my life in 2018

The year is about to end and things are about to change (I got a new job at a school library).

But being that this is a year-end blog post, I'll just focus on what happened this year rather than what will happen soon


1) Work

This has been my 13th year as a substitute teacher.

In a way, it's been a miracle that I lasted that long!

When I started in 2005, I wasn't sure if I was going to have any success. That job was just "something to do" before I move on to the next thing.

It took nearly forever to find that "next thing" that would at least pay a little more than what I'm making.

I did spend most of my time as a sub working within the public school system, though I did sub at the private schools too.
For the private school, I worked under Kelly Services (for 6 years).

Then in early August, I went to a job fair, just to interact with employers to figure what could be my "next thing".  There I interacted with the people at HiEmployment. They also provide subs for private schools. On the spot, I was invited and scheduled for an interview.  Some of the staff actually met me when they used to work at the schools I have subbed at for Kelly Services. So I was in!

I spent some time working with HiEmployment in the last few months. Some were schools I once subbed at under Hawaii Educational Resources (HERS - who I was working with 2006-2010) while others I've never been to before.

Though on the last week of the Fall semester, I was working at what I consider my favorite public school to sub at. The last day was an easy day:)

Then on the first day of winter vacation, I got a call stating that I will start a new position soon at a school library. I finally found my "next thing"  :)

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Summertime is usually a fun time for most people, but it's a money-free time for substitute teachers. Not much fun for that.

But I did get lucky.

Back in the summer of 2016, I was working with a temp agency that sent me to the facility that printed the ballots that would be used for the elections. I was the one who inspected the ballots to make sure there were no errors. It was time-consuming and repetitive, but I liked it :)

This was in June & July, to prepare for the Primary Election in August!

I was invited to help out in September/October to prepare for the General Election, but I declined. This wasn't an easy decision to make. I loved the ballot inspection process. However, I decided to focus on working as a substitute teacher, especially being that I just joined HiEmployment and wanted to give them a chance. Also, substitute teacher gave me more flexibility to take time off in case a job interview came up! Because after all, I'm ready to go on to "the next thing".

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Talking about elections, I did work on Election Day as a precinct official. For both the Primary & General Elections.

I did comment on my blog why I think the format for the Primary Election should change. This was posted a few hours after the polls closed.
https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2018/08/hawaii-primary-elections-need-to-change.html


Voter turnout was lower this year compared to 2016.

However, the one positive this year was the same-day registration. My polling place was for the district that includes the University of Hawaii at Mānoa (UHM) and therefore includes the dorms. So we had a population of people who are at the age when they become eligible to vote. Many people only become interested in the election when the Election Day is getting closer (just like how some people only start shopping when it's almost Christmas). In the past, they only gained their interest when the voter registration deadline passed. But now with same-day registration, we had many UHM students registering on Election Day. Good to see the next generation getting involved.

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And of course, I continued to volunteer with the Friends of the Library of Hawaii (FLH).


FLH has their annual summer booksales at McKinley High School (Go Tigers) as well as their smaller booksales on Veteran's Day and Martin Luther King weekends at Washington Middle School.

It was on the Saturday of the Martin Luther King weekend when we had the false missile alert.

I was on my bike towards Washington Middle School when the alert came. When I arrived near the school, I took my BlackBerry Q10 just to take the picture of the sign advertising the booksale, so I can post it on facebook to remind people. Then I looked at the phone and it said there was a missile headed to Hawaii. My mind was thinking

• we in Hawaii had so many warnings for hurricanes and tsunamis that never land on our islands, we become numb to warnings and alerts
• if there's a  missile, the missile would most likely land in the ocean
• the alert system might've been hacked.
• if the missile hits while I'm at the booksale, at least I'm around the people I love when it strikes.

After I parked the bike and entered the school's cafeteria, the FLH volunteers were still setting up and customers were waiting outside.  People who got the alert were just laughing because they think it was a hoax.  (I found out later that the customers waiting outside were thinking the same thing). We were still getting ready to open when we got another text saying it was just a false alarm.

What did the media do? Act as if everyone in Hawaii was terrified for their lives. BALONEY!  Most of us have become so numb to the warnings & alerts that we were joking about it BEFORE the official text said it was a false alarm.

Yes, I feel bad for the parents who had to comfort their children (who obviously have a hard time calming their expressions of vulnerabilities).  And yes, there were cameras showing UHM students running for shelter.

But the media exaggerate the level of panic coming from Hawaii residents. Yes, I know, stories of panic are way more interesting (and get more ratings and clicks) than stories of calm. There was a lot more calm than panic where I was that day!

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Enough about the alert, back to the FLH.

Every month, on First Friday, I am the cashier at Books@Mark's, FLH's mini-bookstore that shares space with the art gallery Arts@Mark's.  The Mark's being Mark's Garage near the border between Downtown and Chinatown.

First Friday's tend to have an opening party for a new exhibit at Arts@Mark's, so there are many people who come in to check out the opening party, the arts, and of course, the books (plus music, postcards, etc) being sold at Books@Mark's.

