Podcasts about there be dragons

Unser Zwergen-Trio macht sich professionell verkleidet mit Tante Hildegard auf, um lecker Lindwurmeier abzugreifen. Auf dem Papier klingt der Plan einfach – aber wird er das auch sein?Du hörst die Kerkerkumpels, das Pen & Paper Hörspiel. Die Geschichte, die du hörst, ist live improvisiert. Ob unseren Charakteren eine Aktion gelingt, entscheiden die Würfel!Intro/Outro:Sprecherin: Carolin SabathSound- & Musikquellen:"Adventure Begins" by tabletopaudio.com"Cry Havoc" by tabletopaudio.com"Hermit Hut" by tabletopaudio.com"Long Rest" by tabletopaudio.com"Middle Earth: Dawn" by tabletopaudio.com"Tarrasque Interior" by tabletopaudio.com"There Be Dragons" by tabletopaudio.comAll sounds from tabletopaudio.com are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).Mehr Infos zu unseren Aktionen und Werbepartnern findest du auf https://kerkerkumpels.de/links/aktionen/Unsere allgemeinen Datenschutzrichtlinien finden Sie unter https://art19.com/privacy. Die Datenschutzrichtlinien für Kalifornien sind unter https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info abrufbar.

A spoiler-filled overview of the mysterious spirits and places of the city of Selene as well as a recap of seasons one through nine. There Be Dragons! www.cleverthan.comPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/CleverthanTwitter: https://twitter.com/ItsMisterToadInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/clever.than/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A spoiler-filled overview of the mysterious spirits and places of the city of Selene as well as a recap of seasons one through nine. There Be Dragons! www.cleverthan.comPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/CleverthanTwitter: https://twitter.com/ItsMisterToadInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/clever.than/

Every now and then we all need to tap the breaks a bit and divert the course of our far too hectic lives. It can be difficult to do and it requires commitment, but going on a retreat is a remarkably powerful way to quiet things down and recharge your life. Here are some of my thoughts! LINKS/RESOURCES: - Longlea Conference Center: https://longlea.org - Opus Dei - Catholic prelature (institution) founded by St. Josemaría Escrivá: https://opusdei.org/en-us - “How to Make a Good Retreat” by David Chandler: https://scepterpublishers.org/products/to-make-a-good-retreat - “Dream and Your Dreams Will Fall Short” by Fr. Pedro Casciaro: https://scepterpublishers.org/products/copy-of-dream-and-your-dreams-will-fall-short - “There Be Dragons” - 2011 Roland Joffé film that weaves an inspiring fictional narrative around the real events of St. Josemaría's life: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1316616/ ================== To find more faith-enriching content than you'll know what to do with and to contact Mike Creavey, be sure to visit https://thegraciousguest.org

Welcome to the latest edition of Movies that Make Us. This week, we discuss the 2001 film A Knight's Tale starring Heath Ledger, Alan Tudyk, Paul Bettany, and Rufus Sewell. The film follows a squire who poses as a knight and competes in tournaments and becomes friends with Geoffrey Chaucer and Edward the Black Prince. Full of pop culture nods and a 1970's soundtrack, this is a fun film that is full of heart, humor, and holds up very well. This week, we are joined by our friend James A. Owen, author of the Here, There Be Dragons book series, illustrator, comic nerd, time lord, and much more. He brings some great insight into this film and how it literally changed his stars in his professional career. What are your thoughts on the film? As always, you can reach us at podcast@moviesthatmakeus.com. Did you miss the video premier of this episode? Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel, and then click the little bell to receive notifications when we add a new video or go live.You can also follow our Facebook page so you can receive notifications for new audio or video of our episodes. Sometimes we are even live on Facebook, so you can give us feedback right then and there. It's pretty sweet.As always, thank you for listening, and for now, we won't see you at the movies… See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Rested and recuperated from their adventures in Rattou, the party finally spy Qis in the distance. The journey down the river Dis provided an excellent opportunity for shenanigans, hazing of and just regular old goofing off, but now it's time to get their game faces on. Who knows what friends or enemies might be lurking in the Bachenaux port city, or what trouble they might find themselves in once they meet with their shady employer... Rhylind gets a doppelganger. Abella and Qillain are awkward. Charlie announces his retirement. Nezor seeks out a library, Skairn and Hrosh get examined. There Be Dragons is a D&D 5th ed. game in a sword and gunpowder era. To learn more about the world, check out the website: https://therebedragonscast.com If you'd like to support the podcast, consider supporting us on Patreon! https://www.Patreon.com/therebedragons We're on iTunes, Spotify and where ever you find quality podcasts. Rate and Review to help us grow! Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBDragonscast and talk about the podcast with the hashtag #ThereBeDragons

Newcomer Author Elle Beaumont shares her fascination with one of the most iconic mythical creatures and their role in the short story, "There Be Dragons".Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/StoriesForNerds)

With Nezor in a dire situation, the party finally have the Uncle cornered, only to discover they may have been out maneuvered. With the Uncle's plan revealed, the party race against time to save an innocent life. It's just a shame they're utterly dysfunctional under pressure. Abella goes for the socks. Charlie saves the day. Rhylind gets tipsy. Nezor does a murder. Skairn placates a madman. The DM sends his dice to dice jail. There Be Dragons is a D&D 5th ed. game in a sword and gunpowder era. To learn more about the world, check out the website: https://therebedragonscast.com If you'd like to support the podcast, consider supporting us on Patreon! https://www.Patreon.com/therebedragons We're on iTunes, Spotify and where ever you find quality podcasts. Rate and Review to help us grow! Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBDragonscast and talk about the podcast with the hashtag #ThereBeDragons

Getaway plan in place, the party are ready to take on Uncle. Will they succeed? What does Aunty have planned? How much property damage will they inflict? All this and more! Abella has a boyfriend. Nezor blinds himself. Rhylind kicks down the door. Skairn seeks out prey. Charlie does not appreciate mental intrusion. There Be Dragons is a D&D 5th ed. game in a sword and gunpowder era. To learn more about the world, check out the website: https://therebedragonscast.com If you'd like to support the podcast, consider supporting us on Patreon! https://www.Patreon.com/therebedragons We're on iTunes, Spotify and where ever you find quality podcasts. Rate and Review to help us grow! Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBDragonscast and talk about the podcast with the hashtag #ThereBeDragons

It's time to tie up loose ends. The party has leads on where the Uncle is lurking and a plan to deal with him. Well. Parts of a plan, maybe several. But, to make sure it goes off without a hitch, we're going to need to decide on a course of action and do some scouting. Let's hope we remember what we're actually trying to do and not get distracted by a certain sketchy mercenary... Nezor finds himself to be a less-than-capable face. Rhylind holds a job interview. Abella makes a connection. Charlie storms out. Skairn finally improves his natural musk. There Be Dragons is a D&D 5th ed. game in a sword and gunpowder era. To learn more about the world, check out the website: https://therebedragonscast.com Additional sound & music by Syrinscape: Because Epic Games Need Epic Sound! Complete list of credits here. If you'd like to support the podcast, consider supporting us on Patreon! https://www.Patreon.com/therebedragons We're on iTunes, Spotify and where ever you find quality podcasts. Rate and Review to help us grow! Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBDragonscast and talk about the podcast with the hashtag #ThereBeDragons

It's a bird! it's a plane! No, wait, it's a just a big bird. Oh wow, a REALLY big bird. A bird the party know far too well by this point. Hot on the heels of the family they met near the swamp. The defenders of Rattou stand... somewhat ready on the walls of the city, prepared to face the creature clearly at top of the pecking order. Let the feathers fly. That's the last bird pun, we promise.   Charlie does a super hero landing. Skairn tries grappling. Abella does a sick flip. Rhylind improves her golf swing. Nezor gets the last laugh. There Be Dragons is a D&D 5th ed. game in a sword and gunpowder era. To learn more about the world, check out the website: https://therebedragonscast.com If you'd like to support the podcast, consider supporting us on Patreon! https://www.Patreon.com/therebedragons We're on iTunes, Spotify and where ever you find quality podcasts. Rate and Review to help us grow! Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBDragonscast and talk about the podcast with the hashtag #ThereBeDragons  

Welcome to part two of a CINEMATIC SOUND RADIO NETWORK interview special on film and TV composer Dr. Robert Folk conducted by Jason Drury In part one of the interview, Folk talked about how he got into film and TV music, working on the numerous sequels, and how he came about working on the POLICE ACADEMY series of films. In part two, amongst other things, Folk talks about his work on films such as ACE VENTURA: WHEN NATURE CALLS, THERE BE DRAGONS, his collaborations with various directors, and how he came oh so close to scoring one of the James Bond films in the mid-90s. Also, as with part one of this special, you will be hearing more of the wonderful and at times exciting music that this legendary composer has created during his illustrious career. Enjoy! —— Cinematic Sound Radio is fully licensed to play music by SOCAN. Check out our NEW Cinematic Sound Radio TeePublic Store! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/cinematic-sound-radio Cinematic Sound Radio Web: http://www.cinematicsound.net Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cinsoundradio Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cinematicsound Cinematic Sound Radio Fanfare and Theme by David Coscina https://soundcloud.com/user-970634922 Bumper voice artist: Tim Burden http://www.timburden.com

Memories and Ghosts. That’s all that lie beneath the earth. Well, not just that. The lower vaults of the Bank of Rattou seem to be a bit crowded at the present, so let’s see what our adventurers do when confronted with things not of this world and way above their pay grade. Nezor gets a question. Rhylind takes an axe to problems. Abella and Charlie ad-lib in a period drama. Skairn and Hrosh watch on in amusement. Everyone runs, or everyone dies. There Be Dragons is a D&D 5th ed. game in a sword and gunpowder era. To learn more about the world, check out the website: https://therebedragonscast.com Additional sound & music by Syrinscape: Because Epic Games Need Epic Sound! Complete list of credits here. Pitch Black by Nicolas Jeudy, distributed by DARK FANTASY STUDIO, licenced for use by There Be Dragons. If you'd like to support the podcast, consider supporting us on Patreon! https://www.Patreon.com/therebedragons We're on iTunes, Spotify and where ever you find quality podcasts. Rate and Review to help us grow! Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBDragonscast and talk about the podcast with the hashtag #ThereBeDragons

