused to move to the back of the bus, nine months before Rosa Parks’ stand that launched the Montgomery bus boycott. Claudette had been studying Black leaders like Harriet Tubman in her segregated school, those conversations had led to discussions around the current day Jim Crow laws they were all experiencing. When the bus driver ordered Claudette to get up, she refused, “It felt like Sojourner Truth was on one side pushing me down, and Harriet Tubman was on the other side of me pushing me down. I couldn’t get up.”

Claudette Colvin’s stand didn’t stop there. Arrested and thrown in jail, she was one of four women who challenged the segregation law in court. If Browder v. Gayle became the court case that successfully overturned bus segregation laws in both Montgomery and Alabama, why has Claudette’s story been largely forgotten? At the time, the NAACP and other Black organizations felt Rosa Parks made a better icon for the movement than a teenager. As an adult with the right look, Rosa Parks was also the secretary of the NAACP, and was both well-known and respected – people would associate her with the middle class and that would attract support for the cause. But the struggle to end segregation was often fought by young people, more than half of which were women.

Martin Luther King Jr. improvised the most iconic part of his “I Have a Dream Speech.”

On Wednesday, August 28, 1963, 250,000 Americans united at the Lincoln Memorial for the final speech of the March on Washington. As Martin Luther King Jr. stood at the podium, he eventually pushed his notes aside.

The night before the march, Dr. King began working on his speech with a small group of advisers in the lobby of the Willard Hotel. The original speech was more political and less historic, according to Clarence B. Jones, and it did not include any reference to dreams. After delivering the now famous line, “we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream,” Dr. King transformed his speech into a sermon.

Onstage near Dr. King, singer Mahalia Jackson reportedly kept saying, “Tell ‘em about the dream, Martin,” and while no one will know if he heard her, it could likely have been the inspiration he needed. Dr. King then continued, “Even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream….” And then the famous Baptist preacher preached on, adding repetition and outlining the specifics of his dream. And while this improvised speech given on that hot August day in 1963 was not considered a universal success immediately, it is now recognized as one of the greatest speeches in American history. For more information on the 1963 March on Washington, visit pbs.org/marchonwashington.

Inoculation was introduced to America by a slave.

Few details are known about the birth of Onesimus, but it is assumed he was born in Africa in the late seventeenth century before eventually landing in Boston. One of a thousand people of African descent living in the Massachusetts colony, Onesimus was a gift to the Puritan church minister Cotton Mather from his congregation in 1706.

Onesimus told Mather about the centuries old tradition of inoculation practiced in Africa. By extracting the material from an infected person and scratching it into the skin of an uninfected person, you could deliberately introduce smallpox to the healthy individual making them immune. Considered extremely dangerous at the time, Cotton Mather convinced Dr. Zabdiel Boylston to experiment with the procedure when a smallpox epidemic hit Boston in 1721 and over 240 people were inoculated. Opposed politically, religiously and medically in the United States and abroad, public reaction to the experiment put Mather and Boylston’s lives in danger despite records indicating that only 2% of patients requesting inoculation died compared to the 15% of people not inoculated who contracted smallpox.

Onesimus’ traditional African practice was used to inoculate American soldiers during the Revolutionary War and introduced the concept of inoculation to the United States.

The earliest recorded protest against slavery was by the Quakers in 1688.

Quakers, also known as “The Society of Friends,” have a long history of abolition. But it was four Pennsylvania Friends from Germantown who wrote the initial protest in the 17th century. They saw the slave trade as a grave injustice against their fellow man and used the Golden Rule to argue against such inhumane treatment; regardless of skin color, “we should do unto others as we would have done onto ourselves.” In their protest they stated, “Pray, what thing in the world can be done worse towards us, then if men should robb or steal us away, & sell us for slaves to strange Countries, separating housband from their wife and children….”

Their protest against slavery and human trafficking was presented at a “Monthly Meeting at Dublin” in Philadelphia. The Dublin Monthly Meeting reviewed the protest but sent it to the Quarterly Meeting, feeling it to be too serious an issue for their own meeting to decide. The four Friends continued their efforts and presented at the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, but it wasn’t until 88 years later that the Society of Friends officially denounced slavery.

Over the centuries, this rare document has been considered lost twice. Most recently it was rediscovered in 2005 and is now at Haverford College Special Collections.

Of the 12.5 million Africans shipped to the New World during the Transatlantic Slave Trade, fewer than 388,000 arrived in the United States.

In the late 15th century, the advancement of seafaring technologies created a new Atlantic that would change the world forever. As ships began connecting West Africa with Europe and the Americas, new fortunes were sought and native populations were decimated. With the native labor force dwindling and demand for plantation and mining labor growing, the transatlantic slave trade began.

The Transatlantic Slave Trade was underway from 1500-1866, shipping more than 12 million African slaves across the world. Of those slaves, only 10.7 million survived the dreaded Middle Passage. Over 400 years, the majority of slaves (4.9 million) found their way to Brazil where they suffered incredibly high mortality rates due to terrible working conditions. Brazil was also the last country to ban slavery in 1888.

By the time the United States became involved in the slave trade, it had been underway for two hundred years. The majority of its 388,000 slaves arrived between 1700 and 1866, representing a much smaller percentage than most Americans realize.

The diverse history of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

While Jewish and African American communities have a tumultuous shared history when it comes to the pursuit of civil rights, there is a chapter that is often overlooked. In the 1930s when Jewish academics from Germany and Austria were dismissed from their teaching positions, many came to the United States looking for jobs. Due to the Depression, xenophobia and rising anti-Semitism, many found it difficult to find work, but more than 50 found positions at HBCUs in the segregated South.

Originally established to educate freed slaves to read and write, the first of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities was Cheyney University in Pennsylvania, established in 1837. By the time Jewish professors arrived, the number of HBCUs had grown to 78. At a time when both Jews and African Americans were persecuted, Jewish professors in the Black colleges found the environment comfortable and accepting, often creating special programs to provide opportunities to engage Blacks and whites in meaningful conversation, often for the first time.

In the years that followed, the interests of Jewish and African American communities increasingly diverged, but this once-shared experience of discrimination and interracial cooperation remains a key part of the Civil Rights Movement.

One in four cowboys was Black, despite the stories told in popular books and movies.

In fact, it’s believed that the real “Lone Ranger” was inspired by an African American man named Bass Reeves. Reeves had been born a slave but escaped West during the Civil War where he lived in what was then known as Indian Territory. He eventually became a Deputy U.S. Marshal, was a master of disguise, an expert marksman, had a Native American companion, and rode a silver horse. His story was not unique however.

In the 19th century, the Wild West drew enslaved Blacks with the hope of freedom and wages. When the Civil War ended, freedmen came West with the hope of a better life where the demand for skilled labor was high. These African Americans made up at least a quarter of the legendary cowboys who lived dangerous lives facing weather, rattlesnakes, and outlaws while they slept under the stars driving cattle herds to market.

While there was little formal segregation in frontier towns and a great deal of personal freedom, Black cowboys were often expected to do more of the work and the roughest jobs compared to their white counterparts. Loyalty did develop between the cowboys on a drive, but the Black cowboys were typically responsible for breaking the horses and being the first ones to cross flooded streams during cattle drives. In fact, it is believed that the term “cowboy” originated as a derogatory term used to describe Black “cowhands.”

