Monday, November 29, 2021

TODAY - Monday 11/29/21 - Storyteller and New York Times bestselling author and illustrator Peter H. Reynolds shares details on his latest book, Our Table with host Janeane Bernstein

LISTEN to today's show with special guest
Peter H. Reynolds

Creative visionary of The Word Collector, Happy Dreamer, and The Dot, #1 New York Times bestseller Peter H. Reynolds creates a tender, lyrical story of multigenerational love, tradition, and family coming together with gratitude and thanks.

Celebrated, bestselling creator Peter H. Reynolds brings his signature touch of love and kindness to this special, timely picture book, as families now, more than ever, are rediscovering and reevaluating what means the most: time together with one another.

Violet longs for the time when her family was connected: before life, distractions, and technology pulled them all away from each other. They used to gather at the table, with food and love, to make memories, share their lives, and revel in time spent together. But now her family has been drifting apart, and with nobody to gather around it, the table grows smaller and smaller.

Can Violet remind her family of the warmth of time spent together, and gather around the table once more?

A mystical fable that feels at once timeless and utterly of the present moment, Our Table is renowned, bestselling creator Peter H. Reynolds at his best. Exquisite, expressive watercolor tells a tender story, growing from monochrome into luscious, joyful color as Violet's family is reunited around the beloved table. An ode to traditions that unite families, Our Table brings readers together with a universal message of gratitude.

MORE INFO ABOUT PETER'S NEW BOOK: OUR TABLE. A cautionary tale about how technology can unplug us from each other. More info at https://lnkd.in/eNA8w9W #technology #balance #unplug #familyengagement

Sunday, November 21, 2021

KUCI host Janeane Bernstein speaks with writer/director/actress Kathryne Isabelle Easton about her film, "Borrelia Borealis", which just had a world premiere at the 2021 LaFemme International Film Festival October 14-17 held both virtually and at the Regal Cinema at LA Live.









"Borrelia Borealis"
Starring Kathryne Isabelle Easton • Anthony Goes • Maiya Reaves • Jack Herholdt
Written & Directed by Kathryne Isabelle Easton
DP: Matt Fore


KATHRYNE ISABELLE EASTON'S "BORRELIA BOREALIS"
TO MAKE WORLD PREMIERE AT THE 2021 LAFEMME INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL


“A beautiful, heartbreaking, illuminating and triumphant love letter to the power of stories…"


OCTOBER 7, 2021 - LOS ANGELES --"Borrelia Borealis", a film by writer/director/actress Kathryne Isabelle Easton, will have it's world premiere at the 2021 LaFemme International Film Festival, running October 14-17 held both virtually and at the Regal Cinema at LA Live.

Easton is a highly regarded filmmaker in the entertainment community whose previous work has garnered her such prestigious honors as double Academy Nicholl quarterfinalist for her scripts "Happy Birthday, Ray!" and "Hemorrhage." She directed the episodic series “Key Question” for Legendary Studios at Geek and Sundry, and she just wrapped principal photography directing her second independent feature film, “Valleyheart.”

"Borrelia Borealis" is a vividly lush, mystically haunting take on love and desire during an unprecedented US lockdown.

In the midst of a global pandemic and raging California wildfires, Beth, who suffers from life-threatening late-stage chronic Lyme disease, is forced to confront her personal demons in quarantine. After a particularly brutal day, she answers a random video call from a mysterious man, and soon an unlikely romance breaks open a boundless cosmic world through astral projection.

Easton has been a multi-hyphenate filmmaker for more than a decade. With her equally talented husband Matt Fore (Director of Photography/ Editor/Producer), the two established Abhorrent Behavior, a full service production company that has produced dozens of award-winning short films, web series, music videos, and two feature films since 2017.

"Borrelia Borealis" also features Anthony Goes, Maiya Reaves and Jack Herholdt. Matt Fore served as Director of Photography and Co-Producer with Easton, who also wrote, directed, and starred in the film, which is loosely based on her real-life experience with Lyme. Justin V. David created the ethereal original score. The film also features English electronic band LADYTRON.

"Writing is where it all starts for me, but it's not where it ends," she declares. “As a filmmaker, my mission is to tell compelling visual stories with women at the center. My main objective is to find the truth in filmic emotion, or the ‘root cause’— it’s in the heartbeat of our actors where the answers lie. It’s there that we can really start to explore the complex human condition, which I have dedicated my life to understanding more deeply and capturing on film.”

"Borrelia Borealis" will screen at the Regal Cinema at LA Live, 1000 Olympic Blvd. on October 15th at 4PM. Individual tickets can be purchased at the box office or by visiting https://lafemme.org.

