In this clip from the show “Newsroom”, Toby from “The Office” is trying to let people know how it is, but people are just too optimistic.
Funny, but sadly true. Click to play:
In this clip from the show “Newsroom”, Toby from “The Office” is trying to let people know how it is, but people are just too optimistic.
Funny, but sadly true. Click to play:
I consider myself a politically conscious person. I vote. I debate. But this year politics is different. We have more at stake than ever before and the candidates who are running for the most important office in America are widely different.
As I stood in line to hear Bernie Sanders speak here in Santa Cruz this morning, I overheard hundreds of people talking about how they called in sick or took time off from work to hear Bernie speak.
What was fascinating to me was how many of these people said that they had never gone out to hear a candidate before. The audience was filled with young people. Lots of them. It was invigorating to see how passionate these kids are about stopping the oligarchy that has consumed our political process, and return our nation to a true democracy. Most have never voted or volunteered for a political campaign before.
Bernie is resonating with the youth and creating a grassroots movement. I am voting for the candidate who sees climate change as one of the most important issues that we face today.
And we’re running out of time. I’m hoping for a political revolution, because there’s more at stake now than there ever has been, and a revolution is what it’s going to take to solve the problems that face us.
Remembering both fallen and living veterans today. Thank you.
Summer’s just around the corner, and it’s time to make plans!
With 12 weeks off, even the busiest kids get bored. You can only sign them up for so many weeks of Junior Guards or summer camps. To make this summer the best ever, consider creating a custom summer program that meets the needs and desires of your children – at no cost to you! By creating a special summer “camp” for just a few kids, you can set up your kids’ favorite activities and new outings that will keep them engaged all summer. I did this with my girls when they were young and now some of our best memories are from our summer programs. Here’s what’s involved:
I organized an 8-week summer program that included academics, arts, sports, and theater. My girls selected the activities and outings that they wanted to do and even helped me pick the theater productions we presented each year. Here’s what the summer program looked like:
Mondays-Thursdays: At our house
9:00 am-12:00 pm: Reading Newbery books (to enjoy the best children’s literature)
Writing autobiographies (to develop good writing skills)
Math games and exercises (to keep their math brains going)
12:00-1:00 pm: Lunch and Freeplay (basketball)
1:00-2:00 pm: Art: ceramics, watercolor painting, calligraphy, stained glass
2:00-3:00 pm: Swimming and outdoor sports
3:00-5:00 pm: Theater rehearsal
Fridays Offsite
Exploratorium, Egyptian Museum, Monterey Bay Aquarium, olalieberry picking, bodysurfing, hiking in forest, camping
I hired teachers to teach the academics in the morning, art and sports in the early afternoon, and theater in the late afternoon. By inviting about 6-8 kids to join the summer fun (and pay our tuition), my children had the best summers ever – and it didn’t cost me a dime! At the time, I worked from home, so I oversaw all of the activities but I wasn’t directly involved. I enjoyed joining them on field trips and the theater productions. So even if you work full time, you can still set up a program like this and give your kids the ideal summer program. I even wrote a book to help parents organize these activities.
I love hip hop, and when Nicole was recruited to dance on Stanford’s Jam Pac’d dance team in 2004, I was thrilled!
I became the Jam Pac’d dance mom – yup! – even for college kids!
I feel like the luckiest person in the world because I get to spend my days working with kids – one-on-one.
Whether they’re a student at Merit Academy or a college advisory client, I enjoy guiding them as they grow into unique and wonderful young adults.
The most spectacular moments for me are when I hear from my “kids” after they head off on their journeys. I just got this from one of my favorite families:
I was visiting Chris last weekend and he wanted me to tell you hello. He is a PhD student in American Politics at U. C. Santa Barbara and has almost completed his 1st year. As he and I were reminiscing about his journey these past 12 years we were talking about how much help you were. I cannot thank you enough for all the help you gave him and will always be grateful.
I love to hear what my “kids” are up to and share in their successes as if I am part of their families!
It’s that time of year again. Looking forward to sunny days – yes!
I definitely prefer long sunny days and taking walks on the beach to winter’s short days and long nights. Part of enjoying the great outdoors means protecting our kids, and ourselves, from harmful UVA and UVB rays. We all know that, right? So we lather on SPF-60 – or higher! – and think we’re protected all day.