Welcome to part one of an CINEMATIC SOUND RADIO NETWORK interview special. Doctor Robert Folk is an American film and television composer and conductor. His extensive credits include ACE VENTURA: WHEN NATURE CALLS, TREMORS, THE NEVERENDING STORY II: THE NEXT CHAPTER, TOY SOLDIERS, POLICE ACADEMY, KUNG POW! ENTER THE FIST, BACK IN THE DAY and most recently, ELEPHANT WHITE, UNDERGROUND, THE SECRET VILLAGE, THERE BE DRAGONS and SILENT LIFE. Robert Folk has worked with many top filmmakers including Roland Joffe, Steve Oedekerk, George Gallo, Dan Petrie Jr., Gary Sinise, Hugh Wilson, Jonathan Betuel, Don Bluth, Jon Davison, Gary Goldman, Gene Quintano, Ron Underwood, and Gale Anne Hurd to name a few. Folk has also composed and conducted numerous concert works including Symphonic, Vocal and Chamber music compositions. His Ballet “To Dream Of Roses,” composed for the Osaka Worlds Fair and was recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra, and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. He is also a prolific songwriter and producer and has conducted many prominent orchestras including The London Symphony Orchestra, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The Berlin Radio Orchestra, The Munich Symphony, The Dublin Symphony Orchestra, The Moscow Symphony Orchestra, and the London Sinfonia. In recent years Robert Folk has also been executive producing films; partnering with his extensive network of filmmakers, on projects that he is also attached to as composer. In February 2021, Jason Drury talked to Robert Folk via Zoom at his home in Beverly Hills, California. In part one of this two-part interview special, Folk talks about how he got into film and TV music, scoring sequels films and how he came about working on the Police Academy series of films. Also, in both parts of this special, you will be hearing loads of the wonderful and at times exciting music that this legend of a composer has created during his illustrious career. Enjoy! —— Cinematic Sound Radio is fully licensed to play music by SOCAN. Check out our NEW Cinematic Sound Radio TeePublic Store! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/cinematic-sound-radio Cinematic Sound Radio Web: http://www.cinematicsound.net Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cinsoundradio Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cinematicsound Cinematic Sound Radio Fanfare and Theme by David Coscina https://soundcloud.com/user-970634922 Bumper voice artist: Tim Burden http://www.timburden.com

The party, hopeful of a significant payday that will cover the cost of Madrigal's services flipping some less-than-legal gold, make their way to the Bank of Rattou to see the deal done. Unfortunately, the bank manager has other ideas on how things will play out. After all, when there's something strange in your bank vault, who you gonna call? Abella dies of cuteness. Rhylind improvises with weapons. Skairn throws a harpoon. Charlie improves his knowledge of masonry. Nezor starts seeing things. There Be Dragons is a D&D 5th ed. game in a sword and gunpowder era. To learn more about the world, check out the website: https://therebedragonscast.com Additional sound & music by Syrinscape: Because Epic Games Need Epic Sound! Complete list of credits here. If you'd like to support the podcast, consider supporting us on Patreon! https://www.Patreon.com/therebedragons We're on iTunes, Spotify and where ever you find quality podcasts. Rate and Review to help us grow! Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBDragonscast and talk about the podcast with the hashtag #ThereBeDragons

Abella's past comes back to haunt her as the party prepare to go on a spending splurge. With a certain magical supply shop now a known quantity can Skairn fix his malfunctioning magic? Given the proprietor's propensity for less-than-quality items? No. Probably not.Abella attempts murder. Rhylind has a bath. Nezor gets his greasepaint on. Skairn shows his wealth. Charlie joins a cult.There Be Dragons is a D&D 5th ed. game in a sword and gunpowder era. To learn more about the world, check out the website: https://therebedragonscast.comAdditional sound & music by Syrinscape: Because Epic Games Need Epic Sound! Complete list of credits here.If you'd like to support the podcast, consider supporting us on Patreon! https://www.Patreon.com/therebedragonsWe're on iTunes, Spotify and where ever you find quality podcasts. Rate and Review to help us grow!Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBDragonscast and talk about the podcast with the hashtag #ThereBeDragons

It's never a good idea to split the party, but extortion, several attempted murders, mishandling of goods and a 30% discount? Rhylind has been busy. It's a long boat ride back to Castellan's, so let's lie back and listen to her recount her unpleasant experiences over the past day. There Be Dragons is a D&D 5th ed. game in a sword and gunpowder era. To learn more about the world, check out the website: https://therebedragonscast.com If you'd like to support the podcast, consider supporting us on Patreon! https://www.Patreon.com/therebedragonsAdditional sound & music by Syrinscape: Because Epic Games Need Epic Sound! Complete list of credits here. We're on iTunes, Spotify and where ever you find quality podcasts. Rate and Review to help us grow!Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBDragonscast and talk about the podcast with the hashtag #ThereBeDragons

Whew! Keeping track of a party divided sure is hard work! Starting with an (almost) bang, this episode has Skairn in audience with Castellan, finally getting some answers to long held questions. Charlie and Rhylind have their own problems to deal with in the markets as Nezor and Abella relax. Questions, Answers, Secrets, Letters and Bachene Expletives ensue!Skairn draws blood. Nezor is critical. Abella snoops. Charlie asks why you would hurt your friend. Rhylind recounts the past day. There Be Dragons is a D&D 5th ed. game in a sword and gunpowder era. To learn more about the world, check out the website: https://therebedragonscast.comIf you'd like to support the podcast, consider supporting us on Patreon! https://www.Patreon.com/therebedragonsWe're on iTunes, Spotify and where ever you find quality podcasts. Rate and Review to help us grow!Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBDragonscast and talk about the podcast with the hashtag #ThereBeDragons

The Jarl’s interruption of dinner presents an opportunity to garner favour with the mercenary company holding the City of Rattou. Tales of Valour, Tribute and Fighting ensues under strange lights in the night sky.Nezor knows the song. Skairn gives up his eye. Abella gets the lowdown. Charlie makes tea. Rhylind reappears.There Be Dragons is a D&D 5th ed. game in a sword and gunpowder era. To learn more about the world, check out the website: https://therebedragonscast.com If you'd like to support the podcast, consider supporting us on Patreon! https://www.Patreon.com/therebedragonsWe're on iTunes, Spotify and where ever you find quality podcasts. Rate and Review to help us grow!Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBDragonscast and talk about the podcast with the hashtag #ThereBeDragons

As a follow up special to the release of Episode 20, and to celebrate the launch of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/therebedragons) we thought we'd answer some fan questions about the podcast! We get into the nitty-gritty about how we make characters, what it takes to make a podcast, and the circumstances surrounding the untimely passing of one Clarence Longbottom.Special thanks to Alanna, Angelos and Josie for the questions!You can send your questions through to: therebedragonspodcast@gmail.com for the next episode!There Be Dragons is a D&D 5th ed. game in a sword and gunpowder era. To learn more about the world, check out the website: https://therebedragonscast.comIf you'd like to support the podcast, consider supporting us on Patreon! https://www.Patreon.com/therebedragonsWe're on iTunes, Spotify and where ever you find quality podcasts. Rate and Review to help us grow!Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBDragonscast and talk about the podcast with the hashtag #ThereBeDragons

Separated from their (other) scaly friend - Abella, Charlie, Skairn, Hrosh and Nezor are brought to the headquarters of the Red Shield mercenaries and prepare for an awkward evening with the local despot. After meeting the batman, divesting themselves of a terrapin, meeting a mysterious little girl- the party settle in for some scooby doo bullshit in the run up to dinner.But… where’s Rhylind?Skairn sees a bit more of the army than he wanted. Charlie interrupts a crime and makes a reference. Abella snoops and sneaks. Nezor gets funky. There Be Dragons is a D&D 5th ed. game in a sword and gunpowder era. To learn more about the world, check out the website: https://therebedragonscast.comIf you'd like to support the podcast, consider supporting us on Patreon! https://www.Patreon.com/therebedragonsWe're on iTunes, Spotify and where ever you find quality podcasts. Rate and Review to help us grow!Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBDragonscast and talk about the podcast with the hashtag #ThereBeDragons

Bang! The newly conquered city of Rattou is a hotbead of sedition and rebellion - and an attempted assassination turns a little hairy as a new set of players enter the scene. With the party's dubious new benefactor under threat, the party consider options and burgeoning alliancesCharlie T-poses to assert dominance. Abella speaks in cant. Skairn's actions spare him from the basement. Nezor causes severe ecological damage. Rhylind embarks on an adventure.There Be Dragons is a D&D 5th ed. game in a sword and gunpowder era. To learn more about the world, check out the website: https://therebedragonscast.comWe're on iTunes! Subscribe, Rate and Review here: https://apple.co/33L5Z1w If you prefer spotify, check us out at: https://spoti.fi/33YmUhlFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBDragonscast and talk about the podcast with the hashtag #ThereBeDragons

Mailbag! Plus "Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus" by Orson Scott Card, and "Here, There Be Dragons" by James A. Owen. Become a Patron! www.patreon.com/dreadpennies

Two days after the events of Oreme, the party are still on the road. Having recovered from their exhaustion, but somewhat worse for wear in other ways, they need to decide on their path forward to uncover what exactly they found and what they've become involved in. Skairn takes a trip to the 60's. Nezor whispers quietly. Rhylind wrinkles her nose. Abella does it for a story. Charlie says goodbye.There Be Dragons is a D&D 5th ed. game in a custom setting. To learn more about the world, check out the website: https://therebedragonscast.com We're on iTunes! Subscribe, Rate and Review here: https://apple.co/33L5Z1w If you prefer spotify, check us out at: https://spoti.fi/33YmUhlFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBDragonscast and talk about the podcast with the hashtag #ThereBeDragons

Previously, Pearl and Dianne got off to a so-so start in the Junior Ranger Competition. They barely advanced through the first round berry gathering contest, but were able to squeak out first place in the second round water race! Now they find themselves in a Tangrowth Labyrinth, on the hunt for a large and dangerous Pokémon... Will they find the Aggron? What other dangers lurk along the way? Is there funny business in store?? DM: Jonah M. Jackson Pearl: Sarah Katherine Zanotti Dianne: Megan Dianne DeWald Music: FoolBoyMedia - Video Game Land, Dramatic Scroller Sirkoto51 - Anime Fight Music Loop Jeremy Korpas - Germ Warfare Jakesnke17 feat. Source X - Conundrum GlitchxCity - Johto Gym Leader Remix (v. I & II) Rozovian, WillRock - Blue Haze TabletopAudio.com – The Feywild, Heart: Briar, There Be Dragons, Woodland Campsite

The party has done all they can and reunite to work out what to do next. Charlie drinks his sorrows away. Abella misses the point. Nezor, in emergency, breaks glass. Rhylind works out her anger. Skairn tries sewer-fed.There Be Dragons is a D&D 5th ed. game in a custom setting. To learn more about the world, check out the website for lore, art and more! https://therebedragonscast.com We've just landed on iTunes! Subscribe, Rate and Review here: https://apple.co/33L5Z1w If you prefer spotify, check us out at: https://spoti.fi/33YmUhlFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBDragonscast and talk about the podcast with the hashtag #ThereBeDragons

With the fate of Oreme in the balance, the party make haste to deliver a message of peace to unwelcoming ears.Rhylind pretends to not exist. Skairn plays peacemaker. Abella gets seasick. Nezor makes a plan. Charlie crosses a line.There Be Dragons is a D&D 5th ed. game in a custom setting. To learn more about the world, check out the website: https://therebedragonscast.com We've just landed on iTunes! Subscribe, Rate and Review here: https://apple.co/33L5Z1w If you prefer spotify, check us out at: https://spoti.fi/33YmUhlFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBDragonscast and talk about the podcast with the hashtag #ThereBeDragons