Being a cashier at Books@Mark's is so much more simpler than being a cashier at Macy's or Nordstrom Rack. National fashion retail chains want cashiers to encourage reluctant customers to join their reward's programs. To add the frustration, dealing with customers in the reward's programs require some complex transactions. At Books@Mark's, we keep it simple. The customers get the items they want, I add it up, charge the tax (sorry, the government wants your money), and I invite them to come to other FLH booksales.   That's it! None of this nagging customers reluctant to join rewards programs, none of this complex transactions! Much more relaxing, much less stress :)  



2) Hawaii Library Association (HLA)

Earlier this year, the HLA offered a mentorship program for those interested in the library profession.

I did get my master's degree in Library & Information Science (LIS) and have worked in libraries before but was still trying to get a full-time library position.

So I applied for the HLA mentorship program.

They did hook me up with a mentor, a librarian who works at Leeward Community College (LCC). I met the librarian before at previous conferences.  However, LCC is out of my usual range of places I go (I usually stick with Urban Honolulu, whereas LCC is on the border between Pearl City and Waipahu). 

But hey, I wanted a mentor and a mentor is available.

We did meet at UHM and talked about my career path. I did mention the previous library jobs, my current sub teaching job, and struggles landing a full-time library job. We did talk about what kind of interview questions I had difficulty with and how to best deal with the next time. The mentor also emphasized understanding the application and interview process from the employer's point of view.

Then in September, I visited the LCC campus. I have only been there once, one of my brothers was graduating from there.

 I took the A-bus then transferred to the #78 bus (I could've walked from the transfer point to the campus, but it was a mega-rainy day). 

Then I explored the campus before the meeting with the mentor.
We took a tour of the LCC library, talk about how the LCC library has been evolving and meet with the staff members (some of whom I met when they were working at their previous libraries). 

Then I was invited to observe a library instruction session. A professor brought her class to the library so that the library instructor can teach the students how to use the library databases to find resources they need for their research project. The librarian went over online search strategies and how different search terms can come up with different results. Then the students practiced using the databases to find resources relevant to their research topic.  The library instructor went over to observe and assist the students. After the session was over, I talked with the library instructor. I was fascinated by the session. Facilitating those library instruction sessions on information literacy is something I would love to do.

After the session, I went back to meet with the mentor.  He mentions that these library instruction sessions are the "one time shot" for the librarians to teach students who they might never before or again have the chance to teach. I said that reminds me of being a substitute teacher. We laughed.

Then one more thing that day.  The library was hosting a wellness workshop in which a librarian and some guests talked about aroma therapy, meditation, and music therapy.


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On November, we had the HLA conference at the East-West Center, which happens to be the place that hosted HLA in 2015 (the last time I went before this year). Walking distance for me!

Being that I haven't attended HLA conferences since 2015, it was a reunion with LIS classmates that I haven't seen in years. I attended a few sessions, enjoyed the buffet during lunchtime 😃, and talk to some exhibitors (mostly publishers, database vendors, and a scanning machine vendor).

The sessions I attended  included

• Nainoa Thompson (the legendary navigator) talking about his experience as a child viewing libraries a place for independent learning
• protecting library & archive materials in a tropical environment
• DNA databases
• databases providing access to indigenous cultural information
• hotel archives
• multimedia instruction
• school library collaboration
• libraries in Palau

and the most important one (for me) was the session about the HLA mentorship. My mentor couldn't make it, but I still went basically to compare notes with other mentors and mentees. Also, there were current LIS students interested in the HLA mentorships.  Besides our mentorships, much of our discussions revolved around the difficulties of the job search process. It wasn't so much about "playing victim" but about what to be alert for when doing the job search.

At the session, I found out that one of the teachers at a private school I subbed at is now an LIS student. Small world.

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Fast-forward a few weeks to Black Friday.

I meet with my mentor again at LCC.  The library was closed to the public, but some employees were there basically for housekeeping purposes. I told the mentor about the job search since the last meeting, that I was recommended for a library position but still waiting for the paperwork to be processed before I could start working.  When talked about how libraries have evolved since he started working in a library (circa the early 90s) and how it is evolving towards to now.

I then told the mentor that after the meeting, I will ride my bike in the area and he told me about the bike path, which I will discuss in the next part of this post

3) Bike Adventures


As I just mentioned, I was at LCC for a mentorship meeting on Black Friday.  Afterward, I decided to take a bike ride going through Pearl City and Aiea. From LCC, I rode towards Kamehameha Highway towards Blaisdell Park. From there, I had my first ride through the Pearl Harbor Bike Path. This path is hidden from most commuters because you can't see much of it from Kamehameha Highway or the H-1 freeway. So much of what I saw on the bike path is new to me. 

While people usually stereotype Pearl City as a middle-class suburbs, you can see some old shacks along the bike path.  It is way more low-level poverty than public housing complexes I grew up in Kalihi. There are also homeless settlements hidden by tall grasses of sugar cane. I did see one luxury car when one guy who looked like the rapper Machine Gun Kelly threw gang signs in my direction. I just kept riding. 

