I’m not much of a casual stroller, but I’m a great speed and distance hiker. Someone who’s “taking a stroll” suggests to me a leisurely and mostly pointless trip to nowhere. It may be relaxing and, for some people, that’s an end in itself, but for me, it’s just an opportunity to think about what I could be, or worse yet, should be doing instead of strolling. I’m just not an aimless kind of guy.

That’s why I like hikes. Hikes have a specific purpose and a clear goal. Just like projects, quests, missions and businesses. Basically, if I’m going, I like to go somewhere or to get somewhere. I think the things you choose to do should have a point and an objective. Life’s just too short to waste. I’m sure that nature hikes and bird-watching trips are nice; that’s just not my nature. And even if we’re talking about the things you have to do, I’d say there’s only one way to do them: with a vengeance. Otherwise, why bother? Any troll can phone it in. In the old days, they used to call guys like me “Type A” personalities and not in a nice way.

In fact, not so many years ago, a person with a “take no prisoners” attitude and a fierce work ethic like mine would have been called a “workaholic” in a disparaging way that suggested that being so intensely focused on your work was somehow a bad thing. I guess it just didn’t matter that many people’s jobs, futures and families depended on what you did. And apparently it was unimportant that you spent so many long and painful hours trying to make sense of the tough choices and decisions that leaders face week in and week out throughout their careers. It just seemed obsessive or excessive in some way to the folks watching from the sidelines and the cheap seats.

Of course, those were the good old days when everyone was fat and happy and gainfully employed (no pun intended) so big talk was cheap and “touchy feely” was in vogue, but even back then, there were a bunch of us (mostly entrepreneurs) who really didn’t think that being known and sometimes secretly respected for the insane passion, energy and commitment which you brought to your work was an insult. We actually felt it was a badge of honor among a crazy band of brothers (and some sisters) who didn’t know what they couldn’t do until they tried and who, by the way, never gave up trying.

Today, things have actually changed (along with the economy) and you just don’t hear many people worrying or complaining about how long or hard anyone works. I guess the old worm continues to turn. Most people now are just really happy to be working at all and those of us who are still working hard and who are excited about what we’re doing every day and who spend each day trying to make a difference in a whole lot of peoples’ lives think of ourselves as pretty lucky – not as damaged or foolish.

I guess in this complicated life that we lead that each of us just picks our own poison or, as the Eagles said long ago, “every form of refuge has its price”. Sometimes it’s a hard bargain and it’s never a small price, but I honestly don’t think that too many of us have any real choice in the matter. It’s always been the way we do things and it’s probably too late to change or start over now. And, of course, it doesn’t hurt to know that, by and large, busting your butt works out really well and the results over the years actually do speak for themselves.

But lately, as I’ve been surrounded by hundreds of young and eager Tribeca Flashpoint students (who I’m convinced are pretty quickly figuring out our work ethic and how we do things around here), I’ve become concerned that now that it’s once again become a virtue and a good thing to be focused and goal-oriented and to have a concrete plan for your future and to put your head down and work towards fulfilling that plan every day, we might not be doing such a great job of sharing an equally important part of life that has certainly been just as important to me as any work that I’ve ever done.

And that’s the unqualified joy of and the unending appetite for learning JUST for its own sake. Same deal – same approach – different subject. It turns out to be incredibly rewarding and extremely satisfying to find some time in your crazy, busy life to try, do, read or learn something that’s not required reading or even some type of “cod liver oil” self-improvement stuff. Just find something to immerse yourself in and to enjoy and to take some lessons from that may be valuable tomorrow or in ten years or never. Doesn’t really matter.

What matters is learning to learn for the pure joy of learning. It’s ultimately its own reward. And, just between us, it makes you better, sharper and faster when you return to your real-world responsibilities as well. But make sure you put yourself into it and do the work – otherwise you won’t get much back. This isn’t a “lean back” exercise for couch potatoes – it’s a ”jump into it with both feet” deal where wanting it makes a difference.

So, as I like to say from time to time: remember that your work or your studies are just that – your work. They aren’t who you are and they certainly aren’t what you can ultimately be. Over the holidays, make some room in your schedule, look around, dive into something new and different, and give yourself some additional and alternative choices to add to the equation. There’s no better time than now. Take a different kind of hike this Thanksgiving and make it matter – even if you never get out of your chair.

FLASHPOINT ACADEMY FILM CREWS WERE LITERALLY EVERYWHERE THAT ANYTHING IMPORTANT WAS HAPPENING THROUGHOUT THE WEEK AT THE FILM FESTIVAL AND THE ONLY CREWS ALLOWED EXCLUSIVE FILM ACCESS TO THE MOST INFORMATIVE AND INFLUENTIAL QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSIONS WITH ALL THE GREAT AND TALENTED DIRECTORS IN TOWN TO TALK ABOUT THEIR LATEST FILMS.

THE BUSY WEEK WRAPPED UP WITH A PANEL OF EXPERTS HELD AT FLASHPOINT ACADEMY ENTITLED: “MAKING IT IN THE MIDWEST”. NEXT UP – FLASHPOINT TEAMS WILL BE HANDLING THE RED CARPET FOR THE CLOSING AND AWARD SESSIONS AND THE SCREENING OF “GOOD” DIRECTED BY VINCENTE AMORIM.

Q & A SESSIONS

MIKE LEIGH – HAPPY-GO-LUCKY

GAVIN O’CONNOR – PRIDE AND GLORY

DANNY BOYLE – SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

CHARLIE KAUFMAN – SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK

DARREN ARONOFSKY – THE WRESTLER

NEW MAIN BROADCAST, FILM AND PERFORMANCE STAGE AT THE MERCHANDISE MART

DCP facilitates confidential match-making between those who have made proposals and DCP members (high-tech industry leaders in digital concepts) with whom the proponents wish to work.