Esther Jones was the real Betty Boop

The iconic cartoon character Betty Boop was inspired by a Black jazz singer in Harlem. Introduced by cartoonist Max Fleischer in 1930, the caricature of the jazz age flapper was the first and most famous sex symbol in animation. Betty Boop is best known for her revealing dress, curvaceous figure, and signature vocals “Boop Oop A Doop!” While there has been controversy over the years, the inspiration has been traced back to Esther Jones who was known as “Baby Esther” and performed regularly in the Cotton Club during the 1920s.

Baby Esther’s trademark vocal style of using “boops” and other childlike scat sounds attracted the attention of actress Helen Kane during a performance in the late 1920s. After seeing Baby Esther, Helen Kane adopted her style and began using “boops” in her songs as well. Finding fame early on, Helen Kane often included this “baby style” into her music. When Betty Boop was introduced, Kane promptly sued Fleischer and Paramount Publix Corporation stating they were using her image and style. However video evidence came to light of Baby Esther performing in a nightclub and the courts ruled against Helen Kane stating she did not have exclusive rights to the “booping” style or image, and that the style, in fact, pre-dated her.

Baby Esther’s “baby style” did little to bring her mainstream fame and she died in relative obscurity but a piece of her lives on in the iconic character Betty Boop.

The first licensed African American Female pilot was named Bessie Coleman.

Born in Atlanta, Texas in 1892, Bessie Coleman grew up in a world of harsh poverty, discrimination and segregation. She moved to Chicago at 23 to seek her fortune, but found little opportunity there as well. Wild tales of flying exploits from returning WWI soldiers first inspired her to explore aviation, but she faced a double stigma in that dream being both African American and a woman.

She set her sights on France in order to reach her dreams and began studying French. In 1920, Coleman crossed the ocean with all of her savings and the financial support of Robert Abbott, one of the first African American millionaires. Over the next seven months, she learned to fly and in June of 1921, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale awarded her an international pilot’s license. Wildly celebrated upon her return to the United States, reporters turned out in droves to greet her.

Coleman performed at numerous airshows over the next five years, performing heart thrilling stunts, encouraging other African Americans to pursue flying, and refusing to perform where Blacks were not admitted. When she tragically died in a plane accident in 1926, famous writer and equal rights advocate Ida B. Wells presided over her funeral. An editorial in the “Dallas Express” stated, “There is reason to believe that the general public did not completely sense the size of her contribution to the achievements of the race as such.”

Interracial marriage in the United Sates was banned in 1664 and not overturned until 1967.

During the seventeenth and early eighteenth century, the growing number of interracial marriages (also known as miscegenation) between Blacks and whites led to the passage of this new law. The first anti-miscegenation law enacted was in the colony of Maryland in 1664 and additional colonies quickly followed suit. These marriages were prohibited and penalties included the enslavement, exile or imprisonment of the white perpetrators. These laws grew and evolved over the years and attempts were even made to modify the Constitution to ban interracial marriage in all states.

It would take three hundred years for this law to be overturned. In 1967, Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter, a Black woman, were married in the District of Columbia. When they returned home to Virginia, they were arrested and convicted of violating the state’s anti-miscegenation law. They each faced a year in jail and their case went to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court found in favor of the Lovings in the famous trial Loving v. Virginia. They ruled that prohibiting interracial marriage on state and local levels was unconstitutional; this meant that marriages between the races were legal in the country for the first time since 1664.

In 2000, Alabama became the last state to officially legalize interracial marriage by removing the unenforceable ban that was still contained in their state constitution. Read more famous cases about interracial relationships that changed history.

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Psychology Today: Screentime is Making Kids Moody, Crazy, and Lazy

Children or teens who are “revved up” and prone to rages or—alternatively—who are depressed and apathetic have become disturbingly commonplace. Chronically irritable children are often in a state of abnormally high arousal, and may seem “wired and tired.” That is, they’re agitated but exhausted. Because chronically high arousal levels impact memory and the ability to relate, these kids are also likely to struggle academically and socially.

At some point, a child with these symptoms may be given a mental-health diagnosis such as major depressionbipolar disorder, or ADHD, and offered corresponding treatments, including therapy and medication. But often these treatments don’t work very well, and the downward spiral continues.

What’s happening?

Both parents and clinicians may be “barking up the wrong tree.” That is, they’re trying to treat what looks like a textbook case of mental disorder, but failing to rule out and address the most common environmental cause of such symptoms—everyday use of electronics. Time and again, I’ve realized that regardless of whether there exists any “true” underlying diagnoses, successfully treating a child with mood dysregulation today requires methodically eliminating all electronics use for several weeks—an “electronics fast”—to allow the nervous system to “reset.”

If done correctly, this intervention can produce deeper sleep, a brighter and more even mood, better focus and organization, and an increase in physical activity. The ability to tolerate stress improves, so meltdowns diminish in both frequency and severity. The child begins to enjoy the things they used to, is more drawn to nature, and imaginary or creative play returns. In teens and young adults, an increase in self-directed behavior is observed—the exact opposite of apathy and hopelessness.

It’s a beautiful thing.

At the same time, the electronic fast reduces or eliminates the need for medication while rendering other treatments more effective. Improved sleep, more exercise, and more face-to-face contact with others compound the benefits—an upward spiral! After the fast, once the brain is reset, the parent can carefully determine how much if any electronics use the child can tolerate without symptoms returning.

Restricting electronics may not solve everything, but it’s often the missing link in treatment when kids are stuck.

But why is the electronic fast intervention so effective? Because it reverses much of the physiological dysfunction produced by daily screen time.

Children’s brains are much more sensitive to electronics use than most of us realize. In fact, contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t take much electronic stimulation to throw a sensitive and still-developing brain off track. Also, many parents mistakenly believe that interactive screen-time—Internet or social media use, texting, emailing, and gaming—isn’t harmful, especially compared to passive screen time like watching TV. In fact, interactive screen time is more likely to cause sleep, mood, and cognitive issues, because it’s more likely to cause hyperarousal and compulsive use.

Here’s a look at six physiological mechanisms that explain electronics’ tendency to produce mood disturbance:

1. Screen time disrupts sleep and desynchronizes the body clock.

Because light from screen devices mimics daytime, it suppresses melatonin, a sleep signal released by darkness. Just minutes of screen stimulation can delay melatonin release by several hours and desynchronize the body clock. Once the body clock is disrupted, all sorts of other unhealthy reactions occur, such as hormone imbalance and brain inflammation. Plus, high arousal doesn’t permit deep sleep, and deep sleep is how we heal.

2. Screen time desensitizes the brain’s reward system

Many children are “hooked” on electronics, and in fact gaming releases so much dopamine—the “feel-good” chemical—that on a brain scan it looks the same as cocaine use. But when reward pathways are overused, they become less sensitive, and more and more stimulation is needed to experience pleasure. Meanwhile, dopamine is also critical for focus and motivation, so needless to say, even small changes in dopamine sensitivity can wreak havoc on how well a child feels and functions.

3. Screen time produces “light-at-night.”

Light-at-night from electronics has been linked to depression and even suicide risk in numerous studies. In fact, animal studies show that exposure to screen-based light before or during sleep causes depression, even when the animal isn’t looking at the screen. Sometimes parents are reluctant to restrict electronics use in a child’s bedroom because they worry the child will enter a state of despair—but in fact removing light-at-night is protective.

4. Screen time induces stress reactions.

Both acute stress (fight-or-flight) and chronic stress produce changes in brain chemistry and hormones that can increase irritability. Indeed, cortisol, the chronic stress hormone, seems to be both a cause and an effect of depression—creating a vicious cycle. Additionally, both hyperarousal and addiction pathways suppress the brain’s frontal lobe, the area where mood regulation actually takes place.