Coming up 11/22/21 at 9:30am pst - Janeane sits down with Fernande Raine, PhD, founder of The History Co: Lab, and producers Gabriel Hostin, Sydne Clarke, and Anya Duao talk about empowering young people through narratives, the past, the future, and their role in the world




UnTextbooked is the podcast in which teenagers interview
leading historians, 
bringing you the power of good history
so we can build a better future.



ABOUT UNTEXTBOOKED
A history podcast for the future. Brought to you by teen changemakers who are looking for answers to big questions. We interview famous historians who have some of the answers.
These intergenerational conversations bring the full power of history to you with the depth and vividness that most textbooks lack. Real history, to help you find answers to your big questions. Untextbooked makes history unboring forever.

Winner of Spotify's 2021 Next Wave Award.




Fernande Raine, Ph.D. (she/her)
Founder of Got History?—an organization that believes in a world
where all young people can advance civic well-being
for themselves, society and the planet.


The History Co:Lab


Featured Producers 


Gabriel Hostin


Sydne Clarke



Anya Dua

Saturday, November 20, 2021

Looking for ways to help out this holiday season? Here's a list of places that need volunteers!

Take some time this holiday season and throughout the year
to consider ways you can support organizations that help those in need.
Here are a few organizations that need your help.


There are more than 28,000 homeless children attending Orange County Schools. For more than 25 years, Project Hope Alliance has been ending the cycle of homelessness, one child at a time. 



Volunteer opportunities


Support some of the following organizations where
Janeane has donated food

Newport-Mesa Unified School District









Friday, November 12, 2021

Coming up on KUCI 88.9fm 11/15/21 at 9am pst - Founder Stephen Grey and Creative Director Ron Bush of Positive Identity



A movement dedicated to creating positive race relations by sharing inspiring stories of the good things that Asian, Pacific Islander, Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, White, and Mixed people are doing for each other and America!

VIDEO COMING SOON!



ABOUT RON BUSH
Ron Bush is an African American LA based LGBTQIA stand up comedian, actor, and writer from Philadelphia, PA. Ron mixes personal stories with sharp social commentary to convey powerful messages to his audience. Ron studied acting and directing with John Coppola for 12 years, together they produced over 100 live sketch comedy shows at Studio C Artists, Theatre Row Hollywood. Ron has been a touring comedian for 8 years, had a monthly residency at The Comedy Store and was a paid regular at Ice House Comedy Club in Pasadena. 

 His inspiration comes from over 20 years of experience as an executive in the tech industry, being raised by a divorced single mom, and being mentored by one of the countries leading Jungian based psychologist, gay activist, and first openly gay white professor at Howard University in the 70’s. Ron is recognized as a leading voice in the LA stand up LGBTQ comedy community. His podcast, Positive Identity, with Stephen Grey is gaining popularity as they talk about the positive aspects of racial issues in America today. 

Follow Ron Bush for show information and more, he may be performing around town near you!




ABOUT STEPHEN GREY

Stephen Grey Is a filmmaker by day and a social advocate by night. Born with Autism (Asperger’s Syndrome), he grew up with a divergent experience from his White American background and came to see how influential identity and perception could be. He then set out to Hollywood to partner with the outsiders of society like him by making films to tell their stories and support them through advocacy. Stephen’s filmmaking themes focus on stories of people that society thought were bad but were good and are heavily defined by Race Relations, Autism, Identity, Culture and Morality. He has produced films that cover the cultural spectrum and worked with filmmakers from all backgrounds. Stephen deeply loves America and believes its people have done incredible things… and that there’s much more good to come. His advocacy has been his great passion. 

He’s a member of the American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity, The Alliance for Media Arts and Culture, The Color of Change and ran dinners for Herb Wesson’s EmbraceLA which brought together Angelenos to talk about race and identity. This focus on identity and perception culminated in the founding of Positive Identity, which seeks to spread inspiring media to show people of all races in a positive light, doing good things for each other and for America. Positive perception creates positive action and Positive Identity does just that. 

Growing up he saw how when people read positive media about people with Autism that it changed how they saw him, and how he saw himself. This foundation spurred the focus on identity, race and perception and laid the foundation for Positive Identity where he aims to do good for all of society. He hopes that one day he will be a filmmaker advocate by day, and by night




Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube
Reddit




Join us on Social Media! Positive perception creates positive action so follow, like or share us and do just that. Also, please consider supporting Positive Identity on Patreon and GoFundMe, or via direct donation.

To share a positive story with us, please email to info@thepositiveidentity.com

Stephen Grey
Founder, Positive Identity
Celebrate Positive Race Relations & Identity!
ThePositiveIdentity.com
Twitter @ThePositiveID || Facebook + Instagram @ThePositiveIdentity


Friday, November 5, 2021

Coming up 11/8! Sky Bergman, Filmmaker Professor of Photography and Video Cal Poly State University talks about her film Lives Well Lived



Lives Well Lived celebrates the incredible wit and wisdom of people aged 75–100, who reveal their secrets for living a meaningful life. Encompassing 3,000 years of collective life experience, diverse people share life lessons about perseverance, the human spirit, and staying positive in the midst of life’s greatest challenges. Their stories will make you laugh, perhaps cry, but mostly inspire you.