Flashpoint Academy is developing a series of specific proposals and relationships thru DCP which will provide us and our students and faculty early and exclusive access to new digital technologies being developed in Japan years before these technologies are available to virtually anyone else in the United States.

This initiative is part of the City’s International Development programs and also a part of the Chicago Sister Cities International Program. Thanks to Tim Hill, Jr. from the Sister Cities program for helping to arrange this visit and relationship. We were ably assisted in our meetings by Dan Hodapp from our FP Admissions group who is a fluent speaker of Japanese.

Ken Nordine (born April 13, 1920) is an American voiceover and recording artist best known for his series of Word Jazz albums. His deep, resonant voice has also been featured in many commercial advertisements and movie trailers. One critic wrote that “you may not know Ken Nordine by name or face, but you’ll almost certainly recognize his voice.”

The son of an architect, Ken Nordine was born in Cherokee, Iowa. In Chicago he attended Lane Technical College Prep High School and the University of Chicago. He has three sons with his wife Beryl whom he married in 1945. He initially attracted attention when he recorded the aural vignettes on Word Jazz on Dot in 1957. Word Jazz, Son of Word Jazz (Dot, 1958) and his other albums in this vein feature Nordine’s narration over a cool jazz background. He began performing and recording such albums at the peak of the beat movement and was associated with the poetry-and-jazz movement. However, some of Nordine’s “writings are more akin to Franz Kafka or Edgar Allan Poe” than to the beats. Many of his word jazz tracks feature critiques of societal norms. Some are lightweight and humorous, while others reveal dark, paranoid undercurrents and bizarre, dream-like scenarios.

Nordine was Linda Blair’s vocal coach for her role in The Exorcist,and Word Jazz inspired Tom Waits’ spooky, spoken word-type pieces, such as “9th and Hennepin,” “Frank’s Wild Years” and “What’s He Building?”

On television, Nordine did a series of readings on a show titled Faces in the Window, and Fred Astaire danced to Nordine’s “My Baby” on a TV special. Nordine’s past radio series were Now Nordine and Word Jazz. He currently hosts a weekly radio program and maintains residences in Chicago, Illinois, and Spread Eagle, Wisconsin.

Ken Nordine completed a DVD entitled “The Eye is Never Filled” with a scheduled release date of 14 May 2007.

Details on the film (which has already been shown in a private presentation to Flashpoint students, staff and faculty) appear below or if you click here.

THE DOCUMENTARY

Regardless of nationality, as soon as a student completes the 8th grade, the clock starts ticking. From that very moment the child has approximately…Two Million Minutes until high school graduation…Two Million Minutes to build their intellectual foundation…Two Million Minutes to prepare for college and ultimately career…Two Million Minutes to go from a teenager to an adult?

How a student spends their Two Million Minutes – in class, at home studying, playing sports, working, sleeping, socializing or just goofing off — will effect their economic prospects for the rest of their lives.

How do most American high school students spend this time? What about students in the rest of the world? How do family, friends and society influence a student’s choices for time allocation? What implications do their choices have on their future and on a country’s economic future?

This film takes a deeper look at how the three superpowers of the 21st Century ?China, India and the United States ?are preparing their students for the future. As we follow two students – a boy and a girl – from each of these countries, we compose a global snapshot of education, from the viewpoint of kids preparing for their future.

Our goal is to tell the broader story of the universal importance of education today, and address what many are calling a crisis for U.S. schools regarding chronically low scores in math and science indicators.

In many ways the six kids simultaneously fit and break national stereotypes.

Take Rohit in Bangalore. He is under intense pressure from his folks to get into a top engineering university but blows off steam singing with his “boy band” and dreams of sending demos out to record companies. In Shanghai we meet math whiz Xiaoyuan, who, while awaiting word from Yale to see if she gained early acceptance, tries out as a violinist for the top music conservatory in Shanghai.

In Indianapolis we go to school with Neil. The senior class president and former star quarterback who gave up football to focus more on his studies. He has cruised through school, but now, with a full academic scholarship to Purdue University, wonders if he is up to the college challenge. The other students profiled in the documentary – Ruizhang, Brittany and Apoorva – face many of these universal adolescent pressures as well.

To put these narratives in context we have assembled an array of interviews with specialists like former U.S. Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, Congressman Bart Gordon, chair of the House Committee on Science, Harvard economist Richard Freeman as well as top Indian CEOs, and leading scientists in America.

Statistics for American high school students give rise to concern for our student’s education in math and science. Less than 40 percent of U.S. students take a science course more rigorous than general biology, and a mere 18 percent take advanced classes in physics, chemistry or biology. Only 45 percent of U.S. students take math coursework beyond two years of algebra and one year of geometry. And 50 percent of all college freshmen require remedial coursework.

Meanwhile, both India and China have made dramatic leaps in educating their middle classes – each comparable in size to the entire U.S. population. Compared to the U.S., China now produces eight times more scientists and engineers, while India puts out up to three times as many as the U.S. Additionally, given the affordability of their wages, China and India are now preferred destinations for increasing numbers of multinational high-tech corporations.

Just as the Soviets’ launch of a tiny satellite ignited a space race and impelled America to improve its science education, many experts feel the United States has reached its next “Sputnik moment.” The goal of this film is to help answer the question: Are we doing enough with the time we have to ensure the best future for all?