5. Screen time overloads the sensory systemfractures attention, and depletes mental reserves.

Experts say that what’s often behind explosive and aggressive behavior is poor focusWhen attention suffers, so does the ability to process one’s internal and external environment, so little demands become big ones. By depleting mental energy with high visual and cognitive input, screen time contributes to low reserves. One way to temporarily “boost” depleted reserves is to become angry, so meltdowns actually become a coping mechanism.

6. Screen-time reduces physical activity levels and exposure to “green time.”

Research shows that time outdoors, especially interacting with nature, can restore attention, lower stress, and reduce aggression. Thus, time spent with electronics reduces exposure to natural mood enhancers.

In today’s world, it may seem crazy to restrict electronics so drastically. But when kids are struggling, we’re not doing them any favors by leaving electronics in place and hoping they can wind down by using electronics in “moderation.” It just doesn’t work. In contrast, by allowing the nervous system to return to a more natural state with a strict fast, we can take the first step in helping a child become calmer, stronger, and happier.

Victoria L. Dunckley M.D.

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New York Times Article: How Early Intervention Changed my Life

The doorbell rings at our apartment eight times each week, and my son knows it’s time to play with one of his friends. Patricia helps him learn to walk up the stairs. Lauren helps him use both hands to roll Play-Doh. Alaina helps him profess his love for macaroni and cheese.

We have an All-Star team of cheerful and experienced therapists dedicated to helping him navigate the world. It has already changed his life, and it didn’t cost us a penny.

This is Early Intervention, a national program created in 1986 to help children under age 3 who have developmental delays and disabilities. In New York State, where we live, the program serves nearly 70,000 children each year who have conditions like autism, Down syndrome and vision impairment. Some children, like my son, have a mild disability, and others have more serious challenges.

I had a mostly uneventful pregnancy and delivery, and our son appeared healthy. Then at 4 months old, I noticed that he favored his right hand and often held his left in a fist. A night of frenzied Googling found that children his age shouldn’t prefer one hand over the other.

His pediatrician sent us to a neurologist, and an MRI of his brain confirmed that he had had a stroke before he was born. Yes, babies can have strokes. I had no idea. They affect as many as one in 2,300 babies.

Our son’s stroke happened on the right side of his brain, so he has weakness on the left side of his body. The doctors ran a series of tests and couldn’t find an explanation. They said we would most likely never know why it happened.

If you met my son, you might not notice his disability — how he has difficulty using his left arm or wears orthotics in his shoes. At 2, he is walking and talking and keeping up with his peers.

Early Intervention is one of the reasons he’s doing so well. The fact that it’s free, frequent, convenient and high quality has made all the difference.

His neurologist referred us to the program, and he began receiving therapy shortly before his first birthday. My husband and I attend his physical therapy sessions to learn exercises we can do with him on our own. We helped him do “baby crunches” while singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” to strengthen his core muscles. We massaged his weak arm and encouraged him to use it by giving us high fives. One day, Patricia appeared with a small metal walker for him to hold while he practiced walking. Our son took his first unassisted steps with her.

We learned about neuroplasticity, the brain’s incredible ability to form new neural pathways. We learned about the proven benefits of constraint-induced movement therapy, when you restrict a child’s strong arm and encourage him to use his weaker one. We joined a Facebook group for the families of children who had pediatric strokes that made us feel less alone.

Before starting Early Intervention, we took our son to a local hospital every Friday for therapy. Our health insurance covered only 50 visits per year, and we had to fork over a $40 co-pay for each session. It was once a week, and we knew he needed more.

Now he receives eight sessions every week: occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech therapy — all for free in our home or at his preschool. I can’t imagine how different his life would be if he were still getting therapy only once a week.

His therapists sent us to a doctor on Long Island who makes special foot orthotics to give him extra support. They built a “Paw Patrol”-themed desk fit to his measurements for art projects. They recommended toys we could use for therapy, like a foam peg board or wooden fruit that he can pretend to cut, and introduced us to an older boy in our neighborhood who also had a stroke.

Not every kid is so lucky. It can be difficult to qualify for Early Intervention. The quality of therapists varies. Families in poorer communities like the Bronx have trouble gaining access to services. As children get older, they can get lost in the system. Navigating the bureaucracy takes a lot of time, and parents who work rigid hours or multiple jobs might give up.

The program also varies from state to state. New York is known for having a good program that is free. In New Jersey, families must pay a fee to participate that is based on their income. Each state sets its own rules and depends on a mix of federal, state and local funding.

Many families don’t know about the program or fail to qualify. More than 350,000 children participate nationwide — about 3 percent of children under 3. But as many as 13 percent of babies and toddlers have delays that could make them eligible, according to researchers. States like Arkansas and Mississippi have among the lowest rates for children receiving services.

There are also racial disparities. Black children who are eligible are five times less likely to receive services than white children are, according to a study by researchers at Boston University.

It’s heartbreaking that so many children miss out because the benefits are clear.

“We have a lot of research on brain development, and we know that children learn a lot in those early years,” Christina M. Kasprzak, an expert on Early Intervention at the University of North Carolina, told me. “It’s the time when families can support their child to help them grow in significant ways that will affect them for the rest of their lives.”

It’s also cost effective. Children can gain enough skills to catch up with their peers and might not need services later, Kasprzak said. Others become independent enough to work and give back later by paying taxes themselves.

The program could go even further. Our son attended a four-week summer camp in New Jersey dedicated to intensive constraint-induced movement therapy. The camp has such a great reputation that some families travel from halfway around the world to participate.

Our son loved camp and started using his left arm more, but it was expensive for us and Early Intervention doesn’t cover extra therapy like this. Imagine how many children would benefit if the government paid for these high-quality programs.

Some parents are also reluctant to have their child evaluated for Early Intervention because it means acknowledging there is a problem. I admit I was relieved when our son didn’t qualify the first time he was evaluated because his delays were considered too minor. He was accepted only after we had the MRI results. Instead of feeling comforted, I should have been angry about having to wait, which denied him months of critical therapy.

If you’re worried that your child has delays, I would encourage you to seek out Early Intervention services and to ask for recommendations to find the best therapists in your area and a good service coordinator, the person who oversees your case.

It was difficult to hear that our baby had a disability that would affect him for the rest of his life. But with the help of his therapists, we’re optimistic that our resilient son will have a full life.

Emma G. Fitzsimmons is the City Hall bureau chief at The New York Times.

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Meet Kate

At 2 years old Kate only had about five, unintelligible words. It was hard for her to communicate with her family, and the tears and frustrations were constant. Her mom called Kids Who Count and an evaluation was immediately set up in their home, and Kate qualified for speech services. The Kids Who Count staff set goals to help Kate build her vocabulary base and then her articulation. Kate loved working with Melanie and Darla, their personalities were exactly what she needed.

Being able to communicate better has changed the Olsen Family. Her mom tells us that “Kate can communicate with me, her dad and her siblings – she’s still hard to understand, but she’s doing it! We are seeing so much of her personality. She is funny and loves to tease those around her.”

We’re so happy to have been able to help this family!

If you have concerns about your child’s development, don’t wait to get help. Call us at 801.423.3000 or go to https://kidswhocount.org/ Early intervention services may begin at any time between birth and age three; however, when early intervention is needed, the earlier it is provided, the better the outcome for both the child and the family.

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Meet Anthony

My sweet boy was born a little early spent 21 days in the hospital due to a heart defect. When he came home he was behind and we were referred to kids who count. The people at kids who count we were able to see signs of autism. These amazing ladies helped my son with eating playing and walking. I owe you all so much you not only helped him but helped me to learn more patience to help my son improve. My little one is eating more he is now running everywhere he is able to play better with some people.

