One decade on facebook

Yes, today marks one decade of me being on facebook!

And to celebrate, here's a facebook video link 
https://www.facebook.com/pablo.wegesend/posts/10211109849222057



Now, i want to quote from a 2014 blog post

"Facebook's 1-decade anniversary" from February 2014

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2014/02/facebooks-1-decade-anniversary.html

Facebook allowed me to reunite with people in my past and allow them to be a part of my future! 

Facebook has broken down barriers in that it allowed me to get to know people that I only had a few interactions in person, and it allowed them to get to know who I really am! 

Facebook also gave allowed us to share articles, music videos and photos with each other, giving us greater access to information out there.

I'll go as far as saying that Facebook is one of the greatest inventions that occurred in my lifetime. Thank you to the founders of Facebook. And more importantly thank you to everyone on my Facebook friends list, I really appreciate you all!

Being on facebook wasn't my first adventure with social media.

Towards the end of summer 2005, I started using Myspace. With myspace, you can design your own profile and you can use it to contact long-lost classmates. At the time, I was in my mid-20's, so the former classmates weren't that "long-lost", just a few years of separation. 

However, myspace was more teen oriented and people my age were starting to migrate to Facebook, which had a more mature image. Also, the Myspace audience eventually aged out and the new generation thought of myspace as "old".

By the summer of 2009, one of myspace friends mentioned that our 10-year reunion was being planned mostly via Facebook. That was one of my main motivations to join Facebook.

In just the first few days of being on Facebook, I found former classmates that I couldn't find on Myspace.  Within a year, my Myspace use dramatically declined as I became a daily Facebook user.

Within the next few years, more and more of my former classmates joined Facebook. I also used Facebook to connect with distant relatives and former co-workers. 

With all those people as an audience, I basically revealed interests and activities I only previously shared with certain people.  So it was amusing that an auntie was surprised by my nightclub photos, something that would've surprised ABSOLUTELY NOBODY who knew me from senior year in high school.

I've also learned many new things about people who I've "known" for a long time. Some came out of the closet. Others revealed great family difficulties (ie deadbeat fathers, deceased parents) that affected through their youth, making me aware of their personal pain that I didn't even know they were going through when I went to school with them. 

Facebook also allowed me more interactions with former classmates that I didn't interact with much during our school years.  

Facebook also allowed me to share some socio-political thoughts with my audience. Problem is,  anything political can end friendships. That happened multiple times during my time on Facebook. Can't win them all! 

However, I have definitely detected some personal growth from my Facebook friends over the years. Those who I thought "omg, that person hasn't grown up since high school" eventually distanced themselves from posting inappropriate stuff and showed great strides towards maturity. Also, many former classmates started having children so the contents of their posts have changed dramatically.  In many cases, many new parents did dramatically reduced the amount of posts they put out there mostly because they just didn't have time for Facebook anymore. 

In some cases, some people have gotten worse as adults compared to when I knew them during the school years. I had to distance myself from a few.  Sometimes, you just have to move on!

===========

Besides reuniting with former classmates, Facebook's great benefits to me are that from the articles we share on Facebook, I learned many new things.  Whether it's about psychological/emotional situations I never understood before, human rights abuses here and around the world or the great programs that uplift the people, I am grateful that Facebook gave me more access to information than before. Many times, it's because some of that information is covered by online media outlets I probably never heard of before someone shared an article on Facebook. I am also grateful for those articles because they gave me information that I was able to use for my blogs. 

=========


Now for the links to my previous blog posts about facebook. 

"one year on Facebook" from July 10, 2010
https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2010/06/one-year-on-facebook.html

"Facebook and Pop Culture is GREAT for the world!" from July 2011

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2011/07/facebook-and-pop-culture-is-great-for.html

2 decades since graduating high school

2 decades ago today, I graduated from McKinley High School in Honolulu, Hawaii. 

I wrote much about the experience of graduation day, as well as being in high school in my one-decade anniversary blog post that I have written back in 2009
https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2009/06/10-years-ago-today.html


I also wrote more about my high school experience in this blog post titled "Myself 2 decades ago" post on 9/1/2015 which was 2 decade anniversary of starting high school
https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2015/09/myself-2-decades-ago.html

Also, some of my fun memories of high school were also listed (among other memories from different phases of life)  in this post http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2013/10/my-double-3-years.html


Our reunion is coming up on June 29th at the Dave & Busters, just a few blocks south of the campus. 


