Rating:

So, it begins! My quest is to watch all of the Best Picture winners since the Academy Awards technically began in 1927. Interestingly, it wasn’t until the early 1940s when films won the annual prize for “Best Picture.” Before then, it was Outstanding Production.

This actually has some significance, because Wings is cinematographically fairly avant-garde for its time with impressive aerial fighting scenes (known as “dogfights”), an accurate simulation of modern-day warfare, and fairly smooth editing — all in a silent film! In fact, Wings and The Artist (2012) are the only silent films to win an Academy Award for Best Production/Best Picture.

The film receives 3.5 stars from me because although the aforementioned filming was quite impressive (director William A. Wellman received full cooperation with the US War Department at the time, allowing for such accurate air scenes) — the plot sometimes missed the mark.

Wings mostly follows the trials and tribulations of two fighter pilots during World War I. It also includes an interesting love triangle and admittedly a rather unexpected plot twist at the end.

I have seen other silent films where despite the lack of audible conversation, the plot still moves along and it’s true that you can forget that you’re watching a silent film. Unfortunately, the duration of some of the fighting scenes in Wings (10-15 minutes) made for the plot to drag on quite a bit — this epic silent film clocked in at 2 hours and 21 minutes!

However, it was such a treat to see such legendary movie stars from this era, and the DVD reproduction of Wings is excellently done. The film features Clara Bow, who was the “it” girl during the 1920s, who really shines in this movie (I wish she had more scenes!) and Buddy Rogers, who looks so current that you can almost imagine him walking around in 2013. Richard Arlen also does a great job of portraying Buddy’s stoic friend.

Overall, a great movie — how amazing is it that this film was released 86 years ago and these performances are immortalized on the screen? What a treasure.

Have you watched Wings? What are your thoughts?

Rating: 

The Broadway Melody is the first musical/”talkie” to win a Best Picture nod from the Academy (well, it was only the 2nd Academy Awards the year this film won, but still). I liked this movie. I decided to give it 4 stars because for being filmed in 1929, it’s very well done. When cameras probably weighed 1000 pounds and sound techniques still lacked a lot of finesse — they pulled off a pretty seamless transition from the silent era films that were still being made that year and a little beyond.

Yes, these performances can at times come off a bit cheesy — but this is why I enjoy watching these older films. It was a completely different time. A time where cheesiness abounded ironically behind facades of political incorrectness (did Anita Page‘s character really give in that quickly when she capitulated to the squirmy male antagonist’s romantic bribes of a new apartment on Park Avenue and diamonds? Bah!).

But, again — those were the times back then. And with an outdated view on women’s lib (the term had just entered America’s consciousness earlier that decade when the 19th amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote was passed in 1920) — came just a lovely film with lots of flappers, Broadway, and singing.

Sometimes the plot moved a little slow (something I’m starting to realize may be a trend with these earlier films) but Anita Page, who became one of MGM’s biggest stars during that period, and Bessie Love did a fantastic job playing the role of two sisters trying to make it on Broadway, while vying for the affection of Charles King.

For an experience that really takes you back to America’s roaring 20s, I highly recommend.

Have you watched The Broadway Melody? What are your thoughts?

It’s an honor to receive the Versatile Blogger Award from dear friend and fellow blogger, Christi Gerstle, who has an amazing blog about all things literature, Novel Conclusions.

The guidelines for the Versatile Blogger Award are:

• Display the award certificate on your website
• Announce your win with a post and link to whoever presented your award
• Present 15 awards to deserving bloggers
• Drop them a comment to tip them off after you’ve linked them in the post
• Post 7 interesting things about yourself (see below)

My list of 15 deserving bloggers:

1. Zen Habits — by Leo Babauta is one of the most prolific and widely read bloggers out there, advising on how to make life more manageable.

2. Steve’s Dragon – a blog about how a guy named Steve Chang turned his life around once he gained a grasp on his inner struggles.

3. Location 180  — a blog written by Sean Ogle and how to build a business, live anywhere, and achieve freedom.

4. Long Live Happy – by Mary Tanner Wilson is all about delighting others with random acts of kindness and documenting the results.

5. Brave Bosom – by friend Andrea Downing, who writes about being a breast cancer previvor — incredibly inspiring.

6. Kidspired Creations – by close friend Casey Hilty, showcases a variety of beautifully done crafts for the kiddo in your life.

