Barbara Kryvko
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Movie Review - Brigsby Bear

5/17/2018

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Wow - I was not expecting this movie at all. I heard of "Brigsby Bear" (2017) from a Facebook group that discusses Netflix DVDs. It was recommended as the brainchild of Kyle Mooney of Saturday Night Live. Two minutes in, I saw that it also stars Mark Hamill, it takes place in a weird universe where James has only seen one TV show ever, and it's one produced for him by the parents who abducted him. It's a very clever take on a Truman Show type situation where the lead character has been duped his whole life, and has to figure out how to deal with reality. He does this by trying to continue the story line on his own. 

This movie is definitely a comedy, but the situations are very poignant as well. I've only seen Mooney on SNL through skits and his videos, and I'm amazed at the talent he has. James doesn't know anything - he's been locked up since he was abducted as a small child. His first Coke, his first experience with a dog, his weird dinner rituals instilled in him by his faux parents...Mooney is excellent at being a confused young man unsure about his present...much less his future. Jorge Lendeborg, Jr., of Spider-Man: Homecoming plays James' new friend Spencer, a supportive guy who serves as co-writer and cameraman for the new Brigsby movie.

Ryan Simpkins and Alexa Demie are James' real sister and her friend, who are a little scared of him, yet they go along on his quest to revive the Brigsby show in movie form. The enthusiasm for Brigsby that James has is infectious, not only to his fellow characters, but to us as well. I found that I wished Brigsby was a real show. It sounds, as James says many times, "dope as sh*t." The ending is just as sweet and funny as the rest of the movie. 

I won't give away any plot points, because many of the scenes are straight out of any given thriller or 80s teenage romances, but they always have a twist that makes you love "Brigsby" more. I'm not the only one who loves this movie - the USA National Board of Review voted it one of the best Independent films of 2017, and was a nominee for the Grand Jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival. I cannot wait to see what Mooney does next.

#DVDNation #ad #KyleMooney

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The Handmaiden

5/11/2018

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As a connoisseur of fine horror and thriller films, I am very familiar with director Chan-wook Park. The second film in his revenge trilogy, Oldboy, has one of the best ending twists I've ever seen. Understandably, I had high expectations of The Handmaiden (not to be confused with The Handmaid's Tale). I was thrilled to find this on Netflix DVD Rental. 

Tae-ri Kim plays Sook-hee, an undercover thief, posing as a handmaiden for Lady Hideko (played by Min-hie Kim). Her task is to convince the rich Lady Hideko to marry a conman so he can steal her fortune and commit her to a mental hospital. Sook-hee eventually admits her part in the plot, but not before Lady Hideko marries the con man, and hatches a plot herself to commit Sook-hee in her stead. When they confide in each other, they also fall in love and eventually...well, I won't spoil the twist for you. 

The costumes and make-up were gorgeous, but the real visual coup were the facial expressions. I'm convinced that this story could have been told with no dialogue whatsoever. Each glance, each body movement, each hand gesture told a story. You can see Sook-hee and Lady Hideko falling in love even before they know it, and you can feel the twist coming a mile away - although it's not so easy to guess how it might play out. That being said, this movie is definitely not for children. There were a lot of abusive and risque scenes that did nothing to enhance the movie or move the plot forward. 

The Handmaiden is definitely no Oldboy. 

It feels like Park is using the premise of a film made about strong and vengeful women to instead make a movie for men. I felt the same about, "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance." I maintain that it's too hard for men to write a strong female character, and this movie is no different. The motivations and actions just don't seem real, although this movie garnered a lot of awards, including a BAFTA award for Best Movie not in a Foreign Language, and a nomination for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Park, at least for me, feels a lot like M. Night Shyamalan...he had a couple of great ideas that turned into fabulous films, and he's just trying to get that magic back. I won't stop watching Park's work - in fact, he has a TV Mini-Series coming out called The Little Drummer Girl that I'll be sure to catch.

#DVDNation #ad #ChanwookPark



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2015 AML By-Laws Amendment #13

1/12/2015

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Proposed amendment:



Amend Article IX by removing the final two sentences in section (2) and adding a new section (8) at the end of the article. The revised text(deleted text, added text) is as follows:

(2) Every member shall be obligated to:

(a) Pay annual dues in such amount as may be fixed by the American Mensa Committee.Members shall be given due notice that a change in dues is being considered, either through publication in the journal or publication in the Agendas of two consecutive American Mensa Committee meetings. At least 60 days shall pass between first publication and any vote.

(b) Permit his/her name and address to be published in membership lists.