I still visit the campus over the years.  I did substitute teach a few times on the campus, though I never got called to work on the campus as often as I'd like to. 

I also visit the campus for the annual book sale sponsored by the Friends of the Library of Hawaii. (note: it's happening again from June 22-30 this year. Be there!)



And on some weekends, I might bike around the campus :)


OF course, a lot of things changed since my graduation!


Since then, we had the Tiger Stripes painted on the makai side of the gym and a new track & field.  Unfortunately, they still haven't installed stadium seats near that field, so our football team still have to use other school's stadiums to play "home games". 

The administration building was renovated during my time there. Now, the "W building" is being renovated!  

Outside the cafeteria now has more benches outside in the front, giving more students places to sit outside. (note: the cafeteria is too small to seat all the students, plus some students like to eat outside in the fresh air.)

Enrollment has declined at the school. When I subbed at the campus, I noticed a lot more empty space during recess as compared to when I was in high school.  Much of the decline in enrollment is due to the population shift away from the urban core and towards the suburbs of the west & central parts of Oʻahu.  There are more luxury condos being built near the school so that might give some population boost, but most likely not enough to make enrollment as high as it used to be. 


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


The world has also changed in major ways since I graduated high school. 

I graduated right before the start of the new millennium. Y2K was coming.   The way of life for millions was about to change.

For example, when I was in high school, the internet was starting to become mainstream but I didn't even use it on a regular basis until I started college. So basically, my whole life before graduating high school was in a mostly analog world, whereas my adult life was in a mostly digital world!

So basically any research you did had to involve books, magazines, and newspapers.  I was basically a bookworm, reading a whole bunch of books about social studies in the library every morning before classes started.  Google?  That company didn't exist when I started high school (1995) and when I graduated, Google was still a relatively small-time startup overshadowed by Yahoo and America On-Line. 

When you finished high school at my time, you really thought you'll never have any contact with much of your classmates again. Facebook didn't even exist yet.  In fact, Myspace didn't even exist yet. 

And whatever was on TV, you had to be sitting in front of it when it airs or you'll never see it!  YouTube still didn't exist yet! 

When it comes to enjoying recorded music, my high school years were part of the CD era.  It was only a few months after I graduated from high school when Napster caused a major transition in how people accessed music.  

In fact, the Blogger site that I'm using right now to write this blog post only started to exist 2 months after high school. I didn't even know about the existence of blogs when I finished high school.  It was still that underground.

Smartphones? What was that? Yes, we already had cell phones (I didn't have one yet), but they were only useful for calling people. No text, no camera, no filming, no sharing articles or watching videos on those phones. 

Email already existed and it was slowly becoming part of mainstream life, but I didn't start using it until I was in college. 


Education has definitely changed since then. In schools these days, nearly every class has a laptop (or an iPad) for every student. Depending on the grade level, tech-savvy of the teacher or the income of the community, much of the assignment are typed on the computer. Standardized tests are now done on the computer (in my days, they were all done with paper and pencil).  Digital eye strain is definitely something affecting these kids that we have to nag them to take a break and go outside for some fresh air once in a while. 

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

As for my life in high school compared to life after high school......

Obviously, adulthood comes with more responsibilities. I have to now pay my own bills, and in order to do that, I had to develop a more mature attitude.  This is magnified by the fact that I am working in the school system in which I am expected to be a role model.

When I was in high school, I was thinking about multiple career possibilities: judge, prosecutor, high school teacher, bus driver, rapper, record label executive.

Obviously, people's interests change as time goes on.  

Prosecutors tend to be the hammer that thinks every problem is a nail. No thanks! Bus driver? I still haven't even learned to drive a car, much less drive something bigger.  And talking about cars, I once fantasized about getting a lowrider (and bought a few copies of Lowrider Magazine), my years as an adult without much money made me realize that I don't really need a car. 

As for teaching, I faded away from that dream during college, but then I needed a job after college, so I became a substitute teacher. I did it for 13 years. Be a full-time teacher? I did seriously consider it for a while, but I really don't want the stress.

Rapper and record label executive? My music dreams faded for a while, but now I'm focusing on making instrumental tracks with computer software that wasn't yet widely available to the masses back when I was in high school. Making recorded music in those days required expensive studio equipment. Decades later, you just need a computer and some software you can buy online.  And now some schools offer classes in making electronic music. I am so jealous of the new generation!