7. Junk Queen — by dear friend Amy Pozerski, who writes about organizing and junk removal — a must to get any home organized.

8. MWF Seeking BFF – Rachel Bertsche writes a compelling and sometimes hysterical blog on finding and building female friendships — long after the college days are over.

9. Trial by Sapphire – a blog by the lovely Lindsay Kudia about her daily insights on how life is all trial by fire.

10. 30 Year Old Ninja – fellow Teach for America alum, Izzy Arkin, moved to Japan to pursue a childhood dream: to be a Ninja.

11. Dear Sugar — written by the author of Wild, Cheryl Strayed’s advice column is the best I’ve ever read.

12. Devoke the Apocalypse – a sharp blog written by Matt Smucker that fits along the lines of politics, social movements, and grassroots organizing — and things in between.

13. Diane Kawasaki — the amazing Diane Kawasaki writes about the trials and tribulations of life in a compelling and endearing way.

14. The Friendship Blog — Dr. Irene S. Levine discusses all things friendship.

15. Transformundo – friend Jeff Dhughana reminds us to all get outside — instead of sitting behind our computers.

7 Interesting Things about Myself:

1. I’ve lived in almost every major section of the US: born in St Louis, grew up outside of Boston, went to college in Austin, first couple jobs were in Los Angeles, currently living in San Francisco — and a couple of work stints in Pensacola and DC.

2. For a management class I’m currently taking, I scored as an ambivert on the Myers-Briggs personality test.

3. Two of my favorite trips I’ve ever taken were by myself: to Iceland and India.

4. I’m a huge audiophile and spend time looking for new bands quite frequently. My latest methodology includes checking out the extended line-ups for giant music festivals, and then seeing related bands on Spotify. The possibilities are endless.

5. I’m lucky to call a variety of places home because of everywhere I’ve lived, but the place that truly feels like home is Boston.

6. My favorite color is green. It reminds me of the outdoors.

7. I am currently saving my frequent flyer miles for an around-the-world ticket, to ideally take place after I finish taking the bar next year!

Thanks for reading, all.

–M

Do you know where the site of the deadliest war is in the entire world? It’s the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Friend & fellow UT alum, Sean Carasso, turned a backpacking trip through Congo into a bona fide campaign for peace – Falling Whistles.

Sean Carasso, Founder, Falling Whistles

In 2008, Sean met 5 boys in eastern Congo — former child-soldiers held in a military camp. One boy told Sean the story of children sent to the frontlines of war, armed with only a whistle.

Falling Whistles began with $5 and a dream. Since its humble beginnings, Falling Whistles has invested in 8 Congolese visionaries, and built a coalition of 51 Congressional members, 200 retailers, and over 50,000 whistleblowers.

And I’m happy to share this fascinating interview Sean did for Small Group of Thoughtful People. Thanks for all the amazing work you are doing, Sean.

Small Group of Thoughtful People (SGOTP): Your first trip to Congo — why there? Why not anywhere else in the world?

Sean: Originally I was just backpacking. Out to get lost. I spent three months heading north and eventually ended up in Congo. The original idea was to go in for a few days, learn what we could, and then get out. Thats when we found 5 boys in a military encampment. One boy told us that the children too small to carry a gun had been sent to the frontlines of war, armed with only a whistle. We got the kids pulled out and I went home and, through tears and red wine, wrote a blog called Falling Whistles. I sent it to about 80 friends and they forwarded it around the world. Waking up, I had thousands of emails asking – why is this happening? What can we do? We have basically been trying to answer those questions ever since. 

SGOTP: Congo, as your website states, is the site of the deadliest war in the world. What was your time like that you spent over there?

Sean: Congo is gorgeous. Truly. It is both the most resource wealthy place in the world and the deadliest place in the world. Clearly those two things are not unrelated. The war is largely fought over control of the resources, like minerals for our cell phones and computers. So you have these massive forces competing over control of these minerals, and in between is a deeply resilient people doing their best to survive. Decades of war have created a creative and colorful culture that knows how precious and fleeting life can be. And so they live. They celebrate and tell stories and dance and love their lives, despite what is happening all around them. And the resources are reflected in the land – waterfalls and jungles and rivers and mountains unending. Its challenging to describe the scope because it is simply so big and so beautiful.

