This song was made popular by the movie Donnie Darko.
The movie Donnie Darko is one of my favorite movies. It touches upon many themes. If you have not seen it yet, I highly recommend it.
The song, Mad World is a melancholic little tune, but it somehow fits my mood as of late.
Enjoy!
MAD WORLD - GARY JULES and MICHAEL ANDREWS
MAD WORLD - Lyrics
All around me are familiar faces Worn out places, worn out faces Bright and early for their daily races Going nowhere, going nowhere Their tears are filling up their glasses No expression, no expression Hide my head I want to drown my sorrow No tomorrow, no tomorrow And I find it kind of funny I find it kind of sad The dreams in which I'm dying Are the best I've ever had I find it hard to tell you I find it hard to take When people run in circles It's a very, very Mad World Mad world Children waiting for the day they feel good Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday And I feel the way that every child should Sit and listen, sit and listen Went to school and I was very nervous No one knew me, no one knew me Hello teacher tell me what's my lesson Look right through me, look right through me And I find it kind of funny I find it kind of sad The dreams in which I'm dying Are the best I've ever had I find it hard to tell you I find it hard to take When people run in circles It's a very, very Mad World Mad World Enlarging your world Mad World.
The man who will now be charged with the kidnapping and murder of 17 year old Chelsea King has a previous history of predatory assaults on young women. Back in 2000, John Albert Gardner III was convicted of the kidnapping and rape of a 13-year-old girl.
News accounts of Gardner’s 2002 assault serve as a chilling reminder that our society needs to do more to identify and lock away rapists, especially child molesters. Available scientific data shows that these criminals will continue to re-offend – they have the highest recidivism rate of all convicted criminals.
Back in 2000, the psychiatrist who examined Gardner recommended that Gardner be sentenced to the maximum term allowed by the law – 30 years. The psychiatrist found that Gardner showed no remorse, whatsoever, for the rape and beating that he inflicted on his 13-year-old victim.
Instead of the maximum sentence, however, the judge sentenced Gardner to serve only 6 years. After serving 85% of the sentence, Gardner was release on parole where he was free, once again, to re-offend.
To read the full story of how Gardner’s 2000 crime affected one young girl, go here:
Parents, tonight when your child goes to bed, go to her bedroom, hug her very tightly and tell her how much you love her and how much she means to you.
If your child no longer lives at home, call her tonight and tell her that though she may be physically far, she is still close to you in your heart, your thoughts and your prayers.
Our children are our most precious resource love them and hold them in your hand.
To Chelsea’s parents and family and to the parents and families of all missing children we send you our love and support.
A sadness creeps into my room Walking on silent cat’s paws It crawls on my bed Wrapping itself around me Like an old, warm blanket.
I look out my window Outside lies a world Where all the colors have been removed By a sadness that covers me Like an old, warm blanket.
In another room A clock tics and tocs away the minutes But for me time is made still By a sadness that covers me Like an old, warm blanket
I close my eyes And I can see a world that I once knew Where colors and sounds Danced in my head Before a sadness covered me.
Go away, I whisper at the sadness Go away and let me But the sadness wraps itself around me Like a purring kitten So I hold my sadness for one more day.
Two Southern California families are going through a parent’s worst nightmare: the disappearance and possible murder of a beloved child.
On February 25, a 17 year old California girl, Chelsea King went missing. Chelsea King is a straight-A student, who plays French horn for the San Diego Youth Symphony, runs on the school cross-country team and actively volunteers in a peer-counseling program.
Chelsea was born in Poway, a well-to-do suburb of homes and office parks northeast of San Diego. Chelsea is taking four Advanced Placement courses and applied to 11 colleges, with an eye toward a career that would combine her interests in writing and environmental protection. She has been accepted to two schools, University of Washington and University of British Columbia, Canada.
"She is one of the most driven, personable, caring people that you could ever meet," her father Brent King, said. "Her goal in life is to brighten everyone's day. That's what she does, and when she walks into the room, you know she's there."
Chelsea often stays up studying past midnight, working so hard that her parents urge her to ease off and spend more time with friends. Long-distance running was her escape.
