Author: cahwyguy

So, you want to know something about me? Heh. You could visit my AboutMe page, but for those who aren't up to that... Behind that mild-mannered middle-aged computer security geek is a husband (since 1985) and daddy (since 1994) whose into loads of eclectic stuff, such as highways, Judaism, Boardgaming, Musical Theatre, and much more. I write about what I feel like.

Another Problematic Woman

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Taming of the Shrew (Theatricum Botanicum)userpic=yorickEarlier today, I wrote of a theatre piece that focused on a woman with a behavior problem: she was bipolar, and couldn’t let go of her grief. But women with problems have been the focus of theatre for ages. This afternoon I saw a much older theatre piece about another problematic women: “The Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare. As is common with Shakespeare pieces during the summer, it was at an outdoor venue: Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanticum in Topanga Canyon.

First, a word about the venue. My wife had been to Botanicum back in the 1970s, shortly after it was founded by Will Geer and his wife, during the days he was on The Waltons. Botanicum is in a wooded canyon; the theatres are in little amphitheatres with outdoor stages and bench seating. Actors are anywhere and everywhere  — this is very much outdoor theatre of the 1970s, not the enclosed structures of today or the little black boxes. In many ways, this is theatre as it was meant to be: actors honing their craft, using their skill and not technology to tell a story. Batanicum is also very much a repertory company: the cast of actors are doing multiple plays concurrently over the summer — Shrew is just one of them. They are also doing Midsummers Night Dream, The Royal Family, Merlin, and Tone Clusters. It is a joy to watch, and we’ll likely be back for future productions.

Now, on to the show itself. If you are not familiar with Shrew, all I can say is go watch the “Atomic Shakespeare” episode of Moonlighting. You know — Bruce Willis, Cybil Shepard. Oh, right, you’re too young. Go rent Kiss Me Kate. As for me, the last time that I saw Shrew on stage was back in 2008 when it was part of Santa Clarita’s Shakespeare in the Park. I do love me a good production of Shrew, and this one was a fun one.

This production of Shrew established the mood early, with a madrigal group singing outside the line to the theatre. However, there was this annoying drunk wandering around trying to cage cadge a ticket and get someone to save him a seat. Somehow he succeeded, because as we came into the theatre, so did he. In fact, during the pre-show announcements he waltzed on stage and the house manager had to call security, but before they arrived, he collapsed on the steps. Just then, some hunters showed up (speaking the Bard’s good English), and decided to pull a trick on him. They would dress him as a king, and perform a comedy for him. And thus… the framing of The Taming of the Shrew.

As with much of Shakespeare, distinguishing all of the different characters is difficult (especially when there were some last minute substitutions). I’ll list them all in a minute. First, however, I’d like to highlight some particularly strong performances. In the lead positions were Willow Geer (FB) as Katharina and Aaron Hendry (FB) as Petruchio. You can see them pictured in the image above. These two leads were perfectly matched to each other. Hendry was athletic and charming, well built, and just fun to watch. Geer was a tiger-cat — able to pull out her claws and purr on demand. These two were just having fun with the role, and just a delight whenever they were on the stage.

Also strong, but not quite as stand-out-ish, were Christine Breihan (FB) as Bianca. She was charming, but didn’t seem to acquire a personality to the end. Also strong was the drunk, Christopher Sly (Gerald C. Rivers (FB)), who was doing a great job of fooling theatre patrons before the show, and was a delight to watch while he remained in character throughout the production.

As for the remainder — it was truly an ensemble. All were wonderful, but no particular actor stood out over another. Here’s a full listing of the rest of the cast, but some roles were substituted at our production: Liz Eldridge (FB) (Widow/Musician), Bill Gunther (Gremio), Charles M. Howell IV (FB) (Pedant); Christopher W. Jones (FB) (Hortensio); Leo Knudson (Joseph/Priest), Gabrielle Lamb/FB (Servant/Player), John Maidman/FB (Ludentio), Melora Marshall (FB) (Grumio), Timothy McCray/FB (Curtis), Marcelo Olivas (FB) (Biondello), Kila Packett (FB) (First Huntsman/Baartholomew), Chynna Skye Pozzessere (FB) (Third Huntsman), Franc Ross (Baptista), Taylor Jackson Ross (FB) (Stage Manager/Haberdasher), Evan Tamayo (FB) (Philip), Esdras Toussaint (Nathaniel), Paul Turbiak (FB) (Lord/Vincentio), Frank Weidner/FB (Tailor/Musician), Christopher Weir (FB) (Second Huntsman), Jeff Weisen (FB) (Tranio). Understudies were Jonathan Blandino/FB, Jessica Butenshon, Kevin M. Connolly, and Dane Oliver/FB.

