Category Archives: Water

TOLERANCE – SO WE CAN ACHIEVE HIGHER GOALS

banner james carlini - Carlini's CornerBy James Carlini

Looking back about five years ago to 2013, I wrote about the betterment of mankind by trying make a New Year’s resolution to revisit tolerance and acceptance in our lives.  I guess we haven’t come too far? In fact, I would say we have regressed.

As I pointed out in the article in 2013, “The average person is being bombarded by self-appointed “culture experts” who are judging what can be said and what can’t be said. Last time I looked, this was the United States. There are many cultures, religions, and many different perspectives here. They are supposed to blend together in a melting pot and not stick out like ingredients in a salad. Your perspective can be presented because of the Constitution and Freedom of Speech, but don’t think it is automatically mainstream or that it should be immediately adopted by everyone.”

What has happened to us as a society?  Some people still have not accepted the results of the 2016 Election and are resistant to change, resistant to new ideas, resistant to a shift in policies, and resistant to working together to get things done.  We have become more polarized, but that polarization started long before the 2016 Election.

There is no word like “compromise” in any civil discourse anymore.  People are discouraging public discourse on ideas and concepts if the speaker does not fit their belief system or their perspective on issues. What happened to Freedom of Speech?

FREEDOM OF SPEECH IS OK – ONLY IF YOU AGREE WITH ME

“If you agree with me, I will let you speak, but if your ideas do not mesh exactly with mine, I will stop you from speaking.” This is the attitude shown and is what is happening on many college campuses, and it does not promote any type of broadening one’s perspective.

Funny how it is not just a group of students. Faculty and administrations on some of these campuses are just as intolerant as those radicals coming on campus to disrupt a presentation that they do not agree with.  I always thought higher learning was supposed to promote the ability to share different perspectives and develop a broader perspective by having in-depth discourse on ideas?

This intolerance is not only evident on some college campuses, it is evident in other parts of society, including Congress.  From our outside perspective, we hear,”We don’t want to discuss this endeavor.” by the opposition. And then, after it is voted on, we hear, “We didn’t have any input on this idea.  The opposition did this all by themselves. We don’t agree.”

It’s time to cut out the childish attitudes, the chronic intolerance, and start working together to forge ahead.

There should be some positive projects that everyone in Congress can work on AND have their constituents benefit from.  I have talked about an infrastructure project that can benefit many states, industries, companies, and even farmers.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER LOCKS PROJECT – MAYBE A PROJECT TO UNIFY MANY PEOPLE?

I have written several articles on the Trillion Dollar Infrastructure Project that Congress is starting to review.  What should they prioritize and what could benefit a huge amount of people across many states.

The Mississippi River has a series of locks that barges carrying all different types of products need to go through to get to the Port of New Orleans.  These locks that were built in the 1930s are totally obsolete and are holding up shipping from many states. The faster things can get shipped down the river, the cheaper their costs are. This benefits us as a nation, keeping our costs for products down..

We depend on the Mississippi River to ship over 600 Billion tons of products annually.  The products include agricultural products to aggregates to coal and oil.  From this article, I recently wrote, here are some observations:

Many industries across many states depend on the Mississippi to ship their products out to the rest of the world.  Farmers also depend on shipping products out for world export as well as domestic use.

“The agricultural products and the huge agri-business industry that has developed in the Mississippi basin produce 92% of the nation’s agricultural exports.”

With all the intolerance on so many issues and ideas, maybe we can get Congress to focus in on a project like this which transcends political parties and focuses on doing something good for a good, diverse portion of the United States.

If we can find common ground in supporting a large project like this, maybe we can find common ground on many other areas that just require some compromise and not be chronically blocked by hardcore opposition. (from either side)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ubuntu Bracelet Campaign – A Great Bracelet and A Great Cause

Do Ubuntu Bracelet Campaignpic ubuntu bracelet

Ubuntu (/ˈbʊnt/ oo-BUUN-too; Zulu/Xhosa pronunciation: [ùɓúntʼú]) is a Nguni Bantu term roughly translating to “human kindness” Read More….

The Orphan Bracelet Campaign (OBC) helps AIDS orphans by equipping their primary caretakers – usually women – with the means to sustain themselves and improve their health.

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This includes training women to make bracelets to sell for an income and establishing community-based permaculture gardens. The OBC was founded by director Louise Hogarth, who was inspired by the women and children in her film “Angels in the Dust.” Continue reading

Nat Faxon of Ben and Kate Supports Surfrider Foundation

Nat Faxon of Ben and Kate and Oscar winner for co-writing “The Decendents” Supports The Surfrider Foundation

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hez_0E7KcFI]

If you don’t know Nat Faxon you soon will. He will be starring in the new comedy series on Fox Ben and Kate. Nat has also been in countless commercial great commercials and some of my favorite movies like Beerfest, Bad Teacher, Zookeeper and Walk Hard – The Dewey Cox Story

Nat has also been seen on many of my favorite shows like Reno 911, My Name is Earl and many others.