On Sunday, San Diego police arrested John Gardner III, 30. Gardner remains in custody, without bail after his arrest outside a Mexican restaurant in suburban Escondido (San Diego). The police were led to Gardner by the discovery of DNA on some articles of clothing belonging to Chelsea and which were found next to the running trail near where Chelsea was last seen.
The police reports that Gardner, of Lake Elsinore, pled guilty in May 2000 to molesting a 13-year-old female neighbor and was sentenced to six years in prison. He is now a registered sex offender.
Gardner is now a primary suspect in the December 2009 attempted sexual assault of a female jogger in the same park. Police are also looking into the possibility that Gardner may be linked to the disappearance of another young San Diego area girl, Amber Dubois.
Amber Leanne Dubois, a 14-year-old San Diego, California girl, has been missing since February 2009. On February 13, 2009, Amber Dubois disappeared while walking from her home in Escondido, California, to her nearby high school. At approximately 7:10 a.m., someone saw Amber walking hurriedly toward her school in the direction of the school's athletic practice field. Shortly thereafter, Amber was seen walking about a block further at a normal pace.
Like Chelsea’s parents, Amber’s parents have been devastated by the disappearance of their daughter. In the days following Amber’s disappearance, her father wrote her the following letter:
March 06, 2009
Amber,
Hello my sweetheart, this is Dad. It's late Friday night and I wanted to write you this letter since you are not here with me. This was supposed to be our weekend together and this afternoon at about the time I should be picking you up from the train station, I was thinking about what I could do to talk to you like we would be doing right now. So I decided that tonight I would write you this letter and get it out where you might get a chance to read it.
One of your friends brought over a CD with pictures of you and your friends at their birthday beach party. Some cool pictures of you guys, one is of you running in the water at night by the pier with a cool sunset behind you. It reminds me of our midnight grunion run while camping last summer and all the fun we had that night catching all those darn fish with our hands. I guarantee on our next run, I will catch more than you!!!
Your Teacher Mr. Reyburn is keeping your lamb, ( Nénette ) for you till you get back. You can bet your Mom is looking as hard as she can for you since she will be doing your barn clean-up duties until you return.
This is still my weekend, so I will be waiting to hear from you so I can come get you. Next Friday is the 13th again and it will be a month that you have been away, I don't want to wait that long before I get my next hug from you. Well, I really just wanted to say we all miss you and love you very much. I hope you get to read this, or better yet I hope you are back in my arms soon, so I can tell you in person. Don't lose hope in our finding you. I will never lose hope in our search for you.
The incidence of violent attacks, including sexual assault, kidnapping and murder, against girls and women is on the rise. Scientists now agree that there is a direct link between violence against girls and women and hard core pornography depicting explicit acts of violence against women.
Our society would never stand for the graphic depiction of violence, including rape, humiliation, mutilation and murder against a specific ethnic group. Yet, society turns a blind eye towards the depiction of those same acts against females.
Pornography, of all kind, objectifies people. When persons cease to be seen as humans then it is just one short step away from turning those persons into objects of abuse. The 19th century slave trafficker turned Africans into chattel by robbing them of their humanity. More recently, Adolf Hitler and his henchmen attempted to turn Jews into objects (they even branded Jews with numbers) to better justify the genocide of a race of people.
To find out more about Chelsea King, please go here: Find Chelsea
To find out more about Amber Dubois, please go here: Bring Amber Home
If you have any information about Chelsea or Amber, please contact your local law enforcement agency, or contact the San Diego police departments (619.531.2000). You may also contact the FBI’s unit on missing and exploited children.
Thank you.
SAD UPDATE:
SAN DIEGO— A body found in a shallow grave Tuesday is believed to be that of 17-year-old Chelsea King, whose disappearance led to the arrest of a registered sex offender, authorities said.
The remains were found buried in a park about 10 feet from the shoreline of Lake Hodges, San Diego County Sheriff William Gore said.
"Although positive identification has not been made, there is (a) strong likelihood that we have found Chelsea," he told reporters.
Gore said he had informed the teen's parents.
"Obviously they are devastated and I ask that you respect their privacy during this extremely difficult time," he said.