I also rode past the Pearl City power plant and stared at the machines for a while. I also rode towards the west end of the path (near the place where the firefighter trucks get repaired) then back to the east end (near Aloha Stadium). From there I continued a few blocks on Kamehameha Highway and I went back on the bus.

In the future, I plan on biking in other areas I never biked before. Maybe Waipahu, Ewa or Kapolei. 


4) Housekeeping


As mentioned earlier this year, this year is the 15th anniversary at my current apartment
https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2018/07/15-years-at-my-apartment.html


During work breaks (at end of summer, and now in winter break), I spent some time reorganizing stuff at home.

I live in a small studio, and I like to collect stuff.  Mostly books and printed articles. So that means I have to constantly reorganize.

For the books, I got a new plastic storage container. I also reorganized the books by categories.

For magazines, I looked through them and threw some out.

But it's the printed articles that give me the most headaches. Sometimes I see articles on the computer and I print out a copy. Sometimes because I'm impressed, other times I'll print it so that I could read it on paper when I have time. But the problem is that they pile up.

So in the summer, I did another purge. I looked at the folders where I kept the articles and threw many of them out. Trash bags filled with folders of articles placed in a rolling trash can to dispose all that stuff in the big garbage can outside.

Just like the summer of 2012 (just not as extreme)
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2012/06/my-war-against-clutter.html
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2012/07/my-apartment-gets-make-over.html

This week, I reorganize the folders again and threw out more printed articles that I already read.  I have some more reorganizing to do before the winter break ends.

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Early this year, in the springtime, I did upgrade my TV and stereo. 

My TV was so old that it stopped working a long time ago. It was a tube TV that was outdated in the era of the flatscreen. I replaced it with a small flatscreen TV that I got for cheap from Best Buy. Takes up less space. 

The stereo I had was donated by my brother 12 years ago. It had a multi-disc player that stopped working. The sound system once had great bass, but it was messing up. So I ordered a TechPlay stereo online that had radio, CD, cassette, USB and vinyl playing capabilities. It was relatively cheap so I bought it, though I did use PayPal to buy it. Works good so far! 

I also bought a small battery powered radio mostly in case of another storm warning. 

I also had to replace an old mattress (from 2003) with a new hybrid spring/foam mattress that I bought online for relatively cheap from WalMart. Also used PayPal. 

And as mentioned in a blog post earlier this year, I replaced my BlackBerry Q10 with a BlackBerry KeyOne.
https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2018/09/adventures-with-my-new-keyone.html

Yes, I made sure that whatever replacements I buy are affordable. I don't believe you should have to pay big money when you can get something effective for a relatively low price.  I also used PayPal for most purchases I mentioned, so that I can pay installments. I love it! 

5) My Music


Last but not least is my music.

In case you didn't know, I am a digital musician who releases instrumental tracks under the name Pablo the Mad Tiger Warrior.

This year, I finished making my "no budget music videos" (just a collage of still images) for tracks for my electronic music album I released early 2017, "Sounds Like A Video Game".

I think there was too much time gap between the making and posting of these videos.

Anyways, as I noted earlier, on October I released an album of metal instrumentals titled Urban Honolulu Metal Industries
https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2018/10/urban-honolulu-metal-industries.html

Also in October, I released as a dark ambient instrumental single "Slow Walking Through a Haunted Castle".


I have made "no budget music videos" for  10 out of 15 tracks from Urban Honolulu Metal Industries


When I'm done for all those tracks, I plan to complete work on my next instrumental albums.

This time, it will be an album of slower, softer, more relaxing music. Total opposite of heavy metal.

I already made a few slow jams. I will definitely experiment with multiple genres to make a classic album of relaxing instrumental music.

I have not decided on a release date, but it will most likely happen within 2019. 

Stay tuned. 

2018 memorials

Being that I don't always have time to blog, I haven't gotten to writing about some of the people who have died in 2018. Of course, I won't be able to write about every person with a dose of fame, especially if I don't know much about them.

I  already wrote about the following

Aretha Franklin: 
https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2018/08/aretha-franklin-queen-of-soul.html

John McCain
https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2018/11/john-mccain.html

George H.W. Bush
https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2018/12/george-herbert-walker-bush.html

Stan Lee
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2018/11/stan-lee.html

Now I will write about a few more famous people who passed away in 2018


Let's start with where I'm from: Hawaii

1) Vince Manuwai

Associated Press

Vince Manuwai

Vince Manuwai was a professional football player born & raised in Hawaii. He was an offensive lineman, one of those large guys who protect the quarterback from the defense.

He attended Farrington High School where he was an All-Star player being recruited by many colleges.

His senior year was 1998-1999 (in other words, he's my age, though I attended a rival school. Some of my classmates from elementary/middle school went to high school with Manuwai).

In the Fall of 1998, the University of Hawaii (UH) had its worse season ever, going 0-12.  Their coach Fred von Appen got fired. Meanwhile, many local players were embarrassed to even admit interest in joining the UH team.