SGOTP: How are you working with local groups on the ground in Congo?

Sean: We began our work with a simple thesis – all change is local and all local change begins with a visionary. So we’ve been looking for young Congolese people with big ideas and the courage to see them through. Then we’ve been investing in them. That investment takes shape through finances, connections to outside networks, training and internal support. I think the future of Congo is in the hands of these visionaries and we are dedicated to seeing them, through failure and frustration, ultimately succeed.  

SGOTP: I am sure you have met countless amazing people on your journey. Who/what has inspired you the most?

Sean: I am most inspired by my partner in crime David Lewis. When we had about $150 in the bank, Dav took a box of whistles and hitchhiked from Austin, Texas to New York City. He hitchhiked through 40 cities for over 4 months, stopping in living rooms and coffee shops with a simple message – “We don’t have all the answers and we don’t have all the solutions, but we won’t be quiet while millions lose their lives. Join us in speaking up for peace.” At our worst moments, has continued to be a rock for the campaign. He is the steady hand that guides us forward. 

SGOTP: What’s next for Falling Whistles?

Sean: So much. We spent last winter working to stop M23, a rebel group commanded by members of the Rwandan government. M23 is now out of Goma, the capital city where many of our partners live and work, and Rwanda and Congo are both in peace talks. But this is just the beginning of what it will take to reach a last peace. FW will be working to build a global coalition of people dedicated to seeing an end to the deadliest war of our time. This coalition will make it much harder for the perpetuators of violence to do what they do in secret. Whistleblowing is about much more than wearing a whistle – its about telling the truth when others would prefer to look away. Every day we run toward a goal most call impossible – peace in Congo. We’re asking everyone everywhere to run with us.  

Read more about Falling Whistles and how to get involved at: www.fallingwhistles.com

You can also find Falling Whistles on Twitter: @FallingWhistles

President Obama sworn into office today, 2013

Yeah, the major news outlets made a reference to it — the topical symbolism of today being both Inauguration Day and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. And as I sat in my apartment watching President Obama’s inauguration address, being the master orator that he is, realizations about these two very different eras of time started to trickle in — and then these realizations came cascading down.

On this 50th year anniversary of the historic March on Washington in 1963, these last five decades have been chock-full of chipping away at the stone of inequality in this country–and it is true that those who stood marching in the front lines, linked arm in arm with MLK, Jr., would likely marvel at the amount of progress that has been made.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the March on Washington, 1963

But, there is something that tugs at me. It’s really more than a tugging, it’s akin to hearing the sound of a fire truck barreling through the main thoroughfare of your town, getting closer to your neighborhood, and then ultimately your own street — the sirens crescendoing with every second ticking by.

For the last 50 years in our globalized international community — where we are more connected than ever, but strangely in many ways, the most distant — it feels like we should have made more progress.

I wasn’t alive during the 60s (as has been pointed out to me a number of times), but most people who tell me about that time say that there was something in the air — so many Americans were hungry for activism, and for change — literally taking it to the streets. And what it comes down to at this very moment is: do most Americans think the current state of affairs is well–livable–versus unacceptable?

Bystanders on the Washington Mall, 1.21.13

The crowd swelling today on the Washington Mall to hear Obama’s address gave me an inkling of what a crowd hungry for reform looks like — hundreds of thousands of people flocking to hear the wisdom and leadership from our President — hanging onto his every word. People who want to believe in the good of the American people and the potential for what this country can truly be.

But I couldn’t help but think about what if those 800,000 people were there unified under a cause — same-sex marriage equality? Taking action on climate change? For a ban on assault weapons?

It’s about asking ourselves if things are livable versus unacceptable.

As today progresses on, and the inauguration balls begin and come to an end, American life will resume. And of course, all of this is an individual choice: for each person, what does it look like when inequalities or injustices in our country are utterly and truly unacceptable?

The March on Washington, 8.28.63

That’s the gift that today brings — this synergy of MLK Jr’s March on Washington and President Obama’s Inauguration Day. It reminds us of the blood, sweat, and tears that led to the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the other uncertainties that lay ahead in our future as Americans.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was able to identify and organize around that not-so-intangible sense of unacceptability. He led many people in this country to say ENOUGH! and together, they took action to try to create a future that actually reflects some of the founding fathers’ rhetoric that will forever be quoted in the ages.