EDITOR’S NOTE: If you have children, please read and follow the following “25 Ways to Make Your Kids Safer” for protecting your child. There are no guarantees in life, but if parents are prepared (and if they prepare their children) perhaps the odds of a horrible tragedy occurring will be minimized.
25 ways to make kids safer
At Home
1. Teach your children their full names, address, and home telephone number. Make sure they know your full name.
2. Make sure your children know how to reach you at work or on your cell phone.
3. Teach your children how and when to use 911 and make sure your children have a trusted adult to call if they’re scared or have an emergency.
4. Instruct children to keep the door locked and not to open the door to talk to anyone when they are home alone. Set rules with your children about having visitors over when you’re not home and how to answer the telephone.
5. Choose babysitters with care. Obtain references from family, friends, and neighbors. Once you have chosen the caregiver, drop in unexpectedly to see how your children are doing. Ask children how the experience with the caregiver was and listen carefully to their responses.
On the Net
6. Learn about the Internet. The more you know about how the Web works, the better prepared you are to teach your children about potential risks. Visit www.NetSmartz.org for more information about Internet safety.
7. Place the family computer in a common area, rather than a child’s bedroom. Also, monitor their time spent online and the websites they’ve visited and establish rules for Internet use.
8. Know what other access your child may have to the Internet at school, libraries, or friends’ homes.
9. Use privacy settings on social networking sites to limit contact with unknown users and make sure screen names don’t reveal too much about your children.
10. Encourage your children to tell you if anything they encounter online makes them feel sad, scared, or confused.
11. Caution children not to post revealing information or inappropriate photos of themselves or their friends online.
At School
12. Walk the route to and from school with your children, pointing out landmarks and safe places to go if they’re being followed or need help. If your children ride a bus, visit the bus stop with them to make sure they know which bus to take.
13. Remind kids to take a friend whenever they walk or bike to school. Remind them to stay with a group if they’re waiting at the bus stop.
14. Caution children never to accept a ride from anyone unless you have told them it is OK to do so in each instance.
Out and About
15. Take your children on a walking tour of the neighborhood and tell them whose homes they may visit without you.
16. Remind your children it’s OK to say NO to anything that makes them feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused and teach your children to tell you if anything or anyone makes them feel this way.
17. Teach your children to ask permission before leaving home.
18. Remind your children not to walk or play alone outside.
19. Teach your children to never approach a vehicle, occupied or not, unless they know the owner and are accompanied by a parent, guardian, or other trusted adult.
20. Practice "what if" situations and ask your children how they would respond. “What if you fell off your bike and you needed help? Who would you ask?”
21. Teach your children to check in with you if there is a change of plans.
22. During family outings, establish a central, easy-to-locate spot to meet for check-ins or should you get separated.
23. Teach your children how to locate help at theme parks, sports stadiums, shopping malls, and other public places. Also, identify those people who they can ask for help, such as uniformed law enforcement, security guards and store clerks with nametags.
24. Help your children learn to recognize and avoid potential risks, so that they can deal with them if they happen.
25. Teach your children that if anyone tries to grab them, they should make a scene and make every effort to get away by kicking, screaming, and resisting.
The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics are about to end. I have previously written about the wonderful and inspired performance of all the athletes who have competed in these games.
The other night, however, while watching the short-track ice races I was deeply offended by the comments of one American athlete. American Apolo Anton Ohno will soon go down in history as the greatest short-track skater. His comments last night did nothing for his reputation with a needless and baseless swipe at a celebrating host nation.
“You know, it is the head Canadian referee [Michel Verrault] out there,” said Ohno, with a smirk and a shrug. “And there were two Canadians in the race.”
Ohno is a tough competitor; I can certainly understand that, in the heat of competition, people sometimes say foolish things. Nevertheless, Ohno’s baseless accusations (I watched the race and I watched the many replays of the “bump” and I agree with the ruling by the Canadian judge) needlessly offended a nation that has been a steadfast ally and friend from the moment of our nation’s birth.