Filmmaker Sky Bergman with her grandmother Evelyn Ricciuti,
the inspiration behind Lives Well Lived



LISTEN

VIDEO Coming Soon!

About Sky Bergman, Filmmaker
Sky Bergman is an accomplished, award-winning photographer. Lives Well Lived is Sky’s directorial debut.

Her fine art work is included in permanent collections at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Brooklyn Museum, the Seattle Art Museum, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (National Library of France) in Paris. Her book, The Naked & The Nude: Images from the Sculpture Series, includes an introduction by Hèléne Pinet, curator of photography at the Rodin Museum in Paris. She has shot book covers for Random House and Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Inc., and magazine spreads that appeared in Smithsonian, Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel, Reader’s Digest, and Archaeology Odyssey.

Sky Bergman currently is a Professor of Photography and Video at Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo, CA.


Director's Statement

My 103-year-old Italian grandmother enjoyed exercise, making the best lasagna you’ve ever tasted, and being with family. I started filming her cooking about five years ago when she was 99 years old. I filmed her at the gym because I thought, no one will believe that my grandmother is still working out. I asked her if she could give me a few words of wisdom, and that was the beginning of this adventure.

The “graying of America” is no longer a futuristic prediction: The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show over 50 years ago and Baby Boomers are turning 70. As I was approaching my 50th year and starting to reflect on my own life, I began a quest to search for other people, who like my grandmother were living life to the limits.

In our society, the elderly are often overlooked. Lives Well Lived celebrates the incredible wit, wisdom, and life experiences of older adults living full and meaningful lives in their later years. Their stories are about perseverance, the human spirit, and staying positive during the great personal and historic challenges.

I hope these stories inspire people of every age to achieve the longevity of both health and spirit, and to realize that growing older can be a journey to be celebrated.


Our Journey

Beginning with its premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Lives Well Lived has screened in more than 200 cities. The film has won eight awards, and the theatrical run garnered enthusiastic reviews and a 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Organizations like Aging 2.0, AARP’s Movies for Grownups, Encore.org, and Leading Age have screened Lives Well Lived. Now the film is available on PBS!


A more in-depth look at the passion behind the film and its filmmaker, Sky Bergman.
Interview with Growing Bolder: “Putting Active Aging in Focus” www.lives-well-lived.com




Major Themes in Lives Well Lived

Secrets to a Life Well Lived

How do you define a Life Well Lived?


Courage

Everyday people overcoming incredible adversity.


Documentary Filmmaking

Demonstrates the ways in which documentary filmmaking can make a difference in society and the way we perceive the world around us.

Intergenerational Connections

The film offers a new appreciation of the past and of our cultural heritage. It inspires a search for “roots” and prepares families to collect the stories of their elders.

Sky Bergman, Filmmaker | SkyBergman.com 

Thursday, November 4, 2021

Coming soon! Jennifer Friend, CEO of Project Hope Alliance, a nonprofit organization serving children experiencing homelessness.






There are more than 28,000 homeless children attending Orange County Schools. For more than 25 years, Project Hope Alliance has been ending the cycle of homelessness, one child at a time. With you, we can end homelessness today and prevent homelessness tomorrow. 

Visit www.projecthopealliance.org to learn more and join the movement. 

Interested in becoming a corporate partner? Visit www.projecthopealliance.org/corporate-partnership

Coming up! Laura Steuer and Donne Davis of Friendly Voices - Phone buddies for Seniors



Friendly Voices - Phone Buddies for Seniors


Improve seniors' well-being and reduce loneliness through phone friendship organization. Manage volunteer callers and senior clients based in three U.S. time zones. Organization featured in USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism and McKnight's Senior Living.

Phone buddies for seniors to reduce social isolation and improve well-being. Our weekly calls by trained, compassionate volunteers can serve seniors anywhere, whether living in facilities or at home. 

Laura Steuer, founder and director. 20 years' experience with nonprofit and education, including a decade of phone outreach programs.


Donne Davis, co-founder. Columnist, blogger, and nonprofit leader on grandparenting and intergenerational communication. Donne Davis, founder of the GaGa Sisterhood, a national social network for enthusiastic grandmas, and author.

Coming up 10/2 on KUCI - PBS SoCal new documentary, The Cheech - Janeane speaks with Director Varda Bar-Kar

The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture  of the Riverside Art Museum showcases the actor's collection of more than 700 pie...