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Meet Reagan

My family has truly benefited from the early intervention services provided by Kids Who Count. My husband and I received marriage and mental health counseling, and our sons, Reagan and Adam, have received many services including playgroup, hearing tests, and speech and language therapy instruction in addition to developmental screenings and the parenting instruction and support received during monthly in-home visits. Each of these services has been extremely helpful to our family.

The Kids Who Count team comes to my home, and models techniques to teach me to help me be my son’s best therapist and teacher. I see the staff interact with my sons, and I get to practice copying them in their presence and can ask the questions that come up as I practice. I know I can contact my providers with questions and get the personalized responses I need. They are always there for us.

Thanks to Kids Who Count, we have seen major improvement in the quality of our family life and our personal health and development. The marriage and mental health services we’ve received helped us become stronger and more united as a couple. Our therapist, Karen Fairchild, truly understands our unique needs better than any of my previous therapists. She has gained my confidence because she has been careful to make sure she understands our concerns before she begins to offer any counsel. She understands how our son’s Autism and special needs impact our marital relationship and emotional well-being. Learning from her has been easy and natural, especially because she embodies the principles and skills she teaches. Probably the most valuable things I’ve learned from her are how to cope with loss in a healthy way and how to take responsibility for my own happiness. I am so grateful for the support we have received from Kids Who Count and hope that other families will continue to be blessed in the same way.

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The connection between IRL parkour and videogames

Men and women ranging from 18 to almost 40 years old trickle in. They quickly warm-up and start training. After some ledge vaults, the group members line up ready to conquer their next challenge: a 15-foot stone wall within Cloud Gardens. One by one members run up to it, put one foot on the wall, then the other, and jump as high as they can. Some have an easier time than others. One member runs up to it and stops when she is about to go up the wall. The coach guides her through the exercise again. Another member instantly gets the hang of it, and bounds several feet in the air. People standing by cheer him on. This is the Downtown Toronto Parkour Club, a group that meets every two weeks to practice the art of parkour.

It is a celebration of movement through the environment by running, jumping and climbing. It can be something as simple as climbing over a fence or performing a backflip off a wall and then landing on a ledge. The Downtown Toronto Parkour Club focuses on the former by making the training simple and approachable. This works towards the greater goal of getting the Toronto parkour community back to its former glory days. Videogames have become obsessed with parkour, too; games like Assassin’s Creed and Mirror’s Edge feature it prominently, but most modern action games feature a bit of wall-running or hard-scrabble vaulting. Players are used to being able to leap and bound with the simple press of a button. In fact, one member of the club was inspired to come to the meet-up after playing Assassin’s Creed II.

Five years ago the Toronto parkour community was lively. People were meeting up on a regular basis to practice parkour. But then, a parkour-focused gym, The Monkey Vault, opened up in Toronto. Due to its reliability people started choosing the gym over practicing outside. As a result parkour enthusiasts (also known as traceurs) stopped going to meet-ups, which fragmented the community. Now, this parkour club is trying to repair the community by making it fun, free and friendly.  In a sense, the club works as a tutorial for parkour, since the main objective of the meet-ups is for members to eventually graduate to performing parkour anytime and anywhere.

one member was inspired to come after playing Assassin’s Creed II

“Everyone goes to The Monkey Vault and then they don’t come out to jams anymore, and when they do they’re usually late,” Jaak Purres, a 40-year-old contract negotiator and leader of The Downtown Toronto Parkour Club. Purres’ main goal for the club is to help beginners at parkour while still making it worthwhile for veterans of the sport to join. After he teaches the beginners a few things he hopes they train outside of the group with other members, thus slowly restoring the parkour community within Toronto.

Purres started the Downtown Toronto Parkour Club started in 2010 along with another member. Neither of them really knew what they were doing. Purres learned parkour by watching slowed-down Youtube videos. To this day he admits it was a dumb idea, since people easily get injured by thinking they can do what they see on YouTube with no prior training. Later, Purres became invested in the parkour community by talking with experts who then trained him. Purres appreciates the helpful nature of parkour communities around the world. It’s one of his favourite parts about the sport and the culture surrounding it, and something that has kept him going for so many years. Purres never wanted to be a coach when he started parkour, but became one after more people took interest in the group. Whether they’ve been practicing parkour for years or have just started, Purres will give them an exercise to do. “I found it easy to explain what I was working on. I didn’t make it sound mystical or make out that I’m a motivational speaker,” says Purres.

As Kevin Peng, a new member to the club, is bounding up the wall for his second time, a loud clunk goes throughout the gardens. He banged his knee. “Whoa, are you alright?” says Purres. “Yeah I’m fine,” says Peng. Purres constantly tries to emphasize safety when practicing parkour. Each exercise he asks members to clear the garbage and glass around Cloud Gardens so no one gets hurt while training. Purres also asks people about any injuries, and if they are hurt there’s always something that can be worked on. Throughout the session Peng got better at moving throughout Cloud Gardens, slowly building skills. It was hard not to see the similarity to progression in a modern videogame; he started the day as a novice, simply jumping from stone brick to stone brick on the ground, and by the end of the day he ran at a high ledge, climbed it and then jumped to another ledge four feet away. He looked satisfied with the results, like he’d just beaten a boss he spent hours on.

Most traceurs will always prefer practicing outside in the city. But that doesn’t stop them from going to The Monkey Vault. Which simulates outdoors parkour but provides it inside with the included safety nets of pools filled with foam bricks and consistently dry conditions, all for $15 a session. Dan Iaboni, The Monkey Vault’s owner, agrees that nothing beats outside parkour, but also thinks it’s good to have a location that is safe and reliable. Although some people think that the gym is responsible for the broken-up parkour community in Toronto, Iaboni thinks differently. He looks at the gym as “a centre hub for the community where everyone can meet up.”

He looked satisfied, like he’d just beaten a boss he spent hours on

Whether people prefer practicing inside or outside there is one thing almost all traceurs can agree on: parkour groups can create a great community. Blake Evitt, director of Parkour Generations Americas, the largest parkour organization in the world says, “Very few people have been training by themselves for their whole lives. Most people attribute their start to seeing someone else perform parkour.” Groups are essential to growing parkour because the more people involved means more will become interested in the sport itself.

As of now, the parkour group is going steady. New faces come in every session and relationships are being built around the sport. As the meet-up concludes, Peng exchanges numbers with a few members. “We’re probably going to train for a bit longer. We’re also thinking about making YouTube videos,” says Peng as he walks away with two other traceurs.

Header image credit belongs to Patrick Dep.


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[Originally Published on Fogs Movie Reviews Fall of 2013] [Re-Published now in conjunction with the 2018 TCM Film Festival]

I recently spent the weekend with some friends and a guy I know well, and have been friends with for more than thirty five years, had the audacity to suggest that the remake of this film was more entertaining than the original. I instantly dropped my jaw, exclaimed loudly that he had to be kidding and then proceeded to disagree in a condescending manner. I have to apologize for the tone, it was not called for and I would not want my friend to be angry at me because I mocked his preference for the 2009 version. I do want him to know and understand that although I liked the Denzel/Travolta film, it can’t really hold a candle to the original and that vigorous defense of the 1974 classic  begins now as I once more recommend a movie that I want everyone to see.

