Why there is such urgency to get kids back in school and the pushback this is receiving from families

The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next. — Abraham Lincoln

The COVID-19 virus is flourishing at breakneck speed into the small towns and states where they thought they were immune. It was a “big city” problem and they were protected until they weren’t.

And with the virus came the danger to work and education as companies sent workers home and schools closed. Then came the unending din of a call to open the schools.

We heard that children would be fine, teachers would be safe, and kids didn’t get the virus as adults do, but none of that was true. Having to make decisions about the safety of their children as opposed to sending them to school, moms opted to keep them home. Where would they be educated? …

Will a VO weeks before an election make a difference?

Brad Pitt is an actor whose name causes ears to shoot up whenever he’s mentioned anywhere in the world. He is among the pantheon of film stars who can ensure box office dynamite when his name is above the title and, as a result, he can influence many fans.

The guy with the cowboy hat and the made-for-movies bod (remember “Thelma and Louise?”), Pitt has been involved in many humanitarian causes, but he’s always kept it quiet. When Hurricane Katrina devastated housing in New Orleans, Pitt assembled a planning and construction crew.

His environmentally friendly Make It Right Foundation went to work to construct a projected 150 homes in New Orleans. The architects for the homes were famous in their own right, too, and among them was the uber-famous Frank Gehry. Additional homes are planned for other urban areas in need of housing. Some of these homes are for disabled veterans and persons with special needs. …

An app may be opening doors to the high-powered film execs who can reveal talent where it would have languished.

I don’t care who you are. When you sit down to write the first page of your screenplay, in your head, you’re also writing your Oscar acceptance speech. — Nora Ephron

Writing a screenplay and you want to get noticed, get a meeting with someone who really matters in this industry? Your prayers may have been answered to some extent, and it’s not how you think.

Anyone who writes, even the most famous writers who went on to incredible fame, has a trunk full of scripts that may never see the light of day. Why? …

You think you’re having a COVID-19 nose swab, but they see billions in profit potential.

There is a sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for man’s greed. — Mahatma Gandhi

The COVID-19 virus is overtaking the world (a third surge is evident in the US now) and causing death and economic ruin wherever it is found, but not for all. Whenever there’s a disaster, therein lies the seeds for greed for those who see incredible opportunity in the wake of helplessness.

Who among us doesn’t feel helpless in the face of this virus that can kill so quickly despite the age or the social position of the patient?

Yes, we should be following the guidelines offered by medical experts who have advised us what to do to slow down or stop the pandemic. But here is where helplessness meets greed in a most secretive manner. And it’s not the first time this has happened, and it won’t be the last unless we have legislative protection. …

Medications that heal and keep us healthy also can have psychiatric effects, and therein lies a problem.

Medicine is not only a science; it is also an art. It does not consist of compounding pills and plasters; it deals with the very processes of life, which must be understood before they may be guided. — Paracelsus

Humans are prone to illness and disease; there is no doubt, but how these illnesses are treated is often misunderstood. Patients are thankful that there are medications today that were once mere far-fetched dreams in the minds of scientists. We not only have medicines, but we have medical procedures that save lives. Even here, there is no infallibility.

Research has pulled us from death’s door with medical alchemy, but there is no free lunch in medicine, either. Every medication, every procedure, comes with its share of side effects or dangers, some of which are missed by the most acute eyes. …

Sleeping is never a waste of time

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before. — Edgar Allan Poe

One-third of our lives is spent sleeping. Calculating the average lifespan with the usual six to seven hours slept indicates that we will sleep for twenty-five years. Who wouldn’t want 25 more years to work on projects? Tacking on leap year adds another seven days over the 9,125 days you’ll sleep normally.

Do you think of sleep as useless time spent doing nothing but letting your body rest and cleanse your brain? Thomas Edison disputed the need for sleep, although he napped throughout the day. Keeping his scientists awake for as long as possible, there is an apocryphal tale of his having brought a brass band into the lab to keep them awake. …

Getting ahead in any field, for some women and men, doesn’t take guts. It takes deception and a certain personality type.

As it happens, there are particular aspects of my life to which I would like to maintain sole and exclusive rights and privileges. — Margo Channing

All About Eve, the American film is world-renowned, having won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay in 1950. It is one of the most memorable creations of Tinseltown.

The storyline is alive and active today, not merely in the theatre (the film's setting) or the creative arts. These individuals are in medicine, publishing, hedge funds, computer programming, and any other field where success means recognition and money. …

It’s more than mucking up our Mother Earth because behind it all is a racist and political framework that makes it all possible.

“I’ll never understand why people somehow support pollution. It’s completely irrational, and I don’t get it. Somewhere along the line, they bought into this fiction that one has to choose between the environment and business, which is just a complete falsehood and absurd.”— Steven Van Zandt

Wealthy nations of the world gobble up the goodies and toss away their garbage as though it will disappear. Catching that tossed rubbish has made some billionaires through “recycling,” and others are left to disease, incredible filth, and worse.

Undoubtedly, it is greed in action, but it is also racism perpetuated by political systems that underwrite these environmentally destructive actions. …