Then came coach June Jones to the rescue. June Jones made it a mission to convince the local boys to stay home and turn UH into a football powerhouse.  Manuwai was considering playing for Utah but decided to give June Jones a chance and play for the home team.

Manuwai was the rookie player in the 1999 UH football team that made one of the biggest turnarounds in college football history. The team that was 0-12 the previous year became 9-4 and won a bowl game! 

(note: I started attending UH the same year, but never had any classes with Manuwai, nor did I have a chance to interact with him. I did interact with his teammates who were in my classes)

Manuwai became a team leader and was known to be one of the strongest players on the team. Coaches said that the lineman drills between Manuwai and Isa'ako "Issac" Sopoanga were very epic battles, being that they were the strongest guys on the team and both became NFL players.

Honolulu Star Advertiser

An iconic photo of Vince Manuwai from his UH days.

Manuwai was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars for whom he played for 8 years as a starter. He had some Hawaii-raised teammates for some of the seasons he played there, so that must've helped him with whatever culture shock he experienced there. 

Then last month, Vince Manuwai collapsed while moving his items into his new condo in urban Honolulu. 

According to family, Manuwai had a heart ailment that was discovered a year earlier. According to a medical examiner, some drugs were found in his system. His alleged drug use was not known to the public when he was alive.
“Former Hawaii football star Vince Manuwai died of ecstasy poisoning, medical examiner says,” Honolulu Star-Advertiser, December 3, 2018,

https://www.staradvertiser.com/2018/12/03/hawaii-news/former-hawaii-football-star-vince-manuwai-died-of-ecstasy-poisoning-medical-examiner-says/

For more on Vince Manuwai's life and legacy, check out this article from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Stephen Tsai, “Vince Manuwai Was One of the Best Offensive Linemen in University of Hawaii Football History,” Honolulu Star-Advertiser, November 5, 2018,

https://www.staradvertiser.com/2018/11/05/sports/vince-manuwai-was-one-of-the-best-offensive-linemen-in-university-of-hawaii-football-history/

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One more from Hawaii

2) Malani Bileyu

Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Malani Bileyu

Malani Bileyu was the lead singer of Kalapana, a contemporary Hawaiian music group that was popular in the 1970s and 1980s. They combined the sounds of soft rock with orchestral flows to make some iconic songs that define a generation in Hawaii. 

Their songs are staples of many local radio stations who still play their music today. The popular ones included “Naturally", "When the Morning Comes", "Nightbird" and  “You Make it Hard.”

The group had when many Na Hoku awards (Hawaii's version of the Grammy's). Bileyu also released a few solo records. 

Bileyu died at his home earlier this month at the age of 69.  The cause of his death is unknown to the general public.

learn more at

“Malani Bilyeu, Founding Member of Kalapana and Hoku Award-Winning Solo Artist, Dies,” Honolulu Star-Advertiser, December 27, 2018,

https://www.staradvertiser.com/2018/12/27/hawaii-news/malani-bilyeu-founding-member-of-kalapana-and-hoku-award-winning-solo-artist-dies/

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now for outside of Hawaii

3) Anthony Bourdain & Kate Spade

The reason I am putting those 2 people in the same section was the timing and the similarities in their deaths.

Both were very successful people who became household names. Sadly, their wealth & fame could never erase their depression. Both committed suicide by hanging in the early part of this summer.

Wikipedia

Kate Spade

Kate Spade was a fashion designer whose name also became a brand. She was most famous for her handbags, but also made other fashion accessories, a clothing line, cosmetics, and home items.

Anthony Bourdain was a celebrity chef who had his own TV series. His TV series traveled to different countries to give a cultural & historical context to where the food comes from. 

Peabody Awards

Anthony Bourdain

Bourdain also advocated for immigrant and women's rights.  His girlfriend Asia Argento was victimized by Harvey Weinstein, putting Bourdain in the spotlight on this issue. 

Bourdain also later admitted that the work environment restaurant industry was a fast-paced environment where people don't care about other people's feelings and that he should've done more to make his restaurants a more hospitable work environment.

The deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain both goes to show that money, fame & success doesn't guarantee happiness and could never erase whatever traumas they were experiencing in their life.

4) Avicii

Perfect World Foundation

Avicii

Avicii was a Swedish digital musician and a star in the EDM (Electronic Dance Music) world.

He became famous with his progressive house track "Levels" which sampled the vocals from Etta James "Something's Got a Hold on Me". "Levels" later got sampled by Flo Rida's "Good Feeling" 

Avicii didn't just want to be limited to EDM. He mixed the sounds of blues and country into his music as well. An example would be his ""Wake Me Up" featuring the vocals of Aloe Blacc.

With his success comes  massive demands for worldwide touring. While many artists dream of being worldwide stars and traveling to exotic locations to perform, all the traveling and stress factors take their toll. 

Avicii experienced burnout and retired from touring in 2016.  He also suffered from pancreatic cancer.