But it was a part-time job that I started a few months after high school that led me to the job I have now. That would be library work. I was considering applying for part-time jobs at the public library when I was in high school, but I didn't start until a few months after high school.  I had a few part-time library jobs while in college. But then I wasn't doing library work for years until I seriously considered going back to Library-Land and pursue full-time librarianship. Long story short, I am currently a middle school librarian! 

As you may have noticed, my life since high school did not go in a straight line! 

Because my life since high school didn't go in a straight line, I struggled with self-doubt about what direction I should be taking in life. 

This year, I can honestly say there is more clarity. No longer am I searching for a full-time library job because I have one now.  I might search for a higher paying library position in the future (most likely in the public library or the university), but at least now I have a launching pad to rise up the ranks in Library-Land!

My music career? I came back to the dream in 2016 by releasing music under my stage name Pablo the Mad Tiger Warrior. Now, I have 3 instrumental albums and 5 stand-alone instrumental singles. I'm working on my next instrumental album and hoping for a credit line increase to pay the distribution costs. No major hits yet, but at least I have a catalog that the public can access via stream or download.  As for vocal tracks, I'm not ready. I really want to put out more instrumental tracks before I dedicate time to make vocal tracks. 
=====

Now, I'm waiting for the upcoming reunion later this month to hear what my former classmates are up to. Some I know are having great careers and great adventures. Others might still be struggling with self-doubt and are facing a midlife crisis.  Either way, it would be good to network again and lift each other's spirits. 

Saint Francis School: end of an era

Saint Francis School, a small Catholic school located near the University of Hawaii at Manoa campus, has seen its final day.

The school serves students from preschool to high school. There was also an adult day care on campus, making it a place where people of various ages come together as one community.

For decades, Saint Francis School was an all-girl's school until 2006 when it went co-ed.  A few years later, a former all-boys Catholic school Damien Memorial School, also went co-ed.

This was a part of a changing tide when formerly one-gender schools became co-ed. This was especially the case for schools that didn't have a brother/sister school nearby. Both Damien and Saint Francis are in different parts of Honolulu, making it inconvenient for parents who drive their kids in the morning. 

Meanwhile, Sacred Hearts Academy (all girls) and Saint Louis School (all boys) are within walking distance from each other, so they'll probably remain one-gender schools for a long time. Many brothers/sisters and boyfriend/girlfriends are in those schools. 

As Saint Francis School added more boys to its population, the school decided to have its own football team. The problem is that the school has a very tiny campus, and football requires many players on a team. The sport also requires expensive equipment for all the players.  There's no way that school could ever compete on a level playing field with larger private schools like Punahou, Kamehameha or Saint Louis.  Saint Francis School would've been better off just sticking with less expensive sports like basketball or volleyball. 

Saint Francis School did charge lower tuition as compared to other private schools. The problem was that it just wasn't enough to sustain the school. The parent organization, Sisters of Saint Francis of the Neumann Communities, was subsidizing the school for years but could no longer afford to do so. 

In September 2017, the principal Sister Joan of Arc Souza (also an alumnus) did get some controversy for stating in a Midweek article that the Catholic Church needs to be more accepting of the LGBT. 

Jade Moon, “The Big Champion of st. Francis,” Midweek, September 12, 2017,
http://www.midweek.com/st-francis-school-sister-joan-of-arc-souza/



At the end of the school year, she was fired. Coincidence? Probably not.
(note: The parent organization Sisters of Saint Francis of the Neumann Communities didn't mention that issue as a reason for the firing but come on, it can't be a coincidence)

Dan Nakaso, “Longtime Leader of st. Francis School Ousted,” Honolulu Star-Advertiser, June 14, 2019
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2018/06/14/hawaii-news/longtime-leader-of-st-francis-school-ousted/



Then this school year, Casey Asato was hired to be the first male Head of School to this formerly all-girls school.   This would be the only school-year since it was announced in January that the school would have to shut down. 

Many alumni have stated that they weren't informed by the organization about the school's financial problems before the shutdown was announced. 

Leila Fujimori, “Saint Francis Alumni Meet and Are Still Hopeful,” Honolulu Star-Advertiser, January 11, 2019
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2019/01/11/hawaii-news/saint-francis-alumni-meet-and-are-still-hopeful/

But many were upset with the announcement and that the Catholic school’s board of directors failed to inform them sooner of its financial troubles, which they were told Thursday had been going on for 1-1/2 to two years.