Let us flash back for a moment, to the morning of September 11, 2001. America had just been the victim of a cowardly, terrorist attack. Over 3,000 people laid dead or dying among the rubble of buildings in New York and Washington, D.C. Chaos, confusion and anger followed the realization that America was under attack.
In what was perhaps the darkest moment of our Nation’s history, one people stood next to us, shoulder to shoulder, to help us confront our enemy. In the hours following the attack, and for many days and weeks after that, Canadians reached across our common border and held us in their arms.
In the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks, Transport Canada created a plan, called Operation Yellow Ribbon, to handle the diversion of civilian airline flights grounded by the attacks. The operation started after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded all aircraft across the United States and re-routed incoming international flights to airports in Canada.
One particular town in Canada went far and above the call of duty. Gander is a small Canadian town with a population of about 9,000 residents. It is located in the northeastern part of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Well before the 9/11 attacks, Gander already had a place in history, especially aviation history. In 1935, Gander was chosen for the construction of an airport because of its location close to the northeast tip of the North American continent. During World War II, as many as 10,000 Canadian, British and American military personnel resided in Gander. The area became a strategic post for the Royal Air Force Air Ferry Command, with approximately 20,000 American and Canadian built fighters and bombers stopping at Gander en route to Europe. Without the support of towns like Gander, the Allied fight against Germany may not have succeeded.
After the Second World War, Gander became a refueling stop for transatlantic flights. Gander eventually earned the name of "Cross-roads of the world," as nearly all overseas flights had to stop there before crossing the Atlantic.
Gander’s finest moment, however, came in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. In the hours and days following 9/11, the people of Gander opened their hearts and doors to welcome air travelers, most of them Americans, who had been left stranded by the closure of all civilian airports in the USA.
For nearly a week, the people of Gander welcomed, housed, fed, and clothed thousands of air travelers. The influx of travelers nearly doubled the size of the town. Unable to provide hotel accommodations for so many stranded travelers, the people of Gander opened their homes and took them in. Travelers slept and ate in the home of the Canadian citizens of Gander. When travelers needed prescription medicines (all their luggage had been confiscated for security reasons), the owners of the two pharmacies in town opened the doors to their stores and told their guest to take anything they need – at no charge. When the stranded travelers needed clothing, the people of Gander organized an impromptu clothes drive and collected clothing for their “guests.”
For all their generosity and kindness, the people of Gander refused to accept one single penny of payment. It should be noted that Newfoundland, and especially Gander, is not a wealthy area. The people of Gander are hard working people who are not economically well off. Because of their generosity, however, in one magical moment in time, the people of Gander became the richest people in the world.
Public efforts to help those affected by Operation Yellow Ribbon led to positive remarks on the subject by people such as former Canadian Prime Minister Chrétien and his wife, Aline; the United States ambassador to Canada, Paul Cellucci; Collenette; Governor General Adrienne Clarkson and her husband, John Ralston Saul; and in the provinces, premiers, and lieutenant governors. Airports involved in the effort received messages of thanks from passengers, airlines, residents who took in the passengers, and staff at U.S. immigration and U.S. customs. Edmonton International Airport also received a child passenger's drawing of the diverted flights on the ground there, published on page 14 of their 2001 annual report.
On September 11, 2002, about 2,500 people gathered at Gander International Airport for Canada's memorial service to mark the first anniversary of the attacks. In an address to the gathered crowd, Prime Minister Chrétien said, "9/11 will live long in memory as a day of terror and grief. But thanks to the countless acts of kindness and compassion done for those stranded visitors here in Gander and right across Canada it will live forever in memory as a day of comfort and of healing."
In closing, Chretien said, "You did yourselves proud, ladies and gentlemen, and you did Canada proud."
Chretien was only partially right in his remarks; the people of Gander did Canada proud. But the people of Gander also did rest of the world proud. That is exactly what we have come to expect from our Canadian brothers and sisters.
Apolo Ohno ought to go back to his history books and re- read the chapter on Operation Yellow Ribbon. Perhaps then, he will understand why Canadians are our natural brothers and sisters and why he ought to rejoice in their accomplishments as if they were his own.