The nineteen seventies were the last golden age of movie making. There have been plenty of great movies since then, and there have even been periods of time when a film making movement has taken center stage. Yet pound for pound the period of time when the studios were still controlled by film makers and not corporate conglomerates, remains the longest sustained period of film making excellence since the 30s. The mavericks that ran the studios lead by the seat of their pants, and their taste in films. When they succeeded, like Robert Evans did at Paramount, the atmosphere was invigorating. After “Heaven’s Gate” and the fall of United Artists, the movie business changed. Not always in negative ways but it was very different. “The Taking of Pelham 123” is one of those films that represent a gritty view of the world, with cynicism that reflected the time and place and was not simply a joke or a stylistic flourish. It’s not the kind of film that would have appealed to a modern studio as much. Maybe the indie world would be able to put something like this on the screen these days but it would not have had the cache of this version. The remake exists because there is already a story, and a success that the marketers can shoehorn into their philosophy. The remake is a casting gimmick, it worked but only because the groundwork had been laid out by the original.

MatthauThis is a crime film where the crime involves holding hostages for ransom. The conceit is that the location of the kidnapping is a moving target underground. The set up of the movie familiarizes us with a variety of characters, most of whom are working stiffs in the NY Transit System. Walter Matthau, who made his daily bread playing cynical types, is the worn down head of the transit police in charge of one section of the subway system. Lt. Garber, mouths off at his co-workers, dutifully provides a tour to visiting transit dignitaries and generally growls his way through another work day. The re-make casts Denzel as as a dispatcher rather than a cop. OK that might work, except it the remake then  gives him a back story and a plot line that have nothing to do with the main event. The goal is to layer the character and make the plot deeper. In my view it comes off as uncertainty as to how to make the plot as tense as possible. They resort to tricks to build empathy for Garber.  Matthau’s cop version is just doing his job. He is good at it and he struggles with the crisis he is faced with but our rooting interest is in the events not the man. Denzel is given multiple crisis to deal with and his willingness to do the job is undermined by the suspicion around him because of a separate story that is not really the focus of the film.

As a great illustration of the urban grittiness found in the original, take a listen to this terrific main theme that muscles the story onto the screen and tells you this is a film about tough men and dangerous situations, and manages to do so without resorting to theatrics.

I don’t remember the score from the remake, but I do remember the over the top “bad guy” played by John Travolta. Dark glasses, close cropped hair, Fu Manchu mustache and tattoos galore are all trademarks of movie bad guys in the last twenty years. All the gang in the original had fake mustaches but they wore them as a cover not as an attempt to intimidate. Even though there is not any back story or character costuming, the four hijackers in the 1974 film all had distinct personalities and they were easy to remember by their colorful sobriquets.  I am pretty sure this is where Tarantino cribbed the idea for naming his characters in “Reservoir Dogs”.

Robert-Shaw-as-Mr-Blue-600x255The ultimate measure of any story like this is the villain, and while Travolta was scary and played the part as was written, his character is not as interesting or unnerving as Robert Shaw’s Mr. Blue. While we ultimately hear a little bit more about his background, the truth is none of it matters because we know from the beginning that he is a ruthless professional. The look in his eye and the demeanor he conveys is all we need to know he is an alpha. Shaw never screams or shouts. Mr. Blue’s cool voice and nearly expressionless face tells every passenger on that train that he is not a man to be f***ed with. The next year after this, Shaw did “Jaws” which was a performance that draws attention to the characters idiosyncrasies.  Except for his intolerance of the psycho Mr. Grey, we see little of his motivation or internal processes. Shaw underplays every scene and the dialogue with Matthau on the radio is deadly earnest. He never compromises. The one time his timetable is adjusted has nothing to do with negotiating but everything to do with the situation, he still is in charge.

The way the hijackers maintain their control of the situation is by following Mr. Blue’s lead. He guns down a hostage in cold blood and he doesn’t accept the improvisation of his reckless ex mafia colleague. When he speaks to the passengers there is no mock sympathy or reassurance. He simply speaks directly and he acts as he has promised to.

Robert Shaw as Mr. Blue, menacing Matthew Broderick's Dad.

Robert Shaw as Mr. Blue, menacing Matthew Broderick’s Dad.

The supporting players are a combination of believable types and loathsome stereotypes. Most of the employees of the N.Y. Transit system come off as they are supposed to, harried professionals who view these events from the point of view of a bureaucrat rather than an average citizen. Ben Stiller’s Dad shows up, not cracking wise so much as he is humorously supporting Garber as his partner in the Transit police. Veteran TV character actor Dick O’Neil plays the intolerant train schedule manager who can’t be bothered to worry about dead customers when the trains are getting off schedule. He asks at one point what the customers want for their  lousy 35 cents, to live forever? This is the kind of casual negativity that pushes Garber into one of his few outward displays of frustration.  We get a chance to see the craven actions of political figures as they calculate the costs of paying a ransom. A calculation that has more to do with the next election than saving the lives of the hostages.  We never get to know much about the captives, they are stereotypes; old man, panicked mother, hooker etc. This is not a story of the lives of the victims of this crime or the perpetrators or the cops. The story focuses on the events of the crime.

The New York subway system seems familiar because we’ve seen it in a hundred movies. Overcrowded, not quite clean, sometimes antiquated and claustrophobic.   The film manages to convey all of that without dwelling on any of it. The darkness surrounding the train car becomes the background for some good tense scenes. One cop even jokes that because of his color he wants everyone to be aware that he is between the SWAT team and the criminals. There is a very morbid sense that everyone in those tunnels is just another rat in a hole and they all have to fend for themselves. While there are nihilistic films out there today, it is hard to see a major studio building a film around that sort of attitude. The characters would have to be sympathetic and the bureaucracy would be the focus of anger rather than the kidnappers. The cops at the surface have many of the same attitudes that we might see fifteen years later in “Die Hard”.  They are ready to shoot first and ask questions later. They are not always competent, witness the car crash that delays delivery of the money, but they don’t play most of this for laughs. The police in authority are not figures to be mocked like Dwayne Robinson, they are also working professionals that are worn from the job but shrug their shoulders and do it anyway. This whole film is very much a blue collar thriller. The bad guys are a team of desperate men not an army of tactically trained experts. The Transit employees are real people in a tough thankless job that have become jaded. The cops are overwhelmed and smart but not brilliant. The only pure comic personae is the Mayor with the flu.

The remake is filled with visual twists and plot developments to astound us. This movie is not filled with fireworks but it manages to hold our attention and be entertaining. The plot scenario might sound farfetched but set in the days of D.B. Cooper and hijacking of planes to Cuba it feels real. The city, the subway the  passengers, the crooks and the cops all come across as real people. This is not a spy adventure or an action film with a hero who overcomes incredible odds. It is an urban thriller that  makes it’s story feel like it could happen and characters that might really exist. The final clue that nails the hijacker that gets away is even more fun now a days when we see so many stories about stupid criminals. Even though the denouncement is played for a laugh, it also feels authentic.

Taking 3

I’m sure most of the readers of this site have probably watched this film a time or two. Fogs gave me a term in a on-line post that I now use regularly. This is a “Black Hole” film. It’s gravitational pull for me is overwhelming, and every time I encounter it I lose another 104 minutes of my life but I gain a 104 minutes of time with story tellers who know what the hell they were doing.

Richard Kirkham is a lifelong movie enthusiast from Southern California. While embracing all genres of film making, he is especially moved to write about and share his memories of movies from his formative years, the glorious 1970s. His personal blog, featuring current film reviews as well as his Summers of the 1970s movie project, can be found at Kirkham A Movie A Day.