“It caught us off-guard. It’s a sad situation because it’s a part of all of us,” said Sister Frances Therese Souza, a 1961 graduate. “The thought that keeps coming to us is why didn’t they let us know sooner, because if they did, we would have helped. We want to try and help … save it.”

and more

Kanakolu Noa, 36, a 2000 grad, said the board waited too long to inform alumni.

She said in order to succeed, the board will need a change in mindset regarding fundraising, and partnerships, both public and private, including businesses and partner schools. She questioned some decisions such as the fundraising committee being told not to call major donors.

She said the person heading the board’s fundraising committee had not done much and had been in the role for only a year.

Noa said the decision not to tell the community sooner for fear parents and students would get nervous was not in the school’s best interest.

“That’s when you activate the community,” said Noa, a former teacher and current manager of strategy development at Kamehameha Schools.

Noa said the school could have reached out to Hawaii Independent Schools. She said Saint Louis School and Damien Memorial School also went through similar situations.

This lack of communication is horrible, as its the students who are hurt by this. The students will now have to scramble to find another school for the next school year.  

Contrast this to when Saint Louis School was having declining enrollment and financial troubles (circa 2010-2011).    The school notified its alumni who came together to donate funds to save the school. Not only was the school saved from a shutdown,  but also the enrollment went up,  and renovations were done. This is how a school retains the trust of the community. 

=======

I have worked as a substitute teacher on the Saint Francis campus under the private organization Kelly Services. I first went there in August 2012.  I was in the high school part of the campus. My first impression was "damn, this is small for a high school campus". It was just one building and a lawn. My mind was so accustomed to large public school campuses that it was a culture shock to experience tiny private school campuses. (I later experienced the same feeling at Maryknoll's high school campus).

The elementary/middle school was in a separate part of campus, and both levels shared the same building. I spent more time with the elementary/middle school part of the campus.  The first time I was in the elementary/middle school building, I was in the 4th/5th grade class. It was wonderful. 

Kindergarten? When we had recess in the gym, it was just me supervising 3 classes. What a nightmare. The school secretary later apologized for not providing more help. 

The middle school classes? One memory was when the regular math teacher came back from a field trip and was horrified by the students not sitting in the correct seats. I apologized to him about the situation, and his response was "they should know".

Another time, one middle schooler claimed to be finished early (with low-quality output) kept making unnecessary comments and was warned repeatedly. I was so angry and yelled at him to go to the office. The following year, one student told me "you remember ______ who you yelled at last year? He's going to be in this class". There he was, causing more trouble. He later told the principal exaggerations about the way I expressed my frustrations towards him and other misbehaving students. 

It's been a while since I last been on the campus. I have since moved on away from substitute teaching and towards full-time library work. 

I definitely felt a sense of community within the school campus, and it is sad to see it all come to an end. This will definitely be a traumatic thing for all the students who have to find another campus next year.  Their hearts will definitely be broken for what was lost! 



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

More articles on the situation at Saint Francis School

Official announcement from the school's website, posted on February 14, 2019
https://stfrancis-oahu.org/school_closure/

Susan Essoyan, “Saint Francis School in Manoa Will Close Entirely at End of Academic Year,” Honolulu Star-Advertiser, February 14, 2019, 
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2019/02/14/breaking-news/saint-francis-school-in-manoa-will-close-entirely-at-end-of-academic-year/


Susan Essoyan, “Financial Woes Lead to Decision to Close Saint Francis School,” Honolulu Star-Advertiser, February 15, 2019, 
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2019/02/15/hawaii-news/saint-francis-school-to-close/




On the school's final commencement ceremony

Michael Tsai, “Saint Francis School Celebrates Bittersweet Final Commencement,” Honolulu Star-Advertiser, May 26, 2019, 
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2019/05/26/hawaii-news/the-final-graduating-class-at-95-year-old-saint-francis-school-celebrates-a-bittersweet-commencement-ceremony/

In memory of Dick Tomey (1938 - 2019)

Earlier this month, the legendary football coach Dick Tomey has passed away. He was 80 years old.

He was the head coach at several colleges including Hawaii, Arizona, and San Jose State.  He was also an assistant coach at UCLA and Texas. 

Star-Advertiser archives

Dick Tomey when he was coaching at Hawaii

As a person from Hawaii, much of this blog post will be from that perspective. 

