Thursday, October 24, 2019

Learning Dispatch - September 23rd, 2019 - Autumn Learning

Hi,
Why the dispatch? - I want to understand how I can make my learning more social. I love having interesting conversations with friends and colleagues about new things I learned. So these dispatches are part of an effort to get those conversations started. I am also very curious to know more about what you have been learning in return for sharing some of the learning highlights of my week/month/year.
Films
Wildlife by Paul Dano (Trailer Link) - The story of a family that moves to Montana in the 1960's in an area affected by fires. The father loses his job and this starts putting a lot of strain on the family. The young son watches his young parents deal with the pressures of managing in a family in these difficult times. He is unable to understand his parent's behaviour in most cases. The fire outside is similar to the fire in their house that is hard to put off. The cinematography is brilliant to bring 1960 Montana to life on screen. Carey Mulligan gives the performance of her life as the mother, Jeanette Brinson. But the highlight of the film is the young Ed Oxenbould who plays the son, Joe Brinson.
What They Had by Elizabeth Chomko (Trailer Link) - Easily one of my favorite films this year. It is the story of a family that comes to terms with a mother who is in the last stage of dementia. They grapple with the question of admitting the mother to a nursing home. The father and married daughter are against this idea. While the son pushes for it constantly insisting it is what his mother needs. Each character is so defined and layered. I relate to Bridget Ertz, the daughter and the loneliness she feels in a marriage she doesn't feel committed to. I relate to Nicky, the son and his quest to constantly get the acceptance of his father as he is not in good professional standing. I relate to Bert, who is now trying his best to support his wife who has dementia and constantly fights his children's suggestion to put her in a nursing house. I relate to Ruth, who tries so hard to remember things but is just unable too and then smiles or makes a joke when she knows she has forgotten something very important. In an interview with the Globe and Mail, Elizebeth Chomko said this was the story of her grandparents that she wanted to tell on screen. She wrote it over a three year period. And man it was well written. It is such a joy to consume something so beautiful in such a small period of time that takes so much time and effort to create and bring to life.
Article - Why do some people love reading? by Joe Pinsker (Article link) - In the article, the author discussed the findings of a book by Daniel Willingham titled, Raising Kids to Read where he suggests three important variables that make a child read which include 1) being a fluent decoder 2) having sufficient background knowledge 3) to present reading as a chocolate cake rather than spinach.
Podcast - Hear this inspiring podcast by Guy Raz on the 'How I Built This' NPR Show on the story of Dave Krohl, the founder of Dave's Killer Bread (Podcast link). The episode description from the NPR website goes as follows, 'Dave Dahl's entrepreneurial journey began in prison. In 1987, he was addicted to drugs and incarcerated for home burglary. For 15 years he bounced from one sentence to the next. But in the mid-2000s, Dave returned to his family bakery where he was inspired to make bread – organic, nutty, and slightly sweet. He sold the loaves at farmers markets and shared his story of recovery on the package – a branding decision that attracted fans and media attention. In 2015, the Dahl family sold the business for $275 million dollars. Today, Dave's Killer Bread sells over a dozen types of bread in grocery stores nationwide.'
Abhishek
23rd September 2019

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