Less Celebrated Lines from Jaws

We just finished our first of two screenings for Father’s Day.

The time while people filed in was filled with a few trivia cards. Come on, you gotta find something a little harder than this.

Another Jaws List for you.

One of the myriad of things that Jaws is noted for are the quotes that have become part of the culture. The AFI has the most memorable quote from the film at number 35 on their list of 100 Greatest Quotes

That’s a little low in my view but still respectable.  Fans of the movie will have a dozen other quotes that they will harpoon you with if given a chance.

Bureaucrats everywhere will be comforted by the rationalization of the mayor of Amity when he warns the Chief about being too proactive based on the first attack.

Mayor Vaughn: Martin, it’s all psychological. You yell barracuda, everybody says, “Huh? What?” You yell shark, we’ve got a panic on our hands on the Fourth of July.

It’s awful hard not to smile with righteous glee when the truth gets flung back in the face of the sheepish police chief and the cow-towing medical examiner by young Mr. Hooper on examining the body of the first victim.

Hooper: Well, this is not a boat accident!

Of course  the misanthropic shark hunter Quint has no shortage of million dollar lines.

At the town meeting, after he gets a introduction worthy of Errol Flynn in “The Adventures of Robin Hood”, he sums up his offer to all the locals succinctly.

Quint: $10,000 for me by myself. For that you get the head, the tail, the whole damn thing.

As Quint engages in the male ritual of one upmanship with the Chief by offering a toast with his own home made moonshine, he shows himself to be as crude as the Chief fears he might be.

Quint: Here’s to swimmin’ with bow-legged women

Of course Quint also gets the whole monologue about the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis. That five minutes has some of the greatest visualizations and quotes in it and star Robert Shaw delivered it perfectly.

Chief Brody has no shortage of good lines. One quote inspired Director Bryan Singer to name his production company.

Brody: That’s some bad hat, Harry.

Perhaps the greatest ad-libbed line ever created, comes from actor Roy Scheider, when he first gets a look at their nemesis. He backs of in fear and awe and tells Quint everything he should know about what is going to happen.

 Brody: You’re gonna need a bigger boat.

This post however, is a salute to some of the lesser lines in the film. They often convey a character or render a bit of humor in the first half of the movie. Screenwriter Carl Gottlieb, who appears in the film as the local newsman Meadows, was a TV writer who added punch to most of the script which had a spine from novelist Peter Benchley. He is almost certainly responsible for the quotes that follow, many of which are spoken in the background of the scene.

The Chief’s Secretary is in only one scene but she quickly conveys to the audience how mundane the work of the police department in Amity should be. Her big piece of news is the complaint from some of the local businessmen.

“It seems that the nine year olds from the school have been karate-ing the picket fences.”–Polly

The mayor says it in more than one spot, Amity is a summer town, it depends on summer dollars.  When the Chief goes to the hardware store to get the materials for printing “Beaches Closed” signs, we hear in the background the local merchant complaining to the jobber who has failed to bring the requested summer product. You can tell from his language that he’s an “Islander”.

“This stuff isn’t going to help me in August, the summer ginks come down here in June.”–Store Owner

The Chief’s Deputy conveys his sense of powerlessness, lack of status and personal insecurities when the Chief instructs him to let Polly do the printing on the signs. He demurs with an understated question.

“What’s the matter with my printing?”–Hendricks

As the town selectmen announce support for closing the beaches, the Mayor tries to buy some calm with his pronouncement that the closure will only last 24 hours. The Chief says, “I never agreed to that”, but from the crowd comes the fearful response.

“Twenty four hours is like three weeks.”–Unidentified voice at the Council Meeting

The story is full of colorful characters who don’t really get any development except their one or two scenes. When their attempt to catch the shark from a jetty on the opposite side of the island goes bad, you can hear the understatement of the year from the first guy out of the water:

“Charlie take my word for it, don’t look back”.–Denherder

Fisherman Ben Gardner has disdain for the outsiders showing up to collect the bounty put up by Mrs. Kitner on the shark. As he takes his charter out, he mutters a curse under his breath that sounds like it would come from the mouth of a local fisherman.

“Wait till we get them silly bastards down in that rockpile they’ll be some fun, they’ll wish their fathers had never met their mothers.”–Ben Gardner

Matt Hooper attempts to be helpful by identifying the shark that is caught by one of the cast of idiots that went out on an overloaded launch. The quote itself is not so special, but the way in which it was delivered results in a laugh that is still hard to explain.

“A What?”–Belligerent Fisherman Pratt

Here is one that is so understated that I’m not sure I’ve ever heard it before. Amanda pointed it out to me when we were watching the film last Sunday. After Hooper offers his help in identifying the shark, he discovers that the know it all does not always endear himself to others. He made the mistake of suggesting that the shark might not be the one who killed the little boy. The bounty hunters take umbrage and offer to stick his head in the mouth of the shark to prove their point

“What I’m saying is it may not be the shark, just a slight difference in semantics that I don’t want to get beaten up for.”–Hooper

Obviously the lion’s share of great lines went to the three stars. When the characters interact they reveal more about themselves to each other and us. As they are searching the waters where the shark has been feeding at night, Hooper chides the chief about being afraid of the water but living on an island. The Chief gives the only rationalization that makes sense of his situation:

“It’s only an island if you look at it from the water”.–Brody

The Mayor played by Murray Hamilton, is often seen as a villain in the story. In truth, he represents a part of the fear that the shark presents to the whole community. His way of coping is to cling to the trappings of his office and the illusion that some degree of control is still in his grasp. He’s not as worried about the shark as he is about nascent Banksyies moving into the neighborhood.

“That is a deliberate mutilation of a public service message.” –Mayor Vaughn

It is always funny to me when we show how predictable we are as humans. One of the prime examples of our craven natures is our desire to avoid responsibility for our actions. The world is full of excuse makers and apologists. Kids are much more honest about how this is true. When caught, one of the two kids with the cardboard fin is quick to sell out his buddy in order to weasel out of paying a penalty.

“He made me do it, he talked me into it.”– Whiny Prankster

OK, those are my choices. If you have some that you like and I neglected to mention, feel free to add them in your comments, then we will either take it under consideration or hang you up by your Buster Browns.

Oscar Blogathon–Neglected Supporting Actor Performances of 1975

This  is my entry into the 31 days of Oscar Blogathon hosted by Paula’s Cinema Club, Outspoken and Freckled and Once Upon a Screen. This week focuses on Oscar Snubs. For forty years I have been stewing on this injustice and I am thankful to have an opportunity to vent. Please be sure to check out the other posts on this project at the sites listed above. I have also included links to relevant posts of my own in this entry.

I have always maintained that 1975 was one of the great years in American movie history. Along with 1939 and 1982, this year from the middle of the last golden age of cinema had a plethora of worthy films. I would never denigrate “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, or “Dog Day Afternoon”. “Barry Lyndon” is lovely but I despise “Nashville”. The picture that deserved to win the big award is featured on the masthead of this blog so it is no secret that I harbor an admiration for Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws“. It was an oversight to neglect that movie but it was understandable given the fine work done by all in the eventual winner.