He came to UH back in 1977 when the team was going through some struggles. The previous coach Larry Price (later known as a radio host) quit, and many players considered transferring to other schools. Other coaches contacted to take the position refused.  Many people thought Tomey was crazy to step down from his assistant position at UCLA to take over a struggling UH team. 

UH didn't struggle for much longer. It was a beginning of the glory years at UH when the defenses became top-ranked, and the stadium became the place to be. This era had the biggest crowds that Aloha Stadium has ever seen. 

It was also a time when many future NFL players were on the team including Jesse Sapolu, Mark Tuinei, Rich Miano, and the Noga brothers (Niko, Al).  This inspired the top local players to play for the home team, as well as inspired players from elsewhere to join the fun in Hawaii.

Sadly, all great things come to an end. In 1986, Tomey accepted a higher paying job at the University of Arizona, where he stayed until 2000. Tomey's defense there became known as the Desert Swarm, coinciding with the era when the US had its first war with Iraq. 

Tomey's Desert Swarm came to Hawaii in 1998 to give UH its first loss of its winless season that year. 🤮

Star-Bulletin

Dick Tomey (then coaching for Arizona) talking to UH coach Fred von Appen after the game in1998. This was UH's 1st loss of what will be its winless season. 

Tomey later came back to Hawaii as an opponent when he was coaching the San Jose State Spartans back in 2005-2009.

Star-Advertiser

Dick Tomey (coaching for San Jose State) being consoled by UH  coach June Jones after losing to the home team in 2006.

Even with all these years as UH's opponents, Hawaii was always a part of Tomey's heart. In 2002,  he teamed up with Jim Leahy to do the TV sportscasts for the UH football games. And in 2011, Tomey was back coaching at UH, this time as an assistant with Coach Mack (Gregg McMackin).  🎉

Sadly, the entire Mack's team were fired at the end of the season, to be replaced by the over-rated Norm Chow.  🤮

That was the last time Dick Tomey coached!

 He was well loved in Hawaii not only for his football success but also his respect for the Hawaiian culture. Outsiders (especially those of European ancestry) have to work twice as hard to earn the respect here. Dick Tomey has earned that respect. 


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

Dick Tomey wrote a book about his experience as a UH football coach. The book is titled " Rise of the Rainbow Warriors".

online shoppers can buy it here straight from the publisher
https://www.bookshawaii.net/books/sports/rise-of-the-rainbow-warriors.html

Watermark Publishing

"Rise of the Rainbow Warriors" by Dick Tomey

To learn more about Dick Tomey's legacy in Hawaii, check out these following articles

Ferd Lewis, “Dick Tomey, Trail-Blazing Football Coach at the University of Hawaii, Dies at 80,” Honolulu Star-Advertiser, May 11, 2019, 
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2019/05/11/sports/sports-breaking/dick-tomey-trail-blazing-football-coach-at-the-university-of-hawaii-dies-at-80/


Ferd Lewis, “Former University of Hawaii Football Coach Dick Tomey Lived Aloha,” Honolulu Star-Advertiser, May 12, 2019, 
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2019/05/12/sports/former-university-of-hawaii-football-coach-dick-tomey-lived-aloha/


David McCracken, “Hawaii Football ‘Ohana Reacts to Dick Tomey’s Death,” Hawaii News Now, May 11, 2019, 
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2019/05/11/hawaii-football-ohana-reacts-dick-tomeys-death/


Dave Reardon, “Dick Tomey Was a Coach, and Not Just of Football Players,” Hawaii Warrior World, May 11, 2019, 
https://www.hawaiiwarriorworld.com/football/tomey-was-a-coach-and-not-just-of-football-players/?fbclid=IwAR2lDu7Zxp4jDal5FAtRTq8geIsiVwSZG09zeBW9n3q6ghnkSVpnR84x08U

Nipsey Hussle & John Singleton

The Crenshaw district of South Central Los Angeles recently lost 2 people who gave their community a voice in the world of media.


One was rapper/entrepreneur Nipsey Hussle.

The other was a film director John Singleton.

Nipsey Hussle, John Singleton

(photo credit: Twitter.com/NipseyHussle ; George Pimentel)

1) Nipsey Hussle

Nipsey Hussle was born with the name Ermias Joseph Asghedom as the son of an Eritrean immigrant.  He grew up in Crenshaw, a community in Los Angeles notorious for gang violence.  He joined the Crips gang as a teenager but later decided that he would be better doing a more legal hustle as he transitioned to adulthood.