Roll for Initiative! Charlie and Rhylind find themselves in the sights of a very good throw, meanwhile Abella, Nezor and Skairn find themselves visited by similarly dangerous people as events in the city take a turn for the worse...There Be Dragons is a D&D 5th ed. game in a custom setting. To learn more about the world, check out the website: https://therebedragonscast.com We've just landed on iTunes! Subscribe, Rate and Review here: https://apple.co/33L5Z1w If you prefer spotify, check us out at: https://spoti.fi/33YmUhlFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBDragonscast and talk about the podcast with the hashtag #ThereBeDragons

Welcome back adventurers for Chapter Two of There Be Dragons! We resume our adventure in the port city of Oreme. Shared by two rival world powers and separated by a single stone bridge atop the white cliffs at the mouth of the river Orr, the city has served as a flashpoint for international rivalry. The latest expression of this is the pugilistic match of the decade; Erhart's pride, The Gentleman Boxer, Charlie Roughhouse versus Bachenaux's reigning Champion "Thunderclap" Jacque. Into this situation? Abella, Nezor, Rhylind and Skairn (along with Hrosh!) make landfall after their escapade in Aardfelun with another job offer from the shady Dupree Dupont...There Be Dragons is a D&D 5th ed. game in a custom setting. To learn more about the world, check out the website: https://therebedragonscast.com We've just landed on iTunes! Subscribe, Rate and Review here: https://apple.co/33L5Z1w If you prefer spotify, check us out at: https://spoti.fi/33YmUhlFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBDragonscast and talk about the podcast with the hashtag #ThereBeDragons 

Mistakes happen.  How we deal with them becomes a crucial skill as the leader.  There is always the contradiction between asking people to do new things and then being upset when mistakes result.  We are all the product of our experience and that experience was built on a firm foundation of mistakes, where we learnt what not to do. We are quick to accept this learning process for ourselves, but sometimes forget to extend the same tolerance to those working for us.   Welcome back to this weekly edition every Tuesday of "THE Cutting Edge Japan Business Show" I am your host Dr. Greg Story, President of Dale Carnegie Training Japan and we are bringing the show to you from our High Performance Center in Akasaka in Minato-ku, the business center of Tokyo. Well, where is this Cutting Edge?  For all of us, the quality of our people is the cutting edge for success in Japan. In this show I will: Stimulate your thinking about ramping up your business Bring you insights from the best training organisation on the planet Provide you with the highest quality Japan information Motivate you to motivate yourself and motivate those around you Help you to shoot the lights out at results time I don't want to just help you succeed in your business.  I want you to dominate! Before we get into this week's topic, here is what caught my attention lately. Cross shareholdings used to be endemic in Japan and to some considerable extent has been rolled back.  In 1990, cross-shareholdings accounted for 51% of the market's value, today it is only 15% as of March 2017. The drive was intended to create more dynamic ownership and more accountability to shareholders.  A loophole has appeared however to get around this trend.  Companies are buying back their shares and then transferring them to charitable foundations, who are loyal to top management in the companies.  They could give cash to their foundations but they prefer to give shares.  Investment funds looking at all the cash inside Japanese companies, currently, 255.3 trillion yen, are tempted to become activist investors and get the companies to use the cash on hand or give it back to the investors.  This little loophole takes care of that prospect nicely.  It seems Abe's third arrow – structural reform – is still pretty much forgotten in the quiver unused. This is episode number 20and we are talking about Workplace IdiotsSoredewa ikimasho, so let's get going.   Why, why, why isn't common sense more common?  We deal with people in our work lives who do oretty dumb things.  They make stupid decisions which fly full in the face of common sense. It is such a puzzle.  Why don't they get it, why can't they see the obvious logical answer, what is wrong with them?    Reflecting on this phenomenon, we have to draw a clear line between losing our sanity trying to anticipate these crazies and getting on with our work.  That is actually the really scary bit – we can never imagine what they would choose as (for them) a rational course of action, which is actually irrational.  How can we spend our entire day worrying about what someone else might do?  Well we can't, so rather than go crazy ourselves trying to head off feckless behavior, let's concentrate on what we can control.   The first decision we have to make is, are we the idiot who is the cause of the problem? Whoa!  What if we are one creating havoc and they are just pawns in our game.  That can't be right can it?  We are smarter than them, we see better, further and more clearly than they do.  We have real perspective, so let's put a red line through that crazy possibility right now and get to the core problems.    Wait - not so fast! What if we have not properly trained these people.  What if they are actually “the uninformed and unenlightened” masquerading as “idiots” because we are at fault by not having sufficiently invested enough of ourself in them?  What if we have been too busy with our own work to explain the finer points of various tasks?  What if we know the WHY but forgot to tell them about it or didn't emphasise it enough?  What if we have already mastered the task, so logically the task is “easy”, therefore not a lot of explanation needed, right?  What if we have forgotten that we also had problems when we first learnt a new skill or task?   Question - were we perfection personified when we first encountered this totally unfamiliar and unknown task?  Have we conveniently forgotten the learning curve applies to others as well as ourselves? We may have assumed the task was easy, so we went light on the explanation and forgot to check for understanding.  We may have merrily moved on and not put in place some regular checking mechanism to ensure they have actually got it.  “I show you, we do it together, now you do it and I check it”, sound boring and so basic, but did you do that?  Often people are embarrassed to admit they don't have it mastered and so just say they are “fine” when in fact they are not.   Are you a perfectionist? Are you the type of person for whom there is only the “right way” of doing things?  Does your logic rule and allow no other possibilities for task completion?  If the “idiot” does it differently to you, is that incorrect or just different? Are you entertaining the possibility there might be multiple paths to the mountain top or just yours?  Maybe we need to consider there might be equally valid solutions to the same problem, including those we haven't even contemplated or thought about.  What if we went really crazy and asked them for their ideas on how we might complete the task?  What if we then just shut up and listen quietly?    Well now, let us give you the benefit of the doubt and say you did explain it, you did seek their ownership of the process by asking for their ideas and did incorporate their offerings into the final solution and they still managed to screw it up.  What do we do now?  Find out more about this when we come back from the break   Welcome back. If we are going to empower people, we have to empower them to screw things up as well.  We ask them to take a risk with the unknown (There Be Dragons!), the unfamiliar, to step up to greater accountability.  When we whack them because they made an idiotic mistake, we are in danger.  We are double-crossing the person, because we asked them to go into this area of weakness in the first place and then we belt them for it when they get it wrong.  The trust is broken right there and they will join the Great And Venerable Guild Of Do Nothings, because that is the safest path forward.  The Guild has a mega membership in Japan by the way, as almost every Japanese person has learnt how not to be the derukugi(出る釘)– the nail that gets hammered down.  Their colleagues are also watching hawk-like for your reaction, so they can gauge the danger associated with anything new and shiny coming from your direction in the future.   We need to provide a Reasonable Allowable Margin of Error (RAME) for the task. We need to be checking progress without buying back the delegation, we need to make sure errors are picked up early (before they blow us all up) and we need to be coaching their progress.  A great start is to set the control limits for the task.  This will allow the person completing the task to know where the boundaries are from the get go.  What often happens though is we give them the brief, in brief and then just abandon them until completion.  God's speed and good luck type of thing.  They suddenly start “zagging” when we expected they would be diligently “zigging” and we discover the differential is fatal.  There is nothing more frustrating than to discover the “zagging” when it is too late to do anything meaningful about it.  And this is usually when we do discover it!   When the error surfaces, how do we handle it?  Often we hear from someone else about the error, rather than the individual in question. This is a danger point, because our attitude and judgment can be clouded by the messenger.  “Oh, you won't believe what Tanaka just did, it's a disaster”, can often be the tactic of the sycophant and office politician.  If Tanaka san is also not a great English speaker and the messenger is rather fluent, it is not unknown for the linguistic access to the boss's ear to become a power play, where the boss gets enlisted as the politician's unwitting assassin.   So shake out those prejudicial inklings, filter out any innuendo  and approach the situation as an objective research project – “Just the facts!”  Only after having effectively gathered the data and eliminated the on looker opinions, approach the perpetrator in question.  Begin with rapport, something to open the discussion, which will help them to relax.  They are feeling guilty, embarrassed, nervous, uncertain, fragile, defensive – wow, a potent, powerful cocktail of potentially explosive emotions.    Telling them they made a mistake is not news to them – they know that, so whining to them about the mistake they made is not helpful.  We are on the path to recovery here, so we need to choose our words very carefully. You might think we are also on the road to permanent removal, but in Japan that is rarely the case.  You don't have that arrow in your quiver to unloose at will, so better to get smart about this and work on helping them out of their mess.    “Play the ball not the player” is good advice, so remove the personalities from the discussion.  “You” must become “We” in your new lexicon and “We” are all about fixing the issue not crucifying the fallen one.  We focus on the action not the person.  We want to hear their views on what went wrong. This is crucial because in their telling we will uncover whether they are in denial or prepared to take accountability. We will also learn if this a systemic issue and not just a one off.  Those bosses with a short fuse – take a deep, deep breath and turn your  body language off at this point.  Your words and surface control may be seemingly modest, but your “angry aura” could be accusatory and hostile.  Barely suppressed rage is not a good look in this situation.    For the employee who fesses up, accepts responsibility and wants to recover, get them involved in the decision-making about the solution.  Reassure them they have a place here, they have an important role here, that they can make a significant positive contribution here.  Reference that we are all the sum product of our failures, because that is how everyone learns.  We eliminate what doesn't work and replace it with systems that predictably, reliably replicate correct outcomes.   Solomon-like you now hand down your judgment and any penalties that may apply.  You make the point the mistake is not fatal though very serious. You assure them they can recover from this and keep moving forward in their career.   What if they don't fess up, what if they stay in denial, engage in passive/aggressive behavior, stay locked into a defensive mindset?  Take a break from proceedings, give them time to think about what you have said and then try again.    If at this further point there is still no change, then they need to be changed.  Mistakes are mistakes, but bad attitudes are a much bigger problem and can become infectious. Obviously we are talking about something really major here in terms of the scale of the problem.  In Japan, removing them from employ is difficult, so try to look for an arrangement where you can pay them out, so they leave. Better to be generous on the money because the collateral damage is more expensive.  Larger companies can do this more easily, but for smaller companies it is trickier.    Smaller companies however do have some advantages. The individual's stubborn and unreasonable behavior is prone to impact on their colleagues. They will judge them very harshly because they endanger the whole operation and therefore everyone's livelihood. That peer pressure will be much more fierce than anything the boss is going to dish out.  Murahachibu （村八分) was a form of ostracism for those who went against the collective good in traditional village life and it is still with us in the urban village of the workplace.  If you as the boss are reasonable and judged by the team to be doing the right thing and the individual in question is not, they will feel intense peer pressure to accept your offer to depart.   Idiocy in the workplace will be with us forever, we won't be changing that in a hurry, but we can work on prevention, minimization and how we react to it.  Given the scope of the problem, this will be well worth working on.  Remember, we are all going to be facing major shifts in business in the future and so the adaption process toward new tasks and challenges will naturally bring mistakes with them.  This is going to be par for the course.  The real insight is how do we react to these inevitable mistakes, how do we deal with them.  Rather than just flashing emotion we need to have a plan of action, keep a cool head and be disciplined in how we approach mistakes.   Our action steps: Ensure we are properly explaining what we expect Accept there are multiple possible solutions not just our own Decide the Reasonable Allowable Margin of Error to apply When things go wrong, ignore hearsay and get the concrete facts Focus on the issue not the person Involve them in finding the solution Reassure them the mistake isn't fatal Remove resisters who won't accept their responsibility Keep pushing hard with us here at THE Cutting Edge Japan Business Show.  Subscribe on YouTube, share it with your family, friends and colleagues, become a regular. Thank you for watching and remember to hit the subscribe button. Our website details are on screen now, japan.dalecarnegie.com, it is awesome value, so check it out. In episode 21 we are talking about Two Minutes To Oblivion. Find out more about that next week. So Yoroshiku Onegai Itashimasu please join me for the next episode of the Cutting Edge Japan Business Show Until then, create seriously massive levels of success. We are here to help you do that.  Dale Carnegie Training Japan has only one direction in mind for you and your business and that is UP!!!