But, sunscreen should be your LAST RESORT, and here’s why:
Wearing sunscreen CORRECTLY requires several reapplications that, quite frankly, few people actually do. After swimming or sweating, the sunscreen loses much of its protective value. We need to THINK about the sun and how to best protect ourselves. Here are 6 tips to consider when you go outdoors:
- Wear clothes that cover
Besides wearing hats and visors, long sleeve shirts and long pants protect your skin from the sun and reduces risk by 27%. My girls make fun of me for wearing my visor but I don’t want to look like a raisin! - Find shade from the sun
Sit under trees or canopies, and keep infants in the shade. It’s also much cooler in the shade. - Wear sunglasses
Protect your eyes and vision by wearing sunglasses. It’s not just a fashion statement! - Plan your outings
Head out into the sun in the early morning or late afternoon when the sun is lower in the sky. - Don’t get sunburned
Wear sunscreen on all exposed areas when you’re in direct sunlight. Sunburns that cause soreness and blisters can lead to skin cancer. - Check the UV Index [https://www.epa.gov/sunsafety/uv-index-scale-1]
Before heading out for fun in the sun, check the UV levels for your area so you can plan accordingly.
When choosing your sunscreens, avoid any with Vitamin A because it can harm your skin. Mineral-only sunscreens like the kind that have zinc oxide and titanium oxide are stable in sunlight and offer a great balance between protection from UVA and UVB radiation. And, they don’t contain harmful additives.
Don’t be misled by SPF values of over 50; they don’t offer more protection. What’s worse, they make people think that they have more protection than they’re actually getting, which may cause them to subject themselves to more UVA/UVB rays. Ouch!
So just think about your sun exposure as you head out to enjoy your summer vacations. Protect yourself by wearing clothes that cover and try to avoid direct sunlight for extended periods of time.
If you’re confused by what SPF levels to buy, you’re not alone. I even blogged about this last summer!
The internet has revolutionized how we get information. I just mused about this last week as I told one of my students about how I used to plan a day around going to the library to search the card catalogs and then plopping myself down in the library aisles to research volumes of books.
20 years later, personal computers made it possible to get instantaneous information in everyone’s homes, and now laptops, smartphones, and even smartwatches make it possible to have all data that we need wherever we are. So why is it that laptops and tablets are dumbing down our brightest students?
The reason: Students can’t multi-task; actually, nobody can! During lectures, the students – especially the best ones – open up their laptops (or tablets) so they can take notes. This makes perfect sense because it’s probably faster than writing long hand and it’s certainly easier to read later. So what’s the problem?
Well, there wouldn’t be one if all the students could see were their documents, but because they can also see their text messages, emails, and on yeah, Facebook, Instagram, and SnapChat pop ups every few seconds, their attention and ability to think about lecture topics is reduced down to well, nil. That’s right. Although the student thinks they are multitasking by writing down “important” information, they aren’t actually engaging (learning it or applying this knowledge) with the concepts. Instead, like robots, they’re taking dictation. Period. They’re also communicating with friends by responding to social media, which in and of itself requires tremendous brain activity to juggle. This is the real problem.
By not allowing their brains to learn and engage because they are filling their brain capacities with social media, they lose the class lecture time that they used to have to absorb necessary information. The Washington Post just published an article “Why smart kids shouldn’t use laptops in class” that discusses the results from several studies about how students use electronics in the classroom.
It’s interesting that teachers allow laptops but not cell phones in class. Looks like studies like this will give teachers the right to make the classroom a place where students engage in discussions and take notes the good ol’ fashioned way!
Logan Conover, my client who founded When, Not If…, is doing his part to lead America to ban driving one day per month. For May, it’s Saturday, May 21st.
By doing a little planning ahead, kick up your heels and relax at home or if you need to go out, simply ride your bike or take the bus.
Last month (April 23rd), I parked my car and spent the day in my garden and worked on a writing project. My husband dusted off his old bike and went to the farmers’ market to get some flowers and veggies.
We prevented over 100 lbs of carbon from going into the atmosphere by not driving for just one day!
Help Logan gather his stats by logging your information on his site to enter the miles you didn’t drive!
Watch this short video to dispel the myth that hydrogen is dangerous!
My good friend David Vasquez just released this timely film on the safety of hydrogen.
Now that climate change is clearly on the table for discussion about alternative energy, learn the truth about hydrogen. When produced by solar or wind, it is the cleanest fuel source available. It has zero carbon emissions and unlike batteries (for electric cars), there are no toxic chemicals and no worry about disposal at the end of the life.
Watch this short 4-minute video so when you think hydrogen, you think clean, sustainable energy, and you stop thinking Hindenburg (explosion was NOT caused by hydrogen) and the hydrogen bomb (energy is a chemical reaction, not nuclear!).
The sooner we move to a hydrogen economy, the better chance we have to slow carbon dioxide’s negative effects.