(8) Annual dues may only be changed by the adoption of a motion passed by the American Mensa Committee at two consecutive regular meetings. At the first meeting, the AMC shall adopt a motion in the form “Effective (date), the dues rate for single-year memberships shall be $(amount) per year” with the date and amount specified. The motion shall be published in the meeting agenda at least 30 days prior to the first meeting, may not be contingent on other conditions, shall specify a date at least 90 days and not more than one year in the future, and shall be accompanied by a description of the financial impact of the motion. At the second regular meeting, held not less than 60 days after publication of the motion as passed at the first regular meeting, an identical motion shall be adopted, provided that it is listed in the meeting agenda published at least 30 days prior to the second meeting. The motion shall not be subject to amendment or modification, shall not be tabled nor referred to committee, and shall not be subject to the provisions of Section VII(2)b.

Explanation: The text specifies the procedure for adopting a change in the dues which permits the membership to be fully informed about the motion.


Note: This amendment is about improving visibility into the dues change process, and giving members more information sooner. I believe this is in the spirit of the motion made years ago, to publish the changes in dues amount with enough lead time to give members to contact officers with their opinions. This does not guarantee that dues increases will not occur, just that they won't occur in the dark.

My vote is "yes" on Amendment #13.
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2015 AML By-Laws Amendments - #8

1/12/2015

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Proposed amendment:
Article VI, section 3 of the bylaws of American Mensa are amended as follows: In the first sentence, "the nominees(s) for the position of Chairman" is changed to "all nominees for Chairman, First Vice-Chairman, and Second Vice-Chairman positions". The resulting section will then read:

(3)…The Nominating Committee shall nominate one or more candidates for each of the elective offices of American Mensa Ltd., of whom all nominees for Chairman, First Vice-Chairman, and Second Vice-Chairman shall (unless no individuals with the requisite qualifications are willing to run for that office) be members of the American Mensa Committee then in office, or have served at least one year on a prior American Mensa Committee.



Basically, this amendment makes the requirements for running for certain offices different, depending on whether or not there is anyone else running. If a member with no AMC experience is experienced enough to run for office alone, then they should be experienced enough to run against people. Making the qualifications different based on the number of people who run in an election is useless - especially since that requirement is not in place for petition candidates. Rules should apply to all candidates, or none. 


My vote is "No" on Amendment 8.
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Making Mensa Relevant

11/23/2014

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From a comment on M-Leaders about Mensa's lack of relevance to society today:

For Mensa to have cultural relevance, our members have to feel like Mensa has relevance to them -- and I think that the best way to achieve this for this organization is to help Mensa members become relevant themselves. 

We try to achieve relevance by encouraging people to join who are already doing OK in that area - we try to recruit successful scientists, actors, children, business people, to pay their money and carry the card, so we can promote them....we try to put our references into Dancing With the Stars, or Big Bang Theory, or anything else we feel is already successful for being smart...when we are already sitting on the biggest PR goldmine every -- members who are already here who high intelligence and also have dreams and goals and desires that Mensa could, if we wanted, help them learn to achieve. We could be instrumental in some great things - some relevant things. 

Our purposes are "to identify and to foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity; to encourage research into the nature, characteristics, and uses of intelligence; and to provide a stimulating intellectual and social environment for its members." What better way to do that than to take people who come into our organization wanting to achieve more, find an intelligent mate, write a book, plan a career, or find a place where their ideas and opinions can be turned into action. I know I'm not alone in coming into Mensa knowing that I was really smart, but underachieving - I looked to Mensa to find out how I could turn that into something relevant to me, to my family, to my career, to the world. 

What would Smithsonian Magazine think if, instead of coming to them and saying, "Hey, do an article about us because we have existed for 50 years and we talked a few successful people into putting their pocket change down to be members," we said, "Hey, do an article about us because we helped hundreds of people become authors, advance in their career, find love, start businesses, join think tanks, invent items on the market today, become artists, actors, viral web superstars?" 

So, in short, the best way for Mensa to be relevant to people today, is to BE RELEVANT TO PEOPLE TODAY!

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One Thought on Attracting Younger Members - Keep Mobility in Mind

11/10/2014

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From M-Leaders, in a discussion about attracting volunteers of all generations:

I think there's a theme in some of the posts here that I have experienced as well - events where you *do* thinigs - active moving games, crafts, tours, etc. - seem to attract a wide range of ages of people who like to *do* things. Events where people just sit and listen or sit around and eat seem to attract people who like to - or can - do that, and that may be mostly older people who are not very mobile. Even in volunteering - I did volunteer scheduling for several AGs, and you'll see registration fill up first, with older people. 


Personally, I have a hard time sitting for hour-long lectures unless I'm super interested in the topic. Last weekend at WeeM, I volunteered for registration for the first time in my 25+ years of being a member - I am a Hospitality volunteer by nature because it's constant moving. 

Society now is very mobile - we eat on the run, text on the run, volunteer on the run, change jobs, change our minds, change where we live, and where we spend our time. 

Be conscious of how planning meetings are scheduled. We often have retired people who schedule meetings at big sit-down venues that start at 6PM on a work night and last for hours, or a former LocSec who had board meetings at his home that started at 4PM on Sunday and included a potluck, and could go until 7-8 PM. Working people, especially those with children, don't always have time for that.