The production was directed by Ellen Geer, who did a wonderful job of bringing out the fun in the production — these actors were having the time of their lives, and it showed. Stage management was by Kim Cameron/FB assisted by Brandi Martin. The costumes, which were very inventive, were designed by Val Miller/FB. Properties were mastered by Shen Heckel. Sound was by Ian Flanders, who likely coordinated the on-stage musicians that provided the sound effects. Lighting was by Zach Moore/FB, although our production had mostly natural light.

Taming of the Shrew continues in Repertory through September 29. It is well worth seeing. Tickets are available online; you might also be able to find them on Goldstar.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:  The last weekend of June brings a Maria Muldaur concert at McCabes, as well as “Man of No Importance“ (Hollywood Fringe) at the Lillian.   July starts with a musical we had originally planned for Fathers Day weekend: “Ionescapade” at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble. That will be followed by “9 to 5 – The Musical” at REP East in the middle of the month, and “Legally Blonde – The Musical” at Cabrillo at the end of the month. July will also (hopefully) see us as OperaWorks at CSUN. August is currently completely open due to vacation planning, although we may see a show at the Lawrence Welk Resort in Escondido at the end of the month (depending on price), or at another venue in San Diego.

Continuing the look ahead: September may bring Sarah Ruhl’s “In The Next Room or The Vibrator Play“ at the Production Company/Secret Rose and “Blue Man Group” at the Hollywood Bowl, as well as “God of Carnage” at REP East. October is open, but should the Cabrillo production of “Kiss Me Kate” somewhere, as well as “Dirty Rotten Soundrels” at Actors Rep of Simi. November will bring “Play It Again Sam” at REP East as well as ARTS’s Nottingham Village (a one-weekend ren-faire-ish market). The fall should also bring a production of “Carrie – The Musical” by Transfer Theatre. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open as the various theatres start making their 2013/2014 season announcements. Lastly, what few dates we do have open may be filled by productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411, or discussed in the various LA Stage Blogs I read (I particularly recommend Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times).

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The Definition of Insanity

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Next to Normal (La Mirada)Some say that the definition of “insanity” is doing the same thing and expecting different results (others say that that the DSM is wrong and we’re only diagnosing based on symptoms, but that’s later in this post). So, then, are theatre goers insane — we often go and see the same show over and over. Are we expecting different results, or are we just expecting to see the same show?  What do we expect to see in the different versions?

I can’t answer for everyone, but for me, I see different productions of the same show to find nuances, to see particular actors, and to see how different venues approach the material (especially different sized venues). I’m bringing this all up because last night I went to see a musical about mental illness; a musical that I last saw only a few years ago at the end of 2010. The musical is “Next to Normal” (music by Tom Kitt; book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey), and I decided to see it again because (a) I like the show, but more importantly (b) our experiences with the director and a number of cast members led me to conclude that this would be an excellent production. I wasn’t wrong — it wasn’t insanity to see “Next to Normal” again; rather, it was an experience that was well worth the drive (it was out in La Mirada, where we last saw Johnny Guitar in 2006) and provided additional insights.

As I’ve seen the show (and written up the show before), I’ll just repeat the synopsis I wrote up the last time. The story didn’t change from then:

“Next to Normal” tells the story of a dysfunctional family: the mother (Diana) who is falling deeper and deeper into the depths of her mental illness (bipolar); the father (Dan) who is attempting to hold it all together; the daughter Natalie who has been lost in the shuffle, and the son, Gabriel, who is the lynchpin for Diana’s illness. It is the story about how holding on to something too tightly can be just as damaging as not holding it enough… or at all. It is the story of how treating mental illness is not an exact science; although doctors offer a range of treatments from pharmacology to talk therapy to hypnosis to even stronger therapies, it is just throwing spaghetti on the wall. It is the story of Natalie and Henry, and how being in the middle of dysfunction and mental illness can affect a teen relationship… and how one can use substances to attempt to run away from problems, but it doesn’t help. Ultimately, it is the story of family, and that things don’t always work out how you expect them, but hopefully they work out for the best.

