The Perks of Being

Despite my having a degree to do, I seem to have a great deal of time on my hands. This isn’t the case for many people, just people such as myself who refuse to work in the evening. As a result of this, I find myself searching the internet aimlessly and usually finding something of note. Today I stumbled upon the above Youtube video. I have no particular investment in the person in the video or The Perks of Being a Wallflower (at least, not the same extent of the gentleman in the video). What I liked about the video, is what he speaks about. He doesn’t tell you to read the book or really attempt to sell the book to the viewer at all. What he does is speak freely about something he is passionate about, something that makes him feel. This, my beautiful readers (I say beautiful because everybody deserves to be reminded of their beauty every once and a while) is what this blog post shall focus on; things that illicit any emotion whether it is wonderful, awful, painful or terrifying because, feeling anything is magnificent. In the words of Mr Stephen Fry, “knowing how to feel is more important than how you feel. Deadness of soul is the only unpardonable crime”.

When I started writing this (a whole 200 words ago), I wasn’t too sure about what I was really going to focus on. The nature of feeling? What I like? What I’m passionate about? What other people are passionate about? What makes people feel? I’m still not too sure what I’m going to focus on, what I do know is that I would love to hear responses from whoever reads this. I would love to hear what makes you feel, how it makes you feel and if possible, why (if you know). You, of course don’t have to answer all of these questions, or any at all. But if you can, thank you.

Any reader of this blog (of which there are few, I have the stats) would know that I am quite the film fan. I place high importance on films and their ability to tell stories about the human condition and affect the human condition, because of this I guess it’s no surprise that I have quite a few films in mind when it comes to writing about what makes me feel. If I haven’t clarified it properly thus far (which I’m sure I haven’t), I want to make another attempt to describe what I mean by certain things making you feel. I don’t just mean watching a sad film that makes you cry, I mean something stimulating your emotional core and your person in general, more so than most other things that you are exposed to.

The first film that comes to mind when I think about films that have had a affect on me is something I watched initially when I was very young and still watch on a fairly regular basis now. That film is Stand by Me, it is centred on a group of 12-year old boys as they go on a journey to find the body of another child. They are close friends and each character has something about them that seems to appeal to my emotional core. Geordie is the main character; his brother passed away before the film starts and it is his relationship with his parents that seems to be the most striking. His father rejects him and his mother just seems to be broken; for the most part she doesn’t even seem to be aware of his existence. Chris is Geordie’s best friend, he comes from a family that everyone looks down upon and fails to see why he should make any effort to make their perception of him any different. Chris is the catalyst for one of the most touching moments in the film, a moment of pure selflessness; he tells Geordie that he and his friends aren’t good for him and if he wants what’s best for him, he should leave them behind. Such moments as that epitomise the William Blake quote, “He who binds himself to joy does the winged life destroy, But he who kisses the joy as it flies lives in eternity’s sunrise”. Next we have Teddy, his Dad was crazy (as much as I hate to use that word, it’s the only one given) and hurt Teddy during an episode. What it fascinating about this relationship is that Teddy loves his father more than anything else in the world, he speaks of how he “stormed the beach at Normandy” and defends his father when others insult him. Vern, other being the one who finds out about the dead body, probably has the smallest back-story. However, this doesn’t make him any less interesting. He is very compassionate and probably the most innocent of the group. Stand by Me ends with the phrase, “I never had any friends like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?” This is a phrase I agree with completely, that’s not to say that any friends I’ve made since pre-adolescence are in some way inferior, it’s just that friends of a certain period of time and what a friendship actually consists of at a certain time can never be replicated.

As much as I think writing about the following film will make me seem unbelievably sentimental (although an element of sentimentality was necessary for this post),I can’t help but include it in this post. The film in question is Dolls, a rarely violence-free film from Japanese director, Takeshi Kitano. IMDB states the plot quite simply, “Three stories about never-ending love”, this synopsis is perfect, no more words are necessary. I wish to focus on one story in particular. Haruna is a popstar with a huge fan base. Following an accident Haruna stays out of the limelight as she doesn’t want any of her fans to see her bandaged face. Nukui, her biggest fan sacrifices his eyesight to be in the company of his idol. I understand that this story can seem quite troubling, Nukui appears to be very obsessive and Haruna quite vain, if this was to actually occur the majority would not see it as a beautiful thing. However, in the wonderful world of Takeshi Kitano’s Dolls where everything is beautiful and love is more than an emotion but a reason for being, this story is not only acceptable but magical.

