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The last couple of weeks have been sorta tough, in that unique “life as a 1L is tough” sorta way. Questioning my abilities… grades… and so on. I’m doing better now, having ridden out this particular psychological storm.
Last Friday night it dawned on me that I needed to watch one of my all-time favorite movies: Friday Night Lights. I watched it intending to focus on one scene. Here is the speech I needed to hear:
(Interesting side note: I wrote a book back in 2005 titled “Pardon the Inspiration,” and Coach Gaines (the real one, not Billy Bob Thornton!) contributed a blurb for my book!)
We enjoyed a wonderful evening at Malibu High last night listening to the Choral Department put on a celebration of the music of Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and George Gershwin. As you might suspect, Malibu has an impressive “arts” program.
Though my old camera has poor audio & video, here’s a taste of “Alexander’s Ragtime Band.”
Our favorite performer was the young lady toward the lower right that lives with us, but we might be a tad biased. Rex, a gifted student I told you about not too long ago, was our second favorite. It was a privilege to be in the audience as he played the piano and sang Gershwin’s “I’ve Got Rhythm.” Equally heartwarming was the HUGE ovation he received from the audience.
We are very proud of our girl for many reasons in addition to last night.
* One was her report card this week: 3 A+’s and 2 A’s is a pretty good start for someone who moved 2,000 miles away to a school where she knew no one.
* It’s amazing, too, to see all her new friends at school – she has fit in so quickly, and so well.
* But another reason came this week when she tried out for the Middle School Musical – Monday she danced, Tuesday she delivered a monologue, and yesterday she sang her solo. We don’t know if she’ll get a part, but for her courage and willingness to go for it makes her a leading lady in our book!
After nearly a decade of suffering, I finally attend a church with a decent preacher. This was readily evident this past Sunday. I highly suggest checking out Ken’s sermon audio from this past week titled, “Jesus For President.”
The revelation of the plot to assassinate Barack Obama yesterday doesn’t make me proud of my geographic roots, but in all honesty, doesn’t catch me by surprise. There is still much deep-seeded racism in the world, and surely in that part of the Deep South.
Election Day is one week from today, and I will be glad when it has come and gone. If Senator Obama becomes President Obama, however, I am afraid that sentiments such as those uncovered yesterday won’t simply go away. Still, I long for better days.
Speaking of happ(ier) days, though you may have already seen this, check out THIS VIDEO.
Jody and I, along with about 75-80 other Malibuites, spent a couple of hours yesterday afternoon at Diesel Bookstore listening to Martin Sheen and Professor Doug Kmiec talk about Kmiec’s new book, “Can a Catholic Support Him?” The conversation was stimulating, gracious, and completely one-sided. But since that one side was “our” side, we both felt like it was two hours well spent. (Plus, how often do you get to meet a movie star?)
The talk of the afternoon was the poem Martin Sheen used as the closing, so here it is for everyone to enjoy:
Let My Country Awake
by Rabindranath Tagore
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Where the mind is without fear and the head held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by Thee into ever-widening thought and action;
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
After dropping Hillary off at a friend’s house last night, we were driving down the PCH when Jody saw none other than Matthew McConnaughey walking down the side of the road. It is weird living in Malibu.
I am totally stealing the following excerpt from my neighbor’s blog entry on Facebook. I don’t think Zac would mind my sharing it (since he posted it on Facebook). He was talking a bit about seeing stars around Malibu and shared one of his personal experiences. I’m sharing it because the gift he was given was an important lesson for me to hear right now, and I wanted to preserve it on “my” blog for reference from time to time.
Zac wrote…
I happened to be on an elevator with [Henry Winkler (The Fonz)] three years ago. I’ve long admired him as a person and I knew I couldn’t let the moment pass without saying something to him, so I turned to him and said, “Mr. Winkler, I’d really like to work with you someday.” He looks at me and says, “You’re an actor?” I said, “Yes sir.” He then turns directly towards me, gets a look of focused determination and says, “Tenacity! Tenacity, tenacity, Tenacity! You’ve got to be like that punching bag that is filled with air and has sand in the bottom. You punch it! It falls to the ground. It pops right back up! You punch it, it goes down, it comes up! Just because they say ‘no’, it doesn’t mean it is you, sometimes, it’s just the day. Remember that.” Then, as if on cue, the elevator dings and he turns and walks off. He didn’t have to say anything to me other than, “thanks”, or something to that effect – but he took the time to give me a one on one motivational speech that I will never forget. When times get tough, I remember that speech.
Here’s a pic of a couple of cute hippie chicks before last night’s middle school costume ball.
We’ve seen paparazzi hanging around Malibu Country Mart a few times since moving in with the stars, but our daughter hasn’t seen them falling out of the trees at her school just yet.
Nonetheless, that was the topic of debate at City Hall recently. My contracts professor was asked to be a part of the meeting which you can read about HERE.
#1: Jody said the West Coast Choppers were hanging out on campus yesterday. Cool.
#2: This is Open Memo week for us lowly 1Ls. Which theoretically is no fun at all. The theory is gaining wide support.
#3: I got to talk to Erica yesterday and hear all her good news about her senior year of college. I am so proud of her. And for her.
#4: The Santa Ana are blowing once more, increasing the risk of wildfires over the next few days. Hopefully nothing dramatic will happen on that front. I’ve noticed that we don’t sing “It only takes a spark to get a fire going” at any of our religious gatherings.
#5: Caught the 9th inning of Game 1 of the World Series last night. I’m for Tampa, but truthfully this World Series hasn’t captured my interest at all.
#6: Professor Hilary Reed spoke at our Bible study last night and did a nice job.
#7: Our Hillary is primed for a big week next week: trying out for the middle school musical and singing in her first choir performance.
#8: Open Memo might railroad much opportunity for fun this weekend, but I’ve eyed a couple of possibilities: Malibu High has a big home football game Friday night, and Pepperdine is hosting a big swimming & diving competition on Saturday.
#9: For those scoring at home, I’ve developed a couple of major legal interests: Education Law, and Civil Rights Law. I’m especially drawn to a place like THIS DIVISION of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Working somewhere like that would be super cool.
#10: Some mind-boggling facts about the LAUSD:
* It has over 700,000 students
* Has about 85,000 employees
* Serves 500,000 meals a day
* Has its own police department (police chief, the whole deal)
* $20 billion budget in 2008
* Student body is 73% Hispanic
* Inspiration for the based-on-a-true-story movie “Stand & Deliver”
* High school dropout rate: 33%
My friend, Blake, had a vision of bringing After Dark to Pepperdine, and last night was the big night. Blake will be a terrific lawyer, but if he decides to go into advertising he has a brilliant future there, too. There was a HUGE turnout, and I hope Blake felt good about how all his hard work came together. You can check out After Dark HERE.
Last night’s drama also featured the music of Jon McLaughlin, whose music was featured in the movie “Enchanted.” Super, super-talented guy. You can check him out below.