“Next to Normal” is such a great musical due to its honest treatment of mental illness. We see there is no cut-and-dried treatment. In “Next to Normal”, the triggering event for Diana is the death of her son at 8 months. She never lets go of the grief; rather, she embraces it and truly keeps her son alive in her mind, to the detriment of everything else. Although initially she could apparently cope (and even had another child shortly after), she began to lose it as her daughter got older. This impacted her daughter, for her mother never drew close to her. Diana’s husband, Dan, reacted in the other direction: he detached from his son, wanting to hide the memories away in a box, and live focused on the present. The latter (as the musical implies) is equally unhealthy, but is more acceptable to society. It also showed the differences in thinking for many men, who make a commitment to be there for the ones we love; good or bad, we hold things together.

(returning to the present) Every time I see this show, I see echoes of my life. I had a brother who died when I was ten; my mother went into a deep depression shortly thereafter that (I believed) colored her life thereafter and ultimately led to behaviors that killed her. Valium was indeed her favorite color. My wife has dealt with depression (successfully), and I’ve seen her mother deal with the inability to let go of grief. As I said the last time I saw this show: “The musical hits home for those that live with depression: the inability to get anything done and how that affects the family. It hits home with those who live with the manic side as well: the up-at-all-hours unpredictability that is equally taxing. This hits home—it is a deeply personal, touching musical.”

I also said last time — and I still agree — that Next to Normal is one of the best examples of a musical that needs the stage. Movies tend to be focused in the real (even if that is an alternative reality). What we see on the screen is realistic. Musicals allow the emotions to come out and be expressed, and Next to Normal is all about emotions. If you can find a production of this near you, it is well worth seeing.

As I wrote in the beginning, the primary reason I wanted to see this particular production was the director and the cast. I wasn’t disappointed. The director for this show was Nick Degruccio (FB), who has done numerous musicals in the Southern California area … all of which have been great. This show was no exception. Nick brought out the raw emotion from the actors, and connected with the audience (I know it brought out the emotion and me, and I heard others audience members saying something similar). If you have the opportunity to see something Nick directs, do it. The odds are good it will be excellent.

The casting for this production was spot on. Back in 2010, I saw the tour with the original Diana, Alice Ripley, in the lead. This production cast Bets Malone (FB) in the lead.  We’ve seen Bets in numerous productions at Cabrillo and throughout Los Angeles, and she is consistently one of the best musical performers in Southern California. She didn’t disappoint here — in fact, I think her performance was stronger than Ripley’s because she somehow made the performance and the character seem real and down-to-earth.

Also attracting us to the production was Tessa Grady as Natalie, Diana’s daughter. Tessa is another actor we see regularly in roles — we’ve seen her at the Colony and Cabrillo, and have always been impressed with her. She was very strong here, and gave a wonderful performance (I’m running out of superlatives) as the daughter.

Diana’s husband, Dan, was also played by Southern California regular, Robert J. Townsend (FB). We saw Townsend in the great production of The Story of My Life at Havok, and in numerous Cabrillo productions. Yet again — wonderful voice, wonderful performances.

Rounding out that cast — again, all with spectacular performances — were Alex Mendoza/FB as Henry, Eddie Egan (FB) as Gabe, and Keith A. Bearden (FB) as Dr. Madden. We’ve seen Mendoza before (Justin Love, Cabrillo) and Bearden (Johnny Guitar), but Egan was new to us. All were strong and a delight to watch.

Musically, the production was very strong, with musical direction by Darryl Archibald (FB) (another Cabrillo alumni). Archibald also conducted the 6 piece band, which included Archibald on piano, Dave Lofti on Percussion, Joe Jewell (FB) on Guitars, Shane Harry on Electric Bass and Acoustic Bass, Claudia Vanderschraaf/FB on Cello, and Tyler Emerson/FB on the odd combination of Violin and Keyboard.