The inaugural episode of There Be Dragons! On spit of dirt in the middle of the western oceans, lies an independent trade port, Aardfelun. An important, but remote place, ideal for a mismatch of unlikely allies to meet and begin an adventure at the behest of a mysterious employer.Join Abella, Clarence, Rhylind, Skairn and Nezor as they accept an invitation by a mysterious noble to complete a fairly simple contract. The only catch being it involves a clandestine operation into a wizard's tower... and chicken wings.There Be Dragons is a D&D 5th ed. game in a custom setting. To learn more about the world, check out the website: https://therebedragonscast.com We've just landed on iTunes! Subscribe, Rate and Review here: https://apple.co/33L5Z1w If you prefer spotify, check us out at: https://spoti.fi/33YmUhlFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBDragonscast and talk about the podcast with the hashtag #ThereBeDragons

Episode geeklist   Javier Romero David Gómez Relloso I've been trying to get these episodes out every month, knowing that it's a bit too much for me. Finally the dam burst in January, making this episode a bit late. I'm still going to keep pushing, in order to fit in as many topics as I can while temporarily living in France. But this may happen again. Originally the topic for January was going to be something else, a location I thought I'd visit around the Christmas holidays. That fell through, which was disappointing. Then my son in his twenties started talking to me about Homage To Catalonia, and the light bulb went on. By shifting my topic to the Spanish Civil War, I could learn about another important European event in world history, as well as have some great conversations with my son about that amazing book's observations. A win-win! The only downside is that my current schedule hasn't allowed me to go visit any of the battlefields or other locations of this period in Spanish history. Perhaps someday. As usual, my ambition for the project outstripped my available time. I've since decided that these monthly topics are going to focus on one film, one book, and one game. I will hopefully go beyond that in most months, but this is a more realistic goal for me. I'll still identify more games on the geeklist, because listeners may wish to hear about other titles. Even better, you may tell me about your experiences playing the ones I;m unable to get to. Most of all, I want to keep up the pattern of featuring an interview in each podcast. I find these really fascinating, and I bet they make for better listening than my voice alone the entire time. Plus, I'm usually able to hear from wargamers who are much more knowledgeable about the current topic. I already knew I had some Spanish followers on Twitter, and in record time they set me up with a joint interview of two Spanish wargame designers--Javier Romero & David Gómez Relloso--with written input from a third (Niko Eskubi, who I promise to have on a future episode, too). You'll hear in the episode that my own explorations of the topic were complicated. I'll avoid the hyperbole of saying that my own country is veering toward fascism now. I don't actually believe that. However, it IS true that recent events have given me more cause to study this subject than ever before. Regardless of our political differences, I'm certain that all Americans want to avoid authoritarianism. We pride ourselves as a country that benefited from a clean slate from which Enlightenment thinkers were able to craft a government. Part & parcel of that Enlightenment founding is an informed population--one that reads, debates, and thinks independently. For my own part, I've felt the need to study the roots of fascism and authoritarianism, to understand why something that ends up so universally abhorred can start slowly and attract followers who simply want more order and a growing economy...but fall victim to false promises and scapegoating. It's been an important topic, as well as one I'm happy to take a break from. I suspect I will return to it later in life. -Mark P.S. If you want to get started on my next topic, it will be the Hundred Years War. Movies • For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943) • The Good Fight (1984) • There Be Dragons (2011) Books • Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell   Remember to follow along & chime in on my geeklist/discussion) for all of my SCW explorations. If you're a wargamer on social media, follow me on Twitter (@WargamesToGo). Feedback is always welcome.

Why, why, why isn't common sense common?  We deal with people in our work lives who do dumb things.  They make stupid decisions which fly full in the face of common sense.  It is such a puzzle.  Why don't they get it, why can't they see the obvious logical answer?    Reflecting on this phenomenon, we have to draw a clear line between losing our sanity trying to anticipate these crazies and getting on with our work.  That is actually the really scary bit – we can never imagine what they would choose as (for them) a rational course of action, which is actually irrational.  How can we spend our entire day worrying about what someone else might do?  Well we can't, so rather than go crazy ourselves trying to head off feckless behavior, let's concentrate on what we can control.   The first decision is, are we the idiot who is the cause of the problem? Whoa!  What if we are one creating havoc and they are just pawns in our game.  That can't be right can it?  We are smarter than them, we see better and further than they do.  We have perspective, so let's put a red line through that possibility right now.    Wait - not so fast!  What if we have not properly trained these people.  What if they are actually “the uninformed” masquerading as “idiots” because we are at fault by not having invested in them sufficiently?  What if we have been too busy with our own work to explain the finer points of various tasks?  What if we have already mastered it, so logically the task is “easy”, therefore not a lot of explanation needed, right?   Question - were we perfection personified when we first encountered this totally unfamiliar and unknown task?  Have we conveniently forgotten the learning curve applies to others as well as ourselves?  We may have assumed the task was easy, so we went light on the explanation and forgot to check for understanding.  We may have merrily moved on and not put in place some regular checking mechanism to ensure they have got it.  “I show you, we do it together, now you do it and I check it”, sound boring and so basic, but did you do that?   Are you a perfectionist?  Are you the type of person for whom there is only the “right way” of doing things?  Does your logic rule and allow no other possibilities for task completion?  If the “idiot” does it differently to you, is that incorrect or just different? Are you entertaining the possibility there might be multiple paths to the mountain top?  Maybe we need to consider there might be equally valid solutions to the same problem, including those we haven't even contemplated or thought about.  What if we went really crazy and asked them for their ideas on how we might complete the task?  What if we just shut up and listen quietly?    Well now, let's give you the benefit of the doubt and say you did explain it, you did seek their ownership of the process by asking for their ideas and did incorporate their offerings into the final solution and they still managed to screw it up.  What do we do now?  If we are going to empower people, we have to empower them to screw things up as well.  We ask them to take a risk with the unknown (There Be Dragons!), the unfamiliar, to step up to greater accountability.  When we whack them because they made an idiotic mistake, we are in danger.  We are double-crossing the person, because we asked them to go into this area of weakness in the first place and then we belt them for it when they get it wrong.  The trust is broken right there and they will join the Great And Venerable Guild Of Do Nothings, because that is the safest path forward.  The Guild has a mega membership in Japan by the way, as almost every Japanese person has learnt how not to be the derukugi (出る釘)– the nail that gets hammered down.  Their colleagues are also watching hawk-like for your reaction, so they can gauge the danger associated with anything new and shiny coming from your direction in the future.   We need to provide a Reasonable Allowable Margin of Error (RAME) for the task. We need to be checking progress without buying back the delegation, we need to make sure errors are picked up early (before they blow us all up) and we need to be coaching their progress.  A great start is to set the control limits for the task.  This will allow the person completing the task to know where the boundaries are from the get go.  What often happens though is we give them the brief, in brief and then just abandon them until completion.  They suddenly start “zagging” when we expected they would continue “zigging” and we discover the differential is fatal.  There is nothing more frustrating than to discover the “zagging” when it is too late to do anything meaningful about it.   When the error surfaces, how do we handle it?  Often we hear from someone else about the error, rather than the individual in question.  This is a danger point, because our attitude and judgment can be clouded by the messenger.  “Oh, you won't believe what Tanaka just did, it's a disaster”, can often be the tactic of the sycophant and office politician.  If Tanaka san is not a great English speaker and the messenger is, it is not unknown for the linguistic access to the boss's ear to become a power play, where the boss gets enlisted as the politician's unwitting assassin.   So shake out those prejudicial inklings and approach the situation as an objective research project – “Just the facts!”  Only after having effectively gathered the data and eliminated the opinions, approach the perpetrator in question.  Begin with rapport, something to open the discussion, which will help them to relax.  They are feeling guilty, embarrassed, nervous, uncertain, fragile, defensive – wow, a potent, powerful cocktail of potentially explosive emotions.    Telling them they made a mistake is not news to them – they know that, so whining about the mistake is not helpful.  We are on the path to recovery here, so we need to choose our words very carefully.  You might think we are also on the road to permanent removal, but in Japan that is rarely the case.  You don't have that arrow in your quiver to unloose at will, so better to get smart about this and work on helping them out of their mess.  “Play the ball not the player” is good advice, so remove the personalities from the discussion.  “You” must become “We” in your new lexicon and “We” are all about fixing the issue not crucifying the fallen one.  We focus on the action not the person.  We want to hear their views on what went wrong.  This is crucial because in their telling we will uncover whether they are in denial or prepared to take accountability. We will also learn if this a systemic issue and not a one off.  Those bosses with a short fuse – take a deep breath and turn your  body language off at this point.  Your words and surface control may be seemingly modest, but your “aura” could be accusatory and hostile.  Barely suppressed anger is not a good look in this situation.   For the employee who fesses up, accepts responsibility and wants to recover, get them involved in the decision-making about the solution.  Reassure them they have a place here, they have an important role here, that they can make a significant positive contribution here.  Reference that we are all the sum product of our failures, because that is how everyone learns.  We eliminate what doesn't work and replace it with systems that predictably, reliably replicate correct outcomes.   Solomon-like you now hand down your judgment and any penalties that may apply.  You make the point the mistake is not fatal though very serious.  You assure them they can recover from this and keep moving forward in their career.   What if they don't fess up, what if they stay in denial, engage in passive/aggressive behavior, stay locked into a defensive mindset?  Take a break from proceedings, give them time to think about what you have said and then try again.    If at this further point there is still no change, then they need to be changed.  In Japan, removing them from employ is difficult, so try to look for an arrangement where you can pay them out, so they leave.  Better to be generous on the money because the collateral damage is more expensive.  Larger companies can do this more easily, but for smaller companies it is trickier.    Smaller companies however do have some advantages. The individual's stubborn and unreasonable behavior is prone to impact on their colleagues. They will judge them very harshly because they endanger the whole operation and therefore everyone's livelihood.  That peer pressure will be much more fierce than anything the boss is going to dish out.  Murahachibu （村八分) was a form of ostracism for those who went against the collective good in traditional village life and it is still with us in the urban village of the workplace.  If you are reasonable and judged by the team to be doing the right thing and the individual in question is not, they will feel intense peer pressure to accept your offer to depart.   Idiocy in the workplace will be with us forever, we won't be changing that in a hurry, but we can work on prevention, minimization and how we react to it.  Given the scope of the problem, this will be well worth working on.         Our action steps:   Ensure we are properly explaining what we expect   Accept there are multiple possible solutions not just our own   Decide the Reasonable Allowable Margin of Error to apply   When things go wrong, ignore hearsay and get the concrete facts   Focus on the issue not the person   Involve them in finding the solution   Reassure them the mistake isn't fatal   Remove resisters who won't accept their responsibility  