Then on February 2018, while on vacation in Muscat, Oman  Avicii died in a hotel room for what is believed by suicide from self-inflicted injuries with a glass bottle.
“Dj Avicii Death a Suicide: Report,” Jacaranda FM, December 28, 2018,

https://www.jacarandafm.com/2018-year-review/dj-avicii-death-suicide-report/

5) Dolores O’Riordan

University of Limerick 

Dolores O'Riordan

Dolores O'Riordan was the lead singer of the Irish alternative rock band Cranberries.

The Cranberries were popular in the 1990s with the hits ""Linger" and "Zombie". Both songs showed a contrast of musical influences. "Linger" was a slow love song with some violins playing in the background. "Zombie" had some heavy metal riffs and had a more political zone, as the song was in response to the traumas caused by the violence in Northern Ireland. 

She later had solo albums as well as her project with D.A.R.K. (an alternative rock/synth-pop band).

In January of 2018, Riordan died in an accidental drowning in a bathtub, a situation similar to the death of Whitney Houston. 

6) xxxTentacion

Florida Dept of Corrections

xxxTentacion

xxxTentacion was an emerging artist in the world of hip-hop.

His style of hip-hop, which combined the influences of emo and reality rap, a mix that is very popular among his generation. 

He had a troubled childhood going through various foster homes. He had many violent outbursts at school and got expelled. He spent time in juvenile detention facilities, where he brutally attacked a gay inmate. As a young adult, he physically abused his pregnant girlfriend.

These incidents caused a moral dilemma among music fans in the #metoo era.  The general public has been expressing conflicting feelings about supporting abusive artists. This is an era where many prominent people have been losing their jobs due to allegations of sexual abuse and even for less serious cases of sexual harassment. 

xxxTentacion was shot & killed when he was shopping for motorcycles in June 2018.

At that point xxxTentacion already scheduled his next video "Sad" that focused on death. This reminded people of 2pac, who already scheduled his next video to be focused on death ("I Ain't Mad At Cha") he was murdered in Las Vegas in 1996. 

Learn more on xxxTentacion's life at
Kyle Swenson, “Xxxtentacion: The Nasty, Brutish and Short Life of the Chart-Topping Rapper Killed Monday,” Washington Post, June 20, 2018, 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/06/19/xxxtentacion-the-nasty-brutish-and-short-life-of-the-chart-topping-rapper-killed-monday/

7) Vinnie Paul

Photo by Scott Legato/Getty Images

Vinnie Paul

Vinnie Paul was a drummer for several heavy metal bands, the most famous being Pantera, an aggressive heavy metal band popular in the 1990s.

Vinnie Paul started the band with his brother, guitarist Dimebag Darrell.

After Pantera broke up, Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell joined Damageplan. While performing at a concert in Columbus, Ohio in 2004, a deranged person went on stage and shot & killed Dimebag Darrell.

Vinnie Paul blamed former Pantera's lead singer Phil Anselmo for indirectly contributing to his brother's death. No evidence supported that claim. Paul and Anselmo had never reconciled. 

Vinnie Paul died of a heart attack in his Las Vegas home in June. 

Check my 2014 blog post on Dimebag Darell to learn more about his life and the legacy of Pantera.

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2014/12/dimebag-darrell-decade-later.html

8) Zell Miller

U.S. Senate

Zell Miller

Zell Miller was the former governor & senator from the state of Georgia.

He grew up in poverty in rural Georgia. As a young adult, he became a Marine and a professor.

In politics, he was a Democrat who served as a small-town mayor, state senator, lieutenant governor, and in 1990, the governor. As governor, he approved to use of lottery funds to fund preK-12 education as well as college scholarships. He advocated for life sentences for violent crimes. 

He openly & fiercely criticized the presence of the Confederate flag within Georgia's state flag but was unsuccessful in getting it removed.   It was later removed under the next governor Roy Barnes.

Sam Stein, “Long Before Nikki Haley Took On the Confederate Flag, There Was Zell Miller,” Huffington Post, June 22, 2015, 
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nikki-haley-confederate-flag_n_7641008


After his time as governor expired in 1998, Miller became a US Senator.  As the new century began, Miller was becoming increasingly alienated from the Democratic Party who he felt has gone too far to the left.

Whereas Miller once loudly advocated for Bill Clinton and criticized George HW Bush during the 1992 Democratic convention, in 2004, Miller spoke at the Republican convention in defense of George W Bush and loudly criticized John Kerry for allegedly being too soft on defense. 

The same year, Zell Miller retired from politics.

In March 2018, Zell Miller died from complications from Parkinson's Disease

DJ Vlad Failed as an Adult to Learn Empathy

Yes, I know it's a heavy thing to say - to even say that someone failed as an adult.

We are not perfect, especially not me.  There has been times when I should have shown more empathy.

But the reason why I'm making an example out of DJ Vlad is because he REPEATEDLY said that actor Geoffrey Owens "failed as an adult" because he was bagging groceries at Trader Joe's when he's in his late 50s.