The technical production was also excellent. The scenic design by John Ezell was reminiscent of the set at the Ahmanson, although lacking the eyes. I particularly noted how at points the background was cracked and imperfect. The lighting by Steven Young was also strong and effective, doing a wonderful job of creating the mood. The sound design by Josh Bessom provided clear and crisp sound (better than the production at the Ahmanson, where the orchestra overpowered at times), although there were a few static problems with the mics. The costumes by Kish Finnegan worked well with the characters, and the properties by Terry Hanrahan were effective. The prop/costume package were from the Arizona Theatre Company. David Cruise was the Technical Director. Jill Gold was the production stage manager, assisted by Phil Gold. The executive producers were McCoy Rigby Entertainment.

The last performance of Next to Normal is today, June 23. 2013. You can buy tickets online here.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:   Today brings more theatre: “The Taming of the Shrew” at Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum. The last weekend of June brings a Maria Muldaur concert at McCabes, as well as “Man of No Importance“ (Hollywood Fringe) at the Lillian.   July starts with a musical we had originally planned for Fathers Day weekend: “Ionescapade” at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble. That will be followed by “9 to 5 – The Musical” at REP East in the middle of the month, and “Legally Blonde – The Musical” at Cabrillo at the end of the month. July will also (hopefully) see us as OperaWorks at CSUN. August is currently completely open due to vacation planning, although we may see a show at the Lawrence Welk Resort in Escondido at the end of the month (depending on price), or at another venue in San Diego.

Continuing the look ahead: September may bring Sarah Ruhl’s “In The Next Room or The Vibrator Play“ at the Production Company/Secret Rose and “Blue Man Group” at the Hollywood Bowl, as well as “God of Carnage” at REP East. October is open, but should the Cabrillo production of “Kiss Me Kate” somewhere, as well as “Dirty Rotten Soundrels” at Actors Rep of Simi. November will bring “Play It Again Sam” at REP East as well as ARTS’s Nottingham Village (a one-weekend ren-faire-ish market). The fall should also bring a production of “Carrie – The Musical” by Transfer Theatre. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open as the various theatres start making their 2013/2014 season announcements. Lastly, what few dates we do have open may be filled by productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411, or discussed in the various LA Stage Blogs I read (I particularly recommend Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times).

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Saturday Clearing the Links: Time, Mistresses, Insurance, and Disney

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userpic=observationsIt’s Saturday and we’re about to go out for dim sum. I guess that means I should clear out the links that didn’t really form into coherent themes of three or more articles:

P.S.: I’m beginning to think about a blog post about loss of trust in the government — that is, how we’ve gone from a society that trusted in the good of the government (in the WWII and post-war years) to a society that no longer trusts the government. How did happen, and what were the turning points. If you have something you want me to think about as the subject firms up in my head, please drop me a note.

Music: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968 Soundtrack) (Orchestra): “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Main Title) (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang & The Roses of Success)”

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Food News of the Week

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userpic=gluten-freeTo close out the week, here’s a late lunch post to really chew on — some food news that caught my eye:

  • Good News for Celiac Cops. Going gluten free has been a diet fad of late, which is a mixed blessing to those that really need to be gluten free (such as my wife). The thing most people don’t realize is that gluten free is not necessarily healthier for you (just like “kosher” doesn’t mean healthier). Want a good example of this? Dunkin’ Donuts has announced they are going to have gluten-free donuts and muffins. Guess I’m glad the nearest DD is either on the Marine Corps base or in Las Vegas.
  • A Military Scandal. We’ve been reading more and more about scandals involving the government. The IRS. The NSA. The Department of State. There are also problems with people impersonating government officers and pretending they have government medals. Well, one of those impersonators has been found out:  The US Navy has absolutely no record of a Captain Crunch ever serving. In fact, he isn’t even wearing a proper Naval Captain’s uniform, and may be guilty of faking a US service uniform. Next thing we’ll discover is that Count Chocula is not royalty!
  • Canned. Canned Soda. Some people see it as a demon, some people see it as a necessity, and others, well, don’t see it at all. As for me, I’m an iced tea drinker who used to drink soda. But as for soda’s place in society… that’s different. Here are a few articles about soda. First, some history: The evolution of the soft drink can. This traces the can from the earliest forms to the aluminum cans of today. Don’t want a can? How about a Coke bottle made of ice, or a ice-vending-machine of 7-up. Lastly, Coke used to sing about bringing peace to the world. Coke is putting that into action, attempting to use vending machines to bring peace between India and Pakistan (h/t to FiddlingFrog for the link).