Co-Host Sueshi and I kick off the first episode of the Clash of Casuals Podcast with a brief overview of the show and some crucial discussion about Base Layout Basics - Farming bases vs Trophy bases.  We talk about the advantages and disadvantages of each and help you sort out which is best for you.  We wrap with some highlights and heartbreaks from our last week of clashing.  Links for the replays are below:Don't Use This TH9 LayoutThere Be Dragons!!Bring The Heat-- Stede

(0:00:55) Shaun loves Radiohead...yeah, that's pretty much it, (0:13:15) Darren is done with The Wiz, and started playing Diablo III as a reward, (0:24:35) Trey is also playing Diablo III, but also has a board game addiction created by Wil Wheaton, (0:31:30) Tripp accidentally beat Mass Effect 3, and watched There Be Dragons, (0:38:40) TV Talk: Community is over, and now Harmon-less, Sherlock is d...over as well, and Awake ends this week...FOR-E-VER, (0:51:40) Blu Rays: (The Woman In Black...Sherlock S2), (0:52:35) Coming Attractions: (Men In Black 3...The Chernobyl Diaries), (0:59:15) Box Office: (You all sunk Battleship), (1:02:40) We update the Summer Movie Pool, and let Shaun jump in even though he's tardy for the party, (1:18:35) Jo Walton, Neil Gaiman and Delia Sherman won Nebulas (Nebulae?), (1:20:00) We finish up our Upfronts discussion from last week with the CW's new shows, mainly Arrow, (1:39:40) What Would Darren Read, (1:57:35) Trey's Pullbox: (All-Star Western...Aquaman...Batman Inc...Captain America...Justice League Dark...New Guardians...Flash)

Here’s another story from my Children of Legend series, the second prequel story. Maria Perez runs afoul of a local street gang and finds an unlikely ally. She also receives an alarming and transformative gift to face just such problems in the future. It’s voiced by Jen Avila of The Jen And Dave Show podcast. … Continue reading Here, There Be Dragons

Today's host(s): Scot Landry Today's guest(s): Victor Pap and Alexis Walkenstein Links from today's show: Today's topics: Catholic communications and public relations Summary of today's show: Alexis Walkenstein and Victor Pap discuss with Scot Landry their work at the Maximus Group, promoting books, movies, and other media—Like The Way, There Be Dragons, and Mighty Macs— that incorporate Catholic values using a grassroots efforts among Christian communities in a way that really has never bee done before. 1st segment: Scot welcomed listeners to the show. He said there are so many good books and movies and other media being produced that the owners want to let Catholic families know about, but the Church in the US is so decentralized with thousands of parishes and schools that it's difficult for the Church to promote and market those initiatives. The Maximus Group entered that market a few years ago as a professional promotional and marketing agency. Two local people who grew up in the Boston area have now joined Maximus in leadership positions and Scot welcomed Victor Pap and Alexis Walkenstein to the show. Alexis joined Maximus about one year ago. Scot asked her about her background. She grew up in the Archdiocese of Boston, starting in Framingham. After graduating from Regis College, she started with WHDH-TV Channel 7 as the news assignment manager and a producer. Her last big assignment was covering the death of Pope John Paul II. From there she wanted to serve the Church, which led her to the Diocese of Palm Beach, Florida, where she served as the diocesan spokesperson, for five years. She wanted to move back to Boston and after praying a novena, she was contacted by Lisa Wheeler of Maximus out of the clear blue to come work for them. Scot asked Alexis what it was like working on the Channel 7 news desk during the height of the sex abuse crisis in Boston. Alexis said you couldn't escape it. Your faith is your whole life and your job can't be compartmentalized from it. Being an objective journalist and a fearless witness to the faith was difficult. She had already been considering leaving secular news because of the type of news that they cover. But sometimes God puts you in a difficult place to be a light in the darkness. Scot then noted that the diocese of Palm Beach had two of its bishops resign after being accused of abusing young men. They were followed by then-bishop Sean O'Malley, who himself was followed by Bishop Barbarito, who Alexis worked for. Alexis said much of her desire to leave secular news was being tired of seeing the Church take it on the chin, but she also wanted to go on offense to proclaim the good news of the Church and bringing the Gospel to people. Scot then asked Victor about his background and how he came to work for Maximus. Victor said he grew up in Weymouth. One of his parents came from Hungary and the other from Brazil and they both fled oppressive governments. They met at the Colonnade Hotel. They settled in Weymouth where he grew up and went to Sacred Heart School. He didn't have an interest in government. He went to Suffolk University and got an internship at the State House. He was amazed at how the process worked. His communications and journalism degree helped him understand how he could have a greater impact. He remembers a vote on junior operator requirements to limit their driving. He was struck by how his peers didn't know how they were being affected. From there he worked in campaigns for the next 13 or 14 years and lead the group Catholic Citizenship. It was a grassroots effort of laity to work with the Mass. Catholic Conference to influence lawmakers. Victor is also on the town council in Weymouth, bringing his Catholic faith to local government. He said Catholics have to become more savvy in how we communicate with our government. Victor's Catholic faith has always been important to him, especially after getting married and having kids. He sees his own fatherhood in relation to the Father's relationship to us. In college, Victor was a member of a debate team and they were national debate champions among the Ivy League. There was a lot of travel and it was very stressful.He remembers one tournament at Cornell during his junior year where he was nervous and had a scholarship riding on it. He went to a chapel before his round instead of practicing. He ended up winning that round and it showed how important it is to go to prayer. 2nd segment: Scot asked Alexis about the history of Maximus Group. She said it was founded in 2005 by Robert DeBellis, Lisa Wheeler, and Matt Pinto, seeing the need for the Church to be represented after the years of the sex abuse crisis and the death of John Paul. They said the need to engage the media with the right message with the right people on the topic of the day. Through that process Maximus was born and has been growing ever since. Maximus has been building a bridge between the sacred and secular. They have many clients they represent. They are often known because of the films they represent, but there's a lot more they do. They are even hired by entities that are secular but want to have a reach in the Church, including Walmart and Proctor & Gamble. They represent Ignatius Press. Every day is different with Maximus. Alexis said she met Victor when he was working with Newt Gingrich promoting his film “9 Days that Changed the World.” Scot said to Victor that The Passion of the Christ was very successful and marketed very differently from other big films. It was very much a grassroots effort among churches and the idea came that this was a good way to market films. Victor said it takes a lot of organization and outreach to ensure each film or project is successful. Catholics need to realize the same is true about politics. They have to be organized a in a grassroots fashion. Marketing and promotion are the same. The personal touch of reaching out to a neighbor or parishioner is important. It's far more important than mass marketing and advertising. Scot said Maximus helped to market a new book on the changes in the Roman Missal last year by Dr. Ed Sri. This exemplifies Maximus' relationships with parishes and dioceses and Catholic media. Alexis said so much discussion about the Mass last year helped them to put the Catholic liturgy in the secular media. They haven't had an opportunity like this in decades. They put together a press availability with Sri and Cardinal Wuerl and a number of others as well to talk about the changes and the first question came from a rabbi which showed Alexis that they were bridging the gap. Victor said it's challenging as a Catholic parent who enjoys books and films and the major media are putting out so many products that are antithetical to Christian values. He was struck by the movie The Way, starring Emilio Estevez and Martin Sheen, having seen those actors in other movies over the years but seeing them in a film that shares real Christian values. This made him want to be part of the Maximus Group's work in promoting this type of media. 3rd segment: Scot said the movie The Way takes place on the Camino de Santiago del Compestela about a father following his father's footsteps of the pilgrimage. Alexis worked on the promotion of the film, traveling with them around the country promoting it. It was very impactful. Churches turned out in force wherever they went to see this film which shows humanity seeking the divine and journeying as a community. Scot asked what led to them wanting o market this independent film in this grassroots fashion. Alexis said it speaks to their personal nature. Scot said it inspired him to want to walk the Camino in Spain as part of the ancient pilgrimage. Victor said there isn't necessarily an appreciation for art among Victor's generation. It allows for a form of prayer that's different from what we're used to it. It's a different kind of way to affect your community and share with it. Scot said his sense is that the momentum for The Way built over time and it got a lot more public relations coverage than other films. Alexis said it was an incredible experience to be with them. They are a unique family that attracts a lot of attention all the time anyway. They were so generous with their time. The DVD is coming out on February 21 and because the movie didn't reach every market in America, the buzz is inspiring others to want to see it too. 4th segment: Scot asked some of the other projects Maximus promoted in 2011. Films included Of Gods and Men, There Be Dragons, Soul Surfer, The Way. There many publications including Pope Benedict's book on Holy Week, Lino Rulli's Sinner, Teresa Tomeo's Extreme Makeover. Scot asked if promoting 13 Days, a religious film about Fatima, and Mighty Macs, a film about a girls' basketball team, is similar. Alexis said there is a lot of work and planning that goes into executing these projects months in advance. They have to carve out who the audience is, for example. Every project is individual. For some they're charged with only reaching Catholic audiences, while others have them reaching every audience. Victor said he's started his first project is a new film with Andy Garcia, who's got a great story of his family. The film is about the role of the Mexican lay faithful during a trying time in their history in which their faith is challenged. October Baby is another film talking about how a young woman is facing some challenges in her life. Scot said he saw that October Baby was premiered at the March for Life. aLexis said it's a story of a young woman who survived a failed abortion attempt and tries to find out who she is and her biological mother. It shows the wounds that exist and healing that needs to take place. Fr. Peter West was at the screening as well as other important lay leaders on the front lines of the pro-life movement. They were blown away by the quality of the film. She said the teens that saw the movie loved it as well. Scot said the premise of the movie sounds like the other movie Bella, which is a beautiful way to speak of the mystery of life. Victor said October Baby will be out in late March. It upholds the dignity of life, not in an abstract way, but a real human way. Alexis said they are also working on a book project written by Pope Benedict's brother, Msgr. Ratzinger.

