Kuci: Get The Funk Out

ABOUT THE WELLNESS INITIATIVE IN SOCIAL ECOLOGY The Wellness Initiative in Social Ecology also known as WISE is a new and rising wellness resource for the UCI community after recognizing the greater need for more mental health and wellness resources. We aim to improve and expand upon mental and behavioral health and wellness programming services for the UCI School of Social Ecology students while complementing ongoing campus efforts. One major project of WISE is the Wellness Initiative in Social Ecology Peer Advisory Collective (WISE PAC): a student-led, student-driven team of individuals within the School of Social Ecology who represent diversity in race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, lived experience, ability, and socioeconomic status. All members are driven and passionate people, who want to create real change in wellness and mental health in the UC Irvine community. As a team, we aim to destigmatize mental illnesses and increase access to mental health uses and resources. As we continue to expa

On January 1, 2022, Dr. Frances Contreras officially began her tenure as dean of the University of California, Irvine School of Education. The third dean in school history, Contreras is the first Chicana/Latina dean to head a school of education in the University of California system. A first-generation college student, Contreras joins the UCI School of Education from UC San Diego, where she was associate vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion and a professor in the Department of Education Studies at UC San Diego. These roles, she explained, prepared her with a foundation in which she enlists diverse viewpoints and perspectives, critically examines change and growth, and oversees processes to improve efficiency and fairness. Contreras is a UC alumna, earning a bachelor’s degree at UC Berkeley, a master’s degree from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in Education from Stanford University. With this in mind, Contreras, a SoCal native, looks to expand the reach and impact of the UCI School of Educat

"Catch the Bus” a short film written, produced and directed by Chloe Owens, will screen at the 10th Annual Studio City Film Festival ion Monday November 7th at 7:30PM at the Laemmle Noho 7 in North Hollywood. “Catch the Bus” tells the story of James (Peyce Byron), an older gentleman who is the last to audition to be a television sports anchor. Initially sized up to be a no by producer Marlene (Krista Unverferth). James, who took two buses to get to the audition, presses forward to get the job of his dreams. Will he win over the irritable Marlene? The film lightly touches upon ageism and the instant judging we use on others. Byron, a graduate of Northeastern University, celebrates his 15th year as the Lead Singer of The Platters Live. He is not only a singer and songwriter of Gospel and R&B music, but also a two-time award-winning actor which includes an NAACP Image Award for Best Actor in a lead role and the ADA Award for Best Actor performing as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Most recently Byron won for Be

THE DAUGHTER OF AUSCHWITZ My Story of Resilience, Survival and Hope by Tova Friedman and Malcolm Brabant A powerful memoir by one of the youngest survivors of Auschwitz, Tova Friedman, following her childhood growing up during the Holocaust and surviving a string of near-death experiences in a Jewish ghetto, a Nazi labor camp, and Auschwitz. "I am a survivor. That comes with a survivor's obligation to represent one and a half million Jewish children murdered by the Nazis. They cannot speak. So I must speak on their behalf." Tova Friedman was one of the youngest people to emerge from Auschwitz. After surviving the liquidation of the Jewish ghetto in Central Poland where she lived as a toddler, Tova was four when she and her parents were sent to a Nazi labour camp, and almost six when she and her mother were forced into a packed cattle truck and sent to Auschwitz II, also known as the Birkenau extermination camp, while her father was transported to Dachau. During six months of incarceration in Birkenau,

A new collection of pieces on literature and life by the author of Am I Alone Here?, a finalist for the NBCC Award for Criticism. Stationed in the South Pacific during World War II, Seymour Orner wrote a letter every day to his wife, Lorraine. She seldom responded, leading him to plead in 1945, “Another day and still no word from you.” Seventy years later, Peter Orner writes in response to his grandfather’s plea: “Maybe we read because we seek that word from someone, from anyone.” From the acclaimed fiction writer about whom Dwight Garner of The New York Times wrote, “You know from the second you pick him up that he’s the real deal,” comes Still No Word from You, a unique chain of essays and intimate stories that meld the lived life and the reading life. For Orner, there is no separation. Covering such well-known writers as Lorraine Hansberry, Primo Levi, and Marilynne Robinson, as well as other greats like Maeve Brennan and James Alan McPherson, Orner’s highly personal take on literature alternates with his