So, after this Inauguration Day in 2013, do you think things are livable or unacceptable?

I’m hoping we’ll see each other out in the streets so we can find out.

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Cheers!

This week’s featured thoughtful person is the lovely Laurie Schur, Director/Producer of The Beauty of Aging.

I met Laurie while I was living in Los Angeles in 2009, and our paths crossed while we were both taking a class called Awakening Joy (more to come on this later this week!). I soon learned that Laurie transitioned into film in her 50s after a 25 year career in psychotherapy. She created The Beauty of Aging out of a desire to find inspiring models of aging for herself and other women. So, this documentary project was born, and it features the extraordinary lives of American women over the age of 80–and their secrets for staying forever young.

Check out the trailer for The Beauty of Aging here! 

5 Things You Need to Know about “The Beauty of Aging”

Small Group of Thoughtful People (SGOTP): How did you get into film production?

Laurie: I was interested in a career change in my 50’s from doing full-time psychotherapy. I took a documentary film class at UCLA Extension and got hooked. I continued taking courses and then interned on other people’s documentaries. Eventually I felt ready to do my own film project.

SGOTP: Why did you decide on the film The Beauty of Aging?

Laurie: My mother died at the age of 64. As I was approaching my 60s, I became motivated to learn what made women live longer and fulfilling lives in their older years. I was interested in the “older, older” woman–those over the age of 80. Knowing that everyone has life challenges, I was seeking their secrets about what kept these women vital and happy into later life.

SGOTP: How did you pick the women you decided to feature?

Laurie: I asked for referrals from my documentary communities and friends for women over 80 who were doing well. While I know that dementia, poverty and illness exist in many elderly people, that was not my focus of interest for this film. I pre-interviewed several women and selected those with interesting stories whom I felt would be “filmic”–meaning that they would come across well on film. 

SGOTP: What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned from these amazing women over 80?

Laurie: Attitude, attitude, attitude. Along with their good attitudes, they all stayed actively engaged in living despite life’s challenges. Creativity, relationships with people of all ages and a variety of interests were key factors for these women.

 As I researched the topic of aging well, these women’s lives matched the research. While genetics is a factor, lifestyle, attitude and active engagement in life are equally important – some say more so.

SGOTP: What keeps these women forever young?

Laurie: I don’t know about “forever young” but I do think in terms of vitality and positive mental outlook. These women are primarily optimistic–some are spiritual but all seem to live in the present without a lot of negativity. They allow for feelings without getting stuck in the upsets of life.

The Beauty of Aging website features the trailer and interview shorts from each of Laurie’s subjects. 

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Cheers!

Early birds always get the worm.

But night owls can also get their worm equivalent.

Are you an early bird or a night owl? And are you harnessing the “best part” of your day to the fullest? I’ve been doing some thinking about how knowing these things about yourself can seriously impact the quality of your day–and what you’re able to contribute.

In the course of a given day, we all have our different highs and lows. When do you feel the most energized? When is your mind the clearest?

Balancing working full-time and going to school part-time has been an interesting experiment over the last few years of learning–not only about the law–but really about myself. When is the best time for me to pour over legal cases and actually be able to retain what I read? When does it make sense to schedule a little downtime for myself?

For a good chunk of my life, I was a night owl. I still can be sporadically–and I really zeroed in on the reason why nighttime was so great: it was the most peaceful.

I’m truly an ambivert at heart: I love hanging out with my friends, and I also need my downtime to decompress and be alone with my thoughts. Nighttime gave me the serenity that I needed, but as the demands of work & school proved–it wasn’t necessarily the most conducive to getting things done.

So, for productivity’s sake, I tried to be an early bird. It was a gradual transition over the last 3 years, but it has been a fantastic exercise in learning more about myself when my mind is the freshest. In the morning, I’m able to retain that sense of peace & quiet since the rest of the city is just starting to wake up, and I’m able to get through my more mentally demanding tasks when I just got a good night’s sleep.

This has been really important to me feeling like I am living the best day possible, and getting the most out of my day. Not just on a productivity scale, but being able to be in tune with myself and give myself a break when I need to.

