A Musical "V-Thought" on Being Happy: Pharrell Williams - HAPPY ( From TEHRAN )

While on the "Grid" tonight, I saw this latest that has been making the "Virtual Rounds"   Some courageous Kids in Tehran again got together and put together this to underscore the simple fact that being "happy" is ever so a right.    I guess they took their queue from President Rouhani when he tweeted that the right to happiness is anyone's right.

Onward to the Weekend--it is a very beautiful clip--All of these beautiful souls deserve a high five and a hug-and I send one to them all virtually as they have truly lived up to this admonition that is the essence of life: 

Enjoy this beautiful clip by these beautiful, courageous and Happy Young Iranians roaming the Streets of Tehran!! :-)

On the possibilities of the Human Spirit: Brief Daily Thoughts

This is quite a story courtesy of Scott Lay @ THe Nooner. This is a story of redemption, of hop;e and of possibilities that is beyond the pale. As I hope to share this with my students, it underscores how someone with a vision and a belief in the goodness of the human spirit can truly work to make a difference. More on it soon...

View of the Week: Brief Thoughts on The "political front"

The United States just had an election that would determine the final two years of the Obama Presidency. One key "headline" dominating Cable News has been the release of the US Soldier and questions being asked. The Conservative Media has been on the prowl on this subject and it is bound to continue. A high-tech lynching (to borrow a phrase from Clarence Thomas) seems to have begun in earnest. It is tragic to see it as other challenges are ever so. There has been another video of another Western Couple that is quite tragic in its' own right: What was also of note was this on the Keystone XL pipeline that was quite worrisome and was so noted on Twitter:

Of Concern..although #GOP would probalby disagree: #KeystoneXL pipeline vulnerable to attacks, NextGen study says: http://t.co/Ew6WxJGINd

— Mike Pouraryan (@mikepouraryan) June 5, 2014

As for Election Results, the potential re-emergence of the Republican Party in California was worth noting. Whether the inroads Republicans have made in the primary elections will translate into a General Election Win remains to be seen. Beyond California, there is another very interesting in Mississippi that is pitting a Tea-Party backed candidate against a 42-year Veteran: Thad Cockhran. It appears that Senator Cockhran is in the political fight of his life. What was so hopeful and beautiful was this that Scott Lay, one of the preeminent political analysts in California wrote in his daily "nooner" update: Good morning from Blythe, where I am working on a few hours sleep and Comfort Suites coffee. I'm going to prison this morning, but not in the Orange is the New Black sense, but to applaud inmates graduating with degrees and certificates. This is my third time, and these students become model inmates and the recidivsm rate is 1.526%, whereas 65% of the overall inmate population returns to prison within three years, according to CDCR. Ironwood is a Level III prison, the second highest level of general population, so we're talking about inmates with tough stories. Actually, this is the same program at Ironwood State Prison that started the rehabilitation story of Prophet La'Omar Walker, who earned a spot in November along with Mike Gipson in AD64 (Carson) last night. Check out this TEDx filmed last month sponsored by the Ford Foundation on the program at Ironwood. It is becoming quite a slugfest as the Mid-Term General Election season is at hand. Also released to http://www.outsiderviews.com 062014//All Rights reserved....

Thought For the Week: on "The Dash" :-)

A new month is at hand.      I wanted to begin a new month with this wonderful little poem about life and hope that the almighty grants me the strength and the courage to live up to it by being ever so courageous:

The Dash by Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend. He referred to the dates on her tombstone from the beginning…to the end. He noted that first came the date of her birth and spoke of the following date with tears, but he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years. For that dash represents all the time that she spent alive on earth and now only those who loved her know what that little line is worth. For it matter not, how much we own, the cars…the house…the cash. What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash. So think about this long and hard; are there things you’d like to change? For you never know how much time is left that can still be rearranged. If we could just slow down enough to consider what’s true and real and always try to understand the way other people feel. And be less quick to anger and show appreciation more and love the people in our lives like we’ve never loved before. If we treat each other with respect and more often wear a smile… remembering that this special dash might only last a little while. So when your eulogy is being read with your life’s actions to rehash, would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your dash?

On the "Virtual Hunt": Brief Thoughts 4 the Week-End

It is another busy Week-End of research & planning.     It was also an disheartening week as my eldest Aunt passed away.    Najmeh Javad Najafi was a scholar, a person of faith and someone who served Iran in many ways and epitomized this with her two books she published in 1953:  Persia is My Heart and a Wall and Three Willows.  As she's laid to rest on Tuesday in Chatsworth California, her legacy of service will live on.   

As I reflected upon the month that was, I could not help but remember what Richard Nixon noted as he resigned the Presidency.  He reflected upon how as one has been to the deepest valleys, can one be very much appreciative of the highest mountains one could be.   It is ever so that what is here and now can be appreciated and how a sense of togetherness and tenacity should be what must define our lives.

The challenges before me--taxes, dealing with Insurance companies & medical bills, continuing a rebuilding process which seems never ending--is at times disappointing.     That's why I am very appreciative whenever I see the predicament of all who seek out my help and guidance.   Just in the past two weeks alone, I had students of mine reach out telling harrowing stories that just broke my heart.  One of them was 9 months pregnant as she separated from her spouse.  Another one had her nephew killed in a drive-by-Shooting.   Another one just noted that she had lost her Mother, had cancer while continuing to figure out how to juggle two jobs.   It is such stories that continues to affirm my faith and drives me ever so determined to serve.

As the Virtual "Hunt" is ever so in full swing,  here is a "Virtual Treat" of some Ted Talk from http://www.ted.com  for all to enjoy in additoin to a number of admonitions to remember:

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11 must-see TED Talks

Here's a primer on TED Talks, featuring 11 classic talks on the range of topics you'll find on TED.com.Watch »

Total run time 3:08:31 

 

If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up.
Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.
- Michael Jordan

When one door closes, another opens.
But often we look so long, so regretfully,
upon the closed door,
that we fail to see the one that is opened for us.
- Helen Keller

It doesn't matter if you try and try and try again, and fail.
It does matter if you try and fail, and fail to try again.
- Charles Kettering

Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman,
before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air.
- John Quincy Adams

On Iran: A Paradox (A View of the Week)

A "Working Week-End" begins to gear up for june 2014. A Facebook Friend passed on this brilliant and beautiful talk by the ever insightful Scholar Dr. Abbas Milani on the Paradox that is Iran today:

A "Thought 4 the Week": Staying Strong

A Brief Reminder to remain every so strong despite all the challenges.....