I already mentioned in a previous blog post about Geoffrey Owens and how common it is for artists, entertainers, etc to be financially struggling even after they have some dose of fame 
https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2018/09/surviving-as-performing-artist.html


For those who don't know, DJ Vlad is not only a DJ but the host of VladTV, an interview show specializing in hip-hop culture. He not only interviews rappers and producers, he also interviews actors, comedians and anyone else who is popular among hip-hop fans. 

In the past few months, DJ Vlad tries to bait his guests by stating "I think Geoffrey Owens failed as an adult because you shouldn't be bagging groceries when you're in your late 50s".  So far, none that I know express agreement with DJ Vlad.

But if you want to talk about "failure as an adult", then let's talk about "failure as an adult".

As an adult, you should have already developed some empathy for other people who are in less than ideal situations.

Some of that empathy can be developed through life experiences, some of that empathy can be developed through reading about the lives of others.

Ideally, you start developing empathy as a child. However, children tend to not be able to properly deal with other people's differences and therefore comment on them with snide remarks and ridicule.

As an adult, you should be beyond that already. 

Sure, some of us slip us. We get irritated by another person without understanding the other person's situation. Some of that is because the other person isn't obligated to tell you their life's tragedies, so we don't always know it when the other person irritates us.

But when we know about the other person's situation, you should at least have some level of compassion.

 As an adult, for DJ Vlad to be constantly saying that Geoffrey Owens failed as an adult because he is working at Trader Joe's show that DJ Vlad is a person who lacks empathy. He lacks compassion. He thinks empathy is for suckers. He thinks ridiculing other people's less than ideal situations is great for his business.

This is why I'm so glad Lord Jamar (rap artist who was part of the 90's era rap group Brand Nubians) got on DJ Vlad's case and told him that he needs to be empathetic to people who are struggling financially, especially being that DJ Vlad markets to the hip-hop crowd, many of whom are African-Americans and are living in less than ideal economic conditions.

There's much we don't know about Geoffrey Owen's situation. He doesn't want to do too many interviews about his situation and he has ZERO obligation to tell us about it! It is possible that he might've made bad decisions on finances. It is also possible that he might have passed on lucrative opportunities because he might have to take care of family members who are ill. (That happens to PLENTY  of hard-working successful people) Maybe he passed on roles that he might've felt are demeaning or stereotyping  and would prefer roles that would empower the African-American community. Or maybe there's just not enough roles for older African-American males who don't already have the level of fame of Morgan Freeman.

Or maybe all of this is none of our business because we're not Geoffrey Owens.

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I also want to talk about DJ Vlad's accussation that Geoffrey Owens situation is because he doesn't "hustle", as if he thinks his lack of recent success is because of laziness.

DJ Vlad seems to think that hard work immunizes you from poverty.

It doesn't!

Yes, hard work tends to help towards success.

But there's also this thing called LUCK!

But if I mention about luck, people get offended. They react with "how dare you call it luck, I got my success because I work hard".

But mentioning luck doesn't erase the hard work involved.

For example, look at Will Smith, a popular actor with great work ethic.

He started out as a rapper. He had a few hits, but also had some flops.

Will Smith got LUCKY that he was able to meet Quincy Jones who noticed his potential to be a sitcom actor.  This at a time when people still thought rap music was a passing fad so why bother hiring  rappers to be a star on sitcoms.

Because Quincy Jones advocated for Will Smith, he was able to get a role in what became a very popular sitcom "Fresh Prince of Bel Air".

Had that sitcom flopped, I doubt that many producers and directors would be so willing to have him take the lead role in so many iconic films in the late 90s. Regardless of how hard he worked! 

So yes, Will Smith got lucky. Yes, he's a hard worker.  That doesn't erase the fact that he got lucky enough to get all these opportunities to work hard and become an actor that gets millions of dollars per film. 

But also recognize that many wannabe actors in his generation also worked hard in auditioning for roles they didn't get. Some only had minor roles, some gave up because they had bills to pay NOW and not willing to eat out of garbage cans while waiting for the dream to come true. Some of them might even be better actors than Will Smith but didn't have the name recognition that he got from having a few hit singles early in life.

==

Or let's talk about Tom Brady. Everyone who worked with him says he has a great work ethic.

But he's also lucky that his talent in throwing an oval-shaped ball is a talent that millions of people are interested in watching.

Those whose talents (plus blood, sweat and tears) are in field hockey, lacrosse and handball will NEVER get the millions of dollars that Tom Brady receives due to his talents being more interesting to the millions of viewers in the US.

Had Tom Brady grew up in Romania, he wouldn't have much opportunities to work hard in honing his talent in throwing an oval shaped ball.  He would have to resort to playing soccer, and I doubt he could even come close to being a multi-million dollar soccer star.

So Tom Brady is lucky. That doesn't mean he doesn't work hard. But he's lucky that his talent and  skill in throwing an oval shaped ball is something profitable in the country in which he was raised.


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Here's my YouTube speech about the whole issue about DJ Vlad failing as an adult to learn empathy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX_az7fo0tE

"DJ Vlad Failed as an Adult to Learn Empathy"

Are children born good or bad? How about racist, non-racist, gay, straight, or whatever else?