For young people on the go, or people who have to arrange for rides or sitters - always make sure your events have an end time. Scheduling a lunch from "noon to whenever we get done" may intimidate people who only have an hour. New people may not care to go to a games night that starts at 7, and has no end time. They might be afraid that they'll be stuck there if they don't like it. You can always invite people to stay later if they are having a good time.

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It's all about the Benjamins...an opinion on dues increases

11/3/2014

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From the American Mensa Firehouse, a question regarding dues increases:
Answer: I think we've already raised the dues too much in recent years. Count me as one more person who agrees with Mary Lee's statement, "I do not believe that our budget has received the proper cutting of fat that is due."

In addition, I think that the "Financial Impact" statements on most motions are sorely lacking in visibility and specifics. I would like to see actual numbers rather than just indicating that there will be costs, or that costs will be "negligible." 

I am also a firm believer that any financial impact statement with numbers must also include a statement as to where that money will come from. Where can we cut expenses to support the motion? If a dues increase is required to support the motion, or money is to be borrowed, or if it will be included in a current budget bucket, that should be known before any votes on the motion are cast.

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A Mensa created by Mensans

10/26/2014

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(In response to an M-Leaders thread regarding the organization of Annual Gatherings )

We cannot make the mistake of thinking that Mensans don't have a hand in the problems listed in this thread. The fingers clearly point at a Mensa that is already "by Mensans for Mensans" in that issues listed above exist because a group of Mensa members - the AMC - created the policies that allow these things to happen...and they don't happen in a vacuum. 

For instance, from the ASIEs: " All contracts involving American Mensa, Ltd.'s money, its mark, name, or logo shall be signed either by the AML Chair or by the Executive Director only upon direction of the Board or the Executive Committee. "

Or, in other words, a majority of voting Mensa members elected a body of Mensa members who voted that all contracts (including AG hotels, conference organizing companies, and various consultants) will be signed by a Mensa member or the Executive Director upon direction of a group of elected Mensa members. 

The real issue we face is an AMC where the Mensa members on the board are afraid to go where other Mensans go and find out what they think. Many are afraid to enact policy in a way that reflects that thought. Many are afraid to stand up and say that the emperor has no clothes. Many don't bother to do the research necessary to make informed decisions. I did a presentation on SIGs last year when the AMC was making some hard decisions about the future of the program - and a MAJORITY of AMC members did not even belong to a SIG, and many had NEVER belonged to one.  

Don't let Mensans off the hook by pretending that issues are caused by some outside conglomeration of non-Mensans. "We have met the enemy, and he is us." 

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Candidates Participating Online

10/13/2014

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From M-Leaders, a question about why more candidates don't participate in the official AML Facebook groups:

"Whether FB or online SIGs or, of course, the AML forum, I think that Mensans in general are missing out if they are not participating *somewhere* that other Mensans hang out. Many people in this group have said that they joined, stay in, and love Mensa for the social aspects -- and online venues are a really good way to socialize between in-person events.


Personally, since my chosen vocation involves creating awesome online spaces applications for highly intelligent people, I am online a lot. As Allison said, there are only so many hours in the day. Between all of the places I listed above, and many more, I keep pretty busy participating at  a level that I enjoy in all of those places...which really isn't "heavily" in any of them...certainly not all day every day. I pay special attention to the AML forum, since I am the Community Admin, but I was very active before that - I just like it and I like the people who are there.

FB is often the more difficult, since a topic can be posted and hit 500+ comments in a matter of hours then, the next day, scroll down toward the bottom...I always feel like I'm playing catch-up, so I jump into topics that interest me and just lightly read some of the rest.  I can keep up with a handful of topics that I like, and leave the others to be populated with people who are interested in them.

As for candidates - in the past, Mensa members have been critical and suspicious of candidates who blast in during the campaign, then leave after they have won or lost. I'd prefer a candidate who does participate already online, and doesn't just make the effort to win votes."


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Mensa Firearms Policy

10/12/2014

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From M-Leaders
Re: The 2013 Firearms Policy (no firearms at national events)

" I can definitely see how it was construed as a political statement, but I don't think it was meant that way. That being said, I do think that any kind of policy like this - especially involving something that can be dangerous, like weapons - should be left to the local laws, hotel policies, and professional police and hotel security. We have no business getting into the weapon-policing business. 

If someone can't handle being around people safely - whether that means manual battery or threatening with a firearm - that should be left to the authorities, not Mensan amateurs."

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    Barbara's Blog

    I write a lot online - Facebook, Twitter, YahooGroups, Slack, Discord. I have a lot of interested to write about: team and organizaional management, creativity, trust and psychological safety, movies, public speaking, Mensa, my career, and my hometown of St. Charles, MO. 

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