The GuyJean Chronicles

So what happens when there’s a global financial crisis?

The weakest links begin to snap. It looks like Iceland is the first to break as their government has collapsed.

Iceland. A small island country in the North Atlantic Ocean. Verrry cold. Let’s see, the capital is Reykjavik? That’s where Reagan and Gorbachev had a famous meeting to discuss reduction of nuclear weapons. Famous people? Bjork! That petite eclectic pop singer with the very high voice.

Such a peaceful country. Why did it collapse?

Well, it looks like greed and consumption overtook fundamental principles of savings and production. More on this in future posts.

All we can do now is hope things will be resolved peacefully in Iceland, and that we learn some lessons before the next link in the chain breaks.

Related news: The UK is next?? and Bjork tries to help.

Shatner's Raw Nerve on Biography Channel

I’m a big fan of celebrity interviews. Whenever I have the chance, I watch The Actor’s Studio or Charlie Rose, or catch the latest Barbara Walters special. Then yesterday, I happened to be listening to the local public radio station, KPCC (89.3 FM), and heard an interview with the legendary William Shatner (Star Trek, Boston Legal, and Priceline spokesperson). Evidently he recently started an interview show on The Biography Channel. Well, I had to check it out.

It’s amazing! This is the interview show I’d been waiting for.

So often in an interview, just when the person being interviewed is about to share some deeper aspect of themselves, the interviewer changes the subject because they’ve got a list of questions to get through in a limited amount of time. William Shatner’s Raw Nerve, however, digs deep.

The chairs are uniquely positioned facing each other with opposite armrests touching so that Shatner and his guest are practically holding hands and staring eye-to-eye. He’s not holding any notes in his hand. He speaks very little. His only agenda is to really discover what makes a person tick. What have been their motivations and driving forces in their lives and careers. And what emerges are some amazing insights about life, relationships, and even spirituality. It’s only a 30 minute show, but in that half hour you feel like you’ve come to really know the person.

I was glad to hear that the show has been renewed for 13 more episodes. Check it out!

As of this writing, on the web you can view two full episodes (Judge Judy and Jenna Jameson). Others interviewed include Leonard Nimoy, Tim Allen, Jon Voight, Valerie Bertinelli, Fran Drescher, and many more.

Kristina Leach in Angels in America (Theatre Out)

Just got an e-mail message from my first acting teacher….

Yeah, okay, I’ll admit it. I’m a closet actor. There, I’m out.

Ever since high school, when I was active in a church youth group, I’ve had an acting bug in me. The youth pastor organized a group called Mobile Theater. Every Saturday afternoon, we’d put on a little show for the neighborhood kids–a little singing, a few skits, and maybe some crafts and games. Knowing nothing about drama or theater, somehow I ended up writing, directing, and acting in a bunch of the skits. It was a blast. Eventually I outgrew Mobile Theater and although I never pursued this form of creative expression seriously after that, the desire never completely drifted away from me.

So a few years ago (and many years since Mobile Theater), I enrolled in an acting class at the South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, California. It’s a nationally-recognized professional theater that offers adult and youth acting classes for the community. My teacher was Kristina Leach, an actress, director, and award-winning playwright. She was practically born and raised in the theater, and so meeting her for the first time was a bit intimidating to say the least. However, Kristina was a fantastic teacher and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. So much so, that I continued taking classes.

So back to that e-mail. Kristina sent a message saying that she’s acting in a local production of the Tony Award-winning play, Angels in America by Tony Kushner. She said it’s been six years since she’s acted. Well, for her, I’m sure acting is like riding a bike. I can’t wait to see the pro in action again!

Angels in America: Millennium Approaches is playing at the Maverick Theatre in Fullerton, CA from January 16 to February 8th. Discounted tickets can be obtained at Goldstar.com. Here’s detailed info on the production.

HBO also produced a highly-acclaimed version of Angels in America which starred Meryl Streep, Al Pacino, Mary-Louise Parker and Emma Thompson.

For more info on the play, here’s the link to Wikipedia’s Angels in America article.

One of my favorite columnists is Thomas Friedman of the New York Times. His writing reads very easily, while his ideas are very clear and deep. His latest column is entitled, “Radical in the White House.”  He discusses his hope that Obama will be a true radical in the sense of not being afraid to take chances, making big changes, and using his influence to lead a movement.

For Obama to successfully pull this off, however, each one of us needs to be a bit of a radical. We all need to put ourselves out there. Are we willing to take chances, make changes in our lives, and be a little uncomfortable? Let’s hope there are enough of us out there willing to be radicals, so that our future will be much better than our recent past.

Recommended Reading by Thomas Friedman:

I strongly recommend Thomas Friedman’s book, The World Is Flat, about globalization.

His latest book about the environment, Hot, Flat, and Crowded, is next on my must-read list.

P.S. My intention for this blog is not to just be about politics and change, but since we’ve just chosen a new President, I couldn’t help but add another post on these topics. In up-coming posts, I’ll be writing more about money, investing, work, finding a job, and entertainment.

It’s official. With the Inauguration of a new President, the United States has entered a new era.  However, it’s not business as usual because it’s not the world as usual. As we were reminded in President Obama’s Inaugural Address, we are faced with a worldwide economic crisis, a natural world deteriorating under global warming, and religious fundamentalism that threatens our basic human right to live, think and choose freely.

Part 2:

Obama’s Inauguration Speech

Today America has given power to a leader who has reminded us that we as individuals and as a global community have power to change things. For the last eight years we were lulled into complacency by a government that made us believe we were helpless, that our beliefs, opinions and actions mattered little, and that the best we could do was to eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we shall surely die.

But today we have been awakened from our stupor. We have been reminded that not only do we possess power, but we have a responsibility to do what is right and good in this world. We have been reminded that we are here on this world, in this life, in whatever circumstance we may be for a reason. We are the creators of our destiny and it is our duty to discover that purpose. Then once we understand why we are here, it comes down to us to live that purpose wholeheartedly without wavering.

Today we have been challenged to not just support our government, but to be the government. Are we ready to get up and make things happen?