Kelley Lê has been in the educational field for over a decade as a high school science educator, instructional coach, and educational leader. She is currently the executive director of the Environmental and Climate Change Literacy Projects (ECCLPs), director of the University of California Irvine Science Project, Friends of the Planet NCSE Award winner (2022), and author of, Teaching Climate Change for Grades 6-12: Empowering Science Teachers to Take on the Climate Crisis Through NGSS (2021). She also serves as a board member for Ten Strands, CAELI Professional Learning Hub member, CLEAN Accelerating Climate Capacity, Engagement, and Leadership Summit (ACCELS) Forum planning committee member, and a Climate Reality Corps Mentor.

Sacrifices must be made to make it to the top of the music world. No one knows this better than Dixon James, who promised his wife they would get there. In this haunting message of hope and despair, mother and daughter singers have been separated for over twenty years by race, wealth, fame, and a heroin addiction. They long to find one another…. Before it’s too late. In the tradition of a Greek tragedy, the journey is never straightforward. Susannah B is an accomplished singer-songwriter, screenwriter and actor. A Los Angeles resident for most of her adult life, Susannah (aka Susannah Blinkoff) grew up in Manhattan as the daughter of well-known Broadway composer/lyricist Carol Hall. From an early age, Susannah was acting off-Broadway and singing professionally in NYC clubs. At Brown University, she met her longtime friend, director Drew Ann Rosenberg. As an actor, Susannah has appeared on Broadway and in film and TV. She co-wrote the film BELLYFRUIT and collaborated on the title song with composer/producer S

The Esselstyn family is three generations plant-based strong. Ann Esselstyn’s husband Caldwell Esselstyn ran one of the studies on a plant-based diet to fight heart disease and wrote a bestselling book on the subject. Her son Rip Esselstyn wrote a several bestselling books/cookbooks, has a food line in Whole Foods, and a popular podcast on the subject. Ann and her daughter Jane Esselstyn have been the women behind the curtains the whole time, developing the recipes and food plans. BE A PLANT-BASED WOMAN WARROIR: Live Fierce, Stay Bold, Eat Delicious, is Ann and Jane’s own book specifically for women, filled with amazing recipes, notes on women's health, celebrates of the power of a plant-based lifestyle.

INVICTA, the newest short film from multi-hyphenated creator Breton Tyner-Bryan, will screen at two upcoming festivals in July. The world premiere will be at the Berlin Commercial Raw Festival on July 27 in Berlin, Germany and will make its local premiere at the La Jolla International Fashion Film Festival in La Jolla, California on July 30, 2022. It is currently running at the Lift Off Global Sessions hosted by Pinewood Studios UK on demand from July 4-28, and was also part of the Tokyo Shorts Best Experimental competition in June 2022. INVICTA shows the lives and expectations that come with it, is set in New York City where a group of seven Mafia wives come together, driven by passion and drama. They are seemingly locked out of a Riverside Drive mansion and are searching for a way in. Who has summoned them and why are they now denied? As the women struggle to change and/or accept the situation, their dancing suggests alliances; perhaps they were once strong, now weakened. Betrayal -- or is it? -- from one

Fernando Andrés and Tyler Rugh are a filmmaking duo working in Austin, Texas. They are both 24 years old and have been making films together since they met in middle school. Their debut feature film THREE HEADED BEAST made its world premiere at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival in the prestigious U.S. Narrrative Competition. THREE HEADED BEAST is one of the films in the US and Canadian Narrative competition at this year’s Outfest. We recently participated in the Tribeca Film Festival and their programmers have hailed it “one of the boldest and most assertive American independent debuts in recent memory” and it has been called “erotically charged and arresting” by Chris Feil at Frameline and “hypnotically beautiful and undeniable” by acclaimed filmmaker Jim Cummings (Thunder Road, The Beta Test). MORE: getthefunkoutshow.kuci.org

