One of my mother’s favorite stories to tell people about me is how from the first few years I was able to talk, I would strike up conversations with strangers — usually little old ladies — to say hello and ask them how they were feeling that day. I was especially interested to know what was wrong if they had a cane, a cast, or a bandage of sorts. As I got older, I became fascinated with animals, and particularly concerned if I found one in peril — a lizard who’d gotten tar on its feet, a bird who’d broken its wing, or even a bee that had gotten trapped in the house. For some reason, I always seemed to be very sensitive to other people’s (and creatures’) feelings. I felt compelled to help however I could. As an adult, I now understand it was my mother’s own good nature that probably influenced this from early on.

When I got a bit older though, junior high to be exact, I found myself stuck in an uncomfortable world of cliques, popularity struggles, gossip and brutal critics. Never one for confrontation, let alone malicious behavior, I started to retreat from my usual inquisitiveness and outgoing nature and got quiet, for the first time in my life. I began trying desperately to fit in, just so I could get through each day. It wasn’t until high school that I found myself in a more comfortable environment and began to speak up again. I reconnected with my passion for meeting new people, figuring out what I could do to help, and began making up for lost time by starting new initiatives, organizations and assuming various leadership roles. It was then that I realized that what I said and what I did actually mattered to others. I saw that I could make a difference and found my voice. Despite a few painful adolescent years, I consider myself lucky to have the opportunity to express myself so freely with people from more countries around the world than I’d ever dreamed. Our “voice” is one of the most precious instruments each of us has!

To read more about finding your voice, including celebrating people and resources that enable us to express ourselves more freely, effectively and powerfully then check out this past YS Weekly newsletter!

Finding the best ways to express yourself and mustering up the inspiration and confidence to do so should be a little easier after you read this issue. Make sure you don’t miss little Mattie’s story – - it is sure to drive home the profound importance of finding our own voice, and prove how powerful it can be.

I’ve always wanted the movie School of Rock 2 but I never expected it to appear in this form. THE ROCKER isn’t original but it is entertaining. It’s another story of a middle aged man who wants to feel young again. He’s been wanting a second chance because he didn’t get it the first time around but then he learns something valuable along the way. THE ROCKER has enough humor to make you laugh and leave you smiling at the end of the movie. Look in your rear view mirrors comedy movie stars everywhere, because Rainn Wilson is drawing near and catching up.

Fish was in a band called VESUVIUS back in the 80s but his band mates decided to cut him out of the deal in order for them to get fame and fortune. Years later Fish is still wondering ‘what if’ until his nephew invites him to join his band for prom night. He accepts the offer and eventually sees his opportunity to be a Rocker again. The question is will his pride and grudge get in the way?

It is a funny movie. Don’t get your hopes up and don’t have low expectations either, because one way or another you’re going to end up liking this movie. The jokes aren’t that raunchy but some are borderline. Some scenes are cute and sweet and will make some audiences go ‘Aww’. The self-realization moments are not cheesy or too sentimental. I’m glad the movie is determined to stay cool and rock ‘n’ roll throughout.

Here you can definitely see the drastic difference from what the 80s thought was awesome and what present day thinks is awesome – as far as music, hairstyle and clothing go. It’s about knowing when to grow up but at the same time knowing not to let go of things that make your spirit feel alive. It’s about what it means to be in a band and have each other’s back. It’s about appreciating oneself, not letting what others say mess with your head and what it means to rock! All that and more has already been covered in Jack Black’s School of Rock but instead of kids, it’s geared toward teens.

I like how this movie promotes The Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame museum in Cleveland, Ohio. Despite the fact that I’ve been to Ohio twice in my whole life, I have yet to visit the site. It will be my purpose for living.

I really want to emphasize that THE ROCKER wouldn’t have been what it is without Rainn Wilson’s excellent performance. His charm and persona is what gives this movie its soul. His comedic timing is as on the target as his ability to endure slapstick physical humor and to change moods and expressions from a careless immature adult into a compassionate and responsible team player. Maybe Will Ferrell could’ve done the gig but I don’t think he would do as good a job.

My Grade for this movie: 4 out of 5

All work and no play makes the Young & Successful feel unbalanced! To rescue our overworked souls, YSN member and movie aficionado Rama Tampubolon discusses the latest hot topics and movie reviews every Thursday on Waste Time Wisely. He runs the movie review and discussion blog, Rama’s Screen, and was featured in “United 300,” which won for “Best Spoof” at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards.

Now, we don’t mean dance with a lampshade on your head or fight with your cousin Joe over the last piece of cheesecake! We mean setting that perfect scene in your home to create a warm, welcome feeling. Jennifer at Gilded Fork recommends the following tips for putting on a casually elegant display:

1. If you are presenting a buffet table, create a series of levels for your various dishes and platters to add some dimension and eye appeal, instantly transforming any menu into a formidable display. Find some sturdy elements you can use to build the levels, including upside-down pots, bowls, boxes or even bricks. Cover them with a large cloth, then use smaller cloths bunched around the levels to make an attractive nest. If you are particularly creative, you can accent the table with decorative items like branches, dried flowers or candles, provided their scents and/or leaves do not interfere with the food.