Listen to the show: Today's host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O'Connor Today's guest(s): Dr. Karen Bohlin, Head of the Montrose School and author of the book “Building Character in Schools” Today's topics: Raising children of virtue Summary of today's show: Dr. Karen Bohlin talks with Scot and Fr. Chris about raising children of virtue, strong character, and great intellectual vigor, including the girls who attend the independent Catholic school she leads, Montrose School in Medfield, Mass. 1st segment: Scot asked Fr. Chris what he did on his 3-day weekend. He went to Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, to catch up with priest-friends in the area. Scot said he loves to visit DC, especially the National Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. Fr. Chris said they went to Mass at the basilica and Bishop Loverde of Arlington, VA, happened to be leading a pilgrimage to the basilica on Sunday. He said he also visited the new Martin Luther King monument in DC. He found some of the quotes by MLK were indicative of the virtues they will be discussing today. Scot said his family went to Maine for a soccer tournament and they went to Mass in a parish up there. There happened to be an elderly woman entering the Church at that Mass and so his kids could see the woman receive First Communion and Confirmation and they had many questions afterward. Fr. Chris said it's wonderful to welcome someone new to our faith community. He was speaking to someone today who's running an RCIA program in a parish and so it's a good time to ask a parish if you're interested because now is the time that such programs begin. 2nd segment: Scot welcomed Dr. Bohlin back to the show. She was on previously talking about the movie “There Be Dragons”. Scot asked about her background before coming to the Montrose School. Karen said she started as an English teacher and drama coach at the Montrose School. She found herself involved in Boston Public Schools and teacher education. She received her doctorate at Boston University and worked at the Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character, working with school departments around the country and even advising the White House. Scot said ethics and character education were not a big component of higher education before the big financial scandals of the beginning of the century. BU's Center was among the first to bring it into teacher education and curricula. They form teachers to prepare them for their moral responsibilities. Karen said she also taught undergraduates at BU and was quite happy there, but was asked to consider the position of the Head of School at Montrose. She knew if she moved from a research institute to a school, she would be working directly with students and parents and alumnae. She would be able to work with families and educators over time to go more deeply into transforming young lives. Scot said while both jobs are in education, they're very different roles in research versus running a school. She has been able to see several generations of students come through the school. They just celebrated their 30th anniversary at Montrose. It was founded by a group of parents and educators, including several Harvard Business School grads looking for a school for their daughters with good liberal arts education that didn't compromise either the faith or the intellectual tradition of the Church. They wanted a strong mentoring program in character and leadership formation, especially for girls at the critical age of middle school years. They wanted to prepare girls to go to any size school or college and enter any professional field. They have many accomplished alumnae, including authors like Suzanne La Fleur, an author of young adult books. Karen noted that in the seventies there was a lot of educational experimentation and so the founders wanted to restore the traditional core of excellent college preparation and a solid religious education program. Scot said the school is in Medfield now. The school opened in Brookline in the old Cardinal Cushing College, then to Westwood, then to Natick and the old St. Patrick's elementary school for 10 years. Just 5 years ago they moved to the old Bayer Pharmaceuticals building in Medfield. They have 190 students today. Scot said there's still a demand for single-sex education, particularly for girls. He asked how many parents choose Montrose because they want their daughters to be formed by strong women leaders in a good peer environment. Karen said it's also that research shows that girl learn differently from boys. Particularly in middle schools, girls have a capacity to move at a faster pace, especially in math and science. Boys also learn better in a single-sex environment. It allows students to be unafraid to speak up in class and to be confident. Studies show that girls tend to be timid and stand behind boys in science classes, for example. Fr. Chris said modeling virtue is important and asked how they form the staff. Karen said virtue is caught, more than taught. The faculty is committed to the forming the whole person. In professional development workshops, they spend a lot of time studying adolescent character development and asking themselves are they walking the talk. When she meets with graduating seniors, she asks them if they think the school is walking the talk, are they living up their mission and values. Fr. Chris asked what some of the routines and rituals of the school are. Karen said there are many traditions that form the core of life at the school. They have a speakers series to bring in someone whose story inspires the girls. This year with the faculty they read Victor Frankl's of his experience in the Nazi concentration camps, and Mitch Albom's to consider how one approaches the end of life. They are developing vision and a long-distance perspective, to overcome the day-to-day fears and worries and stresses. The Mass helps them disconnect from those daily stresses. There is a daily period called “Enrichment” and the girls are allowed to choose to attend Mass or go to a quiet reading room (no magazines, no homework). The time out allows them to re-focus on what matters most. Karen said graduates always say they feel more shored up in their faith because of the environment in which they're learning. They can articulate not just the reasons and philosophical underpinnings of the Church's teachings, but they live it as well. She said they teach college level philosophy to juniors and seniors and she hears from graduates how they use what they've learned in college and even in graduate school. Philosophy opens their minds especially since the faculties engage them using the Socratic method. 3rd segment: Scot asked what the faculty of Montrose School hope their graduates are going to be at age 18. Karen said they first consider that everyone is a work in progress. They're not aiming for perfectionism. The goal is to learn how to pick themselves up and move forward. They have a document on their website called : Well-Cultivated Faith Strength Of Character Far-Reaching Vision Scot said they are all appealing to him as a dad of a young girl. He asked what differentiates Montrose from other strong academic, Catholic schools for girls. Karen said they have a commitment to integrity and constantly knitting these three elements together through mentoring and a rapport between the faculty and the girls that last well past graduation. One of the alumn worked for a large architectural firm after college and was confronted with an ethical debate. She was able to re-direct the discussion at the meeting and a senior employee asked her where she graduated from college. She said it wasn't college, but high school. Scot said in talking with other parents, they ask where savings for future education be deployed: junior high and high school or college? Karen said she has been in both higher education and now grade schools. When she taught in college she could tell the difference between those students who had the foundation to adjust to college and those who were lost, not just academically but also in campus life. They need to know why it matters to have virtues, why the decisions they make with their time are important. Fr. Chris wondered if the girls are evangelizing their parents as well. Karen said many parents have told her that they've begun to take their faith seriously because of the education their daughter was receiving. The faculty offer a faith enrichment program to the parents. Scot said the school notes that education is the primary responsibility of the parents and the school is there to support. How do the parents get involved? Karen said the parents meet with faculty twice per year, to meet their adviser twice per year and to be in touch whenever they have questions or concerns. The school offers seminars and lectures to the parents on adolescence as well. The upper school students have a with a series of virtues that are discussed: Virtue: Topic: Accountability: Big picture, Looking outside yourself Modesty: Facebook, Between guys & girls Perseverance: Goal Setting Courage: Master of the universe, Do it now! Leadership: Communicating & Listening Skills; Making Choices Diligence: Leading to maturity, Helping others Hope: Life Portrait Speaker Bernice Lerner Hospitality: Interpersonal Skills, Persuasive speaking Understanding: Stress management, Thinking of others Reflection: Beginning again Respect: Body image, Self-respect Friendship: Avoiding destructive decisions Patience: With self, With others Perseverance: Purposeful action, planning Generosity: With family (service deed) Simplicity: Pop Culture Humility: Using God-given talents for good of others Justice: Obeying authority, Making decisions Loyalty: Values systems in friendships Karen said the students talk with their advisers about how they can grow in these virtues. They bring older students to talk to the middle school girls to discuss how to make them living. Karen said it's important that they don't look at them as behaviors, but as parts of our character. Fr. Chris said the virtuous person responds to virtue with virtue. The person full of vice sees virtue as not living up to themselves. Chastity is seen as prudery for example. Karen said they try to make it attractive, not hit them over the head. The teens don't want to feel like they're on a behavior modification program. they want to know that respect makes them a more attractive friend. When they see it lived, it comes more compelling. Virtue comes from a Greek word meaning strength. It's a good disposition of mind, heart, and action. It's an internal strength. Measures of success are external accomplishments. They can be short-lived and may not satisfy. A person of virtue can be poor or wealthy, but they have dispositions that allow them to live in the happiest way possible. Karen said it's the little things that form the foundation of bigger change. Rudy Guiliani cleaned up New York first by fixing broken windows and then crime rates followed. Scot noted that Karen co-authored a book called “Building Character in Schools”. We hear a lot of schools say they teach good values, while Montrose educates and forms for good virtues. Karen said values can be good or bad. Virtues are good. Psychologists tell us that we need good habits and dispositions. Virtues are more objective and part of who we are. Values are more external. People can resist values because whose values are they. Scot asked how you make good character a priority in your home? Karen said you have to choose your battles and determine what matters most. The children also need to feel needed and vital. Stake a claim so that children can say that in their house they can say the three things that matter most. Scot asked how people can find more about Montrose. The school will have an open house this Sunday, Oct 16, from 2-4pm and there will be another open house on Sunday, Nov 3, 7-9 pm.