Originally trained in pediatrics and public health, Sayantani DasGupta teaches in the Graduate Program in Narrative Medicine, the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society and the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race, all at Columbia University. She writes and speaks on issues of race, gender, health and social justice. New York Times bestselling author and physician, Sayantani DasGupta, brilliantly re-imagines the beloved classic, Pride and Prejudice, to reflect the complex, diverse world of American high school culture. The book is already receiving rave reviews, and you need not be an Austen-head, to love it and the conversations around the many issues Sayantani weaves in and addresses. “Studded with references to U.S. and South Asian pop culture as well as Jane Austen–related Easter eggs, DasGupta’s astute, buoyant comedy of manners employs witty, rat-a-tat dialogue alongside social commentary about subjects including classism, colorism, and sexism.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review MORE:

Victoria E. Johnson, professor of film & media studies, is the author of Sports TV, which looks at the genre from a distinctly humanistic perspective, exploring American history, culture, class, race and identity through the lens of broadcast sports. One chapter in Sports TV specifically focuses on Title IX and its legacies, including the explosion of female participation and visibility in sports at all levels, as well as in the boom in marketing of the “female athlete icon” that has occurred from the 1990s onward, thanks to the growth of the first and second post-Title IX generation of female participants in sports. According to Johnson, "Perhaps the most visible legacy of Title IX has been the explosion of female participation in sports at all levels since its institution. Title IX has encouraged subsequent generations of female-identified athletes and professionals to participate in and to re-imagine sports as athletes, coaches, and sports media professionals. Crucial here, also, have been the ways th

Marking the 50th Anniversary of Title IX, Judy Wu, professor of Asian American studies, director of the Humanities Center, and historian who recently co-authored a comprehensive biography of Title IX pioneer, Patsy Mink, titled Fierce and Fearless: Patsy Takemoto Mink, First Woman of Color in Congress. Judy Tzu-Chun Wu, professor of Asian American studies and director of UCI's Humanities Center, is a co-author on the first-ever biography on the powerhouse lawmaker and major author of Title IX, Patsy Takemoto Mink. Wu collaborated with Mink’s daughter, political scientist Gwendolyn “Wendy” Mink on the book, Fierce and Fearless: Patsy Takemoto Mink, First Woman of Color in Congress. “Lots of people associate Title IX with equality in collegiate sports, but it’s also about admissions, scholarships, housing and employment. It established the basic legal principle of gender equity and completely revolutionized education in America,” says Wu. MORE: getthefunkoutshow.kuci.org

Four-time cancer survivor, comedian and former SNL writer, Glenn Rockowitz, is back with his highly anticipated second memoir, “Cotton Teeth” (Harper & Case, December 14, 2021). Diagnosed with terminal cancer in 1998, Rockowitz recalls being told he had only three months to live. He was 28 years old at the time, and starting a family. His wife was eight months pregnant. Rockowitz’ psychoanalyst father, after praying that they could switch places, received his own surprising terminal diagnosis only a week later. In the weeks that followed, the two would battle cancer side-by-side. With writing that is visceral, raw and poetic, Rockowitz dives headfirst into old memories, and tragedy gives way to a darkly funny and intensely loving experience. Named one of Kirkus’ Best Books of 2021, this is Rockowitz's unflinchingly candid account of the heartbreak, joy, and wisdom shared between father and son as they face their final months of life alone, and together. “Cotton Teeth” is the long-awaited follow-up to R

Wade Rouse, internationally bestselling author of 13 books, is back with his first memoir in a decade. MAGIC SEASON: A Son’s Story (Hanover Square Press; May 3, 2022; hardcover) In the 1970’s Ozarks, sports, hunting, and fishing defined a boy’s world. But they didn’t define author Wade Rouse’s world, which was instead filled with reading, writing, and cooking. This was a problem for Rouse’s father Ted, a by-the-book engineer who was incapable of the emotional support his gay son so desperately needed. The only thing the two had in common was a love for the St. Louis Cardinals. When Ted’s health is in decline, Rouse returns home to Southwest Missouri to watch one last season of baseball with his father. Emotions run high on the field as the Cardinals race for the pennant; and on the couch, where Rouse races to make peace before his dad passes on. As Rouse recounts the past and confronts the present, readers may find themselves rooting for reconciliation on one page, then hoping for a final and permanent spli