What I do find unforgivable however is the negligence of the Academy’s Actor’s branch to include two performances from that year in the supporting actor category. Not only were the two performances I want to highlight for you ignored, they were far more deserving than any of the roles that did receive nominations. Just to refresh your memory, in case you don’t carry that sort of trivia around in your head for just such a discussion, the nominees in the Best Supporting Actor category were, Brad Dourif as Billy Bibbit in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Burgess Meredith as Harry Greener in “Day of the Locust”, Chris Sarandon as Leon in “Dog Day Afternoon” and Jack Warden as Lester Karpf in “Shampoo”. The eventual winner was sentimental favorite, comedian, vaudevillian, and TV personality George Burns, as Al Lewis in “the Sunshine Boys”. All of these men did fine work, and no one should be embarrassed to have been included, but the five selected did not include career defining work from two other well known and worthy actors.

imagesLet me start with the performance that is least likely to be remembered by today’s movie goers. Brian Keith was maybe best known as a Television actor. He starred in two separate successful series, one in the 1960s, “Family Affair” where he played Uncle Bill, the bachelor guardian to his brother’s orphaned children. In the 80’s he costarred in Hardcastle and  McCormick, he had two or three other series that did not last more than a season or two as well. He made an appearance in many films since he started in the business but worked most consistently in TV. In 1975 he showed up and off in the John Milius written and directed “The Wind and the Lion“.

Keith played President Theodore Roosevelt, perhaps the most accomplished man we ever had in the job of President of the U.S.. It is also a role that is parodied in films, depicting Roosevelt as a reckless headstrong cowboy, whose bellicose manner was defined as the “Big Stick” policy. What may not be said as frequently is the first part of the policy, “speak Softly”. Keith manages to to convey this dual nature of Roosevelt in this adventure film inspired by a real historic incident.chi-president-election-movies-20121105-004

In the story, Sean Connery is a Berber brigand who has taken an American woman hostage for political purposes in Morocco. As he is preparing to run for the office he inherited, Roosevelt seizes upon the event as a potential campaign issue. Keith never raises his voice or shouts. His whole performance is level but with a lot of vocal nuance. Keith had a naturally gruff voice that fits with our image of the Rough Rider Teddy. He uses tone and pacing to emphasize some deep philosophical ideas well at the same time laughing at himself for taking things so seriously.

Keith has a bit of an advantage in his performance by playing opposite Director/Actor John Huston who plays Secretary of State John Hay. Huston had another one of those great voices and the two of them crossing swords in the White House or out on the shooting range made for some wonderful scenes in the movie that contrasted nicely with the action adventure scenes set in Northern Africa. Keith gets some nice moments of power conveying the certainty of his foreign policy. Roosevelt was know as a man of action and that’s exactly how he is represented here. Not by having him run around in circles crying Bully every five minutes but by speaking forcefully and decisively. His actions are not shown to be short sighted or politically motivated but rather, that he understood the political advantage his manner and policies provided him.

The closest the film comes to mocking Roosevelt is in a scene where he tries to Picture 3describe to a man from the Smithsonian, how he wants the grizzly bear he shot to be displayed. He poses with hands up and growls, and encouraged by his daughter, repeats the pose and growl on a table. Part of it is political theater, but mostly it comes across as the enthusiasm of a man who knows what he wants. Keith’s jovial nature in the scene contrasts effectively with an earlier scene in the wilderness with an entourage in tow as he speaks about the taking of the bear with a magnificent vista behind him. He is proud of the accomplishment but also sad. He expresses an admiration for the grizzly that seems heart felt and warm, again mostly because of the vocal variety he uses. He smiles with his voice and speaks wistfully about America’s place in the world.

Connery and Keith never shared any scenes in this film. Their characters are an ocean apart but very similar in nature. In the closing of the movie is the closest we come to an interaction as Roosevelt, suffering from blindness in one eye, sits at the foot of his bear and reads a note from the Rasuli, describing their places in the world. The two actors would share the screen a few years later in the execrable “Meteor” but nothing there matches the power of Connery’s voice over narration as Keith sits in silence and acts with just his shoulders and hands in the scene.

While Brian Keith being ignored is a disappointment since he never had another part equal to that role, the second actor ignored is a crime beyond my comprehension. If you were to ask almost anybody in the movie business, what are the most culturally influential films of the 1970s, there are really two main answers. “Star Wars” is a juggernaut that turned the geek audience into the main driving force of popular culture today. All the comic book movies that dominate the screen these days are descended from that George Lucas film in 1977. Yet it was two years earlier that the ground began to shift, the blockbuster mentality began to rule, and the talent of Steven Spielberg was recognized by the world. The failure to nominate Steven Spielberg for the best film he ever made is probably a result of jealousy by other Academy members and hubris by Spielberg himself. The failure of the actors branch to mention Robert Shaw is inexplicable.

“Jaws” is a film that everyone who watches movies knows about, and anyone who loves  movies cherishes. The story behind the making of the film has been told before. So has the story of the impact of the film. This is not the first time I have complained about the neglect of Robert Shaw either. As a vocal advocate of this movie I will freely admit that this is not an unbiased opinion. I consider it a duty to remind the world on a regular basis of the greatness of this film, and this post gives me the opportunity to do so through the means of promoting a great screen performance.

I only hope that this fan made poster is right and we get an anniversary release this coming summer.

I only hope that this fan made poster is right and we get an anniversary release this coming summer.

I have done maybe a dozen posts over the years on some aspect of this film. It is a film I know I can say I have literally seen at least a hundred times because every year since it has been available to rent or or buy on VHS, watch on cable or on laser disc or DVD, or Blu ray, I have done so approximately four times a year. It is downloaded on my Kindle right now, waiting for an opportunity during a long wait in line or a medical appointment that is taking too long to get to. One of the reasons that it is so repeatable is the performance of the aforementioned Mr. Shaw. It is a part that is fascinating every time I watch it and there is always something new and amazing to discover.

To begin with, 3450810_stdthe character of “Quint”, although introduced in the first act of the film, doesn’t reappear in the story until halfway though the movie. That first introduction is incredibly memorable, with Shaw scraping the chalkboard and chewing his food during the town council meeting. He condescends to everyone in attendance and then walks out of the scene. The force of his personality lingers over the meeting and the rest of the film. We know this smug, superior fisherman in the ancient sweater jacket and muttonchops is going to return and be a pivotal player in the story.

While he does pop up in one brief moment, chuckling to himself over the amateurs who think they can bring in the shark, his return to the story takes place on his ground. The business he runs is filled with stewing cauldrons of shark cartilage and homemade liquor.  His self assurance is spat out at the way he mocks Richard Dreyfuss’s characters attempt to provide some credentials by mentioning the America’s Cup. Shaw’s English background helped make the flinty New England  accent more realistic. His devil may care costuming impresses us with his working class manner of thinking. He is a man who knows his place in the world and is completely confident in it up to the end. Look at the body language as he surveys the equipment that Hooper is bringing aboard, he might just as well have spit. screenshot-med-31

The on set legend is that Shaw disliked Dreyfuss and that dislike carried over to his performance. Shaw was also an alcoholic who needed just one drink to turn mean. It sounds like he was the perfect fit for the role. I recently saw “The Godfather” and Sterling Hayden who played Captain McClusky in that film was originally supposed to take the role of Quint, but tax complications kept him out and fortuitously put Shaw in. I can imagine Hayden fitting the part with his haggard look and somewhat raspy voice, but the character would have played very differently. I think he would have come off as an old man set in his ways and believing in them. Shaw provides some of that, but he also manages to suggest that he is just a little off hinged.