Every four years we are treated to the grand spectacle of the Olympics. According to legend, the ancient Olympic Games were started by Heracles (the Roman Hercules). The ancient Olympic Games grew and continued to be played every four years for nearly 1200 years. Finally, in the year 393 AD, the Roman Emperor Theodosius I banned the games because they were “too pagan.”
Fast forward 1500 years later when a young Frenchman, named Pierre de Coubertin, began the movement to revive the Modern Olympics. Inspired by what he believed to be a lack of “vigor” among French soldiers, de Coubertin (better known as “le Renovateur”) founded the Union des Societes Francaises de Sports Athletiques (USFSA). Eventually, the USFSA became the driving force for the restoration of the Olympic Games.
Watching the Olympic Games (Winter and Summer) is like looking into a window where we can see the whole spectrum of the human drama parade right before our very eyes. The fields of athletic competition test, as no other endeavor can the power, the resilience, and the beauty of the human species.
This year’s Vancouver’s Winter Olympics are no different. Even before the opening ceremonies, we witnessed in horror the tragic and sudden death of a young man on a training run in the luge. Seconds after launching from the starting gate, we saw his body fly through the air, striking a support beam and then landing lifelessly on the ground.
So far, the highlight of these winter Olympic Games was the personally courageous performance by Canadian ice skater Joannie Rochette.
Joannie Rochette is a young French-Canadian ice skater. She was born and raised in the small town of Ile-Dupas, in French-speaking Quebec, on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. According to Joannie’s bio, the town of Ile-Dupas is best known for duck hunting and for an annual tractor-pulling contest – not an auspicious birthplace for a future world ice skating champion.
Joannie is an only child. From an early age, Joannie’s parents, Therese and Normand Rochette, worked hard to help their daughter realize her dream of achieving Olympic gold. Then, in a tragic twist of fate, Joannie’s mom died of a massive heart attack just 48 hours prior to Joannie’s turn to skate – Therese was only 55.
Most, if not all, of us have experienced deep personal losses. Losses that are so heart rending to make us run into a dark corner and crumble unto our knees, leaving us to doubt whether we will be able to ever stand up again and face the sun.
No event is as devastating to a child as the loss of a parent – the very cornerstone of a child’s life. So no one would have blamed Joannie if, after getting the news of her mother’s sudden death, she had packed her ice skates and gone home to mourn.
Standing as tall as a giant, the diminutive skater [she stands 5’2” (1.6m) tall and weighs 112 pounds (50.80 kg)], Joannie took to the ice Tuesday night she skated with the heart of a lion and the grace of an angel.
Without her mom sitting on the stands, Joannie was left without her biggest cheerleader. Or was she?
Cheering her on were her loving fans, Canadians who waved banners reading “GO – JO.” The melting pot of nationalities that packed the ice skating arena lustily roared their approval and in one magical moment Joannie transcended national borders. She ceased to be a Canadian ice skating champion and, instead, became everyone’s daughter. With her skates’ blades cutting across the ice, propelling her from one jump to the next, Joannie was no longer a motherless child – on that night and at that moment Joannie had a thousand mothers in the arena and millions more moms (myself included) watching on television.
At the end of her performance, when Joannie collapsed in tears, we all cried with her. Mrs. Rochette, who was surely watching her daughter from up above, must have also been crying – tears of joy and happiness.
At the end of Tuesday’s performance, Joannie was in third place, behind the favorites from South Korea and Japan. The women’s figure skating finals are scheduled for Thursday night. No one knows how Joannie will perform or what her final standing will be.
But if Joannie’s mother in Heaven has her way and all of Joannie’s mom here on Earth have our way, angels will be by Joannie’s side lifting her up through every jump, cushioning every landing and propelling her skates across the Canadian ice.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The city of Vancouver has gone out of its way to extend the welcome mat to visitors to this winter’s Olympic Games. Their efforts include the publication of a booklet to help foreign visitors figure out the nuances of Canadian culture. "Canadians are polite and apologetic," says the booklet. The booklet then adds, "Don't be surprised if someone apologizes to you even if you were the one at fault. It's our natural reaction, sorry about that."
Glo, if you are reading this: Mea culpa – I’m sorry.