Music: Firehouse Five Plus Two (Firehouse Five Plus Two): “Pagan Love Song”

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I Blame The Agency

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userpic=keyboardThis week, everyone’s been upset with the NSA because of all the recent disclosures. So I thought I would share with you a story of something good that came from the NSA (well, at least most people think it is good). What prompted this story was a wonderful infographic on the history of programming languages. This great infographic shows the most popular languages, groups them by era (although it completely omits the 1960s and such wonderful languages as Algol 68 and my fave, PL/I). Below is the Infographic… and the story. [Credit: Infographic by Veracode Application Security]

Infographic by Veracode Application SecurityIf you look to the year 1987, you’ll see a youngish fellow in a Hawaiian shirt. That fellow is Larry Wall, and the language we’re talking about is the #10 language, perl. Yes, you have NSA to blame to perl.

Back in the mid-1980s, I was working for a little company in Santa Monica called System Development Corporation. Coworkers of mine were Larry, his brother-in-law Mark, and his other brother-in-law Jon. We were all working on this little program called BLACKER. The job of BLACKER was to build was is now called a VPN — basically, developing a way to layer one network on top of another (at different classifications). We were attempting to do this at a very high level of assurance — specifically, at the A1 level of the Trusted Computer Security Evaluation Criteria (TCSEC). Better known as the Orange Book, the TCSEC was developed by the NSA (the part that cares about computer security) to permit product evaluations, to encourage the introduction of security features, and to encourage the production of systems with greater confidence in those features. If you’ve heard of the Common Criteria, that’s a successor criteria to the TCSEC, and you’ll find aspects of the TCSEC in current security control catalogs such as NIST SP 800-53.

In an A1 system, there were many features and assurances required, such as Mandatory Access Control, Audit, Identification and Authentication, and Object Reuse. Assurance came from a very detailed design, formal methods, and control over that design from a technique called Configuration Management. I was one of the folks designing the operating system for one of the BLACKER components; Larry was our systems guy. Larry, Mark, and I were sharing an office; we were also carpooling together.

Larry was tasked with developing a Configuration Management system to support meeting A1. If you know Larry, you know he believes that the best programmers are lazy, impatient, and have excessive hubris. The CM system had to be able to support development at two locations (Santa Monica and Paoli), and produce CM reports. It had to allow people to review changes, and managers to approve them.

So what did Larry do? First, he decided to modify USENET News to handle the CM submissions. Having written rn, he worked up a version that supported synchronization of articles across the coasts and appending to an article. Now CM submissions could be posted to a local newsgroup, managers could review and approve the submissions. But how to produce reports? Awk (at the time) was not up to the task, as it couldn’t march through directories. The result: perl (originally to be named Pearl, after Larry’s wife Gloria, who is a pearl, but renamed perl and bacronymed to “Pathetically Eclectic Rubbish Lister”). Perl was developed to march through the CM directories and produce CM reports.

I was the first actual user of perl. I combined the use of perl and a menuing system I had worked on (Q-Menu) to drive our data dictionary. People could edit the nroff source of the data dictionary, and this would then be automatically extracted to form the include files used by the Pascal system that development was using. Single point documentation.

This, by the way, is why I’m perl’s paternal godparent, and Mark is perl’s maternal uncle. It is also why I wrote the history chapter in the original Camel book (and came up with the true footnote to history).

So, when people rag on the NSA, remember there are a bunch of people there who are working hard to ensure more secure computer systems for everyone, and that over 30 years ago, this work gave the world perl.

 

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Corporate News That Caught The Eye

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userpic=corporateToday’s (not quite) lunchtime post is a collection of news articles about various corporations that have caught my eye:

P.S.: Debate what you want about global warming and its cause, but weather is getting weird when it reaches 81°F in Anchorage, and 91°F near Mt. McKinley in Alaska!

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Revitalizing Westwood

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userpic=ucla-csunOne of the lead articles at the LA Times today is on revitalizing Westwood, and there’s a companion article at Curbed LA. Both are bemoaning how Westwood has changed, and both suggest ways out of the problem. The Times article notes how Westwood is looking to Downtown for its revitalization model, and looking to bring it more arts (think galleries), performance spaces, and trendy foods. They believe this will restore Westwood to its former glory. I think both are wrong.

Let’s explore what Westwood was, and how to bring it back.