For example, early afternoon is when I usually could benefit from a walk around the office and a coffee break, so I try to incorporate that whenever I can during the work week. And that way, I know to reserve my more heavy-lift tasks for earlier in the morning, whenever possible.

However, I have a friend at law school who swears that studying late into the evening is when his brain is the most alert–and it certainly seems to be working for him. Which again proves the theory of different strokes for different folks.

When’s the best part of day for you? Have you tried to structure your day around this so that you’re getting the most out of your day?

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The term lifestyle blogger has been somewhat of a catchphrase lately–but with good reason. Many lifestyle bloggers offer a bit of an escapist route to what daily life could possibly look like. I’ve previously blogged about how a young entrepreneur travels the world and writes motivational columns.

One of my favorite lifestyle blogger pages is Zen Habits. Written by Leo Babauta, who lives in my fair city of San Francisco, he frequently shares short lists for how to lead a more efficient–and therefore more effective–life. Leo is able to combine both a bit of escapism–but tenets that can actually be applied to our daily lives.

Check out the Zen Habits archive here!

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Last week, I spent the remainder of my vacation days before work begins today at Mount Diablo State Park, located about an hour east of San Francisco.

From the summit of Mount Diablo

I spent a couple days trekking around, trying to absorb the silence, and generally enjoy time away from the hustle and bustle (which I love) of the city. I was able to get some perspective, being up there way at the top of Mount Diablo. It was a different part of myself that was activated: one where I could rely on my senses to enjoy all that was around me. I left feeling reinvigorated, and that feeling has since carried me through the weekend, and will help me throughout this whole week.

Noticing all the things (shadows included) along my path

One of my favorite resources for folks out here in California to check out some amazing outdoor hikes is Weekend Sherpa, where you can look up hundreds of trail, and there is no shortage of them.

An ambitious goal of mine is to try to get out at least twice a month to take in the great outdoors, and in turn, nourishing a part of myself.

Where are your favorite outdoor getaways & resources to find them?

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I’ve been hearing a LOT of discussion lately (even more than usual) about the negativity bias in the media–but as many sociologists will be quick to point out, this bias is inherent in our evolutionary history as human beings, too.

One of my favorite thought leaders–who happens to be a neuropsychologist–Rick Hanson, writes a lot about “confronting the negativity bias.”

Okay, so there appears to be an abundance of evidence that there are a lot of reasons why we are essentially dispositioned to be a little–grumpy.

Well, what about the other side of that? Where’s the positivity bias?

Actually, the positivity bias is all around us (that sounds unintentionally reminiscent of the opening lines of Love Actually), but it’s really quite true. Just take a moment to really pay attention to it–to really observe it.

So, after the mindfulness retreat that I did on January 1st of this year, I gratefully had the rest of the week off to soak in the last bits of relaxation before work and the spring semester of law school commenced.

This Wednesday, I made my way to Ocean Beach in San Francisco in the late afternoon, and sat down at a coffee house and noticed the sun quickly making its way down the horizon. Feeling like I had a lot to do, I scurried off while the sun was still setting, taking in the beauty, but admittedly, not fully taking it in. (I could ever so faintly hear the mediation teacher’s reminder to be mindful.)

So, I drove along the Great Highway, which runs parallel to Ocean Beach, and watched that sun continue to beautifully set. But, I actually noticed something else that in turn, helped me remember how exquisite of a moment this was. 

It was all of the sunset bystanders stopping in their tracks, watching the sun, and there it was–this ever so slight smile spreading across their faces.

It was the type of smile that if you were absorbed in any other type of thought, you wouldn’t have given it a second glance. But, being aware that this gorgeous sun was setting and there were others taking it in–I started to see some repetition.

Literally, every single person I drove past that was taking a moment to watch the sunset had that same look–that same small smile. And this had me thinking–there must be a positivity bias. Those universally recognized actions or events where we are almost pre-programmed to react positively to them. Smiling is one, and this dramatic sunset was another.

I continued to drive to Sutro Heights park (where the above photo was taken), and ran into about 3-4 more people. They also had that same slight smile–all acknowledging that this was a hell of a moment. It was quite poignant to see what felt like a positivity bias at work. Imagine if this was the media angle that all reporting was done on.

What are other events you can recollect that contain a similar positivity bias?

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