Initially this was to be a single post, but I think this is deserving of a few more, partially because I don’t want to rush this or produce one long, eventually tedious post. This is the end of part one, be sure to come back for part 2 which shall hopefully include some Susan Beir.

An interesting aside, I have 2000 word essay to do and I’ve written 500 words of that in one week, I wrote this (over 1000 words) in less than an hour.

We Can Be Heroes, For More Than One Day

Will drive them away
We can be Heroes
Just for one day
We can be us
Just for one day
-David Bowie

In 1964, a young woman named Kitty Genovese was brutally murdered outside her home in Queens, New York. A minimum of 38 neighbors heard her screams for help, but not one intervened or called the police. The murder lasted for half an hour, meaning that there was enough time for the police to arrive and for Kitty Genovese's life to be saved. The explanation used for why this occurred is that of the "diffusion of responsibility". There were so many people that could have saved her, so no-one saved her. The multitude assumed that someone else could do it so they did nothing.

Apologies for such a negative opening (post Bowie), I just wanted to highlight something we have become increasing aware of over the years, I'm not speaking about terrible events happening (although this also applies), I'm speaking about a belief that human being don't help others. We are constantly told that others need help yet many do nothing - at least this is what we are told. The diffusion of responsibility was studied by Piliavin et al (1969), they found that the diffusion of responsibility did not occur; people are willing to help each other. We are not as selfish and uncaring as it often appears.

Earlier on I sat down to watch CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute. It was a presented by Anderson Cooper and was a tribute to real life heroes; people who have gone out their way to improve the lives of others. It's not often that CNN tells us about the good people out there so it was a welcoming change. There were many nominations for the title of CNN Hero but the ceremony could only honour ten; although I'm sure the other heroes are surround by people who are aware of their heroism.

Efren Peñaflorida has, for 12 years worked toward educating children living on the streets on the Phillipines. Born into a poor family, he lived in a shanty near the city dump site. But he says he refused to allow his circumstances to define his future. With his Dynamic Teen Company, he has tried to give children an alternative to joining gangs by teaching them basic numeracy and literacy using a Pushcart Classroom.
A Hero: Efren Peñaflorida
The Dynamic Teen Company

Brad Blauser "Disabled children -- they're really the forgotten ones in this war...they are often not seen in society." An estimated one in seven Iraqi children ages 2 to 14 lives with a disability, according to UNICEF. Illnesses such as Spina bifida, palsy and polio leave them unable to walk. For the past four years, the Dallas, Texas, native has been providing hope to hundreds of disabled Iraqi children and their families through the distribution of pediatric wheelchairs. Blauser arrived in Iraq as a civilian contractor in 2004, but quit that job last year to devote himself full time to his program, without compensation.
A Hero: Brad Blauser
Wheelchairs for Iraqi Kids

Derrick Tabb, wearing a gold chain and a baseball cap, doesn't look the part of a typical band teacher. But every weekday evening in the French Quarter, he beats out the rhythm on his music stand as students play their chosen instruments. In doing so, he gives them an alternative to New Orleans' rough streets. "I tell everyone I'm competing with the drug dealers," said Tabb, 34. His program, The Roots of Music, offers free tutoring, instruments and music education to more than 100 students.
A Hero: Derrick Tabb
The Roots of Music

Budi Soehardi is a 53-year-old Indonesian pilot living in Singapore, and his wife, Peggy, look after 47 children at the orphanage. They have a personal relationship with each one, and consider them part of their family. The couple named many of the children since they entered the orphanage as babies -- some of them tiny victims and refugees from the conflict in East Timor. Soehardi has three children of his own but says there is no difference between what he supplies for his biological children and those living at the orphanage. They all get clean living spaces, vaccinations, food, clothing and vitamins from the United States.
A Hero: Budi Soehardi
Roslin Orphanage