In its heyday — the 1960s through early 1980s  — Westwood was primarily a local community. It had mostly non-chain stores, and catered to the people living in West LA, H0lmby Hills, and Bel Air. It also catered heavily to the student community at UCLA. It had quaint restaurants, and lots of movie theatres that tended to host premieres (because Hollywood had gotten sketchy).

In the mid 1980s, Westwood began to die. Most attribute the death to a gang shooting in 1988 and an incident where some clown drove on the sidewalk (we were actually in Westwood that evening with clients when it happened). However, that’s not what killed Westwood. What killed Westwood was rising rents, “mallification” (that is, takeover by the chain stores with “trendy” clothes), and corporate consolidations that removed classic entities (such as bookstores). Further, the single screen theatres that Westwood had were no longer profitable… so they started closing. In short, what killed Westwood was that it became a mall — just like any other mall — and lost its audience for newer malls.

Westwood was also hurt by poor accessibility, especially with the continuous construction on the 405. Downtown is now accessible via MetroRail, but Westwood won’t have that for at least another decade or two. You have to drive to Westwood, and that’s increasingly difficult. What this means is that, to succeed, Westwood must focus on the locals, not drawing from elsewhere.

So what does Westwood really need to do to come back? First, it doesn’t need art galleries and super trendy joints. These do not attract students and the middle class that used to shop in Westwood all the time. Put the art galleries in Beverly Hills. Here’s what I think Westwood needs:

  • More Live Theatre. Although the single-screen movie theatre is out of vogue, live theatre is inherently single-screen. Westwood should work on expanding its live theatre presence, especially with relationships with the excellent theatre program at UCLA. Get some small storefront theatres (there are at least two major companies in LA (Celebration is one) that are looking for new spaces). Small theatres are also much more affordable for students (especially when compared with the only theatre currently in Westwood, the Geffen).
  • More Club Space. I don’t necessarily meet nightclub space, although having a local space that would appear to the UCLA student crowd would be great. I was thinking more along the lines of comedy and music clubs, that could attract stand up and local acts.
  • Be a Student Town. This needs to be the mantra regarding both food and shopping. Bring in quirky restaurants and shops, but keep them affordable for students (and if you can, accept UCLA meal plan points). I grew up in the days when Westwood had wonderful places such as Yesterdays, Old World, Annas, Bratskeller, and others. We need to get this style of place back.
  • Aim for the Eclectic. What makes a college town special is its eclectic nature. You never know what you will find, and it is most certainly not a mall. There needs to be enough going on in Westwood to draw the students out of the dorms, and to draw the neighbors into the shops.

Basically, Westwood will succeed again if you can attract the students back, and they start bringing their friends. That’s what has always made Westwood special.

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The Battle Continues

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userpic=im-with-stupidThis morning, while reading the Romenesko blog, a fascinating article was cited: it asked the question of why women’s magazines are never placed in the “serious journalism” category. After all, general interest publications do serious journalism. Even GQ and Playboy are considered to do serious journalism.  But what about Vogue or other magazines aimed towards women? Why is there a general assumption they can’t do serious work. Once I read this article, other things on a similar theme just kept popping up.

For example, CNN had an article about the side effect of sexual abuse in the military — it is discouraging women for applying. In the case CNN cited, a mom actively discouraged her daughter from following her into the Army because she had been gang-raped when she was in the service. In other words, not only the officers and service members who are doing this abusing their authority and bringing shame to the military, they are also bullying qualified women — who might be great for the service — from applying. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

Bullying is everywhere, when you look for it. US News has an article about the side effect of sibling bullying. It can be a source of lifelong depression and anxiety for the bullied sibling (just look at Tommy Smothers). Seriously, it raises into question whether sibling battles toughen a child…. or create problems later.

Continuing on this thread: Why do we find this acceptable, or at least think the victim deserved it? The Ferrett had an interesting supposition — it is because internally we think other people must be like ourselves. In other words, because we’re good and would never do bullying or physical violence unless provoked, we think others are the same and must have had a reason. Ferrett believes that we need to break that mindset: there are people who bully and are just violent — without provacation — just because that’s who they are. To put it in the context of a recent hit movie, it is because some people are just evil and bad.

Of course, some people are pure good. But even they can’t get a job in today’s world. Just look at the rejection letter Clark Kent received recently from the Daily Planet.

Music: Duets II (Tony Bennett, Josh Groban): “This Is All I Ask”

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