In A World

Funny and fascinating. In A World lived up to my expectations, as I enjoyed the Fresh Air interview with the writer and star of the film, Lake Bell.  

The title is the catch phrase the king of voice-overs used as he dominated the profession like nobody else. The movie wasn't so much about the late Don LaFontaine as about the industry itself.

For those of us who've earned a modest living behind a microphone, it is especially intriguing because a relative view voice actors command astronomical sums of cash. We've all heard their baritone voices on movie trailers, commercial spots and narrations of every kind. But what makes their voices so special? Unfortunately, the movie doesn't really address that very well other than to feature guys with deep, deep tones. It's a comical look at the top voice actor in the business who gets upstaged by his own daughter.

Women have not had many opportunities in this voice-over industry and even the father of one of them was loathe to have her steal one of his jobs. Lake Bell, who wrote and starred in the film, reminded me of Tina Fey. Bell has this quirkiness and self-deprecating way that made her an endearing character.  

The movie is smartly written and moves along very quickly. I recommend it. 

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Service and Scholarship Intersect

Michelle Sharpswain, PhD, is a different kind of educator. She brings learning and community service together in a public way. The classroom doesn't necessarily always require chairs in front of a chalk board.

"Kids are capable of citizen scholarship, but are seldom called," says Sharpswain, co-founder of  Madison Expeditionary Learning Academy, whose high school opens next year. She spoke to Madison South Rotary on August 26.

One example of citizen scholarship is the partnership with Lodi's Treinen Farm that annually produces a corn maze, designing it by hand and without GPS. In one of Sharpswain's week-long summer camps, each of her students learned to design a maze and get feedback from each other. Ultimately, one of the students' 12 maze designs was selected to be created in the corn field, where 20,000 visitors will eventually see it. She says nobody was disappointed when the chosen design was announced because they all had a hand in influencing it. 

"The students are invested in each other's work" because they provide critiques in hopes of making it better.

"[The corn maze project] was a way of connecting math and art," she explains, giving the students a challenging task in a public environment.

Sharpswain says citizen scholarship comes down to three main principles: rigor, relevance and relationships. The students resolve to attack a challenging project that has meaning to the community and to the students and then engage with others outside the classroom to achieve their goal.

In another project, they created a Free Little Library by designing and painting it. After receiving the materials from a donor, they could hardly wait to show off their work and unveil their baby to the man who donated the supplies, as well as to the larger community. When it was completed, Sharpswain says, "the students were so proud to show him what they did with his wood."

The school endeavors to remain small, serving anywhere from 10-40 students the first year and building from there. Next year, it opens with just a freshman class, and will likely be located in downtown Madison.

For more information, visit madisonelacademy.org.

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Svelte Peace Corps Volunteer Returns from Togo an Enlightened Man

    His adventure started in a tiny, impoverished village seven miles off the main road in Togo, West Africa, where constant drumming and random screams are the norm. David Gooze is 25 pounds lighter since becoming a Peace Corps volunteer in Kemeni, a two-thousand person community. Despite Togo's small population, they speak 40 different languages! French, however, is the official language.
    "I wanted to try something that's completely different," explained David, son of Madison South Rotary member Rob Gooze, regarding his interest in serving in Togo. The food certainly qualifies as unusual for an American. He's eaten monkey, bush rats, a breakfast of beans and rice every day, but meat just once per month.
    "They treat their animals like children," explains David, allowing them to roam freely. Dogs, however, are another matter. If you visit, leave Bowzer at home. The villagers have no affinity for canines and are happy to eat them.
    David describes these "subsistence farmers" as warm and accepting, hardly allowing him to do any work there, despite the great amount of labor necessary to farm. As a white, male guest, David is very high on the social order, always seated next to the village chief.
    David tries to promote gender equality in this patriarchal society where girls and women eat last and are expected to devote their lives to raising children, washing dishes and cleaning. To promote a better quality of life for girls, he spearheaded a soccer tournament just for them, and surprisingly, the people accepted it. And the girls loved participating. '"Girls shouldn't be playing soccer, but okay,"' David recalls the chief telling him. Soccer has been a high point for him. "It's my favorite part of being there," he says.
    Besides promoting gender equity in sports, David has also been involved in educating males about the use of condoms. He says girls can sometimes have ten or more children.
    The African experience has made him appreciate America and the great abundance we enjoy. He's also met a "best friend" who happens to be a 60-year-old Muslim African. "How else could I have met somebody like him?" David ponders.
    His visit back home in Oregon is drawing to a close. David begins his journey back to Togo on Sunday and will remain there until September of next year, when his Peace Corps commitment concludes.
    