There's this perception that children are born innocent, but then become corrupted by society!

I think the truth is more complicated than that!

I've subbed at classes serving various age levels, even preschool.

I did witness some profound acts of giving and kindness by little children.

I also witnessed some mean acts of terror committed by the little ones. (there's a reason why there's a phrase "The Terrible Twos")

And sometimes, the acts of kindness and the acts of cruelty came from the same little child.

So children are born with angelic and devilish qualities.

====

But what about prejudice?

It is a common cliche that children are born without prejudice, that it is only because of society that children become prejudice.

I think the truth is more complicated than that!

I mentioned this on Medium

https://medium.com/@pablowegesend/i-remember-working-as-a-substitute-teacher-at-a-preschool-and-listening-to-a-conversation-where-one-ae35edb16462

I remember working as a substitute teacher at a preschool and listening to a conversation where one of the workers mentioned about an infant of East Asian ancestry who was calm when seeing East Asian faces, but cried out loud when seeing European faces.

Remember, we’re talking about an infant, a type of person who can’t really process conversations in which words like “crackers”, “honkies” or”haoles” are used! An infant wouldn’t understand concept like “history” or “systematic oppression”. The infant just saw something that he/she didn’t like (without knowing why) and reacted!

That right there tells me that some people are born with some racial biases, the same way some people are born with certain sexual orientations, or born to be more prone to anger or depression than their peers, or born to smile more often than others (I noticed this last one when comparing my brother’s 3 daughters).

It is VERY SCARY to even admit that some children are born to be more racially biased than others. It is VERY SCARY to admit something that goes against the common wisdom that “nobody is born to hate, we are only taught to hate”.

That being said, just like we can reinforce norms that encourage children to control their anger, we as adults can reinforce norms that would reduce children’s tendencies towards racial bias. It is hard, but let’s do it anyways.

I mentioned this on Medium, and here's a response from virtue-signaling Andrew Grant-Thomas.


I'll post the whole debate on here. 

Andrew Grant-Thomas

May 11, 2017

Let me make sure I understand you, Pablo. You heard a story from a preschool person about an Asian American baby who cried when s/he saw white faces. And from that you infer that “some people are BORN with some racial biases” (my emphasis)?

That’s a terrible inference, Pablo. And it’s an especially terrible inference weighed against the tons of research evidence we have that particular biases are learned.

The inclination to divide the world between in-group and out-group members is very likely ingrained for survival reasons, but how do babies learn which people among those she might see are which? Does a newborn pop out of the womb saying, “Hey, I’m Asian! Where’re my people at?!” No. Within a few months baby gets comfortable with what’s familiar and comforting — a certain voice or a voices, a smell, a pair of hands associated with skin color. Baby is less familiar, less likely to associate comfort with other voices/smells/skin colors.

That’s how it begins. Bias creeps in early. But that’s a very VERY different story than the one you’ve told, in which some babies are “born to hate.” The least we can say is that if some babies are born racially biased your anecdote hardly makes the case. How old was the infant? Did s/he loving Asian faces and crying at white faces out the womb? Is the storyteller you heard this from reliable? Is it possible that baby had a bad experience, or even a series of bad experiences, with a white caretaker?

Etc.

Pablo Wegesend

May 11, 2017

[QUOTE] Does a newborn pop out of the womb saying, “Hey, I’m Asian! Where’re my people at?!”[UNQUOTE]

Do babies pop out of the womb saying “hey everyone I’m gay”?

Do babies pop out of the womb saying “I’ll grow up to need meds to control my anger”?

Do babies pop out of the womb saying “I’m more prone to depression than your average person”?

Do babies pop out of the womb saying “I’ll be smiling more often than my siblings”?

Do babies pop out of the womb saying “I’ll have a learning disability”?

Do babies pop out of the womb saying “I’m going outshine Einstein”?

You know the answer is no! You also know that much of those traits are inborn traits. You know that children are born to be prone to certain personalities.

It’s common knowledge that some people are born with certain dispositions (ie. smile more, be easily depressed, quicker to anger, process information slower than others, be a mega-genius, be more masculine/feminine than the average person of the same sex), but once you say “some people are born to be more prone to prejudice”, you just touch The Ultimate Third Rail!

Saying “some people are born to be more prone to prejudice” doesn’t mean we should condone those people’s action, just like saying “some people are more prone to temper tantrums” mean that we should condone violence.

But then again, if you think babies are born to be Blank Slates, then we’ll just have to agree to disagree!

=======================

[QUOTE] Is the storyteller you heard this from reliable?[UNQUOTE]

She wasn’t a neuroscientist, just someone who made an observation. Sometimes, observations don’t follow a politically correct narrative.

================

[QUOTE] Is it possible that baby had a bad experience, or even a series of bad experiences, with a white caretaker?[UNQUOTE]

The baby most likely lacked any familiarity with white caretakers and was more accustomed to caretakers of East Asian ancestry. Maybe that baby’s biases would mellow in time. Or maybe that baby would continue to shun European-descendant peers.

