Review

Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison is certainly one of the most profound inventors of U. S. History if not all history.  He rivals the greats of the ancient empires in the impact of what he was so determined to discover.  There have been countless tails of the man, many of which display a personality of persistence and perspective.

His efforts alone will continue to impact all generations going forward, from the light bulb to the battery, he has left his thumb print.   To list only those ideas that have the most impact would do a dis-service to the entirety of his efforts.  Now that he would be 164 today, it is well to consider what he accomplished in the relatively short period of 84 years.

Here is a list of all of Thomas Edison’s patents that were registered (not to count everything else that he labored on but couldn’t  reach the formal stage)

A King’s Speech

The premise of the movie is to portray the development of a grown man, who lives in a time where solutions for his particular situation are few and unrealiable.  A dedicated and loving wife Elizabeth, played by Helena Bonham Carter, in hoping to find a solution for her embarrassed and confidence-lacking husband, filters through possibilities  until she finds Lionel Logue, played by Geoffrey Rush.

Lionel considers himself a therapist and after building trust with the Duke, endears the opportunity to improve him.  Initially the effort is mechanical, hoping to give George the tools for being able to do what he needs to do as a speaker, however Lionel knows there is more of a cause to the royal stammer that plagues George.

Timing is crucial as the Duke of York is sling-shot past his older brother (a whole other story which is worthy of definition) to the throne not long after their father dies.  As King, the people must find pride and confidence in him, and this is what he fears, since George knows his weakness.  Lionel, draws enough out to place George where he can do his best.

George does not become a great orator.  Nor does he lose his stammer, however he finds, with his friend Lionel, the ability to control his weakness.

Overall, a great story and piece of history.  Even royalty has is imperfections and triumphs, as real and meaningful as the commoner.  As with many dramatic true stories put to movie, there is a calm delivery that may appear slow or dramatic, however feeling what George is going through is what will draw you in and make you as uncomfortable at times, as he is.

4/5 Stars

Watch the TRAILER HERE

Watch the ORIGINAL SPEECH HERE

With a thriving sports nation at our doorstep, how is it that we (the United States) cannot create a highly skilled and internationally competitive soccer program.  Something that we can go into a All-Star game against a top Euro team and at least compete.  5-2 is not a competition.  5-2 is token.  It is almost a “thanks for coming, oh that’s right, we are

Manchester United With a 5-2 Victory Over The MLS All-Stars

the visitors”.

What will it take?  How long will that take?

As a four-year-old, I started playing soccer on a AYSO team and proceeded to play year after year and soon all year round.  I played on club teams, select teams, competition teams, high school varsity teams (3 years).  I loved and still love the game.

As a kid, coming up in the ranks of soccer, there was never a culture for a career in soccer, a “I am going to be a professional soccer player”.  Simply put, there wasn’t a professional league to dream of at the time.  So what are we, a half-dozen years into this, legitimate professional opportunity for soccer players.  How long does it take to have kids see nothing short of a career in the MLS?

Like baseball, football, basketball and maybe even hockey, kids for decades have shot for the starts in their pee-wee and little leagues, for becoming a professionals in their sport.  This aspiration at a 4,5 or 6 year old level, drives passion throughout the developmental years with the fruit of their efforts before them.

Today we are sitting with our first generations being able to see a formed career path for soccer and at 4,5 or 6, they know that they can work through the leagues, playing all of the time toward the aspiration and passion of being a professional soccer player.  We are thus, 12 to 20 years from seeing these first kids know nothing short of a real aspiration and drive to be a professional in the field of soccer.  This drive pushes development and removes plateaus for those who are able.

We must be patient to see that for the MLS soccer program and for the Men’s US Soccer team to really compete (the women have and will continue to – worthy of an entire other post) with the big boys of international soccer where decades of the same aspiration have been in place and concretely exist.

As expressed, the rule is this: “Nobody speaks twice until everybody speaks once“.

What a profound principle of respect to all participants.   It is not so much that there needs to be exhaustive hot air shared when it is not necessary.  It speaks to the concept of mutual participation without dominance.

This does not mean that those that don’t have an opinion need to participate, but it implies that those that should have an opinion need to develop and opinion and need to share that opinion.  In addition, the rule makes and forces time for all required participants to be involved and to share their ideas.

The other factor I think is so powerful, is suppressing the dominance of some personalities or emotions or even strength of arguments to make the opportunity to speak precise and pertinent and efficient.  Don’t convolute the air with too much filler and be ready to have already refined your thoughts through your own mental capacity.

Everyone speaks before any one person gets too much air time is a great rule to live by first, but can be implemented with good results in almost any small group – especially business, families, education groups and more.

Make it formal

Lane Kiffin At USC

Cost of living taken into account an all of a sudden, Kiffen’s move doesn’t seem so thought out. Needing over four and a half mill to get the value of his two plus mill in Knoxville.

Couple this with the lack of promise for guaranteed Pac-10 championships and strong, annual contenders for national championship, as well as the looming promise of NCAA investigations and potential violations.  What was the draw?  Really?

Knoxville, with is loyal fans and rich heritage, SEC competition and notoriety.  Was it really worth the move?

My only conclusion is that Kiffin wanted another shot as wooing Al Davis and wanted to step into the pros through the side door this time.  Okay, maybe he just loves the west coast and it was the USC job or the booming used car industry sales job.  Whatever.

Good luck to Kiffin.  Good luck to the Trojans.  The only smart move was Carroll taking off before the walls fell around him.

Reference:

ESPN LA: Kiffin Makes More Money Than You Do

Supreme Court's Opinion

In the case of United States versus Comstock the opinion was delivered.

Treading a line of freedoms entitled to every citizen and protecting the society, these situations would rely wholly on the intent of the inmate past their committed term of reform.  Should not the sentencing be accompanied by the stipulation that an evaluation must occur which could either render the inmate a danger to society or not?

How does this affect any other violation to the innocent – rape, theft, violent acts, etc?

As a father, and for the particular topic of sexual crimes against children, I am all for the life sentencing if needed.  I wonder about the trickle affect of decisions like this and how they impact other areas of the law.

Resource:

Mahan, Halerie; United States v. Comstock: Justifying The Civil Commitment Of Sexually Dangerous Offenders

Elena Kagan - Nominated Supreme Court Justice

All parties are and should be interested in proving whether or not Kagan actually can sit as a Justice, having never served as a judge before.  This doesn’t necessarily mean that she is without merit, it simply means that here merit is applied elsewhere.  The duty of those assessing Kagan’s potential ability as  Justice of the Supreme Court will have the challenging responsibility to assess how Kagan might do at the court.

One of the many ways this will be done is by Kagan filling out and answers questions according to the provided questionaire.

From questions like you expect like education, employment and military service to tougher spots like, published writings, conflicts of interest and financial statements.

See the full list of questions here.

Like anything worth doing, getting through days, weeks and maybe even a month of scrutiny, to end up in the highest of all courts in the most powerful nation on the earth, would be all worth the “dropping your pants” embarrassment.