Roy Foster Whether in a vacant lot behind a supermarket or a small clearing off the highway, homeless vets aren't that hard to find: One in three homeless adults has served in the military, and more than 150,000 veterans nationwide are homeless on any given night, according to the Veterans Administration. Working with the sheriff's homeless outreach unit, Foster finds vets camped in tents or makeshift lean-tos, where he delivers a message: There's help for you if you want it. "For our heroes to be living in [these] conditions, it's totally unacceptable," said Foster.
A Hero: Roy Foster
Stand Down House

Jorge Munoz For more than four years, Munoz and his family have been feeding those in need seven nights a week, 365 days a year. To date, he estimates he's served more than 70,000 meals. Word of his mobile soup kitchen has spread, and people of all backgrounds and status now join the largely-Hispanic crowd surrounding his truck -- Egyptians, Chinese, Ethiopians, South Asians, white and black Americans and a British man who lost his job. "I'll help anyone who needs to eat. Just line up," Munoz says.
A Hero: Jorge Munoz
An Angel in Queens

Doc Hendley It's a seemingly average interaction, but Hendley is not your average bartender. As he pours wine in the United States, he's also helping to save thousands of lives on the other side of the world -- and he's tapped into his regulars to help. "[They] sit on the same stool, drink the same drink, pay the same tab every day. I felt like they really did want to be a part of something," Hendley says. "They just were waiting for somebody to bring that something to them." That something is Wine to Water, Hendley's organization that provides clean water to people in developing countries through funds raised at wine tasting events. Since 2004, Hendley has traveled to Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda and Cambodia, working with local communities to build clean water wells and sanitation systems.
A Hero: Doc Hendley
Wine to Water

Andrea Ivory Every weekend in the spring and fall, she and her volunteers -- who include college students, senior citizens and suburban moms, all wearing matching T-shirts -- fan out across low-income communities in southern Florida, educating women about breast health. They especially seek out uninsured women age 35 and older, who statistics show are twice as likely to be diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer, and thus more likely to die from the disease. For Ivory, comparing this work to a battle isn't overblown.
A Hero: Andrea Ivory
Florida Breast Health Initiative

Betty Makoni has fought for nearly a decade to protect her country's young girls from sexual abuse. And she's witnessed some of the worst cases of the myth in action. The youngest girl I ever came across was a day-old baby who was raped," said Makoni, 37. Through her Girl Child Network, Makoni has helped rescue 35,000 girls from abuse; thousands more have found an empowering community and a public forum in which to speak out.Makoni says nothing will end her fight for the rights of women and girls. "This is the job I have always wanted to do, because it gives me fulfillment. And in girls I see myself every day."
A Hero: Betty Makoni
The Girl Child Network

Jordan Thomas, 20, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, lost both of his legs in a boating accident in 2005. The top-of-the-line prosthetics Thomas was fitted with -- the ones that helped him return to the golf links -- cost about $24,000. He learned that many insurance plans cover only about $5,000. That's especially tough on child amputees, who will outgrow several limbs before adulthood. "I had no clue," he said. "It's one of those things, unless you're affected by it, you just don't know." Thomas knew he was lucky. With a financially stable family, he'll always be able to afford good legs. He asked his family to give a donation to help others, but ultimately, with their support, the teenager launched a fundraising foundation to provide life-changing prosthetics to children in need.The Jordan Thomas Foundation has raised more than $400,000 through bracelets, charity golf tournaments and cookouts. Some of that is paying for ongoing prosthetics for three children until they reach age 18.
A Hero: Jordan Thomas
Jordan Thomas Foundation

The above quote comes from the classic Bowie song, Heroes. It's not very often that I find faults in things Bowie says, but upon sitting down to watch CNN Heroes I have to disagree. I don't disagree that we can all be heroes (because we can), I disagree with the period of time we can be heroes for. We can all be heroes indefinitely.

"When people regard me as a hero, I always tell
them they should look inside them too because
I believe that there's a hero inside every one of us
a all we have is to just open our eyes wide and
feel what's going on, then let our
hearts be willing to accommodate the needy,
the desperate and the hopeless simply by
extending our hand to them, there you will unfold
the hero that is in you"
-Efren G. Peñaflorida, Jr.