 

Andrew Grant-Thomas

May 12, 2017

[QUOTE]You know the answer is no! You also know that much of those traits are inborn traits. You know that children are born to be prone to certain personalities.[QUOTE]

SOME *traits* are shaped more by “nature,” SOME more by “nurture,” and many by an interplay between the two.

In re kids and their racial attitudes, the crucial point you need to contend with is one I noted in my piece and in my first response to you: “it’s an especially terrible inference weighed against the tons of research evidence we have that particular biases are learned.” I linked to some of that research in the piece. My guess is that you’re not familiar with any of that work.

For whatever reason, you’re personally invested in the notion that some babies “are born to be more racially biased than others.” To support this claim you mention an anecdote you overheard about an Asian American baby who purportedly cried when s/he saw white faces. That’s like saying global warming must be a hoax because it was unseasonably cold last Wednesday.

“Science” isn’t a perfect discipline or practice. But when the preponderance of scientific evidence is on one side of an issue, as it is the case of when and how kids learn racial bias, we really ought to hold ourselves to a higher standard of rebuttal than reliance on a single second-hand anecdote that doesn’t clearly support the point you’re trying to make.

Pablo Wegesend

May 12, 2017

[QUOTE] For whatever reason, you’re personally invested in the notion that some babies “are born to be more racially biased than others.” To support this claim you mention an anecdote you overheard about an Asian American baby who purportedly cried when s/he saw white faces.[UNQUOTE]

I just used that as an example. NEVER did I claim that example overwhelmingly proves a point! NEVER did I claim that nurture doesn’t affect racial bias .I just mentioned it as an example that racial bias could possibly have a “nature over nurture” component! Mentioning that example was NEVER meant to dispute any claims that racial bias could have a “nurture over nature” component. It was NEVER meant to dispute all of scientific research! It was just an example in a discussion, not an attempt to disprove that “nurture over nature” exist!

Let’s put it this way, it wasn’t that long ago when people ridiculed the idea that people were born gay. But now people are accepting the idea that maybe sexual orientation has a “nature over nurture” component!

Some people ridicule the idea the people are born with ADHD or learning disabilities. People are now accepting that they have a “nature over nurture” as well as a “nurture over nature” component.

Same can be said for racial bias, it could have a “nature over nurture” as well as a “nurture over nature” component. Even if 98% of racial bias is “nurture over nature”, it doesn’t mean that 2% doesn’t exist!

Andrew Grant-Thomas did not have a response to that!

His cliche's got owned BIG TIME! 

Children can only understand so much!

Children also don't know how to properly deal with differences.

Their response to differences is to make snide remarks, not realizing how much that hurts the heart of the other person.

Children do that to peers with acne!

Children do that to peers unusually tall or short for their age!

Children do that to peers who lack the usual body parts (ie. have only one arm) 

Children do that to peers who have extreme allergies.

Children do that to peers who are slow in athletics or academics.

And yet we expect children to not notice when one of their peers is racially different from everyone else?

Yes, adults can escalate or de-escalate all of these situations. 

But the impulse to stigmatize the other is already there! 

Saying "the impulse to stigmatize the other is already there" IS NOT THE SAME THING AS SAYING "it's OK to stigmatize the other!

Just like saying " the impulse to lash out violently is already there" IS NOT THE SAME THING AS SAYING  "it's OK to lash out violently"


Just like how some people have calm dispositions and some people have angry dispositions, it seems to be the some people are just prone to prejudice, whereas others are prone to be open-minded.

Even in the segregated South, some European-Americans rebelled against their racist relatives/peers and risked getting disowned by marrying inter-racially. 

And even in the relatively liberal Obama era, where children in our educational system are taught to respect diversity, some children still grow up to be racist pricks.

That tells you that even society's powerful influences have its limits in influencing the human mind.


saying "even society's powerful influences have its limits" IS NOT THE SAME THING AS SAYING "we should just give up!"

It's just dealing with politically incorrect reality! 

============

Also, on gender issues, it is commonly known that males tend to be a certain way, females tend to be a certain way.

Some is biological.

But what is also biological is that some males will be more feminine than others, some females will be more masculine than others.

Even in nonhuman animals, there are homosexual and even intersex individuals.

Back to the human world, even in the most conservative societies, there will be some males who just don't fit with their masculine peers, and some females who just don't fit with their feminine peers.

(you can look up LGBT from Middle East and other Muslim-majority areas as an example)



And even in the most liberal societies, some males will be super-masculine, some females will be super-feminine.

(you can look up Scandinavia; also some indigenous American and Pacific tribes respected their non-binary individuals as "two spirit people", but still had their ultra-masculine men and ultra-feminine women)



Even society's powerful influences have its limits in influencing how masculine/feminine an individual will be. 



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PS: yes, I know this isn't a thesis, dissertation or any peer-reviewed scientific study! You can always research more on this issue on your own! I know you want to!