2. For the dining table, be as creative as your mind and budget allow. Don’t be afraid to mix and match the place settings and accessories — you can use alternating place mats, settings, or flatware. This is particularly helpful if you have smaller, matched sets, but are serving quite a number of people. Some risk-takers have even crafted each place setting to match their guests’ personalities — to great effect.

3. If you have a dimmer switch, experiment a bit with the lighting in your home to see how various levels affect the room. Cozy corners always lend a homey feel, but remember that the food itself should be clearly lighted. Put yourself in a guest’s shoes while experimenting — consider that you might not want a bright spotlight on the table so it seems like a lighted stage for those diving into the feast (you know how shy people can be sometimes). If you don’t have a dimmer switch, place table and/or floor lamps with lower-wattage bulbs (60 watts or lower) in various parts of the room, and turn off half the lights (or the overhead lights) to achieve the same effect.

4. Candles are also a classic, inviting way to softly light a room; they offer a soothing welcome that beckons guests to relax and enjoy — and everyone looks wonderful by candlelight. Remember to use unscented candles, as you don’t want other smells to interfere with the beautiful food you worked so hard to prepare.

You can read more tips from Jennifer in her article The Magic of Ambience at the Gilded Fork. Happy entertaining!.

TROPIC THUNDER is one of the craziest most hilarious comedy movies out there. It will make you laugh and then cry from laughing so hard. If you don’t dig silly, over the top scenes, ala SNL sketches, then you would probably find this movie very annoying. This is a comedy with a bang! Explosive and uproarious! Writer/director Ben Stiller and his fellow screenwriter Justin Theroux have made
an awesome finale to the 2008 summer movie season.

The story is simple and ridiculous, but I don’t mind. It centers on a bunch of actors with personal issues who must face actual trained enemies. None of them have careers with good reputations in the eyes of the public and yet they think they’re all that. They make a living out of pretending and in real life the act continues.

This real battle in the jungle will bring out the hero in them; no matter how outrageous the process and outcome will be. To a certain extent, it’s a spoof on Francis Ford Coppola’s classic tale Apocalypse Now. Let’s just say that TROPIC THUNDER makes its own version and blows it up to the third degree with CG, props and pyrotechnics.

It’s a good thing Ben Stiller has so many A-list friends who are willing to appear in this movie; even for a cameo. The cast is people who know comedy by heart. From Jack Black and Steve Coogan to Bill Hader and Matthew McConaughey. The surprise show stopper is Tom Cruise as the bad-tempered, bald, fat producer. Say what you want about the guy, but you would not wanna piss him off. Tom Cruise knows how to cuss up a storm and he looks hella funny when dancing to hip-hop music.

If The Dark Knight has Heath Ledger’s great Joker performance, then TROPIC THUNDER can proudly claim Robert Downey Jr as its champ. His role as the Platoon’s African American sergeant is priceless. You have never seen him like this. His accent and mannerism might be exaggerated a little, but he does not sound like Robert Downey Jr. at all. He’s got the slang down and his looks will forever crack me up. What a talented actor.

This movie is not for those of you who are looking for clever comedy. Nope, this is for those of us who, from time to time, don’t mind comedy that targets audiences with short attention spans. This movie’s humor only works for those of us who just wanna sit back and enjoy some major kickass entertainment. “Mother Nature just pissed her pants suit!”

My Grade for this film is: 4 out of 5

All work and no play makes the Young & Successful feel unbalanced! To rescue our overworked souls, YSN member and movie aficionado Rama Tampubolon discusses the latest hot topics and movie reviews every Thursday on Waste Time Wisely. He runs the movie review and discussion blog, Rama’s Screen, and was featured in “United 300,” which won for “Best Spoof” at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards.

Here are two secret weapons that will make your international dealings much smoother, especially where time and money are concerned!

Timeanddate.com
Have you ever tried to coordinate a conference call with people in two or more time zones, or made a call only to realize that you were reaching out to say “bonjour” in the middle of the night? This very simple but incredibly useful site has helped us time and time again to successfully coordinate calls and meetings with people in multiple countries and time zones. Sometimes it’s hard enough keeping Pacific Standard Time (PST) straight with Mountain Daylight Time (MDT). But what if daylight savings is in effect? And what’s the difference between UTC or GMT time?

TimeandDate.com shows you where any major city is by pointing it out for you on a map. It also tells you in real time, the time of day and day of the week (don’t forget the international date line!) and provides international dialing codes and more.

FXConverter
Even if you officially swore off number crunching after that ego-crippling statistics class in college, The Foreign Exchange Currency Converter makes the complicated world of international currency as simple as dollars and cents, pounds and pence.

This multi-lingual converter couldn’t be easier to use, either. With a few clicks you can instantly figure out how much a U.S. ten spot is worth in 164 different currencies. (If you’re curious, ten bucks is worth 6.68 Euros, 5.22 British Pounds and 80.66 Seychelles Rupees.)

In the immortal words of all those late night infomercials… “But wait, there’s more!” FXConverter also gives you historical rates, bid/ask prices and can even display the results in different languages. With this tool you’ll make any cents make sense.