Sharen Neal, Lifetime Achievement Award, NAMIPC

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NAMI – Placer County

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IMG_6957Today, August 15th 2013, my mom, Sharen Neal, received a well-deserved lifetime achievement award from National Alliance on Mental Illness association of Placer County (NAMIPC – http://namipc.org).  It was so wonderful that Loretta alerted us in advance of this event so that we could plan to be there in-person.  This was a regularly scheduled meeting for NAMIPC but Loretta (President of NAMI – Placer County) added a twist by adding a special ceremony before their regularly scheduled meeting for my mom and Pauline.

IMG_6952It was very special and they presented both Sharen and Pauline with an awesome/custom-engraved plaque recognizing their years of service and then we all had some delicious celebratory cake and drink.  Of course neither woman went looking for recognition like this; rather personal situations drove them to commit their lives to helping others.  I admired both Pauline and my mom for their commitment to the cause of improving the welfare of the Mentally Ill because it is such a vicious condition.  It’s hard to diagnose, difficult to treat and challenging to treat in the proper way (especially with such limited resources).  It simply is a lifetime affliction for most and more research/education on the topic needs to be forthcoming so we can better address the needs of those in-need.

 

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Click the banner link above to learn more about NAMI – Placer County 

For those who might not know, my mom has been a relentless advocate on behalf of the Mental Ill of Placer County (California, in the Sierra Foothills where they live).  She has been a strong advocate for rights and due-process.  Her life is dedicated to making others lives better through her advocacy in the association.

While I’m not exactly sure how many years she was involved in NAMIPC as a volunteer serving in several capacities, the fact-of-the-matter is that she will most likely always be involved in some capacity.  To help others is simply in my mom’s DNA and I absolutely love her for this!

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It was quite the feat to pull-off getting everyone organized but my wife, Brandee, managed to pull it off perfectly, although there were a few close-calls considering the constrained time considerations.  This is how it went down.  First, my older brother, Mike and his wife, made the trip from Santa Rosa.  Then my younger brother, John, made the trip from Chico and, finally, Brandee and I made the trip from San Jose.  So, as you can see, this was a weekday (Thursday afternoon) collaboration with many participants, from various parts, that typically does not happen.  However we were all determined to be there for this great event and we wouldn’t let anything stand in the way;  so we did it in honor of Sharen!


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Pictured from left to right:  John, Sherry, Mike, Floyd, Sharen, Kevin
(behind the camera = Brandee)
 

Mom, we, and especially on behalf of all those whom you have helped in life previously, as well as that you will help in the future, appreciate your passion and commitment to helping the Mentally Ill!  Thanks so much from everyone!!!

 

Black Sabbath concert, Shoreline, Mt. View, CA, August 26, 2013

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I was very privileged to have seen Black Sabbath. You should too if you get the chance.

[UPDATE: 5/17/14]

As I listen to some classic Black Sabbath tunes I’m reflecting back to the night I saw Black Sabbath at Shoreline with a few of my friends.  Not only was it great fun with a bunch of awesome guys but the show was simply awesome!

I had rather low expectations, honestly, because the Sabbath guys are getting old but they did not disappoint.  In fact, just the opposite! They were not only great – they were terrific!  The sound was incredible.  The song list was outstanding.  And the energy was unbelievable.

Without-a-doubt this was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen (or will see).  These guys in Black Sabbath are clearly not hurting for money so they do these concerts for the love of making music.

I was very privileged to have seen Black Sabbath.  You should too if you get the chance.

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Here’s what Black Sabbath performed on Monday (Aug. 26) at Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View, based on my notes and information from www.setlist.fm:

1. “War Pigs”

2. “Into the Void”

3. “Under the Sun”/”Every Day Comes and Goes”

4. “Snowblind”

5. “Age of Reason”

6. “Black Sabbath”

7. “Behind the Wall of Sleep”

8. “N.I.B.”

9. “End of the Beginning”

10. “Fairies Wear Boots”

11. “Rat Salad”

12. “Iron Man”

13. “God Is Dead?”

14. “Dirty Women”

15. “Children of the Grave”

Encore:

16. “Paranoid”

Self-Medicated (2005) – Movie Review

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self-medicated

This was a guest movie review post by one of our fans:

Brandee Neal

This was a pretty good movie that really tugs at your emotions with a story about a Mother-Son relationship.

‘Self-Medicated (2005) Rated: R’ starts by establishing one of the main characters, Andrew, who is a 17 1/2 year old boy.  He’s a teenager where he likes to be with his friends, drink to excess and experiment in life.  Some of his activities are reckless and overboard.

It’s clear that Andrew and his mother had enjoyed a good relationship previously, yet had been somewhat strained since the passing of their father/husband for some unknown reason (this was not relevant to the plot – so I’m glad it ‘didn’t go there’).  Next, Andrew’s mother, had him forcefully admitted to a rehabilitation facility.  She had every good intention but this facility turned out to be basically a mental institution.  This was NOT a place for Andrew but his Mother had no knowledge of how they were treating her son.  They would keep him in solitary confinement for hours, or threaten him by having him write written essays of ‘500 words’ or ‘1000 words’ at a time.

In the end, the movie had a good moral plot and if people would listen to each other, and not get defensive, then what this kid was put through wouldn’t have happened.  It’s a classic story of people living in glass houses and throwing stones at others for reasons they don’t understand because they assume instead of taking the time to understand.

The Faculty (1998)

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The Faculty (1998)I must admit, this is a film that turned out pretty good for some odd reason.  And please know that when I say ‘good’ it means ‘in comparison to all the other crap I have recently watched’.  You see, on the KevinNeal-O-Meter Movie Rating system it is not easy to get on the ‘good’ rating-scale with anything marginally enjoyable to watch.  I am a tough movie critic!

While I can’t pinpoint the exact reason, or reasons (if there are any other than being entertained) I just found this movie somewhat good.  This is not to say that The Faculty was a must-see.  In fact, far from it but it was amusing for a teen-campy-type flick.

I did really like that the film setup the characters nicely in the opening credits.  Unlike I’ve ever seen before they went through nearly every character and provided a quick name and visual profile.  This set the stage nicely for the rest of the movie to understand the various players in the movie.  I liked this.  Next, and which I did not know at the time, was that this movie released in 1998 was full of what would eventually be several celebrities including Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings), Jon Stewart (Comedy Central), Josh Hartnett (Black Hawk Down), Selma Hayek, Christopher McDonald (Happy Gilmore) and others.

* Stream of consciousness kicks-in and thinking to myself *:  Now that I consider the fact that I typical despise these sorts of movies, yet I liked this one, could it be attributed to decent acting and not the plot???

The plot was about aliens taking over a high school and everyone is distrusting of each other because the inflicted people don’t have obvious physical symptoms.  Imagine that???  Not that this flicker had anything other than the usual screams, creeps and lame plot for this type of sci-fi/horror film but it was surprising interesting.

My recommendation on this one;  don’t search for it on your favorite video streaming service just yet because it’s not one you want to admit looking for.  But if you are running low on guaranteed good films in your library then The Faculty is a nice transition from a sure-winner to the vast majority of film-garbage available.  Worthy of just-above an average for Steelers Stars to 6 out of 10 possible Steelers Stars.