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O'Connor **Today's guest(s):** Fr. Wayne Belschner, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, East Boston * [Sacred Heart Parish, East Boston](http://www.rc.net/boston/sacredhearteast/) * [East Boston Central Catholic High School](http://www.ebccs.org/) **Today's topics:** Fr. Wayne Belschner's vocation story and the unique pastoral situation of Sacred Heart Parish, East Boston **A summary of today's show:** Scot and Fr. Chris welcome Fr. Wayne Belschner to discuss his journey to the priesthood, his seminary years in Rome, his first assignment in Woburn, and his present parish of Sacred Heart in East Boston, where he serves an ethnically diverse parish that comes together as one Catholic family. **1st segment:** Scot welcomes Fr. Chris O'Connor back to the show. This Saturday 5 men are preparing for ordination to the priesthood as well as a brother with the Franciscans of the Primitive Observance. This week they are on retreat at the retreat house in Milton run by the Oblate Fathers. The ordination on Saturday is at 9am. It's a busy time for the men and the Mass itself is 3 hours long. After, they will have a reception with family and friends where they offer their first priestly blessings. On Sunday, they have their first Mass celebrated throughout the diocese, typically in their home parishes. They will have a week off, but will typically return to the parishes they served as seminarians and celebrate Mass there. Usually during the month of July, Cardinal Sean's blog includes the new priests writing their stories. At their first Mass, the new priests typically ask another priest to preach the homily. It's usually a spiritual director or another priest who was instrumental in their vocation. This week's [Pilot](http://www.pilotcatholicnews.com) will have profiles of each of the men and [CatholicTV](http://www.catholictv.com) will show the Mass live. Everyone is welcome to the cathedral for the Mass. **2nd segment:** Scot and Fr. Chris welcome Fr. Wayne Belschner to the show. Fr. Wayne was the youngest of 11 children in his family. He one sister and 9 brothers. They lived in a small house with just 4 bedrooms for everyone. They all ate dinner at one table and this was family time where everyone shared their day. His whole family remains extremely close. Having nine brothers prepared him well for the fraternity of the priesthood. His parish growing up was St. Mary of the Assumption in Revere. His parish priest was an example and a mentor that had a tremendous impact on his vocation. He first had thoughts about a priestly vocation as a sophomore in high school. His pastor, Fr. Mahoney, took ill and he spent a lot of time helping him and saw how remarkable he was in how he worked in his ministry. He was a gentle person, but his example affected his life deeply. Fr. Mahoney's recommendation for his entrance into seminary was received on the day that Fr. Mahoney's funeral was celebrated. When Fr. Wayne first asked him for a letter of recommendation, Fr. Mahoney tore it up and said he would only sign it if he knew Fr. Wayne was not being pressured to enter the seminary. He studied for a time in Rome at the North American College. During the four years of college seminary, there 70-80 men there in the late 80's and early 90's. And as he was finishing, he was asked to go to Rome for the NAC. He made some close relationships with friends in Italy that he remains in touch with. His mother was Italian and she was very proud that her son was becoming a priest. His father was like Fr. Mahoney who wanted to be sure he was doing this not to prove something, but because it was what he really wanted. His parents came over to Rome to visit, which was their first trip overseas. His parents were very supportive. A highlight of studying in Rome was meeting Bl. John Paul II. They had many opportunities to go over for Mass with him and he served Mass with him in his private chapel. The classes, as well, showed him the universality of the Church. There were religious and lay people in the college. He studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University. Some of the professors were in fact many of the experts at Vatican II, who wrote some of the documents of the council. Fr. Wayne was ordained 16 years this week. His class of priests was 21 men, 18 from St. John's. The cathedral was completely silent as their names were called and as they approached the altar. It's an awesome feeling. They got an understanding of being part of something bigger. The priest who was supposed to preach at his Mass became ill and he had someone come in at the last minute. Like Fr. Chris, he remembers being so nervous. His mother said her favorite part of the Mass was the end when the deacon gave the dismissal because it was the first time in public they'd ever seen anyone get the last word over Fr. Wayne. **3rd segment:** In the past 16 years, he's had two assignments. His first assignment was at St. Charles Borromeo in Woburn, where he had two different pastors. After his first term of five years was up, he got two one-year extensions. He was going to go to work with the Military Archdiocese, but that fell through and he stayed for an eighth year. The parish was thriving and it seemed the lives of the people were centered on the church. The community allowed the church to be very active in the community and they valued the input of the church. Leaving after his eighth year was the most difficult transition for him. Then he went to Sacred Heart Parish in East Boston. He went to check out the parish ahead of time in street clothes and he tried to go into the church during First Communion practice and was literally pushed out the door by the religious education director. That was his introduction to his new parish. St. Charles in Woburn is known for producing many vocations, to the priesthood and religious life. Fr. Hank Garrity was a pastor there and was very strong working with the youth in the city and promoted vocations. The city is a very close-knit community that values faith and the input of the church. All of that is a recipe for vocations. It is a vocations factory. He learned by example also from a pastor, Fr. Paul Sughrue, on how to be a pastor. When the abuse scandal broke, Fr. Sughrue was proactive and provided good leadership. Fr. Timothy Shea came in and continued the momentum of the parish looking forward. He was very good at shoring up the finances of the parish, paying all of the parish's debts and the school was operating in the black as well with a full enrollment. His favorite part of being a priest is the opportunity to say Mass every day. It is at the table that families and friends exchange the intimate moments of our life and at God's table we share our moments, but also God's intimate moments. The Mass fuels everything that takes place. At his deacon assignment there was a sign over the chapel door: "This is the most important thing you will do all day." One of his favorite saints is St. Josemaria Escriva, founder of Opus Dei. His spirituality was that you find God in the ordinary moments of the day, being with ordinary people. And then you come to the Mass you see that this is the most extraordinary thing that you'll be doing. He likes the movie "There Be Dragons" and it presents both the man and the message in a positive way. **4th segment:** Fr. Wayne describes Sacred Heart as unique and very diverse. Their weekend Masses are celebrated in English, Italian, and Vietnamese. When the parishes closing around them, they started to absorb different ethnic groups and they were intent on being one parish, not three different parishes. All holy day Masses are celebrated trilingually and they incorporate all the groups into the liturgies. This was done with very little effort. The people were very accommodating. In East Boston, they are characterized by their understanding of family. When someone comes to the door, they are brought right in to the table and they are the same way at church. When Fr. Wayne was in Woburn, he found it too quiet, but when he got to East Boston, he found the planes flying so low over the house, he heard the stewardesses telling *him* to sit down. But what he finds the most difficult part of being pastor is the language barrier with the Vietnamese community. He feels he could be doing more to minister to the elderly Vietnamese community. They have priests who come in on the weekend for Masses, but they have difficulty ministering and reaching out during the weekend. He has been learning Vietnamese from the young people in the parish, and he's trying to learn the prayers of the Mass in that language. He finds the community to be quite stable. Even though people may move out of the city, they come back to the parish for Mass on Sunday with their parents or grandparents. They may live in Saugus or Lynn or Randolph, but they come back for Mass. This is true for both the Italian and Vietnamese communities. The Vietnamese community has many activities for the whole group from about 1pm until 8pm at night. Fr. Chris notes that the communities all have their own special traditions that continue to live on, whether Italian or Portuguese or Vietnamese. Fr. Chris celebrates Masses on the weekends and the community has embraced him. It is very welcoming. In their diversity, there is a unity. Scot asked what lessons Fr. Wayne has learned about bringing together merging parish communities. Fr. Wayne said East Boston at one time had 9 parishes, 11 worship sites (including the Madonna shrine and the airport chapel) and 7 schools. But the demographics changed and some of the churches could not be maintained. People were tied to and identified with their parish. But the people of Sacred Heart were ready to welcome others from outside. Out of the 7 schools, four pastors closed their schools and opened East Boston Central Catholic School in 1972, one of the first regional consolidated schools in the archdiocese. When Star of the Sea school closed, the parents from that school were invited over the next day. They didn't join the school. They became part of the family as one group together. They also recognize that they don't have all the answers. They are open to having a dialogue. The spiritual life of Sacred Heart took off when they welcomed these other communities in. **5th segment:** In his spare time, Fr. Wayne is studying for a doctorate in church history, as if he doesn't have enough to do. He's studying at Boston College School of Ministry. He received a Licentiate degree (STL) (which is the ecclesiastical academic degree equivalent of being halfway between a Master's and Doctorate). He has now moved on to the doctoral thesis stage. Scot said the history of the Church in East Boston must be amazing. So many of the ethnic parishes in the archdiocese have been closed because they were no longer needed for the original purpose of ministering to people of a particular language because people now spoke English or have moved out to the suburbs. In East Boston, there were two parishes across the street from each other. Fr. Wayne said ethnic parishes were established with an eye toward the own closure when they had helped the immigrant assimilate into the wider Catholic community. Instead, the national parishes become closely identified with the people. In East Boston, there were Spanish, French, Italian, Irish parishes. Over time, those groups moved on and other parishes moved in who didn't need the Mass in those languages. That will conclude today's presentation of The Good Catholic Life. For recordings and photos of today's show and all previous shows, please visit our website: TheGoodCatholicLife.com. You can also download the app for your iPhone or Android device at WQOM.org to listen to the show wherever you may be. We thank our guest, Father Wayne Belschner. For our co-host, Father Chris O'Connor, our Production team of Rick Heil, Anna Johnson, Justin Bell, Dom Bettinelli, and George Martell, this is Scot Landry saying thank YOU for listening, God bless you and have a wonderful evening!

Wes Bentley plays a revolutionary in There Be Dragons. Wes tells host Robin Milling he'd like to start his own revolution towards healthy eating habits. The star of American Beauty candidly shares slaying his own personal demons against drugs and accepting his fame. "I was being a real sh*t head in life and not making the best of it. I was addicted to heavy drugs for a couple of years and pushed my career far away. Now I feel completely different especially having my kid and my family in my life; I really care about others."

This week on “Behold The Man” we listen to the trailer to the fantastic movie “There Be Dragons” as well as listen to a clip of a talk Dr. Scott Hahn gave at the Fullness Of Truth event last week.

The Total Tutor will interview Brian Finnerty communications director for Opus Dei. We will discuss There Be Dragons the movie. Brian will discuss the history of the Spanish Civil War, priests in the movies, and the history of Opus Dei. The Total Tutor and Darci Hyman will interview Joanne Kaminski The Skype Reading Tutor. Joanne will discuss how to evaluate teachers. The Total Tutor and Darci Hyman will interview Jennifer Stancil, Executive Director of Educational Partnerships for WQED. She will discuss Freedom Riders.

This week on “Behold The Man” we listen to the trailer to the fantastic movie “There Be Dragons” as well as listen to a clip of a talk Dr. Scott Hahn gave at the Fullness Of Truth event last week.

This week on “Behold The Man” we listen to the trailer to the fantastic movie “There Be Dragons” as well as listen to a clip of a talk Dr. Scott Hahn gave at the Fullness Of Truth event last week.

