Is there any sound more soothing than the gentle drone of cicadas on a midsummer night?
Posts
Is That an Insulin Pump?
8 years ago
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Things that give me pause
On July 1, Christopher B. Howard became the first black president of Hampden-Sydney College. The 40-year old is a Rhodes scholar and graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy with a doctorate in politics from Oxford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He earned a Bronze Star in Afghanistan, headed Bristol-Myers' HIV/AIDS initiative for Africa and now serves as a defense attaché to Liberia, where he spent two weeks on duty last month before reporting to his new post at Hampden-Sydney.
Howard is an Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellow and serves as a senior advisor on African affairs at Stonebridge International. In 2000, inspired by his wife's experiences growing up under Apartheid in South Africa, Howard founded the Impact Young Lives Foundation to provide scholarships and travel opportunities to South African students of color.
His resume goes on and on ... and is nothing short of remarkable. I look forward to seeing the new perspective Howard and his family will bring to the Hampden-Sydney community.
July 19 Richmond Times-Dispatch article: http://bit.ly/30qtVt
Christopher Howard on leadership: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZW7-eeg5NfA
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Life lessons from the King of Pop
As I scanned through radio channels during my drive to the mountains last Friday, I happened upon a radio interview with a Midwestern woman who was grappling with the reality of Michael Jackson’s death. The woman said that it wasn’t until Jackson died that she truly came to recognize and appreciate the role he had played in shaping her dance career. I listened, enthralled, as she tearfully described the confused rush of emotion she experienced when she heard the news of Jackson’s death and all the memories – of his performances as well as her own – that had since come flooding back to her. And, while I am by no means a dancer or musician, I found myself identifying with much of what the woman said. Hearing her reminisce about Michael and his music caused me to consider my own “relationship” with the King of Pop. As hard as it is for me to admit now, I was once a die-hard M.J. fan.
I don’t quite remember how I first became interested in Michael Jackson’s music. What I do remember is shrieking at the top of my lungs – “Yyyeesssssssssss!!!” – when I found a cassette tape of Thriller in my stocking on Christmas morning. That was the year I was in fourth grade – the year I became completely obsessed. My cousins and I spent hours upon hours composing dance routines to everything from “ABC” by the Jackson Five to “Billie Jean,” “Bad,” and Smooth Criminal.” We even took a stab at choreographing our own (uber-cheesy) performance of “Black or White.”
That summer, I discovered MTV and VH1 and devoured every Michael Jackson special I came across. I watched the ABC Family movie, The Jacksons: An American Dream, so many times I could practically recite the script by heart. I am pretty sure I even recorded some of this “educational material” on a blank VHS tape so that I could watch it over and over again – pausing and rewinding to study Michael’s dance moves and then attempt to recreate them in my living room.
So what changed? Why did I eventually ditch my M.J. albums and replace them with the latest by Sheryl Crow and Ace of Base?
I think I began to lose interest when I saw the slightly creepy but mostly sad version of Michael that emerged during the infamous Oprah interview at Neverland Ranch. Then, the endless series of child molestation charges gradually smothered to death the last few sparks of enthusiasm and respect I had for him.
Deep down, I wanted to be a loyal fan and stand up for the artist I so admired, but it was suddenly way un-cool to do so. The more the media feasted on Jackson’s freakish appearance and dubious behaviors, the more difficult it became to focus on his talents instead of his shortcomings.
I genuinely hope that Jackson is finally resting in a peaceful place where he is free from the gnashing jaws of the paparazzi, but I must admit that I have been pleasantly surprised at how the public has responded to his passing. The media’s interest in digging up the nitty-gritty details of Jackson’s death has been vastly overshadowed by the tidal wave of positive recognition(or cultish hero-worship, whatever you want to call it) he has received over the last two weeks. Sure, the coverage of Tuesday’s memorial service was a bit over the top, but I, for one, have taken great pleasure in hearing Michael’s music on the radio, seeing his old performances rerun on television and observing as people across the globe process the bittersweet news of his death.
I find it a shame that it often takes a celebrity dying in order for the public (or the media) to focus on the positive aspects of his or her career. It is incredibly easy to fall into a pattern criticism and judgment, but life is too short and too precious to be tainted by constant negativity. And nothing good ever comes of negative thinking. So , in honor of Michael, I am going to start with the (wo)man in the mirror and challenge her to always look for the good in people.
I don’t quite remember how I first became interested in Michael Jackson’s music. What I do remember is shrieking at the top of my lungs – “Yyyeesssssssssss!!!” – when I found a cassette tape of Thriller in my stocking on Christmas morning. That was the year I was in fourth grade – the year I became completely obsessed. My cousins and I spent hours upon hours composing dance routines to everything from “ABC” by the Jackson Five to “Billie Jean,” “Bad,” and Smooth Criminal.” We even took a stab at choreographing our own (uber-cheesy) performance of “Black or White.”
That summer, I discovered MTV and VH1 and devoured every Michael Jackson special I came across. I watched the ABC Family movie, The Jacksons: An American Dream, so many times I could practically recite the script by heart. I am pretty sure I even recorded some of this “educational material” on a blank VHS tape so that I could watch it over and over again – pausing and rewinding to study Michael’s dance moves and then attempt to recreate them in my living room.
So what changed? Why did I eventually ditch my M.J. albums and replace them with the latest by Sheryl Crow and Ace of Base?
I think I began to lose interest when I saw the slightly creepy but mostly sad version of Michael that emerged during the infamous Oprah interview at Neverland Ranch. Then, the endless series of child molestation charges gradually smothered to death the last few sparks of enthusiasm and respect I had for him.
Deep down, I wanted to be a loyal fan and stand up for the artist I so admired, but it was suddenly way un-cool to do so. The more the media feasted on Jackson’s freakish appearance and dubious behaviors, the more difficult it became to focus on his talents instead of his shortcomings.
I genuinely hope that Jackson is finally resting in a peaceful place where he is free from the gnashing jaws of the paparazzi, but I must admit that I have been pleasantly surprised at how the public has responded to his passing. The media’s interest in digging up the nitty-gritty details of Jackson’s death has been vastly overshadowed by the tidal wave of positive recognition(or cultish hero-worship, whatever you want to call it) he has received over the last two weeks. Sure, the coverage of Tuesday’s memorial service was a bit over the top, but I, for one, have taken great pleasure in hearing Michael’s music on the radio, seeing his old performances rerun on television and observing as people across the globe process the bittersweet news of his death.
I find it a shame that it often takes a celebrity dying in order for the public (or the media) to focus on the positive aspects of his or her career. It is incredibly easy to fall into a pattern criticism and judgment, but life is too short and too precious to be tainted by constant negativity. And nothing good ever comes of negative thinking. So , in honor of Michael, I am going to start with the (wo)man in the mirror and challenge her to always look for the good in people.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
