Thursday February 06, 2025 – At Sea – San Francisco, CA USA to Hawaii, USA
An interesting day at sea with 5 lectures – lots of “Food for the Brain”!
The first lecture was – Nichola Gutgold – Would you rather Die than Give a Speech? The 30 year professor of public speaking discusses the human resistance to getting up in front of a group of people to make a speech. According to studies, the majority of people would rather die than give a speech in public. In some cases the fear of speaking makes one pick a career that one doesn’t want because it does not involve public speaking. She gave the example of a university educated woman who rather than get into a career that she had studied, she became a manicurist as that way she could never have to speak in public. She then went through the way to prepare for a speech and how to give it depending on the audience, subject, situation etc. Key is to have 3 sections – 1) Introduction where you startle your audience, reveal the topic, establish credibility and preview the body of the Speech. 2) Then you get into the body of the speech. Here getting organized is the key, then decide – Is it a Problem / Solution type speech? Is it a Cause and Effect, is it Topical or what is the objective. 3) Finally the conclusion – conclude with impact, don’t just say “That’s it”, “I’m through” or similar type of phrases. Do not introduce new topics unless it is a series of talks where you preview the next one.
The second lecture was – Sylvia Acevedo – Recognizing Life’s Fullest Potential. A woman who grew up with a Mexican father and ancestry and a Texas border town mother of Mexican ancestry. They were extremely poor, living in a “Mud Hut” on an unpaved road. Yet through perseverance and setting goals, dividing these goals into smaller, more manageable achievable goals, success is possible. Initially her father challenged her to save / get $5 so she went to phone booths, picked up change wherever she could and once she got the $5, she was able to get a library card. She was a voracious reader and soon excelled in Math and Science. Eventually this led from one success to another working as a rocket scientist with NASA on the Saturn Probe, working for IBM revamping their manufacturing process, then ever more important jobs in technology, next she was the CEO of Girl Scouts of America and then worked in Obama’s White House. A truly inspiring story of personal achievement.
The third lecture was – Chase Untermeyer – The American Presidency. The Ambassador to Qatar and diplomat spoke about the role of the President from the founding and creation of the constitution to modern times. Not so much about the men who have held the office, but more about what the Presidency was and is and how each office holder has changed the way the office is perceived and the powers that the person has. When the constitution of the USA was written, all knew that George Washington would be the first president. He was a humble man who was not looking for power and aggrandizement. However, they had experienced the power of the British Monarch and had other examples around the world, so the focus of the Constitution was on the Powers of the Congress – the representative house depending on the population of the first 13 states and the Senate which had two representatives from every state irrespective of size. This was a compromise between the large and small states. Thus it took 2,302 words in Article I to describe the functions of the Congress, whereas it took only 320 words in Article II to describe the President and only 50 words to describe the Judicial Branch as they were not quite sure what it was meant to be. George Washington was then tasked with what to make of the President. Here there are 5 key functions that the President has – 1) Head of State, 2) Head of Government, 3) Head of Nation; 4) Head of Party; and 5) Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. In the UK the Head of State, Nation and Commander-in-Chief rests with the Monarchy whereas the Head of Government and Party rests on the Prime Minister. Executive orders which have become so popular with the latest presidents are a way to get around having to deal with the congress, who take time and can change the objective. However, that “Executive Order” is only valid during the term of the President who wrote it, and can be revoked or changed, but not always is, by the next holder of the office. Laws passed by Congress and signed into law by the president are permanent until revoked or changed by the congress, irrespective of the person who holds the office of the President. One of the earliest “Executive Orders”, that was never rescinded was signed by President Abraham Lincoln and is the “Emancipation Proclamation”. He knew that the Southern States would never agree to the abolition of slavery so signed that “Executive Order”. Other Powers are “War-Making”, which actually lies with Congress but can be started by the President in emergencies provided it is ratified by the Congress within 90 days. However the last War that was authorized by Congress before starting was World War II. Pardons are another function of the President. It was never considered that a President could or could not, pardon himself, as that was never a thought given the very honorable man – Washington – that was to assume the Office. Another power of the President is prorogation. This allows the President to send Congress home and stay out of session. Here the constitution states that the Congress shall start on a given date in January, but any time after that, the President can send them all home at least until the next January date comes along.
The fourth lecture was – Omnia Holland – Into the Mind of a Fantasy Killer. This time she went into detail about a case in Boise Idaho in which a 16 year old male – Ethan Windom was ultimately found to have bludgeoned his mother – Judith Windom to death in her bed on January 26th, 2007. His father Craig was divorced and living with his second wife Kathy, nearby. The first detective did not apply the REID Technique and thought he could just miss out on the first steps and go straight to the evidence and thus the confession. He failed, mainly because he underestimated the 16 year old. Ethan’s hero was Bret Easton Ellis – author of American Psycho and specifically Patrick Bateman, the main fictional character. Ethan modeled his life around the character, taking over the master and second largest bedrooms and living room, allowing his mother to use only the smallest bedroom and the kitchen. He had all the same clothing facial treatments and brands and developed his personality as a bully. He also read voraciously all the books about Psychopaths that are usually only read by experts in the field. So when confronted by the detective, Ethan had the upper hand. It was only after another detective came in and followed the REID Technique, that he was able to extract the confession. He bludgeoned her with barbells, he stabbed her all over the body, he stabbed her in the heart many times and finally slit her throat. He was found guilty and is serving a 26 year sentence.
The fifth lecture was – Gary Fuller – Why is the Union Jack on Hawaii’s Flag? Initially this was because of Captain Cook, but in 1793, Captain George Vancouver goes to the Sandwich Islands (as Hawaii was known) and gives King Kamehameha the gift of a British flag (the Red Ensign) who believed that this meant that the British would help defend the country against the “Pesky French and their Roman Catholic Religion”. It served as the Official flag of Hawaii until 1816. In 1816, 3 years before the death of King Kamehameha, he changed the flag having the Union Jack in the upper left corner, as is the Red Ensign, but in lieu of the rest of the flag being red it had 8 stripes in red, white and blue to represent the 8 Islands of Hawaii – Hawai’i Island; Kaua’i; O’ahu; Mau’i; Moloka’i; Kaho’olawe, Ni’ihau and Lana’i.
Bright Lights Society – Miss Kiddy and the Cads – In lieu of going to the theater we went to the Cabaret and heard the singing of a woman calling herself Miss Kiddy and the three band members – Piano, Percussion and Double Bass. An upbeat pleasant performance of songs that had familiar tunes but totally different words. A nice change of pace.
Roger & Anne Travels 