This interview is from the first of the year so Nat had not won his Oscar yet. This is one of those, I wish I knew what I was talking about interviews. I had no clue that Nat was the co-screenwriter on The Decendents movie and it is obviouse. Sorry Nat… It was great to see him win the Oscar as I have seen him at a few events and he is always very nice. Thanks Nat. – JW

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Nat Faxon (c) JW NajarianNat Faxon

From Wikipedia

Faxon’s early years started in the seaside community of Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts. Faxon is a graduate of Brookwood School(Manchester-by-the sea, Massachusetts), Holderness School, and Hamilton College. As an actor, he is best known for his appearances in comedic films such as Orange County (2002), Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007), and several Broken Lizard films including Beerfest (2006). He co-starred in Darren Star‘s semi-autobiographical satire Grosse Pointe and had recurring roles in several television series such as The Cleveland Show, Joey, Up All Night and Reno 911!. He was also featured in a series of prominent Holiday Inn commercials featuring Joe Buck as well as an ad by Blockbuster.

Faxon is an alumnus of the Los Angeles-based improvisational and sketch comedy troupe The Groundlings.

Faxon and writing partner Jim Rash, whom he met while performing at The Groundlings, most recently co-wrote the screenplay for the film The Descendants, starring George Clooney and directed by Alexander Payne. On February 26, 2012, the screenplay for The Descendants won an Oscar.

He will star in the lead role on the upcoming FOX comedy Ben and Kate.

From TvGuide

  • Started a sketch-improv group called Bobby Peru while in college.
  • Worked in the main company at the Groundlings improv theater in Los Angeles for nearly a decade.
  • Pitched a variety of products in commercials for Swiffer Duster, Saturn, State Farm, Heineken, TiVo and Holiday Inn (for which he appeared with broadcaster Joe Buck in several spots).
  • Considered his role as evil German Rolf in 2006’s Beerfest as one of his favorites.
  • Married Meaghan Gadd, daughter of well-known drummer Steve Gadd, whose tours are titled Mission From Gadd.
  • Voiced characters on The Cleveland Show and American Dad! before landing a lead voice role on Allen Gregory in the fall of 2011.
  • Cowrote (with Jim Rash) the adapted screenplay for The Descendants (2011), starring George Clooney.

Nat Faxon Relationships:

  • Meaghan Gadd – Wife
  • Ruth James Faxon – Daughter

Nat Faxon Awards:

  • 2012 Golden Globe: Best Screenplay – Motion Picture – Nominee
  • 2011 Oscar: Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) – Winner (with Jim Rash)
  • 2011 BAFTA Awards: Best Adapted Screenplay – Nominee
  • College:
  • Hamilton College, Clinton, NY (BA in Theater, 1997)

Ben and Kate

SERIES PREMIERE TUE 8:30/7:30c SEP 25 on Fox

What happens when an exuberant, irresponsible dreamer who always says “yes” moves in with his overly responsible little sister to help raise her five-year-old daughter? BEN AND KATE is a heartwarming new comedy that follows a pair of odd-couple siblings – one an overly responsible single mom; the other, an exuberant kid-at-heart – and their friends as they push each other out of their comfort zones and into real life.

KATE FOX (Dakota Johnson, “The Social Network”) followed the rules all her life…until she got pregnant in college and dropped out just shy of graduation. After the birth of her daughter, MADDIE (Maggie Jones, “We Bought a Zoo,” “Footloose”), Kate put her twenties on hold. Now working as a bar manager to make ends meet and maximize her time with five-year-old Maddie, she’s uber-prepared for every possible catastrophe – except for the arrival of her older brother,  BEN FOX (Nat Faxon, “Bad Teacher”).

Ben and Kate Official Site

~ Nat Faxon is not on social media and does not have a website.

Surfrider Foundation

The Surfrider Foundation

MISSION

A little over 25 years ago three people in Malibu, California found out that their favorite wave was about to be destroyed. Think about that for a second.

Think about something you love… something that gives you enjoyment. Taken away.

First Point, pictured to the right, the quintessential perfect California wave was about to be destroyed. Those three people organized and worked with the local municipalities until they were satisfied that their efforts to preserve that iconic wave would be successful.

This was the genesis of Surfrider Foundation.

Today, we are doing this same thing in about 18 countries around the world.

Our mission is the protection and enjoyment of oceans, waves and beaches through a powerful activist network.

You can think about that as three concepts. “Protection and enjoyment”, we don’t want to put a velvet rope around a beach and tell people to keep off. We’re surfers, we’re beach goers, we’re watermen… we enjoy the coasts. We’re a user group. Next up is “oceans, waves and beaches.” Think coastlines, we’re engaged with environmental issues that affect our coastlines. “Powerful activist network” speaks to how we go about this mission. We are a grassroots organization. We’re local in many coastal regions.

We’re moms, we’re surfers, we’re kids and teens… we’re you. We’re engaged to protect what we love: oceans, waves and beaches.

We would love to have you join us, you can join Surfrider here.

www.facebook.com/surfrider
twitter.com/surfrider
youtube.com/surfriderfoundation

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Thanks to GBK Events – Gavin and his great staff. As always you host the best.

GBK Productions is a Marketing, Public Relations, Fundraising and Special Events company dedicated to providing high quality, tailor-made service to its individual clients. GBK is known for integrating the Entertainment, Luxury Consumer Products and Non-Profit industries to create unique and memorable high-profile experiences that maximize its clients’ brand-building efforts.

Formed in 2000 by Gavin Keilly, the company’s Founder and CEO, GBK consists of five divisions: GBK Celebrity Gifting, GBK Event Production, GBK Weddings, GBK Charitable Consulting and GBK Marketing/Public Relations. Though separate, each entity is interconnected allowing clients/brands a full range of marketing services and benefits.