White Coat Wisdom Now an E-book

White Coat Wisdom, now in its second printing, is available beginning today as an e-book: 

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/348899

1776 by David McCullough

How in the world the American rebels beat the strongest military power on Earth is still hard to fathom, especially after reading the wonderful 1776 by David McCullough. Somehow, they managed to repel an enemy that came in waves on a great many ships. The Americans had no ships!

McCullough, a Pulitzer Prize winner, is also that magnificent voice who narrated the Ken Burns classic, The Civil War on PBS.

His book, as its title suggests, focuses on this momentous year where the great Declaration was signed. But it was a mostly horrific time in the fledgling country's history. General Washington and his troops were getting their asses kicked in battle after battle. Almost all of 1776 details how tremendously ill-equipped the colonialists were to wage war, especially against a power like Great Britain. But McCullough does it with style, wonderful narratives and quotations from those laboring on the battlefields.

First off, the colonies had no real army, per se. They were not trained fighters. George Washington had never commanded an army in war before. And, all of the fighters were volunteers! In one chapter, the author describes a long path of blood in the snow left behind by American soldiers who no longer had shoes.

Contrast this to the Redcoats, who were well-equipped, battle experienced and wealthy enough to hire mercenaries from Germany to fight along with them. The Hessians were fierce soldiers who proved to be incredibly cruel, raping and pillaging when having successfully bested the rebels, to the embarrassment and disgust of their British generals and the Crown. Their behavior was so odious the British generals didn't know how to control them.

This is one aspect of the book I especially liked--McCullough's portrayal of events from the British perspective. General Howe had a dual role in the war as both the soldier in charge of bringing these insolent colonialists back in line but also to negotiate peace, if possible. Howe tried on multiple occasions to talk sense to General Washington, but he would hear none of it.

The British soldiers were amazed at these American towns with their bountiful orchards, nice homes, impressive furnishings, etc. They couldn't imagine why they would want to give up this idyllic existence and pick a fight with the nation that made it all possible.

The book also made me wonder what our country would be had there not been such a drive for independence. Would it have been so bad? There were plenty of Loyalists who did not want to engage in this fight, and for good reason. Many were wealthy, established land-owners who had no taste for war and the inevitable bloodshed. Their homes were ransacked and they were forced to flee into the wilds.

McCullough describes the horrific use of bayonets, muskets and canon balls in what often was hand-to-hand combat. Almost unimaginable. The desire to be free was so strong, these volunteer militias were willing to suffer and die in agonizing fashion rather than continue on under British rule.

So how did the rebels win?  Only at the very end does the author address the question, with precious little detail. He credits the persistence of the army and General Washington's ability to learn from his mistakes.

Washington also was a revered, charismatic figure who could inspire men to fight, no matter the insurmountable challenges. The rebels knew the country better than the Redcoats and that made it more challenging for Britain to attack. Help from France and the Netherlands also helped, but it sounds like the Americans just stuck it out long enough, outsmarting the Brits with decisive surprise attacks. 

In the end, the colonies demonstrated that America was theirs now, and they were willing to lay down their lives to repel invaders.

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Great interview

I loved this scene from the cable TV show, the Newsroom, played on Fresh Air. Terry Gross interviews John Gallagher, Jr. who describes what it's like to memorize lines for this Aaron Sorkin program that I've never seen.

I've always been a huge fan of Sorkin's writing, having loved almost every episode of the West Wing and the movies he's written.

Give this five minutes or so and you won't be sorry. The scene deals with a reporter on the bus with the Romney Campaign. Hysterical!

The whole interview is at this link: 

http://www.npr.org/2013/07/29/205865333/john-gallagher-jr-on-newsroom-dialogue-and-staging-green-day

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A Website that Rocks

It's time to whip your website into shape. "Your top three products and services need to be on the front page," advises Tara Ingalls, founder of Tingalls Graphic Design.  She also recommends the appropriate use of key words, which will help lead potential customers to your digital door. Think of what words customers might use if they were trying to find you.

 "But don't use acronyms," says Tara. "They're easy to spell but they don't tell you anything."  Instead, on the home page, using the H1 title tag, us a more comprehensive explanation of what your company is and does. Something like, "Welcome to Robert Johnson's luxury watch repair company, located on University Avenue in Middleton, Wisconsin."

Your contact information, including a physical address, should be clearly displayed, lending credibility to your company. Tara also suggests using photos, but making sure they are also titled with key words so Google can find you. Google doesn't know what a picture is unless you label it. Tara says embedded video, properly tagged, also will help draw people to your website, given that Google owns YouTube, the second largest search engine in the world.

The web designs that are hot now feature horizontal navigation, rotating graphics and long, skinny pages for mobile devices, according to Tara. Most importantly, she urges companies to use their logos on all of their communications so there is consistency on the web, on brochures, business cards, ads, etc. "People remember logos," says Tara. 