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams**Today's guest(s):** Charlie Cox, star of the new film "There Be Dragons"; Fr. Chip Hines, Pastor of St. Mary, Wrentham, and co-host of CatholicTV's *Spotlight*; and Dr. Karen Bohlin, head of the Montrose School in Medfield, Massachusetts* ["There Be Dragons" official website](http://therebedragonsmovie.com/)* ["There Be Dragons" on IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1316616/)* [Roland Joffe, director](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0423646/)* [Charlie Cox as "Josemaria Escriva"](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0423646/)* ["There Be Dragons" website for resources to promote & discuss](http://dragonsresources.com/)* [St. Josemaria Escriva](http://www.josemariaescriva.info/)* [Opus Dei](http://www.opusdei.us/)* [*Spotlight,* the movie review show on CatholicTV](http://www.catholictv.com/catholic-movies.aspx)* Photos from the film: Courtesy of Mount Santa Fe**Today's topics:** The new film "There Be Dragons" and its depiction of moments from the life of St. Josemaria Escriva**A summary of today's show:** Scot interviews actor Charlie Cox, who portrays St. Josemaria Escriva in the new film "There Be Dragons" and then discusses with Fr. Matt Williams, Fr. Chip Hines, and Karen Bohlin the themes of the "dragons" in our lives: Unforgiveness, selfishness, doubt, isolation, as well as the example of consistent virtue and heroism by Josemaria.**1st segment:** Scot tells Fr. Matt Williams that this is the 40th broadcast of The Good Catholic Life. Today they discussed the new movie "There Be Dragons" which has strong Catholic themes. Fr. Matt said movies are important because they help us understand culture and life situations of different people. Scot said Cardinal Seán saw a screening of the movie a few months ago and asked the movie company to get in touch with Scot to do an episode of The Good Catholic Life on it. Fr. Matt said he had a sneak peek of the movie last July at a conference in Philadelphia.During today's show, Scot gave away tickets for the movie, general passes for any showing at any theatre as well as tickets to a special premiere in Framingham tomorrow night.**2nd segment:** Scot welcomes Fr. Chip Hines, who co-hosts a move review show on CatholicTV. He also welcomed Karen Bohlin, who is hosting several showings of the movie so her students can see it. Montrose school's mission and vision are inspired by the life of St. Josemaria and the whole school community are excited by it. Karen said it will be relevant to young people because many of themes are applicable to today's culture and society. Also, because it focuses on the early lives of the protagonists and the life decisions they have to make.There Be Dragons is an epic action-adventure romance set during the turmoil of the Spanish Civil War. The story traces the lives of two young men, Josemaria Escriva (Charlie Cox) and Manolo Torres (Wes Bentley), childhood friends who are separated by the political upheaval of pre-war Spain to find themselves on opposite sides as war erupts. Choosing peace, Josemaria becomes a priest and struggles to spread reconciliation by founding the movement Opus Dei (work of God).Manolo chooses war and becomes a spy for the fascists. He becomes obsessed with a beautiful Hungarian revolutionary, Ildiko, who has joined the militia in pursuit of passion and purpose. But when Ildiko rejects him out of love for the courageous militia leader Oriol, Manolo's jealousy leads him down a path of betrayal.As personal and national battles rage, the characters' lives collide and their deepest struggles are illuminated through the fateful choices they make. Each will struggle to find the power of forgiveness over the forces tearing their lives and friendship apart.Scot played an interview with Charlie Cox that was taped earlier. Scot asked him what interested him in playing the role. He said he'd not heard of St. Josemaria before getting the script from his agent. What attracted him to the film the most was the director Roland Joffe, who directed The Mission and The Killing Fields. He was struck that Joffe was a kindhearted and generous man. Scot asked him what he did to prepare for the role as a priest who is now a saint in the Church. A few weeks before going to Buenos Aires where the movie was shot, he flew to Barcelona, Spain, where he met a historian and an Opus Dei priest to visit the places in his life, his birthplace, the seminary he attended, and then on a retreat where they talked about Josemaria and spent time living the life of a priest who would be on retreat. Walking in a cassock was one of the trickier things to learn. They spent a lot of time in meditation and prayer, praying the Rosary and doing the Way of the Cross. They helped him to become familiar with the man and his time in which he lived.Much of the film takes place during the Spanish Civil War. What does Charlie hope that people will see in his portrayal of Josemaria? He said there's no one moment in the film or even in Josemaria's life in general where you can say, "This man should be canonized." The power of the film and his life is that his life is filled with consistently selfless decisions. It's the way he faced the adversity and dealt with it that make Josemaria and extraordinary human being. What the film tries to show is that the time of the civil war was a time of confusion, anger, hatred and fear. It is a country torn apart. At one point the character of Manolo says, "I don't know who I'm fighting anymore." There was a time when the hatred was aimed at the Church and priests in particular, and to be known as a priest in Madrid would invite being shot. Charlie hopes people will see how Josemaria dealt with that time, not engaging in hatred and taking a side, but instead spread a message of love, forgiveness, and peace. Scot said there is a time for us today when we have to make "dragon" decisions. What message can we take away in the year 2011? Charlie said because it's so hard to tell a story about the Spanish Civil War, what you end up with is messy hate-fueled conflict, which is what war ends up being anyway. So the Spanish Civil War can be substituted for any conflict. In the movie, you see two characters: one makes consistently selfish, fear-based decisions for his life and the other who recognizes the temptation to make those decisions selfishly and angrily, but chooses to not do that. Scot said he takes away that there is a little bit of Josemaria in each of us and a little bit of Manolo in us. Charlie said that is exactly it: we should see a little bit of them in each of us and ask ourselves who we want to be.Scot said it is unlike typical saint movies, but it much more epic in scope. Charlie said his hope is that the film reaches everyone, who sees the story of a man who had an incredible journey and an incredible life who made a series of decisions that led to his canonization after his death. He expects the majority of the evidence to be Christians and Catholics, but there is a story and a message here for everyone regardless of religious beliefs. Even if you don't learn anything from the way he is portrayed, it is still a great story to be told and to be entertaining.Scot said there are many resources the production company built for good family conversations and good parish discussions. What are Charlie's hopes for what the movie will lead to for people? He said he thinks that Josemaria was asking for people to look inwards. Rather than look at the world and point out all the things that are wrong and all the things making you miserable, instead look inside and see if we're engaging in self-centered fear. Or are we looking to serve others and love God. Even in his life today, it's easy to feel like the victim and become miserable and depressed, but what Josemaria says is that in those moments, see what you're contributing to the world and to others and see what you might give to them.In the film, Josemaria says to his early followers: "Before trying to change the world, think about changing yourself." It's hard to do. Scot said it can lead to peace. Charlie added that if everyone lived like that, think about the kind of world we've be living in.**3rd segment:** Back live, Scot asks Karen and Chip about the interview. Karen said those who have seen the movie already, including the school's chaplain who knew St. Josemaria, say that Charlie's portrayal of him is very authentic. Fr. Chip said Charlie's face is very expressive in this performance and does a very good job. Much of acting is done through the face. Fr. Chip said one of the scenes that was well done was a birthday party and when Josemaria gets his new shoes, you see the authentic joy and the humanity of the saint comes through. Charlie Cox was able to convey the holiness and the humanity of the person.Scot said it's good to see holiness and sanctity as achievable by living in a very human way. Fr. Matt said right from the beginning when Manolo and Josemaria were just eight years old, you see how Josemaria was a boy just like us. The movie's tagline is that every saint has a past and future and you can see that in this portrayal of Josemaria. Fr. Matt said the great teaching is on the life of virtue. What we see is this life of selfless decisions.Karen said character is not just good behavior. It's about striving everyday to do everything with greater love and affection, not just to beef up a resume, but to serve others and God. They teach this in their school, that students should do everything they do with their utmost. Josemaria knows heartbreak from childhood and carries his demons with him through the movie and there's no sense that he meets God and all that goes away. She said in many ways the movie is more artistic than a traditional action drama.Fr. Matt said it's a great point that holiness and sanctity doers not remove us from the turmoil of daily life. Do the dragons of the past shape who we are or do we acknowledge them and name them and love God and move forward in holiness and sanctity.Fr. Chip said it's a key point that saints are regular people and Josemaria was certainly a regular guy. This search for holiness is everyone's quest and everyone's journey. He remarked how people often at funerals say that if they didn't have faith, they don't know how they would get through this. Some people are always looking for big giants signs, but their faith sometimes fades quickly. But the people who live a quiet solid faith often remain steadfast throughout life.Karen said she liked the way Josemaria was so loyal to Manolo throughout life. He stays in touch and reaches out to him in the most difficult moments in life. Even though Manolo rejects him, he is hurt, but says he will always be there for him. Josemaria is also a very real son and brother to his family. He evinces a love for freedom, but he also preaches forgiveness. He has an immense capacity to remain faithful to Christ's call to forgive your enemies. Joffe is taken by the those who can forgive and love under difficult circumstances.**4th segment:** It's time to announce the winner of this week's **WQOM Benefactor Raffle**. Our prize this week is a set of passes to the movie "There Be Dragons."  This week's winner is **Frank Lawrence from Warwick, RI**. Congratulations to Frank!  If you would like to be eligible to win in an upcoming week, please visit [WQOM.org](http://www.WQOM.org). For a one-time $30 donation, you'll receive the Station of the Cross benefactor card and key tag, making you eligible for our weekly raffle of books, DVDs, CDs and religious items. We'll be announcing the winner each Wednesday during “The Good Catholic Life” program.**5th segment:** Scot asked Fr. Chip what he thought of the character of Manolo. He said it's someone you're rooting for to change himself. You can see the good Josemaria is striving for an achieving, while Manolo makes bad decisions at every turn. The actor portrayed it well. Seeing it on film, makes one think about his own life, the decisions we make, and whether we can change. Manolo never thought he could change. Scot said that everytime something bad happened to him, it just added on to the grimness he was showing.Karen said Manolo is wounded from childhood because he is never loved by his father. While he has wealth and material means, while Josemaria doesn't, he envies Josemaria's relationship with his father. He makes bad decisions as an adult, and while his conscience struggles, he doesn't see away back from the consequences. She thinks he's riddled with fear and the pursuit of happiness through power and conquest, but it doesn't satisfy.Scot said theme of the effect of fathers on sons is important here. Fr. Matt said he thinks of the scene where Josemaria's baby sister had died and he is angry at God. His father, who is in tears, embraces his son in love. There are no platitudes. It is symbolic of how Josemaria became a father to Manolo.Roland Joffe says the theme of the movie is reconciliation and how it sets us free before it sets free those we forgive. Karen said the producers have released testimonials from people who had seen the movie in Spain. One couple had been on the brink of divorce, and after the movie they sat in the theatre in tears and said the dragons were not in themselves. They agreed to not divorce after all. Another young woman had been unable to forgive her mother for a betrayal and after seeing the movie she was able to let go of the poison of the bitterness she had held against her mother. Even Joffe himself was able to reconcile with his mother as well.Scot said every character in the films deals with whether to forgive or keep themselves in their miserable state. Other dragons in the movie are selfishness, doubt, and isolation. Fr. Chip said another theme is every father in the movie through their relationships with their children helps or hinders the characters' ability to have a relationship with God our Father. Fr. Matt said forgiveness is a grace. To err is human but to forgive is divine. When people massacre your family or colleagues or priests, we cannot forgive in our humanness, but it must come from God. We must manifest faith in love to everyone, even if they're wrong. No one is free of human weakness.One of Scot's lines from the movie: "The only thing that is unforgivable is unforgiveness." The movie makes you think about the people in your life that you need to forgive, the dragons that hold you back from being the best person you can be.Scot said another theme is heroism and one of the reasons Josemaria is so inspiring in this movie. Karen said that before being heroic you must grapple with doubt. In the movie, characters wrestle with doubt about God or self or others, but what's heroic is to be reach out in faith to God. Josemaria risks his life to bring the sacraments to the people. While churches are being destroyed and priests being killed, he is hiding and celebrating underground Masses. Fr. Chip said that is one of the best scenes in the movie. Karen said Josemaria's call to his vocation is heroic.Fr. Chip said that while it's not a vocation story, it can inspire vocations because it shows the priesthood in a heroic life. Once can find the heroism of everyday life in how priests serve every day. Fr. Matt said it's doing little things with great love. Bl John Paul called Josemaria the saint of the ordinary. Josemaria shows us that that virtuous life is a happy life. Fr. Chip said the movie is re-energizing for the priestly life.That will conclude today's presentation of The Good Catholic Life. For recordings and photos of today's show and all previous shows, please visit our website: TheGoodCatholicLife.com. You can also download the app for your iPhone or Android device at WQOM.org to listen to the show wherever you may be. We thank our guests Father Chip Hines and Dr. Karen Bohlin. For our co-host, Father Matt Williams, our Production team of Rick Heil, Anna Johnson, Justin Bell, Dom Bettinelli, and George Martell, this is Scot Landry saying thank YOU for listening, God bless you and have a wonderful evening!

Owen, James A. HERE, THERE BE DRAGONS