For example, the Limerick he recites as Mrs. Brody is dropping off her city slicker husband to go on the shark hunt, sounds so much more snarky and odd coming from a younger man and one who is taking such glee in sharing it out of nowhere. Quint projects it across the sounds of the Orca being loaded and he smiles knowingly as he gets to the somewhat dirty payoff. Shaw almost puts a chuckle in his voice but stops just short of being cloying. Shaw plays Quint as if he is tickled at the chance to show up all these land lubbers. Of course he is also the master of his own boat and while Brody does complain back at one point, Shaw makes it clear in near silhouette and with a frozen posture, that he is having none of it.

quint_indianapolis_speech_jaws_robert_shawCarl Gottlieb, the credited screenwriter along with book author Peter Benchley, largely gives credit to Shaw for the most famous monologue since Shakespeare. The story he shares is a ghost story about the demons who have haunted him and turned him into the character he is. The fact that Shaw sells the story makes it all the more jaw dropping. This one scene would have won the award for any number of actors. The five minutes in this scene trump the whole five minute performance of Beatrice Straight in “Network”. Of course the role was not limited to that one scene and just about everywhere else, he burns up the screen with his stare, his grin or his hat. The by-play with Roy Scheider as Chief Brody, exists in a friendly but condescending universe.

The three leads are all well cast and well played, but it is the prickly off-kilter Quint who gets the best scene and makes the most memorable impression. Robert Shaw played a series of tough guy roles over the years. Some of them steely like Red Grant in “From Russia With Love“, or Doyle Lonnegan in “The Sting“. Others were playful and heroic like the pirate in “Swashbuckler“. “Quint encapsulates both spirits and puts a haunting backstory in the mouth of a master actor. It’s nice that George Burns got an Oscar and a new career from his role in “The Sunshine Boys”, but history shows that the Academy can make a mistake in the interests of sentimentality. It is my opinion that they did so in 1975.


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Elon Musk and Starlink note that Mars will not follow silly Earth laws

Does this surprise anyone?

elon musk goes to mars
Image: Curtis Silver / KnowTechie

Recently, users of Starlink internet from SpaceX noticed something strange in the software’s terms of service. The app’s terms of services claim that Earth’s laws won’t govern life on Mars. Instead, the SpaceX colony on the red planet will abide by its own set of “self-governing principles.”

That made many people wonder whether Elon Musk can do that independently and create his own laws on Mars.

Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, had already spoken extensively about colonizing Mars. During those talks, he expressed his intention to create his laws on Mars. He said that all Martian colonies would rely on a set of self-governing principles, and they would be the basis upon which all disputes will be resolved.

Starlink’s terms-of-service note:

“For services provided on Mars, or in transit to Mars via Starship or other colonisation spacecraft, the parties recognise Mars as a free planet and that no Earth-based government has authority or sovereignty over Martian activities. Accordingly, disputes will be settled through self-governing principles, established in good faith, at the time of Martian settlement.”

Furthermore, the app’s service terms suggest that Mars is a free planet and that no Earth-based government can claim any authority over the Martian colonies and Martian activities. That puts the app’s service terms in line with everything Elon Musk has suggested during his public appearances.

On at least two occasions, Elon Musk insisted that all disputes on the red planet will be resolved “in good faith” and solely on a set of “self-established laws” when a Martian settlement is completed.

By doing so, Musk ignored practically all international space laws dating back as far as 1919. According to international space law, each country governs the airspace above its territory. In 1944, during the Chicago Convention, those principles were reiterated and reinforced.

Nowadays, international space policy and law issues fall under the scope of international bodies such as The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).

According to some experts, Elon Musk’s ideas for self-governance are considered nothing but wishful thinking

Simultaneously, Erwan Beauvois, a space system engineer at SpaceX, said that space needs to be considered free for everyone. The statement Beauvois made is in line with the “Declaration of the Rights and Responsibilities of Humanity in the Universe,” a declaration prepared by the Earthlight Foundation. The Earthlight Foundation is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to prepare humanity for expansion beyond planet Earth.

Elon Musk plans to start sending people to Mars as early as 2024. According to Musk, he aims to send one million people to Mars, which will require three flights per day or approximately one thousand flights per year. Each craft will be able to receive up to 100 people.

What do you think? Would you take a one-way trip to Mars? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Who will I love, and how will I love them well?

Two events led me to start thinking about, praying with, and making art in response to the Song of Songs. The first was a Bible study during a clergy quiet day. We were reading Jesus’s Parable of the Dishonest Manager (Luke 16:1-13). As we sat in a circle, annoyed and shocked that Jesus would tell his disciples to “make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth, so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal habitations,” I began wondering whether I had ever done exactly that. My mind traveled to the early days of my relationship with my future wife. We met when we were twenty-two and still in college. Neither of us really knew who we were, and we acted out different social roles, imitating our peers or images in the media or, at best, some vision of who we hoped we would be someday. There was something dishonest about the way we presented ourselves to each other – not in a conniving way, just in the fact that we didn’t know who we were, and therefore didn’t have much chance of being authentic in our relationships with anyone. It was through falling in love and being faithful to each other that we learned who we were, and everything that’s real in our lives and relationships now is the result of our patience with each other as we fumbled around and made mistakes and presented ourselves falsely. Reflecting on this as I sat in that circle of priests, I realized that my wife is my dishonest wealth, and I felt how miraculous it is that she should love me, and I her, a true gift of patience and luck and grace.

The second event that led me to the Song of Songs was a planning meeting. We were at the Edge House in Cincinnati, the Lutheran campus ministry that serves UC. A trapeze company had set-up in the park across the street, and as we talked young people were flinging themselves into the air. We were trying to decide on a theme for an autumn retreat, and we started by asking ourselves which questions our students were really asking. After a considering pause, one of our group said, “Well, I think they’re wondering who they’ll love, and how they’ll love that person well.” This was so basic and obvious that it was astounding that we had never addressed this question with our students. We turned to our Bibles and leafed through them, wondering whether scripture really spoke to this question at all. Maybe in Genesis, in those scenes when Isaac meets Rebecca, and then later Jacob meets Rachel, at the well. But more obviously, and certainly more extravagantly, in the Song of Songs.
It’s a primal question – “who will I love, and how will I love that person well?” The way we answer this question will affect not only our earthly relationships, but our relationship with God. This is what the early and medieval commentators on the Song understood so well. Until the Enlightenment, the Song of Songs was the second most preached about and commentated on book of scripture, surpassed only by the Gospel of John. It was treated as an allegory for the soul’s relationship to God, in both the Christian and Jewish traditions. To this day, many Sephardic communities chant the entire Song of Songs before Shabbat services every Friday. For Origen, and Teresa of Avila, and Bernard of Clairvaux, it was a text for celibates, a passionate enactment of human/divine relationship that could take the place of any earthly need for sex. But the Enlightenment, and the 18th and 19th century Biblical scholarship that followed it, put an end to this reading. The Song might be any number of things – wedding choruses, songs for fertility rites, court poetry – but it was, decidedly, not about God.

Last summer I led an adult forum on the Song of Songs, and when we came to those passages that compared a woman’s breasts to twin gazelles and bunches of grapes, one of the participants asked “should this even be in the Bible?” It seems so lascivious, and it is. But the fact that it is in the Bible should tell us something. It seems possible, and even likely, that those who compiled and canonized scripture understood that the Song of Songs is about God, while understanding that it’s also about sex. Perhaps they knew what we’ve forgotten, that the passion we bring to our earthly relationships is a training ground for the passion that we will, through much prayer and worship, eventually bring to our relationship with God. “Who will I love and how will I love that person well?” The Song of Songs suggests that the way we answer that question in our human relationships has everything to do with how we’ll learn to love God. Perhaps, through fidelity and patience, we might all come, eventually, to recognize and give thanks for the dishonest wealth we receive as we form each other in relationship, and through this recognition, come to dwell, spiritually, in eternal habitations with God.

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