If you choose to hire a pro to make your site easier to find on the Web, Tara recommends asking three critical questions: 1. What methods will you use?; 2. How will you benchmark progress?; 3 What will this cost? 

For more information see Tingalls Graphic Design. 

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Making Giving Easy

You don't have to be a billionaire to make a significant and lasting contribution to the causes you deeply believe in. Enter the Madison Community Foundation (MCF), led by President Bob Sorge.

"We want to connect people to the things they love," Rotarian Sorge told Madison South Rotary. Sorge, whose organization manages endowments large and small, says it takes just $15,000 to become a permanent endowment. But funds can be established with less and will simply grow to that level over the years via asset appreciation and new contributions.

In fact, there are currently 56 such "Acorn" funds, meaning they "turn into oaks over time," explains Sorge. "They have a legacy going forward." That means the issues you care about continue to receive support into the future because the well, in a very real sense, never runs dry. "There's permanency to this fund," says Sorge.

MCF, founded almost seven decades ago, manages more than $140 million and distributes $8-$10 million annually. Once a fund is established, it's easy to recommend a grant, one's charitable interests are matched with many available options and donors benefit from economies of scale with respect to investment strategy. Moreover, MCF functions in perpetuity, creating the legacy many donors desire.

For more information, see madisoncommunityfoundation.org.

Dog Psychology

Our mutt Goldie, AKA Goldman, Golden Boy, etc., loves our daily walk. We take pretty much the same route and he reacts pretty much the same way when other dogs are around. If they're on a leash, he goes absolutely berserk, barking, pulling and generally being obnoxious.  I need to cross to the other side of the street. But here's the funny part: If the other dog is not on a leash, Goldie's docile as can be.

Case in point: There's this beautiful chocolate lab who's always loose in his yard, thanks to the electronic fence his owners installed. When we come down the sidewalk directly through his yard, the chocolate stands to attention, barks a few low hellos, wagging his tail the whole time. Goldman, on the other hand, neither barks nor looks in the chocolate's direction as he saunters by. Never. Goldie acts as if there is nothing there at all.

So what is going on here? Why berserk one minute and indifferent the next? He never deviates from this behavior. I would love to hear some theories. 

Before You Go

Grief counselor Cheri Milton speaks the power of gratitude. In her presentation before Madison South Rotary, Milton discussed why she chose to write,Before You Go: Lessons for a better life from those facing death.

"I never imagined how much they would give back to me," she said of her interactions with terminal patients.

Milton spoke of a patient named "Joyce" who suffered from ALS. Even though this horrific disease systematically stole Joyce's ability to eat, speak, or move in any substantial way, she remained steadfast in her determination to be grateful for what she did have. "At least I can see my grand-kids when they come home from school. At least my hair still looks nice."

Milton said this kind of determination was inspirational beyond measure, and she began changing things in her own life because of it. "How grateful am I?" Milton pondered. "I try to be grateful for the things we take for granted," Milton said.

Another terminal patient named "Harold" still had unopened Christmas presents under his artificial tree four years after his wife died. He told Milton he hadn't gotten around to opening the gifts she had given him for her last Christmas. Whatever the actual reason, Milton says this patient inspired her to stop procrastinating when it came to certain goals. "What am I waiting for? she asked. As a result, Milton says she forgave a friend, took a foreign vacation and started singing again for the first time since college.

We don't need death at our door to make positive changes in our lives. The patients in Before You Go certainly teach us that much.

Navigating Stormy Financial Waters

    Every investment carries risk, but Rotarian Kevin Pachucki says the wrong financial advisor could cost you much more. If you're not careful, he warns, an investor can get eaten alive by the very person he or she goes to for help.
    Kevin recommends asking a potential advisor, "Are you willing to sign off as a fiduciary?" That, according to Kevin, essentially puts in writing that the advisor will work in your best interest, a higher standard than the more typical "suitable" standard.
     Kevin, who has worked as a financial advisor for both Smith Barney and Robert W. Baird handling accounts from $400-$40 million, says he personally has witnessed brokers and advisors who've acted unethically. The result was a fatter return for the advisors and big costs for the investors.
     To avoid getting ripped off by an advisor, Kevin suggests asking pointed questions:
    In addition, he says run for the hills if there's any mention of a "secret investment tip," the necessity to invest "today" or instructions to "just write the check to me."     Kevin currently works in sales, but foresees a day when he will return to the financial industry as an educator.

• How are you paid? (If it's by the insurance company, there may be a conflict of interest).
• Are you paid less if you don't hit a commission target?
• How are you licensed?

For more information about Kevin Pachucki, see his LinkedIn profile.

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