He started making records in the 00's decade, at a time when the bulk of the attention in the hip-hop world moved away from West Coast gangsta rap and towards the South (especially Atlanta). At that point, The Game was seen as the last major gangsta rapper from LA.   Being an independent recording artist, he didn't have to worry about pandering to major label record executives who want guaranteed hits. Instead, he worked at slowly building his audience from the underground.

By the 10's decade, some attention came back to the West Coast, with the rise of Kendrick Lamar and YG.  Nipsey Hussle already built enough of an audience that he could make a good living without pandering to mainstream radio.

YG and Nipsey Hussle came together to make a classic track of political defiance "FDT", which stands for "F--- Donald Trump". That track was released in 2016 when Donald Trump was running for president. The song was a unity track between Bloods & Crips, but also between African-Americans and Latinos. Both YG and Nipsey Hussle grew up around Latinos and weren't going to stay silent when the Latino immigrant community was being slandered by Trump and his supporters. 

He also had some side entrepreneurial ventures focusing on expanding opportunities in his home community of Crenshaw.  He opened a fashion store (Marathon Clothing), then later bought out the plaza the store was located in. He invested in affordable rental units in his community. He also encouraged young African-Americans to embrace STEM education being that much of the world's future is based on computer technology. 

His devotion to the community made him well-loved by many. Unfortunately, his success also breeds envy among those who felt left behind.  This gets magnified in that many rappers who earn millions become easy targets for people from their childhood community who are still struggling economically.

from the New York Times

Joe Coscarelli, “For Nipsey Hussle and Rap’s Thriving Middle Class, Staying Close to Home Can Have a Price,” New York Times, April 4, 2019, 

 https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/04/arts/music/nipsey-hussle-shooting-death.html 

“Sometimes keeping it real is too much,” Wack said. “When you’re that accessible, that common, then it becomes easy to get to you and easy to plot on you.”

For other rappers who looked to Hussle’s career as a blueprint, his killing has resulted in increased paranoia and anxiety.

Mozzy, a Sacramento rapper who frequently wrestles with the consequences of his gang ties in music and interviews, said that Hussle “was supposed to be untouchable,” and represented the aspirational “big dog” in his lane “as far as being a gangster rapper and trying to transition into being a mogul and a role model.”

“I ain’t going to lie, I’m kind of shaking right now,” Mozzy said, having recently had a “mini-altercation” in his own neighborhood. He cited the fatalistic advice of the Louisiana rap veteran Boosie: “Most rappers die in their own city,” and added: “Every day you’re taking one of the biggest risks of your life by being a rapper and living in your community, or continuing to pull up there. But you take that risk out of a love for the people.”

Nipsey Hussle was murdered outside his own store on March 31, 2019. He was only  33 years old.  The alleged killer was Eric Holder (no relation to the former Attorney General with the same name), who will face court time. 

more articles  on Nipsey Hussle

Zoe Zorka, “Remembering the Business of Nipsey Hussle: From Entertainer to Entrepreneur,” The Source, April 2, 2019,  http://thesource.com/2019/04/02/remembering-the-business-of-nipsey-hussle-from-entertainer-to-entrepreneur/


Damon Brown, “The Late Rapper Nipsey Hussle Was a Savvy entrepreneur. This Was His Secret to Success,” The INC, April 1, 2019
https://www.inc.com/damon-brown/the-powerful-secret-rapper-nipsey-hussle-knew-about-entrepreneurship.html

2) John Singleton 

John Singleton is a prominent director known for his films focusing on the various aspects of African-American life.

His debut film "Boyz N The Hood" was his most well-known film. The film focused on 3 young African-American males growing up in Crenshaw.  They started out as childhood friends but as they transitioned to late adolescence, they started to go in different directions, even as they maintained their friendship. Cuba Gooding's (Tre) character was an academic achiever headed for college. Morris Chestnut's  (Ricky) character was the jock who wanted a football scholarship but was struggling to get qualified academically. Ice Cube's character (Doughboy) became a gang member with no known legal aspirations.  The movie had its humorous moments, but it had a more serious tone as the 3 main characters had to deal with the fear & tragedy that comes with the violent environment they were growing up in. 

The film's success inspired other "hood movies" like Menace to Society, South Central, and Master P's "I'm Bout It" that all focus being an adolescent/young adult in poverty-stricken, crime-ridden communities. 

There was much more to John Singleton than just "hood movies". 