ABOUT RUTH WEISBERG Ruth Weisberg is a versatile and vivacious voiceover narrator and coach, on-camera moderator, and keynote speaker. Her distinctive and dynamic presence can be seen and heard on radio/TV spots, news commentary programs, interactive sites, e-learning and animated productions. Ruth is also an instructor at The Voice Box, teaching group classes in voiceover narration, as well as mentoring and coaching voiceover students with individual private instruction. Despite appearances she never spills ink. She is also a big part of the Nokomis Beach Drum Circle in Sarasota County, Florida. WATCH Ruth in the Accidental Art Model LISTEN to her VO Reels ruthweisberg.com

THE EIGHTY-YEAR-OLD SORORITY GIRLS As a group of eighty-something girlfriends deal with the mental decline of their sorority sister, they reconnect with their college sorority, advise their grandchildren, find new lives for themselves and continue to stay the closest of friends. Vivian, nicknamed “Button,” is an Alzheimer’s patient who adores her sorority group, Helen rediscovers love at age eighty-one, Ida’s crazy side comes out during football season and Laney is the “big sister” in charge of baking for the group. These three women consistently show up for Vivian as her mental health deteriorates — because that is what sisters do. MORE: getthefunkoutshow.kuci.org

When Amy Daughters reconnected with her old pal Dana on Facebook, she had no idea how it would change her life. Though the two women hadn’t had any contact in 30 years, it didn’t take them long to catch up—and when Amy learned that Dana’s son Parker was doing a second stint at St. Jude battling cancer, she was suddenly inspired to begin writing the pair weekly letters. When Parker died, Amy—not knowing what else to do—continued to write Dana. Eventually, Dana wrote back, and the two became pen pals, sharing things through the mail that they had never shared before. The richness of the experience left Amy wondering something: If my life could be so changed by someone I considered “just a Facebook friend”, what would happen if I wrote all my Facebook friends a letter? A whopping 580 handwritten letters later Amy’s life, and most of all her heart, would never ever be the same again. As it turned out, there were actual individuals living very real lives behind each social media profile, and she was beautifully

While visiting friends in New Hampshire, Hartnett became fascinated with nineteenth-century robber baron Austin Corbin’s historical estate, and a real life Doctor Doolittle that worked there! This surreal property, Corbin''s Park, became a secret, exclusive hunting park that still exists today. The true story is fascinating and it's no surprise it inspired Unlikely Animals—already receiving rave reviews! “Hartnett masterfully balances a story of deep loss with the perfect amount of hilarity and tenderness.”—Booklist (starred review) “Hartnett’s whimsical storytelling casts a spell.”—Publishers Weekly “This is a big novel doing big things. It bears some similarity to Hartnett’s much- loved first novel, Rabbit Cake. . . . But Unlikely Animals is a broader, brassier, and even more fiercely tender story. In this, her second novel, Hartnett lands an astonishing leap as a storyteller.”—The Rumpus “Wistfully charming . . . This unapologetically genre-bending tribute to life and death, and the beautiful weirdne

We often focus on the material things we leave behind when we die, when what we really should consider is the legacy we leave behind. We write a will to divvy up who gets what, but rather than just stuff, we should be leaving something that speaks to who we wanted to be, who we were, and what we want for our loved ones in their lives. In FOR YOU WHEN I AM GONE: Twelve Essential Questions To Tell a Life Story, beloved Rabbi Steve Leder, bestselling author of The Beauty of What Remains, offers a new guide to help readers put into words what they hope their loved ones know after they have gone - creating what he calls an ethical will. Rabbi Leder has helped thousands of people to write their own ethical wills, and in this intimate book helps us write our own. Rabbi Leder appears frequently on national TV and you can watch a few of his appearances here: FOX LA (grief during the pandemic), CBS Sunday Morning (the war in Ukraine), TODAY with Hoda and Jenna (on grief). Rabbi Steve Leder is available for interviews o