His next "Poetic Justice" was a romance movie that featured singers Janet Jackson and Tupac Shakur.  It was Janet Jackson's first movie role and it showed Tupac Shakur in a role that had nothing to do with "Thug Life". 

His later films included Higher Learning (which focused on racial tensions on a college campus), Rosewood  (which focused on KKK attacks on African-American communities in the Jim Crow era),  and Baby Boy (Tyrese portrayed an unemployed young man still living with his mother whose new boyfriend just got out of prison).

Singleton also made the 2000's updated version of the cult classic Shaft, as well as 2 Fast, 2 Furious.

John Singleton was considered to direct the 2pac's biopic "All Eyez on Me", but was later dropped from the project. There were rumors that he was fired because 2pac's family was offended by some of his ideas for what to add to the film.

In his last few years, Singleton focused more on TV, with a documentary on the LA Riots (L.A. Burning: The Riots 25 Years Later)  and TV series Snowfall (on the crack trade in the 1980s).

In April of this year, John Singleton suffered a stroke. He passed away a few days later. He was 51 years old.


articles on John Singleton's impact on the world of film

Ann Hornaday, “John Singleton Helped Redefine American Pop Culture, and His Impact Is Still Being Felt Today,” Washington Post, April 29, 2019, 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/john-singleton-helped-redefine-american-pop-culture-and-his-impact-is-still-being-felt-today/2019/04/29/1b763d8a-6aab-11e9-8f44-e8d8bb1df986_story.html



Bryan Alexander, “Appreciation: How John Singleton's Stunning, Singular 'Boyz n the Hood' Changed Hollywood,” USA Today, April 29, 2019, 
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2019/04/29/john-singleton-boyz-n-hood-filmmaker-appreciation/3616782002/



S. Mitra Kalita, “John Singleton Directed This Scene That Changed My Life,” CNN, April 29, 2019,
https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/29/opinions/john-singleton-directed-this-scene-that-changed-my-life-kalita/index.html


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This article on John Singleton's stroke and hypertension and on how  those two medical conditions affect African-Americans at a high rate, as written by Terry Neal, an African-American writer diagnosed with hypertension


Terry Neal, “John Singleton’s Art, and His Death, Are All Too Familiar to Black Men,” Washington Post, May 3, 2019, 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/05/03/john-singletons-art-his-life-is-all-too-familiar-black-men/?utm_term=.945818850eb0&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

coming soon

I'm working on blog posts honoring the memory of the recently deceased in entertainment and sports.

More specifically

- rapper/entrepreneur Nipsey Hussle
- film director John Singleton
- college football coach Dick Tomey


No fixed deadline of when I'll be done with the blog posts, but I'll publish them as soon as possible.

Letter to the Editor: No chance to fix ballots mailed in

Today,  I had a Letter to the Editor published in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser

https://www.staradvertiser.com/2019/04/28/editorial/letters/letter-no-chance-to-fix-ballots-mailed-in/ 

I do not support all-mail voting. As someone who has worked as an elections precinct official, usually stationed near the machine where voters submit their ballots, there are always voters whose ballots weren’t accepted because they didn’t understand how to fill in their ballots properly. This is especially true for primary elections, but it also happens in general elections.

Had those voters submitted their ballots by mail, their votes wouldn’t have counted. At least at the voting precincts, the machine could catch their errors and we could give those voters another chance to fill in their ballots properly.

Let’s continue to have walk-in voting locations in every district so that voters who need help from a person can get that help.

I mentioned about voters having difficulty with election procedures (especially in the Primary Election) with a blog post from August 2018! 

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2018/08/hawaii-primary-elections-need-to-change.html

So some of the first time voters get confused by the format!

Technically, the people giving the ballots to the voters are supposed to explain what they're supposed to do (vote within one party), but even then, that confuses some voters.

I was the person who directs the voters who have finished voting to put their ballots into the E-scan machine. If the ballots aren't filled out properly, the E-scan machine spits the ballot back out, and I have to re-explain the format the voters are required to follow for the Primary Elections. Some of those voters require multiple explanations.

Some might make snide remarks about such voters!

But you know what?

It's unrealistic to expect all voters to be political geniuses! Even those who may or may not have learning disabilities have a right to vote!

  
It's important that people have a voice and be engaged with the political process. We need to do everything we can to help the process. 

For some voters, voting by mail works best.

For other voters, going to the precinct on Election Day works best.

Let's keep that option open!